Well, I got my senior pictures back. They aren't actually that bad. The only problem is that I look like a stoner. I must have been in the middle of blinking when she took the thing because I look like I'm fallings asleep. Augh, and I hated the drape they gave me to wear. I don't know why they thought to give me a small, but it stopped just short of my ribcage, so the entire world had the pleasure of viewing my belly. Gah! I went to an activity with my youth group. It was a blast. We played basketball with a volleyball and volleyball with a volleyball. Then we roasted hotdogs and I doctored a dogs foot. It was so fun. Then on the way home we told dumb jokes. Such as:

Two cows were standing in a field. One turned to the other and says "Hey, have you heard about that mad cow disease? Pretty scary stuff huh?" The other cow turns and says, "Yeah, makes me glad I'm a penguin."

Ha hahahahaa! I loved it. Or my personal favorite: What's the last thing that goes through a fly's mind when it hits the windsheild? Answer: It's butt.

Elenea Galad: Oh, just you wait and see. I will get Orlando in my clutches, I can dodge anything you can throw at me. I'm part squirrel!

Lovergal1227: Yes, Ozai is icky.

Khazia: Yay! I'm the devil!

Zukoscute2: Because I'm already married to Zuko! And contrary to popular belief, Mormons are not polygamists. And yes I am pure evil. I am, after all, the devil (check the shoutout right above this 'un).

Athenera: Gah! I'm sorry about your makeup! That play sounds tubular! I hope you make it.

xXFissshBonesssXx: Hey, I waited a little while to post this one! Nope, it's not the end quite yet, but we're getting there. Eventually. I actually am wearing sleeves right now, so I hope you're glad with what I pull out of them. And I'm glad you like Imoen.

Titan09: Wow, that was a random review! WHAT ARE YOU DOING CHAINING YOURSELF TO MY ZUKO?I love glow in the dark sox. I have a pair that are stars and moons. They rock my socks! Wait a minute...

O-dragon: Nope, I have never worked in a hardware store. I work for the mad scientist in his personal workshop. I do stuff like apply speakers to chairs and make magnet boards. He's been a friend of our family since before I was born. His wife hired me a few months ago to do some house cleaning and it just kind of morphed into me becoming his minion. I guess you can just start calling me Igor. And no, that wasn't the last chapter. This one is. Just kidding. I have several more to go yet.

Randomwriter88: Oooh! Cookies! I'm holding you to that!

Sesshomaru's woman: Interesting name. Who have you reviewed as before? Congrats on winning your marching thing. I feel the same way about writing this story. Who needs Biology anyways? Not me!

Alright. I now accept anonymous reviews. I didn't know that I wasn't accepting them before, so if you've been dying to review my story, you can do it now! Yay! And I've decided to make a huge change that isn't really relevant to the story. As before I pointed out my mistake of saying Zuko's b-day is August 28. Just pretend that I said his b-day is March 28. I was checking zodiac stuff and Zuko just seems like an Aries. Plus it makes the timeline a bit more correct and all that junk. Yipee Skipee! Now let's get on with this next chapter which I know ya'll are dying to read.

Katie spent the next few days in bed, just staring at the empty space beside her where Zuko had been not that long ago. Every now and then she would shift herself over and breath in his lingering scent from the pillow. Either Iroh or Imoen were in the room around the clock, urging her to eat or get out of bed. But Katie just couldn't see a purpose anymore. Zuko was gone forever and she had done nothing to stop it.

"Katie. You are going to get out of bed today, eat something and get some nice healthy exercise whether you like it or not." Imoen said angrily three days after Zuko's departure. "Look at you. You're a mess. I still don't see what you've been carrying on about. So your husband went to war. You'll see him again in a few months!" Katie still hadn't told Imoen about the circumstances. Iroh had sworn her to secrecy. So to amuse her friend she slowly sat up and felt a wave of nausea come over her. Some soup was brought up and Imoen forced Katie to eat it. The soup smelled wonderful, but it tasted like ash in Katie's mouth. Iroh came in a short time before Katie finished eating and Imoen rounded on him, practically commanding him to take her down to the training arena to get her moving.

"I don't think that would help lighten her mood all that much…" he said unsurely.

"No Iroh, Imoen's right. Just give me something to punch." Katie said, standing up and stepping behind a screen to get changed into a shirt and pants. She tied her hair back as she and Iroh walked down to the training area.

"Are you sure you're up to this?"

