I learned that I wasn't in total darkness.

After swallowing my fear, I edged to the side until my hand hit a ragged, moist surface, the cave wall from what I could make out in the darkness. I kept my hand pressed again it, taking careful steps down the long tunnel, and made it a few feet in before I saw a dim glowing light up ahead. My footing became a bit clumsier now, as I was anxious to get closer to the warm, yellow glow and out of the cold, encroaching darkness.

I was like a moth to the brightness, and it was almost as if my life source depended on it. On the cave wall hung a torch spewing brilliant orange tongues of fire–the contrast between the light and the darkness surrounding it astounding. I put my hand up to the handle of the torch, tugging it slightly, and realized it could be taken off the wall. So I did just that and moved so the tunnel ahead of me was slightly brighter.

From what I could make out in the little light that came from the torch, about twenty feet up ahead there was a fork in the cave, the tunnel splitting off into two different paths. When I reached the fork I stopped, moving so the light from the torch shone down each tunnel. I could see that both didn't stretch much farther, but they twisted in opposite directions, two completely different paths.

I shrugged and chose the path to my right, going with my instinct, and following its twists a few hundred feet…right into a wall. Crap, a dead end, I thought as I brushed my hand along the uneven cave wall in front of me. What a waste of time, I shook my head in disbelief as I turned and walked back down the tunnel the way I'd come. This would cost me. I'd have to make up a lot of time now—

A sound up ahead of me snapped me back into focus. I pulled my sword from its spot in my weapons belt with my free hand and held the torch up a bit higher to illuminate the space before me. The action was almost automatic, all those hours of training seemed to be hardwired into my brain.

There was nothing there, at least from what I could see. Maybe I was imagining it? I took a few more cautious steps forward, gripping the hilt of my sword tighter, ready to slice and dice someone if necessary. And then I heard it again, more pronounced, like it was getting closer.

I could see a glint in the darkness, two identical glints, throwing back the light from the torch. But as I got closer, I realized that they were eyes. Eyes that belonged to a crouching black figure watching me from the shadows. It was a pygmy puma, a black panther-like creature with bright green eyes and very sharp, scary teeth.

"I don't want to hurt you," I warned it calmly. "I just want to get by." It took a few steps into the light, blocking my passage through the tunnel. All right, I guess not.

And with a ferocious snarl, it lunged.

I brought a hand up to my temple and touched the three new (but thankfully, shallow) scratches that marred my tan skin. I felt the rest of my body for any major injuries. There was a tear in the cloth by my ribs from where I'd narrowly missed being shredded to bits by the pygmy's sharp claws. Other than that, just a few scratches and blossoming bruises—nothing I couldn't handle.

I put my sword away in my belt, walked over to where the torch was laying on the gritty cave floor, and picked it up. Once again, I was alone in the cave. The pygmy puma had scurried off after a few heated minutes of combat, seeming to have had enough with me. I guess it had just been trained to attack, not to kill, like it was just meant to thwart me.

I set off again in a determined stride, back down the tunnel and reached the fork where I'd first gone astray. With a deep breath I started down the other passage, keeping a steady pace to make up the time I'd lost. I came up to more splits, but I seemed to be gaining some of that luck everyone was wishing me, and chose a path that continued on without any dead ends.

After what felt like an hour of walking through the tunnels uninterrupted, I started to become wary, expecting another animal or person to jump out from the shadows and attack me. But no one jumped out, and I wasn't attacked.

Another hour had passed, and now the tension was practically radiating off my body in waves. A few stray pieces of hair drifting in my peripheral vision had me snapping my neck around so fast I'd gotten whiplash. The sounds of my shoes scuffing across the cave floor constantly tricked me into thinking I was being followed.

But I wasn't. I was just paranoid.

Or maybe I wasn't. Maybe there really was someone there, watching me, lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect opportunity to—

Stop! There's a fine line between paranoia and insanity, Katara. Don't cross it, I told myself sternly. Maybe I hadn't crossed it yet, but I was treading it. I took a deep breath in and let it out in a whoosh, trying to release some tension with it.

But I couldn't. I'll admit it now: I was scared. But I wasn't scared of what skulked in the darkness, or what hid behind each corner. I had weapons. I could defend myself. It wasn't the Labyrinth I was afraid of.

