Miscalculation
An Avatar the Last Airbender AU
Chapter 2: They're Really in Trouble Now
The engineer gave Azula a shaky sort of grin and announced that the track machine was working once again.
"Then start it up, you fool," the princess snarled. "We have an Avatar to catch."
"Yes, Princess, of course, I'll do that right now."
He darted back to the tiny engine room, glad to be away from the irritated young woman, and fiddled with a few dials. After a minute, the machine roared into life. Azula looked back to where Mai had disappeared and tapped her foot on the ground.
"I wonder if Mai is all right," Ty Lee mused, moving to stand beside the princess. "She's taking an awfully long time. Do you think she's hurt?"
The girl, clad in pinks and reds, tugged on her long braid and wrung her hands. Azula shot her a narrow eyed look and shrugged.
"I can't worry about Mai. She can take care of herself and if she can't, it's better that we find out now. Get back in the compartment, Ty Lee. We need to go."
With a sad sigh, Ty Lee, an expert in chi blocking and not long ago a content circus performer, stepped up into the metal box and sat down in the corner. She stayed that way until Azula spoke.
"I won't tolerate your moping, Ty Lee. I brought you along to do a job, not to brood. Agni, you remind me of Zuko. And that's not a good thing."
When Ty Lee lifted her head, the princess was glaring down at her, amber eyes colder than anything the fourteen year old had ever seen. She was frightened and wished that she could run away, like she had run away to the circus almost a year ago. Being alone with Azula was unpleasant. With Mai along to act as a buffer of sorts, things were tolerable. And besides that, Ty Lee liked Mai. Mai was her friend. Azula was something different, something that Ty Lee couldn't quite explain.
The princess had a strong hold on the acrobat, a hold that had begun years earlier when all three of them were students at the Royal Fire Nation Academy for Girls. Azula was powerful and persuasive, brilliant and talented. Those were good qualities when found in most people, but in Azula they were dangerous. She used them to dominate people and to intimidate them. Most people she encountered were terrified of her. Ty Lee was no exception. She couldn't help but admire Azula too and wonder sometimes if there was something softer deep down, way down. The chi blocker wished that she could dig around inside Azula and see exactly what was there. She wanted to be Azula's friend because, well, she would be anyone's friend if they let her. People interested Ty Lee. They always had. She liked them. She liked the infinite variety of them and loved to examine their auras, a skill or gift that she discovered at the tender age of five.
Azula's aura was mostly a bright lemony sort of yellow with little bits of the three different shades of red scattered here and there. She was concerned with control and her power and her greatest fear was losing either or both. She was strong willed, angry and competitive. Ty Lee would never mention anything about auras directly to Azula. The princess would fix those hard eyes on her or do something far worse. But they told Ty Lee a lot and reading Azula's was the closest she could ever get to really knowing the girl. The strangest thing of all was that for as long as Ty Lee had known the princess, her aura had never changed.
"First Mai and now you; do I need to find new recruits, ones who don't daydream?"
"I'm sorry, Azula. I'll do better. I promise." Ty Lee smiled timidly at the princess, her pretty grey eyes bright and hopeful.
The princess sneered in response. "Hmmph; I'm beginning to wonder if I should have bothered with you and Mai at all. Don't make me regret taking you along."
"I won't. I'll do everything I can to help you catch the Avatar." The acrobat purposely left out Zuko's name. She didn't feel completely comfortable with pursuing or capturing the young man that Mai still loved. Besides that, he was a good person, so very different from Azula in so many ways. He didn't have the same desire to conquer or the same cruelty. His gifts were less flashy and obvious, but he could be as driven as his sister and had a temper that sometimes made it difficult to see the softness of his heart.
"I'll hold you to that, Ty Lee." Azula's voice was haughty and her fine noble features were tight and controlled.
The princess peered out the compartment's small window then and watched as the terrain grew softer and greener. Coniferous trees began to pepper the landscape too and a fresh, bright blue river came into view. When the track machine approached the river's bank, Azula's sharp eyes noticed recent activity at the site. Wanting to investigate, she pulled down hard on the lever that would let the engineer know she wanted to stop. Seconds later, the vehicle skidded and veered sideways, finally halting only a few meters from the river.
