The disenchanted look on his niece's face made Iroh feel a little guilty; he was very skilled at Pai Sho, so it was no surprise that she continued to lose to him in their games, though she was clearly improving. All she needed was some practice and encouragement, and perhaps, she might be as good as him some day; he did not know if she would understand Pai Sho as he did. It was more than a game, and opened his eyes in many ways, which he wasn't going to try and explain to his rather impressionable adolescent niece. She was a smart girl, and could come to the same conclusions he had, if she was pushed in the right direction.

"There is no need to feel sad, Azula. You have improved greatly in these past few months." he stressed, making her sigh, shaking her head.

"This is just embarrassing, Uncle." she dejectedly responded, raising her right hand to cover her face.

"Now, now, don't worry. You played well." he assured her, "No one's going to be angry that you lost."

"I bet Zuko's been watching." she argued, glancing toward the doorway behind her, "He could tell Father."

"Azula, I don't think your father cares about if you lose a Pai Sho game." he assured her, his niece shaking her head, obviously believing otherwise.

"Zuzu wants to be better than me. He'd say that to Father, and he would tell me to go do my firebending instead." she explained, crossing her arms, "And then I'd spend even more time training under Lo and Li."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Iroh observed, Azula grimacing slightly, before she turned her eyes down.

"They're annoying, Uncle. I wish I could have a little bit more freedom when it comes to my schedule, but no... I have to be more organised than a front-line soldier." she argued, making him chuckle.

"Are you forced out of bed at dawn, my niece?" he asked her, the Princess shaking her head.

"No... but that's what it feels like." she admitted, before turning her gaze back up towards him, "Is this what it will be like?"

"In the army?" he asked his niece, who nodded, "I guess so." he confirmed, "Though, I assume if you joined the army, you would be given a rank respective of your station as a Princess. You wouldn't be the one getting forced out of bed, but forcing others up." he clarified, which seemed to relieve her greatly.

"Good." she simply commented, before narrowing her eyes, "I don't know when that's going to happen."

"You're only thirteen, Azula. You have much time to learn and grow before you have to consider joining the army. Who knows, maybe the war will be over by then, and you won't have to." he suggested, not wanting her to get too set on the idea of serving in the army.

He knew that things could change in the span of a few years when it came to the war, and he didn't want her to go racing off to go serve her country; that's what Lu Ten had done, and even with all his training at the academy, and all the firebending training he had done with him, he had still befallen a terrible fate. If there was one thing he hoped to do for his niece, it was to guide her away from making the same mistakes he had; he could not bear to see her suffer in the way Lu Ten had, or perhaps even worse, become a hardened, ruthless killer- she was determined and headstrong, but she was not a killer, not yet.

"Will you go back out and conquer the last of the Earth Kingdom, Uncle?" she asked him, making the Crown Prince chuckle; he laughed to hold back his nervousness to such a suggestion.

Even if his father had asked that he lead the siege to conquer Omashu, the last major Earth Kingdom city that continued to defy the Fire Nation's rule, he might have refused, though he knew that was a bad idea; angering the Fire Lord, no matter how old he was, was not a wise idea in the slightest.

"Well, I think I've done my duty to the Fire Nation. I look forward to serving my country in other ways." he explained, knowing that sooner or later, he'd be Fire Lord, and would be able to enact his agenda, and hopefully, bring lasting peace to the Four Nations in the process.

"You will be the Fire Lord." she simply observed the fact of the matter, before smirking, "I think you'll do well, Uncle."

"I hope I do." he smiled at her, before glancing over to the teapot he had beside the Pai Sho board, "Did you want a cup of tea before you left?"

"It wouldn't hurt." she conceded, "I'd prefer to avoid my afternoon sets for as long as I can."

"Are you getting lazy? That's rather odd for you." he observed, somewhat amused, but also a little concerned; perhaps her mind was not in the right place at the very moment- stress or isolation, the latter perhaps coming from the fact her good friend, Ty Lee, had left the Fire Nation Capital a few weeks prior.

"I'm not lazy, Uncle." she snapped back at him, her terse voice suggesting she was a little offended, "I'm just frustrated."

"You're a teenage girl. I'm sure getting a little frustrated from time to time at your age is normal." he acknowledged, before narrowing his eyes, "Has anything happened? Anything... unpleasant?"

She remained silent for a few moments, before looking him right in the eye, "Mai's been acting weird." she explained, which didn't make much sense to him without any context, "I think Zuko and her might have had a fight. She hasn't wanted to talk much at school." she explained, "They're like a married couple."

Iroh snickered, amused by his niece's analogy, "And how would you know what a married couple is like?"

"I've seen her parents. They bicker quite a lot." she simply explained her knowledge, "I don't know. Perhaps it's something else."

"Maybe it was your friend leaving. She and Mai are close, aren't they?"

"Well, of course, but they both like me more." she assured him, before her confident smile faltered slightly; despite her usual confidence when it came to dealing with people, his niece couldn't seem to stand the idea of being the third wheel.

"So, maybe it doesn't have to do with your brother." he suggested, "Perhaps she's just sad your friend left."

"It is different without Ty Lee." she admitted, "She's the only person who can act happy in the worst of situations." she noted, before eyeing him, "And there's you."

"I just take what life gives me, my niece. I did not choose my life, and I have simply made the most of it."

"You must have regrets, though." she stated the obvious; there was one glaring regret that neither of them wanted to discuss, but was ever present, looming over every single conversation they had.

"Everyone does." he simply conceded, "You can't let them control you, Azula. The past is out of your hands. You can repent for it, and you can make light of it, but dwelling on it does no one any good." he explained his thoughts on the matter, hoping they might help her when she considered her memories of her cousin, "If anything, you can use the good memories to... well, try and make more good ones."

