A/N: Aww shucks, guys *blushes*. I'm truly flattered. Thank you to everyone for all the wonderful feedback. The reviews had never come in so quickly, haha. So glad you all enjoyed! Keep 'em coming :)
In response to reviews from Chapter 26:
JuiceKingBlah: I'm hyperventilating now! The harsh environment befalling on them! The hag! The kiss! THE DEMONS. Reminds me of something but I just can't recall! Oh well! I LOVE THIS CHAPTER! KEEP UP WITH THE GOOD WORK!
= = = Hehe hyperventilating, I guess that's good ;-) Not sure what it would remind you of since I don't watch any horror stuff myself (just don't find it scary, so it's not appealing). So this part has been really hard for me to write. In any case, thank you!
ThePinkBicycle: Omg! That was amazing! I fully ship zutara but katara X Ozai is just such a weirdly cool ship, I feel like you have it done really well. Keep it up!
= = = Haha I'm glad you find it weirdly cool. Thank you for your kind words!
Whiskey-eyes: because of your story, i have fallen in love with the idea of katara and ozai, even though it seems entirely unrealistic ... but thats what fanfictions about right? :) i love your story, not too fast paced and rushed, but more of a slow burn. i can't wait till the gang catches up (they're so close!) and read what happens to ozai and katara's 'relationship', with zuko thrown into the mix. is this coming up real soon? :) also, the mountain area is really creepy ... real shudder worthy ... i hope everyone makes it out alive.
= = = Speaking of pacing, I've learned a lot about that through writing this story and it probably should have gone faster at parts, but I'm glad you liked in anyway. Thank you for the review!
Luna de Papel: Well, finally! :D I wonder if the dark figure that follows them intends to harm them or ask for their help. Not that I want them to stick around and find out! But the demon could have certainly seriously harmed or kill them if it had wanted to already. Maybe its goal is just to drive people to commit suicide? I can't tell if I want to find out or just want them all to leave those cursed mountains behind! Especially now that Katara and Ozai finally kissed! :D
= = = Well… now you know I guess, haha. I like your speculation though :) Thank you for reviewing!
LadyRavenclaw96: Another brilliant chapter added to this story, there is so much going on! Everything(and everyone) is definitely on edge. The mountains are so creepy, the imagery is vivid and you can feel the cold, experience the harsh environment. Poor Zuko! Seems he had an unfortunate encounter with a demon-like creature, the gaang is really trying to just hold it all together, hope they survive the trip! And wow, the culmination of Ozai and Katara's tension was just perfect, it's not rushed and it really marks a new change in their relationship, haha the way you write them makes the couple so believable. I wonder how Dark Aang is fairing right now... Your writing has improved so much since the first chapter, do continue this wonderful story great writer! Love it very much -
= = = It's nice to hear the environment comes through in a tangible way – something I've really been working on lately, drawing the reader in to experience it. Ozai and Katara have been fun to write since there are so many possibilities and it hasn't been done much. Thanks for the reminder about Dark Aang… I'm trying to balance so much, I forget to touch on some things. And thank you for the writing compliment – looking back I can also see very obvious improvement. I've always loved writing but have been way out of practice, and this story was a sort of large-scale writing exercise for me, haha.
Langleen: Yeeeeeeessssssssss..god bless u dear writer for this amazing chap...LOVE IT n much love for u writer..wish granted, case closed, now wanting more..come at me 'evelasting updates'..haha
= = = Haha, happy to oblige :) Hope you keep writing. Thanks for the review!
Kare6Bear6: Your writing captured my attention from the first chapter to the last, and it now has me eagerly waiting for more. Great job! I love the way you've written the characters, very true to how their canon versions are. :)
= = = Wow, thank you very much. It's so nice to hear my writing hooked you and that I've done right by the characters. Hope you keep reading! :)
guest: FINALLY! THE KISS! It was about time! I loved the increasing tension between them - which led to the kiss- and the increasing horror of the landscape and the way it was affecting both groups! Marvelous job! I wonder how they are going to haddle the kissing -since they were interrupted by the ... tree - when it comes to fully realise it and have to talk about it!
