Ok, so the Dai Li are plotting a coup, which more than likely means that Long Feng is involved in this, Katara thought to herself, the only problem is, how do I get out of here and let the others know? How do I find Mai?

Two questions that Katara didn't have the answers to. She had no clue where they had taken Mai, not to mention the Council Of Five. To make matters worse, she had no clue when Aang and the others would come back and realize that something was wrong. There was no way for her to reach out to Toph, Ty Lee, Jet, Longshot, and Smellerbee either, and the kyoshi warriors were guarding the Earth King. So for now, Katara was on her own. She looked at her surroundings. From what she could tell, there wasn't any way to get out of the catacombs without earthbending. And she clearly wasn't an earthbender. What was she supposed to do, then? Wait around for Aang and the others to come and rescue her?

Well, fuck that. Katara wasn't some damsel in distress that needed to be rescued. She would just walk until she found a way out. Just as Katara was getting ready to do just that, however, she heard a rumbling noise. She looked up to see a wall being opened up, revealing two Dai Li agents, who appeared to be holding someone.

"You've got company", one of the agents said, before pushing down whoever the mystery person was. She was shocked when she saw that it was none other than Prince Zuko.

Well, now she had someone else to blame for all of this.

They made it back to Ba Sing Se the next day. Since they were in a hurry, Aang urged Appa to fly faster, which he did. Had it not been for that, they more than likely would have taken longer to reach the city. Just like Ursa suggested, they went to the palace first to see if King Kuei knew anything about what was going on. And just like Sokka had predicted, he didn't have a clue.

"Katara? Last I knew, she was in a meeting with Mai and the Council Of Five."

"Have you seen them at all?" Sokka asked.

"No, I haven't. Maybe they're taking a break? Perhaps they went back to your house, or they went to get something to eat in the city."

That was certainly a possibility. Still, he couldn't help but feel like something was off.

"Captain Suki, what do you want us to do? Should we go out and search for them?" one of the kyoshi warriors asked.

"No. For now, stay here with King Kuei. We don't really know if anything is wrong yet. And if something is going on, the king is going to need some protection."

They all nodded, and Suki and the others proceeded to head back to the house. They all desperately hoped that Katara was fine, and that Aang's vision hadn't meant anything. Their hopes were dashed when they walked inside their house and were greeted by the sight of Toph and Ty Lee, but no Katara or Mai. Curiously, there was no sign of Jet, Smellerbee or Longshot either.

"Well that was fast. What are you guys doing back here so early?" Toph questioned them, knowing that they weren't supposed to be back for at least a week.

"While I was training with Guru Pathik to master the avatar state, something happened. I had a vision of Katara. She was chained up in a room somewhere. Have you two seen her? Or Mai?"

The two girls shook their heads, "Nope. We haven't seen them at all. We haven't been anywhere since we got back from seeing Toph's mom, but they never came here. And if they did, it may have been while we were away." Ty Lee said.

"Speaking of that, how did it go, Toph?" Aang inquired

"I don't want to talk about that right now. Besides, we have more important things to worry about. Oh, and there's someone at the door."

"Maybe it's Katara!" Aang said excitedly

"It's not Sugar Queen."

"Then who is it?"

"Only one way to find out", Azula responded, walking towards the door. She opened it, only to come face to face with his royal tea loving kookiness.

"Uncle?"

"I need your help, my niece."

The others were stunned to see Iroh, especially Ursa. Not only because she hadn't seen the man in years, but also because it meant that Zuko could also be in the city.

"My help with what?"

"Let me in and I'll explain."

Azula nodded. She still didn't trust her uncle that much, but she would hear him out. Besides, she wanted to ask him about the white lotus tile that he gave her.

"Oh no you don't!" Sokka said, running up to Iroh and pushing Azula behind him, "What are you doing here? I'm not going to let you take Azula away! Especially not after we just got her back!"

"I can assure you that I'm not here to take Azula back to the Fire Nation. And what do you mean by 'just got her back'?"

