"I told the general I'd help him by going into the Avatar State." Aang said after coming into their room.

Katara sat up in her bed and so did [Y/n]. "Aang, no. This is not the right way." Katara said.

"Why not? Remember when he took out the Fire Navy?" Sokka questioned, "He was incredible."

"Yes, but he could lose control in the Avatar State and hurt innocent people. The right way to do this is to study and practice the other elements." [Y/n] said.

"Or just glow it up and stop that Fire Lord." Sokka argued, and Katara stood up. "If you two meatheads want to throw away everything we've worked for, fine. Go ahead and glow it up!" Katara snapped and walked away.

"Katara, I'm just being realistic! I don't have time to do this the right way." Aang said, and [Y/n] sighed.

First, to try to get Aang into the Avatar state, they made chi enhancing tea.

"This rare chi enhancing tea is a natural stimulant. In an ordinary warrior, it improves strength and energy tenfold." The tea maker explained, "In you, it may induce the Avatar State."

Aang took the cup. "Tenfold energy, huh?" He questioned then drank it. After a moment, Aang was zooming around on his air scooter.

"Is it working? Is it working?" He was even speaking really fast, "I can't tell! Somebody tell me if I'm in the Avatar State because I don't have a good view of myself. Am I talking too loud?!"

"I guess he could talk the Fire Lord to death." Sokka said, and Aang faceplanted into a pole. [Y/n] sighed, and Katara crossed her arms.

Next, Sokka tried to scare Aang into the Avatar State. "Maybe I can shock you into the Avatar State." Sokka said.

"I love surprises." Aang cheered, and Katara covered Aang's eyes.

Sokka put Momo in his shirt and scared Aang. Then he looked at his hands. "Still not glowing."

They even tried a ceremony where they mixed the four elements. "You are wearing a ceremonial piece of clothing from each of the Bending Nations. Now, I will join the 4 elements into one." The elderly man announced, "Water, Earth, Fire, Air! Four Elements together as one." Then he threw in on Aang.

"This is just mud." Aang said.

"So, do you feel anything?"

Aang held up his finger then sneezed, shooting mud everywhere. "We have to find a way." General Fung said, wiping the mud from his face.

~

Iroh dumped the bag of shells on the table in their room to admire them closer. "Look at these magnificent shells. I'll enjoy these keepsakes for years to come." Iroh said.

"We don't need any more useless things." Zuko said, "You forget, we have to carry everything ourselves now."

"Hello, Brother, Uncle." They looked to see Azula sitting there.

Zuko glared. "What are you doing here?" Zuko growled.

"In my country, we exchange a pleasant hello before asking questions." Azula said and stood up then walked over to the two men, "Have you become uncivilized so soon, Zuzu?"

"Don't call me that!" Zuko snapped.

"To what do we owe this honor?" Iroh asked.

"Hmm, must be a family trait. Both of you are so quick to get to the point." Azula said and crushed the shell in her hand, "I've come with a message from home. Father's changed his mind. Family is suddenly very important to him. He's heard rumors of plans to overthrow him-- treacherous plots. Family are the only ones you can really trust. Father regrets your banishment. He wants you home."

Zuko didn't have much of a reaction to what she said. "Did you hear me? You should be happy, excited, grateful. I just gave you great news." Azula said, and Zuko didn't respond. He just walked over to the window. "I'm sure your brother simply needs a moment--" Iroh said.

"Don't interrupt, Uncle! I still haven't heard my thank you. I'm not a messenger. I didn't have to come all this way." Azula said.

"Father regrets? He wants me back?" Zuko questioned.

"I can see you need time to take this in. I'll come to call on you tomorrow. Good evening." Azula said and left.

Later that night, Zuko began to pack his things. "We're going home after three long years. It's unbelievable." Zuko said.

"It is unbelievable. I have never known my brother to regret anything." Iroh said, and Zuko looked at his uncle. "Did you listen to Azula? Father's realized how important family is to him. He cares about me." Zuko said.

"I care about you! I mean, if Ozai wants you back, well, I think it may not be for the reasons you imagine." Iroh said.

