The first thing the waterbender felt when she regained consciousness was a severe headache. Groaning, she opened her eyes, needing to squint a little to adjust to the brightness of the room when suddenly, her eyes flew wide open, the memories hitting her like a train.
She tried to move her arms but soon realized that her limbs were cuffed tightly to a wall behind her. Katara noticed she was in a small room, most likely somewhere underground by the looks of it.
There were strong metal bars seperating her from the other side of the room where a doorway was.
It was eerily quiet, she could hear nothing but the loud pounding of her heart.
"Katara." she heard a raspy familiar voice, whirling her head to the direction of the sound she saw her brother cuffed in a similar way to her right, not too far away from her.
"Sokka." she breathed, relieved to see her brother. "Are you okay?"
The older boy nodded, smiling a little, but Katara saw right through his calm facade. He was nervous just like her.
"Where are we, what's going on?"
Sokka took a thoughtful look around the empty room they were in, before answering. "I'm pretty sure we were taken away from the tribe after we lost consciousness." He frowned. "I don't know why but the attackers brought us here instead of killing us off."
"Do you think they killed dad and the others that were in the council room?" Katara voiced her fears, breath hitching in her throat.
"I highly doubt that, since they chose to spare us. I don't see why they wouldn't do the same to our dad and Suki. Maybe they brought them here to the same building but to a different room."
"But it's strange." Sokka continued thinking outloud, his brain in overdrive. "They killed so many other people." He held back the urge to throw up as he recalled the bodies dropping one by one. "There has to be a reason for sparing us and not the other important leaders."
"Well, whatever the reason is, we can't just sit here and wait for them to come back. We have to get out of here, now." Katara spoke up, pressing her lips together. Her initial fear and shock turned into frustration
Sokka looked at her incredulously. "That's a lot easier said than done." his eyes glanced to the restrains on his arm pointedly. "How in the world are we gonna do that? I don't know if you remember but we're stuck to this damn wall and-"
Katara stopped listening to him. She straightened out both her hands as much as she could and moved them in a small motion. Her eyes slipped shut as she focused on the tiny movements of her hands.
Sokka stopped his rambling when he saw his sister was up to something. "Um, what are you doing?"
"I'm trying to draw out enough water from the air to break us out of here." She explained, keeping her eyes closed and gritting her teeth in concentration.
Sokka watched her in amazement as she kept repeating the hand motions. Drawing water out without a source of water was one of the toughest waterbending moves, if not the toughest.
Sokka was well aware that Katara had already done this move before, but he couldn't imagine how hard it was gonna be with most of her arms being restrained. Though, he knew better than to doubt his little sister by now.
Also, when he really thought about it the humidity should be higher here underground than it was on the surface, making it easier to draw water here. The realization brightened Sokka's mood and he started encouraging her.
"You can do it sis!"
Multiple attempts and curses at Sokka later for interrupting her concentration, she finally managed to form water on her palms, making the older boy's face lit up.
"Woah." his eyes were filled with pride. "You're amazing Katara!"
The waterbender grinned, but before she could start doing anything with the water, the door to the room opened and all they could see was a flicker of flame before a fiery figure materialized right in front of them, making them both tense up.
A wave of heat left the man's body and washed over Katara's hands. The heat was so intense it evaporated Katara's water instantly and burned her hands, she bit back a scream as pain shot up her arm like fire.
"Katara!" She distantly heard Sokka's voice, over the loud ringing in her ears.
"Tsk, tsk. No playing with water." A taunting voice rang out throughout the room, making Sokka glare at the figure in front of them.
Suddenly, the flickers of flame left the figure completely, leaving him in a regular red cloak. The mysterious figure took down their hood, revealing a young man with long red hair. He looked to be the same age as Zuko maybe a few years older.
"It was about time you two woke up."
Sokka rushed forward trying to attack the man to no avail, as the cuffs held him in place. "You! You're the guy that attacked our tribe!"
The man grinned devilishly and held up his hands in mock surrender. "Oh no, you got me." before giggling. His actions made Sokka fume.
"If anything's happened to my dad or Suki, I'll kill you!" Sokka growled, making the man burst out laughing.
When his laughter died down, he leaned closer to Sokka, towering over the younger man. "You'll kill me?" he repeated, looking down at the warrior like he was nothing but a joke. "For someone that couldn't even touch me, you sure talk big."
Sokka's glare remained on his face even as the man leaned back away from him.
"But fine, I'll answer your question since you asked so kindly. No, I didn't do anything to your girlfriend or the Chief."
Katara grit her teeth hard. Trying her best to ignore the burning pain in her hands and was the one who spoke next. "How do you know who Suki is, just who are you?!"
He was looking away from them, seemingly bored. "I know everything about you."
That statement made a cold chill run down the siblings' spines.
"Who are you?" She repeated her question, voice shaky. The pain in her hands only getting worse as time went on.
