Previously…

Raising both her arms, she felt the water swell as she summoned it forward.

A massive torrent of water rushed in through the trio of windows behind her. The sound of glass shattering was washed away in an instant.

With a pivot and a fluid chop of her arm, a stream of water traveled across the room, slicing clean through all the chains holding the buckets up.

The remainder of water filtered through the holes in the catwalk for a moment before she sent it further, making it flow off the edge like a waterfall.

The lava pits hissed and gurgled below.

~0~

The footsteps grew louder and it took Zuko a few moments to realize that they were above him, on the catwalk.

He craned his neck, trying to get a look through the holes in the metal flooring above him.

A door above creaked open. He could have sworn he heard a small noise of disgust.

Zuko began a quiet jog down the alley, wanting to get a better look.

All was quiet for a moment. The fog around him began to dissipate.

He'd just made it up the stairs and onto the ramp when he saw water cascade off the roof and smash through the windows.


Zuko's stride faltered for a moment.

The force put behind the water was insane.

The Painted Lady is one powerful bender…

After a beat, he continued further up the catwalk.

Panicked voices sounded from far away and his ears just barely picked it up over the roar.

The water suddenly stopped, the tail end of the torrent whipping inside the room with a whoosh. The voices grew louder and Zuko picked up the pace.

If it's the Painted Lady, then I better help her out before those guards get up here.

Zuko burst through the door at the top of the narrow footbridge.

The Painted Lady startled slightly at his entrance. She was standing just in between the windows, her stance that of a waterbenders. The ends of her dress were dark with water stains and small splatters of moisture dotted the woman's arms and chest.

She straightened, turning to face the masked man. The lava vats below were full of water. It was only then did he notice how completely and utterly hot it was inside the room.

"Figured you could use a hand," he said to her, making his voice a bit deeper and gruffer then usual.

The soldiers sounded as if they were almost there, their shouts echoing into the room.

"They're coming," Zuko drew his twin broadswords, turning to stare at the door.

"I'm not finished," the Painted Lady said from behind him. "Can you hold them off?"

Her voice was low and mature, the words obviously obstinate.

Zuko shifted into a defensive stance, readying his blades.

He glanced over his shoulder and stared at the spirit's face for a moment.

The veil blocked most of his view, though he could see the outline of her features from the lava-light shining up from below. She looked absolutely ethereal, the light casting shadows upwards on her face. The red markings were a stark contrast to her skin. Her golden armbands sparkled in the light.

"Of course."

With a yell, two soldiers barreled through the door.

They both wielded the same style broadsword as he did.

The one on the right was leaner than the other, his companion much shorter and stockier.

Zuko charged forward on the offense, one sword held over his left shoulder, the other poised towards his attacker.

The soldier on the right was expectedly quicker then his companion and was the first to attack.

He was a novice, Zuko decided, dancing back from a rather forceful stab.

Their blades clinked together.

He was sloppy with his technique; but novices could be even more dangerous then the most skilled swordsmen.

They were often unpredictable.

From behind him, the Painted Lady began to freeze the water she had infused with the lava, desperate to permanently destroy their production capabilities.

The squares of lava slowly began to turn to a sort of sludge, one by one.

"You may want to-" Zuko bit out, ducking under the second soldiers sword and rolling away. "-focus on the pipes."

The Painted Lady turned her attention to the Blue Spirit. Her blue eyes narrowed on the second soldier, who had joined in on the fight.

With a snap of her wrist, she launched an array of icey knives towards the men attacking him.

"Over there?" She asked. She skittered back from the stocky soldier, who wasn't too pleased to get a cold knife to the ribs.

She gestured wildly towards the intersection of pipes across the factory.

Zuko feigned an attack before jumping around the lean soldier, slicing at his legs.

"Yeah," he grunted out, blades battling the man.

The burly soldier went to attack the spirit again, only for her to sigh heavily, flinging a wave of water at him. She froze him against the railing, his body immobilized.

It was still warm in here, Zuko noticed, the ice holding the other man already sweating.

"Hey!" He snarled, noticing the remaining man turn his attention to the spirit. "I'm not done with you yet!"

Glancing over her shoulder, the Painted Lady froze the lean soldier's legs to the catwalk before leaping over the railing, riding a surge of water down.

~0~

Katara's feet hit the floor with a thunk and she cringed at the temperature change ground level.

A bead of sweat dripped down her temple, and she hoped and prayed it wouldn't mess up her face and body paint.

Taking a stance at the intersection of three pipes, she bent the water into a thin, sharp blade of sorts and began pushing it back and forth, sawing the pipe.

She glanced up to the catwalk, trying to keep an eye on the Blue Spirit - and the soldier she'd frozen to the railing.

She knew the ice wouldn't last as long.

It had to be over 90 degrees in here.

Her eyes quickly found the blue and white mask, an anomaly to the mass amounts of dark steel that formed the factory walls.

However, he didn't seem to be currently fighting anyone, instead, picking his way across the catwalk, headed…somewhere.

Where did those soldiers go? Surely he didn't kill them…

Three more swipes later, she was satisfied with the progress, moving to another spot. She didn't have to completely cut the pipe through, as she had a better idea.

