DISCLAIMER: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor am I in any way affiliated with Michael Dante DiMartino or Bryan Konietzko. This story is purely fan-made.

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After nights of fitful sleep, Sokka was finally resting peacefully. It had been a week since he had last seen Katara and Toph, and he was trying his best to formulate a rescue plan. Aang was slowly getting better, although Sokka feared it may still be days if not weeks until he was back to full Avatar power. But for the moment, Aang was up and about, doing his best to regain his strength as fast as he could. The Earth King was doing his best to aide Aang and Sokka in any way he could, but they all knew that once Katara, Toph and Iroh came back that the Earth King would have to go. It would be too dangerous to have him around, not to mention lack of space on Appa.

Just before he had drifted off, Sokka made sure that Aang and the Earth King were okay. Then, lying face-down on the ground next to the almost burnt-out fire, Sokka shut his eyes, realizing as he did that Momo had curled up on his back.

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Sokka was dreaming. It was one of those dreams where he had complete control over himself, and felt as though he could wake himself up at any time. He preferred these dreams to ones where annoying, unexpected things happened.

Looking around, Sokka saw that he was in a field somewhere. The sun blazed down upon him, but oddly he felt no temperature whatsoever. Grass almost up to his knees concealed the ground beneath him and this freaked Sokka out. He began to kick at the grass in an attempt to shove it out of the way, but just as his knee rose for the first blow, a note reached his ear. The music seemed to be coming from just behind him, but Sokka did not turn round. His fear had him rooted to the spot. Raising his head up slowly, Sokka closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No," he murmured. "Please, please no."

However, the Gods of Dream-Land (for lack of a better name) did not hear Sokka's prayers.

"Two lovers, forbidden from one another, a war divides their people…" Came the singing voice of someone Sokka despised.

The annoying travelling nomads. They were back.

"It's only a dream, it's only a dream," Sokka repeated to himself, horrified, hoping that these idiots would leave him alone. He would rather go ten rounds with The Boulder than listen to one more song from these guys. Fortunately (or not, depending on how you looked at it) the nomads only sung the first line of their ridiculous "Secret Tunnel" song, over and over.

Sokka was about to whirl around and tell the hippies to shut the hell up, when Katara came walking up to him, a sorrowful look on her face. Forgetting his anger towards the singing nomads, Sokka waited for Katara to reach him and then flung his arms around his little sister, but she stood rigid and simply waited for him to stop. Sensing something was wrong, Sokka pulled back and glanced up and down Katara, trying to see if she was injured. She just looked normal, exactly the same as the last time he had seen her in the real world.

"Katara…" he murmured, confused and scared. "What's wrong?"

She mouthed something, but Sokka did not hear over the racket the nomads were making with their singing.

"What?" Sokka shouted, over the ever louder singing. Soon the noise would become deafening, so Sokka did the only logical thing. Well, logical to himself, anyway.

He turned around with the intent to punch the nearest nomad (preferably the leader) into next week, but found himself smacking air. The nomads had gone, however, the same line repeated itself, even though there was no evidence of singers. On the plus side, the music was now barely audible and, satisfied if not a little nonplussed, Sokka turned back to his sister.

"Katara." He said gently. "What's wrong?"

Katara shook slightly then burst into tears. "Appa's proposed to Azula!" She screeched hysterically. "And we're out of cactus juice for their wedding!"

Sokka stood there, speechless, whilst his little sister carried on crying. Where the hell this dream had come from he would probably never know, but it was getting more strange by the second. Wondering if there was even a point to this, Sokka took a deep breath and figured he might as well roll with the dream.

"Katara. Appa and Azula will make a wonderful couple. You know that. I know that. Even Momo knows that. Don't worry about the cactus juice, we'll find something else for the wedding." He soothed, saying the first words that came into his head.

Suddenly, Katara stopped crying and gave him a blank look.

"Wedding?" She asked, confused. "What wedding?"

Sighing, Sokka shook his head. "Never mind." He could still hear the annoying singing in the background, and was trying desperately to tune it out.

"Okay…" Katara said, obviously perplexed. Then her face brightened and Sokka couldn't help but smile too. His sister had an amazing, infectious smile and it was good to see it again, even if it was only in a dream.

"I have cactus juice though!" Katara said, grinning. "You want some?"

Let's see how strange this dream can get, Sokka thought slyly. Then he nodded at his sister's request.

Katara bent down into the long grass and stood back up again, carrying a glass of something Sokka immediately recognized to be cactus juice. Taking the glass, Sokka inspected it for a moment.

