Chapter 6: Into Uncertainty
Unable to sleep, Aang was up well before dawn. He glanced over at Toph, who was still fast asleep. Grabbing onto his robe, he slipped the clothing over his head and lightly hopped off his bed. As he walked out of the bedroom, his eyes fell on Suki, who was curled up against Sokka's side. Even in sleep, she was careful not to jar his broken leg.
Aang felt a pang of sadness at the sight, wishing that Katara was safe within his arms. Instead she was locked away in the Fire Nation. He was also worried about Zuko and Appa. Shaking his head, he headed outside where he saw General Fong looking out over the eastern sky watching the sunrise. Quietly, Aang stepped beside him.
"Good morning, Avatar Aang," General Fong greeted the airbender with a warm smile.
"Good morning, General Fong," he replied, doing his best to return the gesture, but failing miserably.
"Is something wrong?" the general asked, noticing the boy's somber mood.
"It seemed so simple: defeat Fire Lord Ozai and the war ends. I did that and yet there is no guarantee that the war will actually end."
"It will end. Ba Sing Se has been recaptured and the Fire Nation military has been weakened. You are now able to enter the Avatar State and control yourself while there. Fire Lord Azula and the Fire Nation won't stand a chance against you."
Aang stayed silent as he thought over the general's words. He made it sound so simple, but Aang knew in his heart that it wouldn't be so easy.
The Fire Lord watched from her throne as two old crones entered the throne room and bowed before her.
"Li. Lo," she said simply, indicating that they may rise.
"Fire Lord Azula," they both greeted her simultaneously as they sat back on their heels.
"We have heard about the fall of your father, the Phoenix King, at the hands of the Avatar," Lo began.
"He was stripped of his bending," Azula explained. "Do you know how the Avatar was able to do that?"
"Yes," Li nodded. "It seems the Avatar does not simply bend the four elements."
"He has learned the art of energybending," Lo added.
"And with this, he took the Phoenix King's firebending," they finished.
"Energybending," Azula said, trying desperately to ignore the fear beginning to lace through her. "Do you know how it works?"
"It is the ability to bend life energy. It is the oldest form of bending—older than the four nations and the Avatar himself," Lo explained.
"Before the time of Avatars, benders did not bend the elements, but the energy within themselves," Li added.
"In order to bend another's life energy, their own spirit must be unbendable, or they would be corrupted and destroyed," they explained together.
"So it has a weakness," Azula realized, brightening a bit at this tidbit of information.
"Yes," they confirmed with a nod.
"If the bender's spirit is the slightest bit bendable, then they will be infected by the spirit of the one they are bending," Li began.
"And the bender will be corrupted and possibly killed," Lo finished.
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. The Dai Li captain entered moments later.
"Fire Lord Azula," he greeted with a short bow.
"What have you heard?" Azula asked him.
"A message has just arrived from General Chan. Ba Sing Se was recaptured for the Earth Kingdom by a group called the Order of the White Lotus, led by the former General Iroh," the agent informed her.
"Iroh truly is a traitor to the Fire Nation," she said with disgust. "What of the other Fire Nation strongholds in the Earth Kingdom?"
"Other than Ba Sing Se and Omashu, the Earth Kingdom remains under control of the Fire Nation."
"I want a report on everything that happened in Ba Sing Se and everyone who is involved with the Order of the White Lotus," Azula ordered. "I'll take back that city eventually. But first I need to deal with more pressing matters," she thought privately.
"By your will, my lord," the captain said before showing himself out, leaving Azula alone with her advisors once more.
"It's simply a matter of time before the Avatar will come here to fight you," Li stated.
"Along with your uncle and the Order of the White Lotus," Lo said.
"Perhaps it may be wise to reconsider tactics," they said together.
"Yes, you're right," Azula agreed.
"I'm not stubborn like Zuzu. That was the one trait he seemed to pick up from our father. Unfortunately for my father, it was his only weakness," she thought to herself. She knew her father wasn't perfect, yet he expected her to be. No, she expected it of herself. She would not fail where the Phoenix King had. "If I learned anything from my conquest of Ba Sing Se, it's that you need to turn people's weaknesses against them." She smiled as a plan began to form in her mind. "Let them come to me."
Sokka looked at Aang worriedly as he explained his dream about Katara. His expression changed to one of concern as Aang told him that he was planning on leaving with Toph that very morning.
"You should wait for the Order of the White Lotus," Sokka said. "If you leave now, you guys will be at the same disadvantage as Zuko and Katara were. It will probably help if you brought even more reinforcements."
"I can't wait. Katara and Zuko are in danger!" Aang yelled, frustrated.
"If you leave now, it will be suicide, Aang," Suki explained.
"They're right, Twinkle Toes. You might be a fully realized Avatar now, but even you can't go up against an entire nation. We need to give ourselves the best chance to win, and the Order of the White Lotus will do that," Toph reasoned.
"Excuse me, everyone," General Fong interrupted as he approached the group. "Sokka, you wanted to know if any of the Phoenix King's airships were salvageable. We managed to capture one working airship."
Sokka smiled and looked at Aang. "Looks like you don't have to wait for the Order of the White Lotus after all. Take the airship. If you head to Ba Sing Se now, you can pick up Iroh and the others and will reach the Fire Nation by tonight."
"You aren't coming with us?" Aang asked.
"Believe me, I would love to put Azula in her place, but I won't be of any help with my broken leg."
"I'm going to stay with Sokka. Someone needs to look after him," Suki added with a soft smile.
"Bring Zuko and my sister back, Aang. I know you can do it."
Ty Lee brushed a strand of hair from Azula's flushed face before leaning down and placing a kiss on the firebender's lips. After long moments, the acrobat pulled away, gazing lovingly at the prodigy.
Suddenly, there was an urgent pounding on her door, causing Ty Lee to flinch. With a slight pout, she rolled off of Azula so that the girl could sit up. "Fire Lord Azula," came the guard's voice through the door. "The Avatar is heading toward the capital at this moment on one of our airships."
"Shoot it down," she called back, getting up from her bed and looking for her robe.
"We're trying, my lord." She could hear the uncertainty in the man's voice.
Azula cursed under her breath as she threw her robe around her. In a few long strides, she reached the door and threw it open. "How long until it arrives?"
"Approximately twenty minutes, my lord," he replied, being sure to avert his gaze from her body completely.
"Gather my Imperial Guard and meet me at the main plaza entrance in ten minutes," she ordered.
"By your will, my lord," he said with a bow before running off.
Azula closed the door and walked over to her closet to retrieve her armor and battledress. Ty Lee watched her with worried eyes before getting out of bed to help the Fire Lord dress.
"I want you to stay here," Azula told her once she was dressed for battle.
"Azula…" Ty Lee began.
"No," she cut the acrobat off.
"But why?"
Azula hesitated for a moment before looking at the acrobat. "I don't want anything to happen to you," she thought. "Don't fight me on this, Ty Lee," she chose to say instead before placing a fierce kiss on the girl's lips.
