Disclaimer: All rights belong to Nickelodeon, Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and all the men and women that created the A:TLA show, books, and comics. I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made. The lyrics are from the song "Paradise" by Coldplay

Rating: General Audiences. Warning: some scenes contain dark themes and minor violence

Author's Note: Book 3! We're 2/5 of the way through, folks. This book focuses on Katara and Zuko recovering from the events of the first two books individually, as well as them fully realizing their destinies. Happy reading!

BOOK 3: The Blind Bandit

Water. Fire. Earth. Air.

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

Only the Avatar, the master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed her most, she vanished. A hundred years passed and a new Avatar was discovered, a Waterbender named Katara. Although her Waterbending skills are great, she still has to master the other three elements before she's ready to save anyone.

Chapter 1 - A New Adventure

When she was just a girl

She expected the world

But it flew away from her reach

And the bullets catch in her teeth

Life goes on, it gets so heavy

The wheel breaks the butterfly

Every tear a waterfall

In the night the stormy night she'll close her eyes

In the night the stormy night away she'd fly

When the Fire Nation is far below them, hidden by the dark, nighttime clouds, Katara finally lets herself release all her pent up emotions.

Everything that she hadn't properly processed and dealt with comes up to the surface. Starting from waking up in the ice.

The past few months she'd learned that her whole family except for her brother had died. She'd grown close to Zuko, only for him to betray her. She'd grown close to Iroh, only for him to leave. She'd made a connection with Hama, only for her to turn on her. She'd learnt that she was the Avatar and that her destiny was to keep the entire world in balance. She'd been locked up in prison and taunted by guards and humiliated by the way they treated her and she'd experienced the high and lows of attempting to break out, only to be stopped. The Fire Lord himself had tried to manipulate her. She'd finally escaped, having to leave behind a person she cares about - even if their relationship is very complicated now.

It just all comes out. She leans into Sokka's side and cries. Through it all, she still has him. She can't imagine what she would do without him. He's the last tether to her old life, the only person who truly knows and understands her. He's her best friend, partner in crime, and confidant. He's her brother.

When she finally wipes the last of tears away and sits up, the boy, Aang, climbs from the neck of the bison and comes to sit on the saddle with them.

"Are you all right?" he asks her.

She nods. "It's been a tough couple of months."

Sokka crosses his arms. "All right. I've got a lot of questions," he declares. "Starting with, who are you?"

The kid smiles. "I already told you! I'm Aang! And this is my flying bison, Appa. But you haven't told me your names yet."

"I'm Katara. This is Sokka and Suki."

Sokka doesn't look satisfied. "Where did you come from? And how did you know about us?"

The kid points to the big blue arrow tattooed on his bald head. "I'm an Airbender. I come from the Air Nomads. Usually I live with the monks but my teacher told me to go to the Fire Nation to help the Avatar. He got a note signed with a White Lotus."

Katara's eyes widen. "A White Lotus?"

"Exactly!"

Sokka and Suki exchange looks before turning back to her. "You know what the White Lotus is?"

"It's a special tile in the game Pai Sho. A personal favorite of someone I know. He told me that he couldn't rescue me from prison but that he would help as much as he could. He must have sent for Aang."

"He sent for us, too," Suki says. "Sokka received a letter in our village telling us about you. It was also signed with a White Lotus."

Katara feels warmer on the inside. Iroh hadn't let her down after all. She's glad she didn't let him down, either.

"Who exactly is it?" Sokka asks.

"His name is Iroh."

Suki's eyes widen. "Iroh? As in General Iroh? The mighty Fire Nation general? Brother to the Fire Lord?"

Katara nods. "That's him. But he just prefers Iroh. Or Uncle Iroh."

Suki and Aang stare at her in shock. Sokka just looks confused.

"Well I don't know who that guy is, but I for one am thankful."

Aang glances around at them. "So, which one of you is the Avatar?" he asks.

Sokka shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Aang. No one knows who the Avatar is or where they are. We were just rescuing Katara from prison."

"Actually…" Katara begins. Sokka turns to her slowly. "I'm the Avatar."

Aang bows. "It's an honor to meet you," he says. "We've been awaiting your presence for a century. May I ask what took you so long? And how you appear so young?"

