oOo
There was a sound behind her, a presence, she felt it even before the sound registered. Katara whirled, hands at the ready, a chunk of ice hovering at the right height for her to kick it and send whoever was trying to sneak up on her over the side of the airship. She was seriously annoyed at this point, and happy to have someone to take it out on.
The ice fell back to the airship with a loud THUNK, but she hardly heard it. Her eyes, her ears, her pounding heart, every part of her was focused on the man standing before her.
Zuko.
"Zuko?" she whispered, taking a half-step forward, then stepping back again in disbelief. Surely her eyes were deceiving her, he was some hallucination pulled from her intense need to see exactly him at exactly this moment…
But no. "Katara!" he said, relief in his voice, reflected in his amber eyes. His step forward was far from hesitant, and he caught her in his arms before she could take another step away from him, absently kicking the ice chunk to one side.
"Zuko!" she whispered, clutching him to her in a sudden terror that he would vanish once again. They'd spent so much time looking for each other, it couldn't possibly be this easy to find each other again. Or could it? As his lips sought hers, as they locked in an embrace, she found herself losing that fear, abandoning it to the intensity of relief and bottled up passion and gratitude and a host of other emotions she would have to sort out later.
If there was a later. Suddenly Zuko pulled her away, throwing the two of them back several feet as a fire ball exploded where they had just been standing. Katara, still dazed from the kiss and the sight and feel and, with a wrinkled nose, the smell of him, nevertheless found the ability to strike back at the unfortunate rebel, sending him back over the side and down a slide of ice even as Zuko aimed a fire ball of his own where the man had been. They heard a startled yelp, and both laughed, Katara giggling into her free hand, the other clutching Zuko to her desperately. She wasn't about to let him out of her hold, let alone her sight, for a very long time. Not if she could help it.
She looked up at Zuko. He was here, he was really here…and a battle continued to rage at their feet. "Zuko," she said quietly. "We have to stop this."
"I couldn't agree with you more," he replied. Taking her hand in his, he headed for the air ship's edge, peering down at the chaos below. Isolated swirls continued, but the rebels were clearly outnumbered. His father, of course, was nowhere in sight. Neither were Toph nor Aang, but he didn't have time to worry about them. Not right now. Right now, all he needed to focus on was ending this rebellion, this time for good. He took a deep breath and stepped forward on a column of flame, floating just past the air ship's edge. With a calculating eye on the placement of people below, he shot several explosive blasts from his clenched fists, including a lightning bolt or two just for effect.
That caught the attention of almost everyone below, as they automatically ran for cover, temporarily ending hostilities. Almost immediately everyone's attention was directed skyward; Katara saw quite a few faces, both friends and enemies, gaping up at the Fire Lord, including those still struggling to free themselves from Toph's effective stone cocoons.
Zuko glared down at them. "Everyone cease this ridiculous fighting!" he roared. "Your Fire Lord commands it!"
oOo
Aang gracefully ascended to the ground, folding his kite back up and dropping it to the ground as he warily faced Ozai. The former Fire Lord was standing at the forest's edge, and seemed to be waiting for something. For himself, perhaps? Only one way to find out…
"Ozai! Surrender so we can put an end to this needless fighting!" Internally, Aang winced. That was pompous even for the Avatar, but it was also true, so he ignored his inner critic and focused on his outer opponent.
Ozai stepped forward, disdain written on every feature.. "There can only be one outcome of this meeting if you wish your Earth Bender to live," he said, smiling evilly as Aang took an involuntary step toward him, fists clenched. "And I do have her, have no doubts about that."
"Where is she?" Aang demanded. Part of him wanted to rush back to the battle site to make sure Toph was safe, but the rest of him sensed that Ozai wasn't bluffing. He would never expose himself to danger like this, to being taken captive and returned to prison, based on a mere bluff. He was too sure of himself, too arrogant even when the odds were against him, and too damn proud. As far as Aang knew, the bastard had never bluffed in his life.
Ozai shook his head. "Oh, no, we have things to discuss before I give you that information. You, in particular, have a task to perform. And before you demand proof, here is the best I could do without actually removing a body part." Coolly, he held up the green band that held Toph's shaggy brown hair away from her neck. "And if this isn't enough, the body part can easily be arranged for."
Aang shook his head. "What do you want?" he demanded, once again ignoring his body's urge to shake Toph's whereabouts out of the former Fire Lord. "We found her and Katara before, and we'll find her again," he added, trying his own hand at what he prayed wasn't really a bluff.
"Possibly. But I doubt you'll find her in time to save her life. She's been poisoned."
Aang felt all the color drain from his face. "With what?" he asked through suddenly stiff lips.
"The same thing I had my faithless wife poisoned with, of course," Ozai replied. "Arynaesic." His lip curled with disdain. "Do you truly wish to bet her life on your ability to find her without my cooperation?"
"And what, exactly, do I have to do to gain that cooperation?" Aang asked grimly.
Ozai took a step closer, then another, stalking toward the Avatar with an intensity the younger man could almost feel. It took everything he had not to fall back a pace as Ozai approached him, nearer and nearer, until their faces nearly touched. Then Zuko's father leaned to one side, whispering in Aang's ear.
"I want you to restore my Fire Bending."
