Day 1
Jinora, Rohan, and Kyoha stood at the front of the ship on a platform Toph had metalbended. Incense sticks burned and Katara and her friends sat in the front row.
"I cannot be more proud of my niece," Jinora began. "This past century has been very difficult for our people, and yet Rina never gave up hope. Even when the world was at its darkest, she persevered. And for that, it is my greatest honor to count her among the masters."
Rina lifted her head, letting the hooded cloak fall down. Her hair had been shaved off to expose the blue arrow tattoo on her head and down her arms. She looked happier than Katara had seen her in a long time.
Jinora stepped back, letting Rohan and Kyoha pull their daughter into a hug.
---
Katara almost strangled Rina with her hug. "I know you're probably tired of hearing this, but I'm so proud of you."
"Thanks," Rina squeaked.
Toph punched her shoulder. "I knew you were special from the moment you first danced, Twinkle Toes."
"Yeah!" Sokka agreed. "I knew you were special from the moment you first destroyed my watchtower!"
Rina laughed. As soon as Zuko opened his mouth, she was off. "Hey, Seling, guess who's no longer the youngest master since Aunt Jinora?"
"Congratulations," Zuko called after her. "Spirits," he muttered.
Katara had to admit she laughed. "She can be a little annoying at first, but just think of her like a little sister."
"I wish you'd compared her to anyone else."
"So," Toph interrupted. "I didn't know Seling was a master."
"Yeah," Sokka said. "He's got the tattoos and everything."
"Seling has tattoos?"
"Right. Sorry. All airbending masters have them."
"Rina has tattoos? Wow, go Twinkle Toes!"
---
"Come on, Rina," Rohan said. "Now that you're a master, I'd like to show you some Pai Sho moves."
"Why?" Rina couldn't disguise her annoyance.
"Come on, it'll be fun. Not many still cling to the old ways, but those who do can always find a friend."
---
"So, Toph," Kai said as he and Toph stood to the side. "Do you know how to pick locks?"
"No."
"Come on, I'll show you."
---
"Your Princess Azula, clever and beautiful, disguised herself as the enemy and entered the Earth Kingdom capital! AND THE EARTH KINGDOM FELL! Azula's agents quickly overtook the entire city. They went to Ba Sing Se's great walls AND BROUGHT THEM DOWN!"
Dai Li agents slid down the wall, bringing it down.
"The armies of the Fire Nation surged through the wall and swarmed over Ba Sing Se, securing our victory!"
Pao ushered Jin into the tea shop and the two of them watched in horror as the army marched by. The last place safe from the Fire Nation had finally fallen.
Hope began to cry as rhinos passed, and Ying clutched her close to her chest. Than brought the two of them into a hug, tears in his eyes.
"Now the hero has returned! Your princess, AZULA!"
Day 2
"We've got a problem!" Narure yelled. She pointed to another ship.
Jinora cursed. "Hide the sky bison. Everyone, act Fire Nation!"
---
The ship pulled up. "Commander, why are you off course? All Western Fleet ships are supposed to be moving to Ba Sing Se to support the occupation!"
"Actually, we're from the Eastern Fleet." Katara had to give it to her, Jinora was smooth. "We have orders to deliver some cargo."
"Well, nice of Admiral Chan to let us know he was sending one of his ships our way," the officer muttered.
"I'm sure Admiral Chan meant no disrespect, sir."
"I mean, how hard is it to write a quick note and send a hawk our way?"
"Next time, we'll be sure to send two hawks to ensure you get the message." Jinora bowed to him and the officer gestured for her to proceed.
Another soldier ran down the ramp to their ship. "Sir, Admiral Chan has been on leave for two months at Ember Island."
"What? Why doesn't anyone ever tell me anything? Something's not right. She should've known that." His eyes narrowed. "I think this is a captured ship."
Toph eyes widened as she heard the last bit. "They know!"
She thrust her hand into the metal, sending a fissure up the ramp and knocking it out from under the two men. Katara bent a wall of water into the other ship, knocking it away. Zuko called out orders as their ship began to escape.
The real Fire Nation ship tossed a few ladders over the side and the officer and his soldier climbed up.
---
Ty Lee tore part of a piece of bread and fed it to the turtle duck. Then a shadow loomed over her and the turtle ducks quacked in fear and swam away.
"You seem downcast," Azula observed.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Azula?" Ty Lee blurted. "Zuko betrayed your father. He can't be in a very good mood."
Azula scoffed. "Zuzu's always been a weakling. I'm the strong one. I'm strong, and Father knows that."
---
A flaming boulder was launched at the escaping ship, just missing. Another fireball hit the bow and everyone screamed as they tried to regain balance.
"Load the Toph!"
Meelo and Rohan grunted as they pushed an earthbending disk in front of her and adjusted her aim. Then she fired the disk at the enemy ship. It hit the trebuchet. Toph launched another disk and it hit another fireball midair.
"I'll help!" Kyoha yelled. "I'm a close-quarters fighter. I won't be of much help unless they're on the ship, and that would be...not good."
A trebuchet bolt launched towards them, but Rina leaned over the edge and blasted it into the water, her arrow tattoos glinting in the sun.
"Waterbenders!" Zuko yelled. "Give us some cover!"
Nenzahn, Katara, Anuri, Narure, and a pair of Northern waterbenders stood in formation. They raised their hands into the air, causing a massive water wall to erupt between the ships. More mist seemed to thicken over them as Seling bent an illusion.
