Avatar: The Last Airbender - What Might Have Been...

[Misery]

Prologue: 1 year ago

"I can't believe I'm saying this but... thanks Zuko..." Aang said, a little tentatively. Zuko watched the look on his face, and closed his eyes in a bit of relief. He was feeling the words starting to come, if he could just concentrate on what it was that he needed to say, and forget about all the nerves that were flowing through him at this particular moment.

"Hey! What about me? I did the boomerang thing." Sokka interrupted, though it didn't seem as if anyone was really paying that much attention.

"Listen, I know I didn't explain myself very well yesterday. I been through a lot in the past few years, and it's been hard. But I'm realizing that I had to go through all those things to learn the truth. I thought I had lost my honor, and that somehow my father could return it to me. But I know now, that no one can give you your honor. It's something you earn for yourself by choosing to do what's right. All I want now is to play my part in ending this war. And I know my destiny is to help you restore balance to the world." Even as the words were coming from him, Zuko found himself surprised at how easily they seemed to flow. Why hadn't he been able to think of any of this earlier? Why was it only after coming close to death with the assassin that he'd finally been able to crystallize everything that he'd been thinking about all this time since he'd left the Fire Nation for good? He supposed that it didn't matter, what did matter of course was to tell Aang and the others what he'd been thinking, and of course...

"I'm sorry for what I did to you. It was an accident. Fire can be dangerous and wild, so as a fire bender, I need to be more careful and control my bending, so I don't hurt people unintentionally." He bowed lightly to Toph in apology, mentally telling himself to keep it short, and simple. She would either forgive him, or she wouldn't, but trying to draw it out in order to cover each and every way he was sorry wouldn't do much good. He needed to be firm, and let her know how he felt, and see where things fell from there. Hopefully in time she would learn to forget about what he had done.

"I think you are supposed to be my firebending teacher. When I first tried to learn firebending, I burned Katara. And after that, I never wanted to firebend again. But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt the people you love. I'd like you to teach me." Aang looked serious in that moment, and Zuko couldn't help but blink as he wondered exactly what it was he'd done to burn Katara, and moreover, how he'd managed to get her to forgive him. Of all the people that he'd hurt, he knew that Katara above all the others would be hardest to convince that he was worth giving another chance. After all, his betrayal of her had been... the worst.

"Thank you. I'm so happy you've accepted me into your group." He felt relief as he said the words, and excitement as well. As long as Aang was willing to support him, he could make the others come around. Given enough time they would learn to forget the things that he had done, and he would play his part in shaping the world, finally fulfilling the destiny that he'd been struggling so hard to find. A place, a purpose for. It was of course, Aang's next words that stole all of the breath from Zuko's lungs as suddenly that chance to make amends was once again thrown into jeopardy.

"Not so fast. I still have to ask my friends if it's okay with them. Toph, you're the one that Zuko burned, what do you think?"

"Go ahead and let him join. It'll give me plenty of time to get back at him for burning my feet." Zuko couldn't help but smile a little at how easily it was that Toph managed to forget him. Then again, of all of the members of Aang's party, Toph was the one that he'd known the least amount of time. She had come to the group when he was already on the run with his uncle, not when he was actively hunting the Avatar. It was a good sign for him, but it by no means was a victory in itself.

"Sokka?" Aang said, and Zuko looked towards the next member of the group, frowning at the look on his face.

"I... I don't know, Aang. How can we really trust... Zuko?" The words hung there out in the open, and Zuko watched as the serious look on Aang's face began to drift towards a frown. This was... all things considered, very bad. He knew that Aang was the sort of person who liked to make people happy. He wouldn't have Zuko as a part of the team if it was going to cause a major rift. Then again, it sounded as if Sokka was still on the fence. Zuko could figure out a way to make amends to him. After all, with as focused as he seemed to be on his boomerang, it would only take making him another one... or some sort of boomerang attachment or something in order to make him happy.

"... Katara?" Aang asked, far more tentatively this time. Fuck. Zuko could feel his blood running cold enough that he wondered if the water bender didn't have something to do with the sudden drop in temperature, or if it was just nerves.

"How can we really trust Zuko?" Katara seemed to muse, "We can't. Aang, look at all he's done to us. Do you think that just goes away because he saved us from an assassin he sent after us in the first place? For all we know this was just a ploy, something he set up in order to get us to lower his guard. I won't fall for his act again..." Katara growled darkly as she looked at Aang. Aang's face grew heavy, and suddenly he looked much older, much wiser than the young prepubescent boy that he was.

"I'm sorry, Zuko. I want to trust you... but we're a team, and we make decisions as one..." Aang said with a frown, shaking his head. "We won't attack you if we cross paths again, but... I don't want to see you hanging around us anymore Zuko. I'm sorry..."

"W-wait! Hear me out at least, there's so much I can teach you. I can show you how to redirect lightning, and there are things you need to know about Sozin's comet that-" Zuko was cut off as the water from the nearby fountain drenched him and sent him spinning back towards the edge of the Western Air Temple. Zuko felt his foot hanging over the edge as he came dangerously close to a fall he wouldn't survive.

"Enough, Zuko. Aang's made his decision. Now leave, or you won't have a destiny to worry about any longer..." Katara growled, and Zuko paled a little as he saw the wall of water behind her. He could evaporate it of course, but anything he did to firebend towards her would have all of them on him, and he wasn't nearly good enough to take what amounted to 3 of the best young element benders in the world.

"Fine." Zuko said, pointing at Katara. "It's on you then. I'm done trying to save the world." Drenched, and slightly shivering from the wind he strode away from them towards a stairwell. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he could see Aang frowning at him as he stalked away, but Zuko did not look back. He had been striving for redemption here, but there was none to be found.

---

Chapter 1: What the world needs now

"Have you seen that statue that they're building in the fire nation capitol?" One of the guards asked as he leaned back and looked over the railing at the water surrounding them, watching as it bubbled and boiled like a cauldron. It was the namesake of the Boiling Rock, and one of the things that assured that none of it's prisoners ever made it out of there alive.

"You mean the one to commemorate the year anniversary of the Avatar's defeat? Isn't that coming up in a month or so?" The other guard mused, idly kicking a rock over onto the cliffs below, watching as it splashed to the bottom lightly.

"Yeah. It's... pretty fucking creepy man. I mean... I'm not saying I'm not glad the avatar is dead... but I mean, a statue of him dying as the Phoenix King shoots him full of lightning? I don't want to see that... I mean his face is all distorted and... eugh." The first guard shivered a little despite the fact that the boiling rock was probably the least cold place on earth, and they were still in the middle of summer, of all things.

"See... shit like that is going to get you in one of the cells, man." The other guard said, shaking his head. "After the fallen prince publicly fought fire nation troops at Ba Sing Se on the day of the comet, I sure as fuck wouldn't go around talking about how creeped out you are by anything the Phoenix King or the new Fire Lord does..."

"Spirits... don't get me started on her. And why do we call her a Fire Lord anyway, shouldn't she be like a Fire Lady, or something? Word is that she flipped the fuck out and killed her best friend for trying to defect after she heard about the Fallen Prince in Ba Sing Se. I think I'd rather be doing time in this place than being part of her elite squadron or whatever. Might as well call it the fucking suicide squad..."

"Dude! Holy fuck man, you're going to get both of us in deep shit if you don't stop flapping your jaw..." The second guard said with a bit of edge to his voice, turning to walk back inside.

"Would you stop freaking out? It's not like she's in the shadows listening to us." The other said, turning around. "Nothing is going to happen to us, buddy... I promise."

The second man turned to glare at his friend, only to see his friend grasping at his neck as if choking, the second guard trying to turn only to feel the same vice-like grip upon his throat. Grasping at it he could feel a fine chord digging into his neck, crushing his windpipe even as a figure in dark red robes stepped up from the railing behind them, his face covered in a dark twisted looking mask. Behind him several others began to hop up over the railing even as the last breath was choked out of the guard finally.

---

The riot that erupted was like anything the Boiling rock had ever seen. Asleep as they were in the dead of night, the guards barely had a moment of consciousness before the rampaging hordes came. With the Prison erupting into violence around them. Guards raging pounded the guards who had so violently mistreated them, with weapons that had somewhat mysteriously been acquired outside of their prison cells. Those that did not resort to weapons were the firebenders, who rained down their wrath in the form of flame and anger.

What they did not do, however, was stop at all the band, lead by the figure in a dark red suit and horrific mask through the crowd. As soon as he made an appearance the people stepped back, blinking and giving wide berth. Even on the boiling rock the tales of the red Demon had spread across the land like wildfire. Some said that he was the angry incarnation of the blue spirit that had once plagued the fire nation. Others instead said that he was the avatar, stuck in between death and life coming to seek out vengeance. Whatever one believed, however, there was one thing that was certain... few people were willing to step in his way.

"You'll escape this prison over my DEAD FUCKING BODY!" ... The warden was not one of these people.

The punch that the warden through was side stepped by the masked man rather easily as he spun his foot high up and then brought it slamming down into the side of the Warden's neck, causing the man's eyes to bulge as he fell to the ground. As he tried to get up the red clad man slammed his shin into the man's gut, knocking the wind out of him, motioning for the people to continue on their run towards the gondolas that would take them to freedom. This was the most dangerous part of the journey, but with all luck, the easiest leg of it.

On top of the gondola a cloaked figure stood, long cloak billowing in the wind as barely visible eyes gleamed in the pale light. Around the gondola there were piles of bodies that had recently been fighting. As they approached, the prisoners who were with the small group paused, staring up warily at the creature that refused to reveal itself. It only took a bit of fervent gesturing from the man in red to get them piling aboard. A prisoner not with the rest of of them blinked as he saw the gondola start to move, and from one of the windows one of the black clad men shouted out.

"Tell the prisoners to escape while they can! Get as many off as you can by gondola before it's too late!" he cried as their gondola began to move.

Once they were far away from the prison, the man in red blinked for a moment, and then pulled off his mask, revealing himself to the group. Pushing past a couple of people, he stopped in front of one of the men who was staring wistfully out of the window. Without a word the man turned towards him, his eyes narrowing slightly. He was lean, but still muscular. But there was a fire in his eyes that was unmistakable. The man clothed in red smiled a little bit as he approached him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Chief Hadoka, correct?"

"Yes... but who are you?" Hakoda asked, his brow knitting. "I don't recognize you... at all."

"My name is Shogen. I'm Captain of the Eternal Flame. We're here to rescue you. The water tribes need your leadership now more than ever." Shogen explained, squeezing his shoulder lightly, his dark eyes looking away as if to signify he knew what the next question would be, and the fact that he didn't want to answer it.

"So it's true then." Hakoda said, picking up on it. "The avatar has fallen."

Shogen lowered his head slowly, but nodded.

"And Ba Sing Se. Does the earth capitol still stand?"

"Yes, but it's defenses have been weakened. The avatar gave his life to protect the Earth Kingdom... once he found out what Ozai had planned, he valiantly stepped in and... he fought with much honor, I am told. But yes, he is dead, as was his fire bending instructor... Jeong Jeong." Shogen gripped the edge of the gondola as he looked out the window. "Among so many others. I was fire nation, but... after learning what we did that day... who could rule under someone like that?"

Hakoda nodded lightly, then blinked, looking in the corner. "You brought saws?"

"They're meant to cut the cable in the event that an escape happens. This way we can't be stopped easily. It was the Boss' idea."

"The Boss?"

"You'll meet him soon enough." Shogen seemed to beam at that idea, though Hakoda looked leery.

A few moments later though, the gondola came to a smooth stop under the covering, the cloaked figure landing from a leap taken from the roof as it came to a halt. Shogen slipped on his mask again as he stepped out as did the others. The red demon slowly strode up next to the cloaked figure, and though it was not apparent, the smile on his face could be heard in his voice. "I was wrong, the plan worked like a charm. Happy now, Boss?"

"... I'm never happy." The Boss answered in a gravely voice. "We need to move these people to the balloons as soon as possible, now. Something about this doesn't feel right..."

From the boiling rock 3 balloons packed somewhat full of people took off, the cloaked figure and the red demon traveling in the same balloon with Hakoda and a few others. As the balloons took off into the night, Hakoda blinked as he watched the figure and then leaned over to the red demon. "He's... not much of a talker, is he?"

"He has his reasons." Shogen assured the chief, and then walked over to the cloaked figure. "I think your feeling might have been wrong..." he said, as they started to cross over land. "Can we fly a bit higher now?"

No sooner had the words been spoken then a burst of fire came flying from the thick forest below that started to catch the fabric of the balloon on fire. Yellow accusing eyes glared at Shogen from beneath the cloak as the Boss extinguished the fire from the balloon with a swift maneuver and called out to the people on the balloon. "Brace yourselves..." he growled out as the balloon came crashing down to the ground roughly sending several of them scattering from the balloon.

A young woman on the balloon blinked as she saw the Boss with his hood tossed back due to the jarring nature of their landing. "I know you, you're..."

"This isn't the time for that, Suki." The Boss growled out as his yellow eyes looked out, unclasping his cloak and tossing it to the sided as he heard a battle cry errupting from the woods. Something in his bones told him exactly who would be coming for them, and it didn't make him happy in the slightest.

"ZUUUUUUUKKKKOOOOOOO!!!" A female scream erupted as a foot came flying at him. Grabbing it he roughly used her own momentum to toss her from the crashed basket where the people were being carried. As she rolled to a stop the Boss leapt out of the basket as well and threw a fireball at her, glaring as she nimbly backflipped out of the way.

Meanwhile, around them fires began to light up the night as at least a dozen firebenders revealed themselves, holding fire in their hands. As the fire lit their faces, it became clear that each one of the bore a scar, It was hard to make out exactly what it was, but the Boss knew well enough, he had heard rumors, and knew for certainty that these were indeed the Hand of the Fire Lord.

An elite group of fire benders, they were those whose loyalty knew no bounds, those who were willing to be scarred for life the way he was, in order to symbolize their eternal allegiance to the the group. The only one who wasn't marked was the woman who was now dusting herself off and preparing to strike at him again. Given that her midriff was showing and the leggings that she wore were somewhat short, he didn't even want to think about where SHE'D been marked.

"Hello Ty Lee." The Boss growled as he took a firebending pose of his own.

"Fuck off Zuko. You know why I'm here..."

"It wasn't your fault, Ty Lee..." Zuko said, but she was already coming for him. A wall of fire caused her to fall back, rolling to extinguish the flames on her clothes as she glared at him and then lunged for him again.

