Ayo- What's this? An update? I'm still alive? Of course I am >:D

Ty Lee's eyebrows were scrunched up together as she made her way towards the control room before stopping herself at the door. She hesitated as to whether she should enter and was just about to turn around and return to her room.

"Come in."

Well, never mind.

Seeing her lack of options Ty Lee took a deep breath, spun around and entered the control room instead. She tried ignoring all the personnel manning the controls and focused on the figure standing just behind the helmsman.

"How are you doing?" She tried for a smile, yet internally, Ty Lee winced at the terrible conversation starter. There were better ways to check on Princess Azula.

Silence loomed over the pair as the chi blocker waited for an answer. Somehow, she felt that it was more deafening than the loudest crowd that cheered her during her time at the circus. She was certain that a couple pairs of eyes darted in their direction, undoubtedly interested to hear the answer, yet too afraid to outright show it.

She also tuned them out, choosing instead to spare them the embarrassment of their eavesdropping being found out.

"I am doing fine, Ty Lee."

Just because the chi blocker had anticipated the answer doesn't mean she liked it. So she tried again.

"But don't you feel cold?"

Indeed, the night air was cold, and given where they were at it was no surprise that she shivered despite the several torches that lit the room. She tried to crush the wayward thought that the cold was not just from the air, but also her best friend.

It has been the same for weeks now, since the Dai Li – or whatever remained of them – had dug their way out of the caved-in Catacombs, carrying an unconscious Princess Azula and the injured with them. That was when Ty Lee learnt that the Avatar was put to an end.

By Azula, which wasn't surprising to Ty Lee.

Instead, what surprised her was the small changes she noticed.

In the eyes of a random stranger, or some politician, Azula was intimidating even for a fourteen-year-old princess. Her golden eyes often looked like they were deciding whether their target was worth the effort to make the body disappear from the face of the earth, or just a waste of human space.

But Ty Lee was no random person. She couldn't remember the last time Azula smiled since regaining consciousness. There were lesser threats of evisceration or death coming from the Princess, nor had Ty Lee heard her friend tease her in these few weeks.

It just felt... wrong. It was as if Azula had been infected with Mai's dingy grey aura.

But it's not like Ty Lee could outright voice her observations. If she did, she was certain Azula would not take too kindly to being called 'weak'. Not that the chi blocker has any intentions of doing that.

All she could do was check in on her best friend every once in a while. And receive the same answer.

Even now, Azula seemed adamant about staring out into the horizon and not looking at her friend. Ty Lee watched patiently as the Princess let out a deep breath and seemingly balled her hands into fists before relaxing.

"Your concern for my well being is noted, Ty Lee." Azula's voice sounded controlled like she was keeping her emotions in check. "Thank you. Now, how about you get some rest? We are bound to reach the capital in another ten hours."

On any other day, Ty Lee would have marvelled at the speed of their mode of transport, and perhaps stricken up a conversation to talk about the feats of 'actual scientific ingenuity'. Not that she truly understood the science, she was just doing it for conversation. But she also caught onto the obvious dismissal.

Seeing that she was fighting a losing battle – was it even a battle? – she straightened her lips into a thin line, hoping to not show her lips curling downwards just so slightly, and took her cue to return to her quarters.

oOo

Katara shook her head as her vision began to clear, and her ears registered a commotion just outside the room she was in. Instantaneously, memories of Aang losing his composure upon learning the news hit her like a komodo dragon. Her eyes snapped towards the other figure in the room, both locked in a glaring contest.

"What is wrong with you?!" she hollered at the young firebender. "I told you we'll break the news to him slowly!"

"He has to know what happened! He deserved at least the truth!" Zuko yelled back with matching ferocity. "It's the least we could offer to him!"

"Is your brain filled with soot? Or did you miss the part where your reaction was just as bad?!" Katara couldn't help the sarcasm that laced the question. Zuko was getting on her nerve. "We. Were. Trying. To. Avoid. That!"

