Zhao smirked as the waterbenders retreated farther into their city. His troops marched alongside the war tanks, clearing the path to his destination. There was no sign of the Avatar or his companions. And the illusive Blue Spirit was nowhere to be seen.

He was still not sure if the sniveling soldier was to be believed. If it truly was the long-dead heirs, then Zhao was sure Agni himself was shining down on him. This information could get him everything he wanted and more. What would Prince Ozai do to keep this a secret? What price would the Firelord pay for Zhao's silence?

Zhao would have to be extremely careful with how he handled this. One small misstep would lead to his own demise- it would be only too simple for the Firelord to arrange an accident to silence him. And he would have to silence many of his own men; his captains and commanding officers were there as well, but of course many were lost in war. Their deaths would not be questioned.

But there was no doubt that the former heirs were now traitors to the crown. And working with the Avatar, no less. Zhao couldn't help but chuckle at that- the Firelord's own heirs were working against him. He wondered what the Firelord would do once Zhao had captured them. A public execution could improve morale and squash the murmurings in court, but a private culling would keep his failures in the dark.

Zhao's musings were cut short as they approached a small wooden door. There stood a group of barbarians, with a wild looking man leading them. The barbarian had beads in his loose hair, and his expression was grim as he brandished his primitive spear. This must be their leader.

His captains fanned out from behind him. "Step aside, filth." Zhao snarled, lighting his hands with flame.

The man did not back down. "You will not desecrate our sacred oasis."

"Your whole city will be burned when I'm finished with it," Zhao grinned. "Starting with you." His blast of fire forced the men back, but they recovered quickly and struck out with their own crude weapons. The Water Tribe men were light on their feet, and Zhao was surprised by their ability to dodge his attacks and reappear behind him to retaliate. It was a difficult skirmish, one that he certainly wasn't expecting, but that would only make his eventual victory even sweeter. It was his destiny, after all.

"If the Fire Nation reaches this oasis, then you must take your bison and get my daughter out of here. You must promise me this, Sokka."

Sokka glanced over to Yue, who was staring into the koi pond with an unreadable expression. Her face was still streaked with tears after parting with Chief Arnook. It was a lot to take in. The Fire Nation had reached the first level of the city, and by the sounds of it were advancing quickly. Chief Arnook had briefly found them in the spirit oasis, where hugged his daughter and told them to stay put while he led the defense. But he had asked Sokka for one more favor, which Yue had strongly protested against. It was an order from the Chief, something that Sokka didn't take lightly. He had promised to save Yue, but would she even let him if it meant leaving her people? Sokka didn't want to abandon them either.

"The koi fish!"

Sokka was startled out of his thoughts as Aang suddenly leapt to his feet.

"We have to protect them, someone's going to try to kill them!"

Sometimes Aang says things that hurts Sokka's brain. And while his tolerance for it has improved, this was a little too much for him to handle.

"What do you mean?" Yue asked, with more patience than Sokka was capable of.

Aang gestured at the fish. "Tui and La, it's them! They've been here this whole time."

Zuko leaned over Aang to study the pond. "You're saying those fish are spirits?"

"Yes," Aang replied, apparently not noticing Zuko's skepticism. "And now they're in danger."

Sokka stood up to gawk at the koi with the others. They really just looked like regular fish. What were they going to do, flop at them? Splash them with some water? It was hard to believe that two major spirits would give up their unearthly supernatural abilities to be some fish. This was not beneficial to the Water Tribes, which they were supposed to protect, and was certainly not helpful now.

"How do you know that they're in danger, Aang?" Yue asked. "We need their help."

"They can't really help us anyways," Sokka pointed out. "And unless Aang speaks fish then we can't ask them anything."

"They're not fish, they're spirits."

Azula scoffed. "What can fish do against an army?"

"I just said they're spirits," Aang snapped. Everyone stared in disbelief as he began a very heartfelt plea to the koi fish, who still haven't stopped swimming in circles and gave no sign whatsoever that they could hear him. "Hey, uh, Tui and La, how are you? I'm Aang, the Avatar, and we could really use your help-"

"I'm afraid it's the spirits who will need your help, Avatar."

Shit.

Zhao and his henchman had waltzed into the spirit oasis while they were attempting to communicate with fish. Sokka would have been embarrassed, but at least Zhao's ego was too big to allow him to attack while their backs were turned. The guy couldn't resist making a dramatic entrance.

Sokka gripped his boomerang as the others fell into defensive positions. He still wasn't entirely sure if those fish were really spirits, but Zhao seemed to, and Sokka would rather not find out what would happen if he succeeded in killing them.

"So this is where you've been hiding," Zhao calmly adjusted his armor as his soldiers spread out beside him. "The Avatar and his friends." He paused, his eyes lingering on Zuko and Azula. "I was anticipating a better defense, but I suppose that would be expecting too much from barbarians. Your own Chief couldn't hold us back."