"Hmph." she raised a finger to her chin, "Perhaps I should challenge Zuko to a spar and see if he can face me off."

"That mightn't end very well, Niece." he warned her, the Princess pursing her lips upward; perhaps agitating Zuko was enjoyable because it was the only way to get his attention, sadly enough- the two siblings were rather antagonistic toward each other, and though that hostility had seemed to have softened, it seemed that it was still boiling under the surface.

"You're right, Uncle, but I've got to make some good memories, and I'm sure that'll lead to some." she suggested, the Crown Prince sighing; he did not want to see them needlessly fight, but he knew that it would be an uphill battle to dissuade her to think otherwise.

"Fighting your brother can't be the only way to communicate with him." he acknowledged, before narrowing his eyes, "Maybe you should do something else. Pai Sho, perhaps?"

"I'd thrash Zuko at Pai Sho. He'd go and cry after that too." she argued, the Crown Prince shaking his head.

"Well, then perhaps you ought to avoid competition with him." he suggested, the Princess scoffing at his suggestion.

"That's impossible. Father has us show off our forms in front of him nearly every day." she argued, "He's going to be jealous no matter what I do."

"Acknowledging each other's strengths is a path to bonding with each other." he proverbially suggested, knowing that if she at least made the first step, maybe her brother would reciprocate in kind.

"Uncle... that's not going to work." she retorted, almost dejected in her tone; she could not believe that they could be anything but rivals, vying for their father's respect.

"If you try and fail, it might be a first." he acknowledged, chuckling a little at the suggestion, "But that's alright. It would be better to fail trying to be a better sister than to fail at something that might really put you in danger."

"I mean..." she mumbled, glancing off to the side before she sighed, "I can see what you mean. Father won't chide me for trying to give Zuko advice."

"No, he won't." he agreed with her presumption, "Now, let's not worry about what you might have to say to your brother. We were going to have tea, remember?" he asked her, his niece smiling; perhaps she just wanted the distraction, or maybe, she did believe that it could be possible to bridge the gap between her and Zuko.

"Yes, Uncle, we are."


Princess Azula wondered what hurt more- the disgrace of losing a battle and the Avatar, or the bruises going up her back that had formed after she had been flung into a tree twice; once from the explosive power of the insanely powerful assassin, and another time from her own lightning generation backfiring on her. The medic onboard her ship, who was applying herbal medicine to her bruises, was being rather cautious in his strokes, obviously not wanting to cause her any unnecessary pain as he applied the paste to her skin. She was still Princess Azula, despite her failings, and she was still feared by all onboard her ship for the reprisal she might give upon them for incompetence, especially when it came to her physical condition.

She didn't want to get angry at the physician however, knowing that her anger ought to be squarely on herself; she had been arrogant enough to let Aang out of his room, thinking she might be able to take him to her uncle, when in the end she had inadvertently allowed him to escape. Not only that, but she had nearly, by letting him escape, got both herself, her men, and perhaps the Avatar and his friends killed; she didn't want any of them to die, even the Water Tribe savages who she knew barely nothing about. She knew that their lives must have been of importance and value to the Avatar, and thus, for her aspirations to capture him. At that very moment, Aang wasn't what she had her mind set on; rather, she was intent on going after the assassins as soon as she was well enough to do so.

The physician had already told her when he first checked her injuries that she mightn't be able to fight at full strength for a few days, and though she didn't mention her inability to generate lightning, he seemed to notice that she was off; she didn't know what the root cause of her ailment was, but she had a feeling it had something to do with her uncle and Aang. Perhaps her emotions were getting in the way, like they tended to do with her brother, whose anger was almost a defining part of his personality; if she was stooping to the levels of Zuko, it would not surprise her that she would be unable to generate lightning, which required a kind of focus he certainly wouldn't be able to muster.

"Princess Azula, I'll need to wrap your back with bandages to keep the paste in place." the physician raised his voice, the Princess shaking her head.

"No, I will do that myself." she decided, not wanting him, or anybody else for that matter, around her while she brooded, "Just give me the bandages and some space. I'll call you in when I'm done." she decided, the physician nodding, handing to her a roll of thick bandage.

She took it into her hand and began to unwrap it, while the physician stepped back and moved toward the door of the room; they were in a small room within the infirmary, intended for surgeries and other procedures the physician might have to undertake- she only had the room because she was the commander of the vessel, not because she required that level of care. Azula sighed as she pulled the bandage around her chest, tying it from her abdomen to the portion of her back opposite, before tying it around a few more times.

The paste felt cold on her skin, and even odder as she tightened its touch with the bandages, a contrast to the warm air inside the ship; it was always warm, as if they were always trying to imitate the usual temperatures one would find in the Fire Nation homeland, which made sense, given that the ship was a Royal Barge, intended to comfort and house a Fire Lord, if need be. Once she had the bandage wrapped around her back and abdomen, she pulled her undershirt back down properly and tied it up, making sure she was going to be fully clothed when she left the infirmary; she was still Princess Azula, after all, and couldn't simply go walking around without her royal armour on- that would be improper of her, given the rank she had.

She then glanced back toward the doorway and snapped her fingers, hoping that would get the physician's attention; after a few moments, the door was opened once more, and he stepped back inside, noting she had fixed up her clothes, "Your highness, did you want me to check your chi-pathways?" he asked her, "Intense fighting tends to stress and strain the abilities of firebenders."

"Fine." she shrugged her shoulders, before gesturing to the table she had been sitting on, "Am I lying down for this?"

"There's no need. I just need you to firebend for me." he explained, the Princess nodding, raising both her hands up, looking at them; they hadn't been bandaged, but there were cuts over her skin, especially on her palms.

