Hardened Winds

Chapter XVII

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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This was the second time the two boys were working together.

And as Katara watched Sokka lead Zuko and her from the cell to the stairs, all the while giving occasional glares to the prince, she had to acknowledge that this was an amazing feat. When Sokka and Zuko had worked together last time to set her free, it had been almost unbelievable to Katara, seeing them fight side by side almost as if… they were friends. After all, her brother and her prince were the two people most unlikely to get along with one another.

Ever since their mother had passed away, Sokka had nurtured a smoldering hatred towards all firebenders, and his animosity towards Zuko, which had been founded years ago, only made it even more impossible for him to ever cooperate with the older teenager. And Zuko, Katara suppressed a smile, when was it ever easy for him to work with an enemy? Especially someone who was supposedly less competent than him.

"Remind me again why I'm working with this piece of scum," her brother unexpectedly hissed in her ear, his face twisted in a disgusted grimace.

He had just fallen a step behind to be right besides her as they began descending the stairs. Katara rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Because just like the last time, you guys have a common goal," she informed him neutrally.

"Are you comparing my mind to his?"

"That would be too good for you," Zuko suddenly jumped into the conversation, scowling at the other boy. "My mind… is so much more superior than your meek brain."

The waterbender sighed when the two glowered at each other, knowing that this was definitely the last time the two would ever be anything more than enemies. Still, she thought, smiling and grasping Zuko's arm tighter, it was nice having them by her side, knowing that she was completely safe for once. The content, light feeling spread through her as naturally and as quickly as pollen settling on a newfound flower, and she was happy in a way she had never known before. Teasing in its presence yet definitely concrete and assuring, it guaranteed her so much; calm, kindness, love…

When she thought about having to leave Sokka behind, never seeing him again, it depressed her terribly, the downhearted emotion dragging her to new, darker depths of her mind. That was how she knew that it was the two of them –her ignorant, overprotective brother, her sweet, volatile prince- together with her that was making her so happy. It wouldn't last long, though, but she couldn't ask for more, she knew that. Freedom was already at a high price. All she could do now was savor the moment and cling on to the tiny hope that one day, she would meet up with Sokka again.

Moments later, the three of them entered another hallway, and the second-in-command immediately stopped them, clearly alert as his eyes darted to every corner. Katara, meanwhile, was straining her eyes, hoping to not detect any unwanted sound. She sighed in relief when she heard only stony silence. She was eager to move on, but Sokka stayed motionless. It took another minute until he finally gave them a nod of approval. Her brother always stayed a few feet ahead, ready to push them aside if anyone suddenly appeared, yet as they all sneaked from one hall to the other, it seemed as if luck was upon them; they met no one. At least until…

"Go back!" Sokka unexpectedly hissed, and instantly, Zuko quickly grabbed Katara's arm.

Both retraced their steps until they turned back to the last corner, where they were well hidden by the wall. Zuko, his golden eyes narrowed, didn't dare to look back and identify the newcomer. Besides him, the girl's breathing was fast and uneven. If they got caught…

"Taro," she then heard Sokka greet the new obstacle.

"Sokka," came the relaxed, cool reply. "I haven't seen you for awhile. How are you?"

"Very good, thank-you."

"You seem… tense," Taro said quietly (Katara guessed that he was a young man). "Anything bothering you?"

"Um? Not at all!"

Zuko snorted quietly, a frown spreading across his face. When she took his hand into hers and squeezed it, he closed his eyes and muttered:

"That idiot. He can't act at all, can he?"

"At least he's trying," Katara whispered reassuringly, making the boy shake his head.

"You know," Taro continued after a moment of silence, "I thought I heard more than one person coming just right now. Did you have any company?"

"No," Sokka told him briskly. "You probably just imagined it."

"I don't imagine things, commander. Perhaps there is somebody around that corner."

When the word came out, Katara stiffened, praying that Taro wasn't talking about the corner where they were hiding. She could sense the tension that dominated the prince as he clenched his fist and scowled. This isn't good. But Taro wouldn't seriously come here because of his suspicions, would he? Dread gripped her as she closed her eyes, unwilling to think about what would happen if she came face to face with the man. She had said that she didn't want anyone else to get hurt, and she had meant it. It wouldn't be fair if Zuko was forced to harm Taro, not fair for any of them.