"Yes." She replied darkly.

"All right. But you've been lying down for three days straight. Take everything slowly, you don't want to hurt yourself." Iroh said.

"I don't think I can be hurt much more than I already have been." Katie said. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop her voice from shaking.

"Oh, I think you could hurt more." An oily voice said from behind them. Katie looked back to see Zula coming up from behind them. "So you're taking the arena today? That's good. I've been looking for someone to practice on. Of course, only if you're up to it." She said politely as though the two of them were old friends.

"Katie is getting over an illness right now Zula. Do not antagonize her…" Iroh began but Katie interrupted him.

"Zula, I would love to." Katie said standing up a little straighter. There were two young soldiers already using the arena when they arrived, so Katie and Zula both took the opportunity to warm up. Katie warmed her muscles and began stretching as though she were about to run a marathon. All the while she kept Zula in her sight, watching the way she moved and trying to get an understanding of her strengths and weaknesses. Zula was a very thin person. Katie could tell right away that speed and agility wouldn't be a problem for her. But Zula was a good four inches shorter and twenty pounds lighter than Katie. She didn't have nearly the muscle mass that Katie possessed, but Katie didn't dare try to underestimate the girl. She knew that Zula had endured fifteen years of hard training. All Katie had under her belt were a few months of lessons and ten years of physical labor. Another factor was the fact that Zula was a firebender. This was only an exercise, but Katie didn't dare put anything past her opponent.

"Zula, you will not use firebending in any form. Katie, if you get tired all you have to do is give me the word." Iroh said to the two girls once the arena was cleared. Both of them nodded and took positions at opposite ends of the mat. Zula immediately began spinning and kicking the air as she advanced towards Katie, obviously a method of intimidation. Katie stood her ground and watched Zula's movements carefully, trying to calculate her pattern and predict her next step. The fight began slowly enough. Katie dodged Zula's attempts to attack, conserving energy and always watching. Zula finally kicked at Katie and was close enough that Katie had to slap the foot away to keep it from hitting her. Katie knew what Zula was doing. Lulling her into a false sense of security with these mediocre fighting skills, so she played along pretending to put down her guard and become cocky. Katie watched Zula's yellow eyes and sure enough, she saw the attack Zula had planned for her in their depths a fraction of a second before Zula struck. Katie leapt out of the way and crouched down, swinging her ankle around to knock Zula's feet out from under her, but Zula jumped over the foot at the last second and rolled. There were no pretences now. They both knew that the other meant business.

Zula ran at Katie using her best weapon, speed. Katie barely dodged Zula's hands as they struck at her and moved in as close as she could. This way, Zula wasn't able to strike with as much force in the enclosed space between them. Katie bent almost double and ran at Zula. She hit her in the stomach and tackled her to the ground as hard as she could. The air was knocked from Zula and it took a few seconds for her to recover. She got to her feet and glared at Katie while trying to hold back a few remaining coughs. Katie had sweat streaming down her face, but was surprised that she wasn't yet out of breath. She felt more full of energy than any other time in her entire life. In fact, she was buzzing with it. Katie and Zula continued with their little dance. One would punch and the other would either block or avoid. Iroh watched closely from the sidelines trying to refrain from calling out tips to Katie to improve her form. Then Zula landed a hard kick to Katie's stomach, nearly knocking her backwards. Katie looked around, suddenly feeling dazed. Her head was buzzing, she felt as though she was going blind with a wave of intense vertigo. Something hard hit her in the chest from out of nowhere and she faintly heard Iroh yelling at Zula to stop until Katie was back on her feet. Katie shook her head and it finally began to clear. Zula was smirking at her, obviously thinking she was weak after her reaction to the one blow. Katie really couldn't explain it. She shook her head and the remaining buzzing cleared away.

"Are you all right Katie?" Iroh asked, suddenly at her side.

"Yeah. I'm okay." Katie said stepping away from him and taking up a defensive stance. She could feel something boiling in the pit of her stomach. It was all the hate and fear and sadness from the last week. She felt so much of these emotions that she actually felt a literal burning in her chest. Sweat began streaming from her forehead as she watched Zula advance. Katie decided then that she hated her sister-in-law. She was the embodiment of her father. There was nothing there but evil and spite. For all Katie knew, Zula held as much a part in Zuko's sentence as her father. So when Zula came within range, everything disappeared but pure instinct and the burning hatred. Katie dodged Zula's foot from mid-air and swung it around. Zula lost her balance and was thrown to the floor. She jumped to her feet immediately, her eyes blazing.

