For the Love of Him -or- The Betrothal

Disclaimer: Okay, I'm tired of writing these disclaimers. For all you lawyer-people out there, go back to any of my previous chapters to get the 'I don't own' stuff! ...Well, just as a precaution...I don't own Avatar, the writers and people at Nickelodeon do I guess...much as it pains me to admit it. I own all the OCs and stuff like that though, so please don't take them and blah blah blah blah blah blah.

Okay! This time I have somebody to dedicate this to! This chapter is for Mattie and Cala! Thanks sooooooooooooo much for always reading my stuff and helping me figure out what to do with it! I never would have figured out how to do that plot twist without you, Mattie! And extra thanks for bugging me to get to work Cala! Domo arigatou gozaimasu! Oh, and here! •hands you both a shiny Avatar trophy• Enjoy!

The rest of you out there don't get anything...but you can still enjoy the story anyways, okay? Good! AND REVIEW DARNIT!

Chapter 8- Revelations


Three days. Zuko sighed grumpily and scorched another tally mark onto the stone wall. Three days, and not a word from anyone outside this cell. He sighed again, looking about the room -it was starting to look all too familiar now- to see what his uncle was up to. The answer was nothing of course. The old man was sitting off in a corner with a cup of tea, supposedly meditating, though the occasional snore from his direction marked otherwise. Zuko grumbled to himself and climbed to his feet. How long do they intend to keep us here? he wondered as he began pacing about the circular room. We haven't heard anything since we got off that ship and they put us here! Is three days not enough time for them to decide what to do with us? If we were back in the Fire Nation something like this would have been finished immediately! Are people in other lands so indecisive?

Zuko lashed out at a nearby chair in annoyance. The dry old wood cracked and splintered under his assault and several bits of wood went flying, a few hitting the back of Iroh's head, knocking him unceremoniously into his tea. Obviously unconcerned with his now tea-soaked state, the old general snored even louder. "How can you sleep when we are being held captive in enemy territory?" Zuko demanded of his slumbering uncle, amazed that the thought would even cross his mind.

Zuko himself had barely gotten any sleep during their stay in the Earth Kingdom. True, he would occasionally find himself nodding off, but that usually happened only when Iroh was fully awake, ready to wake him if anything should happen. That somehow the old man was comfortable enough to sleep deeply at all was incredulous to Zuko. He growled to himself in annoyance and continued pacing around and around their circular cell. Over an over again he replayed the events of three days ago. Where did the plan flaw? He wondered to himself, biting his lower lip in concentration. Did we not get far enough out to sea perhaps? Or maybe we let our guard down too much... Zuko's face contorted in anger at himself. I should never have believed the Avatar would come peacefully like that! I was too arrogant, too sure of myself again! He let out an angry roar, ashamed that he had failed once again. Tongues of fire leapt off of him, filling the room with an angry reddish light. Several small plants that had managed to grow in the stifling room burst into flame, unable to withstand the heat Zuko was giving off.

Enraged, he grabbed another chair by it's legs and was just about to send it crashing into a wall when the very portion of earth he'd been aiming at suddenly melted away, revealing a stunned Katara and several earthbenders. They stared in at the bizarre scene lain out before them. The old general asleep on a table in a corner with hot tea spilled all down his front and bits of wood lodged in his hair; several plants scattered about the room, each burning cheerfully like a little torch; the various burn and scorch marks on the wall opposite them, and at the center of it all, a wild-eyed Zuko clutching a chair that was slowly beginning to smolder above his head with such a look of stunned confusion on his face that it almost caused Katara to burst out laughing.

Zuko quickly sat the chair down and sat down in it, crossing his arms in an attempt to re-impose his usual cold and aloof attitude. It didn't really work, and Katara had to actually cover her mouth to stifle the giggle bubbling up from inside her. When Zuko noticed this, his look of false aloofness turned to one of real annoyance, which quickly silenced the waterbender. Coughing to clear her voice, she motioned for Zuko to stand. "Uh...you'd better come with us then. And bring him." She pointed to the still slumbering Iroh.

Zuko was worried in spite of himself. The earthbenders were watching him with a look he couldn't fathom and for some reason that unsettled him. He hurriedly went to rouse his uncle in an attempt to shift their eyes from himself. After a few moments of shaking Iroh back and forth and repeated calls of 'Iroh, get up!' the general finally managed to stir himself. Not even noticing his disheveled state, he stood and joined Zuko, looking around and taking their guests in. "Have you finally decided what you plan to do with us?" Zuko asked, feeling the guards watching him again.

