Disclaimer: if I really owned these two stories I wouldn't be writing hopeless fanfiction now would i? PLEASE READ THIS A/N
A/N: I can't believe people are still reading this fic! Ohmygod, I'm so psyched for this update. (Not cause it's a good one, I just feel great coming back to you guys). Sorry for the long wait. We got stumped with the story and had no inspiration whatsoever. And then the laptop broke. Whoopee. Anyway…
I tried to address some concerns brought up by several reviewers. Thank you, for your criticism, y'all were so polite and understanding it just makes me want to fix everything wrong with this fic for y'all. I attempted to put Annabeth and Percy back in their respective characters- but I felt like as if this was how they'd be in such a situation. Hear me out, k? Yes, Percy is loyal af, but I tried to imagine him with Annabeth and I expected that he'd feel responsible for her safety in some way- not that she needs him to save her- but I thought any good boyfriend would immediately defend his girl. No experience there though. Just an assumption :P I thought he'd be torn between saving Jason and keeping Annabeth safe that he'd be in want of more time to figure something out.
Annabeth would definitely want a plan too, you can see in the first few chapters she points out the flaws in them just getting up and leaving on their own- but I thought she'd get sick of sitting around doing nothing and get antsy. Wouldn't this new world mess with their heads? Plus the Gaang was pretty laid back up until the actual battle. Also, her being completely normal, surrounded by people with powers, and then losing a battle she had no chance of winning- wouldn't she get mighty pissed? I dunno.
This isn't an excuse though, I should have written them better, but I'm trying to fix the characters and give them flesh. I tried to make this a harmless, humorous fic, but clearly it's becoming deep. Oh well.
The stench of scorched earth and skin burned a path through Annabeth's lungs, forcing tears out of the corners of her eyes and causing her to choke on her own breath. The whiteness that burned her eyes slowly lifted and dark spots danced around her vision as she staggered to her feet. Each movement sent dull aches of pain searing through her muscles- the shock had barely worn off. Her dagger hung uselessly from the tips of her fingers, glinting in the light that streamed from the gaping holes blown through the ceiling and walls of the air temple. Smoke billowed like clouds; carried up and away by the cool morning breeze. Dust settled on every inch of the room, leaving nothing untouched. Annabeth sneezed.
The sound seemed to break the others out of their trance and slowly they rose to their feet.
She heard Katara run to Aang, who was straining under the weight of the ceiling; pillars of rock holding the temple up above them from his sheer will. The small boy looked smaller, shrouded in the shadows with beads of sweat dripping down his bald head. He refused to let Katara help him until Toph had secured the weight of the crumbling temple under her strategic spires of stone, which shot upwards in awkward angles that looked entirely random to the untrained eye. But Annabeth could tell. Toph would make a great architect.
She heard a shuffling to her right and watched as Percy picked himself up from the rubble. His battered form sent all thoughts of architecture flying out of her mind and in that moment she forgot how to breathe.
Jason.
Her chest pounded with some unnamed emotion and she fought the urge to slam her head into the floor. He'd got away. They'd let him go.
They had let him go!
They had FAILED to save him… to help him- to protect him. He was with the enemy now. He'd become a… a drone, for lack of a better term.
Anger coursed through her veins and her head throbbed mercilessly. Percy was crouching beside the firebender boy, trying to find a pulse. By the look on his face, the boy was alive- but barely.
For some reason, Annabeth couldn't bring herself to care. It wasn't like her- she'd found ways to care for her worst enemy. Tyson was a testament to that. But now… now she didn't want anyone to be alive. What was the point of them being alright while Jason was still in that mad woman's clutches?!
And why were they not doing anything about it?
She bit her lip until she tasted blood. She hadn't been of much use though, had she? In the face of the battle she'd frozen. Frozen! She who was probably the most seasoned warrior in the room. She'd been fighting way before Percy, for Zeus' sake! What was happening to them? What was going on?
The anger bubbled viciously beneath her skin and if anyone had touched her then she was sure they'd have burned themselves. She couldn't come to terms with the fact that Jason had come to them- he'd come to their doorstep. Sure he'd electrocuted everything and everyone and then disappeared without a backward glance- but he'd been in their grasp.
So close… so damn close.
She kicked a piece of rubble and stifled a groan.
'Annabeth, don't do that,' Percy called from behind her, softly, like as if he was talking to a frightened horse.
'And why not?' she scoffed.
This was good. Being irrational. She was always the sensible one. Maybe just for now the gods would let her blow off some steam. Maybe she'd grow a Seaweed Brain and ride that furry animal thing to save Jason on her own. Typical son of Poseidon stuff right there.
'You're the wise girl, you tell me,' Percy replied, with a wry smile that shed some light on his otherwise grimy face. His hair stood out on end and nearly crackled with the static.
