Iroh sat on a straw mat beside his nephew with the ostrich-horse lying behind them as he stared serenely at the people walking in the street, just as a cart with masks for sale passed by them.

"Spare coins for weary travelers?" Iroh asked inquiringly as he held his straw hat out to a man that was walking past.

The man stopped in front of Iroh and pulled out a couple copper coins, which he dropped inside Iroh's hat then he continued walking down the street.

"This is humiliating." Zuko growled angrily as he turned to stare at his uncle, "We're royalty! These people should be giving us whatever we want."

"They will if you ask nicely." Iroh replied easily then held his hand out to a young woman as she was passing by, "Spare change for a hungry old man?"

The woman smiled down at Iroh and withdrew a coin from her sleeve, placing it in the straw hat, "Here you go."

"The coin is appreciated, but not as much as your smile." Iroh said with a flirty smile, causing Zuko to slap his forehead in exasperation while the woman to giggle quietly behind her hand as she walked away.

As the young woman walked away, a man with a broadsword strapped to his back wondered up to Iroh and Zuko, a nasty smile appearing on his face.

"How about some entertainment for a gold piece?" The man asked with a smirk as he held up a gold coin.

"We're not performers." Zuko snapped in annoyance as he leaned against the ostrich-horse and glared at the man from under the brim of his straw hat.

"Not professional anyway." Iroh said quickly as he go to his feet and began to sing, "It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se, but the girls in the city, they look so pretty!"

"Come on, we're talking a gold piece here! Let's see some action." The man sneered as he unsheathed his broadswords, "Dance!"

The man began striking the ground near Iroh's feet and Iroh hopped up and down to dodge the attacks, singing as he did so.

"They kiss so sweet that you really got to meet the girls from Ba Sing Se!" Iroh sang and the man laughed as he stopped striking the ground with his swords.

"Ha, ha! Nothing like a fat man dancing for his dinner! Here ya go!" The man cackled loudly then tossed the gold coin on the ground and walked away, still chortling to himself.

Iroh picked up the coin and tucked it away then sat back down as he smiled serenely.

"Such a nice man." Iroh commented in a placid tone, unaware of the angry glare Zuko was leveling at the retreating man's back.

As Appa flew over a swampy area Xiaodan leaned against the side of the saddle as she used a rag to clean her glider carefully while Sokka sharpened his machete from his spot sitting at the front of the saddle and Katara read a scroll opposite him. Aang stared down at the swamp below them as he held Appa's reins, his gray eyes fixated on the brief flashes of water in the swamp in a trance-like stare. He was completely unaware of the way Appa had begun to slowly descend towards the swamp below.

Xiaodan stopped cleaning her staff and looked around, her brow furrowing slightly when she realized that Appa was slowly flying towards downwards. To her left Sokka was looking around as well then he put down his machete and peered over the edge of saddle curiously.

"Hey, you taking us down for a reason?" Sokka asked curiously as he looked over at where Aang was sitting on Appa's head, but the younger Airbender continued to stare trance-like at the swamp as if he didn't hear Sokka, "Aang!"

Aang snapped out of his apparent trance and looked over at Sokka, who continued speaking.

"Why are we going down?" Sokka asked as he leaned over the front of the saddle, Xiaodan moving over to kneel beside him.

"What?" Aang asked in confusion as he wiped at his eyes with an arm, "I didn't even notice."

"Are you noticing now?" Sokka asked sardonically as Appa continued to fly towards the swamp.

"Is something wrong?" Katara inquired as she moved over to stand on her brother's other side.

Xiaodan shrugged then she Airbended herself from the saddle and landed beside Aang on the sky bison's head, "Are you alright, little brother?"

Aang glanced at her then looked back at the swamp, "I know this is gonna sound weird, but I think the swamp is calling to me."

"Is it telling you where we can get something to eat?" Sokka muttered as he put a hand on his stomach and peered down at the swamp.

"No, I..." Aang paused, his expression becoming confused, "I think it wants us to land there."

Sokka made a face and rolled his eyes slightly while Katara and Xiaodan looked down at the swamp from their positions.

"No offense to the swamp, but I don't see any land there to land on." Sokka quipped drily with a small shrug of his shoulders and Aang gave him a slightly annoyed look over his shoulder.

"I don't know." Aang replied with a shrug of his own as he looked first at the swamp then at the gray sky, "Bumi said to learn Earthbending I would have to wait and listen, and no I'm actually hearing the earth. Do you want me to ignore it?"

Katara, Sokka, and Momo looked over Appa's saddle down at the swamp, while Xiaodan leaned to side to peer over Appa's head to do the same.

"Yes." Sokka responded matter-of-factly.

"I don't know." Katara said after a moment as she continued to look at the swamp for a moment then over at Aang, "There's something ominous about that place."

Xiaodan sat back and scratched her head slightly, "Itis a little creepy looking."

Momo chittered quietly and hid underneath Appa's saddle and the sky bison rumbled lowly, in apparent agreement.

"See, even Appa and Momo don't like it here." Sokka stated as he and Katara moved back over to the front of the saddle to look at Aang and Xiaodan, both of whom glanced over their shoulders at the Water Tribe siblings.

"Okay, since everyone feels so strongly about this, bye swamp." Aang said as he glanced at the swamp briefly then flicked Appa's reins, "Yip-yip!"

Appa rumbled again and began to fly upward, away from the swamp. Xiaodan patted the flying bison's head gently then Airbended herself back into the saddle, something catching her eye just as she landed in the middle of the saddle. Xiaodan turned around just as Sokka did and the two older teens' eyes became huge when they saw the tornado that was heading straight for them.

"You better throw in an extra 'yip!'" Sokka yelped loudly, causing Katara and Aang to turn around, "We gotta move!"

