Well this week was a total hell but I decided I'd update this since I haven't since like forever ago so here it is, sorry for the lateness. But get ready for a long chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own avatar
Chapter 3: what lies within years (part one)
Katara awoke that morning like any other. Even with her attempt to dream up a way to explain all this madness to Aang last night she still couldn't grasp the concept so she dreamed of what she always dreamed about when she couldn't sleep: those dreadful first days after Aang left…….
"Katara I don't think Aang's coming back today" Sokka said softly and placing a light hand on his sister's shoulders. Katara had been standing by the lakeside everyday all day since aang left, waiting for him. She glanced up at the note aang had wrote which had weirdly stayed in her hands since she found it.
"But he said he'd…" Katara whispered. But Sokka cut her off.
"Katara don't," he argued firmly.
"…Come back" she continued a crack in her voice. She was obviously once again near tears.
"Katara come on no more crying" he tried calming her. "You've done nothing but cry this whole time Aang'll be back you know he's coming why else would he leave a note?"
"O-okay" she sniffed, wiping any oncoming tears from her eyes and smiled at her brother. Well he was trying, she thought.
But of course he never did come back…………
……Katara tried to shake the thought from her head. Why did she always have to go there? Just then Aang stirred.
"Morning Katara" he said almost cheerfully. Yes! He remembered my name! Katara rejoiced quietly to herself.
"Morning" she replied. "You always this happy in the morning?"
"Just about" he smiled at her. "New days, and you finally might be able to help me with all my confusion about things," he turned toward the still darkness of the morning sky through the partly opened door. "It's a new day"
Katara smiled. Well at least one thing hasn't changed.
After waking up Nana, washing up and getting dressed it was finally time for breakfast. The part Katara had been dreading all morning. It stared out silent at first, they just sat eating the left over fruit Aang had found yesterday, this Katara found rather annoying. She finally sighed and placed the rest of the apple in her mouth.
"2 ½ years" she oddly said breaking the silence. Aang and Nana turning to her.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Nana hissed. Katara sipped some water and continued.
"That's how long you've been gone Aang" she saw Aang's eye grow wide.
"That's weird," he finally said, "I only remember the last year and a half of my life."
"Then I guess we'll start with when you left," Katara offered, thinking of how weird this conversation had just started out. She inhaled deeply before string knowing it would take all her breath away before exhaling and starting. "You left a note, it wasn't long but it told us everything we need to know." Katara paused for a moment "and by we I mean me, our friend toph, and my brother Sokka we were all traveling together." Aang nodded. "Well you told us you were going to go in this water that could travel back in time or some nonsense- I'm not sure if I even believe in that anymore- and you left without telling us so ummm" she felt a lighted headed feeling knowing the hard part of the conversation was on it's way. "You….uh…well you never came back."
Aang's eyes went wider. Katara could see a mesh of pain and confusion on his face.
"What do you mean I never came back?" he asked sounding if he would break down any second.
"You went in the water and never came back," Katara whispered. "And then after that the world just fell apart"
"What mean fell apart?" Nana jumped in the conversation. Katara shook her head not wanting to continue but knew it had to be done.
"The fire nation" she continued. "The fire nation they, they just….I guess since to the world you were still dead they had been planning it but…..they just took over everything" Katara couldn't help it and burst into tears. Aang laid a calming hand on her shoulder, and just like the bar it was against his own will.
"Katara" he whispered "please tell the rest I know it hard but please I want to…need to know this." Katara huffed and locked her eyes with his. He was so different up close form his emotionless look he had been sporting this last day. His gray eyes still the same: wide and full of emotion, and his reassuring smile always striving her to go past he own limits. She had even taken a liking to his longer hair which now touched her cheek lightly, and finally up at his arrow plastered there on his fore head. It was Aang. She was 100 sure now.
"Okay" she sniffed one lasted time, as Aang removed his arm from her. Surprising she missed the warmth but kept going. "It all happened like this………."
-flashback-
Katara, Sokka, and toph knew it was too risky to stay in one place for too long so after a long altercation with Katara they finally were able to leave the town of mirage.
