Disclaimer: Guess what? Chicken scratch! Oh, and I don't own Avatar.

It's actually been cold here! I mean like 40 or 50 degrees when I go out to the bus stop! It's been horrible! Brrrr.

Oh, yesterday was Costume Day where we got todress up at school. One kid dressed up as as an ostrich, and one even as a TOILET! Yes, and I'm not kidding either. There were tons of togas as well (the girls wore these). And everyone you might have even thought that they'd dress up like an angel did so.

monkaybrains127- 1. It's okay. 2. Thank you. 3. I'm sure it doesn't. 4. Here's the next chapter.

Confused Cat- More of the "Share a Moment" here. Even more than last chapter. I like it tons and I hope you do too. As long as Zuko doesn't end up with Jun or any other character they throw out, I'm happy with just about any pairing. I liked your song, too, and my dog's name is Boo. Cool.

ILuVeLeMrS!-I'm glad that you cold finally review for my story. Sorry it took so long for me to admit anonymous reviewers. I just hope you'll forgive me. I'll look out for your stories. Oh, and I read this review like right before school, so you made my day. Thank you for all the complements!

Cheshire Kitty- YOU'RE MY100th REVIEWER! Yay for you!Thank you! I hope that when you say, "completely lost myself" that that's a good thing. Oh, and I think you're a little confused. See, I have this chapter, chapter 19, and then 2 more stories, as in 2 more different publishings. So, this isn't the end my friend, it's far from over, very far. I hope that makes more sense.

Sesshomaru's woman- I'm sorry it took me so long to accept anonymous reviewers. I hope this chapter will redeem myself. YAY! Since publishing day? Thank you loyal fan! Lin13's actually the one who finally convinced me to accept anonymous reviewers, although she doesn't know it. hehehe.

Khazia- Wow, it's been a long time since I've written your name up here! But I still remember you. There's this chapter, another one, and then another story! Yay! (claps hands). You're not bad, you're just prioritizing (sp?). The later things were actually action, and maybe this chapter. But, I will assure you that there will be MAJOR romance in the second "book". Maybe not making-out romance, but romance nonetheless. I'm not a big fan of it, but I can definantely write it. Also, she's going to be in a love square thing with 3 boys competing for her attention, so there should be some there. Sorry that there's not much in this "book".

lensgirlfriend- We got 100! Yay! I'm glad you liked the chapter.

SeethingxShadows- We didn't get red ribbons, which I hated them for it. And all that anyone does anymore is the "fun stuff". Like on Wednesday, we had to wear our clothes inside out, barely anyone did it, including the teachers, only a handful out of 3,000 students did it, including me. Like in Science, I was the only student who did it, in a class of 30. Mrs. Biles did it too, but you couldn't tell because her outfit was reversable. Sigh. I'm not sure why you had blonde hair, but I know it wasn't because you were from Cal. I actually had another ATLA dream last night where Aang had a cell phone, but for your sake and the other readers, I won't go into it. Titanic...(chuckles) I like that.

Starchic- I'm glad you liked the chapter. Here's another.

I was listening to Because of You during this, and it has some effect, so if you have the song, put it in a CD player and click Repeat. Or, Behind These Hazel Eyes works well too, which I was orriginally going to name the story.

Plus the POV will switch again, but I won't explain how it works, again, because by now you should know. The memory here will be in normal font, but you'll know when the memory is. I'll give a Flashback date.

Oh, you finally get to see what happened that one night, hence the name of the chapter, "One Night". But don't scroll down! You'll ruin the sweet moment with Zukie. If you liked last chapter, you'll be sure to like this chapter. Also, there's a little symbolism in here, let's see if you can find it.

Sneak Peek: Zuko's going to have a run-in with a razor, she will be an inch from death, and she might die, but then where would the other stories come from(?), yes, cry cry, and she gets to see her dad again! Gasp!


Chapter 18- One Night

I couldn't sleep that night. I tossed and turned, but I couldn't do it. I was too busy thinking about that day. After I'd woken up the second time, around 5, I was released from the infirmary, only to come back to my room, and stay there without anything to eat, avoiding everyone.

I finally gave up on sleep, so I put my blue and green skirt and white top on and crept quietly down the hall to Zuko's room. I slowly slid anote that I'd written earlier under his door, and then went slowly down the hall again.


Zuko couldn't sleep that night very well either. He kept tossing and turning, and thinking about the pain Kabira had gone through all of her life. He couldn't get the image out of his head of what she looked like out there on the ice, letting her powers go. The ice swirling around her, her eyes glowing blue, and the tears running down her face.

