Holy God! I'm sorry people! My laptop is still out of commission. For the love of god if this isn't up to standards review immediately and I will fix it! Thank you all who have stuck with me and dealt with my lack of updating. Sadly it's almost over. Every single one of you rock though!


Coldness. Screaming. Blood. A storm surrounding two people. Katara watched as a man held onto a woman in the middle of an intense hurricane. Flames encompassed the both of them as he screamed for her. The storm collapsed around the two as the woman's body went limp.

Katara gasped for breath as she sat up in her bed. Her body shivered as images of the woman's frozen eyes haunted her thoughts. Was that me? She jumped when someone began knocking on the door. Sighing she quickly untangled herself from the bed sheets and went to answer the door.

Hakoda and Sokka pushed their way in quickly and shut the door behind them.

"We need to get you somewhere safe." Sokka was holding onto his boomerang as he said this.

"Ursa and Suki will be here soon. Zuko says you know the way into the underground tunnels." Hakoda frowned, his eyes darting to the door again.

"What's going on?" Katara furrowed her brow.

"We need you to pack now." Sokka began to throw her things into her bag.

"Sokka!" Katara tried to snatch the bag from him.

"There will be assassination attempts; Ozai supporters by the dozen. You need to go somewhere safe until you get your bending back." Hakoda began to gather her clothes from the dresser.

"Why do you think there will be assassination attempts?" Katara frowned at the two.

Both Sokka and Hakoda glanced at each other.

"Katara, haven't you heard?" Sokka stared at her. "Everyone's been talking about it since this morning."

"I just woke up, what's going on?" Katara looked at the two.

"It's past noon." Hakoda frowned. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, I just had trouble sleeping. Now what's going on?" Katara stared at them.

"Ozai's been murdered." Hakoda began to stuff more clothes into the bag.

"Last night the Blue Spirit killed him." Sokka pushed in the last of her stuff.

"That's impossible," Katara breathed. "The Blue Spirit couldn't have-"

"They found his mask this morning, he was seen fleeing the prison." Sokka looked at his little sister. "The guy's been a vigilante from the beginning in the Earth Kingdom. He must have been waiting years for this chance."

A soft tap came from the door. Sokka motioned for her.

"Zuko said to lead you to the ladies room for some reason." Hakoda frowned at her.

Katara turned to her father. "Can you pass a message to Zuko for me?"

"That his ass is kicked for treating you like this?" Sokka smirked.

"That I need to talk to him immediately." Katara said.


(The next morning)

Zuko stared down at the lifeless body of his father. An image of him falling to the ground flashed through his mind. His fathers' angry screams of hatred resounded in his ears. He breathed in, not even bothering to shake away the thoughts. Ozai was dressed in white, his collar buttoned so that the blisters wouldn't show, his hair cut and styled the way it had been when he was Fire Lord. There wasn't even any dirt underneath his filed nails. Zuko looked up to see his mother, sister and uncle all dressed in white just as he was. Today you leave this world completely.

A fire sage walked across the empty plaza, his footsteps echoing in the crisp morning air. Zuko shivered from the early mornings chill, the sun's warmth doing little to warm him. Zuko looked back down at his father, who lay on the white platform. Another chill crept through him as he realized that without the anger and fire, he was almost looking at a reflection of himself.

The sage nodded at the four family members and the group surrounded the dead body. The sage stood at Ozai's head and took a deep breath.

"Ozai." The sage began. "Fire Lord to our nation for 6 years. You were a great and feared leader of the Fire Nation. A powerful fire bender with unmatched determination. You were father of Zuko. Father of Azula. Husband of Ursa." The sage looked to the family members.

"My brother, may you find peace in the spirit world." Iroh bowed his head.

"Father, your greatness exceeds us all." Azula bowed her head, a single tear falling. "This should have never happened to you."

"Father, you pushed me to become the man I am today." Zuko bowed his head. "I never wanted this to happen."

"Ozai, I love you with all my heart." Ursa bowed her head. "At last I have a body to mourn for the husband that died years ago."

Zuko flinched at his mother's cold words. He saw Azula lift her head slightly before bowing again, clenching her fists.

"We lay you to rest." the sage bowed his head. The family members lifted their heads and the three fire benders set fire to the platform.

