By the time Sokka caught up with Zuko, the prince was crouched down, examining a set of footprints in the soft earth.

"They both came through here," he remarked as the water tribe warrior knelt beside him to investigate the tracks as well.

"But it doesn't look like they left camp together," Sokka observed. Seeing the curious glance Zuko sent his way, he pointed to the overlapping prints and explained. "Her footprints would be next to his if they had."

"So then the question is," began Zuko with a small frown, "who was following who?"

The teens looked at each other thoughtfully for a moment, then back to the two sets of footprints in the mud. Neither was sure what the answer might be, but they both felt uncomfortable at the implications of either possibility.

"The trail leads this way," said Sokka as he stood up, pointing in the direction of the footprints.

Thunder rumbled in the sky overhead, the coming rain threatening to wash away the trail. The boys exchanged an uneasy look before hurrying off into the woods.

Katara didn't ask any questions as she followed alongside and a few steps behind Jet. Her mind was far too preoccupied with what she had glimpsed in the clearing. But as they neared the sheer rocky foothills, she suddenly stopped and glanced around the area. The abandoned temple was nowhere in sight.

"Jet," she said uncertainly, turning to look back the way they had come. "Jet, I think we've come the wrong way. I don't see the-"

Her voice died in her throat as she turned back toward him, only to find he was no longer there.

"Jet?"

A rolling boom of thunder startled a gasp from her, and with a wary look at the sky she strove to quell the rising sense of irrational panic she felt. She took a deep breath to calm herself.

"Jet!" she called again, glancing frantically through the gloom of the dense trees behind her for any sign of him.

She spun at the snapping of a twig somewhere off to her right, and cautiously moved in that direction, loosening the cap on her water skin as she did so. Passing though a copse of saplings, Katara found herself staring into the dim opening of a cave.

"They apparently met-up here," Sokka remarked distractedly, picking his way carefully over the jumble of footprints before pointing to the two pairs leading away. "And they headed off that way together," he concluded.

Sokka glanced back over his shoulder to say something else, but Zuko was no longer behind him.

"Zuko?" he called, standing up and looking around.

"Over here," the prince replied from a small clearing where he was studying the grass closely.

"What'd you find?" asked Sokka as he stepped through the bushes and entered the glade.

"Someone else was here," said Zuko worriedly.

"More like something," corrected Sokka as he noticed another, much larger set of footprints that definitely were not human. Zuko quickly came over to see what the other teen had discovered and when his eyes fell on the familiar shape of a mongoose-dragon's talon, he stiffened.

"This is bad, isn't it?" asked Sokka needlessly.

"Get back to camp," Zuko commanded curtly, getting to his feet and moving off in the direction of Jet and Katara's trail.

"But what about-"

"I'll find them!" snapped the prince, spinning around to face the warrior. "Just get Aang and Uncle Iroh out of here. We'll meet you on the other side of the village."

Despite his misgivings at the prospect of splitting up, Sokka merely nodded at Zuko's retreating back and started running to the ruins as fast as his feet could carry him.

Katara peered into the darkness as she took a cautious step forward.

"Jet," she whispered anxiously. "Are you in there?"

Another peal of thunder clattered overhead, and in the flashes of lightning that accompanied it, Katara could just barely make out a prone form a short distance inside. Fearing the worst, she hurried into the cave.

"Jet!" she whispered urgently, kneeling down to turn him over into the wan light spilling in from the entrance behind her.

But when a decidedly feminine groan erupted from the person, and another flicker of lightning revealed an unexpected face, Katara gasped in disbelief.

"Toph?!"

Instinctively, Katara began checking over her young friend for signs of injury, desperately trying to rouse the girl as she did so. She was just about to call for Jet once more, seeking his aid, when she froze; her mind starting to piece together the awful reality of what was going on.

"No…" she whispered in horror.

Her body tensed in response to her impending danger, but before she could even reach for her water skin, a burst of pain in the back of her head sent her reeling into darkness.