'This is no time for joking, Jackson,' she growled, feeling her skin burn once more.
Percy flinched, sensing her volatile mood. Even Sally never called him by his last name.
'Annabeth, there was nothing we could do,' he protested calmly, trying to get her to see reason.
'What do you mean there was nothing?! There's always something! We saved Grover from a Cyclops, we saved the world from Kronos- why couldn't we save him?!' she snapped, feeling her nerves fray.
'Annie- did you see him? There's something off-,'
'But we could've saved him!'
'He was destroying us!'
'You didn't even try!'
Percy steeped back almost instinctively. 'Don't say that.'
'YOU DIDN'T EVEN TRY,' she enunciated clearly, her voice echoing around the crumbling room. 'From the time we got here I've been trying to make a plan to save him and all you do is train and fool around- Percy, he's our friend!'
She felt traitorous tears cool the skin of her cheeks.
'I know that, Annabeth- I know. You don't think it kills me to know that my friend is under that crazy lady's command and is being forced to do stuff he doesn't want to? You don't think I stay awake all night trying to figure out a way to save him and keep you safe while I'm at it?!'
'I never asked you to save me!'
''I know- oh gods, I know. But I can't just allow us to do something stupid again- something which would harm you. Dammit, Annabeth, I'm trying to be responsible here!' Percy sighed, exasperatedly. 'I know I may have failed, but for once I was trying to think of you and Leo and not just do something half-brained that would cost you all!'
Annabeth gulped- a part of her wanted to apologize for screaming, she could see the conflict in Percy's opal eyes. He looked torn with the idea of putting her in danger in order to rescue Jason, but she couldn't stop. She needed to yell some more. How could she forgive him if she couldn't forgive herself?
'We walked through Tartarus, Percy,' she said, her voice calmer now- her breathing less erratic. 'We could've done this!'
'That's it right there!' the dark-haired demigod groaned. 'I don't want there to be another Tartarus- I don't want us to go through that again- call me selfish but I can't lose you Annabeth, not after everything we went through just to find each other.'
The silence crushed her from all sides and she felt the fight dissipate in an instant. All of a sudden she wanted to be back home, nibbling on ambrosia and healing in the sick bay, surrounded by friends and people she considered family. She was sick of this. She wanted out.
'He trusted you, Percy,' she whispered, watching his face fall. 'He trusted us. He expected us to find him and we failed.'
She turned on her heel and stormed out of the deteriorating alcove, swiping hastily at the tears that trickled down her face. Behind her, the others began to regroup and she heard Katara's voice boss them around. Judging by the screams and thrashing sounds that emanated from the room, the waterbender must have started healing Zuko and resetting his broken bones. At least he'd tried to do something, although he hadn't really been intent on saving Jason- rather he'd been hell bent on taking his sister down.
Annabeth shuddered. This world was harsher than she'd expected. That young boy was training a small kid to take down his own father? And his sister was hunting him down? And that small blind girl was a master of her element and was preparing for war? And Sokka? They actually let Sokka out onto the battlefield? She had to admit though- the water tribesman was far more adept with a weapon than she'd expected. He'd kept up with the Kyoshi warrior and her vigorous fan-blade moves, and had shielded them all from most of that giant man's attacks.
But none of that mattered did it? They'd lost Jason. He was… evil now.
She felt chills run down her spine as she recollected the damage he'd done. She remembered Zuko thudding to the ground with a sickening crunch and then all hell had broken loose. Lightening had arched viciously across the room and illuminated the smoky alcove in an eerie white glow. That was all she'd seen before the energy shocked the ichor out of her veins- just a bright, white glare.
She shook her head miserably. Why was she acting like this? One failure didn't fizzle her out. She was the daughter of Athena, brainchild of Zeus! Some crazy fire bender princess wasn't going to beat her down.
But… but why did she feel like she'd lost everything?
She had no right shouting at Percy, she knew that much. Maybe she'd find him later and apologize. Right now all she wanted to do was to crawl into a small hole in the ground and stay there. Jason was being controlled. The very thought sent shivers crawling down her spine. She didn't know how, but he wasn't thinking on his own. The psycho-bitch had screwed him up!
She gritted her teeth almost painfully and fought a wave of nausea. What if they couldn't save him? Was it too late? Were they too late? Was he now fully out of their reach?
Oh gods, Piper, Annabeth blanched with realization. How in Olympus were they going to tell her?
Were they ever going to see her again?
The bile in her throat rose higher with each passing thought. They'd failed so miserably- just thinking about it made her want to jump into the hole they've dug and cover herself up with dirt. She knew she couldn't embark on a crazy journey by herself to save Jason, though. No matter what she said to Percy, there were steps to be taken, plans to be made. One does not simply save a prisoner of the Fire Nation by oneself. She was angry but she wasn't stupid. She just needed Percy to realize that they couldn't stick around with these benders any longer. They were what was holding them back. She knew Percy meant what he'd said- he really did not want to lose her to some half-brained plan of his. But she also knew he felt obliged to help the Avatar. She didn't want to leave the poor boy to his own devices either, but Jason's life was at stake and she didn't want to pick priorities. If they left the temple, they'd only have one place to go.
