Zuko struggled to keep his eyes open as they went down the road at a snail's pace. Katara had fallen asleep on the other side of the cart and the prince was starting to get impatient. He stood up and walked to the front of the cart to confront the driver.
"Look, we've been sitting in this cart for hours! When are we going to get to the damn city!"
The ostrich horse suddenly stopped and Zuko went flying off the back of the cart. The jolt awoke Katara, who yawned as she stepped out of the cart.
"Thank you very much sir." she said, shaking his hand.
"Don't mention it! You be careful now kids!" the driver replied.
He pulled on the reins and turned the cart around, riding back down the road the way they came.
"Having fun down there?" Katara asked with a grin as she helped Zuko off the ground.
"A blast." he replied, rubbing his head.
"Well, this is the village that the doctor is from. Hopefully she'll be able to help us find Aang."
Katara and Zuko pulled up their hoods on their jackets and entered the village. Zuko noticed the many fliers adorning the village of the Avatar and his companions. Then he noticed fliers of him and his uncle from their days when they were on the run from Azula. Zuko then realized that he had left his uncle to rot in the prison back in the capitol city. He tried shaking the memory of his betrayal at Ba Sing Se from his head, bumping into Katara as a result.
"Watch it Zuko!" she whispered.
One of the villagers gave them an odd look, than continued onwards. They reached the doctors house and Katara knocked three times on the door, which fell to the ground after the last knock.
"I'm so sorry!" Katara said nervously as Kailyn approached them.
"That's perfectly alright young lady." the old woman replied. "Your friend did quite the number on my door didn't she?" She chuckled as she put the door back on its hinges.
"I can fix that right up for you." Zuko said.
"That would be very kind of you Prince Zuko."
"Oh it's no problem at-" Zuko stopped halfway to the door. "How did you-"
"I know a lot of things you two. Katara, come with me while your handsome new friend fixes my door."
Katara nodded and followed Kailyn into the other room while Zuko, using fire from his finger, welded the hinges on the door.
"So your having some conflicting emotions are you deary?" the old woman asked.
"Well...now that you mention it...yes I am. But that's not why we're here. We need-"
"To save the Avatar in the Spirit World. Yes, your friend is indeed in great danger, but you cannot enter the Spirit World unless you clear your mind. You must get these emotions off your chest."
Katara sighed and nodded.
"Zuko's been chasing us for the past year, and he's been our most hated enemy for a long time. But now, he's joined the group! He's one of us now!"
"You're confused about whether to trust him or not."
"Yes. Then last night, I had a dream last night about Aang being in trouble. He was being held by Azula."
"The Fire Nation princess?"
"Yes. I told the others and they didn't believe me because they all saw Azula..."
"Die?" Kailyn raised an eyebrow while Katara nodded slowly. "I see. Please, go on."
"Zuko was the only one who believed in me that night. He agreed to come with me and help Aang, even though he'd been hunting him for so long."
"It sounds to me like he's trying to earn your trust."
"I wouldn't have been so harsh on him if he hadn't betrayed my trust once before. We had been captured together at the siege of Ba Sing Se and he led me on to believe that he was this lost, hurt soul. I even offered to heal his scar! Thankfully, Aang showed up and I didn't. If I had used the spirit water on him-"
"The Avatar would have died that night."
Katara sighed.
"And now I've been thinking about him in entirely different ways. I-I think I might be-"
"Falling in love?"
Katara was surprised at how that sounded. She wasn't able to say it herself, but after someone else had said it, she like the sound of it. But only for a moment.
"No. That's crazy! I can't love Zuko! He's...he's...well he's Zuko!"
"You must accept your feelings Katara. If you let your emotions become bottled inside you, you won't be able to enter the Spirit World. You must at least forgive Zuko, for the Avatar's sake."
"Alright fine!"
Zuko, who had been listening at the door for the last part of the conversation, stepped away when he heard Katara coming. She opened the door and walked over to the prince.
"Zuko...I wanted to tell you something."
Zuko turned to face her. She wasn't looking him in the eye, instead stared at the floor while she spoke.
"What you did to us in Ba Sing Se was unforgivable...until now. You've given up a lot to help Aang recently, and I guess I can finally say..." She extended her hand to him and he took it, shaking it. "Welcome to the group Zuko."
Zuko smiled, and Katara looked up at him and smiled back.
"You see? Isn't it nice to forgive Katara?" the doctor said as she stood in the doorway.
"Yeah it is. It feels like a weight just got lifted off my shoulders."
"Alright Zuko, come with me. It's your turn to release some built up tension."
Zuko blushed as the doctor pulled him into the other room and shut the door behind her. The room was dark, lit only by a single candle in the center of the room.
