Previously…
"Maybe there's another way," he mused, thinking to the temples he'd discovered in his travels. "The first people to learn from the dragons were the sun warriors."
The young bald boy walked over to Zuko.
"Sun warriors?" Aang repeated.
He'd not heard of them — and he was old!
Zuko nodded. "They died out thousands of years ago, but their civilization is still somewhat in tact. I came across the entrance a year or two ago. Uncle told me to leave the ruins alone, that they were worthless."
"Maybe we can learn something if we go check it out!" Aang offered, ever the optimist.
"It's worth a shot," Katara agreed.
She smiled. Zuko needed some good news, especially after the prison being empty.
"You really think standing where they stood a thousand years ago is going to what, give you some spiritual juju?" Sokka squinted at Aang skeptically.
"We have to try something," Zuko turned to face the group. "Either I find a new way to fire bend, or Aang gets a new teacher."
"That settles it!" Aang punched his palm. "We'll leave first thing tomorrow!"
"So, what do you think they found?" Sokka asked, plopping down on his cot.
Katara leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
She too wondered what condition they would find the temple in, when they finally made it.
Would it be in ruins? Or would they find it in near perfect condition, much like the Western Air Temple?
"I don't know," Katara shrugged. "Hopefully something that will help Zuko get his bending back."
And hopefully some common ground to build a friendship on… she added internally.
"Ah, bending-shmending," Sokka flopped back onto the bed, sending up a massive plume of dirt. His hand flapped wildly in front of his face, batting the particles away. "I don't see why he needs it, he's great with those swords."
Sokka sat up abruptly. "Don't tell him I said that."
Katara snickered.
"I agree with you there," she flexed her hands, still tucked beneath her arms. "But, it's a part of him. I can't imagine not being able to bend."
"Bending's overrated." Sokka replied.
Katara rolled her eyes, having heard that type of comment countless times.
A strange look overtook his previously nonchalant expression. "Katara, I'm just going to come out and ask you this…is there something going on with you and Zuko?"
The question hadn't been one she expected him to ask, especially so directly.
"What?" Her eyebrows jutted upwards. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, you two are awfully buddy-buddy recently." He studied her reaction, watching for any indication she was fibbing to him. "And if someone would have told me two months ago that he'd be the one that you let near you when you're mad, I'd think they drank cactus juice."
Katara pondered his point, blinking.
Why was it so hard to look at him right now?
"No," she said quickly, far too forcefully. "There's nothing going on."
Sokka squinted at her defensiveness.
"You can tell me if there is you know. I won't be mad." Sokka hesitated. "Well, okay, I may be a little upset that you're canoodling with Zuko of all people."
"Sokka," Katara said, pitch rising. "There is absolutely no canoodling going on."
"You're not exactly helping your case here, Sweetness." Toph breezed into the room. "She's not lying, though."
"See!" The water bender exclaimed, cheeks reddening. "We just got close is all, spending so much time together."
"Uh huh," Sokka hummed, clearly not convinced.
"Seriously, you don't need to worry, you're starting to sound like Dad."
The comment had a sobering effect on the mood and Katara regretted it the moment it left her mouth.
Both siblings frowned at their father's absence.
~0~
The remainder of the day came and went, Katara trying to find ways to kill her anxiety and boredom, Toph reveling in all the glorious 'relaxing time'.
It wasn't until mid-morning the following day when Aang and Zuko returned, both boys seeming to be in much higher spirits.
"Katara, look!" Aang nearly tripped over himself clambering off Appa, eager to display his newfound bending abilities.
"Easy, Aang," She said in that all too familiar motherly tone.
"I'm okay!" He insisted, pedaling back into the open courtyard. "Watch!"
Zuko slid down off Appa, dropping to his feet beside Katara.
They were only able to exchange a brief smile before the young monk was insisting Zuko join him in the bending display.
