Hi everyone. Thank you so much for your patience. Sorry for the wait, I have received many more hours of work, and with school starting back up for me, plus other stories to work on, I've been having difficulty finding time to work on Worlds Collide. Rest assured, I have every intention of going forward with it. Thanks so much for waiting, I'm sure you're all looking forward to this particular chapter. So lets get started
The Southern Raiders
It was dawn at the Western Air Temple, as everyone lay asleep in this campsite. Leo, Raph, Don, Mikey, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Suki, Zuko, Karai, April, Casey, Usagi, Chit Sang, Hakoda, Teo, the Duke, and Haru we're asleep on the ground with their sleeping bags. Meanwhile, Aang laid on the sleeping Appa, and Master Splinter was in a meditative position in the daylight. However, the rat master's eyes shot open as he sensed something.
"Avatar! Wake up!" Splinter stated.
Aang was startled awake, along with Appa. "What? What is it?"
Less than a second later, a missile came down from the sky directly towards them. Getting his barrings, Aang picked up his staff and used his Airbending to pull the missile and circle it around him and send it back out, where it exploded in the air. Several more missiles and gunfire shot down from the sky around the Western Air Temple. The resulting explosions woke up everyone in the camp.
"What the shell is going on?!" Raph questioned as they woke up.
Aang and Splinter both ran to the edge and looked up to see the massive Foot Carrier descending down from the sky and firing missiles down around the area on the temple.
Aang and Splinter ran back in. "What's going on?" Leo questioned.
"The Foot found us." Splinter answered as Aang using Airbending to close the doors around the doors to seal the area everyone was inside.
Foot Carrier Bridge
Dr. Stockman was at the command with several Foot technicians working at the controls.
"Sir. We have the enemy located." One technician reported.
"Fire around the area. Flush them out." Stockman ordered.
"Yes sir."
More missiles fired around the sealed area where all the heroes we're hiding in. The missile's firepower was definitely more than the ancient temple could handle as it continued to shake and rock.
Several pieces of the ceiling began to crumble as a large piece of debris fell down towards a certain Waterbender.
"Look out!" Karai tackled Katara out of the way before the debris could crush her.
"What are you doing?!" Katara questioned.
"Preventing you from being crushed." Karai responded.
"Okay, I'm not crushed. You can get off me now." Katara rudely said as she got up. Karai chose not to respond to Katara's ungratefulness.
Toph and Haru both used their Earthbending to create a large tunnel at the back wall for everyone to escape.
"Come on! We can get out through here!" Toph pointed down the tunnel.
"You heard her! Let's go!" Don ordered as everyone tried to file in through the hole. Aang meanwhile struggled to pull Appa in by the reigns into the tunnel; he looked to see both Karai and Zuko walking towards the closed and crumbling gates.
"What are you guys doing?!"
"Go ahead! We'll hold them off!" Zuko told everyone.
"We know exactly who's here, and you must keep the Sword of Tengu away from him!" Karai stated as she picked up the sheathed sword and threw it to Aang as she and Zuko ran.
Aang caught the sword but was still surprised to see them run off. "Zuko! Karai! No!"
Sokka, Leo, and Katara came towards Aang. "Come on! We have to get out of here!" Sokka stated as they tried to pull Appa's reigns. However they looked in surprise to see Master Splinter running to join the two redeemed warriors.
"Master Splinter! What are you doing?!" Leo questioned.
"Go! I will help Zuko and Karai!"
Before anyone could protest the rat sensei he had already joined Zuko and Karai as the three leaped through the hole of the collapsing gate and out into the collapsing courtyard where they saw the massive Foot Carrier hovering over them.
"We must get onto the deck!" Karai stated.
Zuko got an idea. "Both of you hold onto me." Splinter and Karai held onto Zuko as he shot large pillars of flame from both his hands and feet that propelled all three straight up.
They flew up quite a distance before Zuko's flames went out and they rolled onto the massive deck of the Foot Carrier, which bore a striking resemblance to the deck of a navy aircraft carrier.
As they got up, they looked around to see several Foot Ninja come up onto the deck via elevated platforms. Along with them included the Foot Elite who appeared in a large plume of smoke. At the top of a satellite tower jumped down all four Dark Turtles, each of them baring an evil laugh. Another platform elevated onto the deck to reveal none other than Azula, Hama, and Hun as all three smirked evilly.
Karai, Zuko, and Master Splinter circled up as they glared at all their enemies. Zuko looked towards his sister.
"What are you doing here?" He questioned.
"You mean it's not obvious? I'm about to celebrate becoming an only child!" Azula replied.
"Yeah! It's payback time!" Dark Mikey chuckled as he laughed maniacally.
"No! They are mine!"
Splinter, Zuko, and Karai looked to see a crowd of Foot Ninja clear the way to reveal the Shredder himself who was leading this mission. All three glared as he walked forward.
"Shredder." Splinter growled.
Shredder glared back with his red eyes at Zuko, Karai, and Splinter, some of the foes that he hatted the most; Splinter for being one to defeat him quite a few times, Zuko and Karai for leaving and joining his enemies.
"My friends, I had lone anticipated this moment." Shredder stated as he raised his claws.
"I'm surprised with your genius it took you this long to find us." Zuko shot back.
With nothing else needing to be said; Shredder leaped high and directly at the three; forcing them to scatter. Zuko rolled before coming up and shooting several fireballs directly at Shredder. He braced himself as the flames bounced off his armor before he charged at Zuko who ducked to avoid a slice from his claws. Karai then came in from behind and kicked the Shredder on his back to force him to Zuko who responded with a flaming kick across the face. But Shredder was able to come back and grab Zuko's leg before he pulled it back. He threw Zuko towards Karai and the two rolled for a bit, but Shredder's victory was short lived as Splinter came in with a palm thrust to knock Shredder back.
The two glared at each other. "How many times must we do this, rat?" Shredder questioned.
"As many times until my Master Yoshi has been avenged!" Splinter declared before he and Shredder leaped at each other and met in mid-air.
As the two fell, they exchanged and parried several punches and kicks, but none connected as the two moved at blinding speed. They landed on the ground roughly as Shredder kicked Splinter back. He rolled a bit, but found a spare metal rod and picked it up to block Shredder's incoming slash. Splinter parried the clawed gauntlet before he slammed the rod across Shredder's face to knock him back.
Zuko and Karai both got up to face all the remaining enemy forces, each thinking of his or her own way to make the two suffer.
"This is gonna be good." Hama muttered as she created two water-whips around her arms as the Dark Turltes drew their respective weapons.
"I call dibs on cracking Zuko's skull!" Dark Raph exclaimed.
Before anything else could happen, the bad guys all heard the sounds of battle erupting behind them and looked in shock to see several Foot ninja fall on the ground. Ty-Lee ran as fast as she could, chi-blocking all the ninja around her and causing them to fall on the ground.
Several ninja tried to jump Ty-Lee with their katanas, but all their swords we're knocked out of their hands by a series of knives that Mai tossed as she ran towards them and performed a fast roundhouse to knock them all back. They both leaped into the air and landed by the surprised duo.
"Hey guys." Ty-Lee greeted with a smile.
"Mai?! Ty-Lee?!" Zuko questioned in shock.
"How… how are you…?" Karai stuttered.
"Long story. We'll tell you after we kick all their butts." Mai responded as they faced the surprised looks of the enemy.
Among the most surprised was Azula, but her look turned into a deep scowl as she remembered how her so-called friends turned on her. She was the first to attack by blasting a column of blue flame directly at them.
While the fighting continued on top of the Foot Carrier's deck, the collapse of the Western Air Temple continued as several missiles and energy blasts we're shot around the area that the heroes we're barricaded in.
Toph and Haru we're both able to create a large earth-dome around the group to keep the rubble from crashing onto them.
"Come on! We need to go! Why aren't we going?!" Mikey quickly questioned.
Aang, Leo, Sokka, and Katara tried to pull Appa's reigns, but he refused to budge. "I can't get him to go in there! Appa hates tunnels!" Aang stated.
"You've gotta be freaking kidding me!" Casey exclaimed.
Leo sighed. "Looks like we'll have to fight our way out of here."
"What? Leo we can't fly through there!" Katara exclaimed.
"We have to!" Leo responded. "Master Splinter, Zuko, and Karai are out there, risking their lives to help us and I am not abandoning them!"
"Leo's right." Aang agreed. "Plus we have the Sword of Tengu. We can do this."
"Then we'll have to split up." Don said. "We're too big a group to escape. All Turtles and members of Team Avatar board Appa."
"Hang on, I'm going with you guys!" Casey stated as he walked forward with his bag of sports gear and his hockey mask on.
"So am I." April agreed as she joined them.
"Me to." Suki walked forward as well.
"Alright." Sokka said as he turned to the group consisting of Hakoda, Usagi, Chit Sang, Teo, the Duke, and Haru. "Take the tunnel and get to the stolen helicopter."
"We're the Foot's main targets." Leo said as well. "We'll keep them busy while you all escape."
"Very well." Usagi said as he bowed. "We will meet again, my brother."
Leo bowed as well. "Yes, we will. Good luck Usagi."
The only one who didn't seem to be in agreement was Katara. "No! The Foot cannot separate our family again!" She said as she walked close to her father.
Hakoda placed his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "It'll be okay. It's not forever."
"Katara, it's the only way." Mikey told her.
Katara knew deep down that they we're right. She gave her father a hug before running back towards Appa. Sokka hugged Hakoda as well before he and Usagi led their group down the tunnel.
Leo, Raph, Katara, Sokka, Mikey, Don, Suki, Casey, and April all mounted Appa's saddle, along with Momo, while Aang slung the Sword of Tengu on his back and got onto Appa's head and took the reigns.
Toph felt the rock barricade in front of them. "I can clear that away and we can fly out through there." She said as she used her Earthbending to propel herself up onto Appa.
"Okay, so we gotta move quick." Leo said. "We'll go in; grab Zuko, Karai, and Master Splinter, then high tail it out of here."
"Uh, you do know that there's a giant flying metal ship out there, right?" Suki reminded.
"We'll get through." Aang declared. "Let's go."
Foot Carrier's Upper Deck.
Zuko, Karai, Ty-Lee, and Mai we're on the defensive end as they continued to struggle against the combined efforts of Azula, Hama, Hun, the Dark Turtles, and the Foot Elite.
Zuko and Mai threw fire-balls and knives respectively; but Hama was able to catch them with her Waterbending as Azula shot more streams of blue-fire, forcing Karai to leap to the front and bat them away with her duel katanas.
The four we're backed towards the edge of the Foot Carrier as they saw the deep chasm below.
"That's a long way down." Ty-Lee gulped.
"Déjà vu, huh Scarface?" Dark Don taunted Zuko.
