Authors Notes: I do not own Avatar, nor any of the characters mentioned, save Ashe and his band. If they happen to own a few of the Avatar Characters during this story, well, all's fair in love and war. Sorry for not updating sooner, I was smacked by a crap load of homework. If any of you are in IB, you know what I am talking about. I am thinking of updating in smaller chunks, just cause then it will happen more often. Tell me what you think.
Chapter 2 – The Storm
Electricity trailed behind Zuko's finger as he traced a circle in the air, gathering power for his strike. To Mai, the seconds stretched out into hours, Zuko's arms spinning as if in slow motion. Sweat beaded on his brow and even through her horror at what he was doing, she could not help but to absorb every detail about this new Zuko. The shirt was open at the front, revealing the muscular body underneath. The longer hair, still ragged, softened to look of his scar. His eyes before had been guarded, even though the rage in them obliterated that wary outlook on life. So different from the Zuko that left, in more ways then one. While the newly scarred Zuko had been by no means carefree, the hardness then had been a façade, a mask worn to protect the softer inner self. Now Zuko was hard naturally, either by acting tough for so long that the charade became the reality, or by learning life's hard lessons before the time any child should. "Though" she thought, as her eyes took in his muscled chest, "he looks like no child now." She shook her head, trying to focus her thoughts away from such distractions. Besides, he wasn't interested. And you hate that don't you. Mai dismissed these foolish thoughts, banishing them to the back of her mind. A tear slipped from her eye, and trailed to her chin, and she closed her eyes, for she could not bear to see her final hope disappear under the thumb of Azula, forever.
Mai dropped her head to hide her tears and pain until she could master her expression, the only armor and protection she had from Azula's barbs and torture. Bereft of sight, her hearing could pick up the crackling of the arcing electricity from Zuko's hands and the clap of thunder that followed the launch of the attack. As she heard the deathly scream of agony and disbelief that followed it, her mind went numb, her head echoing with the thought that Zuko had killed Iroh. All her mind shut down, except for one part, the truly cold analytical portion that seized onto one fact. A frown formed on her face as this thought reached the forefront of her mind. Hadn't that scream been a little…feminine? Mai snapped her head up in time to capture the entire scene. Azula was convulsing on the ground as she tried to fight the havoc the energy was wreaking in her body. The members of the court were caught flatfooted as Zuko flew through the air towards the two Dai Li holding the rock cuffs on Iroh, a blast of fire from one hand smashing one to the ground, one from his foot knocking the other into a pillar. Zuko completed the spin, his heel landing one the central portion of the cuffs, snapping them in two. As Iroh fell onto back, Zuko dragged him upwards and towards the exit. Right then a Dai Li agent ran forwards, passing in front of Mai, seeking to get head of Zuko and his uncle. Mai lashed out in the confusion, catching a pressure point in his neck like Ty Lee do had shown her, and sending him into unconsciousness. She frowned, why had she done that?
Mai then noticed that all the Fire Guard had immediately thronged about their now recovered princess, to protect her from another strike. As she noted the odd movements of the guards already there and the hidden smiles on the ones rushing by, she pondered this again. Maybe to prevent Azula from taking a shot? No, that can't be right. Though it was odd that they left only the Dai Li to attempt to apprehend the fleeing prince, especially when there was no threat as Zuko had fled the room. As she thought about the chaos around her, Azula's voice could be heard screaming.
"Mai, get him! Get Zuko!"
Mai reacted from long years of terror-driven obedience to the voice. Three daggers left her hands in a blur, screaming in on their targets in the unprotected backs of the fleeing fugitives. As soon as this happened she wished she could undo it, though she could not explain to her self why. She heard a voice cry out above the din for Zuko to watch out and to her shock recognized her own. She shot a fearful glance at the knot of guards that surrounded Azula, but she was almost out of the room, She could not have heard, and everyone else had known her too little to discern the difference.
