Northern Water Tribe

Rinrock hated his job. Every morning he would get up bright and early to offer prayers before the temple. He'd pray to the gods of the moon and the ocean, a process that wasn't too bad. It only took fifteen minutes. But then he had to pray to the Avatar and that took an entire hour. On the solstices the time spent doubled.

First, he would have to read aloud that day's selection of prayer scrolls before the temple. Then, for some absurd reason, he had to circle the temple in a dance that took ten minutes to complete. Finally, the stupidest part of the daily ritual came, something he had pleaded with his father to get rid of, but it was to no avail. There had been a hundred eighty nine Avatars throughout history. And so he had to bow before the temple, a total of a hundred eighty nine times.

Sad to say he had gotten used to it. He had only been doing it since childhood. Ten years later and at least he could say he had a great core strength or that's what he hoped. His worst nightmare was that this was completely useless as all his friends said it was.

Rinrock desperately wanted to quit but his father would've been in complete despair. For generations, his male ancestral line had taken care of the temple, from his great great grandfather down to him. They of course couldn't stop now, could they?

After the morning prayer ritual, he thankfully could do whatever he wanted. Throughout the day people, mostly elders, would visit the temples. The younger generation had stopped coming altogether except on special occasions. At night he would repair whatever damage the ice statues in the temples had received and get ready for the next day.

Today especially had been exhausting. A middle aged woman had visited with her kids and one of them managed to melt an ice sculpture of an ancestral chief off. He and his father had to open one of the older texts for an illustration and repair the damage by hand. Thankfully his father was much more of an artist than he was.

"Check the Avatar temple. See if it's alright," Rinjin yelled to his son. He would have done it himself, but he had been called away by the chief and was already down the hill.

"Got it dad," Rinrock yelled back. They had just finished inspecting all the other statues in the Moon and Ocean Temple that he really didn't want to go all the way to the Avatar temple. But his father always had a sixth sense about these things. He wasn't sure how, but he knew whenever he hadn't checked on either temple for the day. Maybe there's some sort of thing that happens when I open the door, Rinrock reasoned.

And so Rinrock made the trek upwards to the temple making sure not to fall on the ice. The temple was a large wooden one story building. From the outside it was completely unremarkable. The only way someone would even be able to tell it was the Avatar temple was if they had lived here. On the inside, however, were rows of statues just like in the Moon and Water Temple, but instead of chiefs there were statues of Avatars. More specifically, the temple contained a statue of every Avatar of the Water Tribes. Each statue was carefully maintained by the caretakers of the temple, a solemn honor his father had told him. Personally Rinrock couldn't care less. The statues may have been impressive the first time around. but thousands of inspections later had rendered them mundane.

This time around it would have been no different except now there was a white light beneath the entrance. What could that be? Rinrock thought. He entered the temple and was blinded by a blistering light. He shielded his eyes until they adjusted to the brightness and saw to his awe that all the statues were glowing. Their eyes were all giving off the same white light.

"No way," Rinrock said aloud. If all the statues were glowing, then that could only mean one thing: the Avatar was currently in the Avatar state. But that's only possible if the Avatar had returned, Rinrock countered his conclusion before the realization hit him. The Avatar had returned.

"How are the new recruits coming along Pakku?" Chief Arnook asked. Sunset had come early today just like it always had for the past six months. While it was beautiful, he was getting tired of the long nights.

"Terribly, they lack discipline," Pakku said looking below at his new forty three students. "Some of them have promise, but others are only suited to be grunts." His eyes narrowed on one boy in particular who couldn't even get the form of the basic water whip correct.

"You say that every year," Arnook laughed. "And yet our soldiers become ever stronger."

"I agree," Rinjin said joining in on his best friend's commendation. "Are you sure you aren't being too strict?"

"Strict? These boys are too coddled. If I had shown this display to my master I would've been whipped and rightfully so. This is becoming too pathetic." Just as Pakku was about to scold his students a distant ringing gave him pause. "What is that?"

"I think it's a bell," Chief Arnook said squinting his eyes. "Isn't that from the Avatar temple Rinjin?"

"It is," Rinjin growled. What had his son done now? "If you excuse me Arnook, I need to see to the temple."

"Let me accompany you."

"I don't think that's necessary—"

"Nonsense," Arnook smiled. "I haven't seen the temple in a long time anyway. Might as well pay respects."

"Keep practicing!" Pakku yelled. "Don't you dare let me catch you slacking off. Especially you Kuvam. That water whip better be perfect by the time I come back." He turned to the two men before him. "I'm coming along. Anything to break the tedium."

"Excellent, let's go," Chief Arnook said, walking ahead of the other two men. The hill climb up the stairs should have been quick, but it cut through the city's marketplace, which was quite busy right now. At one point Pakku would have bended himself some stairs to create a shortcut, but his two friends weren't waterbenders leaving him to climb the 'normal' way. It was only when they reached the top that they saw crowds of people surrounding the temple.

