Well, here's another chapter – last one with major flashbacks. It's pretty much an end to this "section" of the story. It's been a huge thing to complete, and I regret not finishing sooner. Well, here goes. ;)
Zuko stood stiffly as he waited inside the foyer of the palace, watched by suspicious guards and the intricate designs on his home's regal walls.
His home...
Somehow, he thought it would have been different: returning to the place in which he was born, in which he grew up, of which he'd seen nothing else other until his... unfortunate voyage. Somehow, when he'd imagined the past, he only saw the sweet olden days of golden morning light shining upon the dewy gardens... always happy, always youthful, and forever safe... within his mother's arms.
Now, he realized that the halls were, in reality, dreary and so much grayer. The sunrise haze clung to his limbs and pulled them down as the scorching heat burned his lungs. Zuko could have sworn that these disappointments were attributed to the former Fire Princess's mysterious disappearance, and that it simply struck him more now... but he refused to let these anomalies affect him.
Hadn't even his uncle told him he'd become the prince he was supposed to be? How could he possibly have done that in that pathetic capital city? He'd had no choice -- he belonged here. And yet his uncle had refused him the option. He couldn't have gotten back into his father's good graces without having taken his sister's offer -- and hadn't he actually been successful for once? Working with her instead of against those he should be loyal to? Without this, without this restoration of honor and status he could not rule the people he was born to protect. His uncle hadn't understood. Of course he meant so much to him... but he had to take sacrifice into account. Zuko had a duty, right? He had learned long ago to obey whatever responsibility he bore.
He had a job to do. It was right -- he would make it right. Somehow.
The large double doors opened at the far end of the room. The darkness beyond revealed a slim figure in dull red tones and hair swept up with multiple metallic fastenings. The robes were tied with a black sash, all of the silky fabrics trimmed in a regal gold.
It was Mai. Azula had rewarded them well.
Zuko quickly took steps toward her, finding some form of relief within him at seeing her though the verdict of the conversation in the throne room was foremost on his mind.
"What happened?" he asked brusquely, still irked at the fact that he'd been denied entrance into the very heart of the palace where his destiny lay. Mai, however, dutifully ignored his cold tone and proceeded to link her arm into his, guiding him away from the doors. Zuko refused to take a single step.
"Well, it's nice to see you too." Mai rolled her eyes.
"You know how important this is, Mai..." Zuko frowned. She hesitated and turned to look at him, a slight discomfort barely noticeable to any outsider, prominent to him in her features.
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Zuko's voice rose and his face twisted into an incredulous expression. "It's been over three years and he wants me to come tomorrow?" Mai pulled her arm from Zuko's and placed both hands on his shoulders.
"Relax," she stressed. "You've waited this long. It's late -- a few more hours won't hurt." She tried to force her calm resolve through her gaze for a few seconds before dropping her hands and trying to pull her boyfriend away again. When he still did not move, she returned her voice to its usual bored drone. "Do you really want to wait for Azula to come out and rub it in your face?" she deadpanned, sighing at the prince's stubbornness. Mai reached back and pulled him along with her as she walked off -- this time with no objection from Zuko.
--
The travelers hadn't been given much repose until they took to the skies again. They never were anymore. The constant threat of the enemy closing in and the usage of an outdated strategy were only amplified by the fact that they had no contact:
Hakoda and the remaining Water Tribe warriors had left no trace of themselves at Chameleon Bay.
Thus, the moon was once again observer to the souls who had to flee, souls who made sure they left but a fleeting shadow on the deserts and fields that rested far below. Every night bore the same ritual: Katara gazed at her brother, the convalescent Avatar safely tucked in her arms, and each time Sokka would turn to pass a glance over Appa's riders her eyelids innocently shut as if she'd been in a restful sleep the entire time... because Katara wouldn't dare inform him of the fact that every time he did so, she was actually perfectly awake. And Katara also didn't dare leave Aang without a watchful eye to keep track of his fevered body... no, she'd already failed him.
Twice, a voice would remind her.
