Book Three: Fire
Author's Note: Remember to review, hommies. And pay close attention to the virus we encounter in this chapter.
Chapter Five: The North Pole
Time slowed. As Appa's massive body made it's way to the North Pole, Aang grew bored with Katara, and she grew bored with him. It was too difficult not too.
"I really miss the South Pole," Katara would whine sometimes, her eyes drifting to the clouds. "I really miss Gran Gran." It was as if the return to any Pole was hard on the nationalistic girl, and this obliviousness showed without her knowledge.
I really miss Monk Gaytso! And my friends! But you don't see me complaining about it! Aang would look the other way, embarrassed, and then change the subject.
Katara slept often, she also grew feverish by the 3rd day of travel. Her body would lay unmoving in a mass of animal furs as sweat oozed underneath. Within seconds, she would be thrown into a coughing fit, and then complain some more.
But stops were out of the question. The most Aang could do was look at her and give her more water, which always tasted dusty and unclean. The moaning and groaning grew unbearable, and the two retreated more into their own problems. They forgot their objective on some days, never resting once. And finally, when Appa grew so tired that he needed to sleep, they landed on a small island composed entirely of snow, ice, and penguins.
"Aang, I feel like I need to vomit," Katara told him as soon as they landed. It was one of the first things she had said in a while.
And then, as promised, she did.
Aang rushed to her side, wincing at the sight of the squishy, partially digested fruit. He pulled the mass of thick hair out of her face. "You're really sick," he stated dumbly, obviously remorseful. "Have you ever been this sick before?"
Katara, still wrapped in a heap of blankets, looked up at him. "Not...once..." she whispered raggedly. "Never."
"Well...what am I supposed to do?"
Katara was silent. She blinked in no general direction, her eyes foggy and wet.
"Katara? What do you want me to get for you?" Aang bit his lip, pleading. "What can I do to make you better?"
But the girl didn't answer. She flopped down on the icy bank and hid her face in the snow.
"Katara, please!" Aang pulled her up, forgetting the girl's weight. "Please, please tell me what I need to do! Please don't do this to me!" Frantically he tried turning her over.
She turned to her back and tried lifting herself. With Aang's help, she was able to sit upright, but she still looked distracted and pale. "There's nothing you can do," she stated plainly. She cleared her throat. "Aang, I don't know what's wrong."
Thankful he had gotten a response, he pushed himself closer to her. "Are you hungry?" He drew out a large sack of fruit and nuts.
She coughed. "I'm sick of fruit."
Aang raised his brow. "What's wrong with fruit?"
"I'm just so sick of it." Katara began shedding the layers of blankets and coats.
The boy lifted himself, toying with the snow beneth him. "What should I do?" he asked again.
"You don't have to do anything," Katara coughed. She stretched out carefully, trying to stand up again. "We're almost at the North Pole and there's a huge source of food in front of us." She looked to the penguins, her lips moistening.
Aang could tell the amount of effort she was putting into getting up and moving about. Her weight shifted from foot to foot as she wobbled towards the penguins dizzily. She murmured something to herself; she coughed, and then tried Waterbending.
A large blob of water followed her hand movements and then dropped hopelessly to the ground.
Katara murmured again. "The bending...it's gone." She paused. "I don't know why...the bending..."
"Listen, why don't you rest a bit, okay? I'll set up camp."
"We can't stop," Katara stated meekly, but she didn't say anymore.
Aang got everything ready, started a fire, and brought Katara's blankets out again. "So much for making progress," he told her. But she blinked at him, as if she didn't hear his comments.
Getting into Ba Sing Sei was no trouble at all.
Toph provided the cover, Sokka provided the pass ports, and they slid through security passing for orphans. Easy as pie.
They stood now near the security desk through the inner walls as an old woman searched through their papers. "So, you're coming back into Ba Sing Sei, huh? Ha! What a laugh. I'll tell you, kids, you're making a big mistake."
"We're just coming back to find our parents," Toph stated innocently, wiping her eyes.
"We lost them after we fled. We intend to find them," Sokka added.
"Well, good luck with that...I'll tell you, you kids, if you don't find them, well, don't be surprised. We've had a lot of 'lost and founds' lately—lost kids, lost parents, lost everyone. It's so sad...it's awful."
