Hello again, my friends. Okay, so I started this story with an idea of what I wanted to do, but as you can probably guess, that kinda got lost along the way. However, I’ve decided to just go along with it and see where it goes.
I hope that’s ok with you guys and you still enjoy it :D
As ever, please feel free to comment and give me advice, it really does help.
-Ellie
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What a pushover, Katara thought as she sped toward the base. All that soldier needed was a little nudge in the right direction…
Maybe she was having a bit too much fun with her new-found ability, but for the moment Katara couldn’t care less. Thanks to the fire nation soldier’s tip, she knew where the boys were being held. Anger boiled up inside her as she thought about what could’ve happened to them, the red hot rage making the jet streams either side of her dance in anticipation.
Come on, faster, she urged the water, and she surged forward as if it had a life of its own. There.
***
The fortress stood fifty feet high, its granite walls slimy with years of neglect. No light reached the base; it seemed to repel any form of illumination, and the lack of windows only added to the gloom. Fire nation flags were blowing wildly high above each of the four turrets, as though surveying their kingdom.
Looking up at the monstrosity, Katara shivered. The freezing cold water clung to her skin as she clambered onto the bank, quickly bending the moisture out of her clothes. However, her skill couldn’t get rid of the chill now prickling down her back as she stared up at the Fire Nation’s fortress towering silently above her.
She tried to ignore the air of rottenness it seemed to exude, but it proved difficult as the weight of her situation finally hit her.
How was she supposed to get in, let alone find the boys?
In her excitement, Katara hadn’t thought everything through. Now she was stranded outside a Fire Nation base, wearing Water Nation clothes, with the possibility of being discovered by a soldier constantly nagging at the back of her mind.
But then it came to her.
***
“Katara?”
Disbelief laced Aang’s voice, and it took everything Katara had not to burst into tears at the sight of them both. It felt like years since she’d seen them; so much had happened.
But there they were, as unchanged as ever. Relief washed through her - and something else too as she saw the look in Aang’s eyes.
It was a look she would never forget.
“Katara, how did you-” Sokka’s voice brought Katara back to reality and she burst into action again.
“Shhhh, no time to explain,” she insisted. “Let’s just get out of here.”
In a few strong strides, she crossed the room to the post they were both tied to and used the water from her mirage to break their cuffs. All the while, the boys peppered her with questions until she looked pointedly at the door and told them to shut up.
She was surprised when they did.
When she was done, Sokka reached out to touch her face. He still couldn’t quite believe she was here. But as he extended his hand, Katara flinched away, ducking her head to hide her face. Sokka thought this was odd, but they hadn’t been particularly touchy siblings anyway so he thought nothing of it.
Aang noticed though.
As soon as he was free, Aang moved to hug her but the waterbender stepped back and visibly shrunk into herself. This Aang noticed too, and knew without a doubt something had happened to her while they had been separated. Katara wasn’t overly affectionate, but she’d always seemed to enjoy their hugs and had never refused one. This was new and out of character for her, and Aang had noticed.
He looked across at Sokka to see if he had seen it too. He had. They shared a look, and came to a mutual agreement to bring it up later – there were more important things to deal with right now.
But Aang wouldn’t forget.
Katara motioned them forward. “Look like you’re my prisoners,” she told them, then morphed back into the guard from earlier.
Both boys looked at her aghast, but Katara/soldier shook her head. Even through the eyes of someone else, she could still convey what she wanted to say. Yet another attribute Aang admired her for.
As she led them through the muggy, dank corridors, Katara was constantly on the lookout for other guards, or even worse, Admiral Zhao. She could fool the others, but not him. The fire she had started in the north wing should’ve kept them busy for a while, but she didn’t know the intricacies of firebending and if it included being able to put one out. So she hurried along, trusting her instincts and the pull of the river outside. She just hoped they were enough to get them all outside soon.
The corridors all looked the same; the blocks of granite all merged into one as they sped along. Katara’s breathing got shallower as the mental strain of keeping up the mirage started to affect her. Her body hadn’t got used to the demand of using her mind for complex manoeuvres, yet another thing she hadn’t thought of. Too late now, she thought as she pushed on, checking the boys were still behind her. They were still there, loyally keeping up. Pride glowed in her chest and she smiled at them, dropping her guard for just one second…
It turned out to be one second too long.
