A Broken Bond Part Three
Danger in the Water
Zuko
The soft light of a winter morning woke me, pulling me away from my strange and terrifying dreams. I sat up, shaking my head to banish the thoughts from my head. For some reason I couldn’t get the images from my dreams out of my head. Katara and I running from some unseen monster crashing through the underbrush behind us, a huge wave crashing down on our heads, a stab of lightning, a small tan hand reaching out desperately, searching for help; and a distant rumbling of something far more sinister than thunder. I passed a hand over my face, trying to wash away my nightmares. “You ok?” Katara was sitting up, her beautiful blue eyes regarding me calmly. “Yeah, just nightmares.” I reassured her. I couldn’t help thinking that there was something strange about the dreams. They felt so real, like it was really happening. I started, remembering a time I had similar dreams. It was so long ago………. “No, it was just a dream.” I muttered. “What was just a dream?” Katara asked, her blue eyes sparkling with interest. “I just had some dreams last night, and they reminded me of dreams I had when I was young.” She propped herself up on her elbow. “And the significance of this is……..” I shrugged. “Those dreams always came true.” Her eyes got huge. “Really? Like which ones?” I closed my eyes, feeling my eyes begin to burn with unshed tears. “I dreamed about my Mother. She was wearing a dark cloak, and she was calling for help. I tried to reach her, but I couldn’t, and she fell down into the blackness. A few weeks later, she disappeared.” I paused, taking a breath. “Then I started dreaming about a horrible shadow, and a blazing light; a burning pain….” My hand strayed up to the scar that disfigures the left side of my face. “Two years of constant nightmares, always ending in the same blinding light and pain. Then it happened.” I knew her eyes were on me as my hand strayed to my scar, but I didn’t care. My hand left my scarred face and clenched into a fist at my side. “What were the dreams about this time?” I looked away, not willing to meet her gaze. “Us.”
Katara
As soon as he said it I felt a lancing pain in my head, and I fell back against the cave wall. “Katara?” He cried, leaping to my aid and kneeling beside me. “What’s wrong?” I blinked, and the pain disappeared suddenly. “I just slipped on the floor.” I said groggily. I knew he didn’t buy it, but he didn’t comment any further. “Come on. If we’re going to get there, we need to hurry.” He pulled his coat over his head and tromped out of the cave, leaving me to gather my things and rush out. “We have a problem.” He called, and pointed out to sea. “The Southern Air Temple is miles and miles that way. We have no boat.” I rolled my eyes and clambered over the cliff edge. “Where are you going?” Zuko called, looking over the edge at me. “To my boat.” I said smugly, and he clambered after me.
Zuko
Sokka had always said his little sister was always right. Even when she was wrong, she was right. “Katara, are you sure we’re going the right way?” I asked, and I saw her eyes roll upwards. “I have an idea! Why don’t you waterbend us all the way to the Southern Air Temple and I’ll sit back and complain!” She snapped, and I slid down in the belly of the small canoe. “I get it, already.” I grumbled. She made a flicking motion with her wrist, and a squirt of icy water hit me square in the face. “Hey!” I spluttered. I had thought I had learned all of her waterbending tricks she used on me, but I had obviously been wrong. She laughed, and the sound sent memories whirling in my mind. Like the silver bells Mother had tried to teach me to use, but I had always been too impatient……. Now it was too late. “Come on, we can visit Appa and Momo while we’re there.” I huffed. “That’s just what I wanted, a smelly monster and a chatty monkey.” Katara did the water squirt again, and I was hit in the face again. “Hey, you have a poofy parka on; all I have is the clothes on my back.” Katara rolled her eyes and made a wide sweeping motion with her arms. Suddenly the canoe shot forward, and I was thrown against the back. “Why didn’t you do that before?” I called, the wind ripping the words out of my throat. “Because I like to see you suffer!” She called back, and I growled and leaped at her. She hadn’t been expecting it, and I bowled over her and sent us both tumbling into the ice cold water of the South Arctic ocean. We both came up coughing and spluttering. “Zuko you idiot!” She shouted, sending a wave at me. I had been gulping air at the time, and I got a lungful of water as the wave swept over me. I came back up choking and gagging, cold sea water blurring my vision. “Come on, the canoe’s this way.” She said, and took off. I swam after her still coughing up seawater.
