Since I haven't really replied to your comments lately, I guess I'll do it naow :3 Tell me if you really care about me actually replying to you instead of just saying "Thanks for the comments" or something like that :] Cuz if nobody really cares then I'll just stop replying, cuz, it's really hard D:

Reviews for ch. 32

jennedy--

WHOA. You're obviously a really prolific writer. Rock on. I feel like Mai's been a little OOC throughout, but that's just part of the way this story has to be for the plot to work at all, so I forgive you.

~jennedy~

Thanks :D Well, wouldn't you be a little out of character if you didn't remember what your character is? XD lol

Kimjuni2--

Ahh i love it, really awesome job, mai's memories getting faster back^-^ i just love this chapter, awesome job, update soon and i will be R&R ofcourse xD

Why yes she is :O and thanks xD

gloomy maiko lover--

this was great I loved this and really like the Maikoness xD nd this is getting intersting can't wait to know what happens next and can't wait till you pdate hope you update soon and can't wait till Mai and zuko meet again and so I'll be R&R as soon as I can and you did a great,awsome job. and like long chapters and can't wait,andcan't wait till more Maikoness,loved this and judt can't wait and again great job. xD XD

Thank you ^^ Only like 2 or 3(at the most) more chapters and I want to give her memory back D:

kataangismyworld--

This is the best story i've read yet, but could you try to update more often? No offense, but everybody updates WAY more often than you. but great story, i just want some more kataang in it (i can't get enough kataang). write on!

Really? Thanks :D Sorry, I'm just really busy with school and videos and other fics and stuff :P And if you want more kataang, keep reading ;3

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Chapter 33

"Twins," the doctor had told Suki. She smiled and rested a hand over her stomach. She got two tiny nudges in response. Her smile grew wider. Wow... She thought. Suki could only imagine the look on Sokka's face when he heard he was going to be the father of twins. She chuckled, then swung her legs over the side of her bed. Suki already felt guilty for scolding Sokka a few days earlier. She knew he was honestly just worried for her, and just didn't show it in a very... considerate way. And now he was gone, before they could make up. She wondered how long it would be until they were reunited. Would this trip be a day? A few days? A few weeks? She sighed, then pushed herself up out of bed then out of her room. It was time to train.

---

A beam of light shot through the window and into Katara's eyes. She groggily lifted her head and tried to walk forward, only to be pulled back by the wall she was chained to. She groaned and tried to shake free, but it was no use. What did they want her for? And what did Azula mean when she said those things about Aang? She frowned, then took note of her surroundings. A small metal room with a tiny window on the opposite wall from her, with bars covering it. Katara blew a piece of stray hair out of her face, then gasped as the door across from her started to part open.

"Finally, awake." Said a deep voice. A man around his 40's walked in, and unhooked her shackles from the wall. He tied her handcuffs to a chain he was holding, then lead her outside.

"What do you want with me?" She asked, trying to keep her voice down.

"Nothing, really. Lord Azula ordered me to bring you to watch us test our new experiment." He explained in a restrained monotone.

"Lord Azula.." Katara scoffed under her breath.

They eventually came to a huge dome shaped mound of metal, with a giant cage in the center. Katara propped an eyebrow, then froze when the scene came into view. Aang's arms were held out on each side of him, and they were tied to shiny ropes. The ropes were connected to a short pillar that stuck out in the middle of the cage. On top of the pillar, an odd, egg-shaped stone was placed.

"What are you... What exactly are you planning to do?!" Katara shouted at the man, who ignored her and tied her to a different wall.

She scowled when the evil form of Azula came around the corner. She was sitting on a chair decorated in crystals that was being carried by two other men, also in their 40's. She also noticed that the Dai-Lee agent from before was walking behind her, arms folded and head ducked. She scowled harder.

"Thank you, Ryu." Azula said in an evil voice. She cracked a smile, that seemed to crack the wrest of her face.

Ryu bowed, "My pleasure, Lord Azula."

Azula then waved her hand, gesturing Ryu to move away, "Leave the girl be, Ryu, give her her space." As if she doesn't know my name, Katara thought.

He nodded then took a step back, leaving Katara by herself. She tried to keep her poise when Azula stared her down. Her smile faded to a grimace.

Azula lifted herself out of the jewel covered chair and headed towards the pillar with the egg-shaped stone on top. She turned around and face Katara.

"I bet you're wondering why you're here." Azula started, her voice sending shivers down Katara's spine. She kept quiet.

"Well, this stone you see here... I'll just give a demonstration." She cracked another smile, and turned around. Azula snapped and a blue flame emerged from her finger tips. She placed her hand over the stone, and it started to glow a faint blue-ish color. Katara blinked. The stone continued to glow, then suddenly the blue started to flicker. It kept flickering faster and faster. A few seconds later, lightning began to surround the stone, and raced down the metal rope that was connected to Aang. Katara gasped, "No!" But it was too late. She stared in horror, expecting to see Aang either burst into flames or be violently electrocuted... But, nothing happened. Instead, the lightning mixed into his tattoos, and his eyes opened and glowed light blue. Katara stared in shock. The chains holding him to the circular wall evaporated into nothingness, and he lightly jumped onto the cold ground. He stood completely still, then turned to look at Katara. His features were relaxed but alert. His eyebrows pressed together, and a frown was planted on his face.

