ANOTHER UPDATE?
A shout-out to my faithful Beta, JonathanByers11, who has been such a great help!
Thank you all for reading my fic, I'm really happy to be back and writing again.
If you were wondering why I dropped off the face of for a while…I'm a college student, and last semester was extremely tough, so this story was pushed to the side while I tried to handle my studies and life. Thanks for reading, extra-thanks if you leave reviews.
….
They ran into two groups of Western Tribesmen. Katara and Toph had been running ahead of their group through the halls when they rounded a corner and came face to face with a cluster of waterbenders.
"You didn't want to warn me that there were seven men around the corner?" Katara shouted as she ducked under a thick water whip; the men had wasted no time in attacking.
"I thought we could handle them!" Toph retorted as she bent chunks of marble up from the floor and sent them flying towards the waterbenders.
Katara snorted as she pushed a wave of water back at the man who had thrown it at her. She frowned a second, increased the pressure and overpowered the man's attempt to keep it away. It encased him, and Katara froze it.
Sokka and the rest of the palace guards came around the corner just as Toph sent a series of marble spikes towards a man, one catching him under the arm. The man let out a howl before Sokka jumped forward and hit him upside the head with his elbow.
Katara grimaced as she noted the flow of blood from the man's shoulder. He wouldn't use that arm again. With a shake of her head, she focused on the rest of the benders.
With the help of the guards, Sokka, Toph and Katara incapacitated the Western Tribesmen. Toph bent thick spheres of marble around each man's hands and Sokka ordered two guards to remain and take the benders to separate cells, as had been done with the men the guards had already captured.
"I hope Zuko wasn't too fond of that floor," Toph muttered as they started forward again, "I'm not sure it'll ever be the same.."
Katara glanced back at the marble floor which had large chunks missing, several areas of spikes sticking up, and two new walls.
"I'm sure he won't mind" she said, as they continued down the corridor at a slower pace.
They met the second group of Western Tribesmen just after the Royal Wing, as the men ran into the corridor from another hall.
"Halt!" The young man in the front shouted as he saw Sokka, followed by their small group. The man was really a boy -he looked younger than Aang, really- but he held two whalebone-knives confidently.
Sokka held up his hand and the guards came to a stop, while Katara and Toph slipped past them to join Sokka.
The young Western Tribesmen's eyes widened when he saw Katara, and a wave of unease rippled over the rest of the tribesmen, all of whom looked to be just as young as the first.
Katara took advantage of their pause and stepped forward.
"Surrender," she said, looking the first boy in the eye, "We already defeated your comrades. There is no point in fighting now."
The boy scowled, "Yes there is! We fight for the honour of our tribe! We are taking revenge for the wrongs done to us!"
A few of the boys behind him nodded.
"Tell us where Lakkin is, and your fate will be kinder" Sokka stated, gesturing with the sword he had borrowed from on of the guards.
"It is you who should be surrendering," the boy shouted, "We have our leader, and where is yours? Where is your Fire Lord?"
With that, he made a wild gesture to the boys behind them, and they ran forward.
The guards and Sokka jumped forward, weapons ready, while Katara dragged Toph back to the side. Shoving the earthbender around the nearest corner, Katara demanded over the sounds of battle, "Toph! Can you feel Zuko anywhere near? Or Lakkin?"
Toph frowned, "Well, it's kinda hard to see anything with that racket going on, but give me a sec."
Katara glanced around while Toph lifted one foot and slammed it against the floor. They were close to the bending courtyard, and they still hadn't seen any sign of Aang, Suki or Zuko. They had to-
Katara stilled. Had that been...?
Yes! Another tremor ran beneath Katara's feet.
"Didja feel that, Sugarqueen?" Toph asked, "That came from the bending courtyard. It feels like earthbending. Might be Aang-"
Katara shot up. Sokka said that Aang had been with Zuko. She pulled her cloud of water close, wrapping it around her arms, then Katara ran around the corner, diving between the guards and Western Tribesmen who were still fighting.
"Where are you going?!" Sokka cried out as Katara cleared the fighting.
"Bending courtyard!" Katara yelled without turning around, "Take care of this!"
