AN: As we start delving more into potential romance, I've found it very interesting to see what people are hoping to see as we're going forward with pairings. I can't obviously say that these thoughts will sway what's actually going to happen, but I really would like to hear what people would like to see happen and with whom. Though I just love hearing from you guys in general, so maybe that's part of it. So thanks again to everyone dropping those reviews and letting me know your feelings and thoughts to how things are going, you guys definitely make the writing process easier.

Really hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 14: Coming to a Head

Katara stared up at the night sky, feeling the cool glow of the moon run through her body, washing her with strength, clarity and power. She would need all of it to carry out what she knew had to happen; Aang would surely resent her, Sokka would surely be furious that she hadn't told him, and Toph… Katara didn't even want to imagine what the earthbender would think of her after this. But these fretful thoughts were nothing short of wasteful. She had to succeed and to do so, that meant putting aside the feelings of her closest friends in order to do what she knew was right.

Somehow, she had been able to coerce him into returning once more after his venture to the festival and Katara, through some strange certainty, knew that he would keep his word. Appa would return with the same four people whom had left and from there, Katara could act. She had every intention of giving him the opportunity one last time to do what was right, but she knew Sasuke would never comply, and so it would fall to her to make the toughest choice she might ever have to make.

Katara looked down at her hands, relieved to see they weren't shaking. Considering what she was planning, it wouldn't have surprised her if some suppressed nerves were playing tricks on her mentality and ravaging her senses.

Can I even do it?

He would be at her mercy in an instant and from there, the longer she waited, the harder it would be. It would be painless, it would be practical and it would be quick. But no matter how many times she thought it over in her head, it would be nothing compared to what he was actually in front of her.

She turned her eyes down for an instant to see Zuko sitting a dozen meters from her, propped against a rock and staring at the ground sullenly. Katara felt guilt try and force its way into her thoughts for what she was asking him to do, but it would take his strength to back her up if something went wrong. Aang and Sokka would be next to useless, the former because of his trepidation that would surely arise when he realized what was happening and the latter because his lack of bending would make him entirely ineffective against someone like Sasuke. Mai and Ty Lee were the two that Katara was sure would back her up without even needing to communicate then situation; Ty Lee's seemingly rich hatred for Sasuke and Mai's protectiveness of Zuko would bring them to her side should the moment require it.

Closing her eyes and inhaling deeply through her nose, Katara listened to the gentle splashing of the ocean tide and the distant chirping of crickets in the forests' depths. This would be hard, it might even be painful, but she knew what she had to do. For Aang, if no one else.

The moment he saw Appa's telltale shape blotting out a portion of the star-studded sky, Aang's stomach rocketed into his throat as he shot down hundreds of feet to the small camp they had made on the beach, hurriedly shouting, "Here they come!"

Sokka, who had been the only sleeping, shook himself awake and sat up. Mai and Ty Lee who had been sitting against a log, resting against one another were on their feet in an instant as Zuko slowly stood, looking almost remorseful for something. Katara kept her gaze on the sky, not even so much as acknowledging Aang's return. Noting her dissociation, Aang slumped his shoulders and moved to sit down next to Sokka, trying not to feel too bitter.

Katara hadn't seemed to so much as even pay him the slightest mind in recent days. All of her energy seemed to have fallen to staring daggers at Sasuke and keep watch over him with every waking moment she had. Aang had hoped that some kind of resolution might have been reached between them after they had spoken privately in the temple, but if anything, their relationship had seemed to have become even more strained, and had only been stressed further after Sasuke's actions the previous night.

Aang sighed and grabbed the sides of his head. He hated even thinking about that.

On a certain level, he would forever resent and fear Sasuke for what he had seen. Just when it looked like he was finally willing to open up, he had gone and slaughtered dozens of people without even blinking. Aang knew that the natives had attacked first, but with all the power at his disposal, Sasuke could have handled it in a much more compassionate nature.

But that's just the thing, isn't it… maybe he and Azula really would be perfect for each other.

It sickened him to even think about that, but he hadn't failed to notice, as he was sure any of them had, that Azula seemed intently focused on Sasuke for one reason or another. Though that was probably only one reason and one that Aang was hesitant to even consider.

What kind of kids would they pump out?

That thought was enough to give him a shiver, but he was shaken from his thoughts as Appa's form slowly coalesced out of the night sky and touched down a distance away. Before anyone could so much as move towards the flying bison, Suki leapt over the side of the massive saddle and hit the sand, a load of some kind in her arms.

"Katara!"

Her voice shouted out, urgent and Aang realized it was a body in her arms. He snapped straight up as everyone save for him and Sokka rushed forward and he exchanged worried looks with Katara's brother.

As they neared the light of the fire, Zuko shouted out, voice frightened, "What happened?!"

Aang could tell Azula's lean frame and flowing dark hair from that distance and he slowly approached where the princess had been laid down gently on her stomach, her head turned towards the glow of the flames. He could see she was unconscious but as his eyes watched as Suki gingerly removed the cloth bandages that had wrapped over her back, he grimaced and turned away as Mai and Ty Lee both cried out.

Azula's back looked like someone had taken a blade and very neatly slashed at it; long, straight lacerations numbered at least twenty or so as Katara silently washed the wounds that now were open to the night air. Ty Lee had her hands over her mouth and Mai looked like she was about to forced to break one of her own fingers. Zuko's face was relatively calm but he had gone white as a sheet as he knelt next to his sister, pressing the back of his hand against her cheek. Slowly, he turned towards Suki and growled in a tone that spat of someone not to be trifled with.

"What. Happened."

Though she didn't look remotely intimidated by Zuko's animalistic muttering, Suki nevertheless flashed him an empathetic face as she replied. Aang noticed that she looked like she had been through something of an ordeal herself, smears of ash and blood on her face and arms.

