A/N: Wow! This was a toughy. Enjoy, guys!
"Well I am scared
In slow motion, the blast is beautiful." - Somewhere a Clock is Ticking, Snow Patrol
Chapter 4 - Into the Inferno
The warriors move into formation, creating a circle around each tomb. I shift uncomfortably, and a gentle hand touches my shoulder to comfort me—Pakku, I think, but he has no idea why I'm really so anxious. He'd try to stop me if I told him.
I can almost feel his gaze; Lu Ten's eyes shift over to me, briefly, and then flicker away in silent warning. Any minute now, I think. My chest hurts and the pounding of the drums are not helping my hammering heart.
This will work. It has to work.
"Into the fire," I repeat dryly. "I think I proved in the Games that I'd like to live, actually, but thanks for the suggestion."
"You might not die."
I snort. "That's reassuring."
"Some…outlaws, if you want to call them, have been working on something that prevents you from getting burned," says Bowen.
"Like a clothing material?"
"Even better. It's a kind of substance for your skin." My eyes widen. "But it doesn't last long, and I'm not sure it could withstand the heat of Everlasting Fire. It probably wouldn't," Bowen adds quickly. He looks over at Iroh, face blank and serious. "I don't know if I can even get it by tomorrow."
"How do you know about this?" I ask him, before the General can respond.
"Because it's an Earthbender who is making it."
"And you just happen to know every Earthbender?"
"Sometimes victors are paid in things other than gold, Katara." There's a cold, knowing glint to his eyes. A dangerous sort of glint.
"Like what?" I ask.
He pushes himself off the wall and saunters over to me. I move back until I bump into the door; the knob digs into my lower back painfully. Bowen lowers his face to my ear and whispers, "Like secrets."
"I think that will be enough, Bowen," Iroh admonishes.
Bowen pulls back and laughs at the look on my face. He goes back to his position on the wall, twirling his dagger between his fingers, looking far too amused.
"Many, many years ago, the dead were put inside tombs made of wood and marble—and gold, for the wealthiest. They were given to the dragons for sacrifice. But as the time changes, so do we, and now the bodies are burned with Everlasting Fire—the fire you encountered during the peace offering in the Games."
Suddenly I recall the bright, white fire that acted as a barrier, and the ferocious beast Zuko and I encountered in the Games. "What happened with the dragons?" I ask.
Iroh smiles at me sadly. "They do not accept our sacrifices anymore. I suspect they are too ashamed of what we have become."
I want to ask more—there's so much about this world that I don't know—but the General's gaze is already shifting back to Bowen. "The tombs for my niece and nephew are made of solid gold, but they are hollow on the inside," he says, like that should mean something.
Bowen rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Gold is a very hard metal to bend, especially in large mass. There's no way I could bend the entire tomb out of the fire." He looks over at me, almost apologetically. "I can probably conceal him inside the tomb since its hollow, but you have to go inside to get him out."
I almost laugh, but somehow that seems inappropriate. "And how exactly is that supposed to work?"
"I'll show you."
I'm so nervous that I dig my nails into my palms to keep my hands from shaking. So much of this plan is out of my control. I think that's mostly why I'm so anxious. I've only relied on two people my entire life and the arena taught me how to rely on myself. Something about relying on others, those I don't even know that well, makes me uneasy. If this was Sokka or my dad, I would trust them entirely. But they are not here, and my only true chance is to rely on Bowen and June. If June can't set up the screens, the world will never see what I've done—if it even works. If Bowen is even a half second off, this will end in a disaster.
My eyes flicker to the side. I do a double take so sharply that the ice in my neck cracks.
Bowen is gone.
The rest of the Guards don't seem to notice, too focused on the ceremony. Without trying to make it obvious, my eyes shift around, but all the Guards I see stationed around the plaza look the same. I have no idea where he is, but I have to trust he knows what he's doing. I know I'd struggle with bending a complicated movement without moving. Maybe he needs to be somewhere more secluded because he thought it'd be too obvious what he was doing since we're standing so close to the plaza.
Don't let me down, Bo.
The chanting picks up again, bringing my attention back to the ceremony. The warriors raise their hands.
This is it.
