Zuko and Katara: (cowering in fear)

Inutenshi: Okay...Simply put...These past few days have been hell. Writers block has hindered me for quite a while, I discovered that the author of one of my favorite Zuko/Katara fanfictions copied a scene from chapter 6 of my story, and, to top it all off, I've received word that Nickelodeon is considering the cancellation of Avatar: The Last Airbender!

Zuko and Katara: NOOOOOOO! T.T

Inutenshi: The only things that are keeping me from expoding right now are my boyfriend, who's just returned from camp, my friend who is currently sharing my pain, and all of your reveiws. I thank you all. They mean so much to me. And If you haven't noticed,I've had to up the rating. This chapter will explain. Heehee. I've signed a few petitions to help save ATLA. The names of the sites I know of will be listed at the end of the chapter. Also, I've noticed another mistakeI've made. WhenI firstheard of the comet, I thought they called it'Souten's Comet'. NowI know it is really Sozen and I feel stupid. Thank you for listening to my ranting. Zuko, would you?

Zuko: On to the story!

Chapter 8: So Close

For an instant, Katara felt nothing. The shock of the moment obscured the screaming nerves of her newly healed shoulder. When her brain registered what had occurred, an inhuman cry ripped itself from her very soul. Smirking in satisfaction, Jet placed his foot on her back and tore the hook from her flesh. Another pained shriek reached his ears and he shoved her forward onto the other source of his rage.

"How does it feel Katara? Does it hurt?" He asked sadistically.

She whimpered pathetically, keeping her space between Zuko and Jet. She looked into the prince's worried face and smiled weakly. He lifted his bloodied hand and caressed her cheek. The dark liquid smeared against her tan skin and slowly began dripping when mingled with her tears.

"…Forgive me Prince Zuko…" She whispered sadly.

He coughed slightly and shook his head.

"There's nothing to forgive…You've…done nothing wrong."

Katara was about to object, but a thin gloved hand wrapped around her head and covered her mouth. She thrashed, clawed and kicked, but nothing seemed to loosen his hold. When she sank her teeth through the thin glove and into his hand he didn't even flinch.

"What was that? Did you just bite me?" He asked mockingly. "Sorry, I mustn't have felt it. You can't feel much…" He tore his hand away and pulled the glove off with his teeth. "…when your hand has been disabled from frostbite."

He held the blackened, withered appendage before her eyes. His nails were also black with white tips.

"I have you to thank for this Katara." He growled. "You froze my body to that tree. Luckily, my men freed the rest of me before hypothermia settled in. Sadly, my hand wasn't unfrozen in time."

His laughter sickened her almost as much as his hand.

"My my, Katara you seemed to have racked up quiet a few charges for betraying us all. Interfering with our plan to destroy this towns soldiers, abandoning the Avatar to join the Fire Nation, and worst of all, befriending their prince. What more can you do?"

Katara resumed her struggle.

"Alright!" She shouted. "One: We only interfered because you were risking the lives of so many people! Two: I didn't abandon Aang or join the Fire Nation. Prince Zuko saved me when I was attacked while out looking for food. And three: Who cares if the Fire Nation prince is my friend? He's not like the soldiers you claim to know so well. He and every other firebender has a heart! They're human just like me and you!"

There was a deep silence, a small snort, then a sinister laugh.

"This man? This thing is what you call human Katara?" He asked and delivered a rough kick to Zuko's stomach.

The firebender wheezed and rolled onto his back, a trickle of blood coming from his lips.

"No! Leavehim alone!" Katara cried, trashing more violently, ignoring the searing pain of her shoulder.

Jet continued to laugh insanely, throwing Katara into the remains of the broken net and tangling her in its web. She tried to get free, but only tangled herself more. All she could do was scream and watch helplessly as Zuko was kicked and beaten repeatedly.

