A/N: Thank you to all my reviewers and Oshnsoa Shnedashn Kiunepqli was the closest to get to the origin of Sun Kai's name. It's from a book, the second in a series of four so far, so 1 more chance. I know not much action in here, but hopefully some things will be explained, so please R&R!
Chapter 15
Katara awoke the next morning feeling bruised and beaten. She remembered having to blood bend and tears sprung to her eyes as she curled into a fetal position, trying to block out the dread and terror of having to control another person. She cried into her pillow for a while and the tears finally abated.
"Is it really that bad?" Toph asked quietly from behind her.
Katara rolled over and saw Toph sitting on her own bed, her face dirty and dried tear streaks running down her face through the dirt. Katara wiped her face and sat up.
"Yeah, I don't want to blood bend again, ever."
Toph nodded and wiped her own face.
"You ok?" Katara asked.
"Yeah, never better," Toph said sarcastically as she sniffed.
Katara laughed, and feeling better, started laughing more. Toph stared before laughing herself. They laughed together for a while and soon Sokka and Aang were peeking their heads in the door, looking at the girls as if they'd gone crazy.
"Move guys," Suki said as she pushed the boys out of the way and shut the door in their faces, herself in the room. She looked at the girls sternly as they tried to control their laughter, but sighed and moved to a side door. "C'mon, two nice hot baths are ready for the conquering heroes."
"Hah!" Katara said sarcastically. "I'm no hero. What I did I'd rather never do again."
"I know," Suki sighed. "But you need to move on. A nice hot bath is just what you need. Both of you."
Toph shrugged and moved into the other room. Katara saw her clothes tossed back towards Suki and heard a splash and a sigh. Katara shrugged as well and stood, following Toph's example. Soon they were both relaxing in nice hot baths.
"So what happened with Combustion man?" Katara asked Toph after they had been soaking for a while.
"I don't know, he just disappeared in a series of explosions. But I think we'll see him again, and soon."
Toph sounded serious and her face was set in a stern, uncompromising expression.
"And what's going on with Jade?" Katara asked.
"We'll be interrogating her as soon as you've bathed and eaten," Suki said as she came in with two towels. "Breakfast is ready whenever you are," the Kyoshi warrior said before she left after setting the towels down.
"C'mon Sugar Queen. I don't want Snoozles to eat everything," Toph said as she rose out of the tub, grabbing a towel.
Katara nodded, but stay put. "You go on. I'll…I'll catch up in a bit."
Toph shrugged once the towel was around her, and headed back into their room. Katara lay back in the tub, thinking about what had happened the night before. So much had happened so fast, and now they had captured the assassin. Also the truth behind the mysterious combustion man had come out, rearing its ugly head. And Katara felt tears start to fall again as she thought about having to blood bend to save Aang.
She knew it had been worth it, but she still hated doing it. She would do anything for Aang, possibly even giving her own life for him, but blood bending made her feel…dirty, like a monster. Like Hama. She stayed in the tub until her tears had run their course, and then washed her face before she got out. She tried to waterbend the moisture off, but it was exhausting bending even a little, so she toweled herself off and found her extra set of clothes clean and waiting for her on her bed.
Katara walked out of her room slowly and found everyone at the dining table. Zuko was sitting between Toph and Shawn, looking forlorn and only concentrating in his food. The atmosphere was quiet and guarded, but The Duke and Liz were doing everything in their power to bring laughter out, and it was slowly working.
Katara sat down between Aang and Toph and gave a reassuring smile to Aang and then to Zuko. The firebender smiled shyly back at her before turning back to his food.
"It sounds like everyone had an eventful night," Shawn said once Katara was seated. "I want to thank you, Katara, for sparing my daughter. I know it was a terrible ordeal for you, but thank you."
He bowed his head to her and Katara felt ashamed as she bowed her head back to him.
"I'd like to examine you again, Katara. After breakfast," he said.
"Let's talk to our assassin first," Sokka said.
Katara nodded, seeing her brother and Aang focused on getting information. She focused on her breakfast as the table remained subdued. Zuko cleared away the dishes, awkward as he still had one arm in a sling, as Katara followed Aang and Sokka to a small room in the back of the house. Toph and Suki were already there and Katara saw Jade trying to evade Suki's hand as Suki reached out to grab her shoulder.
