xXx Chapter 7 xXx
xXx The Volcano xXx
xXx Nightmare xXx
The far off village from the other day laid in Katara's line of sight; it was covered in a thick fog and was under an eerie shroud of night. Despite the blanket of darkness, people were still walking around, but they did so in a depressing slump. With some hesitation, she entered the small cluster of buildings, and became engulfed in the white mist. The citizens that wandered around were barely visible through the heavy haze, and when she approached one man, he passed her as if she wasn't even there. She tried another, but got the same, or lack of, response. Soon, she gave up on trying to get some answers, and focused on the houses and shops that surrounded her.
At first, nothing seemed out of place, but then she noticed it, the symbol of the Fire Nation. They were everywhere; on the shops and the crates the stood in front of them. Her eyes widened in shock as she ran to the nearest crate. She kneeled down and ran her shaky fingers across the red symbol, as if to confirm its reality. She stared at it a moment longer before standing again, then she inhaled deeply and brushed her fingers through her hair. Then she coughed whatever she had breathed in. Once more, she took in her surroundings, and noticed the white fog had morphed into black smoke.
She let out another raged breath; this black smoke was much more irritating than the "black snow" that used to rain down on her village during a Fire Nation raid. Squinting through the darkness, she could see the fire that blazed in the forest, and it was spreading to the village. She put her focus back on the people; they were being engulfed by the smoke, and it was as if they didn't even notice the consuming flames. They stayed in their same slow place and remained silent. Deciding that screaming at them to run wouldn't do any good, she ran herself, toward the waterline. Once she was close enough, her arms lashed out in a barrage of moves that would send a wall of water crashing on the flames that lay ahead. Nothing happened. Without a single thought, she repeated the process. Still, nothing happened.
This time she paused, and turned to face the water that was giving her so much difficulty. It was there, it just wasn't obeying. She tried once more, not letting her eyes leave the water. Again, her efforts failed. To her dismay, the smoke crept past her feet and continued to the ocean ahead. She turned on her heels and came face to face with a foreboding wall of fire, instead of the wall of water she desired. Her heartbeat and breathing increased as she stumbled back into the water. Desperately, she attempted again and again to move even a bit of water. Tears filled her eyes, from the fear and the suffocating smoke. As she took another step back, water came to her waist, and a familiar, heavy hand rested on her shoulder. She turned, her heart pounding through her chest, and peered up at the hooded face. One she knew all too well.
xXx End of Dream xXx
She jerked up, and got tangled in the blanket of her sleeping bag. She punched around until she managed to wiggle her way out. The morning light greeted her eyes, and so too did the suspicious glares of Lee and the nameless soldier. She decided to play it cool, and calmly packed her things away. Gratefully, she saw they were doing the same thing, so they paid her little attention. Halfheartedly, she ran her finger through her hair, only to discover that it was in a tangled mess. She rummaged through her bag until she located her hairbrush, and she quickly undid her hair and ran the brush through it, but took her time re-braiding it.
By the time she had finished, Ozai had emerged from his tent, and the two men were in the process of taking it down. She wanted to talk to him again, but not in front of the two who viewed her as too unworthy to even be in his all-powerful presence. She rolled her eyes. Then rested them on Ozai. He was standing, with his back to her, looking off into the green forest. No, not the forest, he was looking at whatever plan he had laid out. Her mind flashed back to her failed dream full of smoke and fire, but she managed to push that thought away, for now. She couldn't afford to dwell on that, but as she continued to stare at him, she couldn't help but to dwell.
Was that dream from stress, or did it mean something more? There's no way Ozai could regain his powers, or the power that he held over the whole world. This was just a wild goose chase. No real harm would come of this. Once she came out of her thoughts, she realized Ozai was staring back at her, and she momentarily froze in that awkward moment. Finally, she jerked her head away, and pretended to be immensely interested in a fringed string of her bag. She frowned at her unnecessary fear.
He couldn't do anything to her... besides bruise her wrist. She gave a quick glance at her sore arm, even though she couldn't see through the armband. She obtained a small burst of courage, and decided that she could live with a few bruises. Still, she would take it one step at a time.
She stood and looked at him, and faltered only slightly when she saw that he was still staring lazily at her, "Are we leaving now?"
He remained silent for a few more moments and continued his glare, "Yes," He finally looked away and gave the order for Lee to lead the way.
Just like yesterday, their journey started out in silence, and with any luck it would remain that way. Her wish apparently came true, but soon the silence became annoying. The hours passed by as she walked between Ozai and the two men. Instead of focusing on how quiet it was, she gave her full attention to the environment. Some of the leaves were starting to change colors, but most still remained green, either from being evergreens or it being too early in the season. Regardless of their state, birds still chirped happily in them, and little creatures jumped from branch to branch. Rays from the sun shined down through the leaves, making her eyes either squint or relax.