To Azula. To Jason.
'You left this,' a voice said lowly, accompanied by a slight shuffle and the plop of a body falling into a sitting position beside her.
Sokka handed something over to her and it glinted dully in the morning light.
'My dagger,' she said quietly, picking the trusty weapon by the hilt and dropping it into her lap.
The skinny warrior shrugged in silence and slumped carelessly, burying his hands in his hair, effectively undoing his precarious wolf-tail knot. Annabeth let the pregnant silence grow, weighing upon them like an anchor. She could feel Sokka itching to bring up the fight he'd undeniably been witness to, but he held his breath. After a few tense heartbeats, he shifted uneasily and turned to face her.
'So that's Jason,' he said, as a means of opening conversation.
Annabeth chuckled darkly.
'I'll take that as a yes.'
The blond merely tilted her head in reply.
'We got banged up pretty good,' the tribesman continued. 'No surprise there though, we never make it out unscathed.'
The silence clearly made the boy antsy.
'Toph's holding up the temple for now- but we'll have to move out soon, it's barely holding up. Also there's the fact that Azula actually found us. If it weren't for Waterboy she'd never have left us alive.'
Annabeth raised a brow, questioning.
'Sea Prunes,' Sokka explained dismissively. 'He did something with this wave of water, where he blocked the demigod-sparky-guy's attacks by absorbing the energy and then used the same water to smash the airship… it was brilliant. The whole ship near exploded cause of the electricity in the water and Azula went down and your friend followed. He flew- that was pretty neat. Anyways, I wonder how you missed it… ah you and Suki must've been knocked out pretty good. Anyway, Katara doesn't think Azula will be able to make it all the way back up in a day so that leaves us some time to pack and go- I hope that's alright.'
Annabeth shrugged, inwardly impressed with her boyfriend's quick tact. 'How's Zuko?' she asked, attempting to make small talk for the sake of the boy next to her.
'He'll be fine,' Sokka replied, slightly startled at her responsiveness. 'He's got Katara. She's getting better at healing now.'
'That's good.'
Sokka nodded slightly and ruffled his hair a bit more. She watched his spindly fingers thread through his dark hair and wondered if he was ever going to get his actual thoughts into the open. The tan of his skin glowed in the premature sunlight and he looked like a bronze statue- reminding her of Rome and its abundance of the latter. She felt her stomach twist uncomfortably. If he wasn't going to speak in the next five minutes she was leaving.
'About this demigod friend of yours,' he mumbled after a beat or two, still winding the tips of his fingers through the dark mop of hair upon his head.
Finally.
'We'll get him back,' he continued, pausing to flick his cerulean eyes up to meet hers.
She jumped back, startled. That was not what she had expected- not at all. He seemed to realize that.
'Well now, you didn't think we'd just give up did you? He chuckled warily, gauging her reaction. 'We're Team Avatar.'
'And how is that an assurance, exactly?' she asked, not unkindly.
Sokka glanced back down at his seal skin boots. 'Listen, I'm not the inspirational speech kinda guy- I mean I give those speeches, a lot of the time, but no one ever listens. I'm just trying to say that things take time, and it's okay to let it all play out.'
Annabeth refrained from snorting derisively. 'Words of wisdom, Boomerang. But Jason is in mortal danger- he doesn't have time!'
'Did you think he was the only one?' Sokka piped up with a bemused expression splattered across his brown features.
Annabeth scowled.
Sokka chuckled again and cracked a small smile.
'Prince Fireworks back there hunted Aang for two years and chased us halfway across the world for a little less- things weren't always this peachy.'
He watched as her face contorted in disbelief.
'Took him forever to realize where his loyalties lay... and until he made his decision we were running for our lives. He was the one who employed Sparky Sparky Boom Man!'
'The assassin we just killed?!'
'Yeah,' Sokka sighed dreamily, as if reminiscing good times.
'This is messed up,' the blond gasped in defeat. She was never going to understand this world.
'I guess so,' Sokka admitted. 'But what I was trying to say was… things take time. This is probably not the best thing to say to make you feel better, but if we're ever going to help your friend, we'll need to have a solid plan and that takes time. We can't rush into the fire nation and demand him back- you're the wise one, you tell me how that will go down.'
'We'll all be barbeque,' Annabeth agreed sullenly.
Sokka laughed uproariously and slapped his knee. 'Barb-ee-que!' he guffawed. 'What is that?'
Annabeth just shook her head in misery. 'So now we're waiting? For what?'
