Here's where it gets good. This one has a major cliffhanger and you'll be begging for more! Without any further delay, here is Chapter 3: Before the Storm.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Azula was up at first light, as all firebenders are. The other two got up shortly after and they walked out into the little earthbending town. Azula confronted Saree about the events of the day before.

"Where did he say they were going?" she asked, referring to Sokka.

"He didn't even know where they were going, he just said they had to find a secret and safe place for the Avatar to train."

"And you saw them leaving?"

"Yes."

"Which way?"

"I couldn't tell, they were zig-zagging like they knew we were watching and trying to confuse us."

Azula growled, flames streaming from her fists to the ground. Saree backed away a little. "That is not helping!"

Mai and Ty Lee walked over to her and tried to calm her down. "We still have a ways to go, maybe we'll catch a glimpse of them when we reach the top of this mountain."

Azula thought about that for a second, then agreed. "Surely they didn't get far if they left yesterday evening, we have to spot something from up there." She grinned her trademark evil grin. They set off up the mountain with goodbye's from the Fire Nation soldiers that were stationed there. They were going to stop at the lake that Aang's party had stopped at, just in case there was something the infernal earthbenders missed, then they were going to head for the mountaintop to see if they could see anything.

When they got to the campsite, it looked like a battlefield. Earth was pushed up everywhere, there where scorch marks all over the place, water was all over the ground, and she was sure Aang's airbending had something to do with the tree branches leaning to one side. She knew that girl was lying. They started to leave to go up the mountain when Azula spotted something in the grass.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zuko woke up with the sun, even as tired as he still was. He looked around and realized he was sleeping on the back of Appa. He didn't remember even getting the blanket that covered him and- wait, where's Katara? He jumped up and looked around frantically only to find her sitting on the edge of the river.

"I thought only firebenders where supposed to be up with the sun," he said quietly, so as not to wake the others. Surprisingly it didn't scare her. He jumped down off of Appa and sat next to her, watching the sun rise.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? Iroh picked the perfect spot." She watched as the sun peeked over the mountains to say hello. "I don't get to see many of these in the South Pole, so I watch every one that I can. Sunsets, too."

Zuko looked at where they had landed. The river was wide and shallow so you could see the fish, the mountains in front of them, and a single tree next to the river spotted with fruits. The field in front of them was full of different colored flowers which blended perfectly with the orangish-pinkish sky of the fairly warm morning. It is beautiful, he thought. It didn't surprise him, though, when she laid her head on his shoulder, making the sunrise all the better.

"I wish my mother was here to see this. This place is.. perfect." She reached up for her necklace.. but it wasn't there. She felt around her neck with both hands like she didn't believe herself but it was gone. "Oh no, Zuko, it's gone! My mother's necklace is gone again!" She glared at him.

"Hey, I didn't take it this time. I only took it the other times as a bribe to get Aang, why would I take it now that I've joined him?"

Tears started swelling up in her eyes. "Where could it be? I never take it off, what happened?"

Zuko thought about it for a second, then looked almost horrified at what his thoughts told him. "In the mountains.."

She looked up at him, her blue eyes now mixed with the different colors of the sky. "What?"

"In the mountains, that might be where it's at." He looked down into her beautiful, now multi-colored eyes. "The battle, it must've fallen off when we were fighting those earthbenders. That's the only thing I can think of."

"We have to go back-"

"We can't go back, Azula's smart. She may have assumed that we would go into the mountains to hide, she could be at the lake right now for all we know!"

Katara fell onto his shoulders in tears and he just held her. That's all he knew to do. Iroh was watching from Appa's saddle, almost in tears himself. He turned to wake everyone and get ready to head out for the day. He kept Zuko's words in his head, 'Azula's smart. She could be at the lake right now for all we know!'

Zuko and Katara finally heard all the noise behind them and knew everyone was up and getting ready. All they really had to do was put the blankets away and wake up Appa. He was just flat out tired when they landed. He slept good. Aang was the one to wake him up. He just grunted and laid there, but he was awake and waiting for everyone to get on. Zuko helped Katara up and wiped her tears away before anyone could see.

"Don't let them see your weakness. You have to be strong, for them." She smiled up at him and gave him a quick kiss before they loaded up on Appa and took off into the sky. Aang was, of course, steering again. Appa liked that better. Katara sat in Zuko's arms, tracing the spot where her necklace once laid. Sokka was cleaning his boomerang, careful not to cut himself on the sharpened edges. Iroh was lost in his thoughts, still pondering over Zuko's words. Then he turned around to Aang.