"Simply create a flame in each palm." he explained, the Princess nodding, before doing just that; she made two small flames in either palm, which shone brightly.

"Hmph, you flames still burn bright." he observed, "You must be very focused." he added, the Princess rolling her eyes.

"Do I even need to say why?"

"No, your highness. I understand what happened." he admitted with a nervous expression, before stepping closer, "Now, I am going to lightly tap your chi-pathways. This should show any weaknesses or oddities with you chi."

"So, the baby version of chi-blocking." she noted, making him raise a brow.

"Uh, I guess that's a way you could phrase it." he admitted, "I'm not trying to block your chi, Princess. I would not dare try to harm you."

"Your job description is pretty explicit on that part." she snapped back at him, just wanting him to get along with it.

A few moments later, he lightly jabbed her right forearm, and she felt her flames falter for a moment, flickering dimmer for just a moment, before it intensified once more. He moved to her left forearm, and made another jab, which made her flames dim once more.

"Hmph, you chi-paths seem to be working as they should. Your physical injuries don't seem to have had much of an effect on them." he noted, making a small smile, "That means your recovery might be quick, your highness."

"Just get on with it." she demanded, the physician nodding.

"Of course." he accepted her command, before moving around the table so that he was situated behind her, "I have to tap your back. I know it might hurt, but it is the main chi path in your body."

"I know that." she shook her head, not wanting to get a lecture of chi-paths, again.

Ty Lee had told her enough about them and chi-blocking, and not because the Princess had asked about it, but because she never seemed to be able to shut up when she was around her; it was somewhat useful information, of course, and she knew that knowledge might help her better understand her issue with producing lightning.

The physician leaned over and lightly jabbed the base of her spine, making her flames suddenly grow more intense, before they withered away into nothing, Azula's eyes widening with shock; she turned around and grasped him by the collar, "What did you just do?!" she snarled at him, the Princess ready to burn his face off if he didn't tell her what he just did.

"That is your earth chakra." he explained, making her narrow her eyes; she'd heard about chakras before from Lo and Li, but they didn't go into much detail, simply explaining that control of one's chakras was intertwined to one's bending abilities, "It seems to be blocked."

"Enough with the spiritual jargon." she snarled, letting go of his collar, "What does that mean?"

"That you are afraid of something."

"Wow." she sarcastically showed surprise, "That's the most amazing thing I've heard all day. Next you'll tell me I can't firebend because I'm as much a wuss as Aang." she mocked him, knowing for certain it was not the case; she faced her fears head on, and conquered them.

Even if she had failed to defeat the assassin, that was not because of fear, but because of overwhelming odds; there was no reasonable way for her to defeat him without lightning, and thus, she had no choice but to retreat. She had been afraid of him, but she had swallowed that fear; what angered her was that despite that resolve, she had failed to kill him.

"I- uh... I didn't mean to offend you, your highness. That is simply what the earth chakra is blocked by."

"And how is it relevant to my firebending?" she asked him, not wanting to have to discuss any potential fears she might have with a stranger.

He shook his head, leaning back slightly, as if he were afraid she might grapple his collar again, "It does not relate to your strength as a firebender. That comes from the fire chakra." he explained, the Princess raising a hand to her head.

"Then jab that one instead." she demanded, before relighting the flames in her hands.

He turned around the table, facing her front, "It's at your stomach."

She gestured her hands toward it, "I won't grapple you again if you hurry up." she demanded of the physician, who then took a deep breath.

A moment later, he jabbed his fingers into her gut, and her flames cut out, which made sense, given that his move was rather similar to chi-blocking. A few moments later, however, her flames returned, and they were no different than to before.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with your fire chakra."

"There's something wrong, somewhere." she simply admitted, before narrowing her eyes, "You must promise not to share what I am about to tell you."

"Of course, your highness."

"I don't think you understand." she warned him, "There's someone who cannot know about this, and I believe you might know who that person is. He has spies on this ship. If you count yourself among them, then leave this room at once." she warned him, the physician shaking his head.

"Your highness, Fire Lord Iroh chose me personally to accompany you." he assured her, making her narrow her eyes at him.

"Do you know my uncle well?"

"I have helped his majesty from time to time." he explained, "But no, I don't know him that well. Everyone knows who the Dragon of the West is."

"That they do." she acknowledged his observation; her uncle was well-known and respected by almost everyone in his country for his feats during the war, and that was before he ascended to his position as Fire Lord, "It's my lightning generation."

"That is a rare ability, your highness." he acknowledged, before narrowing his eyes, "It does not relate to the fire chakra like other abilities of your element." he explained, "To generate lightning, one must have peace of mind. That means it can only be accessed with open sound and light chakras."

"And what blocks those?" she asked, the physician narrowing his eyes.

"Lies and illusion." he explained, the Princess narrowing her eyes at him.

"Lies?" she scoffed, "Well, I am quite a good liar myself." she noted rather smugly, rather proud of her skill.

"It is not the lies you tell others, but the lies you tell yourself." he explained, making her look down for a moment, considering what might be a lie she would tell her self; she sought knowledge and power, knowing that both came hand in hand- the truth was the ultimate weapon she could use, yet from what it seemed, there were lies blocking her path.

She realised that there was probably one lie that had become apparent between Kyoshi Island and fighting the assassins; the Avatar was just a boy, who had no ill intent on the world- he was not the enemy of the Fire Nation, and even if she wanted to capture him, it was more with the intention of taking him to her uncle, who might be able to communicate with him his own desires for the world.