A few more soldiers had dozed off around the fire, leaving only three remaining. A scream echoed faintly into the camp. Judgement clouded by too much ale and sake (rice wine), the soldiers overlooked it as an animal and nothing more. Kairi on the other hand, was very restless. She knew the smell of her master's blood, even if it was only a drop. She bellowed desperately, thrashing and yanking at the post she was tied to. The few awake cast a glance back at her.

"What the hell is she doing?" asked Taku.

"I dunno…Maybe she's in heat. We did put her mate, Sora, at the other end of the line." Rotan replied.

"There's some horny rhinos for ya!" laughed Misato.

Crack!...Snap! CRASH!

"Uh oh…"

They watched as the female rhino disappeared into the woods. Regaining a small bit of common sense, the three soldiers chased after her. Prince Zuko would kill them if he found out his rhino escaped.

Jet heaved a sigh and kicked Zuko one more time. The prince had lost consciousness a while ago, overcome by pain and blood loss. Katara lay on the forest floor, still wrapped into the net, sobbing hysterically. Jet strode up to her and crouched down. A cruel smirk played across his lips.

"This can all go away Katara…You can go back to your friends, I can forgive you, we can forget all about this, and live happily ever after." He said, placing a hand on her head. "All it takes is your cooperation…"

He pulled a dagger from his boot and cut her free from the entanglement. Helping her to her feet, he placed the knife in her hands and turned her towards the unconscious Zuko. He unscrewed the end of the handle and revealed the poison vile within, then closed it back up.

"Kill him Katara…" He whispered into her ear. "Once he's gone, there will be no one to take after the Fire Lord. The Fire Nation will be in a panic, giving the Earth Kingdom the chance to finish them off."

He made her hands tighten around the poison dagger's handle.

"The war will be over, peace will be restored, and your mother's death won't be in vain…"

Katara swallowed the lump in her throat and her hands began to shake. She was scared. What choice did she have? If she spared him, both of them would die anyways. If she killed him, her savior and newly acquired friend, she would've helped bring the Fire Nation to its knees and ended the century long conflict.

Raising the blade, she made her choice…

Her only choice…

Letting out a despairing cry, she brought the knife down and more blood was spilt…

Sokka sat quietly inside the soaring Appa's saddle, stroking Momo's head. The lemur purred and nuzzled further into the warrior's palm. Four days his sister had been gone. He had no idea where or how she was. Aang's leaving had been hard to bear. Now he was alone with no one, but Appa and Momo.

They say that threes company, but four is a crowd. Well he was seriously missing his own little crowd. He missed Aang's tricks and pranks. He missed Katara's smiles and laughter. He missed their arguments that Aang would break up. Hell, he even missed being chased by firebenders.

Nothing was the same anymore.

Aang ran off on his own to search for Katara, leaving Sokka and the animals behind. Sokka was worried just as much, or even more so than Aang was. But he knew his limits and Appa's too. Aang's determination had turned him into a real jerk and his attitude had chased them away. The water tribe warrior sighed and reached into his bag, retrieving a moon peach for Appa.

"Heads up boy." called Sokka as he leaned over the saddle and tossed the fruit.

The bison's long tongue captured it and rolled into his mouth where he devoured the peach with a grateful groan. Sokka smiled and patted Appa's head.

"How do think the others are holding up?" He asked contemplatively.

Momo chirped and nuzzled the teen's leg. He was rewarded with a scratch behind his ears. Appa groaned tiredly and shook his head.

"Your right. We should land for tonight." Sokka examined the land below.

The city below was oddly familiar. He could've sworn he'd been there before, but was too tired to really give it too much thought.

"How about here?" He pointed to the opposite side of the city that the Prince Zuko's camp was…which he'd somehow missed.

The flying bison descended and fell into sleep as soon he touch the ground.

Blood and drops of poison were dripping from the dagger's blade, onto Katara's hands, then to the ground. Zuko lay completely undisturbed at her feet and behind her Jet breathed raggedly. She pulled the knife free from the rebel's stomach and tossed her head back, forcing him to stagger away.

