AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Sorry this update took so long. I had Girl's State and that lasted a whole week. Believe me, I had no time to write. This chapter is longer than the first. I'm really not sure how long the chapters are going to be. It'll probably just depend on what happens. The villian is introduced :O Don't forget to review or make any suggestions because I thrive on them. Seriously, if I had to choose between a review and a meal, I'd choose the review every time.

SAVING A HERO

Katara took a deep breath. Her heart fluttered, and she felt as if it were about to fly out of her chest. Her fingertips itched in anticipation. Every muscle in her body tingled in excitement. She exhaled trying to get rid of her nerves. She was Katara Hakoda, the best water bender in the world. She had no reason to fear anyone. In the back of her mind she thought about all her opponent's accomplishments and powers, the rumors that circulated about him. Katara knew most of them were exaggerated. There were a few about her that were quite dramatized, but she knew she had never faced a bender like this since Azula. She forced herself to stop. He didn't matter. She did. She was going to annihilate him and make the sniveling, pretty boy run with his tail between his legs back to his mother.

Steadily a beat grew outside of the double doors in front of her. The underground arena was coming alive. The beat increased in intensity, growing louder and faster as the crowd came alive in anticipation for what many were calling the fight of the year. Katara was not afraid of the crowd. They loved her. To them, she was a hero and everyone else was just looking for fame, but she knew this fight would be different. She calmed her breathing again and cupped her hands in front of her mouth. She let out a long sigh and felt the moisture from her breath. The water crystallized in her hand. Chills ran up her spine but not from the cold.

A horn sounded and the double doors opened. The audience roared in a mad frenzy, but to Katara everything was quiet. With one final moment of peace, she stepped out into the light shaping the ice on her palms into hundreds of tiny spears. The arena floor was sunk fifty feet below everything else for both the participants' and onlookers' safety. More than once a fighter was almost crushed to death by the horde when he was flung into the stands. Across the battleground was Katara's target. His Fire Nation emblem blazed red against his black cloth armor. Even from a hundred feet away Katara saw the grim amusement that all fire benders seemed to have when they smelled blood.

Katara growled venomously. Acid filled her mouth, and white hot anger surged into her body so violently she almost lost control of herself. Underneath all the anger she could feel her own hurt fueling it like a heartbeat. Power coursed under her skin, and everything disappeared except for him. She could feel the bloodlust taking over, and she didn't fight it. He was the enemy. He saw it in his eyes that he was going to for blood. Well, so would she. All of her fears were forgotten. This wasn't the first time Katara had fought for her life, and it wouldn't be the first time she would win.

His grinned widened as he took his battle stance. Katara recognized his movements immediately. There were troughs of water lining the entire arena floor with pipes filling them whenever needed. Katara emptied two troughs and built a thick ice wall half way between him and her. The air around her sizzled with energy. There was an earsplitting crack as lightning shattered her wall into a thousand ice shards. Katara sent each shard racing towards him, but they melted before they could reach him.

The power of her anger was still running strong. The beat and cheers from the crowd gave her wings as she gathered water from ten troughs and used them to spiral twenty feet above him. A tornado of fire blinded the crowd and Katara as he rose higher and higher until they were eye to eye. The fighters stared at each other for a moment, and the crowd quieted. "Who are you?" Katara yelled.

He didn't answer. The next few seconds were a blur. There was a blinding flash of light. What felt like a brick wall hit Katara's chest. She lost control of the water and felt herself freefalling to the ground. Something heavy was still weighted on her chest. There was split second of palpable fear until she was able to break one of her hands free from whatever was on her. She splashed harmlessly into a pool of water. Instincts drove her to freeze the water, but the ice melted before it could form. Her pool evaporated under her. Katara's skin felt like it was on fire. She remembered the time Aang had burned her hand accidentally while he was learning fire bending and wanted to laugh at that pain. She was being suffocated in heat. Her eyes landed on the man lying on top of her. She couldn't move through the heat, and she could barely think straight.

