The three had a quiet reunion, with few words spoken between them but an understanding passing between them immediately. They'd continue to fight—they'd always fight—but they needed to regroup. Katara was the first to suggest a destination and, while returning to the Fire Nation shores was a bitter thought, it was a fact that the Phoenix King would be looking to consolidate power in the Earth Kingdom as quickly as possible. They may be marginally safe on the fringes and the wilds of the Earth Kingdom, but they couldn't sustain themselves and begin anything like a plan without access to civilization. Disguises would be difficult, but they could cross that bridge when they reached it.
"We took Appa for granted." The words were unprompted, and Zuko slipped his hand into Katara's quietly as he helped her dismount their exhausted eel hound. Katara found that he did things like that more often now, with both her and Toph. He'd reach for them, with something that was between affection and desperation. He'd reach out idly, to help, or urgently, to assure himself that they were real. Toph might have once teased him for the behavior, calling it girly or clingy, but Katara's eyes were still sharp enough to see the ever-present tension in the earthbender's shoulders relax ever so slightly with each touch. Katara found herself doing much the same, so she couldn't exactly fault the firebender for it.
"We did," Zuko agreed quietly. He had chased Appa ceaselessly across the known world for months. The eel hound they'd spirited away from the royal palace was burning out after hardly over a week. It wasn't a fair comparison by any measure, but the reminder brought a renewed surge of hatred for the twisted monster his sister had become. The last sky bison—a gentle remnant of a bygone age—was dead, another species destroyed by his people.
Words didn't come easily to the trio of benders with the loss of their friends, but little needed to be said as they prepared camp for the night. Toph immediately wandered away, scouting out the area with her seismic sense to ensure that there weren't any potentially nosy neighbors in the vicinity. Katara did her best to track down a water source to replenish their supplies, pulling water from the air or plants if she wasn't successful. Zuko took care of the eel hound's needs before gritting his teeth and working to forage up something edible from the Fire Nation countryside. When the routine was finished, the eel hound would be secured to a nearby tree to prevent it from wandering off and Toph would create a new pocket in the earth—a tiny room beneath the surface with holes large enough for ventilation but not much else. The three would sleep uneasily in the small pocket, playing a cruel game of roulette to see which of them would wake violently from terrible nightmares first. After the first nightmare, there wasn't much chance of sleep, but the three would stay hidden in the earth anyway, safe and secure with their hands joined.
Toph was already gone on her survey of the surroundings when Katara began to take in the landscape around them. To her surprise, she immediately recognized the area and her breath caught.
"What? What is it?" Zuko's voice was taut with worry. Katara could distantly understand the reasoning for his concern—if something was wrong, it likely meant that they'd be found and killed. The Fire Nation may suffer minor annoyances for making martyrs of the Avatar's three masters, but all three of the teenagers knew they'd be too dangerous to be left alive in captivity. Katara and Toph had already shown themselves to be very creative when escaping traps, and it wasn't likely that the new Fire Lord would suffer her brother's presence even to gloat.
"We've been here before." The village was further west, she knew, but this was the village on the river that she had insisted on helping. She'd delayed their party for days to play hero, but it had felt so good to be able to help someone again. She spent so much of this journey lost, but she'd felt whole while acting as the Painted Lady. "Before you joined us. There's a village down that way. A factory that polluted their river. And I… I was able to help."
Zuko was shocked to silence for a long minute, weighing his response on his tongue carefully. It was no surprise that Katara would leap to help someone—let alone an entire village—but he hadn't heard so many words from her since… Since before.
"I remember you impersonating a spirit, lying to us, making Appa sick, and almost destroying a village full of people." Toph's voice broke his silence and Zuko nearly jumped out of his skin as the earthbender all but appeared at his elbow.