Finally, he got up and got dressed to go outside for some fresh air. When he got there though, he saw a figure on the boat near the railing as well. As he walked toward it, he noticed it was Kabira sitting against some boxes, her legs drawn up to her chest and her skirt draped over her legs like a tablecloth, looking out to sea. He stopped about 5 feet from her…


…I heard someone approaching, but I knewit was Zukoso I didn't look up, even when he spoke, although I was listening.

"What are you doing?" He asked softly, but still using his normal voice.

I answered him, softly, keeping my eyes on the horizon. "Waiting for the sun to come up."

"I'm guessing you're not talking about the weather?" I smiled, while also pushing some air around in my throat to make a half-laugh noise, as I looked up at him. He smiled, proud of himself for making me look up, but I didn't let him keep it. I looked back to the gentle waves. His smiles were always determined, and tonight didn't change anything.

"No," I answered and Zuko slowly walked over to a box across from me and sat on it, but keeping his legs on the ground. I could see Zuko perfectly from where I was staring, and so I saw him look up at the sky. I looked up too, expecting clouds, because I could tell that it was going to rain later, but that's not what I saw. We saw millions of diamonds twinkling at us, with the sky a pretty navy color, like it was in the summer. But I soon looked at the sea again.

A small breeze blew around us, scattering my hair around my face. "Aren't you cold?" he asked looking at me. I put my hands forward which were cupped around something in my palm. When I opened them, he sawa little flame there, keeping my hands warm, and nodded. As I pulled them back towards me, Zuko looked back up at the sky.

There was a short pause. I was drifting between my imagination, my memories, and real life…if this was evenreal. "You know something?" I could see Zuko take his eyes off the sky and look at the side of my face. "I have tried explaining to my friends, all that I've gone through. The pain inflicted on me, the pain that was put there purposefully from that night, but...they don't get it." …


…She had a confused expression on her face, not one of sadness, or loss, but of confusion…
… "And every time I look into the mirror, I see his face staring back at me, asking me questions that I'd die to ask him. That's why I don't look into the mirror anymore." I looked at him for a second to see if he understood, but he was looking at the ground, and I knew why: he was remembering the arena, and the Agni Kai that took place there.

"I know about the Agni Kai." Zuko looked up, and I looked him straight in the eyes. I thought I could play dumb for a while. "But I don't know the entire story. Will you share?" He looked deep into my eyes for the longest time, and then began to tell me of that fateful day.

When he was done, I said, "You spoke up for those men, and your father punished you for it. I believe that honesty is a rare virtue, and I try to look for it in my friends." I smiled. "You did the right thing. Even if the sentence was death, I would've done it." He smiled, and I smiled back. I leaned back against the boxes and asked him, "What do you see when you close your eyes?" I was genuinely interested. "When I close my eyes, I see the headlights of my dad's truck pulling away."

He said after a short pause, he said, "I don't see anything, I only hear myself screaming, and the fire rushing around my face." I nodded, still keeping my eyes on him. He never looked away; I felt a sort of connection between us after that statement. "So, what's your story? I know about your dad abandoning you, but y…you never told me what went on that night." I could tell he was nervous for asking. I looked out to the horizon for a brief moment while he waited for an answer. Then, I sighed, and looked back at him.

"7 years ago…" I began.


Flashback, 7 years ago...

I felt a nudging on my shoulder and looked up groggily to see my dad standing over me, his green eyes shining brightly. "Hurry. Get up. We're leaving. Pack your things." He turned away from me and turned on my table light. I looked at my digital clock; it said, "11:30".

"Dad! It's too early. School doesn't start until 7:30!" I cried, rubbing my eyes.

"Up." He said sternly, still turning on lights as I stumbled out of bed and to my blue and purple closet. I was never much of a pink person. "Pack anything that you like, plus some clothes."

"Fine." I mumbled, putting on my favorite pair of jeans and my striped blue and green shirt. Dad was out of the room again in a flash to leave me to get dressed and pack. Once I was awake enough, and packing all of my dolls (I realized I'd have enough room after my clothes), I realized that something was up. He wouldn't randomly pick a time at 11:30 at night to wake me up and tell me to pack. He couldn't be running again, could he? I thought, still packing. Dad came back at about 12, to find me still on my floor, packing the things that were my favorite. He was wearing a jacket that we'd gotten at a baseball game, and he looked rushed.

