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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Don't move, Zuko silently willed Katara. Silence rang out across the chamber, louder than any scream or shout. Azula had temporarily distracted him before, and by the time he had focused his attention again, his sister had already aimed blue fire at Toph's shoulder. He had stood motionless, although Zuko know knew that he could have done something to stop Azula. That way Katara would never have tried to help her injured friend and she would not be in this predicament.

Katara's eyes shone with fear, though Zuko could tell she was doing her best to suppress it. The pride he felt for her mixed with the other feelings he had swirling inside of him, like fear and anger.

For what seemed like an age, no one moved, no one spoke. Then Azula raised her head, seemingly sure that no one was going to attack her now.

"Let Ty Lee out." She instructed, her calm and cool voice ringing out. When Toph didn't move, Azula rolled her eyes. "Do you want her to die?" She asked, pointing to Katara in a bored voice that could rival Mai's.

Immediately Toph lowered the stone box she had trapped Ty Lee in but remained silent.

Katara could feel the cold blade against her skin, which suddenly felt so bare and exposed. She didn't like knowing that her life could be snuffed out in one simple motion, but there wasn't much she could do apart from stand there. One wrong move would cost her her life. She could see Zuko staring at her in horror, and she tried desperately not to let her fear show, for his sake. Katara could feel herself shaking and hated herself for it, but she couldn't stop. Her head was raised in a subconscious attempt to get as far away from the knife as she could, but every time Katara even moved an inch, Mai would dig the knife in that much deeper. A couple more moves and the knife would draw blood.

"What a dilemma." Azula mused suddenly. All eyes turned to her, some narrowed in hate, some shining with triumph. "How are you going to get out of this one?" Her tone was mocking, and the majority of people in the vicinity wanted nothing more than to wipe that evil smirk off her face.

"My bet is with a few less pints of blood." Mai hissed so that only Katara could hear, as she pushed the knife in a little deeper. Katara felt a sharp, painful stinging sensation and knew that blood had been drawn and whimpered despite herself.

"Stop it!" Zuko yelled angrily. He had stepped forward but immediately stopped, wisely thinking that if he moved too much it could cost Katara her life. Katara knew how helpless he must feel, and tried desperately to think of some way she could escape. Azula was talking, but Katara blocked her out and thought of anything and everything she could regarding Waterbending and difficult situations.

Casting her mind back to her brief yet effective stint at the North Pole, she strived to remember all the time she had spent with Pakku, and everything he had taught her.

Closing her eyes in an effort to concentrate better, Pakku's sharp voice filled her mind, telling her to raise her left arm or focus more or fix her stance in general.

Everything is connected, Pakku had said, while teaching Katara a particularly difficult move. Just some things are connected better than others. You are connected to every single droplet of water worldwide…the trick is getting it to do your bidding.

In the end Katara had mastered the move, and even used it several times in battle since then. All she had to do then was remember that she was connected to all the water…and it had worked.

Somehow Katara knew that this bit of knowledge would prove to be how she could break free, but how? The water in the river was flowing freely, but Katara would have to raise her arms high and wide to access the water, and that was something she wouldn't be able to do.

Keeping her eyes shut, Katara concentrated harder than she ever had before. Mai was so close that Katara could feel her breath down the back of her neck, and her heartbeat thudding. The knife remained in the same place, but Katara ignored the pain and just focused.

If everything is connected…and I connect through water…then how can I connect to Mai? Katara thought slowly, before realization struck like one of Azula's lightning bolts.

There's water inside every person in this cavern, running through their bodies! Katara thought excitedly, opening her eyes and trying to quell a triumphant smile. Azula may be too far away, but Mai definitely isn't!

The knowledge that Katara had never attempted to bend water that was inside someone else didn't faze her in the least. It was an idea, an idea that, if proved to be successful, could save her life.

The only problem would be that Katara would have to move without alerting Mai, which would prove to be almost impossible.

Still, I like a challenge, she reminded herself. As long as it's a challenge I can do.