"Make way, make way for Chief Arnook," Rinjin said. He should have been angry but right now he was filled with a morbid curiosity. What could his son have possibly done to attract this many people?

"It can't be," Pakku said when he made it to the clearing. The doors to the temple had been thrown open releasing white light into the night. "He's back…"

Chief Arnook and Rinjin stared at the light, their jaws dropping to the floor. It didn't matter to them that It could blind them. Right now nothing mattered but that light and its meaning.

"Dad, Dad!' Rinrock yelled in excitement. "He's back. The Avatar's returned to end the war!"

Rinjin didn't say anything instead opting to fall to his knees. "I can't believe it. He's finally returned." For three generations, his forefathers had waited to ring the bell to no avail and now his son had announced his return.

"Chief," Pakku said striding down the stairs, "If you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to." But the chief didn't respond. He was too mesmerized by the light of the statues, the peace and calm that it provided.

In war, there were moments when the tides of battles could quickly turn. A sudden unexpected advantage could swiftly ensure victory for one side even if they had many disadvantages. This was one such moment and Pakku wouldn't let it go to waste.

Red Lotus Site #4, Fire Nation

"Any other business to discuss?" Deputy Director Ming asked in her soft but determined voice.

"I don't have anything," Medical Corps Director Chun reported.

"Me neither," Science Director Xaan said.

Further denials went around the table between the various directors and heads of departments of the Red Lotus. Every month directors and deputy directors would meet to give briefings on the state of their progress in their department. No one actually wanted to come, but their Director would always insist that everyone make it. Of course, he didn't make it to the meeting and instead the twenty eight year old Deputy Director took his place.

Was this an insult? A test of some sorts? The youngest one in the room besides the Deputy Director was the Master First Class of the Ancient Technology branch in the Science division and he was forty eight. It was odd listening to briefings given by someone as young as her.

"Actually I've got something," Intelligence Director Shung interrupted. He had a long beard and had a habit of talking with his eyes closed. Sometimes people wondered if he was even awake, though no one really bothered asking. Internally everyone was groaning. The meeting had already gone on for more than an hour, filled with the most banal of reports from the Science division. Given how long-winded Shung could be the meeting could stretch on for another hour. "Yomok, you're going to want to hear this."

The Director of Operations perked his ears. He had a head of long white hair and was an imposing figure in the Red Lotus. It didn't hurt that he was seven feet tall. "What happened?"

"I just got word, before this meeting, that a member of the society died, thought you should know."

"Who was it?"

"Akane of the 57th class. I don't know how he died, but his soul slip burned out."

"I'm not sure who that is," Yomok said, trying to remember anyone that could have been. It was only after a couple of minutes of shuffling papers his deputy director whispered the answer into his ears. "Ah yes. Apparently, he graduated bottom tier so no one important." Yomok laughed as his deputy directory brought a palm to her face. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? It would've been more interesting than listening to Xaan drone on."

"Hey-" Xaan protested.

"Yes," Shung said. "I would've said something earlier, but I fell asleep. Did I miss anything important?"

"No, not really," Yomok said as everyone but Xaan snickered.

"Do you know where Akane was assigned?"

"Let's see," Yomok flipped through a couple of pages before he got his answer. "Assigned to General Iroh and Crown Prince Zuko."

"So he should be somewhere in the South Pole. What was his mis—" Shung was interrupted by an opening of the doors, something that never happened before. Whenever the Red Lotus met security was paramount. This time they were sequestered to one of their secret sites. It was a plain room with only one long table, chairs, and jugs of water. The room was located five stories below a small inconspicuous grocery store. Each floor was guarded by security personnel with the heaviest security on the fifth floor. The fact that these doors had opened during a meeting was a cause for alarm as everyone in the room stood up ready for a fight.

In stepped an old bald man barely six feet tall. He had large bushy brows, sharp nose, and a long thin white mustache. He wore plain clothes like that of a Fire Nation commoner, no exactly like that of a commoner. If the Red Lotus members didn't know any better, they would've assumed he stole them from someone.

"Director!" Everyone shouted together and gave the appropriate salute.

"At ease everyone," the Director said as he walked toward the head of the table where Ming sat. She got out of the chair and bowed to her master who in turn smiled. "I hope you all weren't too hard on Ming here. It's her first time hosting a meeting. I'm sorry I couldn't attend, but I had an emergency meeting with Ozai."

"Meeting?" Shung asked.

"Three hours ago the Fire Sages of the Capital Temple saw the Avatar statues glow." There were audible gasps in the room along with some confusion from the younger generation including Ming. Just as soon as the whispers started, they ended as the Director continued. "They sealed the room, closed the temples, and the Head Priest himself ran over to the Royal Palace. Ozai called me and we visited the temple. The statues only stopped glowing twenty minutes ago."

"I'm sorry Director, but what does it mean that the statues were glowing?" Ming asked.

