Chapter thirteen

"Where are we going?" Azula asked her brother on the bridge of his ship. The girl sat down across from Zuko on the table set up there for Pai Sho, a few maps were spread out across the table, otherwise, Zuko just tried to keep his composure in front of his sister. He had vivid memories of how she acted in the future, she was ruthless, and she hunted them down like no one else ever did. She was always a step ahead. She was a murderous, insane, psychotic bitch.

However, he also had fresh memories of when she was a child, the two of them got along very well until the rivalry between the two of them sparked when their father got in the way. He remembered confiding in his mother to be around, slowly alienating himself from his far superior sister, and he watched in disdain as his sister got all the glory, becoming the favorite child of his father. He watched her become distant, and he knew it was his fault for allowing it to get that way. However, there was nothing he could do now.

The conflicting emotions rolled and tumbled around within, mimicking the storm that was going on outside the ship.

"Are you going to answer me, or are you just going to sit there and be quiet all day?" She asked, getting slightly peeved by Zuko's uncaring attitude.

"I heard a rumor that the Avatar is further inland. We've stayed docked here for the storm for the pass few days, and we'll leave first thing in the morning, hopefully once the storm passes over."

"A sound plan." She said, folding her fingers so she could lean her head onto them.

"What do you want?" He said, knowing he sounded aggravated.

"I haven't seen you in years. I figured you would be happy to see me." She smiled at that.

"You watched me get banished with a smile. You watched me get this scar with that sadistic smile you always have on your face. We never get along, we never work together. What was father thinking sending you here to me?"

"He's suspicious of you." She answered for him. He looked at her, "What? It's just the truth dear brother, we can confide in each other since we are siblings."

Azula always lies. He repeated in his mind. The phrase had never left him, even after all those years of running he had repeated it over and over. She would tell him about how she tortured one of his friends, and that horrible smile would always be on her face. The one she was using right now!

"What are you thinking about?" She asked, pointing out his fists, which were tightening to the point that they were turning white. He let out a small breath and released his hands.

I know she's here to spy on me. That much is true. He thought, looking at her again, "I'm going to my room."

"To the Water Tribe girl? Can I come with you? I would love to meet your guest."

"No."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Just no Azula." He said, leaving the bridge before he burst. Just seeing her made him about to snap. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to face her in combat, or he would probably not hold back as he wiped that horrible smile off her face.

He walked down the stairs and into the hallway, making it to his room. He entered and quickly shut the door before looking up, seeing his uncle sitting at the side of the bed with Katara. They seem to only be talking. When he entered the discussion halted for a second, before Iroh moved aside so Zuko could join in.

"Your friend was just telling me how Azula acted in your previous life."

"She's a horrible person." Zuko mumbled, "We should deal with her now."

"What?" Both Katara and Iroh said, not expecting that to come from him.

"She was our biggest threat. Now she's here. We could take her out, and effectively stop over half of the things that happened I the future. If she wasn't around Ba Sing Se wouldn't have fallen, Aang wouldn't have died, and the invasion would have gone as planned! She is a thorn in our side, and she had to be removed soon."

"Zuko, I don't think murdering her is the right thing to do." Iroh said.

"It might not be, but it's the smart thing to do."

"Zuko! You can't say that, she's your sister. We have to try and help her this time!"

"Are you serious?" Zuko said, looking at her in disbelief, "You must have merged more with your child side than I thought you did if you're acting this naïve." She looked offended at that, and was about to tell him off, but he stopped her, "She has been taught by my father for over seven years now. There's no hope for saving her."

"There's always hope." Iroh said, "And I think rushing in to kill her is a foolish idea. However, trying to help her may be out of the realm of possibility."

"So what do you suggest?" Katara asked, crossing her arms. Her question was directed towards Iroh, but she didn't let up on the glare she was sending Zuko. For the most part, Zuko simply ignored it.

"For now, she is where we want her to be. She's in our hands, whether she knows it or not." Iroh said, "She won't try anything stupid, though if I know her as well as I think I do, I know that she probably already believes that Zuko is a traitor. She is just looking for evidence to back up that claim." He sighed, "While I won't deny that outright getting her out of the picture would prove to be beneficial in the short term, I think it would end up making my brother use everything in his power to hunt you down Zuko, since he would know that you were the one who carried out the act, or he would think you did. Either way, it doesn't end well for you."

Both children sighed at that.

