CHAPTER RATING: M (Language, Sexually EXPLICIT Situations, Sexually EXPLICIT Dialogue)
A/N:
Chapter 16: No Time Left
I could leave. I should leave. Katara thought to herself. If no one wants to help me save Aang, then I'll do it by myself. She shot a scowl towards her friends who still slept, disappointed at how indecisive they were. If we don't do something now, we won't get another chance.
With careful steps Katara walked over to Appa, never making asound. Using water, she blurred the impacts of her footsteps, just in case Toph picked up the vibrations.
"Appa..." She patted the furry arrow on the bison's forehead. Appa let out a low roar as he opened his eyes. "Shh..." She calmed him. "It's okay, Appa. Do you know what we're going to do? We're going to save Aang. Right now." He roared and licked her hand. "Okay." She climbed up his shoulder "Here we come, Aang. Yip! Yip!" She whispered, and Appa took to the air.
For what seemed like hours, Appa flew south with Katara in his saddle. The bison roared, and Katara awoke to a golden horizon. She peaked over the leather saddle, and through the bison's horns to lay eyes on a huge balloon that was wider than any iceberg she had seen in the South Pole. Appa descended, and hanging from that monstrous balloon, was an equally large...she didn't know what to call it. All she knew was that it was a prison, a flying prison that Aang was being held in. And she was going to free him.
"Lower, Appa." She instructed. They flew right next to the black ashen building that the zeppelin held. A golden light shined in the floating building, but there were no guards in sight. Towards the back end of the zeppelin, there was a railing, and a single door. "Over there." She directed, Appa flew next to the railing, and Katara took a tight grip on the cold steel. She jumped the railing, and heard the cracking of the door's hinges. "Get above the zeppelin, Appa! Someone's coming!" She whispered, and leaned up against the wall.
The door opened as the shadow grew over her. It swayed over, blocking her vision, a Fire Nation soldier entered her sights. Katara's heart stopped for a second, she managed to take calm, quiet, deep breaths while biting her lip.
"Why do I have to sit out here?" He mumbled to himself. "It's not like anyone is going to infiltrate us from the sky." He straightened his posture, and Katara felt her heart jump out of her chest. "Nah. Couldn't be."
Katara looked over at the still open door, it bobbed back and forth, and slid her foot against the black steel. She looked at the guard, and then at the door.
She had no choice, she couldn't be caught, not now. Her face hardened, and her posture loosened. A few silent steps, and she stood behind him.
"Hey." She called to him
"Huh?" He turned. "Who the-?"
Katara pushed her arms forward, and shoved him off the railing. She looked down into the clouds, watching the lone soldier scream cries of terror as he fell.
I'm sorry. Katara cringed and looked away as he disappeared from view. She shook her head and steeled herself again. This isn't the time for that. She reached into her pocket, squeezing the bison whistle she brought with her, and saw Appa's feet as he ascended. Her shaking hand gasped the door handle, and she stepped through.
She entered a single hallway, that split into two directions some fifty feet from where she stood. If someone was to turn towards her now, it would all be over. At the sides of the long hallway, there were doors that led to various rooms.
Maybe I can hide in-
The door next to her began to open, her blood stiffened, and she watched, wordless, as another guard began to walk down the hall. She waited for him to walk a few feet before she turned into the room.
It was empty. And it was a barracks.
Perfect. Katara thought to herself. I'll just go undercover now. She closed the door behind her, and locked it. After only minutes of searching, she found all components of a uniform. The suit was oversized, and the armor was overbearing, but what other choice did she have?
She wore the heavy armor, and stumbled under its weight. Sweat dripped down her forehead into her eyes.
"They let you off of guard duty already? Who's replacing you outside?" A voice came. Katara took a panicked, deep breath to gather her thoughts. She cleared her throat, and deepened her voice as low as she could.
"Y-Yeah, I'm on break." Katara answered.
"Are you sick? Your voice sounds deeper than usual." He stepped up, and began rummaging through his own locker.
"Yeah..." Katara coughed. "It's the air. Too thin up here, you know?" She hopefully recovered.
"Yeah, I get it. But you know, what Princess Azula says, goes."
