Didn't See That Coming

by Rebirth of the Phoenix

Hi guys. I am so sorry for making you wait almost a month for this chapter but I am having major writer's block with story. It still hasn't gone away but I think you all deserve an update!

I want to give special thanks to ML7 for taking the time to message me to persuade me to update and Mystic Spirit Angel for also trying to help.

Well without further ado here is the next chapter.

Review!

Disclaimer - A:TLA is much too brilliant to be my creation.

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Hot tea was spat across the table.

Sokka and Aang had agreed to talk with Iroh and had eventually accepted the man's tea, after deciding it wasn't poisoned. Unfortunately Iroh had chosen to tell the two boy's of Katara's whereabouts while Sokka had a mouth full of tea.

Iroh wiped the liquid from his face and nodded grimly. "I am afraid so. Miss Katara is currently in the forest and according to legend she may be facing a demon."

Aang was looking at the retired General with fearful eyes, while Sokka looked plain shocked.

"So my sister is risking her life out there with no one but Prince Zuko to help her?"

Iroh looked at the boy sadly. "I know it seems hopeless but I can tell you that Prince Zuko is a determined young man. I have faith that both he and Katara will arrive back safely."

Aang spoke up for the first time since they had entered the room. "What was Katara doing with Zuko in the town anyway?"

"Well we had to get supplies for the ship and Miss Katara some new clothes."

Aang and Sokka exchanged confused looks before Sokka spoke up. "Firstly why would Prince Zuko of all people buy clothes for my sister and secondly why did she need new clothes in the first place?"

Iroh sighed heavily. "We may be from the Fire Nation but that doesn't mean we are all heartless pigs. Prince Zuko is a complicated young man. I ca not say much but believe me he didn't just wake up one morning and decide to spend two years of his life hunting for the Avatar." He inclined his head to Aang. "As for why your sister needed new clothes, well let us just say that while most Fire Nation citizens are not cold hearted, others are."

Aang looked at Iroh confused. "What happened to Katara?"

"That I am afraid, you will have to hear from her."

Sokka stood up suddenly, furious. "Did Zuko do something to her because I swear -!"

Iroh held a hand up to stop the young warrior. "Hush now. No Zuko did not harm Miss Katara. Quite the contrary. You know Masters Aang and Sokka, Miss Katara has a gift for bringing out the best in people. A gift that my nephew as had the fortune to experience first hand."

The old man went back to drinking his tea, leaving the two boys in a confused silence.

- - - - - - - - - -

Zuko and Katara were enveloped the light, leaving the fake Jet and Katara's feared future behind.

The light faded leaving the two teens again facing Kaen across the damned island. Zuko still held onto Katara, afraid of letting her go. The fears were starting to take a toll on both of them and he wasn't sure how much longer they could hold on.

The wretch of a demon idly yawned. "Well done. I must say I never thought that you would ever make it to the fourth fear. You are almost half way there you know. Maybe it will please you two to know that this next fear isn't a two-parter. You can go through it at the same time as it is a universal fear. The fear of loneliness; and not what you feared," she looked at Katara pointedly. "This loneliness is quite different from your fear of abandonment and rejection. This is intense, constricting, suffocating, absolute seclusion."

Katara growled lowly. "Shut you mouth and let us get on with it already!"

Kaen narrowed her eyes. "Are you so eager to die?"

Zuko felt Katara tense slightly and she pulled away. "Look witch! So far today I have watched my mother die again and I was almost strangled. Then I nearly got fried by the Fire Lord, you made Zuko hit me, I've almost drowned and you had the people I care for come and tell me they hate me! I just want to get through these damn tests, kill you and then go!"

Zuko watched Katara with an odd sense of pride. She was absolutely fuming and Kaen seemed a little surprised that she had the guts to stand up to her.

"Well you little peasant have it your way. I thought you would have been grateful for these little interludes. It makes no difference to me if you want to hurry on head, in fact I would prefer it if you would because maybe I can be rid of the pair of you quicker."