"Fine." Zuko mumbled, "We keep her for now. If she steps out of line though, I don't know what I will do."

"I trust you to do the right thing." Iroh said, patting his nephew on the back, he stood up and walked towards the door, "I'm going to the bridge, maybe challenge a few men to a game of Pai Sho."

When his uncle left the room, Zuko watched as Katara grabbed a book Iroh had bought for her from the market the other day, and she started to read it, completely ignoring Zuko.

"I'm sorry I called you naïve." He said, knowing that was why she was ignoring him. She continued to ignore him though, so he just rolled his eyes, "Oh yeah, and this is in no way childish."

"Do you want anything?" She sighed lowering the book she'd gotten.

"Not really. Just came to tell you that tomorrow morning we're leaving the ship to go to a nearby town. I heard rumors in the market the other day that the Avatar is heading this way. So that's where we're going."

She nodded and went back to reading, and Zuko walked out of the room, heading back to the bridge to face Azula. Thankfully his uncle would be there to keep her in check however. Though the thought wasn't entirely comfortable, he trudged on, heading back to the bridge as slowly as he possibly could go.

The next day the constant downpour had stopped, but it was still very dreary outside. Even though it looked like it might actually rain again, Zuko trudged onward, having bought a wagon to put some supplies into, including food, water, some clothes, and his Dao swords among other things. Two ostrich horses were at the front pulling it along, making them able to get to their destination that much quicker.

When the crew was told that they would have another few days off, they were understandably excited, and were eager to see the others off the ship. Azula decided to go with them, though she demanded that she stay in the wagon at all times so she wouldn't have to walk at all. Since there wasn't nearly enough room in the wagon for pretty much anyone, Zuko had to carry some of the supplies himself to abide by his spoiled sister's wish.

Katara was also coming along. She had handcuffs on, putting her hands behind her back so she couldn't do any Waterbending. It was mostly an act, since she could actually easily bend water, but no one other than Iroh and Zuko knew that, and they didn't want Azula to get the impression that Katara was a bigger threat than she acted. They had no idea how Azula would react to that, so they decided to just not have the situation ever arise.

Surprisingly Iroh had come along too, saying he wanted to smell the fresh air. No one believed the excuse, why would anyone want to be outside during this kind of weather? Regardless, he was not questioned at all, and he walked along side his nephew and Katara, while his niece sat comfortably inside the wagon.

"Tell me Zuzu, why would you bring the Water Tribe girl with you?" Azula asked, leaning back with her arms folded behind her head.

"She's a bargaining chip. The Avatar will do as I ask as long as she's in my possession."

Azula nodded, "Not a bad plan, really." She said, "Just as long as you don't actually plan on following through with it."

"What do you mean?" Zuko asked.

"I mean, once you get the Avatar in your grasp, just kill her. It'd be one less person to work against the Fire Nation, right?" Zuko couldn't see her, but he knew she had that predatory grin covering her face.

"That wouldn't be honorable."

She laughed, "Honor, honor, honor. That's all you ever worry about. This is the Avatar, I'm sure you can have a little leeway when it comes to this."

"I know you'd never understand, but I value not being untrustworthy, even to my enemies." Zuko said, getting a little heated from what his younger sister was saying.

Katara was just listening, trying not to react in any way as she walked next to Iroh. She couldn't say she was surprised by what Azula was saying, but it didn't stop her from getting sick from what she was saying. She had lived in a time when Azula had tried anything to hunt them down. Azula wasn't above using hostages; she wasn't above killing innocents to get a rise out of them. She knew the girl did all of those, and she was again thankful for the merge for taking all the rough edges out of her memory of those things.

However, hearing her speak of killing her still frightened her, and it reminded her of the time when Azula killed Aang back in Ba Sing Se. That memory was still etched into her mind, and it was the pinnacle example of how little honor Azula truly had, attacking an opponent who wasn't prepared to fight was the lowest low, yet Azula had no difficulties in doing the atrocious acts.

She let out a small breath, and was thankful when Iroh spoke up, stopping either sibling from saying anything else.

"Azula, Zuko is right. Killing her would be most unwise. You do not know what the Avatar is capable of when provoked."

"I've read the stories of Roku," She said, "But if you insist, I won't say anything else, uncle."

Just hearing her call him that set Zuko off, "Don't call him that." He snapped.

"Oh? But he is, isn't he?"

"Not to you."