A fireball arced through the mist. Meelo and Jinora blasted it into the water with a burst of air.
"Status report!" Zuko ordered.
"There's a fire in the engine!" Malu yelled, running up.
"Extinguish it! Don't use water, suffocate it with sand!"
"Things couldn't get much worse," Sokka reported.
In all the chaos, he'd forgotten that they were in the Serpent's Pass. He was promptly reminded of this as the serpent rose out of the water.
"The universe just loves to prove me wrong, doesn't it?"
"You make it so easy!" Toph yelled.
A fireball hit the serpent's head and it wrapped its body around the enemy ship. Malu must have gotten the engine fixed because the stolen ship started up again.
Sokka looked at the serpent in the distance. "Thank you, the universe!"
---
"So what happened?" Zuko asked at dinner that night. "With the Avatar State?"
Katara shrugged. "The only way to gain control was to abandon my friends. I...I couldn't. I couldn't sacrifice the people I cared about."
Zuko was almost afraid to ask, "Was..."
"Yeah. You were one of them."
---
"I am proud of you, daughter. I am proud because you conquered Ba Sing Se. I am proud because when your loyalty was tested, you did not join your traitorous brother and uncle."
Azula smiled, but not as widely as before.
Day 3
"Let's dock," Jinora said. "We need to make repairs."
Everyone nodded.
Rina sighed sadly and touched her arrow before tying a headband around her head and pulling up the hood of her cloak. "Let's go."
"You're headband's upside down," Zuko whispered. There was the Fire Nation symbol in gold on the front, a three-pronged flame. It was indeed upside down, so the flames formed an...arrow.
Rina glared at him. "That's intentional."
"Rina, I know that you're proud to be a master, and you should be. But think practically. If-"
If looks could kill, Zuko would be a puddle on the ground. "I said, that's intentional."
---
The five got some takeout from a street vendor and were eating on the ship.
Katara winced when she nervously nibbled on a noodle. "Ah! Hot!"
Zuko ate his noodles with a blank expression. "What?" he asked after he swallowed. "I ordered the least spicy variant."
Malu laughed as she ate her chicken. "Ah, I miss food with actual flavor!"
"The cheapest..."
"Unhealthiest..."
"Spiciest..."
"Junk food..."
"Ever!" They both laughed.
"Spirits," Malu said. "It's nice to have another Fire Nation person."
Day 4
Nenzahn had a goofy smile as he read the latest letter.
"Good news?" Meelo asked, coming up by his son's side.
"Kasiri talked her way into joining Chief Arnook's army. Along with a couple dozen other women."
"Good," Meelo said approvingly. "Girls are terrifying. And Kasiri, you said? Your fiance?"
"Yeah."
Meelo almost laughed. Someone was smitten. "Hey, as long as you don't ask Jinora for flirting advice, you're good."
"You're pretty!" Narure called as she walked by. "Can I have some of your hair?"
Meelo buried his face in his palms at the memory of that awful pickup line. "Could be worse! You could've dated one of my sisters!"
"Aw, how much worse?"
---
Four-year-old Meelo sighed as he watched Narure dance through her waterbending forms. She was five and everything he wanted of a girl: dangerous, funny, smart, confident.
Narure finished her set and her mother nodded with approval.
"So Meelo," Jinora teased. At ten, she had the annoying older sister role mastered. "How's it going with that dreamy waterbender?"
"Ooh, yeah!" cried Ikki. She was seven and bouncing up and down. "Tell us all about the magical romance!""
"Romance? I'm not interested in her!" Meelo glanced around. "But hypothetically, if I was, what would I do?"
Jinora shot to attention. "I just read a historical saga where the heroine fell in love with the enemy general's son, who was supposed to marry the princess. You should do what she did."
"What did she do?"
"She rode a dragon into battle and burned down the entire country. Then, she jumped into a volcano! It was sooooo romantic."
"Uh, somehow I don't think-"
"No no no," Ikki interrupted. "The best way to win a girl's heart is to brew a love potion of rainbows and sunsets that makes true lovers sprout wings and fly to a magical castle in the sky, where they get married and eat clouds with spoons and use stars as ice cubes in their moonlit punch, forever and ever and ever!"
"Tell me more about the volcano."
---
"I miss her."
Day 5
Nenzahn froze several walls of water and they started to spin.
"Walking the Ba Gua circle teaches evasion," Rina explained. "I'll demonstrate." She danced through the spinning gates, not touching a single one.
"Alright," Katara said. "Looks easy enough."
---
Katara cursed herself. Her concentration had slipped at the last second and a gate whacked her in the head.
Meelo loomed over her. "Be the leaf!"
"I don't even know what that means!"
---
Rina sat down in her cabin. The only picture was in Aunt Jinora's room, so she used her glider, given to her by her late aunt, instead. Then she put down incense and a pot of snow lotuses.
"Hi, Aunt Ikki. I guess I'm doing this to let you know that I've become a master. That's great for me. I wish you could've been here. Zuko, the fire prince, has joined our team. I don't trust him. I don't like him. I try to put up with him for Katara's sake, but it's hard when a reminder of who he is is branded onto my wrists."
She took a deep breath. "Don't worry, Aunt Ikki. Whatever it takes, I'll avenge you."