The Tale of Amara

by faithy waithy

Amara... daughter of two nations. father: A Fire Nation Admiral. mother: an imprisoned waterbender from the South Pole. Her half-brother Zhao sees her as nothing but a mistake. Abused both physically and mentally for sixteen years, Amara begins to lose hope that she will ever know happiness... but then a tea loving man arrives and her life changes forever. Full summary inside

33. Her Choice Part 2

Chapter 33: Her Choice Part 2

Toph was gone… I didn't blame her. If I had been treated like such a nuisance I'd have wanted to leave too...

I walked back to the group with dismay. The others seemed to have calmed from their anger and were shocked by what had occurred. A silence fell over us for a little bit as everyone thought over what had happened. Then finally Aang groaned and covered his face. He was filled with regret as he realized his mistake.

"What did I just do?! I can't believe I yelled at my earthbending teacher. Now she's gone."

Katara had calmed down and looked ashamed of her own behavior. "I know. We're all just trying to get used to each other, and I was so mean to her."

Sokka walked over, drinking from a canteen. "Yeah, you two were pretty much jerks. At least you didn't scare off Amara too."

Katara responded with heavy sarcasm. "Thanks, Sokka."

He shrugged. "No problem."

Katara urged, "We need to find Toph and apologize. She couldn't have gotten too far."

Sokka nodded. "Okay, but what are we going to do about the tank full of dangerous ladies chasing us?"

Aang thought for a moment. Then he walked over to Appa and pulled more loose fur off. He stared at it, and then smiled. "I have a plan."

We waited for him to explain.

"First, we need to clean Appa really well. Get as much loose fur off of him as we can. Then we'll head out. You all will find Toph and I'll take care of the girls chasing us."

He managed to wake Appa up by nudging the side of the sky-bison's face. Appa groaned in protest, but finally moved. Aang used his airbending to take Appa's saddle off after he undid the straps: he formed a rush of air beneath the saddle to lift it from Appa's back and place it on the ground. Then he coaxed Appa downhill towards a river we had landed near. He convinced Appa to sit in the river, and we quickly worked on spraying water at the tired sky-bison to wash off his loose fur. Yuna and Momo watched from the river bank, not a huge fan of bodies of water. While Aang, Katara, and I used our waterbending to rinse Appa off, Sokka stood on Appa's head to scrub against him with a branch and get extra loose fur off.

I asked with uncertainty, "Will this really work? He's got a lot of fur."

"He'll keep shedding," Aang answered. "But hopefully this will give you all a break from being followed."

"What about you though?" I looked at Aang with worry. "Are you sure you'll be okay? Azula is really powerful from what I've been told… and seen…"

He smiled over at me. "I took down a whole Fire Nation fleet. I can handle a crazy princess."

We finally rinsed off what we could. White fur was drifting down the river. Appa seemed quite content and relaxed as he came out of the water from his bath.

When we were done, Aang spoke again. "Toph was right. Appa's fur was leaving a trail right to us. But now that he's clean, no more trail!"

Katara looked at the wet sky-bison a little nervous. "Are you sure that he's okay to fly?"

Aang nodded. "He'll be fine as long as we leave his saddle and all our stuff here." He hopped onto the saddle that was on the ground, grabbed the bag Sokka had purchased at Gaoling, and then moved to a pile of leftover white fur on the ground. He stuffed some in his bag until it was full. "I'm going to use Appa's fur to make a fake trail and lead the tank off course. You all go first. Head the direction Toph went and see if you can find her. I'm going to face these chicks and end this madness."

We nodded and got on Appa's bare back. We gripped Appa's fur as he took off into the air again. Yuna flew beside us, while Momo held onto Katara's shoulder as she controlled Appa's reins. I glanced back to see Aang flying in the opposite direction with his glider, a trail of fur following him.

"Do you really think Aang will be okay?" I gripped Appa's fur tighter. "Facing them alone just seems unfair."

Sokka argued. "Aang can handle himself. It's best if we find Toph first. Then we can turn around and go back to help him."

"If we find her," Katara said with dismay. "I feel so bad. Her leaving was mostly my fault."

Sokka asked, "Should I comment on that?"

"No," Katara snapped.

"Let's just find her," I said. "If she learns we're all worried about her then hopefully she'll come back with us."

We flew for a few minutes, scanning the area below. Katara kept us flying low, although I was certain from how tired Appa was we weren't going much higher.

"Toph couldn't have made it too far," Sokka spoke as we continued to scan the area. Momo started to shriek suddenly, and hopped over to Sokka. Sokka asked, looking behind him to see what Momo was seeing. "What is it, Momo…" Then he gasped. "Oh no! Katara!"