"You're the what now?" Sokka spits out.

Suki pushes Sokka back gently. "Maybe you should tell us the whole story, from the very beginning," she advises. "We have time."

"I woke up from the ice with almost no memories. Zuko - Prince Zuko, from the Fire Nation - found me. He offered to help me try to find my village. When we found what remained of it, I remembered its destruction. But I thought everyone was dead. I thought I was the only survivor. Zuko said I could stay on the ship until I found someplace to stay, so I did. Zuko and I trained together and eventually we grew close. I also became friends with his uncle, Iroh. My memories slowly came back.

"We traveled from the South Pole to an Earth Kingdom village to repair the ship from a kraken attack and to restock up on supplies. Then we went to Whale Tail Island."

"You weren't on Kyoshi Island by any chance, were you?" Suki asks.

Katara shakes her head. "Zuko said that because of the war Kyoshi Island was a threat. He said it was best to avoid going there."

Suki sits back with a smug smile. Sokka groans.

"We were so close," he laments.

"So what happened on Whale Tail Island?" Suki questions. "Sokka and I went there while we were looking for you. We spoke to Commander Ju-Long and he said you were there with the prince as his bodyguard."

Katara nods. "That was my cover story. We were on Whale Tail Island for one night."

Her voice trails off. She remembers laying on a blanket on the deck of the ship, tucked into Zuko's side while fireworks exploded overheard. The memory brings an actual ache to her chest. Everything was so much simpler back then, back before she knew she was the Avatar and Zuko betrayed her.

"After Whale Tail Island we set sail again, towards the Earth Kingdoms. I had a dream of the day the Southern Water Tribes were attacked, and I realized that Sokka could have survived, too. I asked Zuko if we could go back and look for him. He agreed on the condition that I had to leave the ship when he found him."

"I thought you two were friends," Sokka says. "Why would he make you leave?"

Katara turns and stares out at the night sky passing them by. "We were more than friends," she admits. "And we were less than friends. He had a mission to complete and I was becoming a distraction. He wanted to help me but I couldn't stay." She turns back. "Anyway, there was a huge hurricane that threatened to destroy the entire ship. I went out and used my bending powers to save the ship. But my waterbending wasn't enough. I needed to redirect the lightning in the sky and lessen the wind and control the waves. I let instinct take over and I entered what I now know is the Avatar state."

Aang, Sokka, and Suki are all listening with wide eyes. Katara continues.

"I managed to save us from the storm. It took all my energy. When I went to sleep, I had a vision where the other Avatars from the past visited me and told me that I was the Avatar. I was scared and I was excited. I didn't know what to think."

"So how did you end up in prison?" Suki asks.

Katara draws her knees up to her chest. "I confided it to Zuko. I needed to talk to someone about it. Then he betrayed me and locked me up and took me to the Fire Nation."

"He betrayed you?" Sokka repeats, wide-eyed. "But...how could he do that?"

"Because he's Fire Nation," Aang says with a scowl. "They can't be trusted. All they care about is power."

She's not sure why, but she feels personally attacked. "You guys don't understand," she says. "He was banished from the Fire Nation. The only way he could ever return is by finding and capturing the Avatar."

"You're okay with what he did?"

Katara sighs. "No. Yes. I don't know. I was really mad at him for a long time. It was a horrible thing to do. But he's suffered so much. And in the end, he made the right choice. He turned against his own sister to help us escape. And we just left him there."

"If he's the prince then he should be fine," Aang points out.

She shakes her head. "No. His family is cruel. His father murdered his grandfather and banished his mother for it. When Zuko stood up for innocent lives in a war meeting, his father burned his face and banished him. His sister is a psychopath." Katara looks back in the direction of the Fire Nation. "I'm worried about what they'll do to him."

Suki reaches over and lays a hand on Katara's leg. "We can't obsess over what happened. He made a decision and was willing to accept the consequences of it. Now we have to move on."

She's right. It's just hard for Katara to accept. She can't imagine him locked in a dark prison cell or worse. She's still not sure how she feels about what he did to her, but his actions of fighting off his sister so that she and Sokka and Suki could escape really made a big impact on her. All the good in him that she saw before was on display. Zuko said he didn't know the difference between right and wrong but she knows that deep down, he does know. He just has to fight the instincts ingrained into him by his father and sister.

