Thanks to all who posted their feedback on the last chapter! It looks like a majority of you wanted me to write out "The Southern Raiders" and "The Ember Island Players" in their entirety, so that's what I'll be doing. Hope you enjoy this one (I know I had fun writing it)!
Also, please point out any grammatical errors you spot so that I can go back and fix them. Thank you!
Tikaani'sPOV:
"Wazzat?" I sat up suddenly as a loud BOOM sounded from above, waking me. It seemed everyone else had been disturbed by the same noise. The Western Air Temple shook slightly, rubble falling from the ceiling as another explosion sounded from outside. I rubbed the tired out of my eyes as we all scrambled to our feet to see what was going on. Three Fire Nation war blimps were looming out of the canyon fog towards the upside-down structure we were currently staying in.
"There goes our chances at a good night's sleep." Red grumbled, yawning as she slipped her arm blades on and unsheathed them. As the bombs came raining down, Aang sent out a gust of air that activated the tower's defense systems, shielding our campsite from outside fire, at least for a short while. Red sighed and sheathed her arm blades. "Can't we fight them?"
"Are you crazy?" Sokka demanded, raising an eyebrow at Red. "How would we be able to take out three Fire Nation war balloons by ourselves?"
"We can't stand here and do nothing." Jet announced, looking up at the ceiling. "This place is structurally unsound."
Just as Jet said it, a few chunks of rock fell from the ceiling towards Katara. Acting quickly, Ryuu pushed her out of the way to save her, though she didn't seem to happy about this after the fact. Toph and Aang, meanwhile, earthbended a tunnel in the rock at the back of the cavern, giving us a way out of the temple. "Come on, we can get out through here!" Toph announced, pointing. Everyone started running down the tunnel except for Ryuu and Zuko.
"What are you doing?" Aang asked as he tried to pull an unwilling Appa towards the tunnel. Zuko and Ryuu both looked back at us.
"Go ahead! We'll hold them off!" Zuko urged as he faced the closed defense doors. "I think this is a family visit."
"You guys need to get to safety." Ryuu added as he walked over towards Zuko. "We'll catch up later."
"Ryuu, you can't!" I called as both of them ran off. I looked back towards my dad, who seemed worried, but also proud. Ryuu will be fine. I need to stop worrying about him.
"We can't stay here." Jet announced, looking around at the ceiling and the rest of the room. "This place could collapse any second. Ryuu and Zuko are giving us a chance to escape. We have to take that chance."
"I'd rather stay and fight." Red snapped, pouting at Jet. She sighed. "But you're right. Retreating is the smart move, even if I don't like it."
"You don't like anything that doesn't involve violence." I chastised, rolling my eyes at her as I rushed over to help Sokka, Katara, and Aang with Appa. Red and Jet tried to help as well, but Appa wouldn't budge.
"I can't get him to go in there! Appa hates tunnels!" Aang cried as Appa continued to resist all our efforts.
"Aang, there's no way he can fly out of here." Katara argued, pulling harder on Appa's reins.
"We have to find a way." Aang responded, letting go of the reins. We all did the same.
"Appa weighs more than two tons. If he doesn't want to go in the tunnel, there's no way we can make him." I said, shaking my head. "But… There's no way all of us will fit on Appa."
"We need to split up." Sokka realized, frowning. He ran back towards where the others were waiting at the tunnel entrance. "Take the tunnel and get to the stolen airship."
Katara's eyes widened as she looked back. "No!" She protested, storming over to Hakoda and Sokka. "The Fire Nation can't separate our family again!"
"I… I don't want to leave you." I admitted to my own father.
He put his hands on my shoulder comfortingly and looked into my eyes. "It'll be fine Tikaani. This war will be over soon enough. After it's over, we can be a family again." He smiled and hugged me. "I promise."
I hugged him back. When we separated I noticed Ryuu's ostrich horse pacing in front of the tunnel entrance, looking uneasy. "Take care of Uma for Ryuu." He nodded, taking the ostrich horse's reins. I headed back towards Appa. Red and Jet were already on Walt, while Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Toph, were already boarding Appa's saddle. I ran over and climbed on board as well.
Ryuu's POV:
"What are you doing here?" Zuko demanded as Azula rose up from the fog on a fourth war blimp.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Now's not the time for stupid questions!"
"It should be obvious, Zuko! I'm about to celebrate being an only child!" Azula announced. Her gaze then turned to me. "And of course, being ex-free!" She flipped over the railing of the war blimp's crow's nest, kicking a stream of blue flames towards us, which we both countered with our own orange blasts. The ensuing explosion caused further damage to the air temple. As one of the support beams toppled we ran up its surface of and both leapt towards Azula's blimp. We came short and started falling through the foggy air, only to land on another war blimp and rise to face Azula once again.
