Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA or any of the characters from the series.
Chapter 35
Katara was in a furious rage. She had just learned about the attacks- Fire Nation attacks- planned for the colonies. The soldiers were likely already subduing the rebels. The navy, according to the quick letter from Sokka, was already threatening the Water Tribe warships.
'But he had promised me he wouldn't do this. He promised.' Despite her many attempts, she could not see a way around it. Zuko was the only one who could have ordered attacks this large, especially without prior provocation from the other nations. He struck out against the Fire Nation's opponents, but Katara could not help but feel as if he had struck out against her personally. He had promised her, and then betrayed her by not only ordering the attack, but by keeping it a secret from her for over a month.
She stormed through the halls, fury radiating from her. If she had given it any thought, she would have been grateful that her children were with their tutors and would not see her like this. However, she was single-mindedly focused on Zuko.
'I ought to calm down before someone gets hurt.' The logical part of her mind tried to reason with her.
'But isn't that what must happen now? You gave the Fire Lord plenty of chances; now he must pay the consequences,' a part of her, the Red Rose Assassin, purred with dark satisfaction. She was back in the business for one last target.
The Generals shout orders to the infantry, who hurry to do as they are commanded. Blasts of fire come up against rock walls and stone projectiles. Metal weapons clash against metal armor. City walls and fortress gates are sealed off.
The waterbender approached her rooms. "Let no one but the Fire Lord through. Stay out of my way" she snapped at the guards. Once in she turned to the women inside. "OUT! ALL OF YOU!" she ordered the maidservants. Startled by this uncharacteristic display of anger, they dropped what they were doing and rushed to do as they were commanded. Katara slammed the doors shut behind them.
Fire Nation airships and war balloons filled the skies over the massive continent. People looked out their doorways to stare in awe and fear at this display of Fire Nation power. When the Earth and Water armies were spotted, the Lieutenants gave the word to fire upon the camps and soldiers. Chaos and destruction followed in the air force's wake.
Katara screamed with rage and grief. Water and ice whipped out, shredding the silks and shattering ornaments that decorated the lavish Queen's suite. Going into the depths of her jewelry box, under the false bottom, she snatched up her knives. Testing them, she was pleased to see that they were still razor-sharp and her aim still good. With a flick of her wrist, the ice blades were reformed for the first time in a decade.
As the Earth soldiers retaliated, the air ships were bombarded with rock and stone. The windows cracked under the assault. Back in the cities, the soldiers of both sides were battering the defense walls. The ships at sea were doing everything they could to sink the opposing fleets. Shouts of fear and cries for help were drowned out by the sounds of the battle and the leaders' barked commands.
The Kyoshi assassin overturned furniture and tore at her clothes and hair, which she had taken out of the royal topknot and pulled back in a braid. Glass shards cut across her robes and skin as she smashed through the windows, and she let herself gasp at the stinging pain. The guards were pounding on her door, panicked by her screams and the noise, but she shouted back at them, reminding them of her orders.
Water Tribe fleets approached the Earth Kingdom harbors to send aid to the King. Unbeknownst to them, the Fire Nation navy was waiting for them. Each sea man and soldier on board was reciting the precise plan of attack through their heads, determined not to be the weak link that foiled the plan for the entire squadron.
Zuko was called to the Queen's rooms, in the hopes that he would be able to help her. The guards still had no idea whether or not she was hurt, but they did not dare defy her orders while she was in this state of mind. Meanwhile, Katara was looking over her masterpiece. This would either go terribly wrong, or be the best con the world has ever seen. She went over the plan in her head.
'The Fire Lord will come in. I'll say I was attacked. A pair of assassins looking for him. I fought them off, but they promised to be back. When he's within reach, I'll kill him. No one will suspect the Water Tribe knives of being mine. I have been Fire Nation for too long.
