Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA or it's characters.
Dirt and metal, that's all I can smell. The back of my head aches dully and I feel completely disoriented. I could have been out for days, for all I know. When I finally peel my eyes open, I can see that I'm in what I assume is a prison cell because my wrists and ankles are bound in chains, suspending me uncomfortably in the air. The next thing my mind focuses on is Aang. Where is he? Is he hurt? Did they catch him? Spirits, how could I have let this happen?! Aang is my responsibility. How can I protect him if I'm locked up somewhere? He's only fifteen, what if they've hurt him?!
Breathe, Katara. Focus. Getting worked up won't help anything. Focus. How are you gonna get out of here?
I search around the room and find it to be disappointingly bare. There are no windows and only one door. It's huge and metal and looks very locked. I feel around the room, but there's no pull of water. Not even in the hot air that I recognize as belonging to the Fire Nation.
Well that's just great. Two weeks of trying to get to the Earth Kingdom and now I'm all the way in the Fire Nation. Even if I do get out of here, how am I gonna know where to go? I let out a frustrated sigh.
Suddenly, the large metal door begins to clank. I try to struggle against my chains, but to no avail. The door swings open widely with a loud creak and I am no longer alone.
A tall man, dressed in red robes and wearing an ugly scowl, strides into the room. From his posture, I can tell that he must be the one in charge around here. He stands with his back straight, chest out, and feet shoulder length apart. His arms are behind his back. He gives off an air of arrogance. It practically rolls off of him in waves. He watches me with careful scrutiny for a moment with an eyebrow raised.
I hate him already.
"Hello, Katara." His voice is smooth and slimy, almost snake-like. How does he know my name? I've certainly never seen him before in my life. I would've remembered. As if reading my mind, the man speaks again. "I am General Zhao of the Fire Nation. Forgive me for bringing you here under such circumstances, but I'd heard that you were quite the bender."
He gives me the once-over, with a look that says he can't believe that someone my size or gender would ever be worth a fight. Well, Zhao, let me down from here and I'll definitely show you a fight. Zhao stares at me for another moment and I realize that he's expecting me to say something back to him. What does he expect? "Hey, nice to meet you" ? No.
Noticing my silence, Zhao takes another step toward me. He has a hard face, the kind that I could never imagine seeing smile. His eyes are dark brown and vastly, vastly empty. "Do you know why you're here, Katara?"
I stare down at the man, making sure to remain expressionless. "No." I tell him.
"Don't you?" He looks amused. Another foot between us closes as he takes a step. His eyes bore into mine and his voice is stern and low when he asks, "Where is the Avatar?"
Wait…Zhao wouldn't be asking for Aang if he already had him. This is wonderful news! Not only do they not have Aang, they don't even know where he is! Aang is safe and hidden. But damn, he must be so worried about me. I hope he knows to keep going. I hope he isn't doing something irresponsible like looking for me. That would be the Aang thing to do. But he needs to do the Avatar thing.
Zhao's hardened face distracts me from my thoughts. Oh right, where is the Avatar? "The what?" I ask, feigning confusion.
Zhao doesn't seem to like that. His nostrils flare and he lets out a low growl of disapproval. "Do not test me, peasant. You are going to tell me where the Avatar is."
Oh, no more "Katara"? I must have made him angry. Well, good!
I raise my eyebrows at the man and his expression darkens even further, though I didn't think it possible. He reaches up and slaps me hard across my left cheek. It stings, but I've felt worse. I'm tempted to tell him that even play-wrestling with my brother when we were children hurt worse than that, but I bite my tongue. "You don't want to talk? Well, I have a few ways to loosen your tongue."
Zhao whips around and stomps back to the door, much like a child throwing a temper tantrum. The door slams shut behind him with a loud, screeching bang.
Well, I've had a lovely time here, but I think I'll be going now. I don't feel at all up for torture. I wriggle my wrists in their chains. It's hot enough in here that I've started to sweat. If I could just get one wrist free…
The latches on the door start to come undone again. Shit. Zhao is back already! I fight like crazy against the chains, cutting into the skin of my wrists.
The door opens about a foot, much quieter than last time, and my back stiffens. Maybe if Zhao gets close enough I could bite him. Although I don't see that being very useful. Suddenly, someone slips into the room, dressed in all black. They're in front of me in an instant. If I'd blinked, I would've missed it.
