A/N: First chapter! Yay! So as I previously mentioned, this story is inspired by a collection of (mostly) songs by Florence + The Machine. The inspiration for this chapter is 'Drumming Song', from the 2009 album 'Lungs'. I would highly recommend listening to this song both because it's awesome and because I was listening to it when I wrote this chapter (:

Please let me know what you think! Reviewers are my favorite people in the whole world!

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the songs I include as inspiration!

Chapter 1: Drumming

...

As I move my feet towards your body,

I can hear this beat, it fills my head up

And gets louder and louder

...

When Sokka came to tell her that he had just spotted the flying bison on the horizon, Katara's heart jumped. It was Aang. He was coming back. She had been sewing up a hole in her brother's pants, but tossed them aside to run out to the waterfront.

Two weeks had passed since the airbender's departure and life in the village had gone back to normal. She had started to wonder if they would ever see the bald boy again. It hadn't crossed her mind that he would return so forlorn, and she felt foolish for assuming otherwise.

He sat before her now, head in his hands, as he described what he found at the temple.

"Your grandmother was right, Katara. There was no one left."

"Aang, I'm… I'm so sorry."

"I wanted to go check the other temples but… I'm afraid of what I'll find. I… I don't think I could handle it on my own." After a long pause, his voice broke, "I think I'm the-… the last of my kind."

Katara leaned over to hug him, rubbing his back as tears flowed down his cheeks. He was just a kid – a kid who had lost everything and found out 100 years late.

"I came back here because… well, I don't know where else to go. Everyone else I know is… gone. All of my friends are dead and… I'm all alone." He sobbed into his hands.

"I can't imagine how that must feel, Aang. But hey," Katara said, still rubbing his back. She pulled at his shoulder, lifting his head, "You're not alone. I'm your friend and I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

The airbender looked up at her and sniffled again as the corners of his lips turned up into a solemn smile.

"Actually… I was planning on going somewhere, but you can come with me if you want." She gave him a little smile, "Penguin sledding?"

His face lit up, even as the tears were still pouring from his eyes. "Really?"

"Yes, do you want to come?"

The young airbender didn't respond. Though, the hug he gave her, which was more like a tackle as they rolled backwards into the snow, said everything. And when she looked back at him laughing, that little glimmer of joy was back in his eyes.

…

They had just finished their second run when Sokka came over the ridge, calling her name. He jumped up and down, waving his arms frantically; Something was going on.

As they climbed the ridge to meet him, Katara saw it: black smoke on the horizon. Memories suddenly flooded her conscious mind; iron steamboats pulling up to the icy shore, burning tents, people screaming, the look her mother gave her.

Katara, everything will be fine. Go find your father.

Reflexively, she grasped at her neck for the blue necklace, clinging onto the pendant as though her sanity depended on it.

"Why?" She finally asked her brother, "Why are they here? What more can they take?"

Sokka's gaze shifted to the airbender, who was staring blankly out to sea.

"Aang. When you were at the air temple, did you see anyone else?"

"Well…" The young airbender replied, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck, "When I was leaving, I did see a steamer like that… and I heard shouting from the temple."

Her brother's jaw hit the floor, incredulous, "And you lead them here?!"

Aang held up his hands, as if he expected Sokka to strike him, "I didn't- I didn't think they were following me! I didn't mean to!"

Sokka glared at the boy, a fire in his eyes that Katara hadn't seen before.

"Do you know what this means? There are no warriors left here, they're all gone. There is no one to protect the village but me."

Aang bit his lip and Katara tried not to let it bother her that her brother seemingly forgot that she was there to protect the village too.

"I'm sorry, Sokka. I didn't know." Aang bowed his head under her brother's glare.

"Leave," The older boy said, his tone as cold as the ice below their feet. "Now!"

"Sokka, don't-" Katara tried to say, but her brother was not having it.

"Katara, get back to the village." He interjected, but continued glaring down at Aang.

"But-"

"Katara. Go now. You need to get the women and children inside."

She made a frustrated noise and stormed down the ridge towards the village, glancing over her shoulder one last time to look at the airbender. His head was still bowed and he didn't see her.

…

"There's a village up ahead, they must be hiding him. I know he's here." Zuko declared, pacing back and forth in the bridge. After all these years, he had finally found the Avatar. By this point tomorrow he would be heading back to the Fire Nation. By this point next week he would be bringing the Avatar to his spiteful father. His honor would be restored, his position as crown Prince regained.