"It's not MY fault, Zuko, it's YOURS! Mai is DEAD because of YOU! If you hadn't betrayed your own people, betrayed your family, then Mai wouldn't have tried to leave... she would still be ALIVE now!" Ty growled as she came at him. He blocked her first few attacks, but once she got in close enough for hand to hand he knew it was her advantage. With a swift motion her hand came up and stabbed into his arm, and Zuko could feel the pain as she hit his meridian point, and the numbness that followed to indicate the disrupted flow of qi.

In return though he grabbed her and smashed his head into her nose, hearing a stunned cry as she stumbled back grabbing her nose. With any luck he had broken it. "Guess you don't need to worry about looking like your sisters now, circus freak." He spat at her. Mai was something of a sore point for him as well, and he didn't like being accused of killing the only person he'd ever really felt a connection with other than his family... the sane members of it, anyway.

Ty Lee, however, let out a scream and charged him anyway until he knocked her back with a sudden explosion of fire, hearing the sounds of battle going on around him. This wasn't good, the prisoners were tired, and there were only a few of his men aboard their basket. They were going to get overwhelmed here in a few moments if things didn't turn around really soon. With a growl Zuko thrust his hand into the air and shot a huge fireball from it that flew out into the night.

"What did you do that for?!" Shogen called behind him as he dispatched on of the Hand.

"My Uncle said he'd be sending someone to help us." Zuko called back. Someone who would be 'more than willing to do what it took to see this mission succeed' was exactly what Iroh had said. Whoever the hell they were, if they didn't show up soon, it was going to be too late.

[Kathryn Lacey]

Even after almost a year, it was still hard to believe that Aang was gone. They’d grown so close since she and Sokka had found him sleeping in the iceberg after one hundred years, presumably kept alive by the power of his combined past lives. Over the time they’d known one another, he’d truly felt like a part of Katara’s family, like another brother. It wasn’t until the Day of Black Sun when they’d raided the Fire Nation capitol that she’d realized there may have been more to their relationship than familial connections.

Katara still remembered the shock she’d felt when he’d kissed her, but she hadn’t stayed frozen for long. She’d leaned into him, feeling terribly afraid of never seeing him again and happy that they’d shared a moment like that. There had also been confusion once they’d parted. How long had he felt that way about her? How could she have not known, and why had she never truly realized she may have felt the same way for him? Had she truly felt romance blossoming between them, or had it simply been a reaction to experiencing her first kiss?

That day had been a failure, and the young waterbender had been forced to abandon her father, the men of the Southern Water Tribe, and so many of the other brave soldiers who had fought against the Fire Nation that day. On one bright note, Aang had come back to her, and while she was glad she hadn’t lost him, her feelings still seemed so muddled about the potential they may or may not have had, over whether or not she’d truly felt genuine feelings for him in that moment. However, there was still a war about which to brood, and they’d needed to make a plan.

One complication had seemed to stand in their way: Fire Prince Zuko. When he’d come to them, Katara had been certain it was a trick. She was sure that he had just been trying to play the part of the spy or the assassin by getting them all to trust him and betraying them when they least expected it, just like he had in Ba Sing Se.

Even after saving them from those firsts explosions by whom Sokka had dubbed “Combustion Man,” he couldn’t have been trusted. After all, Zuko never would have had to help them at all if he hadn’t hired the assassin to kill them in the first place. Katara had felt the first inklings of fear at the idea that Aang would actually accept the Fire Prince’s word and learn firebending from him, but he had become a little wiser over their time together. They were a group, and everyone’s voice mattered in this decision.

Toph had unsurprisingly been okay with it immediately. The earthbender had been vouching for him ever since he’d come pleading to join their group, but Katara was still nervous despite her steadfast scowl. Then Sokka announced his distrust, and she felt relief. Even though his comment had seemed to be one that could have been easily swayed if everyone had voted in Zuko’s favor, it had given Katara the strength to speak her true feelings, to reject him altogether.

The waterbender had known that it had all been laid on her shoulders. Even if Katara had been against him while everyone else had been for him, she knew that her veto would have been an automatic rejection. Aang had loved her, and he had valued her opinion. She couldn’t have said the words if she’d been alone in negativity, though. Sokka’s doubts had been all she’d needed. “How can we really trust Zuko?” She had repeated Sokka’s question. Her answer had been: “We can’t.” She would never fall for Zuko’s trickery again.

Even though the look on Aang’s face had given her minor doubts about her decision, she’d held strong, and her anger had never left her face.


Once that had been over, Sokka had had the idea to visit Piandao – the master who had taught him to fight with a sword. The man had made it very clear that he would not be against a person just because of their nationality. He had even known the Avatar had been among them, and he hadn’t been angry or even a little upset. He’d seemed more amused than anything else. If he’d felt that the world should have been at peace, that racism shouldn’t have existed, then maybe he’d have known others who felt the same.

It had definitely been one of Sokka’s better ideas. Piandao had sent word to a group called the Order of the White Lotus, and Jeong Jeong who had been a member had agreed to teach Aang firebending. It hadn’t been enough.


Even now, Zuko’s final words to her on that day echoed in her mind, cutting into her like knife. It’s on you… A tear slipped over her dark cheek as she remembered the last time she had seen Aang.

“Aang, I’m really proud of you. You’ve worked so hard for this. I know everything will turn out okay.” Katara had said, a small smile on her lips as she looked at him. The small, tingling doubts she’d felt never showed on her face, but the ones he had felt had been written clearly on his.

“But… what if it doesn’t? What if I’m not ready? Katara, what if I don’t come back?” The Avatar had asked her. His grey eyes had looked haunted as he’d asked her those questions, but she had only shaken her head. The girl from the Southern Water Tribe whose life had been saved by the last Airbender had leaned toward him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. When their lips had met, they had both known that it had been a promise for a future together, but it had been for a future that would never come…

---

“Are you ready, Katara?” Sokka’s voice was hushed, barely above a whisper, but his little sister heard him clearly. Their similar, sapphire eyes were turned skyward, watching as a ball of flame lit the darkness in the distance.

The two siblings began to run with a group of three others toward the direction where they’d seen the flame. Adrenaline pumped through the waterbender’s body, fueling her progress. Once this was all over, she and Sokka would be reunited with their father. Their family would almost be whole again even if Aang’s absence would always persist.

The sounds of battle grew clearer in Katara’s ears as they finally neared the crashed war balloon. In the darkness, the flames shooting wildly all around could be dizzying. Some of the foliage had caught fire and didn’t stop burning.

Beside her, Sokka’s battle cry, thankfully, disappeared into the sounds of grunts and groans and angry flames, so their arrival hadn’t been completely given away. Katara didn’t even bother to pluck the stoppers from the four water skins that she’d strapped at her sides. Instead, she simply allowed the force of the water to force them unplugged. She sent her chi into the cool liquid, bending it with graceful, practiced movements that in no way lacked speed. In seconds, one man had been coated in water and frozen to a tree trunk.

Katara glimpsed the hand-shaped burn scar that marred the man’s face and shuddered. She’d run into the Hand of the Fire Lord once before, and they were definitely not to be underestimated. Among the three that had traveled with the Southern Water Tribe siblings were a waterbender and two earthbenders, and they were inflicting some major damage though they weren’t immune to it themselves.

There was one scar on one face that the waterbender recognized, and while her brows knit together in irritation, she’d known all along that she may have to help him in this. Just because she didn’t like Zuko, just because he represented the epitome of everything that had ever gone wrong in her life, she couldn’t reject helping him if it meant abandoning the rescue attempt of her father. The Fallen Prince had more resources than she did, and her father meant more to her than her pride in this ordeal. Working together this once wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Besides, there were other faces she recognized like Suki’s. Sokka was already fighting at her side, the black blade of his sword gleaming from the glow of the flames around them. Katara spotted a visage that interested her more than Suki’s, though. This one gave her joy and a stronger will to fight: her father, Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe. His face was thinner than she last recalled, but he still had the same gleam in his eye. He had seen her, too, and she fought her way nearer to him, to be with him and to help him. She could tell by his movements that he was tired, wearing down.

A ball of flames jettisoned toward his back, but with a swift movement, Katara had doused it in water, turning it to steam. However, while she did that, two whips swiped at her. She dodged backward, but one string of flames circled her wrist, burning through the fabric of her dark clothing and into the flesh. A cry of pain left her throat, but she didn’t remain idle. She whipped a stream of water right into the man’s scarred face, sending him reeling onto his back. Before she turned toward the next person, she caught a glimpse of blood that poured from his unscarred cheek.

[Misery]

"WE BEAR THE HAND OF THE FIRE LORD!"

"WE ARE THE HAND OF THE FIRE LORD!!!" The screams that echoed from the scarred warriors seemed almost inhuman as they leapt into battle. But there was an inhumanity about them. There was no hesitation, no fear in the way that they moved. Zuko had little doubt that they had barely blinked as Azula had touched them, using her bending to heat her skin to the point where they would bear her handprint forever. Somewhere he knew that she reveled in the idea of a little piece of her traveling with them forever, and it twisted his stomach to think about. But at the same time, recognizing it that allowed him to prepare for the wave of heat that was directed at him, his arms spreading as he split the fire apart and directed it to either side of him.

But he had bigger fish to fry than the firebenders at this point. As much as he hated to consider it, Ty Lee was a far more dangerous threat than the rest of them. Even Shogen up against her would have a disasterous outcome. Her ability to stunt off energy that flowed through the body was something that was not to be trifled with. And despite his knowing this he found himself recieving the business end of one of her little 'touches' within moments of fighting her. His arm throbbed like it had been stabbed and he wondered exactly where it was that she'd learned to do that with her body. Wherever it was, if Zuko ever got the chance, it was something that he definitely wanted to try to pick up and learn, if for no other reason than to better defend against it.

Cradling his arm he swept into a low sweeping kick that sprayed an arch of fire out towards her, watching as she flipped over it. "Stay together!" he growled to his people, hoping that they would remember their training and put their backs to each other if they could. Firebending was a dangerous thing, which was why firebenders tended to attack in lines. Some tacticians that Zuko had talked to said it made them weaker to a guerilla style attack, and yet at the same time, it was hard to avoid it. Fire was too wild to control with the accuracy of water bending, especially in the dark. Without adequate space, it was going to be just as easy for one of them to hurt a friend as it was a foe...

Unfortunately, Zuko was certain that the Hand of the Fire Lord both knew and did not care about such things. If anything they were probably hoping for the chaos, more than willing to throw their lives away for this cause, especially if it meant that the Fallen Prince's corpse was one of the spoils of their victory. Zuko gritted his teeth and tried to make certain of him not aiming at another when he shot another fireball at Ty Lee, watching as she sailed over that one as well. But as she sailed forth Zuko leaned foward. Out of the ends of his boots suddenly blue fire shot forth, bright and eerie across the night sky. Zuko smirked as he watched some of the hand stop and stare in shock while his own troops fought on.

A rocket propelled shoulder charge caught Ty Lee mid landing in the gut and send her sprawling out, face first into the ground. Zuko blinked a little as he noticed in the dim light the faint outline of a hand print on her lower back just above the curve of her ass where Azula had marked her. It was better there than where Zuko had feared, he supposed.

"H-how?" Ty Lee demanded, anger in her chocolate eyes as she looked up at him.

"Let's just say I've had a lot of time to do some training." Zuko left out who exactly he'd been training with, the fact that he'd gone out to follow in his Uncle's footsteps. The journey had been a lot more than he'd bargained for at the time, however, but it had given him limited mastery over something that Azula was so able to take for granted. As it turned out, being a genius wasn't the only way to get things done... sometimes hard enough work would do just as well... not to mention taking a different approach to Fire Bending altogether.

Noting water flying past him Zuko turned and caught Katara's eye as she fought. If she was expecting some look of sympathy on the Fallen Prince's face, there was none, only a dark scowl that would remind her of the first time that they had met, though there was none of the pride there... just the cold dark anger and solitude that seemed as much a part of him as his scar. It only lasted a moment though, as Katara fought away from her father. Almost immediately after a ball of fire exploded near him and sent him flying, Zuko growling as elbowed someone in the face to get them out of his way as he ran towards the fallen Chief. He had not risked the lives of his men just to have his objective die on him now.

"KILL THE CHIEF!" Ty Lee howled, directing all attention on Hakoda as he tried to pull himself up off of the ground. Zuko could see it out of the corner of his eye as he ran, and he felt his blood run cold. A member of the Hand's face light up brightly and then went dark, then bright again as he began to summon something far more deadly than fire, and far faster. Zuko could feel his muscles start to burn as someone grabbed him and he roughly shoved them off of him to rush towards Hakoda.

"NO!" Zuko screamed as he stepped in front of the water chief just as the cold fire errupted from the firebender's hands.

Zuko stuck his hand out and felt the lightning strike it. The sheer amount of energy coming into his hand shattered the blockage that Ty Lee had created there as it came winding down his arm like a viper. Zuko exhaled sharply and emptied his stomach, leaving a vaccum of qi there that the coldfire could almost sense, as it twisted down inside of his guts, narrowly avoiding Zuko's heart as it coiled inside of him. The Hand watched in sheer awe at the sight of this, but this time Zuko's own troops did as well.

There had only been once that Zuko had done this in front of another, when his own father had used the cold fire against him following the Day of the Black sun, and Zuko was more than certain that Ozai's pride would not let him reveal to another soul that he had been bested by his own son at something when he'd meant to try to kill him.

In those heartbeats that Zuko held it in, the lightning coiled around his stomach visibly as if he'd swallowed it, and then he turned suddenly and thrust two fingers towards Ty Lee. Lightning shot from them, but at the last minute the acrobat was shoved out of the way by one of the hand who turned just in time to catch the brunt of the blast. His body shuddered as lightning flowed throughout him. As he tossed his head back it leaked out his eyes and mouth as he threw forth a silent, yet horrific scream and then fell to the ground, fire igniting his body in a slow terrible blaze.

Stunned, Ty Lee looked at the corpse, and then looked at Zuko, who narrowed his eyes slowly as he started to move towards her. He could see the horror on her face as she looked around fratically. The Hand was being pushed back, and she knew it. Zuko stuck out both his hands and breathed out roughly. In both palms, blue fire errupted forth as he looked at her darkly. He knew that it would evoke images in her mind of Azula... someone that she still feared...

"FALL BACK! FALL BACK!" Ty Lee spat as she tossed a glare that might have killed a weak hearted man at Zuko, who sneered back at her.

Like they came, the Hand fell away into the night almost as if they were a part of it, even the injured amongst their ranks seemed to vanish with ease. Zuko could hear Shogen cry to let them go, but meanwhile he collapsed to the ground, panting there for a moment. The blue fire was something that still took quite a bit of effort, and was not something he had mastered yet. There were things even worse than it, but they would burn him out even worse as well. That combined with mastering the lightning and the events of the whole night had him pushing the brink of exhaustion.

