Didn't See That Coming
by Rebirth of the Phoenix
Well we get to the part you've all been waiting for (and that includes myself). I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: Be glad I don't own Avatar.
Kaen's face was a picture of twisted joy and anticipation. Katara and Zuko could feel the blood lust pouring from her. When the teens didn't move the demon grew impatient.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Are you going to deny me the pleasure of destroying you?"
Zuko glared coldly at Kaen before switching his gaze to Katara. She was covered in scratches and bruises, and Zuko was aware her ankle was still injured. He himself felt the effects of fatigue piling on and he had an array minor injuries too. "I am surprised how much of a weakling you are Kaen."
Both Katara and Kaen shot Zuko surprised looks. Kaen's expression quickly changed to one of anger. "You dare call me a weakling?"
Katara kicked Zuko's foot lightly in a warning but Zuko carried on. "Yes, you get to fight us as soon as we step across this stone. The problem is we have been fighting other things all night while you have hardly lifted a finger. Plus we are both injured, while you stand there without a scratch. Can you not beat a pair of mortals without wearing them out first?"
Kaen glowered at the prince for a moment before raising a hand. For a heart stopping moment, Zuko thought Kaen was going to strike him down then and there. However, the demon waved her hand and Zuko felt his injuries healing over and his strength returning, next to him Katara's energy returned and her ankle healed.
Kaen huffed impatiently. "There. Just be glad that I hold great powers in this forest, otherwise you would have had to battle me in a weaker state than you are usually."
Katara grinned when she caught onto Zuko's plan. "That's another thing. You have these 'great powers', I mean you could destroy us as soon as we step onto the stone and be done with it. We would never know whether your victory was because of your skill or because you have the powers of a demon, it would be an easy conquest wouldn't it?"
"And," Zuko hastened to add. "Katara hasn't got a good supply of water, if you keep her element away from her then she is vulnerable and you are no more than a cheater. It would be like striking someone while their back is turned."
Kaen looked ready to explode, it took all her self control not to kill the teens where they stood. Taking a deep breath she pointed imperiously at the seventh stone. "Step forward."
"But -"
Zuko's sentence was cut short by the wraith. "Enough! Step into the next fear before I strike you where you stand!"
Zuko grabbed Katara's hand and looked down at her. "One way or another…"
"It's over." Katara finished his sentence and Zuko nodded.
Finally, their hands linked and their hearts racing, they took that final step.
"Aang, I don't understand. What happened in there?"
Sokka's hair was falling out of its 'wolf'tail' and was standing on end due to the countless times he had pulled on it in frustration.
Aang was stood close to the forest oblivious to the noise of the camp around him. When the Avatar had rejoined the physical world and briefly told the people surrounding him about the demon, there had been uproar. Everyone was extremely nervous now that they knew for sure there was a demon in the forest and when Aang had said that he didn't see Katara or Zuko anywhere, the camp's morale had certainly been dented.
Aang turned to Sokka. "I saw things differently than I normally do, it was like I could see the spirits inside things. I got to a part in the forest and I could tell it was full of evil, there was black running everywhere and in the middle…"
"Was the demon, Kaen."
Sokka and Aang looked around at Iroh who had come over to join them. The young monk nodded and continued.
"But I couldn't see Katara or Zuko anywhere and there was no sign of their spirits."
Sokka closed his eyes and scowled but Iroh appeared unperturbed.
"Young Aang, I do believe you mentioned something about a ring of spirits?"
Sokka opened his eyes and fixed them on Aang.
"Yes, the island in the forest where I saw the demon, it has a trench running around it and it was filled with spirits. It was like they couldn't escape from there. They were so sad…"
Iroh nodded solemnly. "Could you sense each spirit separately?"
Aang nodded. "It was like they were all reaching out to me, they wanted help."