Azula gestured with her hand. "Let's go."
The compartment's hatch opened and the gangplank lowered, the two mongoose lizards slithering out, eager to stretch their legs. They didn't stray far, though. Even animals feared Azula. The princess knelt by the river where soggy bunches of white animal hair clung stubbornly to rocks. The fur belonged to the Avatar's bison. There was no mistaking it. She looked up then and noticed a pine tree, its tip broken and ragged as if something large had crashed into it, something like a flying beast that weighed several tons.
There was fur leading in the opposite direction too, as if the cunning boy had decided to make a decoy path, probably in order to save his pathetic friends.
"Look, Ty Lee; there are two trails. The bison went that way and I believe the Avatar flew this way. I want you to follow the bison's trail. I think that you can handle a few peasants on your own, can't you? Well, you might want to watch out for that earthbender."
"Yes, Azula, I'll handle them." She had no intentions of actually hurting any of them; incapacitation was good enough and pain was not something she liked to inflict. All she was required to do was keep them from interfering with Azula and the Avatar.
"If Mai was back, you would have help. But, apparently she can't even handle a single peasant. Perhaps I overestimated her skills."
Ty Lee didn't rise to the bait. She kept her mouth shut and mounted her mongoose lizard, waiting to move until Azula climbed aboard hers and tore off along the riverbank in search of the Avatar.
"I wish you were here, Mai," Ty Lee sighed. "I hate doing these things alone."
Zuko made sure to keep Mai and him out of sight, guiding the ostrich horse into the shadow of the mountains and among the trees that edged one side of the flatland Azula's vehicle travelled across. It certainly wouldn't do to be spotted by Azula now. Better to surprise her when she finally did catch up to the Avatar.
The ride was bumpy and uncomfortable and Mai clung hard to Zuko. She'd already fallen once today and had no intentions of falling again.
"Have we gained any ground?" Mai asked, her left cheek pressed flat against Zuko's warm back. She had to shout to make sure that the prince could hear her.
"The machine just started moving again," Zuko replied. "But we've gotten much closer."
"Good," Mai stated and tightened her grip on the prince's waist.
They watched as the track machine entered a more forested area and disappeared among the trees. Zuko slowed the ostrich horse to a walk and entered the forest hesitantly. The steady rumble of the machine had ceased and there were no clouds of dust to be seen.
"She's stopped." Zuko wriggled in the saddle and turned to look at Mai. "We should get off and walk ahead."
Nodding, Mai let go of Zuko and slid gracefully from the ostrich horse. Zuko followed, leading the animal to a tree and tying it off. He held out his hand for Mai to take and she did so without hesitation, a rush of warmth and affection flooding her. Together they crept among the trees, the pungent scent of pine filling their nostrils and the gentle trickling of the river the only sound besides their own breathing.
As they approached the clearing where the track machine had come to a halt, they hung back, simply observing for a few minutes. Zuko knew all about stealth. He knew all about watching a situation closely before jumping ahead and into trouble. Sometimes he dove in regardless of what he saw, but Mai was with him now and he wanted to protect her as best he could.
"The engineer will be inside but he's no threat," Mai informed Zuko.
Her breath tickled his unscarred ear and Zuko's good eye widened momentarily. People rarely got that close to him. Even after the long ride with Mai hanging on to him, the intimacy was still exhilarating.
"They're gone, after the Avatar and his friends," Zuko informed her. "The bison was here." He gestured at the matted clumps of white everywhere. "There's fur in the river and on the ground. I'll bet they washed the beast to remove the loose fur and then left in two separate directions. See that broken tree there." Mai followed Zuko's finger. "The bison went that way with the Water Tribe brother and sister and the Avatar went that way. He was smart enough to make a decoy trail."
"Yeah, but Azula's smart too. I'll bet she sent Ty Lee after the friends and she followed the Avatar herself."
