Warning: Very little in this part of the story makes any sense at all. What follows is my best attempt to summarize and comment on it.
The scene shifts to Azula in a forest, asking if anyone is around. Shyoo the sprite appears, and tells her that she's inside the spirit world, and that Shyoo, on Aang and Roku's request, came to find her and warn her that it isn't safe.
Azula asks the obvious first question: whether she's dead. Shyoo says she isn't just yet, but is clinging to life. Her knife wound isn't the only danger to her life, though, as there are tormented spirits. Shyoo leads Azula to safety, and to a giant spirit panda that is Shyoo's friend.
The spirit panda says he won't harm Azula, but wants her to get to Roku, the only connection to the bridge between worlds (i.e. the Avatar, currently Aang). Azula asks if this is so that she can go back, and the spirit panda says yes, but there are dangers here; since she's both living and dying, the more time she spends, the closer she gets to death and the more memories of her life she will lose. Azula asks to confirm that statement, and the panda does, saying that she's been "webbed" by death, and someone must come for her soon before they're out of time.
Azula rides on the panda's back
and is told to rest. She's worried about forgetting, so she's told to keep her mind on Sokka.
Back in the world of the living, Zuko talks with Katara, making this the first Zutara scene in about a chapter. Zuko asks if Katara is alright, and she says she's taking a break from healing Azula, but can't sleep, and says that they should make it to the North Pole by tomorrow (this is unusually fast). She admits that she's not alright, and Zuko, knowing what happened, insists she did what was right. Katara reminds Zuko of how she couldn't kill the "son of a bitch" that killled her mother, but Zuko doesn't blame her, causing her to describe Mai as someone who loved Zuko enough to kill her. I'm all for sympathy toward Mai, but it seems somewhat out of place here.
Zuko, however, talks about how he executed his father and the guilt he felt over doing that, but how he realized he did it for the ones he loved. In a dialogue balloon that makes it look like Katara's speaking (the point comes up to Katara's mouth), Zuko says he felt "sad and angry" about not helping his father see the darkness within him. He says he believes Katara is a hero, and was horribly worried when he heard the news, and hopes he'll never lose her.
Back in the spirit world, Shyoo wakes up Azula, informing her that they're on the outskirts of the "North Wind Forest." Azula is told that she must pass through there quickly, but she must do so without the spirit panda. The spirit panda talks about being bound, and says Shyoo will be Azula's guide from there on out. Shyoo, who is apparently female, beckons Azula and urges her to hurry. Azula thanks the panda, who tells her to hurry and stay close to Shyoo, because there are dangers that Azula can't protect herself from. Shyoo mentions "ancient demons" in the forest. Azula enters the forest, and the panda says goodbye to her.
Back in the world of the living, the Gaang's ship is close to the North Pole. Zuko asks if Bato and Hakoda will meet them, and Sokka says yes. Aang is concerned about how long Azula has spent in the spirit world, and that because of her "unnatural" situation, her memories of her life are fading (I have to wonder if this is part of the reason why she got the amnesia that resulted in her getting into this situation to begin with). Aang says there isn't much time left, saying that if she forgets his face, he can't bring her back, and he's never been able to bring back anyone who's been gone for this long.
Zuko then asks if they have a solution, and Toph suggests bringing someone else Azula would remember. Aang says the monks taught him this, which I find implausible- he ran away and they got wiped out before he learned much other than Airbending. Aang says it's dangerous to bring anyone other than himself there; they're at risk of their(that's how you avoid Rouge Angles of Satin) souls being lost forever there. He says whoever does that won't have much time, and will have to get Azula to remember and get to the "life coil" to her body (it says "can't" here, but I can infer through context that getting her to the life coil is the goal), before they lose their memory and die like she does.
Sokka volunteers, saying that Azula will remember him (one would think she would have a better memory of Zuko, her own brother; it irks me a bit that romantic bonds trump all others) and that he wants to protet the ones he cares about despite failing so often in the past. Toph asks how strong Sokka's love is for her, and suggests that he might not be able to do it. Sokka says he loves Azula with all his self, and intends to "walk through hell" (if the Avatar-verse has a hell) for her. Aang, getting the same bored expression he had at the Senate meeting, when his expression is supposed to be worried/grave, says that Sokka will feel it when time starts to run out, and he'll be there with him, if not visibly so. Sokka says he isn't coming back without Azula, and their love will be what saves them.
Aang agrees to the plan and decides to conserve his "spiritual strength" (whatever that is) for it. Toph says she believes Sokka can do it, and hopes he will succeed and can bring Azula back. Aang says he'll give Sokka as long of an opening as possible, but time is short.
