AN: Hey everybody! A slightly more exciting chapter for you. I hope you enjoy it. Oh, I don't know when the next one will be up 'cause I'm going on vacation. Ahhh, vacation. I can't remember the last time I was on one.
Disclaimer/Ahem/ The men in white coats tell me that I don't own Avatar. It belongs to Nickelodeon. And if I want to get out of here, I have to agree with them. So, no, I don't own the show or any of the wonderful characters, except Ishi. One day though…
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"Find him! I want him here now!" The guards bowed and started past her but she stopped them. "Don't hesitate because he is royalty. Because I won't hesitate to kill you if you fail." Again they nodded and raced out of the room.
She sat in her chair, pleased with the outcome. I knew he couldn't stay away. Not with his favorite nephew in trouble. She sneered, that much of an attachment a weakness in her mind. Suddenly, she jumped up from the chair, lighter then she had been in ages, now that her goal was so close. She called to one of the soldiers. "Put as many men on this as possible. I want them tied, gagged and on my ship bound for the Fire Nation by sunset. No mistakes."
The soldiers scrambled to follow her orders, fearful of her wrath. She watched them go with a satisfied smirk. Soon I can get out of this Agni-farsaken place and return to civilization.
She moved restlessly through the fortress, up the stairs to her brother's cell. She observed him with a critical eye as he hung there, chained to the wall. Despite her interrogations, he had still held his tongue. The lashes on his back and the other bruises and cuts on his body told of his stubbornness. As she moved closer, he never even lifted up his head. She sneered. Pathetic. "You're weak brother. For all your stalling, we still found uncle."
His head snapped up and, for the first time, real fear coursed through his veins. No. She can't have found them. It's impossible. His voice cracked from lack of use. "If you found him, where is he?"
She lifted her nose in the air and looked down at him. "He'll be ours soon. It's of no consequence."
He let out a grim chuckle. "You won't catch him. You're not good enough." He barely finished when she backhanded him hard enough to rattle his teeth. It caused him to pull at his chains and he bit back a gasp of pain.
Without another word, she stormed out of the cell and he slipped into the welcoming darkness.
O.o.o.o.o.O
"Is she crazy? That's more then half the men in there." Sokka was reporting back to the rest of the small group; Aang, Ishi, Katara and Momo, who were hiding in the brush along the road. "I guess Iroh was right, she must really want him."
Ishi glanced after the soldiers worriedly. "I just hope that he can handle himself."
"If anyone can do it, Iroh can." Even in this tense situation, Aang was cheerful. "You should've seen him at the North Pole. He can really kick butt."
"Let's go." Katara's sharp voice cut across the group. Anger and impatience was coming off her in waves. Sokka and Ishi shared a concerned glance while Aang watched her quietly. She let out an annoyed sigh. "I'm fine guys. I won't mess this up." Her hand tightened around her water skin. "But we need to move. Iroh can't buy us much time."
As if feeling the need to hurry, Momo leaped off Aang's shoulder and raced towards the wall. Pressing close, Aang and Ishi bended the stone of the wall aside. Sokka peered around the corner. "There's no one out here. She must've kept only a few men to guard the halls inside. This'll be easier then I thought."
Katara brushed past him. "Don't jinx us."
Moving from shadow to shadow, they followed Momo to the side of the building. "Too bad I can't just open the wall." Ishi's fingers flexed against the stone longingly.
Sokka snorted. "Unfortunately, we don't know what's on the other side." He grimaced. "I don't like not knowing what's ahead."
With the main doors looming in the distance, Momo led them to a side door. Kneeling in front of the lock, Katara drew a thin stream on water from one of the skins on her back. She bended it into the lock and froze it. The quiet 'crack' brought a satisfied smile to her lips.
The door opened into a stairwell. Momo scampered up and out of sight. As quickly and silently as possible, the moved after him, Katara on point.
They hadn't gone far, though, when Momo came tearing down the steps followed by a guard. He jerked back in surprise, shocked to see the young intruders.
That moment of hesitation was all the time Katara needed. The water whip sent him back into the wall and she continued to feed it as she froze him in place. He opened his mouth to sound the alarm but she froze it shut.
The man glared at them and steam started to roll off his body. Sokka gulped. "That's not gonna hold him long." Katara reached around him and grabbed his club. She smashed the guard on the side of the head and he went limp.
She tossed Sokka back his club and pulled the water back into her canteen. "Let's go." They parted for her as she made her way up the stairs, shocked by her aggressiveness.
The stairs ended in a round with two doors. Katara raced over to the door on the right and peered through. Storage.
"He's over here." She raced to where Aang was looking through the door. Zuko was barely visible in the distance. She bended a stream of water and another lock was broken. They raced into the room and froze in shock.
He hung almost lifeless from the wall, naked from the waist up. "Zuko." As soon as Aang broke the lock, she was at his side. "Zuko. Come on Zuko." He didn't respond to her urgent pleas. "Aang, help me." Together, they freed him from his shackles and he collapsed into Katara's arms.
Revealing that, if they thought his front was damaged, his back was much worse. It was raw with long welts that were open, trickling blood and ooze. She stared at the mess in front of her with shock and revulsion. His sister did this. She whipped her own brother. Instinctively, she took hold of her water skin and formed a healing glove.
Sokka called from the doorway. "We don't have time. Heal him later."
Her voice was tight in concentration. "How far do you think we'll get with him like this? Besides, don't you think he's suffered enough?" She cast pleading, pain filled eyes to her brother and Ishi who lingered by the door.
