Chapter 2: Beginning

I left Kyoshi the day I was supposed to have had my initiation. The Mistress wasn't big on wasting time.

Few on the island knew I was leaving, so there wasn't a great big farewell party of any sort. My departure and the information that went along with it was on a strict need-to-know basis. And the only people who needed to know were the Master, the Mistress, Suki, and Sokka.

I would first take a small trading ship from Kyoshi to the nearest big city port which happened to be Menthat, located in what used to be the Earth Kingdom, but was now just another province of the Fire Empire. The trip would take two weeks at the most, and then I'd have to find another ship or join a caravan that was traveling to the capital city, Kotzut. That was where I'd find my target, and join the Fire Army, which was recruiting at this time of year.

That was what the Mistress and I had discussed. I would join the army, but more specifically, a special force in the army, called the Elite Guard.

You will join the Elite Guard. Mistress had said. The Elites answer directly to the Emperor, and are his own private troops. They are known for their absolute loyalty to the Emperor, and it is extremely hard to get accepted. All sorts of tests will be put upon you. A maximum of thirty people are Elites at any time. And as far as we know… no woman has ever tried to get in before. It'll be hard.

I can do it.

Good.

I had almost finished packing when my brother knocked on my door. I would only take a small pack with me, filled with the usual essentials. Nothing that would tie me to Kyoshi Island. Nothing of personal value. Just clothes and a bit of money.

"Come in." I called.

Sokka stepped into the room, and the entire atmosphere changed.

"You don't have to go."

"I'm doing it for you. I'd advise you to keep your mouth shut, and think grateful thoughts." My voice was emotionless. I know Sokka had been in on this plan, and there was nothing he could say that would convince me otherwise. That's why he had not been there the morning of my initiation. He'd been hiding in shame, because he'd known I wouldn't be getting what I wanted.

"You know if there had been any other way, Katara, I would be doing this, not you."

"Then do it! Give up your heir to Master and your engagement to Suki. Take my place, why don't you? Save the island! Save your people!" My bitterness was entirely uncalled for, and I knew I would regret my words later. Still, nothing could stop the storm of words spilling out of my mouth.

"You know I can't go. You know I'm need here."

"And I'm not."

"That's not true, Katara, of course we need you – "

"You need me to assassinate your enemy for you. You need me to save your people for you."

"They're your people too."

"More yours than they'll ever be mine." We both knew that. We both knew Sokka had been the more popular one, the friendlier one, the one everyone could share a joke with. He would be much-loved as a Master, and his marriage to Suki was going to be the highlight of the summer.

I would not be here to attend it.

I was blabbering now. "Do you think they planned this, Sokka?" I stuffed my last shirt into my bag. "Do you think they planned this from the day they found us washed up on the beach?"

"Katara – "

I cut him off, and continued to rant, my vision becoming blurry. "They looked at you on the sand, and said this one will be Master. Then they looked at me and said we'll use this one. We'll use her to save us and we'll make her give up her life in the process. We'll raise her as if we loved her, and then we'll push her away and send her to do our bidding. Do you think that's what they thought, Sokka?"

"That's a horrible thing to say."

"It's the truth."

"The Master and Mistress are not like that."

"How would I know?"

Sokka seemed to fumble with his words. "They're like our parents, Katara."

"They're like your parents." It was an ugly, ugly sentence.

Sokka had nothing to say to that. He didn't deny it. He didn't say a thing, which made it hang in the air between us and echo in our minds. It was just as bad as him admitting it. For awhile, all that could be heard in the room were my words and the sounds of cloth shifting as I tightened the strap on my pack.

"So… so you're going?"

What was he, retarded? Didn't my actions speak loud enough for him? "You already know that answer to that." I spat out.

I shifted the pack so one strap caught my shoulder and I heaved it onto my back. It wasn't heavy, just unusual.

I took a moment, with Sokka standing in the doorway, to look around my room, now bare of anything important. I'd lived here for seventeen years, and now I was leaving. I breathed in deep, trying to lock the smells and sights in my mind. Dust swirled in the sunlit air before me, and everything smelled of pine trees.

Refusing to meet my brother's eyes, I hefted the bag more securely over my shoulder and walked towards the doorway. His body filled up three-fourths of it, and if I didn't do something, I would touch him as I brushed by.

I turned my body sideways at the last second, so I slid past with just a finger's width of space between us.

That space was a lifetime of empty air between us, devoid of touch.

He did not reach out to touch me.

I left that house, and didn't turn back to see if my brother watched me go.

I wouldn't see him again for a long, long time. Longer than I would have ever expected.

