A/N: So, there's a little bit of a change being made to the time line of the story. This takes place generally after Zuko released Appa from the Dai Li. And a bunch of things are going to change. And I'm going to pretend a few things went differently, and a few things never happened. So if you have a question like: "But what about when this happened?" or "Well, that wouldn't have happened because this happened." ...The answer is probably, "Uh, pretend it didn't."
You can ask me about it if you want, and I might be able to give an explanation, but I'm pretty much changing the story so that the following events can happen.
Please don't hate! Its not an AU, not at all. I'm just changing a few things and re-writing the rest.

So, if you're asking, the answer is: yes, essentially, I'm butchering the story/time line.

Please read the prologue. It's basically background info, and will help with the story line a lot.

Thanks,
Dana xo*

~~Prologue~~

With Appa released from his cell in the underground of Ba Sing Se, the GAang managed to escape the Dai Li and the depths of the city with only a few scratches. (Sorry, I know it's vague and kinda lame; bare with me.) They decided it was best to leave the city of Ba Sing Se while the Earth King is clearly not a friend or ally, and unable to be convinced otherwise. With the Dai Li hunting them and wanted posters all over the city, it really was their best (if not only) choice. Even the citizens of the beautiful city were controlled by the Dai Li... They continue on, travelling to the Fire Nation, under disguise as simple Fire Nation citizens, wearing their clothes and behaving like them. They think it best to lay low from the Earth Kingdom while they are known enemies of the Dai Li. Besides, being in the Fire Nation will be a great place for Aang to find a firebending teacher.

At the same time, back in Ba Sing Se, Zuko is not feeling his best. In Uncle's new apartment above the new teashop, Zuko lay ill. He has a very high fever, and feels worse than he's ever felt. It was unlike any sickness he had ever felt before.

Uncle, sitting next to the poor young man, laid a cool cloth on Zuko's head. "There, that will help bring your fever down."

"Uncle, what is wrong with me? Why do I feel like this?" Zuko managed to say with a hoarse voice.

"Zuko, your mind is conflicted with itself. For some reason, there are two forces fighting through your body, and your mind cannot decide which one to side with. You must fight this one out Zuko, there is no medicinal cure for this."

"But what caused it, Uncle? Why now?"

Uncle sighed. "I don't know, my nephew. I don't know. Do not worry, though. Get some rest. Your mind will work to heal while you sleep." The young man closed his eyes and slowly fell back asleep. However, the wise Uncle Iroh new exactly why the young man was conflicted. He just hoped he would choose the right path…

*Chapter One*

A day later, Zuko began to feel better. Uncle noticed a change in him. He had never seen such a positive, almost happy Zuko. He almost seemed content with his noticed the change, too. He felt happier, but nothing had actually changed. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt …free.

The next day, while walking to the nearby farm stand to buy ingredients for dinner, he figured out exactly what it was. A poster on a billboard in the center of the square caught his eye. It was a wanted poster. Zuko's heart sank, his body felt on fire as passion swelled inside him. He felt as though he was suddenly being watched.

The poster of the young man with a marking on his face was staring at him. Reminding him of his whole life's journey.
But it wasn't a wanted poster of him.
It was one for the Avatar, put out by the Dai Li.

Zuko knew why he felt better. He hadn't thought of the Avatar in a few days. That was a long time, considering he'd been hunting him for almost a year. And a few days ago… he had helped the Avatar. He had helped him escape. By freeing his flying bison, he enabled him to escape the Dai Li and Azula. Azula hadn't even known Zuko was under the city.
Imagine what would've happened had they caught up with each other...

Zuko shook the thoughts from his head. He didn't want to think about Azula, or the Fire Nation, or anything from his homeland.

This must be what Uncle was talking about. Zuko suddenly felt so confused by his feelings. He still felt that freeing the bison was the right thing to do, but he still wanted the avatar hand delivered to his father. He still wanted that, right? And since when did he "do the right thing"? His mind was a cluttered mess. His instincts told him that what he had done was good, but he wanted his father's love, and the respect of his country.

He quickly realized that he needed to go back to his room and meditate. Hopefully he could sort things out. One thing was for sure: he could not stay in Ba Sing Se. He got the things on Uncle's shopping list, paid, and went back to the apartment, nonsense swirling through his mind.

