A/N: Well, apparently it worked, haha! All you lovely readers and your feedback really help oil my rusty gears when I need it most. Another chapter in less than a week, and not a terribly short one either! I hope you all enjoy, but even if you don't please remember to leave feedback for me either way – what you liked and didn't like, what you think worked or didn't work, what you hoped to see by now, etc. Constructive criticism is always welcome here. Thank you, you guys rock!
In response to reviewers from Chapter 10:
Sarcasm22: The ozai backstory was reaaaaaly good! Great chapter!
= = = Thanks so much!
AnnaAza: Ah, Ozai is getting into the Komodo-Chicken Soup for the Warmongering Fire Lord's Soul. I would guess that Ozai resented being second fiddle to Iroh, and I wondered about their age differences. Maybe Azulon's wife died giving birth to him? Or he was an accident? Hm. I wonder what was going through his head while he spilled that story to Katara.
= = = I realized as I read your review that I wrote Sozin instead of Azulon. *Smacks hand against forehead* Anyway, I literally laughed out loud at the "Komodo-Chicken Soup for the Warmongering Fire Lord's Soul." Witty :) Thanks so much for the review, and perhaps we'll find out just what was going through his head while divulging such a personal story.
ArrayePL: Lovely. Ozai's story is sad, but first Katara can't be sure it's not a lie and if it isn't, then Ozai didn't learn from it doing the same to Zuko. I hope you will update soon.
= = = Thank you, I'm hoping to not take so long to update this time!
BlueHawk1785: Fantastic, as usual, but I want to know what's going on back between Zuko and Aang . I need more info! Anyway, keep the updates coming :)
= = = Never fear, we will very soon find out what's going on with the rest of the gang! Thank you for the review!
The three of them had started off at sunrise as Ozai had promised, assuming the same arrangement as the day before: Jiao in the lead, Katara in the center, and Ozai bringing up the rear to make sure that she stayed in line. By midday, the forest had thinned out a little. The air was less musty and beams of sunlight broke through the canopy overhead, creating shifting patterns of light across the uneven forest floor.
Ozai could not drive the previous night's conversation from his mind. It could not have gone more perfectly, and he had not even planned it. Without knowing it, she was acting as a catalyst for his little game; with any luck, he would not have to do any of the work himself, and that possibility was looking more promising by the day.
Not that what he had said had been untrue. In fact, he was somewhat disgruntled at the unadulterated honesty that had inexplicably come over him. His past was something he had not given much thought for years; something he preferred not to think about, much less talk about. He could just as easily have fabricated some convenient, spur of the moment lie that would have been equally convincing and far less revealing. Why had he been inclined to be so open with her?
.:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:.
"The Earth Kingdom is just so huge," Aang said as he slumped forward in Appa's saddle. "I'm not even sure where to start looking. It's like searching for a grain of sand in a desert."
"Well, lucky for us, this grain of sand doesn't exactly blend in. We're looking for a waterbender. Dark skin, blue eyes – not exactly what you'd call run of the mill looks in this part of the world. I'm not saying it's gonna be easy, but at least it improves our chances."
Aang glowered and glanced over the edge of the saddle. The shimmering blue waters bordering the vast continent below darted by in a glistening blur, various bits of land jutting into it like white-knuckled fists.
"That doesn't improve the fact that anywhere we start could be the wrong place. They might not even be in the Earth Kingdom at all. What are the chances of us just happening to be in the right place at the right time? Not very good if you ask me."
"Well, I guess we should just give up then, shouldn't we? Let's throw in the towel and call it quits. 'Sorry, Katara. We thought about rescuing you. We really did. But the world's just so big, and, you know, trying to make all those tough decisions like where to start looking for you, what to feed Appa for breakfast tomorrow, whether I should take a bath this week – they were really stressing us out. No hard feelings.'"
"Okay, okay!" he huffed, swiping his arm across the air between them to cut her off.
"I'm just saying. We have to start somewhere; you might as well just point to the next town or village you see and stop wasting time. Jeeze, if I didn't know better I'd think you didn't really want to rescue her."
