Destiny Diverted

Disclaimer: Avatar:the Last Airbender duly belongs to Bryke. The Lord of the Rings belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien. The movies result from the vision of Peter Jackson. No profit is made from this story other than the sheer gratification of reviews. And there is no way in Hell that I can write even a fraction as well as J.R.R. Tolkien, so no very high expectations of writing quality, please.

NOTE: Forgive the delay. Needless to say, I've been busy. But I am delighted that there are those who have shown interest in this crazy story.

As I mentioned, I'm using the movies as references, for as much as I love Tolkien's work, I am not as well-versed in Middle-Earth lore as I would like to be. And I'm trying to keep this story less academic. Although I do have the book beside me as I write, maybe to serve as inspiration and to try and give me some words when I am at a loss.

It's also a bit difficult to shift from perspectives but just trust that most of the time, the story shall be from Zuko and Katara's perspective. It's too difficult to have to write all the characters of LOTR.

Just enjoy the journey, I guess. After all, it's a whimsical plot, at best.

CHAPTER ONE

They rode fast and hard upon the steeds Gandalf had provided them when they had first arrived in Middle-Earth through the strange portal. Zuko and Katara were both unaccustomed to riding horses but the creatures were used to having riders and carried them with ease and expertise. The two benders had only to hold on tight as they traveled across the vast plains of Middle-Earth.

The moment the two benders had set foot on that strange land, any lingering doubts they had about the mysterious old man dissipated. They instinctively knew that they were in a different world. And it helped that both of them had traveled extensively around their own world to be able to know that they were somewhere else.

There had been little time to explain the entire situation to them when they had first arrived. The old wizard seemed to have some more urgent business to attend to and apologized about not being able to accompany them to their destination. Apparently, he still needed to gather more reinforcements for the battle ahead although he was glad that he would be able to send the two benders to help while he continued his search.

Gandalf assured them that the horses would take them safely to where they needed to go. He told them that as soon as they met his other friends, more would be explained to them about what they had gotten themselves involved in.

He handed them each a note to present to the people they would meet. One was to be shown first to a man called Aragorn, while the other was to be given to a king, Theoden.

"I am sorry that I cannot acquaint you both with the complexity of the circumstances," the wizard told them gravely, "there is so much even I do not understand about it."

Zuko and Katara looked at each other in puzzlement. But the wizard quickly snapped out of his reverie.

"For now the least you need to know is this," Gandalf continued in a more urgent tone, "you have arrived in Rohan, home of the horse-lords, a country in the midst of a terrible war. You are, no doubt, familiar with such circumstances."

The two benders nodded and listened attentively.

"The king has taken his people to the ancient refuge of Helm's Deep," Gandalf told them, "where he believes he leads them to safety. But formidable fortress though that is, even greater than Ba Sing Se, it may not stand a chance against the might of the dark host that is coming."

"We shall do everything we can to help," Katara reassured him.

"The defenses must hold until I return," Gandalf warned them.

"They will as long as we stand and breathe," Zuko said.

Gandalf sighed with relief. Already the two were showing a conviction to their purpose that was exceeding his expectations. All the better.

"You shall be able to use your bending even here in Middle-Earth," Gandalf explained, "but I would advise you to reserve your strength for the battles that lie ahead. I shall protect you as much as I can, however, for a shadow hangs above this very land, one that not even the greatest of benders can defeat.

They looked at him apprehensively. A fear had settled on their hearts as he spoke and both only seemed to realize that the darkness that was slowly engulfing this land was worse than any they had ever encountered in their own world. It was a frightening thought, to say the least.

"You will have to trust one another in this journey," Gandalf instructed them, "and cast aside any differences you might have had before coming here. I have tarried too long. Ride to Helm's Deep and I wish you well!"

With these words, the old man rode off on his steed, Shadowfax, and within moments he was far away from them. They watched him in awe, wondering at the strength and energy of one who was surely old indeed.

Zuko remembered his Uncle while Katara recalled her waterbending master, Pakku, and crazy King Bumi of Omashu. Silently, both wondered if they would ever be as strong when they reached ripe old age.

But there was no time to dilly-dally. The horses neighed, as if to remind them to make haste. They looked at each other uncertainly.

But both were well aware that whatever doubts they had about each other, it was time to shed these now. In a different world, away from all that they knew, they had only each other to depend on to survive. Zuko was more willing to trust Katara. She looked at him with slight hesitation yet decided to take her chances with him. She had no choice.