Before Sokka could respond, he felt Azula pulling on his pants leg.

"Sokka, let him come in. We can explain what happened and then uncle can tell us what he wants."

Sokka looked down at her, still not entirely on board with the idea of letting Iroh anywhere near Azula, but he did as he was told. He knew that Azula wouldn't change her mind on this matter.

Iroh gave a slight nod to Azula and smiled at her as a way to show his thanks, and he walked into the house. Upon entering, he found himself face to face with the last person who he expected to see.

"Ursa? Is that really you?"

"Yes, it is. It's nice to see you again, Iroh."

The two of them stared at each other, unsure of what to say. In Iroh's case, it was because he hadn't known what happened to Ursa when he finally came home from the war. There had been no sign of her anywhere. To him, it was as if he was seeing a ghost. In Ursa's case, it was because she didn't know what to say to the man whose father she killed. Somehow she doubted that saying "Hello Iroh, how have you been? I know that it's been so long since we last saw each other, but I left because I killed your father" would go over well.

"Listen, you two can talk all you want later but right now we need to exchange information." Sokka said

Iroh nodded, "Yes, I suppose that's a good idea. Why don't you start first, Azula?"

She gave Iroh the sweet and short version of it: that she had been kidnapped by Long Feng and the Dai Li because she was the Fire Nation princess, and he didn't want anything about the war to get out. And that while in captivity, she had managed to save her mother. At this, Iroh looked curiously at Ursa, but decided to shelf that conversation for later. Azula continued and told him that eventually, Sokka and the others were able to find them and helped rescue them.

"I see. So you were captured by Long Feng too."

Azula looked at him, confused. What did he mean by that?

Surely he can't mean what I think he means, right?

"What are you talking about?"

"Your brother has been captured by Long Feng. I don't know much, but he appears to be plotting something. And I have no idea where Zuko is being held."

"Zuko was captured?!" Ursa said, unable to believe what she was hearing. What was that man planning on doing with her son? Taking away her daughter wasn't enough?

Iroh looked at Ursa, "Yes, but don't worry, we will get him back. You have my word, Ursa."

Ursa nodded, but she still seemed worried, understandably so.

Azula looked at her mother, lamenting the fact that she had to find out that her son was in the city in this way. Azula hadn't been sure how to tell her mother the full story about Zuko, and she certainly forgot about telling the others about how both Zuko and Iroh were in the city, considering what had happened to her.

"Long Feng must be the one who captured Katara! We have to save her!" Aang exclaimed

"That's all well and good, but Iroh just said that he has no clue where Zuko is being held. It's more than likely that Katara is being held in the same place as him. So unless we figure that out, we're not going anywhere." Toph pointed out. They all knew that she had a point, as frustrating as it was. Lake Laogai came to mind, but they had a feeling that Long Feng wouldn't be going down there for a while.

"Wait!" Ty Lee exclaimed, startling all of them, " What if they're being held in that place you two went to train at, Toph? You know, that underground city?"

That certainly was a possibility. And seeing as they had no other leads….

"Well, we have nothing else to go on. May as well check down there." Aang said

Sokka nodded, agreeing with him, " We should split up. One group goes to the underground city, and the other group goes to warn the Earth King about what's going on."

"Good idea, Sokka. Me, Aang, and uncle will go into the catacombs to save Dum Dum and Katara, and Mai too if she's there. Meanwhile you, Toph, and Ty Lee go and warn the Earth King." Azula said, ignoring the look on Sokka's face when she said that he wouldn't be coming with them. With her.

"What about me?" Suki asked, looking at the shrunken princess.

Azula gave the older girl a look, still not completely over what had happened at the air temple, "Would you mind staying here with my mother? I don't want her to be here by herself, especially if Dai Li comes here. Oh, and if Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot come back, can you tell them what's going on?"

"Of course. Leave everything to me."

Azula nodded at her before turning her attention to her mother, "Mom, I-"

She didn't get to finish speaking before Ursa pulled her into a hug.

"Please be careful. And if Zuko really is there, help him escape."

