Nickelodeon owns all rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender. I don't claim to own them. This work was written without permission and isn't intended for any form of profit.

Like most of my stories, this was one that popped randomly into my head while I was watching a particular episode of Avatar. This time around it's "The Fortuneteller", in which I delve a little deeper into Aunt Wu's predictions for Katara's future, and just what they could mean for the others as well. This was also a little inspired by a lot of the forum conversations I saw surrounding the "Day of Black Sun" movie. People argued over Katara's reaction to Aang's kiss, so I guess you could say that this is one of my interpretations of it. This is by no means canon (as you'll find out), but it was great fun to contemplate and write.

Enjoy reading, as I did writing!

Fate

"I feel a great romance for you. The man you're going to marry…"

"Tell me more!"

"I can see that he's a very powerful bender."

Those were the words spoken to me so long ago, it seems. The words that sealed my future, the words that would describe the path I would walk one day.

One day.

As I enter the palace, with Aang at my side, I can see a legion of Fire Nation soldiers congregate in front of the two of us, ready as a last defense before we would confront Firelord Ozai.

"We can take them, together!" I hear Aang shout as we continue our reckless assault. Toph and Sokka have fallen behind, occupied with enemy forces outside the palace walls. I look ahead and see that the soldiers have each adopted a fighting stance. Before I know what's happening, one of them lets loose a fire blast that heads straight towards me. And suddenly, I'm engulfed by the heat…

"Hi Aunt Wu. Sorry to bother you." Katara didn't know exactly why she was apologizing. Aunt Wu was offering a service, after all. But then again, she supposed it wasn't one to be abused. It's just this one time, she thought.

"Anytime," was Aunt Wu's simple, prosaic response.

"About this man I'm supposed to marry…" Katara paused for a second, a little afraid of sounding like a crazed little girl. Nothing else for it, she proceeded to ramble off her relentless questions like the gurgling brook Sokka had been fishing in that morning. "Is he going to be handsome!? Oh, I hope he's tall…"

Aunt Wu smiled knowingly. "Ahh, you want another reading."

Katara nodded excitedly, all dignity apparently forgotten. "Yes please."

Still smiling, Aunt Wu turned and beckoned the Water Tribe girl to follow. "Come with me then, child."

Her stomach practically turning somersaults, Katara followed the elderly lady into her house, closing the door behind her.

"Watch out, Katara!" I hear Aang's cry, and then a huge gust of air blasts outward in front of me as the fire blast is deflected, rocketing skyward and exploding into the ceiling. I stare. Aang's just saved my life once again, I realize.

When I think about it, I'm not really sure where I'd be without Aang at this moment. Probably back at the South Pole, learning to clean and sew and wishing that the war could be over. But that's a life I never wanted…I life I'll never live. I always knew that there was more out there for me, and the little arrowhead just came along and helped me find it. And now we're fighting the final battle, one last struggle to end Ozai's reign of tyranny once and for all.

Of course, we have a time limit. Once Sozin's comet arrives…well, we don't tend to think about what happens after that. This fills me with a new sense of urgency, and as I lash out in all directions with my water, I call out to him as three approaching soldiers fall to my attacks. "Aang, there's no time! Hurry, I'll be fine!"

"But—" he hesitates, as I knew he would. He'd never leave me alone to fight off a squad of soldiers. It's suicide; he knows it, I know it. And truthfully, I'm not sure if I'll come out of this alive. But what's important is that he has to finish Ozai before the comet arrives. I know it; I can only hope he knows it.

"Go!" I shout. "You have to take down Ozai! I'll hold them off!"

He hesitates once more, but this time he nods slowly and disappears over the heads of the soldiers, who have now formed a veritable wall between us and the throne room. A few of them fire at him as he catapults himself overhead, but I dispatch them quickly with the water whip, a move that seems like I learned an eternity ago. I smile slightly as I remember how long it took me to learn it, and how jealous I'd felt when Aang had gotten it perfect on his first try. That was in the past though; this was now. Concentrating, I pull my water in towards my body and violently extend it upward, assuming the octopus form.

I don't expect the first shot, but it's blocked easily enough by the form. I quickly lash out with one of the legs in retaliation.

"Come child, tell me. What exactly is it that you want to know?"

Katara stared. Truthfully, she didn't know where to start. Knowing one's future wasn't really something that she'd thought about; now that she had the opportunity, she found that there were endless questions that she wanted to ask.

"…Everything," she stated softly. "Everything you can tell me."