The whole situation is just so sad. He finally made the right decision, but it was too late. What if he never gets the chance to follow the right path again? What if he's locked up forever or executed because of his treason?

Worse, what if they manage to brainwash him into becoming like them again?

Katara knows her feelings are also mixed because he was the first person she's ever had real feelings for. She still looks fondly back at the few good moments they had together. That's what makes the entire betrayal so hard to stomach. And no matter how many good memories they have, they're tarnished by the bad ones.

"So what happens now?" Suki asks. She turns to Aang. "Where are we going?"

"Appa is flying us to the Western Air Temple. The Air Nomads abandoned it when the war first broke out because of its proximity to the Fire Nation, but it should be safe for one night. Then we can go wherever the Avatar wants." He turns his young eyes to Katara. "I'm not just here to rescue you from the Fire Nation. I want to help you restore balance to the world."

Saving the world is the last thing on Katara's mind right now. She wants to sleep for a day straight, eat some real food, take a bath, and change into fresh clothes. She needs to regenerate before she's ready to take on the task of saving the world.

"Let's get through tonight first," she suggests.

Aang nods. "You can sleep on Appa. He'll land softly. There's no need to stay awake any longer. We know the way."

"I think that's a great idea," Sokka agrees. "I think we can all use a good night's sleep."

He curls up and instantly falls asleep. Katara and Suki share a quick smile before following suit. Despite her exhaustion, Katara finds it hard to fall asleep. She can't stop worrying about Zuko. She wonders where he is right now. She keeps picturing Azula's enraged face.

When she finally falls asleep, her dreams are troubled.

The blinding sunlight burns his eyes. Zuko tries to cover his eyes with a hand but his hands are secured tightly behind his back in chains. He stands on the deck of the ship and squints painfully. He'd been locked up in the hold of the ship all night.

"Come on, move it!" a guard shouts. Zuko lowers his head and follows the other prisoners down the ramp towards land. The water by the ship boils and pops bubbles up. Steam rises high in the air, hiding the rest of the island from sight. Zuko's clothes are already sticking to his skin uncomfortably.

They walk up a winding staircase hewn into the side of the cliff. The higher they climb the cooler the air gets. Zuko finds he can breathe a little better as they ascend above the boiling sea beneath them. His tunic is already damp from the steam and sweat.

They climb further until the reach the top: a massive plateau with twenty foot walls surrounding it. Guards pace the top of the walls, looking down suspiciously.

Zuko's been up on that wall once before. He had accompanied his father on a routine visit here. He'd looked down at the prisoners in disgust. Now he's one of them.

A man wearing a fancier uniform stands at the gate, a scroll in his hand. He observes every prisoner one at a time, marks something in the scroll, and then sends them one direction or the other. The man looks vaguely familiar. Zuko must have seen him on his last visit here.

"Ah, who do we have here?" he says when he sees Zuko. "The crown prince, no less." He glances at his scroll. "I have here marked that you're a special prisoner." He looks back at Zuko. "That's not a good thing here."

Zuko watches him silently. He knows he has no power anymore. He might as well be "Zuko, common thief" here.

"Join that group there," the man orders, pointing to a smaller group of prisoners. Zuko walks that way slowly.

When all the prisoners have been sorted, a guard approaches the front of their group and addresses them.

"All of you here are Firebenders. Firebending is not permitted here under any circumstance. Violators will be thrown in the freezer." Another guard approaches with a stack of clothing. The first guard continues speaking while a third guard unchains their hands.

"There is no escaping this prison. No one has before, and no one ever will. No one is coming to rescue you. You will pass your remaining sentence here. You will follow all of the rules or you will be severely punished. The only special treatment here -" he stares right at Zuko - "is punishment. Am I understood?"

A couple of the prisoners mutter out a "yessir."

The guard raises his voice. "I said, Am I understood?"

"Yessir!"

"Good." He motions to the second guard, who gives them each a small bundle of clothing. "This is your uniform. You will wear it at all times." He picks up a long red strap of cloth. "This is to be tied around your upper arm. Don't lose it."

