I'll see the veins of my city like they do in space.

AANG'S LATEST PIT-STOP proved more beautiful than Crystal anticipated. Standing on the edge of a dusty cliff, she made out pyramids of stone among sandy clouds and long, winding roads twined through the city. Omashu was large and imperial, simple, yet effective. She thought that was how architecture ought to be.

Omashu was also home to Aang's old friend Bumi. He'd been recounting their adventures the whole way here. Crystal kept thinking that Bumi was definitely dead, so she just let him keep talking. Maybe this was his way of processing.

Her friends all skirted down the cliff to meet her. She really hoped Omashu was more peaceful than the other places they'd been recently. Constantly being on the run from some angry firebenders wasn't light work. She needed a break!

"They have buildings here that don't melt!" Sokka said behind her. It was true—living your life surrounded by nothing but snow was polarizing when you saw a kingdom built from the ground up. It felt like she was on the border of a different world.

"Well let's go, slowpokes, the real fun's inside the city!" Aang leapt off the cliff and down the hillside, kicking up a nasty dust cloud that had Crystal hacking violently.

"Don't you think—you need a—disguise or something?" She coughed, clutching at her chest. Spirits, when they said Earth kingdom, they really did mean, like . . . earth.

"She's right," Katara pointed out as she patted Crystal's back. "We can't let people know you're the Avatar."

That familiar voice of reason took Crystal by surprise. Katara hadn't talked much on the way here. Whenever Crystal looked at her she was always staring into the sky, with a curious sort of arch in her brows. It was strange. Crystal hadn't had the opening to ask about it.

Aang's large eyes peered up from the side of the cliff. "So, what am I supposed to do? Grow a moustache?"

Beside her, Sokka's eyes lit up. "I got it!"

By the time Crystal had coughed all the sand out of her lungs, Aang sported a white moustache and an upstanding head of hair, courtesy of Appa's itchy fur. "Great, now you look just like my grandfather."

"Criss, you don't have a grandfather," Sokka snickered. She slugged him in the arm.

"Technically, Aang is a hundred and twelve years old," Katara quipped.

He seemed to take that comment to heart because he twirled his staff and hunched down, using it like a cane. "Now let's get to skippin', young whippersnappers," he wheezed in a decent Old Man voice. "The big city awaits!"

The narrow path to the gates was accompanied by Aang hobbling about like an eighty-year old with a huge smile on his face. "You guys are gonna love Omashu!" He said in his normal voice as they approached the enterance. "The people here are the friendliest in the world!"

In front of them, a man with a cart full of vegetables was weeping. One of the guards was yelling at him. "Rotten cabbages? What kind of slum do you think this is?" The guard promptly knocked a cabbage out of the merchant's hand and launched the cart over the side of the road.

"My cabbages!"

"Real hospitable," she mumbled to herself.

"Just keep smiling," Aang said through his teeth.

The guards were scary. There were at least four of them at the gates, donned with armour in varying shades of green. One of them took initiative and earthbended a chunk of the path out from the ground to make a boulder when Old Man Aang approached, hanging it over head.

"State your buisness," the guard glared.

Aang moved a little too fast for an old guy and shoved his finger into the guard's face. "My buisness is my buisness young man, and none of yours! I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!"

Wow. She couldn't help but muffle giggles into her glove. It got worse when Katara and the guards started looking at her funny, and she had to stick her head into Sokka's shoulder so they wouldn't see how hard she was laughing.

"Settle down, old-timer. Just tell me who you are."

"Name's Bonzoo. Pippenpaddleopsicopolus the Third! And these are my grandkids!"

Crystal snorted so loud even Sokka reprimanded her.

Luckily Katara had a much more refined sense of humour. She slid into the role as easily as Aang did. "Hi! I'm June Pippenpaddleopsicopolus. Nice to meet you."

Don't do it, Crystal. Don't do it.

"And I'm . . . Erna," she said, laughing even harder now. She pressed herself back into Sokka's shoulder. It felt so good to laugh without reason again — just maybe not in this particular situation.

"What is wrong with you?" Sokka hissed in her ear.

It only made her laugh again. "Erna," she wheezed, and she could feel him rolling his eyes.

