A/N – The following story was originally for Melon's Kataang November Challenge for NaNoWriMo (or National Novel Writing Month); this was also originally Melon's idea, but it was one of many ideas she offered up for anyone to write.
This is a 'UA' (universe alteration, not alternate universe; technicalities, am I right?) story where the changing of a canon event affects the entire storyline. In this case, instead of staying in the Southern Water Tribe, Katara leaves with Aang after the Airbender is banished by Sokka.
This idea immediately struck me as interesting and my brain went into overdrive about all the ways such a story could diverge from the canon material – especially at such an early point. So, I asked if I could write the idea and here I am – thank you, Melon!
I know I'm not the greatest writer – I'm no Melon, Lyralocke, DJNS, D3stiny-Sm4sher, secretsecrettunnel, BaSingTei, or any of the other more talented and amazing authors on this site and across the web – but I'm certainly going to try my hardest to make this an entertaining story.
If you're desperate to know about shipping, aside from the obvious Kataang, you can find that information in the end Author's Note (if you've read any of my other stories, though, you can probably guess as to what couples will be listed).
And while the first few chapters will definitely have a lot of similarities to the show (later chapters will have fewer as the story continues to diverge), I am going to try my hardest to not rehash the series, so if you're interested, please bear with me. If you've read this far, thank you for your time and I hope you enjoy the story!
Honestly, if you want, you can probably just skip the first chapter. A large part of the episode I summarized, but when it got to penguin-sledding, I expanded on some of Katara and Aang's dialogue, and I especially tried to give some depth into Katara's thoughts (and some of Aang's).
And thanks again to The Melon Lord Approves for allowing me to use your wonderful idea! (Sorry it took so long to start posting it!)
Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko; I own nothing. Idea belongs to Melon.
"Water. Earth. Fire. Air. My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days; a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless Firebenders, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years have passed, and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe. Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow, the Avatar will return to save the world."
– Katara, Series Introduction, "The Boy in the Iceberg"
1. The Boy in the Iceberg
The day had started like every other had for the past several weeks – Sokka and Katara were awoken by their grandmother and went about their daily activities. Sokka would inspect the village's 'defenses' and his tools before practicing the few fighting techniques his father had been able to teach him before heading off to war.
Katara helped her grandmother, Kanna or 'Gran-Gran' as she and Sokka called her, prepare breakfast, followed by laundry, mending clothes, tents, and other supplies before preparing lunch. Shortly after midday, the young Waterbender would normally have a short amount of free time to practice her art before continuing with her chores, but not this day.
The tribe's traps had been less successful than usual, so the village was short on food. And with winter approaching, they needed to start stocking up on as much food as possible. And while they had reset the traps in hopes they might catch something, they decided to try a more reliable source of sustenance – fishing.
While Sokka felt confident enough in his abilities that he could make the journey alone, Kanna insisted that he take someone with him. The children were too young, many of the women too old. The teenage warrior also felt it wrong to take any of the capable mothers or other guardians away from the young children. That left only one choice – his sister, Katara.
And so the two siblings began their journey across the icy, barren lands of the South Pole to gather as much food as possible for their tiny village. Eventually they reached a suitable point that would take them out amongst the numerous ice floes and icebergs surrounding the Southern Water Tribe to begin their fishing expedition.
To say that their trip was eventful would be an understatement. After getting caught in rapids and having their canoe crushed by massive chunks of ice, Katara's resulting frustration with her sexist brother caused her to subconsciously Waterbend an iceberg apart.
That iceberg's destruction revealed yet another one below it, and upon rising to the surface, the siblings realized something was trapped inside of it. Against her brother's protests, Katara cracked it open, revealing not only something, but someone.
They might not have caught any fish, but they did find a young boy, an Airbender named Aang, who had been trapped in that second iceberg beneath the sea alongside his flying bison, Appa, for Spirits knows how long.
The siblings were Aang's salvation, rescuing him from his icy prison; in turn, Aang and Appa were their salvation, giving them a ride back to their village since they had become stranded at sea without their canoe.
Exhaustion caught up to them all by the time they made it back to their small home and night had long since fallen. Kanna was relieved to see her grandchildren alive, albeit extremely startled upon seeing the massive bison wandering across the tundra. The second Appa reached the tiny encampment, he collapsed and began snoring.
