Previously, on Avatar: I almost completely rewrote Going Home Again. There is no need to look up the comic except to see the illustrations for the parts I did keep. :) We've also passed through It's Only Natural, The Bridge, and Escape From the Spirit World. And with that, we begin Book 3! And now you will really begin to see the ripple effect of all the small changes in Books 1 and 2.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. This episode originally written by Aaron Ehasz. Cover art for Book 3 is by deviant art user dragonXtail.

Book 3: Fire; Chapter 1: The Awakening

"Aang, you're awake!" Katara said happily and she and Toph raced over to him.

"Are you sure?" Aang asked, rubbing his eyes. "I feel like I'm dreaming."

Katara hugged Aang excitedly. "You're not dreaming," she reassured. "You're finally awake."

"Aang, good to see you back with the living, buddy!" Sokka's voice echoed from within his Fire Nation helmet.

"Sokka?" Aang was still thoroughly confused.

"Uh-oh," Toph warned, "Somebody catch him, he's gonna –"

Sokka reached out his arm to catch Aang as he fainted. He eased him down to the deck and Katara knelt beside them in concern.

...

Zuko leaned on the ship's railing, staring at the full moon. He had spent hours alone in his cabin thinking back on the past three years, but especially the events of the last few weeks. Finally, he was going home and his family honor and royal station would be restored. He should be ecstatic, but he was filled with anxiety and a sense of foreboding. This homecoming wasn't anything like he'd thought, and the price had been high. Uncle was in chains, and the Avatar – though presumed dead – was not with him. Zuko was consumed with anger and it made him restless, so he had come out to the fresh air to clear his mind. Instead, he found himself faced with the full moon and an ocean of water, and his thoughts inevitably drifted to Katara and Ba Sing Se. What would have happened if the Avatar and his uncle hadn't burst in when they did? What if they'd had more time? He hated that their moment had been interrupted. And even though he knew that Katara viewed the Avatar as a child, he hated seeing her run into his arms. Zuko felt sure her arms would have been around him if they'd had just seconds more. But then Azula would have come in with the Dai Li, he reminded himself. And instead of Uncle encased in crystals, it would have been Katara. What would he have done then? Would he still have joined Azula? He had to, he insisted. He'd had no choice.

"Aren't you cold?" Mai's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"I've got a lot on my mind," Zuko answered. "It's been so long, over three years since I was home. I wonder what's changed. I wonder how I've changed." It wasn't a total lie. These thoughts had been on his mind, too. There was no point in talking about Katara with Mai.

Mai yawned. "I just asked if you were cold, I didn't ask for your whole life story," she teased. She let out a little breath of a laugh and draped one arm over his shoulders. "Stop worrying," she said dismissively, turning his face with her hand and kissing him before heading back inside.

Was that supposed to be encouraging? Zuko wondered pensively as he watched her go. He had a long history with Mai, but he couldn't get the waterbender out of his mind. Once they had finally started talking, Katara hadn't dismissed his thoughts. She listened and engaged and – cared. When she tried to heal his scar, she said she could feel the bound-up energy. What did she mean by that, exactly? What did she know? And would he ever get the chance to find out, or to touch her again? Probably not. That door was closed to him now; he'd made his choice and here he was, headed back to his life in the Fire Nation. Mai wanted to be by his side, so he would do his best to stir up the desire to be by hers. He knew that her life, like his, had been full of expectations and obligations, and not nearly enough affection or affirmation. She was angry too, so at least they had that to bond over. Maybe if he could give her the love that she needed, she'd be able to open up and be the companion and confidant that he needed.

...

Back in Aang's quarters, Katara bent water onto the lightning wound on his back.

"Tell me where the pain feels most intense," she instructed.

"Mmm," Aang responded, "a little higher. Ugh!" he cried out as she reached the center of the wound. Aang flashed back to the battle and the moment he rose entering the Avatar State.

"Wow, you're definitely in the right area there," he confirmed.

"I can feel a lot of energy twisted up around there," Katara said. She began to pull the water away, saying, "Let me just see if I can—"

Aang's body jolted as he flashed back again to the battle, and to the moment when Azula shot him. Then his mind flashed to a fuzzy moment of half-consciousness – Katara crying, supporting his weight with Appa beneath him.