"And why is that Zuzu?"

Zuko was about to go off and explain how she was a murderous, and horrible person, but it died on his tongue. She hasn't done all of those yet. She might be too far gone to Ozai now, but she still didn't have any blood on her hands yet, not that she wouldn't be willing to get any of them. Regardless, he couldn't tell her things that she hadn't done for reasons that she couldn't call him her uncle.

However, she was the one who killed him. He had a reason to hate her… Yet, he couldn't hold this against her. Wondering again if it was his past self that was making him sympathetic towards his sister, he sighed, "Forget it."

"Just like you to back off when you realize your opposition is stronger than you." She smirked.

"That is enough Azula!" Iroh said.

She glared at him, but otherwise didn't say anything else. Instead she just looked back up at the sky, and felt a raindrop hit her face.

"We need to put the canopy over the supplies now." Zuko said, "Come on."

Reaching into the wagon, he and Iroh set it up. Katara was unable to help due to her currently being cuffed, and Azula refused to help because she wanted nothing to do with her brother. Minutes later the rain started again, drenching them all in the element. Katara was the only one who seemed to relish the feeling of it beating down on her. She could easily escape now if she wanted. The plan didn't require her to run off though, so she just silently walked alongside both Zuko and Iroh, with Azula sitting under the now covered supplies, keeping herself dry.

They made it to the town a about eight later, the rain still having not let up. They entered through the front gates, and saw that the gate had several holes in it, with wood chips sticking out of it, as if someone grabbed a knife and stabbed at the one spot for a little while. They went in despite the less than welcoming hole they saw, and rented two rooms at the inn with the money they had. Azula again demanded to have her own room, leaving the other three to share the other room.

Zuko opened the door, and would have slammed it shut behind him if his uncle and Katara weren't coming through it at that moment.

"She's difficult." Iroh said, "I don't remember her acting quite like that the last time I saw her."

"Father spoiled her." Zuko said, grinding his teeth, "She gets everything she wants, and if you try to say no, she just gets it anyway."

"I almost wish we were fighting her again," Katara said, rubbing her wrists as Iroh took the cuffs off her, "She's a royal pain in the butt to travel with."

"We should just take her out." Zuko said, more to himself than to the others.

It didn't matter though, because Iroh patted him on the back, "We've been down this before Zuko, no use in bringing it up once more." With that the conversation ended, and he went to lie down on one of the beds in the room. It was late, so he just grabbed a pillow and went to lay down on the couch outside in the hallway, leaving the bed for Katara. She silently thanked him with a nod of her head as he headed out to sleep for the night, and he hoped that they would find some trace of the Avatar and his friends the next day.

Zuko awoke early the next morning, much earlier than usual. He wished he had something to tell the time at that moment, but the inn had no such devices for him to use – sometimes he really missed the conveniences that the advanced technology the Fire Nation brought him. He slowly sat up and stretched his body, feeling better as he cracked his arms, and quickly shifting his head from one side to another to crack his neck. With that accomplished, he got up and rolled his shoulders, looking around the hallway.

The Inn was cheap, being only one floor, and only having four rooms for guests to sleep in. The town was desperately poor, so people coming by to sleep were a rarity here. Occasionally a wandering person would come and rent a room, but otherwise the rooms were more often than not vacant. The front of the Inn had several tables; where in the morning the family who owned the place would cook some breakfast and share it with their guests, and if not, eat it for themselves.

Knowing that, Zuko stood up, and hoped that he would be able to eat, but he didn't hold his breath, from the looks of it, it was too early for anyone to even be up. The sun hadn't even risen up above the mountain tops yet. He walked down the hall and opened the door to the front of the Inn, and sighed, seeing that the tables were empty and there one no one else in the room. Zuko felt his eyes go downcast, and he wandered to a table to sit down. He crossed his arms, and closed his eyes, maybe hoping to get some rest, but he didn't expect to hear the sound of someone crying outright near him.

His eyes shot open, and he looked around, and saw the nice woman that provided them the room and gave them their key crying uncontrollably. How had he missed her? Did he fall asleep for a little bit? He wanted to ignore the girl and go back to resting, but he knew from her continued sobs, and from the fact that he couldn't possibly leave her alone as reasons to go talk to the woman. He stood up, and very reluctantly walked over to her.

"Hello, are you all right?" He tried not to grimace at what he said, oh yeah, she's JUST fine!