The guard pondered for a moment, stroking his beard. He pointed to Katara. "You seem like a responsible young lady. See that your grandfather stays out of trouble. And you," he pointed to Crystal, and oh my Spirits, she probably looked crazy. "There is clearly something wrong with you. Get that figured out. Enjoy Omashu."

There were tears stinging her eyes. After days of misery this was what her joy had been reduced to? Aang covered in bison fur and the name Erna? How had she gotten this low?

As the gates began to pull apart, Katara bid the guards farwell. "Wait a minute," one of them said, and for a second Crystal thought she'd blown it for them. Instead, it was just the guard reprimanding Sokka for not carrying his fake grandfather's bag.

"Good idea!" Old Man Aang gloated, throwing the back in Sokka's face.

Three seperate doors formed of solid earth split down the middle, bearing grace to the city of Omashu. Crystal was giggling all the way inside. "You could've blown our cover!" Katara accused.

"Sorry, sorry, it's just—like—this is the only funny thing that's happened in like, a week!" She managed to get out between laughs, leaning into Sokka and covering her mouth with her hand. Nobody was impressed. (Except for Sokka, maybe. Better her laughing uncontrollably than her being angry again. He wasn't about to kick a gift ostritch-horse in the mouth.)

The laughter faded when Omashu was opened up to them. There were towers upon towers of perfectly carved buildings, lined with green roofs and gold trim. Snow dusted the highest points, but other than that there was no semblance of the Water Tribe here. The people milling about were dressed exclusively in greens. There were lots of people. And looping above their heads and under their feet, connecting house to house, were these sprawling stone chutes wreathing the whole city together. Everything flowed perfectly. Everything had a very proper place.

"This is the Omashu delivery system! Miles and miles of tubes and chutes!" Aang sounded younger than he ever had as he marvelled, like he was seeing it for the first time with fresh eyes. "Earthbending brings the packages up, and gravity brings them down."

"Great, so they get their mail on time," Sokka said dryly.

"They do get their mail on time! But my friend Bumi found an even better use for these chutes!"

This was how Crystal ended up in a wooden cart, teetering on the edge of the highest place she had ever been. Katara and Sokka were significantly less thrilled than she was. "One ride! Then we're off to the North Pole. Airbender's honour," Aang promised.

"This is the best idea you've ever had, Aang," Crystal beamed, eyeing the narrow chute in front of him. It looked like the most horrifying slide ever. She was up for the challenge.

"No, this is definitely the worst," Sokka grumbled.

Katara gulped. "This sounded like fun at first, but now that I'm here, I'm starting to have second—AHH!"

The cart leaned forwards and sped down the chute. Katara started screaming and Sokka was swearing behind her. Aang sounded like he was at a birthday party. Sand kicked up behind them as they slid past towers and houses, spiralling across different planes of land. Crystal shut her eyes so dust wouldn't blind her, and she started cheering, because this was a little fun. The thrill of it was pretty consuming—she could see why Aang's friend used to do it.

"Stop yelling!" Sokka screamed. "We're gonna die!"

They lined up with the chute next to them. In that one, there was a block of sharp pitchforks and knives being sent off to delivery. Crystal looked further down the line, and to her horror, found that the chutes merged. "We are gonna die!"

The laughs turned to screams as Sokka burrowed his face in the back of Crystal's shoulder. Crystal held onto Katara for dear life. The pitchforks came so close that Sokka had to duck so it wouldn't impale him, and he yanked Crystal down with him. With the reflection of sunlight in the pitchforks and the blur of her surroundings, she was feeling a little dizzy.

"I'm on it!" Aang said. He started rocking the cart back and forth, gaining enough momentum that they launched out of the chute and free-fell onto roofs and through soldiers. Other packages knocked into each other and she nearly got a pumpkin to the face.

"Aang, do something! Use your airbending!" Katara screamed over the rushes of wind.

"Yeah, good idea! That'll make us go even faster!"

"Yeah!" Crystal whooped, and Sokka screamed even louder.

The cart lurched forward and went double the speed. She felt her eyelashes pressing against her face. Once the chute evened out, they spotted another heavy-looking package at the end of the line, blocking their way. They screamed hysterically. The cart was removed. A new one was put in its place. More screaming.

The cart hit the other package and sent the four of them (plus Momo) flying.