= = = Haha I know, right?! Thanks for reviewing!
Zutara Fan: OH MY GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
YOU ARE AMAZING! YOU FINALLY MADE THEM KISS! I AM BEREFT OF SAYING ANYTHING THAT IS SANE RIGHT NOW DUE TO YOUR BEST CHAPTER YET! Sorry for the caps lock..I am really so happy right now! Thank you so much! Please make your chapters more romantic and please make them fast! You are the best! You made my day better!
= = = Hahaha awesome. Glad I could make you so happy. Thanks for reviewing!
Taco: I seriously just read all 26 chapters in the past five hours x_x I know, I'm crazy! But, this story is just absolutely amazing and I couldn't stop reading. One twist after another! -applauds- I really cannot wait until the next chapter _ continue the amazing work !
= = = Wow, all 26 chapters in one sitting?! That's pretty intense, haha. It really is a huge compliment and I thank you for taking the time to review. Hope you keep reading! :)
The day drew on and with it came the assurance that they were indeed on the descent. The proud mountain was finally bowing toward the lowly earth. Katara would have leaped for joy had it not been for the knot that twisted her stomach. Whatever was tracking them was growing closer at a frightening speed. So close that Katara could already make out minute details of its figure – two legs, two arms. Definitely humanoid. Except there was nothing human about it, of that she was certain. She couldn't quite place it, but something about it was just very wrong. The snow, ice, and harsh terrain slowed their progress and drained their energy. How could it possibly be moving so quickly?
Day turned to dusk and dusk drained to night. The snow had moved on and the moon was riding high, a faint halo behind the hazy veil of clouds. And there was still no sign of retreat from their hunter. The realization hit her like a kick in the gut: it was never going to stop. Not until it reached them. Something told her they would never live to see another sunrise if that happened. Despair sunk Katara's heart like a ball of lead. Her strength was ebbing so fast.
"What are we going to do?" she panted, trying to ignore the intense burning in her legs with each step. "It just keeps gaining on us. We can't keep up like this much longer without rest."
"We don't have much of a choice, do we? I'm not too eager to find out what that thing wants with us."
A muscle cramp gnawed at her side and Katara clutched her stomach. She grimaced and shook her head. "I don't think I can make it," she managed, her breathing growing toilsome.
Ozai glanced over at her, short puffs of his breath drifting away like ghosts. He placed a firm, tender grasp on her arm before looking forward again.
"You'll make it," he said. "Even if I have to drag you myself." He gave her arm a light squeeze before letting go a bit too quickly. Katara could feel the awkwardness in his touch and her heart quivered. Between running from their tracker and the pain, she had momentarily forgotten about this morning. The kiss…
Oh, that kiss. Her eyes drifted closed in a sigh as the memory flooded back to her. She stole a glance at Ozai. His eyes were fixed straight ahead, determination etched in his hardened brows. She wished she could read his thoughts. Had it been just a moment of weakness? Did he regret it? Or was the hesitance she now felt in his touch a mark of something deeper? A sign that it had been real, not just to her but to him. And perhaps now, in all his pride and over-confidence, there was something he had not planned for, something he was suddenly unsure what to with, and that scared him. The idea drew a faint smile on her lips. She hoped it was the latter.
Another dense blanket of cloud rolled in and snuffed out the halo of moonlight. The darkness of the forest was beyond imagining. It was endless, an eternal black void engulfing them with no hope of reaching dawn. Hours passed unbearably slowly in the unyielding blackness. Katara was almost convinced that dawn would never come when the first streaks of light lined the eastern sky. With a sigh of relief, she looked behind her only for the terror to come crashing down again. Somehow in the night, their hunter had gained more than a day's distance at their pace. That wasn't possible. They were already going as fast as the merciless mountain would let them.
"You shouldn't have looked back. It'll only upset you." Ozai's voice was deep and solemn. Katara looked over at him, puzzled. He didn't bother turning to her; he just stared with callous eyes into the nothingness ahead. She felt a spark of annoyance burning at his impervious attitude.
