xXx Chapter 14 xXx

xXx The Un-expected Surrender xXx

Katara kneeled between Sokka and Suki, and a lair of water was wrapped around both of them, rippling methodically across their blistered skin. Most of Sokka's torso was withered and red, some of his hair was even singed. With pain shinning in his blue eyes, he glanced between her and Suki. She knew he wanted her to fully heal Suki first, without focusing on him, but his body had more damage to it; she could easily imagine him taking a blow for Suki. Even though she couldn't deal with it now, she noticed a slash, which was weeping merciless tear of red, upon Sokka's left arm.

Suki's burns were less severe; her arm was a sickening red color, along with her stomach and some of her hip. There was an unusual amount of blood coming from her hip, but she couldn't do anything about it until the burn was healed. With uncertainty, she guessed that she had also hit her head; she kept slipping in and out of consciousness. Actually, she felt almost certain of it; it would take a concussion to keep Suki down, especially since her burns weren't life-threatening.

It was Sokka's burns that concerned her the most (and it wasn't just because he was her brother), they were far worse than Suki's. She pushed herself to work faster, hoping that he hadn't been like this for long. Burns were always more difficult to heal when they had time to set. She wanted to ask Ozai who long they been like this, but she didn't want to take the chance of him changing his mind.

Once Sokka and Suki were safe, however, she wouldn't be playing the role of some docile little girl. As if hurting her friends and family didn't produce enough reason for her to fight him, he only made the desire stronger when he told her she could heal them. It was his voice that had infuriated her; it was filled with an amusement that made her skin crawl. She wondered just how much he was underestimating her; it wasn't as if she made it through the war by hiding behind her friends.

After many more healing sessions, their burns appeared to be gone. It was hard to tell, she was working in almost complete darkness; Ozai wasn't going to give her any flame to work by. The only light source came from the moon (which was usually concealed behind puffs of dark clouds) and random strikes of lighting. Even though she wasn't particularly skilled at wrapping a wound, Sokka's arm was neatly taken care of. Honestly, she wished that he would just pass out or something; he was attempting to get up. It wasn't entirely a protective nature that kept him down- this was her fight now. With a pleading gaze from her, Sokka stopped struggling.

Casting her thoughts about dealing with Ozai aside, she turned to Suki and took a closer look at the hip that was bleeding. It looked as she might have landed on a jagged rock; the gash was uneven and blotchy. Quickly, she patched up the laceration and moved up to her head. Tentatively, she ran her finger across Suki's scalp until she located the spot of injury; it didn't seem too bad. She should be fine in a couple of hours.

Suki was currently unconscious again, so she didn't have to worry about her, but she had to physically hold Sokka down, "Stop moving, I need to get you out of here, and I can't do that if you start another fight with Ozai."

She wasn't concerned about Ozai overhearing her; he was a dozen or so feet away talking with a robed man. Possibly the one that would deal with Sokka and Suki. This newcomer had shown up mere moments ago.

Sokka pushed against her restraining hands, "You can't possible think that I'm going to leave you alone with that maniac."

"I don't think you're going to have a choice."

"If the three…" he glanced at Suki, "If the two of us work together, we can take him."

She sighed, "No, Sokka, this is my fight, besides," she leaned closer, "I know you can get away from the guards again, and when you do, I need you tell Aang everything that has happened. He needs to know where to begin looking," she lowered her voice, "I don't know where we're going, but he's said that we are leaving the mainland. I think we're going to an island or something."

"But, Katara…"

"I know you want to protect me, but we need an actual plan, and we need Aang."

Sokka nodded his head, without hiding his displeasure, and sank back down, "Fine," he paused for a moment, "you said this was your fight… Katara, you can't face him by yourself."

She lied through her teeth, "Fine, I'll wait for Aang, but you have to hurry."

"I will, don't worry, it will be simple to get back to the Fire Nation with all the soldiers at the docks."

She suddenly sensed that someone was behind her, "You're done tending to their wombs?"

She stood and turned to see the newcomer, "Yes."

Without another word to her, he moved around her and dragged Sokka up by the shoulder. Wearily, she watched as the man bound Sokka and started leading him away. Then, as if appearing out of thin air, another man picked up Suki and followed after the first. She wondered briefly if Ozai had these men hiding under rocks. Before they disappeared in the forest completely, Sokka glanced back at her, wearing a look that warned her to not do anything rash. His wordless warning fell on deaf ears.

