Katara

Mothers

Katara sprinted down the dark hallway until the green light truly faded. Then she forced herself to slow down to a jog. She strained her ears to hear the sound of his footsteps behind her, but there was nothing. She took a few deep breaths. Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm. Zuko was a formidable enemy. He was powerful, full of rage and hate - like Aang when he went into the Avatar state. But unlike Aang in the Avatar state, Zuko had control over himself. He was dangerous. At times, it had been split-second reactions that had saved them from his clutches. Katara remembered meeting up with him and the pirates. She had been bending with no regard for form or strategy. It was all desperate reactions. Her master would have been ashamed.

Stay calm. Panic gets you nothing. Think.

Zuko was at a distinct advantage in the dark - but he couldn't make a move until he was close enough to strike. If she just kept alert and and listening, he wouldn't be able to get close.

Katara decided that stealth was better than speed and slowed to a silent walk. There was no sound and no light. Fear began to bubble in her chest, threatening to overwhelm her. It reminded her of being trapped in the Cave of Two Lovers when the candles were going out. But then she had been with Aang. It was hard to be truly afraid with the Avatar, with her friend. Fear was much easier alone - with the prince of the Fire Nation. Stay calm. The passage seemed to be going down, deeper into the earth. The hairs on her arms were standing up and she was constantly worried about tripping over pebbles on the invisible slope beneath her feet.

She must have been walking for a quarter of an hour. Maybe longer, time was hard in the dark, when she became aware that her environment had changed. She reached out her arms and confirmed that she was no longer in the confining tunnel. The air flowed freely around her, making her think she was somewhere large. If only she could test an echo…

Katara wound up and sent a peach-sized drop of water sailing maybe twenty meters. The splash was quiet and hollow. Katara began to think that she was in a huge cavern. It took the better part of an hour to confirm. She had to double back in order to find the wall, and then she kept a hand against the rock face as she circumnavigated the room. There were a few times when she thought she found another tunnel leading out, but they turned out to be large alcoves. It was clear that this was not a natural cave, at least not anymore. The walls were smooth and met the floor at right angles. The alcoves featured intricate sculpting and details, though they were empty. Eventually, Katara realized that the room was circular, and her investigation was leading her back to the tunnel that lead to Zuko. Despair and panic started to cloud her judgement. She let go of the wall and folded down to the floor. The darkness felt like a physical thing. It pressed on her brain on her eyes. Colorful shapes floated on the edges of her vision, but when she focused on them, they were gone.

She needed light. She would go insane without it. And that meant returning to the original cell. That meant returning to Zuko.

When she finally found her way back, the dim light emitted by the phosphorescent stone seemed blinding. Zuko was sitting, back against the wall. He made no move to get up when he saw her. Nonetheless she kept the water surrounding her arms vigilant.

"Found the giant dead end?" Zuko asked. She didn't respond. "You can drop the tsunami arms," Zuko said. "It must be exhausting."

It was. Katara had been holding water for over an hour now. She could feel sweat on her forehead.

"And you're gonna want to save your strength," Zuko continued. "There's no food."

The water fell. Katara controlled it so it slithered back into the river, though she didn't think she convinced Zuko that it was a voluntary release.

"Why are you here?" she asked him. He was going to hurt her now that she had weakened herself. They had chosen these caverns to exhaust her. He didn't need to follow her into the tunnel. It was all just a trap.

"I told you, I'm Azula's prisoner too."

No. He was here to torture her. They would keep her in the dark with her enemy. Not only would she be weak physically, she'd be weak mentally. She summoned some water to a pool at her feet. Katara felt better with water close.

"Azula is your sister."

Zuko snorted. A lock of hair flew away from his face making his scar more visible. "I'd forgotten."

There was real bitterness in his voice. No. No, it wasn't real. He was acting. Using all that anger to make it sound real and confuse her. Despair condensed in her throat. Katara couldn't do this alone. If she had Aang or Sokka, or Toph. Her nose began to tickle. She wanted to be a regular kid, with her dad and her Gran to protect her from the hard things. Tears pricked at her eyelids like hot needles. She wanted her mom.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Through blurry eyes, Katara saw Zuko getting to his feet, extending an arm towards her.

She moved instinctively. His arm she slapped away with a thick stream of water. She froze his ankles to the ground before realizing what a stupid use of time and energy that was. She had to be smarter when fighting a firebender. She should surround him in water, make firebending impossible, drown him… It was the only way to actually be safe.

But he wasn't moving. He made no move to melt his bindings. He cradled his arm to his chest. Zuko's hair covered his face.

"Can you please stop?"

Katara still couldn't see his face but his voice trembled. Don't fall for it. "Did you stop? When you were hunting Aang? Did your people stop when they raided my village?! Only after you'd killed my mother. Tell me why I shouldn't kill you now."

Zuko peered up at her. He winced. His wrist was broken. "I don't know. Why haven't you?"

Aang wouldn't like it. "I could still. I haven't made up my mind."

Zuko retreated behind his hair again. "The Fire Nation took my mother from me too." Katara recognized the heaviness in his voice. The somber tone of a kid trying not to cry. And she hated him for it.

"Don't lie!" Katara was alarmed by the tone of her voice. She sounded truly unhinged. Zuko would know that she was breaking down. What if there were Dai Li - or Azula - hidden in the shadows beyond the cell? They would come streaming now.

The tunnels remained silent.

"I'm not lying. I haven't seen my mother in six years." When Katara didn't respond, Zuko started talking quickly. "It was right before my father ascended to the throne. She put me to bed and then in the morning she wasn't there. My father never mentioned her again. He wouldn't answer my questions. Azula … she… And my uncle… he wouldn't tell me anything either. But he was crying when I asked him. No one has ever told me what happened to my mother. They all act like she never existed!"

A teardrop fell from Zuko's face. He spoke quickly like he had no control over the words, like it was the first time he had said them. When he got to the last sentence, fire bloomed from his mouth. Katara was truly freaked.

She melted the ice securing him to the floor.

"Your mother disappeared six years ago?"

Zuko looked up at her, surprised by the change in her voice. Tears were streaming down her face, but otherwise she could have been carved from expressionless stone. His eyes were puffy and he sniffled.

"And you've been traveling the world looking for Aang?"

Katara's voice was as cold as the feeling that enveloped Zuko's heart. That's when he stopped fighting and let the sobs shake his chest and echo through the cavern.