"You can't say they're gone," Toph cried, holding on to Sokka's arm. "Make her take it back, Roni!"
"Roni!" Sokka grumbled, detesting this new name. "Listen, lady, we're just trying to get through. You're scaring the crap out of my...uh, sister."
The old woman nodded, handing the papers to him, and shuffling off to the back of the office. "Here," she stated as she returned, and gave them a red sac filled to the brim with Earth Kingdom coins.
"What's this—"
"Shh!" The lady cut them off. "It's what the company hides after a good day's work, fees and such. If you...well, if you can't find your parents, consider it a helping hand from yours truly."
"What is it, Roni?" Toph cried miserably. "What is it?"
"Thank you," Sokka stated, still looking at the money. "Thanks a lot."
They left the station and headed for the city.
Aang feared that Katara was dying.
The fever was bad enough, but then came the vomiting, and the sleep-talk, and the lack of bending, and the sweating. There was no symptom that Katara didn't have. It was breaking Aang up, and he wondered constantly what was going on inside of her as well. After the fourth day of camping he became hopeless.
"Aang...Aang, come here," Katara called to him in her now usual raspy voice, coughing. "Listen, go kill me a penguin."
He was excited that she was talking, but also afraid of her command and her condition.
"Why would I—why should..."
"Listen to me!" Katara stated, blinking. "I'm so sick I can't feel my limbs, and I can barely see you. I want to eat something good."
"Don't say that! You sound like you're—"
"Dying!" Katara proclaimed. "I just have a feeling...I just remember Gran Gran saying something about penguin meat. I can't remember it. Do me this one favor, Aang."
"But..." He didn't say anything more. He was at the point of defeat, and didn't know what else to do. All of his remedies didn't work. Maybe Gran Gran's would. He went to the crowd of penguins, looking at them, angrily, almost.
He had never killed anything before. He had eaten meat, once, when he was younger. Maybe when he was sick, too. But he could not remember it now, or what to do when he killed it, or how he would kill it.
But Katara was sick, deathly ill, and she could die. And this was their last chance.
In a fit of blindness Aang swiped his staff to the ground, sending a sharp gust of wind through the crowd. They scattered, and one was left on the ground in its own pool of blood.
Biting his lip her carried it to the tent, remorseful but hopeful at the same time. Katara, seeing he had done what she had asked, gave him instructions to prepare the meat.
"Skin it, Aang—with a knife, here. Yes...slowly, there you go. Take the meat from the back only, not the front. Slit it and put onions in it. I can't remember what else to put...cook it now, quickly, Aang, too. Ah! I can smell it from over here."
The boy's face, twisted in disgust and fear, followed the directions exactly. His hands were quite red by the time he finished, and his heart was quite hollow as well, but he was hopeful. Every time he saw the blood and smelled the meat he told himself, this will help. The smell was obviously stirring Katara a little bit, and so Aang was glad for her but not so much for the penguin. He covered the remains of the body with a blanket, and hid it in the snow.
The girl launched at the penguin as soon as it was done, shoving large chunks of it in her mouth and licking her fingers afterward. The wonders of meat, Aang thought, knowing that this was the first time Katara had treated any food like this.
"Mmm!" Katara cried, stretching her weakening limbs and throwing the clean plate at the ground. "Ah..."
"Are you...feeling...better?" Aang asked, still terrified. "Did it...help?"
"Help? Did it!" And, for the first time in days, Katara stood up and walked around the tent.
"Oh my God! How did it...how did... oh my God!" Aang grasped his head, eyes wide in wonder. "What happened?"
"I don't know!" Katara replied, still walking around, quickening her pace. "I knew it! I knew it would help!" She swung her arms around Aang's neck, kissing his cheek. "Thanks to you!" She stated, glad he did the unthinkable to make her well again. "Wow! I feel...so much better!" She continued to rediscover her limbs and face again.
"Aang, I don't know what I would do without you." She smiled warmly at him, kissing him on the cheek yet again, and began packing their things.
They left the wonder as a miracle, maybe, something they could not explain. How could penguin meat pull Katara back from a fatal disease? A disease that had not only ridden her of bending but almost killed her? It was weird, and Aang decided to forget that he had killed the poor creature. That night, they set off to the North Pole, now only hours away.
