Hmm. I really don't have much of an opinion about that new episode. I guess it was alright, maybe I'm just too obsessed with Zuko and was upset that he didn't get any screen time. I did love the part when Aang was waggling his butt at Zhao! I thought Katara's special power was going to be something cooler though. there was a rumor somewhere that she was going to be able to control people's bodies since people are 75 percent water. But instead she can just heal. No offense to Katara fans, but she just seems like such a wussy character (I'll probably get burned for that, but I HAVE AN OPINION YA KNOW)! Anyways, I've heard somewhere that the next episode is supposed to be competely about Zuko, pre-agni kai and I think we get to get a formal introduction to Zula. At least I'm hoping that's what the next episode will be, my source has been known to be faulty. MOVING ON! I got my halloween costume! We just found this nasty, frilly dress that we're going to modify. It's awesome. I also got this ratty, black wig. I can't wait for halloween! Now, on to the shoutouts!
Randomwriter88: Easy cowboy! er...girl...WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU ANYWAYS?
Katara183: Oh yeah, my brothers would act like this or worse. I don't think I'll make a sequel because this by itself has been an exhausting thing to write. Don't worry, it will all work out in the end and this is happening in Utah. Sorry I can't be more specific, but I just don't trust everyone reading this (looks around shiftily).
SeethingxShadows: Yes, you were number 400 (throws confetti) now let's see if you're number 500! Rally the readers! Get them to review! Getting hit 3 times paintballing is horrible! Especially if they're in a place you can't show off to the public! There's really no other point in going. That's awesome thatyou're going to be Tinkerbell for halloween! I'm not petite, but as I've mentioned before I look like the tinkerbell in Hook. I was also thinking about being Cruella Deville, just because I would like to paint my hair. Instead that's what my mom is going to be. Yes, horse's noses are so soft! Even when she's got a horribly gross, mud encrusted face I can't stop myself from kissing Kai, she's just so dern cute! And my class starts at 7:30, it ends at 10:30.
Lovergal1227: Well, I hope the chapter didn't annoy ya.
Elenea Galad: Yup, my brothers or sooper protective of me. As for Zuko not getting upset, I like to think my version of Zuko is more even tempered and calm. Plus I tend to slap people around when they're grumpy so being married to me would have cured him of the habit. And I'll explain what happens to his people in a later chapter. Don't worry, it's all under control.
Zukoscute2: Aw, another one that doesn't trust me (snaps fingers)! That's okay thought, internet caution is a very good thing!
Khazia: They don't exactly have a "guy" issue, they're just paranoid.
O-dragon: I guess I don't mind having three brothers, I don't really know any differently. And most of my family already watches the show (or at least they've been forced to endure an episode or two with me) but something like this would take a while to get used to. Why do you have to balance a book on your head? I'm proud to say I can do it without a problem! Of course that's just because I have a flat head and I guess that ain't too much to brag about. I hope your back is all right!
Titan09: Forevery nerdy question, there's a nerdy answer! Yes, I'm a nerd. And I'll make this story be logical whether it likes it or not! So, here's a little science lesson on my theory of bending. Alright, say everyone has this little old gland in their brain that produces a hormone that causes bending. But in most people, especially from our world, it just remains dormant and we don't really even know it's there. When I swapped blood with Zuko, his blood had the bending hormone in it. His blood traveled in my system up to feed my brain which was all like "Yum!" Then the bending hormone traveled around to be utilized for my brain's goodness and it touched my own dormant bending gland. The hormones in his blood kinda acted as a primer and my own bending gland started pumping its own batch of the bending hormone. Voila! Meesa a firebender! Told ya I'm a nerd!
Irelind is one of my nieces, check my profile page because I've put up a little description of all my family members. Yay! You got the translation right! Except I didn't know Taki-bi meant bonfire. My brother's dictionary is pretty vague. Yay! Corpsebride was one of my other costume propositions! That's awesome!
