A/N: I have to say, I've been getting EXTREMELY gratifying reviews lately. I think I have more than enough ego to flaunt my bad-ass author thang (yes, I spelled it with an A; I'm that awesome) and give you guys and epically epic chapter. So epic will it be that it will make up for the redundancy of the previous sentence, as well as the Yoda-like grammar underlying this one.
(Nods sagely with sagelike sagacity...and stuff)
I have to apologize for the late update. I really did plan to post this sooner, but for some reason I couldn't seem to finish it until now. Let's just say that I wanted to put a lot more into this than I could fit, and the way I had originally written it made it really difficult to figure out which parts I could cut out and save for later. Taking out scenes left other ones discordant and almost disconnected from the theme of the chapter. It was frustrating editing this.
Plus, life keeps sneaking up on me and beating me on the back of the head. You know a cable salesman actually knocked on my door the other day? I know you all are like, "Whatever. Salesmen do that. They go door to door." That wasn't the weird bit. It was the fact that I live in a basement apartment in the back of a house that made me go, "What the f%*&...?"
The dude went around into the backyard and down the back steps so he could knock on my door. Creeper.
Well, then I got to feeling bad because the guy went through so much trouble just to get this cable package sold. It was all hot out and he wouldn't go away until I fully understood why I had to get the free one-month cable promo (which costs sixty bucks to set up, btw). And since I'm utterly spineless, I can't just say "Get the fuck off my lawn" the way Julie might have if it had been her nap he had gone and interrupted on her day off.
Seriously. I almost caved. I am that much of a weakling. Thank God the phone rang and I had to answer it; giving me a good excuse to send the guy away. What a prick.
To say the least, I can't afford to have cable right now. I'd just end up watching AtLA all the time and never updating...and THAT could be fatal; especially since the moment I stop writing this story many of you will probably hunt me down, break both of my legs with a sledgehammer (so I can't get it in my head to run away), force me to finish writing the story, and then make the story into a book while using my skin as a classy leather binding.
Or so I can assume, based on those extremely gratifying reviews I mentioned sometime earlier. Anyway, enough gab. Enjoy the chapter.
Chapter Forty Seven: Red and Blue
(Katara's POV, third person)
It was difficult to worry about so many different people at once, but Katara was an excellent multi-tasker in that particular regard.
Sokka was foremost on her mind. She knew that they had to hurry and find him before the Fire Nation caught him unawares. They had to warn him, pack up their things, and then hurry on to where Appa was waiting. Katara thanked the Spirits that the sky bison had never liked being cooped up in the stables in town. The villagers had let him graze in the grassy plains rather than try to force him into a tiny stall he could barely fit into. She didn't even want to think about what would have happened if Appa had been stuck inside the stables when the fires started...
Worried and relieved. Fluctuating, conflicting feelings. Two opposite ends of the spectrum, much like fire and water. And speaking of fire...
Her sharp blue eyes were fixated on him. Zuko. She noticed everything, from the tenseness in his shoulders to the possessive way he had Julie by the arm (something that made her seethe, by the way). Every subtle piece of body language made it seem like he owned her. In a way, it reminded Katara of the possessiveness of a child who refused to share his favorite toy.
That was, by the way, the thing that solidified her suspicion and made her sure it was Zuko. Who else but the Prince of the Fire Nation could regard another human being so callously? Could treat someone like a thing rather than a person? Could ruthlessly pursue and repeatedly stalk someone as good and pure as Aang over and over again? Katara hadn't been lying when she told Aang that he was a part of her family...in her heart, at least (which was what really mattered). And she would be damned if she could forgive someone for trying to take away another member of her family.
And for what? He was the Prince of the Fire Nation. How much glory could capturing the Avatar bring him? Didn't he already have the whole world in his pocket? What more could he want when he already had everything he could ever want?
Julie?
What is she to him? Katara wondered. Why does the Fire Nation want her so badly? Is Energybending really that special?
Even more mind-boggling was the way Julie didn't seem to mind being dragged along. She appeared so distraught by the news of the invasion that she didn't seem to notice or care about anything else. Katara was stabbed with concern every time she saw the fear in Julie's moss-green eyes...or noticed the way she was using Zuko like an anchor. There was something more to this that Katara wasn't getting.
She remembered, then, about those rumors...about how Julie had beaten Commander Zhao in an Agni Kai. And if she was correct in assuming that an Agni Kai was some kind of Fire Nation duel, that implied that Zhao wasn't just here for Aang. He was here for revenge. Maybe that was why Julie was so afraid.
