'"Ah, child, I despair at the discord that is still rife inside you..."

Reddish-yellow eyes blinked opened slowly and shifted towards the familiar lilting voice, meeting a mildly disapproving orange-eyed gaze. Realization dawned slowly, but once it did, Xiaodan groaned and covered her eyes with her arm, "Really? Did this seriously have to happen now?" She lamented her misery silently for several moments before she heaved a sigh of weary resignation and removed her arm from her face.

Draconic eyes the color of molten magma watched her sit up, nonplussed at the young woman's display of insolence, "I find your impudence unamusing, child."

Xiaodan winced and looked at the white-gold dragon with a repentant expression, "I'm sorry, Sonal. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I've been in out of sorts lately."

"Hmm, yes I've noticed." The dragon murmured in reply. She continued to observe her charge as the young woman stood up and began wandering around the dragon's cavern, "You've begun ignoring half of yourself, half of your very spirit, and it is causing a greater imbalance within you." Sonal shut her eyes and rested her chin on her front feet, "It would seem that you've traded one problem for another..."

Xiaodan paused in her exploration of the cave and turned to stare at the dragon with a curious and confused expression. She placed her hands on her hips and canted her head to the side, "What do you mean, 'one problem for another'?"

"While you've addressed and are working to address your feelings towards the Fire Nation prince, you've yet to address, or even acknowledge, the other half of your heritage."

"That's because I don't really know anything about the other half of my heritage!" Xiaodan protested with a frown, crossing her arms defensively over her chest as a mulish expression appeared on her face.

"You choose to remain ignorant about your mother's people because you are afraid."

Xiaodan opened her mouth to protest but Sonal opened one large eye and stared at stonily and Xiaodan shut her mouth with a quiet click, looking away to stare sullenly at the cavern wall that depicted a man standing between two dragons, who were breathing fire at him.

Satisfied, Sonal shut her eye again and spoke as if nothing had happened, "You only know firebending as a destructive force, used with cruelty and rage. And it frightens you. Frightens you so much that you reject it and refuse to acknowledge that it is part of you."Sonal opened her eyes and lifted her head, snaking her long serpentine neck towards Xiaodan until they were eye-to-eye, "Yes, fire is a destructive force, and when left to itself it will consume everything it can. But in the proper hands, it is life."

Xiaodan closed her eyes as Sonal gently touched a feeler to the center of her chest, right above her breasts while the other pressed against her solar plexus, just above her belly button.

"Just as the liquid blood flowing through our veins vitalize our bodies, so to does the flames of life vitalize our spirits."

Xiaodan inhaled sharply as warmth bloomed at the two points of contact before spreading throughout her entire body. For just a brief second, she saw herself, as if she was standing outside her body and merely observing. Her skin glowed with a reddish-white fire that licked and flickered across her skin while air swirled around her, gently caressing the flames and causing her hair to sway. The two elements swirled around her and each other in a harmonious dance , neither stronger or more dominating than the other, but balanced.

"Make peace with who you are, child..." At Sonal's softly spoken words, the vision disappeared as quickly as it appeared and Xiaodan slowly began to open her eyes...'

The faint light of morning twilight greeted Xiaodan as her eyes fluttered open and she glanced around, assuring herself that she was no longer dreaming. She stared up at the dusky sky for a moment before quietly getting to her feet, careful not to disturb her still slumbering friends, then she made her way towards the tree line surrounding the small clearing they were camped in.

Once she reached the trees, Xiaodan quickly scaled one all the way to the top and perched on a branch, watching the sun begin its ascent into the clear sky as she reflected on her dream. The sun's rays were just beginning to illuminate her face in a gentle, golden glow when she heard her friends start to rise below her and Xiaodan smiled slightly at the sun before making her way back down the tree to greet them, feeling slightly a certain measure of calm that she'd lacked for the past few days.

"Are we there yet?"

Sokka's eye twitched and he gritted his teeth slightly at the question as he glared at his map, "No." It was silent for several minutes and he was almost hopeful that Xiaodan's persistence at annoying him was over until...

"Are we there yet?" She asked for what had to be the hundredth time and she snickered quietly with Toph when Sokka's shoulders hunched and he remained quiet. She waited for him to respond, snickering a little more when he didn't then she chirped, "How 'bout now, Sokka?"

Sokka jerked the map away from his face and pointed sternly at the white-haired Airbender's face, "Don't make me turn this bison around, missy!"

"That doesn't make any sense, Sokka." Katara muttered from her spot beside Aang on Appa's head and her brother turned to glare at her.

He jerked his map back in front of his face and tried to ignore the way Xiaodan and Toph were whispering conspiratorially with each other across from him. He was just starting to relax and begin studying his map in earnest when Toph opened her mouth.

"Are we there yet?"

"Argh!"

Xiaodan yawned tiredly as she, Aang Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Appa walked out of some bushes and into a large clearing filled with several sleeping koala-sheep. She looked around curiously, gaze briefly lingering on some sleeping koala-sheep before moving towards Momo as he leapt onto Aang's shoulder. She reached out and rubbed the lemur's back while Aang scratched the side of his head tiredly.

"This is it!" Sokka said excitedly as he looked up from the map he was holding and stared at the vast clearing of space that sprawled out before them, "The official rendezvous point for the invasion force."

Xiaodan threw her arms in the air with sardonic cheer, "Finally!"

Toph tilted her head and smiled slightly, "How did you pick this place?"

"Before we split up, my dad and I found this island on the map." Sokka explained with a grin they walked towards an open area, "It's uninhabited, and the harbors surrounded by cliffs seemed like the perfect secluded place."

"Nice choice, Sokka." Katara complimented her brother with a nod approval as she sat down on a rock, "And we're here four days ahead of schedule."

Aang suddenly leapt up from where he'd sprawled out on the ground, "Wait! Four days? The invasion's in fourdays!?"

"Whatever." Sokka yawned as he laid out his bedroll and collasped back onto it, "That's like four days from now. Let's just calm down and-" He fell asleep mid-sentence, snoring loudly.

Katara smiled slightly at her brother then looked over at Aang, "Sokka's got the right idea, Aang. We're here. We're ready. The best thing we can do now is get plenty of rest." She laid down on her own bedroll with a sigh.

"Don't worry, little brother." Xiaodan murmured as she collasped onto her back beside Toph with a sigh, stretching languidly in the plush grass before rolling onto her stomach and cushioning her head on her arms, "Everything will be fine..."

Aang shifted uncertainly and replied half-heartedly, "I guess..." He glanced around then laid down beside Xiaodan when he noticed the others were asleep. He closed his eyes and forced himself to relax.

'A set of large double doors embossed with the Fire Nation insignia suddenly burst open to reveal Aang with large, gravity defying hair, wearing a headband and a yellow jumpsuit. He entered the room with a serious of dramatic martial arts moves then he leapt onto a large rock tower.

"Your days of tyranny are over, Fire Lord!" Aang shouted, making a series of fast and dramatic movements as he spoke, "I'm bringing you down!"

The dream Fire Lord paused as he was about to take a bite from a bundle of grapes and looked down at Aang with a sneer, "Really?" He demanded as he leaned close the miniature Aang, "How do you plan on doing that when you're not even wearing pants?"

Aang's cocky expression became terrified and he looked down to see that he was indeed not wearing pants. He screamed and quickly covered himself with a fluffy, white Air Nomad shield he pulled from thin air, "Oh no!"

