Didn't See That Coming
by Rebirth of the Phoenix
Well, I gathered from the reviews that I was inflicting a form of torture upon you all by ending the chapter on such a huge cliff-hanger. So to redeem myself, I am updating. I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer - There are about 5000-6000 different languages spoken in the world today, so there are 5000-6000 different ways for me to say I don't own Avatar.
"… but so are you!" Zuko flinched at the morbid excitement in Kaen's voice and he was completely nonplussed by her sporadic hand motions.
Zuko felt Katara turn around quickly just as Kaen's black eyes rolled back in her head. He too heard the noise of something approaching from behind, and started to turn, just as Katara had done mere seconds before.
Katara's form had barely re-entered his line of vision, when her whole body jerked violently and she staggered forward, moving her hands around to her front, apparently grasping her stomach . The sharp intake of breath that she took immediately told Zuko that something was very wrong.
"Katara?" He began to approach the girl he had fallen in love with but he stopped in horror when her hands dropped back to her side; they were covered in blood.
"Katara!" He snapped out of his stupor when Katara fell to her knees. Rushing forward, he was on his knees in seconds and Katara's back fell lightly onto his chest.
Dreading what he would see, he looked past Katara's head which rested on his chest and moved his eyes down to her stomach. He retched. A jagged strip of rock was protruding from Katara's stomach, just above her belly button and crimson blood was seeping from the wound.
Zuko shook his head in disbelief as he gently moved from behind Katara, a burning sensation behind his good eye. Still supporting her with his arms he lay her back on the ground carefully and fought with all of his might not to break down as he knelt by her side. The red shirt that Zuko had given to Katara was stained with the darker scarlet of her blood, while the dagger of earth contrasted vilely with the perfection of the girl that lay on the floor.
Zuko knew that the dagger had to be removed quickly, but he knew that was the only thing stopping Katara from bleeding to death. When he brought his golden eyes up to Katara's face, he couldn't hold back his tears any longer.
Katara's amazingly clear eyes stared back at him, with no sign of tears in her eyes. She attempted a small smile and Zuko knew it was her way of trying to reassure him; but he could tell from the heaving of her chest and the small gasps that escaped her throat, that she was in terrible pain.
Zuko felt the hot tears trace fiery lines down his right cheek as he looked into his love's eyes. He saw acceptance in them, and he knew that she was aware of the severity of the situation. Tearing his eyes from Katara's, he looked frantically around the island. He barely registered the fact that they were no longer surrounded by sprits; they were back in the forest and the stones that had once trapped them were now back at ground level. The seven stepping stones that he and Katara had come across in the past few hours were still there, looking perfectly innocent in the dappled moonlight, although they were no longer in their original positions; the island was still riddled with the cracks and mounds that Kaen had created minutes before. Zuko's eyes flicked quickly to the spot were Kaen had been moments ago and he saw that her body was nowhere to be seen, all that remained were tattered strips of black cloth.
His eyes rested on the wide log that had given them access to the island in the first place and he briefly considered picking Katara up and going in search of help. He knew that wouldn't work, she was in no condition to be moved and a raging sea of desperation was bubbling in the pit of his stomach.
Looking back to Katara he was panicked to see that her eyes were unfocused, staring at something over his shoulder.
"Katara! Katara stay with me!" Zuko tapped her face gently to bring her back to attention.
Katara's gaze slid back to his face and she reached up a shaking hand towards his face. Zuko caught it and bought it to his lips, kissing her palm reverently.
Katara gave a weak laugh and forced a smile onto her face. "We had a big adventure didn't we?"
Zuko kept his gaze on her face, anything to stop him looking at her stomach, and tried to match her smile. "Yeah, but it's not over yet. We still have to get you out of here and find Uncle and then we can go find your brother and Aang and let them know that you're alright. I'll probably have a fight on my hands with your brother though."
Katara started to laugh, but her back arched slightly in pain and Zuko quickly moved his other hand to smooth down Katara's chestnut hair in an effort to provide some comfort. "When did you become such an optimist Zuko?"
Zuko smiled down at her, amazed at how clear her voice was, but scared at how quiet it was becoming. "Ever since I met you, and I'm not being an optimist, I'm just being honest. You're strong and you'll get out of here."
"You've gone corny too." Katara's eyes began to close but Zuko was rousing her back to attentiveness in an instant.
"No Katara, you have to stay with me!" He fought desperately against the fresh wave of tears that threatened to fall and he buried his face in Katara's neck. "I can't loose you now, not after everything that's happened. I love you too much."
