(I don't own anything, but some of the plot. Dark Chrona owns her OC, Val, and most of the plot.)

. . . . . .

"Sozin's comet is going to arrive, in three months, we need to be ready," said a Fire Bender General. "The Fire Lord will be coming to check your training. I expect you to put forth your most excellent abilities, or you'll have to deal with him and I."

His eyes narrowed at his recruits, scanning the room. His eyes stopped on a young, one of the youngest, trainees. "Is that clear?" He addressed everyone, but mostly the youngest. His gaze didn't falter as shouts rose up to give him a stern "yes sir."

The one he was staring at was quite petite, had short black hair up in a ponytail, and her eyes were a gold color. She only seemed around 16 years old, tops. She stared straight. "Yes, sir."

Satisfied, the General nodded. "Alright men," he turned toward the door as a firm voice came through the closed-door. Suddenly, the General bowed, and he said. "I hope they are to your likeness?" Fire Lord Ozai told him to stand straight, and he murmured low. The petite black-haired girl overheard it. The Fire Lord abruptly turned and left. The General grew pale, straightened himself up higher, if that was possible, and covered up his nervousness by shouting, "You will all start on being an officer tomorrow."

Four Days passed.

. . . . . .

Ba Sing Se is a big city, full with Refugees. There are so many as the eyes can see. Too many in fact. Aang frowned as he went through the Lower Ring. His eyes went to his hands, suddenly snapping back up. He had seen something, no someone. It had been a girl, but her eyes made Aang find her through the crowd. They were a gold color. Aang's gaze skirted through the alleys they had just passed, leaning practically out the window. Aang jumped as a hand caught his shirt when they hit a bump. He had almost went head first out the window.

"Are you okay Aang?" Katara asked as she helped him back inside. She had her head tilted.

Aang hesitated then smiled. "No harm done." He gave a light chuckled, slightly amused, slightly nervous. Katara nodded, seeming convinced, but Sokka didn't. He raised a brow at Aang; Toph just shook her head.

Sokka turned to Joo Dee. "We need to talk to the Earth King."

"You're safe now..." She smiled at the children.

"Please, we need to speak to the Earth King-" Katara started, but Joo Dee kind of caught her off.

"Welcome to your residence here at our humble city of Ba Sing Se." Joo Dee opened one of the doors, and as the children went out, she smiled faintly. "If you need anything, please feel free to ask." The carriage type thing went off after she said that.

Sokka crossed his arms and went inside to see what the Upper Ring houses looked like inside. Slowly, the others went inside, with Aang being last. He blinked around at the room, while Momo flew overhead in a circle then onto Katara's shoulder. "Eh, I've seen better," said Sokka with a shrug.

Toph gave a light kick to the floor. It had a lot of space for what Toph could feel. The silence took over the place until a commotion outside made "Team Avatar" rush outside. They didn't see anything, but they heard a lot. "There," Toph said as she pointed in a specific direction.

The children darted down an alley and went left down another. As they approached a dead-end, the noise was no longer there, so Sokka withdrew his knife, slowly. Sokka went up to a trash bag and poked at it. Turning, Sokka said. "Whatever it was it is long gone now." As he said that the bag rustled and tipped over. Sokka shot back and rose his knife. With one swift motion, his knife came down and was blown out of his hand by a random burst of air, missing something.

"Aww, are you scared of a big bad kitten," teased Katara.

Sokka retrieved his knife and put it away. "No, Katara." To show he wasn't afraid, he quickly picked up the cat. "See?" The cat hissed and clawed at Sokka. Soon after Sokka let the cat drop. Still the cat hissed and swung at Sokka.

Aang put up a hand to stop Sokka for whatever he was about to do. "Sokka, you scared it."

"I scared it?" Sokka raised a brow. Aang knelt down to the cat's height. Sokka crossed his arms and watched, expecting the cat to flip out.

Aang easily picked it up and beamed. "Look, Sokka, want to hold it?"