She looked up, her eyes were puffy and red, she then looked away to try and compose herself, "I'm sorry, you're waiting for food? We'll be serving in another hour."

Well that sucks. Zuko groaned in his mind, however he shook his head, "No, what is making you cry? Maybe I can help you?"

"I doubt anyone can help us anymore?"

Us? "What are you talking about?"

"There's a new post on the bulletin board in the middle of town…" At this she started to cry again, "I- It says that the Avatar has been captured…" She cried again, though this time she held her composure a little more and didn't completely break down.

Zuko however was looking at her with his eyes wide, and his jaw had dropped open. He moved his mouth, but the words refused to come out. He tried to speak again, but still, nothing was coming out. He felt his breathing pick up, and he took a seat next to the woman, afraid that he would collapse from shock.

"It happened in this very town two days ago," She cried, "He fought these men who used their bow and arrows, and had this paint on their face."

The Yu Yan Archers. Zuko nodded, and finally found his voice, though his throat suddenly felt very dry, "Did the sign say anything else?"

"It says the Avatar is going to be executed tonight…" At this she began to cry again, unable to compose herself this time.

Zuko didn't even hear it, it felt as if the world just stopped existing right there. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move, and he couldn't see. The pure shock was overwhelming him, and he knew that he was in a horrible nightmare then… right? He closed his eyes tightly, and opened them quickly, knowing that is usually how the nightmares went away when he realized that he was dreaming, but it worked to no avail.

"No." He said, denying it, "Is the post still up?"

She nodded, and Zuko bolted out the door right when she did so. He knew where it was roughly, and so he made his way to the front of the town, and looked at the board near the gates. On it sure enough was a picture of Aang, and next to his body, written in kanji was 'Captured! Tonight the Fire Nation will assure victory in this war with the execution of the Avatar!' It went on, but Zuko read the first line over and over again.

What is going on? Why is Zhao killing him this time? What did we change? His questions proved to have no answers he could give, and his eyes wandered to the holes in the gate, and he slapped his head, That's what those were! I'm so stupid! He berated himself. He knew however, that something needed to be done. Tonight… He had the entire day to get to where the execution was happening. He knew where the Archers trained at, the fortress, Pohuai Stronghold. He had to get to work now, he would reach it by nightfall on foot, and by then it might even be too late!

He went to go get his Dao Swords to go do it, and a nauseating wave of déjà vu hit him. He fell to his knees, and he remembered when he did this in the past. The same exact thing happened, Aang was captured. The last time he was captured though Zhao wasn't going to kill him, just hold him there for his entire life. Again Zuko asked himself what happened to change Zhao's belief that he had to kill Aang to again no answers.

"I need to get Katara and uncle's opinion." He decided, bringing himself back to his feet after the wave of nausea passed. He stumbled back into the inn, still feeling slightly dizzy from all the thoughts swirling in his mind, and he entered the room with Katara and Iroh in it. He walked over to Katara and gently shook her awake, "Katara, wake up!"

"Not now Sokka, I don't want to go fishing today…" She mumbled in her sleep, turning away from Zuko, who was eyeing her oddly before shaking his head.

"Now is not the time for games Katara." He said, shaking her a lot more violently, easily getting her to wake up. Her eyes opened quickly and she immediately sat up. Looking around frantically, she saw Zuko, and narrowed her eyes at him. "Not, now!" Zuko hissed, making her recoil a bit, her glare shifting to a genuine look of confusion.

"What is it?" She asked, rubbing her eyes, and getting out of bed, knowing that if Zuko wanted her to get up, she were getting up no matter what, "What time is it."

Zuko ignored the questioning, and went and woke up his uncle, who sat on the edge of his bed still very groggy.

"What is it Prince Zuko." Iroh grumbled, "I don't do well during the day if I don't get enough sleep." He looked outside the window of their room and sighed, "The sun is just rising…"

"That doesn't matter." Zuko snapped, getting both Katara and Iroh's attention, "Aang has been captured!"

Katara stood up immediately at this and grabbed Zuko's shoulders, "What? Are you sure?"

Zuko nodded, "Yes, I read it this morning! That's not the worst part though, he's going to be executed tonight." There was no sound, everyone too shocked to speak. Zuko was breathing heavily, Iroh blinked a few times, unsure what to make of the new development other than to say that it was bad at the moment, and Katara had the same reaction Zuko did earlier that day, her jaw fell open, and her eyes widened.

