Chapter 10: Escaping the City
Katara
Katara forced her eyes open against the oppressive water. With a flick of her hand, she created a bubble in front of her face, allowing her to look around and gain her bearings. Zuko sank into the underground lake beside her, his eyes narrowed and bloodshot against the liquid. Large boulders splashed deep into the lake all around them, missing the two swimmers by precariously close distances. Zuko pointed towards the opposite end of the lake, away from the collapsing cave and site of the battle. Katara experienced a moment of panic, she needed to get back to Sokka, back to her friends and back to Aang. But the falling stones around her convinced her otherwise. They swam side by side away from where the majority of the damage.
Katara could have used her waterbending to move faster, but, even after his betrayal and, then, well timed return, she wouldn't leave Zuko behind. For a firebender, he swam well and they cleared a decent amount of distance before tipping their heads up towards the surface.
Katara sucked in a deep breath, the air filling her lungs with strength and energy. Zuko sucked in multiple, short breaths beside her. Katara's eyes flickered to the roof of the catacombs, watching as foot by foot chipped away.
"The whole place is going to collapse," She rasped, attempting to catch her breath properly.
"There's a tunnel," Zuko rasped even worse than her, and pointed, still farther across the small lake, towards a dark tunnel, smaller than the one in which Katara arrived with Aang.
Katara risked another glance back towards the shore, eyes searching for Appa's large form. Dread and cold filled the core of her body realizing so much of the cave collapsed already, the fragments created a large barrier between herself and others, one large enough she would need to earthbend to get through it. If she even had the time, which she didn't, considering the entire place would be crushed in minutes.
"Hold onto me," She commanded to Zuko. He hesitated, then gritted his teeth and reached out to grip her shoulders. Katara swung her arms in windmills by her sides and launched them towards the promising tunnel. With shaking arms, the two teens pulled themselves from the water. Half crawling, half running, they entered the gloom of the tunnel. Moments later, a combination of green crystals and rocks converged to block the entrance.
Katara knelt on the cold stone, breathing deeply while her hands shook against her thighs. The darkness of the underpass helped her forget, only for a moment, the past fifteen minutes.
She felt the warmth of Zuko's flame before her eyes registered the new light in the tunnel, flickering against the earth walls and casting her own shadow for her to view.
"We're alive," Zuko commented, almost disbelieving.
Katara scanned her eyes around the cave, taking in the brown walls and muddy floors. Some small amounts of green crystal clung to the edges of the cave, but not nearly the amount they witnessed back in the cavern or she and Zuko's cell.
She stood on shaking legs, "We have to get out of here."
Zuko walked to stand beside her peering into the cave, "We don't even know where this leads."
Katara shrugged, turning away from him "It doesn't matter, we have no choice." She didn't bother to hide the traces of hurt from her voice.
"Look, I'm sorry about what happened back there…" Zuko began, guilt clouding in his voice.
"Forget it," she snapped, not ready to listen to his excuses, "let's go."
They walked in silence, hours passing between them without a word. The silence irked Katara, use to the chatter between she and her friends when they travelled, but she also loathed to break it with Zuko lest he get the wrong impression about her forgiving him. Finally, they began to follow the trail on a gradual ascent. The tunnel's diameter grew smaller and smaller, until they walked shoulder to shoulder and hit a dead end.
"That's it?" Asked Zuko, incredulously. The flame in his hand illuminated the frustration on his face.
Katara placed her palm on the earth ceiling above their heads. "I bet we're close to the surface, if only one of us could earth bend."
"Well, we can't," Zuko replied dully.
Katara narrowed her eyes at him, "In that case, you better help me start digging."
Zuko's eyes widened, "Dig?"
To emphasize her point, Katara began to claw at the ceiling above her head, pulling fistfuls of dirt down and around their feet. One of the handfuls landed on Zuko's shoulder and she watched with the amusement, the anger that crossed his face.
"Watch it, waterbender," He grumbled.
"How about you start helping then."
