Chapter 10

~Arrive only to fight!~

The arrival to the temple was hard for the ship had to be docked and a small group of soldiers, handpicked by Zuko, as well with Zuko and Iroh had to travel to the temple by rhino-lizard. Though, once that was out of the way, they were greeted with gusto from the Avatar, who ran up to Zuko in glee.

"Zuko!" Aang exclaimed after releasing the Fire Lord and stepping back still with a big old smile.

"What brings you here?"

Before Zuko or any of them could answer, Zuko was pulled forward by a force under his feet until he was surrounded by arms again. This time they were thinner but stronger, though they were kind of crushing him.

"Sparky!? I knew that was you!" Toph smiled as she finally released the taller teenager only to punch him in the arm.

"OUCH!"

"Where's Katara? Why aren't you with her?" The earthbender scorned by shoving her hands on her hips and looking extremely angry, though truly it didn't work to the full extent since she wasn't looking eye to eye with the Fire lord.

"That hurt, Toph! Why can't you ever let me explain anything before you throw something at me?" Zuko groaned as he rubbed his defiant-going-to-be-bruised later left arm, flinching slightly when he applied pressure to where the fist had connected with skin.

"Oh quite your whining and tell me where is Katara! I don't feel her with you even though I know I gave both of you instructions to stay together." Toph said firmly and Zuko only sighed as he knew somehow he would have to explain his actions.

He really wasn't ready to face the young earthbender, if he was completely truthful. He thought that if he had arrived at the Air Temple then all he would need to do was deal with Aang and then he would figure out a way to go one direction while the Avatar could go another and pick up Toph on the way. Now he would have to deal with both of them, and if he got Aang mad and had to fight him, he might also have to fight the Bai Fong girl since he did leave Katara's side.

"I'm waiting, Zuko!" Toph growled and the Fire Lord sighed as now she meant serious business. He could count on his hand alone how many times the blind girl had said his actual name and none of those times had been decent. He sighed once more and ran a hand down his face.

"She's home. I brought her there about three days ago now. I have come for help from you and Aang." Zuko began as he looked to the Avatar and then back to Toph.

"Toph, you know of this but Aang, Katara has a disease consuming her. She can't sleep and when she does nightmares take over her to the point only to wake her is by herself screaming in pain. She got it from pirates, ones that have captured her-"

"What! What do you mean pirates captured her? When!" Aang shouted as he was now closer, the three of them in a small circle all within arm's reach from one another.

"When she had tried to visit me." Toph spoke up but Aang ignored her as his eyes were set on Zuko.

"When did you find her? Why didn't you write to me and tell me what happened?" The young Avatar was angrily glaring at the taller teen, who could also see his hands shaking at his sides, knowing the bald monk was possibly on the verge of a breaking point. It was always like this when it came to Katara for the boy.

Zuko on the other hand was trying to hold back his own fury. How dare this stupid child yell at him! If it wasn't for what he had done then maybe this wouldn't have happened in the first place! Iroh had held back his men from advancing on the three of them since the general knew that if fists were going to fly then it was better if they just let it happen, which he was sure was bound to break out any moment. He could clear as day see his nephew's anger and hoped that he didn't mess up the Avatar, too much at least.

"Zuko, why didn't you tell me?" Aang pressed again with a hiss and stepped even closer though Toph took a step back. She knew just as much as Iroh that something was going to break and soon.

"I didn't seem it fit to tell you." Zuko growled back with his burning glare, hoping that would make Aang shrink back like he used to when someone was mad at him but apparently this only seemed to make the Avatar angrier.

"Why? We're all her friends! You should have told me, I could have helped her!" That was the final straw.

"Oh and you think I haven't helped her! Help her? It was your fault she was like that in the first place!" Zuko roared as his body erupted steam, making everyone present step back but Aang only flinched lightly before standing his ground again.

"What are you talking about? I didn't do anything to Katara!"

"YOU LEFT HER!" The words seemed to echo around the whole temple, heck it felt like they echoed through the whole world. The whole temple was silenced as Aang's eyes widened then only to glare fiercer than anyone had ever see them.

"You. Are. Wrong." The Avatar said each word slowly as if to calm himself with each syllable, though his eyes still burned with enraged fire.

"Oh, am I?" Zuko spat, now angrier that Aang was denying the truth.

"Yes!" Now it was Aang's words that echoed, though his voice didn't have anger but it was filled with …sadness?

"She left me!" The bald monk screamed and pointed his finger right in front of Zuko's face, who flinched back at the action.

"Don't you dare act as if you were there when it happened! I don't know where you heard what you just said but you are wrong! I never left her! I woke up and she was gone. She only left a stupid note saying that it was over. So don't get angry at me when I did nothing wrong. And you know what you still should have told me! You should have told me what happened, wither we hurt each other or not, I'm still her friend, and I had just as much right to know what happened." Aang had yelled at the beginning of his speech but near the end it had come down to just a hurt and somewhat mad whisper. Tears were leaking down his cheeks though he quickly wiped them away, though they were already showing that he was still the sensitive soul they knew him to be from before Souzin's Comet.

Toph silently sighed and stepped closer between them placing a hand on Aang's shoulder. She squeezed it lightly but didn't do any more only held it.

"Alright, now that is over, let's just focus on the problem at hand. Zuko you said you needed us for help." She asked as her eyes only lingered to the general direction of the ground but the two of them knew she was still at full attention for them. Zuko slightly nodded before breathing in and out, calming himself but wanting to continue this later. It was interesting to know that Katara had left, not the other way around.

"Yes. I feel that Katara's disease can be found in the ancient library of Wan Shi Tong. I know that you all have traveled there once before so I would ask of you to take me there, but we also need to lift it from the earth, so we need more earthbenders."

"I don't think we should go back there." Aang said as he tried to control his breath after his small crying fit. Toph nodded beside him, she hadn't been there in the library but she had heard what happened inside so she complete agreed.

"Why not?" Zuko asked, he didn't know for it was something they never told them while he was with them.

"It's a good idea, Sparky, but there are several problems with the idea. First off, earthbenders won't work just by themselves. Sand is different from earth, I learned that the hard way, and even with me there I still don't think that we could lift the thing." She stated in truth for that building was huge.

"Plus, it's Wan Shi Tong himself, last time we were in the building he attacked us. We used his knowledge for evil as he said so we angered him and we barely escaped. I really don't want to anger him more then we already did, it's not right of us." Aang added as well before sighing. The library was a good idea and even though this time they would be going there for good he doubted that it would help. The spirit was angered greatly and he doubted that it would have ceased by now.

Zuko too sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. This wasn't good. The library was his best bet at finding the cure and now it washed away as an idea right before him. He had barely survived taking on dragons with Aang he doubted he would be able to take on an angered spirit. He also didn't want to anger the spirits further by attacking another spirit, plus what would his uncle say. The old general was sensitive about spirits.

"What about the North Pole?" A new voice suddenly spoke up and almost everyone turned to one of Zuko's guards. It was one of the taller ones standing just beside Iroh, and he was actually Zuko's personal and closest assistant from his ship, Len Tang.

TBC…

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