She honestly couldn't describe what happened next. As she fell through the sky of a city she'd never been to, she wondered if this would earn her the record of Stupidest Death Ever. She was pretty sure she landed back in the cart and ploughed through a few more houses during her lament on mortality, but it wasn't until the cart crashed into some poor vegetable stand that she managed to tune back in. She was lying in a heap among her friends, head spinning. The second she tried to look around even a little bit she gagged.

A cabbage rolled past her. She only knew it was a cabbage because someone was crying, "My cabbages!" so she figured that must mean something. Voices rang in her ears and the sound of boots shook her. "Great ride," she thought, or maybe said, or maybe neither.

She passed out after that. Whoops. At least she was pretty sure she did because she did not remember how she got here.

The four of them were all together, miraculously in one piece, standing in an emerald hall so beautiful she felt bad for being in it. A long, viridescent carpet was out in front of them and at the end of it was a throne. On that throne was an old man dressed in royal garb. There was an off-putting look about him she didn't appreciate.

Guards led them forward, having them kneel. She will admit that she wobbled a little bit on the way down. "Are you okay?" Sokka whispered to her.

"What?"

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"What?"

"How—many—fingers—ow!"

A guard hit them both in the back. Her eyes fell back on that weird-looking man. His face was blurry at the edges. On further inspection, everything was blurry at the edges. Nice!

"Your Majesty, these juveniles were arrested for vandalism, travelling under false pretences, and malicious destruction of cabbages," a guard said.

The cabbage vendor was also present, hopping around furiously. "Off with their heads! One for each head of cabbage—!"

"Silence. Only the king can pass down judgement. What is your judgement, sire?"

So that crazy-looking guy was the king. And he was judging them. "We're gonna get skewered," she muttered.

"Throw them . . ."

Her friends gulped. Sokka tried stammering out any sort of sentence while Katara put on her nicest face, but Crystal just stayed in her own little haze, thinking that being barbecued over a warm, toasty fire was significantly less stupid then Death by Mail System.

To her surprise, the King finished his sentence with "A feast!" His face broke out into a toothless smile.

She raised her brows. "Huh?" Her friends exchanged glances and they were all on the same page. On all their travels so far, nothing had ever been this easy. She shrugged. "I could go for a feast."

And a feast she got. The four of them were eventually moved to a room with a massive table and golden chairs. A vast catalogue of food was spread before them, all so delectable that she wondered if she was still passed out.

That weirdo king stooped over their chairs. His headpiece had two horn-like pieces attached to it. One of them almost took her eye out. "The people in my kingdom have gotten fat from too many feasts," he drawled in a high, raspy voice. He picked up the golden-brown drumstick on Aang's plate. "So I hope you like your chicken with no skin."

"Thanks," Aang said cautiously, "but I don't eat meat."

The king moved onto Sokka. "How about you? I bet you like meat." He shoved the drumstick into Sokka's mouth with no further warning and then left for the other side of the table with no further explanation. Crystal dug into her chicken as soon as she could.

"Is it just me, or is this guy's crown a little... crooked?" Katara said warily.

"So tell me, young bald one," the king said as he sunk into his chair. "Where are you from?"

"I'm from . . . Kangaroo Island!" Aang replied uneasily. It was only just now Crystal realized he didn't have his disguise on anymore. Ohhhhh no.

The king narrowed his eyes. "Oh, Kangaroo Island, eh? I hear that place is really hopping!"

The room was silent. Some guy coughed.

Crystal snorted as the joke caught up to her, and then Sokka started laughing, too, and then she couldn't stop laughing until her chicken drumstick was getting cold in her hand. "What, it was pretty funny!"

Katara and Aang didn't look impressed. One would assume they should be used to this by now.

The king yawned, pushing himself up off his massive chair. She imagined his brittle bones cracking as he did. "All these good jokes are making me tired. Guess it's time to hit the hay."

He rustled around in his cloak for a moment. Abruptly, he took out a drumstick and whipped it at Aang like a dart. He caught it just in time with his airbending—oh no.

All the attendees in the hall gasped. Crystal prepped herself for some sort of fight. That weird king and his weird chicken had ruined this weird feast!

"There's an airbender in our presence, and not just any airbender," the king remarked slyly, lips curling into a grin. "The Avatar!"

Aang put his hands down so fast that he blasted everyone's food to the sides of the room. Crystal stiffened. "What do you have to say for yourself now, Mr. Pippenpadlopsicopolis?"

"Not that last name, that's for sure," she chuckled.

