Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

It's been a long time since I last posted, I know. There was a malfunction with my laptop and I kept losing my progress. I had to rewrite several times because of that.

Anyway I really hope that you readers all like this chapter. There might be a lot of mistakes so please tell me if you see one. I tried to correct 'FireNation' like every one keeps telling me. Lets see if it works this time. I always write it like it's supposed to be but for some reason when I post it the corrections get mashed together.

Thank you wonderful readers for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Previously:

He was alone.

Aang bowed his head and for the first time since he had broken out of the iceberg, allowed himself to cry. Silent tears fell down his cheeks, leaving tracks where the water had washed away the dirt. Aang longed for his old life. He wished he had never run away. Maybe if he hadn't he would still have Kuzon. Kuzon would never have hesitated to help him. Aang was his little brother.

There was the sound of a scuffle happening outside of the door but Aang ignored it until the door creaked open. Peeking up through his lashes and wondering who it was Aang jerked in surprise. A mask of blue grinned back at the chained boy, Dual Dao strapped to his back, and a black suit of unusual make.

There was no mistaking him. He had been famous in Aang's time.

He was the Blue Spirit.

Hidden Secrets

"Speaking"

"Thinking"

Memories

Letters/Dreams

Chapter 12

Under Cover of Darkness

Third Person P.O.V

The Blue Spirit crouched silently in the bushes, observing his target from where he was hidden. His mask was already in place over his face and his swords were strapped to his back. In front of him the land had been scorched by fire, leaving it barren of any cover that might help him reach his goal. This was the closest that he could get by himself without being seen by the guards.

Silently, the Blue Spirit slipped through the shadows and back into the night. Above the three walled stronghold the moon glowed brightly, watching.

0~o~0

The guards stood straight with board expressions marring their faces. They were here to keep the boy behind them in. They knew that the Admiral had planned, but they also knew that no one could get past the three walls without being spotted . . . unless they really were a spirit. The guards doubted that, though.

That is why, when the helmet slammed into the wall a distance down the hall, they were not prepared for what was to follow. One guard left his position to go check on what was happening, leaving the other three to guard the door. Seconds of silence passed until he turned the corner, then a thud and flash of fire. The guard didn't return.

Still standing with blank faces two more guards left their post to go after the first. The final guard was understandably nervous. He was sure his two companions could deal with whatever was going on, but he could not help but feel a chill run up his spine. Two more thuds followed by silence later made him rethink. His hand reached for the emergency horn hung on the wall and he brought it to his lips to sound the warning. It never reached its destination.

A small, deadly sharp knife few through the air and slammed into the horn, biting deep into its bone side and ripping it from the guard's hand. The guard took one look at the blue masked man speeding toward him and felt fear. He spun to the left, hopping to avoid the masked man who he knew now was the Blue Spirit. It was no use as the Blue Spirit calculated his shift in movement before he could and lashed out with one foot, hitting the guard in the side of the head and knocking him out cold.

The Blue Spirit stood still for a moment, his chest barely even stirring, before bending down and grasping the discarded horn. One gloved hand grasped the knife still embedded in its side and pulled it cleanly out. After tucking the knife safely away the Blue Spirit strung the guard and his companions up to the roof and gagged them with cloth torn from the bottom of their uniforms so that they could not call for help.

When finished with this, he returned to the door and pushed it open just enough to slip through into the other room. The boy he was searching for looked up as he walked in and confusion lit up the grey eyes before they filled with recognition. The Blue Spirit had been active when he was alive, why not now?

Without pausing to listen to Aang's questions the Blue Spirit pulled out his identical swords and swung them around to build up momentum wile walking forward. As he reached the avatar he brought the swords down swiftly on the chains, cutting them cleanly without leaving a scratch. He repeated the action with the shackles on the boy's legs.

Turning the masked man headed for the door.

"Wait!" Aang said, rubbing his red wrists, "A-are you helping me escape?"

Beneath the mask the Blue Spirit rolled his eyes. They needed to be fast and quiet. There was a greater risk the longer the avatar stayed here of them both being caught. He gestured with his sword out the door and slipped through again, knowing Aang would follow.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Silence came on them until Aang broke it again with an exclamation of, "My frogs!"

The Blue Spirit paused and glanced back at the boy with disbelief only to see the avatar running down the hall in the wrong direction, chasing after several half frozen frogs. Swiftly the Blue Spirit sped after him and grabbed him by the back of his shirt, dragging him back the way that they were going.

The mission just went from a high possibility of discovery to a definite fact.