"Yeah, you tossed us down that hole!" Dark Raph exclaimed.
"And now it's your turn." Dark Leo stated as all eleven enemies slowly approached them.
At the same time; Master Splinter continued to battle Shredder as they parried claws against metal rod. Both seemed evenly matched as Splinter twirled the rod and thrusted it towards Shredder but he swerved out of the way and used his claws to slice it in half. Splinter jumped back as he twirled the two smaller rods in his hands and still held them. He looked back to see the predicament Zuko and the three young women we're in and knew this situation looked grim.
That is, until a loud and familiar roar came from the sky as Appa was soaring down towards the upper deck.
"Go! Go! Go!" Leo ordered as Appa curved upward and everyone else jumped down against the enemy forces causing them to clash.
Leo and Aang both landed by Splinter's side as Leo was the first one to charge straight at Shredder with both his katanas but the Shredder caught them in between his blades; this left him open however for Aang to thrust his hands forward and hit Shredder directly with an Airbending blast to send Shredder rolling across the ground.
Zuko jumped forward and shot several fireballs directly at Dark Leo, who was still caught by surprise by the sudden arrival of reinforcements, and was unable to deflect the balls, causing him to be blasted back by the impact.
Karai went straight for Azula as she tried to shoot a stream of blue fire at her, only for Karai to duck and sweep her feet to knock Azula down. Karai tried to slice her sword down onto Azula, but she back flipped out of the way. The two glared at each other before they clashed once again.
As soon as Toph landed in front of Dark Raph, he tried to charge at her, but she used her Metalbending to pry a large piece of metal off the deck and block a strike from his talon-knuckle. She then wrapped the metal around her arms in the form of metal gauntlets, which she used to beat Dark Raph across the face.
Don twirled his staff as he blocked the claw strikes from Dark Don. When Don attempted to go on the offensive with his staff, Dark Don blocked it with his wrist-guards. As the two locked; Suki quickly came in and landed a kick right at Dark Don's face, which allowed Don to slam his staff across his clone's body, knocking him back.
Mikey swung his nunchucks to parry the clubs used by Dark Mikey as the evil clone continued to laugh.
"Dude, I am so sick of that laugh!" Mikey complained as he purposely fell back, pulling his clone with him. Mikey then used his feet to flip/kick Dark Mikey over him and send him flying across the deck of the Foot-Carrier.
Katara tried to bend water at a certain enemy, only for Hama to pull it away with her Waterbending.
"Hello Katara." Hama sadistically greeted. "It's been a while."
A chill fell down Katara's spine as she recognized her. "Hama?"
"Yes." She greeted with an evil smile before thrusting her tentacles at Katara. The young Waterbender tried to defend herself, but as she did, her mind flashed back to when she struck Leo, which caused Katara to stumble and allow Hama to wrap her water tentacles around Katara and pull her in close.
"What's the matter Katara?" Hama taunted as she saw Katara's terrified face. "Are you afraid of me? You should be."
When it looked like Hama was about to strike, Raph quickly fell down and used a kick to knock back Hama, forcing her to let go of Katara.
"Katara, get your head in the game!" Raph told her as she was trying to recover.
"Finally!" Hama stated as she got up to face Raph. "I've waited a long time for this, reptile."
Raph smirked. "Hama? I almost didn't recognize ya. New haircut?" He joked, which caused Hama to scowl as she thruster her water-whips at Raph, who took out the axe that Traximus gave him as he used it to block and slice away the tentacles shot at him.
"Goongala!" Casey shouted as he ran at Hun with a baseball bat in his right hand, and a golf club in his left. Hun tried to punch Casey, but he caught his wrist with the golf club which he used to turn Hun's momentum against him in order to flip him over. Hun growled as he got up.
"Hockey season's over vigilante!" Hun growled.
"Yeah? Well baseball's in season!" Casey said behind his hockey mask as he used his baseball bat to smack Hun across the face, only for him to reel back with a punch to knock Casey back, but Casey quickly got up to charge Hun again.
Meanwhile; the four Elite Ninja charged at April, Mai, Ty-Lee, and Sokka. Sokka blocked a strike from the one with the axe, by using his space-sword as April used her katana to parry the spear-strikes from the second Elite Ninja. Ty-Lee used her nimble agility to avoid the swipes from the Elite Ninja with the double-bladed sword as Mai used two knives to block the trident thrust from the fourth Elite Ninja as the four found them circling up to face the Elite. They ended up looking at eachothers almost awkwardly.
"So uh… hi there." Ty-Lee tried.
"Yeah, this is awkward." Sokka said.
"Right. How often do you see old enemies working together?" Mai asked skeptically.
"We'll talk it out after we get out of this." April said as they braced themselves against the Elite Ninja.
At the same time; Aang shot both a fire-fist and an air-wave directly at the Shredder, who was quick and nimble to avoid both as he charged at Aang; but the resourceful Avatar as able to use his staff to block a slash from Shredder's gauntlets. Leo then came in with several slashes from his swords. The armor protected Shredder but he still found himself knocked back from the force of it.
He growled as he faced both Aang and Leo as they faced him with combat stances. "I grow tired of you children and freaks, and your constant interference!"
"You we're the one who tried to take over the world!" Aang shot at him. "You've hurt and killed too many innocent people!"
"And we're here to stop you!" Leo declared.
"We shall see about that." Shredder stated as he charged forward, but Master Splinter leaped over both his eldest son and the young Avatar as he twirled both small metal rods in his hands and quickly flashed them across Shredder's body. Leo and Aang both joined in as well. Leo slashed at Shredder with his swords, knocking Shredder back.
Aang decided to bring out the big guns as he quickly put on a metal glove and pulled out the Sword of Tengu.
Shredder saw Aang wield the sword as it surged with energy. "The Sword of Tengu!" He observed as the energized blade reflected in his red eyes.
Aang shot a blast from the sword, scoring a direct hit on Shredder. He flew across the deck and even fell off the edge. Fortunately for him though, he was able to use his clawed gauntlet to prevent himself from falling as it imbedded itself into the wall.
"Leonardo! Aang! We must leave! Now!" Master Splinter told them as they looked back and saw all their friends currently fighting some of their most dangerous enemies.
"I got it." Aang said as he wielded the Sword of Tengu once again. "EVERYONE GET DOWN!"
All his friends seemed to hear him as they all jumped out of the way in their own respective directions just as Aang swung the sword, sending a large energy wave directly at the enemy forces. The Dark Turtles, Elite Ninja, Hun, Hama, even Azula we're all impacted and sent flying, scattered across the deck by the force of the Sword of Tengu.
Aang put the sword away and blew his bison-whistle, signaling for Appa to come in and land on the deck.
"Everyone on the bison! We're leaving!" Leo ordered as he, Aang, and Splinter we're the first to board; followed by Raph, Don, Katara, Casey, Suki, Sokka, Mikey, April, Toph, Karai, Zuko, even Mai and Ty-Lee.
"Yip! Yip!" Aang snapped the reigns, signaling for Appa to take flight. Right before Appa could take off, Hama was the first to struggle up. She glared as she would not let her enemies escape.
Hama tried to bend her water, but to her surprise, it didn't move even an inch. "What the…?" Hama then felt a pain shoot up her right arm. She grimaced as she rolled up her sleeve and looked in shock to see her skin shift and move around her arm. Her hand even twitched a bit before it seemed to settle down.
"What is happening to me…?" Hama questioned.
Azula was next to recover from the attack as she saw the Sky-Bison and everyone on it already take off and into the air.
"Oh no you don't." Azula glared as she took a stance and readied her lightning.
As she did this, Shredder had climbed back up onto the deck and had seen the Sky Bison flying away, he also saw Azula ready to shoot lightning at it. His eyes widened at it, if she shot down the Sky Bison over the chasm, they would loose the Sword of Tengu.
"Azula! Hold!" Shredder ordered. "Do not shoot down that bison!"
Azula had her lightning primed and ready. "No!" She shot back. "I have a shot to take and I'm going to take it!"
She was about to thrust her hand out, but Shredder caught her wrist. "I said hold!" He tried to get her to re-aim it, but it was too late, the lightning shot straight towards the bison.
Mikey was the first to see it. "INCOMING!"
As everyone looked shocked at what would happen, Zuko acted on pure instinct as he stood up and ran towards the edge of the saddle; he held out his index and middle finger and caught the lightning-bolt. His body surged with electricity as he grimaced; while everyone, human and turtle, even rat, could only look in awe and surprise.
No time to aim it, Zuko shot out his other hand, redirecting the lightning straight at the Foot-Carrier's right front engine. As soon as the lighting hit it, a large explosion erupted. Due to the sudden loss of the engine, the Foot-Carrier began to tilt and slowly loose its balance.
Everyone on board the deck; the Dark Turtles, Hun, Hama, the Foot Elite, Azula, and Shredder all loosed their balance as the Foot-Carrier rocked.
Everyone inside the control room lost their balance as well, including Stockman. "What happened!?"
"Sir, one of our engines has been knocked out!" One of the technicians reported.
"Stabilize us! Now!"
Outside, the remaining three functional engines shoot out extra power in order for the Foot Carrier to be stabilized. As it stabilized itself; Appa flew further and futher away.
Zuko fell back onto the saddle as Mai and Karai caught him. "Zuko, are you okay?" Mai asked urgently.
"Yeah…" Zuko breathed. "I'm fine."
"Whoa." Casey and Mikey said at the same time as Sokka's jaw dropped and everyone else looked in surprised amazement at Zuko's feat.
"How… how did you do that?" Don asked.
Zuko gave a weak chuckle. "Something my uncle taught me."
As Appa flew away; everyone on the deck moaned as they tried to get back on their feet. Azula rubbed her head slightly, but was soon grabbed by the throat and pulled close to the face of the enraged Shredder.
"When I give you an order, you are to obey it!" Shredder yelled at Azula, causing her to look terrified at him. "Disobey me again and I will break you! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"
"Yes…. YES, MASTER SHREDDER!" Azula screamed in terror as Shredder threw her to the ground.
He turned to face all his servants. "Return to Ba-Sing-Se!" Shredder ordered. "We must make sure Project Meteoroid proceeds on schedule!"
"But Master, they have the Sword of Tengu." Hun said.
"I am aware of that!" Shredder replied. "But they will come to us eventually. And when they do, show no mercy! I want the Turtles, the Avatar, and all their friends dead! They're severed heads brought to my feet!"
As Shredder voiced his wrath, Hama looked at her right arm, which seemed to be fine right now, but what was that? What caused her to temporarily loose her bending and all feeling in her right arm?
Later that night
The group had set up camp on a small island in the middle of the ocean. They all sat around a campfire.
