Aang sat on Appa's head, struggling to keep his eyes open. They had been traveling for two days straight now, and the young boy had yet to close his eyes. His worry for Katara was the sole thing that kept him from collapsing into slumber.

The wound on the girl's side had yet to be treated, and Aang had a sneaking suspicion that it was infected. Although Katara hadn't complained much, she hadn't been entirely lucid over the course of the day, and the worry etched onto Sokka's face only served to increase Aang's anxiety.

The boy looked back, and noticed with some relief that the girl in question was sleeping soundly against her brother's chest. Sokka hadn't moved from the spot, and surprisingly, had eaten very little since his sister's temperature started to climb. A second glance over Appa's saddle revealed that every one was sleeping, except for Zuko. As though the fire bender felt Aang's eyes on him, he whipped his head around to face Aang with a glare. Aang glared right back, and then turned around again, searching the land below him for a favorable place to land.

Aang wondered why Zuko had bothered to travel with them it all. It was obvious that he didn't want to be here, and the boy severely doubted that anyone wanted the fire nation prince around. He certainly didn't. The fire bender had betrayed them, and what's worse, he had hurt Katara. Aang could never forgive the boy for that.

"You see anything, Appa?" Aang asked the bison as he continued to scan the ground with bloodshot eyes. They had traveled over the ocean for a full day and a half, and had only just now reached land. Aang was afraid to set up camp somewhere too close to shore with Azula on their tails, so he continued to urge the bison farther inland.

Aang looked down at Momo, who was curled up beside him, clutching the bag of meat that he had stolen from Sokka several days earlier. Surprisingly, Sokka hadn't threatened to eat Momo for the act yet. He must really be worried, Aang thought, and a dread began to settle in the pit of his stomach. She'll be okay. She has to be, he attempted to console himself.

Aang took a sharp breath and closed his eyes. The twelve year old was generally optimistic, hyper, and was almost never seen without a large, crooked smile. The past week had changed that dramatically. Aang squeezed his eyes closed, determined not to worry anymore. Worrying was Sokka's job, after all.

"Aang," A voice came from the rear of the saddle, and Aang whirled around. Sokka was sitting up, cradling his sister closer to him. "We have to hurry."

Aang glanced back at the boy with wide eyes. "Is something wrong?" he demanded, thoughts of sleep suddenly miles away.

Sokka gently rested his hand against his sister's forehead and winced. "She's burning up, and we don't have any water to cool her down with." The boy met Aang's worried gray eyes with blue ones that shone with uncharacteristic fear.

Aang felt panic rising in his chest, and he gripped the reigns tighter. "Appa, yip-yip!" the boy exclaimed, scanning the ground below him with renewed fervor.

Sokka let out the breath that he'd been holding and brushed a sweaty strand of hair out of his sister's face. What he was afraid to tell Aang was that he believed Katara was no longer at the point where she could heal herself. "She shouldn't be like this so soon," Sokka muttered to himself as he continued to brush back damp strands of Katara's hair.

"The blade was poisoned," Zuko replied in monotone from where he sat, and Sokka's head jerked up, the concern on his face replaced by a dark glare. Zuko raised an eyebrow, and then glanced over Katara from his seat a few feet away. "I wasn't sure at first, but now…" Zuko shrugged and looked back out at the sky.

Sokka glanced down from Zuko to his sister and felt his chest constrict. Katara had begun to shiver, and she was pressed as closely to Sokka's warmth as she could be.

Aang heard, and felt his heart stop. "Are you sure?" he asked, his voice soft and scared. Zuko looked over the boy with distaste, but then nodded once.

"She has a high fever, I'm guessing, and she's shaking like a leaf. I can't see from over here, but she probably has a rash, and if you peel back the bandages, the area around the cut will be mottled." Zuko continued in his customary bored tone.

"How do you know all this?" Sokka demanded suspiciously, but the fear in his voice was evident.

"I grew up with Mai and Azula. Trust me, I know." Zuko then leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning his head against the side of Appa's saddle. "Do you want me to look at it?"

"No!" Sokka snapped, clutching Katara to him protectively. That…that… fire bender is not stepping within a foot of my sister! Not while I'm alive. The girl had a tendency to trust men that he didn't, and every time that happened she wound up getting hurt. He was not going to let that happen again. Ever.

Zuko shrugged. "Fine," he replied with nonchalance as he closed his eyes. "I'm sure you're perfectly capable of diagnosing fire nation poisons and that you know the remedies to them."

Sokka growled in the back of his throat and pulled the girl tighter to his chest. Zuko shrugged again, and then ignored the water tribe warrior. Once the fire bender's attention was diverted, Sokka glanced over his sister's skin and saw with no small amount of horror that a rash was spreading up her chest and down her arms.