Momo chattered lazily from Appa's head while Iroh and Aang packed up the camp. The saddle was already on the bison's back, and the two were busy stowing the rest of the gear into the satchels. Aang was sitting in the saddle, hunched over Zuko and Katara's bag and trying to get the water bender's blanket to fit. He was beginning to get very frustrated with the task.

Apparently, they had a very specific way of fitting everything in there, and he had no idea how to duplicate their careful packing system. He yanked the blanket back out and reached irritably into the bag with the intention of squashing stuff down to make more room, when his hand scraped against a hard object tucked within the folds of one of Zuko's tunics.

Curious, he pulled back the fabric to reveal a familiar blue and white grimace. Memories flashed across his mind's eye of that bizarre night when the Blue Spirit liberated him from Zhao's clutches. What an adventure that had been! Terrifying and exhilarating all at once and utterly confusing in the end. He rubbed a finger thoughtfully over the mask, wondering if he should ever tell the others or merely keep it a secret.

"I think that's the last of it," Iroh's voice interrupted from behind him.

Aang hastily stuffed the mask back into the bag along with Katara's blanket before answering.

"All finished here," he declared cheerfully, straining to close the satchel and latch the buckles. Grunting as he finally got the bag shut he glanced over his shoulder and asked, "So now what?"

Iroh cast an uneasy glance at the darkening clouds as another groan of thunder rumbled above them.

"We find a place to stay dry..."

A tug on Katara's arms brought her groggily back to her senses. Her first thought was that she'd fallen asleep early, for when she opened her eyes there was only darkness. But when a staccato of illumination revealed Toph's peaked face lying close to hers, her recollection returned to her with the force of an iron hammer.

She was lying on her stomach and her hands were being tied behind her back. Her feet were already bound. Immediately, she began to struggle, only to have a soft voice murmur in her ear, stilling her resistance despite the growing fear as she listened.

"Shhh," Jet whispered soothingly, "everything is going to be fine. I'm not going to let him hurt you."

"What are you talking about?" she choked out desperately, trying to pull away.

"I don't know how those two fire benders managed to fool Toph," he said through gritted teeth as he finished tying the knots on Katara's wrists, "Maybe the Dai Li brainwashed her. For that matter, they may have gotten to all of you, made you believe the prince was on your side," he mused aloud. Then turning her over onto her back, he gently stroked her cheek as he continued softly, "Or maybe you really are just too trusting for you own good.

"However they managed it," he went on grimly, double-checking the ropes on her feet, "I'm not going to let those monsters betray everyone."

"You can't be serious," she whispered with horrified incredulity.

But one look at his earnest face confirmed that Jet meant every word he said.

"What did you do to Toph?" she demanded, fighting the tears stinging at the back of her eyes.

"She'll be fine," he assured her, "It's just a sleeping drug I put in her teacup. By the time she wakes up, this will all be over. I promise."

"Jet, listen to me," she pleaded as he started getting to his feet, "I know it's hard to believe that someone like Zuko could be on our side, but he is. His own father wants him dead. He has no reason to betray us."

But her words fell on deaf ears as Jet merely secured his weapons and headed for the cave opening.

"I'll be back as soon as it's safe," he said, and then he was gone.

"Jet!" Katara screamed one last time, releasing a pent-up sob.

With a bitter yell of anguished frustration, she thrashed against her bonds for a few moments before finally hanging her head in despair. Guilty tears coursed down her face; she was the one who had talked Zuko into trusting Jet. And now, it might cost the prince and his uncle their lives.

"What have I done?" she whispered forlornly.

But only the thunder answered as the rain began to fall.

Zuko sighed in annoyance as he studied the soggy ground. The steady rain bearing down on him was washing away the already tentative trail he'd been following. All he had to go on now was a general direction, and the hope that Jet and Katara hadn't turned from it.

Standing up, he wondered for what had to be the hundredth time what on earth they were even doing out here. But the questions and possibilities only made him worry more, so he strove to brush them aside and stay focused on his task. He was so absorbed in these thoughts that he didn't notice the shadow lurking behind him in the woods until it spoke.

"Lose something?"

Zuko spun around; arms raised and ready to defend or attack if necessary. But he quickly dropped from his stance when Jet stepped into view.