Azula hugged her back, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. And I'll help Zuzu, even if he's trying to capture me at the moment."

Ursa immediately broke the hug and stared at her daughter with wide eyes, "Wait, what?"

Azula chuckled nervously, slowly backing away from Ursa, "I'll tell you about that later. In fact, I'll have dum dum explain everything himself when I bring him back. So just wait here until then, ok?"

"...Ok."

Azula turned to the flying lemur on her shoulder, "Momo, you should stay here too. I don't want you to get captured by the Dai Li." she explained to the lemur, who promptly ran off of her shoulder and headed towards Suki and Ursa.

That settled, Azula turned towards the others, "Alright, let's go save Zuzu and Katara. Come on, old man", she said to Iroh, grabbing his hand and leading him out of the house, the others following close behind them.

"Hey! I'm not that old!"

"You're old enough."

"Why did they throw you in here?!" Katara shouted at him.

Zuko remained silent. He figured that would be his best course of action right now, this way she wouldn't suspect him of anything.

"Oh, I get it! This is all a plot to get Aang and Azula, isn't it?! You're a terrible person, you know that?! Trying to capture Aang, the world's last hope for peace, and your own little sister!"

Zuko froze. She already suspected him? Not good.

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"I don't?! How dare you?! You have no idea what this war has put us through! Me personally! The Fire Nation took my mother away from me!" Katara said, beginning to cry.

The Fire Nation took my mother away from me!

Her mother was gone? He knew what that felt like. Granted, she hadn't been killed (at least, as far as he knew, anyway) but he knew what it felt like to lose a mother.

Perhaps he could use that as a way to get her to let her guard down around him. To make her not suspect him of being a part of all of this. To make her think that they could find common ground over something that they have in common.

"I'm sorry. That's something that we have in common."

Katara stared at him, wiping her tears. There was shock and empathy on her face, as well as something else that he couldn't quite make out. What was it?

There was tense silence between the two of them, before Katara broke it, "I'm sorry that I yelled at you earlier. It's just…. I'm angry about this whole situation. And since whenever I imagine the enemy, I see your face. So I just assumed that you were a part of this."

If she only knew.

"My face. I see…." Zuko said, absentmindedly touching his scar. He really did hate it. A permanent reminder of his failure.

"No, that's not what I-!"

"Forget it. It's fine."

More tense silence passed between them, which was once again broken by Katara.

"So, about your mother…. What happened to her? Did she die?" She asked, even though she knew the answer to her question. She wasn't sure if she should tell him, however. Katara wasn't 100% certain that she could trust him, even if it did seem like he had nothing to do with their current predicament. The last thing that she wanted was to allow him to get anywhere near Aang and Azula. For all she knew, he could use the opportunity to catch both of them.

"I…don't know. All I know is that she disappeared one night. She woke me up before she left, saying that everything that she did, she did it for me, and that I should never forget who I am. The next day, I woke up looking for her, but Azula told me that she was gone, and that nobody knew where she went. That night was the last time anyone saw her."

Talking about his mom hurt. He didn't like talking about her very much. Even if this was the only way to get Katara to trust him long enough for him to see the rest of his plan through.

On her end, Katara began to feel sorry for the boy in front of her. While she didn't like him, she understood the pain of losing your mother. It was a pain that she wouldn't wish on anyone. She looked at him, and a thought occurred to her. What if there was a way to get him to see his mother, while ensuring that he wouldn't attack Aang and Azula?

What if she healed his scar?