In the spirit world, Azula has run into trouble. A voice calls out for her, and Shyoo insists that Azula not listen, and that she run away as fast as possible. Azula, however, is apparently forgetting where she is. A creature that looks like it has the top half of its head shaved off calls out to Azula while mimicking Ozai and a younger Azula's voices.
Azula runs away while the creature tries to use her fears against it; given how much Azula is screaming, it's succeeded. The creature catches up to Azula, who falls over, and it lets off a sound effect known as "Loud random screams."
You might remember this as a recurring trend from the comic, such as when Mai's maids hastily leave when Mai's confronted by an angry Zuko near the end of Chapter 1. There are a few schools of thought regarding sound effects in sound-less media. One essentially favors describing the sound effect, and it might be said that "Azula screamed," which is typically a method found in literature. The other method is to write out the sound effect ("AHHHHH!"), which is often used in comics and other visual media. Since this is a comic, it's better to write out the sound effect, much less use something like the way it was described here.
In any case, Azula does a much more traditional and appropriate "AHHHHHHH!" scream in response. Shyoo puts up a barrier of some sort (naturally, no explanation is given for how she can do this) to halt the creature in its tracks and tells Azula to go. Azula is reluctant to leave without Shyoo, but she tells her that more are coming, and she has only one chance. Azula runs away, toward the light.
In the world of the living, The Gaang reaches the North Pole docks, and gets off their ship, oddly enough being called "your majesties" despite being princes and princesses. The Gaang heads to the oasis, but in an unnecessary complication, the snow blocks the main path, and they have to go through the city. They hurry to get there, and are optimistic that, with the moon full and the help of the Moon Spirit, Azula will live.
Azula wakes up in a safe place in the Spirit World, greeted by Roku, who reveals that he had his friends bring her here. He says it's of vital importance that she get back to the living world by returning to her "spiritual coil" (which was earlier called "life coil"); not only is her life endangered the longer she stays here, but the fate of the world itself depends on her return.
Azula asks why Roku is helping her. He says he looks out for his family, especially Azula, who carries "the hope of the future." Azula doesn't understand how someone like her could bring peace, but Roku says Agni himself wrote her destiny as a firebending prodigy, chose the man she would love, and that the one who's bringing peace isn't her, but her child ("The hope of the world lies inside your whom").
Azula feels the child now and asks why she couldn't do so before; Roku says this is because she was not in the spirit world before, adding that her child has a strong spirit like her brother. Azula begins to despair, realizing that she's losing the memories she has of her friends, her brother and her lover, but Roku reassures her that Sokka will come for her if destiny exists.
The Gaang and the others reach the spirit oasis, and Zuko briefly reminisces about this being where he fought Katara near the end of the first season, how he didn't realize what the place was at the time, and how he hopes the gods grant him and his sister a second chance. Even considering the sort of comic this is, it still comes off as a bit excessive to have former villains still angsting about the things they did prior to their Heel-Face Turn. I find description of The Atoner on that page (which can be summed up as "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain") an overly depressing an cynical take on the trope, and believe that at some point, which varies from case to case, repentant villains earn the right to forgive themselves.
Katara lays Azula on the ground, so that Aang and Sokka can travel more easily. Aang asks Sokka if he's sure about this, and Sokka says yes. Aang tells Sokka that he has five minutes, and Sokka says he will bring her back or stay lost with her, then begins. Aang and Sokka's eyes glow, and Sokka steps into the portal in search of Azula, who doesn't seem to recognize him. Zuko lays Azula into the water, and tells her to be brave and listen for Sokka's voice.
When Sokka finds her, Azula only remembers her name, and only vaguely recalls that there was someone dear to her, who looks like Sokka, and is like a dream she can't remember. Sokka says Azula reminds him of someone who sacrificed herself to save him, and Azula wonders what that woman was like. Sokka says the girl he loved looked like the one standing before him now, and he would give anything to kiss her again. Out of time, and at Aang's urging, Sokka asks Azula to kiss him, and she accepts.
The chapter ends somewhat abruptly, with Sokka and Azula kissing and Katara drawing out the knife and healing Azula in the blood-soaked spirit oasis. But by all indications, the Gaang succeeded.
The next and final installment will deal with the epilogue.
What I liked
- "Loud Random Screams"
- The spirit panda, as well as the other bizarre scenery and denizens of the spirit world.
What I didn't like
- Zuko reassuring Katara what she did was right
- The angst about Zuko's Heel-Face Turn
- The incredibly contrived bit about Azula's child.
