The Trouble With Power.

The young Fire Lord was storing back to his room after another day of endless wedding offers, complaints and arguments in the war room. He didn't care about any of them. The complaints were always the same; rebels this and misbehaved slaves that, and the war room 'chats' were always just as dead. Oh and the 'brides'. No, he would never marry any of those crazed, babbling witches. They were as evil as Azula and shallow as his advisors. None of them appealed to him in any way. They were like ice. When he thought of ice, an image of beautiful blue eyes flickered into his mind. Beautiful eyes, loving personality but with a spike of dangerousness to boot. No, he could never be with her. She was not only his complete opposite and a peasant, but hadn't she fallen off of that huge beast that the last Avatar loved so much? Her brother, the annoying twerp, had written a furious letter to him, telling him of how his men had killed one of the greatest benders around. They were left be after that.
Zuko collapsed down in front of his meditating stand and tried to relax himself. Not going to happen. A knock on the door broke his concentration.

"What?!" He demanded angrily. A younger solder peeked around the door and looked at him nervously. "Well?" He didn't even bother looking at the young man.

"S-s-s-sir. I know you don't like to be disturbed when you are meditating, but it's important." Stuttered the young man.

"Spit it out!" Ordered Zuko.

"It appears the rebels have more dangerous accomplishes. Three cloaked worriors have been seen heading this way. Our troops at Li village, a few days away, were attacked by them. They have been reported to have one water bender on their side," An image of the water peasant flashed into Zuko's mind, mentally he shook it off. "A winged demon and a witch with magical spinning circles. Our intelligence believe that they are heading this way."

"Does anyone know what they look like?" The solder shook his head. "Are you fully sure?"

"They know that the witch seems to be training the Water Lady in something. We can't tell what though." Zuko nodded and told the young man that he'd keep an eye out. "No, sir, I've been told you that you must get yourself a bodyguard." Zuko was irritated by the thought

"How dare they offend me like that! I am a fully trained fire bender, not some silly, weak girl!" Barked Zuko, pouncing to his feet in anger. The tiny flames on the candles shot up. The young man seemed to shrink in his lord's anger.

"Just as help, perhaps sir." He squeaked. With a deep breath, the furious fire lord calmed himself. He told the young man that he would get a guard in the morning and dismissed the man. That night he didn't bother with meditating anymore, he just crawled into the huge, four-poster bed and flung the silk sheet up over his head.

Where am I? The walls are round and there are odd things everywhere. Wait, there is the door! I swing my legs over the bed and stand up on the floor. It's very clean. It's a hut. I walk towards the door, but something's is stopping me leaving. Wait, what's that? A cloaked figure sweeps through the shadows outside. It's dark so I hardly see it. There it goes again!

Who are you? Show yourself! I tell the figure. It obliges. With a graceful step, it appears in the gently moonlight. I can see its chin and its lips. Full and partially pouted. Clearly a girl.

"My name is Tec." She whispers. No she didn't whisper it, another shadow did. I look around, then back at the figure before me. There are two now, the newer one is standing behind the firsts shoulder. I can tell that the newer is a girl also. Her skin is pale and elegant. How like the Fire Nation women. I name this one Tec, like the shadows whisper. My attention is drawn back to the first cloaked lady again. Her skin is darkly tanned. A thump behind me catches my attention. I snap around and see a kneeling figure. Part of one leg is pointing out of the cape. It bares the criss-cross pattern of some kind of shoe. A sinister grin is painted on the part of her face that I can see. She stands and pushes one hand out of the cape. In it is an unusual round thing with a little string hanging out of it. She is the witch they spoke of. "Whych Ai" Greets the one named Tec from behind me. Ai reaches up to her hood and pulls it back. I turn and the second shown does the same. As they do they both take a step back. The first to appear takes a step forward and tips her head back a little. I can see such amazing, unforgettable, blue eyes.

Katara? I ask. She pulls back her hood and smiles.

"Zuko…Zuko...Zuko…"

"Zuko?" Called Iroh's voice, crashing through the dream like a ball of rock through a glass window. Zuko groans under his pillow and mumbled something. "Zuko, you swore that you pick a guard in the morning, besides, the sun has already risen. It's so unusual for you not to wake by now. Zuko opens one eye beneath his pillow. His uncle's face greets him as well as the bright sunlight. "Come now, Zuko, I haven't needed to wake you in years." He let out a hearty laugh as his nephew pushes himself up.