I find myself staring into the face of a blue mask. The frozen face seems familiar somehow. But I don't have enough time to consider it before the masked figure draws their swords. Is this really what Zhao planned for me? It seems extremely out of sorts. I don't see how this could be a useful tactic for getting information.
The silver metal rises in the air and I clench my fists, bracing myself for the impact and pain.
But it doesn't come.
Instead, the figure slashes the chains around my ankles, freeing them from captivity. I dangle in the air for only half a second before the swords rise again and my wrists are free as well. I never would have expected someone wearing a mask to be able to see and move around so efficiently.
I land hard on my feet, only inches away from the masked figure. I can tell from their height and size that it's a man behind the blue face. He swings his dao swords over his shoulders, tucking them in to the holsters behind his back. I watch with caution as he darts silently back to the metal door.
My mind is screaming at me that this has to be a trick. How could someone just show up and break me out of here? How could anyone even know that I'm here? It can't be that easy. And I am not that lucky.
From the door, the masked figure turns back to me. His arm outstretches, revealing a black gloved hand. Something about the gesture and the familiarity of the mask (and really, let's face it- my own damn curiosity) has me running for the door and grabbing the figure's hand.
I half expect to run straight into the arms of General Zhao as soon as I've escaped my prison, but the halls are empty. The walls around us are ornately decorated; painted red with gold trimmings all around the edges. I'm in the Fire Nation all right.
The masked figure walks ahead of me, moving with a silent swiftness that I've never seen before. He presses his back against the wall at every corner, peering carefully around the walls to check if we're still alone. If I was going to take a guess, I'd say that this person has been doing these things for a long time. He definitely seems to know his way around this place. Which really should be a red flag in itself.
But atleast I'm free.
I get a bit distracted when we pass a golden statue of a phoenix bird, with bright ruby red eyes. Phoenix are birds of fire and greatly revered in the Fire Nation. I've never seen one in person. But my father did once, when he traveled to the Fire Nation on military orders. He said that he'd never seen anything so big or magnificent. Since then, I've always longed to see one. Even just for a second. It's believed to be a rarity to even spot one. They move so quickly and don't seem to like humans. I'd bet that barely anyone living in the Fire Nation has ever seen one, either.
With my head turned to admire the statue, I don't notice that the masked figure has stopped abruptly in front of me and my face collides into his left shoulder blade. But he doesn't seem to notice. His head swivels back and forth quickly between the three passages in the intersection that we've come to. I wonder if maybe we're lost.
But then I hear Zhao's booming voice and a dozen pair of running footsteps coming from somewhere in the distance.
The figure takes off down the right hallway. How does he run that fast? And that silent, for La's sake? I dart after him, trying to keep my footsteps as quiet as possible. I'm embarrassed to learn that quiet for me is probably the equivalent of a small canon going off in comparison to the masked figure.
I have to struggle to keep up with the man. He stops suddenly again and kneels to the ground. In one swift motion, he yanks up a metal drain cover, revealing a dark hole of blackness. Without warning, the figure grabs my waist and I'm being pushed down the hole. It's a short fall and I land on my hands and feet. The sound reverberates through the dark tunnel. The figure leaps in behind me, pulling the drain cover back into place as he does. He lands on his feet, with much more grace than I had.
And then we're running again.
It's a matter of minutes before we reach an exit. On the left wall is a large barred drain cover, with light pouring in from the outside. The figure quickly pulls the cover off and sets it on the ground beside us. He slips through the hole in the wall and disappears completely.
When I peer out after him, I can see a stone floor just a few feet below me. We've reached the outside of the fortress, but we're pretty high up. We'll have to scale the wall to get down.
I slip through the hole, landing beside the figure on the stone wall. We both glance over the edge. It's probably another fifty feet to the ground. And I can see dome shaped windows in the wall below us. We'll definitely be spotted, if we haven't been already.
The figure surprises me by swinging his legs over the edge of the wall. He starts the descent, using the small crevices between the bricks as stepping spots. I watch him nervously. I've never scaled a wall before. I'd hate to slip and bring the both of us down.
Just pretend it's a tree, Katara. You've climbed lots of trees. You can do this.