Zuko was busy hauling his uncle. It appeared that whatever had happened to Zuko on his exile, his uncle had been more than able at finding enough food to keep what Iroh called a comfortable weight. Not so comfortable when I am CARRYING you, Uncle. Oh, there will be words about this later. He snorted. If we get out. Because of this grumbling, he almost missed his name in the din. He whipped his head around, catching a glint out of the corner of his eyes as he did so. Before his conscious mind had a chance to think about what this meant, his combat-trained muscles took over, throwing his uncle and himself to the side. Or they tried to. He had underestimated how much he had drained himself in his all out strike at Azula and his Uncle's weight; for all that he had been carrying Iroh across the hall. As it was he had managed to toss Iroh off to the side, outside the spread of the daggers, but the effort had cost him. The throw had lost him his balance at a critical moment, and he had unconsciously taken a step back to catch himself, leaving him precariously balanced, right in the path of the center knife. Knowing instinctively that there was no time to dodge because of the awkward position he was in, he dragged upon his chi and split it, knowing he had scant time, but less hope.
Mai wished she could look away from Zuko this time, but the sight of her daggers flying across the room had her eyes rooted and she couldn't turn away. Not even knowing that dagger would slam into his chest. She could see the flower of blood hang in the air, as Zuko's body tumbled gracelessly to the floor. She felt the bitter tears start to flow, and then the air turned white, and thunder roared like beast enraged at being confined to these stone halls.
At the first rumble of thunder, Aang awoke with his heart pounding. The sound of thunder had reminded him of lightning, and lightning reminded him of, well, bad memories. Habitually he cast his eyes over the campsite, to count his comrades. His eyes ran over the shadowed figures, only barely illuminated by the flickers of the dying fire. Six? But there were supposed to be five, Aang thought. Oh right, Kuei is here, so that makes, six. No, Bosco's here, so that should be seven. Who's missing? Starting to getting worried, he hobbled to each bundle in turn, wincing at the pain movement brought. What he found banished any thought of the pain. Katara's bundle of blankets was empty.
"Sokka!"
Sokka, who was standing on the other side of the fire to preserve his night vision, hurried to Aang's side.
"Sokka, Katara's missing, did you see her go?"
"No, I didn't see or hear anything."
"Okay, let's split up, you go towards the woods to you left, I'll head to the river.
Sokka opened his mouth to protest that Aang was in no condition to be searching for anyone, but the grim expression on Aang's face convinced him that discretion was the better part of valor. The flat look to his eyes, and the tightness in his jaw that said that he was ready to walk through a wall and leave a large hole was frightening on his young face. Sokka thanked the spirits that his tattoos were dark still. He left for the woods without another word, save to wake Toph, to guard the camp.
In the deafening silence that followed the explosion, Mai felt blocks from the hall tumble to the ground. She raised her head when her vision had cleared of the dancing purple spots. Zuko laid unmoving, sprawled ten paces down the hall from the scorched circle where she presumed her daggers had hit the, well, whatever it was. Zuko stirred, and a grin bloomed unnoticed on her face as she realized he was not truly hurt.
Zuko shook his head. He had recalled that splitting his chi into opposite hands, and bringing them together in the middle, formed lightning. So he had split his chi, and before it had snapped together, he had anchored one half to the floor and sent the other to the daggers, thinking, hoping that the daggers would come together with the chi, and miss. The effectiveness of this little tactic could not be denied, as he spotted the melted remains of the three daggers, fused to the floor in the middle of the scorch mark. But the ache in his body was telling him that under no circumstances was it a good idea to try something like that in such a hurry again. However, having a dagger in your chest he reasoned, as he hauled himself to his feet, was much worse. Ears ringing from the explosion, he stumbled over to his uncle and got him to his feet, with some cursing. Setting off down the corridor towards relative safety, knowing he had but scarce moments before the guards recovered from the explosion to chase him.
"Mai, chase him. Kill him, kill the traitor."
Azula's voice rang out again. She was still surrounded by a horde of guards determined to keep her from the chase. This time she was sure she could see vindictive grins on the guard's faces as they foiled her attempts to get back into the fray.