Another guard escorts them to the cellblock, where they're each assigned a cell. The prison must be overfull because they are shoved into single cells that have two cots inside. Zuko's cellmate is a middle-aged man with swirling tattoos up and down his arms, their continuity broken by scars.

"What are you in here for?" he asks Zuko in a gruff voice after they change into their uniforms. "You're just a kid."

Zuko debates lying, but then decides that everyone is going to figure out who he is eventually. His scar isn't exactly subtle. And even if his scar doesn't give it away, his mannerisms inevitably will.

"Treason," he replies, sitting on his cot. It creaks loudly. He thinks he hears the fabric holding it together tear slightly at the seams.

The man nods knowingly. "I'm surprised they didn't banish you," he says.

"They did," Zuko says bitterly. He lays down on his cot, facing away from the man. "I guess I'm too dangerous to be let loose."

The man grunts. "Aren't we all? The Fire Nation only wants Firebenders that join the army. Anyone else is a threat. That's why I'm here. I refused to join the military. Then I tried to fight them off."

Zuko didn't know that people are forced to join the military. It doesn't surprise him, though.

"So what exactly did you do?" the man presses.

"I helped a prisoner escape. An innocent person."

"That's brave. What's your name, kid?"

"Zuko."

"I'm Shang." Zuko hears a loud groan as the other man lays down on his cot. "I've been here for two years. I know the drill. Be quiet, keep your head down, don't look the guards in the eyes, and don't firebend. You'll be fine. Oh, and don't associate with any prisoners who are nobles. That's a sure fire way to get beat up."

Zuko takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. Shang didn't recognize who he is. If he's been in here for two years, then it makes sense that he's forgotten about the unremarkable prince who disappeared. Only the prisoners who have come here within the last couple of weeks have a good chance of recognizing him, and even then, only the ones within the capital city. Maybe he'll be able to keep a low profile here after all.

But in case someone recognizes him, at least he knows what will happen. He doesn't know who the other nobles here are, but he'll have to keep an eye out. They are the ones who have the best chance of recognizing him.

He closes his eyes and tries to rest his mind. He doesn't know how long he'll have to rest before the guards come and make them do something or go somewhere, but he needs rest.

For the first time in a long time, he isn't plagued by horrible guilt. He sleeps easily.

When the others fall asleep, Aang regains his seat on Appa's neck. His mind is still spinning from all the stories they'd told him. When his teacher had told him about the note, Aang had jumped at the chance to get out of the Air Temple. He's always been a restless, fun-loving spirit, and being forced into isolation with the rest of his people had been weighing him down. His teacher had always known this.

"You are meant for so much," he'd always been told. "You have an important role to play in the destiny of the world."

Locked up in the Air Temples, that had been hard to believe. Of course, he'd loved training and playing with the other young Airbenders, and he loved his teacher and the other monks very much. But every time he went out flying, he considered flying down to an Earth Kingdom village and not coming back.

Simply put, Aang was very bored.

He's felt more free in the last few hours than he felt in his entire life with the Airbenders. The exhilaration of sneaking into the Fire Nation. The thrill of seeing new places. The excitement of meeting new people. The knowledge that he's now a part of something bigger than himself. His heart feels so full right now.

Of course, he also feels a lot of sympathy for his new companions. It sounds like they've been through a lot. Especially Katara. Aang's always been surrounded by friends and family, safely hidden in the Air Temples with his people. He can't imagine losing everyone he loves and being betrayed.

Katara's story only strengthens his determination to stay with her and help her. She needs to be surrounded by people she can trust. Aang can be that person. He can give her unfaltering support. He'll protect her with his Airbending abilities. Appa will always be there to help them escape trouble if they're in a tight spot. And Aang is sure he knows more about the Avatar than any of the others.

Yes, the adventure ahead of them has many good prospects. Aang can hardly wait. He knows the others don't trust him fully yet, but that's okay. He'll prove to them that he's on their side, that he'll never betray or abandon them.

"This is going to be so much fun, isn't it, boy?" he asks Appa, leaning down to stroke the bison's thick fur. Appa grunts in agreement.

Aang can hardly wait for morning to come and the adventure to truly begin.