Okay guys! Only one more chapter after this one! And it will be coming to you VERY soon! I did promise to be finished by July after all ^_^ Thank yo all for reading, and despite this story only having one more chapter to go, I would LOVE if you could all ready and review for me! Thanks! and Enjoy!

Zuko had taken a seat just at the entrance of the tent, and he felt like he had been sitting there for hours. All manner of thoughts had been running through his head as he waited for his uncle to awaken, but the foremost of those thoughts were to run away, to leave this tent and go into hiding, hide with the weight of shame hanging on him. He wondered why it felt so appealing. Facing that shame over facing his uncle? He wondered why it had taken him so long to try and find his uncle… he wondered why he was so afraid. Iroh began to stir, And Zuko realised he didn't have the time to figure it out, as Iroh sat in his floor mat, Zuko felt a churning in the pit of his stomach, knowing that any minute now he would be noticed, he still had time, he could run. But if he did that, he would have to face the group, and Katara, she believed in him… No, he had to stay, he had to face this.

Whatever he might have done, it was too late now, Iroh noticed him, though he did not say anything nor turn to look at him at all, Zuko felt a panic flood over him, he had to talk, he had to say something! "Uncle, I know you must have mixed feelings about seeing me, but I want you to know, that I'm so, so sorry uncle. I am so sorry and ashamed of what I did." Before he knew what was happening, tears started flowing "I don't know how I will ever make it up to you, but I'll-" He wasn't prepared to be jerked forward into a hug, and it took him a moment to react to it, he raised his arms and realised what was happening, it was insane! It made no sense! It just "How can you forgive me so easily!? I thought you would be furious at me"

Iroh replied saying that he was never angry, only sad that he had lost his way, this made Zuko shake his head slowly and hold his uncle closer and tell him that he did lose his way, but Iroh was right, he did find it again, and he found more than that, he burrowed his head down a bit, grateful that he had this time of peace in the midst of all this chaos.

When he left the tent Katara was waiting for him, he had been sitting in there for hours, which meant… "you… you didn't have to wait for me" She just smiled to him and he felt his cheeks getting a warm flush, had he ever blushed this much before? He couldn't remember, was it healthy? Her smile seemed to grow as he stood looking at her in a flustered way and his face seemed to get redder, he ended up throwing his arms in the air and letting out a frustrated grunt when she raised one brow "You really are a crazy water tribe woman!" This got her laughing and running to his side "Zuko, Zuko I'm sorry, I couldn't help it, you were so adorable it was hard not to" She had grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn and face her, and he rolled his eyes a bit "I am not adorable… that's.. .I mean, where do you even come up with that stuAHH"

Sokka was standing in front of them, where had he even come from? And why now did Zuko feel almost terrified of the boy? He looked at Katara who only seemed to be amused and then back to Sokka who had narrowed his eyes slightly "breakfast is ready….. I am watching you…" Zuko's eyes widened a bit and Katara laughed again "Wow Zuko, he really has you on edge… come on, let's go get breakfast, how did it go with your uncle?"

He smiled and looked at her as they started to walk to the main camp fire "He forgave me, just like you knew he would" it was odd, how easily it had happened, but now… now he began to wonder if Aang was right… what if… what if taking could… he frowned at himself for even thinking it, in truth, it was not as though he wanted his father to die, if there was another way he would take it, but even Aang, the avatar could not think of anything, how could he hope too… he knew he was not strong enough to defeat his father, but…

These thoughts were swimming through his head as they sat to eat, Uncle had joined them by this stage, perhaps it was a bit early to be talking about it, but he had to get it out, they didn't have the time "Uncle, you're the only person other than the Avatar that can defeat the Father lord" Toph who had chosen to sit next to him asked him if he meant the fire lord, and he just looked at her "That's what I said" But before she could reply his uncle gave a soft hmmmm, Zuko knew what that hmmm meant, it meant his uncle did not agree, so in desperation he sat forward a bit "We need you to come with us!" But his uncle's response was not what he was hoping for, nor what he expected.

The conversation turned from defeating the fire lord to Zuko himself being the only choice as the successor, Toph expressed concerns about Aang not coming back and Iroh spoke of destiny, and soon he knew why they were gathered here, Iroh planned to retake Ba Sing Se in the name of the earth king, but when it came to him having to face Azula, only one person came to mind when he was told he would need help. He looked at Katara, and he knew he didn't need to ask her, she was already looking determined, and a thought came to him that she may have beat him up herself, if he had tried to ask anyone else.

The Journey to the firenation was a short one, but not one without conversation, though it was mainly on what they would do to infiltrate the palace, Zuko knew what this all meant, him going here, Katara with him, he knew what it meant to her as well, she had chosen him, but he was to be fire lord… he looked at Katara and smiled slightly, He would happily have her with him, but… if he was to restore honour to the fire nation… how would it look to be with the woman that Aang loved… Katara talked about sacrifice before, but it never occurred to him, that he would be facing the same choice also… Was she more important to him, than taking an easier road to peace?