They rode forward and fast, hoping that they would not encounter anything untoward before they reached their destination.

Fortunately, Gandalf had used some of his power to protect them as they traveled. Zuko and Katara did not know it but the light of the White Wizard shielded them from the shadow that insidiously crept across the land. They passed hidden and temporarily unnoticed by Saruman as they made their way to the ancient refuge.

They spoke little to each other as they traveled although both were growing more and more curious about the other as they went on, Katara especially. She was unaccustomed to travel in such quiet company and there really was something different about Zuko since the last time they had seen each other.

Exactly how much had he changed and what had prompted such a transformation? There was so much she wanted to know, but she had not the courage to pursue such questions. Not yet.

Now that she had the opportunity to dwell on the situation, she realized that for all the time that she knew of Prince Zuko, there was so little she really knew about him.

The same went for him, though he was easily silent about this. He had also been pondering the strange direction his destiny had taken ever since he had decided to forge a path of his own. He wondered what lay ahead of them and questioned why, of all people, Katara was to be his companion?

He realized that he was not too averse to her company, and he was surprised that she seemed to trust him easily in spite of all he had done to her and her friends in the past. She looked at him kindly, whenever he caught her looking at him, although she would quickly look away in slight embarrassment. He felt comforted by her trust.

But they were civil to each other all throughout, and were little by little learning more about the other. They both agreed that they had no idea what to expect once they arrived but only hoped they would be welcomed in spite of their sudden and strange appearance.

They were both determined to do as much as they could to help Gandalf and all the people in need in the new world. Besides, whatever they would do would also serve as much needed battle practice, which was always useful. If they could emerge stronger out of this experience, then it would truly be a profitable one.

"What do you see?" the heir of Gondor asked of his Elven comrade, whose keen eyes were directed towards the horizon. Aragorn saw that his friend was gazing intently into the distance. Aragorn had only just arrived and warned the king of the great numbers of their enemy.

Were the forces of Isengard upon them already?

Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, son of Gloin, stood together on the ramparts of Helm's Deep, preparing for the battle they all knew would come, Saruman's forces coming forth from the darkness of the mountains.

"Two are approaching, beings I have never before seen in my long life," the Elf replied in calm puzzlement, "they are from the race of Men, and yet, hold a power that no man in this world has ever yielded."

"Are they minions of Saruman?" Gimli asked in concern.

"It does not seem so," Legolas shook his head and both Aragorn and Gimli sighed with relief.

"They are covered in a bright light, one that banishes the shadows," Legolas continues, "I believe Gandalf has sent them to aid us."

"In that case, we must welcome them ourselves," Aragorn said.

Helm's Deep was certainly grander than Ba Sing Se, and as the two horses stopped in front of the gates, Zuko and Katara knew that they had reached their destination. It was heavily guarded by large men in heavy armor and these guards looked down at them suspiciously.

"Well, what do we do now?" Katara asked Zuko, her hand at her gourd.

"We look for this Aragorn fellow or at least mention Gandalf's name," Zuko answered.

But they did not wait long for a welcome. Soon they noticed that three figures had approached them from outside the gate. Instinctively, the benders moved closer to each other, almost back to back, ready to fight if it was necessary. But they were also curious as to what kind of people they would meet in this new world. The two parties observed each other carefully.

There was a short, stocky, bearded fellow, who had a great axe on his side. The other was a tall, slender, pale young man with long, flowing fair hair, strangely long ears, and a certain mystique about him. And the other was a bearded man with long hair and a weather-beaten face, and yet an air of majesty about him that Zuko immediately recognized.

Meanwhile, the benders were also being considered. The two were younger than Legolas had expected and seemed almost like children compared to the three companions. But there was no ill-will in their eyes, one pair blue as the ocean and the other golden as the sunlight.

"Greetings, travelers," the tall, bearded man spoke, "what brings foreigners so far to seek refuge in Helm's Deep?"

"Gandalf has sent us," Zuko spoke, "we come to help in the fighting and to hold the defenses of this fortress."

"We have a message from him," Katara added, "one for someone called Aragorn, and another for King Theoden. Could you take us to them please?"

The three companions looked at each other before answering, considering the words of the strangers. But Aragorn and Legolas felt no negative energy coming from the two and they knew that Gandalf's name was not one to be used so lightly.

