A/N: Hello again! I couldn't stop writing last time so here's another chapter! WOOHOO! I feel like I'm on a roll ! (- See..a roll) So here's another chapter in the same night. Enjoy!
I met Zuko halfway on our way to find Aang. I decided I would tell him straight forward that we were taking Appa. Hopefully he wouldn't argue. I could hear Aang and Sokka talking on the other side of a near boulder and I sighed. Sokka being there would make it harder.
We rounded the boulder and I took a deep breath. I glanced at Zuko and made sure he had our belongings, which were flipped over his shoulder in a small bag, before I started to march towards them. Aang was feeding Appa happily and Sokka was leaning against a rock weaving flowers into a necklace when they spotted us coming. I put on my best impression of Zuko's stone face and stopped in front of Aang.
"I need to borrow Appa," I said quickly, but Aang only giggled.
"Why?" he asked before turning around to pet the bison's nose. "Is it your turn to take a little field trip with Zuko?"
Well when he put it that way, "Yes, it is." He turned around at my tone and gave me a confused look.
"Oh," he said slowly. "What's going on?" I tried not to look in his eyes, but I couldn't stop myself. Here comes the honesty.
"We're going to find the man who took my mother from me." The words came out harsher than I meant and I tried my best to keep my face expressionless, but it just felt like it was scrunched in anger. Maybe I was angry.
"Sokka told me the story of what happened," Zuko started. "I know who did it, and I know how to find him." I glanced behind me at him and was silently grateful that he started to talk. It meant I didn't have to.
Aang still didn't look convinced and I kept my gaze on him as he stared at Zuko. Sokka walked up and stood beside Aang with a concerned look on his face. I hated this.
"Um, and, what exactly do you think this will accomplish?" Aang asked reluctantly. Just like Aang to ask the big questions.
"I knew you wouldn't understand," I said as I shook my head and turned around.
"Wait! Stop. I do understand," Aang said quickly. "You're feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the sandbenders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?" I stared forward as he reminded me and I felt guilty.
"She needs this, Aang," Zuko said and I silently wondered if he really cared about what I felt or if it was just another one of his get-on-Katara's-good-side charades.
"This is about getting closure, and justice," he continued and I nodded to myself. I really wanted to believe that.
"I don't think so," Aang tried again. "I think it's about getting revenge." I cringed mentally at his accusation, but was he right? It doesn't matter right now. I have to get him to let me go.
"Fine!" I snapped. "Maybe it is. Maybe that's what I need. Maybe, that's what he deserves." The words slipped out easily, like it was natural for me to be this way. I wasn't sure if I liked it.
"Katara, you sound like Jet," Aang said sadly and his words truly hurt.
"It's not the same!" I defended. "Jet attacked the innocent. This man, he's a monster." I hissed the last word and kept my eyes locked in Aang's.
"Katara, she was my mother, too," Sokka said carefully. "But I think Aang might be right." What? He wasn't siding with me?
"Then you didn't love her the way I did!" I cringed inwardly at the look on his face and immediately wanted to take the words back.
"Katara…" he whispered. I couldn't stand being there anymore and I quickly turned to leave, but Aang's sweet voice kept me still.
"The monks used to say that revenge is like a two-headed rat-viper. While you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself."
"That's cute, but this isn't air temple preschool. It's the real world," Zuko said sternly and I understood what he meant.
"Now that I know he's out there, now that I know we can find him, I feel like I have no choice," I said to the ground. I wasn't sure I liked this situation. It wasn't me.
"Katara. You do have a choice," Aang said gently. "Forgiveness." When did my little Aang become so wise?
"That's the same as doing nothing," Zuko snapped. My mind agreed. I knew all too well how hard it was to forgive and I did my best to not look at Zuko.
"No it's not," Aang pressed. "It's easy to do nothing, but it's hard to forgive."
"It's not just hard," I said as I looked Aang in the eyes. "It's impossible."
For a split second I saw surprise reflect in the grey pools. I just wasn't sure if it was him or my reflection. With that, I turned on my heel and headed straight for my tent. I couldn't look at the faces of my brother or Aang anymore without feeling guilty. I should've just taken Appa when no one was looking and felt bad about it later.