Mai ran by the knot of Dai Li, and a thought, inspired by the Fire Guard, came to her.
"Raise a wall to protect the princess, close off this hall."
"But what of the fugitives?"
"Do you question my commands, the princess' personal retainer? I am hunting them; your concern is the welfare of the princess."
"Yes, mi…No, Milady, I mean…whatever you say, Milady."
"Good, now follow your orders."
Mai swept by them without another word, and when the wall rose up behind her, she broke into a run down the hall, following the faint traces the pair had left.
Zuko puffed his way down the hall, carrying his uncle. Which way was it to the servant's entrance he had scouted earlier the night? Left, right or straight ahead? He was about to head left when he heard voices and boots from that direction, so he quickly dragged Iroh to the right, and hid down a small side hall. He carefully set Iroh against a wall, and prepared to fight if the soldiers came around the corner. The soldiers came to the intersection, and he heard them debate which way to go, for they were not enough to split up. He was mentally urging them to pick the way he had come and hopefully confuse any pursuers, when he heard a new voice join the argument. His heart fell when he heard the low voice of Mai. She was telling them that she was tracking the traitor Zuko, oh how that hurt, and she would tell them which way to go. Why did that hurt him like this, make him feel betrayed? Then he heard her order them down the center corridor. Had she misinterpreted something to lead her to believe that was the way he had gone? Surely she would not come after him herself. The voices receded down the corridor rapidly and he stood and waited for a moment to see if he could hear anything. Nothing, the corridor was as silent as a grave. She had misinterpreted, and they had all left. Reassured, he shouldered the burden of his uncle, and traveled further down the hall. The quiet moments had given him enough time to get his bearings, and he was certain that just a few halls away was the door into the gardens, and from there, a lesser gate into the city.
Mai smiled, hearing Zuko start moving again from down the corridor to the right. She had spotted the marks made when a person had been dragged. She had misdirected the soldiers down the other hall. If she remembered correctly, there were a lot of passages that way, so they would be kept busy.
A small part of her mind was telling that she should call them back, and have them accompany her. After all, they could help capture Zuko. However, that small portions was summarily ignored as she strode to the corner and checked to see if the prince had made it far enough away to follow safely, and without being detected.
Aang moved as fast as he could while he searched the riverbanks. He cursed the fact that his pace was not as fast as he would like it. Though, anything less that instantaneous would be too long, and he doubted even that would be quick enough to suit him. At last he caught sight of a figure in the distance, and his heart leapt when he recognized Katara going through one of her training katas. He stopped for a moment to watch her flow through the graceful forms.
She had left when sleep had mockingly eluded her, and she had done so quietly, to avoid any awkward questions by her brother. Anxiety had made her restless, so thinking to burn off some excess energy, she had begun to walk to the river, and down its banks. Her walk had done little except further wake her up, so Katara turned to meditation to calm herself. Meditation had done nothing for her so Katara decided to sweat her anxieties out. Starting with a basic kata meant to warm up the muscles, then moving on to progressively more difficult ones. She danced and flowed down the banks of the river, her motions mirrored in the flows of water flying through the air. Streams separated, and formed together to block an imaginary opponent, then whipping out to entangle, and incapacitate. She had just reached the end of her set, when she became aware of a presence behind her. Opening her eyes and whirling around to confront the intruder, her eyes were baffled momentarily by the sight of a tall figure clad only in light brown pants, displaying the hard, flat muscle of a runner. He looked so familiar to her, yet she could not place him. Then she saw the eyes, the gray eyes that she had stared into for countless hours spread over countless moments. But these held a merciless, hard expression she had never seen. The difference made her head hurt, then spin, and she stumbled. Hands reached out to catch her and caught her securely. She looked up and saw Aang, in his normal form and impulsively she hugged him tight, a shield against her vision. "When did he get as tall as me?"' she wondered. Just as soon as she had, she remembered her vow, and immediately stepped back, forcing her face into a mask of cool indifference. She just wished it hadn't felt so natural to hide her face in the crook of his neck, or that the pain and confusion on his face at her rejection didn't rip into her gut like a knife.