Amongst all the natural beauty, her mind somehow managed to slip back into the dark. This particular thought centered on Sokka. She knew he would be alright, that he might even escape, but she couldn't help but worry. His experiences must not be all too pleasant. She made up her mind then and there. The next moment she was alone with Ozai, she would get some answers. Finally, the time came for a break, and she sat down on a nearby log. Ozai remained standing, again with his back to her. Her moment came long before she thought it would when the two men announced that they would gather fire wood. Her mind became jumbled for a moment; she thought she would have more time to prepare what she was going to say. She knew they wouldn't stay gone for long, though. She took a deep breath and went over to him, completely prepared for the possibility of a broken arm.
She stopped behind him, a few feet away, "Ozai?"
He gave a quick glance over his shoulder before turning around all the way, "What?"
She tried to keep her voice calm and reasonable, "What have you done with Sokka? He's not hurt, is he?"
"We've already had this discussion." His eyes narrowed.
"No, not really." Her voice still remained calm.
"I told you, it's none of your concern."
"It is too my concern." Some of her calm was overpowered by her annoyance.
"There is nothing you can do to help him, so there is no need for you to know."
"I want to know! I want to know that you haven't hurt him!" All the calm in her voice had vanished.
"Haven't hurt him? His cooperation determines whether or not he gets hurt." As he spoke, he took a few steps toward her.
She did not cower away from him, "He will escape." She gave him her most defiant glare.
He stepped closer, nearly closing the gap between them, "Oh, is that so...? I doubt he can get away from the men I have detaining him."
"Your guards aren't all powerful," she took a deep breath, "and neither are you. You think you have all the power you used to, but you don't, and you'll never have it back."
Anger flashed through his amber eyes for only an instant before he regained control of his expression. His hand gripped her wrist again, but this time she didn't have time to guard with her arm when he pulled her forward, so she crashed against his chest. The plan was to glare back at him, like last time, but the pain in her wrist was too distracting to ignore. It was her already bruised wrist; that must be why it seemed to burn so badly. Her head remained down, on his chest, and she hoped that he would let go soon. She remembered how he had regained control of his expression, but his heartbeat betrayed him. It pounded violently against his chest, and it seemed to be the only thing that she could hear. She thought she heard him say something threatening but it was no more than a muffled sound to her.
However, something distracted her from that. Her wrist was screaming in protest against Ozai's grip. Realization suddenly hit her; she knew what was happening, and knew that she needed to act. To her surprise, she didn't have to do much. She was pushed away slightly, and the pain eased some. He was glaring over his shoulder, so she peered around his muscular body to see that Lee had returned. Glancing at her wrist, she knew now was the best time to act, so she jerked away and clasped her hand over her wrist. Panic overcame her body and she darted away from him. Her senses returned to her after a few feet and she stopped, knowing that if she went too far, he would pursue her. While still in his line of sight, she kneeled down, keeping her hands in front of her.
She sat with her back to him, so he couldn't see her. Slowly, she moved her hand, ready to take off her armband. Not that there was much to remove. Tears of pain and fear swelled in her blue eyes as she saw the burn marks on her arm. It wasn't really a full-fledged burn, but it was just red with a few blisters. It was a burn nonetheless. Ignoring the panic the ran through her mind, she discarded the scrapes of cloth and rummaged through her bag until she found a spare armband. She put it aside for the moment and let water, form the pouch that she always kept strapped to her waist, flow over the burn. A sigh of relief passed through her quivering lips as the burn vanished.
The rest of their break went on in silence, but she wasn't the least bit thankful for that since it only allowed her to think about what had just happened. Ozai powers were meant to be gone forever, how could he possible use firebending? True, it wasn't real firebending; he had just generated a large amount of heat. At least it seemed as if he hadn't noticed. She hoped he didn't, anyway. The only thing she could think of to keep him oblivious was to make sure he didn't become angry. She groaned, remembering how easily Zuko would go off. What if Ozai was the same? True, he usually seemed so calm and in control, but being so outside his element, out of his throne room, it must be a test on his nerves. The frown on her lips was tugged down further, knowing that she would have to stop all her questioning.
"Come on, Water Tribe girl!"
She turned to see Lee waiting impatiently for her. Quickly, she grabbed up her bag and fallowed them. She passed Ozai to get to her original spot in the middle, and avoided all eye contact with him, even though she could feel the stare. That feeling seemed to press on during the rest of the trip. To her surprise, the journey ended after a few hours of walking. They stood in front of what appeared to be a mountain. Both Lee and the unnamed man searched the surrounding area before approaching the wall of rock, and with their combined effort, they pushed a human seized boulder away from the mountain side.
