o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

Sokka was looking at me. Well, watching would be the better term. I could feel his eyes on me, waiting for me to react, to do something. He thought I was going to snap any moment. Probably because I appeared to be so calm. I wasn't beside myself with anger, or I wasn't an emotional wreck, so to him that meant I was crazy.

But the truth is that I was angry. I was an emotional wreck. But also, I knew that exploding with anger wouldn't fix anything. There was no way I could turn back time. Those soldiers weren't coming back, Hanako wouldn't come back. I knew this. There was no going back, only forward. I fiddled with my bracelet, my reminder of the seriousness of this war.

From the corner of my mind I saw Zuko's head turn to me. Was he looking for a sign that I had gone insane? Did he think I was going to snap too?

I turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

He didn't back down, his molten eyes stared back at me, the fire in his eyes burning bright.

What was wrong with him?

No…

What was wrong with me?

He seemed to have no problem looking at me, so why did it find it so hard to look him in the eye? Was I just being stupid? The effect he had on me made me want to strangle myself, but was that not the same for him? He seemed to be fine; I was the one freaking out.

I shouldn't feel this way; he shouldn't have an effect on me. He should feel the same to me as Aang or Sokka do… Hell, I'd rather have him feel like Toph did, but he didn't. If Sokka had fallen on top of me, I knew I wouldn't have reacted the way I did. Oh spirits, I hoped I wouldn't.

Did I like Sokka? As much as a sister could like her big brother.

Did I like Zuko? Hell no.

But even so, I grew to love them. I don't think I could leave them when the spirits decided it was time for me to go. Or even worse, it would kill me to lose them to the war. Right then, I made a pact that I would do anything in my power to make sure I didn't lose anyone ever again.

Tears pricked at the back of my eyes, but I couldn't cry. This wasn't the place or time for tears.

I would never cry again. I would never allow myself weakness. Weakness led to loss. If I hadn't been weak, if I hadn't shut down when faced with Hanako, I might have been able to save him.

I closed my eyes tightly and took a deep breath.

No tears.

I learned that as I held his body in my arms while Xin told Hanako's parents of his death. Xin told me over and over that I didn't have to come with him, that I shouldn't put myself through this. But he didn't understand, I couldn't stay behind. It was my fault he died, I had to be there. There was no way he could have made me stay behind.

The bracelet on my wrist grew uncomfortably heavy. I rubbed at it and a lump grew in my throat.

No. I wouldn't cry. By my honor I would never cry again.

Hanako and many others had sacrificed their lives for mine, for the good of the whole world. If they could do something like that for me, then the least I could do was become a warrior worth dying for. I would become a healer as good as the best. I would fight, I would learn, and I would study.

All of this, I knew, would be brought back to my world with me, and I would become a better person because of their sacrifices.

I would not forget Hanako or the many soldiers that died. Always, in my heart, they would be there as the reason I fought for these people, this wonderful and amazing world.

Zuko finally looked away, and I almost cringed at the loss of their warmth.

Damn these feelings.

I stood carefully on Appa's back and began the slow crawl to the beast's head.

Momo chirped at my arrival, signaling my presence to Aang.

"Hello, Katara!" Aang yelled over his shoulder. "Don't worry, were almost there!"

I settled myself next to Aang. "Hey, do you think I could try that?"

Momo crawled off of Aang's shoulder and onto mine. "Try what?"

"Can I fly Appa?" I asked.

His face lit up. "Sure, come over here."

He shuffled over, and I crawled into his spot.

"Grab these." He handed me the reins and smiled.

"So I just hold them?" I questioned.

"Yeah, it's a straight shot to the temple."

"Huh." I nodded. "Okay."

Aang flopped onto his back and stared at the clouds floating by. "Easy, right?"

"Yeah." I tugged on one of the reigns lightly and Appa drifted to the side.

"Easy peasy." He muttered with a yawn.

I glanced at Aang and then back at the wide expanse of the ocean before me.

Without pausing to think about it, I snapped the reins, Appa jerked forward with a burst of speed and the air whipped my braid back. I leaned into the wind and let it blow over me.

Complaints made their way to my ears, but I ignored them. I needed the wind to blow my thoughts away, to erase the memory, to erase myself up until now.

I was a new Katara now, and there was no going back.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

The first thing I did when I walked into my room was flop face first into my bed and groan. I was just so physically and emotionally tired.

Aang's three hour tour of the Air Temple, while fascinating and fun, left me wanting to cut my legs off to keep them from hurting. Why had I gotten rid of my sneakers again? Oh yeah, Toph said they were amazingly comfortable. I can't believe I listened to her, she doesn't even wear shoes! Not that these weren't comfortable and cute, they were just…not as thick bottomed as I was used to. Walking on a rubble coated ground was practically torture.