His breath coming fast, the boy then pulled down the sides of her outer garment to reach her bandage. Carefully, he pulled the strips of cloth back, and Katara let out a small cry. "Shh," he murmured, gently stroking her forehead and the girl quieted. When Sokka glanced down at the exposed wound he saw that the skin around it was mottled pink and white, and the cut itself was turning a nasty shade of black. Carefully, he re-applied the bandage and then looked up at Aang.

"Land now! I don't care if it's out in the open, or in a field, or even on the back of a unagi! Land!" Sokka exclaimed, and the others on Appa's back slowly began to stir. Aang looked to the ground with renewed fervor.

"But we're only a few days from Ba Seng Se!" Aang protested, and Sokka stared back at him, wild eyed.

"Aang, she could die." No more needed to be said.

Iroh stirred from where he was sleeping beside his nephew and opened his bleary eyes. "What is all the commotion?" he asked Zuko, forcing his substantial bulk into a sitting position.

Zuko opened his eyes and turned to his uncle. "Mai hit the water tribe girl with a poison blade. It hasn't been treated yet, and she's running a fever."

Iroh's eyes widened and he looked to the girl. "Have the hallucinations started?" he asked lowly, and Zuko shook his head slightly.

"Not yet. I'd give it a few hours before that happens." Iroh met his nephew's eyes. They both knew the poison that Mai preferred. Once the hallucinations came, there was no guarantee of survival.

Appa lowered suddenly, and Toph was startled out of her slumber. "What are you trying to do, Twinkle Toes? Get us all killed?" the earth bender demanded angrily, pounding her fist on the side of Appa's saddle.

"Sorry, Toph," Aang apologized. "Sokka, there's a stream just ahead. Will that be okay?"

"Its water, isn't it?" Sokka snapped, and Aang pulled Appa in for a landing. Meanwhile, Sokka had begun to gently shake his sister's shoulders. "Katara, Katara, you have to wake up!" he exclaimed as he continued to shake her.

When Katara finally opened her eyes, they were dilated. "Hunh?" she managed past her swollen throat, and then winced at the pain it caused.

"We're almost to the water. Can you stay awake for just a little bit longer?" Sokka asked, ducking as a branch whizzed by his head. He turned to pin a glare on Aang, but the boy was too busy steering Appa for a quick landing to see.

Katara grimaced, and her head lolled to the side. "Katara!" Sokka exclaimed, gently slapping the girl's cheeks. Katara forced her eyes open again, and then struggled to focus on her brother. "Hey, Snow Bear. You gonna stay with me this time?"

Katara's eyes started to roll back into her head again, but she snapped back to attention and nodded ever so slightly. "Good girl," Sokka murmured, gently stroking her hair. "Aang found us a stream. Do you think you'll be able to heal yourself?" he asked, trying to hide the fear in his voice. What scared him was that Katara didn't pick up on that.

The girl managed another nod, and moaned softly at the pain the small movement caused. The second that Appa touched down, Sokka handed Katara off to Aang, who jumped down from the bison with ease and hurried the girl over to the stream. "Katara? Katara!" the boy cried, and Katara's eyes slid open again.

"Mom?" she murmured softly, and Aang's eyes widened.

"Sokka!" Aang cried, and the water tribe warrior ran over to the stream where Aang knelt with Katara in his arms. "Sokka, she's…"

"Mom, is that you?" Katara asked before Aang could continue. Sokka stared in horror down at his sister, who was looking past him with a slight smile on her face.

"Aang, go get Zuko," Sokka managed, swallowing his pride for the moment. Aang's eyes widened and he sat stock still for a moment. "What are you doing? Go!" Sokka shouted at the young air bender. Aang quickly shoved Katara into Sokka's arms, and then dashed off. "Katara!" he shouted, shaking his sister's shoulders.

Katara continued to look in the distance. "Where'd you go, Mom? I missed you." Sokka shook her harder, and then looked helplessly over to where Zuko and Iroh approached. "Are you going to stay this time?" she asked, her smile changing into a mask of worry.

"What's happening," Zuko asked as he leaned over the pair, and then noticed the look in her eyes. "Uncle!" the boy shouted, and Iroh hurried his pace, arriving red faced and out of breath. The man took in Katara's appearance with a worried frown, and then looked to his nephew.

"I'm going to see if I can find herbs to make a poultice with. Put her in the water and keep her there to bring down the fever until I come back. Understand?" Zuko nodded mutely, busily attempting to extract the girl from Sokka's iron grip. "And boil some water."

