Zuko slammed the thick metal door behind him and stood outside of the cell. He was surprised to see that the cells was fashioned almost exactly the same way as they were as the prison in the Fire Nation capital. He saw a figure spin around at the sound and slowly creep forward into the light.

The archer was a young women, and she looked at Zuko he saw disbelief flash in her eyes before she covered it with a casual expression.

"Hello, Prince Zuko," she purred with a slight bow of her head; Zuko narrowed his eyes at the title.

"Are you surprised that I'm in the city or that I'm alive?" He said glowering at her; the women smirked and leaned against the bars.

"I guess you figured out about the sol ignis poison huh?" Zuko narrowed his eyes as he tried to remember anything he might have learned about such a poison, "It's not something you would have been trained to resist," she said as if reading his mind.

"Why not? Is it that rare?" He said with dry sarcasm tinting his words, the archer rolled her eyes at him as if she was use to receiving such attitude.

"Well technically, your highness, it doesn't even exist. But my master said that your case called for.. special measures," she threw a devilish smile at him and his rage grew.

"Who ordered you to kill me?" He snarled marching forward so he was in her face.

"Didn't I make that clear?" She asked innocently, "My master, silly," she said tapping his nose with her slender finger. That sent Zuko over the edge and roared, throwing a fistful of fire at the wall setting the small wooden stool that sat by it on fire. When he turned back to her she was still smiling and her eyebrows were raised in amusement.

"Why so angry, Zuko?" She teased, and then in clicked in his mind. She reminded him of Azula, that's why she infuriated him so much. She even looked sort of like his crazed little sister, with the cold, calculating eyes and short black hair.

"Fine," he said flatly, "How about an easier question?" He asked with his face still only inches from hers. She raised in eyebrow, her lips still curled upward in a cruelly amused expression.

"Oh? And what might that be your esteemed royalness?" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Why?" She narrowed her eyes and her smile faltered at this. Zuko internally smirked that he'd made her confidence waver.

"Why what?" She asked, almost hesitantly. He took a moment to just stare into her eyes focusing on pouring every ounce of rage he'd ever felt into her. She didn't turn her gaze away from him like anyone would, but he could tell by the sudden lack of her smile that she really wanted to.

"Why do they want me dead?" He could hear the venom in his own voice and he continued to glare at her; her mouth now remaining half open with the answer stuck in her throat, "Why?!" He yelled, the noise echoing off the walls in the small room. His sudden outburst startled the women and she jumped back away from him, retreating into the shadows of her cell.

Zuko backed away from the cell and turned preparing leave the room, thinking that he wouldn't get anything else from her right now.

"Because they fear you, my lord," he heard her whisper. He turned back to see that she stood just within his sight with a grim expression, "And they fear what they know you will do."

Katara stood in the council room with her father, brother, Toph, and Suki. No one else was to be permitted within the walls of the room.

"What do you mean 'it's him'?" Her father asked her and Suki for the hundredth time; she sighed and looked to Suki for help.

"Sir," Her friend ventured warily, "When the people sang their song-"

"So you're telling me that you think that this young man is the foretold hero of the nations and the one who will save my daughter from her terrible fate.. because of a song?" He looked at them all critically. Toph and Sokka stood next to her father while she and Suki attempted to explain what happened without sounding like they'd gone mad.

"Father please," Katara said a bit more bitterly then she'd meant to and he sent her a sharp warning glance, but she took a deep breath and continued anyway, "He was dying, there was nothing we could have done to save him. Suki said that whatever was on that arrow didn't just poison him, it put some kind of dark curse into his blood. As you know, my healing abilities have no power against such magic, and Suki's herbs did no good either. We'd nearly given up hope, I went outside to find that nearly every citizen in the section on the city was outside of the house singing songs of healing. Simultaneously they began singing a different song, a song about the Dragonborn," everyone visibly stiffened at hearing this, "When they finished it, Lae-la ran out telling me to come quick. By the time I made it back into the room, Zuko's wound was healing itself. Right now there's nothing but a small scar to prove that he was ever injured. We believe that he was healed because his body responded to the song, like a summons."

The room was silent for a while. Sokka and Toph sat there with furrowed brows,her brother staring at nothing in particular lost in thought. Her father rubbed his temples with his forefingers and closed his eyes. Katara assumed that he was trying to take it all in.