Sokka let out a sigh. "Not exactly."

The others laughed, but were silenced quite fast since the cat struggled against Aang's hold and started to hiss. Aang dropped the cat, backing up some. The cat raised up its back, bared it teeth, and darted at them. However, it ran past them instead, toward a figure in the shadows. The figure slowly brought up the cat and scratched its head. The cat instantly calmed down and started to purr.

"Is that your cat?" Katara asked the figure, who approached them a few steps then stopped.

"Not particularly, I've seen it around, but it's not mine." The figure said, drawing down her hood on her cloak. Her eyes watched the cat then the children in front of her.

Aang blinked. "You're from the Lower Ring, aren't you?" He remembered her eyes; they were definitely the ones he had noticed.

The figure's mouth curved a little at the sides. "And you're the one that almost kissed the ground, weren't you?"

Aang chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn't know how to respond to that, but Sokka did. "Yeah, my sister had to help him back in."

Katara gave a smile to the figure. "Well, I'm his sister, Katara. He's my brother Sokka, and this is Toph." She gestured to Sokka and Toph.

Aang addressed, or introduced, himself. "I'm Aang. You are?" The figure hesitated, absentmindedly moved her hand in a circle on the cat's head.

"Val," came from the figure's mouth, bluntly.

. . . . .

Val had heard a commotion and walked toward it. It was probably that cat. She remembered how she left, and it followed her. Even back then the cat was a scrawny troublemaker.

- Val shoved some clothes and some papers into a bag and slung it over her shoulder. She needed to leave this place; something told her that it was only going to get worse if Ozai achieved his goals. Her best option was to leave. However, when she went to leave, she heard a hiss. Turning to it, she shooed it away. It just came back again, hissing at her.

"Go, you're going to get me caught even before I leave." Val whispered at the scrawny black cat. She at least wanted to escape before she was caught. Val continued to walk and ignore the cat, while the cat continued to follow her and annoy her. Val exhaled. "You're owners will want you back, unless you don't have owners..?" Her feet stopped, and she raised up the cat into her arms to see if it had a collar. It didn't. -

She turned and saw two water tribe people, a bald kid, and an earth bender. She saw the black cat hiss. Great, they have no idea what they're in for. She thought to herself as she went to stop the bald one from picking up the cat and looking like his taller male friend. When the bald one held the cat, she waited. Until they stopped speaking, dropped the cat, and they looked over at her. Val picked up the cat and rubbed its head.

"Is that your cat?" The other water tribe member spoke.

"Not particularly, I've seen it around, but it's not mine." Val heard herself say, feeling her feet move up a few feet and pulling down her hood.

The bald one asked, looking flabbergasted. "You're from the Lower Ring, aren't you?"

She said, grinning a bit. "And you're the one that almost kissed the ground, weren't you?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, choosing to not either not respond or not know how to. Then, his masculine friend cut it. "Yeah, my sister had to help him back in."

The water tribe girl smiled at Val. "Well, I'm his sister, Katara. He's my brother, Sokka, and this is Toph." She waved a hand to the other water tribe member, and then to a young girl that looked blind.

"I'm Aang. You are?" The bald one asked her.

Val hesitated. Should I trust them? She thought. She, then, decided t answer him. "Val." It sounded blunt.

The bald one, Aang was it, smiled. "How'd you do that?" He meant holding the cat.

Val shrugged. "You have to pick him up slowly and rub his head if he gets antsy." She handed the cat over to Aang, who blinked. She put her finger on the cat's head. "Right here."

Aang nodded, and the cat started to squirm. Quickly, Aang rubbed the cat's head. It settled down and let out a purr. Aang smiled. Val went to leave, but Aang said. "Wait, please..." He nervously fiddled his foot, his heel lifting off the ground a bit. "Nice to meet you," He finished lamely.

Toph laughed. "What's wrong, twinkle toes?"