"But that… thing," she pointed behind her. "It's–"
"Closer, I know."
"A lot–!"
"I know. And it'll only keep getting closer. But you're wasting what little energy you have left by turning around every few miles. Maybe your attention is motivating it. Just ignore it."
Katara huffed her annoyance. Right, that always worked. Ignore her problems and they would all just magically disappear. Poof. Into thin air.
She sighed, realizing the anger was sucking away her energy. Closing her eyes, she took a breath and let it go slowly, willing the anger away with it. Maybe he was right. Maybe her obsession with it was giving it power somehow. She had to stay focused on getting out of here. To that end, nothing else mattered.
They walked through the day, eating bits of food as they could, always moving. Katara fought the urge to look behind her and instead concentrated on preserving her strength as best she could. By the time the pale daylight began melting into evening again, her head was pounding, her eyes blurred from lack of sleep. The dull pang of nausea twisted her stomach. There was no way she could go any further without rest. Her whole body was heavy, shaking limbs threatening to give out. She could feel the fatigue looming like a dark cloud, just waiting to swallow her up. Shadow was creeping into the edge of her vision as a faint ringing settled in her ears. Her head felt funny, like she was floating. The ringing grew louder and louder, until it drowned out everything completely. And as the darkness swallowed the rest of her vision, she felt her body hit the ground, buried in a casket of ice and snow.
Somewhere far away, she could hear Ozai's voice calling to her, his strong arms wrapping around her limp body. A cold hand cupped her face, shaking her gently.
Katara… Katara…
Her name on his lips beckoned her back. With a silent groan, her listless eyes flickered open. It felt as though hours had passed, but Katara could tell from the light left in the sky that it had only been minutes. For a moment, she could not move. She could only lie there in his arms, staring numbly into those amber eyes. A small place inside her quivered at the concern painted on his face, in spite of her weakness.
Clutching her to him, Ozai turned to look behind them and blinked in what looked like confusion. As the strength began to return to her slowly, she managed to follow the direction of his stare. Katara's lips parted in shock.
"It's gone," Ozai whispered, taking the words from her mouth. They sat together in stunned silence for several moments, as though expecting to see it cross their path again.
"How?" Katara breathed.
Ozai shook his head. "I don't know. But it doesn't matter. It's gone. All that matters now is getting rest while we can. And we're setting up right here."
"But there's not much to hide us here. We're sort of out in the open."
"You're in no condition to move," he insisted, laying her down tenderly as he started unpacking their gear. "We can sleep at the foot of that tree over. We'll be fine."
She didn't have the strength to argue. A rush of icy air swept across her as Ozai unwrapped his arms from around her. Pushing up to his knees, he held out his hand.
"Think you can get to your feet?"
Katara clasped her hand around his. "I think so," she groaned as Ozai pulled her slowly up to standing. Clutching his arms for balance, after a moment she let him lead her step by step over the short distance to an old, giant tree.
Dusk was cloaking the mountain as Ozai finished laying out the sleeping bags. Katara stumbled toward her bed, ready to throw herself down, when her eyes met with Ozai's. A fluttering in her stomach sent a wave of goosebumps over her skin. They were settling down to sleep. Next to each other. And they still hadn't talked about what had happened in that little tree shelter.
The two of them stood beside their respective sleeping bags, eyes locked in a heavy exchange. Katara hugged her arms to her chest. It was hard not to notice the too-large gap between their sleeping spaces. Was he trying to make a point? Her stomach hardened as it dawned on her. Of course he was. She suddenly wanted to shrink inside herself. Her face felt impossibly hot as a blush crept across her cheeks. Face turning toward the ground, her fingers fidgeted together mindlessly as she tried to swallow past the ache.
Ozai cleared his throat. "Get some rest." He nodded toward her sleeping bag as he finally lied down and wrapped himself in his own.
