A/N

Confession: I have only watched "Zuko Alone" once. I've tried to watch it several times, but I just get fidgety and I start to wonder how this is gonna affect my fic and maybe I'll see something I didn't see before and it'll be really bad. I don't know why, but I'm scared to watch it again. Although, I've got about forty screen captures that I drool over (I love Zuko's hair!).

Some of you will be happy to note that I have added in some nice Katara to Zuko comments and some Haru jealously. These upcoming chapters are going to scream ZUTARA!

Xxx

"Do you think that they're okay?" Sokka asked again, rubbing a scratch in his boomerang with his fingertip. "Zuko seemed kind of anxious to get out of there."

"Yes, Sokka, they're fine. And he was anxious because his uncle is dying." Aang replied from his position on Appa's head. "Are you even looking for Iroh?"

Sokka glanced up briefly, checking to see if any old man's feet were sticking from the forest's shadows.

"Yea," he answered, "I'm looking."

"Listen, I know you don't like him-."

"Yea."

"And I know you think he's just out to hurt people-."

"Yea!"

"But he's a decent person."

"He's a fire bender, Aang. Fire bender." Sokka shook his head, "You wouldn't understand. You've never been attacked by them. You've never had your family ripped apart just so a stupid man can win a war." Sokka threw his boomerang in frustration, and it flopped haphazardly a few feet away.

"I was at the North Pole. I saw what they did to Gyatso. I know what they do," Aang answered sympathetically.

"No, you don't, Aang. I'm sorry, but you just don't know."

Aang frowned, but continued to search for the fire bender that was currently in Azula's possession.

Xxx

"This is the tree?" Azula asked the soldier.

They stood at the waterfall base, with a pile of rope in place of a pile of fire nation soldiers.

The man nodded, "The very one, Princess."

"And why is it that you did not untie them?" she asked, stepping closer to him. He cowered.

"I… I was afraid that I might get captured as well. Then I wouldn't be able to warn you."

"That's a poor excuse. However, the beginning part was correct. You were afraid. You don't deserve to wear that uniform."

She circled the tree. "They cut themselves free. Maybe they have a lead."

The captain was studying the ground. "I believe there was a water bender here, Princess Azula. There's too much water on the ground for it to be just splashes."

She stopped walking away and doubled back to examine his findings. "You're right. This is pathetic. They were detained by a water bender. How embarrassing."

Xxx

"Does any of this look familiar?" Katara asked Zuko tiredly.

Zuko shook his head. "I think this is too far south."

"So we need to go back?" Haru asked.

Zuko stopped and took the pack off of his shoulders. He looked around him. "I don't know."

Katara mopped her forehead with her sleeve. The sun was blazing too hot for any ice dweller. "Well, we can't just keep going on like this forever. If you haven't been through here before, then we should go back."

Momo landed onto Katara's shoulder. He'd been hovering over them, dashing in and out of the surrounding woods to search for fruit. He handed her a partially eaten acorn.

She took it from him and pocketed it. "Maybe we should send Momo to get Aang and Appa. That way we don't waste time walking."

"I think-." Haru started, but Zuko held up a hand to stop him.

"Listen," he instructed.

Even Momo paused his chatter to listen with them.

At first, all that was heard was a hot breeze that rattled the leaves of the trees and stirred up the dead foliage at the forest floor. But then, not too far in the distance, there was a pounding.

"It sounds like…" Katara drifted off, still mesmerized.

"It's marching." Zuko stated, then his eyes widened. "Run!"

Xxx

"How…much longer… should we run?" Ty Lee panted.

Mai gasped and clutched her side. "I… don't... know…"

"I suggest we keep going," a soldier said from behind them.

"And why… is that?" Ty Lee wheezed.

The man pointed down the hill of the road in front of them. "Because I believe we just found some of our targets."

Xxx

"Keep going!" Zuko bellowed.

Katara struggled to keep up with them. "I'm trying…" she gasped.