"Malik." He stated, matter-of-factly, as if it explained everything.
He continued speaking before the two could say anything. "Don't worry, I don't intend to hurt you or your brother." he took a bored glance at Katara's burned hands, before looking away again. "Not more than I have to anyway."
"You expect us to believe you?" Sokka asked, more confused than anything.
"I don't expect anything. I'm just telling you the truth."
Katara looked at the man like he was stupid. "Why have you kidnapped us then, why did you attack our home."
A grin appeared on the man's face. "I did that because I need you two specifically for my plan to succeed."
Katara's stomach churned uncomfortably as she thought of a certain someone. It had to be about him, who else could it be about. A ridiculously powerful enemy needing them two to carry out his plan, what else could he need them for.
"What are you talking about." She asked, refusing to believe it.
Malik stared her straight in the eyes. "Simple, I have a big fish to fry and you two are my baits."
Sokka seemed to come to the same conclusion as Katara, judging by the look in his face.
"A-Aang?" Sokka guessed, disbelief dripping from his voice. "Is that who you're talking about?"
Malik's face darkened. "Took you long enough. Yes, Avatar Aang is my target."
Katara's eyes widened in horror as her worst fears were confirmed. This guy was after Aang.
"Where are we?" She changed the subject, attemping to keep her emotions in check.
"You're at one of my hideouts, or more specifically, you are under one of my hideouts." He pointed a finger above him. "The real hideout and the people working for me are up there." He told them, voice casual. He was clearly not taking the two seriously enough to withhold any information.
"But why, what do you want with Aang?" Sokka cut in, bringing the conversation back to the Avatar.
"I want the Avatar's spirit, his power." Malik explained, a hungry look coming to his face.
"His spirit?"
"Yes, the spirit inside Avatar Aang is the one giving him all the power, her name is Raava. I want Raava's power to myself, and as a bonus the Avatar will cease to exist, making me the strongest being in this world." He looked at his hands, looking like he was about to drool at the mere thought. "Imagine having that much power in your hands. No one would dare to defy you."
Sokka raised his eyebrows. "Raava?"
Katara's eyes widened. "Wait! How do you know the name of the Avatar Spirit?" She was pretty sure even Aang himself knew nothing about the spirit inside him.
How did this man know so much?
"I don't have the time nor the patience to explain everything to you." He turned his back on the two and prepared to leave. "All you have to do is to sit there quietly while I catch the Avatar."
Before Malik could leave, Katara spoke, voice quiet. "He won't come. I know you probably think we're still close to the Avatar but he doesn't care about our well-being, not anymore."
"Oh I'm aware of the circumstances, but it doesn't matter. The bond the Avatar shared with you two was strong. It will take a lot more effort and time than just three years of seperation for it to break, if ever." He replied condfidently, with his back turned to them.
"He will come, I know he will." was the last thing the man said before disappearing in a flicker of flame once again, leaving the two in the room in silence.
Sokka looked at Katara and to his frustration he saw her holding back tears.
"Why do you still care about Aang so much." Sokka spat the airbender's name out like it was acid as he watched tears stream down his little sister's face. "He keeps hurting you over and over again, this is just another thing to add to the list of terrible things he's caused you."
The waterbender sniffled, throat tightening. "I don't know Sokka. I just- I miss him so much, the one year he was with us was probably the happiest time in my life. My life just doesn't feel complete without Aang." She poured her heart out, and by the time she finished she was openly crying.
Katara hated herself for being so weak, so dependent on a boy that didn't even care about her anymore.
Sokka's lips curled. "I hate what he's done to you, he's out there doing god knows what while you're miserable. He left you heartbroken without a second thought. I hate him."
"You don't mean that Sokka... Aang's got his own problems to deal with and he doesn't owe me anything." she whispered, not even knowing why she was defending him anymore.
Sokka stayed quiet, knowing better than to argue with his stubborn sister right now.
"You think he'll actually come to help us?" He asked instead.
Instinctively Katara almost opened her mouth to say yes because of course Aang would come to help them, without a second thought. Because he cared, because he was the type of person to protect his loved ones, no matter what.
Or that's what she thought before, she wasn't so sure about it now.
Did Aang even care about her anymore, did he care about any of his old friends. Had he changed in the past three years or was he still the same sweet, protective, kind hearted Aang she fell in love with.
Would she even want him to come here, he'd be walking right into a trap if he did. She didn't know whether she should be concerned for Aang's safety or to be comforted by the thought of the Avatar saving them.
Katara didn't know the answers to any of those questions, so in the end she simply shrugged.
"Great." Sokka sarcastically muttered, not happy with her answer but deciding to just let it go.
"Where do you plan on looking first?"
Suki's tentative voice broke the silence, the unexpected sound making Aang jump slightly.
He cleared his dry throat.
"I was thinking about finding that one weird emo girl who knows where everyone is by the help of her pet." Aang absetmindedly answered Suki, as he fed Appa some hay.