If the Fire Lord and the Avatar could make peace, then that would be far better a conflict between her nation and the most powerful person alive. The other lie she had come to understand as being such was her own intentions; it was all about her uncle, and nothing to do with honour- she wanted him to see her as a worthy heir, and earn the respect she desired. She knew the truth, but she was unsure if she wanted to accept it; her father was still there, waiting for her in the capital, and forgoing his own beliefs would be paramount to calling them lies.

She sighed, and shook her head, "I need to find the Avatar." she decided, knowing that if there was a chance her uncle was still alive, she would do what she had set out to do; her efforts would not be in vain, and she would make herself the heir she knew her uncle needed.

"You can do that as soon as you are able." the physician assured her, the Princess shaking her head.

"I don't need to be able. I have my ship, and I have that war-machine created by War Minister Qin's engineers. It can take me overland after him, and as soon as that sky-bison lands, I'll capture him again." she declared, certain that she could achieve it; he narrowed his eyes at her, before nodding.

"Of course, your highness. There's just one more thing. Your light chakra."

"Illusion?" she asked him, "I have spent the past three months of my life trying to see past every illusion and ignorant understanding I have. I have insight, you need not concern yourself with that." she stressed, her cold voice stressing the fact; she did want him undermining her resolve and belief in knowledge- her new-found wisdoms would provide her with the strength she needed, and she was sure that she would need to find more to become the Princess she needed to be.

"I apologise, Princess Azula, I didn't mean to offend you... again." he bowed down toward her, "Will you leave now?" he asked, the Princess nodding.

"I need to go have a spa session. That might help soothe my aches for the meantime." she decided, stepping up from the table; before she could do anything else, the door of the infirmary burst open, and one of her Imperial Firebenders, who himself was injured, his arm in a sling, looked at her with an exasperated expression.

"What's the meaning of this?"

"H-he's alive, your highness." he explained, making her eyes widen, realising what he meant; she was almost ecstatic to hear that her uncle wasn't dead, but immediately her unease about his safety overtook any elation she may have felt.

"Where?"

"A village to the east of here." he explained, "The assassins came through the village just earlier this morning."

"Get the tank-train ready." she commanded him, "I know many of your group are injured, but this is more important than anything we have done in the past three months. We need to get to the Fire Lord before somebody else tries to kill him."

"Of course, your highness. It is our highest duty." he nodded, before darting down the hallway, ready to inform those that needed to be, so they could set off as quickly as possible.

She turned her gaze to the physician, and narrowed her eyes, realising how unusual his treatment had been; the whole spill on chakras and chi-paths was interesting, but she had not expected it, "Where did you learn all of that?"

"From my mother." he clarified, "She is a healer from one of the outer islands."

"Ah, so you're one of... those people." she noted, remembering that there were many people in the Fire Nation that still prescribed to the old ways, that of the traditional spirituality that permeated their nation in the past, only to be swept under the rug by Fire Lord Sozin's reforms of modernisation, "I can understand why my uncle would want your help." she noted, remembering the spiritual journey he had purportedly taken after his son's demise, though her uncle hadn't given her much details, perhaps on purpose.

"I do not know how you might be able to unblock your chakras. It is a thing that you can only achieve yourself." he admitted, the Princess narrowing her eyes.

"I already know the lies of this world, and I have a feeling you do as well."


When Appa landed, Aang could only sigh with relief; they'd been flying all day, but they had finally gotten up into the rugged hills, far from the coast, and thus, from the Fire Nation and the assassins who had tried to kill him and his friends. He was tired, and hurt from all the fighting, as were his friends, though they all clearly relieved things had gone their way. They had escaped, and Azula had let him do it; he thought the Princess was going to try and drag him away, but she gave up, and let them go free, though that was after he beat up the crazy-powerful mind-explosion firebender.

He thought perhaps she might be having second thoughts about her mission, or perhaps, avenging her uncle was a higher priority than catching him; the nicest possibility was that she was grateful for his help, and in return, was letting him free, even if only for a short while. His Water Tribe friends were glad to have him back, as were Momo and Appa, and he knew that after eating whatever food they had, they might be able to get some well-earned rest, away from danger and a step closer to getting to the North Pole.

Sokka raised his hands up into the air, and made a relieved face, "Finally!" he exclaimed, "Land!" he shouted out, before jumping down onto the grass beside them, rolling around in it.

"Stop rolling around in the grass, Sokka. We've got to make dinner." Katara chided her brother, who looked at her with an annoyed face.

"Have you never rolled in grass before? It's way better than snow. It's light and soft, like a blanket." he suggested, Aang chuckling at his reaction.

"Grass is pretty nice." he agreed with his thoughts, before glancing back toward the Water Tribe girl, "What do we have to eat?" he asked, cringing slightly at the thought they mightn't have much to eat.

"We got some food at Kyoshi Island before we went off after you." she explained, making a small smile, "I can make some rice stew, maybe with some greens."

"Sounds nice." he grinned at her, "How about you, Sokka? You must want dinner."

"I'm always hungry, Aang. Of course I do." he assured him, before rising up from the grass, "Hmph, I guess I better get some firewood." he noted, glancing around the clearing Appa had set down in; they were surrounded by tall, spindly trees, and Aang could already see some fallen branches by the edge of the clearing.

"Okay, Aang, could you help me get all the cookery out?" she asked him, the young Air Nomad nodding, before climbed over to the rear of the saddle, and opened up the saddlebag.

He pulled out the pot he knew they'd be using and then leapt off of the saddle, glancing around the clearing. He could see the Water Tribe teen gathering some branches, and decided to set the pot down nearby Appa, but not too close; he didn't want his sky-bison feeling uncomfortable from the heat of the fire. He then glanced around and saw that Katara had a bag of rice in her hands, and she smirked at him, raising it up above her head.

