Author Note: Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, school is crazy!
Disclaimer: GUESS WHAT? Yeah, I still don't own them.
Chapter 6: And So it Begins
"Come on Aang," Katara whispered as she focused all of her energy into her healing. "Come on! Just wake up already!"
But, as it had been for the past week, nothing happened.
She sighed as she bended the water away from him and back into the buckets. "I guess not today," she thought. The feeling of hope that she had found the day prior seemed to fade as quickly as it came. Katara had many more things to worry about today, however. Today they would be transporting Aang to the camp on the shore and destroying the boats. At any moment, Sokka would be walking in the room to help her get Aang moved into a small row boat so he could be safe for the time being. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she was very nervous for today. Most likely, the Fire Nation fleet was still a few days away, so today wasn't much of anything, but something was causing her to stress more than normal.
They hadn't moved Aang since they had arrived a week ago. She guessed, deep down, she was nervous that moving him would cause him pain. She had rolled him over gently multiple times over the past week to access the wound in his back, and a few times his face would turn, making it seem like he was in pain. She feared that the move would be too much on his body – and that terrified her. She had finally calmed her fear and had accepted that he simply needed rest, believing he would wake up. But the idea of the move causing him so much pain, brought the fear of him not making it to the forefront of her mind once again.
Her thoughts ran on as she stared at him sleeping, in a trance. She still was having a hard time articulating her feelings towards him – she knew she loved him, but did he love her? Was she silly for thinking they would figure something out? After all, they're kids. And they have to win this war.
"Katara," came Sokka's voice from the doorway as he peeked in on them, "it's time to get him on the boat."
Katara looked to her brother before looking back to Aang. "Okay," she whispered as she stood up, preparing to pick his body up.
Sokka walked over to her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Hey, he's going to be okay after this, got it?"
Katara nodded and dropped her eyes down to the floor. She knew she was silly for thinking that moving him could be as terrible as she thought. Still, she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she knew they weren't out of the woods yet. She had this deep feeling that the worst was still to come…
"Katara?"
She was broken from her thoughts once again by her brother. "Are you okay, Katara? You seemed in a daze."
"What? Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get this done."
Sokka furrowed his brow, knowing full well that Katara wasn't 'fine', but decided not to push it. He nodded at her, positioning himself over Aang's head, while Katara opted for his feet. Sokka whispered a countdown, before they gently picked up the sleeping Avatar, carefully walking out of the room of the ship.
Katara's heart dropped when Aang let out a groan, her biggest fear realized, knowing that this was causing him pain. In fact, it was the first sound she had heard out of him in over a week, but it was the last thing she wanted to hear. Her eyes watered, but she willed the tears away, knowing they had to do this. They were no longer safe on this ship, and they had to protect Aang at all costs. After a few moments, his face had resumed to it's usual state, looking calm and relaxed. She took a deep breath, believing that the pain he had briefly felt was short lived.
As they reached the deck of the ship, Hakoda and Bato were waiting for them with the row boat. They gently placed him down, and wrapped him in blankets. After a few moments passed, they were satisfied with how they had situated the young Airbender, and Hakoda turned on his heel to face Katara.
"Katara," he said as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "the other Waterbenders need your help destroying the other ships."
He nodded his head in the direction of a group of men on the other side of the deck, indicating she was needed there. "We won't leave with Aang until you're done. They can take care of this one, once we are all safely on the boats."
She nodded before quickly walking to the other side, not saying a word. Hakoda's eyes followed his daughter, worry filling him. He still wanted to know more about her relationship with the Avatar, but he would have to ask that at another time.
"Hakoda," Bato said from behind him, "everyone is safely off of our other ships. You can give the signal to the Waterbenders."
"Thank you, Bato," Hakoda practically whispered, turning his attention towards the benders. He raised his arm, signaling for them to begin. They nodded in acknowledgement, and began to work the waves towards the rest in the fleet. Hakoda sadly watched, knowing that this was their best shot, but still feeling sadness in destroying the fleet of ships he had used for so many years. The Waterbenders made quick work of it, easily destroying the ships, but leaving enough wreckage for the Fire Nation to find.
Satisfied in their work, he raised his hand again, signaling that they were finished. Katara at once moved from her position, walking straight for the boat, and sitting next to Aang. She placed a hand on his chest, focusing on the soft rise and fall of his chest, before taking a deep breath.
They had modified the boat perfectly for him to lay comfortably, and she could sit right next to him. He was wrapped in many blankets, as the water was cold and they didn't want him to run a fever. The sight was rare to see – Katara had grown used to his bending abilities that allowed him to control his body temperature. He hardly ever used a blanket, even in their tribe.
Toph sat near the front, arm wrapped around Sokka as usual, with her head facing down. The last week was miserable for her – she hated not being on earth. She was actually quite excited to camp on the bay for a few nights.
Slowly, the boat descended from the ship and into the water. Sokka, Hakoda and Bato all rowed, letting Katara make sure that Aang didn't get shifted. She kept her hand on his chest, her heart fluttering from nerves as they traveled to the bay.
The other Waterbenders made quick work of destroying the final ship, leaving wreckage scattered throughout the ocean. They all looked on solemnly. It was strange having the ships destroyed, but they plan that Sokka had made was their best shot. But the reality of their situation came like whiplash now that it was in action. If the plan failed, they were all done for, with no ships to escape on any more.
"The tide is low," Bato shouted towards Hakoda, "that's good. It means the wreckage will probably stay put for the next few days. The Fire Nation ship will easily find it."
Hakoda let out a chuckle at the thought that the Fire Nation spotting them was "good", but nodded in response. He was quite proud of his son for coming up with this plan, but he knew that the stakes were very, very high. He glanced at his daughter, watching as she focused all of her attention on the young Avatar. They had come to the conclusion that protecting Aang was their number one priority, and they were all willing to give their lives for him. The only thing that worried him, was the fact that if they all didn't make it, Aang was still vulnerable and would still be captured. He only hoped that for his sake, as well as Katara's, that he would wake up soon.
