I do not own PJO or A:TLA

Chapter 25

Kat-lee finished reading story and looked up. Everyone was either sitting on the floor or leaning against the bookshelf, deep in thought.

"Why did you need this story?" Kat-lee asked again. "Is it important for you to defeat the Fire Nation?"

Percy started to get a weird feeling about this girl in his stomach... she seemed to really need to know their plans.

"No." Zuko answered shortly. "It's for something else. We can't tell you."

It made Percy feel better that Zuko evidently felt the same way... maybe it was just superstition, but things like this never seemed to pan out the way they thought it would. You meet a couple monsters and a strange girl in a basement isn't as trusting as you might think.

"Please? I swear I won't tell anyone."

Toph shoved off of the bookshelf where she had been leaning and took a threatening step forward. "Why'd you lie?" Her voice was dry and dangerous.

Kat-lee blinked innocently. "What? I didn't lie."

"Yes you did. You did it again right there."

"You're crazy."

"Then why is your heart racing? Getting nervous?"

Ket-lee bushed deeply.

"Toph..." Sokka warned, also taking a step forward, either to hold Toph back or step in front of her, Percy wasn't sure.

Aang looked up at the ceiling of the library, a few flecks of dust floated down. "Do you feel that?" He asked Toph softly. "Someone's coming."

Sokka grabbed the story from Kat-lee and shoved it in his shirt. He drew his sword and leveled it at the girl. "You lied to us."

"No! I didn't! I didn't tell anyone!" She held out her hands to protect herself as she backed into the desk, a look like a cornered animal flashed across her

"Stop lying!" Toph demanded.

They all turned to the door as hurried footsteps came down the staircase.

"It's too late. He's here."

Percy looked around and realized she had perfectly played them, leading them to a small, secluded corner to distract them while her backup got ready. They had their backs up against a wall, there was no room to fight or escape. They could only stand and defend as best they could. Anger filled his chest and he drew Riptide, knowing full well it wouldn't work on these people but hoping it would scare them or something. Not being able to do as much as everyone was driving him crazy.

A tall guy with black hair and amber eyes ran around the corner of one of the shelves, his face pale and glistening with nervous sweat.

"Kat-" He started to say as soon as he saw the girl with Sokka's sword at her chest. But he never got the words out because as soon as he was in view, Aang slammed his staff into the ground, sweeping this giant stone shelf off it's stand. It teetered teasingly before crashing down and would have smashed the man if he hadn't hit the ground and rolled safely out of the way as fast as lightning.

He rolled up to his knees and shot two blasts of fire at the gang. Zuko and Aang met those attacks and dispersed the fire with ease and shot back.

He's a fire bender? A thought flashed across Percy's thoughts. Isn't this an Earth Kingdom library?

"Kat-lee!" The man yelled. The girl came to life at his voice and started furiously throwing rocks at everyone. But because they were in such a small place, she could only manage small pebbles that only made the group angry, like small bee stings, instead of doing anything to help the other man.

Finally, with a yell of frustration, she thrust her hands into one of the desks and threw it with all her might at the back Toph's head.

The desk sailed through the air but the Blind Bandit hardly moved her arm to make it explode and nothing but dust rain gently down, filling the air with the particles.

In a few more seconds the group had Kat-lee and the man down and defeated.

"How could you?" Aang demanded at Kat-Lee. "You lied to us and betrayed your country and your own people."

"No, I didn't!" Kat-lee spat. "How did I betray my home, the Fire Nation?"

"You're Fire Nation?" Sokka squawked.

She jutted her chin out rebelliously and glared. "Yes, I am."

"Please." The man said desperately. "my sister is just angry, she feels betrayed by our home and is confused about her loyalties. She doesn't know whose side she's on yet."

Percy saw Katara sneak a sad look at Zuko but he just narrowed his eyes unfeelingly at the girl.

"You're her brother?" Aang asked, his anger almost gone and replaced with his open-ended, friendly, curious personality. "But you're a fire bender!"

The man sighed and looked sadly at the group standing around him and his sister. He looked down at her but she angrily avoided his eyes. Sighing again, he looked at Aang and talked only to him.

"My name is Kohaku. My father was a very respected Fire Nation general in the Fire Lords army. One day, as he was marching through this town with his soldiers, he was attacked by a small group of rebel earth benders. The Fire Nation soldiers were exhausted and hungry and soon overtaken, but my father took one look at the leader of the rebellion and fell in love with her. That was my mother. He secretly married my mother and soon, I was born. My mother loved my father but she could not reconcile herself to him being in the Fire Nation army, so he tried to leave. But some people found out and killed him before he could leave, which left my pregnant mother pregnant with my sister, alone and angry. When Kat-lee was born, my mother extracted what revenge she could on the Fire Nation before she, too, was killed.

We came to this house to try and convince the Beifongs to join in the war and also, because my sister respects the daughter of this house, the legendary earth bender."

"That's me." Toph said, she smiled sarcastically and pointed at herself.

"So that's why there's all the Fire Nation history stuff in here." Katara sounded impressed as Kohaku gaped at Toph.

"Well, were you guys trying to make the Beifongs fight for the Fire Nation or the rest of the world?" Sokka said. "You've still got Fire Nation blood in you. They're all evil."

Zuko smacked him upside the head. "Oh, shut up."

"Except for you."

"We wanted to rally against the Fire Nation. But these people... they're too accustomed to war. They don't see the danger, they think the Avatar will save them before it's too late."