"Catch!" she threw it down at him, the young Air Nomad raising his hands up to conjure an air ball, which caught the bag of rice and held in place while he positioned himself so it would fall down into his hands.

He then placed the bag down next to the pot, and a few moments later, the Water Tribe girl had jumped down off of the saddle, with a few small bags of vegetables in her hands. He narrowed his eyes, wondering if they had any fresh water with them, or more specifically, enough to cook the rice and vegetables.

"Do we have enough water?" he asked her, the Water Tribe girl narrowing her eyes.

"Huh, I don't know. We might have to go fill up a water skin somewhere nearby."

"I saw a stream when we were flying over. It's just back that way." Aang explained, gesturing behind them.

"Okay." she nodded, before glancing toward her brother, "Sokka, start the fire. We're going to fill up the water skins."

The Water Tribe warrior glanced back toward them and raised a thumb up to show his approval, his sister quickly climbing back up onto the saddle, picking up two water skins. She tossed one to Aang, who caught it with ease, before she climbed back off of the saddle; they immediately set off in the direction of the stream, knowing that the quicker they got the water, the quicker they could start cooking dinner, and then, after that, get off to bed. Aang honestly felt a little bad as he already missed the comfortable quarters on Azula's ship which he had been afforded; if he had been tossed in a cell, then perhaps he wouldn't feel any longing to be back in a comfortable bed. He shook his head, knowing that might have been part of the Princess's plan; she may have wanted him to feel comfortable in his stay on the ship so he would be less conflictive about returning there- she wanted him to be her prisoner, though he couldn't be sure where she'd take him.

"Aang, are you still worried about her coming for you?" Katara asked him, making him blink a few times as he looked her way.

"Uh, I guess. I think she's more worried about her uncle though."

"Her uncle's the Fire Lord, right?" she asked, the young Air Nomad nodding; the uneasy look on her face suggested she wasn't very happy about the idea of Aang being dragged off to the Fire lord.

"He doesn't sound like a bad guy." he added, making her narrow her eyes at him.

"He's the leader of the Fire Nation. They conquered the world. How can he be a good guy?" she asked him, obviously skeptical of his suggestion.

"Well, I don't know. But Azula made him sound a lot nicer than herself, and she wasn't even that... evil, or anything. I mean, she's scary, but she doesn't seem that mean."

"Don't tell me you want to be her prisoner." she crossed her arms, "She's brainwashed you."

"No, no, I don't want to be her prisoner." he assured her, "But I think that if she isn't that bad, maybe the Fire Nation can be stopped without me having to go all... Avatar on them."

"I mean, I don't want us to fight the Fire Nation, not yet, but what else can you do? They're not just going to give up their control over the world, are they?" she asked him, the young Avatar cringing.

He didn't know what the Fire Lord wanted to do, but from the sounds of how Azula had described his intentions, he wanted peace as much as he did, and that was something Aang could definitely work with, if he was still alive, that was; Azula's father, on the other hand, from the short descriptions he had got from her, didn't seem like the kind of person he could make peace with.

"I don't know. We'll just have to find out."

"How?" she asked Aang, who shrugged his shoulders, not having an easy answer to that question; he was just a kid, and he didn't know anything about politics, or even how he was meant to do his job.

"I don't know. Maybe we can find the Fire Lord. He's missing, and on the run from those people that attacked us earlier today." he noted, the Water Tribe girl grimacing.

"I don't know, Aang. Won't it just be safer to head toward the North Pole? That's what we were going to do until-" she began, before the young Avatar raised a hand; she didn't need to tell him what had happened, because he'd had a long time on Azula's ship to mull over the fact.

"Yeah, I know, it's my fault." he admitted, "If I hadn't let being the Avatar get to my head, then maybe I might have taken your advice. You were right, Katara. We should have left as quickly as we could."

"Oh, well, I know that... but you know, I guess we learned some things from all this."

"Sokka learned how to wear make-up." he joked, remembering how funny he had looked in his Kyoshi Warrior outfit.

Katara giggled at the memory of that, "Oh yeah, he did look pretty funny." she noted, before she scrunched up her lips, glancing back toward the clearing momentarily before looking back his way, "You know... he kissed that Suki girl."

"Wait, really?" Aang's eyes widened with surprise, having remembered how rude he had been to the Kyoshi Warriors to begin with; to think that he had kissed one of them made it seemed like he was far better at getting people to like him than Aang was- that made him cringe slightly, thinking how he had tried to impress Katara, but had inadvertently got himself caught by Azula in the process.

"Is something wrong?"

"No... I just really stuffed up back at Kyoshi Island." he admitted, before smiling, "But I've learned my lesson. I know how I should act- an Avatar isn't supposed to be famous and everyone's favourite person. I've got to... well, do my duties." he conceded, the Water tribe girl's expression shifting to an approving one.

"That's right, Aang. As long as we continue on to the North Pole, we can master waterbending together, and then you can continue learning the elements." she explained, "Then we might be able to think about the whole Fire Nation issue."

"Mastering the elements might take a while." he noted, "I might have mastered airbending earlier than anybody else my age, but it still took a long time."

"I'm sure we can figure it out, Aang." she stressed, before gesturing down toward the stream, "But don't worry about that right now. Let's go get some water."

He nodded, and followed on after her, making their way down the slope toward the small stream that flowed down the hillside; it was rocky and there didn't seem to be much water, but small pools formed about, meaning there were places for them to gather water. The Water Tribe girl reached the edge of the stream first, and knelt over, running her water skin through it; Aang knelt down beside her, and did the same, before scrunching his lips up. They didn't have much food, but they did have money; he knew that they might be able to go to a nearby town or city, but with the Fire Nation occupying most places, it seemed a little dangerous to just walk into any random town.

