A:TLA is not owned by me, as it is owned by Mike and Brian. I just write this story! :D
CHAPTER FOUR: FALLING
"And falling's just another way to fly."
―Emilie Autumn
Time stopped for Katara. Without hesitation, she dove headfirst into the water below. The impact shook her, but she was able to create the bubble of air around her head, allowing her to see the water around her. Bubbles were everywhere, clouding her vision. She searched frantically, pushing through the water. A pair of hands yanked at her arm, and she turned towards the body, hopeful to see the fire prince.
Instead, the face of the soldier who had held the knife to her throat came into view. His eyes were frantic, and he was ripping at her, gasping for air. It was breaking her concentration, and water began to leak through the newly forming holes in her air bubble. She tried shaking out of his grip, gently pushing him towards the surface. Instead of putting some much needed space between them, he gripped harder around her waist. His feet thrashed violently, causing several tiny bubbles of air to surround her.
She would never find Zuko this way. Placing her hands over the soldier's hands, she lowered the temperature drastically, causing the water around them to freeze. The soldier released his grip on her, and she took the chance to push away, kicking her feet rapidly to escape.
The need to find him became even more urgent. She panicked, tears filling her eyes.
"Where the hell are you Zuko?!"
She screamed, frustrated. The scream echoed off the walls of the bubble of air, muffled. She continued to push the water from in front of her, her eyes scanning in every direction.
About twenty feet from her, a dark shape floated lifelessly below the surface. Allowing the bubble to collapse, Katara darted towards the figure, using her bending abilities to remove as much of the water between her and the figure as possible.
She reached him, and grabbed him by the shoulders, turning his face towards her. His mouth was open and his eyes were closed. He wasn't moving. Thinking quickly, Katara pulled Zuko towards her chest, clutching tight with her right arm. Kicking her feet rapidly, and waving her arm around her hips, Katara summoned a small typhoon, and used that to push the pair above the surface. She scanned the water, looking for anything; a boat, Appa, the shore.
A small canoe was close. Using her free hand, she directed the typhoon towards the canoe, allowing it to dwindle when she was close enough to get in.
Waiting inside the canoe were Toph and Sokka. Sokka leaned over and pulled Zuko into the canoe, allowing Katara to climb in. They laid Zuko out, and Katara was quick to get to work.
Placing her hands on his chest, she concentrated deeply. She could feel the water surrounding his vital organs, and the water he had swallowed during the struggle. She moved her hands up his chest stopping directly over his heart. It wasn't beating. Katara pushed harder, allowing her to feel the water in his lungs. Trailing her hands up his torso, she gently guided the water out of his lungs, letting it pass his lips.
Zuko sputtered and coughed, but didn't open his eyes.
"Out of the way Katara, you must've missed some." Sokka pushed her over and began pushing on Zuko's chest. Still nothing.
"Why do I feel like I am going to regret this?" Sokka grimaced.
"Snoozles, what do you me-holy shit." Toph burst out laughing.
Sokka had placed his mouth over Zuko's, attempting to breathe life back into the firebender.
Zuko's eyes shot open and locked on with Sokka's. Sokka gasped and pushed as far from Zuko as the canoe would allow him to go. Zuko sat up, staring at Sokka, his eyes wide with horror. Everything was silent, other than the roaring laughter coming from Toph.
"Ha ha, Oh Snoozles, I never knew you, ha ha, felt that way about Zuko." Toph choked out between laughs.
"You know I was only doing it to save his life, right Zuko? I would never – uh – do that if I didn't have to."
Zuko nodded and held up a hand. At that moment, Zuko winced and clutched his head.
Katara moved quickly over to him.
"Are you okay? Whats wrong?"
"It's nothing." Zuko brushed her off, but still held his head between his knees.
Katara moved her hands to his head. Brushing his hands aside, she allowed her fingers to graze what had become a large bruising knot on his head. The area swelled and she could tell there had been serious trauma to it.
"There is a giant bruise here. Did you hit your head?"
"I don't think so," Zuko tried to shake his head, but groaned.
Katara reached over the canoe, pulling a ball of water back. She allowed the water to coat her fingers and her hands began glowing blue. Placing them to his head, she allowed herself to concentrate.
The water knit the damaged skin back together, and pushed the blood down the stream, away from the wound. The lump became smaller, and the pain on Zuko's face lessened. Satisfied the wound was healed, she moved her hands to his face, placing them on each side of his nose.