1bzwriter: YAY! I'm always so glad to see new fans! Especially ones as nice as you! Augh, don't get my started on the 1st two episodes! I want to just storm Nickelodeon by force! WHO'S WITH ME?
Serori: Zuko in tight jeans indeed! (begins to salivate)
Plutobaby494: We shall see young grasshopper, we shall see.
hpartygirl: Yay! Another new fan! Not much really happens at scool in this chapter though, sorry if you're dissapointed. Thanx for yourreview!
Heather: Yup, I'm mormon. And I'm glad to see there's another mormon out there reading this! Thanx for your reviews!
Evangline Angel: It's all good. Yup, Tony lived in Tokyo. He loved it there and he wants to go back someday. The guy who plays Napoleon Dynamite was actually living there the same time as my brother! he's on a christmas video Tony has, it's awesome. Also, my cousin, Robert, is living in Nagoya right now. He's coming back in January, I should probably get off my butt and write him a letter.
Mdalia: Hey! I remember you! Thanx for checking out this story! And thanx for you review!
Seriously yours & Lord of Terror: Thank you so much for checking out my story! And I just want to tell you again thatI absolutely love your stuff! I think "Why you shouldn't sniff Iroh's stuff" is the greatest story title ever conceived.
Oookay. Before we get started, I've updated my profile page and it now contains the names and a brief description of the members of my family. This is so nobody gets confuse and also so I don't have to stop and describe each person. Another thing, in case it confuses people, there are two Kims in this part, one is a friend from school whom I carpool with, the other is my sister. Don't worry, I think you can tell when I'm talking about either of them.
Katie sighed and leaned back against the seat as Metallica played on the radio. She sang softly to sandman and glanced over at Zuko. He was staring out the window, completely in awe at the thousands of vehicles passing them on the freeway. Katie reached down and turned the radio off.
"We really need to try and figure this out." She said.
"I don't see what you're so worried about. This is a new world, yes, but I can work." Zuko said.
"It's not that simple Zee. You don't even have an identity in this world! You need personal info like a social security number for just about everything here. Plus you can't get more than a fast food job without an education."
"I have an education." Zuko said indignantly. This was true. He had the sharpest mind Katie had ever seen, and this was being compared to Dusty's! Zuko could totally smear her with math skills (even though that ain't much to brag about) and even though he came from a primitive society was quiet adept with science. He also had a passion for learning and grew frustrated with limitations.
"I know that, but what I mean is you don't have a diploma saying you have that education." Katie said.
"And do you have this…diploma?" Zuko asked.
"No, I'm still in high school…was still in high school. Augh! This is such a mess!" Katie switched into the fast lane and sped around a diesel. There was silence for a while longer, then Zuko reached over and rested a hand on her leg.
"Everything is going to work out." He said softly. Then he looked down at her leg and frowned. "I can see every inch of you!"
"What?"
"I've seen how your brothers protect you, but how do they let you step outside so exposed?" Zuko cried.
"I'm not exposed! I'm completely covered!"
"Covered my ass! I can see every curve of your body!"
"Um, so?"
"Other men can see you too! Are you trying to advertise yourself?" Zuko asked angrily. Katie looked down at her clothes. She was wearing flared jeans and a superman t-shirt. It was true that the jeans hugged her closely, and her shirt barely had sleeves, but she didn't see what the fuss was about.
"Zuko, relax. Look out the window at the girls we pass. They're wearing the exact same thing I am." Katie said. Zuko glared and looked out the window. Sure enough, the person in the second car they passed was a girl in her late teens, and she was wearing even less than Katie.
"That doesn't make it appropriate." Zuko said with a frown.
"Well, I'm not going to be going around in those marshmallow pants. This is the way of the world bucko." Katie said. Zuko slumped in his seat and frowned. Katie smiled. "Man, things must be really screwed up."
"What do you mean?" Zuko grunted.