Katara bit her lip and looked away before gingerly pulling the cover back, sliding into it. That was it? Get some rest? Why had she expected anything to actually change? With the frozen ground at her back, she stared up at the sky, wishing she could be invisible.
.:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:.
Ozai rested on his side, watching Katara as the minutes dragged on, drowned in silence. Her eyes flitted across the dull blanket of darkening clouds above. A muscle in her jaw tightened and relaxed, over and over again, as she stared skyward. He did not have to guess at what had upset her. His gaze fell. He couldn't blame her. Not talking about what had happened, about their palpable attraction to one another, was like trying to ignore an uncontrolled fire. But he simply could not do it. Would not do it. Talking about it gave it life. Gave it power. He did not want to surrender himself to that.
He watched her chest rise and fall with a deep, silent sigh. It was never supposed to happen this way. It had all seemed so simple at first. His plan had been perfect, flawless. Ozai had only meant to earn her trust, manipulate her to his advantage. He had never expected his own heart to get in the way. The heart he had sworn had stopped beating long ago.
Unsolicited, a new thought began to emerge in the back of his mind like a toxic weed taking root – first a stem, then a node, then leaves opened up, beginning to strangle him. In order to catch a fish, he realized, one must be willing to lose the bait.
She was the bait.
If his ultimate plan succeeded, he would be forced to give up Katara.
Give up Katara…
A surge of something he couldn't identify crashed over him, like a breaking wave. He struggled to breathe, fought through the stifling weakness and pushed it from his mind. He could not think about any of that now. It had been clear from the start how it would all end. He just hadn't anticipated how the tables would turn on him. How he would come to care so much.
Ozai studied her soft features, the untamed curls in her hair. Wild yet beautiful. Like her. Perhaps he would lose her in the end. But she was here with him now. In this moment. Without thinking, he felt his hand reach out, the tips of his fingers just barely kissing her fingertips. Katara turned toward him, her soulful eyes drifting up to meet his. Ozai's lips parted with words that would not come. She must have read the discord in his eyes, for she tentatively spread her fingers and interlaced them with his. His thumb swept lightly across her hand as they lied there in the quiet darkness, their eyes speaking everything they were unable to say. And then slowly she scooted herself toward him until her body was inches from his, the sweetness of her breath on his face.
Ozai pressed back the voice that whispered its warning and ran the tips of his fingers lightly from the tender skin of her wrist to the crook of her elbow. She shivered as he pushed the weight of her hair off her shoulder, lifting his hand to cup the side of her neck. His eyes drank her in, lingering on her lips before pulling back to her eyes. The glimmer of longing he found there ignited a spark somewhere deep inside him. He started to lean in and then stopped himself. His breath caught as her eyes began to flutter closed. The taste of her lips had haunted his every moment since their first kiss. Deep in his heart he had already realized that once would never have been enough for him. Against every doubt and protest, he closed the gap and their lips met, breathlessly.
Ozai kissed her, softly at first, succumbing to a growing hunger that threatened to tear him apart. He was drowning, engulfed in his opposing element, slowly suffocating him yet giving him life. He fought it back and drank it in at the same time. Katara wrapped her arms around his neck and wound her fingers through his hair, twisting them tight to pull him closer. A low sound pitched in the back of his throat. He inhaled her wintry scent, soaking in every part of her like he never had before. His tongue skimmed along her bottom lip. Sweet, like rosewater and lilies. His teeth closed around it, nibbling hungrily. A sigh of ecstasy escaped her as his hand went around the small of her back, pulling her tight against him. She moaned. He could feel Katara's heart racing, flush against his own, as he rolled her back onto the ground, her body warm and slender and perfect under his.
And then they were tangled, limbs tied up in knots. The mix of strife and desire filled him like a hot poison. An icy trickle of stray snow melted down the inside of his chest and he shivered. Ozai was freezing and burning at the same time. The mountains so cold and her mouth so hot. Their breathing was heavy, erratic as a hand slipped under her cloak, the folds of her tunic, the edge of her bindings.
Give up Katara…
The thought came crushing down again, smothering him like a lead blanket. His stomach twisted. With a gasp, he broke away. Katara blinked at the sudden disruption.