"We should head in another direction. Not back towards the mountains, but maybe parallel to them instead of away from them. Follow the river."

"Why, what's up?"

"I just have a feeling my nephew was right. Azula probably saw the mountains after the woods and started heading this way. She could be at the lake by now. If she makes it to the top of those mountains, she'll see us for sure. We need to keep changing direction, just in case."

"Good thinking, Iroh." Aang changed their course and followed the river, just as his teacher asked.

Sokka took his eyes from cleaning his boomerang over to Katara. She looked so sad.. but why? Then he noticed where her hand was and what was missing. "Did you lose it again?"

Katara looked up from her lap, her eyes met his, then she looked back down. Sokka looked over to Zuko, who just looked back and shook his head like he was saying 'She doesn't want to talk about it.' Sokka felt bad for her, but went back to cleaning his boomerang. They rode in silence for most of the day. Occasionally Momo would crawl over to Katara and sit in her lap and purr, but she would just brush him away. He just went back over to Iroh, who comforted him like his feelings were hurt.

Zuko rested his head on hers, almost making tears come to her eyes again but she fought them back. How can I be so happy yet so sad at the same time? she thought. She could feel his breath in her hair. It was hot, but she supposed all firebenders were full of hot air. She had to laugh a little at that, but it was silent. Zuko felt it, but didn't say anything, just kissed her on the head where he had been resting his. She smiled. "I'll make you a new one," he whispered in her ear. "It won't be the same, but it's a start for now. Is that okay?" She nodded her head and buried herself further into him, smiling.

Sokka noticed it and wondered what he said, but didn't care all too much as long as his sister was smiling. Iroh had glanced over at them when he was whispering in her ear and when she nodded and smiled, he had to smile too. He was hoping for that question, but it had only been.. what? 2 or 3 days? They still knew each other all too well from past encounters. He thought, maybe. Just maybe.

That is, after all, what it was. A betroval necklace. It had once belonged to Katara's grandmother, or "Gran Gran" as they called her. It was carved by hand and given to her by a waterbender in the Northern Water Tribe, the great master that Katara had coincidentally learned from after he learned who she was (they normally don't teach girls waterbending, only healing). It was an arranged marriage, but her Gran Gran ran away to the South Pole before they wed. It was passed down to her mother and then to her when her mother died. That's all she has left of her. When Zuko offered to make her a new one, that was basically him proposing to her. I wonder if he knows the meaning behind it? she thought. Surprisingly, he did because at the same time he was wondering if she knew what he was asking.

They turned to each other at the same time and started at the same time, "You do know-" and they stopped. They knew. They smiled. Iroh and Sokka smiled. Aang was clueless, being the driver and all, but Iroh leaned over and told him. He was still upset about the whole thing, but he tried to keep his mind on Toph and driving Appa. He put on a fake smile for them, then turned back as a flock of big birds approached and a bolt of blue lightening struck the mountains where they had been the day before.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Azula knew who the necklace belonged to. She couldn't figure out how to use it against them though. She could kidnap the girl like her imbusil brother has many times before and bribe her with it, but she could just as easily go to their camp and take what she needs. She didn't know what to do with it but carry it with her in case she did think of something. She was holding it up in front of her, admiring the cool blue stone and the blue ribbon it hung from. She looked at the symbols on it, the symbols of the Water Tribe.

"We're at the top, Zula."

She looked up to see a giant plain in front of her with more mountains on the other side against the horizon. She could see the river and a few trees here and there, but looking to the skies she saw nothing. "Does anyone else see anything that could be them?"

Mai looked to one side of her, Ty Lee the other. Mai thought she saw them way off in the distance, but then she realized there were more than one of them and figured they were birds. "All I see are some birds over there," she spoke up. Ty Lee saw the same where she was looking too, so it was impossible to tell where they were. Azula was furious. She sent a bolt of lightening in the air to release some tension, then they set off on a guess.

They rode in silence for a while, Ty Lee and Mai not wanting to make her any more mad than she already was. When they got to the river, Ty Lee noticed a big spot next to it in the dirt. They went to see what it was. Azula jumped down to examine it and it looked like a big animal had been there. A bison, perhaps. She walked around it and found footsteps leading down to the water and knew it was them, but that still didn't tell them which way to go from there. Azula stood up and looked around in the sky for a hint of where they went. She would have to guess.