They stood silently for a few more minutes before venturing into the clearing and taking a closer look at the situation. The tranquility of the picturesque spot was broken by the sound of banging from inside the engine room of the track machine. If the engineer had seen them, he apparently had no plans to venture out from the safety of the metal hull.
"Shouldn't we go back and get the ostrich horse now?" Mai queried. "Azula's already got a good head start."
"You could wait here for me, stay safe." Zuko was almost pleading with Mai. "It's not your fight. You shouldn't have to get involved. I'll be okay."
"Yeah, and if we really wanted to use our brains, we wouldn't go after Azula at all. It's not necessary you know, but I suppose your pride and stubbornness won't let you drop the idea. I forgot how dense you can be sometimes. Anyway, I've explained how I feel. Your fight is my fight now. I won't let you face Azula alone. You know how powerful she is and how far she's willing to go as well as I do. Remember, she promised to kill you and your Uncle Iroh. There's no mercy in Azula. The two of us will have a better chance against her. And if you try to ditch me, I will pin you to the nearest tree before you even have a chance to blink. I'm here now, Zuko. I'm with you."
The sound of squelching footsteps along the riverbank made both Mai and Zuko jerk their heads and look toward the noise. Ty Lee, completely soaked and dripping water from everywhere, stared at them with utter disbelief. She didn't say anything, but her mouth hung open and she blinked rapidly.
Mai wasn't sure what to say or do. She felt as though she had been caught in an act of betrayal and Ty Lee's huge grey eyes confirmed those feelings. The acrobat was hurt and confused and sad and a little bit angry too. Needing the support, Mai grabbed Zuko's hand and held on for dear life.
"Ty Lee…..we, we don't want to fight you. We just want to find Azula." Zuko stepped forward, pulling Mai along behind him.
"Zuko," the girl muttered softly. "You were the one following us?"
"Yes, and Mai's, well, she's….."
"I know what Mai's decided to do." Ty Lee's tone was sharper than Mai had ever heard it. "I know that she loves you. She never got over you, Zuko, and you had better take good care of her."
It was an appeal to Zuko's honour and he replied typically. "I, I will, Ty Lee. I promise. But, what are you going to do now?"
"I'm going to pretend that I never saw you. But Azula, she'll know somehow or I'll let it slip and she'll punish me." She turned to Mai then and looked at the black haired teen with imploring eyes. "You left me alone with her, Mai. Maybe I deserve it. I left you after all, when I joined the circus. But, you're stronger than I am. I don't know how long I'll last. She frightens me, Mai, and you left me alone with her."
"Look, Ty Lee, she wants to kill Zuko. I couldn't just turn my back or bring him to Azula like she would expect me to do. For three years I've wanted to see him again, never thinking I would. Now he's here and I'm here and I'm not walking away from him. We won't be separated again." Mai's voice remained even and dull sounding despite the emotion of her words. But her thumb caressed Zuko's knuckles and with that simple gesture she conveyed longing and love and loyalty.
Zuko could hardly believe his good fortune. For once, something had gone his way. After three years of loneliness and pain, he had Mai. She was here beside him, real and alive, strong and courageous and so very beautiful. Every time he looked at her his breath hitched. He expected her to vanish if he so much as glanced away. But she didn't. Mai really wasn't going anywhere.
"Well aren't you lucky?" the acrobat sneered. Her face was distorted with anger and envy. The expression looked out of place on Ty Lee's soft, pretty features. "I hope you enjoy being chased, Mai, and living in the dirt like commoners, because that's what your life will be like."
Mai's chest ached as she looked at Ty Lee and right then she would have welcomed one of the acrobat's over enthusiastic hugs. But Ty Lee wasn't in a hugging sort of mood. "I'm sorry," Mai shrugged. "I have to do this, Ty Lee. Maybe you could come with us?"
The fourteen year old shook her head. Despite her fear of Azula and despite the dread she felt about the upcoming days, she had to see things through. Maybe it was her turn to be strong and face whatever the princess threw at her. Besides, being pursued by an angry Azula was an even scarier fate. "Go now; Azula followed that trail." She pointed the way the princess had ridden off on her mongoose lizard. "I hope you'll be happy, Mai."