His lip curling with distaste, Zuko began pounding at the ceiling above them, using small blasts of heat to help the earth crumble. Katara prayed they were only a few feet from the surface. They clawed and punched and bended at the earth above them until both their faces and torsos were covered in dirt and their arms sore. In her head, Katara silently apologized to Toph for taking her for granted all those months they travelled together. Earth was a stubborn element, a material only earthbenders could master.
In frustration, Zuko punched the ceiling above them with an excessive amount of strength and a large portion of dirt fell around him, revealing a small hole in the ceiling. Katara squealed with excitement, eying the night sky through the opening.
Being taller, Zuko jumped a few times until he caught onto the edge of the hole in the ceiling and pulled himself out of the tunnel.
Katara experienced a brief moment of panic, imagining he may leave her, but his hand appeared a second later through the porthole to help pull her onto the street level of Ba Sing Se. Panting and exhausted, she and Zuko surveyed their surroundings. They were still inside the Upper Ring, apparent from the fancy houses, elaborate gardens and flaming street lamps.
"Looks like we didn't get far underground," She murmured.
Zuko nodded in agreement and, for the first time since the crystal cavern battle, Katara met his eyes. Dirt streaked his face, covering a large portion of the star across the left side of his face and his gold eyes frowned at her intensely. Her heart raced and, subconsciously, she reached to touch her own face, feeling the layers of dirt there.
"We need to get down to the Lower Ring," Zuko spoke directly to her still holding her gaze, "Then, figure out how to get past the Outer Wall."
Finally, Katara managed to look away from him and into the night sky. She saw no sign of Appa and her heart sank. She knew, in all likelihood, her friends fled the city with Aang. They needed to get him somewhere safe so he could heal, and, most likely, Ba Sing Se now belonged to Azula. She closed her eyes to hide the pain of her separation from team Avatar, then looked back up at Zuko.
"Ok, let's do it."
…
Zuko
They moved stealthily through the Upper Ring, keeping to the shadows and using the walls of the houses to blend in best they could. Between their tattered clothes and dirt covered bodies, they stuck out like sore thumbs in the Upper Ring. Per his training as the Blue Spirit, Zuko moved silently on his feet, leading Katara, who, for all her skills as a waterbender, could not match him in secrecy.
They crept through the back garden of a particularly large mansion home. Loud music and laughing voices came from the open windows, suggesting a lively party inside. Zuko sniffed, the scent hot food wafting from the house into the garden. His stomach rumbled and Katara cast a glare at him. Zuko refrained from yelling at her that she was the one who stepped on every singly stray, dry branch they came across, but pressed his lips together instead. He could feel the waterbender's rage over the battle in the crystal catacombs. Of course, he always planned to side with Katara and the Avatar. He would never take Azula's side because Azula always lied. But, tricking her into believing she attained his support, offered the best opportunity to defeat her. Of course, not even that was enough in the end, with her support from the Dai Li. Nevertheless, Zuko eyed Katara beside him with an uneasy feeling of guilt. He needed to properly apologize to her, once they were relatively safe.
"Zuko!" Katara's eyes widened in horror, looking somewhere behind him. She flung a whip of water into the air to deflect the stone fist inches from his head.
"Go, go!" He shouted at her, grabbing her hand. Dai Li agents cropped up on either side of them, surrounding the garden. "Into the house!" Zuko shouted, pulling Katara by the hand. He flung the backdoor of the mansion open and he and Katara ran inside.
They entered through a large kitchen, bustling with servants dressed in green tunics and brown pants with grey headbands, the symbol of the family home scripted across their heads. The servants turned to observe the newcomers, taking in their attire with unconcealed dread.
"Er, sorry…" Katara began, but Zuko pulled her arm again, and lead them out the kitchen door. In their rush, they nearly barreled into a servant, carrying a large silver tray of hors d'oueuvres. At the last second, Katara slid underneath the tray and Zuko leapt over. They landed side by side on the other side, facing an open ballroom of hundreds of Upper Ring citizens. Katara brandished her water whip in front of her face and Zuko lit flames in both of his. For a moment, the men and women closest to them stared in shock, but, then, incredibly, they began to applaud.
