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Crime In The Nations

Katara's Journal

Entry 4: Two sides, one story

Author's Note: Hey everyone! News flash, school started again and I got sick. This trimester has been hectic already between friendships, family relationships, and studies… I have been busy working on myself recently, which hasn't been going so great but I'm hanging in there. I've been working on all of my stories but I am having trouble balancing them all. Bear with me please, I promise I will make some sort of schedule so that you all can eventually keep up. I wanted to clarify a few things about this particular story before I begin. First things first, the ages of the characters. Aand and Katara have a 2 year difference in the show so I wanted to use that here. However, their exact age difference in this AU will be 1 year and ¾. Weird… I know. Everyone else's age difference is the same. Aang and Toph are 21 years old. Katara, Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula will be 23. Yes, the Fire Nation Trio will be included eventually. Sokka and Suki will be 24, and Zuko will be 25. Great! Hope that summed up the main characters. That is it for today! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

-kataangforeverrr13

PS: I put kataangforeverrr21 in the last chapter. It was a joke lol… Just kidding, I did not even realize it until someone pointed it out in my PM's. The embarrassment I feel.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender nor any of its characters/ideas. Please do not sue me.

Sunday, January 12th

So, I decided to write down the dates of the journal entries.

I'm a control freak so I need to make sure that my journal is organized enough. Oh and, do not tell my brother I said that or else he will tell me he was right all along.

After meeting up with Zuko and the rest of the group at that one cafe, we decided that before anything… we must all train. Just like we talked about, battle was essentially inevitable. Training was a must. Therefore, that was my game plan for the day… until I received a phone call from the clinic I was recently hired at. They needed me today so that I could tour the premises to prepare for my first shift. I agreed and dressed up casually but just presentable enough and then made my way to the clinic.

Once I arrived, I noticed how it was almost like a hospital, just smaller. Herds of people coming in. People in stretchers, others covered in blood, some were combating grave illnesses, while the rest were there for other odd reasons. I got a position here as a patient registrator. I had no degrees in the medical field so they would not allow me to work with anything to do with human lives placed onto my hands, unfortunately. They just didn't understand my healing skills. Anyway, the scent of constant deep cleaning was extremely noticeable. You could still smell the bleach and cleaning chemicals. The air conditioning made the entire building cold. There were plenty of artificial rivers of running water on the sides. I'm assuming that it was meant for the doctors and healers who needed to use water. My observing came to an end as I walked up to the front desk. There, I met a beautiful woman. She had milky white skin, straight hair pulled back into two buns the color of the night sky, and a stone-faced aura. She was reclined in her office chair, a frown on her face, arms folded.

I cleared my throat and spoke up, "Excuse me? My name is Katara Ayek, and I am a new employee here at the clinic-"

The woman whirled her finger in the air. "Whoopee. That's exciting." I sensed her sarcasm and continued onto what I was saying.

"I was called in for a tour with a woman named Mai Artemus?" I asked.

She sighed, "Yes, that would be me. Let's get started."

After an exceedingly dull tour of the clinic, it came to an end. Mai looked down at her chart checking to see if she had missed any important details, "Looks like we are all done here. You're free to go."

I was about to find the nearest exit before a question plopped into my mind and onto the tip of my tongue, "Quick question… Do you not like me?"

Mai dryly stared at me, "What do you mean?"

My palms started to get sweaty and I began to feel nervous. Her stare was intense. "Well, we only just met and you are already being… tedious towards me. Did I do something to offend you?"

Surprisingly, Mai cracked a small chuckle before going back to her monotone expression, "Sorry, this is just my personality. I despise showing emotion."

I quickly came to realize it and apologized, "Oh! I'm so sorry about that. I didn't mean to judge. I was just wondering to make sure that I haven't already fucked up before even starting."

"It's cool. Anyways, look, our boss is sort of a dick so a quick tip would be to avoid him as much as possible. It's an old fire nation dude with a small temper." She said while writing something down on a piece of teared paper. She then handed it to me. It was her telephone number. "I prefer texting. See you soon, Katara." She then strode her way back to the main office. I unconsciously smiled hoping that I made a new friend at this unknown workplace.

