Arnook listens with abject horror as to what Pakku is relaying to him, the information that the Dragon of the West has provided the most crucial piece of intelligence that they could have gotten for this siege. Though being out numbered nearly ten to one is going to make garrisoning men near the spirit oasis impossible. The firenation has attacked with 245 dragon class warships and five empire class battleships with 100,000 men. Zuko's advice about utilizing any and all waterbenders came far too soon, the healers and other women who have the capability to waterbend could never learn enough proficiency to fend off an invasion force of this magnitude. All men between 16 and 70 are on the front lines, and with barely an army of 10,000 of his own the chances of the watertribe surviving this day are looking even more bleak. Defeat means another bending discipline can be wiped out, the death of the moon spirit, his death, and maybe even the death of Princess Yue should the moon spirit Tui be killed by the mad admiral.

"How do you know we can trust General Iroh?" Arnook asks, holding his beard in deep thought as he scratches it. "He besieged Ba Sing Sei and broke through the outer walls. How can we trust a word that he says?"

"I cannot reveal all the details since you're not a member of the society that transcends the four nations, however what I can say is that Iroh is one of the eight grand lotuses of the white lotus society and I am one as well. The information he has given us does come with a catch however." Pakku explains as he produces a blue painted white lotus tile from within his robe.

"What would that be? And why should I buy into this crap about a secret society based around a strategy game?" Arnook snaps back, the stress of the situation beginning to show in the older chieftain.

"Have I, in your entire life, ever lied to you? I've known you since the day you were born Arnook, hell I was the one who helped your father carry your mother to the shaman so she could deliver you. You know damn well I'd never lie to you, you're like a son to me." Pakku responds, choosing his words carefully so as to not stress Arnook any more than he already is.

Arnook pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs deeply, "You're right, I'm sorry for the outburst Pakku, we're in an impossible position right now. Hahn and his men haven't returned from the assassination mission I sent them on, and I fear that they were found out, captured or executed." He pauses for a moment, quickly knocking back a cup of Tulpi to calm his nerves. Feeling the alcohol warm his belly, he takes a deep breath before speaking again. "What does General Iroh ask in return for this information?"

"To be released so he can join Prince Zuko." Pakku answers, Arnook quickly refills the cup of the alcoholic beverage and downs it as well. "As well as mercy for any men we capture. They're only following orders."

"Lon'qu and the others won't like this." Arnook responds with an exasperated sigh. "The men will be taken care of, we're not monsters like the firenation so you can let him know that at least." He responds, taking another moment to contemplate this next decision carefully. "Release him, and escort the old general to where Avatar Zuko is. I hope I'm not making a grave mistake allowing this. You better go before I change my mind... I have a bad feeling about this."

Pakku doesn't answer but merely bows slightly before exiting, leaving the chieftain by himself. The weight of the war has dragged itself down on both men heavily, "Arnook looks as if he aged twenty years in a single night." Pakku thinks to himself as he exits the longhouse heading back towards the guards barracks. The conversation between the two men had taken up a great deal of the morning before Pakku could even get a word in about Zhao's plans. Now he has to put his faith in the boy prince as well as the old general, both of whom are from the nation that started the war in the first place. Though Zuko has proven himself that he is trustworthy by sinking 18 of the 250 invading firenation ships. According to Iroh, the invasion force is a hundred thousand men strong and each ship has 400 men aboard. What surprised Pakku the most is how willing Zuko was to go and sink the ships of his own nation. It's possible that he doomed over 7,000 men to drown in the icy depths through destroying the ships with his team. Iroh on the other hand, while a grand lotus within the order was still the man who took down the outer wall of Ba Sing Sei.

Getting to the barracks, Master Pakku reciprocates a bow from the attending guards at the door before stepping inside. The younger warriors immediately stand when the old master enters, and Pakku notices that not a single person has returned from the planned assassination of Admiral Zhao. Seated at a table with a crudely drawn battle map is Lon'qu and a few other more experienced warriors greet the old master as he approaches them. "Well, it's safe to say that the team we sent to take out Zhao isn't coming back. Is there any other bad news you need to tell us? Might as well say it now." Lon'qu groans as Pakku pulls up a chair beside the four other men. "General Iroh is to be released and brought to his nephew Prince Zuko." Pakku says calmly, causing the others to fall silent immediately. "He has stated that he has no interest in assisting Zhao or the firenation in their war against us just to get back to his nephew."

"And you think we can trust a word that he says? How can we be certain that he wouldn't just take the opportunity to kill his own nephew?" Lon'qu exclaims, standing from his chair and knocking it over.

