"This is going to take a while to finish."

"That girl hits like a narwalrus. I can take a hit, you know? But she even one-shotted firebenders in full armour. Even Zuko, and I thought he was indestructible."

Alarmed, Katara looked over at Zuko. He wasn't moving.

"Shoot, he probably has another concussion, too," she said. She stood up and limped over. "If I don't see him now, I'll be stuck nursing him for months."

Sokka smiled wryly. "Sure, sure, I'm only your brother. The Fire Nation guy who chased us halfway here is much more important."

"I'll get back to you later," she said. "Yue, don't let him do anything stupid. Burns get infected."

"Ooh, the squirty kind?" Sokka asked eagerly. Katara and Yue looked at him askance.

Katara knelt next to Zuko, cradled his head in her lap, and ran healing water across his face.

Tui and La: I hope you understand why I'm borrowing your water to heal a firebender.

If you do, could you run it by me, again?

He stirred. "Nngh?"

"Don't try to talk," Katara said gently. "You've broken your jaw and got another concussion, because you're an idiot. And because you're also a jerk, no-one else will treat you."

We could stand to be a little nicer. He did save our life, you know.

Yes, and I can't think of a single thing he could have done that would have annoyed me more.

Kidnap Aang again?

I can't think of anything that would have annoyed me less than giving me an excuse to kick his butt. 'You should just surrender', indeed.

"Whrrz Zrraa?"

She flicked him in the nose. "I said no talking. There must be hundreds of Water Tribe warriors I could be treating instead of you, you know."

Zuko frowned and tried to get up. She forced his shoulders down, and it was a testament to how messed up he was that she was able to. He scrabbled for a moment and gave up, then switched to gestures.

"Your sister's fine. Someone came round to lock her up."

He spread his hands.

"Wherever the prison is, of course. She'll be fine. She's the Fire Nation princess, they'll take care of her. Now stop fidgeting and let me heal you." He made to get up again; she froze his hands to the ground. "You are the worst patient ever, and if that gives you frostbite, I'm not healing it." He flinched as some of her water got in his eye. "Yes, I know head injuries are your very favourite thing in the world, next to infuriating me, but I'm sure this won't be the last of either. Hold still!"

She stayed with him long enough to fuse his jaw and hopefully prevent concussion aftereffects, then switched back to Sokka and herself. Presently, some warriors came and asked her to a triage hut, where there were indeed hundreds of warriors who needed care. She got to work, along with the other water-healers, those they could find. A Fire Nation column had broken through during the battle and marched most of them off. Nobody knew where they were now, or really where anyone was: the Fire Nation had effectively cut all their lines of communication, before the battle ended. When Aang had merged with the spirits.

Katara and Sokka held each other as the gestalt being swept past. Yue tried to hide Zuko, who fainted dead away. They couldn't see what it did, not from the Oasis, but they could hear it.

She blinked hard, trying to bring her mind back to the present. That wasn't one of her best memories.

I always knew Aang was powerful. He entombed himself for a hundred years. He almost knocked me and Sokka off the mountaintop, back at the Southern Air Temple, without even noticing. He tossed Zuko around like a ragdoll at Kyoshi Village, and he stopped the volcano at Aunt Wu's village, without even using the Avatar State. But this …

He took out tens of thousands of soldiers single-handed in moments. With that power, he could end the Fire Lord. It would be easy.

Like squashing a bug.

Speaking of Aang, after a while, some warriors carried him in. Katara rushed over.

"Hey, Katara …"

"Aang! Are you okay?"

"I think so. Just tired."

He sure looked it: he could barely keep his eyes open. She remembered the other times he'd entered the Avatar State. It had always taken it out of him, but he was fine after.

"Well, let me fuss over you a bit anyway," she said, finding him a pile of skins to lie on. She lit a brazier, washed sea salt off him, and got him dry and warm.

"You're hurt," he said.

"It's nothing. I'm just glad you're okay."

She'd cleaned and healed the worst of her injuries, but she couldn't justify taking the time to completely cancel them, not while other people were touch and go, so she was still bruised and burned and probably had a cracked rib or two. She'd have to handle all that at some point. Men liked to brag about their scars, but that was dumb, she liked being pretty.

"You were worse, earlier."

"It only looked bad," she lied, smiling. "It was just a little singe, and I got some gunk on me. Burns inflame the skin and look really bad, even when they don't do much damage."

"When I saw you, I got so mad …"

"It's fine now," she said. "The fleet's gone, the battle's over. You did it."

"It wasn't me," he said. "The spirits did it."

"It was –" she began, then cut herself off. "Right," she smiled. "Well, they saved us. You're a good Avatar."

