"Do you all understand the plan?"
Katara stared at Iroh. He hadn't said much at all about the plan, just that they were going to infiltrate the Capital to bring down the President, who was conveniently his brother. Her trust for these people lowered significantly, and, with a quick glance around at her group, she could see them all starting to judge this man differently.
"I'm sorry," Toph said, "but that didn't answer any of my questions. What makes you think I'll help if I don't know everything?"
"You didn't show us any maps or any information that could help us even get to the Capital from here," Aang said with a frown on his face. "How are we supposed to know what to do if you won't explain all of the plan to us?"
Katara didn't understand why Iroh was grinning. If he was the leader of the White Lotus, he wasn't good at it. Even Katara could guide a few troops here and there, and she had no experience doing that at all.
"I'm not going to tell each of you the whole plan," Iroh explained with a nod. He shrugged. "I don't have to."
"Why?" Katara asked. Her frown deepened.
"I'm going to split you all up into three groups of two." Iroh looked at each of them with calculating eyes. Maybe he knew what he was doing after all. "Each group will have a different job for Operation Lotus. Once all the jobs are completed, then that we we will move into phase two of the operation. That's the actual storming of the Capital, but it won't just be you six fighting. I will send in reinforcements from the White Lotus to help take down this oppressive government."
Katara fixed her gaze onto the ground. She hadn't ever pictured the day when a group was going to overthrow the government; she sure hadn't pictured herself being apart of it. There was no going back now. This was it. She had to do this. She had to create a better world; it was what her mother would have wanted. For anything else, she wouldn't have done this. But for her mother, she would do anything.
"Why groups of two?" Sokka said, his voice breaking through her thoughts. "Why would you split us up?" His sounded a little mad, which was weird since he was one of the only ones who knew about this operation. "Wouldn't that be easier for us to be picked off one by one?"
Iroh frowned at him. "Groups of two is better than one whole group travelling together. By being separated, more things can get done in less time. It is a little risky, yes, but it will be for the better."
"It'll be fine," Lu Ten said, jumping into the conversation. He walked over next to his father, and Katara couldn't help but notice how similar they looked. They had the same chin and eyes. But most of all, they had the same sparkle in their eyes. "Splitting up into groups of two will be the best way to get this done. I promise."
People had always told Katara that she looked like her mother, but she didn't really believe them. Maybe it was because she couldn't look at the two of them side by side and see the similarities like she could with Lu Ten and Iroh. Or maybe it was because she couldn't really remember what her mother looked like. The image of her had slowly faded away with each passing year without her until she was just a faint memory.
Maybe it was better that way.
Iroh clapped, jarring her from her thoughts yet again. "Okay, it's time to be separated into groups. Since Lu Ten is up here, I'll say who he is partnered with." Iroh's eyes settled on Katara, and she frowned. "Katara, you and Lu Ten will be partnered together. Bato is going to bring you two over to the side while I explain to the other two groups what they are going to do."
Bato walked over to Katara with a smile on his face. She walked with him over to the corner, where Lu Ten already was. "This is where I leave you two," Bato said with a nod.
Katara faced Lu Ten. She didn't really know what to say to him. They hadn't spoken since the tunnels, and that conversation wasn't even that long. She wished that he would say something, but he remained silent, too.
Iroh's voice carried over to where they were standing, but she wasn't able to understand him. Maybe it was better not being able to hear what he was saying to the other groups. She didn't want to worry about everyone else, though she knew she would no matter what. She was always worried about Sokka, and now she'd be worried about Aang, too. She'd even be worried about Suki and Toph, even though she didn't hardly know them.
Katara brushed her dark hair out of her eyes, pulling it back with a piece of fabric she had from the Games. She tied it tight, making sure her hair wouldn't fall into her face again. She needed to be able to see if she were to do this job correctly.
