Sokka frowned at Toph's front door. What if she was still asleep? He did not want to bother her. Instead, she felt his vibrations before he had even knocked. She opened the door, staring at the floor with blank eyes. "Let's go," she said sadly. Sokka led her slowly towards the center of the town where Iroh's funeral procession would begin. Seeing the thousands of people standing in a line behind the black coffin made Toph's eyes fill with tears; she could not see the people crying, but she could hear them, and feel their bodies' tremble with sobs. It was the most terrible thing she had ever felt.

When Sokka began to speak to her, it was like he was dragging her from another world. "Zuko is giving a speech," he mumbled softly. "Because he is the closest relative still able to." Toph nodded slowly, the death of Iroh still seeming like a dream. "Is Katara coming as well?" He shrugged in response.

They stood there for several minutes, a sad and awkward silence coming over them, as they stared at the black coffin and the crying people. Suddenly, Toph felt footsteps nearing her. She did not turn around to fight, because it was not a threat. It was Katara. She touched Toph lightly on the shoulder. "What do you want?" She growled, not even turning to face the Waterbender that she had fought with. "Toph, I'm sorry." Suddenly, the two girls were hugging, tears pouring down their cheeks. When they finally separated, Sokka was gone.

The two women looked out at the growing crowd once more. It was very large, adding up to nearly six thousand by the looks of it. Soon, Sokka walked back up slowly, his big blue eyes staring at the black coffin, as though Iroh was going to climb from it any moment and offer him a cup of tea. But obviously, the old man did not. Sokka stopped beside Katara and Toph very slowly, as though afraid that if he stopped walking, he would never be able to start up again. In silence the three looked on, until Zuko appeared before the crowd.

He was speaking to four men with small frowns on their faces. When Zuko finished speaking to them, they walked up to the coffin and braced their shoulders beneath it. They tried to lift it, but the coffin would not budge. Two more men walked up quickly, bracing beneath the coffin. The six men lifted with small groans of pain. The heavy man inside was making it hard to carry. Zuko turned towards the crowd, sadness etched into his face. "Today," he said loudly, "We are celebrating."

The crowd looked at him puzzled. Why would they be celebrating the death of possibly the greatest Fire Lord ever to exist? But the new Fire Lord continued, his voice thick with sadness. "For months now I have watched my uncle struggle to live, fighting against the sickness that overwhelmed him. He told me that he would not give up until he was ready to hand me the Nation. His death was not painful; it merely relieved him from the pain he had been dealing with. His final words were not to me, but to my dear friend Katara."

Katara's eyes began to water as he continued. "He asked her to tell me that I would take his place in this Nation, becoming the Fire Lord. He also gave me an order: Never give up. I plan to do just that; I will never give up, until I take my final breath. My uncle never gave up, even on his death bed. His priority was not to himself, but to his Nation. His dying breath was dedicated to his Nation, to the next Fire Lord. When he was dying on that death bed, he was sending reports to every general and govenor that he could remember the names of; all 713 generals and governors received orders from him, because he remembered all of their names and locations at all times.

"My uncle has left a great legacy, and will never be forgotten as the greatest Fire Lord to ever rule this Nation." He stopped speaking, his eyes distant as the crowd gave him praise for his speech. He stepped from the pedastal he had been standing on and looked around, as though not sure where to go. A man came up and bowed to the new Fire Lord, beckoning him to the men that wished to carry him through the procession. Zuko immediately dismissed the men, refusing to be carried around like a baby. Katara watched him from a distance, even as he grew angry at the men's refusal to leave. They were far from one another, but Katara could hear him repremanding the men.

"I will walk with my Uncle's procession; I am not fragile." The men finally caved in, leaving with a small bow to Zuko. He stepped into the front of the line, placing a hand on the blackest coffin, his eyes closing as he whispered to his Uncle's body. When he had finished his goodbyes, he motioned for the procession to begin. Katara and Toph stepped into line behind him. The water bender touched his shoulder, her fingers cold against his skin. He looked over his shoulder as she spoke. "Zuko, I'm so sorry for your loss." He shook. "Sorry for my loss? Everyone lost him, not just me." Katara admired his ability to make everything he said mean more than what was on the surface.