Aang shook with embarrassment, staring worriedly as several giant eyeballs suddenly began to appear all around him. In front of him, the giant Fire Lord began to laugh heartily as Aang slowly edged back to the door while the Fire Lord raised his arms to the ceiling, the flames surrounding him growing higher as he continued to laugh...'

Aang jerked awake with a gasp and he reached down to touch his pants, lifting his legs and inspecting them for several minutes before sighing in relief when he saw that his pants were still there on his legs. Momo suddenly sat up, chittering at him curiously, and Aang smiled, "It was just a dream, Momo. I still have my pants." He stood up and sighed, "Well, I better keep training."

Aang walked over to a bush and began kicking it, while Momo watched curiously. The lemur grew bored several moments later and crawled over to Xiaodan's sleeping form, curling up on her back and falling back to sleep.

Zuko stood with his arms outstretched as two servants helped him into his outer robe before he turned and allowed one of them to button it up. Briefly, a familiar staff resting in the corner of his room caught his eye, before he quickly looked away.

"Fresh fruit, Prince Zuko?" Another servant asked as he held up a bowl of fruit with his head bowed deferentially.

Zuko put his hand up and shook his head in the negative and another servant stepped up to him, "May I wash your feet, sir?" Zuko repeated the gesture and another servant took a step towards him, "Head massage?" Zuko his head once and walked towards the door, but paused when another servant stepped up to him with a plate of steaming towels on it.

"Hot towel?"

He stared at the towels for a moment then sighed quietly and picked one up, wiping his forehead with it before placing it back on the tray and walking out of the room. He quietly exited the palace and walked towards the gates, stepping outside. Zuko smiled slightly at the small crowd of Fire Nation citizens standing around seemingly waiting for him. He watched in bemusement as one woman became overly excited and was led away by two palace guards then he went to take a step down the street.

"Prince Zuko, is something wrong?" A servant asked from behind Zuko and he gestured towards the palanquin he was standing in front, "You didn't take the palanquin."

Zuko turned to look at the servant curiously, "I'm just going to Mai's house. It's not far."

"It's not a prince's place to walk anywhere, sir." The servant stated respectfully and Zuko glanced in the direction of Mai's house then he walked over and climbed into the palanquin.

The servants picked the palanquin up and walked the few yards to Mai's house and Zuko peered out of the palanquin curtains, smiling slightly when he saw Mai standing by the doors to her house. The darkly dressed girl waved and walked back into the house.

Zuko stared at the doors to Mai's house for a moment then sighed and stepped out of the palanquin.

Xiaodan made a sleepy sound as the constant thump-thunk-thunk-thump'ing sound she thought was part of the dream she was having finally registered in her barely conscious mind and she pushed herself onto her elbows. She moved her head towards the sound and stared with bleary eyes at the perplexing sight of her younger brother repeatedly punching a tree. The female dualbender blinked rapidly and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms then refocused on Aang, who was indeed banging his fists against the innocent tree.

"Whaa...?" She mumbled and looked over at Katara, who had pushed herself up into a sitting position beside her and was also staring at Aang. The two girls looked over at Sokka with sleepy, confused expressions, but the Water Tribe boy merely shrugged and went back to staring at Aang in befuddlement.

Xiaodan stumbled to her feet and, rubbing the crusties from her eyes, wandered over to the younger Airbender, "Aang, little brother, what are you doing?"

"Training."

"We can see that." Katara murmured tiredly as she walked up beside Xiaodan and she scratched the side of her head, "How long have you been up exactly?"

"A couple hours." Aang replied curtly as he moved around the tree and continued to punch it, "I got a lot more skills to refine if I'm gonna fight Ozai."

Xiaodan and Katara exchanged bemused looks before refocusing on Aang just as he came back around in front of them and stopped hitting the tree to catch his breath.

"You know," Katara began mildly as she looked at the panting boy, "There is such a thing as over-training."

Aang hit the tree one last time, which sent a vibration coursing throughout his body and caused him to fall to the ground. Xiaodan winced and sighed when all the leaves on the tree fell on top of his prone form. She and Katara stared down at him for several moments while Sokka, holding his map, and Toph, who was facing the other direction, looked out from behind the two girls. Xiaodan made a surprised noise when Aang abruptly leapt out of the leaves and circled the two girls in a fighting stance.

"You don't get it, do you?" Aang demanded, a frantic look in his eye as he circled the two girls, "My form is bad, I'm sloppy, and I still don't know any firebending." His eye began to twitch and he stopped in front of Katara, one hand outstretched, "Not even the basics!"

Katara reached out and grasped his hand, bringing down and away from her face with a forced smile. Xiaodan just stared at her brother blankly and scratched the side of her head, messing up her already wildly messy hair.

"That's okay, Aang." Sokka called out from where he was lounging in the grass a few feet away, holding his map above his face, "The eclipse will block all firebending anyway." He lowered his map slightly and looked over at Aang with a small smirk, "Plus, it's stupid element."

"Hey!" Xiaodan narrowed her eyes and gave him a dirty look. Sokka shrugged sheepishly and hurriedly hid his face behind his map.

"Okay," Aang muttered in consent then twitched slightly, "I still have to work on everything else though. I better spend the whole day training." He hurriedly bowed to Sokka, followed by Katara and Xiaodan after spasmodically chopping at the air then he airbended an air scooter and rode away from them.

Xiaodan and Katara stared after him for several moments then looked at each other, unsure expressions on their faces. Sokka, who had been peering over his map, smiled in a nervous manner and hid behind the map again while Toph picked her nose a few feet from him.

Inhale. One, two three. Exhale.

Opening her reddish-yellow eyes slowly, Xiaodan continued to breathe deeply as she stood in a relaxed position a few feet away from where they'd made camp, her staff held level with the left side of her chest and her right hand level with her hip. Slowly, she lifted her right hand and brought it around in a smooth half circle until it was even with her sternum, her palm facing her staff.

Xiaodan held the position for a moment then she kicked the end of her staff upwards with her left foot, twirling her staff once then holding it horizontally as she shifted into a horse step while keeping her right arm even with her staff. She smoothly shifted through each stance of her kata; leaping, spinning, and twisting across the grass on lithe feet while wielding her staff as if it were an extension of herself.

A sudden whoosh reached her ears and she dropped into a right split, dodging the small boulder Toph had just launched at her. Grinning widely, Xiaodan swung her left leg around and rolled backwards to her feet just in time use her staff to block another small boulder.

"Nice try, Toph, but you missed

Standing in a bending stance across from her, Toph smirked and rolled her neck, "Let's see if you can dodge this, Featherweight." She stomped her foot and thrust her hands forward, earthbending several rock pillars at Xiaodan.

The female dualbender grinned wider and leapt into the air, pushing off the earthen pillar that had sprung up from the ground beneath her feet. She swung her staff and sent a crescent of air at Toph, who brought up an earth wall to block it then she launched an rock wave in retaliation. Xiaodan backflipped away from the wave, using airbending to propel herself farther away from the blind Earthbender.

Toph tilted her head slightly and waited, a smirk tugging at her lips when she sensed the faint vibrations she'd grown to associate with Xiaodan. She swung towards the left and made a sideways chopping motion with her right hand, earthbending several stalagmites up from the ground near Xiaodan.

Xiaodan jumped up and away to avoid the stalagmites, twisting in mid-air and landing on one knee in a kneeling position. She straightened quickly, yelping quietly in surprise when the ground beneath her feet suddenly shifted and she lost her footing. A grunt burst from her throat when she landed hard on her back and she lost her grip on her staff, the weapon skittering away from her.

