A/N: Once again, a thousand thankyous to the people who left me reviews. I read all of them and they mean a lot. So thankyou, thankyou, thankyou for reading!

"Me against them,

Me against enemies,

Me against friends.

Somehow they both seem to become one.

A sea full of sharks

And they all smell blood."

- Nicki Minaj

Aang didn't understand why it had to be me.

"Why are you the one breaking into the ship?"

"Well," I told him, "it obviously can't be you. The Fire Nation capturing you again would be devastating."

"What about Toph?" He pleaded. "She's not dead to them!"

I sighed. "Aang, I just need you to trust me. I have to do this."

I didn't explain that Zuko would be facing a death sentence if I'm discovered alive. I didn't explain why I'm the only one of us who Zuko might actually speak to. I don't think I would even know how to explain. I barely understand it myself. But Aang gave in eventually. Which is why I'm now hiding in a supply closet aboard Zuko's ship.

Locating the ship was pretty easy. Fire Nation ships leave huge trails of ash in the air behind them. We started at the meteor site, which according to Roku is hidden deep within this horrendous looking mountain. I have no idea how Zuko was able to make his way through the place. Whoever hid that meteor obviously did not want it found. From there, we just searched around the waters near the Earth Kingdom that were headed directly for the Fire Nation until we located the ship that was so obviously Zuko's. It was twice the size of any of the other ships around and it had a giant Fire Nation emblem on the side of it.

Getting myself aboard the ship was slightly harder. There was an intense storm that I was having trouble subduing. Appa had a bit of a rough time trying to navigate through the dark of night, forceful wind, and sheets of icy rain. A huge gust of wind almost slammed me into the ship's guardrail when I was attempting to jump onto the deck from Appa's back. But the storm also meant that there was no one on deck when I boarded, which managed to make things much simpler than they could have been.

The hardest part of this entire escapade has been trying to locate which one of these doors leads to Zuko's chambers. Seriously, everything here looks the absolute same. I wasn't expecting flaming arrows to lead the way, but come on. There aren't extra guards in one certain area, no fancy decorations or archways; no nothing that tells me where to go from here. I assume that Zuko's room is somewhere toward the center of the vessel and that's where I've been headed. But having to hide from all of these guards rather than simply take them out is really slowing me down. I can't alert anyone aboard of my presence. Atleast this supply closet is more spacious than the air duct that I'd spent a half hour in previously. I wondered why there wasn't a map posted on any of the walls with a fire escape route plan on it, but then I realized what a stupid notion that was. Obviously, no one on this ship has to worry about a fire.

The cleaning fumes are starting to give me a pounding headache. It's been six minutes since I last heard footsteps pass by the door. I really need to start moving again.

I open the closet door as silently as possible and peek out. There's no movement so I make my escape into the hall. I take a deep, bleach-free breath. Much better. I walk silently, slinking through the corridors almost entirely noiseless. It must be nearly midnight by now. I think I've been on board for an hour, probably longer. I don't really care how long this takes: I need to get this meteor from Zuko. Does he even know what it does? Could he really? Does he not understand how devastating it would be if the Fire Lord actually acquired the Avatar powers? I hadn't originally thought that Zuko was stupid. I mean, he seems like a very clever and cunning person. But if he really agrees with what Ozai is planning then he's obviously a complete idiot. What possesses a person to want to return to and take orders from the person who scarred and banished them; even if that person is their father? If it had been me, I wouldn't have returned to my father. I would have gotten stronger and better and built up my own army and my own followers. That's how I would prove my worth to him. But I would not bow before him, never again. I guess Zuko was right when he said that I wouldn't understand. Who could possibly understand what goes on in Zuko's crazy mind?

Voices coming from the left.

I jump back and press myself against the wall, holding my breath.

"Where are you going?" One of the voices asks.

The second voice is much deeper. "Prince Zuko wants these. I'll be right back."

What does Prince Zuko want, exactly? I listen as a heavy pair of footsteps begins trotting down the hallway. Well, if I want to find Zuko, following that guy is about the only way I'm gonna be able to do it. I peer around the corner and find it completely empty. I walk swiftly forward, listening for the sound of heavy footsteps to lead me in the right direction. I follow silently behind the guard through the metal corridors and up a steep set of stairs. It's a good thing I found this guy, because I was clearly headed in the completely wrong direction. This ship is so big that I could have been lost for hours.

I watch from around the corner as the man I'd been following stops in front of a red door. There's nothing special about it. It looks like every other door in this place. Funny, I thought Zuko was the flare type.

The man I'd been following is wearing red robes with black pants. He is carrying a large metal tray with a cover on top of it. The door he's stopped at finally opens. He hands the metal tray off, nods, and then the door shuts again. The man continues along down the hallway. I watch his back the entire time until he disappears around the opposite corner.

