Elements of War
Chapter 07
No Surrender
Azula fingered the dagger she had removed from Zuko's ratty robes. She unsheathed it and read the inscription: Never Give Up Without A Fight.
Her hands relaxed on the blade. Why couldn't she do it? She willed her hands to press forward. To slip the metal into her jugular. But it wouldn't go. Why? She tossed the damnable blade aside. "No!" she screamed as she felt the pain in her chest, so much greater than that external pain, clamp down and drag her into the abyss. She screamed again, like a wounded animal waiting to die.
Azula covered her mouth, willing herself not to make a sound. Her forehead was glistening with sweat from the brief flashback. They were getting worse. They were starting to affect her performance. But she shook it off and did her best to remain focused. She knew that Zuko would never be without this dagger. He loved it. So this was proof that this was indeed the real Zuko. She had been a bit suspicious at first. After all, he had been fighting on the side of shinobi, and she knew first hand how strong their illusions were. In fact, she still had some suspicions. "I always did like this knife, Zuzu," she said.
"Yeah..." Zuko replied from his prone position. He was tied to the back of an ostrich-horse, and looked quite uncomfortable.
"Do you remember when you got it?" she asked. "That was an interesting day, wasn't it?"
"Yeah... Uncle gave it to me," Zuko replied.
Mai piped in. "I doubt Zuko would forget anything about that day. After all his grandfather died and his mother disappeared that night." Then she looked up at Zuko and winked. "Oh, yeah, and you tackled me into the water fountain." She looked up and winked at him. "At least you made up for it by taking me on a date."
Zuko blushed. Mai grinned slyly. Azula rolled eyes. "If Mr. Sasuke pushed me into a fountain, I'd just kick his ass," Karin retorted, blushing.
"So, where is 'Mr. Sasuke?" Zuko asked, suddenly seeming more focused.
"Feh," Karin scoffed. "You must think I'm stupid. I'm not giving that kind of information to the enemy."
"He's hardly the enemy," Mai retorted. "Just because his uncle and he fought Admiral Zhao at the North Pole doesn't make Zuko a traitor. First off, I'd just like to note that Zhao was a real jerk. He said some very unflattering things to me while I was visiting Zuko in the hospital after... the incident." She ruffled Zuko's buzz cut. "You were just making him pay for being an ass-monkey, weren't you?"
Azula remembered her first time trying to ride an ass-monkey. Useful for riding through treetops in heavily forested regions, they were nonetheless very temperamental and had a tendency for making rude gestures, not to mention tossing feces about in a festive manner. A very apt comparison to the late admiral, she decided.
The trio and their prisoner made their way into an Earth Kingdom village. Azula and her partners had opted to dress in Earth Kingdom colors so as not to impede their progress, so they would not have any problems with the villagers. They had been fortunate enough to run into an envoy with three women in their sizes, and had borrowed their wardrobe accordingly. As they walked through the village, they saw several swaggering Earth Kingdom soldiers. A ragged bunch of dregs by Azula's reckoning. She stopped briefly at a food stand. She was getting a bit hungry and their food stores were running low. Thankfully, she had plenty of money. Azula tossed a pouch of gold on the counter and said, "I need a bag of feed, some bread, cheese, jam, and some water."
"Of course, ma'am," the vendor said, excited at the sight of so much currency. He turned to gather the supplies from his storeroom. Out of the corner of her eye, Azula noted a group of children, one with eggs in his hands. He handed one of his eggs to a friend, who tossed it at a group of gambling soldiers. It hit and the children ran off before the soldier could turn to catch them.
Gow, the leader of the group of soldiers, turned to see who would dare to hit him with an egg. He saw no one on the street except a group of three girls and a man tied to an ostrich horse. His brow furrowed and he shouted at the girls. "Hey! You little girls throwing eggs at us?"
Azula turned and smirked. "Who, us? Now why would we want to do something like that to big, strong men like yourselves?"
Gow was slightly befuddled. "Err... well, did you see who threw it?"
"It was my ostrich horse," the fire princess responded. "You see, sometimes it gets a little blockage and then the pressure just builds up until... well, let's just say it's broken quite a few records for distance laying."
"Do you think we're stupid, lady?" one of the soldiers responded angrily. Gow raised a hand to stop him from acting.
"So, you're gonna try to play us for fools, huh girl?" he eyed the jars of preserves the merchant was laying on the table. He reached for one. "Well, thanks for the donation, anyway. The army thanks y—" Gow gasped as Karin grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind him, landing him forcefully on the ground. The other soldiers advanced, but a few well thrown daggers from Mai nicking the left cheek of each soldier stopped them in their tracks.
"I'm afraid this is for my own task force. Foot soldiers like you would be better off scavenging for food like the beasts you are," Azula suggested.
The soldiers backed off, and Karin released Gow, who joined his men. "You'd better leave town, strangers," he growled as he retreated. "Penalty for staying is much steeper than you can afford. Trust me!"
And with that they were gone. Azula turned back to the merchant. She took a water skin and gulped some of the cool liquid down, and then gestured for her comrades to start packing the supplies on the ostrich-horse. "Those soldiers are supposed to protect us from the Fire Nation, but they're just a bunch of thugs," he explained. "I'm glad that someone was able to put them in their place."