Drawing her legs up to her chest, the dualbender rolled back onto her shoulders and thrust both legs upward from the ground, pushing off from the sandy ground with her shoulders. As soon as her feet retouched the ground from her kick-up, Xiaodan brought her hands forward and shifted into a handstand. She swung her legs around and sending a current of air in Toph's direction.

Sokka chewed on his bottom lip as he pored over his mouth, ignoring the sound of small explosions and crashing rocks coming from several yards in front of him. He squawked slightly in surprise when Xiaodan suddenly leapt over his head with a whoosh of air caused his map to fly into his face. He wrenched the map from his face and twisted his torso around to shout at the dualbender when the ground beneath him abruptly surged upward and he was tossed into the air by an earth pillar.

"Oomph!" The Water Tribe boy grunted when he hit the ground on his back. He remained sprawled out on the ground in a daze for several moments before he sat up, "Toph! Xia!"

"Sorry, Sokka!" The white-haired dualbender called out laughingly as she continued dodging Toph's earth attacks; spinning, twisting, leaping, and flipping through the air like an acrobat. Toph merely snickered loudly as she pursued the older girl while blocking any retaliatory strikes.

Sokka grumbled under his breath in annoyance as he stood up and stomped back over to his map, snatching it up from the ground and storming away in search of a quieter place to look over his map.

Lifting her head up from the ground, Xiaodan watched tiredly as Aang trudged back to where the five had claimed as their sleeping space after night had fallen. She was the only one still up and she smiled sleepily at her younger brother as he came to a stop beside her sprawled out form, yawning and rubbing his eyes before collapsing on his back beside her. Yawning herself, Xiaodan rolled onto her side and stretched an arm out, draping it across his chest comfortingly.

"Good night, Xia. Good night, Katara. Good night, Sokka. Good night, Toph. Good night, Appa. Good night Momo. Good night Appa and Mo-"

"Go to sleep already!" Toph shouted in annoyance, cutting Aang off mid-ramble.

Aang flinched and cringed at the blind girl's shout then he slowly relaxed, tucking one hand behind his head and resting the other on Xiaodan's arm as his eyes drifted shut.

'Aang knocked down the large, red metal doors embossed with the Fire Nation symbol and stood in the doorway. He snapped his fingers cockily and smoke began to pour into the entrance around him.

"Your days of tyranny are over, Fire Lord!" Aang shouted as he slid into teh room and jumped onto one of the small pillars facing the giant-sized Ozai, "I'm bringing you down." He looked down at his pants which were wrapped in several chains, along with the rest of his clothes, "And this time, I brought pants."

"So it seems," The giant dream Ozai rumbled then he smirked maliciously, "But are you prepared for your...mathematics test?"

Suddenly a huge abacus dropped down behind Aang and he whirled around, staring at it in horror.

"Math test?" Aang squawked worriedly and he slapped his hands against his cheeks, "Oh no! I forgot all about the math test!"

The giant dream Ozai began to cackle cruelly as Aang was yanked backwards and crushed by several red abacus beads...'

"Ah!" Aang gasped as he jerked awake and sat up abruptly, dislodging the tan, tattooed arm draped over his chest. He clutched his forehead with a hand, ignoring the sticky sweat that spread across his palm as he panted, "I've gotta be ready."

He pushed himself to his feet and walked away from the group, heading towards a small group of sleeping koala-sheep a few yards away. Xiaodan, who had awoken when her brother had jerked upward, stood up as well and quietly followed after him, waving a hand towards Katara, who had also woken up. The dualbender found her brother pacing around the sleeping koala-sheep in a fighting stance.

"Aang," Xiaodan implored tiredly as she stopped a little bit away from her younger brother, "What are you doing? You need to sleep."

"I can't." Aang muttered as he continued to stalk around the koala-sheep relentlessly, "I forgot my pants and my math test."

"What?" Xiaodan muttered then shook her head dismissively and sighed as she stepped in front of the young Airbender. She grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him in the eye with a stern expression of maternal concern, "Aang, you need to sleep. Katara and I are worried about you. Please sleep for us?"

Aang stared at her tiredly, the dark bruises under his gray eyes stark against his pallid skin, then he nodded slowly. Xiaodan smiled in relief and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, turning and gently guiding him back to the others. She smiled reassuringly at Katara as she and Aang walked past her then she carefully pushed Aang to the ground and laid down next to him.

"Sleep, little brother. I'll try to keep the nightmares away."

Aang shifted closer to the older girl and rested his head against her shoulder, his eyes already drifting shut, "Thanks, Xia."

Xiaodan hummed softly in reply and ran her fingers soothingly through his short dark hair, waiting until his breathing evened out with sleep. But before she succumbed to slumber herself, she sneezed once.

Zuko sighed as he idly ran his hands along the lightweight wood staff, fingering the slats where the glider wings pressed flush against the shaft. As he traced the natural grooves in the wood, he found himself inexplicably wondering what the owner of the staff was currently doing or where she even was.

Shaking himself from his musings, the Fire Nation prince ran a hand along the wood once last time then he stood from his bed and replaced the staff back in a dark corner of his room then he left the room to go visit Mai at her house. He couldn't afford to be thinking about the past when his present, and possible future, was waiting for him right across the street.

Relaxing comfortably on the couch in Mai's house with the dark haired knife user, Zuko gently ran a hand down Mai's arm to her hand, which was on his chest, "Tell me, if you could have anything you wanted right now, what would it be?"

"Hmm..." Mai hummed thoughtfully as she shifted on the couch and looked towards the windows taking up most of the wall in front of them, "A big fancy fruit tart, with rose petals on top."

"You know," Zuko smirked haughtily, "Being a prince and all, I might just be able to make that happen."

"That would be impressive." Mai chuckled. The Fire Nation prince grinned slightly and straightened up to address the servants standing silently beside the entrance into the room, "Do you think you could find a fresh fruit tart for the lady," He glanced down at Mai with a soft look of genuine affection, "With rose petals on top?"

The two servants bowed simultaneously, but it was the elder one that replied demurely, "Wonderful choice, sir."

"I guess there's some pretty nice perks that come with being royalty." Mai said lightly as she pushed Zuko back down to lay next to her on the couch, "Though there's some annoying stuff, too." She sighed in exasperation and rolled her eyes, "Like that all day war meeting coming up."

Zuko jerked in surprise and sat up abruptly, "War meeting? What are you talking about?"

"Azula mentioned something." Mai replied in confusion as she sat up as well and she bit her lip slightly, "I-I assumed you were going, too."

"I guess I wasn't invited." Zuko muttered bitterly and he looked off to the side, his jaw clenching tightly.

"Wake up, Aang. Wake up, sleepy head." An almost melodious male voice whispered to Aang and his eyes fluttered opened, widening in surprise when he saw Ozai's face hovering above him, "Rise and shine! You overslept. You missed the invasion."

Ozai began to laugh cruelly as he moved away from Aang, rising into the sky on a giant, flying hippo-cow. The hippo-cow rumbled and opened its mouth, exhaling a stream of fire at Aang, causing him to jerk from his spot on the grass to avoid the flames. He watched as Ozai, still laughing maliciously, flew away.

Aang jerked away with a gasp, accidently jostling Xiaodan as he crawled towards Sokka and began to shake the older boy's shoulder roughly, "Sokka, get up! I needa know what day it is!"

