A few days have pass, and Aang and the others have truly improved on their free-diving abilities. At the moment, Sokka was at their marui leaning back against a tree doing a little sunbathing.
And then Aang appeared.
"Hey, Sokka, have you seen, Katara?" Aang asked.
"Uh, last time I heard from her she said going out for a morning swim." Sokka said.
"But it's nearly noon, she's gone still." Aang said.
"Look, I'm sure she's fine." Sokka said. "She's probably on her way back now."
Further out in the open sea, Katara was riding her Ilu as it leaps out of the water with her holding on and whoops out.
"Yeah!" Katara cheered and chuckles. "Whoo!"
The Ilu leaps high into the air twirling.
"Whoo-hoo!" Katara cheered. "Yeah!"
A little while later, Katara and her Ilu were by a karst-like rock tower formation known to the Metkayina as Three Brothers Rocks.
Birds flew around calling out as Katara's Ilu moans and squeaks.
Katara was truly amazed of the place, she then swims down by the reef as her Ilu swam close by. And she saw a variety of marine life going about their daily business as usual. Many fish swimming around the serene reef, and a few rays, and even a Turangiasaurus and Ophthalmosaurus swimming overhead. As well as a Phosphorosaurus, a species of small Mosasaur, too small to be a concern for Katara. Only around 10 feet long, it's one of the smallest Mosasaurs, yet it has the biggest eyes in body size of any Mosasaur.
Several minutes later, Katara was laying on her back at the surface resting on her Ilu's back enjoying the sun's warmth.
"I could say out here all day." Katara said resting her hands under her head.
The ocean may have it's beauty, but it hides as many dangers as on land does.
Some distance away, a shoal of fish scatters as a large ominous predatory fish with a pointy tail swims by prowling it's waterway hunting ground.
The Akula.
Pandora's version of Dunkleosteus, and equivalent of a Great White Shark.
The Akula glides through the water near the reef, and then gains speed swimming upwards with Katara and her Ilu in it's sights.
Katara was still laying on her back as she did a double-take glance seeing the rapidly approaching Akula with open jaws. And her Ilu saw the predator as it tries to swim off, but the Akula rams both of them into the air lunging out of the water using the same hunting technique as a Great White Shark as Katara screams and the Ilu yelps as the Akula snaps it's large jaws just missing the screeching Ilu as they hit the water.
Katara sinks down as the Akula hits the water near her, and the Ilu manages to recover and swims off as the Akula manages to snatch a bite out of the Ilu's left rear flipper as the Ilu yelps in pain.
The Ilu flees for it's live with the Akula right behind it as Katara turns to them as her Ilu swiftly swims off saving itself. But the Akula then turns towards her as things grew more tense.
Seeing it has spotted her, Katara quickly swims to a rocky section of reef as the charging Akula lunges with open jaws. The Akula rams the rocks trying to reach her, but Katara was just out of reach of the hunter as she waterbends a sharp shard of ice at the Akula's opened mouth. But that attacked only scratched it as it was not deterred.
The Akula lunges again as Katara was pressed back as far as she could, but the Akula bites and attacks the rocks as Katara took the chance to slip through a gap as the Akula bites through. Katara quickly swims away as the Akula tries to squeeze through, but backs away.
For a moment, Katara lost sight of it, but the Akula appeared as she dives just avoiding the lunging fish and into a series of rock formations. The Akula bites through the rocks as Katara dives further back as the Akula swims off.
Katara dives as far as she could in the rock structures and looks around for the Akula. And then suddenly, the ravenous Akula rams through and snaps it's jaws as Katara quickly squeezes through the gapes of the rocks with the Akula right behind her tensely snapping at her feet as it squeezes through breaking the rocks. Katara quickly moves through the rock maze as the Akula just barely missed her foot as she reaches a dead end.
She got as far back as she could as the Akula rams through the gap, but the opening was proving too narrow for it to reach her. And after a few heart-pounding moments, the Akula turns and swims off.
Katara wasn't sure if the Akula has given up entirely, and she looks around as she can hear her heart beating rapidly through the water. And she knew she was beginning to run low on air. Lightly gagging, Katara knew she will be expose the second she swims out of her shelter. She still couldn't see the Akula knowing it could still be around, and then getting desperate, Katara then manages to calm down a little enough to slow her heartrate as the beating slows.
And then deciding to take a life-threatening chance, Katara grunts as she squeezes out from the rocks and makes a break for the surface.
But after a few strokes up, Katara then saw the ominious Akula circling back and coming at her. And as a last line of defense, Katara waterbends a shielding layer of ice in front of her as the Akula charges with open jaws.
But then suddenly, a large whale-like creature comes from nowhere ramming the Akula as Katara was tossed aside.
The creature rams the Akula against a rocky ledge as it let out a groaning bellow as Katara recovers and tries to swim around the creature's thrashing tail. Katara gags as she avoids getting hit as the creature continues crushing the Akula as Katara continues gagging.
And then she froze as the creature swims off and the Akula sinks down dead.
And Katara gags suffocating and slowly sinks down losing consciousness.
Waves crashed as Katara unconscious still lays on a rock. She breathes softly as then a small wave rolls by as she inhales sharply waking up. Birds were heard calling in the distances as Katara pants climbing up the rock as she was unsure how she got up on the surface. She looks around still unsure what had happened, when suddenly part of the rock face blows a suddenly strong jet of mist.
"Holy shoot." Katara said stocked.
Seeing a pair of three operculums similar to a whale's blowhole, they closed as water washes over as Katara sat up as they blow air again as she saw she wasn't ona rock as she saw she was on the back of a large whale-like creature with a pair of red crests on the front of the top jaw with a dark gray/blue and white underside with two pairs of flippers, two small ones and two larger ones behind them as it's tail had a similar shape like that of a seal's.