The princess nodded, appreciatively. That was how the Fire Nation worked, she thought. When they finally defeated the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe leaders, they would get rid of these petty local garrisons that did nothing but leeched off the productivity of citizens and insert troops disciplined by a proper Fire Nation military. The citizens would praise them once they realized that the Earth Kingdom propaganda machine was nothing but a veil of smoke over the truth.
"Thanks for not ratting me out," the young boy who had thrown the egg said to Azula. He stared admiringly at her for a moment before she decided to respond.
"No problem, kid. I hate men like that. All talk with nothing to back it up."
The boy grinned broadly. "Uh... my name's Lee, what's yours?"
Azula looked closely at the boy. His eyes seemed glazed over, his grin had spread to idiotic proportions, and his face was quite red. Obviously, he was suffering from some kind of heat stroke. "It's... ah... Bao Lan," she responded, picking a random name from her head as she held out her waterskin to the boy. "Here, you look a bit hot. I don't want to deal with you passing out."
Lee took the flask and stared at it wild-eyed. If she hadn't known there was no way this kid could be a firebender, she would have sworn steam was coming out of his ears. He touched the rim to his lips, his eyes drooping in a dreamy way before he even tasted the water. After finishing, he said, "Hey, who's the guy tied to the ostrich-horse? Is he a criminal?" His eyes shone excitedly.
Azula glanced at Zuko and responded, "Not exactly. He's my brother. Same thing."
Lee grinned. "Hey... um... ya wanna come to my house? You and your friends could crash there for the night. After all, I owe you for getting rid of those guards."
Azula considered. They had been going for awhile without a proper procession of guards. They deserved a rest after finding Zuko, too.
In another part of the province, Aang dodged a large boulder coming right at him. It hadn't been long after Toph had left with Sasuke that she had shown up again, deciding to take the three of them on alone. Sasuke and his three friends stood atop a cliff looking down on her as she relentlessly battered them. She seemed to be a bit more in control than before, content with simply fighting them rather than actually going for the kill. However, she was still quite skilled, and had managed to knock out Sokka with little trouble.
Katara and Aang together fared better, running interference for each other. Aang also attempted to mix his game up by using the occasional waterbending technique. However, Toph was almost precognitive in her defense. Sasuke realized with amusement that this blind girl's other senses actually allowed her to sense attacks even better than Neji Hyuuga's byakugan. Aside from that she had a prodigious knack for finding her opponents' weaknesses and exploiting them. That's why she had decided to trap them in a canyon. She knew that their fighting styles would be less effective in close quarters. She was currently backing them close to a narrower pass.
The two benders saw where they were being led, and knew not to back further down. They were poised to swerve around Toph. However, Toph knew they would be reluctant, and she raised sheets of rocks around the benders to cage them in. The stones she threw prevented Aang from leaping out. They tried to stand their ground, but she continued to push them back until they were trapped.
Katara could not use her water whip any way except from above, making her once unpredictable attack pattern suddenly limited. She was also unable to properly deflect Toph's attacks, forcing her to attempt to stop the blind girl's boulders with straight force versus force. Unfortunately, Katara was ill-matched against Toph in sheer power.
Aang, similarly, could not make use of his speed to dodge Toph's attacks or maneuver around her to opportunistically attack a weakness in her own defense. He was also forced to use the pure force of his wind to attack and defend, which simply required more energy to counter the momentum of a rock.
Toph, however, had an advantage in that the two benders were surrounded on two sides by her element besides standing on it. She was able to bypass their defenses entirely by projecting pillars out of the canyon walls, hitting them both at point blank range. Toph's opponents were now so outmatched she was almost sorry.
Aang struggled to remain in the fight. It was difficult to dodge the pillars coming at him from such close range, but he was halfway managing it. Katara, though, was having more trouble. She was getting hammered. It hurt to see the blood trickling down her chin, but he had to remain cool. He couldn't let his rising anger make him miss his chance. If there was one thing he was learning from fighting Toph, it was that he had to wait patiently for an opportunity to arise before he could make his move.
He saw it. Appa had just come into view, floating a few feet above the ground. He and Appa locked eyes, and both understood. Aang breathed deeply, his lungs filling with air. He expelled it with great force while striking with both open palms, blasting Toph with air. Toph began to raise a stone wall to block the attack, but at the same time, Appa landed with his rear facing the pass and whipped his tail down, creating a gust of air of his own which slammed into Toph before she could respond, and she was blown right into her own wall.
Aang grabbed Katara and leaped up the canyon walls. "Yip, yip, Aang!" he shouted. Appa flew up as well, and intercepted Aang and Katara as he passed over. They then flew away as quickly as they could.
"Well," Toph groaned as she pulled her face off the stone wall. "I guess he would make a good earthbender. 'Make your opponent's strength his weakness.'"
In the air, Katara breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought we weren't going to get out of that." She turned and smiled weakly at the young airbender. "Those were some nice moves back there."
"Thanks," Aang laughed, half crazed from the deadly experience. He laughed for a few more moments before falling silent.
Katara sighed again. Then she turned to Aang once more. "Hey, where's Sokka?"
