A/N. I didn't want to make the White Lotus like this all good organization that swept in at the last moment. So I gave them some more depth that is going to be explored further next chapter.
I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender.
Looking at the Shirshu sprinting away into the darkness, Katara hated the bounty hunter. She had brought them all the way to the broken Outer Walls of Ba Sing Se! Hundreds of miles away from the place they needed to be in just two days' time! Of course, Prince Iroh wouldn't be here and the woman had brought them as far away as possible! What else was there to expect from a Fire Nation asheater.
Actually, Katara wasn't quite sure June was from the Fire Nation… But it seemed just like a trick those people would play to gain the upper hand in a fight. They were at Ba Sing Se, in the middle of the night! Without Aang, without Iroh, with an exhausted Appa, and no plan whatsoever. June had said that Zuko's uncle was inside the perimeter of the Outer Wall, but that could be anywhere, Ba Sing Se was the greatest city in the world! Millions of people! If someone wanted to hide in there, they would never find them!
Certainly not in two days' time.
June had been a pain in the ass in her hometown. Seriously? Calling her some maniac for chasing someone? She didn't know a single thing about her! And Katara supposed that broken-hearted people did come to the bounty hunter to find the person who left them, but not her!
And to call Aang a bald freak? Tui and La, the moment she would get her hands on that woman… At least, when they no longer needed her. Why did everyone consider Aang like an oddity? Sure, he was not like most people, but that didn't make him strange, or exotic! It just made him an Air Nomad! People were just not used to see them, but Aang didn't call other people freaks for being a part of their own culture!
"So… What now?" Her brother sighed, standing in the breached wall. Looking up, the waterbender saw how the high wall, at least two hundred feet, looked in disrepair… But that wasn't a surprise. Such a big structure probably needed a lot of maintaining, and she doubted the Fire Nation occupiers had let earthbenders do their job here.
"Find Iroh." She answered, through gritted teeth. She hated the fact that they had just abandoned the plan to find Aang. Even if she could see the necessity in finding someone else, for Aang was impossible to track down… But she knew where he was.
At least, she thought so. Sokka had been in the Spirit World, body and soul. Aang had to be in the same kind of situation, pulled into it by some Avatar mumbo-jumbo. That had to be it. That was the only explanation Katara could think of why her husband was not trackable.
Spirits… Her husband.
It was still strange to think of him like that, but at the same time, it felt right. Sure, they were young… So very young. But who knew… Maybe they were not surviving the coming days. And at least, at least, the waterbender could die knowing that they had done something right. That they had done everything they wanted…
Well, not everything. If they were to die in two days, she did regret several things… Not being able to say goodbye to Aang being in the forefront of it all. But there were several other things she would have likes to do. Speak once more to her father. Seeing her grandmother, just one last time…
Having children.
She had always wanted children… But later in life. And if they were to die in this battle… Well, that later would never come. So yes, she regretted not growing older and being at an age where it was normal to have children.
Children with Aang's eyes…
Shaking her head, trying to get the mental image out of her head, she turned to the others in the group. All looked dead on their feet, and surely, she wasn't that much better… The waterbender saw her brother stand in the breach of the wall, close to her, peering into the darkness towards the walled city. Letting a hand slide into her pocket, Katara took out the necklace, quickly hiding it inside a balled fist.
"What are you thinking?" She sighed, stepping a bit closer to him. Katara knew that look. It was the way Sokka looked when he worried about something, something that he didn't understand himself.
"Why are there no guards here? Ba Sing Se's garrison would be big enough to patrol the Outer Wall, surely…" Her brother whispered, sounding as if he spoke to the wind whipping through the breach, as much as he spoke to her.
"Maybe they have been pulled away? Ozai is supposed to end his burning here, destroying Ba Sing Se… Perhaps they have pulled out to save their own troops?" She suggested.
