Thank you to all the reviewers! I think I have finally recovered from writer's block! WOO HOO! haha..go celebrate...

You know what I found so funny? Well, I was watching American Dragon one day...and you know that episode where Jake has to sing this hawaiian song called like the "hula hula dance" or something at this wedding? Well, I remembered that the voice of Jake (Dante Basco I think) was also the same voice as Prince Zuko and I pictured Prince Zuko wearing one of those flower necklaces (forgot what it's called) , shaking his hips, and singing a love song. Omg I started cracking up! I bet most think I'm crazy now! haha...xD

Sorry for the long update! Here you go:

Chapter 4: The Plan is Put Into Action

Where were they? Katara couldn't find Aang or Sokka anywhere. The sky was starting to turn from a light shade of blue into pinks, purples, and reds. The sun was setting, and dusk was approaching quickly. The streets were emptying as people returned to their homes. The warmth from the sun was also leaving, and cold air started to pervade through the market. Katara unconsciously shivered. She wrapped two arms around her water tribe robe and continued searching for her two companions.

She looked to her right, and gasped. A man that seemed around his thirties was looking at a beautifully carved mirror. He didn't seem to notice her, and continued to walk along the streets. Katara avoided him. That man…was fire nation. What she saw next was even more heart-stopping. In the reflection of the mirror the man was holding, standing right behind her…was Prince Zuko. On instinct, she whipped around, only to see his ponytail disappear behind a shelf. She had to get away. Without saying another word, she ran past the fire nation soldier, who still hadn't noticed her. She had to find Aang and Sokka fast, to warn them about the fire nation…

Zuko searched frantically for the water tribe girl. Where had she gone? Had she seen him? This was bad, very bad. Dusk was approaching rapidly and Zuko knew it would be almost impossible to track down the girl again in the dark. The emptying streets did give him an advantage of moving faster, and yet, the pesky shopkeepers would always seem to step in his path, eager to try to sell away the last of their products for the day.

"Move!" Zuko roared as he shoved another shopkeeper away from his face. He had already been searching for the girl for an hour, and she was no where to be found. He had been bombarded by at least twenty merchants already.

He was this close to give up, when he suddenly caught sight of a long brown braid disappearing around the corner. The girl, was the first thought that came to mind. He charged towards her, hoping he would be able to catch up to her before she vanished again. He rounded the corner and saw the water tribe girl running as fast as she could in front of him. She didn't look back at all, but he knew that if she was running that frantically, she must have caught sight of him.

He increased his speed, pushing his whole body to go as fast as it could. He was so close, if he just reached out his hand and grabbed her ar-

"Hi!" a voice cut short his chase. Zuko stopped himself just in time in order to prevent himself from crashing into the girl standing in front of him. He watched as the water tribe girl slowly disappeared from his view, again.

"What!" he snarled, ready to burn the girl in front of him to a crisp. Had he seen her before?

The girl flinched, but kept her composure, "Hey! Aren't you that boy I saw earlier today? You never told me you were a firebender, I think there intriguing," the girl added the last part seductively.

Zuko remembered her now. He tried hard to remember her name. Elsa? Ellie? Elizabeth? Oh, that's right. Elise. He growled. Didn't he make it clear the first time that he had other things to do then talk to a wrench like her? She had tried to make running into him seem like a complete coincidence, but Zuko knew better than that. She probably had been following him the whole time. "Thank you," he forced out of him, and proceeded to go around her.

"Hey, you never really told me your name," Elise inquired, batting her eyelashes so fast that Zuko thought they would fall off any minute.

"It's none of your business," Zuko snarled viciously.

The girl immediately dropped her act and nose scrunched up and her she glared up at him, "You listen now, boy! I've tried to be nice to you, the least you can do is offer me some courtesy! Didn't your mother ever teach your any manners!"

"My mother is dead," Zuko replied harshly, and with a rough shove, he pushed Elise aside.

Elise didn't seem to hear a word that he said, and stepped in front of him again. "Who do you think you are? How dare you push me around! Are you asking for an early death!"

"Trust me; there isn't possibly anything you could do to me." Zuko replied coldly, "Now move, I have business to attend to."

"Koru! Loshu! Teach him a lesson!" Elise suddenly screamed as two burly men ran up to her. They looked like complete idiots.