"What?" Katara whispered, after regaining from her shock.

"Yes! I know it's true!" He cried out, "The Avatar is captured, and he's going to be killed tonight! We have to save him!"

"Do you know where he is?" Katara asked.

"Yes! I know exactly where he is, he's at Pohuai Stronghold. It's about a seven hour hike from here – we have to leave immediately."

"Now Zuko," Iroh said, "Think rationally! If you just go trying to bust into that place, you are destined to fail."

'Where was Sokka?" Katara mumbled, pacing around the room, "Suki and Toph? Where were they? They're supposed to protect Aang from these things!"

"The Yu Yan Archers are ruthless." Zuko said shaking his head, taking a seat on the bed she had slept in, "They might have captured them as well."

"Then we have to save them." Katara said.

"I did the same thing last time." Zuko muttered loud enough so the other two could hear, "Aang was captured so I disguised myself as the Blue Spirit and went to save him. Zhao found out that I helped him that day and tried to have me killed."

"So this is everything repeating?" She asked in a sick voice, "No, it can't be."

"It went almost exactly like this. I heard Zhao had captured Aang, so I went to save him. Last time there were some differences, the biggest being the Zhao wasn't going to kill Aang, but it still stands. We have to get him out of there, and unlike last time, we don't have any time to do it. We have to go tonight."

"That there's no disagreement about." Iroh said slowly, "But you say you were discovered. Maybe it's wise that someone else were to go." His eyes were on Katara.

"Her? Did you forget she just recovered from nearly getting killed?"

"You claim that events from the previous life yours have been repeating! Is it not wise to send someone else who is equally as qualified as you to go do it?" Iroh asked calmly, though he was very firm on his stance on the issue.

Zuko stopped to think about it, and initially wanted to deny it and disregard his uncles advice on what to do on the issue. He knew that was selfish though, and he opened his mouth to agree with him, but suddenly found it harder to speak, and the idea of himself going was even greater than before. He felt a weight on his chest, and he opened his mouth and closed it a few more times. He had to overpower the overwhelming feeling of doing it himself.

"T- That…" He gasped out, "Ok. I agree." He said quickly, feeling the weight go off his chest, and he suddenly found himself able to breathe easy again. What was that? He thought to himself as he recovered from the weird feeling. Katara gave him an odd look, but Iroh ignored it complete, and nodded as he smiled.

"Good." Iroh said, and he then stood up, "I have to go deal with something right now. Zuko, get her prepared to do this immediately."

Zuko nodded, and stood up, "Come on Katara, you need to get some dark blues to wear." The two were out of the room and down the hall in seconds.

Iroh watched from his position, and went out of the room as well, but unlike his nephew, he didn't leave right away, he instead went down the other way in the hall, and snuck up to Azula's room. He slowly opened the door, and quickly backed away as a wave of blue fire shot at him, burning the door, and narrowly missing her uncle.

"I knew you were a traitor to the Fire Nation!" She spat out, glaring at her uncle.

"What are you talking about?" Iroh asked.

"Why do you think I wanted the room adjacent to yours? The walls of this building are flimsy at best, and I could hear almost everything you were saying." She said, raising her arms, ready to fight her uncle, "And now I will end you both!" She remembered that she was supposed to send a letter to her father first, but she stored that away. She could kill them, then send the letter to her father. It's not like he would know the difference.

She knew her uncle was more skilled than her, but she relied on the fact that he was her uncle. She knew he wouldn't dare to try and go all out on her, in fear that he would hurt his niece. She would use the old man's one weakness against him, and it will kill him. She smiled at that, and walked forward to her uncle.

"Are you prepared to die then?"

"Not really." Iroh sighed, "Azula, take a look at this path before you."

"Spare me your advice uncle. It may have worked on my weak willed brother, but it certainly won't work on me."

"I see my brother's grasp on you is far stronger than I initially realized." Iroh muttered, "Perhaps Zuko was right about you."

She narrowed her eyes at that, watching as Iroh walked into her room and bended the blue fire to die down before it spread to the rest of the building. He sat down on her bed and looked at her. Her curiosity won the internal war inside of her, and she cautiously asked, "What did he say about me?"

"He said that you are a horrible person, and that my brother made you into a murderous monster." She inhaled sharply at that. Oh, her brother would know what kind of monster she truly was when she was finished with him!

Iroh watched the reaction, and smiled, "You're not, am I right Azula?"