After a couple of minutes, Iroh made his way over to the two of them. He had a jolly smile on his face, confusing Katara. What about this was jolly or happy? She wasn't going to ask him why he was happy, though. "So, what are we going to do?" she asked instead, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You two will be heading to the Control Room right outside the Capital," Iroh said, jumping right into the plan. "There are things you need to get. You need to get schematics of the underground tunnels and such that will help lead the group into the Capital itself. Another thing you need to do is to put in a video into the security feed." Iroh produced a USB drive from his pocket, handing it over to Lu Ten. "Plug this into the computer and then it will play a prerecorded video of the hallways so that they won't see us infiltrating the Capital."
"Do you have a map of how to get to the Control Room?" Lu Ten asked, stuffing the USB drive away.
"I do," he said, hesitating, "but I want all of you to rest a night before we do anything else."
"What?" Katara asked. "You want us to rest?"
Iroh turned away from her, not answering her question. She glanced over at Lu Ten and saw that he had a similar frown on his face. She focused her gaze on Iroh, watching him as he walked to the front of the room. He cleared his throat and everyone looked at him. "Since you guys spent so many days in the arena, I want you to take the rest of the night and the next day off. It's been rough for some of you, and I need you guys to be at your best when we storm the Capital. Bato will show the girls to their room, and I will show the boys to their room."
Bato took a step forward, motioning toward Katara, Suki, and Toph. Suki was the first to follow him, and then Katara followed. She made sure that Toph was coming before exiting the room. The hallway was bright as Bato lead them though it, turning a corner. He stopped in front of a door and said, "This is where you three will be sharing a room."
"Thank you," Suki said to Bato with a slight bow.
Suki and Toph headed into the room first, but Katara remained out in the hallway. Bato gave her an encouraging smile. "Where's the bathroom?" she asked him quickly.
"It's just down the hall and to your right," Bato said with a nod. "It'll be the first door on your left."
"Thanks."
She stalked down the hall and pushed the first door on her left open. Flipping on a light switch, she sighed in relief. She was in the bathroom. The thing was, she didn't have to go to the bathroom at all. She just wanted to be alone for a second, and this was the best thing she could think of in such short amount of time.
Katara shut the door behind her quickly and faced the mirror. She hadn't looked at herself in such a long time, so she wasn't sure if she looked any worse than she did before she went into the arena. All she knew was that her eyes were dark and scarred. The most startling thing about her, though, was how gaunt her face looked. Her cheeks were sunken in; shadows danced below her eyes.
"Hello?" a person asked, knocking on the bathroom door. "Whoever is in there needs to get out right away or else I'll blow!"
Katara rolled her eyes. Sokka always had to be so over-dramatic about things. She shoved the door open to find him leaning against the wall. His injured leg was limp while the other one stood strong. He couldn't go into battle like that at all, not if he was hurt.
"Oh, it's you," Sokka said when he saw her.
"Yeah, just me." She stepped out into the hallway with him. "Don't you have to go to the bathroom?"
"Not really," he said with a shrug. "I wanted to be alone for a little bit. Just like you, I assume."
"Yeah."
The two of them stared at each other for a second before Sokka said, "We're doing this for the better."
"Right."
"And it'll hopefully create a great new country where everyone can live in peace."
"Yes."
"Why am I questioning my decision for joining this thing, then?"
"You're not the only one." Katara leaned against the wall with him. "How do we know that this will work?"
"We don't."
"Will we even survive this?"
"I have no idea." Sokka fell silent. She knew that he was formulating his next thoughts by the way he scrunched up his nose. "We don't know when our last day is going to be. It could be tomorrow, it could be in eighty years. What I have learned with losing Mom is that we have to live our lives to the fullest. No matter how terrifying life is, you have to move on and focus on all the good." He locked eyes with Katara and let out a breath. "That's why we have to do this. We have to create a better world to create better lives for us and for our country."
"You're right," Katara said with a sigh. "Of course you're right."
"I give all credit to Mom for that," he said, laughing. "She has been inspiring me since day one."
"Me too." Katara looked at Sokka's leg. "I can try to heal your leg if you want."
"That would be great."