"If I start dancing, slap me." He instructed his sister, then drained the glass.

In the blink of an eye everything changed. The long grass vanished, Katara disappeared and even the music stopped.

Smokey tendrils filled the air, and the world became grey. Startled at the sudden transition, Sokka looked around. There were no visible forms of life in his new environment; in fact there was no anything. Looking down, Sokka saw grey. Looking up, Sokka saw grey. Looking to both sides, Sokka saw - what a surprise - grey. Wisps of smoke occasionally drifted by, causing him to jump.

Then, unexpectedly, a soft, ghostly voice rang through the abyss Sokka was now trapped in.

"Give them the chance that we never had…"

A shiver ran up and down Sokka's spine, although there was no chill in the air. Still, Sokka recognised the voice that had whispered from nowhere and as he looked around the vast nothingness, he hoped that the owner of the voice would show herself.

Sure enough, Sokka only had to wait a few moments before the smoky tendrils gathered together gracefully and merged to form the shape of a young woman. Sokka stood and stared as the girl became solid and took a step forward, her beautiful face shining with a smile that Sokka thought he would never see again.

"Yue…" Sokka whispered, gazing at her.

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"Is it just me or was that a really bad idea?" Zuko hissed, roughly shoving Katara aside so she was not hit by a knife thrown by Mai. Katara quickly got back on her feet and shot at Mai with her own blade made of water.

See how she likes it! Katara thought viciously, but Mai dodged the attack easily and went on to target Katara. They were a minute or so into the battle, and already Katara felt the adrenaline pumping through her veins, giving her the extra boost to carry on attacking. The odds were much more in their favour now that Azula had banished the Dai Li, but Zuko still seemed to feel the need to protect her, even though Katara knew that he should be fighting Azula. At the moment Azula was perched on a rock, keeping out of the battle, which worried Katara. At least, it worried Katara every time she managed to steal a glance at the Princess; more often than not she was being pushed aside by Zuko so he could "save" her.

After the third time that had happened, Katara got annoyed. Creating a torrent of water, Katara flung the attack at Mai, which sent her crashing to the floor. Satisfied that Mai would be distracted for a few seconds so long as Katara sent regular jets of water, Katara turned to Zuko angrily.

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked, sending a sideways glance every so often to both Mai and Azula, just to make sure they were at a safe distance.

"What do you mean?" Zuko asked, also glancing sideways.

"I can fight by myself." Katara told him, sending another burst of water at Mai, sending her downwards once more. "I'm on your team, so I'm your equal."

Zuko didn't reply, but gently took Katara's hand in his own.

"I just don't want you getting hurt." He explained, enjoying the warmth of Katara's hands in his own.

"I don't want me getting hurt either." Katara said, a small smile at the corner of her mouth. "But I'll deal with Mai and you can take revenge on Azula for giving us horrible soup."

Zuko smiled, either at Katara's feeble joke or at something else, but seeing his smile suddenly gave Katara more incentive to win this fight. They had to live so that Katara could see that wonderful smile again.

Squeezing her hand briefly, Zuko let go and ran over to Azula, who was still standing there, a look of disgust now displayed on her face.

Azula said something, something that angered Zuko, but Katara couldn't hear. Deciding to turn back to her opponent, Katara summoned a large amount of water from the nearby river, and played with it in her hands whilst she waited for Mai to regain her footing. As soon as she had, Katara found five knives flying her way. Encasing them all in a large block of ice, Katara hurled the ice towards Mai, quickly gathering more water. The aim was to knock Mai out, not kill her, but that did not stop Katara from sending her most vicious attacks Mai's way.

I may be helpless without my bending, Katara thought, sending stream after stream of water at Mai, but with it I'm pretty damn powerful.

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Azula watched her older brother run over to her without much concern. She knew full well that Zuko never could and never would be able to best her in anything, so what she knew would be their impending fight did not bother her in the least. What had briefly bothered her though was her brother's relationship with the Waterbending peasant. What she had originally dismissed as a crush seemed to have blossomed into something more, something which Azula had realized with disgust. That was, until, she calculated how she would use this to her advantage. And, as ever, she had found a way. As Zuko stopped in front of her, Azula regarded him with the same contempt that she had always felt for him.

"I had no idea how low you've sunk, Zuko." She spat, dismissing his nickname to show how serious she found the situation.

"I haven't stooped to murdering people, unlike some, Azula." Zuko shot back angrily. Azula noticed with satisfaction that his fists had clenched and the vicinity around them had heated up. She stood up from her place on the rock and glared at her brother.