The fire burned with brilliant colors. The crackling and roar of the flames seemed to deafen Zuko's ears. Ozai's body became a mere shadow inside the flames as they consumed him. The smell of the burning flesh made Zuko want to vomit.


Aang laughed at the antics of the children, each one attempting to sneak up on Toph. Several of them had taken to rolling around on air balls. A few were soaring above her on gliders as they made a lap around the temple.

"I'm seriously going to start putting up dirt clouds so I can see you." Toph growled as another child flew past her ear.

"Aang," Tam frowned at the teenager. "You were saying."

Aang turned back to look at the man. "Huh? Oh! The Earth King calls it a council of five, for the four nations and the Avatar."

"And you want me to be the leader of the Air Nomads?" Tam frowned.

"The Earth King wanted to hold the council sometime soon." Aang told him.

"I'm going to assume you already told him about us." Tam's frown deepened at the Avatar.

"Uh…well we kind of…"

Tam made a noise of frustration. "I guess it would have gotten out eventually. Though if anything happens then I blame you." Tam glared.

"Got it." Aang smiled sheepishly.

"As for the Fire nation ship." Tam sighed. "They can come on up, but I'm watching them!"

"I'll go get them." Aang zipped away.

"Let's see if these soldiers have actually changed." Tam watched the Avatar fly off.


Katara was mad. No, mad was an understatement: she was furious. A whole week? I'm sitting here in a damn room for a whole week listening to tidbits about how the Blue Spirit went and murdered Ozai and you can't even get your ass down here. You better be happy as hell that my water whip isn't up to speed.

Katara turned as the door squeaked open. Iroh's face appeared behind it. "We have to move quickly."

"About time." Katara breathed. She followed Iroh through the underground tunnels. They walked in silence before she realized where they were going. The beach.

When they emerged from the cave she saw an airship with a man throwing a few things in. His body was a mere shadow in the darkness of the night. He turned at the sound of the two approaching.

"Uncle? What are you doing here?" she heard Zuko's voice.

"We're coming with you." Iroh stated as he tossed a bag at Zuko.

"We?" Zuko stopped when he saw Katara. He grimaced.

"What part of 'immediately' makes you think that I want to stay underground for a week?" Katara growled.

"Uh…" Zuko blinked.

"I think this lover's spat should happen in the airship where no one else can hear it." Iroh smiled serenely at the two. "Where are we going?" Katara looked at Uncle.

Iroh walked to the airship. "To see the Avatar."

It was nearly an hour before she got another word out of the two fire benders. They soared through the clouds, black water beneath them.

"How long is this going to take?" She sighed.

"Going West?" Iroh frowned. "Around three days."

"Are you going to talk to me?" Katara turned to look at Zuko who was leaning against the railing.

He looked over at her, then turned back to the moon.

"Did the Blue Spirit really kill your father?" Katara saw Zuko turn toward her slightly.

"Yes." Zuko sighed. "He did."

"Why?" Katara asked.

"The blue spirit is a vigilante," Iroh chimed in. "He probably believed that this was the best course of action."

"Was it?" Katara turned back to Zuko.

"He knows," Zuko said quietly. "You can just start yelling at me if you want."

Katara looked at Iroh who rubbed the back of his neck before speaking. "Know what?"

"Why did you kill him?" Katara turned back to Zuko.

Iroh sighed and sat down against a bag. "I think I will just have a bite to eat."

"I was worried." Zuko hung his head. "My father was behind the attack that almost killed you. And I didn't even suspect him." Zuko sighed. "I know what kind of man he is, or was, but I couldn't…." Zuko made a noise of frustration. "He was a horrible man who would have used every resource he had to tear the nation down."

"Did you do it for revenge?" Katara stepped toward Zuko.

"No." Zuko shook his head. "I did it to protect you. You, Uncle, Mom, even Azula. He wouldn't have cared if any of us died. How were we supposed to raise a family like that? How was I ever going to be able to do any good if I had to constantly check my back for the latest knife?"

"When I found the man who killed my mother," Katara touched the necklace. "I wanted him dead because of all the horrible things he had done."

"But you let him live." Zuko sighed rubbing his temple.

"Because he was no longer a threat." Katara placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder.