"I keep forgetting how young the newer generation is," the Director smiled as Ming slightly blushed. "The Avatar has returned, rather boldly considering he went into the Avatar state."

This time the gasps finally came from the masters more than sixty. They had assumed that the Avatar would never return considering it had already been a century. Their grandchildren believed he wasn't nothing more than a myth.

"The Trickster has announced himself to the world. By this time tomorrow everyone will know of his return. How he will tip the scales of war I'm not sure, but we must prepare," the Director said solemnly.

"Pardon me Director, but do we know where he is?" Xaan asked.

"No, but with our luck he's probably in Ba Sing Se already gathering an army."

No one spoke as everyone was thinking of the myriad of questions the Avatar's reveal presented before them. Would he support the Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom? Would he have his own side deciding both sides were at fault? Was he as powerful as in the legends?

"Excuse me," Yomok's deputy director spoke. "I might know where the Avatar is."

"Oh?" the Director raised an eyebrow. "How so Toma?"

"The assassin on General Iroh's ship, Akane. He died three hours ago about the same time you said the Avatar revealed himself."

"An interesting coincidence but—"

"No Director, she's right," Yomok interrupted, his eyes widening in realization. "Akane's mission was to assassinate the Avatar if the two ever found him. He must have attacked him, the airbender went into the Avatar state, and then he killed him."

"Why was he there in the first place? The chance of the Avatar ever showing up was too low," Xaan frowned.

"I told him to do so," the Director said plainly. "If we are prepared for any possibility, then opportunities will present themselves. If Akane hadn't died. we wouldn't know the location of the Avatar."

"What do we do now?" Shung asked.

"Shung what's the nearest naval base to the South Pole?"

"Zuroch Base, if I remember correctly."

"Who's the Red there?" the Director asked who was now pacing back and forth. No on spoke in fear that his train of thought would be interrupted.

"Commander Zhao I believe. He has command of the ocean in that area."

"A commander, that's good. Send him a message to search for General Iroh and Prince Zuko. They'll probably show up at the base anyway. Make sure he interrogates them about what happened. What direction he went? What caused his Avatar state and so on and so forth."

"Why would they show up at Zuroch?" Shung frowned.

At this the Director abruptly paused his pacing and turned to address the room. "You wouldn't know this, but I've personally seen the power of the Avatar state, the damage it can cause. That ship will be damaged enough."

"Understood. I'll get right on it."

"Alright then. We will be meeting tomorrow at the same time. You're all dismissed."

As the officers of the Red Lotus departed the Director sunk deeper into his thoughts. The Avatar had returned. Before today the war had been a battle of attrition, one that he was sure the Fire Nation would have won. Now they were on a timer.

Finally left alone, the Director unclenched his hands that had started to shake so violently when he had heard the news. No matter how much time had passed he couldn't forget that memory that had been burned into his head, that memory of the old man in red and his searing white eyes.

Omashu War Room, Earth Kingdom

"Based on Kanna's letter Iroh had Aang in his custody at around two hours before sunset," King Boomi said for the third time to the emergency assembly of masters and grandmasters of the White Lotus. The first two times he had assumed that everyone who was in Omashu was present but somehow more people kept filing in. "He went into the Avatar state around sunset and escaped on his flying bison due north."

"Well this is a mess," Grandmaster Fong, Head of Intelligence, laughed. "At least the Avatar's still alive." She saw a few nods in appreciation while others looked dismayed that they had lost their advantage.

"For now, at least. Not even three hours have passed before the Red Lotus tried to kill him," Grandmaster Faor, Head of Operations, replied.

"Who knows the Avatar has returned?" Fong asked.

'Everyone," Boomi smiled. "Or at least everyone will know by tomorrow. Each temple in the four nations has signaled the return of Aang." The King of Omashu took out a small piece of yellow paper. "Pakku sent me a letter by messenger bird as soon as he found out. There is no way to hide this secret, it's already out in the open."

"Did he really have a gun?" one of the masters from the back asked.

"Yes," Boomi nodded. "He had a revolver."

"Why are we limiting ourselves?" Faor asked. "The Red Lotus keeps violating the treaty every chance they get, and we just continue to let them get away. We need to at least arm our soldiers."

"What do you think will happen if the White Lotus soldiers found out?" Boomi asked in between bites of rock candy. While everyone else was sitting straight in their chair he was laying down, his feet on the table. Somehow though, he still gave off a regal presence, as if being king was second nature to him. "They'll spread the knowledge and use of guns to the world no matter how much we tell them not to. Imagine that kind of power in a commoner's hands, the devastation it would cause as bender and non-bender alike are killed before they can even think."

"We still need to retaliate," Fong said. "Show them we don't take any violation lightly."

"Hmm," Boomi thought. "We will arm masters up to the 2nd class in firearms then. That way we'll be ready for any escalation they might have planned." There were murmurs in agreement of the twenty five or so members in the room, some even excited at the prospect of learning how to use the gun.

