Hardened Winds
Chapter XII
Summary: Two years ago, Aang was betrayed by Katara, who fell for Zuko and ultimately led to the avatar's failure to defeat Ozai before summer's end. Hardened, the young airbender is now back with a full army and is on the verge of defeating the Fire Nation once in for all. Yet despite his belief of being in full control, nightmares of the past still haunt him. What will happen when Katara returns and a series of misunderstandings and more betrayals unveil? Will Aang be able to handle it all?
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"Sokka… is off on a personal trip."
"Really?"
"That's what he told me."
In front of him, the blond shrugged, and taking her word, the avatar nodded sagely. Seated on his vast bed, he calmly gazed at Gloria as she came and informed him about his second-in-command. Sokka was off on a person trip… apparently. But somehow the airbender knew that Sokka was up to something. It was a feeling, an instinct… perhaps a sensation that only the avatar could feel. Meanwhile, the waterbender was clearly nervous at the entrance of his chamber, looking at him with a mixture of worry and unease. She was probably remembering what had happened during their last encounter. But he himself had long put that behind him.
"Thank-you, Gloria," the young monk nodded towards her before quickly dismissing her. The woman smiled shyly before swiftly exiting his room, leaving the fourteen-year-old to his thoughts.
Slowly, he got up from his bed and made his way to his balcony, leaning on the rails as he let his eyes rest on the scenery in front of him. His attention flickered from the harbor village of Kali, which was comprised of tiny dots as rooftops, to the large stretch of dark forests that reached until the mountains. The skies were a light tint of gray –rain was coming- and it was while he was mesmerized by the sluggish clouds above when it suddenly occurred to him to take a walk to the third floor.
And since the avatar currently had nothing to do, he simple obeyed his whim and left his chambers. Somehow he had an idea of what he would find, and when he reached a deserted third floor and an empty cell that had surely just being used, the airbender couldn't say he was surprised.
----- ----- -----
"Do you have any idea where we're going?"
"We're going to rescue Katara."
"Is that all you know? Because I think we're just going in circles."
"No, we're not. We're heading towards the top of the mountain… I think."
"You think? You think? Though why am I surprised? I shouldn't have expected more from a half-brained moron like you."
"Shut-up! And what about you? Are you any better, Mister I-think-I'm-all-that-because-I'm-a-banished-prince!"
"We're going in circles, why don't you just admit it?"
Halting, the two boys took the trouble to glare at each other for a second before quickly averting their gazes and continue their march, although it was evident that they were both at the edge of their patience. While Sokka couldn't believe how irritating and stubborn the Fire Nation prince was, Zuko was beginning to have second thoughts about agreeing to work with the idiot in the first place. It had been hours since they had made their truce, and so far their progress hadn't improved at all. Even worse, the firebender's temper was getting worse and worse and the seventeen-year-old's snappish attitude had returned. It was rather likely that the two enemies would bite each other's head off before finding Katara.
"You arrogant bastard."
Three words. Sokka had so suddenly uttered the insult, not knowing why exactly he had bothered, although it did relieve some of his stress. Meanwhile, Zuko's shoulders tensed and his fist immediately burned up with enraged fire. However, instead of merely attacking the South Pole native and ending it all, he looked down and muttered:
"You pathetic loser."
Sokka stared angrily at the prince, balling his own fists.
"You hotheaded idiot," he replied back, gritting his teeth.
"Ignorant moron."
"Spoiled brat."
"Piece of filth."
"Egocentric prat."
Another exchange of furious stares before they both finally shut up, although the two had to admit, the earlier swap of insults had calmed their nerves quite a bit. Yet even when their anger subdued to a point where it allowed rational thoughts to enter their mind once more, neither could come up with a plan to find where exactly the waterbender was. She could be anywhere on the mountain, Sokka thought desperately, frowning. He didn't have time to search everywhere for her, Zuko mused, scowling. Both were dreading the deadline that was impending on them. Because they knew that if they kept looking for Katara like this, they would never find her on time.
"Do you have any idea where we're going?" the eighteen-year-old then attempted to inquire again, and defeated, Sokka shook his head. "I knew it," Zuko mumbled, narrowing his eyes.
"Look," the other said impatiently. "Scouting the mountain is all we can really do now. Unless… you have a better way to find your girlfriend." Sokka eyed the firebender shrewdly, and when the latter failed to provide an answer to the previous statement, Sokka smirked.
"Don't do that," Zuko warned him, stepping forward menacingly.
"Do what?"
"Smirk in that stupid way of yours."
"Why shouldn't I?" Sokka taunted. "You act as if I'm the idiot here, but you know as much (if not even less) as I do. Who's the moron now?"