Sokka hit her in the ribs. "What is wrong with you today?"

"Okay, you caught me." Aang stood up, impressively calm. "I'm the Avatar. Doing my Avatar thing, keeping the world safe." He started inspecting the food, the tablecloth, anything in his vicinity. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple. "Everything checks out! No firebenders here. So... good work everybody!" He pulled his companions in for an awkward side-hug, and then slowly got them all out of their chairs and moved backwards towards the exit. "Love each other, respect all others, and don't run with your spears. We'll see you next time!"

Just as they were about to leave, the two guards at the entrance crossed their spears together. She swallowed. Of course it wasn't going to be that easy.

"You can't keep us here," Katara fumed, "Let us leave!"

The king picked up a piece of salad on his plate. "Lettuce leaf?" He took his sweet time eating it after.

"We're in serious trouble. This guy is nuts!" Sokka said.

After the king finally finished chewing (probably took longer because he didn't have a lot of teeth in there), he continued, "Tomorrow, the Avatar will face three deadly challenges. But for now, the guards will show you to your chamber."

Crystal looked at Aang. He looked petrified. She tried offering him a nod of good faith—they were in for a long day tomorrow.

"My liege, the good chamber or the bad chamber?" A guard asked.

"The newly-refurbished chamber," the king said matter-of-factly.

"Wait, which one are we talking about?"

"The one that used to be the bad chamber. Until the recent refurbishing, that is. Of course, we've been calling it the new chamber, but we really should number them. Uh... take them to the newly refurbished chamber that was once bad!"

The Newly Refurbished Chamber that was Once Bad (NRCOB for short in her head) was opened by one of the guards earthbending down an entrance for them. After shoving them all inside, the entrance shut, and they were trapped.

"This is a prison cell?" Katara gaped. "But it's so nice!"

"I mean, he did say it was newly refurbished," Crystal murmured, before flopping onto one of the crisply folded beds. There were emerald lamps everywhere and thick green fabrics hanging from the ceiling like hammocks. The room smelled of jasmine and rain. She had to be honest, if this was a prison cell she was even more glad they took that insane cart ride. Even if it did rearrange all her internal organs.

She squinted against the light, burrowing her face in a pillow. She just wanted to fall asleep—this bed already seemed comfier than any of the ones back in the Water Tribe. Her friends kept talking in muffled voices and she didn't have the strength to tune back in. She heard something about Momo getting stuck in an air vent.

"What's wrong with her?" Aang asked, nodding to Crystal, slumped face-first on her bed. "Can she even breathe like that?"

"Oh, I think she hit her head a little too hard or something on that cart ride," Sokka shrugged.

"What?" Katara's eyes bugged. "And you didn't tell me?"

"Sorry, I didn't want to lean across the table to you to say hey, I know we're being psychologically tortured right now but would you mind giving us a quick check-up over here? Why, is it serious?"

"Sokka, you're—ugh! She could have a concussion!" She huffed, making a beeline for Crystal and sitting on the edge of her bed.

Sokka blanched. "I ... did not think of that. Oh Spirits. Oh no. She's not gonna die, right?"

Katara prodded her friend's shoulder. "Crystal? Crystal? Turn around for me, okay?"

Crystal groaned. Stirred from delirium, she slowly inched herself to face the ceiling. The light stung her eyes again and she pressed them shut, wincing.

"Is she okay?" More footsteps, and soon enough the whole team was crowding around her bed.

"Does your head hurt, Crystal?" Katara asked gently. She pressed her hand against Crystal's forehead. "You're not burning up, so that's good."

"Are you sure she's not? Is she okay? Katara, is she dying? You're sure she's not dying. This is all my fault, I should get some water or something—"

"Sokka, stop hovering or I'm waterboarding you."

"... Harsh."

Crystal opened her eyes, albeit painfully. Katara was leaning over her, blocking out the streams of light from those lamps. She looked so kind, so gentle. Just like her mother. It was times like these Crystal remembered how much she loved Katara. How no matter how many times Crystal tried to protect her like a younger sister, it was always Katara that ended up doing the saving. She felt like she could cry a little bit.

Spirits, she really did hit her head.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" She asked.

Crystal squinted a little. Katara's skin merged with the green tapestries above. It was hard to make anything out. "Three, I think?"