Appa began to fly faster in an attempt to avoid the approaching tornado, but the tornado appeared to move closer despite Appa's attempts to outrun it. As the tornado got closer to the group of friends, the wind pulled Sokka right off Appa's saddle. Katara just managed to grab her brother's hand, keeping him from flying into the tornado as she clutched the side of Appa's saddle with one hand.

"Sokka!" Xiaodan shouted worried then thrusted her arms out and created an air shield around Appa's body just as Aang leapt into the saddle beside her and helped her keep the air shield up as they were sucked into the tornado.

Sokka grunted as he fell back into the saddle and Katara hurriedly helped him to his feet as Xiaodan and Aang strained to keep the air shield around them. Slowly, one of Appa's legs began to stick out of the air shield a moment later the air shield broke, causing Aang, Xiaodan, Sokka, and Katara to be ripped from Appa's saddle. The four teens screamed and Appa roared as the tornado whipped them around a few times before spitting them out into the swamp in two different directions.

Aang, Xiaodan, Katara, and Sokka all screamed loudly as they fell through the trees and into the swamp. Katara and Sokka landed in the muddy swamp water while Aang and Xiaodan used Airbending to slow their descent. The two Airbenders landed lightly on their feet while Sokka and Katara stood back up, mud covering bits of their clothing.

"Where's Appa and Momo?" Aang asked worriedly as he looked around then used Airbending to climb to the top of the trees, his eyes straining for any sign of the sky bison and lemur, "Appa! Momo!"

Xiaodan shook her head to clear then she looked around the swamp curiously, Katara standing beside her while Sokka stood a few feet in front of them.

"Sokka, you've got an elbow leech." Katara pointed out as she pointed at her brother.

Sokka started dancing around as he looked for the creature, "Where? Where?"

"Where do you think?" Katara asked sarcastically as she crossed her arms over her chest, causing Xiaodan to snicker quietly.

"Why do things keep attaching to me?!" Sokka shouted in exasperation as he ripped the elbow leech off his elbow and threw it over his shoulder, causing Katara to duck as it flew over her head and into the water behind her.

The dark-haired girl glared at her brother angrily just as Aang reappeared, swinging over the muddy swamp water on a vine.

"Any sign of them?" Xiaodan asked as she walked over to her brother as he dropped down into the water.

"No," Aang replied with a shake of his head, "And the tornado...It just disappeared."

Xiaodan pursed her lips and she turned her head to stare at the darkness in the swamp, Katara and Sokka following her gaze a moment later.

Appa grumbled lowly as hung in the air, trapped in a net of vines while Momo perched in his saddle. The lemur chittered quietly as he climbed out of the saddle and over to one of the vines. Momo began chewing on the vine until it snapped then he repeated the process until all the vines were cut and he and Appa fell into the muddy water.

Appa got to his feet and shook the water from his fur then took off into the air again, only to fly straight into another net of vines and entrapping himself again. Momo hovered in front of Appa's face and chittered angrily at the sky bison, who rumbled lowly at the lemur. Momo chittered again then flew over to the vines and began cut the vines with his teeth again.

"We better speed things up." Sokka stated as he began hacking at some vines with his machete.

"Maybe we should be a little nicer to the swamp." Aang commented as he watched Sokka cut the vines up warily.

"Aang, these are just plants." Sokka retorted with a roll of his eyes as he continued to hack at the vines, "Do you want me to say 'please' and 'thank you' as I swing my machete back and forth?"

"You should listen to Aang, Sokka." Xiaodan mumbled, her orange eyes flickering about the swamp cautiously as she crossed her arms tightly over her chest, "Something feels really weird about this place."

"It feels almost...alive." Katara added, her own gaze flickering around nervously.

"I'm sure there are lots of things that are alive here." Sokka said drily as he turned to look at the other three, "And if we don't wanna wind up getting eaten by them, we need to find Appa as fast as we can."

Sokka turned back and started to slice through the vines again. Xiaodan shook her head and crossed her arms even tighter, her spine tingling with the unnerving feeling that they were being watched.

Appa walked through the muddy ground of swamp, leaving a trail of footprints behind as he trudged through the swamp with Momo sitting in his saddle. Appa paused in front of a tree trunk, ducking his head slightly to peer at the small opened between the curved branch and the ground then the sky bison lifted his head to look over the tree branch.

Appa grumbled lowly and collapsed on the ground in front of the branch with his six legs spread out on either side of him. Momo chittered curiously and scurried over to the supplies at the back of the saddle, grabbing the bison whistle. The lemur brought the whistle to his mouth and blew on it, causing his fur to stand on end at the noise. Appa's ears perked slightly and he roared slightly at Momo in annoyance until the lemur stopped blowing on the whistle.

Momo looked at Appa curiously then blew on the whistle again and the bison smacked him with his tail. Appa lifted his tail and Momo dropped the whistle then he tried to stand but stumbled sideways then fell onto his back with a quiet chitter.

"Appa!" Katara called out as she followed her brother through a foggy part of the swamp with Aang and Xiaodan walking behind her, "Momo!"

"There's no way they can hear us and no way we can see them." Sokka stated as he looked over his shoulder at his sister then looked up at the trees as he continued walking along the thick tree root they were standing on, "We'll have to make camp for the night."

Suddenly, several flies swarmed around Sokka and he began slashing at them with his machete in an attempt to shoo them away from him before giving up as his shoulders slumped forward. Just then, a huge bubble of swamp gas rose up from the muddy water below the branch the four teens were standing on then burst with a hiss.

"What was that?" Katara asked nervously as she and Aang shuffled closer to Sokka while Xiaodan looked down at the water curiously.

"Nothing, just swamp gas." Sokka replied then gestured towards the visible fumes floating towards them, "Look, there's nothing supernatural going on here."