"There must be another way to get to Katara," the firebender said more quietly, almost as if to himself. "There has to be clue… maybe even a signal…"
"What? That something will just appear in the sky and tell us where she is?"
The second-in-command of the avatar pulled a face and pointed at the sky to emphasize his point, and that was when gray smoke began to appear in the direction of his finger. Zuko let out a soft gasp as he saw the smoke, which soon turned into a small, victorious smile. Sokka, who only noticed when he saw the prince's grin, gaped at what was in front of his eyes, but when he finally regained his composure, he turned back to the other, a smug smile on his face.
"I'm a prophet," he declared, laughing. "When I say that there will be smoke in the sky, there will be smoke in the sky."
"Shut-up, Sokka."
Yet Zuko's retort had been light, and it had been the first time he had used the South Pole brat's actual name. Sokka blinked at the prince for a moment before hastily jogging towards the smoke, eagerly motioning for Zuko to do the same.
"It has to be Katara, right?" the prince asked, almost uncertainly, as they ran towards the puffs of smoke in the air.
"Who else can it be?" Sokka answered happily, one step ahead of Zuko. "There's no one in this place except us and her kidnappers!"
"But why… why would they show us where they are so freely? It's probably a trap."
The younger boy shrugged.
"So what? As long as I know where Katara is, I'm going to her… no matter what!"
Astonished but satisfied with Sokka's comment, Zuko just nodded before they stopped talking and concentrated on going as fast as they could, neatly dodging the huge trees and the sharp branches that often sprang in front of them. There were many obstacles that impeded their speed, but the boys didn't care. As long as they knew where Katara was, everything would be all right. The danger of their foes was not a question in their minds, because with their determination and strength, both Sokka and Zuko agreed on one thing; nothing could stand in their way.
Except… as the seventeen-year-old accidentally tripped the firebender, making the latter shout a series of obscenities at him…. each other.
As the minutes sailed by, the smoke became more solid, dominating more and more of the sky. They knew that they were nearing their destination. At last, when a pile of thick, dark bushes lay ahead of them, Zuko abruptly stopped Sokka and gestured for both of them to start crawling. Sokka had no idea why the prince wanted him to do so, but Zuko had a feeling that they were now dangerously close to the enemy. They were cautious in their movements, making sure that they were quick and quiet, and when they reached the bushes, Zuko gently cleared a section so they could peer through, and what met their eyes proved that the prince had been right.
Because yards away, right in front of them, was Katara. And she was tied tightly to a standing pole, her mouth gagged securely and her hands unable to waterbend in any way.
"Katara!" Sokka gasped, and he made a small move, but Zuko quickly grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.
"Not now!" he hissed, and when the other indignantly asked why, he shushed him and pointed to the right.
Because just then, two figures emerged from the trees ahead and encircled the girl, both entirely in black while a bow and arrows were strung onto their backs. They were armed, and for the first time, the two boys discovered that their enemies truly meant business. And that was when Sokka and Zuko realized that they needed a more concrete plan on how to take Katara's captors down and get the girl.
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She hated how weak and vulnerable she presently was.
Glowering at her surroundings, Katara replayed the events that had happened, how she had been so easily captured by two unknown figures and how they had lead her here to this clearing, with her hands tied while every step she had taken had been forced. The strangers were powerful, and they had effortlessly dodged her frantic attacks and subdued her. And dragging her, they had all reached the mountain by last night. The two were also apathetic to her condition. After all, they hadn't cared when she had begun shivering from the cool winds of the mountain, and they hadn't even fed her since they had jumped on her. Now they had secured her to this pole, literally immobilizing her without her having a single idea why she had been taken here in the first place.
The afternoon was creeping on, yet it became no warmer, and her skin was beginning to become numb from the cold. The unfamiliar scenery of tall pines and dark brown earth unnerved her, because even if she could somehow escape… where would she go? She was trapped –completely at her kidnappers' mercy.
Why did they take her anyway? How was she important at all? And who… were her captors? She had looked over every possibility, yet the problem was… there weren't many. Because the war was over, and these things… such as her kidnapping… shouldn't happen anymore. She heard her stomach rumble, and a small moan escaped her throat. She bit angrily at the cloth that gagged her before glancing at the strangers in black, who were currently sitting on the cold ground, relaxed and ignoring her presence. One was tall and incredibly slim, his body almost feminine, while the other was shorter yet also rather scrawny, always in a wary stance. After a while, one of them casually strode over to her and gently took off her gag. Bewildered, Katara stared at his covered face for a moment before spitting out:
"What do you want from me?"
