Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Earth.

Fire.

Air.

Water.

Only the avatar can save us all.

Previous on Legend of Katherine!

Kat and the others finally arrive at Capital City! She, along with Stacy and Vixella, meet some very entertaining people, two of which are from the South Pole! They also learn some funny bits and pieces from Betty! Uneventful, if I would say so! Anyways, who really are these strangers? Why didn't Joel get more time to interact with the trio? And why is the author struggling so hard to write this wonderful story?

Book 1:Water

Chapter 6: Dreams and Realities

"It's Kat! I heard vent noises, and Wenny is dead!" Allen cried at the emergency table to an unamused Kat and thoughtful Kim.

"Kim, you promised that you would never betray me." Kat started slowly. "So now, skip vote, and we can finish off Allen."

"Yeah, Allen!" Kim declared, the caution sign on her head beginning to slip off. "Janitors always stick together! Rule number 100! Don't slip!"

"If I had a butter knife, I would've killed you all sooner!" The echoes of ghost Wenny shouted.

"Demon in the vents! Murber!" Betty added as well. Kat glared at the translucent apparitions.

"Shut up ghosts! You're not supposed to be talking!" She snapped.

"She did get this from you, Wenny." Betty retorted crossly, crossing her arms(do ghosts have arms?). "You were the one pretending to be a frog or squirrel in the vents that one time! And then Kim copied you as well!"

"This was your intention that one time on Polus, wasn't it?" Wenny shot back. "To be evil imposter twins with Kat! But then she betrayed you with a stabbing in cams!"

"Ok, seriously, stop!" Kat called out, snickering a little. Kim started to giggle as well. So did Allen. And ghosts Wenny and Betty. Soon enough, everyone was giggling rabidly. Kat faltered under their sudden shift in behavior, concern and fear flickering in her mind. "Guys? Are you okay?"

The cafeteria began to darken and blur at the corners, slowly creeping towards the meeting table as the cackling intensified and echoed through the chamber. The shapes of Kat's siblings melted away into the rapidly encroaching shadows, leaving her at the meeting table, alone, in the midst of everlasting darkness. The meeting table crumbled at her fingers, falling down into the abyss beneath. Kat's breath caught in her throat in terror, staring wide eyed at what was once the cafeteria.

Then she fell.

Down, down, down, passing blurred, half-formed images and jumbled voices, to the very place Kat had been that day, on the ship. The Impenetrable Barrier stood like a wall of cold steel between her and whatever lied beneath. Except…it was shattered.

A yawning gap stood right underneath Kat, cracked at the edges as if it were fragile glass. She let out a soundless squeal of horror, closing her eyes and bracing as she plummeted beneath the Impenetrable Barrier, into whatever hell lurked underneath.

*Insert Red Like Roses(Red Trailer) here*

An ancient, weathered tree, its roots tangled and gnarled within the crumbly soil. Inside, what looked like an ebony black scorpion slithered about.

And then…

The face of a beautiful woman with flawless porcelain skin, long black hair, and soulless eyes staring right at her.

A short, stubby warrior standing in front of Kat. A sea of shimmering greens behind him. Golden metal fans at the edge of her vision.

Then, lava. Heat. The severe shaking of the earth. Strong winds pummeling the warrior and his army.

Everything became dizzy and unfocused, as the world blended together into a mushy mess of dull colors.

Red like roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest

Kat felt like she was swimming in pitch black quicksand. She could feel her arms and legs getting heavy, as she fell down towards a distant light.

White is cold and always yearning, burdened by a royal test

Suddenly, Kat was in a different location. A place where ash and soot littered the skies, lava and half molten rocks soaring unpredictably through the blackened sky. The ground trembling as fiercely as a dragon awakening. And an elderly man wearing glamorous red robes standing in front of her, staring down with merciless amber eyes.

Black the beast descends from shadows

As armageddon went on around her, Kat's vision blurred and she struggled to make sense of what was going on anymore. The man had left, and a red scaled beast had curled itself around her.

