It was at least an hour before Zuko saw Azula. In that time, he had paced the cell, wondering what he was supposed to say to the Waterbender. Whilst it was true that earlier he had been confident, reality had since caught up with him and he had begun to panic slightly.

It'd probably be a good start to apologize to her…his conscience advised.

Why should I apologize? Zuko asked himself arrogantly.

Are you serious? Because if so, then this could take awhile…his conscience replied scornfully.

Okay, so we haven't been the best of friends recently…or ever for that matter, but I don't see the need to apologize. She'd just throw it back in my face anyway, Zuko told his conscience. He was still pacing, throwing agitated glances at the door and Katara every so often.

She had been unconscious for so long that Zuko would've thought her dead if she wasn't clearly breathing. Her clothes seemed even dirtier than they were the last time he saw her.

Well they wouldn't get cleaner would they? I sometimes worry about how stupid you are, his conscience sighed. And what do you care about her clothes?

It isn't like there's much else to do! I'm simply making random observations. And why do you feel the need to criticise everything I think or do? It's like being with my father again…only I can't seem to escape you, Zuko told his conscience harshly.

You want to escape me? Be my guest. I'm only here all the time because you can't seem to decide on anything. And that makes you unhappy. What makes you unhappy makes me…vaguely indifferent, but it's my job to keep you happy. Or at least sane, his conscience concluded.

Zuko sighed in frustration and clenched his fists. A voice in his head was getting the better of him, and he didn't find it amusing.

Do you even know what your 'job' entails? Because you're not excelling in it. I tell you what. Have the rest of the day off. Hell, I'm feeling generous. Have the rest of my life off! Zuko shouted angrily to his conscience.

The rest of the day will do fine thank you…considering its past midnight that should give me a nice vacation, his conscience said primly.

It should give you a nice vacation!? Zuko asked in disbelief, but his conscience was already gone.

Sighing, Zuko sat down on his mattress. It was nowhere near as comfortable as the one he had just slept on, but it was better than nothing. Even if it was flat, dirty, peculiar smelling and had holes in it.

After several minutes of simply sitting down, Zuko became restless again. He tapped his fingers impatiently on the cell floor (thank Agni it was relatively clean) in no particular rhythm. The floor was made of dark stone, much like the other cells he had seen in the palace dungeons. He wondered absent-mindedly how far underground they were here. After all, the catacombs had been underneath the palace, so there was no reason the dungeons shouldn't be.

Uncle Iroh never mentioned there was an old Ba Sing Se beneath the new city, Zuko thought, glancing around the cell. Then again, we never talked about his attempted invasion of Ba Sing Se…it would probably just have reminded him of Lu Ten anyway.

After this thought, Zuko wondered where his Uncle was. It was possible that he was in the original cell with the Earthbender. However, it was more probable that they had been split up. It was more Azula's style. Why be nice to people when you can be cruel and manipulative? It was probably their father's motto as well.

Zuko stopped tapping his fingers and looked around once more. The cell was definitely larger than the other one, which he was grateful for. It was still the same atmosphere as the previous cell, but it was a dungeon, so he supposed that was only to be expected.

Zuko was able to keep his body temperature up through firebending, although he noticed the unconscious Katara had goosebumps. Feeling a little guilty, Zuko regretted not bringing a coat or something to cover her with. Conscious, he hated Katara. But unconscious he didn't mind her that much. She was quiet for once and not answering him back, which made a nice change. Zuko hated it when anyone answered him back, least of all some Water Tribe peasant.

It isn't my problem that she's cold, Zuko told himself sternly. She shouldn't have been knocked out…which, by the way, how did that happen?

Zuko was enjoying a mean debate with himself on whether or not to set Katara's hair on fire (…that should warm her right up…he thought evilly) when he noticed the girl's necklace at the side of her, on the stone floor.

It had probably come off when whoever had moved her to this cell had dropped her onto the mattress, Zuko thought. She really should keep a better hold on that thing, considering it's so precious to her.

