(AN: Sorry it has taken so long to update. It has been a busy weekend and week. I try to stay at least two chapters ahead, but I'm going to go ahead and post this with only one chapter in reserve. As always, R&R. Thanks for reading—I mean that from the bottom of my heart!!)

Chapter Seven

Aang, Katara, and Mai broke camp that morning in near silence. "Where are they?" Katara wondered aloud for the fourth time, then went to stand closer to Aang.

"I wish I knew," Aang replied with a sigh and a comforting embrace. "I think we need to go to the center of the swamp and see if Hu can help us find them. As a matter of fact, that's probably where the swamp is leading them. That's where it led us."

"Just what is this place anyway?" Mai asked as she rolled up her bedroll, never taking her eyes off the swampy forest that surrounded them.

"According to Hu, it's one gigantic plant," Katara said. "He seemed to have a kind of relationship with it."

"I've met Hu a time or two at official gatherings in the city," Mai responded, sitting back on her heels. "The man claims that pants are an illusion and wears a leaf on his head everywhere he goes. I feel sure that the relationship is one sided. He's insane," was Mai's matter-of-fact conclusion.

Aang and Katara laughed and shook their heads. "Don't underestimate Hu, Mai," Aang replied evenly as he climbed up into Appa's saddle. "He may seem a little odd, but Hu really does understand far more than we do about the way the living things of the world are connected. The swamp is a living, thinking entity, and we'll do very well to respect it."

Katara passed a bedroll up into Aang's outstretched hand, then shook her head. "I hope Zuko manages to find Toph soon. I don't think he'll be able to respect the swamp for very long if he doesn't," she commented.

"Do you think Hu would be able to help us find Jet and my brother?" Mai asked as she handed Aang her bedroll, then climbed up into the saddle, followed by Katara.

"Maybe," Aang replied. "There's only one way to find out." He climbed out onto Appa's head, gave him a loving scratch behind the ear, then called, "Yip yip!"

With seemingly no effort at all, Appa carried them up above the treetops and they headed toward the giant center of the swamp, barely visible on the far distant horizon.

Below them, completely hidden by a dense layer of green leaves, Zuko trudged through a waist deep mire of slime and water. Ever so often, he felt something large bump against his legs as he walked. He could only hope that whatever kept swimming past him wasn't hungry.

Giant foot-long swampsquitos hovered at a distance, kept back by the long tree branch he'd broken off to use as a walking stick and weapon. He'd had a nervous moment as the vines reacted badly to his breaking of the branch, but they'd kept their distance and continued to open the way ahead of him. However, the longer he walked, the more suspicious he grew that they were deliberately sending him down the most exhausting, inconvenient path possible.

Beneath the surface of the water, something actually tried to take a bite out of his leg. Enough was enough. "Okay, you guys," he called in frustration. "Either find a better, faster way to Toph, or I'll break off more than a tree branch." The vines wavered as if considering his words.

The nibbling creature tried again, this time possibly breaking the skin with what felt like a hundred tiny, sharp teeth. Zuko grimaced in pain and called up a nice show of firebending around him to convince the swamp that he meant business.

The vines swiftly parted the bushes on the bank to his left, and he struggled out of the water. Sure enough, his right trouser leg was stained with blood and bore a ragged torn place just above his knee. Fortunately, the wound, though painful, didn't look too bad, and the bleeding was quickly brought under control with a little pressure.

He pushed himself back to his feet and continued walking down a much more level, much drier path than any he'd seen thus far. The sun peeked through little openings at odd intervals, and his clothes slowly began to dry. The droning of insects and the strange calls of unfamiliar birds filled the air. Soon the stagnant smell of the mire gave way to the fresher scent of aromatic bark and flowers.

But the going was still difficult at times, and by mid-morning, he was bone-weary, sore, and thirsty. He'd walked all night and all morning up and down hills, through deep bogs and swift streams. His leg was beginning to ache in earnest, and he wondered if whatever bit him had been venomous.

