A/N: I'm not sure if FF just isn't sending me notifications anymore, since I didn't get notified about the last chapter's reviews, or if it's something else. When I posted this chapter earlier, I didn't get a notification either so I'm reposting. Sorry if this has confused anyone but I wanna make sure it's actually going through!
Anyway, It's been a long hiatus but I'm finally back with another update. I've worked really hard at this chapter and I'm really proud of it, haha, so please read it and review! It means so much to me to hear your feedback (good AND bad!). Thank you all!
In response to reviews from Chapter 21:
Fan: Great fic, you have built the chemistry between Ozai and Katara beautifully and I love the humor and awkwardness involved. I absolutely love what you've done with Aang as well. Overall I really, really love this fic, Its mature, well thought out and the drama is really entertaining.
= = = Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it.
JuiceKingBlah: Wow! Brilliant chapter! Are the both in the crystal cave? So many things running in my mind! AH! SO EXCITED! SQUEE!
= = = Yes they are in a crystal cave but not the same one as in the show if that makes sense. I'm so glad you like it! Thanks for the review :-D
Foreverisanawfullylongtime: Please continue this story! A good KataraxOzai fic is so rare!
= = = Sorry for the long absence but I'm hoping to update with more frequency in the future. Thanks so much for the review!
Katara breathed in the cold, stagnant air, tasting the faint tang of wet rock. The silence around them was heavy, ruptured only by their breathing and the resounding plink of water dripping from the lofty stalactites. Her lips parted in awe as she gazed around the glowing cathedral. The crystals had invaded the cavern like a beautiful parasite, stretching from the ceiling, snaking down the walls, boring up from the ground. Giant mushrooms sprouted up in clusters along the floor down below, gleaming in the blue light and casting tree-like shadows around them. It was hard to tell from up here, but Katara guessed they had to be at least half as tall as she was.
This place… She couldn't shake the nagging feeling that somehow she had been here before. That she had seen these crystals before. But of course that was not possible, she was certain of that. Why then couldn't she quell the uneasy feeling the crystals evoked in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure how she knew, but something about them wasn't right.
"We should make our way down, see if there's an exit somewhere." Ozai's voice interrupted her thoughts and she looked over to see him gesturing for her to follow. "Come on."
Katara hesitated. She wanted to tell him to stop, that something didn't feel right. But she would look ridiculous and anyway what choice did they have? It was probably just worked up nerves or exhaustion, maybe a vitamin deficiency. She sighed and started following him down the steep precipice.
They descended slowly, taking careful steps from one ledge to another. Rocks and pebbles crumbled beneath their feet, clattering in a faint echo as they plummeted down into the shadows. Some of the ledges were slick with grime and condensation. Katara's hands were growing raw and sore from clutching the jagged rock, but it was all she could do at times to keep from falling.
It was a long and labored descent but finally Ozai and Katara planted their feet on the bottom of the cavern and looked around. As beautiful as the crystals were from afar, they were even more magnificent up close. Like moonlight captured inside immense blue diamonds. A glimmer of hope in the darkness. Shallow pools of water filled divots in the rocky floor, gleaming an opaque turquoise beneath the crystals. The giant mushrooms she had seen from above were taller than she had expected, rising an inch or two higher than her head.
A sudden chill ran down Katara's skin. Being underground, the cold was absolute, permeating every fiber of her being. She shivered and rubbed her hands over her prickly flesh.
"Here," Ozai spoke beside her. She looked over to see him holding out a heap of fabric.
"What's this?"
"Put it on," he said, shoving it into her hands.
She furrowed her brow and unfolded the fabric to reveal a warm hooded fur cloak. "Wha…" For a moment she couldn't find the words. "You've had this the whole time? Why didn't you give it to me before?!"
"Perhaps I might have, but you made it so amusing to keep it from you."
"Ugh! You had no right. I've been freezing and parading around in Fire Nation underwear while you were secretly laughing and enjoying the show."
"Oh, don't flatter yourself. If I'd wanted a show, you'd know it. It was amusing, that's all."