"And perhaps not," Sokka's voice reached her ears, sharp and confident. "Don't you have someplace to go, Taro?"

"Not in the best of moods today, are you?" he answered, his tone indifferent and mildly interested. "What's bothering you?"

"Do I have to repeat myself? Nothing at all."

"Then you wouldn't mind if I went to check around that corner, would you? Just to calm my paranoid nerves."

"No… I mean-…"

The waterbender's worst fears were confirmed when she heard footsteps gradually approaching them, and a shudder violently vibrated through her. She couldn't move anymore, all her thoughts and her entire concentration becoming centered on one single desperate plea. Don't come nearer, please stop… don't come nearer… Yet the footsteps only became louder, more threatening, and she knew he would be coming no matter what. There would be fighting, someone would become wounded, and she would feel the dagger of guilt rip through a part of her when she watched Taro collapse onto the stone floor, unconscious and burned…

"No!"

Katara's eyes flew open when Sokka cried out, obviously panicked. The noise was soon followed by a grunt of frustration, and the footsteps abruptly stopped. Her brother must have somehow stopped Taro. She sighed, relief washing her tension away like the gentle, ocean tide. Something resembling like a calmed sigh also escaped Zuko's lips, and when the two exchanged glances, Katara raising an amused eyebrow while the eighteen-year-old merely shrugged before looking away.

"Why are you holding me back, Sokka?" Taro asked the second-in-command. "You're behaving oddly."

"Um… I've been stressed out lately," was the lame excuse.

"Don't get too comfortable," Zuko whispered edgily to Katara, and she, too, could then see that Sokka would not be able to distract Taro for long.

Whether they liked it or not, she had a feeling that they would get discovered. The tight apprehension immediately came back, seizing her again in its vise-like claws.

"You know what?" the lower-ranking Resistance member then asked Sokka, his tone as always frustratingly apathetic. "You remind me of someone."

"Who?"

"I understand that your peculiar attitude… your nervousness… they're obviously a short-term thing. But when they become long-term, these symptoms become traits… of a traitor."

A traitor. It felt as if the stranger had torn a hole in her. Katara paled, although a part of her didn't know why. They were just words, after all, but all of a sudden, she felt horrible, sick. She turned to Zuko, perhaps hoping for reassurance, but to her surprise, she found that he was not there. She turned her head, and what she saw only drained the rest of the color from her face. Yet it was too late. She couldn't stop him. Because the firebender had leaped from their hiding spot, and he was already completely visible to Sokka and Taro.

"What the…?" Sokka gasped, aghast.

"A firebender!" Taro shouted.

No! The sixteen-year-old shrieked in her head, but she nevertheless heard a strangled gasp wrench its way from Taro's lips, closely followed by the hollow sound of a body falling heavily to the floor. She leaned on the wall, immobile with her heart racing, before she forced herself to move and join Zuko and Sokka. Even though she had prepared herself for the sight, she felt a pain aching in her chest when she saw Taro's limp body. His straight, wheat hair hid his closed eyes, and she could see the burn still sizzling the flesh on his shoulder. He had been innocent, too, just unfortunate enough to have crossed their path. Hurting him, it was inevitable, wasn't it? she attempted to think reasonably. But hurting him was one of the consequences of becoming free. Everything had consequences. And some worse than others, she was starting to realize.

She continued to stare at the man, her mind numb, until Zuko at last nudged her gently. He must have noticed a change coming over her, because he looked at her in concern, yet she shook her head and gave him a weak smile. What she was feeling, it didn't mean anything, did it? She didn't know why this was affecting her so much. A moment later, a question tugged at her mind, but before she could turn to the prince to ask, Sokka beat her to it. And he was far from happy.

"What did you do?" the seventeen-year-old rounded on the firebender, fuming.

"Isn't it obvious?" Zuko snapped back, a scowl on his face. "Taro suspected you! It was time someone intervened before your friend really turned on you!"