"Escalation? What escalation?" Fong asked.

"You don't think the Red Lotus is going to stop at guns, right? Now that Aang has revealed himself they will try every trick in the book to kill him. Bombs, poison gas, blackmail, hostages, kidnapping, nothing's off the table," Boomi cackled. "If what Iroh said is true, then things are much worse than they seem. Aang is only twelve years old. He has no experience in life, let alone war. We need to escort him back to base as quickly as possible before this mess becomes more of a nightmare than it already is."

The once celebratory mood had vanished, replaced with a dour one. The fighting between the two groups had already been intense. How much more fervent could the fighting get now that the Red Lotus was desperate? Some shuddered at the thought.

"On that cheerful note, I hope you all sleep well tonight. We'll meet tomorrow when more of our members have arrived," Boomi turned to his two oldest friends. "Fong, Faor, get Yiko here. No point discussing the future without the science division."

The two nodded and left the room along with the others. Boomi, who now had another piece of rocky candy, was spinning it in his hand, deep in thought. Before him, on the table, was a map of the world littered with red and white spots. Sometimes he would spend the entire day staring at the map, trying to predict the opponent's next move. From his robe, Boomi took out a white piece covered in a blue arrow and placed it near the South Pole. Where are you going Aang?

Capital Island was a small island off the western coast of the Fire Nation mainland. The island itself was a microcosm of Fire Nation society. The poor and middle class lived at sea level in Harbor City providing essential trade to the rest of the country while the rich lived at the summit of the mountain in the capital, Royal Caldera city.

The mountain, in actuality a dormant volcano, provided a natural defense to the city. In fact, it was the primary reason why Fire Lord Arzin, after a long and brutal civil war that resulted in the original capital being sacked, chose the crater for the new capital. And so Royal Caldera City became the heartbeat of the country as all the Fire Nation elites had a residence there. Many didn't use them as their own estates on the mainland were more spacious. Instead, the city had become a game of sorts with the elite trying to own real estate as close to the center as possible where, of course, the Royal Palace was located.

With all the oligarchy and the head of state in one place the city had to be impenetrable and indeed it was. Fifty kilometers before the island was a massive blockade controlled by at least ten Emperor Class vessels that restricted all ships from nearing the island. In the harbor there were multiple ships that were always ready to engage with any enemy at a moment's notice. On land, between the capital and Harbor City was the Royal Plaza, which was guarded by the 2nd Fire Nation Army Regiment.

As a final precaution the only way to enter the city from the Royal Plaza was up a long staircase that would force any invasion force to form into a line making it easier to delay and attack them. All in all, Royal Caldera City was heavily fortified, some would say even more so than walled city of Ba Sing Se. Indeed for its entire history, the city, and even more so, the island had never suffered a single invasion attempt.

It was unfortunate then that record would be broken when a spaceship crashed right into the island.

"Azula, it's time to stop," Li the elder said. She, like her twin sister, wore a long and elegant purple robe. It had been quite an expensive purchase, but it was worth it considering how much heat it could keep in at night.

"Stop?" Azula yelled giving a kick as blue fire erupted from her leg. "I'll stop when I get this move correct. Until then I'd kindly prefer if you shut up."

"Enough Azula," Lo countered. "Anymore and you'll tire yourself out. Unless you want to remain in bed tomorrow you need to stop."

But Azula didn't speak this time choosing to ignore her twin mentors. Every day she would spend three hours bending with one of the twin sisters. Some days, like today, both sisters would join to teach her, much to her chagrin. They were good teachers, great even, better than the last teacher she had. But as good as they were, they were still non-benders. They couldn't feel the energy that was rushing through her body. Azula had caught her second wind and she was not about to let up.

She took in a deep breath and assumed a tiger stance. Focus she thought to herself as her hands erupted in blue fire. She jumped into the air as her limbs moved swiftly to counter potential strikes. Almost there… Azula landed and delivered a final kick that erupted into a flame twice as powerful yet more focused and narrow.

"'Excellent!" Li commended. The princess was a prodigy indeed. It was unheard of anyone completing the mid-level firebending skill set by age fourteen. She could only imagine how skillful Azula would be when she came of age. "Will you come rest now?"

"Yes," Azula breathed heavily but smiled to herself in satisfaction. "Now would be a good time to rest."

"With enough time, you will become the most powerful firebender of your generation, if not ever," Lo said but Azula paid no heed. She already had enough yes men to deal with. She didn't need any more.

"Tomorrow," the fire princess said as they made their way to the palace, "I want to extend my training to four hours. I don't have time to dawdle around like my idiot brother."

"Four hours?!" Lo asked. "That would be entirely too much. Your body wouldn't be able to handle that much stress."

"I'll decide what my body can handle Li. You just instruct," Azula replied.

"I'm not Li. She's Li," Lo pointed to her sister.

"Do I look like I care? Honestly if you didn't want me to confuse you two maybe you shouldn't wear the same purple dress every day. I think my father pays you enough to afford different clothing."