"Do you think that they think they lost us?" Ty Lee had to ask. "If they think they lost us, they could've gone straight, towards those mountains over there."

Azula thought on that for a minute. "Maybe," she started, "They do need a place to hide and what better place than the mountains, but I'm still not sure. If they head one way, that's back to the ocean we just came from. If they head the other way.. I don't even know what's over there, but the mountains just make sense. We'll try there first. Surely they'll have found another cave to hide in." She laughed as they headed towards the mountains.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey guys, did anyone else see that blue lightening from the mountains back there?" Aang asked.

"Azula," Iroh and Zuko said together.

Katara looked up at Zuko, worried. "You were right about her following us this far. Do you think she has my necklace?"

"Chances are.. yes. I'll get it back, don't worry." He smiled at her and she knew she could trust him on that. "I'm just glad there were more mountains across from us. If she assumed we went into the mountains before, she might do the same thing again. That is, after all, the best hiding place to practice."

"That is true, Zuko. We are too far away for her to see us, we blend in with those giant birds that just flew past us so they'll never know. They may have gone to the other mountains that we were headed for at first. I'm glad I changed our course." Iroh was right, he had done good to change course.

Sokka finally finished cleaning his boomerang and said something, "Now who exactly are those girls she's traveling with? I hate fighting with them because they're kind of pretty, but where did they come in?"

Zuko knew. "They went to school with Azula. They're not quite as powerful as she is, but they're still good. After that, Ty Lee went into the circus and Mai was in some kind of government deal. She was the advisor of Omashu when she joined Azula's little group."

"I still hate that the Fire Nation took Omashu, but I understand why Bumi surrendered. He wanted to stay and help his people. That's what a king is supposed to do, right? I hope I still get to see him again one day." Aang laughed, remembering when they were kids riding on the mail chutes that ran all through Omashu, and then remembering when they did it again after he returned a hundred years later with Sokka and Katara. Bumi had almost seemed too old for it by then, but he was still as spirited as he was in his childhood.

"Great city, that Omashu," Sokka said. "Bigger than anything we have in the South Pole. Probably because we have nothing in the South Pole."

Katara laughed a little in agreement. Zuko had to agree too, there really was nothing there except iceburgs and that one abandoned Fire Navy ship near the village. Katara thought about it for a second. "Well, there might be something there now. Master Pakku went there to help rebuild it, remember? For all we know, it's a great as the North Pole." Sokka nodded with half a smile on his face.

Iroh looked ahead of Appa and saw more ocean and an island. "What do you think about that island up ahead in the ocean? She's on land, she couldn't have a boat waiting over here for her, right?"

"There's more ocean? Already?" Katara sounded almost disappointed, but kind of glad too since they could land and she could stretch her legs. We'd be safe over there for a little while, right? she asked herself.

"The island is good, we can stop there for a little while, but it's best that we not stay there too long," said Zuko. "We can all practice there because there's water all around it for Katara." And, he thought, there's all kinds of things I can use for her necklace. Then he thought of something, "Can we stop at the next village really quick? I- I need to get something."

"Sure, Zuko," Aang said loudly from Appa's head. Luckily there was one right on the coast with no clear sign of Fire Nation anywhere. They stopped in and Zuko disappeared almost immediately, leaving Katara wondering what was so important that he left her to go get.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee were wandering along the plain, heading towards the mountains in front of them. They were tired, bored, and they felt dirty. Mai looked off to the left and wished they could go back that way to the ocean and clean off. Ty Lee just wanted to get to the mountains and get off the stupid animal that was starting to be a pain everytime it took a step. Azula looked off to the right and wondered what was over there. Probably more ocean, she thought.

"I hope we catch up to them soon. If Iroh starts teaching the Avatar firebending, it'll be all the more difficult to fight them. Father won't be pleased either." Azula sounded disappointed in herself for allowing them to get away. What had happened to her ship anyway? If she had had her ship, they would still have them in sight. Oh yeah, I remember now, she thought. That stupid water girl. That's why she's a pain in my side, she's the one who created the iceburg underneath my ship and made a huge hole in it! Azula didn't realize her fists were flaming just thinking about her.

"Um.. Zula?" Ty Lee tried to get her attention without getting blasted. "Are you okay? You look really mad."