Katara's amused look changed to one of worry for the prince, something that shocked Zuko and told him more than he'd expected to know. Something had happened during their imprisonment. Something that concerned not only the Earth Kingdom, but himself as well. What could concern the both of us enough to worry her? Zuko wondered, his unsettled look mirroring his uncle's. Seeing their faces, Katara just shook her head and motioned for them to follow her. "There's something we need to...discuss...with you. Please, don't try anything." she called back over her shoulder. Zuko and Iroh shared a look and then followed after her, the guards falling in behind them.

•Flashback to Three Days Ago•

"So what do you suppose we do with them?" A soldier asked after shutting the captured Fire Nation-ers in their earthen cell. He looked back and forth between the three children walking back through the hallway, only slightly ahead of him. Though he was obviously slightly disconcerted with having to ask mere children for orders, one of them was the Avatar. If anyone would know what to do with them, he would. With an expectant look, the soldier turned to face the little airbender. Aang looked thoughtful for a moment and opened his mouth to say something. Unfortunately, before he could even get one word out, Sokka broke into the conversation, his boisterous, slightly irritating voice echoing around in the empathy hallway.

"I say we keep them shut up in that cell until the war ends! That should teach them to mess with us!" He punched the air triumphantly, grinning in a gloating way, the thought of keeping the crowned prince of the Fire Nation prisoner being a pleasant one for him.

Aang shook his head at Sokka. "Nah, we can't do that!"

"Awww! Why not?" Sokka looked indignant, irritated with Aang for spoiling his idea.

"Because that would be sinking to their level." Aang said sagely as they rounded a corner, entering into one of the building's many large meeting-style rooms. "And besides, we can find a better use for them. Look at the map here." He motioned to a large map laid out across one of the nearby tables. The other three stopped walking and gazed down at it, intent as to what the Avatar would say. "Look here." He pointed to a small brownish marker on the coast of the continent. "This is the Earth Kingdom's troops. We're here too. Now look here." He pointed to several red markers. They seemed to form and odd pattern of sorts, flowing in at intervals across the charted seas and fanning out across the Earth Kingdom. Several smallish markers -meaning smallish groups of fighters- had only that day been placed in the vicinity of the larger brown marker. "These Fire Nation troops have just entered the area. It's great timing if you ask me." Aang smiled and looked over to see if the others were following him so far.

"Great timing? What do you mean? The last thing we need is firbenders around now!" Sokka was livid, almost frantic, and he kept fidgeting, as if anxious to go and see whether or not there really were troops there. And if there were, he would most certainly want to fight them.

"Yes, I'm not quite sure what makes that such a good thing." Katara just looked concerned. The soldier remained silent still, but he nodded in agreement with both Katara and Sokka's statements. After a moment Katara continued. "This could be bad you know. When the Fire Nation finds out we have Zuko..." But there she trailed off, a sudden understanding look coming into her eyes. "Oh! I see now!"

Sokka looked back and forth from his sister and Aang repeatedly, trying to figure out what it was that they both seemed to grasp so easily. "What?" he finally blurted out, "What's so clear now?" Aang and Katara shared a laugh at the warrior's expense. Of course, that just made him madder that he didn't understand and he attempted to put on his 'I'm the oldest, so you'd better tell me' look. When that just made his friends laugh even harder, he gave way to pouting, stomping his foot and demanding, "C'mon you guys! I want to know!"

Still laughing at Sokka's behavior, Aang finally shrugged and admitted, "Well, he's Lord Ozai's son, right? The soldiers probably wouldn't want to hurt him. And if they know we're holding him here, yes it might make them attack, but I think it's much more likely that they won't really do anything. If something happened to Zuko then there wouldn't be anyone left to take over the Fire Nation after Ozai."

Understanding finally dawned on Sokka. "I get it! They won't be able to attack, because they might hurt Zuko! So if we keep him here it'll be a sort of shield against the Fire Nation, right?" Sokka looked around at the others for their agreement.

