A/N. Violence, death, etc… Everything you expect from a battle.
I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender.
Katara watched as Aang flew away... She couldn't help it, but if it had been only her feelings that mattered… She would have called him back, pleading that he would not go and fight alone… But of course, that was not an option… Too much depended on him, being able to get through to the Fire Lord's Palace unseen… And if they went as a group, that would be nearly impossible.
But still… She would have preferred to go with him, just to know that if something happened, she would be there to heal him if needed…
"Katara, what are you doing? It is time to submerge!" Her brother voice shouted, and, shaking her head, she quickly bent a wave towards Appa, landing on his head. The bison groaned softly, as a sort of greeting, and the waterbender made a protective water shield around his head. Aang had been able to create an air bubble, but she needed to keep the water out. Appa dove into the water, and they were on their way.
Next time to would come above the surface… It would be on the beaches of the Fire Nation capital. What would that look like? Katara had visited the other capitals of the world…. Agn'a Quela, Omashu, Ba Sing Se… The great cities of the world. But she would be one of the first outsiders to see the Caldara, capital of the Fire Nation… She had listened to Aang and Sokka discussing it, and the airbender had made it sound… beautiful. A city, inside a dormant volcano, with golden roofs, lush parks and clean streets… She couldn't imagine what it would look like. And how had a century of plundering the rest of the world changed the city that profited from the war? Would there be even more prestigious buildings? Or would there be great statues on every corner, as in Fire Fountain?
Katara looked over the shield and judged it would be safe to sit back. And look at the thing Aang had pressed in her hand before leaving. Opening her palm, she recognized it. It was the pouch that had been in his pocket in Ba Sing Se, after the battle with Azula… He had kept it? It had been in his chest before, but after the first days in the Fire Nation, she had not seen it in there… He had probably kept it somewhere else, perhaps in a pocket of his vest or something like that.
It surely was important to him, if he had taken the precaution of hiding it away from prying eyes. And now… he had given it to her. For safe keeping perhaps? Yeah, that was probably it. He probably didn't want to lose it somewhere in the Fire Lord's Palace…
Katara undid the knot in the cord. The pouch opened, but due to the little light underwater, the waterbender wasn't able to see inside. Extending her left hand, with an open palm, she turned the pouch and let the content spill into her hand.
A necklace.
Tui and La…
The first thing she recognized was the blue silk. It was the same as her dress. So that was why Aang had already met that cloth merchant… He had bought this. The pendant attached to it lay against her palm, with the smooth back facing her. Dropping the empty pouch in her lap, Katara turned the pendant around, with trembling fingers.
A small circular stone jewel, with smooth surfaces, lay in the palm of her hand. The soft yellow stone was specked with greyish-blue spots, and a design was etched into one of the faces. Squinting her eyes, Katara saw the carvings on the stone… Well, she realized what it was.
The lower part of the circle was occupied by waves, and Katara realized it were the same wave patterns as her grandmother had used when making a dress or a parka. The symbols of the water tribe.
The upper part had three spiralling circles. Those, she hadn't seen before… Or, well, she had. On the carvings of the chest. The Air Nomad chest.
The carvings on the stone were Water Tribe and Air Nomad.
Katara and Aang.
Tui and La… He had really made this. When her father had spoken about this possibility... this morning… She hadn't believed it. Of course, Aang wouldn't give her a necklace! But proof of the contrary laid in her hand. A betrothal necklace. One that had only one possible recipient. Katara.
The waterbender picked it up with both hands, holding it at the silken bounds. The necklace was longer than the choker it was supposed to be, traditionally… Knowing Aang, he had probably done that so that she wouldn't have to choose between this one, or her mother's…
Her heart swelled with love for his consideration… But also… Her stomach clenched, and her hands trembled. How was she supposed to react to this? When she was younger… She had thought it would a be a joyous moment… But now… Doubts beset her.
