A/N: Hey all! I had so much fun writing Katara's thoughts, so I thought I would share Zuko's while he's in his unconscious state. I hope you enjoy it! ATLA does not belong to me!

Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy to drive and achieve what they want.

'Uncle?'

'So, the Blue Spirit. I wonder who could be behind that mask,' Iroh said.

'What are you doing here?' Zuko sighed, taking off his mask.

'I was just about to ask you the same thing. What do you plan to do now that you've found the Avatar's bison? Keep him locked in our new apartment? Should I go put on a pot of tea for him?'

'First I have to get it out of here,'

'And then what!?' His uncle yelled. 'You never think these things through! This is exactly what happened when you captured the Avatar at the North Pole! You had him, and then you had nowhere to go!'

'I would have figured something out!'

'No! If his friends hadn't found you, you would have frozen to death!'

'I know my own destiny, Uncle!'

'Is it your own destiny, or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you?'

'Stop it, Uncle! I have to do this!'

'I'm begging you, Prince Zuko! It's time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big questions. Who are you, and what do you want?'

The Fire Prince screamed, throwing his swords and mask down.

Earth is the element of substance. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring.

'Look sparky, Katara's not the type to hate someone. So stop your moping, she'll get over it,' Toph said sitting down next to the older boy.

'She's too kind for her own good, but you're wrong. She did hate me, back when I was chasing Aang. It was only in Ba Sing Se when she started to trust me,'

'She didn't hate you,'

'Yes she did. And for good reason. I attacked her village, stole her necklace, chased her and the Avatar all over the world, and now nearly killed her by losing my temper. It's no wonder she doesn't want to see me,' Zuko said facing the small earthbender.

'Katara doesn't hate anyone. Sure she didn't love anything you did, but given time she'll forgive you,'

'Why are you even talking to me? We're not even friends,'

'That's where you're wrong. I've never had anything against you. I heard stories from the rest of the gang, but your first day with us I could tell you were really sorry about everything. Katara's not your only friend. The four of us, or five I guess, stick together. They were there for me when I needed someone. We've become a family and now you've become a part of it. You're not alone,'' Toph said walking away.

Zuko's eyes followed the earthbender, a shy smile spreading on his face.

Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, they apparently had pretty good senses of humor!

'You know what the worst part of being born over a hundred years ago is? I miss all the friends I used to hang out with. Before the war started, I used to always visit my friend Kuzon. The two of us, we'd get in and out of so much trouble together. He was one of the best friends I ever had, and he was from the Fire Nation, just like you. If we knew each other back then, do you think we could have been friends, too?' Aang asked.

Zuko shot a fireball at Aang. The airbender dodged and flew away as the firebender stared after him.

Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribes are capable of adapting to many things. They have a sense of community and love that holds them together through anything.

'How did you? How did you find a way to trust me?'

'When you talked about your mother being taken from you I thought it was a trick to make me feel sorry for you, but then I saw your eyes. In that moment I couldn't imagine why you would lie about your own nation taking someone so dear from you. So I took a chance on trusting you. Then you started talking about your destiny and I knew that you had changed,'

Zuko looked Katara in the eyes. He saw how caring this waterbender truly was. How easily she was swayed into believing there was good in someone.

'I don't blame them for not trusting me. After everything my nation did I wouldn't trust me either,'

'They will. Just give them time.' She placed her hand on his shoulder.

'How can you be so sure? How can you just believe that these people will ever accept me?'

'Before I became a master, I was never really accepted by the rest of the tribe. I was just the girl who played with magic water. I was a reminder of what the Fire Nation did to my village. But now, I am respected by the men who once thought of me as weak. I am finally not just the little girl whose mother sacrificed herself for,' She said touching her necklace.

His brow furrowed.

'I need to be alone. I don't want to talk about how awful my nation is or how they ruined your life. I already know the kind of monsters they are. They took my mother too remember?'

'Zuko, I'm sorry I didn't-'

'Just go, please.' He saw the hurt in her eyes.

It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole.

Aang was showing Zuko a few techniques. Zuko watched intently, memorizing the movements the aribender made and trying to translate it back into firebending. He followed Aang's motions almost identically. The two of them fell into rhythm, mirroring each other's movements. Finally, they stopped and bowed to one another.

'Thanks for your help Aang. I think I have an idea,' Zuko said.

Zuko began with a firebending stance, but he allowed himself to be light on his feet, like the airbending stances. He moved through the techniques he just learned from Aang but made them sharper. He focused on his breathing, feeling the spark of power within him. As he brought his fist back he inhaled. Then he exhaled and a flame erupted from his closed hand as it came forward. Zuko smirked to himself.