"Do you really think I'm so much of a monster to do that to my own flesh and blood? I've realized that I am on the wrong side of this pointless war but do not consider me as much of a monster as my brother. I've already lost one son in this war, I don't want to lose the one I have left. My only goal is to end this war with as little bloodshed as possible, and the key to that is to eliminate my brother and put Zuko on the throne." Iroh says from behind the icy bars of his jail cell. "I renounce my oath to the firenation, my position as general and my status as prince. All I care about is protecting my son."

"Is that enough proof for you?" Pakku asks before standing from his seat and walking over to Iroh's cell. "We don't have much time, we have to go back to the fight, if anything happens and Zhao manages to get through our defenses you and the avatar are the last line of defense against that mad man."

"I assure you, I can be trusted. All that matters now is stopping the admiral and protecting the ocean and moon spirits without them the natural order of the world will collapse." Iroh says after regaining his composure from the brief outburst.

Pakku melts away the icy bars over Iroh's cell allowing the old general to exit it without any issues, and while there is an air of distrust among the other warriors in the barracks, he's able to walk free. Iroh sticks close to Pakku as they exit the barracks, just as a means to not get attacked by the other warriors on their way out. Once outside, Iroh instinctively yank's Pakku backwards by the hood of his jacket as a massive boulder launched by the firenation catapults impacts the ice a few steps away from where Pakku was walking. "Sure has gotten heated out here hasn't it?" Iroh asks as the two quickly make their way from in front of the barracks and towards the grand staircase of Anga Qel'a. In the distance behind them, the large gangplank of the forward ships fall on the icy wall causing it to crumble. The invasion has truly begun as tanks and soldiers bleed into the city. With most of the warriors on the front lines and the rest of the civilians inside the longhouse, there isn't anyone to see Pakku smuggling the firenation general through the city. As the two old men frantically climb the icy stairs, fireballs and even more boulders continue to land inside the city. Houses in the lower districts are crushed by massive flaming rocks, and hundreds of firebenders march down the streets.

"Wouldn't it be wiser to tell me where it is? Your people need you in the fight Pakku!" Iroh yells over the cacophony of noise. "Where is Zuko?!" He shouts, and though there's only a few feet between them Pakku still barely hears him over the sounds of battle.

"Behind the palace is a small door leading to the spirit oasis, that is what Zhao is after and Zuko is there with the rest of his team. Stay out of sight and protect Zuko and the ocean and moon spirits!" Pakku shouts back as the two switch places on the icy stair case.

"Those who battle in the presence of the lotus..." Pakku begins

"Will be given their flowers upon his return or laid to rest with them honoring him." Iroh answers before clasping Pakku's right arm in a forearm handshake. The two give each other a curt nod before separating to face their own separate battles.

With the noise of battle continuing to get closer and closer, Sokka is beginning to get anxious about the battle to come. He sits himself down across from Zuko and grabs a stone from his bag before starting to sharpen his bone sword and boomerang. Being the only nonbender in the group, he makes up for it in carrying around an assortment of weapons that he is a decent fighter with. He sharpens his sword, boomerang, the knife that his father gave him and the sharpened side of his club. Once everything is as sharp as his liking, he takes the time to tie and retie the leather wrappings around the handles of his weapons. Across from him, Aang sits cross legged with his staff across his lap deep in meditation much like Zuko though he is still in the moral world. Pollen and leaves from the bamboo growing behind the oasis float and dance in the gently moving wind. Yue and Katara are seated by the edge of the water taking turns braiding and going through each other's hair. The two benders need to conserve their strength incase they end up getting dragged into the fight below.

"It sounds like we're losing." Yue says as the sounds of battle continue to crawl towards them. "I hope Zuko gets done soon, we really need his help."

"We just need to hold out until nightfall, just a few more hours and the full moon will help us repel them." Katara says, trying to reassure her sister in law. "If we can stall them until the moon is in the air, the spirits will be safe, they won't stand a chance then."

"We just need to hope Zuko gets done in the spirit world in time." Sokka says as he sheathes his knife across the small scabbard across his chest. "In the meantime it might be a good idea to prepare a trap just in case the firenation actually manages to find this place." Almost as soon as the last syllable leaves his mouth, the small round door at the entrance to the spirit oasis opens, Aang, Katara, Sokka and Yue immediately jump to their feet and prepare for an attack. What they weren't expecting is for the jolly gray haired face of Iroh to pop through the small door then slightly get stuck.

"Iroh?" Sokka asks as he, his sister and Aang drop their guard in order to go and help the old firebending master squeeze through the gate.

