Review Replies:

pukachujan19999: Sokka and Toph will come to realize later that putting all the blame on Aang was a way of not facing their own responsibilities. But, that'll be after the general progression of angst that will proceed below.

rach12901: I've actually never read that other story where Zuko and Katara get left behind, I'd love to read it! Please PM me the link if you get the chance :) Regarding Iroh and Azula's relationship, I felt that it was sorely lacking in the canon version of events. He didn't do enough to reach out to his niece, to try to save her. With the remainder of the Gaang isolated from Katara and Zuko, they have to deal with the circumstances that led to such an outcome. Aang wasn't necessarily at fault here. Having taken a direct hit from a lightning bolt, it is nothing short of a miracle that he managed to get up, airbend himself to Appa, and survive without spirit water or immediate medical attention. He couldn't have done anything against Azula at this point, who was now drawing her power not from her cold, detached psyche, but from an inner rage that she had never really utilized in her firebending until now. I'm going to be incorporating more flashbacks featuring Ursa, as I feel that Zuko draws his compassion almost exclusively from his mother. Oh, and please don't apologize for a long, detailed review lol. I'd like to know your thoughts and insights regarding each of my chapters!

Katara was drawn out of her sleep by the rays of sunlight streaming through the worn-down, dangling wooden blinds of the window adjacent to her bed. She moved her right arm to shield her eyes, feeling the gentle warmth pool against her skin. After taking a moment to get a hold of her surroundings, she remembered the events of the day before. She moved her arm and looked beside her bed, to find Zuko asleep, leaning against the wall as he slept on the bare wooden floor. A swarm of emotions hit her right then like a sack of bricks. She recalled how she had felt as she leapt in front of Azula's lightning, her fear being dwarfed by an eerie acceptance of her fate. How her first memory after that was looking into Zuko's soft, concerned eyes. The way his eyes focused on her, something about them was very different than the eyes she had encountered throughout the months that he had pursued them. When he had tied her to that tree, his eyes were nothing like that. They were cold, somewhat gleeful. Then, when she had next gazed into his eyes below Lake Laogai, as she offered to heal his scar, she recalled how his eyes held hope. How that hope seemed to be snuffed out as she pulled the spirit water away from him. Somehow, she was beginning to understand why Zuko had betrayed her. But what could have made him reverse his decision? She wasn't quite sure, but she was grateful for it. Even though she had been abandoned there with her former enemy, and another teen who very much was her enemy (that hurt, Katara ruefully reflected), she knew deep down that it was the Avatar's destiny to stop the century-long madness and destruction- not Katara's. Looking away from Zuko, she took in the rest of the bedroom. It was dusty, was worn-down, and the structural integrity of the whole place couldn't have been excellent, but still, she appreciated this temporary abode. Then, she realized something else. It was morning, which meant that they had been staying here, undetected, for at least 12 or so hours. If Azula had seized the city, she doubted that her and Zuko could have stayed here for that long without being caught. Which left one possibility: that Azula hadn't won. Hadn't taken over the city. Which means, Katara said mentally to herself as her eyes focused on Zuko once more, that Zuko... defeated Azula? But no, I heard fire blasts behind Zuko as I woke up in the caverns. What else could have happened then... she wondered.

