Didn't See That Coming

by Rebirth of the Phoenix

Hey. I know, I know, I haven't updated for a while but everything seems to be piling up on me. Don't worry I will complete this story. I just want to thank all that have reviewed over the course of the story. It is much appreciated!

On with the story then!

Review!

Disclaimer - Avatar is much too brilliant to be my creation!

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Sokka walked silently next to Aang. General Iroh was taking them back to the village so they could wait for Katara.

Aang had been wary about trusting in Zuko's men but Iroh had giving his word that Aang would not be harmed in any way.

With that assurance the two boys had agreed to accompany Iroh and some Fire Nation soldiers to wait for Zuko and Katara to emerge from the forest.

Sokka sighed inwardly as the group emerged in the town square. He could see the moonlight reflected on the leaves of the forest that held his sister. It looked so innocent and normal, but apparently there was a living nightmare contained within.

The group marched closer to the edge of the forest. The streets were deserted and silent; perhaps news of the two teens trapped in the forest had reached the villagers' ears?

They trekked up the earthen path and stopped a few yards from the trees. Sokka would have gladly carried on but Iroh had already told the boys they would not be any help to Katara if they too fell prey to the demon, Kaen.

So they waited. They sat on the cold, hard earth and just waited. All eyes fixed on the deserted trees, praying silently for the safe return of the two teenagers.

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"Well my little lovebirds, you have made good progress, I'll give you that. Only three more stones to step across." Kaen said jadedly, imperiously observing her prey.

She waved a emaciated hand languidly and the fifth stone glowed with the word 'Failure'.

"Now you have a nice little exploration of failing to look forward to." When the teens didn't move she grinned wickedly. "Don't be shy, step up! Or perhaps you are fed up and would like me to kill you now?"

She smirked inwardly as the two mortals in front of her glared and stepped into the next challenge.

'Oh things are going to get so much more interesting.'

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Zuko and Katara had noticed a change in Kaen.

After her furious outburst she had adopted a new approach to them. She seemed cocky, almost content. It was unnerving.

They both knew they were getting close to end; Kaen had let her mask slip on occasions and they had seen the desperation underneath. She had never expected anyone to get this far and it was vexing her.

They also knew that Kaen would start to pull out all the stops and things were going to be a lot more tricky.

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Kaen watched as the pair disappeared from the stone and she smirked malevolently.

"Let us see how those thorns in my side handle themselves this time. I never expected them to get this far but no matter. They won't last for much longer, I'll make sure of that."

She threw her head back and stared at the patches of twilight sky that filtered through the foliage.

"It is a pity they took the daylight for granted. For they will never see it again."

Kaen could sense something at the edge of the forest. Bringing her head down she closed her eyes and focused.

There seemed to be several people waiting at the edge of the forest. Most of them were of Fire Nation lineage and of these one shared the same bloodline as Zuko. Moving across the group she felt the presence of two younger boys. One was Water Tribe, closely related to the girl, Katara. The other…

She snapped her eyes open. The other was an air bender, but he was more than that. Se could tell from his spirit he held immense power and his soul harboured parts of all four elements.

The Avatar.

Kaen narrowed her eyes and laughed mirthlessly. So there was a rescue party here of her current conquests?

It would be her pleasure to lure those fools to her next… and the Avatar. He would be an especially sweet victory.

She could not entrap them yet though. She would have to finish up with Zuko and Katara first.

Kaen settled herself in the lotus position to wait for the outcome of the current ordeal her prey were enduring, her body resting a few inches from the floor.

She sneered. She hadn't had this much fun in centuries.

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Katara was on a rocky crevice over looking a strange place. She had never been here before; she was looking over a wide, flat plain. Below her and to her right were lines and lines of red clad soldiers. To her left were blocks of people dressed in various shades of brown, green and blue. They were facing each other in silence, everything was still and she could feel the tension hanging thickly in the air.