"And leave the Earth Kingdom two days to organize a defence of the city? No… They would pull out at the last moment, just an hour or so before Ozai's arrival… Toph?" The last word, he called behind them. Katara glanced over her shoulder, seeing how the blind girl had sat down on one of the great stones in the rumble of the wall, and was now standing up once more, clearly irritated.
"What do you want? I want to go to sleep, just for a few hours. We can't go on without sleep!" The earthbender shouted towards them.
"Are there any bodies buried around here?" Her brother asked, ignoring Toph's remarks. Still looking at the blind girl, Katara saw how she put her feet down, concentrating. Then, the misty green eyes grow slightly larger.
"Eh… yeah. There is a mass grave just over there." She pointed to a few yards away from them. Turning her head to the place, Katara saw no clear sign of ground that had been disturbed… But that didn't mean anything. It could be an old grave, or… Or earthbender's had dug the grave, and then hidden it.
"Recent?" Her brother asked the question that had been on her lips.
"Two days? Three?" Toph joined them, "Twenty-four bodies."
Setting her mouth in a grim line, Katara couldn't help but feel ambiguity about this news. Sure, every dead Fire Nation soldier was one less threat they had to face… One less threat for Aang. But still, being buried in an unmarked grave, without a soul knowing you were here? That you had died? That was something you didn't even wish on your worst enemy…
"The guards." Sokka suddenly sounded a whole lot more alert, and Katara felt her own tiredness disappear by the rush of adrenaline. She knew what her brother was afraid of. If the soldiers guarding this breach were dead, that meant someone had killed them. And that those people had gone inside. And were perhaps watching them at this very moment.
"There are other people around." Toph joined them, whispering in an urgent tone, "I didn't think much of it. They are in the small huts at the other side of the wall. They seem old. But in fighting shape."
That was weird. Standing in the breach, they were joined by Zuko and Suki, while Appa turned around, clearly intending to guard the rear. Facing the field on the other side of the wall, in the darkness, Katara could swear she saw movement in the night.
"There." Toph kicked her heel against the ground, and a soft rumbling sound could be heard, followed by the muffled groan of a man.
They were not alone.
"Only Fire Nation soldiers in the grave?" The waterbender asked. If so, they could be facing quite a large force… of whoever had killed twenty-four men.
"Can't say. They were stripped." The blind earthbender answered, sounding angry.
"How many people around?" Sokka asked.
"Ten. That I can sense."
Ten. That was not that bad. But something didn't feel right. If this was the whole group of people who had killed twenty-four soldiers, that meant they were highly skilled, in ambush or in combat. Or both.
And that was a real danger. They didn't have the time to fight a battle, and even if they came out on top, it would mean they would lose time treating wounds, resting and hiding any clues of what had happened. And time was something they didn't have.
"Alright. Hey!" Katara shouted the word, making the shadows in the dark stop their slow advance towards them.
"Yes, you! What do you want?" She shouted. Sure, it was dangerous, but apparently, the people creeping up to them had not expected it, because there was no more movement.
"Sis…" Sokka groaned, clearly not very happy with her approach. But what of it? Their observers already knew where they were, and it was no use pretending not to. So, why not make them confused?
"Have a better idea?" She hissed to her brother, but when he didn't answer, nor did any of the others, she spoke up once more, "What do you want? Money? We just gave the last to a useless bounty hunter! A fight? We could give it to you! But honestly, I have better things to do! So, fuck off!"
Where the swearing came from, Katara had no idea. Well… Actually, she had. She didn't even care about these people. They were just a nuisance in her path, a nuisance she would prefer to avoid.
"If your grandmother heard you speak like that young lady, she would wash your mouth with that disgusting seaweed soap of hers." A sharp old voice answered from the dark. Startled, Katara recognized the voice... from somewhere. But the mention of a grandmother was too specific. Anyone else would have said mother. But this man knew that that was not an option.
The man knew them.
And the term young lady was something else, way too specific. In the North Pole, her teacher had used it to annoy her each time she failed a movement.
Pakku.