Zuko and I got a running start and leapt, this time landing on the blimp across from Azula despite her firing at us while we were in midair. I landed a few feet farther down than Zuko and had to climb a few feet before reaching where him and Azula were facing off. She kicked a stream of blue fire at him, which he swept aside. I jumped over him, kicking fire at Azula at the same time that Zuko shot some out of his fists. Azula rolled to the right, dodging the blasts, but Zuko and I pressed on, aiming all our attacks at her.
As we fought, Zuko and I got closer to Azula. She pushed her fist forward, covering it in flames as she did so. Zuko matched the move and my eyes widened as their fists met, causing another explosion that knocked all three of us off of the blimp. We were free falling for a few seconds when Appa swept in and we landed safely on his saddle.
Zuko looked back where Azula was still falling. "She's… Not going to make it." He whispered. Just then, Azula evened herself out and shot fire out of her feet, grabbing onto the cliffside to watch us fly away. "Of course she did."
Red's POV:
"Wow, camping… It really seems like old times again, doesn't it?" Aang asked, smiling as we all sat around the campfire enjoying ourselves. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and relaxing despite the earlier Fire Nation attack. Tikaani was feeding Muu, Jet was sharpening his hooked swords and I was throwing a stick for Walt to retrieve.
"If your really want it to seem like old times, we could, uh… Chase you around a while and try to capture you." Zuko suggested in a failed attempt at humor. Everyone laughed at this statement.
"Or I could pretend to have amnesia. Who are you? Who am I? What's firebending?" Ryuu added after everyone else had stopped laughing. This sparked another wave of laughter, and even I had to chuckle at the joke. Everyone thought it was funny, except Katara, whose gaze darkened.
"Ha, ha." Katara grumbled, looking at the ground.
"To Zuko and Ryuu!" Sokka announced, raising his cup. "Who knew that after all those times they tried to snuff us out, today they'd be our heroes?" Everyone else raised their cups, cheering for Zuko and Ryuu. Jet hesitated slightly before lifting his cup, but eventually joined the others in their cheers. He's gotten so much more accepting. I put my free hand on his and he looked at me, smiling. I'm proud of him.
Zuko smiled bashfully. "I'm touched." His smile faded as he looked around.
"We don't deserve this." Ryuu added, frowning. "We're just trying to make up for all the problems we caused. But… I don't know if we could ever do that."
"Yeah, no kidding." Katara snapped harshly, setting down her tea before getting up and walking away. Zuko and Ryuu exchanged a glance, then both stood up.
"What's with her?" Sokka wondered, still watching Katara walk off. As Zuko and Ryuu followed her he seemed increasingly confused. "What's with him?"
Ryuu's POV:
"Zuko, wait." I put my hand on Zuko's shoulder, holding him back a bit. He raised an eyebrow at me questioningly. "I think I need to talk to Katara alone."
He frowned. "I don't know if you've noticed, but she's hostile towards both of us, not just you." He announced, looking over towards where Katara was sitting. She was sitting on a rock, looking out over the ocean.
"Yes, but she seems to direct most of her anger at me. You just keep getting stuck in the crossfire." I explained, looking back towards Zuko. "I think she's directing her anger at the Fire Nation towards me. She only takes it out on you because we're friends."
Zuko scratched his chin, seeming contemplative. "That would explain a lot… She seems to only show hostility to me when you are around." He looked up towards Katara, then back towards me. "If you could resolve her hostility towards you… She might stop being hostile towards me."
I nodded. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."
"Good luck." Zuko mumbled as he walked back towards the campsite. As I approached Katara she turned her head to see who it was. After seeing that it was me, she sneered and started walking away, further up the cliff.
"Katara, wait. I just want to talk." I begged as I followed her up the cliff. She turned to face me, crossing her arms as she locked me in a venomous gaze. "Why don't you trust me? I've been trying to prove that I am on your side. I-"
"I don't want to hear it!" Katara interrupted, cutting me off. "I did trust you! I trusted in your secret letters, and I trusted that you liked me. But you were dating Azula the entire time!"
"Azula? Do you seriously believe I would have feelings for that blue-fired maniac?" I demanded, my voice rising a little in anger. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. "Azula was my cover, never anything more. I thought if I pretended to have feelings for her, no one would find out about the secret letters I was sending back to you. I did what I thought I had to do to make sure the invasion plan succeeded. I… I still don't know how you even found out about that!"
