Chapter One
It had been almost two months since they had lost Zuko. Katara had counted the days at first, but as they mounted higher and higher, the numbers became unbearable. Whatever poisonous fumes had been in that last fireball had taken their toll. Katara, who had inhaled the worst of the smoke, was the most affected, but Sokka, who had dragged her out of the cloud, was sickened as well. By the time Katara regained consciousness and was well enough to pursue the Fire Nation fleet, the ships were nowhere to be found. They weren't far from the Fire Nation border; it was likely that they had already docked and unloaded their prisoner to meet whatever fate his father had in store. Katara tried not to dwell on this.
Zuko's absence was affecting the entire group. They each had their way of dealing with it; Aang hid it the best under his quick smile and optimism, but his frustration became clear whenever he was tired or upset. Sokka channeled his emotions into plans for revenge on the Fire Nation as a whole. His method was probably the most effective, all in all. Toph was just moody. She kept herself a little apart from the rest of the group, snapping at them when she talked and making everyone else even more on edge. She had gotten better as time went by - they had all improved to some degree, but they still were not back to normal. Katara's grief was the plainest to see.
At any rate, they were on their way to meet up with Zuko's uncle. Katara was also trying not to think about how Iroh would react when he discovered his nephew had been captured. There were a lot of thoughts she was avoiding these days.
Aang said that Iroh would know where to go from here. He was a brilliant strategist, after all, and he had intimate knowledge of the Fire Nation. It was also an unspoken truth that, with Zuko gone, Aang needed another firebending teacher. And so they were off to one of the small hamlets in the south of the Earth Kingdom. Katara didn't know what the rest of them would do while they were holed up in whatever secret place Iroh had in mind to finish Aang's training, or how long it would take. All she knew was that however long it was, she would probably be doing nothing useful - and they would certainly not be rescuing Zuko.
It did cross her mind that Iroh might attempt a rescue mission, but the thought was quickly squelched. He would mourn for his nephew's safety, certainly, but he would also agree that the Avatar's training was more important. It was one thing that Katara could not understand, how people could make themselves see that Aang's mission outweighed their immediate needs. But then again, hadn't she left her own people to join the Avatar? It was all too complicated to think about all the time.
When they stopped to eat and give Appa a rest, Aang sat next to her. "Look, Katara!" he called, bending a breeze into a fountain of red dust and green leaves. His voice was cheerful, a little forced. He had tried to have a serious conversation with her a few nights back, about Zuko, but he didn't seem to understand her distress. Aang was upset about Zuko, of course, but he and the rest of the group were not letting it rule their lives, and he seemed concerned that Katara was dwelling in the past rather than planning for the future. "Look, Katara," he had said, "we can't go back. We all wish we could, but we can't. It happened, and it's not your fault." He just couldn't see it - she had vowed never to turn her back on the people she cared about or on those who needed help. But she had been unable to save Zuko. And she was planning for the future, but she knew she couldn't attempt a rescue mission without the rest of her friends.
Aang, she thought, did not fully comprehend the situation. Or at least, he was ignoring it to further the mission. She thought it was a flaw that he was so naive. He always seemed to have on a hopeful, pleasant face. Katara used to be the optimist, but she was finding it harder and harder to keep her hope strong. So maybe it was a flaw in her, not in Aang. After all, didn't the wellbeing of an entire world of people outweigh the temporary wellbeing of one firebender? She sighed, closing her eyes. It was just so hard. She needed to clear her mind, get her head back into the mission.
She rose decisively, stating that she was going to look for food. She strode right through Aang's air fountain, forgetting it was there, then looked back apologetically. "I'll be back soon," she promised. The airbender jumped up as well.
"I'll come with you!" he exclaimed with a wide grin.
"Next time," Katara said awkwardly. "I really need to clear my mind, Aang. I'm sorry." Aang looked disappointed, but she really did need to think, so she got a basket from Appa's saddle and wandered away from the group.
"Stay close," Sokka called, and she raised a hand in acknowledgement. You could never be too careful.
If she didn't know better, Katara would almost think that Aang was jealous of all the time she spent thinking about Zuko. Aang was a great companion, but she was beginning to get a needling feeling that he might be wanting something more from their friendship. But he was too young for romance, wasn't he? At any rate, she had more pressing issues at the moment - and so did Aang. And she could be totally wrong. In fact, the more she contemplated his position, the more she understood it. Maybe her dwelling in the past was compromising his mission, and after all, the Avatar's success would help everyone. The more Aang mastered, the better chance they had of defeating Firelord Ozai and rescuing Zuko.
Recognizing a patch of berry bushes from previous Earth Kingdom adventures, she began to fill her basket and continued her self-reflection. Yes, it had been hard living on the run, and especially hard for the last month worrying about what was happening to Zuko, but Aang was right. She couldn't go back and change the past, and no amount of fretting would help anyone. As she picked the last cluster of berries from the bush, she resolved to devote herself to bending practice and helping Aang wholeheartedly however she could.
She turned and began to walk purposefully back to the others. She still had a slight smile on her face when a blur of pink dropped out of a tree. Ty Lee danced around her, fingers darting into pressure points all over Katara's body. She couldn't even scream as she dropped the basket and fell bonelessly to the ground. Her cheek was pressed into a puddle of crushed berries, but not for long. Ty Lee scooped her up - she was amazingly strong for her slight figure - and sprinted deep into the forest.
Katara could not fight back, but she tried fiercely to regain control of her body. She tried to remember how long chi-blocking lasted, but her mind was too scattered to remember. She didn't know how long Ty Lee carried her, but the girl was an amazing athlete. She skipped across tree roots and even propelled herself with pushes off of vertical rocks and tree trunks. Once she even swung one-handed on a vine as Katara's body flopped over her opposite shoulder. But eventually she slowed down, emerging into a clearing and dumping her prisoner to the ground.
Katara had known it was coming, of course, but her heart still plummeted as a curled booth tip nudged her face upward and she met the mad eyes of Fire Princess Azula. "Well, well," Zuko's sister drawled, "what have we here? Ty Lee, I believe you have captured a wanted criminal. We shall have to return to Father at once."
From out of Katara's range of sight came another voice. "Don't you want to take back more of her friends?" The dark monotone could only belong to Mai. Yes, thought Katara, just try to attack them. I'll fight back and escape and we'll beat you together. But Azula's answer chilled her.
"Why, Mai, have you forgotten our instructions? Our mission is to capture the criminals one by one. We would win, obviously, if we tried to take them all, but why take the risk? It's more sporting to hunt individual prey. Just think, we can deliver this one, visit home, walk around the palace, eat some real food, and then the fun begins all over again." She laughed, a cold, hard chortle that sent a tremor down Katara's spine. "Now let's get out of here before they start looking for her. Come on, Mai, Ty Lee."
As Azula spoke, Ty Lee hoisted Katara again, this time onto the back of her mongoose dragon. Katara noted that she didn't seem worried about the chi blocking wearing off anytime soon. Nevertheless, she strapped her passenger down. "Don't want to lose you off the back!" she said cheerfully. Katara did not answer. She gritted her teeth against tears and began to plot her escape.
