And...here's my (short) take on what happened right after Azula shot Zuko with lightning in the final Agni Kai.

I own nothing! Zuko, Katara, Azula, and everything recognizable (quotes, places, etc) belong to Mike/Bryan/Nickelodeon.

Thoughts slipped incoherently in and out of Zuko's mind as he shot out to protect Katara from Azula's crackling blue lightning.

Not her.

Katara.

Pain.

Defeat.

Help.

Pain.

Katara.

Please.

Pain.

Stop.

I'm sorry.

Katara.

I love you.

"Zuko!" Katara cried, absolutely drenched. Azula, also dripping wet, was chained to the ground and screaming wordlessly. She had been defeated and outsmarted by the lowly water peasant. She had lost her crown and title of Fire Lord. Worst of all, her brother had won the battle.

Katara scrambled to Zuko's side, slipping on the cold metal of the grate beneath her and coughing on the thick plumes of smoke that curled from the burning palace around her.

"Zuko, Zuko," she murmured, tears clouding her sight. She dropped to her knees where he had fallen, her shaky fingers brushing over his back. The combination of her exhaustion and his weight made it difficult to turn the fire prince over, though she managed to lay him prone on the palace grounds.

She cringed when she saw his wounds.

Blood-sticky, dark red blood-pooled in gruesome puddles on his chest by the gash that Azula's lightning had left. His skin was thoroughly singed, and the horrible smell of burnt flesh rose in the air.

It was odd, she thought, how she had healed the lesions of hurt warriors time after time with little problem, and it was only the sight of his blood, of his wounds, that made her stomach churn.

Wasting no time, Katara pulled water from the cloth bag at her hip and shrouded her hands with it. She began her healing immediately, pressing her hands against the macabre rose that had blossomed on his chest. As her fingers flitted gently, light as moth wings, across the injured plane of his torso, she could feel his weak heartbeat and sniffed back more tears.

"Come on, Zuko. Please. Stay with me. Zuko, please," she begged.

Her water glowed as she healed, and the blood trickled to a stop. The burnt skin turned into a horrific black scab before smoothing out into a raw pink. Ever so steadily, his quivering heartbeat became stronger and stronger as the seconds ticked by.

Prince Zuko's eyes fluttered open, gazing blankly up at the smoke-filled sky. He turned his head; the movement caused pain to shoot through his abdomen. Katara brushed his hair out of his golden eyes and stroked his face, relief plastered across her features.

"Thank you, Katara," he whispered weakly, then attempted to sit up.

"I think I'm the one who should be thanking you," she murmured as a fresh torrent of tears gushed down her caramel skin. With her help, Zuko was able to stand, even though she bore the majority of his weight. The two of them watched Azula flail helplessly against the thick metal chains that bound her hands, then Zuko looked away repentantly.

...

Katara covered her mouth with a shaky hand, yet another tear betraying her and slipping down her cheek. She had since gotten the prince proper treatment for his fight wounds and had labored for hours tenderly wrapping him up in crisp white bandages. As she finished her tiring work, she gazed at his chest for a long while.

"Zuko," she whispered feebly. She looked up to meet his gaze, her azure eyes stabbed with pain and pity, before continuing. "There's going to be a scar, Zuko. I…I'm sorry."

The Fire Nation prince just nodded, face clear of emotions, and rested one hand upon Katara's. He did not mind this scar, for it was for Katara and Katara alone.

~Fin~

...I don't have any idea what the title means. Something about acquiring a new scar.

So, anyways, this is from the episode "Sozin's Comet: Into The Inferno" and a little while after that. And we're pretending that the last scene with Aang and Katara never happened. Sorry, Kataangers. I just don't like the ship.

Review, please?
Tchao, Zutarians.
-Erika-
xoxo