The four teen groaned simultaneously and covered their noses with their hands as the horrible smell from the swamp gas reached them. An ominous scream suddenly cut through the silence of the swamp and the four teens yelped as they huddled together in fear. Xiaodan, Katara, Aang, and Sokka stared at a branch across from them where a small, white bird was perched and watched as it opened its mouth, the same terrifying scream emitting from its large mouth.

"I think we should build a fire." Sokka said as his eyes shifted from side-to-side nervously then he rushed over to a nearby tree and began to cut off pieces of the roots with his machete.

Katara and Aang walked over towards him while Xiaodan trailed behind them, her orange gaze flickering about warily.

"Sokka, the longer we're here, the more I think you shouldn't be doing that." Aang stated, gesturing at the way Sokka was cutting up the tree root.

"No, I asked the swamp. It said it was fine. Right, swamp?" Sokka said as he grabbed a nearby root and shook it, faking a reply, "'No problem, Sokka!'"

Xiaodan winced and glanced around again as the young Water Tribe warrior continued chopping up the roots while Aang looked on with a somewhat annoyed expression on his face.

Xiaodan, Katara, Aang, and Sokka huddled around the small fire Sokka had managed to light.

"Does anyone else get the feeling that we're being watched?" Katara asked as she looked around the swamp warily, her lips pursed slightly.

"I do." Xiaodan replied quietly, eyes flicking about restlessly.

"Please," Sokka snarked as he tried to use his machete to scare the fly buzzing around him off, "We're all alone out here."

The fly suddenly turned into a big, shining ball of light and flew off behind the four teens, revealing several pairs of glowing eyes that were staring down at them.

"Except for them..." Aang said nervously as the glowing bug disappeared along with the eyes.

"Right," Sokka croaked fearfully as the four friends turned back to the fire and huddled together again, "Except for them."

Appa laid on a giant tree branch, fast asleep as Momo scurried across his back, his large ears swiveling around as the lemur listened to all the sounds that were coming from the swamp around them. Appa's ears twitched slightly as he listened to Momo and the other noises then sky bison snapped his eyes opened and roared loudly. The noises stopped instantly and Momo settled down on Appa's saddle. The lemur's eyes drifted closed as he began to fall asleep when a sudden noise caused his eyes snap back open and his ears to perk up.

Xiaodan, Aang, Katara, and Sokka huddled together near the burning embers of their fire. All four of them were fast asleep, their backs pressed together for protection. A vine suddenly snaked its way to Sokka's leg, which was sticking out, and the vine began to wind around the young man's leg then up Sokka's whole body.

More vines slithered across the ground to the remaining three teens and began to wind around their unsuspecting bodies until each of them was bound by three or four vines each. For a moment, the teens remain asleep but they all wake up screaming bloody murder when the vines simultaneously yanked them in four different directions.

Sokka shouted as he wiggled an arm free and slammed his machete into the ground, preventing the vines from pulling him any farther away while Katara, Aang, and Xiaodan were dragged off, screaming into the fog surrounding the area.

Sokka grunted in determination as he used his machete to pull himself up slightly, then he yanked the blade from the ground and began hacking at the vines wrapped around his body. The young Water Tribe warrior breathed heavily as he got to his feet after freeing himself from the vines and began running back down the tree root as more vines pursued him.

"Ah!" Katara yelped as she struggled to free herself from the vines wrapped around her body.

The dark-haired girl managed to get the cork off her flask and quickly Waterbended a water-whip, which she used to cut through her binds. More vines come at her and Katara expertly slashes at them with the water-whip until she was able to run off into the mist surrounding her.

Xiaodan shouted in frustration and fear as more vines began slithering around her body, trapping her. The white-haired girl gave another shout as she leapt into the air and twisted her body around, creating a mini-tornado around her body that ripped the vines encasing her to shreds.

Xiaodan shook her head and used Airbending to propel herself up into the trees, weaving between the branches and leaves as she dodged the vines that were chasing after her. A yelp escaped her lips when she felt a vine wrap around her right ankle and she was yanked off her feet, slamming chest-first against the tree branch she had been running on. The air left Xiaodan's lungs in a harsh groan but she quickly rolled onto her back and kicked her other foot our, launching herself through the air backwards and snapping the vine that was wrapped around her leg.

The white-haired girl flipped through the air, landing on another branch then she began darted forward and disappeared into the fog surrounding the swamp.

Aang wiggled against the vines entrapping him then he created a bubble of air around himself and expanded it, causing the vines to be pushed away from his body. The younger Airbender collapsed the bubble when his bonds loosened and he quickly jumped away from the vines and into the surrounding trees while more vines began to pursue him.

Aang jumped from branch-to-branch, dodging the vines that were coming at him from behind. The bald boy jumped towards another branch but was yanked to the ground by a vine that had wrapped around his foot and Aang grunted when he hit the shallow water below. He quickly broke free of the vine by using Airbending to propel himself backwards then he jumped to his feet and continued running through the trees. Aang stopped running after a few minutes and stood on a thick tree root, looking around worriedly and confusedly for his three friends.

"Guys?" He called out as the fog began to clear around him as the sun began to rise.

Two men in animal skin and leaf loincloths stared down at the large footprint fill with swamp water curiously.

"What'd ya reckon make a track like that, Tho?" The tall, skinny man asked the short fat man standing beside him curiously.

"Don't know Due." Tho replied as he shrugged then he pointed his stick at the footprint, "Something with six legs. Pretty big'uns too."

Due scratched his head as he looked at the tracks in the mud, "Leaves a nice, wide trail to folla'."

"You know what's at the end of that trail?" Tho asked with a smirk then he glanced up at his companion, who shook his head in the negative.

"Dinner."