He nodded and let his head fall back. She took his hand and sat with him in silence.

Aang would never hurt anyone, even if they deserved it. But spirits would.

What was it they said? I AM JUSTICE, I AM VENGEANCE? But they never said they were mercy.

Zuko said they were dangerous. At the time, I thought it was just Fire Nation hatred of everything, but on second thoughts, 'dangerous' is a good word.

As with all good times, it ended because Zuko showed up. She didn't notice him come in, and she was pretty sure no-one else had either. One moment, she was nodding off; the next, he stood before her, with a less impressive glare than usual. She met it for a moment.

"Aang, I'll be right back," she said, standing up. He was fast asleep. "Let's take this outside."

The moon was high in the night sky, gently illuminating the city. Clouds were approaching, threatening snow. She could smell smoke. People were calling back and forth across the city, trying to sort out the worst of the damage.

"Why," Zuko said. He'd balled his fists tight enough to draw blood.

"You saved my life," she said. "Taking me to the Oasis when you did."

"You don't owe me anything. I promised the Avatar I'd take care of you. That's his deal with me."

Didn't you only promise to be nice? I guess that counts.

"It felt right," she said. "I think I could probably do the rest, with enough time, if we stayed here. And if they let us back into the Oasis."

While she'd worked on his concussion and jaw, she'd stolen a few moments to heal his scar. As with her own bruises, she didn't have time to get rid of it completely, so it was still there, but just a bad sunburn, not the wreckage of an almost-mortal strike. His ear and the further part of his cheek were mostly fine, necrotic tissue had sloughed off and been replaced with living flesh, and his eye could open and close fully. In the dim moonlight, she could pretend it was just a birthmark. Zuko kept fidgeting and rubbing at it.

"You shouldn't scratch at it," she added. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Do you really think I've changed?" he asked, with a tone of If you do, you're wrong.

What do we say to that?

What's it even mean? Changed how?

Without waiting for a reply, he turned and vanished into the night.

You were the loyal henchman of the Fire Lord, the royal pain in my butt, and the one who took me to the spirits. Maybe you still are all those things. You're used to wearing masks, after all.

"Katara?" called a healer. "Some more just arrived."

"Be right over."

He didn't thank us for healing him, so, at least that's the same old Zuko.

The next morning, Katara should have been delighted or at least relieved that they'd seen off the attack, but she was just tired. Aang was uncharacteristically melancholic after she took him back home. Sokka and Zuko had both wandered off somewhere.

"We should help somehow," Aang said.

"Yeah," she agreed. Neither made any move to get up. She pulled some water in from outside and began fading her bruises, making much slower progress than she could if she really tried.

What are we doing? We're more motivated than this.

I don't know. What are we doing?

Weren't we supposed to be learning waterbending?

"Is Master Pakku still giving lessons?" she asked.

"I don't know. I don't think so."

"I don't think I'd feel up to going even if he was."

"Me neither. At least you're already a great waterbender."

Are we a master?

Maybe. We mastered all the forms. But I still feel like there's more to learn.

We've taken in so much lately, it's like being in a food coma. We need time and space to digest it.

Three hundred million miles overhead, Sozin's Comet fell toward Earth at thirty miles per second.

We don't have time.

"I don't think I've learned everything that Pakku can teach," she said aloud, "but I think I've learned everything I'm going to learn here."

Aang thought about this.

"Me too."

"So we should help fix anything that still needs fixing, then go," she said decisively, and immediately felt better for having a plan. "We only have a few months left for you to master earthbending and firebending." However that's supposed to happen. "We'll keep training at waterbending while we go, and maybe we'll find more scrolls to learn from."

"Did I do the right thing?" Aang asked, apropos of nothing.

He didn't hurt anyone, but the spirits did.

It's a bit of a fine distinction.

"Did you have a choice?" she asked.

He sighed. "I don't know. Just … when I ran away, back at the Southern Air Temple, a hundred years ago. It didn't feel wrong to do that. It's normal to want time and space when something falls on you like that, right?"

"I was just thinking that."

"But it ended badly. You saw the Temple."

"It would've been worse if you hadn't run away, and they'd got you too. You wouldn't be here now. I would never have met you."

He frowned. "My point is, I don't know what I should have done different. I didn't learn anything. And now, I still don't know what I should have done different. There was a battle. People lost their lives. Was Zuko right? Should we have run away now, too?"

"He made out like it would've been fine if the city had surrendered, but it wouldn't. Both our homes were destroyed by the Fire Nation. This time, you had a chance to save people, and you did. You should be proud of yourself. I know I'm proud of you."

