"Find a reason: Is it the change of season? Maybe it's just a color I can't see, or maybe it's not meant for me.

Is it all of the above? See, that's the funny thing about love; it's never been a friend to me, just an artificial enemy.

I've known it's face, but only watched it leave." Colorblind, Movements

Xx

"Oof!"

Katara raises to her feet and spins around as the noise of someone hitting the ground echoes through the vast cavern. She reaches for her water in case she needs to defend herself as she looks at the man who is sprawled awkwardly on the floor. She gasps as she recognizes him and bends the water back into her waterskin.

"Zuko!"

He whips around at hearing her voice, his right eye wide as he recognises her. "Katara!"

They run towards each other, and she practically bowls him over with the force of her body as they crash into one another. Her arms wrap around his neck, and he lifts her up for just a moment when he gets his arms around her waist. He's always so warm.

"Katara..."

Her name falls like feathers from his lips, and part of her heart melts at the sound. She feels a humming in her chest, a slight vibration in her soul, and it feels so right to be close to him. He sets her down on the ground, but they don't let go of each other; she's so happy to see him, she thinks she might cry. His arms are wrapped entirely around her waist, so far that his fingers are creeping back around to her front, and she revels in the feel of his warmth, basking in it like a cat in the sun. Her head is pressed into his neck, that smell of wood smoke and something uniquely Zuko flooding her senses. She can feel his face tucked into her shoulder, his warm breath ghosting through her tunic, and their close proximity is driving her crazy.

They stand together and breathe, Katara's panic dissipating the longer they hold each other. She could stay like this forever— she wants to stay like this forever— but they're kind of stuck in an underground cave with no exit, and it's pretty important that they get out.

"Zuko, your sister—"

"Azula—"

They start speaking at the same time, and Zuko slowly starts to let her go. "She's here, I know."

"It's worse than that; she's in control of the Dai Li." She grabs his hands, needing the comfort of his skin against hers. "They've been brainwashing people. We came across our friend Jet in the city, and—"

"Wait—" A strange expression crosses his face, accompanied by a slight blush. "You know Jet?" She blushes at that as well, looking away from Zuko's eyes.

"I mean..." she shuffles her feet. "I met him back before everything happened at the North Pole… wait, how do you know him?" His blush deepens, causing Katara to raise her eyebrows.

"I met him on the ferry ride here from Full Moon Bay." Now it's his turn to look away, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck in embarrassment. "We— he— uhg." He turns his face towards the ceiling. He's so cute when he's flustered. "He's very… charming?" He looks back at her with a wince, and she's able to read between the lines.

"Yes, he definitely is." Zuko lets out a breath and his face relaxes as she moves on. "But anyway, he was brainwashed by the Dai Li. He totally forgot his entire past; when we found him he didn't even think Smellerbee and Longshot had been in the city with him."

"Shit." Zuko's brow creases as he looks around the cavern. "If Azula has control over the Dai Li, she has control over the entirety of Ba Sing Se. This is bad, Katara."

"What are we going to do?" She looks up into his eyes. Her heart tugs in her chest, trying to pull her to him.

"I don't know." His voice is quiet, defeated. "My uncle escaped, maybe he'll be able to help somehow."

"Aang and Sokka aren't in the city right now, but Toph still is." Hope flickers in her heart. "Maybe they'll find each other, and…" she trails off. What could Toph and Iroh even do if they found each other? They were just two people, and even though they're both incredibly talented benders, they can't go up against a whole army of Dai Li agents.

They stand in silence, the gravity of their situation weighing heavily on their shoulders. Zuko pulls Katara to him, and she slides her hands around his waist as he wraps her shoulders in his arms. She presses her face to his chest and tries not to cry; crying wouldn't do them any good. She has to stay calm and think of a solution.

"Zuko?" She meets his eyes, a question bubbling up her throat. "Back at the North Pole, what did Zhao mean when he said he would tell your father that you were protecting Aang instead of catching him?" A darkness pulls over Zuko like a veil, his expression stony and intense as he focuses his eyes somewhere over her head.