Appa rumbled low in his chest as he swam through the marshy water with Momo sitting atop his head. A fly buzzed around Momo and the lemur watched the insect with rapt attention, his green eyes shifting from side-to-side. The fly suddenly flew off and Momo leapt off Appa's head to chase after it. The lemur hopped from tree root to tree root as he chased after the fly, finally coming to a stop on the last tree root as he snatched the fly from the air. Suddenly, Momo let go of the fly when the tree root he was perched on turned out to be the back of catfish-crocodile. Momo leapt into the air just as the catfish-crocodile roared and snapped its jaws at the lemur.

Momo gave a quiet screech as he flew back to Appa, the catfish-crocodile in hot pursuit. Momo landed on Appa's head and the sky bison opens his mouth wide as the pursing catfish-crocodile reached him. Appa snapped his mouth shut on the catfish-crocodile and it began to thrash its tail for a moment then Appa spat the swamp creature back out. Momo and the catfish-crocodile hissed at each other for a moment, then the swamp creature swam off. Appa shook his head and rumbled lowly as if in exasperation.

"Aang!" Katara called out as she walked through an area of the swamp where the tree roots were covered with fragrant, white flowers, "Sokka! Xia!"

The dark-haired girl looked around worriedly then her eyes widened when she caught sight of another Water Tribe woman standing several yards ahead with her back to Katara. The young Waterbender's brow furrowed slightly and she began walking towards the woman.

"Hello? Hello? Can you help me?" Katara called out and she squinted at the figure, "Mom?"

"Mom!" Katara exclaimed loudly as she began running towards the figure, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.

Katara reached the figure and placed her hand on her shoulder only, a happy smile on her tanned face.

"I can't believe..." Katara trailed off as the area around her brightened and her smile faded when she saw a tree stump standing where the figure had been.

The dark-haired girl gasped when she realized that the figure had been an illusion then she fell to her knees and began to sob heartbrokenly.

"Aang! Stupid swamp! Xia! " Sokka growled as he slashed at the vines he was walking through with his machete, "Dumb, ugly vines! Katara! You think you're so tough, huh?"

Sokka stomped on the vines in front of him, only to get his foot tangled in them. The Water Tribe boy growled angrily and slashed at the vine, tripping over it a moment later and falling face first into the mud. Sokka lifted his head and scowled angrily, but his scowl disappeared a second later when he saw an image of Yue in a beam of light several feet in front of him. Sokka carefully got to his feet and put his machete away then he began walking towards Yue.

"Hello? Yue?" Sokka questioned warily then shook his head as he turned away from the image of Yue and began to ramble, "This is just a trick of the light...swamp gas...I...uh, hit my head running away last night. I'm going crazy."

"You didn't protect me." Yue's voice sounded from behind him and Sokka whirled around to stare at her.

The young man rubbed is eyes in disbelief then dropped his hands, sighing in relief when he saw the image of Yue had disappeared. Sokka shook his head again as he turned around and promptly fell over with a yelp upon seeing Yue right before his eyes. The image of Yue disappeared immediately afterward and Sokka jerked his head around to look at the beam of light he had originally seen Yue in, sighing quietly when he didn't see her again.

Xiaodan leapt onto a thick tree branch high above the swamp, placing her hand against the trunk as she looked around.

"Aang?!" She shouted loudly then jumped to another branch, her eyes searching the ground below for any sign of her friends, "Katara? Sokka!?"

Xiaodan paused just before she was about to jump to another branch when she saw a small amount of movement from the corner of her eye and she turned her head to the left curiously. The white-haired jumped from the branch and landed nimbly on the ground, wondering over to the tree she had first seen the movement.

"Guys?" She called out warily as she walked around the tree, tilting her head to side when she caught sight of the lone figure standing on a thick tree root a few feet in front of her.

Xiaodan used Airbending to propel herself forward and she landed lightly on the root, then walked closer figure.

"Hello? Are you alright?" Xiaodan questioned as she took a step closer.

Suddenly the figure whirled around and swung a pair of dao swords at her head, causing Xiaodan to yelp as she jerked away from the attack and tripped backwards, landing on her butt on the root.

"Zuko?!" Xiaodan squeaked as she stared up at the scarred prince standing in front as he pressed the tips of his dao blades against her throat.

Xiaodan stared up into his gold eyes, her own molten orange eyes wide with shock and slight fear. Those same gold eyes narrowed slightly then he suddenly spun away from her and darted towards the trees, leaving Xiaodan to stare at his back in bewilderment.

"Wait!" Xiaodan shouted and leapt to her feet then she raced after the banished prince.

Xiaodan weaved between the trees and jumped over roots as she chased after what she thought was Zuko, who somehow managed to stay several feet ahead despite the fact that Xiaodan was using Airbending to increase her speed.

"Spirits, Firebug, would you stop!" Xiaodan called in irritation then skidded to a stop when she reached a small clearing in the middle of the swamp and she looked around, but the scarred prince was nowhere to be found.

"Firebug?" She called out as she turned in a circle, her brow furrowing in confusion, "Hello, Zuko?"

Xiaodan shook her head in utter confusion and turned around to head back the way she had come only to freeze in place when she saw something was blocking her path. Bright orange eyes that mirrored her own watched her calmly and Xiaodan's breath began to leave her in quick pants, panic surging through her as she stared at the massive dragon that was standing in front of her.

Xiaodan gave a fearful squeak and stumbled backwards when the dragon took a step forward. The dragon paused and tilted its head to the side curiously as it regarded the terrified Airbender standing in front it for a moment then stepped to the side. The white-haired girl's eyes widened even further and her jaw dropped slightly as the dragon seemed to shrink and its body began to change until a woman in her late twenties was standing where the dragon had been, her bright orange eyes serene. Xiaodan shifted slightly as the woman stepped towards her and Xiaodan noticed that the tattoos on the woman's face and body where similar to Xiaodan's own.

"Who are you?" Xiaodan demanded, taking a step back as the woman continued to approach, "Where are my friends?"

