I know it has been a long while. My apologies! Thank you all for continuing to read.

Rated - T I guess

Zuko and Katara ran out in the hall, only having had time to put on enough clothes to be considered decent. There was an air of panic from everyone on the airship. As they ran down the hall to get to the platforms below the ship a sleepy Iroh poked his head out the door,

"What is all the commotion?" He was rubbing one eye and stretching with the other.

"We're under attack," Zuko said as they passed. Katara looked back and noticed a stark change in Iroh. He became hard and determined, no one was going to hurt his nephew. She heard his footsteps fall in pace with theirs. Katara was hyper focused, taking in every detail. Every dead guard they passed that was either bloody or charred. The smell was one she knew too well, it was a smell that hunted her in dreams. As the trio approached the main deck they saw the commander of the ship bleeding out.

"There," they all gathered around him "was an... infiltrator. He must have" the man coughed up blood. Katara pulled out water to begin looking for the worst of the man's wounds, but Iroh put his hand in front of her to stop her and shook his head. "Sent a raven before we left Ba Sing Se…" The man was weezing now. "Jin…." His eyes began to close "Jin fu" It was barely a whisper. The man was gone.

"Thank you commander" Zuko said before they all stood. "Uncle, I need you to stay here and captain the ship. Get us close to the water, we need to get Katara some water," Uncle nodded. Zuko grabbed Katara's hand and they continued further down the ship.

Zuko counted every body that they pass dead on his ship. People that are still fighting against his father. Against Ozai. Anger was building in Zuko. This was supposed to be over. Ozai had no bending, he was nothing to fear, just a man. His image seemed to have maintained power though.

"Help me my Lorde," One man cried. Zuko had to pull Katara to keep her from stopping to help.

"What the fuck Zuko? He needs my help!" She was pulling against his grip. Zuko pushed her up against a wall. He needed to maintain a view of both sides of them and keep Katara from going anywhere.

"Katara, look at me. We are all going to need much more help if the supporters pop this airship. The attack must still be internal or we'd already be falling fast. We have to get to the platforms to defend ourselves before the other ship is able to catch up and attack," His tone was deep and serious. As he was talking he saw Katara's eyes dart between him and the man on the ground. Zuko could see she knew he was right. There were no words, no nod, she just closed her eyes and turned to continue down the hall.

As soon as they opened the door to the platforms below the ship they saw them. Several war balloons.

"Zuko!" He turned in the direction of Katara's yell.

"Zuko!" Katara had seen a glimmer, a knife headed straight for him. All in the time span of a blink she prayed to the spirits there was enough water, pushed Zuko out of the way as she put up an ice shield with her right hand and with her left she made a, smaller than she was comfortable with, water arm to catch Zuko as he fell off the platform. She bent him to the next one before she had to turn her full attention back to the incoming attacks. Luckily they were getting closer to the ocean with every moment. She could feel it. And the war balloons were far enough away the firebenders couldn't attack, only the knife thrower's could. And Katara could.

"Get inside!" She yelled at Zuko as she deflected throwing knives.

"What?" Zuko sounded shocked. Katara wasn't able to defend Zuko, herself, and take offence.

"You're a target and you're bending can't reach them yet anyway. Go inside so I can focus on taking the balloons down before they get close enough to use their firebending!" She was yelling over the wind and clinks of blades hitting ice.

"No, I'm going to pro-"

"I'm the one protecting you right now. Do it. Don't be stubborn. Let me end this before anyone else gets hurt or dies," Her attention was still divided and so focused on Zuko's safety causing her not to see a blade. It cut her right tricep. "Ah!" It stung and she felt the blood dripping down her arm.

"Katara!"

"Go!" Zuko relented and made his way into the ship. As soon as he was inside Katara came alive. She became hyper aware of everything around her. How much water was in the air, the 6 war balloons, the speed of the wind, everything. With this sharpness came flow, Katara moved with calculated purpose. Each balloon had a blade thrower. The thrower on the second seemed to be the best. That was the first target. War balloons may be smaller and quicker, but they are also only made with thin cloth. Katara knew it was nothing a few shards of ice couldn't handle. She used her warm blood, as well as the water in the air, to bend ice shards in the direction of the second balloon. As she finished pushing her right arm forward to send the shards at her attackers, she saw a glimmer of another blade coming her way. She circled around, following her right arm, to avoid the knife.

It all felt so natural, strangely peaceful for Katara.

Once she was facing the cluster of war balloons again, the second one was falling. Katara didn't need to look down to know the ocean was close enough to bend, she could feel it. She filled her lungs as she bent down and with a yell channelled a stream of water that divided into 5, each turning to ice before hurling towards its respective war balloon. She was breathing heavily. Bending took so much strength, sometimes Katara wondered where she got it. She realized though she is physically strong, her strength comes from her mental ability to endure.

Each balloon had been hit and was falling to the ocean below. Katara turned to see Zuko with a man in a full nelson. She ran inside and made eye contact with Zuko. He was clearly exerting himself, he held still and quiet and gave a nod. This was the man, jin fu.

"Who did you tell about our route?" Katara demanded. The man spit at her.

"Long live the phoenix king Ozai" He said. Her blood boiled. This man was the reason for so many deaths. He was the reason she had to send all the men on the war balloons to their deaths. She looked back at Zuko.

"Zuko, I got it," she raised her hands.

"Zuko, I got it," Zuko knew what Katara was about to do, and knew how much it might haunt her later.

"Katara, you don't need to," Her eyes were focused and angry.

"He won't be the reason for any more deaths, he'll talk"

"You aren't the spirits Katara, it's not natural and you know that," She softened for a moment then was back in an almost trance like state. She wasn't here. "Katara, this isn't the war. We can hold him and interrogate him when we get back to the fire nation" He wanted so badly to touch her and bring her back.

"Or I can get him to tell me right now where he sent that raven, who he contacted."

"Fuck you, water nation peasent."

"Wrong thing to say buddy," and Zuko let go knowing there was no stopping Katara now.

"Ah!" Jin Fu yelled as Katara took control of him from the inside.

"All the people that were in those balloons are now dead because of you, I saw two men die today, one begged for my help. There are bodies all over the ship. You did that. You took away husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, siblings. Now tell me" She walked closer to the man she was controlling like a puppet. "Who did you contact?" Zuko stood in awe. He had only seen her blood bend one other time, when they went to find the man who killed her mother. It was terrifying and a bit of a turn on. She was so powerful. But it also was power no one was meant to have. He knew she didn't like it but would use it if she felt like she had to, and by the look in her eyes she is both here and somewhere in the past.

"To, to an outpost at t-the black cliffs," Jin Fu, the lowlife that he is, seemed terrified. As well he should be. Katara's fingers started to move.

"Katara, enough," Zuko said in an authoritative voice. Her eyes snapped up to meet his. "We got the information, I'll lock him up and once we return he will be imprisoned and interrogated." Katara dropped to her knees and hugged herself. Jin Fu clearly wasn't going to move because of the pain he was in so Zuko went to comfort her. "It's ok" Zuko wrapped his arms around her small frame.

"I hate Hamma" She was emotionless.

"I know."

Again I'm sorry it's been so long. Depression is a bitch. But I haven't stopped thinking about the story, it will continue!

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