"I am Aragorn," the man introduced himself, "and this is Legolas Greenleaf and Gimli, Son of Gloin. We are friends of Gandalf and so we welcome you as friends as well. Have no fear."

Zuko and Katara sighed with relief and dropped their guard. Again, they were following their instincts and somehow felt that these three were definitely to be trusted. Recollecting themselves, they gave their names as well.

"I am Katara of the Southern Water Tribe," the waterbender began, "and this is Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation."

"Just Zuko," the firebender corrected, much to Katara's surprise, "I've been banished. It's a long story."

Aragorn looked at the young man with interest and a feeling of affinity. He also sensed that the large scar on the stranger's face had something to do with all of this. But he would have to wait to find out.

"Well, how this whole war came about also is a long story," Gimli told them with a friendly grin.

"A very long story, indeed," Legolas added with a grave smile. Somehow, Zuko and Katara felt at ease with these three, even if they had only just met.

Katara was also still wondering about Zuko's incredible introduction of himself. More and more was she beginning to see him in a different light, and this humility had taken her very much by surprise. And although she knew parts of his long story, she suddenly found herself eager to know more.

"Hopefully we will have time for it later," Aragorn told them, "for now, welcome, Zuko and Katara to Helm's Deep. We shall take you to the king. There is no time to waste."

As the two newcomers were taken through the labyrinthine passages of the fortress, they marveled at its grand and imposing structure, one that rivaled Ba Sing Se herself. But this fortress seemed to them far older, and far stronger.

"And to think that all this was built with no earthbending," Katara said in astonishment, as she looked about her, "these people must have some sort of power that has helped them survive."

"I think even just the will to live would be enough to strengthen anyone," Zuko replied. He too was amazed at all that he was seeing but there was something else that weighed on his mind the more he considered the circumstances.

"What worries me," he whispered to Katara (who was surprised at his confiding in her), "is that even if these people have such a great and sturdy fortress, Gandalf believes that the defenses might not hold. That he would still seek out reinforcements for such a place as this worries me further. Why should they be unable to defend themselves?"

Katara looked at him with concern. He really seemed to be giving serious thought to their circumstances and she agreed with his assessment.

They shuddered to imagine what kind of enemy was coming that had the power to shake such a rich country, to break a seemingly impenetrable fortress.

But Katara would not let fear claim her. She put a hand reassuringly on Zuko's shoulder.

"But we've come here help, haven't we?" she told him, "and we'll make sure everyone here is safe."

He looked at her in surprise but nodded, relieved at her positive outlook. She had somehow pulled him out of the shadows.

Later on, when all the introductions and necessary explanations were given, at least from Zuko and Katara's part, the king considered them carefully. He did not know how much these two people could contribute to their defenses but he trusted them. Even if they were foreigners, they did not seem to be spies of the enemy. And Theoden was not so foolish as to refuse any help that arrived. After all, Gandalf would not have sent these two to help if they were incapable of significantly doing so.

Zuko and Katara were relieved to be welcomed in the presence of the people of Rohan. They discovered that Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli were not from that country and had another greater mission to fulfill. But the details weren't clear to them yet. There was so much to be acquainted with and all the new information threatened to overwhelm them more than any of the battles they had been involved with.

But they struggled to make sense of it all, and also to remember the names of the people they met in the fortress. Zuko was eager to speak more with Aragorn who was revealed to be the heir to the throne of a kingdom of men, but who had spent a lot of his life as a wandering Ranger. Katara, for her part, was glad to meet the king's nephew, Eowyn, a shield maiden of Rohan. There weren't a lot of women with position in Helm's Deep, and Katara admired how Eowyn was also trained for battle.

And Katara noticed the glances Eowyn threw at Aragorn every now and then. The waterbender suspected she would have something interesting to observe while not in battle, although Katara also noted that the tall man did not seem to return the feelings of the other.

But Eowyn had been given the task of minding the women and children and it upset her that she should not be able to join in the fighting. Katara felt for her.

There was so much to talk about, to explain, and to understand about what was happening. And yet, the time was severely limited. Aragorn did his best to explain all as simply as he could, to at least prepare them for the fight ahead.

The benders were trying to figure out what role they could play in a seemingly formidable battle, and what exactly they would be up against.