A moaning sounded from the front of Appa's head. They turned to the source of the noise. "Wha?" they heard. "Where am... augh! Why am I all sticky?!" Sokka came scrambling out of Appa's mouth and onto his head. "Aang! Katara!" he shouted. "We're never going to talk about this, again!"
- - -
"You a... friend of Lee's?" Gansu, Lee's father, asked of Azula in a rather suggestive manner.
Lee ran out of the barn and addressed his father excitedly. "This girl and her friends just stood up to the soldiers! By the end, she had them running away."
Gansu's wife, Sela, clad in a simple green outfit, chimed in, "Does this girl have a name?"
"Ah, it's Bao Lan," she responded.
"Bao Lan, eh? Well, anyone who can hold his own against those bully 'soldiers' is welcome here," Gansu said. "Those men should be ashamed to wear Earth Kingdom uniforms."
"The real soldiers are off fighting the war," Sela said. "Like Lee's big brother Sen Su. Supper's going to be ready soon. Would you like to stay?"
Azula shrugged. "That would be lovely. Thank you."
Later that night, Mai entered the barn where Zuko was tied. He had been given a blanket and a pillow, of course, as the family they were staying with thought it improper to let one of their guests catch cold, even if he was a prisoner. "My shift guarding you is almost done. I thought I'd come see you before Karin takes over." Zuko was still awake, and turned to her. "Have you slept at all since we caught you?" Mai asked.
"No," he admitted. "I can't."
Mai sighed. "I understand." She sat down beside him, a reminiscent look on her face. "I still remember when it happened. It was around three years ago, wasn't it?"
Zuko turned curiously toward the pale, slender visage that seemed to float beside him. "Yeah... I remember three years ago..."
- - -
"My brother has just been challenged to an Agni Kai."
"What?" Mai asked, a horrified expression on her face. "B-b-but... but who would want to challenge Zuko?"
"Zuzu decided to poopoo a plan at the war meeting," Azula explained. "Now the dumb-dumb's gonna pay for it."
"Wh-what? Why would he do that? What was the plan?" Mai exclaimed.
"Who cares?" Azula asked. "Father says Zuzu acted disgracefully. He should be ashamed of himself." She scowled. "Sometimes I can't believe I'm related to that dork."
Mai fell silent. If she didn't know Azula so well, she would be surprised that she was less concerned about her brother than Mai, herself, was. Of course, Azula and Zuko had always had some sibling rivalry, and it had only gotten worse when their mother disappeared and Ozai became Fire Lord. The dark haired girl looked back at Azula, who was applying ludicrous amounts of red paint to her lips. "Why are you putting on all that make up, anyway?" she asked. "You're going to an Agni Kai, not on a date."
"Father says I should look more mature," Azula said. "A little girl won't inspire fear in her troops, but a strong woman can."
- - -
"Azula was pleased when she found out it was Ozai, himself, who was to fight her brother," Mai continued. "Even she couldn't guess that Ozai would actually go as far as he did." The somber girl shook her head. "Even Azula was shaken up seeing that horrible sight. She told us he deserved it, but I could see how troubled she was about it. I... I remember the screams," she said, her eyes tearing up. "I knew... it had to be painful, not just physically, but emotionally."
Zuko looked away uncomfortably. "Y-yeah..."
"But that wasn't anything compared to what happened after..."
- - -
Mai stood beside her mother and father. Zuko walked down the main street of the palace, an escort leading him to his ship in the harbor on the edge of the capital, where his ship, which would be his home from now on, unless he found the Avatar who had been missing for one hundred years. The left side of his face had been bandaged. The hair on that side of his head had been shaved far back as well in order to bandage it. He looked about with his good eye, and his countrymen greeted him with cold eyes. He was branded a disgrace by the Fire Lord, and his opinion was his subjects' opinion. It wasn't fair, Mai felt, her eyes watering.
"Mai," her mother said in a sharp whisper. "We do not weep in public. Especially not for a shameful coward."
Mai's father nodded. "Prince Zuko is no longer a son of the Fire Nation. It is fortunate our Fire Lord is so forgiving that he has been given a chance at redemption. If he finds and captures the Avatar..."
"He's not going to find the Avatar!" Mai cried, audible even to Zuko, who turned, hearing the familiar voice. Mai met his eyes, her tears now streaming freely down her face. "Zuko! I'm not going to let them take you away!" she determined. She broke away from the line of spectators, reaching for her love. She careened into him, clutching him tightly, but the guards tore her from him, holding her inches away from him. "At least take me with you, please!"
Zuko gazed into her desperate eyes, his face pained. But he said nothing. He looked away. "Keep her here," he told the guards. Then he turned his back on her, and walked away.
- - -
"I knew why," Mai said. "It was to protect me." She looked back at Zuko's silent form. "I know a lot of things have changed in the past three years, but one thing has never changed." She leaned over to him, taking Zuko's chin in her hand. She pressed her lips to his, breathing in his musky scent. She released him after a few moments and looked smugly at him. "Consider that a 'thank you,'" she said. "We'll be meeting Sasuke in the Grass Province."