That night, after Uncle had closed the teashop and came up to the apartment, he sensed something in Zuko. When the young prince had returned from his errand run, he had requested the night off, saying that he wasn't feeling well and needed to sit and think for a while. Uncle knew what was coming.
He walked to Zuko's room, and peered in.

The boy was dressed from the waist down. He was sitting in the center of the room, meditating, facing the open window.

"Uncle," he suddenly spoke. The old man was surprised at how sharp he had become.

"Yes, Prince Zuko. How are you feeling?"

Zuko sighed. He broke his position of meditation and relaxed his shoulders. He turned to face the door behind him.
"I don't know Uncle. I feel like I need to do something. Like I have to…" He faltered, "I don't know."

Uncle understood. "That is your destiny calling you, my nephew. It is calling out to you. Listen to it."
Uncle walked into the room and kneeled next to the banished prince. Zuko turned away.

"Yeah, well I wish destiny would be a little clearer about what the hell I'm s'posed to do."

Uncle sighed. So his temper was back. Uncle knew what the answer to his next question was.
"What do you feel that you need to do, Prince Zuko?"

Zuko looked at his Uncle, met his eyes, and then frowned. He looked away.

"I feel like… like I have to leave. Like I must leave Ba Sing Se. Like I should be doing," Zuko hesitated, "…something else."

Uncle Iroh sighed. Zuko felt guilty. He knew what that "something" was, but he knew Uncle wouldn't approve.

"I'm sorry Uncle. I know what we have here is great. I know we have begun a new life. But I just feel like I'm supposed to do this. And with wanted posters of me everywhere, I just feel it would be better if I was to leave. You would never have any trouble with your tea shop."

Uncle nodded. He was still the changed, new Zuko. Otherwise, he wouldn't have apologized. Uncle was happy that there was still hope for the right path to be chosen. "I know you, Prince Zuko. I also know you are meant for a much greater destiny than a bus boy at a teashop. I also know that the "something" you seek is to resume your search for the Avatar. I knew this was coming."

Zuko winced. The old man always knew everything, somehow.

"Uncle, I know you don't agree. I just feel like I have to. Its not even like I want to. I'd rather stay here with the tea shop and move on.. But I just feel like …I need to."

"You are wrong Prince Zuko," Uncle said, standing up. "I do believe that you should find the Avatar."
Zuko looked up at the once great general, with curiosity. . "However, when you reach him, I believe that your actions should be different. Now, get some rest, we will discuss your plans tomorrow morning."

With that he turned and stood. He left the room, leaving Zuko more confused than ever. What did he mean "my actions should be different."

Zuko spent what felt like forever, lying on his bed on the floor, staring at the ceiling. All that night Zuko dreamt of contemplation and confusion. He dreamt of Azula and Uncle battling over control of his mind, telling him who was right and wrong, what he should do. Uncle wanted him to live a new life away from royalty and corruption. One of happiness and peace. Azula wanted him to restore his honor by destroying the Avatar. He woke up and shoved the thoughts out of his mind.

Please, can I just have normal, quiet, dreamless, sleep.

But it would not come. He dreamt of himself fighting the Avatar. He woke up after the fight, clearly not happy with the winner.
Except, that was a problem: he was the winner. Zuko defeated the Avatar, and he woke up with a fright. He could not bring himself to contemplate why he'd been woken up feeling guilty when his most desired action was realized. He could not understand why, when he had defeated the Avatar, it had felt so wrong to wake up thinking he had finally won, and his honor was restored.

It took the prince a long time to fall asleep after that one. It was almost considered early morning rather than late at night by the time he fell asleep. And his next dream wasn't much better. He dreamt that the Fire Lord was fighting Uncle. The Fire Lord was winning, and Uncle was hurt badly. The Fire Lord had burned him in the center of chest. Uncle lost his ability to redirect lightening. Zuko watched Uncle run from the king. He wanted to shout out to him, to remind him how, but it was like he wasn't present. He was watching, wasn't actually there. The Fire Lord continued to chase the once great General. Suddenly, he was seeing things through Uncle's eyes. His gaze looked up at his attacker, who was preparing a powerful streak of lightening. Uncle bowed his head, and then looked back up toward his attacker. Zuko saw the Fire Lord's face, and found himself shouting "Noooo!" at the top of his lungs. He could not believe what he saw. He opened his eyes to find himself sitting up in bed, his arm reaching for something. ...Had he screamed out loud?