Yellow beauty burns gold

The scene blacked out and switched to yet another crazy, unexplainable sight. Kat was perplexed. Wasn't she just playing some enjoyable murder game with her siblings? How did she get here?

White. White. White. That was all she could see. A blinding white light.

Then,

Shocking pain went through Kat's body. It felt like she had been electrocuted or something!...maybe she had been. Electric blue and black crept along the edge of her vision.

The scene flickered. Pitch black had taken over the blinding white, dotted with the occasional flicker of electric blue. The sound of a door slamming and something being locked. Falling. Zooming along the Si Wong Desert, then returning to a girl with chocolate brown hair. It was all so confusing…

"Back for more, brat?"

Yet it wasn't at the same time.

Kat turned around to see the same Fire Nation soldier from the zombie dream. Everything about him seemed so familiar, and brought a sense of dread and terror upon her. But she had never met this man before! At least, she couldn't remember ever meeting him.

The dreams—no, visions came flooding back in. Or perhaps, memories. Fire. A freezing cylindrical room. Hundreds of Fire navy ships lined in an orderly fashion in the sea. Phoenix King Ozai staring down at her triumphantly, for some reason.

The sense of falling became more consistent, no matter what visions Kat was seeing as she fell. The further on she went, the more ancient and indecipherable they became. Lava bursting out from five volcanic vents at the same time. A colossal, earthen creature that appeared to have a face. A black and red spirit with ominous patterns.

"She will return again." A voice suddenly whispered. Kat was quite startled, looking around in midair for the source of the voice. There was nothing particularly noteworthy, other than half corrupted memories she was sailing past.

Then Kat felt herself land ungracefully on a rough, textured surface. The visions stopped coming, and she cautiously stood up, glancing down at where she was. Kat stood upon what looked like the ancient roots of a humongous tree that extended upward, casting the higher levels of the Impenetrable Barrier to be shrouded in a mist of memories.

Kat tentatively made her way around the tree, which appeared to be a leafless oak, her fingers gently brushing against the weathered bark as she passed. Finally, after some careful surveying, she found a dark crimson orb embedded in the trunk. It radiated a smug aura, as if taunting her. "Look at you, you're too afraid to touch me!" It teased. Kat felt angered and irritated by its taunting, and without thinking it through, she touched the orb.

The moment her fingers made contact, the wood parted and the orb floated up into the air. Kat tenderly took the orb from midair, and brushed aside some of the tree dust on its surface. It unearthed a blinding white light that shot high up into the sky like a beacon of hope.

Then the light morphed into the shape of the same spirit Kat had seen in an earlier vision. With a pure white body and yellowish-blue markings. A second beacon lit into the sky, this one glowing black, and morphed into the second spirit. Black body and blood red markings. If the white spirit was the embodiment of light, this black one would be the embodiment of darkness.

Then the two locked gazes(can spirits do that?), before charging at each other. Kat watched with unhinged curiosity as the two lunged towards each other with extreme ferocity. They locked into a ball, constantly struggling to keep the other at bay.

"They're like ying and ying," Kat realized. The struggle between the forces of good and evil, represented perfectly by these two spirits right here.

After some long(and boring) tussling, the light spirit finally managed to ground the other spirit. She(do spirits have gender? Kat was so clueless to everything spiritual. It wasn't like they had a Spirits 101 course in school) stood triumphantly above the dark spirit, staring down coldly.

"Darkness shall not rule the world this time!" She declared. "I will not allow it to destroy this realm!"

"Oh, don't worry about it, Raava," the other spirit snarled back venomously. "I will be back one day. Keep that in mind."

With that, the dark spirit dissipated, leaving only the light spirit(Raava?) left. Raava let out a loud, tired sigh, as her body began to dissipate into white dust, blown away by the hot, dry breeze.

Suddenly, all the memories Kat had fallen past came crashing down, shattering like glass. She instinctively shielded herself from the downpour, but nothing came. Kat opened one eye to see what had happened. Instead of standing in a field of sharp, dangerous glass, all the memories were now orbs intertwined in the branches of the ancient, tall tree, each emitting a pale glow.