The sun was setting and the chilly breeze swept through Republic City. Winter had just come to a beginning and the weather was still adjusting to the increasingly colder temperatures. It was almost as if you could feel the clouds begin to form each morning. As I walked down the block towards my apartment complex, I couldn't help but think about what to do now regarding our special mission. Never in my lifetime would I have expected to be part of such an ordeal. How am I supposed to train properly? I live in a fucking two bedroom apartment that I share with my brother. We don't have the space. I try thinking of someone who might have the means to help me out. And that's when it hit me. Suki!

Suki, thankfully, owns a dojo in the outskirts of the city. It has plenty of room for practicing martial arts, including the art of bending. All I have to do is ask her! But then I realized that I have to bring her and my brother Sokka into this mess. Toph and I were going to wait a few more extra days to tell them together but plans changed. I hesitatingly pick up my cell and dial her number. It rings for a while until her voice is heard saying, "Hey Katara."

"Hey Suki. Can we meet up at your house?" I asked over the phone as I stopped walking to take a breather.

"Yeah of course! Sokka hasn't come over so it's not a mess right now, thank the spirits."

I gag, "Ok so, I really did not need to know that."

There was a momentary pause, "No! Not like t-that… just come over."

I laugh, "Okay, see you in a bit. Bye." I hang up and redirect my route and go in the direction of Suki's home. As I stroll down the sidewalks of this youthful city, I reflect on how to approach the topic I will tell Suki. It's evident that she will demand details on how and why this is going on, so I ponder over that as well.

Minutes pass and I arrive at Suki's apartment room. Her apartment is larger and newer than mine so it's never a burden to go over to her house. I hesitated out of uneasiness, but then I finally rapped my knuckles on her door. The door opened and Suki was standing there, wearing a forest green sports bra and gray sweatpants. Her hair was styled in a messy ponytail and she looked like she just got out of the gym.

"Hi Kat, come in!" She beamed as she let me in her home.

We sat down in her living room while she brought out shot glasses of tequila. "Thanks, I needed that." I said, taking a shot.

"So, why did you seem so eager to come over?" Suki questioned.

I gulped, feeling a large pit of nerves settle in my stomach. "Basically… I have to tell you something." Suki nodded at me to continue and so I cleared my throat, "You may or may not get mad at me for not telling you sooner. I wanted to wait and tell you with Toph but-"

"What is it? You guys are not dating are you?" I look at her quizzically and she smiles sheepishly, "Anyways, carry on."

"So, do you recall when I found out that my mother was actually murdered? Right so, Aang and I were on a date and we met this mysterious man named Zuko. He seemed to know a lot about what occurred to my mother and clarified that… it was actually the Fire Nation's actions. They arranged it all out. In exchange for said information, he wants us to help him stop them from eventually and potentially taking over the world." I gasped for air, "Does that make sense?"

Suki just stared at me and stood stunned for a few seconds, "Ok u-um… I believe you? This is just a lot to take in, you know." She gulped, "...who else is in on this plan?"

"Well… at the moment, it's just Toph, Aang, Zuko and his uncle, and me. And maybe… hopefully… probably… you too?"

Suki paused to think about my proposition for a few moments. She looked back at me as she weighed her options. Her stare softened, "Of course I will join you guys. If you and Toph need me, I'll always be there to help. This does beg the question though, what of Sokka?"

"The original plan was to tell you both at the same time but circumstances did change and it became a necessity to tell you at once. Which leads me to the next thing I have to ask of you…"

Sukia laughed, "What now? You're pregnant and the Earth Kingdom wants your baby?" I laughed at this too. It all really did seem surreal.

"No, thankfully. But, we all decided that before doing anything, we need to train and get back into shape. I don't have any room to train and waterbend so I was wondering if I could use your dojo." I said. Suki nodded as if it were obvious.

"Girl, of course you can! I'll even train with you because I haven't been working out as much lately."

"Liar! I swear you look like you were just at the gym. However, I do need to fill you in on the plan we have so far. This is what is going on..."

I told her what we all agreed on doing. We were first going to train for battle, making sure that we all knew how to defend ourselves before walking straight into an uncertain death. After that, we would make out a strategic plan to infiltrate the Fire Nation and kill the leader, otherwise known as, the Fire Lord.

As she explained to me her ideas of training, a thought crossed my mind.

If we are running straight into battle, we need one more asset.

"Hey Suki, can I ask you a question?" I asked.

She nodded, "Yeah, what's up?"

"Do you think that the avatar cycle has been broken?"

She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, "I'm not sure… Why did you ask though?"

"Because if we are going to restore balance, we need an actual expert. And who is better than the Avatar?"