They punch forward, creating a burst of brilliant white fire—so bright, like lightning, that I have to shield my eyes—and a large radius of flame surrounds the tombs with a loud sound from the gong.
"Hail and farewell!" The warriors' voices echo around the plaza and the crowd drops their arms; I didn't realize I dropped mine already until now.
My heart constricts painfully. Even though I know it's coming, I still clamp a hand over my mouth so I don't shout out. I very nearly fall to my knees—probably would have, had Pakku and June not been gripping my arms. The fire shoots up toward the sky like a torrent. In an odd way, it almost looks like a free standing waterfall of fire. The warriors draw back, and the fire continues to burn in a beam of white.
Dusk to dawn.
You have less than six hours, I think. That's how long Iroh says we have until the fire will consume the tomb. For now, it's simply surrounding it. The preservation and purification undergone on him is to prevent him from melting from the heat, so his body will last until the flames finally claim him. If Bowen did his job, Zuko is safe from the flames, but the gold will continue to heat and the purification will eventually be non-existent. The fire resistance substance that Bowen did manage to get helps, too, as an added precaution. The idea of us being too late, and the fire prince melting and burning is so absurd and sick that I can barely think straight.
Everything is a blur as the Guards start to shuffle me and my team away from the crowd. We exit the plaza; the shouting of citizens behind me causes my veins to harden with ice. Hama murmurs in my ear, saying to ignore them, and I try, but it's hard to do when I agree with most of them.
We pass through the decoratively lit city. White flags and banners are draped in the streets and on windows. The Guards take a more secluded route to avoid the general public. It isn't until we almost reach the plaza does Bowen slip back into our group. About time!
Joo Dee falls into step beside me, practically squirming. "I have a surprise for you!" It can't have been more obvious she is bursting to tell me. "Well, I know today is a hard day, so I had the chef prepare sea prunes just for you!"
I look at her sharply. It isn't much, but a small, single act of kindness. It touches me more than I expect it to. The guilt I feel for lying to them all the sudden chokes me.
June comes to my rescue. "Well, I was thinking of taking her to a quaint little dumpling place. A night in the city."
"Somehow I struggle to see you going anywhere quaint," Pakku says to June dryly.
"I'm not a prisoner," I say heatedly. "As a victor, I'm entitled to go wherever I want in this city."
"It's growing late, and no other victor has ever received so many death threats," he rallies back.
"I will escort Nine and her stylist," says Bowen, in a uncharacteristically deep voice, nearly unrecognizable. Pakku looks at him, his eyes narrowed, but Bowen does not squirm under his scrutiny. Horrified, I wonder if Pakku recognizes his voice.
"We are not authorized to do so," says another Guard, the one who had been leading our group. "Our job was to escort Province Nine to the ceremony and return them to the plaza."
"Our job is to protect Province One," says Bowen, still in that strange voice. "I do not trust a victor from Nine in our city alone. Not so recently after her crowning. She is a liability."
The leader seems to think this over a moment. He finally nods once and turns toward the rest of the Guards. "Two of you will go as well. Consider it overtime and I will report back to the Lieutenant."
"Yes, sir," the Guards say in unison.
I didn't really notice much before, but these Guards are more like security soldiers than the Guards who run our province. Not once did any of these men taunt or bump into us like the Guards would back at home. Once, I remember a burly, tall Guard knocking Sokka into the ice without apology, just because he could. But this group doesn't even act like they are in charge at all, more like they take orders and follow them. The Capital must have so many that they are ranked, and we are stuck with some sort of patrol squad.
The Guards march inside the plaza, all except three, who stay behind. Pakku turns to look at me, expressionless. "I know you are upset. Do not stir trouble in this city. Not today."
Joo Dee blinks, staring at me with wide eyes. "But…you will miss dinner. Sea prunes."
"Thank you for thinking of me. Can you save me some?" I say, attempting to smile. I'm going to have to stoop low, playing the guilt card. My eyes flicker to the building in front of us. "I…the plaza reminds me of the Games. And everything. I just want a normal night out for once. We'll be careful."
June wasn't lying completely. We have an hour or two to kill, time for the plaza to clear out completely, so she stops and grabs us some dumplings. I don't know what Bowen did to lose the other two Guards, he won't say, but I have a feeling they are going to wake up in an ally somewhere, completely disoriented. I just hope he didn't kill them.