"Prince Zuko," The old general mumbled from behind him, "This village, I believe it is only women and children. The Navy has been tracking the Southern Water Fleet, they are a small force, but it is all that is left of the Southern rebellion."

"I don't care about the women and children, Uncle. I'm only here for the Avatar. If they don't have any warriors, they will give him up without resistance."

"These people, Zuko… they have suffered a great deal at the hands of the Fire Nation-"

"I know this, Uncle! The whole world has suffered, I see that now! But I need to capture the Avatar and I won't let these peasants get in the way! They will give up the Avatar if they know what is best for them. If they don't, they won't be hard to defeat."

This silenced his the old general, who humbly lowered his head and returned to his tea.

…

Katara rushed into the village frantically searching for Gran Gran, but the old woman was nowhere to be found. She cursed and started giving instructions to the panicked women.

"Gather all the children and take them up the hill," She pointed, "We need to get them out of the village." Some of the women nodded and started herding the children towards the sloping snow.

"What is happening, mommy?"

"Where are we going?"

"I'm scared!"

"I want to stay with you! Don't leave me."

A few children started crying and Katara frowned as she tried to quiet the memories that rushed to the forefront her mind; she had only been young when Fire Nation ships had last pulled up to their shores. Biting her lip, she made a vow to herself: nothing like that would happen again, this time would be different.

In the corner of her eye, she noticed the barrel that contained the village's water supply beside one of the tents. She ran over to the barrel and pulled the top off.

This time, she would do something.

…

Zuko gathered three of his largest men to join him; this didn't require a large force. If his Uncle was right, a few big men would do the trick. From the looks of the village, it was merely a handful of animal skin tents and a few cookfires – hardly a village at all.

After donning his light armor, Zuko motioned to his Uncle Iroh and the three soldiers. They followed him down into the hull of the boat, preparing to enter the village.

…

"Katara! What are you doing out here?"

"Sokka, where's Aang?"

"He left, Katara. He's gone. I sent him back to his bison. Have you seen Gran Gran?"

"No, I couldn't find her."

"Ok, well... I'm sure she'll be fine. Maybe she went with the children."

Katara doubted this but said nothing.

"Anyways, get back to the tent with the other women!"

"But, Sokka-"

"Hurry, Katara! They're here!"

She grumbled and followed Sokka's instructions, crossing the village to the tent that housed the other women. Annoyed by her brother's insistence that she was incapable of helping, she disobeyed his order and resigned to standing in the background; If something went wrong, she would be ready to help.

…

The iron ship crunched as it made contact with the ice. The noise filled the hull, an awful echoing sound that reverberated around them. Iroh cringed visibly, but Zuko was stone. He was ready.

The bow of the ship gave a metallic shriek as it opened and a blinding white light filled Zuko's vision, but he walked forward with the gait of royalty, his three soldiers behind him. As soon as the village was in view, something came flying towards him. Zuko lifted his arm and effortlessly blocked the projectile with his bracer. Annoyance came over him; who would dare attack?

When the iron bow hit the snow, he saw: a teenaged boy with a painted face – who was perhaps at an age with him – rushed up the ramp with a weapon raised above his head, screaming some kind of peasant war-cry. When the other boy was just out of arm's reach, Zuko kicked above his head, connecting with his wrist, causing him to drop the weapon. Zuko's next kick hit the other boy in the face, knocking him off the ramp into a pile of snow.

Otherwise, the village seemed empty.

A girl in a long parka stood on the other side of the cluster of tents, her startlingly blue eyes wide. Inside the tent next to her, some other women peered out of the tent flap. Zuko scowled.

"Where are you hiding him?" He yelled, in a commanding tone, "I know he's here."

The girl who stood across the village frowned and shouted back, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"The Avatar!" He yelled, stepping forwards. He was losing his patience. "Come out of those tents, or I will be forced to burn this pathetic village to the ground!"

At this, he heard yelling from behind and prepared to defend another meager attack from the boy with the painted face. He saw the boy approaching in his peripheral vision and lowered his center of gravity, leaning into the oncoming attack. Shoulder down, Zuko used the other boy's momentum to throw him bodily into the air. When he landed, Zuko shot a blast of fire at him, which he narrowly avoided.

This was getting on Zuko's nerves; If this peasant boy kept attacking him, his plan to strike fear into the hearts of the villagers would surely fail. He had wanted to avoid burning anyone, but it might have to come to that after all.

