Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender
Chapter 1
Katara gripped the handle of her knife tightly in her hands, sweat lining her brow. Tonight would be the night that she would finally act upon what she had begun. Tonight, she would finally do it. The waterbender crouched low against the stonewall, holding her breath.
The familiar clanking of metal against metal told her that a guard was approaching. She grasped the handle tighter, silently praying that she wouldn't see his eyes. The footsteps slowed to a stop as the guard looked around the area. Satisfied, he moved on, closing the distance between him and Katara.
For a split moment, the moon slipped behind the clouds, and Katara jumped out from the shadows, knocking the unprepared guard down. In defense, he drew out his sword, but Katara was quicker, her knife flying down and striking the area just below where the mask covered his face.
She closed her eyes, hoping that it would all end soon, that the man would just stop breathing. She felt the jerk of his body as he was struck, heard the pain-filled scream echo in her ears. But she didn't see his eyes, no, that she was thankful for.
His breathing was labored, and soon, it ended. Katara shakily took her hand off the handle, trying to avoid the sticky liquid that had stained it. Hastily, she wiped it on the grass, as if removing all evidence of her having committed this crime.
Her heart sped up as she realized what she had just done. But it was all for a reason, she told herself; it would eventually all work out. It was just one man. Sacrifices will always have to be made to achieve the greater good. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to stand up, though her legs would not oblige.
It's just one man, she repeated in her head, nothing to it. But still, she couldn't help but consider the fact that a living thing was a living thing.
The Fire Nation didn't stop to care about the hundreds that they killed!
Katara took another deep breath, reminding herself why she was here. She had to put an end to the Fire Nation's tyranny. Bending down slowly, she picked up the man's feet, before pulling back. She was surprised that he was lighter than she thought- the armor must have been lightweight.
The grass was dry and brittle under her feet from the drought. She hated this country- it was always so hot there! There weren't any flowing bodies of water here, not lakes or streams. Only hot lakes and smelly ponds that the peasants bathed in.
There was a forest behind her, the place where she had spent the last two days, living like a savage. Right now, there was nothing she could want more than a nice shower, and something edible besides rodents. Well, anything but the scummy food that the firebenders ate. She wanted nothing more to associate herself with them.
The moon moved out from behind the cloud. A beam of moonlight shot its way to the grassy floor, the trail extending as the clouds moved farther and farther away. It hit Katara's face, illuminating her azure eyes, her tanned skin and the sweat that dotted everywhere. Her heavy breathing echoed through the night, but suddenly, quiet.
Katara's breath hitched in her throat, and she couldn't breathe anymore. The smell filled her nose, that metallic, sticky feel to it. Her vision was covered in red, red, red, red flowing red. Gushing all about the ground red. Blood.
She couldn't think, she couldn't think. She couldn't think of anything but that time. She hadn't seen so much blood since- no! She wasn't about to relive that moment. But her mind froze with the crimson, and the memories burned through.
The boy stood atop the ashes, his frail frame shaking, the blue glow of his tattoo dying down. His legs wobbled, and threatened to fall. But he remained standing; he stood, the blood covering his body. His breathing came out hard, but he was alive. He was alive, and the Fire Lord wasn't, the Fire Lord wasn't.
Aang, she screamed, Aang! But the boy didn't hear her, he looked straight ahead, and Katara couldn't help but turn. There, through the fire was a man she had hoped to never see again.
Shouting was heard, and Katara snapped back to the reality. Air streamed through her open mouth, choking hard on it. It flowed violently through her, and she gasped roughly, remembering what to do. The others must have heard the man's scream. Cold sweat lined her brows, and she raised a hand to wipe it, forgetting the blood. It touched her skin, and she shivered, the sticky dirtiness of it all over her face. The stench was stronger now.
Footsteps were heard, and she knew that it was the people that were looking for the guard. Katara pulled on the man's legs again, urging herself to keep moving on, it was only so far. Her feet dragged herself across the grass, the dirt sticking to the soles. She didn't dare look down to see the- no! She didn't do it, she didn't do it, no!