A throbbing pain in her left arm took her mind off of those questions just then, as she realized that the wound that the lightning blast had inflicted upon her arm hadn't been healed yet. As she put her hand on the wrapping around her wound (wait, isn't that Zuko's ROBE? He wrapped it with THAT?), she heard someone clearing clearing their throat. Her head whipping up at a speed which might be considered unsafe, she found herself staring into his golden gaze once more. They were so... brilliant. She imagined that they were alight with soft, gentle flames, complimenting a soft, gentle boy- Oh, she thought to herself, blushing lightly at where her thoughts had been going. She blinked a couple of times, before focusing on him once more. He was looking at her with a strange expression, as if he was contemplating her very being. "Hey." he said, waving his hand. "Welcome back." he said, smirking slightly. "Oh, uh..." Katara trailed off, desperate to think of something to fill the awkward void with. "Uh... You're welcome?" she tried, before she quickly shook her head, muttering nonsensical things to herself. Zuko found this rather endearing. He'd finally found someone equally as awkward as he was- okay, she clearly had a way with words, he'd seen that first hand before, but just in this moment, she'd sunk down to his level of sheer and utter ineptitude when it came to speech. He decided to take initiative, and pushed himself off of the wooden floor. "How's your arm?" he asked, opting to sit down at the corner of the bed. Katara gingerly removed herself from the blanket that she had managed to wrap herself within during her sleep, and moved closer to Zuko, extending her left arm. "It still hurts, it's this throbbing feeling." she told him, watching anxiously as he frowned, and began to unwrap what had once been his robe from around the injury. "Oh yeah, Zuko, uh, you didn't have to do that for me." she continued, pointing to the crumpled and somewhat bloody cloth that Zuko was uncoiling from around her arm. Zuko merely shrugged. "Eh, I'll live without it." he replied calmly. She narrowed his eyes at the firebender. How aloof could he be? Then again, he had saved her life. Perhaps it was just best to not question some of these, unique decisions of his. Perhaps she was just looking into things too much. As Zuko finished unwrapping the cloth from around the wound, his eyes widened ever so slightly. "Agni..." he murmured, as his eyes took in the deep, jagged gash on Katara's arm. "You slept though this!?" Zuko exclaimed, staring at Katara incredulously. Evidently, Katara was having a similar reaction to the severity of the wound. "I... didn't realize..." she managed, looking somewhat squeamish. "Alright, then. Can you try waterbending?" he asked the girl. "Hmm..." she replied noncommittally, as she raised her right arm. She glanced around her waist and for her waterskin. Moving her fingers rhythmically, she appeared lost in concentration. Finally, a ball of water floated up, morphing into the shape of a cube. Her gaze softened at the sight of the cube, a smile making its way to her face.

Zuko felt a sort of fluttery thing inside him, his emotions becoming lighter as he watched Katara raise her maimed arm towards the cube, which was now morphing back into a spherical shape. That look of concentration had returned, Zuko noted, as she brought the water to the surface of her skin. Biting her bottom lip, she pooled the water into the wound, wincing a bit as she put her efforts into healing some of the tissue. This wasn't spirit water, so this process would likely take a while. As water collected within the confines of the jagged, streaking wound, the dark purple and red exposed tissue began to change tone, slowly changing into a light red and pinkish hue. Zuko was fascinated by the control that Katara exercised over her element, his already high levels of respect for the girl surging even more so. "That's so cool!" he said, unable to help himself. Katara merely grinned at this, her eyes still focused on healing her arm. They sat there for several minutes, with Katara beginning to sweat as the stamina needed to maintain her healing began to take a toll on her body. Once Zuko felt that the wound had been healed enough, he reached forward and grabbed Katara's right arm, interrupting the healing process. Before Katara had a chance to question this, he spoke quickly: "You need to take a break, alright?" After considering this, she slowly nodded, glancing at her now mostly-healed wound before looking once more at Zuko. She took a few seconds to compose herself, getting her breathing under control. An awkward silence formed between the two teens. After a few more seconds, Zuko decided to take initiative, and tugged on Katara's good arm. "Come on, let me show you the kitchen!" he said excitedly, as he got up, with Katara following behind apprehensively. As they entered, Zuko gestured for Katara to follow him to the counter. "Look, it's a faucet." he said, turning around to find Katara just... staring at it, as if it was just another mundane object. Unimpressed by her reaction, he was about to speak when the waterbender cut him off. "Zuko, I can bend water." she pointed out, a smirk coming across her features. After a brief pause, Zuko deflated. "Oh, uh... Right." he murmured. Katara just giggled at this. "What? What's so funny?" Zuko retorted, his signature moody side coming out. "Oh, nothing." she said flippantly, still grinning. "Whatever..." Zuko grumbled, deciding to find glasses from him and Katara to drink from. After finding two in a cupboard beneath the counter, he rinsed them under the faucet and then filled them with water. He offered the glass to Katara, who accepted it gratefully (she was feeling thirsty, and was glad that Zuko had gotten her the glass without her having to ask for one).