"What's taking so long? Downstairs, now!" He grabbed me by the hand as I zipped up my suitcase, and dragged me out of my room.

"Wait! Mrs. Flowers!" I called and tried to reach my dolly that sat over my bed.

"No time." He said and dragged me to the rusty oldpick-up where I was piled in. I got on the left hand side, right behind the drivers seat and looked out of the window as I saw all the lights of New Orleans passing us. Within no time, we were out in the country, too dark to tell where we were, with barely anyone on the road.

I fell asleep for most of the trip, leaning against the window, for about an hour and a half. When I woke up again, we were in a city, with lights flashing around us.

"Where are we?" I asked, sitting up, and getting into a better position to see.

"Alexandria," was all he said, as he turned the wheel left. About 30 minutes later, around 2, we entered a suburban area, without many lights. Only the streetlights shone out through the darkness. Soon, he pulled into a driveway and told me to get out. He shut off the engines as I did so, stepping out into the soft-pouring rain. He walked me up to the front porch which was covered a little from the rain. At least they had a front porch. He knocked as I looked around curiously. A woman that looked only a few months pregnant opened the door, staring at us in her robe. She had long, wavy light brown hair from what I could tell with the light like it was.

"Do you realize what time it is?" She asked, annoyed.

"Here. She's yours now," he said as he pushed me forward and began to walk off.

"Wait, what?" the woman asked, totally confused at this point.

"Daddy! What are you doing?" I asked, confused as well. The woman and I both looked after him as he slowly turned back to us, looking from me to the woman.

"Just what I said: she's yours now. I'm through with it." He began to pull his collar up around his neck. I dropped my bag, running to catch up with him.

"Daddy!" I cried, grabbing his arm. He turned around and looked at me with sad eyes. I could tell he saw my mom in me, but then he yanked his arm away and kept walking.

"Daddy!" I yelled again, the woman now coming out from watching at her doorway and grabbing me. I turned back to face her, crying and pointing at my father,as a man appeared at the door of the house. He looked very confused.

"Daddy!" I yelled again as I yanked my arm from her and ran at the truck, but I never made it.

The engine started up before I could reach the truck, and so did the headlights, so I was blinded by them. Shielding my eyes, I cried again, "Daddy! Daddy please!" He began pulling out of the driveway. I kept crying these words over and over as he bounced from the driveway and rolled down the street.

"Daddy!" I cried again as I saw his taillights disappear for the last time.

End Flashback...


"I was left standing there, in the rain, soaking wet, crying for him to come back and get me. For awhile, I thought it was all a joke, but after a few months, I finally decided it was sealed." I finished. I had to take a few minutes at one point because I totally choked near the end. I could tell Zuko was stunned. "I guess we both have daddy issues." I looked away from his eyes as I broke down, crying silent tears. Zuko leaned over and embraced me for a while until I was able to calm down a little.

"Come on," he said, taking my hand and leading me below deck again, the stars twinkling above us innocently.


We went back under the deck, and down the many halls to Zuko's room. We entered, and he lit the candles to his meditation table up. We slowly walked over to it, him sitting down on the cushionsfirst, but I was looking around at the decorated metal walls with tears still plastered to my face.

"Nice room," I sniffed, still trying to get my crying under control again; I was doing really well so far, too. I looked down at him, smiling. He smiled back, and I sat down.

We faced the candles, about to meditate, but before we did, I grabbed his hand. It was rough, but with a softness and warmth like I'd never felt before. For a strange reason, I felt my stomach jump into my heart when I felt his hand and looked upinto his eyes. "Thanks for being a great friend." I said softly, but loud enough for him to hear, barely moving my lips.

I let go of his hand, and we began to meditate.


I didn't know how long I'd been sitting there on that red cushion, but I soon had flashes of my memory hitting me. Not from the night 7 years ago, but from the night my boat exploded.

The boat exploded behind me as I ducked into the waves, I handed Cadee to Mom, I was trying to help on deck with the sails, the water beneath deck up to my knees as I headed back up to the deck with Cadee in my arms, jumping into the raging waters below…then, I saw Pavan above me in my dream…


…Kabira's face kept showing pain, and finally Zuko began to come out of this meditation state. "Kabira?" he asked softly, tenderly. "Kabira?" He reached a hand slowly out to her, but her hand shot up to her head instead and she fell backwardsright after. The candle flames shot to the ceiling when she fell back, her eyes shooting open when she hit the floor.

