A:TLA does not belong to me, nor do these characters. They belong to VIACOM. They only take part in any way this story takes me.

Big thank you to seraglio for editing, and just being awesome.


Chapter 4: Unlikely Allies

A flicker of light shone into Katara's sleepy eyes. When she opens them she sees her mother's genuine face smiling down at her. She is laying on soft polar shark skins in her tent back in the South Pole. There is a small cobble-stoned heater in the middle of the tent which lays on top of a beautiful woven mat, decorated with intricate shapes; mostly the Water Tribe symbol. Katara's mother is platting her hair humming a tune Katara knows like the back of her hand. Katara grins and reaches out to cup her mother's necklace in one hand. She feels secure in her mother's presence, content.

'Your grandmother passed this down to me when I got married to your father. And one day, when you're old enough; I'll give it to you,' Katara's mother speaks in a melodious voice, sweet and calm. Katara's face brightens and then she is enveloped in her mother's warmth, her tiny arms wrap around her mother's neck and she lets go of reality for a moment.

'I can't wait,' Katara mumbles into her mother's hair. She chuckles and kisses her lightly on the cheek before tucking Katara's head under her chin. She rocks her and purrs a song that Katara knows all too well.

'If you be my boat, I'll be your sea. A depth of pure blue just to probe curiosity, ebbing, and flowing, and pushed by a breeze, I live to make you free. You can set sail to the west if you want to, and past the horizon, until I can't even see you, and I'll remember the days, when we used to speak, of the complicated beauty, of a river run dry. That's what I'll remember you by...'

Katara felt her dream slip away from her, and with it went the warm feeling in her chest.


'…So, what you're saying is that the Invasion needs to be cancelled?' Sokka's voice said.

'Yep. Pretty much…' Aang replied.

'And, that's the only way you can defeat the Firelord,' Sokka asked.

'Yep. Pretty much,' Aang repeated.

'Oh Twinkletoes, can't you man up and just kill the turkey-rat bag?' Toph complained. Katara's eyes flew open as she realised what they were talking about. She found herself in her sleeping bag, lying on Appa's warm, furry tail. She was sweating quite a bit, she felt spots of sweat on her lip and dotted across her hairline. She bent the sweat away from her face and flicked it to the ground. Noticing she had very ruffled, messy hair, Katara simply let it loose. It was evidently still dark outside, as the campfire was the only thing illuminating in the cave.

'No, Toph. I can't. I just can't bring myself to kill another human being. I can't kill anything!' Aang said in that tone Katara knew so well; the tone that told the rest of the group he was decided and not a force to be reckoned with. Nothing would change his mind now. Katara climbed out of her sleeping bag and patted Appa gratefully. The huge furry beast groaned at her as if to say 'You're welcome.' Toph fell silent as Katara walked toward the campfire her three friends were sitting around.

'Oh. Hi- Katara,' Aang stuttered, grinning at her. She didn't humour him by smiling back. She couldn't quite muster up the effort to force a smile. She had only one thing on her mind.

'You want to cancel the Invasion?' she asked, her voice croaking with the impossibility of the sentence. Aang's face fell and he broke eye contact. Katara felt a lump in her throat begin to form.

'Listen, Katara. You need to understand…' Aang murmured. Katara took a deep breath to sooth her mind.

'Okay. I'm listening,' she said a little louder, remaining calm despite the fear churning in her stomach. She slowly settled herself onto the sand, and looked into Aang's grey eyes.

'I contacted Roku in the spirit world, or rather, he contacted me,' Aang said slowly, not taking his eyes away from Katara's. 'He told me that there was another way of defeating the Firelord without killing him,' and some of the fear in Katara's gut evaporated. 'but, to find out how, I need to read The Book of Tian Yao. Supposedly, it's located in the Dragonbone Catacombs under the Fire Nation palace. But if we can get our hands on it-' the fear came flooding back.

'…And, how do you intend to do that?' Katara probed quietly, picking sand out from under her fingernails.

'Well… If we cancel the Invasion force, the four of us could break into the Fire Nation palace during the Eclipse. That way; no-one else gets hurt, and I don't have to kill the Firelord to restore peace.' Aang answered. He paused and a collective hush resounded throughout the cave, all that they heard was the cracking of the campfire. 'If I don't have a pure heart it could kill me,' his voice petered out slowly into silence.