"What? Who's talking?!" Sokka squawked as he grabbed his sword and leapt to his feet, only to slam hi head on the large, flat rock he'd fallen asleep in front of, "Ow!" He groaned as he fell back onto his bedroll, rubbing his aching forehead with one hand and clutching his sword with the other.

"Relax!" Toph exclaimed in exasperation as she sat up and rubbed one eye with a fist, "It's still two days before the invasion!"

Xiaodan pushed herself up into a sitting position with a jaw-popping yawn and she blinked blearily as Aang began yanking on Sokka's legs in an attempt to get him up.

"Sokka, you've got to get up!" Aang shouted frantically as he continued tugging on the older boy's legs, "You need to drill your rock-climbing exercises!"

"What?" Sokka demanded in confusion.

"In one of my dreams, you were running from Fire Nation soldiers trying to climb this cliff," Aang explained rapidly while Sokka's confused expression steadily shifted into an annoyed one, "But you were too slow and they got you!"

"But that was just a dream!" Sokka protested as he leapt to his feet and put his hands indignantly on his hips, "I'm a great climber!"

"Then climb that cliff!" Aang ordered as he pointed at the cliff to his right, "Climb it fast!"

Sokka looked at the cliff then at Aang, pointing at the cliff in disbelief. Aang rapidly in confirmation and Sokka groaned before stomping towards the cliff.

"Stupid Avatar!" The Water Tribe boy grumbled in annoyance as he reluctantly began climbing the cliff, "Stupid cliff! Stupid dream! I can climb fast!"

Aang watched Sokka climb the cliff with an anxious smile on his face before frowning in consternation when he saw how slow the older boy was going. Suddenly, he noticed Toph take a sip from the flask of water and he whirled around, "Don't drink that!"

Toph spat the water out all over Katara, who quickly waterbended it off and away from her while Xiaodan flinched slightly in surprise then cringed in sympathy when she noticed Sokka lose his grip on the cliff wall and slide down a few feet.

"Why?" The blind Earthbender demanded in confusion, "Is it poisoned?"

"In my dream, we were right in the middle of the invasion, and you had to stop to use the bathroom!" Aang exclaimed agitatedly as he put his hands between his legs and squeezed them together to emphasis his point, "We died because of your tiny bladder!" He abruptly turned around to face Katara, "And you need to start wearing your hair up!" He grabbed his hair and began tugging on it slightly, "In my dream your hair got caught in a train and-" Aang abruptly cut himself off when his something shiny caught his eye and he whirled around towards Xiaodan, who leaned back slightly at the manic expression on his face, "And you! You need to stop wearing so much metal jewelry!"

He grabbed her arm, which sported a bronze metal wrist cuff that extended halfway up her forearm, like a bracer, and shook it slightly, "We were attacked by Firebenders before the eclipse and the fire heated up the metal and-and-" Xiaodan placed her hands on either side of his face, silencing him mid-ramble as she stared him straight in the eye like she had the night before. He stared into her orange eyes silently, gradually feeling the panic that was causing his heart to beat frenetically quail under her unwavering placidity.

"Breathe, Aang." She instructed soothingly, "Inhale. One, two, three, and exhale. Good." She patted his cheek lightly and smiled, "I know you're just trying to be helpful, but you need to settle down. You're head is going to explode if you keep this up."

Aang exhaled heavily after taking another deep breath, "You're right. I'm starting to lose my mind."

"I'm starting to wonder if you ever had it..." Toph drawled drily. Aang's shoulders slumped slightly and Katara sent the blind girl a stern look while Xiaodan bit her lip to keep from chuckling.

Behind them, Sokka suddenly let out a girly shriek as he once again slipped and slid down the cliff face.

"It's like every time I think about how stressed I am, I just end up more stressed." Aang explained later that day as he rapidly paced around, his eye twitching steadily while he constantly rotated between putting his thumb and finger of one hand to the opposites of his other hand, "I'm like a big snowball of nerves!"

Xiaodan and Katara exchanged concerned glances before refocusing on Aang as he continued to pace. Sokka stopped hammering away at a piece of armor he was making for Appa and looked over his shoulder at the pacing Airbender, "Of course you are. That's 'cause you gotta fight the Fire Lord, the baddest man on the planet." Sokka shrugged nonchalantly and turned back to the metal in front of him, "And you better win of we're done for."

"You're not helping, Sokka." Katara hissed as she walked over to her brother, her arms crossed over her chest in annoyance.

"What?" Sokka asked flippantly as he stood up. Xiaodan's eyes narrowed and she airbended a small rock at the Water Tribe boy, hitting him in the back of the head. "Hey!" Sokka whined and he rubbed the back of his head, turning around to glare at the white-haired girl, "It's true. That's the deal. He knows it. No need to get violent about it!"

Xiaodan merely narrowed her reddish-yellow eyes at him dangerously and airbended another pebble at him, which hit him in the arm. He yelped and rubbed the offended appendage, pouting when Katara shoved him back down into a sitting position.

The dark-haired Waterbender glared at her brother for another moment then looked over at Aang, who was twitching and shaking nervously. Her expression softened and she walked over to him, placing her hands gently on his shoulders, "You know what, I've got just the thing!" She exclaimed as an idea came to her and she smiled at him, "Get ready to be de-stressified!"

Xiaodan watched as Katara led Aang away then she turned to look at Sokka again. She stared at him silently before twirling a finger then flicking her wrist in his direction.

"Ow! Really Xia?!"

"These yoga stretches can really work wonders if you do them in extreme heat." Katara explained as she and Aang stood at the rim of a natural hot spring inside a mountain. She put her hands above her head and waited for a moment until Aang did the same, "Reach for the sun." They leaned first to the left then the right, "Feel your chi paths clearing." She sighed in relaxation as they both leaned forward until their heads touched the ground, their hands wrapped around their legs for support, "Now close your eyes. How are you feeling?"

Sweat slipped down Aang's face and his eyes flickered around restlessly, "I feel...really warm."

"Good, good." Katara encouraged in a low, soothing voice, "Go on."

"Like there's this warm feeling all around me. This heat." Aang said and his breathing picked up as he became frantic, "Like I'm in the Fire Lord's palace and he's shooting a bunch of fireballs at me! And the whole world is being engulfed in flames!"

Aang gasped and fell forward onto his back, panting heavily as imaginary flames danced across his vision. Katara lifted her head and frowned slightly in concern, "Maybe your stress is the kind you need to talk out..."

Sokka rested his elbows on the back of one of the larger koala sheep and stroked at his fake beard as he addressed Aang in his Wang Fire voice, "Why don't you get right down to business and tell me what's been bothering you."

"You know what's bothering me." Aang retorted in annoyance as he lied back against another of the koala-sheep with his hands folded on his stomach, "I have to fight the Fire Lord in a few days!"

"Tell me more about this 'Fire Lord'." Sokka instructed as he nodded along with Aang's explanation, "Why are you so afraid of him?"

"You said it yourself! He's the baddest man on the planet!" The exasperated Airbender exclaimed, "I'm supposed to defeat him and save the world!"

Sokka squinted his eyes nodded sagely in agreement, "Life does feel that way sometimes, doesn't it? Like we're all trying to save the world from evil."

"Okay! But what can I do to feel better?" Aang demanded as he sat up and Sokka held out a small koala-sheep as he asked, "Wanna try screaming into this pillow?"

Aang took the koala-sheep then leaned forward and screamed into its fluffy side. He pulled his face away from the wool and the koala-sheep turned it's head and bleated at him. His shoulders slumped and he shook his head at Sokka, who nodded rapidly and gave Aang a thumbs up, causing the younger boy to shake his head even faster.