The woman merely smiled serenely as she came to stop right in front of Xiaodan then reached her hands up, placing her thumbs against the tattoo between Xiaodan's eyes while her index fingers rested against her temples. Xiaodan gasped, her whole body tensing at the woman's touch as images suddenly bombarded her mind.

'A young woman with black hair and molten orange eyes stood in the middle of a stone bridge. The woman folded her hands in a pray-position in front of her and closed her eyes, holding the position for a moment then the woman began to move.

The woman's movements were fluid and graceful as she shifted from one stance to the next, multicolored flame shooting from her hands and feet. As the woman performed the ancient Firebending technique, two dragons emerged from two caves on either side of the bridge the woman was dancing on and they began to fly around the bridge and each other with the woman Firebending in the middle. Suddenly, the woman stopped dancing and the dragons crouched on either side of the bridge she was standing on then simultaneously the dragons breathed fire at the woman, engulfing her in the flames and suddenly the image of the woman and the two dragons was replaced by the image of a giant massive, moss and vine covered tree...'

Xiaodan gasped and she snapped her eyes open, unaware that she had even closed them as she collapsed to the ground on her hands and knees, her breathing coming in short pants as she came back from the vision. The white-haired lifted her head slowly and blinked in surprise as she got to her feet and looked around the clearing she was in. The woman was gone.

"Xia! Katara!" Aang called out as he jumped from tree root to tree root as he looked for his friends, "Appa!"

Aang huffed slightly as he waded through the swamp then paused when he noticed an unfamiliar girl in dress standing on a hill several yards in front of him, a winged swine at her side.

"Hello?" Aang called out to the mysterious girl as he walked forward, "Who are you?"

The swine suddenly flew off and girl began to giggle as she ran down the other side of the hill, out of Aang's sight.

"Hey, come back!" Aang shouted as he used Airbending to jump onto the top of the hill.

Aang looked at the around in confusion then spun around when he heard the girl's laughter again, catching a glimpse of her as she disappeared behind the trunk of a tree. The young Avatar used the vines to swing across the swamp towards the branch he saw the girl standing on before she disappeared and he swung over the branch. Aang heard her giggling again and he quickly changed course, heading back to branch and landing on it just in time to see the girl running towards another tree on ground. Aang dropped to the ground and ran behind the same tree the girl did, frowning when he saw nothing but then he heard her laughter again and he caught sight of her just as she raced across a branch that connected two trees high in the air. Aang quickly climbed up to the branch and ran after the mysterious girl.

Appa swam through the marshy river water with Momo sitting on his head then he came to a stop as the thin fog that was further upstream parted to reveal six men divided over three canoes, Due and Tho sitting in the middle canoe. The two animals and the six men stared at each in silence for a moment and Tho licked his lips. The silence continued for another moment and then Momo chittered curiously at them.

"Look at that, Tho." Due said as squinted his eyes slightly to get a better look at Momo sitting atop Appa's head, "Is that a little hairy fella ridin' that thing?"

"No, that's what they call a 'lemoo.'" Tho replied with a shake of his head, "Saw one at a traveling show once. Real smart they say."

"Bet he tastes a lot like possum chicken." Due commented eagerly and Tho rolled his eyes.

"You think everything tastes like possum chicken."

"C'mon now, fellas. Just a little closer." Due addressed Appa and Momo as he leaned forward slightly and held his hand out, "Nice and easy. Nothin' to worry about .We just fixin' to eat ya."

Appa growled lowly and spun around, racing off in the opposite direction.

"What'd ya say that fer?" Tho demanded in annoyance as he glared at the skinnier man.

"Well, we are!" Due retorted as he made a 'don't' blame me' type of gesture with his hands.

"But you don't have to tell 'em that." Tho snapped in exasperation.

"Well, how'd I know they'd understand me?"

Tho just shook his head and scowled slightly at his companion, "Come on!"

Due huffed and stood up at the front of the canoe then began pinwheeling his arms, bending the water behind his canoe in order to chase Appa while the other two canoes followed.

The mysterious girl as she disappeared behind another tree and Aang chased after her hurriedly, jumping over a couple tree roots as he looked around. He heard the girl's familiar laughter up ahead and he quickly ran in that direction, brushing aside some moss that was hanging from a branch.

"Who are you?" Aang asked curiously as he looked at the figure of the girl standing on a thick tree root several yards away, then he began running towards her.

Aang felt relieve as he came closer to the girl and she didn't disappear again and he stretched his arm out towards her. His eyes went wide as the image of the girl suddenly changed to Katara, who was turning around. Aang dropped his arm and tried to skid to a stop but the root was too slippery and he ended up crashing into Katara, sending them both tumbling down the branch.

Nearby, Sokka tensed and raised his machete threateningly when he heard the noise only to get knocked off his feet by the still falling Katara and Aang. The three teens groaned in pain as they slid down a thick, curved root before coming to a stop in the middle of the root's curve.

"What do you guys think you're doing?!" Sokka demanded as he got to his feet and put his hands on his hips, "I've been looking all over for you!"

"Well, I've been wandering around looking for you!" Katara retorted angrily as she sat up and put a hand to her head.

"I was chasing some girl." Aang replied as he sat up and looked to the side.

"What girl?" Katara asked curiously and Aang shrugged as he got to his feet.

"I don't know." The young Airbender said as he helped Katara to her feet, "I heard laughing and I saw some girl in a fancy dress."

"Well, there must be a tea party here and we just didn't get our invitations!" Sokka snapped sarcastically as he threw his hands in the air.

"I thought I saw Mom." Katara stated quietly as she closed her eyes and bowed her head.

Sokka stared at his sister for a moment then shook his head, "Look, we were all just scared and hungry and our minds were playing tricks on us. That's why we all saw things out here."

