First Avatar: The Last Airbender story! Hope you guys like it! R&R!

Katara heard the lightning bolt that shot through the air and she knew where it was going and that it was going to hit. Using waterbending, she whipped up a wave and willed it to go to Aang. She caught him, but she knew it was hopeless. Aang's lifeforce was fading fast.

Azula's lips curled into a wicked smile just as the wall on her left gave way. Huge flames licked the cavern walls and when the dust settled, Iroh stood in the gaping hole. Behind him was a beautiful girl in Earth Kingdom garments. She was a girl from Zuko's past.

Zuko knew she was coming. He had been having dreams. Dreams of the days they had been together. Her tinkling laugh always found its way into his head. When he was forced to leave the Fire Nation, he never said goodbye. It had been haunting him, even though he tried not to think about it. He tried to think about Mai, but compared to Julie, Mai always seemed so lifeless and... bored. It had been more than three years since he had seen her, and looking at the girl next to his uncle, she seemed so different. The way she held her head seemed so much more confident, and for a second, he was afraid, afraid that she wouldn't be the same person he used to love.

Julie had been waiting to see him. She had missed him so much when he left. She remembered crying herself to sleep for a few nights. He hadn't even said goodbye, and that broke her heart, but she told herself every night that he would come back and they would be together.

She still missed him, but over the past few days, she had asked herself if she really felt that way. When she was staying with Aang, Katara told her that Zuko was a different person. He wasn't himself anymore. A lot could change in three years.

Katara's voice echoed in Julie's head. He hurt us, the waterbender said, he's a killer. That wasn't the Zuko she knew. And that wasn't the Zuko she loved. But she had to see for herself. She had to know that he was safe. That he might still feel the same way about her. He might love her again. But the man standing next to Princess Azula could not have been Zuko. He had a terrible scar puckering the skin over his left eye, and his eyes were filled with emotions. Bitterness, anger, pain, determination.

The man in front of her was not Zuko. No. Zuko was bold and fierce, but he was also loving and kind, and he wanted so much to do the right thing. Aang was lying. Zuko was not here.

Iroh spoke to the Katara. "You've got to get out of here! I'll hold them off as long as I can!" Katara nodded and spoke to Julie

"Come on! We have to go." Julie shook her head.

"I'm staying here with Iroh. You have to get away with Aang!"

Turning away. She faced the crowd of Dai Li Earthbenders and her gaze fell on Zuko. Her voice wavered for a second, but she made it firm again.

"Go, Katara!"

Katara willed the water to shot up and take her to the top with Aang. She didn't know what Julie had gotten herself into. Something nagged at her from the back of her mind. Julie was acting like someone she knew, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Shaking her head and dispelling the strange thoughts, she let Sokka help her get Aang onto Appa and together, they sailed away into the night. Looking back at the shrinking cave in the distance, she felt tears rush down her cheeks. She hoped that somehow, they would be alright. Somehow, they would make the world better again.

Meanwhile down in the cavern, Iroh and Julie were back to back facing row after row of Dai Li. Julie waited until Katara and Aang were out of sight. Then she turned to Zuko.

"I loved you..." she said.

Tears flowed down her cheeks and through her eyelashes, she saw Zuko look down.

"I always waited for you to come back. I always waited for you to come and tell me that everything was going to be alright. Then, I heard about you. About how you had terrorized the Avatar and his friends. How you had followed them across the world, hurting them, hurting other people." her voice faltered and she turned away. "I don't know you anymore. I don't love you."

Zuko was in pain. His emotions were tearing him apart. He wanted to have him crown back, but he loved Julie. Or did he? He loved the pretty headstrong girl. He didn't know if he loved this girl. She was different. Angry, which Julie had hardly ever been. She was hurt inside, and he wanted, so much to hug her. To make her stop crying, and tell her that everything would be alright. He would make everything alright. He wanted to comfort her, but now, he didn't know how. She didn't care about him. She said it herself. She didn't love him.

So be it.

Zuko's face turned angry.

"You should know! Don't they tell stories about it? How my father banished me and said that he would only take me back if I brought back the Avatar? I need him, Julie. I needed him to see you again. Don't you care? I need my throne and my honor." Then he added to himself, "And my father's love."

Iroh was speechless. He had never known! Three long years together and his nephew had never bothered to tell him about the girl? He always thought that Zuko was missing a part of him. It certainly wasn't his father, so maybe it was this girl. Julie.

Azula turned to the Dai Li agent beside her, who gave a hand signal to the rest of the agents. They all fell into stance.

But Iroh spoke in a surprisingly calm voice, "There will be no need for that."

Julie added, "We surrender."

Zuko watched, helpless, as his uncle and the love of his life were both brutally handcuffed and dragged away. He wanted so much to get back to his father, but he felt a tinge of regret. He was so confused, but he knew that deep down, he loved Julie. He had to do something, but he had to remain loyal to his father. He would not be banished a second time.

And then he noticed that as Julie was taken away, that she never looked back at him.

Guess what? I smushed a watermelon over the weekend a week or two ago! It slipped out of my hands and – WHAM! It splattered all over the driveway. XD My dad thinks I'm a klutz. He won't even let me carry the eggs to the refrigerator. Come on, dad. Geez.

Review please! Reviews make me oh-so-happy! They're like Starbursts. You can't get enough, and they're very yummy. Ok, maybe not yummy, but you get the point. Unless you don't like Starbursts… THEY MAKE ME HAPPY, OKAY? So you should review!

Also, I'm looking for a new name for Julie, because Julie obvious isn't an Avatar name. Hehe. It's one of the names that popped into my head that I liked, so it's here. PM me if you have any ideas!