Zuko watched in awe as she rose and left the barn. "Wow... that's some girl." He shook his head. "No time for that! Ugh... I can't stay awake for another minute. I think it's time to disappear." He exhaled and closed his eyes, and his body dissipated in a puff of smoke.
- - -
Naruto woke up with a start. He looked around and saw Jiraiya and Zuko looking at him nearby. It looked like it was morning. "Whoa," he breathed. "What happened?"
"You passed out," Zuko responded.
"Right," Naruto said. "My shadow clone merged with me, and I guess its exhaustion kinda hit me all at once." He looked suddenly at Zuko. "Zuzu?"
"Shut up," he growled.
- - -
"Alright," Toph said. "So they're cleverer than they look. But I would have had them without that bison in the way."
Sasuke nodded. "I wasn't aware that the air bison had that kind of airbending ability."
"Of course," Suigetsu chided. "The airbenders learned how to airbend from the bison. I guess you wouldn't have known that, though, coming from the Fire Nation. Even I wouldn't have known, admittedly, except that the Mizukage once mentioned it in passing. He was quite knowledgeable in ancient lore."
Juugo, who had been silent for most of the conversation, spoke up. "I don't know if you should use the curse mark like that, anymore," he cautioned. "I know firsthand... even though you feel stronger, you lose focus."
"Are you kidding?" Toph asked, incredulous. "I've never felt more perceptive. I can feel things I've never felt before. Not just through earthbending, either, but everything excluding actual sight is better." She harrumphed haughtily. "Besides, I can control myself. The first time was just because I was unprepared. Now I'm in complete control."
"You're right," Sasuke said. "You're much better at it, now." He activated his own cursed seal, and black marks like flames danced across his flesh, eventually enveloping his whole body, turning it a dark gray. He entered the second stage easily, though he withheld his wings. "You may be ready for the next step. This will bring your potential out completely."
"Completely, huh?" Toph pondered. "So I can go even further?"
"Yes," Sasuke said. "But there's a cost. Your body will pay a price every time it enters this state. Your lifespan may even be shortened if this power is abused."
Toph considered this. It was frightening to think that she might die if she pushed her power further. However, she loved this feeling of power. She couldn't get enough of it, and she didn't want to say "no" to even more. Besides, it was her father who wanted to protect her out of fear of her death, robbing her of true life. "I'm game," she said. "What do I have to do?"
Juugo put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Wait, Sasuke. You can't seriously be considering..."
Sasuke glanced at Juugo, his eyes full of determination. "There is an enzyme that will speed the transformation. Come, and I will give it to you."
- - -
"How could you let him escape?" Azula hissed.
"Don't blame me," Karin said. "His presence just... disappeared!"
"Zuko can't just disa—" she paused. "Monkey feathers!" She realized what had happened. Zuko must have hidden, and when she beat Naruto, he hadn't truly gone unconscious. He consciously dispelled all but one clone. They had baited her, and then let her see exactly what she wanted.
"So what are we going to do, now?" Mai asked dispassionately.
Azula sighed. "We'll move on. I have a feeling Zuko won't need to be found at this point. We'll meet up with Sasuke. Hopefully he'll have captured the Avatar, and we can focus on my brother when he comes to us." She led her partners out of the small room, fuming but acceptant of her predicament. It was time that they moved on, and soon they were being seen off by Lee's family.
Lee, himself, seemed forlorn. "Do you really have to go? Can't you stay one more night, Bao Lan?"
Gansu chuckled at his son. "I'm sorry, Miss, but it looks like Lee really likes you."
"Of course," Azula said, not particularly surprised. After all, everyone at the palace really liked her. They had to, of course, because anyone who crossed her would only do so once. "He's a smart kid." She smirked. Actually, the kid reminded her of Zuko when he was that age. She'd have liked it if he had been as agreeable as Lee was, however. "I'm afraid I can't dally, though."
"Can I at least walk you to the city limits?" Lee requested excitedly.
"Well, I don't think you'd be—" Azula started. The child's eyes widened and shimmered, which gave Azula pause. She didn't quite know what he was doing.
"I don't think it would hurt," Mai interjected. "Bao Lan is a bit shy, but I think she would really love to have you along."
"Whatever," Azula responded.
They strolled toward the edge of town, Lee fawning over Azula like a pig-pup. The princess noted the boy's irrational devotion to her, and decided that he might be of some use. "Hey, kid," she said after they had lost sight of the farm. She took out Zuko's dagger. "If you want to be our guide, you should have a means to defend yourself." She handed the knife to Lee, and he snatched it up gleefully.
"Oh, wow! This is awesome," He said. "With this, I'll always remember you!"
"It was my brother's actually," she said. "He always made a big deal about it."
Lee unsheathed the blade. "There's something written on here," he realized.
Azula's face reddened. "Y-yeah... there's no need to..."
"Made in Earth Kingdom," Lee read.
Azula rolled her eyes. "Right..." She sighed and offered "Just remember: if you see one of those soldiers, go for the knees."
Not far away, Naruto surveyed a familiar farm. "That's it," he said. "They were staying at that place."
"We should be able to track them from here," Jiraiya presumed.
Zuko nodded. "And they'll lead us to their meeting spot in the Grass Province."