"Yeah but the Avatar has been gone for an entire century. No one knows who it is and if they are alive or not."

"That's where I was getting at… we need to find the current Avatar." I said with a stern voice. None of this would work if we didn't have an all-powerful human-spirit on our side.

Before Suki could argue or agree, the front door blew open. Four figures appeared, worn out and panting loudly. It was Aang, Zuko, Toph, and surprisingly, Sokka.

Toph looked the least breathless so she spoke first, "Sugar Queen, we need your help!"

Two hours before the dramatic break in…

Aang's Entry:

Today has been a fairly boring day. Not much was done. I did a lot of paperwork regarding my company's new charity funding and it wasn't much work, thankfully. I texted Katara hoping that I would be able to hang out with my beautiful girlfriend. Turns out, however, that she was having a busy day at the clinic.

I didn't have too many friends in this city, so I decided that I would get some physical training done. I'd always been a fit person, but recently I had been slacking off ever since I learned of my bending abilities.

You see, a century ago, the Air Nation had been wiped out by ruthless firebenders. I wasn't so surprised that the Fire Nation were still going at it until this day because well… I was there.

100 years ago, I was there. I had only been 12 years old when I was forced to move Air Temples, away from my parents. At first, I had hoped to only go away for a 24-hour trip… to clear my head up and calm my emotions. However, my flying bison and I got stuck in a pretty crappy storm. With my luck, we ended up almost drowning. That's when something happened. I don't know exactly what I did but I saved us. I preserved us in the water using some sort of ability. When I woke up and burst free of the iceberg I used to preserve our bodies in, I didn't remember what happened at first. I visited many different doctors to help me understand. I was so new to this world and so alone. 9 years later, I visited a healer in the North named Yagoda. Gyatso, my guardian and friend, introduced me to her so that I may seek help. She helped me regain my memory with months of painful psychological healing. And then one day, I remembered everything. I remembered why I left in the first place, why I was in an iceberg and how I got there. I remembered who I was.

The Avatar.

This scared me at first. I had nowhere to go, no one to train with, no one to help me. Gyatso wasn't a bender but he was of Air Nomad descent. He was a guru. I was utterly stuck. That was until I stumbled across a city. Republic City. I got a new job there and in only weeks, I was named CEO of the company for my much needed wisdom. However, I was still lonely. But, I met a girl. A beautiful woman named Katara.

I haven't told anyone about my secret. I was scared that my private life would become disrupted and that my past mistakes would eventually catch up. But they did considering the fact that the world needs me now. And I don't know how to help. So, I need to find 3 different element masters to help me. The only ordeal here is that I have to do it under the radar to cause less problems and less suspicions.

My plan is to ask Katara to be my water bending master. But once she finds out I lied, she may or may not be mad. So, I have to think about how I'm going to bring it up, carefully. Without inducing any anger or feelings of betrayal. However, as I was in a train of thought, I bumped into Zuko while at the gym.

"Oh, hey Zuko. Sorry about that." I said in embarrassment because it was obvious I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings.

"Nah, it's cool. Were you looking to train too?" He said as he picked up his gear.

"Yeah actually. I was just thinking and got carried away." I rubbed my elbow in awkwardness.

"I feel you, anyways, what do you usually do to work out?"

"Well, I try to lift some weights and shit. I'm too busy all the time so I don't come much. Circumstances changed though."

"No, that's true. I don't come much either because it reminds me too much of home. Bad childhood I guess you could say."

Trauma like he wouldn't know, I thought. I cleared my throat, "Yeah so, have you been dating anyone lately?"

He pauses for a second, seeming uncomfortable but talks anyway before being interrupted, "I guess you could say that… her name is-"

"Yo! Twinkle Toes!" Toph says as she pops up behind me with Sokka.

"Hey Toph."

Sokka slapped his forehead, "Bro! Don't answer to Twinkle Toes! It's not manly, trust me."

"Shut it, snoozles. Anyways, you are on a date with Sparky, huh?" She smirked.

I laugh, "No, we literally just bumped into each other because we were both conveniently training in the same gym."

She laughed too, "Yeah, we came here because I wanted to show this meathead over here that I am way stronger than him. Turns out, I am!"

Zuko smirked, "How did he figure that out?"

Toph smiled cheekily, "I simply lifted heavier weights than he could possibly carry."

Sokka looked offended, "Hey! It's not my fault that you aren't as buff as you seem."

