Just off in the distance, Katara could hear fire crackle. She and Zoro stood against the wall as infighting broke out between the agents.
"Run for it princess!" Igaram shouted. "Please!"
Miss Wednesday nearly broke free from the alleyway but was intercepted by Miss Valentine. The older woman slammed her fist into the side of Miss Wednesday, at once stunning the girl and breaking her hair piece. Blue strands of hair fell against her shoulders as she stumbled. Shaking her head, she geared up to retaliate when an explosion ripped through the night.
Katara yelped as embers and debris tumbled down on her. A water shield flickered to life around her and Zoro as the smoke cleared.
Crumpled on the ground lay Igaram, his body eerily still.
"Igaram," Miss Wednesday whispered, her voice choked. "IGARAM!"
"The name of the spy is Igaram, leader of Alabasta's royal guard. The other spy," announced an unharmed Mr. 5, stalking, unharmed, through the inferno. "...is none other than the princess of Alabasta herself, Vivi Nefertari!"
"We don't have time for this," Katara heard Zoro mutter before he looped an arm around Katara's waist and yanked her away. He sprinted down the alley, only pausing a second to grab Luffy's arm. Katara gasped as his arm squeezed her uncomfortably.
"Hey, let go!" Katara yelped as the uneven gait of Zoro made his arm squish into her. "I can-"
Another explosion ripped through the air as Mr. 9 soared through the air and crash landed, a plume of smoke erupting from his land site.
"Damn, that's one dangerous booger," Zoro mused.
"Wait, what-"
Katara was thrown from Zoro's arms, sending her rolling against the harsh ground. For a second she laid still, head reeling and what felt like her whole body stinging. She pressed one scraped hand against the ground and pushed herself up, wiping the blood from her eyes.
Igaram had grabbed Zoro's leg.
"Mr. Swordsman! Please! Do to your great strength, let me make an unreasonable request!"
"Let go of me! I won't help you just because you're sucking up to me," Zoro growled, shaking his foot.
"Those two are devil fruit users! I can't stop them. Please, please protect the princess in my place!" He bowed his head, shoulders trembling. "I beg you! If you send her back to the far eastern kingdom of Alabasta, you will be greatly rewarded, I swear!"
Watching the desperate man yank at Zoro's leg stirred the pity and matronly part of her heart.
"Well, why are you two in this organization? Didn't you realize you were hurting people?" Katara asked.
"I KNOW!" Igaram suddenly shouted, slamming his fist into the ground. "I'm not proud of it! I know the princess isn't either." Shame and determination fell across his face like the theater curtain at Ember Island. "We had to infiltrate this organization to play the part." His eyes flickered back up to Zoro and then to Katara, the shadow of guilt aging him years. "I can't explain now, but please...you will be greatly rewarded. Just save the princess, I beg you!"
"Greatly rewarded, you say?" a voice called through the gloom, practically dripping with satisfaction and intrigue. The three of them turned to see a certain ginger perched on one of the undamaged roofs, her eyes gleaming through the dark. "How about one billion berī?"
"W-what?" Igaram croaked. "One bi-billion?"
Katara echoed him, blue eyes wide. For a moment, she could see Toph standing there in the midst of her 'scam the people' phase. This couldn't end well…
"Didn't you get drunk and pass out?" Zoro drawled, eyebrow twitching.
"You think I can fall asleep in a town that accepts pirates?" she asked. "I made up the whole thing. Am I good or what?" She posed, a hand poised near her mouth to mimic drinking.
Zoro snorted. "Is that so?"
Below him, Igaram made a choking noise, clutching at his chest.
"Well then, Mr. Royal Guard," Nami practically sang. "Will you pay us the one billion?"
She plastered her best snide grin across her face. "If we don't help, I suppose you'll just have to find a nice gravestone, I suppose…"
"W-where am I supposed to find the money?" Igaram shrieked, shaking with despair.
Nami pouted, tapping a painted finger against her lip. "So money is worth more than your princess?"
Katara looked at her with newly jaded eyes. A girl was being hunted down and instead of helping, Nami chose to extort the girl's panicked guardian.
