A/N: As I've previously stated, the running theme for my Zutara Week entries this year is alternate universes. Today's is a space AU, because Cobalt Blue sounded like it would be a good name for a spaceship to me.
Now, I know that when most people think of stories about space, they think of Star Wars or Star Trek. Thing is, I haven't seen either of those things, so instead I'm going with Georges Melies (with a dash of Sailor Moon for good measure).
Hope you enjoy!
"I love the sky!"
The little girl was lying on a blanket in the courtyard, the stars at her feet as the fire illuminated her tiny brown head. From inside the tent, the sitter prepared their sleeping bags, one small one on either side of her large one. It was the kids' first time camping out, and she'd been trying hard to make it special for them. So far, they'd sung campfire songs, they'd made treats over the fire, and though they had to skip the scary stories so that the girl didn't get scarred for life, they had gotten in a game of who could catch the most fireflies (the sitter had the record with twenty two).
Now came the time for their brand new, three days strong tradition. The sitter could sense a story on the horizon, and she hoped she could remember a good radio show or film reel to help her.
"The stars do look nice tonight," she said in agreement.
The brother was leaning against a tree with a book in hand, one that he'd barely made a dent in, even after an hour.
"Let me guess," he said, pushing the book aside. "Now you want to hear a story about the sky, don't you?"
"Don't you?" the girl asked back. "Just imagine how fun it would be to be in the sky with the sun and the moon and the stars! That would be the best thing ever!"
Inspired, the girl tugged at her sitter's sleeve, those big blue eyes working their magic.
"Please tell us a story about space. Pleeeeeeeeease!"
"Oh, just tell it so she'll stop," the boy cried, plugging his ears with his fingers.
'What did I ever do without you guys?' the sitter wondered, and she only somewhat meant it ironically.
She lied down in the cool grass, her hair falling loose and wavy around her face. Her eyes fell to the moon that made her people strong. It was full tonight; the light surged through her veins like an electric shock.
"Okay, guys, once upon a time, Zuko and Katara went to the moon…"
The Expo was in full swing. Spectators from all walks of life filled the streets from top to bottom. Young and old, big and small, bender and non-bender. Everyone was coming out to have a look at the rocket. It was long, round, and freshly painted in blue, sitting upon a crane until the time came to launch. COBALT BLUE was stamped across the sides, which were littered with handprints from those tall enough and bold enough to reach out and touch. If Zuko had seen it, he would be furious, but Katara didn't mind. Those people would have the great honor of having part of themselves enter into space, even if it was just the impression of a hand.
Katara pulled herself over the railing to look out, the toes of her boot barely touching the floor. She waved to a child holding a flower out to her. He was far out of reach, but Katara blew him a kiss. Another boy was sitting on his brother's shoulders and pointing at the sky, up where the full moon sat uncovered by clouds, and a sprinkle of stars decorated the space around it. They'd be seeing those stars up close very soon. Katara's shook with anticipation. This was what she and Zuko had been working towards their whole lives.
The clock tower bonged over the noise of the crowd. It was six on the dot and the show was about to start.
"Can't you be more professional?" Zuko hissed at her when she left her post at the bottom of the podium and went to stand at his side.
"I am being professional," Katara said, grinning. "I'm just also being friendly. You should try it some time."
Zuko scowled, but their bickering ended there for now, as the mayor stepped up to make his speech and introduce the space travelers. Known for long-winded dialogues with the people, tonight he kept things short and sweet. He was no less eager for the ship to launch than anyone else. Five minutes and he was done. Zuko was checking his pocket watch and tapping his foot anyway, and Katara snuck a swat at his back when it was their turn to address the people.
"Greetings, everyone," Zuko's voice boomed over the microphone. "My wife and I are happy you all came out tonight."
The audience cheered and chanted their names.
"For years, this day has been all Katara and I have ever dreamed of," Zuko went on. "I'm sure there's a family somewhere in our future, but right now, our lives have revolved around this project, like the planets revolve around the sun. It has taken more days of struggle, hard work, and near failure for us to get this far, but I am proud to announce that on this day, my wife and I, along with our fellows in the scientific community, will be taking man's first steps into entering the greater universe. Tonight, we will be taking a trip to the moon."
