"Static in my mind, like sanity on borrowed time, like right and wrong can't be defined.
There's a grenade in my heart, and the pin is in their palm." Pull The Pin, RTJ feat. Mavis Staples
Xx
"They're here."
Mai comes to Zuko as he is training on the deck of his ship. Since leaving Ba Sing Se, his firebending has been… off. His flames are a little weaker, his focus a little skewed, his breathing not quite right. The frequent headaches and anxiety attacks are definitely making things worse, but he has no solutions to those problems. Maybe if he practices more, if he tries harder, if he pushes himself to the edge, his bending will get back to normal. He finds himself wishing that his uncle were here, but then remembers Azula telling him that his uncle was a traitor and helped the Avatar escape them in Ba Sing Se.
"The group was spotted flying inland two nights ago, and some of the townsfolk that we questioned spoke of a young man with blue eyes and dark skin walking towards Piandao's place yesterday." Zuko turns towards Mai, confusion etched into his features.
"What would they want with Piandao?"
Maybe the Avatar is trying to master the art of the sword, and they sent one of his friends to talk to him? He has to admit, they've found the best teacher for the job. Zuko's former tutor, Master Piandao, has taught him everything he knows about the blade, specifically his dual dao swords. If the Avatar has some need to use a weapon and Piandao is his teacher, he will emerge from that castle even more dangerous. His head begins to hurt at the thought of why Sokka is heading there instead of the Avatar, and he tries to stay focused as Mai sighs.
"How should I know?" She sounds as disinterested as ever, and Zuko rolls his eyes as he walks back towards his chambers.
"Prepare to leave. We're capturing the Avatar today, no matter what."
Xx
The meteor shower the night before had been incredible to watch, but Katara has noticed that her brother is sullen and withdrawn the morning after. They wander into town, determined to raise Sokaa's spirits with some retail therapy, and find themselves in a well-stocked weapons shop. They wander around, Sokka taking particular interest in a nice looking sword as Katara tries to help pry some of the ugliest armor she's ever seen off of Aang. She overhears the shopkeeper talking to Sokka, and her, Aang, and Toph approach the two of them.
"...From Piandao, the greatest swords master and maker in all of the Fire Nation. He lives up in the big castle on the top of the hill down the road from here." Sokka's eyes are alight with interest as he gazes lovingly at the sword.
"That's it!" Aang grabs Sokka's shoulder, turning him to look in his eyes. "This is what you've needed all along; a master!"
"Yeah!" Katara chimes in. "We've all had masters to help us hone our bending skills. I would never be where I am today without Master Pakku."
"I learned from the badgermoles. They don't talk, but they're good teachers. You should see if you can meet with this Piandao guy and study with him."
"It would be cool to be a master sword fighter..." Sokka turns the sword over in his hands, pondering it with a thoughtful look on his face. "All right, it's settled. I'll go talk to him right now. You guys head back to camp, I'll meet you there later."
Xx
"This has been the most boring two days I've had since I left Gaoling."
The trio sit around their dying campfire, the mid morning sun beating down on them as the hours drag by.
"It's not my fault I'm not funny." Katara had been trying to crack jokes all day yesterday to make up for Sokka's absence. "You guys just don't have a good sense of humor." Aang and Toph groan, and Katara crosses her arms defensively.
"I miss Sokka," Aang whines, and Katara has to admit that she misses her brother as well. They can't even read a map on their own.
"Aww, you missed me?" Sokka emerges from the forest, a wide grin splitting his face.
"Sokka!" Aang and Katara shout at the same time and jump up to hug him, Toph staying right where she is on the ground.
"Say something funny!" Aang clasps his hands in a pleading position in front of Sokka.
"What do you mean?" Aang and Katara burst into laughter, and a confused look comes over his face. "What's up with them?"
"Katara is bad at jokes and they missed you," is Toph's only explanation, still lounging on the ground without a care.