She turned her back then, wringing water out of her long brown hair and peering off into the distance. Mai sighed and turned too, heading back into the forest for the ostrich horse. Zuko gazed at Ty Lee's stiff back, the urge to comfort the usually bubbly girl warring with his need to hunt down Azula.
"Come on, Zuko. We need to go."
"Yeah, we do," he agreed.
The princess's trail led through the forest and back into the desert like, rocky and mountainous terrain that they had first travelled through. It ended at a completely abandoned village. Zuko wondered what had driven all the people out. Was it the Fire Nation or something else? The houses and businesses were slowly falling apart, shutters dangling precariously from window frames and porches rotted and broken. It was an eerie place, somehow fitting for the battle that was about to happen.
"I can see them down there," the prince whispered. "They're just staring at each other in the middle of the street."
Mai looked and sure enough the Avatar and the Princess of the Fire Nation stood several feet apart, the boy tired and slumped looking while Azula appeared as fresh and ready to fight as she always did.
"I wonder if his friends will show up," Mai mused. "He's exhausted. You can tell by the way he's standing. He'll need the help."
"I don't care how tired he is. I just want Azula to keep her hands off him. The Avatar is mine; he's mine."
"Obsessive much," the ebony haired girl muttered under her breath. Then, speaking louder, she suggested that they get moving. "Zuko, it's time to go. If Azula's going to kill me today, I prefer it to happen now. Anticipation is not always a good thing."
"Azula is not going to kill you," Zuko uttered fiercely. "No one will kill you."
He dug his knees into the ostrich horse's sides and they barreled down the stony hillside, ending up at the back of what appeared to have once been a hotel. The couple slid off the animal, Mai already reaching for blades and Zuko stepping cautiously forward in the direction of the main and only street. Both of them could hear voices now. It seemed that Azula and the Avatar were having words.
"I'm stepping out into the street now," Zuko informed Mai quietly. He moved forward until he was exposed, Mai right behind him, close enough to smell his sweat and the scent that was unique to him. Without preamble, he shouted to his sister, standing between her and the Avatar. "Back off; the Avatar is mine."
Azula laughed deeply and her face wore a cruel smirk. "Where did you come from, Zuzu? Have you actually been following me?" Her eyes narrowed then and her features darkened. Azula was good at putting two and two together. Everything clicked then and she moved a bit, looking for Mai.
Mai would not hide behind Zuko. She moved around the prince and faced Azula. "You figured it out," she intoned dryly.
"Traitorous bitch," the princess spat. "You chose him over me; that pathetic loser who can't do anything right?"
The knife expert nodded proudly. "Yes, I did. I'm tired of being intimidated by you and ordered around by you. I want something better."
"And Zuzu's the best you could come up with?" She snickered as her eyes roamed over Mai. "You're already dressed for the part. How quaint. You're not nearly as bright as I thought, Mai, and you will pay for this betrayal. You will pay!"
The Avatar, who had watched the encounter with huge, saucer like eyes, interrupted the exchange with a surprisingly cheerful sounding statement. "Um, sorry to cut in, but I thought we were going to fight."
"Shut up!" all three Fire Nation teens shouted.
"Okay, maybe I should leave then." He backed away from the trio, wooden staff held crossways in front of his body.
Zuko shot a blast of fire the boy's way, a blast easily deflected by the staff.
"Pathetic as always," Azula mocked her brother. She sent two powerful bursts of fire, one from each fist. The first sent Zuko sprawling while the Avatar needed to become airborne to avoid the second one.
Mai joined the fray then, sending a volley of arrows the princess's way. Azula burned them up in mid air and gave her former 'friend' a vicious glare. "You'll need to try harder, Mai."
Never before had Mai fought against Azula. They had never even practiced together, the princess considering her bending vastly superior to any other fighting form. She would use Mai's and Ty Lee's skills but she would never really acknowledge just how good both girls were. No one else counted. Azula was the center of the universe.