It was her taller captor, and when the words escaped the hostage's lips, he narrowed his eyes and shook his head. Katara was about to let out a scream (perhaps there was someone nearby who could hear her… rescue her) when the other abruptly tied the cloth to her mouth again. More enraged than ever, the waterbender stared angrily at the man in black, imagining his horrid downfall if she had the ability to waterbend at this moment.
She didn't know anything. Her captors hadn't spoken at all since she had been taken in their care, and it was unsettling to think that she had no idea what they were planning to do with her. So far, they hadn't hurt or threatened her, but who knew how long that would last? Katara closed her eyes, breathing deeply as she began feeling panic rise inside her. No, she needed to calm down. If she wanted to have the least bit chance of outsmarting her kidnappers, she needed a cool head. And she was confident that she wouldn't stay in captivity for long. Katara would figure out something… a way to free herself… and then perhaps she'd also be able to gain her revenge on those bastards, too.
Who were they to think that they could just take anybody away on a whim and expect no harm from it?
The waterbender suddenly thought about Zuko, soon smiling cynically to herself as she mused about how the prince would treat the two if he was the kidnapped one. Or better yet… if he knew that she had been captured. Of course, she sighed thinking about it; he probably had no idea what predicament she was in. Sokka would know perhaps, Katara reasoned, picturing his reaction when he realized (he probably already had by now) that she was gone. Sadly, the first conclusion that would jump into the mind of her dear big brother was that she had escaped, and the worst thing was that she couldn't blame him for that. In any way, she couldn't expect help from anyone but herself.
And that was when a fireball spiraled from nowhere and whooshed right past one of her captors, severely burning the soft earth when it finally descended to the ground. In an instant, both of them stood up, rapidly scanning their surroundings with suspicious eyes. And before Katara had time to dare to hope, Zuko jumped out of the bushes, running like a maniac towards her shorter kidnapper and landing a neat punch into the other's stomach. No sound came out of the stranger clad in black, but the girl could tell he was angry, because a moment later, he attempted to kick her prince right in the face. Zuko dodged the assault though, and before the other could think of another attack, he rushed towards her and fumbled with the ropes.
"I'll get you out of here," the firebender whispered to her, "I promise."
However, as soon as he said that, an arrow struck the pole right above Katara's head, and shaken, she turned and saw the taller figure preparing to shoot another arrow. Zuko immediately ran from Katara's pole and just barely avoided the second arrow. He darted past the trees and out of sight, but apparently the enemy knew that he would be coming back, because the shorter of the two –at the gesture of the other- quickly ran after her, leaving Katara in the care of only one foe now.
Zuko had come for her. The waterbender couldn't help but smile. Somehow… he had known where she had been, and through determination and love, he had found her. And she would be all right. She looked at her remaining captor, happy to find him frowning, evidently on his guard. He looked around one more time before cautiously approaching the bush from which the prince had burst out from, and raising an eyebrow, Katara observed him, wondering what he was up to.
But before the man could take another step forward, Zuko came rushing back, ferociously tackling her captor. When he fell to the ground, the firebender roughly picked him up, and with an incredible strength, threw him farther into the trees. His fists full of licking flames, the eighteen-year-old marched resolutely to his victim and threw another fireball, which the figure in black just luckily happened to dodge. In turn, the latter began preparing his bow and arrows, but Zuko persisted, continuing to walk towards the enemy, forcing him to back away, until the two were out of the sight.
How long would it be until the prince returned? Katara wondered, frowning. Though Zuko had managed to get rid of his first opponent pretty quick, the outcome of his present fight was still undecided. The girl was eager to be free from her bounds, and to her surprise, she quickly found out that she would be rescued faster than she thought. Because just then, the bushes her kidnapper had inspected rustled. A second later, none other than Sokka popped out, waving lazily at her.
"How are you doing, Katara?" he greeted her nonchalantly, though his voice was quiet as he strolled towards her and ripped away her gag.
"Sokka!" the sixteen-year-old gasped, gawking at her brother. "What are you-… how-…?"
"Yes, isn't it nice to have the ability of speech again," Sokka said, looking carefully at the ropes bounding her to the pole. "Wow, they did a really good job tying you up."
"How did you know I was here?" the girl at last was able to produce an articulate question.
"The same way Zuko did," the seventeen-year-old informed her, keeping that infuriating casual tone of his while he began poking at the ropes.
"So you're working together with him… with Zuko?"
Taking out a dagger from his sleeve, Sokka turned to her, seeming somewhat annoyed.
"Look, Katara," he sighed, slowly beginning to hack through her bounds. "Do you think I would just let Zuko handle everything? Don't you have the least faith in your big brother?" And when Katara looked at him, bemused, he scowled at her. "Look," he snapped, "I'm not just going to let some creep save my sister."