She began by flexing her fingers, ever so slightly, trying to get a good idea of how this would work. Closing her eyes once more, Katara imagined the water in Mai's hand and used it to her advantage. Lifting her index finger up, she opened her eyes and glanced downwards, relieved to see that Mai's index finger was twitching.

Thanking every God and Goddess she could think of (she had done this a lot in the past couple of days), Katara pictured Mai's hand once more, and conjured up the water running through Mai's hand.

Putting all of her concentration and energy into a single move was risky, but as long as it worked then the risk would pay off. Jerking her hand to the side, Katara opened her eyes and felt the knife slide away from her throat.

"What the hell?" Mai muttered, staring almost fearfully down at her hand then back up at Katara, who had immediately wrenched herself from Mai's grasp and turned to face her.

"But…you're…" Mai stuttered.

"Helpless?" Katara suggested. "You keep using that word…I don't think it means what you think it means."

Smirking and taking a step back, Katara dropped her hands to her side. The pain in her neck was irrelevant; all she knew know was revenge for her blood that had been spilt. Rising her arms sharply, Katara knew instinctively that the river flowing behind her had halved and the water that was not left behind flew up with her movements. Pushing her hands forward, the water moved with them, and Katara paused before throwing her hands down.

The water followed, crashing into Mai with such force that Katara momentarily wondered if she had killed the girl. Instead of pondering upon this, Katara wheeled back around to face Azula.

No matter how pissed off and powerful Katara currently was, she knew that there was no chance she'd be able to defeat Azula by herself. Throwing a glance over to Zuko, then over to Iroh and Toph, Katara moved towards them. They also started edging towards her, and they met up somewhere in the middle, packing together as if for protection.

"Don't do that to me again." Zuko whispered seriously in her ear, before stepping sideways and assuming his attack stance.

It wasn't exactly fun for me either, Katara was about to snipe back, although she knew this would solve nothing. So instead, she summoned the water left in the river so quickly that Azula could not stop her.

The force of the water threatening to cascade down was tremendous, but Katara lifted up her trembling arms and managed to control the liquid.

"You're shaking." Azula noted to Katara. She was stood a few metres away from the group, Ty Lee stood nervously behind her. "I would be too."

Toph stomped the ground in apparent impatience, but Katara didn't have to look to know that Toph had summoned her own weapon; a jagged but large piece of earth. Seemingly getting the message, Zuko created his apparently new signature move of fire whips, while Iroh pushed his fingers together in a move Katara recognized with shock was preparing to strike lightning. She hadn't known that Iroh knew lightning, but wasn't about to debate it right now.

Azula glanced calmly from one face to the next, as a drenched and bedraggled Mai stumbled up behind her, pulling a knife out and cursing under her breath. Ty Lee was bouncing on the balls of her feet, still obviously nervous.

"He'll turn on you again, you know." Azula said, directing her cold golden eyes at Katara. "You know he can't be trusted."

Far from disconcerting Katara, Azula's statement made her more confident. If this was all Azula could throw at her, then she was really losing her touch. Or just plain losing.

"I know he loves me." Katara replied simply, before thrusting the heavy water towards the three girls. Following her example, Toph, Zuko and Iroh threw, struck and lashed their respective weapons into the mix.

The noise was deafening, and Katara covered her ears and winced, but it made no difference. Shrapnel from the earth that Toph had attacked with was flying everywhere, having exploded upon impact of colliding with Iroh's lightning. A great dust had risen, and not one of them would be able to see their own hand had they waved it frantically in front of their faces.

Katara felt herself getting short of breath, though she wasn't sure if she was tired or all the dust was getting into her lungs. Her breathing became laboured, and by the time the dust had settled, her head had begun to spin.

"Is that all you've got?" A spiteful voice rang out, but Katara could not register who it was. She tried to take a step forward, but her body would not obey her thoughts. Katara couldn't speak, couldn't cry out for help.

Suddenly, her knees gave way and she collapsed, closing her eyes before she hit the ground.