And she was right. Before they met with Hakoda, Zuko came to, and immediately demanded to know Percy's whereabouts. Iroh tearfully broke the news to him a few nights later after avoiding the question on numerous occasions. Zuko did not take it well. Not at all.

"I..." Zuko stammered. He hung his head dejectedly "I was hoping he took it better than I did. I... I made a mistake. And I lost..." he seemed at a loss for words, "I lost a brother for it."

Tears were streaming down his good eye, and Katara saw just how vulnerable he looked. Maybe it was because he was skinnier than a healthy teen should be, but Zuko looked so much smaller than the hurting boy in the Crystal Catacombs, that time mourning a mother lost to his Royal Family. She took a step forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. The young firebender flinched at the sudden physical gesture but otherwise made no move to break contact.

"It's not your fault, Zuko," she tried using her softer voice, similar to the times she needed to reassure Aang was on the right path. "We need to find Aang now. Percy..." her throat constricted when she mentioned her friend's name. She steeled her nerves. "Percy would want us to remain strong."

For a brief moment, Katara was certain that Zuko would lose his cool again, then he closed his eyes and took in a huge breath before exhaling slowly. Amber eyes opened to meet blue. "Alright, Katara," the waterbender noticed the corner of Zuko's lips rising slightly albeit shakily. "Let's go get Aang."

Katara smiled back. "We'll split up. You get Appa ready to fly, and I'll find Sokka and Toph," she suggested, the gears in her mind turning as she made a quick plan to find wherever Aang has gone off to. "There's a commotion just outside, so I'm guessing that Aang couldn't have gone that far away. We'll meet up at the deck in five minutes."

"Okay," Zuko nodded, and then his eyes narrowed together in thought. "Won't you want to tell your father about this plan of ours?"

"What?!" Katara stopped herself as she was just about to step outside the door and whirled around to glare at Zuko.

"Woah, easy," Zuko immediately raised his hands in a placating gesture at the sight of the glare, as if trying to calm the girl.

"Look, I -" he started while scratching the back of his neck as he avoided meeting the waterbender's angry eyes. "I know you're angry with your father," So? "And I'm not saying that you shouldn't, because you probably have every right to. But you probably shouldn't?"

Huh?

Katara's switch from indignation to confusion must have been written all over her face because Zuko slapped a hand over his forehead and started grumbling under his breath.

"What I'm trying to say is..." the firebending teen tried again, "Maybe you should consider giving your father a chance."

The way azure eyes narrowed at him was all Zuko needed to know that he needed to choose his next five words extremely carefully. He has no plans to swim in the docks, after all.

That, and he was wearing his last set of clean-est clothes. He liked to keep it that way for now.

His hand dropped to his side. "Chief Hakoda cares for you very much, Katara," his eyes were glued to the floor. "He tries very hard, for you and Sokka. And it's..." he gulped, "it's something I've wanted... from my own fa - the Fire Lord."

Katara blinked, unprepared to hear the admission of the almost non-existent relationship that the teen standing just across the room had with his father. This time it was her who closed her eyes, the tension that she hadn't noticed was in her muscles slowly seeping away as she contemplated the firebender's words.

She took another deep breath, opened her eyes and looked Zuko in the eyes with an answer ready on her lips.

oOo

Chief Hakoda was with his men loading supplies onto the ship when he caught sight of his daughter marching toward him. Bato noticed too, as he gave Hakoda a nod as an indication that they can take care of the supplies without the Chief for a while.

He sent his long-time friend a silent thank you and placed the crate with the rest before meeting his daughter.

"What's wrong, Katara?" He wouldn't deny that he was curious. After all, ever since they met at the Chameleon Bay, Katara had barely spoken a word to her father. Unless he approached her first. Even then, her responses were often short and brief, as if she didn't want anything to do with him.

"Aang left," came her answer, though she wasn't meeting his curious gaze, "He took off after Zuko dropped the news that Percy's gone. And now he has this ridiculous notion that he has to save the world alone. That it's all his responsibility now."