Sokka wiped a tear from his eye. 'We'll relocate. Heal. Find more about what's happened to your friend and see if we can formulate a strategy for rescue. And then we'll need an attack and escape plan. You know- the works! This will take extreme precision- Azula isn't friendly when it comes to this kind of thing. Never take toys from the mentally unstable, I suppose.'
Annabeth flinched at his harsh analogy but agreed nonetheless. 'You're good at this, you know,' she admitted.
Sokka's eyes widened perceptibly and his jaw swung open wide. 'You- you mean that? I mean, yeah of course. This is my thing… I'm the great, noble planner and strategist extraordinaire.'
'Oh so humble too, I see,' the demigod noted, stifling a smile. She wasn't comfortable yet; oh not by a long shot. Smiling would be left for when Jason was safe and sound.
Sokka seemed to sense her sudden turn of thoughts and jumped to his feet, stretching out an arm to help her up.
'C'mon, blondie. Let's get your mind off things,' he offered genially.
'What if I don't want to be distracted,' she replied carefully, with a growing feeling that Percy may have put the tribesman up to this.
'Think of it as coming to terms with failure and preparing to try again,' Sokka instructed sagely, wrapping his fingers tightly around her forearm before hauling the demigod to her feet.
'And what are we doing exactly, sensei?'
'I dunno. Percy said we could pick berries- ouch!' he rubbed the sore spot on his forearm where the demigod's fist had collided with, interrupting his speech.
Annabeth punched him again. 'I'm not picking berries- how mundane! If you can't get your act together and take things seriously for a change, I'm leaving.'
Sokka panicked for a moment and then seemed to acknowledge her anger. 'Fine, leave. It's probably best if you do. Sea Prunes is helping McShizzle-man cleanup, and Katara still has to heal him- but I guess you'll be going without him. You'll be fine, really.'
'I will be!'
'Say hi to Azula for me. And you've got to tell me how it goes when you take down a horde of kimodo rhinos with that needle of yours.'
'It's a dagger,' the blond seethed.
'Whoop-dee-doo.'
'Look who's talking- boomerang,' Annabeth snorted, fingers inching towards the hilt of her weapon.
From the way Sokka's stance had widened and his eyes had lit up crazily, she could tell something was about to happen.
'You forget about space sword,' the tribesman grinned, drawing the obsidian blade out of its scabbard that hung low around his waist.
The deep black metal rippled in the daylight and reminded Annabeth of Nico's sword. The Stygian iron had dark powers and although she highly doubted Sokka's weapon had the ability to suck her very soul, she still felt a wave of apprehension rush through her mind. Always wary… always thinking.
She wielded her dagger effortlessly, bringing it into an offensive position with moves so practiced, she almost flowed. She watched Sokka step back involuntarily, adjusting his sword almost imperceptibly to balance out her stance. That's right, keep him on the defense. She could feel her blood pounding- in a good way. Her mind raced with possible attacks, counter-attacks and defensive maneuvers. This was a game of chess. Every move counted. She let Sokka go first.
He slashed while moving forward, obviously intent on disarming her, and his style was so unlike anything she'd encountered before- that for a moment- he very nearly succeeded. She ducked way at the last second and brought her dagger up to deflect the meteorite blade. The metals clashed noisily and she felt her muscles jar from the impact. Sokka whirled away and attacked again. She watched him advance; bearing down on her violently, feet too far apart and arms unbalanced. Her eyes darted as she found minute flaws in his practiced movements and wasted no time in pointing them out. She darted forward and met him head on, effectively startling him. She used the advantage to cuff him around the backs of his knees, causing him to fumble and with one swift stroke she disarmed the space sword. The weapon sailed through the air and clattered on the ground. She half expected it to shatter. She turned to face Sokka, ready to voice her concerns over the wellbeing of his sword when she caught the movement just outside her line of vision.
The tribesman was a blur of brown and blue as he swung at her- wielding a… a club?
'Sokka!' she protested, parrying hastily in order to redirect the bludger from her face. 'What the hell?'
'A warrior never goes without a fallback,' he grunted in reply, twisting away from her attack and swinging the whalebone club once more. 'Ever.'
Annabeth refrained from crying out as the melee weapon barely missed her ear. Instead, she ground her teeth and slashed with her dagger in an attempt to put some distance between herself and the water tribesman. Sweat dripped down her neck and into her collar, carrying ash and blood as it went. Her wounds and muscles ached. She flexed her arms and made to strike lightning fast, twirling akin to a ballerina before dealing damage upon Sokka's club. He caught the attack in the nick of time, deflecting it with the back of the bone weapon. For something pulled out of a dead creature it sure was sturdy. He grimaced as he fought back, blow for blow. He danced while she twirled, dashing forward only to step back. She parried, he advanced. His club moved slower than her nimble dagger. She poked in between his defenses, when his arms were raised to strike or when he was charging at her recklessly. He maintained a steady rhythm however, attacking methodically and not in tandem to her. While she darted and ducked, worming her way around on the balls of her feet, he swayed back and forth, steadily, pounding and beating in a manner that was easy to notice but difficult to escape. She could dance all she wanted, but the club was always raining down upon her.