Aang and Zuko took a stance at the far end of the courtyard, facing the now-gathered group. With surprising unison, they worked their way through moves. Their feet seemed to carry them in a perfectly aligned half circle, as they met together again at the end of the move set.
Everyone clapped politely, much to Aang's thrill.
"We'll just dance our way to victory over the Fire Lord," Sokka mused as the pair relaxed from their final stances, smirking.
The dance, as Sokka called it, was a well executed kata designed to work with two people. Each segment of the movement let loose a blast of fire.
Aang's fire bending had definitely improved since his previous attempts.
And for Zuko, well, he appeared to be even stronger then before, the blazes erupting from his legs and fists without so much of a grunt.
"It's a sacred form, that happens to be over a thousand years old!" Zuko snapped, minute amounts of steam trickling from his nostrils.
Katara's eyes crinkled with amusement.
"Now Sokka, leave Aang and Zuko alone. If they want to do their dance for the Fire Lord, they can."
Zuko scowled, the expression more pouty then actually angry.
"Not you too!" He protested, frowning.
Her hand covered her mouth as she snickered.
"I'm only teasing," she reassured her dark haired friend. "You both did great."
"If that was a dance, it was the most ungraceful dancing I've ever seen! You guys were stomping around all over the place," Toph added. "Are you sure you guys learned that from dragons?"
She felt Aang turn towards her and she smirked.
"I'm starting to wonder if you're deserving of the title Twinkle Toes, Aang."
"Fire bending is different than air bending!"
"Whatever you say," she rolled her eyes.
~0~
Once Aang and Zuko finished catching up with their friends, it was onto more vigorous training — for Aang, at least.
Zuko barked orders at the young monk, occasionally adjusting Aang's footwork or making him perform a variety of stance-based exercises.
After the sun had nearly reached the horizon, Zuko found Katara in the kitchen, cooking herself some supper. She'd not taken up her motherly duties for the significantly larger group. She offered help when they needed it, of course, but she attempted to dedicate more time to herself, practicing her own bending moves and repairing her — and Sokka's — clothes.
"Oh, hi," Zuko greeted, meeting her curious glance.
"Hi."
Katara turned to the old stone oven, tossing a few more logs into the hearth.
"While you're here," she slid the bread into the top. "Would you mind lighting this for me?"
Katara didn't move away from where she stood beside the oven, silently daring Zuko to step into her space.
Without a word, he moved closer.
Stooping down, he sent a tiny fireball into the heap of wood.
"I'm glad your bending is back." She murmured as he stood up.
His lips quirked up in a smile, holding her gaze.
"Me too," he rasped, hand raking through his hair. "It's good to finally feel normal again."
Katara's eyes sparkled at the comment.
"So being here, with me, feels normal?" She asked teasingly.
Her heart rate increased at the comment.
"Uh," scratching his neck, he averted his gaze, cheeks reddening. "Yeah. I guess so."
"Well good," She nudged him with her elbow, still smiley. "I like the normalcy too."
Zuko risked a glance, mirroring the lopsided grin.
The fire crackled below and Katara excused herself, peering into the oven.
After a few uncertain pokes at the bread, she dusted off her hands.
"So, your uncle was the last one to face the masters — the dragons?" Katara asked. "And he lied to protect them?"
Zuko nodded, a smile dancing on his lips.
"Yeah."
"What were they like? The dragons."
The fire bender went into detail for the girl, explaining their size and ease at which they flew through the air.
"So they've been protected all this time?" She cleaned her hands with some water.
Removing the lid of the tea pot, he tilted it towards her.
"Would you mind?"
A lighthearted grin returned to her face and with a flick of her wrist, she cleaned and refilled the pot with water.
"I never really noticed how much I didn't know about him, until now." Zuko sighed, tossing in tea leaves. "He's always just been…Uncle."
"Well it's not like he doesn't hide those parts from you."
The porcelain lid clinked atop the tea pot, hand sliding beneath the pot.
Moments passed and smoke curled out the spout.