"My father banished me when I was thirteen." His voice is quiet and low. "I had disrespected him, and my punishment was banishment. He told me I could only come home if I captured the Avatar and brought him back to the Fire Nation with me."

"Wait, how old are you?" She's not the best at math, but Zuko is definitely not thirteen.

"I'm twenty, so that was seven years ago." Katara's face contorts with confusion.

"But, Sokka and I just found Aang, it hasn't even been a year. How did your father expect you to find him when he hadn't been seen or heard from in almost a hundred years?"

"He didn't." Katara can hear the anger bubbling inside of Zuko tinting his voice. "He never expected me to find Aang. He expected me to search the world for years and never find him, so that I could never return home." Now she feels her own anger, simmering in her veins.

"Zuko…" She pulls him close to her, trying to calm herself so she can calm him too. "That's so messed up. I'm so sorry he did that to you."

"Hm." Zuko rests his chin on the top of her head, not saying anything else as he rubs her upper arms with his hands. She pulls back just enough to look into his eyes, the golden color sparkling in the green glow of the crystals. Crystals… She remembers the green crystals in the cave of two lovers, the story that she felt such a connection to, and the hook in her heart seems to be pulling her towards him stronger than ever. Kiss me. She glances at his lips, looking back up to see him doing the same to her. Kiss me. They lock eyes, their faces getting closer and closer, and Katara's eyes start to slide closed—

A deafening boom shatters the moment as the wall beside them smashes to bits, forcing them to turn towards the noise. So close. As the dust settles, Aang and Iroh walk into the cavern.

"Aang!"

"Uncle!"

They all run towards each other, Aang hugging Katara and Zuko embracing his uncle in relief. Katara turns to give Iroh a hug as well, and she sees Zuko looking totally lost as Aang leans in to hug him, and he pats the younger boy's back awkwardly.

"I'm so glad we found you guys!" Aang is smiling bright like always, as is Iroh.

"But we must leave immediately," Iroh interjects. "Azula and the Dai Li will be here any minute."

"Right!" Aang nods at Iroh, and the four of them take off down the tunnel.

Xx

They run down the tunnel at full speed, hoping that Azula and the Dai Li won't catch up. But of course, Azula is always one step ahead, and a handful of Dai Li agents come running down the passage after them.

"I'll hold them off!" Iroh turns and stops, dropping into a bending stance. "You three keep going, and I'll catch up with you!"

"Uncle!" Zuko doesn't want to leave Iroh here. He knows he can take care of himself, but he has a bad feeling about all of this.

"Go, Zuko!" He yells to Zuko as he bends a wall of flame and sends it towards the Dai Li, and the other three benders continue down the passage, Zuko's flame the only light they have until they come into a massive room full of glowing green crystals. They slow down just a bit, Zuko and Katara each taking in the scene with wide eyes, when a flash of bright light catches Zuko's eye behind them.

Lightning crashes into where he had just been standing, sending the three of them flying through the air. They crash down in a heap twenty feet away as Azula and two dozen Dai Li agents swarm at them from the shadows.

"Oh, Zuzu, always making the worst choices." She walks calmly towards them, the three benders standing back to back to cover each other, Zuko making sure that he's the one in Azula's line of sight. "You know, if you helped me capture the Avatar, I'd let you come back home with me. Father would restore you honor and your birthright, and everything could go back to normal."

Azula always lies. "No, Azula." Her eye twitches as he says it. "Nothing I do will make father love me, not even bringing him the Avatar. I won't let him hurt this world even more than he already has."

"Pity." Azula examines her nails, and in the blink of an eye, she attacks, and the fight begins.