Aang had fallen asleep on the journey back, but in their attempts to move him, he awoke – though he was rather groggy and the siblings guessed he wouldn't remember being woken the next day. Taking a sleeping bag from Appa's saddle, Aang followed Sokka to the older boy's tent to spend the night. Katara bid her brother and the Airbender goodnight before moving to the tent she shared with Kanna.
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The powerful beam of light released when Katara freed Aang was seen by both animals and people for miles around. This included a young man standing on the deck of an outdated Fire Navy vessel. After a short, heated argument with his elderly uncle, the young man ordered a change of course – directly towards the bright light.
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The next morning, after being introduced to what remained of Katara and Sokka's village, Aang had spent a few hours exploring the encampment, including Sokka's prized watchtower, much to the warrior's dismay. Shortly after Katara had finished with the remainder of her daily chores, the Air Nomad had spotted a lone otter-penguin not too far from the village. Concerns of the war Sokka mentioned were immediately shoved to the wayside as the boy propelled himself across the snow towards the frightened animal.
Leaving a perplexed Sokka at the village, Katara traveled off in search of the Airbender. She didn't know why her brother was so distrustful of Aang. And all of the adults seemed wary of him, too, for that matter. Had the war caused them to become so guarded that they were instantly suspicious of any outsiders, even children?
While her memories of her early childhood were not as clear as they used to be, she could remember a time when traders from the Earth Kingdom had visited the South Pole regularly. Although it was a time of war, the visitors were welcomed – trade had given them all a sense of normalcy.
It had been shortly after her mother's tragic death that all of that changed. The tribe had been united as a much larger city then. The elders had been convinced that a trader had let slip a secret of their tribe, either unintentionally or for money. The Fire Nation was not above buying information from shady sources, so many assumed the latter.
Trade had all but stopped after that raid. And to try and ensure their tribe's survival, the elders also divided the city's population and sent three separate groups away from the city. They hoped that if they were spread thin, the Fire Nation would not see them as a threat and lose interest in attacking them. Katara still had no idea why they had attacked and killed her mother, though she had her suspicions. But so far, the elders' prediction had been true – there hadn't been another raid in six years.
Over time, the city fell apart and the small village Katara called home was what remained of it. The four distant settlements kept in monthly contact with each other so supplies could be allocated where they were needed most. Like the village she shared with her brother and grandmother, the other villages were devoid of adult men – her father had rallied them all two years ago to head for the Earth Kingdom.
She often kept herself up at night, worrying about her father and the other warriors. Were they even still alive? The tribe used to receive information about Hakoda and his men from some of the few traders they still allowed in and trusted, but even they had not heard anything in months. And if they were alive, were they making a difference?
Could anyone make a difference at this point? Perhaps the Avatar could, but Aang's uncertainty as to his fate last night had only confirmed what Katara had heard all her life – the Avatar was dead and the cycle was broken. Despite Aang's words, his appearance had actually given Katara reaffirmed her hope in the Avatar. If Aang had survived, then perhaps more Air Nomads, the Avatar included, had as well. Her hope for a better future had dwindled in the past months, but Aang's arrival had helped to revive it.
And as she heard the sounds of otter-penguins in the distance, she was reminded of something else Aang had revived in her – a sense of fun. And it wasn't just her – she had seen the younger children in higher spirits than they usually were. They had laughed, actually laughed, as Aang showed them Airbending tricks and performed humorous antics, even some that had been at his own expense. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this happy.
As she entered the penguin colony, she looked around for any sign of the Airbender, but her blue eyes only fell upon the noisy animals.
Slightly concerned that he had wandered off even further, she called out, "Aang?"
A familiar laugh reassured her that he was still in the area. Looking around once again, she finally caught sight of the boy as he chased after a group of penguins, the animals squawking agitatedly.
"Hey, come on little guy," the Airbender was having difficulty getting close enough to grab any of the penguins, despite his best attempts. Seeing one that was standing still, he jumped towards it, "Wanna go sledding?"
Unfortunately for Aang, the otter-penguin heard him coming and jumped clear in the nick of time, causing the Air Nomad to land in the snow empty-handed. Katara smiled at the boy's vain efforts as she made her way down to him.
Aang chuckled as he airbent himself upright, "Hehe, I have a way with animals."
As if to prove this to his new friend, he imitated the penguins around them, causing the Waterbender to laugh in amusement.
"Aang," Katara calmed herself before presenting her friend with an offer, "I'll help you catch a penguin if you teach me Waterbending."