From there, the two benders walked slowly through the house, taking time to explore it. They didn't have any food to prepare, so this was all they could do, really. As the early morning sunlight streamed through the the exposed windows of the home, both felt an unusual sense of long, of nostalgia- even though this abandoned home didn't have any connection to either of their lives. Perhaps it was merely the silent solitude that the two basked in that gave rise to these feelings. After a few minutes, they elected to lounge on a worn-down sofa, the cushions scratched and torn, and the wooden frame within visible through the large cuts in the sofa's fabric exterior. The silence that followed was a comfortable one. Somehow, the mutual feeling was as if they were life-long friends. After all, their respective actions yesterday were ones worthy of such a hypothetical friendship.

Yet... there was still something there. A small uncertainty that for whatever reason was shadowing over this new relationship the two had forged. It could be ignored under the desperate and dire circumstances of the previous day, but now... but now something had to give. Katara made the first move. "Zuko..." she began, hoping to frame her words to not come off as accusatory. She didn't distrust the Fire Nation prince, but she didn't understand him either. Why he had done what he had done. "What... what happened yesterday?" she asked, looking intently into his amber eyes. Zuko considered this. He had betrayed three people. He had betrayed the girl in front of him, he had betrayed his uncle, and finally, he had betrayed his mother His mother who wanted her son to be better. To do the right thing. He was a traitor. He reckoned he was a rather prolific one too. "I..." he began, sighing briefly before continuing. "I can't fully understand my actions down there. I think I know why I did what I did, but saying those reasons out loud is... difficult." he confessed, his gaze lowering. "And uh... I'm sorry, again. For what I did." he said, his words dripping with guilt. Something within Katara twisted at these words. Whatever doubts she had about his loyalties, and whether she could trust him were disappearing.

But, there was still something. A curiosity to know why. "I know, Zuko. I forgive you." she said earnestly, her eyes trying to convey the sincerity behind her words. As Zuko looked at her brilliant blues, he felt his mood lift ever so slightly. "But..." Katara continued, and Zuko was suddenly overcome with trepidation. "... Why did you turn on me in the first place?" she said softly, trying to make her tone as non-hostile as possible. Zuko evidently picked up on these cues, as he didn't recoil as hard as he should have at these words. Zuko thought about his answer carefully. You offered me hope, acceptance... healing. Then you left. Left. You... left. As irrational as this reasoning was, he figured it was the most accurate version of what had compelled Zuko to side with Azula. "... Do you remember when you offered to heal my scar?" he said quietly, as if he was unsure of himself. "Then, when the Avatar burst in... you left me." he said, his gaze lowering once more. Katara had picked up on this tick of Zuko's, this nervous aversion to eye contact. For a brash and arrogant Fire Prince, he certainly was very timid. "I felt... cheated." he admitted, his voice beginning to crack. "I know that it's no excuse, but I just... I just couldn't do the right thing when it counted." At this Zuko began to choke up, compelling Katara to act. She instinctively shifted closer to Zuko on the sofa, and brought her right atm around his frame. He froze, tensing up at the unexpected contact. But it felt so good. And so Zuko relaxed, his arms slowly going up to encircle her frame. "You came around, Zuko. You did the right thing." she whispered into his ear, hoping to offer comfort to this boy who she suddenly felt protective over. "We can talk about this another time, if you'd like." she told Zuko, to which he simply nodded. "O-Okay." he managed, loosening his hold around her torso, but nevertheless still being present there. It was about a minute before Katara and Zuko pulled back from the embrace they had been in. As Katara did so, she realized something- she cared for Zuko. It was just a simple desire to protect him, but Katara felt that it had become essential to her well-being. She didn't know why, or how this had become the case, but she didn't mind it.

Zuko's perspective was even more pronounced when it came to this new development: he felt as thought Katara provided something that he had lacked since his mother had disappeared. His uncle had somewhat filled the void, but there was still an element missing. And now, with Katara, he began to realize that she comprised that missing element. He couldn't quite isolate it just yet, but he was determined to make sense of his feelings sooner or later. For now, his attention had once again shifted to their circumstances. Specifically, the grumbling that his stomach just produced. The two teens came to their senses at hearing this noise. "You're good to go out, right? Because I sure am hungry" Zuko said, his desire for food growing more and more. He was still somewhat worried about his... friend? That was who she was to him, right? "Yeah, I think so." Katara replied, testing out first her waterbending, and then the mobility of her left arm. The scar that had been left behind from the healing was still sensitive nevertheless. But Katara felt she could handle that. "Alright." Zuko said simply, getting up off of the sofa. He extended his arm out to Katara, who accepted with a quiet 'thank you'. Even though she certainly could have gotten up on her own, seeing as she was about to leave their 'home' to get food, it still felt nice for Zuko to offer his help to her. She couldn't recall feeling this nice around any other boy. Sure, there was Sokka, but that was just... weird. She quickly rid her mind of such thoughts as they made their way to the rear entrance that they had accessed this home from yesterday evening.