"We were compromised shortly after finding a lead to tail back to the chief advisor. A group of guards were rallied by the Boiling Rock warden..."

Mai interrupted, snapping her head to look at Suki with disbelief. "Wait. My uncle was at the festival?!"

Not looking remotely amenable to the familial connection, Suki fixed her with a tight glare. "Sure was. But he got off our backs when I guess Azula thought it was a good idea to break cover and oust herself in order to keep us in the clear."

She turned her gaze back down to Azula's savaged back as Katara gently ran water over it, ensuring it was cleaned properly.

"She jumped on a stand, made a big ruckus and got captured by the guards. I guess your festival has this tradition where they publicly punish and humiliate some enemy of the Fire Nation and your uncle decided that it would be more appropriate to put Azula against the pillory instead."

Toph slid down Appa then and slowly walked a distance towards them before sitting down on a log, looking both angry and tired. Aang wanted to go see if she was alright, but Suki's story had him transfixed.

"They brought in a line of festivalgoers and they came up the pillory steps one at a time to whip her. One at a time and most spit in her face before crossing over and letting the next person take their turn."

Aang watched with bated breath as Ty Lee's hands went from her mouth to clench at her sides into shaking fists.

"Sasuke went undercover as the other prisoner that was there to be punished and managed to get the chief advisor out in the open, and Azula was able to call him out. From there, we were able to pretty quickly get the upper hand; zone off the pillory with fire and take down all the guards."

Mai looked somewhat uneasy as she asked, "And my uncle?"

Suki ran her tongue over her teeth irritably. "Alive, lucky for him. I'm actually shocked that Sasuke didn't turn him inside out."

At the mention of the name, gazes slowly turned to look up towards Appa's saddle to see that Sasuke had hopped down in silence and walked a distance away, hands clasped behind his back. Aang wished he would turn around to see Sasuke's expression but he supposed he was a little frightened at what he might see.

"That certainly settles one thing," Katara said briskly as she seemed to finish up cleaning Azula's wounds and gestured, causing Suki and Ty Lee to move forward to properly bandage the slashes. "The Fire Nation knows that we're here. If not Aang, than Azula and that might be just as much reason for them to scorch this island to cinders looking."

Sokka's voice was uncommonly even for a situation such as this as he suggested, "We'll need to move again. Double back to the temple perhaps or at least in that direction."

Katara seemed to ignore her brother as she stood, turning her gaze between Suki and Toph. "Did you get what you went for?"

Looking up from Azula, Suki glanced nervously in Sasuke's direction before nodding. Katara returned the gesture and walked over to Toph putting a hand on her shoulder that seemed to surprise the younger girl who, after a moment of a stunned expression, wrapped her arms around Katara's midsection. Katara returned the hug and gave a wayward glance towards Sasuke; Aang realized that she was taking all this strangely well considering her behavior over the previous several days. Just about none of the information he had just heard boded well for them, but Katara looked as calm and relaxed as he had seen her since before Sasuke had arrived.

Slowly, he felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Strangely certain that something bad was about to happen, he turned towards Sasuke, mustering up some pretend positive energy.

"So, it all worked out I guess! What's the plan now, are you—"

Katara cut him off with a stern crack of her tone. "Aang step away from him."

Gritting his teeth and jamming his eyes shut, Aang tried to convince himself that wasn't all about to take an awful turn, but his gut reaction which was so rarely wrong had him practically shaking where he stood.

"Katara, please don't…" he managed to whisper out, but he only felt her arm cross over his chest and gently ease him backwards. As he joined the small vigil that was being held around the slowly burning out fire, Katara separated herself from them, cutting the distance between them and Sasuke in half, standing at the halfway point between them.

By now, others were picking up on the layer of tension that had suddenly fallen over the camp with a distant but oppressive weight. Aang saw Mai's mouth become a tight line and Ty Lee slowly stood from where she had been knelt next to Azula and slowly walked in front of the unconscious princess as though to shield her. Suki moved neared to Sokka, but Katara's brother had his eyes locked on his sister, barely even seeming to realize that Suki was there as she gripped his hand. Zuko's expression, if anything had just become a more broken version of the one that Aang had seen before, a mask of regret and withheld anguish that no one else seemed to see but him.

Ahead of them by about ten yards and shrouded mostly in the dark of night, Sasuke spoke plainly, his back still turned to them.

"Why did you make me promise to come back tonight, Katara? Why, of all the things you could have asked of me, did you ask for that?"

Moving his own eyes to Katara, Aang could see that she still was emanating a very controlling aura and a protective stance had been taken up. She ignored his question and asked one her own.

"Where would you go, Sasuke, if I hadn't had you promise to return tonight?"

He didn't skip a beat in answering, "I would be well on my way to Ozai by now."

Katara accepted this with a slow nod. At her silence, Sasuke finally turned around and with the majority of him still being shrouded in dark, he seemed all the more intimidating.

"I've played into a hand of yours, or so you seem to think. I don't know how you can possibly fathom stopping me, even if you dared to try."

Aang's heart leapt into his throat at the prospect.

She can't be thinking that… it would be suicide, please, Katara, don't do this. No matter the reason, there's no way…

Through his mental pleading, Katara only seemed to have grown more confident and intense. Her flowing, dark hair was tossed in the night air as she stared back at Sasuke with an unblinking and challenging stare.

"I guess I just know something you don't."

Sasuke turned his head towards the sky in a gesture of annoyance and made to walk their way. "Look, I don't have time for this. I'm not going to stand here and listen to this crap while you waste—"

And Aang knew what was about to happen then, even before it did. He closed his eyes, not even feeling able to watch anymore.