"But none who called out to you were Zuko or Katara?" Aang shook his head and the Dragon of the West continued. "Then I believe there is still hope for Katara and Zuko yet. I am guessing that the spirits trapped in the forest are Kaen's victims from long ago, they must be bound to the place like Kaen is. As soon as the demon is destroyed then I think the spirit will be able to find peace. The fact that you couldn't sense Zuko or Katara probably means Kaen was keeping you from seeing their spirits or they were in a different place in a fear of some sort."
Aang nodded and looked back into the trees. "I just wish there was something I could do."
Iroh and Sokka came to stand on either side of the Avatar. "I know young Aang, but it is all down to Zuko and Katara now."
Sokka smiled thinly down at Aang. "And we know that Katara is going to do it for the Water Tribe." He cast a quick glance at Iroh before looking back into the trees. "And Zuko isn't too terrible of a fighter."
Nobody said anything, but the distance between enemy nations closed ever so slightly.
When the world rebuilt itself around Katara she thought something had gone wrong; the three of them were still on the island. A split second later, however, she knew she was as far from the real world as it was possible to be.
They were indeed standing on the island, but they were no longer in the forest. The trees were gone and they were surrounded by an inky blackness. The island was surrounded by something Katara never thought she would see. A stream of spirits drifted uniformly around them; they were deep blue in colour their eyes blank and staring. From their mouths came the most heart-wrenching wailing Katara had ever heard. Katara looked at Zuko and saw that he looked just as stunned as she felt.
In front of them stood Kaen. Both teens were surprised to see her feet were actually on the floor and her hair and robes were no longer floating around her. The tattered hem of the black robe exposed Kaen's feet and Katara saw that the demon wore no shoes. Her ankles and heels were wrapped with black strips of cloth.
Kaen pulled something from between the dirty folds and threw it at Katara. The Waterbender caught it in surprise and was shocked, yet relieved, to find it was her water-skin. She could tell it was full due to the weight of it. Katara looked back at the demon in confusion.
Kaen pulled out another water-skin and held it up. "I do believe that two pouches of water should be enough to last you in this fear. Now I can kill you and know that it was achieved by my own skill." She threw the water-skin to the side and it lay to rest at the edge of the island.
Zuko smirked inwardly. He knew that if a little doubt was thrown on Kaen's abilities, then the demon would unwittingly strive to prove herself.
Zuko cut his musings short when the demon continued. "I am also going to give up the powers that I hold as a demon, so I hope that will stop your whining. In this realm I am no more than a mortal."
Zuko narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "How are you going to fight then?"
"Didn't you know that I was Earthbender before I died?" Zuko and Katara stared at her blankly. "No of course you didn't, you know nothing about my life. The truth would show you how lucky you will be when I cut your miserable lives short."
The wailing of the spirits around them increased in volume and Zuko winced. "What about them?" He stared pointedly at the ghostly crowd circling them."
Kaen grinned wickedly. "They are nothing to worry about. They are just mortals who I have destroyed in the past and these are their souls. They are bound to this place as I am. This is actually where I spend all of eternity, apart from when I enter the mortal realm to entrap my victims of course."
Katara looked at the spirits in pity and they all seemed to hold their arms out to her, begging her for help, she saw there were children calling to her too. Katara found herself being drawn towards them until a hand caught her arm. She snapped out of her daze and saw Zuko holding her back stopping her from moving.
Kaen looked rather amused. "I see they are already calling out to you Katara. Not that I'd care, but I would stay away from them. Most of them are so pathetic, they can't do any harm, but some have been here for centuries and aren't very happy."
Katara frowned and shifted closer to Zuko. She recognised the hungry look in Kaen's eyes and knew that the demon would not wait much longer to start the battle.
Zuko released his grip on Katara's arm when she moved closer to him. He was getting the familiar rush of adrenaline and the tension was building up in his body. His body was getting ready for battle. Throughout his childhood he had practiced Firebending to prove himself to his father, but no matter how hard he had tried, Azula would always outdo him. Zuko remembered how he had then taken up broadswords in an effort to escape Azula's shadow; his reflexes and reactions had sharpened considerably; although he preferred to keep his talents to himself. Zuko only hoped that his hard work would be enough.