She stood in a static flawlessness while she thought through her strategy; she knew this attack would be better than the last, even though a flaw had made itself present. The moon was not full and it was still obscured by thick clouds. The good news; the sun wasn't out to strengthen Ozai. Perhaps she had a chance. While closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and cleared her mind. She was also listening for Ozai to move closer. Her feelings were mixed; she knew this wasn't the smartest choice, but she had to stand up to Ozai.

His echoing footsteps finally reached her straining ear; when they finally stopped, she believed that he was close enough. She spun to face him, but kept her demeanor relaxed and casual. His hood was down, which allowed his amber eyes to be properly seen. This always distracted her, but she found it easier to ignore the disconcerting effect of his eyes this times. Despite the warm color of his eyes, they were extremely cold.

She came to the decision that she wanted to voice her displeasure before acting upon it, "I was the one that ran away. You should have taken it out on me, not on my brother and Suki."

The corner of his mouth tugged up into a smile, "Technically, they ran away, as well."

She didn't let that… truth deter her, "You were angry with me." Her voice had taken on a more strained tone.

His sneer remained, "I don't see what your point is; their fate was a part of your punishment."

Her checks flared, "My mistake was not their burden to bare!" Somehow, she couldn't believe that he would do such a thing.

He moved closer, "Then, perhaps, you will consider your actions more carefully next time."

As if sensing her failure of reasoning with the man in front of her, the sky let lose all of the rain it had been holding; it came down in a strong and sudden waterfall that blurred the vision. Keeping the rain water at bay would be an easy task for her, but she didn't want to do anything that might benefit Ozai. Instead of drawing power from the raindrops, her bending powers claimed assistance from the surging river; the blow was inaudible over the deafening downpour of rain.

Through the all darkness and rain, she had barely been able to see Ozai's silhouette, and the successful hit caused him to vanish completely into the watery shadows. If he had breathed a gasp of surprise or cry of pain, it was lost in the stormy night. Declining fire its entrance, she struck out again with a graceful motion; transparent slivers pierced through the black air and echoes of the impact sounded off. Risking the chance of a ball of golden fire flying out to her, she paused, waiting for some sound from the former tyrant. With anticipation, she strained her ears, hoping to signal out something of importance over the hammering element. She also kept a wary eye out for the tiniest spark of fire.

It was her own fault for expecting such an obvious move, but she was surprised nonetheless; her knees buckled upon the collision of something against the back of her legs. Despite the surprise attack, she was able to brace herself for the fall; she only managed to avoid a face full of mud. Without hesitation, she rolled off to the side and rose from the ground in a stumbling manner. She sent a torrent of water in Ozai's general direction; just enough to put some distance between them.

After that, she then jumped so that she was standing in the water of the surging river; with a leap away from the liquid surface, the water was solidified. With a sloshing sound heard only by her, she landed on the block of ice and pushed herself away. With the howling wind, pounding rain, and turbulent river, she had to focus the majority of her power on keeping her current potion. Which also required her concentration. This would explain why she caught off guard yet again.

Her slippery boat suddenly trashed back and forth under and new and unwelcome weight. Even though she tried to steady the chunk of ice, it toppled over in the end. Her faithful element forced its way into her lungs while it pulled her into a deep and tight embrace. With her abilities, she rose to the surface with relative ease, and expelled the water from her lungs. The next step she took was to form another lump of ice, which she promptly took hold of. Without her coat, the ice was a harsh substance to bear, but she clung to it regardless.

The vehement waves dragged and pulled on her, but she managed to steady herself. Despite her power over the water, the darkness that shrouded the new battlefield played against her. She couldn't see the shore, nor could she see Ozai. Hopefully, he couldn't see her either. Thankfully, the flow of the river directed her to one side of the shore. After the frosted boat dug into the soft land that bordered the water, she threw herself off of it and stumbled to her feet.

As she swept away the chilly water, a flare of light erupted at least fifty paces from where she stood. On the same side of the river. Her anger and frustration notwithstanding, she found Ozai's ability to reach dry land impressive. Many others would have been swept away with the dark current. She breathed in a deep, calming breath, which was obscured from human ears over the maelstrom of rain.

She could feel her strength and chi fading; controlling her makeshift boat in the storm affected waters required much of her energy. The surly weather itself was playing against her as well. Risking Ozai's notice, she made the rain cease and hover above her head. Even though she knew she would just become drenched again, she cast the water away from her cloths.

"Katara!" Ozai's strong voice overpowered the pounding of the rainfall, "Stop this at once!"