"Yes, Sokka, something like that." Katara patted him on the shoulder. Out of nowhere, her happy smile turned to a slight frown. Suddenly it seemed, something had started nagging at her. Something important about Aang's idea. But what was it? She couldn't quite remember, though she had the feeling it wasn't anything good. Before she could spend too much time dwelling on it though, Aang motioned that he'd thought of something else too.

"I know! We could even use him as a-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, mighty Avatar, but it is getting late, and it would probably do the three of you good to get something to eat and then maybe some sleep." The soldier interrupted after glancing out a window and spotting the suddenly night sky. "You can continue your discussion tomorrow if you'd like. I would be happy to bring along a few of the commanders of the troops to see if there's anything they can do. For now though I think it would be best if you go relax a bit." he insisted further after Sokka let out a huge yawn.

"Well, I suppose we should get some sleep. Today was pretty exciting, huh?" Katara was still a little worried about whatever it had been that was bothering her, but the thought of food and a nice bed pushed the thought from her mind. "C'mon you guys, lets go get something to eat!"

"Yeah, now you're talking!" Sokka was excited again, the thought of food causing him to almost dance on the spot. "Let's go! Let's go!" he cheered. Katara just rolled her eyes at him.

Aang was pouting a bit. "Awww...but my plan!" he protested. "I really wanted to hear what you guys thought of it..." he trailed off, looking down at his feet.

"Don't worry Aang, we'll hear it tomorrow! And besides..." she hurriedly whispered something to the soldier, who nodded and then left for the dining area at a very fast walk. "...I hear they have custard tarts." She grinned as she said that, watching as Aang went from pouty kid to, well, franticly bouncing around kid.

"Custard tarts! Well what are we still standing here for? Let's go!" He took both Katara and Sokka by their arms and ran after the soldier, dragging them unceremoniously behind him in his rush to get to the tarts.

"Hey, are there really custard tarts here?" Sokka whispered to his sister, a doubtful look on his face.

"Well..." She glanced at the soldier as they passed him up. He gave a feeble sort of thumbs up. "I really hope so, for our sake at least."

•That Night•

Katara yawned as she climbed into bed. Across the room Aang and Sokka did likewise, Aang pulling back his covers while Sokka just flung himself facedown on top of his mattress. "Those really were some great tarts..." Aang mumbled half to himself as he dropped into bed, asleep before his head even hit the pillow. Sokka had passed out of the realm of consciousness moments ago and his already-loud snores were soon accompanied by Aang's softer, but definitely audible snored It will be a wonder if I can sleep at all with the noise they're making. Katara thought grumpily to herself as she slipped in between the sheets and rolled the soft blanket up to her chin. I'd have to be either dead tired or deaf to sleep with them in the same room.

Of course the young waterbender was far more exhausted then she thought, and being in a real bed for the first time since they'd stopped over at Omashu she soon found herself drifting into a deep sleep. Her last fleeting thought before her own sigh-like snores joined her friends' was that she still hadn't been able to think of whatever it was that had bothered her about Aang's idea. Ahh well...I can't be too important...or else...I would have...remembered...it...

•••

The next morning Katara was up long before any of the others. Her sleep had been disrupted all through the night by haunting dreams of capture and fire and war. She shuddered as she thought of it, both cold in the morning chill and unnerved about her nightly visions. The dreams had been strangely clear, like they were actually happening, and they had none of the usual bizarreness and fuzzy shades of her common dreams. Strangely enough though, none of them were about her, or even Sokka or Aang as one would have thought. Instead each had focused on Zuko. Why would I dream about Zuko? Katara wondered to herself as she stared out a window at the newly risen sun. What could be so important about him that I would have dreams about it?

As Aang and Sokka began to stir, one dream in particular jumped to the front of Katara's mind, pushing all other thoughts away. It had been one of the more horrifying dreams, and seeing it replay in her mind's eye Katara had to clap a hand to her mouth to stop herself from crying out.

Katara stood in the middle of a dark field, surrounded by nothing but blackness. The huge towers of Bai Sing Sei, Katara's mind's own rendering of them, loomed suddenly up out of the pitch-dark night. The walls of the city glowed an eerie flickering red and Katara realized the light was not cast by the sun or moon, neither of which were present, but from the very city itself. The wall glowed brighter and brighter, nearly blinding Katara, and then with a flash, a huge pillar of flame roared up from the very heart of the town, tearing its grand towers asunder.

