a/n Thank you so much to all of the awesome reviewers, followers, and favoriters! Thanks for not only making my day a little brighter, but also waiting so patiently!
Some important decisions will be made in this chapter…so read and find out.

Chapter 27 ~Leaving~

-Katara-

She hated him. Katara didn't hate easily, but she hated Ozai with every fiber of her body. The low, vile, despicable, scum deserved to die. If Ozai had been in front of her, she would have killed him without a second thought. Her vision actually seemed to turn red.
"Katara?" Zuko asked cautiously and with that, he was brought back into sharp focus. "Are you okay?"
"No." she could hardly spit out the word through her anger.
"What? I thought you'd be happy." Zuko seemed genuinely surprised with her reaction.
"Why would I be happy?" she managed through clenched teeth. He didn't say anything for a moment. Then realization dawned in his eyes.
"It doesn't matter," he said, shaking his head. "It's fine. I'm glad he told me, even if it was an accident."
"No, Zuko. It's not fine. Ozai has no right to say those things. You are not worthless. Love is a powerful thing. Your mother did what she did to save you fro-" she stopped, seeing Zuko's ashen expression.
"Agni. She was right." He whispered.
"Who? Who was right?"
"Azula." WHAT? He turned his head and stared at the blank wall.
"Hey," she said, pulling his head back to look at her. "What is it? What was she right about?" He sighed and his eyes were sad.
"The last night I saw my mother Azula came into my room and…" His voice faded and his eyes glazed with the memory.

-Zuko-

"Dad's going to kill you." She said in a singsong voice, "Really, he is."
"Ha-ha, Azula. Nice try." What a liar.
"Fine, don't believe me," she smirked, "But I heard everything. Grandfather said Dad's punishment should fit his crime." She stood up straight and imitated their Grandfather Azulon, "'You must know the pain of losing a first-born son by sacrificing your own!'"
"Liar!" Zuko shouted.
"I'm only telling you for your own good." She said semi-seriously before grinning, "I know! Maybe you could find a nice Earth Kingdom family to adopt you!"
"Stop it! You're lying! Dad would never do that to me!"
"Your father would never do what to you?" Mother asked walking into his room, "What is going on here?" she looked between him and Azula.
"I don't know…" Azula tried, adopting an innocent expression. Mom was less than pleased.
"It's time for a talk!" she announced, grabbing Azula by the arm and marching her out of his bedroom.
"Azula always lies. Azula always lies. Azula always lies." He chanted softly to himself.

He slowly fell into a restless sleep. Azula's voice kept echoing through his dream and each time he believed her more and more. He knew Azula was their father's favorite… But he wouldn't kill him…, right? Surely not! A familiar scent and touch start to pull him out of his dream.
"Mom?" he asked, sleepily.
"Zuko, please, my love," she said seriously, holding his head in her hands, "Listen to me. Everything I've done, I've done to protect you." What was she talking about? Her words seemed to float over him he was so tired. She pulled him close to her for a hug. His eyes were partially closed. "Remember, Zuko," she instructed, pulling away to look him in the eyes, "No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are." He hazily watched her pull up her hood and walk away before he fell back against the pillows.

His dream was strange. Mom was…leaving? Where was she going? What? He woke with a start.
"Mom!" he called out, leaping out of bed. He ran down the hallway, "Mom? Mom!" He found Azula behind a pillar in an entry room. "Where's Mom?" he asked her.
"No one knows." She stated plainly. The fact that their mother was missing didn't seem to bother her. "Oh, and last night, Grandpa passed away."
"Not funny, Azula! You're sick!" That's when he noticed his knife in her hands, "And I want my knife back, now." He reached out to grab it but she pulled it away quickly. She grinned maliciously.
"Who's going to make me?" she taunted, "Mom?" Zuko dashed for the knife again, grabbed it, and ran out of the room. His father would know. Zuko ran through the palace, looking for his father. He finally found him by the turtleduck pond, staring into the water unmoving.
"Where is she?" he asked, trying to steady the panic in his voice. (Father did not like rapid emotions.) Father never spoke. He didn't even turn his head. No. Zuko thought, It's true. He hung his head, feeling defeated.