"Wow camping." Aang reminisced. "It really seems like old times, doesn't it?"
"Ah memories." Mikey said with a chill voice. "Reminds me of the time we hid out at Casey's old farm house? Only no farmhouse."
"If you really want it to feel like old times…" Zuko tried as he broke a piece of bread. "I could uh… chase you around a bit and try to capture you." He joked.
Most of the group laughed. "Was that a joke?" Don said with a laugh.
"Big bad Zuko's got a sense of humor. Who knew?" Raph chuckled.
As most of the laughs stifled down, April spoke up. "So Zuko, who are your friends?" She gestured to the two young women that sat near him.
"I'm Mai." She responded simply.
"I'm Ty-Lee, nice to meet you all." The pink acrobat greeted friendly.
"How are you here though?" Karai asked.
"Yeah, we though the Foot captured you guys back at the Boiling Rock." Mikey recalled.
"We had some help from your friend Chaplin, Karai." Mai answered. "He says hello."
Karai gave a smile. "Well I am pleased that you are here." She was greeted by a hug from Ty-Lee.
"Aw. I missed you to."
"You know it feels weird." Sokka said as he looked towards Zuko, Karai, Ty-Lee, and Mai. "It wasn't that long ago you guys we're hunting us down; but now you're with us."
"I don't think its weird." Leo said. "You guys we're just on the wrong path, and now you're on the right one."
"Indeed." Master Splinter agreed. "It matters not where you are from or how you we're raised, it is the choices we make that determined who we are. And I feel it is safe to say, you have all made the right choice." He bowed slightly. "We are honored to have all of you with us."
"Here, here!" Aang, Leo, Casey, Raph, Don, Mikey, Sokka, April, Toph, and Suki all said at the same time as they raised their cups; while Zuko, Karai, Mai, and Ty-Lee all shared smiles with each other. No one however, seemed to notice Katara looking down with a guilty expression, still remembering what she did to Leo.
"Hey, Zuko, we're friends right?" Mikey asked.
"Yeah." Zuko replied.
"So I gotta ask… how did you get that cool-looking scar?" Mikey asked.
This caught Zuko by surprise. "Yeah, I gotta know to." Casey seemed in agreement. "It makes you look like a badass!"
"You know, I've always wondered about that myself." Aang said.
Zuko looked down slightly as Karai looked towards him. Truth be told, she was curious herself, but she didn't ask because she felt it was a sensitive subject for Zuko.
Ty-Lee and Mai both looked towards each other with grim expressions, as they knew how Zuko got that scar.
April and Leo seemed to get the hint. "Hey, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to." Leo said.
"Yeah if its too painful or…" April tried.
"No, no." Zuko raised his hand. "If you guys want to know. I'll tell you."
The entire group, even Katara, began to listen intently as Zuko began. "It was three years ago. My father was hosting a war meeting with his council, I wanted to attend, but the guars wouldn't let. My uncle however was able to get me in, on the condition that I wouldn't speak during it…"
Flashback
Ozai sat in his throne with flames around it as he listened to his generals and admirals discuss their recent developments on a large map-table showing the Earth Kingdom continent.
"The Earth Kingdom defenses are concentrated here." An old general began. "A dangerous battalion of their strongest Earthbenders and fiercest warriors." He slid a piece over on the map. "So I am recommending the 41st division."
"But the 41st is entirely new recruits." Another general said. "How do you expect them to defeat a powerful Earth Kingdom battalion."
"I don't." The first general replied. "They'll be used as a distraction while we mount an attack from the rear." A somewhat sadistic smile formed on his face. "What better to use as bait then fresh meat?"
"You can't sacrifice an entire division like that!" A younger Zuko exclaimed angrily as he stood up. "Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?!"
All the war officers looked at him with glares.
Reality
"As you can imagine, no one was pleased with my outburst." Zuko told the story.
"Of course you we're angry!" Don stated. "Those guys we're sacrificing an entire battalion of soldiers!"
"Yeah, that is so uncool!" Mikey agreed.
"I knew the Fire Nation military was bad but… I didn't think any of them would actually betray their own soldiers." Aang said.
"Still, it didn't matter if I was right or not." Zuko replied. "It still was not my place to speak out, and it resulted in consequences."
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Leo grimaced.
"What happened next?" Sokka asked.
"After my outburst, my father was not happy." Zuko continued. "He said that my challenge of the general was an act of complete disrespect. And there was only one way it could be resolved."
"What?" Suki asked.
"Agni Kai." Mai answered. "A Firebending duel."
"You're kidding." Raph said. "You tried to defend soldiers you don't even know, and you had to fight? I love a good fight as much as the next guy, but that's taking it too far!"
"Wait till you hear the rest of it." Ty-Lee said in a scared tone of voice.
"I thought I would be fighting the general, but I wasn't." Zuko continued. "When I spoke out in my father's war room, it was actually him I had disrespected. So when I went to the arena I looked in shock at the reality that I was going to fight my own father."
That caught the entire group by surprise, even Karai was caught off guard.
"What?" Aang questioned.
"You had to fight your dad?!" Toph questioned.
"Yeah." Zuko replied. "And needless to say, I knew I didn't stand a chance. I was terrified"
"So, what did you do?" Leo asked.
"The only thing I knew how to do at that moment. I begged." Zuko answered.
Flashback
The young Zuko stood on the arena, facing his father and had a look of terror on his face.
"Please father! I only had the Fire Nation's best interest at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!"
"You will fight for your honor." Ozai said as he menacingly approached Zuko.
Zuko got on his knees. "I meant you no disrespect. I am you're loyal son!"
"Rise and fight Prince Zuko!" Ozai demanded as he stood over him.
"I won't fight you!" Zuko bowed his head.
"You will learn respect. And suffering will be your teacher." Ozai said as Zuko looked at him with tearful and fearful eyes.
The next thing Zuko would see, would be a blast of flame.
Reality
Zuko had finished telling the story. Leo, Don, Aang, Sokka, Suki, and Mikey looked in shock; April covered her mouth with both her hands; Toph's dull eyes we're wide with terror, Karai's own pupils shook. Katara herself had a look of terror on her face. Raph's face meanwhile was twisted in an angry scowl, Casey looked ready to explode in anger.
Zuko looked down, recalling that painful memory but was soon felt a comforting embrace by Mai, which he was grateful for. Even Ty-Lee put a hand on his shoulder.
"Dang." Mikey breathed.
"Zuko I…" Aang tried. "I never I…"
"I always thought it was… some kind of accident." Leo said.
"It was no accident." Mai said with venom in her voice.
Casey then stood up as he roared in rage. "That lousy piece of…! The Fire Lord…! and the Shredder!" He yelled as he picked up a broken down tree branch. "Bunch of heartless goons!" He yelled as he smashed the branch against a large rock. "Why… I just wanna… UGH!" Casey yelled.
Everyone in the group looked with wide-eyed expressions at Casey's outburst. The first one to speak was April.
"I think what Mr. Jones here is trying to say is…" She said as she stood up, put her hands on Casey's and helped him sit down. "We're really sorry for what happened to you, Zuko."
"Thank you." Zuko said gratefully. "That means a lot."
"What happened next?" Toph asked.
"After that, my father said I had shown 'shameful weakness'." Zuko continued. "And for that weakness, I was banished. And the only way I could return home was…"
"By capturing me." Aang finished.
"Man, now I feel bad that we didn't let you capture us." Sokka said.
"It certainly explains why you we're chasing Aang all over the world." Don said to Zuko. "It was the only way you could go home."
"Yeah." Zuko replied.
Raph growled. "Ozai… that bastard! You know what? I'm actually glad Shredder killed that son of bitch! I hope he's in Hell right now eating a barf-burger!"
"Ozai got what he deserved, no question." Karai said. "However, now the Fire Nation is under the domino of someone far worse."
"Not if we have anything to say about it." Leo stated. "With all of us together, we're gonna stop the Shredder."
"Got that right bro!" Mikey agreed. He turned to Ty-Lee and Mai. "You ladies with us?"
Ty-Lee and Mai both shared smiles. "Might as well." Mai replied with a shrug.
"This is gonna be fun!" Ty-Lee practically beamed with excitement.
Master Splinter gave a smile. "It is fortunate that we have such strong and honorable warriors with us. For now, I suggest everyone sleep. We shall move to a safer place later, where we will plan our own counterattack."
"Sounds like a plan." Toph said as she fell abck and created her own earth-tent.
"Alright. Everyone get some Zs. We'll think of a plan tomorrow." Leo said as everyone stood up and went to their respective tents.
The only one to not stand up at that moment was Katara. The whole time she heard this story, about how Ozai scared Zuko, she remembered how she attacked Leo back at the Western Air Temple. As she looked at her hands, she remembered the face of the younger Hama as her pupils shrunk.
"I'm no better than any of them." Katara thought to herself.
It was later at night; most of the group had gone to sleep in their respective tents. Katara however found herself unable to sleep, so she instead found herself slowly approaching the tent that belonged to Master Splinter. She didn't know why, but she felt that this was the only thing for her to do.
Once she opened the tent, she could see that Splinter was facing the rock wall on the back, he wasn't sleeping but meditating. Katara hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Ma… Master Splinter?"
He opened his eyes. "Katara? Shouldn't you be resting?"
"I can't sleep, I…" Katara couldn't finish. "I… I did something… something really stupid."
Splinter turned to face her. "Tell me. What happened?"
Katara exhaled deeply as she kneeled and told him everything. She told him about how shortly after Karai and Zuko joined the team back at the Western Air Temple, she saw visions of her mother, and the 'advice' that she gave her. Katara even told how she distanced herself from everyone, and how she even attacked Karai. Master Splinter said nothing as he continued to listen. Then Katara got to the part that she hated, her fight with Leo, and how she struck him and drew blood. Katara finished and lowered her head, waiting for him to respond, and she was expecting a harsh punishment of some sort, which she felt she deserved.
"You allowed your anger to get the best of you." Master Splinter spoke in a serious tone of voice. "And in a sense of rage, you struck Leonardo."
"I'm so sorry…" Katara spoke with a lowered head. "I… I wanted to listen but… I don't know what happened I…. I just got so angry I… I didn't even know what I did until I did it."
"Young Katara, rage is a monster that will destroy you from within. A true warrior must find balance in all things." Master Splinter told her.
"I think I know why he's the better leader, or the better person now." Katara spoke as tears formed in her eyes. "It wasn't him I was mad at but still… I… if I did that to him… who's to say I wouldn't do it to Aang?" She let her tears fall.
Master Splinter stood up and spoke softly. "Katara, from the beginning, before you met my sons, it would seem you would try to bare the personal problems of Aang, Sokka, and Toph on your shoulders. It is an admirable quality when you are protector of others. I may not agree with how you handled the situation at that Air Temple, I can tell it was from a motivation deep down to protect the ones you care for."