And it wasn't ever happening again.
Contrary to her belief, however, Sokka already had a suspicion that his sister was trying to fool him. True, she hastily shut her eyes when she saw him check on her, but not a minute later he'd look again only to find her head bent over Aang's still one, miraculously awake. He knew she worried, he was well aware of Aang's precarious health; it was so to his utter astonishment one night when he found Katara soundly sleeping -- and still doing so ten seconds later. Her hand wasn't carefully placed on his chest, it was sprawled out over his torso. Even her mouth was hanging half-open, mumbling incoherent words into the wind. Sokka almost smiled. It meant his friend was back to normal or had at least eased Katara's fears.
But the sun was just peeking above the barren horizon and the time had come to halt their progress and retreat to the shadows of a forest once again. In all truth, it was amazing that they hadn't stumbled upon the Fire Nation just yet -- or the other way around. Sokka hoped things would stay that way.
Appa quietly landed near an area of surprisingly lush vegetation. Maybe Katara would be able to get some water out of it, Sokka figured. Toph slowly got up and slid down to the dirt as if she hadn't even awakened. To the teenager's surprise, the Earth King even stooped down to pry Aang from his healer's arms and carry him to the ground. He wasn't looking for appreciation; he was more than happy to help.
Lost in a maze of dreams, Katara gradually awoke to Sokka's blurry face outlined by a pre-dawn sky. He instantly pointed to the peaceful Avatar next to Toph as if he could read her mind. Her anxiety lowered instantly even though she was starting to wonder about her own fuzzy vision. Whether it was due to fatigue or induced by her pounding headache of three days, she wasn't sure.
Wordlessly, she followed her brother off of Appa and took a bit of his tunic fabric in her fingers. She was now acutely aware of the weariness in her bones and incessant pain in her skull. Her mouth felt uncomfortably sticky. Yet above all, it was the unnatural spin her vision suddenly took and the fact that her knees gave way that forced her to realize something was definitely amiss.
But it was too late.
Sokka's shocked face was the last thing her eyes took in before the blackness claimed her conscious.
"Katara!" Sokka grasped his sister around the waist, easing her down onto the moist dirt. He confusedly laid a hand on her peaceful face; she didn't have a fever. Her breathing was regular as well... so what was wrong? He ran a weary hand down his face. "Not you too." He sighed in defeat. This really wasn't their week.
He ran over to Toph and shook her awake. She grumbled in annoyance.
"What now?" she whined.
"Katara passed out." Toph's eyes popped open.
"Well why didn't you say so?" But she seemed genuinely concerned when she walked the short distance and placed a hand on the ground near her friend. The earthbender frowned. "It's like she's sleeping."
"Well, is there any water around here?" His sister might look alright... but something about it didn't seem to click. Toph nodded and pointed her finger toward the east.
"That way." Sokka ran off. Her eyes widened when she detected something -- or perhaps more accurately someone also waiting at the bank of the creek. "Snoozles!"
But Sokka was already long gone.
--
Rushing into the woods in the general direction at which Toph had pointed, Sokka failed to hear her slightly alarmed cry. He had to focus on getting water for his sister - for all of them - and besides the ambling thought that he may have been quite off in interpreting the earthbender's pointing, nothing else could penetrate his troubled mind. It wasn't surprising, therefore, when the cover of forest hid the dark-skinned figure from view until Sokka halted just a few paces away. Dew shone on his arms and shaven head while the still dark scene veiled the rest of him in hazy black mist. The warrior suspiciously eyed the man before him, knowing he must know of Sokka's own presence but wondering why he had yet to acknowledge it. Somehow, the mysterious person did not exude a sense of danger, most likely due to his notably non-Fire Nation toga, and Sokka felt comfortable enough to approach him, though hesitantly. The man in question abruptly disentangled his legs and spun around to face the boy, revealing a long white beard and a slightly wrinkled face. He bowed his head gently in greeting.
"I have been waiting for you," he spoke up plainly. Sokka's brow furrowed.