Aang blushed. "I, uh."

Katara scolded Toph only slightly. "Let him be Toph. Maybe he doesn't want to answer."

Toph laughed again. "Alright sweetness, I won't pick on him."

Val directed their attention to her. "Well, got to go." She turned again to leave, but Katara asked if Val knew a place to eat. Val took the lead. "There's a few places. This one's not to bad." She opened a door to a restaurant.

Katara blinked. "Wow, looks pretty interesting."

"The decor is great." Aang said, making the other children (except Toph) look at him. He just smiled. "What?"

Val showed them to a table and handed them a menu. "Everything here is cheap, so you can eat a lot and not pay too much."

"Would you like to eat with us?" Aang blurted out, making Val turn to him. Aang added, "We can pay if you want."

Val bit her lip. "I guess... I can stay. I'll pay you back though."

Sokka slung a shoulder over the back of another chair. "No need. We have enough. Consider it a gift." Val took a seat with a stiff nod. Aang sneaked a few looks at Val, and every time he quickly looked back to the menu, almost burying his face in it. After they all ordered and finished eating, Val left right after.

"She must have had something important to do," Katara said.

Toph stated. "She's heading toward the house."

Sokka snapped to his feet. "What if she's a thief?"

"I don't think she's a thief, Sokka." Aang commented.

"I want to be sure."

They reached the house with no sign of Val, but there was some money on the porch. Sokka picked it up. "Guess she's not a thief, then."

. . . . .

- "Wake up, Val! They're coming."

Val woke abruptly on the ground. "What? Who's coming?" She rose to meet one of her friends, a trainee of a police officer. A knife was thrust into Val's hands, making Val whisper. "Who's coming?"

"They found out," her friend whispered back. "You need to get out of here, or they'll find you. I'll hold them off."

Val shook her head. "No, you take it. I'll stay behind." She handed her bag over to her friend, who wouldn't take it.

"Go Val." Her friend uttered. "Don't make me turn you in myself."

Val didn't want to leave her friend, but his eyes narrowed at her to disobey him again. She ran off. Any other time she would have argued, but the tramping of feet was getting closer. Since he didn't leave, only she could. She hated it, too be leaving and letting him take the blame. She looked back several times, almost turning back every time. She heard a rough voice say, "I thought you wouldn't have stole those papers... You would have been one of the greatest Officers if you didn't pull this stunt. Now where's the papers!"

Val's friend stated. "I burned them. You'll never find them." There was a loud crack, then a thud. Her friend had been shoved to the ground, but he laughed. "You better do better than that." He then let out a small scream. Val felt the heat; he must have been burned. -

Val woke up with a sour taste in her mouth. She went out for a walk. She really disliked flashbacks. She trudged along the streets, looking over her shoulder. She sat on a rock upon a hill. She rested her head in her hands. She wished she could have done something that night. She sighed lightly; the only thing for her to do is find someone to help her with these papers. She heard a voice from the sky, seeing... "Aang?" She squinted into the sky. No wonder she didn't recognize his clothing. He was an Air Bender, which means he is the Avatar.

Aang frowned as he landed. "Is everything alright?"

Val nodded. "Yeah."

Aang gave a light smile. "You crystal clear on that?"

Val didn''t want to ruin his good mood so she chuckled once. "Crystal clear." Aang fiddled with his thumbs. Val saw that. "You nervous or something, Aang?"

"I just want to find Appa." Aang stated.

Val didn't know who Appa was, but she didn't ask. Instead, she changed the subject. "What was that lemur called, that you had yesterday?"

Aang brightened a bit. "Momo. Katara, Sokka, and I found him at the South Air Temple."

Val's mouth curved up a bit. "How was it like, before the war?"

Aang went in great description about how there was so much flying bison, the gliders all over the place, the games they used to play, and his mentor. He added. "Gyatso, he... taught me a lot." His voice choked. "Th-then, the Fire Nation killed them all."