"Everything she says law, right?" She spoke, and saw him remove his helmet with a raised eyebrow.
"Right..."
"I...I mean, of course! No one questions what the Fire Princess says, right?" She answered back, perhaps too eager to cover up her harsher tone.
"Yeah..." He replied. "I think you need to meet with the Princess. Let's go." He picked up Katara by her arm and dragged her up.
"No wait...! Just let me explain!" She broke from him.
"You aren't Chong! Who are you?"
"Okay...Just let me expl-"
Katara closed her fist, and let him choke in the grasp of breathlessness. He collapsed, she forced him into the locker, and closed it behind her as she left the room.
She tried to catch her breath, under the heavy armor, and the oppressive heat, she was still sweating more than she could remember, but tried her best to keep focus.
I've got to find Aang. She kept telling herself. Her vision was becoming foggy, she heard footsteps around her, and the rumbling of what sounded like a legion of soldiers marching in place.
"Hey!" The hairs on the back of her neck stood. "What are you doing? Your missing out on training exercises!" Another masked guard patted her on the back. "If you're not present Azula's wrath will be unforgiving."
"Right." Katara replied in a deep voice. "Lead the way."
She followed them to a large room, where numerous guard were stationed, by her count, at least fifty, if not more. She fell in line with them, and facing forward, watched as Azula walked into view.
"My. My. My." She spoke to her soldiers. "Quite a pathetic lot, aren't you?" Azula began pointing at each guard, as if she were counting them. "Only fifty-nine of you? Where's number sixty?"
Katara felt a shock run up her spine, and her muscles became tight as she fell over.
"Oh! There's our little intruder!" Azula shouted. Katara heard footsteps running towards her, and saw a full view of Azula's golden eyes and evil smirk. "We meet again."
...
Katara woke up, her arms bound to her sides against a wall. She looked up to face a large bed, and a door surrounded by a steel cage that burned in a superheated orange. She shook her head, and cleared her vision.
"Look who decided to join the Avatar." Azula's poisonous voice entered her ears. "The Southern Water Tribe peasant that he loved...once."
Katara stared a hole into her golden eyes.
"No reply? I'm giving you the pleasure of an audience. Go ahead, ask me anything." Katara tried to bend Azula's blood, but found her own fingers bound in open palms, unable to move. "Go on. Anything, all the questions you have. Oh, I know, you probably have questions on how I managed to capture you. Feel this?" A shock ran up Katara's spine, and her body fell limp again. "Most guards are trained to withstand the smallest shock, but not you." She smirked. "Now, any questions you may have. Let's hear them."
"How do I know you're being honest?" Katara breathed out.
"Think about it. What did you try to do to me in Ba Sing Se? Oh that's right. You said that you'd kill me. Slowly."
"Are you going to do the same to me?"
"Oh No. I'm not that demented." She mocked.
"What are you going to do then? Force me to stay here until I die?"
"You are really hostile, do you know that?" Katara grimaced as Azula spoke. "If I wanted you dead, I wouldn't be speaking to you right now."
"..."
"You can see it, can't you? You can see what the little blind earthbender sees. You can feel it, bloodbender. Am I lying?" Katara could hear Azula's heart beat. "Once more, I'm not going to kill you." It was the truth.
"Then why am I here?" Katara choked out.
"That's a good question. Why are you here?"
Katara bit down on her lip.
"Come on now, let's be civil, I answered your question. Now you answer mine." Katara's lips didn't move, she saw Azula's expression change . "You want to be that way, then fine." Azula sighed. She placed her hand on Katara's side.
Another shock.
"I came to save Aang.' Katara blurted out to her own surprise.
"Really? You thought you could save him on your own? How foolish. What kind of idiot decided that it was a good idea to send you out here alone?"Azula laughed. "Unless...Who else is with you?" She brought her hand to Katara's side again.
"Appa. But no one else. " Katara's flinched in pain.
"Interesting." Azula smirked. "We'll have to catch ourselves a bison. I'm sure Aang would love to see his old friend."
"Where is he?" Katara begged.
"He's in a safe place, and he's happy to be there. You spend too much energy worrying about him. You should be more concerned about yourself."