"I understand what you did." Katara looked away. "It must have taken a lot of courage to do that. I know how much you cared about him."

Zuko grimaced and hung his head.

"I know how you feel about this, but I don't think there was any other way." Katara continued. "We were all ready at the end of this war for this to happen. We all knew that it needed to happen."

"Not all of us." Zuko frowned.


Tam stared out into the dark sky. He sighed, thinking of the news the avatar had given him over the past few days. Council of five? If it failed once will it fail again? I guess it's a reasonable idea. At least we won't be at war over little things if we talk it out. Tam sighed again. But why couldn't Aang keep his mouth shut? He overheard the Avatar's laugh and rolled his eyes. Idiot hasn't changed in the last century.

The screech of a hawk sounded overhead and Tam watched as the elegant bird swooped down and landed on his shoulder. He eyed the bird.

"What do you want?" He snapped at it.

The bird ruffled its feathers.

"Maybe its Sokka trying to figure out where his food is." Toph giggled as she and the Avatar walked toward him. Aang's face fell as soon as he saw the fire emblem.

"It's from Zuko." Aang pulled the letter out from the hawk's tote. "uh…" He looked at both of them. "I'll be right back." He quickly ran toward his room.

"Fire Lord Zuko?" Tam raised an eyebrow. "What would he want?"

"Knowing those two?" Toph frowned "To kick his ass."


Zuko leaned against the side of the air balloon as Iroh stretched his limbs on the rock in front of them.

"You think he'll come down?" Katara asked as she sat on the rail. At the same moment Aang swooped down to the ground; and quickly twirled his glider back into a staff.

"What are you doing here?" Aang stared at him. "Tam's already pissed at me as it is."

"We have to talk." Zuko frowned.

"I'm sorry!" Aang exclaimed. "I don't think I can say it anymore! You were right, I was wrong! I will never get between you two again!"

"Not about that." Zuko's frown deepened. "About my father."

"Did he escape?" Aang's eyes widened.

"No." Zuko sighed. "The blue spirit killed him."

Aang stared at Zuko. "What!"

"The blued spirit killed-"

"I heard you the first time." Aang looked over at Katara and then Iroh. "Do they know?"

"That I'm the blue spirit?" Zuko grimaced. "Yeah."

"How could you do that? To your own father?" Aang stared at him wide eyed. "Zuko, how could you?"

"He was behind the assassination attempt that nearly beheaded me. And a few others as well." He ignored Katara's look. "I wish I didn't have to, but I had to keep him from hurting anyone else."

"He was locked up. He had no bending." Aang clenched his fists.

"You don't get it, Aang. He knew things that could easily lead to my death and what's worse is he didn't care if anyone got in the way as long as I was hurt in the process."

"It shouldn't have ended like that Zuko." Aang turned his head.

"You think I wanted it to?" Zuko asked angrily.

"Did you?" Aang yelled.

"I loved my father, even if he was a heartless bastard. If he would have stayed in that prison cell and kept his mouth shut then I wouldn't have had to do it." Zuko sighed.

"So you came all the way here to tell me this?" Aang frowned at them.

"I'm here to ask for your silence." Zuko stated. "If word got out that I was behind the killing then there could be an uprising."

"That's because it shouldn't have gone down like that." Aang frowned.

"I had no choice." Zuko clenched his fists.

"You can't just decide who lives or dies just because you think it would be better for your country." Aang pointed his finger at him.

"Aang." Katara frowned.

"Otherwise you're no better than Ozai." Aang stared at Zuko, who hung his head.

"I have never taken a life before this Aang, even when mine was on the line." Zuko said slowly.

"But you have tried to." Aang frowned. "Were you going to kill Azula the night of the comet?"

"That was life or death." Zuko bit out.

"What about that man that you shot with lightning?" Aang growled. "I saw your face, you wanted him dead."

"I did." Zuko agreed. "But tell me this, if Toph was on the ground bleeding to death, wouldn't you have done the same?"

Aang opened his mouth and then closed it.

"I regret acting the way I did with that man," Zuko started. "I never wanted to be a killer."

"But you still killed Ozai."

"You don't understand." Iroh frowned. "If Zuko were assassinated then it would undo all the progress that we've made. The Fire Nation would slip into turmoil, leading the other nations to fear us again or fear what we would become. My brother wanted Zuko to fail and lead to another massive war."