Katara
I hit the water with headfirst, and came up with ice crystals stinging my face. I hit Zuko with a wave and called him an idiot before striking off for the canoe, which had been pushed away by the force of our splash. I heard him coughing and spluttering behind me, but I ignored him, face still burning from the humiliation of being caught off guard. I pulled myself into the canoe, lying on my back with my arms crossed over my chest angrily. “Katara, help!” Zuko cried, and suddenly the sound of frenzied splashing reached my ears. Zuko was bobbing oddly in the water, as if he was struggling against some unseen force. Suddenly a huge tentacle rose out of the water and slammed down, sending the canoe splashing ten feet away. “Katara! Get out of here, it’s too strong!” He shouted, and I felt a familiar pang of fear. The fear I felt when Dad had fallen to the ground after being injured in the outlook building. The fear I had felt when I saw Aang fall from the sky in Ba Sing Se. The fear when I saw the firebender grab my mother and wrench her away, only to be lost to me forever.
The fear of loosing someone I loved.
Zuko
I felt the suckers on the tentacle latch onto me and drag me down. I struggled futilely against it, but I was losing air quickly. My head broke the surface once more, and I yelled to Katara. “Get out of here! It’s too strong!” I gasped out before the monster yanked me under again. I watched as the light above faded and the bubbles coming from my mouth diminished. Suddenly there was a horrible screeching sound and the tentacle let go of me. I floated there for a minute before realizing I was free. I swam madly for the surface, but I knew it was too far away. I struggled to keep hold of consciousness, but darkness swept over me, pulling me down faster than the giant squid.
Katara
I formed a bubble of air around my head and dove into the water. The thing pulling Zuko under was one of the most feared creatures in the sea. A giant Squid-shark. I set my jaw and sent a razor sharp blade of water at it. It obviously wasn’t expecting to be attacked, because the water blade sliced clean through the tentacle holding Zuko. He floated upward, struggling feebly. The Squid-shark screamed, the sound echoing through the water like the call of a blue-humped whale. It swam upwards towards its floating prey, and I streaked towards it, the bubble of air around my face shrinking to cover my mouth. I stopped suddenly, sending another razor sharp blade towards the Squid-shark. It dodged, but the blade sliced through another one of its tentacles. Suddenly the thing shot off West, going as fast as its tentacles would carry it, and I saw all the other fish and things around us doing the same. I shot upwards and grabbed Zuko around the waist, shooting out of the water and landing on the boat with a thump, Zuko under me. I opened my eyes and found my face inches from Zuko’s. I rolled off him and sat up. “You had better cook all the meals for a week.” I said, but he didn’t answer. He was lying in the same position as he had been when we landed in the boat. “Zuko?” I asked hesitantly. He still didn’t move. “Oh no.” I breathed, flying to his side and checking for a pulse. He had no pulse. He wasn’t breathing. I felt no heartbeat. Nothing. “No! I can’t lose you now! I fought a giant killer squid to save you, and you drown? What is wrong with you?” I shouted at him, but he didn’t move. “Please, Zuko. I didn’t mean all those things I said three years ago. I didn’t mean any of them.” I cried, tears beginning to flow down my cheeks. “I lied when I said I hated you. I lied when I said I didn’t ever want to see you again. I lied, Zuko!” I whispered, setting my head on his chest.
“That time Toph caught me sitting on your chest after we sparred? And she called us lovebirds? I was so mad when she said that because, well, maybe I wanted it to be true.”
Zuko
Suddenly there was air. My mind had all but shut down and my lungs no longer burned, but then there was air. My body was so shocked that it couldn’t respond for a moment. “I didn’t mean those things.” I heard a faint voice speaking to me, and I sat back and listened. “I lied when I said I hated you. I lied when I said I didn’t ever want to see you again. I lied, Zuko.” The voice was Katara’s, speaking to me through the darkness. There was a slight pressure on my chest. “That time Toph caught me sitting on your chest after we sparred and called us lovebirds? I was so mad when she said that because, well, maybe I wanted it to be true.” As if on cue, my body jerked back to life, and I sat up coughing and spluttering, throwing the weight off. When the spasms ended I opened my eyes and shook my head, spraying water on both of us. “Zuko!” Katara squealed, and threw her arms around me. “Hey, don’t get all mushy and sentimental on me.” I said, my voice strained and hoarse. What happened after that proved my theory -all girls are totally and utterly insane- correct. She slugged me in the arm so hard it felt like a punch from Combustion Man. Then she started crying these huge blue tears that flowed down her face like a waterfall. Then she started laughing, tears still pouring out of her eyes. I’m sitting there with a crying, laughing waterbender who just punched me really hard holding onto me like she’d never let go. And this was right after had just been attacked by a giant Squid-shark! What do the spirits have against me?