Aang looked away slightly. His body seemed suddenly more tense, his jaw tight and clenching.
"You do want to rescue Katara, don't you, Twinkle Toes?" His reluctance to dispute her light-hearted accusation was making her suspicious. His heartbeat was quickening, she could sense it; but it seemed more out of frustration than anxiety.
He hesitated a moment longer and then his shoulders sagged as he sighed deeply. "Of course I do. Why do you think I'm here?"
"I'm beginning to wonder that myself," Toph said with a derisive chuckle. Aang opened his mouth to object but was swiftly cut off. "Hey, wait a second! I think we're passing right over Gaoling, my home town." She sprung onto her knees and clutched the side of the saddle in excitement.
"What? How do you know?"
"It's hard to describe, but the air just smells different there." Throwing her head back, she took a large, exaggerated whiff of the air and exhaled in a dramatic sigh. "Yep, that's Gaoling all right. And I think I know just the place to start our search."
.:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:.
Dead branches cracked and creaked beneath her feet as Katara followed reluctantly behind Jiao, pressed onward by an unrelenting Ozai. The clattering of dried leaves and debris as she shuffled along the sun-dappled path sent an occasional squirrel or lizard scurrying for cover. The shortage of food and water over the last couple of days was beginning to take its toll. Her stomach growled in persistent complaint, her mouth felt as dry as cotton, and she was beginning to feel slightly faint. She hoped that Ozai's prediction was correct and that they would soon see signs of civilization.
The path began to rise in a slight incline, a minor hill by most accounts but under the weight of hunger and exhaustion it was just enough to slow down their pace. As the three of them reached the top of the slope, Katara's head jerked up at what sounded like two faint voices coming from somewhere just beyond the rise. She was wondering if she had only imagined it when sure enough two men came into view as they began to descend the other side of the incline. One was tall and fit, the other stocky and muscular. They seemed to be enjoying a light-hearted conversation, exchanging good-natured jabs at each other that ended in a hearty laugh.
As they grew nearer to them, she realized with a rush of hopefulness that they were Earth Kingdom guards. Behind her she heard Ozai curse under his breath. It was too late for them to steal into the forest for cover. Fleeing now would only look suspicious and lead to pursuit. Stealing a glance over her shoulder, she saw him pull his hood further over his head, trying to conceal as much of his face as possible.
The stocky guard nodded a greeting to Jiao, who offered a small but courteous nod in response before averting his gaze. Their unsuspecting eyes then fell upon Katara and the strange hooded man who followed closely behind her with his gaze fixed on the ground. They stared quizzically at Ozai, who refused to look up at them, but their expressions appeared to stem more from curiosity than suspicion. The tall guard cast a faint smile at Katara, but all she could muster in response was a hesitant, wide-eyed expression that she hoped look like a cry for help. The stocky guard kept walking, oblivious to her exchange with his comrade, but the taller one hesitated for a moment before continuing on, clearly stopped by her strange expression.
The two guards passed out of Katara's peripheral vision after casting one last questioning glance at Ozai. Once again, help was literally within her grasp and yet out of reach. She knew if she said anything, she would not only be putting her own life in danger but the lives of the two innocent guards as well. Her only hope lay in the prospect that the guards must have recently come from a town and that would mean food and lots of people; perhaps someone would recognize them and come to her rescue. Just as she had relinquished hope that the guards would put the pieces together, an indistinct murmuring sounded from behind her. Succumbing to her curiosity, she glanced behind to see that the two men had stopped and were conversing in a secretive yet urgent manner, the taller guard gesturing toward them. Ozai glared a warning at her and moved in closer to speed up their pace, prompting her to turn back around, when the murmuring was replaced by an authoritative shout.
"You there! The three of you – halt!"
Katara froze and both she and Jiao instinctively turned around simultaneously; she was certain that her face spoke volumes of her nervousness but Jiao maintained a convincing air of complete nonchalance. Ozai, however, stood his ground, refusing to turn and glaring with a pensive ferocity at the forest floor. Katara was certain that the panic of potentially being caught must be coursing through him, but she knew enough about the former Fire Lord to know that he could channel that panic into a quick-thinking force of focused energy before his opponents ever had a chance to react. Her gaze darted from Ozai then back to the guards who were shifting uneasily on their feet.
