Ch. 5

The Turning Point

As night began to fall, the four travelers whipped up the rest of the food that they had for dinner. There was no need to save it, as they would be restocking their supplies tomorrow morning. The four of them ate in dissonant silence around the campfire.

Crickets and other nocturnal animals could be heard above the crackling of the flames that Zuko had set with a lack of alacrity. Their glowing faces stood out as the antithesis of the ever-blackening night sky.

When Zuko finished, he settled himself in his usual spot, resting against the trunk of the large, gnarled tree.

Katara eyed him from across the clearing, musing about what he thought of as sat there, gazing up at the stars.

Did they remind him of his home, like they reminded her of the South Pole? After all, the night sky's constellations were the same all over the world. Did he remember stories of the great platypus bear, or perhaps the sly scorpion, which were told to him when he was a young child? Did he once sit upon his blithe old uncle's knee as a small boy, imbibing fascinating legends that were as real as fire to an innocent child?

Or maybe those distant balls of fire in the immense black sky gave him a comforting feeling, knowing that they, too, were his element. Did he seek solace from the faint glowing orbs? Did they reassure him that in a few hours time, the sun would rise again and shed its heat and light upon the earth?

Or possibly, he could feel bereft of his element, his fire, his power, when he looked into the night sky. Its tranquility and darkness were a symbol of the moon, a symbol of the water. Her element. Her sanctuary. Not his.

Katara snapped out of her ruminations as Sokka and Aang both hinted that they were retiring for the night, and that she should do the same, for they would be rising early tomorrow.

She nodded her assent, and then watched them snuggle into their sleeping bags, across the fire and on the other side of the campsite from Zuko. Honestly! Did they have to be so immature and show such antipathy to the Firebender in their midst? He had not once brought harm to them or threatened them on his sojourn. She could trust him, couldn't she?

Katara stood from her seat on an old, dry log, her legs slightly sore and wobbly from the long rest in the seated position.

She ventured over to where Zuko sat, "Mind if I join you?"

He said nothing, nor did he break his gaze from the stars above, just shrugged his shoulders ever so slightly.

Katara took this motion as a yes and settled herself down next to him. They both sat there in silence, entranced by the shimmering specs overhead. Finally, Zuko spoke.

"They're beautiful."

Katara noticed that he was saying this more to himself, than to her, but she responded anyway.

"Yes."

More silence.

A silent tear rolled out of the corner of Karara's eye and down her cheek at the thought of her mother. She did not raise a hand to wipe it away; she just let it trickle down her face until it reached her jaw and hung there for a moment before gravity pulled it out of its cling and down to the ground in an inaudible splash.

"I always feel torn whenever I look at the stars. I am flooded with a brilliant happiness and an unbearable sadness at the same time."

"I know what you mean. Home seems so close, yet so far away. I am awed by how limitless the world seems beneath this vast sky, and how much of the world lies between me and my home. But also, the starry sky is comfortingly familiar." Zuko gave a small chuckle. "I remember when I was little, I used to stare up at the stars for hours each night before bed, trying to connect the faintly glowing dots into animals or people or ships, anything I could imagine."

Katara looked up at this statement, "Sokka and I used to play that game when we were young, too," she said nostalgically. "I remember one time I spotted a koala-otter, but Sokka was convinced that it was a speared fish! Ha! We argued for hours until we both got tired and fell asleep," she said with a tiny giggle.

Katara sighed. "I haven't done that since I was a kid."

"Me neither."

"I miss it."

"But we're not kids anymore. There comes a time when we need to grow up and stop pretending that life is only fun and play. We're in a war. And even though I'm sick of it, even though I wish it didn't exist, it does. It is real. The time when I stepped out of the world of innocence and games and into the world of hatred and suffering came a long time ago for me."

Katara was surprised to hear Zuko criticize the war. He and his father and his people were the ones waging it. But she also knew that he was alluding to the story behind his scar, and maybe Zuko was not as loyal to his father as he seemed. So to ease the pressure on him, she added, "It came a long time ago for me, too. When my mother died and my father left for war and Sokka and I were left to care for our struggling Tribe."

Zuko sensed the sadness in her voice. It was not a clandestine sadness, she was speaking of the loss of her parents. Zuko made an effort to lift the hovering gloom from the atmosphere. "Well, I guess it won't hurt if we retrogress to our childhood fun for one night," he said with a smirk.

Zuko pointed to the sky, "Look. I see a komodo rhino."

"And there is a dragonflower."

"And there is…"

The two sat through the night, connecting the stars into anything they could think of, all the while sharing stories of their youth. Their eyes grew droopy as sleep approached, and eventually, the two drifted off to sleep, resting against the security of the large tree trunk and the comfort of the other teen on their side.

Zuko's eyes slowly opened as he awoke to a warm, gentle breathing in his right ear. He tilted his head to see Katara's left cheek resting on his right shoulder.

He was careful not to disturb the slumbering girl as he looked back up at the sky. From the darkness and sounds and moon, he discerned that there were a few hours still before sunrise.

As he wafted back into sleep, Zuko's head was filled with thoughts of the sleeping girl beside him, head on his shoulder, forehead tucked beneath his chin, snuggled close to his warmth as an escape from the chilly night air.

Pink dawn.

Warming rays.

Stiff neck.

Stiff neck? Katara lifted her head, realizing how sore it was. She craned her neck to look to her left and saw Zuko, still sleeping, a furrowed brow and slight frown upon his face.

Katara sighed. It felt like she had been doing that a lot lately. And after all that she had been through in her life, all she could manage to get out was a meager sigh.