Katara was seconds from opening her mouth to say they'd do it for free when Igaram interrupted, a deep furrow etched between his brows as his mind worked furiously.
"If you aid the princess, you can speak to her upfront. I'm sure she will accept…"
"You mean we have to help the princess first?" Nami said, voice dripping with disappointment.
"While we are negotiating, the princess is-" he said, his face reddening with anger. He was abruptly cut off by Nami's sigh.
"Alright," said Nami. "We'll help you princess first. Now! Go, Zoro, Katara," she ordered, pointing off into the distance.
"It's your money!" Zoro roared, turning on her. "Why don't you join us?"
"He's right," Katara said, standing up and moving to his side. "You made the deal, you have to help too!"
"Are you serious?" Nami snapped. "If it's about the promise, you both should help anyway!" She pointed accusingly at Zoro.
"How can you be so selfish?" Zoro growled.
"What? I just asked you to kick someone's ass. Is there a problem with that?"
"I don't want to be used by people. Don't compare me to that idiot of a chef."
"Afraid you're gonna lose?" Nami teased. "Hmm?"
Over to the side, Luffy groaned, eyelids fluttering as he neared consciousness. Quickly realizing Nami and Zoro would be going at for a while, she hurried to Luffy's side.
"Luffy! You're awake!" she said, crouching beside him.
Luffy's eyes opened.
"Listen, Luffy, you've got to-"
"Not now. Bathroom," Luffy mumbled, stumbling to his feet. Katara stared, her hand slowly floating down from where she'd been pointing.
Katara glanced first at the still-bickering Nami and Zoro, and then back at the staggering Luffy.
Exhausted, moving towards hung-over, and scraped up, Katara realized it would be up to her to save the princess.
Even the small bit of rest between fights was enough for Katara to finally feel like she wasn't going to pass out. As the faintest glow of sunrise began to lap at the waves, she replenished her supplies with whatever water she could find.
The town now reminded her of a disaster zone, or a war zone. All around her, buildings were crumbled, wood and rubble scattered. Off in the distance, she could even see tongues of flame consuming one of the buildings.
She kept running into bodies. Alive, dead- she didn't know. She didn't want to know.
So she kept going, her every sense heightened in search of the princess.
Above her, the silver shine of the moon bathed her as she ran into a dead end for the fifth consecutive time. Her ankles burned as she pushed herself harder, barely able to brake in time before using the end of the alley as a springboard.
A muffled impact was the only precursor to the explosion that rocked the pebbles below her feet. As smoke expanded outwards in an ominous plume near her, she ran harder, taking a deep breath before plunging into the next alley, only to crash into someone- or someones.
Katara shrieked as the three rolled through the open door, landing in a pile of debris and limbs.
"Ow…" she groaned, rolling out of the debris to see Carue and Vivi.
"Hahaha!" a high voice giggled. "What luck to have our little princess stalled for us!"
Katara look up to see Ms Valentine and Mr. 5 smiling at her, their eyes flashing menacingly.
"So it seems," Mr. 5 agreed, preparing another explosive booger.
Katara knew three things then:
1- Vivi and Carue wouldn't be able to react in time
2- They would die if the booger hit them
3- She had to do something.
Ignoring her pain, her exhaustion, her anger at the duo, Katara pushed herself to her knees, simultaneously drawing water from her pouch in one fluid motion as she attacked.
A water whip slammed into the sides of the agents, sending them careening into the nearest wall with a sickening crack.
Katara dropped to her knees again, chest still rapidly rising and falling from her run as Zoro strolled into the room.
"Huh?" said Zoro, disappointed. "Did I miss the fight?"
Above Katara's head, she kept her water spinning, eyes locked onto the two unmoving agents in case they tried to attack.
Behind her, Vivi and Carue stood stiffly, their faces drawn with pain and exhaustion.
"K-Katara?" Vivi said, panting. She flinched as Katara's head snapped to the side, her water solidifying for a moment into a whip. "W-why did- why did you help us?"
"We made an agreement with the royal guard guy," said Zoro. He began to pull a sword as Mr. 5 and Ms Valentine began to stir.