She was slightly surprised to see that a gaping hole that laid behind it. They entered first and gave the signal to follow, but she didn't move right away. Only when Ozai pushed her forward did she move. She wanted to retaliate against the rude push, but bit her tongue. Her eyes darted across the walls, and she could tell that the entrance had been manmade but the rest was natural. A bright light caught her eye, and a lit torch was shoved into her hands. A hand pushed against her shoulder again, and she noticed the other two had moved ahead. He must want her to move, considering the tunnel was only wide enough to go single file.
Everyone walked in silence and she wondered if it was because of her. More than likely, they all knew the plan, and were intent on keeping her in the dark. She shot an accusative glare at the ground below as it tripped her ever so slightly. An epic battle had to be fought with the jagged, uneven ground. Despite this, she picked up her pace since Ozai was too close to her for comfort. More trips did occur, but she was thankful that she hadn't landed flat on her face. A dead end came into view, but upon reaching it, she saw that it actually veered off in two directions. Her heart sank when Lee said that they were going to split up; and even more so when she was paired up with Ozai.
"Come." Ozai was already ahead of her, and she had to run to catch up to him.
"I know it's none of my concern, but how do you know which way to go? This tunnel can't go forever in a straight line." Just as she finished speaking, they passed an opening.
"I have a map," He held up a piece of paper, as if to prove that he wasn't lying.
She said nothing more and tried not to think about what his men had to do to acquire it. She came to the conclusion that Lee must also have a map that led to something different. When they had first entered, the air had been cool, but now it was slightly warmer. Her mind wondered away from the temperature change and to the whole odd buddy system setup. Why would she be paired with Ozai, wouldn't Lee want to go with his Lord? She could just see it in her mind, Lee insisting to Ozai that he go with him. She could also see his disappointed expression when Ozai refused his request. If Ozai hadn't just burned her, that thought would have given her a giggle.
Instead, she remained silent in the increasing heat, and it was then that she noticed the lava that flowed through the crevices, just like the tunnels that led to Ozai's underground bunkers. She suddenly realized why she was with Ozai. Being a waterbender, she could offer some protection against the lava. A frown tugged at her lips since she didn't know if she could fight off lava. The heat was becoming bothersome and sweat coated her whole body. After this, she would go to the nearest river to clean herself up. They rounded a corner and Ozai suddenly stopped. She peered around him and saw that a pool of lava blocked their path. Ozai didn't hesitate, and went straight to the wall of the tunnel.
He looked over his shoulder, "I hope you won't have a problem scaling this."
She peered around him yet again, and she saw a narrow strip or rock, "Of course I won't."
He went first, and did it as though it was something he did every day. When her turn came, she cautiously put a foot on the first part of the ledge, and pressed down to test its strength. She proceeded once she was satisfied with its sturdiness, and besides the heat nipping at her ankles, it was fairly easy. On the last step of the edge, she felt a crack. In horror, she looked down just in time to see the rock crumble away. She lunged forward and stumbled over her own feet as she landed on the ground, and her face made contact with something that was rock solid, but it was too soft to be so. A blush flared on her cheeks when she realized that she had fallen into Ozai's arms. Immediately she attempted to push herself away, with enough force that she probably would have fallen into the lava behind her if an arm wasn't securely wrapped around her waist.
She didn't hesitate in looking up at him, ready to give him a glare that would tell him to let her go, but she was caught off guard. The amber eyes that gazed down at her were not the ones she was accustom to, but before she could tell what emotion lay in those eyes, it was gone. The familiar coldness returned as he pushed her away. He turned away from her without a single word and continued down the darkening tunnel. She allowed herself a moment to think, why was he looking at her that way? Why didn't he make a snide comment? That seemed like the perfect time to give one.
The darkness increased and she glanced at her hand in confusion, and then back to the pool of lava. She groaned as she connected the dots; she must have dropped the torch in the lava when she fell. With her only light source growing dimmer by the moment, she darted off after Ozai. After many more twists and turns they reached their destination, at least she believed so when Ozai kneeled down. She looked around at the small circular area they had entered. She knew that he wouldn't want her to see, so she didn't bother trying to look. Sure enough, when he stood and turned, whatever item he had was hidden from her view.
"Come." There was a slight sound of irritation in his voice.
The journey back to the splitting point went by without incident and in complete silence. Lee and his partner were waiting for them and they spoke in hushed voice to each other. When Ozai reached them, he joined in the conversation. She was exhausted from the day's journey, and she wanted nothing more than for the day to end. So, she didn't even try to listen in. All three started to leave the volcano and she followed lazily after them. When they reached the outside, the evening sun greeted her. Shades of pink and blue lined the horizon, and she gave a sigh of relief, glad that the day was coming to an end.
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