"What are you doing here?" She spoke into the darkness. If it was really Pakku, he'd better have a good explanation for his presence. He was supposed to be south.
"The same thing as you I suppose. Preparing for the comet." The old voice answered.
"Eh, having seen it, I wasn't too impressed the last time, I seem to keep reminding you. Firebenders are just slightly more fanciful." Another voice, high pitched and strange, added himself to the sounds of whispers in the dark. Turning to her brother, she saw the utter confusion on his face. And that was not too surprising, because the second voice had sounded a lot like… Bumi?
What were Pakku and Bumi doing in Ba Sing Se, together?
"Maybe we should talk like civilized people, instead of shouting at each other in the darkness?" A third voice added, and that one was so particular that she didn't even need to ask herself who it was. The thick Fire Nation accent was enough. Jeong Jeong….
What was happening…
A flash of light appeared in the field in front of them, and a flame began to dance in the extended palm of a firebender. The light cast by the fire illuminated a small group of men and women, standing in a loose semi circle around them. In the middle of the group, Pakku, Bumi and Jeong Jeong stood, squinting at them.
A rush of relief flooded through Katara. Allies… Allies… People who would help them. They weren't alone in this! Ten extra pairs of hands, extraordinarily talented benders… Being there to help them during the comet! They had a chance. And of course, when Aang would reappear, they would finally have a real advantage…
A weight lifted from her shoulders. Before hearing Pakku's voice, she had thought that their mission was a suicide mission. A task where there was no other outcome than certain death. But of course, they still had a chance.
"Alright. Who are these old people?" Toph asked aloud, confused.
Katara nearly laughed aloud, feeling strangely hopeful. Sure, Aang was still missing, but she knew the airbender. He would come back. He always did, and he would come and fight the Fire Lord. Even if she wished, with all her heart, it could be someone else… She knew Aang would never abandon the world for a second time. He would not.
"Our teachers!" She laughed the words, "friends and people we met on the road!"
Tui and La, there was a sliver of hope in the darkness of these last twenty-four hours!
Aang, wherever you are, please come back… You are not facing the threat alone! You don't have to fight alone! It isn't your responsibility if Ozai falls… Just come back to me.
"Where is Momo?" Bumi's good eye had gone over their group, standing in the breach.
"Aang is also missing." She answered coldly. Of course, the crazy old king would see Momo's absence, but not his oldest friend. The one on whose shoulder rested the fate of the world.
"Eh, as long as they are together." The man shrugged the news that the Avatar was missing off as if it was a trivial matter.
"Avatar Aang is missing?" A woman on the left of the semi circle asked. Turning towards her, Katara couldn't make out the colours she was wearing, but her green piercing eyes seemed to suggest she was an earthbender.
"Yes, but he will be here for the comet." She answered, knowing the truth of that statement.
"That young id… idealist will be the death of me, won't he?" Pakku grumbled, and Katara turned towards him, but before she could even answer him, Toph spoke.
"Hey, old man? I would suggest you shut your mouth about our friend. He may be an idiot. But he is our idiot. If Katara says he will be there, he will." The blind girl once more put a foot against the ground, and the same rumbling sound was heard once more. And Pakku pulled a painful face before quickly resuming his grumpy neutral expression.
"Hah! I like her." Bumi laughed, "I would suggest a rock in the balls… But it wouldn't do anything. Kanna has them in a small bag hanging around her neck I think!"
The mention of her grandmother, by name this time, made Katara look up, forgetting, just for a moment, their whole situation.
"Have you seen Gran Gran?" Pakku had been travelling to the South Pole with several benders when they had last seen him, and if he had been there, he would have the latest news from home…
"Yes. She is well." Pakku answered thinly, but the others in the group began to snicker. Something Katara had not expected to be honest. Pakku had seemed a respected member of the Northern Water Tribe, even though he was a sexist ass. But here, in this group? He seemed to be on a far more equal footing, among… friends?... who teased him senseless.
