Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar and this is purely fan-made… obviously.

Braving Time
"Chapter 1"

His eyes had changed.

Thinking back to being imprisoned under the crystal caverns, Katara remembered the suspicious look of the fire prince's eyes. They were bitter and angry, yet displayed a hint of uncertainty. And, if it not for that small glimpse of doubt, Katara would have probably fought against him. However, the look in his eyes seemed genuine.

But, she thought it was a façade, at first…

Suddenly, Katara found herself trying, wanting, to believe in those wistful amber orbs. To her surprise, she did. Through the emotional connection of losing both their mothers, Katara was able to bond with the lost prince of the Fire Nation.

It was a strange sensation, sharing empathetic feelings with her enemy. He would tell her about being "free to determine his own destiny," and she would silently agree, knowing that he wasn't governing his current path alone. Soon, their situation got to a point where they reached a mutual understanding; and for some intangible reason, Katara felt inclined to help the confused prince.

His scar…

She wanted to heal his scar. Even though Katara did not know the history of the prince's burn, it didn't really matter. He looked as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders, and it seemed to be connected to the disfigurement of his face. As she gently caressed his left cheek, ready to unleash her therapeutic abilities, a section of the cave wall imploded. Amongst the destruction stood Aang and the fire prince's uncle.

Katara had to admit she was relieved. She was happy to see Aang, and she ran to embrace him, letting his presence alleviate the awkwardness of her predicament. As she let him go, a few harsh words and angry glances were exchanged between the Avatar and the Fire Nation prince. Deciding it was best to leave the prince and his uncle to their thoughts, Katara gave him one last considerate look, and left the crystal chamber with Aang.

They entered a crystalline grotto of sea-foam green rocks. However, to their dismay, Azula, along with a few dozen Dai Li Agents, were there to greet them. With incredibly uneven numbers, a fight rapidly ensued. Before long, the multiplicity of enemies was becoming too great for Aang and Katara to handle. Eventually, the Fire Nation prince made his way to the scene; the Avatar gave him a questioning look. But unfortunately, the prince had come as an antagonist, leaving Katara in disbelief.

The display of humility in the cave was just a front, after all.

A small group of companions sat in huddle around a calmly lit fire, while one person sat by himself, detached from the group. Once in a while that one person would receive glances of wonder and, every so often, a glare of hatred. It made him nervous, but it couldn't be helped. Katara didn't care, either. Actually, she was the one doing the glaring, and she swore she would bore a hole through him with her stare. Or, just ogle him long enough to make him cry out of agitation.

"Could you please stop?" The isolated being spoke out. His eyes flickered between the other members of the group and the female waterbender.

"What are you implying? We're not doing anything. If nothing else, it's you who should stop sitting there so suspicious like!" A curtly reply came from Katara. The water tribe girl relished at his shift of uneasiness.

"You're making me nervous," the separated bender looked to the ground, feeling nauseous.

A pony-tailed young man barked out. "Who the wouldn't be nervous! You've got death staring you down!" He turned and playfully nudged his fuming sister Katara, "eh?"

"Oh jeez," huffed Katara out of annoyance. "I think we're the ones who should be 'nervous.' What with Zuko being a known traitor." Her last word rang out into the night air.

The detached adolescent sighed. He slowing stood up and turned his back towards the group, walking away.

"Where are you going?" Katara interrogated.

"To train." Zuko's answer came quick and nonchalant; he didn't even bother to turn around.

Katara abruptly got to her feet, making the other members alert and in speculation of what she might do. "What do you mean, 'train?' It's evening. There's no sun out. What are you going to do?" Her interrogation continued.

Zuko halted for a moment and twisted around to face the others, "I'm not going to firebend. I'm just going to train using my combat skills. I don't always rely on firebending, you know."

Feeling a bit insulted, for who knows what reason, Katara yelled out. "Don't question my intelligence! I know what you're up to, and I'm going too… just to keep an eye on you." She maneuvered her way past the others and stopped just shortly behind the Fire Nation prince, who didn't say word to protest.