Yue lunged forward, snarling as Sokka held her back. It wasn't easy- he had to dig his heels into the grass as she struggled against him. "What did you do?" She shouted. "Where is my Father?"

Zhao chuckled. "Your Father is dead, Princess. I killed him myself."

Sokka gasped as Yue's elbow was slammed into his stomach. He doubled over, wheezing as she wrenched out of his hold, her scream echoing harshly in his ears. She lashed out with a deadly ice lance, which narrowly missed Zhao's neck and exploded onto the wall behind him. The oasis became utter chaos as Zhao's men retaliated. Zuko and Azula had leapt forward with Yue, blocking the sizzling flames coming towards her as she pursued Zhao. Sokka scrambled towards her, his promise to her father urging him forward.

He dodged a fireball, wincing as the heat of it blistered his arm. Strong gusts of wind blew past as Aang knocked soldiers into each other. Katara's signature water whip lashed out wildly as she followed him.

Yue had Zhao cornered, but he was meeting her blow for blow, and her own attacks were becoming wilder. Sokka threw himself forward, tackling her to the ground as a wave of fire blew over their heads. She struggled against him, thrashing and screaming.

"Let me go! Sokka!"

Sokka closed his eyes, grunting as she pummeled him, but he didn't loosen his grip. He wasn't going to let her get hurt.

"Father- He killed my-" The blows became weaker as Yue dissolved into sobs, and she clung to him desperately as her body trembled. Sokka pulled her closer, trying his best to comfort her while staying alert. This wasn't over yet.

It was hard to see through the steam forming from the fire and water colliding. Katara's attacks were vicious, a vast improvement from the feeble control she had only a few months ago. Zuko and Azula were basically an army by themselves. Aang was causing chaos from above.

Sokka adjusted his grip on Yue, trying to be gentle while also preventing her from rejoining the fight. Chief Arnook was dead; struck down by Zhao, and Sokka wasn't going to let Yue be next. He didn't doubt her abilities. She was strong, and courageous, and scary enough to send Hahn running with his tail between his legs. But Zhao was a master bender, while Yue had only been training to fight for a couple months. Zhao wouldn't show mercy to her.

"Surrender yourselves now!"

Sokka cursed.

Zhao had reached the koi pond.

He had been so intent on protecting Yue that he didn't think about Tui and La. There was nobody to stop him from seizing one of the fish and stuffing it into a bag.

Yue gave a shuddering gasp from beneath him as the moon darkened. The world itself seemed to shift, a dark red haze permeating everything.

"I am a legend now." Zhao raised the bag above his head.

"Zhao, don't!" Aang cried. "Destroying the moon won't just hurt the Water Tribe. It will hurt everyone, including you. Without the moon, everything will fall out of balance."

"Destroying the moon will be the first step to a perfect world, Avatar." Zhao snarled. "A world where only fire remains."

"You're an incompetent idiot, Zhao." Azula cut in. "Even the Fire Nation relies on the moon. How will your precious Navy get home without the tides?"

"I wouldn't expect you to understand, Princess Azula." He laughed as Azula's eyes widened. "Although that isn't your title anymore, is it? You and Zuko are both traitors to the crown."

"We aren't traitors," Zuko stepped forward. "Our Father betrayed the crown when he tried to kill us."

Sokka ripped his gaze from Zhao as Yue moved underneath him, struggling into a kneeling position. She was trembling violently, her hands digging into the ground. He wrapped an arm around her, not just to ground her, but to keep her from lunging towards Zhao again.

"Enough! Traitors and peasants won't keep me from my destiny!" Zhao shouted, raising his fist towards the bag. "I will be known as Zhao the Conqueror, Zhao the Invincible, Zhao the Moon Slayer!"

The bag burst into flames.

Sokka shouted with the others as the moon winked out of existence, leaving a dark void in the sky. Katara's water fell to the ground, no longer under her control. The world darkened.

The only light that could be seen was fire. Azula's blue flames reflected oddly on the dim surface of the pond as she lashed out at Zhao, who retaliated with his own deep orange flames. Sokka ducked as the flames spread, crouching beside Yue. Zuko pulled Katara to the far end of the oasis while blocking any stray fire blasts.

Aang had sunk into the koi pond, from which a bright blue glow spread through the water and exited the oasis. Sokka couldn't think straight- his mind was pulled in too many directions. The moon was gone. Chief Arnook was dead. The city was almost taken, and now Aang was probably doing something stupid and dangerous.

Another fireball streaked past them.

There was one thing he could still do.

"We need to get you out of here!" He shouted to Yue. They could regroup with the others, maybe get to Appa. But she didn't move, not budging as he yanked on her arm. She was still as a statue; as cold as ice and immovable as a glacier. Sokka recoiled slightly as he realized her eyes were glowing, her hair floating around her as if she were underwater.