Katara's smile was wide enough that it didn't vanish among the rest of her face. "Yes, good! I think you'll be okay. You just need some rest, okay? I wish there was some water in here—could've helped."

Katara placed her palms back on Crystal's forehead "Hopefully you'll feel better in the morning. Everyone else, get some rest. Especially you, Aang. Looks like you'll need it for tomorrow."

"Thanks, Katara," Crystal rasped. "I love you."

Her face lit up. "Aw, I love you too! Now close your eyes and stop talking before you get a migraine—with love."

Crystal laughed, a little ludicrously. As the lights in the room dimmed, the other half of her bed dipped with considerable weight. Turning her head ever so slightly, Sokka's face peeked into the corner of her eye. "I'm staying here so you don't die in your sleep," he said sternly, already making himself comfortable.

"I'm fiiine," she drawled, smushing her cheek into her pillow.

"Sure you are." His thumbs brushed over her forehead. She wasn't sure what he was doing until she felt wisps of hair stuck to her face being pushed back. The touch lingered, and when she looked up, his eyes were pensive.

"Sokka," she murmured, "I'm not sick."

He looked hesitant, sighing, "I know, but... I'm just worried. I should've done something sooner."

She weakly squeezed his arm, doing her best to focus on his face as much as she could. "It's not one of my fevers."

"You always say that, and then it is."

"It's not," she said forcefully, and that was enough energy for her to collapse further into her pillow.

She heard him sigh again. "Okay," he said finally, letting her go. "But let me know if you need anything."

She yawned. "Okay." Covers were thrown over her and she basked in their warmth. "Thank you." Her tongue felt like liquid.

"You are very welcome." The lights went out, and Sokka settled peacefully beside her. "Get some rest, Criss."

She didn't have the heart to tell him, but his snoring kept her up all night.

—☯︎︎—

IF ANYONE WANTED a detailed account of what happened during Aang's challenges with the crazy Earth King, it was best to ask someone other than Crystal. She was in a daze the whole day. Her head pounding, she slipped in and out of sleep, although it got increasingly difficult when the king had them wear rings of something called "Creeping Crystal"—at first she had an appreciation for it because they shared the same name, but once it had encased her entire top half she was no longer a fan. At one point Sokka's crystal got too heavy on one side and toppled them both over like dominoes, and she just stayed there on the floor until someone moved her to a different location.

Sokka and Katara checked on her throughout the day. She answered mostly in murmurs and nods, but as time went on, her mind became clearer. The fear set in that if Aang didn't complete these challenges, she'd be swallowed whole by this bright green crystal and fossilised forever in this crazy guy's dungeon.

She had been lucid for a good few minutes right before Aang took on his last challenge—a fight between any of the warriors the king presented him with. Aang ended up choosing that scrawny king himself, which she thought was pretty smart.

All her self-awareness went out the window after the king flung off his giant cloak to reveal that he was tall, deadly, and absolutely ripped. She was definitely still a little delirious, right? Because there was no way this guy was a master earthbender and was currently giving Aang a run for his money in this massive arena.

"What is even happening?" She said to herself after watching the king deflect blow after blow. "Am I hallucinating?"

"No, this is real," Sokka griped, head barely sticking out of his own crystal monstrosity. "Guess eating all that lettuce really does give health benefits."

"Who's winning?"

In the arena, Aang formed a huge sphere of air and barreled it into the king. When the dust cleared, the old nut was unscathed. "Did someone leave the windows open?" He grinned.

"Old guy, I think," Sokka said.

The battle continued for several more minutes. Aang was fast, but the king was resourceful. (They were also literally fighting in an earth fortress, so unfair advantage, but whatever.) Aang managed to land a hit and the fight escalated until everything went still. She couldn't see what was happening until the king's head shot up from the ground in front of her, and the rest of his body followed. She flinched backwards, and then promptly fell. This crystal was not doing her any favours. The sound of her hitting the ground echoed through the entire cavern. "Just kill me," she muttered.

A guard picked her up but it was too late to spare her the embarrassment. Her cheeks burned. Whatever. It was fine. Whatever.

Aang landed in front of them, staff in hand. "You passed all my tests," the king said cryptically. "Now, you must answer one question."

"That's not fair! You said you would release my friends if I finish your tests!" Aang's brows furrowed.

"Oh, but what's the point of tests if you don't learn anything?"