"I went down!" Aang exclaimed as he snapped back into full awareness. "I didn't just get hurt, did I? It was worse than that. I was gone! But you brought me back," he recalled.

"I just used the spirit water from the North Pole," Katara admitted from behind him. "I don't know what I did exactly."

Aang turned to look at her. "You saved me," he said, his large grey eyes full of emotion as he took in the gravity of it all.

Katara placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You need to rest," she said.

...

"Aang, that's not true," Katara tried to reassure him.

"It is true," Aang insisted. He swung his legs over the opposite side of the bed, facing away from Katara. "I was in Ba Sing Se. I was there!" He stood, clutching his side. "But I lost. And now the Earth Kingdom is fallen for good." Aang slumped his shoulders in defeat.

"It's not for good," Katara said brightly as she stood. "Remember, there's still a plan. The invasion!"

"And I hate the invasion plan, too!" Aang snapped, tearing down the Fire Nation flag over his bed. "I don't want you or anyone else risking your lives to fix my mistakes! I've always known that I would have to face the Fire Lord. But now I know I need to do it alone."

"Aang," Katara started, crossing the room to comfort him. She hated seeing him this way, discouraged and downtrodden, and even angry. The lightning injury wasn't the only one that needed healing. Aang's emotional wounds needed tending as well.

"Katara, please!" Aang stopped her, shaking his head to ward her off. "Just go … please."

Katara headed for the door, then stopped. "Is there anything you need?" she asked, turning back toward him.

"I need to redeem myself," Aang replied. "I need my honor back."

"Well, now you know who you sound like," Katara warned. "Be careful going down that path." She walked out and left him alone to work through his anger and shame, hoping he would stop being so hard on himself.

...

Katara lay on her bed alone in the dark. She had been so consumed with caring for Aang, and with handling her feelings about her dad, that she hadn't taken time to process the rest of what happened in Ba Sing Se. Now that Aang was awake – still recovering, but very much alive – and she and her dad had cleared the air, she finally allowed herself a moment to examine all that she had pushed to the corners of her mind and locked deep inside her heart from that day. She wasn't even sure how to begin sorting through what had happened between Zuko and herself. I never lied to you. His words came back to her, along with the memory of her heart racing under is ferocious gaze, his strong grip on her wrists and the glowing crystals at her back. Could she believe that? Was everything he told her actually true? It must be, she decided. The story about his mother had a ring of truth, and something in her gut insisted that the Zuko she bonded with in the caves was the same Zuko she fought moments later. That just made it hurt all the more. She had told him to fight the right fight, for the right reasons, and he had made his choice. Unfortunately, it had not been the choice Katara was hoping for. She felt like such a fool for thinking he would join them – would join her – simply because they had been stuck together for a couple of hours. But it was more than that. It was also the softness of his voice, his vulnerability, his words about choosing his own destiny … he seemed so different. It really seemed like his own journey had brought him to a point where he might reclaim his position by helping the Avatar to overthrow the Fire Lord instead of hunting Aang in order to appease his father. Katara rolled over onto her stomach and buried her face in her hands as the memory of trying to heal his scar came flooding back to her. I can't believe I did that! she lamented. She had been about to throw her arms around him when Aang showed up; indeed, she was certain their arms would have been around each other. If he had tried to kiss her, she would have kissed him back. She allowed herself to recall the feel of his lips under her thumb, the scarred flesh beneath her fingertips, the sea of energy and emotion roiling beneath the surface, his hand on her elbow to steady them both, her hand on his chest, and then his other hand covering hers so tenderly, even caressing it as their eyes finally met. Even now, her heart skipped a beat just recalling the look in his eyes.

And then she thought back the moment when he joined the fight – that brief second when she thought he was fighting with them, until he turned on Aang and started attacking. Katara kicked herself for missing an opportunity there. All eyes had been on Zuko. She could have taken a clear shot at Azula and maybe even put the princess out of commission. Then she would not have been able to shoot Aang with lightning. Katara was furious with herself for taking a defensive stance when she had a good offensive opening, and also for hesitating because she was waiting for Zuko. How could he betray us like that – betray me? How could I have been so stupid as to trust him? That was one mistake she wouldn't make again.