"I'm going to have to ask you to turn around, sir," the taller guard commanded in a more imposing tone. Ozai remained unresponsive, standing as fearless and unflinchingly still as a stone statue. The scene was growing thick with tension and Katara could feel her heart begin to race. Please,she wanted to shout to them, it's not worth it. If you value your lives, just keep moving.
An expression of sudden recognition washed over both of their faces as their eyes darted between the dark-skinned, sapphire-eyed girl and the tall hooded man with her. She knew they had finally realized exactly who and what they had stumbled upon. The two guards glanced at each other warily and then back to Ozai, shifting into offensive earthbending stances in response to the hooded man's odd behavior.
"Sir, this is your last warning," the stocky guard commanded. "Turn around now or –!"
In one swift, sudden motion, Ozai grabbed the dagger from his boot, spun around, and sent the blade hurling end over end until it embedded itself to the hilt perfectly into the man's chest, piercing his heart. Katara watched in horror as he clutched the hilt of the dagger and struggled for breath, his mouth agape in a silent scream as he toppled over, the shock rendering him unconscious. Before the fallen guard had even hit the ground, Ozai had sprung forward and was racing toward the two men. He seized the dagger from the lifeless man's chest and lunged at the other guard who had a mere few moments to react before narrowly dodging the attack.
The man spun out of Ozai's aim just in time and extended his arms out chaotically in an attempt to bend the earth underneath Ozai to knock him off balance, but the attack was weakened by his stumbling to get away. Within moments, Ozai had nimbly dodged the blow and was upon the man, thrusting the blade deep into his chest. The guard fell to his knees gasping for air and collapsed at Ozai's feet, his life quickly fading away.
Katara could hardly breathe as she watched the ground underneath the men's bodies turn a dark, glossy crimson. Ozai simply retrieved the dagger, brushed back the stray hairs that had fallen in his face and began walking back to where Katara and Jiao were still standing. He gestured to the two of them to fall back in line. Jiao took the lead once again, and Ozai came up behind Katara, who was still staring aghast at the two slain men.
"Move along, girl." He nudged her arm to get her to turn away from the scene and begin walking forward again.
Katara wished she could block out everything she had just witnessed. She had known that Ozai was a daunting force to be reckoned with, but even without his bending he was like a one-man army perfectly capable of taking down fully-grown, highly-trained military guards using hand-to-hand combat alone. He was more dangerous than even she had first thought.
.:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:.
After a silent, tense trek across a few more miles, they finally reached the outskirts of a moderately sized market nestled just outside of a town that sprung up in the forest like a welcome ray of sunshine. Instead of continuing forward, Jiao and Ozai stopped and inspected the scene cautiously.
"This is where we part ways for now, sir," Jiao said, turning to face Ozai. "We'll keep in touch via messenger hawk. I'll make sure that you have at least a few trusted men to meet you at the designated places along the way, and I'll catch up with you later."
Part ways? she thought. I'm going to be alone with Ozai? She was not sure she liked the sound of that.
"Thank you, Jiao. I know you won't fail me."
Katara could not tell if that last part was meant as a compliment or a threat. Knowing Ozai, she figured probably the latter. Jiao bowed his respect and then turned heel and walked off in the opposite direction, swallowed up by the crowds.
Once Jiao had disappeared, Ozai turned his attention to Katara and took hold of her arm, drawing her into his chest. She gasped at the sudden closeness as he surreptitiously lowered his head to her, careful not to draw attention.
"There is no sense in running," he whispered in her ear, his warm breath tickling her cheek. "You have nowhere to go. And I doubt I need to tell you that the consequences would not be worth it."
He released his hold on her and she backed away slightly. Her face felt unusually warm and she realized in horror that she was blushing. The awareness of that unwanted reaction only served to deepen her blush and she looked down to hide her face, desperately hoping he had not noticed.