Kaen's strange eyes flashed for a moment before she started circling the outskirts of the island. Katara and Zuko also began circling, maintaining the distance between themselves and the demon. Katara opened her water-skin and let her hand hover above the opening, while a stream of fire began flowing around the fingers on Zuko's right hand.
With a fluid motion, Kaen's left foot slid forward across the ground and the earth rippled towards the teens.
Katara had experience with the motion the ground made, it was very similar to waves on water and a quick leap allowed her to keep her balance. Zuko, too had strong sea legs but the roiling terra still managed to push him backwards to the edge of the island. Katara chanced a quick glance to see whether Zuko was alright before focusing her attention on Kaen. Without missing a beat Katara flung a stream of water at the demon; however, a quick flick of Kaen's wrist brought the earth up to absorb Katara's attack.
From the edge of the island, Zuko regained his balance and snapped his eyes back to the centre of the island. He saw Katara's water whip fade into nothing and cringed. How in the name if Agni were they going to defeat Kaen? Keeping his eyes on the wraith, he returned to the fray.
Kaen deftly dodged a blast of fire from Zuko. She could practically smell the desperation coming off the mortals. Even without her demonic powers, she was more than a match for them and their pathetic attempts at resistance were laughable. Side stepping to avoid a sharply pointed icicle, Kaen stamped a foot hard onto the ground.
A dull spike of earth shot up beneath Katara's left foot and the Waterbender found herself thrown off balance. Barely staying on her feet Katara found herself pushed further away from the fight and her attempt to step forward was quashed by another spike of earth that pushed her right foot up. Katara's attention was forced upon keeping her balance and she noted with some desperation that she was being forced to the edge of the island and towards the waiting spirits.
Zuko saw Kaen's attack on Katara and tried to divert the demon's attention, to allow Katara to regain her balance. The ball of fire that was aimed at Kaen's attack was blocked by a wall of earth; Zuko blinked at the fact that she didn't even need to look at him to know what he was doing. Attempting to strike Kaen again proved worthless as another barrier came up to block the inferno. However, this time Zuko noticed that the earth trembled several feet away to his right; and Kaen didn't seem to realise it.
Flicking his eyes back to Katara, Zuko panicked when he saw that Katara was rapidly approaching the edge of the island. Abandoning his fruitless assault on Kaen, he darted towards his companion. Being the slippery being she was, Kaen was well aware that Zuko was heading towards Katara and she couldn't let him reach her could she? A sharp motion with her arms brought a small mound of earth up into Zuko's path and the prince pitched forward and landed hard on the ground. Zuko was dazed, although he still noticed the earth shift several yards away from where he was lying.
Katara saw Zuko fall to the ground just seconds before she was pushed from the island. Suspended in midair Katara's mind was wiped blank in shock and the seconds seemed to last forever. With a dull rushing sound, Katara came back to reality just in time to blindly grab onto the edge of the island.
It would have been bad enough to hang limply over an endless void, but what made it worse was the fact the spirits surrounding the island had all converged on Katara. Some were trying to push her back onto the island, while others were trying to prise her grip away from the rocky edge of the ground. How they were touching her, Katara didn't know, but she had given up on trying to understand everything that happened a long time ago. Instead she focused her attentions on trying to heave herself back onto solid ground. However, that route of action was somewhat hindered by the wall of earth that hovered above her, threatening to sweep her to her doom.
Zuko quickly regained his bearings and was on his feet in seconds, a plan quickly forming in his mind. Seeing that Kaen was just seconds from knocking a defenceless Katara into oblivion, Zuko called out to the demon.
"You lied to us Kaen!" If there was one thing he had noticed during these ordeals, it was that Kaen's attention could easily be grabbed with a few well chosen words.
The wall of earth sank back into place as the demon turned her attention to Zuko. "Lied to you? I may be a heartless fiend but I am not much of a liar."
Zuko snorted, desperate to keep Kaen's attention on him rather than Katara. "You told us that you were a powerful Earthbender. That was a lie."