"Taro?" Sokka looked incredulous. "Taro doesn't turn on people that fast, Zuko! That's your problem. You don't know the people here… I do! And I know that Taro usually asks these questions that just don't mean anything!"

"You fool! He called you a traitor!"

"He didn't call me a traitor, you moron! It's just how Taro acts! Strange and sometimes rude, but he never really means it! It's always hypothetical, when it comes to him!"

"As if I'm going to believe that!"

They were at it again, Katara thought in annoyance as she watched the two boys glare daggers at each other, their bodies already tense and ready to move into a fighting stance.

"Please," she then said quietly, "just stop it."

She was astonished at how small and weary her voice came out. Sokka and Zuko must have noticed it, too, because the boys gave her a worried look before her brother sighed and the prince groaned, both signs that they had dropped the fight. The girl gave them a grateful grin. Satisfied, Sokka gave her a curt nod and Zuko once again grasped her arm. It was time for them to resume their escape. Putting his finger on his lip, Sokka directed them out of the hallway and to another set of stairs, and Katara knew, as their pace automatically quickened, that they were getting closer and closer to the exit. Something was nagging her, though, but once again, she couldn't place what it was. She frowned, hating how confusing her feelings had become. When she glanced at Sokka, the uneasiness inside her only grew.

She wondered whether she was feeling homesick, because it would explain why her brother was affecting her this way. He was the last reminder of her origins, and Katara, with a sharp pain of realization, knew that she could never go back home, not after what she had done. When she escaped from this castle, it would be the last she would see of her brother, too. But what was bothering her… it was more than that. She felt as if she was missing something.

"Just one more flight of stairs," Sokka whispered, "and we'll be out of here."

"Good," Zuko said. "Then I'll never have to see your ugly face again."

"I feel the same, really I do."

She let a small grin creep on her face, amused. She wanted to say something, too; anything, but all of a sudden, she realized she couldn't. It was as if she was unable to voice her thoughts, and in a way, she couldn't. Because her mind was currently centered on one sole thing, or rather the empty space left by the absence of the precise object. A sigh replaced her words. She was glad when Sokka and Zuko stopped talking a moment later, focusing instead on what they had to do as they sauntered from one hallway to another. Soon, it felt like their speed was increasing as each second passed by. A part of her vaguely wondered whether this was safe, running faster and faster, yet the two boys appeared to have thrown caution to the winds. Sokka was presently right besides her, and Zuko was almost pulling her arm, making her uncomfortable and making it clear that he wanted to go faster.

And then, there was the door. The blessed vision was almost too good to be true, but before the doubts could even register in her mind, she heard a light thud and harsh winds collided with her face. Abruptly, the running stopped. Katara found herself outside, where the sun had already gone and the skies were darkening, a melancholy shade of grayish blue while black was quickly spreading its veil over the remaining light. She blinked at the vision, a faint smile appearing when she realized with a light heart that she was free… or at least so close to being there.

"We should get her over the walls fast," Sokka remarked quietly besides her. "Before it's completely black."

"Yes, we should. Come on, Katara."

She had felt strangely apart from them when the two had talked. It was only when she felt Sokka let go was she fully aware of Zuko in front of her, his face expressionless as he motioned to the walls in front of them.

"I managed to climb over them before using rope," he told her quietly. "It's going to be much harder now, since I have you and your arms are injured. But I'll get you out of here, I promise. Even if it means I have to carry you all the way up."

"Aw, how sweet," Sokka drawled in a sickly girlish tone.

"Shut-up, you South Pole brat."

Zuko then turned to her and took a step forward, but when she wouldn't budge, he looked at her curiously. Yet she wasn't ready to get out of the castle, not yet. There was something she had to do. Her eyes wandered from those amber eyes of his to the castle wall, unconcernedly scanning her surroundings. However, when she saw a small door on the farthest side of the wall, obviously meant to be hidden, a flame inside her ignited, and she was unexpectedly very curious. The door was made of the same dull material as any other door, but it had an intricate symbol on the front, and something told her that it was different from the rest.

