AN: So, since every single chapter starts with an apology for making you wait for the next update, I'm just going to stop. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Sixteen

The attack needed to be precise. Succinct, and deadly. There wasn't time to do anything less. Then again, she wanted to make him suffer. Cause him to feel completely powerless. She would take his world away, like he had taken her's.

They hadn't seen each other for about nine months. So it wasn't a wonder that Aurora nearly tackled Ta Min as she and Hiryu entered the Fire Nation Palace. The golden haired girl beamed and began to talk frantically with her best friend, who was doing her best to understand the long string of words.

"Rory, don't talk her to death." The Fire Lord entered the room, a tired expression on his face from a recent meeting with the top generals of the Fire Nation. He smiled at the two guests and joined the small group.

"Min! I am so happy you made it! Lunch is almost ready, and it feels like it's been forever!" Aurora's clear blue eyes were wide with excitement, while Min's amber eyes were simply wide with awe that anyone could talk that fast and still enunciate.

Hiryu and Zuko looked at each other. Hiryu had only met Aurora once and raised an eyebrow. The other man shrugged, as if to say this was normal behavior. They decided to let Aurora wear herself out before trying to say anything.

"And the best," she tried to say as the girl gulped down air. "The best spot I want to take you... You to is..." She groaned and gave up. "Forget it! I'll tell you later."

"Perhaps I should have said, 'Rory, don't talk yourself to death' instead."

She glared. "Shut up."

Zuko gave a chuckle before addressing the other two. "So, shall we go have lunch, now that Aurora is quiet?"

Everyone nodded, and the four headed down the wide hallways, the dark-haired girl catching her friend up on her own life.

Soon, the were all sitting around a square table, laughing, eating, and talking. Zuko and Hiryu had never met, but found out that they were able to talk as easily as Aurora and Ta Min. The sun was high in the blue sky and light beamed down on them from outside. A man came out and gave them all something to drink.

"Cheers," Aurora said, raising her cup. "To friendship."

As soon as she took a sip of the drink, she immediately knew something was wrong. Her vision turned upside-down. She saw Zuko and the others about to take a drink.

"Stop!"

Zuko and Hiryu's hands froze in the middle of raising their glasses, but the liquid was already in Min's mouth. She coughed and spat, dropping the glass onto the ground. The color drained from Aurora's face and her eyelids slid closed. Min faintly noticed trembles going throughout her body. She felt hot and cold at the same time. Hiryu was by her side in an instant, calling out something her brain could no longer process.

The world went dark, a haze of smoke and fog coming over her.

"Min! Can you hear me? You have to tell me what's wrong or I can't help!"

"Aurora, are you okay? What's happening?"

The golden haired girl was still barely conscious. She fought against the familiar taste and sensation that penetrated her body. Aurora felt the cold sweats come on, the feeling of freezing to death while being burned alive. Her vision was so fuzzy that she couldn't tell what was what.

"I need some doctors here, now! Aurora, if you can, tell me what's going on."

She had to tell him. His voice sounded more frantic then she had ever heard it. He needed to know she would be okay. Whoever had done this didn't realize her history.

"Ka... Kamu... Jin... Le..." Her voice was trembling so much that the girl couldn't get it out. Aurora felt the darkness coming on and fought against it. She knew what was after the darkness. She wouldn't let herself succumb to those horrors again.

Someone was moving her, feeling her neck, raising her off the ground. Inaudible voices were swarming her. She heard someone say Min's name, someone yell out her own. Comforting words were being said somewhere by someone as she was carried by unfamiliar arms. Soothing words didn't help when she was trying desperately to stay awake.

Don't let go! Fight! Hold on for as long as you can! You've beaten this thing! You can do it again!

"It's all right, Lady Aurora. Relax."

The darkness enveloped her.

"What's wrong with them?"

Zuko and Hiryu stood outside two doors that were side by side with an older man. Both of them were on edge and had been waiting for results for the past hour.

"We're not exactly sure what caused it, but we are having someone examine their symptoms and your drinks to try and find out. I'm sure they should be fine though. These two young ladies are very strong and are fighting whatever this is as best as they can," the older man with dark hair reassured.

"I want you to hurry and find out who did this," said Zuko, his arms folded across his chest as he tried to suppress his anger and fear. Hiryu nodded in agreement.

