Burn My Dread FES
By Iain R. Lewis
Disclaimer: Characters and concepts belong to Nickelodeon, some of the concepts are similarly inspired by Persona 3 and Persona 4, property of ATLUS games.
"They all feel thirst looking over dried river, so now that's all we think for intimacy.
Want to be close... to be close..."
- Want to be Close - Reincarnation-
Yumi Kawamura
Chapter 8: A Perfect Disguise
Swarming, passingly bug-like, but altogether formless spirits, like shadows from a nightmare, burst into the city of Ba Sing Se. A great flash illuminated the city, casting them in brilliant light, highlighting every crease in their exoskeletal bodies, every moving joint, and the rapid frenzy of movement from the countless monsters.
And then they were gone into shadow, their multi-faceted eyes the only light that remained in the city, now cast in pitch. Zuko and Sokka both knew what had happened, they did not need to look at the wreckage that altered the skyline, and the tragedy that occured.
However, they couldn't focus on that. They heard the creatures screech and the sound of a thousand legs moving in tandem towards them drowned out the distant sound of sirens. Zuko gripped his Dao blades tightly. "Would be nice for some light," he growled, thrusting his blade out. He could feel it lance through the eye, and the creature's body blew outwards, covering him in dust and sand.
"What was that?" Sokka asked, slicing through a few with his own blade. The burst of sand as the creatures buckled under the released pressure pelted his mouth. "Yaa," he said, tongue hanging out, "Disgusting."
The screech from the creatures amplified as they noticed their numbers dwindle. Climbing up the walls, the red of their eyes casting the two boys in a dim light, they looked from side to side. "What are dey up do now," Sokka said, tongue still flapping out. "Dey're drying do surround us, aren'd dey?"
"Ugh, why are you talking like that?" Zuko grumbled, looking through the mass gibbering mess of spirits.
"Da sand is all griddy," Sokka whined, "And dey're jusd going do explode again." He spit out some grains of sand, and muttered, "Stupid sand, getting everywhere."
He stepped over a crack and was pelted by dry, hot wind and jumped back, "What the --" The crack began to splinter off, growing bigger, and light was cast out of it. The fragments of Ba Sing Se around them were beginning to splinter off.
The effect was surreal to see, light in large columns shot forth around them, and blasts of sudden heat in the cold night air, interacting, and a slight layer of sand began to form on the ground around the cracks.
"Am I imagining things, or are those cracks getting bigger?" Sokka asked.
"Focus, Sokka," Zuko snarled. He charged at the skittering shadows, and through their red eyes his swords slid, pelting him with sand. Undeterred he continued to tear through them. Sokka stared at him as he ran off, and stuttered out helplessly.
"Wait up!" he finally screeched and was pelted by one of the small creatures, who leapt through the air with some speed. It was like being hit with a small bag of sand. It didn't hurt so much as stun and disorient. "What's the big idea!" he cried as he brought his sword up.
But before he could finish his swing another pelted him.
And then another.
Then ten more.
Knocked for a loop and absolutely senseless, Sokka only managed to slur, "So you think you can take me. Well, have I got news for you. Sure you may be able to triplicate or summin, but I got a sword and -- and and and -- and I know how to use it!"
"Sokka!" Zuko shouted out, "Get a grip!"
It was the briefest second, and then Zuko himself was under attack. "Zuko, man, I don't think sword slicing is going to cut it this time, and that's all I'm good for!"
"Shut up, Sokka, think," Zuko grunted as one pelted him in the stomach, "You came up with some of the craziest ideas we had."
"So?" Sokka asked, "May I remind you that we're in the middle of Ba Sing Se ten years ago, except everything's more cracked than Katara's best shot at pottery in Art class being pelted by living sandbags. I submit to you we cannot get any crazier."
"Sure we can," Zuko said, pushing one back and slicing through another before being pelted from behind, "Just think of something!"
"It's a bit easier when you're not being attacked like a hobajillion thingies," Sokka protested. "Okay, think, think, Sokka. Come on!" He got whallopped on the head by one of them and rolled to the ground.
His hand gripped the edge of a crack, and he narrowed his eyes, "I think I got an idea. Get over here, Zuko!"
The sand was starting to fill the school, coming from every crack with increasing pressure as the cracks grew wider. Azula could do little more than stare at it, processing everything in her head as best she could. "What's going on, Azula?" Toph wondered.