I was afraid of losing myself in it.

When two guards jumped out at me later on, spears ready at hand, I almost sighed with relief.

"Finally," I said over-dramatically with a huff. "I was beginning to think you boys had forgotten about me."

They didn't respond, which I guessed was what they were required to do. I took it as an invitation to continue on.

"Thank you for asking, I'm doing very well!" I spoke animatedly, putting a hand to my chest and nodding enthusiastically. "How are you gentlemen doing on this fine morning…afternoon…night? Whatever it is, I've been pretty busy lately." I waved a hand around in the air, gesturing to our surroundings.

They exchanged a brief look, and then aimed their spears at me again.

"Well, aren't you two positively chatty today?" And then I attacked.

They were ready though, but that didn't matter to me. I was finally in my comfort zone again, slashing with my sword, deflecting their jabs. I knocked one guard out quickly, his back hit the cave wall and he dropped like a stone. The other one was proving to be a bit more difficult, and I guessed he had more experience than the first. His moves were quicker, more fluid, and he'd gotten one or two good swipes in, slashing the material at my sleeve, leaving two red gashes.

"Agh!" I grunted, taking a step back so the guard's spear just missed my almost-but-not-really-recovered shoulder. I could see realization dawn in his eyes: he'd found a chink in my armor.

He swiped toward it again, and again, and again, until I was backed up against the cave wall, panting from the exertion. In this position, with my a spear at my throat, I thought of how Fire Lord Zuko had gotten the better of me on the first day of training, finding my weakest points and using them against me, and was immediately filled with fiery rage.

I gripped the handle of my sword tighter, took a deep breath, and channeled the anger I was feeling toward Zuko at the poor, hapless guard. I almost felt sorry when I caught sight of the look on his face as I swiped away his spear with my sword, ducked under his arm and kicked out his knees from the back. He fell to the floor with a satisfying "humph!" and I started down the tunnel again…just in time to run right into something.

Well, actually, someone. More specifically, the first ninny guard that I'd knocked out after thirty seconds of fighting. It seemed he'd recovered and regained consciousness with an appetite for vengeance.

Did he really have to wake up now? Couldn't he have waited, oh, I don't know, a minute or two? I tried to snake past him, but each time he was there, blocking my way, spear in hand, making sure I had no way out. Fine. If I can't get past you, I'll just have to go through you.

I ran at him headfirst and collided with his armor so hard I felt my teeth rattle, but I'd put in enough force to knock him aside. Once he was out of the way, I bolted. I didn't bother taking the torch; I didn't have time. So, I plunged into the darkness.

I stumbled around in the dark, one hand on the wall, guiding me around the curves and twists of the tunnels as I jogged, feeling slightly as if I had suddenly lost my eyesight. But I hadn't, I realized as I made my way farther into the tunnels. Sure, it was pitch black, but after my eyes adjusted to the never-ending darkness, I was able to make out the twists and turns of the cave walls.

The sound of footsteps had echoed off the walls behind me, but I kept a steady pace, easily widening the gap between my pursuers and myself. Later, after stopping several times to check if I was still being followed, I decided it was safe to rest.

I bent over, one hand on my knee, the other against the cave wall at my side. I couldn't stand much longer, so I leaned my back against the wall and let my body slide down until I was in a seated position. My entire body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat; my clothes stuck to my back and small hairs that escaped my ponytail were plastered to my forehead and neck. I licked my dry lips, surprised when I tasted salt and rust. I touched my lower lip, and squinted at my hand through the darkness: blood.

The blood wasn't coming from my mouth, though. It was coming from a deep gash that swept across my cheekbone. Huh. I didn't even realize I'd gotten hurt. I gingerly touched my cheek, wincing as my fingers met the cut.

Another minute passed, and I waited for my body to cool down, but it wouldn't. In fact, I felt like it was becoming hotter by the second. Was it getting hotter down here, or was it just me?

Then I heard the footsteps again. Crap. And they were gaining speed, quickly. I picked myself up and started forward again, away from where I thought the footsteps were coming from.

But I quickly backtracked when I realized I was running toward them. I turned and ran the opposite way…and heard the sounds up ahead of me again.

Oh, spirits no. No, no, no. They were going to corner me.