I glanced back to see what he was shouting about. My eyes widened. The girl Mai and the other girl Ty Lee were on their lizard creatures following a few meters behind us.

Katara was horrified when she realized what we were seeing. "How did they find us?!"

She flicked Appa's reins to get him to move faster. He was exhausted though from being up all night, and his speed barely accelerated. He was actually starting to lower too. I managed to get on my knees, and while I still gripped Appa's fur for stability with one hand, I shot a blast of fire down at them. My fire hit the grass in front of them, but the long tailed serpent-lizard-like creatures managed to jump over the flames.

I cried, "Nothing stops these things!"

Sokka shouted, "Appa, come on! We need to go faster!"

Appa groaned in protest. He was starting to crash. He was so tired from being up and flying all night.

Katara translated Appa's noise. "He's too tired!"

Sokka gripped Appa's fur harder as he shouted, "Not good, not good!"

Yuna let out a "Mew-Hoo!" as she flew beside us, trying to encourage Appa to go a little more. However, the poor guy was at his limits as he continued to lower us in our flight. He yawned as well, revealing his exhaustion further. I hoped we could at least get him to land before he crashed again.

Another line of warer was up ahead, and Sokka shouted, "We just need to make it across that river!"

Katara snapped the reins again. "Come on, Appa, just a little further!"

I looked back at the girls who were catching up, and I saw Mai shoot some sharp arrows towards us. I shot another blast of fire at the objects, knocking them away from us.

Appa hit the top of some trees as we reached the river's edge, forcing me to stop firing and grab his fur with both hands again. However, to our relief he managed to stay in the air long enough for us to get across the water and onto the bank. He hit the side of the river we would be safe on, and slid to a stop in the mud. He passed out again, his exhaustion causing him to drift away once more. I let out a breath of relief though. We were safe. Yuna landed on my shoulder again.

"Good job, Appa," I whispered, patting my hand on his fur.

Sokka exclaimed, "We made it! We're safe!"

Katara agreed. "You did it, Appa!" She left his reins to come down on Appa's back and hug us. We hugged her back, believing the chase was over.

However, the sound of splashing echoed behind us. Katara gasped, and we all looked over to see the four-legged creatures suddenly stand on two legs and start to run across the water. My shock quickly turned to rage. I was tired. I was so done!

I pulled away from my cousins and snapped, "That's it! I say we fight!"

Katara nodded. "I'm with you, Amara! These girls are really irritating me. Let's go!"

We slid off Appa and stood in front of him, ready to attack. Katara took the first move, launching a huge wave at them. The wave hit Ty Lee's mount, but she jumped gracefully off in just enough time to avoid the collision. Her creature was pushed back, while the girl landed in a tree a little ways away.

I moved forward and shot a flame at Ty Lee, but she jumped from the tree and landed on the ground to avoid my attack. The tree ignited with flames, but Ty Lee easily stepped away from the branches that fell down towards her. Yuna hissed and swooped down at her, trying to scratch her with her talons. She did a summersault to avoid the attack.

Mai had reached the riverbank at this point, having jumped off her own creature and onto the dirt. She flung some more sharp arrows towards Katara, but Sokka intercepted by hitting the projectiles with his boomerang.

I brought water up and shot it at Mai to stop her from throwing more knives at my cousins. She dodged my water whip quickly, but stumbled back.

"Ty Lee! Get the dualbender! I'll handle these brats!" Mai shouted as she got her footing back.

"On it!" Ty Lee exclaimed from where she still stood near the burning tree. She ran towards me, and I shot a blast of fire at her with my hands. She jumped over the stream with agility, and then did a flip down towards me. As she dropped down to kick me, I brought water up from the river and smashed it into her. She was knocked away and rolled a bit in the mud. She quickly got back to her feet and looked at me with bewilderment. "Two elements is so unfair! I am so jealous!"

Her comment threw me off.

"Mew-hoo!" Yuna's panicked cry rang from behind me. I turned quickly to see some sharp arrows shooting my way. I gasped and jumped to the side to avoid the sharp objects.

"Leave her alone!" Katara shouted, and I looked up just in time to see her smack a water whip towards Mai. The girl turned back to fighting Katara, and I quickly got back to my feet. I saw once I was up that Ty Lee was fighting Sokka who had charged at her with his weapon, and she hit him on the arm. His limbs went numb, and he dropped his club. She hit him on his other arm also. I gasped and moved forward to help just as Ty Lee punched him in the head. Thankfully the head punch didn't affect him too much, and he said, "Good try, but no."

