Chapter Text
An explosion of fire and air shook the earth, sending both benders to the opposites of the building. The smoke had just started to vanish from the inner yard when Katara felt her senses slowly returning to her.
That bounty hunter had managed to track both Sokka and Katara after parting ways with Aang. And yet their bond with the Avatar had brought another fight upon them. The smell of their belongings had led the Fire Nation to him. And here they were, engaging in another battle with innocent people caught in between. The abbey was being destroyed by Prince Zuko's fire blasts and Aang still hadn't found a way to keep the staff in the religious sanctuary safe from the fight. Katara guessed he wouldn't risk getting into the woods to avoid another incident like Hyoshi Island. If the trees burned, the shores of Mo Ce Sea would be helpless.
"I'm starting to get some feeling back." Sokka muttered, lifting his right arm in the air. All of sudden, a piece of the ceiling fell to numb his limbs again. "Ouch." He complained though expressionless because of the shirshu's immobilizing saliva.
Katara could feel the tip of her fingers. The task of waterbending, however, would take all of her body and she still couldn't get on her feet.
All around her casualties of war kept happening. Even Appa, the peaceful air bison, had started defending his owner. June, the bounty hunter, and her shirshu were trying to fight the bison back using the same strategy as they did with Katara and Sokka. That creature's tongue only needed to hit you once to immobilize your body. And so it did, trying to trap Appa as soon as he started cornering Prince Zuko.
"We need to move, Sokka." Katara pleaded more to herself than her brother. But all hopes were useless, none of them had regained their mobility back.
"Zuko can't keep up forever." Sokka replied, liking Aang's odds. Still, Katara felt an uneasiness flood her chest.
"Appa neither." She spoke back, seeing the first sting of the shirshu's tongue against the sky bison.
Appa groaned in pain and stumbled back, resisting the attacks. The bounty hunter, however, kept commanding the creature to attack. Despite the bison's strength, its paws began to tremble against the ground. Katara could scan the same sensation that had struck her half an hour ago. Another strike against the fur and Appa fell, causing the surroundings to shake.
Katara used the impulse beneath her to regain the feeling of her legs. With one strong push upwards, she finally managed to stand while leaning on the wall. Her knees threatened to bucle and yet she remained on foot, strong and steady. So determined she was that even Sokka began attempting to do the same. The waterbender just couldn't help it. She refused to watch and do nothing even if her capabilities were reduced at the moment. She had promised herself to never stand back again. She had an oath with herself. One which she wouldn't break.
Just in time, one of the nuns who had been hiding inside the abbey appeared. She was carrying a bottle with a strong scent. First, she hurried down to Sokka, who immediately stood up with just a smell of the liquid. Next, it was Katara who allowed the perfume to soak her senses. It was so intense that a mere inhale brought her body to reconnect. Almost instantly, her legs straightened and the numbness on her wrists disappeared. Now she could aid Aang in the fight, but how?
"That thing sees with its nose." Sokka had an idea, just like clockwork. Katara followed the direction of his glance and saw that he planned on sabotaging the shirshu's senses to win. "Let's give him something to look at."
"The perfume?" It was a brilliant idea and the head nun complied immediately.
While Zuko and Aang kept dueling in the middle of the courtyard, a group of five nuns hurried to the containers of perfume. Katara followed Sokka, who motioned for the women to pour it into the floor. With strong pushes and sighed efforts, the scent was freed into the courtyard, flooding the space like a wild river. The waterbender felt the liquid linking with her abilities ideally.
The shirshu began scratching its nose, causing the bounty hunter to lose her equilibrium. The beast had lost control over its smell and since it was blind, it began infunding panic in the area. June fell against the wall, hitting her head and leaving her vulnerable. Appa remained still on the ground, groaning and calling for Aang, who was now almost cornered by Prince Zuko. The bison's call caught Aang's attention, who decided to prioritise his loyal companion before the fight against the Fire Nation Prince.
"Appa!" The avatar called, sneaking under Zuko's arm rapidly thanks to the airbending that impulsed him.
Having no target in sight, the Fire Nation Prince turned to examine the area. That was when he spotted her in the middle of the courtyard, bending the perfume that was making the shirshu jump around wildly. Then Zuko stared at the opposite side, seeing his uncle would eventually be in the way of the uncontrolled beast. And the waterbender was planning on pouring all of the perfume into it… The Prince wouldn't allow it.
She noticed him just when she had finished creating a wave of perfume above the abbey. Zuko sprinted towards her, no fire in his hands and still as deadly as if he were bending. Sokka was behind, protecting the nuns. Aang, on the other hand, was comforting Appa. And Zuko was coming right towards her.