To comfort him, Val put an arm around him. "I'm sorry."

"What do you mean, you didn't kill them."

"I'm sorry theoretically, I mean."

"Oh." Aang sniffed. "Thank you, but now I have Katara and Sokka." He only seemed halfway into that thought.

Val muttered. "Also, I think the world's going to change soon."

"What do you mean?" Aang asked.

Val thought back to the papers. "Can you keep a secret?" Aang nodded. Val continued. "Well, I-"

Suddenly, there was screaming and explosions from the city. Aang blinked. "We got to go help!" He twirled his glider and got ready. "Grab on."

Val's hands wrapped around the glider. "You sure this is safe?"

Aang nodded. "It's the fastest way down, anyways." He went in the air and swooped down to the city. Waiting there for them was Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Momo.

Sokka asked as Aang and Val landed. "Where were you two?"

Aang blushed a bit. "No where really, but we're here now so let's go." Team Avatar and Val ran forward. Aang and Katara started to put out the fire by water bending the water to spray it. Val and Sokka helped people out of the wreckage. Toph kept them safe by ushering them out of the zone and setting rocks up to hold up falling buildings. Momo started to help Katara and Aang by patting down a few pieces of fire with its "paws."

Within minutes the fire was subdued. The group gathered together to access their handy work. Only a few buildings were badly burnt and some of the roofs were collapsed. "We did it Team Avatar!" Sokka yelled out with a grin.

There was a harsh laugh. "You think this is over? It's just beginning." A masculine voice that Val's recognized stated. A man, with red clothing on and fire nation insignia on him, walked around a corner.

"Hey, you're the one that started this fire!" Toph said, facing sideways.

The man clapped. Zhao. That's what Val thought his name was. The man put down his hands. "Thanks for pointing out the obvious." His eyes drifted to Aang. "Get the Avatar alive." Out of nowhere, men poured into the space, over thirty of them. Val noticed a few familiar faces, including that of her friend. Zhao stated. "Never mind, I'll capture him, myself." He ran forward and shot fire at Aang.

Aang blinked and blew it out. Val slipped up her hood and pulled out a round item, chucking it at the ground. It exploded in a wave of dust. When the dust cleared, they was only empty space.

. . . . .

"Whoa!" Aang exclaimed.

"How'd you do that?" Sokka and Katara asked in unison.

Sokka added. "How long did it take you?"

Val was extremely silent until a few moments later. "I just combined a few things, and it took a few hours, for you information." She went quiet again; she had no more to save them again. She wanted to save that one for a little bit longer, but she couldn't let them get captured because she wasn't paying attention.

Sokka yawned and stretched. "Can you teach me how to do that later?" Val nodded. Sokka laid down on the ground of their house. Quickly, he fell asleep and snored. Katara and Toph were already sleeping. That fire must have taken more out of them than Val noticed.

Aang smiled slightly at Val. "Thanks for the help."

"No problem, but they'll be back." Val stated.

Aang had guessed that. "How'd they even get into the city?"

Val shrugged. "Who knows? The important thing is that they're here, and they're after you."

Aang agreed, sitting down. "You can stay here tonight if you like."

Val sat down next to him. "That'll be nice." She set her hands down on the floor, accidentally touching Aang's hand. She pulled back. "Sorry."

Aang was blushing and smiling faintly. "It's fine."

Val smiled a tiny bit. "Mhm." She bit her lip, taking something from her cloak. It was a ratty old bag. It was tiny. She rested it on her knee and looked at it. "What do you think about the Ozai?" She asked.

Aang answered. "Everyone has good in them, and everyone has bad in them. For some people, they have more than the other. Also, the Fire Nation is not all bad; there's some that are pure of heart."

Val actually smiled more. "You're exactly right, Aang, even for your age."

Aang beamed. "I hear that a lot." Val replaced her bag under her cloak and over her shoulder. "Night."