I quickly threw more fire towards Ty Lee who was shaking her hurt fist. She backflipped to avoid my hit, and then ran towards me again. Just as I went to attack, Katara gasped behind me. I looked back to see Mai had pinned Katara's sleeves to a tree with a ton of knives. She was trapped.

"Got you!" Ty Lee swung her fist towards me just as I turned back to face her. I dodged swiftly, recalling moves Zuko had taught. I shot water at her from my pouch as I moved back from her, causing her to stumble back. However, Mai suddenly appeared from behind and grabbed my arms, pinning them to my back. I gasped and struggled quickly. Ty Lee took her chance and punched my arms and legs. All feeling left my limbs and I dropped. Ty Lee quickly dragged me over to the tree beside Katara. Sokka was laying on the ground in defeat.

He asked the both of us, already knowing the answer, "How ya doing?"

Katara spoke in a frantic tone, "Well, you know! Captured!"

Ty Lee moved back beside Mai. The tall girl crossed her arms and sighed. "I thought when Ty Lee and I finally caught you guys it would be more exciting. Oh well, victory is boring…" Her eyes shot towards me then. "But it has its positives." She stepped over to me and narrowed her eyes. "We meet again. I've been wanting to talk to you. Amara, right?"

"Don't touch her!" Katara tried to move, but she was still unable to break from the weapons pinning her down.

Mai ignored her. She crouched, resting her elbow on her knee and her chin in her hand. "I have some questions for you."

I spoke with frustration. "You already know I'm a dualbender. What more could you ask?"

She kept a straight face. "Do you know who I am?"

I was surprised. I answered after a small pause. "Your name's Mai… I only know that you grew up really good friends with Princess Azula, and you knew Zuko pretty well."

Her frown deepened. "Then you should know I care about Prince Zuko… I'm just curious about your relationship with him. How do you know him?"

Her question threw me off. My heart pounded heavily at the mention of the young prince I cared for greatly.

She sighed again, seeing I wasn't answering her. "I heard rumors… Just curious if they're true. If they are I'm trying to figure out why he fell for a girl like you. He barely paid me any interest when we were kids. I just want to know how you beat me to his heart so quickly when I've known him for years? Azula told me there was talk amongst some of Zuko's old crew that you two were close on his ship."

His old crew? I felt slight relief. I had been concerned about them since the North Pole. That meant some of them survived.

"Well? Is it true?"

I flinched. I was hesitant. I didn't want to anger her. "I… I don't really know what you want me to say... Iroh and Zuko saved me from a terrible life. Zuko helped me heal and taught me how to be free. We became friends and then fell in love… It just happened. I wasn't trying to beat you at anything. I don't want to make enemies… I've had too many in the past…"

Mai stood, turning her eyes towards the river. She scoffed. Her eyes burned. "So it's true… I can't believe he would just forget about me like this. I thought we had something growing up… I guess three years at sea makes his old connections meaningless." She shut her eyes. She then took in a deep breath and spoke again. "I was furious at first… I blamed you. Then I realized that's wrong. The only person to blame is Zuko… but I know I lost him three years ago when he was banished. He's probably not the same prince I remember. If I met him now, I probably wouldn't even recognize him."

I dropped my gaze. My heart clenched. "I didn't know him as a prince… I knew him as a young man with just an uncle and a ship. He's been through a lot since his banishment… I doubt he's the same person you remember. Even after he saved me, he seemed to change more…"

Ty Lee finally interjected, going back to my story. "Um… Can I ask exactly why you needed to be saved? Did it have something to do with your double nation heritage?"

Sokka interrupted, finally breaking into the conversation and reminding us of their presence. "Amara! You don't have to tell these chicks anything!"

Katara agreed. "They attacked us. They don't deserve answers. You've told them enough."

Ty Lee pouted. "I'm just curious… no harm asking, right?"

I let out a deep breath. No… there wasn't any harm… And… Maybe if I told them, they would let us go… Maybe they both had a heart somewhere inside them.

"It's okay… I don't mind… It's my story," I said to my family. I met Ty Lee's gaze. "My brother was Admiral Zhao… I'm sure you heard of him?"

Ty Lee was surprised. She nodded though.

I let out another heavy breath. "Our father, Admiral Gru, captured my mother who was a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe. He kept her as his prisoner, got her pregnant with me, and then he kept my mom and I locked up so no one knew about our existence. When my dad died at war, my brother and uncle killed my mom and kept me chained up in my room, beating me often. Zhao took me to the Earth Kingdom when he was stationed at a harbor on the west coast. I was there for a few weeks, constantly punished for trying to escape... Then my heroes came to the harbor one day…" Tears fell and I smiled from the memory. "General Iroh saved me. He mended me back to health, and Zuko… he took care of me and helped me heal in the weeks that followed."