Kaen's pallid nostrils flared and she began stalking closer to the banished prince. "You dare doubt my abilities? Have you learnt nothing in the past few minutes?"
"You may have strength behind your attacks, but it isn't really power. I've learnt plenty while watching you use your powers. I've learnt that you can control them, you shift earth without knowing it, and it is beyond your control. The strength in your attacks comes from a lack of control over your powers."
Katara could hear Zuko taunting Kaen from where she hung, and she had no idea what he was up to. From her position, it did not seem like a good idea to anger the wraith into a frenzy, she just hoped Zuko had something up his sleeve.
However, the distraction Zuko provided was useful and Katara was able to wrench away from the grip the spirits had on her and haul herself back onto the island.
Zuko saw Katara make it back onto the island over Kaen's should and smirked.
"What are you smirking at you insufferable mortal?"
Zuko's smirk widened, and he chose to keep Kaen ignorant to Katara's return. "Oh, I was just thinking that I'd probably be in more danger if you aimed an attack at the other side of the island; you'd probably have a better chance at hitting me."
Zuko mentally congratulated himself on his plan when Kaen's eyes narrowed and she fell silent.
Kaen's mind was reeling.
'How dare he! How dare he think he has the right to taunt me! This is just like before, when I was mortal.'
The demon's usually cold and calculating mind was caught up in unbidden memories.
A small raven haired girl sat despondently outside a house, watching other children playing. Her pale green eyes were sad as she watched them laugh and practice their Earthbending. She longed to be able to join in their fun, but she knew they would not except her.
The other children's parents all warned them about her, saying she was dangerous and it was best to stay away from her. Her parents weren't around to defend her either, they had been gone for months now and Kaen knew they weren't coming back. She also knew that the woman who had taken her in would not care to make her happy, she only kept Kaen around because it provided her with someone to do all her menial work.
Kaen tried to expel the recollection, but others took its place.
An eight year old Kaen lay in a wooden bed. The itchy blankets were wrapped around her as she tossed and turned in the throes of a nightmare. She paid no mind to the way her bed moved across the floor, or how the entire bedroom shook violently. Her mind was completely caught up in the images of her parents' death.
A plump, grey haired woman rushed into the bedroom, clinging onto the doorframe for support. Her mouth was set in a firm line and she shakily approached the young girl's bed.
Kaen was shaken roughly awake and the quaking in her bedroom stopped. She looked up at her 'carer' with tear filled eyes, but she received no comfort.
No matter how much she apologised and cried that it was an accident, Kaen still received a beating for her 'evil behaviour'.
The next memories increased the anger that Kaen felt tenfold.
No longer a child, a nineteen year-old Kaen stood before her lover nervously. The brown haired man stared back at her blankly, her words echoing around his mind.
"Pregnant?"
Kaen nodded and waited anxiously. When her beau scowled and turned from her she caught his arm.
He turned around furiously and swatted her away. "Stay away you tramp! Do you think I want you or that child when it could turn out to be just as much of a freak as you?"
Kaen was stunned. "But I thought you loved me."
A derisive laugh was her reply. "Loved you? You were a conquest and nothing more. You were the girl that all of the boys called 'untameable' and 'untouchable'. You were a way to show my friends how good I was, you were never my love. You were just the freak who caused earthquakes and landslides, you meant nothing."
…
The earth shook violently as another contraction ripped through Kaen. She had been pushed out of her village months back and no other town would keep her around once they discovered her uncontrollable powers. Now she was alone, in the middle of a forest, with the rain beating down on her and the earth trembling below her hands and knees.
…
Kaen wept alone in the same forest just hours later. Clutched to her chest was a small form, wrapped in her ragged cloak. The tiny baby was still, the delicate skin already pale. His mother had never gotten to hear his cry or see his eyes. Instead she rocked slowly back and forth in the mud, clutching her dead child closely to her chest. A howl of sorrow and rage was wrenched from her throat and she paid no mind to the sound of trees falling in the distance.