"Maybe that's his way of being brave," Hakoda tried to justify, his mind connecting the commotion that he heard about earlier to the Avatar learning about the demise of this 'Percy'. From the few tidbits of information he had been able to pick up, the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe had guessed that this man was close to every member of Team Avatar, including Iroh and Zuko.

"It's not brave, it's selfish and stupid!" Katara's brows creased together as she snapped, her sudden outburst catching Hakoda by surprise. "We could be helping him," Hakoda watched as she started shrinking in on herself. "And I know the world needs him. But doesn't he know that we need him too? How could he just leave us behind?"

The Chief felt like he was being splashed with a bucket of cold water as he let the words sink in. For a brief moment, he clenched his fists tightly as he couldn't meet his daughter's welling eyes. The question was at the tip of his tongue, and he almost couldn't utter it.

"You're talking about me too, aren't you?"

Hakoda watched as the tears were flowing freely from Katara's eyes. "How could you leave us, dad?" He was about to reach out and wipe a stream of it from her cheek when she wiped it herself. "I know we had Gran-Gran, and she loved us," she turned away from her father and hid her face in her palms "But we were just so lost without you."

Hakoda didn't hesitate, he took a step forward and placed a reassuring hand on his daughter's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Katara," he knew the four-word apology couldn't convey how much guilt he was carrying, but he hoped she still received the message.

He had expected his daughter to push his hand away, or snap at him again. He did not expect her to hug him. So when she did wrap her arms around his waist, Hakoda was stunned. He quickly gathered himself and hugged her in return.

"I understand why you left," Katara said between sobs, "And I know that you had to go. So why do I still feel this way, and hurt?"

"I love you more than anything," Hakoda admitted, the words slipping out of his mouth quicker than he realized, "You and your brother are my entire world. I thought about you every day when I was gone and every night when I went to sleep, I would lie awake missing you so much it would ache."

Katara continued to hold onto the embrace, allowing her father's words to sink in. After a while, her sobs began to subside, and her breathing evened out. She broke the hug, wiped the remaining tears off her face and looked at her father.

"Zuko and I decided that we'll go and find Aang," she said, and quickly added, "I'll ask Sokka and Toph to come along. They'll want to join us."

Hakoda smiled at how much his daughter had grown. Though he still did not exactly trust the Fire Nation Prince, he believed that Katara is a good judge of character, so he would give the young fire bender the benefit of the doubt. He felt himself nodding.

"Go," he urged her on. "We'll take care of the rest here."

Katara smiled at that. Maybe Zuko was right. Her dad does deserve a chance after all.

oOo

Iroh noticed his nephew pacing up and down the corridor just outside the personal quarters they were sharing, but he didn't want to burst the teen's bubble. When Zuko entered with a look of resolve plastered on his face, the grey-bearded man had a sense of deja vu.

"Uncle, there's something I need to tell you," Iroh raised an eyebrow at the statement, his silence the only indication Zuko needed to continue talking. "the Avatar ran away, and I'm going to find him."

Yep, deja vu, alright. "Should I prepare some rope so you can tie him up? I think I saw a few ropes lying around here somewhere."

"What? No! That's not what I meant!" Amber eyes widened at the insinuation, and Iroh watched with no less amount of amusement as the young firebender stuttered his way in a desperate but futile attempt to explain himself. The same pair of eyes narrowed when he noticed the smile that the elderly firebender was barely trying to hide. "Why do I feel that you're enjoying this a bit too much?"

"My apologies, Prince Zuko," Iroh chuckled, and when he saw Zuko's mouth open – no doubt to tell him to stop addressing him as 'Prince' again – he quickly interjected, "It's just that I finally understand what Percy found –"

Iroh stopped himself. Internally he was slapping himself in the forehead for the slip. He should have known better than to get carried away.

"You know you can say his name right?" Zuko's soft voice pulled Iroh back to the present. Iroh's eyes snapped towards his nephew, caught off guard by the statement. Seeing the shocked look on Iroh's face, Zuko let out a tired sigh. "You don't need to coddle me, Uncle. It hurts, sure. But avoiding it every single day won't -" his voice broke, and it took all of Iroh's self-control to restrain himself from engulfing the teen in a bear hug "it won't bring him back."

