Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the show. At all. Hear that? I don't own the Avatar! No need to rub it in!

Aang, Katara and Sokka are in Omashu, and they need a Firebending Master. Zuko is still after the Avatar, and Ozai wants to finish this war. By a series of elaborate deceptions, there will be triumph, but for who?

So: This will be a Zutara fic. Dances That couple makes me so happy.. I don't know how long it will take for me to start it up (the romance, I mean,) but I will, I promise you.

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Having mastered Airbending, Waterbending, and Earthbending, the young Avatar had yet one more monumental task before him. It was early summer, and he still hadn't found a firebending master to teach him. Of course, one doesn't exactly find master firebenders by living in the Earth Kingdom capital, but all three of the trio were hesitant to leave for one reason or another. All of them seemed to be dreading the unavoidable departure, because leaving meant that they had to venture out and chase after firebenders, for a change. Jeong Jeong had long since disappeared, and Aang was reluctant to try and teach himself the temperamental element because of the previous experience he had gone through. Her terrified face was a constant reminder to him whenever he saw fire- he wasn't all too eager to begin mastering the element, even though the world's fate might hinge upon it. So, there the boy sat, slumped against the dusty wall of the Earth Kingdom Palace. Staring at the ground, he wondered how much longer they could possibly put off leaving, for Summer was taking a strong hold. He shifted uncomfortably, brushing stray dust of his tunic, and trailing his fingers in the dirt that surrounded him, and soon settled with his arms crossed and resting on his drawn-up knees. Gazing pensively into space, Katara's presence went completely unnoticed to him, and he continued sighing and staring, until she decided to make her presence known with a loud "Ahem!"

"Something's bothering you Aang, what is it?"

"I don't know if I'm ready to master firebending yet.."

"Why not? You're the Avatar, Aang! You've just mastered Waterbending AND Earthbending in the span of a few short months! Of course you can handle firebending!" She said in a light voice, trying to cheer him up.

"But remember what Jeong Jeong said? If you can't control fire, it will destroy everything. I couldn't control it, I burned you!" Aang quietly replied.

Katara looked into his gray eyes, seeing the genuine anxiety and doubt he felt. "Aang, you have much better control now- you can't worry over something that happened a long time ago. You are the Avatar, and mastering Firebending is part of your job. I know that you are more than capable of doing this!"

Talking to Aang, and trying to cheer him up was mainly what she did these days, along with practicing her Waterbending. Sokka was off who-knows-where, flirting with any girl who so much as looked at him, and training to become a better warrior. As much as she enjoyed poking fun at his abilities, he had improved drastically. Of course, there had been boys who looked at her too, but she still felt a little wary of all of them after her experience with Jet. As a result, she came off as rather cold to any boy who so much as asked her the time of day; but it wasn't for her to worry about. She could practice Waterbending as much as she wanted, and of course there was always Aang to hang out with, when he wasn't training to be the Avatar. Their lives had been quiet, and undisturbed, which was exactly what Katara found extremely unnerving. She had gotten so used to being constantly pursued by Prince Zuko and his portly uncle, that she found the absence of their attacks strange and unfamiliar. It was almost worse; because at least before she knew what to expect. Now, they could appear at any time, and so she kept her guard up. Perhaps this was unnecessary, considering the tight security of Omashu, but being alert was better than being captured or, dead. She knew they'd be discovered in Omashu eventually, and she would be ready. Oh, would she be ready.

"I guess you're right, Katara." Aang airbended himself off the ground into a standing position, flinging dust all over Katara in the process. "Let's go have something to eat, I'm starving."

Brushing herself off and mumbling to herself about Airbenders, she and Aang walked into the Palace.

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"Perhaps we should try searching for him in Omashu, Prince Zuko." Iroh suggested to his nephew as he sipped his Ginseng tea noisily, and pausing momentarily to catch his breath.

"No, Uncle!" The prince snapped angrily. "It's too obvious, he would never hide there, that city attracts way to much attention. He'll be in a small, rural earthbending town, hiding in a peasants hut, and we are going to find him."

"If you insist. Although, I must admit I am rather tired of traipsing through the country all the time. Just think of the comforts that a big city would have.."

The Prince growled incoherently at his Uncle, and continued walking. They would find the Avatar, and they would do it his way. Of course, his way was taking a little longer than he'd expected. They had searched town after town in rural areas, demanding if the Avatar had been seen (well, Zuko did the demanding part,) with no success. Perhaps his uncle was right? The thought tortured Zuko for the rest of their brisk walk, because, after all, he hadn't seen the Avatar since the North Pole. He cursed himself for failing to capture the Avatar for the thousandth time that week, and grew angrier still. Was he doomed to failure?

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