wow, my first fic in which there will be few OC's!
Turbulence
An Avatar: The Last Airbender fic
Prologue: Consequences
"The Earth Kingdom...has fallen."
There was a long silence after those defeated words were spoken. No matter how many times they ran around their heads, it still didn't seem real. After everything they'd been through, everything they'd done to stop it, they'd failed. Azula's plan had been ingenious, that couldn't be denied - when an outside attack failed, she'd realised she needed to win from the inside, using Long Feng and the Dai Li along the way.
Katara stared at the stars, feeling strangely numb. She was too exhausted to think or sleep, too tired to want to think about what had happened. She felt Aang shiver slightly beside her and sat up carefully. The Avatar stirred.
"Katara?" He murmured.
"Shh, try not to speak. Just sleep." She leaned forward and kissed his forehead gently. Aang closed his eyes obediently and soon drifted off again. Katara sighed as she stared at the boy she thought of as a brother.
"This is unbelievable." Sokka said from Appa's broad back. He glanced at the tattooed head. "Is he alright?"
"He seems alright." Katara said, looking up at her older brother and irritably pulling her loose brown hair out of her mouth. "But we should hide soon so he can rest easier."
Sokka pointed to a spot from their great height above the coast line.
"Looks, there's that island we hid on when we got Appa back." He said, sliding down to sit next to Katara."We can hide out there for a bit."
"Finally, land." Toph groaned, clutching Appa's fur tightly. Sokka glanced at his sister, who was pulling her hair back into it's usual plait with a disturbed look on her features.
"Katara...what happened?"
Katara closed her eyes as scenes flashed vividly through her memory:
That's something we have in common. The voice offered understanding.
I don't know if it would work, but... Herself, offering to use her precious Spirit water to erase a scar.
I thought you'd changed! Her betrayed voice shrieking as she fought the firebending prince.
Finally, the terrible vision of Azula hitting Aang during the Avatar state, destroying the Avatar spirit...
Good thing I didn't waste the spirit water on Zuko. She thought bitterly, glad she'd revived the Avatar spirit and it's current reincarnation.
"I'll tell you later." She said quietly, finishing her plait. Sokka nodded and patted Appa's head.
"Take us down, boy. Gently." Appa groaned and started his descent. Katara glanced up at the moon and sighed tiredly.
Zuko stood in the middle of a dark clearing. He could see his uncle in front of him, facing away from him.
"Uncle?" He asked, walking up to the old man. When Iroh didn't answer, Zuko walked around his uncle to face him. Or tried to. Somehow, Iroh's back was always facing him.
"Uncle, look at me!" He demanded, frustration taking over. He put a hand on the old man's shoulder, then reeled back with a cry of horror when Iroh burst into flames, then vanished.
"Once a traitor to the Fire Nation, always a traitor." Zuko turned at the sound of his fathers voice, but saw nothing. Suddenly, he was back in the Fire Palace.
"There is no redemption for a failure and a traitor." Ozai hissed, still unseen.
"Father, please! I did my best!" Zuko cried, racing through the empty halls. Azula appeared in front of him.
"You're a failure, Zuzu." She sneered. She suddenly turned into the waterbender, her blue eyes, wide with anger and betrayal.
"I thought you'd changed!" She screamed. Katara turned into water and grew taller, then solidified into his mother's form.
"Mother?" He whispered.
"Zuko, I'm so disappointed." Ursa whispered. "You've forgotten who you are. I didn't what you to become like them." Her eyes glowed bright blue, the glow of the Avatar state, and she suddenly struck the scarred side of his face-
"Aargh!" Zuko cried, waking and sitting bolt upright. He touched his scar, which tingled eerily. Before he could change his mind, he dressed and was walking swiftly through the Earth Palace. He made his way purposefully to the dungeons.
"Take me to my uncle's cell." He commanded the Dai Li agents standing guard at the entrance to the dungeons. They both ignored him. "Didn't you hear me? Take me to my uncle! Or do I have to get my sister down here?" He saw them men visibly pale and sighed. She might be the worst sister imaginable, but her ruthless command had them scared stiff.
"It was the Princess Azula who ordered us to let no person pass." One said firmly.
"Let me pass!" Zuko yelled, trying to control his temper. Behind him, he heard a bored sigh.
"Just let him through." Mai's voice said quietly. Zuko turned and glared suspiciously at his sister's friend, finally devoid of the Kyoshi make-up. "I'll show you the way." She walked confidently past the Dai Li, then turned with a sigh."Hurry up." Zuko quickly made his way past the earthbenders, smirking immaturely at them. He followed Mai down a dark corridor.
"Thank you, Mai." he said quietly, feeling it needed to be said.
"I was getting bored waiting for you to turn up." She said as she swept across the floor. "Azula thought you'd want to come and see him." She stopped before a guarded door. "Prince Zuko will see the prisoner now." She drawled. She stepped back as one unlocked the door. "Try not to take to long. It's so boring down here." Zuko took a deep breath and entered his uncle's jail cell.
Authors note:
yes, im back, and i actually decided to write my avatar fic after all. i plan to make it as much like the show as i can, focusing more on the action and humour as much as i can. be warned now, i very much doubt that i will include shipping. sorry, but from teh way they ended the second season...it looks like theres gonna have to be some major shake ups for any of them to get together. i hope this doesnt put any of you off reading this...also im in my second year of uni, so updates will be extremely random, but they will come! im also working on my second lotr fic, a girl-falls-into-ME fic. im gonna have fun writing these two :D huzzah for obsessions! please be kind if you review :D