"Who are you?"
"I am Guru Pathik," he responded. "You are a friend of Avatar Aang." Sokka cocked his head confusedly before his face cleared.
"You're the one Aang went to go see, aren't you? At the Eastern Air Temple?" The guru nodded soberly.
"Indeed."
"How did you know..."
"I was led here. I knew you would need aid."
Aid... Katara...
"My sister needs--"
"I am aware," he interrupted. "She will be fine. But this stream has been tainted. It is no longer pure." He looked Sokka in the eye. "But I may be of assistance."
"Great... um... follow me." Sokka wasn't quite sure how to react to the guru. He had many questions to ask but he looked so ominously serious. That severity made him want to pose even more questions. He didn't know how to handle the situation -- and in any case, Katara was his priority. He signaled to the man and both made their way back to the rest of the group when a thought suddenly occurred to Sokka.
"Wait," he turned his head to face the guru. "Can you help Aang too?" Pathik continued to stare ahead into the foliage with a faraway gaze.
"I can no longer help him." The boy frowned again.
"What do you mean? He's badly hurt and you can't do anything?" Sokka thrust his arms out to accentuate his indignant words.
"He chose his own path... I cannot force my will upon him, just as I could not do it before."
"What... He said everything had gone fine..." The guru finally looked at Sokka, regarding him sadly as a sorry smile played with a corner of his lips.
"I am not surprised." Sokka inhaled sharply in realization.
--
The touch of the guru's hand on her forehead roused Katara immediately. She painfully opened her eyes as her dilated pupils adjusted to the sunlight, finding the wizened face of a white-bearded man looking down into hers. She hastily sat up as he pulled away, casting several wary glances at her surroundings and not seeming to be aware of what had happened to her.
"What -- where -- who..." She trailed off, stumbling over her very words. A questioning look at Sokka did the trick instead.
"You fainted right after we landed. This is the guru from the Eastern Air Temple Aang went to see," he stated. "Guru Pathik. He's a friend." Despite those words, her brother's face didn't appear very amiable; as if a shroud weighted his spirit. Pathik, similarly stoic, looked Katara over in grave cogitation. Almost as an afterthought he added, "Are you okay, Katara?" She nodded.
"Is Aang--"
"He's fine, Katara," he replied exasperatedly. Katara hastily shut her mouth, reddening. She glanced at the stranger who then rose to his feet.
"I should be moving on, now; so should you."
"But," Sokka objected, "we can't go anywhere in the daytime. Appa's too big and there are Fire Nation everywhere."
"I'm afraid you will have to leave the bison." Sokka seemed bemused by the man's matter-of-fact tone, Katara more so.
"Aang would kill us! And we don't have anyone to leave him with... except you. You can take him..." Katara stiffened at her brother's words. She couldn't believe how trusting he was being of this so-called guru. Last time she'd trusted someone... She set her jaw resolutely.
"What? We barely know you -- we don't have to leave Appa... we can... we can..."
"Snoozles is right," Toph interjected. "We're gonna need to get into the Fire Nation. We can't do that with Appa." The earthbender could feel the frustration bubbling up within her friend, but she also felt the sincerity of the guru... even if she knew he was keeping something from them.
"When you need him again, he will find you. I'll make sure of it." Pathik turned to Appa and smiled. "It will be just like last time, won't it?" Appa grunted, noticeably at ease in his presence.
"How are we going to get to the Fire Nation, then? We can't just swim across the ocean. I can't bend us all the way there, " the waterbender countered. The guru nodded understandingly.
"Worry not. There is a Fire Navy ship docked not too far from here. I think you will find that the soldiers aboard are more Water Tribe than Fire Nation, however."
"Dad!" Sokka exclaimed. "He mentioned they'd thought of taking a ship and using it as a disguise." Katara, excitement tingling within her at the prospect, even allowed her expression to brighten a bit. "Then it's settled." Sokka climbed up to the saddle to descend their remaining odds and ends. He jumped back down energetically.