His eyes closed, and the blue glowed brighter. The swelling in his nose reduced. She could feel his breathing ease, tickling her hands as it passed through his nose. She looked behind her shoulder, seeing Toph and Sokka's attention elsewhere. 'I wonder if there is something I can do for his scar.'
Checking that Zuko's eyes were closed, she swallowed. She moved her hand slightly up, to his distinctive scar. With all her strength, she attempted to make the water mend the skin. Nothing happened. She pushed harder, and squeezed her eyes shut.
A hand closed around hers and her eyes snapped open in surprise. Zuko was staring up at her, his expression unreadable. Her stomach flipped. She stared back, guilty. Nervously, she smiled slightly.
Relief washed over her as he smiled back. He closed his eyes again, but didn't release her hand. She sighed, exhausted. The canoe was still far from the shore, so she closed her eyes, her hand still warm in Zuko's.
The light streamed through the flap in the tent hit Zuko's face. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Looking down, he noticed he was still in his clothes from the night before and lying on top of furs and blankets in an empty tent. He sat up slowly, his head still aching slightly.
His mind tried to wrap around what had happened. He remembered assaulting the ship, and rescuing the prisoners. He also remembered getting punched in the nose. His hand moved to his face, and he was relieved to feel his nose wasn't broken. How had that happened? Was it a dream? Had someone healed it?
His mind shot to Katara, and then he remembered what had occurred once he was off the ship. He remembered the fire nation soldier with his knife to her throat. He remembered charging the man. He remembered hitting the water. After that, everything was a blur.
He pushed himself up, and stepped out of the tent. His eyes scanned the area. Toph and Sokka were sitting near the fire, laughing. Hakoda was walking quickly towards the large tent he was staying in. Zuko didn't see Katara. He looked around again, before walking towards the pit.
"G'morning Sparky." Toph said nonchalantly.
"Hello." Zuko took a seat near the blind earthbender.
"Stop worrying. Sugar Queen is still sleeping, believe it or not."
Zuko was amazed. Could she read his mind?
"How long was I asleep?"
"You've been out for about a day and a half," Sokka absentmindedly kicked his foot at the sand. "Look Zuko, I'm sorry about what happened on the canoe. It's not like I wanted to kiss you or anything like that."
'What was he talking about?' Zuko stared blankly at him, not sure what to say. Toph laughed, causing Sokka to cringe.
Thankfully, at that moment a disheveled Katara emerged from her tent, effectively ending the awkward conversation.
Her hair was loose and she looked disoriented from sleep. Her eyes lit up when she saw Zuko, and he felt his stomach flutter.
"Hey guys, Zuko. How is your head?" She said, taking a seat near her brother.
"Sore, but I'm fine. What happened last night?"
He listened as she explained pulling him from the water. When she got to the part of healing him, she squirmed, a guilty look on her face. Zuko took note, but didn't push it.
"Well thank you for healing me. I'm sure I would look a lot worse right now without it."
Katara bit her lip and nodded nervously.
'What isn't she saying,' Zuko thought.
The group served breakfast and ate, idle chatter about the mission filling the air. From what Zuko understood, the attack had gone smoothly. The bomb had been deployed and the ship was now an empty hunk of metal floating in the bay.
Zuko asked about Aang, and Toph had filled him in that everything was pretty much the same. Aang was breathing, but not waking up. Zuko only hoped Katara was able to fix what his sister broke.
His mind trailed to his sister and Ba Sing Se. Azula would have sent word to their father and begun moving troops in. Soon the Earth Kingdom would fall from the inside out. He didn't want to be here when that happened.
Toph spoke up.
"Oh yeah, while you two lazy bums were sleeping, we captured some of the men from the ship." Toph said, picking at the dirt between her toes.
"You what!?" Zuko exclaimed, jumping up. It made his head throb.
"Where are they?" Katara asked, a look of concern covering her face.
Sokka pointed to their father's tent.
"Dad and Bato have been going at it for a few hours now."
"Chill out guys. It's not like they have told us anything anyways. A whole lot of good that did us." Toph laughed.
"This isn't funny Toph! What if they told someone where we were? If the Fire Nation found us like this, we would all be captured, tortured, and probably killed. Do you know what they would do to Aang if they found him?"
She stormed off, heading away from the group.
Zuko looked towards her, and decided to follow.
Katara ran fully clothed into the water. She began swirling it around her, deep in concentration.
Zuko didn't want to interrupt her, so he watched patiently. The way she moved was fluid. She really had gotten a lot better in the time he had known her. He remembered their fight at the North Pole. She had been able to get the better of him, and he had trained for days after that so he would never find himself in that position again.