Aang looked at Katara. "Even you agree with this, don't you."

"Aang, maybe letting him live wasn't the best idea." She sighed. "I know taking away his bending was a great idea and all, but in the end it made him even more bitter. I don't know if there was another way to solve this."

"You should have found one." Aang frowned. "You should never have taken a life."

"Well there's nothing we can do about it now." Zuko turned his head. "Are you going to keep quiet or what?"

"I will keep quiet to keep balance." Aang sighed. "But if I ever find out that the Blue Spirit has tried to distribute 'justice' again, I will make sure he pays for it."

"Agreed." Zuko nodded.

They all looked up as another man swooped down onto the ground. The man stood and twirled his glider back into a staff.

"Tam?" Aang blinked, then glanced at Zuko.

"What is the Fire Lord doing here?." Tam growled.

Zuko bowed his head slightly. "I had to speak to the Avatar on some urgent matters; I will be leaving shortly."

Tam eyed the Dragon of the West and the water bender.

"What, and not stay for dinner?" Tam's eyes gleamed.


Zuko held his head in his hand. He knew everyone was staring at him. All the eyes in the room were locked onto him save for one pair.

"This tea is delicious!" Iroh smiled at the older woman to his side. "Ah, a true delight, to be given such wonderful tea by a beautiful stranger." The old woman blushed as Katara face palmed.

"So what happened to your face.?" Zuko raised his good eyebrow at the energetic child.

"Jay…..." the woman next to him groaned.

"It looks funny." The boy tilted his head.

"Looks just fine to me." Toph smirked. A few people let out a tense giggle.

"Are you getting married?" A little girl asked Katara. "My Momma says that you're getting married to the 'angry ass'." Katara began giggling as Zuko stared at the child. He noted a woman a few chairs down turned a deep shade of scarlet.

"I haven't thanked you for the food." Tam smiled at the Fire Lord.

"It's the least I could do." Zuko turned to him, thankful for something to say. "If you need anything else, please let me know."

"You wish to help the Air Nomads get back on their feet; such a noble dream." Tam sighed. "But I hear that many nations are still not trading well with you, so how can you help us?

"The Fire Nation is still having some trading issues, yes, but hopefully soon they will be resolved. I'm sure if you are that worried about it, then you could simply allow the other nations to see that you are still in existence. I'm sure they would love to help." Zuko said.

"Apparently my old friend here can't keep his mouth shut, so the leaders of the other nations already know." Tam frowned. A few people turned to look at them wide eyes. Aang ducked his head in guilt.

"I realized that. Though Aang was specific about keeping it quiet." Zuko frowned.

"Too bad he can't follow his own advice." Tam looked the man over.

"If you want, you can meet with the other nations before the council. They will be in the Fire Nation in the fall."

"Why?" Tam tilted his head.

"My…mother…" Zuko sighed. "Has apparently invited everyone in existence to my wedding."

"Oh great," he heard a woman mutter. "We leave the earth kingdom behind for a few weeks and we are already behind on the gossip." A few women giggled.

"Everyone here is welcome to attend." Zuko said with a smile.

"I will come." Tam stated. "If anything, then to speak with the heads of the nations."

"I hope that in time things won't be as awkward between us." Zuko frowned. "I know my people have wronged yours in many ways, but I will do everything in my power to help make things better."

"Make it as if it never happened?" Tam sneered.

"Impossible." Zuko frowned. "I have seen the damage and I know there will always be a scar on the Air Nomads."

"You seem to know a lot about scars." Tam smirked.

"The point is to not let the scar define you." Zuko stared at him.

Tam stared back. "Even if it doesn't, you still know it's there."


QUESTION: how badly do you want a smutty lemony greatness for Zuko and Katara in the soft bed that they are bunking in at the air temple? Come one! If I get enough reviews I'll do it! Anyway I feel pretty good about this chapter so, unless we have major damage I may just leave it. Thanks to all for reviewing. I have my trusty notebook (laptop still out of commision, on hubby's pc) and I'm off to write the wedding. Now do yall want me to bore with details or go with quick overview of wedding and use all the details for the wedding night? Well the wedding night is there regardless. What evs. XD