More than anything, however, he was worried about Toph. Where was she? Was she okay? The swamp seemed to have an interest in her, but that didn't mean she was safe. All through the night, he'd heard the sounds of animals large and small in the woods around him. A flight of wolfbats had actually passed within yards of him. He marveled that they hadn't smelled him out.

Now, the giant swampsquitos wove in and out of the dense forest. Not only would their bite be painful, a swampsquito bite contained enough poison to knock a person out for a while, leaving them swollen and itchy all over for days afterward. He had to find Toph soon. It was entirely too dangerous for her to be out there on her own, unable to protect herself.

He limped forward, pushing himself through the haze of pain and weariness that began to overtake him. All he wanted to do was lie down and rest a bit, but he knew that he couldn't give in to the need. He had to keep going until he found her; otherwise, the swamp would just carry her further away from him while he slept.

Ever so often, the sun would peek through the trees overhead, and he clung to his element like a lifeline in the dense green depths of the undergrowth. He let it fill him, energize him, not realizing that he was actually burning the imprint of his palm and fingers into the staff he carried.

"Toph!" he called for the thousandth time. And when an answer finally came, he was so surprised he almost missed it.

"Zuko?" The voice was soft and breathy, but close.

"Toph, where are you?" he called again, desperately pushing aside the greenery that grew so thickly all around him.

Then he saw her. She lay curled up on her side in a little clearing--a smear of dried green slime ran down her side and crusted under her fingernails. Her hair lay in damp tangles around her face. He ran to her and pushed her hair back, calling her name.

His relief at having found her was replaced immediately by fear. She was burning up with fever. What was worse, no matter how he called her and talked to her, he couldn't rouse her. She hadn't said another word to him and seemed to be unconscious.

A little stream, clearer than most, ran by the clearing where she lay. Never taking his eyes off her, he ran down to the edge and scooped up some water in his hand. Gently, he bathed her face, hoping to cool the fever and perhaps wake her a little.

Her skin was pale and dry, dark circles beginning to appear under her eyes. No matter how he called her, rubbing her hands in his, stroking her forehead, she didn't stir. All he had to comfort him was the regular rise and fall of her chest as she breathed softly.

Where was Aang? he wondered desperately. Where was Katara with her healing waters? Then he thought to himself that there had to be someone else in the swamp—they'd talked about people who lived here. Maybe they could help her.

His heart pounded with a sick anxiety as he picked her up in his arms. Fear shook him as he realized he could feel the heat of her body through his clothing as the fever climbed. Her head rolled back lifelessly.

He cried out raggedly into the still, damp air, "She's sick! She needs help!" He had to take a deep breath to steady himself before he continued, "I know you didn't bring her out here to kill her!"

The vines that had led him to her just hung in the trees, wavering ever so slightly as if considering his words. "Show me where to take her!" he called again. Then he looked down into her still pale face, her dark hair framing its fragile loveliness, and he was afraid.

He'd seen that look before, that stillness that came at the end of a long sickness, the stillness that preceded death. For a moment, he trembled so badly he was afraid he would drop her, so he sank to his knees, cradling her close to him.

The wind made a soft shushing sound as it passed through the treetops, the leaves brushing against each other. A small animal leaped from branch to branch overhead, going on its merry way, unconcerned by Zuko's fears. All around him life went on, but in his arms Toph's life was beginning to slip away.

The realization that he could lose her ran through him like lightning. He rocked her gently there in his arms, past thought, past reasoning, unaware of the tears that had begun to course down his cheeks. "Hang in there, sweetie," he whispered to her repeatedly. "I'm going to get you out of here, I promise."

Zuko gathered all his will and his strength and rose to his feet again. "Show me where to go!" he demanded again, his voice breaking with emotion. Then through his tears, he added more quietly, "Please. I can't lose her. Please show me where to go."

Ahead of him, the vines wavered again, then pulled aside the heavy branches, making a path. With determination, Zuko pushed ahead into the unknown, weariness and pain cast aside as inconveniences. Toph was all that mattered.