He stood up and picked up her necklace from the floor. He examined it, as he had examined it all those months ago when he had first…come into possession of it. His thoughts now were different from back then, however. Back then he had admired the carving, but other than that thought it useless. Now he recognised its sentimental value, it being one of the only things Katara had left of her mother. When Katara had first mentioned that is had been her mother's necklace, back when Zuko had allied himself with pirates, it didn't occur to Zuko that Katara's mother might be dead. He had just assumed that she was back at the South Pole, even though he had seen very little women around that generation.

No wonder she was so protective over her grandmother…Zuko realized.

Admittedly, Katara's outburst in the catacombs and her revelation that the Fire Nation had taken her mother away from her made Zuko see that they had something in common. He had even gone as far as to comment upon this.

Katara had made him feel compassion for her…Zuko wanted to make sure she didn't get the chance to do this again. As soon as she told him where the Avatar was, he would make sure, one way or another, that they wouldn't see each other again. Clenching his fist angrily against the carved necklace, he pocketed it, making a mental note not to give it her back just yet.

There was a sudden scraping noise coming from the door, making Zuko jump. He hurriedly sat back down on his mattress as he heard the noise of a key turning in a lock. The door opened to reveal Azula standing there, looking forbidding. Zuko didn't feel threatened; forbidding was his sister's neutral expression.

"Took you long enough." Zuko grumbled to her. Azula shrugged and walked inside the cell, shutting the door behind her. Zuko stood up in greeting.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner." She said carelessly.

"Let me guess. You were 'unavoidably detained' for some reason?" Zuko asked tonelessly.

"How well you know me, Zuko." Azula smirked. "Actually I was waiting an appropriate length of time so my visit wouldn't seem conspicuous."

"Ah. Of course." Zuko replied, in a sarcastic 'why didn't I think of that?' tone.

"I must admit, you adapted better than I thought you would to the situation. That's a sign of a great leader." Azula told him.

"I'll bear that in mind." Zuko said, before asking what was really on his mind. "But why was there any need for adaptation in the first place? I thought we -you- had the plan figured out."

Azula's eyes narrowed slightly.

"I did. I think you'll find it was you who didn't stick to the plan by not meeting me at the arranged time."

"I was asleep." Zuko said defensively. Azula rolled her eyes.

"You make a compelling argument." She said sardonically. "Anyway, I had to change my plans when you didn't meet me."

"Yes. I noticed." Zuko muttered. Azula ignored him and carried on.

"The new plan worked out much better than the old one could have anyway. In the old plan, you were to attack me when I was unaware and I would simply call for help like some weak little…fairytale princess." She spat the last words disdainfully. "However, it makes a better impression on the Dai Li if I were to know of your plans beforehand."

Zuko blinked.

"Azula. It's been a really long day. Could you explain it with a little complexity just this once?" He asked wearily. Azula rolled her eyes, but Zuko didn't care. He just wanted to know why Azula thought that this plan was better and then he could get to sleep. It was going to be a long week. Assuming he could get the Waterbender to talk in a week. Here's hoping…he thought.

"Okay. In laymen's terms: if you had attacked me and I pretended not to know about it then that would make me seem weak. It would show the Dai Li that I do not have knowledge of every plot against me. Perhaps revolts would start up. We are this close to winning the war and I can't have anything sabotage it now."

Zuko nodded, actually understanding where his sister was coming from for a change.

"So I made it look like I knew of your 'plot'. This way it shows the Dai Li that they cannot expect to betray me without me knowing of it."

"That's smart. Not that I was expecting anything else." He added hurriedly at Azula's look.

He saw her eyes roam over his cell disapprovingly, finally resting on Katara.

"What's up with her anyway?" Zuko asked, jerking his thumb in the unconscious girl's direction.

"Why do you care?" Azula asked craftily. Zuko crinkled his nose in disgust.

"Because I've often found that interrogating people who aren't awake a pointless exercise." He retorted.