"I thought everyone might like a cup of tea," Zuko commented, holding up the now-hot tea. "I don't think I can make it as good as he can, but hopefully I've picked up some things."
~0~
"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Sokka asked lowly.
Katara had just left to go check on the bread in the oven, the words leaving Sokka's mouth the moment was out of sight.
Zuko glanced at Katara's empty spot, nodding slightly.
The two men stood up, casually strolling out the massive metal doors and into the fountain courtyard.
"If someone was captured by the Fire Nation, where would they be taken?"
"Your father?"
They came to a stop beside the fountain, water glinting in the rising moon.
"All the troops." Sokka said.
"You don't want to know," Zuko said. "Trust me. Knowing will only make you feel worse. That's why I haven't even told Katara."
Sokka's hand lightly rested on the fire bender's shoulder.
"She asked?"
"Not directly." Zuko sighed. "She was worried about your father when she learned he'd been captured. Not knowing if you got the medicine to him in time…was hard for her."
Sokka nodded slowly, determination overtaking his face.
"Then you know that I'm worried too. It was my plan to invade Caldera. I need to know what I'm putting him through."
"It's not your fault," Zuko rasped. "Like you told Katara, they knew what they signed up for."
Sokka's lips twitched downward at the reminder.
"Zuko." He urged. "Tell me."
After a slight hesitation, Zuko bowed his head.
"They probably got taken to the Boiling Rock, the highest security prison in the Fire Nation."
Zuko didn't like where the conversation was going.
He knew Sokka's look all too well, as he'd seen it many of time on his own face.
And on Zhao's.
"Where is it?"
"Somewhere no one stands a chance of escaping." Zuko uttered. "It's a prison on an island in the middle of a boiling lake."
"So, this boiling lake, where is it exactly? On what island?"
The elder Water Tribe sibling attempted to sound nonchalant, but Zuko could see right through it.
"I know that look, Sokka. Why are you asking these questions? What are you planning?"
"Nothing." He stretched in an attempt to appear nonchalant. "Don't be so paranoid."
Paranoid? Zuko thought. You're practically interrogating me, Sokka.
"It's in the middle of a volcano on a tiny island between here and the Fire Nation." Zuko's tone was light, but his words carried a silent warning.
"Thanks Zuko," Sokka chirped, patting him. "Just knowing makes me feel a thousand times better!"
Zuko's eyes narrowed.
Surely he couldn't think he was that stupid.
Neither could meet Katara's curious gaze when they returned.
After midnight came and went, Zuko lay awake on the ground, his mind churning through all the impossible and stupid plans Sokka could come up with.
Taking the Avatar's sky-bison, for one.
Going at it alone, with no plan…
And no map…
Sure enough, covers rustled behind him and the uneven ground crunched beneath careful footsteps.
A few heartbeats later, Zuko got up too, sneaking behind the Water Tribesman.
He had a pack slung over his shoulder and was beelining towards the bison.
Did he want Appa to become a boiled delicacy?
Sokka disappeared around the massive animal and Zuko quickly pulled himself up into the bisons's saddle.
Not even a second later, Sokka's partially gloved hand appeared on the far edge of the saddle, head popping into view.
"Being paranoid, huh?"
Yelping in surprise, Sokka tumbled to the ground with a grunt.
Smirking, Zuko crawled over to the other side, leaning to watch Sokka pick up his things.
"Fine, you were right. I'm going to rescue my dad. I have to do this." He knelt down and scooped the last few items into his sack. "I told you, the invasion plan was my idea. Whether or not they signed up for it, its my job to fix it. I have to regain my honor."
Zuko leapt off the bison, inwardly sighing.
"Your honor? Do you not know who you're talking to?"
Sokka had began to try to climb back up, pausing to peer down at the scarred man.
"I get it," Zuko said. "That's why I'm going with you. You can't take Appa. Besides, you have no idea where you're going. I do."