"You underestimate me again Jet." She said watching him look on in disbelief.

"You…traitor…" He rasped, already feeling the poison work through his system.

"Call me what you want," She hissed, throwing the dagger aside and turned her back on him. "But you know that deep down…you're the real traitor."

Wincing in pain, Katara grabbed her shoulder and knelt beside Zuko. She pulled him onto his back and checked for any breathing. It was very faint and uneven. He was going to die, she realized, and she had no idea how to help him. Wrapping her arm around his shoulders, she pulled him up into a half sitting position. His head rolled to the side, burying the unmarred side of his face in her arm.

"I'm so sorry…" She whispered sadly, tracing the flames that dance over his eye while tears flowed from her own.

"The pain…the suffering you went through to get this far…will be all for not." Her shoulders quivered and she rested her head on his chest.

"And it's all because of me…If I hadn't insisted we come out here…If I hadn't questioned your past…If I had just listen to Sokka and stayed where I was, you wouldn't be here like this!"

Her other arm joined its partner around the prince's shoulders and held him tight. Her sobs echoed with pure agony and remorse.

"What am I going to do now?" She asked. "Without you…I can't go back…"

She sat up and looked it him.

You're not a tool Katara. I need your help. With out you I can't go home…None of us can.

"And I need you too…Because…without you…" She took a shuddering breath. "I can't go home either…"

"Very…" Jet coughed, getting to his feet. "...heartfelt Katara."

Katara laid Zuko back down and face the dying rebel, rage evident in her gaze. Blackish blood trickled from his smug mouth as he staggered towards her. The puddles of blood not yet soaked into in the ground began to bubble angrily. Suddenly, it lurched up into the form of a snake and struck Jet down. It did this repeatedly until the young man was completely covered in his, hers, and Zuko's blood.

Jet violently wiped at his eyes to clear the thick red liquid. While he was distracted, Katara turned back to Zuko and tried to lift him. Sadly, she wasn't strong enough to lift the firebender and Jet was slowly getting back his vision. Taking hold of his closest hooked sword, he hurled it toward her, the blade on the end of the handle pointed first.

Katara screamed painfully as the blade pierced through the right side of her left calf muscle and protruded from the other side. Nearly dropping the unconscious prince, she sat down and tried to pry the weapon out. It wouldn't budge. She didn't see Jet stand with his other sword ready. She didn't hear his battle cry as he charged her. She didn't feel the earth shake under her. All she was aware of was that this was where she was going to die. She wouldn't even have the chance to say goodbye.

The waterbender closed her eyes and prepared for the strike of death to come.

"Holy hell…" whispered Rotan as the scream bounced off the trees.

"Wasn't that the young lady?" He asked his comrades.

"Miss Katara." Misato corrected. "Yes…Didn't she and Prince Zuko come out here?"

Taku began panicking.

"What if Kairi ran into them and she accidentally crushed them or something!"

They looked at each other worriedly and continued on the path the rhino had left. Shortly after, they heard another scream. This one was more masculine than the last and they increased their speed. Pushing themselves through one last line of bushes, the soldiers nearly fell over at the sight that greeted them.

A severely wounded Katara sat beside the unmoving Prince Zuko. Her eyes were wide in horror as she looked on, ignoring the blood that speckled onto her face. Kairi trashed around trying to rid herself of the obstruction of her vision. Jet just happened to be that obstruction. He hadn't expected the rhino to come charging through the woods and when he turned, he was impaled by her strong horn.

Kairi thrashed and roared angrily, jerking his body around like a rag doll. She crashed against rocks and trees, battering his limp form even more. Giving a ferocious bellow and one more strong toss of her head, she threw Jet's now dead body from her where any unbroken bones were shattered against a large boulder.

Misato ran over to calm the beast while the others helped Zuko and Katara.