"True." Azula smirked. She gazed at the Waterbender disparagingly. "She is merely unconscious. She'll wake up in about an hour. I needed to move her and the other girl from their cell, so I arranged for the Dai Li to mix something into their soup so there would not be any fuss."

Zuko raised an eyebrow.

"Surely the Dai Li are more than capable to deal with a teenage girl and her slightly younger friend?" He asked, trying not to smirk. Smirking wouldn't go down well with Azula.

"I wanted the Dai Li to incapacitate her for a short while and they did the job. It has nothing to do with capability." Azula snapped.

"Of course. Sorry." Zuko said, defensively. He didn't want Azula deciding that to make their story convincing she'd have to kill him.

"Oh, and you won't be 'interrogating' her." Azula carried on, seemingly indifferent to Zuko's apology.

"I won't?" Zuko asked, confused. "Then how am I supposed to-?"

"How Mai could ever like you is beyond me." Azula sighed. "You need to earn this girl's trust, I thought I told you that. Otherwise she'll never tell you where the Avatar is. Maybe even play the sympathy vote if you're desperate."

"I just don't see how earning a girl's trust could…wait." Zuko cut himself off and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his sister. "You said that Mai liked me and you used it in the present tense."

Azula smiled coldly. "Oh that's right. I wasn't supposed to tell you that. Oops." She said, sounding as if she couldn't care less. Her tone grew more serious with her next words, however, and the smile dropped from her face. "If you haven't found out where the Avatar is in a week and a half then we'll have to re-evaluate the plan."

Zuko nodded. Knowing Azula, "re-evaluating the plan" meant that someone was going to get hurt. And he had a feeling that it would be the Avatar's friends.

"Any questions?" Azula asked, heading towards the door.

"When I find out where the Avatar is, how am I supposed to contact you? What if something goes wrong? Or what if-"

"Zuko." Azula interrupted in a calm voice. "You're overreacting. Everything will go smoothly. Don't worry if the Water Tribe girl isn't responsive in her first few hours of regaining consciousness. I might have overdone it a little on the 'extra ingredient' in her soup." Azula smiled coldly again and Zuko resisted the urge to shiver.

"When you find out where the Avatar is then call for the guard that will be placed outside of your cell after the first week." Azula continued, the smile still upon her features.

"Alright, I understand. You should go before she wakes up." He instructed Azula. To his surprise, she nodded. Normally, Azula hated being given orders by anyone, except of course for their father.

She started to walk to the door, before pausing and looking back.

"By capturing the Avatar we will have fulfilled a task that countless before us have failed to achieve. It will not only be a great victory for the Fire Nation, but a victory for the Royal Family." A brief, smug smile flashed across her face, only to be replaced by a more serious expression. "Zuko, do everything you have to do to get that information out of the girl."

Praying that Azula didn't mean what he thought she meant by those words, Zuko nodded.

"For the Fire Nation." He said solemnly.

"For victory." Azula replied, then strode out of the cell, shutting the heavy door behind her.

As Zuko heard the lock being turned, he sat back down on the previous spot on his mattress, sighing.

I know that I've been chasing that Avatar for moths now…but can I manipulate an innocent girl into helping me capture her friend? Zuko wondered, looking at Katara uncomfortably. After a minute of silence, Zuko repeated his thoughts in his mind, adding:

This would be a good time for my conscience to offer its words of wisdom…Zuko hinted silently. When no response came, Zuko sighed again, unsure if having stopped hearing the voice inside his head was a good or bad thing.

Zuko spent the next twenty minutes debating the pros and cons of Azula's plan. The pros greatly outweighed the cons, as he knew they would.

The next time Zuko asked the question in his mind, he was sure of the answer. It's all going to be worth it.

Across from him, Katara's breath quickened and suddenly her eyes snapped open.

Show time, Zuko thought.

A/N:

Told you I'd get this chapter out quicker, lol. "Show time" indeed :P

Hope you all enjoyed and, as ever, your reviews are very much appreciated. To the people who review: I am so grateful to you, you always manage to make me smile with your words )