She saw how he reacted when she had made that comment about his face. How he immediately touched his scar. Clearly he hated it. So what if she removed it for him? Would he be grateful enough to the point where they could have a temporary truce? Maybe even enough to join them? After all, Azula ended up joining them, even though at first it was because she needed Aang to help her return to normal. And Katara had no doubts that had that actually happened sooner, Azula would have betrayed them right then and there. Instead, that didn't end up happening and they went through a lot together. And now, Azula was almost certainly in love with Sokka (whether the girl herself realized that or not was another matter entirely), she helped them stop the drill from breaking through the wall of Ba Sing Se, and she even seemed to be on board with the invasion plan. If all of that could happen with Azula, who's to say that the same thing couldn't happen with Zuko? Maybe he'd feel so grateful to her that he'd change his mind about trying to capture Aang and Azula. And if he ended up joining their group, he could see how wrong the war was, how much people have suffered as a result of it, and help them defeat his father and end the war. It was certainly worth a try if that was the end result. Katara pulled out the spirit water that she had gotten from the Northern Water Tribe, and showed it to Zuko.

"This is water from the spirit oasis at the North Pole. It's supposed to have special properties, so I've been waiting for the right time to use it. Maybe now is that time. I don't know if it'll work, but maybe I can use it to heal your scar."

She wanted to heal his scar?

In the three years since he got his scar, he never once imagined a life when he would be free of it. And now, here he was, being offered a chance to do just that. By a girl who was supposed to be his enemy. She had given him the offer. It was up to him to decide whether or not to accept it.

Fifteen minutes into walking and Azula was already getting tired. Something that both her uncle and Aang realized. She really did hate being in this form.

"Would you like me to carry you, Azula?" Iroh offered

"... Really?"

"Of course. I don't mind." He said, bending down so that way she could climb up his back.

Azula looked at him before she decided that he didn't have any ulterior motive, and accepted his offer. When she was safely on his back, Iroh rose back up and began to walk again, Aang following behind him.

"Thank you, uncle."

Iroh smiled, "You're welcome, Azula."

Since he was being nice to her, she supposed that now would make the perfect time to ask him about the lotus tile.

"Do you remember when you gave me that white lotus tile? What did you mean by that? When you said that I would be able to find you with it, should I ever need your help?"

"You haven't figured it out yet?" Iroh asked her, shocked

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking you now would I?"

She had a point there.

"I am a part of a group known as the Order Of The White Lotus."

Azula and Aang looked at each other. Order Of The White Lotus? What kind of group was that?

"And what does this group do?" Aang asked

"On the surface, we are nothing more than one giant pai sho club, made up of old people. But I'm reality, we are much more than that. We are seeking to end the war."

They were seeking to end the war? That was news to them. They had no idea that there was a group out there that was trying to undermine the war effort.

"I even have some friends in it that the two of you know. King Bumi, Jeong Jeong the deserter, Pakku from the Northern Water Tribe, and Piandao."

Iroh was right. They did indeed know those people.

"Bumi, Master Pakku, and Jeong Jeong are a part of the White Lotus?!"

"Piandao I can see, but the deserter? He'd be the last person I would expect to join a group like that." Azula gave her opinion.

Iroh laughed, "The world is full of many surprises, my niece. But yes, all of them are in it, as well as many more people."

Well wasn't this an interesting turn of events?

"Do you think that they'll be able to help us out for the invasion plan?" Aang asked

"Invasion plan?"

"We're planning to attack the Fire Nation capital on the day of the solar eclipse. It's the best time to catch father off guard." Azula explained

Iroh nodded, shocked that Azula would be on board with such a plan, "I see. And that's fine with you, Azula?"

"I…yes. Before, I would have opposed it, and at first, I was entirely against it. A lot has happened since then, though. I know that this may be hard for you to believe, since your opinion of me has never been good, but I've changed. I've seen way too much since I began traveling with Aang and the others to justify this war. And besides, it's not like I can go back home right now. Not as long as father has a target on my back, anyway."

Iroh winced, reminded of the fact that Zuko was currently tasked with capturing both Azula and the avatar. He just hoped that the boy wouldn't do anything stupid once they found him.

"I see. So that's what you guys have been up to since we left." Suki said, staring at the three teenagers in front of her.

Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot returned to the house a little while ago, Jet not looking happy at all. When Ursa and Suki had asked him what was wrong, he told them about how they had been trying to find an entrance into Lake Laogai so that they could rescue the Joo Dee that were still there. Unfortunately, none of them were earthbenders, so they had no way of looking for the entrance. They had been unsuccessful in trying to find a Dai Li agent to capture and force them to reveal where the entrance was hidden at.