The assassin abruptly sagged as Suki squeezed her shoulder, and Katara recognized the places Suki was poking from when Ty Lee had disabled her several times before. She walked behind the boys and waited behind them as Jade slowly raised her head as if she were drugged.
"Why were you working with him?" Sokka asked, a hard undercurrent to his voice.
Katara was surprised to hear such a sharp edge to her brother's voice. Jade looked at Sokka emotionlessly before turning her gaze to Katara.
"Where did you learn that technique?" Jade asked Katara, speaking slowly so that she could enunciate clearly.
"I'd rather not talk about it," Katara said.
Jade sighed and turned to Aang, smiling slyly. "Do you know who hired him originally?"
Katara couldn't see Aang's face, but heard the anger in his voice.
"Yes, but that doesn't matter. Who hired you and why were you working with him?"
The assassin sighed again and looked over at Toph. Toph just grinned wickedly at her and tightened her fist. The assassin allowed a grimace of pain to show on her face for a second before her features went blank again.
"Princess Azula hired me," Jade said finally.
"Why?" Sokka asked.
Jade looked at him and sighed again before turning her gaze to Aang. "She was charged to take you and the prince in alive so that big daddy could dispose of you both. Where is the prince, anyways?"
"That's none of your business," Aang said angrily. "Why were you working with that man?"
"Hou Long was oringinally hired by your friend the prince, but when he turned traitor, the prestigious Fire Lord tracked him down and hired him," Jade said, talking to Aang exclusively.
"And?!" Sokka said, still angry as Jade retreated into silence.
"And," Jade said finally, "he found me. He told me he wanted us to work together after both of our failures, but I refused. He then took someo…something precious and used the threat of harm to ensure my…assistance."
"Who does he have?" Katara asked quietly.
Jade turned her attention back to Katara and her green eyes spoke volumes of sorrow and pain to the waterbender. They locked gazes for a full minute before the assassin broke contact.
"My daughter," Jade whispered finally after she broke her gaze away from Katara and stared at the floor.
Aang gasped and Katara saw shocked looks on Suki and Toph's face as Katara saw her brother go rigid. Aang turned and glanced back at her, gesturing to go outside. Katara nodded and looked at Sokka and Toph. Toph nodded and Sokka did as well, turning to go outside. Aang and Katara followed him out.
"We need to help her," Katara said once the door was closed.
"She's an assassin that's tried to kill us," Sokka said, refusing to listen. "We can't 'help' her!"
"No, Katara's right," Aang said. "We should help her. No Sokka, listen," he continued as Sokka opened his mouth to protest. "If we help her, she will have to stop attacking us and help us defeat combustion man."
"We can negotiate with her," Katara said. "Sokka, she needs help, and I want Master Shawn to be happy too. She's his only child. Please Sokka."
She looked at her brother, giving her best innocent, puppy dog look to him. He looked at her, refusing to yield, but finally his eyes softened and he sighed.
"Fine, we'll negotiate. You should go see Master Shawn," Sokka said.
Katara smiled and hugged her brother and then Aang before heading to Master Shawn's office for her next treatment. Shawn was waiting in his office, and looked up from his desk when she entered. Katara thought he looked so sad as he stood and directed her to lie down again, and examined her as he did the first night.
"You're doing much better Katara, but what you did last night took a large toll on your body. I'll do acupuncture again, but I don't want you waterbending for another day or two if you can help it."
Katara nodded and relaxed as her treatment progressed, and Shawn ended with a massage along her back and shoulders. Katara felt a small ache whenever he touched her left shoulder and mentioned it. Shawn gave an affirmative sound and was gentler around her shoulder as he continued. When he finished he instructed her to sit up, but also to wait.
"I want to thank you again for sparing Jade, but I understand you did a technique that you are uncomfortable with," he said.
Katara squirmed slightly, but nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Shawn came forward a laid a hand on her shoulder, smiling at her, trying to be reassuring. Katara looked up at him and felt herself start to smile back.
"Whatever you did, you had to do. Don't doubt or belittle yourself for it. Thank you also for forgiving the young prince. He needs a friend right now."