Fire spread from rooftop to rooftop, somehow burning the stone of the city. A huge dark figure loomed up over the city as it crumbled to the ground. The figure laughed, a cold, evil laugh that shook the very earth and sent Katara into convulsions of fear. The great form's hands spread wide over the remains of the city and slammed down, flattening what was left of the Earth Kingdom's capital into dust.

Out of the corner of her eye, Katara thought she saw a form slip out of the darkness, moving to stand even with her, staring at the great monster -it could be nothing else, it had such an evil aura- in horror. "F-father...what have you done?" The figure asked in the voice of none other than Prince Zuko. A flicker of light from the eyes of the creature, which suddenly appeared as a giant, monstrous man, cast a brief light on the distraught prince's face. He looked on in terror at the destruction and havoc the being that he had once called father had wrought on the city. "I knew you meant to defeat them, but this...this is slaughter!" he cried, stepping forward in anger. "You could have easily taken the city without killing everyone!"

The great beast of a man threw back its head and laughed, it's vile voice rolling over the empty land in waves powerful enough to knock Zuko to his knees. "Heh heh heh...you always were a weak child! Too soft for your own good!" The creature hissed, eyes blazing angrily at Zuko. "Now the war is over...I no longer need the Avatar." The red eyes narrowed and a wicked grin spread across the man's face at the stricken look of the boy on his knees before him. "Yesss...I no longer need the Avatar...and I no longer need you. Finally I can be rid of you once and for all, and clear the name of the Fire Lord of all weakness!"

The thing that had once been Zuko father lunged forward, it's great hand catching the frozen Zuko in its mighty grip and squeezing him tight. The fallen prince let out a cry as the fist squeezed tighter, threatening to crush him in its grip. "P-please Father!" The claws squeezed tighter and Zuko gasped as he felt an arm crack and shatter against the great pressure. "Please! I did not mean to be weak!" The fist tightened again and Zuko nearly swooned as first his second arm and then several ribs snapped. Somehow he managed to keep a hold on his consciousness thought tear were streaming freely down his face from the pain. "I meant you no disrespect! I did not mean to shame you! Forgive meeeeaaauuugghhhh!" he begged, his plead turning to a scream of horror midway through as the demonic man finally tired of his game and squeezed the broken prince with all his might, crushing him like a fragile glass doll.

Katara could only watch in horror as the man's form shifted to that of something so horrid she couldn't even give a name to it. With a roar of triumph, the thing cast Zuko's body to the ground, laughing as it bounced against the hard earth and then lay still, bent in many places at terribly wrong angles. The last thing Katara could hear as she slipped out of the dream was the horrible monster's laugh, echoing over and over across the ravaged land...

Katara shook herself, finally free of the dream's clutches. She looked around blankly for a few moments, trying to recall where she was. She nearly jumped out of her skin when a voice from behind her asked, "Katara? Are you okay?"

"Eeek!" she yelped, throwing her arms over herself as a protective shield. "S-stay back you monster! I'm warning you...I-I'm a waterbender, you hear?" She attempted to sound brave, though the faint quiver in her voice gave her away.

"But Katara, it's just me! I-"

"No! Stay away!" she cried again, scooting away from her would-be-attacker and sending a vase of flowers toppling from its stand, spilling the water on the floor around her.

"Katara! Calm down! I'm not trying to hurt you!"

Panicking now, Katara's eyes lit upon the spilled water. With a quick motion, she lifted it and flung the liquid over her shoulder, hoping she had decent enough aim to hit her mark. "I saw what you did to Bai Sing Sei!" Her voice shook with anger, images of the flaming city dancing across her vision. Through her connection with the water, she felt it hit whomever it was that she believed to be attacking her. "I saw it! All of what you did!"

"Ow! Katara! Quit it!" She suddenly felt her control over the water slipping away, as if a much stronger bender was trying to wrestle it away from her. She held on with all her might, but within mere seconds the liquid sloshed to the ground against the far wall. She felt two small hands encircle her wrists, though they felt half claw-like in her partially dreaming state.

