Flame me all you want, because I probably deserve it. Sorry everyone! There's really no excuse for my long absence, other than the loss of my Toshiba and the workings of daily life and reality. But now, I have a wonderful MacBook Pro and a renewed vigor for writing!

Thank you to all who have not lost hope. I do this for you.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Reunion

She slid open the library door, glancing to both sides. All was quiet, but that didn't necessarily mean she trusted it. Her shoe scuffed the floor, and she removed them immediately, Azula's threats lingering in her mind. The lamps were no longer lit in the front room, and the bookshelves suddenly felt like watchful giants, impossibly aware of her lone figure. Katara stepped into the room and tiptoed down the rows, past the front desk, her heart rate increasing with each step. What if she was too late? What if Lani was already hidden away somewhere, alone and scared and in terrible danger? Sweat dripped down her spine, causing a shudder to wrack her body.

A dim flicker of light caught her eye, and she walked towards the reference desk without hesitation. A curtain rippled behind the desk, and the sliver of light shone again from behind it. "Hello?" she called, and heard hushed whispers just beyond the doorway. Steps clicked their way over, and the curtain was thrust back. The librarian looked out at her with fearful eyes and tight lips, then grabbed her by the shoulder and hauled her inside the room before she could say a word.

"Mama!" A small bundle of energy collided with her, and little arms wrapped tightly around her waist, knocking the breath out of her. "Make Taka-san let them out, she won't listen to me! I didn't know what to do, she wouldn't-"

"Slow down, what?!" Katara demanded incredulously, and Taka frowned, putting one hand on her hip. Katara took in her surroundings- they were in a back room, obviously, and scrolls littered the floor and cluttered the desk. A mat lay in the corner of the room, and next to it was a thick wooden door with three chairs stacked in front of it. "What happened?" she asked again.

"Two people came in, claiming to know you, saying they could take Lani. Of course I didn't let them," she added hastily, seeing Katara's expression, and raised her other hand. The waterbender stared in surprise for a moment.

"Have you had that club this entire time?" she asked skeptically. Taka grinned toothily and nodded, then set it against the wall. Spikes jutted from the top, glinting dangerously in the dim orange light emanating from the lamp. The room had a general feeling of disuse, but there was an energy brought into it that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Someone had already come for Lani. She could've been too late.

"I wasn't going to let them take your little girl, not without your say. So, I locked them in the cupboard. Haven't heard much out of them since, to be honest."

"Mama, it's Aang!" Lani erupted, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "It's Aang, he came to get me! He's back!" Katara gaped wordlessly at the old woman for a moment, then lunged past her and shoved the chairs out of the way.

"Aang?" she called, and heard muffled shouts. "Aang, is it you?"

"Katara!" came the muted reply, "Glad you're back. Does she still have the club?"

Katara rolled her eyes. Knowing Aang, he wouldn't ever attack an old woman. He'd probably just strolled into the cupboard like a child caught out of bed, all to avoid a fight. "Hold on! I'll get you out!" She turned back to the librarian. "Can you get the keys?" The woman hesitated, still staring suspiciously at the door.

"How do you know it's the real person? And if it is, how would he know where Lani was? And who's the lady with him?" She had a certain sort of intuition, but Katara had no words to describe the feeling. After spending months together, alone apart from Sokka and Toph, she knew she could pick Aang's voice and energy out of a thousand people. Still, she found herself unable to answer any of the questions, and the librarian smiled smugly. Katara just shook her head.

"I know it's him. He has giant arrows on his head and limbs, he dresses like a monk, and he's the only one I know who would let himself be locked in a closet by a crazy old lady wielding a club."

"The arrows could be fake. And what about the lady?" Katara didn't answer. She just stared her down. Taka huffed, then reached into her sleeve and tossed the waterbender a ring of keys. "It's the big bronze one with the fire lily on the end. Don't blame me for trying to protect the little one."

Katara was already fumbling to find the right key and release her friend when a pang of guilt stilled her shaking hands, and for the first time since the failed ball, she realized just how much this woman had put on the line. Everyone else who'd tried to help was either dead or worse for wear. She'd just tried to do what Katara had asked, and like a fool, she'd responded rudely. "I'm sorry if I sound ungrateful. You don't even know how thankful I am that you were so careful. It's just… it's been a really long night."