Zuko holds Azula off while Aang and Katara battle against the Dai Li. Zuko notices how seamlessly the three of them work together; water, earth, or air coming in to protect his back when he leaves it open, his fire doing the same for the others when they need it. For a while he thinks that they might actually stand a chance, that they might actually beat Azula, but more Dai Li continue to pour into the crystal-lit cavern, seemingly materializing from the walls themselves. They converge around Zuko and Katara; he doesn't know where Aang is, and he's preparing himself to fight until the very end when he sees Aang start to glow and rise slowly into the air from across the cavern.

Everyone in the room gazes up at the Avatar in disbelief, watching as his eyes and arrows glow an ethereal white. And just as Zuko is gaining hope, just as he starts thinking they may still have a chance to get out of here alive, a bright flash splits the cavern in two as Azula aims a powerful bolt of lightning straight at Aang, shooting him out of the air and onto the ground. He doesn't move when he lands.

"No!" Katara shouts and rushes over to Aang, creating a huge wave that blasts the Dai Li out of her way as she goes. Zuko runs after her, trying to get to Aang so he can help; he doesn't know what, but he has to do something. He gets to Aang, and Katara is crouched down on the floor, holding his limp body in her lap. Zuko's heart stutters dangerously in his chest at the sight. Dai Li agents close in around them, and Zuko turns around, ready to do whatever it takes to protect Aang and Katara, when his uncle jumps down from the wall above, spraying fire towards the Dai Li, cutting the agents off from the four of them.

"Go!" he shouts at them as Zuko starts adding to his firewall, surrounding Katara and Aang on all sides. "Get the Avatar out of here!" Zuko turns back to look at Katara, her blue eyes blown wide, tears streaming down her face, and nods to her.

"We'll see each other again!" he shouts to her, and she shakes her head as more tears fall onto her cheeks. "Go, Katara!"

He hears her sob before she backs up into a pool of water, and bends herself and Aang up a waterfall and out of the cavern. Zuko lets out a deep, shaky breath, and he and his uncle stop bending, both falling to kneel on the floor. Azula approaches them, her face betraying her anger.

"Take my uncle back to the Fire Nation." Dai Li agents come forward to incapacitate the both of them by encasing them in crystals. "He can rot in prison for all I care. But you..." She stalks towards Zuko, a manic glint in her eye as she gets right up in his face. "I have better plans for you, Zuzu."

Xx

Katara sits on Appa's head, cradling Aang in her lap with Sokka, Toph, King Kuei, and Bosco in the saddle behind her. She takes out the small, delicate vial of water she got from the Spirit Oasis, and opens it up. She bends the water into her hand, pressing it to the starburst wound on Aang's back, watching it glow briefly before fading away, absorbing into his wound. Katara sobs, tears still streaming down her face, until Aang's tattoos glow white, and he coughs. There is a collective sigh of relief from the saddle, and Katara cradles Aang to her chest as she continues to cry.

"How did you guys get out?" Sokka asks once Katara has stopped crying with Aang now sleeping in the saddle on a makeshift bed. A sob crawls up her throat, and she swallows it to answer her brother.

"Zuko and Iroh—" She has to take a few deep breaths before she can continue. "They stayed behind so I could get Aang out." Sokka moves to put his arm around her shoulders while Toph sits beside Aang with her hand on his chest, a morose look etched onto her face. "What's she going to do to them?"

It's a rhetorical question; none of them know what Azula is capable of, and none of them want to think of their two friends enduring whatever she deems a suitable punishment. Katara's sobs start anew as they fly off into the night.

Xx

Azula had knocked Zuko out after commanding the Dai Li to encase him in green crystals, and he comes to with a massive headache. He is sitting in a dark room, his hands, legs, and head strapped into a chair so tight that he can't move at all. His breathing starts to quicken, panic flooding his veins as he tries to make sense of his surroundings. A single Dai Li agent comes into the room and lights a lamp that sits on a track that surrounds the chair. The light starts to move along the track, slow at first, then picking up speed. Zuko feels his breathing slow as his brain starts to fog over. He tries to fight against whatever is happening to him, but the world fades away until only the light passing by his face remains. The Dai Li agent speaks:

"I must capture the Avatar to regain my honor."