Chapter Ten: Surrender
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Water.
Earth.
Fire.
Air.
It has been six years since the end of the Great War. Since Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozai.
The citizens are working hard to reconstruct their battered countries, and there has been great success so far. Fire Lord Zuko had reclaimed his nation's honor; Toph is now a great earthbending trainer; Sokka is chief of the Southern Water Tribe, with Suki at his side; Aang had started up a group called The United People's Society.
Great progress had been made in reuniting the Four Nations. Much is being done to maintain order and peace. But my friends and I know that where there is light, there is shadow.
No matter how far we've come, there is always more work to be done.
Chapter Ten: Surrender
The woman struggled against the wooden shackles that bound her wrists and ankles. Mai gave an irate sigh, and relaxed. Many minutes passed, and she again tried to free herself. She mentally threw all her strength into her arms, and took a breath to steady herself. Then with a grunt she pulled her wrists outwards in hopes of breaking the handcuffs. It was to no avail. Mai relaxed once more. Then she tried to free her wrists again, and this time, she was successful. The woman pulled on the shackles with all her might, and they immediately crumbled to the snowy ground. Then Mai leaned forward and went to work on removing the scraps of wood that bound her ankles.
"Mai, what have you done?" she muttered to herself. She closed her eyes in a subconscious attempt to block the memory of the events that was now coming back to her. A little under a month ago, Mai had found out that her husband, former Fire Lord Zuko, had had an affair with their Water Tribe friend, Katara. Blinded by rage, Mai had sought out the high authorities of the Fire Nation and had Zuko's regal status removed. Mai shuddered as she remembered what else she had done. She had snuck into Katara's home, ambushed and wounded her. The waterbender stumbled away with a long gash running from her hip down the side of her thigh. Mai's heart sunk as she searched her memories. She remembered the feelings that were surging through her…she had wanted nothing more at that time than to kill the woman who had stolen her husband. "What have I become?" Mai whispered to herself, burying her face in her palms.
After the attack on Katara, Team Avatar had moved to the Southern Water Tribe. And I had followed, Mai miserably thought to herself. She had hidden in one of the newest home structures, knowing that it would belong to one of the young warriors. She ambushed Toph, the young blind earthbender of the group. Mai knew that it would be difficult for the woman to hold her own in a battle in the South Pole…a thick layer of snow always covered the ground, therefore making it challenging for any earthbender, let alone a sightless one. But somehow Toph had triumphed over Mai, and had bent scraps of wood from the front door around the woman's hands and feet. Suddenly Mai jerked as another memory came to her. Aang had appeared at Toph's side, and it was the two of them against Mai. Mai had pinned Toph to the wall, and then went after Aang. The young airbender had gone into his Avatar State, and that was when Mai attacked him. "I might have even killed him," she murmured, suddenly feeling a mix of guilt, panic and fear.
Mai grunted with effort as she was trying to unbind her ankles. Just then, an idea hit her. Thinking quickly, Mai grasped a dagger that she had lodged into one of the ice walls, and struck it down the side of the wooden shackles. It easily sliced through the wooden bands, and they collapsed to the ground. Mai sighed as she was finally able to move. She rubbed at her ankles. After many silent minutes, she slowly got to her feet, and walked out of the house.
•••
Carefully, Toph pressed through the curtains that marked the entrance of the infirmary. She approached a small bed, and laid the tray full of steaming cups of tea onto the floor. Through the ground, the blind earthbender sensed the young man stir. He groaned softly as he sat up.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," Toph murmured as she took a seat on the floor in front of him.
"Hey, Toph," the man replied groggily.
The earthbender heard clinking as the man poured himself some tea. "How are you feeling today, Aang?" she asked him.
The young airbender took a sip of his drink. "Everything still hurts, but not as much as it did."
Toph smiled at his words. Her heart surged with happiness. Only days ago, Aang was on the brink of death. A battle with Mai had nearly killed him. Toph still wasn't sure exactly how the woman had wounded Aang; her guess was that one of Mai's classic daggers had done the job.
"Hey," Aang began between sips of tea. "I was thinking we should do a little decorating on our new houses."
Toph looked up towards him. "You mean like going shopping?"
"Yeah."
She frowned, and rolled her eyes. "Uh, okay. But first we should work out the bugs in your plan. One; this is the Southern Water Tribe, not the Earth Kingdom. I doubt there will be that many shops. Two; I'm blind, so my house can look like a pile of platypus-bear crap, for all I care. Three; you're still half-dead."