The crowd erupted, roaring its approval as Zuko nodded to the engineers, and the Cobalt Blue was loaded into the barrel of the cannon. It paused with the tip still visible. A door slid open, just wide enough for a single file line of passengers. Zuko offered Katara an arm, and the couple ascended the staircase with their crack team close behind. A few stopped to wave at the crowd, or at a loved one seeing them off. One man withdrew a bouquet of long stem flowers hidden in his suit jacket, and tossed them into the crowd. People leaped for them, catching onto the petals so that a shower of blues and purple rained down.
It was the last thing Katara saw before she entered the pitch black rocket ship, but it was an image she would carry in her heart for the rest of her life.
She settled into her red plush seat, bolted down to the iron floors of the ship. Reaching out blindly, she found Zuko's hand and placed hers on top. He ran his thumb across her knuckles, and she returned the smile she knew he was giving.
Their man on the outside was explaining to the crowd how they would send the Cobalt Blue into space. Katara mouthed along with him. The ship would be lowered into the cannon, the cannon would be lit, and they'd fly through the air into orbit and land safely on the head of the man in the moon. He showed them the torch specially designed for the expedition. It was lit on his signal by the team of firebenders hired for the show. The crowd went wild for them, just as Zuko knew they would. Katara would owe him one for that later. She hadn't thought it would work.
The floor shook under their feet, growing stronger as the fuse grew shorter. Katara gripped Zuko's hand, lacing her fingers through his, and if she could see well enough to find his lips, she would kiss them. This was their moment, after all. The moment of truth.
The ship blasted off. Katara was thrown back into her seat, the pressure on her body made her feel like she weighed a thousand tons. Air was a distant memory, and Katara fought to remember the procedure she and Zuko had practiced for this. The roar of the engines was close to deafening, and Katara, for all the skittish enthusiasm that rolls off of her in waves, wished that she'd thought to pack some earmuffs.
They punched a hole in the sky, flying so high that the universe opened up for them, like the pages of a book. A tiny window high above them was their only way of seeing out, but the stars were bright and the moon was nearing. Gradually, the cabin lost pressure. They had left earth's atmosphere behind. The sky was the limit now.
"Looks like we'll be landing on the moon in just a couple of minutes," said one of their teammates who sat behind the controls.
The light from the moon shined in their faces, and now Katara could look at her husband proper as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Are you ready for this?" he asked.
Katara closed her eyes.
"I've been ready for years."
Their landing was a little… rougher than expected. The face of the moon showed astonishment at the Cobalt Blue's steady approach. Perhaps it had thought they would fly right by, just a swift pit stop on a much longer journey. It certainly hadn't expected them to land the ship in its eye, and Katara hoped it wouldn't be too mad at them for it. It really was an accident.
She made sure to apologize several times over as they disembarked. The lack of ears cast doubt on its ability to hear, but Katara would've felt wrong not to try anyway. That was just how she'd been brought up. She shouted it at the top of her lungs, much to the discomfort of the rest of the group, who were still walking off the effects of space travel and would have preferred a little quiet, thank you very much.
They stepped off on the cliffside they had landed on. It jutted out of a massive, curved mountain range that was likely part of one of the many holes one could see in the moon from a telescope back on earth. To be there now was a disorienting notion, to say the least, but it was the inside of the crater that gave Katara what she really craved for.
Silver statues and marble halls lined a glistening platform, separated into symmetrical squares. A dome topped palace was erected in the center, with smaller buildings scattered about. Lush greenery made up the outer layers, started from the towering trees behind the palace to the creeping vines that reached at the very top of the cliff. One man tried to take a piece off for study, but the vine hissed like a cat and receded from his touch.
"It's incredible," Katara breathed.
She felt Zuko's arms around her, and his chin on top of her head. They rocked slowly back and forth together, the fruit of their labors stretched out before them like a treasure trove.
A dainty cough let the explorers know they were no longer alone. A beautiful woman with snow white hair and the traditional robes of a water tribe princess stood before them. How she had gotten there without making a sound could not be explained, but for that she was a part of this land, and it a part of her.