"Ah, hello my friends, I seem to be a bit... ssstuck." Iroh says before hissing out the last word as he tries to squeeze himself through the small doorway that's gotten caught around his belly. "Before you ask, I'm not a part of Zhao's invasion force. I used him as a ride to get here and join up with you all."

"You all know each other?" Yue asks as she lowers her arms, the water that she was bending drops to the grass as she lowers her hands. "Who is he?"

"This is General Iroh, he's Zuko's uncle. He's helped us a couple times when we were traveling around the world. He was the guy I was talking about on our honeymoon Yue. He helped us sneak inside the firenation to get Zuko to Avatar Roku's temple." Sokka says as he grabs one of Iroh's hands with Katara and Aang grabbing the other. The three teens help the old general through the gate by pulling him. With a sudden pop, Iroh slides through the small doorway and flops down on the floor with the three in a heap.

"He's general Iroh? The dragon of the west? Wasn't he the one who broke through the outer walls of Ba Sing Sei?" Yue asks as the others help Iroh to his feet.

"The very same my dear, though I'm a very different man from back then. I came to join Zuko and continue his training." Iroh responds, and once he's on his feet he dusts himself off before bowing to Yue. "It seems I've missed quite a bit during your journey, did you mention the two of you went on your honeymoon? Are you newlyweds?" Iroh asks as Sokka, Katara and Aang walk him over the short bridge to where Zuko is.

"We got married a few weeks ago, this is my wife Princess Yue." Sokka answers as he coaxes her to get closer and properly meet the old general.

"It's a pleasure to meet a member of royalty of the esteemed watertribe." Iroh says with a jolly smile on his face. "I apologize for what is happening today, Pakku insisted I come here to act as a last line of defense against Zhao. The mad man is planning to kill the moon spirit," The four collectively gasp when he explains this. "The fool doesn't realize he'll doom humanity if he does."

Once clear of the Koh's lair, Zuko sprints as far as his legs will take him in order to make distance between himself and that spirit. Panting heavily as he runs through the underbrush, his foot catches a submerged root and he trips forwards splashing face first into the water of the swamp. He pushes himself up to his hands and knees panting for air, he shudders as a flash of Koh's strange millipede-like form enters his mind for a second. Of all of Zuko's fears, ranging from his father to bears, millipedes are one of the things that he is terrified of. Part of him is cursing the spirit world for not letting him firebend because he would have incinerated that giant bug the first chance he got. Problem is he wouldn't have learned what he needed to know. "Calm down Zuko." he tells himself as he slows his breathing and tries to calm his nerves. "I need to get out of here, Jun! How do I get out of here?" he calls out, staring at his reflection in the water. The ripples caused by his arms beneath the surface distort his reflection and after a few moments it shifts to the appearance of his predecessor.

"Looks like you've had the spirits scared out of you. Yeah, he's pretty ugly and even we give that part of the spirit world a wide berth." Jun says as his reflection finishes materializing in front of Zuko. "You don't have to ask me for help to get out of here, a friend is going to help you with that."

Looking up from Jun's reflection, Zuko sees the fluffy black and white fur of a giant panda spirit standing over him. "Heibai?" he asks, causing the large spirit to lean down and lick his face prompting Zuko to recoil from the affection. "I need to go back to the real world, can you help me?" he asks, prompting Heibai to reach down and pick him up before plopping him down on his back. Now seated on the back of the large spirit, Heibai trots off towards the original gate that Zuko arrived through. Zuko has to clutch the fur of Heibai between his fingers as tight as he can in order to hold on to the giant spirit. Heibai darts through the swamps much more nimbly than Zuko and Jun had done, covering miles and miles of land in just a few minutes. It doesn't take long for Heibai to arrive back at the wooden platform Zuko had arrived at, he bends down to allow the avatar to get off of his back. Zuko rushes over to the wooden platform expecting to immediately get transported back but when he stands on the platform nothing happens. He looks around for a moment expecting something to happen before turning to Heibai, the panda stands to its full height then exhales a strange spiritual blue light from its mouth onto him. As the light touches his chest his entire body is illuminated before suddenly vanishing from the spirit world.

"Good riddance." The baboon spirit says upon seeing Heibai return Zuko to the human world but he doesn't realize that Heibai had heard him. Heibai shifts into his more monstrous form then blitzes towards the baboon, letting out an ethereal scream in the face of the other spirit causing the baboon to go flying.