"These are your memories, Kat." The same mysterious voice whispered. It sounded young, as if of a boy around her age, but carried a heaviness that belonged in the voice of someone much older than he sounded.

"No, these aren't!" Kat protested. "How do I even play out in some of these scenes? Some of the orbs are thousands of years old! I'm 13!" She felt the hot breeze growing stronger, whipping her hair wildly around the void. Kat swore she saw a spark at one point.

"Yes, they are. You're special, a—" The voice continued, but it faded out in the ever-growing stronger wind. The sparks Kat had been seeing earlier turned into small flames the size of a marble each, which grew larger and larger until it was a roaring dragon tornado.

"A firestorm," Kat thought, her heart skipping a beat. She had heard of these deadly, rare, self-sustaining flaming tornadoes before. They occurred every once in a while in the Earth Kingdom. How did one start in her mind? Kat had not even the slightest clue.

The firestorm lurched out towards her with one of its fiery tentacles, grabbing her leg and swinging her upwards. Kat felt like her insides were about to explode, as she was tossed and spun around by the firestorm. They were going up, up, up, past the ancient orbs and coming by some of the newer ones she actually remembered. The tornado shattered what was left of the Impenetrable Barrier, and continued to surge upward. But it was growing weaker the further up.

Kat squinted at the faint light coming from above her. There it was; her consciousness. She could almost reach it…but that was when the firestorm vaporized and turned into plumes of smoke. Kat desperately tried to grab on, before she plummeted back into the roots of the darkness, but to no avail. Kat almost lost hope—until her hand caught onto one of the glistening, dangling white vines.

Sparing not a single second, Kat instantly climbed up the vine, determined to get out. When she reached the glowing barrier, Kat tried punching it to break open a hole, but all it did was make her fist really hurt. Looking around, she spotted a large, sharp thorn on the other side of the vine. Kat broke off the tip, and smashed the barrier with the thorn. Some of the barrier cracked and fell off, leaving a hole the size of an orange.

Renewed with energy, Kat continued to stab at the barrier until the hole was big enough for her to climb up. She wasted no time in crawling up, onto the blinding white light—

End of song

"GAAH!" Kat gasped as she swiftly sat up in bed, sweating profusely. She looked around, trying to see if anything had changed. But everything looked like what it had been when she went to sleep. The two four poster beds on opposite sides of the room, the elegant nightstands next to them, the faint moonlight coming in through the light silk curtains.

The only difference Kat noticed was the fact that the poster bed to her left was empty. She was slightly befuddled; where had Stacy gone? The bathroom? But the small lavatory to her right wasn't lit up either! So where could her friend be?

*Ten minutes earlier*

Stacy lied in her bed, staring blankly at the crimson ceiling, bored as ever. It was around 1 in the morning, and she felt no exhaustion at all. To her right, Kat was sound asleep, letting out loud snores and occasionally twitching, for some reason. So instead of counting koala-sheep or singing herself a lullaby(she had tried that three hours ago), Stacy decided to think about the recent turn of events.

First, the notes. Why there were weird notes scattered about the ship had been a complete mystery to her. Stacy didn't know what they were supposed to mean, either, as they had been unsuccessful at deciphering the clues. Plus, Kat refusing to join in made it all much more frustrating as full. Why wouldn't her funny, silly, amazing friend participate in such a thrilling mystery? It was okay to break the rules every once in a while! Plus, Kat had no problem in pranking the owner of South Delights every week!

But…the minute the owner had threatened to report them to the soldiers, Kat had backed out immediately. She stopped going to South Delights, and avoided the shop and the owner at all costs. It was so confusing to Stacy, who had only been 6 at the time. The guards in the south didn't care about rules and whatnot. If the bakery man had called the soldiers, they would have ignored the issue. Everyone in their village knew that! But Kat never took any risks that involved soldiers.