He heard a sharp intake of breath from Katara and he immediately righted himself. "Damn it! I'm sorry Katara, did I hurt you?"
Katara shook her head from side to side slightly. "I'm the one who should be sorry, if it wasn't for me we would have never come into this damned forest and…"
Zuko put a finger on her soft lips. "Don't you dare blame yourself. You have done so much for me and I can't believe I ever lived without you. If you…." He stopped himself short and kissed Katara gently on the lips before resting his cheek against hers. "What am I supposed to do Katara? I don't know whether I should move you or take the dagger out of you. I'm scared Katara."
He felt a hand come to rest on the back of his head and he was shocked and frightened at how cold her skin had gotten. Looking up into Katara's azure orbs he was shocked to see crystalline tears running steadily from them.
"Katara what - ?"
Katara's hand was still resting on his head and she put a small amount of pressure on it. It was enough to get Zuko to bring his mouth back down onto hers. The kiss was soft and yet full of passion and Zuko felt it when Katara started to sob into his mouth.
Pulling back slowly he looked into her tear-stained eyes.
"I want you to pull it out of my stomach Zuko."
Zuko shook his head slightly. "Katara, it's the only thing that's stopping the blood."
"Yeah, but it also hurts like hell. I'm not giving up Zuko I just want to be comfortable before I… pass on."
"No!" Zuko wasn't sure if he was shouting or whispering anymore, the entire world had crashed down upon from the moment Katara had fallen into his arms. "I will not loose you, not here and not now. Not ever! We are going to get out of here and find your friends. Then we'll go and kick my father off the throne and stop this war."
Katara smiled up at him, her breath now coming in uneven gasps. "That'll be nice. You'll make a good Fire Lord."
Zuko pressed a kiss onto the tip of her nose. "And you'll make an excellent Fire Lady."
Katara blinked up at him, the tears falling down her face at a faster pace. "I wouldn't… hold out for me Zuko, but… whatever happens make sure that you… fight back against your father. I've seen you do it in the past couple of hours and I know that you can do it again." Her words were being interrupted by the laborious breaths that she was taking and her soft weeping.
"You can see me do it for real because you're going to be by my side and - "
His words were cut off suddenly as Katara's body arched and a scream broke free from her throat. Instantly, Zuko was whispering sweet nothings into her ear to calm her while fighting the scream that wanted to rip free from his own throat.
Katara's body relaxed and she lay the panting slightly. "Zuko you have to get it out of me now… please it hurts… it hurts so much."
Zuko felt bile rising in his throat, he felt physically sick seeing this girl in so much pain. She had given him a new lease of life; it was like he was a phoenix rising from the ashes that his father had reduced his life to.
Acquiescing to her wishes, Zuko moved further down to kneel next to her side. The amount of blood that had managed to spill from her stomach while the dagger was still in place was astounding, and Zuko knew that he would have to work fast. He gently picked up the hem of Katara's shirt, glad the blood hadn't dried yet and adhered to her skin.
Cursing that he didn't have a knife, Zuko ripped the shirt as gently as he could. When the tear reached the hole already made by the spike embedded in Katara's abdomen Zuko fixed his eyes on Katara's face. She was staring up at the forest canopy , the tears were still falling and she was progressively becoming paler.
Without looking down at her stomach, Zuko tore the shirt open more so that she was exposed to the point where the bottom of her ribs began. Katara's breathing was ragged and she winced whenever the slightest thing changed the pressure on her stomach.
Zuko released the tattered cloth without looking down at the injury; he wasn't sure whether he could handle it.
"Are you sure that you want me to do this Katara?"
A slight nod of the head was his answer and Zuko forced himself to look down at her stomach. The sight that met him would be forever imprinted on his memory. Katara's flawless dark skin was covered in blood. The majority of it was gathered around the spike of earth and appeared black, but the rest of her stomach was stained by crimson rivulets that burned into his eyes.
A quick glance at Katara told him that she was still focused on the sky and that she was waiting for the inevitable pain. Diverting his eyes back to the task at hand Zuko hesitantly gripped the rugged spike.
Katara bucked slightly and Zuko bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from crying; he had to be strong for Katara, he wouldn't break down.
Steeling himself, and giving Katara the chance to change her mind, he took a deep breath and said a silent prayer to the gods to watch over this girl. In one swift movement the spike was out of Katara's stomach and a great spurt of blood bubbled upwards.
