A/N: A summary of Katara's thoughts in "Jet" and the three-part season finale.
Chapter 3: My power
Both the best adventure and worst adventure I had before we made it to the North Pole was our escapade with Jet. It was wonderful, because Jet gave me the attention that no man had ever given me before, except Dad. But Jet wasn't like Dad at all—Jet was the first person I ever had a crush on. His fighting skills were absolutely incredible and his handsome face completely unraveled my nerves. The first day or so, my time with Jet was heavenly.
The second day, Sokka warned me. He always seems to be like that—he can sense a dangerous situation a mile away. I wish I had his intuition. Still, I believed Sokka was wrong about Jet and subsequently agreed to help Jet "save the forest" tomorrow.
The first thing I noticed when I got up was that Sokka wasn't there. Perhaps I have some intuition after all—because I had a feeling in my gut that he was in trouble. Jet casually lied about why Sokka wasn't there, and made Aang and I bend water into the reservoir for him. I remember the moment when we discovered that Jet was a thug—that he planning to flood the whole village and drown the people.
That night in the woods, when the pirates captured me, I was angry at Zuko. Saying that I was angry at Jet would be the understatement of eternity. I hated Jet. I wanted him dead. Tricking and manipulating is my weapon, but it is my biggest fear that somebody will turn the same weapon on me and be better at it. Not only did Jet use and deceive me, he did it so well that I never suspected him. He took his time and did things with a sense of enjoyment—he even flirted with me!
What's more, he could have killed hundreds of people. Luckily Sokka escaped from the thugs and saved the village. Then Aang started fighting Jet, something I hadn't expected him to do. Was he doing it for me, or was he only fighting in self defense? I would have helped Aang, but at first I was too stunned by Jet's malevolence to do anything.
When Aang knocked Jet out of the tree, and I saw the charismatic thug cringing on the ground, unspeakable rage filled every cell in my body. There was a pond nearby. Suddenly I was water bending like never before, soaking Jet through and through. He stumbled backward from the force of it all, bumping up against a thick tree. Then the real attack started. Water is a powerful thing, and some people don't realize how strong a single pond of water can be if properly utilized. I struck Jet again and again with the cold water, winded him, bruised him, numbed him, saw him gasping for breath!
Aang appeared from the trees. His presence reminded me not to something I might regret. Part of me longed to finish off Jet's miserable life now. I struck him with one last wave of water and the moment it hit him, I breathed it into ice. Now Jet was frozen to the tree, unable to make a move expect for the shivering that quickly overtook him.
Sokka swooped by on Appa, preached at Jet, and got ready to fly away. Aang jumped onto Appa still looking disturbed by the whole adventure. But I didn't want to get on Appa. I wanted to finish Jet. Something held me back—maybe the urgency in Sokka's face—and I climbed into Appa's saddle. Besides, I thought bitterly, there was a good chance that Jet would die from hypothermia before his friends found him. I knew, at the very least, he would suffer frostbite.
We had so many memorable adventures that winter. There was the Fortune Teller—I made friends with her, but Sokka insisted that her fortunes were not correct—and there was Bato and the fight at the Abbey and so much more! When we finally reached the North Pole, I was extremely excited!
When Sokka first met Yue, I could tell he liked her. I wasn't sure about Yue's regard at first because she was so modest and serene. For no particular reason, I decided to make the situation even more uncomfortable for Sokka by pointing out that he was anything but a prince. Teasing Sokka is always fun, because you never quite know how he's going to react. Still, Sokka's humble birth didn't seem to dent the attention that Yue was giving him at the feast.
How did I feel when Master Paku wouldn't teach me because I was a girl? Fuming. Cheated. But I didn't let it get to me too much, because I knew I could find a way to manipulate him. Aang and I agreed to have our own water bending lessons secretly, at night. After Paku discovered us, and they told me to apologize, I of course refused. I may be a controlling person, but standing up to Paku was the right thing to do. On the other hand, physically fighting Paku may not have been necessary, since he still beat me and refused to teach me. He would never have taught me if he hadn't seen the necklace I wore—the necklace that linked him to our family. Once I found out about the necklace, I had my hold on him. He agreed to teach me.