"We're almost there, keep paddling," Hakoda stated as they inched closer to camp. "Just a little bit more."
"Why couldn't Katara just bend us there?" Sokka whined, stopping a moment to rub at his arms. Katara stared at him but didn't say anything, before Sokka immediately threw his hands up in surrender. She was easy to anger, currently. "Okay, I'm sorry, just trying to lighten the mood, I guess."
She rolled her eyes before looking back to Aang. They were almost to the camp, and the other members of the tribe had already set up a tent for him to stay. The first part of this crazy plan was almost complete, and she could almost breathe again for the time being.
"We're here!"
The boat slid into the sand slowly, and each member of the boat jumped out quickly, making sure not to get their shoes wet from the rolling waves.
"Where do I take Aang," Katara asked as she situated herself at his feet again, preparing to transport him to the proper tent.
"I know where it is, just follow me," Sokka answered, once again placing his arms around Aang's head and shoulders, and slowly lifting him up. They walked to a tent that was close by, making Katara sigh in relief that they didn't have to carry him far. She hated how limp he was, and reminded her of the way it felt when she carried Aang out of the catacombs.
"You should have everything you need in here," Sokka said quietly as they gently laid Aang down on the bed set up for him. "Plenty of water jugs, and dad even arranged a bed for you to sleep on, if you so desire."
Katara nodded. "Thanks, Sokka," she said, pulling a wooden stool from the corner and quickly sitting it down next to Aang. Without a word, she bended a small amount of water from the container and went to work on his chest. She wanted to make sure that traveling didn't cause any issues for him.
"Hey," Sokka said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "remember what I said. Don't be a stranger, take some time to get some fresh air outside of this tent. We would all like to see you sometimes."
She smiled softly before putting a hand on his shoulder as well. "I'm sorry I've been this way, Sokka. I just don't know what I'd do if he doesn't wake up."
"I know. I just want to you take care of yourself. And you need to be resting. If you're not on your game when the Fire Nation arrives, there could be consequences. You need to make sure you have your strength."
"I will make sure to sleep, Sokka."
"Thank you," he said, beginning to walk outside, "just let me know if you need anything."
Katara gave her brother one more smile and nod, before he was out of sight. She sighed and looked back to Aang, whose face was peaceful yet again. She hoped this meant that moving him around would not be too terrible for him, as there was still going to be more of that. She stopped the healing on his chest, before gently rolling him over to check on the large wound. She carefully slid the bandages down, examining it to make sure no infection was caused by the trip. It looked the same as it had, still big, ugly and dark, but as long as it didn't look worse, she was content.
"Alright Aang," she whispered, "it looks like that wasn't too hard on you. Now let's get you fully healed."
Sokka walked toward the rest of the group, who were all settling in their respective tents. Hakoda, Toph and Bato were sitting around a fire that had been recently started, eating some rice. He quickly made his way to the food and grinned as Hakoda handed him a bowl.
"How is Aang?" Toph asked as he sat down next to her.
"He seems to be fine. Katara immediately started a healing session. But from what I saw, the trip didn't seem to cause him too much pain."
"That is good," Hakoda whispered in between bites.
"Hey, where did the Earth King go?"
"He is in one of those tents over there," Bato answered Sokka's question by pointing to a group of tents off to the side. "He has been here for a few days, but apparently has barely come outside. Do you think he is okay?"
Sokka scratched his head. "Well, a few days ago, he found out that his most trusted advisor was actually brain washing him. Then, he found out about the war. Then, he decided to gather his troops to help us with an invasion on the Fire Nation, but before we could do that, the Fire Nation Princess infiltrated the city. He was quickly imprisoned by her when Toph and I found the truth, and we escaped, only to find Katara with Aang, who was…. well…. dead. And we escaped the city, but now it's fallen to the Fire Nation. The point is, poor guy had a rough few days. He probably doesn't feel too great."
Hakoda and Bato both stared, mouths agape at was Sokka had just said. "That all happened," Hakoda started, "over the last few days?"
"Yes it did," Toph answered.
"That..is a rough few days," Bato mused.
"Wait," Hakoda suddenly interrupted, "Sokka, did you say invasion on the Fire Nation?"
"Have I not told you about that?" Sokka said, once again scratching his head. "I guess with everything going on with Aang, I haven't thought to tell you about what we were planning. The only problem is, we don't have the Earth King's army to help us. So, it's not going to happen after all."
"Still, I would like to hear about a planned attack on the Fire Nation," Hakoda replied, "why on earth would you plan something like that?"
"Did you know that Firebenders lose their ability to bend during a solar eclipse?"
"Well… no I did not."
"Well now you do! And did you know there is one coming up in just a few months?"
Hakoda raised an eyebrow, realizing just how smart of a plan his son had. "So you wanted to invade them on the day they can't bend? Sokka, you are still impressing me with your ideas."
He shrugged. "Yeah, without my plans, who knows where we would be."
"Wait," Hakoda raised his voice louder, "what if we still invade them? I can gather all of the Water Tribe's troops, and maybe find some Earth Kingdom soldiers to help, and we could still do it, Sokka!"
Sokka's mouth hung open, surprised by his father's words. "Do you really think we could do that? The Fire Nation is big and powerful. We would have to find a lot of random people. I mean a lot."
"Well then," Hakoda smiled, placing an arm around his son, "we better start talking about this invasion plan."
Author Note: I am so so sorry for the delay, guys. Like I said, school is already killing me. I will try and get chapters out in a timely fashion, I just can't promise anything.
Please review!