He heard rustling from beyond the doorway of his room, and Uncle came rushing in. "Zuko?"

Apparently he had screamed. And, relieved to see his uncle not hurt in the least, he sighed.

"I'm fine Uncle." He placed his hands in his face. He hated himself for letting his eyes well up with water. He pulled at his long, shaggy hair. His dream was the worst he'd ever had. He wanted to block it out of his mind forever. Uncle walked to Zuko, and knelt next to him.
"It is alright, my nephew. Dreams are just dreams. Our minds can not control them."
But he couldn't look his uncle in the eye. Not after what he'd just seen. He couldn't get the image out of his mind…his own image.

When Uncle had looked up into his attacker's eyes, Zuko saw not his father's face, but his own. He had attacked his only friend, and laughed at his pain. He had intended to kill the only person that still believed he was worth something.

A few hours later, Zuko was talking with Uncle about his intentions. He needed to fix whatever was going on in his mind. And finding the Avatar seemed to be what his mind wanted. Uncle agreed.

"I am coming with you," he said.
"Uncle, you don't have to. You have everything you want here. You don't need to be bothered by babysitting me anymore. I can take care of myself." Zuko said. He hadn't said it harsh; he truly didn't want to waste Uncle's time.

"Zuko, I am not a babysitter. I am your friend. I only want to help you. I am going."

Zuko bowed his head, and vertically placed his open palm on top of his closed fist near his chest. He bowed to his Uncle, thanking him.

**Chapter Two**

"We are close to the Avatar. I know it; I can feel it! I don't know how, but he is somewhere around this village. I'm going to go look for him."

"Zuko, we are now in the Fire Nation. You cannot go around in pure daylight, searching for him. We are wanted men. You can only go out at night, and make sure no one sees you. Everyone knows who you are in this area of the world, and will have no problem recognizing you."

Zuko, who was perched on the edge of a cliff, stared off into the distance. He had been standing there since the early morning. The cliff ledge was where their camp had been for the past few days. It was out of sight and well hidden.

He stared off into the grimy, factory-poisoned river. The village in the middle seemed like a good place to start searching. But, Uncle was right. He couldn't just waltz through the town. There'd be posters of him all over, just like in Ba Sing Se.

"You're right Uncle. I will search at night."

"Good. Now get some rest since you will not be getting much sleep tonight."

Zuko gave an appreciative nod, and walked toward his tent.

"Oh, Zuko. One more thing..." Uncle said. Zuko turned to face him. "Have you decided what you will do when you meet the Avatar?"

Zuko huffed. "No, Uncle! Please stop asking!" and stormed into his tent.

He was very grateful that Uncle had insisted in coming along. Yes, the old man would slow him down. But he helped more often than not, and was the person to turn to with all of these conflicts going through his soul right now. Although he kept asking about the Avatar.
He knew what everyone thought he should do. He should capture the Avatar, bring him to Father, and restore his honor. But what good would that do?
Since when do I care about what "good" is done?

He flopped onto his bed. Why? Why must everything be so difficult? He couldn't deny how he had felt after his dream in which he killed the Avatar. He felt horrible, and wrong. After all the effort and training he'd put forth into chasing and defeating the Avatar, was he seriously considering just... giving up? While they were traveling the other day, the thought of joining the Avatar had crossed his mind. It was like a mental slap in the face. It just wouldn't happen. It was the most ridiculous idea he'd ever thought in his life.

Besides...they'd never trust me anyway.

***Chapter Three***

This was our third night staying near this village. This disgusting, polluted, unfortunate village. And my second night as "The Painted Lady." I know I'm giving the villagers false hope, but they're starving! It was the very least I could do to give them a few pieces of food on each doorstep. I was just giving them some food, and curing the sick or injured with some water bending.

And tonight was no different. I had a little food on me that I'd stolen from the factory. The disgusting, river polluting factory. I have never in my life wanted something destroyed so badly… except maybe, the man who killed my mother. But that was a different story. I bended my way from the shores to the village where I began to tip-toe through the small town, placing little baskets of food at different doors of homes as she went.

Maybe tonight was different… I can feel something in the air…

Suddenly, the feeling went sour. I almost felt like I was being watched. I hadn't heard anything, but I truly did not feel alone. I quickly hid in the shadows waiting and watching for any sign that would show the presence of another.