Haru glanced back at her. "Katara, if we don't make it, we'll never be able to win in a fight against them!"

"We can't… run forever!" she reasoned.

"We're not just going to stop!" Zuko countered. "Come on, keep up the pace. They're gaining!"

"I…I can't make it!" Katara's entire body was split in pain. Every step threatened to bring her crashing to meet a most certain death. She turned to gauge the distance between the enemies and themselves.

Just as she craned her neck to see, her foot connected with a rebellious patch of root in the road.

She tripped and fell on her face, the dust swirling around her.

"No," Katara muttered, as it was the only clear thought she had.

She struggled, panicked, to peel herself from the ground and keep running. She pulled her leg under her to push herself up, but it gave out and she collapsed again in the dust.

Xxx

"One down." Mai said, adjusting the arrows strapped to her arms.
Ty Lee smiled through the pain of running, "We… didn't even… have to do….anything!"

Mai smirked back, briefly. She had the feeling like these people were not the people that Azula was looking for.

The girl on the ground was not a target, and she'd just be killed if she got in the way. The boy in green was definitely not Zuko, Mai decided. But the other boy…

Mai gasped.

The black-haired boy spun back around to help the girl up, and Mai was close enough to view the furious red scar that darkened the left side of his face.

"Zuko," Ty Lee acknowledged.

Mai quickened her speed. There was no way that she was going to let Zuko slip through her fingers.

Xxx

Zuko stooped and caught Katara's arm. "Get up!"

She latched onto the arm he offered. "I'm sorry," she exclaimed.

Zuko kept one eye on the advancing group, "Be sorry when we're dead. Come on. I'll carry you."

Katara was too exhausted and panic-struck to worry about the offer he had just given her.

Xxx

Who was that girl, anyway? Mai thought, anger bubbling as Zuko helped her from the ground.

"When I said… it'd be… good to see Zuko… again," Ty Lee said to Mai, "I didn't… think… this… would be… the-."

"I know," Mai snapped.

Zuko pulled the girl onto his back, piggy-back style, and the pair took off.

Pair…Mai thought loathingly.

"She just… got in the way," Mai growled, and took aim at the girl.

Xxx

"You know, I don't think this is gonna work for very much longer," Haru said conversationally.

He wasn't particularly fond of the fact that he was carrying two packs; one was Zuko's, so that Zuko could carry Katara. Haru frowned to himself. He could've carried her… He pushed his jealously away to think about later

Katara wrapped her arms tighter around Zuko's neck, "Well, it's a little late for a plan now," she answered weakly.

Zuko shifted Katara's weight. She really was lighter than he expected.

Don't think. Just run. He instructed himself.

Katara looked behind her to watch with increasing dread as their attackers advanced. The girl with the arrows lifted her arm. Katara realized almost too late what she was doing. In the few seconds her senses allowed her, she pulled herself from Zuko, and him down with her.

She hit the ground and the breath went out of her. Zuko landed on top her, and he would've shouted at her, but he was still too shocked to grasp what had happened.

"What-." He snarled, then saw the black ebony arrow piercing the ground where they had just been sprinting.

Katara wriggled underneath him, gasping like a fish out of water. Zuko rolled off of her, watching her with a mixture of disbelief and admiration.

Haru stopped running and hurried over to them.

"You know, I don't think we have to run. I have an idea." Haru said, rushing to Katara's side to help her regain her breath.

"You have an idea?" Zuko cringed and fought his own exhaustion to get on his feet.

Katara leaned onto Haru and grabbed Zuko's sleeve with her other arm to get herself up. "Well, quick, Haru! Do something!" she panted.

Xxx

"Ugh. Missed." Mai growled.

"It was well-aimed." Ty Lee attempted to cheer her. "Now what are they doing?"

The green-clad boy pulled the other two further into the middle of the road. He faced the their oncoming party.

Mai wrinkled her brow. "Is… he…. a-."

Before she could guess, he pulled his arms above his head moving them in a great circular motion. The entire ground they were standing trembled, then fell into the earth.

