Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to update! I've been having trouble coming up with ideas lately. It's as though my inspiration took a spring break. So, if anyone has any ideas for the story, PLEASE let me know. I will be sure to mention to give you credit for it if I use your idea. Well, I know you must be bored of hearing me ramble on, so, onto the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.
Katara's eyes fluttered open to darkness. She groaned as she sat up, feeling a sharp pain in her head. She squinted, trying to make out where she was. Once her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she could see that she was in what looked like a prison cell. There were rock walls all around her and a thick iron door with no window. As she looked around, she once again felt a sharp pain. Katara lifted her hand to her head. It came away wet and sticky with blood, her blood. Katara looked around for any water the guards might've left her to drink, so she could use it to heal the head wound, but the guards must have though better of leaving water around a master waterbender. Light suddenly shown into the room, and Katara looked up to see four guards in the doorway. Three came over to her, while one stayed at the door. Two of the three who'd walked over to her, chained her arms and legs. After the chains were secure, the third cautiously walked over with a little bit of water. He gave Katara some to drink, and the waterbender lapped it up thirstly. After all the water was gone, the guards unchained her and left, locking the door securely behind them. Once again, Katara was all alone in the dark. After what felt like an hour or so, Katara's eyelids began to feel heavy and she felt herself begin to drift away into a dreamless sleep.
Aang woke up in his bed on the airship. He looked over at Katara's bed, and seeing it empty brought all the memories of what had happened come rushing back.
"Katara!" he shouted, jumping out of his bed. He grabbed his glider and rushed out into the hallway, trying to remember the way to the gangplank. Once he got there, he could jump off the airship and glide back to the island to save Katara. It the others weren't going to, he'd just do it alone. He raced down various hallways, backtracking when he had to, until he found the door leading to the gangplank, a thin bridge outside that connected the main part of the airship to the engine rooms. But before he could open the door, someone grabbed him from behind.
"Let me go!" Aang shouted, sending a blast of air behind him. He felt the hold release and heard someone slam into the wall behind him. But before he could continue on his way, a sheet of metal came up from the floor and pressed him to the wall, molding itself around him so that he couldn't escape.
"Nice try Twinkletoes, but we were prepared for any escape attempt by you. We posted guards all around this ship so that when you woke up, you couldn't do anything stupid," came a voice. Aang stopped struggling against the metal and saw Toph and Zuko standing in the hall. He looked around for Sokka and saw him slumped against the wall, rubbing his head with a pained expression on his face.
"Thanks for that air blast Aang," the Water Tribe warrior said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Really feelin' the love. Just so you know, I was the one you airbended into the wall."
"Let me go," Aang said, "I need to save Katara!"
"Twinkletoes, no offense or anything, but that would mean it would be around a 100,000 of them versus one of you. They'd mop the floor with you," Toph plainly stated.
"But-"
"No Aang. We're not going to let you go," Zuko said, "At least not alone."
Katara woke up to the sound of guards at her door. They opened it up and a gruff looking man with a scar reaching from his ear to his jawline walked in her prison cell. Two guards chained her back up as the scarred man walked over to her and sat down on a stool another guard had placed on the ground.
"So," he started, "You're name is Katara, correct?"
Katara remained silent. Suddenly the man slapped her in the face.
"You answer when I ask you something! You hear me?!" he barked at her. Katara still remained silent and the scarred man slapped her again, harder this time. Each time he asked, she refused to answer, and he hit her.
"Name?"
Silence.
Slap.
"Name?"
Silence.
Slap.
This is how it went for ten minutes and by the time he stopped asking her, Katara's face had become numb from the repeated slapping. The scarred man shook his head and walked to the door, but before he walked out, he turned back to the other guards and an evil grin spread across his face.
"Flog her." He then walked out and left Katara to the guards. Katara gasped as one of the guards who had chained her suddenly grabbed her Water Tribe dress and ripped it off, so that Katara only wore her bindings and the pants she wore under her dress. Another guard took out a whip. Katara closed her eyes as the whip came down on her mostly bare back like a tigerdillo attacking its prey. As they whipped her again and again, she couldn't help but scream. The pain was excruciating. Lash after lash came down on her back, bloodying it with every hit. The pain grew to be too much and Katara felt herself drifting off into a state of unconsciousness.
The next few days were hazy as Katara drifted in and out of consciousness. When she was conscious, the pain was overwhelming. Her face was bruised and sore from being slapped repeatedly. Her head wound was still not healed. Her back felt like it was on fire because of being whipped. And she had sharp pains in her stomach because they hadn't fed her since they'd captured her. It got to be so bad, that Katara preferred to be unconscious. Never in her life had Katara been in such physical pain. She groaned as she came back to consciousness once again. How much time had passed since she'd been here? She had no idea. In the dark of her prison cell, time was nonexistent. She the damp, cold air of the room gave her goose bumps and Katara noticed that she was still wearing only her bindings and the pants she usually wore under her dress. The waterbender looked around and saw that her dress lay torn and dirty in the corner of her cell. She must have forgotten to put it back on after being whipped. She painfully crawled over to the piece of clothing and pulled it over her head, wincing as it rubbed against the cuts that crisscrossed her back. Her jaw felt swollen and stiff from being hit so many times. Katara found her thoughts drifting towards Hama of all people. Is this what had drove her mad? Being imprisoned in a dark room for so many years? Slowly being tortured and starved to death? Katara shuddered, hoping she wouldn't be driven the madness of bloodbending. She never wanted to do that again, if she could avoid it. What if she died here? What if she was never rescued, and she died? No, Katara thought, shaking the thought out of her head, Aang would never let that happen. Her thoughts turned towards the young avatar. Was he okay? What if something had happened to him? Katara found tears coming to her eyes at the thought of it. He had to be okay. If he wasn't there would've been some sign of it, wouldn't there? Katara curled up in the corner of her cell and shut her eyes, trying to push the horrible thought of something happening to Aang out of her head.
