Sorry for the delay. I had writer's block and I'm working on my commission to Marvel/DC/anyone else comics (aka, trying to get my comic books published). Thanks for the reviews. Reviews make me happy. )

A little note: I noticed that in the show, no religion is actually mentioned, like, you always heard about "monks" and "priests" but you never see a church or cross or anything like that. Just something I noticed because I'm odd like that. - ZeroSoul

muted fate, chapter III: the "s" word

Zuko yawned as he stretched out in bed. He felt his hangover had lifted and the sunlight coming from outside the window didn't hurt his eyes. He sat up in bed and stretched a little, feeling rejuvenated. All he needed was a long rest.

'Wait…I was sleeping on the floor…and my window isn't this close to my bed,' Zuko said.

His next wrinkle came when he realized that he wasn't in his room and he was naked. The wrinkle after that was he couldn't recall what had happened after he fell on his bedroom floor. It was like there was a giant gap in his memory (and an obviously important one since much obviously happened).

Something rolled over in bed next to him.

Zuko jerked away from the lump in the bed next to him. The lump murmured something sleepily and continued on sleeping. Zuko breathed a sigh of relief, but then came the real trick: who the hell was it? (Did he even want to know who it was?)

Zuko gingerly touched the blanket and pulled it away. After looking away for a few moments, he turned to see who was lying in bed next to him.

'Please don't be a man…please don't be a man…please don't be a man…I swear to the gods I will kill myself if it is a man…' Zuko thought.

It wasn't a man and Zuko breathed a sigh of relief.

It was Katara and Zuko tried not to scream from panic.

'Okay, okay, no big deal,' Zuko thought as he tried not to hyperventilate as he looked at the naked Katara lying next to him, 'I just slept with her probably…hopefully…all I have to do is slowly ease out of the room and let no one see me and I'll be fine and no one will know and when she says that I slept with her, everyone will think she's crazy. Okay. Alright then. Now I just have to get to the door,'

Zuko didn't move. He was frozen looking at the girl.

'Okay. One foot at a time. Any minuet now…'

Zuko still didn't move.

'Damn,'

The door slammed open.

"KATARA! I FOUND OUT WHAT–" Uncle yelled.

Uncle then grew silent and wide-eyed as he saw his nephew and Katara in bed. Katara was startled awake and Zuko was startled himself.

"Huh? What happened? What's–" Katara began.

She then caught sight of Zuko lying in bed next to her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Katara demanded. She then looked down and realized she had no clothes on and yanked the blanket around herself, "You…you…bastard!"

"It's not my fault! I just woke up here!" Zuko protested. He pulled at the blanket, "Hey! I'm naked too!"

"You probably drugged me!" Katara said.

"Listen, I don't even remember how I got here!"

"First your Firebenders kill Aang and Sokka and now you go ahead and rape me!"

"If I raped you, I would at least remember it!"

"You're a monster!"

"I didn't even do anything!"

"You did something alright!"

"That's enough!" said Uncle, firmly.

Zuko and Katara were silenced at this.

"Prince Zuko, dress yourself and come with me," said Uncle, rubbing his temples in irritation.

Zuko was weary of getting out of bed naked, but Katara forcefully kicked him out of the bed. Growling, Zuko put his clothes back on that just happened to be lying around the bed along with Katara's clothes. Once fully dressed, Zuko followed his Uncle out of the room.

Uncle led Zuko back to his room and poured some hot tea. They sat on opposite sides of the table in the room.

"Now," His Uncle said," tell me what happened,"

"I…uh…" Zuko stammered. He looked away, "I don't have any recollection of what happened,"

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing. I just remember going to sleep in my room on the floor and then I woke up there next to her,"

His Uncle sighed, "And that's what happened?"

Zuko made a face. It obviously sounded like a lie, but it was the truth.

His Uncle took a sip of his tea, "You know, that whole experience with that servant girl–"

Zuko flushed, "I lost my balance and fell on top of her!"

His Uncle continued, "–and being the son of a Fire Lord has probably let you have plenty of experience in the sexual area. Though, you still – or once were, that is to say – a virgin,"

Zuko growled, "…what are you trying to say?"