"What's that door?" Katara bluntly asked Sokka, making Zuko and him stare at her, speechless.

Perhaps it was because he had been so startled by her unforeseen question that her brother turned to her and answered truthfully:

"It leads straight to the avatar's chambers. Wait…" his instincts soon came into play, and he looked at her, wary. "Why do you want to know?"

In an instant, it became clear to her. What she was feeling, what she wanted… She knew now. And filled with a new sense of determination, she looked at Sokka solemnly.

"Why… are you looking at me like that?" he asked, apparently disconcerted by her gaze.

"Sokka, I want you to do me a favor."

He raised a cynical eyebrow at her. Katara knew what he was thinking. Hadn't he already done enough? It was true, she had to admit, but she couldn't leave unless she retrieved what she wanted. What was rightly hers. The fact rang clear and true in her mind, and a powerful certainty filled her entire being, making her feel more confident than she had ever been. She glanced at Zuko and was unsurprised when she saw him irritated, his hands on his hips and scowling.

"We don't have time for this!" he cried angrily. "Katara, we need to get out of here!"

"Sokka," the girl turned to her brother and hurriedly let the words out, "I need you to get my necklace back."

"What?"

The seventeen-year-old goggled at her, eyes wide open and his mouth gawking. He stayed for several moments like this, but when he at last collected himself, exasperation immediately dominated his face. He scowled at her.

"You can't just make demands like that," he told her quietly.

"I know," she sighed, taking a step closer to him. "But you know how this necklace is important to me. It's the only thing that I have that reminds me of Mom, of everyone in the South Pole, and I can't bear to lose it again."

"You should have thought about that two years ago," Sokka pointed out venomously, and a brief, horrid pain seized her before she shook her head and gazed at him sternly.

"It's too late to change the past," Katara reminded him quietly, "but I'm not so willing to let it go so easily in the future. We have time, don't we?" she desperately asked him, looking back at Zuko, who only shrugged at her question. "We can go to through that door and get it in no time!"

"But-…"

"Where's Aang right now, Sokka?" Her voice came out louder and harder than she had wanted, but she pushed that thought away.

"He's at Bai Sing Se now."

"Then it should be easy getting the necklace!"

In a swift motion, she ran to the avatar's door, and with a cry of frustration, Sokka chased after her, Zuko right at his heels.

"This is getting ridiculous!" the prince snapped when they all reached the door.

"For once, I agree with the firebender," Sokka sighed, giving Katara an angry look. "You can't always have what you want, Katara."

"The necklace means so much to me," the waterbender said quietly, ignoring his previous comment. "It's not only something for me, but it's also for you. Because I don't think you realize what will happen once I'm gone." She looked at him sadly. "We have no guarantees that we'll ever meet again. This is probably the last time we'll ever see each other, Sokka. I never considered that when I left you and Aang two years ago. I don't know why, but I guess I never thought then how much I was giving up when I joined Zuko. But when I first saw you again, I realized how much I missed you –how you were such a big part of my life- and I just don't want to leave you like this.

"The necklace… it'll remind me of you, of what we all were before. I don't want to just leave this place and forget everything that has happened. Bringing the necklace with me, it will be like bringing a piece of the past, too. Because sometimes memories just aren't enough."

Sokka looked uncertain, and when she was done, he closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. Maybe he was discovering that the situation wasn't just trivial and unimportant. His decision, it would mean so much to her. The girl heard someone step forward, and a moment later, she felt Zuko's supportive hand on her shoulder. Clenching her fist, she gazed at her brother earnestly.

"You do have the key, don't you?" she then questioned him.

Sokka nodded reluctantly, and to her bewilderment, he pulled something from his shirt, which revealed to be a small, jade key. He let it dangle from his hand, looking as unsure as ever as the two stared at the object, mesmerized. The necklace, her dear brother would give it to her, and then she would be complete, she wouldn't…

"Let's go," she murmured, reaching for the key, which in her eyes, had already transformed into the familiar, beautiful necklace that had once adorned her neck.