But to cling to Zuko...? Zuko? He and Zhao were on the same side! They were both Fire Nation! Surely that had to mean that they both wanted the same things...that they both wanted to hurt her...right? Didn't Julie know that? Or did she know something that Katara didn't...?
They all froze when they heard a low rumble in the distance, back the way they had came. The Blue Spirit heard it and cursed under his breath. It was the first and only thing he had uttered since he had appeared before them.
"Rhinos," he snapped. Katara flinched as his Dao swords came out of the sheaths strapped to his back. "Get moving."
This last bit was directed to Julie, who looked like she wanted to argue with him, in spite of her fear.
"Zu, don't..."
"I'll come and find you. I promise."
Julie bit her lip. It looked like she was trying to think of something to say to him. Something that would convince him to put his swords away and come with her. Katara wondered silently as she looked at the desperation in Julie's face. It occured to her then that she was just as afraid for this masked stranger, just as afraid for Zuko as she was for herself.
Could they really be friends? Or maybe...
Oh, Spirits...don't tell me...
Katara saw it in Julie's eyes. She saw it in the way her hands refused to let go of his arm. But she also saw it in Zuko. The way he turned around, sheathing his swords for a moment as he pried her hands away. He held them in a firm grip, towering over her, his face completely hidden under that mask. Their gazes locked, and it was like something burned in between them.
"Go with the Avatar."
There was another sharp bellow of a rhino, and Katara could see a lumpy shape in the distance. Through the smoke, she could faintly make out the silhouette of a massive beast with an indeterminable number of riders on its back. The armor they wore made their collective shape into something without a human mental comparison; and made it impossible for Katara to figure out how many Firebenders they were dealing with. Three? Four? Maybe even five.
"There they are! After them!"
Zuko pushed Julie away and wheeled to face the enemy. He drew his swords again.
Aang and Kuba both reacted at the same time. The Earthbender caught one of Julie's hands, pulling her deeper into the woods before she could so much as protest. The monk brought his staff forward in a sweeping motion, sending fierce gale screaming at the Firebenders. The wind cut through the trees and knocked some of them senseless; but most of the Firebenders weren't about to fall for the same trick twice. They kept the saddle (if a little clumsily) and forced the rhino to march through the gust towards them.
Katara grabbed Aang's shoulder. "Go with Julie. It's you two that they want. I'll stay and hold them off."
The Blue Spirit glanced at her, silent as a stone.
"But...what about you?"
"I'll catch up with you later. But first, I'm going to show these lugheads what happens when you mess with the last Waterbender in the whole Southern Water Tribe." She uncorked her water skin and took a fighting stance. "Go warn Sokka and get Appa ready. This won't take long."
Aang looked uncertain for a moment, but nodded. "I'll come and find you if things get bad. Just be careful."
Katara didn't answer. She was focused on the approaching rhino, and didn't even bat an eye when the last Airbender disappeared deeper into the woods. All she heard was a faint whisper announcing his departure. Her hair loopies danced in the breeze he had gusted away on.
The Blue Spirit gave her a brief glance before taking a fighting stance. "You should have gone with him. You're a novice bender. You won't last long."
Katara used her chi to get a feel of the water in her skin. "I know who you are," she told him.
Silence. Then the hissing sound of flames scorching the air.
(?)
The insidious trespasser is still here. I can feel him, sense him, smell him as he continues to pollute the spiritual currents of my home with his tainted presence. He had struck me down as though I were nothing but a guppy-karp. My teeth crave his blood. I long to sink my jaws around that man's body, to hear the satisfying crunch as his bones and organs are ground into a thick, succulent jelly. I want to hear him scream as I swallow him in pieces, to feel the sound of his voice pushing against the inside of my throat as he goes down.
That man must die. I must find him. I must destroy the man-beast who destroys my home.
I can't see and I can barely feel anything. I drift aimlessly in the fog, which feels nothing like the ocean I am used to. I know in the back of my mind that I am dead. Yes, I died. I had meant to kill him, but he was the one who killed me. And now I am lost.
Anger seethes, cutting like teeth, gnawing and feeding on me. I want to find him. I want him dead. I don't care how.