What if they didn't win this day? Then what? Aang could be dead, imprisoned… and the same for her. What was the reason he had given her this, now? If he had just waited a few hours… Her whole mind and body screamed to accept it… But that little voice in her head spoke her fears…
What if they lost… And Aang managed to escape? But not her? If she was captured like in Ba Sing Se… Spirits, he would do anything for her… But how would the Fire Nation react if they knew exactly how far their relationship had gone? If… If they knew she was his betrothed? If they captured her, Katara could always lie. Lie about Aang, and their feelings. Maybe, with a little bit of chance… They wouldn't bother to ask Azula, or anyone who was aware of their feelings.
And if they were captured… With a little bit of chance, the Fire Nation would be cruel, and just kill any of the prisoners. Of course… It would mean that she would be killed. But at least Aang would not surrender to exchange his life for hers…
It was the only way… Aang wouldn't have to know about her reluctance… Of course, if there wasn't the possibility of capture… She wouldn't even hesitate. Of course, she would say yes. But… Not now… In a few hours, after their victory? No problem… But for his own safety… Not yet.
Katara sighed, putting the necklace back into the pouch. He didn't need to know that to reject a necklace as a first choice was akin to just plainly say no to the marriage. It was a stupid custom anyway. Why wasn't a woman permitted to have a few hours to think about, why did she need to make a choice right at the moment when she received the necklace? Aang would understand! Even if he knew about that tradition. He would understand it. He always did!
The waterbender put the necklace back in the pouch, letting it slide inside her pocket. She would accept if they won this day. Otherwise… She would just wait for after the war. If she explained her reasons… Aang would understand.
She loved him for giving this to her. But if rational thought prevailed… Well, it would be better to wait, at least until this evening. Aang wouldn't have to know.
Looking up, Katara saw great white walls stand inside the water. The entrance to the harbour… They had arrived.
The walls that she could see were those of a canal. Aang had described how the harbour looked. A bay, ringed by a great, whitewashed wall, with towers and a walkway, and the only entrance into the harbour was a channel, flanked by guard towers. The channel was only wide enough for two ships to at the same time. This was probably to make traffic inside it easier, one way in, one way out… But it also limited their ability to create a wide front.
So, Sokka had decided to infiltrate the harbour. They would use some of the explosives created by the Machinist to blow up the entrance gates. That would normally be the first time the Fire Nation guards would know of their presence, but it would be too late then… They would be inside the harbour, landing troops.
The first two sub ships entered the channel… Still all good. She didn't hear any alarms, and the water stayed calm… So, at least there was no counterattack. Everything was going well.
Then, she turned Appa so he would enter the channel. The bison shook his head softly, groaning.
"I know sweetie… But it is only a channel. No scary caves…" The waterbender whispered, and Appa just continued to bellow softly in their air bubble, swimming after the ships. The gates at the other sides of the channel were closed, as expected… But Katara still heard the scraping of something. Turning around, she saw that all the sub ships were inside the channel now…. And that the gates at the entrance… were closing.
They had been seen. How, Katara didn't know. But they had been seen.
The surface of the water was broken by something long. She managed to pulled Appa to the left, before the object flew past them, and imbedded itself into the seafloor. Looking down, Katara saw it was a harpoon. One that was at least as long as she was, and a chain was attached to the end, going up, going out of the water, somewhere the waterbender couldn't see.
The first defences. Their first test…
Other harpoons appeared, shooting into the water. They were sitting target here, they needed to move! But Sokka had said it took time to aim the explosives. So, they needed to sit tight, and just hope for the best…
Still, Katara was afraid for Appa. The sub ships were made of metal, and each had waterbenders inside, who could easily freeze the water if a hole was created… With Appa, a living being… No, this was way more dangerous for him.