Oh gods!
The pain wracked through Katara like a wave of fire, she was sure she was breaking apart as her back arched from the hard floor below. She vaguely heard Zuko make a noise that may have been words of comfort or a sob; she couldn't tell anymore.
Everything had meshed into one roaring din and her sight had become nothing more than a mass of writhing colours and distorted shapes.
She felt a pressure on her stomach and realised it wasn't exactly causing her pain, she just felt discomfort; she was already numbing.
Blinking rapidly to bring back her focus, Katara looked down towards her stomach. In a rush everything came back, sharper than before. Dim pulses of pain were echoing through her body and she focused on Zuko who was pressing his hands into the now open wound trying to stem the blood flow.
His eyes were wide and he looked extremely scared; Katara was reminded of the boy she had seen crouch in front of his father at his Agni Kai. She studied his handsome face; his unscarred eye was slightly red and she could see the glistening trails of water that ran down his right cheek. She vaguely wondered at the fact that he couldn't cry from his injured eye and then though back to time when she thought that he couldn't cry at all.
Inside she regretted the fact that she had been his enemy for so long and she wished she could have gone back and changed their situations.
The world around Katara was brighter and more vivid than it had ever been before, it was like she had been reborn. But in the rational part of her mind she knew that she was passing on and this clearness would soon give way to eternal darkness.
Keeping her focus on Zuko she brought up her right hand and caught onto his left sleeve. She stared deeply into his eyes and pulled him forward.
Zuko halted his silent tears as Katara weakly pulled at his shirt. His shaking hands never left her stomach, the warm blood was slick against his palms and seeped over his fingers.
Looking into Katara's eyes her saw that they were wide and had a wild look in them.
"Zuko it's amazing. It doesn't hurt anymore." Her word were no longer halted by tears, instead they slurred into one another.
Zuko nodded and kissed her forehead. "That's good," he was trying to reassure her, he knew that she was slipping away. "Come on, we need to get you out of here.
He tried to pull away but Katara wouldn't relinquish her grip. "No. It's time Zuko." Zuko started to interrupt but she brought up her other hand to place it on his cheek. "It's alright, really. I'll get to see my mother again, that will be nice." Tears began to fall from her eyes again. "And if I see your mother, I'll tell her what a wonderful person her son is."
Zuko couldn't hold it back any more, and sobs racked at his body. He was no longer the proud Prince Zuko who held back his emotions. He was simply Zuko, a fool in love who bore witness to death as his heart broke. "No Katara, please! I need you. Look at me, I've never cried so much in my life. You're amazing you know that? You can make me feel like I'm invincible and make me feel like I'm weak all at once."
Katara shushed him gently. "I'm glad I met you, even if you were an idiot to start with. Promise me that you'll fight against your father, you are so much better than he will ever be."
Zuko nodded frantically. "Of course, I'm going to show him ho wrong he was. We're going to do it together along with your brother and Uncle and the Avatar."
Katara was staring at Zuko but she wasn't seeing him anymore, and her whispering voice began to break up as the hand on his cheek dropped limply to her side. "Aang will be… glad that… you're on his side. He needs to… learn how to fire… fire… fire…"
Her eyes closed slowly and she stared up at Zuko with half-lidded eyes.
Zuko was frantic, he couldn't move his hands from her stomach and his repeated shouts of her name weren't working.
Katara let out a great shuddering breath. "Love you." Her eyes closed fully, her beautiful sapphire irises disappearing from view.
"No!" Zuko brought his ear to Katara's mouth and was relieved to hear that she was still breathing, although it was very weak. "Come back Katara. Please come back."
He rested his right cheek on her chest, finding no comfort in the shallow rise and fall of it. His hands were still pressed to the wound that he wished he could take instead of Katara. Tears welled up again as he let all hope go. He squeezed his eyes closed and whispered for Katara to wake up.
A single tear fell from Zuko's uninjured eye and splashed inaudibly on Katara's neck.
Through his closed eye lids, Zuko saw a dazzling blue light. Opening his eyes he saw that the glow was coming from Katara. It disappeared as quickly as it had come and Zuko raised his head and studied Katara for any signs of change.
Nothing.
Zuko felt the disappointment rising up in him, he had felt for sure that something miraculous was going to happen. The tears that still lay in his eye began to fall through sheer frustration. They showered down upon Katara and Zuko watched as the drops fell onto Katara's scratched cheeks and neck.
