A/N: Hey, I'm still alive! XD Seriously, I want to thank you all for your patience and comments. I'm sorry I can't write faster, but I try my best, I do. I will always appreciate any comments/critics anyone has. :) About this chapter, I'm trying to make time move a little faster but let me know if I'm going too fast or it doesn't matter. Keep in mind also that different characters are in different parts of the world which I consider is like the real world, with different time zones. Also, IMPORTANT NOTE: I'm leaving for a trip from April 28th-the beginnings of May. I'm going to TRY to post another chapter before then, but no promises, sorry again. :( Please enjoy and review.

Song: "SAME MISTAKE" by James Blunt

Why?: It's just a very beautiful song and may not match perfectly, but the emotion I think does, especially in Katara's part.

Chapter Eight: New Journeys & Familiar Running

Aang left Iroh's place in a haze. His mind was filled with more questions than answers, as usual. But at least he wasn't completely clueless anymore. Iroh hadn't been able to tell him about Zuko or Katara's whereabouts, since he honestly didn't know, but the Avatar learned that Zuko's long lost mother had come back. Another surprise. None of the citizens or royal officials knew, and Iroh made Aang swear he wouldn't tell a soul. The Air-bender didn't have a problem keeping secrets, no, where the problem lay was more to the reason why Lady Ursa had returned and then mysteriously left just as everyone else decided to take an unexpected absence. And then there was the attack on Toph. That was no coincidence either.

Iroh didn't seem to have the answer to any of these suspending mysteries. He did, however, expect Zuko would have left with his mother. And if that was the case then they were headed north-western bound. He didn't know where Katara might have gone, but Aang figured where Zuko went Katara would follow, or vise versa.

At least that makes it easier to find them.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, Aang realized he had made the decision to go and look for them. The willing and eager spirit with which the decision was made surprised even Aang himself.

He thought he never would be able to get used to seeing Zuko and Katara together, but now...that fact didn't seem to torment him as much. He wanted to find his friends to help and see if they were ok, of course, but now there was another reason; Another layer to an already unknown course.

Aang finally wanted to move on and bring back together the family he had grown so close to before the pain and heartache. The way it was supposed to be...the way it should be.

He would go check on Toph, then go home and pack his things and saddle up Appa for the sure to be long journey ahead.

~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~

The days in the South Pole seemed to go by so much slower...either that or Katara still couldn't get used to the time change, but one thing was for certain; they were more tiring.

Katara felt completely and totally drained from her efforts of vanishing Sky's ghost, but when she'd lay down at night in her bed, for the first time in what seemed like ages, the Water Master could sleep peacefully.

During the day she worked on her chores, taught Water-bending classes, assisted in the healing ones, and helped her grandmother cook endless meals in an effort to feed the whole village which had obviously grown after the war's end. New families and romances were blooming, and everywhere Katara looked there were memories – countless memories. With those memories came painful reminders of Sky, but Katara learned to push the bad ones back and only remember, if possible, the good.

The battle within her was taunting though and at times she thought she could never win. It was like a force, trying to pull her in but she was learning to keep a wall up and was gradually getting better. Only sometimes she wondered how much longer she'd have to do this. She was missing Zuko terribly and worrying about him even more. She wanted to trust Ursa, she really did. In fact it would have been so much easier to deal with her pain if she did, but nothing was so easy. Something about the woman's sudden reappearance set her nerves on edge...and she still couldn't forget about that older woman's visit in the garden just minutes before...

Something is wrong.

The thought didn't just come in ordinarily with Katara's musings. It was a statement that she suddenly noticed with hungering dread. The air around her felt...dense somehow. Though she knew that couldn't be, it had to be a trick of her mind going sensory haywire. But what was certainly not a trick of the mind was the black snow falling above her head.

Now something was definitely wrong.

She dropped the firewood she was carrying for Gran-Gran's fire and ran toward the fort that still stood not so much as a precaution, but a memorial. To never forget the war that had nearly destroyed them all...but now that memorial could unconsciously help protect the village if what caused the black snow indeed was what Katara thought – a worse nightmare than seeing the blood in Sky's eyes. A nightmare she didn't even dare dream because it was possibly, next to losing her loved ones, the worst fear she has.

