Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything pertaining to it.
A/N: This chapter had to be reposted; for some reason, FFN uploaded the rough draft document and not the appropriate one. I suppose technology can be fallible too. :(
Ethereal
Chapter 11: The Southern Fleet
"War profits the economy; Peace profits the heart." - Motto of the Eastern Windmountain Monks
The rain was heavy and Katara could barely see in front of her; her eyes were dark and her face made no attempt to hide her curse - she needed the strength that came with it. She gritted her teeth as she pulled against the chains binding her to the column. The siren closed her eyes, fighting the resistance until the chains finally gave way and fell to the ground. She dove into the fiery waters of the canal, searching for the entrance to the arena. She knew Zuko would be there.
As she looked up, she saw black smoke raising up around the throne room. Despite the rain, the fire had already seized the brush. How many days had it been since it rained? No matter, the Moon would protect the people so long as Katara executed her will.
She continued swimming trying to reserve her strength and energy as she moved towards the large building in the center. She heard a scream - a man's scream. Was it Zuko? The siren pushed forward, not considering what she would do when she reached the arena.
The clatter of metal rang in her ears as she surfaced, only to see a metal grate impeding her exit. Katara tried to force it up quietly, but it was firmly in place. It would require her strength.
"When did you get mediocre at swordsmanship, Zuzu? I've been so used to dreadful these past few years!" a cold voice sneered.
"Azula, you have to stop!" he shouted. "People are going to die!"
A groan of discomfort. Katara worked faster at forcing the metal grate out of place. Perhaps Azula would be too caught up in her fight to notice. But she was more concerned about Zuko being distracted and his sister taking advantage of the opportunity.
"What do I care about some peasants? They're just pawns. It's the siren's fault Father died, anyway! Their people deserve punishment for this!" She shrieked a bit in pain; an injury?
"If it was their fault, why blame me?"
"I couldn't let you just be the Dragon King; you're not capable of making necessary sacrifices!" Azula spat back, the clatter of metal growing louder.
Finally, the grate loosened and Katara used her strength to push it up, then pulled herself upwards onto the ground. The siblings turned to the clamor and Azula's eyes grew wide.
"You little bitch! You're supposed to be dead!" she shouted, going to run at her. Zuko reached to grab her around the waist, but Azula nimbly circumvented his grasp by moving sideways.
She narrowed her eyes, then threw one of her sai blades at Katara.
"Wait, no!" Zuko shouted, going to move in front of the blade. He fell downward, moving his hand to his chest where it protruded.
Katara let out a piercing scream before everything became hazy. She scrambled towards Azula on her elbows, teeth baring and shouting threats in her native language. Azula narrowed her eyes and began running towards the siren.
Katara let her rage consume her, grabbing the amber eyed woman by her pants leg and jerking her down. Azula fell down hard, groaning in pain then swept her free leg to force the blue eyed woman to release her grip. The siren grabbed her leg with her other hand and pulled her downwards towards the open grate. The young queen swiped at the siren with her sai blade, and Katara released her grip after shouting in pain.
Katara reached upwards again, pulling Azula down and shoving her towards the opening in the floor. The woman slid in, head first, and a heavy thump was heard. She surfaced moments later, face down and Katara contemplated leaving her there.
"I am a siren," she whispered, mostly to herself. "Not a monster."
She pulled Azula out of the water and dragged her as best she could without legs to a set of chains hanging off a pillar in the arena. Then she crawled towards Zuko.
"Zuko," she slapped his cheek a bit, her eyes returning to their normal shade of sapphire. "Look at me."
He grumbled softly, and Katara dragged him to the water with her. Sirens healed from any injury in the water; maybe he would heal from this? No response.
"Zuko!" she shouted, slapping him again.
"I can hear you," he grumbled. "Is Azula...?"
"No, she is alive," she said weakly. "But I do not know how to heal a human."
He chuckled a bit. "It's okay."
"No, it is not. I will go find someone. They can help."
"There's no time," he mumbled. "Thank you, Katara."
Her eyes felt like they were burning. She did exactly what her mother the Moon wanted and still she was too weak to do anything.
"For what?" she asked.
He appeared to be fighting to stay awake, and pressed his lips limply to her cheek. "For reminding me."
Katara let out a sob, pressing her face to his chest as she felt tears roll down her cheeks - the first tears she had cried since her mother's death. Then a bright blue light enveloped her, and she couldn't see.
When it faded, the siren blinked wildly, trying to readjust her eyes to the darkness. Zuko was still in her arms, face pressed to her shoulder. She shifted him, trying to feel his breath. Nothing. She heaved and flopped him on the ground, growing tired of holding him, then pulled herself out.
Her fingers pushed the fabric apart to examine the wound. It was gone, but he wasn't breathing. It wasn't supposed to be like this.
