So, I only ended up editing the first couple of chapters, and I'm ok with that, because that was where my biggest issues were, because I felt like there wasn't enough development of the characters. I might change more, and if I do, I'll be sure to tell you. I'm going to take downt he AN I posted. I have dying to just write a new chapter, so I hope you guys like this.

Chapter 21: Southern Nation

ZPOV

"Zuko, hey, wake up. We are going to be arriving in a couple of hours. We need to get dressed." My eye sight was fuzzy, but I felt the soft warm hand of the mother of my children touching my face. I hadn't shaved in quite some time so it had grown a little bushy. My hair was longer, too, which meant I could keep it up in a traditional Fire Naiton bun. I awoke to see that Ursa and Ki were still fast asleep. Katara was still in her sleepwhere. It was still dark out, I couldn't feel the sun in the sky. I looked at my beautiful wife and she smiled down at me. I grabbed her hand and kissed it, making her smile bigger. "C'mon you sleeping bug, get up and get dressed. Aang has already sent word that he wished to speak with Hakota, and I had sent word to my brother to be prepared."

"I know, but it's still crazy that you are going to be having some kind of political debate with you family. And the entire world thinks you're dead."

"Yeah, it'll be a bit of a shock, but it needed to happen in order for your sister to not want to kill me." She said it jokingly, but a small cord was struck in the pit of my heart. I did my best not to show it, but she saw it anyway, and she kissed my forehead. "Everything is going to be fine."

I couldn't tell if she was beign wholefully honest, but I relaxed under her lips anyway. Suddenly, a thought occured to me. "You're going to have to talk to Jet."

She sighed. "Yes, I know."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm a big girl, I can have a civil talk with him. Besides, I had to see him on my brief trips to the capital."

"True, but this is going to be different. Does Aang know about…?"

"No, I'm not going to tell him. It will only make talking to them that much harder."

"He's quite protective of you."

She nodded. I sat up and gave her a kiss before getting out of bed. "I know. I'm sorry about that."

"No, it took time to get used to it. I know he still has some feelings, but you can tell that he simply cares for your safety more than anything. And I'm someone who he doesn't know, and I'm related to the enemy, I understand why he's been more hesitant around me."

"Yeah, but still. We have kids together, he needs to deal with it." I didn't say anything after that. She walked into the bathroom first to wash up and I pulled out our clothes we knew we were going to wear. For me, a traditional Fire Nation Robe. I didn't have my crown, but my presence made that much of a difference. She would have her Painted Lady outfit on, but without the makeup. I had asked her why she wouldn't want to wear something more associated with her nation. Her answer was simple, that she wasn't there to represent her nation.

I didn't know much about her Painted Lady days. She told me small stories here and there on our journey, but with all the time taken to prepare for war, we have had little time to sit down and really discuss our lives. Ki and Ursa were growing, and they were looking more beautiful by the day. I was curious a to what kind of benders they would be. What with Katara's ability to read chi, I'm sure she already had an idea, and she wasn't telling me. I looked down at my children lovingly as I waited for Katara to get out of the bathroom.

When she did, she was only in a towel, and her hair was down in waves, with her signature loops that went to the back of her head. The necklace I had given her was around her neck, and the ring on her finger. She had on light makeup that made her look more professional.

I couldn't help but stare. My future wife was a wonderful and beautiful woman. "Stop looking at me like that." She giggled out. It made me smile.

"Never." I gave her a deep kiss before heading into the bathroom myself.

When I was out, Katara had on her clothes and was feeding Ki. I smiled at how beautiful she looked again before picking up Ursa into my arms.

We had discussed on what we would do with Ki and Ursa during the meeting. We decided that the only person we were both willing to trust was Haru, and he was perfectly okay with not attending the meeting. At first, I wanted them to be with us. It scared me to think we wouldn't be able to keep our eyes on them. She refused, explaining that they could either disrupt the meeting, or people wouldn't respect her. I couldn't understand why at first, but once she explained, it became clear. The Southern Water Nation was more strict in it's traditions. If a woman had children, they were expected to be home and taking care of them. If all the council knew off the bat that she had children, it would make them struggle with their moral code to allow her to take on the challenge that is this war.

A knock on the door meant we had landed. I opened it to see a semi-sleepy Haru.

"I've prepared bottles to feed them with. They won't like it, and they'll cry, but don't back down, okay?" Katara said to Haru. He nodded and took Ki out of her arms. We both kissed our children before making our way up the stairs.