"For what?" Zuko demanded as he glared down at Sokka.

"Tea," Iroh replied simply as he hurried into the dense foliage.

"Give her to me!" Zuko exclaimed as he tugged on Katara tighter. Sokka stared down into his sister's face, and then up at Zuko before he hardened himself and willed his arms to release his sister. Once she was in Zuko's arms, the boy hurried her down to the stream and laid her down on the bottom. The water barely covered the girl's stomach, so Zuko made himself busy by splashing water over her exposed abdomen.

"What can I do?" Sokka demanded as he stepped into the water and knelt beside his sister, gently cradling her head in his lap.

Zuko continued splashing the water on the girl without looking up. "Hold her down. She'll probably start jerking soon," he replied without inflection, and Sokka paled. He gently stroked his sister's cheek with his thumb, ignoring the pain that was beginning to course through his own arm.

"Mom…"

Katara was in a field of white, but the air wasn't cold as it should be in the South Pole. The girl knelt to the ground and ran her hands over the snow only to realize that it wasn't snow at all, or ice for that matter. It was like she was in a void; a bright void, but a void nonetheless. Suddenly, a figure emerged from the light, and Katara squinted.

The shape was familiar, and the parka over the woman's body worn with use, but Katara remembered it as well as she remembered the seal skin tents of her home. "Mom?" she asked, and the figure turned to face her. "Mom, is that you?" The figure was close enough now that Katara could make out the features and her eyes welled up. The figure opened her arms, and Katara ran forward, diving into her mother's embrace.

"Katara!" the woman cried, holding her daughter closer to her body. "My baby," she whispered, gently rocking the girl back and forth. Then, she held her daughter at arm's length, and looked her over. "But you aren't a baby anymore, are you? You've become a beautiful young woman since I saw you last." The woman gently wiped the tears away from her daughter's eyes.

"Where'd you go, Mom? I missed you," Katara murmured snuggling herself into her mother's arms again. Before the woman could answer, Katara continued. "Are you going to stay this time?" Katara could feel her mother tense, and then the woman's long, graceful fingers began to stroke her child's head.

"How is Sokka?" her mother asked, as she held her daughter closer to her.

"He's the same as always," Katara managed with a slight laugh. Her mother smiled, although it was a smile tinged with sadness.

"And your father?"

"I don't know. He's been at war for the past two years." Katara paused, and breathed in her mother's familiar scent. It wasn't a beautiful one- rather; it was of firewood, animal hides, turtle seal blubber, and something entirely indistinct, but it was the smell of homecoming. "He misses you," the girl murmured, running her cheek over the soft fur of her mother's parka.

"I miss him too," her mother murmured softly, continuing to run her fingers through her daughter's hair.

"Where are we?" Katara asked after a few a time of comfortable silence, although the amount of time wasn't known. It could have been hours, or days, or only a matter of a few seconds.

"In the lights," Katara's mother replied softly, and Katara had no need to further question her. In the cold winter months, lights would shine through the sky, a beautiful dancing array of colors. It was the belief of the water tribe people that upon death, they would shift into the afterlife. Those still in the mortal sphere were given a glimpse of the after life through these lights in the sky. It was where the spirit world and the mortal world overlapped.

"Can I stay with you?" Katara asked, pulling away from her mother to look into her eyes. The woman whom Katara resembled so closely let out a shaking breath and shook her head with a gentle smile. "Why not?" Katara cried, tears springing into her eyes again.

Her mother gently cupped her face and wiped the tears away with her thumb. "You are destined for great things, greater than your father and I ever dreamed were possible." The woman smiled again, the smile that had just begun to fade from Katara's memory. "It isn't time for you to join me yet."

Tears continued to stream down Katara's face, and she buried herself in her mother's arms again. Her mother continued to rock her gently, as she had since Katara had been a baby. "But I want to," the girl murmured, reveling in the warmth of her mother's comforting arms. For five years now, it had been her job to comfort, her job to soothe the others. She had forgotten how good it felt to give her burdens over to another person; to simply curl up and cry.

"I know, sweetheart. I know."

Katara wrapped her arms tighter about her mother's neck and the two just sat there for a long period of time. "It's time for you to go,"

"No!" Katara cried, clutching her mother closer to her.

Her mother's eyes were brimming with tears as well, but the woman gently smoothed back Katara's hair and pushed the girl back slightly. "You have to, baby," she said soothingly.

"No!" Katara replied stubbornly and her mother sighed as she gently ran her hands up and down her daughter's arms.

"Oh, Katara. You have such a wonderful life ahead of you. Believe me, I've seen it," the woman paused, and then smiled again. "I know how hard it is to leave me right now, but you have so much left to do in your time alive." Katara sniffled, and her mother gently traced her daughter's features with her fingertips.