Blinking his eyes as he returns to the human world, he has only a few seconds to take in what's going on around him. He's been in the spirit world for almost a full day as the amber and purple twilight is cascading across the sky above him. Directly in front of him, Admiral Zhao is reaching his hand into the spirit oasis trying to grab the moon spirit from the water. Darting his eyes to the right he sees his uncle and Aang fending off a small battalion of firebenders and having to retreat with Iroh blocking incoming bending and Aang retaliating towards the firebenders. On his left, Katara and Yue are fighting back to back against 16 firebenders that are flanking the two of them and nearby Sokka is in a sword duel with several members of the infantry. Closing in on him, four masked firebenders with manacles and a sack to place over his head are approaching him cautiously. He shifts his eyes back towards Zhao and locks eyes with the admiral seeing him smirk as he stuffs the white koi fish into the burlap sack in his hand. "It's done, I have conquered the north pole, I've conquered the moon and I've defeated you, Avatar Zuko." Zhao gloats as he pulls the draw strings on the bag closed.

Zuko scowls at the Admiral who has the audacity to turn his back towards him, turning to walk away. On Zuko's right, one of the firebenders places a hand on his shoulder preparing to restrain him. In a split second, Zuko lurches forwards onto his hands, his legs shooting out from underneath him as he uses his upper body to spin himself around kicking up a small firenado around himself to shove back the firebenders. The four soldiers were completely caught off guard from the attack, getting blasted backwards from the sudden burst of fire. Using his feet, Zuko kicks the legs out from under the surrounding guards before standing in a battle stance facing Zhao. The admiral had turned back to face Zuko after feeling a rush of heat coming from his direction, shocked to see that the avatar effortlessly defeated four members of his personal guard. Seeing Zuko preparing to throw a punch towards him, Zhao raises the bag containing the moon spirit up to where Zuko can see it then raises his own fist towards it threateningly. "Don't you even twitch Avatar, you move a muscle and I'll kill the moon spirit. Honor-less wretch, you're a traitor!"

"I've more honor than you hiding behind a defenseless spirit." Zuko retorts, keeping as still as possible to keep Zhao from following through with his threat. "What do you think will happen when you kill the moon spirit?"

"I'll be heralded a hero! Without the moon the waterbenders don't have power, they'll become a thing of legend just like the air nomads." Zhao declares, gesturing with both the bag and his other hand while speaking. "They'll call me Zhao the Conqueror, Zhao the Moon-slayer. Zhao the-"

"Fool who damned all life on earth." Iroh interjects, the battles between team avatar having paused so that both Zhao's men and team avatar can see how the confrontation between Zhao and Zuko goes down. "The firenation needs the moon just as much as anyone else Zhao, think about navigation, about the food our people require, fish and sea life needs it to reproduce. If you kill that spirit you'll starve everyone in the firenation and the world!"

"You'll doom humanity." Zuko says as he shifts his hands to a more open position to look less threatening. "What will my father think when he finds out you destroyed the moon and caused the worst famine in firenation history? Made the entirety of our navy completely useless at night? He'll execute you on the spot." Zuko reasons causing Zhao to lower the bag holding the spirit. "You've already won, there's no point in killing it."

Zhao doesn't answer as he lets Zuko's words sink in, slowly processing what the avatar had said. After a few moments he concedes and reaches down, opening the bag letting the moon spirit return to the spirit oasis. He stands back and watches the two fish circle each other in the water for a few moments before realizing what he's done. He just let the avatar, the banished prince, the boy who was cast down by his father and burned for not knowing is place, the same boy who betrayed the firenation, violated his banishment, destroyed a shipyard, humiliated him, and sank over a dozen battleships, dictate what he does. The very idea causes his face to twist with anger and fury at the very idea of taking orders from the traitor prince. He's going to kill that stupid fish no matter what anyone says. He raises his right arm over his head and flattens his hand out like a blade preparing to strike.

Zuko's eyes widen in horror as he sees Zhao rear his arm back to torch the moon spirit in the oasis. With barely a second to react, Zuko does the only thing he can think of to protect the spirit. "NOOOOoooo!!!" Zuko screams in anger, even after telling that fool that he'll doom all life on the earth he still tries to kill the spirits. Anger turns to rage and he allows it to fuel his inner fire, he clenches his fists so tightly that his palms bleed as his nails dig into them. He steps forwards, raising his hands towards his chest, rolling his shoulders upwards as he leans onto his forward leg. His face twists with apoplectic fury, his furrowed brow over his right eye arched to a massive angle as his face scrunches into a deep scowl. Zhao barely has a moment to shift his attention from attacking the spirits to looking at Zuko, seeing the righteous fury present on his face. Fire begins to flicker from Zuko's fists in violent orange and yellow sparks as his arms catch fire, midway through the dual fist punch. As his arms extend outwards, the orange flames around his hands begin to launch outwards in a massive cone of fire. With both arms extended as far as they'll go, an inferno sprays forwards from Zuko's hands directly at Zhao and some of his men. The cone of fire spans the few meager feet between the admiral and prince in less than a second completely engulfing the firebenders.