Something was wrong. He wasn't himself. He wasn't even his avatar state self.

This was someone Katara had never seen before.

---

The two boys hurried towards the huge mountain.

"Sokka, we shouldn't just barge in like this! Even if you don't care that it's a trap, this isn't worth it!" Zuko yelled and pulled Sokka back by the arm. Sokka groaned in frustration, then sighed,"I know. It's just that every second we're out here..she's with her." Sokka caught himself, remembering he sworn to stop complaining.

"I know what you mean." Zuko muttered and turned to examine the mountain. There were two heaps of dirt and mud on either side, where two heaps of dirt and mud shouldn't be.

"That's weird..." Zuko moaned to himself. Sokka frowned.

"It isn't an entrance, if that's what you're thinking. It wouldn't be that obvious." He looked away and folded his arms.

"We need to come up with a plan-"

"We'll come up with the plan as we go." Sokka cut him off. He hated talking about battle plans now that the war was over, especially if it was regarding the life of his sister. He also just hated the thought of sitting around and talking, while they could be out fighting.

Zuko's brows pinched together. They were getting on each other's nerves.

"Look Sokka, if you want to barge in there like an idiot and get captured right away, losing pretty much all hope of finding Katara, be my guest. I know it's hard to sit around and do nothing while someone important to you is most likely being tortured as much as the next guy, but we can't just charge in there with no plan whatsoever. So sit down and think!" Zuko said in a harsh tone. He shoved Sokka onto a log, forcing him to think up a plan.

He blinked a couple of times, then put on his "thinking of a plan face." Zuko sat in front of him, impatiently waiting for an "OOH!" or an "I've got it!"

A couple silent moments passed (except for the occasional croaks of frog-lizards) then, it finally came.

"I know what to do! We'll walk in the normal, easiest entrance," He pointed to the cave leading into the enormous mountain, "And tell the guards that we'reeee... back from our break! Yeah! And if they ask twice, we'll show 'em who's boss, ZUSOKKA STYLE!" Sokka raised his arms above his head for emphasis, then coughed awkwardly when Zuko said nothing and glared at him. "A-and then, we can steal their uniforms, kind of like at the Boiling Rock, but better! Be-"

"Better?" Zuko scoffed, "They better have some pretty good masks if we even want to think about Azula not noticing us."

Sokka raised a finger to backfire why or how it could work, but nothing came to mind, and his finger slowly fell.

"True..." Sokka sighed, "I don't think there is going to be some trick or creative way of doing it this time, we just have to do it. Once we steal the uniforms, we just have to be super stealthy and try to blend in as much as we can. We'll dig around for answers from the guards, then, we'll meet up and think of what to do next."

Zuko reached up to cup his chin, deep in thought. It wasn't a plan, yet it was. And it just might work.

"If you really think it'll work, idea guy." Zuko said, and they both gave nervous smiles.

---

Toph pushed the mound of earth beneath her as fast as she could. I'm not going to let this chick bale on him. Not again... Not after all he's been through... Not again!

She kept pushing until her legs were so sore she couldn't feel them, just the rhythmic pattern of earth being pushed and pulled under her scarred feet. She finally released the mound to stop and take a breath. She flew onto the ground and panted, loudly enough to make the small rabbit-mice and squirrel-skunks scurry out of their homes and into the brush.

"How-is-she-going-so-fast..?" Toph mumbled to herself in between breaths. She swallowed, then got back up and steadied herself. She could still hear the extra rumbles in the wind from Ursa's balloon. Toph cracked her knuckles, then took off at full speed towards it.

---

"How are we suppose to get there?" Mai asked to the small group after they bolted out of the palace.

"I thought you knew!" Ty Lee shouted.

"We can go by war balloon or ship." Iroh interjected, a calm smile on his face.

They were quiet for a moment.

"Toph told me she was headed east of here into the forest, that that's where Ursa was." Ty Lee said in a forced calm voice. Mai didn't hesitate before they were bolting towards a war balloon.

"But wait." Mai interrupted the three from running. "Won't it be too noticeable? Katara was traveling by air and she was shot down, which means they have their eyes on the sky."

Despite the serious situation, Ty Lee couldn't help but smile. Mai was starting to get her old self back by the minute.

"Maybe... but, we do not have the proper amount of time. If we want to catch up with Toph, Ursa, and rescue Katara, and maybe even Zuko and Sokka if they were not prepared, we will have to leave now." Iroh explained, and started to walk towards the empty war balloon just a few feet ahead.

Ty Lee nodded, and ran up behind Iroh. Mai tried to imitate, but she was frozen. What if they had captured Zuko? And just what are they up against? It could just be a group of bored, lowlifes that had nothing better to do than to join Azula. But, in the back of her mind, she knew it was more than that. She gritted her teeth and finally ran up to meet them.