"You don't know how my father feels about me. You don't know anything!" Zuko said, turning his back on his uncle.

"Zuko, I only meant that in our family, things are not always as they seem." Iroh said.

"I think you are exactly what you seem-- A lazy, mistrustful, shallow old man, who's always been jealous of his brother." Zuko said and stomped away.

'That wasn't very nice, Zuzu.'

Zuko could practically hear [Y/n]'s voice, and it was driving him crazy. He knew what [Y/n] would say in this situation. 'I know they are your family, but...Fire Lord Ozai banished you, and he isn't the type to regret.'

The next morning, Zuko took his bag and left the inn. He could see Azula's ship at the port. "Wait! Don't leave without me." Iroh called out while chasing after Zuko. "Uncle, you've changed your mind." Zuko said with a smile.

"Family stick together, right?" Iroh said and placed his hand on Zuko's shoulder.

"We're finally going home." Zuko said and led the way. Iroh, on the other hand, gave a skeptical look.

Soon, Zuko and Iroh made it to Azula's ship, being greeted by a line of Fire Soldiers and Azula. "Brother, Uncle. Welcome." Azula said, and they bowed to each other, "I'm so glad you decided to come."

The line of soldiers stood behind the two men. "Are we ready to depart, your highness?" The captain asked.

"Set our course for home, Captain." Azula said.

"Home." Zuko muttered.

"You heard the princess. Raise the anchors. We're taking the prisoners home." The captain said, and his eyes widened.

Azula glared at the captain. Iroh turned around and began fighting the soldiers while Zuko pushed the captain overboard. "You lied to me!" Zuko yelled.

"Like I've never done that before." Azula said as she walked away, and the soldiers next to her attacked Zuko with fire.

~~

[Y/n] and Katara sat in their room while Sokka and Aang were out with the general, possibly trying to get Aang into the Avatar State. [Y/n] continued to pet Momo, who was in her lap until they felt the building shake because of the commotion outside. "I wonder what crazy thing they're trying now." Katara said, and [Y/n]'s expression changed to worry.

"They worry me." [Y/n] muttered and continued to pet Momo. There was another heavy thud coming from outside and Momo jumped away. "Maybe we should just make sure Aang's okay." Katara said, and [Y/n] nodded. The girls stood up and rushed outside to see all of the soldiers attacking Aang.

"What's going on?" Katara asked Sokka, who was also running down the set of stairs to help Aang. "The general's gone crazy. He's trying to force Aang into the Avatar State." Sokka said and threw his boomerang.

[Y/n] used her Earthbending to knock out a few of the other Earthbenders. She ran to help Katara until she was sucked up to her neck into the ground. "Wha..." [Y/n] saw the general walk past her, closer to Katara. "Stop this! You have to let her go!" Aang yelled.

"You could save her if you were in the Avatar State." General Fung said. "I'm trying. I'm trying." Aang said with tears in his eyes.

[Y/n] tried to move, but it was no use. Katara continued to sink. "You don't need to do this!" Aang begged.

"Apparently, I do." Fung said, and Katara disappeared in the dirt.

Aang's tattoos began to glow. "It worked. It worked!" Fung cheered, and Aang attacked him.

~

Zuko charged at Azula with flames in hand, but she dodged and deflected his attacks. "You know, Father blames Uncle for the loss of the Noth Pole. And he considers you a miserable failure for not finding the Avatar. Why would he want you back home, except to lock you up where you can no longer embarrass him." Azula said.

Zuko charged at Azula again, but his attacks were deflected once again. Zuko would have gotten struck by lightning if it wasn't for Iroh, who redirected it. Iroh and Zuko escaped.

Meanwhile, back with Aang. General Fung was still trying to communicate with Aang while he was in the Avatar State. "Avatar Aang, can you hear me? Your friends are safe. It was just a trick to trigger the Avatar State, and it worked!" Fung said and lifted Katara and [Y/n] out of the ground.

Aang attacked Fung and the other Earthbenders along with destroying a few buildings too.

Then Aang fell to his knees and regained his consciousness. Katara and [Y/n] rushed over to Aang and hugged him. "I'm sorry, Katara, [Y/n]. I hope you both never have to see me like that again." Aang said.