"Go find yourself a new dress. Meet me back here in fifteen minutes," he said. "And don't wander out of my sight." With that, he wandered toward the mass of booths and stalls that filled the market, leaving her on her own for the first time since he had taken her captive four days ago. Or was it five? She could not remember. Not even a week, and already the days were beginning to run together.
Aang and the others must be onto their trail by now. Surely, it would not be much longer before someone came for her. But what if Ozai had been right? What if Aang had simply given her over to her fate and renounced their friendship for good? Despite her greatest efforts, she could not stifle the ever-growing voice of doubt in her head.
Even if that were the case, her other friends would not let her down, she was sure of it. If anyone was familiar with the dark inner workings of Ozai's mind, it was Zuko; he would track him down. Maybe not tomorrow or the next day, but eventually he would. What frightened her was the thought of her friends getting hurt, or worse, if they actually did catch up to them. Zuko had become a master firebender, but even Iroh had been uncertain that he could beat Ozai. If so, did the rest of them even stand a chance?
Katara sauntered through the center of the marketplace until she found a stall that sold Earth Kingdom clothing, managed by a smiling, middle-aged man with silver streaks peppering his chocolate-colored hair. He greeted her with a nod as she began sifting through the assorted fabrics and garments, trying her best to focus her thoughts on the task at hand when a thought occurred to her.
With Jiao gone, there would be only one man standing in her way of freedom instead of two. One intimidating, powerfully built, dangerous man. That was if Ozai did not have undercover spies planted all over, devout loyalists who had gotten word of the former Fire Lord's escape and vowed to help him. But she doubted he could have coordinated that this early in the game. It would be far more difficult for Ozai to stop her alone if she could get enough distance between them. This could be her only chance for escape. She knew what might happen if she failed, but if she succeeded she could save her friends from a potentially deadly confrontation. She had to try.
Katara held up a dress at eye-level, pretending to be immensely interested in the garment, and peeked out of the corner of her eye toward where Ozai was trying to ignore a chatty saleswoman from whom he was purchasing food. The hood of his cloak obstructed most of her view of his face, but she could tell that he was staring downward to avoid making eye contact with the merchant as much as possible.
Turning back to the vendor, who was now eyeing her curiously, she smiled as casually as she could and handed him the money for the dress. She glanced around and was about to turn away when an idea struck her.
"Excuse me," she said, putting on her sweet voice. "Is there somewhere I could change into this now?"
The man gave her a strange look, so she quickly elaborated. "I love it so much, I'd really like to put it on now and where it home."
He smiled proudly then and puffed up his chest a bit at the compliment. Katara sighed internally, thankful to have not lent him any suspicion. She did not exactly look like she belonged in this town.
"Certainly," he chuckled. "Come around back here. I have an area specifically for these types of things." The merchant led her around the corner to the back of the stall as he continued. "Some women nowadays insist on trying on the garments before buying them to make sure they fit. These days as a clothier, if you don't offer that service they take their business elsewhere."
He gestured toward a tiny room, which was not really a room at all but a curtain draped around a circular wooden rod protruding from the back of the stall. The space inside was not much larger than the width of her shoulders. Katara thanked him and stepped inside, quickly shedding her torn dress and slipping on the new Earth Kingdom garment. It was a simple, pale yellow wrap-around dress that fell to halfway between her knees and ankles, with long sleeves and olive green trim along the neckline, wrists, and bottom hem. It was not a particularly beautiful garment and not one that Katara would have picked if she had given it her full attention, but that was the furthest thing from her mind at the moment.
Once she had situated the dress properly, she stepped out and walked around the side of the stall, peering cautiously around the corner to check for Ozai. She scanned as much of the marketplace as she could from her hiding spot but he was nowhere in sight. She was not sure whether to feel relieved or panicked at this development. If she made a run for it now, there was a chance she could escape before he knew what had happened. On the other hand, if she could not see him, she had no sure way of knowing where he was or whether he might have a view of her from somewhere she could not see.
In the end, she decided that stalling was doing nothing to help her. Looking around one last time, she took a deep breath, counted to three in her head, and sprung forward, making a mad dash through the marketplace toward the main part of town. Surely, she could find an Earth Kingdom guard post and they would be able to help her.
