A/N: If it makes any of you feel any better, I'm not keeping up with my vlog either. Sorry about it. Enjoy the feels.
Healed and Hunted
History Repeats
Chapter 41
Mushi
It is two old men in a helicopter, one younger and talking, the older sitting and thinking. They are going to see a young woman today, to whom they must deliver bad news. They know this news will devastate her, and that when she hears it, there will be nothing they can say to make it better. They know she hasn't heard it yet, because no one has heard it.
Sure, the internet was abuzz, and there were crappy cell phone videos posted, but nothing significant. And the President himself had called a press meeting. He was briefing the entire media right now, as they were flying. They had to get ahead of the announcement, so they had borrowed this aircraft. While it seems petty, the President had graciously allowed, insisted actually, that they do this.
It is two in the afternoon when they land. She is out to greet them, confused but happy to see them.
She doesn't know.
Her father asks to go inside, he wants a cup of coffee he says. The younger man looks to the older, and they both hear the silent request for something perhaps a bit stronger than coffee. Quite a bit stronger, in fact. There are a lot of things to say and no right way to say them.
"His plane should be landing any minute now. I'm surprised you aren't at the airport, Uncle." She is saying, happily chatting away as she leads them inside and down stairs. While she makes no obvious movement, she is supporting him and helping him down the stairs. Such a sweet girl, nervous and suspicious but content to be patient.
She doesn't know.
They enter what looks like a break room, or a lounge, and there are televisions everywhere, powered off and dusty. It doesn't look like anyone's been in this room for anything more than passing.
The younger man starts to brew coffee, back turned to his poor daughter.
Minutes pass as they wait for the pot, listening awkwardly to its wheezing and dripping. Each second, he can see her looking between them, hiding the worry away, but growing more frightened as the clock ticks. When the coffee is done, three cups are poured and drank in silence.
Her phone buzzes, and her face lights up.
"Sokka? Hey, is his phone broken? He hasn't answered since-" her voice stops instantly, then, "I understand."
She only thinks she knows.
"He's been delayed, hasn't he?" That seems to satisfy her worry. Her shoulders eased a bit.
Her father clears her throat, unsure of what to say. Suddenly, the elder finds the words. He doesn't know where they come from, but they flow steadily and she allows him to finish before reacting. It isn't, he thinks, what either of them expect.
It is war, in Russia. War against Inheritors. Literal and real concentration camps, murders at random, homes and towns burning. Children being snatched from their beds at night, left in the streets by morning, cold and terrible examples of human brutality.
It came from nowhere. The laws passed, and the world sat in stunned silence. No one believed this would happen again, not like this, not so soon after the Second World War
She doesn't know, yet, the worst.
"I'll pack my bags." She is on her feet. There aren't any tears, no shaking voice. No hesitation.
The worst comes from her father. He tells her that, yes, her fiancé is missing. But that is not the worst. The worst is that she must stay here, in this prison, because it is being handed over to her. It is hers, with guidelines to follow, but hers. If she leaves, the students will be given to someone else. Someone who doesn't care half as much about them.
He sees in her eyes the fight that was surely warring.
Save the children, or save Lee?
He extends his hand, to comfort or to beg her to stay, he doesn't know, but when he touches her she jumps back as if he had burned her. Her eyes go cloudy, and she stares into the floor because she has already made her decision. She cannot meet his eyes, because the choice was made a long time ago.
She is saving the children, because Lee was strong enough to save himself.
He wondered briefly if she hated herself for it. When their eyes met, and she smiled, he knew the answer to that. And he would never tell another soul.
Aang
He watches the press release with bated breath. This would be a defining moment in history. His history, American history, world history. The overall message was nothing short of threatening and hopeful.
This nation, the President challenged, had battled against itself for so long, fearing Inheritors. And this was the path that this nation was following. Would we, he asked, stand against hate, or for it?
As Commander in Chief, he urged Congress to declare a state of war. This was tyranny, he preached, and the longer it took to decide a course of action, the more lives were lost. Innocent lives that could be saved.