"I would follow you so that the bison could carry Aang, but there is a Fire Nation town not too far from here. They would notice us." He handed Sokka a square of fabric from the small knapsack he carried. "You may use this."
Katara cast a sad glance at Aang, laying still on the ground, then at the bison. As she turned back to the boy, a thought crossed her mind.
"Guru Pathik?" He met her gaze with his. "Can't you help him?" Her eyes seemed to gloss over with tears. Pathik sighed heavily.
"I'm sorry," was the only consolation he could offer. Katara tensed, freezing when her brother's hand came to rest on her shoulder, expression conveying a silent message. He knew something she didn't, that much was obvious.
"Let's get going." Sokka squeezed gently before removing his hand. He dropped their meager supplies to the ground and spread the fabric onto the dirt. "Give me a hand, Katara," he requested, motioning to Aang. She nodded. It wasn't long until they were on their way, carrying Aang on their makeshift stretcher through the woods of the former Earth Kingdom.
Leaving the mysterious man behind.
--
Soft sounds of the night floated aimlessly around the two friends. The gentle brush of pushing through vines and grasses was occasionally accented by a step on a dry leaf and accompanied by the travelers' breathy exhales. Katara's peaceful face belied the fact that she was still somewhat puzzled by Aang's strange behavior as they silently walked in the pitch darkness... then again, Aang's thoughts brought him to a similar confusion. He wasn't quite sure what was truly bothering him, but he had a strong belief to rely on his instincts in this case. His lips slid into a wry smile. At least they weren't Sokka's instincts.
Katara watched Aang smirk slightly as his eyes drenched in memory. She was grateful to see him at least amused by something again. Once she'd told him where Appa was during their earlier walk from the Earth Kingdom town, he'd been decidedly ornery... which he'd duly apologized for later. As to just why it had irritated him so, she was uncertain... she'd have to ask him--
A boom of laughter echoed through the trees -- Aang and Katara froze mid-step.
"What was that?" Contemplations shoved aside, Katara squinted through the foliage at several moving figures in the clearing ahead. Both crept closer to their campsite, careful to remain hidden from view as they watched the scene unfold. Sokka stood, face stricken, by a large Fire Nation soldier's side, nodding uneasily at his humored words and wincing when the man's hand clapped merrily on his back. Toph slouched at Sokka's right, looking furious until a soldier tripped over an uneven ledge on the ground. Then, beneath her loose black mass of hair, she grinned.
Aang set his jaw and tensed, but Katara caught this preparatory movement and reached out to grab his forearm before he took off out of the brush. He let out a startled yelp as his elbow jarred, Katara clapping a hand over his mouth. She glimpsed two soldiers turning their heads in their direction and yanked Aang with her as she dropped to her knees. He stared at her incredulously but she was first to get a word in.
"What are you doing, Aang?" she whispered harshly. Aang raised his eyebrows.
"Me? What are you doing? I have to help Sokka and Toph--"
"They don't know we're enemies yet. More importantly, they don't know you're here." She grimaced at the men's drunken antics. I don't think they know much of anything right now. "We can't risk anything."
Aang relaxed, conceding. "But are we just going to wait for them to finish? They're bound to find us."
"Who's there?" a voice called out from only a few feet away from them. Aang's eyes widened; Katara's breath caught in her throat. In an instant of panic, she considered yelling back, "Nobody" but on second thought they probably weren't that drunk. Trying to calm her nerves, she covertly lowered herself further, catching sight of a half open bag laying on the outskirts of the forest. Through the bushes, she could spot fabric that seemed to be falling out of it. An idea formed in Katara's head.
"Aang, start heading back to the river," she whispered as soon as the soldier had left their vicinity. Aang's head whipped around to face her.
"What? No -- I'm not leaving you here. I'm stay--"
"No, you're not," Katara responded with more adamance than either of them had expected. Aang involuntarily flinched at her tone and Katara mentally cursed herself. She hoped it was too dark for him to see her embarrassed blush. "I -- I mean... they can't find you Aang. I can't let anything happen to you..." Not again, her mind finished for her. The boy stared silently, feeling the weight of her words and gaze. "Just go, I'll be right back."