"What I'm trying to say, Prince Zuko," said his Uncle, "if what you do say is true and that you have no recollection of bedding that girl, that still means you're obligated to her if something happens,"

Zuko wrinkled his brow, "…if…something…"

"You know what I speak of," Zuko blinked. "Pregnancy, Prince Zuko. What if you actually impregnated her at your age? At her age? Katara is a Waterbender and you are a Firebender. Your child may come out deformed…if it comes that way. And what if you did rape her and don't remember? Could you ever look at her in the face again?"

Zuko suddenly felt like a thousand-pound weights had come crashing down onto his body. He paled at the thought of an accidental pregnancy and came close to a panic.

His Uncle saw the look of panic on his face. He got from the table, "Well, Prince Zuko, time will tell from this little adventure," He then added quietly, "And unlike that time with your father, this may scar you as well,"

Zuko paused. Then he tried not to hyperventilate.

'I see you're back from your long journey, Aang,' said Iwatansei, 'how was your trip?'

Aang's spirit had just materialized over the disc. Aang sighed, 'It's done. Katara is the Vessel now,'

'Good then. Why such the sad face?' Iwatansei said.

'It's just that…' Aang sighed. He then shook his head, 'It's nothing,'

'Good,' said Iwatansei.

Iwatansei began to float away to talk to some other Avatar Spirit when Aang stopped him suddenly.

'Wait! Iwatansei! I have to ask you something!' Aang said.

'What is it?' Iwatansei said.

'I've looked at all the Avatars through this realm, since I don't sleep or anything, and I've counted them all, but there…seems to be someone missing. Is that possible?' Aang asked.

Iwatansei's face hardened, 'Yes, it is very possible, Aang. One of us Avatar Spirits is not…with us,'

'Who? Why?'

Iwatansei drew a deep breath, 'The 13th Avatar. The 13th Avatar is someone who…he was…evil,'

'Evil?'

'The 13th Avatar was wiped from the history books because of the many sins he committed,'

'But…but how can an Avatar be evil?'

Iwatansei sighed, 'Being an Avatar is more than fun and games. Some cannot handle the pressure. Some break under it and some go mad. It had happened before in the olden days before a system a rules was set for who had to be chosen to be a Avatar,' He paused. 'The 13th Avatar was never a happy mortal. Born of wedlock, discarded and abused, left alone in the cold war, and with a given power that many feared at that time…he had been a long outcast. When he mastered all of the elements, he turned vicious and brutal towards all those he considered his enemies. He spared none – men, women, and children all died. After a century of his power, he was struck down…by his own child,'

Aang swallowed hard at hearing of the evil of another Avatar. He prayed he could not remember that past life of his, 'What happened when he came here?'

'He was too evil. Even here, his spirit was still taint with the impurity of the mortal body. His soul could not survive and the spirits cast him out into Hell. But even at the gates of Hell, The Devil threw him back. Not even He wanted him. So, where was a lost soul to go?' He paused. 'The soul wandered around the mortal realm, his fellows deaf and blind to him. The isolation made him go even more mad. His soul twisted and warped itself to the point where it no longer bore his shape. He began a mere shade of his former self…only his evil was left, not his mortality. He had gone truly insane. He is now no longer regarded by his name, but is now called The Shadow,'

'The Shadow!' Aang gasped, 'Then that evil presence that killed me was…was…him…'

Iwatansei raised an eyebrow at Aang, 'The Shadow, the 13th Avatar, is only a vengeful spirit searching for its eternal rest. It cannot harm anyone,'

'With all respect, Avatar Iwatansei, I sensed an evil presence before I died. I know that The Shadow is what killed me and my friend, Sokka!' Aang was pleading now. 'The Shadow is walking the earth!'

Iwatansei paused and then shook his head, 'No. Impossible. The only way for The Shadow to come among the mortal realm is for it to be raised up by a necromancer and the black arts have been abolished for many centuries now,'

'That was then, this is now! War is happening now and now…' Aang clenched his fist. '…and now many would do anything to win. There is a lot of desperation about in this feud,'

Iwatansei nodded, 'I see your concern, young Avatar, but facts are facts: The Shadow is not among the mortals,'

Aang's face was filled with irritation, but he simply nodded his head to the elder spirit, 'As you say,'

Iwatansei drifted away. Aang's spirit remained floating.