Aang said nothing, and she had the feeling she'd given the wrong answer somehow.

Just like what he just described. He's smarter than you give him credit for.

He was a chicken two days ago.

He's sometimes smarter than you give him credit for.

At this point, Zuko marched in.

"I need to talk to my sister," he announced, with no hello, please, or are you busy.

It was a nice moment while it lasted.

Ugh. Why couldn't someone who wasn't such a jerk have saved my life last night?

Technically Aang did: he saved everyone by ending the battle.

"We were in the middle of something," she said irritably.

"Well, worry about whatever it was later," Zuko said haughtily. "She's the Princess. She knows everything about the Fire Nation plans. If we interrogate her, we can dodge the Fire Nation forward troops when we look for your earthbending teacher. But they won't let me see her. I need one of you there."

Aang and Katara exchanged glances.

"Talk to Sokka," Katara said. "He's the one with all the maps."

Zuko harrumphed. "Where is he, then?"

"You're the expert at finding people," she said.

He narrowed his eyes, turned, and left.

"Was it just me," Aang said, "or was his eye …?"

"I healed him in the Spirit Oasis. I wasn't sure it'd work."

For the first time in a day or so, Aang smiled, and she felt her spirits lift.

At least one of my boys can light up the room with a nice smile.

"Good on you! That was really nice of you."

"Well, he did save my life."

"I didn't ask you to be nice to him but he could still be a jerk to you," Aang said. "I wanted you to be nice to each other. Saving your life, fixing his scar – that's excellent. And you healed him before, and he helped you learn waterbending."

"I guess," she said.

Destinies intertwined, indeed.

Maybe we aren't going to throttle him after all.

Maybe not. But … I mean, if you said that Aang's destiny and mine were intertwined, that's obvious. I rescued him from the iceberg, we hit it off right away, we helped each other all the way here, we learned waterbending together. It's like we were made for each other.

I bet he'd love to hear us say that.

Let's not.

Whereas we and Zuko were made to kill each other?

Maybe! The first time we met him, I thought he was going to murder Gran Gran or Sokka. So then he helps us learn waterbending, but only because he thinks it'll improve his own bending somehow, and we heal his scar because that's the best way we can think of to spite his father … we're not destined companions, we're destined enemies but we both have lousy aim.

We should visit Aunt Wu again.

"I guess I always assumed you bickered because you hated each other," Aang went on, "but it's more like with you and Sokka, isn't it?"

I bicker with Sokka because I love him but he's annoying sometimes. I bicker with Zuko because I hate him and he's annoying sometimes.

"Maybe there are some parallels," she said.

"Well, anyway, it's a good sign. With the four of us working together, we can do anything."

"Right."

"You don't have to sound so sarcastic about it."

Yes, I do.

"Sorry."

They felt better at this, and went back out to help at the healing huts, where there was still a backlog of warriors. They'd finished all the really serious cases and were down to bruises and burns. For reasons she would never understand, the wounded men seemed more cheerful than the ones who were intact, and were boasting about how badly they'd been hurt. Katara gave Aang a crash course in water-healing and set him to a warrior with a big shiny burn across his chest, while she set to cleaning bandages.

If I ever tell Dad about this, I'm saying we never took a scratch.

If I ever tell Dad about this, Zuko had better be as good at finding minds as he was at finding Aang, because I'll clearly have lost mine. Dad will ground me until I'm twenty if he finds out I fought on the front lines of a major battle.

If Sokka ever tells Dad about this?

Then I was in the Spirit Oasis the entire time and I never got a scratch. When Azula attacked … hm.

When she attacked, what if I was the one who took her down? And we imply it wasn't a real fight and she was a pushover.

Perfect.

"Um, can I have one of the girls instead?" Aang's warrior said. "No offence, Avatar Aang, but, like, I only want a small scar, and you're not really doing anything? You're just sort of washing it?"

Katara came over. "You need to put your chi into it, Aang."

"I am putting my chi into it," Aang said, annoyed that it wasn't working. "I'm doing it exactly like you said."

"You let your chi flow into their body, into the injury," she explained again. "Let it heal itself, go back to how it was."

Aang bent the water back and forth.

"Um," said the warrior, "so, I know the normal rules don't apply for the Avatar, but only girls can heal."

"Boys can heal," Katara said. "You just choose not to bother learning so you can justify not teaching girls how to fight, and look how well that turned out."

"You're crazy. Even Master Pakku doesn't heal."

"I assume all waterbenders can heal because I know all firebenders can augment. Although it usually requires extensive study."

Maybe, in this specific context, don't quote a Fire Nation general.