Before he knew it, she had sent a reassuring, if weary, smile his way and cautiously crept off to the left. Aang sighed, fully aware that he was becoming somewhat useless when it came to helping people. Grudgingly, he retraced their footsteps to the dark stream from which they'd come -- but only far enough to remain out of direct sight of the soldiers. He quickly ducked behind a tree to observe how Katara was faring.
The waterbender crawled along the edge of the woods slowly, stepping over twigs and hardly disturbing the crackling dead leaves on the dirt. She stopped when her hand found itself on cloth as she crawled along. Looking down, she saw a mixture of green and tan fabric... Toph's clothes. Comprehension dawning on her, she rolled up the tunic, placed it under her arm, and kept going. Her goal, unfortunately, was on the other side of their encampment and would take quite a while to reach unnoticed... she hoped Aang had retreated into the depths of the woods to stay safe until she returned...
Who was she kidding? He probably wasn't letting any of them out of his sight; Katara exhaled frustratedly. Honestly, what had she expected upon his return to consciousness? Joy? Pure happiness just to be around people he loved? Several months ago, under different circumstances, that's what she might have gotten. In this case though, they'd lost and they'd fallen hard. This was two weeks too many, twice too many times to have lapsed into the void of unnatural sleep. He'd grown up to such an extent since she'd first met him -- met the boy who was carefree and who taught her to laugh even through the world's pain. She felt sorry for him -- sorry for all that he'd had to go through... but it was more than that. Katara paused in a moment of saddening clarity.
She missed him.
--
Toph tapped her foot impatiently on the ground next to Sokka as they waited for the squadron leader to finish up his babbling so that they could all get a move on. Why were they putting up with this ridiculous nonsense anyway? Sokka laid an awkward arm around the shoulders of his "betrothed" as the man rambled on and occasionally felt free to mouth off a crude joke about women. Toph was stunned by her sudden ability to control herself; she attributed it to her knowledge that they needed to stay beneath the radar to survive. She realized, however, it was rather because it was all too amusing to watch soldiers trip over her earthbended irregularities in the dirt for her to leave now.
Still, she'd have preferred to not be here at all. The reeling senses within her were becoming all too conscious of her proximity to the boy beside her and this close, being blind just made everything worse. She could feel the subtle shaking of his hand as he nervously kept her near; she could hear the pounding of his heart as he forced himself to laugh; she could smell the rare scent of stale fear -- not for himself, she knew, but for the two people who were unaccounted for; she could smell the trails of sweat that had left their imprint along his body. It wasn't that she found this a horrible situation - though she would never admit to that - but it bothered her that because of this, all of his emotions were amplified in her two fold: the anxiety, the unease, the heat. No, Toph had never been so sensitive before, and combined with the fatigue, it was starting to drive her insane. It was all Sokka's fault.
"Who's there?"
The surprisingly sober call tore Toph's mind from her discomfort to the forest several feet away. She inhaled sharply. Had she been so distracted that she hadn't even noticed the approach of... Aang and Katara?
Yep. All Sokka's fault.
Subtly, she nudged Sokka with her elbow, causing him to glance down at her.
"They're in the forest," she murmured.
"What's wrong?" Sokka was made painfully aware that he'd ticked off the leader when the man openly glared at the two, apparently not tolerating his interruption. Sokka's arm instinctively tightened around Toph.
"Er... my fiancée just remembered she lost some of her jewelry in the forest." He offered up a - hopefully convincing - apologetic smile.
"Oh." The man seemed greatly bemused but went on nevertheless, caught up in his tale. Toph went back to focusing on her companions in the woods, sensing Aang double back and Katara move along parallel to the rim of their camp. Soon though, Toph became lost in her own musings on how in the world they were going to escape this situation – before the platoon could shed enough of their drunkenness to coherently fight back. Things seemed to be going well enough.
Almost.