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At The Same Time…

"Come on Yue." Sokka murmured impatiently. His fingers were tapping Appa's fur subconsciously, as he waited for some sort of signal. What the signal might be, he had no idea. Aang was still on Appa, ready to set off the moment the signal came and Sokka and the Earth King had joined him.

x

The Earth King had been woken up unceremoniously by Momo scratching his head frantically. Now, the Earth King felt his head gingerly for any sign of blood (the lemur had surprisingly sharp claws) as he looked around distractedly. It had been an uncomfortable week for all of them. From what he had gathered, the Avatar had been shot by lightning by the Fire Nation princess Azula, who had joined forces with her brother who supposedly hated everyone and was very anti-social. The Earth King believed the phrase "angry jerk" had been used multiple times, and that was some of the kinder names Sokka had called him. Needless to say, the Earth King was very confused. He had been happy just sleeping in his spot by the burnt-out campfire until everything had blown over, but it seemed the Gods had other plans for him. At least, Sokka and Aang had other plans for him. After being woken up by the lemur, Sokka had yelled at him to get on the bison and not ask questions. It seemed his whole life had been about not asking questions, so he didn't see the reason to start now.

"We have to leave the bear behind!" Aang had shouted as the Earth King tried to drag Bosco the bear up on Appa.

"I'm not leaving without Bosco!" The Earth King had yelled back defiantly.

"Yes you are!" Sokka had screamed, in such tones that it had shut everyone up. "My little sister is fighting for her life against a group of psychopaths, with little help. So when we rescue her I want there to be enough room on Appa for her to lie down and rest!"

So now the Earth King was sitting sulkily on the bison, the Water Tribe boy next to him, the Avatar sitting on the bison's head. They were waiting for some sort of signal, although Sokka had been vague as to what sort.

x

Sokka hadn't told Aang that Zuko had joined forces with their side. Maybe he should have, but he knew that Aang would now be more hostile towards Zuko than ever. Plus Sokka was too busy looking out for a signal to do anything more than mumble a few details to Aang and the newly wakened Earth King.

"Pardon me for interrupting," The Earth King started, his manners impeccable as ever. "But what sort of signal are we looking for?"

Sokka was about to snap back that he didn't know, when the world went black, as though he had suddenly shut his eyes. But Sokka's eyes were open, and when he glanced up to where the moon had been just a few moments earlier, there was nothing there apart from the smooth night sky.

"That kind." Aang answered, yanking on Appa's reigns so he flew up a few feet into the air.

"It's good that Ba Sing Se can't see us coming now, but the problem is that we can't see where we're going either." The Earth King pointed out. He had only just gotten his sentence out when a ball of shimmering light fell from the sky. It stopped just in front of Appa's head, and hovered forward quickly. Sokka knew immediately that this was Yue, come to guide them in rescuing Katara.

"You just need to have a little faith." Sokka told the Earth King, smiling, not taking his eyes off the shining light.

He may not have been so relieved if he had known that every Waterbender in the world had just collapsed through lack of energy, his little sister included. He would've been even less relieved if he had realized that the world worked through balance, and Yue was risking a lot more than any of them thought by taking the moon away from the world.

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Katara fell to the floor as Zuko watched on, his eyes wide. He wasn't fast enough to catch her before her head connected with the ground, and it made a horrible crack that reverberated around the chamber. Wincing, Zuko hurriedly knelt down beside Katara, to check if she was alright. She was unconscious, that was plain to see, and there was a small head wound where she had just smacked her head.

Zuko sharply turned his head to Azula.

"What did you do?" He snarled, his voice demanding an answer.

"I didn't do anything." Azula replied. When Zuko stood up menacingly, she shrugged. "For the first time in my life I'm actually telling the truth."

It was obvious Zuko didn't believe his sister. But Katara was alive, and that was all that mattered. Still, it wouldn't stop Zuko going all out in attacking his sister.

