Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, but I wish I did.

"Please…" she begged "Please, you helped Aang once. I'm begging you, help me now. Help me to do what needs to be done. Help me as-"

Her throat was dry, and she swallowed, forcing the tired muscles to move.

"Help me as the blood-sister of the woman who gave her life for you, for your love."

The koi continued circling in the pond, their eternal dance never-ending. Katara tried to speak again, but her throat muscles closed up, refusing to work no matter how hard she tried to talk. The sounds of battle were closer now, and she could see flashes of fire over the top of the wall that separated her from the outside world.

She returned her gaze to the pool, and plunged her arms into the water, praying that her actions would speak where her words could not. She was not sure how long she stayed like that, bent over at the poolside- it felt like an age, but could have been no longer than a few minutes. Her arms felt like lead, and her will was fighting a losing battle against tired muscles.

She slumped forwards, unable to hold herself up any longer, but even though her body was weak, her mind continued in it's never-ending mantra- please, please, help me, help me to end this, it has to stop, please help me, please, there is too much, too much killing and war and blood and gore and oh spirits please help me I can't do it alone, please, please help me, help me oh please help me-

One of the koi left the dance, the other following in its wake. They circled around her submerged arms lazily, dancing in a figure of eight around the limbs of the exhausted girl. There was a moment of agonised waiting, which seemed to stretch beyond the limits of the possible, expecting to break at any moment now, any moment- now, surely now?

But the moment did not break, instead getting bigger, and larger, and before Katara knew it she was caught up in a maelstrom of thoughts, feelings, wants desires, memories.

She saw the lives of Tui and La as they had been in the spirit world- friends, lovers, one pulling, the other pushing, stumbling and laughing like children, always running, moving on, travelling and then one day they stopped and listened and saw the suffering and knew how they could help and they changed and became smaller, but still the same, still circling and dancing together, always together, nothing could ever separate them, together, together, toge-

Separation.

Pain.

Death.

Anguish.

Hate.

Rage.

Relief.

Calm.

Revenge.

Together again- the realisation that they were mortal, they could die and not find each other in the great expanse, but their lives continued in the great dance that made up their lives- and then her. So tiny, so insignificant, so small in comparison to the great scheme of all those things, but still important, still vital, still needed.

The knowledge filled her up, her mind filling with the knowledge and her heart laughing with pure, honest, simple relief that it could stop, the war would be over and things would go back to normal. Except that they never could -at least, not for her- because she was full of secrets, those deadly, awful, wonderful things from before the dawn of time.

Her muscles burned and her voice screamed, and all of her burnt with the fire of knowledge, except one small, tiny part the watched and said- I will remember this, so I will never become like Azula, or Ching, or Afiko, or Mai-lu-zo, or Asaya, or Ruoko or any of the others. I will remain me. I will change and flow and bend but I am water and I WILL NOT BREAK. Life will go on, as it always does, and I will be strong.

And then it was over, and she was lying by the poolside with her arms in the water and her voice hoarse with screaming and the grass under her body and the sounds of battle growing ever closer now. She rose off of the grass, new strength flowing through her veins, her healing coursing through her battered body and mending it anew, whole and ready to fight- except for one place.

One place she would not let it touch, lest she forget her humanity, lest she become less than that which she had been. She rose into the air, her mind clearer than it had ever been, her fingertips buzzing with the power, taking hold of the moisture in the air and raising her up- no. She dropped to the ground again and let her arms fall to her sides. She walked out of the sanctuary as a simple girl, as Katara, to join the battle and stop the war.

She would come back again many months later, as a woman, a warrior, a lover- but still, unquestionably, Katara.

Bloody hell. Writing that was an experience. I just sat down at the computer, not expecting anything more than a little drabble and out comes this- this- thing. I really, really love this piece.

Please comment, and review. I will love you forever if you do :D