Zuko heard clashing and loud voices in the kitchen behind them, undoubtedly, the Dai Li on their tails.
"Zuko," Katara spoke beside him, large blue eyes turned to him, "They think we're entertainment." She gestured towards the crowd of well to do citizens before them. The members of the party closest to them chuckled at her words and applauded again.
Zuko's mouth dropped in undisguised disbelief. How stupid were these people. But, then again, raised in the Fire Nation palace, he knew the lifestyle of nobles. It dawned on him Katara spoke the truth. At the second round of applause, the band picked up their music again.
Zuko stood, rigid and nervous, listening the Dai Li approach and the feeling the expectant stares of the elite party goers. "Zuko!" He turned sideways to meet Katara's gaze again. Her eye sparkled with…excitement? An idea?
"We'll perform to the other side," She whispered insistently, "Follow my lead." She must have noted Zuko's dismay because she rolled her eyes, "It's just like sparring, come on." And with those words, she twirled on her toes water spinning into a small tornado above her head, and she pushed forward into the crowd. The Dai Li burst through the door behind them and Zuko had no choice.
Manipulating his flames into a miniature dragon, he directed his flames to follow Katara through the crowd. They moved around each other, spinning and sliding across the floor in an attempt to keep distance between themselves and the Dai Li. Occasionally, fire clashed with water giving rise to steam between them. The crowd oohed and aahed around them. Zuko never felt so uncomfortable in his life, yet, Katara's wild idea worked. He could see the large, promising front doors at the terrace. One of the Dai Li agents dropped mere feet from where he and Katara stood, blocking their path.
"Throw me!" Katara shouted at him, determination in her eyes.
"What?" Asked Zuko, even as she jumped into the air straight into his arms. Not entirely certain what she planned, Zuko tossed her as far into the air as he could, over the head of the Dai Li agent. In the air, Katara rained water over the agent, freezing his feet and body to the ground. She landed on hands and feet on the other side. Impressed, but still uncomfortable and slightly terrified, Zuko sprinted the last few feet, chasing Katara to the front door. The crowd applauded tremulously behind them as they made their exit.
Sprinting down the street, Zuko shot Katara a wondrous glance. "You are…insane!"
Katara smirked at his words, even chuckled darkly. "Makes you kind of sick to think the people here believed that." She responded, with a look of distaste.
Zuko could not possibly agree more, thinking of all the comfortable rich Upper Ring residents in their homes enjoying a party while thousands of refugees clamored for food in the Lower Ring and the Fire Nation ran a successful coup of their palace mere miles away.
"We'll never make it to the Outer Wall tonight," Katara continued, her voice less amused, betraying some of her exhaustion.
"I know," Zuko agreed, darkly. They paused to catch their breath, facing each other. "We need somewhere to hide out for the night." Zuko said, frowning, "And I certainly have no friends in this city."
Katara chewed on her bottom lip as she inspected the ground by her feet. "I may know some people," She admitted, hesitantly.
Zuko looked to her, a bit taken aback. Didn't all her friends fly away on the sky bison?
Katara sighed deeply, "Follow me." Zuko decided it unwise to question the waterbender and fell into step behind her.
…
They spent the next couple hours dodging the Dai Li and sneaking from the Upper Ring to the Middle Ring and down to the Lower Ring. Zuko experienced an unexpected moment of reminiscence, thinking of the weeks he spent with his Uncle here. With thoughts of his Uncle, came uncomfortable feelings of guilt and pain. He left his uncle at the palace fighting Azula, did he even survive the collapse of the cavern? If he did, did he escape Azula's wrath? He nervously ran his hand repeatedly through messy hair, trying to hide his emotions from the girl beside him.