Azula'd grown too quiet for her like, it seemed, and she tugged at her arm. "What," Azula snapped, and Toph frowned.
"That's what I want to know," Toph said, "What's gotten into you. Is that sand?"
"Yes," Azula said, "A lot of it."
"Define a lot," Toph said, slowly.
"Room 1-F is actually spilling out into the hallways."
"That's a lot."
"Yes," Azula said, backing away, "We need to find a way out of here before we're buried alive."
"Don't have to tell me twice," Toph answered, not batting an eye, "Which way?"
"Let's go to the main hall, and try and get a better idea of where we're going," Azula said. "Besides, the ceiling's higher there, we're less likely to get totally buried." She grabbed Toph by the wrist forcefully, "Let's go."
"Hey! Let go!" Toph shouted, but Azula didn't let go, dragging her through the hallway as the sands began to surge in, breaking through the windows and burying students who just continued to walk through the sand, leaving a trail in their path that soon became filled, grains of sand on the top of their heads, sliding off and down their noses.
Behind them, waves of sand tumbled down in slopes, blocking the hall off with ceiling-high mounds of sand. Out of the classrooms, the doors were pushed down and sand gushed in like water breaking out of a tank.
"Come on, Azula, this hurts."
"We don't have time for you to fumble blindly around," Azula hissed.
"Hey, I didn't ask to be blind, sister," Toph said, suddenly having a burst of defiance and prying her arm free. "I used to get by just fine because of my bending, but I'm doing okay without it, too."
"Do we have to have this conversation now?" Azula sighed. "Just come on, and stay close. If you get buried in this sand, I'm not going to waste time searching for you,"
"I'm not helpless!" Toph shouted, keeping up in her sprint, "I kick butt, more than you ever did."
"I'm sorry,' Azula said, coolly, "I didn't know that crisis situations were your ideal venting times. I'll have to remember that for future reference and make sure you're with someone who cares."
"You'd be totally helpless without bending, you know that, right? You were scared of losing your bending,, that's what I think."
"Oh, now you're psycho-analyzing me. Splendid! Next, you'll be telling me that I've got mommy issues to work through," Azula hissed. "Look, sometimes a wall of sand threatening to crush us just happens to be what it looks like. In this case, I suggest we run instead of yelling at each other, yes?"
Toph grumbled something, and grudgingly followed Azula as the sands rose up around them.
While all this happened, Yue was left fumbling around the desert, following what her senses told her were passages carefully, and glancing around and beginning to fret. It was a long time since she sensed anyone, and right now, she did not want to be left forgotten and alone in that massive desert.
Perception of time was troublesome when there's no sign of progression and the only thing you have to rely on is your own senses. With the swelter, it seemed like minutes were hours, and she felt like she'd been left for days in this maze.
And at the back of her mind, something urged her to forget what she was worrying about and just relax and rest, get her senses back together, and continue on in the morning. Normally, she would have listened to a sense like that. It was certainly sensible, at least, if nothing more, but on the other hand, and she couldn't quite place her finger on why, it seemed like a bad idea.
So, even as her eyes clenched shut with every furious blink, she continued to pry them open and continue. The feeling began to pass, and she felt like she'd gotten her second wind, and in the distance, she could see a canyon rising off of the horizon.
She felt immediate relief. Something new to look at, at the very least, would break the monotony. If she was feeling optimistic, which at this point she was beginning to, she would even believe that it meant progress had been made and maybe, sooner than later, she'd find one of the others in this mess.
The canyon also provided shade, giving her a thankful break from being slowly roasted by the sun above. "This is nice," she sighed, happily as she walked beneath the shadow.
"Yue?"
Yue glanced in the direction of the voice. A little to the left and upwards. Yes, there was someone dangling from the cliff shouting downwards. That was peculiar. It sounded almost like it was Katara.
"Yue, up here!" Katara shouted again, kicking her feet frantically, "I need your help."
"Oh, oh, Katara!" Yue snapped back to her senses, "It's really you!"
"Nice to see you too," Katara managed to strain out through a weak laugh, "Think you can help me out here?"
"Oh? Oh! Of course, give me a minute," she said. She fumbled around in the canyon, looking for a path or passage up. "Is there some way to get up there?"
"I don't know, fly?" Katara shouted. "Yue, I hate to rush you, but I don't think I can hang on much longer."