The waterbender quickly pulled on the reins, manoeuvring the bison underneath one of their ships. At least, here, there was no chance he would be impaled. But apparently, the movement had been seen, because the harpoons concentrated on them now… Katara heard one scrape along the hull of the ship, but one had probably pierced the metal, because she saw the ship being hauled towards the wall, a chain sticking out of it.
"Come on Appa!" She said to the bison, and he immediately swam to the surface. Katara would have preferred keeping him inside the water, but it was just too dangerous. They needed to get into the air.
When they broke the surface, she was temporarily blinded by the sun, which shone directly into her eyes. Appa groaned and managed to take off. Quickly blinking, so she would be able to see something, Katara looked around.
Tui and La… this was not going to be easy.
The bay was nearly a two-mile wide… And the harbour was enormous. Katara had never seen a place like it. Ba Sing Se had been big… But this was different. It looked cleaner… And more prosperous. The harbour was of the same, whitewashed limestone, and as Aang had described it… It was beautiful… Just behind the docks, neat rows of buildings were visible, with white walls and beautiful tilted roofs… Spirits, this was just the "normal" part of the city… What would the Caldara itself look like? The volcano doomed in the distance… Their goal… Their enemy… Was there.
There was no time to appreciate the architecture of the city, however. Katara made Appa circle the channel, and saw how the guards had spotted them. The sub-ships made shadows in the water. At least, that meant that they hadn't known beforehand. Good news at least…
It was from the towers at each corner of the channel that those harpoons were being shot. One of the towers was hauling their harpoon back, and Katara saw that it was stuck into one of their ships, probably the one she had hidden under with Appa… The ships was slowly emerging from the water, unable to move due to the chain…
What if she cut it?
She was in the perfect position to do so!
Promptly pulling the reins towards the tower, the bison seemed to understand her meaning, for her moved straight to it. Trusting Appa, Katara let go of the rope, and stood straight. Pulling some water out of the skin tied around her waist, she moved her hand in a scythe-like fashion, shooting the water to the chain, and cutting it clean in two.
The ship submerged immediately, and as Appa pulled up, Katara saw, for a brief moment, the faces of the two soldiers handling the harpoon.
They looked… so young. Around her age. And it seemed they were terrified. Terrified of them. And surprised by the fact that a flying animal and a bender had just put an end to their attack.
Good.
Appa flew into the air, high enough to make sure that no harpoon could reach him, and began to circle the bay. Just then, the water at the channel gates flew into the air. The explosives had probably done that, because Katara could see the shadows move past it and into the harbour.
Now came the difficult part… A loud banging was clanging in the air, an alarm probably, to make sure that every soldier and guard was at their post. And… How many would there be? She had never made herself illusions about that. Caldara would probably be defended by as many soldiers as possible, but they counted on the Fire Nation arrogance, and that they wouldn't expect an attack straight into the heart of the Fire Nation.
And… It seemed to have worked. The ships were moving towards the docks, probably planning on making their landing against the waterfront… And nothing waited for them there.
Further along the main road, leading to that big tower in the middle of the Harbor City, Katara could see a regiment of soldiers forming, but… it seemed that there were just not enough soldiers.
The ships emerged from the water, and hit the soft rocky beach beside the docks. The waterbender saw the fronts of the ten ships open, and first, their own modified versions of those tanks the Fire Nation used rolled out. Sokka and the Machinist had made them heavier, and longer, so that people could hide inside and still move, even under heavy fire. And then… katara understood the Fire Nation's tactic.
They indeed had few troops… but they probably only served as to delay them. Because the second their tanks rolled on the harbour plaza… Explosions began to disrupt the calm. Squinting her eyes, she could see that the towers on the cliffs around the city were firing down onto the plaza.
So… the Fire Nation was planning to pin them in one place and bombard them into submission.
No. That would not happen. They had something no one else had. Air power.
After the tanks, come the foot soldiers. Katara could not see every individual person, but she knew that Sokka and her Dad were amid those warriors. Her father had never chosen the safest option, so that his own warriors could not say he hung back and let them do the work. And Sokka… her brother was too much like that. He would be with the front ranks.
