The room was absolutely silent save for the pleasant humming of the healing waters. Turquoise light danced on the walls and on the three little faces peeking from the doorway. The children tensely watched the women in the center of the room. One of them sat still, hands clasped tightly together. The other two worked meticulously on her.

Katara swayed her hands from side to side as she held the glowing water in place around the girl's neck. Jing Yin held the girl's head steady with one hand and gently earthbended the cuff with the other. Tension was thick in the air as no one said a word.

The cuff had to be moved a hair's width at a time. Katara's hands flowed rapidly with each outward movement of the cuff, fighting to heal the internal wounds before any damage could be done. Finally, once the rod was completely out of the spine and spinal cord, Jing Yin took both of her hands and bended the cuff out with a swift motion. In that instant, Katara swooped her arms out, slowly converging her hands to either side of the girl's neck. As her hands were brought closer and closer, the water glowed brighter until it became a brilliant, uniform white light. Jing Yin turned her face away and shielded her eyes. After a few seconds, the light faded. The room was dim for a few seconds, and then the green crystalline torches illuminated the room.

The water snaked away from the girl's neck and back into Katara's pouch. With wide eyes, the girl looked at Katara, and then at Jing Yin as the general dropped the last cuff into the pile behind them.

"Go ahead," Jing Yin offered, gesturing to the girl's neck. The young woman slowly lifted her trembling hands and touched her bare skin. When she ran her fingertips over the back of her neck and felt the spotless skin, she burst into tears. Jing Yin smiled, despite her own tears running down her face. She stooped down and hugged the girl. "It's okay," she soothed, rocking the both of them back and forth. "It's okay. You're free now."

Katara reached up and wiped away the single tear that crowded the corner of her eye. Then, she noticed the three spectators hiding in the doorway. "Come on in," she invited, beckoning with a hand. Shen hurried into the room, followed tentatively by Kani and Koru. The twins stopped by Katara while Shen went over to his mother and hugged her waist. Jing Yin wrapped an arm around her son. "Go on," she told the girl. "The others are waiting for you outside."

Wiping her face, the girl stood. She was about to bow when Jing Yin caught her by the shoulder and gently pushed her back up. "You don't have to do that anymore."

"Thank you," the girl murmured happily, and then left the room. Jing Yin looked down at Shen. "We've got a lot of work to do," she said to him. "Would you like to do the honors?"

He looked back up at her. "You mean I get to…?"

"Of course."

Shen looked excitedly at the neck cuffs. He stomped his feet down into a wide stance. The cuffs shattered into pieces. Then, he shattered the pieces into smaller ones with a punch. His other arm launched forward and crushed the pieces into dust. "All right, that's enough, Shen."

Shen jumped up. "I'm going to tell Jangzhen!" he yipped, running out of the room. Jing Yin trailed closely after him. "If he's asleep, don't wake him up!" she scolded in a loud voice. Only Katara and the twins were left in the room.

Kani stared at the pile of dust. "Is it over?" she whispered.

"Yes it is," Katara answered softly. Koru turned away. Leaning down, Katara asked, "Koru, are you okay?"

"Yes," the little boy answered strongly. A little sob suddenly escaped from him. He pressed his hands to his mouth to stop any more noise from coming out.

"It's okay to be sad," Katara assured. Kani was clinging to Katara's clothes, tears silently streaming down her face.

"I'm not sad!" Koru cried, his voice shaking from the sobs. "Mama told me to be brave! I have to be brave!"

"Koru." Katara crouched by the little boy, putting both hands on his shoulders. "Being brave doesn't mean putting on a tough face and ignoring what you feel in your heart. It means staring at your fears and doubts head on and overcoming them. Don't ever ignore your emotions, even the bad ones. Heroes cry too." She pulled Koru into a hug. "Your mother was a brave, brave woman. She protected you with everything she had because she loved and cared about you and your sister so much. I know you must really miss her. If you need to cry, then cry."

Katara sat down in the chair in the center of the room and pulled the two children onto her lap. Despite what she said, she fought back against her own tears that burned her eyes as she listened to them weep.