"You also thought girls couldn't fight."

"You're covered in bruises, after having half a day to heal yourself. You must have got your butt kicked."

"You're right, I should stop healing you and fix myself up instead," Katara said, and she and Aang went to take a break.

"I should be able to do it," he said, thinking hard. "I'm a waterbender, just like you. Does the fact that I'm also an airbender stop me from healing somehow?"

"I don't know," Katara said. "I thought you'd be good at it, waterbending came so naturally to you. But … you can bend all the elements because of the Avatar spirit. Maybe the Avatar only knows about bending, not chi techniques. So you can only do airbender chi techniques, like your breathing exercises."

"Breath control is bending," Aang said. "If you bend air the right way, you can heat it up or cool it down. Are you sure about this? The monks never said anything about chi techniques. Well, obviously bending is all chi techniques, but other than that."

"Well …"

Uncle Iroh sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

"… I mean, there's my healing and Zuko's augmenting. I just assumed airbending would have something similar. And earthbending."

Aang shrugged. "Well, I've never heard of anything like that, for either element. Maybe fire and water are special? Hey, guys," he added, as Zuko marched up, dragging Sokka by the arm.

"Can we go now?" Zuko growled.

Katara had half a mind to send him on another snipe-goose hunt looking for Yue or someone, but Aang and Sokka shrugged acquiescence, so she had no choice but to follow along. They headed over to the prison, a pile of frozen stone.

"Oh, there you are," said a particularly lanky warrior, hurrying over to buttonhole them.

"Hey," Sokka greeted, apparently knowing him. "We're here to interrogate one of the prisoners."

"The girl?"

"Yeah."

"We had a problem. How are you supposed to keep firebenders captive? We can tie them up behind ice walls, but rope burns and ice melts. We've got a couple ideas, but" his eyes flicked to Katara "I'd rather not go into them. They're not suitable for a princess. And we're not even sure they'd work."

"Do you have metal chains?" Sokka said.

"I don't think so. Maybe we can scavenge some from a Fire Nation ship …"

"Probably wouldn't work anyway," Sokka mused. "I'm pretty sure they could firebend enough to soften a chain link, and then they could just pull them apart. Huh, let me think …"

"The standard method is to gag us," Zuko said, in his most patient Don't feel bad, it's not your fault you're all ignorant peasants tone.

They looked at him.

"Firebending comes from breath," he said. "Half of our training is breathing exercises. Lodge a cloth in our mouths, and it restricts our airways too much to bend. Then you only need guards when you take it out for food and water."

The warrior looked at Sokka.

"I'm pretty sure he's telling the truth," Katara said. "He's talked my ear off about breath stuff before, and waterbending doesn't even use it. Not like that, anyway."

"Mine too," said Aang. "He says I do it wrong, and I'm an airbender. I think I'd know how breathing works!"

"You think lots of wrong things," Zuko said.

"Good enough for me," said the warrior. "I'll tell the others. Go on ahead."

Azula knelt in the Fire Nation style, her toes pointed backward, on an animal skin in a tiny icy cell, her wrists tied behind her. She had a nasty bruise on her neck that probably extended across her chest under the armour padding she still wore, but if it hurt, she didn't show it. She looked quite at home, less a prisoner of war than a guest at a cheap hotel.

"Princess Azula?" Aang said.

"Avatar Aang," Azula replied with a smile, inclining forward as for a bow. "It's an honour to meet you."

"Cut the small talk, Azula," Zuko too-loud-to-be-said-but-not-quite-yelled. "Why did you attack me?! You said Father wanted you to protect me!"

Ooh, he isn't interested in practical information at all, this is all about him.

How astonishing. This is my expression when I'm astonished.

"I lied," Azula said. "Father didn't send me here at all, I came to commit treason. After all, if the Avatar doesn't defeat him, it could be decades before I become Fire Lord."

Zuko's eyes widened.

"What," he said.

"You can't tell me you're actually surprised that I might double-cross him," she said. "After all, you're doing the same thing."

"I meant it when I said I was no traitor," said Zuko.

"Is that so," she said, her eyes bright. "What an inspiring example of filial loyalty."

Her eyes suddenly flicked over to Katara's, the same absolutely intense stare Zuko sometimes had that made her feel like he could read her mind.

"By the way, congratulations on healing so well," she added casually. "And so quickly. Katara, isn't it?"

She can't actually read our mind. Can she?

Azula gave the tiniest smile.

"What do you mean, treason?" Sokka said. "You tried to kill Aang. You tried to kill me!"