"You're a disgrace." Azula hissed, leaning towards Zuko for effect. "The blood running through your veins belongs to Fire Nation royalty, Zuko. And we want it back."

"The only blood shed tonight will be yours." Zuko snarled, but Azula knew he was lying. Even if by some miracle he had the chance to kill her, he wouldn't. Azula knew full well that Zuko was prepared to blackmail and even hurt people that stood in his way, but he would never kill someone, especially not a member of his own family. Azula smiled coldly as she realized that Zuko's refusal to murder would be his downfall.

"I'd like to test that theory." Azula said, standing up straight.

"Go ahead." Zuko replied, readying his attacking stance.

"If Father could see you now…" Azula mocked spitefully.

"He'd be proud." Zuko replied, not even sure if he believed the words he had just spoken.

"I think we both know that Father has never been proud of you, Zuko." Azula taunted. "Never was. Never will be. And when he heard that you had…relations with a Waterbender before your death…well. Any hint of pride he ever may have had will vanish."

Worked like a charm, Azula smirked, as she easily dodged a blow delivered by Zuko by merely side-stepping it. As much as she loved tormenting Zuko, she felt it was time to fight.

Each time the Fire Nation siblings had fought previously, it had ended in Zuko's defeat. Azula did her best to make sure this time would be no different. However, something was different. Zuko seemed more focused this time and, although he suffered a few hits, he quickly recovered from each in rapid succession. Azula, although originally puzzled, brushed off her confusion and put her energy into fighting her brother.

Azula was surprised to see Zuko holding his own against her. He had made daggers out of flame, and used them to block her attacks, much like he did when Azula almost tricked him into going back to the Fire Nation. Every strike she tried to execute ended up a failure, even the ones she had only just learnt. Narrowing her eyes in anger, Azula decided that hand-to-hand combat was not going to win her this fight. She needed to fight with Firebending, something she knew she could beat Zuko at. So instead she stopped attacking momentarily, waiting for Zuko to strike instead. She wasn't disappointed.

Seeing his opening, Zuko threw a flurry of fists on his little sister, who had watched him with cold, golden eyes. Without even blinking, Azula brought up both her arms and caught Zuko's fists. She smirked as Zuko realized he was powerless. Momentarily debating with herself whether she should say something witty now or later, Azula brought up her leg and pushed as hard as she could against Zuko's stomach.

With an agonised grunt, Zuko went flying backwards, landing with a hard slam on the cold stone floor. He did not get up for a few seconds, giving Azula more than enough time to figure out her next moves.

"Come on Zuzu," She mocked. "I expected more of a fight from you."

She put her palms together then swiftly brought them apart again, admiring the hot blue flame that now danced between her fingertips. As Zuko struggled to his feet, Azula cast a glance over to the Waterbending peasant and Mai. The Waterbender appeared to be getting the better of Mai, much to Azula's disgust. Lip curling, she turned back to her brother.

"Seems like your little Water Tribe whore is putting up a better fight than you." Azula observed, just as Zuko had steadied himself.

With a furious roar, Zuko shot a proverbial flood of fire towards Azula. Satisfied that she had gotten a rise out of him, Azula quickly placed her palms outstretched at the oncoming fire, and manipulated it so the fire was now under her control. She rested her palms to her sides, allowing her blue flame to mix with the already hot fire, then, bringing her palms up to chest height, she roughly shoved the fire out of her hands and straight into Zuko's path.

"Tell me," Azula called as Zuko managed to break apart the flames that had come very close to his skin. "Will you still want her after there isn't enough left to fit in a tea cup?"

"I love her!" Zuko shouted angrily, sending blasts of fire erratically at his sister. At first Azula thought him sending fire in various directions was a sign of how weak and out of control he was, but now she saw it was the opposite. He appeared to have aimed the blasts so that Azula would not be able to stop them all in time. Azula realized this, alas, a moment before the first flame hit her. The fire latched onto her clothes and burnt through them at an alarmingly fast rate. When Azula felt the flames licking at her skin, she knew this had gone far enough. Ignoring the stinging sensation, she narrowed her eyes once more.

Zuko now had red flames coiling around his wrists, like curled up whips. Azula recognised this as the same technique that he had used previously in these catacombs, then fighting the girl he claimed to now love.

Love means nothing until it's tested, Azula decided evilly. It was then she knew how she was going to hurt Zuko.

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"Hello Sokka." Yue said, her gentle voice causing Sokka to frown in sadness. When Yue noticed his expression, her own brow creased. She raised her hand to touch Sokka's cheek, but Sokka stepped back.

"You're not really here." He sighed, looking at his deceased love. "This is just another dream, a hallucination."

