AN//: And Zuko gets Stockholm syndrome and lives happily ever after with Janine, the end...Jks. That would be a funny finish though and to be truly honest, I actually considered it but then I decided that I wanted to spare myself the flames. REVIEW!!! Thanks soooooooo much to everyone who has reviewed so far! I luv u all.
"Katara." Hakoda's expression mimicked Katara's surprise. Katara just stood there, rooted by chains, unable to believe what her eyes were showing her. Katara was too shocked to speak. Her world was spinning in disbelief, "guards, please fetch me the keys." Katara heard her father order. The guards scuffled in and gave the keys to Hakoda. "Thankyou Marika." Hakoda muttered to the guard and Marika gave him a slight smile in reply before returning to his post. It was obvious that the guards were not scared of their leader. It wasn't like the movies, when the people who worked for their leader were so scared of being killed if they mucking up like in Bad Boys2. If anything Hakoda seemed to be on friendship terms with his guards.
Hakoda unlocked the lock which bound the chains around Katara and the chains fell to the floor, whilst letting out a piercing rattle. Katara still hadn't yet pulled herself together, she just stared at her father, unable to recognise who the man was that stood before her.
"What the fuck is going on?" Zuko demanded angrily, breaking the awkward silence that was cascading through the room like toxic fumes flowing from a gas leak. Katara noticed that the blood pouring out of Zuko's wound had dried up and there was a bruised purple outline surrounding the sharp whip lash. He also had a bruise the shape of a fist on his stomach and god only knows where else.
"Shut up, you are in no position to be making demands." Hakoda said harshly to a helpless and chained up Zuko. Katara let out a horrified gasp at the venom in her father's voice. "Dad, Zuko has a point. What the fuck is going on?" Katara swore at her father.
"Do not cuss at me missy and for gods sake change your clothes, I've had it with your slutty faze." Hakoda said, noticeably steering away from giving his daughter much-needed answers. Katara let out a cold sarcastic laugh.
"You are telling me off for swearing and wearing slutty clothes when you have kidnapped Zuko and I off the street and chained us to the wall. Puhlease! You can't blame me for asking questions." Katara said, incredulously.
"Katara just go outside and Marika will take you home." There he goes again with his changing the subject bullshit Katara thought to herself angrily.
"Not until you give me some fucking good explanations." Katara back chatted, feeling the heat rise in her stomach with the passion of an inner fire raging within her being.
"Katara go quietly or do I have to get Janine to drag you off kicking and screaming back home?" Hakoda asked Katara.
" What you mean that crazy blonde bitch. No thanks. But I'd love to see her try. I'm staying here with Zuko." Katara said stubbornly, refusing to follow her dad's directions after all this wasn't her dad , it was a complete stranger.
"Janine, please come in here and take my daughter home." Hakoda called. Janine came walking in and grabbed Katara from behind and pulling her into a headlock and wrenching her backwards with great force. Janine was extremely strong and fit. Must get her fitness from fucking my dad Katara thought to herself bitterly. Katara reacted fast to her headlock, desperately fighting against Janine's firm grasp. She stomped her foot down hard on Janine's foot, hearing the crushing sound of janine's toe. Katara felt Janine's grip on her neck loosen slightly. She then took this as a chance to throw another attack. She elbowed Janine in the stomach which made Janine hunch over. Katara brought her knee up into Janine's stomach, making Janine spew blood from her mouth. Janine fell pathetically to the ground whilst coughing and spluttering blood.
Katara then bent water out of Janine's cantine and whipped Janine on the back. "Yeah, I can do that too. Don't you ever whip my boyfriend again you crazy bitch." Katara yelled angrily. She was about to give her whip a second crack but Hakoda restrained her. Janine hunched to the ground blood gashing from her wounds. She now had purple bruises to match Zuko's. Zuko gave Katara an approving look. He clearly didn't mind Katara getting back at the bitch who beat him up.