The peasant boy grabbed a bone spear and rushed at him again, yelling. Zuko growled, breaking the spear with his bracer and grabbed it out of the boy's hands. He jabbed him with it, knocking him over backwards again, before breaking the spear and tossing the bone remnants into the snow. This peasant left him no choice.

Zuko ignited fire in his palms, forming the flames into daggers, and stepped towards the peasant boy.

"No!" A female voice echoed through the village.

Then water splashed over him, smothering the flames in his hands. He scowled, wiping the water from his eyes. The girl who had stood on the other side of the village was running towards him, pulling water out of a barrel in between them.

"A waterbender," Zuko smirked. He had heard that there were no longer waterbenders in the South.

"Leave this village!" She yelled, hurling the water at him.

With a punch in the air, he sent forth a blast of fire that instantly evaporated the water coming towards him. Then with a kick he sent another blast in the girl's direction. For a moment, he saw fear in her eyes, but it quickly transformed into a fierce determination. Pulling water from the barrel, she turned to avoid the flames and sent another splash at him.

Zuko smirked again, avoiding her attack; perhaps this would be interesting after all.

…

Katara watched as the bow of the iron steamer dropped, smashing Sokka's makeshift snow wall that he built around the village. Before she could see anyone coming down the ramp, Sokka threw his boomerang. An armored arm came up to block the boomerang, sending it careening off into what remained of the snow wall. Then she saw them, heavily armored Fire Nation troops, descending the ramp into their village.

Her heart was racing; how were they going to defend themselves against armored soldiers? Surely Sokka didn't believe he could fight all these men on his own? The man in front, she then realized, didn't appear to be a man at all, but a boy – perhaps Sokka's age. A large red scar, which looked so vibrant in contrast with his pale skin, covered a quarter of his face from the inner corner of his left eye all the way back to his left ear. His left eye appeared to be permanently narrowed, giving his scowl additional emphasis. She bit her lip.

Sokka rushed up the ramp towards him, yelling like he always does when he trains. The scarred boy swiftly brought up his foot, knocking Sokka's weapon away, then on the backswing, kicking her brother in the face. Katara winced as Sokka went flying into the snow pile, following his boomerang. Then the scarred boy's gaze met hers, his golden eyes narrowing as hers widened. Suddenly, she was scared.

His raspy voice broke the silence that had only been previously punctuated by Sokka's attempted war-cries, "Where are you hiding him? I know he's here."

Unbidden, Katara's voice came rumbling out of her throat and she frowned, "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"The Avatar!" The scarred soldier growled back. "Come out of those tents, or I will be forced to burn this pathetic village to the ground!"

Katara watched as Sokka found his feet again and rushed towards the soldier. Her lip found its way back between her teeth as she feared for her brother. She dropped into a fighting stance, but didn't move; she was paralyzed with fear like an Arctic Yak surrounded by hunters.

Sokka went flying over the soldier, narrowly avoiding a blast of fire upon landing. Katara's eyes widened at the flames; more memories surfaced – ones that she had actively repressed many years ago. Her mother's screams, her seared flesh, and the smell. Suddenly, she felt dizzy. Her heart was pounding in her ears, like it had migrated from her chest to where her brain was supposed to be.

Katara looked up to see the scarred soldier form blades of fire in his hands and step towards Sokka. Her heart was drumming in her ears now, filling her head with noise. She couldn't hear, she couldn't think. Her feet were moving under her; she was running towards the soldier. The drumming in her head was getting louder and louder as she approached. Katara didn't hear herself shout 'No!' as she pulled water from the barrel she had left open, throwing it with all of her strength at the scarred firebender.

The water splashed over the soldier, extinguishing the flames in his hands. He scowled, wiping the liquid from his eyes, then met her gaze. She pulled more water from the barrel, still rushing towards him.

His scowl turned to a smirk and his voice was ice cold, sending shivers up her spine, "A waterbender."

She gritted her teeth. Now that she had given herself away, there was no turning back. She hurled the water at him, yelling "Leave this village!"

He shot a blast of fire from his fist, blocking the water, as it sizzled and evaporated into the frigid Arctic air. Then he turned on her, kicking and sending a blaze in her direction. As the flames approached, she started to scramble backwards, feeling the oncoming heat, and her fear returned, washing over her. Her eyes widened and for a moment, she saw her mother's face. Suddenly, the drumming in her head got unbearably loud and all she saw was Sokka, crumpled on the ground. She remembered her vow and turned to avoid the blast, simultaneously pulling more water from the barrel. She spun, using her momentum to propel the water towards her enemy. This time, he wasn't able to block and could only barely avoid her attack.