As Sokka got to know Yue, Aang and I trained under Master Paku. I was almost as good as him, and getting better every day. When the Fire Nation assaulted us, everything was under control and we stood a fair chance of winning. That is, until Aang went into the spirit world.
"Maybe we should get help," Yue suggested nervously.
"No, Aang's my friend," I answered with a self-absorbed smile. "I am perfectly capable of protecting him!"
"Oh, aren't you a big girl now?"
The voice that haunted my dreams now filled me with dread in waking life. It was the same dread I had felt that night in the woods with Zuko, and it was his voice that had spoken out of the darkness. "No," I breathed.
"Yes!" exclaimed Zuko, coming into plain sight. His face looked even uglier than before. "Hand over the Avatar and I won't have to hurt you."
I didn't answer, but the resolve not to give in was clear on my face. Almost before I could react Zuko threw two fistfuls of flame toward my face. I blocked them with a narrow shield of water and the fight began. Every time the fire came near I cringed on the inside, but never on the outside. I was too busy blocking and striking, blocking and striking to be really aware of fear.
At last I used the water surrounding the spirit oasis to press Zuko up against the cliff side and freeze him there. I was again surprised at the effect of waves against my enemies. If you've ever been surfing or even body surfing, you know what it's like to be swept underwater by a wave. But my attack was much more ferocious than a single wave nudging you downward; my attack was a prolonged wave beating and forcing against a human body as long as I could hold it there. No wonder Zuko made no struggle against the wave when he hit the cliff side—he was actually incapable of moving. Now, he was unconscious.
As soon as the moon set and the sun rose, Zuko regained consciousness and freed himself. Apparently fire bending works better in daytime than night time. He shouted and charged at me, pouring an eruption of fire from his hands. Surprised, I was just barely able to block the attack with water. Although I saved myself from being singed, the force of the attack threw me backward and my head made painful contact with the oasis' single tree.
I was not out for a while. When I woke up, I was shocked to still be alive. Why hadn't Zuko killed me? Maybe he just didn't want to waste time on me; it was important for him to get a head start if he wanted to escape with Aang. And Aang was gone, I confirmed. I felt so guilty. Then Sokka showed up. Why does he always have to see me at my worst moments? He's not like Aang, who denies the problem—no, Sokka always assesses the problem! But he does it in a way that's not hateful, and his unconditional respect annoys me! Maybe because I know that I don't treat him as kindly as he treats me…
Anyway, things turned out alright in the end because we found Zuko and I got to knock him unconscious again. It was rather pleasant. Still, Aang pointed out that we couldn't just leave Zuko to die, so we took him back with us. Sokka and I were not thrilled about that, but Aang convinced us. Sappy kid!
Now it was my turn to see one of Sokka's worst moments. He and I could only watch as Yue gave herself up to save the balance of the world. I could hear the pain Sokka felt with every breath he took. It surprised me how deeply he felt the pain, and it would continue to surprise me for a long time. After he lost Yue, Sokka had more bouts of depression than I've seen in anybody.
How was it possible for him to love her so deeply? I wished I could ease the suffering for Sokka, and I wished I could manipulate the situation for everyone's good, but I couldn't. I just had to sit back and watch him cuddle Yue's lifeless body while he muttered again and again, "No…"
Yue's heroism saved the balance of ocean and moon, saved the balance of the world. Aang and the ocean spirit knocked out the Fire Nation fleet quickly, and we knew we had saved the North Pole. I was dubbed "Master Katara" by Paku, and Sokka grieved along with Yue's father. When we were all rested, Aang and Sokka and I would go to the Earth Kingdom and search for an earth bending teacher.
I don't understand how Yue could love enough to sacrifice her life for the world. I don't understand how Sokka could feel so deeply for Yue when there was never any hope for his happiness with her. I may not understand that kind of love, but I understand one thing after this experience: power. I am a master water bender, and that means supremacy! That means I can help save the world, saving people, and making myself feel successful. I can reap pride and satisfaction! Imagine all the things I can do…now that I have become a Master.