"Ha! Are you joking? That was almost perfect." Fung said, "We just have to find out a way to control you when you're like that."

"You're out of your mind." Aang said. "I guess we'll figure it out on the way to the Fire Nation." Fung said, and Sokka hit Fung in the head with his weapon.

"Anybody got a problem with that?" Sokka questioned, and the others shook their heads. "Do you still want an escort to Omashu?"

Team Avatar looked at each other. "I think we're all set." Katara said. They got on Appa and set their course for Omashu.

~

Zuko and Iroh continued to run until that where a safe distance away from Azula and the inn. They stopped at a river. "I think we're safe here." Iroh said. Zuko pulled out the pocketknife that Iroh gave him when he was young, and he cut off his ponytail. Zuko passed it to Iroh, and he did the same. They threw their hair in the river.

~~~

The team made a stop so Aang and Katara could practice their waterbending. "You guys are gonna be done soon, right?" Sokka said while floating on a big leaf, "We've got a lot of ground to cover if we're going to make it to Omashu today."

"What, like you're ready to go right now, Naked Guy?" Katara questioned, and [Y/n], who was dressed in a swimsuit as well, giggled.

"I could be ready in two minutes." Sokka said, "Seriously, whenever."

Aang and Katara went back to practicing while [Y/n] took time to give Appa a bath.

Soon, they heard singing in the distance that was getting closer to them. "Hey, Hey! River People." The man with the guitar greeted.

"We're not River People." Katara said.

"You're not?" He repeated with a questioning look, "Well, what kind of people are you?"

"Just people." Aang answered.

"Aren't we all, Brother? Hoo!"

[Y/n] tilted her head in confusion. "Who are you?" Sokka asked.

"I'm Chong." The guitar man said, "And this is my wife, Lily. We're nomads. Happy to go wherever the wind takes us." And started singing.

"You guys are nomads? That's great! I'm a Nomad!" Aang said.

"Hey, me too!" Chong said.

"I know." Aang said and raised a brow, "You just said that."

"Oh." Chong said then looked at Sokka, "Nice underwear."

Sokka covered himself with Momo and side stepped away.

~~

Weeks went by and Iroh and Zuko became fugitive. "I didn't find anything to eat. I can't live like this. I wasn't meant to be a fugitive. This is impossible!" Zuko complained while Iroh stared at a plant.

Zuko noticed this. "Uncle. What are you doing?" He asked.

"You're looking at the rare White Dragon Bush. Its leaves make a tea so delicious it's heartbreaking." Iroh said, "That, or it's the White Jade Bush, which is poisonous."

"We need food, not tea." Zuko said, "I'm going fishing." He left Iroh to stare at the White Jude Bush.

Meanwhile, with Aang and the others, [Y/n] enjoyed laying in the sun, getting her hair braided by one of the other nomads. She was even putting flowers in [Y/n]'s hair. It kind of reminded [Y/n] of being back in the Fire Nation with Ty-Lee, who braided [Y/n]'s hair often.

"Hey, Sokka," Aang called out the male walking closer to the group, who was relaxing on top of Appa, "You should hear some of these stories. These guys have been everywhere."

"Well, not everywhere, Little Arrowhead, but where we haven't been, we've heard about through stories and songs." Chong said.

"They said they'll take us to see a giant Night Crawler." Aang said.

"On the way, there's a waterfall that creates a never-ending rainbow!" The other male nomad chimed in.

"Look, I hate to be the wet blanket here, but since Katara is busy, I guess it's up to me. We need to get to Omashu. No sidetracks, no worms, and definitely no rainbows." Sokka said and crossed his arms.

"Whoa. Sounds like someone's got the case of destination fever." Chong said then laughed, "You're worried too much about where you're going."

"You gotta focus less on the where and more on the going." Lily said.

"Oh..." Sokka said with a deadpanned look, "Ma... Shu...!"

"Sokka is right." [Y/n] said, "Aang needs to learn Earthbending."

"Well, sounds like you're heading to Omashu." Chong said, and Sokka facepalmed, "There's an old story about a secret pass... right through the mountains."

