The Western Air Temple

Chapter 9

We are getting close to the end of this story. (Yes, sad… I know) but don't worry! I'll be writing some other stuff after this. I have lots of ideas that I want to share, so be ready for that!

In the last chapter, Katara almost killed someone, but she didn't because she is a good person :3

But in all honesty, if it came down to it, I totally see Katara just folding someone without hesitation. Obviously they didn't add that in the show, but if it wasn't on nick, she probably would have killed someone.

Anyways, here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy!

Katara was weak, she was tired, she felt like she was dying

She needed water…

Katara had found some water on the desk of the room she was in. She originally brought it for bending, but she ended up drinking it all. Now she had nothing to bend. She couldn't even bloodbend herself anymore. There weren't any windows in the place she was in, but she knew that it was past dawn, she no longer felt the power of the moon. She was scared, though. She had less power now, and she was already weak, but she was also relieved. Without the moon, she wouldn't be able to do something that she regretted.

Breath Katara… breath…

She was taking it one step at a time. If she went too fast, she'd collapse, but if she stopped, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to move again.

She was clutching her side. She was in pain, and every so often she'd get a cramp in her side. After not only bending her own blood out of her, but also fighting and using energy to heal, she was worn out and broken.

Who knows how long she's been walking for. Maybe it's been ten minutes… maybe it's been ten hours. She didn't know. She just had to keep moving.

After taking another left she stopped. She looked around, and saw an intersection that looked familiar.

I've already been this way…

She clothes her eyes in frustration. The tunnels were like a maze. It was dark, and Katara was weak. She's been walking blindly through the tunnels for spirits know how long, and she just realized that this is the third time she's passed this tunnel.

She leaned her back against the wall, and closed her eyes to rest for a minute.

That minute turned into two, and those two minutes turned to five…

Five turned to ten, and ten turned to twenty.

After she was sure she'd been in the same spot for years, she finally got enough strength back to start walking again. She thought about what she was going to do. How was she going to get out? A question she's asked a hundred times by now and still has no answer to.

If the man I fought was an earthbender. He may have earthbended the way out shut.

Katara lost more hope at the fact that there may not be a way out, and her wandering was pointless.

Aang… Why aren't you here yet? Where are you!

x-X-X-x

Aang sat back at their makeshift camp. They had set their stuff around and made some cold stew for breakfast. They couldn't risk starting a fire.

Everyone was eating, except for Aang. He was just sitting with his bowl on the ground in front of him. He decided he wasn't hungry.

Everyone else was eating, but they were slow. They didn't take much, just enough so that they'd know they wouldn't starve. The group was silent.

"Aang, I know you're upset. We all are, but you have to eat something." Sokka said.

"I'm not hungry," was Aang's response. He continued to look down.

"Aang, I know that you are worried about Katara, but you can't starve yourself. It's not healthy." Sokka started, "Katara wouldn't want you to act like this. She always hates seeing you sad." Aang didn't respond. "Why are you so down like this Aang?," Sokka continued, "You know that Katara will be fine, she's a powerful bender."

"If she was fine, then she'd be back already." Aang didn't look up, he just kept looking at his bowl.

Sokka had no response to this, he knew Aang was right. Katara was not fine. He didn't know exactly how not fine she was, but it probably hurt more not knowing.

"I let her down, Sokka." Aang said. He closed his eyes.

"No Aang," Sokka responded, "You didn't let her down. This wasn't your fault."

"I should have been there." Aang continued, "It's my job as the Avatar to protect people, but I couldn't even protect Katara. I couldn't even protect the one person I love most! What kind of Avatar am I? What kind of person am I? It's not even about being the Avatar. I should have protected her because I love her, as me! Avatar or not."

Sokka gave a small sigh. He didn't respond. He knew Aang well enough to know that nothing he said could change his mind. The only person who could do that was Katara.

He looked over at Zuko. Aang wasn't paying attention. He nodded his head back to let Zuko know that he wanted to talk to him. Sokka got up and walked towards the creek, Zuko followed.

x-X-X-x

Katara was still walking. Her legs were like jelly. She could hardly stand. She had almost fallen over twice in the past ten minutes. If she didn't make it out of there soon, then she wasn't going to make it out at all.

As Katara rounded the next corner, she saw a man. The same one that she had almost killed earlier. He looked better, but Katara knew that he was weak. He wasn't standing tall like before, and he had a small limp.

Katara readied herself in her fighting stance. She didn't have any water, but she could still fight him hand to hand. She was weak, but so was he.

She put an angry expression on her face and acted like she was about to charge.