Hakoda dragged a pissed off Katara out of the cell and towards the underground car park. Katara struggled against her father, restraiing herself from doing the same to her father. That would be just low. Hakoda ripped open the car door and practically threw his daughter into the car. Now Hakoda was annoyed. At home Katara rarely saw her dad lose his temper but this was probably the worst thing she had ever done to him. Although kidnapping Zuko and herself was also something that made Katara's blood boil as well.
"Katara what has gotten into you? You have gotten so violent when did you learn to fight like that. Rumour has it the two of you took down two of my men and not to mention that little episode with Janine." Hakoda said, slightly impressed but slightly annoyed at Katara for taking down his lover.
"Oh you're a fine one to talk. Kidnapping us off the streets. If that isn't violent then what is?" Katara snapped, "and why should I tell you where I learnt to fight?"
Hakoda's face was unreadable. Katara could not tell whether he was happy about her ability to fight or not. "I thought I knew you Katara, but you have changed so much that I'm not sure anymore. With Your slutty behaviour and your violent tendencies, It's really isn't like the Katara I used to know. What happened to her?" Hakoda asked.
"Dad I am who I am so like it or not, I really don't care. Also, I thought I knew you too, but turns out I don't. You know what, I'm sick of this crap, just let me out of the car now."
"So you can do what? Run back to Zuko. Or even worse roam the streets at night." Hakoda retorted, "You never told me about you and Zuko. Oh hell, you never tell me shit." Hakoda cussed. Katara had never heard her dead swear before. Now Katara knew he was angry since Hakoda hated swearing with a passion. "And why do I have to find out about you two like this, I'm not so sure I like you associating with the enemy."
"Don't try to pin this all on me. It seems to me that we've both been keeping secrets." Katara said in a small attempt to lighten the mood. She also paid close attention to the roads.
Hakoda pulled into his drive way and pulled the handbrake. Sokka was inside with Aang, Toph and Suki. They were all sitting around the table scoffing down nachos with coke. He looked up at Katara and Hakoda and saw the tension on their faces. "Oooo, look who's in trouuuuble. What did cha' do this time sis?" Sokka teased Katara in an annoying brotherly way. He obviously has no idea Katara thought to herself annoyed. This time she wasn't fighting with her dad for coming home after curfew. It was slightly worse than that. Hakoda and Katara sent an unknowing Sokka death glares. Sokka got the point. "You know what, I think I'm gonna leave you two to sort out your little jiffy. Come on guys, lets go to my room." Sokka said, "take the nachos and coke." Sokka added greedily.
Suki picked up their stash of junk food and sent Katara a shrug and a questioning look as if to say 'What the hell just happened you better tell me everything.'She then followed Sokka, Aang and Toph upstairs to Sokka's room. She was probably making up a whole heap of possibilities to explain the apparent tension floating between Katara and Hakoda.
"Come on dad you can't keep stalling forever. Tell me what the hell just happened!?!" Katara almost yelled but then realised that she didn't want her friends upstairs to hear her.
Hakoda paused, he was extremely hesitant to fill Katara in with everything. "Dad stop stalling." Katara scolded forcefully, sick to death of her dad's bullshit.
"Fine, I am the leader of a secret group of waterbenders who...what's the best word to describe it...stand up against...that's a good way of putting it...against terrorist groups. Mafias so to speak." Hakoda explained, constantly pausing to think about what he's going to tell Katara.
"Dad that sounds so immature and farfetched. Why don't you leave that to the authorities? That's their job. You shouldn't go taking the law into your own hands." Katara said, feeling like the only one in the room with a fully functional mind.
"I think about that everyday but the sad truth is: the police are pathetic. They can't ever get things done. Mafia's are often too smart for the police." Hakoda explained.
"That's not exactly true, although at least the police go about the right way about catching terrorist groups. They have the technology, equipment and experience for god sakes. Yet you do...whatever it is you do to bust them." Katara shot back.
"Well we do too! We have technology and experience to catch criminals and we do it faster." Hakoda said sincerely.
