A/N: Since a lot of people have asked me to continue this story, I will. The first update will take a while due to holidays, but after school starts again, I'll be able to update.
Water, Earth, Fire, Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Everything changed when the Water Tribes attacked.
Her fire burned more fierce than ever, fuelled by her anger, burning everything in its wake.
'Azula, stop it, you're going to destroy everything,' Zuko said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
Azula ignored him.
The target - built to be fireproof - had been reduced to ashes.
'Father isn't going to be happy when you burn off the entire palace garden.'
Azula gritted her teeth. She jumped, performing a flawless pinwheel kick and sending her fire straight to the very flammable line of trees.
She landed, her arms spread and her knees slightly bowed. She continued her form, letting her fire dissipate before it reached the trees.
'I know you're mad…' Zuko said.
'How can you be so calm?' Azula said. Her voice sounded composed, but it was only a facade. Her flames had proved as much.
'We're not all as willing to throw ourselves into the war as you are.'
Azula spun around. 'Because you are a coward!'
There was a silence. Azula balled her fists and turned around again, determined to let off more steam.
'Azula… we're the only nation not involved in the war yet. Let's keep it like that.'
'The Water Tribe have killed Fire Nation,' Azula grunted, stretching her two fingers and producing a condensed flame.
'Not on Fire Nation territory.'
He placed a hand on her shoulder and Azula froze before shaking it off. 'We'll get our chance.'
'When?' Azula asked. 'They have killed the Air Nomads and it won't be long before the Earth Kingdom falls!'
'Ba Sing Se won't fall anytime soon,' Zuko said. 'It's too far away from a water source to be in serious danger.'
'I know,' Azula said.
'And they'll never be able to defeat us here, on our own ground. We're safe here.'
'It's not about safety,' Azula said. 'It's about what's fair. Justice.' She balled her fists again and send a fire kick towards nothing.
'It's about revenge,' Zuko said sharply.
'Maybe it is!' Azula shouted. 'Someone has to stop them, before they take over the entire world.'
She shook her head and sighed. 'You know what, I need some air.'
'You're already outside.'
Azula rolled her eyes. 'I just need to clear my head. I'll be back before sundown.' She walked away, but Zuko caught up with her.
'I'm coming with you.'
'No, you're not,' Azula told him. 'I told you I wanted to clear my head - and I won't be able to do that when you're following me around.'
'I won't leave you alone when you're upset,' Zuko said.
Azula rolled her eyes. 'How thoughtful of you, Zuzu, but I won't do anything stupid.'
'I know. Apart from leaving without water or food.'
'I'm a firebender - I can handle the heat.'
'Luckily I have some water.'
Azula sighed. A part of her wanted to run away from her brother, but some part of her didn't want to be alone.
They left the volcano, slowly walking down. In the distance, they could see the glimmering of the sea.
'It seems so peaceful,' Zuko said.
'But it's not,' Azula said.
'It can be,' Zuko said. 'It's like fire - it can be used for good and bad things.'
Azula didn't respond.
They walked in silence for a while. Zuko felt his thoughts wander off - until he heard Azula gasp.
'What?' he said. His sister wasn't one to be suprised easily.
'What's that?' she said, pointing towards the sky.
An enormous… animal? It was flying, but it was more massive than any bird Zuko had ever seen. It also seemed to have six legs.
'Is that… is that a flying bison?' Azula asked.
'It's crashing!' Zuko said.
It was true - the animal was racing towards the earth, but it seemed as if he or she did try to go slower. It was probably too tired, Azula thought.
Azula and Zuko looked at each other for a second. They nodded at the same time before running towards the animal.
When it came crashing down, Azula could feel the earth under her feet rumble. It took them a few minutes to reach the exact place. By then, Azula was grateful for her training routine, enabling her to run in this type of weather.
She was the first to reach the animal. She stopped at a few meters distance, looking at the animal in wonder and amazement, before she came closer.
'Don't worry,' she said confidently. 'I'll help you.' She had thought that his kind had died out - it was a miracle they still existed.
'Don't forget about me,' Zuko muttered.
Azula ignored him and walked towards the animals face. His eyes were blinking, but he - Azula assumed it was a he - seemed to be exhausted. She carefully petted his fur, before she realised something was of. Frowning, she took a few steps and saw the young boy.
'Zuko!' she yelled. She ran towards him and knelt down, placing a hand on his forehead. A forehead supporting a blue arrow, she noticed. She eyed his clothes and then looked back at his animal companion. Zuko appeared as well.