Ty Lee was horrified. "What… You… you were abused by your Fire Nation family? Your whole life?"

I nodded. I shut my eyes for a moment as the memories rushed through me. I opened my eyes again to meet Ty Lee's gaze. "Sixteen years…"

Her eyes watered. "That's terrible." She stood and turned to Mai who was still looking at the river in silent thought. "Mai… I know our mission. But we can't take her to Azula. We can't let her be a prisoner again. You know what she'll do to her… she doesn't deserve that... Let's just forget about capturing her and go."

Mai argued, although I could tell she didn't believe herself. "She's probably making it all up. No one's life sucks that bad. She's trying to win our sympathy."

Katara defended me. "Amara isn't lying!"

Ty Lee spoke too. "I believe her, Mai… I see faded scars on her arms. She must've gotten those from her Fire Nation family. And from what I recall, Zhao wasn't the nicest man."

Mai let out a deep breath. "Even if it's true, we can't just betray Azula, Ty Lee. That's treason. She wants the girl. We have no choice."

Ty Lee argued. "We'll just tell her they got away." She pressed her hands together. "Please Mai… let's forget this and just go. Now that I know her story, I don't have the heart to make her a prisoner again."

Mai looked back over at me. I was silent and amazed by Ty Lee's words, but I met Mai's gaze. She let out another heavy breath. "I just have one final question for you." She crossed her arms and dropped her eyes to the grass. "Do… do you love him?"

I was surprised by her question. My heart fluttered though and I dropped my head. I breathed in again, nervous by how she would react. "Yes… Ever since we parted at the North Pole, I've thought of him every day. I love him dearly…"

Mai shut her eyes hard. A tear fell. "Well… Doesn't surprise me he fell in love with another girl… he never gave me the time of day… but it still hurts…" She turned on her heel and started to walk away. "Come on Ty Lee… I want to go to sleep. I'm exhausted from chasing these kids all night. And I need to be alone..."

She walked away. Ty Lee lingered for a moment, surprised by her friend's yield. She turned back to us then with a small smile. "Looks like it's your lucky day… The effects should wear off in a few minutes." She met my gaze again. "Nice to finally meet you… thanks for sharing your story." She backed away slightly. "You're dualbending is really cool! I wish I could bend two elements. That would be so much fun. Bye!" She waved and then turned on her heel. She skipped away to go catch up with her friend. We watched them both go in bewilderment.

Katara was the first to speak after they were out of earshot. "Did… they just let us go?"

Sokka was amazed as well from where he was laying on the ground. "Looks like it…" He moved his eyes towards me. "Amara's story must've touched their hearts after all."

I looked again at the fading images of the two girls in the distance. Their creatures suddenly came out of the river in front of them, and they hopped on riding away. I smiled slightly. "Like I said… not everyone Fire Nation is bad."

"Still," Katara spoke softly. "I was worried that one girl was going to hurt you for stealing her man."

I sighed. "I can see why she's upset about that… They were friends growing up. Mai can't fathom why Zuko would fall in love with a girl he's only known for a few months and not someone he's known for years."

Katara sighed. "Love works in mysterious ways."

We continued to sit where we were. I still could not feel anything. I looked over to see Appa was still snoring away. "Well… one thing I learned after this is Appa is one heavy sleeper."

Katara continued to try and struggle from the knives pinning her to the tree while she agreed. "I'm so jealous of him right now."

Yuna suddenly swooped down, seeing the enemies were gone. She landed by Katara and used her feline fangs to pull one of the dull ends of the knives out. Momo saw what she was doing and flew over to help. Once Katara was free, she worked on healing Sokka's limbs first. Sokka got some movement back from her mending. She worked on me next.

As we all got movement back, and managed to get to our feet, I asked softly, "So what now? Do we keep looking for Toph?"

Katara shook her head. "No. I think we should get back to Aang. Looks like those two girls won't follow us anymore so now we have a chance to stop this chase once and for all."

Sokka agreed. "I say we head back and get Appa's saddle, then follow the trail Aang left behind. Clearly if Princess Azula wasn't here she would have gone after Aang. We can let Appa rest while we go help him."

"Maybe we should just leave him here," I said, looking at the exhausted sky-bison with concern. "He's so tired."

Sokka argued. "We need to at least get him and his saddle back to Aang so we can get to safety if we need to."

I sighed. I walked over to Appa to coax him awake. He groaned in protest. "I know… but Aang needs us. Come on buddy. Just a little longer."

