Special Halloween Chapter!!!!!!!

I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, or any of the names or characters of the show. I merely control them for my own twisted pleasure from this point in the story on.

Chapter 19: All Spirits Day

When they managed to get off the ship, they had at least four guards going after them. But as soon as they hit the main festival, all bets were off.

Having never seen any festival except the one Aang had made them attend, Katara was overwhelmed by the seer extravagance of it.

So many people were packed into such a small amount of space; she was constantly running into someone. She reached out for the Blue Spirit's hand and accidentally ended up grabbing some else. She apologized, only to lose sight of that person too as they were swallowed by the crowd.

She jolted her way through the mass, panic filling her when so many masks ended up confusing her into losing the old General and his bodyguard. She stopped to look around, but she was so much smaller than everyone else that stopping only made it worse. She was pushed, shoved, jostled, pressed and generally walked all over y the time she managed to find a spot where no people around to move her when she wanted to stay put.

Taking a deep breath, she called out above the crowd. "BLUE!!" she called over the noise and everyone seemed to ignore her. She called again. "LEE! Where are you?"

When no one answered she searched the crowd, hoping to catch a glance of his blue face. Hanae hadn't been kidding when she said everyone was wearing a mask. She saw so many different colors and designs that it was hard to tell who was who or even if they were male or female.

She started to panic again when she thought that maybe they'd already been captured. She jumped back into the crowd and ran back towards the ship, hoping she wasn't getting further and further away.

Something caught the back of her shirt and she turned to see the Blue Spirit looking down at her. Without thinking, she threw her arms around him and refused to let go. After a moment he returned the hug and gently stroked her hair.

After she calmed down, she looked up at him and he tilted his head. She smiled and nodded, knowing that he was asking her if she was okay. He took her hand firmly in one of his and made a path with the other.

It didn't take long for them to find the old general, who was currently seated in a small but busy tea shop. He smiled when they approached his seat, and bowed his head apologetically. "I'm sorry, but they wouldn't let me hold seats for you. Would you like mine, young lady?" he asked, and Katara shook her head with a smile.

"I don't mind standing," she said, and leaned closer to Lee. She had to get used to calling him that now. He placed a hand on her back and drew her closer, and she wondered about the sad smile on the old man's face.

"Is this an Earth Kingdom holiday?" Katara asked after surveying the crowd once again. "I can't tell what nation these people are from with all the masks on."

"All Spirits Day is actually a Fire Nation holiday. This is, however, an Earth Kingdom city." The old man turned to accept his tea from the women who set in front of his chair. "And quite a big one at that."

She nodded, and again looked around. This place was small, and every seat was full. Most of the walking space had been converted to standing space, and everyone was talking so much it was hard to hear over the crowd.

Iroh turned to Lee and took a sip of his tea. "You can find some other place to go, if you like. We won't be able to leave for a while with all these people here; we'd spend all night looking for the way out."

Lee nodded, and Katara wondered again what kind of relationship they had. Lee was young, and it was strange for a Fire Nation general to be traveling around with only one man. Maybe they were going somewhere; it had never occurred to her to ask Lee about it.

There would be plenty of time for that later, she thought. The old man had begun talking again, so she paid attention. "There is a Pai Sho tournament starting in about an hour. I'm going to go over and watch."

She heard Lee let out an exasperated sigh and she smiled up at him. Just then, the room got quiet as three Fire Navy soldiers walked in and started pushing people out of their way.

Iroh raised an eyebrow. "They're quick. Impressive."

"I hear a prisoner escaped from one of the ships and they're looking for him." A man seated next to the said to his friend.

"Yeah," said a second guy a few seats down, leaning back to join the conversation. "They say he loves tea, so he's most likely in one of the tea shops around here."

Katara watched as the soldiers walked through the shop, and noticed the piece of paper in their hand. They grabbed an older man with a top knot, and looked at his face then at the paper, before putting him down and moving on t the next old man

"They have a drawing of you?" she asked under her breathe to the general.