"What?!" The man sounded offended. "I am not half-dead! I'm pure alive!"
"Really?" Toph raised an eyebrow at him. "Try standing up."
She knew Aang couldn't resist an attempt to prove her wrong. He stiffly moved to the edge of his bed. Many silent moments passed, and the airbender shifted his feet. Then—with much effort, Toph sensed—Aang slowly and shakily got to his feet. He groaned in pain as he straightened. Finally, Aang sighed. "There. How's this for alive, Toph?"
Toph frowned at him. She reached up and flicked her finger at Aang's leg. Suddenly he yelped as his balance slipped. Toph leapt to her feet and pressed against the airbender, supporting him before he could fall.
"I told ya—"
"Don't say it," he snapped.
"—so," Toph finished with a grin.
"Good morning, guys," a soft voice greeted. Toph studied the ground, and could sense that Katara and Sokka were standing in the doorway to the infirmary room.
"Hey, Katara," Aang replied, and grunted with pain as he sat back down on his bed.
Sokka came up beside him. "How ya doing, buddy?"
Aang sighed, and gave another pain-filled groan as he exhaled. "A little better," he said, "but I still hurt like hell."
"I'd imagine so," Sokka replied. "Heck, you almost died. Of course you're gonna feel something."
"Sokka!" Katara hissed, and he grunted as she jabbed him in the side. "You're not helping!"
"Well, what am I supposed to say?" her brother muttered back. "That—"
"I can hear you, you know," came Aang's voice.
"Right. Of course you can." Sokka gave a nervous chuckle. "You and all your super Avatar senses." His voice held a slightly sarcastic tone.
"Um…" Aang paused. "I'm not the Avatar anymore, remember?" he said softly. "Kayana is."
Toph nodded, remembering what the man had told his friends a few days ago. When he was unconscious, he had visited the Spirit World. He was on the verge of death; coincidentally, so was Kayana, one of Zuko and Katara's twin newborns. Aang had said that he'd met a teenage Kayana in the Spirit World. He had pitied her for her failing health, and so decided to do something drastic: in order to save her life, Aang had relinquished his Avatar self and transferred his abilities to Kayana. Now he was alive and well, and so was Avatar Kayana.
"Hey," Katara suddenly said, changing the subject. "Why don't you come outside with us? We're having breakfast as a group today."
"Where are the kids?" Toph asked her.
"They're out there with Zuko and Suki," Sokka responded. "Come on; we don't want to miss out, do we?"
Toph was silent. Then she glanced up at Aang with sightless eyes. "You feel up to walking outside?"
"Honestly, no," he replied. "But I have to get out of here. This place is starting to depress me."
"Yeah," Toph muttered as she wound her arms with his and helped him to his feet. "Me too." Gripping Aang's sides, Toph slowly marched forward with the airbender leaning on her for support.
Several slow steps later, Toph felt that they were coming to a large dip in the snowy ground, and heard a few people approaching them.
"Here," came a man's voice as Aang's weight was lifted from Toph's shoulder. "I got him."
"Thanks, Zuko," Toph said as she shrugged away the stiffness in her shoulder. She walked further until she could faintly sense Katara. The woman's vibrations were heavily muffled by the snow, but still Toph knew who it was. She collapsed onto the ground beside her friend.
"So, what's for breakfast?" the blind earthbender asked.
She heard the sloshing of liquids, and a wooden bowl was handed to her.
"Seal stew!" Sokka replied as he went back to filling the bowls with the stuff.
Toph caught a retching sound come from the former Avatar. "Don't you have anything vegetarian?" Aang asked. "Like something that didn't once have legs?"
Sokka grunted in thought. Finally, he said, "I can pick out the vegetables for ya."
Aang heaved another sound. "Never mind. I'll just starve."
Suddenly the Southern Water Tribe chief gave a pained grunt, and Katara huffed angrily. "Sokka! The boy just died, and you're gonna let him die again of starvation?"
"Fine, fine," he muttered. "I'll see what I can dig up." He rose to his feet and walked off
Many moments passed. Toph, Katara, Suki and Zuko happily devoured their seal stew, while Aang sat in silence.
Toph set aside her bowl, swallowed, and prodded Aang lightly. "So whaddaya think he'll come back with?"
The airbender sighed. "If I know Sokka, he'll probably come back with a pile of rocks."
"Ha!" Zuko gave a muffled chuckle.
