Warning: If you have anything against Zutara, do not read on. I don't want any reviews going: Kataang 4evah! Kataang, the otp! Or even, This is crap! Katara would nevah take Zuko ovah Aang.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, nor do I pretend to.

Three years ago…

A lone figure skirted the side of the wall, dancing in and out of the shadows. Her leather bound feet cracked the dry grass around her as she progressed, blue robe standing painfully out against the browns of the wall and ground. Finally, however, she let out a sigh of relief as sparkling water came into view. She ran to it, waded into the shallows, and raised her hand. The liquid snaked up the strong, metal bars, freezing them, and with a kick, they shattered, allowing the girl to slip into the small tunnel, doing the same thing at the other side. As soon as she stepped into the city, glancing about for any members of the Fire Nation, her world went black.

In the very center of the same city, a young man jerked awake, yellow eyes narrowing. As his hand tightened into a fist, flames erupted from it, snaking up his arm. He rose out of bed, walking barefoot to the door and swinging it open, jumping into the hallway with both arms extended and hands fisted. Tendrils of fire sparking around his arms, flicking outward to the air beyond. His yellow eyes surveyed the darkness warily, before relaxing his stance, flames disappearing save for a thin tendril that wound around his left arm. Sighing slightly, he turned towards the door and pain erupted at the base of his skull, sending him into welcomed darkness.

The disappearance of these two upset the balance of power between the Avatar and Azula. During the dark sun the Avatar managed to kill Ozai and deplete the vast stores of Fire Nation, however, Azula managed to hold off the enranged Avatar, seeing as his anger destroyed his common sense. During the comet's passing, the Fire Nation's retaliation left the Water and Earth kingdoms weak. For the past three years, the nations have begun to rebuild their forces, preparing for the attack inevitable in the absenses of two benders that may have the power to turn the battle one way or another. Azula and Aang's forces are evenly matched, and even the slightest shift of balance can win or loose the war for either side. Search attempts for the two have diminished, and almost all hope for their recovery is forgotten. Instead, each side blames the other for their disappearance, and in some cases, death.

Chapter One

Price of Freedom

Deep beneath the ruins of Old Ba-Sing-Se is another structure that time has forgot. It is the ancient city of the Bai-Lon mages who's kind was thought to have died out hundreds of years before the first Avatar. They were people with limited control over the elements, and could even heal without the presence of water. However, in the time of the first benders they were killed by the combined forces of the Fire and Water nations.

Beneath the bustling city with soldiers rushing to random parts of the city for protection, to dispel fights, and to fight against random Fire Nation attacks on the walled city was a forgotten city bustling with almost the same activity. Many people moved from the lower parts of the city into the upper, eventually emerging in Old Ba-Sing-Se under the guise of the Di-Li. Deep within the confines of this city lay a narrow corridor, its sides lined with bars made out of stone. The methodic grunts and thumps on the stone echoed throughout the otherwise silent tunnel as the darkness was lit up by licks of flame emerging from the cell. Across the way sat a young girl, not even flinching when the flames came within two feet from her. Her bright blue eyes were focused on the flashing figure in the cell in front of her, entranced by his rhythmic dance involving stomps, kicks, punches, and turns. Every time his foot or hand extended the molecules of the around him superheated, sending flames shooting forward at his command.

They had been like this for almost three months, trapped in these cells with only enough nourishment to keep them living. However, the fire bender always found the strength to dance through his forms every day at almost the same time. It was a monotonous routine, but it was one that kept their minds active, kept them from falling into the insanity that threatened to consume them every day.

With a sigh the girl got up, pushing her matted brown hair out of her face. The boy across from her stopped his dance, yellow eyes visible even in the faint light. She could still see the stoic expression that had been illuminated on his face, and smiled lightly at it. He didn't return the smile, as was expected, but she saw his face relax and her smile brightened. There were two things that kept her going in this hell hole: The hope of getting the angsty Fire-Prince to smile, and the thought of the water she would be privy to once escaping.

A longing sigh escaped her lips as she walked over to the bars, leaning on them and extending her arm out. On the other side, Zuko mirrored her actions and their fingers brushed together. What others would call a loving gesture, Katara found just the simple joy of being able to touch another human being the most rewarding thing in this pit. Another sigh escaped her lips, and she read amusement in Zuko's eyes.

"Its been a while."

"Yes, its rare."

Their voices were just whispers, but in the silence of late it hurt their ears to hear almost as much as it hurt their raw throats to utter the words. Katara licked her chapped lips as she stepped back into her cell. Zuko turned, sliding down against the rock bars of their cages. He stared at the back of his cell, steadying his still rapid breathing. Katara watched, waiting for the speech she knew would come from him. In the past three years the two had come able to predict each other perfectly. The slightest action that Zuko performed would allow Katara to predict his movements and attitude in the next minutes and vice versa. Such came from living under ground, tortured to the brink of death every day with your worst enemy as your only friend in the darkness.

"How much?"

Those two words spilling from the Prince's lips caused Katara to smile and with a wave of her hand, a small ball of water came out of her pouch. It was no bigger than her pinky, but it was as much as she could hide these days.