The ground underneath Katara and Zuko's feet was shaking. When Kaen had fallen into silence, the earth had begun to tremble violently. Large cracks were forming across the earth of the island and pieces were falling into the black void surrounding the.
Katara cast Zuko an annoyed look. "What were you thinking? You do realise she is going to be after your blood!"
Zuko snorted. "I wonder what that would be like! Besides, the skills of a fighter are always limited when blind rage is the fuel behind their attacks."
Katara glanced at Kaen. She appeared to be lost in her own mind and Katara wondered what could be making her so angry. Katara sighed and pulled out a long, thin water whip. She noticed that her water skin was feeling rather light and that meant that she was running out of her element. Katara glanced over to the place where her other water skin lay and she was panicked to see that the ground on which the water skin lay, was cracking up. The pouch itself was threatening to fall through the crack.
Acting quickly, Katara edged her whip with ice and launched it at Kaen. Without watching to see whether or not the whip made contact, Katara was running past Kaen and past a startled Zuko before dropping to her stomach just as her water skin fell into the crack. Katara's eyes widened and she peered into the crack. She was relieved to see that the strap of the pouch had caught on an outcrop of rock inside the crack. Katara reached her hand into the crack, but her fingertips had barely brushed the familiar leather of the strap when she was launched into the air.
Katara's water whip had created a deep gash in Kaen's side, but the demon had barely noticed. It did however, bring Kaen out of her revive and the island stopped shaking and the cracks stopped spreading. Kaen looked around quickly, ashamed that she had been trapped by her own memories. The devastation of the island made her cringe; she had once again lost control of her emotions, and as a result her Earthbending had taken over. The once smooth ground was now riddled with dips and crevices and rocky peaks rose as high as her knees.
She fixed her crimson eyes on Zuko and glared at the mortal who dared taunt her.
"I hope that little stunt was worth a very painful death, and when I kill your girlfriend in front of you, you will know that you are to blame."
Zuko merely matched Kaen's glare. He knew that he heighten one over on her, she would be sloppy with her attacks now. Her anger would make her less focused.
Behind Zuko, Kaen noticed Katara lying on her stomach reaching for something. Smirking darkly, she brought up a chunk of rock from underneath Katara and forced it into the young girl's stomach.
Zuko turned around just in time to see Katara launched into the air. Practically feeling the impact of the rock that hit Katara, he rushed forward and pulled Katara into him before she hit the ground. The pair tumbled to the floor, but Zuko quickly pulled them both upwards.
Katara was doubled over, wheezing for breath but she felt Zuko's hand placed protectively on her back. She straightened out and winced before leaning in close to Zuko's ear, all the while keeping her cyan eyes focused on Kaen.
"I'm running out of water," she murmured into his ear. "The other pouch is in that crevice Kaen just threw me from but I can't reach it."
Zuko nodded and spoke in low tone. "I doubt Kaen will let us get close enough to retrieve it. How much water have you got left?"
"Definitely enough for one more attack, maybe enough for two."
Zuko nodded and whispered very closely into Katara's ear.
Kaen watched the teens with narrowed eyes, her attack on Katara had relieved only a minute part of her bubbling anger.
She was through talking and she was itching to teach both of them a lesson, but she knew it would serve her better if they made the first move.
Indeed, at that moment Katara drew out an orb of water from her water skin. Kaen stared at the rather small amount of water in Katara's hand. She knew that the girl was running out of her element and she also knew that the other water skin had apparently fallen from the island.
She settled further into a defensive stance and watched carefully as Katara held her orb of water in front of Zuko's chest. Zuko himself held an open hand behind the orb; his palm facing Kaen. Kaen didn't see anything threatening about what they were doing, and she was getting tired of waiting. She was about to make a move herself when a flame was lit in Zuko's hand and thrust into the hovering water.
