SOJOURN IN SOLITUDE

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar. That is that.

AN: A plot that has been floating in my subconscious ever since I saw Crossroads of Destiny and it bubbled up to the surface of my brain again. I can't resist it now. Don't expect anything great. But reviews will always be welcome. Thanks. Read on.

CHAPTER ONE

"That's something we have in common."

Katara looked up from her weeping and wiped a tear from her eye. This was the last thing she expected to hear from Zuko, Prince of the Fire Nation, Aang's enemy, her enemy.

She turned around and gave a puzzled glance at his silent figure. He certainly looked different from the last time she saw him, in the abandoned town when all of them had attacked Azula. Come to think of it, she was surprised he even stood by their side in that fight. But when she tried to help him by offering to heal his uncle, he had refused angrily. The jerk had even blasted fire at them.

Zuko would never change, she thought now, and I can't trust him. But looking at him again, she began to have her doubts. It certainly had been quite a while since he had last chased them. Their last bitter encounter had been at the North Pole and now that chapter seemed ancient. So many things had happened to them already. With a glance at his Ba Sing Se garb, long hair, and his disinclination to attack her, she knew that he had gone through a lot as well. Although why he worked in a tea shop was beyond her imagination. But then again, destiny can be very creative.

She thought about what he had said. He had actually apologized. Katara could hardly believe that the words "I'm sorry" were in the Fire Prince's vocabulary. What had followed was even more shocking. How could he even think that they had something in common? The preposterousness of the idea was almost funny.

But then doubt clawed at her again as she took in consideration his earnest tone and the calm expression on his face. She had never known him to be capable of such gentleness. For so long, her mental profile of him was that of an angry, ruthless, relentless, and violent foe. But now, things were beginning to change.

He had his back to her. She remembered what she had said to him earlier, all her bitter accusations and insults. Now, she felt a little guilty. After all, it wasn't in her nature to harbor such rage. She stood up, took a few steps forward, ready to apologize when a loud explosion occurred in the crystals where she had been standing only moments before.

Katara gasped and looked wide-eyed at the place where there were now sharp bits of crystals protruding from the ground. She could have been chopped into pieces if she had lingered there a little longer.

Zuko had also risen and was now looking at the area of the explosion with an expression of alarm. Unintentionally, they moved closer together, both afraid of another near-death experience. As they gazed at the broken crystals, the Waterbender and Firebender noticed greenish fumes emanate from the explosion site.

Before she could investigate, Zuko pushed her aside and stood in front of her blocking her from the fumes. He aimed a tiny fire blast at the air and instantly the gases turned blood red. He frowned.

"It's poisonous," he said, "we have to get out of here quickly."

"But how?" Katara asked. "I don't have any water to bend with and I'll bet if you try to blast your way out, there will only be more fumes."

"I know," Zuko said softly but his mind was busy trying to find a way out of the situation. If they stayed any longer, they would surely die. They couldn't wait for his Uncle or the Avatar to come rescue them. He had to act fast.

Katara cursed the circumstances. If only she had some water to bend. Now, she was just useless and she would have to rely on someone whom she had always considered an enemy to save their lives.

Zuko took a deep breath and felt his inner flames ignite.

"We have to stand close together so I can block the fumes," he instructed. She looked at him skeptically. Right. He was her enemy. Another explosion destroyed the crystals on her side.

With a begging look, he pleaded, "You have to trust me." Seeing her hesitation, he quickly added, "Please."

Katara nodded. She had no choice. She took a few steps closer to him as he released a huge whip of fire which enclosed them in the small space where the poisonous gases had not diffused to. Creating an enclosure of fire, blocking out all the poison, Zuko concentrated as he never had before. He had to make the flames intense enough to destroy the poisons but he also had to control the temperature so as not to hurt the girl beside him. Being a firebender, he was used to extreme heat but she was not.

Katara gazed around her in awe. She felt like she was encased in a grand, beautiful room of fire. She had seen Zuko firebend before but never to this extent. And she knew that the such a display of bending required a great amount of effort to sustain. And signs of strain were already appearing on the prince's face.

She pursed her lips. She hated being useless like this. If only they could escape. Zuko could only ward off the fumes for so long and they weren't sure that he would have gotten rid of all the poisonous gases in the vast crystal catacombs. What were they to do?

Zuko's strength was waning. He would not be able to sustain the barrier for very long. But he refused to stop. He would at least save the waterbender girl. His brows furrowed and he concentrated even more.

As he reached the furthest limit of his endurance, his mother's face came appeared in his mind. Her hauntingly beautiful eyes stared into his.

Is my whole life beginning to flash before my eyes?, he thought, but I don't want to die yet.

The figure of Ursa smiled at him and nodded, in a beckoning manner. She seemed to be standing in front of some sort of door. She opened it and made a gesture as if telling him to enter.

Seeing nothing but a blinding radiance beyond the door, Zuko fainted.

-----

The waterbender was shaking him awake.

"Zuko, Zuko," she whispered insistently, "wake up. We escaped."

"Huh?" the prince rubbed his eyes and tried to register their whereabouts.

But before he could do so, he saw a long-robed figure approach him. That same haunting gaze.

The woman smiled.

"It's been a while, nephew."

AN: Please leave a review. Thanks!