Ozai struggled to catch his breath for a moment, hovering on elbows above her. "I'm sorry," he rasped, turning his face away. His chest still heaved with each breath as he pushed himself up. He raked shaking hands through his hair and tried to slow his racing heart. Katara followed him, eyebrows pulled together.
"For what?" she managed, eyes still glazed with passion. Her head shook in confusion. "I don't–"
"I just… I don't want…" He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to clear the sweltering fog from his head. "This isn't fair. Not to you. Not to me."
Her eyes widened, shadowed by furrowed brows, as the implication sunk in. "What isn't fair?" Her voice took on a new tone. Raw. Defensive. "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean." His voice was edging quickly to match hers. "We've both known all along how this situation plays out."
"I thought I told you. Whatever your plan is, whatever you think you have to prove, it doesn't have to be that way. I'm staying, remember?" Her hand reached out, quiet and gentle on his arm. "I want to. You can start fresh, forget your past. Forget it all."
"Katara…" Her name on his lips was suddenly too intimate. Too comfortable. He cursed inwardly. "You're fooling yourself if you think any of this will change the ending. It won't. It doesn't." His eyes fell from hers in a frown. "This can't go on."
Her mouth went slack, opening and closing in silent shock. "So… that's it then?" she choked out a bitter laugh. "After everything that's happened. After all we've been through together. After… this." She waved her hand between them. "A few well-chosen words, a spineless excuse, and we carry on as before? Pretend like none of this ever happened?"
"None of this was ever supposed to happen!"
"But it did!" She huffed, shook her head in a grimace. Her narrowed eyes shot icy daggers through his heart. "Maybe you are weak," she managed in a scratchy half-whisper. "Maybe your father was right about you."
The words burned like acid. His eyes widened to white as anger pulsed a surge of red heat through his body. Fingernails cut into the palms of his white-knuckled fists.
"I would be very, very careful if I were you," he hissed, muscles quivering. His hand coiled tightly around her wrist and jerked her to him. She gasped, his mouth hovering over her ear. "I could end you," he wrenched her closer, "right here and now. A flick of my wrist. A twist of my blade. Walk away. Do you understand?"
"Then do it," she snarled, drawing back, glowering cold blue eyes. "What's stopping you?"
Ozai smirked through a viperish scowl, his eyes burning with impossible fury.
"You are, my dear," he sneered. "Your lust hasn't rendered you so forgetful, has it? I still need you." Tossing her hand away, he growled through clenched teeth. "Count yourself lucky for that, waterbender."
Her moniker dripped off his tongue like hot venom. He saw the pain cut across her face. The confusion and hurt and anger. For a fleeting moment, guilt gnawed at his gut. He stamped it out, told himself he didn't care. And he didn't. He couldn't.
Hours passed. The frigid wind swept over him, his fury. It hissed and sputtered against the firestorm inside until he could feel the flames slowly dying away. Extinguished. From the ashes, he felt the guilt stir and rise to life again, stronger. This time it would not be vanquished. It grew, irrepressible, snaking through him like a weed and budding into a new feeling. One that was almost so foreign to him, he struggled at first to fit it into a word.
Regret.
For the first time in as long as he could remember – maybe it was the first time – he felt genuinely sorry. Ashamed of his own harsh words, his rash actions. The look on her face. He had cut her deeply. That feeling – regret – sawed at his heart and he felt raw, cold. But he could not bring himself to apologize. Not when the ending was already in the stars. It was wasted effort. It would only give her hope.
They lied there in their too-far-apart sleeping bags. The unnatural quiet of the mountains rang in his ears, deafening. Katara kept her back to him, cold and distant, saying more than words ever could. She never turned to face him again.
Aang struggled against his bonds, secured tightly to Appa's saddle. Sleep eluded him as he glowered up at the cloud-blackened sky. He writhed, teeth clenched, awake with the searing disgust of the sleeping bodies on the ground, those he once called friends. Hatred's poison washed over him, eyes rolling to white, like a drug. It coursed through his veins, eroding him bit by bit, peppering his heart with black voids. He savored the thrill of it. Yet above all the noise and screams of loathing in his head, there was one word that kept undulating at the very top.