"Maybe we should go to Omashu." he spoke his mind, Katara glancing back toward him.

"Omashu?" she asked in clarification, perhaps not knowing of the place.

"It's a city in the Earth Kingdom. It can't be that far away from where we are now." he explained, "I heard Azula mention the Fire Nation wanting to take it... which means it's free. That means we can go in without having to worry about the Fire Nation."

"So... we could buy some more food and stuff there?" she asked, the young Avatar nodding.

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. If there's anywhere Azula won't be able to catch me, it's there." he argued, making her smirk, obviously not wanting to end up in the same situation they had been in at Kyoshi Island.

"Good point, Aang. We'll see what Sokka thinks about it. He's been doing the directions while we were following the ship." she explained, before standing up, glancing back up the slope.

The pair made their way back up the hillside, Aang taking note of the darkness that was falling around them; the sun had just set before they landed, and he was sure that it would be properly dark soon enough. That was a good incentive for them to start the fire up, and cook their dinner. Appa needed to rest, and they did too, so they'd sleep before they went anywhere. When they reached the clearing once more, Aang made sight of Sokka, who was kneeling over beside a pile of wood, trying to start the fire.

"Come on, you stupid thing." he growled under his breath, before smacking some spark rocks together, finally setting the twigs beneath them alight, "Ahaha!" he raised his hands up, "Perfect timing." he turned to face them with a smile, "Let's get cooking."

The pair approached the freshly lit campfire, and sat down beside it, eyeing the small flames that were slowly covering the sticks and twigs; Katara grabbed the pot, and placed it down beside the campfire before she poured the water in from her water skin. She pushed the pot closer to the fire, and then glanced at her brother.

"Well, now we wait." she simply noted, before glancing toward Aang, "So, Omashu. Do you know where that'd be on a map?"

"Oma-what?" Sokka narrowed his eyes, "Is this some other stupid place Aang wants to go to?"

"No, no, it's a city. We can get some more food and supplies there." he explained, "And Azula said it wasn't under Fire Nation rule, so it'll be safe."

The Water Tribesman crossed his arms, "Why are trusting anything an ash-maker says? She could be trying to trick you into going there."

"It was pretty random. She said her uncle was going there, before he got shipwrecked, to go make a treaty with their king." he explained, before smirking, "Maybe they won't surrender if they know the Avatar's back."

"I guess that's... well, they might." Sokka acknowledged, seeming ambivalent to the possibility of Aang being able to give the Earth Kingdom a little bit of hope, despite their dire situation in the war.

"I don't know, Aang. The Earth Kingdom is... well, it's not a very nice place at the moment. I heard from some villagers at Kyoshi Island that the Fire Nation controls all the big towns and cities, and they have defeated lots of rebels." she noted, "Resisting them... probably isn't the smartest idea.""But you want me to fight the Fire Nation. How's that any different?"

"You have a sky-bison, Aang. You're always on the move. Those rebels, they're trying to protect their villages, just like how Sokka was protecting ours." she explained, "Do you think Sokka and those little boys could have stopped the Fire Nation if they came to our village?"

"N-no..." he admitted dejectedly, "I'm sorry about the flare-signal-thingy, again."

"No, it's okay." Sokka raised a hand, "I get that it was an accident. You're just a kid, not a Fire Nation spy. I'm sorry."

"And I'm sorry for being a dummy and keeping us on Kyoshi Island." he admitted, the Water Tribe teen raising his chin.

"Well, I mean... you don't have to be that sorry." he admitted rather awkwardly, making his sister snicker.

"You really did like Suki, didn't you?" she elbowed Sokka, who hunched his shoulders.

"I wish we could have left there without nearly getting the village burned down." he acknowledged, the young Avatar grimacing slightly, not sure exactly what Azula would have done if he didn't surrender.

"Well, I don't think she would have done that."

"She beat the daylights out of the Kyoshi Warriors." he argued in return, stressing the violent nature of the Princess, the young Avatar raising a hand; he didn't want to be her prisoner, but he would defend her honour- she was there to do a job, not to hurt anybody.

"Because they moved to fight her. She just wanted me... and then the fighting stopped."

"Maybe if she was smarter, she might have checked the beach first." the Water Tribesman suggested, making Katara roll her eyes.

"Then she would have captured me and Aang." she argued, "Would have you preferred that you were stuck alone on Appa?"

"N-no..." he assured her, before chuckling, "Maybe I could have persuaded the Kyoshi Warriors to help me get you two back."

"Don't worry about that." Aang assured him, "I'm back, and we're safe. That's what matters."

"What about dinner? Dinner matters, right?" the Water Tribe warrior asked, sounding pained from the lack of food, which made his sister roll her eyes.

"Urgh, just be a little patient, Sokka."

"My stomach doesn't know patience." he retorted, making her narrow her eyes at him.

"Would you like me to teach your stomach a lesson?" she warned him, her tone cold, suggesting she might punch him in the guts.

"Uh..." he mumbled, clearly afraid his sister might hit up, "I'll just shut up."

Aang grinned at them, finding their argument to be almost relieving; he was back with people he knew he could trust, and hopefully, some way closer to getting to the North Pole and away from all the dangerous Fire Nation soldiers, Princesses and assassins.

"I missed you guys." he told them, the two Water Tribe siblings softening their expressions; their argument faded from their minds, and they both smiled at him.

"We missed you too." Katara assured him, her brother gesturing over toward Momo.

"And Momo did too. He kept sleeping on me instead of you." he noted, the flying-lemur piquing his head up from the saddle, "You haven't been eating our food, have you?"

"Momo would never steal. We just share." he suggested, the Water Tribe teen narrowing his eyes at him.

"I'm still annoyed over the seal blubber." he noted, reminding the Avatar that he had accidentally used his blubber for their fire a few weeks back.