Aang had finally caught ahold of a penguin's tail, which allowed him to be pulled through the snow, much to the animal's dismay. Knowing the animal wouldn't hold still long enough for him to use it for sledding though, he let go of its tail.
"You got a deal! Just one little problem…," he said as he moved to a kneeling position, "I'm an Airbender, not a Waterbender." Standing up, he asked, "Isn't there someone in your tribe who can teach you?"
Katara turned away and hung her head sadly, "No. You're looking at the only Waterbender in the whole South Pole."
"This isn't right. A Waterbender needs to master water." He paused to think, "What about the North Pole? There's another Water Tribe up there, right? Maybe they have Waterbenders who could teach you."
Katara appreciated Aang's input, but it was something she had thought about long ago. Unfortunately, the same problem she had come across then still plagued her now.
Her thoughts from before returned to her – what had happened to the Northern Water Tribe?
"Maybe," she answered uncertainly, "but we haven't had contact with our sister tribe in a long time. It's not exactly 'turn right at the second glacier!' It's on the other side of the world!"
Aang wasn't fazed, "But you forget, I have a flying bison." Smiling, he pointed a thumb at his chest, "Appa and I can personally fly you to the North Pole. Katara, we're gonna find you a master!"
Katara's heart soared with hope at Aang's words... before plummeting back to Earth quickly and forcefully. She longed to learn Waterbending more than anything else, but if it meant leaving home in order to do so...
"That's ... I mean, I don't know," she answered honestly. "I've never left home before."
Aang understood her hesitation – leaving home was difficult and the last thing he wanted was to push Katara towards making a decision she wasn't comfortable with.
"Well, you think about it, but in the meantime, can you teach me to catch one of these penguins?" he pleaded.
"Okay," Katara smiled, "listen closely my young pupil." She brought her hands before her and mock-bowed, "Catching penguins is an ancient and sacred art. Observe!" Righting herself, she conjured a raw fish from her sleeve and threw it at the Airbender. She had suspected the boy might have trouble catching a penguin on his own, so she had packed one accordingly.
Aang caught the fish in his hands, confused. Before he could ask Katara what he was supposed to do with it, penguins had begun swarming all around him. He laughed gleefully when he realized they were all attracted by the fish, forcing him to the ground as they vied for the treat.
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Minutes later, Katara found herself racing down an icy slope, the otter-penguin beneath her gliding across the landscape effortlessly. According to the stories of her tribe's establishment, the first colonists had discovered that if you could catch a penguin, you could ride it.
Of course, forcing the penguins to function as sleds had not gone over well with the animals, none too surprisingly. So in order to placate them long enough to ride, people began giving them treats beforehand – which also served to attract more of them. The otter-penguins got fed, the humans had their fun, everyone was happy.
Happy.
There was that feeling again, that feeling Katara hadn't had in a long time. She had little moments of course – helping the younger children and her grandmother made her happy, poking fun at her brother's expense made her happy, but she hadn't been this happy since she was much younger. Since her mother had been alive.
As Aang sped alongside her, using some airbending to catch up, she realized that it had been years since she'd gone penguin-sledding. Why had that been? Was she so caught up in her responsibilities that she forgot to take some time to simply have fun for herself? She knew deep down that that was in fact the case. Ever since her mother's passing, she, and Sokka (especially after their father left) had been forced to take on adult responsibilities.
She shook her head and focused on the sledding, watching as Aang used a mixture of his bending and a slope to launch himself above her. Smiling, she used another slope to catch up to him.
She laughed gleefully as she landed, "I haven't done this since I was a kid!"
"You still are a kid!" Aang reminded her.
'I'm still a kid…' Katara ignored the pit in her stomach, the part of her that still longed for a normal childhood – something she could never have. Instead, she leaned forward, trying to reduce drag and gain speed over Aang.
Entering an icy tunnel, the Waterbender could tell the terrain was beginning to level out. As the penguins' chattering echoed around her and the wind rushed around her face, blowing her hair back, she smiled in delight.
This was part of a normal childhood, this feeling of freedom – of doing something simply because it was fun, because it made you happy. Spirits, she had missed this.
She laughed as Aang launched himself ahead with airbending, going as far as to use the ceiling of the tunnel to pass Katara. The girl didn't mind that had they been racing, Aang would have technically won. She was having fun, she was happy. And that was all that mattered to her.
As they exited the tunnel, she was pleased to know her predictions about the terrain had been right, causing their rides to slow to a stop. She and Aang quickly dismounted their penguins, allowing the animals to waddle back towards the colony.