Her anger still boiled under the surface, but its intensity was nothing compared to what was happening to her. His eyes glowed dark gold like dying embers, and his face was set in a spiteful grin. Katara attempted to struggle against his hold, but she was powerless next to him. He lowered his face and pressed his lips against hers softly, but it felt like an inferno had just been lit. She groaned in pain and felt his smoldering lips form a smile. His cheek blazed a path across hers. His breath scorched her ear. "I am just the beginning." Then his voice changed. "Help me."

His words were so confusing, and a fear so deep and controlling Katara had no idea how to fight it took over. If she could, she knew she would be begging for mercy. Her stomach knotted, and the only thing she could think about was running away from this monster. Katara had never accepted death before, but she saw no way out of this. Faces started to float behind her eyes: Zuko, Toph, Sokka, Aang, her grandmother and father, and her mother. Just like that it was there again, that surge of energy. Adrenaline pumped through her veins restoring her control of her body. She saw his face drop and she grinned. She pulled her knees to her chest and thrust them into his sternum. She gasped as fresh air filled her lungs, but she had no time to recover.

Streaks of red zoomed at her. Katara was just barely fast enough to avoid his attacks, but she was fast enough. She knew her water would evaporate before it could get to his body, and she was trying desperately to think of a way to get to him. An idea so ludicrous and insane popped into her head she dismissed it immediately, but she quickly realized it was her only chance. This man was no ordinary bender, but neither was she. She didn't know if it would work, but it was her only shot. Katara pulled the water rushing from the various pipes that spilled into the troughs and formed it into a high dome. The water cracked as it shaped a barrier between them and the crowd. The motion almost cost her dearly as one of his torrents caught her in the arm, but there was no pain. The temperature dropped until she could see her breath, and she knew he would feel the effects too no matter how 'hot' he was.

He roared and charged towards her. Swords of fire billowed from each of his hands, but Katara just readied herself. She took a deep breath and reached for the water she knew she would find in his body. It was there under a lot of heat, but she could get to it. She narrowed her eyes and grinned. They were only a few feet apart now. Katara could still feel his heat, but she was in control now. He started to swing his right hand towards her face, but she landed the palm of her hand squarely in his chest. He stopped moving, and the fires extinguished in his hands.

Katara had expected fear or at least shock from him because even she didn't know she could blood bend without a full moon, but the man's aggravating grin just got bigger. A small, maddening chuckle escaped his lips. "She's been waiting for you for a long time."

Katara frowned. "What are you talking about?"

This time, the man howled in laughter. Katara tightened her grip. He stopped laughing, but she couldn't get that stupid grin off his face. "You see, I am the beginning, but, you, you are the end. Have you talked to your 'hero' friends lately?" His words were strained as if he were in pain. Katara checked her hold on him and couldn't find any reason for him to be feeling and pain.

His question caught her off guard. She knew exactly who he was talking about. "What do they have to do with this?" Katara's heart was beating a million times a minute from adrenaline. She felt the water within him moving under her control. She didn't alter its natural course, if she did that he would die, but whenever he tried to move she was able to force it to not change its direction. Katara expected it to be hard to keep control of a fighter like him, but it didn't even feel like he was putting up a struggle.

He smirked at her. "They are the whole reason I'm here. Perhaps if you weren't so hard to find we could have avoided all the…mess." Again, his voice dropped at the word like he hated saying it.

"What mess? What are you talking about?"

"How long has it been since you've talked to Toph? Six months? What about your brother and the Fire Lord? Hmm? Have you checked up on them?" His voice hung on the last words. Katara could hear the threat behind them.

"I swear, if you hurt any of them, I will make you suffer-"

He cackled again. "My Dear, I am already suffering." Katara thought she saw his eyes flash with pain, but it was too quick for her to be sure she really saw it before they were back to their bemused glaze. "And if I were you, I wouldn't be worrying so much about impressing these heathens or running away from whatever it is you are-" Katara clenched her fingers. His body writhed under her grip, but he kept talking. "I would worry about repairing my relationships before it's too late." He was sniggering through his words and looked up at her with a cheeky grin when he was done.