With that encouragement in mind, I slowly seat myself on the edge of the wall. I force my hands to stop shaking as I take hold of the stone below me. I lower myself onto my stomach until my legs are hanging over the edge of the wall. After carefully placing both feet inside the crevices of the bricks, I begin my descent.
I can tell right away that I'm moving too slowly. If any of the guards spot us and happen to be skilled archers, I'll be quite the easy target. I tell myself to move faster, but it's just not happening.
When I've finally managed to get almost halfway down the wall, I make the mistake of looking down at the ground. The masked figure is already on his feet, alternating his attention between my slow pace and the area around us. I hear Zhao's voice yelling from somewhere above me. I don't know if he's seen us yet, but he's about to.
The figure's head jerks up and he comes closer to the edge of the wall and holds his arms out. Is he crazy? He wants me to jump? Really? We'll never get out of here if my legs are broken! The figure ushers me to hurry up and glances around once more.
Alright. It's only twenty feet. Someone is going to catch me. I can do this. Jump. I repeat the mantra about five times in my head before I finally release my grip on the bricks. I fall fast and the figure catches me with ease. Really, I'm embarrassed now for even being scared at all.
The figure drops me to my feet and points across the way to the large metal gates. We make a run for them, just as Fire Nation officers start to pour out of the building after us.
"Close the gates!" I hear Zhao demand. He sounds furious.
Five guards who are protecting the gates hear the order and see the figure and I running toward them. Their eyes widen as they decide whether to brace themselves for the coming attack or to follow the General's orders.
Beside me, the figure has already pulled out his swords. The gate guards see this and decide it'd be in their best interest to prepare for attack.
Using the moisture in the air and my own sweat, I send a small water whip at the guard on my left, sending him backwards into the gate. I freeze his wrists against the bars.
In retaliation, a burst of flames comes whirling toward me. I dodge it easily and send ice daggers into my attacker's right arm. He shouts in pain and comes barreling toward me. If only I had more water, I'd just wipe them all out with a wave and be done with it.
Wordlessly, the figure and I meet back to back as we fend off the attackers. The man I'd already daggered takes a pathetically aimed punch at me. I duck down to avoid it and kick him hard between his legs. I send a water jet at his chest, forcing him back a few dozen yards.
The masked figure's dao swords cross over my left side, fending off a fire attack. The three gate guards the figure had been battling are lying, most likely dead, on the ground.
"Run!" I tell the figure, urging him past the gates. With the little water I can salvage, I bend an ice shield behind us to fend off the incoming attacks. We sprint past the huge metal gates. Ahead of us, I can see a small, very rickety wooden bridge, suspended in the air by two pieces of rope.
We stop suddenly when we reach the edge of it. We're standing at the edge of a cliff, with a valley below us. All I can see are rocks. And it's way, way further than just a fifty foot drop. The other side is nearly a hundred yards away, connected to us only by the flimsy bridge. If we cross, the guards will burn it down before we have a chance to blink.
The figure jumps ahead of me and using one of his swords, severs one of the ropes. He quickly grabs onto it and wraps it around his right arm in four loops. With his left, he reaches out and grabs me firmly by my arm, yanking me forward. He must sense my hesitation. But I know he's right. This is our only way out of here. I nod to him once, signaling my cooperation. The figure quickly pulls me into his arms.
I risk a backwards glance to find that dozens of Fire Nation officers are quickly closing in on us. So I wrap my arms tightly around the figure's neck, close my eyes tight and just hope for the best. The masked figure severs the second rope, grabs onto the one he's holding with both hands as I cling to him, and he leaps forward.
My heart catches in my throat as I feel us soaring through the air, to what I presume will be our death. Better this than those damn Fire Nation officers.
But to my delight, we make it all the way to the other side of the valley. In the last second, I jump from the figure's arms so that I can catch onto the trunk of a tree that's growing on the inside of the mountain edge. I manage to bang myself up in the process and feel blood slowly trickle down from my forehead. The figure lands nearby on a small jutting rock ledge, as usual, with the grace that I so lack.
I pull myself up quickly. The blue face man is already climbing up the remaining few feet of the cliff. I brace myself and leap across to the ledge he'd previously been standing on and follow him up the mountain.