Blinking, the waterbender stared at him before she finally beamed.
"Thanks, Sokka," she whispered, and he nodded distractedly, muttering about the stubborn ropes that still held her tightly to the pole.
"You're always the one being kidnapped, aren't you?" the boy then piped up, grinning mockingly at her. "First with the pirates and now this."
Katara snorted but nevertheless nodded reluctantly in agreement.
"All that's missing is your necklace," Sokka continued, and she could feel the ropes on her chest loosening slightly. "Which Aang has, of course."
The waterbender jerked her head to her brother.
"What!"
Startled, he looked up to her, and he raised an eyebrow when he saw her unusually sharp gaze.
"Aang has my necklace?" Katara inquired, looking intently at her brother.
More than two years ago, when she had decided to side with the Fire Nation, the first thing she had expected from Zuko was for him to return her necklace. However, he had explain instead that he had lost it during one of his battles with the avatar, when he hadn't known how much the necklace had meant to her, and therefore to him. Of course, the girl had been dejected, having to accept the fact that she would have to live without her mother's last gift. And now… Aang?
"Apparently," Sokka cut through her thoughts, his dagger cutting through the ropes at her waist now, "a merchant found your necklace a long time ago, and last year (I think) Aang and I were at this village far away from here and he saw the necklace been displayed on a stand. He was fascinated by it right away and decided to buy it. I think," the boy mused out loud, "Aang told me that he had bought something that looked familiar to him, and it made me wonder. But it was only later that I realized exactly what he had bought. And when I told him…"
Katara could only imagine the avatar's reaction.
"He kept it, though?" she said, surprised. "Why would he…?"
"Who knows what's going on in Aang's mind?" Sokka shrugged, and when he still didn't manage to get through the ropes with his dagger, he swore. "Why did they tie you up damn well?" he muttered under his breath, "if only…"
"Wait, Sokka," Katara persisted on the previous subject, "so Aang still has my necklace, right?"
Yet before the seventeen-year-old could answer, the two heard an ominous whoosh before an arrow with a steel head grazed Sokka's shoulder. The boy let out a gasp before taking a step back and looking around for his enemy. Katara's taller captor appeared, glowering at him before drawing his bow once more. Sokka ducked just in time, and when he got up again, an angry snarl adorned his face before he charged at his adversary. The two soon were at each other's throats.
The waterbender, meanwhile, struggled uselessly against her ropes, scowling when she learned that although her brother had done a good amount of work, she still wasn't free. She couldn't help in the fight at all. She tried to move her hands, to waterbend in anyway, and when that proved futile, she cursed under her breath. All she could do, much to her disgust, was watch as Sokka continued wrestling with the stranger in black, all the while wondering what had happened to the prince.
----- ----- -----
Sokka had had enough fighting for one day.
First, he had been forced to battle with a hotheaded idiot of a prince, and now… he was engaged in fierce combat with a furious ninja, who was obviously determined to do him a great deal of damage. Which really sucked, because Sokka had no idea why the guy hated him so much. Could trying to free his own sister bring so much anger from another? It didn't help that he had absolutely no idea who his enemy was! As he had noted before, both of Katara's kidnappers resembled ninjas, completely attired in black while their faces were hidden in folds of tight cloth. He could see their eyes, though, and his current opponent's eyes were narrowed and cold.
He would probably have no problem slitting Sokka's throat.
Which was close enough to what was presently happening; but what was really happening was that the boy was now running furiously everywhere, his dagger in a tight grip as he tried to dodge the deadly arrows that were been constantly shot at him from the stranger in black. Sokka was trying to either reach Katara and completely free her… or tackle the foe before he could draw another arrow. Both proved to be easier said than done.
At this distance, the South Pole native could do no harm to his adversary, which was infuriating. He could throw his dagger at the other, but a rational voice in his head was telling him that was not the best idea. Sokka had just heavily hit the ground to avoid another arrow when he saw Zuko coming out of nowhere, and by the looks of the firebender, he immediately knew that they were not winning the fight. The prince had scrapes all over him, most of them light from the arrows grazing him… but some were deep, huge gashes of red even. Evidently Zuko had fought hard with his own ninja, but it was also clear that the two boys had considerably underestimated their foe.
Slowly, Sokka stood up, seeing Zuko angrily throw a fireball at the corner of his eye. The other two had trapped them in their clearing, and there was no way to escape now. Either they rescued Katara and kicked her captors' butts or… Sokka didn't want to think of the other option.
"What are we going to do now?" he whispered to Zuko as they were back-to-back, each glaring at their own ninja.