"Hello there," the mysterious woman said, her voice echoing in a wind they hadn't noticed until now. "I am Princess Yue of the moon. Who might you all be?"
The team members looked to Zuko and Katara as their leaders, and the couple graciously stepped forward with a bow and a curtsy.
"Hello, your highness. We're visitors from earth," said Katara.
"We'd like to have a look around if that's alright with you," said Zuko. "We've come a long way."
Princess Yue smiled. "I know. I saw your ship come in. I'm very impressed that you were able to make such a difficult journey."
"Believe me, it wasn't easy," Katara said under her breath. No need to bore the princess with all the details of the planning and the building and the fighting for funding that had come before this.
"Yes, well, I'm happy to hear that travel between earth and the moon has become possible," said Princess Yue, as the warmth in her smile faded into something infinitely more sinister. "Unfortunately, I can't allow that knowledge to leave this place."
She snapped her fingers, summoning forth a tribe of moon men. They had skeletal bodies and demonic faces, grotesque like masks. Their bulging eyes rolled around in their heads, and the spears they carried poked and prodded at the terrified scientists. As they cowered, Zuko and Katara took battle stances. Katara bent the water out of her pouch and froze it mid-air sending a rain of icy spikes at the creatures. Those who didn't dodge were impaled through the eyes, and if the face of the moon was capable of thought, it would be very happy right now that a rocket was all it had gotten.
Those who escaped Katara's attack had Zuko to contend with. He punched flame after flame at the Yuenite, whom he quickly discovered were very fragile creatures. One hit, and they were done. A group of ten rushed at him, and Zuko kicked a long string of flame that chopped them all in half at the waist and left behind strings of dust blowing in the wind.
As the last of the Yuenite forces fell, a second wave was on the horizon, this one a hundred times greater than the last. At the head of the attack was Yue, her princess dress magically changed into dark moon battle armor. She flung out an arm at the earthlings.
"Get them!" she cried.
The Yuenites roared as they charged. The ground below Zuko and Katara's feet shook worse than it had on the ship. Their team mates had long since run back to the ship to hide, and even a blind man could see how outnumbered they were, and how terrible the odds were. And yet, Zuko and Katara waited, hand in hand, ready for action. They shared a glance and a smile.
"Well, we've gotten out of worse than this," said Katara.
Zuko nodded. "Yes we have."
The Yuenites swarmed them. Zuko and Katara unleashed the fury of their elements, and the fight was on.
"The end."
The sitter got to her feet and brushed the dirt off her pants. A cricket that had been resting on her kneecap leaped into the grass out of sight, and the sitter bade it farewell in the hope that those rumors about crickets were true. She could use a little good luck these days.
She doused the fire and fluffed the pillows, and when she came back for the children, she found them exactly as she left them: upright, eyes bugged out, mouths hanging open. The sitter tried not to laugh as she put her hands on her waist and titled her head in a show of innocence.
"Now, what's got you too so upset?" she asked.
There was steam coming from the tips of the boy's fingers.
"Are you kidding me?" he said. "You have got to be kidding me!"
The sitter frowned. "I don't understand."
"You do so understand!" the boy shouted, springing to his feet.
"You can't end a story like that!" said the girl as she held her turtleduck close to her face. "It's not nice. How do we know Zuko and Katara got away from the Yuenites?"
"Looking at you guys, I'd say they probably did," said the sitter.
"That doesn't make any difference," the boy argued. "And why was Princess Yue a bad guy anyway. I thought Princess Yue was supposed to be nice."
"Well, who said she was a bad guy?" asked the sitter, who was having a bit too much fun messing with these little kids half her size. "Maybe she was just protecting her people from strangers from another world who could've been hostile for all she knows. In the end, it depends on how you interpret the characters."
"What the heck does 'interpret' mean?"
The sitter flicked the boy on the nose, making his squeak with indignation. "It means don't use that kind of language, kid. It also means that it's past your bedtime. Your parents will kill me if I keep you guys up any longer."
She picked up the girl, who was by now too sleepy to fight with her. The boy held on a bit longer, long enough to still be whining about the whole thing after he'd been tucked into his sleeping mat, and his babysitter had drifted off to sleep to sound of chirping crickets and the hoot of an owl.