Hey you guys! This story is winding down…second to last chapter here…personally…it's my FAVORITE chapter to date. (: Hope ya'll feel the same way!

Chapter Ten: Cursed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I found them!" Aang announced to Toph, sailing through the air on top of Appa. Aang carefully steered Appa down to the patch in the woods. He saw a streak of dying fire between the two as he maneuvered Appa to a halt.

"You guys!" Aang called, hopping off of Appa, Toph right behind him.

The dark sky had retrieved its blanket of fog and heavy rain drops came crying down from the sky, along with the loud claps of thunder and sparks of lightning. Everyone was drenched two minutes into the rain storm. Aang's clothes suctioned onto his skin, itching away.

"Why do I smell fire?" Toph asked dryly.

"Were you two fighting?" Aang interrogated with disbelief, gazing at the fire burning the grass and sweeping around Zuko's hands.

Zuko's hands immediately stopped flaming and he and Katara shared panicked expressions, bothing trying to cook up a feasable alibi for Aang and Toph.

"Oh no, of course not!" Katara bit the inside of her cheek in thought, "you see, there was a bug…Zuko killed it with fire bending!" Katara smiled in a satisfactory way at her 'good' lie.

Zuko took a step towards her, still carrying some hurt feelings. "Did you just lie?"

Katara gulped. 'Whoops,' she felt her throat close up. "No," she peeped.

"Yes you did!" Zuko protested. "You lied!"

"So then you guys did fight?" Toph asked, her and Aang both incredibly quizzical.

"Zuko, I can explain--"

"You don't have to!" Zuko curtailed. "You've been able to lie this entire time and you weren't even going to tell me!"

"That's not true! I was about to tell you but then you threw fire between us!"

"Wait!" Aang cut in. "What's all this talk about lying?" Katara licked his lips, knowing that since Zuko was still under the honesty curse, he would be apt to explain.

"Katara and I were cursed by a fortune teller to tell the truth for an entire week, but it's only been four days!" Zuko said. He groaned, remembering his and Katara's pact to keep it a secret. "Damn," he muttered to himself.

"You were cursed?" Toph asked.

"And you weren't even going to tell us?" Aang added.

"It wears off in a week so her and I were just going to get through this week and pretend it never happened," Zuko said, calming down.

"But when I ran off," Katara turned to Zuko, the fire between them competely burned out by the rain, "I had realized I could lie so when I ran away from you I had gone to ask the fortune teller what's going on and--"

"You went back to a person who cursed you?" Aang asked skeptically, not seeing the logic in that. Katara put her hand up in his direction.

"Quiet, Aang," she ordered, not taking her eyes off Zuko, "she told me when you admit your deepest secret, the curse wears off," she looked down, trying to hide her blush, "when I told everyone I liked you, the curse wore off me."

Zuko's fiery hands melted away, and his fists unclenched. Katara slowly swayed over towards him and leapt into his arms.

"I'm sorry I hurt you," she whispered into his ear. She felt Zuko's strong arms wrap around her waist and his chin gingerly rested on her shoulder. She felt his warm chest against hers and listened to his heart beat. She gently kissed his neck before pulling away.

"That's great," Toph got back to the subject, "but we have a problem."

Zuko looked around. "You're right; where's Sokka?"

"Azula has him."

"What?!" Katara and Zuko shared.

Katara gave Aang a slight push back, frustration drilling her hands. "Why didn't you stop her? That's my brother!"

"She had him in a headlock and two fingers to his neck! She said she would electrocute him unless we stop attacking and bending. Then she left with him!"

"She could kill him!" Katara screamed. "You let her take him!"

"Katara," Aang used his comforting voice, "there was nothing we could do. We're all upset. Toph and I came to get you guys so we can all go fight Azula together and rescue Sokka."

"No," Katara said stubbornly, "I'm doing this myself."

"What?" Aang asked, "that's not a very good idea."

"Yes it is," Katara protested, "he's my brother and this is pay back."

Aang rolled his eyes, "how many times do I need to point out that pay back is never a good policy?"

"So then how are we getting Sokka back without avenging, Aang?" Zuko pointed out. Aang thought about it for a while, then gave up. The rain was so heavily down pouring, it was hard for Aang to see and Katara and Zuko, even when they were feet away. Some more thunder drummed and more lightning crackled, lighting up the sky.

"I want to do this alone," Katara urged.

Zuko looked up at the lightning fire-working in the sky and rethought his position in this debate. "Actually, Katara," he began, "Azula may have the upper hand in this battle." He pointed to the lightning shooting down towards the trees, targeting the tallest one and seizing it. "Maybe that's not such a great idea."

"I don't care," Katara said mulishly. "I'm getting my brother back."