People were already going out of their igloos, some rushing forward with Katara to see, some already gathering weapons and loved ones, just in case. The suspense was excruciating now, though it was just a few steps ahead, part of Katara didn't want to know, but then the other stronger part told her to shut up and push through. She was almost there...and then...Bato got in her way.

She crashed harshly with his strong chest and looked up with rage at her father's best friend,

"Bato what are you..."

"Go find your brother Katara."

"What?! But the snow..."

The look in his usually calm blue eyes hardened, "Go find Sokka now."

Katara didn't know what she was doing...it was like she was experiencing some sort of deja vu. All her feelings confused and panicked while someone was telling her to go find someone else; A pained face of Kya flashed through her mind. Katara blinked and stood her ground,

"NO! Why? What's happening?!"

Bato's eyes briefly showed concern, then frustration, when he finally said...

"We're under attack Katara. Now please go find your brother!"

He didn't wait for Katara's horrified expression as he gave her a quick shove in the opposite direction and ran past the fort.

Katara stumbled, but didn't fall as she ordered her legs to move, walk, run, faster.

One of her worst fears had come true and it was more than deja vu this time, this was actually happening. She wanted to find her father first, make sure he was alright, but something told her he was most probably already in the forefront and he wouldn't want Katara no where near there. Bato had wanted her to go find Sokka for a reason...but why? What was the urgency? She remembered the worry that had showed in his face just before he replaced it with something else.

That expression made her legs move faster in search for her big brother.

~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~

The Sun was slowly sinking below the horizon as daylight met twilight, shadows appeared in places where the sun's light had warmed, now it was kissed with the chill of darkness slowly overpowering light.

But there was one shadow that was the darkest and tallest of them all...He was sitting with his hood up, enjoying the ill-lit scenery from his carriage window. The man known as "The Shadow" turned and confronted a dazed looking female with messy black hair and sharp golden eyes that pretended to be closed. Few things worried him in this life...and she was one of them.

He glanced at the man sitting across from him, "Is she calm?"

The man, who barely looked to be in his 30s, nervously spared a look toward the Princess.

"She's...stable."

The Shadow gave a small half-smile, and then like a flash, it was gone.

The carriage stopped and he stepped out before waiting for the driver to open the door, the younger man and Princess soon followed.

Before them stood another hooded figure, but when she lifted her head, narrow golden eyes like daggers stared back. Mai curtly nodded in greeting as she named each person in a row,

"Master Shadow, Sir...Azula."

Azula suddenly seemed wide awake. She bore her eyes into Mai's and nodded her friendly greeting in turn,

"Traitorous Bitch."

The young man beside Azula cringed, but Mai didn't seem to be fazed or insulted. A flicker of annoyance crossed her expression and then she looked at The Shadow, who appeared to be enjoying the reunion.

He briefly glanced at Azula before going straight to business. "My instructions are in a letter that Dr. Izo is carrying. He will be joining you two ladies until your mission is complete."

Both girls now stared down the young man who looked ready to pee his pants.

Rage flashed through Azula's eyes, "I do not need a babysitter."

The Shadow turned toward the Fire Nation Princess, "You're right," he whispered, all amusement gone, "you need a warden. But Izo will know how to tame you."

Azula's eyes suddenly drooped and she turned her head aimlessly. Mai frowned,

"With all due respect sir, he doesn't look very...capable."

The doctor's fear now turned to an embarrassed blush as The Shadow patted his back while he was replying,

"Oh, don't worry Blades, our doctor has a few tricks up his sleeve. I will go now. Do not fail me."

And with that cheerful warning, he went back into the carriage and rode away.

Everyone stood there, waiting for the dust to settle. Azula was the first to break the silence, glaring her deathly looks back at Mai.

"Blades?"

The knife-thrower was expressionless. "It's a nickname."

Azula made a chilling smile, the kind she used to be known for in her pre-going-crazy days, "I still prefer Traitorous Bitch."

Mai dared a cynical smile when she replied, "And yours is Psycho Failure."

Azula's smile turned deadly, she looked like she was a mil-second away from decapitating her former friend. Dr. Izo finally intervened,

"We should make camp. Master Shadow's instructions are to be carried out in the morning."

Mai was nonchalant once again and turned to set up a campfire while Azula sat and watched. Dr. Izo set up the tents, keeping an eye on the two dangerous girls.