Toph grinned, and leaned forward to pick up her bowl of stew. Suddenly, vibrations from the snowy ground caused Toph to stop short. She hesitated, studying the vibrations.
"What is it?" Aang suddenly muttered.
Toph slapped her hand across his mouth, and gave a warning hiss. She sprung to her feet as she recognized the footsteps once more. "Mai," she told them under her breath.
•••
Katara followed Toph's blind gaze, and turned to see the silhouette of a woman stumbling towards them. Her heart lurched as the woman came into better view. Katara leapt to her feet, and suddenly drew in a sharp gasp. A stinging pain radiated from her hip down the side of her thigh. Eyes blazing with the memory of her injury, the waterbender turned to greet the intruder.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" she shrieked, even though she already knew the answer. She was told of Mai's latest ambush on Aang and Toph not too long ago. Aang was fatally wounded, and lost his Avatar Life as a result.
Mai didn't respond. Instead, she looked away, and moved her hands into the sleeves of her Fire Nation robes.
Team Avatar panicked. Suddenly Zuko shot a blast of fire at the snowy ground, and Katara instantaneously bent the newly melted water protectively around their group.
"Make one wrong move and oh, you better believe it'll be your last!" Katara snarled her threat.
Mai was silent for many more moments. Finally, she replied, "I'm not here to fight." In one swift motion, her hands left her sleeves. Katara blinked, and saw that the woman's black daggers were now collapsed onto the snow. "I'm here to surrender," Mai continued, looking up and meeting Katara's baffled gaze.
Her heart pounding and her mind reeling, Katara took a step back and relaxed her stance. The stream of bending water melted back into the ground. "Surrender?" she muttered.
Mai nodded. Her eyes left Katara's and swept across Team Avatar. Katara's heart momentarily skipped a beat as the woman laid her eyes on Katara's and Zuko's twin infants.
"Those are the children?" Mai asked softly, still gazing at the infants. She glanced back at Katara, and the waterbender saw waves of sadness and guilt flash in her amber eyes.
Katara nodded her reply.
The Fire Lady sighed, and turned to Zuko. "I'd like to have a word with my husband, if you don't mind."
Katara paused, and glanced back at her group. Aang, Toph, Zuko, and Suki were staring at her with unreadable expressions.
Finally, Katara turned back to Mai. "I guess that might be all right," she responded with a shrug.
Mai dipped her head gratefully, and proceeded towards the former Fire Lord. Team Avatar never took their eyes off of her as she made her way through their campsite.
A few moments later, Katara's brother came into view.
"Okay, Your Highness. I got you some—" Suddenly Sokka froze as he spotted Mai talking with Zuko. The Southern Water Tribe chief sped to Katara's side. "Isn't that the same Mai who killed Aang—"
"Yup."
"—and tried to kill my sister?" Sokka finished, his blue eyes blazing.
The group nodded.
"Then what the hell is she doing here?" The warrior didn't wait for an answer. He spun on his heels and started to lunge towards the woman.
Katara lurched forward and gripped her brother's shoulder. "Sokka, no! It's okay. She said she just wants to talk to Zuko."
"Uh-huh. Yeah." Sokka rolled his eyes. "She just wants to 'talk' to Zuko. I think by now we all know what that means."
"Sokka, she surrendered," Aang told him. He pointed to the daggers wedged into the snow. "See?"
The man glanced at Mai's weapons, and turned back to the group. He took a step back, and sighed. "Fine. Whatever."
Katara relaxed her grip on his shoulder. Sokka knelt and handed Aang a bowl.
"Um...?" The airbender shot the chief a questioning look.
"It's seaweed medley," Sokka replied, rolling his eyes. "Yes, it's vegetarian."
"Um...thanks." Aang gave a disgusted frown at the bowl of stuff, but started to eat.
Team Avatar relaxed, and continued their meal. Katara still stood, hoping to catch some of the conversation between her boyfriend and Mai.
After many minutes, Katara heaved an exasperated sigh. She was unable to hear anything of their talk. An idea came to her, and she glanced around. Her friends were deeply involved in their meals, and they hadn't noticed when Katara snuck off.
The waterbender ducked behind a mound of snow. Sparing another wary glance around, she scurried to the nearest white house and flattened herself against the wall. Holding her breath, Katara slowly walked around the building, still pressed against the wall, and paused when she heard voices. She peered around the corner, and spotted Mai and Zuko, deep in their conversation. Mai's back was to Katara. The waterbender gradually ducked into a crouch, and angled her head so that she could better hear the conversation.