Katara let him take a few steps before reaching out, feeling the power of both her own energy and the moonlight that so amplified her strength on this night above all others. She extended her very will into her bending and while no water was whipped up, no colossal wave or shower of icy spikes that could have crushed or impaled him, something much more powerful happened.

As though he had been frozen in time itself, Sasuke stopped walking and became entirely still.

Katara found herself distantly surprised, not only that it had worked, but that it had been so easy. Part of her had expected some kind of powerful resistance to keep her from digging into his blood and holding it steady, but it was though his entire body was more liquid than others and it made it that much easier to catch onto. Perhaps that strange altered state of body he possessed that allowed him to use his so-called jutsu was the cause of this, but for whatever reason, she was gratified that it had worked to perfection.

She watched his face contort, from confusion, to strain, to frustration as he realized that he had suddenly become nothing short of a puppet. Behind her, she heard Suki and Ty Lee gasp as the entire group bore witness to a gift that Katara had promised herself she would keep from using again.

She supposed her promises weren't worth that much.

"Katara, what are you doing?!" Toph shouted, suddenly coming very alive. She no doubt had sensed the sudden and drastic change in Sasuke's body and was surely very put off by what was happening. Katara wished she could have had time to explain to Toph what was happening and why it had to, but as she had told herself, she could deal with the resentment that would come with this.

Besides, the hard part was far from over.

She ignored Toph and spoke directly to Sasuke, doing her best to keep her tone measured and commanding.

"I asked you to come back on this night in particular because it is when I'm at my strongest. When the moon is bright and full, I can reach into my waterbending to generate a much more potent type of skill, one where I can bend the very blood of another person."

She heard tight murmurs and a hiss from Mai behind her, but she did her best to ignore it. If they wanted to condemn her dabbling in such a forbidden kind of bending, it would have to wait.

Katara continued, "I know that you have an agenda, a very purposeful one. But, for the last time, I cannot have you chase after Ozai on your own and potentially jeopardize everything that there is to Aang's destiny. You know this is how I feel and I am giving you a last chance to change your ways and remain our companion until after Aang defeats Ozai himself. When victory is won, you can have the answers you seek, or dredge for them as best as you are able. But you cannot, you will not hinder us any further."

She pulled back her bending just enough for Sasuke to be able to move his mouth along with breathing and flexing his face muscles. His reply was far from heartening.

"And you know I don't care, and think you're all a pack of fools for letting something as fraudulent as prophecy steer you. I'm not abandoning my path and if you know what's best for you, you'll let me go so I can get to it. You've deemed that this confrontation with the Fire Lord will come at the last moment when Aang is at his most ready, but if you have any sense in your mind, you know he will never be ready."

Katara bristled at his personal attack towards Aang, but she let him continue regardless.

"I have nothing against Aang, in fact, I think he might be the wisest of any of you. He understands his own desires, and his own limitations. You would drive him to break down all that he is just so you can be satisfied as to how the ends are achieved. But I promise you, when I've cut Ozai from this world, you won't be hating me for it. You want this, Katara, deep down, you want me to take this burden from you. You're hurting and you're tired. But if this pride is going to keep you in my way… I'll go through you."

Closing her eyes at the statement that he had known was coming, regardless of verbatim, Katara steeled herself as she felt her allies beginning to tense and move around her.

"That's your final say?" she asked.

"Katara, wait, you can't do this," Toph's voice came from behind her now, sounding half-panicked. Katara ignored her as Sasuke fixed his black eyes on her own.

"That's it. Make your move."

Taking a last deep inhale of night air and feeling Toph and perhaps others behind her move with a sudden desperation and knowledge of the situation, she twisted her hands just so. She gasped in mental pain at the mere act of forcing another person's heart to implode, but as she did it to Sasuke she could only stare as his body shivered suddenly and collapsed.

Immediately, Toph screamed as though she had been stabbed, a sound that wore away into a wracking sob. "Holy shit," Mai whispered as Zuko moved to her side. Katara saw this out of the corner of her eye, but the whole of her couldn't look away from Sasuke's body. It was a strange thing, to see a lifeless form just there now, completely devoid of the energy that had been flowing through it not moments before.

I can't believe I did that.

They had killed before, all of them, but never like this. Never to someone who was completely helpless to defend themselves and someone who, despite any of Katara's grievances, had helped them more than one might admit. She shook her head and moved her mouth wordlessly before nearly stumbling as she took a step back. Turning to look at Aang who was just behind her, tears flowing down his face, Katara reached out for his shoulder. She was stunned then as he whipped his arm out and knocked her hand away, turning his pained and angry eyes to her.

"Don't touch me," he snapped, his voice cracking. Katara could think of nothing to say, only reached for him again, suddenly desperate for his comfort and acceptance, but he pulled back, swallowing deeply as he moved to stand by Toph who had her arms wrapped around herself and was shaking as she cried. Ty Lee slowly moved from standing in front of Azula, to dropping gently to her knees besides Toph and pulling her into a hug, her own gaze fixed with a dumbfounded stare on Sasuke's body. Zuko's eyes were wide, but there was a relief there that he hadn't needed to be involved as he clutched tightly at Mai's hand who looked only briefly at Katara before shaking her head in something like disgust and turning to put her head into Zuko's shoulder.

Feeling almost frantic for some kind of approval or at least understanding, Katara turned to Sokka and Suki. The latter was looking intent, but resigned and wouldn't look at her, but Sokka's expression was something that Katara needed a moment to take in. She could have imagined any number of emotions on her brother's face, such as regret, pain, sadness, anger, or outright denunciation, bit she saw none of them now. Instead, Sokka was looking at Sasuke's body with a deep, almost wild curiosity as though expecting the corpse to jump up and prove them all wrong. It was actually a frightening look, but before Katara could even try to decipher what it could mean, Toph broke free from Ty Lee's gentle hold and smashed Katara in the stomach with a punch.

Katara had been hit by Toph before; the girl's common way of showing affection had been something they had all grown to adapt to and while these friendly hits had never before been overly damaging, there had always been some meat to them.

This punch however felt like Appa had just slammed his tail into her and Katara staggered back a couple steps, gasping in pain. Toph's face was awash with despair and anger, her fists balled as she shouted, "Is this what it's always going to come down to?! You being so terrified of someone or something that you just completely distance yourself from everyone else to make the call that you think we have no say in?!"

Katara needed a moment to catch her breath and even then, she winced as she spoke, her midsection pulsing with pain. "It's not like that Toph. I did this for the good of everyone, not just on some personal agenda."

Toph gave a wild screech of fake laughter and as Katara watched her friend, it dawned on her that this might be a far worse situation that she might have thought.

"Bullshit! You've been looking for a way to get rid of him since he got here, but since he's going to spoil your plans of having your boyfriend take down the Fire Lord, you had to go and kill him?!"

"He was dangerous to everyone. I didn't do this just for me, or just for Aang. He could have hurt you Toph." Katara tried to keep her tone as mellow as she could, though a part of her wanted to scream right back at Toph; to shout, to rant and rave might have done something to quell the raging storm of negative emotions roiling in her gut like waves in a storm.

Jabbing a finger at her, Toph roared, "You're a coward! You never even tried to understand him, or give him a chance, everything you did was for your ego! He would never hurt me!"

It was Mai who actually spoke up then, her low and cool tone a welcome addition to combat Toph's hysterics, but Katara could hear a shake in Mai's voice that told her this was no easy thing for her to accept either.

"Toph, he had his own goals. You were helping him get closer to them, and maybe that meant he was seeming like he was getting closer to you as a result, maybe it—"

Clenching her teeth and snarling, Toph brought her fists up furiously and Katara felt the ground beneath her shake.

"None of you get it!"

And just as Katara was sure that this was about to get dangerously physical, the shifting sand under her feet ceased in its swaying and Toph's arms dropped limply to her side. Her face was now just a tired and despairing mess, her mask of fury gone and washed to the wind.

"You hated him because he was scary. Because he was something you didn't understand."

She sniffed and wiped her cheeks on her arm; Katara realized how very alone she looked, even with all the company surrounding her.

"He helped us. He protected us. And I liked him. A whole lot."

This admission brought a pang to Katara's gut even though she had had a feeling deep down that it had been the case. But she kept her mouth closed, as she was sure that her next words might be another defense of her actions, and that might fire up Toph all over again. Instead, she stood still, trying to keep the tears of her own that had leapt unbidden to her eyes from spilling. She had never felt this way before in her life; the pain of killing, the feeling of guilt and filth that she had just done something so merciless compounded with the stinging and distinct possibility that Toph had a point were doing a number on her. She wanted to cry and scream, but she also wanted to heave a sigh of relief. Sasuke was no longer a problem, he was no longer a factor she had to consider. It made the idea of moving forward seem a great deal more possible.

But then, over the sound of Toph crying and the fire crackling out, a voice rippled over the breeze and rushing of the tide.

"I admit, I didn't see that coming."

Sasuke's tone was unmistakable and Katara's heart leapt into her throat at a furious hammering rate all over again. Suki and Ty Lee both inhaled sharply and every single person snapped straight up and Katara followed the gaze of everyone else to look at where his body had fallen, only to see a puddle of water glistening in the moonlight.

A trick.

Of course. Of course. Sasuke wasn't an idiot, her killing intent couldn't stay hidden from him, someone who made murder a part of his being. And with all the devious moves he had up his sleeves, he had foiled her somehow.

How? I felt him. I felt his body, and I snuffed out his heart. How can he be doing this?

The voice carried on, seeming to come from all around them, even inside Katara's own head.

"I guess we really aren't able to come to terms with what we are and what our goals represent. I really had hoped we would be able to, but if I have to, I'll put you down now, Katara. I'll give you a choice the same way you gave me one. Fly me back to the airship and let me be on my way."

Katara reached out and whipped up a cyclone of water that rushed around her with a roaring madness that she knew reflected the furious and terrified look in her eyes. She snapped back a single word as she looked around in a near frenzy, trying to find where he had gone.

"Or?!"

There was a long moment in which he didn't reply before a voice sounded right behind her.

"I will make you."

She shouted and spun, sending a torrent of ocean liquid cascading towards the sound, but Sasuke was already gone, one with the shadows again. From everyone else who had now joined Katara in looking around frantically for the newly undead Sasuke, Zuko stepped forward.

"Sasuke, please listen! It wasn't just Katara, I… I was involved too."

Katara looked at the Fire Nation prince hesitantly as Mai gave him a shocked look. He seemed to flinch at his own confession but pushed past it, continuing, "I was going to help her kill you if she couldn't finish you off by herself. But this doesn't need to be like this! We can come to an understanding, I know we can!"

After several seconds, Sasuke's voice resounded again. "You were going to help her take me down? Then I suggest you adopt a more offensive stance, your highness, we're not remotely done yet."

A shadow that moved as fast as a blink was on Zuko in an instant and smashed him to the ground. He gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, but Sasuke was back in the shadows even before that. A gust of wind washed over the camp blowing out the last of the fire, the stars and moonlight becoming the only source of light for a moment before Zuko climbed to his feet and summoned fire to his hands. He was at Katara's side in an instant, back to back with her and feeling just one other person being at her side sent a rush of warmth through Katara's adrenaline-pumping form.

Toph took a few steps away from the camp, pleading into the dark. "Sasuke, don't do this!"

When Sasuke spoke again, Katara could hear hurt in his voice, though it was clear he was trying to hide it. "Were you in on this Toph? Was that an act just now?"

Looking utterly destroyed that such a thing could even be considered, Toph shook her head miserably. "No. No! No, I would never, I don't… I don't want to see you hurt! Please!"

The pain in her voice was real, but Sasuke didn't respond to it.

Katara felt him on top of her before his blows actually landed; there was a blow to her side that caused her to yell in pain, then another to her gut that knocked her breath out and then a sweep to her legs that dropped her now oxygen-deficient body to the sand. As she gasped for air, her water crashing down around her, Zuko was hit again with a strike to the side of his head that sent him sprawling as well. And still, Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.

"If anyone else wants to ante up, now's the time. Whether it's two or all of you, I'd like to settle this permanently now."

Katara caught a glimpse of Aang's desperate face as he twisted around, trying to spot Sasuke. She desperately hoped he wouldn't speak up, it was going to be hard enough taking down Sasuke now without her having to worry about Aang being hurt. But there was no time to consider outliers; at any moment, Sasuke could be on top of her, his sword piercing her chest.

He's moving in the shadows. He's disguising himself, but he's still on the ground. I can't see him, but…

Drawing up another great wave of water, Katara sent it crashing over the beach, washing its entirety with the spray of the sea, save for the patch her companions stood upon.

I can still stop him.

Placing her hands on the now soaked sand, she sent a freezing surge all throughout the surging water and instantly, the beach froze over, a layer of ice covering its surface. And behind her about a dozen yards away, Katara felt something catch in the ice and she spun, heart thundering in her chest.

"There!" she shouted and Zuko understood as she pointed. With a yell, he threw two sharp kicks in the direction she felt the disturbance in her sheet of ice and as they rushed by illuminating their surroundings, Katara could see a figure struggling to free his feet from the frozen ground.

Got you.

Riding a fresh wave of water, she raced to the spot she had seen him, but looking down, there was only a puddle lying on top of the glimmering, freezing ground. Katara snarled in frustration, but before she could do more than turn back to Zuko, a hand reached out of the water that had just before carried her over and dragged her into its depths.

The wave wasn't more than the size of Appa, but that was still plenty big for Katara to realize that she would drown if her situation wasn't quickly changed. She whipped around with her hands, trying to force the water to dissipate, but with a terrifying start, she realized the water wasn't obeying her. She tried again and again, but it was though the water itself had changed allegiance. Her efforts gave way to panic as she thrashed about and as she looked through the water, she could see a shadowy figure looking in towards her.

One chance, she thought as her vision blurred and lungs seared for air. Reaching way from the water and instead towards the figure, she caught the blood flowing in the figure's arms and snapped them to the person's sides. The water fell away and Katara collapsed onto her icy barrier just above the sand, gasping for breath. As she blinked away her body's desire to fall into unconsciousness at the exertion she was being forced upon, Katara rolled to her hands and knees, but there was no longer a silhouette where the dark figure had been moments before.

She heard a grunt and Zuko landed hard just beside her. His face was alive with pain as he tightened up in a ball, grabbing at his waist.

"Are you alri—" Katara managed to choke out before what must have been a kick snapped out and crashed against her face. Stars flashed before her eyes as she dropped back to the ground; she felt blood seeping from her nose and tasted the coppery bitterness in her mouth as she staggered to her feet.

"That's enough!" Aang shouted, suddenly seeming as though he had seen quite enough and he, along with Toph and Mai, started forward, but with a crackling roar, a domed cage of black fire sprang to life and closed out the three of them as well as Suki, Sokka and Azula, trapping them in an intense, dark glow. Terrified at the sight of her friends being in danger, Katara immediately sent water to combat the fiery prison, but any liquid that neared the burning bars evaporated with a weak hiss. Her fury at her every move being constantly thwarted caused her to suddenly feel angry tears leaking from her eyes and she spun in a wide arc, throwing frozen spears to lance every which way into the dark.

"Why won't you just die?!" she screamed as Zuko attempted to struggle to his feet behind her.

"You don't get the only say. And I don't think I'm ready to die just yet."

Sasuke's voice came from directly behind her again, and she turned to face him, a brutal chop came down on her right collarbone and she cried out in pain, dropping to her knees. It took a moment for her to realize that she could see a pair of legs standing before her and she shook off the agony of her beating to reach out and grab at his bloodstream yet again, but as she looked up into Sasuke's face, his body fell away into water again that landed with a splash in front of her.

"I don't care that you never gave me a chance, Katara. I suppose I'm maybe a little resentful and it's sure making beating you to a pulp easier. But I just want to go. I have what I need, and I believe I'm going to be doing your whole little world a favor when I go and cut down the Fire Lord. But you're so self-righteous, so sure that your way is the only way. And that's why this is happening."

A fist connected with the small of her back and Katara gasped with pain, nearly crumpling over. Beside her, Zuko sent a spray of fire painting the dark behind them but it connected with no target. Katara came shoulder to shoulder with him, speaking quickly.

"I don't suppose you have any ideas."

Zuko shook his head. "I don't know how to fight what isn't there. He's using some kind of water clones to throw us off, but the hits that we're taking are from him, I know that."

"So are these," said Sasuke and Katara felt a hand press against the side of her head and slam her against Zuko's who, by the feel of it, had just had his head grabbed as well. They both dropped to their knees and Katara had to try again as her vision darkened and her head pounded with pain. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around her throat and she was hoisted in the air with a strangled choke; Sasuke's voice was a dark growl in her ear as she grabbed at his forearm.

"Just go down. Go down and give up. For what it's worth, I don't actually want to kill you."

Realizing that the arm she was holding wasn't made of water, Katara sent her bending forth again and forced his arm to release her. Hauling in breath desperately, Sasuke grunted.

"That's a pretty annoying move you've got there." He slammed his heel into the back of her head, driving her to the ground yet again. Katara found the very act of even trying to pick herself up again seemed more impossible then before, and it was only when Zuko reached down and tried to pull her up that she struggled wearily back to her feet.

Finally, she could see Sasuke, a dark figure standing just feet away from her as she and Zuko leaned painedly on one another for support. Not sure if this was actually the real Sasuke or not, Katara chose not to waste more of her dwindling energy bending. She had done very little of it this fight relatively, but the punishment she was taking was sapping away her energy just as much as summoning a fleet of colossal waves.

As Sasuke regarded them and they him, Aang yelled desperately from where he was trapped. "All of you, stop this! It doesn't have to be this way, we can talk this over!"

Sasuke suddenly seemed to twitch irritably as though he had been stung by a bee. "No. No more talking. I'm done wasting time listening to people who clearly have their minds concluded."

His face was suddenly lit up fire as orange sparks burst to his hands and he slowly unsheathed his sword. "It's time we end this, I think."

It struck Katara then just how useless all of her bending, all of her training was. Sasuke was both superhuman and subhuman at the same time; an impossible foe to fight against, completely unmatchable in any sense, not in speed, in fists, in elemental mastery. As she listened to the shouts and attempts to defuse the situation from Aang and everyone else, Katara knew then that she only had one chance to make this work.

She reached out just barely with her bloodbending, doing more than trying to pin him in place and also much less. She reached into the blood itself and with a moment of deep concentration, she felt that blood running against bone and muscle and Katara knew that the real Sasuke was standing before her. Somehow though, he was able to replace himself with a duplicate composed of water whenever he so deemed, and he clearly knew that she could blood bend at this point. She only had one real shot of catching him off guard, and she knew this would be her only chance to make it work.

Feigning a stagger, she silently generated an icy dagger in her hand. She knew of a point that she could strike him that would be lethal if she could just get a chance to stab with it. And based on Sasuke's flaming hands and drawn weapon, he was ready to come in quite close, perhaps close enough for Katara's ice to pierce him. She wished she could tell Zuko what she was thinking, but she could only tense up and wait, watching as Sasuke took in a long breath and sighed.

"It didn't have to be like this."

There was moment of almost pure quiet then and Katara knew what was about to happen.

Sasuke moved just as fast as she anticipated, but she bended the ice beneath his feet just enough to slow him down to the point where she could catch him. But as he approached at a still blinding speed, Katara knew that the length of his sword would still reach her well before she could get to him and she knew in that split second that if she had to go out to take him down, she would. Roaring in a last attempt to perhaps throw him off just a bit, she moved forward, ready to take his sword if it only meant she could finally put him down.

Katara and Sasuke both stopped dead then, of their own accord, only feet apart.

Toph, who had apparently tunneled free from the black cage of flames, had thrown herself in front of Katara with her arms outstretched, facing Sasuke.

Katara didn't know what was more stunning, the fact that Toph had believed she could stop Sasuke with such a gesture or the fact that, for all intents and purposes, she had. Sasuke stared at Toph, sword still drawn back. Katara couldn't see her friend's face, but she could tell when Toph spoke that she was crying.

"Sasuke… please…"

He blinked down at her and Katara saw her opportunity. Fully expecting to be thwarted yet again, she gasped in surprise as her icy knife sank deep into Sasuke's chest with a soft sounding thud. Looking down at it, Sasuke simply stared from it and then back to Katara and Toph before falling over without a sound.

"No!" Toph shouted and made to move to his side before a wall of fire exploded between them and Toph stumbled back into Zuko. As the flaming wall's brief lifetime ended, it fell away to burn only a few inches from the ground, not nearly as powerful but just as illuminating.

Azula was crouched next to Sasuke, holding his head to her chest with one hand and pointing two fingers towards Katara with the other. Blue sparks crackled around them as her face glowed with a mad obsessiveness.

"Not another move, any of you."

She swiped at the air to Katara's right then. "Any of you!"

Katara looked to see that everyone else had evacuated themselves through the tunnel that Toph had used to escape the black fire and put herself between the fighters. Everyone's face was glowing with deep anxiousness and worry, but Mai was the first to attempt to reach the princess who was holding Sasuke like a mother would her firstborn.

"Azula, just… put him down. This has gone far enough." She took a step forward and a bolt of lightning lanced from Azula's fingers to blast apart the sand at Mai's feet, who cursed and stepped back. For a moment, it was as much of a standoff as anything could be, with Azula's eyes dancing with madness as she glared at the lot of them.

It was Ty Lee who finally spoke quietly. "What now then, Azula? You going to run away with him, assuming he doesn't die from that wound?"

Katara looked to Sasuke's blank face and wondered if her strike was killing him. Azula looked down at him briefly before looking back, teeth bared angrily. Ty Lee continued, "This can't work. It doesn't work. You can't let your… feelings for him affect your judgement like this."

Azula said nothing, only continued to glower. As she saw Sasuke's hand twitched, Katara suddenly felt a serious sense of urgency; she hadn't hit him exactly where she knew a blow could be fatal, so it was possible the shock of his wound was wearing off and he was coming around. This had to be finished before then.

Taking a step forward herself, she said in as commanding a voice as she could manage. "Azula, get out of the way."

Of course, the princess didn't move, but turned her fingers Katara's way. Not deterred in the slightest, Katara brought dozens of icy spears to life above her head, all hovering ominously and ready to be launched.

"I don't want to have to kill you too."

Azula's twisted snarl became a savage grin. "So sure you can?"

Mai stepped up next to Katara and gave her a look and Katara knew then that this was perhaps an even more dangerous situation then before; if Azula was as willing as she seemed to shed blood over Sasuke, there was no telling what she would do here, or who she'd be willing to kill. But Katara could see a window between the princess's arms, one where she might just be able to squeeze an icicle through and cut him down, something she could do without so much as touching Azula. And if there was an aftermath to be had with her, or even Toph, that could be settled after the fact.

But as she tensed and prepared to attack, Aang grabbed her arm and jumped in front of her.

"Stop this!"

His voice was as loud and angry as she had ever heard and it was enough to give her pause as he stared up at her with fuming eyes. Spinning on his heel then he walked over to Azula and Sasuke, the former gazing at him with narrowed eyes as she pulled Sasuke closer to herself.

"One wrong move, Avatar…" she murmured spitefully but Aang didn't seem to even acknowledge her as he stopped at her side and looked back towards everyone else. Crossing his arms, he took a deep breath and said, "I'm going with Sasuke."

It took several moments for the gravity of what he had just said to truly settle over Katara and she felt her throat tighten.

No.

After everything she had done, after everything she had been willing to sacrifice to push Sasuke from their lives, Aang couldn't do this. His expression was tight but there was resolve there too.

"If this is going to be what brings us to apart, what makes us try and kill each other, then this is all there is to say. I'm going with Sasuke to confront the Fire Lord; the training I've gotten so far will have to be enough. I have you all, and that will more than suffice for anything that I'm lacking."

Katara could think of nothing to say as she stared at him weakly. He met her eyes and his face softened as he must have seen the pain written on her face.

"I'm sorry, Katara. But everything I've done so far has been with help. My training, all my battles, and everywhere I've gone, I've had you, or Sokka, or Toph, or whoever else backing me up. Maybe this isn't the way you want to do this, but it's not only your voice that matters."

He looked back and forth into the dark that surrounded them, his expression turning almost annoyed.

"What do you think, Sasuke? Can't imagine you don't have an opinion."

His comment seemed to take everyone by a little bit of surprise and a cry from Azula caused them to look and see that save for her now wet sleeve and puddle at her feet, there was no sign of Sasuke. Katara closed her eyes in a last bout of frustration; she had felt his bones, his muscle, how had this too been another fake?

"The only paying attention, I see. You seem to be pretty good at defusing situations like this, kid."

As though he had simply blinked into existence, Sasuke was suddenly standing a few meters from Aang looking perhaps distantly impressed. Instinctively, Katara drew her hands into a readied position, but his eyes turned to her, glowing with that sinister red that she knew accompanied a fair but of his offense.

"Katara, if you try that shit again, I'm going to break both your arms."

She swallowed and didn't proceed with an attack, but remained in a readied stance nonetheless. Sasuke looked at her for a moment before looking back to Aang who shrugged.

"Doesn't seem to work so well when Toph and Katara argue, but other times, it does the job okay."

Sasuke made a noise that could have been a laugh and regarded Aang thoughtfully. It was a long several seconds before he finally said, "I'd really rather do this alone."

Aang put his hands up in an almost pleading gesture. "If you have a better solution that doesn't involve anyone getting hurt, I'd love to hear it."

When Sasuke didn't reply, Aang carried on, "You try and go alone and Katara tries to kill you. And in that scenario, something really terrible could happen, and I'm not… I'm not letting anyone else get hurt because of this stupid argument."

"Aang," Katara growled as her eyes never left Sasuke. "He's dangerous."

Suddenly, Aang's voice came alive with a real, terrifying anger and he screamed at her, "So are you!"

Her heart caught in her throat as he began to shout in her direction, Sasuke left to the side watching on. "This has always been about you feeling threatened by someone who's stronger than you! You might be the most powerful bender of all of us, but now that Sasuke's here, you have nothing left in your heart but resentment and fear! I can see it in your face, every minute of every day! You don't talk to me anymore, you don't talk to anyone anymore, you just sit around and stare at him with that… that damn expression!"

He seemed to catch himself and took in a slow breath in an attempt to calm himself.

"I'm sorry, Katara. But this is what I've chosen."

Aang turned back to Sasuke, eyes questioning. Katara could feel something that felt very much like both hurt and guilt washing through her gut, but she could only think to watch and wait for a response. Sasuke looked at Aang for a long time, his only movements being occasional blinks and sighs before he finally said his peace before leaving her to stand alone in her agony and limp away to tend to her and Zuko. Never had she felt so betrayed, nor powerless.

"We leave in the morning, then."

Azula was reeling.

She hadn't expected Sasuke to agree to Aang's proposal, and she had been deeply hoping he wouldn't regardless. This wasn't like him, to accept this kind of help, or be a part of something he didn't have to; what was he playing at? She clenched her fists from where she knelt on the slowly melting sheet of ice. He should have just killed Katara then and there and left. She would have followed him no matter what, but now they had to have company? It wasn't fair. Sasuke was hers and now yet again, she had to share him.

Her eyes moved up to watch Toph move away as the group slowly broke up, the shocked and tense expressions revealing that no one had quite expected this turn of events either. Katara looked utterly defeated and Azula took some satisfaction in that, but as she watched Toph, she could only feel hate in her heart.

You can't have him. You little bitch, I'll kill you first, then Katara, then…

"Are you alright?"

Azula was shaken from her mental cursing and looked up to see Sasuke looking down at her, his head slightly cocked. Her hate dissolved into a feeling that she couldn't quite pinpoint but it was a far more warm feeling than her cold disdain. It took her a moment to reply, as she made sure she sounded as in control as she could.

"I'm fine."

Sasuke looked back to the place where they had been momentarily trapped by his black fire to the tunnel that Toph had burrowed that everyone had then escaped from.

"That was dangerous. You're probably not remotely healed enough to be putting yourself in danger like that."

Resentment bubbled up in Azula's gut.

I did it for you, don't you understand that? I would take a beating from Katara and my brother, I would take a hundred more lashes, it doesn't matter, I did it for you.

And then, he said, "I suppose I should thank you though. Both for what you did at the festival and just now."

Barely able to contain her pounding heart and very sure that Sasuke was going to be able to hear it thundering against her breast, Azula watched him with bated breath as he scratched the back of his head, looking somewhat uncomfortable.

"You're pretty strong, pretty tough," he said. "I'm sorry for what I said on the airship, I.. . misjudged you. You're driven, and you know how to get what you want."

Oh, Sasuke, if you only knew what really that was…

"But thanks."

He seemed to be okay leaving it at that and Azula couldn't stop herself from blurting out. "Could you help me up?"

She had to know what it felt like.

He turned to look at her with veiled surprise, but nonetheless reached out with an open hand. Azula let him pull her to her feet before pretending to fall forward after losing her balance. Sasuke caught her effortlessly and she pressed her head against him and put an arm around his shoulder. For a long moment, she reveled in his warmth and the pure power that he seemed to exert. It was intoxicating just being that close to him and she looked up to look into his distantly startled and confused face and put a hand on his cheek, the warmth in her body nearly driving her crazy.

So close…

Toph hid behind the stump as she felt how close they were together. Azula felt like she had stumbled, and Sasuke had caught her, but they were still very close to each other despite that moment having passed. She felt Azula's feet push forward and Sasuke moved slightly; Toph grabbed the sides of her head wishing that just for a moment she could ignore her incredible sense of touch and pretend what might be happening was just an impossibility.

The seconds that it took for them to break apart felt like an eternity but they remained in close proximity for several more silent moments before Azula walked off, her pace impossible to measure against a certain mood. Toph waited until she felt Sasuke start to walk away as well before shaking her head and letting tears fall into the sand below. It was a moment more before she realized that this particular set of steps were not simply walking away from the spot that had held them close to Azula's, but they were also heading her way.

Oh, no, no, no, not now…

She sniffed deeply trying to clear her nasal passage and wiped her cheeks frantically. She couldn't let him see her like this, not again, not after everything that had happened…

"How many times am I gonna catch you crying?" Sasuke's voice had a somewhat humorous edge to it, but Toph wasn't in the mood to reciprocate this rare tone.

"What do you want?" she asked sharply, turning her head away from him. She half-hoped this would be enough to make him leave her then and there, but he hopped on top of the log she was leaning against instead.

How had he known I was over here?

"Just thought I'd thank you for your help at the festival," he said, his voice becoming somewhat reproachful then.

"Don't you think you'd be better off giving Azula some more of your 'thanks'?" she snapped bitterly. "You two clearly have something going on and it wouldn't be good if she caught you talking with me."

She wished badly that she could hear his thoughts then as he waited a long beat before replying. "You're making a lot of assumptions, Toph."

"Not sure how else I can take any of that," she flared. "Not like I'd expect you to care much how…"

How I feel.

Not able to even finish the thought, she put her head down on her knees, doing everything she could to keep herself from crying again. He didn't say anything more for close to a minute before he asked her quietly.

"How did you know?"

She blinked and turned slightly in his direction. "How did I know what?"

"That I wouldn't hurt you."

Toph felt her chest seem to tighten on itself as he Sasuke continued, "You said it to Katara before we fought. And you believed it enough to put yourself in front of my sword. How did you know?"

It was like a hand had wrapped around her heart and was clenching it tight. "I just… I just knew." It was hard to even talk, like something had a hold of her breathing.

"You know, Toph, I don't know much about a lot of you people. I know feelings are mixed."

Her toes and fingers felt numb as he dropped down to the side of the log she was on. His voice remained the flat, impenetrable calm that it always seemed to be, but his words were causing her insides to do backflips.

He sighed. "I'm not very good with this, I know."

Toph shook her head almost told quickly. "No, it's okay. "

Please don't stop.

She heard him scratch the back of his head. "Damn it, Toph, I can't really read you that well. I could get in your head if I wanted but… that's invasive stuff and I won't use it on you."

She could think of nothing to say, but tried to keep herself from shaking.

"What do you want from me, Toph?" he asked and she couldn't keep herself from inhaling sharply. He waited but when she didn't reply, he continued.

"I can't tell if you're trying to be nice to me, or hate my guts. You said you liked me, but I guess I don't know what exactly that means. I…I just want to know what you want from me."

I want you.

She couldn't bring herself to be honest and just shook her head. Sasuke seemed to regard her for a while before seeming to decide that this wasn't worth his time and started to walk away back towards camp.

Toph suddenly couldn't bear the idea of her leaving her there without even a word. Lifting her head she said after him, unable to keep the desperation out of her voice.

"Sleep next to me?" She felt her cheeks redden and her pulse leapt in its rate as she reflected how completely absurd a request that was. Just the wish of a stupid girl who hated so much the idea of him growing as close to Azula as she was wanting to be. Why would he listen to her, why would he even—

"Alright."

If it were possible, her pulse heightened in its pounding rate. Hardly able to believe what was happening, Toph felt Sasuke walk over to her side and sit down just beside her against the fallen tree. And unlike before, when she had leaned into him and he hadn't matched her touch, this time Sasuke reached out with an arm and put it around her shoulder tentatively. Just as hesitantly and with a shaking hand that she could no longer control, she laid her hand over his chest as she leaned into him and closed her eyes. Just his touch was enough to take her breath away, though her body heaved gently with shakes.

Sasuke spoke quietly to her then.

"No shame in crying, Toph."

His words echoed in her head and for a moment, she was frozen. Then, she whimpered and began to cry, putting her head against his body and let her own exhaustion finally rock her to sleep, Sasuke's touch being well enough of a bed for her.