"Saki!" Katara shrilled, hugging me.

Next came Aang, who was shoved aside by an incredibly thrilled Sokka. Sokka spread his arms to hug me, then stopped when he spotted my stomach. He bent down and poked my belly, squinting as he examined it. "Is there really a human in there now?" He asked, then straightened up and grinned. "Worry not, squishy human thing! Uncle Sokka will teach you the art of the boomerang when you come out!"

"Sokka!" Mika squealed in horror. "Not everyone wants to use the boomerang!" She looked at me apologetically, but I only smiled. I was glad to see that nothing had changed. I'd missed all of them so much.

"Where's Toph?" I asked.

"She's staying at her academy," Sokka explained. "Now that people have seen her students in action, everyone wants to be metalbender! Even the Yu Dao Chief of Police went to meet her!"

I smiled. "That's great for her," I said.

"We came as soon as we received your message," Katara said. "What's this about?"

"Zuko recently came across some new information on Ursa, his mother," I said. "It turns out she's from a small town called Hira'a on the outskirts of the Fire Nation. Zuko wants to look for her there."

"So does that mean Saki's going to be in charge while you're away?" Mika asked.

I shook my head. "As much as I like the idea of being their temporary Queen," I laughed, "I'm going too."

"Are you serious?!" Sokka frowned at me with disapproval. "Have you forgotten what happened outside of Yu Dao?!"

"It's okay, Sokka," Zuko said. "Saki is more than capable of defending herself. Believe me, you don't want to get in between her and a bowl of sea prunes and noodles." I shot a glare in his direction, cutting his laughter short. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, no — Uncle Iroh has agreed to watch over things here while we're gone."

Iroh nodded with a gently smile, and said with pride, "May you find who — and what — you're searching for, my nephew."

"That's great!" Aang chirped. "But it sounds like you've got everything covered..."

Katara chimed in, "So why do you need us?"

"That's where things got interesting," I said.

Zuko sighed. "The information about my mother came at a cost... You see—"

"Zuko, Saki!" Aang blurted. "Behind you!" Without having to look, I knew exactly what was happening. Azula had come out of hiding.

"How did you escape, Azula?" Katara asked. She bent water from the skin pouch at her side and formed it into shards of ice. They shot at Azula, who dodged with such grace and agility that she appeared to put forth no effort at all. The shards pierced the curtains behind her.

"Katara, wait!" Zuko shouted.

Mika, bending the metal bands around her wrists, thrusted them towards Azula to restrain her only to be met with the same result.

I yelled, "Stop!"

But our protests weren't getting through to them. Aang and Sokka had now armed themselves with airbending and a boomerang.

Azula cackled. "Ignorant peasant! You really think you can take me out with a boomerang?"

"Let's find out!" Sokka snapped.

"Stop!" I shouted again, soon finding myself standing between Azula and Sokka. Why was I defending her? She was an atrocious human being that had made me strongly consider treason a number of times. With conviction, I commanded, "Just stop, and listen. Azula was the one that got the information from Ozai. Zuko said that it would come at a cost. That cost was the deal that she would come along to find Ursa as well."

Zuko nodded and added, "And she's going to travel unbound with dignity." He looked to the group. "I want you all to come with us."

"No offense," Aang said, "but that sounds like the worst plan ever!"

"Ooh! Ooh!" Sokka pointed at Zuko accusingly. "New nickname for Zuko! How about Bad Decision Lord?!"

"Oh, would you relax?" I said to Sokka. "You've had worse ideas."

"Have not!"

"Okay," I said and crossed my arms over my chest, "we'll just pretend the icicle incident didn't happen."

Defensively, he shot back, "We were kids! I said I was sorry!"

"Knock it off, you two!" Katara interrupted, but we continued our bickering until Iroh calmly placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Ever since my nephew ascended to the throne," he said, "he has yearned for peace. Finding Ursa might bring that peace — and not just for himself." He looked to me, then to Azula.

Aang smiled softly, clearly making his decision. "We're your friends, Zuko," he said. "If you need us, we'll go."

"I'll prepare for your departure to be first thing in the morning," Iroh said. "For now, you all must rest."

Zuko nodded in agreement. "You're all welcome to stay in the palace. The Kyoshi Warriors will show you to our guest rooms."

Mika, flashing a grin, sprang forward and hooked her arm with mine. "We need to talk," she said to me, immediately stealing me away from the others without giving me a chance to react. Once we were alone in a corridor, she was already questioning me about everything under the sun. "So," she started, "how long until this little miracle joins us?"

"A month and a half," I replied.

"Any names picked out?" She smiled.

"Mika," I laughed, "I haven't even thought about it."

"Saki!" She gasped.

"Is this all you wanted to talk about?" I asked.

"Well, no," she frowned. "We just haven't spoken in so long..." Mika shook her head, then looked at me with concern. "How are you, Saki? Answer honestly. With Azula freed and everything — it all seems so sudden. Are you sure you should go along with this? Maybe you should stay behind with Iroh. Just this once?"

"Mika," I sighed. "You know you're not going to persuade me to stay, right?"

She nodded.

"Good," I said with a smile. "Now, come with me to the guest room. Now that Azula has reclaimed her room, I need somewhere to sleep tonight."