Appa huffed, but managed to get up. I pat him with sympathy, knowing he was exhausted. We got back on and took off again. We returned to the place we left his saddle, and put it back on. It was heavy, but the three of us managed. We then got back on and took off to follow the false trail of fur.

We only followed it for a mile. The mountains broke to reveal a valley where a small abandoned Earth Kingdom town was. I could only assume the citizens had to flee from the Fire Nation. An explosion and fire suddenly shot from one of the buildings below. We heard Aang's yell as he was thrown out.

"Aang!" Katara made Appa land in the center of the village and we dropped quickly. I told Yuna and Momo to stay with Appa for their safety. We then raced past the already damaged buildings towards the smoking one. Katara and Sokka ran ahead, but something stopped me from following them.

A young man was unconscious on the street. From the distance, I saw a familiar scar around his left eye. His hair, which was once shaved on both sides and only had a single ponytail, had grown out so it was covering his head. The ponytail was gone. I almost didn't recognize him from the change. He looked stronger… older… but he was still the man I cared for deeply.

My heart fluttered. My eyes burned. My throat caught.

"Zuko…"

I took off across the dusty road to where he was. I dropped beside him on my knees, looking him over with concern. I tried to shake his shoulder, to bring him back to consciousness. He was still breathing, so I hoped he was just stunned. An image of Tu Lan shot through me. I shook it quickly. No… Zuko was okay… he had to be…

"Zuko… come on," I begged. "Get up."

He groaned. His eyelids opened briefly. They dropped though and he cringed in pain. He went unconscious again.

"Zuko! Please!"

"Well well… what do we have here?"

I gasped as Azula spoke suddenly. I looked up to see the crazy princess had just come around the corner of the burning building she'd been in. She looked disheveled and very angry. I stood quickly and moved in front of Zuko, ready to fight.

She was amused by my protective act. "Ah… Amara, right? Don't worry… he's not the one I'm after." Her eyes narrowed. "If I can't get the Avatar, I can at least capture the dualbender."

She suddenly ran towards me. I gasped, knowing if we fought where I was Zuko might get hurt. I ran away from her into an alley nearby. I felt fire rush towards me, but I broke out on the other side of the buildings in a large open space and dashed to the side. The blue jet stream shot past me. Once we were away from Zuko, I turned and shot a blast of fire towards her just as she came out of the alley too.

She knocked my flames to the side easily. She frowned and tapped her chin. "Hmm… not as powerful as I thought. A tad disappointing. No matter… you will only get stronger if we let you run around freely." She stepped forward, and her fists tightened as she prepared to attack. "I have a wonderful cell waiting for you back in the Fire Nation. Can't have someone with your abilities running around. Too dangerous."

"You're more dangerous than me," I commented.

She smirked, amused by my bravery. "Yes. But I'm loyal to the Fire Nation… you on the other hand… you're a traitor and freak who deserves to be locked up!"

She shot a blast of fire towards me. I jerked water from my pouch and threw the liquid against it. Our two elements collided and a cloud of smoke appeared. Azula took the cover to her advantage and jumped through it, shooting a blast of blue flames towards me with her feet.

However, her flames were suddenly blocked by another blast of red fire shooting between us. Azula landed, surprised by the sudden jet stream.

"Don't you dare touch her, Azula!"

A blast of fire shot from the side again, hitting Azula just as she tried to block and sending her flying back. She rolled on the ground and then stayed down from the pain.

I was amazed. My eyes shot over to a figure that suddenly ran out into the open from the same alley we'd come through. He was okay. A little disheveled himself… but okay.

"Zuko…"

He rushed over to me. He grabbed both of my arms to look me over. "Amara… are you hurt?"

I was amazed. I could see him more clearly now. Zuko looked taller. From the way his gold eyes reflected, and his grown out hair shaped his face, he was even more handsome than I remembered.

"Zuko… you're okay," I whispered. "You… were on the ground. I was worried…"

He smiled slightly, glad to see me too. "Just a little sore… I'm fine… I'm just glad you're okay."

"Aw… how sweet," Azula suddenly spat, getting to her feet again. "A beautiful reunion I am happy to end! Give the freak to me, Zuzu! If you do I'll let you live!"

Zuko pulled me behind him. "You're not touching her!"

"Got that right," Sokka snapped suddenly. I saw Aang, Katara, and Sokka emerge into the area from around a building. Aang was covered in ash, but other than that he seemed okay. Coming around the corner right behind them, I was amazed and relieved to see Toph.

"Toph! You came back!"

She smirked and shrugged. "You can't get rid of me that easy, Kitten. Getting into trouble, I see?"