"What he means to say by that was that Lady Kanna has kicked his noble behind over the whole South Pole. I believe the exact wording of her welcome were… oh, Pakku, what were they?" A woman on the edge of the group smiled sweetly.
The old man grumbled something, but even though Katara strained to hear, she couldn't understand a word.
"Speak up man." Bumi laughed, clearly enjoying himself.
"Oh. It is you. I gather my granddaughter has kicked your butt several times. While she prodded me with a spear." Pakku whispered, clearly embarrassed.
And Katara laughed. Tui and La, it felt good to laugh. She must have seemed crazy to her friends and the people around them, but she didn't care. Even she had observed her mood swings these last few hours, but this? Spirits, this was good.
"This is the granddaughter in question?" The woman with the piercing green eyes asked.
"Yes. But enough, we have other, more important things to do. You five. With us, I think we have much to discuss, and little time." The old waterbender waved, and to her own astonishment, Katara could see the teasing and laughing mood disappear, to be replaced by a grim atmosphere.
"Just one question!" Zuko raised his voice for the first time, "Who knocks on the Garden Door?"
What? Katara turned to the firebender, utterly confused. Why had he asked that ridiculous question.
"Oh, Iroh was right, he is clever. One who has eaten the fruit and tasted it mysteries." Bumi grinned, and Katara felt as if the whole weight of Appa hit her at once. That was what the cloth merchant in the town after Hama had told them, when she and Aang had bought the fabrics for their clothes… And the flames in Jeong Jeong hands illuminated the front of one of the tunics… And on it, the waterbender could finally make out the symbol stitched into the dark blue fabric.
A white lotus.
Like the one on the cloth merchant's barrels. Like the one… Like the one on the printshop in Ba Sing Se.
"You have been keeping an eye on us." Katara spoke up, not even bothering to hide her astonishment. These people had been spying on them!
"On the Avatar, yes." The woman with the green eyes answered, before turning back to Zuko, "Your Uncle is here, if you wish to speak with him. We are the Order of the White Lotus, sworn to protect the culture of all nations."
Oh, just on the Avatar?
"Why?" She came to stand next to the woman. Katara would have answers. These people had followed them around, for months! And they seemed to have the means to help people! She could have used their help in Jang Hui! Their help when she had been healing Aang!
"Why? Because the Avatar is the only hope, and he was gallivanting over half the world! He needed to be guided from time to time!" The woman answered, as she turned around and began to walk away.
Oh no. She wasn't going to escape that easily! Katara took a few steps, following her. The others in the group also began to walk, towards where, she did not know. But better to stay with them. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw her friends also following the group.
"Gallivanting? Sure, saving the North Pole, defending this city with his life, and helping the people from the Fire Nation! No big deal!" Katara seethed as she stepped next to the woman.
"Saving? Hah!" The woman with the green eyes walked away in a brisk pace, "The North Pole was saved by the Ocean Spirit! This city was not defended, the Avatar only came back to save you, if our information is correct. And if he wanted to help the Fire Nationals, he would have put an end to the war already."
In the distance, Katara could see the glow of campfires… a lot of them. Matching the woman's pace, she heard Pakku and her brother talk, and also Zuko's voice, probably asking about his uncle. But she had only eyes for this woman who seemed determined to hate Aang.
"What is your problem lady?" Katara brisked, grabbing the woman's arm. Aang had never done anything to this person!
"My problem with the Avatar? That he is a useless one. Great Spirits, we are doing his job here. If he had an ounce of sense of duty, he would be standing here with. But no… he is missing." She said the word with such disdain that the waterbender knew what the earthbender meant.
She thought that Aang had fled.
"You…" But before she could speak once more, Pakku appeared next to her, taking her hand and forcing it away from the woman. The earthbender shook her head and disappeared into the group leading the way.
"I see you haven't changed at all." Katara growled at the old man, who just shook his head sadly.