"You saw something too?" Katara questioned her brother, lifting her head to give him a curious look.

"I thought I saw Yue." Sokka mumbled in reply as he turned his back on his sister and Aang then whirled around to face them again, "But, that doesn't prove anything. Look, I think about her all the time, and you saw Mom, someone you miss a lot."

"What about me?" Aang asked as he tilted his head slightly, "I didn't know the girl I saw. And all our visions led us right here. But where's Xia?"

Aang pursed his lips and began walking along the branch, looking for his sister.

"Okay...so where's here?" Katara questioned as she stared at Aang then looked around, "The middle of the swamp?"

"It's the heart of the swamp."

The three teens jumped and tilted their head back, staring in surprise at Xiaodan, who was hanging upside down from one of the branches of the massive tree they were standing in front of.

"Xia!" Aang exclaimed happily as he watched the white-haired girl flip of the branch and land lightly in front of him, "Did you see something that led you here too?"

"You could say that." Xiaodan replied with a shrug of her shoulder as she turned to look up at the tree and gestured towards it with one hand, "It's been calling us here."

"I knew it." Aang stated with a smile as he looked up at the massive tree.

"It's just a tree." Sokka deadpanned as he rolled his eyes at the two Airbenders, "It can't call anyone. For the last time, there's nothing after us and there's nothing magical happening here."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a massive creature made of vines and lichen burst from the water, causing the four teens to scream loudly as they huddled together on the thick root. The swamp monster swung an arm at the teens and they scattered, running in four different directions. Sokka screamed when the monster suddenly wrapped vines around his leg and yanked him off his feet then the monster began swinging him around.

"Sokka!" Xiaodan shouted then made a slashing motion with her arm, sending a crescent of air at the swamp monster which cut through the vines that made up the monster's arm, freeing Sokka.

Xiaodan's eyes went wide as the monster swung its other arm at her and sent her flying several feet into the air. The white-haired girl grunted painful when she landed roughly on a thick branch, her head swimming from where she had knocked it against the mossy wood. Aang cried out in shock when he saw his sister get it then he spun around and sent an air blade at the swamp monster, cutting it's already damaged arm further. The swamp monster swung its arm and knocked Aang back into the trees in retaliation.

Meanwhile, Sokka slashed at the vines that were still wrapped around him with his machete before something behind him caught his eyes. The Water Tribe boy's jaw went slack and he stared in shock as the vines rejoined with the swamp monster's arm. Sokka shouted again as the monster wrapped its newly reformed arm around him and picked him up again. The swamp monster appeared to look around for a moment then it tried to surf away.

Katara stared determined as she Waterbended the swamp water beneath and surfed towards the swamp monster holding her brother hostage. The dark-haired girl slid to a stop in front of the monster and sent a blade of water at it, damaging the arm that was wrapped around her brother. The monster reared back and Katara walked towards it warily, her arms raised defensively then her jaw dropped as she watched vines repair the damage she had inflicted on the swamp monster's arm.

The swamp monster swung its free arm at the Waterbender but Katara ducked and ran behind the creature then she knocked it backwards with a powerful wave. Sokka screamed as he was swung violently through the air, still trapped in the swamp monster's grasp as the creature was propelled backwards before slamming into a thick, raised tree root.

Katara stared open-mouthed at the creature for a moment before her expression became determined again and she ran towards the monster, bending the water on either side of her away from her and the creature as she ran. She had almost reached the creature when it a bunch of vines shot out its stomach area and sent her flying past Aang and Xiaodan, who had been racing towards the monster to help. The two Airbenders turned slightly to stare at Katara worriedly before twisting back around to face the creature, only to get knocked backwards by the monster again.

The monster pulled its third arm of vines back to its body, shifting it so that the vines wrapped around Sokka were now coming from its stomach area then the monster began pulling Sokka into its body as the Water Tribe boy began to struggle in an attempt to get free.

Appa dodged trees and leapt over roots as he ran away from the swamp people while Momo sat in the saddle and threw the four teens' possessions at the swamp people that were still chasing them.

Due yelped slightly and rubbed at his head with one hand after getting hit in the head by something the lemur threw while the other continued to bend the water beneath the canoe. Momo threw one of Sokka's shirt at the swamp people, hitting one of the men in the face , which caused him to lose control of his canoe which flipped over a moment later.

"Now what would a lemoo need a shirt fer?" Tho muttered after seeing the other man crash his canoe when he was blinded by the shirt, then Tho shook his head and continued to steer his own canoe after the lemur and sky bison.

Appa panted heavily as he ran away from the swamp people and ducked underneath a branch. Momo was caught unaware and slammed into the branch, falling off Appa's saddle and straight into the drawstring sack Tho was holding up. Tho calmly closed the drawstrings and dropped the sack at his feet then he began steering the canoe again.

Sokka grunted as he tried to cut the vines wrapped around with his machete while the swamp monster shuffled through the water, straining to both cut the vine and keep it away from his face. Aang and Xiaodan raced towards the swamp monster on air scooters, the two Airbenders riding the air scooters up the monster's body as it slashed its arm at them. Xiaodan and Aang reached the monster's head, their air scooters dissipating as they Airbended a tornado around the swamp monster's body together, twisting and tangling up the vines it was made of.

The two Air Nomads leapt of the monster's head just as Katara ran up a thick tree root and stood in front of the monster, her arms moving fluidly as she breathed out icy, frozen air around the vines holding Sokka prisoner against the tangled swamp monster. Katara then slashed her arms downward, loosening the ice sphere she had partially encased her brother in then she bended the water bending her and used it to propel herself towards Sokka, knocking them both through the swamp monster's body.