Something catches my attention. I can feel it rather than see it; a pulsing red in the hazy blue. Something intensely crimson, like blood would be if blood were able to be light. I try to smell it, and I find that this works better than swimming pointlessly. My other senses are dulled except for my blood-scent. The red takes the shape of a person. A little person, a young female. I smell her and I know where she is.
I know she is the vengeance I crave. Though her body is weak, there is something inside her that I cannot ignore. It draws me closer...alternating between red and green, as though the colors are constantly fighting inside the same human shell.
Red is victory, but I cannot help but feel the peace and calm that the green offers. Even so, it is the red that I want. I swim to it with nothing but that man's face in my mind. I want to rip the smirk off his face with my own fangs...but since I don't have fangs anymore, I have no choice but to use the human girl instead.
She doesn't seem to notice me there. I follow her through the trees, watching her. Waiting for the chance to get inside her. To make her into my teeth and fangs.
(Julie's POV)
Zuko.
His name was painted along every inch of the inside of my skull. It throbbed and pulsed in bright red paint, making my head feel like it was about to split open. And no, this isn't any sort of metaphor. I really did have a headache, and that was the understatement of the year. It felt like something was pushing inside the walls of my brain, trying to break free. A monster in a hazy red fog.
I hadn't been paying it too much attention before. I had been too focused on finding Kuba, on finding Zuko...and now I had done all of those things. Zuko had gone and left me behind again, and I had nothing else to brood on except for his absense. The clawing worry made it harder for me to resist this nauseating feeling. The feeling of being consumed slowly...in a fire that burned silently. A fire I couldn't even see.
It didn't hurt so much in the beginning. But Katara had told me that Zhao was looking for me, it felt as though someone had driven a spike into both of my temples at the same time. Fear and a pain I couldn't understand.
"Come on, Julie!"
Kuba's voice was marred with frustration. He was determined to pull my arm out of its socket. And let me tell you, that kid has one hell of a grip for a nine-year-old. I started to wonder if it was an Earthbender thing, or whether it was just that he was that freakishly strong. And if you so much as hint that it was because I was freakishly weak, I will find out where you live and beat the stupid out of you.
Even in the hazy grips of this inexplicable migraine, I knew that something was off. Like some kind of sixth sense had switched on.
That fucktard Zhao had sent Firebenders after us. I should have known he'd take up the pursuit. That wasn't what bothered me. What bothered me was that he had sent other people to capture us. Why he hadn't done it himself? I mean, he had to know I was here. He had told Aang and Katara as much, hadn't he?
If he was really hell-bent on revenge, he'd want to do the honors himself. I knew this to be a fact. It had been a matter of pride that made Zhao challenge me to that Agni Kai in the first place. My surviving had probably left the biggest dent in his pride that he had experienced in a long time.
Oh, God...thinking about the Agni Kai only made my headache worse.
Ayla...whatever you're doing in there, cut it out! I can't think!
No answer.
Aang caught up with us a moment later, before I really had time to evaluate Ayla's silence. I barely noticed him until he had caught me and Kuba by the arms and pushed us along on the air. I gasped and immediately caught the Airbender in a frantic embrace. Kuba clung to me as I clung to Aang, but the monk barely broke a sweat as he all but flew with us in his arms. How he didn't crash into a tree was a complete mystery to me. I tried not to think about it.
And then, all of a sudden we were at Oyagi's hut.
Sokka was waiting on the front stoop, the two children practically tethered to his side. Little Sanji had taken it upon himself to examine Sokka's boomerang from every angle, even licking it a few times. Merle, on the other hand, looked bored. I felt relieved to see them all safe, but more relieved at the fact that Aang had finally put me down, and that I was on solid ground again.
Seeing them approach caused the girl to brighten up instantly, as though electrified. She jumped to her feet.
"Miss Julie's back!" she cried, running to meet us before Sokka could even react. I tensed up and tried to brace myself as the little girl tackled me. Her face was alive with excitement, probably expecting one hell of a story pertaining to my adventures in town. "Where's Grandpa? Did you save the town? Where's Suki?"
"Um..." I said hesitantly. "The town isn't safe yet. Actually, we kind of have to leave." I looked up at Sokka, who had finally rejoined the group. "The Fire Nation is here. Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors are buying us some time for us to escape, but a few of the Firebenders came after us."
"Katara stayed behind with the Blue Spirit to hold them off," said Aang quickly. "So we could warn you in time."
Sokka looked mad. "You guys just left my baby sister to fight off a pack of bloodthirsty Firebenders? What's the matter with you?" Then he paused, remembering the other part of what Aang had said. "Who's the Blue Spirit?" he asked quickly.
