Run

Summary: 4yrsPostWar. They have everything they dreamed they'd have at the end of such a horrible war. Peace finally restored amongst the nations, balance finally back into villages and towns, and even the significant others they always dreamed they'd have, but somehow they want more, there's a restlessness and discontentment brewing in their hearts that they cant seem to silence. (zutara, sukka, and slight taang)

A/N: Well hello there, welcome to my very first Zutara fan fiction! I'm trying my very best at this so don't get all up in my grill about mistakes I will make (or already have)

Soo, get to reading!!

Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar those last few minutes with Aang and Katara would not have been in the series finally. Plus, if I did own it why da eff would I be writing fan fictions and not a book 4 which we need so terribly? or not off trying to stop m. night whatshisface from ruining the live action movie even more then he already has with crap casting? because if I did own it, I would soo be doing that instead, and I'm not much, much to mine and your misfortune.
okay, cool? cool.

(Prologue)

It had been four years since the war, four long years, yet everything seemed to have passed so fast and so blurred. Things had changed in a slow steady pace. The soldiers were withdrawn from their stations in the nations they occupied. Prisoners held for unlawful reasons released.
Towns rebuilt, cities founded and families restructured. The failing economy in the Fire Nation finally starting to level out, much to the Fire Lord's relief.
The earth and water nations were finally starting to warm up to the idea of the Fire Nation not being a awful country of soulless savages, much to the Avatar's and Waterbending Master's relief. The Avatar had even started to rebuild the Air Nation, recruiting people who wanted spiritual enlightenment and to lead a monk like lifestyle, though they could not bend air like the original nomads, the new colony of people appeased the Avatar well enough, though he spent most of his time with his girlfriend the master waterbender traveling the globe visiting cities that were plighted by the war encouraging peace of mind.
The Fire Lord had found economical balance in taking the technology the nation had solely used for weaponry and war devices and turned it into inventions that helped build and not destroy, selling them all across the Earth Nation and to the Water Tribes in hopes to rebuild them to there former magnificence before all the raids. though he was successful as Fire Lord and regained financial balance, the peace he obtained was fragile, most of his people still saw him as a traitor of the nation. threat constantly loomed in the shadows for both the Avatar and Fire Lord, but it didn't seem to matter, they had achieved peace and the world was settling at last.

Chap 1:
Such great heights

Zuko awoke with a start, jolting upward his gold silk sheets sticking to his skin which shone with a thin film of sweat.

He had another dream, or more properly titled a nightmare. It was the same one he had been having over the past few months, every other night or so he would wake with a jump, flashes of the nightmare dancing in his minds eye, making him sick to his stomach, and a dull pain behind his dried out eyes from lack of proper sleep, it was always the same dream, it ended and started the same...

Everything was foggy and cold, he was standing in the center of the war room, his Uncle looked at him with sad and disappointed eyes, shaking his head in discontentment, then in a flash his expression would change to happiness with a wide smile and tears of joy in his eyes.
Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose, remembering his dream wondering what it could all possibly mean, he had written his Uncle about a few weeks prior but had yet to receive a response as the mail was slow since the Earth Nation was still suspicious of messagner hawks and it was all delivered by carrier.
He almost wanted to write Aang about it, him being a spritual being he must of had some knowledge of dream meanings. But Zuko just shrugged the notion away, he was probaly just being to inquisteve about it, after it was only a dream.

The room spinned away shifting to different scene, he stood on the front of his old ship, the one he used to search for the Avatar all those years ago, he was in the South Pole or North Pole, he wasn't certain, the icy cold water splashed him in the face sending goose flesh down his arms.
He heard a loud grinding noise, "My lord! The ship has been puncutered!" yelled a indistinguable voice. he was flipped face first into the ocean below.
sinking, sinking, sinking.

Again the scene changed, he was at his house on Ember Island when he, Sokka, Suki, Toph, Katara and Aang had hid out there, it was the night when they had gone and seen they play depicting there lives, they were all laughing at Sokka's pathetic imitations of the actors while eating the dinner Katara had prepared.

The scene changed but more violently this time, his sister, Azula was cackling, sending a bolt of lightening into his unsuspected chest "oh Zuzu, you disappoint me" she said in her sickly sweet voice, he was writhing on the ground as the electricity coursed through him. When he began to sink through the ground and landed in a desert, his mother was a few feet away, staring at him with aged eyes, brimming with tears, "Zuko," she whispered "I did this for you, don't forget who you are." she lifted her hand to him as if beckoning him to take it, he ran towards her and right when she was in reach was sucked into the sand and into the earth below.

