Chapter Fifteen: Lose Your Mind

When she was younger, Azula admired the way that predators would stalk their prey. She watched how a wolf-dog might corner another small animal into a kill zone, or how the snakes would blend into their surroundings to wait for an unsuspecting frog or bird to cross their path.

As she grew up, and she grew more skilled with her firebending, she would sometimes pretend that she was the wolf or the snake, only to attack her prey when the moment presented itself.

While her and Ozai were in the seaside village, she began to think of herself as a predator again. Before, the hunt for the Avatar had been stretched over miles, and now she began to lay her trap down.

Ozai mostly ignored her, and even went off on his own for a few days before returning with an airship that he stole from a nearby Fire Nation base that had set up a few miles down the coast by order of the Fire Lord. He had tethered the ship to the cliffs, knowing they might need to get away quickly if anything were to go awry.

Azula watched him, her eyes tracking his every movement patiently. She knew her father would play his role in what was to come, but that would not deter her from her own plans.

So while Ozai fiddled with his ship, Azula went into the village, and flushed out the few remaining earthbenders.

It was easy enough to threaten the earthbenders into bending the sand from the below beaches onto the forest floor all around them. It was easy enough to kill the one who stood up to her, claiming he would not do as she wished, because he believed in the Avatar. It was easy enough to wait patiently, to watch as the Avatar and his friends walked towards where her and Ozai were.

It happened very quickly- too quickly for their earthbender to sense their presence, or for Zuko to withdraw his dual swords or firebend.

Azula always had speed on her side- so she smirked when she shot lightning at Zuko, relishing how to felt just as good as the last time.

Katara's bloodbending was the only surprise, but Azula watched as Katara turned to look at Zuko's crumpled form, and a cruel kind of glee churned inside her when she saw the expression in the waterbender's eyes. So when the hold on her blood loosened just enough, Azula struck.

And when Azula flung herself over the edge of the cliff, she could only wonder what the waterbender's expression was now, and how it was a pity that she wouldn't watch her die.

When she landed in the airship, Ozai was already getting it ready to fly. Azula looked up and saw that the Kyoshi warrior was staring down at her and Ozai, with fury burning in her dark blue eyes.

Azula gave her a predatory smile and a mocking salute before the airship rose into the sky, disappearing into the clouds.

Ooo0ooO

The pain was a distant thing now. She was floating.

No, drifting.

Drifting away, bathed in pale white light. She could see the moon reaching for her, welcoming her. Sometimes it bore Yue's face. Sometimes it looked like someone else.

"It's all right," a voice told her. "Come with me."

"Yue?" Katara asked, reaching out a hand.

"No, my child."

"Tui?" Katara whispered, looking at the moon again.

"That is one of my names," the being said.

The woman before her resembled Yue in many ways- she had the same silvery-white hair, the same crystal blue eyes. Her brown skin, however, was etched with white markings that swirled along her cheeks and exposed shoulders, down to her hands and feet. The runes depicted the moon, its cycle, its journey across the sky.

When those eyes met Katara's, the young waterbender saw an eternity in them- the youth and the age, the joy and the pain.

Tui smiled. "Yue is another daughter of mine," the Moon Spirit said. "Returned to me before her time, when she sacrificed herself, her spirit, to restore La."

Katara stared at the woman. Apart from the strange markings, Tui resembled a Water Tribe woman. Even on her neck was a betrothal necklace- a bright gold band with a sunstone.

"I don't understand," Katara said.

"It's all right," Tui repeated. "Come with me."

"Am I dead?"

"Not yet, my child. But soon, yes, your spirit will return to me."

"Return… Are you the reason I've been having those strange dreams?"

"Dreams are a gateway into another world," Tui said. "Or into the past. What you see is my past, and my future."

Katara shook her head. "But, La…"

"There are many stories, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, and many dreams. Do not be afraid of what they tell you."

Katara's attention went back to the golden necklace- and suddenly, she remembered. "Zuko… I need to go back."

Tui's expression changed, softened. "I know what it is like, to love someone with such intensity. If you go back, it has to be your choice."

Katara looked around. She was safe here, in this ethereal world of moonlight, dancing forever over the distant ocean. But…

"I choose him," she told the Moon Spirit.

"I know you do," Tui smiled, as if enjoying a private joke.

Katara bowed respectively, then everything faded away.

When she opened her eyes, a pair of dark amber eyes were staring down at her. The world blurred at the edges, and Katara whispered, "Zuko?"

"No, my dear. You are both safe. Rest now," said a familiar voice.

Katara struggled to stay awake, to ask where Zuko was, but she slipped back under.

Ooo0ooO

Iroh watched over Zuko and Katara all day and night- until Katara woke first. She managed a few words before slipping away again, and it was not long before Zuko himself woke.