Revenge.
If he was certain of one thing, it was this. He would have it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But it was coming. His upper lip curled as he imaged all the delicious ways he might exact his vengeance.
Another voice, not his own, whispered into his soul.
Patience.
Jaaku. Aang took a deep breath and exhaled the air from his lungs. Closing his eyes, he began to meditate, allowing the essence of the spirit to fill his mind, his heart, his soul. Jaaku was on his side. He understood him, his plight. He would not lead him astray.
I've been patient. They have me chained like a rabid dog. How much longer?
The reply came, an indomitable whisper.
Soon.
His mouth pressed into a frown, but he relaxed his face. Aang breathed deep through his nose and exhaled slowly. Soon. Soon, they would meet Ozai. They would untie him then, hoping for his help. It would be their own death stroke. A corner of his mouth twitched upward. He would make them cry for mercy that would never come. He would make them pay.
Every last one.
The edge of the sky was beginning to leak the promise of dawn when Katara stirred, her heavy eyes still blurred with sleep. Blinking through the haze, she looked around. Was it a voice that had woken her?
Silvery flakes drifted down, glittering in the faint light of the fading moon. She stole a glance at Ozai. He was still sleeping. Maybe she had imagined it. Their last words flooded back to her, twisting her face as warm tears stung her eyes. The lump in her throat burned and she forced them back. Bastard.
Tearing her eyes away from him, her vision caught on something and she had to squint to be sure. She gulped a serrated breath, stomach turned to stone. Footprints upon footprints circled their campsite, deep tracks in the snow winding through the woods, across the clearing, right to the tree by which they were settled and then snaking back again. The snow that was falling had hardly begun to kiss the sunken imprints. It dawned on her with a muted gasp. They were fresh.
Terror dragged her to her feet and she jerked around. Everything was still, no life in sight. The gnarled tree above them cast a soft indigo shadow against the snow. A part of it stirred and she blinked. Was it moving? She spun around and looked up. A single heavy branch above her sleeping bag had begun to sway, gleaming with a thin layer of powdery snow. The rest of the great tree stood frozen, almost lifeless, in the ghostly moonlight. Maybe just the wind, she chanted to herself. Just the wind.
A black shape wavered next to a tree from the corner of her eye and Katara yelped, spinning around. There was nothing. Just the tree, flanked by a large boulder. Was she finally going crazy?
And then she heard it, the voice on the wind that had beckoned her from sleep. Or not so much a voice as a hiss, foul with evil, murmuring words she did not recognize. She spun full around, gasping breaths. Clutching shaking arms tightly around herself, she backed toward Ozai.
"Wake up," she dared in a jagged whisper. Katara risked a glance down at him. "Ozai. Wake u–"
A hell-blackened scream rose from the hiss, giving way to a gargling, scraping, sandpapered growl. Ozai jerked awake beside her, fear bulging in his eyes.
"What was that?"
Katara's heart hammered in her ears as her eyes darted across the landscape. She shot a glance behind her and felt the air lurch from her lungs. Her mouth hung open, a shaking hand reaching out to grip Ozai's arm. His head turned to follow her terror and he tensed, took a step back.
"What in Agni's black hell…?"
A dark figure stood amongst the trees, black against the snow. Hawk-like fingers clawed at the air, its head twitching toward the sky in another blood-curdling shriek as it started toward them with purpose. Its whole body jerked erratically as it moved and Katara gasped as the realization sunk in.
"It's that creature," she breathed. "Ozai! It found us!"
It moved quickly, faster than Ozai and Katara could back away. Its head and shoulders wrenched fitfully, its limbs convulsing. In the paling light, the charred, leathery skin shone dull, wrinkled and black from what should have been a fatal burn. The hooded cloak it wore was ancient, tattered and torn to shreds. And she cursed herself for not realizing sooner. It was already dead.