"I will always be with you, my little water bender…"

Katara felt warm lips on her forehead, and she groaned softly. "Mom?" she murmured, and then opened her eyes. The face of an anxious water tribe boy hovered over her, and Katara blinked. "Sokka!" she breathed, and smiled when she saw the worry on her brother's face dissolve into relief.

"Katara, you scared us!" he exclaimed, and yanked his sister close against his chest. Aang hurried over, and knelt beside the girl.

"Are you feeling okay?" the boy asked as he gripped the girl's hand, and Katara gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm fine. What happened to me?" Katara gently extracted herself from her brother's arms, and sat up. "Aang found a place for us to stay?" she asked as she looked around, and Sokka shook his head with a smile.

"Well, for what happened to you- Freakish dart girl hit you with a poisoned blade, and you've been out of it for a few days now."

"Wait! What about your arm?" Katara demanded, and Sokka managed a tight lipped smile.

"The fire benders helped," he admitted grudgingly, looking over to where the two were sitting a few feet away from the group gathered around Katara.

"Iroh healed you!" Aang chimed in with his trademark grin now in place since Katara was fine. Katara smiled at Aang, and then looked passed him to where the fire benders sat.

"Thank you," she said humbly, and Iroh gave her a huge smile before pouring himself a cup of tea.

"It was nothing my dear. Would you like a cup?" the old man asked, holding out a tea pot. Katara wondered absently when they had bought one, but she chose to nod instead of saying anything. Iroh stood up, stretching out old joints as he did so before walking over to Katara with a teacup in hand. The girl accepted it gratefully, and then turned to Zuko.

"How is your arm?" she asked, and Zuko's eyebrows shot up.

I would have thought she's have forgotten by now. "It's mending," he replied vaguely, and Katara frowned. She set her teacup on the ground, and then pushed herself into a standing position.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sokka demanded as he braced his sister when she faltered, but the girl shook him off. "Katara!"

"Let me see," Katara ordered, making her way over to Zuko and kneeling in front of him. Zuko looked to his uncle, who nodded, and then rolled up his sleeve. Katara gently peeled the bandages away and winces when she saw the blisters that covered his upper arm. "Sokka, get me some water," Katara ordered, and Sokka scowled.

"I'll get some!" Aang exclaimed before grabbing Katara's water pouch and dashing over to the river. He was back within a matter of seconds, and Katara smiled her thanks at the boy as he handed the pouch to her.

Katara pulled out a long strand of water and wrapped it around her hands. Zuko watched with veiled curiosity as the water glowed a turquoise color, and applied it to the burn mark. When the injury vanished nearly completely, the boy was no longer able to hide his interest.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't heal it completely," Katara apologized, probing the pink skin with her fingertips gently. "Maybe if I had gotten to it just after it happened, but…" the girl shrugged, and withdrew.

"Thanks," Zuko managed, and then looked away. Iroh watched the exchange with interest, and then he smiled down at Katara.

"It is good to see you well, my dear." He said with a smile as he gently squeezed her shoulders, and then turned to Aang. "We should probably depart now that she is awake. Azula has a three day gain on us."

Aang nodded. "Right!" He exclaimed with his trademark grin. "Just let me get Appa." Aang then dashed off, only to return under a second later. Sokka sighed. Airbenders. "Appa's gone!" Aang exclaimed, his gray eyes worried.

"Aang!" Katara exclaimed, rushing over to the boy. "It's okay. He probably just went to find some grass or something," she said, surveying the barren field before them. What she didn't know was that it had been lush and green when the gang had arrived.

"Yeah. The fluffball's a big eater," Toph agreed dryly, and Sokka rolled his eyes.

"Sure Toph, point out the obvious," he muttered, and the girl threw a pebble at his head. "That hurt!" the boy exclaimed, chucking the rock back at her. The girl dodged it and grinned.

"Missed me!"

"Enough!" Katara cut in with a swift jab of her hand, and both parties involved obeyed her. Toph stuck her tongue out at Sokka though, making him flush with anger. "I mean it," Katara warned with the tone of a scolding parent.

Sokka scowled. "Well, at least we know Katara's fine. She's back to her usual self."

"Yeah; Sugar Queen's being all motherly again," Toph added, and the two glanced over at each other with surprise that they had gotten along for once before scowling and looking away from each other obstinately.

Katara sighed. "You two children can stay here and work out your differences. Aang and I are going to go look for Appa," Katara informed her friend and her brother, resting her hand on Aang's shoulder. The boy flushed, and Katara smiled at him.