"Fight," the other answered back lightly, "and watch each other's back."
And with that, they gave each other a meaningful stare and nod before running heads on to the opposite direction. Clearly astounded by their perseverance, Sokka's adversary stared at him for a moment before quickly fumbling with his bow and arrows, yet he was not fast enough. The South Pole native managed to punch the other right in the face, and the man tumbled to the ground, dazed. Instantly, the seventeen-year-old reached for the bow, and with a quick snap, broke the weapon. When his opponent finally stood up, Sokka smiled idly at him and waved the broken bow before contemptuously throwing it to the ground. The stranger narrowed his eyes, his eyes presently ablaze with rage.
One second he was on the ground, harmless. The next second, he had rushed to Sokka and was now pinning the boy to the ground, his hands dangerously creeping to the other's fragile neck. Grimacing, Sokka swiftly kicked him off him before jumping up and drawing his dagger while the other took on a defense position. With a yell, the second-in-command of the avatar lunged at his opponent, preparing to slash his face with his dagger, but the ninja dodged with grace before kicking Sokka hard in the chest.
The seventeen-year-old, doubling in pain, gritted his teeth and slowly looked up, and he paled when he saw his adversary preparing to strike a fierce punch. Yet a fireball was suddenly thrown at the ninja's direction, scorching a part of his arm and causing him to stop and wince in pain. Sokka took a moment to look at Zuko, who still had his fist raised. The latter glared at him before the shorter ninja grabbed the prince by the shoulder, and the South Pole native could just manage a brief, grateful smile before Zuko soon had his back turned to him, too busy fending off his own opponent to help Sokka again.
He then turned to the other ninja, who was now on his knees and cradling his injured arm. Wasting no time, Sokka pinned his adversary to the ground, a foot pressed hard on the stranger's shins to make sure that the other would not try to kick him off. Narrowing his eyes, he cautiously removed his hand from the ninja's wounded arm, instead going over his face and tugging uncertainly at what was keeping him from knowing the foe's true identity. The enemy was glaring at him, but since he was unable to do anything, Sokka paid no attention to him as his thoughts wandered off for a moment.
Would Katara's kidnappers be people he knew? It seemed so unlikely, yet who would want to capture his sister and then leave a note for him? It must be somebody either he or Katara knew, but… who? Looking back at the stranger's cold eyes, Sokka thought that he knew nobody so cruel, but who knew?
A second later, he pushed away the folds that hid his opponent's face and…
Saw a stranger's face.
For a minute, the boy blinked at him. The ninja's true visage was composed of a skin darker than his own, a slender, flat nose, and high cheekbones. There was one thing very strange about him, though; there was symbols painted dark red on his face, one diamond on his forehead and one just above his nose while a shape covered both his eyes, extending as an axe from the corner of the eyes to his temple.
Sokka stared at the other for another minute before his opponent managed to kick him off. Hitting hard on the ground, the boy gritted his teeth before quickly standing up.
"Who are you?" he demanded, but his adversary ignored him and tried to land another kick.
The South Pole native quickly avoided the assault, though, before mercilessly grabbing the other's burned arm, and a gasp of agony could be heard as the enemy went half limp.
"Does this hurt?" Sokka asked quietly, squeezing the other's arm tighter. "Tell me who you are!"
The man in black said nothing, merely staring at the boy in absolute hatred, and before the latter could throw another inquiry, the ninja lost consciousness. Staring at him in disgust, Sokka scowled and turned his attention to Zuko, who had just violently pushed his own adversary to the ground.
"Why won't they just fall and stay on the ground?" the prince snarled.
"Mine did," Sokka pointed out, smiling slightly, and Zuko turned to glower at him.
However, the firebender's gaze soon shifted from the seventeen-year-old to the man out cold on the ground, and his golden eyes widened as he let out a soft gasp.
"You… know him?" Sokka queried, bemused.
"It's a YuuYan archer!"
"What?"
Yet Zuko had no time to explain further, because just then, his ninja rose from the ground and charged at him. The prince fell and groaned, and his opponent raised his foot, about to step hard on his stomach. In a second, Sokka had his boomerang in his hand and threw it hard at the ninja, and his aim was accurate, because it hit the man right on the forehead, causing him to stumble back and give Zuko time to regain his ground. Staring at his adversary in fury, Zuko waved a flamed fist at him before punching him on the shoulder, and Sokka could hear the sickening sizzle of smoldering flesh as the ninja abruptly stepped back and clutched his injured shoulder, only to draw his hand away and wince. Even contact made the pain worse. Not waiting another second, the banished one picked up the ninja and threw him into the bushes, and when the latter did not rise again, Zuko turned to Sokka.