The unlikely pair, garbed in juxtaposing clothes, representing polar cultures and characteristics, fought in equal disagreement. She fought as would befit a soldier on a battlefield, nestled among ranks of her kind, defending each other while attacking as one. She could old her own but she functioned at her prime in a team, ducking and weaving and attacking and defending in synchronization to another. Sokka fought as a warrior would in the midst of a war, struggling alone. He was one to be found tackling a number of enemies at once, steadily making his way through hostile territory with nothing but a sword nicked off another or some equally pathetic backup weapon he'd brought along. Somehow, his desperate, personal quality reminded her of Percy.
They were similar in their intents and participated in the exact same activity, yet they accomplished what they wanted oh so differently. Both panted hard, never pausing to catch their breath; driven by the clashing and clanging sound of bronze kissing meteorite.
It took longer than Annabeth cared to admit, for her to disarm the warrior once more. She'd been forced into the defense as Sokka rained down blows over her head with his bone club, the weapon barely missing her face, when she realized she was getting nowhere with her dagger. Sure it was a trusty weapon but it had never seen an opponent such as this, especially one wielding such a strange weapon. She decided she needed to step up her game. Sokka wasn't the only one who was flexible- she didn't rely on her dagger alone.
She waited until he rose to attack again and then made her move. Tossing her blade out to her right, she ducked under his attack and kicked Sokka's feet out from beneath him. He looked as if he'd just seen a gorgon as his body succumbed to gravity, but after a second of flailing stupidly, he managed to find balance and was standing again. The moment he straightened however, he realized his opponent was too close for his weapon to be effective. She spun around, elbowing him viciously in the chest, forcing the boy warrior a good few feet backwards. She hesitated, gave him time to catch his breath, and then whirled upon him again. Sokka seemed to understand. He slid his club back over his shoulders and squared himself, ready to catch whatever punch she threw.
She didn't throw any.
She hit the ground just before him and slid through his ridiculously wide stance, tugging on his feet as she went.
'Quit doing that,' Sokka managed to cry, before he fell face first into the stone floor.
'Then why don't you actually stand for a change?' Annabeth panted, watching as he struggled back to his feet.
'I was standing!' he retorted, wiping the blood from his nose.
She raised a brow carefully and slid into a solid stance, not too low, just firm enough to keep her balance from any onslaught he could bring. He seemed to understand her indication. He charged.
She watched as he made the same mistakes; feet taking too large steps, easily thrown off. His arms were not ready for an emergency of any sort. She wondered how he fared in battle.
Sokka drew back an arm, ready to punch her off her feet. She sank a little lower, throwing off his aim, and when his fist sailed past her shoulder, she caught it. She threw her weight forward while forcing Sokka into her, and one delicious moment later he was sprawled on the ground behind her, having been flipped over her shoulder and released in the air.
He looked as if he had tons to say but just couldn't form any words.
'Alright?' she asked, a tinge of concern bubbling through her I-don't-care-about-anyone-now walls. Damn. She couldn't stay hard-hearted even if her life depended on it.
Sokka nodded dazedly and twisted into a sitting position. 'I flew,' he said after a little pause.
Annabeth fought the urge to laugh at his expense and instead, cracked a smile. 'You did,' she agreed solemnly.
'H- how? I weigh thrice as much as you!' the boy pointed out, picking himself up and dusting his clothes off.
Annabeth shrugged demurely. 'It's all about balance- where yours is and where your opponent's is.'
'You sound like Aang when he doesn't want to give away a new trick of his,' Sokka pouted, fixing his wolf-tail knot at the back of his head.
The demigod laughed quietly. 'I suppose I do. But that's what martial arts is about. I mean, people think it's about fighting and kicking ass, right? It's not!'
She began to pace slightly, and Sokka stood back to give her room to rant. He could tell when one was coming along. A rant was no stranger to Sokka what with Katara being his sibling. Oh how she prepared him for the real world.
'I guess it is, to a certain extent,' Annabeth continued, oblivious to Sokka's musings. 'But there's so much more! It's an art form, like expression through music or paint. It's using your body to understand and adapt to what's around you. Every move is calculated and precise, one false step and your balance is off, making you vulnerable. How can that make this a mindless fighting routine? It is way more than that. I mean, think about it. Knowing about balance allowed me to see where you lacked in it. Your stance was too wide most of the time, no offense, and you cared little for being grounded. That's what a good warrior wants- to be grounded. That way your attacks will be more precise and your defense will be stronger- you get me?'