I sighed. If I was going down, I was going to take a few of these guards down with me. As my hand reached to grip the hilt of my sword, my fingers brushed against the pouches of unknown powder.

Boom. Idea.

With unsteady hands, I ripped open one of the packets and scattered its contents around me on the cave floor. Nothing happened. But what would make the dust active? I could see the light of torches shining around the tunnel curves. They were close.

Wait…torches!

I could see them now, coming from both sides of me, a group of five guards on each side. One in each group held a torch. I just needed to get one of them. Please, I beg the spirits, let this work. I wasn't sure I had enough energy left to fight off ten guards.

They circled around me, but I just stood there, hands at my sides. I slid my eyes down quickly, seeing their feet resting just at the edge of the powder circle.

Come on, just a little closer.

"Looks like you caught me, guys." I raised my hands up in mock surrender. They advanced again, until they were about five feet away. My chance.

Quicker than their eyes could see, I snatched the torch out of the guard's hand and pushed through the barrier they'd formed, feeling hands grab for my arms and legs (unsuccessfully, might I add). I threw the torch behind me as I ran away from the group of frazzled guards, and heard the satisfying snaps and pops of the powder beginning to react with the fire.

I pushed myself to run farther, putting more distance between myself and impending disaster.

I just made it out of the blast range, but I still flew forward as the cave floor rocked beneath my feet. I felt the power of the explosion. I felt my arms and legs skid against the floor, (no doubt my skin torn to shreds and the material of my clothing tattered). But I didn't really hear it.

That didn't matter though. I picked myself up of the floor and hobbled off, smelling like Sokka's many attempts at cooking.

Bad news. I figured out why it was getting hotter.

How is that bad news you ask? Well, after walked aimlessly through the darkness for over an hour, I stumbled unexpectedly into the center of the Labyrinth. It was a huge cavern made out of hardened lava, large spikes dangled from the high ceiling, like the lava had hardened as it dripped down toward the floor, forming thick, sturdy pillars. The heat, it seemed, was coming from molten lava that seeped through cracks in the cave walls. It flowed into a river opposite of me, it's orange glow lit up the cavern, no torch needed in this situation.

Still wondering how this is bad news?

I took maybe ten steps into the cavern before at least fifteen heavily armed guards appeared out of thin air and formed a semi-circle around me. Where did these guys come from? They walked in unison, closing in on me, forcing me back toward the lava river. I pulled my sword out of my weapon's belt, but I could barely hold it up. I was almost completely drained of energy.

"I'd be lying if I said I was expecting this," a voice called from somewhere above me. I looked around in confusion, not able to detect its source. "I'm not down there." So I looked up…right into a pair of liquid gold eyes. His dark hair was pulled back into a small golden crown, the golden flame glimmering even in the dim light. I ignored the fact that my heart seemed to drop slightly in my chest He was standing on a ledge that overlooked the entire cavern, a few other official looking men in armor and red robes standing behind him. One of them, I noticed, was Lieutenant Jin. He gave me an encouraging smile.

"Ah, so the Fire Lord has decided to grace me with his presence." I was past trying to cover my blatant dislike toward him. Now each of my words dripped with sarcasm and coldness. I even gave him an over dramatic bow, my hands sweeping out to the sides. I heard hisses of disapproval from his companions, but he merely waved them off. Ugh, he thinks he's so superior. It makes me gag.

"Go on," he ordered the guards around me, who had stopped approaching when he had first talked.

"Wait, stop! What's going on? I made it to the center of the Labyrinth. I did it, didn't I?" I was barely able to hold myself upright now. I could hear the desperation in my voice. Please, please, let this be over.

"Not quite," Zuko said, the corner of his mouth twitching, his eyes glinting with amusement. And suddenly, I wasn't tired anymore.

I was enraged.

I felt the adrenaline pump through my veins, felt the hype spread throughout my body, feeling it fill me with a new source of energy. I thought of my mother, how fierce and determined and brave she was the day she died, and let that fill me too. Shrieking like a wild banshee, I slashed at the guards surrounding me. I took them down one by one, a knock to the head here, a knee to the groin there. They were no match for my anger.

I slashed and sliced with my sword, knocked their weapons to the ground, scissor kicked the heads of two guards. I roundhouse kicked one guard in the chest and he fell onto his back, gasping for breath. When one guard knocked the sword from my hand, I quickly pulled the dagger from my thigh sheath and fought with that.