Aang couldn't fathom what had just happened. He had called out to Katara, but she had not reacted, so he walked over. When was within a few paces, she spun on her feet to face him, ready for battle. He had opened her mouth to say that it was just him, but her jaw had dropped in shock, and her eyes had held no recognition. Then she had tottered and started to swoon, and he had covered the last couple paces as fast as he could to prevent her from falling to the ground. As soon as he had touched her, she seemed to snap out of her trance and she had thrown her arms around him tightly. Before he could get his bearings on this strange situation, she had let go of him as if he had burned her and stepped back. Her face was so calm as to appear dead, and the difference from her normally lively manner couldn't have shaken him more.
"Avatar Aang, what are you doing out of the camp, especially injured?" she asked coolly, detached.
Nope, he was wrong, he could be more shaken. For the most part, the name Avatar Aang was spoken in tones of abject fear, or utter hate. There were few pleasant memories associated with that title. He brought his mind back to what he had intended to ask her.
"Katara, I wan--, I mean, we wondered where you had gone. You had just disappeared from the camp.
"I couldn't sleep."
With that she walked around him and headed back to camp. Any attempt to make conversation with him she rebuffed in silence. Utterly confused, he subsided into silence. Immediately after they reached the camp, she went to her bedroll and turned her back on Aang, feigning sleep. Aang waited until Sokka returned, and told him to get some sleep, and that with but a few hours until dawn, he would be fine. So Aang was left alone to his thoughts, and troublesome indeed was their disposition.
Zuko cursed sulfurously under his breath as the tenth door he checked led into a storeroom. Evidently his memory was not as good as he had thought, or had hoped it to be.
"Where is it?" he snarled, as he turned to pick up Iroh again.
"You could try the door around the next corner."
The sudden appearance of the soft, wry voice laced with amusement had a startling effect. Zuko whirled, daggers of flame appearing in his hands as he turned to confront the voice, dropping into a guard stance. Mai leaned insouciantly on the wall five feet from the door he had opened. The door had blocked his view of the hall, and she had crept up in the blind spot afforded by the door. His eyes widened at her appearance and he froze waiting to see her next move. She had gotten so close without him sensing her; she could have buried a dagger in his back. Why hadn't she?
Mai relaxed, though the change was indiscernible on her face. She had half expected a burst of fire for her surprise, but instead he had refrained from blasting her, and had taken a defensive stance. She savored the expression of stupefaction on his face, as short lived as it was. Almost instantly it hardened, and he spat out.
"What are you doing here? Going to take me back to Azula?"
The last question threw her. Why hadn't she taken him when he had his back turned? It would have been child's play to knock him out or kill him unawares, but the moment had reminded her of the games of hide-and-seek in their childhood, and she had spoken out, knowing how surprised he would be, and anticipating the shock. But why had she spared him? And when, logically, any ambusher would have been hostile, why had he gone on the defensive? Especially since he had heard it was her, someone who he knew to be allied with Azula? Mai put these thoughts behind her as she pushed of the wall.
"Relax, Zuko. I'm not going to hurt you."
Zuko thought he had been prepared for anything at this point, but he had not taken into account the fact that she might not be here to fight. Se he riposted with his razor intellect, to gather time to ponder what she was up to.
"What?" Internally, Zuko grimaced. Yep, razor sharp intellect is right.
"I'm not here to fight you."
"But why?"
"It would be too boring to take you now. I think I'll wait until it's more interesting."
"But what about Azula?"
"What Azula doesn't know can't hurt her." Mai replied, with a half smile on her face. Inside, her heart skipped a beat at what her mind conjured up for Azula's response, and that same small part of her mind that protested sending the guards away gibbered in terror at her actions. Azula would never forgive this betrayal when she found, for she would find out, eventually. Azula always found out. Evidently the same thoughts crossed Zuko's mind, as an expression of doubt flashed across his face, and he shivered. Mai barely managed to keep her own visage blank. Zuko held his position for a few moments, looking into her eyes. The intimacy of that look nearly had her composure broken, until he straightened and broke eye contact with her. Zuko walked to Iroh, and gently lifted his inert form.