I smiled slightly. "Like usual…"

Azula was back on her feet. She saw she was out numbered. A look of panic was in her eyes. She turned and went to run through a damaged part of the city wall, but Iroh suddenly appeared in her path. I felt my heart warm when I saw my old guardian. He looked well too. His long gray hair was down and his beard was a little longer, but he was the same kind man I loved dearly.

Azula quickly backed away from Iroh, while the rest of us started to move forward to attack her. She looked around the arc of people before her with uncertainty.

After calculating her next move, she spoke with a deep sigh. "Well, look at this. Enemies and traitors all working together. I'm done." She raised her hands up in defeat. "I know when I'm beaten. You got me. A princess surrenders with honor."

None of us let our guard down. I had stepped beside Zuko, ready to attack if I needed to. Everyone else was prepared as well. We knew the moment we let our guard down she would attack.

Azula looked around the group, calculating her next move. We had her cornered near a part of the damaged wall. She stopped and stared at Zuko for a moment with spite. Then her eyes moved over to Iroh. She grinned, and then suddenly moved her hand his way. She shot a blast of very hot and powerful blue fire towards him.

The blast hit him right in the chest. Iroh cried out in pain, and immediately fell back on the ground unconscious. He didn't move after he landed.

My heart skipped a beat.

My voice sounded before I realized I was shouting. "IROH!"

I was horrified. Shocked. Then I was angry.

"NO!"

I shot fire at Azula with both of my hands. Everyone else shot their own blasts with me mixing water, earth, fire, and air together. Our elements all crashed into the spot Azula was and an explosion went off. Dust, rocks, and smoke went everywhere. Once things settled, we saw the evil Fire Nation Princess was gone. She had escaped.

A silence fell over us all for a moment. Then Zuko gasped and left my side.

"Uncle!" Zuko cried in agony. He raced over to Iroh who was unconscious and motionless on the ground. Zuko dropped on his knees beside him and then dropped his head in his hands with agony.

As I stared at Zuko and Iroh in silent terror, I heard a loud groan and caught from the corner of my eye that Appa suddenly landed nearby. I assumed Aang had called him with his bison whistle. I wasn't paying much attention to anything else but Iroh though. I barely noticed Sokka grab me to turn me in the direction of Appa.

"We should go," Sokka urged, releasing me as he gestured for us to follow. "Let's get out of here." He and the others started to head to Appa. I didn't move. Sokka noticed I was where he'd left me and stopped walking. He shouted to me, "Amara! Come on!"

I was frozen though. I shook my head. Tears blinded me as I stared back at the two men a little ways away. I breathed a staggered breath. "No… I… can't… Iroh," I whispered. "He's still alive. We… we have to help."

Sokka heard my words and was appalled. "Help?! He's the enemy!"

"Please," I begged, turning back to the others. I held my hands together in desperation. The tears fell harder. "He might be your enemy, but he's my friend! He doesn't deserve to die. He's a good man. He's a father to me! Please! We can't just leave him!"

Katara stepped over to me as I cried. She placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. When she did, I realized I was shaking. "Okay, Amara… calm down. I'll offer to help heal him… but if Zuko doesn't accept there's nothing I can do."

I blinked. More tears fell. I spoke softly though, calming my anxious state. "Thank you… Katara..."

She let me go and then cautiously stepped over. "Zuko," she started to say.

Zuko was upset though, and not thinking clearly. He shouted as he heard her approach, "Get away from us!"

Katara spoke with protest. "Zuko, I can help!"

"Leave!" Zuko shot a weak blast of fire back at my cousin, not to hurt her but to warn her to stay away. He was too blind by his pain to see that others were willing to help.

She quickly backed away. Then she turned on her heel and headed back over to us. "Sorry Amara… I tried. He doesn't want our help. Let's go."

I wasn't convinced. And I couldn't... I couldn't leave them...

"Amara," Katara spoke again, grabbing my hand. "Come on."

I shook my head again. "Katara, please… We can't just leave him. I… I'll calm Zuko down. I'll offer to heal Iroh… I'm not as good as you, but I can help a little. Zuko will listen if I speak to him."

Katara argued, gripping my hand harder and pulling me away. "Forget it, Amara. I tried to help him. He doesn't want it. We need to go. If he comes to his senses he may try to capture Aang again."

I followed for a moment, but only because my heart was pounding heavily as I weighed my options. Yuna had flown from Appa to perch on my shoulder at this point. She whined when she sensed my sadness. I looked back as I was pulled further away from Iroh and Zuko. Katara released my hand when she believed I was following. I immediately stopped though. I didn't want to go… I couldn't...

They needed me...