"Yes, right away honey," one of the two replied as the cracked their knuckles (probably an attempt to impress Elise) and started towards Zuko.

I really don't have the time for this. Zuko though impatiently, as he effortlessly dodged a punch aimed towards his head and sent a ball of flame at the other man's stomach.

Both of them crashed into a nearby stall. "Get up!" Elise was shouting somewhere in the back! "Is that all you can do!"

Like robots, the two men immediately followed Elise's orders, despite the fact that they would be getting another beating from Zuko. Sure enough, in minutes, both of them were on the ground, unconscious.

"Got any more?" Zuko growled out, advancing on Elise.

"What are you going to do to me? Get away!" Elise yelped.

Zuko grabbed the collar of her robes, and lifted her from the ground. "Don't you ever dare associate yourself with me again!" He dropped the girl to the ground, and before he could do anything, she was at his feet.

"Oh, please! I'm sorry! Don't do anything! I'm begging you!" Elise was begging, sobbing as hard as she could.

Pathetic, Zuko thought. With a grunt, he shook his foot loose from her grasp and turned to leave. He stopped, "You can call me Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation." Without another glance, he exited Shoyun. He knew that the water tribe girl and her companions were probably long gone by now. He hated his luck.

Elise stared after the scarred boy that had just left. He was Prince Zuko? How could I not have known? She mentally slapped herself. Why did she have to lose her temper? If she had just tried a little harder and gotten him to like her, she would have been sure to have a promising future. I'll just have to try harder. I'll have you Prince Zuko; I always get what I want.

"Aang! Sokka! I finally found you!" Katara cried out as she quickly ran towards her brother and the avatar.

"Katara! Where have you been! We've been searching for you for like forever!" Sokka scolded, quickly embracing his little sister in a hug. He had been so worried that something had happened to her, not that he would ever admit it to anyone.

"Katara!" Aang shouted joyfully.

"The Fire Nation is here!" Katara gasped out. There was no time for a happy reunion. They had to leave.

"What?" Sokka asked, making sure he had heard right. "How'd they find us?"

"I don't know, but we have to leave now! I saw Prince Zuko in the town and I doubt he was here on vacation!" Katara said as she started dragging a still pretty confused Aang towards the exit.

"Oh man," Sokka grumbled as they ran through the forest, in search of Appa and momo. Appa probably still wouldn't be able to fly, since they would be spotted immediately by the Fire Nation. "Out of all the places we had to be, we just had to be in Fire Nation territory. I thought that stupid spoiled Prince would take a break from all this Avatar-hunting. Didn't he learn a lesson at the North Pole?"

"Less talking, more running," Aang shouted.

"Oh, easy for you to say, you're hopping from tree to tree! Katara and I have to run on groun-"

"Sokka!" Katara yelled in between breaths, "just listen for once!"

Sokka didn't say another word, but anyone could tell he was trying his hardest not to blurt out a comeback.

They ran for what seemed like forever, until they finally found Appa in a clearing, chewing on some leftover hay from an abandoned stable and Momo asleep on its back.

"Appa! You're alright!" Aang said as he ran up and hugged the flying bison's face. Sokka grumbled something about why the Appa had to be so far away from the town.

"You know what I just realized?" Sokka said, "You could have used you bison whistle all along!"

"No, he couldn't," Katara reasoned, "Because Appa couldn't fly to us either way. Why can't you remember that we're in fire nation territory!"

"Hmmph," was all Sokka could say. He had lost yet another fight for the third time that day. He really needed to work on his comeback skills.

Zuko walked through the forest, grumbling to himself. He kicked random things on the forest floor, hoping that it would help him calm down. It only seemed to anger him even more, especially when he snubbed his toe on an extremely hard rock. He was this close, and somehow, he still had let the Avatar slip through his fingers. Well, in this case, he had let the water tribe girl slip through. He didn't care if he had left his men in the town, they would be smart enough to find there way back to his ship…hopefully.

"No, he couldn't, because Appa couldn't fly to us either way. Why can't you remember that we're in fire nation territory!"

"Hmmph!"

Zuko stopped in his tracks. He had heard those voices before. They belonged to… that water tribe girl and the other idiot boy that traveled with the avatar! Zuko followed the sound of their voices, and he found himself by an abandoned stable.

