A Different Destiny

Chapter 7

"Katara?" whispered a desperate voice "are you okay?" There was a searing pain in her head so bad she didn't dare open her eyes, not yet anyway. She couldn't remember what had happened. Where she was or why her head hurt so badly. "Katara please wake up." she felt a hand lightly brush her face.

Suddenly the memories came rushing back to her with a force so crushing she began to gasp for air. She had been in the catacombs with Zuko, her worst enemy- except he hadn't been that night. He had been different. He showed her a different side and contradicted that belief she had had that all firebenders might be born just a little evil. He showed her that much of who he is, much of his pain, comes from the same place as her own. From the loss of a mother. However, this is where their paths diverged. When Kya died the Water Tribe gathered around Katara and her brother. Every night a family from the tribe brought over different things like Sea Prune Stew and Seaweed Noodles, asking how they could help Hakoda and their family. When Zuko's mother was taken from him he was left with a father and sister who looked at him only with scorn, and an empty palace to ease his broken heart.

Then there had been Aang and the look of heartbreak on his face in caves. Then the battle and Azula. AZULA! Katara's eyes shot open and she sat upright gasping for air. "Whoa, whoa. You're okay!" She had been lying in Zuko's lap, and he caught at her wrist as she lashed out in confusion. She looked around, she was no longer in the catacombs under Ba Sing Se. They were sprawled out in the desert. Sokka tending to a fire, eyeing Zuko suspiciously and Toph standing next to Aang who was wrapped in blankets and laid out on a bed she had earthbent.

"Aang!" she yelled trying to get up. "I can heal him, let me go!" she said, pushing Zuko away. Katara had only managed to go a few steps before the pain in her head became too much and she stumbled forward.

"Katara!" Sokka said, reaching for her. He was too far away to catch her. She never hit the ground, in the blink of an eye Zuko had sprung up and caught her in his arms. However, he didn't lower her to the ground.

He looked at her sadly. "You should rest," Katara opened her mouth to protest but Zuko cut her off. "But I can see that you won't until you've seen him." Zuko started towards the makeshift bed that Aang was lying on.

He gently placed her next to Aang, letting her stand up but left his arm out as if to say you can lean on me if you need to. As much as she hated to, she was thankful and let half of her body sink into Zuko's side. She would feel the warmth radiating off his body, despite the ground underneath her Zuko felt like the only solid thing within miles.

She looked at Aang, his eyes were shut and there were burn marks that started at his hands and made their way up arms, like tiny bolts of lightning. The once smooth skin marred with red. Looking at Aang you couldn't tell that he was breathing, the only indicator that he was alive were his tattoos which glowed a faint blue. Katara let out a cry, "Sokka! Bring me water now, I need to help him."

Sokka said nothing but brought her pouch of water to her. The water rose to her fingers and began glowing. She moved her hands up and down Aang's, trying to close the open wounds and sterilize them to prevent infection. When she was done she realized that the wounds hadn't closed, although she had cleaned up the excess blood, Aang's hands and arms were still torn up. "I need more water!" she said, turning to the others.

"That's all we have..." Sokka said quietly. Katara looked around frantically for some indicator that he was wrong or that he was lying, surely one of the others had their waterskin or there had to be a body of water around. Her hand flew to her neck remembering the Spirit Water, she grasped at emptiness as she remembered it was gone. Then the realization began to sink in, they had fled Ba Sing Se into the desert. Of course, there wasn't any water. She felt helpless, as she had the last time they were trapped in this sandy prison.

She was at a loss. "But we need to help him."

"I know, but we don't even know what's wrong with him." Sokka said quietly. "Is he even-"

"He's alive." Toph said. "I can feel his heartbeat, it's faint. I don't know what's wrong with Twinkle Toes but I know two things: he's alive but he doesn't have long. I don't know how but we have to help him."

"What about spirit water?" Zuko asked nervously.

"Don't be stupid," Katara snapped. "You know as well as I, that I used my only one on you."

Zuko flinched like she had slapped him again but didn't otherwise react. "I meant is there a way to get more?" Katara paused for a moment thinking.

"Sokka how far away are we from the Northern Water Tribe?"

Sokka thought and said, "less than a week's journey."

"It's settled then. We're going."