"Is this real or a legend?" Katara asked.

"Oh, it's a real legend." Chong said, "And it's as old as Earthbending itself." He started strumming his guitar. [Y/n], Aang and Katara nodded along to the song.

"Two lovers forbidden from one another." Chong began to sing, "A war divides their people, and a mountain divides them apart. Built a path to be together...."

Then he stopped, "Yeah, I forget the next couple lines, but then it goes..." He muttered and continued to sing while the other nomads dances, "Secret Tunnel! Secret Tunnel! Through the mountain! Secret, secret, secret, secret tunnel! Yeah!"

They applauded the man.

Sokka raised a brow. "We'll stick with flying. We've delt with the Fire Nation before." He said and walked closer to Aang, [Y/n], and Katara, "We'll be fine."

"Yeah, thank for the help, but Appa hates going underground." Aang said and stood up, "And we need to do whatever makes Appa most comfortable." [Y/n] smiled and nodded while petting Appa.

They tried to fly to Omashu only to be ambushed my Fire Nation soldiers shoot fireballs at them. Aang and the team met back with the nomads. "Secret love cave. Let's go." Sokka said, leading the way.

~~

After a while, Zuko came back with a tiny fish on a stick. "Zuko, remember that plant I thought might be tea?" Iroh said.

"You didn't." Zuko muttered.

"I did, and it wasn't." Iroh said as he scratched his face, and Zuko freaked. "When the rash spreads to my throat, I will stop breathing." Iroh said while scratching his back with a branch, "But look what I found! These are Pakui berries. Known to cure the poison of the White Jude Plant. That, or Makaola berries, that cause blindness."

Zuko snatched the branch. "We're not taking any chances with these plants!" He said, and threw it, "We need to get help."

"But where are we going to go? We're enemies of the Earth Kingdom, and fugitives from the Fire Nation." Iroh said as he continued to scratch all over his body.

"If the Earth Kingdom discovers us, they'll have us killed." Zuko muttered.

"But if the Fire Nation discovers us, we'll be turned over to Azula." Iroh added as he still scratched.

They looked at each other for a moment.

"Earth Kingdom it is." Zuko said, and they began to walk.

~~

Team Avatar and the nomads continued to walk through the ruins. "How far are we from the tunnel?" Sokka questioned.

"Actually, it's not just one tunnel." Chong said, "The lovers didn't want anyone to find out about their love, so they built a whole labyrinth."

"Labyrinth?!" Sokka repeated in distress.

"I'm sure we'll figure it out." Chong said with a shrug, and they continued walking.

"All you need to do is trust in love, according to the curse." Lily said, making Sokka stop walking.

"Curse?!" He yelled.

Eventually, thy made it to the tunnel's entrance. "Hey, hey! We're here!" Chong said.

"What exactly is this curse?" Sokka questioned.

"The curse says that only those that trust in love can make it through the caves. Otherwise, you'll be trapped in them forever." Chong explained.

[Y/n]'s eyes widened a bit. "And die." Lily added.

"Oh, yeah, and die." Chong agreed, "Hey, I just remembered the rest of that song." He strummed, "And die!"

"That's it!" Sokka said, "There's no way we're going through some cursed hole!"

"Hey! Someone's making a big campfire!" The nomad, Moku, pointed out in the distance.

"That's no campfire, Moku." Katara said.

"It's Fire Nation. They're tracking us." Sokka added.

"So, all you need is to trust in love to get through these caves?" Aang questioned.

"That is correct, Master Arrowhead." Chong said.

Aang looked at Katara while [Y/n] rubbed her wrist. Then Aang looked at [Y/n]. He knew that [Y/n] was hopelessly in love with Zuko while he was hopelessly in love with Katara.

Their faith in their love could get them trough. "We can make it." Aang said.

"I believe so." [Y/n] chimed in and smiled a bit.

"Everyone into the hole!" Sokka said and led the way.

As they walked in, the ground suddenly began to rumble. "Oh no..." [Y/n] muttered. The Fire Soldiers destroyed the entrance and closed them in.