Some of the Fire Nation tanks came out of the streets beside the main road… Of course, they would not only pin them, but also counterattack. From the water, she saw how Huu had apparently formed his vine suit, and now emerged and attacked the enemy's tanks, with the help of the other Swamp People.
But those turrets on the cliffs were wreaking havoc. One of their own tanks exploded, and even from the air, Katara heard the screams of the people inside it. Praying that no friends or family were inside, the waterbender directed Appa towards the ground. She was not going to hang back. Of course she wasn't! No, she was going to fight… but first, they need to neutralize the towers, so that they could advance!
Appa hit the ground in front of a Fire Nation tank, and Katara jumped off, leaving the bison to deal with the enemy's machine. Last time they had seen one like that, Appa had just thrown it off the mountain. He would be fine.
Explosions still sounded around her, and running towards the front of the warriors, she still managed to see some of the damage those towers had done. First, there was Kranook, one of the oldest warriors of the tribe… His leg was burned, and Katara saw the white of the bone stick out of his thigh, where there was no armour. The man still moved, so… At least there was a chance. And it didn't seem too serious… So, she opted not to stop. Kranook would manage… At least until after the battle.
There were also bodies… She didn't manage to see who they were, but they were wearing the green of the earthbenders.
Please… Don't let those be Tyro or Haru…
Finally, she reached the front ranks. Apparently, the regiment of soldiers blocking the road in front of them had led an attack, because there were several wounded, blood was splashed over the white stone forming the road… But the bodies on the ground wore all red.
Good.
"Katara!" Relief flooded through her at the sound of her brother's voice. He was sitting on one of those Komodo Rhino's the Fire Nation military used as cavalry mounts, with their father behind him. He jumped down, and ran towards her, as an explosion could be heard. Turning around, she saw that the tank that Appa had faced had just slammed against one of the cliffs, and that the bison stood there, looking quite proud of himself. Well, if Air Nomads were pacifists… Their companions were certainly not.
"We need to take out the battlements! I have a-" Sokka began, but Katara already knew what he wanted.
"Get to Appa, we'll fly and disable them!" Airpower was something the Fire Nation was just not used to… And they were incapable of fighting it, she had seen it often enough. Each time a firebender fought with Aang, the airbender would just suck the oxygen out of the fire, or dance around his opponent. They just didn't know what to do when fighting air…
Without waiting for an answer, she turned around and began to run towards the bison, who saw them coming. He moved towards them, and crouched down so she could get on his head.
"Is that safe?" Her father asked hesitantly, but Sokka just jumped up, by grabbing a horn, and extended his hand.
"No time to argue about that. Up you go." And their dad was pulled on the bison.
Katara remarked that both her brother and her father had bloody weapons… So, they had been in the thick of the fighting, just as she had suspected. The last real fight she had been in… Was the taking of the ship, two months ago. Of course, there had been other fights… That strange Combustion Man… H-Hama…
But not like this. Not like a battle opposing two groups of warriors. A battle as you heard in songs and history… A battle that would decide the fate of the world.
"Get us as close as possible to that one!" Her father shouted, and, turning around, Katara saw how he was holding on tight, his knuckles nearly white, gripping the edge of the saddle. The waterbender moved the reins slowly, pulling Appa towards the first of the battlements.
"I'll take this!" Sokka shouted and showed her his sword. Understanding what he wanted to do, Katara made the bison turn slightly, waiting for the harpoon in the battlement to shoot, and then, she flew straight past it.
Sokka let his weapon slide over the artillery piece, cutting the ropes that made the shot possible. The ballista sprung loose, and the ropes, flying into the tower, probably caused damage, for she heard a man scream inside it.
"Alright, what's the next one?" Her dad asked, making himself heard over the noise of the battle underneath them.