"Just hold on for a little bit longer, I need to look," Yue said. She closed her eyes, and tried to find another way, another passage, or perhaps -- yes, she could try that.
"Yue? Where are you going? Yue!"
"I'll be right there, Katara!"
"Yue!" Katara cried as Yue seemed to disappear into the desert. "Don't leave me here!" she continued to shout and then she started to feel her grip loosen. "Yue?" she squeaked, fearfully, "Please?"
"Here."
Katara looked up and Yue smiled brightly at her behind her outstretched hand. Katara managed to grab it as her other hand slipped from her flimsy hold. "Yue, am I glad to see you!"
"I imagine!" Yue smiled brighter, "That was exciting. I didn't think I'd make it in time, but it seems like there's definitely a method to this desert's madness."
"Tell me about it," Katara said. "Yue, you won't believe what happened to me."
"Perhaps we could talk about it in the canyon. The shade there was very pleasant after this, this somewhat inconvenient heat!"
"Yue, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were angry with this place," Katara smiled, weakly.
"I suppose I am!"
The two girls navigated the desert slowly to the canyon floor, and Yue took a bottle of water from her pack and offered it to Katara. She took it, drinking down the water quickly before realizing what she'd done.
"What happened?" Yue asked, as she sat down against the back of the cliff. "I don't suppose you got lost and fell off by mistake."
"No," Katara frowned, "I was pushed."
"By whom?" Yue asked, shocked. She couldn't imagine anyone doing that to Katara, not even Azula. Katara grumbled something quietly and looked aside. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."
"It was me," she said, "Sort of."
"Sort of," Yue murmured, repeating Katara. "You don't mean -- an imposter!"
"Yes, that's exactly it!" Katara said, looking relieved for whatever reason, "A lookalike, but she dressed all trashy and talked like an airhead."
"What did she say?"
"I don't remember," Katara said quickly, "Nonsense, mostly."
"Katara," Yue said, sagely, with as much patience as she could muster in the heat, "You remember what happened to me in the garden, don't you?"
"Well, yes, but, I know me, I know I'm not hiding something from anyone," Katara said, "Even if Azula said differently."
"Everyone has something," Yue said, "It may not be easy, but you must accept that there is another side of you."
Katara stared at Yue, and shook her head, "That whatever she is can't be me. I know it," she remained adamant. "Could you imagine me saying things like, 'Like, totally, gag me with a spoon?'"
"I guess not," Yue acquiesced. She still felt unsure about this. "Why did she push you?"
"I don't know," Katara said. "I was looking for that key and then she showed up."
"Key?"
"The one Azula gave me," Katara said. "That thing knocked it out of my hand and then it fell in here, somewhere."
"Did you find it?"
Katara nodded, slowly. Yue frowned.
"And?"
"And," Katara slowly drawled.
"What happened?" Yue snapped out, a little more roughly than she intended.
"I kind of, sort of, well," she fidgeted, "That's kind of what she pushed me to get."
"You mean that your other self has it?"
"Imposter," Katara corrected, "And yes, she does."
"Oh dear," Yue breathed, "This is not helpful at all."
"This is not a good plan," Zuko grunted, angrily, back to the chasm formed from the shattered world. Sokka just shot him a warning glance. Their legs tightened in anticipation as the creatures amassed themselves around them. "Don't you have any brighter ideas?"
"This will work, okay?"
"It won't."
"Oh, just trust me, okay? I got this."
"I hope you do."
"They're coming, on my mark." He sheathed his blade and looked to Zuko to do the same. "And, we go," he trailed off and waited for the lead of the mass of spirits to move.
"They're coming," Zuko said, his teeth clenched shut. "Sokka --"
The creatures were mid-flight, launching off their skittering feet and through the air, forming a wave of shadows in the air, their multifaceted red eyes glimmering from within.
And Sokka waited on his mark, waited until he was sure, and then he shouted, "Now!"
The two of them stepped back, and off of the crack in space and time. The spirits fell after them, descending into the bright light beneath them blankly, scattering as they fell, drifting slowly into the emptiness surrounding them.
"Sokka," Zuko strained out, his hands gripping the edge of the crack tightly, "That was a dumb idea."
"It worked, okay?"
Zuko grunted as he pulled himself over the edge, and looked down as Sokka struggled to do the same. "You let yourself go," he commented.