"How did it go? You were gone all day yesterday, so he must have taken you on as his pupil, right?" Aang's voice is brimming with excitement, and Katara is anxious to hear about Sokka's sword fighting lesson.
"Yup!" His chest puffs out with pride. "And I even get to make my own sword!"
"That's great Sokka!" Katara hugs him again, glad that her brother has found something that he feels good about.
"I know! Speaking of, I need your guy's help."
Xx
A little while later they are pushing the massive meteorite that had almost destroyed the town last night up to Piandao's castle. Piandao seems pleased with Sokka's choice of material for his sword, and he sets about helping Sokka forge it right away. The three benders wait in Piandao's castle with cold drinks and snacks provided by the sword master's assistant, Fat. After a considerable amount of time, Sokka emerges from the forge with a beautiful sword; it's black in color, unlike anything Katara has ever seen in a weapon before, and it's shine is rivalled only by that of Sokka's smile. Piandao proudly presents the sword to Sokka with a confidence-inspiring speech, but Sokka's voice is downcast when he speaks.
"Piandao, I'm not worthy of this sword." The three benders seated behind him in Piadao's office stare incedulously at the back of his head. "I lied to you about who I was; I'm not Fire Nation. I'm from the Southern Water Tribe. I lied to you about my identity so that I could learn swordsmanship from you. I'm so sorry." His head is bent down to look at the ground, and a stern expression forms on Piandao's face.
"As am I."
Piandao attacks Sokka, and their ensuing battle takes them all over the castle grounds. Katara is surprised to hear Piandao praising Sokka on his technique throughout the battle, and when Piandao gets her brother on the ground and points his sword at him, she readies herself to jump into action alongside Aang and Toph. Piandao swings his sword to the side to cut off the three benders, and has Fat toss him the scabbard, which lands directly on the blade.
"I think I'm a little too old to be fighting the Avatar." He sounds amused, and a smirk appears on his face as all of their mouths drop in surprise.
"How did you know?" Aang asks.
"Oh, I've been around a while. Also..." he wipes dirt off of his face and turns back to Sokka. "You should use a fake name. 'Sokka' is very water tribe. Try 'Lee'." He offers Sokka a hand and helps him to his feet. "There are a million 'Lees'." Seeing Sokka's shocked expression, he continues. "The way of the sword does not belong to one nation; knowledge of the arts belongs to us all. Sokka, you must continue your training on your own. If you stay on this path, I know that one day you will become a greater master than even myself."
Master and pupil bow to each other, and the group leaves the castle. Just as they pass outside of the gate, Piandao's assistant runs to catch up to them.
"My master wanted you to have this, as something to remember him by." He hands them a small brown bag, and heads back in towards the castle.
Sokka upends the bag, and the contents spill into his hand. "It's a pai sho tile."
"The white lotus?" Katara questions as she examines the game piece from around her brother's shoulder. "What does that mean?"
"I have no idea." Sokka pockets the tile, and his brows raise as he turns towards Toph. "Oh, Toph! I thought you might like this." He pulls a lump of meteorite out of his pocket and hands it to Toph. "You know, since you've never had a chance to bend space-earth before."
She bends the metal into a few different shapes in her hand with a smile as they walk back to their campsite. But when they return, they have two unexpected visitors.
"Zuko!" Katara's heart soars in her chest, but stops short when she sees the expression on Zuko's face. It's angry, with a hardness in his strangely dull eyes that she's never seen directed at her before. The girl with the knives stands beside him, looking somewhat bored as Zuko lowers into a bending stance. "Zuko?"
"Finally." His voice is hard edged and angry. "I've found you. Now I can fulfill my destiny and—"
He stops short as kife-girl jabs him in the temple with the butt of one of her daggers, and his eyes roll to the back of his head as he slumps to the ground, unconscious. The four of them stare dumbfounded at the girl as an awkward silence hangs over the group.