They began to walk toward the farmhouse. As they approached, they saw a group of Earth Kingdom soldiers approaching from the opposite side of the house. When they got close enough to hear the exchange between the occupants of the house and the soldiers, they knew something rotten was going down.
"You boys here what the Fire Nation did with their last group of Earth Kingdom prisoners?" the man at the head of the group asked one of his comrades.
"Dressed them up in Fire Nation uniforms and put them on the frontline unarmed, way I heard it," the soldier responded, spitting on the ground. "Then they just watched."
"You watch your mouth!" The man of the house growled.
The lead soldier approached, and seemed intent on some kind of retribution. "We can't let these guys bully helpless people!" Naruto protested.
"We can't let ourselves get sidetracked by the troubles of foreign peasants," Zuko replied harshly.
Naruto scowled at Zuko. "I don't think you believe that. After all, you're not much more than a foreign peasant here. You think your problems are so much more important than others'? You need to get over yourself, then."
Zuko looked away, cowed by the blond's reprisal. "Fine, let's do this, then."
Gow struck Gansu, taking him to the ground. "You should watch your mouth! You should be more grateful. If not for us, some Fire Nation scum could just walk onto your farm and start making trouble!"
"Hey, jerk," a voice said from behind Gansu and his wife. Gow looked up to see a blond boy and an old man, as well as that prisoner the little girls had. "Why don't you leave these people alone?"
"What do you think you can do about it, brat?" Gow sneered. "What business is it of yours, anyway?"
"We've made it our business," Zuko replied. "Now get out of here."
"Who do you think you are, telling us what to do?" Gow rumbled.
"It doesn't matter who I am," Zuko stated. "But I know who you are. You're not soldiers, you're bullies!"
Naruto nodded affirmatively. "That's right. You think just 'cause you have a little power, you can use it to do whatever you feel like! That's not what power is for. Real power means protecting those who don't have the ability to protect themselves. It means sacrifice and dedication!"
Gow turned to his men. "Are you going to stand there and let some strangers insult you like this?"
The soldiers responded by advancing on the two young men, spears at the ready.
- - -
Aang and Katara stood upon the surface of a lake facing each other. The young Avatar formed a series of hand seals and his spiritual energy rose, as did a pillar of water. The water began to take on a humanoid shape and then it began to turn opaque and take on flesh, orange and yellow hues. Finally, the humanoid water had taken on the exact coloration of Aang. However...
"Aang... why is your clone all... wavy?" Sokka asked.
The clone indeed looked as if it still had the consistency of water, in spite having realistic texture and coloration. It was rather creepy. "Um... Aang," Katara said. "You need to concentrate a little more. Visualize yourself as vividly as you can and control your energy." Katara demonstrated, going through the seals quickly, causing three perfect clones of her made of water appear in a splash of water. "Like that."
Aang sighed, allowing his malformed clone to melt back into the lake. "This hand seal thing is weird. We've been practicing this technique for days, and I still can't get it."
"You're improving, Aang," Katara said. "You'll have it in no time; you just need to focus is all."
The young airbender nodded. "I guess..."
"Um, hey guys?" Sokka said. "I think we might have a problem..."
Katara looked over to her brother. "What is it, Sok--?" she trailed off as she saw the boy wrapped in chains, surrounded by four familiar and unwelcome faces. "Sasuke!" she gasped. Then she frowned at her brother. "Wait... Sokka, how did you already get captured?"
Sokka shrugged as Ty Lee ran her hand through his hair and cooed at him.
"You were quite impressive, yesterday," Sasuke admitted to the benders. "However, I think it's time to end this game of mongoose-cat and rat-snake." He removed a large barrel covered in seals from his back and set it on the ground. "In this container is the means of your defeat, Avatar."
"I don't think so!" Katara said. She struck at the Uchiha, sending tendrils of water blasting toward the boy. They hit, flinging him back, but his body suddenly erupted into a bloom of liquid. Suddenly one of Katara's clones found itself slashed in two, while a split second later, the second had a blade skewered through its throat. The last clone reacted by performing a ninjutsu that formed the water into four liquid fangs that battered the shinobi. Unfortunately, this Sasuke was also a water clone.
Another Sasuke grasped the Katara clone from below and pulled her under, and then he rose from the lake like an apparition. "Are you ready to surrender?" He was between Aang and Katara, subject to attack from both sides. He would know that they could easily take him down in such a position. Aang watched for any sign of the true Uchiha, for he knew this had to be another clone.
"You should know we would never surrender to you or the Fire Nation," Katara said firmly. "Aang is the world's last hope for peace. I'll never let that hope go."
Sasuke snorted. "Your idealistic talk is nice, but to be honest, I don't care about peace or hope. All I live for is killing that man. That's the only reason I'm continuing on this path. He will come back to you, Avatar. I know it."
"Listen," Aang said. "I don't know what exactly Itachi did to make you hate him so much, but..." Aang shifted his stance, raising his right hand. "You can leave me out of it!" he jammed his palm downward, and the currents beneath the water's surface shifted, and Sasuke suddenly blasted out of the lake. Katara slashed at the water clone in that instant, decapitating it. The real Sasuke landed daintily on the ground.
