It's the last one, my dudes.
Day Thirty
Proposal
The moment her feet touched solid earth, Katara promptly fell to her knees and cried.
In the wake of the devastation that was the outcome of the siege of the North, it was all she could really do.
She cried for Aang, who had been taken by the spirits and turned into a monster. She cried for Sokka, who she'd been unable to find in the destruction wrought by the Ocean Spirit. She cried for Yue, who had given her own life so that the Moon Spirit could live again. She cried for the thousands of men and women drowned beneath the icy sea, Fire Nation and Northern Water Tribe alike. And she cried for all the lives that were being snuffed out even now by the boy who had once been her dearest friend.
It had been a week now since the incident that had sparked what was being called the spirits' judgement. Already, two coastal Earth Kingdom towns had been demolished along La's warpath toward the Fire Nation and just about everyone knew on some level that the destruction wouldn't stop there. This was the spirits' retribution for one hundred years of war, they were saying. The massacre of the Northern Water Tribe was proof that no nation was safe.
How had things come to this? Katara tried to rationalize it in her mind but couldn't. A scant seven days ago, she and Aang were being trained by Master Pakku. Sokka was having the time of his life making googly eyes at Princess Yue. Even though they were at war, they were happy. They had each other and they had hope. Now, the world was under siege by a murderous spirit with all the power of the Avatar at its disposal, her brother was missing, and Yue was dead. Katara herself had just barely made it out of the North alive and that was only thanks to Appa refusing to listen to her desperate pleas to turn back.
Exhausted, Katara picked herself back up and scrubbed the tears away. She gave Appa's nose an encouraging pat before grabbing his reins and leading him into a walk. They needed to find food and a place to rest safely.
oOo
Three more towns.
La's fury was being felt the world over as previously calm ocean waters became unsailable and rivers swelled and flooded villages and residences. Ships were snatched by the waves and slammed into ports. People were forced to flee inland to escape the raging tides.
Katara could do little more than use her waterbending to hold off the destruction where she could so that people could get away. In her head she thanked Yue again and again for giving them back the moon because without waterbending they would be truly helpless.
For two weeks now, Katara had travelled up and down the Earth Kingdom's Northern shore hoping to run into any hint of her brother. In her heart, she believed he was still alive. Aang would never let the Ocean Spirit harm him. That's what she told herself as she searched the coastline day in and day out for Water Tribe wreckages.
When four weeks had passed with no sign, though, Katara's optimism began to fade. While she'd discovered a number of washed up Water Tribe vessels, Sokka was nowhere to be found.
Never before had Katara felt so utterly, achingly lonely. Her heart yearned for the return of the peaceful days before the siege. She began to think she would do anything to just see a familiar face, and it was as she was thinking this that she ran, entirely by chance, into the last person she ever expected to see again.
At first, she didn't recognize him. His fierce ponytail was gone, replaced by about a centimeter of freshly sprouted raven hair. Instead of Fire Nation armor or the white snowsuit he'd warn in the North, he was garbed in a mixture of russet and earthy brown. It was only when she saw his face—saw that telltale red comet-scar that marred the left side of his face—that she knew who he was.
At the same time, he saw her. Their eyes met and at once the feeling Katara got was not fear or anger, nor was it suspicion or even irritation. Rather, against all reason, the feeling that lit inside her like a warm stove in the winter was relief.
She'd wanted a familiar face. He would do.
"Zuko," she called to him, her legs carrying her toward him without hesitation. "You survived."
Zuko didn't make any motion to flee. He stood his ground and allowed her to approach him. She could read tiredness in the lines of his face and also a grim resignation.
"I did," he answered matter-of-factly. His tone was soft, not the normally angry and commanding growl she was accustomed to.
It was an odd moment for Katara, talking to Zuko of all people as if he were a friend she hadn't seen in some time. This was a man she'd never actually had a proper conversation with before—the closest thing to one being the few words they'd spoken to each other during their fight in the Spirit Oasis just four weeks prior.
He looked so much smaller now than he did that day.
"It's really over for us, isn't it," she said in a voice as soft as his. "Everything."
The sharp cry of a gull caused her eyes to turn to the point where the cloud-choked, colorless sky met the ocean. The rocky beach they stood upon crunched like bone under the soles of her shoes as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Somewhere beyond that gray horizon, her brother was either fighting for his life or dead at the bottom of the sea. There was no way of knowing which.
The old, familiar burn of tears welled up behind her eyes. Here she was, having a talk with Zuko as if it were the most normal thing in the world while past the ocean the city of her people was in ruins. It really was the end of the world.
The tears spilled over, making hot, salty tracks on her face. She couldn't have stopped them and she didn't try. There was no one here to be strong for. "Sokka… my brother's gone," she spoke through soft sobs. "I don't know where he is."
There was another crunch of rock and shell and then a warm arm appeared around her shoulders. The contact was a surprise, but Katara couldn't even think about the utter ridiculousness of such a gesture from Zuko when her heart was so full of sorrow and despair. There was simply no room in her thoughts to question it.
"Uncle, too," he said in a voice barely above a whisper.
Katara lifted her hands to her face and cupped her palms over her eyes as if by doing so she could block out the misery that surrounded her. For a long time, she and Zuko didn't move. She just continued to cry and Zuko continued to offer his silent comfort. It was funny, she thought somewhere in her mind, how quickly the hard lines of war were scuffed away. Four weeks ago, she and Zuko had been enemies. Now, they were all the other had.
When Katara's sobs had subsided somewhat, Zuko finally spoke again.
"I'm going back," he stated without preamble. His eyes were fixed on the steely waves before them and his brow was set in a determined angle. From her vantage point, Katara could see only his good eye and it was bright with conviction. His golden iris flicked down to look at her and he said, "Do you want to come?"
Katara took a deep, shuddering breath and when she exhaled it was smoother. She touched his hand on her shoulder to tell him she was alright now and he withdrew it. Still holding his gaze, she nodded once, soberly. "Yeah," she answered, injecting some of her own conviction into her tone. "I do."
oO0Oo
Weep not for roads untraveled.
Weep not for sights unseen.
May your love never end,
And if you need a friend,
There's a seat here alongside me.
- Roads Untraveled by Linkin Park
Yeah, that's right. I modeled this whole collection around a song by Linkin Park. Fight me.
Not quite the sort of proposal you were expecting, eh? I had to subvert expectations one last time. For posterity.
I'll bet a lot of you could tell that my inspiration for this final story came from Final Fantasy X. I thought it would be interesting if Koizilla was something more akin to Sin—just a giant unstoppable monster that attacks indiscriminately. Could you imagine if La had never relinquished control of Aang and instead used his power to go on a furious rampage? What a different show that would be. I enjoy exploring these sorts of what-if scenarios.
And with that, Zutara Month 2018 comes to a close. What a ride it's been! I didn't complete every prompt like I wanted to. But 24/30 isn't bad at all. In just over a month I wrote nearly 70k words. That's something to be proud of.
There were so many things I thought I'd say in my final author's note, but now I can't remember any of them. I guess I'll just say thanks for reading. I had a blast and I hope you did too. Maybe I'll see some of you back in my next story, whatever it may be.
Until then, peace!