"Fine, uncle. You go and ready the chosen men, I'll be down in a short while." Grumbled Zuko with a heavy voice. When his uncle left, he rolled out of bed and found himself some clothes. As he dressed he thought of that dream. It had felt so real, why would he dream something like that? He blamed that solder, telling him of the cloaked warriors, well warrioresses, before he went to sleep. He pulled a combed through his hair and scooped in into a topknot, placing the Fire Lord insignia in the top of it. As soon as he was fully ready, he stalked down to the throne room, that's where the guards would be.

Seven men stood in a perfectly straight line. They were all completely different, but very skilled in what they did. They varied from men younger than himself to men older than Iroh. As they walked past each stone faced man, Iroh introduced each of them.

"Aiji, master swords man. Akio is an incredibly loyal and strong fighter. Daigo is one of the survivors from the Avatars attack at the north. Ouga Is well experienced. Kaname has a strong knowledge of how witches work." None of the first five interested him, when they came to the sixth, a twenty year old with a scar over his mouth, Zuko turned to him and stopped his uncle.

"You. Why shod you be my guard?" The man looked half stone-eyed ahead and saluted.

"I believe that you do not need protecting, sir. I have no exceptional skill, but I can fire bend." None of the others could.

"I pick you then. What is your name?"

"KaiSai, sir." Zuko scratched his bare chin and dismissed the others.

KaiSai stood outside of Zuko's chamber's door with full armour on. This had no effect on the young lord though. He stood by his open door that led out to his private garden. The three's leaves were all shades of bronze, red and brown and the turtle-ducks were readying themselves for migration. It was autumn, but a warm one at that. He heard a rustle from behind the tree.

"Who's there?" he calls, this was worrying like his dream that still stung in his mind over a week. A cloaked woman stepped out from her hiding place and leaned on the tree. Zuko stepped away from the door and towards her. He could see her smiling nervously. "…You are one of the caped warrioresses, aren't you?" She nodded.

"We were coming here to see you. Well, I was, the other two were just my escorts." She told him. She smiled again, but with a little less nerve in it, and tipped her head back a little so that he could see her nose. "You still looked better with the old style, even if the little flame adds a sense of power to you, Zuko" Zuko gave her a half-grin. "And, yes, you did know me back then."

"Take off your hood." He ordered, trying to sound royal. She muttered something along the lines of 'same old Zuko' and reached up to her hood, turning lighly so he couldn't see inside of her cape. "Katara" He took another step towards her. "But you died. Your brother saw you fall. How are you still alive?"

"It's complicated, Zuko. But let's just say an angel saved me, ok?" He nodded slightly. This was completely impossible. Katara was meant to be dead! And what was she doing here anyways? Wouldn't she rather find her brother and the blind earth bender? Zuko then led her inside, still confused all the same, to the warmth of the bedroom. Just before she vanished from view, she through a look up into the tree.

"Yes!" cried Ai in a silent language "She's in!" She punched the air and clambered up higher in the tree. Tec was smiling gleefully to herself.

"I'm going to have a feast with these two!" She cheered with a toothy grin. She kneels in her branch and takes off her own cape. "We should get a better spying spot if we want to know what's going on." Ai nodded and undid her own ankle length cape, stowing it in her pack.

"This is going to take time, remember, so we should also set up camp for when we, well I, need to sleep." Ai pointed out. Tec nodded in agreement and knowledge.

"I know, I know. I'm not stupid!" Ai shrugged at her.

"Sorry, but its better to be safe than sorry."

"To true." With a silent flutter of her dust-wings, Tec launched into the air, she flue up and scanned the grounds for an unguarded spot and a good place to spy on Zuko and Katara's progress. She dove back down and halted near her fellow Aztec. "Found a good camping spot, but we may have to use your spellcasting to get there and spy on Zuko." Ai nodded and rummaged in her hip pack for a potion.

"Ah ha!" She almost cried out in the normal tongue. "Gotcha" She pulled a vile of lemon coloured liquid. "Stick out your tongue. This will give you optional invisibility. We'll be able to fuse with the shadows with only a single drop." As she told her this, she tipped, very gingerly, a drop of the yellow potion onto her comerades poking out tongue. She, and her close by possessions, vanished into the shadows. She then done the same for herself.

"This is incredible!"

"That's what I said when I leaned it. We should be able to sense each other, and hear each other in this language and with the help of the potion." She then jumped out of the tree and awaited Tec to tell her the way.

A/N: Um, if you wanna do fan art, I'll hug ya forever. Sorry, coulnd't think of anything else to say Sweatdrops

Next Chapter: The Next Part of Our Mission