"We were traveling through the Fire Nation undercover. Did you think we wouldn't hear rumors about the princess and her new boyfriend?" Katara explained as her anger continued to increase. "And if you and Azula weren't serious, then how did she find out about the invasion plan?"
"She found out when her and her friends were impersonating Kyoshi Warriors in the Earth King's palace." I explained as calmly as I could. Despite this, Katara still seethed with anger. I sighed. "What can I do to earn your trust back?"
"You really want to know?" Katara stomped across the grass towards me, getting as up in my face as she possibly could. "You could bring my mother back!" With that, Katara stormed off, back in the direction of the campsite.
Immediately after I left Sokka's tent, he poked his head out and called for Suki. I remembered there was only one legitimate reason that I had gone to talk to him in the first place. I already know all I need to know about Katara's mother and the Southern Raiders. "One more thing, Sokka." I called before he retreated back into the tent.
Sokka seemed impatient for me to leave and end the awkwardness, but nodded. "Go ahead."
"You do realize there is a twelve-year-old girl in camp who can feel your every movement with her feet, right?" I inquired. Sokka's eyes widened and he turned his head, looking over at where Toph was sleeping with her feet propped off the ground.
"It's fine, she's sleeping with her… Feet closed?" Sokka waved his hand dismissively in Toph's direction. "Anyway, it's none of your business, so… Stay out of it!" With that, Sokka poked his head back in his tent. I walked over to the rock outside Katara's tent and waited there for her.
Red's POV:
Shing. Shing. I slid a rock along the edges of one of my arm blades, sharpening it. There's nothing more satisfying than the shing of a sharpened blade. I took out my other arm blade and began sharpening that one as well.
"Don't you think they're sharp enough by now?" Toph questioned, seeming to be annoyed by the noise.
"No such thing as sharp enough." I replied, but stopped for Toph's sake. I sheathed them, then slipped them back onto my arms. "I just like the sound. But if it bothers you that much, I'll stop."
Jet seemed surprised by that. "You never stop when I ask you to." He protested, frowning.
"You don't ask, you just complain about it." I retorted jokingly, trying to reach his hair so I could ruffle it. "Maybe if you tried asking, I would." Jet contemplated it for a few seconds. He opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted.
"I need to borrow Appa." Katara announced as her and Ryuu walked up behind Aang.
"Why? Is it your turn to take a little field trip with Ryuu?" Aang asked jokingly as he continued feeding Appa hay.
"Yes. It is." Katara answered, deadly serious.
Aang turned around, the expression on his face a mixture between confused and worried. "Oh. What's going on?"
"We're going to find the man who took my mother from me." Katara announced. Sokka stopped what he was doing and stood to his feet, shocked.
"I talked to Sokka last night. I know how to find the man responsible." Ryuu added.
"Um… And what exactly do you think this will accomplish?" Aang questioned, frowning at Katara. I stood to my feet and walked over to the small crowd that was beginning to assemble around them. I noticed that some of the members of the group were missing. Suki, for one, but that was to be expected considering the events that likely went on the night before. But Tikaani and Zuko were also missing, which was a bit odd. I wonder where they are. Or what they're up to.
"Isn't it obvious?" I asked, joining the conversation uninvited. "This is a revenge trip."
"And what if it is?" Katara snapped, sneering at me. "I need this. And he deserves it."
"Katara, you sound like Jet." Aang blurted, almost without thinking about it. His eyes widened and he put his hands in the air defensively. "No offense."
"No offense?" I repeated angrily, raising an eyebrow at Aang. "That is completely and totally offensive. Jet's changed. He's a different person-" Jet put his hand on my shoulder and shook his head. I gave him an incredulous look, but stopped talking.
"He's not wrong." Jet explained, shrugging nonchalantly as he faced Aang. "I had a revenge problem. It's the truth." He's… He's admitting his past mistakes? That he had a problem? He's come farther than I thought. I smiled at him.
"I don't have a revenge problem!" Katara snapped at Aang. "This man is a monster. He deserves my wrath."
"Katara, she was my mother too. But I think Aang might be right." Sokka stated, walking over to join Aang's side of the argument.
"Then you didn't love her the way I did!" Katara exploded, giving him an accusing look.
A hurt expression crossed Sokka's face. "Katara…"
"That was a little uncalled for." Jet protested, crossing his arms.
"Mind your own business!" Katara snarled, glaring daggers at Jet.
"The monks used to say that that revenge is like a two-headed rat viper. While you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself." Aang informed, his voice chiming with wisdom.
