A/N: :( I'm a little sad about the sheer lack of love (in the form of reviews) for the last chapter. I really worked hard at it and I guess I was expecting a little more enthusiasm from those who've encouraged me to continue. However, I know I haven't been getting the FF notifications in my email anymore so if you didn't receive the story alert for it, I apologize. In any case, thank you to "guest" for being my one reviewer.

I hope I get a little more love for this next chapter, especially since it's the second update in less than a week!

Katara wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there in the stagnant silence. Alone save for the lull of Ozai's breathing still heavy with sleep, muted in the stale air of the cavern. Faint blue light strained through the icicles that now descended like jagged teeth from the mouth of their prison. Is this where she would live out the remainder of her days?

Ozai stirred behind her and drew in a deep breath of one emerging from sleep. A long silence ensued before he finally spoke.

"You seem lost in your thoughts. Care to divulge?"

Her knees were drawn up under her chin, arms hugged around her legs. She didn't turn around.

"I was thinking about the first time I used bloodbending on someone after I swore I'd never do it again," she said quietly. "I thought he was the man who'd killed my mother, but I later found out he was innocent. I wonder though, if I'd know that then, would it have made a difference? I was so angry and he was the face of my enemy, of everything I hated. I wanted someone to project my bitterness upon, to pay for her death. I hate to say it, but had I known, I might have done it anyway. To prove something. To make a statement."

Katara turned toward Ozai then. "I think about myself in that moment and it scares me. What I could have become. The power of bloodbending is exhilarating. It could have easily consumed me. But I chose a different path. I rose above it and found forgiveness I never imagined I could offer that man."

"And you're telling me this in hopes I'll have a change of heart." Ozai chuckled in disdain. "You mistake my bitterness for weakness. Anger is what has made me stronger. Forgiveness is for the weak, the faint of heart."

"That's where you're wrong. It takes all of one's strength and more to forgive. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. But after, I felt so free. Like I'd been carrying around a lead balloon that was suddenly cut loose."

He looked away, conflicted; discord evident in his furrowed brow. "Why bother me with this asinine story?"

"To show you you're not the only one whose bitterness feeds your own demons, Ozai. It's all-consuming, an acid that eats through and destroys everything in its path. Believe me, I know." She scooted closer to him and he glanced up in response. Their eyes met and she thought she saw a hint of uncertainty there. "But it is possible to overcome."

Ozai's features softened into that trademark smirk. "You're… intriguing, I'll give you that." His voice was smooth as warm satin and just as intoxicating. His gaze flicked to her lips and then returned to hers, heavy with something that made her heart skip a beat. The air seemed to rush out of her body, leaving her suddenly breathless. She had not realized how close they were sitting. Katara blinked rapidly and opened her mouth to speak, but forgot the words. And then without warning, she realized she was leaning in toward him. A small, distant voice in her mind screamed its protest but she was too far away and powerless to stop it. The distance between them suddenly grew smaller. He was leaning in too.

Katara's heart drummed erratically against her ribcage. She could feel his breath, warm and humid, on her face as her nose brushed against his. Their lips had almost met when a strange sound startled them from their daze.

Katara turned toward the jaws of the entrance. An eerie figure stood there; undoubtedly a spirit for it was not of this world. Half wolf and half stag, with several knobby, tree-like antlers. Its six red eyes gaped at them in an unblinking smile that sent a chill down her spine.

"Stay back!" She tried to sound forceful without raising her voice.

The spirit was undaunted and took a step closer.

"I said STAY BACK!"

"Have no fear. I'm here to help you."

Stunned by the being's unmoved voice, Katara faltered. "Why should we trust you?"

"It wouldn't seem you have a choice now, would it?" the thing drawled. "Unless of course you'd like to starve to death in this lovely little abode."

The truth silenced her. She stole a nervous glance at Ozai. His jaw was hardened in a tight scowl at the spirit but he said nothing.

"I'll help you get out of here, on one condition." His eyes were fixed firmly on Ozai. "When you're back on the surface, you go straight to the end and fulfill your destiny."

Ozai's eyes widened at the proclamation. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"I'm on your side. That's all you need to know."

Pain ravaged Toph's temples as she wrenched herself from the conjurer's hold. She fell back on the ground, gasping, as her stomach reeled from what she had just seen.

"Bloody spirits," Toph croaked out. Katara and Ozai. They had been a breath away from a kiss. Something had stopped them, but if it hadn't… She blinked and sat up slowly. "This is so much worse than I even imagined."

Genshi was quiet for a moment. "We have to tell them."

Toph hesitated in thought. There was no way she could keep this from the others. Not when it was this bad.

"I know," she conceded. "But we can't tell everyone at once. The last thing we need is hysteria racking everyone's judgment." She massaged her temples and tried to think. Her mind was so jumbled.

"Let me take care of this," Toph said finally. "In the morning, I'll pull Zuko aside and relay things as delicately as possible."

Genshi raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure you want to tell Zuko, of all people?"

"No," she admitted. "But you've seen how Sokka's been acting lately. I know Suki would turn right around and spill the beans to everyone. You couldn't pay me enough to be the one to tell Katara's dad. And do I even need to mention Aang?" Toph sighed. "There's no perfect scenario, but given the options…"

Genshi bit her lip and nodded. "Try to get some sleep then."

"I think sleep's out of the question for me tonight. I'll just try to work on keeping my last meal down."

.:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:.

Zuko wrestled with Appa's saddle in the pale morning light. He hated when it was his turn to saddle Appa. He never could get it right. The group was preparing to set out again as Toph approached him, Genshi at her side.

"Hey, Sparky," she called out. "Can I talk to you?"

Zuko gritted his teeth at her use of his nickname. He was not in the mood.