She didn't wait for an answer. 'There's more to fighting than just running around with a stick, wailing at the top of your lungs and whacking everyone you see!' Sokka grimaced at that. 'There's an art to war- it's a game of chess. It's all about strategy and planning and careful moves. It's about holding your fort while taking down another's. It's… it's about using your head! That's the problem here!'
Sokka frowned. He wasn't sure if he knew what she was talking about.
'He never uses his head! It's always rushing blindly into things, with the son of Poseidon. There's no planning for him, no sir. It's a wonder he's even alive! I mean, yeah using water to channel electricity is clever, but what if it backfired? What if he electrocuted himself?! Did he even think about that? No!'
'Weren't you the one who wanted to save Jason without a solid plan?' Sokka pointed out quietly, still standing off to a side.
Annabeth paused mid-rant. 'I… I guess so. I just- oh, Sokka! I don't know. I just,' she tugged at the ends of her hair in despair. 'I just want everyone to be alright. I just want to go home.'
She crumbled to her knees and let a few tears escape her eyes. She wished Percy was here with her. She wished she'd never yelled at him. Aargh she rarely did stupid things but when she did, they were monumental. She bit back a strangled sob.
Sokka sank to his haunches and placed an arm around her shoulders. 'We'll save him, you know that, right?'
She didn't like his optimism, but she nodded anyway.
'Atta girl,' Sokka proclaimed, swatting her upside the head and ignoring her death glares. 'Now go find Sea Prunes and save Aang from dealing with his sob story. Poor boy's been crying his head off for so long it's like he's pouring out the ocean.'
Annabeth stared back at the boy in disbelief.
'Okaay, maybe he isn't crying. But he's upset!' Sokka defended. 'You were pretty harsh back there.'
'I just don't want to be useless. I feel like we're being useless. Just sitting here and waiting,' she grimaced, glaring at her feet.
'Remember what I said about time?' Sokka reminded, already heading out of the part of the temple they were in. 'And we're not being useless. Preparing for a war is clever, not lazy.'
And with that, he disappeared into one of the temple's many corridors. There was no doubt he'd get lost and they'd all have to send a search party after him. Such was the genius of Sokka of the Southern Water tribe. Annabeth shook her head at his random words of advice. The boy was more intuitive than she'd expected. Straightening, she brushed her tears away and started off in search of Aang and Percy. She had a lot of apologizing to do.
She found the two of them in a small hideout; Aang seated on his haunches, stroking a strange beard ensemble he'd clearly glued to his face. He was facing Percy who was lying on his back, stroking Momo who was curled, fast asleep on his broad chest. The Avatar seemed to be conducting a special form of therapy. He instructed Percy to scream into Momo's fur. She hurried over to them, asking if she could join too. Aang looked startled, but Percy just shot her a wide grin and patted the ground beside him, handing a disgruntled lemur over for her to hold. The glint in his eyes told her she didn't need to say anything, and so she didn't- but later, in the night, she'd bombard him with her apology. And he'd better accept it.
Leo watched the water girl run her hands over the fire prince and winced when she pulled them sharply away. The blue water that encased the pale firebender rose at her command and she directed it into a vase beside her.
'More,' she snapped tiredly, and Leo moved away to fill yet another vase of water for her to use.
They'd been working over Zuko for over an hour and a half non-stop, and the boy still hadn't moved. His body had calmed down after Katara had reset his broken bones and was probably doing some healing on its own. Leo wasn't a whiz at herbology or whatever healers studied, but he knew a recovering body from a dead one. Even though Zuko was as white as death itself, his chest still rose periodically as he inhaled, shallow, raspy breaths. Leo winced as he tugged a vase of water back for the bender to use.
The liquid rose from the pot and slid around her fingertips, moving as she commanded. The water sank down to kiss Zuko's feverish skin and began to glow- and heal. Leo restrained from yawning.
He felt dreadful. It had taken a while for him to put out the fires in the temple on his own. He wished Zuko was awake to help him. He'd always thought he wasn't too bad of a pyrokinetic himself, back at home, but upon seeing the extent of the exile prince's abilities he realized he needed way more practice. He could barely summon jets of fire without the utmost concentration and even then he couldn't keep it under his command if he panicked or got excited. He had decided to ask Zuko for help, as he put out the small fires with squinted eyes and bated breath. Maybe the bender would relent after continuous nagging and teach him a few tricks. Forget tricks- he actually needed basic training. Too bad he was the only fire wielding demigod back at camp or he'd have already honed some sort of skill.
He swallowed back his excitement as he remembered Aang and their impending war. Zuko didn't have time to bring him up from scratch. He was too busy with the Avatar.
He sighed heavily. Wasn't that always the case? No one had time for him. His chest began to ache and he quickly shook himself out of his depressing stupor.