He had to go back. If what he thought was true, then Katara was in danger.

For the first couple of minuets after Zuko was gone, all Katara could really do was lie in bed and wonder about that night – going over what could have possibly caused her to end up in bed next to that damn Firebender. So far, she had gone over several reasons: (1) she had been feeling depressed and was susceptible to any sort of seduction, (2) she had been drugged, (3) he had been drugged, (4) they both had been drugged, (5)…(she was still thinking about this one).

But how in hell did it happen?

Katara could vaguely remembered what had happened that night. She remembered sleeping, that was for sure, and then she remembered waking up. Then she remembered seeing Aang. Sweet Aang, darling Aang…now deceased Aang, now gone Aang, long gone.

But she saw his face!

Yes, she was sure of it now, she had Aang's ghostly pale face – a sign that he had traveled from the spirit world just to see her again. It sounded like a fairytale.

A fairytale her mother would read her just before bed just before she died as well.

"This is too much…" Katara muttered. She felt dizzy and pulled the blanket over her head. The room was starting to spin again and it was making her nauseated.

She should have done the reasonable thing and confronted the fact she had lost her virginity to the second most undesirable person in the world (the first most undesirable she cared not to think about). But she didn't want to do that. She didn't want to face the grim reality of being furious and depressed all at once – she had enough emotional stress after…after what happened with Sokka and Aang.

For now, all she was going to do was lay in bed and think back to happier times before her world tumbled upside down and everything came spilling out.

'Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.'

He was being a little hard on himself.

'Gods, I'm such a fucking idiot.'

But of course, the situation called for him being a little harsh.

Zuko sat down on the floor of his room and tried to unknot his confused mind, which was now on the verge another panic attack. He took several deep breaths and tried to think his way through what had happened. Thinking about it always helped…sometimes.

First question: how the hell did he get from his room to Katara's bed.

'I was still hung over, and Katara's room isn't that far from mine. Maybe I went in there…'

That, of course, was a very bad answer because it had so many holes in it. Why Katara's room? Why not Uncle's Why would a hangover cause him to walk around like a maniac? And if he went into Katara's room, why did he get into bed with her? These were some of the things popping into his mind that he couldn't answer. He sighed and tried to suppress the holes in his answer so that he could accept it and move on to the next problem.

Second question: how would he show his face to Katara after this?

'If girls act anything like women – which they do – it'd be best if I not show my face around her,'

Zuko had concluded this after seeing Katara's unhindered rage at him when she found him in bed next to her.

Third question: worst case scenario – what if Katara became with child?

'…'

Zuko felt his thoughts shrink like a raisin in the summer sun. It was very obvious that this situation he wasn't prepared for – no matter how much he could think through it. To be realistic, there was a high chance that she could become with child. He was young and she was young – meaning that they were both fertile and in the prime of their youth (but at Katara's age, a pregnancy could possibly kill her).

The fact of the matter was that Zuko had gaping holes the size of the Fire Nation in his knowledge about children (and toddlers, and most of all babies) – lacking brothers, sisters, and family in general and even less knowledge about how to deal with unwedded pregnant women and their moods, wants, and needs.

He would be lost at such matters.

All he could do was hang onto that glimmer of hope that he wasn't as young and virile as many though he was.

Aang's spirit was floating around in the endless abyss. The other Avatar spirits were busy socializing, but Aang wasn't in a talkative mood. He had to go back. He had to, but he couldn't think of a way how to remove himself from the spirit realm. There was no entrance or exit present in the endless mists. Aang let out a sigh and floated in front of the viewing disc to see Katara struggling in her sleep. She was sweating and moaning in pain.

'What's happening?' Aang cried in panic, seeing Katara's discomfort.

'The Gateway is opening itself,' said Iwatansei as he floated from above and next to Aang, 'In the time of 9 months, an entrance and exit to the spirits and mortals will open, allowing our spiritual essence to seep into the womb and form the next Avatar. At the end of 9 months, The Gateway will close and the Avatar will be reborn as so has happened since the dawn of this world.'

'So…The Gateway is inside Katara?' Aang said.

Iwatansei nodded, 'Yes…and it is opening itself as we speak…'

Yes, the pregnancy is going to last the normal nine months. Why? You'll see…(evil cliffhanger laughter). – ZeroSoul