"Night," responded Aang.

. . . . .

They slept for a few hours, only to be awoken by more screaming outside the door. Val heard someone yell something about the Avatar then a betrayer and the papers. Val looked at her bag. All the papers were there, which meant that they recognized her.

- Val had grabbed the papers, shoving them in the bag as quickly as she could. She wasn't afraid that she would be caught, but when. It was inevitable either way.

"Hey you there! What are you doing? Release those documents at once." A person yelled at her. The person trapped her behind the desk. "Those are very important, think of the Fire Nation. Do you want us to lose the War?"

Val paused then her eyes narrowed. "You mean think about how the Officers shove and push people or how they burn innocent people? Oh, how about the Fire Lord telling my instructor that all the trainees have to go into battle? That's the only way for him to decide if we're good enough he said."

The person across from her lunged. "It's all a fact of life!"

Val dodged him. "No, it's not. No one should live like that with Ozai in power."

The person gasped. "You can't say that! He is the Fire Lord." He jabbed a button on the desk and an alarm went off. "You'll never escape before they come. You're as good as dead."

Val held back her next comment and poked her head out the door. People were already running this way. She darted down the hallway, only to hear footsteps from that way. Quickly, she dove inside a door and shut it. Outside the door, someone's muffled voice came through. "We need those papers, and whoever took them can destroy us with them. Whoever the person is will need to face torture that Fire Lord Ozai has picked."

Surprisingly, Val didn't care. She walked away from the door and to the window. She probably made a lot of noise, but she couldn't see. Then, the door swung open, and she dropped out the open window, holding her hood down over her face.

As she did, she heard a voice yell, "It's one of the trainees!" -

Val awoke the others. She pointed to the back door. She mouthed, "Follow me." They all did, just as they reached the back door, the front door exploded open to reveal a person with his fist still outstretched. The wood splinters were singed. "Go!" Val let them rush pass her as her eyes widened at Zhao.

Zhao straightened. "First, we retrieve those papers then we get the Avatar, understood?"

al darted out the door. They know alright. She easily caught up with the others. "This way." She ran ahead, holding back a pant. She swerved to miss people, jumped on a table, and climbed up onto the building.

"Where are we going?" Sokka panted.

Aang ran side-by-side with Val. "We can't leave without Appa."

Val just shook her head. "I thought you'd say that. You won't have to, I found your flying bison when you all went to sleep." Her eyes darted around at shattered glass, burning houses, people crying, and she gritted her teeth. No mercy. The Fire Nation has none. Val pushed herself forward along the rooftops. Sokka gripped Toph's hand to keep her steady.

Katara yelled. "Val, they're following us." Val looked back and narrowed her eyes a bit.

Aang added, "We're running out of roof." He stopped. "There's a ladder-"

"No, they'll be down there." Val grabbed his arm and steered him forward. "We have to jump. One... Two... Three! Jump." She and Aang jumped. Then, Katara jumped, and Sokka and Toph jumped last. They landed on a small collapsing building and skidded off the roof to the ground three feet below. They rolled when they hit the ground. Val winced; she landed on her ankle. Ignoring the pain, she got to her feet. "Everyone alright?" They nodded. Val continued. "Good, now you need to keep going."

A big shadow came at them and made a noise. "Appa!" Aang smiled widely and hugged the bison. "I missed you buddy, more than you'll ever know." A tear went down his check. The others hugged Appa, except Val.

"Sorry to interrupt your reunion, but you need to go." Val stated.

"'You,' wait, you're not coming?" Aang hopped down from Appa, floating to the ground basically. He frowned at Val.

Val nodded. "It was always part of my plan." She took out the old bag.

Aang's eyes got slightly misty. "Just when you planned the roof and hiding Appa. You planned on getting captured?"

"Sooner or later I would have." She gave him the bag, draping it over his shoulder. "Don't read it until you get out of the city or give it to anyone. It's very important." She rested her forehead on Aang's. "I'm trusting you with this..."