"Don't flatter yourself," she said. "And I tried to incapacitate the Avatar, so that I could smuggle him out and to the Fire Nation. I guessed he would insist on staying in the fight, but it was unwinnable – so it seemed – and if he went and got himself caught, he could hardly finish Father off for me, now, could he?"

"I'm not finishing anyone," Aang said. "I want to bring peace."

Sokka and Katara exchanged glances. We're going to have to have a word with him later.

"You say that as though those aren't synonyms," said Azula.

"That's because they aren't!"

She sat back on her heels, unblinking.

"The Air Nomads were pacifists," she said slowly.

"Yes," Aang said. "All life is sacred. Even the Fire Lord's."

"I see," she said, relaxing. "I suppose I'll have to think of another plan, then. How inconvenient."

"… I don't believe you," Sokka said. "Yue said it looked like you shot lightning at Aang. That wouldn't just incapacitate someone." Zuko started. "What?"

"Lightning?" he repeated. "That's the Avatar killer move."

"Avatar killer?" said Katara. "But … what's the use of that? If Aang died, he'd just reincarnate."

Azula's eyes flicked over to Zuko's.

"It's not called that because it inflicts lots of damage – really, it'd be faster to list the firebending moves that couldn't kill someone – so much as because it's impossible to defend, even for a master of all four elements. Even Avatar Kyoshi couldn't stop it. It's too fast to dodge, and it can penetrate solid stone, much less ice. The old waterbender never could have stopped me, if I hadn't been holding way back. Father and I figured out that if you modulate it, it can paralyse without inflicting lasting damage."

"What?" said Zuko. "He never said anything about paralysis to me."

"Of course he didn't," she said. "Aside from the obvious reasons, we only figured it out because we'd been training at it nonstop since the Avatar returned. I'd offer to demonstrate, but I don't imagine any of you feels up to volunteering."

"We don't," said Sokka, "although I'm mostly just saying that because I'm pretty sure it'd wind up being me. So let's say you're telling the truth, and let's overlook you blasting me and Zuko."

"I feel just awful about that, Sok-kun," she said.

"Right. We were going to ask you something else."

"Of course," said Azula. "I suppose you want troop dispositions, so you can map a clear path to Ba Sing Se?"

She's tied up, hurt, and outnumbered. So why do I feel like she's running rings around us?

"Uh – what makes you think we're going there?" Sokka asked.

He can feel it too, can't he? He wants control of the conversation back.

Somehow, I don't think it's going to happen.

Is she honestly cooperating? She's answered every question.

"The Avatar needs an earthbending teacher," Azula said. "The capital city will have plenty, and it's the one place you know the Fire Nation army can't breach. It would be the perfect training site. But it won't work. It's too obvious. The War Cabinet drew up plans for in case Zhao failed. Every spare soldier we have is already steaming in to besiege it. We can't get through the walls, but we can put enough men in front of them that you won't either. I could list the units sent there, but I think 'lots' conveys the gist."

Sokka, Aang, and Katara exchanged glances.

"So, everywhere else should be clear," Sokka said.

"Relatively," Azula said. "Even the Avatar isn't important enough for us to forget that there's a war on. There'll still be troops around, but battalions rather than divisions."

Katara, Sokka, and Aang looked at her blankly.

"A battalion is smaller than a division," Zuko said impatiently.

"What about Omashu?" Aang said.

"Thinking of training under the Mad King?" Azula asked thoughtfully. "Personally I'd prefer someone a bit more orthodox, but he taught the Unbreakable Wall well."

"Who?"

Azula shrugged, awkward with her hands bound. "The epithet speaks for itself. At any rate, master earthbenders are one of the city's exports, so yes we're leaving significant forces in the area, but nowhere near as much as Ba Sing Se. If you want to get inside unseen, there's a tunnel through the mountains to the west. If you can get in, you should be able to take it all the way to the city."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Katara asked. "You said earlier that you were a liar."

Azula raised an eyebrow.

"Lying to one's brother doesn't count, everyone knows that," she said, and Katara found she couldn't disagree. "Besides, a true loyalist hardly would have murdered an Admiral during a battle. She wouldn't offer to teach the Avatar firebending, either."

There was a beat.

"Would you?" Aang asked.

"I do want you to beat my father," she said. "And unlike my brother, I don't mind committing treason to get what I want." Her eyes flicked from Aang's to Zuko's and back again, and she gave a slight smile. "You won't find another sympathetic master, much less one who knows lightning direction. I know you have your quirk about pacifism, but I could teach you the paralysis version. That would be a neat way to defeat my father without taking his life, don't you think?"

Aang's eyes lit up.

"We need to talk this over," Sokka said.