Just when I have only a yard left to climb, the rock I'm clutching with my right hand gives out and I start to fall backwards.
But the figure grabs my hand instantly, before I have time to fully gasp or even register what happened. Though I can feel my heart pounding in my chest. I stare up at the blue mask above me, wondering with desperate curiosity who's behind it. I use my other hand to grab his arm and he hoists me up, until I'm able to pull myself onto solid ground.
And then we take off, with dozens of Fire Nation officers screaming at us from across the valley.
After what felt like three miles, the figure and I finally stop running and come to rest beside a tall, old tree. I lean up against it, trying hard to regain my breath. The cut on my forehead starts to throb and I wince from the pain.
The figure steps in front of me. I can't tell what he's looking at, but I assume it's my forehead.
"Are you ever gonna take that thing off?" I ask, feeling irritated under his scrutiny.
He tilts his head to the side in response.
I take a deep breath and try again, "What I meant to say was, I'd sure love to meet my rescuer."
The figure takes a long moment to consider this and then finally, removes the blue mask. I'm surprised to learn that he's young, much younger than I expected. Really, he can't be more than a year or two older than I am. He has shaggy black hair and pale skin. Unmistakably Fire Nation. A closer glance tells me that he has bright golden eyes, the left of which is outlined in a red scar. The kind of scar that is usually made by a burn. "Well," I frown, "who are you?"
"I'm Chen." He smiles slightly, a sight that I hadn't been expecting and sort of catches me off guard. "But those men back there like to call me the Blue Spirit."
"Huh." I nod. "Intriguing. But, why exactly did you help me back there? Don't get me wrong, I appreciated it, but…" But the only people I've ever met from the Fire Nation care only about themselves.
"I guess you could call me an anti-Ozai crusader. There's a lot of us, actually. I heard about your capture in the Earth Kingdom and also that you're the Avatar's personal water bending teacher. I just figured you'd need some rescuing." He explains.
"Oh. Yeah, I was caught off guard. No pun intended." I tell him, chewing angrily on the inside of my cheek. Those Fire Nation bastards. If only I hadn't been so outnumbered, I swear… "Well, I'm Katara. So, um, where are you from?"
"Well, I'm from the Fire Nation. But I don't exactly adhere to Ozai's rule, as you can probably tell." He says with a smirk.
"I see. Well... thankyou. For helping me, I mean." I glance down at the ground, feeling incredibly awkward. I don't want to sound rude; after all, this boy just saved my life. But I really need to get going. I need to find Aang. "Thankyou a lot, actually. I just… I should go. I need to find my friends."
"You mean the Avatar?" He asks, with a might more enthusiasm than I would've liked. He takes a step closer to me.
I smile at him politely. "I really should go. Thanks, again."
"Wait…" He glances down, thumbing at his black shirt. "I could help you. I mean, I know my way around here. Atleast let me put a bandage on your head."
I look up toward my forehead, as if I'd somehow be able to see my injury. "Oh. Right. I almost forgot."
Chen reaches into his black drawstring bag. I hadn't even realized he'd been carrying one. He pulls out a piece of gauze and two small white bandages. "May I?" He asks. I nod and he comes closer. I try not to flinch as Chen takes my chin in his fingers and lifts my face toward him.
I'm not used to being cared for this way. Not since my father died. I've been taking care of myself and everyone around me for the past few years. I don't allow Sokka to do things for me. I just don't want to seem weak. I can do things for myself. And I want to prove that. And now here I am, letting a stranger tend to my wounds. And after rescuing me from a fortress like some fair maiden in a tower, no less. It's embarrassing, really.
Chen wipes the blood from my forehead and out of the gash, causing another wince of pain on my part. It only takes a moment for him to get the bandages on. He lets go of my face and glances to the ground as he steps back.
"Well…uh, thanks again." I manage to offer him a small smile. This boy has done so much for me in the past two hours, too much if you ask me.
"I'm here to help." He smiles.
Think, Katara. Without Chen, you will be alone in the wilderness with no protection and no idea where to go. He's clearly proven himself to be a useful ally. You are in dire need of one of those right now. And this one is cute. He wants to help you. So let him.
Ugh. I don't like it. I don't like it one bit. I take a deep breath. "Alright then, what are we waiting for? Let's go."