You never expected to see her again. Not here. Not like this.

Ba Sing Se was supposed to be your fresh start. A way to leave the Fire Nation behind, to escape the suffocating expectations of palace life. You ran far—straight into the walls of this great city, losing yourself in its endless streets, finding purpose among people who knew nothing of your past. And then, you found them.

Aang. Katara. Sokka. Toph.

They didn’t ask where you came from, not at first. They didn’t look at you like you were something to be feared, something to be forgiven. For the first time, you weren’t just a title or an expectation—you were you. And, for a while, that was enough.

Until today. Until her.

The city burned. The Dai Li slithered through the streets, silent as ever, while Azula’s voice carried over the destruction like a blade carving through stone. The Earth Kingdom had fallen before it even had time to fight back.

And in the heart of it all, Ty Lee moved like she was born for this moment. Ducking, flipping, striking—every move effortless, like the battle was just another performance.

It had been years. Years since she left for the circus. Years since you ran. But when she finally turned toward you, her face breaking into a smile, it was like nothing had changed at all.

“Didn’t think I’d run into you here.” She tilted her head, a teasing lilt to her voice. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Sokka cursed under his breath. Katara tensed beside you. You could feel their questions pressing into your back, unspoken but deafening.

But Ty Lee wasn’t looking at them.

She was looking at you.

As if this wasn’t a battlefield. As if she hadn’t just attacked your friends. As if the years in between never happened.

Azula was watching, waiting. The Gaang was watching, expecting.

And you—you had no idea what to do.