After a week, we arrived back to the palace, and I was met with an unkind wave of sickness. Mai sat beside me as my body forced out everything I'd eaten since childhood. It's strange how time could change people so much. Mai had loathed me for years, though I still didn't know why and she refused to share her reasons. Now, here she was, sitting by my side during one of the least enjoyable aspects of my pregnancy.

"You don't need to stay here," I told her. "You should talk to Zuko. He needs you right now."

"I doubt he'll even notice I'm there," Mai said sourly. "He's too busy with his secrets and being a royal jerk to even acknowledge me anymore."

"I wish I knew what tell you, Mai. Maybe—" I stopped to vomit. "Maybe it isn't the best time to try and push the relationship agenda right now. After retracting his support of the Harmony Restoration movement, he's been under fire from a bunch of politicians — no pun intended."

"Whatever," she said in her usual monotone. She pushed herself to her feet and brushed off her clothing. She said, "I'm gonna go find something to eat. Do you want anything?"

When I shot a glare in her direction, she put up her hands in surrender before leaving. How could she still have an appetite after sitting with me through all of that? Even Sokka wouldn't have been hungry after hearing and seeing me through my vomiting! Oh, Spirits, I missed him and the others so much.

My prayers were quickly answered when the clambering of rioters could be heard from outside of the palace. I pushed myself to my feet and switched in my Advisor Mode. I rushed as quickly as I could (Luckily, I wasn't in the waddling phase of pregnancy.) to get outside so that I could calm everyone down. However, when I reached the court, Aang and Katara had just finished their battle with the palace soldiers. Each soldier was neutralised in some way, whether they'd been frozen in place or knocked out cold.

"Idiots," I muttered and rolled my eyes. Before I could greet them, a soldier that it was a wise decision to attempt a sneak attack on Katara. She bent water into ice shards and hurled them at the young man, but was stopped by Zuko. He'd grabbed both of her wrists, restraining her. He held one behind her back, and I could see her wince in pain. "Zuko, stop!" I shouted as I pursued him.

"Let go, Zuko, you're hurting me!" Katara growled. "Don't make me hurt you back!"

"I'm hurting you?" Zuko parroted. "What are you doing to my soldiers?! My people?!"

"Let go of her, Zuko!" Aang snarled. "She said you're hurting her!"

"First, she has to agree to stop attacking my people!"

"Your soldiers attacked first!" The Avatar argued. "Let her go right now!"

Zuko frowned at his friend with an unsettling look. "I am the Fire Lord! I have to protect the citizens of the Fire Nation!"

"Zuko, you're being ridiculous!" I interjected. Aang, completely fed up at this point, inhaled deeply and released a powerful gust of wind that had knocked Zuko onto his back. I stood my ground, shielding myself with crossed arms and firmly planting my feet onto the ground.

"I came here to talk to you, Zuko, as a friend! But you've changed! You've forgotten what we fought for!" Aang's eyes and tattoos began to glow, indicating that he was entering the Avatar State. The voices of his past lives joined in chorus as he said, "Maybe Avatar Roku was right. Maybe a promise is a promise."

At this, I froze. What promise was he talking about? Being unconscious for a year and a half had numerous disadvantages, including being uninformed about many things that occurred while I was lying idle. I watched as Katara spoke to Aang, talking him out of his rage, though I couldn't hear a word. Once he was back to normal, I helped Zuko to his feet. "I may not have a single clue as to what you're talking about," I said, "but I do know that this isn't the way to handle or solve anything."

Apparently, this had come in agreement with whatever Katara had said because Zuko said with a nod, "They're right. We both need to calm down and talk."

"Are you kidding me?" Aang asked. His eyebrow twitched in frustration as he screamed, "That's what I wanted in the first place!"

The four of us entered the palace to discuss further. As we did so, Aang and Katara bombarded me with questions — How was I feeling? Why did I choose to stay in the palace? How were Bao and I? — and excitement over my lack of need for the wheelchair now. Although, the conversation shifted to a new form of excitement when both Aang and Katara exclaimed, "You're having a baby!"

"How could you tell?" I asked.

"I know a pregnant woman when I see one," Katara giggled.

Aang smiled. "And Toph taught me to sense every little thing through earthbending. I could feel it as soon as you came outside."

Fortunately for me, the conversation shifted again once Zuko interrupted. "I really think you should hear me out," he said as we entered a room that I truly we hadn't: The room where it happened. The room in which Zuko had spoken out of turn and embarrassed his sad excuse for a father. "The Harmony Restoration movement is hurting my people, Aang," Zuko explained. "They have deep roots in those colonies, and forcing them out is unfair. It's my responsibility to keep my people as my priority."

"Peace between all of the Nations should be your priority!" Aang argued.

"Aang, please," I offered in a soft voice. Once I had everyone's attention, I froze. I honestly had no plan as to what to say. All I knew was that I needed to convince them to agree with us. "I have an idea," I said after an excessively long awkward pause. "Let's go to Yu Dao. Maybe then you'll understand."

Katara nodded, smiling gently. "That sounds like a reasonable idea." She looked at her boyfriend. "Sweetie?"

Slowly, Aang nodded. "Okay," he said. "Let's go to Yu Dao."