"But Princess Azula," Li said, ignoring her insults. "Why are you in such a rush to get stronger?"

"Why? Did you seriously just ask me why?" Azula said, turning around to face her mentors. "The Avatar has returned, and you expect me to sit around as he comes for my father?"

"No—"

"Exactly," Azula interrupted. "We need to double our efforts. Li, you'll get as many of the restricted airbending texts for me as possible. I'll also need to double my tactics training as well so I'll need those tactic scrolls. Lo, you'll draw up a training regiment to increase my stamina and speed as quickly as possible. Is that clear?"

Lo quickly nodded, but Li was somewhat hesitant. "Haven't you already been through the airbending texts?"

"Not as carefully as I should have been," Azula said impatiently. "We're dealing with a bender who's a master of an element that's been dead for a hundred years. That type of monopoly makes him an unexpected variable when it comes to combat. If there's any hope for defeating him it will be in those records."

"How very astute of you," Li nodded in appreciation. Her student had put a lot of thought into her course of action. "However, it'll take two days for us to get the texts."

"Why?" Azula growled.

"Bureaucracy I'm afraid. They are restricted texts after all Princess Azula."

"We don't have time for burea—", Azula was yelling before she caught something in the corner of her eye. Up above in the night sky was a small faint light slowly moving across the sea of stars. "What is that?"

The twin elders followed the direction of her finger to the small ball of light. "It's probably a shooting star," Li offered.

"No, it's too slow for a shooting star."

"A comet perhaps?" Lo said.

"Too small," Azula replied quickly but she wasn't sure. The comet could have been very far away. She was just about to dismiss the celestial body when it did the unexpected. "Did it just get brighter?"

"I think it did," Lo commented.

For the next minute or so the three stood stunned as they saw the meteor not only dramatically increase in size but speed. The meteor, now twice as bright as the moon, zoomed westward across the night sky leaving a trail of fire behind it. Azula had to squint her eyes as she tried to follow the meteor's path, but it was too bright.

"Is it coming here?" Azula asked as light increased in brightness and intensity.

"No," Lo said in awe. In all her years she had never seen such a spectacle. A few seconds passed before she spoke again. "It's too low to hit us."

"It's still going to crash on the island," Li added quickly before the three ran for cover.

But no impact ever came. Instead all they heard was a distant thud coming from the west.

"Princess, are you alright?" Li asked. She was pleasantly surprised to find she was still alive. From the size and speed of that meteor she was sure that they were done for.

"We need to find out what that was," Azula said, angry not that the meteor had hit the island, but that she had fallen in her attempt to find cover.

"It's too dangerous," Lo said panting from the excitement. She was too old for surprises, especially one as big as this one.

"That's why we have to find out. We can't let whoever or whatever that was get away. If they're here, then they're an immediate threat to the country," Azula scolded.

"There's no need. The army will make it there before us."

"No they won't!" Azula yelled at Li. "They're in the plaza. The crash is to the left below us. It will take them forever to make it through the forest."

"She's right Li. We can't let any invader escape."

"Fine, but Princess Azula please be careful. Stay behind us."

"You'll only slow me down," Azula yelled as she ran ahead before they could get a word in. First the Avatar and now this… it can't be a coincidence.

The twins ran after her but at a slower speed making sure to keep their eye on her at all times. "She can't hear us, can she?" Lo asked.

"Not from what I can tell. Do you have any idea what that was?"

"No clue. But whatever it was we'll need to contain it."

"We'll need to send a message to the council," Li said. "They'll need to secure the area immediately, especially if the army gets there first."

"Aren't you two tired?" Azula asked with a panted breath. She had underestimated the distance from the city to the impact site. They first had to make their way down the long staircase. Only Azula decided it would have been faster if they made it a half the way down and then run around the caldera. This proved to be a terrible decision considering how rocky the mountain was. The entire time she had been running as fast as she could and now, she was paying the price thirty minutes later.

"All good things in moderation Princess Azula," Li smiled. "If you're too rash you'll tire yourself out before you can get where you're going."

"But you're so old. How have you been keeping up with me? What's your secret?"

"Age doesn't define strength," Lo chided. "Will does."

Azula simply huffed at her teacher's non-sensible answer and made her way into the woods as Li and Lo closely followed along. Five minutes in and they saw the first sign of the impact. Countless trees layered the ground, and some were even stacked three trees high. The closer they got to the impact site the more carnage they saw. Now the trees were burnt and stomped on as if a giant had put their foot on them. She couldn't see it, but she could tell the earth in front of her was scorched black from the heat it was giving off. About ten meters in front of her was a large crater. It was impossible to tell how deep or wide it was given how she couldn't see that far, but it felt enormous. Just as Azula was about to approach the crater a hand jumped from behind her and covered her mouth.

"Don't make a sound," Li whispered.