"Of course, sir. If you will follow me, we can go and meet Tai Long, the doctor researching this."

The men were at the end of the hallway when they heard the scream.

"I won't let you hurt him! Get away from me!"

They were closing in around her. She couldn't stop them. There was absolutely nothing she could do. She would die, and then they would kill

him.

Kill them.

She listened to the voice. The girl wasn't conscious of what she was doing, she simply acted on instinct. The screams meant nothing. This was her only way out.

Kill them all.

Her hands moved swiftly, impaling each of them. Not one was left alive. That wasn't what terrified her, though. She laughed. That's what scared her. She laughed like a giddy little girl who had finally gotten a new toy. Something else she could do in her spare time.

Slowly, her own laughter died as she took in the scene around her. Ice stuck out of bodies that were now connected to trees. Red was splattered everywhere and shone in the light of the full moon. It was on her hands. It was in her hair. It stained everything it touched.

She walked over to the nearest body and tapped him gently.

"Lan?"

The body fell from it's sitting position onto it's side.

"Th-that's not funny, Lan. Get up."

It didn't move as tears began to streak down the young girl's cheeks. Her hands trembled as she gently nudged him again, melting the ice that was protruding from his chest.

"Come on... It's time to go back... Don't you want to go back?...You said you would teach me Ma Jong... And take me on a date... Aren't you going to take me out for dinner?... A real one... Where we pay for it... You said you would... So... Get up..."

The tears continued to fall.

"Come on... Get up..."

You don't love him anyway.

"I do... I really do..."

You wouldn't have killed him then.

She looked up, as if the voice was coming from somewhere above.

"But... You told me to! You said to kill them all!"

Since when do you do as your told? He's dead. He's not coming back. Dead. And you killed him, you bitch.

"I didn't mean to! I didn't! Oh Agni, I didn't mean to do it!"

You never loved him anyway. He was always second

"I don't love Zuko! I hate him!" Sobs shook her small shoulders. Her golden hair was slick with a muddy mixture of blood and dirt. She desperately tried wipe the red off her hands.

It's no use. Trying to wash it off will make it worse.

"I hate him... I hate him..." she muttered, as if trying to convince herself.

Then you don't mind that he's walking away?

She turned her head to see a long, white pathway. The trees faded around her and she stood up shakily. Zuko stood near the end, if there was one. He looked at her once, before turning away.

"Z-Zuko? Wait... Wait! Wait for me!"

She ran towards him, calling out. He still seemed to get further and further away. She reached out, almost as though she could touch him if she stretched far enough. The girl tripped and fell face-first into a pool of red.

He knew the scream. It was the same one from back then. The same scream he had heard when the branch broke. The scream that meant danger.

Zuko ran back down the hallway as fast as he could and flung open the door to Aurora's room. Ice shards were everywhere. The woman who had been watching over her was cowering in a corner, holding a tray like a shield. The girl on the bed was shaking violently, a broken water vase on the ground next to her. She was white and sweating, gripping at her covers. The Fire Lord knelt down next to her and grabbed her hand. It was then that he noticed the tears streaming down her face. He shook her slightly, gripping her hand tightly.

"Aurora," he said quietly, gripping her arm now and trying to get her to calm down. "Rory, it's time to wake up."

"I'm sorry..." she muttered, tossing her head from side to side. "Don't leave... Don't leave me..."

He was trying to keep his calm, for her sake. But the way she was acting made him fear the worst.

"Come on, Aurora. Wake up."

"Don't leave me, Zuko... I'm sorry... Don't leave me alone..."

The Fire Lord jumped slightly at hearing his name. He brushed some wet hair out of her drained and hot face, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him.

"I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. If you open your eyes, you'll see. I won't leave you."

"No... NO!"

The ice in the room shuddered and the other woman tightened her grip on the make-shift shield. Aurora was thrashing again and Zuko did his best to hold her down.

"Wake up! Aurora, I beg of you! You need to wake up!"

Her eyes sprung open. In a panic, she looked around at the ice shards everywhere, then straight up at the ceiling. It was almost as if she was still trapped in a dream.

"Aurora."

She looked over to see Zuko breathing heavily, a relieved look on his face. Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"Please don't leave me," she said quietly, her voice cracking.

"I won't."