"Did it work?" I ask him, the moment we are alone, hidden in a secluded ally near the coronation plaza. "Is he inside the tomb?"
Bowen takes off his mask and shakes his head, black hair falling jaggedly across his emerald eyes. "Yes, and it wasn't easy, might I add. I had to do it fast enough to flip his body inside and also not draw attention to the sound. The gong was a blessed miracle."
"And the fire won't get to him," I say, needing reassurance. "I don't get how that works."
"Everlasting Fire has a life of its own and the Sun Warriors know how to use it. The fire moves with the sun, like the tides move with the moon."
I shake my head. "That doesn't seem possible."
"Neither does your water, but here we are." His head tips back to face the darkened sky. "Some things just go beyond reason, Kat."
My hand reaches up and gently touches Yue's necklace. I suppose he's right. Sokka would call it magic fire if he was here, and I'd laugh at him. He would love these dumplings and yell at me for not eating them. I just stare at them instead, trying to think how much these would cost at home.
June notices my hesitancy. "Do you have restaurants in Province 9?"
I shake my head. "Not really. Markets, places we can buy or trade food, but not a real restaurant like you have here."
She snorts. "No wonder you hate us so much."
"I don't hate you," I assure her. She gives me a look and I laugh. "Okay, maybe I resent you a little bit. I did in the beginning, but not so much now."
Now that I know you aren't like the rest of them.
"There are still laws and rules," she says, taking a bite out of a dumpling. "Our punishments for breaking them are still as severe as they are to you. The Fire Lord isn't…lenient with Province One. We just have fewer rules to follow."
"Are you allowed to leave Province One?"
"No, but there are always exceptions." June glances over at Bowen. "He is one of them, allowed to travel between here and his homeland. Everyone knows that."
I almost forgot he isn't from the Capital. Suddenly Jet's face flashes in my mind. And so does the arrow sticking out of his throat.
June pulls out a circular compact she explained to me earlier as a time device. I have no idea where she got it—or where she gets anything, for the matter. She has her secrets too. "We have an hour. I'm going to get the equipment for the feed. Don't go anywhere."
She had changed her outfit, back to her usual black robes, and disappears into the darkness like a fading shadow.
"Why didn't you tell me you were Jet's mentor?" I ask Bowen, once June is well gone. When he says nothing, I look over at him in question, but he's still looking up at the sky. He's still as a statue, his jaw tight. The moonlight glints off the studs in his ears. "You must hate me," I murmur, and look away.
"Hate you for doing what you were supposed to do? What I had to do?" His voice sounds hollow. "Tributes are put into the arena to kill. You did that—he failed."
His tone startles me. "You were still his mentor. Didn't you care if he lived?"
"Why don't you ask your mentor sometime? Or maybe if we aren't killed, you look back on this moment in fifty years. After you've watched fifty tributes die under you. Tell me how much you'll care then."
I stare at him, open mouthed. "I would always care! I'd never stop believing in those who needed me."
He turns to me, and the look in his eyes is like nothing I've ever seen. Haunted, deep sorrow, like he's lived with it a thousand years. "You've seen death, but you haven't watched it like I have. Year after year. But you will."
"Why are you even helping me? What's in it for you?"
His lips twitch, almost into a smile. "Maybe I just believe in what you're doing."
"And what's that?"
"Saving someone you love." He looks away then, the muscles in his jaw working. "Not everyone can."
I don't know what to say to that. I've never heard anyone refer to what I'm doing as saving someone I love. Is that what I'm doing? No. It's more than that. I don't even know if I love Zuko. I mean, I guess I wouldn't be here if I didn't, but I haven't really thought about it. Saving him is just so much bigger than how I feel about him. It goes beyond that.
Hidden in the shadows, Bowen takes out a few Guards that are on watch duty when we reach the coronation plaza. It's an unpleasant thing to watch as he tightens the metal armor around their throats until they pass out. I remind myself they are from the Capital, and probably deserve it. When that still doesn't make me feel much better, I reason with myself that they are liability if this is going to work.
I forget about them.
June is busy sorting through wires and screens and a Watcher while Bowen gives me the final rundown. He pats a long, narrow piece of rock in the shape of a giant coffin.