Katara looked in mild surprise as Splinter continued.
"You are strong willed, passionate, and loyal to a fault. These are the merits of a great leader as well, but only when tempered with compassion and humility." Splinter continued to speak. "However, I sense that the anger is still inside you, but I feel it is though that it is not directed towards Zuko and Karai, but rather something else that you have simply connected them to. So, you must ask yourself, what is it that you are truly angered at?"
Katara looked down as she thought. "I know, a source of it is Shredder. After all that he's done to us, to you, to everyone who crosses him, and for what he did to Aang in Ba-Sing-Se I… he's pure evil! He's a monster! He raised Karai so… I… can't help but feel that… she might be just like him."
Master Splinter allowed her to speak. "I can understand that, but that is how you feel towards Karai. What is it you are angered at Zuko for? Is it for how he relentlessly chased you and the Avatar across the world? I'm sure you know no, that he didn't have much of a choice in it. Or how he was forced by the Shredder to aid him in Ba-Sing-Se."
"I know that." Katara said. "After what he told all of us… about what Ozai did to him… I can't help… but feel sorry for him. But…"
"But there is still something in your soul that is connecting the anger you felt at him to a different source. What is it?" Splinter asked.
Katara looked inside herself, as she held her necklace, she knew the answer. "My mother. She was killed when I was only little, by a soldier from the Fire Nation. Since he's the prince of the Fire Nation…."
"You felt as though he we're the one responsible?" Splinter finished, to which Katara nodded. "You have to know, that at that time, he was likely not much older than you, therefore he had nothing to do with your mother's death."
"I know, I know." Katara repeated. "But I… I just don't know what to do."
"Perhaps now it is best that you get some rest, and we may find a solution later." Splinter advised.
"You mean… you're not mad at me? You don't hate me? After what I did to Leo?"
Splinter sighed. "I am disappointed in how you handled that situation. However, this is not the first time I've had to deal with someone allowing their anger to control them. Just ask Raphael."
Katara felt as though a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders, but there was still a hint of sadness inside. "Thank you, Master Splinter."
He nodded. "Get some sleep."
Katara got up and walked out of the tent. As she walked outside, she failed to notice both Zuko and Karai behind a rock. They overheard everything. One would argue that their eavesdropping was an invasion of privacy, but Karai could sense the torment in Katara's soul, as she and Zuko heard this; they both looked to each other and nodded, knowing what to do next.
Ba-Sing-Se; Foot Central Command; Dr. Stockman's lab.
Stockman had just taken a blood sample from Hama and was now looking at the data on a monitor. Hama sat on the chair waiting impatiently.
"Well? What's happening?! I want to know!"
"No need to shout." Stockman stated.
"For a brief moment, I lost my bending!" Hama stated, standing up. "And it looked like my skin was moving! My hand twitched and I lost all feeling in my right arm! That never happened to me before! You made this body for me! I have a right to know what is going on!"
Stockman rolled his eyes. "Give me a moment, I need to look at this data." He looked at said data on his monitor's screen. After a moment he turned to Hama with an answer. "It's nothing, the skin is jus settling that's all. Simple tissue acclimation."
Hama raised an eyebrow. "That's it? What about my bending?"
"Can you Waterbend now?" Stockman questioned.
Hama stretched her hand towards a sink and was able to pull water of it and bent a glob of water around her hand. "Does that answer your question?"
"Then I like I said, it was simple tissue acclimation. It must have connected to your genes that allow you to bend and resulted in a temporary loss." Stockman assumed.
"So this won't happen again?" Hama questioned.
"Probably not." Stockman answered. "Though you may experience a few minor side effects such as numbing in certain places, maybe even a small case of nausea here and there."
"Side effects?" Hama questioned. "I thought you said this body was perfect for me!"
"Keep in mind, that your cloned body was a rushed order." Stockman explained. "I had to accelerate the cloning process, so you may still experience a few side effects, but nothing fatal."
"You're sure about that?" Hama questioned again.
"I wouldn't have put you through the process if I wasn't sure." Stockman told her.
Hama stood up. "For your sake, Dr. Stockman, I hope you're right." She then left the room.
Stockman rolled his holographic eyes again. "Ignorant dolt." The truth was, he really had no idea what was happening. It was his first time cloning a bender. Perhaps there would be more side effects; perhaps her body would break down completely. He didn't care, if her body failed, he would study from the failures and be ever closer to cloning himself a new body, one that could bend all the elements, and he wouldn't have anything to fear from the Shredder again. For now though, it was best to observe Hama's progress, after all she is the test subject for this experiment.
Team Avatar campsite
Sometime later, both the banished Fire Prince and former Foot Kunoichi walked towards another tent, but as they did Karai accidently bumped into Suki approaching the same tent.
"Oops!" Suki tried to put an innocent smile on. "Wrong tent." She tried to walk away.
"Do you wish to see Sokka as well?" Karai asked.
"Nope. Not me." Suki quickly answered before hurriedly walking away.
"What was that all about?" Zuko questioned.
"It may not be any of our business." Karai answered before they both entered the tent.
However, what they saw made Zuko's expression fall, and Karai's eyes widened in surprise. Sokka was on his belly, in a somewhat seductive position with candles and flowers everywhere.
"Well hello…" Sokka sung with a rose in his mouth, but he quickly swallowed it with circular eyes at the two people he did not expect to be there.
"Karai! Zuko!" Sokka quickly stood up right as Karai and Zuko, both looking rather disturbed, sat down. "Yes uh… why would I be expecting anybody different?!" He swallowed the rose whole. "So can I help you guys with anything."
The two redeemed warriors chose to forget this awkward situation as Karai spoke. "It's your sister, she is in pain."
"What? Is she okay?!" Sokka urgently asked.
"No, she is fine, physically." Karai responded. "However, her soul is being torn."
"What do you mean by that?" Sokka asked, being quite confused by that statement.
Zuko spoke next. "Look, I know this is going to seem out of nowhere, but I want you to tell us what happened to your mother."
Sokka became serious. "What? Why would you guys want to know about that?"
"Katara mentioned it before when we we're imprisoned together in Ba-Sing-Se." Zuko answered.
"I overheard that myself." Karai remembered. "She doesn't trust us, and we know why now. Her anger towards me is connected to her anger towards the Shredder, which I understand. And it would seem she is connecting her anger towards Zuko to the loss of her mother. We want to help her, and perhaps this may provide a solution."
Sokka looked down. "Its not a day I like to remember."
"If you don't want to talk about it…" Zuko said, having understanding the pain of loosing a mother himself.
"No, if you guys think this can help Katara, then I'll tell you." Sokka began to tell the story.
Flashback
It was a bright sunny day in the Southern Water Tribe as a toddler Sokka came out from behind a snow mound with a snowball in his hand, however before he could throw it, another one hit his face. This came from a toddler Katara who giggled at her victory. Little Sokka came back with an even larger snowball in both his hands, however there game stopped upon seeing black snow fall from the sky.
Both their smiles vanished, as, despite their young age, they both knew exactly what it meant.
"I'm going to find mom." Little Katara said to her brother as she ran towards their home. Meanwhile, Little Sokka had a look of determination as he ran in another direction, along with several other Southern Water Tribe warriors.
Just outside the tribe, three large Fire Nation ships began to arrive onto the scene.
"Many of the warriors had seen the black snow before and they knew what it meant: a Fire Nation Raid."
Multiple Fire Nation soldiers gave yells as they jumped off their ships and charged directly at the tribe.
Hakoda led the warriors as they too gave battle cries and charged at the incoming enemy.
Little Sokka hid behind a pile of snow as he watched the battle, despite the vast number of Firebenders, the Water Tribe warriors seemed to have held the advantage.
"We we're badly outnumbered, but somehow we managed to drive them off."
One Fire Nation soldier was tossed into the snow pile Little Sokka was hiding behind. Little Sokka threw a snowball at the unconscious soldier before running into the battlefield.
He picked up a stray boomerang and wanted to join the fight, only to see the Fire Nation soldiers retreating.
"But as quickly as they came, they just left."
Little Sokka spitefully threw the boomerang in the direction of the retreating Fire Nation ships and looked on with a hateful glare.
End flashback
"I was so relieved when it was over, but that's because I didn't know yet what had happened." Sokka looked down. "I didn't know we lost our mother."
Karai looked with sympathy as she placed a comforting hand on Sokka's shoulder. "I am sorry."
Zuko had listened to the story as well. He too felt sympathy for both Katara and Sokka, but he needed to ask something. "Wait, can you remember any details about the soldiers who raided your village? Like, what the lead ship looked like?"
Sokka tried to remember. "Yeah… Sea Ravens. The main ship had flags with Sea Ravens on them."
"The symbol of the Southern Raiders." Zuko stated.
"So, now we know who's responsible." Karai said. "Thank you for sharing this information Sokka, and I am truly sorry for your mother."
"Thanks Karai." Sokka said with a grateful smile. "And thanks for stopping by." He hurriedly pushed them both out of the tent before sighing in relief. "I'd thought they'd never leave."
Sokka had a dreamy smile as he stuck his head outside the tent. "Suki…" He then noticed Karai and Zuko giving Sokka odd stares. Sokka tried to put on an innocent whistle before they walked away.
The Next Morning
Katara had just woken up and walked outside her tent, but looked in surprise to see both Zuko and Karai sitting on a rock in front of it.
"Wha… what are you guys doing here?" She questioned.
"We waited all night for you." Karai answered.
Katara walked past them to gather some supplies as they stood up. "What do you want?"
"We know who killed your mother." Zuko said, causing Katara to look in surprise. "And we're going to help you find them."
Katara looked towards Zuko and Karai with a surprised expression before it turned serious.
While some other members of this large team we're still asleep, others had already woken up. Sokka was putting together a flower necklace, Leo and Splinter we're both meditating, Casey was practicing some punches with Raph holding a sleeping bag like a punching bag, and Aang was getting some hay for Appa's breakfast.
Sokka, Raph, and Casey we're the first to notice Katara, Zuko, and Karai walking towards the group.
"I need to borrow Appa." Katara told Aang.
"Why? Is it your turn to take a little field trip with Zuko and Karai?" Aang jokingly asked.
"Yes, it is." Katara answered in a very serious tone of voice. Leo and Splinter noticed the tone in Katara's voice, as did Aang as they gave Katara their attention.
"What's going on?" Leo asked as he and Splinter stood up.
"We're going to find the man who took my mother from me." Katara answered as Sokka, Raph, and Casey joined in.
"Say what?" Raph questioned.
"Sokka told us the story of how it happened." Karai stated. "A Fire Nation group called the Southern Raiders we're responsible."