Aang, Katara, Sokka and Yue have to physically shield themselves from the massive inferno that Zuko just unleashed on Zhao and his men. The firestorm blasting over the top of the protective wall that guards the spirit oasis. Gritting his teeth, Zuko expends even more power through the firestorm, the flames exploding over the entrance to the spirit oasis. With the distraction of Zuko's attack on Zhao, Iroh manages to blast back the firebenders that he's attacking, pushing a couple of them into Zuko's firestorm in the process. As he turns to look at his nephew, Iroh sees the hints of blue fire within the storm just ahead of Zuko's hands. As he tries to call out to his nephew Iroh sees Zuko's eyes flicker with a bright light for a moment. Realizing what's about to happen, Iroh rushes to the side to push Aang out of the way and not a moment too soon. Zuko's eyes ignite with the celestial bluish white light of the avatar state, immediately the firestorm increases tenfold into a maelstrom inferno. The tiny inkling of blue fire being emitted by his hands cascades through the flames dying the entire firestorm a deep cobalt blue. The flames grow dozens of times their original size exploding over the sides of the glacier in a plume of blue flames.

"Aang! Iroh! Get over here now!" Katara calls out over the massive firestorm, the airbender and firebender turning to look at her as she pleads for their attention. "We need to get under the ice, we're going to be incinerated if we stay out here!"

Aang manages to get to his feet first, pushing himself off the ground before turning and helping Iroh to his feet. The two scurry towards Katara and Yue, trying not to look at the blinding white and blue fire that the avatar is unleashing. Yue lifts her hands up and melts the permafrost surrounding the oasis forming a small cave for them to be sheltered from the firestorm. Sokka and Aang usher Iroh inside the small ice cave, Iroh almost stumbling over his feet being distracted from the sheer destructive power his nephew is unleashing. Once inside the mouth of the ice cave, both girls begin sealing the entrance with water and ice in order to protect themselves from the fire. As the water is freezing however, the firestorm begins to die down with the flames cooling from white and blue becoming orange and red before fizzling out. The air around them begins to pick up, getting faster and faster until it begins circling Zuko's body. Water is drawn up from the melted glacier wall and the oasis itself before forming a tight ring around his body. The flames licking burning away in the city below begin getting drawn away from their sources and pulled upwards into the spirit oasis condensing in a ring of fire that shrinks around the avatar's body. A ring of frigid water and one of blistering fire orbit his body spinning in opposite directions as a massive rotating dome of air encompasses him.

Iroh watches in awe as the dome of air circling the avatar's body begins to condense and change shape. Opening up at the top and forming a wide cylinder of rotating air around his body the winds pick up speed as the column of air begins to shrink around the avatar's body. The rotating column of air begins to get tighter and tighter around him before becoming flush with his waist. Suddenly he shoots dozens of feet into the air standing atop a tornado created by his bending. Snow, ash and pieces of ice are getting sucked into the vortex as it begins to dance as it moves about the spirit oasis. Yue watches in horror as the tornado envelops the top of the small pond where the ocean and moon spirits reside. Though from the water beneath the tornado, two orbs of water levitate out of the oasis, the one on his right containing the black and white form of La, and the sphere of water on his left containing the white and black form of Tui within. The two orbs of water begin orbiting the avatar's form as all the water is being drawn up through the vortex and around his body. The gaang watches as the two spirits orbit the avatar before stopping at near head level with him. Suddenly the eyes and rhombus diamond markings of both fish glow with the same light as the avatar state before the water encompasses the three of them.

The massive column of water spinning upwards as if draining into the sky, abruptly drops back into the spirit oasis itself. The waters surrounding the oasis begin glowing the same blue white colors as the avatar state before beginning to move. Aang, Katara, Iroh, Sokka and Yue watch as the mass of glowing water streams towards the entrance of the spirit oasis before rising from the surface as a massive blob of water. Taller and taller it grows before beginning to take a more recognizable shape. From the back of the body of water large spires of ice begin to grow from the water's surface with sails made of water stretching between them. Arms grow from the side of the body forming long sword-like claws made of permafrost. From the top the creature grows a large head with long flowing tentacle like whiskers from its face. Iroh recognizes the form that the avatar, ocean and moon spirits have chosen. Rising hundreds of feet above the city emanating a bright blue and white light over cascading through the night below... "A sea dragon."