Katara
When Zuko sat up and started coughing up seawater, I thought it was too good to be true. I hugged him before he had even finished coughing, so happy I couldn’t even express it. Then I got angry, and I slugged him. “Ow!” He yelped. Then I felt the tears coming back, and before I could stop them they began to pour out, and I started laughing. Mostly at myself and my flood of emotions. “Katara, I’m fine! Really, all the thing did was practically drown me!” Zuko said weakly, and I just sat there and held onto him, unwilling to let go of his waist. “Come on, we need to get going.” Zuko coughed, and I sat up. Suddenly he bent over, looking at the water. “What’s going on?” He asked, and I looked. Hundreds and hundreds of fish of all sizes were flashing under the canoe. Penguin fish, whale-dolphins, leopard seals, otter penguins, all the fish around were heading west as fast as their tails would carry them. Zuko looked the way they were coming from. “Oh no!” He breathed. I followed his gaze and gave a squeak of surprise. A wave the size of a mountain was headed right for us.
Zuko
As soon as I spotted the wave I felt the image from my dream coming back to me. The enormous wave crashing down on our heads. “Hold on!” Katara yelled and made a wide sweeping motion with her arms. We shot off, away from the wave, but I knew we weren’t going to outrun it. It drew closer and closer, and I could see the fish inside it. And then it was right above us, pulling us up into its crest. I didn’t see the coast of the Southern Air Temple drawing nearer, I only saw the wave and the fact that it was sucking us up. “Zuko, the shore!” Katara cried, and I did something totally random and not really helpful. I threw myself over the waterbender, as if it would shield her from the Tidal wave crashing down on our heads. Then there was darkness, and the only thing that told me I was still alive was the small, warm body in my arms. I was bashed against the bottom, trying to keep Katara from harm by taking the impact with my back. I banged my head on something hard so hard I saw stars, and most of my air escaped from my lips in a burst of bubbles. I felt sand rubbing against my back, and I flipped Katara over, shoving her up on the sand. I crawled after her, praying to the spirits, (and yes, I am aware that they hate me) that there would be no more super waves. Only a few seconds after I sent the prayer up, I was blasted by a wall of water, and I clutched Katara tightly to my side. When the water receded, I crawled a bit further up the beach until we were out of range of normal waves. Then again, we had just been pummeled by a thirty foot tall wave, so ‘normal’ didn’t really help. After we weren’t pulverized by any waves for a few moments, I let unconsciousness take me.
The soft light of a winter morning woke me, pulling me away from my strange and terrifying dreams. I sat up, shaking my head to banish the thoughts from my head. For some reason I couldn’t get the images from my dreams out of my head. Katara and I running from some unseen monster crashing through the underbrush behind us, a huge wave crashing down on our heads, a stab of lightning, a small tan hand reaching out desperately, searching for help; and a distant rumbling of something far more sinister than thunder. I passed a hand over my face, trying to wash away my nightmares. “You ok?” Katara was sitting up, her beautiful blue eyes regarding me calmly. “Yeah, just nightmares.” I reassured her. I couldn’t help thinking that there was something strange about the dreams. They felt so real, like it was really happening. I started, remembering a time I had similar dreams. It was so long ago………. “No, it was just a dream.” I muttered. “What was just a dream?” Katara asked, her blue eyes sparkling with interest. “I just had some dreams last night, and they reminded me of dreams I had when I was young.” She propped herself up on her elbow. “And the significance of this is……..” I shrugged. “Those dreams always came true.” Her eyes got huge. “Really? Like which ones?” I closed my eyes, feeling my eyes begin to burn with unshed tears. “I dreamed about my Mother. She was wearing a dark cloak, and she was calling for help. I tried to reach her, but I couldn’t, and she fell down into the blackness. A few weeks later, she disappeared.” I paused, taking a breath. “Then I started dreaming about a horrible shadow, and a blazing light; a burning pain….” My hand strayed up to the scar that disfigures the left side of my face. “Two years of constant nightmares, always ending in the same blinding light and pain. Then it happened.” I knew her eyes were on me as my hand strayed to my scar, but I didn’t care. My hand left my scarred face and clenched into a fist at my side. “What were the dreams about this time?” I looked away, not willing to meet her gaze. “Us.”
Katara
As soon as he said it I felt a lancing pain in my head, and I fell back against the cave wall. “Katara?” He cried, leaping to my aid and kneeling beside me. “What’s wrong?” I blinked, and the pain disappeared suddenly. “I just slipped on the floor.” I said groggily. I knew he didn’t buy it, but he didn’t comment any further. “Come on. If we’re going to get there, we need to hurry.” He pulled his coat over his head and tromped out of the cave, leaving me to gather my things and rush out. “We have a problem.” He called, and pointed out to sea. “The Southern Air Temple is miles and miles that way. We have no boat.” I rolled my eyes and clambered over the cliff edge. “Where are you going?” Zuko called, looking over the edge at me. “To my boat.” I said smugly, and he clambered after me.