All the sudden, Toph pointed in Katara's face, "I told you so!" Everyone jumped, startled by the sudden outburst.

"Wha- what?!" Katara stuttered not understanding.

"I told you that there was a chance that Sparky was the dragon person! But noooo you were so sure that there was no way possible just because you didn't trust 'im!" She shouted, literally fuming; Katara was stunned silent but soon trying hide giggles that threatened to escape through her fingers.

"I'm sorry, Toph. You were right," she said with a smile as she put a hand on her friend's shoulder. The younger girl proceeded to cross her arms and blow her bangs out of her face with a huff. Katara heard her father clear his throat and the attention went back to him.

"I'm glad you too sorted that out, but we have more serious things to worry about," Katara frowned at his grave tone and saw Sokka narrow his eyes, still keeping them not focused on any of them in particular. Her brother's expression seemed to be as crestfallen as her father's tone, Katara grew suspicious that something had been going on that she hadn't been aware of. Something wrong.

"Like what, Father?" She asked, her anxiety growing when Sokka still wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Like," he started, the irritation clear in his voice,"the attacks that we've been planning on the Fire Nation villages."

The villages? But that.. that means!

"The villages? What have they done to provoke an attack?!" She yelled, made furious by what he was suggesting. Hakoda simply looked at her calmly from his chair.

"This war is against the Fire Nation, Katara, those people reside behind the border. We don't need to be provoked," Katara couldn't believe how easily he was implying it. He acted as though he was decideding what he wanted for dinner, but he wasn't. He was going to attack a town full of defenseless people who had done absolutely nothing to them.

"But they are defenseless," Katara seethed, "It would be a massacre!" Her father stood and put his hands on her shoulders.

"This is war, Katara. It demands sacrifices," She glared up at him and opened her mouth to respond but her cut her off, "Besides, have you forgotten who took your mother from us?" She shoved his hands away, she was livid now. Then she saw Sokka simply sitting there with his head in his hands and she turned on him.

"Sokka! You're ok with this?!" She knew that her father made poor choices sometimes but her brother was always the one who reasoned with him. That's one of the reasons he joined that 'council of old farts' as Toph put it. He looked up at her and gave her a look of hopelessness.

"I couldn't reason with them, I got out-voted,"

"A vote? You used a vote to determine if people would live or die?!" She couldn't believe her father would do such a thing, no matter how much he hated her.

"You obviously need time to accept this," Hakoda said to her with a glare, "All of you go get some rest, we'll plan to use the young man to attack within the week."

"He's not a weapon he's a person! And do you really think he'd attack his own people when they aren't even armed?!" She yelled, determined to protect Zuko from being used for her father's schemes.

"He will if he plans on becoming one of us, now leave," Katara was surprised by the harshness in her father's voice but turned on her heal and stormed out of the building. There was no way she was going to let him get away with it. Enough was enough, right then and there Katara knew that even if they won the war it meant nothing if the leadership didn't change.

Right now, she was facing something bigger then the war. She had to find a way to overthrow her own father.

No, I'm not dead! Haha.. ha.. haha... ya ok. So ya! Chapter! Yay! ... well not really considering all the not so good stuff happening... hmm...

Hope you enjoyed it! Sorry for the delay, but I've been really busy with Christmas stuff then I was sick and trying to get ready for starting with new school and stuff sooo yaaa... yay excuses! Nexy chapter will be up soon! Also... any predictions? I have the playing board all set for the rest of the story! Yes, I WAS making it up as I went along... ooopppssss haha oh well! But now I have it in concrete (well... in my head) what I'm doing for the whooolllleeee rest of it. So ya :) good stuff! ^_^

Alssoooooo! I feel the need to give some extra publicity to two of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE stories on FFN! "The Avatar's Love" by "RainAndRoses" just a warning... it's a Kataang *hangs head in shame* but it's the best Kataang ever written! So there! And alsoooo "Endlessly, She Said" by "AleinaReigning" Best. Zuatara. Ever! :D Like for real, check them out they're AMAZING writers!

Ok so yep I'm done ranting soooo... ya ok bye now!

Oh wait! Fun fact: sol ignis means "sun fire" so I thought that was cool :)

Toph: You are such a dork, just do your signature thing

Kmsitterley: Calm down Toph I'm getting there

Love Ya'll! (haha southern speak ^_^)

Kmsitterley