"You seem like you're still in good shape. Do you still beat up punks in the backstreets in your spare time or something?" Sokka muttered as Zuko helped him up. Zuko's lack of denial struck him a second later, "You totally are, aren't you."
"So what?"
"Why?"
"What does it matter. We've got to find that imposter," Zuko grumbled. "Let's go, before this whole place becomes like this."
"Yeah," Sokka agreed, "We should probably hurry up there."
A piece of the sky fell perilously close to the ground, casting a light across them. "But if she's not here, where is she?"
"Wait, wait," Sokka said, "I got it. Come on."
He took off in a sprint, leaping across a long stretch of shattered ground and over across the street, "There's a park near here,' he explained, "She's got to be there!"
"What are you talking about?"
"That imposter Katara said to find her, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Well," Sokka said, "She didn't say we had to find her her, exactly, did she?" Zuko didn't respond, and Sokka didn't wait to see if he understood what he meant or not, he just practically slid down the rail of a staircase and leapt over another long crack. "Katara's there, right now."
"How do you know?"
"I remember," Sokka answered, "I couldn't forget that night if I tried, man."
And across the street was a small park. There were cartoonish badger-moles there, connected by springs to the cement of the playground, and Sokka grinned at Zuko's apprehension towards it. He teased, "It won't hurt you." And Zuko just glared at him.
"You don't know that."
"Okay, fair enough," Sokka said. "We came here with mom a lot. I don't even know if it's still there. All I know is that Katara came here that night. She knew something was wrong before we even got the call."
And there, swinging absently on a swing, was a seven year old Katara, looking lost to the world.
Zuko hesitated. "If I hadn't been so stupid --"
"Hey, we went over this, okay?" Sokka said, "Not your fault, we're not blaming you for it even if it was. There's no way we can change what happened, right?" Sokka paused, and then added, with a lot less certainty. "Can't we? Hey, Zuko, couldn't we -- where are you going?"
Zuko walked over to the swing set and sat himself down on the swing next to Katara. He looked over at her, wondering if she noticed him. Though the cracks were severe all around the park, the center was clean, unbroken.
She looked at him.
"It's dangerous to be out alone."
"I'm not alone," she said, "My brother's over there. He'll beat you up if you try anything." Zuko looked over towards Sokka, and then his eyes caught, hiding behind the slide, a younger Sokka. Zuko shook his head and smiled.
"Still, tonight's not a good night. Monsters are about."
"Uh-huh," the girl said, disbelief evident. "What happened to your face?"
Zuko winced, "Monster got me."
"Dad said monsters aren't real," Katara pointed out.
"Why are you out at the park so late, anyway?"
Sokka couldn't help but feel this was a horrible idea, watching Zuko talk with the young version of his sister. But he should have remembered this if it was, wouldn't he? The thought plagued him, and he wondered if perhaps his memories were being rearranged as he watched.
"Mom's not home yet."
"Yeah?"
"She's never this late, and I thought --"
"You should go home. Your dad will worry."
"Yeah, I guess," she said.
"You shouldn't look so sad," Zuko added. "Cheer up."
"I'm not sad."
"It's okay to be sad," Zuko added.
"I know. But I'm not." She looked at him intensely, daring him to contradict her, and Zuko couldn't bear to.
"I see. If you're sad, though, it's okay, but remember things will get better, right?"
"What?" she looked confused. "What are you talking about?"
The ground beneath her feet began to crack. Zuko didn't notice it, but Sokka could see it clear as day.
"Nothing," Zuko admitted. "You should get home. Your brother's starting to shiver."
"Yeah, I guess," she said, hopping off the swing. "You're pretty okay, for a guy with a weird face."
"You're pretty okay for a girl who looks sad when she isn't," he retorted. She smiled at him, brightly. "That's better."
"Bye, mister. You be careful, don't want another monster to get you, right?"
Zuko hesitated, then smiled, "Yeah. Right." When she'd finally crossed the road, he looked down at the ground. The cracks had become more severe, and he leapt to his feet, moving back over to Sokka. "Guess I shouldn't have done that."
"Yeah, it was heartwarming and all, but boy oh boy was that stupid! You should get a prize for the biggest stupid idea ever."
"You'd know."
The ground shifted, and the cracks opened up. From within, sand gushed forth, pushing the cracks aside and forming a slight slope downwards. It seemed to spiral towards a point below, where a door hung in wait.