"My name is Iroh, retired General of the Fire Nation... you are under my guardianship from this day forward. Tu Lan asked that I take you with me, and I have agreed. Your brother has released you into my care upon my request."

Iroh… my savior…

"I know you are scared, but you do not need to be. From this day forward, I will do everything in my power to protect you from your father's family and make sure no one harms you again."

My guardian…

"You owe me nothing, Amara. I am the one who chose to save you. You are a daughter to me."

A father… he had become a father to me… and he had been wrong about me not owing him anything… I owed him everything… Without him, I would've never been free...

"Amara," Sokka said, noticing I was falling behind. "He'll be fine."

I glanced over to see the majority of the group continued to walk back towards Appa, but Sokka had stopped noticing my falter. I stayed. My feet did not follow. My eyes moved back to Iroh. Yuna whined on my shoulder again, sensing my growing concern for the wounded man and the young prince who was crying over him.

Katara realized I was not convinced to come, and she headed back my way with worry. "Amara… There's nothing we can do. We have to get Aang and ourselves to safety."

I glanced back at Katara and Sokka, who were stepping over to me. My heart hurt, but only because I knew what I desired would upset them. I shut my eyes and hung my head.

"Katara… Sokka… I… I can't… I have to stay. You all go. Take care of Aang and Toph..."

Sokka realized my intention. He broke the distance between us and grabbed my arm. I flinched and shrunk on instinct. He realized he was a little too rough and loosened his grip. He spoke with firmness though. "Amara… I know you're worried about them. But they will be fine. We have to go." He tried to pull me with him, but I planted my feet in the ground to resist. He noticed my pull against him and looked at me with bewilderment.

I shook my head. Tears fell harder. "Sokka… No… I have to stay. Iroh's hurt… He… he needs me. Zuko will let me help. I know he will. I can't go with you. I have to help them."

Aang and Toph had stopped walking when my cousins had turned around and they observed from a distance, letting my family handle what was happening. I could see the understanding in Aang's gaze though. Toph seemed confused by our conversation, not knowing my story completely.

Katara broke the distance between us, her face showing confliction as she stood beside Sokka who still had a hold on me. She wanted me to come with them, but she also didn't want me to be forced to do something I did not want to do. She tried to reason with me. "Amara… I understand your concern. However, you know if you stay with them, we may not see you again for a very long time… Are you really okay with that? We're your family."

I shut my eyes. My heart was torn: I did not want to upset my family and betray them, but I could not leave Zuko and Iroh. My family had Aang and Toph... They would be okay… But Iroh… Iroh needed a healer. He needed me… and I owed him my life.

I met Katara's gaze, and then Sokka's. "I know… I'm sorry… but I have to do this. I owe Iroh so much. He saved me from my prison and the brink of death… He helped me find you all... now it's my turn to save him." I placed my hand over Sokka's grip. "I love you both more than you know… I am so happy to have finally found you… but this is where I'm needed right now." I pulled Sokka's hand off, but held it tenderly. "I can't leave them. But... you all will always be in my heart. You know that."

Sokka tightened his hold on my hand. He was trying not to get frustrated, but I could see he didn't like the idea of leaving me with the people he saw as his enemy. "Amara… please… Don't make me force you. Get on Appa."

I shivered from his threat.

Katara intervened. She let out a heavy breath and placed a hand on Sokka's arm. "Sokka… calm down… I hate to say this, but… we have to let her stay."

Sokka looked at Katara incredulously. "Are you crazy?! We can't leave her with the enemy!"

Katara calmly spoke. "We can't force her to go with us… You know that. As much as I want to drag her on Appa too, that won't be the answer. Her heart is telling her to stay. If we force her to come, we won't be any different than Zhao… Amara is free, and she should be able to make her own decisions. This is her choice, and we have to accept it."

He wanted to argue again, but he realized that Katara was right. He shut his eyes and let out a heavy breath. He slowly let my hand go, and then opened his eyes once more to meet my gaze. His other hand cupped my cheek tenderly instead. "I just… I hate the thought of you not being with us. I hate not knowing if you're okay…" He let out a heavy sigh. "Are you sure this is what you really want? They're the enemy…"

I put my hand over his. "They're your enemy, Sokka… not mine… I owe them so much. Healing and caring for Iroh right now will be my way to repay him for all he has given me in the last few months. If it weren't for him, I would've never met and gotten to know you and Katara. He gave me everything… It's my turn to repay him."

He stared into my gaze for a long moment. Then he nodded and dropped his hand. Yuna hopped down from my shoulder just as he pulled me into his arms. He hugged me close, whispering, "I'm just going to miss you… please be careful, Amara… Take care of yourself."