Azula had almost attacked the elder in shock. She had half a mind to actually do it, but then she heard the humming. There was someone in the crater, someone they couldn't see. Azula strained her ears to locate the source, but the humming had stopped as suddenly as it had begun. The three got on their hands and feet and crawled to the edge of the crater making sure to be as quiet as possible. Fortunately the darkness provided them the same cover it did the stranger.

When they had finally made their way to the edge the three peered over in awe. At first Azula was confused. There were many a time she had spent walking along this same route in the past and she had never seen a building as large as the one before her. The building itself was circular in shape and made up of some sort of gray metal. From what the moonlight exposed she could tell it was quite large as it took up a decent chunk of the crater in size. No it can't be… Azula thought to herself. But what else could explain it? If the building was in the middle of the crater, then it had to be what crashed. She turned to her teachers, but they too had the same puzzled look. Before she could continue her train of thought the humming started again.

It was definitely a woman who was humming the tune, that much was obvious. What she was humming though was another question. The humming continued to fill the air, getting louder and louder as each minute passed. Azula told herself that it was an auditory illusion, that the reason the humming was so loud was because everything else in the forest was so quiet, but it didn't help. It felt like the woman was humming right next to her ear. The humming continued for minutes on end until it again suddenly stopped, and then a voice spoke.

"Ok, do you think the floodlights will work now?" a woman asked.

Azula, Li, and Lo waited for a response, but none came. Were there two people? A few moments later, they were blinded with light. Night had turned to day as light illuminated the forest. The three flinched, their eyes slowly adjusting to the new sun before them.

"Finally, I can see," the woman below them exclaimed.

"What is that?" Azula whispered in shock.

"It could be some sort of spirit," Lo responded.

"Don't be daft," Li chided. "That's obviously some sort of armor."

The other two looked at the invader again and realized she was right. The woman was wearing completely white armor. The armor reflected light in many directions making it hard to see through the intense glare.

Is she a soldier? Azula thought. For the first time in her life she felt a tiny trickle of fear, which, of course, she complete squashed. She had to be completely rational right now. She could ill afford to let her emotions take control.

If this was an earthbender then that would mean the Earth Kingdom had the capability to launch huge projectiles from hundreds, if not thousands, of kilometers away. But that would make no sense, Azula reasoned. Their military was decades behind the Fire Nation and yet they launched such a massive projectile over such an enormous distance?

Perhaps then this was a secret test that the Fire Nation was conducting? But for what purpose? Why fire buildings at an enemy? Why even conduct the test on Capital Island and risk incurring the wrath of the nobles, not to mention the Fire Lord? No, Azula concluded, that doesn't make sense either.

That only left the condition that she feared the most. This was someone who had crashed from the sky. But what could that possibly mean?

"Yeah so, the engines are completely destroyed," the woman sighed. "Good news is that we did survive." What she was most thankful for, however, was that the ship's shields had absorbed most of the impact. As soon as the ship had entered the planet's atmosphere it sensed the sudden increase in acceleration and projected four layers of blue barriers around the ship. However, even with all the barriers active, the deceleration from the impact was too great to be completely absorbed and devastated the ship.

You fool! You steered the ship out of the slipstream, a deep and commanding voice yelled in her mind.

"I steered the ship out?" the woman yelled. "They were firing on us in hyperspace! Who the hell does that? How the hell do they even do that?"

They do, you arrogant woman! They're strong enough to follow through on their plans, unlike you. If we lose them Black, I will rain my vengeance upon you.

"Oh do shut up," Black groaned. "Is the fire suppression system active?"

Fire's almost out. How did we lose them? he asked changing the subject. We were in the same sequence.

"I'm not sure. My tracker should have kept track of them, but it led us here."

And where is here exactly?

"Hold on," Black said before she struggled to climb out of the easily thirty meter crater her ship had left in the forest. Thankfully, Azula realized, she had decided to climb opposite where she and her teachers were located.

It took her a while as Black had to avoid all the small fires on the trek upwards. It was only after she made it out of the crater that she started to count her blessings. "The grass is green, trees aren't moving about, and there seems to be only one moon in the sky." Black squinted her eyes and could see the familiar maria on the lunar body. If she looked hard enough, she could make out Mare Imbrium and Oceanus Procellarum, two of the many "seas" on the Moon. "There's no doubt about it, that's definitely my moon."

Then Is this—

"Seems like it," Black twisted her helmet off and took in a deep breath. Though the air was somewhat humid the breeze she felt put a smile on her face, even after all that had happened. It was good to be back home again.

So she is human Azula confirmed to herself before she had to backpedal from her conclusion. She looked at the woman in awe. The woman stood almost two meters tall, taller than most of the men in the army. She had slightly longer than shoulder length black hair but instead of it being straight it was filled with curls. Her eyes were larger than any she had seen before. But what really piqued her interest was how pale she was. Azula could have sworn that the being in front of her was a ghost or a spirit as she had an otherworldly presence to her. She turned to Li and Lo only to see the same stunned look on their faces.