Glancing over his back, he noted that Chief Hakoda was okay, slightly singed from the blast, but no worse for the wear. And with Katara here, he was now amongst his own people.

"Boss... what was that... how did you..." Shogen said with a frown, the other firebenders looking at him questioningly as what little doubt they had in Zuko's abilities was permanently erased from their minds. Tonight had assured that, at least. "Are you okay?" Shogen finally asked, a slightly worried look creasing in his brow, his mask having been discarded after the end of the fighting.

"I'm fine. Just... I want to be alone for a bit." Zuko growled, standing up. Zuko could see Chief Hakoda now standing in between him and the treeline, a serious look on his face, but clearly gratitude shining in his eyes. Before he could open his mouth though, Zuko walked past him, graveling voice calling back. "Forget it." he said simply as he pushed past his own men. "Shogen, see if the balloon is repairable... if not, it's going to be a long walk to meet up with the other groups..."

And with that he pushed his way through the woods into the night, finding his way to a rock that he sat down upon, leaning heavily on his knees. He didn't like the others seeing him weak. He had to learn to overcome the weakness that blue fire bending brought on, or it was going to kill him one of these days. A part of him wished it had tonight. He'd come within a hair's breadth of killing Ty Lee... and deep down he knew, if forced to make the choice again, he would have taken another shot at her to finish the job.

[Kathryn Lacey]

Katara hadn’t been expecting anything from Zuko. He was a jerk, and he always had been. When his golden gaze caught her sapphire ones, she wasn’t surprised that they echoed the same anger and disdain that was contained in her own eyes. However, she felt that he should have at least been a little apologetic. After all, she had far more reason to dislike him than he had to dislike her.

She broke his gaze, not having any time for him or his pathetic anger. She only had time to help the prisoners to fight off the Hand of the Fire Lord, to help her father. One of the prisoners had already fallen, and while she wanted to help him, she had to help her father, her family first. He was the major reason why they’d made the plan to help the prisoners escape. The Southern Water Tribe needed its leader because Chief Arnook of the Northern Water Tribe couldn’t look after two separate tribes on opposite ends of the world.

As Katara fought beside her father, protecting him from their attackers, she heard a cry from a familiar voice that sent a chill through her. Ty Lee was among them, and the waterbender hadn’t even seen that circus freak until she’d heard her voice. That could have been bad news if the acrobat had decided it was time to sneak up on her, to block her qi flow, hindering her bending. Not only that, but that damnable girl was ordering the hand to gang up on Katara’s father. That was unacceptable.

With renewed adrenaline, Katara fought hard. When her water skins had been emptied of water, she summoned it from another source. Trees exploded behind her as all moisture was sucked from their cells, and she went straight for two scarred minions who were readying themselves to shoot fire at Chief Hakoda. From the corner of her eye, she could see Sokka and Suki taking out some of the others, but she knew they could hold their own.

Suddenly, a terrifying sound cut through the night, and Katara’s eyes were dazzled by the white glow of lightning that shot toward her father. Even as she screamed, “No!” she heard another voice crying that same word, and she realized it was the Fallen Prince who had uttered it just as he stepped between the source of the lightning and her father.

It didn’t immediately register what was happening when the lightning struck Zuko. At first, she thought he was really giving his life to save her father, redeeming himself in the most fatal of ways. However, what had been dubbed by firebenders as the ‘cold fire’ didn’t kill him. It seemed to pass right through him at his direction, and his aim had gone straight toward Ty Lee. She narrowly avoided it, but one Hand of the Fire Lord lost his life to it.

The sight was horrifying, and the smell of burning flesh was almost worse. Then Zuko stepped forward, blue fire blazing above his upturned palms. He looked too much like his sister at that point, and Katara had to turn away from the sight. Ty Lee called off the attack, and those who bore the mark of the Fire Lord’s hand melted into the night, leaving only one dead, but there was a casualty among the freed prisoners, too. It was the man she had wanted to help, but she realized now that he had probably been dead since that time. Her father could have died if she’d stopped to find out.

Katara moved from person to person, using what water remained to heal those who had been injured. Though her own wrist throbbed and stung, she would heal herself last. Everyone else was more important at this point, especially her family. Incidentally, her father only had a few singed hairs. Sokka had gotten a burn on his cheek while helping Suki to dodge a blast, but that was superficial, and burns were incredibly easy to heal when they were small.

Even while she concentrated on sending her energy into others, using the water as a catalyst for finding the proper qi pathways to fix, her mind was reeling. Zuko hadn’t been lying when he’d said he could teach Aang to redirect lightning, and he’d proven that tonight. If he had been able to redirect it, Aang would probably still be alive today; he would still be in her life. As Katara bent the water to envelop her wounded wrist, her jaw clenched, and she felt weary.

When she returned to her father, she noticed he was looking into the trees, into the darkness, but his eyes turned to his daughter when she was at her side. “I’m so glad to see you, Dad. I was so afraid.” She hugged him tightly. Sokka was standing beside Hakoda as well.

“It’s good to see you, too, Katara.” It felt good to have her father’s strong, protective arms around her again, but his thinness worried her. They would definitely have to make sure he was eating enough again so he could regain his true warrior’s strength.

“Katara…” Sokka’s voice broke through the moment she was having with their father. She turned toward him. “We need to thank Zuko.” A scowl darkened the waterbender’s face.

“Why?” She said indignantly. Hakoda’s hand clasped her shoulder.

“Because he helped restore our family. He didn’t have to do that.” Sokka was right, but Katara was loathe to give Zuko credit for any good deed, especially after all of the terrible things he’d done to them in the past. It seemed that Sokka was already ready to forgive the Fallen Prince just because he saved their father’s life. “Sokka’s right.” Chief Hakoda said.

“Fine. I’ll go.” The irritation in her voice was clear, but she knew her brother and father wouldn’t stop guilt-tripping her into it until it was done.

“I’ll go with you.” Sokka declared, but Katara lifted her hand.

“No. I’m going alone. I’ll thank him for both of us. You need to help them fix the war balloon.” Katara had overheard Zuko’s men talking about how to fix it when she’d healed some of them, and Sokka was really good with things like that.

After being directed by her father to where he’d seen Zuko go, she moved through the trees into the darkness toward him. She paused when he came into view, his back to her, and she leaned against a tree to watch. He seemed… weaker; as a healer, she had developed a good eye for such things.


Katara remembered the battle in Ba Sing Se when she, Sokka, and Toph had stayed behind to help the Order of the White Lotus reconquer it in the name of the Earth Kingdom. As she’d been fighting, she’d seen walls of flame that were almost as tall as the great walls of the city themselves. It had been terrifying and exhilarating. Her adrenaline had been rushing through her veins, and she had been giving it her all.

At one point, she’d fought her way deep into the upper ring, and she’d seen a glimpse of Zuko fighting. At first, she’d almost gone toward him and attacked him, but in that glimpse, she’d seen him fighting those terrible, counter-balanced tanks from the Fire Nation, and she’d realized he’d been on the same side as she’d been.

Katara had been so busy with her own battles that she’d let it go, but later, it had baffled her. She’d learned from Master Pakku – her step-grandfather – that Iroh had been the Grand Master of the Order, but Zuko had betrayed Iroh in Ba Sing Se in the past at the same time that he’d betrayed Aang and herself. Had his fighting in the name of the Earth Kingdom been a way to win favor with his uncle again?


Now, looking at his back as he seemed to contemplate things, she wondered what his angle was. Why had he helped in Ba Sing Se when he’d been so willing to help its downfall in the first place, and why did he bother breaking her father out of prison, too? Was this all just a build-up to some sinister plot against them all? It was hard to believe that he was good now. Even if he had almost killed Ty Lee, he was as evil as his sister. When he’d held that blue flame as he’d moved toward the acrobat, he had looked just like Fire Lord Azula, and it had been terrifying. How could there be any real goodness in someone like that?

Even so, she had something she had to say, or her family would be disappointed in her. “Thank you… for helping my father, for saving his life.” Though her voice contained true gratitude, her face was set into a small scowl that was hidden in the shadows. She hated having to thank him for anything. “Where did you-” But her question was cut off when one of Zuko’s men jogged toward them.

“Boss, we were able to repair the balloon enough to travel to our destination, but we won’t be able to carry everyone we have.” He announced.

“We have a war balloon about three quarters of a mile North that can take those who can’t fit on your balloon.” Katara offered before turning away to return to her father and brother.

They divided everyone up into groups. Those who were more tired or who were wounded beyond what Katara could immediately heal were ferried into the balloon that had been fixed. The rest would walk to where the other war balloon had been kept, and they would all meet at their rally point.

[Misery]

To say he felt tired would have been an understatement. The fact that they had all made it out of the affair without losing a single man was nothing sort of miraculous. The old Zuko might have smirked and patted himself on the back about how great a leader he was, but the new Zuko knew better, he knew that the only reason why there weren't more of his men dead was simply because of luck, and luck alone. Fighting in a Agni Kai was one thing... there you controlled yourself, the environment, even your opponent if you were good enough, but in an all out battle, there was no way to save everyone. He'd been a couple of steps away from letting the water chief die... and even as he did it he knew that there were other members of his group that needed help that he could not get to in time. There was no way to control the fact that at any time any one of them could die. Zuko knew this and yet at the same time there was absolutely nothing that he could do to stop that feeling of twisting fear in the depths of his heart.

As the Prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko had been used to having subordinates, people who were underneath him. People who would do his bidding. But while the people he surrounded himself with were all of those things still... they were also friends. People who did not have to be here, people who were not being paid something extra to go on these dangerous missions with him. They were people who fought because they felt it was right, or because they had something that they wanted to protect, and the horrifying thing was that whatever spirits or universal beings created this planet and goverend it, they didn't seem to care about any of that. Zuko had seen the faces of his men who had recieved letters that their lands had burned, or their families had disowned them. And worse, those who found out that their families had suffered because they weren't there to protect them... or because they had joined him.

Some would try to bear it, but most left after that, and a few still attacked him. Would their families come for him as well? Was that all that this amounted to in the end of things, another way to destroy the world? He knew that his father ruling the world would only mean suffering, but perhaps he'd gone about it all wrong. Instead of fighting him, he could have helped him take over the world, and silently killed him. A unified world under a benevolent leader... it could be more peaceful than the one they lived in now. But then, who was he to say that he would be a benevolent ruler at all? He struggled even keeping a small trained band of fighters together, much less an entire nation.

She would see him tense as he heard her voice. He hadn't been paying too much attention to watching his back, and the last person that he wanted to have watching it was the upstart waterbender that had made his life so very difficult. It was true that in the end, if she hadn't been there, he would have captured Aang, and the world would probably be a lot worse off for it, but on the other hand, she'd made it clear that she didn't trust him, that she would never give him a chance to redeem himself, so what was the point of trying to bend over backwards to get her to forgive him. Even though her words sounded sincere, Zuko didn't really believe that they were what she wanted to say, and thusly it made them and her seem even less genuine.

Zuko had opened his mouth to say something when his man came jogging up to let him know that the balloon had been, at least in part, repaired. Zuko wasn't surprised about the space issue, however. He had seen how many were injured, and even if there wasn't an issue with them all standing in a balloon, not all of them were going to be able to stand through a whole ride. "We'll figure something out." Zuko said, watching the man jog off and leave him with Katara alone. His eyes narrowed slightly as she gave him the option of riding with her on her balloon.

"I think I'd rather walk." Zuko said icily as he stood up and started walking in the same direction that she was. "And you can keep your 'thank you', I didn't do any of this for you." Zuko practically growled at her as he walked past, using his longer legs to move past her through the woods. There were things to do and he knew that his men were going to look to him for directions on where to go, and what they should be doing, and he didn't have any intention of letting a spat with a water bender keep him from doing what needed to be done.

Katara would be greeted as she left the treeline by Sokka, who gave her a look. "What did you say to him, Katara? He looks more pissed then ever..." Sokka said, though he didn't look too broken up about it. Obviously, in a fight between Zuko and his sister he'd be sticking with his sister.

"Listen up everyone. The most injured or unable to move are going to go on this balloon. The rest of the group, the rest of us are going to go to the other balloon so that we can ride that to the meeting point. In addition, I'm going to send a few firebenders along with the sick... if the Hand has taught us anything it's that they're not going to let us escape easily. Don't fly low to the ground where it will be easy for them to attack. They might have been waiting for us here, but if they had any of the bigger war balloons they would have just fried us from the air. We have to escape now before they bring in reinforcements..."

Zuko named the 3 firebenders he was sending with the sick, the rest nodded as they would be part of the group to walk with Katara's group. Though Zuko was the one to give the command to move out, it was Shogen who took up the lead in the end, along with Sokka, as the two of them seemed to be getting along far better than Katara and Zuko were.

"So wait... it's a sword... made from a meteorite? That is so friggin cool!" Shogen said with a smile.

"THANK you... No one seems to appreciate the Space Sword but me..." Sokka said shrugging.

Chief Hakoda looked back often to where Zuko lurked behind, at least a good 10-15 steps behind everyone else, and finally slowed his pace so as to catch up with him. Zuko walked along side him in silence, blatantly refusing to break it, and firmly staring ahead as the two of them walked. Hakoda did not seem to mind, and kept walking with him for a long 15 minutes before finally breaking the silence. "I know that Katara thanked you already, but I wanted to do it myself. You saved my life, Zuko... it's not something I, or the water tribe will forget."

"I think you should... forget it, I mean." Zuko said after another moment of silence between them. "I didn't come here just to free people. I came here to free you. The Avatar is dead, which means that the next Avatar in the cycle..."

"Will be born amongst the water tribe..." Hakoda finished his sentence, frowning slightly.

"You are going to be key in fortifying the Southern water tribe from attack, or deciding that they need to move North. Either way, they need a leader. I just did what I had to do." Zuko said simply and tried to slow down his pace even further, but Hakoda simply matched it, looking at the young firebender with a raised eyebrow.

"So, because you did what needed to be done, you don't think that you deserve anyone's thanks or appreciation? Regardless of what you might think, Zuko, you did not free me for the wrong reasons. You freed me to save lives, and in freeing me you risked your own life, and the life of your men as well... I don't know about the fire nation, but where I come from, that is something that is worthy of appreciation. So no, I won't forget it...." Hakoda said simply, speeding up his stride to finally catch up with the others, leaving Zuko at the back once again, a dark scowl upon his features before he pulled the hood of his cloak over himself to hide his face.