"The fire did smell good, though." Katara spoke up, making Aang raise his hands.

"I promise I won't burn your food for fuel again, Sokka. That's an Avatar's promise." he assured him, the Water Tribesman narrowing his eyes.

"You know, I'm inclined to not believe in a promise made by a twelve-year old."

"Look at him, Sokka, he's as pure as fresh snow. He literally wouldn't hurt a fly."

"But he would burn seal blubber. Seals are animals and Aang's a vegetarian." he argued, crossing his arms, "You're a pretty bad vegetarian."

"I didn't hurt the seal." he retorted, before his eyes widened, realising the implications of such 'seal blubber' existing, "Wait, do you kill seals? But they're so cute!"

"They're tasty." he simply responded, Aang cringing, finding it utterly disturbing that anyone could kill such a friendly looking animal; Katara looked at her brother, aghast and offended for the Air Nomad's sake.

"Sokka, you're going to make him cry!"


Being awoken by the ground shaking beneath him was clearly a bad sign in Iroh's eyes; it wasn't shaking so much that he thought it might have been the assassin coming after him, as it felt more distant, like a very subtle earthquake. He thought perhaps some earthbenders were training nearby, though that didn't make much sense, given that he was hiding in the woods, as far away from any people as he could get himself. He thought that if it was earthbenders, he could find himself in a less than desirable situation with people who might love to make him their hostage; he wouldn't blame them for doing so, but he would have to respond with an equal amount of force.

Rising up from the ground, he wondered where the shaking was coming from; the woods around him were rather thick, and would easily disguise anybody approaching him. He moved to stand behind a tree, hoping that it would cover him from any potential pursuers. He wouldn't be that surprised if the assassins had caught up with him, but he knew that the locals in the village might have tied them up after he left; to his luck, none of them had tried to attack him, probably too surprised by his appearance in their village.

He knew that despite their failures, the assassins were still trying to find him; he didn't know how much Ozai was going to pay them, but he was sure it was a sizable sum, as they had failed to relent in their pursuit. He hoped that his men were alright, and had reached the nearby port safely; he knew that there was a possibility they had been caught up with things, and he just hoped they didn't know what was going on. If even one person knew about Ozai's actions, then Zuko's life would be in grave danger, and his demise was precisely what he desired to avoid; he would never forgive himself if his own carelessness got his nephew killed.

He took a deep breath, and readied some flames in his palms, knowing what he might have to do; he could feel more shaking, and it was growing more intense; he glanced up toward the canopy, and noted that there was a smokestack in the distance, which made him tense up. Perhaps they were already waiting nearby, and the insanely powerful assassin was coming for him; the smokestack could be from a campsite, but he wasn't too sure. He decided he wasn't going to find out, and began to pace on through the woods in the opposite direction of the smokestack. As he paced through the woods, he was forced to weave around bushes and the numerous tree trunks that were in his path, but he was practically running, or at least, as fast as he could move.

He had only just awoken, and he was rather hungry- even if he had stolen money off of the assassins he beat, he knew that money was little good until he reached the next village. His only luck was that he had remained by a stream which gave him a source of fresh water as he continued eastward into the hills. Omashu was still far away, and he was sure he would live through many more days and nights of a grumbling stomach. He glanced back, and realised that the shaking was growing more intense, and he could even hear a rumbling noise; it was to his right, suggesting that it was on the road that he had decided to not walk upon, specifically to avoid any travellers and keep the assassins off his trail

His eyes widened as he realised the sound and shaking was moving past his right side, to ahead of him, "Wh-what... what is this?" he mumbled to himself, confused by what was going on; he darted to his left, moving up the hill-slope, hoping that he could lose his pursuers by getting away from the road.

He raced as fast as he could up the slope, and realised how draining it was to climb up the hill; he knew he had to do it, as every moment he spent not moving was an opportunity for the assassins to get closer. He had no idea what they were utilising; perhaps some kind of war-machine, given to them by his brother; it made a lot of sense, given that his brother had personally overseen military technology developments with War Minister Qin in his duties as Prince, and that was even before Fire Lord Azulon had passed.

To think the greatest strengths of his nation were being used against him was disturbing, but he knew it ought to be expected; his brother wanted to use those strengths against the rest of the world in his insane dreams of domination and control. Those thoughts were pushed from his mind as, rather quickly, his heavy breathing became more pressing; he felt like he was going to collapse if he kept running, and decided to cover behind a tree for a few moments while he caught his breath. He pulled the flask of water that Sung had given to him; he'd filled it just before he went to sleep, and in that moment, he flicked it open and let the cool liquid fall down into his mouth. He gasped out, realising how dehydrated he had been, which was probably half the reason he felt so exhausted.

He tensed up at the sound of footsteps behind him, and though they weren't very close, he was sure that after all the running he had done, his shoes had made some noticeable tracks. He glanced back, and was unable to see anybody yet, and decided to continue moving up the hill, not running as fast as he had before, wanting to conserve his energy while he tried to reach the top of the hill. The shaking was no longer as intense as it had been, though a quick glance backwards showed that the smokestack was still nearby.

"There's tracks! He has to be here!" he heard a voice shout out, and Iroh began to move faster. They were looking for him, and if he wasn't fast enough, he'd get caught; he was hungry and had little energy to spare- if it came down to a fight, he didn't know if he could win, despite his firebending skills.

He ran up the slope, and noticed that he had to be near the top of the hill; he smiled, realising that he might be able to run faster, and outrun whoever was coming after him. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a mongoose lizard ran in front of him; glancing up, he noticed its rider was not one of the assassins, but an Imperial Firebender.

