Long chap this time!

Chap: waking to wonder

The rocking of several small ships had awoken the stolen crew from their fog induced nightmares. As they discovered their position, most tried to get loose, to no avail. As they looked around, one sight caught the attention of all present. The crew was looking up in awe. They simply could not believe their eyes.

A huge grey reptilian head easily the size of a mountain was clearing the water. Its massive neck was covered in sagging leathery skin, and it must have been over three thousand feet long and one thousand feet thick. But it was the creature's back that made them all stare. The beast's back was covered in land. Not dirt, but actual land, with small mountains, sheer cliffs, waterfalls, thick jungle foliage, vines hanging everywhere off of it. There were even buildings visible through the forest's edge and on some of the mountains. The entire creature was as large as a fair sized island. As the head bobbed with the ocean's movements, they caught sight of the edge of its shell, brown and aged, covered with seaweed and barnacles.

Zuko stared, disbelieving. "Uncle, is that what I think it is?" he said, awestruck.

"If you're thinking that it's a giant sea turtle, then I think you may be right," the old man replied. He shook his head in wonder. "No wonder we've only heard stories about Gamera. I always thought it was just a legend."

He smiled, amazed. "An entire island on the back of a sea turtle. I haven't seen anything like this since I went to the Spirit World."

Katara looked over at him in surprise from her spot near the rowers. "You've been in the Spirit World?"

"Yes, many years ago. It was back when I"—

"Quiet back there. Keep your tongues to yourselves. I want no chatter here," the leading man snapped. He had taken off his mask once his men had captured all of the crew onboard. The firebenders were grateful to be free of the fog, but were outraged once the effects had finally lifted. They had all been tied up and some had been trussed like animals if they had tried to fight. Taken by surprise and without their bending, they had been forced to go with the strange captors.

Katara looked askance at the man. "Not that I'm complaining, but why haven't you tied me up?" She asked. He didn't answer her. In fact, most of the captors had made a point to avoid her as much as they could after the fight. Few had spoken to her, and some had even acted like they were afraid of her. 'This just gets weirder and weirder as it goes,' she thought. 'None of this makes sense. Are they a group like Jet's, some kind of resistance to the Fire Nation? Or are they earthbenders? What is going on here?'

Zuko shifted where he sat, the ropes biting into his wrists. "Tell me again," he said, softly so that the men wouldn't hear. "Why didn't you use your bending to try and stop them? We were on the ocean, for Agni's sake!" He hissed. "We were surrounded by your element. That should have been child's play for you."

She scowled at him. "No, I just sat by and let them do as they pleased," her lowered voice dripping sarcasm. "What do you think I did? I hit them with everything I had, but there were too many. They brought over a hundred men onto the ship, I couldn't fight them all off. And besides, you ought to know better. Just because the fog made it dark didn't mean it wasn't still daylight." She sighed in frustration

He accepted that. Katara was a strong bender on any occasion, but at night, she was unstoppable. The sun had been a disadvantage to her. He scowled as another thought came. When the fog had come, she could barely stand after she had been moving the ship for four hours. The girl had been in no shape to fight.

One of the soldiers, Tsu Choi, whispered, "Why can't you use it now? You could throw them out of the boats"—

"And knock us into the water, maybe?" Zuko asked. "In case you don't remember, its difficult to swim with your hands tied. Besides, she's been bending for hours. She's not up for more anytime soon."

Tsu Choi slumped back, nodding. "Sorry."

"Keep thinking," Zuko whispered. "We have to figure a way out of this."

"You won't be getting anywhere," one of the men said, as he pulled on the oars of the boat. "No one can escape once the Empress has them."

"Who is this empress?" Katara asked.

The man twitched nervously. "Empress Zhiyi, of the Qu'long dynasty. She's the newest ruler of Gamera. Had five other heirs to the throne besides her, and they all either disappeared or were found murdered. She's not one to defy."

"Quiet, Katsuya," the leader said. "You're not to talk to the prisoners."

"But the girl asked me, Captain Honda," Katsuya said.

"Very well. Miss, try not to talk to the prisoners," the captain said. "We'll be arriving soon. You should rest."

Katara reluctantly obeyed his order.

Honda's thoughts were spinning. 'A waterbender! Of all the cursed luck! If the empress gets the last of the stones from her, there'll be no hope for the resistance at all!'

((&

As they were taken off the boats and marched into one of the small villages rimming Gamera, the crew began to notice something. Everywhere they looked, there were more men than women. It seemed that for every one woman, there were six men. There weren't many children anywhere, and the majority of those were boys.

Lieutenant Jee couldn't help his curiosity. "Where are all the women?" He asked quietly. "Is there some kind of festival for them or something somewhere else?"

"I don't think so," Iroh answered back. "Something about this place doesn't feel right." He had observed the behavior of the people, unable to shake the feeling that something was off. For one thing, the men here were looking at the crew in open sympathy. And the women were looking upset about something.

"What do you think it could be?" The prince asked.

"I don't know. But the whole feel of this place is wrong." He shuddered. "It is as if the spirits themselves are angry here."

The march went on, further into the island and up towards the highest mountain on Gamera. Katara finally collapsed to the ground, unable to walk anymore with the drain on her body. Zuko didn't say a word as he knelt down beside her, motioning her to climb on his back. She was too tired to protest, falling asleep once she'd found a good position. The boy hitched her up slightly higher on his back and kept moving.