Katara stared at Shawn in surprise at the thought of being Zuko's friend. They had been enemies for so long, and though she had forgiven him in the past two weeks, she had never thought of herself as his friend. Shawn seemed to read her expression and chuckled lightly.
"Yes, you are his friend, and he needs you as he needs Miss Bei Fong, though for different reasons. I believe he's cleaning the kitchen, and then he'll be cleaning your room. You can talk then. How are things with…my daughter?"
Katara looked up at him and smiled gently. "We want to help her. The other assassin, the man, he has her daughter, and…"
"Her daughter?!" Shawn exclaimed.
Katara stared at him as he sat down, breathing heavily. "Master Shawn? Are you ok?"
Shawn took a few deep breaths before looking at Katara again, his green eyes sparkling. "Yes," he said, nodding. "I'm fine. She said she has a daughter?"
"Yes, and that the other assassin is holding her somewhere. We want to help, but we need to make sure she won't attack us too, so Aang and Sokka are negotiating. Are you sure you'll be ok?"
"Yes," Shawn said as he started breathing normally again. "I'm fine. I think I'll pay Jade a visit and catch up with her later. Why don't you relax and I'll see you tonight."
Katara smiled and nodded to Shawn and waited until he left, exclaiming to himself about having a granddaughter before she dressed again and hurried to her room. She found Toph in the girls' room, alone and the earthbender seemed to be waiting patiently.
"Hey, Sugar Queen, what's up?" Toph asked when Katara walked in.
"Are you and Zuko ok?" Katara asked once she had closed the door.
Toph gave a fake smile, nodding. "Yeah, why do you ask?"
"Now Toph, don't lie to me," Katara replied, smirking as she sat down next to the earthbender.
Toph sighed and hung her head. "I'm just worried that he didn't trust me. Because he didn't tell me. There's so much I realized I don't know about him, and it scares me. What do you think I should do?"
Katara smiled at the earthbender. "You did the right thing last night, forgiving him. That's important. There's a lot he doesn't know about you, Aang and I are the same, but we still trust each other. Talk to him and get to know each other better."
"When did you become so wise?" Toph asked, smirking.
"I'm not," Katara replied, grinning. "So, what are you having Zuko do, anyways?"
Toph started grinning. "He has to clean the house, and then do all my chores for the next week. And whatever little things I think of throughout the week. And at the end…"
"What?" Katara asked quietly as Toph remained silent for a while.
Toph concentrated for a second before grinning even more. She leaned over and whispered in Katara's ear. "He has to give me a massage, all over and especially my feet, and cook dinner and my favorite food, dumplings in cherry sauce."
Toph started giggling and Katara smiled as someone knocked on the door and opened it, revealing Zuko with cleaning supplies. He saw the girls smiling and laughing and sighed.
"Not talking about me, are you?"
"Of course we are, Sunshine," Toph said sweetly. "But don't worry, all of it was good. I'll see if Snoozles wants to talk to Miss Green Dragon again. Catch you later."
Katara saw Toph pat Zuko on the arm as she passed him, smiling sweetly. Zuko smiled back before turning to Katara.
"Are you going to leave too? Or just watch."
Katara shrugged. "Actually I wanted to talk to you first," she said.
Zuko looked surprised for a second, but quickly masked it. He sat down on one of the beds after propping his broom against the wall and studied Katara.
"About what?" he asked.
"Last night," Katara replied. "What happened?"
Zuko sighed, but kept his gaze on Katara as he started. "When I was home, my sister insinuated that it would be bad for the Avatar to show up alive, asking if there was any chance he could be. She had given me the credit for killing him, and so if he turned up alive, I would be the one to blame."
Zuko took a deep breath and Katara saw his brow furrow as he was remembering the events.
"I was scared, and stupid. I tried to outplay my sister. I told her there was no chance, even though I remembered your spirit water. I then hired an assassin to seek out and finish the Avatar. He left and I heard nothing else from him. I wanted to tell you when I first joined Aang and all of you, but was scared. Only Aang and Toph had begun to trust me, and I knew if I told anyone, especially you, I might be killed."
