Reviews on next chappie, like always ;D

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Chapter 26

Zuko lowered Appa until he nestled into the long grass below them. Zuko leaped off of the side, Mai in his arms. Toph shortly followed, though she seemed hesitant.

"What's wrong?" Zuko asked.

She shook it off,"It's nothing. But, do you think it will be okay to just leave them here?" Toph wondered, turning back to face Appa. Zuko looked up, weighing his options. He shrugged,"Maybe you should stay here and watch them." Zuko suggested, and turned back to Gaoling. He began to realize the town was getting closer rather quickly. He also hadn't noticed he had started sprinting. He slowed down at the entrance to catch his breath, then immediately searched for a market. He heard a soft moan escape from Mai's lips.

"I'm getting you water right now, alright?" Zuko reassured softly, not looking down from the busy streets. He bit his lip,"Here." He sat Mai down on a bench next to a market place. Her eyes searched his face,"Wh-where are you going?" Her voice rose a bit. He set a finger over her lips. "Don't speak. Just rest. I'll be right over there." Zuko explained, pointing his other finger behind him towards the market. Mai nodded hesitantly, and Zuko pecked her once on the forehead before departing. He rushed his way across the pavement, almost tripping over his steps.

"W- water, and whatever food you have." Zuko stammered. The merchant's eyebrows rose as Zuko set a bag of silver pieces in front of her.

"Alright..." The girl trailed, still surprised. She shook her head, and handed him a jug of water.

"More than this, if it isn't too troublesome." He asked in a small voice, tilting his head. The girl blinked at his expression and blushed, grabbing a larger jug of water.

"No p-problem. H-here." She mumbled, and handed the water to him. "And for food, w-we have a erm.. fresh fruit s-salads." She stuttered, her eyes searching the streets awkwardly. Zuko smiled, completely oblivious to any of this. "That will be great."

The girl nodded, and brushed stray hairs from her face. Her fingers trembled as she fumbled with the food under the counter. She popped back up in front of him, this time holding a bowl of fruit salad with a lid. "H-here." She spat out, forcing a smile. "Thank you." Zuko thanked, and turned back to Mai. His smile dropped immediately when he saw a man, most likely in his twenties, hovering in front of her. His teeth clenched together, and his eyes waited for Mai to look away from the floor. As soon as she looked up, he saw it in her eyes again. Fear. She was afraid of this man. Zuko's mouth set in a deep line, and he lunged up to them. Mai blinked at his sudden presence. The man spun around, and gave him a perplexed expression. Zuko grabbed him by the arms and hurled him into the wall behind him. The two were soon surrounded by enthralled children, cheering men, and angry women. Zuko ignored them.

He quickly turned to Mai, and set his hands on her shoulders,"Who was he?" Zuko asked, his tone so serious Mai could feel shivers running down her spine. She shot her head down. "No one." She whispered.

"Please, tell me the truth." He asked setting one hand on her cheek. "I know you well enough to know when you're lying." Zuko tried to sound apologetic despite how furious he was. Mai shook her head. "He's... him." That last word made Zuko tremble with anger. He knew exactly what she had meant by 'him.'

He squeezed his fingers to his palms, and turned back around to the monster. The man lifted himself from the shards of stone building that now surrounded him, and dusted himself off. "What the hell is your problem?!" The man shot at Zuko. He didn't reply. Zuko wouldn't speak. There was no use wasting his breath on a dead man. Mai's eyes darted from one man to the other cautiously. The man then turned to Mai, and a small smile curved onto his lips.

"Sweetheart, is this a friend of yours?" He asked in a playful tone. Zuko ground his teeth together as his eyes slammed shut. A second passed, which to Zuko had felt like forever. After another second, everything inside of him was gone. He was nothing but anger in human form. Zuko showed a full set of teeth, and snarled at him. It reminded Mai of an animal. Another second, and Zuko was charging after him, gathering flames on both hands. He gripped a hand around the man's neck, and he choked in response. He flung him against the wall until the back of his shirt was stained with blood. Zuko wasn't finished yet. He wasn't just going to kill him. That was too nice. He would make him die of pain. Zuko wouldn't feel satisfied until this man died of torture. The people of the streets hurried into their homes, and some went to find guards. Zuko took two handfuls of the mans hair and ripped them from his head, causing him to scream with agony. Mai stared at him. She didn't know Zuko could be so scary. She swallowed and hid her face in her lap, trying to mute out the man's screams. Zuko hurled around, and searched for a piece of building with a sharp edge. As soon as he found one, he forcefully shoved it into the side of his head, causing the man to scream even louder. It was so loud, Zuko couldn't even hear any more. All he could hear was a ringing inside of his head. A few moments later, and the screams faded. It was over.

Zuko had killed a man.

--

"Suki, come on." Sokka requested playfully, grabbing Suki from behind. She shook her head, failing to hold in a giggle. "See! You aren't mad at me. Now come here." Suki pulled herself away from him, and set a hand in the crook of his neck. "I might now be angry at you anymore, but I am upset. And, even if I wasn't... I don't think it's safe if we... you know... While I'm pregnant." She explained, rubbing her arm. Her face reddened.

Sokka sighed,"What can happen? It's inside of you, and you're protecting it." He said, setting a hand over her lower stomach.

"Well, I guess you're right... But not right now." Suki said, her smile returning. Sokka frowned.

"Why not?" He pleaded.

"Because I feel like I have to throw up. And then, I'll be hungry again. So get cooking." Suki explained, patting his head. He groaned, and dragged himself out of bed.

