Responses to Reviews:

RonaldM40196867: Oh, undoubtedly. It still has a thriving fanbase nearly 20 years later, enough to rank it highly on lists of best shows of all time, inspire sequels and more content in its universe like the live action and Avatar Studios and get people like me writing fanfictions about it.

Zigzagdoublezee: Meeting Yue means that, knowingly or otherwise, Mai is closing in on her quarry...

As Always, Please Review!

Yue had been travelling for two days by the time somebody rattled on her cage.

"What?" She asked, opening her eyes. She was already irritated by this whole situation. She was not some zoo animal to be gawked at.

Instead, one of the guards shrugged.

"You have a very special visitor," he said.

"Just leave me alone," Yue grumbled.

General Kaito stepped into view.

"Come on now, don't be like that!" He said. "I only came to see how you were!"

Yue scowled. Having a war-criminal who was taking her to her death pretend to be her friend was not making her feel better.

"I'm fine," she said.

"You're clearly not," Kaito told her.

"Why do you think that is?" She asked accusingly.

"Hey, I only want you to have as good a journey as possible!" Kaito told her. "I'm trying to help you here!"

As he spoke, Yue's eyes travelled past him, where a thick forest stood next to the road. There was a strange rustling in the undergrowth. Nobody else noticed, or if they did they maybe thought it was the wind, but Yue could have sworn she saw a flash of blue.

She had to fight not to smile.

"What?" Kaito was saying. "You suddenly seem a lot happier."

Yue just shrugged.

"It's always nice to see a friendly face," she said.

"Oh, you mean me?" Kaito looked flattered. "Please, tell me what I can do-"

Something whizzed out of the treeline and slammed into his shoulder. The general's eyes went wide as he was knocked forward, slamming into the bars and collapsing with an arrow sticking out of his back.

Suddenly, Yue could see a familiar Earth Kingdom soldier with a bow, taking aim at one of the guards. Longshot loosed his shot, and an arrow sprouted out of the man's chest. Suddenly more figures were charging from the undergrowth; Katara and Sokka and Rinzen and Jet all raced forwards, the non-benders hollering a fearsome war-cry with their clubs held over their heads.

Yue's sadness had now become total elation. Her friends had come for her! She knew that with the size of the column, speed was going to be very important. They wouldn't be able to defeat an entire Fire Nation army with just five people.

Katara reached the bars first.

"You idiot," she said. "Are you alright?"

"Pleased to see you too," Yue greeted her.

Katara slung something through the bars, and it landed with a squelch at Yue's feet. She picked up the water skin and popped the lid, propping it against the wall and looking at the lock.

She knew what she had to do; it was a precise, quick piece of waterbending, difficult but not overly so. The main difficulty was aiming it properly.

Outside, Katara was water-whipping a guard, knocking him backwards with the force of the blow.

Yue breathed in and out, and closed her eyes. She visualised the lock on the door.

"Hurry up, Yue!" Rinzen's voice penetrated her concentration.

Can't you see I'm trying?

She raised one arm over her head, opened her eyes, fixed her gaze on the gap between the door and the bars and brought her hand down in a quick slashing motion. The water sprang out of the skin and matched her movements, but she had got her aim slightly wrong and it simply slashed into the door.

"Tui and La!" She groaned, furious at herself. She picked the water back up and prepared for a second go. Not as much water obeyed her commands this second time, but she accidentally sliced horizontally instead of vertically, taking a chunk of door out but leaving it in place.

"What's taking so long? We haven't got all day!" Sokka called.

"Coming!" Yue called back. She closed her eyes and breathed in and out slowly. In and out, push and pull. Calm.

She opened her eyes again, and slowly moved her arm back. She extended her other arm towards the door, like she had occasionally seen masters back home do. Even less water answered her call this time, but hopefully it was enough.

She hesitated for a moment, and then with a roar of effort brought the water slicing down.

There was a high-pitched pinging noise, the sound of the water splashing to the ground, and the door lazily opened.

Yue grinned with joy and raced out of the cart, towards her friends, firing the remaining water she had towards a man who was fighting Jet. It hit him in the head, distracting him enough for the soldier to knock him down. Her friends were now seriously outnumbered and fighting for their lives; it was time to leave.

"Wait..." a weak voice came from behind her. Yue turned to find Kaito had managed to prop himself up against the cart.

"Where are you going?"

Yue stopped, turned to him, and bowed in the most formal way she knew.

"Dreadfully sorry," she said in a faux-polite voice dripping with sarcasm, "Please give Firelord Ozai my apologies; it seems I cannot make it to our scheduled meeting after all."

"But you promised!" Kaito pleaded, seeing his chance for promotions and medals slipping out of his grasp.

"Ah," Yue pointed at him. "That's the thing about promises, isn't it? They didn't promise anything."

She gestured to her friends.

"So I cannot make promises on their behalf, can I? That is how it works, I understand."

Throwing his own logic back in his face felt incredible, but she didn't have time to reflect on it because there was a roar in the distance.

Oh no, she thought. I forgot about him.

Tsume the dragon was sweeping towards them, fury in his beady eyes.

"Run!" Yue pointed desperately at it and took off towards the treeline.

"Come back!" Kaito shouted. "You promised! Come back!"

His shout of rage followed Yue as she ran.

"You managed it!" Sokka cheered as she ran past.

"Yes, but look!"

Sokka followed her gaze.

"Tui and La!" He exclaimed, taking off after her. The others were disengaging and rushing after them, as more Fire Nation troops from elsewhere in the marching column were arriving and beginning to pursue them. The dragon circled overhead, and Yue prepared herself for it to dive down on them- but instead Tsume headed towards the cart, and began nuzzling at Kaito's increasingly inert form.

Yue realized that the dragon was more worried about his master than he was angry at them, and forced herself to run all the faster.

Then they were in the treeline, Yue following the others towards Gembul and freedom at last.