"A second ago, you were assuring me everything would be okay. Usually it's me trying to calm you down." They sat in silence for a second. "And thanks for cheering me up." Zuko sent her a glare, about to continue pressing the seriousness of his argument. But now wasn't the time. So instead he reached over and squeezed her knee.
They got to the college with a few minutes to spare before the classes let out. Katie and Zuko sat down on a couple of chairs and waited. She could see her friend, Kim, sitting at a table with Keith and Kyle while their teacher gave them a few last comments. Then they all gathered their bags and filed out of the room.
"NITRO BASHER!" Keith yelled to Katie once he got into the hallway.
"Hey Keith." Katie said, standing up to accept a hug from the friendly guy.
"Ooh, has Nitro Basher got a boyfriend?" Keith asked playfully.
"Um, yeah. This is…Zee." Katie said, stepping away and motioning Zuko to come and join them. They stood in a circle waiting for Danielle to get out of her class. Kim, Keith, and Kyle began updating Katie on the latest dramas in their class. A few people Katie remembered from her own class began leaving a room a ways down the hall.
"So you're too good to come to class now?" Jesse asked playfully, his guitar strapped to his back.
"Erm, family emergency. What'd I miss?"
"Absolutely nothing. See you on Monday." Katie waved to him and Danielle finally joined them. They walked back out to the parking lot listening to the three K's as they joked around.
"I love your guts Keith!" Kim yelled before she got into Katie's car. Katie felt a little stab at how normal this all seemed and yet things could never be the same. She heaved a sigh, buckled her seatbelt and pulled out of the parking stall.
"I could join the military." Zuko said after a moment longer of silence. They'd just dropped Kim and Danielle off at the high school. Katie definitely wasn't going to her classes and she didn't feel like going back home to chaos just yet. And so, they decided to go back to the grotto to get the rest of their things.
"No, you can't. You also need an identity for the military and plus they don't accept people with disabilities." Katie said, kicking at a rock.
"What do you mean disabilities!" Zuko demanded indignantly.
"Zee, you're half blind in your left eye! They won't even let people in who have flat feet!" Katie said. They continued walking on until they came to the series of log bridges that crisscrossed the stream.
"So, I guess the first thing I need to do is get an identity then." Zuko said.
"I guess so. But I have absolutely no clue how we're going to do that." Katie said.
"Don't worry. Everything is going to work out." Zuko reached out and took her hand. They walked the rest of the way to the grotto in silence.
"And, I'm sorry Blair hit you. Are you alright?" Katie said once they got to their destination. All of their things were exactly where they left them.
"I'm fine and I don't blame him. These are very confusing circumstances." Zuko knelt down and began rummaging through the second pack. Katie lifted her eyes to the sky and watched the white clouds drift by. White. Her dream suddenly popped into her head.
"I had a really weird dream last night." Katie said softly.
"Hm?" Zuko asked in mild interest.
"Your mom was in it. She gave me something." Katie said, she closed her eyes and tried to call up the memory of the dream, but it was very vague.
"What did she give you?" Zuko asked, frowning slightly. Katie scrunched her nose and looked around trying to remember. She could remember that it was something precious, then it hit her full force.
"It was you." Katie said, looking back at Zuko's face. Zuko looked down at the blanket he had been folding. He really didn't know how to take this bit of news. Was his mother's spirit responsible for the two of them traveling through dimensions? The thought that she was watching over him caused a small flower of happiness to blossom in his chest. He smiled and shoved the blanket into the bag.
"Well, my mother knows what she's doing. Everything will be alright." He said, tying off the bag and throwing it over his shoulder. He took Katie's hand and they started back down the trail together.
Zuko nearly choked to death on his root beer. Katie had found a ten dollar bill in her camera bag and decided to treat Zuko to his first ever, all American meal. Therefore they were now sitting at a table in McDonalds, both with a drink, a cheeseburger and they were sharing a large fry. Katie reached out and pounded on his back helpfully, but couldn't resist laughing at him.
