Thank you LauraJenCC and all of my followers, this has been really fun writing all of the different view points of the Gaang! Katara is so awesome and strong, I hope you enjoy! :)

Her mother stood before her, smiling, and beckoning her over to the hut. The smoke from the chimney was comforting, it meant warmth and food. She ran as fast as her little legs would take her, but she was not quick enough. The hut was fading into the distance, along with her pleading mother.

"Mom, please!" She wailed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Don't leave me."

Katara's outstretched hand grasped for her mother despite the length between them, but she was already consumed by the darkness. It swallowed everything whole with Katara in the midst of it.

Suddenly, Aang was beside her, yelling out her name. "I'm here," she said, placing a hand on his face. "Don't you see me? I'm right here!"

His eyes were terrified, looking off into the distance for something that wasn't there. "She's gone," Aang said with a voice so hurt it made her heart ache. "But I'll find her. Even if it kills me."

Gasping, Katara awoke to find only more darkness. Her hands and feet were bound to the chair she sat in, along with a blindfold that prohibited her vision.

She struggled against the bindings, then stopping in fear when she sensed someone next to her. "So, the pretty waterbender awakes. I was wondering when you'd stop with the screaming nightmares, they were really starting to annoy me."

"Who are you?" she asked to the voice. "Why do you have me bound?"

The man chuckled. "So many questions, but so few answers I can give. The reason you are bound is to prevent any sort of bending. I know how powerful you are, Katara, and I couldn't possibly take any risks."

Katara was silent for a moment. "At least remove my blindfold so I can see who I am talking to."

"A sensible request," the man said. "I am willing to oblige, and eager to see those pretty blue eyes of yours."

It was nearly as dark in the small, square room. But as her eyes had adjusted, Katara was now able to see the man beside her. He was tall and muscular, his face hidden like a coward beneath a mask. His hand stroked her cheek after removing the cloth, causing her to snap her head away. "Don't you dare."

"My apologies, I simply couldn't resist. You are exquisitely radiant, my dear. It is no wonder the Avatar fell for you." Behind the slits of the mask she could see his dark and cold eyes grow hungry. "You have proved very valuable. Avatar Aang would do anything for his love, maybe even die for her."

Her stomach was now an empty pit, filling with fear; but she could not let him relish in terrorizing her. Katara would be fierce and unwavering to not give him the satisfaction. "Why would you try to lure a fully-realized Avatar into your pathetic attempt of a trap? Aang will crush you into pieces."

"Your threats are empty and useless against me. My fortress is strong, and my men even stronger." The man shrugged. "And besides, would he dare to fight me when I have his precious love tied up with a knife against her throat? I don't think so."

She shook her head, disgust filling her voice. "What do you hope to gain from imprisoning the Avatar? The war's over. You are stupid and selfish for instigating this unnecessary violence." Her skin boiled with rage, the metal taste of her tongue only added fuel to the fire. Within her mind, Katara could feel the man's heart beat, the blood that ran through his veins. She willed herself to control it, to possess the man to untie the ropes that bound her with his own knife.

"Gah-," he garbled out, feebly trying to resist. His will was pitifully weak, just as his endeavor to use Katara as a trap for Aang.

Once she was free, Karara focused her bending on the jugular in his throat, lifting him up from the ground. "Does Aang know I'm here?"

The man was visibly grimacing beneath his ugly mask. "He was sent coordinates to a. . . neutral location. That was where we would. . . ambush him." His words were guttural and forced from her grip.

Her fist clenched, preventing blood from flowing to his head. The man started go slack and pass out, but Katara let go of him. His body fell to the floor weakly. "I should kill you, but you're not even worth the effort."

His sickening laugh almost made Katara regret her decision. "Azula was right - you do believe anything you're told." Then, he uttered one last cough, and slumped completely to the hard floor, his heart beating no more.

The silence pressed against Katara. It pulled against her spine and flipped her stomach. Had she heard correctly? Did the man say that name, the name that had haunted her for years?

Right now, she didn't care. All Katara wanted was to get out of this place and safe in the embrace of Aang. But there was no way out. The walls were made of rock, and there was no door. Sweat poured down her neck, reminding her that she could use that as a bendable. Slash after slash, Katara pounded away at the rock, becoming more and more desperate when her attempts were evidently futile.

Her abdomen started to burn, causing her to clench over in pain. Hugging her stomach, Katara slid to the floor against the wall and cried. She cried in frustration, anger, fear, and desperation. There's no way I'm going to die down here, she told herself, but the encouragement was empty.

Aang would come. He would rescue her, like he always had.

"There's a pretty side to metalbending too, you know," Toph said with a grin to Izo, who was trying to construct himself armor plating similar to her's. "It's not just all destroy and crush, but also building and welding too."