"Oh, come on!" Sokka yelled.

"Answer this one question, and I will set your friends free," the king continued with a crooked smile. "What... is my name?"

If Crystal's hands were at her disposal at the moment, she'd throw them up. How the hell were they supposed to know that?

"By the looks of your friends, I'd say you only have a few minutes," the king chirped, strolling out of the arena.

"How am I supposed to know his name?" Aang groaned.

"Well, don't look at me! We didn't get world history lessons in the Water Tribe!" Crystal said. She felt sweaty.

"Think about the challenges," Katara said in her calm, even voice she used when she often had to mediate situations. "Maybe it's some kind of riddle?"

"I got it!" Sokka yelled. "He's an earthbender, right? Rocky!"

Some guy coughed.

"You know, because of all the rocks!"

"We're gonna keep trying, but that is a good backup!" Katara assured.

"Okay, so back to the challenges." Aang's brows were furrowed, and he seemed a little jittery. The pressure was on all of them now. "I got a key from a waterfall, I saved his pet, and I had a duel."

"And what did you learn?"

He bit the inside of his cheek. "Well... everything was different than I expected."

"And?" Katara prodded. The crystal stretched further up her side, and so did Sokka and Crystal's. Her constricted chest pushed against its barrier whenever it rose. She didn't want to die as a prisoner of her own namesake just yet.

"They weren't straightforward. To solve each test, I had to think differently than I usually would." In a split second, his face brightened. "I know his name!"

"Oh, thank Spirits," Crystal sighed.

He ran off after the king, and his friends wobbled into the darkness to follow. It took them a considerably long time.

When they caught up to him they were back in the great hall again, and the king was there, waiting with a maniacal look in his eyes. Maybe the reason he asked Aang for his name was because he didn't remember it himself. Maybe he just wanted a new one. Maybe he wasn't even real and she had been dreaming ever since she hit her head on the cart ride.

Aang was in front of the king, a giant smile on his face. "I solved the question the same way I solved the challenges. Like you said a long time ago—I had to open my brain to the possibilities!"

Crystal and Sokka whipped their heads as much as they could to exchange looks through the myriad of crystals reflecting their eyes. What?

The king started laughing, and Aang smiled wider. "Bumi, you're a mad genius!"

He raced up to the king and to Crystal's surprise, he was embraced like an old friend. "Oh, Aang, it's good to see you! You haven't changed a bit! Literally."

He was an old friend! Bumi was the crazy kid that taught Aang about cart riding! Man, she'd have to thank him later. Both for the incredible experience and the less-incredible concussion. Although now Crystal was seriously doubtful of Aang's prior taste in friends. If he was eager to be friends with Bumi, what did that say about her?

Her eyes were fully covered by a thick, opaque chunk of Creeping Crystal. "Oh no."

"Uh, over here!" She heard Katara's voice and the sound of her footsteps heading in a general detention, so Crystal tried to follow.

"Yeah, little help!" Sokka pleaded. She was pretty sure they were all fully encased by the crystal now.

Crystal couldn't even say anything before the crystal broke away from her body, smashing through the room. Sokka and Katara's also shot apart. She was met with a sudden looseness in her limbs as she wobbled and fell to the floor, head swimming. Her chest heaved at last, taking in all its newfound space. Did it ever feel good to be free.

"Genomite is made of rock candy!" Bumi explained the same way a kid would point out an animal they recognized at a zoo. He took a solid bite out of it. "Delicious!"

If Crystal was more stable right now, she would've gotten furious at him. She could've eaten it the whole time? She could've had a regenerative, built-in snack on her body the entire day?

"You okay?" Sokka knelt beside her, sweeping away some crystal shards. He looped his arm through hers and stood her up.

She thanked him with a nod and a squeeze to his arm. "Still no fever," she grinned. He rolled his eyes with a smile.

"So this crazy king is your old friend Bumi?" Katara raised a brow, looking him up and down. She clearly had the same train of thought Crystal did.

"Who you calling old?" He shot back. "... Okay, I'm old."

"Why did you do all this instead of just telling Aang who you were?"

"First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people," he giggled, "but I do have a reason."

He stepped towards Aang, and his wild expression sobered. "Aang, you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years you've been gone. It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. You have much to learn. You must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord. And when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius!"