"Not nearly enough… but I expect it will be perfect after today," she said, voice falling even more. She knew Zuko had heard her though, because his head bobbed in the semi-darkness. He held up a hand, and fire burst forth from his palm, hovering to light up the darkness. Katara watched as the teen turned to look over his shoulder, narrowed eyes surveying the water before he let his hand drop, flame extinguishing.

"As soon as they leave, we go?"

"Our last chance I believe."

"True…"

As if an alarm had sounded, Katara and Zuko fell quiet, eyes turning towards the entrance of the corridor. For five minutes they sat in stillness until the door creaked open allowing three men in Earth Kingdom uniforms to enter bearing a lantern, a glass of water for each of them, and some bread. Zuko greedily reached for his water, downing it with several gulps, before wiping his chin. Katara, however, merely grasped the earthen cup and sipped like a lady should, blue eyes boring hatefully into the man in front of her. Their captor.

"How are my pets today?" he asked, voice echoing throughout the quiet chamber. There was a burst of angry flame from Zuko's cell and Katara winced at the sound of earth slamming into his stomach. However, the lack of cracking sounds allowed her to thank the Spirits none of his ribs had broken.

"I see they are as rebellious as ever," the man's eyes sparked in anger, something that Katara feared. He turned towards Zuko, brandishing his arm like a weapon, ready to invoke the earth under his control. While a mage, his medium was earth. Katara lunged forward, automatically scooping up the water left in her cup and combining it with her hidden water, flinging it out with her hand as she threw herself against the bars. The meager amount of water stretched out, sweeping the man's feet out from under him, causing a rather sharp piece of earth to emerge from the ground inches away from the still recovering prince. With a silent argument between Katara and Zuko, the fire bender reached his hand out, tightening his hand into a fist, and a jet of flame shot towards the mages, scattering them as they waved their hands, trying desperately to quell the flames. Katara called her water back to her, freezing parts of the bars until brittle and kicking them out. It took a little while, seeing as the water wouldn't completely cover the bars. As Zuko kept them at bay, Katara moved out of her cell, working on the bars to Zuko's far left, letting him keep the mages busy as they desperately tried to ward off his flames and summon their control over earth.

"Come on, come on," she muttered as she kicked out another portion of the bar. Finally, the work was done and Zuko stopped his attacks to make a break for it. This was the major flaw in their plan, the crucial seconds where Zuko couldn't keep the earth benders busy in order to escape. Three times they had called up the bars again, punishing the two brutally later. Katara knew she still had the scars and more than likely Zuko did too. However, luck was on their side this day, for Zuko managed to shove his way out just as the earthbenders started closing the cell. The stone bars nicked his skin as he ducked out, but a flame sent at the mages remedied that, for they were flitting about trying to put out their clothes. Katara kept her small bit of water wrapped securely around her hand as she turned on heel, forcing her tired and battered body to move. Amazingly, they encountered no one, and the patter of the mage's feet soon grew softer and softer as they ran. The teens had the element of youth on their side, even if their bodies were broken and tired.

Soon, they emerged into a dimly lit tunnel, causing them to shield their eyes against the glare. Katara's gaze was drawn to something sparkling on the ground and with a hoarse cry of delight, she stumbled toward it. Zuko reached out to pull her back, but one look at the thing some distance off stayed his hand and a smirk crossed his face. It seemed luck really was on their side today.

Katara had reached the river running in the middle of the cave and had thrown herself into the welcoming water when the first mages stumbled into the room, hesitant to face the firebender in his ready stance and the euphoric water bender. Finally, they slammed their feet down, causing earth to rise in front of them, and then their bodies turned, kicking the earth and launching it like missles at the two escaped prisoners. Zuko shot two of the earth globules out of the air before his flame faultered, pain gripping his still bruised abdomen and lack of nutrtition sapping his energy sources.

However, as the Prince fell forward, water whipped over his head, knocking the earth away. As Zuko turned his yellow eyes towards Katara, he smirked once more.

She was approaching, water trailing behind her as it engulfed her arms, extending outward a good ten feet. Her eyes were blazing and a satanic smile crossed her features. Zuko couldn't blame her, he would have felt the same way if he had just reclaimed his bending abilities. He watched with respect as she waterwhipped the men out of the way and jumped as water snaked around his waist, pushing him to his feet. She was next to him in the blink of an eye, offering him a tired wink as she raised her arm. The water pushed them upward, freezing the ground above them so that they could break through with just a couple of bruises. It took a while on the second level, for the lake was above them, but Katara found the water's presense on the other side comforting, and in no time they were above ground, watching the water flow into the hole they had created. Already they could see the water going down and several Di-Li emerging via earth bending on the other side of the lake.

Katara flung herself down, basking in the suns rays. Zuko was beside her, squinting as his head spun, trying to accustom himself to the light. He watched the Di-Li on the other side cautiously, but none seemed to see them. Finally, it hit him as he looked over to the nearly passed out Katara.

They were free.