How are we going to catch them? the voice asked the woman, making sure she could hear the inherent threatening tone in his question.

"It'll be easy now that we're on an Earth. Well relatively easy. There's still a lot of work we need to do but we'll beat them there no matter how far they get."

Do not toy with me Black. They have my son. If even one hair of his is harmed—

"Relax. Your son is safe. Right now they're going at lightspeed, which means they're frozen in time. While we are not."

They have a head start and the same "advantage" we do.

"Doesn't matter," Black cackled a little. She still couldn't believe their luck. Of all the places they could've crashed in the universe, they found themselves on an Earth. The real question was why the tracker had led them here in the first place. Black fell backwards onto the grass and took in the scenery. The night sky was illuminated with a myriad of stars each of them twinkling brightly. She tried looking for any constellations that might seem familiar but knew it was futile. Even though they landed on an Earth there was no way they were even in the Laniakea Supercluster let alone the Milky Way. "They'll be stuck in time for seven hundred years the way they initiated that launch."

Even through hyperspace?

"Especially through hyperspace. While those idiots are traveling through the slipstream, stuck in time, we'll cut ahead of them, catch them by surprise."

But they're going at lightspeed…

"And we can travel at superluminal speeds," Black smiled. "We'll beat them there, get our revenge, you get your son and his friends, and everything resolves itself."

If only it were that easy.

Black didn't know how he did it but somehow, he had even managed to make that sound threatening. "Are you alright by the way? Any smoke get into containment shell?"

No. Focus your attention on getting us out of here.

"Yes, yes," Black sighed. "I'll start—" she said before a beeping sound came from her arm. "Can't even have a moment to relax." She took off her right armored arm band to reveal a metallic prosthetic arm that had a monitor built into the side.

3 HUMANOIDS DETECTED the monitor flashed in blinking crimson red. Looks like someone already found us, Black thought instead of speaking. More importantly, they're eavesdropping on us.

I told you not to turn on those lights.

It wouldn't have mattered. With how we crashed we would have been discovered eventually.

What are you going to do?

Introduce myself, of course.

Why is she taking her armor off? Azula thought. The 'spirit' woman took off her chest plate, leg armor, and boots, tossing them onto the ground as if they were worthless. She was now wearing a robe as dark as the night, billowing along with the breeze. In fact, if the lights weren't on Azula was sure she'd look like a floating head.

"Where did she go?" Li struggled to keep her voice below a whisper.

"What are you talking about?" Azula asked before she recoiled. A chill ran down her spine almost causing her to shiver. The woman had completely disappeared. She had only taken her eyes off of her for two seconds. "Lo, did you see where she went?"

"Maybe she went deeper into the forest?"

"Or maybe that cloak of hers made her invisible," the princess posited. "That would explain why she took off her armor."

"Keep your voices down!" Li whispered. "She could still be here."

The minutes that passed felt like hours as they waited for the woman to return. She wasn't sure that they had been discovered but the bright lights left Azula feeling exposed. As long as they were on, they were vulnerable.

"We need to leave now," Lo broke the silence.

"And let her get away?"

"We don't know what we're dealing with," Li chimed in. "We can return with reinforcements later, but right now we need to leave. It isn't safe."

"What's not safe?" said a fourth voice.

Azula immediately reacted, kicking upwards in a flaming blue arc.

"Whoa!" Black said, barely getting out of the way of the fire. She jumped backwards creating a 3 meter space between her and the princess. Where did that fire come from?

By now, Azula had formed a fighting stance, her heart beating rapidly like never before. This was the first time someone had ever successfully snuck up on her and the feeling was strangely exhilarating. She could feel the blood pounding in her head, her face slightly red. The other two reacted the same way, more than a little annoyed someone got the jump on them. Lo had taken out two steel daggers while Li sported a saber with a red flag.

"Ladies I mean you no harm," Black raised her hands. "Might I ask where we are?"

"How long were you behind us?" Azula asked, summoning blue fire in her hands.

"Long enough," Black smiled as she took an interest in the fire in her hands. "Where's that fire coming from? Do you have some sort of ignition system set up?"

"Of course," Azula returned the smile as she made the flame grow in size. The woman didn't know what firebending was, an advantage she filed away for later use. "If you step closer, I can show you how it works."

"Stranger," Li interrupted, "Would you mind telling us your name?"

"Black."

"That's a color, not a name," Azula said.

"And yet it is mine all the same."

"Black, how did you end up here?" Lo asked.

Azula didn't turn away from the stranger but she could tell from the tone of their voices the sisters were up to something.

"It's a simple story really," Black laughed. "As I was making my way through the stars my ship was attacked by monsters. I narrowly escaped and crash landed here."

No one spoke for a while as the three took some time to process the statement. All the while the woman in black robes looked at them with a smile. Perhaps it would have been comforting if it wasn't so unnerving.

"You are from the stars?" Li asked.

"Yes, I just said that."