"The guy who kidnapped Julie," Kuba responded.
A deadpan silence followed this.
"So in other words, you left my only sister behind with a psychopath in a blue mask. Is that what you're telling me?"
"He's not a psychopath," I hedged. "He's just...somewhat misguided. And anyway, he isn't going to hurt Katara. He's helping us escape."
"I think you're the one who's misguided," Sokka muttered, rubbing his temples in frustration. "All right. Fine. I'll go help Katara. Aang, you and Julie take the kids to get Appa. Come and get us as soon as you can."
Aang nodded. Easy for him to do considering that it wasn't his head that wasn't pounding right now. He wasn't the one fighting off a wave of exhaustion. I don't even know why I felt so tired. Maybe it was from Energybending earlier.
"Julie, are you all right?" Kuba asked.
Oh, yeah. Now you notice I'm a wreck. Thanks, kid.
"Just a headache," I told him. "I'll be fine. Okay?"
As I said this, I was massaging the bridge of my nose and trying to focus on something, anything but this unbearable thing I could feel stirring inside of me. Zuko, the fire back in town, Zuko, how fluffy Appa was, Zuko, Katara's decision, Zuko, Zuko, Zuko...I waited for Ayla to call me obsessed, but she never did. She was so eerily quiet that I felt strangely alone inside my own head.
Kuba totally didn't look like he believed me. Well, he wasn't an idiot.
"You'll feel better once we leave," Aang promised. He watched Sokka draw his club and run off in aid of his sister, ready to bludgeon some Fire Nation skulls by the looks of it. He sighed, and I knew he was worried about Katara too. "If you want, you can take a nap on Appa later. He's really soft. You'll sleep like a baby."
I tried to forget my headache for a second. I forced a smile on my face.
"I know. I already had the pleasure. He's one big giant fluff-ball." I turned to the kids. "All right, guys, listen up. Avatar Aang is going to give you a ride on his sky bison. He's really friendly, and he's going to take you somewhere safe where you can wait for your grandpa. The Fire Nation won't bother you. I promise."
Merle seemed chagrined about leaving, but there was undisguised interest in her eyes when I mentioned the ride. "We get to fly?"
"Yup."
"I want my grandpa," Sanji complained. He seemed really bent out of shape; and I was guessing he had missed more than a few naps to get this cranky. "I don't want to go anywhere without Grandpa."
"Tough nuts," I said. "If you stay here, a fire monster is going to eat your face. Take your pick."
"Julie!" Aang cried.
"What?"
Sanji looked up at me with wide eyes that were rapidly filling with tears. "Is...is it a bad monster?"
"Totally. You should see what he did to the last little boy who didn't listen to me when I told him to ride on a sky-bison's back. It was horrible."
"JULIE!"
"What...?" I demanded, turning on Aang in irritation. "Look, if he pees his pants in fright now, there's less of a chance he'll do it on Appa's back later. Do you want to be the one to scrub down his saddle? Do you?"
The Airbender looked uncomfortable. "I don't think that's the point. You're scaring him."
"So?"
"So, he's just a little kid."
I huffed. "Being little only gives you more reasons to be afraid. You think anybody went out of their way not to scare me when I was his age? He needs to toughen up or the world is going to chew him up and spit him back out again. If he's lucky."
Aang stared at me. "What happened to you?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, when you were his age. What made you...um...toughen up?"
I winced. Damn me and my big, grotesquely large mouth. Damn my inability to put my two cents in. Damn this freaking headache that made it impossible for me to think straight...let alone keep myself from saying things I shouldn't. Stupid, stupid, stupid...!
Quit crying, or I'll give you something to cry about.
"We should get going," I said, deflecting the question. "Appa isn't going to drag his own butt over here, is he?"
(Zuko's POV)
"I know who you are."
The Waterbender's words were ringing in his head as Zhao's men charged them. Zuko didn't have time to really process them; barely understood their meaning before the enemy soldiers were upon them. Seeing the swords in his hands, the Firebenders had hoped to subdue them at a distance with long-ranged bursts of flame; but Zuko was quick enough to weave around the fire and close in on his foes.
I know who you are.
He had caught them by surprise. They hadn't expected him to be so fast or so bold as to get right under their guard. They were merely overconfident thugs who were used to using cowardly tactics and picking on the weak...but what else could one expect from some of Zhao's men?