The shade of the trees hid her just in time as Katara saw several flames lighting the darkness. She settled the man against the tree trunk, hoping that the foliage would hide him. She held her nose so not to smell it. She took off the man's shoes first, stuffing them hurriedly in her own feet, not caring that they were too big for her. The others were getting so close, she had to hurry. She took off the man's pants; glad he had on underwear, and the shirt. Katara scolded herself for forgetting that the outfit would be too big. She just hoped that the pants would not fall off.
The guards were getting closer, and soon they would see her. She pulled the armor on, glad that it was lightweight, though much too big for her. It was still dark out, and if she hurried, it would work. The mask came last, and Katara hesitated, knowing that pulling it off would mean seeing the man's eyes. A shout was heard, and Katara peeked over the tree, stifling a gasp as she saw that the men were only a few feet away. She hurried pulled the mask off, closing her eyes so that she wouldn't see the man's. She didn't want to see the horror the guy was put through in his last seconds.
"What's going on here Li?" came the voice of a guard. Katara gasped, flinching, before picking herself up quickly, jumping from behind the tree to face the guard. Luckily, only one man had come, for the other had gone in another direction. Mentally, she hoped that her armor was on straight.
"No-nothing, sir" she replied, stuttering. The man raised his eyebrows, eyeing her head to toe.
"You seem to have shrunk. What's wrong with your armor? What's with your voice?" asked the man. Katara's heart sped up in her throat, and for a second, she couldn't find her voice.
"I-I-I-no, of course n-not! It wa-was, I-I-I always had t-this a-armor. My-my voice? I-my wife- I had-had-had-a ugh-a… diarrhea! Y-yea! That really damages your voice!" Katara groaned, squeezing her eyes shut, knowing what a rip-off mistake that she had made. Luckily the man didn't seem to care, as he was obviously in a hurry.
"Look, you have to get back to your spot. The Fire Lord has tightened security. If someone's out of line, everyone is punished!" he said, grabbing Katara by the shoulders and hurrying her forward. She didn't have time to reply as she caught herself right before she fell, cursing the shoes. The other man did not seem to care as he rushed forward, completely forgetting about her. And that was why he wasn't ready for her attack.
Katara drew her hands up, summoning all the moisture that the dry air had, forming a tiny band. It was barely enough, but after years of experience, Katara knew she had to make due. It formed into a whip, striking a nervous area on the man's body, knocking him out cold. Katara knew that it was only temporary, which was why she had to hurry.
She ran, not caring that her shoes clanked against each other loudly. She pushed herself on, arms swinging widely for balance. Almost there, the small door was in sight. Where it took her, she didn't care. She was smart and would be able to figure it out later. Her hand gripped the handle of the door, and she stopped, short of breath, panting. She turned to look behind her, and the other man was still down. She turned back towards the door, holding her breath and praying that it was abandoned.
She pushed the handle down, sliding the door open. Her breath rushed back in hard pants as she realized that the room was empty, except for litters of boxes. Not much was in her field of vision, but the small spot of light that shone from the open door was not enough. Even so, Katara managed to make out the silhouette of a small door at the end of the room. She raced towards it, toppling over a box. She flung her body against the door, but to no avail. Katara backed up, eyeing the frame, before kneeling down. The locks were open. She pushed again, yielding the same results. She swore, cursing this misfortune.
She turned around, trying to find another way into the building. There was nothing else in here but boxes upon boxes. But there had to be another way. She climbed onto one of the wooden crates, her hand feeling around for a door, window- anything. Suddenly, her fingers touched something cold and hard, metallic almost. She pulled on it, and to her luck, it came off easily. She cast it aside, pulling herself up. She saw nothing but darkness in the small hole that the cover had revealed, but it was big enough for her.
She pulled herself up and crammed into it. There was barely enough room for her to move, but it would have to do. She closed her eyes, thinking. She was guessing that this was a vent, probably ventilation. For what reason it was in such a deserted room as this, she did not know. Perhaps the room had been of more use before. Turn right, then left, and right again. Katara found herself worrying whether the darn thing would ever come to an end. Just as she said that, her head bumped into metal, and she swore, rubbing the wounded area, cursing. She pushed on it a hand, but just like the door, it did not budge. She was stuck in this vent.