"But dad, do you go about catching criminals the right way?" Katara asked
"Yes we do."Hakoda lied
"Oh come on dad, I wasn't born yesterday. Kidnapping innocent teenagers of the street is hardly 'the right way'. And what do you do when you catch these groups? You probably slaughter them." Katara said angrily
"No that's not true." Hakoda defended himself
"Puh lease, don't expect to buy that shit dad. I'm not stupid!" Katara huffed
"It's true. Sometimes we notify the authorities but sometimes...well...it's better for the world for them not to exist." Hakoda said, clearly hiding details from Katara. But Katara didn't mind since she probably wanted to keep her mind as innocent as possible. Not that that was not feasible since she would never go back to being the same naive Katara after knowing all this.
"So what then, you just shoot them and then justify their murder by telling yourself that 'it's better for the world if they don't exist." Katara said, quoting Hakoda's words. "So let me guess, Zuko's father is a leader of a mafia and you've kidnapped his son to get the answers?" Katara asked
"I shouldn't be telling you all this but that is true." Hakoda said
"Tell me more. Zuko means alot to me and I am not happy about you holding him captive. Not by a longshot." Katara saod
"Katara that information is confidential." Hakoda exclaimed.
"Dad tell me or I swear to God-" Katara gritted clenched her fist in anger. She then bit her tongue from saying anything she would regret to her father.
"Fine, Zuko's father is the leader of a group of Fire Nation assasins who target famous waterbenders or just famous people who have Water tribe blood in their veins. They have been wanted for many years and now we have taken it upon ourselves to stop them." Hakoda told his wideyed daughter.
"But why?" Katara asked in disbelief
"We don't have all the answers yet but we know that since the war finished, a small amount of people from the Fire Nation have always held a grudge against the other nations especially waterbenders, their elemental opposite." Hakoda reasoned
"That hardly makes sense! Shouldn't it be the other way round? I mean they wiped out a whole race of benders and the almost destroyed the waterbenders. If anyone has a right to held grudges it's the Air Nomads, Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes." Katara said remembering back to what she did in history class. She was also trying to hold back her disgust at that group of firebenders from her voice.
"A valid point. We will never understand their motives no matter how hard we try. It might be a thing of finishing off their job or maybe they're bitter about losing the war. Who knows?" Hakoda thought aloud. Katara knew 'finishing their job' meant, exterminating another race of benders.
Then Katara remembered Zuko. "Dad it's not right for you to keep Zuko captive. He's innocent and he obviously knows nothing about his father. I mean you've kept your little secret from me for god knows how many years. Let Zuko go. It's not fair on him and I really really like him." Katara begged desperately
"I know now that taking him was a mistake on my part and I acknowledge that now but I can't risk letting him go. He could warn his father that we're onto their case and that won't be good. As far as I know, my group of waterbenders has slipped by under the radar for fifteen years. Right from when we were first formed. No one knows about us. If Ozai finds out, then our secret is out and then I fear negative implications will soon follow. His group would love nothing more to slaughter a group of waterbenders like us. He would declare war and I really can't have that. I'm sorry Katara." Hakoda apologised.
"That's a load of crap. Zuko has no idea why he's being held hostage. Let him go but don't tell him why you captured him in the first place. I promise he nor I, will not give away anything. If I ask him not to tell anyone that we held him captive he won't. I swear." Katara pleaded
"Once again, I'm sorry Katara but it's not that simple and I strongly recommend you don't try to break him out. The security there is extremely strong and there are many people there who won't let you get out with Zuko." Hakoda sounded serious. Katara quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and sprinted away. Tears ran uncontrollably down her cheeks. She sprinted past Sokka's room into her room. She slammed the door hard. She hated this new part of her father that she had found.
Sokka, Toph Aang and Suki saw Katara's distraught face as she passed Sokka's room. "I'll go" Katara heard Suki tell equally confused Toph, Aang and Sokka.
She then walked into Katara's room to find Katara sitting in fetal position with her head on her knees. Suki placed her arm around Katara's shoulder and whispered into Katara's ear "Katara what's wrong?" Katara lifted her face, her eyes were red and blotchy from crying.
AN//: I'll end the chapter there. Tell me what you think!!