"Maybe…maybe they aren't there anymore?"

They all turned to Ursa, who looked a bit unsure of what she had just said.

"They aren't there anymore? Why do you think that?" Jet asked

"Well, if I were Long Feng, after everything that happened? I would want the place cleared out of any evidence of what happened. And that seems to be exactly what they did by getting rid of the entrance. It's highly possible that they've been removed from there."

"Ok, and where do you think they're being held?" Smellerbee asked

"The palace," Suki spoke up, "it's the only logical conclusion. Where else would they be?"

That was a good point. There weren't many places to hide them in the city, after all. Jet stood up, now with a new goal in mind.

"Then let's head to the palace. Come on, you two" he said to Smellerbee and Longshot, who nodded at him and stood up as well.

"Wait!" Suki shouted, stopping them from walking out the door.

Jet frowned and looked at her, confused as to why she stopped them, "What?"

"It's not a good idea to go there right now to look for them. Something is going on at the palace. Katara has been kidnapped by Long Feng, and so has Prince Zuko. Aang, Azula, and her uncle went to go find them, and Sokka, Toph, and Ty Lee went to warn the Earth King about what's going on. It's possible that Long Feng is plotting a coup."

"Well I don't care about the Prince of the Fire Nation- no offense." He said, looking at Ursa.

The woman sighed, "As much as I hate to say it, it's understandable."

"But I do care about what happens to Katara. We need to go help them!"

"If you want to help, then stay here with me."

"What? How is that helping?"

"Look, Azula asked me if I could stay behind with her mother, just in case Dai Li agents come to try and take her again. I would appreciate some help with that sincey girls are currently guarding the Earth King." She explained.

Jet looked at Suki, and then at Ursa. While he didn't have much of an opinion on the woman, he did know that he didn't want her to go through that again. He knew what it was like, after all.

He nodded his head in agreement, "Fine, we'll stay here with you two."

Suki smiled, "Thank you."

"I'm surprised that you didn't put up a fight when Azula suggested that you go with us, lover boy."

"There wouldn't be much of a point in arguing with her about it. And I trust her and Aang to be able to save Katara."

"You don't trust Iroh?" Ty Lee asked

Sokka snorted, "I don't trust that guy as far as I can throw him. Azula seems to somewhat trust him though, and I trust her judgement. I just hope that he won't turn on them the moment he gets his precious nephew back."

"I don't think he will. It really doesn't seem like Iroh's on board with trying to capture Aang and Azula." Ty Lee said

"Considering the fact that he hasn't really done anything to stop Zuko? I'll believe it when I see it." Sokka responded

Soon enough, they came across the throne room. They ran inside, only to find that thankfully, the kyoshi warriors and the Earth King were fine.

"Thank goodness you guys are ok! We need to get out of here, now!" Ty Lee exclaimed

The Kyoshi warriors and King Kuei looked at them. Why did they have to leave?

"Why do we need to leave?" one of the warriors asked

"Long Feng is plotting a coup, that's why! He had the Dai Li capture both Katara and Azula's brother. For all we know he could have Mai as well. We need to get the King out of here, and fast." Sokka explained

"Long Feng? But I had him arrested! He should still be in his jail cell!" King Kuei said, stunned by what Sokka had told them.

"Yeah, well clearly he's no longer locked away, so let's get out of here!" Sokka exclaimed

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." A voice rang out. A very familiar voice. One that Sokka couldn't forget even if he wanted to.

Sure enough, they were surrounded by the Dai Li, Long Feng walking to where Kuei was. He grabbed a knife out of his pocket and held it against his throat.

"Stand down now or I'll slit his throat."

Sokka glared at the man, but knew that they didn't have much of a choice. They couldn't allow the Earth King to get killed. They all raised their arms in surrender, and were promptly restrained by the Dai Li. Long Feng pushed King Kuei towards them, who was restrained as well.

