Y/N's POV

          "What do you mean, 'Katara's in trouble'? I thought she was back in Ba Sing Se." Y/N asked, looking up at a very agitated Aang up on Appa. She greeted the bison warmly, having not seen him since his capture, and Appa nuzzled her with a happy grunt. 

          "I saw a vision, I'll explain a little better on the way, but I just have a feeling." He helped pull Sokka and Y/N up, and they were in the sky a few moments later. "I think the Earth King is in trouble too. It was just a vision... but still, we need to check."

          "I guess that's a good reason." Y/N sighed, already missing her father, but looking forward to seeing her sister and returning to Ba Sing Se. She wanted to see Zuko again before they went off to the invasion. She hoped he wouldn't be coming with. There was enough to think about without that complicating things. 

                            —|➖◾️➖|—

          "And for a second I thought we were off the hook for once." They stood in the doorway of their house, along with Toph, who had apparently gotten kidnapped without anyone knowing about it. Of course everything was fine, though, Toph was Toph.

          But the Earth King said Katara went with the Kyoshi warriors. And the house had obviously been empty for awhile. Kidnapped? Possibly. This was more of a problem. Katara was not Toph. A quick sweep of the house confirmed their suspicion.

          "Hang on, there is someone at the door." Toph warned, but smiled a few seconds later. "Oh, don't worry, it's an old friend." She walked over to the door, opening it to reveal Iroh standing on the front step. "Come on in!"

          Aang and Sokka looked surprised, but Y/N rushed forward to give him a hug, one that was quickly returned with a laugh.

          "It is good to see you're alright." He smiled down at her, but it quickly faded. "Zuko has been captured by Azula, and I eyed your help to get him back." Sokka opened his mouth to argue, but Y/N quickly put a finger to his lips.

          "Where is he? Is Katara being held as well?"

                            —|➖◾️➖|—

          "Splitting up was a great idea." Y/N commented as they ran through the palace from the Dai Li. She had gone with Sokka and Toph to warn the Earth King about the coming attack, but were too late, as it had already started. The council of five had been arrested, and the palace was quickly being taken.

          They entered the throne room, where everything seemed to be fine. Three Kyoshi warriors stood around the king. Before Sokka could even open his mouth to warn him, Y/N sighed dramatically, looking at the three warriors.

          "Oh, my dear, we simply must stop meeting like this." She said with a flirty smirk, getting out a few icicles and throwing them at Mai, dressed up in the Kyoshi disguise. She barely managed to dodge, and throw some knives of her own. Toph reacted a heartbeat later, recognizing Ty Lee when her feet hit the ground.

          "I'm so tired of you showing up like this. You're everywhere." Mai complained, dodging and throwing knives as Y/N held her ground. 

          "I never get tired of seeing you." Y/N smiled, managing to catch one icicle on her clothes, but not enough to pin her. "These fights just keep getting better."

          "Thief." She complained, a scowl on her face. 

          "I think you should be honored that you're a role model for someone else's fighting style." Y/N said matter-of-factly, throwing a few well placed knives. "Although I'm getting better. I have so many more options than you." She got cut in the process, but Mai was effectively pinned to the wall. Y/N was about to throw a few more to secure her there, but bright blue light flickered in her peripheral vision.

          Azula was holding a small tip of bright, hot blue fire to the King's neck. Y/N stopped immediately, along with Sokka and Toph.

          "There we go." Azula smiled, satisfied. "Ty Lee?"

          Moments later Y/N felt small, sharp spikes of pain as Ty Lee blocked her chi, making her fall to the ground, immobile.

          They've won this round. Aang, Iroh, you better be getting them to safety.

                            —|➖◾️➖|—

          "Mmmm... Nope, we have another." Y/N sighed, impatiently tapping on the metal door of their holding cell. It seemed like the guards would never stop coming. A few minutes later, and the quiet finally settled. "Alright, Toph, get us out of here." 

           Toph nodded, getting up and placing a hand on the door. With a loud clang, she crushed the metal and threw the entire thing against the opposite wall. Sokka and Y/N glanced at eachother, impressed, before running out into the hallway.

          "Y/N, go find the others and make sure they get out safely, me and Toph will evacuate the King safely. Meet outside the palace." Sokka yelled, and Y/N nodded, breaking off and wondering how she was going to find them. That was quickly answered.

          Y/N screamed as the floor suddenly opened up under her, Toph making her a slide down the rock tunnel to get underground. She recovered her wits as everything went dark, the wind whistling in her ears. Then she was in open air again, dropping from the ceiling. 

          She registered Azula, Zuko, Katara, and Aang before hitting the water, falling into an underground canal. The cavern was lit with thousands of green crystals.

          "Y/N! Look out!" Aang yelled as soon as Y/N surfaced. She barely managed to get away, avoiding the blasts of blue fire coming from Azula. She landed on solid ground, regaining her composure, and drawing the water from her containers. 

          "I thought you'd changed!" Katara yelled, and Y/N glanced over, her heart dropping into her stomach. Zuko and Katara were fighting across the river from each other. Zuko glanced in her direction, but wouldn't meet her eyes.

          "I have changed." He growled, whipping a large wave of fire at Katara, who blocked it. Dread settled in Y/N's stomach as she slowly walked over to their position.

          "No, you haven't." She said firmly, her strong voice echoing around the enormous cavern. "Katara, help Aang. This is my fight." She didn't want to fight him. She wanted to ignore it, leave him to Katara and help Aang so she wouldn't have to look at him. Katara nodded, silently leaving and blocking a few more blasts from Zuko.

          The fighting across the cavern seemed so far away, and quiet. Y/N heard every step she took resonate through the crystals in small vibrations. She stopped across the river from him, where Katara had stood, silently facing him.