People ducked behind their doors and windows and stared at the strange beast that slowly made its way down the street. And what made it even weirder was that it seemed to be guiding the limping woman who had an arm slung around its neck for support. But neither of them seemed to care about the fascinated eyes.

When Sho heard his master let out a groan of pain and felt her hold her stomach, he stopped and turned his head towards her. He gave Arlei a reassuring nudge with his nose. Arlei pulled her arm away from her stomach and rubbed his cheek. "I'm fine," she told him. "Let's go." They continued down the street, and then turned the corner. Arlei lifted her head higher when she saw the collapsed basin in the earth. Despite the pain, she quickened her pace. Sho adjusted his speed to hers.

When they reached the edge of the crater, Arlei slipped her arm away from Sho and lowered herself to her knees. She stared deeply into the sunken ground. Both arms were wrapped around herself as though she were cold. She felt Sho's muzzle press against her hair. His warm breath puffed against her skin.

"It happened again," she whispered, closing her eyes. "I couldn't do anything. Didn't do anything." Sho gave a little, throaty rumble in response. "I know. I know she wouldn't want me to think like that, but that's the truth." She pulled Sho's head down and pressed it against hers. "Did I do right by her, boy? Did I make her happy?"

"What do you think?" came a voice. Arlei's eyes popped open as Iroh knelt down next to her. She dropped her hands into her lap.

"I should start calling you my shadow," she said snidely. "What are you doing here?"

"You should be resting," Iroh answered. "I came to make sure you didn't injure yourself even more. And I'm here to pay my respects." He raised a hand. He was holding a little metal flower. Gently, he lowered it into the crater and let it go. The flower rolled down before coming to a stop against a broken wall at the bottom.

"I didn't know," Arlei confided quietly. "I should have known. I should have done something. Then maybe none of this…"

"She most likely wanted to keep you out of this. If you tried anything, something might've happened to you," Iroh said. "Now what's done is done. We can't dwell on what could have been."

"I guess not." She thought of the twins. "They must be so devastated. Where are they?"

"In the Upper Ring. They're staying with one of the Generals: Jing Yin."

Arlei scoffed. "That little brat became a general?" The cheeriness in her voice quickly died. Her mind quickly returned to the children. "Am I all they have left?" she wondered sadly.

"What are you going to do now?" Iroh asked.

"I can't stay here," Arlei declared, directing her steely gaze towards the clouds. "Maybe I'll head south; go home. But would they want to leave with me?"

"Ask them," Iroh suggested.

"And if they don't want to come?"

"I could look after them."

Arlei grinned and shook her head. "You sure about that? They're a handful," she warned.

"As children their age naturally are. But they've lost their mother, and they're still so young. They still need love and guidance. I won't turn them away."

"Hmm," Arlei muttered. She raised an arm. Sho quickly returned to her side and dipped his head underneath her arm. With his help, Arlei pulled herself back up. "I need to go see them. Upper Ring, you said?"

"Yes." Iroh got up too. "I can show you the way if you'd like."

"Of course I wouldn't like that," Arlei snapped brashly. Then, her coldness was replaced with a smirk. "I'm only joking. But I think I can find my own way. I need some time to myself to… think." She took a step, and then hesitated. "I can see why Seiya cared so much about you." She pulled her arm from Sho and moved closer to Iroh. "You know, you're not a bad guy." Suddenly, she swooped down and kissed his cheek.

Quickly, Arlei turned back to Sho and, with the cheetah wolf's help, limped back up the street. She snuck a quick glance over her shoulder and was amused to see him still standing there, awestruck.

"I think it's a great idea!" Kani whispered back to her brother. Koru, on the other hand, began to look doubtful.

"But what about you? What about Arlei?" he fretted.

"We'll be fine! We have each other!" Kani assured. "This is your one chance. I don't want you to miss it." Her eyes quickly lit up when she spotted someone. She grabbed Koru's arm. "There he is. Ask him!"

A figure was descending from the airship's ramp. It was Firelord Zuko. Koru stared wistfully, wringing his nervous hands together. Kani gave him a little shove forward. "Go!" she hissed. Finally, Koru found the strength to scamper towards Zuko. He stopped a few feet away, watching the firelord as he spoke with one of the guards.