Then he was standing in the bunker under the capital city, his father stood at his throne "you are always are traitor Zuko, you are a liar, a thief, a backstabbing waste of boy." Zuko ran from the room as fast his legs would allow where he ended up in the caves of Ba Sing Se where Sokka was waiting, he growled at him "how could you let her die?" he asked fiercely holding his boomerang ready to be released, next to him appeared Katara who's eyes were glassy with grief, in her arms was the limp form of Aang with a red angry wound on his back, he watched her as her skin began to grey, she gurgled and collapsed still holding Aang.

The earth was tugged from underneath him and he on the beach with Mai, she sweetly kissed his mouth and smiled slightly at him, there was something in her eyes that he could not place, sadness? relief? confusion?
She held his face in her hands just staring at him, he couldn't speak no matter how hard he tried, no noise could escape his throat. Mai slowly began to walk away, she bowed slightly and whispered as if it were a final farewell "My lord." and vanished.

Again the earth gave loose beneath his feet, he was sitting on Appa, holding the reins, the ocean spanned beneath him, and Katara was next to him, she looked ahead with a steely expression, "Katara?" he asked, she looked at him the fierceness in her eyes melting away like ice and replaced with warmth, she smiled at him and placed her hand atop his.

Then finally the world went black, everything was black and he was alone, sitting in the robes of the Fire Lord, on cushion just waiting, in slithered Ran and Cha, the Firebending Masters, the last dragons, they encircled him. "Zuko," the red one hissed its voice a mixture of his sisters and fathers "Zuko look at you're ruin, look at the lose you have caused, this once proud nation now crippled and weak, you are weak."
The blue dragon spoke, its voice sounded like Aang's and Sokka's "Do not touch her, she isn't yours to keep, look what you caused your mother to do after all." it mocked.
The dragons began to talk at the same time chanting threats and insults so much that the words smeared together and he couldn't not decifer what they were saying until the dragons hissed heads on either side of his face, they're forked tongues dangerously close to touching him, when they hissed fiercely "Fire Lord Zuko, time's almost up" and spat vibrantly colored fire at him, consuming him entirely.

Across the globe, Katara was waking, she streched her arms over her head and back again, she looked over to the futon across from hers were Aang slept, the boy was curled into a ball facing the wall his side moved up and down in the steady rate of this breath, Katara couldnt help but to smile at this, Aang always looked so peaceful in his sleep, he looked younger almost as if he were twelve again and not sixteen, the last Airbender and the Avatar, the boy who saved the world from firey infrerno and tyrany, he just looked like the boy in the iceberg wanting to go peguin sledding.

Katara and Aang were currently settled at the Northern Air Temple helping Teo and his father get the place prepared for more people who wanted to live a monk like life, as the Southern Air Temple was full and for some reason nither of them could bare to have people settle in the Eastern Air Temple they figured the Northern would do just fine as it was already once a settlement.

Katara discontinued her watching of Aang sleep and began to rise to her feet, she straighted out her blue robes and splashed some water on her face from the shaving bowl on the table in the room, Katara stared at her face in the reflection, she looked older she decided, her eyes looked less youthful somehow and her cheekbones more prominet. she ran a comb through her knotted hair, pulling back half and tying it, and letting the rest hang loose.

Katara was tired, she was tired of travel, they had been traveling since four months after the war and had not stopped to settle in a place longer then four weeks. "well Aang IS a nomand," she would think whenever thoughts of home began to breach into her mind "and you ARE his girlfriend so where ever he is should be home." this was her mantra whenever Katara felt a tugging in her heart for her igloo in the South Pole, or the house in the upper ring of Ba Sing Se, and even the Fire Lord's house in Ember Island she would repeat it untill all ideas of settlement left her train of thought but they always came back no matter how hard she tried to stop them.

She thought of Sokka and how he was engaged to Suki, and how she hadnt seen either of them in almost a year. She thought of Toph who was probaly back at home with her parents, finally accecpted by them, yet still being the Blind Bandit in the moon light, it was also a year ago when she last saw her as well. Then she thought of Zuko, sitting alone in his study absorbed in his work as Fire Lord and how hesitant he was about the job, she remembered the last converstion she had with him right after his cornation...

"So youre Fire Lord now, all youre dreams have come true" she teased him slightly, Zuko was stadning on the bank of a Turtle Duck pond staring blankly into the black water as she apporached him.

"I never dreamnt of actually being Fire Lord," he answered in his usual raspy low voice "I always Uncle would take the throne."

