A/N: Here's the next chapter! I don't have much to say except that I'm only motivated to write by reviews! So, I'd love it if you guys could review a bit more

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Captured Trust Chapter 13: The End of the Trial

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"Woah, this is really the top? Are we finally done with the trial?" Aang asked, his grey eyes sparkling in the sun.

"Yeah, it seems like it, we're at the highest part of the mountain," Zuko answered. The Sun Warriors could almost be seen from the top of the mountain, but they were only visible as tiny unrecognizable specks.

"We really came a long way to get up here," Aang replied, "But now that we're done, it's pretty cool how we got this far in around a day or more in traveling."

"Hm, yeah-" the firebender said thoughtfully, but his amber eyes widened suddenly.

"What is it, Zuko?" the Avatar stated worrily.

"We've finished the trial, and got to the top of the mountain, but now what?" the fire prince stated, his black hair flying in the wind. The Chief had told them that the trial would end once they reached the top of the mountain, but never had explained what would happen at the top of the mountain, or how to actually finish the trial and gain the Sun Warrior's trust. The only plausible idea the firebender had was to go all the way back down the way they came, but that was quickly ruled out. Why would the Warriors want them just to go to the top of the mountain and back to prove their innocence?

Aang stood for a moment, thinking, then opened his mouth to say something, but immediately closed it.

"You thought of something?" Zuko questioned impatiently, his foot tapping on the floor.

"Well, kinda, but- Look behind you!" the airbender shouted before he could finish his previous sentence. Zuko turned; frustrated that he couldn't hear the rest of the Avatar's idea on how to complete the trial, but soon stood shocked at the sight that lay before him. The white fire from the start of the trial was slowly burning up the mountain. The firebender figured that at the rate it was burning, the fire would reach them in a couple of minutes, possibly less. They were doomed, with no way to get out. The white fire was, according to the Chief, inextinguishable, and would kill anybody quickly. Was this the end of the line? Would he die here and now, never to regain his honor and get forgiveness from his Uncle? Zuko tried to see Aang's expression. The young Avatar was clearly afraid, his eyes wide and his body trembling. If Aang died, no one would be able to stop his Father, and then what? The world would be ruled by the Fire Nation, and all would suffer under its rule. All he could do now was wait and see what fate awaited them.

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Katara had seen the two boys progress up the mountain, although they had disappeared from sight at times. She had barely slept the night before, worried about their safety, and also plagued by dreams of Ba Sing Se. When she woke up, the sun was barely up, but she had spotted the two benders climbing up the mountain once again. They were extremely close to the top, and would probably reach the top soon. The waterbender had then turned her attention away from the boys, but rather reluctantly, as the Sun Warrior Chief called her over.

"What is it?" she had said rather rudely, although it was accidently. Katara quickly changed her tone to something more respectable. "I mean, what do you want to talk to me about, honorable Sun Warrior Chief?"

"It's about your two friends," he had told her in a booming voice.

"Zuko is not my friend!" she spat, blue eyes narrowing.

"Well, I assumed that since you three were traveling together, you must have been close," the Chief said, raising an eyebrow.

"He's hurt me in more ways than I can forgive him for," was her quiet reply. The Sun Warrior Chief decided to change the subject then.

"I hope you know that they will not return from this trial. No one ever has," he added, a little sympathy in the tone of his voice.

"What?" Katara almost shouted, "What do you mean? They're almost at the top of the mountain!"

"Yes, I am aware of that, and I acknowledge them for getting so far, but many have reached that point," the man said.

"I don't get it," the waterbender said slowly, "They're so close, what can stop them now?"

The Chief pointed to the top of the mountain and Katara's gaze followed, "But the real test is there. Many have gotten to the top, but none have passed the final test there."

"W-What are we gonna do now?" Aang stammered finally, his soft voice breaking the silence.

"I don't know," Zuko stated with a scowl on his scarred face showed that the firebender was clearly thinking hard, but with no results.

"Then…what do we do?" the airbender said, worry etched into his young face.

And with that last statement, Zuko snapped.

"Why does EVERYONEask me things that I don't know the answer to yet?" the prince said, throwing his hands down in exasperation with a force that would have gave anyone a trip to the healers. Suddenly, to Zuko's surprise, a small flame puffed out when he threw down his hands.