Meanwhile, Jet leaned back on a hollow log in the middle of Bo's village, utterly bored and completely frustrated by his predicament. A day into their trip, Bo had managed to throw out his back trying to wrestle a catgator for dinner—even though Jet had told him repeatedly that they had plenty of rations.

"But catgator is such good eatin'!" Bo had exclaimed, jumping off the treegecko right into the middle of the soupy pond below them. Only a few minutes into the battle, Bo had yelped in agony and the catgator had swum away with a cocky flip of its fat, scaly tail.

By the time Jet had ridden to his side, somehow Bo had managed to get himself out of the water, both hands clenching his lower back in misery. They'd eased him onto his treegecko, but he was in no shape to ride any further than his home village. Now, they'd spent days with Bo flat of his back on a straw mat in his hut, the village healer coming by regularly to offer new remedies, none of which seemed to help.

Jet tried to get someone, anyone to guide him out of the swamp again, either to Omashu or Ba Sing Se, but so far had gotten no takers. In fact, the rest of the swamp's denizens looked at him like some kind of alien in their midst with his trousers and boots, not to mention his long, black sword. The children in particular treated him with suspicion, keeping their distance as if afraid he might be a monster.

But if the days were long and boring, the nights had grown nearly unbearable.

He'd stayed the night in the swamp before, but never more than one at a time. He didn't mind taking the swamp route, but he never stayed in there a second longer than he had to.

But now after spending the past week in the primeval darkness of swamp nights, he wasn't sure he'd ever come back that way again.

In the darkness, the swamp came to life in a new way entirely. Each evening as darkness fell, the eerie, glowing eyes of unknown creatures surrounded the village, and strange noises began to echo through the treetops overhead. Once he'd woken up to find a large centimander easing its clammy, many-footed way across the back of his neck.

But worse than the mysterious animals by far were the dreams.

As he slept each evening, his dreams were populated by an endless line of people he'd known—friends, enemies, the family he'd lost, victims he'd terrorized, Fire Nation soldiers he'd killed in battle—and one person he hadn't even met yet. He shivered a little at the memories.

Most of the dreams involved him trying to catch up to someone he loved or running in terror from someone he feared. Then there was the dream of the young woman he'd never met.

She was tall and willow slender with hair as black as ebony. Her large gray eyes looked at him straightforwardly from a face that was a bit too sharp to be beautiful, but was striking just the same. He read challenge in her eyes and longed to talk to her—to see just what it was she wanted from him. But whenever he tried to speak, she vanished into the mists of the forest.

He sighed. The sun was still high overhead. The women had begun to chop up dried catgator and swamp fruits for the mid-day meal. Jet had just decided to get himself a cup of water with a little limeberry in it, when he heard a rustle across the clearing. He sprang to his feet, his hand going reflexively to the hilt of his dark sword.

A dark haired young man staggered into the compound, carrying the limp body of a young woman. He took a few steps toward the huts, then sank wearily to his knees.

Jet reached his side in an instant and could tell the young man was not well. His eyes were glassy and his face was flushed. The young woman was even worse off, her still pale face almost a deathmask, despite the high fever that rolled off her skin.

"Help her, please," the young man said hoarsely. Jet nodded and reached forward to take the young woman from his arms.

However, the young man would not let go. Jet could see that he was not strong enough to take another step and he looked the young man directly in the eyes to reason with him. As soon as he saw the scar, he recognized him.

Maybe if he hadn't been seeing the faces of the past in his dreams every night, he would have been angrier, but as it was, he was just curious as to why Li suddenly decided to turn up in the middle of the swamp.

"Li, it's Jet. Remember me?" Jet began calmly. "Let me take her to the healer, okay? Let me help you."

Maybe something got through to the young man because he relaxed his hold and allowed Jet to take the young woman into his arms. Jet stood easily and said, "The healer's hut is just over there. You look like you could use some checking over yourself."

Li nodded and pulled himself up to stand as Jet turned toward the healer's little straw and mud dwelling. Then he heard a sound behind him and looked back to see that Li had collapsed to the ground in a dead faint.