"Okay," Sokka is the first to get his voice back. "What just happened?" Knife girl still looks bored, her stance relaxed as she puts her dagger away.
"Azula had him brainwashed by the Dai Li." Their jaws fall even further towards the ground as she speaks. "She was using him to capture the Avatar for her, and to bring you back to the Fire Nation." Katara looks down at Zuko's face as he lies on the ground. His features are relaxed, but she can see dark bags under his eyes— his cheeks are too gaunt and his skin is strangely dull. "It screwed him up pretty bad." She looks back up at the girl. "He's been having migraines and passing out almost every day. He hardly eats, and even though he sleeps like a log, he's always tired." There's sadness in her eyes, and it's the most emotion Katara has ever seen the girl show. "He'd pass out and forget what he was doing right before. I think he's in a lot of pain." She meets Katara's eyes. "I know you have healing powers; can you help him?" Katara's mind flashes back to Jet under Lake Laogai, how she used her bending to break him free of the Dai Li's spell.
"I can try." Her voice shakes, the rest of the group deathly silent. "It sounds like they went really hard on him."
"They did." Mai looks down at Zuko. "They had him down there for more than a week. He was really resistant to the brainwashing; The Dai Li were surprised at how fast he could break free from their control." She looks back up at Katara, and the slight fear in Mai's eyes makes her blood run cold. "When they finally let him go he was pretty beat up. Azula sent me with him to make sure he didn't revert back, but I can't see him like this. You have to help him."
Katara lets out a shaky breath and nods her head. She bends down and with kife-girls help, they reposition Zuko so that he is lying flat on his back.
"What's your name?" Now that she's actively helping them, Katara can't justify thinking of her as "knife-girl" all the time.
"Mai. I've been Azula's friend since we were little, but I was Zuko's friend too. I know he really wants to be here with you guys." They turn to look at each other. "What can I do to help?"
"We want to help too!" Aang interjects from behind her, and Sokka and Toph nod as well.
"Get something soft for his head, and I'll need a good amount of water. Maybe something for me to sit on too." She gently brushes Zuko's hair off of his forehead. "I have no idea how long this will take. Since it's so extensive, I'd guess that it could take a few hours." Her friends rush off, but Mai sits awkwardly across from her on Zuko's other side. "Do you want to stay until he's better?"
"Yes."
Katara thinks that the solemn woman looks grateful as she speaks, but it's hard to tell. The two girls nod at each other as Katara prepares herself to heal Zuko. Her hands shake as she thinks about how much damage the Dai Li could have done to his mind. What if I can't get it all? What if there's permanent damage? She takes a deep breath and shakes those thoughts out of her mind. She has to succeed.
The others return with the things she had asked for. Mai holds Zuko's head as Aang slides a folded blanket underneath it, Katara puts another one above his head for her to kneel on, and Sokka and Toph bring over three buckets of water. She settles in her spot and gloves her hands in water, bringing them to either side of Zuko's head.
"What should we do?" Sokka asks.
"I'm not sure," Katara answers as her hands hover beside Zuko's head. "Stay close, I guess. If the damage is extensive I might need you to hold him down."
Their faces are solemn at the idea of their friend in so much pain, and Katara brings her hands to Zuko's head before she can think too hard about it. The water begins to glow and Katara closes her eyes. As it travels along his chi, she visualizes his mind; it's full of darkness, all twisted up and tangled around his third eye and crown chakras, and there's a lot of it.
"This is going to take a while," she sighs, and she gets to work meticulously untangling the dark tendrils from Zuko's mind.
Xx
The golden cage materializes around him in the darkness as he slowly becomes aware of his body. For once, there is sound around him; it's very faint, and he has to strain to hear it, but it almost sounds like water. The pain in his head flares, white hot and needle sharp between his eyes. He grips his head as the panic starts to set in; he knows what is coming, and he dreads it more than anything.