Zuko slowly opened the door and craned his head outside, looking around before beckoning for Katara to follow. As they left the home and were hit by the soft morning breeze, they suddenly realized the state of their clothing. Tattered, torn, exposed. The two teens did a double-take, both embarrassed by the fact that they'd been together in these clothes and hadn't seemed to have noticed. "We're getting clothes first. First, alright?" Katara quickly told Zuko, a faint blush still tinging her cheeks. "Y-Yeah." Zuko replied sheepishly. They briskly walked down the alleyway, noting how... quiet it was. They still heard people conversing in the distance, but the city seemed so subdued. Zuko immediately thought about his sister, his mind racing down a horrible path of reasoning, until he realized that he didn't hear any Fire Nation infantry, nor armored vehicles, and he didn't see any airships either. If the Dai Li had been under the strict thumb of his crazed sister, a curfew would have been enforced. Their hideout would have been discovered, and the two wouldn't have been where they presently were. That meant that Azula had failed to take control of the city. This new realization somewhat calmed his nerves. At least it isn't completely hostile territory, Zuko mused silently.

As the two teens walked, a pair of small, beady green eyes followed them. The lemur purred softly, analyzing the situation before it. As the two teens rounded a corner, Momo followed suit.

In the woods just outside the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se, Azula brooded in solitude. Her left eye twitched slightly, as the weight of what had transpired the day before began to settle in. After her uncle, her traitorous, vile excuse of an uncle had firebended himself out from underneath Lake Laogai, she had just... stood there. Alone, in shock. Taking in the numerous bodies of the Dai Li agents littering the cavern, she had realized that she couldn't stay here. No, not when Kuei had retained control of the city. She would later learn that after the wretched excuse of a monarch had been informed of the battle that was taking place deep beneath the city, he had opted to wait for the outcome of the confrontation. A foolish choice... but one that would reward the king greatly. When she had left the caverns after several hours, the sun was slowly disappearing over the horizon. The first thing she encountered was a swarm of Dai Li agents and Royal Guards, their earthbending primed, rocks and boulders aimed at the Crown Princess. "Leave the city at once." she recalled a commander of the Royal Guard ordering her, his voice booming. "Do you know who I am?" she snarled at the man, tears threatening to break out across her face. How dare he... "Yes, Crown Princess Azula. In the interest of maintaining a truce between the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, we shall allow you to leave uninterrupted. If you fail to heed this opportunity, we cannot guarantee your life." he told her, his expression one of barely concealed anger. After a brief pause, Azula relented. Silently turning her back to the group, she isolated her inner fire. Despite the wreck that her emotional state was in, she managed to summon a powerful firebending jet, similar to the one that her uncle had used to leave. She had faced the darkening sky, and let herself leave the ground. Like a coward. I am a coward. What would father think... Azula thought to herself.

She thought back to her flight over the colossal city, her throat tightening as she realized that all her ambitions for this stronghold in the path of the Fire Nation's success had been obliterated. When she had first landed in these woods she had begun searching for water, her energy having been depleted from the continuous jet of fire. After an hour or so she had stumbled upon a pond. Like a peasant, like a commoner, Azula had prostrated before the ground, her tongue desperately lapping up the live-giving liquid. Oh, how low she had fallen. She had fallen asleep soon after, leaning against a tree. When she had awoke, she found her clothes muddied, the royal regalia that graced her robes having been defiled by the dirt, mud, and pondscum she had accumulated over the night. She crawled over to the water just then, hoping to get more water, to take her mind off her self-destructive thoughts. Staring into the natural mirror that was the pond's reflection in the early morning light, she felt a shiver pass over her. My child, it is I that you desire. I have always been here, a soft, feminine voice whispered in Azula's head. Do not let your father lead you astray, my beautiful Azula, it continued. Something snapped within Azula, as she immediately summoned a fire whip. "Lies! You've ALWAYS lied to me, mother!" she screeched, taking out her rage on the trees that surrounded her. "You left me! Betrayed me! Just like Zuko, just like Uncle!" she shouted, tears welling up around her eyes "Y-You never came back..." her voice had dropped to a whisper, tears openly streaming down her cheeks. The fire whip had dissipated. In the silence that followed, a second, more familiar voice was heard by Azula: "She always loved you, Azula." But her uncle was a liar... but this lie... it felt... so good. She wanted this lie. She was so confused. Azula couldn't deal with this. She didn't want to confront this. She was so tired... so weak...

