a/n Happy New Year! Thank you so much for all of the love! All of your reviews and favorites mean so much to me!

So this chapter isn't as long as my usual chapters, but I wanted to roll out the 2015 festivities as soon as possible.

Chapter 22 ~Oasis?~

-Katara-

He drove her crazy sometimes. She rolled her eyes and bended the water from her pouch to cover her hands. The water began glowing as she pressed it against his overheated skin. How could she ever properly heal him if he didn't tell her when he was in pain? For now, she had to rely on his body language, which was difficult because he was very good at not showing pain. She frowned when she thought of why he had this particular skill. His eyes reopened. The look he gave her was pure love. It made her cast aside her gloomy thoughts.
"I love you," he whispered. She smiled and put the water back in her pouch. With her now free hands, she placed them on either side of his head. Leaning down on her elbows, she was now nose-to-nose with him.
"I love you too," she whispered back and then kissed him. Even now, his lips tasted sweet and felt so wonderful against hers. She kissed the corner of his mouth, then his nose, and then his eyes.
"Hmm…"he hummed against her as she gently kissed his left eye. His right hand slowly came to her waist, but she could tell the motion was painful.
"Shh…" she whispered against him. He grinned and his hand moved to her breast. She gasped and he grinned again.
"We're almost there, Prince Zuko," the gruff voice of a palanquin bearer came from right outside the curtain. She stilled, hovering over Zuko while he jerked his hand away at the interruption.
"Uhm," he cleared his throat, "Thank you." She had to bite her lip to stifle her laughter. "You're no help." He whispered sternly, but smiling. She gave him a quick peck on the lips before sitting up.

-Zuko-

That palanquin bearer has horrible timing he thought. Although, maybe it was a good thing they were interrupted. Inside a moving palanquin wasn't the best place to celebrate. Plus there was the massive blast of electricity he had received earlier… Yeah thank Agni they were almost to the oasis. His chest was killing him. Maybe not the best saying in this case… He seriously doubted Katara would find it amusing either.

Katara pulled back the right curtain to peek.
"Where exactly are we going?" she asked, turning back to him.
"Well, I said I knew of a spiritual oasis we could go to."
"I know, but like in a geographical sense."
"Oh, uh…" he said and then shrugged. He hadn't actually ever been to this oasis himself.
"You've never been there, have you?" she asked, reading his expression.
"No," he answered guiltily, "but I've heard about it!" She tipped her head back and laughed. It was a beautiful sound. Sadly, her smile faded all too soon.
"If it doesn't exist I don't know if I will be able to heal you correctly." Her eyes looked frantic now, "And if I can't heal you properly you cou-"
"We're here, Prince Zuko," said the same palanquin bearer as before. I changed my mind. That palanquin bearer has excellent timing he thought with relief.

-Katara-

At last! They had arrived at the fabled oasis. Or had they?
"Where is it?" she asked, looking around. They were in some sort of tunnel. Lanterns stood out from the wall at regular intervals. Are we underground? It looked like the bunker they had invaded during the eclipse. Surely, there's not a spiritual oasis down here?
"Right up ahead, Lady Katara," a bearer said, pointing to an unmarked metal door. It didn't look very spirit-y in her opinion. She glanced over to Zuko who was leaning against the grounded palanquin. He didn't look too convinced either. "Shall we wait here, Prince Zuko?" the bearer asked.
"Yes," Zuko nodded, "That'll be fine. I don't know how long we'll be though…"
"We will wait."
"Thank you…"
"Yang Chen. My name is Yang Chen, Prince Zuko," Yang bowed his head.
"Thank you Yang and your fellow bearers." Zuko said, nodding to each other man in turn. "Now, I think it's time we see that oasis." He smiled at her and outstretched his hand. She took it instantly and helped him to the door. The metal door had a handle on it like a ship. She turned it several times before it unlocked and opened.

There were no lanterns to greet them. Once inside, Zuko shut the door, locking it and plunging them into darkness. A moment later, a small flame appeared in his right hand, while his left was around her shoulders for support. It was a small, square, metal room. They slowly stepped deeper inside.
"What is that?" she asked, gesturing with her head to the opposite wall. There was some sort of blanket covering what might be a doorway.
"Some kind of curtain, maybe?" he responded, holding out his hand to cast the light closer. They took a few more careful steps.
"No, it is vines!" she realized and pushed them aside with her left arm so they could walk through. On the other side was the most unexpected thing she'd ever seen.

Green. Lush greenery was all around them. It was so peaceful. In the middle of the oasis, the trees thinned and there was a pagoda near a large pool of water. Minus one giant waterfall and a few bridges, it reminded her of the oasis Yue took Aang and her in the North Pole.
"It's beautiful," she heard Zuko whisper beside her. "I never knew this was down here." He was clearly dazed by the intense contrast.
"Come on, Prince Zuko," she smiled up at him, "let's get you healed!" He smiled back. There was a narrow dirt path ahead of them that lead to the water and then wrapped back around. They followed the path and stopped by the still pool. He looked at it, maybe a little skeptically.
"Should I…get in the water?" he asked. She nodded.
"That'd probably be best." she helped him sit down so his legs dangled into the water.
"Here we go," with a small wince, he slipped into the water. His head went under for a moment, but he quickly popped up, sputtering.
"Are you standing?" she asked, scanning for a good place to have him rest. His shoulders and head were above the water line. The water was so clear she could see shiny pebbles at the bottom.
"Yeah," he replied, "It looks like there might be a natural underwater bench over there." He lifted his arm above the water to point. Water dripped from his sleeves.
"Okay," she said and walked over to where he pointed on another side of the pool. It was kind of funny to see him walk through the water. His clothes floated and bobbed with him. "This is perfect." The bench even had a rest for his head. It made her wonder if the pond wasn't so natural after all…
"Strange," Zuko muttered, obviously coming to the same conclusion. They both dropped the idea though. It didn't really matter right then. He lay down on the bench with just his face above water.
"Ready?" she asked, lying out on her stomach by the pond edge. He only nodded and closed his eyes. She took a deep breath. Her hands trembled slightly as she lowered them into the water.

