The Last Waterbender

Chapter 12: The Storm

Disclaimer: All rights belong to Nickelodeon, Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and all the men and women that created the A:TLA show, books, and comics. I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made. The lyrics are from the song "Hurricane Drunk" by Florence and the Machine

Rating: General Audiences. Warning: some scenes contain dark themes and minor violence

Chapter 12 - The Storm

No walls can keep me protected, no sleep

Nothing in between me and the rain

And you can't save me now

I'm in the grip of a hurricane

I'm gonna blow myself away

No hope, don't want shelter

No calm, nothing to keep me from the storm

And you can't hold me down

'Cause I belong to the hurricane

It's gonna blow this all away

Firebenders jump off the sides of the ship and start attacking. Everything disintegrates into chaos. Katara feels her mother grabbing her shoulders and pulling her away.

"No, Mom!" she protests. "I want to help! I can help fight!"

"No! You must escape, Katara!"

More Firebenders emerge from the ships. The people from her village try to fight them off, but they're hopelessly outnumbered and unprepared. Katara watches with horror as her father defeats one soldier, only to turn and immediately be hit with a whip of fire from another Bender. He falls into the snow and doesn't get up.

"Dad!" she screams, lunging out of her mother's grip. She summons water and sends the Firebender flying backwards into the icy wall.

"Katara!" she hears her mother scream.

She turns to see a man holding her mother, a knife against her throat.

"No!" She runs but she isn't fast enough. All around her, her people are being burned and chased. The air is full of screams and the roar of fire.

She feels someone grab her arm. "We have to go, Katara! We have to escape!"

She turns to see her brother, Sokka, dragging her away. He has a bag slung over his shoulder.

"We can't just leave them," she cries, digging her heels into the snow. "I can fight! I can help defeat the Firebenders!"

"No, Katara. You can't." She can see the sorrow in Sokka's eyes. "There are dozens of Firebenders. We have to leave while we still can."

She feels torn. All around her, her life is being destroyed. Her friends and family killed. The Firebenders are ruthless. Is life worth living without her people?

But staying to fight would be suicide. She knows her parents wouldn't want her to stay. Her mother always used to tell her, "Sometimes it takes courage to back away from a fight." Katara has the feeling this is one of those fights.

She reluctantly follows Sokka as they weave their way between huts and run for the open sea. She keeps her hand in Sokka's the entire time. She's lost too many members of her family already; she's not going to lose him, too.