She didn't hear Sokka's response as she ran down the hall, slipping around the first right corner, then the second left. Katara slowed as she came up to the entrance of the courtyard. Suki was bent over two men.
"Suki!"
"Katara? Oh thank goodness!" Suki grabbed Katara by the arms, looking her up and down before giving her a hug. Pulling back, she said,"We had no idea where you were! What happened? The palace is under attack-"
"I know," Katara interrupted, "Lakkin is what happened to me. What's going on in there?" She gestured at the closed door.
"Zuko and Aang ran in a little while ago. I was taking care of these two."
Zuko is through that door.
Katara took a step forward, but then leapt back as it swung open, and a group of older men staggered through, with Aang the last through, supporting a man.
The door slammed behind the Avatar, followed by a loud rush and then silence.
"Katara!" Aang exclaimed, setting the man down gently before moving to her side.
Katara looked at the group of men, some of whom sported minor injuries, recognising them as members of Zuko's council.
"Where have you been?" Aang asked.
"Long story," Katara muttered darkly, as she moved around the Avatar and touched the sturdy wooden door that led into the courtyard, "Is Zuko in there?"
"Yes, and Lakkin."
The wood was cold, and Katara could sense the barrier of ice behind it. Lakkin expected someone to try and barge through that door, and he had made it so he would have plenty of warning if they tried.
Katara considered melting all the ice away as quickly as she could and then running into the courtyard, but even that would take time...time enough for Lakkin to think of an attack, or hurt Zuko or-
"I should get back in there-" Aang began, but Katara cut him off.
"No. You and Suki take the council members somewhere else. Sokka and Toph are closer to our rooms; they were fighting tribesmen in the hallway. Maybe you can meet them..."
Suki shook her head. "We can't just leave you to go in there by yourself-"
"I'll be fine. You need to secure the council. They are the highest power under Zuko."
She glanced over to see Mashi, the man who had welcomed her to the capitol, brush off his sleeves and nod. He chimed in "You know, we are a rather important bunch of old men. Combined, we have the same authority as the Fire Lord himself."
Suki groaned, and Aang frowned at Katara, who tilted her head towards Mashi as if to say "he has a point".
"Fine," Aang huffed, "But then we're coming back to get you."
Katara nodded, and then waited while Aang and Suki helped up the council members and led them down the hall, and out of sight.
Once they were gone, she pulled a whip of water close to her side, then flung her arm up, sending it up to the dark skylight above her - Zuko had installed them all over the palace- where it pooled.
Katara lifted her other hand, and slowly, she increased the pressure on the large pane of glass, bending the water against the flat surface until it popped the glass out of it's frame. She cushioned the pane with more water, and bent it softly onto the roof.
Katara constructed an ice ladder, and climbed up through the frame, crawling onto the tiled roof. It was dark, and the air was thick with the promise of rain.
Katara drew her hands through the air, and pulled out some of the moisture, adding it to her already large supply. Then she made her way over the slow slope of the roof, bending her knees and keeping her hands close to the tiles. She slid over the crest of the roof and came into view of the bending arena.
It was well lit, torches along the walls. She could see the mass of ice that was blocking the door. And in the yard, amid the torn up floor, stood Lakkin and Zuko.
Katara continued to make her way on the roof, aiming to get behind Lakkin. If she could surprise him, she and Zuko might have a chance-
She paused as she heard her name.
Zuko was talking to Lakkin, but speaking low- she could barely make out what he was saying...
"You have been responsible for suffering too, Lakkin," Zuko stated, watching the other man as he stood, "Why have you targeted Katara in all this? What do you have to gain for her pain?"
Lakkin's eyes widened before he burst out laughing, his smooth voice ringing off the walls.
Zuko growled softly. He did not like the way Lakkin acted; it reminded him too much of Azula and how she had been near the end- unhinged.
Not that Lakkin had the same sense of insanity Azula had, but he had an edge to him that didn't seem...right.
"Katara gives me leverage over the other Watertribe," Lakkin said, once he stopped laughing, "And there is nothing to gain from hurting her," the waterbender shrugged, "I simply enjoy it."
Zuko stood still, though every inch of him was screaming for action, for Lakkin's blood.