Mai kept her composure, something she rarely if ever had a problem with, and tossed a flurry of knives at the firebending prodigy. They made Azula jump out of the way and lose her balance slightly. Taking advantage of the rare situation, both Mai and Zuko stalked toward Azula, the prince sending out tendrils of fire and whipping them about, while Mai tossed one of her sai, aiming for the shoulder. As the princess twisted to avoid Zuko's tenacious fire whip, she tilted her head down until it almost touched her left shoulder. It was then that Mai's blade whizzed by, slicing the flesh of Azula's cheek deeply. The princess shrieked with anger and pain and instinctively reached for the wound, her fingers coming away scarlet.
Mai couldn't help but smirk. No one ever touched Azula. "How does that feel?"
"Bitch!" Azula cried viciously.
The princess took a few deep breaths to regain her control, eyes on all three of her opponents, before letting loose with all the power and skill she possessed. She pursued them all, forcing them to run through the ghost town, up and down rotted stairs with broken banisters and in and out of buildings. It was almost like a game of hide and seek, and it was about as much fun as the version Azula had forced Mai and Ty Lee to play when they were much younger. The Avatar meanwhile, was having his own troubles with Azula. He could dissipate many of her blasts with a huge gust of wind, but some of them came dangerously close. The princess was a gifted fighter, agile and acrobatic and almost tireless. Even with three skilled people after her, she managed to keep the upper hand. The original intent for the fight had been lost by all of the combatants. Zuko wasn't worried about the Avatar. His anger at Azula made him pursue her instead. Azula no longer figured on capturing any of them. She simply wanted to come out of it all alive, ready to fight and strategize another day. And the Avatar himself simply wanted no one to get killed, enemies or not.
While in the midst of the battle, the Avatar's friends appeared, the Water Tribe siblings along with a short, muscular looking girl that Zuko had never seen before. She was an earthbender and an amazing one at that. Azula soldiered on, managing to keep everyone on high alert despite being greatly outnumbered. It was when Zuko's attention was distracted making sure that Mai hadn't been hurt by one of his sister's blasts, that she stunned him. He flew backwards, landing with a loud crack and losing consciousness for a few seconds.
Mai ran to the prone figure and when she looked up, it was into warm, worried amber eyes. "General Iroh," she said with just the slightest inflection.
"Yes," the wise old man replied as Zuko opened his dazed eyes. "It seems my nephew has done well during his time alone."
"Uncle," Zuko groaned. "I'm glad….."
Azula pounced on the three figures, her fingers shooting fire almost faster than the mind could process. Iroh shook his head sadly at his niece, and handled her flames with ease. He used his far bigger frame to bully the girl, pushing her along with his bulk until she darted away. As if they had silently made some sort of temporary alliance, the Avatar and his three friends along with Mai, Zuko and Iroh formed a line, and moved forward as one, backing Azula into the one remaining wall of a derelict building.
"Well, what have we here?" she questioned disdainfully, her cold eyes examining each of them in turn. Her mouth moved upwards in the beginnings of a predatory smile. "Enemies and traitors working as one; I never thought that I would see the day."
"Give up, Azula," Zuko shouted.
She cackled as the eclectic group made its way toward her, the benders in their proper stances and the non benders with weapons drawn and ready. "Let me think." She placed one finger on her chin and pursed her lips. "You know brother; for once I think you're right. I'm willing to admit when I've been defeated and a princess always surrenders with dignity."
No one took their eyes off Azula despite her words, no one except Iroh, who took a quick glance at the row of strange allies, his gaze lingering on the earthbender. The princess saw her opportunity. With Iroh temporarily distracted, she launched a blast of blue fire directly at the former general's chest. He spun and fell, sinking to the ground like a heavy stone.
Zuko screamed as he watched his beloved uncle drop and then joined the other benders in firing at Azula. It was all to no avail. When the dust cleared, the princess had disappeared.
"Uncle," Zuko cried again. He dropped to his knees beside the fallen man.