0~o~0

Zuko's P.O.V

Zuko secured the rope to the wall swiftly, thanking all the spirits that were listening that they had gotten this far. After making sure that the rope would not fall down wile they were climbing he gestured for Aang to go first. It would be easier to get out using bending but he didn't want to expose himself so soon. When he was alone, sure he would do it, but in front of Aang and in the middle of a Fire Nation fortress? No.

Zuko beckoned Aang forward with one hand. It would be better for him to go first so that he could better protect them from the rear. The boy didn't hesitate to grab the rope and scramble up, not unlike a squirrel on a tree. He started climbing with quick, expert hands, and occasionally glancing back to make sure that no one saw them.

A sudden warning bell startled Zuko and his head snapped around to see some people from the other wall pointing at him and the Avatar. He cursed under his breath. Why did Aang have to wear such bright, eye catching clothing again? The rope trembled in his hands and then snapped as it was cut from above.

Zuko scowled, prepared to bend to stop their fall. Aang beat him to it, though, and a ball of air slowed them down just enough to let them drop on their feet. Immediately he was locked in battle with Fire Nation soldiers. Completely surrounded, he pulled his swords out and began. To everyone else he quickly became a blur of black cloth and the light blue of his swords.

After several seconds of fighting Zuko narrowed his eyes as he realized that in order to survive he might need to use bending. A low, animalistic growl slipped past his lips, making all those who heard it hesitate. Spinning once more with a slash of his swords and splitting a spear down the middle he prepared a spark of fire inside his hands. Fire was the easiest to call on at the moment and he figured that if they wanted to look for him they would be looking in the wrong place.

It proved unnecessary, though, when the soldiers in front and behind him were blown away in a large gust of wind. Zuko glanced at Aang, noting absentmindedly that it seemed he had found himself a staff somewhere. The avatar made a quick slash upward, directly at him and he felt a shiver of alarm go up his spine as he felt himself launched into the air.

Cursing himself softly under his breath Zuko used some discrete earth bending to avoid slamming his shoulder into the hard rock of the wall that they had been attempting to clime. Getting his feet under him Zuko clutched his swords in his hands, holding them in opposite directions as he watched the soldiers running toward him. What had Aang been thinking? Did he want his rescuer killed?

Zuko just barely held in a yelp of surprise as legs wrapped under his shoulders and he was suddenly lifted into the air and flying over the wall, several meters above the ground. He glanced up in surprise and was reminded that Aang was a Master Airbender for a reason. The staff that he had noted before was spinning too fast to follow, fast enough to keep them up with a little help from Aang's bending.

I have got to learn how to do that!

The looks on the soldiers' faces were that of disbelief. A sudden glint caught his eye and Zuko turned just in time to block a thrown spear from hitting Aang. Several more came flying up from below that he did his best to block, but every movement that he made caused them to get lower and lower. They barely made it to the other wall.

More fighting ensued. Zuko knocked several Fire Nation soldiers from the wall, wincing each time at the thought of what awaited them at the bottom: Several broken bones, if they were lucky. At the moment though, he was desperate to escape.

"Hold these, and jump on my back!" one of the ladders the soldiers had been using to get up the wall was pushed into his hands by Aang before he ran and jumped off the wall, using the ladder as a giant walking stick.

Ignoring the insanity of the idea Zuko ran and jumped after the Airbender, landing on Aang's back with the ladder still in his arms. The ladder under them bent forward and the boy used another ladder that he had been holding to get them several more yards. Seeing the ladder they were on coming to an end he handed the ladder that he was holding down and Aang used that one as well.

Zuko could not believe it was working. The most insane idea that had ever been thought of, using the enemy's own ladders to cross the gap between the walls, was actually working! He doubted the Fire Nation had ever thought of this as an escape. They were almost to the other wall now, and from there it would be relatively easy to escape into the woods.

And then some firebender who just had to be smarter than the rest decided to set fire to the bottom of the ladder they were on. Great, just great. The latter they were on was not fire resistant at all and was quickly going up in flames. Aang was forced to make the jump too soon.

He missed but Zuko was able to grab onto the wall with one hand, desperately trying to keep them both up. If it had been just him it would have been easy, but the airbender's added weight, slight though it was, was too much for him to pull them both up. His gloved fingers burned as they slipped over the edge.

Again another air ball stopped them from landing too hard. Zuko looked around them and frowned. The symbols on these soldiers uniforms were slightly different, marking them as firebenders. Aang, seeing the fire wave suddenly coming toward them, pushed Zuko behind him as he created an air cyclone to keep the fire away from them. The air was heating up quickly though and he could see that Aang was getting tired.

Zuko knew that he had to do something, and fast, or they would both be roasted chicken.

"Stop! The avatar must be taken alive!" Zhao voice called through the flames. Zuko's face was expressionless. He had never liked the demanding general, and he like him even less now than before his banishment.