"I sense you have some built up feelings about...your family?"
"I guess you could say that." Zuko replied. "My father and I are now enemies, I betrayed my uncle, who was more of a father to me than my own, and I..."
"Say it Zuko. You must accept what happened."
"I-I killed my sister."
Kailyn nodded.
"And now you feel that you're responsible for what's happening to the Avatar right now?"
"I suppose so. Azula wouldn't even be in the Spirit World if I hadn't sent her there."
"You can't blame yourself for everything Zuko. You must let your feelings go."
Zuko closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As he released the breath, a puff of smoke shot out his nostrils.
"Very good Zuko. But those aren't your only feelings you're holding back on are they? You have feelings towards the water tribe girl, do you not?"
Zuko blushed.
"Well...maybe. I don't know. I never really thought of her in a romantic way, but after what happened at the campfire...and just now when she..."
"You have to accept those feelings young prince. You don't have to tell her what you feel, but you must accept it."
Zuko closed his eyes to think about his feelings, and all he saw was images of Katara. When he opened his eyes, he knew that he had fallen in love with the waterbender. Kailyn led him out of the room where Katara was waiting. Zuko waved nervously, and she waved back with a puzzled look on her face.
"Did you have a good talk?" Katara asked.
"Yes!" Zuko said quickly. He than cleared his throat. "I mean...yes I did. What about you?"
"I guess I did too. I learned some things..."
"Are you ready to enter the Spirit World kids?" Kailyn said loudly.
The two nodded.
"Than come with me."
Katara stopped Zuko from following her.
"I'll go in first. You stay out here and make sure nothing bad happens while I'm gone. Kailyn will let you know if I need you."
"Alright." he replied.
As Katara left, Zuko called out to her.
"Be careful."
Katara smiled and went into the other room.
When she entered, she realized that the room was pitch black. Kailyn had extinguished the single candle in the room. She jumped when the doctor grabbed her hand and led her to a wooden cot.
"I'm sorry if it's not too comfortable. You'll only be on here for a few minutes anyways."
"I've slept on worse, trust me." Katara replied.
Katara couldn't see what the doctor was doing, but suddenly felt her warm hands on her forehead.
"Close your eyes Katara. Let yourself drift off as if into a deep sleep. Let everything go. When you awaken, you will be in the Spirit World."
Katara followed her instructions and shut her eyes. After a few moments, she felt like she was falling. When she opened her eyes, she realized she was in a dark, misty forest. Various creatures she had never seen before darted from branch to branch.
"This must be the Spirit World. I wonder where Aang is?"
So Katara started her long search for the Avatar's spirit.
Meanwhile, Zuko was pacing around the living area when Kailyn emerged from the room.
"Did it work?" he asked.
Kailyn nodded.
"Your friend is now in the Spirit World. If she is in danger, I'll be able to tell."
Zuko fell into a nearby chair and slumped into the back. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Zuko bolted up, ready for a fight, but Kailyn motioned for him to sit back down. She approached the door and opened it.
"Is there a problem sir?" Zuko heard her say.
"Possibly." a voice from the outside answered. "There's been sighting of fugitives in this area. Have you seen these two recently?"
Zuko heard the rustle of paper and peered around the back of the chair to see Kailyn leaning in to read the papers.
"No I can't say I have." she said calmly.
"Alright, thank you miss. Let one of the guards know if you do."
"Oh I will. Thank you for stopping by."
Zuko heard her shut the door and sank back into his chair.
"That was way too close." he said, getting out of the chair.
"Apparently they know your in the village. You should lay low here until you find what your looking for."
"Thank you for your hospitality."
"It's my pleasure."
Back at camp, Toph was lying in her tent when she heard scratching at the door. She got up and sank it into the ground. Outside, Momo was screeching and pulling on her hair.
"Ow ow ow! Quit it Momo! What's wrong with you?"
She stopped wrestling with the lemur and got into her stance.
"Who's out there?"
"Oh, just an old friend." a deep male voice replied.
Toph sensed the man throw something and put up a wall in front of her. The wall exploded after the bomb hit it, sending shards of earth everywhere. She shot the shards towards her attacker, then made a pillar underneath where he was standing. She lost him for a second, meaning he had jumped out of the way. As soon as he landed, Toph shot another half dozen earth spikes at him and he dodged every one.
"Who are you?" she shouted.
"You don't remember me? I'm hurt Toph."
Toph thought about the voice, than remembered the bounty hunter who had kidnapped her several days earlier.
"Felix?"
"That's right Toph, and unlike the pathetic bounty hunters you've dealt with before, I'm not going away so easily."