"Sokka" Katara complained. "Where are we supposed to go now? I mean all our travels revolved around Aang's avatar duties so…"
"Katara I know what I'm doing okay!" Sokka hissed. He was generally tired of Katara's complaining. He wished Aang were there at least he would keep her quiet.
"Ya know Katara we should've just left you back at mirage" Toph joked bitterly.
"Maybe you should've" Katara replied crossing her arms over her chest. "What if Aang comes back we won't be there plus we took Appa!"
"Don't worry I left a note of where we were headed" Sokka assured.
"Oh really well please kindly tell me where we're going since everyone seems to have a clue but me!" the water bender yelled.
"The northern water tribe" Sokka grinned.
"When are you guys ever gona go home?" Toph teased.
"Well in a way we are dad sent me a message a while back saying Gran gran is visiting there, it seemed like a good Idea at the time" Sokka informed.
"I guess so," Katara mumbled.
----A few weeks later----
"Here ya go toph" Katara announced handing toph a new green parka she had been preparing, even though it was summer it never really got warm in the water tribes. Katara and Sokka had resorted back to their old parkas since Katara found no reason to make new ones.
"Thanks," Toph said, slipping it over her head and wrapping some heavy cloth over her feet. "So how much father till we get there?"
"Hmmm" Sokka said examining his map "I'd say well just about a few more……"
"There it is" Katara interrupted pointing over Appa's saddle.
The teens slowly approached the ice city till they noticed all they saw was a huge pile of broken ice. While thick black smoke could be seen as they got closer and screams of pain and terror could be heard in the distance.
"What is all that noise?" Toph asked
"What's all that smoke?" Sokka asked as well.
"Oh no" Katara finished.
Not bothering to land they flew over the remains of the tribe and found moaning, some even half dead, people everywhere. Which reminded Katara and Sokka of the aftermath of the first attack on the north.
"What happened?" Sokka asked, flabbergasted by the scene. Katara peeked over to see a fire nation flag where she remembered the spirit oasis to be.
"Fire nation" she explained bitterly. She should have known they would come back. "But I wonder why they're over by the spirit oasis?"
"Whatever the reason it can't be good" Sokka added.
"Guys shut up and watch your backs fire benders could be anywhere" Toph whispered loudly. But slowly as the group approached the oasis they realized they were all jumping in the water.
"What the……" Sokka trailed off "what are they……?"
"Their going into the spirit world!" Katara yelled.
"What? No, humans can't do that" Toph informed.
"Oh yes they can" Katara explained, "How do you think avatar Kurunk's wife disappeared?"
"Well what do we………" but before Sokka could finish his question Katara was already to fight and was off Appa. "Katara come back," Sokka ordered. But Katara ignored his warning.
"Hey, fire benders!" Katara playfully sang. Of course some fire benders turned their heads and others kept on task, but when it all came down Katara was outnumbered seven to one.
"Is she crazy?" Sokka asked Toph.
"Yep" she shortly answered and pulled Sokka down to join the fight……………………
-end flash back-
"So….." Aang asked eagerly, obviously wrapped up in the moment like a little kid at story time.
"So……." Katara trailed. "Well isn't it obvious?"
"Nope" Nana answered for him, sipping her tea. Katara sighed deeply once more before continuing, she knew she wouldn't be able to avoid this part.
"So….we lost!" she started. "We lost and they captured us along with every other water tribe member!"
"What about the southern tribe?" Nana all knowingly asked.
"They had already gotten them before they came to the northern tribe"
"So how are you hear then shouldn't you be with the other water tribe members?" Aang asked.
"Well I…….I got out I escaped, Sokka told me to find help, to find you Aang" Aang's eyes widened. "So that what I did, I knew it'd be easy as long as I had my water bending but then something else happened……………
-flash back-
"Go Katara go!" Sokka yelled urging his sister at the correct time to flee.
"But Sokka I don't want to leave you what if…"
"Katara only one of us can go, it should be you go get help go fix this!" Sokka yelled.