[Kathryn Lacey]

Katara couldn’t truly understand the things through which he’d gone, the ways he’d suffered, and frankly, she didn’t care. She still saw him as someone who was only in it for himself. He didn’t care about other people. Hell, she’d even seen him betray the only person who seemed to genuinely care about him just so he could regain what he thought was his honor.

Still, whatever was going on with him, her father was alive and free. That had to count for something. If there was something sinister afoot, she could just keep an eye on things, on Zuko in particular, to make sure she’d be there to stop it before anything terrible happened. Besides, her father was a great warrior. He could take care of himself, so with another warrior and a waterbender also watching his back, he would be okay. Katara knew Sokka wouldn’t turn his back on their family.

When she spoke, the tension that moved through his body was obvious to her. Her hands clenched into fists, and she readied herself in case he tried to attack her. However, he didn’t move, and she relaxed slightly though she remained alert. Even if he’d played the role of an ally for this, she knew all too well that he could easily become her enemy with little provocation.

She thanked him, but he said nothing, and soon enough, one of his men was interrupting her next inquiry to announce the balloon’s status. It was then that she made the offer that others could ride on the balloon she and Sokka had a little distance away. His cold response had her clenching her hands into fists. “Oh, I’m sorry.” The waterbender said sarcastically, “I didn’t offer it to you specifically. I figured you’d ride with the injured, you know, since you seem so tired.” The barb was a cruel one, but she was pissed. He’d had the nerve to act like he’d be doing her a favor by gracing her balloon with his presence, like he was the world’s gift to man. It disgusted her.

It was even worse when he acted like she thought he’d done her a favor by rescuing her father. Like she’d begged him to do it or something, and he’d acquiesced against his better judgment or something. What a jerk!

She stalked away from him, but he was taller, and he moved more quickly. Perhaps he felt the need to prove he wasn’t as tired as she’d suggested he’d seemed, but she slowed her walk to let him reach them first. She really didn’t want to get into a racing match against him. The more distance between them, the better.

Sokka was the first to meet her when she moved back to the area where the rest had gathered. “Like it’s my fault? I thanked him, and he was a total snob about it!” Katara’s brother shook his head and shrugged. They walked back to Hakoda and to Suki, and young Water Tribe warrior wasted no time in putting his arm around the Kyoshi Warrior.

A stab of jealousy moved through Katara. Sokka had regained his former flame, but Aang would never be coming back. Of course, in retrospect, her brother had already lost one love over a year ago, so it was only right that he should finally be happy again. The waterbender just wasn’t sure that she would ever find happiness again. The fortuneteller in the Earth Kingdom had been wrong. She wasn’t going to marry a powerful bender and have several babies and many grandchildren. Sokka had been right all along when he’d said she was a fake.

The groups were divided with the majority of them walking to the other balloon so the injured would have more room with the three firebenders who would help to protect them in case anything bad happened. Katara was surprised that Zuko didn’t assign himself as one of those three, and that choice also put her on edge. Why did he want to stick with their group after making such a big show of not wanting anything to do with her?

The ghost of a smile moved over her features when she heard the light banter between Sokka and one of Zuko’s men though it disappeared almost as quickly as it had come. They seemed to be getting along well, but all the same… it was difficult to trust anyone associated with Zuko. The only person who even came to mind who was Fire Nation and trustworthy was Iroh. He’d been there to help them when they’d needed him most. If not for him, she would have had even less time with Aang than she’d already had. Azula’s original lightning strike would have killed him in Ba Sing Se. Iroh had proven that he was not loyal to the Fire Nation when it meant doing the right thing against them.

Katara stuck by her father’s side as the group walked toward the balloon with Sokka, Suki, and Zuko’s man – Shogen – in the lead. The two waterbenders and the earthbender who had been a part of the ground force for this group were just behind them, followed by the uninjured prisoners and Katara. Zuko slunk far behind them which was part of why Katara had stayed near the back of the main group with her father. She wanted to be near enough to stop him should he try anything unpleasant.

Then her father, who she’d noticed looking back at the Fallen Prince a few times, squeezed her shoulder and moved back to where Zuko was. Katara slowed her pace only slightly so that she was still with the main group but closer to her father if he needed her. She trusted her father’s judgment most of the time, but he didn’t know the Fire Prince like she did, and his mind could have been a little muddled by his being in prison for so long. If it could affect him physically, it could have messed with his head, too.

Katara couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she was tense and ready for action should she hear a cry or a grunt. It seemed like a long time before her father returned to her side. “What did you say to him?” She asked curiously, but he only smiled.

“I just made sure he knows we’re grateful.” He said. “Two of us telling him will reinforce it better in his mind.” Katara turned her head to look over her shoulder at Zuko, but his hood doused his face in shadows, so she couldn’t read his expression, but his body language told her what his scarred visage couldn’t.

“Yeah. It sure looks like it got through to him.” She said, rolling his eyes.

“Just let him think about it.” Hakoda responded.

The group had almost reached the balloon’s location when a ball of fire shot toward them from the trees. Katara had been prepared for action from behind her, but she hadn’t been quite as prepared for it ahead of her. Luckily, the other benders were, and it was only seconds later that the earth seemed to rumble before a large chunk crashed in the direction from which the flames had come.

Everyone had been afraid that another battle from the Hand of the Fire Lord would occur, but they’d all hoped it wouldn’t. Even so, they were ready for another battle. Their numbers were fewer with the injured and three good firebenders on Zuko’s balloon, but the best warriors were still among the rest of the group. Even so, Katara kept a wary eye out for a particular circus freak who could move speedily to block some of their abilities to bend their respective elements.

[Misery]

Hakoda's words were annoyingly poignant, like something that Iroh would have said to him, and it was something that rather annoyed Zuko. How was it that some people seemed to carry tons of wisdom with them as if it were nothing, while he struggled and struggled with it and couldn't bother to make heads or tails of whatever it was that his uncle told to him on a given day? It just wasn't fair. Regardless though, he knew that he was in the right about this one. Iroh had thought that it was a good way of forming bonds with the Water Tribe, but even though it had been Zuko's idea, it wasn't as if he were foolish enough to think that it would change anything between him and the water tribe.

Just as the thought crossed his mind though, a massive fireball started heading for them. Zuko reacted faster than the other firebenders and shot his own fireball into the center of it, disturbing it and causing it to dissapate 6 feet above their heads in a brilliant halo of fire. One of the earthbenders was quick to retaliate, but Zuko wasn't fool enough to think that it would somehow change the tide of what had happened, he knew full well that they weren't all grouped in one place... if they were waiting for him here then more than likely...

"You're just too predictable, Zuko..." Ty Lee said with a sneer on her face as she stepped out to one side. Half of their forces were at the balloon, and half of the forces of the fire benders were behind them. They didn't have them completely surrounded, but Zuko knew that if they ran to one side or another, Ty Lee's troops would easily flank them. He should have been thinking to scout ahead more, but he'd been too focused on not wanting anything to do with the Water tribe that he'd let it overcome his own sensibilities.

Zuko could feel a cold bead of sweat trickling it's way down his forehead as he looked at the numbers. They had been breaking somewhat even with the troops that they had before they had been injured in the fight before. And while it was true that some of the firebenders of the Hand were looking worse for wear, he knew full well that they would fight to their death. Looking around at his men, he could see the look on their faces as well... they were more than willing to give as much as the Hand were, if not more. How many crying widows would he need to console this time? How many people would he have to convice that they died for something that was meaningful? Would he be able to ever convince himself of that fact? Gritting his teeth, Zuko turned and looked towards Shogen.

"I'm executing 'The Last Order'." Zuko said flatly.

"Boss... that's not funny." Shogen said, the tone of his voice so drastically different that it was almost audible the light crack in his tone as he turned, seemingly completely looking at the person he'd been staring at a moment ago, his stance completely changed. "B-Boss?"

"You know what to do." Zuko said, and then straightened lightly, taking a few steps towards the other side. Smirking a little he tossed back his hood and dropped his cloak on the ground. "So, Circus Freak, are you going to cry a little more about your dead girlfriend? I'm not sure what your problem is, she wasn't really that great in the sack, and really, with how depressing she was, it's kind of hard to tell the dead Mai from the alive one, don't you think?" Zuko smirked a little as Ty Lee's jaw literally dropped. "I always did like the way you looked though, and I bet a circus freak like you would be amazing in the sack... that is if you're not too busy servicing my sister..."

Ty Lee's face started to flush, then turn bright red, then to an angry red to the point where she was trembling as Zuko suddenly bolted and ran for the forest at a breakneck pace, diving through a pack of trees and out of sight. At the same moment, Shogen stuck his hand under his mask to let out a shrill whistle and motioned towards the treeline in the opposite direction that Zuko was running.

"This way, everyone!" Some of the firebenders looked confused, but as Shogen grabbed one of them and shoved them in the direction that they were supposed to be running, they nodded and started to run for the treeline in the opposite direction. "Follow me, damn it. NOW!" Shogen growled as they started to run for the trees the opposite way, Shogen taking up the rear and deflecting fireballs with some of the earth benders as they started to get hurled from the firebenders who were on their tails, but it was only momentarily.

"NO!!! AFTER HIM, ALL OF YOU!" Ty Lee snarled in a high pitched tone that it made some of the Hand wince a little in pain as she pointed after Zuko. A couple of the firebenders that had been persuing Katara's team paused, uncertain of where exactly their loyalties lay. After all, Ty Lee was supposed to be the voice of the Fire Lord, the leader of their group, and yet...

"My Lady... we have orders to-" One of the hand was quickly silenced as Ty Lee's elbow slammed into his throat. He gurlged for a minute then fell to the ground, passing out. Ty Lee's look was colder than any ice Katara had ever created.

"Anyone else?" Ty Lee said, and at that instant all but a couple of the hand started to rush off in the direction of Zuko. Shogen blinked a little as he saw the sight, running for a hundred yards more before he reached under his mask and whistled again, the group turning around and suddenly storming the two firebenders full force. Shogen would have been enough to beat half of the forces, but combined with a couple of earth benders at his side, the fight was decidedly quick and brutal, the pair locked up with their hands and feet bound in rock within moments.

"Come on... we need to get back to the balloon and start it up, if it hasn't been sabotaged already..." Hakoda said, with a nod from Shogen as they jogged back to the war balloon. There was a sigh of relief once Shogen and Sokka gave a thumbs up that everything was fine with it, and started to light the fire that caused the large balloon to inflate, Shogen trying to usher all of them aboard the balloon as quickly as he could.

"So..." Sokka said just before the balloon was about to take off, "where are we meeting Zuko at, anyway?"

Shogen pulled up his mask, his eyes looking decidedly pained as he shook his head. "We don't meet him anywhere, Sokka. I've seen the Boss do some amazing things but... against those numbers... there is just no way." Shogen bowed his head lightly. "The last order is called the last order, because it's the last one he ever gives to the group." He said, watching as the faces of the firebenders quickly fell, one falling to his knees while another looked out at the treeline determined, clearly debating going after him.

Shogen shook his head. "Zuko isn't coming back."

[Kathryn Lacey]

The first large ball of flame was dissipated by a blast created by Zuko. Even though he had seemed to be pretty far behind them, he had reacted faster than any of them. Katara could probably have doused the fireball in water to remove it from the equation, but she hadn’t been expecting an attack from that location, so her mistake had cost her time.

The earthbender among them acted quickly after that, heaving a large boulder toward the area where the fire had originated. The only sound was a crash, so they assumed he’d missed, but there were worse things about which to think. Katara heard Ty Lee’s voice from the darkness, mocking Zuko even while her group began to notice those who were the Hand of the Fire Lord.

They were outnumbered, obviously, and that was very bad. These guys weren’t just random fighters; they were well trained, and they weren’t afraid to die. By comparison, her group would die fighting, but they really couldn’t admit that they weren’t afraid of the possibility. Katara knew she definitely didn’t want to die, so she would fight for her life, and she would fight for the lives of those about whom she cared.

The tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife, like the stillness before the storm… She heard clearly what Zuko said to Shogen, and it sent worry through her. It wasn’t really worry for Zuko’s well-being so much as worry about what his words really meant. Then it was as if the Fallen Prince’s demeanor completely changed, like he became a different person.

The words that spewed from his mouth were awful. There had been rumors about what Fire Lord Azula had done to Mai – the gloomy, depressed chick with the knives – when she’d tried to defect to the Earth Kingdom, but those rumors had also included the fact that Mai and Zuko had been romantically linked which was supposed to have been what had spurred on her treachery to her own nation. His words made the waterbender sick, and she diverted her attention away from them to the fray that had just begun at the head of the group when Shogen whistled.

The waterbender had every intention of helping her father finish his escape, Zuko be damned. She pulled water – that she’d replenished from the trees earlier – from her water skins to whip it around her at those who attacked them as they ran. Katara stayed near the back to help Shogen deflect fire from the rear while Sokka and the benders they’d brought with them helped in the front.

A shrill cry from Ty Lee had the Hand off their backs, and the group only ran faster without the opposition’s attacks to slow them. At this point, the young waterbender wasn’t really paying attention to any conversation. Everything depended on being alert to attacks. At another whistle, Shogen and the group’s earthbender along with one of the other waterbenders moved to incapacitate the nearest two firebenders who were in their way. Ice and earth bound them, ensuring they wouldn’t be a danger while the others attended to the balloon.

Katara leapt over the railing into the basket as the balloon began to inflate with the heat of the fire that had been set. They weren’t out of the woods yet, and she was still on the defensive, but it seemed as if they were really going to make a good escape. That was when Sokka asked about Zuko, and Shogen responded gravely that Zuko wasn’t going to be meeting them anywhere. He wouldn’t be coming back…

The waterbender didn’t react with thought so much as with emotion. All around them, trees exploded as water rushed toward the balloon when Katara pulled her arms together. The balloon was already far above the earth by that point, but she didn’t care about that as she propelled herself from the safety of the basket to let gravity drag her down.

“Katara!” Both of her family members called her name with panic.

“Just get everyone to safety!” She yelled back as the water she’d ripped from the trees began to freeze beneath her feet, forming a slide of sorts down which she traveled quickly. Neither Hakoda nor Sokka would have the ability to follow her with as high as they were. Even as she slid toward the ground, the slide behind her melted and was added to the front of the slide to keep her going smoothly. Her arms never seemed to cease their whirling as she worked. Katara was not going to just sit idly by while Zuko betrayed them. Even if she had to die to take him out, she would prevent him from ruining more lives. She still feared death, but one life given to save many was an honorable pursuit.