"Don't do that to—wait, what?" he asked, her words finally catching up to him. The words were sardonic in Toph's usual style, but her tone was empty and blank and an uncomfortable—though increasingly familiar—ache struck Zuko. He'd encountered that sensation with Katara while she was near-catatonic; his friends were so close, but they still felt lost to him somehow. Something that was inherently them was missing, and he wondered in the darkness of the nights after they'd given up on sleep if they'd ever get that back. He wondered if he was missing something too. It felt like he was, but he couldn't investigate that in good conscience now. Facing the easier mystery first, his eyes landed on Katara and he was pleasantly surprised to see a light blush dusting her cheeks as she crossed her arms defensively.
"Well, they were letting the factory ruin their lives! So… I kind of helped. A bit." For a moment, there was almost passion in her voice, and Zuko's breath caught at the sound.
"Yes, destroying the factory definitely helped them a bit," Toph shot back. A grain of sarcasm broke through the neutral and Zuko became suddenly aware of a strange pain in his cheek. He lifted a hand to touch the afflicted area and he almost flinched to recognize that he was almost smiling. The ghost of a smile died away quickly after its recognition, but not before it drew Katara's eye. Breathing had been painful and laborious since she and Zuko had fled the capitol but seeing that almost-smile threatened the burden resting on her chest. It was oppressive and unyielding, but—for the first time in over a week—there was something close to hope in the confused mire of her thoughts.
"I'm going down to the water," she declared, surprising herself. Waterbending in plain view was too dangerous to attempt but being near or in water had always helped calm her wayward thoughts. In water she had control. She had peace. She desperately craved those things now.
"There's nobody around," Toph reported quietly. She was always the best at listening, even if she often barreled through past all warning signs. Katara wondered if the earth had told Toph that she wanted very much to be alone for a moment. Whatever cosmic hint Toph had received, Katara was glad for it. She reached for her two friends, briefly squeezing each of their hands before wandering down to the riverside.
White clouds drifted lazily across the sky, reflected in the smooth blue glass of the river. The weather in the Fire Nation was so foreign to Katara after her years living on a glacier, but she couldn't deny that it felt good to sit in the sunlight. Still, it was a warm day and she was relieved to plunge her hands into the cool waters of the river as soon as she'd reached her destination.
The last time she'd been at this river, things had been so different… She had thought of the Painted Lady often when they'd left. She had kept that moment a secret, clutched quietly and proudly against her heart. The memory was gentle and soft, warm and comforting even now with her mind so wrought with raw grief. It was one moment she wouldn't change, not for anything.
But what if you could? A voice drifted across the water. The glassy surface of the slow river rippled, tiny waves moving towards Katara as fog filled the air. What memories would you change?
Katara hardly had time to react—didn't have time to do more than rear back in shock, hands automatically covered with a thick film of water to be used as a defense—before a willowy woman stepped out of the fog. A veil floated about her gently, melting from the dense fog, but it did little to disguise or hide the paint on the woman's face. Eyes wide with recognition, Katara bowed her head with breathless surprise.
Katara of the Water, I have been watching you these dark days. You have lost much, feeling the sharpest of pains, but still you retain drive for those you love. You are hurt, but you are strong. A pure heart. These are characteristics we have long searched for, these past hundred years… This war has ended for humanity, and it has caused an unbalance humanity cannot hope to understand. Your nations have fallen, and all pay that price.
"I'm sorry." Katara's tongue felt dry and useless, but the apology took precedence over her discomfort and she forced it out. She was sorry—so truly and deeply sorry—at how everything had gone. The war was lost, and she couldn't help but reflect on all the wasted time. Aang had been just a kid when she and Sokka had found him and, while it was true that they were all children when this last chapter of the war had begun, they'd been doomed to fail almost from the start. Children couldn't be expected to fight and win in an adult's war, but they also weren't exempt from its consequences. They'd learned that far too late.
It is not your apology to give, child. This world was twisted into cruelty long before you were born, and you cannot be blamed for being immobilized before its momentum. The real dangers started so long ago, quiet but festering, and even the spirits ignored the dangers until the course was set. A gentle hand gripped Katara's jaw and the Painted Lady raised Katara's face to look into her eyes. If you held the power to change your fate… If you held the strength to change your memories, where would you begin? Which new course would you set?
