Disclaimer: Haven't we gone over this before?

Summary: Koh the Face Stealer threatens to return and finish what he started centuries ago. New alliances will be formed, friendships will be tested, and characters will be challenged like never before.

Providence

Chapter Ten: Preparations

- - - - -

Zuko could hear the sound of a voice calling, but he couldn't understand what it was saying. His mind was floating in a state of semi-consciousness; he could vaguely feel the drumming of rain on his body through the haze of pain. The fall had done nothing to help the condition of his wounds. He knew he should try and get up, but he couldn't remember where he needed to go. What was he searching for?

"Zuko?" The voice tentatively called out to him.

The sound of his name awakened his senses. He turned to see the face of the Water Tribe girl staring down at him. He pulled himself into a sitting position and hissed at the sharp pain that went through his body. "What the hell happened?"

She ignored his harsh attitude, "Aang managed to keep the fall from killing us, but now we're separated. I don't know where the others are."

He snorted. Perfect. This was just perfect.

Zuko remembered the arrogant face of Shing, how he had tried to use them to fulfill his own greedy desires. No one used Zuko or his uncle and lived to tell about it. He would find that smirking moron and put an end to this madness once and for all. The exiled prince slowly pulled himself to his feet. He could work through the pain or so he hoped.

Katara stared at the young man in amazement. She saw his bloody clothes, his battered armor, and the obvious pain etched on this face. Had he been this injured before when he was fighting the pirates? She remembered how he rid himself of his restraints and attacked Shing. Surely he couldn't have displayed such power with his body in this condition?

"You're hurt," the words left her before she realized it.

"How observant," he shot back.

Blue met amber in a hard stare. Perhaps she would have been better off alone.

Zuko limped forward with anger in his step.

"Where are you going?"

"To find Shing."

"In your condition? You won't get very far."

"I didn't ask for your opinion."

"If you keep talking to me like that I won't help you."

"Help me?" He scoffed. "How could you possibly help me?"

She paused. Would she help him? Katara owed him nothing and if truth be told she found some satisfaction in his condition. After everything he had put them through he definitely deserved it. But a part of her felt shame for that thought; she wasn't raised to wish harm on others.

She was alone in the forest and frankly the thought of looking for the others or the temple alone was not appealing. Shing, Yori, and Chen were still out there. Katara felt confident in her abilities as a waterbender, but the memory of Shing's Kuji Kiri was intimidating. She looked at the prince and wondered what on earth possessed her to say this. "Look, you have two options. One," she lifted one finger, "I'll heal you and we'll search for the others together. Or two," Katara raised a second finger, "I'll leave you here injured and alone."

He gave her a nasty glare. Did she really think he had fallen so low that he would accept aid from the enemy? On the other hand, waterbenders were rather famous for their healing abilities and he would be lying to himself if he thought he could defeat Shing as he was now. Not to mention capturing the Avatar. He inwardly smirked. What a perfect irony it would be, letting the girl heal him so he could turn around and capture her friend. He may have agreed to a temporary truce, and he intended to take down the Earth Kingdom prince, but no truce lasted forever. Once Shing was out of the way, the Avatar would be his for the taking.

"Alright then, let's see what you can do."

How she hated that condescending tone. Did he really still think she was weak after dueling in the North Pole? Katara had proven herself capable. Her only regret was she hadn't included "freeze your mouth shut" in her options. She sighed; it would be shameful to go back on her word now. There were more important things at stake. "Sit down," she commanded.

The nasty glare was back. Did he look like a dog to her?

She sighed again; this was going to be more difficult than she thought, "Fine. Please sit down."

At first she thought he would snap at her, but to Katara's surprise he conceded. She eyed him thoughtfully. What was going through his mind?

Katara opened her canteen and let the rain fill it completely, "Imagine your chi moving through your body. Focus it where the pain is located."