Katara's heel backed into a buried boulder and sent her tumbling back into the snow. She struggled to get to her feet and reached for Ozai's outstretched hand but the creature was too fast. A searing pain tore into her leg and she screamed. Clawed hands dripped with blood over a deep gash in her shredded clothes. She kicked the thing away as Ozai yanked her to her feet. The snow beneath her dotted red, but she was numb to the pain, the adrenaline pumping through her like liquid fire.
The creature rose to its feet slowly, threateningly. A jagged-toothed smile stretched to its stark white eyes, blood oozing from its sockets, its cavernous mouth. It gnashed its teeth as its face reached toward the sky, revealing a sickening gash along its neck. Ragged, wiry tendons jabbed about with a turn of its neck. And then it lurched forward with an ear-splitting shriek. Its glassy white eyes flashed, reeling toward them with sporadic, giant steps.
Ozai drew his blade and slashed, missed. A sinewy, clawed arm sliced through the air, sending the dagger end over end into the snow. Bending the snow at her feet, Katara hurled spears of ice just before it lunged in attack, impaling it with a stomach-turning thud. The creature staggered backward, head slumped over and Katara breathed a quick gasp of victory. But a pebbly growl rattled as its eyes rose to hers, the spears melting to water.
Ozai and Katara leapt backward as it sprung forward again. Claws made contact with Ozai's arm, shredding layers of fabric and slicing through skin. Ozai grunted in pain, clutching his arm to slow the bleeding. Katara shot ice daggers, water whips, anything she could think of at the monster, narrowly dodging its lethal grasp. It hardly slowed it down. The two of them were bruised and bloody and leaking energy in the snow. They would not win this battle, she knew. It was over. All she could do was go down fighting.
With her last drops of energy, Katara brought every crystal of snow around them to her command. It swirled and churned in the wind as she transformed it to a globe of water around them. A deep breath and she blasted it toward the creature, freezing it on contact. The ice creaked and groaned as it set into place but she could see droplets melting down the sides as the entity tried to break free. With her hands splayed out, Katara drove every last scrap of power she had into the ice as she edged her way toward the entity. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply of the bright mountain air, allowing it to wash through her, cleanse her of darkness, concentrating on the peace that rose up in its place. And then with a great cry, she shot her arms forward, feeling the tranquility course into the ice from her fingertips. The wall of ice around the creature began to glow blue, brighter and brighter, until it burned Katara's eyes to look at it. The power of it grew and grew until her shaking arms threatened to give out. Higher, higher and until she felt it peak.
There was a momentary lull, a strange stillness, and then a great burst of blue light shot into the sky, illuminating the mountains with the glow of a thousand moons. The creature's expression twisted in agony before melting into something new, and Katara could name it instantly. Peace. The edges of its mouth turned up as its face lifted skyward. With a soft moan, it slowly began to disintegrate until nothing was left to prove its existence, finally disappearing with a weightless sigh.
Katara and Ozai stared at the place it had stood, chests heaving in shock. She was not sure how long they had been standing there when he spoke, a wind-burned whisper.
"What did you do to it?"
"I healed it. In a way," she spoke softly, eyes glued to the wraithlike impression in the snow. "Purified it. I emptied it of its darkness so it could finally rest in peace."
She could feel his surprise beside her.
"How did you know it would work?"
"I didn't," she shrugged. "But I figured we were about to die. I thought it was worth a shot."
He mumbled a sound of agreement before plodding back to their tree. "Come on," he said, packing up his gear. "It shouldn't be much further now. Let's get out of here while we still can."
Backpacks slung over shoulders, they began the last of their trek down the mountain. He kept the distance between them, a gulf he would not cross. His eyes never met hers again.
A/N: Okay, so the Ozai/Katara makeout scene… I was conflicted when writing it, not sure if it was a little much or right on. I was really in the moment and just let the words flow from my fingertips and that's what happened. Anyway, not sure if I'm apologizing for it or what I'm trying to say; just hope I didn't scare anybody away, haha. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review :)