Amber eyes started to glisten, and Iroh was certain his own vision was getting blurry, though Zuko was quick to wipe the tears away before he started crying. Iroh followed suit.

Zuko tried for a smile. It was small, wobbly but genuine all the same. "And besides, I'm sure he would kick my ass if he knew I spent my days brooding worse than 'Batman'."

The uncle-nephew duo chuckled softly at that, and they felt the tension they didn't know they were holding leave their muscles.

"So, that's why I decided to join Katara and the others in finding the Avatar. He's the key to restoring the balance of this world." His face lit up as an idea surfaced in his mind. "You should come with us, Uncle. You can teach him firebending."

"No, Zuko," Iroh's response was immediate. Zuko blinked at the answer, suddenly feeling like he had a similar conversation with his uncle back at Ba Sing Se.

"What do you mean, 'no'? You're the best master at firebending. You can even bend lightning!"

"I believe that you will be the perfect master for him," Iroh explained.

"Me?" Zuko shook his head in disbelief. "I can't even firebend properly anymore. How am I supposed to teach him how to firebend when I don't even know when I can bend fire?"

"Remember this, Prince Zuko," said teen had to resist the urge to remind his uncle that he's 'no longer a Prince', "dragons don't die so easily."

The young firebender's face twisted into one of confusion, no doubt not understanding a single word from the tidbit of wisdom that his uncle had shared.

Aren't all the dragons dead already? That's why they're extinct, right? Right?

"Now," Iroh's voice cut Zuko off his confused thought process as the former Dragon of the West started to push his nephew out of the room, "I believe you have an Avatar to find."

The door was unceremoniously slammed on Zuko's face. Rude. He turned around just in time to see Katara, Sokka and Toph walking toward him.

"Katara brought us up to speed," Toph was the first to speak, "So what did your uncle say? Is he coming with us?"

"No," Zuko shook his head, "but I think he thinks we'll be fine." He turned to Katara and noted that her eyes were slightly red and puffy but chose not to bring it up. "What about your dad? Is he okay with us leaving on such short notice?"

"He's okay with it."

"What about the invasion plan?"

"We'll join up with the rest on the day of the eclipse," this time it was Sokka who answered, then his face twisted into a frown, "Now if you don't mind me asking. How on earth are we supposed to find Aang? He could be anywhere by this point."

"Well, I did chase the Avatar for a good three whole months. So, you have an expert in that field." Zuko ignored the deadpan look Sokka was giving him as he smiled, "And I know just where to start."

oOo

The occasional lightning flash filled his vision.

The roaring thunder that followed rang his eardrums.

The crashing waves threatened to sink him.

But Aang tried to push through, one hand clinging onto the tree bark for dear life while the other stretched out at his glider.

It was just out of reach as if taunting him that he'll never succeed.

Eventually, his arm tired out. A result of challenging the raging storm in a vain attempt to reach the Fire Nation alone. It wasn't long before the weight of reality dawned upon him.

"I'm not going to make it," he observed dejectedly, "I failed."

The Avatar felt alone – was alone. Barely staying afloat in the middle of nowhere with nowhere to go. He was ready to call it quits.

Then the air above him shimmered and glowed. The spirit of Avatar Roku before the airbender.

"You haven't failed, Aang," Roku said. Aang's brows furrowed together as he looked up dejectedly at the ethereal vision of his predecessor.

"But everyone thinks I'm dead again," Aang countered. "They think I've abandoned them, and I'm losing this war. I'm letting the whole world down." He hung his head in defeat.

"And I let Percy down," his voice cracked as he added softly.

The airbender was still trying to process the news that Percy – the guy who became friends with Zuko and made Azula squirm and bend two elements, all while trying to find blue tea – was gone.

He didn't remember Percy fighting alongside him in the Catacombs, so the man must have shown up when he and Zuko were out of commission.

"If anyone is to be blamed for the state of the world, it is me." The former Avatar admitted. "I should have seen this war coming and prevented it. You inherited my problems and my mistakes. But I believe you are destined to redeem me and save the world."

