Katara

As I'm pulling my hair behind me, I see Aang and Sokka come out of their hiding spot.

"So you were just going to take Appa anyways?" He accuses.

"Yes." I reply, hardly looking over at him. Avatar or no, he can't stop me, not even if he tries. I'm a far better Waterbender than he is, and he knows it. And if Zuko helps me, I don't think he'd win.

"It's okay, because I forgive you." I have to fight not to roll my eyes. "Does that give you any ideas?

"Don't try to stop us." I warn.

"I wasn't planning to. This is a journey you need to take. You need to face this man." I nod at him, surprised but grateful and not about to wait around and talk about it. "But when you do, please don't choose revenge. Let your Anger out. Then let it go. Forgive him."

"Okay, we'll be sure to do that Guru Goody-Goody." Zuko answers Wryly. Determined as I am, I have to stifle a smile and laugh. Not that I'll tell him or anyone else, but I love Zuko's dry and sarcastic sense of humor. It just fits what we've gone through better than Sokka's puns.

"Thanks for understanding." I tell Aang. "Yip-Yip!"

As we soar through the air on Appa, I turn my attention to Zuko.

"So where are we going?"

"We need to find a fire navy communication tower. All the navy's movements are coordinated by messenger Hawk, and every tower has to be up to date on where everyone is deployed."
'So once we find a communication tower, we bust in and take the information we need."

"Not exactly. We need to be stealthy and make sure no one spots us. Otherwise, they'll warn the Southern Raiders long before we reach them."

We get in with no problems, and a jolt goes through me when Zuko points out Whale Tail Island on the map. Whether it's hope or anger, I don't even know.

"Whale Tail Island here we come."

Hours later, we're still flying, And we still have hours to go. Appa's flying lower, but he doesn't stop. Zuko sleeps for a while, but I just keep my eyes on the horizon, a thousand scenarios of what I'm going to do to him when we find him. Ice Shards. Blood Bending. Frostbite. Drowning. I can't ge the image of my mother's body out of my head as I ran back into our hut after she was killed. She wasn't stabbed or strangled, no she was burned. He killed her with a powerful firebolt to the torso, burning her clothes and flesh, but not searing it shut to stop the bleeding. Dad said she probably passed out from shock, and died of blood loss. He deserves every last thing I can unleash on him."

"You should get some rest. We'll be there in a few hours. You'll need all your strength." Zuko says when he wakes, right as the sun rises. Firebenders. "Oh, don't you worry about my strength, I have plenty. I'm not the helpless little girl I was when they came." As I say it, I can't stop the flashbacks anymore. I tell Zuko the story. "I ran as fast as I could to find my father. He was fighting the Firebenders, but he took care of the one he was dealing with and came back to our house. We were running faster than we ever had. But we were too late. When we got there the man was gone. And so was she." My voice breaks at the end, and I have to fight back tears. The pain is almost as fresh as the day it happened.

"Your mother was a brave woman."

"I know." I say, taking a breath and touching her necklace closer to me. The only thing that makes me feel close to her at all anymore.

Soon, I have to give into Zuko's nagging and I rest. He's right, I don't want to do this tired and sloppy. I climb onto Appa's saddle and let Zuko take the reins. Sleep is Fitful, but it does come. I'm a light sleeper though, always have been, and it takes me less than a second to wake up when Zuko shouts that we've arrived. I look around and it's sundown. The full moon is coming out. Good.

"There! See those Sea Raven Flags? It's the Southern Raiders."

"Let's do this."

I put all my fury into my bending. Before the Fire Nation sailors know what's hit them they're knocked off the deck. Zuko and I make our way inside, looking for the bridge. A sailor tries to stop us, but Zuko throws him back with a powerful display of force. He didn't even use his bending. Despite myself and what we're here for, my stomach jolts when I see him do that. I shake the feeling off and we run to the bridge.
"This is it, Katara. Are you ready to face him?" I pull my mask down and throw the water at the doors with every bit of force I have, knocking it almost off its hinges.

The second it opens, I have a fire blast thrown at me. Before I can deflect them, Zuko steps in front of me and dissipates the attack, putting the captain on the defensive. I step beside him, showing him who I am.

"Who are you?" He growls.

"You don't remember her? You will soon. Trust me." Zuko promises. The man goes for another attack, and Zuko is about to block it, but I beat him to it. I draw on the power of the moon and bend the man's blood, putting him on his face in front of me.
"Think back. Think back to your last raid on the Southern Water Tribe."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Please. I don't know." He rasps.

"Don't lie! You look her in the eye and tell me you don't know what you did." I bend him so he's looking up at me, and i'm about to snap his back when I look in his eyes. They're soft, afraid, and maybe even kind. This isn't him.

"It's not him." I say and let go of the control I had on his body. He collapses to the ground. "That's not the man."

"What? What do you mean he's not? He's the leader of the Southern Raiders, he has to be the guy!" I don't answer, I just walk away, back to Appa. Remorse fills me. I swore never to use blood bending agian, and I just used it on someone innocent. Someone who never attacked my village or hurt my family. "If you're not the man we're looking for, who is?" Zuko demands.

"You must be looking for Yan Ra. He retired four years ago." He tells him. A name. Hope and fury surges through me. We can find him with a name.