For himself, Aang had given another speech entirely.
He was going to Russia, and the new Prime Minister would learn what it is to fear. This genocide would not stand, and Aang was going to do this with or without assistance from the political superpowers of this world.
He hadn't heard from Kat since the release hit. He called her before, and all she said to him was, "Be safe, Aang."
She didn't ask him to look for Lee. Didn't demand that her fiancé be found. Frankly, it struck him as odd. She should have offered to go with him, but when he asked her if she was coming, she said that she'd taken a job at that school, and that she couldn't leave at the moment.
When he asked Toph what she thought, she had no answer.
Watching himself on TV was always strange, but at the moment he was glad. He wanted it broadcast to every corner of this planet. The Avatar was back-not some modern day Ava carrying an olive branch-and he would uphold balance. Aang was going to do something he had never wanted to do, and he was going to do it gladly.
He was going to kill a great many people.
It should have troubled him, and were he a child, perhaps he would have rethought his actions. But he is tired of talking, and while peace has always been his goal, this sort of thing will not go unpunished. There is a picture of a young girl broken and dead on the curb, taken by spies who were currently gathering information, crunched in his fist, and he is prepared to step into the shoes of his fore-souls.
Toph says she will join him as soon as her hands are healed and she can be of some use. He hopes to end this insanity before then.
His thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the door, and when he opens it he couldn't be more surprised. Long black hair and porcelain skin, just like her daughter. Before the woman even says anything, Aang invites her in.
Lee
When he wakes up, he thinks it was all a strange dream. He is going to the airport today. But he can smell dirt and rust, and he knows better. His eyes open and he can't focus on anything for a few moments. He was on the ground, staring at-was that a fence?
He jolts up.
The world he sees is grey and brown and dismal, and the people match the landscape. No one is looking at him for a moment. He tastes iron in his mouth.
"Easy, you've been asleep for a while," an old voice says in tired Russian. At first, he thinks it is his Uncle, but when he looks, he sees that it was just an old man with kind eyes. Whoever he was, he seemed to be in charge. People were looking to the old man, watching to see what was going on.
"Where am I?" He wanted to know. After all, he was supposed to be home by now.
The old man sighed, "We're not sure. All we do know is that we are prisoners, and there is no escape."
Sokka
Three months fly by. The baby is born, and Katara doesn't even come to see it. They name their daughter Alison Kya Ulva, after his mother. Honestly, she's wonderful. The baby sleeps well, though there are times when Sokka doesn't know which way is up. Kyoshi, god bless, has been a great help.
With the war going on, Sokka and his family decided to move to D.C., where they could do the most good. Aang took Appa overseas, so there was no need for them to stay in Texas any longer.
Kat doesn't answer her phone anymore. She doesn't call. She hasn't so much as sent an email in the past three months, and Sokka can't help but worry. They were all afraid for Lee.
Aang was liberating concentration camps left and right, but still there was no sign of him. With each day that passed, Sokka's hope that Lee was alive faded. He could only imagine what Katara was going through.
Toph had since left to join Aang on the battlefield, though her bending had not returned. Her hands were healed, and she sent emails all the time, but she was mostly there for support. Aang had been very certain of himself in the beginning of this war- and still was, mind you- but the young man had been unprepared for the cost.
The battle for Inheritor civil rights had been won almost overnight, after the war was declared. People were surprised at the hatred emanating from the new regime in Russia, and those who had remained silent finally stepped forward, motions were passed and laws were righted.
It was one good thing that had come of this war.
Suki was staying home with Alice and Kyoshi for now, while Sokka busied himself with civil cases and reparations.
They watch the news after Kyoshi goes to sleep every night. His daughter knew what was going on, and had started trying to help at her school. She organized canned food drives, toy and clothing donations. For such a small girl, she kept moving. Her new school was nothing but supportive of her actions, and the teachers were more than glad to help do all of the official business while Kyoshi paraded around gathering allies.