As soon as she neared the ground, she kept the slide going, using her built up momentum to propel her forward along the ice that was forming along the earth to enable her to travel more quickly. There was no time to lose, and Zuko had run in the opposite direction of the others. It seemed really unlikely that Ty Lee would have really called all of the Hand off them just to chase after Zuko. This had to have been planned, to give them a sense of security, so they wouldn’t see it coming when Zuko led an attack against Chief Hakoda and the others at their rally point.

To say she was angry was an understatement. She was certain that this was all a pretense for something bigger. She’d suspected from the beginning that Zuko would betray them again, but she had allowed herself to trust him for a short while only to have him turn around and screw her over again. Her fury was wild and palpable, and it burned hotter than any fire Azula or Zuko could have produced. It also caused her bending to be less precise despite its obvious power. Ice remained glistening against the ground and against trees even when she’d long since passed, taking the back of her ice slide with her.

The sounds of battle greeted her ears before she actually saw anyone, and it filled her with confusion, but she slid along the ice, determined to reach the source and to catch Zuko in the act. Instead of catching him making secret deals with Ty Lee and plans for attack, she found a real battle with Zuko at the center. Fire and jabs were being directed at the Fallen Prince. Shock filled Katara at the sight. Had he really, honestly been willing to give his life for her father?

She wasn’t going to wait to ask him. It was clear at this point that Zuko was in deep trouble. He was badly outnumbered, and even though he was giving a good fight, he would lose in the end. Katara leapt from her ice sheet as it melted into liquid, and she flung a great mass of it at one of the Hand. He flew backwards into a tree, soaked to the skin, and she exhaled a soft breath, extending her energy with it so the water that soaked his clothes and the tree behind him quickly froze, incapacitating him. Water whipped all around her at her command, smacking into firebenders, cutting through clothing and flesh, dragging them away from Zuko or away from her as she fought her way toward the Fallen Prince. The anger she’d felt earlier had transformed into another kind of determination, one that fueled her bending, giving her slightly less power than before but enabling her to retain more control, so her bending wasn’t wild the way it had been earlier.

That wasn’t important now. What was important was that she and Zuko were completely outnumbered even with the firebenders they were taking out every so often. Ty Lee was the most dangerous, and she was also the fastest. Katara had narrowly avoided being jabbed in the arm by her qi-blocking fingers, but the waterbender had managed to whip water at the acrobat who had also made an effective dodge.

The Fallen Prince and the Southern Waterbender were in a lot of trouble, and Katara was beginning to feel that this had been a terrible idea. Maybe she should have just stayed with others in the balloon. They would have safely made it to the Western Air Temple to meet with the other ground troops which had included Toph. Instead, she had successfully gotten herself in such a pinch that it would likely cost the waterbender her life…

No! She wasn’t going to die so easily, and she wouldn’t let Zuko die, either. Just because she didn’t really like him, it didn’t mean she would just stand back while the Hand killed him. They needed each other right now, or they wouldn’t live to see another sunrise.

Thankfully, the sky was dark. Night was the time of day when a waterbender’s abilities were strongest, and even though the moon wasn’t full, she could still feel its power fueling her. Yue had helped them in the past, and the young woman who had given her life to become the Moon spirit continued to guide her.

Katara fought even harder, helping to make way so she and Zuko could move away from the Hand of the Fire Lord, to break the circle those killers had formed, so the duo of opposing elements wouldn’t have to worry about anyone at their backs. When he gave her directions, she followed them, knowing it would save her life, offering the first semblance of trust to him since he’d betrayed her in Ba Sing Se. Flames blazed all around them, but they fought back to back, then side-by-side until eventually, they found a black chasm at their backs and the Hand in front of them.

This was possibly worse than it had been when they’d been completely surrounded by the Hand. At least then, there was somewhere to run, and there wasn’t the risk of falling to their deaths with one misstep. As if to antagonize her, Katara could feel that there was water far below them, but it was hundreds of feet into the ravine, and she didn’t have any hope of quickly summoning the water to their aid. She would die before she could make it. Even if they jumped and Katara brought the water up to meet them to soften their fall, they would be falling so hard by then that it could be fatal anyway.

“Any bright ideas, Zuko? We could really use them.”

[Misery]

He ran.

He ran as fast as his legs could take him, and then he ran faster. He did not look back to see the people pursuing him, he did not turn as a fire ball came flying towards him. He could feel it heading towards him, but he knew that it would miss, and he knew that if he stopped running for even an instant, they would be upon him like a pack of wolves. Spirits... just give me a few more minutes to make sure they get away... Zuko thought as he ran harder, watching a wall of flame errupt in front of him. He ran through it, his hands stretching out in front of him to part it at the last moment, feeling it singe his skin with it's heat as he kept running in a dead heat.

His lungs started to start with a heat that he could not calm as easily as he could flame, and he could feel fatigue starting to weigh in on him. He didn't need to run much further though, they would be able to get away from the fire nation at this point, he just needed to find that place to make his last stand now, so that he could take some of 'them' with him. He would be damned if the Hand of the Fire Lord did not feel the wrath of the true successor to the crown of the fire nation. His legs started to feel a bit heavy and as he pushed his way through the clearing he barely realized in time the fact that the slight slope in front of him was not in fact a gradual slope, but rather a drop to a sudden end. Skidding to a halt he had a moment to look over the edge before he turned around and jogged back a few steps.

He had a moment to clear his head, to clear his heart of everything. Fear was licking at the corners of his mind and yet he pressed it down and took a slow breath in, and a slow breath out, pointing two fingers like a spear as he raised them up slowly, clearing his mind of everything in that instant, feeling the static there starting to build as he lowered one hand and raised another one, listening to a crackling and popping that started to build inside of him, feeling the hair on the back of his neck starting to stand on end as he drew one hand down. It was with him now, he could feel it crackling and twisting inside of him, alive, coiled and ready to strike.

"ZUKO!" Movement in the bushes was enough to cause him to release it, and the unfortunate member of the hand who leapt through after caught the bolt of lightning in the chest in a soundless scream that caused him to die, and those around him to think twice about stepping through the brush to attack him. But only for a moment, another heartbeat passed and they had him surrounded. It was only a few yards to the cliff. Did they actually realize that, or would they try to circle around him before the end? If they circled at least, he'd be able to take a few more with him... And that would have to be enough. Taking in another slow breath he calmed himself and started into the burning eyes of Ty Lee.

"I'm sorry." Zuko said softly. "I could not let you kill my friends. But they're gone now... so you'll have to settle for me alone." Zuko said, watching as Ty Lee's eyes widened in shock and anger. "But if you think that a single day goes by when I don't wish I could have been there when Mai stood up to Azula... That I wouldn't give anything I have to take her place... you're wrong. But I can't, Ty... and as much as you want to run away from it, it's Azula who killed her... not me. If not over me... Azula would have found another reason and yo-"

"KILL HIM! KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM KILLLL HIIIIIIIMMMMM!" Ty Lee screamed out in a shrill tone that made Zuko wince and hold up his arms as he watched the men pause for a moment, and then do what they were told to do. Taking a step back he held out a hand to catch the first fireball that was lobbed at him, concentrating his own mental energy to turn it into a blazing whip of fire that was drawn back and then cracked at the first one who jumped close to him, lashing across his left eye and causing him to scream as Zuko half blinded him.

Another fireball came and Zuko grabbed it out of the air, redirecting it to another as someone came in close to fight him, throwing a swing and then jumping as Zuko spun a kick around his feet, but as he sought to land on his feet Zuko slammed a palm at his chest and caused it to explode in a bright ball of fire, sending him flying back scortching. In a normal fight Zuko might have felt proud, but there were just too many of them. Even as he started to come up he had to duck to keep his head from being taken off by another fireball and slam his elbow into the nose of another who charged into him. It would be over soon enough though... Zuko looked at Ty Lee mournfully for a moment, seeing the tears streaming down her face as she stayed back to watch her jackals finish him off...

Zuko blinked as he saw someone leveling a fireball at Zuko's chest as Zuko's arms were busy dealing with two others. This was more or less it. Zuko scowled a little as saw the energy start to grow, wanting to spit in the face of death before it came to claim him. But suddenly the man was tossed back into a tree by a mass of water. Zuko turned and his eyes widened at Katara as she suddenly came down and landed beside him in the middle of the fray. Zuko could have almost spit and cursed at the idea of what was going on...

"Why didn't you run?!?" Zuko snarled as he caught a fireball headed for Katara and threw it at another person. "Where are the others?" He asked... but the lack of the others intervening caused a chill to run down his spine. There was no way that Shogen would let a water bender girl be the first to charge into battle... he would have been by her side if he were coming. The others would have as well. Which meant that Katara had come here with him... to die? Whatever the reason, he couldn't think about it now...

"DAMNIT." Zuko growled to himself as he whipped at another member of the hand. "Use the tentacle stance you did in Ba Sing Se..." he growled at Katara. It was odd telling her what to do, but on the other hand, he knew most of her moves, having chased her for as long as he had. And the only way he could think to reference them was by calling out the battles they were from... ironically battles that he had been fighting against her in. There wasn't much time to think about it though, they were getting pushed back... which meant that they knew damned well that there was a cliff nearby... and Katara and he were being herded to it like cattle.

Katara picked that wonderful moment to ask if he had any ideas. Zuko easily would have let himself die... but she was the daughter of the leader of the Southern Water Tribe. If she died here... it would cause tensions to rise between Zuko's men and the water tribe and possibly defeat the purpose of coming to save Hakoda in the first place. He had to do something.

Zuko gritted his teeth as he looked at those around him, and pressed up against Katara, muttering to her. "Close your eyes..." he growled, and then taking in a deep breath he stretched his arms out wide and slapped his hands together in front of him, expelling a massive amount of fire energy that burned blue at first and then went to an ultra hot white flash that lit up the forest and cliffside around them in a blinding flash.

Then without much warning Zuko turned and scooped Katara up off of her feet, making a running leap for the cliffside.... and then leapt off of it.

Taking in a breath as he felt the air flowing around him he gritted his teeth till they were near the point of breaking as flames shot out from the bottoms of his feet, propelling himself and Katara upward... the flames starting off a firm red color that barely caused the two of them to hover, then changing to a blue color as they started to move forward across the canyon until they too started to blaze towards a hotter white color as the two of them flew. Zuko could feel every muscle in his body wanting to give at that point... he'd pushed himself beyond his limits time and again with this rescue... and this time it was probably too much. Below the canyon loomed and yet he could feel himself raising up... he was almost there...

"Oh no..." Zuko muttered as he felt it, the heat in the air coming towards him. He pushed himself upward hard and fast, expeding the last of his thrust in a direction as the fireball slammed into his back, burning through the back of his top and starting to scortch his shoulderblades as he howled out in agony, falling downward and barely clearing the other side of the canyon with Katara, losing his grip on her as they both came tumbling roughly to the ground. Zuko rolled to put himself out and snarled as he saw one of the Hand flying across the canyon towards him.

Without thinking about he lobbed a fireball inspired by sheer pain and rage towards the man, watching as it engulfed him and sent him screaming down to his death on the rocks below. Another who had sought to follow after him paused at the sight and then turned to fly off towards Ty Lee again. Once he was out of eyesight Zuko literally collapsed on his knees, his chest heaving as if he couldn't catch his breath, he felt so weary.

"What... the hell... is wrong with you!?" Zuko snapped. "You....nearly....got...yourself.... killed!"

[Kathryn Lacey]

Katara hadn’t been looking at Zuko when she’d fought her way toward him, so she hadn’t seen his eyes widen when she'd entered the fray. However, his voice was clear to her once she managed to maneuver her way to his side. Even as he protected her from a fireball aimed right at her, she was whipping water around to those who sought to catch Zuko off guard.

“I did run,” She shouted over the noise, “but once I was sure the others would be safe, I came after you! They’re fine, so don’t worry! Watch out!” A large ball of flame came flying at Zuko’s back, but she shot a ball of water at it, the combination of elements causing a burst of steam.

They were in a very desperate situation, and desperate times called for desperate measures. With a fast swipe of her hands, water coated her fingers, freezing just as quickly as the water had covered her hands. Jutting her arms forward, the spikes that had formed from the water shot forward straight into the chest of someone who was shooting fire at her at just the same moment. She’d never purposely tried to kill anyone, but the man she’d frozen to the tree had already melted the ice and escaped. Simply incapacitating them wasn’t going to be an option.

As much as it pained her to take lives, she valued her own life more than anyone who worked for the Fire Lord or for the Phoenix King. The ball of flame continued its quick movement toward her even after the man fell from his icy wounds, but as she dodged that, another one was already coming toward her that she couldn’t as easily avoid, and she felt the flames burn into her arm. She didn’t stop or even hesitate to continue her part in the battle.

Then Zuko called out to her, telling her to use the tentacle stance she’d used when he’d betrayed Aang and herself, when there had been so many Dai Li that she couldn’t fight them all. It was really called the octopus form, but now wasn’t the time to correct him, and it definitely wasn’t the time to dredge up memories and emotions that would hinder her ability to fight. She simply obeyed, running a little bit away from Zuko to give herself room. Trees exploded around the outer edges of the clearing as they withered when the waterbender stole their moisture. The thick stream of water encircled her, and with a lifting of her arms, tentacles erupted from that stream. At her command, she was able to take out several of the firebenders who surrounded them.

Katara had become a much better bender since Ba Sing Se, but the Hand of the Fire Lord was also more highly trained than even the Dai Li had been. At the very least, she was able to clear them away from behind Zuko and herself. However, they were also being herded back, toward the dark chasm that lay open and waiting behind them. It wasn’t long before she no longer had enough room to use the octopus form, and she had to exchange it for other methods of battle.

Quick thinking wasn’t going to save them now. If Zuko didn’t have any ideas, they would have to risk jumping into the darkness. She may have been able to help them, to break their fall, but it was so dangerous to even try that it would only be a last resort. However, the Fallen Prince suddenly pressed himself against her. “What are you-” She started to ask, but he abruptly cut off her words by commanding her to close her eyes with a growl. The authority in his voice was unmistakable, and even while her mind told her to resist, that she still couldn’t trust him, her instincts told her she had no choice, and her lids fell tightly over her eyes after she refilled her water skins with the water she’d been using to fight.

She could hear the ferocity of the flames he produced, and she could feel its heat, hotter than anything she’d ever felt in the past, even hotter than those crazy blue flames that Azula could effortlessly produce. Behind her closed lids, she could see that the area was brighter, but she didn’t have time to ruminate on that because in the next moment, Zuko’s arms were around her, lifting her as he ran.

