Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, it's owned by its creators Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko and Nickelodeon.

"We're here," Sokka announced. The ship made port and Sokka, Suki and Katara got off the ship at the Royal Plaza, while Fire Lord Zuko waited for them to arrive with his guards and some Kyoshi Warriors.

Katara hugged Zuko. Sokka shook hands with Zuko. Suki also shook hands with Zuko.

"You look terrible," Katara said.

Zuko smirked and replied, "Well it happens after fifteen attempts on my life."

"What? Why didn't you say anything?" Katara asked, as she gave Zuko an angry look.

"The attempts were weak. Suki, Ty Lee, and the other Kyoshi Warriors have helped a lot," Zuko replied.

Sokka looked around. "So, where is Iroh?"

"He's back at the palace preparing tea," Zuko replied. They headed to the palace.

After they entered the palace, Sokka, Katara, and Zuko have tea with Iroh.

"It's good to see you," Iroh said.

"It's good to see you, too, General Iroh," said Katara.

Iroh laughed and replied, "No need to be so formal, just call me Iroh."

After they were finished with the tea, Zuko cleared his throat, "You must be tired from your journey. Let me show you to your rooms."

Zuko led them down the hall. "Here is your room." Zuko said as he stopped in front of a door. He pointed to the one across the hall and said, "That's your room Sokka."

"Thanks, Zuko. I think I'm going to go see if there's any fire flakes or fire gummies, since I didn't get to have any with my tea," Sokka said as he headed back toward the hall they came from.

"So, uh, I'll let you get some rest. You look tired," said Zuko. He turned to leave, but Katara grabbed his arm.

"Wait, I have something I want to talk to you about," said Katara. "It's kind of personal though."

"Well, then let's go in," said Zuko. He opened the door and led her through to a large bedroom. Zuko motioned to an ornate couch and offered Katara a seat. She sat down. "What is it you wanted to talk about?"

Katara put her had to her chin and thought for a moment. She looked around to make sure they were alone, and she whispered softly, "I've lost my bending."

"You lost your bending?" Zuko asked in disbelief.

"Shh! Sokka doesn't know, and I'd like to keep it that way. No one does, except you," Katara whispered angrily.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry," Zuko said.

"Look, the reason I told you is because I thought you'd understand," said Katara, as she got up to head toward the bed.

"I do understand," Zuko said. He pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself. "The reason I lost my inner fire that time was because my firebending was fueled by hate and rage. I don't think your bending was ever fueled by that was it?"

"No," Katara replied, then she sighed.

"So, what happened? There has to be a reason..." Zuko's voice trailed off, as he noticed Katara had sat on the bed and turned away from him and started to cry. Katara wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to face Zuko.

"I thought you would've heard, Aang and I broke up," Katara said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know," Zuko replied. Zuko got up and started to head to the door, but Katara got up and stood in front of the door.

"It's okay. You didn't know. Can we talk? This time I promise I'll try not to cry," said Katara.

"Sure, let's talk," said Zuko. They sat back down on the couch.

"O-okay," Katara paused. "Aang and I broke up over three months ago. He had his duties as the Avatar, and I understood that; that was never an issue before. But that changed during the Harmonic Restoration Movement. After I stopped him from keeping his promise with you, we talked about the Four Nations and them being separate. He said they needed to be separate and that he loved being an Air Nomad. He even talked about keeping his promise with you. I told him that I saw a family in the Morishitas and that it could be our family in the future, that was when he decided to end the Harmonic Restoration Movement and help you create the United Republic of Nations. After that, Aang decided to make the Official Avatar Fan Clubs into Air Acolytes and teach them the principles of being an Air Nomad so his culture could live on. One of Aang's fans turned out to be an airbender, which she admitted the second time we met. Aang was very excited, and he started spending more time with her to teach her proper technique. Then he came to me and said that he needed to rebuild the Air Nation. I told him I understood, but he said that he'd never heard of an airbender marrying a different bender and it would be best for us to remain friends."

"I can't believe Aang would do that," said Zuko, very shocked. "I can see why you would have trouble bending after that. Mai broke up with me during that time because 'I loved my secrets more than I loved her.' I tried to order her to stay," Zuko laughed hollowly. "That didn't work, but I had to deal with Yu Dao so I didn't go after her. I regret not doing that, but I couldn't force her to stay when I couldn't even open up to her about what had been going on. I've actually been trying to get my father to tell me where my mother is, but it hasn't happened. I told Aang that it was wrong of me to make that promise; I was so unsure and afraid that I put it on Aang to decide what is right and wrong, and it made me realize that I have to make decisions on my own. I told him that I would feel more at peace if I could find my mother. Aang said he thought it would be a good idea. I've even asked Azula to talk to him about where our mother could be. She agreed, but I haven't had them meet yet."

"Wow. If you need my help, I'd be glad to help you," said Katara.

"Thank you. I will need your help when the time comes and probably Toph and Aang's help, too. But for now let's focus on getting your bending back," said Zuko.

"What about the lecture series in Yu Dao that the Earth King has set up?" Katara asked.

"This is more important, besides I think we will be able to make it in time for those," Zuko replied. "So, the moon is the original waterbender right?"

"Yes, that's what the legends say, and my ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to do it themselves," Katara replied.

"I don't think we can go to the moon, but what about the moon spirit?" Zuko said.

"What?" Katara asked confused.

"When I was having trouble bending, Toph recommended learning from the original benders to help me become better at. I ended up following her advice and it has worked out great so far. So, why don't we pay a visit to the Northern Water Tribe?" Zuko replied.

"That sounds like a plan," said Katara.

Stay tuned...