Katara's body stiffened. With a few flicks of her hands and the water froze into ice daggers. They flew towards him, stopping inches from his face.
"What do you want Zuko?"
She glared at him, hands held high above her waist.
"I just wanted to thank you for healing me last night." He raised his hands in defense. The shards of ice fell at his feet with a clatter.
"You said it. You can leave now."
Wow, she was grumpy today.
"You know, I don't really remember what happened after I fell."
"Well you wouldn't have had to do what you did if I hadn't let that scumbag get the jump on me."
Her eyebrows furrowed, and he could feel the anger radiating off her.
Zuko could tell this probably wasn't the time to talk to her, so he turned to head back towards the camp. After a few steps, he heard her call to him.
"Zuko wait! I'm sorry; it's just been a frustrating past few days."
She jogged to catch up with him. Her clothes were soaked with water, but she didn't seem to mind. The fabric clung to her body, accentuating her curves. Not allowing his mind to wander any further, Zuko swallowed, continuing the conversation.
"I understand. Are you okay?"
She sighed and let herself fall to the sand.
"I guess I am. I don't know. So much has happened the past few days. I feel like we are sitting ducks out here, waiting for the Fire Nation to come and kill us."
Zuko sat down in the sand next to her.
"Well, it's not like we can travel this way. Everyone will be looking for Appa, and we can't let my sister or father know Aang is alive, at least not until he recovers."
Katara nodded, looking thoughtfully into the sky.
The two sat in silence for a while. Zuko occasionally threw a look towards Katara. She seemed to be meditating. Her hair fell around her face, loose from the normal braid. Her blue eyes reflected the clouds. He had never really thought of how beautiful she was, especially when she was lost in thought.
What was wrong with him? She was the avatar's girlfriend, and until recently he had spent a lot of time making her life miserable. She probably hated him. They probably all hated him.
He absentmindedly squeezed his fingers together, trying to make fire appear. He produced smoke, but no fire showed up. What use did they have for a firebender who couldn't bend and was probably being tracked by half the Fire Nation right now?
"Thank you for what you did last night. You didn't have to save me."
Her voice caught him off guard. She was staring at him expectantly.
"Uhh, you are welcome."
He was terrible with thank yous. Maybe because there was very little he ever did in his life that warranted one. He never really said it to anyone either. He thought of his uncle. His uncle had done so much for him since his exile, and he could never remember thanking him. What a terrible nephew he had been. He felt guilty, remembering his uncle's last sacrifice.
Footsteps came from behind them, and they both turned to look towards the approaching party. Sokka and Toph were walking towards them, grim looks on both of their faces.
"What is it Sokka?" Katara said urgently.
"We need to leave. Dad and Bato finally got the captured soldiers to speak, and, well it's not good Katara. Azula and the Fire Nation have captured Ba Sing Se, and are bringing in hundreds of soldiers to prepare for the invasion of the Earth Kingdom. In a few days' time, this bay will be crawling with firebenders – no offense Zuko."
Zuko shook his head and allowed him to continue.
"We have a plan, but we need both of you for it. Feeling up to another mission?"
"What is it?"
"Well there is that fire nation vessel we attacked the other night. Other than the seaweed in the rotors, the ship is in perfect condition. We have the armor from all the soldiers we captured. Dad thinks we should bring everyone onto the ship, and see if we can get out of here before the cavalry arrives. We can all wear disguises and hopefully nobody will realize we aren't Fire Nation."
Zuko had to admit, the plan had a good chance of working. Many times his ship had passed by other Fire Nation ships without a second glance. They would just think it was another ship coming to the Earth Kingdom.
"We would need you two to go under the ship with your water bending, Katara, and Zuko, you would need to use your firebending to burn the seaweed without damaging the rotors. Once that is done, the rest of us will come out and bring Aang to the ship and sail the hell out of here."
Katara nodded.
"When?" she asked.
"Tonight."
"Good, I'm ready to get moving."
She got up, brushed the sand off her damn clothing, and headed back towards camp.
"You coming Sparky?" Toph said over her shoulder.
Zuko felt nervous. His firebending was broken, and what happened if he wasn't able to get the seaweed out. He would have to improvise, or something.
"Yeah, let's do this."
Katara and Zuko were ready, waiting at the shore to leave. Sokka, Bato, her father, and even Toph were clad in Fire Nation soldiers' gear. The tents had all been taken down, and Aang was resting near a pile of their belongings. She climbed up Appa's saddle and nodded towards Zuko.