"Went to the ball, couldn't face the music?" she asked critically. Katara smiled wanly and shrugged, finding the key and fitting it into the lock.

"Something like that," she agreed softly. The locks tumbled, and she swung open the door, stepping back just as Aang catapulted out, blowing the loose papers around the room with the power of his energy. She was struck again by how much he'd grown, and as he turned to beam at her, she noticed the smooth cut of his jawline that surely hadn't been so defined a few weeks ago.

"Katara!" he yelled, and scooped her into a hug, swirling her around and even hovering for a moment before setting her down and stepping back with a huge grin on his face. "Finally! Are you okay?"

"I should be asking you that! I went back to the healer, and she said- wait," she interrupted herself, thinking back to her encounter with the medicine woman, "she said someone…?"

Her voice trailed off as a woman stepped out of the dark cupboard, a shy smile on her face. Dark brown hair framed a porcelain face with noble features, and Katara felt Aang fidget, then tense beside her. She glanced at him, and was astounded by the look on his face. When had he ever looked at anyone so tenderly? With such insecure longing carved into the furrow of his brow? She recognized the look then, remembering it from the raid on the Day of Black Sun, but there were new undertones which seemed to grow from his new maturity. Strength, the need to protect, a willingness to understand… it showed clearly on his face as if his emotions were lotuses floating in a clear pond.

And yet, there was something telling her he had no idea how he really felt about the woman. He'd always been oblivious about that sort of thing.

Then, the woman tucked her hair behind her ear and gave her surroundings a quick, curious glance, and pieces came together. "On Ji?" she asked. On Ji giggled and nodded, touching her hair hesitantly.

"I didn't think you'd recognize me. It's been so long," she said, and went to Aang's side. He shifted his weight, almost imperceptibly, so that he was leaning into her, and as a result, her cheeks flushed and she relaxed, doing the same.

"Oh," Katara breathed, realizing too late that she'd said it out loud. But it was clear, the connection between the two of them. It was natural, and for a moment, she felt a deep sense of loss. Had it really been so long ago- over three years- that he'd looked at her that way? But no, she stopped herself right there. They'd been children back then, and it had been puppy love. This was something entirely different- it was a balance, like day and night, or-

She gasped. Or water and fire.

"Aang! Aang, Zuko's alive!" she cried, and the room stilled. Even the flickering light of the lamp seemed to shrink away from the living, breathing statues that now inhabited the room. The airbender was staring straight ahead, his shoulders stiff and his mouth hanging open, nothing moving but his trembling hands. Katara gazed around the room, seeing expressions ranging from disbelief to horror. Aang shook his head, opening his mouth several times before any sound came out.

"But Katara… he's… it isn't possible," he finished lamely. Lani looked between them, unusually serious, reacting to the sudden change in the air pressure. "Zuko died two years ago. Do you really think that if he was alive, this would be happening? He'd have taken the Fire Nation back by now."

"No, he's alive," she said hurriedly, "Azula admitted it before- well, it's too long to tell you right now. We're not safe in Caldera, she has people watching me. We have to leave." She glanced at Taka, who shrugged. She'd already imposed so much without being able to repay the old bat, but she knew the world beyond the library's walls was much harsher than this lonely room.

"Stay here as long as you like, I'll keep an eye out. Anyone care for some pickled plums on rice? I kept you guys in there pretty long," she said somewhat sheepishly to On Ji, who smiled and nodded. "Alright then. Come with me, child," she said to Lani, and the girl waited for Katara's nod before leaving the room. A suffocating silence swelled up between them, and Katara noticed her body beginning to ache.

"Tell me how you got here and everything," she demanded, "the last thing I knew, you were still at the healer's place. How did you find Lani so quickly?" The waterbender tried to kneel gracefully, but her skirt got in the way, so she just sighed and slumped down, ignoring the familiar sound of ripping fabric. On Ji knelt down easily in her simple clothing, and Aang sat closely next to her.