Katara pinched the bridge of her nose with her forefinger and thumb, hoping that squeezing it hard enough would get rid of the headache that began to contaminate her brain. Katara didn't want to seem like a disappointed parent… but she was disappointed. She couldn't understand why he didn't think things through before charging into action.

'Where exactly do you think the book will be?' Katara asked, annoyance sneaking into her voice.

'I told you, in the Dragonbone Catacombs,' Aang answered resolutely. He wasn't going to back down. Even though Katara knew this, she didn't relent.

'Yes, but where?Let's suppose you do get into the catacombs under the palace, then what? There isn't going to be a big fancy door labelled 'Book of Tyan Yo' or whatever it was you said,' Katara snapped; folding her arms across her chest. Aang narrowed his eyes.

'You don't have to be so rude all of the time, you know.' he spat back, 'You act so high and mighty with your morals and your responsibilitiesthat you won't ever take a chance on ANYTHING!' Aang stormed. He stood up and sand blew around him as he raised his voice further.

'Don't yell at me, Aang.' Katara said coolly, standing up too.

'Stop telling me what to do! Say we get into the catacombs and we find the book, all of our problems will be dealt with! I'll be able to restore balance to the world so we can get on with our lives!' He lengthened out the last part of the sentence, drumming the words into Katara's head 'Or, say we don't find the book. At least we can say we tried. Oh wait,' he added a scornful laugh, 'you can't try anything because of your mother, can you? You're scared to risk anything because you don't want another void to fill!' The words came out of his lips before he slapped his hand over his mouth. Katara's jaw fell open. Her heart felt like it had been ripped in two.

'Aang!' Sokka gasped. Katara felt white hot rage inside her stomach and scorch behind her eyes.

'My mother died at the Firelord's hands, and so did countless others. Keeping balance would be killing him in return for all of his own, and his forefather's murders,' she spat the words from her lips like they were poison, 'besides, you're the Avatar; killing is in your blood.'

Before Katara knew it, she was sprinting out of the cave and onto the beach, she didn't know where she was going but she knew it had to be anywhere but there. She blocked out the sounds of her friends calling her name, all she heard was her breath catching in her throat as sobs clawed their way up her neck.


Katara felt weak. Ember Island was supposed to be a holiday for the group, but ironically, Katara felt more tired now than she had before they arrived... and a whole lot less achy. She hadn't cried this much since her father left the Water Tribe to go to war. Her abdomen ached from where she had been sobbing. Her face felt tight and was still damp and even though she had been crying for a long time, tears still forced their way through her eyelids and down her face. She licked her lips in an attempt to restore some sort of moisture to their chapped surface and she tasted salt. A headache had settled itself inside her brain; it was thudding with her pulse. Katara knew herself, and she knew she was losing composure.

Katara had fought with Aang. It wasn't just a small, petty argument with meaningless insults; it was a full-blown fight. Katara had told Aang exactly what she thought, and she was certain he did the same. He never even thought such hateful things, let alone said them to Katara just to prove a point. Being the Avatar, killing wasin his blood. All of his past lives had murdered, or at least been willing to murder in order to fulfil their duty of keeping balance.

Even though Katara never said it, she resented Aang for not wanting to kill the Firelord. As the designated cooker, she found the fact that he didn't eat meat annoying and a little petty. But this was on a whole other scale. When they were kids, Katara had always gotten her own back on Sokka if he ever hit her. She would either put something vile in his dinner, wash his clothes with seawater, or drench him with a bubble of water – if she could manage to muster up a big enough waterbending globe with her uneducated skills. In other words, Katara had lived by the 'eye for an eye' rule for most of her life. She didn't understand how after Aang's entire civilisation was destroyed, he still didn't want to rip Ozai's throat out. Katara frowned. She was usually a peacemaker herself, yet here she was, her brain spewing pure hatred with every thought.

Katara shivered as a cool breeze ran through her bones. Palm trees whistled and the stars shone like tiny pinpricks of light. Katara felt her mouth tug up at the corners as she saw them. They were like snug, glowing houses in the snowstorm, tiny flecks of hope in an otherwise dome of oblivion.

'Well,' Katara heard a familiar voice say. It was a voice that made her body stiffen and prepare itself for battle, 'aren't you a big girl now.'

Without even stopping to acknowledge him, she spun around to find a shaggy haired Zuko. She made a swerving movement from the ground with her whole body, leaning on one knee and standing on the other foot. She extended her arms to summon overpowering surf from the sea below her, and smashed it upon him.

He, in turn, batted half the wave away with a huge blast of fire but it wasn't quite enough. A grin crossed Katara's lips as he fell to the floor.