"What?" he said to himself. The prince gave another thrust out to the air with his hands, and another tiny flame appeared. Zuko looked down to the platform they were standing on. Was this place made so that they could bend again, unlike the rest of the mountain?

"You can firebend again now? Does that mean that I can firebend too?" Aang said almost too enthusiastically for their current situation. The Avatar put his body into a firebending stance, and pushed his hand out, but no fire came out.

"It seems that we can bend again, but just normally, I still haven't learned how to firebend correctly again," the prince said, sending out another small flame burst.

"This means that we can get outta here, right? I'll just use my airbending-," the airbender said, before frowning. "The flames are too high; I can't get out of here with my airbending."

"Hey…didn't you have some sort of plan when we first spotted the flames?" Zuko asked hopefully, thinking back to before the flames had starting burning up the mountin.

"Yeah, but…I don't think it'll work…" Aang said, looking down at the ground.

"It's our only chance!" the prince yelled. The white flames were closing in on them, the flames already reaching the platform.

"Okay, Okay!" The Avatar said loudly. "Maybe we could do what the Sun Warriors were doing with the white flames; you know that whole dropping the blood into the fire thing? You should try making a white flame and put it on that altar over there! I'll use my airbending to strengthen your flame!"

"It is a special form of firebending passed down by the Sun Warriors. It is in our blood." Zuko remembered what the Chief had told them. There was no way the airbender's idea could work; he wasn't a Sun Warrior, but it was their only chance.

The two benders walked up to the altar that was conveniently in the middle of the platform. It was the farthest point away from the flames that were slowly advancing on them. They had at most a minute left. Although the altar gave Zuko chills, he still proceeded in making a flame, big enough to stay burning, but not nearly as large as his original bending got him. Aang used small bursts of wind to keep the flame alive as Zuko proceeded to offer his blood to the flames, trying to do exactly as the Sun Warriors had done in their ritual. He brought the sharpest point of his sword across his index finger, and let one ruby drop of blood fall into the fire. He held his breath, and waited, but nothing happened.

They had failed. The white fire ritual didn't work, and they only had about a minute to survive. He would die.

Suddenly, Zuko noticed the fire changing color; it was turning from a dark orange to a pale yellow color. It wasn't white yet, but the pale yellow soon faded into a very light white color.

"What?" Zuko thought, his attention turning to the flame. Aang also looked quickly over to the white flame.

"What is happening?" Zuko thought, his eyes never leaving the small white flames.

Katara watched in horror as the white flames seemed to cover the platform that Zuko and Aang were on. The flames slowly made their way to the two benders, and the waterbender stared openmouthed, shocked at the fact that two of her companions were about to die.

"No! Aang can't die like this, even Zuko…it's too soon for either of them to die!" Katara screamed to herself.

"This is how it always ends, the white flames kill off even the best benders who take this trial," The Sun Warrior Chief said. In his hands, he still held the golden egg that they had "stolen."

Katara stared angrily at the egg, her eyes tearing up. Why did they have to come to the Sun Warriors? If Zuko hadn't brought them up, they wouldn't have found the egg, and Aang would die now! The egg, why did Zuko have to pick it up? Why did he have to join their gang?

"Why?" she asked herself again and again, tears blurring her vision.

Katara almost didn't hear the Sun Warrior gasp. Looking up again, she forcefully rubbed her eyes to rid of the tears that were still falling. The Sun Warrior was holding the egg still, and was in the same position as she had seen him in before, but his eyes were wide. She finally noticed what was wrong. The egg was pulsing and glowing a light yellow color. The light radiating off it soon became too bright, and Katara had to close her eyes. When she opened them again, the light was gone, and the egg was broken clean in two, one half of it still in the Chief's hands, and another half on the ground. The Sun Warrior Chief was still in shock, his body trembling, and he dropped the half of the eggshell on the ground, where it shattered at the impact.

"What happened?" Katara demanded angrily.

"T-the egg…" the man said, still shaking.

"What about it?" she said again, more loudly.

"It's….It hatched." He answered.

A/N: Yeah, shorter chapter, but I thought this would be a good part to stop. Leaving you guys with another cliffhanger? Evil! XD Well, I'll update soon! Remember to review! :D