          He looked conflicted. Sad. Overwhelmingly sad. The same emotions she felt. 

          "Zuko." Y/N called quietly, forcing a sad smile on her face. "Tell me."

          "I... I-" Zuko breathed, looking on the verge of tears. "We can win. I can have my throne back. My father will love me- I'm sorry I lied to you. I can't let it go. I can't-"

          "Zuko." She couldn't stop the tears. She had been preparing herself for this moment for the past two weeks. "I knew you would make this choice." The look of shock on his face made her sob quietly, and she wiped at the tears streaming down her face.

          "Y/N, we don't have to fight. Azula said she would spare you if you didn't get in the way. Y/N don't you see? You can come with me! We can be together, just come home with me." He urged, and Y/N choked back another sob.

          She began walking forward, still crying, drawing some water from her containers. The ones he had made, carefully, lovingly, with his own hands. Out of this water, she formed a long, deadly sharp lance made of ice.

          "I knew you would make this choice." Y/N repeated, her voice choked almost to the point where her words were inaudible. "And you know what I swore to do when you did. I swore to myself." She froze an ice bridge, walking across, and Zuko began to back up.

          "Y/N, Y/N wait." He said nervously. "Please don't make me fight you. We can return together, you an me. I can show you the gardens... the beautiful gardens. I know you'd love them. Nothing needs to change. We can walk the streets in disguises, sneak out to see the late night festivities-"

          "AND I HAVE SPENT SLEEPLESS NIGHTS." Y/N roared, her voice easily covering his, she walked, ignoring his plea, gripping her lance as she sobbed uncontrollably. "SOBBING. BECAUSE OF THE NIGHTMARES. THE NIGHTMARES I WILL RELIVE YEARS TO COME, ZUKO."

          "Y/N, please." Zuko stopped backing up, holding out his palms to her. "Y/N, my beautiful lotus flower." That endearing name made her stop. The name he had given to her only 4 days before. 

          They had been sitting on the edge of one of the biggest fountains in Ba Sing Se. It was night, and the torches near the storefronts all around them still burned. Many people were still out, as the night was young, laughing and drinking together. 

          There were many water lillies in the fountain's pond. They floated across the surface, causing minuscule ripples to move their reflections as they stared into the water.

          "I love you, Y/N." Zuko murmured, lightly kissing her forehead as he looked at her reflection. He found her hand, gently cupping it in both of his. 

          "I love you too, Zuko." Y/N smiled, but it faded as she glanced down. After a few moments, she spoke. "Why would you love me, out of all the incredible girls in this world?" She asked sadly, staring at herself in the rippling water. 

          "You have a point, I guess." Zuko chuckled, speaking in a low voice as he brought her closer, letting her lean on his chest. "There are thousands of brilliant, dazzling girls out there." He reached out, tracing a few fingertips through the water. He bumped a few water lillies, making them float slowly away. 

          They were all stunning blues, pinks, oranges, and purples, spinning around each other as the water moved.

          "But you see, one just stood out so much. Way too noticeable to be ignored." Zuko murmured, gently guiding Y/N's chin to look up from her reflection. He pointed towards the right, where there was a flower, but it wasn't a lily.

          It was a lotus flower, a beautiful pearl white with blue tips on the petals. It was the only lotus in the whole fountain, only lillies floated with it.

          Zuko carefully reached out, guiding it to float towards them. He gently lifted it from the water, careful not to separate it from the plant. He placed it in Y/N's outstretched palms.

          "That was you, Y/N. My precious, irreplaceable, gorgeous lotus flower, among all the water lillies. Don't you see?" He placed the flower back in the water, and Y/N looked up at him, meeting his eyes. "You are everything they can never be."

          "What do I have that they don't?" She asked, barely managing to speak with him so close.

          "My heart."

          Now she stared at the same eyes, fiery, beautiful amber eyes, as she took another step forward, raising the point of her lance.

          "Zuko..." Y/N said, her voice surprisingly steady. She took a deep breath, and said the words she had responded with back then. "My soldier, with sunset eyes and-" her voice gave out for a moment. "And a heart of gold, Zuko."

          "Yes?" He asked hopefully, taking a small step towards her.

          "You know I love you, right?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper.

          "I do."

          "Then, for the good of this world, this generation and the ones to come, die at the hands of the one who loves you most."

         Zuko managed to dodge, but only just enough. He cried out in pain as the lance plunged into his shoulder, and Y/N sobbed in horror as he stumbled away, clutching at the weapon.

          "My prince do not drag this out." She yelled, making another lance and running towards him. "You know you can't win this." 

          "You're holding back." Zuko snarled. "Of course I can win this." He pulled the lance from his shoulder. "You know I love you, Y/N."

          "Yes." She replied, leaning on her lance and glancing at the ground, preparing to deliver one last blow. He knew she couldn't do it. He knew.

          Y/N wasn't ready for a blade of white hot flames that went straight through her torso. She was unable to breathe, not processing the pain that caused her to fall to her knees. She looked up into his eyes. 

          "Azula said that if you got in the way, she would kill you." He sobbed, watching as her limbs began to go limp, fingers burning as she attempted to grab the weapon he had just run her through with. "She would make it much slower, painful. I can't watch you die like that."

          Y/N fell unconscious, the last thing she saw being his beautiful eyes, filled with tears.

                    Amber eyes.

                              —End Of Season 2—

          I apologize for the attempted murder of Y/N... again. Start of season 3 is chapter 41, coming within the next week. 

          A big thanks to everyone, you all are extremely supportive, and the comment section is surviving okay XD (The Jet choking scene was inevitably going to get the true nature of Wattpad comments out, I didn't think about it whenever I wrote it, but now I read them and wheeze).

          Still, we're finally here.

             Hello, Zuko here.