"See you there," She waved towards her family and set off towards the ship.
The wind was cool and whipped her hair back in her face. She glanced back at Zuko, who was looking down towards his hands.
Appa pulled up to the ship, and Katara slipped off Appa and into the water. A splash behind her told her Zuko had done the same. Appa turned around and flew back to the shore.
"Stay close to me, so I can keep the air bubble around you."
Zuko nodded and swam behind her. The pair ducked under the surface and she moved her hands, creating a pocket of air around their heads. They swam further down along the side of the ship. When they arrived at the rotors, Katara expanded the bubble to include the seaweed tangled mess.
She waited, concentrating on keeping the air bubble tight. After a few moments, she looked towards Zuko who was cursing at his hands.
"Come on Zuko, we need to hurry."
"I'm trying!"
His hands sizzled and smoked but no fire was produced.
"Zuko this isn't funny. Hurry up!" She urged.
"Katara, I can't firebend. I'm trying and nothing is happening."
"You have got to be kidding me. Did you bring a sword or something?!"
He shook his head. Rolling her eyes, she kicked her foot towards him.
"In my boot, there is a dagger. Get it and cut the seaweed."
His eyebrows raised and he paused.
"Obviously I would do it myself, but unless you want to lose our air source, my hands are occupied."
He gripped her calf, rolling her legging up past her boot top. His hands were warm, but his touch sent a shiver down her spine. She tried concentrating on the air bubble, but his hands were distracting. She felt the cold steel of the dagger leave her boot and he rolled the leg of her pants back down. The dagger had been a gift from the Earth king before he had departed with his bear, Bosco.
Zuko moved to the seaweed and began hacking at it.
"Be careful! There was a reason they wanted you to firebend it away. Don't damage our only hope for escape please."
She was annoyed with him. Why hadn't he told her he couldn't firebend? Hell, why couldn't he firebend? He had no problem under Ba Sing Se. What was the issue now?
Zuko continued sawing at the green slimy plant, pulling as much of it out of the blades as he could. Once the rotor was clear they moved to the next, and finally the third. Once the blades could move freely, she turned to him.
"I need you to hold onto my waist so I can get us up to the ship with my waterbending."
He nodded and his arms wrapped tightly around her middle. His body radiated heat, and for a moment she forgot how to move.
"Ready when you are," his raspy voice whispered in her ear.
His voice sent flutters into her stomach, and she could feel her heart racing. What was it with him? Shaking her head, she kicked her feet and moved her hands, creating a typhoon at their feet.
She pushed upward, sending them speeding to the surface. His grip tightened and she gasped. His body was warmer than his hands, and she barely felt the cold air when they surfaced. She directed the typhoon towards the ship and with her hands moved it to curve, dropping them on the deck. She bent the water from her clothes, allowing it to fall to the floor.
"Hold still," she directed Zuko, and she did the same for him.
"Thanks. So I guess now we wait for the others?"
She nodded and turned her back towards Zuko. In the distance she could see Appa.
When he landed on the ship, she helped Sokka grab Aang and lead him to a room towards the bottom. They placed him in a bed, lying on his stomach.
"I'm gonna go find my room," Sokka said as he stepped out into the hallway.
She pulled the water from her pouch began healing the wound on his back. The water barely glowed, a lackluster blue. She couldn't concentrate, and knew she wasn't getting anywhere with this so she stored the water at her hip and stood up. She stepped out of the room and walked down the halls to find where she would be sleeping.
She stopped at an open door and looked inside. Zuko was lying with his body facing the wall. The fluttering feeling returned in her stomach and she turned away, continuing down the hall. Finally finding the room she would be sharing with Toph, she climbed to her hammock. She sighed and closed her eyes, wishing it wasn't a certain firebender's face she saw.
AN: Thank you for reading chapter four! Please review if you like it. Thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favorites! A huge thank you to Kenzie, Larissa, Little-Angel-22, Lunar Eclipses, Sokkantylee, Men-Plus-Girls-equals-fun, AreiaCananaid, and of course Boogum for your awesome reviews! Thank you to deathking00 for reading beta, and of course my awesomely patient friend TF.
I do have a tumblr, and am on there quite frequently when I should be writing, so I may start posting excerpts of upcoming chapters there. So if you are on tumblr also, feel free to follow me for preview-y goodness. My tumblr url is .com. Thanks for reading and hope to have a new chapter up soon!