The evening sun had not fully set over Air Temple Island when Aang strolled into his home his limbs aching with tell-tale signs of his true age despite the appearance of a man younger than forty. His tussle with Yakone had only worsened the matter, it seemed, as his body would take a while to recover from the unnatural twisting of his limbs he had endured through bloodbending. He was happy, the matter had been settled, however, resulting in Yakone proving the incredible allegations against himself to be true. The man should not see the light of day for a very long time.
Supporting his weight with his staff, Avatar Aang moved slowly into the entrance of his home. He sighed with discontentment when he met the eyes of his wife, Katara, the mother of his children.
"I was hoping to be here earlier," he admitted to her without the need for prompting, hoping to deter any possible argument as was his usual way. He winced from an old pain making his spine jerk in a spasm. "I needed to intervene during the hearing today," he added, looking to the lady of the house, who simply nodded from her perch in a wooden dining chair, tea in hand.
Aang knew the look well by now. Her sapphire eyes surveyed over his 6'6 form, making her husband rear his shoulders back despite the ache from the nearly 20 year old wound. He truly hated when his wife gave him that look. It made him feel weak and frail, something that he was not used to given the nature of his title as The Avatar, the powerful bridge between humans and spirits. Fortunately, it was only Katara who gave such looks as people around the world still saw him as their capable hero.
"Toph could have handled it, Aang," said the woman, the frown at the corners of her lips ruining her beautiful face.
Aang resisted the urge to sigh loudly, watching her take a sip of tea from a steaming mug labeled "Southern". Likewise, her jeweled eyes were on him. The Four Nation's top healer was surely taking note of his further degenerating body, as he hobbled to a nearby chair in front of her, an extravagant, granite, round table separating them. With a pain-filled, low grunt, he knew his wife had heard, along with the pop of his joints, the avatar took a seat, immediately leaning onto the table for support and placing his staff on the stone floor. Neither said a word for several moments, enjoying the cool air from the slight breeze from temple's open walls filling the room with whispers of their own.
Finally, unable to stand the awkward silence any longer, Aang spoke softly, "He nearly escaped," Katara continued to stare so he continued. "Using bloodbending on the entire courtroom".
The statement earned the look of sympathy he was looking for, though it was brief before Katara murmured back, "Without the full moon?" When Aang nodded she said, barely loud enough for him to hear, "Hama..."
Aang stretched a comforting hand, palm up to the middle of the table in hopes that she would grasp it. "Is long dead," he assured her.
Katara ignored the gesture, obviously trapped in her own thoughts as she mulled over the news. "But if her grandson is..." Katara's voice trailed, her eyes now looking towards her tea mug between her fingers. Before Aang could speak, the Southern Water Tribeswoman seemed to snap out of her trance with a shake of her head, grimacing at the offered hand.
"Aang, that's not the point," she hissed in a low tone, obviously unwilling to continue the discussion further. "You promised to spend more time with the kids, but you broke their hearts again".
Aang's teeth clicked. Snatching back his hand, he bent over, ignoring the spasms in his spine to grasp his staff in haste. It was his cue to leave now. He grumbled under his breath, nearly breaking sweat as he fought to stand.
"Don't walk away from me, Aang!" called Katara to his back.
If he had the strength, the avatar would have broken into an all out sprint away from his wife at that moment, though he knew she would not pursue him. Over ten years of marriage had led to the spouses inability to sit through dinner together as they once did. The breakage in their matrimony was triple mended in the forms of their three children, 12 year old, Bumi, ten year old, Kya and nine year old, Tenzin thankfully. At least the couple had that to fall on. At least...
Aang found himself under the veranda several yards from the house, overlooking the oceanview of Republic City. The city was bustling with nightlife and serene beauty as usual which made his heart light. Along with assistance from his royal friends, Earth King Kuei of Ba Sing Se and Fire Lord Zuko of the fire nation, the avatar's idealistic dream had been fully realized with major success in the four nations, yet such public success did not come without very private sacrifices.
Sighing, he took a seat in the middle of the veranda, eyes closing to meditate before bed. There was once upon a time when Katara would watch over his body as he did the nightly ritual, but those times were long gone...
"Greetings, Avatar," came a voice that seemed laced with deadly poison.
The father of three blinked thrice times, peering slightly at the disconcerting image of the Spirit World before him. Aang's spiritual connection had strengthen with time and years of practice with meditating. He could usually summon the place he wished to travel to, such as The Spirit Library or The Fog of Lost Souls. This was not one of those times, however.
Instead of emerging in spiritual lands painted in calming, bright colors as far as the eye could see with streams of waterfalls flowing with milk and honey, Aang found himself in Koh's decrepit lair, face to face with the wife of the face stealer.
"It's been a while, Avatar. Did you think you could hide forever?"