That night Azulon was laid to rest and Ozai was crowned Fire Lord. No one mentioned Zuko's mother. No one questioned Azulon's death.

It all made sense now. The missing piece fell into place. He thought he would feel happy to figure out exactly why his mother had left, but he wasn't. He didn't realize what she had done, not even when Ozai taunted him when he said she was banished trying to protect him. A tear slipped down his face. An inside part of him felt crushed at this realization. He turned and buried his face in one of the pillows, crying soundlessly.

A cool hand traced the contours of his back.
"Zuko?" a soft voice asked quietly, stroking his hair now.
"Mom," he whispered into the pillow.
"Uhm…no it's me."
"I know," he said and turned slightly to see her. His beautiful Katara looked down at him worriedly. "My mom…" he couldn't voice the truth, not quite yet. He had to start back farther. He wiped his tears away, took a deep breath, and spoke. "Azula was right. The last night I saw my mom she came into my room…" He told her, everything except the crucial answer to why his mom left. Katara was silent the entire time until his tale was done.
"Your grandfather…"
"Azulon,"
"Azulon… he died unexpectedly didn't he?" Zuko nodded. "And your mother left that same night?" He nodded again. "Your fath-"
"Ozai," he quickly corrected her. That man was not his father.
"Ozai… he wanted to be Fire Lord and Azulon was stopping him." Zuko nodded once more. "So she… killed him." It wasn't a question. How had she riddled it out so quickly? Zuko looked down at the bed before nodding. Even his mother, who he idolized, was a monster in her own way.

-Katara-

The pain he was feeling was evident.
"Oh Zuko!" She flung her arms around his neck. "I'm so sorry. But you have to know that she was only trying to protect you." He pulled out of her embrace, a look of disgust on his face.
"'Protect me?' She left me!"
"She was banished, she didn't have a choice!"
"She chose to kill Azulon! She knew she'd be banished! She decided to leave me!"
"Azulon was going to make Ozai kill you otherwise!"
"It would have been better if she had let him," he muttered.
"Stop that! You don't get to say stuff like that. Plus it's not like she left you alone." He laughed darkly.
"I would have been better off alone." He spat, finally looking up at her. "Do you know what it was like to live here… with him?" Zuko didn't need to specify who he was talking about.
"No," she whispered, her heart going out to him.
"Let's just say I am lucky I don't have more scars than I do." That's when the tears started rolling down her cheeks. All she could imagine was a helpless Zuko who felt disappointed and abandoned. She wanted the comfort of his arms, but was afraid of being rejected. So she just looked down and let her tears fall onto the sheets.

She didn't like crying in front of people, but the tears wouldn't stop and she felt paralyzed. The bed shifted suddenly underneath her. The next thing she knew she was crushed against Zuko chest. His heat from his warm bare chest permeated her body.
"Shh!" he soothed, rubbing her hair, "I'm sorry Katara. It's not your fault. I shouldn't have told you. I'm sorry. Shh!"
"I'm glad you told me," she replied through her tears.
"What? Why?" She pulled away just enough to look up at him.
"Because I love you. I want to be there for you. I want to help you through this, if you'll just let me." He hugged her closer.
"I loved her so much." He whispered after a little while, still stroking her hair. "I thought she was so… good… but apparently not. I know that she was probably just trying to protect me, but I just… I… I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner." Something in his voice confused her.
"Are you…" she paused. He couldn't seriously doubt her intentions. Could he?
"What?" he asked, tilting away enough to look down at her.
"Do you doubt me?" She saw pain, shock, and shame flick through his eyes.
"I…I…I…" he stuttered before swallowing, "I'm sorry." Now she was the one feeling crushed, betrayed. After everything they'd been through together, he doubted her. Her face must have shown how broken she felt because he quickly continued, "It's just that I loved her, so much. She was always there for me, understanding my troubles. It almost killed me when she left. I know that she probably saved me, but…" He shook his head slightly before tipping her chin up, "I love you so much that I know it would kill me if you left."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"But if you did-"
"Zuko I'm not perfect." She interrupted. "Nobody is."
"I-I know that." He seemed surprised by her change of topic.
"Good. You seem to think that people are inherently all good or all bad, which you should know is not true. I mean, I've done some things that I'm not proud, but that doesn't make me a permanently bad people. I understand that this news is hard on you, but at least we know she is out there. The future may be uncertain, but never doubt us. Okay?"
"Okay." His smile was shy; the one she loved the best, the one just for her.