Iroh nodded in approval. Zuko just shook his head. "It's nothing, uncle."

"Oh, I know, nephew, I know." The old man couldn't help his smile. He truly wanted Zuko to find a nice girl sometime and have a little fun. And possibly remember that he was still just seventeen years old, not forty.

As they moved farther up the path, they saw that on the mountain, seeming to hang off its sides, was a palace. Made of white stone and red tile roofs, it glittered like a jewel tossed onto green grass against the vines and jungle covering the land.

"You'll be sent before the Empress," Captain Honda said. "She'll judge you for trespassing in her waters."

"How can we be trespassing in the waters of an island that moves around?" Zuko said incredulously. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. How do you know when you're in them or not?"

"That's for the Empress to decide, not you, whelp," Honda snapped.

"But how can you stay out of a nation's waters if you don't even know where the nation is!" The prince nearly shouted in frustration.

Honda glared at him. "That's enough out of you." He motioned over to his men, and in one swift move, they grabbed Katara from him and knocked the teen unconscious.

"Zuko!" The general cried. "You didn't need to do that. He's just a hot-headed young boy."

"Believe me, this is the easiest way to deal with him. You don't want to see how our Empress deals with behavior like that," Honda said grimly. One of the soldiers picked the prince up, slinging him over his shoulder and marching on. Katara groaned at being yanked around so roughly, but stirred, waking from her short rest. "Are you alright?" Lieutenant Jee asked.

"Fine, just a little dizzy," she said, slowly coming to her feet, the soldier letting go of her. She looked around, gasping as she saw the prince unconscious. "What did you do to him?"

"He was acting out," the captain snapped. "Now keep moving. We haven't got all day." Jee held out his arm to help support the girl as they marched.

They continued up the mountain side, coming through large gates to the palace courtyard. Katara gasped at the sight. Beautiful columns of white marble supported a huge ceiling that covered half the open area. Railings of alabaster ringed the courtyard, except for the farthest edge that lead out to the open sea.

The courtyard was on the edge of one of the sheerest cliffs on Gamera, railings guarding two sides like a large open-ended U. The crew was shoved out into this area, their backs toward the open cliff's edge. The men shuffled nervously, trying to push forward to a safer distance, but were shoved back by the guards.

Katara felt herself being yanked forward. Captain Honda had taken her hand and was leading her towards the dais where a young woman sat in regal splendor. Barely dressed men were fanning the lady, making the waterbender blush at the sight of them. The woman was tall, with wavy black hair flowing back from her porcelain face. She had a cold air about her, even though her coloring suggested her family was originally from the Fire Nation. She was dressed in thin embroidered robes of white silk, and her throne was a simple stone bench covered in silken cushions.

She lowered her gaze to the captain, Katara shivering at the purple eyes she saw in her face. "My captain. You have brought me more men?"

He bowed his head, "Yes, Your Majesty. A large ship of firebender soldiers."

"Yet I specifically told you to bring more women to my isle," she said. Her voice was cold and blunt, sending shivers down many spines. "Are you becoming hard of hearing that you cannot follow my orders correctly?"

"No, Your Majesty."

"Than you know that they are of no use to me," she said. She dismissed them with a slight wave of her hand. "Remove them from my sight."

The captain scowled, turning around to face his men. "Push them back."

"What!" Jee shouted. He immediately braced his feet, trying to give himself some resistance to the shoving of the captors. It wasn't working. The men began to frantically try and escape their bonds, Iroh even going so far as to use his teeth to chew the ropes off. He looked over to where Zuko lay, unable to defend himself. "Don't let them touch my boy!" He shouted. The crew set their feet into the ground, fighting for purchase on the slick marble. But nothing worked. The men were creeping toward the edge, some nearly going over.

"Stop it!" Katara screamed, wrenching free of the captain's hold. She ran forward, using her own physical fighting abilities to force the guards away. The Empress's men began to falter, not striking back at the girl no matter what she did. Finally reaching the front of the crew, she stood her ground, arms in a fighting stance. "You will not hurt them," she snapped. "You want to try, you have to go through me first!"

"Halt!" Captain Honda shouted. "Do not touch her." He turned and faced the empress. "I have brought you something you have wanted for a long time, Your Majesty."

She raised an eyebrow, enjoying the show before her. "Oh?"

"The firebender's ship had a woman on board, Empress. This girl," he pointed at Katara, "is a waterbender."

A collective gasp went through the assembled people. An excited gleam came into the Empress's eyes. "A waterbender, you say?" She stood, the other people bowing to keep their heads lower than hers. She walked forward, her gaze intent on the girl.

"Show me your bending," she ordered.

Katara panted nervously, trying to keep her cool and to calm herself enough to bend properly. Focusing the little energies she had left, she pulled water from the air, forming a ball suspended above her palm. She nearly swayed, going dizzy at the effort.

Empress Ziyi's eyes shone with an almost feral light. "What is your name?"

"She is the heir to the throne of the Southern Water Tribe, Empress," Iroh called out. "She is Princess Katara, sister to the ruling Prince Sokka of the House of the Arctic Waves."

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