--

Toph yawned,''What is taking them so long..." She wondered out loud. She was just about asleep, when she heard a groan in front of her. Her eyes sprung open,"Ty Lee, Katara?" She asked hopefully.

"It's Katara." Katara grunted, lifting herself up. "What happened?" She moaned as she set her hand over her head. She jolted in pain as her fingers ran over her wound. "Be careful! Azula hit you pretty hard." Toph warned, sitting up. Katara groaned,"It was Azula..." She paused,"Is Aang awake yet-" She stopped as soon as she realized it was only the three of them. "Where's Aang?!" She yelled.

"Keep it down! Zuko couldn't get him. But, he'll be alright. He had to get you and Ty Lee out alive while he still could, and that meant leaving Aang behind." Toph explained. Katara's mouth parted, and she slowly shook her head. She swallowed hard.

"Don't freak out, he'll be fine." Toph reassured as soon as she felt Katara's heart rate quicken. She wrapped her arms around herself,"What if she shoots him?!"

"Settle down, if she wanted to kill Aang, she would have done it before Zuko started chasing after her." Toph said, becoming annoyed. Katara eased into Appa's saddle.

"That's true... I guess that makes me feel a little bit better." Katara confessed. She rubbed the back of her neck,"Where's Zuko..." She gasped,"Did he find Mai?! Where-"

Toph interrupted her with a nod,"Yep, they're getting food and water right now, actually.... I'm starting to get worried, it shouldn't take half an hour to pick up a meal and some water..." She trailed off, staring into the city.

Katara sighed with relief,"I'm glad about the first part.... Think we should go check on them?" She suggested. Toph nodded and jumped off of Appa. "Think you can walk?" Toph called. Katara parted her mouth to the side." I think so..." She mumbled, crawling down the side of Appa. There was a small limp in her step, though she could walk fine. "Which way did they go?" Katara asked. Toph shrugged,"There isn't anybody here... That's odd... I can only feel minor vibrations, but they're coming from that way..." She pondered, leading her and Katara down the road. Both Toph and Katara came to a dead stop when they saw him. He was leaning over Mai, his shoulders drooped. He let his head fall into the crook of her neck. There were streams of water falling down Mai's arm on the side where Zuko was resting. It looked like he was crying. It looked like they both were crying. There were stains of blood that ran down Zuko's clothing. Katara's eyes wandered to the other scene, and gasped in shock at the disturbing sight. She threw her hands over her eyes, trying to block away the image of the man. Her chin quivered,What happened?! She thought. Katara could still remember the features of the body, shards of glass and concrete sticking out here and there, blood dripping from the sides of his head. She shuddered. Zuko was moaning something to Mai that neither Toph nor Katara could make out. Katara shot her stare at Mai, trying to shake away the horrifying image. Mai had her share of cuts and bruises that ran down her legs and arms, probably from the prison she was being held at. They weren't fresh, which made Katara feel slightly better knowing she wasn't really involved in the fight. Toph took a deep breath, daring to speak to Zuko.

"Zuko." Toph started. She waited for him to react, but he didn't move. "What happened?" She asked. He shook his head, and buried his face deeper into Mai's neck. Zuko was disgusted with himself. How could he have murdered someone? No matter who it was, it was murder. How could he explain this to anyone? To Aang? He wouldn't even kill a fly. To Iroh? Zuko wished he could take everything back. But at the same time, he didn't. There was so much anger that had built up inside of him over the years, and now, he felt more free of it than he has ever felt. He hadn't even felt more free of anger now than he did at his coronation. He wrapped his arms around Mai's body as far as they would go, and she curled into him. He parted his lips against her skin, gently sucking on her neck. Mai shivered. He arubtly hurled back from her, wiping away tears. No matter how hard he tried to hold down the tears, they wouldn't stop falling. He eventually realized he just had to ignore it. He swallowed hard,"Here." He spat out. His voice was rough and cracked. He handed her the jug of water from earlier. Mai's shoulders shook as she reached for the water. As soon as it ran down her throat, she felt heaps better. She finished the whole thing, and as soon as she finished, Zuko forced a small smile.

"Feel better?" He asked, as the tears still fell. Tears were falling from her eyes as well. She nodded. Mai still couldn't find words. He wiped his eye one more time,"I'm glad." Zuko swallowed down a huge lump in his throat. He began to open the lid to the fruit salad he had gotten her. "Hungry?" He asked, taking a seat next to her. He wiped more tears from his face, then wiped tears from Mai's face as well. She nodded. "Here." Zuko said, his voice cracking again. He handed her the bowl of fruit, and she began eating obediently. She tried to ignore the large, warm tears streaming down her cheeks and into her food. She sniffed, and shoved a mouthful down her throat. Seeing this just made Zuko more upset at himself. I'm such an idiot! How could I torture somebody to death right in front of Mai?! His mind scolded. Zuko buried his face in his hands.

Katara began to understand what was going on. She hoped it weren't true, but there was no other exclamation.

"Zuko.." Katara spoke up, hoping it didn't make him angry. He lifted his head up to glance at her. She bit her lip. "Why...?" Katara wailed, flinching when she caught a glimpse of the man again. Zuko hid his face in his hands again. He was truly ashamed.

"He's the man that... The monster that... He... Mai... " Zuko didn't have to finish. Katara and Toph got the idea. Mai buried her face in her knees.

Zuko slowly stood up, suddenly expressionless. He turned to Mai, and lifted her into his arms. He cradled her for a moment, moving her hair from her face, then turned back to Katara and Toph. "Let's go." He instructed, and headed back towards Appa. The boarded quickly, and lifted into the sky.

Nobody spoke for the rest of the day.