"I killed her."
Katara's eyes widened and she began squirming, trying to get loose of the ropes. "You killed you own mother? You sick bastard!"
Karyuudo stood up, towering over her.
"Aang! Sokka! Help!" she screamed. Her voice echoed through the forest.
He grabbed her by the collar and held her up so they were face-to-face. "Cooperate, and I won't hurt you," he told her. Karyuudo pulled out a knife and held it to her neck.
Sweat dripped down her face as she replied, "Alright, but could you please untie me?"
"No, you'll just try to escape." He put his knife away then carried her through the woods over his shoulder.
"Sir, I believe we've lost him," noted a soldier.
Zuko's face twisted with anger and flames shot out of his hands. "Damn it!" He sighed and paused before saying, "Spread out and search the woods."
"Yes, sir!" His remaining soldiers went into the woods in all directions.
Zuko sat down on a fallen trunk and calmed down.
It was now raining, and her clothes were soaked. Karyuudo's cloak kept him dry, but his boots were muddy. He nearly slipped a couple times, but he managed to keep his feet grounded. He looked up into the sky and saw Karasu flying above, looking down at them.
"Please let me go," said Katara.
He looked down from his raven friend at Katara, "You and I both know that's not going to happen."
Katara sighed and stopped talking. Karyuudo continued to carry her through the woods. She suddenly sprouted an idea in her head; she shifted her position and bit his shoulder. He yelled in pain as she began to hop away, quite difficult with her ankles tied together.
Karyuudo pulled out his crossbow and loaded an arrow. As she passed by a tree, he fired; the arrow pinned the tail of her robe to the tree trunk, allowing him to catch up to her.
She eventually ripped a piece of the robe of, allowing her to continue her escape, but it was too late; he already grabbed her and threw her down on the ground. He kneeled down on one knee next to her and said, "Next time you do that, I'll give you a permanent injury." His gaze loosened when he saw tears running down her cheeks; he closed his eyes and held back the memories.
Katara sniffled and tried to hold back the tears; she did not want Karyuudo to think that she was weak; she had to be brave. The tears and rain stopped flowing at once. He opened his eyes and looked at her with his shining eyes.
Karyuudo pulled out his knife. When Katara saw this, her eyes widened. He raised the knife and brought it down quickly, cutting the rope holding her wrists together. Then he proceeded to cutting the ropes around her ankles.
"What are you doing?" asked Katara.
"Just go."
"What?"
"Go!" he shouted.
Katara looked him in the eyes. He looked back and said, "Listen, girl."
"It's Katara."
"Whatever…if you leave now, I won't have to hurt you. Now go, before I change my mind."
Katara was about to walk away when a fireball hit her; she cried out and fell to the ground. Karyuudo looked at her; his face twisted with anger and steam escaped his mask. He got up and faced the source of the fireball: Zuko.
Karyuudo stood over the injured Katara and drew his katana. Zuko raised his arms, ready for battle. They charged at each other but someone jumped in between them; they were knocked down with a powerful blast of air.
"Katara!" said the new attacker.
Karyuudo looked up and saw a small monk with an arrow on his head; it was the Avatar. The boy did not get a response from Katara.
Zuko got up and kicked a blast of fire at the Avatar, who dodged the blast and hit Zuko with a staff.
While they were fighting, Karyuudo got up and ran over to Katara. Her clothes were burned and part of her face was red from the heat. She was silent, but Karyuudo knew she was alive from her pulse.
Zuko fought the Avatar through the forest until they eventually reached a cliff that led to the ocean. The Avatar pushed Zuko back until he was at the edge of the cliff. Zuko looked down at the waves splashing up against a field of sharp rocks at the water's surface.
"You shouldn't have hurt Katara like that! You're a monster!" said the Avatar.
Zuko tried to lie, "It wasn't me! I was trying to protect her from that man in black."
"I saw the whole thing! You burned her with the fireball!" He charged at Zuko.
Zuko tried jumping out of the way but the Avatar pushed him over the edge with a blast. He fell over the edge and down into the water below.
As Zuko fell, the bounty came drifted back onto the cliff and landed next to the Avatar's feet. He opened the bounty and looked at it for awhile, then put it away and hurried back to Katara.
"Don't you dare hurt my sister!" yelled a boy as he jumped out of a tree and landed next to Karyuudo.
"Stop! I'm not going to hurt her!" replied Karyuudo.
"Yes you will! I found this!"
Karyuudo looked up at the Avatar, who was holding his bounty.
"I knew Zuko wouldn't need this, so it must belong to you!" said the Avatar.
"I knew it!" Katara's brother added.
Katara opened her eyes and said, "No…he saved me earlier."
The Avatar and the other boy looked confused.
"He protected me from Zuko."
"It's true, I did protect her," said Karyuudo.
"Well, I'm not going to let you just take me!" said Aang, about to rip the bounty.
Karasu flew down from the sky and snatched the bounty. He flew over and gave it to Karyuudo, who tucked it safely away in his shirt.
Katara tried to get up, but she had to get help from the Avatar and her brother.
Karyuudo said, "I'll go now." He walked away from the others, and did not bother to look back. Karasu perched on his shoulder the whole way, and it began to rain again.
Zuko opened his eyes and sat up; he was in the middle of the woods, under a tree, safe from the rain. His soaked shirt and armor was on the ground next to him, and there were bloody bandages wrapped around his chest and arms. There was someone sitting outside in the rain, dressed in a black ninja suit; on the ground next to the person was a mask, the Blue Spirit.
"You're the one from my ship! You stole my suit!" shouted Zuko.
The person put on the mask and walked over to Zuko. "I see you're awake." The voice was female.
"A girl? Who are you?" he asked.
"I'm the person who just saved your life." She sounded as if she was in her late twenties, but he could not tell for sure.
Zuko made a move to pull off her mask but she jumped away from him, out into the rain again.
"We will meet again, but next time, we won't be alone."
She ran off into the woods, her footsteps matching the sound of the rain hitting the leaves of the trees, leaving Zuko alone.
Karyuudo sat underneath a tree, a weak shelter from the rain. He had just realized that his ship was still out at sea. It was probably destroyed now from the storm. Prince Zuko's ship was still on the other side of the island, but he did not want to interfere with the prince again. He tried to let the rain wash away the thoughts and memories, but he was interrupted by shouting.
Through the darkness of the late evening, he made out a huge ship coming towards the island. It stopped on the beach and the ramp came crashing down onto the sand. A man came down riding on a komodo rhino, being followed by his personal army. Karyuudo hid, but when the man got close enough, he recognized the face of Admiral Zhao.
Author's Notes:
Wow, still only two reviewers?
forgetfulallthetime – Well…here it is. (lol)
StreetCornerProphet – Thanks!
Come on people, I'm sure I didn't get 135 hits from just those two!