"It seems quite likely," the old man replied. The Fire Navy soldiers were getting closer and closer, and Lee had already put a hand on his swords, obviously prepared to fight them if they came any nearer. The old general placed a hand on Lee's shoulder and shook his head.

Iroh drank the last of his tea, and stood up slowly, tucking his hands into the sleeves of his robe. Lucky for them, he was too short to stand out much, and they managed to make their way through the many people and out the back door.

"That was far too close," his uncle said as they got through the back door of the tea shop. Zuko nodded, and made sure the door was closed tightly behind them.

He put a hand on Katara's shoulder when she looked up at him worriedly. "I think we should get out of here, even if it takes all day and night to find our way out."

He nodded in total agreement. Though he didn't want to navigate that massive crowd again, there didn't seem to be much of a choice. His uncle stroked his beard slightly and nodded as well.

Zuko took the lead and made his way out of the alleyway they'd come out of the door into. But the moment they left the back alley, they had to duck back in; there was Fire Nation everywhere. Over the head of the crowd Zuko could see firebenders and regular Fire Nation soldiers. They stood out only because their dark red and black uniforms were in such contrast to the colorful festivities around them.

Zuko remembered the masks that Hanae had given them and grabbed the bag from Katara. He pulled out the masks, not really surprised at the woman's choices. The one that was for Katara was a female mask with what seemed like forty or fifty peacock-chicken feathers dyed green and blue.

Absently, he realized it would go with her dress, and gave the mask to Katara to put on. He reached in for the other mask and sighed in relief when it was a stone colored painted face. He gave it to his uncle, who was smiling at the mask with pleasure.

"Ah, a wise choice for such an old man," He said and tied the colorless thing to his face.

Zuko looked them over and nodded before starting out of the alleyway again. They didn't get very far through the city, maybe three or four blocks after another hour of traveling. The crowd was just much too big. He hadn't let go of Katara the whole time, and was enjoying the excuse to touch her almost constantly.

His uncle was holding on to Katara's bag and was following closely behind them, but Zuko turned back every few seconds to make sure they didn't lose the older man.

"I almost wish we could stay," Katara said after getting caught between two very large women and losing his hand for a few seconds. She grabbed back onto it with vigor, her laughter making him sure she was okay. "This looks like so much fun."

"All Spirit Day festivals generally are." His uncle said from behind them, and Zuko stopped to they could stand and talk to each other in a small circle. "And because the legends told in each city are different, every festival is different." He motioned around them to the many children running underfoot. They all had bags full of treats and food. "But the food and the candy that children get for the hard work of frightening off evil spirits is the same no matter where you go." He smiled sweetly at Katara and she smiled back.

"I'm too old for that huh?" she asked sounding disappointed.

"How old are you" Iroh asked her and she smiled.

"Fourteen years old." She stated, and Iroh shook his head.

"It's not set in stone, but most often children over twelve don't participate, but I knew of some fully grown men who still do it every year." Zuko coughed, knowing exactly who his uncle was talking about, having witness his uncle's many costumes over the years.

Zuko stopped the treating at 12, like everyone else he knew, but his uncle still enjoyed pretending he was getting treats for a younger grandchild. Zuko had been dragged into it only once after he'd stopped as a child, and that had been last year with his uncle.

Zuko had stood out in the street watching as the many mothers and their children went around house to house and made loud noises to, "scare off the evil spirits." When the people living inside opened the door and told them it was enough, the children would be paid for the service, usually in sweets or copper pieces.

He smiled at the memory and recalled begrudgingly holding his uncle's many bags full of sweets because he'd absolutely refused the let the men of his ship follow them. If the men had seen it, he'd never have heard the end of it.

Katara was laughing at the story as Iroh recalled it out loud, and Zuko just watched on. His uncle was just getting to the part about the candy bags when Zuko figured out what he as saying.