"Let me go! I saw what you did..." Her angry plea quieted as she came back to herself enough to open her eyes. "What...you did..." To Zuko... She thought the last bit, shuddering uncontrollably at the horrid image the idea conjured. Tears came to her eyes, blurring her sight for a moment before the person before her wiped them away. Blinking back the tears that still wanted to escape her, she saw Aang standing just inches before her; worry filling his eyes to the point of tears. She could see the angry red mark here the water had hit the side of his head too. Aang slowly eased her to the floor when she began to cry again, this time in regret for hurting him. "Oh Aang..I'm so sorry...I don't know what happened...I was dreaming...and the fire..." She found she couldn't go on and let herself sag into Aang's arms.

He patted her head quietly, running his thin fingers through her hair to comfort her. "It's okay Katara, it was just a dream. I'm here, no one can hurt you."

For the next few moments Aang continued to soothe Katara until she was able to, with a final snuffle, wipe her eyes and climb to her feet. She offered Aang, whom had also pushed himself up to stand beside her, a small smile and then reached out to offer him a warm hug. "Thanks for comforting me. I'm okay now, thanks to you." She squeezed him a bit tighter for just a second before releasing Aang almost fully out of her embrace. She smiled widely at the confused look on his face. True, they had hugged before, but he could tell something was different about this time. There was a certain quality of the way her arms had encircled him that the previous times had not had. Without warning, Katara pulled him close again and places a small kiss atop his head.

"Ewww...Katara! Can't you and your boyfriend do that later? You two kissing wasn't on my list of 'Things I'd Like to See the Second I Wake Up' list." Katara and Aang leapt apart as Sokka's sleepy voice quite nicely interrupted them.

"Ehm...well, we should get going anyways." Katara mumbled, going quite red and pointedly looking anywhere except at Aang, who seemed to still be rather confused about the entire affair, and was looking confusedly back and forth from Sokka and Katara. With a shrug, he grabbed his staff, gave Katara a final pat on the shoulder and made for the door.

"Now, lets go have breakfast! I wonder if there will be any more custard tarts.." he trailed off as he went off ahead of the two siblings. Sokka and Katara turned to look at each other for a moment before simultaneously offering up a prayer for the cook, hoping he'd thought to make more tarts and heading after Aang.

•••

"So what was your plan, Aang?" Sokka asked through a mouthful of fish. "You were so excited about it last night, now I'm ready to hear it!" He took a sip of water and looked avidly at the airbender, waiting for him to explain his idea.

Aang quickly finished up the rest of his tart and smiled, wiping his face off before settling back to talk. "Well, I was thinking that maybe we could use Zuko as a-"

"Avatar! We have important news!" Two earthbenders burst into the room, causing Katara to leap almost all the way out of her chair and Sokka to choke violently on his drink. "We've intercepted a message from Fire Lord Ozai to the troop stationed near here. It looks like something big is going to happen." The first soldier said breathlessly, holding up the scroll. Katara reached up and took it from him with a nod of thanks.

Aang sighed to himself sadly. "Haa...interrupted again...I'll never get to tell them my idea!" Meanwhile Katara's eyes were scanning the page, growing wider and wider with each line she read.

"What is it Katara? What's the plan?" Sokka asked, trying to peek over her shoulder.

"This is bad you guys. According to this, Ozai has found a weakness in the walls of Bai Sing Sei. He's giving the order to attack...in just a week! He's giving the firebenders permission to destroy the entire city! No prisoners! But...if he does that..." Her eyes widened in horror at the implications. Her dream! If this order got through, her dream would come true! The scroll clattered onto the ground as she clapped her hands to her mouth to keep from crying out.

Sokka and Aang leapt up, Sokka snatching up the scroll, glaring at it as he read it, as if he blamed it for frightening his sister. Aang was trying to calm Katara, pulling her hands from her face and asking her, "Katara, what will happen if he does that? You said that like something other than us loosing the war would happen."

"Yeah, what else do you think could happen?" Sokka had rolled the scroll back up and tossed it onto the table. He strode over to his friends, placing a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder. "Did you learn something while you were with Zuko? Did he mention any plans they might have other than destroying Bai Sing Sei?"

Katara shook her head and looked up with wide sad eyes. "No. I don't think he has any idea that his father is doing this. I think that, as far as he knows, he is sure the war won't get anywhere until Aang is captured." Aang and Sokka looked questioningly at each other. How could the prince of the Fire Nation have no idea what his father was planning to do? Their attention was drawn back to Katara as she took a deep steadying breath and continued, barely speaking above a whisper. "But...he's wrong. If Ozai manages to do this...he won't need Aang anymore...and he won't need Zuko anymore either. If Ozai wins Bai Sing Sei...he'll kill Zuko."