"That's a respectable quote. But Katara needs this. She needs to know who killed her mother, and why." Ryuu answered, putting his hand on Katara's shoulder. She violently shrugged him off and he continued. "No matter what comes of it."
Tikaani's POV:
I took a few more deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. I opened my eyes again. No! Ugh, why isn't this working? I thought angrily to myself when I saw nothing but the walls of my tent surrounding me. I closed my eyes and took a few more deep breaths, trying to empty my mind of all thoughts not about the Spirit World. But one thought kept creeping its way back into my mind no matter how many times I tried to push it away. Will it be me or Mai?
"What are you doing?" I jumped, startled by the unexpected interruption. I turned towards the entrance of my tent to see Zuko standing there.
"What are you doing in here?" I asked, surprised to see him there. I was silently glad I had decided to change out of my pajamas before meditating.
Zuko seemed a little awkward about it after I asked the question. "Everyone else is up already. I just wanted to make sure you weren't still sleeping."
"I was trying to meditate." I answered. He seemed confused by this response.
"Meditating? Isn't that an airbender thing?" He frowned and crossed his arms at me. "I thought you were a waterbender." I couldn't tell because of the lighting, but I was sure he was… Smiling. Was that a joke?
"I am a waterbender. But sometimes I meditate into the spirit world." I reached around through my stuff until I found the old scroll from the spirit library and handed it to Zuko. His eyes widened and he took the scroll, holding it up to a patch of light that was filtering through the front of the tent so he could read it. "You can open the door if you want. It's pretty dark in here."
He did so, and examined it some more. "The spirit world? That's… Amazing." He mused as his eyes skimmed the parchment. "But… Why go to the Spirit World?"
"It's a good reminder that whatever we do as humans here in the regular world… Also affects what goes on in the Spirit World." I explained. I wanted to explain more. But how? "Maybe… It would be better just to show you." I took the scroll back and began reading from it aloud. I'd spent enough time studying the scroll that I had pretty much memorized what most of it said. Zuko listened patiently as I explained. "And all you have to do to enter is to clear your mind of any thoughts not relating to the spirit world."
Zuko thought about my instructions, and studied the scroll closely. "You said you were trying to meditate. What was blocking you from entering the Spirit World?"
"I was just thinking about… About…" I tried to think of how to answer his question without answering his question. I'm a horrible liar, but… I can't tell him what I was really thinking about. It has to be at least a half-truth or it won't be convincing. "The future."
"What about the future?" Zuko inquired, seeming slightly concerned.
I opened and closed my mouth a few times. "It's… Nothing. Nevermind." I couldn't bring myself to say it. He'll laugh at me. He won't understand. "Forget I said anything about it."
Zuko frowned harder, wrestling with anger for a few seconds before regaining a calm composure. He sighed. "I want to help you. I can't do that if you won't tell me what's wrong." I could tell he was concerned and felt trapped. I can't tell him what I was really thinking. But I can't push him away.
"What happens if we lose this war?" I finally blurted. A more pressing question popped into my mind almost immediately afterwards. "And what happens if we win?"
Ryuu's POV:
Katara and I were dressed in black, packing Appa's saddle with all the necessities for the journey ahead of us. We were almost finished packing everything when I noticed two figures watching us from the shadow of a large rock formation.
"So you were just going to take Appa anyway?" Aang demanded as he emerged from behind the rock formation, stepping into the moonlight.
"Yes." Katara responded without batting an eye.
"It's okay, because I forgive you." Aang responded solemnly, dipping his head. "That give you any ideas?" He inquired hopefully.
"Don't try to stop us." Katara shot back furiously.
Aang's gaze became serious again. "I wasn't planning to. This is a journey you need to take. You need to face this man." Katara nodded, then began to climb onto Appa's head, using one of his horns as a stepping stool. "But when you do, please don't choose revenge. Let your anger out, and then let it go. Forgive him." Katara was facing away from him, and didn't give any notion that she had heard him. Aang then looked at me. "Ryuu… Why are you doing this? I know you're smart enough to see that revenge is not the right path."
I nodded. "I agree, Aang. But I trust Katara to do the right thing. When the time comes… She will."
"Hello?" As we were watching Yon Rah buy some vegetables and fruit from the market, he suddenly turned around. We quickly ducked out of view before he was able to spot us. "Did you see someone?" He asked the street vendor, who just shrugged and shook his head. We continued to follow him at a safe distance as he headed out of town, back towards his mother's house.
"Was that him?" I questioned, my voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm… Not sure. Let's keep following him." Katara whispered. We followed him down a series of stairs cut into the cliff face. Suddenly, he stopped. We quickly backed out of sight.