"And my nephew here ended up carrying all of my bags." His uncle eyes were lit with laughter. "He refused to let anyone else help, you see."

They both laughed and Zuko grabbed his uncle by the arm hard enough to get a glare of disapproval. Katara had already figured it out though and she smiled at them.

"So Lee is your nephew," she said as if another puzzle piece had fallen into place. Zuko hit his uncle in the arm and the older man mouthed 'opps' with a shrug.

Just then a group of people rushed through, and managed to knock Katara over enough to cause her loss her balance. Zuko grabbed her and the two of them fell over each other and into a large tent.

When they stopped rolling, she was sitting on his stomach and laughing so hard he had no choice but join her. As they laughed their way into puddles, Iroh peeked in the tent through the hole they'd made, and smiled down at them. "Now children, it is rude to laugh after ruining someone elses tent," he said in a semi-stern voice.

"Sorry," Katara giggled, and got off his chest before helping him up and turning around. The tent they'd fallen into was mostly empty but it didn't stay that way. A portly man rushed in through the entryway on the opposite side, looking down at the scroll he was holding in his hands.

"Oh, hello there. My nephew and his lady friend here happened to fall inside. We're terribly sorry." He walked in the hole they'd made and bowed deeply as Zuko picked himself off the floor.

The man looked up and glanced over at hole. As Zuko looked closer, he realized it was big enough to be another door. Katara looked at the floor, and sighed.

"Sorry," she said, and Zuko bowed as his uncle had.

"Well," the big man said, and examined the gap," there's nothing I can do abut it now. But I have an idea on how you can pay me back," he said and looked over Katara and Zuko.

The prince took a step back only to be stopped by his uncle. "They will do anything you need them to do to pay you back for repairs." Katara nodded in agreement, and Zuko found himself outnumbered.

The next thing Katara knew, she was in a smaller tent with seven other girls, each wearing a more elaborate mask then the next. They turned around as one, and each gave her a warm smile.

"Uh, hi," she said, and waved slightly.

"Hey there," one girl in a bright red mask said and took a step forward. Her voice was deeper, so Katara put her age around seventeen years old. Her mask, like most of the others, didn't cover the lower half of her face. "You here for the choosing ceremony?" she asked brightly.

"Uh, yeah. I think," Katara said, and looked around the tent some more. "That guy said something like that."

"Oh, you mean the big guy?" red-mask said, holding her arms out a few feet away from her waist. The other girls laughed, and Katara smiled before nodding. "Yeah, he's a judge," red-mask finished.

"A judge?" Katara asked, and the other girls nodded. The one wearing the red mask seemed to be a sort of leader, but Katara didn't know if there were teams in this ceremony, so she couldn't assume.

"Yeah," red mask said, her smile as bright as ever. "It's a contest of sorts. It's based of a really old and romantic legend here. You really don't know what this is about?"

"Today is my first day in the city," Katara responded, not really sure where this was going. She couldn't run because she promised to help out the judge, but she was worried because Lee wasn't with her. "Have you guys seen a guy in a scary blue mask?"

"He's probably with the other guys in the tent on the other side of the stage," another girl wearing a yellow mask answered.

Red-mask nodded. "It's part of the contest. Don't worry, he's fine. Is he your boyfriend?"

Katara sputtered, a blush crossing her cheeks. "No, he…" she stopped, and remembered their first kiss and every hug after that, "…uh, he hasn't asked me yet."

Red-mask's smile widened and she waved the other girls off jokingly when they chorused, "Awww."

"Well, if he asked you to do this, then it's a sure sign that by tonight, you'll be an official item." She nodded her head, sending some feathers fluttering to the ground.

Katara sputtered, "But he didn't-" and was cut off by a man outside the tent poking his head through the flap and smiling at the girls.