And that was the ending of the first part of my life. It wasn't the ending I would have chosen, but who says anybody gets to make decisions on the things that actually matter to them?

Katara stepped off the shaky wooden dock in the harbor of Kotzut, and walked with a purposeful air towards the main street. Around her were the shouts of men directing work on the docks, and merchants checking off lists of produce, and the usual bands of sailors swaggering around on deck. The salty smell of seawater permeated the atmosphere, and the bright blue sky overhead spoke of summer.

It took an immense force of will for her to step into the crowds that swirled around on the streets and alleyways of the city. She had never seen this many people together in one place in her entire life. The festivals on Kyoshi were miniscule compared to this. Hundreds of stores lined the streets on either side, sellers yelling their wares and haggling with buyers. Houses towered and swelled against the people battering against them like water against rocks. The sheer number of buildings was overwhelming. Most were built with wood, in the old Fire Empire style. The more ornate ones obviously belonged to the wealthy. There were several low, earth-built huts in the smaller alleys. Those probably belonged to the lower-class Earth benders who were all but slaves to their conquerors.

And the people. All sizes and shapes and colors, dressed in thousands of different styles. Shouting and crying and laughing and talking among each other. It made Katara's head swirl just trying to focus one the people. Kyoshi had truly protected her from the real world. That tiny island was a mere dot compared to what the Fire Empire encompassed.

Pulling her mind back to her objective, Katara quickly noticed all the papers nailed to shop posts and public buildings. She ducked in close to a clothing shop in order to read one in more detail. It was the usual recruitment poster, telling anybody between the ages of 18 and 35 that the army would accept anybody, anybody at all. Even if you didn't have an education, or money, or much prestige. Even if you'd never picked up a sword in your life. Training would be provided. Report to the West Army Barracks just outside Kotzut.

"Hey girlie. You! Miss! What you be reading army posters for, eh?" The old, weather-beaten farmer in the vegetable stall next to Katara spoke up, glaring at her suspiciously. "Young girl like you, joining the army? Where's your escort? Shouldn't be out here all alone by yourself."

Katara gaped at him in surprise for a second before recovering. "Oh I'm just – I'm just waiting for my maid to finish – I'm reading this because my brother – my brother is interested – "

Realizing she was making an utter fool of herself, Katara quickly pivoted and dashed into the crowd on the streets again. Behind her, the tomato merchant merely shrugged and pushed the strange girl from his mind.

That had been a close call. Katara had forgotten the information Mistress had told her before she'd left.

Usually women in the Fire Empire lead very sheltered lives. They aren't expected to do anything beyond grow up, get married, and have children. A few have been known to join the Army, but its not a popular option for them. Its not unheard of, but not normal either. Its quite the sexist world.

Delaying in the city, no matter how interesting it was, would only increase her chances of getting noticed and remembered. She couldn't be drawing attention to herself. Unfortunately, the mere act of her walking around outside, alone, was attracting attention.

Walking as fast as possible, Katara reached the West Gate in the great wall that surrounded the city. She joined in with a crowd that seemed like a family going on an outing. The guards at the gate looked bored and merely waved the whole group forward, Katara included.

Under the harsh light of the sun, the enormous army complex located just outside the city loomed up in her vision. Long wooden buildings were arranged in formation around a central courtyard. There was a table set up outside the very first building, with a line of young men that snaked down that path. Obviously hopeful recruits.

Before she left, she and the Mistress had already discussed her plan.

She was to reach the Army barracks by the afternoon. The Mistress and her had discussed her options of getting close to the Emperor. They'd finally decided that joining the Elites was the best plan. The Emperor trusted his private soldiers wholly, and Katara would have ample opportunities to gather information and send it back to Kyoshi. That was her other objective. To find out army movements and supply routes and send all this intelligence back to Kyoshi, by way of several messengers who would be already planted in the city.

Her last objective, and most important one, would be to kill Emperor Zuko.

How would that solve anything? Killing him won't be defeating the entire Empire. I'm sure he has some other family member who will take over when he's dead.

As of now, the Emperor is unmarried and has no heir. He is the last surviving member of the ancient Fire royal line. You must kill him before he has children. If he has a child, whether illegitimate or not, that will turn into two targets for you to kill, further complicating the mission. Kill him, and the entire nation will be in an uproar as to who is next in line for the throne. It will completely crush their morale.

Alright.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Katara joined the end of the line. The boy in front of her turned and smiled. He looked like he was only a few years older than her.

"Hey. Decided to try your luck in the Army?"

Don't speak unless you are spoken to. Don't attract attention. "Yeah." She answered, noncommittally.