"Hello? Is someone there?" When there was no answer, he continued walking along. Katara and I peeked out over the edge of the cliff face.
"That was him." Katara whispered darkly. "That was the monster." As we stalked Yon Rha down the dirt trail, it started to rain, making it harder to keep our footprints silent in the mucky mud.
"No one sneaks up on me without getting burned!" Yon Rha suddenly stopped, turned around, and shot a blast of fire at a nearby bush. He watched the flame dwindle slowly in the pounding rain, then slowly picked up the dropped fruit. He turned around, tripping over a rock we had placed into his path while he had his back turned. I jumped out, blasting fire at the ground in front of him to demonstrate my firebending abilities.
"We weren't in the bush. Four years of retirement really lowers your skill to detect stalkers, doesn't it?" I questioned jokingly, getting into a fighting stance. "Don't try firebending again. It won't do you much good."
"Whoever you are, take my money." Yon Rha sniveled as he put lay in the wet dirt. "Take whatever you want. I'll cooperate."
Katara jumped out from behind a nearby rock and walked towards him, lowering the piece of black cloth covering her face. "Do you know who I am?"
"No." Yon Rha studied her, his eyes getting wider. "I… I'm not sure."
Katara's hands curled into fists. "Oh, you better remember me like your life depends on it!" She threatened, stepping closer. "Why don't you take a closer look?"
Yon Rha's eyes flooded with recognition as he looked on her. "Yes, yes, I remember you now." He looked at her, slightly frightened. "You're the little Water Tribe girl. I organized a raid on the Southern Water Tribe after receiving reports that there was one last waterbender there. After you left the ice hut, I asked her to reveal the location of the last waterbender, and told her the rest of the village would be spared if she gave me the information. She told me she was the waterbender, and to take her as my prisoner. But… I killed her."
As Yon Rha narrated the story, Katara's gaze grew harder. Her fists were shaking with rage by the time he had finished. "She lied to you! She was protecting the last waterbender." Katara informed as she turned away from him.
Yon Rha's eyes widened in shock. "What? Who?"
"Me!" Katara's eyes shot open and the rain droplets suddenly stopped falling. A barrier of rain formed around us as the drops floated in place. Katara rotated her arms in a circular motion and hurled a wave of water towards him. As the wave moved closer, it morphed into razor-sharp icicles. The icicle spears struck the ground around him, floating around him in a circle as she shook in a puddle on the ground, whimpering in fear and begging for mercy. Katara closed her eyes and lowered her arms. The icicles melted back into water and collapsed, dumping on Yon Rha. He was sitting in the fetal position with his head covered.
He got onto his hands and knees and looked at the ground. "I did a bad thing. I know I did, and you deserve revenge, so why don't you take my mother? That would be fair!" Yon Rha bartered, smiling pleadingly at Katara. This sniveling weasel is willing to trade his mother's life for his own, while Katara's mother was willing to trade her life for her child's.
"I always wondered what kind of person could do such a thing… But now that I see you, I think I understand. There's just nothing inside you, nothing at all." Katara walked slowly towards him through the pelting rain. "You're pathetic and sad and empty."
"Please, spare me." He begged, his fearful tears mixing with the rain.
"But as much as I hate you… I just can't do it." Katara's eyes closed and her fists relaxed. Yon Rha's face flooded with grief as he looked up at her. I put my hand on Katara's shoulder. She looked at me, tears running down her face.
"We should go." I said. She nodded and we both walked away.
Katara sat on the edge of a decrepit dock, her legs kicking back and forth so her toes brushed the ocean waves. She was staring out at the orange sunset. I had just got back from telling Aang what happened, but had told him I wanted a moment alone with her. I walked up to her, the boards creaking along the dock as I did so, and put my hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"I'm doing fine." Katara answered, a tinge of sadness in her voice.
I sat down next to her. "I knew you could do it. I knew you had the strength inside of you to forgive him."
"But I didn't forgive him. I'll never forgive him." Katara replied, her voice a mixture of sadness and anger. She looked away from the sunset, into my eyes. "But I am ready to forgive you." Katara suddenly hugged me. I was surprised at first. She… She forgives me for dating Azula? I smiled, hugging her back. The hug ended and she looked into my eyes, warmth shining in hers. "You… You trusted me to make the right decision when I didn't even trust myself."
"Of course I did. You're a strong woman, Katara." I put my arm around her and she didn't brush me off this time. We both looked into one another's eyes.
"Well… You're not so bad yourself." She responded flirtatiously. We leaned closer to one another until our lips met in a kiss.