Zuko clenched his jaw as he stalked into the Royal spa, where Azula was getting her hair done.

"Hello, Zuzu." Azula cooed without opening her eyes as two servant girls combed her hair in the water, "If you've come for a royal hair-combing, I'm afraid you'll have to wait."

Zuko ignored her as he came to stop a few feet from the spa, "So I guess there's a big war meeting coming up, huh? And apparently I'm not welcome there."

"What do you mean?" Azula asked with false interest as she opened her eyes, "Of course you're welcome there!"

"Oh yeah?! I guess that's why no one bothered to tell me about it!"

The Fire Nation princess sighed in exasperation, "Oh Zuko, don't be so dramatic. I'm certain Dad wants you there." A smile twitched at the corner of her lips as she closed her eyes again, "You probably just weren't invited because it's so obvious you're supposed to be there."

"Well, were you invited?" Zuko asked, trying to keep his voice neutral but failing.

"Of course!" Azula laughed lightly, "I'm the princess."

"And I'm the prince!"

"Exactly," She chided smugly, "So stop acting like a paranoid child! Just go to the meeting."

"Forget it!" He barked angrily as he spun on his heel and began walking away, "I'm not going!"

Aang shifted uncomfortably on the multitude of rock pillars he was lying on, tilting his head back slightly so he could look at Toph, who was standing by his head.

"Alright!" Toph cheered excitedly with a broad grin, "What you need is a good old-fashioned back pounding to relieve your stress!"

Aang stared at her blankly for a moment then looked up at the clear blue sky, "Pound away."

Toph's grin widened and she began stomping her feet, causing the pillars to move up and down in various order.

"Ow!" Aang yelped in pain as the pillars pounded into his back, "Toph...I...Ow! I think...ugh...this is...ow...is bruising...me!"

"Sorry." Toph apologized unrepentantly as she stopped and Aang slid off the pillars, "I forgot you had baby skin." Aang grabbed onto the edge of one of the pillars and pulled himself to his feet as the Earthbender continued, "Well there's one other thing we can try."

She stomped the ground, launching a boar-q-pine that had been resting in the bushes several feet behind them into the air. She caught the small animal and held it out to Aang with a grin, "Acupuncture!"

Aang gaped as the boar-q-pine uncurled itself and stuck out its quills then he turned tail and ran away, deciding that the only place he could possibly find some form of solace was with his sister.

Xiaodan hummed quietly as she added the finishing touched to the clothes she'd been sewing for the past several weeks. Her thoughts drifted idly as she worked; placidly shifting from how Aang was faring and if any of their friends' methods were helping him, to how she could follow Sonal's advice and make peace with herself, to Iroh and how he was doing, if he'd been captured by Azula, before her thoughts finally rested on Zuko.

'I wonder if he's enjoying life as the returned Fire Nation prince?' She mused sardonically as she tied off the thread of her last stitch. She snorted and shook her head, her lips unwillingly tugging upward as she remembered Zuko barking orders at his crew back when she'd been his prison all those months ago, 'I bet he's even more ridiculous now.'

Shaking her head once again, Xiaodan put the finished needlework away and turned her thoughts away from Zuko and towards a way to help her brother sleep. Rapid footsteps reached her ears and she lifted her head, quirking a brow at her Aang as he came zipping towards her with a vaguely frightened expression. She carefully set aside her project and stretched her legs out, patting her thighs in invitation, "I take it Toph's idea didn't work?"

"No." Aang shuddered and shook his head as he sprawled out on the ground beside her, his head dropping heavily into her lap, "She wanted to try acupuncture..."

"Ah," Xiaodan hummed in understanding as she began combing her fingers through his dark hair, gently massaging his scalp. Aang sighed quietly and turned onto his side so he could press his forehead against her soft stomach, his eyes drifting closed as her scent surrounded him, comforting and warm. She'd always smelled like a warm summer breeze after a night of rain with a smoky undertone that was uniquely her.

He breathed a soft sigh, feeling slightly more relaxed than he had moments before. Her fingers continued to more deftly through his hair, short nails occasionally scratching his scalp softly and the tension that had been a restricting band across his chest loosened slightly, allowing him to breath just a little bit easier. Aang curled one arm around her waist and sighed again. The doubts, anxieties, and stresses that had been plaguing his thoughts had quieted down a little bit and she hadn't even really done anything. But that was just Xia. She didn't pry or push, she was just there for him; reliable, comforting, safe, practically unshakable Xia, who offered support silently with gentle smiles and soft eyes full of affection and love. And that helped calm him down more than anything else had so far.

The doubts were still there, so was the stress and anxiety, and they were just waiting to claw their way back to the front of him mind, but for right now, his older sister's solid presence was all he needed to achieve a semblance of peace, if for only a few moments.

Zuko sneezed quietly then scowled as he glared out one of the many open windows in Mai's living room, leaning against the sill with his arms crossed.

"Zuko," Mai murmured quietly as she walked up to stand beside him, "It's just a dumb meeting. Who cares?"

"I don't." He muttered bitterly in reply, uncrossing his arms and rest his hands on the window sill.

"Well good. You shouldn't." She said decisively as she wrapped one arm around his shoulders. She glanced off to the side speculatively then looked back at him, "I mean, why would you even want to go. Just think about how things went at the last war meeting you went too."

Zuko clenched his jaw, just barely resisting the urge to touch his scar at the mention of the last war meeting. He glared silently at the night sky for several minutes then sighed and folded his arms on the sill, "I know."

Mai suddenly smiled and she leaned against him, "You know what will make you feel better?" She tilted her head closer to his when he turned his away from her slightly, "Ordering some servants around. I might be hungry for a whole tray of fruit tarts. And maybe a little palanquin ride around town. Double time."

Zuko pursed his lips and quickly looked away from her when she turned his face towards her, feeling annoyed that she thought something as superficial as ordering around servants would make him feel better. He felt her arm drop from around his shoulders and heard her step back, but he couldn't seem to bring himself to care. Zuko knew she was just trying to make him feel better and yet, in that moment, he found himself almost desperately wishing for someone else. Someone who had comforted him with her silence and with her playful, teasing words. A large part of him knew it was unfair to Mai, but he couldn't help compare her to the impish girl with white hair and ember colored eyes, something he hadn't done since they return from Ember Island weeks ago. Zuko hunched his shoulders slightly and glared down at his folded arms, annoyed with everything around him and with himself.

Mai bit her lip softly and took a step back, staring at Zuko's back with a discouraged expression on her face then she turned and walked out of the room.

Aang heaved a sigh as he sat slightly apart from his friends with his knees drawn up to his chest, "Thanks for everything guys."

"So, do you feel less stressed?" Katara asked hopefully with a smile as she sat on her bedroll, "Ready for a good night's sleep?"

"Uh..." Aang faltered as he turned his head away from them, catching Xiaodan's attention and she smiled gently at him, "I kinda think I sorta might slightly feel a little better." He glanced over his shoulder at them, "Maybe."

"Then our work here is done." Sokka replied with a loud yawn then he stretched and laid down on his bedroll.

Xiaodan watched quietly as Toph and Katara both yawned and stretched simultaneous before lying down and falling asleep almost instantaneously, then she stood up and moved to Aang's side. She sat down beside him and wrapped her arm around his shoulders, tucking him gently against her side and resting her chin on the top of his head.

"Xia," Aang whispered hesitantly, "I don't think I'll be able to sleep. The nightmares..."