"Uncle?" Zuko croaked, opening his eyes slowly.

"You are safe, Nephew," the older man assured him. "You and Miss Katara."

Zuko looked over at Katara, who was breathing shallowly. Her hand was stretched towards him, as if she had reached to him in her dreams, like she did before.

His attention was drawn to her wrist, where a faint, white mark lay next to the curve of the bone. His brows furrowed when he realized it was in the shape of a crescent moon.

That mark was not there before, he thought. Katara has no birthmarks or scars.

When Zuko looked at Iroh, the older firebender shook his head. "It appeared before she woke up," he said. "I do not know why."

But when Zuko laid back to rest some more, Iroh narrowed his eyes at the mark, and what it could possibly mean.

An hour later, Suki slipped inside the tent, with a small tea service in her hands. She smiled kindly at Iroh, who inclined his head at her.

"I thought you might want some tea," Suki said. "Go rest. I'll watch over them now."

"You are very kind, Miss Suki," Iroh said, taking a cup of tea from her before departing.

Suki sighed, crossing her legs as she settled in next to Katara. The Kyoshi warrior checked both benders for any signs of fever or illness, but both seemed to be healing fine.

Katara would have a scar later- one that bisected the left side of her rib cage. The mark from Azula's sword had been deep, and it would take time to heal since Katara herself could not mend it.

Zuko's latest scar would match the last one Azula gave him, but this too would be on his left rib cage. When Suki had bound the wound, she thought it resembled a sunburst.

Suki stared into the fire that Iroh had built- her jaw clenching at the thought of Azula. The Kyoshi warrior had lunged for the firebender after she had attacked Zuko and Katara, but Azula had flung herself over the cliffs. Suko thought about the sneer Azula had given her, and her blood boiled.

Suki looked at Katara- her friend, who she often thought of as a sister. Katara was paler than usual, and dark circles sat underneath her eyes.

Sighing again, Suki picked up her own tea and drank deeply.

Ooo0ooO

Sokka and Aang sat together close to the camp, watching the sky change colors as the sun began to set. Iroh was keeping Toph company while the other members of the White Lotus went hunting or went to search for signs of where Ozai and Azula might have gone.

Iroh and the White Lotus had shown up two hours after the attack, claiming they had been following Aang and his friends in secret in case their assistance was needed. They had been stuck in the mountains fighting off more giant hawks before they managed to reach the seaside village.

Aang curled in on himself, head resting on his knees as he stared into nothing.

"I know what you're doing."

When Aang didn't respond, Sokka leaned back on his hands. "It wasn't your fault, Aang."

"I should have stopped them," Aang mumbled.

"We didn't know they were still here. Azula obviously made a trap, with the sand and the cliffs. We underestimated them this time and we won't do that again."

"I don't want anyone else to get hurt!" Aang exclaimed, slamming his fist into the ground, causing it to tremble.

"More people are going to get hurt if we don't work together!" Sokka told him firmly. "There's no time to feel guilty for what's done. Katara and Zuko- they're both strong. Plus, once Katara is well enough, she'll finish the healing process."

"They are always one step ahead of us," Aang ranted. "They always have been. I feel like I'm losing my mind, trying to think like them, trying to predict what they will do next."

"Okay, first off, Ozai and Azula are crazy, so that's just… well, crazy, to think that you can predict what they are going to do," Sokka pointed out. "And this isn't all on you, Aang. Don't forget what happened last time you overthought everything."

Aang winced at the memory of embarrassing nightmares and koala sheep.

"I still got the answer from a lion turtle," Aang pointed out, folding back into himself. "I don't know the answer this time."

"We are always going to have enemies," Sokka said, looking at the sky, which was now being shared by the sun and the moon briefly. "There's always going to be another Ozai or Azula. But there's always going to be us, or our kids, or someone there to stop them, to keep the peace.

"The answer might not have come to us yet. Maybe the spirits will help, or another lion turtle. But we can't start doubting ourselves now."

Aang stared at the horizon, his gray eyes unreadable.

Sokka shook his head a little, but stayed with his friend until Suki called them back to the campsite.

Ooo0ooO

In the moments where the Avatar talked to his friend, little did they know, their conversation was overheard. Unseen and unheard, two beings watched over them.

"Will she remember?" a voice both young and old asked.

"Not right away. I left her my mark," the second voice responded.

"When will they know?"

"When they are ready."

A long moment of silence passed between them, before the second voice spoke up.

"She's awake."

"She is strong."

"I know. She's one of mine. What of yours?"

"He will wake soon enough."

"He is strong too."

"We have chosen well."

"We always do."

"Must you go?"

"I do, but I will always return to you."

"Until then, my love."

Ooo0ooO

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA or any of its characters.

Author's Note: Thank you, thank you for your songs! Please send more- I'm making a playlist on Spotify.

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