A few minutes later, I was standing in the middle of group of dazed, bruised and battered guards, panting.

I looked up at Zuko with contempt, spitting a bit of blood from my mouth. He was looking at me oddly, as were the other men behind him, like I'd suddenly grown an extra set of arms or something. Ha! He was surprised.

He recovered himself quickly and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Welcome to the Task Force."

I let out a deep sigh, feeling the floor fall from beneath me and for once, I welcomed the darkness.

I did it. I did it.

I woke to a stinging sensation on my cheek and when I tried to swat at whatever was causing it, a soft hand caught my wrist and told me to relax, that they were just cleaning the wound.

I mumbled a few incoherent words and fell back to sleep.

When I truly woke up, I almost wished I was asleep again.

My arms were covered in burns and scratches, long red scrapes covered my arms and legs, and my entire body was sore. Just moving my arm made me wince, the muscles screaming in protest. My head pounded with a headache, so I reached up to massage my temples and found the crown of my head was wrapped with white bandages. I tried to touch my cheek where I'd felt stinging, but it was still open (the bleeding had stopped). I grimaced.

Diagnosis: I was in bad shape.

"You won't be helping those cuts if you keep touching them, dear." The small old nurse who had attended to me last time I was in the infirmary was standing in front of the screen that hid my cot from the rest of the room. She was scolding me, but at the same time she was smiling.

I smiled back, my first genuine smile in what felt like days. "How are you?"

"I should be the one asking you that. How are you?" She walked over and started inspecting the cut on my cheekbone.

"Same as always. Bleeding, bruised, or broken. Sometimes a combination of all three. Like now, for instance," I laughed. She prodded at the wound, dabbing at it with a white cloth. I winced when she hit a tender spot, but she was trying to be careful.

"Yes, you're starting to become a regular here. Now, I don't know what you're smiling about. That's not a good thing."

I laughed again. "So how long have I been out?"

"About a day and a half."

"What? It only felt like I'd slept a few hours."

"Yes, that's what the herb concoction we gave you does. We had to keep you sedated so we could deal with your injuries while you rested. We've dealt with most of the burns and small scrapes. Those will heal completely with minor scarring if you clean them properly. Other's we haven't patched up yet, like your cheek. I'm afraid the gash on your cheekbone will leave a very thin scar."

"It's alright. I don't mind."

She stitched the cut on my cheek closed and spread a salve made of different herbs over the stitches. "Don't touch." Then, she cleaned the scrapes on my arms again, put some salve on my burns and re-bandaged the other cuts on my body. She asked me if I was in any pain.

"No, I feel alright," I lied. Letting her bandage me and clean my wounds was a big step for me. I hated being taken care of. I guess it's because I'm so used to taking care of others instead of it being the other way around. When she was finished, she left to take care of the other patients and I waved goodbye as she disappeared behind the screen.

About an hour later, Lieutenant Jin peeked around the screen. "So, you made it out alive, huh?"

"Yeah," I said as he pulled a chair over to my bedside and sat down. "Thankfully, in one piece."

"Well, I came by before to congratulate you, but you were catching flies. So, now that you're conscious, congratulations Katara. You surpassed all of our expectations. I don't think I've ever met someone with as much ferocity and determination as you. You did very well."

I went slightly pink, not sure how to react to his compliment. I didn't have to worry though, because he continued again.

"We have a small cash reward for you. You can pick it up when you're discharged. It'll help you get on your feet in Caldera."

I thanked him and he left me to rest, which I did. I let my head fall back on the pillows, closed my eyes and let my body relax. I did what everyone thought I couldn't do. I proved them all wrong, including Zuko.

I wanted to laugh with ridiculous giddy laughter. The look on his face as he watched me take down guard after guard would supply me with enough satisfaction for the rest of my life.

Priceless.

The next day, when the nurse deemed me fit to go out into the world again, I was discharged from the infirmary. I collected my reward and made my way into Caldera with a new objective: find lodgings.

So far, I was unsuccessful. I walked down the cobblestone streets, trying three inns I passed. None of them had available rooms. Of course. It was getting darker. I needed to find a place where I could stay soon.

