****THIS IS AN EDITED CHAPTER****

Please note, you guys... Chapter 8 had been edited.

I received many PMs about Katara being too OOC. If there is something I can work on in my story, please let me know - but do so in a constructive way. Writers are emotional, personal, and sensitive. Like I said, I take to heart what you review, but if it just an attack towards me, it really brings me down and makes me re-think writing this at all.

This is a fanfiction. I am not a writer of ATLA. This story is different than the original, it is different than the comics. This is my work (using ATLA characters) and I just thought I would share it with you all. That's it - so please avoid attacking comments. Be constructive.

However, I do agree with Katara's actions in this chapter, so that is why this has been edited.

Please note I will not go back and edit every little thing everyone doesn't agree on liking - but this was a big exception; I did not develop Katara the right way and I apologize. Feel free to re-read this Chapter and let me know what you think.

Chapter 8: The Northern Pirate

It was just as she had left it. Blue tapestries, glistening with silver trim, covered the long walls in intricately woven, beautiful designs that encompassed the true feeling of the Northern Water Tribe. The furniture was a dark oak, meticulously chiseled and carved into winding structures adorned with gems and woolen cushions. The bed was made, so neatly and wrinkle-free the sheets looked at if they hadn't been slept in for months. The ashes in the fireplace had long since been sifted to the side from the breeze, carelessly thrown into some forgotten, unseen corner. The window had been left open – that was the only sign that someone had ever lived in these chambers – and the curtains swayed, but even they, too, looked nothing more than lifeless. There was a basin of water, the pot glazed in the traditional style of the North. The water itself, however, had long begun to evaporate and now only a small puddle lined the bottom, reflecting Suki's face which, on that day, was devoid of the warpaint of the Kyoshi Warriors.

Suki's reflection trembled, her pursed lips solemn.

Yes, the room was just as Katara had left it.

Katara.

At first, Suki was confused. Two weeks had already passed since she bounded happily to Katara's chambers, bundles of a carefully prepared breakfast in her arms, when she discovered the room to be empty. She assumed Katara might have just gone to practice early, as she was wont to do, but there was the bed, deftly made, and the open window that proved everything she thought otherwise. Yes, she was very confused but her nervous interrogations of Chief Hakoda, Gran-Gran, Pakku and other warriors she had briefly met confirmed her suspicions that the waterbender was gone.

And then, Suki was worried. She felt guilty, too. How could she tell Katara's grandmother that it was possibly her fault Katara left? How could she tell her that she secretly trained Katara for two months, building her strength for some secret reason Suki even herself didn't get to know? And that secret reason…

What is it, Katara? What were you so keen on hiding from me?

And it hurt, it hurt that Suki put her trust in her. Katara asked her for her trust and she gave it, she gave it so willingly because they were friends.

Or so I thought.

After the guilt passed, Suki was angry. She felt betrayed, lied to, kept in the dark… She felt all of these things so strongly; she was trustworthy. She wasn't stupid. So why did Katara think she could so easily be fooled? She wanted to help, she did help.

Is this how you repay your friends?

You were right, you know. You are different.

Suki's reflection glared back at her. She scowled in frustration, smacking her hand against the water, sending it flying out of the basin in angry droplets that splattered the wall. Suki leaned over the table, squeezing her eyes shut as she struggled to pace her breaths. Her fingers were trembling as they gripped the table.

How long will it be until I'm not angry at you anymore?

She didn't want to be angry, but it had already been two weeks and still Katara was gone. She didn't want to be angry; she hated it. But all that had gone wrong was in front of her – five years and she did her best to move on from the war against Ozai. It had been five years and she tried to mend her heart after the loss and Katara and Sokka but the joy, the pure joy and disbelief she felt when Katara awakened was unlike anything she had ever felt and maybe it was her fault for letting herself become swept up in the disillusionment that everything was going to return back to normal. Maybe it was her fault for not taking into account the anger and hurt and guilt that Katara felt, but Suki's ignorance was not planned. She didn't mean to try and force things back to the way they were, but the emptiness of Katara's room proved that she failed.