"Of course, ~Sok-kun," Azula said.

Sokka turned around so that she couldn't see his eyebrows rise all the way up. Katara rolled her eyes at him.

They filed out of the corridor and into the open.

"What do you?" Sokka asked. "Zuko?"

"No," he said. "She was lying."

"How do you know?" Aang asked. "And which part?"

"I don't know. Everything she said, either I knew it was true or it made perfect sense." He put a hand to his forehead. "But she always does this. Says she's on my side, then kicks me in the face."

Ah, the head injuries are for nostalgia's sake, are they?

"It was too easy. There's always a sting in the tail."

"Well," Aang said, "if she really was on our side, of course she'd make it easy."

"No. She wouldn't!" Zuko snapped, pacing like a caged animal, balling fists. "She'd make a power game of it. Test you, undermine you, try to get some sort of leverage for later … I don't know what it would be, but you don't know her. You trust everyone. Well, if you trust her, she'll burn you. Azula always lies." He turned to storm off.

"Wait!" Aang called. "What was the point of talking to her at all, if you were just going to assume she was lying about everything?"

Zuko paused, speaking over his shoulder. "Because I knew she'd answer my question truthfully," he said. "Father didn't send her to help me." And he walked off.

"…" said Aang. He looked over to Sokka and Katara. "What do you guys think?"

"That if he'd just told us he wanted news about his family," said Katara, "I would've said yes, but no, he'd rather manipulate us with some story about information that we apparently can't trust anyway. Why do I keep giving him second chances?"

"I meant about whether we should have Azula teach me. Zuko says no, but he would say that, he doesn't want me to learn firebending at all."

"I got a bad feeling from her," Sokka said. "Like she'd smile at you while stabbing you in the back. My gut says no. And not just because she set me on fire."

"Your gut's been wrong before," Aang said. "Where else am I going to find a teacher?"

He's been worrying about how he'll beat the Fire Lord without ending his life. He really wants this.

Even if he wasn't a pacifist, it would be great. Why risk a duel when you could just take him out with a single guaranteed instant win move? It's perfect.

Too perfect. She had all morning to rehearse what she'd say, and now she's promising Aang the one thing he most wants in the world.

"I got a bad feeling from her too, Aang," said Katara. "If you say yes, I'll go along with it. You're the Avatar, after all. But I think you should say no. You're not even supposed to learn firebending yet, you're supposed to follow the cycle and learn earthbending next. Maybe something will come up before then."

"… You're right," he said grudgingly. "We'll think of something."

They went back inside.

Azula looked up and read their expressions. "You don't really think you can beat my father without firebending, do you?"

Well …

"Once I master all four elements –" Aang began.

"Without a firebending master?" Azula asked, her voice soft, hypnotic. "Even then, you'll have to fight a man who's done nothing but train for battle for decades. He's the strongest warrior in the world. And don't forget, he's the one who taught me lightning direction."

She's not wrong.

"Aang's stronger than you think," Katara said, but a note of uncertainty crept into her voice.

"Without all four elements, he's not a fully-realised Avatar. He's just a kid with a couple tricks. If he fights my father, he will die."

What were we thinking? The Avatar is special because he can bend all four elements! We need fire!

"You know –" she began.

"We can handle ourselves," Sokka said at the same time. "Thanks for the offer, but I don't trust two firebenders around the Avatar."

Huh?

Katara blinked hard. She had a sensation like there was water in her ears.

Azula's eyes bored into Sokka's a moment longer, but then she relaxed, sat back, and shrugged. "Well, suit yourself. Don't say I didn't warn you. Not that you'll be in any condition to say anything." She gave a lopsided smile. "I can't say I'm looking forward to a stint in a North Pole prison, but it'll only last a few months. After all, you'll be back when you need a teacher. I'll see you soon, Avatar Aang."

"Maybe," said Aang.

They turned to leave.

"Oh, and Katara, just one more thing," Azula added. They stopped and turned around. "Love your hair loops."

"Uh," said Katara, suddenly very self-conscious. Her hand went up to fidget with one of her braids. "Thanks."

"That's all. You may go now."

They were all the way out the door when they realised they'd been dismissed by a prisoner.

"This can't stand," Sokka said, turning around. "I'm going to go back there, and telling her when –"

Katara caught him by the bicep. "Sokka, come on, I wanted to talk to you. Where have you been?"

"Uh. I was with Yue. We were … talking."

"What about?" she asked.

"Um. Whether we should marry."

Aang and Katara crunched to a sudden stop.