She silently stood and moved to make a quick breakfast for the four of them and pack the little supplies they had. She saw Sokka and Aang begin to stir out of the corner of her eye.

As she finished preparing the scanty meal, Aang and Sokka were rolling up their sleeping bags and starting to bundle together the rest of the supplies.

All of a sudden, she felt cold metal against her throat, and a firm grasp around her waist.

A harsh voice spoke in her ear, "Do. Not. Move."

Katara let out a short scream before the Long Dao Broadsword pressed further into her neck, but not far enough to yet break the skin.

Sokka and Aang were quickly standing before Katara, who was in the deadly grip of Prince Zuko.

"Let Katara go!" shouted Sokka.

"I will," Zuko said calmly, "In due time. That is, under one condition."

"Zuko, free her. It's me you want, not Katara," Aang tried to reason.

"Precisely." Zuko gave a small smirk.

"Let her go! Don't hurt her." It was Sokka again.

"Oh, I wasn't planning on hurting her. Unless…"

"Unless what?" was Sokka's terse reply.

"Unless you don't acquiesce with my request."

"Which is…" Sokka probed.

"The Avatar surrenders himself to me."

Katara quickly spoke up, "Aang, no, he's only bluffing. Don't Surrender!"

"Bluffing, am I?" Zuko squeezed tightly around Katara's middle, holding her arms down as well. She could feel his beating heart at her back, and feel his warm breath on the nape of her neck.

He pressed the Sword further into her throat but still not far enough to bring her harm, and Katara let out a terse gasp of shock at the constricting pressure on her neck and waist. Zuko made a motion as if to pull the sword, but stopped himself before he did any damage and smirked arrogantly.

Sokka growled and seemed as if he was about to attack at Zuko, but Zuko smirked even wider and shook his head saying, "Ah ah."

He pushed the Sword again to her throat, ever so slightly, and pulled it a few millimeters, causing a thin stream of crimson blood to immerse from her skin and slide down the blade of the large knife, until it reached the tip and dripped off to a bright red drop on the dirt ground.

Sokka lost it at the sight of his little sister at the mercy of this ruthless Firebender, "You bastard! How dare you!" He charged at Zuko, but Aang help him back.

"Stop, Sokka. Stop. He could kill her."

Zuko was slightly taken aback by this. He would never seriously hurt Katara, or any innocent bystander for that matter, especially a woman. He was almost hurt that the Avatar had thought that he would stoop that low. Hurt and pleased. Apparently, he was a threat. He wasn't seen as a pushover or a softy, but as someone to worry about. Someone to fear. Zuko liked the idea of having this affect on people, but it also scared him. What if he was really turning into a heartless monster, like so many people viewed him? He wouldn't let that happen. But he wouldn't show this, either.

He gave no intimation that he was the least bit affected by the Avatar's words. Zuko just stood there, with Katara still in his grasp. The girl was frozen solid, not daring to move in fear for her life.

Aang could see the panic in his friend's eyes. Her terror. And he knew what needed to be done.

"Zuko, please. Release her. I will surrender. Just please, don't harm Katara. Let her go and promise to leave her and Sokka alone. Your struggle is with me and me alone."

Zuko drew the blade a few inches away from the Waterbender's throat. And as Aang approached them, his hands raised in submission, a deep look of sadness in the young boy's once lively eyes, Zuko in a flash raised his arms, shoved Katara our of his grip and replaced her with Aang in the same position.

They began to back out of the camp, just as they had done when they were in a very similar position, the night the Blue Spirit freed Aang from Zhao's prison hold. But this time, the Blue Spirit was Aang's captor, not his savior.

Once they were a good 10 yards away, Zuko whispered into Aang's ear. "Don't try anything Avatar. If you do, I can have them killed in a heartbeat."

Aang nodded in compliance and Zuko removed the Broadsword from Aang's throat, only to replace it with the tip pressing at his back.

Aang looked at Sokka and Katara, crestfallen, to quickly give his last goodbye. "Katara, Sokka, I'll be okay, I promise. Please don't come after me, I don't want you to get hurt. Take care of yourselves. I'll miss you and I'll never forget you. Goodbye."

And with that, Zuko turned them around and left the campsite at a fast pace, bursting with excitement that he finally, after so many years of searching, had the Avatar. He knew that the Airbender would do anything to keep his friends safe, and Zuko had taken advantage of that weakness of the Avatar. But was it really a weakness? Is it a weakness to protect the ones you care about? The ones you love?

Zuko focused his attention away from that question and onto to next step in his plan. But as they grew further and further from the campsite, he stole one last glance back at the beautiful young Waterbender who nursed him back to health, to whom he opened up his feelings and his past, and with whom he shared so many warm moments.

As she watched them shrink smaller and smaller into the early dawn, tears began to leak from Katara's eyes, slowly at first, and then cascading like waterfalls. She could not determine whether she was crying for Aang, or for Zuko.


Sorry, dialogue is not one of my strengths, and there seemed to be a lot of it this chapter.

I can't wait till March 17! Guess why! No, it's not because of St. Patty's day. Avatar Book 2 starts! Yay, new episodes! I am stoked!

But if you need something to tide you over until then, check out my profile for some wicked FanVids.

Also, for all of you Teen Titans fans out there as well (you are really missing out if you're not), here is a fun fact. In chapter 11, The Great Divide, the voice of the Gan Jin scout is done by Scott Menville, the Voice of Robin in Titans. I thought that episode sucked, except for listening to Robin's voice in the beginning.

And, Quote of the Week

Week meaning however long it takes me to finish the next chapter.

"Things change Beast Boy. The girl you want me to be is just a memory now." Terra, Things Change

Review Please! Thanks! They really mean a lot to me.