Katara growled. She flung her arm, and consequently his body, towards the metal wall of the arena. She swore she heard a muffled giggle before he slumped to the ground. The ice dome melted causing a waterfall to wash over the floor. The water sizzled as it touched his unconscious body. There was a moment's pause as the onlookers took in the scene below them. Then they erupted in a fanfare of cheers. Katara bowed and waved at them victoriously, but she kept glancing back at her defeated opponent with the feeling that in all actually he had won and she was the one with her back to the wall.

The double doors opened again behind her. Time sped up, and Katara felt like she was watching herself from someone else's eyes. The next thing she remembered she was inside the shaft that led to the surface. Her right arm was starting to throb, and she was beginning to feel the effects of a concussion. But all she could think about was Toph, Sokka, and Zuko. The man had specifically mentioned them. Why was Aang left out? And what kind of danger could they be in? They were three of the best warriors on the planet. They had survived the front lines of a war when they were only kids. He's lying. Katara decided. There's nothing wrong with any of them. He was just trying to get inside my head.

And it was working because no matter how many times Katara told herself that when the shaft opened into an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the Inner City she was running towards the palace, to Toph. How am I going to explain myself once I get there? Oh, hi, Toph, I know the last time we saw each other I was a fugitive, but I heard you were in trouble. Just thought I'd check in. She could only imagine the look on the earth bender's face, and on top of that, Katara was risking imprisonment. Bending Battles weren't legal yet in Ba Sing Se, and Katara was one of the ring leaders behind the whole operation.

This is stupid. There's no way Toph or Sokka or Zuko is hurt. They've all got entire armies guarding them. What the hell could have happened? But Katara didn't stop. It had been weeks since she'd actually walked the streets of Ba Sing Se, but she knew immediately something was off. It was barely twilight and the Inner City resembled a ghost town more than a major metropolitan area. It wasn't until she started getting closer to the palace that people started to appear. Thousands of people gathered in front of the palace gates. Katara could see evidence of campfires, and most people looked packed to stay in their spots for days. When she reached the outskirts of the mass she tapped a man on the shoulder. "Excuse me, what's going on?"

He sneered at her like she was stupid. "Where have you been? The entire city's been in a panic for two days. Someone tried to kill Lieutenant Bei Fong. She got the bastard though. Squished him between two rocks. Too quick a death if you ask me. Hey, are you all right? Your heads bleeding and your arm's…burnt."

His words knocked the breath out of her like a physical attack, and she couldn't take any more air in. She leaned up against the man for support. "Toph…" she gasped. "I have to get to her." That was her only thought. "I have to see her. Where is she?" Everything the man from the arena said started to play back in her head.

"She's in the palace, but they're not letting anyone in. Wait, you're…holy spirits, you're Katara the Southern Water Bender. Is it true you once took out a whole Fire Nation brigade by trapping them in an iceberg?" Katara ignored him.

"Take me to the palace, please." She could feel tears start to brim her eyes, but she blinked them away. She couldn't lose it here in front of all of these people.

"Of course. Can you walk?"

Katara felt like pointing out to him that she had obviously walked here, but there wasn't time. "Yes, just get me through the crowd." She realized there was another, much quicker way to get through these people, but she didn't have the energy for that at the moment. And it would only cause mass chaos is suddenly no one could move. The man held out his hand, and she took it. He screamed something about 'Katara' and 'palace', but she wasn't listening. She could only think about Toph. "Is she okay?" she asked hoarsely, but the man didn't hear her. "Is she okay?" Katara repeated louder.

The man was pushing through the crowd who was beginning to part as word spread that Katara was there. "No one knows. They're not telling us anything. For all we know she could be-" he stopped.