I patted Sokka's shoulder, "It's okay, Sokka. One day."

"So, how's training going along? Any new bending skills for battle?" Zuko asked in a hushed voice.

Sokka scrunched his eyebrows in suspicion, "Wait, what battle?"

Zuko's eyes bulged open realizing that Sokka wasn't in on the plan. He tried to fix his mistake but failed miserably, "Oh uh… it's a v-video game?"

He crossed his arms and looked at me straight into the eyes, "Aang. We're friends right? Even though you hook up with my sister, I still consider you close to me." I gritted my teeth. Damn it, he touched my Achilles heel. He continued, "What plan? What battle?"

I sighed knowing that there was no way we would get out of this hole we dug without spilling the beans. I looked at Toph who was scratching her head uncomfortably. "Okay, so here is the deal."

I explained to him everything. From the planned death of his mother, to the Fire Nation's involvement, and to our current plan to train enough to be able to take out the Fire Lord. After I finished recalling every detail, I was out of breath.

Sokka, on the other hand, wasn't. He had so many questions regarding anything and everything, "Why did you bring Katara into this? Why didn't you tell me earlier? How are we supposed to take out a powerful bending master? And why us?"

Toph had just enough of this, "Look Snoozles, shit happened and we were all caught up in this. The real question would be, will you help us?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Well, considering that you dickwads brought my little sister into this mess, I have no choice, do I?"

Aang looked apologetic. He didn't want Katara in danger either but there was no other way, "Yeah, I'm sorry about that."

Sokka shrugged, "Nothing we can do about it now except follow the plan. But… I do have some notes on it. If it's alright with you, of course." He looked at Zuko, who nodded for him to continue.

"We can't do this by ourselves. We have a minute chance of getting into the Fire Nation palace but actually killing the guy… yeah, no. We need help."

"Damn, thanks for the vote of confidence." Toph sarcastically stated.

"Let me get to the point… alright so, I remember as we were growing up, our Gran-Gran would tell us stories about a master of all the elements. The Avatar."

I shivered at the mention of my role and looked down shamefully as Sokka resumed, "I never believed in it because if it was real, where were they? Katara, on the other hand, always had faith and hope that the Avatar would come back to the world. So, once we moved to this new city, she continued on her research to such an extent. She uncovered so many things and wrote them all down. Now, if we find where she wrote it down, and solve her dead ends… it may lead us straight to the Avatar himself."

"What if it's a woman?" Toph implied not liking that Sokka referred to the Avatar as only a him.

"Yeah, whatever. What do you guys think?" He beamed in pride of his plan.

Zuko spoke first, "It's good but how are we doing to find it?"

Toph smirked, "Well Aang must know all of her hiding spots, don't you Twinkletoes?"

I blushed and Sokka gagged, "Well, she has a place where she hides her charts and boards… especially the ones regarding her search for answers about her mother. I'm pretty sure it would be there but we should tell her first."

Sokka waved his hand, "Nah, she doesn't have to know now. Now people, let's find the Avatar!" He yelled a bit too loudly.

"Shut the fuck up before someone hears us!" Zuko scolded Sokka as he had his hand over his loud mouth.

Someone came up to us, "The Avatar huh? What do you want with him?" It was a muscular and tall Fire Nation man who had the most suspicious and terrifying face.

Sokka took Zuko's hand off his face, "Oh! No no no! We were talking about a um… video game?" Toph slapped her forehead.

"Run!" She yelled. We followed her instructions without hesitation as we fled through the gym doors. We bolted down the city, making sure to stay close to each other. I looked back and saw that the man wasn't far behind. In fact, he looked like a faster runner than us.

Sokka began to fall behind so I grabbed his hand and pushed him with me, "Where should we go?!"

"Let's go to Suki's!" Sokka said as he panted. Toph sighed and led the way. She took us through an ally. We paused many gang members, criminals, and couples having sex in the alleyways. As we ran through the side streets, we made it to Suki's apartment complex. We stopped for a second to breathe.

"I think we lost him." Zuko said as he checked our surroundings.

"Let's not waste time! Let's go inside already." Sokka exclaimed in fear. I clicked the elevator button. We waited one too many seconds until it finally arrived at our floor. We went inside and rode up to the 4th floor. We exited and hurried to Apartment K09.

Sokka took out a key from his pocket and unlocked the door, bursting it wide open.

And there we were, the four of us facing both Suki and Katara.