He lifted a brow. What on earth was she babbling about? One look at the girl told him she was completely serious. He closed his eyes and let years of meditation take over.

Katara summoned the water from the canteen in a long stream and tried to remember the healing lesson with Ugoda. She stood with hands palm out, knees slightly bent, and her back straight. She took a few deep breaths and let the water cover the Fire Nation prince. It surrounded him like a cool blanket. He could feel some enter his body and he shivered from the cold. The water was moving around him and inside him, focusing on his shoulder, hands, and ribs. There was a sharp pain and then it was gone. The water dispersed.

Zuko got to his feet coughing, but was surprised to find his wounds were indeed healed. There was no pain.

Katara felt a shiver go through her spine that had nothing to do with the cold rain. She looked at his smirking face and wondered if she had done the right thing.

"What are you just standing there for? Let's get moving."

She definitely hated that condescending tone.

- - - - -

Sokka eyed the gift from his father with pure childlike joy. For his eleventh birthday he had received his very first weapon, marking the endings of childhood and the beginning of an adult life. Normally, a boy wouldn't have received such a gift at his young age, but Sokka's father had made an exception.

The weather in the South Pole was particularly harsh this year and the food supply of the village was running short. Hakoda, along with his good friend Bato, were going to set out on their ship to warmer waters in an attempt to bring back food. Sokka had begged to go along with him, but to his disappointment his father had declared him too young. On the days leading up to the departure he didn't know if he could stand the crushed look on his son's face; that was when the idea came to him. With his own hands he fashioned a boomerang and gave it to his only son.

"While I'm gone you will be the man of the house. I'm counting on you to take care of your mother and sister."

Sokka's bright blue eyes were shining as he took hold of his unique weapon. Hakoda smiled, for at the time he had no idea just how serious Sokka would take his words.

Hakoda and Bato had taken their leave and now Sokka was standing outside their frozen home practicing. Sakari looked out at her son and sighed softly. "Sokka," she called. "Why don't you take a break and have some dinner? You've been practicing for hours."

"Not now!" He shouted back. "I'm just getting the hang of it!" The boy threw the boomerang with zest and readied himself for its return. It circled back and he lifted his hand to catch it.

"Ow!"

Sakari approached the young boy with another bandage. She cleaned away the blood from the cut and wrapped his hand for the third time.

"I almost had it!" He insisted.

"Yes," she assured him. "Almost."

A ten year old Katara rolled her eyes, a habit she had picked up only recently and had already mastered. "He's almost had it all day."

Sokka wriggled his nose. "At least I didn't freeze my feet to the floor."

"I was waterbending!"

"Don't you mean playing with magic water?"

"You're such a jerk!"

"Nag!"

"Sokka! Katara!" Sakari scolded her children. "Now that's enough. Both of you get inside and eat your dinner."

They dutifully obeyed and started toward the hut. Sakari turned to enter as well when a strange smell caught her nose. She looked into the sky and blanched at the sight; soot mixed with snow.

"Hey look!" Sokka pointed at the sky. "It's black snow!" The children marveled at the sight, completely unaware of its meaning.

Their mother felt her heart beating rapidly in her chest. No. Not now. Not when her husband was so far from home. Not ever.

"What did you do to the snow, Katara?"

"Me? What makes you think that I did it?"

"Well, you are the weird one."

"Get inside!" Sakari interrupted. "Get inside now!" Not even the spirits would have disobeyed her.

Sokka and Katara stared in confusion as their mother grabbed a blanket and put food into the center before tying it up. She thrust the package into her son's hands. "Take your sister and go to the cavern east of the village, stay there until one of the villagers or I come for you. Do not come back here until then."

They stared at their mother as though she were mad. They had often played in the cave, but she had always told them not to go there alone. Why change her mind now?

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I'll explain later, just go!"

Katara looked like she was on the verge of tears. Why did her mother want them to leave?

Sokka looked directly into his mother's eyes. "It's the Fire Nation isn't it?"