Katara summoned another wave and slammed it in Zuko's direction. As he had last time, he just evaporated most of the water with a fiery blast before it could do any real damage. She paused and a confused expression painted her face. Zuko sat on the grass, staring into Katara's hateful eyes. After a minute of silence broken up by panting breaths and whistling trees, Katara took a step toward him.

'Why aren't you fighting back?' she spat, as if even the mention of Zuko's being disgusted her. She waited for his feeble reply, not breaking her defensive stance.

'Because I deserve every hit I get,' he replied. Katara's body relaxed slightly, before she realised whom it was at her feet and tensed again.

'Is this a trap?' she snarled, raising a thin coil of water from the ocean. Zuko looked at his soaked body before closing his eyes and putting his hands in the air, surrendering.

'No, it's not,' he said calmly. Katara didn't know this voice. She had heard it once before, in Ba Sing Se; before he tricked her.

'How can you possibly expect me to trust you?' she yelled, threateningly moving the ribbon of water toward him. Zuko stood up awkwardly, keeping his hands above his head. He didn't make eye contact.

'I'm sorry,' he said in a wavering voice. Katara straightened her posture and released the watery coil from her grip. It fell behind her, leaving shining strip of grass amongst the dried out dullness around it. Katara was completely overwhelmed, Zuko never apologised. Yet there he was, hands in the air, doing just that.

'You're... sorry?' Katara asked, her voice hitching at the end of her sentence. Zuko nodded and she saw the glint of his yellow eyes in the moonlight.

'I... After Ba Sing Se, I was re-crowned Prince. The entire Fire Nation thinks I killed the Avatar,' Katara swallowed. He paused and took a small step toward her. In response, she felt her foot slide back. 'I know I haven't. I know you've healed him.'

Even though Zuko didn't actually ask a question, Katara heard it in his voice. He didn't know for sure whether or not Aang was alive, and now was the perfect time for her to put these ideas to bed. Admittedly, Zuko knew about the healing water from the spirit oasis. He knew that it had special properties, and indeed, it had saved Aang's life… but just barely. To lie to him about Aang's survival could mean the Fire Nation remaining in their happy little bubble of ignorance until Aang came and struck them down. Katara looked away from Zuko with exasperation. Aang wasn't going to strike anybody down. She hadn't been paying attention to Zuko for so long she didn't realise how very close he was to her. Katara had to actually look up to look him in the eye, which had widened considerably.

'He is alive isn't he?' Zuko pressed, his face taking on a perplexed look. Katara sighed and turned her back to him, taking three strides away. She felt more comfortable with the distance.

'Of course I healed him, of course he's alive.' she said dryly. 'With no help from you or your crazy sister! We only escaped with our lives because of your Uncle,' Zuko flinched. Katara heard two knees hit the floor. It wasn't until she turned around when she saw his body shuddering and realised she had made him cry. Her motherly instinct made Katara reach for his shoulder but she stopped herself before she actually touched him, pulling her hand back.

Katara had never seen this. She had never seen anyone from the Fire Nation cry, let alone the Firelord's own son. Memories of the Fire Nation fishing village she helped came flooding back to her, how the people in that town; although Fire Nation, were damaged by the war too. They were wracked with poverty, and all because of a munitions factory caused by a war. With this in mind, Katara searched herself for some sign of sympathy – any form of forgiveness, even pity would at least suffice. When she found nothing, she willed herself to move away from his shaking body. He looked up at her with a half shining, half ruined face.

'I can't trust you after all that you've done to me,' she felt blood rush to her cheeks and coughed, 'to us.' Katara hugged her arms and let a remorseful expression hone in on her face. Zuko shook his head and stood up. He wiped his face with his red shirt and wore a snarling expression that Katara was more accustomed to.

'I don't need your trust,' he retorted, 'I need the Avatar. I want to join your group.'

Katara's mouth fell open. She hadn't known what she expected from this conversation, but it certainly wasn't this.

'What do you think this will accomplish?' Katara asked, resisting the urge to kick him in the groin. She sniggered. 'You realise just how pathetic you sound, right? I'm not sure if this is a trick, or another way to restore your precious 'honour'. Trust me Zuko; I won't be fooled by you again. So if you know what's good for you, you'll go back to your little Fire Nation palace-' Katara paused, realisation hitting her like a ton of bricks. She slapped her forehead. 'Holy spirits!'