The blue glow came back and Zuko's flaxen eyes widened in wonder as a few of Katara's cuts and scratches closed over before his very eyes.
"What…?" Zuko's question faded from his lips as his mind flicked back through the previous challenges. Katara had cut her arms quite severely when they had faced their fears of failure but there was no sign of the injuries now. He desperately tried to recall when they had disappeared and then it came to him. He had left her behind while she filled up her water skin in the palace. She had been next to a fountain.
Water!
Somehow Katara used water to heal herself. He didn't question how she could do this while she was at death's door. He didn't really care, the important thing was that there was still hope.
Straightening up he looked down at his hands. They were stained crimson and Zuko almost felt the little bubble of hope in his chest burst. Even if Katara could heal herself with water, he didn't have enough for this wound.
He cast his eyes around the island while letting out a despairing moan. There was nothing, mounds and bumps and cracks… cracks! That was it, Katara had said her other water skin had fallen into one of those cracks. A whole pouch of water had to be enough to help Katara at least a little.
The problem was how was he going to retrieve the pouch while keeping pressure on Katara's wound? His desperate eyes fell on the sharp earthen blade that he had pulled out of Katara and he immediately grabbed it and placed it next to him.
Zuko removed his right hand from Katara's stomach and positioned the left one to better cover the wound. Working as best he could with one hand, he pulled off his right boot, freeing the bottom part of his grey trousers.
Picking up the sharp piece of earth, Zuko forced it through the fabric just above his knee. He ripped the leg of the trousers as well as he could with one hand and then discarded the blade that was still stained with Katara's blood. Using his right hand he yanked the material from the rest of the trouser leg and hurriedly folded it up clumsily.
He removed his hand that was still pressed onto Katara's stomach and quickly replaced it with the grey material. He picked up Katara's right hand, forcibly ignoring the dead weight of it, and placed it on top of the makeshift wadding in an effort to keep pressure on the gaping wound.
Zuko wasted no time in bolting up and racing over to the gap that Katara had reached into earlier.
He peered into it and was immensely relieved to see that the water skin was still hanging there. Getting down onto his stomach, Zuko reached a pale hand down towards the pouch. He silently thanked Agni for small wonders and hoped against hope that Katara would be all right.
After a few seconds of frantic scrabbling, his long fingers caught onto the leather strap and Zuko yanked it quickly upwards. Moving more quickly than he ever had in his life, Zuko was back next to Katara, cradling the comforting weight of water in his hands.
Zuko busied himself with opening up the water skin and cast a look at Katara. He was horrified by the fact that Katara's chest was no longer rising and falling. Placing his ear next to Katara's face, he felt the gentle caress of her breath, but it was very weak.
"Hold on Katara, I'm not going to loose you."
With the water skin now open, Zuko carefully removed Katara's hand and the fabric from her wound. Working quickly Zuko poured some of the water over Katara's wound, flushing away the excess of blood. The cerulean glow returned, and this time it came from deep within the open wound. Zuko watched with fascination as the glow started to retreat and he applied some more water to Katara's stomach.
He wished he cold see past the remaining blood and know for sure whether or not the water was doing its job and healing Katara. This process continued for a few tense minutes, until all the water was gone. Zuko waited for the healing glow to fade completely and studied the stab wound warily. The sight of it still turned Zuko's stomach but underneath his worry there was definite relief when he saw that the flow of blood from the wound had lessened significantly. Zuko was also sure that the wound was less shallow; it was now just a severe flesh wound, there was no obvious evidence of internal damage.
However, Zuko found little comfort in this as Katara was still in dire danger. She had lost a lot of blood and her breathing was still desperately shallow. Knowing there was nothing else he could do, Zuko tied the strap of the water pouch to his belt so it could be returned to Katara later on, and scooped his beloved into his arms as gently as possible.
Moving with as much speed as he dared, Zuko began on his journey back to reality.
Well there you go they are finally getting out of there. You do not even realise how many times I changed Zuko's reaction, first he was too weepy and then he wasn't upset enough. GAH! That boyis seriously hard to get right; ahem, but I digress.
I realise some of the things in this chapter may have been confusing, but fear not! Everything will be cleared up in next chapter.
Speaking of the next chapter, it will probably be the last chapter of this story. It will give me the perfect chance to tie up all loose ends and hopefully round the story off nicely.
Thank you all for being patient with me, and seeing as how this story is coming to end, please feel free to take one of the last chances that you will have review this story! (Hint hint)