She pressed a sisterly kiss to the crown of his head, "It'll be okay, Aang, I'm here. I'll try to keep the nightmares away, okay?"

"Okay." He whispered back then he shifted and rested his head in Xiaodan's lap again, closing his eyes tightly. Gently fingers soothingly combed through his short hair and he slowly felt himself begin to relax into slumber.

'Aang gasped and clenched his teeth as he tried to guide Appa through a terrible thunderstorm while dodging a giant Momo's hand when he tried to hit them down. Appa managed to avoid the first two swipes from the giant lemur but on the third try, Momo managed to grab them with his hand just as thunder and lightning crashed across the sky.

Abruptly, Appa disappeared and Aang found himself emerging from hardened lava surrounding the Fire Nation Royal Palace. Lightning flashed across the red, flaming sky and Aang was no longer trying to climb out of the hardened lava, but was being pushed forward into the palace by an unseen force.

He quickly looked around in all directions without moving his head, waiting for something to happen. He sucked in a sharp breath when the palace was suddenly replaced by darkness and Toph appeared with her back to him. She slowly began turning around until she was facing him and a breeze he couldn't feel brushed her messy bangs aside, revealing to him that her eyes were completely blank.

Another flash of lightning and Aang was once again standing in a hallway in the Fire Nation Royal Palace, this time with Toph, who fell through the floor in front of him. Aang gasped and stepped back, glancing up just in time to see Sokka running through a tunnel in front of him, only to be completely enclosed in wet earth.

Aang wanted to cry out when the image was suddenly gone and replaced by the room he'd found Monk Gyatso's skeleton. But instead of the monk's skeleton propped up against the wall of the room, it was Xiaodan, dressed in the traditional robes the older female Airbenders wore, the fabric torn and scorched in several places.

Aang stared helplessly at his sister's lifeless body, her head hanging limply and her eyes shadowed by her messy white hair. He went to take a step forward, his hand outstretched towards Xiaodan, but her head abruptly snapped upright and a wordless cry escaped him as her eyes opened. Flames pooled in the space where her eyes were supposed to be and she opened her mouth, revealing wickedly sharp teeth.

Aang cried out in fear and panic as fire exploded from her mouth and he threw his arms up to protect his face. When he didn't feel the burning heat of the flames licking his skin, he lowered his arms and felt his heart clenched when he saw Katara surrounded by fire, her blue eyes full of despair. He lunged forward in an attempt to save her, but his feet were suddenly froze to the ground. The ice that encased his feet began to crawl up his body and he reached out towards Katara, but he was completely frozen.

The hallway he was in disappeared and he was standing on a thin ledge made of ice. Ozai, as a fire monster began laughing and melting the ice until it was gone completely. Aang screamed as he fell down and landed into a body of water, where he instantaneously sank to the bottom. He held his breath as bounced up then shifted until his head and hands were pressed against the bottom. He looked upward as if he were under a sheet of ice and stared when he saw Zuko standing above him.

Still holding his breath, Aang stared in horror as the comet passed behind Zuko. The Fire Nation prince disappeared as the comet rushed towards the earth and was replaced by Momo, who held a finger to his mouth and made a shushing sound.

Aang gasped as he was transported from under the water to a grassy hill that overlooked an area that looked remarkably similar to the Black Cliffs where the invasion force was meeting up. He could only watch in growing horror as the comet struck the ground and exploded in a blinding flash of white light. When the light cleared, everything was scorched and on fire, including the hill Aang was standing on. Aang opened his mouth...'

"Ahhhhhh!"

Xiaodan jolted upright at Aang's terrified scream, yelping when her forehead collided with the back of his head, though he didn't seem to even feel it. Sokka, Toph, and Katara jerked awake while Appa growled in fear, his fur standing on end and Momo slid of the sky bison's head, too petrified to move.

"Aang!" Xiaodan cried out and she wrapped her arms around her younger brother, pulling him close as the others rushed towards them, "Shhh... It's okay, it's okay. Shhh..."

"What happened?" Katara asked worriedly as she dropped down to her knees in front of the two Airbenders.

"It's the nightmares." Aang rasped, clutching tightly to Xiaodan's middle as he trembled against her, "They just get worse and worse."

"Looks like it's time for another..." Sokka paused to turn around and put on his Wang Fire disguise and change his voice, "Therapy session."

"No." Aang mumbled with a dejected shake of his head, "That won't help. Nothing helps!" He pulled away from Xiaodan and brought his knees up, "There's only one thing I can do! I'm going to stay awake straight through to the invasion!"

He started shaking violently and Xiaodan gaped at him in shock, "Are you nuts?!"

The next morning, Xiaodan watched her brother warily as he stumbled around behind Katara, who was doing some stretches near the edge of the cliff.

"Invasion." The younger Airbender muttered deliriously as he paced, "All aboard for the invasion."

Katara bit her lip and walked over to Aang with a worried look, "You don't look so good. You sure you can't just lie down for a little nap?"

"I told you," Aang mumbled weakly, "I can't go back to sleep."

"Aang," Katara began patiently as she stopped in front of him, "Staying up all night can't be good for you."

"Actually," Aang commented tiredly as he walked towards the cliff edge while Katara took a few steps after him, "Staying up all night has given me some time to think. And I've realized some big things, Katara."

"What big things?" The Waterbender asked curiously.

"I see everything so clearly no. What really matters. Why I'm really doing this." Aang explained and he turned around to look at the dark-haired girl, "I'm doing it to save the world. But more than that, I'm doing it for the people I love." He walked closer to Katara until there was less than a foot between them, "I'm doing it for you, Katara."

"Aang," Katara whispered uncertainly, "What are you saying?"

Aang took a deep breath and look her in the eye, "I'm saying...I love you." He leaned forward and kissed her hurriedly. When he pulled away a few moments later, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

Katara pulled away and stared at Aang with wide eyes, her voice hushed, "What are we doing?"

"What are hearts have been telling us to do for a long, long time." Aang replied in a suave voice and he wrapped his arms around Katara, tipping her back slightly, "Baby, you're my forever girl." He puckered his lips for another kiss.

"Aang!"

"Yo, little brother! You in there?"

"Huh?" Aang jolted at his sister's voice and the gentle tap of her fist on the back of his head. He stared at the ground in surprise, with his lips still puckered, and he realized he had been daydreaming.

"I was just saying maybe you should take a nap." Katara stated slowly after Aang had straightened and turned to face her and Xiaodan, who was giving him an amused look that barely masked the concern in her ember-colored eyes.

"Oh," Aang stuttered and he rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly, "I guess I kinda drifted off into a daydream."

"Clearly." Xiaodan drawled in amusement as she eyed her younger brother with a quirked brow, "Was it a good daydream?"

"Yeah, what was your dream about?" Katara asked with innocent curiosity.

"Uh..." Aang faltered, his cheeks turning the most interesting shade of red Xiaodan had ever seen and her second brow joined the first near her hairline, "Living underwater?"

Katara gave him a confused look then smiled brightly, "Sounds neat!"

Aang laughed nervously, sighing in relief when she walked away until he remembered Xiaodan was still standing in front of him. The white-haired dualbender smirked at him and raised one brow, "Living underwater, huh? Well, you certain looked like you were imitating a fish."

He flushed bright red and Xiaodan shook her head, laughing in amusement as she gestured for him to follow her.

Zuko stared moodily at the wall as he rested against the arm of the couch in Mai's house while she prepared some tea for them. She was just about to hand him a cup when a servant came into the room.