As Zuko darted in, he skirted the flames they shot at him like a bullet cutting the air and went immediately for the soldiers with spears. The first two dropped like sacks of potatoes, too startled to parry the blows he aimed at the sensitive nerve spots in their necks. The others managed to bring up their weapons by the time Zuko reached them, but some unexpected blasts of water from random directions proved to be a fatal distraction for them.
Okay, not fatal. But they certainly couldn't stay focused on Zuko to keep him from knocking them out.
Two Firebenders with edged weapons tried to double-team him...tried being the key word. He caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and sprang from the soft, moss-covered turf into the air. He moved almost like the shadow of a flame. His feet touched down on one enemy's spear for a split second before he took to the air again, vaulting into a soumersalt over the soldier's head. Zuko barely made a sound as he landed in a crouch and swung the man's legs out from under him.
He looked up in time to see that he had inadvertantly landed directly in the line of fire of the other Firebender. The man smiled evilly as he clenched his hands into fists, breathed through his nose, and swung his arms to point in front of him. The motion sent the flames covering his arms to sweep towards the unprepared exile like the blade of an axe. The air seemed to scream from its intensity, and Zuko brought his arms to block the blow...but at the last second a tendril of water uncurled towards the fire and doused it instantly. The water that hadn't turned into steam from the fire blast tackled the soldier full-force, freezing him to the nearest tree and knocking him out.
Katara smirked, clearly pleased with herself.
"Someone's been practicing since last time," Zuko commented. "Or was that dumb luck?"
"Someone's got to protect Aang from people like you," she replied smoothly.
Oh, yeah. She definitely knew. That one-liner pretty much convinced him of that fact.
Zuko drew a breath, finally having the leisure to do so now that all of their foes had been defeated. He turned and leveled Katara with an even stare from behind the mask. She blinked back at him with her clear blue eyes and folded her arms, frowning at him pointedly. Within seconds that expression hardened into a scowl. Not only did she know who he was, she was also determined to hate him, it seemed. How typical.
The dirty look she was giving him made Zuko inadvertantly think of Julie. The twist in Katara's mouth wasn't as pouty as the redhead's, but the eyes were just as severe. A different kind of ferocity radiated from the irises...something akin to the rhythmic rising and swelling of the sea. But when Julie's eyes blazed, the force of it was neverending. They caught his attention because looking at them reminded Zuko of fires that burned themselves until the ashes themselves crumbled away, leaving nothing behind. The emotion behind Julie's eyes was a dangerous kind.
He couldn't look away from something like that. He had seen that same fire in his own eyes whenever he dared to look in the mirror.
Ironically, it was Julie who proved to be more undiscriminating. She built up walls against everything and everyone without bias. And in a manner Zuko found extremely contradictory, she had been the first one to broach the subject of friendship with him. He had extended that olive branch here and now only because she had done it first. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered. He wanted nothing to do with narrow-minded peasants who could only hate or pity him. To his surprise, Julie did neither.
Focus, he chided himself. Tear your thoughts away from the peasant for just one minute...
"If you know who I am," he said quietly. "...then why are you here with me? Why not go with your precious Avatar?"
Katara narrowed her eyes. "I want to know why you saved us from Zhao."
Zuko had to give this Water Tribe peasant one thing; she certainly wasn't stupid.
"If the Avatar dies," he told her. "He'll be reincarnated. I can't let that happen."
Her eyes shot wide open. "Then...you're trying to destroy him for good?" Anger streaked across her countenance. "I won't let you do that...!"
"You misunderstand me, Waterbender. I'm not trying to hurt anybody...and I'm definitely don't want to take lives. Not unless I have to." There was a moment's pause. "I'm not trying to destroy the Avatar. I'm only trying to capture him. That's it. If you and your brother would stop interfering no one would have to get hurt at all. All this fighting could stop."
Katara stared at him incredulously. Then she shook her head, her expression hardening.
"How noble," she said sarcastically. "You don't want to hurt anyone...until they stop being useful to you. That's why you're after Julie, isn't it? You knew she was our friend and you thought you could win her back and trick her into leading you to us. I don't know how you got her to trust you, but..."
"You assume a lot. And she isn't your friend. Julie belongs with me. Our destinies are linked...I figured you would understand something like that, being as your destiny is linked with the Avatar's."
Katara smirked. "I think you're the one who's making assumptions. How do you know that you're the one Julie is connected to? How do you know it isn't Aang?"
