Chapter 25 – Awakening

Surprisingly, the first one to wake the next morning was Sokka. Knowing how unusual this was, he had his mind set on going back to sleep and restoring the natural order of things. And had this been any other day, he might have done just that. Today, however, they had two injured… two injured what?

Not allies, he knew that. Zuko had been their enemy since the day they met Aang, the day the Fire Nation had raided their poor village. He had kidnapped Katara, and was trying to capture Aang. Zuko was definitely not an ally.

Enemies, perhaps? It sounded right. With all the evil deeds Zuko had done—kidnapping his baby sister topping the list, of course—he could rightly be considered an enemy. But if he was really such a bad guy, then why would Katara want to save him? He was going to get a very, very detailed account of Katara's time as a hostage very, very soon. And once he knew what had happened on his ship, he'd proceed to kick Zuko's pansy fire ass.

Or he would have, if the kid hadn't already gotten that ass kicked by his own little sister. He couldn't even begin to imagine the embarrassment he'd feel if he got whipped by Katara. It was almost enough to make Sokka feel bad for the guy. Almost.

So if Zuko and the old man weren't allies or enemies, then what were they?

People, he decided. They had two injured people.

Having gotten the ever-so-rare brain activity over and done with, Sokka scuttled out of his sleeping bag and cautiously approached the sleeping fire prince. His breathing had become steady overnight, and he looked a lot better. In fact, he looked pretty good for someone who was on the verge of death just hours ago. Frowning, he kneeled on the ground in for closer inspection.

"What the—" Sokka stuttered, his eyes widening in realization. "Katara, Aang, wake up! You gotta check this out!"

"Whaddya want, Sokka?" Aang grumbled, rubbing his eyes. "It's early."

"Seriously, come see this!" Sokka exclaimed impatiently. Moaning sleepily, Aang rolled out of his sleeping bag and joined him. His eyes narrowed the moment he laid eyes on Zuko.

He was healed. Well, for the most part, anyway. Most of the cuts and slashes on his body had disappeared overnight, with only a few scars remaining as proof that Zuko had been in a fight at all. The boy looked healthy and relaxed.

"That's not just amazing, it's scary! Nobody can heal themselves that fast!" Sokka was blabbing to Aang, his mouth moving a mile a minute with crazy explanations. "Maybe he's an alien, or half-fish! Do fish heal fast? I dunno, but—"

"Katara."

"Eh?"

"Katara did it," Aang said in a stony voice. His eyes wandered to the girl in question, still sleeping peacefully in her sleeping bag.

"You're crazy, Aang!" Sokka laughed. "There's no way Katara could—"

"I saw her."

Sokka paused, frowning. "Wait. Are you sure you weren't dreaming or something?"

"She was kneeling next to Zuko last night. She did something with her waterbending, it made her hands glow blue. Now we wake up and Zuko's healed, and you expect me to think it was something else?" Aang explained.

"I think I'll ask her myself," Sokka said apologetically, rising to go wake his sister. "Katara, hey, Katara, wake up! Hey! Wake up!" He shook her. "Wake up!"

"Mmm… five more minutes…" She murmured sleepily, turning over.

"Forget it, Sokka. She's probably exhausted from all that healing she did last night," Aang said coldly. Katara shot up, instantly awake. She stared at Aang, surprised. "You healed Zuko last night, didn't you?" He repeated. Katara sat there dumbly for a moment.

"How did you know…" She whispered, feeling nauseous.

"I saw you healing him, Katara!" Aang cried suddenly. "I saw you! Why didn't you tell us you could do that? What else aren't you telling us, Katara? Tell me! Why are you helping him? Why!"

She stared at the ground. "I just found out a few days ago. I didn't tell you because I thought it was a fluke, and there wasn't time to tell you anyway," she answered, her voice steady and low.

"You didn't answer the other question, Katara," Aang accused. "Why the hell are you helping him?"

"Because…" The rest of her sentence was spoken too softly to hear.

"What did you say?" Aang asked.

"I said, because I like him, okay?" Katara said defensively. "He's not a bad guy once you get to know him, really!"

"Katara, he's—" Sokka started.

"Please," she pleaded. "Just give him a chance. Please."

Zuko stirred.

Azula lay in her bed, staring at the blank steel ceiling above her bed.

Father was not going to be happy with her. She'd had Zuko on his own turf, and she'd lost. How could she tell the Fire Lord that she'd lost?

She never lost, and her father knew that. He'd made sure of it. For her entire life, Azula had not been told bedtime stories or sweet words of encouragement. Father had given her lectures and tirades before bed, and threatened her before fights, if he even bothered to show up. There was no place in her life for losing, and he made sure she knew that. If she lost, she would be a failure, just like her brother.

Azula would not be a failure.

"Ka…tara…" Zuko mumbled as his eyes squinted open. He sat up quickly, his eyes surveying the scene. "What the hell!"

He was met with silence. Not surprising, considering who he was surrounded by. The Avatar, a kid who looked nothing like a warrior, and Katara. They all had solemn faces. Remembrance came rushing back to him. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Shit. I lost." Nobody said anything. "Where's Uncle?"

"He's fine, just sleeping," Katara reassured him, making a slight move towards him. "How do you feel?"

Zuko lifted an arm, inspecting it for wounds and finding none. "That's weird. I'm… fine." He sounded surprised. His stomach growled. Katara smiled softly and mumbled something about making breakfast before walking away.

"You should be dead," Aang commented coldly. The prince didn't react.

"Katara healed you, though I can't figure out why," Sokka said. "Now tell me exactly what you did to my sister on that ship, or so help me—"

"Relax. She's fine, isn't she?" Zuko replied carelessly, still inspecting his body for damage.

"She would have died if we hadn't come to get her. You almost got her killed, the way you lost to that girl." Sokka paused. "We would've left you there, y'know that? Katara wouldn't leave unless we took you with us."

Zuko frowned and stared at the ground. "She did that, huh?" He murmured.

"Boys!" Katara yelled cheerfully from Appa's side. "Breakfast is ready!"

The ceiling hadn't changed, even after being subjected to several hours of the princess's glare.

At least something productive had come of the insomnia, though. She was ready to face the Fire Lord, and she knew just what to tell him.