"What in the name of the Fire Gods happened!" Rotan asked, taking hold of the sword.

"We…were….aah!" She grit her teeth as he pulled. "We were on our way back to camp…because Prince Zuko's wound had torn slightly. We were…attacked… AAAH!...by this rebel leader!"

Katara stifled a scream as Rotan yanked the blade out forcefully. He tore her pant leg off at the knee and used it to wrap the wound. Looking at Taku, he asked the prince's condition. The soldier was quivering.

"I…I don't think he's gonna make it. There's so much bloodshed here I can't tell how much he himself has lost."

Rotan frowned and shifted the waterbender so she could get on his back.

"We have to get him back to camp." He said, grabbing the back of Katara's knees and standing. "The prince is strong enough to survive, but not on his own."

Zuko was lifted up to Taku, who sat atop Kairi, one arm crossed over his chest so that he wouldn't fall. Their pace was quick, running like demons were at their heels. The smoke from the still burning fire was in sight and as soon they broke the tree line, they began calling out for the medic.

Fifteen minutes later, the whole camp was in an uproar in worry over their prince and Katara. Sobered up by their fear, they all sat outside the infirmary tent and around the rekindled fire. Iroh and Lieutenant Ji sat inside the tent watching the doctor work and helping in anyway they could. The cries of the children could be heard as they attempted to get inside.

Katara was already stitched up and helping in her own way. GranGran had taught her a remedy that would replenish one's blood. They were lucky enough that the doctor too knew the potion and had the right ingredients for it, but they weren't even sure it would work at this point. Mixing the concoction into a canteen, Katara tilted his head back and let him drink, which he did without much trouble.

"We've done all we can for now." said the doctor as he put his supplies away. "We can only hope his majesty is strong enough." They watched as he left.

Iroh heaved a heavy sigh and patted Katara's uninjured shoulder.

"I'm sorry Iroh." She whispered. "If I hadn't dragged him out into the woods, he wouldn't be like this right now."

The old general shook his head.

"Do not blame yourself child. The weight of guilt is not to be placed on your shoulders."

The waterbender continued staring at Zuko's peaceful sleeping face. Her fist clenched around the blade that was no longer there and tears bit at her eyes. Iroh saw this and looked at the lieutenant, worry etched into his features.

"I could've killed him Iroh…I had enough chances." She said ruefully. "I could've drowned him…I could've left him there to bleed."

She looked at the older men's alarmed faces.

"I could've stabbed him to death…"

Iroh's face hardened in confusion. Lieutenant Ji stood and was about to reprimand her for her words, but the old man raised a hand before him and he sat back down.

"If you could've done all these things, why didn't you take the opportunity to?" Iroh asked.

"…I…I don't know sir…" She placed her hands on her face and pulled them down until her finger tips touched at her chin. "I really…don't know."

Iroh smiled.

"Explain to me what you felt."

Katara thought back. When they were sitting at the fire, walking through the woods, and underwater, she was happy. No thoughts of the prince's death crossed her mind. She just basked in the comfort of his presence.

When his wound had opened slightly, she was afraid. She didn't know if it would open more and he'd bleed to death. Despite the followed feeling as they headed back, she felt safe just having him there.

When she was trapped and unable to help him as he was being beaten, she felt helpless.

When Jet freed her, gave her that poison dagger, and her task, she was lost. She didn't know what the right choice was.

After she turned on Jet and held Zuko in her arms, she was worried and scared. He'd saved her life and she could do nothing to save his.

Every emotion she felt up until now was muddled into a big ball her throat that she was dying to clear.

Iroh, having been told all of this, smiled to himself and stood. The lieutenant followed suit and moved towards the tents opening.

"I don't have any answers for you right now Miss Katara." He said walking after Ji. "All I can say is that the longer you stay here, the quicker the answer will come."