As she collapsed onto the ground, a vision of her gazing at turtleducks came into her consciousness. She faintly heard a distant, child-like laugh as her world went black.

The first thing that Aang felt when he woke was a persistent throbbing coming from the left side of his stomach. A tummy ache? But as Aang became more and more lucid, memories began to fly into his consciousness, slamming into him like bricks, waking him up through the sheer trauma that they forced the young boy to relive. He registered one main thing: Katara wasn't here. I left her. Even though he had supposedly let her go (it was how I got into the Avatar State, Aang reflected), it still hurt. A lot. But for now, there were more pressing matters. As he pushed himself into an upright position, he looked down at his torso, finding a blood-soaked shawl covering the wound on his stomach. Sokka's shawl, Aang recalled. Speaking of Sokka, he was now beginning to register the older boy's hushed, quiet voice outside. He was conversing with... Toph, Aang realized. He slowly pushed himself up off of the blankets underneath him and hesitated, before pushing the flap to the tent outwards. The first thing he noticed was that Sokka and Toph were sitting around a dwindling campfire, and both were looking in his direction. Sokka was shooting him an irritable glare. The Avatar gulped at this. Looking around their surroundings briefly, Aang looked at Sokka again. The hostile expression was gone, replaced with a neutral look. "Hey, Aang." he said, emotions completely devoid from the Water Tribe boy's voice. After a moment, Sokka took his eyes off of the younger boy and turned his attention back to the fire. Toph's mouth had formed into a somewhat thin grimace. Aang cautiously approached his two companions and took a cross-legged seat adjacent to both Toph and Sokka, forming a triangular shape between the three. An uncomfortable silence took hold, with Sokka staring resolutely into the dwindling fire, Toph fiddling with her fingers, and Aang just sitting there, wondering what was up with both of them.

Eventually, Toph broke the air: "How does it feel?" she asked, pointing vaguely at Aang's torso- just because Sokka had described the wound's location earlier didn't mean she could quite imagine it in her head. He shrugged, his hand drifting to the shawl covering the gash in his stomach. "It doesn't hurt that bad anymore." he replied. Sokka merely nodded at this, looking at Aang strangely. "So..." Sokka began, taking on his signature drawl, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Aang. "What actually happened down there, huh?" the older boy asked, his tone somewhat accusatory. Thin beads of sweat appeared on Aang's head. Toph knew that this was going to end badly. But she stuck around, wanting to read his heartbeat when he replied to Sokka. She wanted to see whether he was going to tell the truth. "Uh... About Katara...?" he asked timidly, earning him a sharp, lethal glare from the older boy. "Yes, Aang," he hissed. "What happened to her?" Sokka elaborated.

"O-Okay..." Aang stuttered. His heartbeat's going a mile a minute... Toph mused to herself. "I, uh, found Katara in what I think was some sort of prisoner's cavern," he began. "She was with Zuko. She... she had the spirit water that Master Pakku gave to her," he recalled, his eyesbrows furrowing. Toph read Aang's heartbeat as he spoke, determining that he was telling the truth. Now she was interested. She had assumed that the Avatar would have tiptoed around the subject, telling half-truths. But, evidently not. She continued reading his heartbeat anyways. "Katara was holding the water to Zuko's face, over that scar of his," Aang continued. Before the younger boy could continue, Sokka interjected. "Toph, is he telling the truth?" he demanded, to which Toph merely nodded. "Alright... continue." he said to Aang in that same harsh tone. "When I came through that rocky wall Katara moved the water away from Zuko, and she came to Iroh and I," Aang said. "I felt angry at Zuko for being alone with Katara," at this Sokka raised his eyebrows, "... and Zuko was angry at his uncle for being with me." he elaborated. "Iroh sent off Katara and I to find you two." as he said this, he pointed at both Sokka and Toph. "Wait, how did you two escape-" he began, only to be cut off by an angry Sokka. "Last time I checked, this was about you, not us." he hissed. "A-Alright!" Aang replied quickly, his hands waving placatedly. After a pause, he continued. "We left this smaller cave, and we ran for a bit. Then, we came to that large cavern. The one where... it happened." he said quietly. Sokka quickly spoke: "Truth?" he asked Toph. "Truth." Toph affirmed. He nodded for Aang continue. "Just then, Azula came out of nowhere." he revealed. "We were beating her, we could have escaped... but then Zuko showed up." Aang said the last part in a whispered tone. "There was this... moment. Where we thought he'd join us. But then, he started attacking us." Aang said.