'Then, when I know that recovery is not possible, I'll call for help. The guards will rush in. I was attacked by a pair of assassins looking for the Fire Lord. They held me captive, demanding I keep the guards out, until they got their target. They killed him. They killed him and escaped. No, I can't identify them; they covered their faces and disguised their voices…
'Achindra will inherit the crown. I will be named queen regent. I will rule the Fire Nation. I will stop this war….'
Katara sank to the floor, gasping for breath. She felt dizzy. Tears soaked her face. She would kill Zuko. After nine years of marriage, seven years of motherhood, she would kill her husband. 'No!' her mind flinched away from the thought as her stomach heaved. 'I will assassinate the Fire Lord, who has attacked my people for far too long. Who has caused this pain and destruction. It's nothing personal.'
The rebel armies began retreating. The Fire Nation had caught them off guard, and they were nowhere near organized enough to defend the cities. The colonies they had won were being taken back. What was left of them, anyway. Many of them were nearly in ruins, infrastructure turned to rubble, the air filled with smoke, the streets littered with debris, abandoned goods, puddles of water and blood. Those who could still hear after the deafening explosions would hear only the chaos of a battlefield and the screams of the frightened, the wounded, and the dying.
"Katara? KATARA! Where are you?" Zuko rushed, unsuspecting, though the rooms until he reached the bedroom. "Katara!" He found the waterbender where she had collapsed, choking back sobs. "Someone-!"
"NO! I'm alright. I'm alright. Just help me up." With a steadiness she did not know she still had, she rose from the floor with Zuko's help.
"Are you alright? What happened here?"
Katara tried to tell him the web of lies she'd created, but the words caught and she choked on them. Instead, she backed away.
Trying to save the plan somewhat, she threw a knife in his direction. Familiar with Mai's art, he easily dodged it. The sharp metal sailed over his shoulder and planted itself in the wooden bedpost with a solid thunk. "What in the name of Agni was that for?" he asked angrily.
Glaring at the man across from her, she jabbed a finger at him. "You lied to me. You promised and you lied to me. I found out about the attacks. End this peacefully? What happened to 'I don't want another battle any more than you do'?"
Zuko flinched at her accusations. "Please, Katara-"
"No! I gave you a chance- I gave you dozens! I even began to like you!" She would not admit even to herself now that she loved him. "But then you go and betray me. If you had just let things be, if you had just let this war die out, then we might have lived happily together. But now I have to kill you. Believe me when I say this will be the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but I will not let you destroy my people."
Zuko felt a rush of fear. He knew what she was capable of. "Katara, please, just calm down and think about what you are saying. Please. Your people are more than willing to defend our homeland. The foreign armies were going to attack us. By attacking them first, we can prevent our people from being destroyed."
The waterbender laughed coldly. "Oh, Zuko. You have no idea, do you? You still believe this little fairy tale lie I fed to you. The Fire Nation may be my adopted people, but my heart and hands still belong to the other side of this war. I swore twelve years ago to kill you and end this war, but I let you live so far. I was going to let you live, too, but then you had to go and ruin it all," she spat.
Eyes wide with fear, hurt, and confusion, Zuko backed up even further, raising his hands defensively, but careful not to provoke the angry assassin. "Please, love, just-"
"No! You brought this on yourself, Zuko! You will die!" Katara shouted, annunciating each of the last three words. Faster than his eyes could track, her arm rose and her wrist flicked out. Half a dozen pieces of sharpened silver glinted in the light of the broken windows as they darted with perfect aim at the Fire Lord.
General Chenglei looks out over the city. It was one that had been completely under the control of the earthbending rebels. Now he stood at the topmost point of the governor's estate. A grim sight meets his eyes; most of the city has gone up in flames and the roads are, thanks to the earthbenders, impassable. Most of the civilians had fled hours ago. He wonders briefly if it was even worth going to war if the only thing they gained in exchange for the hundreds of lost lives was ruin. He knew intuitively that the city was lost.