Katara watched the two old firebenders depart, leaving her alone with their prince. For the longest time, she sat there gazing at Zuko, thoughts running through her mind like a heard of wild bison. Would she really find her answers if she stayed? What if Aang and Sokka came for her before she got them? What would she do then? Dwell on it until she was old, crippled, and on her deathbed?

Her mind snapped back into place. She'd heard Zuko mutter a broken version of her name. His brow was furrowed and sweat trickled down his face. Drawing fresh water from another canteen, she guided it across his face and neck, soothing him instantly. Katara kept twirling it over him, paying special attention to his wound and helped the healing process. He mumbled incoherently and rolled onto his left side.

"I still need to repay you." She whispered. "No amount of comfort or healing I give you can make up to what you've done for me."

She moved around to his other side and lay down. His right arm was draped over his side and his left lay near his head. Her hand slipped into his and held it firmly yet gently. A small smile graced her lips as his fingers curled over hers.

"We came so close didn't we?" She whispered.

"So close to death…"

She scooted closer until they were inches apart, they're knees touching.

"I've come so close…so close…to losing you."

Karran stood anxiously on the sandy shore of the Fire Nation. Her light green tail was replaced by a pair of human legs covered by a light blue, ankle length skirt. Her orange eyes started angrily at the slowly lightening horizon.

By order of her fellow Goddesses, she would wait there for one of the Fire Gods. Once he arrived she would relay their report and be on her way. Unfortunately for her, he was late and only one Fire God in the world of Deities was known for being late.

"Forgive my tardiness Lady Karran." She turned to face the new arrival.

"Lord Lerajie." She spoke his name as if she were trying to make it a curse.

The young Fire God grinned, running a pale hand through his long, blood red hair, the armor on his shoulders, arms, and chest clanking as he did so. Karran hated the pose with a passion. It rose up painful, old memories. Opening his equally orange eyes, Lerajie took on a more serious look.

"So was the human successful?" He asked, casually crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against a boulder. Karran closed her eyes and shook her head.

"The girl turned on him. He was poisoned with his own dagger before being impaled by the prince's rhino."

She felt his eyes boring into her. Clenching her fists, she turned and headed back into the sea.

"Karran!" He called.

Footsteps crunched in the sand and sloshed in the shallow water. His warmth caressed her back and she resisted the urge to retreat into it. His strong hands gripped her shoulders gently and his breathing tickled the chill flesh of her neck.

"…Don't." She whispered, every muscle in her body tensing.

"Karran, don't deny your relief of the human's failure. You want them to live…to be happy." He spoke softly, wrapping his arms around her. "Like we were before…"

The Water Goddess relaxed slightly, reaching up and holding onto his strong arm. How she missed this feeling of calmness and elation. She wanted to take him back to those many years ago before their destinies were revealed and before they became the deities of opposing elements. She wanted him to hold her and never let fate tear them apart again…But alas...

"I want nothing more…than to go back to those days Lerajie." She sighed, stroking his hand. "I want to end this ache in my heart…but as long as we're gods of these nations…it will never be."

He turned her around and leaned so that they were eye level.

"I know, my love." He whispered, brushing her hair from her face and cupping her chin. "Those two should not experience the same fate we did…I've spoken to the Muses. They're on their way to assist and protect them. As long as you play your part," His lips touched hers for a split second. ", we can finally raze the differences of the nations and elemental spectrums."

The intimate touch had tears rolling down her cheeks, which Lerajie kissed away. They embraced each other tightly.

"We could be free Karran. You and I can finally be wed and no one would be able to stop us. No God, Goddess, nor mortal combined can keep me from you."

Karran nodded and pulled away.

"Just be patient my dear." He whispered as he let go and watched her take off into the sea.

Inutenshi: Okay. As promised. Here are the sites were you can sign Save Avatar petitions. There are more out there so get searching.

http/fournations. Cast: SAVE US! T.T

Next Chapter: Guardians