Zuko clenched his hands into fists. "I was the one who figured out what she was. I was there for her whenever she needed someone to help her. I was the one spending time with her for the past month, sharing meals and conversations and Spirits knows what else with her...not you. Not the Avatar. I know her better than either of you. I can understand how she thinks and feels. What can he do that I can't do better?"
She was quiet for a minute. "Julie visited Aang in a dream. Before we ever met you or Julie...the night before you raided my village, Aang was having a nightmare. He was dreaming about how he came to be frozen in that block of ice. But just when it was supposed to happen, she appeared. She was the one who told him to trust us. She even knew he was the Avatar."
Lies, of course. There was no way that could be true. How could the little peasant pull off something like that? Zuko wasn't even sure Energybending could involve entering a person's dream at will...at the very least, not by as incompetant as Julie. She couldn't even hold chopsticks the right way.
But Katara didn't have a liar's eyes. She looked sincere. The Avatar must have tricked her into helping him by telling her this story. But at the same time he couldn't shake away the thought. What if he wasn't lying...?
"I don't believe you," he said gruffly.
"Have it your way."
She turned to leave through the trees, her braid swaying behind her. Zuko felt sick to his stomach as she glanced back at him, her expression only slightly unsure. Why was she giving him that look? What was that for?
"I don't know what kind of person you think I am," he said, breaking the silence. "But I'm not the one taking advantage of Julie. And I'm nothing like Commander Zhao. I'm trying to protect her...I care about her."
Katara met his gaze for a moment. "Why?"
His insides twisted around into a knot. Why? He had been asking himself the same thing over and over again. Why did he feel this way about a peasant? Why couldn't he focus on his mission the way he used to? Why was she always in his head? It wasn't like she was doing it on purpose. Spirits knew she was doing everything possible to stay away from him...something that he found irritating.
Why do I care about her?
Because Julie belonged to him. That sense of belonging was so real to him whenever he looked at her or touched her hand; so real that he could almost think the word, mine. His peasant. His friend. His pathetic excuse of a sparring partner. His leading cause of an early-morning migraine. His means of dinner conversation. His only source of entertainment on that Agni-forsaken ship.
Zuko was only just beginning to grasp the wide scope of this feeling. Even if he didn't understand it entirely, he knew one thing. Julie was important...and he certainly wouldn't forgive anyone for trying to take her away from him. Not even Julie herself.
But of course he couldn't say that.
"I don't know," he whispered.
Katara opened her mouth, then closed it again. She closed her eyes. "Either way, I'll be watching you. My family has been hurt enough by the Fire Nation. I'm not going to let it happen again...especially not right under my own nose."
Zuko didn't comment. Her problems were just that. Her own. He had no interest in them.
Actually, he was more interested in the looming shape creeping up behind Katara. He couldn't see it very well through the smoke and darkness, and the shape was hazy from that distance. But he could see that whoever it was had some kind of blunt weapon, and was brandishing it as though he were about to strike. Zuko felt a spasm of alarm as the figure brought his arm up.
Katara took a step back as he crouched down into what was unmistakably a fighting stance. "Hey, what are you...?"
The figure leapt out. "HEEEEEEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH...!"
It all happened in a few seconds. Zuko lunged forward, brandishing his Dao Swords, trying to get in between the Water Tribe girl and the foe he had somehow missed in the previous melee. Katara, seeing him making for her with his weapons drawn, skittered to the side, pulling the remaining water out of her canteen with her bending. Somehow, it all froze in mid-air and struck Zuko in the chest moments before he could slice up the person who had been standing behind Katara. As Zuko fell back, the hilt of one of his swords struck his "opponent's" fist, disarming him.
The two hit the ground with a solid THUD.
"Oh, my Spirits...! Sokka!"
Zuko's ears were still ringing from the impact. He groaned softly, bringing his head up and trying to get his vision to stop blurring as he watched Katara. She had run over to the attacker...a young man in Water Tribe blue. Oh, Spirits. It was her brother.
"Are you okay? Speak to me!"
"Katara," Sokka muttered from where he lay, face-down in the dirt. "I came to save you from the Fire Nation. Get behind me."
"You're...on the ground."
"Don't argue with me!" he yelled. He rolled on to his back dramatically and stabbed his pointer finger in the air to emphasize the exlaimation point. Katara seemed to relax at the same time. From that, Zuko could only assume that bold declarations were the norm for Sokka; seeing him so loud and riled up clearly said that he was no worse from his fall.