"And she makes this sound, when she chokes, it's almost like the gasp of breath between kisses. It's utterly endearing."
The twin daggers of fire in Zuko's fists flared, growing larger. Lakkin glanced down at them, and chuckled.
"Have you kissed her then? Do you know that sound?" The Waterbender shrugged, "I can't say I'm too pleased with that. I'll have to train her to be a more..."
And that was it.
Zuko jumped forward, swinging one fist up, aiming for the smirk on Lakkin's face. Lakkin ducked, and stumbled back, before grinning and bending a whip of water out of the trough to the right of the yard, lashing it towards Zuko. Zuko twisted just before it hit his side, and Lakkin bent it back towards him again.
Kicking up his left leg, Zuko bent a rush of fire at the water, turning it to steam as the two elements collided. Lakkin burst through the small cloud, running straight for him, an ice dagger each hand.
Throwing up his elbow, Zuko knocked one of Lakkin's fists to the side, then ducked under it and rolled, coming up into a crouch a few yards away.
Lakkin was still smiling. Zuko punched out twice, hurling two fireballs towards the man. He bent up a thin wall of ice, which dissolved immediately, then sent a thin layer of water over the rough ground, reaching for Zuko's feet.
Zuko jumped onto the nearest boulder, and sent a wave of fire around himself with sweep of his right leg. Lakkin ran towards him, leaping onto the nearest rock, and then he jumped for Zuko, bending the cloud of water behind him into a mass of ice spears.
Zuko waited until the last moment, then, just before Lakkin and his spears hit him, he crumpled, sliding down the rock, as he reached up and grabbed Lakkin's ankle, jerking the other man down.
Zuko landed on his feet, but Lakkin fell onto his side, hitting the jagged ground with a hiss. Without hesitating, Zuko thrust his fist down at Lakkin's unprotected chest, bending a wave of fire along with it. Before his fist made contact, Zuko jerked back. His body had moved without-
Lakkin pulled himself up, and twisted his hands out in front of himself.
Zuko held back a groan as he was thrown into the boulder he had just stood on.
Bloodbending!
Zuko blinked as pain rain through his back, and then tried to pull his limbs free of the strange hold they were in. It felt as though his blood was now supporting him.
He was turned, and Lakkin walked forward to face Zuko. He twisted his hands again, and Zuko let out a curse as his body was lifted several feet above the ground, his feet dangling uselessly and his arms stuck to his sides.
Lakkin was no longer grinning.
"I am tired of this," he said, glancing down at the bloodstain on a small section of his shirt, "Fire Lord Zuko, you and your forefathers have dealt poorly with my people. You have imprisoned us, enslaved us, deemed us as nonthreatening and then you dared to ignore us. We will not remain in the shadows any longer. We will right the wrongs done to our tribe, and to the world. Your time of judgement has come."
Zuko tried to struggle as Lakkin raised him higher into the air, but even his mouth would not open. He could only stare as Lakkin talked.
"I sentence you to death, for your own sins, and those of the entire Fire Nation."
Lakkin grinned crookedly as he watched Zuko hang in agony, frozen in midair, "I'll be sure to tell Katara how you died, how I drained of all your blood until you were nothing but a husk."
Zuko glared into Lakkin's eyes, then shut his own. If he was going to die, he would do it with the image of Katara in his mind. Katara as she stood among the blushing-snow flowers, in the garden, her hair around her shoulders and-
Zuko felt a harder pull on his blood, and he furrowed his brows, shutting his eyes tighter, and grabbing on to that image of Katara with all his strength.
Lakkin continued, "Shall I tell her that you begged me at the-"
A piercing howl rang out through the courtyard. Zuko snapped his eyes open just as the hold on his blood gave way.
He fell to ground, landing on his knees. Wincing, Zuko looked up to see Lakkin shout as a dark shape flung itself off the near rooftop, and crash into the other man.
Lakkin went down, but rolled before his attacker pinned him down. As he came up from his roll, and his attacker spun to face him, Zuko's eyes widened.
"What was it you wanted to tell me, Lakkin?" Katara demanded, bending a massive cloud of water from the trough, to rest at her side.