I only wanted us to all be friends again.

But time moved forward; each passing day was a further step away from the madness the Phoenix King wrought upon the world and everyone was changed – Toph, Aang, Hakoda, herself… They were all different. Things could never be the same. Only a fool could think otherwise.

And that was my greatest mistake. I was a fool and you outsmarted me, Katara.

The back of her eyes felt hot and tight; she hadn't cried since Sokka left, his face taught with grief and madness. He didn't say goodbye to anyone, not even Momo. She should have realized then that he was never planning on coming back.

Even if you did come back, would you recognize your sister?

"Guilt is the heaviest burden to bear, especially for one so young."

Suki looked up, tears welling in her eyes, distorting and blurring the image of Gran-Gran in the doorway. She had her hands clasped together beneath her robes, her white hair starkly neat, and she was smiling but her smile was sad.

Suki was quiet for a long while, distrusting of her voice which would no doubt quiver with all that was forlorn and she stared intently at her hands, her fingers intertwining with one another in her efforts to keep her tears from falling. Then she asked:

"How did you feel when you noticed she was gone?"

Gran-Gran walked forward, coming to rest beside her. Suki straightened up, letting the old woman push strands of hair away from her teary face.

"I felt all that you feel now. I waited so long for her to come back, just as you did." Gran-Gran paused and Suki noticed how feeble the woman sounded as she sighed.

She's getting old.

"I was an idiot," Suki said. "I trained her, Gran-Gran. It was my fault. My fault."

"You did only what your friend asked of you."

Suki turned, heading to the bed where she sat quietly, pulling her legs up against her chest and resting her chin on her knees.

"You noticed."

Gran-Gran laughed at this. "Of course I noticed," she said lightly. "I should hope that I would have noticed. If not… Well, then, it would have seemed my years of wisdom were only a façade."

Suki smiled, sniffling. "You sound as if nothing is wrong. You sound happy. How do you do it?"

"I have faith in my granddaughter. I know you do, too." Gran-Gran sat down beside the warrior, pushing strands of her brown hair away from her face. Suki blinked, her eyelashes heavy from tears.

"You don't understand how frustrating it is. Katara wants to know what happened and she should, but even I can't get give her what she seeks because I don't know. I don't know what happened."

"Katara was always a stubborn girl," Gran-Gran continued. "If questions are answered for her, she throws them away and searches for her own answers. To wake up with nothing after years of stillness… I couldn't imagine it. If I could explain to her everything she needs to know, I would but, you see, she wouldn't take my answers. She trusts me, but she needs to see for herself."

Suki's shoulders slumped. "Makes sense, I guess, though I'm tired of all the self-empowering, enlightenment mojo. It's just an excuse. It would be easier to try to just convince her to listen to us."

Gran-Gran rubbed Suki's arm, which was quite soothing in Suki's broody moment. "Katara will be fine," the woman said. "As will you. Nothing was your fault. She will return – yes, she will come back after she finds what she is looking for."

Suki stood suddenly – she did not really know why – and her hands clenched into fists. Yue, it was annoying, this anger she felt. She couldn't make it go away; neither could Gran-Gran, even though Suki knew she was sincerely trying.

"Sokka, you mean," Suki said quietly.

"I'm sorry, dear?"

Suki turned, her eyes rising to meet the starkly blue irises of Katara's grandmother. "You say Katara left to find something," she continued. "It's Sokka."

Gran-Gran clasped her hands together, standing, and she patted the covers of the bed gently to straighten out the wrinkles.

"Yes, I believe she is looking for him."

"And you know where he is?"

"Yes."

"And you keep it from her? Her family keeps her brother from her and for what purpose? What reason could you possibly have?" Suki began pacing, fuming as she shook her head, her hair whipping her cheeks. "So many secrets, Gran-Gran! Zuko doesn't even know Katara is back. Yue knows why we keep him in the dark. He's the Fire Lord, after all."