Zuko
Sokka had always said his little sister was always right. Even when she was wrong, she was right. “Katara, are you sure we’re going the right way?” I asked, and I saw her eyes roll upwards. “I have an idea! Why don’t you waterbend us all the way to the Southern Air Temple and I’ll sit back and complain!” She snapped, and I slid down in the belly of the small canoe. “I get it, already.” I grumbled. She made a flicking motion with her wrist, and a squirt of icy water hit me square in the face. “Hey!” I spluttered. I had thought I had learned all of her waterbending tricks she used on me, but I had obviously been wrong. She laughed, and the sound sent memories whirling in my mind. Like the silver bells Mother had tried to teach me to use, but I had always been too impatient……. Now it was too late. “Come on, we can visit Appa and Momo while we’re there.” I huffed. “That’s just what I wanted, a smelly monster and a chatty monkey.” Katara did the water squirt again, and I was hit in the face again. “Hey, you have a poofy parka on; all I have is the clothes on my back.” Katara rolled her eyes and made a wide sweeping motion with her arms. Suddenly the canoe shot forward, and I was thrown against the back. “Why didn’t you do that before?” I called, the wind ripping the words out of my throat. “Because I like to see you suffer!” She called back, and I growled and leaped at her. She hadn’t been expecting it, and I bowled over her and sent us both tumbling into the ice cold water of the South Arctic ocean. We both came up coughing and spluttering. “Zuko you idiot!” She shouted, sending a wave at me. I had been gulping air at the time, and I got a lungful of water as the wave swept over me. I came back up choking and gagging, cold sea water blurring my vision. “Come on, the canoe’s this way.” She said, and took off. I swam after her still coughing up seawater.
Katara
I hit the water with headfirst, and came up with ice crystals stinging my face. I hit Zuko with a wave and called him an idiot before striking off for the canoe, which had been pushed away by the force of our splash. I heard him coughing and spluttering behind me, but I ignored him, face still burning from the humiliation of being caught off guard. I pulled myself into the canoe, lying on my back with my arms crossed over my chest angrily. “Katara, help!” Zuko cried, and suddenly the sound of frenzied splashing reached my ears. Zuko was bobbing oddly in the water, as if he was struggling against some unseen force. Suddenly a huge tentacle rose out of the water and slammed down, sending the canoe splashing ten feet away. “Katara! Get out of here, it’s too strong!” He shouted, and I felt a familiar pang of fear. The fear I felt when Dad had fallen to the ground after being injured in the outlook building. The fear I had felt when I saw Aang fall from the sky in Ba Sing Se. The fear when I saw the firebender grab my mother and wrench her away, only to be lost to me forever.
The fear of loosing someone I loved.
Zuko
I felt the suckers on the tentacle latch onto me and drag me down. I struggled futilely against it, but I was losing air quickly. My head broke the surface once more, and I yelled to Katara. “Get out of here! It’s too strong!” I gasped out before the monster yanked me under again. I watched as the light above faded and the bubbles coming from my mouth diminished. Suddenly there was a horrible screeching sound and the tentacle let go of me. I floated there for a minute before realizing I was free. I swam madly for the surface, but I knew it was too far away. I struggled to keep hold of consciousness, but darkness swept over me, pulling me down faster than the giant squid.
Katara
I formed a bubble of air around my head and dove into the water. The thing pulling Zuko under was one of the most feared creatures in the sea. A giant Squid-shark. I set my jaw and sent a razor sharp blade of water at it. It obviously wasn’t expecting to be attacked, because the water blade sliced clean through the tentacle holding Zuko. He floated upward, struggling feebly. The Squid-shark screamed, the sound echoing through the water like the call of a blue-humped whale. It swam upwards towards its floating prey, and I streaked towards it, the bubble of air around my face shrinking to cover my mouth. I stopped suddenly, sending another razor sharp blade towards the Squid-shark. It dodged, but the blade sliced through another one of its tentacles. Suddenly the thing shot off West, going as fast as its tentacles would carry it, and I saw all the other fish and things around us doing the same. I shot upwards and grabbed Zuko around the waist, shooting out of the water and landing on the boat with a thump, Zuko under me. I opened my eyes and found my face inches from Zuko’s. I rolled off him and sat up. “You had better cook all the meals for a week.” I said, but he didn’t answer. He was lying in the same position as he had been when we landed in the boat. “Zuko?” I asked hesitantly. He still didn’t move. “Oh no.” I breathed, flying to his side and checking for a pulse. He had no pulse. He wasn’t breathing. I felt no heartbeat. Nothing. “No! I can’t lose you now! I fought a giant killer squid to save you, and you drown? What is wrong with you?” I shouted at him, but he didn’t move. “Please, Zuko. I didn’t mean all those things I said three years ago. I didn’t mean any of them.” I cried, tears beginning to flow down my cheeks. “I lied when I said I hated you. I lied when I said I didn’t ever want to see you again. I lied, Zuko!” I whispered, setting my head on his chest.