"Leave Hui Li alone Katara… She had suffered enough. She may have strayed away from the path of our organization, but she had good reason. Her only child was killed when Ba Sing Se was taken. She has a… grudge… against the young Avatar." Pakku sighed, releasing her hand.
Biting her tongue, Katara knew that grief could make you… unpleasant to be around. She herself had been during those weeks when Aang had been in his coma. But still, this Hui Li could have listened to her arguments, but instead she had been stubborn and had only thought of Aang as a carefree person, shrugging his duties off as if they were just some nuisances.
Come back, my love… People seem to doubt you. But I would never. I know you are somewhere, trying to figure out a way to stop this war. I know you are.
They approached the campfires, and the waterbender saw that it was a city of tents, surrounded by a low earthen rampart, with just one entrance, guarded by four men wearing the same dark blue tunics as the people in the group they were accompanying. If these people could really be used against the Fire Lord, Aang would stand a chance! Glancing inside the camp over the rampart, Katara could see that there were hundreds of men and women inside it. Hundreds of people could fight the Fire Nation soldiers, and give the airbender a window of opportunity to fight Ozai! She knew that this could work.
Turning her sight to her brother, Katara saw how Sokka was also looking at the camp, and the intelligent glimmer in his eyes seemed to think along the same lines as she had done. This was good news. If only they could get these people to the northeastern tip of the Earth Kingdom in time for the comet… There were firebenders, waterbenders, earthbenders… Combined, they could surely match Aang's Avatar powers…
"You haven't asked a single question Katara… Most unusual for you." Pakku voice sounded… worried? And carrying? That nearly frightened her, for the old waterbender had never seemed the caring type.
"Sorry… A lot on my mind." She answered, still looking at the camp.
"I guessed. The rude girl told us that the Avatar has been missing since this morning while you were… talking… to Hui Li. Is that true?" The old man didn't seem to be bothered by it.
"Yes. But he will come back. He promised he wouldn't run off." She answered thinly, trying not to show off her emotions.
"He seemed to have made several promises to you… Hasn't he?" Pakku asked, now sounding quite conservative. And Katara followed his look.
She still had the necklace in her fist. And the dark blue silken band hung between her fingers, revealing a little bit of the necklace...
"Not your business. This isn't about that." She didn't wish to discuss her own personal life with Pakku, of all people.
"Never said it was. But as your step grandfath-"
"Excuse me?" Katara ignored the conservative speech he had been about to give, because this was slightly more important.
"Oh… eh.. hehe… Yes. I kind of married Kanna." Pakku's face was now illuminated by the campfires, but even through that light the waterbender saw the old man's face grow completely red.
"Congratulations. But I still don't wish to discuss it." She answered, but to her surprise, Paku lowered his voice and spoke, so that the others couldn't hear.
"Just wanted to say the same to you Katara. It isn't a crime you know… Loving someone. Still, I would not make it public… Until Ozai is defeated at least. The White Lotus is kind of split in two factions at the moment. One, led by Iroh, that supports the Avatar and the idea we should help him… And the other, led by Hui Li… And they hate the Avatar. So, for the moment, just keep it a secret. That faction will lose all power the moment young Aang defeats Ozai."
Pakku had sounded worried. And for good reason it seemed. For when they passed the guards at the entrance of the camp, Katara could see one spit just in front of Appa, and she heard another growl something like Useless beast. With all her might, the waterbender stopped herself from pummeling the two guards. How had they dared! Insulting Appa! And… Well, in extension, they had insulted Aang.
Aang, who had never wanted to hurt someone… But who had still done exactly that by his choices… Spirits, she hoped he was on his way… On his way to stop Ozai, and his horrible plans… On his way back to them… To her…
This was not going to be as much help as they had hoped…
Show the world, my love… Show them what peace is. Show them that it was never your intention to hurt these people. Let them understand that of all the victims… You suffered the most. If you won't, as I know you will try and act as if you are alright, I will. I promise you that.