"I'd—I'd want to go to the start. When we found Aang." Speaking was difficult, but Katara slowly gained traction. "If we hadn't let Zuko take him that day in the South Pole—No… If Zuko hadn't known Aang, he never would have changed his path."
There is our dilemma, child. A gentle smile overtook the spirit's features and the sight took Katara's breath away. The warm light in her eyes was almost familiar, like a half-forgotten dream, and Katara took a moment to name the warm glow in the Painted Lady's eyes as a mother's pride. You may be of pure heart, but this war is too far gone to be won alone, not with love or drive. There is such strong enmity within all the nations, and you know only the surface of it. That enmity is why the prince battled with himself for so long against his father. That is why you struggled to accept him when he truly changed for the better.
"Can't be won alone? But it could be done? Just with help?"
That is our hope… The elder spirits have convened to discuss this matter, and a proposal has been suggested. While we may not fight humanity's battles, it has been decided that champions may be chosen and guided. We have chosen our champions and devoted what influence we have to keep you safe so that we may remove you, train you, and release you again. But not to your world, not as you know it. This world is lost, and its peoples will soon all fold before the own who declares himself king of all. There is opportunity yet, though, in days past.
"Days past… Back in time? You'd have me go into the past?" A wave of nausea struck Katara suddenly, stomach sinking sharply at the thought of abandoning what little she had left. Zuko. Toph. "What about my friends?"
I did say this war cannot be won alone. Zuko of the Fire and Toph of the Earth each possess tools that will be required for this war to end as it must. You and your companions will be taught, and you shall become our hands in the true war… Return to them, young one, and bring them back to me. There is much to be done.
Zuko was away from the glade of trees they had decided to camp in when Katara returned, but Toph was uniquely equipped to find him as he combed the area for edible flora. While Katara hadn't been forthcoming on any details—mostly as she possessed absolutely no idea where to begin to explain the conversation that she really hoped was more than hallucination—both Zuko and Toph were able to tell that something was different in the waterbender. Quietly acknowledging the light in her eyes and the levity in her step, the two followed her back to the shoreline.
"What are we doing here, Katara?" Toph's voice was incredibly gentle, but Zuko couldn't spend much time marveling at the rarity as the fog thickened around them. He watched as the Painted Lady strode weightlessly across the water towards them.
Be at ease, Toph of the Earth. There is much to be done and very little time in which to do it. The Painted Lady's voice was soft as she knelt at the water's edge, reaching out to gently take Toph's hand from Katara, pressing it against her own face. There was a whistle of air as Toph exhaled sharply.
"Y-You're—That was a dream," Toph said, voice low with disbelief. The Painted Lady only smiled, allowing Toph's hand to fall away.
It was, she agreed easily as she stood, moving to face all three. Her face fell into a serious frown, all humor forgotten as her smile melted away. The spirits have discussed the war at length, young ones. And a decision has been made.
"What decision can be made now? We lost," Zuko stated with a pained grimace. The spirit only shook her head with a soft chiding noise.
Few things are ever truly lost, Zuko of the Fire. Even when the situation is most dire, we do still have a chance for the best ending to this story. It took years, and it took much searching, but our solution has been found. Spirits such as myself have very limited influence on the physical world, but we are deeply tied to it. To attempt to return to any semblance of balance, we shall exert that influence. It is my—our—hope that you three shall become our hands in this war. That we may smooth the road at your feet to lead you to that best ending… However, it must be said that this is not a decision that can be made for you. Our strength is waning and, with it, that hope. If you are not able to commit to this cause fully, it is in vain.
"We decided to fight a long time ago." Zuko surprised himself by being the first to speak, but the words reflected the drive burning behind his heart. He had committed himself to this war so long ago he hardly knew anything else. He had decided long ago to see it to its end, even if the end he strove for now was so different from the finish he had once dreamed of. His hands clenched into fists at his side, but his stance softened when Katara wrapped a hand over his wrist.