'Zuko you did it!' Aang shouted excitedly.

'I guess I did,' Zuko replied.

'This is great! Now I can start learning!'

'I thought you were hesitant to firebend, what changed?'

'Katara gave me some advice,' The airbender blushed slightly saying her name.

'Alright well then go through the motion you showed me only, make them sharper. And

focus on your breath, it's what gives firebending power,'

Aang did as Zuko said. He went through the motions exactly as he had seen the Fire Prince did earlier. He produced a much larger flame than Zuko had. The two practiced throughout the day; working through the same technique over and over until they both had become exhausted.

It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful. But it can make you more powerful, too. You see the technique I'm about to teach you is one I learned by studying the waterbenders.

Zuko stomped out of the tent almost running into Sokka.

'Out of my way peasant. I need to get to the Fire Nation,' Zuko said, pushing past Sokka. Sokka grabbed Zuko by the shoulder, his blade at the ready.

'And do what exactly? Tell them where our location is? I don't think so,' Sokka accused.

'As if you can stop me. Your pathetic blade wouldn't do anything,' Earth eroded around the prince's ankles.

'You aren't going anywhere now Sparky,' Toph stated.

'Let me go!' Zuko demanded.

'Not until you tell us what you plan on doing,'

Zuko shot a flame at the blind earthbender, which Sokka blocked with his machete. Sokka was ready to strike when a water whip hit the prince square in the jaw.

'I don't care how upset you are with your Uncle being captured you do not attack us!' Another water whip hit him in the face. 'We saved your life and how do you thank us?' Smack. 'By being an angry,' Smack. 'Ungrateful,' Smack. 'Entitled jerk!' One last water whip hit him.

'I didn't ask for you to save my life! Because of you my Uncle is now in a Fire Nation prison!' Zuko shouted.

'Why you-'

'Katara take it easy, I'm not burned!' Toph said as she stopped her friend from killing the broody teenager.

Waterbenders deal with the flow of energy. A waterbender lets their defense become their offense, turning their opponents' energy against them. I learned a way to do this with lightning.

'How can she be so impulsive?' He blurted out.

'Katara's always been that way,' Sokka sighed.

'But she's usually so cautious,'

'Not always. She gets wrapped up in what she wants sometimes and goes against logic. Like with Jet,'

'Jet?'

'He was Katara's thug boyfriend, leader of the Freedom Fighters, and just plain crazy,'

'I think I know who you're talking about; my uncle and I had a run in with him when we were in Ba Sing Se. Katara dated him?' Zuko asked, slightly jealous.

'Yeah she cared about him a lot more than she will admit to. She trusted him and he ended up using her for his own benefit,'

'She deserves better,'

If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You must create a pathway from your fingertips, up your arm to your shoulder, then down into your stomach. The stomach is the source of energy in your body. It is called the sea of chi. From the stomach, you direct it up again, and out the other arm. The stomach detour is critical. You must not let the lightning pass through your heart, or the damage could be deadly.

'You've always thrown everything you could at me! Well, I can take it, and now I can give it back! Come on, strike me! You've never held back before!' Zuko yelled with tears streaking his face.

You may wish to try a physical motion, to get a feel for the pathways' flow, like this. Now, are you focusing your energy? Can you feel your own chi flowing in, down, up, and out?

'Get back here!' Azula yelled firing the electric blue energy from her two fingers.

Zuko recognized his sister's movements and quickly reacted. He caught the lightning from his fingertips and could feel the energy coursing through every fiber of his body. He redirected the attack back towards the ship and collapsed.

"I promise you, Zuko, I will heal you," He heard her voice. "And I will keep you safe. I won't let anything else happen to you."

Zuko could feel the warmth on his cheek and his brow furrowed as a groan escaped him.

'I'm sorry I yelled at you before,' Katara said.

'It doesn't matter,' Zuko replied.

'It's just that for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face,'

'My face? I see,' He touched his scar.

'No, no, that's-that's not what I mean,'

'It's okay. I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately, I've realized I'm free to determine my own destiny, even if I'll never be free of my mark,'

'Maybe you could be free of it,'

'What?'

'I have healing abilities,'

'It's a scar, it can't be healed,'

'This is water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. It has special properties, so I've been saving it for something important. I don't know if it would work, but-' She placed a hand on his scar before Aang and Iroh appeared.

"Zuko?" He could hear her voice again.

The firebender shifted in his sleep, his hand reached out and found hers.

"Katara," He whispered before falling back into blackness.

A/N: Alright y'all we are getting close to the end here. I'm going to try to post more chapters during this summer so stay tuned.