Katara knew what he was going to say but couldn't bring herself to even think the word. "She's not dead. I know it. She's fine."

"I hope your right," he mumbled.

"I am," she said confidently, and she believed it. There was no way Toph could be dead. If she was dead that would mean Sokka and Zuko could be dead as well, and that wasn't an option. The anguish of losing someone she loved suddenly started to creep in. The feeling of her mother's murder and the loss that followed stung her heart. I can't go through that again. "Please, Toph," she whispered, "don't leave me."

Two armored guards stopped in front of them. Katara could see the Palace Guard insignia on their helmets and breastplate. "Are you Lady Katara?" One of them asked.

It took Katara a second to remember she had to answer them. "Yes. Take me to Toph."

The lead guard nodded stiffly and turned to Katara's escort. "We can take it from here."

The man looked down at Katara and smiled. "Looks like this is where you get off."

"Thank you," Katara said letting go of his hand. The Palace Guards turned around and started back through the crowd who had formed a circle around the group. Katara followed them. Until now she hadn't heard the murmurs, but now they were all she could hear.

"Look at her arm. I bet it's from a bending match. I've never seen anyone beat her."

"She's a criminal maybe they're arresting her."

"Such potential. It's a shame she didn't use it for good."

"She should be ashamed to show her face in public."

Katara sped up until she was standing next to one of the guards. "What's wrong with Toph?"

"Lieutenant Bei Fong's situation cannot be disclosed at-"

"To hell it can't," Katara paused, shocked at her own words. "I'm sorry. I'm just…it's a lot to take in." The guard kept his pace, and Katara almost had to run to keep up with him. "She's alive right?" she choked.

The guard nodded, and Katara instantly heard the people around them start to murmur the good news to the rest of the crowd. Within moments, people were singing and dancing. Cheers erupted across the horde. Katara saw the guard scowl and glare down at the ground. She didn't ask any more questions. It was clear whatever was going on, the king was trying to keep it as quiet as possible. That would explain how Katara hadn't heard about it until now. My brother and Zuko. Were they still alive? Damn it, the war's over. I'm not supposed to have to have to worry about this anymore. Katara gritted her teeth.

She wouldn't let herself start planning anyone's death. She was going to find Toph, and go from there because that's all she could do right now. I have to ask them about Sokka and Zuko, she decided. She eyed the curious crowd who was taking a bigger interest in her as they got closer to the palace wall. She could see gates that led to the Garden of Poi, the entrance to the palace, but blocking their way were rows of heavily armored Palace Guards. The crowd gave the guardsmen plenty of room. Katara saw why when a daring woman got to close and was pushed back with a slab of stone. The mob was booing the guards, but when Katara broke the barrier between the security and spectators cheers broke out. She glanced over her shoulder wondering what could have caused the people to go from 'she should be ashamed to show her face' to acting like she was a hero again.

What are they expecting from me?

"Wave," the guard next to her ordered. Katara raised her eyebrows but obeyed. She waved awkwardly back before she was encircled by armored men. The throng exploded in applause.

"What was that about?" she blushed.

"They're hoping you can save her," her guardian answered without looking at her. "We all are." The sea of black uniforms parted just like the citizens as Katara passed.

"What?" Katara hissed. "Save her? I don't even know what's wrong with her."

"She was poisoned. Our best healers and herbalists haven't even been able to break the fever." Katara heard his voice crack, and realized this man must care about Toph too. All these people did. Perhaps they didn't know her personally, but, to them, she was a beacon of hope and a figure of strength and power. She was there champion, their hero, and they were expecting Katara to save her.

"What makes you think I'll be able to then?" She said.

"Because if you can't then she'll die, and you won't let that happen. Because if you do, I will have you put in prison until you rot."

Katara scowled. Her heart felt like it was being stabbed, but a friend's life had been in her hands before. It was a feeling she didn't enjoy, but she knew if she shied away from it, she would lose someone she cared about. "You're right. I won't let her die, and if I do, I'll put myself in the cell."