The animal itself was similar in shape of a Humpback Whale.
Katara can tell it was gentle almost, and she slid into the water facing the animal's right eye as it stares back as she swim up to it's small right flipper with an old harpoon anchor lodged in as it groans and clicks. The animal then rose up as Katara sat on his fin and realized what he was as the Metkayina people mentioned a whale-like animal called a Tulkun.
This one is only a youngster.
"You're a Tulkun." Katara stared.
The Tulkun moans staring at her.
"You saved my life." Katara said. "Thank you. Thank you." She then signed it.
The Tulkun then rumbles and squeaks to her as Katara can tell he was saying something to her.
Katara then chuckled. "Buddy, I have no idea what you just said."
The Tulkun's eyes then blinked shifting to the harpoon anchor embedded in his fin as he moans and rumbles as Katara turns to it.
A sign he had a run-in with hunters in his past.
"Bad encounter with humans, huh?" Katara said. "They hurt you, didn't they?"
The Tulkun then replies with a moan.
"I'll try to pull it out." Katara offered a helping hand and grabs it. "Just trust me, okay?"
She then tries to pull out the anchor, but it was caught as she pulls it loose as she grunts. Katara then inhales deeply and went over as she saw more of the broken handle of the harpoon as the Tulkun clicks as Katara grabs hold of the end with a cable wiring piece and it came loose and unscrews the end as the metal squeaks. She soon removes the end off and tossed it aside as it sinks, and then grabs hold of the anchor and finally pulls it free from the Tulkun's fin and lets go as it sinks down.
Katara then inspects the wound opening for any infection, but it looks as it seems the wound has actually healed nicely. She figures the harpoon must've been lodged in his fin for months or a few years at the most. But she did bends a current of water through to clean out any rust particles still there.
Once done, Katara sat on the Tulkun's fin panting as he whistles out and sings.
"You're welcome." Katara said. "Friends?" She signed.
The Tulkun bellows and squeaks as Katara chuckled.
That's right, we're friends." Katara said "Friends."
The Tulkuns and lowered his fin.
"Oh!" Katara exclaimed sinking into the water.
katara swam up as his fin then lifts up over her.
"Whoa, whoa! Pal." Katara cried.
Katara swim underneath as the Tulkun whistles and then swims around and clicks joining next to her as he snorts and whistles holding his small right fin out.
Katara then smiles.
Shortly later, the Tulkun swims around the reef with Katara holding onto his fin as a rousing moment occurs as the Tulkun swan around twirling and clicks out as Katara held on enjoying the ride.
And she holds onto his fin as the Tulkun with strong-steady strokes of his tail. Katara turns to him smiling, and the Tulkun whistles looking to be happy.
Katara soon around underneath the Tulkun as she then saw the left small fin, but she saw it looked it had been sliced off. The Tulkun clicks and moans as Katara swam over and examines the old slice wound which has healed. But Katara sympathizes knowing it was made on the same day he got the harpoon as the Tulkun moans.
Katara swam up to him and signs. "I'm sorry."
The Tulkun moans, and later they floated in midwater as Katara held onto the tip of his right large flipper.
At night, everyone was settling down for the night as Aang, Sokka, Suki, and Ty Lee at their mauri were now worried.
"It doesn't make sense." Aang said concerned. "Katara should've already been back by now."
"Maybe we should go look for her?" Suki suggested.
Not far away from the tribe's seawall terrace, Katara was with the Tulkun swimming by.
"You like lookin' at the stars?" Katara asked.
The Tulkun responses with a grunt and whistle looking at the night sky.
"Where I come from, stars often give us stories." Katara explained. "See that group of stars right there?" She pointed to a constellation. "That one is called Cetus. It means whale.
Then yipping was heard nearby.
"Katara!" Aang yelled.
"Oh, man." Katara said.
The Tulkun moans as a team of Skimwings were seen and distant hooting was heard.
"Go. I will see you again." Katara said and signed.
The Tulkun whistles and then dives swimming off as Katara heads back to the village.
Later, Katara has soon returned to the village as the search party returns.
"Are you okay?" Sokka asked. "What happened?"
"I'm fine, really." Katara assured.
"Young waterbender." Tonowari said. "You should know better than to off on your own. Especially to the Three Brothers Rocks."
"I'm sorry, sir." Katara apologized. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble."
"Very well." Tonowari said. "Go on."
They all then head off.
Author's Note:
And here we finally have the introduction of a certain young Tulkun. And the start of an extraordinary friendship.
I also liked how The Way of Water reused a bit of the Thanator Chase soundtrack for the Akula scene.
Yesterday, I saw the story of the century in the making when me, my mom and sister saw Wish yesterday. And I gotta say it's really amazing, and saw a lot of reference hints of just about every Disney film in the past century. Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, Moana, Peter Pan, Treasure Planet, Zootopia, The Lion King, and many others. I even spotted the Posion Apple from Snow White. I also liked how the end credits showed a star-shaped image of a main character of every Disney animated feature film that came before from Snow White to Splat. And I really liked how it showed Aladar, Milo, and Jim.
It was almost like having a sense of what it must have been like seeing Dinosaur, Atlantis, and Treasure Planet in theaters.
I think I counted at least 2 or 3 Easter eggs of Peter Pan, and I did noticed a reference from Dinosaur when all of Rosas stood up to Magnifico singing "This wish". It almost reminded me in a sense when Aladar said, "Stand together!".
I think there might have been an Atlantis reference, but didn't catch it.
Anyway, I had this idea for a while. And I believe seeing Wish has finally made it official. Sometime next year, I'll be putting together A Disney story unlike any other, and you can it the ultimate Disney crossover. As it got me thinking...
Could every Disney film be linked in the same verse?