The demon waved her hand and the next stone was branded with the word 'Loneliness'. Katara grabbed Zuko's hand and they both headed into another incubus.

- - - - - - - - - -

As soon as both her feet touched the stone Katara felt Zuko's hand leave her own and her world went black.

She was floating, unattached to anything. There was nothing. No sight, no sound, no touch. She was simply there; existing.

The air seemed dense and cold and she drew her knees up to her chest so she was in a sitting position, even though there was nothing solid for her to physically sit on.

Her teeth began to chatter as the utter iciness of her surroundings increased. She wondered where Zuko was and if he was feeling the same as she was.

- - - - - - - - -

Zuko was in fact feeling the same things as Katara. The darkness was pressing in at him from both sides and he mentally cursed Kaen for putting him and Katara through these stupid ordeals. He also wondered if Katara was alright. He had no idea where se was and while he could move his body he didn't seem to be able to travel distances. If he was actually moving then he had no way to tell if he was; the darkness remained impenetrable on all sides.

His thoughts trailed back to Katara. She was the only person, apart from his Uncle, who had bothered to try and understand him. He also remembered her telling him she loved him in her 'Present Fear' and he felt a smile tugging at his lips.

They had both declared their love for each other after only being friends for a few days. They had been enemies for months before that and it seemed so unlikely that two people that were so diverse could come together as one.

Then again, love is blind to what has been and Zuko had never felt such a strong connection to another human being.

Almost as if his thoughts had triggered something Zuko noticed the darkness seemed to thin out a little and he could just make out a figure in the distance.

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

Still fighting against the cold Katara's thoughts drifted to Zuko. He had protected her so fiercely over the past few days, and today especially. The thought of him brought a smile to her face and she knew that it was so cheesy to grin over a boy but she couldn't help it.

"Katara?"

She looked up. The first thing she noticed was that the darkness in front of her had cleared a little. The voice she had heard was distant but still recognisable.

Peering through the lifting gloom she could make out the familiar figure of a person.

"Zuko?" She called back.

She could see the relief on his face and she smiled at him. "Zuko! Thank heavens you're here I thought I was alone."

"So did I but remember I said you would never be alone."

Katara smiled softly, her body still trembling from the cold; she remembered something. "Zuko, in the last fear you said I would never be alone, no matter where I was. Did you mean that?"

She found herself blushing for some strange reason. 'Come on! You've already told the boy you love him, there's no good getting so embarrassed!'

Zuko smiled back at her. "I did mean it, every word. Going through all of this has made me realise that my life has had no real meaning. I've been driven by desperation for the past two years, Katara. I haven't been truly happy since before my mother died when I was younger. I've realised life is too short to let go of the things that mean something to you."

Katara sighed. She knew exactly what he was saying. His life recently had been devoted to hunting Aang, he had his Uncle's love of course but he would never admit it. It was different to the love of a father which he so desperately craved. But he had found something new in Katara. She was one of the people that should have hated him the most but she didn't. She had seen through the mask he wore; the mask which he had used for over two years to face his banishment.

Looking back at him she noticed he seemed to be getting closer to her, even though neither of them could physically walk.

Zuko too noticed it. He peered through the obscurity and noticed Katara trembling. "Are you cold?"

Katara blinked at him. "Aren't you?"

Zuko shook his head. "Because I'm a Firebender I subconsciously adjust my body heat when I need to. I just wish I could reach you"

Katara smiled sadly at him. "Zuko, how do we get out of this one? There isn't anything to fight like before and we can't even reach each other."

Zuko looked down at his hands. There must be a key to getting out of here. Sure, the demon Kaen was evil, but she liked to play games; and a game would be no fun if she was guaranteed success. Looking around himself he searched for something, anything that may have been the key out of there.

Nothing.

Complete emptiness… except for…

"Katara!"

Katara looked up at Zuko and saw that he had an odd expression on his face. Was it excitement?