He allowed cool flames lick at his wrists, but the only thing he felt was a consuming hatred for his sister right now. Even if she hadn't hurt Katara, she had hurt them all before and she deserved to pay. Now.

Flames now engulfed his hands, and Zuko stared coldly at his sister, for once betraying no emotion. Beside him Toph stamped up another boulder and Iroh prepared to strike lightning again.

"Haven't we been through this?" Azula asked, her eyes glittering at Zuko, who nodded.

"I'll repeat the attack until you give up."

"I'll evade the attack until you give up." Azula retaliated, smirking.

Enough, Zuko thought, and literally fired. Just as his attack was about to hit Azula, there was an enormous crash and three figures fell through the roof of the cavern, causing everyone to duck instinctively.

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The glowing ball of light steadily moved on, guiding Appa through the blackness. Sokka was not at all concerned; he trusted Yue implicitly and would follow this ball of light to the ends of the Earth if necessary. Luckily, they didn't have to go that far. After only a few minutes of flying, the light began to drop towards what Sokka could only assume was Ba Sing Se. The world was still engulfed in the darkness of eternal night, which was a blessing in almost as many ways as it was a curse.

The people on the bison were ghostly illuminated by the brightness of the ball of light, but it was not enough to see each other properly. Good thing too, because Sokka's face was an expression of fear and sadness, something he did not want the others seeing.

As Appa descended, Sokka grasped his boomerang tightly, prepared for whatever the Fire Nation threw at him. He wasn't about to let Katara lose another battle with the Fire Nation. This time she would have her big brother to back her up. The Earth King was silent, and Sokka realized with a slight pang of guilt that he hadn't bothered to find out the Earth King's name in over a week of being in the same camp as him.

"So…" Sokka started, wanting to at least find out the Earth King's name before they went into battle together. "What's your name?"

Not so subtle, Sokka inwardly groaned. But it was effective, as the Earth King's voice spoke softly through the darkness:

"Kuei. My name is Kuei."

"That's good to know. For awhile I thought your name was just 'The Earth King' " Sokka joked.

"I'm sure many people did." Kuei said, his voice soft and sad. "I've never met anyone from my so-called kingdom, and I have been the King for many years now."

"That's all about to change." Sokka told him. He hoped his voice was confident, because Gods knew that he wasn't. "We're going to beat the Fire Nation and get your kingdom back."

And then maybe Appa will propose to Azula…it's about as likely.

The city was silent when Appa landed, and mysteriously every single lamp visible had been extinguished, leaving Ba Sing Se almost as black as the sky. Still, Yue's light was still guiding them, pausing whenever they did, and making sure to never be out of their sight. When the streets got too narrow for Appa to fit through, Aang suggested it was best they leave him and Momo there. They were only a couple of streets from the palace entrance anyway…not that they expected to arrive through the palace gates. Wouldn't want to be too conspicuous, Sokka thought, following behind Aang as he trailed the light. The Earth King - Kuei, Sokka corrected himself - was behind Sokka, occasionally sighing and muttering under his breath things that neither Sokka or Aang could hear.

Finally the light stopped and hovered above a plain looking piece of concrete. Sokka and Aang exchanged puzzled glances, each just being able to see the other by the eerie yet beautiful light.

"Is it just me or is this…"

"…a piece of solid earth?" Aang finished. "It's not just you."

"Okay then. Glad we cleared that up." Sokka said, peering down at the ground. "So what do we do now?"

There was a moment of silence, as everyone contemplated what they were supposed to do. The light did not leave, but drifted unhelpfully to the side, as though waiting for them to do something.

"I assume the place we're trying to get to is underneath the concrete?" Kuei asked, pushing his small glasses up the bridge of his nose. "So all we, or Aang, has to do is Earthbend our way down there?"

Sokka felt immediately stupid that he had not thought of this himself, but didn't say anything, assuming Aang felt the same.

"I don't know if I'm strong enough yet to Earthbend all the concrete through…" Aang mumbled, as if ashamed. He looked away from his friends, his eyes downcast.

