Of Nightmares and Daydreams: Katara

A/N: The flashbacks have officially ended. This means that this is post-ulterior motives. I decided not to do the confrontation bit because well…I'm trying to catch up with the show.

And just to warn you, the next three chapters (besides this one) will revolve around dreams.

Enjoy!

What I dream of is an art of balance.
--Henry Matisse

"Four days?! The invasion is in four days?" Aang asked, a look of panic on his face.

Sokka yawned. "Whatever. That's like, four days from now. Let's just calm down and—"

The boy fell down his sleeping bag and began to snore. Katara smiled briefly. "Sokka's got the right idea, Aang. We're here, we're ready. The best thing we can do now is get some rest."

"I guess." He said skeptically. At the corner of his eyes, he noticed that Azula still hadn't fixed her bedroll yet. "Aren't you going to sleep, Sifu Re—I mean, Sifu Azula?"

His teacher looked distract as ever. "Perhaps later."

Katara rolled her eyes inwardly and pulled the blanket over her shoulders. The girl was always like that; staying awake while the rest of them slept. Once, Sokka admitted to feigning sleep in the hopes of catching the firebender doing something spy-like. Of course, his actions had gone to waste; all Azula ever did was watch the moon or meditate.

Burrowing her face against the soft grass, she closed her eyes and made herself comfortable. I wonder what I should cook for breakfast tomorrow…

Katara stumbled and fell to her knees. Looking up, she squinted hard and tried to make out her surroundings. Where am I?

The beat of drums was heard in the distance. Katara stood up and tried to follow the sound in the hopes of finding someone who could tell her where she was. The urgency of this did not surprise her; it felt like she was looking for the answer to this question all this time.

Her hand brushed against the rough surface of the wall, giving her the impression that she was in a cave. A couple more steps later led her to a forked path. There were two signs, one pointing to the left with the word 'right' painted on it and a sign which pointed to her right but clearly said it was left.

"Oh dear. I shall be too late!"

Katara turned and saw, to her amazement, Momo running towards her in a samurai suit. The winged-lemur was carrying a pocket-watch in one of its hands while the other was holding a short katana.

"Excuse me, my dear, but you are blocking the way," he screeched and tripped. Pulling himself up, he brushed off the dust on his clothes and looked at Katara expectantly.

"Oh, right," she said and moved to accommodate the lemur's request. Dazed, she watched the lemur run towards the left path labeled 'right.'

Suddenly, Momo stopped. "We will all be late!" He declared and sheathed his katana. Giving a sharp whistle, he jumped and did a back flip before landing on a miniature version of Appa who had popped out of nowhere.

"Yippers! To the West, my friend," Momo said and grabbed Appa's reins. The two disappeared into the dark.

Katara was about to follow them when the beat of drums she had been hearing earlier came back and became even more insistent. She headed for the right path.

The warm glow of torches welcomed her as she stepped into a large circular part of the cave. Letting her gaze drift around the place, she froze.

Standing in front of her was another Katara, her arms and legs spread out in a bending position. Aang and the others were also there, dancing to a tuneless song, their faces in varying degrees of happiness. Before she could react, she found herself in this other Katara's position. Slowly, she shifted her stance and felt the power of her bending come alive.

Her friends. She was controlling them, making them dance to a song; a song of waves crashing against the sand, a song of ice in frozen melancholy, and the song of blood in battle.

This control. It was an art, a masterpiece. She enjoyed it, responded to its desire to overwhelm. Every twitch, every movement was hers to decide. It was exhilarating.

…and it was wrong.

All of it was wrong. How could she? It was bad. Evil. She didn't deserve this power. This power shouldn't exist. No one should exist. A slight movement of the wrist and it would be all over; they'd all be dead, their hearts squeezed out. No more people to worry about. No more people to look after.

This is wrong too. Everything is wrong. Momo speaking like that is wrong. Killing is wrong. The Fire Lord is wrong. Azula is wrong. Aang burning is wr—

Why is he on fire? Did dancing too much do that to him? Katara tried to stop but couldn't. Twisting her neck, she saw Hana standing behind her, a look of utter glee planted on her face.