"That's not all," the waterbender murmured. "What she's suggesting is that we go back. The spirits have the ability to send us back in time, before the war dragged on like this. We could go back and do things right."
"Aang, Sokka, Suki, and the others… They'd be alive?" Toph's voice was weak, but there was steel in the set of her face when she spoke again. "Sign me up."
This is not a decision to be made lightly. The Painted Lady's voice was critical, but Toph scoffed irreverently. It was a dismissive noise, disrespectful and insolent and Zuko realized that Katara's hand had shifted to weave her fingers through his only as they tightened in response to the runaway's response.
"It's like Sparky said, we decided to fight a long time ago."
Katara could feel the loss of their friends like a physical wound, but Toph's stern declaration was as soothing as any healing. Something warm, bright, and hopeful bubbled in her chest, briefly smothering the hurt and the brokenness of her heart. Her eyes burned, but the tears that began to run down the waterbender's face didn't taste of bitterness and a weak laugh startled out of her.
They would be okay, Katara knew as suddenly and immediately as she knew the tides. It was a fact of the world around her as she stood with Toph and Zuko that they would undergo whatever training was put to them. Any obstacle in their path was surmountable, and before the end of the road, they would be reunited with their fallen.
Katara looked at her friends, feeling fiercely protective and proud in that moment. The earthbender had changed a lot since Katara had met her, growing taller and louder and more unguarded than Katara could ever have predicted, but that transformation paled in comparison to the changes she'd seen since they had last parted ways. Toph had been quiet, but she was nearly always the first to wake. Katara never asked what haunted her dreams, but they left her quiet and tense in the waking world. Now, with this hope of fixing it in front of them, Toph was changed again. Katara could see all of Toph's strength, shining and hard like precious stones, glittering in her sightless eyes. Her friend was returned to her, bruised and bent but unbroken.
Zuko had lost and regained faith in himself and others so many times over the years that Katara was unsurprised to see his body shift slightly away from hers. The look in his eyes slowly grew more guarded, and his lips twisted into a thin line. He was worried, but Katara realized it was more than that as his eyes grew pinched and he shifted his head slightly to look away from the others. He hadn't pulled away, but his hand had went limp in her hold.
"What is it?" she murmured softly, tightening her grip on his hand and stepping closer to bump his shoulder with hers. She was not going to allow him to shut them out, not now. Not after everything. Still, a lump grew in Zuko's throat as he searched for words to describe the storm of his thoughts. Time seemed to drag on in silence before Katara took the initiative again and took a guess. "It's your uncle, isn't it?"
"How—" Zuko's voice broke and not even he understood what he was asking of Katara. Still, he tried again. "How can—I've changed so much. How can I face him?"
"Proudly," Katara answered, staring evenly into the firebender's eyes. "You have changed, Zuko. You've chosen the right path. That's all that will matter to Iroh."
"Although he'll probably be weirded out if you take him up on the tea on Day 1 back," Toph interjected thoughtfully. A wry smile found its way past Zuko's barriers and Katara was glad to see it. She was glad to see Zuko, after a moment of careful thought, shoot Toph a weak withering glare before returning his attention to the Painted Lady.
"We are agreed."
Wonderful. Then let's be off. Come into the water, all of you. I shall take you to the safest place in this world. There you, Toph and Zuko, shall meet your masters. Then your training shall start in earnest.
Katara walked into the water without a moment's hesitation, as water never held any fear for her. Toph wasn't quite as comfortable with walking into the depths of the river, but Zuko gave neither comment nor complaint and silently offered his arm. The three followed the spirit until they were nearly knee-deep in the blue water, at which point the Painted Lady twisted her arms about herself gracefully. The water lifted up obediently, forming a large bubble of air in which the group stood. The spirit flicked her wrist and the bubble began to sink, gradually at first but then faster and faster still. The outside of the bubble thickened into an opaque icy shell at the Painted Lady's command, but they continued gaining speed as they travelled away.
Published 5:17, 7.24.20