The inner cities had not changed much. There were fewer people and fewer salesmen, and the city looked poorer than it hand before. But, all in all, it really looked like the same Ba Sing Sei. Sokka guessed that the only changes were being made slowly, and that they would become noticeable with time.
It was midday now, and Sokka and Toph were walking along a small, poverty-stricken ally.
"Damn! It's Zuko!" Sokka cried suddenly, pulling Toph behind the wall of a stand and peering over her shoulder at the Fire Nation Prince.
"That weirdo who sided with Azula? Why are we afraid of him?" Toph smirked and added a "Roni" at the end of her sentence.
"Would you stop calling me that? Jeez, we only needed it to get past the guards!"
"Well, it suits you, Sokka." Toph tapped her toes impatiently on the ground. "He's leaving."
Sure enough, Zuko was turning around with a bag of produce. But he stopped midway, and turned to the direction of Toph and Sokka's hiding place.
"Wait, never mind—"
"Sh!" Sokka slapped his palm against Toph's mouth, looking over her shoulder. The prince came to the hiding place, turned to face them, and stopped walking.
Sokka released Toph and pulled out his machete, glaring at the boy.
"Don't come any closer!"
Zuko blinked.
Toph slammed the ground with her left foot, and Zuko went flying, landing into a barrel of tomatoes.
"Agh!" he cried angrily, removing the juicy pulp from his uniform. "What was that for?"
"Don't think we're stupid," Sokka called. "Just because you can make a sap story to make my sister feel bad for you, it doesn't mean we'll believe it!" Sokka ran to him, his blade in the air.
Zuko dodged, and the machete sliced the barrel in two. "Idiot," Zuko yelled. "I'm not going to fight you."
"Why not? Saving us for your sister?" Toph asked, sending a rock flying past him. He dodged yet again. "We'll kill you!"
"Stop!" Zuko called. "Stop it! Let me explai! The Avatar..."
"What for? You're already back on the throne." Sokka threw his boomerang, missing as it came both ways.
"I need him to overthrow my father," Zuko stated quietly. "Just listen to me for a second!"
"Let him talk, Sokka. If he tries anything funny, we'll kill him." Toph crossed her arms.
"Fine."
"You may have your mind set on this hatred of yours, but you're going to regret it." Zuko began. "I'm not liking what my sister's doing so far. And I'm not liking what my father is doing either."
"So?" Sokka asked. "No one likes what your father is doing."
"I know. But I'm sick of them, and I plan on taking them down." He paused, and Sokka stared at him blankly. "Problem is, I can't do it alone."
"Shit!" Sokka cried. "Utter and complete crap! You think we're going to believe that?"
Toph blinked. "Sokka—"
"You honestly think we're going to follow you in the palace and fall in this trap of yours. You have the whole thing set up!"
Zuko shook his head. "No I don't—"
"Listen here," Sokka yelled, pointing at the boy's tomato-stained chest. "I hate the Fire Nation. And I hate you. And there's no way in hell we're going to believe you. If there weren't any witnesses, I'd let my friend here kill you on the spot."
"Sokka!" Toph cried. "Sokka, he's telling the truth."
The boy was silent for a second. "No, Toph. No, he's not."
"I'm serious. He's telling the truth."
"I am not going to kill you. I do not have a trap set up. My sister doesn't care much about the Avatar, and I'm sure she thinks she's killed him. Somehow, I think he's still alive." Zuko paused, looking at Toph and Sokka. "I want to overthrow the Fire Lord, and my sister." He added, after some time, "And, I would do it alone, if I had some sort of team set up, otherwise I wouldn't care much about your whereabouts or any other such thing."
"He is telling the truth." Toph confirmed. "Every word."
"I still don't trust you. And you are not welcome to travel with us." Sokka grabbed Toph's shoulder and continued walking.
Zuko, perhaps knowing he would join them eventually, followed.
"Get lost!" Sokka said. "Just get out of here! We don't want your help."
"Just one question," Zuko called to them. "How do you plan to do this yourself with no knowledge of the Fire Nation whatsoever?"
"I don't—" Sokka began. Zuko cut him off.
"You're and idiot, you know that? You need me and I need the Avatar's power." He paused. "Can't you see that it's a fair split deal?"