Sakari gathered every bit of her strength to keep away the fear that was growing inside her. She needed to be strong for the sake of her children and yet she couldn't bring herself to lie to them, "Yes."

"Then I can help you!" He declared with youthful ignorance. "Dad gave me the boomerang! He told me to take care…"

"No, Sokka!" She interrupted. "I know you want to help and right now that means taking your sister to safety. Now do as I say."

"But…"

"No matter what happens promise me you will stay with Katara. Do not come back here! Run away Sokka, run away and live."

That was the last time Sokka and Katara saw their mother alive.

- - - - -

The memory began to fade and Sokka awoke from his daze. He wasn't at the South Pole, he reminded himself. He wasn't eleven anymore. He was fifteen and alone in the northern forest of the Earth Kingdom. Ever since the death of Yue this earlier memory had surfaced from the depths of his mind and plagued his dreams.

Sokka shook his head as though trying to throw the memory out of his mind. He had to focus. The Water Tribe warrior took out his knife, planted it in the tree, and listened. He couldn't hear any footsteps and his heart sank. Where were they?

He withdrew the knife and kept moving. Maybe they were already moving on towards the temple. Unfortunately, he realized, he had no idea where it was. Sokka cursed under his breath. He was running out of ideas.

The sound of rushing water lifted his downhearted spirit. It could only be the river. He rushed toward the sound. All he had to do was follow it and it would lead him closer to the temple. It wouldn't take him all the way there, but it was a start.

Closer and closer he came to the sound of water; each of his steps was surer than the last. Finally the river came into view. He could see the rain dancing on the surface of the water…and a pirate ship floating just downstream. Two figures exited the boat, one was being dragged, either because he was exhausted or dead, Sokka couldn't tell. His heart skipped a beat. The tall figure towing the body was Chen.

Run away Sokka, run away and live.

He had run away once, but he had vowed to never do so again. He was a warrior! And yet when the Fire Nation attacked their people Sokka couldn't protect his mother. She died for them and for their village. He had always been too young, too inexperienced.

You're not old enough to go to war, Sokka, you know that.

I'm strong! I'm brave! I can fight! Please, Dad!

Being a man is knowing where you're needed the most, and for you right now that is here protecting your sister.

He had been left behind, left because he couldn't help them. But that was then, this is now. Now he was ready to do what needed to be done. Chen had to be stopped.

- - - - -

Aang and Iroh made their way through the thick forest towards the Earth Kingdom temple. Most of the journey had been made in silence. Aang repeated reassurances in his mind, Katara and Sokka are fine. They're strong; they can take care of themselves.

And yet he still worried.

Shing had proven himself to be a powerful and cunning adversary. If he should somehow take the final Houshu and create a bridge the world could feel the wrath of Koh once more. Aang didn't even want to think about what he would do if it should come to a head-to-head fight with the Face Stealer. The little knowledge he had of the spirit didn't include how to defeat him. In fact there were several things he didn't know.

"Iroh, why did you have the Fire Nation Houshu in the first place?"

"I was wondering when you were going to ask me that." Iroh carefully retold the story of his son and Nu-gua. He told the boy about how he had collected the jewels and traveled to the spirit world.

The Avatar couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards the older man, "I'm sorry."

"It was a long time ago," he replied.

"But if you created a bridge, didn't Koh try to return to the natural world?"

"It was the first time a bridge had been created by the Houshu in over eight hundred years. Of course Koh tried to take advantage of it. I was lucky though, I was not alone in the fight against him."

Aang blinked. His "huh?" hung unspoken in the air.

"You've already met her I believe. Does she still call herself Lei?"

It felt like the Avatar had taken a blow to the stomach. During Iroh's explanation he had described her perfectly, every detail. A name wasn't given and Aang tried to convince himself that it couldn't possibly be the same woman they had met only yesterday. After all, how could this woman look exactly the same when the ex-general had seen her over a decade ago? But his intuition told him otherwise. Some part of him had known from the beginning that Lei was anything but ordinary. After everything that had happened it wouldn't surprise the monk if Lei turned out to be a spirit herself.