"These were once used as a delivery system in the Capital before messenger hawks. It makes for a much sturdier holding for you than ordinary rock. These carts are made of very strong rock and are highly purified, made to withstand a hard beating."
"You're sure I'm not going to…melt."
Bowen rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "You shouldn't. That's why you have the suit. For extra precaution."
"Just do it fast," I say with a sigh. "I don't want to die in there."
"You won't."
I give a sort of noncommittal nod.
"Once I lock you inside, I'm going to bend you into the fire."
Yes, yes, I know this. "From the top."
"Yes," he assures me. I recall what he told me about Everlasting Fire, that it's impossible to penetrate from the sides. That's why it's mostly used as a barrier or wall. No element can breach it. "All fire has an opening from the top, where it ends. It's also not as hot."
"Well, that's good." My voice hitches in my throat.
He looks at me then, and his face softens. "I know you're nervous, but you have to trust me."
"I have no choice but to trust you." And if the General trusts him, I should, too. Suddenly I wonder if he and Lu Ten are watching from somewhere. The plan is for them to stay in the palace, that way no trace of their aid can be tracked back to them, but I can't help but think if this was happening to Sokka that I'd have to watch.
"When you reach the tomb, I'll bend away the top and also an opening in this." He pats the cart again. "Reach down and pull Zuko into the cart with you. He'll be heavy because he's wearing armor."
Bowen has this way with his voice that makes you want to believe anything he says, but I'm too paranoid to just nod and agree. I have to question everything. Again.
"How will you know when I reach the tomb though? That's what I don't understand," I say.
His lips twitch, almost smugly. "I told you I'd be bending blindly. I can't see you once you're in the fire, but I can feel your vibrations and the vibrations the gold gives off to judge the distance. I'm not great at it, but the closer I am to what I'm feeling for, the easier it is."
I suck in a breath. "Like Toph. She told me in the arena that's how she can bend."
Bowen runs a hand under his jaw. "Tricky little thing, wasn't she? I figured that out too late, once she was already in the arena. Once I saw her bend, her technique, that's when I knew."
I want to tell him about the tunnels, just to see if he thinks an escape is possible. But, why should I? Can I trust Bowen that much? Well, what did it matter now? We are out of the arena, there are no Watchers—well, except for the one June is working on—and Toph is either dead or in hiding. She's dead to the world either way.
"She was building underground tunnels," I say quietly. "To escape the arena. I don't know if she ever made it. Azula sort of blasted me into blackness. Her flag came down, but I don't know."
"That's why she spent so much time underground." Bowen looks thoughtful; his hand runs along the smooth rock of the cart absentmindedly. "Huh. I hope the little sparrow made it."
"Me too."
"Don't know where she'd go, though."
I draw the line there, and just nod in agreement. Talking about provinces that don't exist would probably send Bowen questioning my sanity.
"You're not as bad as I originally thought," I say suddenly. "Unless you kill me, well, then I'm going to come back and haunt you."
He laughs loudly; I wince at the familiar tone it takes to Sokka.
"It's ready," says June.
"Your chariot awaits, my lady," says Bowen, gesturing grandly to the cart. He pulls his arms back and the cart stands vertical now so that I can walk into it.
I take a step forward, pause, and look at June. She's standing behind a Watcher, clutching it in her hands tightly. "Don't worry. I'm only going to record once you get him," she says.
And if I don't? I want to say, but refrain from it. Instead I just nod. June looks like she wants to say something but thinks better of it. I do the same. I'm not saying goodbye to her today.
I slip out of my white robes and boots so that all I'm wearing now is my thin black suit. I twist my hair into a knot and take a deep breath. "I'll tell them I set up the feed—stole equipment or whatever. But they're going to ask how I got him out of the fire," I say.
"You can say I helped you," Bowen says quietly. "That's what Lu Ten expects you to say. And the Fire Lord doesn't want me dead."
That should be a good thing, but Bowen makes it sound like it's the worst thing in the world. "He can punish you," I say.
"He can, but he won't."