"Take them to the prison cells. We don't want them interfering with what's about to happen, after all. I do hope that you like the surprise that I mentioned to you before." Long Feng said, smirking at all of them, but mainly at Sokka, who glared at the man as they were taken away.

Katara was ecstatic when Zuko silently nodded and closed his eyes, giving her the ok to do what she had to do. Just as she was getting ready to take the water out of its vial, however, a loud noise stopped her. The two of them turned around to see Aang, Iroh, and what looked to be Azula on his back, Aang having used his earthbending to get them through from the other side of the cave.

"Aang!" Katara shouted happily, rushing over to give him a hug, which he happily returned, glaring at Zuko.

Iroh smiled at the sight, and then turned his attention to his niece, who had fallen asleep at some point, "Azula, wake up. We found them."

Azula slowly woke up and stretched, looking at her surroundings while yawning, "Where are we?"

"The catacombs, remember? We found your brother and Katara." Iroh replied, bending down to let Azula off his back.

"Oh yeah," she yawned again, "Hi Zuzu. Hi Katara. Glad to see that you're both ok." She said while rubbing her eyes.

Katara had to keep herself from having a Ty Lee moment. Azula looked way too cute like that, "Thanks for coming to rescue us, Azula."

"Uncle, what are you doing with the avatar and Azula?!" Zuko shouted

"What does it look like, dum dum? Saving you, against my better judgement. You should be thanking me, really."

Zuko looked like he was getting ready to say something to her, but Iroh held him back, "Why don't you three go ahead? We'll be there shortly."

The three of them nodded and began to run, but not before Katara gave Zuko a look, something that Azula noticed. What was that about?

Once they were gone, Zuko turned his attention towards Iroh, trying to get what nearly happened out of his head. He couldn't believe that he nearly fell for that offer. Besides, she probably offered to heal his scar to get him to change sides. Fat chance of that ever happening. He had come too far to turn back now. He'd see this plan through, no matter what.

"Prince Zuko, please listen to me. I think it's time for you to stop chasing after the avatar and your sister."

He knew that this talk was coming. It didn't come as a surprise to Zuko at all, but it still saddened him. It meant that he really did have no choice but to betray his uncle if he wanted to return home to his nation. To his father.

"Why should I? All I have to do in order to return home is capture the avatar and Azula. Then I can finally regain my honor!"

"Do you really think that capturing your own little sister and handing her over to your father, who will do who knows what to her, will help you regain your honor? Selling out your family isn't honorable at all! It's the exact opposite!"

"Oh please, like Azula wouldn't do the same thing in my position?! In case you forgot, the reason why she's even here is because father sent her to arrest you and I for what happened in the North Pole! If it hadn't been for the fact that she was shrunk, she STILL would have been doing that!"

"Yes, she would! But believe it or not, your sister has changed. This whole ordeal has been a good experience for her in the long run. And if Azula can change, then so can you, Zuko! Please, I'm begging you! It's time to look deep inside yourself and ask the big questions: who are you?! And what do you want?!"

Zuko froze. Was his uncle really asking him that now? He already knew who he was. His mother had made sure that he would never forget that. And he definitely knew what he wanted.

"My name is Zuko, son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai, prince of the Fire Nation and the heir to the throne! That is who I am, uncle! I'm not some normal teenage boy working in a tea shop! I can never be that! Nor do I want that kind of life!"

Iroh looked at him in disappointment and shook his head. There had to be another way to change his nephew's mind.

"And with that said…. I'm sorry, uncle."

"Sorry? For what?"

A rumbling noise, followed by Iroh becoming encased in crystal rocks, gave him his answer.

"Your nephew is sorry for this, dragon of the west."

Iroh looked to see Long Feng walking over to them with two Dai Li agents. He was confused for a moment before he put two and two together. He looked at Zuko with both shock and horror.

"No. Zuko, please tell me that you didn't!"

"Like I said, I'm sorry." He then walked off, ignoring his uncle calling out to him.

He had targets to find.