Zuko hadn't the slightest idea why he volunteered to go help, but he had.
He grabbed the strap of Sokka's bag and tugged him down.
Katara would find a way to kill Sokka if he managed to get himself captured or worse.
Stumbling back onto his feet, Sokka studied Zuko's face.
"You're going with me?"
"Yeah. Come on. We'll take my war balloon."
~0~
The first leg of the boys' trip passed without a hitch. They left their friends a cover note so they wouldn't worry and set off towards the prison.
Sokka finally broke the silence after nearly four hours, making awkward small talk about the war balloon.
"It seems to run in the family," Sokka scratched his neck, seated on the small box like Katara had days before.
"Hey, hold on," Zuko objected to Sokka's implication that his family liked war. "We're not all like that."
"I know, I know, you've changed, I'll admit."
"No, I'm talking about my uncle." The prince sighed heavily, missing the one person in his life that actually made him feel like they cared.
"He's more my father then my real father." Zuko continued, though he wasn't particularly sure why he felt the need to share this with Katara's sarcasm-loving elder brother. "I feel like I let him down, not rescuing him in time. I don't even know if he's alive."
"I think he would be proud of you. I mean, you helped my sister get back to us and now you're teaching Aang fire bending."
"I guess," Zuko gazed into the smoldering light.
"Speaking of my sister," Sokka said, leaning forward. "Is there something going on between you two? She says there isn't, but I thought I would ask you."
He stiffened, head whipping around to stare wide-eyed at the man.
"What? No."
Panic rose up inside Zuko, reading the disbelief evident across Sokka's face.
Little did he know that the lady in question had the same startled, suspicious response.
"I have a girlfriend, or, well had. Mai." He paused, thinking of the girl - the perfect excuse. "I haven't seen her in so long, I'm not sure what she is anymore."
"The moody girl with the knives?" Sokka leaned back, eyebrow quirked up.
Truthfully, Zuko hadn't thought of her in months.
Not when he was out with Jin and especially not when he was with Katara.
She'd only really ever been the female his father had wanted him to one day pursue. So, for a while he had, in some sort of twisted attempt to please him.
They were friends still, or at least he hoped, but any crush he had developed fizzled out.
It had been hard to tell if she even liked him in the first place.
"Not that she'd probably want anything to do with me," Zuko rambled, watching his expression relax. "Everyone thinks I'm a traitor now. I doubt she'd want anything to do with me, and I wouldn't blame her. Her father is a well respected governor…"
"And you're the traitorous banished prince," Sokka inhaled through his teeth. "Yikes. Well, if it makes you feel any better, I had a girlfriend once…"
Zuko glanced back to Sokka, his expression a silent 'oh yeah'?
"She turned into the moon."
Zuko's brow momentarily disappeared into his fringe.
Zhao's attack on the moon spirit flicked into his memory.
Was it connected?
"That's rough buddy," he offered. "At least you have…"
The girl's painted face flashed into his mind and he squinted.
What had been her name?
"Suki?" Sokka supplied.
Zuko nodded.
"Yeah…" Sokka's face hardened. "After I find my dad, I'm going after her. I don't even know if she's alive. Your sister said some…things."
"Azula always lies," Zuko murmured.
~0~
Two days had came and gone before Katara's brother returned. And what they returned in was much larger than a small hot air balloon. Their new flying vessel was fit for royalty, the air-ship dwarfing even Appa.
The Fire Nation ship was one they'd witnessed glide down to the First Lord's Harbor back at the capital.
If it weren't for Sokka's shouts and waves, she may have actually been terrified for the potential havoc such a large vessel could wreak.
They all were flabbergasted at the obvious upgrade.
"Some fishing trip," Aang commented, coming to stand beside Katara and Toph.
"Yeah," she retorted, staring hard at the approaching ship.
What had Sokka gotten them into?
Their note had been peculiar enough to raise Katara's suspicion, but she assumed that they would be too far gone by the time she awoke to even bother to try and catch up with them.