But Katara looked deep in her own, painful memories, dark eyebrows frowning and her mouth pressed so tightly together her lips turned pink to white. Zuko wondered what bothered the waterbender, and he itched to investigate, but feared her anger from his false betrayal only hours prior. He gritted his teeth, silently hoping Katara got over her feelings quickly, or else they were in for some awkward times together. But if he were being entirely honest with himself, he wanted Katara to get over her anger towards him because he enjoyed spending time with her and talking to her. She made it so easy to express himself. She never hid her own emotions, encouraging Zuko to share his own, along with, personal information, usually, too painful for him to express. Hell, he told her about his mother.
"We're here," She told him, stopping outside a lopsided, multi-level building. It reminded Zuko of he and Uncle Iroh's old apartment in the Lower Ring.
Katara headed towards the front door, pulling it open and leading him up the stairs.
"Just take it easy with the whole…son of Ozai, firebender thing…they're not the biggest fans of the Fire Nation," She cautioned.
Zuko rolled his eyes, like that's how he would introduce himself anywhere in the Earth Kingdom.
Katara knocked, hesitantly, at the door to a second floor apartment. He listened to scuffling feet behind it and heard a young, female voice demand, "Who's there? Tell me your name."
"It's Katara."
More scuffling and murmurs behind the door before it swung open. Standing in the doorway was a small, young girl with short hair and boyish features, and behind her stood a teenage boy with an arrow docked on a string pointed straight at Zuko's face.
Zuko's eyes widened in recognition, "Smellerbee?" He asked, pulling the girl's name from the recesses of his mind.
"Lee?" Asked Smellerbee, shocked.
"You know each other?" Asked Katara, even more surprised.
"We rode on the ferry into Ba Sing Se together, Lee's isn't a face someone forgets!" Smellerbee exclaimed, then ushered them inward, "Come in, quick."
Katara and Zuko rushed into the apartment. The place was a mess and smelled slightly like an earthbender training center, aka, sweat and grime. Zuko managed, just barely, not to wince.
"Sorry, haven't got around to cleaning," Smellerbee apologized, eying them, and the taller boy with the bow and arrow shrugged. Zuko tried to recall his name…something to do with his weapon…
"Thank the spirits!" Katara finally stepped forward to hug Smellerbee and the boy in turn. "I thought the Dai Li agents may have gotten to you."
Smellerbee rolled out four mats for herself, the boy and their guests. They each sat facing each other.
"Not yet, so what brings you here?"
"We needed a place to hide out for the night," Katara answered honestly. "So you guys know Zuko?," Katara commented. Zuko shot her a quick glare for using his real name, but the waterbender only shrugged, "They're my friends, I'm not going to lie." She frowned at him.
Smellerbee nodded and sent Zuko a half smile. "He helped us with some missions on the ferry, actually. Jet really took to him, invited him to join the Freedom Fighters."
At the mention of Jet, the mood in the room shifted. Smellerbee's small smile disappeared, the boy with the bow's eyes drifted to the floor and Katara stiffened beside him. Not knowing Jet well, despite their time on the ferry together and Jet's subsequent accusation of him as a firebender, Zuko only looked around the group in confusion.
Katara's voice shook when she spoke, "Smellerbee, where is Jet?"
Smellerbee's eyes watered, "Katara, you can't blame yourself, or us, it's what Jet wanted…"
"I could have saved him," Katara whispered, her voice clipped with pain. Zuko watched the sadness and anger cross her face and the way her arms and hands shook at her sides. She closed her eyes tightly and Zuko knew from personal experience, she fought back tears. His fingers itched to comfort her, but he restrained himself.
"Please, Smellerbee," She continued, "I need to know exactly what happened after we left." Katara managed, her voice just above a whisper.
Smellerbee hesitated and traded a loaded glance with the bow and arrow boy.
"Long Shot and I stayed with him for as long as we could risk," She began, her voice surprisingly strong, "but we couldn't stay there forever. Jet refused to be left to the mercy of the Dai Li, he asked us if we could…well he asked us to end it for him. Peacefully, on his own terms, surrounded by friends."