The fire cleared and Zuko winced as he realized that he would have to threaten Aang's life if they wanted to escape. But he froze when he noticed that Zhao was not looking at Aang, but at him. A cold, triumphant smile crept up Zhao's lips and his eyes glinted with cunning.

"Well, well, isn't it the infamous Blue Spirit. Or should I say . . . Avatar."

Zuko felt like he had been dunked into artic water and left to be trapped under the ice. His limbs were heavy with horror and stunned disbelief. He had been so careful, how had they found out? His heart beat rapidly, threatening to burst from him.

His distraction was just what they had wanted. An arrow sliced through the air and slammed into his shoulder. Zuko gasped and stumbled backward, his hand dropping his sword in favor of clutching his bleeding shoulder. He gritted his teeth against the pain as his vision became blurry. What was happening? He had had injuries worse that this before, why was this one effecting him so badly?

"Interesting, isn't it," Zuko heard Zhao call through the fog, "A fast acting poison meant to knock out impossibly strong opponents. It was designed for you, you know."

Out of the corner of his eye Zuko could see the blurry outline of Aang glancing at him and then to where Zhao's voice had come from. Determination surged through him, helping him hold off the pain and darkness for a little bit longer. He would not be captured by Zhao, and he would not allow Aang to be either. With the last of his waning strength Zuko pulled his arm away from his wound, grabbed his sword from the ground, put it in its sheath, and ignoring the pain, scooped his arms downward before thrusting them upward again. The ground under his feet rumbled and then shot up into the air, higher then the wall, and out across the wall to the other side.

Then they were falling. Zuko felt the last of his strength leave him as he went limp, hopping beyond hope that Aang could escape. The jarring impact that the ground made as it hit the dirt outside the wall barely stirred his darkening mind. He felt a pare of arms wrap around him and a gentle murmuring of reassurance as he was dragged away.

Then everything went black.

0~o~0

Aang's P.O.V

Aang had to admit, he had not seen this coming. Getting rescued by the Blue Spirit was one thing. Finding out that this same Blue Spirit was the person that the crazy Fire Nation man had been spouting off about being the real avatar? He had to have knocked his head on something.

But then the Blue Spirit had been injured and Aang realized that it didn't matter. This man had just saved his life. He could find out what was going on later, after he had gotten them out of this mess. The Blue Spirit was swaying where he was standing and Aang could tell that the arrow had been poisoned. It seemed that the masked man was about to collapse at any minute.

The crazy Fire Nation man opened his mouth again, probably to order his men to grab them, when the ground gave a rumble. Aang turned his eyes to the Blue Spirit in disbelief as the man stood shakily and shoved his hands downward and then up, like he was scooping up a pile of hay. The ground under their feet separated from everything else and shot into the sky and over the wall wobbly.

The Blue Spirit collapsed and Aang quickly used his airbending again to slow the chunk of dirt before it hit the ground too hard. They both rolled from the now grounded mound of dirt and he looked up to see the gates opening.

Glancing around Aang noticed that the forest was just a few short meters away. He knew that in order to escape they would have to be quick, but Aang didn't know if he could carry the Blue Spirit all the way though the forest for very long.

Making a decision Aang turned around and swept his arms in a circular motion, causing the winds to billow up and spread dust between them and the wall. It would cost the soldiers several minutes to find their way through the fog like air, giving Aang just enough time to grab the Blue Spirit and run, which is just what he did.

By the time Aang had reached the tree line the soldiers had made it out of the fog only to find empty ground where their target should be. He never glanced back to see if he was being followed. His only worry was getting the Blue Spirit to safety and the disturbing amount of red that was seeping into his cloths from the arrow wound.

He hoped that his rescuer would be ok.

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Reviews for chapter 11

Thank you for your reviews. I enjoy reading through them.

Some questions asked were . . .

1) Will Zuko seek out Master Yugoda for training in healing?

To tell the truth, I never really thought about that. It's an interesting idea. It wont happen for a wile though, because the Blue Spirit has been discovered as an Avatar. He can't really stay with Aang and lead Zhao right to them can he?

2) Zutara?

I'm not delving into romance just yet. I've never written one. If it comes to it I'll have a vote at the very end of the story and include an extra chapter. Weather he will be with Katara, Mia, Song, or someone never mentioned in the cartoons all depends on what people want. For now, I am not writing parings. Sorry if you wanted it.

3) So what side was Zuko burned on?

(Wince) Um . . . I think his left . . . maybe.

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I think that is all. If you have any more questions just ask. I know that I am not very clear when I'm writing and some things are left up to speculation.

Thanks again for reading!