Crreeeeak

Panicked, Katara slid back into a lunge, throwing her arms in front of her. Her outstretched hands were pointed towards the door, and with that motion, the thin blades of water rushed forward with great force.

Blue, white and black came into focus.

Her eyes widened.

Shit.

The Blue Spirit.

She threw her arms up towards the ceiling, desperate to slow it down or redirect it.

It was too late.

He grunted in surprise, rolling forward, attempting to dodge the array of water that was now barreling towards him like a wave.

When he came out of his roll, he stopped in a partial kneel.

The Blue Spirit just stared at her.

Water dripped down his mask and assumedly down the front of his suit.

Katara briefly wondered what his expression was under that mask.

"Sorry!" She blurted out.

They both kind of just stared at each other for a moment.

The water had drenched his all black suit, she noticed. The black fabric clung to his arms and chest.

He's toned underneath all that black.

Without a thought, she bent the water out of his clothes.

"Thanks," he mumbled huskily.

"Least I can do."

Katara inwardly cursed herself for allowing this much conversation. She was supposed to be a spirit for crying out loud! Not standing there gawking at his muscles and wondering how he looked without his mask...or without other...things.

She hadn't much experience with spirits, but she assumed that they wouldn't act like this.

He got to his feet, peering down at his now dry clothes.

"We need to hurry."

As if on cue, the soldier she'd frozen at the legs barreled through the door behind the Blue Spirit.

His hand flicked and Katara's eyes widened as a glint of metal came barreling towards them.

Leaping out of the way, she splashed down into a small puddle of water that had formed from her trying to cut the pipes. The Blue Spirit hit the concrete floor next to her, landing partially on her left side.

She winced.

The side of her bicep stung. Placing her palm to the pain, she barely glimpsed a bright red before clamping her hand back down. The Blue Spirit quickly got off her, launching himself to his feet.

She got to her feet, cringing slightly as the muscles in her arm worked.

It didn't seem to be a fairly bad cut , just simply a slice deep enough to draw blood.

Still hurt, though. Katara adjusted the golden armband.

The solider and the masked man began to battle again.

Better not take too long.

Katara finished the incision on the other pipe.

She moved counterclockwise so she could stand on the far side, wanting to keep an eye on the two fighting.

Katara didn't necessarily think that he'd need help keeping the solider busy, but it was the least she could do.

He was there to help her, after all. Or… so she hoped.

Turning her attention back to the pipes, she closed her eyes for a second, concentrating on the water. It buzzed with life around the room, remnants lingering in the storage above.

She could feel it everywhere, like small vibrations, calling back to her own essence with its' presence.

The waterbender slid into a low lunge, bending her front leg. She pulled all the water from the room to her. She stepped back up, her limbs pulling towards her slightly as she flowed and formed the water into a large mass of blue in front of her.

With open palms to the floor, she sent the water into the pipes, feeling it push through the cracks.

Metal clanged loudly in front of her, followed by a grunt.

The Painted Lady ignored the men, trusting the Blue Spirit to handle the situation.

She concentrated for a moment, not wanting to have to expend so much energy on this for nothing.

Her palms snapped around, now facing the ceiling. Katara stomped her back leg into a lunge. With a flourish, she focused on speed as the individual drops of water rushed back towards the ceiling, bursting back out from everywhere.

The pipes, many old and worn from years of hard water, sliced like ribbons from the sheer force of her bending.

The liquid rained down on them in torrential downpour.

Katara dipped her head down, water streaming off the brim of her hat.

Somewhere outside, the sludge that polluted the water slowed to a stop.

The water knocked the men off balance, both of them falling to the sides with the force.

She rushed towards the exit, pausing to send another wave of water at the solider, knocking him to the other side of the room.

The two intruders met gazes for a brief moment.

He seemed to get the message, darting out of the door ahead of her.

She followed suit.

Katara followed the man up a flight of stairs, cursing under her breath at her dress. After two more steps, she grabbed the stupid skirt and wadded it up in her hand, freeing up her legs.

The pair followed the stairs to the catwalk and then the catwalk back to the alleyway that Katara recalled led to the entrance.

"Wait!" She shouted, a few steps behind the Blue Spirit. "They must have a filtration system!"

She came to a stop, the Blue Spirit stopping as well a few paces ahead.

"A filtration system?" He repeated.

She nodded.

The Blue Spirits permanent grin stared at her.

"For the river!" Katara clarified.

Neither moved for a moment.

Well, I'm getting it. With or without him.

She turned on her heel and ran back the way they came.

~0~

Zuko sighed, watching the Painted Lady turn and hightail it back up the catwalk. He didn't know how she knew about this filtration system.

Her bending, perhaps?

He ran to the wall adjacent to the catwalk, leaping up at the last moment. Zuko climbed up the wall with a slight bounce, spinning midway and launching himself towards the catwalk railing.

His hands made contact with the metal railing, hoisting himself up.

The woman was climbing on a barrel a few feet ahead, trying to get to the roof.

"Here," he offered.