"What are you going to do to me?"
"Well, for one." Azula sat down on the bed. "I want to get to know you, Katara." She leaned in closer. "What would you have done if you had succeeded in your I'll-concieved plan? Taken him back to little Zuzu? Have him train under an inferior tutor to face the strongest firebender alive?" Azula shook her head and began to giggle. "I'll let you in on the truth." Her pulse was steady. "I am the best firebending master for him. I will train him, with my tutelage, he will defeat the Fire Lord, and bring peace to the World once again."
"You had your chance to train him! But instead you choose to capture him and hold him in this prison! Why?!" Katara shouted.
"Because, I love him. And that love is what feeds the fire in my heart. And soon, his love for me will do the same for him. Sure, it took a little convincing, but he eventually came around." she laughed at the vulgar pun.
"You bitch!" Katara spat. "You didn't..." Another shock ran up her spine.
"If you were smart, you would watch your language in my presence!" Katara struggled to breath as Azula's tirade continued. "I could have ended you, but I let you live. You have no idea, how much of a bitch I can really be." She released her hand, and Katara gasped for breath. "I try to be nice to you, and you return my kindness with hostility? Fine." With a snap of her fingers, Katara's bonds disappeared into the wall, and she fell to the ground. "You want to play games? I'll beat you every fucking time!" Azula delivered a kick that forced the little air in Katara's lungs out. "Lock her up, if she manages to escape, you're dead."
"Yes, Princess." The guard answered.
When Katara woke up, she was alone in the room. She looked at the gloves that held her hands.
Flimsy. She thought to herself. She bit down into the leather, and began to pull it apart.
...
"Katara's gone!" Toph shouted while springing out of bed.
"What?!" Sokka shot up to his feet and scanned the area. "Appa's gone too!" He shouted.
"Unbelievable." Zuko facepalmed.
"No, she wouldn't..." Suki sulked.
"Apparently, she would." Toph replied.
"We've got to go, now!" Sokka warned. "Who knows what kind of trouble she could be in!" He ran towards the deflated War Balloon. "Zuko, help me out here!"
"Right." Zuko nodded, and began blowing fire into the balloon.
"You're going alone?" Suki asked.
"Zuko and I will go, you two stay here, a smaller team will move faster."
"Yeah, be careful out there."
"Well be back soon."
...
Katara sat in solitude for the next few hours, she had tried to approach the door, but the heat was too hot for her to even have a hope of opening the searing exit. But what she had figured out, was that the steel was only heated, it didn't actually burn the skin. Maybe she could will the pain away. Maybe she could...
The door clicked, and she scurried back towards the bed. A young woman dressed in a single piece of fabric walked in with a tray of food. The guard watching over the room followed.
"Get back." He commanded. Katara moved away. The woman walked into the room with a tray of food, smiled, and placed it onto the bed. Without a single word, she turned and exited. Katara took a step forward.
"Enjoy the food that the Princess offers." The guard commanded before he turned to leave.
That's when Katara saw her chance. The servant girl seemed to be unaware of her surroundings, focused on nothing else around her. Surely it was a result of Sozin's technique that Zuko described. She took her chance, and threw her arms forth. The guard froze, his muscles stiff, his lips, unmoving. He couldn't even call for help as Katara held his throat closed.
She remembered Hama's words, and let her own captors unlock the cell they held her in. She made sure to lock the cell afterward to prevent any intrusions as she put her plan to work. She'd still need time, but this was the best chance she had.
The armor was too cumbersome for her to wear, but the servant girls only wore a single piece of white fabric, wrapped around themselves like a toga. She noticed the smaller blanket on her bed, and proceeded to wrap it around herself.
But that wasn't the only thing she needed. Azula must've informed the guards on how she looked like. She entered the bathroom, and gathered water into the sink. She waved her hands up, sharpened the ice into a blade, and chopped off her long hair to the length of her neck. People could mistake her for Suki if her skin was lighter, even if it was messier than the Kiyoshi Warrior's own hair.
It's my best shot. She thought before forcing the guard to open the door, picking up the tray of food, she stepped out. When she looked upon the long hallway, she threw her makeshift hood over her head, and walked among the guards as if she was one of the faceless servants.