She ran as fast as she could. Her legs pumped and she pushed herself past the point of pain. She needed to get away. Stalls and booths zoomed past her, soon replaced by small dilapidated buildings packed closely together. She rounded a corner and the residential part of the town finally came into view. A solitary guard was standing watch at the stone entryway that separated the town from the market. He perked up at the sight of her storming toward him and stiffened his stance, making it clear that he was not going to move out of her way, forcing her to come to a skidding stop.
"I.D. please," he muttered apathetically.
Katara blinked and let out a frustrated huff, taken aback by the strange and untimely request. "What?"
"This town is off-limits to non-residents, orders from the Earth King. Proper identification is required to enter."
She did not have time for this. "Please," she begged, "I need to get in there!"
"I'm sorry, miss, I can't let you do that. The Earth King's got a lot of towns in these parts on lockdown trying to back former Fire Lord Ozai into a corner. Did you know he's supposedly escaped from prison?"
Katara was dumbfounded. She wanted to scream to the guard that she was the convict's hostage, but she was not sure if he would believe her and time was running out. With a frustrated groan, she darted back the way she came, but this time she was not sure where to go. She just needed somewhere to hide out, bide her time until hopefully Ozai would go searching for her elsewhere.
Just as she rounded the corner again, a familiar form in a black hooded cloak caught her eye amongst the crowd. Ozai was making his way through the masses of people hastily, doing his best not to draw attention to himself while scanning the marketplace with an intense glower. He was looking for her.
Without thinking, she tore through the nearest alley, ducked into a bolted doorway, and tried to squeeze into nothingness. She prayed to the spirits that Ozai had not seen her before she dashed inside. Her heart was pounding in her ears, her breathing amplified in the tight, lonely corridor. She tried to listen for any signs of pursuit, any indication that she had been sniffed out, but all she could make out was the muffled droning of hoards of carefree people, oblivious to the threat that lurked amongst them.
All at once, what little light trickled into the alley from outside vanished as though sucked into a black hole. Turning her head, she saw a tall, broad figure standing in the entrance, a silhouette that Katara recognized in horror.
"There you are, waterbender." She sprung to her feet in a defensive stance and backed up against the far wall of the alley. She had expected his voice to be laced with fury, but instead it was cool and collected. She realized then that she preferred his anger if it meant she would know what to expect. This eerie sense of calm he was exhibiting only made her more fearful.
"You know, there is an old saying in the Fire Nation," he continued as be began advancing toward her slowly. "It goes, 'the nail that stands up will be hammered down.'" His footsteps echoed shallowly off the narrow cobblestone walls as he approached her. "Allow me to put it in peasant terms for you. Don't be defiant," he clutched her shoulders, pressing her against the wall, "or I will put you in your place."
Katara's breaths were quick and shallow, apprehension twisting her stomach into a cacophony of knots. She half expected Ozai to lash out in some way as punishment, but instead he loosened his grip on her shoulders slightly and leaned back just far enough to look her fully in the eyes.
"I will deal with you later, girl. Right now, we need to move on and quickly. Count yourself lucky that I don't smite you where you stand. Although fortunately for you, I'm feeling rather merciful today; perhaps I will be lenient. But if you make one more scene like that, I won't hesitate to take you down. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes," she barely managed to squeak out.
"Good," he said, wrapping a large hand around her comparably tiny wrist and leading her out of the alley. "When we step outside, you are going to walk right next to me and we're going to continue quietly on the way we came. Understood?"
"Yes." Her voice was barely more than a whisper, but the tight walls amplified her words so that Ozai had no trouble hearing her.
The sudden burst of sunlight burned Katara's eyes as they stepped out of the corridor. She blinked away the temporary blindness as they made their way back through the marketplace, the crowds dwindling as they approached the outskirts of the market. The trail was there waiting for them and they silently picked it up where they had left off, leaving behind the last bit of civilization she might see for some time.
.:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:.
