"Guard come quick!" Zuko called in his best worried voice.
The guard opened the viewing window, "What is it!?"
"My friend is having an allergic reaction!" Zuko replied, motioning to Katara who was faking an allergic reaction.
The guards had brought them dinner and they saw it as a perfect opportunity to escape. Sokka planned the whole thing. Katara would fake an allergic reaction to pepper and Zuko would call the guard while Toph hid next to the door to knock out the guards.
The guard looked at Katara and Zuko glared at him, "Do you want to be the reason one of Azula's prisoners died on your watch!?"
The guard looked scared before he closed the viewing window. They heard the sound of keys unlocking the door and it soon opened up. He stepped in and Toph earthbended the floor up to knock him into the wall. Another guard ran in and Sokka hit him with their food tray.
"Let's go get Aang." Sokka said as he tossed the tray aside.
Katara grabbed the keys from the guards as they ran out. Zuko closed the door and she locked it before they made their way down the hall.
"Do you think Aang's still in the room Azula took you to?" Toph asked.
"If she's using him to get an heir to the throne, she would keep him in her room." Zuko said, "She's probably timed when he wakes up so she'll be there to go for another round."
"Isn't she a little young to be getting pregnant?" Toph asked as they made it to the entrance of the dungeons.
"All my sister cares about is power. She doesn't care who she hurts to get it."
"That doesn't matter right now." Sokka said, "We need to focus getting Aang. Toph and I will create a distraction. Zuko will go get Appa. Katara, you go get Aang."
The others nodded in agreement to the plan. Sokka and Toph ran out of the dungeons, getting the attention of the guards. The distraction gave Zuko the chance to run out and begin his way to Appa.
Katara waited a moment before running to where she hoped Aang was. She recognized the corridors she was running down and picked up her pace. She had to get to Aang.
She stopped when she got to the door. She stood in front of it and reached out with a shaking hand to open the door. With a deep breath, she turned the door knob and opened it.
Katara gasped when she saw Aang sleeping peacefully on the bed. She ran up to him and saw that he was still naked.
"Aang." Katara said softly as she shook him. He groaned in response and she shook him harder, "Aang!"
Aang opened his eyes a little, "Katara?"
Katara smiled, "Hey sweetie, we have to go. Come on, get dressed."
Katara helped him get up and get dressed, letting him lean against her.
"Try and stay awake long enough for us to get out of here." Katara said as she put his arm around her shoulder and put her arm around his waist.
Her and Aang walked out of the room. Katara looked around before making her way to the palace courtyard with Aang. Then she saw a shadow coming down the corridor. She gasped and looked around for a hiding place. She found none and prepared to attack who it was.
Sokka turned around the corner and Katara sighed in relief. He rushed up to them and got on the other side of Aang.
"I got him." Sokka said as he copied the way Katara held Aang up, "You go ahead of us to fight any guards."
Katara nodded and walked ahead of the two boys. She uncapped her water pouch and prepared to attack any coming opponents.
"Where's Toph?" Katara asked.
"Keeping the guards busy." Sokka replied.
"What about Azula?"
"She hasn't showed up."
Katara stopped walking and turned around, "What?"
"Azula hasn't showed up." Sokka repeated with a confused look.
Katara looked at Aang, "She wasn't with Aang either." She looked back at Sokka, "I'm getting a bad feeling about this. She would never leave Aang unguarded like that."
"We should hurry then."
Katara nodded and began walking again. She stayed alert as they continued their way to the courtyard. It was unsettlingly quiet.
As the three got to the courtyard, Appa landed just a few feet in front of them. Katara and Sokka rushed up to the bison. Zuko was sitting on Appa's head.
"Where's Toph?" Zuko asked.
"Still distracting the guards." Sokka replied.
Zuko nodded, "Okay, get him on."
"Wait! This was too easy." Katara said.
"Katara's right. Azula hasn't even shown up."
Zuko looked around and cursed under his breath, "She's planning something." He jumped off the bison, "Get him on Appa. I'm going to make sure you guys get out of here safely."
"What about you?" Sokka asked.
"I'll be okay. I grew up here, I know how to escape. Just get Aang out of here once Toph gets back."
Before they could say anything else, Zuko ran off. Sokka and Katara helped Aang into the bison's saddle. Sokka stood next to Appa to protect them. Katara sat in the saddle and let Aang rest against her.
"Katara." He mumbled sleepily.
Katara smiled, "I'm here."
"I'm sorry... I tried to stop-"
"Shhhh. Just go to sleep." Katara said as she pushed some of his hair out of his face.
Aang slowly drifted asleep as Katara wrapped her arm around him.
------
Aang jolted awake and looked around. He saw that he was in a different room than he last remembered. He quickly sat up and Katara rushed up to him.
"Calm down, Aang." Katara said, "It's okay, you're safe now."
Aang looked at her and everything came back to him. He remembered being injected with something, but he didn't remember anything after that.
"Katara, what happened?" Aang asked.
Katara bit her lip as she debated whether or not to tell him. She took a deep breath when she decided that he should know, "Aang, don't freak out. And don't be hard on yourself because it wasn't your fault."
"What are you talking about?"
"Azula... drugged you and used you for her own pleasures."
"What?"
"She made you think that... she was me and..."
Aang's eyes widened when realization hit, "No..." He put his head in his hands, "I'm so sorry, Katara."
Katara sat down next to him, "Aang, listen to me." She made him look at her, "It isn't your fault. Please don't blame yourself, I don't want you to start pushing me away."
Aang smiled lightly, "I'm pretty sure you'd kill me if I ever did that."
Katara smiled and softly kissed him. Aang returned the kiss and wrapped his arms around her.
"Are the others okay?" Aang asked when they pulled away.
"Yeah. Zuko stayed back at the palace because we suspected Azula was planning something. He just called us and said she was going to follow us back here to capture all of us. He was able to lead her away and he's on his way back."
"Where are we anyways?" Aang asked as he looked around.
"Western Air Temple."
"Wait really?" Aang said as he looked at her and smiled wide, "I've always wanted to see it." He quickly got off the bed, "Come on, I want to explore."
Katara was surprised at the sudden change since she thought she'd have to console him longer than she did. She smiled and stood up as she took his hand.
-----
Sorry guys, I hit writer's block on this chapter.
But as I was writing this, my brain was like 'What if you ended the story with Aang waking up from a coma and none of it was real' 😅😂🤣
Anyways, have a good day/night