Why can't she stop Hana? She did it once, didn't she? She was more powerful than Hana. Struggling, she called forth the rest of her power and forced Hana to release her. Hana's face changed into that of her own.

Swish.

"We have to tell them some day, you know."

A voice. Familiar and unfamiliar. Like an old friend she hadn't talked to in a couple of years.

"We will," she heard herself promise. "Some day."

She looked up from the map she was holding and smiled. A young woman stood in front of her, wearing a dark green tunic and black pants. She still looked the same; her hair still covered most of her face and her green eyes were as pale as ever. She blinked. "You're wearing boots, love?"

Toph lifted a boot and grinned. "The lower part is made of metal so I can still feel the ground. It's supposed to help keep the sounds from growing too loud."

What sounds?

Katara moved to her feet, concerned. "I thought the cactus juice was enough to subdue those. Are you still hearing them?"

Cactus juice?

"Sometimes," Toph said and shrugged. "Cactus juice is temporary after all. I needed something a bit more…permanent." She gave the waterbender a bitter smile. "It's my price to pay for being the most powerful earthbender in the world."

Price to pay? What's going? What has happened? And did I just call Toph love?

She touched the earthbender's shoulder and pushed the young woman's hair aside. "Don't your feet get cold?" She inquired softly. "Because of the metal?"

"They do," Toph admitted. "Why? What are you implying?" She asked, her tone gave the slightest hint of suggestive.

"Oh Toph," Katara giggled. "Everything you say always comes out as innuendo these days."

"Is it working?"

Are we flirting?

She gave the younger woman a brief kiss, teasing her. "Maybe."

Swish.

It was cold again. Not the South Pole kind though; she would know if it was.

Her feet were moving on their own accord, and that's when she realized the body she carried wasn't hers this time. For one thing, her feet were smaller than usual. Her skin was also lighter and…were those white pigtails?

Yue walked down the steps from the Palace in time to see Katara fighting with a young waterbender of the North Pole. The younger girl's movements were fluid, and Yue couldn't help but admire this bender's form.

She felt her heart beat a little louder, as it did whenever Sokka, Katara's older brother, was around. She closed her eyes in distress, and tried to calm herself. Not again. Please. She was already confused enough as it is.

"Princess Yue!" A voice greeted her from behind. Sokka ran to her side and gave her a huge grin. "What're you doing here?"

"Just watching," she said and gave a small smile back.

"Yeah, sometimes, I envy my sister too," he said and sighed. "It's not everyday you see a girl kicking everyone else's butt." The smile returned to his face, "Do you want to go and, I don't know, do something today?"

Yue faked a yawn. "Not today, Sokka; I'm still tired from last night's festivities."

He pouted. "Alright. Will I be seeing you later?" He sounded hopeful.

Yue shrugged. "I don't know. I-I better go."

"Is it…because of the engagement?"

She walked on. No. It's more than that. It's these feelings. They...I don't understand them anymore. It was bad enough that I fell for you. Worse still…

She had reached her room. Closing the door behind her, she slid down the floor and hugged her knees. "I thought I was in love with you, Sokka. I didn't know I was in love with your sister."

Katara opened her eyes and gasped for air. She moved into a sitting position and grabbed her head. Those dreams… Her eyes flickered briefly at Toph's sleeping form before she looked up at the moon. Did you mean what you said, Yue?
A/N: First of all, I won't explain the dreams until after Day of the Black Sun. And only because I don't want to hand out spoilers. Haha. (That dancing bit was inspired from the musical ep from Buffy)

Also, I don't remember those last few eps from the 1st season so I'm sorry if the timeline is messed up. Yay for one-sided Yue/Katara and dream!Toph/Katara. I'm still not changing the pairings though.

Oh! And from last chapter, Toph isn't really part of the Order of the White Lotus. That's from an alternate universe in Azula's dreams. Just so you know.