"Okay, you ladies ready?" All seven girls giggled and the man smiled again. "Okay, I'm gonna need you girls to switch masks with each other. That way there's no cheating." He then left the girls to their order.

"Cheating?" Katara asked, and red-mask took off the red mask and smiled at her. Katara's heart sank when the older girl's honey-colored eyes and white skin all but screamed Fire Nation. She turned to the other girls as they took off their masks, expecting to be surrounded by enemies, only to find a mix of both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom girls. There were three Fire Nation girls including red mask, and four Earth Kingdom girls.

Katara took a step back and didn't move to take off her mask. "Here, " red mask said, and handing the mask to her, "I'll trade you"

"Why?" Katara said, trying her mask on a soon as possible. Her clothing hid here darker skin, but there was no way to hide the skin on her face if the mask was gone, they'd know she was from the water tribes.

"Cause it the rules," red mask said as if it were obvious, which it was.

Katara sighed and untied her mask, lowering it with her hands and looking up at red mask.

"Whoa!" She said, and got the others attention. "Are you from a water tribe?" she asked, and the malice that Katara had expected to hear from her mouth wasn't there. The girl smiled brightly and another girl leaned in.

"So you're from the North Pole?" she asked.

"No," Katara said, completely confused. "I'm from the South Pole."

"There's a tribe in the southern pole?" Red mask asked, her yellow eyes dancing with wonder. "My father told me there was only a water tribe in the north and that when the fire navy tried to get in, they were pushed back by the spirits themselves."

Someone voicelessly demanded the claim with a laugh, and Katara got angry. "That's true, I was there." She said, and the girls leaned in.

"Really?" Red mask nodded, "Well, I believe you. My fiancé says that the Water Tribe showed a lot of courage and that they rival even the Earth Kingdom troops in skill. His father is a commander in the Earth Kingdom army."

That took Katara by surprise. "But you're Fire Nation right?"

"So?" red mask said confused. "Oh that's right; you come from outside the city. The Earth Kingdom people and the Fire Nation people have lived here in peace since long before the war. We all think it's so stupid, and really choose to ignore it unless where called on. My boyfriend came here two years ago, and so he's still little prejudice but is marrying me, despite his father's wishes."

Katara couldn't believe that these girls came from the same time period as her. They all thought like Aang and she found it was refreshing. It made her believe there was still hope for the world, and made her think more about maybe staying with Lee and his uncle… maybe even for good.

In another two years, she'd be of marrying age, and…

What was thinking?! She promised Aang she'd travel with him until he saved the world. And she was going to keep that promise, despite the fact that she wanted to be with Lee more and more as time went by. The guy came back and told the girls exit the tent and Katara was held back by red mask.

"Here," red mask took her mask and gave it to Katara. "My name is Akemi by the way. What's yours?"

"Katara," she answered, and handed her mask to her new friend. The Fire Nation girl smiled.

"Come on; let's go. Now comes the fun part." Akemi put on Katara's mask before exiting the tent. Katara heard cheers coming from the other side and left the tent slowly, tying the mask onto her face, and becoming very worried when every single person she saw was looking at her. That happened to be most of the festival.

They hadn't been kidding when they said stage. The stage she was standing on came five feet off the ground and was divided into eight little person sized booths, which she watched each of the other seven girls get into.

"Come this way," the big man from before he motioned forward and smiled, directing her to a booth towards the middle. "Stay here and I'll explain the rules. Thank you for doing this; we needed eight couples and we were short one. Consider your debt paid. Good luck."

Katara looked down at the chair in the booth, and saw a piece of wide red ribbon in the chair. She took it off and sat down, paying close attention to what the judge would say next.

"As you all know, were are here today to perform the annual All Spirits day ceremony. The tale starts not long before the war, over a hundred years ago. The most beautiful woman in the village was betrothed to a powerful warrior. Two days before their intended marriage, a war broke out between her nation and his, and the warrior had no choice but to go and fight beside his brothers and father. She begged him not to go, and he promised her he would return.