"What division are you going into?"

She was momentarily startled. "What?"

"What division? Like, just the regular Ground troops? Are you joining the Navy? Or are you signing up for Medical, like an Army doctor?"

Katara recollected her thoughts. "Oh. I'm trying for the Elites."

His mouth dropped open, and then he seemed to think that she was making a joke. "That's a good one!"

She raised one eyebrow. "Fine. Nothing I can do to make you believe me."

He seemed to draw back warily. "You were serious?"

"Yeah."

"Wow." He shook his head slowly. "Wow. You're looking to join up with the Elites? They're crazy, you know. All of them. It's the toughest division to get into. You gotta be something really special to get in."

Katara took this opportunity to find out more about how she would actually be getting into the Elites. "Like what? Do they give you some kind of intelligence test?"

He gaped at her again. "You mean, you've never heard of the gauntlet?"

"The gauntlet?"

Now he looked suspicious. "Are you from around here? Like, from Kotzut?"

This was where her planned lie came in. "Nope. I come from a village just south of Yeriv. My family farms there. Didn't want to spend the rest of my own life picking up cow manure, so I decided to try the city."

He gave her another easy-going grin. "Yeah? That would explain it. Well then I take it upon myself to educate you, miss, on the wonders of the real world. My name's Hiro, by the way." He held out one hand to her.

It took her a split-second to examine him in her mind. Hiro was only a bit taller than her, dark brown hair, the usual amber eyes of the Fire Nation, and tanned from the sun. His intentions seemed wholly honest. And she could ditch him anytime he began to do something suspicious. She took his hand. "I'm Katara."

He shook it before letting go. "What made you decide to join the Army?"

She made a relaxed shrug. "Something to do."

He laughed, slapping his thigh. "You decide to join the Elites for something to do? You decided to run the gauntlet for something to do? There's a bunch of other jobs in the city for a girl your age."

"You mean like a whorehouse?"

Hiro put out his hands placatingly. "That's not what I meant, Katara."

"Good. Because that's not what I'm here for."

"I mean just… alright. You're dead set on the Elites, I know." Hiro hooked his hands in his belt. "Wow."

"Wow what?" Katara hadn't decided yet if this boy annoyed her or amused her.

"Well… I was originally going to join the Navy. But the idea of living on a row boat for three straight months sailing over nothing but water doesn't exactly appeal to me anymore." He gave her another long look. "I'm going to try for Elites too."

Katara almost slapped herself in anger. Great. She'd just made more competition for herself. Outwardly, she just shrugged again. "If you want to, I won't stop you."

Hiro laughed again, and Katara permitted herself a small smile. Another hour passed under the hot, scorching sun while the line moved slowly up towards the front of the barracks. More people joined the line behind Katara, and Hiro kept up a friendly chatter that was merely entertaining. When he asked about her background, it gave her a chance to practice her pretend life.

"My parents raised me on a farm, like I said. And my brother's going to inherit the whole thing when my dad passes away, so there's really nothing for me there."

"Yeah? I was born and raised in Kotzut. My family's been merchants forever. Spice trade." Hiro said easily.

A light tap on her shoulder made Katara spin around from her conversation with Hiro. It turned out to be a scared-looking boy who didn't look any older than fifteen. He looked a little surprised to find out she was a girl, but spoke up.

"Excuse me… would you mind telling me if… if this is the line for army recruitment?" His nervous eyes refused to meet hers.

Before Katara could reassure him it was, Hiro stepped up behind her.

"No, it's the line for the toilet." He said, with a perfectly straight face.

The boy behind Katara flushed red and was about to leave when Hiro laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "I was just joking, kid! Yeah, this is the line for recruitment."

The boy let out a huge sigh of relief.

"What's your name? You look a little young to be joining the Army." Hiro asked, peering over Katara's shoulder at the shorter boy.

"My – my name is Kaz, and I just turned eighteen. I'm going into Medical."

"Oh, a doctor, eh? We'll be seeing a lot of you, then, Kaz. Me and the Kat – " Hiro pointed at Katara. " – We're joining up with the Elites."

The Kat? Katara thought silently to herself. I've talked with him for only an hour and he's already given me a nickname? She wasn't sure how to take it, and said nothing. In less than a minute, Hiro had already engaged Kaz in conversation, and had the younger boy telling Hiro why he was here and why he was interested in becoming a doctor.

Katara already had him classified. Hiro was the one everybody loved, the life of the party, the popular leader. He had a charm about him that was irresistible, and you couldn't help but feel that you could trust him with your deepest, darkest secrets. She wouldn't make that mistake, she assured herself. Hiro was friendly and nice and had already given her a nickname, but she didn't truly know him yet.