I don't know what Bowen knows or has done to make him so confident about this, but I decide to let it go. I step into the cart, turn, and move back until my shoulders hit a wall. It's deeper than I thought—Zuko will easily be able to fit in front of me—but it's narrow on the sides. I cross my arms over my chest.
Bowen moves to stand in front of me. My eyes settle over a point past his shoulder, where I can see Azula's white blaze. I feel a stab of guilt. Bowen glances over my shoulder and seems to read my mind.
"You can't save everyone, Kat. And she doesn't deserve to be saved."
"She didn't deserve to die, either."
He shrugs and takes a step back. His eyes catch mine, intense and captivating. "If you get halfway down and panic and want out, just pound on the walls. I'll feel the vibrations."
I nod once.
"Once you have the prince, I'll need you to pound for that, too. I'll know the difference."
Another silent nod. My eyes fall to the ground. I'm so scared this isn't going to work.
"Kat?" I look up, my heart racing. Bowen gives me his signature half smile. "Trust me."
Before I can respond, he slices a hand down and a huge piece of rock flies at me. The last thing I see is those intense green eyes before the piece of rock shuts me in like a closing door and darkness surrounds me.
The cart rattles a little when it takes off the ground. Bowen's bending is smooth as I ascend into the air. It feels like the elevators back at the plaza. I suppose it's the same basic concept, so I try to focus on that. I feel the heat before realizing I'm going down. I'm glad, suddenly, that Bowen gave me this suit. It's hot but bearable.
Then the cart drops very suddenly. I let out a small scream before it jerks to a stop. I glare in the darkness, wishing that Bowen could see it.
When the front of the cart drops open, that's when I'm blasted with the real heat. And light. It's so, so bright I have to shield my eyes. It's like looking at the sun. The fire rages all around me, ridiculously loud, but it's eerily calm where I am, hovering above the gold tomb, like being caught in the eye of a storm. I thought I'd be hacking and coughing, but somehow this fire isn't like that. It's almost like it's clean. It doesn't even hurt my lungs to breathe it in.
It's the purist form of fire, I think idly, glancing around in awe. It's…beautiful.
The top of the tomb starts to peel back, the gold snapping under strain. My cart staggers, like I've hit turbulence, and I have to grip the sides so I don't tumble out. Bowen must be struggling to bend the gold and keep me hovered.
He really is a Master Earthbender.
The heat is starting to become unbearable now, even with the suit and the fire still so far away from touching us. It's gross, but I take all my sweat to create more water and use it on my face. Anything to keep cool.
As soon as I see Zuko's back, I reach down and get a grip on him. He's turned on his stomach, face down. It takes me four good tugs before I manage to get him into the cart.
For a moment, I'm too stunned to do anything but stare at his lifeless face. It's even worse up close, this waxy and sallow skin. But he's so cold to the touch.
There is just something about holding something that has no beating heart. It feels so wrong and awful. I manage to shift him around so that his back is into my chest—I can't look at his face anymore—while still supporting most of his weight. I have to keep my arms locked under his ribcage to keep him on his feet. He's ridiculously heavy, literally dead weight, but the Games have made me stronger.
I pound on the wall of the cart hard with a hand, almost losing grip on Zuko. The rocky door slams back over us, sealing us shut, and this time Bowen bends me out so fast, it's like being shot out of a canon. When we reach the ground, the door falls forward. My arms give out and Zuko hits the ground; I land on top of him.
Bowen scrambles to my side and lifts me to my feet. "Are you alright?" he asks. His grip on me is weak—I wonder how much energy that caused him just now.
"I'm fine. You were amazing," I say, meaning it. Amazing is probably an understatement. "I'll admit it now—you're the best. Thank you."
He gives me another half-smile and half falls, half lowers himself to the ground. He sprawls out on his back, closing his eyes; black hair sticks to his sweaty face. "Now I can die happy."
I almost laugh, but then I look down and see Zuko. I drop to my knees and flip him onto his back. Reaching into my suit, I pull out Yue's necklace. It almost seems to tingle in my hands, like the water is telling me to use it here.
I suddenly start to panic. How do I do this? Does he have to drink it?
My breathing picks up. "I don't know what to do with the water. Where does it go? I don't know what to do."
"Calm down. It's healing water," says June. She's holding the Watcher carefully, ready to record whenever I give her the okay. "Try healing him where he was killed."