"So what if it is?" Yue asked, a teasing note now in her voice. "Besides, I'm not a hallucination."

"Of course you are." Sokka murmured sadly, looking away.

Yue stepped forward and softly caressed Sokka's cheek. "Could a hallucination do this?" She whispered, then leaned in to kiss him.

Sokka kissed her back, but only briefly. He soon pulled back and took in Yue's breathtaking features again. Even in death, she was the most beautiful person he had ever seen.

"I'm here to help you Sokka." Yue said, now serious. "That's why I brought you here."

Sokka glanced around his surroundings, wondering as he did where "here" was.

"So you were the cause of the hell that was my dream just before this." Sokka said, his eyes continuously taking him back to Yue's face.

"No." Yue told him. "That was a result of your own warped brain." She giggled, then stopped, serious once more. "But I did transport you here, where I can meet with you."

"My mind is really messed up if that dream was any…wait." Sokka said, frowning. "You've always been able to bring me here? Any time you want?"

"Well, you have to be dreaming." Yue told him. "Otherwise I'd have to transport your physical body into the spirit world, and I don't have that much power."

"So if you've always been able to do it, then why now?" Sokka asked, unmistakable hurt in his voice. "I could have seen you anytime before, but you stayed away."

"I needed you to get on with your life." Yue whispered, pain entering her own voice. "Seeing me frequently would keep me alive in your eyes. I died to make the world a better place, but that doesn't mean you have to act dead too."

Sokka nodded reluctantly, understanding the logic even if he didn't like it.

"I told you that I'd always be with you, and I will." Yue told him, smiling sadly. "But I don't know how much time we've got here, so it's best to be quick. I know what's happened with Katara, and I'm so sorry."

Sokka's heart stopped. What had happened to Katara? Was she dead? Was this what this dream was about, Yue preparing Sokka for the news of his little sister's death?

Evidently seeing Sokka's stricken expression, Yue's eyes went wide. "I meant I'm sorry that she got captured by the Fire Nation alongside the little Earthbending girl. Your sister is alright…for now."

"For now?" Sokka repeated, hating how ominous the words sounded. Yue nodded gravely.

"Katara and her companions are fighting Azula and her friends. I think they have an advantage, but if they win then they have no way of getting out of Ba Sing Se unseen."

Sokka wondered how Yue knew all of this, but decided to ask her later. Right now he had to focus on his sister.

"And if Katara, Iroh and Toph do beat Azula then they'd be killed before they could make it out of the city." Sokka mused.

"And Zuko." Yue added. Sokka snapped his head up.

"Azula and Zuko? He's fighting his uncle again?" He asked, incredulous although he didn't know why. "I'd expect that from Azula, but him? I always knew he was a jerk!"

Yue was silent for a moment, and Sokka was sure that she was desperately trying to conceal a grin. She cleared her throat.

"Um, actually, Sokka…Zuko is fighting with your sister."

Sokka went very pale for a minute, and Yue thought it better not to say anything until he got over the apparent state of shock he was in.

"If he touched my sister in any way he's going to be so very beyond dead." Sokka growled finally, not realizing what he had said after he had said it. "Not that there's anything wrong with being dead!" He added hurriedly.

"It's okay," Yue smiled, deciding it would be best not to divulge what was really going on with Zuko and Katara. "But we really need to get on. I think it's best if you're there to meet your friends-"

"That bastard is not my friend." Sokka hissed, referring to Zuko. Yue frowned sadly, but continued.

"-just outside Ba Sing Se, or possibly inside the city itself."

"Nice plan, but how are we going to get the Avatar, the Earth King and a ten ton flying bison into Ba Sing Se without anyone noticing?" Sokka asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Leave that to me." Yue whispered, her quiet voice filled with confidence. "Just be ready as soon as you wake up. I can't help Katara in her fight, but I can aid in her rescue."

"How will I know when to leave for the city?" Sokka asked quickly, noticing that Yue seemed a little hazy.

"Wait for my signal, you'll know it when you see it. It should arrive a few minutes after you wake up."

Yue's form began to dim, and she looked down at her body with slight surprise.

"It seems like I've outstayed my welcome." She stated, before looking back up to Sokka, smiling.

"How will I find them?" Sokka asked, his voice rising in his need for an answer.

"Trust in me, and you'll find your sister." Yue said, her ever fading form moving closer to Sokka, until she was just millimetres away from his lips. "I'll never leave you…"

She leant in and kissed him, before fading away altogether.

After getting over what just happened, and the fact that he was now kissing air, Sokka shook his head.