I just wanted to curl into a ball and take a nice nap… No, not a nap. A coma might do it.

I mumbled a profanity; I wouldn't be able to sleep right now. I was way too awake for that. Maybe a bath would do the trick. Then, after a nice long soak I would be able to watch Aang train and to relax.

With effort, I stood up and made my way towards the room Aang pointed out to be the bathroom. But, about halfway there, something stopped me. I felt a mental tug, a small pull in the back of my mind that I recognized instantly as the call of my element. I changed course instantly and found myself walking through a forest.

That tug had never let me down in the past, so as I walked further and further into the forest, I had no worries that i would find myself lost and without water.

Soon enough, I found what had been calling to me, and the sight made me want to cry out in relief.

A natural hot spring.

It was as if the water knew what I wanted and led me to it.

As if they were on fire, I tore my blue clothes off and raced to the water naked as the day I was born. For a moment, I considered someone walking in on me, but I knew for a fact that everyone was in the temple. Toph and Zuko were off double training Aang, and the only thing that would lure Sokka out of his nap would be food.

That left me, myself, and I.

So as I dove in and groaned as the water washed away my aches, the only thing I worried about were the chances of a bear attack.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

Aang collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion.

"Come on twinkle toes, that's it?" Toph yelled with a laugh.

Aang groaned and rolled over.

Good idea Aang, play dead.

Even I, who had been taught and trained since birth, was tired. Toph was a brutal teacher. No mercy, just tough love. And although I was pretty merciless myself, Toph frightened me a little. She would not be someone I wanted to mess with.

I walked over to Aang and nudged him. "Aang."

He looked up hopefully.

"Go and meditate." I ordered him.

His face fell. "But I don't want to meditate." He complained.

I rolled my eyes. "I said go."

He moaned. "But-"

I growled at him. "I am your sifu, if I tell you to meditate, you ask how long. If I tell you to go and wrestle a Moose Lion, you'd better go it."

Aang got up and slowly stomped away.

"Geez Toph., I'll never mess with you." I rubbed at a pain in my neck.

She laughed.

"Seriously, you are one tough teacher." I mumbled, sure she would hear me.

Toph practically cackled. "Yeah, you wouldn't be able to handle me."

"I can't." I corrected. "Remember the last time we fought?"

Her smirk widened to a smile. "Got you good."

"You almost killed me." I reminded her.

Toph looked unconcerned. "I wouldn't have done it."

I remembered the look she had on her face as she held the giant boulder above me. "Yes you would."

"You would have gotten away in time." She waved my concern away.

"Toph, you buried my up to my knees." I almost yelled.

"Well, then you're lucky Aang wandered in, aren't you?"

I shook my head at her. "I'll just stick to dueling with Katara."

Toph gave me a look. "You would like to, wouldn't you?"

I turned away, my face red with embarrassment, and began walking off.

From behind me, I could hear Toph follow. "Oh come on, I'm just messing with you!"

I paused so she could catch up, and then we made our way to one of the many stone courtyards.

Immediately Toph chose to sit on a tall stone pillar, and I got to work on making a pot of tea. Somehow, that had become my job. Whenever we stopped everywhere, I would make tea, it was as simple as that. And for some reason, they actually liked my tea.

After I was done, I passed a cup to Toph. "Enjoy."

She took a sip and offered no thanks. I didn't expect it hough, if there was one thing Toph lacked, and the rest of the group would readily agree with me, it would be manners.

Sokka chose this moment to wander in from the bedrooms. It was obvious that he had been sleeping, his hair was sticking up all over the place and his clothes had become wrinkled.

I silently offered him a cup and he accepted it gratefully, not even pausing to sniff for poison (like he usually did) before he took a sip. Before I could even pour myself some, Toph shoved an empty cup at me, and I refilled it. "You like tea?" I asked, sarcasm thick in my voice.

"I love tea." Toph mumbled and sipped at her cup greedily.

I smiled. "So do I."

"Hey, this isn't that bad." Sokka yelled in surprise.

Toph rolled her eyes and looked at Aang. "Hey, get over here!"

Aang snapped his eyes open and smiled. Normally, I would make him meditate for at least an hour, but even I wasn't emotionless, he deserved a break after what Toph put him through.

Aang ran over, and I handed him a cup of tea.

He sipped his tea and smiled. "Hm… This is good, who taught you?"

My breath caught in my throat. "My uncle."

"Oh! Of course. He had a tea shop, right?" Aang nodded.