The Water Tribe siblings grunted as they landed in the water and Xiaodan hurriedly helped them back to their feet as they watched the swamp monster repair the gaping hole in its stomach area with more vines. The swamp monster lumbered towards the three teens threateningly before Aang suddenly leapt into the air behind it, using Airbending to thrust the monster's face into the water with a power gust of wind when he landed on the back of the swamp creature's head. Aang landed in a crouch in the water in front of the creature and he straightened just as the swamp monster suddenly jerked upright and swung its arm, sending him flying into the trees several feet away.

"Aang!" Xiaodan cried out then spun around to face the swamp monster, her orange eyes blazing.

The white-haired girl began making slashing motion with her arms, launching air blade after air blade at the swamp monster. The air blades sliced through the swamp monster's arms, but more vines just took the severed ones place. Katara's eyes widened as an idea came to her and she began pinwheeling her arms, slinging an array of water blades at the monster alongside Xiaodan's air blades.

Sokka stood beside his sister with his machete in hand as he watched the two girls repeated severe the vines the made up the swamp monster, his eyes a narrowing when he caught a glimpse of what looked like a man inside the writhing mass of vegetation.

"There's someone in there!" Sokka shouted when he caught a glimpse of the man's face, "He's bending the vines!"

Katara bended some water from the swamp then twisted around, slinging the water blade at the creature just as Xiaodan swung her foot around and sent an air blade a second later. The water blade and the air blade struck the creature one right after, the water blade slicing diagonally through the monster's head while the air blade slashed diagonally in the opposite direction, cutting the creature's upper body into four different pieces. The swamp monster was still for a moment then suddenly vines rushed out from the water straight towards the two girls.

"Ah!" Katara and Xiaodan screamed as the vines wrapped around them and lifted them into the air, pinning them against a tree.

Sokka stared up in horror at the two trapped girls, his hand tightening around his machete when Aang suddenly leapt over his head and landed in front of the swamp monster. Aang thrusted his hand out and sent a powerful air blast at the swamp monster, blowing the vines away from the man that bending the vines. Katara and Xiaodan yelped quietly as the vines wrapped around them fell away and they landed in the water behind Aang.

"Why did you call me here if you just wanted to kill us!?" Aang demanded angrily as he stood defensively in front of the swamp monster with his hands raised.

"Wait!" An man's voice called out and the vines suddenly fell away, revealing an older man wearing only a loincloth made of leaves, "I didn't call you here."

The four teens shared a look then looked back at the man, still in their defensive positions.

"We were flying over and I heard something calling to me, telling me to land." Aang explained warily as he watched the man.

"He's the Avatar." Sokka added drily, "Stuff like that happens to us a lot."

"The Avatar?" The man questioned then turned away slightly and gestured for them to follow him, "Come with me."

The four teens shared a look of confusion as they relaxed slightly then they began to follow the strange man.

"So, who are you then?" Katara asked the man as she and her friends followed him to the top of the giant tree in the middle of the swamp's roots

"I protect the swamp from folks that want to hurt it." The man stated as he stopped and let the Aang, Katara, and Xiaodan pass then he gestured towards Sokka, "Like this fella with his big knife."

"See, completely reasonable." Sokka said smugly as he walked past the man and sheathed his machete, "Not a monster, just a regular guy defending his home. Nothing mystical about it."

"Oh the swamp is a mystical place alright. It's sacred." The man refuted Sokka's words calmly as he walked forward and sat cross-legged at the base of the trunk, "I reached enlightenment right here under the banyan-grove tree. I heard it calling me, just like you did."

"Sure you did." Sokka snarked sarcastically then his tone turned joking, "It seems real chatty."

Xiaodan rolled her eyes and elbowed him sharply in the ribs, causing him to yelp quietly. Sokka rubbed his now sore side and glared at the white-haired girl, but Xiaodan ignored him as the swamp man began to speak again.

"See this whole swamp is actually just one tree spread out over miles." The man explained as the four teens sat down in a semi-circle around him, "Branches spread and sink and take root and then spread some more. One big, living organism. Just like the entire world."

Aang scratched his head and gave the man a slightly confused look, "I get how the tree is one big thing, but the whole world?"

"Sure. You think you're any different from me or your friends or this tree? If you listen hard enough, you can hear every living thing breathing together." The man said sagely as he nodded his head slightly, "You can feel everything growing. We're all living together, even if most folks don't act like it. We all have the same roots and we are all branches of the same tree."

"But what did our visions mean?" Katara asked and Xiaodan glanced at her then back at the man, curious to hear his explanation.

"In the swamp, we see visions of people we've lost, people we loved, folks we think are gone. The swamp tells s they're not. We're still connected to them. Time is an illusion and so is death."

Xiaodan choked on her own spit at his words, her mind flashing to her vision of the dragon that turned into the dark-haired woman with orange eyes then her thoughts drifted to the image of Zuko that had basically lead her to the dragon-woman and almost began banging her head against the tree root she was sitting on when she realized what seeing a vision of Zuko could possibly mean. Xiaodan was pulled out of her chaotic thoughts when Aang suddenly spoke up.

"But what about my vision?" Aang asked the man, his thoughts drifting back to the mysterious girl he had been chasing, "It was someone I had never met."

"You're the Avatar." The man responded with a small smile, "You tell me."

Aang looked down at his hands which were folded in his lap as he thought about what the man said.

"Time is an illusion..." He murmured, his mind whirling as he thought then he looked up at the man as realization dawned on him, "So... it's someone I will meet?"

The man nodded his head, his smile widening as he stared at the young Airbender almost proudly.

"Sorry to interrupt the lesson," Sokka cut in drily as he got to his feet, still skeptically about what the swamp man was saying about the swamp, "But we still need to find Appa and Momo."

Xiaodan rolled her eyes at the cynical Water Tribe boy and got to her feet as well, bending backwards slightly to stretch her back out.

"I think I know how to find them." Aang said as he shifted into a kneeling position and placed his hand on the tree, "Everything is connected..."