"Umm, are you sure this is the right place?" Aang asked hesitantly as Appa came to a landing in the middle of a very unfriendly looking area.
"Of course I'm sure," she retorted, feigning offense at his lack of confidence in her. "Come on."
It was a far cry from the place Aang had pictured they would end up when Toph mentioned her home town. The buildings that surrounded them were decrepit at best; the wooden panes of the doors and windows were rotting off, many of which had long since been boarded up. In a dark alleyway between two buildings, a grimy wiry-haired boar-dog was rooting through a trash bin, sending the refuse scattering onto the street.
Toph led the way along the rutted, filth-encrusted street toward the only building Aang could see that was not on its last leg. The warm light that spilled out from the windows was a welcome contrast to the otherwise dismal surroundings, the sound of boisterous conversation and high-spirited shouting cut into the lifeless setting as they arrived at the entrance to what appeared to be an off-color tavern.
Without the slightest diffidence, Toph swung open the door to reveal the source of the rampant hooting and hollering from outside. A bar fight had broken out between two sweaty, grimy men. One had the other in a headlock, the restrained man throwing ineffective punches at his assailant, encircled by a crowd of equally filthy spectators cheering them on. A strong whiff of stale beer breath and smoke stung Aang's nostrils, making him cough as he grew accustomed to the odor. As the presence of the two out of place strangers dawned on the crowd, the boisterous shouting and swearing gave way to an eerie silence. Angry faces stared down the two teenagers in the doorway.
"Toph, these men look like they wanna kill me," Aang whispered out of the corner of his mouth.
"I know they look rough and sketchy, and that's cause most of them are. These are the guys who head up the black market and underground criminal circles. They get around and often see and hear things that are kept on the down-low. But they're also fiercely loyal to their friends. I got to know most of them pretty well during my Earth Rumble days. If anyone might know something that could help us, it would be them."
Suddenly, one burly man pointed a grimy finger at them, a surprised smile washing away his angry glare. "Hey, fellas! It's the Blind Bandit!"
A booming cheer erupted from within the tavern as Toph led a reluctant Aang inside, smirking in delight at the warm welcome.
"We haven't seen you in a couple years, Bandit," one man shouted over the ruckus. "What brings you back to these parts? You comin' back to the Earth Rumble tournaments?"
"As much as I'd enjoy that, I'm not here to fight," she answered, anxious to get right down to business. "I'm sure most of you have heard by now that former Fire Lord Ozai has escaped from prison."
A wave of aggravated grumbling spread over the room at the mention of the tyrant's name. "Well, he's taken a good friend of ours hostage," she continued, raising her voice over the murmurs, "a waterbender named Katara. And we're trying to find them. I was hoping some of you might know something that could help us."
The grumbling grew quieter as the men looked to one another to speak up. After a few moments, one man leaning against the bar in the front of the room spoke up. "Taifeng over there was talking earlier about some strange rumpus he saw this afternoon," he said, gesturing indiscriminately toward a man along the back wall. "Tell 'em what you saw, Taifeng."
A husky, broad-shouldered man in the back of the tavern began walking forward, parting the sea of sweaty bodies as he approached. "Yeah, I was tellin' these boys earlier that I was doing some, uh … business …" he faltered, a mischievous smile on his face, "at a market town all the way near the eastern border –took a komodo lizard with me so I could be in and outta there in a hurry – and I saw some pretty dark-skinned girl high-tailing it into an alleyway, followed shortly by a suspicious looking man in a hooded cloak. I waited there to make sure the girl was okay, but a few minutes later they walked out together real leisurely-like as if nothing was wrong. Not wantin' to stick around any longer than I had to, I shrugged it off and made for home. Arrived here just about an hour ago."
Aang's face went pale at the man's story as he continued. "Thought it was strange though – don't see many exotic-looking folk in these parts. That's what caught my attention in the first place."
"That had to've been Ozai and Katara," Toph thought aloud. "Taifeng, you rock. I knew you guys wouldn't let me down. Now if you can just tell us how to get to that town and what direction they were headed, with any luck we'll track them down before the next day is through."
(Psst.. don't forget to review :) )