Zuko would keep her dunce of a brother safe.
Or, so she hoped.
Metal creaked as a long platform expelled itself from the side of the cabin, rumbling to a stop. The two steel doors creaked inward, revealing nothing at first.
"Sokka?" She called uncertainly.
"Hey guys!" Sokka's tall frame came around the corner, grinning deviously at everyone's shocked expressions.
"So sounds like you caught some big fish," Toph mused as Zuko stepped out, too.
"Oh, we found something better than meat-"
Hakoda suddenly appeared in the doorway behind him.
"Dad?!" Katara gasped.
Tears of relief rushed to her eyes and she launched herself at the elder man, who met her with open arms.
Her father was back.
Safe.
Healthy.
Katara pulled herself away from her father's embrace, eyes darting from Zuko to Sokka.
"Where did you guys go? How-?"
A crooked smile tugged at Zuko's lips.
"We kind of went to a Fire Nation prison," Sokka explained, having the common sense to at least sound a bit sheepish.
Hakoda jerked Sokka to him, embracing both of his children.
Zuko smiled at the trio, a warm feeling blossoming inside him.
The trio broke away and Katara stepped closer to Zuko, watery blue eyes on his face.
"Zuko," she broke out, voice cracking. "Thank you. Thank you for getting him back, and keeping Sokka safe."
Zuko was on the receiving end of the hug after that, the young water bender squeezing him tightly, tears dampening his shirt.
"Hey!" Sokka protested. "I coulda found them on my own!"
"I couldn't let him go alone," he murmured, mostly into Katara's ear.
"So, no meat then?" Toph grumbled.
"You really think we would have all made it out without the help from knife girl?" Some girl said and Katara turned in their direction.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, going to hug the Kyoshi warrior. "Suki!"
The warrior girl laughed, patting Katara on the shoulder.
"It's good to see you too, Katara."
"Where's everyone else?" Aang asked, peering into the entrance of the ship.
The two rescuers shared a sad look.
"They weren't there," Hakoda said, sneering. "The princess thought we were deserving of special treatment."
"Yeah," Suki scowled. "She moved me there pretty quickly after the girls and I found Appa in the forest."
"Wait, you guys found Appa?" Aang gawked at the elder girl. "When was this?"
"It's been quite a while." Suki explained. "If rumors circulated right in the Boiling Rock, it was right before you guys made it into Ba Sing Se."
Katara half-listened to Suki's response to Aang, her brain finally catching up with the knife girl reference.
Knife girl? She wondered.
Half-conscious memories of a bland dark haired girl with two buns throwing knives at her resurfaced.
"Knife girl?" Katara heard herself repeat.
The group silenced and all eyes drifted to her.
"Yeah," Sokka frowned. "Zuko's girlfriend..what did you say her name was? Oh yeah, Mai!"
Katara tried so hard to keep her expression neutral.
To not let the shock or disappointment show on her face.
Nonetheless, she felt the muscles in her outer forehead tense, ever so slightly.
"I told you, she's not my girlfriend," Zuko growled.
But, why did he say it like that? Why did he have that look on his face, too?
Katara's quickly darting eyes met Zuko's. The elder guy avoided her gaze, so she snapped her eyes back to Sokka.
~0~
"Katara," Sokka hissed, curled up in his roll across the way. "Can I talk to you about something?"
Raising her head off the ground, she squinted in the darkness at her brother.
She'd been so close to falling asleep.
"What, again?"
She barely made out his head bobbing in confirmation.
Spirits, she mentally swore. If this is about Zuko again…
Katara pushed herself out of her bed, moving slowly as to not wake Toph.
Sokka rose and led his younger sister outside.
Moonlight filtered in, the shadow of their new massive airship looming menacingly off the courtyard's edge.
"So, I heard something." He started. "When I was in the Boiling Rock."