Stacy decided to put that thought aside for now, and went onto the next strange event. In New Ozai, she had had a spectacular time. The mail cart systems, the statue, even the New Ozai Field Museum that had been labeled dull and unimpressive back home. But Stacy had heard that during Kat's time, she fainted halfway through and didn't wake up until they were back on the ship. That had worried Stacy a lot at first, but later the worry had morphed into confusion.

Why would Kat faint all of a sudden? She wasn't sick or ill, to Stacy's knowledge, and hadn't acted weird recently…oh wait she kinda did. But that was still unexplainable.

And finally, the biggest shock of all, the northern raiders and her waterbending abilities. The Raiders boarding the ship, seeing all the death, death, and doom, was already traumatizing enough for Stacy, but finding out that she was a waterbender? It stunned her for the rest of the day.

Speaking of waterbending…

Stacy sat up, scanning the room several times cautiously, making sure that no one was awake and definitely not watching her. There was only Kat in here with her, to her knowledge, but who knows who could be watching?

She soundlessly slipped out of bed, and walked over to their bedroom window. Stacy glanced over at Kat one more time, before quietly unlocking the window hatch and pushing the glass open. The cool night air flowed in eagerly, gently whistling a nighttime lullaby. The stars twinkled like little flames in tiny lanterns, and the moon shone brightly(and eerily) above. This was probably a terrible idea, but she had to make sure that she hadn't just been hallucinating that day.

Stacy carefully climbed out, making sure not to scratch the white walls or make a loud landing. Once she was out, Stacy snuck towards the sheltered pond behind the walls.

Everyone knew of the famous turtle-duck pond in the Royal Palace, which was a place that held many precious memories for many of the royal family's childhoods. But few knew about the other pond, hidden in between two rooms with no doors or windows outlooking the place. But Stacy had read many, many books on the Royal Palace, and already knew the place like the back of her hand(even though she had never been here before).

Clambering onto the roof, Stacy tried to stay low as she briskly walked towards the gap in the tiled rooftop. Without even looking, she jumped down the instant she was close enough.

This pond was definitely less well-kept. The pond's edges were jagged and faded into mud at some parts. The grass and bushes were overgrown and uneven. Vines crawled up the white walls, their thorns threatening anyone that dared to touch them. Cobwebs hung from the dusty corners, where their hosts were feasting on the abundance of insects that they had caught in their webs.

Stacy approached the pond in the center, stopping at the edge. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. What she had seen on the ship…Stacy had to make sure that it had not just been an illusion, a figure of her imagination.

She soaked her hands in the cold water, putting forth her full concentration. Slowly, Stacy lifted her hands out of the pond.

The water was still there.

Stacy opened her eyes, and blinked several times to make sure that what she was seeing was real. The water was clinging to her hands, even after she had lifted them out of the pond.

She had not been seeing things. What happened on the ship was not an illusion.

Stacy was a waterbender. For real.

"That's a neat trick right there. Who knew that waterbending could be so peaceful as well?"

Stacy jumped, letting the water fall to the ground, and spun around to see a cloaked figure standing in the shadows. She started to panic. Someone had seen her waterbend. Stacy was in hot water(no pun intended haha).

"Don't worry. I'm not gonna turn you in." The person reassured monotonously. "You might as well be the only waterbender left in the Southern Water Tribe. It would be such a shame to see such a young soul, a desperately needed spark of hope, go to waste."

Stacy relaxed an inch. He/she said they wouldn't turn her in, but if there was one thing she had learned over the years, it was to never 100% trust someone from the Fire Nation, soldier or not.

The mysterious person extended a hand. "Come with me."

"I—why should I trust you?" Stacy asked suspiciously.

"Sometimes, you just have to take a leap of faith." The guy responded vaguely. Stacy hesitantly took the hand, preparing for the worst. Her conscience screamed that this was a terrible idea, but there was something calming about the person; something that quelled all her fears and suspicions.

But that did not mean she was expecting a pillar of earth to boost them up back onto the roof.

