Well, I wanted to wait until this story got 300 hundred reviews before posting this chapter, but that ain't happening. So here you go. I have a question. Has anybody out there ever stubbed their toe on a pitchfork? Because I have twice. I guess I'm just talented that way. Well, I can't really think of anything to type up here. My life has been pretty boring this week. So, moving on!

Plutobaby494: I'm sure Sokka is doing fine.

Katara183: I actually got the phrase 'operation impending doom: 2' from Invader Zim.

Zukoscute2: That's a little harsh! JK. Thanx for review.

Elenea Galad: Thanx for your support.

Lovergal1227: Yup, Zuko's a dingbat.

Evangeline Angerl: Yup, no problem. And thanx for your review.

Petitio Principii: I figured his hair would be dark because of his eyebrows. There really wasn't much else to go on.

0-Dragon: I drew a picture of a grown-up Aang and he does kinda look weird. I only wish my scanner worked so I could post it. I don't know how exactly they spell Boomy, and I would check, but I'm too lazy.

Titan09: I would have put him together with Suki, but it seems like everybody is doing that and I figured he's a kind of guy that likes the security of home. So that's why I sent him back home. Wow, I think my tongue would fall out if I tried quoting mister Sparrow. I would love to see the pictures you drew! Are you posting them anywhere? I wanna see if people can draw me based on the description I've given of myself. I've drawn a couple as well. One is me in the ballgown and another is of older Zuko without a shirt on. Mmm Mm. He's yummy.

Athenera: I make you cry because I can. In fact, I can make just about anybody cry with this picture I drew of a one-legged puppy named "Lil' brudder"

Lil' brudder-"I'm gonna make it on my own"

Me-"You just keep on truckin' little guy"

Lil' brudder-"I'm gonna be a professional basketball player someday! Don't cry for me."

Sesshamaru's woman: I LIED! Then next episode apparently is not going to be about the gliders. I should hang my faulty source of info. I've been reading this one girl's Xenga page and it said Zuko is supposed to meet Jun in this next episode, then the one after that is supposed to be solely an episode about Zuko. If that's true than I am one excited little bean! About Aang and Katara's babies, I just figured that's how early people get married in that kind of society and nineteen isn't really that young to be having babies. Both my mom and my sister-in-law had their first children when they were nineteen. At least Katara wasn't twelve. That is so cool that you just hopped a train. My parents would kill me if I did that. then again there really aren't that many trains to hop down here. I actually thought the sister crack was funny. My sister is a lard as well. And I don't know about Jun turning good. She looked pretty evil to me. I think she's going to be another Jet character.

Fyreflower: Glad you loved it!

Someone: I'll see what I can do. But I already have my next story planned and it'll take all of my attention. I only wish I had every episode on tape. That would make things a lot easier. In fact I wish they would actually show the first episode because I haven't seen it yet. Grrr.

Randomwriter88: Sweet ain't it?

Crouchingbunny: I had a welt on my leg that lasted for almost two months. The only reason was that I got shot in almost the exact same spot twice. Both were by my dad. But I got back at him and shot him right up the butt. I'm glad you liked my grown-up Aang.

This chapter pretty much just deals with the downside of firebending. And if you're my 300th reviewer, I'll give you a prize! Yay!

Katie frowned at her pale skin. At first she had thought firebenders had such white skin because of race or genetics. But now she realized it was due to the fact that if you firebend you subconsciously shield yourself from the harmful UV rays of the sun. So her skin which had been tan her entire life was now faded and the scarce freckles on her arms and nose that she had once prided herself in owning were gone. She had learned to suppress her shield for short increments of time and usually spent a few hours every week just sunbathing to try and regain her tan, but it would fade once more within a few days. Now that she had so much extra time on her hands, she wanted to just lie out in the sun and burn to a crisp. Zuko found the whole thing hilarious, but wouldn't allow it in case a crewmember spotted her lying out in nothing but a makeshift bikini. And so there was really nothing to do but go through reading lessons. They weren't for her anymore though. She could now read Chinese fluently even though she didn't know one word of the language. Instead she was teaching Zuko how to read English. He had become very curious and the lessons had started several years ago, but with how busy he had become the lessons had stopped. They figured now was as good a time as any to start them back up again. Katie was surprised at how much he had retained.

So do you know what we're having for dinner? Katie wrote on a piece of paper and handed it over to Zuko. He read it carefully then took the piece of writing charcoal from her.

Rice and fish. As always. He scribbled back. He once teased her about how he had learned her language in a few months while it took her nearly four years before she really started to understand his. This earned him a cold shoulder and a mean punch in the arm. He didn't tease her about it anymore.