"Wait!" The man put two hands in the air, like he was surrendering. Katara didn't move. She kept an angry look on her face, and stood still, waiting for him to make a move.

The man just stood still for a moment. Then, he lowered his arms, and stomped his foot on the ground. Katara was ready to dodge a blow, but none came. Instead, the wall behind the man lowered and revealed the outside. The sun shined into the cave, lighting up the area they were in.

Katara's mouth hung open slightly. She had a confused look on her face, but she remained motionless in her stance.

The earthbender paused for a moment, before he finally turned and walked down another passage slowly.

Katara stood upright, amazed at what just happened. She walked forward to the opening, and looked to the right, down the passage the man had taken. He was standing there, looking back at Katara. She was so confused, but then she saw the man holding his chest, where Katara had healed him. Then she understood.

The earthbender turned and walked away, out of view, and Katara stepped out into the light. She fell to her knees and smiled. Then she began to cry. The sun had never felt so good. She wanted to stay there all day, taking in it's warmth, but she knew that she couldn't stay there forever.

She sat for a while before finally getting back up and looking around. She saw a small creek about thirty yards away, and she ran to it. It was more of a limp jog, but it was the best she could do in her condition. She ran up to the creek and fell on her knees. She panted for a minute before she finally was able to catch her breath. She immediately bended some water into her mouth and swallowed. She sat just drinking water for a while. Taking in gulp after gulp. She felt so thirsty that she could drink the ocean. It hurt a little bit to swallow so much, but the relief from thirst outweighed the pain.

She sat at the creek after finally getting enough water. She closed her eyes for a moment, and then she opened then again. She had no thoughts really. She just wanted to sit for a while. She looked down at herself. She was covered in her own blood, and most likely a little bit of the earthbender's. She sighed and stood up.

She undressed into her bindings that doubled as a swimsuit, and she stepped into the cool water. It felt really soothing against her skin and she took a moment just to breathe. Then she bended some water around her and washed the blood off her body.

When she was finished, she took her clothes and rinsed them off. She couldn't remove the stains, but she could at least wash the blood itself off of her clothing. When she was finished, she got out of the water and bended herself dry. Then she began to put her clothes back on.

She pulled up her pants and pulled her tunic over her body. Usually she'd wear a tight fitted shirt underneath, but recently she hasn't because it's much easier to fight without it, and she wasn't really worried about fashion at the moment.

Finally, she put on her slippers and used her hand to straighten her hair. She couldn't completely do her hair, however, because she didn't have any of her hair pieces. So instead of doing her hair loops and her braid, she let her hair hang freely. She loved doing her hair and making it look nice, but she also liked having it loose and hand down her back.

When she was finished, she looked down at herself. There were still bloodstains and some holes in her tunic, but she looked and felt much better. She wasn't nearly at full strength, but she felt good enough to figure out where she was and find the group.

Eh, good enough… she thought, and started walking up a small hill.

When she came to the top, she saw a forest, and in the distance, she saw the valley.

They had taken me to the surface.

She remembered the clothing that all three men were wearing.

They must be escaped prisoners in hiding or something, and they made a hideout near the temple. They are desperate for anything they can get, which includes people.

Katara let out a sigh.

No wonder Aang hasn't come yet. They wouldn't have looked up here for me. They probably think I'm somewhere in the temple.

Katara closed her eyes and smiled a little.

I'm coming Aang…

x-X-X-x

Aang was meditating on a ledge that hung over the creek slightly. He heard Sokka come up behind him. Without turning around, he spoke.

"What is it, Sokka?" Aang asked.

Sokka let out a sigh. Aang could tell he was nervous. "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to tell you this, but Zuko and I have been talking. We're leaving."

Aang's eyes shot open and he spun around. "What? Leaving? Why would we do that?" Aang asked.

"Aang, I know you want to find Katara, but Toph can't feel her vibrations around here, and we still have a bigger problem. She's not here, and I know that you want to find her. I do too! But you're forgetting that we still need to defeat Firelord Ozai before the comet comes. You need to keep training, and it's not safe here anymore."

Aang just stopped. He looked down, and tears formed in his eyes.

Sokka's right. I wish he wasn't, but he's right.

"It'll be okay, Aang." Sokka said, reaching for Aang's shoulder.

"I miss her." Aang whispered.

Sokka pulled Aang into a hug. "I know," he said, "I miss her too."

Well… Katara is good now. Kinda… she's weak, but she's out. But Aang and the Gang are planning on leaving soon! They've given up on finding Katara at the Western Air Temple and it's not safe anymore. Azula knows they're there! What's gonna happen next?

Thanks for reading!

:P