"Please—"
"Mai, don't." Zuko sounded weary.
"Please, you have to come back to the Fire Nation with me. The palace is so empty without you and—"
"I can't go back." Zuko heaved a heavy sigh. "Ever. After everything that's happened…"
"What about Narya?" Mai moved closer to him, which caused Katara's heart to thump with jealousy. "She needs her father!"
The former Fire Lord took a step back, widening the space between him and his wife. "She needs her mother, too. Why don't you just go back home?"
"I'm not going anywhere!" Mai turned away from him, her face streaked with fresh tears. "I'm not leaving without you!"
"Please, just go." Zuko also turned away from her. "You and Narya deserve better than me."
Mai finally looked back at him. "But we only want you. Your daughter wants her daddy! How could you deny her that?"
"And I have a daughter here who wants her daddy!" Zuko suddenly shouted. Glancing around, he continued in a softer voice, "And a son. And…and I can't leave them. I love them." He paused, and met Mai's eyes. "And I love Katara."
The waterbender brought her hand to her face and wiped away the tears that had suddenly started to flow. Katara had doubts about the truth in her and Zuko's relationship, and his words dismissed her worries.
"Just…please." The firebender was starting to cry. "Go back to the Fire Nation. Try to put this whole thing behind you and continue on."
Mai was silent except for her shaky, sobbing breaths. Finally, she again stared at Zuko. "And what do I tell Narya?"
Zuko closed his eyes, and turned away. "Just tell her that I love her very much, and that I'll never forget her, and I'll come back for her soon."
Katara's face felt hot with grief, and she ducked back behind the house. Sobbing quietly, she stumbled back toward the campsite.
"Katara!" Sokka leapt to his feet upon her return. He made his way to her side and offered his shoulder for physical support. "What happened? What's wrong?"
The woman shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. I was just—"
"—eavesdropping on our conversation." Zuko suddenly appeared behind her. His voice sounded harsh and angry, but his face held only a thick expression of sadness.
Katara opened her mouth to respond, but Mai approached them and pressed close to Zuko. "I guess this is it," she murmured. She, too, wore an expression of sorrow.
"I guess it is."
Aang glanced at her, and said, "I'm sorry about your marriage and everything."
The Fire Lady shook her head. "Don't be. You had nothing to do with it." She shot a hard glare at Katara. Then, her gaze softened as she again looked at the infant twins. "Beautiful children. What are their names?"
The waterbender took a challenging step forward. "Kayana and Huangji."
Mai gave a brief nod. "They're beautiful," she remarked again.
"Thank you," Katara responded with an icy edge to her voice.
"I'm sorry it had to end this way," Zuko said softly.
Mai bowed her head. "Me too."
"I can't make things right with you," Zuko started, "but I'm gonna try not to screw up with Katara."
"Aww, Zuko," Katara said mockingly. "You know just what every girl wants to hear." She suddenly broke out into laughter.
Much to her surprise, a grin developed on Mai's face, and she also started to giggle.
Light chuckles started to erupt from the rest of Team Avatar.
Mai turned from Zuko to the waterbender. She glanced away, and then met Katara's eyes. "Um…I want to apologize. For everything." She sighed. "For the attacks, and…I wish I can take it all back. I—I just don't know what came over me."
Katara longed to say something reassuring to the woman, but found she couldn't. "We all have things we'd like to erase," she said finally. "And I can't say that I accept your apology and everything's fine between us now and all that crap, because, really, it's not. It never will be." Katara took a breath, and continued. "But it's over. What's done is done. We've made our decisions, and we'll just have to learn to live with the results."
Mai nodded.
Katara paused, and suddenly the deep, suppressed anger and hatred toward the woman flowed back. She steadily held her gaze. "I'll never forgive you for what you've done, Mai," she said softly. "You've hurt each one of us in a different way. You tried to kill me! You killed Aang." She swept her arm to the back, indicating the wounded young airbender. "You dethroned Zuko. You endangered our whole group and forced us to move to the South Pole—"
"Where I get to freeze my ass off!" Toph suddenly shouted from behind.
"You're not fooling anyone." She narrowed her eyes at Mai. "I don't believe a word of what you said. I don't believe that you became so possessed by your sense of jealousy and betrayal that you unconsciously set out on a manhunt. I don't believe that you were so blinded by rage that you lost all sense of right and wrong. You'd better hope that there's no such thing as karma, because when the consequences of your actions come crashing down on your head, you—"
"Katara!"