“That time Toph caught me sitting on your chest after we sparred? And she called us lovebirds? I was so mad when she said that because, well, maybe I wanted it to be true.”
Zuko
Suddenly there was air. My mind had all but shut down and my lungs no longer burned, but then there was air. My body was so shocked that it couldn’t respond for a moment. “I didn’t mean those things.” I heard a faint voice speaking to me, and I sat back and listened. “I lied when I said I hated you. I lied when I said I didn’t ever want to see you again. I lied, Zuko.” The voice was Katara’s, speaking to me through the darkness. There was a slight pressure on my chest. “That time Toph caught me sitting on your chest after we sparred and called us lovebirds? I was so mad when she said that because, well, maybe I wanted it to be true.” As if on cue, my body jerked back to life, and I sat up coughing and spluttering, throwing the weight off. When the spasms ended I opened my eyes and shook my head, spraying water on both of us. “Zuko!” Katara squealed, and threw her arms around me. “Hey, don’t get all mushy and sentimental on me.” I said, my voice strained and hoarse. What happened after that proved my theory -all girls are totally and utterly insane- correct. She slugged me in the arm so hard it felt like a punch from Combustion Man. Then she started crying these huge blue tears that flowed down her face like a waterfall. Then she started laughing, tears still pouring out of her eyes. I’m sitting there with a crying, laughing waterbender who just punched me really hard holding onto me like she’d never let go. And this was right after had just been attacked by a giant Squid-shark! What do the spirits have against me?
Katara
When Zuko sat up and started coughing up seawater, I thought it was too good to be true. I hugged him before he had even finished coughing, so happy I couldn’t even express it. Then I got angry, and I slugged him. “Ow!” He yelped. Then I felt the tears coming back, and before I could stop them they began to pour out, and I started laughing. Mostly at myself and my flood of emotions. “Katara, I’m fine! Really, all the thing did was practically drown me!” Zuko said weakly, and I just sat there and held onto him, unwilling to let go of his waist. “Come on, we need to get going.” Zuko coughed, and I sat up. Suddenly he bent over, looking at the water. “What’s going on?” He asked, and I looked. Hundreds and hundreds of fish of all sizes were flashing under the canoe. Penguin fish, whale-dolphins, leopard seals, otter penguins, all the fish around were heading west as fast as their tails would carry them. Zuko looked the way they were coming from. “Oh no!” He breathed. I followed his gaze and gave a squeak of surprise. A wave the size of a mountain was headed right for us.
Zuko
As soon as I spotted the wave I felt the image from my dream coming back to me. The enormous wave crashing down on our heads. “Hold on!” Katara yelled and made a wide sweeping motion with her arms. We shot off, away from the wave, but I knew we weren’t going to outrun it. It drew closer and closer, and I could see the fish inside it. And then it was right above us, pulling us up into its crest. I didn’t see the coast of the Southern Air Temple drawing nearer, I only saw the wave and the fact that it was sucking us up. “Zuko, the shore!” Katara cried, and I did something totally random and not really helpful. I threw myself over the waterbender, as if it would shield her from the Tidal wave crashing down on our heads. Then there was darkness, and the only thing that told me I was still alive was the small, warm body in my arms. I was bashed against the bottom, trying to keep Katara from harm by taking the impact with my back. I banged my head on something hard so hard I saw stars, and most of my air escaped from my lips in a burst of bubbles. I felt sand rubbing against my back, and I flipped Katara over, shoving her up on the sand. I crawled after her, praying to the spirits, (and yes, I am aware that they hate me) that there would be no more super waves. Only a few seconds after I sent the prayer up, I was blasted by a wall of water, and I clutched Katara tightly to my side. When the water receded, I crawled a bit further up the beach until we were out of range of normal waves. Then again, we had just been pummeled by a thirty foot tall wave, so ‘normal’ didn’t really help. After we weren’t pulverized by any waves for a few moments, I let unconsciousness take me.
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