"I guess we found her," Zuko said.
"Zuko, you're a genius, buddy, don't let anyone tell you otherwise." He ignored Zuko's glower as he patted him heavily across the back and took a tentative step onto the sand. "If my guess is right, this is what happened with Katara."
"Just more immediate?"
"Right. And this place was already messed around with."
"What does that mean?"
"It means I don't know what's going on, but I think this is our ticket out of here. Come on!"
They followed the path as it wound around, following the spiraling strip towards the door that floated at the bottom. Shattered fragments of Ba Sing Se hung in the air around them, whether they were rising or sinking, neither of them was certain.
"Dizzy," Sokka groaned.
"We're almost there."
"Great, I'm about to fall down, and I don't know which way I'd go."
"Just keep it together," Zuko grumbled.
The school was being overrun with sand.
The lockers were bursting open with more sand than they could ever hope to hold, it was coming up from the piping and through the air vents. And Azula, in the main foyer, was getting a little more anxious about her options. The main door was blocked off by sand, and the stairs were a veritable falls of sand. Dunes were forming from where the windows used to be, and she couldn't exactly figure out how to get out.
"We're in trouble, ain't we?" Toph asked.
"You're amazingly observant for someone who can't see."
"I can sense things okay," she said, "'sides you're shaking so much even a blind girl could see it."
"Convenient," Azula scowled. "Our exits are blocked off, there aren't any other apparent exits, and somehow, the student body is proceeding through this sand like it wasn't even there."
"Okay, great, what do we do?"
"I really have no idea," Azula said even as she started to devise new plans. "I think, at least, that we've got enough time in here to plan."
"What makes you say that?"
"The sand seems to be slowing down."
"That's great! Now we can suffocate at a slower pace! You sure know how to look at the bright side of like, Spicegirl."
"On the other hand, perhaps we can plow our way through here. I haven't quite mastered waterbending, but no time like the present to begin practicing Earthbending."
"Haven't quite mastered waterbending is a code word for 'gets soaked everytime she tries to bend water?' I never knew that!"
"Your sarcasm isn't helping, Toph."
"Well, you're asking me to teach you how to bend sand, right? Out of the question. Don't even know how to do that myself."
"Why not?"
"Never tried. Bet I could do it, but I'm kind of bending-less right now."
"Fantastic," Azula groaned.
"Just the facts."
"I know," Azula said. "We climb the stairs. Try to, anyway. Grab the rail tight and don't stop, whatever you do."
"Okay, okay."
Gripping the rail was the easy part. Moving her feet, Azula found it was much harder than she anticipated to get a foot hold. The sand moved swiftly enough to pull her off her feet. She relied almost entirely on pulling herself by her arms, and even then, she only made it up a few steps before she was bowled down by the force.
"Not working," Toph managed frrom beneath a small sand dune.
"I saw that," Azula murmured. "What am I missing? There must be a way out."
"Let's just be glad there isn't some huge sand worm in this junk," Toph grumbled. "It's in my shoes, I can feel it between my toes. Ugh, so distracting!"
"I don't want to hear about your toes and don't tempt fate. Didn't our previous experiences teach you anything?"
"Sure, it can always get worse."
Azula was about to respond when there was a large sound against the far wall of the foyer. Then another. "Toph, I would be indebted to you if you'd stop tempting fate."
"Are you kidding? Giant sand worm would be awesome!"
"I can't even figure you out," Azula muttered.
The sounds got louder, and then the walls broke open. Sand poured in, and Azula stared, dumbfounded at what she saw out there. "What happened?" Toph wondered, "Is it a worm?"
"No," Azula said. "I think we're back inside the desert, somehow."
Outside, there was a distant canyon, and the sun bore down on them. Walking up the dunes, she turned back and saw the school was buried under the sand, completely consumed by the desert and sinking further. "Toph, hurry up," she said.
"Coming, coming, keep your skirt on."
"I could have sworn we were in the past," Azula said.
"Maybe there was a door and we just didn't see it?"
Azula hesitated, but agreed. That was the only explanation. There was a rough path of stone through the ridge that led down to the desert below, and the girls followed it closely, until they came down across the valley of the canyon.
Winds raised up a small sandstorm around them, and they hurried into the shelter of the valley. "This is ridiculous," Azula bemoaned, "There's no end in sight!"
"Just relax, Power Princess, we've got this."