And lightning struck in the distance.

"She is Nu-gua!" It all made sense. It explained how she had known so much, how she possessed such immense spiritual power, and hadn't aged a day in many years. She wasn't human.

Iroh was bit taken aback; the boy was quicker than he looked. "She is not Nu-gu herself, but merely a puppet created by the tree to guard the temple when it was constructed."

Aang mulled this over in his mind before speaking again. Why would the temple need to be guarded? It was created long before the Houshu was given to Lei for protection, so the jewel couldn't be the only reason such great lengths had been taken for it to be hidden.

Everyone knows it was created as a memorial to Avatar Tang and is protected by a spell to keep out those who would abuse the power within it.

The power within the temple. The monk had assumed Yori had meant the Houshu, but what if there was another meaning? Another power? Something that was worth protecting from those who would abuse it. He wondered.

"It's Idzumo isn't it?" His voice was barely above a whisper. "Was the temple built above Idzumo?"

He smiled. "How does it feel to know that only yesterday Nu-gua was under your feet?"

- - - - -

The rain was finally beginning to clear up, but the dark clouds promised that the reprieve was only temporary. Zuko was grateful for this, he didn't know if he could stand the terrible weather any longer…or the company.

"This is the third time we've passed that tree!" Katara pointed at the tree in question.

He tried to stay calm, "How can you tell? They all look the same."

"We're going in circles!" She insisted.

"We are not going in circles."

"Fine, a spherical route."

He whipped around and froze her in place with a hard glare. "You have two options," Zuko mockingly lifted one finger. "One, you shut your mouth voluntarily. Or two," he lifted a second finger, "I'll shut it for you. Trust me, obedience is less painful."

Katara frowned and crossed her arms over her chest in a huff.

"Smart choice," Zuko turned back around and continued his futile search for the temple. Honestly, neither of them knew where it was, but he couldn't stand to just sit around and do nothing. He would find Shing if he had to spend the rest of his teenage years looking under every rock in the forest.

Katara eyed the back of her companion. He may have had the personality of a wolf-bat, but there was no way she was going to let him out of her sight. Zuko may have wanted a fight with Shing, but she didn't trust him to give up his search for the Avatar. If they should come across Aang she would make sure the prince didn't have a chance to capture him. An old saying popped into her head. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Zuko continued on and spotted a grouping of large, moss covered rocks. They looked strangely familiar…

He paled. The prince could almost feel the satisfied smile forming on the waterbender's lips behind him.

"I told you we were going in circles." Katara felt like she was watching a volcano about to erupt. She was surprised there wasn't smoke coming from his ears.

"If you don't shut up…"

His threat was cut short by a soft "kerch." Katara recognized the sound of the flying lemur, "Momo!" He soared through the treetops and landed happily on the Water Tribe girl's shoulder. "You're safe!"

Zuko watched her hug the animal in confusion. "What the hell is that thing?"

"This thing," she retorted, "has just saved us. Momo, you can take us to the temple can't you?" Admittedly, her attempts to communicate with the lemur in the past had proven unsuccessful, but she wasn't about to give up hope yet. Or give Zuko even the faintest hint of any past failures at communicating with Momo.

Whether or not Momo understood her was still unknown, but he flew into the air and soared purposefully on as though he did.

"Come on!" Katara took off after her animal friend.

Zuko sighed. He was getting directions from something that would rather eat a map than read it. He made a mental note to get his head examined after this disaster was over.

- - - - -

Author's Notes: Yep, my chapters are definitely getting shorter or at least according to my word count.

I admit I did have a little fun writing this chapter, but rest assured my friends that this will not turn into a Zutara fic.

And now I just realized why I don't have more reviews.