"Excuse me, sir." She stopped a patrol. "The Princess has ordered me to bring this food to her special prisoner. Do you know where his room is?" She bowed her head to him, hiding her blue eyes as best she could.
"The one with the tattoos?" Katara nodded. "Of course, take this hallway down, and make a right, from there it's the last room. Ask the guard to let you in, and he'll open the door for you." He instructed.
"Thank you." She bowed lower, her plan had worked.
"No problem, carry on."
...
"I'm here for the prisoner's breakfast." Katara stuttered, her head still bowed low.
"Of course, Madam." The guard opened the door for her.
"Azula asked for me to spend some extra time with him. No disturbances, please."
"As you wish." Katara stepped through the door, and heard it close behind her.
...
He heard the door crash as he started into the carpet.
"Just leave it on the table, please." He spoke without turning around.
Katara couldn't believe that she was looking at him. It seemed like forever since she laid eyes on her beloved Avatar. She felt her sinuses building, and her tears gathering.
"Are...Are you okay?" He turned to face her. Her skin was darker than the usual girl that came in, but that didn't excuse him from being caring. He lowered his head, to try and get a better look at her obscured face.
"I'm...I'm okay." She answered. "It's just..." she placed the tray onto the table, and held her hood with both hands.
"Wait..." The voice was familiar. He stood, and took her soft hands in his. A softness that he hadn't felt in forever. "There's no way..." He lifted his hands, and with a gentle motion, removed the hood, letting it fall behind her.
Her hands gasped his black robe, and pulled him into a passionate embrace. Her lips pressed against him, and his knees buckled. She followed him down onto the bed, and laid on top of his bare chest. Her arms wrapped around his torso in a tight embrace, threatening to never let go.
"It's so good to see you again, Aang." Her tears dropped down his chest.
"Unbelievable. This must be a dream." He rested his hand on her back, and brought her close. She stood and sat next to him. Her eyes still flowing with tears. "What are you doing here, Katara?"
"This isn't a dream." He pinched himself to be sure.
"Okay. So why are you here? This is dangerous."
I came to break you out of here." She wiped away the drying tears. "We need to go."
"Not yet." He wrapped his arms around her. "I missed you so much, Katara." He pulled back again. "But I can't go."
"Why are you saying this? What did Azula do to you?" He looked away. "Mai told us that she broke you, that she destroyed your will, is that true?" He looked away.
"I'm sorry, Katara." He cupped her cheek with his hand. "I was too weak. That's why I need you to leave. Now. Please, I just want you to be safe. That's all I've ever wanted." Katara's eyes widened. "Azula won't hurt me. I mean, look at me." He held out his arms. "No bruises, no scars, nothing. Please, for me, just go back to the Western Air Temple."
"But-"
"She hasn't done anything yet." He brought her eyes to his. And kissed her again. "I love you, Katara. And nothing will ever change that."
She was hesitant as she offered her answer.
"Okay. If that's what you want." She hugged him again, and turned towards the door.
The door knob turned, and stopped her in her tracks.
"We've got no time left, hide!" Aang grabbed Katara's hand, and pulled her into the bathroom. "Stay quiet. Whatever happens, don't come out." He closed the door behind him, and sat down again on the bed. Katara cracked open the door, and peaked through the small opening.
She watched Azula grab his shoulder, and pull him down flat into his back. He gave no protest to her actions.
Aang felt a shock, and as it always was, his muscles went limp.
"She's in here, isn't she?" Azula laid herself next to him, and moved closer. "Tell the truth now." She whispered.
Aang took a deep breath.
'I don't know what you're talking about. " He replied. 'There's no one else here."
"Come now, my little Avatar. You know you have the sweetest tells when you lie. You Air Nomads are always so kind, caring, and honest. You couldn't lie to save your life. Let alone someone else's" His expression remained stern. Her grin widened. "Very well, if she isn't watching us, then let's just keep this meeting a secret, between you, and me..."
Her hand began sliding down his chest.
PUBLISHED ON: 9/8/2014
A/N:
Thanks for reading!