But he knows she misses Kat and Aang and Toph more than anything. They don't talk about Lee anymore. From outside her door at night, Sokka can hear his daughter praying for Lee. He was becoming nothing more than words and memories.
He calls Katara again, hoping she will answer her phone.
She doesn't, so he leaves a message. He knows she at least deletes them, because he's left enough to have filled her inbox. She doesn't ever call back, but he hopes that hearing someone's voice helps her.
Azula
She meets her brother every day at the fence that divides them. They reach through and hold hands for brief moments, human contact temporarily driving away the fear and loneliness. He has such strong hands.
There are children in these camps, and both she and her brother try to do what they can to help. She has never been the most affectionate person, but sometimes the children sit in her lap and cry while she holds them and pets their hair. She has seen her brother doing the same.
They have been split by gender, and she is somewhat glad for that. While she wishes she could actually touch her brother, dealing with the complications of mixed-gender prisons was not something she felt like doing. It was easy, she thought, for people to develop affections during stressful times. And, with those affections came pregnancies and communicable diseases. It was better for the younger girls to have this separation.
She is the oldest one in her camp, while in the male camp there are several elderly people that remind her of her Uncle Iroh. There were barely enough blankets to go around, but they made it work. Younger children had been paired off with older ones, in some cases their siblings.
There was a set of twins that were divided just as she and Lee were.
There is no news from the outside world. Zuko seems to think that there is war, and she agrees with him, but does not share his belief that they will be saved by some Ava who appeared after a four hundred year absence. He also thinks his fiancé will come to rescue him, though he says he wants her to stay in the States. It is too dangerous for her here, and chances are she would simply be captured.
Azula sees her reflection in the water she was using to cook, and has to pause. She has lost so much weight that she hardly recognized herself. Her hair was tied behind her, but she could see it was brittle and dry. There were other things to worry about, though, than how she looked.
There had been two escape attempts from the male prisoners this week, and the retaliation had not been pleasant. Their captors had come in and killed eighteen men and had severely beaten a larger portion of them. One of which was her brother.
He was more bruise than skin today, and he had said that he thought he'd cracked a rib. His lower lip was split and he was missing a fingernail. She doesn't want to think about how it had become removed.
Zuko manages to smile at her, though. How he does that, she cannot understand. He has never once confided in her his fears or misgivings. When she begins to wonder if they'll survive, he smiles and reassures her.
It was nice to have someone who cared.
When they meet that night, they are both distracted by the moon.
"Do you believe in spirits, Azula?"
She blinks her surprise, "I… I don't know."
"Kat does. She told me that the reason the Ava could bend all the elements was because he was connected to the spirit world. Once, she told me she knew the spirit of the moon. Said her brother was dating the girl who turned into the moon."
It sounded crazy.
"I think about that all the time. It's a nice idea, I guess. That life doesn't end here. I'd like to think that the last time I saw Kat won't be the end. If it is, I want there to be a spirit world. So I can go find her and tell her not to worry anymore." He rests against the wires, ignoring the sharper bits that were surely digging into his back.
Azula watched him for a moment before saying, "Are you afraid of not seeing her again?"
"Everything was looking up. We were both going to be free, her family was safe, we were going to get married. I wanted a family with her. I wanted a big family. Lots of kids, even though neither of us had really great parents. That all seems like a distant dream now. We got lost in our own lives, and the rest of the world got in the way. It's not that I'm afraid of dying. I'm afraid of leaving her alone."
"She has her family, you know." Azula was trying to cheer him up. What else could she do to reassure him of anything but tell him the truth? If his fear was that she would be alone, she would provide what comfort she could.
He shook his head, "Not like that. Kat had trouble trusting for the longest time, and with good reason. She didn't let people close, because all anyone had ever done was hurt and abandon her. She took a chance with me, and it changed us both. I'm afraid of her losing faith, both in the world and in me. I need her, Azula. Her belief that I could be better was what saved me. And right now, it's the only thing keeping me from losing my own faith."