'Is he alive?' he asked.
'Yes,' Azula said. 'You said you had water?'
She positioned the boy in a sitting position and spilled a few drops of water on his lips. To her relief, he tried to drink it. He opened his eyes, blinking a few times before he looked at her.
Azula smiled, happy that he was still alive. The boy smiled back hesitantly.
She raised the water bottle to his lips again. 'Be careful, we don't have too much and you don't want to spill it,' she said before she helped him drink.
After a few minutes, he seemed to have found the strength to sit up and look around. 'How's my bison?' he asked.
'Tired,' Azula asked. 'But as far as I can tell, he isn't dried out. He'll be fine.'
Zuko wondered where she got that confidence from, seeing as both of them had never seen such a creature before.
'Where am I?' the boy asked.
'The Fire Nation,' Azula responded.
The boy nodded. 'Good.'
Suddenly his eyes became bigger. He forced himself to stand up. 'What are you doing?' Azula protested, but she did help the boy to stand up.
'I… they're following me,' Aang said. 'I don't understand - I just wanted their help and they attacked me out of nowhere.'
'Who did?' Zuko asked, but Azula didn't need to hear his answer.
'The Water Tribe,' she said.
The boy nodded.
'You need to come back with us. You'll be safe in the capital.'
Zuko grabbed her arm. 'A word,' he said before dragging her away. Azula smiled reassuringly at the boy before she looked at her brother.
'I know what you're thinking,' she said, before Zuko could open his mouth. 'But Zuko… he's an airbender.'
Zuko frowned and Azula sighed. 'His arrow, his clothes, his bizon… and he's being followed by the Water Tribe. We need to help him.'
Zuko thought about her words.
'Okay,' he said.
Azula blinked, surprised by his words, but after a few seconds she decided not to question Zuko's generous mood.
'What's your name?' she asked.
'Aang.'
'Hello Aang, nice to meet you. I'm Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, this is my brother, Prince Zuko.'
'Wow, a prince and princess!' Aang said.
'Yes,' Azula agreed. 'Now, I need you to be honest with me. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but you're an Airbender, right?'
'Sure am,' Aang said.
'How on earth is that possible?' Zuko interfered.
Aang didn't seem to understand the question. 'Well…' he said hesitantly. 'I was born at the Airtemples.'
'That's impossible,' Zuko said. 'They were destroyed nearly a century ago.'
There was a silence.
He doesn't know, Azula realised. She prided herself on her ability to read people and Aang truly didn't understand what was going on.
How was that possible?
'Aang, how did you end up at the South Pole?' she asked.
His confused and scared look changed to embarrassment. 'I…'
'Did Appa carry you there?'
He nodded.
'How long have you been there?'
'I… I don't know,' Aang confessed.
'How can you not know?' Zuko asked, obviously growing more suspicious every second.
'I was… locked up.'
'If they locked you up, how did you get here?' Zuko asked. He took a step backwards. 'Azula, I'm not sure…'
'It wasn't a prison!' Aang defended himself. 'It was… it was…'
'Ice,' Azula finished his sentence.
She wasn't entirely sure, but Aang's reaction told her everything she needed to know.
'Aang… are you the Avatar?' she asked.
Another shocked silence.
Azula gasped. 'You are!' she exclaimed.
'No, that's impossible,' Zuko said.
Azula laughed out loud - something she rarely did, since it wasn't considered proper for a princess. 'That's great!' she said. 'You need to come with us as soon as possible. If you're not strong enough, we can carry you… you can see the city from here, so maybe Appa will able to fly? We won't be able to carry him.'
'The Avatar disappeared a hundred years ago,' Zuko said. 'Together with all the other Airbenders.'
Azula turned back and shot Zuko a glance. How could he bring that up like that? And he and mother said she was insensitive!
'How do you mean, they disappeared?' Aang said.
'Zuko,' Azula warned.
'The Water Tribes killed them all,' Zuko said.
Aang fell back on the ground.
'No,' he whispered in front of him.
'I'm sorry,' Zuko said.
Azula shook her head in annoyance and massaged the bridge of her nose. 'I…'
She suddenly realised something was wrong. Turning her back on the boys, she could see the two ships.
The Fire Nation had the best developed navy in the world. Their firebending allowed them to progress more quickly than the other nation, building almost unsinkable ships. The Water nation ships were more simple.
But they had waterbenders.
'We need to go!' Azula said, seeing as the came closer at an alarming speed. 'Aang, Zuko, run!'
'What?' Zuko asked, before he saw them as well. They turned around and wanted to ran away.
