OK, that's enough fluff. Now it's down to business…
Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA or any of the characters from that series
Chapter 10 Capture
Month: 10 Day: 29
Iroh and Zuko were invited to serve tea to the Earth King. They left this morning. I have had a bad feeling about it, but could find no reason to stop them from going. I decided to spend the day "touring" the inner ring to take my mind off of that uneasy feeling. It's a good thing, too, because I would have missed all the action. I wish I had told them not to go.
But then again, that might have been counterproductive.
Katara was walking down yet another street when she stopped in her tracks by a shocking sight. Sokka was climbing out of a hole in the ground that definitely hadn't been there a minute ago.
"Toph, call Appa. Aang's been shot by Azula," Katara could hear Sokka saying. He was carrying someone.
'The Avatar? Shot him with what?'
"Sokka! What happened?" Katara rushed to her brother's side, already drawing out her water.
"Katara!? Where did you- never mind, no time for that. Aang's been shot by the Fire Princess's lightning. Can you heal him?"
Katara bit her lip. She had so many questions. And lightning was nothing to mess with. Water was conductive, so electrocution usually couldn't be helped by a water-healer's bending. There was very little she could do to help the young boy.
"Spirits help us,"she whisper-prayed. "Wait, that's it!"
Quickly, Katara untied a vial from her belt. The water from the Spirit Oasis had been a parting gift from her teacher when she mastered bending and left the North Pole. She always kept it with her.
Sokka and the girl he called Toph watched anxiously as Katara did everything she could to help the young Avatar.
"There, that's the best I can do for him. He should gain consciousness again in a few days. But if the Fire Princess is looking for him, you'd better get out of here fast. Take your bison and get out of here."
"Thank you, Katara. I don't know what we would have done if you weren't here. Come on, Dad's fleet isn't too far if we fly. Let's get there as soon as we can." Sokka held out his hand for his sister, reaching to her up onto Appa's saddle.
"Tell Dad that I love him, and that I'm ok."
"You're not coming?" Sokka's face fell.
"If the Princess is here, then I need to keep an eye on my target, whichever way things turn out. I can't abandon my mission."
"Hey, Sokka! Quit the chitchat; we're about to get a rematch with the psycho princess and her Dai Li if we don't get out of here now. I don't think Twinkle Toes is up for a rematch." The earthbender rose a stone pillar level with Appa's saddle, mounted the bison, and sunk the pillar back into the ground.
"Be careful, Katara," Sokka said as a good-bye. "Appa, yip-yip!"
The white bison had just flown into a cloud when Katara heard the sound of several feet marching in step at the other end of the street. She turned and saw a group of Dai Li agents surrounding three others.
The Fire Princess, Azula, was instantly recognizable. Not because of the clothes she wore, or even her striking resemblance to her brother. It was the way she walked that distinguished her. Azula had an aura of power, confidence, and control that was unmistakable. She walked as if she commanded the city, which she very well might, if the group of Dai Li agents surrounding her was any indication.
Behind her followed Zuko, who looked tense and unhappy despite his carefully controlled countenance.
Handcuffed and constrained by the Dai Li was Iroh. Katara felt a twinge of pain in her heart at that sight. She caught his eye, then glanced at Zuko, then Azula, silently asking if she should step in and get them out of this situation.
Iroh shook his head the slightest bit. He glanced at Zuko, and then turned his face away, looking ashamed and disappointed.
Katara's eyes widened when she understood. The Fire Prince had somehow betrayed his uncle and allied himself with his sister. The same sister who just nearly killed the Avatar.
Instead of stepping in, the waterbender shrunk back into the shadows, hoping the entourage would ignore her when they passed by.
Zuko walked by without noticing his friend. In fact, he didn't notice much until a few days later, when he found himself on a ship again. This time, he was heading home. He didn't even think about what, or who, he would be missing once he left the Earth Kingdom.