-Zuko-

She seemed to know what he was feeling even before he did and she always knew just what so say. It would take a lifetime or two for him to payback all the love and support she gave him, but Agni knows he was going to try. The wedding was going to make everything official. She would be written down in history as not only a master waterbender, but also his wife. After the wedding, he knew where he wanted to spend their honeymoon and he could hardly wait.

These thoughts were actually making him a little uncomfortable. It didn't help that she was dozing in his arms. Her beautiful head nestled underneath his arm and against his bare chest. Stop. Let her sleep. He tried to will his body to obey.
"Hmmm…" she murmured happily, sighing deeply before opening her eyes. "You're up." He gasped. At first he didn't think she meant to say something so provocative, but by the way she was grinning he had to reconsider.
"Yeah, I'm definitely…up." He replied, grinning back at her. Her eyes sparkled with mischief and she bit her bottom lip. He groaned. She leaned up and kissed him. It was short, teasing. "Uh-uh." He uttered as she drew away, bringing her lips back to his by gently holding the back of her head. She laughed softly.
"What now?" she asked, slightly out of breath.
"Well," he grinned, "We could-"
"Fire Lord Zuko?" a voice asked accompanied by a knock from the other side of the door. Katara giggled, covering her mouth with her hands to quell the sound.
"Yes-" his voice cracked and he hastily cleared his throat, "Yes?"
"Will you want your breakfast brought to you or are you going to join your friends and your Uncle in one of the dining rooms?"
"Uhm…" he looked to Katara quickly. She mouthed the words 'dining room.' "We'll-er…I'll join them soon."
"Very good, Sir." The voice said and the footsteps could be heard walking away.

Zuko let out a breath.
"Nervous?" she asked him, playfully arching an eyebrow.
"No, no, it's just that I'm not a sexual exhibitionist." He replied.
"Fancy term for a practical virgin." She teased. He scoffed, but smiled.
"No, you see…my dad was one… a sexual exhibitionist I mean."
"Oh." Her smile faded.
"It's okay, but the servants probably think…" He paused then grinned, "They probably think I'm crazy for wanting to marry you, but I don't care." He pecked a kiss to her lips, "Come on, let's go get some food."

-Katara-

General Iroh, Dad, Sokka, Suki, Aang, and Toph were all chatting away in the grand dining room where Zuko lead her. A giant meal was spread out across the fine silk tablecloth.
"Hey sleepy heads!" Toph greeted loudly.
"Good morning, Toph." Katara replied taking a seat next to Aang. Zuko sat down at her other side.
"I uhm…" Zuko paused, "I hope you all enjoyed yourselves at the coronation yesterday." There was a chorus of assurance that the party had been a success.