"So you think," Azula said, angrily. She was at her patience's end. "When I find Katara --"
"When you find Katara...what, exactly, Azula?"
Toph's face split into a huge grin, "Ooh, busted!"
"So, is it really you, or are you the fake Katara?" Azula asked, her voice level, she did not even seem remotely alarmed that Katara was suddenly here. "Not that it matters, of course."
"I'm the real one," Katara said, stepping forward with Yue, "So, what were you going to do, again?"
Azula pondered this for a second. She didn't quite get that far when she was making her exclamation. Now, prompted for a snappy answer, she was finding herself having trouble picking just one response.
She just decided to scream, "Why would you do this?"
"Do what?" Katara seemed taken aback.
"Make this place. What are you hiding?"
"I'm not hiding anything, it's the maze that made this place, not me."
"I don't think that's right," Yue said, weakly, "That garden wasn't exactly something I may have thought up consciously, but it did seem to be, well, a part of me."
"Yue, you're not helping, here," Katara said, between clenched teeth.
"See?" Azula leapt on the advantage, "This is all your fault. Do you know what I've had to go through today?"
"Um, it's not really Katara's fault, either, Azula --"
"You're not helping, Yue," Azula snapped.
"Oh, let them have one of their chats," Toph said, patting Yue on the back, "I appreciate you, anyway."
"You do?"
"Um, well, in a totally supportive and helpful way, yeah."
"This isn't my fault!" Katara said, taking the advantage, "Yue said so!"
"So what? Your head made this, so I get the right to yell at you. Now, what exactly are you hiding? Where is your other self, anyway?"
"She's, she's," Katara hesitated, "That imposter was near the old ruins when I met her. I think that may be the best place to start looking, anyway?"
"Ruins?"
"Oh, yeah," Katara said, "There's a lot of them under the sand. Why, didn't you see any?"
"No, I had to look at empty, flat desert for like ten hours. Then, I was nearly buried alive with Toph in the Phoenix Center School."
"Sorry," Katara managed to squeak, "It's not my fault, though! Really!"
"Come on, Power Princess, lay off of Sugar Queen. We got other things we need to do, like find the boys before they macho themselves to death."
"You're right," Azula said, "We need to find them. Yue?"
"I don't know where they are. They completely vanished like you and Toph did until a little while ago -- wait! I see them!"
"What? Where?"
"That way," Yue said, pointing forward. "That's where they are."
"The ruins are there," Katara said, "That means --"
"Yes, I think I sense her ahead as well," Yue said, "We need to be careful. Who knows what she will do to the boys."
"Are we alive?"
"Yes."
"Good."
Sokka stared up at the cloudless desert sky from underneath his hand, his head resting in the sand around him. "Get up," Zuko told him, and he looked over at Zuko, noticing the high rise of an old ruined building nearby.
"What?" Sokka said, pushing himself off of the sand. "What is it?"
"It's her, again."
Sokka collected himself, jumped to his feet and turned in the direction Zuko was facing. And there she was, the other Katara, looking ignorant of their presence. She was walking down towards the ruined arches of the building.
"Do we follow her?" Sokka wondered. Zuko only nodded and crept forward, keeping low and out of sight.
As they approached the building, they felt the wind grow cooler, and the dry heat became a lot more comfortable, even a little muggy. The slope led down towards exposed pillars that surrounded a small oasis in the midst of the desert.
And along the shore of that lake, the imposter Katara sat, in a swimsuit, basking in the sun.
"I don't believe this," Sokka moaned, "She's mocking us, isn't she?"
Zuko nodded.
"We can't just take her on, who knows what tricks she's got up her sleeves. She'll transform like that other Yue and totally flatten us."
"Don't know," Zuko grunted. "Wait for the others?"
At the same time, behind them, the girls were approaching the ruins at a swift jog, with Katara at the lead. Yue struggled to keep up with the rest of them, feeling her cheeks turn red from all of the running. "Please, go ahead without me," she said, stopping to catch her breath.
"Come on, Yue, we need you!" Katara urged. "We're almost there. Just a little bit further."
"I don't think I'm suited for this," she managed to smile between each huffing breath.
"You can do it, Yue," Toph said, "Right, Azula?"
"What?"
"Yue can totally do this, right?"
"Of course, why wouldn't she be able to?" Azula asked. She crossed her arms. "Get it together, Yue. We don't have time."