She rose slowly- a soft blue light began to emanate from her core, growing brighter as she stood. No, not standing. She was floating, hovering a few feet above the ground. People were shouting, Zhao's men backing away from her in horror. Some threw fire at her desperately, but it never touched her. The blue light had grown brighter, absorbing the flames. The oasis was fully lit now, as if the moon were shining from within her.

But the moon was gone. All that was left of it, Sokka realized, was in Yue. But it couldn't be her, could it? Her face had become sharp and cruel. It must be Tui, using Yue's body for revenge.

Sokka reached for her, yelling her name, but Yue did not respond. Instead, ice formed over his feet to anchor him, and he could only watch as she flicked her hand, summoning glittering icicles that launched at Zhao's men as they fled. He shuddered at the sound of ice tearing through flesh, of the men screaming as they were impaled.

Zhao began to run, pushing his own men out of his way as they were bottlenecked in the door, but Yue raised her hand again, pulling him to her like he were a puppet. A cruel smile formed on her face as she forced him to kneel before her.

"What is this?" His eyes were rolling with panic as he strained to break her hold over him. "Water witch!"

Yue's eyes glittered coldly. Her hand twisted. Zhao's scream was cut off; there was a wet ripping sound as his blood was torn from his body, coiling around Yue like a crimson snake.

His body, or what was left of it, fell to the ground.

Sokka's stomach heaved, but he tore his eyes from Zhao's shredded corpse as Yue glided forward, coming to a stop at the koi pond.

He didn't realize what she was doing until her hands cupped Tui's limp form, the blue light flowing through her hands. Zhao's blood, still swirling around her, joined the light as it streamed into Tui.

The ice around his feet melted. There was one last flash of light, blinding him as he sprinted forward, before it faded to reveal Yue's small, motionless form lying beside the pond.

The moon and the ocean were inseparable. One could not exist without the other. Push and pull, an eternal dance that influenced all life. Tui and La. The moon and the ocean, their love for each other could be felt by all who gazed on the horizon.

But now Tui was gone.

The eternal dance was broken. The horizon darkened. La couldn't see Tui anymore, couldn't feel her gentle pull.

But Ravaa was there. La could feel her grief; she latched onto it and took control, joining together to enact justice for Tui and their people. The invaders fled, but La and Ravaa would not let them escape. La could not be satisfied, not until every last one of them was dead. He felt them struggle beneath the surface, crying out with their dying breaths, but La pushed them farther, sinking them until their bodies were crushed from the pressure.

It wasn't enough. It would never be enough.

Ships were devastated by his waves. Hundreds more joined their brethren on the ocean floor. She could feel Ravaa crying out, horrified by their actions, but La did not release her. There would be many more lives lost now that Tui was gone.

La waded out farther, building up one final wave to wipe out Tui's murderers, when she felt it.

Tui was there, pulling La once again.

[Sokka grabs Yue, who is Different now]

The city was silent again, grieving for what it lost. Many lives were taken. Their Chief was gone, but the Water Tribes were strong. They repelled the Fire Nation and were already hard at work with rebuilding their city. Its people, heavy with sorrow as they were, would move on.

Sokka helped where he could. He wasn't a bender, so he couldn't help Katara and the others repair the walls, but he could carry the dead. There were plenty that still needed to be moved. Thanks to Aang, there were no Fire Nation bodies to be dealt with. They were at the bottom of the ocean. Even Zhao's, but that was Pakku's doing.

His weariness was as heavy as the dead as he helped carry the last of the bodies. They would be blessed and wrapped, then released into the ocean to rejoin their ancestors. La would guide them, keeping them from harm on their journey. It was a sacred rite that even the Southern Tribe practiced, but Sokka couldn't bring himself to stay for that. It would just remind him of what he lost. He walked away, hoping that a round around the city would calm him down.

There was a lone figure standing on the balcony of the palace. The moon hung directly in front of them, darkening their silhouette.

He joined her, leaning against the railing. They were both silent for a while, content to be in each other's presence without any conversation. The city spread out below them, and Sokka was glad to see so much of it still standing.

"Does it ever get any easier?" She asked quietly.

Sokka took a moment before answering. "I guess you get used to it, eventually. But I wouldn't say it gets easier."

"You lost your mother. How long did you feel like this?"

"I never stopped grieving for her. But life keeps going, and eventually I became tired of being so angry." He had responsibilities, to his sister and his tribe, that needed him to pull himself together. "I knew she wouldn't want me to be stuck in the past."

He turned to her finally, studying her face carefully. "You're going to get through this, Yue."

A ghost of a smile touched her face. "How do you know that?"

"Because you're strong," Sokka said. "And brave, and a badass warrior who is crazy enough to fight a veteran warrior after only a month of training."