She wasn't really listening to any particular conversation. It was impossible to follow them all. She ate her breakfast and glanced around at the dear faces. Then Aang asked Zuko a question that halted all other discussions.
"Where is Azula?" Aang asked, leaning forward slightly to see Zuko better. Everyone fell silent. Yeah…where was she?
"She's uh…she's actually still here in the palace." He answered.
"What?" exclaimed Sokka, "She's a nut-job! You're just now telling us that she's here! What if Aang ran into her? She's dangerous!" Suki put a hand on Sokka's, trying to calm him. Zuko just sighed.
"I know but…"
"But what?" Sokka interrupted, "She's bad! She can't be trusted!" Zuko's mouth tightened slightly.
"There was a time when you said the same thing about me." He countered.
"Yeah, but she's bad-bad. She'll always be bad and never be good!"
"Look I know she has been a horrible person and tried to kill us multiple times…but I don't think locking her away will solve anything." No one spoke for a moment.
"Fire Lord, Zuko." Iroh said, adding to the conversation for the first time. "I must advise you to be careful. Even I once admitted that Azula is crazy and needs to go down."
"I know. She's powerful, manipulative, and cruel. But she wasn't always that way. I had you to guide me, but she had Ozai. She needs help."
"Then perhaps it is not too late for her." Iroh replied, "We could at least try." The corners of Zuko's lips twitched in an almost smile before Sokka rejoined the discussion.
"I don't know…I think it's risky. Maybe Aang should take her bending away." Sokka suggested.
"No." Aang said, speaking out for the first time since he asked Zuko the question, "Only as a last resort."
"Oh come on, Aang!" Sokka threw his hands up.
"No. Sokka." Aang repeated shaking his head, then turning to Zuko, "So what are you going to do with her?"
"I was thinking she should leave the Fire Nation, for now. This place has some bad memories for me so maybe staying here while she is treated is a bad idea."
"What do you mean treated?" Aang asked.
"I think she could really benefit from a guru and maybe the best healer too. The problem isn't so much the treatment but the location. It'd need to be somewhere secluded…"
"I know just the place."
"What? Really?" Zuko asked, surprised.
"Yeah, the Eastern Air Temple. I could even talk to Guru Pathik. He's the one who trained me how to unlock the Avatar State. Perhaps he could help her." It was time for Katara to speak up.
"I could send a message to Yugoda with the returning Northern Waterbenders." She said, "Maybe she'd be willing to look at Azula." Zuko looked at her and smiled.
"Thank you Katara."
"I can take the message." Dad said, distracting her from Zuko's warm eyes.
"What?" she asked.
"I'll deliver the message to Yugoda. I'm going to visit our sisters in the north to truly unify our tribes."
"Oh," she didn't know her dad would be leaving so soon.
"Don't worry, I'll be back before this wedding takes place." She didn't respond and the room fell silent, only the sounds of Toph's eating could be heard. Zuko then cleared his throat and looked across the table at her father.
"Actually, Chief Hokoda? I was wondering… What do you make of all this?"
"Well," Dad paused for a moment, "I think your heart is in the right place, son."

Since it would be best to move Azula sooner rather than later, Aang and Toph decided to fly to the Eastern Temple to talk to the Guru as soon as possible. And her father was planning to set sail that day anyways. Sokka and Suki were having a whispered debate that ended with Sokka excusing himself and Suki going after him. Katara wondered what they were arguing about. She hoped it wasn't about Azula. If it was completely up to Katara, she'd probably lock Azula up as punishment for her crimes, but it wasn't her decision to make. Plus, it wasn't her sibling. It would be painful for Zuko to have to reject another member of his family, so hopefully Azula would… de-demonize.

-Zuko -

Katara was sitting at his bedroom desk, writing a letter to the healer Yugoda when he entered the room. He stood at the open door for a moment just watching her. The desk was under the window and the sun was almost straight up. Her luscious brown hair was loose and floated down her back onto her red silk dress. Good thing they didn't have much time to get ready that morning, otherwise she might have protested. Sure, the dress was beautiful, but it wasn't really her. He normally hated shopping, but it could be fun with her.
"I know you're there." She said, not even looking up from her message. He chuckled and walked over to her.
"Nothing gets pass you I guess." He replied, putting his hands on her shoulders.
"Hmm," she moaned slightly as he rubbed her shoulders.
"So I was thinking that we'd leave later today."
"What?" she sprung off the chair to face him, "Since when? Where?"
"I've got some troops to remove in the Earth Kingdom." He paused, "And I thought we could maybe start looking for my mom." From after breakfast up until then, he had been sorting out the arrangements. Uncle would be in charge while Katara and he rode the fastest ship to the Earth Kingdom. Her reaction decided everything. If she didn't want to leave yet, he'd just have to wait.
"Oh, okay, yeah, sure!" her voice was too chirpy.
"You don't seem sure." He needed her to be certain, "You okay?"
"Yeah, of course, I was just… surprised. I thought you might want to deal with Azula first and stuff…"
"I can get Azula the proper care and all, but I don't know how to help her myself. She hates me too much. I want to find my mother as soon as possible, maybe she can help Azula too. Either way there's so much I want to tell her and ask her." He smiled slightly, "Of course, I can't wait to introduce you to her." A smile spread across her face.
"Great!" she beamed, "When can we leave?"
"We can leave now if you want."
"Well," she took his hands in hers, "let's go."

a/n So what do you think of Zuko's decisions and revelations? Tell me what you think in a review! And thanks for reading!