"Katara, watch out!" Sokka warned, unable to break his defences. If he took a step forward the wave of perfume could wash all of them over, including the nuns. It was all in Katara's hands.
Noticing her bending could hurt others, Katara was forced to push the perfume aside into one of the temple walls just in time. Prince Zuko jumped right towards her to knock her off her feet and she braced herself for the impact.
The strength of the firebender's body against hers made both of them fall almost a meter away. The friction with the rocks scratched Katara's legs, stealing a whimper from her as she slid painfully. Zuko's armour protected him from the impact, giving him a major advantage over the girl. That fact was the one that allowed him to trap her before she could crawl away from him.
"You are not going anywhere." He threatened, getting a hold on the back of her neck.
Katara could feel his strong fingers, warm and vicious closing in a grip. Still, the waterbender fought and tried to get up from the floor, but Zuko was soon above her. He nailed his weight on her back with one knee down and used the valuable time of his control over her to analyse the situation.
June and her shirshu were out of combat and his uncle was stealing some bottles of perfume without anyone noticing. The Avatar had managed to make his flying bison stand again and the watertribe warrior was back on his feet and had his boomerang pointed at him. The odds were against the Fire Nation and so Prince Zuko decided to follow his impulses and change the course of his plan. There was no use in fighting the Avatar since he could escape anytime. With the girl in his possession, however…
"Uncle." Zuko called him, snapping the old man from his stealing. "Hurry back to the ship. We'll meet there."
Zuko trusted that Iroh would follow his command. If nothing else ran out of his control, his next plan could be successful to finally capture the Avatar. But first he'd have to deal with the companions. His attention was brought to Sokka, who was deeply angered by the way the Fire Prince was holding down his sister.
"Let her go, ashmaker." He demanded, threatening him from the distance with the boomerang. Zuko still remembered how it had hit his head the last time he messed with the water tribe. But now the tables had turned.
With a rough pull, the Prince forced Katara to stand up. She tried to get free from him but his hand got a firm hold that twisted her braid against his knuckles, keeping her in place. The girl tried to step on his foot, but then Zuko used his firebending to keep both of the watertribe peasants in line. He approached the flame close enough to make the girl quiet and threaten his brother at the same time.
"This fight ends here… for now." Zuko informed, taking a step back along with Katara, who had no other choice than to oblige because of the fire in his hand. She didn't know if it was for the heat or the pressure of the moment that her mind clouded with desperation. Sokka too was unable to decide what to do at the Prince's threat. "We will resume this matter in my ship like civilized people, won't we?"
"You are anything but civilized." Sokka spat with hatred. He was going to run and reach for Katara but Aang held him just in time to avoid any stupid moves.
"Let me GO!" Katara insisted, resisting uselessly the Prince's hold.
"You don't want her. Face me." Aang said, willing to sacrifice the remains of his strength to get Katara away from the Fire Nation's clutches.
But Zuko had other plans. He had the waterbender the Avatar liked in his power. Plus the abbey was vulnerable and he could destroy the place without hesitation. He knew the current situation would bend the Avatar to his will if he pulled the right strings. Time and experience had proven to him that capturing Aang was useless, as he'd always find a way out of his ship. Zuko himself had rescued him disguised as the Blue Spirit a few days ago and could assure that having the Avatar as a prisoner was a difficult task. Having another person whom he cared the most in his place, however, would keep Aang tied more efficiently than any ropes or chains the Fire Nation could make. Plus, having bait would mean he and only he would have the Avatar's attention. It would ensure that anybody else, like Zhao for example, could get in the way.
"I'm keeping the girl as a warranty of our deal." The Prince announced, sure of his decision. Katara protested and struggled in his hands, earning a tug on her hair and a closer fire that ended up making her surrender. "We will meet at the Fire Nation, where you will come willingly if you want the girl unharmed."
"Don't do it Aang! It's not worth your time." Katara yelled as she only had her words as a weapon. "You have to keep moving forward. Don't listen to him."
"We won't leave you behind." Aang protested, now locking eyes with the Fire Prince. "I'll come with you but release her."
But Prince Zuko already knew that strategy. No, this time he wouldn't need to keep the Avatar locked in his ship to capture him. Using the waterbender was way more reassuring than holding him in a cell.
"Looks like the roles are reversed now, Avatar." Zuko mocked, taking another step back away from the spilt perfume. "You'll be following my ship if you know what's good for her."
With a movement of his free arm, Zuko made the fire blast forward and the alcohol in the perfume lit up in flames, creating a tall barrier between them. The Prince had been retreating to split them silently, a strategy which nobody else had foreseen. No airbending would be useful since it would only ensure more chaos in the abbey. The nuns yelled in panic as Sokka and Aang watched how Zuko dragged Katara out of the temple until they disappeared into the coastline.