Zuko watched the boy, Long Shot, grip the bow at his back so tightly his fingers paled. "I did it for, Jet," He said in low, strong voice. Zuko traced the path from Long Shot's pale fingers to the arrows strapped at his back, he asked us to end it for him. Zuko knew, immediately, what happened to Jet and his eyes flickered back to Katara to see if she had drawn the conclusion yet. Tears seeped out her eyes onto the mat she knelt on. Zuko felt a stab of sympathy for the water bender and reached out his hand, placing it gently on her back.
…
Katara
Smellerbee and Long Shot set up makeshift beds of spare blankets, pillows and bed mats for she and Zuko. They retired to their own beds leaving Katara and Zuko, who lay on their backs, staring at the cracked wooden ceiling. Sleep evading Katara, despite her exhaustion.
You should have saved him. You left him to die.
Her mind tortured her with images of Jet's lifeless body. She dug her nails into her forearms, crossing them tightly over her chest.
Are you even a waterbender? How can you consider yourself a healer if you allow your friends to die?
Though she felt a sense of loss from Jet's death, she mourned more for her inability to save him, no, her unwillingness. She left him below Lake Laogai to chase after a sky bison. She loved Appa and Aang, but Jet was a person. She chose the Avatar's mission over a life. Tears slid down the sides of her cheeks, and she choked back soft sobs, hoping the sounds didn't alert Zuko.
Her hopes were in vain. "Katara?" His voice drifted across the space between them. She pressed her lips even tighter together, hoping to hide any additional sounds. Her chest shook with the effort and she allowed a groan to escape.
A small flame lit the few feet between them and she turned her head sideways to meet Zuko's eyes. His golden gaze met her own with the usual intensity. She felt him looking, not just at her, but in her, searching for the source of her emotions.
Keeping the flame lit in his hand, he rolled closer to her. "Katara, I know it doesn't mean much to you, but I'm sorry about what happened to…Jet. I can tell he meant…a lot to you."
Katara actually released a snort of laughter, shocking Zuko. "Jet was an enemy for most of the time I knew him, actually. When we first met I thought he was…charming, but he was an angry and cruel person. He only changed recently, after coming to the city, was only our friend for a brief period of time."
Zuko looked confused, "So, if you don't mind me asking, what are you so upset for?"
Katara sighed, looking over his face, wondering if she should divulge her thoughts to him. He waited patiently, his expression curious and neutral, the flames dancing against his gold eyes turning them amber. Drawn in by the flame and the calm look in his eyes, Katara began to speak.
"I'm afraid I wasn't true to myself at Lake Laogai. I thought my loyalty to Aang meant I had to leave Jet, I needed to go with Aang to help him find Appa. But, I'm a waterbender in my blood and I was born a healer. It went against my nature to leave Jet there, yet, I did it anyways. I picked the Avatar's mission over my own morality and that's…frightening. I know how important it is to help Aang win this war, but, I don't want to lose myself in the proces."
Katara stopped, her voice shaking. She reflected on her own words to Zuko, taking herself aback with their truth. She loved Aang like a brother and he remained one of her best friends, but she couldn't always support him and take care of him, follow him on every whim ad decision he deemed most important. As much as she acted like it, she was not Aang's surrogate mother. The thought filled her with guilt that she would feel such resentment towards Aang, but she recognized it wasn't Aangs fault. It was her own for falling into the role of mother for their group and forgetting to take care of herself first. Her fault for not staying true to her nature below Lake Laogai and forgetting the loyalty she felt for herself and her bending.
Zuko blinked a couple times at her, looking as surprised as she felt. "Why did you never tell the Avatar you felt this way?"
She shrugged heavily, "I didn't want to let him or Sokka or Toph down, I suppose."
"Well he is an air monk, right? He should understand your need to heal people, use your bending the way it was intended. He should support you in that?"
Katara frowned and wondered how Aang would react to the conversation taking place between she and Zuko.
"Why is it so easy to talk to you?" The words left her mouth without registering. Her cheeks blushed and eyes widened, looking to Zuko for his reaction.