She suddenly felt a strong grip on her shoulders as Sokka attempted to pull her back. She shot a glare at her brother, but surrendered to his pull and took several steps backward.
"You've said more than enough," he murmured in her ear.
Katara closed her eyes and looked away. She took a few deep breaths, trying to steady her heartbeat and wash out the fury she felt boiling up inside.
Mai said nothing. Her amber eyes held an unreadable expression. She turned to Zuko. "I'm going to go," she said. "It's obvious that I'm no longer welcome here."
"Lady, you were unwelcome from the start!"
"Toph!" Aang hissed chidingly.
Mai ignored the comment. "Will you ever come back to the Fire Nation?"
Zuko looked away. "I don't know. Maybe someday."
"Be sure to visit me when you do."
"I will," he replied, cupping his hand around her cheek. Zuko leaned over and gave her a light kiss on the lips. Katara seethed at the sight, but she heaved a mental sigh when the two parted.
Mai swept her gaze over Team Avatar. She stared at Katara. Suddenly the waterbender saw an apologetic flash of sorrow in the woman's eyes. Without another word, the woman turned and swiftly disappeared into the horizon at the coast of the Southern Water Tribe.
Team Avatar was silent for several minutes as they finished their meal. Katara set her empty bowl onto the ground, and swallowed. Turning to her boyfriend, she said, "Zuko, I'm so sorry you had to do that."
She drew in a sharp breath of surprise as an index finger pressed against her lips, silencing her. Zuko grinned. "Don't be. It probably would have happened eventually."
Katara studied him. "What do you mean?"
The former Fire Lord sighed. "I guess, deep down, I knew it would never last with Mai. On the other hand, you and me—we have something different. Something stronger."
"Aww!" a sarcastic voice came from beside her. Katara turned to meet Toph's blind gaze. "How sweet!" Suddenly she scowled. "Would ya knock it off? I'm gonna puke if you two keep getting all mushy-gushy!"
•••
"Yeah!" Aang chimed in, alongside Toph. "Get a room, willya?" Suddenly he burst into hysterical chuckles. His breaths turned to strained gasps as a dull pain rippled through his abdomen. He grunted as he exhaled slowly, forcing his body to calm. He ate a final spoonful of seaweed medley, and set the empty bowl to the side. The airbender sighed, and leaned back, propping himself up on his elbows.
Aang heaved a mental sigh of relief when Mai was completely gone from sight. He had never felt any hatred for anyone—not even the Fire Nation—but something about Mai's absence made him feel a thousand times better.
Aang suddenly turned to Toph. "Mushy-gushy stuff makes you puke?"
The earthbender shrugged. "Well, not puke. Obviously, I haven't lost my lunch around these two," she said, sweeping her hand toward Katara and Zuko. "Yet," she added softly.
Aang thought for a moment. "You're gonna have to put up with some mushy-gushy stuff if we're gonna be together, you know."
"Yeah, after all these years of knowing you, I figured as much." Toph smirked at him. She paused, and raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Depends on the kind of mushy crap we're talking about."
"Well, I—"
She shot him a glare. "Don't you dare make me come up with romantic poetry!"
"Relax!" Aang was chuckling lightly, despite the bolts of pain that were shooting through his body. "I wasn't thinking along those lines...at first. Tell you what, when I'm planning for anything mushy-gushy, I'll give you a warning." He grinned.
"Okay," Toph replied, inching to his side. "Whatever." She flashed a quick, warm smile.
Aang slowly wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Toph, in turn, lowered her head onto his chest. He drew in a sharp breath, but soon relaxed.
Toph raised her head. "Am I hurting you, Twinkletoes?"
"Naw," he replied, cupping his hand on top of her head and gently nudging it back down on his chest. "Don't worry about it."
She gave a single chuckling breath, and leaned on his chest once more.
Aang's heart swelled, and he craned his neck to gaze down at his girlfriend. Then his eyes swept his friends. The chilly South Pole air was filled with a sweet silence. Sokka had his arms wrapped around Suki, and she was holding their 1-year-old twin sons in her lap. Katara and Zuko were seated not far from the others. Katara gently rocked her baby girl, Kayana, in her arms, and Zuko lightly played with the girl's twin brother, Huangji, in his lap.
Aang smiled at the sight, and wiped away a single tear that had started to slip down his cheek. He lowered his eyes and stared at the resting Toph. He swallowed hard, and his mind spun as he wondered about their future...if they had one.
End of Chapter Ten.
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