The tension in the air was extremely high and uncomfortable. In fact, it was like a hot and humid summer day, suffocating the organisms that had to endure it. Katara was tired and she wanted to go back to the group to rest. But, she refused to let Zuko be alone. She heaved an exasperated sigh. Zuko had been training for nearly two hours now, swatting invisible men through the night sky. She didn't understand what use it would do him. He was only performing the same moves over and over; there wasn't even any noticeable improvement.

"Are you done?" Katara lazily flicked a piece of rock.

"No."

"Well, are you going to finish anytime soon?" The rock that the waterbender had brushed landed gently next to a yellow flower, which glowed florescent in the evening moonlight.

"No. I don't know. Maybe if you stop bombarding me with all these grilling questions… and scary looks." Zuko ceased for a moment as he responded to the girl, mumbling the last bit to himself.

"I'm just trying to keep aware of your intentions. Who knows, maybe you'll turn on us when we're all defenseless?" The casual undertone of Katara's voice made Zuko twitch in a pang of anger.

"What's your problem?!" As soon as it came out, Zuko quickly regretted the way his inquiry sounded, which was more like a livid exclamation. The last thing he wanted was to rile up the waterbender girl.

Katara wanted to pummel the young man into the ground. "What's my problem? Shall I enlighten you? Because I strictly remember being deceived and betrayed a couple weeks ago."

"I'm sorry." The guilt began to consume the young firebender. "I was confused and angry and I didn't mean to cause you pain."

"I've heard your apology before. Are you going to give me another sap story about your mom? That was really great, I actually believed you."

Zuko frowned at that statement, while Katara continued. "I bet you when you got back home, you and your whole family laughed about how gullible we were to trust you. I hate the Fire Nation. Your only purpose in life is to spread destruction."

"Be quiet! You don't know anything about my family," rage filled the pit of Zuko's stomach, making him cringe in pain.

"I know your parents must be great people, to raise someone like you and your sister," ridiculed Katara.

Fists balled up in a passion of fury, as Zuko tried to control his emotions. "Don't mock me! I'm sorry about what happened to you mother, but you don't know what I've been through. At least you've had people who loved you!"

"That doesn't make up for the loss of my mother! You come from royalty; I pretty sure your hardships don't compare to mine! My people had to constantly live in fear, wondering whether we would be attacked. And then you come, in this mighty ship, shooting fire at defenseless women and children, preaching nonsense from your tyrannical nation! But, your nothing my a spoiled prince."

As Katara finished speaking, the radiance of the moon suddenly went flat, as if the lights in a room blacked out. Her vision of Zuko disappeared, and she became engulf in a sea of darkness. Closing her eyes, Katara thought maybe she got dizzy from her sudden outburst. However, as she opened them again, there was nothing but vast obscurity, plaguing the scene.

"Zuko?" She called out, wondering if he was still there. No answer came. "Zuko!" She yelled again.

Placing both hands in front of her, Katara began to walk, unsure of where her steps would take her. With every placement of her foot, she could here it echo as it collided with the ground. It felt like she was in an infinite cave, with no way out.

"Okay, this isn't funny," Katara cried. She was serious. The pitched black demeanor of her situation scared her. And for that reason, she found herself desperately running, searching, for a way that would lead her to light. However, the ground unexpectedly gave way. She began to fall endlessly into darkness. Katara screamed, hoping someone would hear.

She suddenly felt herself smash into something, soft enough to where her life wasn't in danger, but hard enough to render her unconscious.

It's so… warm.

The young waterbender regained consciousness. She slid her hands across a smooth marble surface and pushed herself up from off the ground. She had been lying on her stomach and her chest hurt from resting on the hard floor, which was extremely warm to the touch. Where was she?

Gradually arranging herself into a sitting position, Katara fixated her gaze on a familiar scroll. She gasped in surprise as she realized the symbol that was painted on the poster: the crest of the Fire Nation.

Standing a bit too fast for her body to handle, Katara stumbled a few steps and looked upon the scroll once more. Zuko… he didn't…!

Author's note: Oh, I'm so sorry if it's not that good! This chapter is kind of boring. Also, I hope the characters aren't too ooc. I kind of suck at writing dialogue. Donate a review, please. Reviews will help me decide whether this story is worthy enough to be continued. If I do continue, it will get better… I promise! lol.