ISn't it sad how nothing seems to work out at the end? AWW FINALLY MY NEW CHAPTER!!!!!!!! After a long period of waiting, I finally decided to kick my computer and upload again. Enjoy!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sokka?" Nika asked her voice quiet. I knew that voice. It was the guilt voice.

"Yes?" I asked, preparing myself for the blow.

"I'm going to miss you, too."

Ouch.

Chapter 7: Secrets Revealed – Aang

In the morning, everyone was bustling around to gather the supplies as quickly as possible. That is, everyone but Nika. She was too busy trying to convince us to walk.

"But won't Appa be too noticeable?" she asked Katara. Katara, who had by now gotten used to the constant pleading, ignored her.

"C'mon! Appa needs a break!" she begged Zuko, who just walked past her as if she didn't exist. She looked at Momo in one last desperate attempt.

"Momo?" she asked. Momo chirped once and flew onto Appa's head, where he proceeded to groom himself. I walked up behind her, grabbed her shoulder, and spun her around.

"We're flying." I said, a shadow of a smile going across my face.

"But we –"

"No."

"And we –"

"No."

"What if we just –"

"No. And before you say anything else, no."

Nika lowered her finger, which was raised as if she wanted to say something else. She exhaled loudly.

"Fine. I give up." I said. "Thanks so much for your help, brother!" she called loudly towards Zuko, who just grinned and handed her all of her things. She snatched it away and pouted at him in an overly dramatic way.

"You're unworthy of carrying my things." she sneered, but then laughed at Zuko's bewildered face. He frowned.

"Just get on." he said.

"Ladies first." Nika said, waving her hands in Appa's direction. He shot his classic Zuko squint at her, but actually got on.

Nika stuck her tongue out at him behind his back. Katara giggled.

"You respond to 'ladies first'?" she teased. Zuko murmured something unintelligible, but I could hear some things, like "girls", "carrying", and "Fire Nation clothes".

Unknown, Toph had snuck up to the top via the other side. Now, as she poked her head over the side of the saddle to complain about how slow we were, she scared Zuko half to death! He fell back to the ground with a loud thud. We were all rolling on the floor and laughing.

~*~

"She's too dangerous! We can't risk her getting in the way of our success!" I said quietly. I didn't want anyone overhearing.

"I know, daughter. She is a threat to all of us. We have to find a way to get rid of her!"

"It won't be easy. She is no longer alone. If I had known that she was still alive, I would have taken care of her sooner! But now she is traveling with the Avatar, and that idiot brother of mine is watching over her as well. Not to mention the fact that she has fallen in love with that Water Tribe oaf."

"I see. This may be interesting. However, if we are to capture her, we must do it in a way that she would never suspect. We must find a way to kill her quietly, without those fools getting in the way. Can I trust you to take care of that for me?"

"Of course you can, Father. But there is another idea that just dawned on me. Why must we kill her? She would be a valuable addition to your army, and considering the fact that the Avatar needs her as well, he will be guaranteed to follow. Then you would have both. My sister would fight for us, while the Avatar… well… he must be taken care of."

"I understand your logic, Azula. But how will we convince her to join our side?"

"By playing with her feelings, of course. The oaf that she is in love with is her only weakness that we know of. I know how to get to him and to her, all in one shot. While tracking the Avatar, I discovered someone that may prove to be useful. I am holding her prisoner as we speak." I turned towards the door. "Bring her out!"

~*~

Sokka was quietly looking out into the clouds.

Katara was frantically looking through her things.

Suddenly, she stopped and sighed in relief.

"What's wrong? Or rather… what was wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing. It's over now." Katara smiled and pulled her necklace out of the jumbled mess. "I just thought that I lost my necklace, that's all." At the word "necklace", Nika's eyes perked up. She was interested. She scooted over to where Katara was holding it in her hand.

"May I see it? I mean… only if you don't mind." Nika said politely.

"Of course you may." Katara said, nodding. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Uh huh." Nika answered sincerely, and took it from her. She stared at it in fascination, turning it around and around, looking at every inch of it. Her eyes grew wide in recognition.

"Of course…" she whispered. "That's what he meant! That's the symbol!"

"What symbol? That's what who meant? What's going on?" Zuko asked. Nika began to disrobe. I blushed. She looked at me and giggled, but didn't stop. She handed the robe to her brother and turned around. There was only a short bit of shirt covering her back, and I saw an amazing sight. As Nika later explained to us, what I was seeing was the future. And I wasn't happy at what I was seeing. There we all were at the top. Toph, Sokka and Katara, Zuko, Nika, and I. Then, there was a large circle with the Fire Nation in it, larger than the first one, no doubt representing Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee. We all had a path that led down to the bottom. And at the bottom, the only thing that was left was the Fire Nation circle. The large one. There wasn't even a trace of us. We were all gone.

"How?" Sokka asked.

"I suggest you all gather around. I'm about to tell a story." Nika said.

"Whoopee." Toph said sarcastically.

"It was long ago." Nika started, after we had all turned around. She faced Zuko.

"Do you remember, brother, when mother told you and Azula that I was going to be gone for a while?"

"All too well." Zuko answered with a frown. "Although Azula seemed pretty happy, as if she had just defeated someone or something." he added with disdain. Nika snickered.

"Anyway," she continued, "while I was packing, father decided to grace me with his presence. He said that I would have to pack a larger suitcase, since I would be staying away for a longer time. He said that I should pack my best clothes and such. When I asked him why, he said that I was going to be meeting a lot of very important people. I asked him who, and he said that I was being too nosy. After that, he wouldn't talk to me until I left." she remarked sadly.

"Yeah, I remember." Zuko said. "Mother told us that she would be coming with you. I was sad because Uncle was away at war, and I would have to spend an entire weekend with father and Azula and Mai and Ty Lee." He shuddered. "When I asked mother when you would be coming back, she said that she didn't know. It wasn't exactly the answer that I wanted, but it was something at least. So when mother returned home alone, I feared the worst." he said. Nika smiled. "But I never found out what happened." he added.

"I think I would rather spare you the details. Knowing would only make you feel worse. You're lucky that you weren't there. But me?" She fingered her necklace. "I have to carry a reminder of it with me everyday."

"You can tell us." I encouraged. "We've all been through a lot, and I think that's what has held us together. It's why we're a family. We've all been through the same pain."

"Yeah, I mean, your brother may have not been a part of our group for very long, but we were still with him every step of the way. We knew his story, and helped him realize who he was, helped him to become the person that he is now. Now, he's as much a part of our family as anyone, and you can be, too." Toph added. Nika looked at us and sighed.

"It happened when I was five years old…" she began.


Foreshadowing!!! AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, you'll have to read the next chapter now. hope that this wasn't a dissappointment to you all. Oh well...

Anyways, if you take alook at my profile, you'll see that I'm working on The Caretaker, and I can say that I have sucxcessfully started it XD and perhaps (after part 3) I will publish it (finally)

More chapters to come! And remember

REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!

Sweep