"Perceptive, Aang," Sasuke said. "This is going to be interesting." He turned to Suigetsu and Ty Lee, saying, "Release her." The two obeyed, ripping the seals from the barrel, allowing it to collapse. Toph emerged, looking as if she had just woken up from a deep sleep. She staggered forward, a dazed look on her face. She stopped and turned her head in the general direction of Aang.
"Hey... Twinkletoes," she breathed. "I'm back. This time we're really gonna let loose."
- - -
"Bye, Bao Lan," Lee said dreamily. "I... I'll never forget you."
"Good," Azula responded. "You shouldn't." After all, her father would soon rule the whole world, with her by his side. Perhaps she would give the boy's family a title when it was all over. Provided they weren't destroyed in the war and remained loyal to her, of course.
Lee launched himself at Azula's torso, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a big squeeze before turning and running back toward home, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. The young princess looked after him as he ran with a surprised look on her face. "That boy..." she started. "He will make a skilled warrior. His attack was swift if lacking power. That comes with age, of course."
Mai stifled a laugh. Karin was in full agreement. For all her shrewdness in battle and genius firebending skills, she had no clue when it came to anything romantic. She shook her head and followed the princess out of town.
As the three girls left town, Naruto and Zuko stood over the beaten soldiers. The ones who were conscious slinked away shamefully. Gow stepped forward, unfazed by the boys' skill. He took out two battle hammers and took an earthbending stance. Zuko drew his broadswords and Naruto took out a kunai. Gow stomped on the ground, causing a rock to jump out of the ground, and he hit it with his hammer. Zuko shattered the stone with his blades, but Gow continued to hammer a barrage of stones at both young men. Zuko managed to slice through most of them, while Naruto dodged around the attacks, making his way toward Gow. Zuko was pummeled by one, however, causing him to collapse to the ground. Naruto made it to the soldier, but he dodged a strike from the shinobi and hit him over the head with his weapon.
Naruto rolled across the ground with the hit and recovered a few feet from Gow. He took a moment to shake off the fog and created two shadow clones. The earthbender was shocked at this development, but he didn't let that stop him. He upped his attacks, launching rocks furiously at both men. Zuko began to take some really hard hits, while Naruto and his clones were able to dodge about more effectively, with the three Narutos watching each others' backs, getting each other out of harm's way as they dodged their own projectiles. However, the soldier evenutally hit Naruto's clones hard, causing them to dissipate after protecting the true shinobi from the strikes. Both of the young men were being driven back by the attacks, but the final blow came when Gow hit both hammers on the ground, sending a shockwave through the earth that upturned the boys.
Gow panted heavily as the dust settled. Both young men were flat on their backs, but they weren't done yet. The blond boy was still stirring, trying to sit up. The scarred one was still, but his muscles were still rigid and ready for action. The man smirked and took a step toward the blond, ready to finish them off. Before he took his second step he heard Gensu's wife shout, and a small voice say "Hey, pig-sloth!" Then a sharp pain in the back of his right knee caused his leg to buckle under him. He looked behind him and saw Lee looking smugly at him, his hands on a dagger that was driven hilt-deep into him.
"You little brat!" Gow snarled, slapping the child away. He reached behind him and pulled the knife out, tossing it aside. Then he limped toward Lee, now intent on revenge for the sneak attack.
Naruto saw Gow approaching Lee. The boy's father tried to intervene, but the farmer was no match for a trained soldier, even a wounded one. "If he's old enough to fight, he's old enough to join the army. He's coming with me!" Gow raised his hammer, ready to knock Lee out with a sharp blow to the head.
Naruto could see that he was too far away to get to Lee, and Zuko was too far away as well. "Sorry, pervy sage," he said as he shifted his stance. "Looks like I'm gonna have to risk it."
"Naruto!" Jiraiya shouted, starting forward. He had stayed out of the fight thus far because he wanted to judge the extent of their skills against an earthbending opponent. However, his student was about to do something tremendously stupid. "Don't!"
The blond shinobi shot his palm out and suddenly a tremendous jet stream slammed into Gow, knocking him aside. Zuko took advantage of the situation and leaped toward the soldier. He swung his blades, flames dancing from them and slammed into Gow, knocking him into the dirt. He tried to get up, but Naruto had raced into the fray with a sphere of energy. He jammed it into the man's stomach and shouted "Rasengan!"
Gow hit the ground again, barely conscious. He tried to raise his head and asked, "Wh-who are you guys?"
"The name's Naruto, shinobi of the village hidden in the leaves, and the future Fire Shadow!"
"My name is Zuko. Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai. Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne."
Gow passed out at their introduction. Zuko walked over to his dagger which Lee used to stab Gow. He picked it up and looked at the inscription. "I was hoping I could get this back. My uncle gave it to me when I was a kid." He turned to look at Lee, who was staring in shock at the two young men. "Did Azula give it to you?"
"Wh-what?" Lee asked.
"'Bao Lan,'" Naruto said. "That's what she called herself."
Lee nodded in the affirmative. "Y-yeah. She did."
"First good thing she's done that I can remember," Zuko said. He walked over to the boy and held out the dagger. "Here. You're a brave kid. You deserve it."
Lee backed up, a twinkle of fear in his eyes. "N-no! Just go away!" He ran back to his mother and hid behind her legs. Sela glared at Zuko.