She glanced behind and saw a magnificent sight. A great city sprawled for miles the red tiled roofs looking tiny from this distance. In the centre was a tall and impressive building, the gold coloured stone reflecting brightly in the setting sun. although a fraction of its normal size from this far away, Katara still felt the significance of such a place.

She was in the Fire Nation.

She realised she still held her memories and wondered fleetingly what horrors Ken had cooked up. There was no sign of Zuko either.

Turning back to the assembled troops she beheld the sun sinking below the horizon and thy sky turning rapidly to a dusky pink.

She stared over the men all waiting to begin a battle. She could feel the sheer enormity of this battle, something great hung in the balance.

Katara watched with increasing sadness as the men stood with their heads bowed, no doubt praying to their gods for protection. She saw that the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe troops were out numbered greatly by the Fire Nation troops.

A gust of wind startled Katara. Looking up she glimpsed a red glider travel over her and dip towards the Earth and Water troops. Coming to land at the forefront of the group Aang snapped his glider shut and faced the Fire Nation soldiers.

The lines of Fire troops parted as one and from their midst a tall figure emerged.

Fire Lord Ozai.

Even from a distance Katara felt the power the man commanded and his hard voice carried to her on a gentle breeze.

"You are too late Avatar. This is my moment of glory! The Fire Nation will finally end this war and rule all!"

Aang stepped forward bravely. "It is never too late Ozai! You will not win this battle, good will prevail!"

Ozai laughed cruelly. "That, you foolish child, is a phrase best saved for fairy tales. Welcome to the beginning of the end."

It began.

The Firebenders launched the first attack; lithe streams of fire snaking across the indigo sky. The Earthbenders positioned at the front of the group raised a wall of rock to deflect the blow.

Katara stared aghast as the battle picked up momentum. She realised that there were non-benders mixed in the benders and the battle started to come into close contact.

The nations mixed in as one swelling group. Weapons and elements clashing. People falling. Screams rising. Blood flowing.

In the middle of all this chaos Aang stood facing Ozai. The Fire Lord was extremely powerful and Aang was forced to go on the defensive straight away.

Katara looked around to see if anyone else was on the outcrop with her, but she was alone. She had no idea how she was supposed to get out of this fear but she had a feeling she was supposed to help.

She began to scramble down the rocks towards the battlefield. Slipping a few times she wondered how this fear related to her failing. Her immediate thought was that this was the final battle that Aang was supposed to face Ozai in.

It would make sense, after all she had never heard of a battle of such magnitude taking place during the war.

Her feet finally touched the beaten battlefield and she immediately had to jump aside as a blast of fire flew at her. Tumbling to the floor as she dodged another blast she began thinking that running onto the battlefield wasn't the best idea.

Rolling to avoid a kick aimed at her face Katara desperately wished she had her water skin.

Hearing a grunt behind her Katara turned to see the Firebender that had been attacking her was unconscious on the ground. Standing over him was her brother.

"Sokka!" Katara jumped up and threw her arms around Sokka. She knew this wasn't really him but it was just so good to be able to see his likeness.

Sokka held out a water pouch to Katara. "Here, now go, Aang needs some support."

She nodded and took the pouch from Sokka before plunging further into the battle.

Elbowing her way through the clashing bodies she focused her mind on reaching Aang. In all the other fears , to break the spell she had to either fight back or realise nothing was real. Unfortunately neither of those solutions were working and she was stumped.

She would have preferred to find Zuko. It was always comforting to have him there to protect and help her. She shook her head and focused once more. If she wasn't careful she was going to get killed in her own mind; and that wasn't how she had planned to pass out of this world.

Aiming a well placed water whip at a Fire Nation soldier that wielded a rather large sword she proceeded.

Picking up speed she weaved in and out of the crowd, occasionally ducking or jumping over attacks. It was during one of her brief spells in mid-jump when something caught her around the ankle. She was brought to the ground hard and could taste blood in her mouth.