Under the armor.
"Help me take this off, will you?" I say, and together we strip the prince of his very hot armor—I have to bend some water out of a nearby fountain to cool it down.
I peel away his tunic, and there, on his chest, is an ugly red mark from Azula's lightning. I tip the water out of the necklace and coat it in my hands. Immediately, it glows a brilliant blue, shimmering like the moonlight on the sea. I look up at June; her eyes are wide, and the expression doesn't suit her at all.
"Turn it on. Now," I tell her.
She starts churning her hand, and the giant screen at the plaza flips on. I know the rest all around Province One are now seeing this, too.
I've already practiced what I'm going to say a hundred times, so the words come easily. "My name is Katara, and I'm the victor of the 75th Annual Black Games." My voice echoes from the screen behind me. "When we die, our souls travel to the spirit world. But I believe they can come back to us. I cannot bring back everyone who has died, but with the last tears of the ancient moon spirits, I can bring back one life. The water chooses, and it chose Prince Zuko, your prince, and the person I owe my life."
With that, I lower my hands to Zuko's scarred chest. As soon as I touch him, there is an instant warmth and pull in the pit of my stomach. The warmth spreads through my fingers, up my arms, and back down again. I actually gasp at the feeling, like I'm literally transferring life through my body to his.
Is this what healing feels like?
The water glows even brighter, almost white, and then it absorbs into his chest. For a moment nothing happens, but then, suddenly, Zuko's eyes snap open. But they are not gold. I can't see the color at all. His eyes glow a brilliant, bright white.
I gasp and scoot back as his body rises into the air with a blast of wind and white light.
I have to strain against the raging wind and brightness, but then I see the air surround him, like a protective sphere. Fire and water and earth swirl around him as he rotates in the sphere. Off in the distance, I can hear people running. They must want to see this for themselves.
I look back at the Watcher, and almost have a heart attack. June is still standing here. She programmed the Watcher to record automatically so she could run away when I started.
"Get out of here!" I yell at her. Bowen is already on his feet, knives ready, in case we meet trouble. "I don't want you in trouble, too."
Her dark colored mouth hangs slightly open, her eyes never leaving Zuko. "I'm always trouble. You should know that by now. We're on the same team, remember? If you go down, so will I."
I shake my head angrily and turn back to the prince, but his body is lowering now. The wind and elements slow until they are nothing more than the last dying sparks. Zuko lands softly on his back. His entire body is hallowed with a soft golden glow, but his eyes are still that bright white. I rush over to him and place his head on my lap. Slowly, the glow around his body fades and then, finally, the white glow from his eyes fades, too.
I almost cry. His skin no longer looks waxy, but real. Still pale, maybe too pale, but there is color there. Still a scar on his face, but none on his chest. No mark of death.
I look up at Bowen and June, but they are both watching me, eyes wide. A crowd of about fifty stand in the plaza, silent and still. More are coming, and by the sound of it, the Guards are, too.
Slowly, I press my face to Zuko chest—
And feel a sharp intake of breath against my hair.
A/N: *cue loud applause and screaming fangirls*
I know Aang didn't rise into the air but I wanted something dramatic. :) Life was being poured back into Zuko, so I wanted to add all the elements into it. And yes, he is alive, in case the ending wasn't clear enough for you. ;)
Bowen and metal/goldbending. Gold is a metal, and while Toph struggled to bend it in the show, Bowen is more experienced in this story than she was at that given time. Not that Toph wasn't badass, but remember how she had to touch metal to bend it in the beginning? But then you look at the advancement in metalbenders in Legend of Korra, which you know she perfected. So my point is that Bowen has A LOT of experience with metalbending..which you'll see why later. He also has experience learning vibrations with earnbending..again you'll see why later. Lin and Aang both do it, too, so you don't have to be blind to use that technique. :P
As we reached [over] 200 reviews, you guys get a character question/answer session! You may ask only ONE question to ONE character. And you can't ask Zuko because he's in no state to answer questions right now. :P Sorry! At 400, we will do another!