She punched at Katie with all the strength she possessed. Katie dodged it but wasn't prepared as a second fist came around and hit her in the stomach, hard. Katie had managed to flex her stomach at the last second so the blow didn't have nearly the effect it should have. Every punch Katie had thrown had been restrained because this had been a training exercise, but now it was a battle. Katie brought her fist up in an uppercut and nailed Zula in the chin. Zula stumbled back, blood was streaming from her lip. Anger and hatred distorted her features making her look even more like her father than ever before. A flaming ball appeared in her fist. Iroh began running towards the two girls to stop the imminent blow. But there was no way for him to get there in time. Katie held her arms over her face and closed her eyes, but she could still see the flash of the fireball as it was thrown at her. She braced herself and felt the force and weight of the flame. But she didn't feel the heat. She had been forced backwards a few feet, but the flame had not touched her. It had circled around her body.

Katie looked over at Iroh in confusion, but he merely gaped back at her. Katie looked back at Zula and saw the same astonished look on her own face. But it soon vanished as Zula began throwing more fire attacks at her sister-in-law. Katie let out a yelp of fright and held her arms up as before. Once again she felt the immense weight of the flame knocking her backwards but still the flames didn't touch her. Zula sent one last powerful blast at Katie, which she tried to block as before. But her strength felt sapped and she didn't know why. The powerful attack hit her hard and she was knocked off her feet. Katie lay on the mat trying to gasp for breath. Zula began walking towards her, another fireball appearing in her hand. Iroh began advancing once more but Zula ignored his cries and lifted her fist to land a deadly strike. Katie felt the buzzing energy once more encompass her body. It came so quickly and so powerfully that she almost cried out in pain as it filled her. It was too much for her body. She felt like she was going to explode. And she did. A tidal wave of flame erupted from her body, lashing out in every direction. The floor mat around her burned away within seconds until the only part untouched was the small island she was still sitting on. The flames continued to rage from her body. She couldn't see Iroh or Zula anymore, but then again she really couldn't see much of anything. The brightness of the flame burned her eyes. She screamed in agony as the flames rushed from her pores, the heat began scalding her skin, but she couldn't stop the torrent. She was releasing too much. That much she knew. But she couldn't control it. And slowly her vision began to fade and she fell into a heap on the burning floor.

It's so cold. Katie thought to herself as her vision began to clear. She was shivering uncontrollably, she knew it was almost summer, but it felt like December. Her vision was blurry when she tried to look around, she could see shapes moving around and could tell that she was back in her own room, in her own bed. But why was she so cold? Her shivering was so bad she felt as though she was going to vomit. She felt a weight settle next to her and a pair of hands reached under her covers and began rubbing her arms. The hands were so warm! The face peered close enough for her to see that it was Iroh. She tried to ask him what had happened, but her teeth were chattering and her entire body was shaking with convulsions. She couldn't get the words out.

"Do not worry Katie, you will be all right in a few minutes. Just try to breathe and calm down." Iroh said softly. "Just breathe slowly. In. Out. In. Out." Katie focused on his voice and doing as he said. After her breathing had calmed she went inside her own mind like she had done a hundred times before during school when she had forgotten her coat. Alright girl. Just stop shaking. It's doing nothing for you. Just relax and stop shaking. It's not that cold. You're from Utah, you can handle a little chill like this. Gradually she forced herself to calm down. The horrible cold was still there, but at least she wasn't spazzing out anymore. "Very good." Iroh muttered, still rubbing her arms with his warm hands. After a few more seconds, the goosebumps began to disappear.

"What happened?" Katie asked weakly.

"I don't know. You were there, what happened?" Iroh said, still rubbing her arms.

"I…blew up?" Katie said shooting Iroh a look for confirmation.

"I guess you did."

"But I'm not a firebender! How could I do that? And why am I so cold?" Katie asked. She tried to move, but her entire body stung. She felt as though she had been sunburned. Iroh watched her, biting his lip gently thinking about her question. He reached under her covers and pulled out her right hand.

"The most I can figure is that the night you married Zuko, and the two of you shared blood, you ended up sharing a little bit more." He said tracing the deep scar across her palm.

"But there was barely any blood! There wasn't enough for me to miraculously become a firebender anyways." Katie said, staring at her palm.

