Ya know, the best part about working for a mad scientist has to be the fact that I get to try out all his inventions. The guy I work with is working with physical and psychological healing through energy patters and stuff, so I got to try out this chair that stimulates brain waves. It was so freaking cool! I was covered with a blanket and just spun around really fast for fifteen minutes. The coolest part was that when I tilted my head to the side it felt like I was spinning upside down. It was neat but either my brain was already stimulated enough or I don't have one at all because I didn't have the tingling feeling in my head that he said I should have and I didn't feel really out of joint for the few hours afterwards like he said I would. Another great thing is that I don't have to drive anywhere for work tomorrow. He's going to have me grind ore in my dad's shop where he actually keeps half of his equipment. Anyhoo.
Katara183: I still don't know why my dad bit my arm. He didn't bite it hard, but it was really weird. I asked him what he was doing but he just walked off and didn't pay attention. It was weird. Yay! Gerbil commandos! Yes, I think Zuko was adorable when he was 14. I didn't mind the lock of hair though. My dad blew out our speakers because they were turned on and he began flipping circuit breakers on and off. So the just kind of 'kapoot'ed and it really sucked because we had just barely gotten them.
Lovergall1227: Thanx for your review. Ozai is the devil.
Zukoscute2: Aw, I'm really sorry to hear about your grandma. All of my grandparents died when I was about two except for my gramma K. It was really sad when she passed on a few years ago so I know how you feel.
Khazia: I can't help but be hard on myself. I'm a perfectionist. But i'm a lazy perfectionist. I read through a few early chapters and was like "GAHH! TYPOS!" I seriously think that my computer compresses words together once I submit something. Anyways. Your family thing sounds like a lot of fun. Sorry to hear about your back though. Is Mike's Hard Berries alcohol? Shame on you. J/K.
xXFissshbonesssXx: I can't stop myself from posting a chapter everyday. I'm obsessed and I feel incomplete when I don't. You'll just have to see what happens to our young prince, and yes, the avatar does come into play. It was my intntion to lull people with how Ozai was acting at the ball. I am planning ona conflict between Katie and Zula later on, but I don't quite know how it'll turn out just yet. I'll get an idea tonight as I fall asleep, I can assure you of that. To tell you the truth, I'm not into Anime at all. I really can't stand it actually, no offense to those that do. I was surprised to see that Avatar fit into the category. Now I will probably be stoned to death by all anime lovers.
Titan09: Augh, I wish the prodigy at my school was awkward. She's a volleyball star and just about the nicest person ever. It's not fair. Her brother is just as bad. He does bluegrass as well and plays the bass in our orchestra, but at the moment he's in Germany playing some brass instrument for a choir. Their whole family is a bunch of perfect people. I'll advertise your story, but pardon me if I don't read it myself. I've never seen an episode of Inuyasha so would therefore be lost. I still can't wait for your HB story though. Dang! I still need to read the one you do have posted. I'll review it tomorrow, I swear on my smileyfaced toe socks!
O-dragon: I've never had squid under my nails, but I come from an outdoorsy family so I'm very used to having fish scales stuck to my hands. Xel-ha (pronounced Shell ha) was in Cancun. It was way fun there. We founda little hermit crab crossing the sidewalk and we fed it to the fish. Then my dad was walking overa floating bridge just as a wave came up and a kind of geyser went right up his butt. It was hilarious, the safety guard was laughing his head off. I've never been to seaworld, but it sounds like a blast. You're so lucky, swimming with whales! Anyways. Thanx for your support in your review.There is a lil' sum'm sum'm like you suggested in this chapter.
Athenera: What play is it? I love theater even though I haven't been in a play in forever. In fifth grade I was Glinda in the wizard of Oz (Which made me mad because I really wanted to be the wicked witch of the west) and then I was some girl named 'Ford' in the Sixth Juror. Other than that the closest I've come to being in a play was when I played in the pit orchestra for Captain of the Pinnafore. Anyways. I thought I was going to be finished with this story by now, but apparently I was wrong. There may be yet another five or six or eight chapters left. All the better, right?
Randomwriter88: Hi there! Thanx for your support. I will most deffinitely continue.
Elenea Galad: Oh yay! You read my story! I'm glad you like it. And don't set Orlando Bloom free! Give him to me!
Okay, this chapter ain't too long, but it's way sad. At least I think it is anyways.