"AAAAA—" Stacy shrieked, but was cut out by a hand on her mouth. Even through the dark red cloak, she could see emerald eyes glaring at her.

"Do you want all the soldiers to find us?" He hissed.

"Well you never told me you were an earthbender!" Stacy retorted hotly. She was about to ditch the guy and head back to her room when a voice sounded from behind.

"What is going on here?"

Stacy swung around to see another cloaked figure standing behind them. The first stranger's green eyes flashed with ephemeral panic, before switching over to decisive.

"I'm really sorry about this," he said, before something hit her hard on the back of her head and everything went black.

"I really messed up." Stacy thought as her consciousness faded away.

Lizzie blocked another blow from the elite swordsman, retaliating with a nimble jab of her own. The swordsman staggered back, losing his footing for a second. Lizzie took this opportunity to knock out her opponent, finishing the spar with a powerful kick to the stomach. The swordsman was flung across the courtyard, and hit one of the support pillars with an 'oof.' Lizzie brushed nonexistent dirt off her hands, staring triumphantly at her fallen opponent.

"Excellent, Pupil Elizabeth." Master Piandao acknowledged from the sidelines. "Your style has evolved drastically since we began. It is truly unique and yours." Lizzie smirked.

"What's next, sir?" She asked.

"I believe it is time that you chose your own weapon." Master Piandao responded thoughtfully. "Come with me."

Lizzie could barely restrain her excitement as she followed the elderly man away from the courtyard and into the labyrinth of halls that made up the palace. They took an oh so familiar route to a large room, which was Master Piandao's temporary bedroom and workshop. Lizzie knew about the collection of different unique weapons in there, but had never seen them firsthand.

Master Piandao slid open the doors, revealing…what looked more like a blacksmith shop than a bedroom. There were weapons everywhere. Everywhere! On the ground, stacked and displayed on shelves or just leaning against something, attached to little clips on the walls, and Lizzie swore she saw a bunch more inside a large metal chest. It was breathtaking.

Lizzie walked over to the nearest weapon, which looked like an enlarged metal boomerang. The end curving inward was sharp and shiny, but the outer edge had some…boxy stuff attached to it. Lizzie examined the weird contraptions curiously.

"We have been experimenting with some new weapons lately." Master Piandao commented as he walked over. "What you are holding is a Shooterang. It works like a boomerang, but can shoot sharp blades attached to durable strings with the press of a button. Kind of like retractable arrows."

"These…are very unique." Lizzie commented, barely able to hold in her excitement and maintain a formal appearance.

"Feel free to check out all the weapons in the room. We have some of the newest and most advanced technology here." Master Piandao said, as he sauntered(in a dignified manner, of course) over to his large wooden desk.

Lizzie didn't need to be told twice, as she started checking out weapon After weapon. Claw bracelets, saw armbands, metal crossbows that could be folded into a sword. They were all so amazing, but none really called to her. Not even the axe with an arrow shooter.

Then, as she was walking over to a pair of roller skates that hid detachable, foldable swords and the ability to boost the wearer's speed with firebending, Lizzie stumbled and almost tripped over something. As she caught her footing, Lizzie looked down to see what had almost tripped her.

It was what looked like a metal chain, except instead of hollow metal ovals, it was made up of small, sharp, square metal pieces who gleamed in the light. Lizzie glanced over to its mother weapon. It was a midnight black katana with a cylindrical shape thingy next to the holding part, where the user could reel back in the chain.

Lizzie approached the weapon curiously. There was something about it that made her feel excited. She had yet to touch it, but Lizzie already felt like she had known the blade for a long time.