"Wait, who is this 'Iroh'?" Sokka asked.

Aang's brows furrowed. "He was the one who helped me rescue you at the catacombs, remember?"

Sokka nodded. "Oh yeah, I forgot."

Toph glanced at me curiously. "Zuko's uncle makes tea?"

"Yeah, Iroh was his name. He apparently had the best tea shop in Ba Sing Se."

"Yeah, them two have been following us since the beginning, it feels weird not seeing him."

Katara came into the clearing and sat in our circle. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Zuko's uncle." Toph supplied.

"Zuko has an uncle?" She asked.

Toph smirked. "Yeah, they've mentioned him before, his name's Iroh."

My heart was beating fast with anxiety and confusion. What would I do when they asked me where he was? Would I tell them or would I lie?

"Where is he, anyways?" Aang smiled at me, oblivious to my inner turmoil. "I thought he would have met us by now."

"He's not going to be meeting us." I spoke slowly, carefully.

"Really?" Sokka piped in. "That sucks. He was actually kind of cool."

"Why not?" Katara asked innocently. "Where is he?"

I new I needed to tell Aang, if I didn't, then he would never know how cruel my family was. But I wasn't sure I wanted everyone else to know.

They need to know, my mind told me. So with a sigh, I began my story.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

"Eat up Zuko, it will be a long time until we have fresh fish again."

I nodded absently and forced down a bite of dinner. "We'll leave the Earth Kingdom tomorrow morning, right?"

Azula's smile was as sweet as honey. "Yes."

I knew better than to think that smile meant she loved me. "Good."

We ate in silence, I had nothing to say to her, and she had nothing to say to me. What were we supposed to talk about? 'Thank you Azula, for taking me back to see my father. Oh, by the way, did I tell you that I'm secretly afraid you'll send someone to my room to murder me in my sleep?' No, she could never know that I lost sleep at night, waiting to hear the click of my door opening. Why wouldn't I? She's tried to kill me before.

I would never forget the time Azula invited me on her ship and told me she would take me to father. Right away, I had been attacked. With the help of Iroh, I had escaped and soon began the long journey to the Earth Kingdom.

Why were you here? Why do you trust her now, when she's tried to kill you before? If it hadn't been for Iroh…

…Iroh…

He was in a cell right now. While I'm eating a decadent meal of roast fish, he was probably being made to starve.

I pushed my food away. There was no way I could eat this meal.

Azula's sigh was loud. "You're ruining dinner for me with all of this moping."

I shifted my legs under myself as a servant cleared away my meal. "I'm not hungry."

She rolled her eyes a me. "You've barely eaten anything for a week."

I flinched at the mention of a week. Had it really been that long? Had Iroh really been in a holding cell that long?

Oh Agni…

What was I doing here?

I stood abruptly and left the room. I couldn't deal with this; I had to get some fresh air.

The deck of the ship was large and empty, in other words, it was perfect. I immediately made my way to the railing and took a deep breath of fresh sea air. People milled around below the ship, shopping, heading back to their houses from a long days work.

The ports workers had no idea who or what was on this ship. Everyone thought we were a large merchant ship heading back to the Fire Nation with a ship full of cargo. What they didn't know was that our 'cargo' was living.

Suddenly, I felt a familiar touch on my arm.

I sighed as I turned to see Mai staring at me. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I lied. "Why?"

"You're more down than usual…" She laced her fingers through mine and stood in front of my view.

"Than usual?" I repeated with a scowl.

She ignored my question and pulled me close to her so that her forehead rested on my chest. "Just tell me what's wrong, okay?"

I sighed and placed my hand on her waist, pulling her closer to me. "I'm just confused."

Mai remained silent, so I awkwardly plowed on. "I don't know if I did the right thing."

More silence.

I sighed and pulled away. "I'm going to bed."

She grabbed my hand and yanked me towards her. In one fluid move, she placed a kiss on my lips and walked away, leaving me alone in the dark.

I stared after her as she left, confusion and sadness filled my mind, and again, only one thing entered my mind. Why was I here?

I flinched as if struck. Why was I here?

My mind began racing. She said Father would let me come back, but would he really? I didn't kill the Avatar, I didn't even capture him… Why would he let me come home?

What would be waiting for me? A loving family? Or a trap?

I lit a fire in the palm of my hand and stared into the bright flames.

Who was the only one who loved me, who showed me affection? Iroh.

And where was he right now? Imprisoned.

I fisted my hand, suffocating the flame into nothingness.

What had I done?

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

I knew exactly where to go, my feet had walked these halls for days. My destination was clear. Iroh's cell. I had been there countless times to yell out my frustrations, but this time, I would be there for a different reason.