Another half hour passed, with the three of them sticking together as the line moved forward slowly. They were eventually joined by another dark-haired youth named Oran, who was quiet and didn't speak up much. Hiro soon found out that Oran was interested in joining the Elites. Katara hadn't expected so much competition for the special force.

"It's because a whole patrol was wiped out a month ago." Hiro said, becoming serious. "There's only six patrols in the whole Elite, so they gotta replace them fast. They're going to have to train the newcomers too, and that will take time."

"Wiped out? How?" Katara asked. This could prove vital.

"By those damn Kyoshi rebs. I heard it was an ambush." Hiro said, scowling at the mere thought of rebels. "It was a huge loss. Five of the best, gone in one swoop."

Katara kept her mouth closed on the subject of Kyoshi rebels.

It was Hiro's turn to talk to the officer sitting at the desk in front of the barracks. "Wish me luck!"

He stepped up, and left Katara, Kaz, and Oran waiting for their turn.

Katara couldn't see or hear what was exchanged between the recruitment officer and Hiro. Whatever it was, it must have gone well, because Hiro was taken into the building and through a door. He turned back and winked at them before disappearing.

"Next." The officer called.

Katara stepped up, rehearsing her lines in her head. If she screwed up now, this whole mission would be ruined. She had to get in. She had to convince the officer that she wasn't suspicious.

"Name?" The officer asked, in a bored voice.

"Katara."

The officer glanced up at her again, as if he hadn't seen her right the first time. He seemed to take in the fact that she was a girl with a mere widening of the eyes and then looked down at his paper again.

"Age?"

"Eighteen." It was the minimum required age, and Katara wasn't even absolutely positive that she was seventeen. She could be younger or older.

"Birthplace?"

"Yeriv."

"Father's profession?"

"Farming." It was expected. Most people in the Yeriv area were either farmers or raiders who preyed on the farmers.

"Division joining?"

"The Elite Guard."

He gave her a second glance, as if to make sure she was for real. He didn't say a word, but waved her to the second officer standing behind him.

She was lead into the building and through the same door Hiro had been lead through. It was a simple antechamber, half-full with about a dozen people. She caught sight of Hiro sitting in one corner, and walked over to join him. Less than five minutes later, Oran joined them.

"Next up, the interview!" Hiro crowed almost joyfully. "We'll have to go to the next room where we get a more in-depth talk to decide whether or not we get to move on."

"An interview?" Katara asked.

"Yeah. Those who don't make it past that have to leave and can try joining another division." Hiro said confidently, leaning back in his chair.

No sooner than he'd said this, a loud crash of a door being slammed came from the door that lead into the interview room. They caught sight of an angry young man storming through the room and out the other door, probably to get back in line again in order to join a lower-standard division.

"He obviously didn't pass." Hiro said, smirking a bit.

"What – what kind of interview is it?" Katara asked, a bit perturbed now.

"No idea." Hiro said cheerfully.

They sat in silence, and then Hiro's name was called. He left Oran and Katara, giving them another wink before walking through the door to the interview room.

Katara's hands grew sweaty, and she couldn't help the nervousness that swept through her. Hiro did not come back out, which mean that he'd passed. Her name was called by another officer, and she rose to walk through the door.

She held her breath, but all that was inside was a wooden desk with a man sitting behind it.

"Sit down." He said, pointing to the chair in front of Katara. His voice was the voice of authority.

She sat obediently, and stared across the table at him. The first thing she noticed about him was the scar that covered half his face, and the smoldering yellow eyes that pinned her to her chair. Katara had no idea who this was – probably a higher officer in charge of newcomers who wanted to join the Elites.

"Why do you want to join the Elites?" He asked, in a curt voice that told her he wasn't interested in wasting time.

"Because – because I want to be a part of the best division." Katara said, trying to keep from stammering. "I don't want anything less."

He seemed to take her words at face value, then continued on with his interrogation.

"What makes you think you'll get in?"

"What makes you think I won't?" She said, before she could stop herself. Oh shit. Only the second question, and she'd probably already offended him. Damn. If she didn't get into the Elite guard, it was all over. She would have failed the Mistress and her brother and all the residents of Kyoshi.

His eyes widened slightly, and he didn't seem to be very offended. In fact, Katara felt that he began to take her more seriously, as if she had caught his interest. Again, he took her words at face value and answered them. "Number one. Because you are a woman and no woman has ever been admitted to the Elite Guard."

"Has a woman ever tried?" She countered again.

