Previously on Avatar:
Aang: "I went to see a guru….. He wanted to help me master the Avatar state. He told me I had to let go of my earthly attachments…. And I couldn't do it."
Suki: "Katara is your attachment? Why don't you tell her?"
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Suki: "She [Katara] really thinks Aang doesn't care anymore?"
Zuko: "She said the Avatar didn't need anyone. And that's why the Avatar didn't marry."
Suki: "But, didn't Avatar Roku have a wife?"
Zuko: "Ta Min."
Suki: "Katara doesn't know about the guru and the Avatar state issue. Surely, she would understand if-."
Zuko: "It's going to take more than that to change her mind."
Suki: "Aang loves her. Isn't that enough?"
Zuko: "I don't think so."
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Suki's POV
I sat down at the table with my small group. I had sent Toph up to get Aang, but he refused to come to dinner.
"He's meditating," Toph said in disgust, sitting down at the table. I turned to Zuko, a question forming on my lips.
"Not gonna happen. Plus, she said she wants to be alone." I bit my lip, nodding. I wanted to go talk to Katara, but I knew she would be harder to crack open than Aang. I quickly poured bowls of soup and past them to hungry benders.
"Sokka!" I called, my voice echoing through the house. "Dinner!"
"Give me a second!" he called back.
"Ponytail!" Toph screamed. "Here. Now." Five seconds later, I heard what sounded like a herd of saber tooth moose lions come pounding down the stairs.
"I'm here," Sokka panted as he dashed through the door. I turned to the blind Earthbender.
"Thank you," I said. She shrugged, shoving noodles into her mouth.
"'Dats vat I do." She said, spitting food all over the table. Zuko made a face and scooted away from her.
"Sit," I ordered, placing a bowl on the table. The warrior sat down and began picking at his soup.
"Ah," he whined. "No meat?" I smacked him upside the head.
"Stop complaining." I snapped sitting down next to my whiny boyfriend. Zuko looked up at me.
"You're not going to eat?" he asked, motioning to the empty table in front of me. I muttered some excuse about not being hungry. Silence fell over the room.
"Okay!" Toph said, slamming her bowl down on, causing the remaining contents to slosh all over the table. I leapt up and grabbed a rag. "I can't take this anymore!"
"What?" I said, whipping up the mess.
"Princess won't stop crying!" she snapped. "Do you know how many vibrations a sobbing girl gives off?"
I groaned, clamping my eyes shut and pressed my fingers to my temples. "She's really torn up about this, isn't she?" I moaned. I leaned against the wall. I heard a chair scrape against the floorboards and someone wrapped their arms around me.
"She'll be fine," Sokka said, soothingly. "My sister is tough. She'll get through." I shrugged him off.
"It's not like spending the night in the woods, Sokka!" I groaned. I crossed the room and spun on my heel to look at him. "It's more than that." He sighed and sat down again.
"Yeah, I know. It's about 'her heart'." He huffed, annoyed. "Ugh, I thought we were done with this stuff."
I looked at Toph and Zuko who reflected my surprise. "You know?" Toph asked incredulous.
"Please," Sokka snorted. "I've know for a while now." Toph was the first to recover from the shock.
"But, you've always acted so oblivious." The Runaway said. Sokka rolled his large blue eyes.
"No, I've just been ignoring it. Ever since 'I'm Aang! Will you go penguin sledding with me?'" He made his eyes wide and raised the pitch of his voice, apparently imitating the Airbender.
"That long?" Zuko asked, amazed.
"Yeah." Sokka said. "Why? How long did you think they were making goo goo eyes at each other?"
"I don't know. While you were at the North Pole, I guess."
I shot the Prince a look. "You've known," I said turning back to the Water Tribe's man. "And you didn't say anything?"
"And risk getting water whipped or causing Aang to glow it up? I'll pass." I smiled.
"That was probably the smart thing to do."
"Yeah," Toph said, "But, it's not helping solve this issue at hand."
"Nothing is going to help, Toph." Sokka sighed. "She needs to handle this on her own."
"Sokka," I said gently. "You're not really the most sincere. Maybe I should talk to her and-."
"I know the situation, Suki." My boyfriend snapped, gruffly. "The same thing happened when our mom died." (A/N: Le Gasp! The Forbidden Term!) I bowed my head, slightly embarrassed. Why hadn't I thought of that? She's been through this before! "No one could cheer her up. Not Dad or even Gran Gran. We just waited it out, and she eventually got over it." He advised.