---

The first part of the plan had been easy. The guards could as well of been turkey-ducks.

"Erm.. we're here to.. polish the prisoner's cells." Sokka had sputtered to the large yet stupid guards, not sure if there even were prisoners or cells in the first place.

The uniforms were simple, and covered just the right amount of skin for a chance of nobody noticing that the Fire Lord and a war hero were making their way into a enemie's base. They both ran passed the knocked out guards and down a long, narrow hall. The walls were made of metal, and old Fire Nation decor were randomly spread here and there. Zuko ignored the urges to burn every single one of the old Fire Nation emblems as they rushed down more metal halls. The more they ran, the more loudly muffled voices became. They slowed their pace to a walk, hoping to blend in with whatever atmosphere it may turn into. They eventually came to an open, circular room that was made of earth instead of metal. Three more Fire Nation flags hung from either side of the walls, and in the center were ashes (probably ashes that belonged to the three other nation's flags.)

"This is her alright." Zuko muttered, more to himself than Sokka. They were interrupted by a loud, shrieking noise coming from the next hall way. It sounded like a scream... It sounded like Katara. Sokka and Zuko exchanged worried glances before taking off at full speed down the next hallway. The screaming became louder and louder, then suddenly stopped. Had anyone noticed them? Zuko looked to the right while Sokka checked the left for any suspicious faces, but they were still alone. They kept running until the hallway came to another room, this one much larger than the room before. They searched the room for Katara, and gasped when the scene clearly came into view. Aang was hovering over Katara, tattoos glowing and all. His brows pressed inward, and his mouth twitched. He had felt their presence. Sokka ground his teeth, and he clenched his fists. Just what was Aang doing? Why was Katara screaming like that? She seemed unharmed. Katara quickly noticed something in Aang changed, that he somehow seemed even edgier than before. Aang turned his head to look at the intruders, and Katara followed his stare. Her eyes widened and a wave of relief passed through her. She was about to call out to them, when Zuko put a finger to his lips. Katara slammed her mouth shut and nodded quickly, then turned to look back up at Aang. His hands were in fists, and his knuckles were white. Sokka frowned.

"What the hell was he doing to her?" He growled. Zuko shushed him.

"She looks ok, just... weaker... Try to focus on that. It could of been much worse." He encouraged to the young, angry warrior.

"I know that!" Sokka hissed, "Just... it's.. it's Aang! What is he doing-"

"He might be being controlled. He isn't acting like himself." Zuko tried to calm him down, when something caught his eye.

"Is that... no..." It was. It was the same egg he had picked up at the Sun Warrior's temple. The thing they held most dear other than the dragons. The thing that had felt... alive... had it been?

He shook his head and focused back on Aang, who hadn't looked down since they arrived.

"Why is he stopping?!" Shrieked Azula from the corner of the room. She was tucked away just enough to not be able to see them. "What is he staring at?! Ryu, make him start torturing her again immediately!" She stamped her foot on the metal floor.

Zuko took hold of Sokka's arm and ran them both to the other side of the room. Aang's glare followed them the entire way.

"He's gonna blow our cover!" Sokka yelled through clenched teeth.

"We're going to be noticed soon anyway! Just right now, try to keep quiet until we know just what exactly is going on." Zuko hushed, and looked back towards the scene.

The Dai-Lee agent tied a strap around Aang's arm, then started for the egg-shaped stone that rested on a pillar. He pushed a metal button in front of the stone, that made it glow a bright red. The strap around Aang's arm also turned red, and slowly, his tattoos and eyes did as well. His stare was finally pulled away from the two and put back on Katara. She backed away from him and slammed her eyes shut.

"Aang, please snap out of it!" She screamed, and clenched her stomach. Aang ignored her and raised his arms above his head, gathering a ball of bright red energy.

"No.." Sokka moaned without realizing it.

"AANG!" Katara screamed in protest when his arms shot halfway down, and the ball of energy blasted towards her. His arm outstretched towards her, and the energy surrounded Katara in a frenzy. She began to scream again as Azula smirked and folded her arms.

Zuko and Sokka watched in terror from the corner, not believing what they were seeing. Suddenly, Sokka pounded a fist to the ground, which caused the whole room to tremble. It even distracted the Avatar, and caused Azula to shoot a look towards them. Her angry scowl turned to a sly grin. Katara caught her breath while she could.

"So, you finally came." Azula snickered, and snapped. As quickly as she snapped, a short servant speed towards her side with a tray of tarts and water. She picked up a fruit tart then waved him off, sending a small smirk towards Zuko. He felt a stinging sensation in his chest, and frowned deeply. He knew what she was trying to do. But it wouldn't work. Not this time.

"Well," Azula started, not minding at all that her mouth was full, "Since you so cleverly got all the way here.." Her voice was sarcastic and bored. She licked her fingers then shot them another look, "I guess I'll explain whats going on."

Zuko and Sokka exchanged another worried glance, not quite sure if they wanted to know.