Katara must have seen something in his features, as she moved up to sit behind him, he felt her press against his back and he smiled slightly "Are you sure we are doing the right thing Katara?" The girl said nothing for a second but then spoke softly "Zuko, I know that Azula is your sister, but she really"- "No, no I mean…" He turned in the saddle and looked to her, clear blue eyes that he knew he could get lost in forever, eyes that now seemed to understand what he meant "I… I don't know Zuko, maybe when all this is over, and we can think about things more clearly… maybe then we will know for sure, but right now we need to focus on defeating your sister"

She was right of course, he knew it, but even thinking on Aang brought another thought to mind, he frowned slightly and Katara spoke to him softly "Zuko, don't worry, we can take out your sister" Zuko gave a half smile and then shook his head "I am not worried about her, I am worried about Aang, what if he doesn't have the guts to take out my father" It was a hard thing to think about, but it was something that needed to be considered "What if he looses?" He turned to look at Katara, and the look in her eyes was enough to make him feel slightly jealous of Aang, she believed in him, fully "Aang won't loose" even the way she had said that, it was calm and confident, but then she grew a bit sad "he is gonna come back… he has to"

He knew in that moment, had he not joined the group, that Katara would have been with Aang after all this, heck even now there was a chance that she might go to the Avatar, and he frowned a bit before looking towards the palace once again, they were almost there… he wanted to talk about it more, but she would get mad at him, she had said they would talk after, so that was what they would do, he had more important things to be worrying about. Azula would be protected by the palace firebenders, and on top of that, she would have her Dai li also, sneaking in wasn't an option either, he knew the palace and he knew how heavily guarded it would be, they wuld have to fight.

He stood and looked at Katara "We will have to go through a lot of gaurds before we even get to Azula, I will take point, you take the rear… When Aang gets back, I don't want him to find a char grilled Appa, so lets do out best to keep him safe" Appa gave a large groan in approval to this, and Katara nodded to him before taking the flank, but it was only minutes after they arrived in the city that they realised something was wrong, Zuko looked down as the Dai li marched down the main street, shortly after that the palace guards, one pointed up to Appa and nudged his companion who had just shook his head and shouted up to Zuko "You Better hurry prince, Azula is being coroneted today" He looked back at Katara and she moved from the back of the saddle to the front

"What do you think this means Zuko?" He shrugged slightly, it seemed that defending Appa was not necessary, they had to get to the Palace, and quickly "Appa, Yip yip!" they didn't have a moment to loose either, for as soon as he cleared the wall, he saw she was about to be crowned. Azula looked at him and he jumped from Appa with ease "Sorry, but you're not going to become firelord today. I am!" Katara moved beside him and told Azula she was going down, but this seemed to have the oposit effect on the woman, as she just laughed it off, The official once more readied the crown piece, but it was Then Azula halted him… A showdown… just him and Azula… Agni Kai.

"You're on." This got the reaction he expected from Katara, she was worried about him yes, but she was more concerned in defeating Azula, he told her there was something off about her, but it was more than that… Azula, who was usually so calm and collected, seemed… somehow more dangerous now, and he just didn't want Katara involved in it, When he said he could take her this time, he really meant that he had to take her… he did not want Katara facing his monster of a sister, especially not like this. "There's something off about her, I can't explain it, but she is slipping" He turned to look at Katara then "And this way, no one else has to get hurt" He saw the reaction in her eyes, she understood what he was saying, and he knew she was going to hate him forever if he did fail, so now he had no choice, he had to win.

As he faced her, a strange feeling of calm came over him, all the rage he used to feel towards her seemed to have left him, and now, now all that mattered to him was defeating her in this duel, keeping Katara safe, and hopefully restoring peace to the nation… a tall order perhaps, but it was one that he felt confident he could achieve. For the first time in his life, he felt he had something worth fighting for.

Replies are a coming!

As always, I love getting reviews! And I love answering them too, so here we go!

Ashleyll4 : I will don't worry, though it is near the end, I think if I didn't finish it now, it would not be just an angry pm I would receive XDD

NotReallyAGuest: Phew, I had thought I did make that mistake and I was all OH NO! DID I SAVE IT WRONG! ALL MY WRITING! But then I was like… oh wait… it's cool, but I am sorry I deprived you from sleep, but I DO hope you had good dreams as a result?

And last but never least

Goodmorningflower: An epilogue might happen, but not in the near future that's for sure, I have to finish what I am doing before moving onto anything else XD

As for Samurai Champloo, it is an anime that is EPIC! I love it SOOO much! Seriously, just go watch it, I will say nothing about it because it is better to go in fresh without corruption ^_^

And that is that! Last chapter coming soon!