"Prince Zuko," The servant intoned respectfully as he dropped to one knee and bowed his head, "Everyone's waiting for you."

Zuko stood up and walked around the couch towards the servant with Mai approaching from the other side, "What?"

"The high admirals, the high generals, the war ministers, and the princess have all arrived." The servant replied without lifting his head, "You're the only person missing."

"So," Zuko frowned slightly, "My dad wants me at the meeting?"

"The Fire Lord said he would not start until you arrived, sir."

A smile pulled at Zuko's lips and he looked over at Mai, who was smiling softly at him in return, pride shining in her dark amber eyes.

Aang huddled behind a bush and glanced around warily before jumping out and rolling behind a rock. He pressed his back against the rock for a moment then stepped out and took a fighting stance, "Put 'em up, Fire Lord!"

He shot several air blasts from his palms at the broken tree with the noodle picture he'd made of the Fire Lord tied to it. All of the air blasts missed their target, one even going so far of course that it hit Sokka.

"Hey!" Sokka shouted in protest as he pushed himself to his elbows and glared over at Aang, "I'm trying to build Appa some armor here so he doesn't have to go into the invasion naked! He's your bison!"

Xiaodan moved around the large golden arrow she was helping Sokka work on and pulled the Water Tribe boy to his feet, casting a bemused glance over her shoulder at her brother, who had ignored Sokka's whining. He stood in front of the 'Ozai' tree in a fighting stance, his gray eyes narrowed.

"Ozai's defense is impeccable. I'll have to try a different approach." Aang mumbled to himself and he leapt into the air, shooting more air blasts at the tree, but they all missed. He landed on his feet nimbly and stared intently at the broken tree just as a single leaf fluttered to the ground. Gritting his teeth in determination, Aang ran up in front of the picture.

"You think you're untouchable, don't you, Mr. Fire Lord?!"

"Boy," An unfamiliar, slightly squeaky voice commented from behind Aang, "You are really starting to lose it, kid."

"Momo," Aang straightened in surprise at the strange voice and he turned around to face the lemur perched on a rock behind him, "Did you hear something?" He turned back around and looked the side warily.

"No, but I said something." The voice stated and Aang turned to stare at the lemur in shock, moving crouch in front of Momo as he continued to speak, "You, my friend, are just a few plums short of a fruit pie."

Aang stared at Momo in disbelief, his jaw slack. He quickly stood up, shook his head, and covered his eyes. After counting to ten in his head, he peeked from between his fingers, sighing in relief when Momo began chittering at him normally again. He walked up to the lemur and stroked his ears in relief, "That's more like it. I'm so tired. That for a second there, I imagined you were talking to me."

Momo tilted his head in confusion and, unbeknownst to Aang, his friends and Appa stopped a few feet from him and watched in concern.

"Oh, Momo, let me explain." Aang said, oblivious to his friends' presences as he began chattering like Momo.

Xiaodan sighed and covered her eyes with a hand, shaking her head in exasperation while Sokka and Katara share a look of confusion and Toph crossed her arms with an annoyed expression. Momo chittered back and Aang laughed lightly before chittering again.

"Aang?" Katara called out in concern, interrupting Aang and drawing his and Momo's attention to her, "We're all starting to get a little worried about you."

"You need some sleep, little brother." Xiaodan added with a serious expression and Sokka nodded as he piped in, "You've been awake too long."

Toph crossed her arms over her chest more firmly, "And you're acting downright weird."

Aang shifted his attention towards Appa, who was know standing on his very back legs, "You've got to take care of yourself. You can't go on like this."

"Look," Aang sighed, completetly unperturbed at the talking bison, "I appreciate what you guys are saying, but the stress and the nightmares. They were just too much. Staying awake is the best way for me to deal with it."

"Yeah!" Momo suddenly spoke up as he leapt to his feet and pointed an accusing finger at Appa, "Leave the kid alone!"

Appa pointed back at the lemur and narrowed his brown eyes, "Hey, who asked you?"

Aang glanced back and forth between the two as they began growling at each other threateningly, "Guys, c'mon."

"No!" Appa snapped angrily, "I am sick of this guy always mouthing off and telling me what to do!"

"Oh, you don't like it?" Momo shot back with a sneer, "Well, let's go right now!"

Aang gaped at the lemur and bison then ran over to Xiaodan and Sokka, "Guys, what do we do?"

Sokka gave him a confused look, "About what?"

"About that!" Aang squawked and he behind him. Xiaodan and Sokka exhanged confused looks and turned their heads in the direction he was pointing. Aang spun around as well and began gnawing on his fingernails as he stared at Momo, now dressed in a purple samurai outfit with the fur between his ears tied into a topknot, and Appa, who was wearing orange and dark red armor and a helmet with three swords.

The young Airbender's jaw dropped when Momo unsheathed his own sword and the two creatures charged at each other. The lemur easily parried the sky bison's three swords with his one as several koala-sheep began chanting their names.

Appa suddenly took out a fourth sword and pushed himself up onto his tail then he began to spin rapidly towards the Momo, who blocked the attack. Aang quickly rushed forward to stand behind the line of cheering koala-sheep.

"C'mon, guy! We're all on the same side!" He shouted at them as they fought but was suddenly distracted when Guru Pathik appeared on a cloud with six arms, holding two cups of onion and banana juice while playing a veena.

"Chakras, chakras, everybody loves chakras!" The guru sang as he floated past Aang, "Chakras, chakras, chakras sandwich tastes good. Yum!"

Aang quickly shook his head and refocused on Appa and Momo, who had continued to fight each other while the koala-sheep cheered.

"Yay! Yay! Yay!" The koala-sheep shouted as Momo kept trying to strike at Appa, who merely kept jumping away, "Yay! Yay! Yay!"

Sweat began to gather along Aang's hairline as rocks, in a snake-like formation, began slithering out of the trees then in and around him, before sliding away again. The koala-sheep continued to cheer loudly as Appa and Momo kept fighting and the tree with Ozai's noodle picture began dancing and shadow-boxing with itself.

Aang turned in a slow circle as a ring of rocks surrounded him along with cheering koala-sheep. Aang clutched at his hair, "I just need to jump in a cold waterfall!"

He screamed and ran away from the strange scene, his arms waving in the air above his head. At this point he didn't even think his sister could calm down the panic and stress from running rampant inside his mind.

Xiaodan, Sokka, and Katara stared after Aang's screaming form with various expressions of shock, concern, and confusion on their faces. Toph tilted her head in the direction Aang ran in, a befuddled look on her face, "What just happened?"

"I think..." Xiaodan replied thoughtfully as she scratched her head, "I think, he was hallucinating..."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I know." Xiaodan suddenly perked up and she grinned broadly, "Guys, I just had the most amazingidea."

Mai picked at her nails as she leaned against the wall a few yards down the hall from the war room. She sighed quietly and crossed her arms over her chest, biting her lip as she stared thoughtfully at the high ceiling. Lately, something Azula had mentioned on their trip to Ember Island a few weeks ago, had been nagging at the back of her mind.

She began tapping her fingers lightly against her bicep, the only outward sign of her agitation as she continued turning over what her friend had said while they'd all been sharing their feelings on the beach after that disastrous party.

'"Is it Xia?" she asked. Who's Xia?' Mai contemplated, pursing her lips as she tried to place why the name sounding vaguely familiar, like she'd heard it before, but she couldn't grasp the thread of memory that was practically dangling her face, 'And why was Zuko so defensive after Azula mentioned being angry at her.'