Master Piandao noticed her curiosity towards the katana and smiled. "Ah, that would be one of our newest additions. The blade works like a normal katana, but the interesting part is the metal chain attached to it. The metal on the edges is sharpened to extremes, so it can slice through objects easily, just like a knife. It can cut through wood and leave a significant dent in other metals! The katana can also form into a temporary boomerang, and with the attached chain, it can also function as a grappling hook. The cylinder that the chain is actually retractable, so the chain can quickly be ready for use in battle. The hard part would be wrapping the chain around it again after you're done using it…"

Lizzie picked up the weapon and walked over to some of the dummies in Master Piandao's room. She unsheathed the katana and sliced at it swiftly, leaving the wooden dummy beheaded and chopped into pieces. Lizzie then pushed back the cylinder, like Master Piandao had said, and let the chain fall to the ground. She then tested out the chain on another dummy. It worked just as well as the blade—better, even! If it could do as much damage to wood as a sword, Lizzie couldn't imagine what it would do to flesh.

"This is it." Lizzie said out loud. "It's perfect for me. I can feel it."

"A weapon is an extension of your body. Some even feel so attached that it's like the weapon is a part of themselves." Master Piandao commented, as he stood up and walked slowly towards her. "I remember the day I picked my sword. The feeling I got…it was indescribable, yet amazing."

"Don't waste your time talking about the stuff I know." Lizzie thought absentmindedly, as she twirled her katana around. The rest of Master Piandao's monologue quickly zoned out, and she was only brought back to the real world by the sound of the door sliding open.

Lizzie immediately looked towards the door, annoyed at whoever had interrupted them. But that annoyance soon turned into exasperation and, even she would never admit to anyone else or even herself, a little bit of fear.

"Hey, darling." An o so sickeningly familiar voice purred. "How have things been going so far?"

It was Duye.

Duye was probably the most annoying person in the world. Scratch that, he definitely 100% was the most annoying person in the world. It was a miracle how he could maintain his disgusting character, even through all the character transformation and diplomacy lessons he had gone through, as he was from a highly respected noble family.

And the worst part was, Lizzie was engaged to that big, empty bag of foam.

"We were just picking out my new weapon, Duye," Lizzie responded icily, trying very hard to not let the venom slip through. "It would be very kind of you to leave us be now."

"But I had some free time, and what better way to spend it than to be with the Crown Princess, who just happens to be my fiancé?" Duye smirked back. Lizzie swore one of her veins popped.

"It was very nice of you to pop in, but it's now time for you to go." Master Piandao cut in, staring at Duye with a very exasperated and irritated look. "And I believe I was very clear that no one, other than the Fire Lord and Phoenix King, could come in without my permission."

The smirk on Duye's face was quickly replaced by a scowl that he was not trying to hide at all. "Fine," he spat. "I'll leave. But my dear, you can't evade me forever." Duye's scowl returned to a scheming grin. "And do remember, our wedding is coming up in less than a month."

"That is quite enough, Mr. Weng." Master Piandao growled. "Go." Without another word, Duye slammed the door shut, causing some of the more unstable items in the room to tremble slightly.

"I cannot wait until we have to get married." Lizzie deadpanned. Master Piandao let out a chortle.

"I am also glad you have a sense of humor, Pupil Elizabeth," Master Piandao commented with a small grin on his face, before his expression morphed into a more serious(and slightly concerned) one. "but in all seriousness, I do wish young Duye learns to mind his words and actions. Your mother and grandfather are not blind, after all."

"I completely agree." Lizzie responded, staring at the closed door. The sooner she was rid of Duye, the better. That worm would be better off not being Fire Lord.

"Is the mission almost done, father?"

"Don't worry a thing about it. It's certainly done. I've already sent the assassins. Nothing can put my granddaughter, and our glorious nation's future, in jeopardy."

"Good."

Oh look! A wild cliffhanger appears! If you know RWBY, then it's probably pretty apparent where I got all the weapon ideas from lol. And trying to match up the song lyrics with the appropriate nation was pretty much impossible as well. Red and yellow both fall under Fire Nation, and black and white are neutral colors that all nations can wear lol.

To Desicat: Thx! I'm trying to keep Kat's personality as consistent and close to Funneh's personality in real life as much as possible, but it's hard when she's so cheerful all the time.

Anyways, that's all for this time! The next chapter is...oh boy, the next chapter is very long and very hectic. Well, uh, dang it I'm not good at outros. -Frosted Petals