"Don't come near us!"
Zuko looked down at his dagger for a moment, reading the inscription through blood spatters. Then he wiped the blade clean and put it away. He turned and motioned to Naruto. "Let's go. We won't find Sasuke by sitting still."
- - -
"Rock is a stubborn element, stubborn and strong," Toph said. "There's no other angle, no clever solution, no trick that will move it. You have to face it..." she leaped into the air and came down upon Aang. "Head on!" The airbender managed to dodge her attack, and her head slammed into a large rock, shattering it.
"Whoa!" Aang exclaimed. This girl was intense.
Katara, meanwhile, lashed out toward Sokka with a sheet of water, intending to free her brother from his chains, but Suigetsu countered with his own attack. Katara shot forth, trailing torrents of water behind her.
Toph attacked Aang with steady fierceness. Her cursed seal flowed across her skin, and she used its strength to push the Avatar back. However, the boy's agility was prodigious and his speed was unhindered in the more open area they were in now. He evaded the girl's attacks deftly, and struck with bolts of wind that rocked the earthbender.
Suigetsu was knocked about by Katara's wave, and she slashed Sokka's chains apart before he recovered. The Water Tribe warrior immediately rolled away from his captors and pulled out his boomerang. Sasuke, meanwhile, took hold of Katara's wrist and twisted her arm. The waterbender flowed through the hold and locked his arm, sweeping his legs out from under him and slamming him into the ground. The Uchiha lifted himself up, then, with his left arm and flipped himself and Katara over, slamming her onto the ground before leaping to his feet once the waterbender released his arm due to the force of the impact.
Sokka swung at Ty Lee as she approached him, but with a quick series of jabs, his good arm was deadened and hung limp. He struck with his other arm, soon finding that useless as well. His attempted kick met with similar results. Ty Lee struck once more at the boy standing on one leg, but his head shot forward, forcing her to jam her fingertips into the boy's hard skull. She pulled back in pain and, shaking it off, glared icily at him. "Good try, but no," Sokka quipped.
Aang, having noticed Sasuke's counterattack on Katara, diverted his attention to shoot a torpedo of water at him, however, his attention was best spent elsewhere, as he found when Toph rammed a pillar into his chest, sending him flying into a boulder. He dodged subsequent attacks for the most part, but she was beginning to wear him down. He realized that he needed to take advantage of her blindness, but he couldn't do that with both feet on the ground.
Katara recovered from her fall to find the Uchiha dodging an attack from Aang. That gave her an opportunity. She wrapped a stream of water around the boy's ankle and yanked his foot out from under him. Then she raised the surrounding water from the ground and brought it crashing down upon him. However, at the same moment, Suigetsu decided to attack her with a similarly powerful wave, tossing her back into the middle of the lake.
Toph suddenly lost track of the Avatar. Though her seal was pulsing full blast and her senses were at their max, it seemed he had left the ground completely. She heard the loud splash of Katara hitting the water, and the wet sound drowned out the sound of a water whip whistling through the air. However, she didn't miss the sting of it slapping across her face. The Avatar had taken to the lake as well, it seemed, and he was attacking her from that position, making her truly blind to his attacks.
The airbender whipped the water around him, striking at Toph with great force, causing her to fall back and erect stalagmites of protection. However, the flexible nature of water allowed him to weave his attack around her defense, attacking her from unexpected angles.
Suigetsu lunged at Katara, his head cleaving sword at the ready. He struck, but Katara deflected the blow with a current of water. The two traded several blows before the sharp-toothed shinobi kneed her in the ribs. He put in a few more devastating shots before hefting his head-cleaving sword above the waterbender, swinging it downward.
Sasuke's straight-sword intercepted Suigetsu's swipe inches from Katara's skull. The waterbender lay in the water, shocked that the blade had come so close to splitting her head open. Sasuke glared at Suigetsu with his cold sharingan. "No killing," he said. "Or I'll put an end to you."
The Mist ninja backed away. "Che... have you gone soft, Sasuke?"
"Maybe you haven't heard of what the Avatar did in the North Pole. Do you really want to risk him entering that state now?"
Toph struck desperately in Aang's general direction, but the Avatar evaded the strikes easily. The earthbender's curse mark covered her body. She now felt something more happening, though. Something stirred within her, pushing her further. As water whipped across her face, the veins in her eyes turned black. The darkness spread across her corneas until they became dark fields around milky irises. Her hat flew off her head and her hair ripped out of its bun. Her strikes came harder and faster. They began to become somewhat more accurate. She could almost feel his location through the vibrations of the water on the earth beneath it. Almost.
Katara, at the same time, had struck back at Suigetsu. The waterbender wrapped the lake water around the ninja and solidified the sphere into a hard shell. Sasuke attacked her from behind, however, easily overwhelming her defenses and gaining dominance in the fight.
The gaia seal had taken over Toph's flesh completely, turning her skin completely dark. It lightened slightly to a dark gray while her long, wild hair bleaching on the sides, leaving a black streak down the center of her hair. Three horns sprouted from the left side of her head while one larger horn grew out of the right. Toph's hands and feet began to enlarge, and her fingers became more like badger-mole claws. A thick tail emerged from under her tunic and slapped itself on the ground, cracking the rocky ground.