"I know who did it, and I know how to find him." Zuko added.
Master Splinter had a serious look on his face. "It would seem you have found the source of your anger. However, this approach you intend may not be for the best."
"Yeah… what exactly is it that you think this will accomplish?" Aang questioned.
Katara gave a scoffing laugh as she turned around. "I knew you wouldn't understand."
"Katara stop, we do understand. All of us." Leo stopped her. "Shredder has been hunting us down and going after our friends for as long as we can remember!"
"I understand you to Katara." Aang tried as well. "You're feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the Sandbenders when they stole Appa? How do you think about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?"
"Or when Shredder nearly killed Aang back in Ba-Sing-Se." Raph added. "Or what about Master Splinter, after old bucket-head killed his Master Yoshi?"
"We understand what you are all trying to do." Karai spoke to the group. "However, she needs to face this man."
"Karai's right." Zuko agreed. "This is about getting closure and justice."
"I don't think so." Aang disagreed. "I think it's about getting revenge."
"Fine! Maybe it is!" Katara spitefully said. "Maybe it's what I need! Maybe its what he deserves!"
"It is not our place to determine whether a man deserves to live or die." Master Splinter stated.
"You're starting to sound a lot like Hama, Katara." Leo told her.
"It's not the same!" Katara argued, facing her friends. "Hama attacked the innocent! This man, he's a monster!"
"Katara, she was my mother to." Sokka tried. "But I think Aang, Leo, and Master Splinter might be right on this."
"Then you didn't love her the way I did!" Katara exclaimed; causing the group to look in surprise, especially Sokka.
"Katara…"
"I do not like that tone of yours." Raph told her.
"You don't have any room to talk, Raph! You're not exactly anger management material!" Katara argued.
"Neither are you! Especially after what you did to Leo!" Raph exclaimed; this caused Zuko, Karai, Sokka, and Casey to look in surprise, this being the first time hearing this.
Katara's anger seemed to be replaced with a wide-eyed expression before she hung her head down in shame.
"Wait… what?" Zuko questioned.
Raph began to speak. "When you guys we're at that Boiling Rock, Leo tried to get Katara to blow off some steam with a sparing match, and when he offered his hand to help her, she lashed out at him and even made him bleed!"
This caused the group to look at Katara with concern. "I was not aware of this." Karai said.
"Yeah, you really shouldn't be doing this kid. It'll be the biggest mistake of your life." Casey told Katara.
Katara's anger returned. "This man killed my mother! You don't know what that's like!"
This time it was Casey's turn to get angry. "Oh really!? You know that oversized bastard, Hun?! He killed my dad!"
Katara looked in surprise; everyone else, Aang, Zuko, Karai, and Sokka looked towards Casey while Raph, Splinter, and Leo had understanding looks on their faces.
"What?" Katara breathed.
Casey sighed. "A long time ago when I was a kid…"
Flashback, New York City
A ten year old Casey stood in front of a burning store with several punks from the Purple Dragon gang, led by a younger, but still muscular Hun, walked toward him.
"Some young punks we're shaking my dad down for protection money. They called themselves the Purple Dragons. When he wouldn't pay, they torched our store."
As Hun approached the ten-year-old Casey, he raised his fists up ready for a fight, but Hun picked him up by the collar and pulled him close.
"You tell your old man, punk: next time pay up or else." Hun said as he threw Casey down before he and the Purple Dragons walked away. Casey looked at the burning store that belonged to his family.
New Flashback
The Ten-year-old Casey stood in his apartment as his father, Arnold Jones, picked up a baseball bat; but Casey's mother, Mrs. Jones, tried to stop her husband.
"Arnold please, its too dangerous."
"Please pops, don't go!" Young Casey begged.
Arnold looked down at his son; he kneeled down and put a hand on his shoulder. "I gotta kiddo. I put everything we had into that store; I can't just let them get away with this. I'm going to the police."
"But they said 'no cops'!" Young Casey continued to beg. "They said if you…"
"Casey, sometimes you just gotta stand up for what's right." Arnold told his son. "Even if the odds are against ya, even if you're all alone, you gotta just stand up and do the right thing."
Casey and his mother watched as his father left the apartment, but that would be the last time they'd see him.
"But my old man didn't make it to the cops. Hun got to him first."
End Flashback
Casey had told his story; Leo, Raph, and Splinter looked down in sorrow; Karai and Zuko especially looked in sympathy, as did Aang and Sokka. Katara looked at Casey with wide eyes.
"I… Casey…"
Casey looked directly at Katara. "So don't tell me, that I don't know how it feels! Heck, I even had a chance to get payback on Hun, like what you're planning to do, but I didn't. Because if I did that, I'd be no different from him."
"Casey's right Katara." Aang agreed. "When Master Yoshi's spirit showed me what happened between him, Mashimi, and Tang-Shen, the Ancient One said that revenge is like a splinter, it gets under your skin and can poison your life."
"That's cute." Zuko said. "But this isn't ninja preschool, it's the real world."
"Yeah? Well in the real world, your anger can take you down, make you act just like the guys your fighting." Raph argued.
"But I know he's out there." Katara said. "I know I can find him now, I feel like I have no choice."
"Katara, you do have a choice. Forgiveness." Aang told her.
"Aang, I understand you have your beliefs." Karai began. "However, there are people in this, and my world, that are inherently evil and have committed crimes that can never be forgiven. The Shredder is a prime example of that."
"That's right, it's the same as doing nothing and just letting them get away with it." Zuko agreed.
"No it is not." Master Splinter stated. "Simply doing nothing is easy, anyone is capable of doing that. But to forgive… that is much more difficult."
"It's not just difficult, it's impossible." Katara said before walking off. Zuko and Karai walked off; leaving Aang with Leo, Casey, Raph, Sokka, and Splinter.
"We all know she's gonna try to sneak off tonight, right?" Raph asked the group.
"Yep." Leo, Sokka, Aang, and Casey all answered at the same time.
"This is something she must do, we can all understand that." Master Splinter said. "However, revenge only feeds a never ending cycle of hate. If she takes revenge against this man, what will stop his family and loved ones from seeking revenge against her? Or her loved ones for seeking revenge for her? This cycle never ends and only results in pain and death."
"So what do we do then?" Aang asked, as Leo and Raph looked towards each other, both brothers having a good idea of what to do.
Later that night
Katara, Zuko, and Karai we're all dressed in black and ready to board Appa. Leo, Raph, Aang and Sokka quickly arrived on the scene.
"So you we're just gonna take Appa anyway?!" Aang questioned.
"Yes." Katara answered harsly.
Raph rolled his eyes. "Yep, knew it."
"It's okay, because I forgive you." Aang tried. "That give you any ideas?"
"Way to be subtle Aang." Leo said with sarcasm in his voice.
"Don't try to stop us!" Katara stated as Zuko packed the last of their things, and Karai sheathed her sword.
"Who we said we we're going to?" Raph questioned. "In fact, I'm coming with you."
"You are?" Zuko asked in mild surprise.
"Got a problem with that?" Raph questioned again.
"Why would you want to come with us?" Karai asked.
"Two reasons." Raph answered. "One, we might run into some Foot goons, so you'll need some extra muscle. Two, I know a thing or two about anger issues, so I'm gonna make sure little Sugar Queen here doesn't do anything stupid."
Katara glared at Raph before relenting. "Fine, just try not to slow us down."
"I'm a ninja, I don't slow anyone down." Raph replied.
"No one is going to stop you Katara." Leo told her. "This is something you have to do, and we respect that. But don't do something that you may regret for the rest of your life."
Katara nodded before she, Raph, and Karai boarded Appa, with Katara at the reigns. Zuko picked up the sack of their supplies, but Leo spoke to him.
"Zuko, you watch their backs."
"I will." Zuko nodded before he got onto Appa.
"Thanks for understanding guys." Katara said before taking the reigns.
"Yo Katara!" She looked off to the side to see Casey. "Listen, my old man told me that sometimes you just gotta stand up for what's right. Even if the odds are against ya, even if you're all alone, you gotta just stand up and do the right thing."
Katara looked somewhat surprised for a minute before snapping the reigns. "Yip, yip!"
Appa gave a groan before taking off into the sky with Leo, Aang, Casey, and Sokka watching the bison fly away.
"You know, for a kid and a mutant Turtle, you guys are pretty wise." Sokka told them.
"Thanks Sokka." Leo replied.
"Usually the old-wise-man thing gets annoying, but right now I'm impressed." Casey stated with a slightly mischievous smirk.
Leo's eyelids lowered, as did Aang's. "I appreciate that."
"So… can I borrow Momo for a week?" Sokka asked.
Aang looked towards Sokka. "Why do you need Momo?"
Sokka shrugged, Leo simply face-palmed, even Casey looked weirded out.
Foot Mystic Shrine
The Five Foot Mystics watched through their pool as they saw Appa fly through the night sky with Katara, Zuko, Raph, and Karai onboard.
"Things have taken an interesting turn, my brothers." The Earth Mystic observed.
"Indeed. The girl may have failed our expectations to eliminate the Turtles and turn against the Avatar, however, our influence on her has left her psyche in a weakened state." The Water Mystic observed as well.
"The anger she suppressed deep in her soul has resurfaced, and she knows exactly where to direct it." The Fire Mystic said.
"She will confront the one who killed her mother." The Metal Mystic stated. "And with the proper influence from us, she will take his life, and become a truly hateful creature!"
"Once the Avatar sees this, and knows how dark the soul of his beloved truly is, he too will become vulnerable. Vulnerable enough for us to use to complete our plan." The Wind Mystic said.
"Then let us continue to observe, and see just how far into the dark side she will go." The Fire Mystic said as they watched this play out.
Appa flew across the night sky as Raph put on a black suit, identical to the ones Katara and Zuko we're wearing.
"So, anyone got an actual plan or are we just gonna go blowing random stuff up?" Raph questioned.
"We need to find the Fire Navy communication tower." Zuko answered. "All the navy's movements are coordinated by messenger hawk, and every tower has to be up to date about where everyone is deployed."
Katara heard every word. "So once we find the communication tower, we bust in and take the information we need."
"No." Karai replied. "If we simply attack, the soldiers will likely try to warn the Southern Raiders, but more importantly, the Foot will intercept the warning and will know where to find us. Its best we do not attract their attention in this matter."
"Then we'll stick to the shadows. So don't do anything stupid, Katara. We need you to stay focused." Raph told her.
"Oh I am plenty focused." Katara replied with anger in her eyes.
Appa took cover behind a large mound just across from a small island with a tall tower, the communication tower they we're looking for.
Katara, Raph, Zuko, and Karai, all dressed in black, ran forward. Katara bent a large patch of ice from the water, which they all leapt on to. She then used her Waterbending to propel them close to the tower. She followed with the wave and propelled them straight upwards.