--
A rustle in the bushes behind Katara caused her to start and whip her head around. Nothing was there... but something wasn't right. Katara's heart skipped a beat. She turned forward again only to find she had lost sight of the sack. She was now in plain view, having left the darkness of the forest.
--
Toph's eyes widened. Katara had suddenly stopped mere inches from where the bag used to be...
--
"Looking for this?" a deep voice growled over her head.
Oh no.
Katara took shivering breaths as she forced herself to gaze up into the steely face of a Fire Nation Soldier, whose hand held her target. Before he could alert anyone else, she quickly drew water from nearby vines and thrust it toward him, pinning the man to a tree behind him with ice. She swiped the bag and ran back into the cover of the forest.
But the damage had been done.
Toph sighed as she heard a soldier cry out, "Waterbender!" Sokka stiffened when he saw a dark blue blur racing through the trees. Their ruse was over. It was time to go.
The soldier next to Sokka had immediately turned to the woods before them, ordering his troop to find the "enemy". Both Sokka and Toph fidgeted nervously. Sokka knew they had to meet up with the missing half of their group before escaping -- something nearly impossible with the number of Fire Nation soldiers between them and the trees. Maybe they could sneak off or convince the commanding officer that they had to leave...
Toph, however, had other ideas.
"Hate to break it to you," she spat, fed up with the boring rigmarole she'd withstood and causing the dirt to swallow the unsuspecting soldier up to just above his mouth, "but it hasn't been a pleasure." She shot off into the woods. Sokka shrugged.
"See ya," he called over his shoulder as he followed the blind girl's lead.
--
Thorns and branches whipped across Katara's face and arms, but she ignored it. She had been discovered and the only thing that mattered now was getting Aang clothed and away from the soldiers. At least they wouldn't know he was the Avatar. That was something he couldn't afford.
Finally, she saw Aang step out from behind a tree trunk ahead of her, staring at her questioningly. He never had a chance to get a word in though.
"Take my cloak," she panted, throwing her garment off of her and into his arms, "and tie this around your forehead." She tossed him a crimson belt. Aang, having complied with her former request, scowled at the latter.
"What are you--"
"Aang," Katara interrupted, framing his face in her palms and willing understanding to reach him, "If they find out who you are, everything will be ruined..." He looked up at her wearily.
"How long are we going to run and hide from everything?" Katara tried not to let her heart break at his defeated expression. He realized he could do nothing. She sighed and hurriedly covered his arrow with the cloth, hearing the soldiers bear down on their position.
"Until we can make a difference, Aang." With that, she grabbed his hand and sped away from their enemy as fast as she dared. She hated doing this to the boy in his condition, but walking was something they couldn't afford and carrying him was out of the question. "We just have to make it to the river, okay?"
"What about," he panted, "Sokka and Toph?"
"Toph'll find us." She wasn't keen on having been split up like this, but she had to focus on getting the Avatar out of harm's reach.
The forest was a blanket, surrounding them and cutting them off from the cries behind them and the refuge ahead. Every stride away from the clearing was a grunt of pain from her injured friend and a step closer to refuge. Still, the sounds pursuing them became even closer still and she tugged on his hand a little harder.
She mentally sighed. At least when he'd been unconscious he didn't have to know how desperate they were. Where once they lived to fight, they now had no choice but to avoid and evade to simply survive. It made their loss in Ba Sing Se look exactly as hopeless as it actually was... and he didn't deserve to see that. It would make him feel that they'd lost everything they'd been working for in these past months. That's how it made her feel. But now, she realized, with him awake, they had to move on. They had to regroup and rethink their plans because they couldn't afford to let those weeks of uselessness repeat themselves... they were starting to do just that. But she also couldn't help the fact that for now, this was all they could do.
Running. Running very far away...
So, yet again, they fled. They stole away from the scene of a failed battle and wandered into the waiting arms of an uncertain future they had no choice but to embrace. It was a mantra : There was nothing else to do, no other choice to choose. They had to leave.
So, yet again, they did.