The water was cool. As her palms grew closer to his torso, she felt heat coming from where the lightning had struck. Her hands hovered just above his chest as the water started to glow.

-Zuko-

Only his face was above the water. It felt soothing even before she started healing. His clothes floated towards the surface and his hair floated around him. Even with his eyes closed, he could tell when the water started glowing. Also, the pain was dissipating. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. The relief was unbelievable. He sighed. The deep ache was fading, leaving him with a feeling of weightlessness. His body felt lighter. It was weird. A part of him felt like it was drifting away. Yet he could still sense her hands right above him.

He felt so far away. His thoughts started to drift away too. They were a mixture of memories and something else…possibilities or dreams. They were just short random scenes. It started with flickers of images, colors, and emotions, with Azula and him as children. They were on the beach (memory), running through the palace (dream), twirling around at a festival (dream). Azula and him older in front of their father, learning a new bending form, but everyone was smiling and laughing together. Dream, it was definitely a dream. Skip forward several years to modern day. The images solidified. It was as if he was there, now. He stared down at his reflection in the turtleduck pond. His face was clear, no scar.
"Coming, Zuzu?" Azula asked, walking towards him, smiling. Their mother walked behind her.
"Yes, hurry up Zuko," his mom smiled.
"Mom?" he asked.
"Come on, we don't want to be late for your coronation!" she clapped her hands together like an excited child. He glanced once more at his reflection before looking back up at his mom. She looked down at him with pride and love. Even Azula looked happy for him. The scene shifted to the great hall. The hall was prepped for a giant party. Colors of every nation were represented through banners strung everywhere. No one else was in the room. He looked down at himself and saw that he was wearing unfamiliar clothes. They had a traditional cut and were made beautifully of silk. The colors were outstanding. He had never seen anything so colorfully decorated. A small hand tapped on his shoulder and a familiar female voice spoke.
"Hey there, Fire Lord," she said. He knew it was she before he ever turned around. He also knew that she was smiling; he could hear it in her voice.
"Hi, Katara," he replied, turning around. She too wore colorful silk robes and her hair hung loosely around her. She was beautiful. She always was.
"Ready for the big day?" she asked, glancing around the room.
"What?" he asked. He didn't understand. She laughed and playfully swatted his arm.
"Our wedding day, silly!" She giggled.
"'Our wedding day?'" he repeated, "But I haven't even asked you yet." Her eyebrows knit together, forming a little v crease. Concern filled her eyes.
"Are you feeling alright?" she asked. He turned to reexamine the room. It had changed to the Agni Kai arena. He whirled around to see Katara, but she wasn't there.
"Katara!" he yelled, before he spotted her on the far corner of the arena. Giant bolts of lightning were headed right at her. He couldn't tell where they were coming from and it didn't matter. "Katara!" he yelled again, running towards her. She looked around frantically, her face full of terror.
"Zuko?" she shouted, her voice full of fear. Why was she acting like she couldn't see him? "Zuko?" she continued to yell, "Zuko?" The scene was blurring. The images were fading, but her voice remained, wildly repeating his name.

-Katara-

She could read the relief on his face as she healed him. A little smile played on his lips. The whole pond glowed brightly. While she healed him, she watched the harsh red of the skin fade and repair. He would always have a scar, but it was healing tremendously well. When she was satisfied, the glowing dimmed and she removed her hands from the water.
"Zuko?" she asked. His eyes were still closed. His eyelids fluttered and it looked like he was dreaming. "Zuko?" she asked again, worried now. Why wasn't he waking up? She placed her hand on his forehead. It was warm. His face wasn't so peaceful looking anymore. He looked…afraid. Not knowing what else to do, she moved over to hop into the pool. The water was warm. In fact, it was hot. She reached over to him, shaking him forcefully. The water was uncomfortably hot by him. She took a deep breath, trying to cool the water. "Zuko?" she whispered.
"Katara!" he shouted, sitting up. She jumped back in surprise. Her heart was racing. "Katara!" he whispered. She let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.
"Zuko!" she cried in relief and flung her arms around his neck.
"You're okay," he whispered in disbelief.
"Yes, yes, of course I am," she comforted him. "Are you okay? You wouldn't wake up…" It wasn't until now she realized just how worried she had been.
"Yes, I'm okay now," he let out a deep breath of his own. His eyebrows bent together in confusion, "I had a dream…sort of…"
"Shhh," she whispered, "Tell me later." He nodded. They were both silent. Her head rested against his shoulder.
"Think we should head back?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah," he said, and together they sat up. They both crawled out of the water and sat on the banks edge. "Any chance you could uh…" he gestured to their dripping clothes. She laughed and nodded.
"Yes, of course," she smiled and easily removed the water from their clothes.

They started walking back towards the vine curtain. The greenery was still astounding.
"It is really beautiful here." She said as she looked around.
"Yeah…" he agreed, hesitantly.
"But?" she asked, hearing the unspoken word.
"But there's something about it… It's almost too… I don't know there's something strange about it."
"Yeah, I agree." She nodded. This place had given her a weird feeling. The water had healed her love, but it had also troubled him. Hand in hand, they walked away from the Fire Nation oasis.

a/n Again, Happy New Year! What did you think of the oasis? Thank you so much for reading. If you could please take the time out of your new year to review...I'd be very happy! Thanks!