It was only when she felt his feet leave the ground that her eyes fluttered open, and with a jerk and blast of fire, they were flying over the ravine. A small cry of surprise resonated in her throat, and her fingers clutched desperately at his tunic. Despite his strong arms holding her firmly, she was still loathe to trust him completely, and she would do what she had to do in order to ensure he didn’t drop her.

Katara could feel the tension moving through his muscles at the exertion. They were both already tired from the battle though adrenaline still coursed through her veins, especially at the thought of falling into the canyon to her death. She could see the sweat forming on his brow, and she knew that without her weight added to his, the task probably wouldn’t have been as difficult.

They were so close to the other side that hope rose within Katara. They were going to live; they would make it! She would see her father and her brother again before her time in this world was over. Zuko’s next words caused that hope to falter, and her brows knit together before her eyes widened as she saw the source of his unease. The ball of flame that he’d felt was looming closer, and even with his burst of energy expelled to move them higher and faster to avoid it, he couldn’t dodge it.

He cried out, and he dropped her as he himself fell. The waterbender managed to roll her body over the ground to prevent herself from breaking any bones. She could see the flames at Zuko’s back being smothered by his rolling, but she could also see members of the Hand using fire to propel themselves over the canyon the way Zuko had done. He reacted quickly, taking out that guy before he could reach them, but the man’s screams as he fell to his death sent chills down her spine. So many people had died today, and at least one of them had been her fault.

Weariness filled her, and her muscles ached badly, but Zuko was in far worse shape. Her burns were minor compared to the one that marred his back. Her panting quickly subsided though her breathing was still heavy. Despite how tired she felt, anger filled her at his accusation. “Me!” She shouted. “What about you! You ran off and almost made a damned martyr of yourself! Did you even think about how your uncle would feel if he got the news that you were dead? If I hadn’t come, you would be dead by now! For now, we’re both alive, and my father and the others are safely on their way to the rally point. You should be thanking me!”

She stood over him, her hands on her hips, her anger written clearly on her face. However, when she spied the angry burns that covered his back, her glare faltered a little though her brows were still knitted together, and she kneeled beside him to move her arm around him, careful not to touch the burns. “Listen, we need to get out of here. We’re too exposed if they decide to start lobbing fire balls at us.” Katara intended to help him to his feet, to allow him to use her as support as they walked. As angry as he made her and as much as she disliked him, they had helped one another. If it had been just her against all of them, she would be dead, and it wasn’t in her nature to just leave someone who needed her help.

They walked a little ways into the cover of trees before she stopped and urged him to kneel. After peeling away the remnants of his tunic, she pulled water from her water skins, bending it to cover her hands as a soft, blue glow emanated from cool liquid. She applied it to his back, not touching the burns with her skin, only with the water. She could locate his qi pathways using the soothing water as a catalyst, and she extended her energy into him, working to correct the damage that had been done. However, she was tired, and the burns were pretty nasty. “I won’t be able to heal it all right now. You’ll need to have one more healing session later if you’ll let me once I've rested. It won't scar if you do.” They both knew he didn't need another burn scar marring his skin.

[Misery]

Zuko's yellow eyes stared down coldly at the man who fell to his death unblinking. But as he turned to Katara there was no pity or remorse in them. The avatar had been the one who had advocated peace and harmony, and the notion of not killing another. And Zuko had little doubt that Ozai had used that hesitation to do what needed to be done against him. As he turned he could see the look of sadness and the cold haunting in Katara's eyes, and his own narrowed slightly, seeming almost to accuse her of something in that, but what it was he was accusing her of remained hidden beneath the cold uncaring gaze that had always been there. Besides, he had more important things to do, like find out why the hell she had been so suicidally bent on coming after him. It was stupid and reckless, and very nearly ruined the whole point of him coming to this place.

"That was the point!" Zuko growled back at her when she tried to explain to him that he'd almost made a martyr of himself. "I sacrificed myself so that you and your family could get away. I risked the life so that this plan would succeed... so that Hakoda would have the strength to lead his people so that the Fire Nation doesn't roll over them in order to get to the Avatar. Do you really think that he'll be able to do that when he's mourning the loss of his daughter?" Zuko snarled at her, his eyes narrowing lightly. "My Uncle knows that me dying was a risk. I told him of my plan if things went south. Did your father really let you go expecting that you might not come back?" Zuko charged, seeing the fact that he hadn't written all over her face.

"Now I have to figure out how to get you home in one piece, when we're likely still surrounded by firebenders. Thanks a lot." Zuko's voice was dripping with sarcasm, and when she tried to help him to his feet he lightly pushed her away, forcing himself to stand by will alone. He would not accept her pity for him. If he could not make it she would be best off just leaving him to die alone. He knew that she wouldn't though, that she would keep harassing him in order to try to make him come along with her. And really he couldn't lure them away again. It had been a one trick pony... this time they would expect it and realize that it was just a distraction. Zuko gritted his teeth a little as they walked and then blinked as she stopped him.

"Hey... Hey!" Zuko growled as she insisted he kneel down in front of her, his yellow eyes looking up at her suspiciously as she turned around and started to take his clothing off. Zuko could feel his face flush a little bit as she started to peel the garment from his back, only to growl a little as she started to take some of his skin which had melted to it, with it. There really wasn't a lot of getting around that though, but in the moment Zuko turned his head and growled at her. "What the hell are you doing?!?" he snarled even as she ignored him and forced him to look the other way as she started to do her water bending treatment. Zuko didn't really know anything about healing, other than the fact that in Ba Sing Se she had mentioned that she might be able to use their holy water in order to heal the scar over his eye.

Zuko inhaled sharply and shivered as water that was as cold as ice suddenly found it's way onto his back, turning to glare at her with yellow eyes, though the glare faded from his face as he felt it's healing properties start to kick in. Zuko gritted his teeth a little and let her continue her healing, just staring forward a little bit, reaching up to rub his eyes, feeling the heavy scar tissue that covered the better part of his left eye. When he heard her words he stiffened slightly, pulling his fingertips from the lifeless flesh there. Her words were a grim reminder of exactly what a horrible scar was to those who looked at it. Something ugly, something revolting. "Yeah... I think I have enough of those." Zuko said simply, taking the sensation in his stomach and surpressing it.

Staring down Zuko looked at the remnants of his tunic and shook his head, picking it up. There was nothing really left of it now, certainly not enough to wear. It would be something else to burn with the camp fire tonight though. If he leaved it here they would have at least something to track them by, and he didn't want to leave anything behind. Looking down at his chest and firm abs for a minute he patted them lightly and then started to walk again. They were planning on going to the Western air temple, which meant they had quite a bit of ground to cover without a balloon... but all they had at this point was time.

Still, Zuko didn't press them hard the first day. Katara was right about needing to rest. She and him both. When they came to an appropriate cave, Zuko went searching for food while getting Katara to gather the wood. It didn't take long to find a nice meaty looking Rabbine. Zuko used a bit of bending to dispatch it, and then taking care to grab it by the ears as opposed to it's thickly quilled backside carried it back to camp where they lit a fire. Zuko used a knife at his hip to skin it and one of the sturdier sticks Katara had found as a spit, roasting it for them both in silence. It wasn't as if the pair of them had a lot to talk about in any case.

Still, the Rabbine was good, and Zuko was pleased with how well he had cooked it. Then again, where he'd been for the weeks leading up to the Avatar's death, cooking your own food was something important that the hunters did. After she had rested Zuko let her heal him again, feeling the tension going out of his back as the skin returned to normal. He touched it lightly just to make sure, and then nodded lightly. "Thanks." he said softly, moving from her then to outside of the opening of the cave, blinking as he noticed something gleaming in the darkness.

His eyes widened slightly as suddenly came back in and with a motion of his hand snuffed the flame of the fire out and deadened the coals. Ice cold air filled the cave and he heard Katara starting to say something but he pressed his hand to her mouth before she could, leaning in to whisper softly in her ear. "Don't say anything," he murmured. His skin was quite a bit warmer than hers as he slowly pulled it from her mouth, pausing a little as he felt his fingertips brush against her lower lip, feeling how surprisingly soft it was.

Outside, a few feet from them a couple of pairs of feet darted past quickly, but Zuko could hear them running off in the distance. They hadn't been spotted... yet. But with as dark as it was outside, keeping a campfire blazing would be like a giant 'come find me' beacon. "We can't light another fire..." Zuko said as he pulled away from her and went to sit against the wall, concentrating a little on his dragon's breath. He had used it to survive in the arctic. This was nothing. But even as he exhaled the steamy breath he looked at Katara and frowned. The Fire Nation nights were particularly cold due to the fact that there weren't many trees to hold in warmth. Much like a desert it was going to get icy tonight... and she didn't have a thick coat.

[Kathryn Lacey]

Katara’s sapphire eyes met his golden eyes for a moment after the screams of the member of the Fire Lord’s Hand fell to his death. She knew the look on her face must be one of uncertainty or of sorrow at having to end another’s life, but his gaze was pitiless, almost accusing. Her arms moved self-consciously around herself, as if she could protect herself from the judgment in his eyes.

It wasn’t like the waterbender didn’t know that in times of war, lives were lost all of the time. If they weren’t, there would be no end to it. Even so, it was a harsh reality, and she didn’t have to like it. She definitely didn’t enjoy killing, and she most certainly did not enjoy losing those about whom she cared, those she loved. Was Zuko immune to things like that? Was he so cold despite the element he could bend that he wasn’t fazed by killing people?

“I didn’t know that!” Katara shouted at him when he confirmed he had been willing to die to help her father escape. “For all I knew, you were telling that circus freak and Azula’s lackeys where our rally point was! I couldn’t let that happen!” She took a breath, but while her voice lowered, she didn’t feel any calmer.

“He didn’t let me do anything. I did it of my own volition, but you underestimate my father. He’s been the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe since before I was born, and he was able to lead our people the entire time, even after…” Her fingers unconsciously moved to touch the pendant on the necklace she wore, the one that had been her mother’s. Her mother had died when the Fire Nation had raided the Southern Water Tribe. Katara had only been eight years of age, but it had had a hard impact on her. She turned away from Zuko then, not wanting him to see the sorrow on her face. In Ba Sing Se, she had confided in him about her mother, and she'd learned that he had also lost his, but she didn't feel like forming false bonds with him again. “Anyway, I know he would continue to lead our people effectively even if something happened to Sokka or to me.”

Her anger had momentarily been suppressed by sadness, by forlornness, but her anger raged again when he sarcastically thanked her. “Oh, right, because being dead is so much better than being a survivor! I’m sorry I ruined your little plan to become a martyr, so that those of us on the good side could worship your memory!” Her own sarcasm was thicker, more venomous.

Even so, she was always one to help when aid was required of her. However, Zuko was still being a pompous ass, and when she tried to help him stand, he only pushed her away, so she lifted her arms in surrender, taking a step back. If he wanted to tire himself out even more, that was his prerogative. It was still irritating. What if he just collapsed and used the last of his energy to continue warding off her attempts to help him? She would have to just sit out there with him in the open and wait for someone to happen upon them, or she would have to drag his sorry butt into cover with him kicking and screaming, risking making his wound worse. Either way, she wasn’t abandoning him though he probably hoped she would.

Once they’d finally gotten a bit of cover, she knew she would have to tend to his wound then or risk it healing over enough that it would take more than one or two sessions to heal it, so she asked him to kneel, and when he didn’t seem compliant, she placed her hands on his shoulders, and forcibly pushed him to his knees. He was normally physically stronger than her, but he was way more tired than she was at this point. He seemed hardly able to move, let alone to resist her physical insistence that he comply with her demands.

Then she moved around behind him, and began to peel back his tunic as carefully as she could. Katara had known that it wasn’t going to be pleasant for him. It probably would have been easier had she been able to look after his wound right away, but this was better than leaving it overnight or something. “What does it look like I’m doing, Zuko?” She said fiercely. What right did he have to yell at her when she was just trying to help him? “Now, turn your head forward, so your pathways are better aligned. Without waiting for him to do it on his own, her fingers gently nudged his jaw to make him face that way.

She felt his reaction to the water, but she didn’t care. Whatever discomfort he felt now would fade away, the water would become soothing. She didn’t concentrate on him any more, only on the wound and correcting it, so she didn’t notice his glare dissipating at the relief of the wound’s healing properly. Sometimes, the body couldn’t be trusted to heal its own injuries the right way. Helping it along, pressing it in the right direction, was her job.

When she finished and offered to keep his back from scarring, she noticed him stiffen, obviously thinking the same thing as she had thought. The scar on his face was pretty bad, but it was her way of identifying him immediately. She was sure others were the same way about it. Burn scars were kind of the norm in this day and age. Bato, her father’s best friend and right-hand man, even had horrific scars all along his arm and torso. If only she’d known how to heal sooner, she probably could have helped him when they’d come upon him at the abbey when they’d been taking Aang to the Northern Water Tribe. That seemed like so long ago… Katara wondered where he was, if he was okay. If he'd been at that prison with her father, they would have been in the same balloon, but he hadn't been, so he had to have been kept in another place. The man was like family to her, and she didn't want to imagine that he was probably suffering as much as her father probably had in separate prisons.

She treated her own wounds after that, having an easier time with them due to their simplicity in comparison to the burn on his back. When the water dripped away, her tanned skin was as flawless as ever.

When he stood, lifting the remnants of his top, she found herself unconsciously appraising his physique. His muscles were well honed from all of the hard work he’d had to do to come this far. It even seemed as if he’d gained a little bit more muscle from when she’d last seen him a year ago, but he had obviously been practicing his firebending in that time, and with his new abilities, he had to have worked really hard which would definitely account for his current build.

Suddenly, she realized she was staring, and she turned her head away as her cheeks coloured.

Thankfully, he was walking away at that point, and she followed him, hoping he hadn't noticed. They would need to find a good place to hide out, and dawn was already breaking, lightening the sky. They didn’t stop until they found a cave in which they could hide and be protected from the elements as well. Even then, they needed supplies, so she gathered firewood while he was entrusted with finding food. Despite her weariness, she made sure to get them enough firewood to last them a while, and she could always gather more once she had rested a bit to regain her strength.

Though the tropical islands of the Fire Nation were normally pretty moist, it hadn’t rained in a while, so it wasn’t difficult to find dry wood for a fire. When she returned to the cave, she found that Zuko had already found game enough for them both in a single rabbine.

She was surprised to learn that he had some skill in skinning animals. Even though he’d been on the run, cast out of society, she still thought of him as the spoiled Prince who had come to her tiny village in the large - though small by Fire Navy standards - ship that had been provided for him. Exiled or not, he’d still seemed to have means and people to do his bidding. She hadn’t thought that he’d need to learn to survive in the wild, and even though it didn’t really help her dislike him less, she did have a small, newfound respect for him. After all, he had to be even more tired than her, but he hadn’t asked her to skin the animal or even to cook it. Then again, it could have just been his ego and pride taking over.