I all but sprint towards the door. I finally made it here, I'm not about to get caught now.

The door handle is large, metal and round. There's a keyhole and it's safe to assume that Zuko has it locked from the inside. So now what do I do? Wow, I really did not think this part through at all.

After a moment of deliberation on my next move, the door knob starts to turn. Spirits. What if Zuko isn't alone in there? Why didn't I think this through? Oh, spirits. I turn to run, to get the hell out of here, but the door swings open too quickly and I find myself face to face with Zuko.

Zuko's eyes widen further than I ever would have imagined possible. "Katara? What the…?"

I blink rapidly. "Um…" I rub awkwardly at the sleeve of my all black outfit. "Hey, Zuko."

His expression quickly changes to an angry one and he grabs me roughly by the arms and yanks me inside his room, slamming the door shut behind us. "What the hell are you doing here?"

I didn't realize how much I still want to beat the living crap out of him until seeing him now.

Alright, Katara. Time to put on your best acting skills. I step further into the room, taking in as many details as I can. There's a large wooden desk on the right side of the room, set beside a tall dresser. The bed is the obvious focal point; situated off to the left side near a window. It's bigger than any bed I've ever seen before. And it's covered with gold pillows and red blankets. See now there's the type of Fire Nation royal flare that I was looking for. On his bedside table is the metal tray that the guard had given him, with what look like cookies or bread on it.

I can feel Zuko's gaze on the back of my head so I turn around to face him. "What? I just came by for a visit."

"What!?" He demands, squeezing his fists tightly by his sides. Well, he certainly is a short-tempered little beastie, isn't he? "Are you kidding me? Do you know what would happen to the both of us if someone finds you here?!"

I fold my arms across my chest. "No one saw me."

Zuko pinches the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Agni, Katara! How can you be sure?" I can tell that he's struggling to keep his voice low.

"Alright, look. That's not important. Where is Aang?" I counter.

Zuko's hand drops to his side and he stares at me in disbelief. "You risked your life to sneak onto my ship… just to ask me where the Avatar is?"

My eyes flick off to the side and I shrug.

He snorts. "Well he isn't here! So, leave!"

Ignoring Zuko's command, I walk over to his desk. That meteor is on this ship somewhere. If Ozai gave Zuko the task of finding it, he would not be returning to the Fire Nation without it. And that's exactly where his ship is headed. I'm willing to bet that it might even be somewhere in this room. But I can't exactly go rifling through his stuff, he'll know immediately what I'm doing. No, I'm gonna have to be sneaky about this. That must be why Iroh assigned this task to me.

Zuko's desk has a row of different sized books on it and some newspaper clippings scattered across it. Nothing much of interest. Although… there is a glimpse of color beneath one of the articles. A picture, maybe? I reach for it, but Zuko grabs me firmly by the wrist and pulls me to face him. I hadn't even realized that he'd come over to me. The Blue Spirit walks so silently.

His golden eyes bore into mine for what feels like an eternity, but in reality is probably only a moment or so. Using his free hand, Zuko takes the paper that I'd been attempting to inspect and stuffs it in the back left pocket of his robes. So that's it, then. Zuko likes to keep private things on his person. One guess as to where he's keeping the meteor. And that is such a Zuko thing to do. Rather than put important things in a safe, he keeps them with him. Which means he won't be releasing the meteor without a fight. Or, maybe…

I reach up and brush my fingers across the warm skin of Zuko's scar. His teeth clench together and he tosses my hands away from him. He jerks away from me and turns to walk over to the window. I watch carefully as he walks away. If Zuko does have that meteor on him, which my gut is telling me that he does, it must not be heavy. Although, there does appear to be something in his other back pocket.

While his back is turned, I quickly and quietly slip one of the books from his desk into the back pocket of my black robe.

"You need to leave, Katara." Zuko says flatly.

"I came for Aang." I step forward.

Zuko scoffs. "Yeah, right. You knew he wasn't here."

I have no response.

Alright, time for a new tactic. I take a deep breath and steel myself. "I know what I'm risking by being here. But…I… couldn't stay away." The words taste bitter as they leave my lips. Actually, there's nothing I would like better right now than to stay away.

Zuko turns around and glares at me with careful scrutiny. I try my hardest to remain somewhat expressionless. Zuko's eyes narrow at me with suspicion. "What are you doing here, Katara?"

"I…um…" I take another careful step forward. Come on. You can be more convincing than that. Pull yourself together. "Remember when we danced at that Earth Kingdom festival?" Stupid. How stupid. Of course he remembers, it was two months ago.

A look of confusion crosses his face. "Um…yeah?"

"Well…uh…" I stammer. Alright, so maybe I'm not cut out to be an actor.