"Jet," Zuko said with a tone of relief, then more urgently, "we need to get back to-"

He stopped short when he suddenly noticed the absence of the other person he'd been tracking. He glanced around the area apprehensively.

"Where's Katara?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

"She's safe."

"What do you mean, 'safe'?" demanded Zuko uncertainly, "where is she?"

"Where you can't touch her," replied Jet coldly.

"What?" Zuko blinked in surprise; now he was just plain confused.

Did Jet think he was…pursuing Katara? Was he jealous and that was what all this was about? Nothing else really came to mind, and had the situation not been so dire, the prince might have felt inclined to laugh at the absurdity of the idea.

"You can drop the act," spat Jet, "I know all about your plans."

If Zuko was confused before, this statement left him completely bewildered.

"What plans?" asked the prince irritably. Jet's behavior was becoming tiresome and Zuko was losing what little patience he had. "What are you talking about?"

"I have to admit, you're pretty clever," remarked Jet almost casually, "pretending to be on their side, even teaching Aang how to fire bend. You can lead them right up to the Fire Lord's throne and then hand them over."

Zuko stared at Jet, thoroughly appalled.

"You're out of your mind," he whispered in shock.

"And you're out of time," returned Jet caustically. Pulling free his hook swords with a yell, he rushed forward to attack.

Another bang of thunder shook the tiny building Appa was sheltered in; it looked to have once been a stable. Across the courtyard, Iroh and Aang had sought shelter in the ruined temple and the two were standing before a small fire, Aang in his horse stance and listening intently to his teacher.

"Now, try it again," instructed Iroh calmly, "and this time, do not give the flame any of your own fuel once you've removed it from the wood."

Aang nodded and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before moving his arms apart while sucking in a second lungful of air and drawing the fire toward himself. The flames were now dancing above his upturned fists, but he kept his face stoic with concentration.

"The flame is under your command," the old fire bender encouraged sternly, "now extinguish it."

Opening his palms and letting out his breath, the flames evaporated. Aang's eyes were wide with astonishment.

"I did it!"

"Yes, you did!" agreed Iroh with an indulgent chuckle. He sent a spurt of flame toward the pile of smoldering wood, re-igniting it. "Now do it again."

A bright smile lit up Aang's face as he prepared to repeat the exercise, but a wildly flying lemur interrupted him as Momo landed on Aang's shoulder, chirping animatedly. Obviously, he wanted to get his master's attention, and the Avatar grinned hopefully at what Momo might be trying to convey.

"Are the finally back?" he asked, hurrying over to the enormous hole in one side of the room.

But as his head popped up over the rubble, he shrieked in alarm.

A torrent of blue flames was hurtling right for him.

Commercial Break

Author's note: And now the moment you've all been waiting for…more great stories I've found for you to read! (you can find them in my Favorites list along with several other highly recommended stories).

Ozai's Vengeance by Fandomme - Anyone who has been enjoying MacFie's "Parts of a Whole" should definitely check this story out; it has a lot of the same qualities. It's a post war Zuko/Katara romance with a heartbreakingly beautiful prologue and a wonderfully engaging storyline full of entertaining interactions between the characters.

Brothers in Arms by fuzzytomato - For those wanting more Sokka/Zuko bonding, definitely check this out and keep it on alert. Set right after season 2, this promising story looks like it's going to be full of action, drama, and exceptional bits of humor.

The Road Less Travelled by Nandireya - This amazing story follows the dangerous, bizzare, and often insightful path of Zuko's redemption. A must-read for all Zuko fans!

ALSO!

Over on the DistantHorizon Forums (Creations/Fan Fiction), the voting for best overall Avatar Fan-Fiction Writer still appears to be open. I personally nominated almost half the writers on that list (MacFie, Vicki So, DamageCtrl, magnusrae, AJ Rayne, and Rasputin Zero) but almost NO one has cast any votes. So please head over to

distanthorizons. proboards31. com/ index.cgi?board fic&action display&thread 1184293483 (remove all spaces in the URL)

and let these writers know who you think is the best!