"Oh yes, that's me – your comic relief!" she spat, whipping the coat over her shoulders and shoving her arms through the sleeves. "Because watching a girl helplessly run around half naked and cold is hilarious."
"Alright, that's not what I meant. I –"
A sound somewhere out of view in the darkness cut them short. Something like the scuff of a footstep, but Katara couldn't be sure. Their eyes met with the same hint of apprehension. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped short. As though remembering a dream long forgotten, her eyes widened as the memory of the crystals flooded back to her. Of course, Wan Shi Toh's library. She might have forgotten about that old worn book she had perused before the library sunk into the earth. No wonder this place looked familiar, she'd seen these crystals in that book. They were incredibly rare, only forming in few extraordinary places where the spirit world and the physical world struggled for dominance over each other.
Her stomach tightened. Now she remembered. The book mentioned that the warring energies of the two worlds was a magnet for dark spirits and evil beings. The negative energy is what caused the crystals to glow. That explained her eerie feeling. Ironic, she thought, that something of darkness would bring about something so beautiful.
"Get back," Katara whispered, grabbing his arm and pressing her back against the trunk of a mushroom. "We need to find cover, now."
Ozai cast her an incredulous glance. "Why? What do you know about this place?"
The echo of strained, shallow breathing wheezed in the distance, slowly growing closer with the shuffle of awkward, dragging footsteps. Ozai's eyes cut toward the sound. His brows flinched, telling her he saw nothing. His wary gaze darted back to hers.
"Not now," she hissed. "We need to go!"
She glanced around the side of the mushroom for the source but she too saw nothing. It would be risky making a run for it when they weren't even sure which way to run. But waiting around until the… whatever it was… found them first seemed the lesser of the two options.
"Alright then, try to keep to the shadows and follow me," Ozai spoke in a low voice. He nodded toward the opposite side of the sanctuary, where a narrow corridor tunneled between the towering cliff and the wall. It looked to be the only other passage leading away from this place.
They tiptoed their way around ruts and potholes, careful not to turn their ankles on free standing rocks. They had barely reached the shadow of the next mushroom cluster when a throaty, sickening moan nearby made Katara's blood run cold. The two of them froze, eyes frantically scanning the cathedral. That sound… simultaneously pitiable and chilling, like the sorrowful wail of a soul in agony. Yet still, she saw nothing.
"Best to keep moving while we can," Ozai whispered in her ear.
Katara nodded. But as she turned away, something caught in her peripheral vision. She turned back quickly to see a pale form appearing as though from thin air. Katara gasped in horror as it took shape – the most grotesque creature she had ever laid eyes on. The form was humanoid, but the likeness ended there. Its gaunt body was covered with rolls of dull, sagging flesh, sallow and sickly as a corpse. The thing was nearly faceless – no eyes to speak of in its naked head – save for two long slits for a nose and a mouth that gaped open in a neverending silent scream.
Katara wanted to cry out. She wanted to run. But the sound was throttled in her tightened throat, her feet glued to the ground. She barely managed to reach back and catch Ozai's sleeve before he was out of reach. He turned around.
The creature's head turned side to side in a disoriented manner, as though looking for something it could not see. It released a deep, tormented moan through its cavernous mouth.
"What in the name of…"
Ozai's voice trailed off. The creature turned its head toward them and took an ungainly, lurching step forward. A long, spindly arm reached out, the skin drooping pale and loose from the bone. Its clawed hand, gnarled and crooked, swiped awkwardly at the air.
Instinctively Katara drew water from a nearby pothole and sent spikes of ice hurling at the entity. The spears pierced its pallid flesh with a sickening thud. She gasped as the ice instantly melted into water, dripping down its shriveled body. The thing didn't even bleed.
"We need to get out of here," Ozai whispered. "Now."
As they began to back away from the monster, it took another clumsy step toward them and then another, each step growing faster than the last. The hair raised on the nape of her neck as a similar agonized moan resounded behind them. Ozai and Katara spun around to see an identical creature reaching out and staggering toward them.
Katara's mouth went dry. There was more than one… She backed away and felt something tug on the foot of her cloak. She spun around to see another one dragging its sagging body along the stone floor, clawing at her heels and wailing. A string of saliva dripped from its gaping jaw.