"But...he's old" Katara said hesitantly, she always figured Zuko wanted to be Fire Lord after his father was dethroned, it just seemed apporite to her. Zuko glanced over his shoulder sending her a disapporiving look "I mean its not that he's to old," Katara said "but I thought you were the rightul heir"

"I am," Zuko anwsered coldy "I just never pictured myself ruling a country, I dont feel as if I'm fit for the job." he faced her now, he looked her straight in the eye, something she never enjoyed much, it felt as if he were looking straight through her, it made her feel naked and uncomfrontable, she felt vunerable but at the same time completely secure.

"Zuko, you are fit for the job, your Uncle told you so back in Ba Sing Se, remember?" Katara's vocie softened into its motherly tone "He told you this nation needed someone with ideals and honor, which you have both of no matter how much you try and deny"

"Yes, but a nation can not just be ran by honor, it needs someone with a poltical mind," Zuko grumbled "a mind that I do not have."

Katara smiled at him, apporaching him cautionsly, placing a hand on his forearm "you're going to be a great Fire Lord, I'm sure of it" she grinned, hugging him.

"I hope youre right Katara" he said hugging back.

It had been a year, she relized since she had seen anyone of her friends, when they all arrived in Ba Sing Se for the anniversy of the end of the war festival that carried on for a week straight, the city streets were lined with paper latterns of all colors of each nation, random bursts of fireworks would go off around the city uncalled for awaking them from there sleep.
Uncle's tea house was constaly packed with guests from far reaches of the globe demanded the Dragon of the West's famous brews.
It was one of the best weeks of Katara life to date.

Katara was staring out into the blue sky when she was woken from her thoughts by a sharp peck on her hand, "Hawky?" she asked aloud to the bird perched next to her hand, it ducked it's head revealing a scroll in its pack strapped to it's back.
Katara pulled the scorll from it and unrolled it, on rich paper she read:

Katara and Aang:
You are formally invited to the wedding of Sokka and Suki
On Kyoshi Island in a fortnight
RSVP, ASAP

Katara was in slight shock, she knew her brother and Suki were engaged but it just seemed like yesterday when they all had first meet.
She turned over the paper to a note hand written in Sokka's childish script

To: Katara,
you better come to my wedding, its been to long since we've all seen you, I'm somewhat worried and so is Iroh (who is leaning over my shoulder!) we're at his tea shop picking out teas for the recption after.
Suki would like you to be her maid of honor ... actually, no you are going to be her maid of honor so you have no excuse not to come! (Zuko's going to my best man, he just doesnt know it yet)
I'll see you two weeks baby sister!

From: Sokka
P.S. bring a good gift!

Katara ran into her room and grabbed a bit of parachment and sat at the desk and quickly wrote to Sokka saying of course she'd be at her only brother's wedding, and would be delighted to be Suki's maid of honor.
She quickly rolled the paper and pushed it in Hawkys holder, "Go back to Sokka Hawky" Katara said giving the bird a slight nudge and then running back into her room to wake Aang to tell him the news.

Zuko sat at the foot of his bed meditating when there was a soft knock on his door, "My lord?" asked a servants voice.
"You may enter." Zuko said, standing and pulling on his robe, a small man entered his room, but just barely "This came for you" he said bowing and holding out a scroll.
"All messages regarding my work as Fire Lord are meant to be left in my study" Zuko said waving his hand at the servant in attempt to dismiss him, sitting back down in front of his candles.
"But my lord, this is personal, addressed from a Sokka of the Water Tribe" the servant's voice quivered, Zuko sat up quickly and retireved the message "Thank you, you are dismissed" he barely answered as his eyes quickly scanned the wedding invitation.
Zuko muttered under his breath in slight confuson, "Best man?"

A/N: welllll there it is! The first paragraph is basically a little prolouge, a general overview of what was going in the world over the past 4 years, I didnt really feel like I needed to go into Zuko's ecomony plans and Aang's constrution ones (mainly because I have no idea what either of those would sound like)
and the Chapter 1 is the beginning of the story thats going to unravel before youre eyes!
I'd like you to take note the "fueled by" section down below, that is where I will name the artist and song that helped my write whatever part of the story youre reading at the time, and will also be the name of the chapter. I'd also like you to know that I do not have mircosoft word, only wordpad so I dont have any spell or grammer check, and I have absoutly horrible abilties in both arenas, for that I am sorry since I know how annoyin spelling and grammatical errors are.
anways! I'd really really appreicate some reviews, any kind is welcome, I'm a fan of critcism it helps one grow! (other then pointing out my poor grammer/spelling skills, I know that its really bad.)

Untill next time.

Fueled by: The Postal Service - Such great heights