The Forgiven (Zutara)

Things I Almost Remember pt. 2

A couple days had passed and I still didn't talk much in front of them. Hardly ever in fact but I was okay with it. I liked not talking and just listening. It was nice to have people to listen to. I knew that Appa wouldn't be able to carry everyone so I had Freya turn into a dragon and carry me. Surprisingly after our fight a couple days ago we'd only grown closer. Zuko seemed to be really quiet too. I got the feeling he wasn't normally like that. I leaned over and gently tapped on him to get his attention since he was just staring at his hands. He turned and looked at me.

"You okay? Your quiet." I said.

"So are you." He replied.

"Doesn't answer my question." I continued.

"Yeah. I'm okay." He finally said but I could feel it was a lie but I didn't question him further he had no reason to answer to me.

"Where are we headed anyways Aang?" I asked loudly do he could hear me over the wind of us flying.

"We're going to the Earth Kingdom. There's a woman there Sokkas heard of who helps people with amnesia remember their life again, we're hoping it will get your memories back, and if not then we'll keep looking for something to help as we try to find me an earth bending teacher." He replied. I nodded not having any questions. I hugged the jacket to me, holding onto Freya with my legs instead. I just barely managed to catch Zuko smiling.

"What're smiling at?" I asked him. He shook his head. "Oh come on." I said. He shook his head again. I sighed. "I'm relentless. It's easier if you give up now." I shrugged. I had freya go ever so slightly faster so that I could ruffle up Sokkas hair.

"Katara!" He whined. "I just put that back!" He whined taking it out and redoing it. I chuckled.

"Well we're siblings right? And what else are siblings for?" I chuckled.

"Well not messing up hair that's for sure." He grumbled. Even Freya snorted at this. The rest of the ride was spent entirely in silence or only them talking, with me flying right by them. I was nervous about trying to get my memory back. What if I didn't like what I remembered? Or what if if I didn't remember anything? What would happen then? They'd be so disappointed. I ever so slightly frowned but sat up straighter as if I had to prove something. I just wanted to get there and get done with it. I didn't want to deal with the suspension.
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When we finally arrived it was almost night. Freya turned back into her snow leopard form and walked with all of us into town to find this supposed miracle worker. When we finally found her small old house everyone waited for me to knock on the door. I looked down at Freya who nodded. I knocked on the door and waited for her to answer when she did I spoke first "They say you restore memories. Is it true?" I asked. She nodded, smiled, moved to the side and welcomed us all in. Once we got in she made a tea she said it would restore my memories. "How much?" I asked pulling out my pouch of coins, which had gotten heavier over the days by me getting into fights for money.

"Oh it's free dear. Its just to help, besides there is never a guarantee that it'll work I wouldn't ever charge someone and get their hopes up just for it to not work." She smiled. She seemed kind I just couldn't tell if it was genuine.

"What are the odds of it working?" I asked.

"95 percent of the time it has worked." She smiled nodding. I nodded and shrugged.

"Bottoms up." I whispered. I grabbed the cup and downed it in one gulp.

"By tomorrow you should wake up with all of your memories. They'll come slowly at first then once the dam starts to crack it'll just completely give out." She said. I nodded and when she wasn't looking left her five gold pieces in the cup.

"Thank you ma'am." I said leaving her old house.

"How do you feel?" Hakodah asked. I shrugged.

"No different." I replied. "But I think that's the point of it. You're not supposed to feel it, I mean if it's just returning something you've already had, you shouldn't feel any different right?" I asked.

"What do you suppose will happen?" Bako asked.

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out tomorrow." I shrugged. I feel asleep pretty easily. When I woke up the next morning everyone was leaning over me and watching me. The second I opened my eyes and saw all of them I groaned. "Oh come on guys. Let a girl sleep." I sighed.

"What do you remember?" They asked. I sat up rubbing my head. It felt as if memories wanted to come to the front of my mind but they were trapped I just got small things like smells or feelings.

"I don't remember anything just some smells or feelings or things like that, but I don't remember any actual memory memories." I shook my head getting up and walking away but I stopped. Voices started coming to me. Faint and jumbled but still. "I-It's cold. Everything's made of metal, but it's warm at the same time. There's music, it's faint, I'm not in the same room with the music but it's comforting. I can almost smell tea, I can almost hear laughter and joy, does-does it sound familiar?" I asked turning back to face them. Zuko and Iroh nodded smiling.

"There's another one. It's freezing. Even colder than before. It feels like my entire body is made of ice. Ice, yes that's it. Ice. I fell through the ice, I'm small, there's someone looking at me through the water trying to help me, I can't tell who it is." I continued. Hakodah perked up.

"It happened you fell through the ice when you were a kid, you and Sokka were playing but you fell I almost couldn't grab you." He said.

"There's another one. My shoulders hurt, bad, I can't put any weight on it, I can't lift anything, I can't even bend water. I got into a fight with someone not a fight I got into a argument. Everything's made of metal again, it's cold like it was last time. He's in the corner of the room, but he's talking to me, he comes out of the darkness I can almost see a face." I said. Zuko stood up.

"Keep trying." He said encouragingly. I focused on the memory.

"I see him! It's as if he's slowly coming into focus!" I said but before I could get an actual look at the face I started to be in pain. The memory of the light moving around the ring flashed in my head, the words fell out of the mans mouth were all that I wanted to do. I wanted to forget. I grabbed my head. No. I didn't want to forget. I didn't want to forget. I wanted to remember. But he's telling me I want to forget and it's so much easier to give in I shook my head pressing both hands to my head. "Umm...I...I'm losing him, he...He's going back out of focus...He...." I trailed off shaking my my head. "Damnit!" I cursed quietly as the man kept coming into my head.

"What is it? Katara?" Zuko asked but his face turned into the mans face. The man. The man. What was his name.....I don't want to remember. Yes I do. I don't want to remember. I dropped to my knees. "Katara!" He said. I grasped my head in pain.

"He's telling me not to remember. I don't want to remember." I mumbled.

"Who? Katara? Who's telling you that?" Zuko asked.

"I-I-I-I dont know. He-" I cut myself off with a scream. It hurt. "I want to remember." I said out loud. The mans voice filled my ears as if I couldn't hear anything else except him, and the light filled my sight as if I couldn't see anything else except for the light. "I don't want to remember." I shook my head.

"Katara?" Zuko asked. I shook my head.

"I'm sorry." I replied.