Katara sped up so she was standing beside him. "Everyone may have lost him, but I am only sorry for your loss; this must be very hard on you, worse then the rest of us." He nodded slowly, meeting her eyes. The sadness that seemed to overwhelm his eyes engulfed Katara. He looked away. "I don't want anyone to feel the way I do," he said simply. The two walked on in silence.

Toph wished, for the first time ever, she did not have the ability to feel vibrations. The entire procession seemed like one giant vibration, shaking continuously with their crying and their sobbing. She could barely tell which way she was going, everything around her was too fast and busy. She linked arms with Sokka so she knew where she was going. He didn't seem to mind, so she didn't let go.

The procession walked to the edge of the town, circled around it, and then ended in the center of the town again. What had once been an empty courtyard now contained a giant block of uncarved marble. When Sokka looked down at Toph, she was gone. He frowned, but looked up to the pedastal where Zuko was now standing. "Thank you for coming to my uncle's funeral," he said, clearly upset. "He would've been glad to hear how many people came to his procession." He looked over to the block of marble. "In honor of him, I would like to dedicate this memorial." Suddenly Toph appeared at the bottom of the marble block. She slid her foot across the ground, and punched the side of the marble block. It seemed to shake off an outer layer, revealing a beautiful memorial within. A giant Iroh was the subject of it, sitting with his wide grin on the floor. In his hand was a giant tea pot and a large tea cup. Before him lay a giant Pai Sho table, with a large White Lotus gambit laying in the center. He was sitting alone, but the Memorial was not finished. When Zuko died, an Earthbender would add Zuko to the other side of the Pai Sho table, a happy smile on his face like Iroh's.

Zuko looked at the memorial, a satisified look upon his face. The base on which it stood was engraved with several words. Never give up, it read. Zuko's eyes filled with tears as he read the words over and over. "I won't," he whispered.


When the crowd had thinned, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko all stood together in a circle. Sokka gave Zuko a comforting grin. "You did great up there. Your speech was amazing." Katara nodded, giving Zuko a comforting smile as well. "Your speech was really good. Was the memorial your idea?" Zuko shook his head. "I think people will remember him, whether there is a physical reminder or not. That is what I told Toph, but she insisted she do it anyways." The blind girl nodded. "I wouldn't tell him what it would look like." Katara gave Toph a hug. "It's beautiful." Toph grinned as Katara bent down to hug her.

Then Katara turned to Zuko. He smiled softly. "Come here," he said, holding his arms out for a hug. She gave him a tight hug, but pulled away quickly, walking to stand beside Sokka once more. Before long, Sokka had pulled the entire group into a giant group hug. Zuko awkwardly hugged back after being dragged into the ginormous hug. Katara grinned, used to the grouped hugs. Toph just stood there until Sokka and Katara released her. At long last, Sokka said he had to go; he had to be at work in a half hour. Toph decided to go with him, and finally, it was just Zuko and Katara. The silence was surprisingly only awkward for a moment.

"I'm sorry," Zuko said suddenly. Katara looked surprised. "He isn't my uncle-" "Not about that," he said quietly. "I'm sorry I ended things with you." She nodded slowly. "Oh." He met eyes with her. "I'm sorry," he whispered again. He pulled her into a hug, squishing her in his embrace. She smield; she loved the way he hugged. He didn't release her, but held her until he arms grew tired. "I need to go," Katara whispered. He nodded slowly, releasing her. She gave him a comforting smile, but Zuko ended the grin with a gentle kiss. When he pulled away, he turned, and left. Katara merely stood there, her lips still tingling.


Author's Note: I would have made this longer, but I felt that this chapter should be Iroh's. There is no Smellerbee/Longshot or anything else, because they did not go to his funeral (Why would they lol) Please review.