"Are you—" Lo said before she interrupted herself. This was new ground and required a new way of thinking. "Do you know what a human is?"

"Of course I know what a human is," Black raised an eyebrow.

"Are you human then?"

"Ah I see, best not to assume. That's a good idea," Black said to herself. "I am Black, Goddess of the Night Sky. I am about as human as you are an insect."

You're trying that again? I never knew you to be unoriginal.

I'm just following the standard protocol.

There's a protocol for this?

You'd be surprised how often this happens.

"If you're a god then how come I've never heard of you?" Azula asked.

"I'd have called you a liar if you had heard of me. I'm a god from another world. One too far for you mortals to ever observe."

"If you are from so far away, then why are you here at all?"

"Very interesting," Black smirked. She walked toward them and the three slightly edged backwards. Li herself was only one footstep away from the edge of the precipice. "Most mortals consider it wise not to question the words of gods."

Before Azula could follow up with her own retort she was interrupted by a faint but distinct familiar sound, footsteps. Oh great reinforcements are here…

"What is that?" Black asked, turning around to peer deeper into the forest. Her query was answered when she saw the first soldier, clad in crimson armor, appear from a tree, spear ready in his hand. He was soon joined by the rest of his company, each soldier aiming his spear at the foreign woman. Some of them had small fireballs in the other hand lighting the way for the rest. More pyrokinetics… Black thought, a little wary of the soldiers. If the girl had been able to use fire in combat like that, then what would these men be able to do?

"Who are you? You're trespassing on Fire Nation—" Captain Rumil said before getting a good look at the woman. The soldiers also gave some pause as they stared along with the captain at Black. Was she a spirit?

"Ahem," Azula coughed.

"Princess Azula, is that you?" Rumil asked.

"I take it you're not blind?"

"No Princess," Rumil said, bowing to show as much deference as possible. He had heard stories of how she had fired majors in the army for the simplest of transgressions. She could easily replace him with one of his soldiers if she wanted to.

"Good," Azula smiled. "Arrest thi—"

"Our deepest apologies Goddess," Li interjected putting away her saber. Lo immediately followed suit sheathing her daggers. "We mean no ill will. It's just that we are in the midst of war and assumed you were an invader. We would be honored if you could stay the night with us. You must be exhausted from your travels."

"You trust me enough to invite me?" Black asked. She looked to the company of soldiers on one side, who were wearily judging her, and the young girl on the other who never took her eyes off of her. She was the most dangerous of all. Black could tell she had been ready to kill. "Why did you change your mind?"

"Goddess, once we saw your ship, we saw how wrong we were. We did not mean to raise our blades against you," Lo said this time.

"Thank you," Black commented. The sister had immediately followed up on the twin's lie. How well versed are they in lying? Or could they be telepathic? she thought. No wait, that sounds stupid. "What should I call you two?"

"I am Li."

"I am Lo."

Black turned her attention to the girl. "And what about you child? What's your name?"

Azula took in a small sigh as she extinguished the flames in her hands. She'd scold her teachers later for not including her in their plan. "I am Azula, Princess of the Fire Nation, and I too would be honored if you can stay the night. Perhaps in the morning I can show you around the kingdom."

Black looked at the bowing girl and smiled. In some ways she reminded her of herself when she was that young. Commanding officers decades older than her, conjuring fire from thin air, and having the sort of practiced smile that would put any other liar to shame, all signs that she shouldn't trust her. "I humbly accept your offer Princess Azula," Black said. "I would stay the night in my ship, but it's too dangerous right now. Thank you for your generosity."

"Of course it is the least we can do for a goddess," Azula said. "Captain Rumil, you will escort us to base. Send some of your soldiers to warn the other officers not to approach the ship. Tell them the accidental intrusion is my responsibility and any questions they have they can refer to me, Li and Lo, or my father."

"Yes Princess," Rumil said before he rushed ahead of the company to relay the orders. Escort? Black laughed inwardly. They had her completely surrounded. The company of spearmen and fire practitioners were in front of her and behind her were two elders with their blades. It was hardly noticeable, but she could see their fingers slightly twitching toward their weapons.

Why are you walking into such an obvious trap?

I need a place to rest, they're offering. Besides if I were to kill all these soldiers, I'd probably have their country coming for me. It wouldn't be conducive to our problem.

Do not disappoint me Black. It wouldn't be conducive to your health, the voice said fading away.

Isn't he the witty one? Black smiled as she followed the party deeper into the forest, delving deeper into the darkness. It was nice to have a little side adventure once in a while.

A/N:The idea of the soul slip I stole from One Piece.

In this world everyone has chi and can insert it into paper so that it indicates if they're alive or not and other statuses.

This is also why the statues glow white when Aang goes into his Avatar State. Each statue in various temples have soul slips with his chi in it.

I'll explain more later in the story. I will be adding images to indicate various aspects of the story such as locations of everything that has happened so far.

Thanks for reading!