She shakily stood up, "turning off" the candles. "We have to get on deck now." She headed for the door, but turned back to him, and saw he was still sitting on the floor where he was when she fell. "Come on!" She grabbed a coat from near his door and began to button in up on the way out. Zuko soon followed after her once he realized what she was doing and where she was going.


When we got to the deck, Zuko now running at my heels, we were met with a typhoon-like storm, going all out, but without the typhoon.Iroh passed, hurrying somewhere, but I caught him by the arm, but just barely. I stopped him and yelled, "Were we hit?" Iroh could barely make out what I said, I could tell, but he must've been able to decipher a few words because he said, "No, but we need all the help we can get!" He hurried off after he said this, leaving me still trying to make out what he said. Zuko must've heard him clear enough though because he passed me and on the way past, he turned to me.

"Well, let's get started!" he yelled through the gale, half smiling at me, then ran off like Iroh, but he began barking orders at everybody.

I stared after him for a minute, but a flash of lightning caught my attention as it flashed overhead, illuminating my surroundings. I then saw what the storm looked like. It had conditions like the last really bad storm I was in, the one where I was sent to this world. The conditionsmay have been worse too, but only by a little.

Then, I looked around the ship to see what could be done. Everyone looked really tired, and like they'd be grateful to have the pounding rain and howling windoff their backs. I hurried to the middle of the ship with and idea, slipping a few times, but finally making it in one piece.

I slowly created a ball of water from the surroundings, and expanded it slowly so that it was hollow on the inside. But by the time it was my height, it exploded, drenching me even more than I was already. I was now chilled to the bone, but I tried again, but the same effect happened. Once more I tried, thinking, Third try's a charm. I converted a lot of my energy into that ball as I expanded it to the ship's length. It worked, and it was keeping the rain off of the working men.

The crew members looked up to see where the wind and rain went, but then went back to work when they saw me in the middle, arms raised above my head, trying to keep the giant ball of water steady while the waves crashed beneath the steel ship, and the wind howled outside of my bubble. Everyone was rushing around, trying to make it alive to the Eye of the storm. I spotted Zuko and smiled at him. He smiled back, still the same old smile, and then we both went back to work. Well, Kabby, I thought, you finally get to help work on the ship!

The waves crashed beneath the steel ship, and the wind howled outside my bubble. I was able to hold it up for about 15 minutes, by then the rain calmed to a soft drizzling. Then, lightning exploded towards us, knocking the shield away and coming in after me. It hit the ship right where I was, but I jumped away almost right as it hit. The force of it knocked me to the ground.

I looked up to see the clouds swirling around me, above me. Then, the lightning stretched out its arms again…


…She picked herself up like a crab and crab-walked away, but she only got a short distance when it striked the boat once more. "Ahh!" she screamed.

Zuko and Iroh turned themselves around to see what was happening because they heard Kabira scream. Lieutenant Ji looked up as well. They were awestruck by what they saw. They saw lightning hurtling towards Kabby, while she kept trying to get away. They wanted to move, and urged their bodies forward, but a strange force, like chains, held them back.

Fear filled Kabby's eyes as the 3rd lightning strike came towards her. This is it! She thought, thinking her life was about to end, but she never made it to the tunnel and the light at the end. There was light, but not the kind that she was expecting.

The lightning finally stuck its target, and while lifting her up by her torso, she was surrounded by bright, warm light. Then, she fell unconscious, but before she did, her mind went straight to her backpack in the corner of her room, and then to Zuko, standing alone down there on his ship.

"Zuko…" she whispered weakly, but then disappeared in a wisp of light.

Down on deck, after Kabby disappeared with the light, Zuko rushed forward as if the force that held him back had been broken. He stared out at the horizon, but into the now starry sky, just as Kabby had done only hours earlier when she'd told him of her past, and whispered, "Kabby…"


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Also, if Khazia doesn't mind, I'm now taking in submissions for how Kabira looks. Or, how you think she looks. Just give me the link for it, and I'll put it on my profile. And sorry, but unless you already have it, which some of you do, I'm not giving you my email. Just give the linkto me through reviewing.

What was the symbolism? Can you guess? If you'll notice that's the first time he's called her by her nickname too.

An Awards ceremony will be held next time for the two people who've helped me through this, and offered tons of advice. I've already made my desision, so there will be no competition during these reviews, got it? Thank you for reviewing last time to help us make it to 100! Thanks tons for that.

Next chapter will come out tomorrow! 1 MORE CHAPTER UNTIL THE END, AND ONE DAY! Yay!