Katara's tiredness ebbed at her mind. Yawning, she wrapped her arms around herself.
"Okay…"
"It..it was about sea ravens." Sokka continued, watching his sister's shadowy expression.
He had no way of knowing if Katara knew this crucial detail of who attacked their tribe, all those years ago.
It was evident by the still confused look on her face, she did not.
"Katara," he whispered. "That was the flag of the ships that attacked us when we were kids."
The cool night air seemed to grow colder, both siblings bristling at the sudden temperature drop.
"They were the ones who took Mom away?" Her voice cracked.
Solemnly, he bowed his head.
"Yes."
"I didn't know you'd seen their ships," Katara murmured.
The new knowledge seemed to tear a new rift in Katara's slowly healing heart.
It added details to the traumatizing event she often wished she could exclude from her memory entirely.
To see her mother, cowering in fear in front of that man…
Part of her wished that Sokka wouldn't have said anything.
It made the monster, well…someone obtainable.
A real person. Not just some armor-clad monster that visited her dreams for months after the incident.
"I think they were apart of some raiding group created just for the South Pole."
Sokka was still speaking, but the monster's profile, the small glimpse she'd caught, was plastering itself up the walls of her mind.
It seemed to be all she could see.
His rough voice all she could hear.
A sob tore itself out of her chest.
Sokka had caught on quite quickly that she'd not been paying attention to him any longer.
Perhaps it would be best to not tell his sister anything else.
When Katara got that wide-eyed look, he was reminded of the many times he'd comforted her in the past, when she awoke screaming.
"Hey," he said gently, hugging her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Forget I said anything."
Tears streamed down her face and she buried her head into her brother's shoulder. His long hair tickled her face and she swiped it away.
"I miss her," she whispered. "So much."
"I know," he responded, hugging her tightly. "Me too."
Memories flashed behind her eyelids.
Her father's strangled gasp at the sight of her mother's body.
Katara's own stunned silence.
She'd done it all to save her.
To protect her.
The last water bender of their tribe.
And the idiot had simply taken her word for it and slaughtered her.
Something reared its head, deep within Katara.
Hot, stifling fury engulfed her.
Clenching her jaw, she pulled away from her brother.
"Thank you for telling me."
The words were emotionless, her expression terrifyingly neutral.
Sokka scanned her face, slightly perturbed by the tone.
~0~
Katara got no sleep that night.
She'd gone back to her cot predominantly to mollify her brother, but she'd not wanted to face the inevitable nightmares.
Anytime the girl had any form of prolonged thoughts about the day her mother was murdered, it never failed to trigger some sort of awful dream.
As soon as Sokka's snores filled the otherwise quiet room, she got to her feet and went to sit in the courtyard.
Katara let the moonlight coat her body and the trickling fountain drown out any thoughts.
She was silent the entire night.
Tiredness ebbed at her mind by the time the moon dropped out of sight so she begrudgingly went back to her cot, allowing sleep to overtake her.
Thankfully, she was too tired to dream.
~0~
Katara awoke with a jolt, panic bubbling throughout the group like wild fire.
What was going on?
The massive metal doors that opened into the courtyard slammed shut.
"Everyone up!" Hakoda commanded.
Head spinning, the water bender stumbled to her feet and whirled around the room.
"Katara," Zuko was suddenly next to her, grabbing onto her shoulders.
"Katara," he said again, forcefully. "Are you okay?"
"What's going on?" She asked, her brain gradually catching up with everything.
Loud booms slammed into the temple walls, small pebbles raining down.
"Watch out!"
Zuko slammed his weight into her, knocking them both to the ground a few feet away.
His body pressed into hers, shielding her from any additional damage.
She let out a shaky breath.
If she wasn't fully awake before, she sure was now.
"Thank you, Zuko," she breathed as he rolled off her.
The ceiling's remnants laid in a rubble right where they'd stood seconds before.
He nodded in return, a small crooked smile on his mouth.