The guard noticed the little boy first. As the guard's attention was diverted, Zuko followed his gaze and saw Koru. He wrapped up the conversation with a few more words, and then dismissed the guard with a nod. Koru put his hands behind his back as Zuko walked over to him and crouched down.

"Hey there," Zuko greeted. He reached up and ruffled the little boy's hair, causing Koru to shrink down into his shoulders. "What's up?"

"A-are you…" Koru stammered. "Are you going back to the Fire Nation?"

"Yes. My work here is done, and I could really do with going home."

"Oh…" Behind him, Koru's hands were restless. "Um… I…"

"You know what? That's a really big airship," Zuko noted, shooting a glance over his shoulder. "I think it might have room for a few more. Maybe."

"A few more?" Koru repeated tentatively. "So…"

"How would you like to come with me?" Zuko offered. The little boy's eyes widened

"I was… I was going to ask you about that!" he admitted, his voice brimming with excitement.

Zuko chuckled. "I promised your mother I would take you and Kani to the Fire Nation." His eyes grew a little sad. "I made her a lot of promises in the past that I couldn't keep. I'm not backing down with this one."

"Thank you!" Koru yipped. He glanced over his shoulder. "But Kani doesn't want to go. She wants to stay with Arlei." At the mention of the woman, a thought suddenly came to Koru. "But what if Arlei doesn't want me to go?"

"I wouldn't ever deny you something like this," a voice said. Zuko jumped, but Koru turned calmly towards the source of the voice. Arlei slowly lowered herself onto the ground and placed a hand gingerly on his cheek. "I know this is something you really want."

Koru bashfully looked at the ground. He leaned his head against Arlei's shoulder. "I really want to go, but I'm going to miss everyone," he said.

"This isn't going to be the last time we see each other," Arlei assured, laying a hand on the boy's head. "I want you to do what your heart tells you and not look back. Now let's go pack, okay?"

"Okay!"

It took a little under an hour for Koru to get ready. He didn't have much to bring with him. In that time, Zuko had gone to say his goodbyes to and thank Aang and Katara. He stopped by the Jasmine Dragon to give one last hug to his uncle. They stood together for a while and watched the construction workers earthbend the teashop back into shape.

"I'm going to miss her," he confessed quietly to Iroh.

"I know," Iroh replied, patting Zuko. "Try not to let it bring you down too much. Remember her for her smile and her kindness."

"I'll try," Zuko said. He took a second to ponder. "I hope they're happy. They found each other again."

"The afterlife is a strange, foreign thing," Iroh explained. "But I have no doubt that Seiya is in a better place." He turned to Zuko. "Go on," he said, straightening out the young man's robes. "Take her boy to the Fire Nation and teach him firebending. If you want to make it up to her, do it through that."

"What about her sister?"

"I talked to her, and she seems like she wants to stay in the Upper Ring. I don't mind having a little helper like her in the teashop."

Zuko noticed a few men passing by and sheepishly knocked Iroh's hands away. "And that grouchy lady?"

"Arlei? She told me she wanted to go back to the valley tribes," Iroh recalled. "But I can tell it'd make Kani upset to see her go. I think I can still convince her to stay."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Something tells me it's not just Kani who wants her to stay," he muttered. Just then, a guard hurried up to them.

"Firelord Zuko, the airship is ready to depart," the guard informed.

Zuko turned back to his uncle. "I'll see you some other time," he said.

"Take care," Iroh replied warmly.

Zuko followed the guard back to the airship. As he approached the ramp, he saw Arlei standing by it with her arms crossed. She regarded him with a solemn nod.

"Hey," Zuko responded.

"For the longest time," Arlei began, "I hated you for what you did to her. But these past few days, I've come to realize that we can't protect anyone from everything. Sometimes it's our fault, and sometimes it's simply out of our control. You were just a kid; you didn't know better."

Zuko was honestly surprised. He hadn't expected this kind of expression from Arlei. "You didn't exactly give me a good first impression, either," he admitted. "But you gave Seiya the one thing she never had."