"YuuYan archers work for the Fire Nation," he evenly answered the seventeen-year-old's question, "and they used to work for my father. They are… great warriors and extraordinary archers."
"And they're from the Fire Nation," Sokka added, his eyes narrowed. "And if my ninja is a YuuYan archer, it's likely the other is, too."
It figured, the boy pondered, angry. The damn nation could never rest, even after it had been crushed by Aang. Zuko, guessing what he was thinking, scowled at him, as if challenging him to insult his country, but before either of them spoke, Katara cleared her throat and gave both of them an annoyed look.
"You seem to have forgotten the very reason you came here," she said smoothly, and Zuko and Sokka stared at her, bewildered, before an embarrassed look crossed both of their faces.
"I'll get you out of the ropes in no time, Katara," Sokka immediately assured her, walking towards the pole.
The prince frowned but didn't say anything. Probably because he knew that fire was useless in this situation, the South Pole native thought, smirking. After all, he didn't want to burn his precious girl, did he?
"We're going to head back to the Fire Nation, Katara," Zuko told her after a while. "If possible, even tonight. Be ready."
"Hold on a second," Sokka, who had been busy sawing through the ropes with his dagger, gave the firebender a meaningful look. "Who said she's going with you?"
"You think you can actually beat me?" Zuko asked incredulously, even allowing a smirk to show.
"Who saved you from getting your stomach turned inside out?"
"Who saved you from getting your face mutated?"
"At least I can still live with a mutated face! If your stomach exploded from his kick, so would the rest of you!"
Glowering at Sokka, the prince took a step back and drew both of his fists.
"I'll take you on right now," he whispered dangerously. "And it won't take long until you're on the ground in a pool of blood."
Katara, who had been looking worriedly at them both during their fight, suddenly spoke up, scowling.
"No more fights!" she snapped, glaring at them both. "Can't we handle this in a mature and rational way?"
"No."
Both boys uttered the reply in a casual manner, but when they realized that they had both said the same thing, they gave each other a furious stare. A minute later, Sokka resumed cutting through the ropes, his dagger slashing through the material faster and more viciously than ever. Zuko, meanwhile, crossed his arms and kept a watchful gaze on Katara.
"Look," the waterbender at last sighed. "I don't want either of you to get hurt. Don't you get that? Don't you care about what I have to say at all?"
She then gave Sokka an all-too-familiar gaze, and the boy had to restrain rolling his eyes. It was a puppy look, he could see, the same one she had been giving him ever since she had been four. Of course, with her big, glimmering azure eyes and her youthful, innocent visage, he had to admit that she was extremely good at her craft, but after being witness to it for years, he had developed a partial immunity to it. Partial, though, and that was why he sighed and gave his sister a flat look in return.
"I'll think about it," Sokka told her after a minute. "But sometimes fighting is inevitable."
Katara gave him a pout before turning to give her prince the irresistible gaze, and Sokka smirked when Zuko stared back at her, not knowing how to react. After all, the firebender and the waterbender had only been together for about two years, too short of a time for anybody to get accustomed to Katara's manipulation. After a while, the prince let out a strangled sound and sighed, turning away with a scowl on his face.
"Fine," he muttered.
"Sometimes you're a spoiled brat, Katara," Sokka remarked as he was just about finish cutting the ropes bounding her shins and feet.
"Sometimes there's no other option," his sister replied calmly, and the brother just rolled his eyes.
"You're free," the seventeen-year-old declared after a moment, when all the ropes fell to the ground.
"Thanks, Sokka," the waterbender flashed him a small smile as he stepped back, making room for her to land on the ground and stretch. "Urgh, I'm sore all over…"
And it happened so fast. In what seemed to be less than a second, Zuko's ninja popped up from the bushes and darted to Katara. Before Sokka or Zuko could do anything about it, he grabbed the girl's waist and dragged her away, his speed incredibly swift as he slipped past the trees and exited the clearing. The South Pole native gasped; the prince swore. A moment later, they chased after the YuuYan archer, running as fast as they can. Because neither of them could bear it if something happened to Katara.
After a while, though, they lost sight of the archer, and the two stopped for a moment to regain their breath and look more closely at their surroundings.
"Where is he?" Sokka panted, leaning on a tree. "He couldn't have gone far, could he?"
"I'm not going to let him," Zuko replied steadily, clenching his fist.