The meat was cooked very well, and even if they didn’t have any way to season it, it still tasted really good to her. After all, in the Water Tribes, seasonings weren’t really available anyway, so she was used to eating less flavorful foods, and she enjoyed them. “Thanks.” She said softly once she’d swallowed her first bite.

After their meal, she allowed him to rest first, keeping watch while he slept. He had been so weary that she could hardly fathom how he’d managed to stay awake long enough to eat let alone catch their meal in the first place, but now he was free to rest. She sat a little ways away from the fire, feeling its warmth at her back while her eyes peered outside the cave. Katara was also very tired, but she had never fallen asleep when she was on watch duty, and she had no intentions of doing it now.

Later when he awakened, she rested, feeling snug next to the fire despite the hardness of the earth beneath her. It wasn’t really so bad because she was so tired that she fell asleep almost as soon as she closed her eyes. It was an uncomfortable sleep, but she didn’t dream.

By the time she awakened, the sky outside was darkening, the sun setting. The air where the fire didn’t warm her felt noticeably chilly, but she ignored it. Instead, she attended to Zuko’s burns, the soft luminescence of the water’s healing powers at work lighting her face as the wound disappeared under her touch, leaving not even a hint of scar tissue behind. Her healing prowess had grown considerably over the time since she’d discovered her innate gift.

Katara only nodded when he offered his gratitude for healing him. What was there to say? She’d done what she’d had to do, and while she appreciated his thanks and probably would have been irritated if he’d forgone it, she didn’t really feel like beaming at the prospect that she’d used her ability to do some good for him of all people.

The waterbender stayed behind at the fire when he left the cave, her arms wrapped around her legs as she watched him. Even after all they’d been through, she wasn’t sure she could trust him. Sure, he didn’t seem to be on the Fire Nation’s side any more, and he’d even been hurt by their warriors, but still… Something nagged at her mind about him. How could she trust him after all he’d done to her and to Aang and to her brother and to Toph? It just didn’t seem possible to just let that go in light of a few good deeds though he had rescued her father from that terrible prison.

She was feeling like her mind was warring with itself when Zuko suddenly moved stealthily back into the cave. The look on his face and the fact that he completely extinguished their fire told her something was up, and her heart began to pound harder beneath her breast as worry filled her. “What’s going-” She started to ask softly only to have his hand press against her lips to quiet her, and he whispered so close to her ear to be silent that she could feel his warm breath against her skin.

This was bad. Whatever or whoever was out there, they had to be close. Her hands moved to a ready position at her water skins though she didn’t move otherwise, too afraid to make a sound though her ears strained to identify the sounds outside.

Katara hardly dared to breathe. Even though they were in better shape now than they had been by the end of last night, if the Hand found them again, they would likely not live to tell the tale. Luck had been all that had saved them. If Toph had been there, she could have told them exactly where and how many they were, but she was probably safely at the Western Air Temple with Hakoda and Sokka by then.

Finally, the footsteps they’d heard dissipated, and the waterbender released a soft sigh of relief. They were safe again, for now. Tomorrow morning, they would have to make sure to awaken early and to get going quickly. They wouldn’t want to dally and allow the Hand to find them.

“I understand.” Katara responded when he told her they couldn’t start another fire. Even so, she suffered the loss of it. The night was steadily getting colder, and she could feel her body shaking more with each passing moment. At least Zuko had the small spurts of fire that erupted from his mouth to keep him quasi-warm. She didn’t have anything, and it was the first time she’d ever wished she could be a firebender though in the long wrong, she would be loathe to relinquish her ability to bend water.

Katara began to feel irritation course through her. She knew how to save herself the trouble of freezing, but the idea of it was terrible to her. In the end, after ruminating on it for the better part of an hour, she knew she didn’t have any real choice. Wearing as few layers as she was and without even a cloak, she would suffer a lot, and her discomfort would cause her valuable, energy-replenishing sleep. Clenching her jaw, she swallowed her pride and moved a little closer to the Fallen Prince.

“Zuko?” She asked softly. She knew he was still awake, and she was sure he wasn’t feeling all that warm, considering how he had even fewer layers than her. Plus, using his fire breath too much could be a bad idea and could attract attention from unwanted guests. He had to be feeling a little chilly at least, but she was feeling cold enough that even though she’d moved a little, she continued to shudder with the cold. “Look, it’s… pretty cold tonight, colder than I thought it would get the early in the autumn here, and well… without a fire, it could end up being really bad for both of us.” Katara knew she was rambling, and her cheeks were burning with embarrassment and shame at the thought of her idea coming to fruition. “In the Water Tribes, it gets colder than this, but in these situations, it’s important to keep warm. I mean, we both need to be able to sleep to make sure we’re well rested if we end up seeing a few of the Hand around, and well…” Her voice turned dark as she finally spit out the words she’d intended from the beginning, “I think we should huddle for warmth.” There it was, the idea she’d had, taken straight from her Water Tribe rearing. The waterbender was too afraid to look at his face to judge his reaction. He would probably dislike the idea even more than her, but she likely had a much larger wealth of knowledge concerning survival, having been born and raised in one of the harshest lands of the world.

But that wasn’t all there was to her terrible idea. “It works better if… we…” Oh… This was just too much. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to get the words out. “if we use our clothes to wrap around ourselves but without them forming a barrier between us.” She could hear him start to protest, but she held up her hand, quickly speaking to stop him. “No! Not naked. I’m staying in my underwear at the very least. It’s just an idea because it’s so cold.” She had never seen a grown man naked in her fifteen years let alone lain next to one, and she really didn't want Zuko of all people to be the first. She wasn't self-conscious about underwear, though. It was just another form of covering, and if she was swimming or sleeping when it was warm, it was more comfortable to do so in her under layers than in her outerwear.

Half of her hoped he would reject the offer to stay warm because the idea of cuddling up to him was highly unappealing, but she remembered how warm his skin had felt when his hand had been pressed to her mouth to keep her quiet, and she knew that it was probably more important that her suggestion be accepted than declined. This knowledge is what ensured that she would press him until he complied though she wouldn't do it fiercely. She didn't want to seem like she actually liked the idea of it, after all.

[Misery]

Zuko was alright, due to his firebreath. But not as alright as he could be. The firebreath itself was not usually meant to be used with stealth in mind, and while he could keep the flames to a minimum there were flames that came from it, which he kept from being shown by positioning himself with his side against the cool wall of the rock and by blowing it in between his chest and legs. It felt like it was singeing him a bit, but on the other hand it was much better than the alternative of freezing to death out here in the cold. He was more worried about Katara at this point. She didn't have a fire breath of any sort, and he wasn't sure that water benders could do anything to heat water, rather just make it colder. It seemed weird that a water bender would get cold, considering where they lived, but he supposed they wore jackets and stuff too...

"What?" Zuko asked as she said his name, noting that she didn't say anything for a long time. He wondered what the hell it could be that she was taking so long to reply to him for. It was a little annoying, to be honest. Why did she get his attention without actually saying anything after? Zuko snorted out another flaming breath, clutching it tight so that it made as little light as possible, then looked at Katara who was still silent. "Well? What is it?" Zuko said with a little more edge to his voice. He didn't really mean to have it there, but he had been somewhat peeved with Katara since he found out the real reasont hat she'd decided to come after him. She'd not cared about his life at all, she'd just wnated to make sure that he hadn't been planning on ratting her out, the same reason why she hadn't let him help the avatar... the same reason why the world was in this state.

Zuko blinked a little as she stated the obvious fact that it was cold, and that the cold would probably not be good for either one of them at this point, one of his eyebrows raising slightly. "Well, without much forest it always gets cold at night in the fire nation... relatively speaking anyway. It's like a desert..." he said, wondering how she'd not realized this before when she'd been actually IN the fire nation. Then again, that had been during the summer, when the fire nation was at it's hottest. With it in autumn now things were cooling down, and would only get colder as things turned towards winter time. Which was good for his plan, really. That would make it easier for the water nation to defend themselves now... and for at least half a year... after that... well... there would need to be something done about it after, but that would have to come later.

"Yeah... it's pretty cold, but we'll just have to get through it." Zuko said as he hunkered back down. Zuko sighed a little as she started babbling about something that the water tribe did, wondering why she happened to be deciding to bring up the abbridged history of the water tribe while he was trying to get what little sleep he could, not really paying attention until she mentioned that she thought they should huddle together. Zuko raised one eyebrow skyward in a reaction that could only be read as 'what the fuck...?' as he snorted out another blast of fire from his nostrils without even thinking about covering it, mentally wincing after he'd done it, chastizing himself for not being more careful... "You want to what?" Zuko said.

Of course then it got worse. Zuko blinked a little as she mentioned exactly how it was that she wanted to do things. The look went from confusion to morbid horror on the firebenders face even as she tried to explain the fact that she was still going to be wearing her underwear. Zuko did a mental check of what exactly he was wearing underneath his pants, and the fire bender wrappings were rather... loose, and not very covering at all.

"No." Zuko said flatly. "No way. We'll be okay."

Moments of silence passed, and he could hear Katara's teeth starting to chatter a little bit from the cold. He'd helped make some leaf type stuff for her to lay on before... which would have been fine to keep out the cold of the ground beneath if it hadn't been for the lack of fire that they had now. Zuko could hear the leaf stuff start to move a little as she shuddered along with the cold, and he closed his eyes. It wasn't his problem, if she'd just trusted him for once she would have never been in this mess. He should just make her suffer through the night and learn her lesson...

"Fine!" Zuko hissed. "Fine. But none of the clothing stuff." Zuko said, as he got up and stood next to her, putting his arms out wide as if he was preparing to do a sports huddle. He had no idea what it was that she was talking about when she mentioned huddling together for warmth, after all. It wasn't like he'd done much of it even on the run with his Uncle. They had always had fires to sleep with, without needing to be worried about who would find them. Really, he couldn't think of another situation he'd been in like this. Even near the northern water tribe they'd just put more things on rather than having to have done... this... And to boot, Katara was looking at him like he was stupid.

"What?!" Zuko hissed demandingly, then blinked as Katara reached up and grabbed him by the waistband of his pants and started pulling him down towards her. "H-hey, what are you... stop that!" Zuko hissed out, but Katara really didn't seem in the mood to talk anymore and was already tugging his pants off of him whether he liked it or not, and stripping down herself. One look from Katara as she started to undress let him know that he'd bettered not look at her, so he stared up at the cave wall as she finished arranging things.

She was soft.

As she pressed against him that was the first thing he thought about, how soft and warm her skin was against his own. It was a little cool at first but suddenly it felt more than warm enough to be comfortable... Of course... with her pressed to him like she was, he wasn't exactly feeling... comfortable. In fact, he had no idea where to put his arms that wouldn't be touching her in some way that she might get upset with him about, so he laid his arms out to the sides away from both of them as he felt her curl against him slightly.

But as her legs touched his... something else happened. Something... embarassing. Zuko glanced down for a moment as he felt something obvious start to... grow... against the side of Katara's thigh... and then stared at the ceiling wide eyed, trying to think of Azula... or... anything at this point.

He was so dead.

[Kathryn Lacey]

Katara wished Zuko would just shut up and let her think. His sharp words only made it more difficult for her to tell him her idea, and it was hard enough to spit it out in the first place. She finally began to ramble about the fact that it was cold, only to have him retort that this was how nights were this time of year at higher altitudes in the Fire Nation. She had never been in the Fire Nation in the autumn, so she hadn’t expected the weather to be this way. Then again, by now, she had expected to be at the Western Air Temple with her family and friends with a fire to warm her. She wasn’t exactly dressed for the weather.

She knew all about deserts, though. When Wan Shi Tong’s Library had been taken back to the Spirit World and when Appa had been kidnapped, she’d had to lead everyone from the desert in order to save them. The days had been hot, and the nights had been cold, and Sokka’s hallucinating on cactus juice while Aang had been emotionally unbalanced and Toph hadn’t been able to “see” anything properly had only made everything that much worse.

Even so, her situation with Zuko at the moment seemed ten times more horrible than that. At least in the desert, she’d been surrounded by people about whom she cared who cared about her in turn. The Fallen Prince cared nothing for her, and she felt the same about him. The only reason she was still with him was that they needed each other to survive. Huddling for warmth was no exception. They probably wouldn’t freeze to death if they didn’t do it, but they wouldn’t get enough sleep otherwise, and if the Hand of the Fire Lord caught up to them after a night of little to no sleep, they would be killed quickly.

Zuko’s reaction when she finally stated her idea only made her clutch her arms more tightly around her legs. She still couldn’t look at him to gauge his reaction. He obviously disliked the idea as much as she did, probably more because he couldn’t understand its importance. People who had everything handed to them couldn’t possibly understand even the simplicities of survival. They were more concerned with when their personal chefs would complete their dinners or when their servants would draw their baths. She proceeded to tell him the worst part of it all, and he wasted no time in rejecting all of it like the selfish brat he was.

She tried a couple of more times to bring it up, but each time, his refusal was clear, so she fell into silence. Sure, he would be fine with his fire breath and higher body temperature, but she became colder as the moments passed. She huddled around herself, trying to keep herself as warm as possible, but nothing seemed to really work. Her flesh pebbled from the cold, and her teeth chattered unpleasantly. She tried to quiet herself, but her attempts only seemed to make things worse until the leaf bedding on which she’d been lying began to make it known that her entire body seemed to shudder ceaselessly with the cold.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she heard Zuko call out his reluctant consent. He must have been as cold as her if he finally relented. Katara didn’t think he’d be okay with it just for her sake. Just because he had a higher body temperature and fire breath, it didn’t mean that he could take the cold very well, especially without a shirt to keep him a little more protected.

Then he was standing over her, arms stretched wide like an awkward platypus bear, ready to attack. The waterbender sat up, looking at him with a raised brow. What was he doing? Then he demanded to know why she gave him the look that claimed he was probably the most idiotic person on the planet, and she only shook her head before grabbing him by the waist of his pants and pulling him down to her level. She wasn’t going to take his stupidity any more, so she would just have to do things her way.

The waterbender tugged away his pants, leaving him in his underwear. She glared at him while she began to remove her water skins, and he looked away from her as she’d intended for him to do. The black wrappings that covered her traditional, blue Water Tribe wear to give her more stealth in the darkness were tugged over her head. Then she removed her blue robes and the pants beneath them along with her boots, leaving herself in the tight, white wrappings of her underwear. The waterbender then released the leather thong and the beads from her hair, allowing her chocolate curls to hang loosely about her face and shoulders so she could sleep more comfortably. She pressed him down to the leaf bedding and arranged their clothing around them both before curling against his side.