"Yes, yes," Yue managed to say, "Let's go. They're just ahead."
"Right!" Katara said. She burst into a sprint, struggling through the sandy grounds about her, and down the slope into the ruins. With a loud cry, she collided with Sokka, and the two stumbled out into the open.
The imposter Katara lifted her sunglasses and looked over at them. "Oh. You're finally here. I was, like, hoping you'd show up."
"There goes subtlety," Zuko muttered.
"Hey, don't be shy, hiding back there. Everyone's welcome to my little slice of heaven," the imposter Katara said, her attitude shifting suddenly. "I won't bite, if you don't want me to."
"Excuse me?" Katara said, her temper flaring, "Where do you get off acting like that when you look like me!"
"Oh, honey, you need to relax and let your hair down," the imposter Katara said, "Or else you're going to get buried in the sand."
"Katara." Azula watched her carefully, "Remember what happened, with Yue."
"I remember, okay? I remember."
"You aren't acting like it," she retorted.
"Everything is under control, Azula."
"Oh, tell her how you really feel, Katara," her imposter said, "How you just wish you were half as perfect as she is. I mean, I wish my hair was that straight, and the designer clothes I only wished I could afford." She sighed, "Still, that's why it felt so good to know everyone liked me more."
Azula paused, stuttering, "What?"
"Like, come on, Azula, isn't it obvious?" she said, curling her hair around her finger, "I totally wish I was more like you sometimes. Sure no one really liked you, but they sure acted like it 'cause you were rich and junk."
"What do I care what others think about me, Katara."
"You're not helping, Azula!"
"Would you two quit it, already?" Toph snapped. "Katara, get your head together! Don't listen to her!"
"You know, if I ever had doubts about my looks, I just had to look at you and think, at least I was more feminine than that slab of stone."
"Ow," Sokka winced.
"Hey! Like I care!" Toph shouted, "Shut up, you're just a no good faker, anyway! Katara's way nicer than that."
Katara winced. "Ye, yeah, see?"
"Oh the lies we tell ourselves," the imposter said, putting her sunglasses down by her towel. "Like how you were glad Yue was only around when we went into the Spirit World. How do I compare to that? She's like perfect! Compared to her, I'm like Toph!"
"Hey! Stop it, already!" Toph snapped.
"Let's put it like this, I was relieved when Yue said she resented us, because then, at least, the feeling was mutual."
"Katara, don't listen to her," Zuko snapped. "She's trying to turn us against each other."
"You're the expert, right, Zuzu?" the imposter Katara asked. "Like, was that a low blow?"
"Stop it," Katara murmured. She clutched her head, trying to grab some focus, to clear her head of all the noises and doubts.
"Sokka, you believe me, don't you?" the imposter Katara asked. "I mean, after all, you know all about me, right? I mean, sure, I can't stand how you try and be the big brave older brother, when you're really just kind of a loser, but you know me, right?"
"Stop it!" Katara shouted. "Stop telling them all of those lies!"
"Lies?" the imposter asked. "They sound like lies to you?"
Katara hesitated, "I would never say that to them."
"Wouldn't you?" the imposter retorted, smiling wide, her lids lulled in an arrogant self-assurance. "I guess you wouldn't. You'd rather keep all of those feelings locked up inside, since you'd just hurt people with them. So what, Katara? What are we afraid of?"
"Stop that!"
"Stop what? Speaking what you're feeling deep inside our fragile little heart?" she said, clasping her hand above her breast, "This is how we feel, Katara, stop denying it!"
"That's not true! Stop acting like you're me!"
"But I am," she said.
"You are not me!"
The imposter laughed, a low, sultry sound. "Oh, yes, that felt good! Hit me with it, one," she drawled, stepping forward, her entire body radiating blackness, "More," her steps created drew the moisture from the air, and the light from the sky, "Time."
"You're," Katara breathed, "You're not me."
Katara fell to her knees, clutching her head as the noise inside it grew unbearable. As she grew weaker, the other Katara seemed to relish, breaking into a mad fit of laughter, "No, I'm me, now. And I don't need you holding me back!"
The others could do little more than watch as the world around them was once again turned upside-down. The darkness of the imposter Katara's body overtook her, and her form began to change.
To be continued.
Author's Note: There's a new poll on my profile, if you'd like to put your answer in it. It's mostly for my own edification.