"Just like that?" Toph asked. The warrior nodded. Toph sat there for a moment, waiting for an answer. I smacked Sokka's shoulder. He looked up at me, than towards Toph.
"Oh! Um, yeah. Just like that. Sorry."
"So you want us to wait it out?" Zuko said quietly. Sokka nodded again.
"It's gonna take a miracle to make her feel better. But, that's the idea. And until then," he turned to look at me. "Don't try and comfort her. It's gonna make it worse."
"You're not letting me see my friend?" I asked, incredulous.
"No, I'm not letting you see my sister. There's a difference." I felt my jaw drop. I spun to face Toph.
"You told him!" She shrugged.
"I do a lot of things." She said simply.
"Yeah," Zuko said smugly. "Like paying me 30 gold pieces." He tapped his chest pocket gently. But, there was a lack of clinking coins. "Wait, were did they go?" he dug his hand into the pocket, before rounding on Toph. "You took them back, didn't you?"
"What?" Toph shouted, obviously offended. "Why would you accuse me of such a thing?" She placed her hands on her hips and there was the faintest of clinking sound.
"That's why." Zuko snapped. "Now, hand them over." He held his hand out in front of her.
"Uh, how's about 'no' Sparky."
"No! I won that money fair and square."
"And I got revenge fair and square." I gave Sokka a questioning look, but he just shrugged. Revenge for what? Zuko voiced this question, and Toph quickly retorted.
"For burning my feet." I blinked. When had that happened? Apparently, no one saw the need to fill me in. 'Cause they continued with their conversation
"What do you call all those things you've done to me since then?" Zuko countered, smirking in triumph.
"Initiation." She said snidely, returning the smirk. Sokka started laughing.
"She got you there, Zuko." Sokka teased.
"Alright, alright." I said, raising my voice over their banter. "I thinks it's all time we went to bed. Okay?" The others nodded. "Now, go." I commanded as I began clearing up dinner. Sokka pecked me on the cheek as the others left the room with mumbled 'goodnight's. As soon as they had left the room, I filled a bowl of soup and set it over the dying fire so it would stay somewhat warm. I quickly headed up stairs and sat on my bed, waiting. I was staring at the stars when I heard it, the sound of Sokka's steady snoring. Quietly, I slipped out of bed and made my way downstairs. Going into the kitchen, I picked the bowl out of the ashes and returned upstairs. Glancing around, I made my way down the hall, in the opposite direction from my room. When I made it to the door, I took a deep breath.
"You have the wrong door, Fan Lady." Someone whispered. I jumped about a foot in the air, somehow managing to keep the soup in the bowl and spun around.
"Toph!" I whispered. "What are you doing here?"
"Telling you that this isn't Snozzles door. But, you already knew that, didn't you?"
"Don't stop me, Toph. I don't care what Sokka says. I am going to-."
"Whoa, chill. I'm not stopping you. I am going in with you though."
"Fine," I huffed as I opened the door.
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Katara's POV
I sat up in my bed, hugging my knees to my chest. I felt the cool wind whipping my face as it blew off the ocean outside my window. I knew Zuko had rules about not opening windows, in case somebody saw us, but he would get over it. I didn't really care about his stupid rules. I stared up at the full moon, taking a deep breath, feeling its power coarse through my veins.
"Yue," I muttered. "How come you get it so easy? You don't have to worry about anything." I sighed bitterly. Great, now I'm talking to Spirits. Maybe I'm going insane. My stomach growled. I bit my lip. I was so hungry, but I wasn't going to chance going downstairs on the slight chance Aang might be there. Or worse, Zuko. I flopped onto my back as I recalled my conversation with him and Toph earlier on today.
*Flash Back*
'You need to forgive him,' Zuko scolded. 'No matter how wrong his actions were.'
'Wrong?' Toph scoffed. 'Try funny! Man I wish I could've been there to see -. Offf!" She paused as Zuko elbowed her in the side. 'I mean, Twinkle Toes wouldn't have done it if he didn't have a good reason.' She backtracked. 'And I can tell you now, it was a very good reason.' For some reason Zuko elbowed her again.
'Look,' Zuko said quickly, casting an annoyed glance at the Earthbender. 'Why don't you talk to him?' I stood up from my bed and walked to the other side of the room.
'He's made it clear he doesn't want to talk.' I said coldly, thinking of the blank expression he had given me as I yelled at him. 'It's obvious he doesn't care because he hasn't come to apologize.'
'For what?' Toph snapped. 'Not allowing you to read him like a book?' I spun and glared at her. It was a waste, since she couldn't see it, but I wasn't really thinking than.