"About what?" Aunt Wu said kindly, albeit a bit impatiently.

Katara paused again. "About…love."

Aunt Wu allowed another smile. "Ah, you are just like most people who come to me. Well, let me see your palm again, and I shall tell what I can see."

It isn't going well. As soon as I take out one soldier, two more come to take his place. Fire blasts fly at me from all angles; the octopus form is the only reason why I'm still alive. And even that isn't going to last forever; the water around me is sizzling and steaming, smothering me in a radiating heat.

And before too long, a fireball gets past my guard and catches me in the arm. Nothing too bad, but enough to break my concentration. And I watch helplessly as the form collapses around me, leaving me vulnerable.

A blast from behind, and then a roaring pain in my back as I'm hit forward, sprawling down on the floor in front of the rest of the pack. There's nothing I can do. I look up helplessly as I'm surrounded by six men, all pointed their fists at me.

"Surrender. Come quietly and you won't be killed."

"How's this for quiet!?" I barely have time to glance over as a large boulder takes out four of my assailants. Quick as a flash, Sokka runs up and dispatches the last two with his sword.

"It looked like you could use some help," he says with a grin.

Typical Sokka…he could grin like a maniac in the middle of a blizzard if it would make him feel confident. The respite is welcome though, and I use the moment to catch my breath as Toph and my brother flank me on either side. Giving each other a look of determination, we rush the remaining soldiers with a great cry.

"Everything is going to be different after today, isn't it?"

Katara thought about that. She didn't want anything to change, but when she thought about it, she realized that the airbender was right. Things would change, with or without her. Whether she liked it or not. "Yes. It is."

Aang looked straight into her eyes, and for a minute it seemed to Katara as though he were searching for her soul, like he would burrow into her mind and take refuge there, away from the strife and conflict. It was not something unfamiliar to her, for she found herself very often wishing for the same thing. The same unattainable level of detachment. Maybe that was what the Air Nomads had found before they had been killed, she realized. Maybe they knew what it meant to be truly free. As she looked back into Aang's eyes, she saw that freedom, that detachment, and for an instant, she envied him.

"What if…I don't come back?"

She'd been prepared for this. When she thought more and more about the possibility of him not returning, the more she came to realize that she couldn't live with that possibility. She needed the Avatar—no, she loved him. In the bottom of her heart and soul, she knew that she truly loved him. She loved that grin, that spirit, that freedom—everything. And now she didn't want to think about never seeing him again.

"Aang, don't say that. Of course you'll—"

She didn't get to finish. Before she knew what was happening, his lips were upon hers. It was shocking at first; this was a moment she'd always dreamed would happen under the stars and moon, near a secluded spring perhaps. But never on the back of a submarine. It seemed almost absurd.

When they finally parted, Katara looked away sadly. Aang couldn't leave now, not right after what they'd just done…but there was something else too. Something bigger, something even more disturbing that she couldn't quite place. But before she could say anything, Aang took off into the distance.

The kiss. I remember that now, of all times. I also remember my reaction, how I had felt a certain dread at the pit of my stomach develop when we first revealed our feelings for each other. Back then, I had had no idea why I should be feeling that way. Now though, I understand. When he kissed me, I had felt happy, yes. It had been what I'd been dreaming about for so long. But alongside that I was afraid. Afraid because of what might happen. Afraid of what I knew was to happen. And as we finally fell the last soldier, as we make our way to the throne doors, I see a great light emanate from the doors, and suddenly it looks as though the entire room beyond is engulfed in flames.

"No…" Sokka breathes.

"Aang!" Toph chokes, all nicknames forgotten.

I say nothing. The dread that I had felt when he kissed me finally manifests itself.

Aunt Wu had never been wrong before.

"Hmm…" Aunt Wu contemplated as she rubbed her fingers thoughtfully over Katara's palms. "This is troubling."

"What?" Katara started. "But I thought I was to have a great romance! With a powerful bender."

"That is true," Aunt Wu agreed slowly. "You will find a powerful, handsome, loyal lover with whom you will be married. But now that I look deeper…I see that he will not be your first lover."

Well, that wasn't so bad. Katara had figured true love wouldn't happen on the first try, in any case. "He won't?"

"No." Aunt Wu paused for a moment, as though she were afraid of her own prediction. "Your first lover…the man with whom you will share your first kiss…he will die in the war."

Yeah, I was in a dark mood today…sue me. I apologize for my lack of description of the actual battle, but you have to understand that it wasn't really the point of the story. So I wasn't too worried about it.