The seventeen-year-old saw the banished one's eyes jumping from one tree to the next, perhaps thinking that the man was hiding himself and the waterbender from behind one of them. When Zuko finally spotted the two, it turned out that the archer had placed himself in a more convenient location. With a gasp, the prince pointed at where they were, and at first, Sokka couldn't believe it. They were… above them? He followed Zuko's finger, and he, too, gasped when he saw the YuuYan archer with his sister on a tall pine tree, yards above the ground. When he saw them staring at him, the man in black jumped to another tree, and Sokka was fascinated at how he could so gracefully hop from one branch to another without losing his balance at all. He was also horrified, though, because he knew that neither he nor Zuko could follow him like that. It would be suicide.
"What do we do?" he asked the firebender.
"We run after him," Zuko answered.
And with that, they continued their chase, dashing past the trees faster than before, because now they knew where the enemy was and was able to keep him in sight. Yet as the minutes ticked by, Sokka felt his legs tire, and was it just his eyes deceiving him… or was the archer becoming farther and farther away from them by the second? At this rate, they would never catch up to him, and Katara would be lost. The best thing to do would be to try to stop the man altogether without catching up to him.
"I'm going to throw my boomerang at him, okay?" he yelled at Zuko.
Hastily, he took his favorite weapon and stopped for a second to aim. In that short period of time, the archer managed to put a few more feet between them, but fortunately, it was not more, because when Sokka threw the boomerang, it did exactly what he wanted it to do; it flew right past the archer. Seeing him miss, the foe instantly turned his attention back in fleeing, but that was a dire mistake. A second later, the boomerang returned and hit him right in the face. The good thing was that he stopped, slipping and falling a few feet before he was able to grab a branch. The bad thing was… he had let go of Katara.
And the girl was now falling to the ground, and he and Zuko were too far to do anything about it.
"You idiot!" Sokka heard the prince scream at him, but the voice was somehow distant, because all the boy could concentrate on was his sister, falling to the unforgiving earth below.
But with a gust of wind, somebody unexpectedly appeared right next to Katara, and the South Pole native saw the small figure grab a hold of the girl before they both plummeted to the ground. Yet instead of hearing the dull sound of a crash, a burst of wind collided with the ground instead, and he felt a rush of air blow past him. A thought came to his mind, but it was impossible, wasn't it? It couldn't have been…
Zuko had long rushed past him to Katara's direction, and Sokka soon followed him, taking huge strides until he reached his sister. And when he arrived, he could only gasp. Zuko was nowhere to be seen, and in front of him, the girl was shaken but obviously all right, smiling meekly at him. And right besides her was the avatar himself, gazing at him with that tranquil look of his and appearing as if nothing had happened.
"Hello, Sokka," Aang waved at him. "It's so nice that we all happened to meet here."
"What are you doing here?" the second-in-command exclaimed.
"Sokka, that's no way to greet somebody," Katara told him, frowning. "Especially to somebody who just save my life." She looked flustered but happy. "Thank-you, Aang," she then whispered timidly to the airbender, who merely nodded.
"I went into your room and saw the note," he informed Sokka. "I hope you don't mind."
"No… I guess not. Wait," he became serious. "You have to know that Zuko was here. That means… he's nearby."
Katara bit her lip, evidently worried for the prince's sake, while Aang frowned.
"Zuko?" he said slowly. His eyes flickered downwards for a moment. "I guess that's no surprise, is it? But… we just have to keep a lookout for him. He shouldn't be too much of a threat. Anyway," the avatar turned around, "I need to get back to the castle as soon as I can. I can leave Katara to you, right?"
The firebender instantaneously crossed the mind of the South Pole native, but for now, it didn't seem as if Zuko was anywhere near. Besides, he couldn't keep Aang here for such a trivial reason. So he just nodded solemnly.
"I have my staff somewhere," the young monk mused out loud. "Probably still in one of those trees. It shouldn't take too long for you to get out of here; just go down the slope and you'll see the road in no time."
He took one last look at Katara, and her blue eyes hesitant, she gazed back at him. Sokka could feel the atmosphere change, could sense tension but something else lessening, too… perhaps… Soon, though, the avatar averted his gaze. With a wave of his hand, Aang jumped up, and with the help of some airbending, landed neatly on the top of a pine tree, only to jump to another. In a matter of seconds, he had completely vanished
"Let's go, Katara," Sokka finally motioned to her, and with a sigh, she appeared right next to him. Together they made their way down.
The boy tried to relax, yet he couldn't help looking at every direction, in case Zuko was there and determined to take his sister away from him. A few minutes passed before Katara glanced at him and smiled.
"Don't worry about him," she said, as if reading his thoughts. "He's not around here."
"How do you know?"
"Zuko didn't want to be seen by Aang," Katara told him matter-of-factly. "He knows if he and Aang fight, Aang will win and capture him. And he can't have that, can he?"