Ty Lee tripped in her astonishment.

"No!" Mai shrieked. She rushed to the gaping hole in the ground, but no sooner had she stumbled to its lip did it seal up.

She pounded her fist onto the now solid ground.

Ty Lee pointed to it, "Men, dig them out!"

"We lost him." Mai growled, disbelievingly, "We lost him. And Azula will be here any moment."

Xxx

"What are your orders, Princess?"

Azula looked her uncle over again. She wanted to stop lugging him around like a two hundred and fifty pound bag of feed. At least feed could be eaten. He was useless at the moment.

She turned her attention back to Mai and Ty Lee's footprints in the mud. Her lip curled in disgust.

"I didn't bring them along to chase after them. If they have a lead, they'll follow it. We'll go the other way, in case we need to head off any other targets." Azula replied.

Xxx

Aang looked overhead at the ominous clouds gradually pushing the sunlight behind them and enclosing the world below in darkness.

"I think it's gonna rain," Aang said to Sokka, now leaning in the back of the saddle.

"Then we should stop and nap somewhere."

"No, Sokka," Aang said sternly, "Then that would mean leaving Iroh in the rain."

"Mhm. Maybe that's the point."

Xxx

Katara's head was reeling. She held a palm to her forehead, anything to make the throbbing stop. She felt like she'd just fallen six feet under…

"You guys just can't take a cave-in, can you?" Haru's voice drifted from somewhere near her.

Momo screeched from the midst of the black. Katara could hear him chortle and rustle around.

She reached out with her other hand and grazed something solid. Wall.

She spun in the other direction. Nothing. She crawled in the direction of nothingness on her hands and knees.

She paused her scurrying. "Where's-."

At that precise moment, Zuko held up a flamed hand.

They were almost touching noses.

His amber eyes widened. She shrieked.

"Stop screaming," Haru urged, looking towards the cave ceiling, "You'll ruin my plan."

Zuko and Katara stumbled away from each other, still mortified that they had been in such close contact.

Haru sighed. Katara had barely paid attention to him since he'd met up with her. All she talked about was Zuko. All she looked at was Zuko. All she wanted to do was fight Zuko. Haru had waited for so long to see Katara and all she could do was gawk at the scarred boy.

"Does anyone want to hear my plan?" Haru pressed, stepping toward Katara.

Her gaze flickered from Zuko to Haru. "Your plan?"

"More than this?" Zuko snarled, standing up and bumping his head on the low ceiling.

Haru smirked, "Oh, sorry."

He pushed his palms to the ground. They sank a few more inches.

Zuko pulled himself to his full height slowly. Then he rounded on Haru again, "I hope your other plan is better than this."

"We're not in harm's way, are we?" Katara snapped at him, still curled on the ground.

Haru frowned. She talked to him again.

"Well, actually, I made this up while you guys were… piggybacking…"

"That was-." Zuko started. Katara turned to hide her encroaching blush.

"Anyway, here's my plan: I'm going to make a tunnel in that direction, away from here. They" Haru gestured to the surface, "will feel for the vibrations and follow me. So they'll think that we think we're fooling them."

"You think you're going to trick them into thinking that we're thinking we've got them thinking we're going to move without them noticing?" Zuko asked, his head throbbing from talking like an idiot and from falling into the earth.

Katara frowned, "And once you've led them away…"

"I'll make a pit, which they'll fall into. Then, I'll come back for you two."

"Wait… So, you expect us to wait in here?" Zuko asked, pointing around the cavern and making the shadows leap on the walls from tossing his fist around.

"Alone?" Katara whimpered.

Haru considered rethinking his plan. He didn't want to leave her alone with him. He nodded finally. "Yes. It'll only be for awhile. Maybe you two won't kill each other in that time."

Xxx

A/N

Squee! Like I told my friend earlier, I've just dipped this fic in a hint of zutara, and it'll only get spicier from here! BAM! I feel like Emril.