Review Responses:
MHZutaraFanGirl: "I should also note how I love your development of Katara's character." - Thank you! I really wanted to try to keep her similar to what we saw in the show, but also altered based on the "world" she grew up in. For example, she's not quite as much a mama bear in this because, unlike in the series, she's had her dad around all her life.
lionsheart13: "I only read finish stories, because I can't stand the author stopping it, but you I think are worth the risk." - Well thank you! I know it can be frustrating reading a fic when the author takes months to update. That's why I try to update within a week or two, at most. Thanks for sticking with me!
lovefierce: "Please, for the love of everything grand and wonderful, let Zuko come back to life." - Well, alright. :) Lol but really, I've had this planned all along. Zuko had to die in order to live, if that makes sense. :P
Dreadful Lullaby: "Azula, as son? lol." - Thank you for catching that! lol So dumb of me. I went back and changed it. :)
Gasping for Breath: "I can totally see Bowen doing the "Do you find this...distracting?" scene." - I will probably have to add that scene in here somewhere, haha. It's too priceless.
"I just wanted to let you know that I think you are an amazing writer." - Thank you so much! I've always enjoyed writing, even in school; so much more than math or history. It's great because you can always improve, too, just by writing. I look back on some of my earliest stories and cringe, lol.
AnnaAza: "Ozai doesn't freaking care about the two things that should be most important: his children." - Ozai is a mystery, even to me, when I'm plotting out his arc. Whether he cares for his children or not is unclear at this point, simply because he throws up that unreadable mask that Katara sees. Ozai has learned to close off his emotions, so it's always hard to tell what he's really thinking.
spav12: "Will there be a possible love triangle by any chance?" - Ah, the love triangle. I think those are far harder to pull off than people get credit for. To write a true, believable love triangle is a challenge. That would mean I'd have to convince you all that Katara could feel equally as strong about someone else as she does with Zuko. For me to take a Zutara story and literally have people rooting for someone NOT Zuko would be like...I would deserve a reward or something. lmao
SparklingGem: "By the way will you do the Q/A with characters you did in the black games?" - Your boss comment made my day, lol! But yes, every 200 reviews we will have a Q/A session. So since we've reached 200 now, you get one question for one character. And that's it. :P
"Does Bowen have a crush on Katara?" - Good question..better wait and find out!
happilyinsane13: "I always wondered how mentors viewed those who killed their tributes, because they should understand because they were once victors, but they would also resent the fact they couldn't save their tributes." - You get more insight on the mentor side of things in this story. :)
sparkling unicorn: "Anyway you better not kill off Bowen!" - Well, I can't say if Bowen will live or not, because I haven't gotten THAT far ahead. But I will say I never kill characters because I can. There's always a reason behind it. (I'm still trying to figure out the reason Finnick had to die..)
"Why couldn't Gale have died?" - le gasp! I love Gale! lol Honestly, I felt like Collins kind of warped his character so we'd hate him, lol. I wouldn't have cared much about Peeta dying to be honest...there was such a fuss over him living that I was like "oh just kill him and get it over with." I'm mean, lol. My heart breaks for Annie though. Annie without Finnick is like George without Fred Weasley. It's not right.
EbunnyLove: "Would you consider doing a POV chapter for Zuko?" - Maybe as a bonus, of a scene from TBG. I like readers not knowing what Zuko is thinking, because Katara doesn't know, either. I think it's good for readers to be on the same page and experience everything through the narrators perspective. Keeps the bias out. :P
katniss1327: "are we going to hear more abot Hama and Bloodbending?" - Yes!
nerdimaddi: "i'm also curious, did Zuko get his scar the same way as it happened in the series?" - Kind of. Same principle with Zuko refusing to fight his father, but the reason they were there in the first place is different. You'll find out later. :)
silver nightstorm: "I will start off with a plea that Bowen doesn't die. Then, I will ask you again to make me his Annie" - Haha you might have to fight against all Bowen's fangirls!
QuietShadowz: "i cant remeber was Jet an orphan in this series?" - Jet was an orphan in this story, but not Bowen. They have no relation other than Jet chose Bowen to be his mentor. ;)
PrudishPerversions: "Maybe I missed this in a previous chapter, but has the Fire Nation done any sort of extreme preservation or mummification ritual to achieve this look?" - They did, but the water gives Zuko life, and thus heals him entirely to how he was when he was killed.