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Zuko turned around, and gasped in shock. He was back in his home! On a dusty ground, right outside the Fire Nation palace, and his wife, a beautiful woman with long brown hair, his son, a small toddler and his dog were running towards him.
He himself was in royalty wear, and he was taller and more muscular. The scar that had adorned his left eye was missing.
Zuko reached out for his family, but right at that moment, they froze right on the spot, with only their eyes still moving, searching Zuko's face.
Zuko let out a cry of surprise and struggled. He too was stuck, but he was sinking! He desperately tried to reach out to his wife, but she was stuck, a hopeless look on her face.
He sank, into a mass darkness of the vortex of black space. Falling….
A loud voice resounded from the sky like thunder, "Follow your heart and it will lead you to your destiny Prince Zuko…."
And that was the last thing he heard before he gave himself up.
Falling…
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Zuko woke up, shooting up from his position on the ground. Wide-eyed, his breath came out in sharp gasps, as he placed a hand over his heart to calm the racing beats.
That seemed so real…. he thought as he quenched the fear inside him and controlled his hyperventilation.
He looked around. "If the water tribe boy saw that, I'm dead," he muttered softly under his breath.
Luckily, Sokka, Iroh and Aang were still sound asleep in the dark night. His eyes ran over them as he breathed a sigh of relief.
Wait! His mind screamed out. Zuko swung his head over to them again. Sokka, Aang, Iroh, where was the girl?
As if on cue, a scream reached Zuko's ears. A soft one, but nevertheless and scream. He stopped and listened intently, cocking his head in concentration.
A woman's voice, a soft one, reached his ears again, "Please help me- anyone, please!"
Zuko got up, and reached for his swords. Half of him was telling him to mind his own business, but something much louder, his heart, was telling him to go do his duty.
Zuko snorted at himself as he broke into a run, careful not to disturb his sleeping comrades. What duty? Saving the world? That's the Avatar's job, he muttered grimly.
Zuko moved through the forest carefully, flitting through it quickly, following the direction of the scream.
Seconds seemed like hours and even days to him as he moved through the never-ending maze of trees, his eyes and every part of him ready for attack.
There it is again! He told himself frantically as one more scream resounded through the forest, much louder this time. I'm reaching it….
Zuko burst into a clearing, and his eyes widened as he took in the scenario with disgust filling him the more he watched.Katara, half-dressed, with dirty old men crawling over her, like ants crawling over little bits of crumbs!
Within the few seconds in which he entered, he quickly regained his senses. With a roar, he brought down his swords on the first man he saw, rage filling him as he clenched his swords, quickly balancing himself on the ground and a fast swift movement came from his arm as he tossed his swords in a beautiful demonstration of swordplay.
The girl's sobs grew in his ear as he fought, demolishing one after another. His heart hardened as he became more ruthless with the next one that came charging at him, as her cries reached his ears and filled his mind.
He risked a glance at her. She was sobbing her heart out, crying, picking her clothes up with desperation.
No!
The last man of the group came and Zuko lost all control. With rage harnessed deep inside him, he let loose a huge fire ball at him, leaving him to crawl away, the smell of charred flesh filling the air.
Zuko faced the forest, watching them crawl away quickly. Surprisingly, even to himself, he felt nothing. Only sweat dripping down his forehead, down his face.
He turned to the girl. She was clutching her clothes, clutching them to her chest, as she leaned against a tree and sobbed. Tears ran like waves down her tan face, and her nose and eyes were red as she sneezed, more tears came pouring down her face and she shut her eyes and cried.
Zuko moved towards her, reaching out his hand, but a strangling, choked cry came up from her.
"Don't touch me! Don't walk near me! Don't you dare…"
Zuko stopped there, and let his hand fall to his side. He watched her cry as he shut his eyes himself as he remembered his youth, while he was still part of the Fire Nation.
Cries always filled the room his mother and his father shared, he had never understood, why his mother always came out with red eyes but refused to tell him anything while she continued to play with him.
"I'm sorry."
Katara looked up, tears staining her face. "Did you just say sorry to me?" she managed, as bile rose up her throat.
Zuko nodded as he watched her, unsure of what to do.
"It's not your fault," she said, forcing a weak smile onto her face.
Katara's face twisted strangely straight after she said that, as she leaned over to the side and choked out all the dinner they had had. Zuko recognized some of the meat he had caught, sloshing around in the blood mixed with saliva and vomit.
Katara leaned over, facing her vomit as the light from the moon reflected her face. Still undressed, her underclothes torn, part of her robe was stained as she simply closed her eyes and cried, letting her tears fall into the pool of vomit. I am really a screw-up, the neon red words ran in her head.
She felt a hand on her bare shoulder as she immediately turned to face the person in absolute fear. No, not again, please, no!
Her wide and fearful eyes closed as she felt a comforting, warm mouth placed against her lips. A hand caressed her face gently as Zuko slowly let go.
Katara stared at him, shock written all over her face. Vomit was still on my mouth, she realized as she looked at his lips, stained with the same thing she had retched up. I hadn't even rinsed my mouth!
Zuko did nothing, not even wipe his mouth as he stared at her.
"Come on, let's go back. The sun is beginning to rise."
Katara nodded numbly, her mind still in state of shock, as she put on her clothes hurriedly as she followed his form through the forest.
What just happened? She questioned herself as the vivid memories replayed through her head.
A blush ran down her cheek as she remembered the kiss.
That was my first kiss.
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End of chapter. I hope you guys like this one guys, it's full of Zutara and they finally kiss! Haha why did our fav prince do that? Stay tuned for the next chapter.
(oh please now I sound like those irritating talk shows lol)
Don't forget to review, guys!
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