Percy involuntarily looked at Aang. The kid only looked on, his grey eyes huge and soft with sadness.

"Aang will save the world." Katara confirmed reverently, resting her hand on Aang's arm.

"Yeah... of course." He answered, only flinching slightly at her touch.

"So what's her deal?" Percy asked finally, nodded at Kat-lee. The girl had been sitting next to her brother sulking the whole time. Percy remembered how his mom used to pinch his lower lip when it stuck out in a pout like that. Careful it doesn't stick like that. How're you gunna eat?

It made him feel homesick.

"She... She is conflicted about her loyalties. She never knew our parents and she doesn't understand that they were taken from us by the Fire Nation. She believes it to be a great nation that will forgive her for being an earth bender and let her live in peace with them."

Zuko made a strangled sound that could almost be considered a laugh. The bitterness froze Percy's blood.

Luke's scar and Zuko's burn mark wasn't the only thing the boys had in common. Percy thought as he mentally compared the two, not for the first time.

"You think they'll let you live in peace in their country? They won't rest until they have total and complete surrender from everybody. Even if that means destroying everything in their path. It's absolution. All or nothing for them."

"That's not true!" Kat-lee protested, struggling against her bonds, tears filling her eyes. "They will! They'll take me in! It's the Earth Kingdom that hated me!"

Kohaku looked sad. Percy knew the feeling of not belonging... not being human, not being god. Somewhere in the middle with no real home. It sucked that Kat-lee had to be so angry and betray them, but he almost got it.

"I'm sorry." Aang said.

Kat-lee's head shot up and he stared. "You're sorry?"

"I'm sorry I let this happen. There shouldn't be this discourse between the nations." Aang sighed deeply, feeling the weight of the world for a brief second on his shoulders. "There's nothing we can really do right now, except try to persuade you that the Fire Nation won't accept you or your bother for who you are."

"They will! They have to!"

"Listen up, you traitor." Toph broke in. She knelt down next to Kat-lee and rested one hand on her shoulder and another hand on the ground. "Just listen. Feel the vibrations of the ground. You can tell when someone is lying because of the physical reaction. Aang, tell a lie."

"Oh, uh, I love meat. Mmm, gimme some jerky cause I'll totally eat it."

He shrugged and grinned apologetically as Katara giggled behind her hand.

"See?" Toph said. "Now Zuko, tell Kat-lee what will happen if she goes to the Fire Nation for protection."

Zuko hung his head, as if he were embarrassed about his home. "Imagine the worst thing the Earth Kingdom could do to you." He started steadily. "Now triple it. Multiple it by tenfold. My sister, Azula, you've never met anything like her. She gets in your head and makes you second guess everything before striking you down. She would find you and kill you, or something even worse. The Fire Nation is filled with people like that. You would not be welcome."

Kat-lee met his eyes and stared steadily for a few seconds, searching desperately for a trace of a lie. Finally, her eyes welled up and she sobbed, defeated. "How can we keep on living? Nobody wants us, everybody is distrustful. They hate us."

Zuko knelt down on one knee, his hard exterior finally melting and his heart going out to the two homeless kids. "Listen, one day, when my father isn't the Fire Lord anymore, I'll make a place for you. A safe haven. A city where... everyone can live together."

"A place for all four nations to exist in peace." Aang smiled at Zuko. "That sounds nice."

Kat-lee had stopped crying and sniffed pathetically. "You promise?" Her nose and eyes were all puffy and red and although she had to be close to sixteen years old, Percy thought she looked like a little kid. A really little kid.

"I do." Zuko said. "Maybe that's what my purpose is supposed to be, after helping the Avatar." He turned his head and half-smiled back at Aang.

He looked so wild, Percy thought. But, gracefully wild, if that made any sense. Like all his years living on the road, being an outcast and having windswept shaggy hair didn't change the fact that he had grown up in a castle with people waiting on him hand and foot.

Zuko reached out a hand and in one smooth motion, had pulled Kohaku to his feet. Kohaku was tall and slim and strong too, built like Zuko. Maybe it was just how fire benders looked, like the way earth benders seemed to be shorter and stockier folk.

The two fire benders shook hands. "Thank you." Kohaku said feelingly, not just talking about the help standing up.

Kat-lee scrambled up and bowed low to Zuko and to Aang and then to everyone else in the group. The bowing weirded Percy out but he didn't say anything, since the whole rest of the group treated it as a normal occurrence.

"Is there anything you want us to do?" Kohaku asked. "To aid you in your battle against the Fire Lord?"

Aang shook his head, his eyes soft. "No, we have a plan."

He and Zuko exchanged fervent glances, Percy shoved his hands deep in his pockets and watched. There was something about the plan that he didn't know about. That they were keeping from him.

According to Annabeth, Percy wasn't the sharpest arrow in the quiver, but he could tell when he was on the outs about something and he didn't appreciate it. These people were on his quest, the least they could do was let him know.

He shrugged his shoulders and bit his tongue. He'd find out sooner or later.

FINALLY.

I'm sorry it took so long!

Also, just a little aside about the story. I know something kind of like Kat-lee's story happened in the comic books that take place after avatar ends... that's why Zuko and Aang build Republic City, right?

I know it's not perfect but I just thought I'd add it in a little, just in case people haven't read the comics and wanna know how Zuko and Aang got the idea or something.

It's not exact but it's just my own interpretation!

Thanks for reading, homies. Don't forget to review so I know to keep writing :*