I walked into the fourth, The Lotus Inn, and made my way past the tables and over to a counter in the back where a pretty girl around my age was working. She had dark brown hair, dark brown eyes and fair skin, typical traits of Fire Nation citizens. When I got closer though, I could see that her eyes weren't brown, but a very dark shade of green, like two emeralds. She looked up as I approached the counter and gave me a warm smile.

"Hi, how can I help you?" she asked.

"Do you have any rooms available? I've already gone to three nearby inns, but they were all filled up."

"I'm so sorry, we don't have any open rooms right now. I can give you some other suggestions, though. How about The Red Dragon? It's right down the street."

"That was one of the inns I'd visited before," I said with a smile.

"Oh, well what about The Fire Lily?"

I shook my head again and laughed. "Full."

She blew out her breath in a dramatic puff.

"It's alright," I started again. "I'm sure I can find-"

"You know what? You can stay with my family and me until you find a place to stay! There's an extra bed in my room you could use."

Was she serious? I could be an insane murderer and she's just going to invite me to stay with her family? I didn't even know her name. "No, I couldn't, really. I can find somewhere else-"

"No, no, no! I insist! My parents would say the same thing. My shift ends in a half-an-hour." She smiled at me brightly, genuinely excited.

"Thank you, really."

"No, thank you!" She gripped my hand. "It'll be great to finally have someone my age around the house. I'm Akemi."

"Katara."

"I'll have to apologize in advance for my family," Akemi said as we walked down the street. The sun was setting, painting the sky a brilliant orange.

"I'm sure they aren't that bad," I reassured her.

She shot me a sideways look, one eyebrow raised. "I guess you'll just have to see to believe it."

She stopped walking in front of a small teashop, unlocked the door, and ushered me inside, then made her way to the back, where we walked up a flight of stairs and stopped again in front of a wooden door.

"Brace yourself," she said and turned the knob.

"For what?"

Even with all the training I had, I still wasn't prepared for what hit me next. It was as if some sort of alarm had gone off as soon as the door opened, because three children, all under the age of eight were hurtling themselves at Akemi and me. One was a toddler, gripping a small doll in his meaty hand as he ran in a zigzag line toward us. He had dark hair, almost black and the same green eyes as Akemi. The other two were girls who looked like twins, both with the same golden eyes and dark hair.

They jumped on Akemi, clung to her legs and screamed "Emi!" repeatedly, all of them needing her undivided attention. Then they noticed me, still standing in the door and became eerily quiet, peering around Akemi's legs to look up at me.

"This is my friend Katara, guys. Katara, this is-," but Akemi didn't get to finish.

The screaming started again and I had three children clinging to me, pulling at my skirt and yanking me inside. I looked back at Akemi, laughing. She had her arms folded across her chest. "Believe me now?"

"Yeah, I'm getting the drift that things can get a little crazy around here."

"Crazy? Try insane. I'm going to go find my mom. Hey!" She yelled over the girls, who had started fighting over who I would play with first. They all shut up and looked at Akemi innocently. "When I come back here, my friend better be in one piece, got it?"

"Yes, ma'am!" One of the twins saluted. Akemi rolled her eyes and walked down the hallway.

"What are your names?" I asked the girls as I pulled the little toddler boy into my lap. His small hands tried to pull at my hair loopies.

"I'm Sora!" One of the girls exclaimed. She had long dark hair pulled back into a braid tied with a red bow.

"And I'm Minori! That's Shinji," said the other girl as she motioned to her brother in my lab. Her dark hair was shorter than her sister's, but I could tell that they were definitely twins now. They both bore a striking resemblance to Akemi, except for their eyes of course.

"Shouldn't you all be getting ready for bed?" a voice asked from above us. I looked up and met Akemi's green eyes. Only, it wasn't Akemi. It was her mother.

I put Shinji down and stood up. "Hi, I'm Katara."

"Hello, Katara. I am Nori. It's a pleasure to have you stay with us." She smiled at me warmly, one hand resting on her protruding stomach unconsciously.

"Thank you. You really didn't have to."

"Nonsense! Come. Let's get you settled."

A/N: Sorry for the long delay. Things got really hectic in RL, my mom went to the hospital so I didn't really have time to write. But! She's doing good now so I got back to writing and here is the sixth chapter for you. It's longer than the past few so hopefully that makes up for it!

Enjoy and leave input if you'd like :D