The benders listened as Aragorn and the others explained the nature of their enemies and of the war. Apparently, they would be fighting against hideous beings that were not quite human and whose name both found difficult to pronounce. But these creatures would come in numbers far greater than theirs and would surely bring enough dangerous weapons to try and destroy the fortress, which also sheltered women and children.

As the discussions wore on, an inevitable question was raised by Theoden, the answer to which all were eager to know.

"If I may ask," the good king began, "what powers do you two possess that make you such formidable warriors in your world?"

Zuko and Katara looked at each other knowingly, and though they still weren't such close friends, there was an air of complicity between them. It was time to show what they could do.

Before anything, they needed to give their new friends a short background of the world they came from and of the Four Nations that comprised it. They briefly and simply explained the concept of bending elements to the eagerly listening Aragorn and the others.

Theoden and his court were amazed and impressed at what they heard, although some were still skeptical.

"Admirable powers indeed," Aragorn praised the two benders, "and not to be taken lightly."

But Zuko and Katara could see that the others were still dubious about their claims so the two benders decided to give a short demonstration.

Clearing some space between them, Zuko and Katara began to show their powers.

First, Katara opened the gourd of water that never left her side and began to bend it into various forms. But she saw that even the mere control of the water was already amazing to the eyes of her audience. She began to bend the water into her favorite weapons, a water whip, and frozen blades.

"This is but a small part of what I can do with a little amount of water," she explained, "but if I have access to more, then, I can put up a greater fight."

This offer was considered greatly and the others were glad to inform her that there were sources of water within and around Helm's Deep, from the bottom drains and the moat-like enclosure at the base. She was free to use this to fight, if necessary.

Katara also explained that she had healing powers, a feat which impressed the others further and which would prove to be most helpful.

"If the fighting gets very difficult," Aragorn advised, "we might have to pull you out to tend to the wounded."

"I will do everything I can to save them," Katara promised.

After impressing the king and his companions, Katara stepped aside and it was Zuko's turn to exhibit his talent. Taking a deep breath, the firebender summoned a small flame to his hand and played around with it for a few moments. The fact that he had created his own fire already elicited gasps from the others and so the young prince proceeded to a demonstration of the various forms he could make with his fire (although he limited his display to small-scale ones that would not frighten the people around him.)

"And can you handle a sword?" King Theoden asked of the firebender.

Zuko nodded with a smile and described the kind of blades he was accustomed to fighting with. It was an unusual style of combat but there was an extensive armory in the fortress. Zuko was assured that he would find weapons similar to what he was used to once he surveyed those available.

Again, the denizens of the Deep were impressed by such power, and all of them were relieved to have two such allies to strengthen their defenses. They knew not what horrors Saruman would send to destroy them and so were thankful for this unexpected aid.

But the hours were passing quickly, and so much more needed to be organized. Trusting in the new arrivals, Theoden left them in the care of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli while he continued readying his soldiers for the coming attack.

As the final preparations were made in haste, and all able-bodied men were sent to the armory, Zuko and Katara further realized the gravity of the situation. They saw the kind of men who were being given weapons, who were being asked to fight. At one point, Aragorn and Legolas seemed to have some sort of disagreement and both spoke quickly in a foreign tongue. Zuko could guess what they were arguing about.

Having heard that they would be up against an army of ten thousand ruthless, bloodthirsty monsters, the two benders grew very worried indeed. These people were not their people, and yet the two strangers felt their pain, and were just as determined to protect them from the coming horrors.

During the preparation, Katara watched carefully as Zuko practiced with the swords he found in the armory. They were not exactly those he always used but these were the closes blades he could dig up that suited his style. He was serious as ever, and yet not the same angry, obsessed young prince who had been chasing the Avatar. But he was still focused and disciplined, determined to achieve his goal. And she found that she admired that in him, and that it was something they shared in common.

"Wow," she told him, "you don't seem at all daunted by what we're up against. I'm scared to death."

"Are you kidding?" he replied, sheathing his swords, "I'm terrified. I just figured that it won't do to show them how bothered we are about this. They're all just as scared as we are."

"You're right," Katara answered, "we need to boost their morale as much as we can."

He nodded. They were speaking to each other more frequently now, and he found he enjoyed their conversations, even if he would never have imagined things to turn out that way several weeks ago.

"I never thought I'd be saying this to you," Katara said with a small smile, "but this situation is one I could never have expected. Zuko, no matter what kind of monsters we have to face come nightfall, I want you to remember that we're in this together."