I pushed past the flap of my tent and circled around before sitting on my sleeping bag. A moment later, Zuko came in as well and sat gracefully beside me. We sat across from each other, just staring into one another's face, but not really seeing each other. Neither of us said a word. I was glad he was being quiet. I needed the silence to think of a plan, a trait we obviously shared.
At the same time, we both blinked and went to speak at the same time. He motioned for me, but I just shook my head and nodded towards him.
"It's obvious really. We just take Appa after everyone's asleep. That way there will be no one to stop us." I nodded slowly before looking at the ground.
"Aang sleeps on Appa. Especially since we got him back from Ba Sing Se." Zuko nodded and pushed his fingers through his hair making it fold back to reveal his face. It was different seeing him without him hiding his features and I almost reached out to push his hair away again. Almost.
"Then an hour after sunset. They won't be expecting us to leave then," he said finally and I agreed with a false grin. Accusing my brother, plotting against my best friend and running off with an enemy. What happened to me?
I avoided everyone for the rest of the day, even Zuko. Luckily, night came fast, and when dinner was over, I quietly went to my tent and put on the robe Zuko gave me quickly. I wasn't too sure how the sash fit, so I decided to just grab and go. Zuko could do it for me later.
We met behind the rock were Appa would sleep and I almost didn't spot the firebender in his black clothes. It was nice to see him in something besides red for once. As I approached, I watched him toss our things onto Appa's saddle quietly before petting the huge beast gingerly. Appa gave him a content growl as Zuko rubbed his snout and I swear I could see Zuko smiling in the darkness. However, when he caught sight of me, he dropped his hand quickly and turned to face me, but I noticed his eyes looked down at my waist displeasingly.
"Relax," I whispered as I handed the dark fabric to him. "I just couldn't wrap it right." He looked at me before he looked to his hands and he took a deep breath. At first, it sounded like he was annoyed, but when he moved closer, I noticed his hands were shaking a little.
I lifted my elbows as he put his and behind me and I watched as he quickly pulled the fabric out evenly against my back. Then, with nimble fingers, he twisted the sash once and wrapped it one more time before tightly knotting it at my side.
"There you go," he said quietly as he quickly stepped away. I fiddled with it a bit to make it comfortable as I nodded a thank you.
I walked over to Appa and rubbed my and across his fur a few times before I untied my hair ribbon from my wrist and began wrapping it around my hair. The wind was unbelievable already, so I could only imagine what flying would do to it.
"So you were just gonna take Appa anyway?" an angry voice shouted from behind. Once again, time for honesty.
"Yes," I said bluntly as I slowly turned around.
"It's okay, because I forgive you," Aang said. "That give you any ideas?" He gave me one of his signature smiles and I sighed.
"Don't try to stop us," I told him and his smile faded. Then he sighed.
"I wasn't planning to," he said slowly and I couldn't help the surprise that appeared on my face. "This is a journey you need to take. You need to face this man."
I gave him a nod and immediately felt relief. It's not that I was asking for his blessing or anything, but now I wasn't stealing Appa and going behind his back. I turned away from him and grabbed onto Appa's horn to climb on, but Aang spoke again.
"But when you do, please don't choose revenge." I closed my eyes for a moment before hosting myself onto Appa's head. "Let your anger out. And then, let it go." I looked down at my hands and took a deep breath. Could I do that? "Forgive him." No. I couldn't.
"Okay. We'll be sure to do that, Guru Goody-goody," Zuko said and I had to fight the urge to hit him. Instead, I turned and looked Aang in the eye.
"Thanks for understanding, Aang," I said quietly and he nodded sadly. With that, I flicked Appa's reigns. "Yip, yip!"
After a few minutes of quiet flying, I heard Zuko rummage through our bag before crawling over to the edge of Appa's saddle closest to me. I glanced back and watched as he carefully leaned against the side.
"We need to find a Fire Navy Communication Tower," he shouted to me. "All the navy's movements are coordinated by messenger hawk. And every tower has to be up to date on where everyone is deployed." I was starting to pick up on his plan.