"Ohhhh yeah, I just remembered why we're GUESSING about the Avatar's location!" she yelled. "That stupid water girl, my brother's STUPID obsession! She's the reason we lost sight of them! She's the reason we had to take that piece of crap FISHING BOAT!" When she yelled that last bit, the flames shot from her fists and burned her ostrich horse, causing it to take off across the plain. The other girls chased after her while Azula pulled back trying to get it to stop. She wasn't losing this ride, she couldn't afford to.

She finally got it to come to a stop at the bottom of the mountain. "Well, I guess we're making good time. Now let's get up there and see if we can see them landing anywhere, or if we see a big white spot anywhere in there."

They started climbing, not knowing anything about where the group really was, much less what was happening with them. They just knew that the Avatar had to be in those mountains, hiding like the coward they thought he was.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Iroh scooted over to sit next to Katara on Appa's back while Zuko was in the market.

"So, he asked you?" he asked with a big smile on his chubby old face.

"He did," Katara replied happily. "He's going to get my mother's necklace back too. He promised. He thinks Azula has it. Do you think he's right?"

"I believe he is. Don't worry though, whenever Prince Zuko promises something, he stays true to his word," he calmly explained. "His sister may be better than he is when it comes to firebending skills, but with time and training I believe he will recover your necklace again. He never backs down from a promise."

"I wonder what he's after here," she thought out loud.

"Who knows, think about who you're talking about!" Iroh chuckled loudly.

Katara laughed with him. "What's taking him so long to get it? Do you think something happened?"

"Do you always think the worst? He'll be back soon, I'm sure. Zuko is careful when it comes to avoiding Fire Nation soldiers. Plus, his scar is gone so that makes a big difference in his appearance thanks to you. Most of the soldiers are too stupid to recognize him without the scar anyway. That's what most of them look for. It was kind of hard to miss, it took up almost half of his face."

"I still can't believe his father did that to him. And for speaking out against the war! How could anyone do that to their own family?"

"My brother is heartless. The only thing he cares for are his evil daughter Azula and ruling the world. Luckily we're going to change that soon. Maybe he'll care for his own life."

Sokka was getting impatient. "He should've been back by now, what's taking so long?"

"I'm getting worried too. I'm going to look for him."

"I'm coming too." Iroh jumped in.

"No, they'll recognize and capture you too, then no one will be able to teach Aang. If we're not back soon, leave without us. Go to the island and if we get away, we'll meet you there. Sokka, come with me."

"Good luck, young Katara."

Sokka and Katara jumped off of Appa and headed into town to look for Zuko. They found him almost instantly because he was yelling. As Katara and Sokka got closer, they saw him fighting with Fire Nation soldiers. There were only two, but he was having trouble fighting them off. Katara saw a barrel of water sitting next to one of the shops and used her bending to throw it at one of the soldiers and freeze it to his faceplate. He let go and struggled to get it off with no luck. Zuko used his free hand to hit the other soldier with a fireblast before running back to Katara and Sokka.

"We have to go, now!" he yelled as he ran towards them.

"What did you do?" Sokka yelled as he turned to run back to Appa.

"Disagreed with a price! The shopkeeper called the soldiers and they- OW!" He slipped on a puddle of water as he turned the corner to go to Appa. Katara stopped and ran back for him as the soldiers came running. "No, leave me! Just go!"

"I'm not leaving you. Sokka, help! He's hurt!"

Sokka turned back to see Zuko being helped up by Katara and the soldiers turning the corner. He instinctually threw his boomerang and caught both of them in the head and went back to help Katara carry Zuko back to Appa.

Iroh jumped up immediately when he saw them returning the way they did. He helped them lift Zuko onto the saddle.

"Aang, we have to go now!" Katara yelled.

"Appa, yip yip!" Appa took off with a grunt just as the soldiers regained their vision from the blows to their heads.

"If we're going to land on that island, we have to fly low over the water and make them think we're just going around and avoiding the island," Katara said, trying to find Zuko's wounds. "Then we'll land on the far side, but we can't stay there long. They're sure to get suspicious."

Aang made Appa fly low over the water and did as Katara asked. When they landed, Katara and Zuko stayed on Appa's back until she could heal him. She insisted that Aang continue his firebending.

"Katara, my arm.. I think my leg too. I can't feel it," Zuko almost whispered. He was in a lot of pain. She was feeling his arm, she knew it hurt but it had to be done so she could find the break. Ew, she thought, wincing. I found it. It was a fracture, the bone had a clean break but you could feel where they were uneven.

