Tears threatened to fill Zuko's eyes as the crowd erupted in cheers and applause when he finished his Harmony Festival speech. He rolled up the scroll, passed it to one of his sages, and returned for a bow. It wasn't long ago that he would have been unable to imagine a crowd ever cheering for him. For much of his young life, he had been legally considered a traitor to the Fire Nation for nothing more than insulting his father. Zuko had been disgraced and was in fear for his life from all nations, especially his own.

And now?

Now, he was their leader, and they accepted him, and they honoured him.

Zuko was proud—of his people, of his world, of himself. He had long doubted whether there was any good left in the Fire Nation save for his uncle. He couldn't imagine that there was any good left in himself. Now, he and the Avatar had the world back on the right track, and they couldn't be prouder.

Fire Lord Zuko scanned the crowd before taking another bow. He looked back to his sage, who nudged his head towards the palace. Zuko nodded and started following him inside. As he turned his back to the crowd, one cry in particular reached him. He started to turn back to the caller when something exploded before him. Clouds of smoke surrounded the stage, and Zuko lost sight of the caller, the crowd...and everything else. Another explosion of smoke, and something barreled into him, knocking the air out of his lungs. As Zuko fought for a breath and flailed against his invisible attacker, suddenly a cold fire surged through his veins. The Fire Lord cried out with the last of his breaths. Burning, numbing pain ripped through his body and seemed to cluster in his chest. His vision and breaths were quickly leaving him, but somewhere on the fringes of his mind he captured her fearful cry.

"Zuko!"

He remembered blurred sapphire orbs. A glowing light above him. Warmth throughout his body. The thick pain settling in his chest, holding back his gasps for air. The numbness pulsing through him, rendering him unable to move. The moments he spent wondering if he could even remember how.

He could feel the warmth working its way through him. He could feel it pulsing, throbbing, getting caught on its way. It circled around the tightness in his chest. His breaths kept catching in his throat. The warmth couldn't penetrate the tightness. It would have to try again tomorrow.

It was soothing in a painful kind of way. He didn't open his eyes. He was afraid to witness what was happening. He could feel the warmth working in his chest again. Somewhere beyond him there was a strained sigh. The warmth pulsated, seemed to start beating through his chest now. It beat faster, harder. He wondered if it matched his heartbeat.

Suddenly, it felt like the elephant-bear had been lifted off his chest, and he was able to draw in a solid breath. His lungs were not used to a full breath yet, and he started to cough, which set his body on fire. Someone somewhere beyond him shushed, and placed a hand gently on his chest to nudge him back down. The warmth radiated freely through his body now, seemingly victorious about defeating the tightness. He couldn't tell anymore whether it felt better or worse. He tried to focus on "better."

Zuko wasn't sure how much time had passed before he had the strength to open his eyes. The warmth no longer beat through his body; now, everything felt stiff and fragile. He couldn't tell how much time he missed. It could have been anywhere from hours to years. He admitted to himself that he felt a hundred years older.

His vision was blurred for several troubling moments. He kept trying to blink away the bleariness to no avail. It was only when he caught sight of a figure beside him that he could begin to focus his eyes.

"Katara?" he mumbled quizzically.

She turned her sapphire eyes on him, and seemed stunned for a moment. Suddenly, she broke into a smile. "Zuko," she gasped, leaning down to lightly hug him. "You're okay."

The ache in his bones seemed to suggest otherwise, but Zuko didn't have the energy to contest. "What are you doing here?" he murmured hoarsely. "What happened?"

Her face contorted with worry. "You were attacked at the festival," she replied. There was more Katara wanted to say, but only whispered, "It was bad."

Katara easily remembered the festival last week. The celebration. The joy of its attendees. The heartbreak between her and Aang. And the attempt on Zuko's life.

Toph had given her a hard nudge and said something, but the roar of the audience swallowed her words. Minutes later, a small, lithe group stormed the stage and attacked the Fire Lord, and then Katara knew what Toph had tried to tell her. Panic flooded Katara, and she made a beeline for the stage. She yelled back for Toph to find Aang as she rushed to Zuko's side. The palace guardians leapt into action and held off the attackers while Katara tended to the Fire Lord. A Fire Sage ushered her and the wounded firebender into the palace for safety.

The last several days had been agonising. Katara's patience and healing abilities were put to the ultimate test. The damage was bad, to say the least, and there were many times Katara was sure her friend wouldn't survive. But still she persisted, sending the healing water along his wounds, imbuing him with healing chi. She had come across several deadly blockages in his arms and especially around his heart, and struggled to release them. Katara only wished she knew what had been done to him.

The waterbender gave a hard blink, and tried to put the terrible event from her mind. Zuko was here and he was awake, and nothing else mattered. He longed to ask her more about what had happened, but she put a warm cloth on his forehead to hold him still. Katara shushed him, held his hand, and calmly threatened that she would never tell him if he didn't just shut up and try to get some rest. Zuko chuckled softly, which turned into a painful coughing fit. Katara readied her healing water and circulated it over his chest, opening his airways and steadying his breathing. Closing his eyes, he sighed his surrender. Katara sighed too, and rubbed his hand.