The room had erupted into chaos around them. Everyone was rapidly slinging their packed bags over their shoulders, while Haru and Toph bent a long tunnel in the back wall of the room.
"Come on!" Toph called. "We can get out this way!"
Hakoda and the others filed into the opening, while Sokka and Katara moved to help the bald boy with Appa.
"Come on buddy," Aang urged, tugging hard on the lead. "We gotta go."
"Zuko!" Katara exclaimed, noticing the man striding past them, towards the slowly crumbling doors. "What are you doing?"
"You guys go ahead!" Something else rumbled against the metal doors. "I think it's Azula."
"What? No!"
The doors fell away from the structure with a massive clunk, shaking the ground.
Zuko disappeared through the cloud of dust.
This only served to make the sky-bison even more hesitant.
"Appa's not going to go through there!" Aang said decidedly. "We're going to have to split up again!"
At that horrible suggestion, Katara whipped her head around to gaze at her father and the others.
"We can't!"
"It'll be okay, Katara," Hakoda reassured, noting the darkness beneath her eyes as she ran up to him. "It's not forever."
Teary eyed, she flung her arms around his shoulders.
Katara knew he was right.
There was too much at stake.
~0~
The group, albeit much smaller now, sat around a small campfire in mostly high spirits.
Katara stared glumly into the fire, not particularly paying attention to everyone's chatter about the 'joys of camping'.
After even Zuko joined in, suggesting that he'd chase them around and try to capture them for fun, Katara had had enough.
She got to her feet, silently walking away from the fire.
How could they be so cheerful, at a time like this? How could Sokka be so…carefree? They'd been split up from their father, again. Their friends were still in a prison. Aang had failed and now he'd have to train even harder to be capable of beating Ozai before Sozin's Comet.
Sour thoughts twisted her features into a scowl and before she knew it, she'd reached the cliffside. The sea breeze flitted around her, a reminder of the dark waters that lay below.
"Are you okay, Katara?" Zuko's raspy voice sounded from behind her.
She'd not heard him approach. Katara hadn't really expected anyone to even notice she was gone.
Sighing, the water bender turned to glance over her shoulder at him.
She didn't say a word, the glum expression doing the talking for her.
He studied her dark expression, frowning.
The girl turned back to the ocean and crossed her arms.
"Can I ask you something?" Katara asked.
"What is it?" Zuko took a few steps to stand beside her, him too overlooking the dark sea.
"What do you know about Fire Nation ships that fly a sea raven flag?"
He stiffened from beside her.
"Why?"
"Sokka told me something I didn't know…about the soldiers that raided our village," she swallowed thickly. "When Mom died."
"It sounds like the Southern Raiders." He rasped. "They're the only ones I know to use that flag."
Katara bobbed her head slowly.
Answers…she was finally getting answers.
"Where do they operate?"
Her whole demeanor was cold, calculated. Nothing like the Katara he knew. He could see the pain in her eyes that morning, when he checked on her. Zuko could tell even then that she'd not gotten much sleep.
"Why do you want to know?" He retorted cautiously.
"Why does it matter?" She snipped, crossing her arms.
"Because. You're just like your brother. I can tell you're planning something."
The iciness directed itself to the prince, silently daring him to deny her the answer she requested.
"I know who killed my mother now." Katara stated. "I want to find the man who took her from me."
And do what? Zuko wondered, mind flitting to all the possibilities.
He wouldn't let her face this alone.
"Fine then." Zuko said. "Let's go."
Katara about got whiplash from the speed in which she turned to gawk at him.
"I mean it." He said, holding her gaze. "I know how to find who did it."
Katara regarded Zuko's offer before briskly nodding.
"We're leaving first thing in the morning then."
He inclined his head and they both stood there on the cliffside for a while, the wind whipping tumultuously around them.
Aang wouldn't like the plan, Zuko thought. He may even deny them the use of Appa for such a mission…but he of all people should understand her pain.