Zuko came closer to the woman, offering her foot a boost.

She hesitantly lifted a foot off the barrel and allowed the man to guide her foot up to his shoulder, pushing her up at the last second.

The Painted Lady locked her leg at the top and grasped at the roof's ledge, pulling herself up.

Zuko, who was a few inches taller than the woman, climbed up on the same barrel, simply needing good leap to reach the roof himself.

The roof was home to two large silos that Zuko assumed held water. His eyes followed the pipes that came up from the side of the building and where they went into a small chamber connected to one of the silos.

They went over to the small door on the box.

Inside sat two large metal cylinders with a pipe coming out of both.

Bingo.

I…think.

In all honesty, he had absolutely zero idea what water filters would or should look like.

The Painted Lady peered around him, staring into the box. The cylinders were about two feet tall and eight inches wide.

He turned to look at her for a moment, wanting her approval that this was what they came back for.

His eyes drifted down her body, lingering for a moment on her golden arm band.

Stop gawking, Zuko. This isn't the first time you've found someone attractive. Not the time.

A raised line of red peeked out from beneath it.

She's…bleeding?

Temporarily forgetting the urgency for a brief moment, his eyes went back up to her face.

"You're hurt," he stated, the same deepness in his voice.

The woman had lowered her head for a moment, trying to keep the veil between her eyes and his own.

The closeness of the two of them sent a strange wave of familiarity through him.

Her blue eyes stared at him from behind the veil.

Zuko wondered if there was enough light that she could see his eyes, too.

"I'm fine." she cleared her throat, reaching her arm down into the box. "This must be it."

Her long fingers unscrewed the bolt holding the cylinders in place and she pulled her hand back, allowing him to lift them out.

They made it down to the banks with little issue, much to Zuko's surprise. He half expected for either soldier to call for reinforcements and them to need to fight their way out of there.

This isn't the last we'll hear of General Mung and the soldiers.

The unlikely pair stood side by side on the shore, somewhat near the boat Zuko had traveled across the river on. The cylinders sat in the sand/clay mixture at their feet.

"Thank you." She suddenly said, after a few minutes of silence.

Zuko turned and peered at her through the slits in his mask.

"You're not really a spirit, are you?"

She froze, turning her head to stare at him, this time through the crack in her veil.

"I am just as much a spirit as you are," she retorted, referring to his name.

He cocked his head to the side.

"Fair enough."

"I'll take that." She scooped up the filters with a grunt. The woman looked to the sky, where the moon was beginning it's descent.

~0~

Katara stared at the sliver of moon.

It was probably close to two in the morning.

Was it late enough to fiddle with the filters? Surely they'd need some sort of engineering to run properly…

…and engineering was not her strong suit.

She stepped onto the river, bending ice beneath her on instinct. Fog rolled in from the hills behind them and she turned to gaze at the masked man once more.

"Until next time." He murmured.

The haze rolled between them, the taller man disappearing from view.

Katara's muscles immediately began to protest beneath the weight of the filters, each cylinder weighing nearly fifteen pounds.

The young waterbender slowly began her journey across the river, frequently stopping to rest the added weight on sheets of ice beside her.

After nearly fifteen minutes, she had made it back to the town. She had decided on her trek back to the village she would drop off the filters in the middle of the town.

Surely at least one of them would know what they were looking at once they were discovered in the morning.

A squeak came from behind her and she quickly leaped off the platform and into the water.

She grimaced after she surfaced, paddling her way a bit further beneath the village platform.

Katara slowly treaded muck-water, thankful that it was at least a bit easier to stay afloat.

A few seconds ticked by and all was silent.

What did I hear then?

She stared at the bottom of the decking and her eyes couldn't detect any shadows above her.

I wonder…could I bend myself up out of the muck to float like I do when I travel?

Katara swam over to the other side of the platform and focused on doing just that. Slowly, she felt her body rise up from the muck, globs dripping down her arms and legs.

Thank Spirits I haven't fallen in before this…this is horrible. I would kill to soak in a warm tub right now.

Her feet hit the chilled surface of the ice and she bent what mud she could off of her.

Yeah Katara, let's not lead a mud trail to where we live.

Once she was satisfied with her level of cleanliness - and she quickly realized she couldn't expect much - she slowly crept home.

Her arm throbbed as she pulled her gold armbands off and she was briefly reminded of the knife wound.

Digging through her pack, she pulled out a small box of matches to light a few candles.

The cut had thankfully stopped bleeding but had a rather angry look to it. The skin around it was warm and puffy.

Katara cleaned her wound, gingerly patting it with a damp cloth. Coating her hand in the water, she held it to the wound, the telltale soft bluish glow lighting up the room.

Her hand hovered over it, though she felt nothing more then the pain ebb slightly.

It wouldn't heal completely.

She pulled her hand away, staring at the line.

What is going on?


A/N: Not gonna lie, I'm very proud of myself for pushing through and updating again! This one is a bit longer, I believe. I wanted to fit a bit more action in, maybe progress the story a bit more, but there were some moments between our two favorite benders I wanted to include. Let me know what you think in a review below! I adore hearing your thoughts! :)