I passed my room and shrugged off my robe. I wouldn't need it anymore, I had everything I needed on me, a few pieces of armor, my swords, and money. Everything else I could get on the way.

At the end of the hall was a trap door that led to the holding cells. I remember the first time I crawled through the opening; the door was so old and misused that it took all my strength just to open it. But now, the door opened easily, only the weight of itself offering any trouble.

Iroh's cell was at the end of a long line of empty cells. Usually, they would be full of prisoners of war, or the unlucky few that had crossed Azula's path. But not today, Iroh was alone.

Too soon, I was facing him.

His back was facing me; it was as if he already knew I was coming. He probably did. I've come every night. In the beginning, I had done nothing but yell. Why had he done this to himself? He'd condemned himself to a life of prison. Why? Had he chosen the Avatar over me? After all of this time, why was he abandoning me now? After a day or two, I had nothing else to say, all I did was sit there in silence. I couldn't even say that I was sorry.

Even as I stared at him now, I couldn't say anything. I wanted to say I was sorry and that I was going to break him free. I didn't even know what we would do after we got out. If he wanted to go off and start another tea shop, I would follow him without complaint. I'd do anything as long as it was with him.

I said nothing as I used the keys, that I had stolen after dinner, to unlock his door. Iroh was still as stone even as the door creaked open and I approached him. I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Uncle, let's go."

Nothing.

I sucked in a breath. "I'm getting us out of here, we need to leave."

Silence.

"Iroh, lets go."

I clenched my teeth as the silence continued.

"Please."

Iroh shifted slightly, but didn't say a word.

"Say something." I begged.

Finally, after what seemed like a millennia, Iroh turned to me and looked me in the eye. "How will we get out, what will we do after we escape? Where will we go? What will we do?"

My mind spun, and I stuttered out a reply. "I don't know."

He looked away from me.

"But I don't care!" I yelled. "I just want to be with you, my real father."

He glanced back up at me, his matted hair obscuring his eyes. "Is this what you want?"

"Yes!" I pleaded.

"And if I say no?"

Slowly a lump formed in my throat, and my eyes began to water. I couldn't do this, if he wasn't going to come with me, what was the point of leaving? I didn't want to go out into the world alone. Unloved.

I collapsed onto the ground and hugged my knees like a child.

"Then I stay right here with you. I was a fool to believe I'd be able to go back to my father and act like the past few years had never happened. I couldn't pretend he didn't do this to my face." I pointed to my scar.

He brushed his hair out of his face and looked down at me, waiting.

"I'll stay with you because I love you." I choked out, unused to saying those words.

He gazed down at me and extending his hand. "Let's go."

A tear made its way down my cheek, but I wiped it away and let him help me up. "Thank you."

He ignored me. "Do you have a plan?"

"Not really." I admitted.

A twitch of a smile played on his lips. "Well then, may the luck of Agni be with us…"

I smirked and unsheathed my swords. "May it be."

Both of us sprang into action, racing down the hallway and up the ladder, myself in front, and Iroh covering my back. We've done this time and time again, so both of us knew exactly what to do. We also knew to always stay on our guard, just because most of the crew was on shore leave didn't mean soldiers didn't stay behind. There was also the terrifying possibility of meeting Azula.

So as we raced through the halls and out onto the deck, it came as no surprise to see that Azula was waiting for us. No, what surprised us was that she had the whole crew assembled on the ship.

"Oh Zuzu… You didn't think I'd just let you leave like that." Her eyes shifted to Iroh. "And you have Uncle with you, how sweet. Maybe you guys could go and start another tea shop together."

I got into a fighting position with Iroh at my side.

"I can't believe you thought I wouldn't know about your plans." She sauntered towards me. "You've been acting strange all day, and this would have been the perfect night to leave. I'm just surprised you brought Iroh with you, I would have left him to rot." She stopped a few feet in front of me and smiled. "Now I'll have to kill you both."

I narrowed my eyes and gripped my swords. "We won't be the ones dying tonight."

Her smirk widened. "If you wouldn't have brought, Uncle, he would have stayed alive. I would have taken him to the nicest prison, the one with the best beds. Now he'll die here with you. He'll die a traitor, like you."

The masked soldiers began to surround us.

"They're awaiting my orders. Any last words?"

Air came out of my lungs in short, scared breaths. "I'll see you on the other side, Iroh."

With an unheard command, they began their attack.

I kicked out and sent a soldier flying back and out of sight, hopefully over the railing, but as soon as he was gone, another was there to take his place.