Azula turned her head from him, to hide her tears. She had thought that she was completely out of tears by this point, but it turns out she wasn't. These tears were not for herself, and perhaps that's why they were different. These tears were for her brother, who had so much reason to cry but didn't.
"It probably sounds weird, but I know she hasn't given up on me just yet. I can feel it." He was saying. His voice was misty, the way it always was when he was talking about her. Azula wished she knew her better, so that she could understand why her brother loved that woman.
"I hope she finds you soon." Azula said, somehow managing to keep her hopelessness out of her voice. She didn't believe anyone was coming to save them. But for her brother's sake, she could pretend.
Kat
She is an Inheritor. A water bender. She has never feared drowning, nor experienced what is like. But she imagined it was something like this. Like sound took forever to travel to her ears, like no matter what she did, she was moving slowly. She felt as though weight was pushing in on her from all sides, crushing her into oblivion, keeping her lungs from taking in a full breath of air. There was no light. No warmth. Nothing and no one around her.
There are random intervals where she becomes aware that time has passed. At first, it is days that pass without notice. Then, when it has been two weeks, she is almost surprised into feeling something again. But she falls back under the tides, and time is forgotten.
Months pass. She listens to her brother's messages, but doesn't really understand the words. The tone is deafened by the sound of her heartbreak. The only voice that cuts through the fog is Aang, who calls her with war updates.
Hey Kat, moving on to the next concentration camp. Hey Kat, Toph moved a rock today. Hey Kat, captured another ring leader today.
Hey Kat, still no sign of Lee.
She was so blank that thinking his name didn't even hurt. Granted, she still avoided it. She hated the emptiness that was associated with him. It should hurt, and it didn't. It should have killed her, but somehow the days passed.
The weeks, the months. A year.
Sokka had never stopped calling, even though she hadn't returned a phone call since her father and Lee's Uncle were here. She hadn't seen her family, she realized with a jolt, in almost a whole year.
She picks up the phone, hesitating briefly. Thirty minutes pass, even though it feels like seconds. She press the third key, speed dialing her brother. She hasn't had the heart to change Lee from the first. It is a small way of holding on.
"Hello?" He asks, voice neutral and blank.
"Sokka?"
A laugh, "Thought it was you. When are you coming home? My kids miss you."
Kids. He'd said kids. Oh god. She hadn't even met Kyoshi's sister. Oh god. How long had she been under? Oh god. A year.
"I'm…free this weekend. If-"
"Get your ass over here. I'll text you the address." He said.
There was a pause, because she didn't know what to say. He didn't sound angry. But, at the same time, her ears weren't working very well.
"Katara, you listen to me."
She nodded, though he couldn't see.
"Answer your phone from now on, okay?"
It sounded like he had something else to say, but he decided against it. Even though they hadn't spoken in a while, she knew something was bothering him.
"Kat…are you okay?" It was a serious question.
"I'm fine." And she meant it. Here, miles beneath the waves, what could bother her? She was drowning, and that was fine.
He sighed, "Come as quick as you can."
She promised she would, and said good-bye. The phone was still in her hand half an hour later. She packed her bags, called her assistant- what was her name?- and explained her plans. She left that next hour, deciding that time passed too quickly for her to take chances.
They were waiting at the airport for her. Like they had been waiting for- The thought cut itself short, a mental habit she was grateful for. This was the most she had stirred the water that held her prisoner in a year.
Kyoshi was the first to greet her. The little girl was crying, wiping snotty tears away with the back of her hand. Her dark hair was long, and she had grown nearly a foot.
"You're home!" She was saying.
Kat could hardly hear her, but she strained herself to do so. If she could focus on the sound, perhaps she could stop drowning. Perhaps her head would finally break the surface.
"I'm sorry I've been gone so long. I won't do it again, I promise." Kat said, getting down on her knees, realizing at once that Kyoshi was too tall to do that now. Still, the girl bent to match her height. They held each other tight, and for one, brief moment, Katara felt warm.