They had flown on Appa the whole day, from the Southern Water tribe to the Fire Nation, and throughout the whole ride things were awkward between the two.
Suki had never been very close to Aang. They have always been acquaintances at most, so sitting alone with him for a long period of time without the others felt strange, especially now since it felt like Aang was a completely different person from the one she met three years ago.
Suki didn't know what to do or how to act with this Aang.
Not to mention, there was the fact that he broke Katara's heart and upset all their friends. Part of her wanted to confront Aang for hurting everyone, but she didn't want to overstep her boundaries and make him angry or something. It didn't feel right for her to lecture him about his past, they weren't close enough for that. So instead of doing that, she chose to keep quiet.
Aang wasn't very keen on talking either, he was too busy stressing in his head over Katara and Sokka, which led to a very long, awkward silence.
"You mean June and Shirshu?" Suki asked, as she leaned against a big stack of hay.
They were in a small town currently, restocking on supplies and letting Appa rest. It was both hilarious and heart-warming to see everyone's reaction to the Avatar showing up. The kids looked up at him in awe like he were some sort of god, and the adults smiled happily at the sight of the young Avatar, bowing deeply everytime they came across him.
There were a few people that openly glared at Aang with deep contempt, but weirdly enough, Suki noticed, it didn't seem to affect the Avatar in the slightest, so Suki just shrugged it off.
Overall, almost everybody in this town seemed to love him.
They even offered the Avatar a free house to stay in, but Aang refused politely and asked for a stable instead, where Appa could eat and rest, they were more than happy to loan him one.
"Yeah."
"Are you sure she'll help us?"
The airbender sliced up one of the watermelon's clean in half, using his airbending, then threw one half in Appa's open mouth, before shrugging. "I think so."
Suki stared at his back, and repeated his words, voice deadpan. "You think so."
"Well, I've never really talked to her myself, but Zuko's told me a little bit about her." Aang jumped on Appa's saddle and grabbed a small bag of money before jumping back down, holding it up for Suki to see. "Apparently, if we pay her enough, she'll help."
Suki nodded in agreement, thinking back to the time she had met her. "Is that why we came to the Fire Nation?"
"Yeah. She should be around here somewhere, I'm sure we'll find her if we ask around." Aang ran a hand through his hair. "Also, I wanted to send Zuko a letter he deserves to know about everything that's going on, even though he'll most likely hear it from Hakoda, I want to-"
Aang snapped his mouth shut when he saw tears of frustration in Suki's eyes. "Suki.. are you okay?" He asked, voice hesitant.
She shook her head aggressively. "No I'm not okay!" She glared at him. "How can you act so casual and carefree when our friends are in danger, who knows what's happening to them as we speak!"
When the airbender didn't react and his face remained blank, Suki scoffed in disbelief and looked at Aang like he was a complete stranger. "Do you even care?"
Aang looked at her, offended. "What do you mean 'do I even care' of course I do!" He snapped, but Suki didn't back down.
"Why are you acting like this then?!" She retorted, clenching her fists.
"Look, I'm just- I'm trying not to think about it too much, ok?" He ran a hand down his face, tiredly. "And I didn't want to make you even more worried by worrying about it in front of you." He revealed, making her face soften.
"Aang." Suki whispered, feeling awful for what she said to him. "I'm sorry, I-"
"It's okay Suki, don't worry about it." Aang interrupted her, smiling softly when he saw tears of regret in her eyes. "I don't blame you for snapping like that."
She nodded gratefully, and hastily wiped at her face. "I'm sorry, I just can't help but keep thinking about Sokka and Katara."
"What if we're too late, what if we don't get there in time- what if they're already dead?!"
Aang swallowed, hard. Of course he knew that was a possibility, it would be naive to assume that it wasn't, but he hadn't allowed his thoughts to go there, not until now.
The thought of something bad happening to Katara scared him.
Running a shaky hand through his hair, he walked up to Suki and clasped a firm hand on her shoulder.
"There's no way that's true Suki. You know those two, you know how strong they are. They've fought their whole lives and helped us end the hundred year war-" He balled his fists. "You think some random rogue bastard is a match for them?"
Aang didn't know who he was trying to convince here, Suki or himself.
"You're right." She wiped the last of her tears away and set her face in determination. "They're gonna be fine."
Aang grinned, tossing the other half of the watermelon in Appa's mouth before smacking his fist into his palm. "Alright! We'll let Appa rest for a little longer while I go write and send a quick letter to Zuko."
"And I'll go ask around the town for June's whereabouts." Suki exclaimed, matching Aang's infectious grin and energy.
"It's sorted then, let's meet back here in two hours?"
Suki nodded before running out of the stable they were in, making her way toward the centre of the town.
We're on our way Sokka, Katara. Hold on for just a little longer. She thought as she picked up her pace.