He watched silently, as the three companions lay out their sleeping bags. All three of them were soon fast asleep. What a pig, Zuko thought to himself as Sokka's loud snoring echoed out into the dark forest. This was his chance. The avatar was right there. Zuko took one step towards the sleeping boy, but stopped. No, he knew from past experiences that it wouldn't be that easy. If he acted without a plan, the avatar would probably wake up and defeat him again. He would be smarter this time. He would use a different method.

Turning around, Zuko quickly hurried back to Shoyun. Hopefully, he would find what he needed there.

The streets were empty, and most shops were closed. Everyone was asleep, and Zuko didn't know if he would be able to find what he wanted.

"Hello there," a voice suddenly spoke up from behind him.

Zuko whirled around, and found himself face to face with a mysterious looking lady wearing a shawl. Zuko couldn't identify what nation she was from. "What do you want?" he hissed.

"I saw you walking around here in the dark, so I became curious," the woman stated simply. "Do you need something?"

"Do you have a shop?" Zuko inquired, the woman definitely looked creepy enough. Perhaps she would have what he was looking for.

"I think I have what you seek," the woman replied. "Come."

Zuko followed the woman and entered a small shop. It had no sign in the front, so Zuko walked in cautiously. "I'm looking for a disguise," Zuko said.

"If you need a mask, try coming back on Hallows Eve," the woman replied bored, "If you need something more mystical, be more specific."

"I want-a different type of disguise-something that will make me look like a completely different person."

"You mean you wish to change your identity? Get green eyes? Grow brown hair? Get rid of that nasty scar?" the woman replied. She had already started rummaging though her shelves of bottles and lotions.

"Yes," Zuko answered impatiently. "Do you have what I need?"

"I think I do," the woman replied. From her sleeve, she took out a bottle of purple substance. "Here is a potion. It will get rid of any scars you have, and it will change your eyes to green. I can't do anything about your hair, though. One drop is all you need. Put it in your bath water and it will transform you for 24 hours. By the looks of the potion in the bottle, if you only use a drop a day, I think it will last you for about two weeks."

"Then it is more than I will need," Zuko said, snatching the bottle from the woman's hand. "How much do I need to pay you?"

"I don't expect much, just three gold coins," the woman replied. "You can pay for that can't you?"

"Here," Zuko said gruffly and tossed the money onto the woman's desk.

He turned to leave, but the woman's words stopped him. "Good luck, Prince Zuko."

How did she know his name? "I never told you my na-" he began, but discovered that the woman was nowhere to be seen anymore. How strange he thought. But nevertheless, he had gotten what he wanted, and now, his plan would be put into action.

"Rise and shine!" a perky voice shouted in Katara's ear as she jumped up, awakened from her slumber. When she saw that she was in no mortal danger, she slunk back down into her sleeping bag. "Ten more minutes, Aang."

"Oh, c'mon Katara! Wake up! We got a long day ahead of us!" Aang replied.

"Alright, Aang, I'm up!" Katara said groggily, sitting up and stretching out her arms. "Why don't you go wake up Sokka? I think he's gonna be a tougher challenge than waking me up."

Moments later…

"AhHHhHHh! Where's the scorpion!" a shriek erupted inside the stable as Sokka opened his eyes wide and tripped over his own feet as an attempt to get away from the "scorpion." Katara and Aang doubled over in laughter and it took Sokka a few seconds to realize he had been tricked.

"Not funny guys," he grumbled, but only made Katara and Aang increase their laughter.

Finally, when the two had calmed down, they packed all their stuff and set out.

"When do you think we're going to reach an earth kingdom city?" Katara questioned as the trio made their way through the mud. Apparently, it must have rained last night.

"I don't know," Aang admitted, "But I hope soon, since I can't wait to learn some earthbending!"

"H-help!" a voice suddenly croaked up ahead of them.

"Sounds like someone's in trouble!" Aang said as they raced their way towards the noise.

Sure enough, on the ground, was a boy, probably not much older than Sokka. He wore earth kingdom clothes and had his black hair tied up in a tall ponytail with a green ribbon. Wait a minute, Katara thought Black? Since when do earth kingdom citizens have black hair? But she brushed the thought aside. Clearly, the boy needed help. He seemed to be in enormous pain.

"What happened?" Sokka asked skeptically as Katara and Aang quickly hurried to the aid of the boy.