Katara resisted the urge to scream as she backed up, mumbling how stupid this whole nation was. Dammit, dammit all. She backtracked herself, knowing that there had to be an opening somewhere. She turned a corner, hands on the bottom of the vent, searching for an opening. She had to get out of here before she turned claustrophobic. Suddenly, she saw a flash of light, and she turned her head towards the sight, looking down, hoping against hope that it was what she though she saw. And true, there was a soft glow emitted from the end. She kicked the gate, and it gave after several hard blows.
Katara jumped down; glad that no one was here to hear the loud noise her armor did as she impacted the floor. It was nothing but a simple boiler room, the large tanks bordering all walls except, leaving a small space for a door. She reached up, forcing her helmet to straighten itself and then pulling down the shoulder plates. She was annoyed, though, at the sudden burst in heat. She ran up to the door, pressing her ear against the wooden frame. No footsteps were heard; so Katara pushed against the door, sliding it open.
The hallway was simple, a torch on either side, the light giving a golden background to the otherwise plain walls. No guards were present, so Katara ducked to the far end, sliding that door open before running up the stairs, two steps at a time, her heart pounding, and her shoes beginning to slide off. There was a simple fact that she had chosen to ignore until this moment: she had no idea where she was going. But her common sense told her that she was currently at a low level, and the throne room, or wherever Zuko was was somewhere above this.
She swore, finding that the stairs did not go much higher than the fifth floor. She pushed out the door, running down that hallway. Suddenly she stopped, backtracking herself, backing up into an open room. She stepped in lightly, checking to make sure no one was there, then pressed herself onto the wall adjacent to the door. She held her breath as the familiar metal clinking entered her ears. She soon remembered the other man she had killed, and the memories came alive again.
There had been so many deaths that she had witnessed in her short life. But nothing could define the horror she had seen since the battle was over. Aang had weakened himself too much after his life-threatening battle with Lord Ozai, and he was barely able to even bend a breeze, much less defeat the son of his enemy.
Katara had tried to stop him, to defeat him before he got too close to Aang. But she herself was exhausted, and Sokka was nowhere to be found. Zuko easily brushed her aside, and then the fire. It surrounded her, and then darkness. When she woke up, she was in a local village. Some kind woman had taken her in.
The footsteps passed, and Katara jumped out into the hallway, checking for another person, but when there wasn't, she ran forward again. She had been sure that there was no one else, so she was surprised when she bumped into another man.
It would have been okay, had not, in the middle of all the shock; Katara's helmet fell off. Her hair flew free, her blue eyes shown, and the horror reflected in her eyes. She saw the man open his mouth to scream, but before a sound escaped, she had turned around, the speed and momentum causing her to almost trip. She regained her balance, running down the hallway, turning at the first interjection. The man's shouts echoed through the hallways now, and soon every person would be looking for her. She didn't care though, for she just kept on running and running, no bothering to think where she was going.
She ran into another room, for she had seen a small door at its end. She ran for it, passing through so fast that that she thought it impossible that she had been able to open the door at the same time. The exit had brought her to another hallway. From the corner of her eyes, she saw a red man, and she knew that she had to get away.
It had happened so fast. One moment she had been running for her life, the next she was gasping for air as the rough wall impacted her so roughly that the air had been knocked out. Her arms were suddenly pulled, slammed onto the wall above her head, a hand pressed down on it to prevent movement. A body was compressed down on her, making it even more difficult for her to regain her breath.
"State your purpose," said the voice, no traces of emotion in his tone, his breath crawling into her ears. Katara's eyes widened. There was no way she could have forgotten that sound, that vile thing.
"Zuko!" she gasped, still panting for air, her hands struggling in his. "Dammit… getoff!" No response was received from her captor, though his grip on her hands did tighten.
"Answer," he commanded, breathing on her again. Katara panted again, wishing he didn't push so hard against her. But it was smart, just incase she had weapons on her. Unfortunately, Katara had came here empty, except for canteen, if things got too bad.