"You're right." She said slowly, wondering how she could turn this to her advantage. Deciding bring up his brother she said, "The proper Fire Lord has taught me all I know. I'm going to be the next Fire Lord once he steps down."

"The Fire Lord never steps down." Iroh noted, "The past few have died in the position. So you might as well wait another fifty years."

She frowned when that did nothing to faze her uncle. She finally opted to fight him, "Whatever you say uncle! I will-"

She was surprised when Iroh beat her to the punch, standing up and send a small ball of fire at her. She dodged out of the way as quickly as she could, but it completely destroyed her stance, having not expecting that, and she stumbled around as she tried to regain her proper footing. No, no, no! I can't be messing up! This is a novice mistake! Something Zuko would do! With that inside of her, her rage fueled, in turn powering her Firebending even more.

She wouldn't let her father down! She lashed out to strike at her uncle again, but this time he was all ready in front of her, having done so when she didn't even realize it, and he knocked her out with a well timed and placed punch on the neck. She collapse into a small heap on the ground, having greatly underestimated her uncle, expecting him to have plenty of openings to exploit.

And it would have worked if Zuko hadn't warned his uncle about all the underhand tactics she used. Iroh knelt down to the unconscious girl after cutting off the oxygen flow from the flames in the room, and picked her up, putting her on the bed, and sitting next to it. She would be out of it for the entire day thankfully, so he had plenty of time to rest. It was now up to Zuko and Katara to save the Avatar and their friends from the horrible fate that awaited them.

"Come on, this place has to have some dark blues, and if not, some dark blue dye!" Zuko said as he ran through the village looking around frantically. Many shops were still closed, and he was afraid that maybe most would stay like that the entire day in mourning the Avatar. He was mentally cursing himself for not bringing his own clothes for stealth, he truly had not expected to use them, and now it was costing him dearly.

Katara ran behind him easily keeping up with the pace he set, she too was panicking, her eyes darting all around. After a small bit the two stopped and stood in a small circle in the middle of the village where many villagers were now gathered since the sun had risen a great deal now, providing more than enough light. The gossip all around them was about the Avatar's capture.

Zuko went up to a random person, and turned him around interrupting the conversation he was having with his friend, "Where's a clothing store?"

"It's closed for today." The man said, turning back around to talk with his friend, but Zuko again grabbed his shoulder and turned him around, "What?"

"Where is it?"

"I told you, it's closed!"

"We need to get clothes desperately." Zuko said.

"Your current ones look fine to me." The man said, but then he sighed, "If you have to, go across the village that way, and take a left turn, first building on your right on the left turn." The man said, pointing northward for the two children. Zuko quickly thanked him and the two darted off to the store.

On the way, Zuko stepped on something that was half buried in the dirt road, and he knelt down to pick it up. To his shock, it was one of Suki's fans. He lifted it up so Katara could see it, and she grabbed it and looked at it, "Suki would never lose these intentionally."

Zuko noted a small hole where an arrow must have pierced through the fan, "She lost it in a fight." He said, a little up the road he could see another fan stuck in the dirt. He rushed forward and grabbed it too. The two children looked at them, one was slightly damage, while the other was just fine.

"We have to hurry." Katara said worriedly as she pocketed both fans.

Zuko didn't disagree, and the two rushed to the building they needed to go to.

The building was ordinary, and it was true the door was locked, but Zuko was not one who just accepted defeat. Even Katara was ready to start Waterbending through the door. Zuko started with constantly pounding the door, creating quite a bit of ruckus.

"Open up!"

"We're closed!"

"It's an emergency!"

"We. Are. Closed."

"Open up now or I will knocked the door off its hinges!" Zuko shouted again.

There was silence, and the door opened slightly, an older man looked out at the two of them with his sunken eyes. There was a chain on the door, meaning it was still locked, "What is it? You two look fine to me! Can't you see that we're mourning?" He was referring to the entire town, and his eyes were downcast at the mere thought of it.

"We need dark blues." Zuko said, "We're going to save the Avatar."

At first the old man wanted to laugh at the young boy at his front door, but something compelled him to believe Zuko. He looked at the boy for a long moment, before he closed the door, disappearing behind it, and then a series of unlocking sounds could be heard, "Well, come in then. It's either you blow my door down, or I believe you kid."

The door opened, and the two entered, looking around.