She screamed as the hideous thing snatched a huge fistful of her cloak and pulled down hard. She nearly tumbled to the ground when she felt Ozai's hands clutch her from behind, yanking her from its grasp.
Within moments, the cathedral was crawling with the terrifying beasts hobbling toward them, their moans and cries filling the sanctuary with a spine-chilling chorus. Ozai's posture tensed. He stole a quick glance at her and clutched her arm.
"Run."
"This is the place, I swear. This is where they're supposed to be."
Genshi stood staring at the black smudge where a fire had been, trying to wrap her head around things. She didn't understand. The vision had specifically led them here. And this time, it wasn't as though their targets had moved on before they arrived. She could feel their presence around this place. The problem was they weren't here.
"Well, isn't that just fantastic?" Sokka spat, pacing inside the mouth of the small den. "Let's all forget the fact that they're not here because, hey, at least this is where they're supposed to be!"
"Sokka," Suki chided timidly.
He stopped and shot a tight scowl at the conjurer. "I knew we shouldn't have put all our trust in this whack job. Now who knows where they might really be."
"All right, let's all just calm down," Hakoda stepped in. "Maybe we should hear her out." He nodded sternly at her and crossed his arms. "Genshi, what's going on?"
Genshi felt her hands go clammy as all eyes were set on her. She picked at a hang nail and glanced toward the ground.
"Well, uh, actually…" The words stumbled out in an awkward, high pitch. She cleared her throat and tried again. "I'm not exactly… sure."
"I knew it," Sokka growled.
"It's never happened before!" she defended. "I can't explain it but I feel their presence, like they're standing right here."
"But they're not here, are they?" Sokka tightened his jaw like a fist ready to jab. "You know what I think?" he continued, eyeing the rest of the group. "I think we should just leave this nut case right here in this cave and continue on our own. Trust our instincts. Which, if we'd done earlier, would have told us not to rely on this lunatic. We'll probably find Katara a lot faster."
"Okay, Sokka, you've made your point," Zuko cut in. He heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, it's getting too late to do anything about it now. We should set up camp here for the night. We all need rest and arguing won't help us find them faster. In the morning we can decide what course of action to take."
Toph huffed. "Spoken like a true Fire Lord."
"I'll get a fire started," Suki offered a bit too quickly, eager to quell the tension.
"I'll unpack Appa and tend to Aang." Hakoda placed a gentle but firm grasp on his son's shoulder. "Sokka, why don't you give me a hand."
Sokka shoved his hands in his pockets and flashed the conjurer one last thunderous scowl before following his father toward the bison.
As the others got to work gathering firewood and rolling out sleeping bags, Genshi hugged her arms around herself and stared at her feet. She had known this was a mistake from the beginning. She had let Jun fool her into thinking she was still the conjurer she used to be, and now look. She had made a terrible situation ten times worse. Never mind what her senses were telling her. The fact was she was wrong, plain and simple. And now nothing was going to give them back the time she had lost.
.:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:.
The fire had died to embers as the rest of the group snored away. Genshi sat on her sleeping bag alone on the opposite side of the den and stared at the glowing coals. All her life she had been a social pariah. Now she could add failure and fraud to the list. Her presence amongst these people had done enough damage. The least she could offer them now was her farewell.
Her eyes felt hot with brimming tears. She tried to choke them back but her throat felt thick. She had had a fleeting taste of what it might be like to have friends. But like the few good things that had graced her life, it wasn't meant to be. She would need to leave before dawn. Before the others would wake.
Soft footsteps disturbed her silent languish. Genshi glanced up to see the young blind girl standing over her, a silhouette against the waning firelight.
"Toph!" she choked out, quickly wiping away the tears.
"Shh!" the girl hissed. "Do you wanna wake up the whole camp?"
Genshi swallowed and gave a quick nod of understanding. "What do you want?" she whispered, her eyes shifting to the sleeping forms on the other side of the den.
"I know there's something you're not telling us. You've been acting extra weird ever since the last freaky conjuring thing you did on Sokka." Toph anchored her hands on her hips and leaned closer. "You saw something in that vision that disturbed you. A lot. And I want to know what."
