here we go again

by bob_8

Summary:

Escaping from Ba Sing Se does not go to plan, like not at all. How are they supposed to defeat the Fire Lord and save the world if the Avatar is dead.
That is the moment when the spirits decide Sokka is worth paying attention to, they give him a second chance to fix this and find a way out where Aang does not end up dead.
What Sokka does not expect is being sent back in time to when they first arrived in Ba Sing Se, or the fact that no one else seems to remember they have already lived this, or the fact that getting it right might take more than a couple tries. But what shocks Sokka the most is in how almost every attempt he seems to find Zuko, turns out hes not half bad.

Notes:

Hi this is my first fic so thank you for reading it, or at least taking the time to look this far. I will most likely be updating this slowly and randomly but I will do my best to not take very long. I hope you enjoy and I make no promises that there will be a happy ending. Side note the chapters will most likely all be on the shorter side, but hopefully that will help with me getting out chapters faster.

Chapter 1

Timeline 000

 

Katara and Zuko stand facing one another in the crystal catcombs. Katara never thought she could or would feel sympathy for Zuko, but as it turns out the two of them really aren't that different after all. He was suprisingly sweet comforting her as she had shared about her mother then sharing how he had lost his, also at the hands of the Fire Nation. "I'm sorry I yelled at you" she blurts out.

"It doesn't really matter," Zuko replied anxiously, shifting his feet.

"Its just that for so long when I picture the face of the enemy it's been your face that comes to my mind"

"I see", his hand drifting towards his scar

"That's not what I meant..." Katara said, her voice trailing off slightly as Zuko turned to face the wall studying the crystals lodged in them.

"It's ok, I used to think that my scar marked me. It marks me as a disappointment, a banished prince, dishonored and basically cursed to forever chase the Avatar. But now I know that isn't true. Even with this mark I am free to choose my own destiny, to create my own life. While this mark represents things I'd rather not think of, it's a part of who I am and a reminder of how far I've come and how much I still need to grow".

"What if, what if you didn't have to keep your mark, what if you could be free of it?", Katara slowly asks, "I'm a healer you know"

A smile almost forms on Zukos face, the corners of his mouth twitching upward before he says, "Thanks for the offer, but it's already healed, water bending can't remove a scar, especially not one this large." He goes to turn away again and walk to the other side of the canvern when Katara grabs his wrist, "Wait" she says quickly ingnoring how he flinched at her touch. "I have this special water from the Spirit Oasis in the North Pole, it might work. It's at least worth a try"

"OK go ahead but only if you want to waste your fancy water on me, I won't make you", Zuko says in a way where it seems like he is trying not to care but his hope seeps through anyways.

“I want to Zuko. It's ok to let people help you, to let them trust you. And hey you’ve been in the city for a while without making a big attempt to capture Aang so I think you’ve made a lot of progress.”, Katara finishes with a chuckle and Zuko gives her a jokingly wounded look. It's so funny to Katara how quickly she has forgiven him, but she's taking a page out of Aang’s book. She is choosing peace and extending an olive branch, one less person out to get them would not be so bad.

This is why Katara takes the spirit water and heals Zuko’s scar. What she does not know however is that moments after the last of the scar fades from his eye, the water seeping into his skin taking the red with it, Aang and Zuko’s uncle Iroh will enter to save them. Katara does not think that she might need the water at a later date. After all, nobody has come too close to dying yet, and her normal healing has always been enough.