"An artillery piece, shooting explosives!" Sokka answered. Katara looked to the next tower, and indeed, it seemed to be the case.
"Alright! I may have a surprise!" With that, her father showed them two smaller bombs, like the one they had used to blow open the gates… But hand sized! He pulled a flint out of a pocket, scraping it against the metal of Appa's armour. She saw some sparks, and her father held a rope next to it. The rope lit up, and he quickly put them into the small bombs, and threw them into the tower as they flew past.
A second passed… And the battlement just went into the air, stones flying up, leaving a small crater.
Tui and La…
Just three left. Just three, and then, their warriors could continue along the road. Katara had made sure that there was a barrel of water on Appa, and bent the water out of it. Throwing it against the third tower, she froze it around the two soldiers inside the structure. Normally, she would leave their head uncovered, to make sur they were able to breathe… But not now. If they were firebenders… And they used their breath to melt the ice… Well, their efforts would be in vain.
Just two left.
Now, the two towers had probably seen what had happened… So, they needed to change their tactic. Making Appa land on the cliffs between the two towers, Katara jumped down.
"We'll need to fight them at the same time! From behind!" She spoked rapidly, gesturing to the tower on the left.
"You and Sokka take that one!" Her father nodded, "I'll take that one!" And he ran to the right one. The waterbender would have preferred to have her father and Sokka stay together in case there were benders… but too late.
Sokka moved, and Katara had no other choice than to follow. The doors to the towers were locked, but her brother sliced the wooden lock in two with his sword, and pushed the doors open. They quickly went to either side of the opening, but apparently, there were no firebenders on the other side, otherwise flames would already have appeared. Katara moved, and entered the battlement. An artillery piece stood on a platform, and two soldiers were firing it.
They had not even spotted them…
She had kept water around her arm, and quickly threw it to the first of the two, freezing the woman completely to the wall. In the meantime, Sokka had already kicked the legs of the other soldier, making him fall to the ground. And he pushed his sword into the man's chest.
It was cruel, yes…but there was no choice. It was a battle. Kill or be killed. Those soldiers would not have shown them mercy.
"Are you alright?" She shouted to her brother, as he pulled the sword out of the dying man.
"Yes! You?"
Katara knew what he meant. Last time, on the ship… She had kind of lost it. But not anymore. No… This was a hopeful time. Not like that time… Not that depressing, sad time of their journey.
"I'm good! Come, let's find Dad!"
Sokka nodded, and they exited the tower. Katara turned to the one that was left, the one that their father would attack. Smoke was coming out of it, and suddenly, an explosion blew out half of the tower.
"Dad!" Sokka ran to the ruined tower, and the waterbender followed.
Please, not that… Not now… Not when he finally was acting the way she had wanted him to… Please Tui and La… don't take him away right before the end…
The door of the tower opened, and their father appeared from the smoke coming out of the ruins. Katara immediately saw that something was wrong. There was a knife lodged in his stomach, and there was blood coming from his chest.
As they were nearly next to him, her father fell down on his knees.
"Didn't… didn't see the bugger next to the door. But… I got him. Pushed one of the bombs right in his face." He grinned weakly, before his eyes turned upwards and he fell face first against the ground.
Answers :
Alyssa : So glad to see you enjoy the stories! I know, I'm prone to making them very long, which can discouraged some readers! But super nice to hear you look forward to them every time!
Jjsmith103 : Thank you! I think Aang just focuses on how he would like the day to end up, and focuses on that as his only option. He wants this day to be over, and begin what he thinks will be the easy part of his life. And of course, she was going to open the pouch, otherwise, a part of the story I have planned won't have any meaning lol! And of course, no one wants to fight Katara! She is scary!
Rak : Always! Of course, I had to use the scene as some sort of tension point between the two, like the kiss was in the series. But well, they have moved far beyond kissing in my take on the story, so I needed something else, and this seems like a good thing to do!