I felt Iroh's back shift behind me and knew he was about to duck, so I swung around and sliced off the end of his sphere which had been about the impale Iroh. With a blast of fire, he was sent to the ground, shaking and screaming.

A blow reached my chest and sent me stumbling back into Iroh, but he kept me upright, and without looking he sent a blast of fire at the soldier, blasting him out of sight.

Before I had the time to look around, a soldier sent fire at me that hit my stomach, burning away the cloth and exposing my light leather breastplate below. I swiped my sword at him and cut him right across his chest, sending him to the floor.

Iroh spun me around and pushed me down, out of the way. I clenched my eyes shut as his hands spat out a brilliant blue, stunning and blinding the soldiers attacking.

"Zuko." He yelled before they recovered. "You must go."

"Go where, do what?" I stuttered.

I jumped back up and swung out at the soldiers, slashing and stabbing them, sending out streams of fire to keep them at bay.

"You know where to go, who to find."

The Avatar's image entered my mind.

The soldiers regrouped and attacked again, stabbing, jabbing, punching, fire flying everywhere. I had to slit my eyes so I wouldn't be blinded by the light from my own element mixing with theirs.

"Iroh! No!" I screamed.

"Leave!" he yelled.

The soldiers closed in on us, forcing up apart.

I glanced over my shoulder at Iroh one last time and a feeling of dread came over me. This might be the last time I saw him alive.

With renewed vigor, I jumped into the fight.

They came after me from all sides; the only thing keeping me alive was the training I received from Iroh.

I slashed at the chest of the man in front of me and blocked the strike of another using my armored forearm cuff to deflect his blade. I spun around and punched out a fist full of flame at another man and ducked just in time to miss another's blade.

A hand reached out and grabbed me, and I twisted out of his grasp, with a crunch, my sword went through his armor and into the flesh below. He fell to the ground, on top of his fellow comrades. The sight made me nauseous, but I had no time to stop, I had to keep myself alive.

I spun my swords in front of me and blocked their attacks. The reflection on the swords told me Iroh was still fighting strong.

Their attacking never ceased, and neither did mine. If I stopped at any moment, I knew Azula would have won. There was no was I was going to let her win.

Suddenly, the soldiers retreated.

My head snapped around in surprise, and what I saw made me stop in my tracks.

Iroh had started attacking Azula and now the soldiers were running to protect her.

A soldier kicked him in the back of his knees and put him in a choke hold. After that, the rest of the men descended and I could see him no more.

A strangled cry of furry left my lips, and I ran for them, but Azula stepped towards me and stopped me in my tracks.

"What are you doing?!" I screamed at her.

She tilted her head to the left. "I told you, I'm killing you both."

I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think.

"Iroh!" I screamed, my voice hoarse.

"No use…" she muttered.

"Please…" I begged, my eyes still transfixed on the sight of them beating my struggling uncle.

For the briefest of moments, Iroh's eyes met mine, and I knew he was doing this for me. He had attacked Azula so I would be able to get away. I had – needed – to get out of here.

But as I met eyes with Azula, and saw that her fingers were sizzling with electricity, I knew it was too late. Even if I deflected the lightning, I would still die here. Without Iroh, there was no way I'd make it out alive.

She lunged out, aiming a perfect bolt of electricity at me, and I watched it come. I didn't move, didn't try and block it. It was coming too fast. I was done, I gave up.

What happened next, happened in slow motion.

Just as the lightning was about to hit me, a figure jumped in front of me and deflected the lightning, aiming it back at Azula.

Time sped up again and Iroh grabbed me and pulled me to the railing. "Go now."

My mind didn't seem to work. "How did you-"

He squeezed me tightly in a hug and then pushed me away. "Leave!"

"But-"

Sadness entered his eyes. "Goodbye, Zuko."

My mouth opened in shock. "Iroh-"

Without a second's hesitation, Iroh pushed me over the railing and into the water below.

I hit the water hard and gasped in the ice cold water. The water was pitch black from the darkness, I couldn't see anything, only the last pathetic bubbles of air leaving my lungs. Panicking, I tried to swim to the surface, but my armor was weighing me down. I kicked off my leggings, arm guards, and leather breast plate, and pushed my way to the moons reflection. As soon as I reached the surface, I gasped in a breath of air and retched into the water.

Still shaking, I glanced up at the boat, but I couldn't see anything. No Iroh, no anyone.

For a second, I thought Iroh jumped over after me, but one quick glance around told me he didn't. He was still up there, fighting a whole ship full of soldiers and one Azula. For him, I had to survive.

I stared up at the ship one last time before I swam off. Where was I going? I had no idea. But one thing was for certain, it would be far away from here.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o