Before Katara could suggest that they head back to the village, she noticed Aang was walking ahead. She followed him, knowing what he was looking at.
It was kind of hard to miss.
In hindsight, she felt rather stupid for forgetting where it was. She had just been too caught up in the excitement of sledding – of having fun again – that it had slipped her mind.
Aang stopped just inches from its shadow, "Whoa, what is that?"
"A Fire Navy ship," Katara replied grimly, "And a very bad memory for my people."
The Airbender scanned the wreck, watching the tattered flag fly in the icy breeze before his eyes focused on the odd angle at which it sat. The ice they stood on was flat for as far as the eye could see, so why was the wreck situated on a column of ice?
"Why is it in the air like that?"
"My grandmother told us that decades ago, when we had dozens of Waterbenders, they trapped it here."
Aang nodded, his thoughts returning to Sokka's comments about a war. He didn't want to think about that at the moment, though, he wanted to explore. It wasn't everyday he came across abandoned ships.
As he walked towards it, Katara called out to him, "Aang, stop! We're not allowed to go near it! The ship could be booby-trapped!"
The Airbender stopped, he hadn't thought of that. However, his mind was made up.
Turning around, he addressed Katara, "If you want to be a bender, you have to let go of fear."
Uncertainty returned to Katara's eyes as she processed Aang's words. She had always been told to never explore the Fire Navy wreck. But she also wanted to be a Waterbender more than anything.
"When you say 'let go of fear,' what do you mean?" Katara couldn't believe that Aang, a twelve year-old boy, was completely fearless. "Do you mean to tell me you aren't afraid of anything?"
Aang laughed light-heartedly, "No, of course not! I'm afraid of a lot of things…" He shook his head, "That's just how the monks worded it. I guess a better way of thinking of it is – you can't let fear stop you from achieving your goals."
"That makes a lot more sense…"
"But you still don't want me to go on the ship."
"That's right," Katara looked up at the metal behemoth, "I'm worried you might get hurt – no one's been on that thing since it was trapped."
"Well," Aang thought for a moment, "if you come with me, we can look out for each other – make sure we don't get hurt!"
Katara still had her misgivings about the whole situation, but she gave in with a sigh. She didn't like going on the ship, but she disliked the idea of Aang going on the ship alone even more.
Hesitantly, she walked forward before giving Aang a nod, "Alright, I'll go with you. But remember, we have to be careful."
"I will be, don't worry."
While she trusted Aang, his words didn't do much to comfort her. Nonetheless, as they approached the vessel, she couldn't help but feel her curiosity grow.
Spotting a crack in the ship's hull, Aang helped Katara up the ice until they were both at the opening. Crawling through the gap, the two were immediately struck at how quiet the ship was.
The second thing they noticed was that everything was tilted, a result of the angle at which the ship sat. Damage to other areas of the hull had allowed snow and ice to seep into the ship, leaving some areas of the ship inaccessible.
They were both constantly glancing over their shoulders, almost as if they expected someone to jump out at them. The only sounds were from small animals that had made this ship their home long ago, which only added to the eerie atmosphere.
As they ascended the command tower, they passed many rooms – some contained machinery, some were quarters, others were blocked by snow and ice. However, the next room they came across was different from the others.
This room was full of weapons. Dozens of swords, spears, and clubs of all kinds were lined against the walls, many of which were rusted.
Aang walked into the room, Katara right behind him, "This ship has haunted my tribe since Gran-Gran was a little girl. It was part of the Fire Nation's first attacks. It was during those same attacks that they began to steal our Waterbenders; it's because of those attacks we've been reduced to these small villages. We used to be a city full of thousands before the war. When I was really little, there were hundreds of people here; now only dozens of us remain."
Uneasy thoughts filled Aang's mind, he assumed this was related to what Sokka had mentioned earlier. But the monks would have said something about a war between the Fire Nation and their nearest neighbor, the Southern Water Tribe, right? They had mentioned they felt war might break out, but there certainly couldn't have already been a war going on. So how come he didn't know about it, especially when the evidence was right in front of him?
"Okay, back up. I have friends all over the world, even in the Fire Nation." Memories of Kuzon flashed through his head – he would have mentioned something about a war, right? He had only visited him a few months ago, so if tensions had been brewing, the Firebender would have been sure to tell him. He picked up a spear, "I've never seen any war."
"Aang, how long were you in that iceberg?" Katara suspected she knew the answer, even if her friend did not.