"Wait-…"

Sokka was hesitating again? No, she wouldn't, she couldn't-… And suddenly, a chilling cold spread through her, and she knew that something was very wrong. The winds, that had been persistent and almost brutal a second before, somehow stopped altogether, followed by the soft sound of quiet footsteps. A gasp, and she turned to Zuko, whose face was taut. She turned around to look, even though her mind was screaming at her to do otherwise…

And there he was. His hands limp by his sides and his pale gray eyes wide and confused, the avatar stared at all three of them. He was paler than usual, Katara noticed hazily. He looked frailer than the last time she had seen him. But what drew her attention the most was his face, that familiar, innocent face of his, and her eyes couldn't turn away from it, her mind cruelly making her remember the big, cheerful smile that used to always fill it up, make him so happy, so invincible…

But he was weak and vulnerable in front of her now. Just like… And then, as quickly as fire came to life, realization dawned in his gray eyes, and horror and hurt crept onto his visage, and she felt her heart breaking. It was just like the last time, exactly like what had happened before, when she had confessed that she had betrayed him two years ago, at that summer's end. Small, fragile, and like a glass mirror cracking apart, he had gazed at like this…

"No, Katara… you can't do this…. you can't…"

"Please, let me go, I can't stay here, I need to…"

"Why did you do this? I don't know how… Why, Katara, why?"

Punching the bars, screaming her name, and clenching his fists so tight that blood ran freely from his palm, glistening red… His forlorn voice from long ago echoed inside her head. And all this lasted for merely a moment before the boy abruptly turned around and ran. Before she could do anything –cry out his name, go after him- he threw the staff he had been carrying into the air and jumped up, grasping his glider and flying away.

"Aang!" she heard Sokka shout in anguish.

Somehow her hand had found itself to her chest, and she was clutching herself tightly as she watched the fourteen-year-old become a mere, small dot in the infinite sky. She was aching all over, her agony strong as it pierced through her, tearing her apart. She looked up in the sky, surprised when she found darkness glaring at her back. It was night already, and she felt herself cradled by cold as the winds came back, this time like ice as it swept past her. Yet despite how horrible she felt, an important question still persisted in her mind. As always, Sokka was the one who asked it out loud.

"I don't get it," the seventeen-year-old moaned, apparently shaken. "I know Aang is bound to feel angry when he saw us together, but that-… it doesn't make sense!"

Why had the airbender been so horrorstricken when he had seen them? Sokka helping Katara escape, it wouldn't have been all too surprising to Aang, right? She didn't know anymore, or she could think about was his face, his hurt. And it was only when she really thought about it when a terrible possibility crossed her mind. She froze, aghast. No…

"It doesn't matter!" Zuko said through gritted teeth. "We need to get-…"

Yet the eighteen-year-old never did finish his sentence, because just then, the three of them heard footsteps. And before they could run, Katara heard a sharp gasp as Zuko was suddenly hit by something hard.

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A/N: Another cliffhanger, although what is that something that is rather 'hard'? Yes, you guessed it, readers: Zuko got hit by a giant teddy bear! (Readers glare at the author's random immaturity.) Sorry, sorry. As my profile so eloquently says, I have issues. Anyway, this chapter really has problems concerning the later episodes of Avatar that aired last September, including the fact that Aang got Katara's necklace back from Zuko and all.

Thank you, creators of Avatar, for making that happen. Thanks for ruining my story. (Glare.)

Hopefully, this chapter still wasn't too bad. Yeah, it was rather idiotic of Katara to want to do such a risky thing like getting her necklace back from the avatar's chambers, and it might have been unrealistic that Sokka almost let her have her way. Think about it as me portraying the weakness and downfall of human emotion.

… Or use your imagination and make up a better reason. I don't know. If this chapter really disturbed you, you can always tell me.

What else? I have a few questions that some of you might answer for me. Must you really capitalize terms like 'Avatar,' 'Waterbend,' 'Earthbender,' and the like? I started this story last year, so I'm out of date with such new etiquette, and personally, I don't think that such capitalization is necessary or even a wise thing to do. Too… much…. capitalization…. in my opinion.

Done with my ranting. (For now.)

Review if you're nice.