"I think there was. The problem is that you suddenly have an immense amount of power, but no control. The fire we create comes from inside us. When you 'blew up' yesterday, you unleashed just a little too much fire. That is why you are so cold, your body used all it's heating resources for that one flame." Iroh said, still rubbing her arms.

"But still. How could I have made something that big?" Katie asked hoarsely.

"Because, when a firebender is born, their abilities are unleashed gradually. Like a muscle it takes exercise and practice for it to grow stronger. You were given a big muscle without any exercises to know how to use it. It also doesn't help that Solzen's comet is growing closer. As a new bender I'm sure you can percept it before the rest of us."

"Solzen's comet?" Katie asked. She vaguely remembered the name from a lifetime ago.

"Yes. There is a prophecy that when the comet comes, it will grant the fire lord the power to end the war forever." Iroh said bringing up one warm hand and placing it on Katie's face. The warmth felt so wonderful and Katie was so tired, she just wanted to close her eyes and drift off to sleep. But the cogs and wheels had begun spinning in her head. She summoned enough strength to push Iroh's hand away and glanced around at the other people in the room. There was a doctor and two of the old men that had been playing Pi Sho with Iroh that morning when Katie had woken up to disgusting circumstances. There was also, of course, Imoen who walked over to Katie with a hot bedpan, which she shoved between the sheets.

"Uncle, can I speak to you alone about something personal?" Katie asked glancing around at all the people, trying to signal them to go away. They all did immediately except Imoen who huddled around uncertainly. Katie gave her an apologetic glance, Imoen nodded and left as well.

"And what exactly is this personal problem. Are you sure it isn't something Imoen is more qualified to handle?" Iroh asked.

"When is the comet supposed to come?"

"In three days."

"And when do you think Zuko will reach the Earth Kingdom capitol?"

"It usually takes two or three weeks to get there from here. Why do you ask?"

"I think I know how we can save him!" Katie said excitedly, trying to sit up in bed.

"And how do you propose we do that?"

"The avatar! If he can defeat Ozai before he gets his hold on the comet's power, someone else will take control of the nation and Zuko doesn't have to fight!"

"Katie, I'm afraid it's not that simple. It has been prophesied that the fire lord will get the power…"

"So! We'll change it! I don't believe in destiny Iroh. I know we can still save Zuko and even if it is a long shot, I'm willing to try!" Katie said, finally gathering the strength to sit up. "How about you. Are you with me?" She said holding out her hand. Iroh looked at it for a minute, and then shook it with a sigh.

"You know, when I retired I was expecting a life much different from this."

Zuko stood on the deck of his ship staring out at the setting sun. How many sunsets had he watched with Katie at his side? He felt a pang of regret at the whirlwind he had put her in by taking her to his home. He feared what his father would do to her now that she was defenseless. He only hoped that Iroh would be able to protect her. But his uncle was growing old, he couldn't protect her forever. Zuko began hoping that she had found some way to escape and return to the life she had been living before they had met. Whatever life that was. Over the time he spent thinking about her, he realized how little he knew of where she came from. Normally he would begin growing suspicious. But he loved her too much to dare let an untrusting thought enter his head. He heaved a sigh and glared at the hues of orange and red in the eastern sky.

"Sir?" Zuko nearly jumped out of his skin when a young officer stepped up beside him.

"What is it!" he demanded

"There is a message for you sir. It was sent by falcon." The officer said, holding out a sealed letter. Zuko snatched it from him and watched to make sure he was out of sight before looking down at the paper in his hands. Indeed, his name was scrawled across the top clumsily. Zuko immediately recognized Katie's handwriting. He opened the letter hastily. There wasn't much and it had to be deciphered. Katie still wasn't too talented at Chinese characters. But he did manage to figure it out:

Dear Zuko,

I have a plan that can save you. It may be completed before you get to Ba Sing Sei, but if not try to stall. I love you and am praying for you.

Katie.

Her name was written in the weird series of squiggles and curves that she had once shown him, but he could tell what it was. At the bottom of the page was a red blotch, which on closer inspection appeared to be a lip imprint. Zuko smiled and kissed it. He tucked the paper inside his breastplate, just above his heart and turned back to watch the sunset with new hope.

At first I wasn't going to make myself a bender, but this is a bandwagon story so I figured "what the hey!" Everyone else is doing it! he he hee. Hmm, I need to get some sleep.

REVIEW!

Ha! Scared ya.