Raph and Karai we're the first to make it up to the lowest ledge of the tower with their ninja-agility. They each reached down; Karai grabbed Katara, and Raph reached for Zuko as they we're quickly pulled up.
Karai and Raph took point as they hid behind a corner; Karai held her hand back to keep Zuko and Katara from coming closer. The Kunoichi saw a few guards come out from an open door, once they we're clear, she made a motion for them to precede. All four quickly and quietly ran towards the open door and inside the tower; Zuko was quick to shut the door behind them so they wouldn't be spotted.
Once inside, Raph looked to the upper right wall and found an air vent large enough for them to crawl through. He used his sais to pry the cover from the vent. Katara entered first, followed by Karai, Zuko, and finally Raph.
They climbed through the vent and made it to an office where a female guard was working on a map. The group looked down from a wire covering in the ceiling, they knew that she needed to go, but they couldn't attack her and alert anyone, they had to be subtle about this.
Katara used her Waterbending to spill some of the ink over the map. The guard looked in frustration before she got up and left the room to get some fresh paper and more ink. With her gone, Raph kicked the vent covering down as all four jumped down and entered the room.
"We need to hurry." Karai said.
They agreed and began to search for the info they we're looking for. "Okay, Southern Raiders." Zuko mused as he took out a scroll.
"Did you find it?" Raph asked.
"Yeah." Zuko replied as he took out a map and lay on the table for them to see. "Bam." He pointed to a spot on the map. "On patrol near Whale Tail Island."
"Whale Tail Island, here we come." Katara muttered darkly as the four of them left the through the vent in the ceiling.
Team Avatar Campsite
Pretty much everyone was still asleep, as it was very early in the morning; the only exceptions we're Aang, who was pacing around relentlessly, unable to get any sleep throughout the night, as well as both Leo and Master Splinter.
"Where are they? Do you think they're okay?" Aang rapidly questioned.
"I don't know." Leo responded.
"Do you think she found him?" Aang questioned again.
"I don't know." Leo responded again.
"Do you think she'll make the right choice?" Aang questioned, yet again.
Leo sighed. "Aang, I don't think there is a clear cut right or wrong choice here."
Aang looked back to Leo with surprise. "Leo?! How can you say that!?"
"Leonardo is right, young Aang." Master Splinter agreed, further surprising Aang. "The world and the choices we make are not so black and white as we would like to believe."
"But the monks taught me…" Aang tried.
"Yeah, the monks taught you." Leo interrupted. "They didn't teach the rest of us, and certainly not Katara. We get you have your believes on forgivness, but Karai was right about what she said yesterday. There are people out there who cannot be forgiven. Take Shredder fore example. He murdered Master Yoshi, and countless other people, he tried to kill me and my brothers, my sensei, my friends, you and your friends; he slaughtered who-knows-how-many Fire Nation soldiers and completely took control of the entire country. Can you honestly look at someone like him, someone who is that evil and beyond any hope of redemption, and say you forgive him?"
Aang took the moment to try and think of an answer. He knows the crimes Shredder has committed, as well as seen the evil in his eyes. Those we're the eyes of someone who has no intention of turning good. He simply lowered his head.
Master Splinter chose to spoke. "I can understand how Katara feels. The Shredder took away my Master Yoshi; to this day I still have not forgotten the sorrow in my heart. And that is one of the reasons I choose to fight him, to avenge my master and defeat the monster responsible for his death."
Aang looked towards Splinter. "But… isn't that still revenge? Just feeding the cycle like you said?"
"I said that was one of the reasons." Master Splinter replied. "I fight the Shredder for a number of others. First, he has targeted my family, and I fight now to protect them. And second, he is great evil and his plans for this world are likely far worse than anything the late Ozai and his forefathers have ever planed. He must be stopped. But this is beside the point, Katara's beard this burden in her heart for years and she finally has a chance to be rid of it."
"And no matter what happens, we still have to be there for her." Leo said.
"Even after what she did to you?" Aang asked, referring to the wound she inflected upon Leo.
"Katara spoke to me about that." Master Splinter said. "She feels regret for her actions; she knows her anger is poisoning her. I believe that no matter what choice she makes, she will finally be free from her anger."
Aang sighed as he sat down with them. "I hope you guys are right."
"So do we." Leo responded.
Appa continued to fly ever closer to Whale Tail Island and hasn't stopped all day; even now the sun was setting. Katara was still at the reigns with Raph, Zuko, and Karai in the saddle.
"You should get some rest." Zuko advised. "We'll be there in a few hours, you'll need your strength."
"Oh don't you worry about my strength." Katara replied, keeping her eyes forward. "I have plenty. I'm not the helpless little girl I was when they came."
Flashback
Little Katara looked with fearful eyes at the black snow descending on her village.
"I'm going to find mom." She frightfully said to her brother as she ran towards their house.
She ran, being propelled by fear and a natural instinct to seek safety in the form of her mother. Little Katara made it to her igloo.
"Mom!" She however stopped in her tracks when she saw a Fire Nation soldier facing her mother, the soldier turned towards her and Katara looked with fearful eyes.
"Just let her go, and I'll give you the information you want." Kya told the soldier.
"You heard your mother, get out of here!" The soldier exclaimed at Katara.
"Mom… I'm scared." Little Katara said truthfully to her mother.
"Go find your dad, sweetie. I'll handle this." Kya told her with a comforting smile.
The frightened child looked with tears of fear in her eyes as she saw the glare from the soldier before running out to find her father.
"I ran as fast as I could."
She made it to find her father, still helping to fight off the soldiers. "Dad! Dad!" She screamed as she saw her father knock down a Fire Nation Soldier. "Please! I think Mom's in trouble! There's a man in our house!"
Hakoda heard his daughter's cries. "Kya!"
Hakoda and another warrior ran back to the igloo as quick as they could.
End Flashback
"But we we're too late… when we got there, the man was gone… and so was she." Katara chocked up a bit at the last sentence.
Zuko, Karai, and even Raph looked in sympathy.
"You're mother was a brave woman." Karai offered.
Katara looked down as she held her mother's necklace with tears in her eyes again. "I know."
Night had fallen. Katara decided to take their advice as she slept to get some strength. Raph and Karai kept the look out on the sides, while Zuko was at the reigns of Appa as the Sky-Bison continued to fly.
He looked in a spyglass and spotted their target. "There!" Katara, Raph, and Karai looked to see the ship in the distance. "See those Sea-Raven flags?" He tossed the spyglass to Katara.
"Those guys the Southern Raiders?" Raph asked.
"Yes, its them." Zuko confirmed.
"We have found them." Karai stated.
Katara lowered the spyglass with a determined a vengeful look on her face. "Lets do this."
Appa quickly fell towards the water and went straight under right before Katara used her Waterbending to create a bubble around Appa's head to give him and the group oxygen. Appa swam underneath the ship and directly toward it.
On top of the ship, the Southern Raider, Fire Nation soldiers appeared to be simply minding their own business as they made small talk.
"So there I was and I was like, you know, you could…" Before he could finish, a water tentacle wrapped around him and flung him clear off the ship. The other Raiders looked off the side to see what had just happened.
Appa meanwhile had swum underneath the ship and surface on the other side. Raph and Karai quickly jumped off and landed on the deck of the ship, before the Raiders could even react, the two ninjas quickly dispatched them.
Raph did a split kick to knock out two of them, before he grabbed a third by the wrist and flung him off the ship completely. Karai thrusted her palm into the chest of one to send him flying to a wall where he fell unconscious upon impact. She then turned to the remaining two and delivered precise neck chops to knock them out.
Appa then landed on the deck of the ship as Katara and Zuko got off. One Firebender struggled to get up, but Katara quickly thrusted a massive stream of water to send him flying off the ship as well.
With the initial threat dealt with, the four of them ran inside the ship, with Katara having water-whips on her arms. A door opened on the side, but Zuko intercepted the sneak attack as he grabbed the Raider's sword and kicked him back into the room, before closing the door and sealing it shut with the sword.
They came to the door that led to the bridge of the ship.
"This must be it." Raph stated.
"Yeah, it's the bridge, the leader is likely in there." Zuko agreed.
Karai looked towards the younger girl. "Are you ready Katara?"
She lowered her mask before thrusting her tentacles forward to literally blast open the door. The moment it opened, Zuko came in and intercepted a fire blast from the captain.
Raph then came in next; right when the captain shot a fireball at him, Raph rolled underneath and delivered a roundhouse to knock the captain down. He tried to get up, only to have Karai flash a katana directly toward his face.
"Stay down." She told him with glaring eyes.
The captain glared at her. "Who are you?!"
Raph picked him up by the collar. "What? You don't recognize her?" He made him face Katara. "Believe me, you will." He threw the captain down.
He was about to get up and Firebend, but before he could, he felt a pulling sensation in his wrist. "What… what's happening to me…?!" The captain had no control over his body as it was bent and throttled outside of his control.
Karai and Zuko both looked shocked at this, while Raph looked towards Katara and saw her in a Waterbending stance, he looked in surprise at this, as he knew Katara was Bloodbending.
The helmet fell off the soldier as Katara forced him to the ground. Karai was the first to regain her bearings. "Remember your previous raid on the Southern Water Tribe." She told the captain.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Please, I don't know!" The captain begged.
"Don't lie!" Zuko exclaimed as he kneeled down to the captain and then pointed to Katara. "You look her in the eye tell her you don't remember what you did!"
Katara used her Waterbending to force the captain up on his knees. She looked at him with an expression of pure rage, but she saw his eyes, they were not the same eyes that she remembered.
"It's not him." She said with a wide-eyed surprise. She released him from her Bloodbending. "He's not the man."
"What?!" Raph and Zuko questioned at the same time.
"How can that be?" Karai questioned as well. "He's the leader of the Southern Raiders, if he isn't the man, who is?"
Katara had a guilty expression on her face before she began to walk out. The captain struggled to get up, but Raph grabbed him by the collar before pinning him to the wall.
"Who was the last leader of the Southern Raiders, bub? The last guy who invaded the Southern Tribe?!" Raph interrogated.
"You must be looking for Yon Rha. He retried four years go." The captain answered.
"Where is he?" Karai questioned.
After retrieving the information from the captain about Yon Rha's location, they had continued flying on Appa. Raph was at the reigns this time, while Katara slept. Zuko and Karai had not slept though, they we're both curious about what exactly Katara did on that ship.
"Raphael." Karai got his attention. "What was that?"
Raph knew what she was talking about and sighed. "You guys remember that Hama lady?"
"What about her?" Zuko asked as he and Karai we're listening to him.