"This is horrible!" he finally managed to wheeze out. He had never tasted so much sugar in his life and it made him want to gag.
"Mmm, I've been craving Soda for the past seven years." Katie said, taking a long swig of her own drink. The carbonation burned her throat and caused her own eyes to water. Zuko picked up his cheeseburger and took an apprehensive sniff.
"You actually call this food?" He asked, putting the limp burger back down in disgust.
"Of course it's not food. But it's edible and I've developed an addiction to it because of the chemicals they pump it full of in the gestation period." Katie said, taking a bite of her burger and stuffing a fry into her mouth. Zuko at least liked the fries, so he ended up eating most of the box. After they had more or less eaten, Katie drove up to the park and they walked around for a while next to the swimming pool. When they came upon the playground, Katie forced Zuko to go down the slides with her until some parents go upset. They wandered around town and up and down Main Street for a good number of hours. Only when it was five o'clock did Katie decide that it might be safe to go back to her house. Debbie leapt from her chair when they walked through the door.
"Where have you been? We were about to call the police to start looking for you! Don't ever do that again!" Debbie cried. She was across the room in a flash and had Katie in a bone-crushing hug. "I thought you'd been kidnapped or something!"
"Mom, how many times do I need to tell you? Zuko would never hurt me." Katie said, hugging her mom back.
"THERE YOU ARE!" Dennis yelled, walking in through the back door. "What the hell did you think you were doing?"
"Can you blame me for needing some time to figure things out? You were all so busy fighting this morning that I could barely hear myself think?" Katie said, matching her father's tone. "And if you really must know, I needed to take Kim and Danielle back down to the high school."
"You should have called us or something to let us know you weren't lying in a ditch somewhere!" Debbie said.
"I'm sorry, okay? I'm just really confused right now." Katie said, pulling away from her parents and collapsing on the couch. Zuko was standing frozen in the doorway, but when there was a silence he felt it was safe to move. As he began shutting the door an orange blur streaked into the room and climbed up to his shoulders. Rado licked Zuko's face then jumped down to Katie. She felt really bad, she had almost completely forgotten about her pet in the chaos. There was a slam of the back door and Blair came tromping in, his face was contorted with anger. Without a word he drew back to punch Zuko again, but Zuko caught the fist easily.
"BLAIR!" Katie yelled, jumping back to her feet.
"THIS GUY ISN'T SAFE KATIE! WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN THINKING?" Blair yelled. Katie forced herself between the two of them. Blair shoved her back towards the couch roughly and by pure instinct, Zuko created a small flame in the palm of his hand preparing to attack in Katie's defense. Katie, however, was on her feet in no time.
"WILL YOU STOP THIS?" She screamed. "ZUKO! PUT IT AWAY! AND YOU, BACK OFF!" She grabbed the front of Blair's shirt and shoved him down onto the couch. Her face softened and she gave him a pleading look, "Blair, you've known me my entire life! You know I'm a smart girl and have never made a seriously bad choice in my entire life! Can't you trust my judgment now? I know what I'm doing." Blair glared at her. "Trust me or else I'll burn you!" She said lighting a flame in her own hand.
"How are you doing that?" He asked breathlessly.
"Blair, I've been gone seven years. You know that Avatar show? That's where I went! Recognize this guy?" She reached over and grabbed Zuko. She pulled his bangs out of his face so his full scar could be seen. But what really caught Blair's attention were those abnormal yellow eyes. "He's my husband Blair. I'm a firebender! I've met the Avatar, I'm the godmother to his children for cripes sake! Now do you trust me?" Blair stared at them, his face going pale. Wordlessly he stood up.
"That's impossible." He finally said.
"Apparently it's not." Katie said, stepping forward and giving him a hug. He held her loosely.
"I think I need to go home now." Blair said awkwardly. He pulled away from Katie and left without another word.
"I need to call Tony and Dusty, let them know you're alright." Debbie said. She stood up and disappeared into the next room with the phone. Dennis grumbled something about feeding the horses and left as well, leaving Katie and Zuko alone in the front room.