The long-empty air temples flashed in his mind's eye. The young air bender awoke to his people's genocide, the antagonists already dead for decades.
What could he do, except try to stop the war?
"Come on," Zuko touched Katara's shoulder gently. "At least try to sleep."
She turned at the contact, considering his words.
Saying nothing, she turned and headed back to the others.
~0~
Katara's pack was already assembled and slung over her shoulder at dawn. If she'd gotten sleep, it was hard to tell.
"Zuko," she hissed, looming outside the man's tent. "Wake up."
"Zuko."
"Katara," his gravely voice came from behind her.
Turning around, she found him already dressed, arms folded. The hilt of his sword stuck up behind him.
The girl was too angry to feel the need to fidget under his contemplative gaze.
"You're up," she commented dryly.
Fabric rustled a few tents over, and a sleepy looking Aang popped his head out.
"What's going on?" He rubbed his eyes. "Where you guys going?"
Pivoting, Katara moved closer to the monk.
"I need to bother Appa."
Tired gray eyes flicked from Katara's angry posture, to the calm presence of Zuko just past her.
"Why?"
"We are going to find the man that took my mother from me."
For Aang's sake, Zuko hoped the youth wouldn't fight her on this.
"I know how to find who did it," he told Aang.
The chatter awoke even Sokka, who climbed out from his tent.
"You're going where?" Sokka asked. "Katara, I didn't tell you about the ships for you to take off and try to…try to…what is it are you even trying to do, anyways?"
"Yeah, what are you guys trying to accomplish?" Aang butted in.
Katara scoffed.
"I don't expect you to understand." Katara sneered, looking increasingly pissed off.
"I do understand," Aang inched closer to his friend. "It's all over your face. You're feeling unbelievable pain and rage."
The bald boy went on to explain why he thought he understood, referencing his sky-bison's kidnapping and his people's genocide.
Her expression remained the same, irritation growing at the comparison of her mother's murder to his kidnapped sky-bison.
"She needs this, Aang," Zuko said, noting her clenching fists. "This is about getting closure and justice."
"Justice?" He repeated. "This is about revenge!"
Katara's patience ebbed.
"You know, maybe it is!" She spat. "Maybe that's what I need, maybe what he deserves."
The monster's shadow looming over her cowering mother plastered itself behind her eyes.
"You sound like Jet," Aang countered, only for Katara to step towards him.
"Like Jet?" She repeated, furious now. "He attacked the innocent! This man is hardly innocent!"
"Katara," Sokka finally said, having been watching his sister grow more and more indignant by the breath. "Maybe Aang is right. She was my mother too."
"Then you didn't love her like I did," she retorted.
The red-hot rage bubbled up in her again, so she turned away before she could see his expression.
Aang spoke from behind her, but Katara tuned him out.
"Now that I know I have a way to find him," she whispered. "I have no choice."
"But, you do have a choice. Forgiveness."
"That's the same as doing nothing." Zuko responded before she could, his frustration building.
How could either of them not see how much pain she'd been in, for so long?
Katara needed this confrontation, needed the closure. She'd been a little girl when it happened, powerless and confused.
Now, she was nearly grown and strong.
Now, she could fight back.
"It's not," Aang said earnestly, brightening when Katara faced them again. "It's easy to do nothing, but it's hard to forgive."
"It's not just hard, it's impossible." Katara retorted. "So are you going to let us use Appa or not?"
"Looks to me like you were planning on taking Appa anyways, so what does my say matter?"
Katara cocked her brow.
"I'm asking, aren't I?"
"Okay."
She seemed surprised.
"Okay." Katara repeated, readjusting her sack.
To Zuko, she said. "Let's go."
Aang trailed behind them on their way to Appa.
"Wait," he called to them as Zuko started to climb. "Katara, when you get there…don't do anything too rash. Let your anger out…then forgive him."
Katara stared hard at her friend, but found she couldn't respond.