"What if you need help and we're not there to aid?" Zuko asked her.

"I don't need your help…I don't need any of your help." Katara strutted towards Appa, climbing aboard.

"Appa-- yip, yip!" She pulled tightly on his reigns as Appa slowly lifted off the ground, reluctant to fly in such bad conditions.

Zuko watched her fly up towards the sky and he felt his heart thump louder than ever.

"You okay, Zuko?" Toph asked, noticing his heart beat pick up.

Zuko ignored her, his eyes skittishly wavering up at Katara, the determined look on her face. He saw the lightning above her, thinking of Azula's attack plan, thinking he already knew the worst outcome possible.

"Katara!" He shouted. He punched a flame up in the air as a flare signaling her back down. Katara looked down at Zuko and channeled Appa down. Zuko raced towards her.

"Katara!" He cried again. Katara hopped off Appa and into Zuko's strong arms.

"What's the matter?" She asked, puzzled.

"I told you: everyone who loves me always leaves!" He let her go. "This isn't fair."

"Zuko," she smiled, "I'm coming back. I promise." Zuko returned a weak smile and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Katara tucked her fingers into his hair and brought his lips to hers.

"I'm going now," she told him strongly as Zuko subtly grasped onto her hand.

"Alright," Zuko nodded but as Katara turned to leave, his fingers were still intertwined with hers, thrusting her back towards him.

"Zuko," she comforted. "I'm coming back," she assured him. "I won't leave you."

"Azula is strong," he said promptly.

"I am too, you know," she reminded him.

"I know," he sighed, still visibly worried. Katara looked back at Toph and Aang. Toph's clothes were wet and soggy and her hair stuck to her face, covering her eyes. Aang's clothes were the same but his eyes read with lament. Katara wanted so badly to feel guilty and upset for liking Zuko, knowing Aang adored her…she couldn't, though. Loving Zuko felt too nice to be remorseful about it.

"I can beat her, Zuko," Katara told him, turning her attention back to him. "I know I can."

"I know you can, too but--"

"But nothing," Katara pried her fingers from his. "You have to let go and trust me." Zuko clung his hand back onto hers like a magnet.

"I do trust you," he whispered.

"Then let me go," she told him. Zuko looked down for a long time and with one last sigh of submission, Katara felt his wet fingers slowly fall from hers. As Katara walked back to Appa, Zuko didn't dare look up.

"Yip, yip!" Katara waved to Aang, who gave a frail wave back.

Appa rose back into the thunderous, lightning-filled air. The sky was darker and the raindrops were becoming sleet. Zuko looked up.

"Katara, wait!" he called again. He sent no flare this time, trusting his voice would get to her. Katara peered over Appa's head and looked down at him.

"I love you!" He screamed. "I love you! I always have and I always will! When you asked me if I could ever learn to like you back I was able to keep it a secret still because I don't just like you, I adore you!"

Katara sat hovering in the air, unaware of any surroundings. The thunder and lightning, the rain stinging her skin, Aang, Toph…gone. To Katara's eyes, there was nothing but Zuko.

Zuko stood helplessly on the ground, being wind-beaten and showered with icy raindrops, but still immobile, gazing up at Katara, waiting for a response.

"Zuko!" She finally called back. Zuko's eyes looked farther up in alert as a response. "I love you too! Honest!" She smiled at her dodgy slip in the comment. Zuko smiled back, appreciating the honest comment, too. He waved.

"Kick her ass!" Katara laughed and waved back, pulling tightly on Appa's reigns and flying higher and farther away out of sight.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Katara looked behind her shoulder at the giant thunder storm she was flying through. She looked up at the eye of the storm, planted exactly under it was Azula. Katara glowered as she landed Appa and took no time leaping off and hedging towards Azula.

"So this is who the Avatar sent to recapture his little friend?" Azula noted. "Interesting choice," she looked down lazily at her fingers, knowing if she acted bored and unaware of Katara's presence, Katara would soon get angrier.

She was right.

"Give me back Sokka," Katara demanded, not backing down. She wasn't scared of Azula. She just wasn't.

"You'll have to fight me for him," the two girls looked behind Azula at Sokka, passed out and leaning against a tree trunk. Katara thought back to her conversation with Zuko as they sat under--or in Zuko's case on-- a tree, watching the rain cloud pass by. This made her think of their first kiss, which made her think of Zuko announcing to their friends that he was in love with her. Her emotions were fueled into her veins.

"Trust me, Azula," she put her fists up, "this won't be much of a match."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think we all know that Katara just kicked Azula's ass and got Sokka back(: I wasn't planning on putting another fight in, so just know…Katara DOMINATED.

Review? (yes please!)