Busying himself with the vase of water beside him, he refused to give into his own emotions. Annabeth was already unraveling and even though Percy never showed it- it was clear he was worried too. They had each other to think about and he couldn't put his own emotional luggage out on top of all that. He watched Katara bend the healing water through Zuko's body and focused on the movement of the glowing liquid. It was calming. The steady flow maintained by practiced hands nearly lulled him to sleep and he would have fallen into a slumber if not for her incessant voice.
'Water,' she grumbled, removing the used liquid from Zuko's body and gesturing for more.
Leo pushed the filled vase towards her and glanced back at the prince's battered form.
The skin around his chest had been blackened and ugly when they'd first stripped him down. Katara had done it all on her own, as she refused Aang to bother himself with the fire bender and Toph had been issued the responsibility of ensuring the temple didn't cave down on them. After ensuring that Suki was healing properly, Sokka had gone off in search of Annabeth and Percy had attempted to put out the fires. Of course good guy Leo had forced him to go patch things up with his girlfriend and had wrangled that responsibility from him. He hadn't realized how tough controlling fire was at that time.
Zuko was blue and black in several places and his chest still looked tender and red. The fried skin had been cleaned away earlier in the hour, but a frightening scar remained in the middle of his chest. The wound tore through his pale skin in different angles, much resembling a star and stood in contrast to his white skin. It was red and angry and purple and Katara had done her best to get rid of it, but it hadn't budged.
'I can only heal the living,' she'd said in defeat earlier on. 'What's dead stays dead.'
She sounded like she had had experience in that matter and Leo didn't feel up to opening that wound any them soon so he remained silent. He tried to distract himself by thinking of Jason. He felt nausea take over him in that moment and fought against the urge to retch violently.
Something was wrong with his friend; that was for sure. He would never have hurt them unless that woman had somehow found a way to convince him to. Was she magical? Leo was out of his depth here. Or was he? Back home nothing was normal anyway. This place was just a tad bid weirder. Maybe Zuko could shed some light on his sister's abilities. He crossed his fingers and hoped the firebender would awaken soon.
Zuko stirred well into the afternoon and when he finally managed to get his eyes open, Katara refused to let anyone speak to him lest he waste his energy and die- or some ridiculous thing like that. She forced him to rest, (for Aang's sake, she said when he refused to oblige) and ushered everyone away to begin loading Appa with their belongings. Even Suki was up and about- fully recovered from her close call with Jason's lightning. Apparently they were to fly the creature away from the area in search of a better hideout. Annabeth and Percy seemed to have agreed to this. Leo wasn't worried whether they could strike up a deal with these people. Even though Katara might put up a fight, Sokka, Toph and Aang wouldn't leave them out to dry. Zuko might even help them, since it was his sister who had captured Jason- his people who have done this to the demigod. He wondered how Zuko dealt with the guilt. Probably how Leo himself did. By ignoring it, and trying to redeem himself.
At least Leo had his humor to fall back on when times got tough; he doubted Zuko was one for a good joke.
In fact, all the ex-prince did was sulk around when he wasn't training and teaching Aang, and grumble to himself about the predicament he'd knowingly walked into. Leo shook his head and trudged over to where Zuko lay, arms crossed and with a thunderous look gracing his sharp pale features.
'What?' the firebender snapped, glancing his way.
'You alright there, Fireworks?' Leo asked in concern, watching the way the scarring wound rippled with each breath the bender took.
Zuko sure was something to look at, even with his horrendous scars. Leo wondered how someone with half a mangled face and a dozen other scars beside, and a head of ugly black hair managed to look appealing. Nonetheless, if Nico were currently available Leo supposed he'd have a new ship to sail.
Zuko ignored him and turned away, crossing his arms carefully over his new wound.
'I'm not here to chat,' the demigod explained, crossing his feet and sitting beside the bender on the floor.
'That's great,' Zuko deadpanned. 'Can you leave then?'
He could be a real git sometimes. Leo wondered how Clarisse would take him on. Ugh, he needed to stay focused.
'I just wanted to ask,' he began, carefully. 'About Azula…'
Zuko tensed and looked back at the demigod, gold eyes blazing with some unnamed emotion. Leo shuffled backwards involuntarily. He hoped his hair didn't catch on fire with the intensity of the bender's glare. He was rather attached to his hair.
'What about her?' Zuko asked; his voice raspier than before.
'Everything. Tell me everything…what has Jason gotten into?'
Zuko glowered at him for a few beats more and then huffed in resignation. 'She's my little sister,' he said coldly. 'She's my father's daughter right down to the merciless killing streak. A real chip off the old block. He always loved her.'
He paused then, as if realizing he wasn't supposed to reveal his feelings about her. He frowned at himself and continued, except this time he only described her as she was and refrained from adding any personal comment. He was so disconnected from the whole thing that Leo forgot the two were even related.