"Not now, Toph." He didn't bother looking at her. "Kinda busy." He nodded toward the saddle as it slid off the bison again. He cursed it and tried again. Beside him, a furious Aang started writhing. "Hey, can I get a little help over here?" he called over his shoulder. "Aang's starting to freak out again."

"Zuko," she interrupted. "It's important."

He sighed heavily and threw the saddle to the ground, following her to the other side of the den. "Okay, what?"

"Listen, I don't think you should be so quick to dismiss Genshi."

Zuko looked from Genshi back to Toph. "You're joking," he huffed. "You're defending her? After everything?"

The conjurer deflated like a balloon before him. His lips pressed into a frown. He didn't care.

"Genshi conjured a vision with me last night."

Zuko cocked an eyebrow and shrugged. "And?"

The blind girl closed her eyes and blew out a deep breath. "Your dad and Katara. I think there's something going on between them. I saw them… Umm. Well, almost… kissing."

Her words hit him like a ton of bricks. His stomach turned to ice, cold and heavy, nauseated. The world around him began to spin as Zuko gaped down at Toph.

He felt the blood drain from his face and took a step back from the girl. Garbled syllables stumbled from his mouth before he found the ability to speak again. "What… What are you saying, Toph?"

"What do you think I'm saying? You have competition. Somewhere along the road, Katara's developed a little crush on her captor."

Zuko grabbed fistfuls of his hair, pacing away and then back again. He had known his father was capable of horrible, unspeakable things. But this? "No. No, this cannot be true. You said yourself, 'almost' kissed. How can be sure it wasn't something else you saw? You're blind."

"I saw them, Zuko," she insisted. "The same way I see you and everything else around me. There was no mistaking it."

Zuko buried his face in his hands and muttered a string of vulgar, incomprehensible curses before looking up again. He glanced over his shoulder; the others were still preoccupied with Aang.

"No one else is to hear of this. At least not yet. Do you understand?"

"Way ahead of you, Sparky. Why do you think I pulled you aside?"

He nodded. "Alright, Genshi, you can stay. But were you able to see their real location this time? Why did you lead us to the wrong place before?"

"I don't think it is the wrong place, my lord. I feel them here. There was a cave or something in the vision. Blue glowing crystals. It was definitely underground."

"You think they may be below us?"

"It's possible."

He thought for a moment. "Then you should be able to see them through the earth, right, Toph? All you'd have to do is search them out and then earthbend us down there."

"That's the thing," Toph said. "I can't see them. They must be really underground because they're not on my radar at all."

"What do you suggest we do then?"

"I think we should wait," Genshi spoke up. "They have to resurface sometime."

Zuko could feel the fury building inside him. "You want to wait?!" How dare she suggest such an idiotic course of action when she had caused enough trouble already? "We can't just sit around and let them slip by when they're this close!"

"I know it's torture. But I don't think they intend to stay where they are for long, from what I could tell. It was obvious they were hiding from something. If we wait them out, keep the visions on top of them, maybe we can head them off somewhere."

His fingernails bit into the palms of his balled fists. "You'd better be right, or so help me, Genshi, you'll wish you'd left us when you had the chance." Zuko took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He needed to calm his nerves. "We can't afford to lose them again. We may have already lost her. Time and speed are our only hope now."

And Aang, he thought. If only they had Aang on their side. If there was any hope for Katara, it was him. Without him… he feared it may already be too late.

"Are you sure we can trust that… thing?" Katara whispered as they trailed behind the nameless spirit.

"Like he said, we don't really have a choice," Ozai whispered back. "And he did save our lives back there."

The girl said nothing more as they came to the end of the passage that had looked like a dead end. Instead, they squeezed through an opening, hidden by the shadows, and emerged into a wider channel, snaking sharply to the left at an incline.

They wound through the cavern's corridors for hours it seemed. Conversation was kept to a minimum. The spirit, or whatever it was, did not speak to them again. Ozai shared Katara's misgivings of their uncanny rescuer, but it did get them out of their bind for the moment. He could fight off the creature if it ever came to that, but at least they had left those sickening corpse-like things behind.

Up ahead, faint white light spilled onto the cavern floor. Ozai felt his spirits perk up. They were nearly free.

Moments later, they were climbing out of a small cave into broad daylight. The brightness of it stung his eyes. He jerked his head down and shielded his eyes, squinting into the landscape while the pain subsided. When his vision had adjusted enough, he looked up at their guide.

"The Bashou Mountains," the spirit stated, nodding at their forested incline. "I imagine we're a quarter of the way up where we stand. I'm afraid, however, that you won't find your up way from here without a struggle. These mountains are known for their treachery."

"Spare me," Ozai interrupted. "I'm not ignorant of the stories. We'll make it."

The spirit just stared at him with that eerie smile. "Good luck then. I am confident you will not let me down."

Ozai was not sure if that was meant to encourage or threaten. He didn't care. He was not doing what he was doing for that creature. Whatever was in it for that spirit, he'd deal with it when the time came.

As quickly as it had appeared to them, the spirit vanished. Ozai looked at Katara.

"I guess we should get moving then."

He saw her blush and she glanced toward the ground when their eyes met. In the strangeness of the spirit encounter he had almost forgotten about their near-kiss. Almost.

The scene came surging back to him and his stomach knotted. What had he been thinking? Idiot! Was a pretty face and soft words all it took now to reduce him to a spineless, withering fool? He had killed men for less weakness. He would not let that girl worm her way into his heart, if he had one, again. They were so close now. They would reach Frostbite Cove much sooner than if they had gone around the mountains. Maybe it was meant to work out this way. But he had to remain focused.

He steeled his jaw and straightened his back. "Come on," he gestured. The girl fell quietly into step behind him as they began their ascent into the treacherous wilderness.