She ran her hands up and down her body, tugging at lose parts of her robes. Katara caught Zuko's eyes following her hands and she stopped. He looked up at her with an unreadable expression. Quirking an eyebrow, she asked;

'Do you have anything that I can tie you up with?'

'Oh. That won't be necessary...' Zuko mumbled, crossing his arms.

'I'll decide what's necessary. Come on, hand it over.'

Zuko's cheeks reddened slightly as he stood up and took off a thick, black strip of fabric from his waist and handed it to Katara. She did a twirling motion with her finger and Zuko turned around. Katara tied his two hands behind his back being careful not to touch his skin. Once he was securely tied, Katara jabbed him harshly in the spine.

'You need to stay to the front of me at all times. Don't speak, or whistle,' Katara shivered as she was reminded of Jet whistling to signal his friends. Whistling to murder innocent civilians, 'or do anything. Got it?'

'Yes,' Zuko said solemnly.

'Move along, just follow this path until I say otherwise,' Katara instructed, keeping her voice even. She nudged his back to a gravel path; Zuko did as Katara said. The stones crunched underneath their feet as they walked along it.


Katara was lost.

'We're not lost, by any chance, are we?' Zuko asked.

'No! I know exactly where I'm going,' Katara barked, hugging her freezing cold arms, 'and don't speak.'

She looked at Zuko walking ahead of her; his hair had grown so much since Ba Sing Se. Biting her lip, she wondered why he hadn't tried to escape yet. She knew that he could burn the fabric around his wrists with firebending if he wanted to; and it looked as if it was rubbing. His wrists were getting redder with every minute. Despite this fact, she wasn't going to untie him. She knew he was humouring her and for some reason, felt slightly insulted. Let his wrists hurt, she thought venomously.

"...Do you have any idea what the time is?' Katara asked. After not being aware of the hour for a long time, she felt like she was floating, she wasn't in the world. She was drifting somewhere in between the mortal world and the spirit world, between time and matter. Zuko sighed tiredly. Katara waited for an answer from him but received nothing. 'Hey, I asked you a question!' she pressed.

'You said not to talk!' he replied

'Well, do you?'

'It's about half eleven,' he growled bluntly. Katara nodded to herself. With this knowledge, she felt herself start wobbling down the gravel path instead of her former strong stride. Her limbs felt weak and fatigued; all Katara wanted was a good night's rest.

Katara froze as she heard the sounds of familiar yells. She heard anguish in Sokka's yelling voice. Her heart skipped a beat. She stopped dead in her tracks, deeply regretting the reckless idea she had for Zuko being their 'inside man'. Despite herself, Katara nearly laughed. 'I'm such an idiot...' Katara breathed through her gritted teeth. 'Stop,' she told. Zuko listened; he turned his body to face her.

Katara hadn't realised how dangerous this was when she led Zuko back to their hidey-hole. She had seen Ty Lee earlier, what's not to say that all of Azula's creepy henchmen were here? Katara suddenly didn't feel like it was just she and Zuko walking in the cold, dark night. 'Where are all of your... accomplices?' Katara scoffed.

'My accomplices...?' Zuko asked vacantly.

'Azula, Ty Lee, the gloomy girl with the knives,' Katara pressed. Zuko looked away with a hateful expression.

'They're not with me! I swear! I didn't even leave to try and find you, I just...heard you crying and thought you were Mai-'

'Mai?' Katara asked, confused.

'The gloomy girl with the knives,' Zuko answered, humour creeping into his voice.

'Ah. Why would Mai be crying?'

Zuko settled himself on a rock resting by the gravel path. He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh.

'It doesn't matter.' He rasped.

Unexpectedly, a heap of rock rose from the ground and encased itself around Zuko's slouched body up to his neck. He yelled and began squirming, trying to free himself from the rock tomb. Katara took a step back and braced herself for an oncoming attack; she suspected a flock of Dai Lee, accompanied by hundreds of Fire Nation soldiers. Katara was truly relieved to find only a small ally with silky black hair.

'Toph!' Katara grinned.

'Sugar Queen! Who is…The extremely nervous, wriggling guy?' Toph enquired, lowering the rock tomb just an inch. Katara glanced at Zuko's indeed, anxious face.

'This is Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation.' She answered.


And there you have it, Chapter four. I'm going to try and update this every Friday. I'm really excited for this story to really get going, so stick with it!

The song Kya sings to Katara is inspired by 'Boats and Birds' by Gregory and the Hawk. It's a lovely song.