Surrendering never crossed her mind; even though the conditions were harsh, they were playing to her favor. As she prepared to attack again, a strong hand closed around her wrist, and she was jerked forward. She gasped; how in the world did he manage to close the distance between them so quickly?

"Katara-" A fire flickered to life in his hand; giving off a small circle of light.

Despite the cold, she felt her cheeks flare with anger, "No, you can't order me around, not this time! It's night, were by a river and its raining! The odds of winning are with me, not you!" Her advantages notwithstanding, her voice still carried an air of desperation.

His eyes seemed to burn with the flame in his hand, but he still looked tired (but by no means defeated), "I won't let you escape me. You'll have to do nothing short of killing me to get away," surprisingly enough, he wasn't smirking, "You think you can do that?"

She took a moment to think, "You wouldn't put your life on the line in order to keep me here."

His expression remained unreadable, "Do not presume to know what I will and won't do…. Furthermore, you have proven to be tiresome and problematic- the plans I have you will," his grip tightened, "come to be."

Despite his efforts to frighten her, she had no intentions of backing down, and Ozai seemed to realize this, "What do you plan to do if you get away from me? You won't find them again, and they won't be able to escape this time," he pulled her closer so that his eyes were visible even through the darkness, "I don't know if you have thought of this, but you are a traitor; you have been since the night you boarded that boat with me."

The panic that flashed through her eyes did not go unnoticed, "How did you think this would end? Even if you got away?"

She answered nervously, "You kidnapped me…"

Through the sounds of the storm, she heard a mirthless laugh, "You've still been a part of all of this-"

She cut him off, "I'm a victim!"

He tilted his head, "You believe that since Zuko is your friend, you will pardoned… What kind of example would he be setting if he did such a thing?" Suddenly, the flame in his hand vanished in a watery death.

"I… he would…"

She heard his hollow laugh again, "Let's pretend for a moment that I was to be caught. I would be put back in that jail cell…. And there might just be a certain blue-eyed Waterbender one cell over." He spoke slow and deliberately, letting every word sink in.

Lies. She repeated that over and over again inside her head. Lies. Despite her best efforts, those cold words, the ones that were meant to slay her defiance and determination, were somehow doing their job. It wasn't the threat that disconcerted her, it was the mere effort of ignoring them that doused her anger. Too much of her focus was required to keep his icy intimidations at bay. And she was tired, oh so tired. His burning eyes mixed with the bone chilling rain did nothing to encourage her. Still, she was fortunate enough to be able to move her eyes away from his.

Due to her silence, Ozai continued their one-sided conversation, "If that were to happen, you should consider yourself lucky; you would be dead if mine and Zuko's places were reversed."

In one last act of defiance, she spoke up, "Why are you talking about a what-if scenario? You would never believe in the thought of being captured. So, why should your theories matter?" She refused to meet his eyes.

She heard a brief laugh, but still declined the idea of eye contact, "I don't know, why don't you tell me why they matter?" His breath was hot against her ear.

Her numb limbs received a jolt of energy, only to become stiff at her sides. Her eyes, which could now only see the side if his head, widened and darted about frantically in their sockets. A pain suddenly engulfed her chest, and she realized that she was holding her breath. Even though her frozen body was screaming for air, she couldn't force the action. Her ice covered body suddenly noticed something else; there was one soul entity of warmth in this life draining storm. Ozai.

His warm breath was still fluttering across her neck. She swallowed hard, desperately trying to ignore how his body seemed to beckon her closer. With a quick, stiff movement, she took a very small step back. The warmth instantly vanished, and every part of her cried out in protest as the bitter cold engulfed her once more.

xXx Ozai xXx

Silently, he watched the odd manner in which Katara pulled away. This action was very subtle, especially in comparison with her normal jerky movements. Her form was rigid and stiff, her head bent down to stare at the muddy ground. He waited silently, waited for her insolent retort, but the pounding rain seemed to be his only companion. He moved but only slightly, hoping to gain a reaction, but none came.

Had she given up?

Regardless of his curiosity, he had grown tired of standing in the rain. If need be, he would carry Katara away kicking and screaming, whatever it takes to find shelter from these harsh elements. He was also growing tired, and didn't much feel like getting into another argument with the currently silent girl. Without much concern, he grabbed Katara by the arm (he felt her jerk and fidget) and turned her around. He withdrew his hand and placed it on her back, pushing her along. He felt her stumble time and time again. He could not ascertain the reason for her odd behavior. Honestly, as long as she kept quiet and reframed from attacking him, she could act as out-of-character as she wanted. Still… he wanted to know what had caused her to stop her resistance.

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