Sorry it took so long to get this posted. With pollen allergies and Pottery class and Easter, I was swamped!

Speaking of which, I hope everyone had a glorious Easter! What a wonderful day to celebrate! The day my Lord, Jesus Christ rose from the dead! Because of his Love, those who have chosen to except his gift have hope for Heaven! Thank God!

Enjoy the story! Thanks for all the Awesome reviews!

***

Toph walked slowly down the palace hall. She'd had enough of pretending to enjoy a stupid festival while Aang was... missing. Everyone else could continue enduring it, but she was done. Her hopes were not high; poison was, as Zuko had pointed out, not an enemy you can fight off with bending. What would happen if Aang never came back? He was like a brother to her. She loved his happy voice and irritatingly light foot steps.

"Twinkle toes... Where are you?" Suddenly a light breeze followed by MoMo brushed past her, turning and landing on her shoulder.

"MoMo!!" exclaimed Toph, scratching his soft fuzzy ears. "Where've you been little guy?" MoMo chirped and flew off in front of her, toward the meeting room. As she extended her sight she felt a light vibration, difficult to detect. She walked toward the room, focusing on the source of the vibrations. The closer she got the more defined the form was; it was a person, sprawled out across the floor.

"Aang?" she whispered. The form stirred; it was just enough movement to determine the identity of the lump. "AANG!! You're alive!!" Toph ran and hugged him tightly. He moaned and grimaced, opening his eyes groggily.

"Toph?"

"You're alive! I can't believe you're alive!" She punched his arm.

"Ow! Toph, you're hurting me. Ahh, I'm really sore..." Toph smirked.

"You deserve it! Do you have any idea how worried we were? We thought you were dead!" She punched his arm a second time. Aang clenched his teeth and tried to ignore his battered body.

"I'm sorry... I thought I was dead too. How did you guys know I'd been poisoned?"

"Chan confessed. We're all trying to play it cool until we can find the guy who made him do it..." Aang's eyes widened. He hadn't given much thought as to who had poisoned him, though the answer was obvious.

"Chan! He- wow... He was forced? How? What happened?" Toph filled Aang in on all that Zuko had been told. He sat silently, trying to absorb the whole situation.

"Wow... poor Chan, we have to help him."

"Poor Chan? What about you! You nearly died!"

"It isn't Chan's fault, I -"

"Zuko's already promised to help him..." Toph shook her head. "What you need to be worried about is staying hidden. If this guy saw you, who knows what he'd do next."

"Yeah... where's Katara? I need to see her..." Toph smiled. Holding back the jokes for now.

"I'll go get everyone, they're all at the festival pretending they know where you are..." Toph turned and ran down the stairs. "You stay put!" she yelled as she disappeared. Aang yawned widely. He still felt like he'd been chewed on by a platypus bear, but at least he was alive. He sat with a slight slouch, eyes half closed as he waited to hear Toph return. In what seemed like seconds he heard...

"Aannnggggg!" His eyes snapped open at Katara's voice. She ran toward him and kissed him passionately. Her tight hold on his arms felt like fire, but he didn't care. He had thought he might not get to see her again. She could squeeze him as tightly as she wanted. Finally, she released his lips and took a good look at him. Easing her grip, she saw the dark purple bruises covering his body.

"Oh! Are you okay? You look terrible! How did you- we thought you were- what happened?" Aang pulled her back into a weak hug.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again," he whispered. Katara's eyes over-flowed with emotion. "I love you."

"I love you too, Aang!" He looked up to see Sokka, Suki, Mai and Ty Lee all looking shocked and please to see him alive and breathing.

"Aww." Ty Lee whispered.

"Okay," said Toph, "enough of the mushy love-y junk. Tell us how you survived!" Aang told them about the Metalit viper and its powerful venom. And about the Air Nomad antidote and waking up so terribly sore. He left out the severity of the symptoms he had suffered; Katara didn't need to know about that.

"Wow!" said Sokka, "You knew the antidote! That's what I call lucky!"

"Yeah!" Mai commented. "Guess it's a good thing you were born a hundred years ago." Aang smiled weakly, still holding Katara's hand. Toph tilted her head, listening closely.

"Zuko's coming," she announced. A few seconds later the door slid open and Zuko walked in.

"Aang! You're alive! That's- How? What did you do?" Aang smiled and happily repeated his story. Katara stroked his hand thoughtfully. She was so thankful he was alive. But, in the back of her mind the threat of this unknown traitor loomed in the shadows. What was he going to do next?

Meanwhile, a whole different conversation was going on outside:

Ling sighed angrily.

"How would I know?! I've never met the kid! All I'm saying is that a guy that fits your description came in early yesterday and wanted to speak with Zuko alone. When I came back to show him out, Zuko had already dismissed him. That's it!", the cloaked man growled.

"Why didn't you stay to hear what he had to tell him?! Then you would know if this was the right guy!"

"Zuko ordered all guards away and told me to follow! I couldn't have stayed, he would have heard me and sent me away. Why is this so important anyway?"

"This guy, Chan is his name, is the leader in a plot to take out Zuko. I'm trying to catch him before he kills our new Fire Lord.", the man said fiercely. Ling gasped.

"Posion Zuko! Why didn't you say so?! I could have told the Fire Lord by now! He needs to know this!"

"He does! Have you forgotten who you're talking to? I'm the Head Threat Investigator! He hasn't shared it with anyone for fear of alerting the one whose plot this is. But don't you worry. I'll catch this Chan guy. Don't speak with the Fire Lord yet, you never know who's listening." Ling nodded fearfully.

"You'll be the first to know if he comes back!" he said. "How horrible.." Ling turned and walked away, back toward the palace. The wind rustled the leaves, sending some of them cascading down to the cloaked figure watched as Ling entered the palace gates and shut them tightly behind him.

"So gullible!" he said, shaking his head. A smile spreading across his face. "Chan will pay for his squealing... his family will pay, that is..." He turned and strode away, invisible among the crowd of festival-goers.

***

Well, there you have it. Now you know that the bad guy is on the inside! Worth the wait? Be sure to let me know! No idea what the next chapter will be.. We'll find out soon!