Toph turned to Sokka. "He's right, you know."
Sokka blinked a few times, unsure of what to do. He did not want to believe this traitor, nor have anything to do with him. Yet he knew, in the grand scheme of things, that it was inevitable.
When Aang and Katara arrived at the North Pole, there was no grand party or parade. The population seemed to have gone down increasingly since they had last been here. They entered through the magnificent walls (still under construction) and placed Appa in the animal shelters.
"First order of business," Katara said, "Is to find Chief Arnook."
They did so easily, and many faces recognized them, and asked them how their travels had treated them, and offered hospitality. But they found the somber chief eventually, still obviously broken up about his daughter and the attack on the Northern Water Tribe.
The problem was, he did not know that the Earth Kingdom had fallen, and when Katara and Aang brought him this news, he stopped breathing, and almost fainted.
"Impossible...impossible...are you really trying to tell me that...that...impossible..." He muttered this many times over and over to himself, and then his eyes watered, and he sobbed quietly to himself.
"Well, they've won the war! It was as simple as Ba Sing Sei. Curse them to the ground! Curse them to the ground, those Fire Nation...those bastards..."
"We have a plan," Katara assured him. "A good one, too. That's why Sokka is not with us."
They talked the plan over, simply and to the point, and though Katara and Aang could tell that the chief was suffering deeply inside, he agreed to let the young benders take charge of 100 soldiers, 40 of which where benders, and 60 of which were warriors, and all of which were completely submitted to the cause. They knew it was only a small fleet, but it would help.
"Enough about this war, tell me of your travels," Arnook said after some time, letting loose of his obvious manners and Tribe upbringing. "I want to hear all about it. I've never been to Ba Sing Sei...or any other Earth Kingdom town, for that matter."
"The travels weren't so bad," Aang admitted, and decided to leave out the invasion of Di Lei. "Katara got fairly sick on a few days back, but she's better now."
"Oh?" Arnook asked. "And, what was the sickness, Katara?"
Katara stared for a minute. And then, visibly considering her answer, blinked and said, "You know, I really don't know. I think it might have been some form of cold or something, but it seems much worse."
"Did it leave naturally?"
"No, actually...well, actually, I ate some penguin meat, and that seemed to heal everything right up. It was very strange, Chief Arnook." She paused, and then grimaced. "And I hope I never fall that sick again."
"Me neither," Aang agreed.
"Penguin meat, you say? Hmn..." The man thought for about a minute or two, nodding to himself as he did, and then turned to the travelers. "It's the Tor Sen Penguin Virus!" he exclaimed suddenly.
Katara and Aang looked at one another, confused.
"It's fatal," Arnook stated. "It destroys the immune system and rids one of bending. Not to mention a lot of other nasty side affects that I can't remember right now. Many just call it the Tor Sen Virus, but penguin meat rids the body of the epidemic."
"You really think that's what it was?" Aang asked, still doubtful of the strange name.
"Sure, sure. Why, what else could it be? What were your symptoms, dearest?"
Katara thought for a moment. "I vomited, a lot...and I couldn't bend anymore, like you said. Plus I had a high fever, and I couldn't feel my limbs for a while."
"Exactly!" Arnook smiled to himself. "That's it exactly."
"Why does penguin meat cure this?" the Avatar inquired. "Isn't there some other medicine or something?"
"There are extracts that do the job," Arnook explained. "But penguins have extremely large, fluffed veins. They carry blood, you see, and so when you eat the meat you're eating the blood-induced muscles. They don't know what it is about penguin blood, perhaps because it is loaded with oxygen and other nutrients, but it does it's work quite nicely, at least, more than any blood I've ever had!"
Aang, wincing at this point, turned to Katara. "You hear that? You could've died."
Katara nodded. "But, I didn't."
Arnook interrupted swiftly. "Now, now...I didn't meant to get so morbid." He sighed slightly, carefully, perhaps remembering his daughter. "The virus has been known to spread. Aang, I'd be careful, if I were you. And Katara, thank the spirits you are still here today."
The two nodded. "Well, we better get started then," Aang stated, gladly changing the subject. "We have a lot of work ahead of us."
The team agreed with him, and left the palace to the military grounds.