I'm going to teach you a harder word today. Sound it out for me, okay? The word is: Supercallafragalisticexpialladocious. Zuko frowned at the fourteen-syllable word, his lips moving a little as he tried to pronounce it in his head. He gave up and scribbled a note underneath it.

That's not a word!

Oh really? I'll have you know that it's a very important word from where I come from. It's so important in fact that a song was written about it. Don't be dissing my culture! Zuko read over it a few times before turning to Katie with a confused look.

"What is-"

"Ah ah, write it. Don't speak it." Katie said. Her hand suddenly felt itchy. She scratched it without really thinking and glared at Zuko. He sighed and began to write.

And what the hell does the word mean. If I know why it's so important maybe I'll give it the respect you feel it deserves.

Supercallafragalisticexpialladocious is the epitome of goodness and well-being! Or at least I think it is. I haven't seen the movie in years. Zuko rubbed his eyes after this last message in frustration.

"That's enough of a lesson for today. I think we've established I can read your language even if I don't understand anything you write." He said grumpily. Katie laughed and took the paper and charcoal from him to put away. "Do you miss your home?" Zuko asked quietly. Katie had told him where she actually came from a few months after they had been married. To say the least, it shocked him and he was really angry with her for a short time because she had waited so long before telling him. Now it just amazed him. He would sit and listen to her for hours as she told him about things from her world like space travel, automobiles and aerosol cheese. Most of it he figured she was just making up, but it must still be an amazing world that she came from to have created such an active imagination.

"Yeah, sometimes I really miss it. But it's not my home anymore." Katie said and came to sit down next to him. "My home is with you now."

"That can't be too comforting, can it?" Zuko said. He grabbed her arm and redirected her so that she sat on his lap instead.

"Actually, you'd be surprised at how much of a comfort it actually is." Katie said leaning back against his chest. They sat there in a comfortable silence, just savoring each other's company and touch when someone knocked lightly on their door.

"What is it?" Zuko called out.

"I'm sorry to bother you my lord. A storm is approaching from the east. The captain wishes to get your permission to dock at a port town to wait it out." A young soldier said smartly from the hallway. Zuko cursed under his breath.

"I knew we shouldn't have stopped at the avatar's." He said accusingly at Katie. She just shrugged and leaned her head back on his shoulder so she could gaze up at the ceiling in deep thought. "Tell the captain that permission is granted." Zuko called out to the soldier.

"Yes my lord."

"Are you mad at me now?" Katie asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"No." Zuko said sullenly. He was a little upset, but knew from experience that it was better to not be angry with her. She was one of the calmest people he knew but she could tear him apart easily if he got her riled.

"Do you feel that? I think the storm is going to be a big one." Katie said. She was referring to the growing energy around them. She had known for a while that this was how Iroh seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to approaching storms. The air was growing increasingly active with electricity and friction. It really made her feel antsy. She could only compare it to watching a scary movie and knowing that something unstoppable was just around the corner. To a normal firebender, they would just feel a light buzz from all of the activity. But for Katie, it was something much worse. She hadn't been born a firebender and her body didn't quite understand how to block something as complex as energy.

"Yeah, I can. Are you going to be alright?" Zuko asked. The capitol had only experienced a few thunderstorms while Katie had lived there. They had been reasonably small, but she hadn't fared well in any of them. She was still extremely sensitive to her element and it gave her an almost supernatural understanding with it, but the electricity in the air had been something new and unexpected. It had invaded her body like a parasite. The worst case had been during a two hour long storm that had nearly led her over the brink.

"Guess." Katie said, her voice shaking. Already she could feel the uncontrollable affects of the storm. She stood up and began wandering around the room, straightening things unnecessarily. The energy was coming in quickly. Her muscles began to quiver with it. She felt like she had just taken in three gallons of mountain dew. She had the overwhelming urge to just run and keep running until she burned away some of this energy. Zuko reached out for her arm and pulled her back to sit on his lap once more. He wrapped his arms around her tightly so she couldn't move.

"Take a deep breath, Katie. Just concentrate on your breathing and push away anything that doesn't belong." Zuko said soothingly to her. She felt electricity coursing through her muscles. She needed to be moving. It was torture to sit still. Zuko kept murmuring instructions into her hair and gradually she began to absorb what he was telling her to do. She closed her eyes, but they kept twitching beneath the lids. She felt a new power enter her body, it was the power of Solzen's comet as Zuko reached inside her with his mind and suppressed the influx of energy. It was only enough for her to get her concentration straightened out, he felt it was important for her to learn to control it herself. She leaned back against him and fell into sync with his deep, rhythmic breathing. He pulled back gradually, allowing her to stave off the energy on her own. They sat there together for nearly half an hour in a deep meditation. But then the ship beneath them began to rock as they actually entered the storm.