"See, it turns out she was engaged to Hahn, but last night he volunteered for a mission to … well, long story short, I'm pretty sure he's not coming back. If I stay here and marry her, our Tribes would become allied, and so the North Pole would finally have to help with the war. Which I would've thought would be a given, what with the Fire Nation invading, but she didn't think so. And, I mean, we like each other, so …"

"So," Katara said, very aware of her heartbeat, "are you going to –?"

Sokka inhaled and exhaled. "No," he said, and her heartbeat went back to normal. "I mean … maybe? But not yet. The three – four of us are a team. I've got to see this through. I know I can't fight like you benders, but …"

"But you can do other things."

"Yeah," he said, "like reading a map."

She narrowed her eyes. That was unnecessary.

You know, we could ask Zuko to teach us, once he calms down.

You know what? You're right. We'll do that, and show him. Tomorrow.

"So we decided that," he said. "And, well. That's what we decided."

"Well, we need someone to chart a course to that tunnel," Aang said. "We're thinking of leaving soon. Katara's right, I need an earthbending teacher."

"Are we using the tunnel?" Katara asked. "If Zuko says we can't trust Azula …"

"She was right, though," Sokka said. "They'll have troops around the two biggest Earth Kingdom cities, but they wouldn't be able to fight earthbenders underground. A tunnel's our best chance of getting anywhere."

Katara had a feeling of foreboding, but she said nothing.

Sokka wanted to say goodbye to the men he'd gone hunting with, and Aang had apparently befriended the entire city, but she had barely met anyone at all. She'd spent the entire time obsessing about waterbending too much to socialise with anyone outside of training, and the other students there had either ignored her, resented her, or tried to flirt with her when she clearly wasn't interested.

Eventually they came to one person she knew quite well, Pakku. He was walking along the wall, doing some very subtle bending on it that she could barely even recognise. The rank and file waterbenders had already patched it up; he was realigning the water crystals so that it would be that much stronger. He stopped as they approached.

"Master Pakku," she greeted with a bow.

"Katara, Avatar Aang," Pakku said. "Sokka. You're leaving, I take it?"

"Yeah," said Aang. "I know I still have a lot to learn about waterbending, but I haven't even started on earthbending or firebending. And I don't think the polar climate agrees with Zuko. Firebenders like the sun, and the days are just too short here during winter."

"You think?" Sokka asked. "I thought he was holding up pretty well."

There came a distant "RAAAH", a dozen rapid-fire explosions, and one final, massive explosion that shook snow and dust from the surrounding buildings and made them all wince. They could see steam rising in the distance. Some of the locals looked over in alarm.

What kind of idiot firebends just outside a town that was attacked by firebenders yesterday?!

This kind of idiot.

"Okay, so maybe he's had better days," Sokka allowed.

"Has he?" Katara undertoned. Aloud to Pakku, "I know I haven't completed my training. But –"

"Of course you haven't," he said. "Mastery is a lifetime's labour. As you are now, I pronounce you proficient, but you're a long way short of mastery."

She'd rather expected him to say something like "Don't sell yourself short. You've accomplished more than any other student I've ever taught."

"You said I was better than all your other students," she said, and internally winced at how whiny it came out. "I mastered all the forms."

"You are and you did. They will never be masters. You, if you keep working, might become one."

Zuko once said he wasn't a master, even though he's obviously really good. I'd thought he was just being hard on himself, but …

but just how good is a master?

Have you ever seen anyone land a hit on Master Pakku?

"So … what now?"

"Take what you've learned. Test it, refine it. Look for masters of Southern style and Foggy Swamp style, and incorporate their teachings."

"I don't think there are any masters of Southern style left."

"I didn't think there were any Air Nomads left," Pakku said. He reached inside his parka and pulled out a glass vial. "This is from the Spirit Oasis. I think they won't mind you taking a little bit with you."

She reached out to take it, touched. She knew exactly how valuable that water was, and exactly how much it meant to him. He held on to it for a moment.

"Don't lose it," he added.

"Never."

He let her have it, and she hung it round her neck. The motion jogged her memory; she reached into the pocket where she'd kept her necklace, took it out, and put it back round her neck. If anyone thought she was off to marry Zuko, she was past the point of caring.

"Aang," Pakku went on, turning to him. "You, I pronounce almost proficient. I had a case of scrolls delivered to your bison's stable. They're no substitute for a master. Lucky for you, Katara is." She brightened. "Listen to her, and you might make it through okay."

"Do I get anything?" Sokka asked eagerly.

"No," said Pakku.

"…" said Sokka.

At that moment, Arnook walked up.

"Hey, Chief Arnook," Aang said with a tired smile. "Sorry I can't stay any longer."