"Your majesty, please, stop running." he raised a hand up at him, the Fire Lord's eyes widening with shock; he didn't think that his men would come after him, though he had no idea where they got a mongoose lizard from.

"I- uh, thought you were coming to kill me." he admitted, glancing back behind him to see a few more Imperial Firebenders, who were not mounted, and clearly a little exhausted after chasing after him.

"Thank the spirits he's alright." one of them spoke up, panting audibly as he placed his hands on his hips, "I thought she was going to beat us up if we didn't find him."

"She?" Iroh's eyes widened, before turning around, seeing another mongoose lizard approach; he could see his niece, who he hadn't seen for over three months.

She was wearing her royal armour, but surprisingly, her hair was dishevelled, and she had heavy bags under her eyes, not to mention she looked annoyed enough that she could set the forest around them on fire.

"You stupid old man." she snarled at him, pulling the reins of her mongoose lizard to stop it, "Why did you keep running?!" she raised her hands up, "I go out of my way to save your life and you repay me by forcing me to drive off into the depths of the Earth Kingdom in the middle of the night." she chided him, her anger understandable; it made sense now- she obviously had heard about his shipwreck, and had come after him, and had not stopped until she found him, which just had.

"I- uh, I apologise, my niece. I thought you were them." he admitted, "They nearly killed me, twice."

"I got that." she rolled her eyes, "That damn assassin nearly killed me, and the stupid Avatar too." she added, making his eyes widen; perhaps she had already succeeded on her task.

"Did you capture him?"

"No, he got away... after I let him out of his room, because I thought I was about to meet you, when in fact, you'd run off into the middle of nowhere." she added, her anger not having faded one bit, "He was that afraid Father might kill him that he ran off like the coward he is."

"I- uh..." he mumbled, before his eyes darted down; his actions had inadvertently led to the Avatar's escape, which was not going to help either of them- he certainly needed to meet him, as he'd be a great ally for both the Order of the White Lotus, and perhaps, against his brother, "Azula, did he send you a letter?"

"Who?" she narrowed her eyes, "Father? What letter are you talking about?" she asked him, the Fire Lord sighing.

"There's no point lying about it." he dejectedly acknowledged; as much as he didn't want to involve his niece in the conflict between him and Ozai, he knew he had little choice in the matter- she was going to protect him, and he had to respect her for the independent and capable young woman she was, "I lost the letter, but... I received a letter from Lady Mai, just before my ship was sunk."

"Mai?" Azula's expression became clearly more confused, "What does Mai have to do with any of this?"

"She told me that Ozai had hired those assassins to sink my ship and kill me." he told her the fact of the matter, making her eyes widen; she glanced toward her guards, and looked at them with a clearly nervous face.

"You will not mention a word my uncle utters to another soul, you hear me?" she asked them, the Imperial Firebenders nodding.

"Yes, your highness." they all bowed toward her, assuring her that they would not reveal what Iroh had just told her to the wider world.

"That's absurd, Uncle." she argued, "Why would Father send assassins after you? That makes no sense. If he wanted to be the Fire Lord, why wouldn't he just challenge you to an Agni Kai."

"Because he'd lose." he told her something he knew to be certain; Ozai did not know the full extent of his brother's abilities, but he was no idiot- fighting Iroh would be a death sentence.

She clenched her fists, before pointing toward him, "This can't be true!" she snarled at him, "You're trying to turn me against him." she accused him, "I trust my father." she told him, though she sounded like she barely believed her own words; she was in denial, and he understood why- she looked up to her father, and he was taking that image and throwing it in the gutter.

"No, my niece, I am not." he assured her, "I didn't want you to find me. I just wanted to get as far away from those assassins as I could." he stressed, "Please, believe me. I would not lie to you, my niece."

"You wouldn't lie to me, huh?" she raised a brow at him, "Were you going to let Zuko succeed you? Were you?" she demanded of him, the FIre Lord raising his hands up.

"I hadn't decided who would be my heir if your father betrayed me." he admitted honestly, "I wish for you both to rule, together. I only want what is best for you, Azula."

"How is this best for me?" she raised her arms up in the air, "Telling me my father's a traitor. That he wants to kill you. You're giving me every reason to get on my royal barge and challenge him to an Agni Kai- actually scratch that, I'll make you challenge him to an Agni Kai." she explained what she might do, before pointing at him accusingly, "You're going to start a war."

"No, he is." Iroh stressed, "He wants to be the Fire Lord, that's his choice, but I won't let him, Azula." he stressed, before narrowing his eyes at her, "That's why we've got to go to Omashu."

"Why would you want to go there? What does it have to do with anything?" she asked, her voice nearly pained; she obviously wanted to sleep, and he felt even more guilty that he had inadvertently forced her to chase him down.

"There's going to be a meeting between myself and members of a secret society there. We were intending to draw up plans for peace in the Earth Kingdom." he explained, glancing over toward her guards, "We need to head there at once. It is imperative."

"Of course, your majesty." the guards accepted his command, the Princess clenching her fists.

"Now you're taking command of my guards. Thanks, Uncle." she sarcastically quipped in return, "Any other insane things you want to tell me before I pass out?"

"I still need you to get the Avatar." he admitted, making her roll her eyes, raising her right hand to her cheek; she looked more than ready to start a forest fire.

"Let me guess, so he can beat Father, right?" she asked, and though she sounded sarcastic in asking it, he was pretty sure she understood the reasonable nature of such a suggestion, given Ozai's strength as a firebender.

"In the worst case scenario, yes." he admitted bluntly, knowing that possibility was something he had to consider.

His niece leaned her head back, and made an exasperated sigh; she obviously hadn't been having a good few days, and after presumably believing him to be dead, he didn't blame her for her mental state.

"I hate my family."