Hello everyone! Welcome to chapter 39 of Sparks Ignite! I hope you all enjoyed that last chapter! Thank you all so much for reading! This chapter begins to introduce the smart of the plot for this book. But there's a lot more to come so stay tuned! As always, I do not own avatar or its characters. Onto the story!

Fate and Destiny are a funny thing. They are so permanent, but yet can be changed by the smallest thing. It can cause the moon and the sun to collide. Or the most opposite Sparks to Ignite.

Chapter 39: The Part He Won't Take

It had been three weeks since Sokka and Suki had left the fire nation. As much as Katara missed them, there was far too much to focus on. Every time she looked at Aang, she could practically see his face when she told him. The look of hurt and anguish would be written all of his features. It terrified her to hurt him. She spent the last 2 years protecting him, the last thing she wanted was to tear that all apart.

But she had bigger battles to face right now. Even though Zuko was fully recovered, the threat was still there. Rebellions were popping up everywhere and were causing problems for residents. The looming threat of the masked man still hung over Katara's head, but she didn't want to tell Zuko.

If he knew, then he would make it his sole mission to find them himself and kill them. Everyone understood why they couldn't let that happen.

But she was still spearheading Ozai's relocation. They couldn't risk anything happening. Every single thing had to be accounted for and not a single thing could be out of place. The entire operation was risky.

Only the most trusted advisors were let in on the plan. Anyone else would just get in the way. They all sat in a small room, once used for finding Ursa, "There's only one problem with this. Only one thing that we can't control" Admiral Jee spoke, "Ozai himself"

"This is true…" Iroh pondered, "If he were to yell or scream, it could blow the entire operation. I have no doubts that we are under constant watch by these rebels…"

"Could we render him unconscious for the travel?" Advisor Wan suggest. But Katara shook her head, "If he wakes up in the middle, it could be risky… And we can't have the bodies that it would require to move him. He needs to move himself… And there's only one way to do that…"

Zuko looked at her, knowing exactly what she meant, "Katara…" he spoke hesitantly. She looked at him, a strong look covering her features, "Zuko… Don't" she said harshly. But Zuko didn't stop giving her a look of warning and worry.

Katara looked away from him and back to the map, "I will bloodbend him from here to here" she spoke, pointing from his current cell, to the new one being built, "I can keep him quiet and moving…"

Iroh also gave her a look of worry, knowing what this meant to the younger girl, "So we will have to do this the night of a full moon…" he reasoned, knowing the ramifications of blood bending. When he learned of the technique, although unhappy with its intentions, he wanted to know everything he could about it.

But Katara shook her head, "I can do it any night… As soon as the bunker is done, we move" with that she stood and left the table, Zuko right behind her.

She didn't make it far down the hall before Zuko grabbed a hold of her arm and turned her to him, "Are you crazy?" he asked her, "You could seriously hurt yourself"

But Katara didn't back down, remaining headstrong, "This has to be done Zuko. And it's the smartest way to do it" she told him, but he cut her off.

"Not if you end up killing yourself in the process!" he argued. He took a deep breath, not letting himself get too angry. He never wanted to get that way with her, "I know your thoughts when it comes to blood bending… I know you hate it… I know you hate what it makes you… So don't lose that part on Ozai's behalf… He's already taken so much from me; I won't let him take you too…"

Zuko looked down at her, almost scared. He couldn't lose her, not now, not ever. But Katara turned to him, "You're not changing my mind about this… I can do this. I'm not the same fragile little girl I was years ago…"

Zuko looked down at her and sighed, "Katara…" he grabbed a hold of her hands, "You don't have anything to prove here… You are one of the strongest people I've ever met…"

"Which is how I know I can do this… And why you should trust me to" she said, storming off down the hallway, leaving Zuko in her wake.

Iroh came out of his study and stood next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Zuko sighed, "Uncle… What do I do? What if she…" his sentence trailed off, unable to think of the worst scenario. But Iroh shook his head, "Katara is a headstrong woman… Quite like your mother… All you can do is trust that she will do what is right… And catch her when she falls…"

Zuko thought about that for a moment, before nodding. He smiled at his Uncle in thanks before going after her. He found her sitting by his mother's pond, as he often did when she was stressed or angry.

She heard his footsteps enter, knowing them very well, but refusing to look up. Zuko sat next to her, in silence for a few moments, just looking down at the puddle of water she was bending into the air.

"Are you here to tell me I'm not allowed to go now?" she said. But Zuko shook his head, "I would never tell you that…"

Katara paused for a moment, not used to hearing those words. Her entire life she was always told what she could and couldn't do, by her father, by her brother, by Aang. Sometimes she would forget she was her own person, with her own decisions.

Zuko let out a breath and continued, "Look… I just would never want you to do something you regret…"

"I don't regret learning to blood bend… Just how I learned" she spoke but he continued, "I know… But I also know that you don't like the person it can make you… I also know how dangerous it can be on yourself…"

Katara was quiet so he let himself continue, "I remember looking up and watching you blood bend Azula… And I remember looking back at you and seeing how all you had left in you was adrenaline… And that was 2 minutes if that… I just don't want you to hurt yourself… I can't lose you…" he spoke, tearing up a little bit.

Katara looked at him, "I know but…" but he cut her off, "I know… You don't have to explain yourself to me…" he placed a hand on her cheek, "I'm never not going to want to protect you… I'm always going to want you safe…" he told her. She smiled, leaning into his hand.

Zuko took a deep breath, "Which is why I'm going to be there…" he told her. She immediately opened her mouth to object. But he shook his head, "I'm going to be there… Not to watch over you… Not to make sure you're okay… But because I need to be there…"

He looked at her, with almost a look of pleading. He knew her worries with him there, if something were to happen. But she also knew that there were worries if he was at the palace. She worries about the worst possible thing every day. She took a deep breath and nodded, "Okay… But you're going in disguise… And if things get bad, you get to me and we fight together…"

Zuko smiled and nodded, pulling her close to him. She rested her head against his chest and he placed a kiss on her head.

"It's not going to be easy…" she told him. Zuko let out a breath, "I know…"

Ta-Daa! That's it for this chapter! What do you guys think? Let me know in a review! Until next time!