Katara was faster. In seconds, she froze their limbs in place.
"Hey! Some of us want to fight here too!" Zoro snapped.
"If you wanted to fight so bad, you should have gotten here earlier instead of arguing!" she said, pushing herself to her feet.
"The hell could I have? That thief wouldn't leave me alone!"
"Well the, you should have just-"
Zoro pulled her away from a falling chunk of ceiling as wind and heat slammed into the group.
"W-what?" she whispered, eyes wide as an unscathed Mr. 5 emerged from the wreckage, followed by a bruised, burned, coughing, and shivering Ms Valentine.
A quiet shimmering sound of metal against metal alerted Katara to Zoro's drawing of his swords as Katara suddenly looked around for more water, knowing what was left in her pouch wasn't enough.
"Interesting trick, girl. However, it wasn't enough for my Boom Boom Fruit," Mr. 5 said, eyes narrowing. "Though I don't know how you have your powers, it doesn't matter. All who stand in the way of our organization die." Shoving his finger up his nose, he flicked another booger, this time at Katara.
Katara flinched as sudden darkness covered her. Dirt blossomed up around her as Zoro sliced the booger bomb in half.
"Boogers. Of all things, he makes me cut boogers," Zoro grumbled, inspecting his sword.
Katara finally managed to break open the barrels and pulled the water towards herself, slipping into one of her more offensive stances.
Behind them, Vivi and Carue were frozen, unsure of what to do. They had nowhere to run, and while they now had powerful pirate allies, they couldn't help but wonder what Igaram had promised them...or where Igaram himself was.
To the side of Mr. 5, Ms. Valentine faltered, only remaining standing because of the wall behind her.
Before anyone could move, a new, shrill voice interrupted the thick tension.
"ZORO!"
A still-fat Luffy was bouncing towards them, having apparently come to his senses at last. SIghing in relief, Katara could almost picture the nice, soft hammock she could sleep for years in. The battle would be over quickly with Luffy in the mix.
"I won't forgive you this time," Luffy roared. "Let's fight!"
"WHAT?" Katara yelped.
"What the hell are you talking about!" Zoro roared back, turning on his confused opponents.
"Shut it! I'll smash the ungratefulness out of ya into the earth!" Luffy screeched, bouncing towards them.
"Ungrateful?" Zoro repeated, his swords dropping slightly in confusion.
"That's right! They give us a good welcome and good food and this is how you repay them!" Luffy said.
Katara forcibly stopped herself from slapping her forehead, a pitiful groan wrenched from her lips. She was ruffled, exhausted, and covered in dried blood and scratches and Zoro on his way to the same, and Luffy thought they'd just- attacked- their guests?
"Listen Luffy, these people actually-" Zoro grumbled, but was rudely interrupted by a charging Luffy, who was moving far faster than should have been warranted.
"I don't want your excuses!" He snarled, sending a rubber fist hurtling towards him and ending up punching a stone wall behind Zoro as Zoro ducked out of the way, leaving his post near Katara and also leaving her wondering just why she wasn't currently under attack by her new Captain as well- then again, Zoro did do the majority of the damage and was most likely to take the blame. She slowly backed away from the battle, unwittingly turning her back on her former enemy.
"You shouldn't turn you back on the enemy, girl." Mr. 5 warned as the pair, in all this confusion, closed in on the princess and the bender. He pulled back his fist in an attempt to explode Katara's face, but her reflexes were also sharpened from long hours of training. Before she could even think, her body twisted under the fist and she slammed a water augmented fist into Mr. 5's jaw, her free hand freezing his outstretched wrist as she backed away.
"Let's get out of here!" Katara shouted at Vivi and Carue, knowing she only had seconds before Mr. 5 exploded his way out of his makeshift cuffs. "Come on!"
Not turning to see if the princess and her steed were following her, she took off for the docks, following the scent of sea.
Soon, Vivi and Carue surpassed her, speeding forward.
Behind her, the two agents began the chase anew, ignoring the captain and second mate's battle for the time being.