"This is going to hurt, but not for much longer. I have to push the bone back into place." She tried to be as gentle as possible, but how do you gently push a bone back into place? It snapped back, he yelled. "Okay, okay, it's back. Now it's almost over." She could see tears in his eyes even though they were closed hard. One even made it down his cheek. She once again used her bending to pull the water out of her canteen to her hand and put her hand over the broken bone. It mended together within seconds. His leg was only a sprain, so it healed quickly as well. "There you go, all better." She smiled as he sat up further and felt his arm. It didn't hurt anymore. She was his miracle worker.

"Thank you so much," he said quietly as he hugged her, wiping that tear off on her clothes before someone saw.

Aang ran up to them. "What happened, guys! I heard him yell all the way back to where we were!"

"Broken bone and a small sprain, but it's better now," Katara said, still in her well-deserved hug.

"What happened in the market?" Aang wasn't quite ready to leave them yet, he hated them being alone together.

They backed off a little. "I disagreed with a merchant on a price, he called the soldiers, and they recognized me."

"Even without your scar!" Aang was surprised.

"Yeah," Zuko sounded almost as surprised. "They were chasing us back when I turned the corner and slipped on some water and broke my arm and hurt my leg. Who knew water could be so cruel?" He laughed a little and looked at Katara, but she just looked at him with a small smirk on her face that said 'Funny, real funny', so full of sarcasm.

Aang thought it was funny though. He laughed himself right back down Appa's big arrowed beaver tail. Then he got up and started back to where Iroh and Momo were. Katara and Zuko watched him go, confused looks on both of their faces.

"Something tells me he's still a little jealous," Zuko said after Aang was out of sight. He jumped down off of Appa's saddle, limbs all healed, and helped Katara down.

"You wanna swim?" she asked, playfully splashing him with a little water she had bended out of the ocean. He just looked at her with a blank expression, then out of nowhere he took off chasing her into the water. She screamed out of surprise, ran and dived into the water, her sanctuary. He still chased her, firebender or no firebender, he was getting her back. He almost ripped his shirt off and dove in after her and finally caught up with her. She jumped up on his head and pushed him under, but he grabbed her legs and flipped her over him. She came back up, pushing her long hair out of her face, gasping for air but with a smile on her face. He swam up to her, also breathing heavily. He hadn't done anything like that since he was a kid. He forgot how fun it was just to play around like normal 16-year olds. She jumped at him, arms wrapping around his neck, and kissed him. It wasn't quite the same with all the salt water all over their faces, but they didn't care. They were happy.

Aang heard the scream Katara let out and started running back towards them despite Iroh's teaching. He skidded onto the beach just in time to see the kiss and he turned around quickly to think about other things, anything to get his mind off of what he just saw. Toph, think of Toph. I shouldn't care about Katara when I have Toph. She's wonderful, and my age. He kept thinking that and walked back to where Iroh stood.

"What was it?" he asked as Aang slumped back.

"Just Katara and Zuko playing in the water."

"Don't be upset, you have to keep practicing. Keep thinking of your own girl. What do you think she would think if she knew you were thinking about Katara? Wow, that's a lot of thinking." He laughed a little, which brightened Aang up a bit. Enough to get his feet steady for practice.

"I guess you're right, I can't let it bother me." Momo ran up to Aang and jumped up to his head. "No, Momo, you can't sit there while I'm practicing. You could get hurt." Momo slowly climbed off and went to chase some bugs he saw flying around. "Don't go too far!" he yelled after the lemur.

Iroh looked out at the ocean towards the town they had just left and saw a ship with red sails just leaving the docks. They were kind of blurry, but he knew they were Fire Nation. "I think it would be wise to leave right about now. They're coming already."

Aang looked that way and nodded. "Momo! Come on, we're leaving!"

Just then, the pirates they had run into a few months ago walked up the way Momo had run off.. carrying Momo. Iroh and Aang started running back towards Appa, Zuko and Katara only to find they were there too. They had Katara tied to a tree, just like last time, but had Zuko's hands bound together and on his knees in the sand with a sword under his throat.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mwahahaha! Did you love it? I'll give you a hint of the next story.. think of the name of this one. That's right! There's a storm in the next one, but not from who you'd think! I'll put it up soon and give you time to ponder over this cliffhanger. Mwahaha!

Jenn, waterbending master of the south