At first, his side felt cool against her arms that she had crossed over her chest like a barrier, but once their body heat began to mingle, she felt much warmer, and her shivering and teeth-chattering ceased. Despite herself, despite how much she wished she was in this mess with anyone other than Zuko, Katara felt herself relax, and her anger began to simmer though it didn’t completely dissipate.

In order to get a little warmer, the waterbender curled one, lithe leg over Zuko’s nearest one. This was very likely a mistake because soon after she did it, she felt his muscles tense, and something pressed against her thigh. At first, she wasn’t exactly certain what it was, so she didn’t react. However, once she did a mental survey of the location of all of his limbs, understanding struck her like a brick to the gut.

Though Katara had never been intimate with a boy past kissing one, it didn’t mean she was naïve to how bodies were meant to react under the right circumstances. She had grown up in a close-knit community of mostly women since the men had left to fight in the war. Most of those women had been married and had had children. Information about the natural ways bodies worked was forthcoming, and even though she didn’t have any first-hand experience, she had plenty of second hand experience through listening.

Of course, this definitely was not the right time for something like this. What was worse was the odd heat that she felt building in herself almost as soon as her brain registered what had happened. It wasn’t particularly strong, but it made her feel extremely nervous and irate that her body would betray her like that. It was also very curious because she’d never really felt anything quite like it. Even so, this was not a pleasant situation, and she wasn’t sure just how she should react.

Katara lay there for a moment, ruminating on what she should do when an idea struck her. It wouldn’t be much, but she could start getting back at Zuko for all ofthe snippy remarks and berating he’d given her ever since she’d essentially helped him to survive against the Hand and even before that when they’d been rescuing her father. She’d done nothing but be helpful since she’d arrived when he would have been killed, and he’d turned around and acted like he was completely put out by her even being there. Well, now she would go ahead and give him a rightful excuse for feeling upset with her, but the beauty of it was that she could be subtle enough about it that he couldn’t really snap at her about things that would seem beyond her knowledge.

In the darkness, a small, spiteful grin spread over her lips, and she fought to keep her body from giving any sign of the mirth she felt. He so had this coming…

As naturally as possible, Katara shivered before she moved a little, as if to get closer to his bodily warmth. In the process, her leg crept a little higher, pressing a little more against his more sensitive appendage. The waterbender didn’t really know if what she did would have any real effect on Zuko, but from the way the women of her tribe spoke, even a little stimulation was said to go a long way, especially when a man knew it was entirely inappropriate for him to even be thinking sexually at all.

After waiting a few more moments, she did it again. Katara didn’t look at him in the darkness at all, for she didn’t want to give herself away, but instead, she kept her head tucked toward her chest, and she tried to judge even the slightest reaction by the smallest change in his breathing or by any movement of his muscles. The waterbender was feeling quite vindictive tonight.

[Misery]

This was quite possibly the most uncomfortable moment of Zuko's entire life. He'd essentially agreed to help what at one point in time was his worst enemy stay warm by snuggling up to her, and on top of that he had to do it without any lick of clothing on except the mere undergarments that he wore. He was a little mad at Katara as well... she was wearing more than he was underneath all of her clothing, she didn't have to bare her stomach or anything like the way he did. Most of her body was even still covered! From chest to somewhere down her thighs she was safe, whereas he was more completely exposed than she could probably even concieve of at the moment. There was no way that Zuko had even let it enter his mind that things could get worse... but they were about to.

He hadn't meant to, really. But she had been so warm, and surprisingly soft. He could feel, even through her wrappings, the way that her chest compressed against him lightly, squishing him. She was a lot... bigger... in that area than he'd expected that she would be. He supposed maybe it had to do with her wrappings or the way that she held herself but he'd sort of expected her to be somewhat flat the way that Mai was, but obviously there was at least a little something there... And it made him start to think of other ways in which she was soft. And smooth. God, the way that her legs felt slipping against his own was nearly enough to send a shiver down his spine. But he really couldn't think about any of that... if he started to focus on that sort of stuff then...

But it was already too late by the time that he started to consider it all. There was something there, starting to stiffen, hardening against her thigh. It made him swallow and look up ward at the cave ceiling, trying to be innocent. This was, after all, chief Hakoda's daughter. She had a purpose, and if she found him with... that thing... poking her than she probably would try to have him killed or worse, and he couldn't very well defend himself and risk hurting her. That was probably the thing that he envied most about her abilities as opposed to his. It was much harder to accidentally hurt someone with water than it was to do so with fire. With fire it was like the flick of a wrist practically. But that also meant that he wound up hurting people needlessly, like Toph.

Thinking about fighitng at least seemed to help a little with the goosebumps on his arms that had been caused, but as he took mental stock of his 'situation' down below, he found it firmer than quality forged steel with no signs of dwindling. At least, of course, Katara hadn't actually said something about what was going on down there. If she didn't notice, he would be able to live with the awkwardness of the moment but at least he wouldn't have to hear her constantly berating him about it up and down the next day. He could only imagine what sort of great talk on the trail that would be as she kept asking him exactly why he would suddenly feel inspired to have one of 'those' around her. And what would he really have to say about that? That it was natural? She would just tease him more, and harass him until he would...

Katara's leg caused all thoughts about what might happen tomorrow to suddenly flood out of his mind as it began to move. Zuko's eyes rolled back in his head a little bit as he felt the silky flesh of her thigh drag along his then slowly start to rub at him through the flimsy cloth, shutting his eyes tight as she seemingly trailed back to doing nothing. He managed to keep his breathing smooth only through sheer force of will, and several thoughts about anything from firebending to how cold he'd been a moment before. This really was not something he wanted to have happen, but it was just once, after all. She probably was just shifting to get a little bit more comfortable, trying to snuggle up some before she'd go to bed.

But then it did happen again. Zuko's eyes flew open as he felt her start to slide her thigh up around him again, causing him to bite his lip lightly as he forced his breath not to shake as he exhaled slowly, though it started to increase ever so slightly as she did it. Before his mind had been thinking about how soft her skin was as a somewhat abstract thought... he'd been comfortable... and so it had sort of inspired... what was down below. But now as she moved his mind was starting to fixate on what it was that she was doing to him, and it made it harder and harder not to think about her body there, beside his own, pratically unclothed. He didn't like her... he was revolted by her so why was it that the idea of her rubbing against him seemed so... exotic?

Zuko couldn't help but shudder and start to writhe a little as Katara did it yet again, his breath getting a little ragged as he looked down at her now, unable not to stare at the dark hair as he breathed out shakily. And it was there that he saw it. As he started to show a bit of a reaction her face moved, into a smirk? Zuko's eyes narrowed slowly as his mind registered exactly what was going on. She was doing it on purpose! She was just trying to... harass him... on purpose! Zuko could feel his bloodpressure skyrocket but he forced himself to calm down. She'd had her fun, and he was going to just let it go then... She'd gotten him to blink, gotten the reaction out of him and...

As Katara's leg moved again something inside of Zuko snapped. Growling he turned towards her as she slid her thigh up and roughly rolled her over onto her back, his knees hooking behind her own as his hands came up and grabbed her wrists as she struggled against him, roughly pinning them against the ground so that she couldn't water bend at him in retaliation. As she struggled against his body he could feel his hardness press against something soft... and yet hot. Hot enough that even through his cloth he could feel it, but even as Katara stiffened and tried to berate him he didn't catch on to what exactly he was doing. Instead he glared down at her.

"What the hell are you doing?" He hissed, still somewhat conscious of the fact that they were on the run. Katara started to play innocent and he pressed his hips against her harder, watching as she trembled for once. Could it be that this was her weak point? "Don't try to play dumb with me, Katara... I saw the smirk on your face..." Zuko growled, feeling her squirm against him some more which only made him press harder against her, grinding slightly as he felt her body start to react, leaning down so that she could feel his breath on her lips.

"How do you like it when someone is pressing YOUR buttons, huh?" Zuko growled a little. "Are you going to stop?" he asked, wondering if he should let her go at this point...

[Kathryn Lacey]

Katara’s undergarments consisted of three pieces. The first piece wrapped around her shoulders and bust. The second, wrapped from her thighs to her hips and everything in between, while the third was sort of a short skirt that slit up both thighs to cover her more private areas while still allowing for free movement. Her toned arms, flat belly, and lithe legs - mid-thigh and below - were bare.

Still, she was a lot more covered than Zuko who only had loose wrapping around his pelvis and upper-thighs, and that wasn’t as tight her wrappings – aside from the skirt part. Still, it wasn’t like he wore much more than she’d seen Sokka wearing in the past, and it wasn’t like she’d given him any lingering stares when she’d undressed him to ready him for their huddling when he'd been too stubborn to do it himself. Even so, if she’d realized what a prude he was, Katara likely wouldn’t have cared. It seemed ironic that the girl from the Water Tribes, where as much clothing was worn as possible to ensure warmth, would be more secure in her underwear than the boy from the Fire Nation, where people wore a lot less clothing to ensure they stayed cool.

Zuko’s body was firm against hers, but she didn’t really give that much thought. After all, she was pretty much just using him for warmth, so she could relax get some sleep. She figured that he was doing the same thing, so it was pretty surprising when she felt his body react strangely to their huddling together. It caused her own small, bodily reaction which confused an irritated her, but she had just the thing for getting even with him.

The first time her thigh moved slightly upward, she couldn’t detect any reactions, and without lifting her head to look at his face – which would certainly give her away – there was no sure way to tell. After waiting a few more moments and deliberating, she decided to try again. As subtly as possible, she moved her leg slightly against him, and this time with keen senses, she thought she heard a reaction. A deep, deliberately slow breath was exhaled, and she thought the rate of the rise and fall of his chest changed just a little.

Satisfaction flooded through her. It was working. The women of her tribe definitely hadn’t been lying. She’d hardly moved her leg against him at all, and he was already showing signs that it was affecting him though he was trying hard to restrain himself. The waterbender waited a few more moments, but then she moved again. This was just too amusing.

However, this time, she got a much larger reaction from him. His body seemed to shiver, and she felt his hips rise a little. A strange ache filled her more strongly at his movements - like some primal response to his actions - than it had been when she'd first realized he'd reacted just to her huddling against him. Her flesh pebbled, and she stilled. Even with that reaction on her part, this was just too funny, and she couldn’t help the smirk that returned to her lips at his quickened breathing. It felt so strange and liberating to have power over him like this. She didn’t actually want him physically or mentally, no matter how her body reacted, but this was a strange, new experience for her, and she found she quite liked having this new ability to wield. It was almost like bending water for the first time.

Sure, she had kicked his ass a couple of times in the past, and that had been quite empowering, but this was somehow completely different. It was like a painless torture session with her as the one inflicting the strain. If she had actually been hurting him, Katara could never have stomached it, but she wasn’t. This was something else entirely.

After a couple of more minutes, when her skin had lost its bumps, the waterbender moved once more, deciding that this would be the last time before she would stop. That was her downfall. She should have quit while she’d been ahead, but she'd just had to push her luck one last time. It was the growl that told her she’d gone too far, and soon, she was pinned on her back with an enraged Fire Prince hovering over her.

As fast and as unexpectedly as he’d moved, her reaction to him was slow. As soon as she felt his hands on her wrists, she tried to twist them from his grasp, but they were already pressed against the hard ground. She tried hard to free herself, but she couldn’t move enough to summon the water from her water skins with either her hands or her feet. She was in a bad situation.

“Have you gone insane!” Katara hissed up at him, knowing fully what had caused his outburst but reluctant to admit to it just yet. She’d stopped struggling as she spoke. Feeling his hips pressing against hers was just too much. Even through the scant layers they wore, their positioning was just too intimate, more intimate than she’d ever been with anyone, and she felt her flesh pebble, but she couldn’t be sure if it was from their positioning or from fear. She’d heard of the way Fire Nation soldiers often pillaged villages, raping women, stealing goods, and killing men. Zuko was Fire Nation, and nothing would ever change that. Would he really go so far as to really hurt her like that? She couldn't be sure, not with everything that had happened in their past.

Oh, spirits… This was all her fault in the first place. Sure, he should have probably not had the initial reaction he’d had, but she really shouldn’t have provoked him just to amuse herself.

Was it just her imagination, or did his skin feel even hotter as he seethed with fury. “Me? You’re the psycho who has me pinned! I was just trying to get warm and sleep!” Without their clothing around them, she could feel the cold begin to seep into her skin wherever his body heat couldn’t reach – namely her back where it was pressed against the cave floor. Her words only had his hips digging harder into hers, and a shiver that couldn’t simply be explained away by the cold moved through her athletic form. Her stomach clenched into knots. As frightened as she was having him pressed against her like this, stealing any semblance of control she’d thought she’d had over him, why did her body continue to react? It was sick; she was sick.

Her brows clenched together in what was meant to be anger, but her eyes were wide enough that fear showed through on her face. Even so, she managed to instill her fury into her voice. “It’s dark Zuko. Maybe the shadows were playing tricks on you.” Katara struggled against him again, trying to escape his grasp, but her healing sessions and the sleep and food he’d gotten had really helped him to regain his strength. Maybe in a battle of bending, she could beat him once in a while, but when it came to sheer, physical strength, it wasn’t even a contest; he had her completely pinned.

The waterbender felt his hips grind into hers, and she gasped and froze like a rabbaroo, as if keeping as still as possible would allow the danger to pass, but she had already been caught by the one who preyed upon her. Her breathing became ragged, a combination of her fear and anger and bodily frustration. Her jaw clenched when his face leaned down so close to hers that she could feel the warmth of his breath caress her lips.

Katara debated smashing her head into his face, but she wasn’t sure that she wouldn’t just hurt herself more than she’d hurt him. Besides, what if it just made him even more infuriated to the point where he crossed a line and actually tried to hurt her? She wasn’t really willing to take that risk, not while she was still technically unharmed despite her frazzled nerves.

Instead, she just took a deep breath to try to calm herself, and she stopped struggling though her body trembled beneath his. “Zuko, I think we’re both just really tired and on edge because of the Hand. You need to calm down and let me go. As you can see, I’m not the one doing anything right now; you are.” She took another steadying breath. The only way he seemed to be willing to release her was if she fessed up. “I’m sorry about earlier, okay? Maybe if you hadn’t been such a jerk toward me this whole time, I wouldn’t have had to get back at you.” So… her anger seemed to get the best of her even when she’d tried to apologize, but the words left her mouth before she could really think about not saying them. “So, let… me… go.”

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