Mai was already there, cradling the old man's head in her lap. "He's alive, Zuko." She touched the prince gently on the arm.
"I can help," the waterbending girl called hesitantly. "I have healing abilities."
"Leave us alone," Zuko shrieked bitterly.
"Zuko, maybe we should let her help," Mai urged. "I don't know what to do."
"No!" He sent a wave of fire at the Avatar and his friends, refusing even to look at them. "He's my uncle. I'll take care of him."
Mai sighed and dropped her head. "Then we had better get him somewhere more comfortable."
It was a struggle getting Iroh up onto the ostrich horse, but once the still unconscious man was splayed across the animal's back, it was a simple task to walk up a nearby hill and make camp inside a burnt out building.
"Let me help,' Mai insisted as she tore up strips of cloth to bandage Iroh.
Zuko had removed his uncle's tunic and began to wrap the strips of material around and around Iroh's chest, covering the scorched and damaged flesh. "I'm not sure how bad it is, Mai. Maybe the blast damaged his heart." The prince's voice was thick with unshed tears. Mai could see how much Iroh meant to him and she silently hoped for the old man's recovery.
"Do you need more?" Mai asked.
With trembling hands, Zuko wound the final piece then looked over at Mai. "No, that should do it. Thanks."
He lifted Iroh's head and put the tunic beneath it for a pillow. The former general's breathing was shallow and his complexion pasty. But he was most definitely alive and when she put her head to Iroh's chest, Mai heard a strong heartbeat.
"His heartbeat sounds nice and steady," she offered.
"When he wakes up, I want to have tea ready for him. Uncle loves tea."
"Yeah, I sort of remember that. I can make it. I'm pretty good." She looked through Iroh's bag and found all the supplies. "Let's wait awhile. I don't think he'll wake up for a bit."
Mai put a hand on Zuko's shoulder. He covered it with one of his own. "Will you sit with me?" he asked. He sounded so vulnerable that Mai's own heart lurched beneath the confines of her ribs.
She didn't answer but tugged on his hand instead and guided him to the far wall of the partially roofless building they were using for shelter. She sat down, brushing aside some large pieces of rubble first. Zuko dropped heavily beside her and stared over at Iroh.
"He'll be okay," Mai reassured the prince.
"Do you really think so?" Zuko shifted closer to Mai.
Their shoulders and hips touched and both felt little sparks of heat travel through their bodies. Mai nodded and took the prince's hand, pulling it into her lap. She wanted to kiss him very badly but wondered how he would react. As if he could read her thoughts and sense her desires, Zuko turned his head to face Mai, and leaned down a bit, angling himself so that he could touch her lips with his own. She closed the remaining distance, pressing her mouth gently against his.
It was their first real kiss, growing deep and long enough to put those pecks on the cheek and those almost imperceptible, fumbling grazing of lips to shame. Zuko's hand had crept up to the back of Mai's neck and he played with her silky black tresses. Mai had her fingers tangled in the rough shortness of his hair.
Both were flushed when they finally broke apart. They stared at each other again, like they had a few hours earlier. Despite what they had experienced together already, and the warm solidity of their forms, neither Mai nor Zuko could quite believe that it was all true. They couldn't quite believe that they had made it back to each other.
"I don't know about you, but I feel better." Mai gave Zuko a gentle slap and he grinned at her. She was thrilled to see him look that happy.
"I feel a bit better too," Iroh called to them in a weakened but still mischievous voice. "Mai, I'm glad to see that you can make my nephew calm down a bit. I have a hard time achieving that. Now, you must fill me in on all that has happened."
The young couple jumped up from their spot on the floor and went to Iroh. He wore a silly sort of grin and was struggling to sit up.
"I'm so glad that you're awake, Uncle." Zuko put a strong arm around the old man and helped him into a sitting position.
"So am I," Iroh winked. He winced then and touched the wound beneath the bandages tenderly.
"I'll get the tea started. Zuko, could you light the fire?" Mai knelt beside the little bundle of twigs that sat in the middle of the floor.
The prince knelt beside her and with a quick movement set the kindling alight.