Ishi sighed. "Fine, but hurry."
Katara shifted his body, resting his head on her lap and ran her water encased hand over his back. The lashes began to glow slightly and she could feel the flesh begin to stitch together and the infection die. When she was satisfied that he could move without too much pain, she and Aang moved him into a sitting position.
She cupped his face gently, her fingers lingering on his scar. "Zuko. Come on, wake up. We need to go."
His eyes flickered open and rested on her face. "Katara?" His voice cracked and she gave him some water to drink.
She spoke softly. "We need to leave. Can you stand?" He nodded and, between her and Aang, they got him to his feet. "Sokka, we need your help. He's too tall for us." Sokka came over and took Aang's place.
Zuko was coming quickly back to full consciousness and realized there was one person missing. "Where's my uncle?"
Katara squeezed his hand reassuringly. "He's fine. He's leading your sister's men on a wild turtleduck chase to but us time. But we need to hurry now." She gently detached herself from him and moved to the door, dropping her empty water skin as she went. Good thing I brought extra.
They moved down the stairs with no resistance. Aang gulped and gripped his staff tighter. "I don't like this. Where is everyone?" They stepped over the guard's still prone body and quickly reached the door.
Sokka sighed as he pushed open the door. "At least we're safe now."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Azula stood just outside with five men. She looked them over coldly. "So, you're the group my brother's been traveling with. You're just as pathetic as he is." The men leapt forward to meet a wall of earth.
Katara shouted over her shoulder to Sokka. "Get him out of here!"
Sokka pulled the prince along as fast as possible. He jerked back as Azula landed in front of them. "You're not going anywhere, brother dear." She dropped into a stance and her fists erupted into flames. She launched herself at them as Sokka struggled with keeping Zuko upright and drawing his boomerang at the same time.
She never reached them. A sudden gust of wind knocked her back into the wall. Aang stood protectively in front of them, daring her to try again.
She eyed him hungrily. "The Avatar." She sneered down at her brother. "You're even more of a traitor then I thought." She threw fireball after fireball at them but was unable to penetrate Aang's defenses. She stumbled forward as a stream of water smacked into the back of her head.
She turned to see a furious Katara before her. "Leave them alone!" Each word was punctuated by a water whip, forcing Azula back. With one last surge, she knocked Azula down. "Ishi, the wall." She had just finished off the last of the men and nodded in response to Katara's call.
Together, they all raced to the wall and the escape route Ishi had opened. But, just as she made it through the wall, Katara screamed in pain. The back of her right shoulder was awash in flames from the blow Azula just landed.
She tumbled to the ground, winded. She pushed herself to her hands and knees and shook her head to clear it. She looked up just in time to roll out of the way of Azula's kick.
Azula positioned herself between Katara and the others. "So you're the little whore my brother was with. I suppose three years at sea could make even you appealing. Through, it is hard to believe that my brother's fallen so low, dealing with peasants."
Katara felt the rage course through her body. Even Zuko at his worst had never been this arrogant. She reached for the canteen at her side to find it missing.
Azula laughed. "Poor little girl. You can't defend yourself now, can you?" She pushed Katara back towards the bluff, sapphire flames in hand.
Katara was breathing heavily now; exhausted, hurt and angry. As she drew in a deep breath to try and calm her racing heart, a scent reached her nose. She grinned evilly and dropped into a bending stance. She raised her arms high and water flowed up from the inlet below. And the rage in her broke free.
"Here's fro the pain you caused." Water surged from the left. "Here's for all the families you've separated." Icicles rained from above. "The lives you've ruined." Azula's feet slid out from beneath her. Katara began to weave her arms in and out, placing her in a prison of ice. Her voice was cold and deadly. "And this is for what you did to your brother." She shrunk the ball down and it imploded, causing ice shards to strike the princess.
She formed a blade of ice and walked toward her prone opponent, the rage still burning in her eyes but Ishi grabbed her. "Leave her, she's out. We need to head back."
Katara looked once more down at Azula then to where the three boys were standing in the distance. Without a word, she turned her back and walked towards them.
"I'm not finished yet!" She was shoved from behind and then there was a cry of pain. It seemed Azula had enough strength left to fling her dagger at the waterbender's back. Unfortunately for her, Ishi had seen it coming. The dagger now protruded from the earthbender's stomach.
With a cry of rage, Katara flung the ice blade at Azula, striking her across the upper thigh. Large blocks of ice followed, knocking her off her feet and unconscious.
Aang was already at Ishi's side when Katara finished. "It doesn't look too bad." He moved to touch the hilt but Ishi Stopped him.
"Leave it. It'll stop the blood somewhat. We need to get back to the ship." She was breathing in short, painful gasps.
"I'll call Appa. It doesn't matter if they see him now and it'll be quicker." He reached into his pouch and drew out the whistle. "He'll be here soon. Just hang on."
Five minutes later, Appa arrived and a few minutes after that they were headed back to the ship. As soon as they landed, they were taken to sick bay; to heal the minor wounds of some, continue the healing of one and, hopefully, save the life of another.
Meanwhile, Azula was pushing herself to her feet. "This won't happen again. They'll be mine, all of them." She walked back into the fortress. "The Avatar, my brother…" She stopped to pick up Katara's discarded water skin. "And especially that little whore."
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AN: Who saw the show Friday night? Show of hands, who was "WTF!" at the end? Come on, I couldn't have been the only one. For any who didn't see it, I won't say what happened but when you see it, you'll agree with me. Does anyone know for sure what happened? Was he or wasn't he? Anyways, hope you liked it and please review.