Kaen instinctively dropped and rolled to the side; it was only when she stopped and crouched several feet away to the left, did she realise that something was amiss. The flame that Zuko had pushed forward was not intended to be volatile, it was a defensive manoeuvre. When it had merged with Katara's water, it had created a hissing cloud of dense steam.
Kaen growled when he realised that she had been tricked and leapt to her feet, but she couldn't see anything through the mist. Her preternatural eyes darted to and fro but she was blind as to where her quarries were.
A sudden wetness and cracking noise diverted Kaen's attention downwards and she saw that the vexatious Waterbender had pooled her feet with water and had frozen the ground beneath her feet. Kaen's upper lip twisted scornfully and she called out blindly into the haze.
"You expect a disk of ice to defeat me?"
Kaen's eyes fixed straight ahead of her when Zuko's voice answered. "No. We expect this to defeat you."
Kaen did not overcome her momentary confusion quick enough to raise a defensive attack. She was a sitting duck as a large ball of fire rushed towards her through the steam and made contact with her chest.
Even Kaen's voice failed to show her surprise as she was flung backwards, the ice beneath her feet destroying her balance.
Katara made it back to Zuko's side after he launched his attack. They were unsure whether or not it had reached Kaen as they did not hear a cry of rage or pain; they did however, hear a sickening crack.
Katara tossed her empty water skin to the side and grabbed on Zuko's arm. She still felt rather winded from Kaen's earlier attack and a quick glance at Zuko told her he had it rough too. His earlier encounters with the ground had left their marks; he was covered in cuts and scrapes. All things considered, they had made it through this challenge pretty well, the injuries were to a minimum at the moment; but things weren't over yet.
The steam finally cleared and Katara and Zuko waited with baited breath for Kaen to reappear. When visibility was fully restored, Katara couldn't help but gasp in horror.
Kaen had obviously been forced backwards by their last assault and she now lay on her back. The problem was that when Kaen had inadvertently ripped up the island she had created sharply pointed mounds as well as wide cracks.
The demon now lay across one of those mounds, broken backed and bleeding.
Zuko frowned at the sight before him. Kaen was bent unnaturally backwards and her breath was coming in short pants. A trickle of blood was coming from the corner of her mouth and but she was still glaring up at Katara and Zuko.
The two teens were extremely unwilling to get closer to the demon but their feet carried them to her side nonetheless.
Kaen glared at her foes. She couldn't believe she had been defeated by them; they were mere mortals. She also mused how strange it was that she couldn't feel any pain. She knew she had broken her back, oh yes. The place where the earth had jammed into her spine was at her mid back and she was numb from there downwards.
Her scarlet eyes fixed themselves on Katara and she saw that the Waterbender had abandoned her water skin; she was completely without her element. Perhaps there was still a chance for her to get some revenge after all.
A spurt of jet black blood was expelled from Kaen's mouth. She scowled up at Katara and Zuko. "Well would you look at that… I'm defeated..."
The teens stared at the being on the floor, vaguely noticing that the spirits surrounding the island were shrieking more loudly than ever. Kaen raised a pale hand, it waved ever so slightly in the air and Zuko and Katara kept their attention on it just in case.
Kaen grinned up at the pair, her pointed teeth glistening with obsidian blood, and clenched her fist. With too much noise coming from her previous victims, the sound of earth being torn from the ground went unnoticed. The demon felt shadows creeping closer in her mind, her vision was fading rapidly too, ready to take her into the spirit world once and for all; but not before she had the last laugh.
Just as the shadows enveloped her mind she snapped her fist around sharply and cackled, her breath rasping. "… but so are you!"
Katara heard the noise first, the whistling of something tearing through the air. She wheeled around to face it, but she had no time to stop the dagger of earth from embedding itself in her stomach.
I know, I know! You all probably hate me for leaving it there but what can I say?
This chapter is over 5,000 words long, which I believe is my record for one chapter. I would have had it out quicker but my attention was distracted by England's World up match; and then I was extremely happy when they won, so I decided to get a move on and write the end of this chapter for you.
So, let me all know what you think of the chapter… and feel free to yell at me!