I went up first, and was suprised to see that the officer greeting us was actually Sokka. Katara hadn't seen him yet, and he hadn't seen her, but I couldn't wait to see their reactions. Aang was talking with him. From what I knew, they had met, but didn't have the closeness with each other as Aang did with Katara. Aang looked back first, and smiled as he spotted Katara.

Sokka followed his gaze and his eyes widened, and suddenly tears filled his eyes. "Katara!" He ran to his sister, and Katara did the same. Tears in their eyes, they hugged tightly. Katara was the one to push back first. "Sokka, you're so grown up now."

"Of course, since you weren't there, I had to grow up and start doing my own laundry." That made all of us laugh. He pulled her back and took in a deep breath, snuggling into her neck. "I had gotten you letter but…"

"I know."

"Well," he said, pulling back and wiping away the tears that had fallen, "you sure are going to give Dad a surprise. I see the Painted Lady is back in business."

"Honestly, was she ever gone." He laughed and held out his harm for her to take. Aang and I hung back behind them as well all stepped off the boat.

We had docked in the main city, I had never had the time to visit when I moved to the Southern Water Nation, but I had heard rumors and seen some pictures. It was much more advanced then the small village Katarra was from. There was more metal made buildings, rather than snow, and you could tell that noise would never stop on the street. The ports were busy with merchants and all walks of life trying to buy off of fishermen. But, when Katarra made her way down the steps, I felt as if the world went silent. Conversations died in their mouths as they saw the clear sheet over her large hat wave through the wind. Her hair flowing with it as well. Her makeup had not smeared with her reuniting with her brother, thankfully. It wasn't just the eccentric costume, but the way she walked, as if she was a higher being. As if Agni was walking with her, taking the same footsteps, Katarra was not one of us common humans in that moment. Something had changed, she had changed. Her back was straight, but not uncomfortable, her feet made almost no noise with each step. Sokka, a high ranking officer, did his best to look proper and professional, but I think he even felt the change in the air. Everyone in the world was inferrior to Katarra. She could move the earth if necessary.

There were councilmen waiting at the doc. I did my best not to laugh at their weak kneed look. They didn't know Katarra was alive. They had all thought she died while in the Northern Water Nation. I could tell Katarra was completely still in her expression, she had been preparing herself to see the people she had known for so long, and she knew that they would want to bomboard her with questions.

"Katarra, we had no idea that you would be here, the council is not prepared for this." I didn't know who he was, but he had white long hair and a long white moustache. His face seemed to display cockiness, and it annoyed me to no end. "I don't know why you've come, but the council may not be able to-"

"She's here on my behalf, for the meeting I have already scheduled with the council in advance." In a way, I wanted to laugh. Aang didn't exactly look surprised at the attention Katarra got, but I'm sure he wasn't entirely used to not being the center of attention. He stepped forward toward the councilman. "I have with me my people. If you do not allow all of us into your council room, then we may have to go back home with some words to the monks."

Wow, that was quite a threat. Aang was the Avatar. Were they really going to ignore that just because of Katarra and I's presence?

"Of course, Avatar Aang. We have a car waiting for you. The central council will be waiting for you."

Aang nodded. We were lead to a large van and entered with Sokka and Aang sitting in the first row of the backseat, and Katarra and I sitting in the far back. The councilman and another man, a little younger, sat in the driver and passenger seat. The car remained silent the entire ride. It was only about 10 minutes long. I reached over and squeezed Katarras hand. She didn't look at me, but she squeezed back. She kept her eyes on the streets. I could tell she was tense, so I rubbed my thumb over the top of her hand. Her shoulders relazed a bit, but she still was wary.

The council held their meeting in a large snow made building. It was only two stories, but was very wide. We were led inside and only had to go through two doors before walking into a large room with an empty center and a large circle table with many chairs. Men and women were already seated, and there were three seats waiting for us.

Toph had decided she didn't want to be apart of the meeting. Katarra hadn't pushed it. When I asked her later on, she only said that Toph wasn't good in official situations. If she was needed, Katarra would be sure to call her.

No one was surprised anymore when Katarra walked into the room. I skimmed the room for faces, Jet was sitting there with a smirk on his face. To this moment, I still wanted to burn that stupid look on his face. We knew he was here, though. Katarra said she was ready, and I believed her. No doubt someone called from the docks. Some couldn't stop the widening of their eyes, but many left their faces blank. There was a man with dark brown hair sitting at the head of the round table. No doubt her father. Once we were seated, he began to talk.