"Dark blues you say? I have a few clothes in that color, but I doubt I have any that are premade in your size young man." He said to Zuko.

"We're here for her, not me." Zuko pointed to Katara, who the old man just noticed.

"I see." The man said, looking Katara up and down, "Well, we might have something for her."

Thanking the spirits for this one bit of luck, Zuko and Katara followed the old man as he wandered to the back of his shop, and looked through some clothes that were in a small pile neatly folded. He mumbled as he tossed several around, apparently not caring at the moment if they get dirty. He then stopped and grabbed an outfit that was near the bottom of the stack.

"Is that it?" Katara asked.

"Yep," The man said, unfolding it, and looking it up and down, "Hm, it seems to be a made for a woman a little older than you."

"We'll take it anyway." Katara said quickly.

"Give it a year or two and it'll fit you perfectly." The old man said, giving the outfit to Katara to try on, "You can go upstairs. My room is there, so don't try to steal anything you hear me?"

She nodded, and went up the stairs that moment, leaving the two men downstairs. Zuko turned to the old man, "Thank you." He said, bowing down to him, "This is going to go a long way towards helping us."

"I wanted my poor door to stay on its hinges." The old man replied, making Zuko feel momentarily uncomfortable, "But if you're serious about saving the Avatar, then I wish you all the luck in the world."

"Thank you." Zuko said. He wandered around the shop as he waited for Katara to get ready, and he came across a small section for masks. He looked at them all, and then came across one that made him stop in his tracks. He looked at it, and felt his jaw fall for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. It was an exact replica of the mask he used to wear in his previous life. He remembered he got it from his uncle in the previous life, but he had never gotten it this time around. Was this fate? "Where did you get this?" Zuko said, picking up the blue Oni mask.

"Oh? I just bought it from a port a day away from here. Nothing special about it really, I got it for my grandson, who is usually into this sort of thing, and he didn't really like it, so I decided to just sell it."

Zuko looked down at the mask, "How much for it?" He wondered aloud.

"Why do you want it?"

"To cover her face when she goes to save Aang, and also to intimidate people. A lot of men in the Fire Nation if they find out if she's a girl won't be intimidated. If she wears this, her gender will be up in the air, and everyone would be afraid." He explained.

The old man nodded, "I suppose so, and the blue color goes well with the dark blue clothes she's trying on now."

"Exactly." Zuko said, his heart pounding in his chest as he stared at the mask.

Katara came down the stairs; her entire body was covered in the blue. It even came with blue gloves for her to put on, and the top went up over her hair and only showed her face. A very effective outfit for stealth. Thank spirits she's too young for that outfit, or else it'd be pointless to try and hide her gender. Zuko thought to himself, looking at the would-be form fitting outfit if she was much older.

"You look absolutely wonderful!" The old man said, and grabbed the mask Zuko was holding, "Now put this on to complete the set." She saw the mask, though it left no impression on her, the only other person from the group to ever see Zuko in it was Aang. She put it on, and Zuko felt his breath caught again. The old man smiled, "You look amazing!"

Zuko was speechless. She looked exactly as he did when he donned the outfit. The only thing missing were two swords on her back that he used.

"Why the mask?" She asked as she lifted it to be atop her head, and both Zuko and the old man explained it to her. She nodded along, understanding it all.

"Ok, so how much is all this?" Zuko asked, going through his pockets to find the bag of coins he carried with him at all times.

"It's on the house. Just promise me that you'll rescue the Avatar."

Zuko stopped looking for coin, and looked at the man for a long moment, wondering if he was serious or not. After a small bit, he nodded, "All right. Thank you." He bowed down to the old man, and Katara did as well.

"Please, I'm not one for formalities." He sighed, "Now get going."

The two left the building, and were soon rushing to the wagon that they used to get there. It was in a small shed that the inn used, and when they got inside, Zuko reached into the wagon and pulled out his Dao Swords, "Here, you might need these." He said, handing them to her.

She took one glance at them and shook her head, "I don't know how to use them."

Zuko brought them back towards himself feeling a bit foolish for asking her to do something like that. He shook his head, and took her red clothes for her. He noticed that Katara put the fans that Suki used in her pockets, no doubt to give the girl when they were escaping the stronghold. He nodded approvingly, feeling no need to bring attention to it. He then grabbed a few pouched of water and handed it to the girl.

"So where is the stronghold exactly?" Katara asked.