After a few minutes, Mai finished the fire and sat down. Both girls sat entranced, watching the flames crackle and dance between them. Once Azula's killer anger subsided, she became very curious about Mai's association with The Shadow and how she ended up here. So, she decided to find out.

"Shouldn't you be drooling around Zuzu's ear right now?"

Mai's eyes narrowed even more but she didn't say anything. Azula was about to demand an answer when a memory suddenly burst through. She remembered - what seemed like ages ago – when Zuko came in a visit to demand what she knew about her favorite assassin, Sky. And how it all seemed connected to finding a girl...a girl that Zuko cared about but wasn't Mai.

The Princess devilishly smiled, "Ah...but your not with Zuzu anymore. Or rather, he isn't with you. He's most probably with that Water-bender..."

The moment Azula said "Water-bender" Mai's eyes widened and her jaw-line twitched. She anxiously leaned forward and asked all in one breath, "Where is she? Do you know? Have you seen her?"

Azula shook her head and became more curious. "No. But why should you care?"

Mai calmed down, though she still seemed to be tense. "She...changed him. Zuko stopped loving me and she made him fall in love with her. I'm going to kill her."

"Is that our mission?"

"I don't care if it is or isn't but she's going to die."

Azula stayed silent for a few seconds, gazing at the knife-thrower's pained face through the dancing fire. She finally spoke, in a low knowing voice,

"You miscalculated...didn't you Mai?"

Mai looked up with an expression of pure hatred toward her former friend. "What about you Azula?"

She straightened, "What about me bitch?"

"You had to have miscalculated to end up in prison. And what are you doing here now?"

It was now Azula's turn to stay silent, but Mai continued, "He broke you out in exchange that you do him a 'favor.' Then what? Did you think that far ahead? Or maybe your too out of it to be thinking much of anything at all."

Azula stood, not knowing if she was able to, but ready to bend those flames right at Mai's emotionless face when Dr. Izo appeared and commanded in a voice he hadn't used before,

"Both of you go to bed right now!"

At first, the girls looked pissed off about the interruption. But when they glanced at his eyes they suddenly calmed down and walked to their own tents, as if nothing had happened.

Izo sadly sighed and slumped his shoulders as if all his energy had been drained. He set his sleeping mat beside the fire and tired to get some sleep. It was hard. With two extremely rageful and unstable girls ready to kill each other in any moment.

It was like he was in high school all over again.

~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~

If before people were anxious and curious, now they must have known what was happening and were worried and rushing. Katara's small peaceful village seemed reckless and scattered like a pack of fire ants were scurrying all over the place. Katara felt just like another one of those ant in a maze as she ran to nowhere in particular, yet tiring desperately to find Sokka.

Strong bony hands suddenly grabbed her to a stop and the Water-bender looked down, her heart racing with fear, then she sighed in relief when seeing her grandmother who embraced her in a quick, but equally as strong, hug.

"Katara! Thank the Spirits! I thought something had happened to you."

She held on to the elder woman's arms and locked eyes, getting straight to the point, "Gran-Gran, where's Sokka?"

"Your brother? Well I thought he was with the other menfolk..."

Another image flashed through the Water-bender's eyes but Katara didn't want to think about it. In fact, she refused to. Not until she saw it with her own eyes, not until...

"Katara!" A teenage girl, visibly around the Water Master's age, ran toward her in lightening speed. Katara recognized the girl as a new friend she had made.

"Alma, what's wrong?"

"I...a group of boys...your brother was with them...when they started to attack..."

Alma's breathing couldn't come normally and she had to stop altogether, it looked like she had run for miles. But Katara didn't have the patience to wait for Alma's breathing, she grabbed her and forced eye contact with one word,

"Where?"

Alma pointed toward the back end of the fort. Almost no one went there unless it was for something dangerous or important. Katara ran toward it.

Time moved in even slower motion, heavier black snow was falling but she didn't care anymore. She heard more footsteps ahead and then a heavy grunt. By the time she reached the back end...it was too late. She saw men running back toward their ships, but she didn't focus on them. She focused on a lonely sword laying on the snow, boys from her tribe spread all around, some injured, some almost dying. But no where among them was Sokka.

She looked back up toward the ships that were now suddenly retreating as fast as they had come. A howling rage burning in her heart.