Beads of sweat broke out on Genshi's forehead. "What?" She forced out a muffled laugh that sounded more like a snort. "Why would I be hiding anything? From you guys? That's silly."
The earthbender smirked down at her. "Listen, toots, you're about as transparent as Sokka's sea prunes. I can read you like a book. And you're lying. Now are you gonna spill the beans or am I gonna have to make you?"
Genshi flashed an innocent, half-hearted smile but the stone-faced expression on the young girl's face didn't budge. She closed her eyes and breathed a long sigh.
"All right," she surrendered with a grim shake of her head. "But you won't like what you're about to hear."
Ozai and Katara darted for the next mushroom cluster and tried to flatten themselves against the trunks. Katara's heartbeat was thrashing in her ears, her hands trembling. They were trapped, surrounded by these horrific things. Even the passageway would probably just lead them further underground. There was no way out.
Katara tried to swallow but her throat was dry as cotton. She licked her lips, tasting beads of sweat. It was a moment before she realized the commotion had died down a bit. Her muscles tensed. Why? It had to be some kind of trap. Her body stiffened and she slowly peeked around the mushroom stalk. The creatures had stopped pursuing them and were ambling about in bewildered circles. Their heads turned side to side, their gaping mouths sighing woeful moans.
"They can't see us." Ozai's voice was hardly more than a breath in her ear. "They can only detect us through sound or movement."
Katara's eyes widened at the revelation. Of course, that explained it. Maybe there was a flicker of hope after all.
"If we can reach that passage," he continued, "and find a hideout maybe we can wait them out." He had read her mind. They could outrun them for a short time. But the rate at which those things gained speed was terrifying. They would have to be quick and hope to the spirits that there was a place to hide once there.
"Okay. We make a run for it in three," she whispered. "One… Two…" Her anxious, intense gaze flicked to his momentarily as she gulped a deep breath. "Three."
They bolted out from hiding and sprinted toward the other side of the cavern, their footsteps resonating daringly through the cathedral. All around them, the monsters turned and began charging after them, slowly at first and then faster and faster. Suddenly more and more of the ghastly things seemed to materialize out of thin air. They swerved as three of the demons appeared in their path, lunging at them with those gangling arms, and immediately ducked to evade the swiping claws of another. Every time they dodged one, another cut them off.
"They just keep coming!" Katara shouted over the uproar of tormented howls. "We're never gonna make it!"
"Just keep running!" Ozai shouted back.
They weaved and ducked their way through the hordes of abominations. Katara chanced a quick glimpse up ahead. The passage was almost within reach! There was sure to be someplace to hide in there.
A sharp pain stabbed through her ankle as she felt her foot catch in a pothole. Katara shrieked in pain and fell to the ground. She dug at the stony floor, pebbles biting into her hands, as she tried to scramble to her feet. But her ankle couldn't bear the pain and she collapsed again.
"Ozai!" she cried out, hoping he could hear her above the tumult.
He spun around, barely evading the clutches of another monster, and charged back for her. Ozai yanked her to her feet so fast she almost lost her breath. He grabbed her hand and sprinted toward the passage, dragging her behind him as she struggled to keep the weight off her bad foot.
"We're almost there!" he barked over his shoulder. "Come on!"
Katara could only nod through rasping breaths. It took every ounce of her concentration to maintain her balance under the momentum.
In a half dozen more strides they charged through the mouth of the passage just before two more creatures nearly cut them off. Their footsteps hammered in their ears against the narrow walls. The corridor was tighter than it had looked. Behind them, she could hear hordes of the monsters piling in after them – a rising, undulating chorus of horror, earsplitting in the confined space.
The further they ran, the narrower the walls seemed to get. And no sign of a break in the sides or a split in the passage. The walls were solid and closing in. They were probably approaching a dead end. This was it. The way her life would end.
"Wait, stop!" Ozai skidded to a sudden halt as Katara collided with his back. "Quick, in here!"