Aang smiled, bowing to his oldest friend. Bumi's eyes trailed over his new ones. "And it looks like you're in good hands. You'll need your friends to help you defeat the Fire Nation."

Crystal couldn't help but swell with a little pride as Momo chittered on Aang's shoulder. "And you'll need Momo too," Bumi added.

"Thank you for your wisdom," Aang said. "But before we leave, I have a challenge for you."

It was cart riding through the mail chutes again. Crystal decided to abstain this time around, and watched Aang create mass amounts of destruction with his friend from high on Appa's back. Katara and Sokka were with her, exhausted from the gruelling experience of carrying pounds of edible candy on your body all day.

"How are you feeling, Crystal?" Katara asked, leaning back.

Crystal, perched at the very front of the saddle, turned around and snapped her pointer fingers out at Katara. "Peachy keen, ice machine!"

Katara glanced at Sokka. "She's still a little out there," he muttered to her.

Looking back at Crystal, she replied fondly, "You know, I'm starting to think that's just how she is."

After a moment of deliberation, she scooted up to join her friend at the helm. "Aren't you tired?" She asked.

Crystal shrugged. "Eh."

They sat in silence, wind ruffling their hair. The braids passed down from their ancestors still held strong.

"You wanna tell me why you were so quiet after we left Kyoshi Island?" Crystal piped, stealing a look. "You looked distracted."

Katara stared down at her hands. She seemed surprised anyone was asking her that. "I, um..." she sighed, scrunching up her face. Crystal watched her patiently. "It's nothing, really. There was just this... Fire Nation girl I ran into—or at least she seemed Fire Nation because she was wearing some of their armor. But I don't really know because she just... let me pass when I needed to when I was getting people to shelter. She didn't even fight me. She didn't seem like a soldier at all. Like, she was wearing this dress and had nothing on her to defend herself. I have no idea who she is."

Crystal tilted her head. "What did she look like?"

Katara puffed out a breath, gazing at the horizon. "She had really long black hair—no, it's not the angry one travelling with Zuko, don't make that face—it was braided. And she had grey eyes, I think. I swear I saw someone with gray eyes trailing Zuko and Kasumi when he attacked the village. I just ... I don't know, it was weird."

"I don't remember anyone like that," Crystal hummed, trying to wrack her brain. "She could've been, like, a stowaway or something. Or a very inexperienced soldier."

Katara's brows were still creased. Crystal put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle shake. "It's probably nothing, Katara. She let you get away scot-free! That's the important part! Whoever she is, it worked out in our favour."

"Yeah," Katara said through tight lips. "I guess." With a weary sigh, she leaned her head on Crystal's shoulder and yawned. "I'm so sleepy."

She nudged Katara in the side. "Go take a nap, then. Sokka's probably passed out back there already. I'll get Aang when he's done."

Katara beamed, "Okay. You're the best." She gave Crystal a little side hug before languidly shuffling herself away from the front saddle. "But are you sure you're alright?"

A twinge of frustration, mixed with exhaustion, sparked in her chest. "Yes," she smiled, "I swear."

Katara looked over every part of her face, and
when everything checked out, she moved back. "That's great to hear." Yawning again, she tucked herself into the back crook of the saddle opposite her brother. "Goodnight, Crystal."

"Goodnight."

After both siblings were asleep, Crystal watched Aang's silhouette race through the chutes of Omashu until he was done. Her headache was gone, her vision was clear, and her body felt significantly lighter. Her friends were with her and she was getting a beautiful view of a beautiful city. In this moment, she really and truly was fine.

What a relief that was.

Heyy..... hiiiii

Sorry I've been absent for QUITE a while but I'm back now!!! Thank you for being patient if you've been reading this story I really do appreciate it—at a point I never really planned to come back but I missed this book so much that I kind of just HAD to. This chapter was mostly filler so you can breeze through it, but things will pick up the pace soon enough!

Again thank you so much for continuing to support this story; I checked back here a while ago to see how much it had grown and I was SHOCKED so I knew I had to keep writing it!! It is seriously crazy balls I'm so hoping I can finish this the way I want to

How have you guys been? Read any good books lately? Keeping busy? Let me know :)

Hope you liked this chapter there will be more on the way soon! Thank you so much for reading and voting and commenting and whatever you do I love talking to you people, will see you all in the next update soon:) Glad to be back

—perrie <3