"So what now?" I asked.
"Where do you think Hama is?" he returned with another question.
"I guess with Ozai in the Firenation," I answered, "Why?"
"Take my hand and concentrate as hard as you can on the Firelord's palace." I closed my eyes and pictured the place at which we had just been defeated. I felt a kind of tugging feeling, and when I opened my eyes, we were standing in the Firelord's palace.
"Wow, you know how to get around," I told Aang. He shrugged.
"All we need to do now is to find Hama."
"But Aang, the palace is swarming with guards."
"Nobody can see us," he said grinning, "Come on, lets go." We ran down the main hallway, peeking our heads through doors, (we could do that since we weren't really there) and trying to find Hama. There were so many different doors and hallways that Aang and I were getting discouraged. We had been searching for a good 15 minutes before Aang called out, "Katara I see her!"
I quickly ran (if you could call it that) to where Aang was and we both walked through the door. Hama was slumped in a corner, in what was no better than a jail cell. She was flexing her fingers, the veins in her wrists protruding, and making the rat in the opposite corner pace in a circle. This was the woman who was controlling me every evening? I wondered what Ozai had did to her to make her cooperate, I even almost felt sorry for her.
Those sorry thoughts were pushed our of my head when I thought of what she was doing to me every night. To me and to the rabbits and to Haru, and what she was planning on doing to Aang. She might even be better off once I had done what I had to do. I still can't believe I was going to do it. How could you just force someone's heart to stop like that?
As if reading my thoughts, Aang said, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"She's controlling me every night," I answered, "She's killed Haru, and she was going to make me kill you. Ending her is the only way to make sure that I can be with you and you'll be safe. I need to do this." And with that, I began to summon all the energy I could. I focused on Hama, I focused on her heart, the liquid running through it. I felt the steady pulse and the flow of blood to and from her heart. I closed my hand into a fist, feeling the liquid coming out of her heart stop. I heard her take one last gulp of air, then saw her lie still.
I had done it. I had killed Hama. I had killed someone. Tears started to flow down my cheeks as I realized what I had done. I closed my eyes tightly, fighting dizziness and I felt a hand close around mine. Another dissolving feeling and another small tug, and when I opened my eyes, I was solid. My lips were still touching Aang's, but tears were also still streaming from my eyes. I shut my eyes once more and soon arms closed around me. Aang held me tight against his chest, as I collapsed against him.