The man looked at her for the first time with a half smile. They were at the entrance now. Two guards stepped in front of them. Their faces were covered in dark green masks. "State your business."

"I have Katara Hakoda, the Southern Water Bender. She's here to-"

"You're Katara Hakoda, Champion of Water and Ice?"

She couldn't tell if the soldier was looking at her, but she straightened her shoulders and was suddenly very self-conscious of her appearance. Her arm was still throbbing painfully, and she couldn't decide if her head was pounding because of an injury or from stress. It was probably both. "Y-yes, that's me."

Neither soldier moved. "You are aware she is a wanted fugitive by both Ba Sing Se's officers and the Earth Kingdom's military for inciting a riot, disturbing the peace, escaping custody, assaulting an officer-"

"Hey, he had that coming!" Katara blurted indignantly.

"-and participating in and organizing the illegal act of battle bending, just to name a few?"

Katara glared at the soldier she thought was talking. Just when she was about to defend herself, the Palace Guardsmen next to her grabbed her wrist protectively. "I am aware that she has the potential to save Lieutenant Bei Fong if we are to believe the rumors of her powers, and I would hate to be responsible for withholding the treatment that could save our leader's life."

Katara fidgeted not only because she realized that the multitude of people behind her was suddenly deathly quiet but the guardsmen's words were like daggers to her bleeding heart. Save her life. She was supposed to be done with all this. After the war, Katara promised herself she would never be responsible for anyone else again, yet here she was proclaiming she could save Toph in front of the entire city of Ba Sing Se when she didn't even really know what was wrong. She kept a straight face though. She wasn't going to let these men see her as weak.

The Green Faces as Katara had nicknamed them, both stiffened. She grinned. She knew they wouldn't, couldn't, deny letting her see Toph. Katara thought about the countless times Toph had saved her from getting arrested. We're even after this, Toph. The Green Faces reluctantly stepped to the side. Katara couldn't help but give a cocky smirk as she walked by to the Green Face who had talked. She couldn't be sure, but she thought she heard an aggravated sigh.

"Please, don't," her guide muttered to her, "they care about the Lieutenant too. You are a wanted criminal: not exactly someone who's let into the palace during a crisis."

Katara knew he wasn't trying to hurt her with his words. She knew the masses considered her a vigilante, a criminal and to most she was a sad story. "That's what happens without good parenting." They'd say. Or, Katara's personal favorite. "She's just doing it for attention." Yes, because she wasn't going to get attention for saving the entire planet. "It doesn't mean I deserve to be treated like that. Toph was…is…my friend."

The guard chuckled, but Katara didn't have time to ask why. Once they stepped into the garden, another horde of green masks stepped in their way. Katara instinctively took a battle stance and started contemplating her odds. "Let them through!" A man called behind them. It was the same Green Face who had tried to not let her in. She realized he could have said that before they even entered the garden. He wanted her to attack one of the Dai Lee. Katara growled.

"I know," her escort whispered. She could hear the anger in his voice as well. "Just smile and keep walking." The Dai Lee split letting them through. Katara could feel their eyes on her. The hair on her arms and neck stood on end, but she kept a smile on her face and continued to walk confidently. When they were out of the garden, she exhaled in relief.

"Where's Toph?" She asked.

"This way," he said leading her to the right. "The guards within the palace are under orders to let us pass. There shouldn't be any trouble." She scoffed, but didn't remark.

Katara had only been to the palace once since the end of the war, so she was lost in an instant. That might have been her companion's idea because she swore they passed the same painting three times. These men must think she's really gone off the deep end. Finally though, they stopped in front of two large, metal doors. The doors were carved with images of Toph and the others from the moment Toph joined the group until the final battle. Katara frowned at one of the last carvings. She was standing over a screaming Azula, but the carving made Azula look more like a grown man than the fourteen year old girl she had been. They were all children thrown into the front lines by fate and forced to live with the choices they made during that time.