"What's that?"

"A mother."

Arlei fell silent. "I suppose," she replied quietly. Then, she unraveled her arms and held something out to him. It was the white silk scarf. "Take care of him," she said. "And take him to visit his sister every so often."

"I will," Zuko said. He took the scarf. "Thank you, Arlei."

"Live a good life," she said. "It's what she would have wanted."

As Zuko climbed the ramp, he called over his shoulder, "You know, you should really think about settling in Ba Sing Se."

"Not you too," the woman grumbled.

Zuko climbed onto the airship. He saw one of the crewmembers giving a little tour around to the twins. They were excitedly fawning over everything. Then, they caught sight of Zuko. Kani gave Koru another squeezing hug. "You better visit lots!" she ordered. "And send letters!"

"We have messenger hawks for that," Zuko told them. "They can take letters from here to the Fire Nation capital in about two days."

"Cool!" Koru chimed. "Will I get my own?"

"We'll see." Suddenly, Kani latched herself onto Zuko.

"Bye, Mister!" she said.

"We'll meet again, Kani."

The little girl ran to the ramp. "Arlei and I are going to watch the airship take off!" Kani said. She disappeared as she raced down the ramp. Crewmembers began shouting orders around. Gears clanked and the ramp was pulled up. Zuko walked over to one of the windows and beckoned Koru over. There was a muffled roar as the airship's engine powered up. Moments later, they ascended and everything outside started moving. Koru pressed himself against the window.

"We're flying!" he shouted. "Look, we're flying!"

Zuko couldn't help but break into a smile at the child's joy. As he watched Ba Sing Se fall below them, he thought about that night on Appa's back. He remembered the way she had looked truly happy in the sky.

As she gripped the tree branch, her palms began to grow damp with sweat. Foolishly, she glanced down at the ground. Seiya was terrified to see how far up she was.

"Come on!" Zuko called from above her. "The view up here is great!" He was peeking over from the roof of the pavilion. This was something that Zuko had wanted to do for a long time. The hickory tree was tall enough so that its sturdy branches reached up to the roof of the pavilion. On the roof, Zuko hypothesized, was the perfect spot to see the horizon.

Seiya looked helplessly up at him, fear locking her body into place. "I-I can't!" she stuttered.

"It's okay!" Zuko assured. "Hold on, I'm coming to get you." He jumped back down onto the branches. He quickly weaved himself through the boughs until he was by Seiya's side. "See? I'm right here. Grab onto this branch here and put your foot here." Slowly, he instructed the little girl on how to climb higher. Any time she began scared or looked like she was going to slip, he wrapped an arm around her to comfort her. When they reached the edge of the roof, Zuko pulled himself onto it and held his hands out to her. Seiya took them and, with his help, pulled herself up.

They walked up the slanted surface of the pavilion's roof. Then, they sat against the gold spike that jutted from the center. They were just in time. The tip of the sun was just starting to peek from the edge of the earth. The sky was all sorts of orange, pink, and red from the sunrise. Apart from the view, the air was cool and quiet. It was the perfect morning.

"That was scary!" Seiya admitted. "I've never done anything like that!"

"It's worth the view, right?"

"It is." Seiya wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. The previous night's chill lingered around them. "There were times when I was so certain I was going to fall."

"Don't worry." Zuko wrapped an arm around her, and she stopped shivering. "I'm here with you. I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Don't even know what you've done for me

It's not enough to feel it

I don't know why I bear this scar I wear

But I know you were made to heal it

And I know you were made to save me

And lift me up where the flowers grow

And I never thought I'd say it, darlin'

You're the greatest peace I know

"Hypnotize Me" by Taylor Berrett

Addendum: And with that, we conclude.

If you've read this entire story from the start, thank you so much. I hope you've enjoyed. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope it's made for a very touching storyline. However, I'm not as happy with this one as I feel I should be. As with all of my stories, I started thinking up the general plot before writing the first chapter. Then, while writing, I started changing things up, so that's why some parts may seem kinda wishy-washy. My b.

Have a good one.