"Well we met her a little bit before the invasion." Raph began. "But the last time we saw her, she was just an old hag. But, she was a Waterbender from the Southern Tribe like Katara, several decades ago, during a Fire Nation raid; she was abducted and locked in prison. But she escaped after inventing her own technique: Bloodbending."
"Bloodbending?" Zuko questioned as he and Karai looked towards each other in surprise. "What's that?"
"During the Full Moon, when Waterbenders are at their strongest, they can bend the blood in a person's body, make them do what they want like a puppet." Raph explained.
"It makes sense." Karai said. "The human body is more than seventy percent water."
"Yeah, Hama had used this trick to become a borderline serial killer to get revenge on the Fire Nation." Raph continued. "She tried to force Katara to become a Bloodbender like her, Katara refused and so we had a fight. Katara swore she'd never Bloodbend but…."
"She ended up doing that anyway, just recently." Zuko finished.
"Yeah." Raph nodded. "And it wasn't even the guy she hatted. It was just some random guy."
Karai looked with sympathy. "To use such a technique… I cannot imagine what she must be feeling right now."
As Katara continued to sleep, it looked as though her face was pained, as though she we're having a terrible nightmare.
Katara's eyes shot open and she found herself in the Southern Water Tribe. "What? I'm home?" She wondered as she looked around.
Katara heard a familiar giggle and looked to see her younger self, much to her surprise, along with a younger Sokka, playing with snowballs.
"What's going on?" She wondered out loud. Her thoughts we're cut off as black snow began to fell from the sky.
"I'm going to find Mom!" Little Katara said as she ran past Katara, as though she weren't there.
Katara then knew what this was. It was the day her mother died. She followed her younger self to her family's igloo and entered it just as her younger self did.
"Mom!" Little Katara exclaimed but stopped in her tracks. Katara too entered but her eyes widened, the man standing in front of her mother was not the same Fire Nation soldier that killed her mother, it was in fact the one person she feared even more: The Shredder.
"Just let her go, and I'll give you the information you want." Kya told the Shredder.
The Shredder said nothing as he faced Kya. He raised his clawed gauntlet, much to Katara's horror. "No" She watched as the Shredder brought his claws down on Kya, killing her.
"No! NO! NOOOO!" Katara fell to her knees and let her tears fall.
"Do you understand now?"
Katara looked up and looked in surprise to see that her younger self was talking directly to her.
"The moment you left your home and became a fighter, you became as much as a monster as the ones you fight."
"What?" Katara questioned in disbelief. "I left to help Aang!"
"You know that's not true." Little Katara said in a monotone voice. "You did it to seek vengeance for your mother's death. You swore you'd never used Bloodbending and yet you still did."
"I thought he was the one who…" Katara tried.
"It changes nothing. You used Bloodbending on an innocent man, just like Hama." Little Katara continued. "And what's worse, you struck down your own friend who was trying to help you." She continued, referring to Leo. "Even now, you are still on a trail of vengeance. You and the darkness inside has now given way to a greater monster than what the Fire Nation could ever hope to be."
Katara looked up to see the Shredder approach her. When she looked at him, she saw him take off his helmet to reveal something that made her pupils shrink. It wasn't the face of Oroku Saki. It was her face. An adult Katara was wearing the armor of the Shredder as she looked down with a scowl.
"You're… me?"
"All anger, rage, and hatred." Little Katara continued. "You will be the one to tear apart the Fire Nation, slaughtering every man, woman, and child in that country, and leave a trail of destruction across this pitiful world. You may say differently, but deep inside you now the truth. You are the Shredder."
The Shredder-Katara walked towards the terrified Katara and raised her claws. "No… you can't be me! You just can't be! It's impossible!" Katara screamed.
Claws we're brought down on her with a slash.
Katara awoke from her nightmare with a scream. But she covered her mouth to prevent it from being too loud. She looked around to see she was still in Appa's saddle; with Karai and Zuko asleep in it. Katara looked to her hands as they shook.
"Can't sleep, huh?"
She looked to see Raph, still at the reigns of Appa as he looked towards her. Katara climbed over and sat next to Raph.
"You wanna talk about it?" Raph offered.
Katara looked away as she hugged her knees. "Raph, am I good person?"
To say Raph was surprised would be an understatement. "What? What are you…?"
"Please… just tell me. Am I really good? Or am I just someone who's not too different from Shredder?"
Raph put his hand on Katara's shoulder. "Katara, look at me." She looked at him as he had a serious expression. "You're one of the most goody-two-shoes people I know. Sure you can be naggy and bossy, but you got heart and lots of it, and that's what counts."
Katara was a bit surprised to hear this kind of honesty from Raph of all people, but she still spoke. "Then why are we doing this? Why am I really looking for this man?"
"Look, I get it." Raph began. "He killed your mom, and I'm sorry for that. I'll help you take him down, but be careful. Your own anger can take you down, make you act just like him. Master Splinter told me once, a true warrior finds balance in all things."
"Yeah, he told me the same thing." Katara replied. "But… what if I don't have that? What if all that's inside me… is a monster?"
"That's up to you." Raph said. "We are who we choose to be, not what other people want us to be. People in our world say my brothers and I are monsters, but we don't buy that. We do the right thing cause its right. If you want to be a monster, its your choice; but if you want to be a good person, or even a hero, its your choice, no one elses." Raph gave a slight smirk.
The next thing Katara did, after letting all of this sink in, was let her face fall into Raph's chest as she sobbed a bit. Raph was a bit surprised but he patted Katara's back for comfort.
"Get some rest, you're gonna need it."
Katara got up with a smile. "Yeah. Thanks Raph."
The Next Day
It was a cloudy day in this small rural area in the Fire Nation. A middle-aged Yon Rha was tending to his garden, when his elderly and cranky mother came out.
"Yon Rha! You lazy piece of work! I need something!"
"Yes mother?" Yon Rha sighed. "What is it?"
"The tomato-carrots from your garden are too hard for my gums! I need something soft and juicy!"
Yon Rha tried to put on a smile as he turned to her. "Would you like something else from the garden? I would be happy to…"
"Forget your stupid garden!" His mother yelled at him. "Get your grimy-hinny to the market and buy me some real food!" She walked back inside. Yon Rha stood up and left the garden.
Storm clouds set in as he carried an empty basket and walked towards the local market. He came to a stand and started to pick some food and put it in his basket. The eerie wind blew a pair of chimes from a small building. Yon Rha had a feeling he was being watched as he turned around to see no one.
"Hello?" He turned to the storeowner. "Did you see someone?" The storeowner shook his head.
After paying for the food, Yon Rha began to walk away. He walked down a pair of stone steps, as he walked though, the feeling washed over him again. He stopped for a moment and looked back up a flight of steps.
"Hello. I someone there?"
After getting no response, Yon Rha continued on his way. However, he failed to notice that there was someone following him. Hidden behind a ledge we're the masked Katara, Raph, Zuko, and Karai.
"Is that him?" Karai asked in a whisper.
"Yes, that's him alright." Katara recognized him right away this time.
Raph put a hand on her shoulder. "Are your ready for this?" She nodded before they fell back into the shadows.
Rain finally began to pour down as Yon Rha walked down the path to his house. He stopped a moment and turned around, before walking down the path yet again. He knew there was someone following him. He stopped for a moment as he heard footsteps on the puddles.
"Nobody sneaks up on me without getting burned!" He shot a fire stream at a bush. It burnt to a crisp, which the rain quickly put out. He didn't see anyone, so he proceeded to pick up his food and continued on his way.
However, before he got a foot out, a chain was tossed at his right ankle, causing him to trip and fall over. The masked Karai appeared behind him, but before he could respond, a fire stream was shot towards him, forcing him to back up.
The masked Zuko was in front of him, along with the masked Raph.
"We weren't behind the bush." Zuko stated.
Raph took out his sais. "And I wouldn't try Firebending again, if I we're you bub!"
Yon Rha was looking quite scared. "Whoever you are, take my money, take whatever you want, I'll cooperate."
"We aren't here for anything like that." Karai told him as they cleared the way for the masked Katara.
She removed her mask and faced the man below her. "Do you know who I am?"
"No… I'm not sure." Yon Rha replied.
Katara did not like that response. "Oh you better remember me like your life depends on it! Why don't you take a closer look!"
Yon Rha got a good look at her eyes and he instantly recognized her. "Yes… Yes. I remember you now. You're the little Water Tribe girl."
Flashback
"Just let her go, and I'll give you the information you want." Kya begged the younger Yon Rha.
"You heard your mother, get out of here!" He barked at the little Katara.
"Mom… I'm scared…" She uttered towards her mom in fear.
"Go find your dad, sweetie. I'll handle this." Kya assured her daughter with a comforting smile.
As the Little Katara ran out of the igloo, Yon Rha turned to face Kya again. "Now tell me, who is it? Who's the Waterbender?"
"There are no Waterbenders here." Kya told him. "The Fire Nation took them all away a long time ago."
"You're lying!" Yon Rha rebutted. "My source says there's one Waterbender in the Southern Water Tribe. We're not leaving until we find the Waterbender!"
"If I tell you, do you promise to leave the rest of the village alone?" Kya asked as she hung her head down.
Yon Rha nodded.
"It's me." Kya lied. "Take me as your prisoner."
Yon Rha smirked almost evilly. "I'm afraid I'm not taking prisoners today."
End flashback
Yon Rha gave a fearful gulp as he had a good idea what was coming up next. However, what he, as well as Raph, Karai, Zuko, and the vengeful Katara didn't notice was that behind Katara there was a brief red glow and the invisible and intangible forms of all Five Foot Mystics appeared with lightning flashing in the background.
No one could see the Foot Mystics as they we're in their astral form, but that didn't mean they wouldn't have an influence here.
"She lied to you." Katara looked down in sorrow. "She was protecting the last Waterbender."
That took Yon Rha by surprise. "What? Who?"
She looked at him with a scowl. "ME!" She yelled a she used her Waterbending to stop the rain around them. Yon Rha could only look in shock; Zuko, Raph, and Karai looked around and saw the dome of water forming around them.
The Foot Mystics saw their chance. They spoke directly into Katara's mind. Nobody could actually hear them, but Katara heard these thoughts in her head.
"Yes. This is your chance. Take your revenge! You have earned it!" The Fire Mystic influenced.
"This man killed your own mother! He ruined your life! He deserves to die!" The Water Mystic influenced as well.
This did seem to get into Katara's head as she bent all the rain and water around her to form dozens of razor-sharp ice spikes.
"Yes! Do it!" The Wind Mystic influenced.
With a yell, she thrusted all of them forward with the intent of tearing Yon Rha to literal pieces. He closed his eyes and held his arms out to protect himself, but nothing came. The ice-spikes just stopped.