Yue laughed wetly, her smile growing bigger as she giggled. Her brown eyes were still shining with tears, but that was okay. She was alive, after all.

When Sokka finally reached her, the light had faded completely, but the moon now shone brightly overhead as if it had never left. The oasis was now completely silent, everyone holding their breath along with the dead.

Sokka grabbed her gently, cradling her head as it lolled to the side. He tried to check her pulse, but stopped abruptly. She wasn't dead. But she had changed.

Her hair, unraveling slightly from her elaborate braids, was now a deep umber brown. Sokka reached out to touch it, afraid she would fade away in his arms. But it was real. Tui's blessing had left her.

She stirred sleepily, her eyes fluttering. When she opened them, Sokka was met with sparkling brown eyes, dark enough to get lost in.

"Sokka?"

She wiped away her tears as her giggles subsided. "Such kind words to a girl who can't even bend anymore."

"Hey, I can't bend either, welcome to the club." Sokka joked.

She smiled again, but he could tell it was just to be polite. He realized then that it wasn't just her father's death that she was grieving.

"You're still the same girl you were before, Yue."

Her grip on the railing tightened. "You don't know that."

"I do." He insisted. "Bending doesn't define you. Look at Zuko and Azula! They're trained with all sorts of weapons."

"But bending was all I had!" Yue erupted. "I barely knew how to fight, and now even that was taken from me." She turned and gestured at the moon. "I don't regret what I did, but how am I supposed to keep going when such an important part of me was taken away? My father is gone, and now I can't even fight to avenge him."

Her eyes widened at her outburst. "I'm sorry, Sokka, none of this is your fault. I shouldn't take it out on you."

"No," Sokka grabbed her hand. "That's how you keep going, Yue. You're allowed to be angry. Feel what you need to feel."

"What if I feel useless? I have nothing left to give."

"You're not useless." He tightened his grip when she tried to pull her hand away. "You're not, Yue. You can learn to fight again. Agna Qel'a needs you."

Yue scoffed. "They would never accept me as their leader."

"The girl who broke off her engagement and fought in battle yesterday would not let that stop her." Sokka said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "You're still that girl."

Yue sighed and rested her head on his arm. "I don't feel like that girl anymore."

"That's okay, Princess. Just give her time."

Ozai knelt before his father, his eyes cast down out of respect. He'd done his best to be on his best behavior after returning from Shu Jing. The Firelord was not happy to learn that Ozai returned with only one traitor. The children had escaped, of course, and Ozai had brought only his wife's body back. It wasn't hard to convince him that the children's bodies were too badly burned to bother collecting. Ozai was actually quite pleased with how that turned out- the children were effectively dead; hiding in the Earth Kingdom with the other peasants, he wouldn't be surprised if they really did die out there.

Either way, they were gone, and his cowardly brother fled the country as a traitor as well. That left Ozai, the only loyal son, to be Azulon's heir.

However, the Firelord had not yet officially granted him the heir's crown, even after three years of unquestionable loyalty. And now he was summoned to the throne room.

"I received an interesting letter today, Prince Ozai," came his father's voice. Ozai watched warily as the fires surrounding the throne rose higher. "A report from our navy, where your favored Admiral laid siege to the Northern barbarians."

Ozai said nothing, continuing to stare at the ground. His father normally hated posturing and embellishing words when something could be said in simpler, blunter terms. Something was wrong. He had tasked Admiral Zhao with capturing the Avatar and conquering the Northern Water Tribe. But he had not received word of their victory. What had happened?

"Captain Shu reports that their fleet was decimated by the Avatar. Admiral Zhao was killed by the spirits themselves."

Snapping his head up, Ozai fought to keep his face neutral.

"You cannot place the blame on me, My Lord, if the Avatar called upon the spirits themselves for aid." He said, quietly seething. The fool! How could their entire navy be defeated by primitive peasants?

"Captain Shu claims that these were not just spirits. Two swordsmen, he said, who ambushed their ships with the Avatar. Two firebenders, Ozai."

Despite the heat of the flames, sweat began to build on Ozai's brow. Surely he could not mean?

Azulon's voice turned cold. "I was under the impression that your children were dead."

"My Lord," Ozai stammered. "My Lord, they must be imposters, a ploy by the Avatar-"

"You were given clear orders, Ozai, and you failed to obey them twice. You are lucky that only Captain Shu knows of this. He has been silenced to spare us the public humiliation." Standing up, Azulon towered over his son."Now you have one last chance. Capture the Avatar and your traitor children. Only then will I consider making you my heir."

"I am the only one loyal to you!" Ozai protested, although he was careful to keep his respectful tone. "I am your only loyal son!"

"I have many years left in me, Ozai. Fail me this time, and your only use will be creating more heirs to continue our line." Azulon lowered himself back onto the throne, waving his hand dismissively. "I expect you to leave by nightfall. This is your last chance."