'She's the princess of the Fire Nation and possible heir to the throne. She was master of her abilities at a young age and even harnessed control over electricity as a little girl. She is a ruthless fighter and is far more agile and nimble than she lets on. She thrives in battle and rarely ever loses- if you've won its only because she let you. She fights with blue fire- it burns far more than any other fire and is difficult to deflect. She prefers lightening though; she draws upon it so easily.
' About your friend, I think she may have been interested in his abilities. You say he is the son of an air god and has control over lightening. This is perfect. She must think he is an air nomad- some special gift from the Spirits since they're all dead.' Zuko scoffed in distaste.
'And what's wrong with him?' Leo asked; a chill running down his spine.
The fire bender tilted his head to a side and traced the edges of his wound as he mused. 'I can't tell for sure, but I do know Azula still has full access to the Dai Li.'
'The Dai Li?' Leo said, questioningly.
'Father has her in charge of the armies. The Dai Li are a secret, elite police force under Azula's command. They capture, interrogate and imprison whomever she pleases, using special methods of persuasion.'
'Persuasion?'
'Yeah. They have… interesting… methods of hypnosis to say the least.'
'Hypnosis?!' Leo exclaimed, releasing a nervous breath.
Zuko grunted as he attempted to sit up. 'Are you going to repeat everything I say?'
'Sorry.'
'Ugh. Anyway. I can't tell if its hypnosis, but if it isn't it can only be some sort of brainwash.'
'And can we… you know- reverse it?'
'Do I look like a hypnotist to you?' Zuko glared. 'I don't know these things!'
Leo watched as the bender paused to reflect on something that had seemingly just occurred to him.. 'But you know someone who might?' he prompted, hopefully.
Zuko's glare melted into a look of longing and he turned away to glance out one of the gaping holes the assassin had punched through the temple walls. 'Yeah,' he murmured. 'Yeah I might.'
The gang was huddled around Appa, checking items off lists Katara had supplied them with.
'Please tell me someone packed food for the journey,' Sokka was calling, marching around with a half broken nose.
'Can we focus? Did everyone take their weapons?' Katara demanded, hands on her hips.
'I packed the bedrolls,' Percy exclaimed proudly.
'Has anyone seen my glider?' Aang piped up.
'I don't have any weapons, Sugar Queen,' Toph replied, picking her toenails.
'Please tell me someone got the food!'
'Never mind! I found it. Momo, give that back!'
'We might want to leave sometime soon,' Annabeth pointed out glumly. 'Oh Leo, hey.'
The demigod nodded in greeting as he wandered into the clearing.
'McShizzle-man!' Aang called. 'Want to try out my glider- oh sifu Zuko.'
'ZUKO?' Katara groaned. 'What is he doing up?'
'I'm fine now,' the firebender growled, not unkindly. 'Thanks.'
The waterbender blinked a few times and quietly accepted his gratitude.
'Listen up, Fireworks thinks he knows how to save Jason!' Leo exclaimed, calling for attention.
The temple fell silent, save for the calling of the birds in the forest outside. The sun dipped lower in the sky, seemingly slower what with the silence.
'I did not say that explicitly,' Zuko hissed, clutching his chest with the effort.
'Yeah well, he does know that Jason is hypnotized.'
Annabeth gasped.
'Oh for La's sake,' Zuko swore, running a weary hand through his shaggy raven locks. 'I have reason to suspect your friend is hypnotized or at least brainwashed. Azula has control of the Dai Li and they are adept at this sort of persuasion. It is not uncommon.'
'He also knows someone who can help us!'
Zuko groaned. 'I may have a contact who might have knowledge on such things.'
'You may?' Annabeth asked, suspiciously. 'Either you do or you don't, Zuko.'
'Fine I do!' the prince snapped back, only to look morose once more. 'But I don't know where to find him or if he will even want to see me anymore.'
Katara looked unsettled by Zuko's sudden mood change and it made Leo wonder who it was that had the firebender so upset.
Toph, who'd been silent throughout the exchange, looked up sharply and the demigod knew she had the answer.
'General Iroh!'she exclaimed, just as Zuko whispered; 'Uncle.'
a/n: eh... i'm back? :3
sorry for the long wait, i hope this chapter made u for it. leave your blessed reviews for me to love. criticism accepted as ALWAYS.
note: for the purpose of this fic, Zuko did in fact betray Iroh and allow him to be imprisoned. it followed canon up until Iroh breaks himself out. Zuko was noted that Iroh had escaped but Jun failed to track the General down. They suspect he had help in disappearing. In hopes of restoring his peace with his uncle, Zuko sought out the Gaang and joined them, and it goes back to canon after that. sort of. meh.
hang on for the next chapter where we hunt down the Dragon of the West and team up with an unsuspecting character that could potentially be the key to saving Jason.
whoo!