"She has got to stop doing that…" He murmured, before looking at his surroundings, waiting.

"Okay!" He proclaimed to the empty space. "I'm ready to wake up now!"

Nothing happened.

Sokka looked around once more, with no effect. After waiting for a few seconds, Sokka stamped his foot impatiently. This was not the best move to make, as his foot shattered the ground upon impact, creating a hole beneath him.

"Oh no…" Sokka muttered, before beginning to panic. "I broke the spirit world!"

The hole beneath his foot was growing larger, and he had to move quickly so as not to get swallowed by it. Backing away from the rapidly expanding abyss, Sokka suddenly bumped into something solid behind him. Whipping around, his nose brushed against a large stone wall that had not been there before. No matter which way he now turned, the wall seemed to block his path. Wondering if this was an illusion, Sokka rammed his fist into the wall.

Pain exploded in his hand. It's definitely not an illusion, Sokka determined, cradling his sore knuckles. The hole had nearly reached him, and Sokka knew that he would get swallowed by it soon enough. Rather than wait for the darkness, Sokka decided to head it off and threw himself into the hole, hoping to get out of this dream.

He expected pain, confusion and cold.

What he did not expect, however, was to wake up.

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Sokka's eyes flew open, and he sat up hurriedly, causing Momo to shriek indignantly and fly away. Breathing heavily, Sokka checked himself over then glanced around to make sure he was really back. He was. Heaving himself up, he ran over to where Aang was sleeping peacefully and shook him awake.

"Aang, we have to go." Sokka murmured, not stopping shaking the young monk until he was fully awake. "We need to go and rescue Katara, Toph and Iroh." Sokka paused, then scowled. "And apparently Zuko."

Aang's eyes opened quickly as soon as he heard Katara's name and he grabbed his staff for support as he stood up.

"Then let's go!" Aang shouted, as he climbed up Appa. Sokka shook his head.

"We need to wait for a sign!" He called back, glancing sadly at the luminous full moon. "We need to wait for Yue."

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Katara had Mai face down on the ground. Mai's attacks had eventually gotten both repetitive and boring, not to mention Katara felt her energy somehow draining and she decided it best to subdue Mai now she had the chance. The moment Mai had slammed into the ground from the force of one of Katara's attacks, Katara had ran over to her and placed her knee firmly in Mai's back, so she could not move. She then placed one hand on the back of Mai's head, and pushed down gently so that Mai's nose was against the ground. Both were nifty tricks taught to her by Sokka one time when they were younger.

Knowing that Mai was helpless, Katara glanced around the chamber swiftly. Toph and Iroh were busy with the bubbly acrobat Ty Lee, although it was hardly a fair fight. Toph already seemed bored with everything, and raised two earthy walls from the ground, manipulating them into a box and trapped Ty Lee inside. The muffled indignant shouts of the acrobat could be heard, and Katara laughed.

"What are you laughing at?" Mai spat, her voice also muffled as she wriggled frantically in an attempt to escape.

"Ty Lee. Helpless. Funny combination." Katara said in way of explanation. Knowing she would have to do something with Mai, Katara used her free hand to bend some of the water. She intended to knock Mai out, but it never got that far.

Toph's pain-filled scream came echoing through the chamber, and Katara snapped her head up. Toph was clutching at her shoulder which, even from this distance, appeared to be badly injured. When Toph took her hand away Katara could see that the clothes covering her shoulder had been burned away and now her shoulder was blackened. Wincing for her friend, Katara immediately stood up and began to run over to Toph, only to get stopped halfway there.

Mai had stood up just after Katara had, and had jerked Katara back by her shoulders, quickly placing a blade to her throat. Katara didn't dare move for fear that Mai would slit her throat, and saw no immediate way of escape.

"Who's helpless now?" Mai breathed into her ear, as Azula lowered her smoking fingertips, smirking.

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A/N:

Ack, been so busy, sorry I couldn't update sooner. Don't worry, I've already started writing the next chapter so it won't be too long till the next update :D
For the record, I thought the nomads from the "Cave of Two Lovers" episode were brilliant, and I have the "Secret Tunnel" song on my mp3 player :P
Just a few notes:
I haven't forgotten about the Earth King, don't worry lol. I tried to make Sokka's dream as weird as I could, but it turned out not as weird as I wanted it. Oh, and Yue's signal is set out to be quite interesting...
Only got a few more chapters to go, thanks to everyone who has stuck by the story :D
Hope you all enjoyed, as ever, thank you so much to my wonderful reviewers. Please leave a review on your way out, as your comments are always appreciated :D

- Momo