Ok, I know the last chapter was meant to be the last one, but I got asked by a couple of my reviewers to do more and to explain what happened to such and such. So before I begin, thank you to Lady Padfoot21 and Morgana Makaber for convincing me to write this chappie and giving me the ideas. Cyber cookies for you two!


7. Never Again

Azula his in the shadows as she watched the Water Tribe girl dissolve in tears over Zuko's dead body. A pang of an unfamiliar feeling swelled up inside her, as she looked at her own brother and father and she felt tears stinging the back of her eyes.

She looked away and stood up. Azula knew exactly what this meant. The war was over, the Fire Nation had lost... her father had lost... she had lost.

She took one last look over her shoulder before she left the palace forever. She would never come back here again. She would never give in and surrender to join the Avatar. She was Ozai's daughter and she was loyal to him; that would never change, not even in his passing.

She would never forget what the Avatar and the rest of the world had done to her, and she would never forgive them. For now, she would turn her back on them all, but one day, she would be back. She'd make them pay, and they would pay with their blood.

But until then, she would wait. The lioness waiting for the right moment to pounce on her prey. Then, she would be the one who won.


When Sokka had finally left her room and left Katara to herself, she found herself once again staring into space.

How much longer can I go without him? How much longer can I survive without Zuko?

Tears spilt out of her eyes and ran down her cheeks to drop onto her pillow and become absorbed by the material.

There was almost nothing left to make sure she would remember him, but at the same time, everywhere she looked, there was something that made her think of him. It was torture at its cruelest, and it just wouldn't go away.

There was only one thing that was a direct memory of the Fire Prince, and it was now one of Katara's possessions that no one else knew about. Right now, she took it out, just to make sure she wasn't forgetting him. Out from under her pillow, she slipped a pearl dagger, still in its sheath. She took it out of its sheath and looked at the inscriptions on the side.

Never give up without a fight

"Well, they're words that will be imprinted in my head for the rest of my life..." she thought wearily, as she lay back on her pillow. She snuggled up to herself under her blanket; everything just seemed so cold without him there.

So cold...

She remembered when they had met in the North Pole. He had saved her life several times. He had kept her warm. He had kept her safe.

So cold...

She shivered violently at the thought of the North Pole encounter. No, she couldn't think of it; it just hurt too much.

She still remembered the way her held her as he kissed her and she was sure she could still taste the salt that was on his lips.

Another tear streaked down her cheek. She could feel herself dying. It was the most tragic thought in the world; dying of a broken heart.

Already, Katara knew this would be a painful experience, and she was certain that it would make her meet her end. But it hurt so much, why couldn't it just end?

But it could just end. Right here and now... she looked at Zuko's pearl dagger which she held in her hand, I have the power to make it all end... right here... right now...

Katara raised the sharp blade up to her throat. But on second thoughts she moved it back down to her chest and held it over her heart. The one place in her body that was hurting most. She wouldn't have to suffer without him any longer...

"This is for you, Zuko..." I'm coming to be with you... then I'll be out of my pain... out of my misery...

She took a breath and shut her eyes, squeezing her eyelids together tightly.

Her hand came down.

"Katara! What are you doing?!" Sokka's voice rang out, as she felt someone grab the wrist of the hand she held the weapon in.

Her eyes flew open; her brother had stopped her.

"NO! Sokka! Let me go!" Tears came streaming down her face as she tried to release herself from her brother's grip. But the Water Tribe boy wouldn't let her do it; he wouldn't let his sister take her own life.

"I promised Dad I'd take care of you," he whispered, as he managed to pry his sister's fingers off the hilt. He quickly snatched up the knife and threw it across the room just as Aang walked into the doorway.

"NO! Sokka, I want to be with him! I need to be with him!" Her voice bordered on hysteria.

"Katara, listen to me! Killing yourself isn't going to make things any better!" Sokka tried to reason.

"Let me go! Just let me do it! It doesn't matter anymore!" She struggled against her brother as he wrapped his arms tightly around her to keep her still.

Aang snatched up the knife and quickly got rid of it; he would never hear of his friend killing herself if it was the last thing he made sure he never heard.

"Katara, listen to me!" Sokka's voice went demanding for a moment. But as quickly as it had risen, it dropped to a soft and gentle tone, which made Katara think of none other than her father. "You might think that killing yourself is going to make things all better. You think that just because you take your own life means that you'll be with him. But it doesn't. If you kill yourself, you'll be just as lost to him as you are now. On top of that, it might make you feel better to do something like this, but it tears the rest of us apart to know you were even thinking it!" There were tears in Sokka's eyes, as he spoke and Katara stopped struggling and subsided to silently crying onto his shoulder. "Please, stop this. I know that right now, you want more than anything to hide away from the world, but if you do that, you're only going to make things worse for yourself and everyone around you."

Katara took in a sharp breath and sat back to look her brother in the eye.

"We all die some day, but we shouldn't die by taking our own lives, because it just makes it all the worse for the people who are left behind. I know you're scared, and I know you're hurt, but you need to move on now. Let go. Forget about him. People do die, Katara, but life goes on. And we need to make the most of the life that was given to us." He spoke so truly, Katara was sure there was an angel trapped inside him.

"And, Katara, if it makes you feel any better, look at the bright side! You still have everyone else that you love... well, that's to say not all of them are dead. But look at me," Aang indicated miserably to himself, "remember what happened when I found out my people had be killed and I was the only one left? I have no one that I use to know; I've only got my knew friends. And that leaves me with a huge gap that I will never be able to fill. It's like you and Sokka will never be able to fill the gap left by your mother and you won't be able to fill the gap left by Zuko."

The waterbender smiled at her airbender friend, "Oh, Aang, you and Sokka always seem to know what to say and when to say it. I love you both so much." Katara pulled the two boys into a hug. "Alright then, for you guys, I'll try and stop crying."

"Finally..."

"That's the spirit, Katara!" Aang smiled.

"But I don't think I can ever forget him. No, I'll never forget him, and I'll never be able to fall in love again," she informed them both solemnly.

They gave her a pitiful smile, "I guess it's better than you just staying in here all day and crying forever."

"Yea, I could swear you could have cried the whole ocean out by now!" Sokka informed her.

Katara laughed lightly and Sokka and Aang smiled broadly at her. She hadn't smiled since Zuko had died. Katara smiled wider at the looks of relief on their faces, it felt good to be smiling again.

"Come on Katara, we'll go for a walk." Sokka made her stand up.

The young waterbender followed her brother and the Avatar out of the room and she saw full sunlight for the fist time in a week. She inhaled the fresh air gratefully and sighed.

All of the world seemed so perfect out here, but she knew something was still missing. Katara knew that she couldn't cry forever. She would move on from Zuko, she wouldn't linger on his death and grieve until it killed her. But she would never forget him. She would never stop loving him. And in that instant, as she tried to push all of her heartbreak away, she promised herself that she would never fall in love again.


Ok, is everyone satisfied now? I sure hope so, because I think I'm gonna die if I have to type that fast again to get the ideas in text before I forget them. (Phew...)

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