•End Flashback•

"So what you're saying is...My father never intended to let me go home." Zuko stared at his hands resting in his lap. His eyes narrowed in anger and he clenched his hands into fists so tightly that tiny cuts appeared when his nails had cut into his palms. "All this time...he never expected me to find that Avatar. Even if I did, to him that was just a bonus..." Zuko fought back tears. He couldn't let these people see him like this. But all this time, he had secretly harbored hopes that somewhere, somehow his father had wanted him to go home. Now those hopes were gone. Worse, his new dreams of one day maybe being reunited with Ajuna, perhaps as a friend if she wouldn't have him as her fiancée anymore, went along with them. Filled with anguish, he dropped his face into his hands, clenching his teeth to block the sobs though he couldn't stop himself from shaking with rage and sorrow.

A hand gently slid to rest on his shoulder, a small comfort that helped his sobs subside. When he looked up tears still shimmered in his eyes, though he was obviously fighting hard to conceal them. To his surprise, the comforting hand wasn't his uncle's. It belonged to the waterbender girl, Katara. More surprising, he didn't see pity in her eyes, rather they shone with quiet understanding. She nodded solemnly and smiled, trying to cheer him up. Zuko managed to nod his thanks, though he didn't smile back, and sighed, dropping his hands back into his lap. "So...what do I...we...do now?" He looked askance at Katara.

"I...don't know. I don't know if there's anything we can do that will surely stop this. But...we can try. Aang and Sokka agreed to help, and I'm sure we can convince the Earth Kingdom that you are in just as much peril from the Fire Lord as they are. We'll work something out...We'll find a way to stop Ozai...I hope." Katara smiled again, this time getting a small smile back from her new-found ally.

Reaching up to wipe his eyes clear, Zuko sighed, "We only have a week though...maybe a day or two more if my father...no, the Fire Lord, I won't call him father anymore...only sent the one message that you intercepted. If we're to have any chance at all, something had better turn up soon-" At that moment, a red-fletched arrow crashed through the window of the room, lodging firmly in the wood of the table just inches away from one of Zuko's hands. Tied to it was a note. Zuko cautiously reached out to free it but froze, eyes wide as his hand brushed against it. Holding it to the arrow was a thin silver ribbon. His breath coming in short sharp burst, he forced himself to move again and untie the note, carefully tucking the ribbon into his pocket.

"Well? What does it say Prince Zuko?" Uncle Iroh asked after a moment, mentally connecting the ribbon with Zuko's thoughts. "Is it...?" Katara looked on in confusion. Obviously the ribbon meant something to the two firebenders, but to her it was a complete mystery as to why such a usual object would have such a profound effect on Zuko.

"I think...we might be able to do this after all." Zuko looked up from the note, his eyes alight with renewed hope. "This note is from that other Fire Nation ship that was nearby when you captured us. They say they've managed to gain some information that sounds like it might be similar to ours. According to this, whoever is on that ship doesn't like the idea of Bai Sing Sei being destroyed either. They say they're willing to assist us if they can."

Katara looked ponderous for a moment. "But why would the Earth Kingdom's destruction matter to them? Who are they that they have more to gain by stopping their own Fire Lord than going ahead with the war?"

Zuko shook his head, looking up from the letter again and looking around at the others in the room. "I don't know...but we don't have the time or the options to really worry about that now. The note says to meet at the docks you brought our ship into at midnight tonight, and to bring the leader of this fort. We're supposed to go too." He motioned to himself and Iroh. "I say we go. If these people are willing to work with us, I think I might know a way we can stop the war after all.


Gahh! Done! Geeze, I am soooooo sorry that took so long! I got so caught up with work and anime over the summer I just didn't have the time or energy to get anything done with this. But now I'm back! So be prepared! Who is this mysterious person who Zuko will meet at midnight ((Okay, I know you know, but play along!))? What will they do to convince the Earth Kingdom to help them? Will they stop Ozai in time? Has anyone seen the elusive wild pear? Why do I expect you to care about these questions? These answers ((or not)) next time in CHAPTER 9! Which I haven't named yet! Until then, happy banana hunting!