There was a moment of silence while each of them digested this. Then, Sokka turned to Kuei.

"I don't suppose you can Earthbend?" Sokka asked, joking.

"I don't know…" Kuei replied, frowning. "I've never tried. I've always assumed I couldn't…"

Sokka stared at Kuei, dumbstruck, for a few seconds. Even Aang looked up in disbelief.

"You're kidding, right?" Sokka asked finally. Kuei shook his head to indicate that he wasn't kidding.

Sokka slapped his forehead with his palm and groaned, something he hadn't done properly since meeting the nomads. He switched off as Aang quickly went through the finer details of Earthbending, then did a short demonstration, managing to shift half of the concrete.

"Now just do what I do…" Aang coaxed, showing Kuei the technique needed to move the earth. "Good. Now just raise your arm a little…yeah, that's right. Now push!"

Aang and Kuei pushed at the same time, and the concrete moved more than it had before, creating a pit which had no visible bottom. Sokka leaned precariously over the edge and examined the pit. It was wide enough to fit five people on side-by-side, which was good, since there only needed to be three.

"Guess that means I can Earthbend?" Kuei asked wearily.

"Guess it means you can." Aang confirmed. "And you're a pretty powerful one at that if you got a hang of that move so quickly."

Kuei nodded faintly, still slightly shocked at his display of talent he never knew he had.

The ball of light suddenly sprang back into action and flew down the pit, illuminating the bottom. It was quite a way down, but Sokka had to save Katara and the others (except Zuko, he didn't care about him) so a little thing like jumping a few feet didn't really bother him.

Kuei and Aang went first, followed by Sokka. The Earthbenders shoved the earth aside as quickly as they could and carried on climbing down, always being shown the way by Yue's guiding light.

When it felt like they had been descending for awhile, Sokka thought of something.

"Aang…" He started, as Aang and Kuei carried on Earthbending their way down. "What if Yue's leading us back to the crystal catacombs? You said they were underground, right?"

Aang stopped briefly to consider this, wiping his sweaty brow while he did and breathing heavily.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean-"

With one last enormous push, what turned out to be the last of the earth was flung aside, leaving nothing to stand on. Before he knew what was happening, Sokka was falling continually downwards with nothing but solid rock to break his fall.

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Looking up, Zuko saw the Avatar, Katara's brother and a man he didn't know plummet from the top of the cavern. They had created a large amount of debris from their fall, but that wasn't the main concern right now. If they didn't do something soon, they would smack straight into the ground and break every bone in their body.

Suddenly a shimmering ball of what looked like moonlight dropped beside the falling three and positioned itself underneath them, spreading out rapidly so it formed what looked like a blanket.

One by one the Avatar, Sokka and the man landed safely in the light, which enveloped them gently and brought them slowly down to where Zuko was standing protectively over Katara. Opening up, Sokka was the first to stand up, clutching his head and wincing.

"Remind me not to do that again." He said to no one in particular, stepping forward uneasily towards his sister.

"Get away from her." Sokka snarled to Zuko, who narrowed his eyes back. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Zuko snapped back, crouching beside Katara and picking her up, bridal style.

"Just like you didn't do anything last time?" Sokka hissed, almost baring his teeth in anger.

Meanwhile Toph had rushed over to Aang and was helping him up, uncharacteristically checking feverishly if he was alright.

"Your timing is impeccable, I'll give you that." Toph laughed, as she helped Aang up.

"Now come on Twinkletoes, lets go fight the bad guys."

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A/N:

So crappy end to the chapter I know, but aren't you proud of how fast I updated:D I won't be online for the next few days because of exams, and I didn't want to leave it too long until my next update. I still need to do my business homework due in tomorrow, so I couldn't check over this chapter properly. Please tell me if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes, or things you don't understand. I tried not to make this a cliffhanger chapter, and this was the ending I came up with :/

Thanks for your reviews, they are very much appreciated, please leave a review on your way out :D

- Momo