"I must capture the Avatar…" the disembodied voice floats through the air, a siren song that he must resist.
"Shut up!" His shout intensifies the pain in his head as his breaths come faster and faster. The sound of water— yes, it's definitely water— gets closer, but he can't see any water around him. He sits on the floor, legs curled into his chest as he tries to control his breathing. He feels a soreness in his ribs, and a groan spills out from his throat as the pain spreads across his chest.
Suddenly, he is slammed by a powerful wave; he hadn't seen the water coming, and it hits him from behind, pushing him forcefully into the floor of the cage where his head smacks painfully against it.
Xx
"Guys!" Katara shouts to get the other's attention. She's been healing Zuko for about an hour, but now he has started to shake violently, the movement of his arms and legs making it hard for her to keep a grip on his head. "I need you to hold him down!"
Sokka and Toph each grab a leg, and Mai and Aang grab each of his arms. He continues to shake and writhe, the only part of him not moving is his head.
"Do you want me to make restraints?" Toph speaks up from the other side of Zuko's body.
"No. If he moves too much he could break a bone. Just…" She tries to control her breathing; seeing him like this is terrifying, and her heart feels like it might explode inside of her. "Just keep holding him." They all nod, and Katara closes her eyes again, blinking back tears as she continues to untwist his mind.
Xx
He struggles to catch his breath, coughing up water and blood as he braces himself on his hands and knees. His head is pounding even more now, and he can feel blood dripping from somewhere above his eyes. Just as he manages to take a handful of deep breaths, another wave slams into him from the side, sending him tumbling across the floor of the massive cage, only stopping when his body makes painful contact with the bars. He feels a rib crack, and his right arm is twisted painfully between him and the bars of the cage. The wave passes and he falls to the floor in a heap, again coughing up water, his whole body shaking as he tries to breathe. The floor of the cage is now covered in an inch of water that extends out past the cage into the darkness. He pushes himself up with shaking arms as the water starts to rise. His right arm almost gives out beneath him from the effort, and pain shoots up his to his shoulder. He tries to grip the bars, and is able to pull himself into a standing position when another strong wave smashes into him.
Xx
Three hours in, Zuko starts to scream. It starts out as a groan, long and pained, and when his breathing picks up pace, he surges up against everyone holding him down, a ragged shout ripping from his throat. He grits his teeth so hard Katara can hear them grinding against each other as he moans.
"Someone get him something to bite on!"
Sokka runs to their supplies, Toph taking both of Zuko's legs and holding them down with all her strength in his absence. He rushes back beside Katara, and when Zuko opens his mouth to let out a gasping breath, Sokka sticks a sturdy looking stick between his teeth before running back to secure his leg. Tears are streaming down Katara's face, and in her brief glance up, she notices everyone else's faces. Mai's eyes are wide and shining, staring at Zuko's face; Sokka's face is set in determination, a hard look in his eyes; Toph's forehead is scrunched up, and she lowers her head with the effort to hold down Zuko's shaking limb; Aang is crying right along with Katara, his eyes squeezed closed as he turns his head away so he doesn't have to look at their friend. Zuko's chest heaves as he hyperventilates, and she takes a deep breath for the both of them.
"Hang on, Zuko."
Xx
The water is up to his hips, and the cage is shrinking around him. Where before it was big enough for him to walk around, it's now tight against him on every side, forcing him to stay upright. The black water is rushing around him, quickly rising as the waves continue to pummell him into the bars of his cage. He can barely get air into his lungs, and he would have collapsed from pain a while ago if he could move at all. He gasps for breath; a steady stream of tears flows from his good eye as the pain in his head increases even more. This is it. He sobs, resting his forehead on one of the bars. The water has risen to his chest, and another wave comes for him, pressing him bodily to one side of the cage. He coughs up more water and blood with the left side of his face pressed up against the bars. The water is freezing— his whole body shakes violently as it rises higher, coming over his collar. He tilts his head backwards as much as he can, trying to keep his mouth and nose over the water as it rises steadily up his neck. He squeezes his eyes shut, gasping sobs escaping him as he accepts the truth. I'm going to die. The water is touching his ears, and his face is pinned to the solid top of the cage as he cries. He regrets so much, there were so many things he wanted to do, so many places he wanted to see, so many people—
"Hang on, Zuko."
