The Confrontation

Katara was entirely struck by Zuko's announcement.

"How dare you call me a liar!" Katara said jumping to her feet. She looked down at Zuko with a mixture of sadness and distrust.

"Well that is what you are. You have been doing nothing but lying since you told everyone your secret." Zuko retorted as he stood up as well.

"Is that what you think I have been doing, lying to everyone? I have no idea where you got such an assumption but…"

"Every time someone asks to you how you feel, what do you say? 'I'm fine, there's nothing wrong.'" Zuko said raising his voice slightly. Katara looked at him with a pitiful expression.

"You're NOT fine, Katara. You're not supposed to be. Stop being so introverted and let others help you!"

"Even if you think that's how I feel you still have no right to accuse me of being a liar without any proof to back up such an outrageous accusation!" Katara began to walk away from Zuko.

"I saw what you did that day Katara." Zuko said softly.

Katara stopped walking and turned to look at Zuko. She was at first surprised but then her frown returned to her face.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Katara said crossing her arms.

"There you go lying again! The day you told everyone about becoming the Avatar you went running out of the room crying. A few hours later you came back with a smile on your face and even though everyone was convince you were trying to put on an act to stop everyone from worrying you were able to trick Toph into thinking that you were telling the truth."

Katara looked at Zuko with a faltering glare. Zuko stared directly at her waiting for her to confess. Katara shifted her body slightly and began to open her mouth in protest.

"I SAW WHAT YOU DID!' Zuko screamed as Katara turned head with a shameful look.

"You knew that Toph would know that you were lying and so you decided to come up with a plan. You covered the bottom of your feet with water and sent pulses through it so that Toph could not pick up on your real heart beat. Knowing that everyone else would be distracted by your fake smile, it was the perfect plan being as Toph couldn't see."

Katara continued to avoid Zuko's eye.

"What was the point of that, Katara?" Zuko said as he walked over to Katara. "What was the point of hiding feelings that everyone expected you to have?"

"Because they didn't understand! They STILL don't understand!" Katara said as she backed away from Zuko. Her face was a mixture of sadness and hostility. Zuko was strongly reminded of the way she was when she confronted him on the cliff side.

"Do you know what Aang said to me that day? He told me that I would find a way to be happy after I was separated from everyone else. He was basing this assumption off of how he is now. I'M NOT AANG!" Katara screamed. Zuko expected her to start crying but no tears came from her eyes.

"This is not one hundred years in the future…this is a whole new world! I'm not some boy who was raised by monks and has the ability to see the silver lining in every situation. I'm a girl who has a family and friends that I love and…" Katara's voice broke. She composed herself before she continued.

"When Aang found out he was going to become the Avatar, what did he do?"

She didn't look at Zuko but he figured it wasn't a rhetorical question.

"He ran away." Zuko said in a quiet tone.

"Yes." Katara said breathlessly. "He ran away."

"But Katara he was scare…just like you. I know it's not right for him to tell you everything is alright when he acted the same way but…"

"You are MISSING the point!" Katara said as her anger began to return. Zuko looked at her to see that she was staring at him with raging eyes.

"Aang ran!" Katara continued in her rage. "Don't you see? He left. He had the option to at least attempt to escape his fate!"

As the last word escaped from her mouth her body seemed to be over come by grief. Her eyes soften and she looked at Zuko with an expression of insufferable pain. Zuko was taken aback by how swiftly her attitude had change and he did not know how to reply. Katara continued to stare at him in the helpless manner before slowly gesturing around the room with her hands.

"Where am I going?" Katara asked finally, her voice just above a whisper and full of sadness. Zuko looked at her and saw that the tears had finally arrived. Consequently they had come with the return of her anger.

"WHERE AM I GOING?" Katara demanded. The tears were a flowing stream down her cheeks. "I go to the other world and I get separated from everything I know. I stay and Aang dies. Tell me Zuko, how am I supposed to be truthful with people who think that this situation will have a happy ending! This is not the same as what happened to Aang. There is no happy ending for me. There won't be any hundred year old friends who still remember sliding through a mail system with me. There won't be a flying bison to be my constant companion. It will just be me, all alone." Katara stopped talking and closed her eyes.

"You won't be alone Katara," Zuko said so suddenly that Katara's eyes shot wide open.

"Toph, Sokka, and Suki have decided that they are going to find a way to go with you to the other world. You won't be alone."

It was apparent that Katara's surprise was a result of what Zuko had said and not when he said it because as soon as he finished she closed her eyes back and tilted her head. Then she chuckled in a breathless manner.

"I already knew about that." Katara said. Zuko looked at her in a confused manner.

"How?" he asked.

"Well they didn't choose the best person in the world to keep a secret." Katara said with a bit of humor in her voice, in great contrast to the moment.

"Sokka." Zuko mumbled as he dropped his head to his chest.

Katara let out a short laugh. "He was talking in his sleep."

Zuko shook his head and then lifted it to look at Katara. "So what's the problem then? If you knew about the plan then why do you think you will be alone?"

Katara looked at Zuko, her eyes lightened by the bit of humor she had found in Sokka's mistake.

"They aren't going."