Unlike the face stealer, Koh's wife was a being of different evil. Her appearance was that of an ambiguous gender, though her voice was clearly that of a seductive female. You could say she was beautiful in either male or female form, with eyes a bright, neon yellow, resembling a cougar-snake. Unlike her millipede shaped spouse, this spirit held the form of a human, dressed in a worn royal looking robe the color of sea-green moss. Aang felt a roll in the pit of his stomach at the sight of her, attempting to keep his face as emotionless as stone, in case her husband was also lurking nearby.
"Avoiding and evading as always," said the spirit, inching close to where he still sat in his meditative position. She replicated him before continuing, "But...you finally made it back to me, as I knew you would".
The spirit's voice seemed to echo through the realm, oozing with bitter-sweetness that would make a lesser man swoon. Aang ignored the attempt to enchant him easily, asking as politely and plainly as possible in order to placate the spirit, "Did I have a choice?"
Koh's wife, now taking a more masculine form before his eyes gave a sly smile, pale face, ambiguous features and dark hair moved as she spoke. "You always had a choice, Avatar," she reminded him. "You chose to leave your people to slaughter".
She spat out the last words, expecting an answering anger. Aang clenched his teeth tightly, breathing slowly out of his nose in a desperate attempt to maintain a calm composure. He hated being reminded of his failure now 132 years in the past.
"Years of death and destruction, you chose for the world all on your own, in exchange for that little iceberg that saved your life," continued Koh's wife. "Remember? I do, you were around twelve years in human time. Do you remember the deal you struck with me?"
Aang closed his eyes. He never forgot. He was fast dying according to the physicians. Twenty years, if he was lucky maybe a couple more before his early demise. His children would be without a father, his wife, a young widow. He knew he was to blame for their suffering along with the world. His selfish act as a child would surely come back to haunt him once again. It would never end, until his last breath.
"Well?" Continued the spirit, returned to her female form when Aang dared to open his eyes again.
"I was a child. I did not understand the kind of deal I was making with you".
The spirit bellowed with laughter, obviously mistaking him for a professional comedian. Though her mood quickly turned, a growl following. "A deal is a deal, Avatar! You said you would release me, I expect it to happen," she reminded him. "You do not want to break a deal with me," she said, lunging for him.
Luckily, Aang's ailments in the physical world did not cross over as he was able to move before the spirit to grasp him. With a quick roll away, Aang managed to take advantage of the spirit's slow movements.
"I'm sorry," said the man, vanishing as Koh's wife screamed her anger throughout the realm.
#
"Spirits!" Cried Aang, flailing his arms, with swallows of air. He felt the softness of white linen against his tattooed arms. "Aaah!" He screamed from a sudden spasm surging through his back.
His cries were quickly muffled by a pale, cold hand with wickedly long, red painted nails that did not belong to Katara smothering his lips shut instantly.
Aang groaned into the feminine hand until the pain subsided, eyes widening, darting around a small prison cell before meeting the golden eyes hovering at his side. It did not help that the eyes blazed with anger and Azula's nails were nearly impaling his flesh. He blinked several times in hopes to be freed soon. When the woman was confident he was coherent enough to remain silent, she slowly removed her hand from his face, wiping it passively on his shoulder and her own, tattered, red prison uniform in disgust.
"Obviously, you want all of Republic City's State Penitentiary to report to dinner time," said the princess and unrepentant, repeated felon, moving away from the lone white cot in the dark, gray room with one window, tiny enough to allow a slither of moonlight to illuminate part of her grimacing face when she leaned against the wall under it. "If that is the case, I will gladly feed you to them, Fool".
Aang could not stop himself from staring, mouth agape as he tried to process what was going on. "Where are we?" He managed to ask, sitting up on his elbows. Knowing he was under Azula's scrutinizing gaze, the avatar slowly moved backwards until he was leaning against the opposite wall facing the woman on the other side of the cell. He made sure to keep his face stoic, refusing to let the woman, renown for her unapologetic preying on the weak sense any of the like in him.
Azula rolled her eyes, pursing her lips before speaking, "My home," she answered, dully. "You would think you would remember putting me back in this place".
Aang did not comment watching the woman turn away to where two hideous beings were chained to the handle of the door in the tiny cell. The undead beings swayed back and forth, but with their unhinged jaws, they made no attempt to bite the living princess before them, instead, the creatures garbed in Kyoshi Warrior attire, their faces still painted, stared with glassy, clouded yellow eyes. Azula seemed to gravitate closer to the shorter of the two undead women, though the princess made no attempt to touch it. The warrior's make-up was caked with blood, revealing decaying and rotting flesh underneath. The smell was horrid though Azula did not seem to mind as she stared back into the corpse's glazed-over eyes that could not see her as they once did.
The princess flinched visibly when a tattooed hand touched her shoulder. A snarl appeared on her lips as she swatted the hand away.
"Why keep them?" Asked the air nomad, despite the cold shoulder that was normal for the princess.
At this, Azula faced him with a graceful turn of her heels, crossing her arms. "Is this your idea of small talk?" She asked in a snapping tone.
The avatar shrugged, wincing when her nails pushed him away from her personal space. Azula turned back to the steel door, peering through the rectangular peephole into a dark, long corridor lined with empty cells.