Sokka digested this information. He compared what he had just learned with what he had seen Zuko do just as they left the Catacombs. "Toph?" Sokka said, his tone inquiring. After a beat, Toph replied: "Truth. But..." she paused briefly, before continuing. "Sokka. You... saw Zuko do what I felt, right?" she asked, her voice uncertain. Sokka knew what she was referring to. "He defended her, right?" Sokka asked Toph, to which she gave another nod. "A-Alright..." Sokka said. So Zuko had started off the battle on Azula's side. But it was becoming more and more clear that something had occurred in between the start of the battle and when him and Toph first entered the battle to change this. Aang just looked between them incredulously, unaware of this fact. "Go on." Sokka said, his voice conveying the desire to know what had happened next.

After trying to figure out the cryptic meaning behind his friends' words once more, Aang relented and continued forth. "Zuko and Azula started blasting fire at both of us, working together. After a bit, we split up. Katara was fighting against Zuko, and I was fighting against Azula. Katara was shouting at Zuko- something about him 'having changed', and he said something back to her. I don't quite remember..." the boy said, frowning slightly. Before Sokka could even ask, Toph quickly said "Truth." Sokka made a quite 'hmph', but otherwise remained silent. "I remember Azula sending a blast of fire at me. I was... overwhelmed by it. She sent me flying into one of the crystal walls of the cavern. It knocked the wind out of me. As I slid down the ground, I saw Azula send this huge blast of fire at Katara. She tried to defend herself with the ice shield she bended, but Azula's fire melted it all. She also got blasted into a wall, but she got knocked out." As Aang finished this sentence, he saw how Sokka's face had somewhat paled. But then, something else came over it. It was confusion, and suspicion, Aang realized. Toph's expression also mirrored these emotions, but her unseeing eyes seem to hold something more. Insight, perhaps? "What next?" Toph spoke this time. She had to know what the gap in the story was. Where was this apparent inconsistency present? Aang responded after a brief moment of hesitation. "I saw Zuko stop attacking. He just stood there, looking at Katara. I sent an earthbending wave at him, but he dodged it using a jet of fire that he lifted himself off the ground from." At hearing that Aang had used earthbending, Toph couldn't help but smile slightly, despite the circumstances. "Then?" the girl asked Aang to elaborate. "The Dai Li surrounded Katara and I. We were completely outmatched. I... I had no choice. I... I tried to get into the Avatar State. A-And I actually got in! Then... I remember my world went white first... and then black. I know I got hit by lightning, because I saw it, just for an instant. But the bolt was too quick. I couldn't save myself." he finished, his voice taking on a low, haunted quality.