Aang's eyes widened upon seeing this. "Toph? What... what has he done to you?"
"Just brought out my full potential," Toph replied, a smirk on her face. She had never felt such power. And her perceptions were even sharper than they had been. She could feel where Aang's feet touched the water just by feeling the way the energy waves he caused by standing on the water hit the earth beneath. However, as she attacked, she realized there was still a flaw in this method. It took time for the wave to reach the lake bed. That meant she was operating on dated intelligence.
She motioned with her hands and the lake bed rose, and the lake water flowed out onto the dry ground. Aang flowed forward with the water, and once the lake bed became level with the rest of the ground and the water became thin, the Avatar's feet sank to touch the ground. At that moment, Aang found himself assaulted on all sides by pillars of earth. He couldn't evade them at the speed they emerged, and he found himself being pummeled, his consciousness fading with each hit.
Katara lashed out at Sasuke with the muddy water that suddenly surrounded them. The Uchiha received two dirty slaps in the face before he subdued the waterbender and clamped metal cuff on her hands and feet. "You won't get away with this!" she protested. "Aang will stop you!"
Sasuke scoffed. "You play the damsel in distress well," he said. He picked her up and carried her over to his brother, who was quite prone at this point. "It must run in the family..." he quipped, tossing her to the ground and turned toward Toph. Ty Lee and Juugo followed.
Toph slammed Aang into a rocky cliff, letting him fall to the ground, barely alert. "You're nowhere near as tough as I thought you were." She slapped her tail against the ground, popping the Avatar's body into an upright position. He staggered, but remained standing, albeit shaky on his feet. "You'll certainly never be an earthbender if you can't stand still and take it like a man!" She clenched her fists and took a strong stance.
"That's enough," Sasuke said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "We'll have no problem capturing him now. However, if you push him any further, you might cause him to enter the Avatar State. In that state he would have the power of countless past lives. Even the five of us working together might not be able to beat him, then."
"Is that right?" Toph asked. She felt herself growing excited at this. The prospect of fighting the Avatar with all his past lives power behind him... that would be quite a battle. She could feel Juugo's flesh roiling with excitement as well, dark patches snaking their way around his face. But she knew Sasuke wouldn't let her properly threaten him in order to trigger the life saving mechanism of the Avatar State. But perhaps something else could cause the same effect: something of which Sasuke wouldn't be able to get in the way. She sensed the girl with whom Aang had been traveling squirming on the ground a small distance away, and could also feel a large chunk of stone which hung precariously overhead. It would normally take years for gravity to pull the stone down upon the girl and her brother, but with a small amount of earthbending, it could come down instantly. She had felt Aang's reaction to the girl's presence. His heartbeat elevated with her proximity, and especially when she touched him. She obviously meant much to him. If she were to endanger her life, even kill her...
"Toph," Sasuke said. He was concerned with her agitated expression. Perhaps pushing her into the second stage of the cursed seal was unwise. Without proper discipline, the violent tendencies the cursed mark's chemistry brought out could overwhelm even the most pacifistic individual. "Don't do anything foolish."
The earthbender smirked. She twitched her head and the shaky foundation of the large stone hanging over Katara and Sokka burst, allowing it to fall. Sasuke turned to the falling rock. It was big enough to crush them both, and even his speed wouldn't allow him to make it in time to stop it. That was assuming the rock wouldn't crush him, as well. Perhaps he could destroy it with a fire blast, but it was unlikely to divert or fragment the boulder enough to avoid serious injury.
Sasuke didn't have to act in this case. Aang had seen the rock falling immediately. His instincts took over. His body lurched forward and his arms swung wide, pushing the air out of his way, reducing the wind resistance as he ran as he simultaneously increased the wind speed at his back. As he reached his friends, the stone was already at eye level. Without thinking, he dove feet first under the stone. The only thing on his mind now as the boulder descended on him and his friends was that he would not allow it to fall any further. It simply would not and there was no room for negotiation. His arm was pressed as far into the ground as it could get and he shot it up into the rock as hard as he could. His fist entered it and the stone cracked. It stalled on his hand for a moment before he curled his legs to his chest and kicked both feet into the boulder. It shattered, the pieces flying away from him and his friends.
Toph was amazed. This kid really could be a talented earthbender. It had taken mortal danger to get him into the right mindset, but he had really done it. Suddenly she noticed something. It was a special vibration in the air. It was like a beacon of light in the darkness. And it seemed to be getting bigger. She dropped to the ground as a large fragment of stone hit her right between the eyes.
Sasuke looked in exasperation at the now unconscious Toph. She had allowed herself to become distracted. He looked back at the young Avatar, who was glaring daggers at him, currently. "Alright... it looks like I'll have to finish this, myself. No more playing around."
Aang's eyes and tattoos began to glow. "I don't think so," he declared, gesturing casually, which caused a chasm to open between Team Snake and Aang's gang. Dust erupted from the opening obscuring the trio of adventurers from view. Sasuke leaped through the cloud, only to see Aang and his friends riding off on the large, six legged air bison.
Sasuke glowered at the retreating figures. "Curse it."