"There's no telling how long we will be trapped here, so it wouldn't hurt to be friendly with one another," Aang offered, joining her side.
Azula moved away, allowing him the opportunity to look out at the blood stained walls of the prison. He noted her changed position from his side to directly behind him, though he pretended to focus on the images he was seeing of overhanging white lights, barely hanging on by their cords from the ceiling along with several human limbs scattered about the floor randomly.
"We're not friends, Avatar," reminded the woman in the cell with him. "Even if we are the last people on Agni's forsaken earth, that fact will never change".
"Ok," said Aang simply.
He heard the click of Azula's teeth as she added, "And to answer your question, without them, we would not have made it very far. With your passing out from a few severed heads, dragging your heavy body was quite a task. Geez, what have you been eating? Elephant-Koi? Oh...right, you did marry and spawn rodents with that Water Tribe peasant, hmph...no wonder you're getting fat and useless".
Knowing what the cunning princess was doing, Aang rolled his shoulders, letting out a snicker, glancing back to see the disappointment on Azula's face from her failed insults.
"I'm vegan, you were dragging pure muscle, Princess," he quipped looking back to the scene just outside the cell.
The statement caught Azula by surprise as she knew the air nomad was far from arrogant. She found her eyes linger too long on the man's toned back muscles, making the hospital gown he wore look almost like a second skin, his toned backside peering slightly from the loose ties at the back of the gown. Catching a glimpse of the tattoos on his calves, Azula's eyes followed the blue arrow further up, wondering if they were all over his body...
"Why so quiet, Princess?" Asked the avatar, obviously making a game out of their conversation.
"Hmph," Azula scoffed, looking away, cursing herself in her mind for noting his deeper voice. "You should be grateful I didn't leave your pure muscle to be devoured out there," she pointed out.
Aang moved from the door, giving a bow humbly despite his back aches. "Many thanks, Princess," he answered without a hint of sarcasm along with a warm smile that Azula found herself almost...almost returning.
"So what now? There's no food for either of us here, unless you have a secret stash somewhere," noted Aang, looking about the empty room.
"As a matter of fact," began Azula, gesturing for him to move out of her way as she opened the door behind him.
Aang hurried to the opposite corner, away from Azula's undead pets. Azula opened the door slightly before giving a soft whistle. Several moments passed before at least four women, Aang recognized as Azula's friends from her Kemurikage fiasco appeared with a frail old man with few teeth in his open-mouthed smile, carrying a large pot of something.
Azula allowed the group to enter before quickly shutting the door behind them. The women revealed bowls and utensils, handing off one for the avatar and the princess as the old man stirred the contents in his pot.
"Cabbages, anyone?" He asked, in an enthusiastic voice, making the party feel as though things were almost...almost normal.
#
Katara held tightly to the one man making her feel sane despite the madness surrounding them. Atop the fire lord's formidable dragon, the pair was able to get a full view of the carnage below. Hordes of walking corpses filled the streets of Republic City, terrorizing any and all who had the unlucky privilege of being in their way. The mother felt her heart collapsing as they neared her children's schoolhouse along the way to the city's heavily barricaded stadium, in hopes to find more living humans.
I have to keep hope. She told herself, even as she viewed the collapsed building, surrounded by a ring of fire, igniting the undead trying to enter the building. She could only hope that whatever outbreak this was affecting the city, had not affected the innocent children behind the schoolhouse's walls.
"It's ok," assured Zuko, his voice rippling throughout his back and into her chest, soothing her racing heart some. "We'll find them, Katara".
The doctor held the man tighter, wishing she could lose herself in his neck. Fear shook her bones violently at the thought of losing any of her children. The guilt of leaving their father to die returned along with her decision to take his best friend as her new lover. What would she tell her children in regards to their father? How could she tell them that the man they loved so much was... No she could not think about it now. She had enough to worry about.
As if sensing her inner turmoil, Zuko placed a soft kiss on Katara's temple, lovingly. It was then that she remembered that the fire lord had suffered greatly as well. He had actually lived her worse nightmare, by witnessing the destruction of his wife and only child.
"I'm so sorry, Zuko," she whispered into his back, unsure if she should leave the topic alone.
She felt the man's back rise steadily in silent anguish, though he only spoke calmly, "Thank you," before settling Druk down atop the building. Like a gentleman, the fire lord hopped off the dragon first before turning to assist the healer. Katara nearly melted from his strong hands clutching her waistline, placing her on the brick rooftop.
"We'll need to tread slowly," Zuko informed her, his scarred face as serious as the royal leader he was. "There's a gaping hole on the other side of the school. I doubt those walkers made it pass the fire, so there's still time".
Katara gave a nod, but stopped him when the terrifying thought crept into her mind again. "Zuko, d-do you think there are-" The fire lord stopped her with a kiss.
"Shh, don't think about it, come on".
With that, the the two held hands and entered the pitch-dark building.
I had more, but fatigue set in and with the unexpected attention this story has been getting, I really wanted to update soon. More to come. Hope you enjoyed. QueenTy