Sokka glanced at Toph, who was slowly nodding. "That explains one of the blasts..." Toph murmured. Aang, totally clueless as to what she was talking about couldn't help but ask. "There was only one lightning blast, though. What are you talking about?" he inquired, his voice getting more and more agitated with every word that he uttered. "Liar! There were two!" an incensed Sokka shouted back. Before the situation could escalate further, Toph intervened. "Sokka, he's not lying. It's like Jet. He just doesn't know." she said calmly, or as calm she she could be in this situation. Sokka considered this, before a sneer appeared on his face. "Right... what do you know?" he asked. Aang took a deep breath in, hoping to calm himself before continuing. "I... I remember waking up. A loud sound..." he trailed off just then, realization etched on his face. "The second blast, I assume?" Sokka said, derision evident in his voice. "I didn't see it... but I guess I heard it." Aang admitted. "The first thing I saw when I woke up was Katara. She was... was..." Aang couldn't finish the sentence. He didn't want to make what he suspected to be true. "She wasn't moving..." he managed, his voice tortured. For once, Sokka didn't hold Aang's words against him, since he himself basked in the silent grief. Toph's head dropped. "... truth." she whispered, her voice barely audible. The three just sat there for about a minute, letting Aang's words digest. Eventually, Aang broke the silence. "After I saw... that, I saw Zuko and Azula fighting each other." Sokka and Toph both nodded imperceptibly, having known this fact. "I don't know what happened to cause that. I don't know what... what hurt Katara. But I saw that the Dai Li soldiers had been taken out. Since they were working with Azula first... That means Zuko must have attacked them. Because I didn't take them all out. I don't... I don't kill. But they were dead." Aang felt like he was ranting, but him confronting what had occurred in the Catacombs would eventually lead to him releasing his emotions, he knew that. "I saw my wound... I felt... weak. Hopeless," at this the younger boy chuckled humorlessly. "I'm the Avatar. The fate of the world rests on my shoulders... and yet I failed to protect the one person that I loved."

The silence that followed was deafening. Sokka's expression, after a brief period of confusion, morphed into one of utter shock. For Toph however, it didn't come as much of a surprise. What did surprise the blind earthbender was the candidness, the boldness of Aang's statement. After a brief pause, Toph confirmed his claim: "Truth." she said, her unseeing eyes facing Sokka. At this, Sokka slowly felt his anger ebb away. Shouldn't I feel angry that this kid was in love with MY SISTER?, a particularly vocal part of the Water Tribe boy's subconsciousness screamed at him. But if he loved Katara... then he would have tried his hardest. Then, perhaps... He's as broken about the whole thing as I am, he surmised. Aang just started into Sokka's eyes, all fear and nervousness having disappeared from them. It was as if he'd completely jettisoned his self-preservation instincts. Sokka picked up on this uncanny, sudden boldness. Toph sensed the low tension between the two boys. Something had to give. She just didn't expect Sokka's next words. "You... you're just as hurt as I am, aren't you?" he asked, his voice breathy. Aang just nodded, a lone tear streaming down his face. "I... I'm sorry." Aang said quietly, bowing his head to the older boy as he kept his cross-legged stance. "I tried to help... but I failed. I can only hope that... That she pulled through." he continued. "I just hope... that we can try to move on, for now." he finished, his voice maintaining a newfound element of dignity. Sokka regarded the boy for a few seconds, taking in his words. "Alright. And Aang... I'm sorry, too." Sokka replied finally, his apology taking on a dual meaning. The older boy just smiled thinly at the Avatar. Toph waited, breath abated. Then, the tension broke when both boys got up, and simply embraced. It was brief, and it wasn't compromising. The early morning breeze softly buffeted the two boys. As they pulled back, both boys saw a blur of green before they were slammed into by Toph, causing all three to tumble to the ground. She embraced them roughly, her small frame exerting a surprising amount of energy. Perhaps in another time, another day, this would have bothered the two boys. But they understood this... way of expressing her emotions.

After a few seconds they slowly untangled themselves from each other, and sat huddled near each other, the fire having died out sometime during Aang's recounting of the events in Ba Sing Se- neither three of them had noticed it go out. Sokka gave Aang another meaningful look, trying to convey his newfound acceptance of the younger boy. Aang smiled lightly in response, his grey eyes somewhat regaining their light. But not quite- that was understandable. "I... need some time alone." Aang said finally, the boy pushing himself off of the ground, turning his back to his friends. His left hand involuntarily went to his wound, an action that hadn't gone unnoticed by Toph and Sokka. "Aang, you sure you'll be okay?" Toph asked, sensing the boy's heartbeat jump slightly. "Uh, yeah. Just need to focus my thoughts." he replied, slowly walking away from their encampment, following the bank of the river downstream. An unspoken agreement had formed between the three. If the Avatar was to triumph in the war, he would need to focus on his loss first- alone.

The morning sun seemed to be dimmer than usual.

Aaaaaand it's here! Sorry about the delayed update- writer's block and online courses tend to do that to a fanfiction writer ._.

As always, I appreciate your reviews! The next chapter sees additional exposition, and the focal point will be on our Zuko and Katara :)