'For pushing me away!' I snapped, tears pricking my eyes. 'He doesn't even notice me anymore and when I approach him, he just…..closes up. It's so infuriating!'
'Maybe he's not here because you hurt him.' Zuko suggested.
'I hurt him?' The idea killed me, but it wasn't true. It couldn't be. 'How?'
'You told him he didn't care about anything. Did you ever think he was pushing you away to protect you?' I blinked.
'You can't do that. It's not possible.' Zuko stood quickly. Opps. I struck a nerve. He took a deep breath, fire bursting from his nostrils as he exhaled.
'My girlfriend,' he said tensely. 'Mai, I broke up with her before I left, to protect her from the reaction of me becoming a traitor. And now she and Ty Lee are in a prison, facing the wrath of Azula because I kept her too close. It's a reaction for her to protect me. And it's the same for you and Aang. He realizes this and he doesn't want it to throw you into a problem that isn't yours.'
'He doesn't need me to protect him!' I cried. 'He's the Avatar. He doesn't need anyone. Why do you think none of them married?' Zuko started to open his mouth, but thinking better of it, shut it. Both he and Toph were at loss for words, something very uncommon. 'I think you two should leave.' I said shakily. They stood silently and made their way towards the door. Before he shut it, Zuko peeked back in.
'Just think about talking to him.' He said calmly. 'It might be all you need.'
*End flashback*
I groaned. I hadn't been thinking straight before, I know. But my point was still valid. He didn't need anyone. It was my mistake to get so attached in the first place. I wasn't sure what it was, but something inside me just kept hoping that he would notice me as more than his Waterbending teacher or his best friend. But, it was obvious he hadn't. I felt bad for yelling at him before, but he deserved it.
Suddenly, I heard whispering at my door. I snapped up and got into a fighting stance. I summoned water from my water jug in the corner of the room, but none came. My blood ran cold. I had used it all on Sokka before. I jumped over the bed, landing lightly on the other side and ducked down. I'd scream if I needed help. The door swung open and I could see the outline of two figures.
"Katara?" Someone whispered, entering the room. "Katara, its Suki." I raised myself from the floor.
"Hey," I squeaked. She looked at me and raised an eyebrow.
"Why are you on the floor?"
"I didn't know it was you." I grumbled. "And I was out of water." I heard someone laugh and come bounding next to Suki.
"That was awesome," Toph cackled. "Sokka just doesn't know when to shut up." There was a moment of silence before Suki remembered the thing in her hands.
"Oh, we brought you dinner. We thought you'd be hungry."
"I'm fine," I said, but my stomach growled in protest. Smiling, Suki handed me the bowl. I brought it to my lips and took a sip of the cool liquid. "Thanks," I sighed.
"No problem," Suki said, sitting on my bed.
I lowered the bowl from my mouth and placed it on my lap. "Why else are you here?" Suki blinked surprised.
"What do you mean?" I rolled my eyes.
"I don't need to feel your heart rate to know you're lying." Suki sighed.
"You need to talk to Aang." She said quickly.
I groaned. "You too?" She nodded. "Listen, I'm fine."
"Well," she said, "That's great. But Aang isn't. You hurt him. He nearly burnt me because he lost control." I leapt to my feet, the bowl crashing onto the floor.
"What?" I shouted.
"Shut up!" Toph hissed, glancing back at the door. "Sokka will kill us if he wakes up and finds us here!"
I brushed it off. Who cares if Sokka woke up? If he came anywhere near my room, I would use the soup that now covered the floor to freeze his butt to the wall again.
"He gets all emotional and talks heart-to-heart with you, and I'm left out in the rain?" I collapsed back onto the bed, biting back tears. Get a hold of yourself Katara! Stop blubbering like a baby! I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"Whoa," Suki said. "I made him talk. And I struck a couple nerves. He's not infallible Katara. You of all people should know that." I growled.
"You sound like Zuko. 'Just talk to him Katara! It'll make everything better!' No, no it won't!" I suddenly became very aware I was talking to myself, instead of the warriors in front of me. I took a deep breath. "Look," I said. "I appreciate what you guys are trying to do, but it's not helping anyone." I winced inwardly. I hadn't intended to sound harsh.
Suki nodded and stood, Toph following in suit. "Wow," Toph muttered. "Snoozles was actually right about something." She turned on her heel and waltzed out.
Suki stared at me for a moment. "There is just so much you don't know," she whispered. "If only-. It would fix everything-." She growled in frustration. "Just, don't judge until you know the whole story." She snapped before turning and making her way out, closing the door with a sharp click!