Azula felt the water nearing before she could see it. She jumped and yelled a warning, but Zuko and Aang weren't as fortunate and fell to the ground.
She looked over her shoulder. They used the water to come closer. 'Run!' Azula said, turning back an preparing to take a lot of them with her.
A young girl stood in front of her. She had the dark skin and blue eyes that proved she was Water Tribe.
'Don't be stupid,' she said. 'I don't have to hurt you… give us the Avatar and you'll be free to go.'
'Avatar?' Azula said. 'The Avatar died out a hundred years ago… and he wasn't Fire Nation.'
'Neither is he,' the woman said, pointing towards Aang.
'Sorry, but who are you?' Zuko said.
The girl smirked. 'My name's Katara, daughter of the chief of the Southern Water Tribe.'
Azula blinked and was suddenly overcome with rage. Her enemy was standing in front of her…this was her chance.
Only an hour ago she had been furious her father had forbidden her to join a mission to fight the Water Tribe on Earth Kingdom territory. Now she could hurt them.
Katara yelled in surprise when she saw the blue flames. The amount of water she bended wasn't enough and she had to duck. 'Blue flames… is that something new?' she asked, trying to sound calm.
'It is,' Azula said. 'Better suited to fight you.'
She charged again, but the warriors that had been standing behind Katara attacked as well.
Azula was a very capable bender. At the age of ten, her flames had started to shift from orange to blue, something that hadn't been witnessed in centuries. At the age of eleven, she was practically a master.
She was capable of defeating a lot of Water Tribe warriors. Zuko and Aang joined her as well, which made her even more confident.
But they were severely outnumbered.
Zuko was hit by a potent wall of water.
Azula gritted her teeth. The Waterbender who had hit her brother was met with a fireball. She fell on the ground, yelling, incapable of fighting any longer.
Azula felt herself getting tired, but she refused to give up. It was only a a matter of time though before she would make a mistake, and she knew it. Aang was fighting to the best of his abilities. Azula tried to keep him out off trouble.
He had to survive.
The Avatar has to survive.
Zuko got up, but he was clearly in pain. It didn't take long before he was hit again.
Aang screamed before water washed over him and he was frozen to the ground.
She was alone.
'You're a good fighter, I'll give you that,' Katara said. 'I admire that. But you can't hope to defeat another dozen of waterbenders by yourself. Surrender and I promise you and your boyfriend won't get hurt.'
He's not my boyfriend, Azula wanted to yell, but then she realised Katara was talking about Zuko.
She had to fight to keep her face straight.
Azula didn't waste any air on talking. Her response were more flames.
'It's almost like bending water,' Katara said after four benders had created a ice wall to protect her. It had shattered when it came in contact with the flames.
'It's nothing like bending water,' Azula said, not able to ignore that insult.
'Attack,' Katara said.
Azula hadn't expected them to attack her all at once. Dirty tricks, she thought. She surrounded herself with flames and a mayor part of the water evaporate before it hit her, but what remained was enough to have her fly back.
'What a pity, you would've made such a nice waterbender,' Katara said. 'Capture her.'
Azula forced herself to stand up, coughing and feeling weak. She would rather die than be captured.
She was about to attack, until she realised the waterbenders weren't looking at her any more. They focused on something behind her instead.
The Fire Nation army?
Azula's mouth fell open as she saw Aang's glowing eyes. He stretched his arms and in an amazing feat of power, the waterbenders were pushed behind, back towards the sea. Stupid, Azula though. They'll be back in their element.
She was wrong. The sea didn't obey them anymore - they weren't capable of keeping up with the Avatar.
They were, along with their ship, blasting away from the Fire Nation coast.
Azula quickly walked towards Zuko. His eyes were open, but he seemed to weak to walk. 'You okay?' she asked.
'Are they gone?' he whispered.
'We're safe,' she said. 'Stay here.'
'I'll try to,' Zuko muttered.
Azula looked back at Aang. She felt a twinge of fear as his glowing eyes were looking at her, but suddenly the lights dimmed and he fell onto his knees. Azula ran towards him, but she was too late to stop him from hitting the ground.
'Aang, are you okay?' she asked him.
It took him a few seconds to answer, but eventually he muttered a weak 'yes'.
'That's great,' Azula said, smiling in relief. 'Now all we got to do is…' She looked back and realised she was the only was capable of walking.
'Do you think Appa can help us?' she asked.
'To do what?'
'To go back to the capital.' She smiled. 'It's time I introduce you to my family.'
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