"I guess not," Sokka sighed, although having the prince in captivity wouldn't be so bad for him at all. "Anyway," he briskly changed the topic, "no more walks for you."
"What?" she stopped and frowned at him. "Why?"
"Isn't it obvious?" he asked her steadily, continuing past her. "You're not safe. I can't believe the guards didn't catch the archers in the first place."
The fourteen-year-old scowled at him before catching up.
"So something bad happened this time. It won't happen again," she pointed out, a little edge in her tone.
"How do we know? We don't even know why they wanted you in the first place!"
At this, Katara gave him an incredulous stare before raising an eyebrow and snorting.
"You don't know?" she asked him. "Sokka, they didn't want me! I was a bait, just like the last time!"
"What do you mean?"
An impatient sound escaped the waterbender's lips.
"They were obviously trying to get to Zuko!" she said loudly. "Couldn't you see that?"
"What?"
"Why else did they leave a note, Sokka? They wanted to lure Zuko to them!"
"And how did they know that Zuko would get the note? It was stuck on the door of your cell! It's not as if he goes there to have a little chat with you every night, is it? They could have been after me for all we know!"
Sokka dodged a tree and when he met Katara's gaze again, she had an annoyed expression on her face.
"When you were fighting," she tried to remain calm, although he knew that it was taking some effort, "I saw how the archers treated you both. Yours was going easy on you; he didn't really want to do any serious damage. But Zuko's opponent," she frowned, "he was going all the way. He was trying to kill him."
"He was going easy on me?" Sokka asked; he was irritated now. "I really don't think so, Katara."
"You wouldn't have known, Sokka. You were too busy to compare! When the guy was shooting arrows at you, he was only aiming at your limbs! Zuko's archer was trying to pierce his heart!"
He was walking faster, and he was scowling. Nevertheless, he took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure as he gazed coolly at the girl.
"Okay," he started quietly. "Let's say they were really after Zuko. Why would they want to kill him?"
At that, Katara hesitated for a moment before she slowly answered:
"He's from the Fire Nation, right? And he's the prince, too. He was probably the biggest threat left after the Fire Nation was gone! I mean… Zuko is the heir of its empire! He and only he can rebuild the Fire Nation and restore it! Some people may be afraid… that he's going to be the next Fire Lord Ozai! That means…" she frowned, and suddenly her eyes were suspicious, "the people who would want Zuko dead the most… are the avatar's men."
Sokka froze. His fists clenched. When he finally spoke again, his voice was quiet, dangerous:
"Are you accusing me?"
"No, of course not!" Katara hastily replied. "But… you got a search party for Zuko, didn't you?" The brother blinked at her, and that seemed to be enough of an answer to Katara, because she continued: "They might have set this up without you knowing it, thinking that they can tell you about all this after they take Zuko down! They may not know… that I'm your sister!"
"Impossible," Sokka quickly shot her idea down. "They wouldn't do something so stupid without asking me first."
"What about the last time?" she challenged, and he looked to the ground, too angry to admit that she was right about that. "It could have happened again, you know! And then… what about your promise?"
The waterbender looked accusingly at him. He glared at her, definitely regretting that day when he had been foolish enough to give his word to a prisoner. For a long while, they walked in silence, both in their own dark thoughts as the forest became less dense and the slope became gentler. At last, the second-in-command opened his mouth again, and his tone was cold, neutral.
"You remember that the YuuYan archers are from the Fire Nation, right, Katara?"
She hesitated before nodding reluctantly.
"The avatar's army would never sink low enough to correspond with Fire Nation filth. Besides, the YuuYan archers also back up the one other possibility you wouldn't even look at."
Slowly, the fourteen-year-old looked at him, astonished.
"They could have used you for bait, that's true," Sokka continued evenly. "But they could have wanted to lure… the avatar."
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A/N: Needless to say, I am a very bad person. It's been what…? Two months since I updated? (Dodges tomatoes thrown at me.) I have plenty of excuses up my sleeve, and it would take another two months to hear them all, but I'll be nice (for once) and just bow down and say I am very, very, very sorry. This chapter is up, though, and I hope you all have a great time reading it. I'm rather critical of my own writing these days, but I think this chapter turned out pretty well. Definitely lots of actions and maybe adding a few more twists to Hardened Winds.
Thank-you for everyone who bothered to review the last chapter! It was the most reviews I ever got for a chapter of this story. I am extremely grateful and hope that I'll hear from you again. Although I wouldn't blame you if you decided to abandon this story altogether…
I'm going to get more dedicated, though. I'm planning to get a few more chapters out fast. Just hang tight and enjoy.
Thank-you. Sorry. Thank-you. Sorry.
Review if you're nice.