He looked slightly embarrassed by her question. "Um, I like talking to you too?" And she thought she noted a blush cross his own cheeks, but it was difficult to tell in the flickering fire light.
"I'm still mad at you for betraying us, by the way," She quickly snapped out.
Zuko rolled even closer to her, their bodies less than a foot apart now. He spoke passionately, "I did what I had to do. I thought it was the best way to defeat Azula. I thought you would realize I was on your side. I told you in the catacombs, Azula always lies. I could never trust her, I know that from experience, believe me."
His flame sat so close to her, she felt the waxing and waning of heat with each flicker. More so, she felt the heat budding in her chest from Zuko's face so close to her own. Her eyes scanned his face again, taking in the scar first, then, the sharp cheekbones, strong jaw and gold eyes. The scar doesn't matter, he's still gorgeous. She jumped slightly at the unprovoked thought.
She looked away as the blush spread, darker, across her face, "I believe you," She said, mostly to appease him. The way he made her feel confused her, and how much it hurt when she thought he betrayed her, well, she never wanted to feel like that again. She did somewhat understand it. She was water, and he was fire. Zuko, by nature, was unpredictable and destructive, just like his element. His strategies in battle would be different than her own, after all, they were opposite elements. Katara could never pretend to betray her allies, it went against her nature. It would be best to keep as emotionally detached from the firebender as possible. He was her ally and that was all. Feeling conflicted, she stared down at the pillow below her.
"Try to get some sleep," Zuko whispered in an uncharacteristically soft voice.
Very aware of Zuko tucked a couple feet away from her in the dark, Katara closed her eyes and succumbed to sleep's sweet pull.
…
All morning, Katara and Zuko, with the help of Smellerbee and Long Shot, planned the best method to escape Ba Sing Se undetected. After a quick breakfast of lukewarm tea and toasted bread, the four set off to the market. Katara and Zuko purchased new clothes, their originals still in tatters, and supplies for their journey. As for the destination, Katara still struggled to decide. She weighed the different options Sokka and Toph would have been faced with after leaving Ba Sing Se. She strongly suspected Sokka would want to return to Chameleon Bay to rejoin their father. And a fleet of water tribe warriors could offer good protection for an injured Avatar.
They bid farewell to Smellerbee and Long Shot at the edge of the Lower Ring.
"Come with us," Katara invited them for the tenth time that morning.
"We are going to stay in the city awhile longer, someone needs to help keep the people safe around here, what with the Fire Nation possibly taking over any day now."
Katara felt a stab of worry for her friends' safety, but their decision was their own choice. She and Zuko walked past fields of green, rolling hills and miles of agricultural farmland on their way to the Outer Wall.
"How are we even going to get out through the Wall without alerting the guards to who we are?" Zuko questioned bitterly, voicing her fears out loud. Katara only groaned in response, missing Appa sorely in that moment.
The closer the wall they walked, the more anxious Katara grew. When they came within a mile of the wall, a terrible shaking caused her to nearly trip over her own feet. The whole earth quivered and rocked violently and Zuko threw out his arms beside her to catch his balance.
"What is that?" He hissed.
Katara looked up and, with horror, located the source of the quavering earth. At least a mile long portion of the large, Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se swayed back and forth. She shared a dismayed glance with the Fire Prince, neither of them able to speak despite their mouths falling wide open at the site before them. The wall took mere minutes to crumble, but watching its collapse seemed to take centuries. A large cloud of brown dust rose in the aftermath of the destruction, the only remaining evidence a great wall once stood in its place.
"Well," Said Zuko, "the wall problem is taken care of."
The horror settling in Katara's gut prevented her from obtaining any happiness at his words.
Thank you to all reviewers and readers! Great motivation and feedback I appreciate it :) I love every episode of Avatar but, unfortunately, the better half of the 3rd season doesn't lend well to Zutara so I will be straying from the series for the next few chapters! Also, I will be changing the rating of this story to M in the near future so you have been warned ;)