"I'm telling you, that guy in the blue mask is dangerous! You can't trust him!"
Katara ignored that. Instead, she turned and scowled at Zuko over her shoulder. "What were you thinking? You could have killed him, you know! Unless that was what you were trying to do..."
The Fire Prince jumped. "What? No! He surprised me. That's why I..."
"Save it, you masked menace." Sokka climbed awkwardly to his feet. "Katara, Aang and Julie are going to get Appa. We should try to get to where they are now. It'll make it easier for them to find us." He gave Zuko a look. "And before you ask, you're not invited. I don't care what Julie says about you being a nice guy. You're probably just waiting for us to fall asleep or something so you can cut out our spleens and eat them!"
Just what the hell kind of person did he think he was, anyway?
"You can leave with the Avatar if you want," Zuko snapped. "But if you think I'm going to let you take Julie away, you're both fools. She's staying with me."
Sokka and Katara turned slowly to face him, their postures tense.
"And why should we listen to anything you have to say?" the Water Tribe boy demanded. "We don't even know who you are."
"Sokka..."
"Quiet, Katara. Let me handle this."
Zuko saw the incensed look in the Waterbender's eyes and tensed for a moment. He half-expected her to blow his cover right then and there. After all, she had no love for the Fire Nation or its royal family, exiled or no. She had no reason to keep her silence...and he almost fell over in surprise when she obstinately turned her face away and glared at the ground, her lips pursed.
Either she was really stubborn, short-sighted, or both. Whatever the cause, Zuko was thankful for it.
"If you want us to trust you," Sokka continued loftily. "Why don't you take off that mask of yours? Show us who you really are."
On second thought...maybe he wasn't out of the woods just about yet.
(Julie's POV)
It was bad enough that I was exhausted and fighting the mother of all migraines (which I'm starting to realize was triggered by my Energybending at Chaang earlier). Now I was feeling guilty for making Sanji cry earlier. He was still sniffling as he rode piggy-back on Aang with his arms wrapped around his neck. Merle trooped silently beside Kuba, who occasionally gave me a searching look that I didn't acknowledge or return. I kept my mouth shut and focused on putting one foot in front of the other.
He needs to get tough. I didn't do anything wrong.
I wished Ayla would answer me. I was waiting for her to chime in at any time, but I couldn't hear her at all. Though sometimes, I could almost hear a faint garbled whispering noise in my head. I couldn't tell if she was trying to talk to me or not. All I knew was that she couldn't.
It sucked. The one time I could actually use some insight from Ayla, she decides to disappear. I wanted her to distract me with her nonsensical outbursts and flashes of cheer. Or for her to agree with me, to get rid of this guilt squirming inside of me. I felt like that creep Zhao, who picked on the weak simply because he could. Like being bigger and stronger than Sanji made it my god-given right to pick on him.
Hell. I felt like Dad.
You can run, but you can't hide, Julie-bean. I could hear him sneering at me in my memories. Daddy hates hide-and-seek, princess.
I shuddered and pushed his voice out of my consciousness. The last thing I needed right now was to start thinking about my father.
"Julie?"
I looked up and saw Aang glancing back at me. He was smiling, apparently having forgotten about the way I had acted earlier.
"Cheer up," he said. "We'll get out of this."
"Yeah. I know."
"You don't look so good. Are you sure you're feeling all right?"
No. No, I felt like crap and I was only going to feel worse and worse if Aang insisted on being so nice to me. I didn't feel like I had earned his smile or his optimistic outlook. Unless he was doing this to keep the kids from getting scared. That I could put up with...I supposed. But my head was pounding. I wanted to drop to the ground right there and curl up in a little ball in the shade until my migraine went away. Or until I passed out.
"I'm not fragile, you know," I told him in a low grumble. "Quit pestering me."
"You look mad."
"I'm not mad," I said quickly, lying through my teeth. "Why would I be mad?"
Aang didn't answer right away. His face was thoughtful as he regarded me over his shoulder.
"I think it's because you're not feeling well," he said after a while. "I mean, you've only been out of the hospital for a few days. You probably shouldn't be doing all of this running around..."
"I can handle it. I'm not a weakling."
"I never said you were. You don't have to prove anything to me. I know you're strong without you having to run yourself into the ground." He met my incredulous gaze evenly, standing up to the glare I was giving him with only the slightest hint of discomfort. "You don't have to keep everything to yourself, either. I'm your friend. You can tell me if something's bothering you."