"Which way to the door?"
"This way."
Together, with Mai leading, did they head to the door and, at least temporary, freedom.
As soon as there was light enough for landmarks to be seen by, Aang woke the others. The unusually grim crew ate a hasty breakfast, and climbed aboard Appa. As Appa lifted off, and had started in the general direction, Aang turned to explain what had happened to him.
"So Aang, while you were off in La-la-land, you visited the Spirit World, met with Roku, who informed you that some sort of 'beings' are on their way, because they like the suffering Azula has caused?" inquired Sokka.
"Yeah, well, I know it sounds weird, but that is what I said."
"Well, you're the Avatar, weird stuff happens around you, and this would hardly be the weirdest. So where do we go?"
"There is a plateau in the mountains south of the Eastern Air temple, and there, in two days, they will appear."
"By they, you mean the 'beings' and the mysterious help, right?" Toph interjected.
"Yes."
"Well there isn't much time there is there, let's ride."
"Well if you want to." Aang replied with a grin. "Appa, Yip-Yip!"
Appa lowered his head with a groan and began to put on speed. Toph yelped and dug her hands into Appa's fur, startled by the sudden increase in speed. Sokka scrambled to secure the supplies they had left, but Katara only looped one hand under a strap, and lay there as if dead to the world. Sokka stopped to look at her, and then decided that it was just tiredness. After all, she had spent hours waiting by Aang without sleep; that would hit anyone hard. Satisfied, he returned to his task.
Mai nudged open the small servant's door that opened onto a stable yard. "No," Zuko corrected himself "an abandoned stable yard. Even better." Waving Zuko over, she started to gather supplies into a wagon, while Zuko hitched ostrich-horsed to the tongue of the wagon. Together they managed to get Iroh into the back of the cart without hurting him too badly, and got the wagon out onto the street.
"Thank you."
"Think nothing of it. Remember next time though, I won't go easy on you."
Mai turned to re-enter the Palace, when Zuko placed his hand her shoulder. She stilled instantly, and an almost imperceptible shiver ran through her body.
"Azula will have expected you to catch me."
"Yes." She replied tersely, with an undercurrent of dread.
"Well, let me repay my debt to you." And with that he spun her about and spilled fire from his hands over her outer robe, causing it to smolder and burn. The suddenness caused a startled yelp to leave her throat, and she tried to push him away, but his strong hands spun her gently while he recreated the aftermath of a fierce battle on her clothes. As he completed the last detail, she twirled to halt facing him, and he admired his handiwork. Reaching her face, he noticed that there was a bit of soot on her cheek, and he reached out absently to wipe it away with his thumb, but as he touched her soft skin, he stopped. Her face grew in his vision, and her eyes sparkled with both life and passion that rarely exhibited itself on her face. She closed her eyes and then, as they drew closer, lessening the quivering inches, Zuko heard a shout from the barely ajar door they had come through. A sweep of soldiers was nearing them, and he shoved her away. Hurt rose in her eyes, until she heard the soldiers, and then realization replaced hurt. Zuko strode past her to the door, and unleashed a blast of fire down the hall, sending the soldiers diving for cover. Lighting the structures in the yard on fire, he ran out the door. As he passed Mai, he gathered her face in his hands and pressed a kiss to her lips; he broke the kiss, leaving her standing dumb-struck in the middle of the courtyard, and ran to the cart. As he as he whipped the ostrich-horse into motion, he remembered something, and he brought the cart to a halt.
"Mai, pretend to be unconscious in the yard, as if I had knocked you out. Hurry!"
She nodded and re-entered the stable. When she was safely out of the way, he raised a wall of fire to stop pursuit and raced down into the poor section of the city, by the original teashop, a grim cast to his face. He had some things to pick up.