I was behind a house. I heard nothing, so I turned my head around the corner. The moon shone brightly on the village...Maybe this wasn't the best night to be in cognito. I scanned the area around me, searching...

Something caught my eye: I spotted a dark figure on the roof of a house. It couldn't see me from where I was. Suddenly, the figure turned his head and I caught sight of its face in the bright moonlight. I gasped.

The Blue Spirit. The one who freed Aang when General Zhao had captured him! Aang had told her about him, though, when he was describing the end of the story, he suddenly stopped...
What was he doing here? Was he following the group? ...he couldn't really be a spirit... Could he?

Unexpectedly, The Blue Spirit turned towards me. I knew he didn't know who I was, but I was still afraid. If he found out who I was, he'd know the Avatar was around here... That could be good or bad.
I turned back around the corner, my face out of sight. My heart was beating so fast. I didn't know what to do. How could I escape? He'd see me, wouldn't he? Or maybe he didn't see me...

She turned as quietly as she could around the corner of the house again; as little as she could, so she could see the Blue Spirit. But the spot on the roof where he was standing was now vacant. Where could he be? Katara looked around, on other rooftops, on the ground, in the shadows, being very careful not to move anything but her eyes. She couldn't find him.

Without warning, a strong hand clasped over my mouth, and another grabbed my hands. They were very, very warm. Almost on fire.

"Who are you?" a deep voice spoke.

I was spun around and was now mask to mask with the Blue Spirit. I'm sure my eyes were huge. I felt nothing but fear.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I don't want to," he paused, and examined me. He looked at my face through the veil, and I hoped he had no idea who I was. Thank god for the face make-up.
"When I release my hand, please, don't scream," The Blue Spirit whispered. I nodded. His hand slowly fell from my face. I took a deep breath. Just tell him who you are, Katara. She needed this to be convincing… Another deep breath:

"I am the Painted Lady. I guard this little village and the people who live in it," I said. I tried to changed my voice a little, made it higher, just in case.

"You're not doing a very good job. This village is disgusting and falling apart." I let my head fall, just slightly, even thought it wasn't my fault the village was like this. But I wasn't really helping them either.

"I know. It's not under my control," I said, glancing toward the factory. The Blue Spirit did the same, and then returned his gaze to me, and nodded understanding. I had seen wanted posters of the Blue Spirit before, but seeing the mask up close and in my face was more alarming than you'd think. Then the thought came to me - I shouldn't know who the Blue Spirit is.
"And who are you?" I quickly asked.

"I am the Blue Spirit." Duh. I sighed, playing along.

"And what do you guard, Blue Spirit?" I was eager for the answer, to learn if he knew about where Aang and everyone else was... But the Blue Spirit looked away, like he was ashamed.

"I don't know. I guess I'm a wandering spirit. I'm… searching for my purpose." The once angry and alarming voice was now soft and honest. I could've sworn that I knew the voice from somewhere. But I couldn't place it. There was no way this was a real spirit. Just like me.

She examined him, and he examined her. There was a tension in the air, but not one of danger. A tension that was more like both very human beings knew that neither of them where spirits. But neither of them could bring themselves to say it.
Katara was able to see more and more details in the mask, it was definitely a mask. She saw the eyes behind the mask... Beautiful, fire amber eyes, and for a reason she could not place, one seemed darker than the other. Noticing that her increased level of vision was due to the sun rising, she realized she had to go. She couldn't be seen by any of the villagers, let alone with another strange spirit. What drama that would cause, she thought.

Katara looked at his eyes once more and said, "I'm sorry. I have to go. People will be awake soon. I can't have the villagers seeing me."

The Blue Spirit processed her words, and looked around. He nodded, released his one-handed grip from her wrists, and stepped back.

"Goodbye," Katara said, and swiftly walked over to the edge of the dock a few feet away. She waved her arms, and a pedestal of ice appeared in the water. She stepped onto it, waved her arms again, and began to move away.

When she glanced back at the dock, she looked for the Blue Spirit, but he was already gone.

A/N: SO! Chapters 1-3 are complete. Obviously you can see that the story has changed direction and both parties are now in the village where "the painted lady" episode took place. So, if one of your questions is "Well how did they both end up there?" The answer is: They just did.
Any other questions, comments, whatever, please review!

xo Dana
Chapters 4-6 will be up shortly. please review [: