Disclaimer: All rights belong to Nickelodeon, Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and all the men and women that created the A:TLA show, books, and comics. I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made. The lyrics are from the song "The Nights" by Avicii

Rating: General Audiences. Warning: some scenes contain dark themes and minor violence

Author's Note: Ladies and Gentlemen and everyone in between: this is the moment you've been waiting for! Fair warning: everything's about to change in a BIG way

Chapter 14 - The Avatar Returns

When thunder clouds start pouring down

Light a fire they can't put out

Carve your name into those shining stars

Go venture far beyond the shores.

Don't forsake this life of yours.

Although Katara is tired that night, she can't fall asleep. She keeps tossing and turning on her mattress. Her pillow isn't fluffy enough this way, but her neck aches if she smooshes it higher. Her blanket is too hot on her body, but then she's too cold when she kicks it off. The mattress is too lumpy for her back, but she can't breathe well when she sleeps on her stomach.

She knows those things aren't the real reason for why she can't fall asleep.

When her eyelids close, she just sees Saura standing in front of her, hears the thousand voices in her head: "You're the Avatar, Katara. You will save everyone."

She doesn't want to be the Avatar. She doesn't want to have the responsibility of the world on her shoulders. She doesn't want to risk her life by fighting the Fire Lord. She doesn't want to follow a destiny that someone else wrote for her.

Katara wants to find her brother. She wants to make a new home somewhere and carry on the traditions of her people. She wants to take some time to properly mourn. Ideally, she'd also find a way to help Zuko let go of his anger and show him the way to happiness.

But the voices of the Avatars - of her past lives - keep resounding in her mind. How can she escape destiny? She's just one person trying to say "No!" to the universe.

And it's selfish. She knows how selfish it is to not want to be the Avatar. The people of the four nations - or, at least, the three remaining ones - are counting on her. They need her to defeat the enemy they've been trying to fend off for a hundred years. She's the only one powerful enough.

She's also just a sixteen year old girl. She has a right to a normal life.

She can't stop thinking about her conversation with Zuko. She's witnessed first hand how following destiny can destroy a person. Only when he sidelined his mission did he begin to let go of his anger and start opening up. She doesn't want to become so obsessed with fulfilling her destiny that she becomes a completely different person.

But despite the pain and suffering his destiny has inflicted upon him, Zuko said he'd prefer having one than not. He said it gave him a purpose, a goal. Katara remembers feeling frustrated when the people in her village didn't let her help. "I'm a Waterbender for a reason," she always complained to her parents. "I want to help. I want to contribute to the tribe." Since coming aboard this ship, she's made it her goal to help Zuko. What will she do when she leaves?

People need purpose. Katara is luckier than most; she doesn't have to search for hers. She was born with a purpose, and it's up to her now whether to accept it or not.

She reaches over and grabs the necklace from the small table by the bed. She remembers now: it was her mother's. She closes her hand around the turquoise pendant. She can't feel her mother's presence anymore. It's gone, gone like her village and her family and her past life. Gone like her childhood, blown away in waves of fire.

Gone.

Still, she holds it close. There's some comfort in knowing that although she can't see or hear or feel them, they did exist. They existed and they struggled with purpose and making choices in life. Katara isn't alone.

She squeezes her eyes tight, trying to hold back tears. "I know you probably can't hear me, Mom," she whispers. "But I really need you right now. I really need your guidance. I don't know what to do."

No answer. She wasn't expecting one. She doesn't need one, though. She knows what her mother would say, because she knows the choices her mother made. Kya of the Water Tribe was always strong and brave. She always made the right choice. And she taught her children to do the same.

That's why Katara knows she has to accept her duty as Avatar. Her parents died trying to protect her. Her mother's last words were for her to flee. Maybe she knew Katara was the Avatar, maybe not - either way, she knew Katara's destiny was important. Worth dying for.

She thinks of what Zuko said: "You're meant for more. I know it."

Katara smiles a little. She's not alone in this. Zuko believes in her. When she finds him, she knows her brother will believe in her. When she starts rebelling against the Fire Nation, she knows the whole world will believe in her, too.

And somewhere, wherever we go when we die, her mother and father are watching her proudly, believing in her. Rooting for her.

Katara strokes the carved pendant with her thumb. "I won't let you down," she promises. "You never let me down. You loved me unconditionally. Supported me in everything. You taught me to use my gifts for good. And now I have the opportunity to show what I learned from you. I'll make you proud."

She listens quietly, hoping to hear something. But the dead are dead and the living are living, and the door between the two worlds has never been more closed.

She does have a memory, though. When she was young, and still an inexperienced bender, she came home from her Waterbending lesson upset and discouraged. She ran to her room and cried for hours.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" her mother had asked.

"I can't do anything," she'd wailed, covering her face with her hands. "I'm a horrible Waterbender. I'm going to be useless to the tribe. I'm just a big disappointment."

Her mother had put an arm around her and gently said, "I don't care how good you are at Waterbending. You are not useless, Katara. And your father and I will always be proud of you, no matter what."

At the time, she had waved it off as her mother saying things to try and make her feel better. Now, though, she can't thank her mother enough for giving her a memory to look back on. Knowing that her parents would be proud of her gives her the courage to accept her destiny.

"I'll do it," she whispers to the voices from her past lives. "I'll be the Avatar."

Zuko stands next to the navigator. "You don't know where we are?" he repeats, trying to keep his voice level.

The man shakes his head. "We're somewhere in this area," he says, pointing to a large red circle. "I'm not entirely sure where, though. The hurricane pushed us up northeast, towards the Earth Kingdom coast."

Zuko looks closer at the red circle. "We're getting close to Omashu," he says. "We need to go back to the South Pole."

"If we go too far west we risk running into the hurricane again, sir."

"Then stay close to the coast. And keep your eyes open."

Zuko exits the cabin and takes a look over the waters. He hopes they don't run into any Earth Kingdom ships. He wants to get back to the South Pole as soon as possible.

The sooner Katara leaves, the sooner he can continue his mission. And the sooner she leaves, the sooner he can forget about her. He's been spending too much time thinking about her lately. He likes her too much.

That's what his mind says, at least. Deep down, in his heart, the thought of seeing her for the last time hurts worse than a lightning bolt to the chest. He doesn't want to forget about her bright eyes, her easy smile, and her calm voice that seems to know exactly what to say at any given moment. He doesn't want to say goodbye to the one person who made him forget about his tragic past and his lost honor, even if only for a moment.

She always listened to him honestly and asked sincere questions. She never acted afraid of him. She never treated him like royalty. She treated him like any other person - and he appreciated that. He never had to pretend around her. She was the one person he could be honest with.

As he leans on the deck, he wonders if he's making a mistake by telling her to go. Maybe Iroh is right. Maybe he would be happy giving up his mission and staying with her.

But it's not possible. Because while he may be happier, she wouldn't be. Eventually she'd tire of trying to be patient with him. Eventually she'd get sick of having him around, and then either she'd leave or he'd become unhappy again.

Zuko knows he's a lot to handle. He knows he's moody: quick to anger, slow to calm down, and even slower to open up. He knows that he's not a likeable person. Even his own parents didn't want to stick around him. Iroh is the only one who has stayed at Zuko's side, and he's the only one who ever will.

No, Zuko can't overthink this too much. He'll just tear himself apart even more. It's best for Katara to leave when she finds her brother, and it's best for Zuko to continue his mission. One day he'll be Fire Lord and one day she'll settle down somewhere and start rebuilding the Water Tribes and they'll have completely forgotten about each other.

They are fire and water, both literally and metaphorically. Zuko is a spark away from exploding at any given moment; Katara is as cool and calm and patient as the ocean waves. Zuko destroys everything in his path; Katara brings life and healing.

He's not quite ready to say goodbye to the life and healing she's brought into his life. How can you push away medicine when it's just starting to work? But he must, before he destroys it like everything else.

Speaking of Katara. He sees her approach with a strange, serene expression on her face.

"Thank you," she tells him when she gets closer.

"For what?"

"I was having trouble accepting my destiny. It really helped that you believed in me."

He has no idea what she's talking about, but at least he did something positive for once in his life. Maybe her healing has worked faster than he thought.

"It would be hard not to believe in you," he replies wryly. "You defeated a kraken single handedly and rescued us from the middle of a hurricane."

She smiles. "Yeah. I guess I did." She crosses her arms loosely. "And I believe in you, too, Zuko. You're going to complete your mission and return home and one day you'll be a great Fire Lord."

He isn't sure how to feel when she says that. On one hand, it makes him happy. She believes he can restore his honor and lead his people. On the other hand, it makes him sad because she's accepted that their destinies are drawing them apart. He knows he's the one who told her that she had to leave, but it still hurts to hear that she's okay with it.

It just assures him that he's making the right choice.

"I'm sorry about my great grandfather destroying your people," he says. "When I'm Fire Lord, I'm going to stop the war. There's no point in it. We have enough land and resources for our people."

"I never blamed you for what your great grandfather did." Katara makes eye contact with him. "I've honestly not felt like I've been around the Fire Nation here. I've never associated the men who destroyed my village with the men on this ship."

Zuko knows he should be upset that she doesn't see him as Fire Nation. He should be proud of his origins, especially as the rightful heir to the throne. Instead, he feels relieved.

"It's strange," he remarks. "We managed to become friends, despite our backgrounds."

She smiles. "It gives you hope for the future of the nations, doesn't it?" She turns back to look over the sea. "I just hoped we could become more than friends."

He watches her. She's looking forward with a sort of serene acceptance. Coincidence brought them together and fate is tearing them apart. In some ways, it's cruel. In other ways, it's kind. They were never meant to be together, so being separated now is saving them from pain later.

Still, it's cruel that they were together long enough to start feeling this way about each other.

"We were never just friends," he says quietly. She turns and stares at him. Then she smiles sadly.

"I'll miss you, Zuko," she admits. "I've never met anyone quite like you."

"Well, it's not everyday you meet a prince."

She rolls her eyes. "I wouldn't brag too much. Usually it's the prince's job to save the girl, not the girl saving the prince. And as I recall, I save you not once but twice."

"I saved you from freezing and starving to death in the ice," he points out. This is what he really likes about her: the easy conversations they can have. He doesn't have to maintain his dignity, he doesn't have to think carefully about every word, and he doesn't have to be suspicious of what she might be trying to manipulate him into saying. He can just be himself around her.

He can't believe he's going to give this all up in just a few days.

"The domestic heroics," she teases back. "Food and shelter. You'll make a proper Water Tribe housewife. Next thing you know, you'll be sewing your own furs."

He crosses his arms. "My destiny is to be Fire Lord. What is your destiny, again?"

She smiles smugly. "Why, I'm the Avatar. And I'm going to save the world."

And suddenly Zuko's world explodes in the kind of destructive fire only he can conjure. Of course saying goodbye to Katara isn't hard enough on its own.

Now Zuko has to decide between her and his destiny.