"A year went by and her warrior did not return, but the war caught up to her peaceful village and she was blinded in a raid. She mourned for another year, completely alone before the other girls of her village decided that she deserved to be happy. Each day another group of warriors returned, they would tell her that one of the men was her warrior, and present her with a man they deemed worthy of her. Knowing she was blind, they thought that she could be fooled. But each time, she would just shake her head and say, 'This is not my warrior.'

"One day, her warrior did in fact return, and when he arrived, the girls of the village learned that he had been hurt in battle and could no longer speak. Horrified that he had survived and that he had no way in which to tell his betrothed who he was, they assumed she would deny him like she had all the others.

"Upon hearing this, the young warrior just shook his head, and went to her side, kneeling before her and touching her cheek. The girl began to weep and embraced him, and they married right away."

A cheer rose in the crowd and Katara couldn't help but smile. So that's what would happen. She had to pick Lee out of all the other boys without being able to see him and without him being able to tell her who he was.

That wouldn't be too hard at all.

The judge turned to face the girls, and raised a hand. "Alright ladies, put on your blind folds and no peaking, not that it will help."

Katara took the bright red blindfold and placed it under her mask and over her eyes. The judge called out again, and another cheer rose form the crowd as Katara assumed the boys had come on stage.

"Here are the rules." the man said again, and every got quiet. "Each warrior will approach every girl once and only touch her check. There is no talking allowed, even from the audience-"the crowd voices its displeasure and Katara laughed out loud, "- and there is no moving on the ladies part. At the end, each girl must choose who her partner is according to the order that they touched her. If you think it was the second guy, at the end, choose the number two."

Katara took a deep breath and waited.

"Okay, number one!"

She waited patiently until she felt the presence of another person in her booth. She felt the man kneel in front of her and jumped when he reached out a touched her check.

It wasn't him, she thought, and waited again. Four times with four different men, and finally, she could tell it was him when he reached out to her. She could smell him, and she knew immediately that it was him. Suddenly, she didn't want any other man to touch her.

She wanted to jump into his arms and declare to the world that this was her warrior, but it was against the rules. So, she waited through three more alien touches until the judge declared the contest almost over.

"Okay ladies; hold up on one or more hands your number."

Katara held up one outstretched hand, all five fingers extended.

"It seems we have a winner folks!" and the crowd went wild. "Okay ladies; take off your blind folds."

Katara's heart was racing as she reached up and under to remove the red cloth. But standing in front of her booth wasn't the Blue Spirit.

It was the judge, and he had a huge smile on his face.

"Congratulations, you've won first prize. You were the only one able to choose the right warrior, even over our reigning champion of two years."

He smiled and side stepped to reveal a man standing behind him. At first she was confused; he wasn't wearing the blue Oni mask. How could this be Lee if he was wearing only a half mask like the rest of the crowd?

But then he stepped closer, and she caught his sent. As he knelt before her and touched her cheek, she recognized the smirk on his exposed lips and leapt into his arms with a joyful cry.

He caught her, lifting her up into the air and spinning her around once, before setting her back on her feet. He was grinning as wide as she was, and her heart skipped a beat when he leaned down and kissed her in front of the entire festival.

This is where my Author Notes go...Enjoy.

-Humongous chapter of doom-

OMG Happy F-ing Halloween people. -falls into bed-

If there is massive typos; I'm so sorry, but you'll have to blame it on my sleep deprivation.

And as an excuse for Zuko's ooc-ness(?) at the end, Katara's euphoria was contagious. It like a disease. Love makes you act out of character anyway.

And because I HAD too, Akemi is my actual OC. Plain and simple.

And to Knight of the Eternal Word: I LOVE YOU and so does my muse.

And to quarts we love you too. Thank you for your eternal sunshine.

Of course we love all the reviewers, but these two have stood out in the last two chapters.

Beeeee seeing you soon.