"I-I was ambushed on my way home," the boy croaked out. This is too easy Zuko thought to himself as he let himself be "healed" by the water tribe girl. He wasn't really hurt, oh no, rubbing some mud and applying some war makeup made it look like he had a nasty bruise, but truthfully, he didn't feel any pain at all. He focused his eyes on the girl in front of him, and found her…staring at his hair? Oh no Zuko thought as he realized she must have noticed his hair was black. Surely, his hair wouldn't give him away. He had to distract her…quickly!

"A-and who is this kind lady helping me?" He croaked out again, disguising his voice.

Katara snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the boy more closely. He had green eyes, a sign of an earth kingdom person. "I'm Katara," she replied sweetly. "What's your name?"

"I'm-Koru," Zuko blurted out the first name that came to his mind, and he mentally slapped himself for using the name of one of the thugs that Elise girl had thrown on him.

"That's strange," the girl-Katara was murmuring to herself. She was looking at Zuko's "scars."

"What?" Zuko-Koru asked.

"I can't seem to heal your bruises," Katara replied absentmindedly as she bended more water onto his skin.

Zuko quickly jerked his hand away. He couldn't be discovered this early. "I-it's alright! It'll probably just vanish in a day or so," he completely forgot to disguise his voice and the urgency in his voice was unmistakable. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice.

"Where's your town?" Katara asked as she motioned for Aang and Sokka to collect more water.

"I-it's a long way from here," Zuko replied as he pretended to jerk away from the girl in pain. "Ow!" There, he thought satisfied that should be pretty convincing.

"Hey, you wouldn't possibly have any food on you, would you?" Sokka's voice suddenly asked from behind Katara.

"No," Zuko said, "The ambushers, from the fire nation, stole all my supplies when I was knocked unconscious."

"Hold on one second," Katara said sweetly and she and her companions huddled into a circle.

"He's hurt and he doesn't have any food or supplies with him! What should we do?" Aang asked.

"Did any of you notice he has black ha-" Katara began.

"Well, as much as I would love to, we can't just leave him here. He's in fire nation territory and he probably is very weak from already being attacked once," Sokka cut her off.

"But he is so muscul-"

"Yeah, I think bringing him alone would be a good idea," Aang agreed to Sokka.

Katara huffed; did they not acknowledge her existence? "I don't really think it would be a good id-"

"Yeah, and he's Earth Kingdom right? That means that there might be a master there to teach you!" Sokka said growing excited. "It would save so much time!"

Katara gave up. It didn't seem like the two boys were going to start listening to her anytime soon.

"Yeah, you're right!" Aang exclaimed. "What do you think, Katara?"

"Sure, whatever, fine with me," Katara replied, clearly upset that no one had listened to her before.

The boys still didn't seem to notice her offended tone and quickly ran over to tell Koru that he could travel with them.

"I'm the avatar," Aang explained, "and I was wondering if I could possibly learn earthbending from a master in your town or city or wherever you live."

"You're the avatar!" Zuko gasped out, feigning surprise, "wow! Of course, there are many masters where I live."

"Can you earthbend?" Sokka asked.

"No, I'm can't." Zuko replied. His plan was working so far.

"Where exactly do you live?" Katara asked incredulously. "And why were you so far out in fire nation land?" Katara didn't know why she distrusted this guy so much. He didn't seem like much harm. Yet, he was giving her a bad vibe

Zuko clenched his teeth. This peasant better not ruin it for him. "I live a bit south from here. It's in a city called Xin-Shu. I was here because I needed to gather supplies that I were only able to be found in this forest."

The girl seemed to believe him, but she still gave him a look that was screaming 'I still don't trust you!' Sokka eyed his sister. What was wrong with her right now? Usually, he was the one who didn't trust anybody. He didn't think this guy was harm, so why was his sister stressing out so much? But, of course, Sokka's instincts were just the greatest in the world. (cough sarcasm cough

Zuko slowly got up. He still had to pretend he was injured.

"You! Stop right there!" a voice suddenly shouted out from behind him.

What now?

Yay! I hope this chapter was better than the ones before it...and longer...since I think have recovered from my writer's block. Sorry for such the long wait. It took me forever to figure out what to write next. Please give me your opinions..how I can improve...and stuff...Thx