He stooped down and slid through a small grotto in the bottom of the wall, pulling her in after him. The moment he dragged her through, he snatched her to him and froze. Katara almost didn't dare to breathe for fear of betraying their hideout. She clutched onto Ozai's cloak to still her trembling. If those things could only sense them through sound or movement, maybe they'd be safe here until they gave up and went back to… wherever it was they came from.
Heavy thudding footsteps thundered past and then quickly lost momentum as the horde slowed in confusion. The desperate, ravenous terror gave way to mournful moaning again as the monsters shuffled about in bewildered circles within feet of their tiny shelter. Katara's heart pounded in her ears. Every breath was a blaring siren in their cubby hole. She gulped down breaths to keep quiet and prayed they wouldn't be found.
.:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:.
Hours passed and the moans became less frequent, more distant. Ozai and Katara dared short, barely-audible sentences to pass the time. Occasionally they were silenced by a hair-raising wail as a straggler hobbled past their hideout, the heavy stillness of the cavern pierced by the chilling echo. Part of Ozai wanted to make a run for it now that it was calmer, but he knew better. They could possibly outrun one of those things, but he knew where there was one there were others unseen.
Water dripped from the shallow mouth of their hideout. Some of the droplets were beginning to freeze into what would soon grow into icicles. Winter had finally come.
"Tell me something about you."
The girl's voice intruded on his silence. It suddenly occurred to him that it had been hours since they had heard the last moan. Ozai blinked and glanced up. "What?"
"I've been with you for three months now. I know next to nothing about you. Nothing real anyway, except what you let slip."
"That's exactly how I want it," he said with finality, hoping to dismiss her.
"Well, if we're gonna be stuck in here indefinitely, I'd at least like to talk of something interesting." Her gaze was unflinching with a hint of a smile. She wasn't backing down. "Tell me something about your past."
The edge of his mouth turned up, his eyes cut into her with a cold smirk. She wanted a story? He'd give her a story. He'd make her sorry that she asked.
"When I was twelve, I nearly died of physical injuries my father inflicted on me." He saw the sudden pain in her brow and smiled inwardly. Good.
"He often beat me," he went on, "but this time was worse. I'd found a vial of red dust, an elite drug in the Fire Nation, that he'd carelessly left on his nightstand. I didn't know what it was then, but I knew it was something I wasn't meant to see. I was scared for him so I took it to throw it away but he found me before I could." He paused and looked away, remembering. "He said it was to teach me a lesson but I knew it was just an excuse. He had wanted to do it anyway." His voice was rusty with the truth. Bitterness. Feeling. He scoffed as though to laugh it off. "He once said he wanted to cut me off like a gangrened limb. If the servants hadn't found me when they did, he might have gotten his wish."
There was a pause before the girl responded.
"I'm sure he didn't mean that," she said softly, as though to console him.
"No?" he muttered with a smirk. "A year later, when I'd had enough of this hell on earth, my father walked in on me trying to slit my wrists. You know what he said to me? 'You're cutting the wrong way.' And then he walked out. I don't know why I never had the strength to follow through with it."
Confident that he had shoved the dagger deep enough, he sighed bleakly and stared off. There was an emptiness inside him that he'd imagined would have been filled with satisfaction at the girl's grief-stricken expression. The silence that followed was so heavy it rang in his ears. After a moment, he looked back at her. There was a sheen of moisture in her eyes. A jolt of shock coursed through him, and then guilt. He quickly stifled it and replaced the feeling with annoyance.
"Are you crying? For me?"
"No…" came the half-hearted denial. "Maybe. Is that a crime?"
"It's ridiculous," he scoffed. "I don't need your pity. Your tears are wasted on me."
"Why? You're still a human being, aren't you?" Her tone was defensive, like he had offended her. Why was she so determined to defend him? "Your past doesn't have to define you. You can change."
"And that's just it," he bit back. "I have no intention nor desire to do so."
"Ozai…" His stomach tightened at her use of his name again. She leaned toward him slightly with a sad smile. "I don't know what your plans are with me, but I can guess what's preying on you. Maybe you should just try to accept the hand you've been dealt and move on. You're not the Fire Lord anymore. You're not a firebender anymore. But maybe without those things, you can form a new identity." She placed a quiet hand on his arm. "One not controlled and polluted by your past. Your father's gone now. You have nothing to prove. You don't have to go through with this. Maybe it's time to let go of your ghosts and start a new life."