He opens his eyes one last time as he takes a deep breath, the water almost covering his entire face. That voice, he recognises that voice— where has he heard that voice before?
"Katara," he says her name, his mouth already submerged as the water rises to cover him completely.
As soon as his head is submerged, the water warms; he stops shaking, all of his pain seeming to ebb away into the inky darkness. He relaxes into the strange warmth, letting out his last breath as he closes his eyes. As soon as he does, he feels his body flip; the world spins around him, and a falling sensation overtakes him until he somehow miraculously ends up surfacing and floating on his back.
He opens his eyes and takes a deep breath. A beautiful blue sky spans as far as the eye can see above him, bright like it's the middle of the day. His breathing slows and evens, and the warm water carries him on a gentle current. He doesn't know where it will take him, but he doesn't care; he's alive, and the blue sky above him feels like home.
Xx
Five and a half hours in, Zuko stops moving. His breathing evens out as his limbs finally relax, and all the agony leaves his face. Katara has untangled every single black tendril in his mind; she took extra time to make sure she got every one, pulling them free from his chi and purifying them with her water. She looks up to see everyone staring at her; there are tears still evident on Mai's and Aang's faces, and Sokka and Toph look bone-weary.
"Is he…" Toph speaks, asking the question burning in everyone but Katara's mind.
"Yes." The force of the sigh the group lets out could move mountains. "I got it all. He needs to rest, probably for a while, but he'll be okay."
"That was…" Aang trails off, at a loss for words.
"Horrifying," Mai finishes for him, and he nods.
"I don't even want to think about what they did to him back there," Toph mumbles, her voice tired and heavy.
"All of that, just to help us." Sokka is the one who says it, but Aang and Katara look at each other, remembering the crystal catacombs, acknowledging that Aang would probably still be dead if Zuko and his uncle hadn't sacrificed themselves to let them escape.
"He really cares about you guys." Mai's voice is shaking just the smallest bit. "I don't know what you did—" she looks right at Katara when she says it, and if she wasn't so exhausted she would have blushed— "but you gave him hope. He hasn't had that in a long time, even before he was banished."
"What happened to him?" Aang asks, voice tired and soft.
"That's his story to tell," Mai says as she rises. "But even with all of this brainwashing stuff, he's been better off out on his own than he would have been at home." The statement strikes them all in the heart, and Katara pushes Zuko's hair off of his forehead before lying her cool hand against it. "I have to leave." everyone but Katara rises to say their goodbyes.
"What are you going to do? What will you tell Azula?" Sokka doesn't sound suspicious, and Katara knows why; after all they just went through, it's clear that Mai really cares for Zuko, no matter how scary Azula is.
"I'll figure it out." Mai doesn't seem very concerned as she folds her hands into her sleeves. "I have to go back to her now, but I have plenty of time to think of something."
"Thank you, Mai." Katara's voice is hoarse as she looks up at the girl. "For bringing him to us."
"Thank you for saving him. I'm not sure how much longer he would have lasted like that." She nods to Katara and then to the rest of the group before turning around and walking back into the forest.
The silence in the group is heavy after Mai's departure; all Katara wants to do is sleep and eat, in that order. She lies down right where she is, curling her body protectively around Zuko's head and resting hers near his chest, laying her hand on him so she can feel his heart beating steadily underneath it.
"Wake me up in a few hours..."
The words trail off as she falls asleep, uncaring that she is on the ground or that dirt is getting into her hair. Zuko is safe, and this way she'll know right when he wakes up.