Katara let out a dignified "Hmph!" at the thought of her actually killing someone. Zuko smiled slightly and continued.
"I didn't think you would, but after all I had done, I didn't know. I forgot as we ran from Azula and then the Green Dragon. Until last night. I was shocked to see him and tried to buy him off since I didn't want to fight him in my weakened state, or for anyone to get hurt. I'm sure Azula or my father has acquired his services since I left. I'm sorry for the pain he may have caused."
Zuko bowed his head and Katara knew he was truly sorry for everything he had done in the past to them. She laid a hand on his good arm and saw his other arm still in a sling, but that the sling was rumpled as if he had taken his arm out of it many times.
"I know," she said quietly. "Shawn talked to me earlier, telling me that it was ok that I have done things in the past I'm not proud of, but to not demean myself because of it. I think you should take the same advice. Also, Jade told us that Azula hired her and your father hired the man."
He looked up at, shock on his face as he went to stand. He steadied himself with his good arm as he stood before he moved to the broom.
"Are you sure it was my father that hired him?" Zuko asked, turning back to Katara.
"That's what Jade said. You can ask her yourself. Are you and Toph ok?" Katara asked, standing as well.
Zuko nodded. "Yeah, we just need to talk. I think she's worried, but I don't blame her. Thanks…for everything."
"You're welcome," Katara said, smiling as she went to the door. "Make sure you don't use that arm too much."
Zuko smiled back as Katara left the room, heading towards the main room and found Aang and Toph talking quietly with Sokka. Suki and The Duke were absent as Katara joined her friends.
"So what's the verdict?" she asked her brother.
"She'll help us and agrees to not attack us as long as we help rescue her daughter. There's only one problem," Sokka said, rubbing a hand through his hair.
Katara put her hands on her hips as she looked at him in her motherly fashion as he then rubbed the bridge of his nose. He noticed and stopped, placing his hands at his sides immediately.
"And?" Katara asked, trying to prompt her brother to finishing.
"And…," Toph said as Sokka remained silent, "we don't have the faintest clue of where to start looking. Little miss assassin says she tried to follow ol' Combustion man a few times, but he always disappeared. He's good, but we're better."
Toph started smirking and Katara saw Aang start to smile again, but Sokka merely sighed.
"She could be lying. This could be a trap," he stated, and it sounded as if it wasn't the first time he had made this argument.
Toph merely sighed. "And I told you she's been telling the truth. Her heartbeat and pulse fluctuate enough to tell me she won't lie to us. She never has, she's just been silent when she didn't want to tell us. She's more like Zuko than Azula in that area. Trust me Snoozles, this is my area. Now let's get back in there and see where we're going to start."
Toph immediately left the boys behind, heading to the back room. Katara followed and soon Aang and Sokka were following as well. When they entered, they found Shawn speaking with Jade and Suki and The Duke in the corner, keeping a close watch on the proceedings.
"They want to help, Jade, and I do too," Shawn told his daughter as Katara entered. "Trust them."
Jade glanced at Katara and then turned her gaze back to her father, sighing.
"I already agreed to help them as long as they help me," the assassin told Shawn before turning her attention to the newcomers. "Are we starting now?"
Sokka glanced at Suki and Katara saw the Kyoshi warrior give Sokka a reassuring smile as she walked to stand behind Jade.
"Yes," Aang said. "Suki's going to take your bending away, as we discussed, and then we'll start looking."
Jade sighed and nodded, turning her head away as Suki poked the inside of her shoulder.
"She can't bend," Suki stated. "Where are we going to start?"
Aang turned to Shawn. "Master Shawn, you told us of an area we could start checking. Would you mind taking us there now?"
Shawn looked apprehensive, but nodded, gesturing for them to follow. He had Liz and The Duke stay behind in case anyone came to the house, and had everyone else follow him. Jade held her arms out to Toph and the earthbender grudgingly removed the earthen shackles surrounding her arms. Shawn also stopped Zuko and had the firebender follow them out. Zuko looked startled, but did as the master directed after grabbing his swords, ignoring and staying clear of Sokka and Suki when they gave him dark looks.
A/N: I got the Combustion man's name from a joke. Repeat this to a friend and see what happens. How Long is a china man.