"Katara go" Hakoda ordered softly to his daughter. The one good thing about all the water tribe members being captured was the reunions. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"But…"
"Go!" everyone yelled in chorus. Eventually she left turning one last time to look upon her family.
"I'll find help I promise," she whispered to herself. She was, of course, sad but in way relieved that stuffy prison was unbearable and she hadn't water bended in weeks. But when finally out in what she swore was the early afternoon she found it to be nightly dark. There was no moon in the sky and no sun just dark blue clouds in a pitch-black sky.
Katara made her way through a nearby town that day searching for a free market to get some new clothes--her prison rags where a bit itchy--but everyone seemed to be in a state of normalcy even due to the awkward state of the sky.
"Um excuse me," Katara acknowledged a sales man. "I know I probably sound weird but why is the sky like this?"
"Like what?" the sales man happily asked, as if nothing was wrong.
"Well it's only the afternoon, it shouldn't be dark till nighttime right?"
"What?" the sales man laughed. "No my dear it's like this" he pointed towards the sky "all day every day"
"But…… why what- what happened?" she suddenly felt alone and helpless. The sales man looked into Katara sad, confused expression and realized she wasn't kidding.
"I guess your not kidding," he said, Katara nodded in response. "Well, lets see it was the fire nation" what a surprise, Katara thought. "They had just invaded the northern water tribe again and they found out what the spirit oasis could actually do, so they jumped inside" Katara eyes widened. "Then they got into the spirit world, there was a war in there for days but of course the fire nation won, as always, and well………"
"Destroyed everything" Katara caught on.
"Right" he answered. "And with all spirits destroyed then no sun no moon so just darkness." The word 'darkness' rang through Katara's head. Was the spirit world really gone? "It's shocking I know, but as impossible as it seems you'll get used to it, I just feel sorry for all those benders," the sales man added.
"Uhh" Katara let out uneasy on what to say. She found it stupid now to mention the fact that she was a bender. " Do you uh……have any food and fresh clothes?" she kept to her quest. The sales man smiled and handed her a bag of feed, and a clean dress. "Thank you"
"Your welcome and don't worry, you'll get used to it" the sales man assured, and Katara was off.
She had found a small abandoned wood to sleep in, she wasn't sure if it was night yet but she was tired. Then she heard a crack in the woods. Katara gasped to soon find a small griffin in her presence.
"Wow" Katara gazed. "I never thought I'd see one of you" the griffin was small and wasn't a treat, at least not yet. But it did look thirsty. "Here let me get you some water," the water bender offered. She began to do a movement for bending some water from the near by stream but found no water followed her movements. What could be happening? Katara thought until suddenly the sales man's words rang in her head.
"………I just feel sorry for all those benders"
No.
Not her bending, anything but that…………………
-end flashback-
"I couldn't bend anymore," Katara explained.
"Why not" Nana asked, actually sounding concerned.
"Well when the fire nation destroyed the spirit all the spirits of bending, and the elements just died, all the spirits did." Katara found it harder and harder to hold back sobs. "So I continued to try and find you Aang, you were my last hope, the worlds last hope. I found it more hard to walk about thought I couldn't risk being captured by the fire nation again so I wore all black, dyed my hair black and I guess some where along the way for one reason or another the people who knew I was out there called me 'the water witch' I guess I wanted to find you so bad I really did become the water witch"
"That can't be true!" Aang hissed. " I mean sure the fire nation rules but they would never do anything like that would they?" Katara thoughts of that being the real Aang evaporated again.
"Aang look around, look at what they done to the world! Don't you even know what they done to you?"
"What about me!" Aang yelled once more. "All I remember of my whole life is from two years ago! That's it!"
"Then what happened to you Aang?" Katara asked. Hurt and pain heavy in her tone.
"Well the first thing I remember is water…….water and then something being taken away like a heavy burden, like it died, or like a part of me died……………."
Blackrose's note: ha ha cliffhanger! Well now I hope Katara's part of the story and any other confusion is about halfway cleared Aang's story is up next but I have to warn ya it's a shocker. I expect it to be equally long, and it'll be here sooner promise I have a lot of more free time since my youth orchestra went on winter break. So next up: what lies within years pt.2