"Welcome, guests. I hear you come with troublesome news. First, I'd like to address another situation. I see, Avatar Aang, that you have brought others with you. I'm sure you'll have plenty of explanatioin once given the chance, no?" Aang didn't say anythgin so he continued. "Well, I'd like the council to know we are listening to his requests with open ears and minds."

Ha, bullshit. I could tell by their faces that they were barely paying attention except having their eyes on the girl who was supposed to be dead.

"Thank you, Chief Hakoda." Aang stood and walked around to the opening of the table to step into the center. "I've called for this meeting because I'm here to inform you, that after much discussion with the monks, we have agreed that I will be taking action on President Azula."

Whispers went around the room. "That is to say, I'm here to ask for the Southern Water Nations assistance. Fighting will be difficult, but we can't allow the tyranny of Azula's father to repeat itself. Now, you may be wondering why this has anything to do with you. As you should know, Azula has already made major attacks on the North and on the Earth Kingdom. And we know, she will soon attack you as well. As the Avatar, I am going to take action before it gets worse then the previous war. However, this time I will make it much more public that I have a hand in this war. I have come here first, because someone who will be at my side throughout this fight was born here. Katarra is a powerful bender that will be needed to fight in this war. In fact, I propose that she help train some of your troops, especially your waterbenders.

I know you don't like to fight, but you as a nation shall always remember the first war, and the devestation on your land. I will need you, the world will need to, to again defeat the Fire Nation."

He stopped and looked around. The room was quite, I looked to Hakoda, his face was stone cold. Finally, someone said something.

"And what about the Fire Nation prince that you have tagging along?"

More whispers. "Zuko has proven that he is worthy of his status along side me. He is the husband to Katarra, and I have engaged with him personally, to know that he is not on the side of his sister."

"How can we trust that? For all we know, Katarra has been manipulated by him, and they're both traitors?"

I saw Katarra twitch, but it wasn't time for her yet. "Do you doubt my word?" Aang asked.

Before the lad could rebuttle, Hakoda cut in. "Avatar Aang, no one here is doubting your word. But we simply… are questioning your ability to judge for this situation. After all, your partners are a frail woman who shied away from her responsibilities as a warrior, obviously, when she didn't report back to the Northern Water Nation and allowed the world to think she was dead, and a boy who has little to know about war, and his sister is in fact inciting another on that his father started."

Aang did his best to keep his cool, and I could feel the tension rise in the room. One of the things Katarra and I had discussed while on the way here, was my behavior. She warned me of the horrible things they could say about me or my family, but I wasn't allowed to speak during the meeting. If I showed any kind of hatred or reacted to a comment, it would only give them a reason to mistrust him. "If she's such a powerful water bender, why did she run away? Honestly, we are fine here. We don't plan on involving ourselves in some larger greater scheme you have planned, Avatar Aang. We are perfectly fine with our own army, ready at hand, to protect our home."

Now, it was Katarra's turn to stand. Without a word, she walked her way around, just as Aang did. Aang exited the center, but staying at where you enter. "Hello, everyone. As you may know, my name is Katarra, daughter of the Chief of the council, brother to the great warrior, Sokka, and what some of you may not know, is that in the Earth Kingdom, I'm generally regarded as the Painted Lady."

In the Fire Nation, I hadn't heard much about the Painted Lady, in fact I pretty much knew nothing at all, but according to Toph, it was because the Fire Nation liked to believe that she was just a small flame in a rainy forest. Insignificant and wouldn't make much of a difference. Sure, she seemed to fight off a few troops here and there, but the Earth Kingdom was large, and the Fire Nation tried not to focus on all of it's failures. However, in other nations, the stories of the Painted Lady were practically mythical. She was a beacon of hope for the entire world during the war. To think that my fiance took such a large part in fueling the rebellion… well I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

"You may not believe me now, but I can assure you I am not lying. In fact, if any of you would like to challenge me in a battle, I'd be happy to oblige. If you doubt my skill, then fight me here, right in this room, or even outside those doors if you feel more comfortable. I want all of you to know that I had my reasons for not returning to the Northern Water Nation, just as you have your reasons for wanting to be cowards and hide from your responsibilities for the world-"

"And what has the world done for us? Huh? Last time, we were wrecked, and it took years before anyone did anything about it, before we could get enough people in the army to slow down the attacks."