His hands stopped folding the hot steel for a moment. "Is that why they're making you build the city? They obviously seen what you can do with metal." He sighed. "I mean, I can't even get this steel to be as smooth as yours! How do you do it?"

She could sense him by the furnace, his body against the ground was firm and strong. Toph imagined his body to be muscular, and she couldn't help but weakly smile. "The trick is to be gentle with it. If you want to make something as polished as armor plating, you have to treat it as such." Toph gently bended the already shaped metal and refined it.

"Amazing," he said, taking a moment to place it in the water for it to cool. Once it was ready for him to wear, Izo placed it on his chest. "Wow - I don't know what to say other than you're extraordinary, Toph."

Toph kept her face towards the floor. "I don't let just any student make their own armor, so I guess it's not fitting to call you that anymore. Izo, you're officially a metalbender."

He bowed to her, and then the touch of his hand on her face was overwhelming. "Thank you, for everything."

She leaned up on her tiptoes to where Toph sensed his lips, pressing her own against them. The kiss was sweet, and she never wanted it to end, but in the distance she could hear the roar of Appa. Toph knew immediately it was Aang and broke their kiss to venture outside one of her Academies just outside Ba Sing Se.

The thud of Appa's feet was evident to someone without her capabilities. Although, she doubted anyone would be able to detect twinkle toes' light footsteps. "Hey, Aang," she called to him. "I'd like you to meet another one of my metalbenders, Izo."

She could sense Izo standing next to her, the feeling was comforting. "It is an honor to meet you, Avatar Aang."

Aang's voice was tense, and right away Toph knew something was really wrong. "Nice to meet you, Izo, but I'm afraid I must speak with Toph in private."

"Of course," he said, bowing to Aang and giving Toph an affectionate squeeze on the shoulder. She could still feel the spot where his hand had been long after he was gone.

"What's up, Aang? You don't seem like yourself," she said while patting Appa's furry side.

"Katara is gone," Aang said quietly, the grief thick in his words. "She hasn't been seen since yesterday, and I'm losing my mind."

Toph knew how Aang felt about Katara, they were so close and lovey-dovey it almost made her sick, but now she realized that her relationship with Izo was similar. Imagining if Izo was lost made her dizzy just thinking about it. "I'll help you however I can, Aang. I'll have all my students looking for her if needed. We'll find her."

He sniffed. "Thank you. . . I-I appreciate it."

"I'm guessing you don't have any leads, then?" Toph asked, eager to get Aang motivated to prevent him from crying.

Aang pulled out what sounded like a piece of paper. "I received this with a hawk early this morning. It was a ransom note and a location where they were holding her, but I've already scoured the area. There was no one there."

Toph jutted out her lips in concentration. "Where was this at?"

"Just outside the Inner Wall, by Lake Laogai."

Toph put two and two together with the snap of her finger. "Do you think these people are wanna-be's?"

"Excuse me?" He asked, clearly confused. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Come on, Aang," she said, launching herself atop of Appa. "Take me to Lake Laogai."

Zuko grumbled as ink spilled on his robes. This letter was becoming frustrating very quickly, but he needed to meet with Aang. Republic City needed the support of the Fire Nation, and from Zuko. He wanted to help found what was to be the greatest city ever built, yet his mind still wandered. . .

His hands were shaking. Zuko didn't want to do this, not in the slightest bit. But he had made a horrible deal to see his mother again. He just hoped it was worth all the effort.

Behind the door was another cell, but these were nicer than the other prison. Here, his sister was a patient and not a prisoner. Zuko hadn't even bothered to check his sister's progress. He wanted nothing to do with her, even before his banishment.

Breathing out slowly, he opened the door to see Azula facing away from him, sitting like a stone on a large bed. "Hello, Zuzu, I was wondering when you'd pay me a visit."

"Skip the pleasantries, Azula. I'm not here to chat."

She turned to him, that smirk so similar to her father's made his body tighten. "But of course you are, Zuko. Why else would you come?"

"I came for my mother," he said, looking straight into her deranged eyes. "and you're going to help me find her."

Azula placed a hand on her chest. "You hurt me, Zuko. She's my mother too, you know."

"Stop playing your petty games. You and I both know we have something the other wants." He couldn't believe he was bartering for his mother. Zuko was instantly revolted, but pressed on.

"I'm listening."

"You give me that key to Mom's chambers, and I'll set you free."

Azula laughed. "How sweet, mother must mean so much to you." When he was silent, she finally waved her hand. "Yes, yes. The key. It's right here."

The necklace she pulled up from under her shirt had a small brass key at the end. Zuko reached out for it, but Azula held it away from him. "Now, now, dear brother, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We had a deal, remember?"