I hugged him back, soaking in his warmth as much as I could. The tears kept falling as I said goodbye. "I will, Sokka… you take care of yourself and the others. I love you. I'm so happy I got to meet you after all these years. I know we'll see each other again. Just be patient… just help Aang right now…"

After Sokka released me, Katara hugged me next. She was crying, and this only made me cry more. "I'm going to miss you so much, Amara…" Her voice was broken up, but she tried to hold herself together. "Remember what I taught you… Focus on the deepest areas to heal first. Repair the main damage, and then work your way to the surface."

"I know. I'll never forget your teachings… Thank you for helping me become stronger in my waterbending." I swallowed, trying to calm my voice too. "I'll miss you so much, Katara. Be safe."

She hugged me closer. "We will. And we'll see you again… I know we will… I love you, Amara. Your mom would be so proud of you for having such a caring heart. Iroh and Zuko are going to be lucky to have you."

Once my cousins were done saying their goodbyes, I looked over at Aang and Toph. I was surprised to see Aang had hopped onto Appa's saddle in the time I was embracing my cousins; he had grabbed a shoulder bag with some food and water, and also had tied my sleeping bag to it.

He walked over with the items and handed them to me. "I'll take care of them," he promised.

I took the pack and placed it down. Then I hugged Aang goodbye. He hugged me back, and I could tell he was sad to see me go too. "Thank you, Aang… Sorry I won't be able to watch you train in earthbending, but you're going to do great. Toph seems to know what she's doing."

Toph had walked over at this point, understanding what was happening. "You bet I do. I'll keep them all in line. No worries." She hugged me next. "I'll miss you, Kitten. Take care of yourself. Thanks for saving me."

I pulled away slightly, confused. "I didn't save you…"

She shook her head. "You did… You knocked sense into my head and gave me courage. I won't forget you, Amara."

I smiled. "I'll think of you every day, Toph… try not to get on Katara's bad side too much."

She smirked. "No promises." She then placed a hand on my arm. "Take care of that old man. I met him when I separated from you all… he deserves to be saved."

I shut my eyes as more tears fell. "Yeah… he does."

The group said goodbye to Yuna, and then got on Appa. Momo hopped on my shoulder and licked my cheek goodbye. I pet him and promised him the next time we crossed paths I'd give him the biggest moonpeach. He flew off then to land on Aang's shoulder, who was now on Appa's head holding the reins. Aang nodded at me, and I nodded back. He then shouted "yip-yip" and Appa took off. Appa groaned to say his own goodbye to me. My family waved as they departed, and I waved back.

I watched them go until I could no longer see them on the horizon.

As much as I would miss them, I knew this was what I had to do. Iroh needed me… And Zuko…

Yuna returned to my shoulder. I pet her on the head. "Don't worry… We'll see them again… Right now, we're just needed here."

Turning, I looked back at the two men a few meters away. Zuko had not moved from where he was kneeling beside Iroh. I knew the injury needed to be treated right away, because he had been down too long. Grabbing the bag, I rushed back over and stood behind Zuko. His body shook, and I could see he was defeated. I placed the bag down, and then knelt beside him. Yuna hopped down beside me.

"Zuko…" I placed a hand on his back. He calmed slightly when he felt my touch and heard my voice. "I can help him. But I need you to help me…"

His body was still hunched over. His face was in his hands. "Amara… Why… why are you here?" His voice was broken. "Go be with your family..."

I gave him a sad smile. "I am… Family isn't just by blood, you know… you can scare the others off, but I'm not going anywhere. I'm here for you and Iroh…"

He met my gaze with shock. His watery gold eyes burned into my own with relief. "Amara…"

I looked over at Iroh. His shirt was ripped and singed where he had been hit by Azula's attack, and I could see blisters and blood from the burned flesh. He was still breathing though, and this gave me hope. I grabbed his limp hand which was dropped to the ground beside him. "Iroh… It's Amara… I'm here… Zuko and I are going to fix you up." Tears fell again. "Just hang on and stay strong for me…"

Zuko was still staring at me with silent amazement. He probably didn't know if he was dreaming or not. I really needed him to come to his senses though.

"Come on," I said, meeting his gaze once more. "We need to move him. I can't carry him on my own, and we need to get him out of the sunlight."

I released Iroh's hand, stood, and then held my hand down to Zuko. He looked up at me, still unable to believe I was actually beside him. Then he finally snapped out of his shock, and he took my hand. My heart fluttered from the familiar warmth. I felt at ease.

This was the right path… I knew in my heart that my family would be okay… My decision was made... Zuko and Iroh needed me, and I would help them in any way I could… I owed them that much... and more…