Fifteen years of being taught on how a 'proper' Fire Nation noble lady acted kept Mai from outright asking Zuko just who this 'Xia' person was. And even though she knew Azula most likely knew who it was, Mai wasn't about to ask her either. That way lay dragons.

She stilled her fingers against her bicep and affected her customary air of boredom when she heard the curtain in front of the war room swish open and several of the generals, admirals, and war ministers exit. She waited patiently for several moments until soft footsteps walking down the hall towards her reached her ears.

Mai pushed away from the pillar she was leaning against when Zuko stalked past and she walked in step with him, "So, how did it go?"

"When I got to the meeting, everyone welcomed me." Zuko replied in a quiet voice that almost sounded disbelieving to Mai, "My father saved me a seat. He wanted me next to him. I was literally at his right hand."

"Zuko, that wonderful!" Mai said with uncharacteristic excitement and she hugged his arm as they came to a stop in front of a picture of Fire Lord Ozai in the at a three-way intersection in the hallway, "You must be so happy."

Zuko gazed up at the meeting impassively, "During the meeting I was the perfect prince. The son my father wanted." He looked down at the ground and closed his eyes as he whispered almost too softly for Mai to hear, "But I wasn't me..."

Mai loosened her grip on his arm and stared at him in confusion and uncertainty.

"Sokka! You're supposed be to holding them still! I'd prefer not to get bitten by a koala-sheep! Yeesh!"

Sokka winced and sheepishly smiled at the irate dualbender over a koala-sheep, "Sorry, Xia."

"Yeah, yeah." Xiaodan grumbled without heat, biting her bottom lip in concentration as she focused on carefully shearing the wool from the koala-sheep with Sokka's whale-tooth knife, "Just hold this little guy still, 'kay?"

Sokka made a noise of acknowledgement and shifted his grip to the koala-sheep's head. He glanced over his shoulder to observe Toph and Katara, who were setting up the other parts of Xiaodan's master plan to help Aang get a good night's rest, "How's it goin' over there?"

Toph shot a thumbs up in his direction before stomping her feet and raising her hands, earthbending a waist-high circle of rock up from the ground. Katara glanced up from where she was washing the wool Xiaodan and Sokka had already sheared from several koala-sheep in the large pot they used for cooking. Two earthen pillars with a branch between then served as a clothesline to dry the wool she'd already washed.

"I'm almost done with this batch." The Waterbender replied as she removed the waterlogged wool sheet from the pot by bending the water it was soaked in. She moved it towards the makeshift clothesline and proceeded to bend the water from the wool, calling over to the two older teens as she worked, "How about you two? Do you think we have enough wool?"

Xiaodan carefully finished shearing the koala-sheep in front of her and gestured for Sokka to let it go. She straightened with a quiet groan then, after placing Sokka's knife in her sash, she picked up the wool and walked over to Katara, "I think shearing one more koala-sheep will be good, that way we have an even dozen."

"Good idea." Katara agreed as she changed out the refilled the pot with fresh water then she took the raw wool from her friend, "While this soaks in the water, Toph and I will start laying out the clean stuff."

The dualbender grinned and walked back over to where Sokka was standing with a rather small koala-sheep. She took the whale-tooth knife and held it out to him, "Here, your turn Boomerang Guy. My hand is cramping."

"Ah man..."

Later that night, Aang trudged tiredly back to the camp with his shoulders slumped and his head hung with exhaustion. Suddenly, a cloud of mist engulfed him and he paused, looking up and staring at a large, fluffy white pad in the middle of the mist.

Tentatively, he approached the fluffy pad and began prodding it from all sides, feeling and inspecting its soft fluffiness. He frowned slightly as he bent over the pad and rubbed his cheek against it with a skeptical expression, "Oh look, another hallucination. An imaginary bed made outta clouds."

"Hey! It's real!" Aang turned his head to the right at Toph's amused and indignant voice, "We spent hours working on it."

Sokka bopped his head proudly from beside Toph, "We made it for you. A good night's sleep will probably take the crazy away..." He paused then shrugged slightly, "We hope."

Aang shifted his gaze from his sister and three friends to the small herd of shivering, recently shaved koala-sheep hovering beside them. He heaved a sigh, straightened from his slouched position, and walked around the fluffy bed to face the other four teens.

"Look, you guys keep telling me I need to sleep, but I can't." He said despondently and he looked at them imploringly, "The invasion's tomorrow."

Xiaodan sighed and stepped towards her brother, "Aang, you need to-."

"No, Xia," Aang stated determinedly as he stepped back from his sister and held his hands up as if to ward her off, "There's still so much I haven't learned. I don't need sleep. What I need his practice." He raised his fists in a feeble blocking position, "Quick, hit me."

Xiaodan sighed again and covered his fists with her hands, "I'm not going to hit you, little brother. No matter how much as I'd like to knock some sense into you, right now."

"You want me to do it?" Toph asked from behind the older bender with an eager grin.

"Toph!" Katara chided sharply then she approached Aang and placed her hand on his shoulder, "Listen to me, you've been training for this since the day we've met." She smiled at him encouragingly and squeezed his shoulder, "I've seen your progress. You're smart, brave, and strong enough."

Aang looked between the two older girls uncertainly, "You really think so?"

It was Sokka who replied first as he held his arms out, "We all do. You can do this. You're ready."

"You're the man," Toph added with a cheesy grin and she pointed at Aang, "Twinkle Toes."

Aang looked between each of their faces for a moment then smiled and nodded, "Thanks guys." He yawned widely and allowed Xiaodan and Katara to help him onto the fluffy, koala-sheep wool bed, "You know what?" He muttered as his sister sat behind him and he rested his head in her lap, settling into the fluffy bed, "I think I am ready."

"Good." Xiaodan murmured as she gently ran her fingers through his hair, "Now close your eyes, little brother." She cleared her throat and after casting a mildly embarrassed look towards the other three began to sing in a soft and rather off key voice.

"We cry to the ocean and the waves cry too
As the water flows and heals us.

We drum to the earth and the earth drums too
As the earth grows and transforms us

We dance to the blaze and the blaze dances too
As the fire glows and shapes us

We sing to the wind and the wind sings too
As the air blows and moves through us."

Aang sighed softly and settled deeper into the wool bed, tucking his head against Xiaodan's stomach as sleep blanketed him in it's once again comforting embrace. This time the doubts swirling through his mind were quieted almost completely, the stress and panic fading away to almost nothingness as he relaxed fully for the first time in days.

"Water and Earth, Fire and Air
When we are gone they will remain here
Water, Earth, Fire, and Air 
They will remain here."

Xiaodan let her voice fade away before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to Aang's head, "Dream well, Aang." She carefully shifted her legs out from under his head and slipped off the bed, padding quietly away with Sokka, Toph, and Katara.

'Aang burst through the large, red metal doors embossed with the Fire Nation emblem and he pointed at the giant, but thin Fire Lord, "Your days of tyranny are over, Fire Lord!"

"Really?" The giant dream Ozai demanded sarcastically as he glared down at Aang, who was pointing a sword at him, "You're not even wearing pants!"

"No, Fire Lord Ozai," Aang retorted smugly and he nodded towards the dream Fire Lord's waist, "You'renot wearing any pants."

The dream Ozai looked down and gasped when he saw that Aang was right. He quickly pulled a red, fur-lined shield with the Fire Nation emblem on it and covered himself.

"No!" He wailed in defeat, "My royal parts are showing! No!"'

Aang smiled in his sleep as he rolled onto his back and stretched out on the bed