I sighed, putting my head in my hands. It just not my day is it? Zuko is really mad at me, and now so was Suki and Toph. I was pretty sure Sokka was most likely annoyed with me. He doesn't like me using my bending against him. But I had absolutely no idea where I stood with Aang.
I looked up at the moon again, a single tear trickling down my cheek. "Yue, what do I do? I need help." I laid down on my bed and drifted to sleep.
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I found myself in a dark hallway. The air was salty and I felt water nearby. Don't ask me how I knew I was on a boat – I just did. A light flickered at the other end of the hallway. I quickly made my way towards the light, the darkness was un-nerving. Finally, I stepped into the warm glow of the room. Candles were scattered across the room, most of them were grouped around a bed. Underneath the crimson blanket was a body. I made my way towards the bed. The blanket was pulled up over the person's face; the slight outlines of their nose and mouth were visible. In a quick fluid motion, I pulled the covers back, revealing a boy. His eyes were closed and his face was frozen to a look of horrible pain. Thin whips of black hair covered a blue arrow. Something inside me snapped.
"Aang?" I whispered horrified. "Aang!" I cried my voice rising. I grabbed his shoulders and gave him a good shake. "Aang! Wake up!" His eyelids fluttered and I was staring into amazing stormy grey.
"K-Katara?" he muttered. He shrugged my hands of his shoulders and pushed himself into a sitting position. "Where-? What's-?"
"It's okay," I whispered, cupping his cheek gently. "I'm here." He raised his hand and covered mine, smiling. I felt my stomach flip-flop.
"Yeah," he whispered. "Okay." Suddenly his hand fell away and he fell back onto the bed.
"Aang?" I whispered hoarsely. His eyes snapped open, but they weren't grey. And there weren't any pupils. His eyes were burning white as was his arrow. I stumbled back, crashing onto the floor. Usually I was calm when the Airbender entered the Avatar State, but now I felt as though those glowing eyes would be the last thing I saw. Then again, I've never triggered the State. Nor have I been its target.
The darkness from the hallway leaked into the room as the Avatar rose from the bed. When the darkness finally took over the room, the floor disappeared and I was falling. The only thing I could see was those terrifying glowing eyes.
After what seemed like forever, I hit the ground, rocks stabbing into my side. Pain shot through my shoulder, but I managed to push myself up and looked around. I was on a hill, surrounded by trees. In the distance, I could see a temple- an Air Nomad Temple.
I pulled myself onto my knees, trying hard not to move my shoulder, but rock cuffs shot out of nowhere and locked themselves around my wrists, pinning me to the ground. I screamed and thrashed, but it was no use- I was defenseless. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aang walking up to me, his eyes and arrows still glowing.
"Aang!" I sobbed. "It's me! Katara!" He looked down at me. His face was emotionless and he regarded me stiffly.
"The Avatar must be freed," he said. The voices of the past Avatars spoke with him, causing me to flinch. "There must be no earthly attachments." He said.
"What are you talking about?" I screamed.
"No earthly attachments." He repeated. "And if I cannot release my attachment, than it must be destroyed." With those words, he raised his arms. Rocks came flying towards him and water came at his call. He lifted his head towards the sky and fire came shooting out of his open mouth. He quickly bent it so that it combined with the other two elements. Raising his arms above his head, the elements poised themselves above me, aiming at my heart.
"Aang!" I screeched. "Why are you doing this?" I felt tears streaming down my cheeks, and I let them fall. I was terrified. He was going to kill me. My best friend, Aang, was going to end my life.
He flung his arms down towards his sides, and the elements followed, rushing down for its target. I clamped my eyes shut and turned my head away, waiting for the impact. But, it never came.
Slowly, I opened my eyes and found myself staring at a white wall. I felt for the rocky cuffs around my wrists, but they had disappeared. I pushed myself up and stared down in horror at the Fire Nation insignia that sat proudly on my blanket. I flung the blanket away from me and scrambled out of bed. Had we been captured? I looked around the room. It didn't look like a prison cell. The room was beautifully lavished in crimson decorations. A large wardrobe sat proudly against the wall next to the bed and a small desk was stationed across from a grand mirror that hung next to the door. It looked like a normal bedroom. But that's probably what Azula wanted me to think, so that I would lower my guard. Spirits, do I sound paranoid or what? I dashed for the window and peeked outside.