"Well, when I left the Air Temples about a year ago to come find you, I really had no idea what I was walking into, or what I was leaving behind. Everything is still in transition there- we have new people arriving every day, most of them being refugees whose homes were destroyed by the war. They don't have any sense of belonging, so they come to us for peace and safety," Aang started, and On Ji nodded, again tucking her hair behind her ear so she could focus on Katara's eyes.

"He came back about two months ago for a while, but then he left about two days before your brother showed up," she said softly, and Katara let out a breath, unprepared for the brute force of her longing. Sokka. It had been so long.

"Why was Sokka at the temples?" she asked, and On Ji's face sagged into an expression of regret. "Tell me," Katara persisted. Aang's knee brushed the girl's leg, and she sat up straighter.

"He'd been staying in Kyoshi so he could act as a go-between from the Southern Water Tribe to the Fire Nation because of a trade agreement. He took over your position as ambassador when you disappeared, and apparently he was in charge of the distribution of the skins, furs and beads that are popular down in the southern region of the Fire Nation. The nobility there are all pretty liberal, and they operate under a separate set of values than the main lands."

"Meaning they don't think that all Water Tribe people are scum," Aang added. Katara nodded in acknowledgment and On Ji continued.

"He received a letter from Hakoda saying the trade didn't go through. The Water Tribe was supposed to receive steel for hunting weapons and reinforcing, and some other things. They were told to return to their own land when they came to port, and that the area was under new control and the nobles were under house arrest. It was a three week long journey for nothing, so naturally, Sokka tried to find out what happened. That was about a month and a half ago." Katar's mouth had dropped open, and she was overtaken by images and memories from her childhood. The igloos, the bone instruments- they were traditional, yes, but she knew the tribe could use some new materials to sustain them. The ports were supposed to be open to trade- why had they been turned away?

"Sokka tried to get into Caldera- I think he was probably hoping to find you, as well- but again, he was turned away. He waited for a few days, but the guards at the borders told him the Fire Lord was unavailable, on a trip that would take a few months."

"But that's not true. I just saw her tonight!" Katara interrupted. Aang nodded, and On Ji looked very serious.

"We know. Sokka came to us after that, hoping he could get in to see Azula with Aang, so I got everything together and set out with him. I didn't exactly know where Aang was though, because the last time I'd gotten a letter from him, he was on Ember Island looking through records." Aang interrupted her again, as they'd been doing the whole time, and Katara found herself wondering if they even knew they were doing it.

"Remember, I told you about that the first time I came to see you. Then Iroh got the letter from your old house in Caldera, so I came here. Remember?"

"Yes," she said, and On Ji went back to her story, leaning into Aang and letting her hand fall on top of his when she scooted closer to him.

"We travelled from Ember Island to the outskirts of Caldera, following mentions of the Avatar, and that was when Sokka got another letter from Hakoda saying there was a problem with the trade agreement, and that it was put on hold. Hakoda checked with other outlying sources, and apparently, Azula's been cutting off supplies to the war zones she is supposed to be rebuilding. We snuck into the city a couple weeks ago, and we've been looking for everyone since."

"Wait," Katara stopped her. "You're telling me that Sokka is in the city? My brother's here?" Her heart pounded, full of joy and love, poisoned by the sudden dread that filled her body.

It was Aang's eyes that did it. He'd never been able to keep the truth from her for long, and at least that much hadn't changed. "Katara… he went to see Azula. Demanded to know where you were, and why the trade agreements fell through, or at least that's what we think. He never came back from the palace."

Her world tilted like ice floating on water, and she plunged into icy disbelief, unable to move. His face, still young and baby-cheeked, hovered along the edge of her vision. His voice wrapped haunting arms around her chest and squeezed so that she couldn't breathe, and for a moment, everything turned red.

"She took Sokka?" she asked flatly. She thought back to the party, how Azula had been so confident, so easygoing. It wasn't an act- she really did have the upper hand. And Katara had walked right into that trap, blown it sky-high. "No," she moaned, "no." After everything I did tonight… she could've gone right back to the palace and…

"Katara!" On Ji sprang forward and grabbed her just as she began to veer to one side, hardly able to feel anything. "I'm so sorry, Katara. I went to find Aang, and he said he was going to the palace… I let my feelings get in the way. I should've gone with him, it's my fault."