Zuko positioned his body so he was floating on his stomach, his arms reached out to Katara. "Reach for me Katara! It's the way out!"

"What?"

"Think about it. This is the fear of loneliness right? Kaen has put us here apart from each other, although we are both in the same area. She is scaring us with the possibility of being trapped alone for all eternity."

Katara nodded, so far what Zuko said made sense.

"I didn't see you at the beginning of this ordeal, Katara. You only appeared to me after I thought about you. The closer you got the less dense the darkness became. So in theory he way out is to-"

"Reach each other!" Katara finished, catching on.

She positioned her body to mirror Zuko's. then she figured out the problem. "Zuko, how do we reach each other? We can't move."

Zuko thought for a moment, and then it hit him. "Desire!"

"Excuse me?" Katara lifted an eyebrow at the young Prince.

When I was sitting alone in the darkness I desired to see you and know that you were alright. That's when you appeared to me."

Katara grinned, realising something. "You first appeared to me after I started thinking about you."

Zuko nodded. "Here we don't have physical strength so we must rely on our emotional strength."

Katara sneered slightly. "That witch, Kaen really didn't think this one through. She obviously has no human emotions and so he has underestimated their power."

"Katara, think about something. Crave and desire it. It's our only way out of here."

Katara offered Zuko a small smile. "Right now I long to reach you and get out of here. Do you think that's powerful enough?"

Zuko smirked back. "Well that was exactly what I was yearning for, so I guess it should work.

It began. The two teens focused only on each other. Azure burning into fierce gold. Every part of their beings fixated on reaching one another, touching, uniting. Slowly but surely the distance between them closed; their fingertips coming together. Time was not important to the duo; the only thing of importance was their counterpart.

Katara never broke contact with Zuko's eyes. The intensity se saw within the champagne depths gave her strength and spurred her onwards.

Likewise the longing Zuko witnessed within Katara allowed him to draw strength from her and he fought to make contact with her.

Their gazes remained unbroken.

Even when, finally, two fingertips brushed one another and the darkness vanished completely, their gaze remained in tact.

The two teens crouched on the flat stone within the damned woods. Their expressions of determination broke to ones of relief and their fingertips still touched.

So blissfully unified were the pair, they barely noticed the scream of fury that came from Kaen.

"What! No! That wasn't supposed to happen! How the hell did you find each other in their in the first place? The only thing that can breach the darkness in there are emotions; and strong emotions at that! What emotion can you two possibly share that would allow you to reach one another?"

Katara smiled at Zuko, barely listening to the demon. "Love."

Kaen stopped her furious pacing. "What?"

Zuko stood up, helping Katara up with him. "You heard her. Love. Something your twisted brain can not possibly grasp."

Kaen looked at the to scornfully. "Love? I have seen into your lives and I know for a fact that up until a few days ago you two were enemies. Sure, I also saw a change in your feelings to one another but I assumed it was a crush. I mean, I even heard the pair of you confess your love to one another in your fears but I thought it would just be young love. The only thing strong enough to break through the enchantment of loneliness is…"

Kaen trailed off, looking aghast at Zuko and Katara.

Katara smirked triumphantly at the demon. "True love?" She asked mockingly, relishing in Kaen's surprise.

The demon shook her head frantically. "No. It is too soon. True love takes work and effort. True love takes time -"

Zuko cut the wraith off. "Yes, true love takes time. But what if you haven't got time because you're constantly in fear of losing your true love? I guess we should thank you Kaen. If it wasn't for you who knows how long it would have taken for Katara and I to admit our feelings?"

Kaen turned from the two, incensed.

'These two brats have made it more than half way through and they mock me!'

Casting a furious look over her shoulder she observed the couple. Her devious mind set to working as only hers could; she sneered.

'True love huh? I could make this work for me.'

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Hey, well there you go. Sorry about the long wait. Actually writing this chapter has helped me get back into the story so I should find it easier to update.

You'll find out Kaen's plan later on; it's the part I already have worked out and I like it!

Well thanks for reading!

Review!