Raph had put a hand on Katara's shoulder, she turned to him as he spoke. "Katara, is this really what you want? Is this really what your mother would want?"
Her eyes slightly widened, she turned to the man who killed her mother. She looked at him in fear.
"Why do you hesitate?" The Metal Mystic questioned/influenced. "He is right there! Strike him down!"
"Unleash all your hatred!" The Earth Mystic influenced as well. "It is clawing to get out! Give into your darkness!"
"Fulfill your destiny, young Katara." The Fire Mystic influenced again. "Become the killer you we're always meant to be!"
Despite the dark influence inside her mind, she looked deep into heart and into her soul, and deep down she knew… it was wrong.
"No." She answered Raph's question. "It's not what I want at all."
She let all the ice melt and all the water fall down as she lowered her stance. Yon Rha then fell on his hands and knees and began to beg.
"I did a bad thing, I know I did, and you deserve revenge." Yon Rha begged. "So why don't you take my mother? That would be fair."
Raph, Karai, and Zuko glared at him. Just how pathetic was this guy?
"I always wondered just what kind of person could do such a thing." Katara began. "And I've seen monsters like that, monsters who kill and laugh about it! I thought you would be just like that! But now I see you for what you are. You're pathetic and sad and empty!"
"Please spare me." Yon Rha begged yet again.
"But as much as I hate you…. I just can't do it." Katara closed her eyes and began to walk away. Raph and Zuko gave Yon Rha final glares before walking away.
At first, Yon Rha felt relieved, however, a small blade was thrown in front of him. He looked up in surprise to see Karai glaring down at him.
"If you truly feel remorse for what you have done, then you must find a way to atone for your sins." Karai told him. "If not, then you have a way out of this pathetic life of yours right there." She gestured to the blade. "Its your choice."
Karai walked away with Zuko, Katara, and Raph; leaving Yon Rha alone with the blade.
As they walked away; the transparent figures of the Foot Mystics looked on in disappointment.
"How disappointing." The Water Mystic said. "She showed such promise."
"She could have been our greatest pawn." The Earth Mystic agreed.
"Regardless of our failure here, it will not stop what has been set in motion." The Wind Mystic stated.
"Yes, the pieces are falling into place." The Metal Mystic agreed. "Even if the Waterbender is no longer under her influence, the Avatar will still play an important role for us."
"Indeed. Darkness will fall, and the Avatar will be the vanguard of that Darkness!" The Fire Mystic exclaimed as the Mystics' astral forms vanished.
It was late in the evening. Team Avatar, the Ninja Turtles, and their allies had taken refuge in Zuko's family's beach house on Ember Island. Katara sat alone on the docks as she let her feet dangle just above the water.
"Katara!" Aang ran up to her on the docks, followed by Leo, Raph, Zuko, and Karai. "Are you okay?"
"I'm doing fine." Katara responded, not even facing the group.
"Raph and the others told us what you did." Leo told her. "I think you made the best choice."
"Yeah, I'm proud of you." Aang agreed.
"I wanted to do it so badly." Katara said. "I even felt something deep inside, it was practically yelling at me to do it. I wanted to unleash all my hate on him but… I couldn't. I don't know if its because I'm too weak to do it, or if I'm strong enough not to."
"It takes no effort or strength to kill or destroy." Leo told her. "But to show mercy, even if its to someone you hate more than anything, that right there is real strength."
"You did the right thing." Aang added. "Forgiveness is the first step to take to begin healing."
Katara stood up and faced the group. "But I didn't forgive him. I will never forgive him." She said honestly.
"We get it." Raph said. "Some people ain't worth forgiving, trust me I now. But…" He smiled. "Letting go of your hate feels good, doesn't it?"
She smiled weakly. "Yeah, it does. Thanks Raph."
"Anytime."
Katara then turned to face the blue-clad Turtle. "Leo I… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I know it's no excuse but, I just hope you can forgive me."
Leo put a hand on her shoulder. "Just because a friend makes a mistake, doesn't mean you give up on them."
She looked at him with a hopeful smile. "So, we're good?"
He smiled back. "Yeah, we're good."
Katara hugged him in response, which he was happy to return. There was only one more thing she needed to do. Katara then faced both Zuko and Karai.
"Guys, thanks for helping me."
"Of course." Karai responded.
"So…" Zuko nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Does that mean… we're forgiven?"
"Actually, I'm the one who should be asking for your forgiveness." Katara said, getting both their attention.
She looked to Zuko first. "You never really had a choice in any of this. Your own father kicked you out of your own home, and said the only way you could come back was to catch Aang. I didn't know about that. And, that whole thing in Ba-Sing-Se… Shredder forced you into it. You never had a choice; I can't believe I never knew that. I am so sorry."
Zuko nodded in response before Katara turned to Karai. "Karai… the Shredder, he's done… terrible things. He almost killed Aang, and he laughed at it. And learning that you we're his daughter… I thought you we're just like him… I wanted to hate you."
Karai looked down slightly. "I understand if you…"
"But its not you." Katara interrupted, getting Karai's attention. "Its never been you. It's me. I've let my anger and my hate blind me for too long."
Before Karai could give any kind of response, Katara ran forward and hugged her. This caught Karai by surprise.
"I am so sorry I misjudged you, both of you." She spoke in between tears. "It doesn't matter where you come form, or who your parents are, its what's in your heart that counts; you've proven it time and again, but I just pushed you away. Please… forgive me."
Karai slightly pushed Katara back and looked at her with a smile. "I have."
Katara smiled as she rubbed the tears from her eyes. She walked past Zuko and gave him a brief hug as well before walking towards the house.
Aang, Raph, Zuko, Leo, and Karai watched her. "You we're right about what Katara needed." Zuko said. "Violence wasn't the answer."
"It never is." Aang said with a smile.
"Than I have a question for you." Karai turned to Aang with a serious expression. "What do you plan to do when we face the Shredder?"
Aang's smile vanished; he looked down in an expression of confusion and uncertainty. Leo placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll think of something. Come on, I think we could all use a good night sleep."
"Agreed." Aang, Raph, Zuko, and Karai all said at the same time.
Katara had lain on the bed of her room as she was tired beyond belief. She let exhaustion take her as her eyes closed and she drifted off into sleep.
Within her dream, Katara appeared to be in some form of white void. "Hello, young Katara."
She turned around to see the spirit of Hamato Yoshi greet her with a smile. "Who are you?"
"My name is Hamato Yoshi." He answered
She looked in surprise before she tried to give a respectful bow. "Master Yoshi… It's an honor. The Turltes and Splinter told me a lot about you."
"And I know much about you as well, young one." Yoshi spoke. "And I have a friend who wishes to see you."
Yoshi gestured upward, Katara looked to see a bright light descending down. It then took the form of a humanoid; one wearing white clothes, identical to that of an angel. But it was the face that caught Katara's attention; she looked in surprise at the sight of it.
"Hello sweetie." Kya's spirit greeted with a smile.
"Mom?" Katara breathed.
"Yes."
Katara's eyes grew somewhat fearful as she took some steps back. "Wait… why are you here? Now? I already…?"
Kya's expression became serious. "Katara, that being that spoke with you at the Western Air Temple was not me."
"What?"
"It is true." Yoshi confirmed. "It was the work of dark magic, an evil influence had sought to corrupt you; it used your anger to try and turn you against your friends."
Katara's eyes widened before she turned to Kya. "That wasn't you?" Kya shook her head. "So… does that mean…. You're really?"
"Yes. It's me, Katara. You're real mother." Kya confirmed with a gentle smile.
Katara saw the gentle look in her eyes, they we're the same ones that she knew before. It was her. Tears formed in Katara's eyes.
"MOM!" She wasted no time in leaping into her mother's arms as she let tears of joy fall. Her mother happily embraced her as Yoshi to gave a smile.
After about a minute of hugging, they pulled apart. "Oh my little girl, you've grown up so much." Kya looked at her with pride.
"Mom I… I can't believe…" Katara couldn't find the words to say. "You're really here?"
"I've always been with you Katara. In here." She placed a hand on her daughter's heart. A sorrowful look fell on Kya's face. "I am sorry that I left you. I've watched you grow, all the hardships you've endured and I was not there for you…"
"Mom, you did it to protect me." Katara told her mother's spirit. "I know that. I don't hold any hard feelings at all."
Kya smiled as she caressed her daughter's face. "I've seen what you have done recently. I couldn't be more proud of you, and I know you're going to do great things." Her look became serious. "But you must now that our world is danger."
"I know." Katara already knew. "The Shredder has to be stopped."
"I know you will do it; you, your brother, your friends, human and turtle…" a sly smirk came to Kya's face. Aand your little boyfriend, Aang."
Katara laughed as her cheeks turned red. Hamato Yoshi placed a hand on Kya's shoulder. "We must go."
Kya nodded in understanding. "I have to go Katara. But remember, I'll always be with you, in your heart. Trust your heart, trust your friends, I love you."
"I love you to mom." Katara said as they hugged one last time. With that; both spirits of Yoshi and Kya ascended back into the white sky.
Outside of Katara's dream, the young Waterbender fell to sleep with a peaceful smile on her face.
Done.
WOW! A lot has happened in this chapter. I hope you like it.
So good news: Mai and Ty-Lee have joined up with the Turltes and Team Avatar; and Katara is now free from the Mystics' influence and has let go of her anger.
However, that doesn't mean the Mystics are out of the game, they still have their own secret agenda planned. What are they up to? You'll have to find out and see later on.
Just to clarify, I left Yon Rha's fate ambiguous on purpose. Karai threw him a blade and told him that he should atone for his sins, or take the easy way out (if you catch my drift). I didn't show his choice because I just wanted to give a slight chill up your spines. (Laughs evilly) Ha Ha Ha Ha!
Plus, what is happening to Hama? We have confirmed that Stockman is basically using her as a genie pig. If you want to have an idea of what may happen to her, see the TMNT episode "Insane in the Membrane".
Also, it would seem Shredder's plans are slowly coming together. What is Project: Meteoroid? Whatever it is, it can't be good.
Oh, one quick side note. I will NOT be doing Ember Island players. Sorry to disappoint some readers, but that was not one of my favorite episodes. I have something else planned; the next chapter will have two purposes to it…
It'll show the affect of Shredder's dominion over the Fire Nation and how his actions and plans are affecting the country as a whole.
Team Avatar will learn the origins of the Shredder and understand just how crucial it is that they stop him (Take a look at the TMNT episodes "Secret Origins" to get an idea of what will happen).
Thank you all for your patience. And just to remind you, since school has started up for me, there will be some wait between now and the next update, in addition to my job, as well as other stories I need to work on as well. Thank you for understanding. See you next time.
Cowabunga!