Katara, Vivi, and Carue skidded to a stop beside the water. Katara quickly tried to fill her water pouch and soak the ground around her. She knew the agents would be following them and though she was still tired, being near water and the moon soaked her muscles and spirit with rekindled energy.
"So long girl!" she heard distantly. "You won't escape-" coughing, "-my Kilo Kilo fruit!"
Katara looked up to see Ms. Valentine falling.
She stepped to the side.
The agent crashed through the stone.
"Huh," said Katara. "That works."
Katara barely managed to flinch away from the next explosion as Mr. 5 emerged from the streets. Clipped by the explosion, she was thrown into the street, crying out as her face scraped against rocks and wrist bent unnaturally. Her ankle screamed. Pain exploded in her ribs.
"Nice reflexes, girl," Mr. 5 said, taking his time to approach her. Katara pushed herself up, pulling water from both her now-half empty pouch and what she'd spilt on the ground. She threw a small slash at her enemy, cradling her injured wrist to her chest. He dodged, but as her eyes narrowed in concentration, the slash returned like a boomerang and slammed into Mr. 5's face.
He staggered, touching the cut across his cheek as blood welled along it.
"You've caused us enough trouble, girl," he growled. "I was going to let you have a fairly painless death...but now-"
Katara threw blade after blade, trying desperately to scramble to her feet, but her ankle refused to bear weight. Red hot pain burst through her body with each attempt as she slowly ran out of water.
"Die," Mr. 5 said, raising his leg.
Katara stared straight up at him defiantly.
Her eyes widened.
Color filled her vision.
A leg pulled away- and unnaturally long, skinny leg.
"Luffy?" she whispered, her heart beginning to beat again. The man- teen?- boy?- stood in front of her, hat low over his face and eyes shaded. He was back to his normal, rail-thin self.
The happy-go-lucky boy she knew was gone. In his place stood a creature cloaked in a thick aura of menace. However, in seconds, it was gone as he knelt beside her, black eyes wide with worry.
"You okay?" he asked.
"More or less," said Katara, ignoring the twanging of her wrist, ribs, and ankle and the burning of her face. Her eyes searched the rubble, finally finding its quarry. Mr. 5 was lying unconscious across a large pile of rubble, courtesy of Luffy.
She tried to stand, but before her ankle could even buckle, her back exploded into pain. Falling back onto her bum, she groaned, the sound strangled.
"Lu-Luffy, could you get me some water?" she asked, slowly sitting up. She must have slipped a- what were they called, the few times she sat in on those healing lessons- disk. "Just water?" she clarified.
Luffy nodded and ran off, leaving her alone.
Slowly and painstakingly, she took stock of her body.
Dehydrated, muggy-headed, dizzy, and slightly nauseous from the alcohol, probably sprained wrist and ankle, herniated disk, possible very mild concussion, bending exhaustion, run-of-the-mill exhaustion, hunger, and a headache, along with a motley assortment of roadburn, contusions, and scrapes.
Lesson one; don't get drunk before a major battle.
Lesson two; make sure an opponent is completely out of the fight before turning her back on them
Lesson three; no holding back.
She had no knowledge of how this world worked or how the powers of these people really worked. At home, she knew the weaknesses and strengths of the benders and nonbenders. Here, it was a mystery. Until she could fill the gap in her knowledge, she couldn't hold back. The people here were more durable anyway. Katara...not so much.
She was a master and a prodigy, but unlike even the standard run-of-the-mill human here, she was comparatively fragile and slow to recover. Back home, people couldn't just get thrown through walls and shrug it off. To survive, she would have to act with lethal force.
No matter how wrong it felt.
Kindness, for now, was not a virtue.
Staring up at the smoky sky, she fought the urge to cry. At home, she'd always had to worry about being captured or killed, but she'd had Sokka, and Aang, and Toph, and Appa, and Momo, and recently, Zuko. At home, she was someone people relied on. As nice as the Strawhats were, she didn't have that connection quite yet.
Her stomach twisted more as she thought of how she'd spent the first half the battle being carried around by Zoro. That couldn't happen again. She would have to train. A lot.
Plan made, Katara thought, even though it didn't loosen the knot in her stomach.