"So what exactly does all that mean?" Katie asked from where she was sitting on the bed. Zuko was standing across the room, leaning against the wall. He was afraid to look at her.
"It means…that he wants me to die…so that he can have you." Zuko said quietly, staring at his boots.
"Then that's it. You're just going to go off and die?" Katie's voice cracked. Zuko finally lifted his gaze to her face and saw the tears streaming down her cheeks. He felt worse than ever. He had never seen her cry in sadness except that first night on his ship. He had comforted her then, but now he was afraid to. What if she blamed him for bringing her here and pushed him away. He didn't think he could take it. But it was worse to stand there and watch her cry. He sat down on the bed beside her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, offering her what comfort he could. Katie wrapped her arms around him and sobbed silently into his chest.
Katie was in the state between sleep and consciousness when she felt a large warm hand caress her face. A pair of lips pressed themselves to hers and kissed her tenderly. Katie kissed them back, stretching her arms above her head and letting out a sigh of satisfaction. Something about those lips, while familiar, was off. She ignored it and allowed the kiss to deepen. A strong hand rested on her rib cage, gently rubbing her side. Katie brought a hand down and caressed the face pressed against hers. But she didn't feel the scar she was looking for. She opened her eyes and saw that it wasn't Zuko kissing her. She let out a cry of surprise and brought her elbow down as hard as she could against the side of the person's skull. The person pulled back with a shout and Katie found herself staring at Ozai. She looked around the room, but Zuko was nowhere to be seen.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" She screamed.
"Sssh, Zerita. Please calm down. You're confused." Ozai said softly, pleading at her with eyes of liquid gold.
"YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S CONFUSED! I'M NOT ZERITA!" Katie scrambled out of bed, feeling extremely grateful that she had worn clothes to sleep in that night. She began circling around Ozai to get to the door.
"Zerita. I know they've filled your head with lies so they could have you for themselves. Don't worry, we can be together now."
"WHERE'S ZUKO?" Katie cried, tears began streaming down her face. Ozai stepped towards her holding out a comforting hand.
"Why must you think about him? He is nothing." Katie ran before he could get any closer. She ran out the door, down the hall and even though she knew he wasn't following her, she kept running until she was at the opposite end of the palace knocking as loudly as she could on Iroh's bedroom door.
"IROH! ARE YOU THERE? PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR!" she yelled. The door opened and Iroh rushed out to her, looking around for any danger she might be in.
"What's wrong Katie?" He asked seeing her pale, tear-stained face.
"Iroh, where's Zuko? Please tell me you know where he is!" Katie said grabbing his shoulders urgently.
"Yes, I do. He went down to the courtyard to watch the formations of his new division. Are you all right?" Katie nearly collapsed with relief. She leaned her back against the wall and sank to the floor, sobbing into her knees.
"Is everything all right General?" A voice asked meekly from inside the room. For the first time Katie realized that Iroh wasn't alone. Three men, all of which were as old or older than Iroh peered from the doorway with concern.
"Everything is fine. I will be back inside in a few minutes, go on and play without me." He told them and kneeled down next to Katie. "Now, tell me what has happened." He said placing a comforting arm around her shoulder. Katie hastily wiped her eyes.
"I was just afraid something had happened to him." She said. She didn't know why she didn't want to tell him about Ozai, maybe because she felt guilty for kissing the man back in her state of confusion. Besides, it wasn't like there was anything Iroh could do about it. But he seemed to see right through her.
"There's something you aren't telling me Katie. You're shaking like a leaf, please let me help you." She looked up into his face and began sobbing again. Between hiccups and tears, she told him about waking up with Ozai kissing her. When she had finished, Iroh's face was contorted in anger. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. She sobbed into his shoulder until there were no more tears left.
"Oh my gracious! Are you all right miss Katie?" Katie pulled her face away from Iroh's shoulder to see Imoen rush forward and crouch down beside them.
"Yeah, I'll be okay." She said pulling away from Iroh reluctantly. "I just really want to see Zuko right now."
"I'll take you to him. But first, let's get you some clothes. You can't be walking around in a nightgown all day, now can you?" Imoen said taking a hold on Katie's arm and pulling her to her feet. On the way back across the palace, Katie told Imoen about the circumstances she had waken up to.