"I don't know," he answered truthfully, "A few days, maybe?"
"I think it was more like a hundred years!"
Aang leaned the spear back against the wall, his voice full of disbelief, "What? That's impossible! Do I look like a hundred-twelve year-old man to you?!"
"Think about it, the war is a century old," Katara explained. "You don't know about it because, somehow, you were in there that whole time! It's the only explanation."
Aang felt his face change from disbelief to uncertainty and finally to understanding. Katara was right – he didn't know about the war because he wasn't around to see it start.
He held his head and fell to the floor, "A hundred years." Somewhere in his mind, he knew that everyone he had ever cared about, the people he loved – Gyatso, Kuzon, Bumi, all his friends at the Air Temple – were gone. He didn't want to accept the reality yet, which he voiced, "I can't believe it."
Katara kneeled next to him and placed a comforting hand on his back, "I'm sorry, Aang. Maybe somehow there's a bright side to all this..."
"I did get to meet you," he answered with a smile.
The Waterbender gave him a warm smile of her own and offered him a hand, "Come on, let's get out of here."
Aang grabbed ahold of Katara's glove, letting her help him to his feet. As they began to retrace their steps, Aang darted down a side hall they had passed over on their way up.
Katara hesitantly followed him but was growing wary the longer they stayed on the ship. "Aang, let's head back, this place is creepy."
"It is pretty creepy," Aang admitted, before walking into another room, recognizing it as the bridge, "so this'll be the last room – I promise."
Katara breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness."
As he stepped through some snow, Aang felt one of his feet catch on something. Looking down, he saw a thin wire, pulled taught by his foot, stretched from one wall to the other.
"Huh?"
Before either of them could react, a gate dropped down from the top of the doorway, sealing them inside the room. Both raced quickly to the door, trying to lift it by pulling on the bars, but to no avail.
"What's that you said about booby traps?" Aang asked sheepishly.
A hiss of steam caused them to turn around in surprise. As they watched, a series of jury-rigged chains, weights, and gears all came to life, culminating in the launch of a flare high into the sky.
Aang and Katara ran to one of the windows, watching as the flare climbed higher before exploding in a bright flash of light.
"Uh oh…," Aang mumbled. Turning around, he searched for a way out, finding a hole in the roof right above them. As Katara walked over to him, he took her into his arms, bridal style, shouting, "Hold on tight!"
Katara couldn't stop her small scream of surprise as Aang picked her up and using his airbending, jumped straight up, carrying them both through the hole and out of the ship. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Katara watched in terrified amazement as he continued to use his powers to get them down from the top of the ship to the ground below in only a few jumps.
As Aang set her down, Katara sighed, "I knew we shouldn't have gone on that ship."
"I'm sorry I ran into the booby trap, Katara," Aang apologized, "but we're both okay – we didn't get hurt. I don't see what the problem is."
Katara looked skyward, watching as the remnants of the flare continued to fall to the ground. Her blue eyes widened in concern, "The problem – the problem could be Sokka! He was just being paranoid when he said you were a spy for the Fire Navy, but this might make him think he was right! We have to hurry and let him know it was an accident!"
Aang didn't need to be told twice. He knew Sokka didn't like him that much, but he didn't want there to be any misunderstandings between them.
Knowing time was not on their side, the two began to run back to the village as fast as they could.
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Unbeknownst to the pair, they were being watched from a great distance via telescope. Their observer was none other than a banished prince, who, upon sight of the Airbender, began barking orders to his crew. There was no mistake in his mind – the Airbender was the Avatar and now that he had found him, the Prince was not going to let the coward escape.
And so, the aged Fire Navy cruiser changed course, its new destination being the small village that had once been the mighty capital city of the Southern Water Tribe.
A/N – There's the first chapter. I know, not real exciting. A lot of it was summary, but I also felt the need to give more insight to Katara's thoughts, as well as a little more depth to her conversations with Aang. I especially felt the need to elaborate on the "let go of fear" thing. As we saw in the series, Aang has plenty of fears (and justifiably so). So that's just how I interpreted the saying.
And the next chapter does start out like the second episode, but as you'll see… things will start to change.
And if you're desperate to know about shipping, I'll say this: there is Kataang (it was written for Melon's Kataang November Challenge, so there will be Kataang), Sukka, and Maiko. I like stick to canon couples in my stories, however, there might be a few minor/fanon ships as well (absolutely NO Zutara though!).