Aang nodded. "I promise I won't give it to anyone, so I will." He tilted his head up and pecked her cheek.

Val pushed him to Appa. "Now go." Aang jumped onto Appa, an expression of sadness on his face. Val turned to see Zhao.

Zhao smirked. "The papers and the Avatar, it must be my lucky day. Get the papers from the girl."
Val told Aang to leave again. After a few more times, Aang said. "Yip, yip." Then, they took to the air. Val got in a fighting stance and ran at Zhao. Zhao shot toward Appa instead of Val. Val blinked and moved her hands. The fire went back at Zhao instead of Appa. Zhao waved a hand, and the fire disappeared. Val looked up and saw everyone, they already know now.

She dodged a fire blast and sent one at Zhao, glaring. A few of Zhao's men aimed at the gang of kids, but ended up on the ground. Val tackled a few and hit a few with fireballs. Zhao glared as the Avatar got out of reach. He shot a blast at Val out of anger. It would have missed, anyway, but Val did a front-flip, causing fire to come from her heel.

The fire made a huge arch. It got Zhao, and he grunted as he stumbled back with his arms up. Val suddenly stopped, brought her arms out in a circle, and exhaled as her hands got to the middle of her abdomen. She looked up to see Aang staring. He wasn't angry or anything, but worried it seemed. She smirked, putting up a thumb to signal that she would be fine.

. . . .

Katara, Sokka, and Aang saw Zhao aim at Appa and shoot. Suddenly, the fire went back at Zhao. Val looked up, gaze connecting with Aang's. "I knew something was off about her. She's a Fire Bender," Sokka murmured.

Val turned back to the fight with a glare to her eyes. They watched her dodge and throw fire at Zhao. Then, Zhao looked up at Aang. His face contorted, and he took his anger out on Val. Katara held her breath, while Aang grew cold.

"What's happening?" Toph asked, arms crossed.

Sokka blinked. "Val's saving us." Toph stuck out her tongue. "Well, duh. She was always telling the truth. She never lied to us."

Aang frowned. "What'll happen to her?" He stared at Val, seeing her arms go in a circle to her stomach and her withdrawal of breath. She was giving up. Aang's eyes widened, and his heart sank. Val's eyes went back up to them.

"Why is she giving up," asked a confused Sokka.

Slowly, Val raised a hand. Aang thought she was going to fight again, but she gave him a thumbs-up. She wasn't; she was accepting her fate. They went out of the city. Once they reached a safe enough distance and found a place to land, they took out the papers from Val's bag. Sokka laid out the first one, smoothing out the ends.

He whistled. "It's for their ships. It shows their flaws, and where they can be easily taken down." He pointed to the flaws. "Also, the plan for Sozin's Comet. It has its starting point and ending point." He looked at the other papers. "It also has where the patrols are going to be and when they're there."

He paused for a breather. "Also, it shows a map to the Fire Nation, a map of the Palace, and a map of the area around it. The Fire Lord has a safe spot just beyond the palace." He searched the others and grinned. "We're all armed and ready for anything that they'll throw at us, now." Katara and Sokka hugged each other, and then, Toph joined in from Katara hugging her.

Katara frowned. "Aang is everything alright?"

"We need to go back and help her." Aang stated. "It's not right to just leave her there... to die..."

Everything went quiet until Sokka announced. "They'll probably send her to the Fire Lord. If we get to the palace, we can ambush them. We'll get her, and she'll be fine."

"Can we really do that?" Aang asked with a smile.

"Yes, since we have a map to get there." Katara answered for Sokka.

They'll have the element of surprise. They could do this.

. . . . .

Val let the chains dangle as she walked, hiding her limp. They are taking her to the palace, to Ozai. She was not in the least worried. She did what she had to do, and it had been the right thing. They walked the stairs, and instantly, Val noticed something off.

She heard a strange noise off to her left.