A wave of energy enveloped Katie's body as lightning struck nearby. It snapped her out of her meditation with a jerk. Zuko tightened his grip on her and pulled her against his chest. There was another lightning flash just outside the window. Blinding blue light entered Katie's mind and rushed through her body. She tried to push it back but there was a consecutive flash right after and it was too much for her to control. Her brain began to buzz and her thoughts became incoherent. Everything had been shut down except for pure instinct and that instinct told her that she was frightened. Not only was she frightened, but she was frightened while being trapped in the embrace of something much more powerful than herself. Katie wrenched around in Zuko's arms, trying to get free. She began screeching incoherently and tried biting at his arms. Zuko raised his voice, trying to get through to her to calm her down. But all she could hear was the rushing of pure electricity. A shock went from her into his body causing his muscles to seize up. This was enough for her to break free from his grip and she began scrambling across the bed, blind to where she was actually going. Zuko recovered quickly and caught her. He wrapped his arms tightly around hers and pinned her to the bed with his body.

"CALM DOWN! KATIE, YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN. JUST BREATH. COME ON, BREATH WITH ME." He yelled. But it was no use. He closed his eyes and concentrated on reaching inside her once more to help her suppress the energy. But there was no room for him to enter. She was absolutely filled to the brim with energy and there was no way around it or through it. Katie writhed beneath Zuko, trying to push him away. Then she pushed him with something that wasn't physical. A blast of electricity ripped from her body, striking him in the chest with enough force to lift him up straight in the air and slam him against the ceiling. Katie was on her feet and almost to the door in the fraction of a second it took him to fall back to earth. She reached out and barely touched the door handle with a finger, but the discharge blew the iron door off its hinges. She ran into the hallway, her feet not even touching the ground. The awkwardness of it caused her to loose balance and she fell sideways, ramming her shoulder on the metal wall. There was another blast with the contact to the metal and there was suddenly a hole in the wall that went all the way through the seven and a half inches of steel. Katie regained her balance and literally flew down the hallway. But even in a clearheaded state she usually got lost in this ship. Right now she was little more than a cornered animal. Electric blast after electric blast erupted from her body, drawn from her by the surrounding metal. Her heart was now beating so fast that she should have gone into cardiac arrest a dozen times over, but her body was acting as it's own defibrillator. Her skin began to crawl, she clawed at the flesh on her arms trying to shake the feeling, but that only resulted in more pain. A few men ran down the corridor, drawn by the unearthly screams and cried out at what they saw; their queen hovering a few inches above the ground, her hair standing out in all directions with concentrated energy eeking from her body. One of the men stepped forward cautiously, holding a spear at the ready. A finger of electricity lashed out and struck him unconscious.

Needless to say, they turned tail and ran. Katie pushed herself further away from the ground and began scratching at the ceiling. Just like with every other metal object she touched, it blew away and she floated up through. Her body could feel the lighting flashing only a short distance above her head. There was only one barrier between her and freedom. Katie burst through the second ceiling into the open air. She gasped for breath, icy rain pelted her face sending a small shock through her system with each drop. Solid ground was only a few hundred yards away. Men were bustling around her to bring the ship into port. She began drifting towards the edge of the ship. Then something barreled into her, tackling her to the ground. It was Zuko. When Katie's body hit the floor, a shock went through the ship bringing everyone onboard to their knees. Zuko rolled so that he was between Katie and the steel ground. He wrapped his arms and legs tightly around her. She writhed in his grip, still unconscious even though her body was active. A soldier managed to get to his feet and walked forward cautiously to help.

"DON'T TOUCH US! JUST BRING THE SHIP IN!" Zuko yelled, struggling to keep a grip on Katie and shield himself from her constant attacks. A flash of light leapt from her body at the soldier and he barely managed to jump out of the way. All of the men managed to snap out of their shock and hurried faster than ever to get the ship to the dock. Zuko managed to get a good hold on Katie and picked her up, he carried her off the ship and disappeared from view into a wooded area on the outskirts of the small town. Zuko tried to make sure he was going downhill. Katie still struggled in his arms, but she was growing weaker and she had less of an effect now that she was away from metal. Finally Zuko found what he was looking for. A small cave in a hillside. He made for this and within a few minutes they were out of the freezing rain. Zuko felt exhausted. He put Katie down on the ground but really the only thing he could do to keep her in place was to lay on her. He outweighed her by almost forty pounds and she was more tired than he was. Zuko didn't worry about a fire. Katie's skin was burning hot. Steam drifted off of her to disappear into the night air. She struggled meekly beneath, still letting out scared little cries. He tried to comfort her as much as he could; he stroked her face and muttered unintelligible things to her softly.

