Hello everyone! Welcome back to chapter 43 of Sparks Ignite! Surprise! Two chapters in one day! These chapters kinda go together so I decided to upload them together! So get ready! As always, I do not own Avatar or its characters. Onto the story!

Fate and Destiny are a funny thing. They are so permanent, but yet can be changed by the smallest thing. It can cause the moon and the sun to collide. Or the most opposite Sparks to Ignite.

Chapter 43: The Oasis

They moved as a unit, swift and silent. Although they were underground, the last thing they needed was somebody dropping onto them. The noise from the falling rocks behind them was already enough to give away their position, but they had no choice but to keep moving forward.

Zuko watched Katara as the sweat beeded down her brow. She was getting tired, that was easy to tell. But she wouldn't stop. He had told her if she needed a break to let them know; Toph could have him in a rock in a moment to let her rest. But he also knew she would never take it. The sooner they finished it, the sooner they could get home.

"We're here" Zuko said, being the first to see the slope of the tunnel begin to ascend. Katara let out the breath she was holding but didn't loosen her grip. It wasn't break time yet.

They reached the first metal door, which towered above them. The door arched to cover the entire space of the tunnel and was engraved with markings about what the cell contained.

Forbid all who enter here

Here lies where the devil speaks

Only those with a pure heart and a solid mind

With the grace of equal power

May Enter Here

Ursa had helped him come up with it, using some of her own words to make it sound forbidding. He smiled slightly, but it quickly faded as he turned to Toph and nodded.

Toph stepped forward and pulled a piece of metal from her pocket. She used it to morph into a key and placed it into the unique shaped hole in the door. As soon as she turned it, the door swung open. She took the metal back into her hand and formed it into a ball.

Not only did the door require a unique shape, but it also required a unique type of space metal, that the gang had only ran into once in their journeys across the world. This detail was not spoken, to keep prying ears from hearing.

They kept moving forward until they reached the next obstacle, the Lake.

The tunnel opened up to a peninsula that stuck out across a large expanse of water. The tide was treacherous and far too dangerous to swim through. Only a waterbender, and a skilled one, could get them across.

Zuko took a step back and allowed Aang to take the lead, noticing how the boy almost pretended like he wasn't there. Aang spread his feet and put his hands in front of him, he remembered what Katara had taught him so long ago, how to part water and allow them to pass. Normally, they would do it together, but today was very different, in more ways than one.

As he moved his hands outwards, the water parted and allowed them to pass. But as the water parted there was obstacles in the way that forced them to go around. One could not just walk straight through the lake but follow an unmarked path. An intruder was meant to get lost in the lake, get tired and drown in its depths.

When they reached the other side, Zuko immediately went to Katara, "Do you need a break? We're into the mountain now, nobody can hear him here" he told her, resting his hand on the small of her back. Aang watched them and glared, but otherwise kept his mouth shut.

The bloodbender shook her head, still focusing on her target, "Let's just keep moving"

Zuko sighed but obeyed her wishes. But he didn't leave her side, not wanting to risk her safety in anyway. He remembered the promise he made to Sokka, but also himself. He wouldn't stop until he knew she was alright.

The tunnel narrowed again and continued to until the only room left was to crawl through. But the group stopped, not being tricked by the fake maze that led to nowhere. Toph ran her hand across the rock until she found the right spot. She pushed her hand through, and the rock parted its ways, showing a new passage, with plenty of room to walk through.

Zuko knew of some parts of the entrance but there was some that were even a mystery to him. He couldn't help but be impressed with the bender's handy work.

The tunnel opened up to another door, but this one was unlike the metal one they had seen before. The door had metal pipes all throughout and several holes. The entire door was like a maze of pipes that lead to buttons in the center. Aang pushed air through certain pipes at certain times to make the air go through the maze. As the air pushed through the pipes, it slowly clicked each button until each one was pressed, and the doors swung open.

They only had one obstacle left, and it was firebending. They had saved it for last because if the rebels were fire nation like they believed, then this would be the only obstacle they could get through. Hopefully they would get stuck on the obstacles beforehand.

The wall was lined with hundreds of bricks, each one with a different marking. Zuko went to the wall and lit a fire in the palm of his hand. He pressed his hand to one brick, different from all the rest. The brick lit up and the fire spread across the wall, until it crumbled and opened up to a large room.

To everyone's surprise, it had trees and grass and a small pond in the middle with Koi fish swimming. It was its own private oasis.

"He doesn't deserve this…" Zuko spoke, looking around the room. There were even etchings of a sky in the ceiling. After all he had done, he deserved a metal cell, with a pit of long horn alligator's underneath. But instead he got trees and turtle ducks.

Aang glared at him, "He's never going to see the sun or another person ever again… I think that's punishment enough"

Toph closed the doors behind them, "Katara you can let him go now"

They could see all of the resolve left in Katara leave, as she lowered her hands. She stood on her feet for a moment, very wobbly, before starting to fall, but Zuko was right behind her, catching her in his arms.

He looked down at her, worry written all over his face. "I'm okay…" Katara let out in a weak voice, trying to use the energy she had left to stand. But Zuko shook his head and lifted her into his arms.

"I knew this was a bad idea for you…" the firebender said, holding the girl close to his chest. Even with the state that Katara was in, Aang kept his hard demeanor. Toph could feel the hint of remorse in the airbender, the part that wanted to run to her and grab her from Zuko's arms. But his anger clouded all of that, so he kept his stature like rock, hoping that he wouldn't crumble.

No one paid much attention to Ozai who lay panting in the corner. He had lost a lot of energy himself after his body forced him to move forward. He looked around his new cell, and felt the grass beneath his feet, "How… generous of you" he spoke with a snarl in his voice.

Zuko glared down at the man that shared his blood. He refused to ever call him a father again.

"We need to keep moving" Aang spoke, his voice hard and cold, "The longer we're here, the more chance there is of somebody finding us"

Zuko nodded in agreement, before taking one last look at Ozai. He then looked at the girl in his arms, placing a kiss on her forehead, not caring what the other boy had to say about it.

"Rest… I'll carry you home…"

Katara gave him a weak nod before letting her eyes droop closed. Within moments, she was fast asleep.

Ta-Daaa! I hope you guys liked this chapter! What did you think of the challenges? What do you think is coming next? Find out next chapter! Until next time!