Xiaodan, Katara, and Sokka watched as Aang's eyes closed and the arrow tattoo on his hand began to glow brightly then yellow-white energy suddenly shot from his palm and down the tree into the swamp.

Aang sucked in a small breath as images of the swamp began to flash across his closed eyelids, energy leading him straight to where Appa's location. Aang watched as the image in his mind went from the swamp to Appa being caught in a net by a several men in animal skin loincloths. The image faded and Aang's eyes snapped open. He lurched to his feet and spun around to look at his three friends with wide eyes.

"Come on! We've got to hurry!"

"Set my lines by the riverbed! Caught ten fish and I killed 'em dead!" Tho sang as he tapped the side of his canoe while Due continued to Waterbend the boat forward, "Cut 'em and gut 'em and I tossed the heads in the water to keep them catgators fed."

The men stopped the canoes suddenly and they all turned when they heard a loud rushing sound coming from their left. Tho's eyes widened just as jet of water slammed into the canoe next to his, shattering it and tossing the two men sitting it into the air. Tho and Due watched the two men fly over their heads and land in the water with a splash, then Tho turned back and stared as a young bald boy with blue arrow tattoos landed on the thick tree root in front of them.

"Appa!" Aang shouted when he saw his animal friend trapped in the next behind the canoe and he quickly Airbended the fatter of the two men out of the canoe and into the water, freeing Momo from the drawstring bag he'd been trapped in as Katara ran up the tree root and stood beside Aang.

"We're under attack!" Due yelped then quickly bended a large wave of water at two teens standing on the tree root.

Aang and Katara began to Waterbend the wave back at the Foggy Swamp Waterbender and three began to struggle against the other as they all bended the same wave.

"Hey," Katara said in surprise as she looked at the skinny man in a loincloth, "You guys are Waterbenders!"

"You too!" Due exclaimed excitedly as he stopped bending the water and put his hands on his bare chest, "That means we're kin!"

Katara cringed slightly as she and Aang stopped Waterbending as well, letting the wave fall back into river below the tree root. Katara and Aang, with Momo on his shoulder looked down at the other Waterbender curiously as the swamp man, Sokka, and Xiaodan ran up the tree root and stopped beside them.

"Hey Huu!" Due called out when he saw the other Foggy Swamp Waterbender, "How you been?"

The swamp man, Huu, shrugged with a little half-smile appearing on his face, "You know, scared some folks, swung some vines, the usual."

Aang, Katara, and Xiaodan stared at the older man in slight surprise while Sokka gave him a vaguely annoyed look.

"Huu?" Sokka deadpanned and Xiaodan laughed loudly at the expression on his face.

"How you like that possum chicken?" Due asked as he sat across from the small campfire from the four teens, Huu, and Appa with Tho sitting next to him.

"Tastes just like arctic hen." Sokka commented as he looked at the cooked possum-chicken in his hand then back at the Foggy Swamp people, "So why were guys so interested in eating Appa? You've got plenty of those big things wandering around."

"You want me to eat ole Slim?" Due asked in shock as he tossed a small fish into the mouth of the catfish-crocodile laying behind him and Tho, "He's like a member of the family!"

Sokka gave a nervous smile and threw a bug at the catfish-crocodile, "Nice Slim!"

The cooked bug bounced off the animal's nose and Slim jerked his head towards Sokka, hissing loudly with his mouth open.

"Oh, he don't eat no bugs!" Due said with a laugh, "That's people food!"

"Where'd you say you was from?" Tho asked suddenly as he leaned forward slightly and looked at the two Water Tribe siblings curiously.

"The South Pole." Katara replied with a small smile.

"Didn't know there was Waterbenders anywhere but here." Tho commented then grinned, "They got a nice swamp there, do they?"

"No," Katara said with a small shake of her head, "It's all ice and snow."

"Hmm...No wonder you left." Tho commented with a snort.

While Due and Tho continued eating Sokka turned to address his sister.

"Well, I hope you realize now that nothing strange was going on here. Just a bunch of greasy people living in a swamp."

"What about the visions?" Katara asked exasperatedly as she rolled her eyes at her brothers pigheadedness.

"I told you, we were hungry. I'm eating a bug!" Sokka retorted then held up the large insect in his hand and took a bite out of it, cringing and gagging after he had swallowed.

"Well then explain how the tree showed Aang where Appa and Momo were." Xiaodan piped in from between Aang and Sokka as she gave the Water Tribe boy a smug look, passing a piece of fruit to Aang who handed it to Momo.

"That's Avatar stuff, that doesn't count." Sokka responded dismissively then looked over Aang and Xiaodan to address Huu, "The only thing I can't figure out is how you made that tornado that sucked us down."

"I can't do anything like that." Huu stated with a surprised look on his face, "I just bend the water in the plants."

"Ha! Explain that one, O Cynical One." Xiaodan gloated with a triumphant grin.

"Well, there's no accounting for weather." Sokka said with a shrug as he smirked smugly at the white-haired girl, "Still, there's absolutely nothing mysterious about the swamp."

Xiaodan responded by flicking a small pebble at the side of his head using Airbending, her laughter filling the air around the campfire while Sokka began to complain and rant.

A man with broadswords strapped to his back walked down the street of the small Earth Kingdom village, the full moon providing him with enough light to see as he turned down a small alleyway. A sudden noise caused the man to draw his broadswords as he whirled around to face the direction of the noise.

"Who's there?" The man demanded warily then he spun around again when he heard another noise come from behind him.

The man gasped as another man suddenly grabbed his hands and his swords were knocked from his grasp before he was thrown against some wooden crates leaning against the wall, his swords falling uselessly to the ground. The man slowly lifted his head up and gasped when he saw the Blue Spirit standing above him, the broadswords in his hand.