"Zuko?" a voice whispered in his ear. Zuko lifted his face and saw that Katie's eyes were starting to clear. But the body beneath him was still writhing in pain. Tears began streaking down her face and she let out a soft cry of pain.

"Ssh, you're all right my love." Zuko whispered.

"Zuko…I…ah!" Katie's body jarred and her eyes began to glaze over once more.

"Come on now Katie. Stay with me." Zuko said patting her cheeks lightly to keep her awake.

"Zuko…don't leave."

"I'll never leave."

When Katie woke up the next morning, she was very aware of the 160 pounds of man lying on top of her. The effect was that her entire body was asleep. But she was grateful for it. Several areas of her face felt as though they had been rubbed down with sand paper and left out in the sun for a few days.

"Zuko?" She tried to say. It took her a few tries before it actually came out loud enough to cause him to stir. He lifted his face from the place it had been resting in the crook of her neck and gave her a concerned look.

"Are you alright?"

"I don't know." Zuko began shifting his weight carefully so he could roll off of her. "No wait. Don't move. I don't want to feel it yet." Katie said trying to grab his shirt to stop him from moving. The sudden movement sent pins and needles up her arm and her skin burned as the cold rush of air hit it. Zuko froze, trying to think of what was best to do. In the end he did as she said and lowered himself back down as carefully as he could.

"What happened?" Katie asked hoarsely.

"That depends on what you remember."

"I remember…meditating. But that's about it." She said, trying to shift herself just a fraction for comforts sake.

"You lost control." Zuko said after a momentary pause.

"Was anybody hurt?" Katie asked. That was her greatest fear.

"I've got a few burns and bruises. But I think that's the worst of it." Zuko said, deciding it best to leave out the unconscious soldier in the hallway he had passed when pursuing her.

"Sorry about that."

"No, it's my fault. I never should have made you swap blood on our wedding night."

"Zee, you need to stop blaming yourself for every little thing! I swear, I've never met such a pessimistic dinkleberry in my entire life!"

"Glad to see you're feeling a little better." Zuko said with a smile.

"Let's see just how good I feel once the blood starts circulating once more." Katie said hoarsely. Zuko nodded and carefully hoisted himself off of her. Her body felt like it had been covered in lead. She could wiggle her toes, so she at least knew she wasn't paralyzed. After a few minutes she finally managed to sit up with Zuko's help. "Maybe we should go back to the ship." Katie said as she tested lifting up her arms.

"Just to warn you though, after last night you may be called a few things." Zuko said wrapping an arm around her waist and helping her stand up.

"Like what, pray tell?"

"Like Denko Azuma."

"That actually sounds pretty. What does it mean?" Katie asked as she fingered her frazzled hair. Then she noticed her fingernails were black.

"Lightening devil."

"I think it actually has a rather jolly ring to it." Katie said, hoping her humor masked her agony. They had barely made it to the cave entrance when her feet collapsed beneath her. Zuko picked her up easily and carried her back to the ship. Katie glanced around at the deck. She could see definite scorch marks at one spot, she had an uneasy feeling that she had been the cause of it.

"Firelord Zuko! Thank Agni you are all right! I was beginning to grow worried for your safety!" An all to familiar and nasty voice said from behind them. Zuko turned to face the source of the voice. As can be guessed, it was Zhao.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko asked with a glare.

"I received news that your ship was in the harbor. I just wanted to offer you a place to stay and rest." Zhao said with a smirk.

"That's very kind of you, but we will be shoving out now that the storm has passed." Zuko said turning his back on Zhao and making his way to their room without another word. Katie chanced a backward glance expecting to see Zhao looking disappointed, but he was grinning. He gave her a nod and a wink and stepped back on shore.

(singing) I'm going craaaazy, why don't you come along? I must be craAzy, to sing this song!

(still singing) when Mary had a little lamb the doctor was surprised, but when old McDonald had a farm the doctor nearly died.

(And yet still singing) I'm going craaaazy, why don't you come along? I must be craAzy, to sing this song!

Okay, I'm done. Remember, 300th reviewer gets a prize! Want to know what it is? than review!