"No," Katara barked harshly, and the other woman's eyebrows shot up. "I'm sorry," Katara apologized immediately, "but no. Sokka knew the risks, and he knew what he was doing. We just… we need to find him. How long ago was that?"

The answer was swift, and crippling. "Four days. We've been searching for news, and for ways to get into the palace, but we haven't found anything yet. He just disappeared." Katara got up and started pacing, rubbing her hand up and down her thigh to quell the needles of pain from sitting too long. She needed to find her brother. She needed to find Zuko, she needed to protect Lani, she needed to think of how to save her tribe from the harsh winter ahead. She could feel her knees buckling under the weight of being who she was, but she knew she'd never again wish she was anyone else.

"We'll find a way in. I have someone- well, he's an expert in being secretive and he knows this city like the back of his hand. I'll ask him." Aang didn't look convinced, and Katara lost her patience, rounding on him. "What are you looking at me like that for? You know I can do this, Aang, and you have to know there's no way to keep me from trying. You're either in or out."

"Katara, you know I love Sokka too!" he protested immediately, vaulting himself up with a small burst of wind. "I'll do anything to get him back! But- well, it's Azula. She's dangerous. We don't know anything about why she's doing this, or what she's planning."

"Then we'll find out! Look, we need to save Sokka, and then we'll all find Zuko. He'll make it right, I know he will." There came that look again- doubtful, as if she was a raving lunatic. A light erupted in the back of her mind, and Katara stopped short, staring intently at Aang. He fidgeted under her gaze, obviously uncomfortable. "You don't believe me, do you?" she asked.

Aang blushed, and On Ji stood up quietly. "I'll go check on the tea and pickled plums," she murmured, and gave Katara a kind smile as she left the room. The two old friends stood facing each other like fighters, sizing each other up. Aang struck first, contrary to his personality.

"Azula told you Zuko was still alive. What if she lied?"

Katara gritted her teeth. It would be impossible to explain. "She wasn't lying. It was more of a slip-up than anything else. She was trying to tell me to give up, knowing I would do the exact opposite, and she let it slip."

"Katara, she already has your brother. She's sending you on a fruitless chase to buy more time with Sokka! He can already be held over your head, just like Lani… just like Zuko," he added softly. Katara gaped at him, unwilling to believe he'd just said that. Azula, telling her Zuko was alive so she'd be focused on finding him instead of her own brother?

Then again, this was Azula. She didn't know what family was. For all she knew, it was normal for a sister to forsake a brother. Bitch.

"Aang… I know it's hard to believe. I know I sound crazy, but there's just this feeling. I had to know what happened to him, then I had to find out who did it. Now, there's this small hope that all this was for a good purpose. I can't give that up." Tears clogged her throat as she finally admitted this weakness, and she shut her eyes, trying to regain composure.

She heard soft footsteps, and then Aang sighed, his breath hitting her forehead. "Katara," he muttered, and wound his long arms around her. She let him hold her for a moment without thinking, and when she finally put her arms back around him, she realized something was different. There was nothing else to the embrace but comfort, a sort of brotherly love. "Do you really believe that?"

"Yes," she sniffed. He drew back, keeping hold of her arms so she'd look him in the eyes. The Avatar grinned gently and wiped her cheek with the back of one finger, and she coughed out a laugh. "Oh, Aang," she sighed, "when did you get so old?"

His eyes softened, and he glanced down. "I guess it had to happen sometime, right?" he said. They stood quietly for a moment, and she felt a last little jolt of panic. This was it, then? The end of childhood, of riding penguins and telling ghost stories at campfires. This was the end of not knowing themselves well enough to love, of those first confused kisses. She wanted to scream for time to wait, so she could run back and do it all one more time to cherish every second she'd wasted.

Then, the desperation was gone, leaving two tired people in its wake with no idea of what the other had just gone through.

"Yeah, I guess it did," she whispered back.

The end. Kidding! Haha… ha. Sorry. Well, I'm going to go write the next few chapters, so hopefully I'll get some good feedback on this and see where it goes review, please and thank you!