Katara ran her hand over the carved image of her face. "I had no idea what I was doing. None of us did." She dropped her hand to the lever on the door and pushed down. And I still don't.

The young man trembled in relief as he was drug into the tent. The cold washed over him like an answered prayer. For the moment, the smothering heat and mind numbing pain was gone. "What is your report, Zhou Yon?" Even her voice was like ice. He shivered from her words and relished in her presence. He breathed in the chilled air and couldn't help but let out a happy groan. He looked up at his reprieve. She was dressed in all white leather armor, and her sparkling silver hair was tied back in an intricate bun. Her features were sharp like they were chiseled from the ice itself. She glared down on him with large, shining white eyes. Her pupils were the color of the arctic oceans. Flecks of ice migrated slowly around them.

"My Queen, it is just as you said. She is the one, but she is weak. Her blood bending is crude and could be easily broken."

The woman looked down on her servant and grimaced. It wasn't his fault he was so pathetic. The entire human race had grown weak and complacent. Most had forgotten their beginning and the power the spirits held. She was here to fix that. She would remind the humans who held the real power, and she would rule the world as she should have from the beginning. "Then why did she escape?" The girl was key. The child was a chink in her armor. Everything depended on her.

Zhou Yon frowned. Why had he let her escape? She was nothing to him, and his queen promised freedom from his curse if he brought her the girl. Another face popped into his mind: his love, the one who he found out had been hit with the poison instead of the Fire Lord. His princess Azula. His heart ached just thinking about her, and he wondered if he'd ever get to see her again. Probably not, but if the Southern Water Bender lived then maybe Azula would too. "She caught be off guard," he answered shakily, not meeting her eyes. "It won't happen again."

The woman glared at him. She knew he was lying. She stood up from her chair. The air in the room cracked like she was moving through ice. She bent down in front of his trembling body. "My son," she said sweetly, but it sounded like glaciers crashing into the sea, "all is forgiven. I know of your carnal weakness, the love you try so hard to hide." She saw the young man twitch and grinned at his discomfort. Did he really think he could keep such a secret from her? "But I have made preparations for such an event as this. The 'Southern Water Bender' as you call her will not be able to let her friends die." She caressed his cheek in the palm of her hand.

Zhou Yon gasped as her icy hot fingers clutched his cheek. He felt his entire body growing colder until he couldn't feel anything except a hollow place where his heart should be. The cold was welcoming, and he gladly gave into it. Azula's beautiful face danced in front of his eyes before everything went dark. "Azula," he breathed as his head was encased in ice.

The woman smiled as his body turned to ice in her hands, and she couldn't help but laugh as he spoke his lover's name. She felt his life pour from his body into hers. "Good luck," she grinned. With one motion of her arm, the ice shattered. "Commander," she called sitting back down in her chair.

A thick brute looking man walked through the flap. His eyes were a bright blue, almost white. Three long scars ran from his right temple to the left side of his lower jaw. Blonde curls almost completely covered his eyes. He looked to be in his early twenties. The commander glanced down at the pile of ice; a half smile appeared on his face. "How may I serve you, My Queen?"

The woman smiled. She knew she'd picked well when she'd chose him as her commander. He was almost as unfeeling as she was and held a deep resentment towards everything weak. "Send the signal. I don't want any prisoners except the girl. Ba Sing Se will fall to me tonight."

The commander bowed low. "Yes, Lady Ki Ala," and he left the tent. Ki Ala smiled as her plan came together perfectly. The girl would be hers. These 'heroes' would be dead within days. Ki Ala turned to the side to peer into a long mirror showing a great forest blanketed with a deep layer of snow. Giant leaves and branches fell to the ground under the weight of snow and ice. Nothing moved. Nothing was alive.

"And the Avatar will be nothing without the spirits to aid him." She breathed in and relished in the feeling of fresh air. Nothing was going to stop her this time.