"Is this what you wanted?" Luffy asked, shaking her out of her thoughts. He presented a mug filled with water.
She nodded. "Thank you Luffy."
With a wave of her good arm, some of the water lifted from the mug and curled around her sprained wrist. It glowed softly as she worked quietly.
Luffy, who'd crouched beside her, watched with star-like eyes. "That's so cool! How're you making it glow like that?"
"This?" Katara asked. "It's just healing. See, waterbenders can redirect chi using water as a catalyst. We can then heal the body."
She moved on to her leg. "When we do that, it starts to glow because we are using our chi- our energy and energy paths- to move the chi inside the other person along specific chi paths with water, replacing bad chi with good chi and helping to speed up recovery or completely heal the injury."
Luffy nodded intently. Throughout the entire explanation, he'd appeared very focus and curious. "So it's mystery water, right?"
Katara blinked. ...Hadn't she just explained the mechanics of waterbending-based healing in simple terms? She'd thought so.
Then again, Luffy called her bending 'mystery powers' once. She couldn't help but wonder if he called everything foreign to him a 'mystery'.
"Uh, no, it's not mystery water, it's-" she began again, only to trail off when she saw the blood on his shirt.
"Luffy! You're hurt!"
"Huh?" Luffy said, following her gaze. "Wha-? I'm bleeding!"
He jumped from foot to foot, only making the blood stain grow.
"Luffy! H-hold still!" she said. "I'm going to help you."
She added the rest of the water from her mug to the rest of her water and placed her palms on top of Luffy's wound. She began this healing session as always- locating the chi lines beneath the injury and directing the energy- only, she found something strange.
Her brow furrowed. Something was- off. It was as though Luffy's chi wasn't where it should be. The pathways were all wrong.
Sweating as she painstakingly, slowly, stopped the bleeding and knit some of the wound shut, she knew she wouldn't be able to heal him properly until she could figure out just what was wrong.
Pulling back, she stared at her half-done work. She knew all the chi paths. She even knew some of the chi disorders and how to heal around many of them. This- this was nothing like she'd ever seen.
It wasn't even a deep cut. Something as simple as an exaggerated scratch should have been a quick job.
"Hey, it stopped bleeding! Thanks Katara!" Luffy grinned, apparently satisfied where Katara was not. "I'm gonna go finish with that bastard now! Don't get hurt anymore."
"That…?" Katara wondered aloud. Was he talking about Zoro or the agents?
Probably Zoro. As nice as Luffy was, he wasn't...well….the smartest when it came to critical thinking.
About to scramble to her feet- she could deal with the ribs and scratches and everything else later- a blinding pain in her back reminded her of a little problem.
Herniated disk. Right.
Water, glow, modified healing pose for back injury, concentrate and…..done.
Time to chase after her captain and keep him and his first mate from killing each other.
As Katara jogged after them, she remembered- Luffy had saved her from Mr. 5, despite being caught up in his own battle. He purposefully put himself in harm's way to protect her. Why? Because she was a new crewmate?
She pushed herself into a run, refilling her pouch as she went. Now wasn't the time to wonder. She had to make sure her new friends weren't being idiots and trying to kill each other.
And yet...the question stuck in her mind.
Would I do the same for them? She asked herself.
Yes, she decided. She would also go out of her way to help these people, till the day they parted. But then- the war. Home. The Gaang. Her friends who needed her, the Fire Lord, the Comet- the Avatar and the whole world! She'd hoped for this journey to be short, but from the looks of it, with Vivi and all, she knew that her chances of getting home in time to help her friends was getting smaller and smaller.
How long had it been? Were they fighting? Was time the same?
What if...what if they were losing?
Katara's feet stopped. Pebbles skidded from under her feet.
What if they were dead?
What if Katara could never find her way home?
What if she died here, and her friends never found out what happened to her?
Her only hope was that stupid dragon, but she had no idea how to contact it, or if it was even possible. Why did he want her here? Why her? Why now, with the comet so close?
It was only pure instinct that kept her from getting run over by Zoro and Luffy, the two teenagers engaged in a vicious brawl.
"OH COME ON!" she shrieked.
Time to break up the boys.