"Well. That went rather well!" Katie said cheerfully.
Zuko's head lolled next to Katie. They were still in the front room, sitting on the couch with Debbie and Dennis sitting across from them. Dennis had given up the battle of staying awake and was snoozing in his armchair. It was now nearing midnight; Katie was giving her mother a more detailed explanation of her recent life. Kim was in the next room watching TV, but Katie knew she was eavesdropping. As a test she would lower her voice and, sure enough, the volume in the next room would go down as well or Kim would just hit the mute button altogether.
"Hope?" Debbie asked softly.
"Yes. She was killed by pneumonia, or at least some version of it." Katie said.
"I'm so sorry." Debbie said. She was gradually beginning to believe what was going on.
"It's not uncommon, especially in firebending children." Katie said quietly, "Firebenders rarely get sick because our regular body temperature is too hot for viruses and bacteria to live in. So when a baby is born it doesn't have any sort of inherited immunity to disease. They have to be carefully taken care of until their powers begin to immerge when they're two years old." She explained.
"I'm sorry." Debbie said again. Katie just nodded and there was silence for a few seconds. Debbie got up to go get a drink of water. Katie turned to Zuko. His left eye was closed completely but his right was half open as he fought to stay awake. Katie put a hand on his cheek and gently pulled it towards her shoulder. Zuko took the invitation happily fell asleep almost instantly. Debbie came back into the room just as Katie planted a gentle kiss on Zuko's forehead.
"Where did he get that scar?" Debbie whispered.
"Zuko's father was abusive." Katie said simply, then smiled. "I've got the episode of that taped if you want to go watch it." Debbie frowned and chewed on her bottom lip.
"You know, when a man's father is abusive, he…"
"Mom, Zuko is nothing like his father. You don't have to worry." Katie said.
"What about the rest of his family?" Debbie asked.
"His mother died when he was little, and his sister committed suicide just a week ago. Before you say anything about that, I want you to know that he was raised by his uncle who is one of the greatest people I've ever met." Katie said. She wondered if she would ever see Iroh again. A tightness in her chest told her she wouldn't and that made her feel sad. Dennis began to stir from his chair. He opened his eyes and heaved himself to his feet with a grunt. The noise startled Zuko and he was suddenly wide-awake.
"I'm goin' to bed." Dennis announced thickly. He began walking towards the stairs but paused to point a threatening finger at Katie and Zuko. "He will not be sleeping in your room!"
"Dad!" Katie said with an exasperated sigh, but there was no arguing with the man. Zuko nodded and rested his head back on Katie's shoulder once Dennis had gone upstairs. The television in the other room turned off and Kim shuffled into her room. "Go ahead and lie down on the couch in the other room." Katie said, wiggling her shoulder a little to get Zuko to wake up. He gave her a sleepy kiss and stumbled into the other room.
"You really are married then?" Debbie asked.
"Yeah. I really am." Katie said. A weight settled on her lap, it was Rado. He had been sitting on the other side of Zuko, but since Zuko had left he decided to find another warm body. She stroked his back absentmindedly. Debbie asked Katie a few more questions, they stayed awake talking for another hour but then neither of them could stay awake any longer. Katie hugged and kissed her mom goodnight and watched her walk up the stairs, suddenly the woman looked ten years older. Katie forced herself to change into some pajamas, then she went into the TV room where Zuko was snoring softly. Katie kissed his cheek and he partially woke up. He rolled a little so she could squeeze next to him on the couch.
"I don't think your father would approve." Zuko mumbled.
"He just said you couldn't sleep in my room." Katie said, nestling her bottom into his stomach. They shifted around until they were comfortable and within a few seconds they were both asleep.
Wow, this one tooka while to get out. Can't wait to hear your reviews! And I'm expecting ALL to review (glares at screen) I can see you there hunched in front of your computer. REVIEW!