"So once we find a communication tower, we bust in and take the information we need."
"Not exactly," he said slowly. "We need to be stealthy and make sure no one spots us. Otherwise, they'll warn the Southern Raiders, long before we reach them." I understood and I nodded quickly. I glanced up at the moon and noticed that it was full. A smile slowly formed on my lips and I motioned Appa to go faster.
Thankfully, the night was passing slowly. The moon was barely in the middle of the sky when we finally spotted a tower in the distance. I quickly turned to Zuko and he nodded. He told me earlier that we wouldn't be seen if we stayed up high until we were right above it, and I timed it just right as we landed on the bank quietly. I through an apple to Appa and told him to stay quiet until we got back as Zuko and I took off. As we ran, Zuko told me to pull up the fabric like a mask, but when I did, I got a strong whiff of his fancy, fiery scent. It made me a bit dizzy, so I did my best to ignore it.
We were on a small piece of land away from the main shore and as we approached the water, I threw my arms out and made an ice raft form on the surface. We quickly jumped on and I steadied my feet on the frozen water. However, Zuko clung to my ankle as I used my bending to push us forward.
We closed in on the cliff side fast, but I pulled us up in a wave to land on top of it gracefully. We were right on the edge of the gate which was a little bit taller than me, and I watched as he jumped nimbly over it with ease. I tried as well, but my toe hit the side and knocked me off balance. Luckily, he caught me before I clattered to the ground helped me stand straight again.
All of a sudden, footsteps echoed from in front of us and we quickly ducked behind a wall. We watched carefully as a door swung open and two soldiers walked out of the room, and they left the door open. When they disappeared around a corner, we took off for the room and dove inside. Zuko motioned for me to follow him and he led me through to a smaller room before pointing to the ceiling. I glanced up and looked at the vent that was about five feet away from me. I gave him a confused look as he reached up and moved the wire cover aside. Then, with all the strength and grace of a cougar-rat, he leaped up through the small square and into the vent system. I knew I couldn't jump that high and I looked for something to stand on, but footsteps started to sound in the hallway and I became frantic.
"Come on," Zuko whispered. "I'll catch you." He reached out his arm and I took a leap for it, only barely grasping his wrist. Then, with a hard tug, he pulled me up into the vent just as the door opened. I didn't have time to get a steady hold, so I had to cling to Zuko's shoulders as he supported my back as we watched the men walk through the room into another. When the door closed, we both sighed in relief and he pulled me back, away from the square hole. I clambered over his side and sat behind him, watching as he pressed the wire back into place.
For the following ten minutes, Zuko's backside was all I could see as we crawled around in the vent system. Every few steps there was another wire square and we would look out to see where we were. Finally, Zuko stopped and looked carefully through the wire into the newest room. After a moment, he motioned for me to come closer and I quietly squeezed next to him and peered through the wires.
There was a woman soldier seated at a desk painting a new map. With a quick glance to Zuko, I lifted my hand and pinched my fingers in a single fluid motion. Her small ink bowl followed my movements and splattered all over the parchment and her arm. With an irritated gasp, she scooted away from her desk and left to clean her hands. We seized the opportunity the moment the door closed. Zuko pried the wire mess from the vent and dove through the open square, landing gracefully with hardly a thud. He then turned and waited for me. I lifted myself through the square and dropped down carefully into Zuko's grasp before he placed me on my feet.
"Okay. Southern Raiders," Zuko mumbled as we scanned a shelf full of fleet ship information. After a moment, he pulled out a scroll and turned quickly to the table. He spread the scroll out quietly and traced a line on the page with his eyes. I made sure to keep my attention on the door.
"Bam!" he whispered loudly making me jump. "On patrol near Whale Tail Island." I looked down at where his index was pointing and glared.
"Whale Tail Island, here we come."
A/N: Okay, so I really wanted to keep going, but my fingers and mind kept telling me that this was the perfect ending to this chapter. Please correct me if I'm wrong and I'll give my fingers a stern talking to. Hope this was a good one :) Please review!