"My son sent a lett-"

"Why is everyone keeping damned secrets from everyone? I miss Sokka, too. You know that."

She paused to catch her breath, her vision frustratingly blurred from angry tears. She scoffed at herself, leaning against the wall to steady the pounding in her head. She held her forehead, willing the pain to pass. Then, speaking so quietly she saw Gran-Gran lean forward to hear better:

"I loved him, too. If you want Katara to uncover her past on her own, that's fine. But you can at least tell me. Tell me where he went. I'll keep it between us; you can trust me." She faltered, her breathing shaky and feeble sounding.

I'm weaker than I thought. Is this what defeat feels like?

"Just tell me," she whispered. "Secrets drove Katara away. Don't do the same to me."

"Katara…"

He watched her eyes snap open widely, her brows drawing upward.

Zuko forgot how to breathe; he lacked the ability to breathe. It was impossible. It was impossible. She was gone, she was dead, she was everything he feared made into reality.

She was dead.

I… watched you die.

His heart pulled against his chest painfully; he could feel the warmth of her fingers as they trailed over his scar and her face was twisted with something akin to confusion and…pain. Yes, there was so much pain.

He leaned into the caress of her hand, his fingers brushing over hers. Time in that moment did not exist – in that moment, all was still. Nothing was sane, least of all his mind! His ears were ringing; bodies littered the deck of the ship, his ship, and yet in that moment all he could see were the tides in her eyes, relentlessly wild and almost vulnerable. It was almost as if…yes, as if she did not expect to see him.

But that didn't matter now; his confusion didn't matter now because she was here. In the flesh, she was here in front of him, her eyes drilling into his own and for a tyrannical moment, he wondered if Agni himself was toying with him and he was simply dreaming.

But then she pulled out a dagger, snapping her helm back down over her face and he heard a scream of, "Your Grace!" and Zuko started, throwing up his arm with a shield of fire which burst towards her and she stumbled backwards, dropping her dagger and holding her burnt fingertips with an angry hiss and the captain sprinted forward from some unseen hiding place, throwing binding ropes. She tried to run, but the ropes caught her and wound around her body and she fell hard to the deck, gasping from the impact.

Zuko blinked, unsure of what had just happened in such a short span of time. He watched in horror; she was almost growling, writhing on the ground as she struggled to escape the ropes, but she couldn't and Zuko couldn't look away, he couldn't even move and his eyes were still with shock. She began using her legs to try and push herself away but Zuko watched, immobile, as his captain went over to her and swung his leg, kicking her head so hard the helm flew from her face and she went still, her body limp and oblivious to the rain.

The captain dropped to his knees, panting. He looked over to Zuko.

"Bitch. Do you know her?" he asked breathlessly.

But Zuko didn't respond. His mind was racing but at the same time completely blank. It was terribly frustrating.

I did know her. I thought I knew her.

But…

Yes, that's right, I watched you die.

"What should we do with her, Your Grace?" the captain prompted, reaching down to pull her by the arm.

Zuko tried to avoid looking at her face, but his eyes disobeyed his commands. The impressive mass of dark curls that were strewn out over the deck brought back years or memories, all flashing across his eyes with such ferocious speed his head began to hurt. But in this form, in this stillness, she looked peaceful and not angry.

It was all so confusing; it was something he could not dare to think about in that moment but the questions, they arose despite his efforts and he found himself worrying, wondering, marveling at how she was alive, why no one had told him, and why, Agni why she tried to kill him.

You tried…to kill me?

But-

"Your Grace."

Zuko looked up with a grunt before shaking his head to clear his muddied thoughts.

"I just…" he began, but then he saw movement. The captain was coming towards him with a concerned look on his face but there was something else, another body stirring behind him and Zuko tried to warn his captain, he tried to tell him that someone was behind him but before the startled words could leave his mouth, his captain froze, his eyes bulging as two dark hands wrapped around his neck, ice erupting from the fingertips and quickly making webbed trails across his skin, turning him a winter's shade of blue, eating through him like platypus-bear piss eats through deep snow. The Captain mouth popped open as Katara froze him still where he stood – his eyes were still moving behind the wall of ice, trembling, and with a sickening realization, Zuko realized he was still alive. The hands removed themselves and a foot kicked him forward, sending him sprawling face-first into Zuko's lap.