Looking back for what had snared her she felt her heart break. A young Earth Kingdom warrior was lying on the floor, desperately clinging to Katara's leg.

Katara shuffled closer to him, trying to avoid the people surging around her. The boy let go of her leg when he realised she wasn't going anywhere.

Looking more closely at him, Katara saw that he was only around her age, perhaps a little older. His face was dirty and bloodied and he was clutching his side tightly with one hand. Katara could see blood seeping through his fingers and the boy started shaking.

"Please… help me."

She stared at the boy sadly and made to uncork her water pouch.

The boy shook his head and gripped her wrist. "No… I mean… I don't want to… see any more death… please help me… pass on."

Katara felt the tears sting at her eyes and placed a hand on the boys forehead. Stroking his hair comfortingly she saw his eyes close and a small smile creep over his face. With a shuddering gasp his body slackened and his ragged breathing stopped.

Katara straightened up and tried to hold back the onslaught of tears that pushed at her eyes.

'It's not real… it's not real…'

Katara repeated this mantra over and over while she pushed through the battling men. The closer she got to the centre of the battle the more bodies scattered the floor. Katara deliberately kept her eyes off these bodies in case she saw the body of someone she knew.

Finally after many near misses and much pushing Aang and Ozai came into view. The young monk was having a hard time against the Fire Lord. Ozai was ruthless. Aiming to kill rather than just stop like Aang.

Katara tried getting closer to her friend but then something very strange happened.

The sun came up.

'No that isn't right. The sun only set less than an hour ago.'

Looking around Katara noticed the battle had stopped. Many people, like her, were looking around in confusion. Perhaps they were looking for the source of the light… or perhaps they had noticed every single Firebender had stopped in their tracks.

Katara looked up at the sky and her heart froze.

Streaking across the sky was a fiery orb.

Souzen's Comet.

Now Katara understood. Ever since Aang had told her and Sokka about the comet she had been afraid. Afraid of what would happen if they failed to stop Ozai in time and he took total control to end the war.

Even though Katara realised that if Ozai drew the power from the comet in her fear, it wouldn't end the war in the real world… but it would destroy her in this world.

Katara knew she couldn't stop the comet's path across the sky but maybe she could find help for Aang before the Firebenders drew immense strength from the comet. She suddenly realised how pathetic that sounded and she knew she needed help to figure this one out… Zuko.

She turned on her heel and pushed through the battlefield again. This time going back towards the Fire Nation Capital. She had not seen Zuko at all on the battlefield. She couldn't even be sure he was in this fear with her.

As she moved through the still bodies Katara called out Zuko's name. she was hoping beyond hope he was still alive and that she could find him.

Reaching the rocky outcrop she had stood on before, Katara began to scale it. Heaving herself to the top she turned back around and gazed down on the bloody battlefield.

There was only a small portion of people still fighting; the Fire Nation soldiers that couldn't bend pursued hand to hand combat with the Earth and Water troops. The Firebenders were still paralysed by the comet's power. Their eyes were closed and their bodies were convulsing.

Then suddenly, a terrible sight reached Katara's eyes. From the middle of the battlefield where Aang and Ozai stood, a towering inferno rose up around the Fire Lord.

It rose higher and higher, twisting and undulating. When it reached it's zenith it came crashing down, sending a ripple of heat straight across the field.

In the centre of this stood Ozai; his shoulders hunched over and his chest heaving with laboured breaths.

Then his shoulders straightened and he flung his head back. With a horrifying roar a great wave of fire erupted from his mouth and smoke covered the battlefield.

Katara took one last fleeting look at the chilling sight before turning and running toward the Fire Nation Capital. She had no assurance that Zuko was there but something was pulling her onwards.

She had to find Zuko, she just had to. Before it was too late.

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I am quite pleased with how this turned out. I have the next chapter worked out in my head so expect that soon.

Hope you liked it.

Please review!