He felt something inside him crack. He writhed inside to escape the feeling, but it was there nonetheless and growing with the light touch of her hand on his arm. She was so sincere, so caring and he could not understand why, not for him.
"We could start a new life together. Once we're out of here. I can help you. We can help each other."
"And why would you want to do that? Aren't you forgetting your two impotent boyfriends?" he mocked with biting sarcasm. He almost regretted it as the words left his mouth.
Katara winced and closed her eyes, then looked at him again with a gaze that sliced him through.
"Because I've decided I don't want to go back. I want to stay with you."
He blinked, unable to conceal the surprise on his face. Well, this was unexpected.
The whites of her eyes looked blue in the light of the crystals as she stared up at him, awaiting his response. But words eluded him. What had become of his defenses? Where was his power and anger? His resolve?
A small voice deep inside urged him to rejoice in his victory. His plan had worked. She had turned from her friends and was all his now. It had fallen in place so perfectly. But as he held her vulnerable, trusting gaze in his own, he felt anything but victorious.
"Do what you want in the end." He tried to sound hard. "But don't think this changes anything. My plans are set."
She withdrew her hand, the hurt evident on her face. "Maybe in time you'll change your mind." Katara's voice was hardly more than a whisper, as though it was all she could muster.
His lips pressed together in a tight frown as he looked away. Her hope in him was misplaced. The girl honestly believed he was salvageable. It would not be long before she realized her error.
That is if they ever made it out of this place alive.
Why must he always do everything himself? Mortals could be so pitiful and weak and yet so maddeningly troublesome. If Jaaku had not propelled the Avatar back into his body the moment he had, those feeble-minded cretins would have found Ozai and that silly, tiresome girl. Any closer and they would have destroyed his chaotically beautiful plans. At least now the boy was in a dark place and would slow them down, but it wasn't how things were supposed to play out. Not at all.
And now he would have to find a way to intervene to get Ozai out of his mess. If he didn't do it soon, there was no telling what affect that girl might have on him. She was almost changing him. Almost. He needed to act and he needed to act now. If that man was not so crucial, he would just as well leave him in there to rot. But luckily for him, Jaaku needed him. It was time to get the show on the road.
Toph stared down at the conjurer, her mouth going slack. What did Genshi just say? Surely she misheard. It was unthinkable that Katara and Ozai… Yet still, she felt the color drain from her face, the sudden need to sit down. She sank to her knees and hugged her arms over her stomach.
For a moment, her mouth hung open, unable to form the words that were clouded in her mind. She huffed and shook her head in disbelief. "Explain this to me again," she said with a solemn stare.
"I swear, I wish I could tell you something different. But I can't help what I saw. Katara was definitely touching Ozai in a less-than-hostile way. It certainly didn't say captive. And Ozai seemed strangely comfortable with it."
"Are you telling me Katara's developed, like… feelings for Ozai?"
"I don't want to jump to conclusions…" Her tone was unconvinced. Toph could feel her eyes shifting away and then back again. "But yes," Genshi conceded, "that's the way it appeared to me."
Her mind raced in a hundred directions at once. What were they going to do? What could they do? Toph had never felt so helpless. Katara was slipping farther away with every moment that passed. But telling the others, especially Prince Hotpants and the Daddy-O, might result in panic and rash decisions and then where would they be? The group could fall apart.
"Do you think you could do one of your freaky vision things on me?" Toph asked.
Genshi thought for a moment. "I don't know. I'm not sure it would work since you're… well, you know…"
"Blind, yeah, I know," Toph cut her off. "But if it works – if I think about Katara and you're able to see a vision of her – do you think you could transfer the vision to me? Since we'd be, like, connected or whatever?"
"Maybe. I guess it's possible. The vision is really more of a spiritual sight, not so much physical. It's like a dream – a picture in your mind without the actual use of your eyes."
"So you're saying it could work?"
"There's only one way to find out."
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