"Yeah, yeah. Go off with lover boy," Sokka muttered sinking down to the ground with a glare in the pair's direction. Aang blushed a deeper shade of red, and Katara raised her eyebrows at her brother in a 'what did I tell you about teasing him about that' kind of way. "Fine, I'm sorry!" Sokka muttered, glowering at the rebuke. Toph grinned at his discomfort, and Katara frowned.

"Please, just try to get along," she pleaded before heading off into the woods with Aang. Sokka felt Zuko's amused glance on him and he glared at the prince, who snorted and then glanced away. Iroh sighed. One moody teenager had been bad enough. The old general wondered what he had gotten himself into.

"Aang, over here!" Katara cried, lifting a large tuft of white fur from the ground. The boy's head jerked up from the foliage he'd been searching through, and he rushed over to Katara.

"This is great! The young airbender exclaimed, snatching the fur from Katara's hands and then sniffing it deeply. The boy coughed, and then pulled away with his face scrunched up in distaste. "Yep, that's Appa alright!"

Katara laughed, and then smiled as she watched Aang run around. "Look, there's more over there!" The young Avatar ran over to the next batch, and then caught sight of more. "And there!" he exclaimed, grinning so wide it looked as though his face was about to burst at the seams.

"See, I told you that Appa would be alright," Katara replied with a little smile, and Aang beamed at her.

"Well, you were right!" Aang continued to follow the trail of fur, and then he stopped suddenly. Katara was a few paces behind him, and she frowned at the boy's sudden lack of enthusiasm.

"What is it?" she asked as she stepped up behind the Avatar, and then fell silent. The area around them was quite obviously a battle ground- the trees were scorched with flames, and the foliage was blackened and trampled. "Fire nation," she murmured, and Aang turned to face her, the smile suddenly gone from his face.

"Do you think…" he started, but Katara cut him off before he could finish.

"No. This happened a while ago. Not too long though… maybe about a week or so." She knelt to the ground, and pointed several things out to Aang. "See how everything is still so fresh? But you can't see any footprints. That means that some time had passed, but not a lot."

"How do you know this stuff?" Aang asked after a second, his eyes wide with wonder.

Katara grinned. "I used to follow Dad when he was out hunting. Don't tell Sokka, though, or he'd never forgive me."

Aang smiled back, and then glanced around again. There were more white tufts of fur, and the boy followed them somberly. As they approached a ledge, something else caught Aang's eye. "Katara, it's…" the boy didn't need to finish. A funeral pyre stood before them, and it had quite obviously been used recently.

The pair gravely walked up the ledge, and both broke into relieved smiles when they saw Appa resting by the mouth of a cave. "Appa!" Aang cried, and then ran to the bison, jumping onto the animal's head. Appa gave a growl of welcome, and Aang laughed.

Katara, however, caught sight of something different. The cave had been used recently. The girl poked her head inside, and then coughed at the stench of sickness and disease. However, she continued to walk farther into the cave, looking around her. A tattered piece of green cloth caught her eye, and Katara's breath hitched in her throat. Kyoshi warriors. As the girl continued to walk, she noticed something else. Not all of the girls were dead.

"Aang!" she called and the boy jumped off of Appa's head and rushed into the cave.

"What is it Kata… What is that smell?" The boy lifted his sleeve to his nose in an attempt to blot out the stench.

"Get the others, but don't let Sokka come in here, do you understand me?" Aang nodded dumbly, and then hurried to do as Katara bid him. Katara let out a sigh of relief once the boy was gone, and then knelt beside the girl closest to her. The warrior's pulse was weak, but it was there.

Katara then uncorked her water pouch, and used it to probe the extent of the girl's injuries. With a stifled cry, the waterbender realized that nothing could be done. Blinking back tears, she rose to check the next girl's prone body, and sighed with relief when she saw that the damage was repairable. Quickly, she brought out the water and healed the girl's injuries to the best of her capability and then stood and moved onto the next one.

There were several more that Katara was able to save, but most of them were in horrible condition. The waterbender knew that she had to care for those who had the best possible chance of surviving first, but she resolved that as soon as she was finished with them, she'd return to the ones who were so close to death's door. She wasn't about to let them go without a fight.

Finally, she reached the last girl in the line, and then jumped back with surprise. The customary Kyoshi warrior makeup was streaked and rubbed off in some places, but there was no doubt about who it was. Suki.

Alright, feedback time. First off, I want to know how you guys think Suki should play into the rest of the story. Should I have her be dead and eventually give a Tokka twist, or should I have Katara heal her and play up the Sokuki side of this as well as the Zutara? Please give me your opinions on this.

Thanks!