Zuko lets out a sigh that sounds something between boredom and annoyance. "Look, I couldn't tell you where the Avatar is even if I wanted to. I haven't been home in weeks. I don't know where he is. You could check all of the prisons in the Fire Nation if you want, but it'll probably take you a while. And you'll need a better disguise."

I can't tell if he's trying to mock me or not. I bite back the rude comment that I'd like to make. "Alright."

"Alright?" He raises a questioning eyebrow. "So you'll be going now?" I shrug and glance down at my black shoes. Zuko sighs again, a long, frustrated sound. "Did you miss me that much or what?" He tries to make the words sound cutting, but for some reason they don't.

I lift my chin toward him in defiance. "So what if I did?" I snap.

Zuko steps toward me now. "Katara, you need to leave. Go back to the South Pole." His voice is pleading. Go home and stay safe, is what I think he's actually trying to say. Until this moment, I hadn't truly appreciated what Zuko did for me by deceiving his father and bringing me home. Maybe he had some ulterior motive for saving my life and maybe he didn't, but atleast I'm alive.

"Zuko, what were you going to say when we were in the forest? When you said you had something complicated to tell me?" I blurt out.

His brow creases and he frowns. "I think you know the answer to that."

"And you thought it would just be that easy?" Oh hey, I've been lying to you for nearly a month now and I'm secretly your arch enemy, but you know, we could be friends or something. Oh and yeah, I was just using you to get to Aang, but I'm not anymore, don't worry. How would I have reacted? I probably would have beaten him up and run away. Probably. But what if I hadn't? What if it really could just be that easy?

"I don't know. No." Zuko looks away from me. I take another step forward. There's but a foot of space between the two of us now. Zuko peers down at me again, with much more caution than before. "Why are you here, Katara?" He repeats.

Do it, Katara. Do it.

In the next instant, I quickly close the gap between Zuko and I. Leaning up; I press my lips hard against his. He flinches, like he'd thought I was planning to attack him. His woodsy, fire-like smell hasn't changed and neither has the soft, but firm feel of his lips. In that very second, I move faster than I ever thought I'd be able to. I reach into his back right pocket, grab what's there, slip the book from his desk into its place, and drop the item down the back of my own robes. I obviously didn't get a chance to look, but the rocky texture and odd shaped feel of the item I've stolen is enough to convince me that it's the meteor. And now I need to get the hell out of here. Before Zuko can wonder why I'd fidgeted, I reach up and wind my right arm around the back of his neck to pull him closer to me. I really didn't expect this to feel so nice, I was actually hoping it would help me hate him more.

Zuko doesn't move an inch until he realizes that I've gone fishing in his left pocket. He pushes me off of him, but I jump away before he's able to snatch back the parchment he'd concealed there. I yank it open and when I examine it, I realize that it's a picture of me. Actually, it's an old Fire Nation wanted poster. I wonder where he got it. Or maybe a better question; why he kept it?

Zuko ignores the look on my face and tears the paper from my grip. "You should go. Aang is waiting for you."

I frown, feigning pain. I got what I came here for. "Fine." I whisper. Then I turn around and head straight for the door, not slowing for even a second.

When the door is finally shut behind me, I walk hurriedly down the corridors and pull the hood of my robes securely over my face. I need to get out of here right now. I probably only have seconds left before Zuko realizes what I stole from him.

I use the pull of the ocean around us to guide me to the edge of the boat and the door leading to the main deck, where I break into a sprint.

The first ball of fire almost hits me in my calf.

If he could, I'm sure Zuko would be screaming his head off right now. But that would mean explaining to his guards who I am and what I'd done. I can almost hear him shouting my name in anger as he chases after me.

I pull Aang's bison whistle from under the collar of my robes and blow into it long and hard. The rain stopped, but the deck of the ship is still extremely wet.

I hear another blast of fire headed my way and I turn around to counter the attack with a water shield. Even with the short distance between us, the moon is bright enough that I can see just how clearly enraged Zuko is. I've never seen him look so ferocious. Thank La that I'm almost at the edge of the boat, because I know for fact that Zuko is a faster runner than I am.

Zuko's attacks are out of sheer rage, with no thought or skill behind them and for that reason, dodging them is impossibly easy. Flame after flame is launched toward me, but I dive out of the way of every single one.

His anger finally gets the best of him when I reach the ship ledge. "Get back here!" He yells. A rather stupid request, if you ask me.

I pull myself up onto the ledge and turn around in time to counter another fire ball. Appa growls below me, to let me know that he's there. After a few more rounds of futile attacks, Zuko finally stops and steps back. He knows that he's lost this battle.

"Katara." Zuko warns, his eyes glinting dangerously.

I smile and blow a kiss in his direction before leaping off of the ledge and onto Appa's waiting back.