Deep down, Aang knew Roku was right. Had the man taken action when he was still alive, none of them would be stuck in this mess.

The Southern Water Tribe wouldn't be on the brink of destruction. Katara and Sokka would still have their mother. Jet would still have his village. Bumi wouldn't have been captured.

The Air Nomads wouldn't have been wiped out.

And Percy wouldn't have to sacrifice himself.

But still, doubt lingered within Aang. "I– I don't know."

There was another glow, and Aang watched as the moon shone its light onto him. Grey eyes widened when he saw an old friend manifest within the light.

"You already saved the world," Princess Yue, now the Moon Spirit, told him, "And you'll save the world again, but you can't give up."

"I may not have known your friend, Aang, but I believe he made the decision that he did because he believed it to be the right one," Roku consoled, his tone gentle. "And I also believe that he would want you to continue fighting on."

As Roku's spirit disappeared like a leaf being blown away like the wind, Aang mulled over his predecessor's words and realized he was right.

Knowing Percy, the man wouldn't blame Aang for everything – wouldn't let Aang blame himself.

And Aang would honour that.

He wiped a stray tear away as the storm stopped and looked up to see Yue descending from her place on the moon.

"You're right," Aang agreed determinedly "I won't give up."

With Yue's help, Aang created a wave large enough to surf on with the tree bark

Aang bent the water around him into a wave and he surfed on it with his tree bark. With Yue's help, the wave grew large enough to carry him all the way until he washed up at the base of a volcano. He recognized it as the island of the Fire Temple he visited months ago.

Exhaustion washed over his body, and Aang decided to take a nap. He was woken up a few hours later with drool pooling on his face. He opened his eyes to meet the wide round green eyes of Momo staring at him and chirping excitedly. In the corner of his vision, he saw the familiar shape of a sky bison flying his way.

oOo

Azula was seated in her room, her golden eyes staring into the reflection of the golden mirror.

The skin below her right eye throbbed and she clenched her fists tightly to prevent herself from touching that spot. The doctors did warn her that the skin was still tender and she should avoid doing anything to aggravate it.

Her right eye twitched as irritation grew within her at the memory of the worry in their eyes as they treated her like she was a little fragile vase that would break at any moment.

Even her friends were acting like they were walking on eggshells. Mai's dry sarcasm seemed to have taken a few notches down, though Azula was quite certain it had to do with something else other than her. But Ty Lee was a whole different story. The former circus performer's face that was usually smiling brightly was now always twisted into one of worry and apprehension. Azula even noticed the chi-blocker sending concerned glances at her when she thought the princess wasn't looking.

Tch, absolutely pathetic.

But her main source of annoyance isn't her companions, no. It was the fact that she had not met her father, having returned to the Royal Palace for a whole day. Even Li and Lo's retelling of her victory in taking Ba Sing Se to a cheering crowd as they landed just outside the capital did not seem to earn her the meeting with her father as she had hoped.

The throbbing returned, and Azula almost gave in to the temptation to just scratch away the irritation when there was a knock at the door. A foot soldier entered upon hearing her "come in".

He kneeled before the princess, though she was still fixated on her reflection.

"Princess, the arrangements have been completed," the soldier announced. Azula noticed that his sights were glued to the ground, but chose not to be slighted by the gesture.

"Is he awake?" She asked.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"So, I can see him now?" The soldier stiffened at the question. Azula caught on to his hesitation and was about to lash at him when he nodded.

"... Yes."

Azula waved a hand to dismiss the soldier, who was quick to exit the room. She got up from her seat and made her own preparation to leave.

It was time for a long-overdue conversation.

To those who never gave up on this fic, thank you so much. Also, I'm on discord now, hanging out with a bunch of other writers who after definitely more prominent and well-known (cough Greed720, lildrummerboi, bakkughan cough constellations, stellarys cough cough) So yea, if you guys haven't joined and want to join just click on the link in my profile

PS: i didn't realize i didnt click 'publish', so this chap was sitting in Drafts for 19hours wheezes