Aang stood outside the tunnel that was the entrance to the New Ozai Society compound. Sokka stood beside him, boomerang ready, Zuko and Toph behind him. Aang took a deep breath. This was it; they were going to rescue Katara. He turned and looked at the others, who were looking expectantly at him. When they'd gotten back to the Fire Nation, Sokka said he had part of a plan. After putting together all the pieces, they had a full-fledged rescue planned out. It was quite simple really. They'd come back to the compound. Aang and Toph were to use their eathbending to find out were Katara was being held. Then, they'd get Katara out and head back to the Fire Nation Palace. Of course, this didn't include what would happen if they were attacked by New Ozai Society members inside the compound. Aang opened his mouth to speak the two words that would start the whole rescue mission.
"Let's go."
They rushed into the tunnel, and Aang stomped the ground, trying to find Katara through the vibrations. It took him a moment, but then he found her. She was in a little room a good distance away.
"Found her," Aang said. The others nodded and followed him.
"Turn right!" Aang instructed as the tunnel branched off in two separate paths. The others did as he said. They took a few more turns before coming to a narrow tunnel Aang said would lead to Katara. But before they could get to it, a big group of New Ozai Society members suddenly rushed out at them.
"Freeze!" they shouted. They wore black clothing with a stitched insignia on the side. Some carried swords, some spears, and some were firebenders. Aang felt rage build up inside him as he looked upon the men who surrounded them. These were the people who were so intent to kill him and Zuko. These were the people who wanted war and chaos. These were the people who had captured Katara. Something inside Aang snapped. His eyes and tattoos started to glow. He was in the avatar state, but this wasn't like the defense mechanism that allowed him to protect others and save the world, this was born out of pure anger and emotion. And it was one in which Aang was not in full control. Aang lifted his arm and rocks lifted from the ground into the air. He sent them towards a firebender and the man let out a sickening scream as the rocks fell on him and crushed his legs. He then sent a huge blast of air towards a man carrying a spear, throwing him against the cave wall much harder that Sokka had been thrown against the airship wall. The man was instantly knocked unconscious and blood ran down his face. But Aang wasn't done with him and stomped the ground, causing the man to shoot up into the air with a big rock. The man then came falling back down and landed with a sickening crunch on his arm.
As Zuko, Toph, and Sokka watched in awe and horror at Aang's loss of control, Sokka turned to the others.
"We need to get Katara while Aang's taking care of those guards," he whispered, "Toph, can you feel where she is?"
"Yeah, Sugar Queen's in a little room just down that tunnel," the blind earthbender said, pointing to the narrow tunnel Aang had been leading them to just before they were ambushed.
"Okay. Zuko, you stay here and help Aang," Sokka said, heading towards the tunnel with Toph.
"I'll stay here, but I don't think Aang's going to need my help," Zuko replied grimly.
Katara looked up weakly as the door to her cell was busted inward. Her brother and Toph rushed in.
"Sokka? Toph?"
When Sokka's eyes landed on Katara, the look of determination on his face was replaced by one of brotherly concern. He walked over to her and knelt down.
"C'mon," he said softly, "We're taking you home." He helped Katara stand up. Then Toph led the way as Sokka helped her limp out.
"Where's Aang?" Katara asked weakly.
"He's holding back the guards just outside this tunnel. Don't worry, everything's going to be fine."
But when they got back to Aang, what they saw was not pretty. The guards had not all been defeated, but the ones who had been were grossly injured, some barely alive. Aang was still in the avatar state and still not in control. Zuko was standing with a look of horror on his face as Aang took out yet another guard.
"Aang!" Katara cried out hoarsely. She stumbled over to the avatar before Sokka could stop her. But still, Aang continued to attack the New Ozai Society's men. Katara finally reached him and he whipped around looking at her with eyes that didn't register her presence as she grabbed his arm.
"Sweetie," she said, "It's me. I'm okay. You can stop hurting these guards. Please." He continued to glow and tears leaked out of Katara's eyes.
"Please sweetie," she found herself murmuring one more time. She leaned forward and kissed him. The glow in Aang's eyes and tattoos subsided as Katara kissed him and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer.
"Katara," he said, pulling back to look at her.
"Aang," she sighed and fell into his arms, exhausted. Aang scooped her up and she clung tightly to his robes. As Aang took in the scene around him, a look of horror etched itself upon his face.
"D-Did I do this?" he stammered, looking at the injured guards that lay all around. Sokka laid a hand on his shoulder and Zuko nodded. Aang shuddered and looked away.
"Let's head back to the airship before anyone else comes," Zuko said, taking charge. Toph led the way out of the tunnel and Aang walked behind her, carrying Katara, who had passed out in his arms. At the rear were Sokka and Zuko, making sure no other New Ozai Society members ambushed them.
Once they were back in the airship, Aang put Katara on her bed and then sat on his own. His shoulders shook as he finally gave in to his emotions and broke down and cried.