Bellow was a court yard, lined with silver walls. I looked closely and noticed that names had been carved into the walls. They were tiny and filled the entire wall. In each corner of the yard stood statues. The statue closest to me was made from gold and had been carved into the form of a beautiful lady. Her face was kind and her hair was pulled up into a bun, a Fire Nation crown sitting on her head. She was dressed in royal robes, her arms hidden in her sleeves. The pedestal on which she stood read 'Firelady Ursa. Protector of Firelord Zuko.' I felt my breath catch. That was Zuko's mom? I felt a pang of pity for my friend, but the gleam of a bronze statue caught my eye.
This one, I recognized. The messy hair and twin swords brought back painful memories. A blade of grass was caught in his teeth. Underneath the statue it read 'Jet: The Freedom Fighter.' I turned away, my eyes stinging. A simple stone statue sat in the farthest corner. It was of a man meditating, his beard covering his hands. An arrow graced his bald head. The pedestal read 'Gyasto: Guardian of Avatar Aang.' I couldn't help staring at Aang's father figure, imagining him with mischievous grey eyes. I studied the statue, until becoming bored, so I turned my attention to the last statue. It was a beautiful silver woman. Her face was gentle and kind. Her long hair was braided and it fell over her shoulder. She wore a heavy parka lined with fur, a necklace tied around her neck. Underneath her boots were the words 'Kya: protector of Master Katara'. I felt a lump in my throat as I stared at the image of my mother.
I turned away quickly and focused on a golden statue at the center of the court yard. On it stood six teenagers. Aang sat in the middle, in his usual meditating form. Next to him sat Toph, who had one of her knees brought up to her chest, the other stretched out in front of her. On Aang's other side sat Sokka, who held his boomerang in his hand loosely, his arm resting on his knee. Behind them Zuko stood flanked on either side by Suki and me. We stood proudly, smiling enthusiastically. Underneath us someone has written 'Avatar Aang, Master Toph, Sword Master Sokka, Master Katara, Firelord Zuko and Kyoshi Warrior Suki: Saviors of the world.' Saviors of the world? So that meant it was over? It was all over?
I stared in awe at the statue. It was truly amazing and I wanted a closer look at it. I dashed towards the door, passing the mirror. I stopped short, nearly smashing into the door. I backed up slowly and faced the mirror. I leapt back, horror, stumbling over the desk chair. In the mirror stood a woman, but it wasn't me. She was dressed in fine Fire Nation robes, like Firelady Ursa's statue. Her hair grey hair was pulled into a typical Fire Nation bun and her skin was pale and wrinkled. She regarded me with sad golden eyes.
"Master Katara," she said, her voice was gentle. "It is time for you to learn."
"Wh-?" I choked, untangling myself from the chair's legs. "Who are you?" She smiled.
"A friend," she said simply. She reached a hand out. It pushed through the mirror, the glass surrounding it rippled like water. "Come." I came closer to the mirror. I looked from the hand reaching out to me to her eyes. They were so familiar and brought me a strange sense of comfort. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed her hand and she guided me towards the glass. As I stepped through the glass, it felt as though I were diving head first into a cold lake.
I looked around me. I was standing in a swamp. Trees surrounded me and water sloshed beneath my boots as I walked around looking for the woman.
"Hello?" I called, my voice echoing throughout the swamp. I heard birds take off from a nearby tree, screeching. I quickly bent the water around me, preparing it for an attack.
"Be calm child," someone said behind me. I spun on my heel, sending a water whip towards the voice. The woman stood in the water a good distance away, watching the whip flying towards her with great interest. With a wave of her arm, the whip fell back into the swampy water. "That's not very calm, now is it?" she mused, walking towards me. The water around her remained still as she glided towards me.
"What's going on?" I demanded. "Who are you? Where am I?" She laughed a low and melodious sound.
"You're friend Yue tells me you are troubled," I blinked.
"Yue?" I asked, "You know Yue?" She nodded.
"Of course. A lovely young woman. She cares very much for you and your friends. She's always watching over you." I looked around at the swamp again.
"If you know Yue," I whispered in awe, "Than, am I in the Spirit World?" She shook her head.
"Only the Avatar can travel back and forth from the Spirit World. But spirits can visit mortals in dreams and bring them anywhere. This is a replica of the Spirit World. A much better version if you ask me. Those Nature Spirits can be so annoying." She grumbled.
"Who are you?" I repeated. She smiled again.
"You mean you haven't figured it out yet?" I stared at her in confusion. "My name is Ta Min. I am Avatar Roku's wife."
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OKAY THAT'S ALL FOR NOW! I'll update soon!
