𝑯𝑰𝑫𝑫𝑬𝑵 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑮𝑶𝑵, 𝒂: 𝒕𝒍𝒂

➳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯

"WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON'T FIND HIM?" Yue asks, after all the group sees for what feels like forever is miles and miles of ice.

Kida sighs. Part of her wants to scream at Yue for even considering the possibility that Aang is lost forever, but the other part of her knows that wouldn't be fair, because Kida was thinking the same thing too.

From beside her, Sokka gently grabs her hand. Kida hadn't even noticed him switch spots with Katara, who now sits at the reins and navigates Appa.

"We'll find him," he whispers, squeezing Kida's hand as if sealing a promise.

"Look! That's gotta be Aang!" Katara suddenly shouts. She points to the sky where a flash of energy (probably Aang in spirit form) shoots across and into a cave. She follows, and upon seeing Zuko there too, Katara slides off.

Kida decides to let Katara handle the Zuko situation while Kida goes to untie Aang, then immediately brings him into a bone-crushing hug.

"You know, I'm an airbender but I still need air to breathe," Aang states cheekily.

"Right," Kida says, pulling away. "I'm just happy you're okay."

Behind them, Katara has won in her rematch with Zuko, who now lies unconscious in a pile of snow.

"Serves him right for challenging a waterbender surrounded by frozen water," Kida remarks before high-fiving Katara.

They climb back onto Appa's saddle, but before they take off, Aang hesitates and looks back to the firebender.

"We can't just leave him."

"Sure we can," Sokka says.

"No, if we'll leave him, he'll die," Aang defends. He jumps down to get Zuko and brings him along with them.

"He left me to die," Kida scoffs. "Can't see why he doesn't deserve the same." She's prepared to say more, but when Aang mentions the importance of forgiveness, Kida thinks better of it, because she's gonna need a whole lot of forgiveness after she tells her friends the truth about who she really is.

»»---------------------►

SOMETIME ON THEIR WAY BACK TO THE SPIRIT OASIS, the sky suddenly turns red. Yue almost faints, but Kida catches her in time, and Aang says he feels the same way. When they get to the Spirit Oasis, a Fire Nation soldier — Admiral Zhao, if Kida remembers correctly; there was something eerily familiar about him, too— stands above the pond, with a sack presumably containing Tui, the moon spirit. Sokka, Katara, Kida and Aang descend from Appa, with their weapons ready for battle.

"Don't bother," Zhao warns, raising his hand to set the bag on fire. Instantly, the team drops their fighting stances. Yue slides down from the saddle to stand next to them, cautiously.

"Zhao, don't," Aang pleads.

Zhao laughs bitterly. "It's my destiny to destroy the moon and the Water Tribe."

"Destroying the moon won't hurt just the Water Tribe," Aang continues, trying to reason with Zhao. "It will hurt everyone, including you. Without the moon, everything would fall out of balance. You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash on the world."

"He is right Zhao!" someone shouts from behind. It's someone Kida has seen before, too, with Zuko. Maybe it was his father? But, no, Zuko's father was the fire lord, so maybe this was his uncle? Whoever this man was, the way in which he doesn't blindly follow Zhao is something Kida admires.

"General Iroh," Zhao says. " Why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?

"I'm no traitor, Zhao, the Fire Nation needs the moon, too; we all depend on the balance. Whatever you do to that spirit I'll unleash on you ten-fold. Let it go, now!"