"I guess it's just my luck. First Zhao, then Marius, now Ozai. Am I just cursed to attract deranged men?"
"I don't know. I can't say that I'm a deranged man so I don't know how they think." Imoen said with a small laugh. But Katie didn't feel like any amount of humor could cheer her up right now. She felt absolutely helpless. They finally reached Katie's room. Katie checked every corner carefully before getting changed behind a screen while Imoen chatted constantly to thin air. After she had put on a red tunic, black pants and boots, Katie tied her hair into a pair of pigtails at the base of her skull and followed Imoen downstairs and into the open courtyard. It wasn't hard to spot Zuko. He stood on the sidelines with a few older men, all of them were watching as nearly 300 soldiers went through various formations.
"I'd better leave you now." Imoen said, touching Katie's shoulder to get her attention. "I'm supposed to be in princess Zula's room within the next few minutes to help her dress herself."
"Thank you for being there for me today Imoen." Katie said giving her friend a hug. Imoen was a bit startled at first, but hugged Katie back happily.
"You are ever so welcome." She said then turned to leave before she incited Zula's wrath. Katie walked over to stand next to Zuko. He looked surprised to see her.
"How are you doing?" He asked, his face filled with concern.
"All right I guess. I've had a busy morning."
"Want to talk about it?"
"Yes. But not here." She said. Zuko nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. They had to watch the remaining formations and it took nearly an hour. Katie kept glancing up at the balcony outside the throne room. Ozai was always standing there, just watching her. She pressed herself closer to Zuko, trying to find comfort in his strong arms, but Ozai was so much stronger. It would be so easy for him to tear them away from each other. In fact he was already. The thought kept creeping up on her of Zuko's doom and it took all her strength to fight back the impeding tears. We will find a way past this. She kept telling herself. . Zuko had shown no sign of emotion when Katie told him about the events of that morning. But he did pace around the room for a few seconds before stepping outside and releasing some pent up fury in the form of a large fire blast.
Zuko decided to spend the last four days constantly at Katie's side. And so they went on as though living life normally with reading lessons and combat lessons, but it was always with the near future hanging over their heads. And it came all to soon. They woke up in each other's arms before sunrise the morning Zuko was to ship out. Katie had never cried so much in her life as she did in that hour, locked in his embrace, hoping to wake up back on his small ship and have everything just be a terrible nightmare. They tried to cherish their last few moments together, but it just wasn't enough. There was a light knock on the door summoning Zuko to oversee the proceedings at the dock. So after one deep kiss, he got up and pulled on his armor. Then he left the room.
Katie forced herself to get up and get dressed. She tried to make herself look nice for him, but she just couldn't muster the ambition. She felt ugly and incomplete. The sun rose almost of the sky before Katie finally left the room. She found Iroh and Imoen and walked with them down to the harbor. Zuko was waiting for them; he gazed out across the ocean. His back straight and his chin set, a look of determination in his eyes. He turned when they approached and immediately went to Katie, holding her tightly. The world disappeared as they stood there, time stood still just for them to have that one last moment together. But then through their bubble came the harsh sounds of the ship's horn. It was summoning all of the remaining men to board. Zuko took the chance to kiss Katie for as long as he could. But a soldier walked up to them awkwardly and said it was time to leave. Zuko squeezed his uncle's shoulder, kissed Katie one last time and turned to face his fate.
Katie remained standing on the dock even after the ship had disappeared from view. For three hours she just stood there. Alone and empty while people bustled past, completely intent with their lives and completely unaware that Zuko had been sent to his death. Katie hated those people. She hated that they were happy, that they had done nothing to stop this, that she hadn't done anything to stop it. The sun began to set when Katie felt a soft, warm hand rest gently on her shoulder. Her reaction was delayed, but after a few more seconds she turned to see Imoen standing behind her. Imoen wrapped a shawl around Katie and placed an arm around her shoulders. Without a word they headed back to the palace.
Like I said. Short and sad. And that there is what you call a cliffhanger. I'm just waiting for a plethora of hateful reviews! Bwahahaaa. I think I'll wait two or three days before posting the next chapter just to watch you all stew (evil grin).
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TitanO9 has a story ya'll should read. I don't know the title name of it, but just check Titan's profile page. It's an Inuyasha story that has a bit of avataryness! I don't know what Inuyasha is, but I'm sure a lot of you do and would just be thrilled to read it.