Katara bit her lip and narrowed her eyes; she could do this. She had to.

The firebender was still smirking as he dodged her attack, his golden eyes burning into her. But she wasn't afraid as she had been before, she was angry. She shot another blast of water towards him and yelled "I told you to leave!"

The firebender chuckled darkly as blocked this blast of water and stepped towards her, a wicked glint in his eye. "You are nowhere near good enough to hold me off," He snarled, his tone dripping with acid. He shot fire towards her and she lost her balance, stumbling backwards. Her eyes widened as the firebender continued his approach.

"You should try blocking," He smirked, conjuring another blast of fire.

This time, when the fire approached, she stood her ground and summoned some snow up from below to block the flames.

"Better," The firebender muttered, "But you need to practice your footwork. A still target is an easy target." He shot another fiery blast towards her lower left side and she stepped back to avoid it. Punching the air, he shot flames to her lower right side, forcing her to step back again. She pulled up more water from the barrel, preparing to block his next attack. With a high kick, he sent a curving surge of fire towards her face, which she blocked. Maintaining his momentum, he dropped down into a spinning kick at ground-level.

Katara managed to jump in time, just barely avoiding the fire, but the fur lining at the bottom of her parka caught. She rushed to pat out the flames licking at her clothing.

A cruel laugh escaped the firebender's smirking lips and she realized he was toying with her. Anger boiled up in her and she scrambled to come up with a plan.

…

The waterbender was indeed quite intriguing, Zuko admitted to himself. She obviously had no formal training, but there was a fierceness about her – a raw determination in those icy blue eyes – and strength. Despite her clear lack of formal training, she had a pretty good grasp on the basics and was able to translate the momentum of her body into her bending. He couldn't deny that she was also pleasing to look upon; a doe-eyed beauty with flawless tanned skin.

He hadn't exactly meant to toy with her as he did. He had started this little exercise with the hope of teaching her a thing or two – to make things more interesting – and, to his surprise, she seemed to be picking up his lessons pretty quickly. She was blocking now and moving her feet, using the space.

Though, at some point soon, he realized, this little training session would have to end. When he took down the only bender, and finally subdued the screaming peasant boy, the villagers would have no choice but to hand over the Avatar. He smirked again. Training time was over.

…

Stepping to the side, Katara gathered the water that had pooled near his feet and shot it just slightly to his left, forcing him to step right to avoid it. As she continued moving to her left, gathering the water up again, she noticed that the drumming in her ears had subsided. She sent the water towards his left again, but he sensed it coming and stepped farther to his right. He responded with another blast of flames that she backed away from. When they were close enough to the wall, she backed away again, dodging his next attack.

"Are you scared of me?" He snarled.

At his taunt, Katara snarled back, bearing her teeth. She stepped forward, sliding her foot out, and brought her arms down, bringing a section of Sokka's snow wall down with them. The snow crashed into the firebender, knocking him over and burying him. She tried her best to press the snow down on him – to hold him there. In the corner of her eye, she saw the other Fire Nation soldiers step forward, preparing to help, but they stopped when the snow pile exploded with flame. The firebender rose from the puddling snow, his scarred face twisted into a sinister expression, amber-gold eyes on fire.

"Playtime is over." He growled at her, his tone low and cruel.

She moved to gather more water, in preparation to block his next attack, but suddenly he was right in front of her. The drumming in her head was back, louder than before. Her heart was racing; she couldn't block at this distance. His hot breath tickled her cheek. Katara looked up to meet his gaze – he was so close – and the corner of his lip turned up into another smirk. He brought his arm around in a curving motion, palm facing upwards. She gasped, but didn't have time to do much else. The outside of his palm connected with her temple and everything went black.

…

Zuko watched the girl collapse in front of him, reaching out and catching her arm to dampen her landing, then turned back to his soldiers who were all watching in silence. The peasant boy had freed himself from the snow pile and was rushing towards him again, indignant.

"Stop!" A child's voice echoed through the village. "I'll go with you. But you must promise to leave this village alone!"

Zuko turned at the sound and saw him: an airbender, dressed in yellow and orange, arrow tattoos covering his limbs and forehead. This was the Avatar? But he was so young. Wasn't the Avatar supposed to be over 100 years old?

"Who are you?" Zuko asked, cursing the confusion in his tone.

The boy looked right at him and stated calmly, "I'm the Avatar. And the last airbender."

Sifu Hotman, back at it again!

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