"I understand completely," Arnook said. "We took you in to do our part to help you master the elements, and now our part is to send you to master earthbending. However, there's one last bit of business before you leave. This battle was a great victory, but it was not without loss. The people won't accept it if a Fire Nation prince simply walks free."

"You want to arrest Zuko?" Aang asked. "But he helped us. He held Zhao off long enough for Master Pakku to arrive. And I gave him my word that he could travel with us."

"I didn't," Arnook said bluntly. "And even if I did, Zhao made it clear that any agreement with the Fire Nation isn't worth its spit. We were neutral, and he tried to destroy our city and our two great spirits."

"Okay, but, Zuko's still on our side. He didn't do anything to you."

"He injured two guards enforcing his house arrest. This is after his first trespass here, and I'm not stupid, I know he went to the Spirit Oasis against orders."

Katara and Pakku both tried to look nonchalant, which looked significantly guiltier than if they just hadn't reacted at all.

"You didn't see Katara when he brought her to the Spirit Oasis," said Sokka, "Chief, but I did, and she was minutes from dying. He doesn't deserve to be locked up after that."

Aang looked from Sokka to Katara.

Maybe we shouldn't have lied to him about that.

He's a kid. He shouldn't have to worry about us. And when he did, he entered the Avatar State. Next time, we should coordinate lies with Sokka.

Ah, yes, that's a much healthier strategy.

"You intend to end the war, correct?" Arnook said. "You have my word I would release him as part of a peace treaty, if and when the Fire Nation offers a fair one. He would only be in prison for a few months. That's hardly a harsh punishment, considering everything his people have done to mine. Or to yours, or to the Earth Kingdom."

"It's still a punishment," Katara said. "I mean, there's a million things he should be punished for, but that's not one of them. And a promise is a promise."

"With the Fire Nation, apparently it isn't," said Arnook. "Believe me, I would prefer a world where it was, but my first duty is to my people."

"… You know," Sokka said, "technically, Aang only promised to go to the Fire Nation with him in summer. We don't have to travel together until then. If we could borrow him then, and he had to give his parole to return here, we'd be giving him what he asked for, keeping him safe until then …"

"He helped us last night," Katara said. "Don't you feel bad about turning around and arresting him right after?"

"Of course I do," Sokka said, "but I'm not arresting him, the Chief is, and what are we going to do, tell him he can't make the rules in his own city? Besides, Zuko helped us this time, and I owe him, but that doesn't mean I trust the guy. If he had the chance to drag Aang off in chains, I wouldn't bet my life he wouldn't. And anything that endangers Aang kind of literally is betting all our lives."

Katara frowned. "I don't like it."

"Neither do I, and I'm still trying to talk myself into it, but I don't –"

Aang banged his staff on the ground.

"Enough," he said. "Zuko comes with us. This isn't open to discussion."

"… Avatar Aang," Arnook said, "I respect your convictions, but this is a war, and we can't afford to be weak."

"I know I'm a kid," Aang said, "but I can think up long-term plans too. You didn't really believe I needed a guide to the Fire Nation, did you? I'm an Air Nomad. I've been there, before any of you were born, lots of times. Some of my best friends were Fire Nation. I know exactly how to get there! And with airbending and waterbending, I could travel underwater and get there without anyone even knowing, never mind what I can do once I master earthbending and firebending too.

"I never needed a guide. I needed a friend. What do you think happens after I defeat the Fire Lord? I don't think he'll just back down, even if I beat him. We'll have to replace him, and with who? The Crown Prince. If I spend the six months before that making friends with Zuko, I'm sure I can get him to change the Fire Nation for the better, and make the peace stick. If he spends those six months in prison because I double-crossed him over a technicality after he risked his life to save all of ours, what do you think he'll do?"

Sokka and Katara both had the grace to look ashamed. Arnook didn't.

"You're pinning everything on the hope that a Fire Prince who hunted you halfway across the world will become your friend?" he said incredulously.

Aang considered this.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I am. You got a problem with that?"

"He saved my little sister's life," Sokka said. "He's earned his second chance with me."

"I'd rather die than give him the moral high ground," Katara said, quite literally.

"And when he betrays you?" Arnook asked.

"Boomerang to the face," Sokka said. "That's been the plan all along."

"What Sokka said," Aang said. "But until then? I'm the Avatar. I have to help make peace. This is my job."

Arnook pursed his lips. "My people will not be happy with this."

"I'll have him out of here first thing tomorrow morning," Aang said, "and none of you will have to worry about him ever again."

AN

Whew, end of the North Pole arc. About time. But not the end of its ramifications.

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