"It's in the mountains. From the town you'll soon find a path through the forest where the Fire Nation drove tanks through. You'll find it if you leave from the south, and after about ten minutes of walking you should see the warpath. You need to take the left path, not the one coming from the right. Take that path, and it should lead you straight to the stronghold. Be careful though, that getting in will be very difficult. The way I got in was from under a cart, though I had to do some very acrobatic moves to avoid being seen when the Fire Nation guard checked under the wagon." He said, easily able to remember that because it had been one of the most frightening moments of his life, wondering if he'd be discovered right then and there as a traitor to the Fire Nation.

"What do I do once I'm inside?"

"There's a storm drain that has water flowing through it. Going into it and it goes straight to the main building of the stronghold. Aang was at the very top of the building when I went to save him. So that is where you'll have to go, unless if you learn otherwise."

Katara nodded along, digesting all the information as he said it. She then sighed, "That's a lot to take in."

"Nervous?" He asked.

"Yeah," She admitted, "I'm going to break into one of the most infamous Fire Nation footholds in the Earth Kingdom, save the Avatar from death, and do it all tonight. When I went to sleep yesterday night, this isn't exactly what I was expecting to do."

Zuko shrugged, "Sorry to say this, but you have to leave now. It's about a seven hour walk there, and it's best if you get there early so you can observe it from a distance."

She sighed, "Wish me luck."

"You don't need any luck. You're a very skilled girl, I know you can do it."

She smiled at that, and hugged him then. With the water pouches tied firmly around her waist, and she left immediately, leaving Zuko behind. He felt like he should have gone to help her, or done anything more, but his uncle was right. He had to stay behind and not tempt fate, which always tried to prove to him that everything was still going the same path. He didn't stay in the shed long, deciding to turn around and wander the town to organize his thoughts.

His eyes fell to the ground, as his thoughts swirled around in his head, wondering about everything that has happened to this point, making him feel even more depressed than he did before he started. He let out a groan, and decided to look at the shoe prints left firmly in the dirt. The road had been muddy before, but since it dried up, or at least wasn't quite as moist as it was the day before, he was able to still see the foot prints from a few days ago.

One in particular interested him though, unlike any of the other prints he saw, this one was bare foot. He followed it, along the path it was going down. Something tugging in the back of his mind, but he couldn't make out exactly why he was so interested in it. He continued to follow it, until it just stopped, and in front and behind of where the two bare feet were now parallel, a large square shape was there, as if something dragged along the ground trapping the person. He noted two other pairs of prints, both of these ones wearing shoes. One that stopped behind the bare feet, and ones that stopped a little further on.

He knelt at where the bare feet ended, and saw a piece of fabric buried in the dirt. He reached down, getting his hands dirty as he began to dig through the dirt to get it out, and once he did he swept the dirt that wasn't imbedded in it off, and his heart stopped for a moment. It was green, the same green Toph wore. The bare feet… it made sense, but was that evidence enough? Who were the other pairs of shoes that were imprinted into the ground? He then noticed that there were two tracks on either side of where the bare feet ended, and then further up, several tracks from an ostrich horse.

"No…" He whispered to himself. That can't be true. He thought as he followed the tracks of what he assumed was a cart, and the track of the ostrich horse. He followed it until it reached the southern gates of the village, where Katara had maybe a half hour ago left herself.

He knew it was pointless. Those tracks must have been a couple days old at least, but he felt compelled to follow them. He learned in all his travels with the Avatar that your gut feeling was usually always right, so you should always go along with it. If what he thought was true, then he had to do this.

The second pair of feet to stop behind Toph must have been Sokka. He decided, having not found any evidence that Sokka had fought with the Yu Yan Archers like he did with Suki. If that's the case then I have to do this. He ran back into the town where his wagon was, and he took the reins of one of the ostrich horses that he had used to bring his supplies to this town. He got on top of it, and immediately began to rush out the southern gate.

He had his swords wrapped tightly around his back, and only the clothes on his back. He knew if he truly had to catch up to a three day lead, and also knew that if they had a cart to go faster with, he was looking at over a week's worth of catching up, and that was being optimistic. However, he set his sights forward, and was determined to save his friends.

I won't let them down, was his last thought as he faded away from the view of the village.

Chapter thirteen – End

A/N – Woo! Next chapter is the Blue Spirit! I have been waiting to write that chapter since I started this story, and now I am finally here! See you all next time!