She grew angry and balled up her fist and slammed it on his chest. "You are a damned coward, Zuko." The siren screamed again, hitting him again, over and over until her arm was tired. When she lifted her arm to hit him again, his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.
"Please don't do that again," he grumbled.
It had been nearly three days since everything had happened.
She hadn't been able to sleep any of those days either. Occasionally, her body would drift into a state of unconsciousness, but it was never sleep. Katara was afraid to dream, afraid to see Yue. Yet she was even more afraid to see Zuko. She hadn't been alone with him since the arena.
Aang had immediately gone to the Boiling Rock to retrieve Iroh. Apparently, he had been sent there for detainment awaiting execution after Zuko and Katara had escaped. The siren felt guilty; such a peaceful man did not deserve that kind of treatment.
She expected to see Toph, but all she received was a note informing Zuko, Aang, and Katara that she had to make an unexpected journey and would return as quickly as possible. The siren wanted to inquire as to the nature of her journey, but decided against it. Who knew the next time Toph could send a reply?
When the young monk returned - kindhearted general in tow - he immediately confessed all of what happened to Katara; the uncensored version compared to what he had told Zuko and the rest of the Dragon Court.
"It felt like I was violating someone's entire being," he explained. "But I guess I was being violated as well."
Besides being the medium between the gods and the mortals, the Avatar would sometimes serve as an anchor for the spirit of a god. Were she or he to be so inclined, a god could take control of the Avatar's body to execute an act. In this case, the Sun assumed control of Aang to strip the trapped spirit from Ozai's body.
"I could feel everything he felt, but it felt so empty. So cold. And the Sun just stripped everything away until there was nothing left except his body." He looked like he wanted to cry. "I never want to feel that way again..
"I won't tell Zuko," she promised.
Zuko had enough troubles. Though Ozai had been handled, Azula never was the same. A part of her was missing, according to Zuko and her friends; she was disturbed and haunted. The princess was quarantined in her quarters awaiting sentencing, and at night, anyone could hear her screams flooding the hallways. The night terrors had lessened, but when her brother would go to visit her, all she would do is ask of her mother. Katara accompanied him once, but was so disgusted by what the moon had done, she never returned.
The siren lied in the grass of the courtyard, staring at the stars. While her heart willed her to stay at Zuko's side, her mind grew weary and she longed to return to the Glacierlands. The Volcanic Islands were not her home...
"Katara," a voice said gently.
The siren sat up, then lept to her feet, wrapping her arms around the woman in a blue dress. "Mom!"
"You're so tall now, and beautiful," her mother murmured in her hair. "The Moon is grateful for what you have done."
"I thought Yue was her image," Katara said, pulling away quickly.
"She is; but I am the image you wanted to see," she explained. "I know you feel betrayed by the gods, by what happened, but you must understand, you were chosen. We chose you to restore nature so the Son of the Dragon can lead the Sun's people down the correct path."
The siren searched her mother's eyes; they were tired, like Yue's. Though the woman had her mother's face, Katara wondered if those eyes were the true eyes of the Moon.
The woman inhaled, as if she was troubled, then pulled Katara down to her face before whispering in her ear. The siren's eyes grew wide, and then she nodded.
"Katara, Katara!" Aang shouted, shaking her. The siren sat up and wiped her face.
"Yes, Aang, what ails you?"
Before he could answer, Katara felt herself being lifted from the wash basin and the air squeezed from her lungs in a tight embrace. "I thought I would never see you again."
"Sokka," she breathed, going to wrap her arms around her brother. "I'm so glad you're okay. But how did you-?"
"Toph; I don't know how she did it, but she found us. She said she had gone to several Glacierland villages searching and asking. Most people laughed at her when they asked if anyone was related to a siren, but Gran Gran told her. Dad and I have been searching for you for months."
"Wait, how did Toph know where to-"
Aang smiled sheepishly. "Your ancestor gave me a little hint," he nodded his head towards the sky.
She hugged him again. "Thank you, Aang. And please tell Toph thank you as well."
Sokka smiled a bit at his sister. "Hey, you speak the common language really well now. I mean, you have a Volcanic Islander accent, but it's not bad once you get past that. A couple weeks with me, and you'll be speaking the common language like a Southern Glacierlandswoman. Anyway, is there a place a guy can get some food? Dad's about to rip this Dragon King Zuko a new one, and I'd prefer to eat before the festivities-"
"Rip him a new one? What?" Katara asked, blinking.
"Oh, yeah. The Glacierlands are all in an uproar - North and South - over what happened. The entire Southern fleet is at his doorstep and the Northerners are on their way. I can't wait to give those entitled pricks a piece of mine and my boomerang's mind." the blue eyed warrior explained casually.
The siren let out an expletive in the common language that had her brother scolding her.
Posted: 06/13/2012