Zuko's face twisted with horror as he tried to scramble backwards beneath the frozen man's heavy weight. A shadow loomed over him, blocking out the light of the moon as it began its descent in the night sky to make way for the morn.

She stood there, panting with anger and pain, blood running down her face from the gash the captain's kick left her on the side of her head. She held the dagger in her hand, bright crimson and dripping and she looked mad, she looked crazed – she was not who he knew before – and she tilted her head slowly.

"'Your Grace'?" Katara spoke. "And so it seems you have a lot of explaining to do."

The parchment wrinkled heavily, her pale fingers trembling. She stood, the silken robes pooling coolly around her slippered feet.

"A pirate?" Mai asked, her voice that of a bored woman despite her racing mind. General Iroh was standing near the table, arms folded neatly beneath his robes. The Fire Lord's letter, written in haste, had arrived that morning. His words were alarming, at the very least.

"Off the western shore of the Earth Kingdom, yes," Iroh replied heavily.

Mai looked up, noticing for the first time that no, he was not wearing his traditional robes but rather a thick tunic covered by heavy maroon shoulderplates. She blinked.

"You mean to leave?" she asked incredulously.

"I know when my nephew needs me, my lady," Iroh spoke. "Ty Lee will accompany me, so I fear you will be without your closest friend for some weeks."

"Weeks…" Mai breathed. "What am I to do in the meantime? I promised the Fire Lord I would keep things in order while he was away, but now-"

"Zuko's High Consult will aid you in my absence. He will offer you the insight you need." The general came forward, taking her hands in his, the letter crinkling into a ball between their interwoven fingers. "This was not the Earth King's doing, I fear. Kuei would not risk jeopardizing the Harmony Restoration Movement in such a quick moment of action."

Mai grunted, pulling her hands away from his. "Doesn't matter much now, does it? If this pirate has taken down two ships, it doesn't matter which nation they came from. The Fire Lord might be a hostage."

"There have been no letters sent out of ransom, but it is a possibility," Iroh sighed heavily.

"Things are far more interesting than they have been in years," Mai smirked, sinking into a plush chair, dangling a bare foot over the side. "The Fire Lord-"

"Will you never call him by his name, my lady?" the general questioned softly. Mai bristled.

I'll call him by his name when he realizes that, all this time, I've been a real person, not just a political statement.

Her amber eyes narrowed, her lips pursed tautly as she replied in a curt manner, "Send me the Fire Lord's consult."

"At once, my dear," Iroh said before bowing deeply, smiling pleasantly up at her. "Forgive me for my words. I will see you in some weeks." Mai waved her hand submissively, rolling her eyes some but in truth, his words were kind and she was hesitant to see him leave. The door closed softly behind him and she could hear his faint humming, getting quieter and quieter until she could hear no more.

She flattened out the crumpled ball of parchment in her hands, reading her fiancé's words once more. Yes, definitely a pirate from the North, all men down, both ships sieged…

Will this be the rest of my life? Plots, treason, lies… Does nobility and fancy dresses outweigh the heresy?

She didn't know, she did not truly know anything for certain at all, but it was a life she had been born into, a life she had further chosen when the Fire Lord asked for her hand. It was all stressful – Agni, if she got wrinkles for this she would have strong words to say to the court physician – and nothing seemed solid. It felt as the wind blew too roughly only once, everything around her would come crashing down in waves of-

Waves.

Water.

She looked at the letter again, sitting on the edge of the chair in revelation. Her fingers shook slightly as her eyes narrowed, scanning the words over and over again to be sure.

And there it was.

A pirate from the North.

Her heart skipped a beat, her head snapping up in startling realization.

"Katara," she whispered.