"What good is your army if you don't plan to use them for the greater good?!" She looked around at all the beady eyes that stared. Their attention was focused now. Aang was a hopeful, inspiring shpeal to strengthen the hearts of those who were probably already on our side. Katarra's purpose was much different. "What good are any of you, sitting here doing aboslutely nothing to fix this before it gets worse? Children are being ripped away from their parents, people are being taken from their families and tortured. You want to question whether or not Zuko is on our side? What side are you even on? Because if you aren't with us, your against us."

She turned to look her father straight in the eyes. I hadn't realized it at first, but Sokka had somehow gained access to the meeting. He was looking with a heavy gaze from the corner of the room, watching the entire scene laying out before him. "I will go to everyone of your bases, every training site and soldiers home. I will ask them the same questions. Are you willing to let thousands of children and families die because a group of people told you they were not important enough? And don't doubt I don't know where they are. I know them, they're my people. They come to my dojo, they get trained by me. I go to their parents for holiday dinners, I send them flowers when a love one has passed, I hug them when they come back crying. What have you done to help all the past soldiers wrecked, with no place to go? You think they'll be so loyal to you when you don't even regard them as human?"

Katarra was cutting deep. The tension was thick, and although I saw a rough, threatening expression across her painted face, it was completely controlled, purposeful. Hakoda's was not, and I think a part of him knew that, which made it even worse. He stood, keeping eye contact with Katarra. He took of his large blue coat and left it on the chair. "You want to question me, daughter? We shall see if you are really as powerful as you think. You are an arrogant woman who needs to learn her place."

Before people could even move, she looked him dead in the eye and said, "You think Mom would be proud of the choices you've made, Dad? Do you really think she'd be proud of what a disgusting man you've become?"

OH SHIT.

We were thinking that someone might challenge Katarra, but we didn't think that Hakoda would be the one. And if he did, we thought there would be others, too. Aang and I only briefly gave worried glances before all hell broke loose. I pushed my way through the busy crowd of older people. There was a hole in the wall. What the fuck, how was there already a hole in the wall?

A hand pulled on my shoulder and I almost reached around to punch until I realized it was Sokka. "Over here." He pulled me towards the wall, a hidden door. WE exited the room quickly, and I hoped that Aang could handle himself, only to find he had already made it out of the room.

He pointed downt he hall. "They are out in the courtyard."

We ran down the hall, and I was ready to see some crazy scene, Katarra bloody, ice thrown everywhere, Hakoda breathing heavily. The large fiasco I was prepared to witness… was not what I saw at all.

Snow was actually falling from the sky, it seemed so delicate and soft. Katarra no longer had her hat, most likely fell sometime between the meeting room and getting outside. She stood, her hair waving softly with the breeze, flecked with white snowflakes. Her breath was heavy, but slow, I could see it in the cold air.

And Hakoda had his hands deep in the snow, his back arched awkwardly and on his knees. It looked like he was bowing to her.

Everyone had made it out of the building. Katarra's lips moved, but I couldn't hear what she said. Her eyes… they were colder, colder than the snow that surrounded us. I looked to Sokka, and he looked afraid. I never thought he could ever fear his sister, but in that moment, that godly feeling that came from her earlier that day, it was eminating in powerful waves. She didn't seem human at all. I saw Aang stare with wide eyes, he blinked and squinted before shaking his head and then looking to Katarra once more with a confused glance.

"You fucking little bitch!" Hakoda coughed out in response to whatever Katarra said.

Without responding to him, she showed the crowd her blazing eyes. "Do you question me now? Do you think I am weak? A coward? Do you not wish for your soldiers to be able to bring the Fire Nation to their knees as I have to the Chief? We will leave tonight, and sail to the east, to the Kiyoshi Islands. We will return in a months time and I expect to have a fair meeting once again, and listen to your response to our request."

And with that, whatever hold she had on Hakoda was gone. He sagged against the snow for a brief moment before coughing and then lifting himself up weakly. Jet actually ran out ot him, giving him a shoulder to lean against as he hobbled away. I immediately went to Katarra and wrapped my arm around her. We walked in the direction of the dock, not daring to ask anyone for a ride. Aang and Sokka were close behind.

Sokka came up to my side and pulled me to the right. "I've got a car."

We followed.

I know it's been forever since I updated, but I hope you like it. I have updated a couple of chapters, and I think that's it in terms of editing for right now. If anyone wants to go through my chapters and edit for me a little, by all means, hit me up.