"Get off!" she repeated, this time louder, though it left her breathless. She pulled her leg up, hoping to kick a sensitive area, but getting nothing but air.
"Don't make me break you," he said, leaning closer this time. Katara struggled vainly.
"Like you haven't," she panted, "done so… to so many." To her surprise, he answered with a bitter chuckle.
"The Avatar?" he mocked, hissing in her ear, obviously enjoying the moment. Katara bit back.
"He was the world's hope!" she screamed at him, forgetting to breath. "You monster!"
"Don't judge what you don't know," he stated.
"You killed!" she yelled, panting.
"Stabbing my guard isn't considered a crime," he replied. She froze, wondering how he could have found out so fast. But he didn't seem to be angry, just cold. But then again, he was probably used to killing so many others.
"I had to do something," she replied, her voice lower.
"So did I," he responded, edging away now. She growled low in the back of her throat.
"You killed thousands of people!" she stopped, taking a deep breath. "That can't be justified!"
"Don't judge what you don't know," he repeated. She struggled against his grip, twisting to get free, but to no avail, yet again.
"Get off me!" she screamed at him, finally getting herbreath back.
"You're in no position to make demands," he said.
"Dammit Zuko!" she screamed, then lowered her voice, muttering. "This wasn't supposed to happen."
"You came for the Avatar didn't you?" he asked.
"And my brother!" she returned. This brought a pause in the conversation. Zuko furrowed his brow. A brother? He cursed, reprimanding himself for realizing so slowly. Two years ago. An airbender, the Avatar, an idiot warrior, and a girl dressed in blue.
"Waterbender," he said. She stopped fidgeting.
"So you remember who I am," she replied, smirking slightly. How could he forget? He didn't respond.
"The Avatar and your brother…" he mused, and she knew that he wasn't talking to her. "No."
Katara bit her lip. She knew that it wasn't going to be easy, but it wasn't supposed to be this hard. Of course, Zuko just had to come and ruin everything, just like he did last time. He captured Aang and… Katara squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to relive that moment.
"I have no more use for you," he said, and before she could think, a knife was pressed onto her neck. But he stopped, as if thinking whether it would be worth it to stain his hands with such an unworthy life.
"Wait! No, don't!" she cried. The plan would fail if it were to end like this. "Don't!" He cocked his head in her direction.
"What do you have to offer?" he asked. "A life is worth much. Equivalency. To gain something, something of equal value has to be given."
"I… uh," she bit her lip again, wondering what she had. She was poor, and didn't have a dime on her, not that he would care. He was the Fire Lord! Money was of no concern to him. "I'm an excellent Waterbender. A master!"
He didn't make a sound, and Katara knew that it wasn't enough. "I'm a healer, I can heal all wounds of any type!" She knew it was an exaggeration, but anything to save her life. He didn't move, and the knife was still on her neck, drawing a thin line of blood.
"I give you my services, for life!" she pleaded, desperation in her voice. Zuko paused.
"You are willing to serve me for life? For your companions?" he asked. She began to nod, but stopped when touching the knife, replying that it was indeed so. He sighed.
"Your brother is missing," he said. Katara took it the wrong way.
"What? You didn't kill him, did you, you ba-" she was cut off.
"I didn't say that. He was gone after the battle," he said. She closed her mouth, calming down. "The avatar… I'll think about it." She couldn't argue. The Avatar was a large price to pay for a mere peasant's service.
"Agreed," she responded. He dropped the knife, and released his hold on her, backing off. She spun around, and the last thing she saw was red and gold, before it was all black.
Sometime in the middle of the night, she awoke, numb and not feeling anything, but dampness and cold. She couldn't see, but she knew there was someone there.
"Cold…"she rasped, barely audible. And then everything went black again.
When she woke up, she was surprised to see something in front of her field of vision. It blocked her sight. Before she could think, she blinked, and everything became clearer in her vision. Red. The color of fire.
She moved away.
A/N: READ: I haven't been on Avatar fandom for so long, due to obsessions with some other anime. Please, please, please tell me if there are any stories like this. I don't want to seem as if I am stealing another's ideas. Thank you.