"… No." He was forced to admit. Inside, Katara did a little victory dance.

The man seemed oddly satisfied with what she had said so far. "Have you had any previous weapons training?"

Katara and the Mistress had discussed this as well. "A little bit that my brother taught me."

"Do you know how to use a sword?"

"Moderately well." She answered. It was the truth, at least compared to Suki and the other warriors on Kyoshi.

"Anything else you've had training in?"

"A bit of archery."

Standing up so abruptly that Katara leaned back warily in her chair, the man pointed to the door behind him. "You're done. Wait in there."

Katara grabbed her bag which she'd set on the floor next to her chair, and scurried through the door behind the scarred man. That hadn't gone so bad, really.

The next room was just as bare as the first. Katara had expected to see the rest of the Elite hopefuls to be crowding the room, including Hiro. But the only people inside were two men dressed all in black. Black shirts, black pants, black boots, black armor, black sword sheaths. They leaned against the wall, next to the second open doorway. They stopped their conversation as soon as Katara came in and shut the door behind her.

"Hey Ensei. Another newcomer what thinks they up to our level." The first black-hair man nudged his partner. Ensei had brown hair so light it bordered on gold.

"Fresh meat to torture." Ensei replied. They laughed together.

Katara didn't say anything, just sat down in the one available chair in the room. Obviously this was some sort of ritual that the Elites did to newcomers. Hazing on the new recruits. It was to be expected. New initiates back on Kyoshi went through this same sort of joking and ribbing as well. It was a tradition, for the experienced soldiers to pick on the new ones.

"It's a girl this time!" The first dark-haired man exclaimed in shock, upon closer inspection.

Ensei's eyes narrowed and they both stepped closer to circle around Katara. "A rarity. Hm." He flicked a piece of her long ponytail with one finger.

She flinched away, glaring at him. He laughed, and stepped back, along with his partner.

"Interesting… very interesting, San." The golden-haired man laughed again. "I don't think I've ever seen this kind of meat before."

San gave Katara a leer. "I like variety."

She ignored their hazing. They had to get bored some time. They probably did this to every single recruit who came through. She wondered, inwardly, how Hiro had dealt with it. He had probably just joked back with the friendly, witty comments he always seemed to have on the tip of his tongue. Katara, on the other hand, was much too nervous to think of any sort of comeback.

"Are you part of the Elite Guard?" She asked, summoning up the courage to speak.

They gave each other a look.

"Well, I dunno. Are you an Elite, Ensei?" San asked, putting on a mock stupid voice.

Ensei shoved him gently on the shoulder and San fell back, laughing.

"Girlie, you're looking at Lieutenant Ensei and Corporal San of the Elite Guard. I'm leader of First Patrol, and the Corporal here is part of Fourth."

"You may now bow down and kiss our boots, missy." said San.

She ignored them both. "What am I waiting for?"

"What is she waiting for, she asks!" San said, in another mock indignant voice. "What is she waiting for?"

"The gauntlet, missy, the gauntlet is what you're looking forward to." Ensei raised one light eyebrow at her.

"The gauntlet?" Katara cursed herself for not having asked Hiro to explain it earlier when it had been mentioned.

"Yep. The gauntlet. Your last and final test before you're tossed out on your ass, limping back to join the sissy Navy or pathetic Ground troops." Ensei said smoothly.

"And what if I make it through?" She said boldly.

"She thinks she'll make it through!" San exclaimed again, in another mock voice.

"The men who make it through, missy," Ensei continued, "Get to spend the rest of their extremely short lives with the likes of us." He spread his arms to encompass himself and Corporal San.

Katara kept her mouth shut. There was nothing more she could possibly say that would change their chauvinistic minds. She'd have to prove herself, really prove herself this time.

Then they'd see what she was made of.

A/N: Second chapter. I'm churning these out pretty fast… like I did at the beginning of THATP. Inspiration has gripped me and will not let go. Kind of slow-moving at first… but don't worry, the exciting stuff is coming up.

What happened to Hunter and Prey? – several reviewers
It's on hiatus. Writer's block. I'm going to do this until it all clears up. It's going to be finished… it just might take awhile.

Are these people reincarnated? –several reviewers
Yup. Glad you were smart enough to pick that out. I'm going with the reincarnation idea. But even so, they grew up as different people, so the might be different from the way they are portrayed in the show, so they might turn OOC. Can't help it… that's what happens when you go with an AU fic.

Eh, and sorry to seem a bit picky, but I thought I might point out an error or two --Falke-ness
No problem. Thanks for the tips… the fat instead of foot thing was pretty funny. XD Can't believe I didn't catch that!