AN: Here we go, the next chapter. Also, there is a song for this one, go to youtube and look up, 'All Hallow's Eve Ball' it's from Van Helsing. Play it at the PLAY HERE indicator.

So, with that said, enjoy!


Their hands were locked securely together as he led her out onto the dance floor. Every single soul backed away from the couple as they still continued to stare in awe at the amazement before their very eyes. Ozai was one of them, if described correctly, it would seem as though his jaw had completely fallen off his face, his eyes bulging out of his sockets, dipping over the mask's edges and looked as if he were about to faint out of pure amazement and disbelief.

It was a rarity that the spirits would bring back souls to this world, those who were fortunate to be given a second chance, often had something they needed to finish, something that was left undone or unchanged and due to their death, altered the course of history itself. They were brought back to right the wrong. Was that the case with Zuko? Was he brought back to fix something far greater?

As they finally reached the dance floor, the youthful Prince turned to the orchestra who seemed dumb struck, simply giving them a graceful nod to continue with their accompaniment.

PLAY SONG HERE

With a brisk snap, he twirled Katara into his chest, her hand pressing gently against it, her eyes rising up slowly to look at the face she hadn't seen in three years. Her hand, as if it had a mind of its own reached up, her digits stroking his clear porcelain cheek with such tenderness that it sent a chill down the Prince's spine. She watched as he sighed, his face leaning into her touch. When she pulled away, placing her hand upon his shoulder his golden eyes opened, but before landing on the beautiful maiden before him, they suddenly picked out several pairs of eyes that narrowed like a felines, glinting with hatred and betrayal. They only had a few minutes max.

His hand that had been stationed on the small of her back cinched upward an inch, pressing her into him even more, "I will not lie to you Ambassador," there it was, the title that she despised, she prayed that once he spoke he would never resort to titles, "there is very little I remember of who I once was," he paused, picking her up, lifting her into the air then pulling her back down to him, "but I cannot deny the facts that were placed before my eyes. I will try to become the man you once remembered, if anything, I want to make you happy again, I feel this undesirable urge to make your heart flutter in excitement, to hear that sweet laughter on your lips and to see that dazzling tender smile radiate at me always," again he paused, this time pulling her even closer, "I cannot do this without you."

Katara smiled as she reached upwards, cupping his face in her hand, "I will never abandon you Zuko, I swear it."

With that he kissed the skin above her brow, whispering his thanks to her as their dance continued.

Her dress twirled round her feet, billowing out as she spun before him, the young prince guiding her along the dance floor. A soft smile splayed both youths' lips, their enjoyment of a reunion and meeting perfectly seen. But there was a troubling sense in the air.

Again his eyes scanned the crowd and once more he saw the unsettling sets of eyes glowering at their every move and he knew that once the song had finished and the crowd would begin to gather round them, they would make their move and he couldn't afford to lose this woman. She knew far too much about who he was, where he came from, what kind of man he was that he couldn't lose his only connection to the past, let alone the one person that his mind, body and soul called out to…even though he had a lover, this woman seemed to surpass her in every way.

Bending down somewhat, his lips came to her ear, his breath caused bumps to run along the nape of her neck, her body to shudder slightly, "Ambassador, I need you to do exactly as I say," he began.

Katara, curious as always pulled her head back, her eyes locking with his, "What is it? Is something wrong?" she asked.

He simply nodded, "In about thirty seconds four men will ease their way through the crowd, preparing for the opportune moment to release your soul from its fleshy prison," he took in a deep breath, whispering in her ear, "If you want to live to see tomorrow, I need you to do exactly as I tell you," his hand gripped her back tightly, "do you understand?"

"Yes."

Again the music picked up, the couple twirled around the floor and Katara peered over Zuko's shoulder trying to see if she could pick out these men that he had told her of. But little that did. The only face that kept pushing through the crowd staring in awe was Ozai's and it was then that Katara suddenly felt a pang to her chest. He hadn't seen his son since his death either and here he was, flesh and bone dancing with her before a masquerade of faces. With a deep breath she pushed herself into Zuko's chest a bit more, her eyes never lingering from Ozai's concerned face.

"You need to meet someone," she whispered.

The young prince looked down, his eyes scanning hers…just like they use to long ago, "I will meet him when the time is appropriate. But right now, time isn't on our side I'm afraid."

As he finished his sentence the music began to slow, the crowd began to clutter the dance floor and Katara suddenly found herself becoming afraid. She didn't want to lose Zuko, not again and not like this. It was now that she suddenly saw the pale faces shrouded in blankness vastly approaching, pushing their way through the crowd towards her, towards Zuko.


They ran as quickly as their feet could carry them, darting invisibly through the dancers, brushing past couples that whirled around in elegant bliss and past the shifty eyes that targeted them during the night. The garden was their means of escape. When he and his elder master had been planning a route of escape, the garden along with several other key points of the palace were left optional. The garden scaled high above the main ground, the ballroom wasn't exactly on the main level of the palace, neither was the balcony garden either. Looking over the ledge, there was a good couple hundred yards worth of drop and wrapping around the palace, running along the upper district wall was a river, that not only ran along the wall, but just south of the palace, ran underneath the wall channeling into the other districts of Ba Sing Se.

Quickly turning on his heel, Zuko looked over his shoulder to see Katara eagerly waiting their next move; the assassins were left far behind them in the ballroom. They had enough time to make their escape before his elder master knew that they had fled. With a deep breath he tightened his hold on her hand, pulling her towards the railing that wrapped around the garden, looking over breathlessly to see if he could make an accurate jump.

Taking a deep breath he turned to Katara, his golden eyes sparkling deviously, "Do you trust me?" he asked.

Confused, Katara snuck towards the railing, her eyes barley glancing over before she shrunk back her heart racing once more. With a slight nod of her head, in the most unsure manner she could muster, she replied in a cracked whisper, "Yes."

Hoisting Katara onto his back, Zuko wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms initially wrapped round his shoulders and in a fluid and graceful motion, he dove over the railing in the garden, nothing but air making contact with their flesh.

In a matter of seconds they dove into the river, their bodies like torpedoes baring through the water hitting the floor of the riverbed before springing upwards, gasping for precious air as they broke the surface. With a slight guide of his hand, Zuko told Katara to keep her head low and to follow him, but since his memory was not all there, he truly forgot Katara was a waterbender.

With a sly smile she sank below the surface, dragging Zuko down with her encompassing him in an air tight bubble of sorts that formed around his head. Nodding she told him to lead the way.

As they swam in silence, Katara could not help but take in the whole turn of events this night had brought her, she couldn't even begin to show her gratitude to the spirits for bringing Zuko back to her but she would begin by helping him remember. It pained her when Yue told her of what had happened and it sickened her to think that there was someone out there who truly wanted to control Zuko, control his thoughts, his memories, to basically control his life. When she found the person responsible, she would be sure to make them pay.

Once they resurfaced, the prince pulled Katara from the water, using his bending he quickly evaporated the water from their bodies as Katara drew the water from their clothes. After they had tidied themselves somewhat he grabbed her hand once more, leading her through corridors, alleyways, down empty streets and every once in a while he would look over his shoulder to see if they were followed, but in all terms he was silent until they came before a familiar building to the both of them.

With a brow cocked and her eyes sweeping over the building then to Zuko, Katara muttered, "The Jasmine Dragon?"


Does Zuko remember Iroh? Hmmm idk, tell me what you think!