I looked away. "I'll keep that in mind," I said through clenched teeth.
Aang was quiet for a second. "Back at the beach, yesterday, you reminded me that I'm not alone. Just because I'm the Avatar...just because I have these powers I can barely understand...that doesn't mean that I have to shoulder all this responsibility by myself. I have friends who care about me, friends who want to help me and fight by my side. And so do you."
I clenched my hands into fists. He didn't get it at all.
"What do you know?" I snapped. "You may be the weight of the world on your shoulders, but for the first twelve years of your life you grew up in a loving home, surrounded by friends and warmth and compassion...and it's so easy for you to trust people! Of course it is! When was the last time you were beaten up for being late? Or stabbed in the back by someone you thought cared about you? When was the last time someone who was supposed to love and want the best for you treat you like some kind of mistake...?"
Aang stopped, turning to face me. "Mistake?"
I was red in the face, my breaths coming out through my nose. The anger felt like it had crawled up out of my stomach. Like someone had flipped a switch and turned on this frustration and loathing I suddenly felt. It sliced me up inside and left me bleeding.
"Don't act like you get me. You don't get anything at all. Just...leave me alone."
"Julie," Kuba said, his eyes wide.
I sighed, rubbing my temples and trying to calm down. Great. Now I'm a monster again. I'm scaring the kids.
"Sorry," I said quietly. "I guess my head is hurting worse than I thought it was. Let's just...go get Appa."
Aang looked like he wanted to say something else, but thought better of it. He just slumped a little bit and fixed his grip on Sanji, who was still clinging to his back and staring at me in consternation. "He should be in the next clearing," he mumbled.
I felt like a snake.
We pushed our way through the remaining cluster of trees, staggering into the relatively smoke-free clearing. It was big and spacious, more than free enough for someone as big-boned as Appa to move around in. The fluffy monster shot his head up, hearing us approaching. His beady eyes seemed fixed on us as he rumbled in a loud, worried tone of voice. The sound of it made me hesitate.
"Hey, buddy. We're back," said Aang, quickening his pace.
He paused long enough to put Sanji back on the ground before making his way to the sky bison. We both could see the noticable unease in the animal's face, and I had just gotten to thinking that for someone with a lot of room to graze, Appa wasn't moving very much. He looked like he was shuffling uncomfortably in place.
The Airbender frowned. "Hey, what's the matter?"
I ran to catch up to him, sensing in my gut that something wasn't right. Kuba and Merle followed me, catching on to the disturbed ambiance as quickly as I had. They didn't want to be too far away from me or Aang at the moment.
"Aang, wait a minute!"
"But Appa is..." he stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide. "...tied up."
"Huh?" I said, coming to stand by Aang's side. We both looked down at the ropes binding Appa's legs together, keeping him from moving or flying away. I got a really bad feeling looking at those ropes. "But...who would do this?"
"The Fire Nation," said the monk angrily. He knelt down and immediately started struggling against the unyeilding coil. "I bet they were the ones who tied him up."
I frowned. "But...why would they just leave him here for us to find?"
"To lure you here...and to trap you."
We all froze as an unpleasantly familiar voice spoke up from behind us. Hearing it made my blood run cold, made every cell in my body freeze up in terror. It made me feel the way I had felt all those times Dad would taunt me while kicking the snot out of me. I felt like a weak little child who was about to die, and die horribly. Slowly and painfully while my killer gloated.
I revolved on the spot and found myself face to face with Commander Zhao.
"Oh, fuck."
A/N: Just when Julie thinks she's out of one tight spot, she ends up jam-packed in another one. Already weak and tired from fighting Chaang earlier, and furious with herself for being afraid, there is nothing to stop her from walking straight into Zhao's trap. And with no Ayla to guide her this time around, things are about to get messy. Will Julie and Aang be able to work out their differences and defeat him?
It looks like she might be on her own. Zuko is stuck back in the woods facing down a confrontation with Sokka of all people. He may have been able to work together with Katara to take down the Firebenders pursuing them, but the Water Tribe warrior is making it very clear that he wants nothing to do with him. He doesn't trust "the Blue Spirit" after he tried to kidnap Julie earlier. How will Zuko worm out of this one? Will he get to Julie before Zhao barbecues her ass?
Well. I'm not about to tell you. REVIEW.
