Our Blood Boils

Death-n-Decay

Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA.

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AN: And so, chapter ten has arrived, and my neck is killing me. Don't know what I did, but it's bothersome. I've also done a good job ensuring I'll never camp again, thanks to Slender Man related stuff. Anyway, time to answer reviews.

Hell7Born7Terra7- Ha… fireworks… that's a good one. Considering their personalities, as well as behavior so far, they will probably be a little violent when they find out Dormin is alive. Poor guy. :3

Ravenxxx007- Well, so far "both" has the most votes, but I suppose only time will tell.

Spikesagitta- He does… and hopefully no rocks shall be thrown at him. (Especially since he is technically from the Fire Nation…)

Blazeice9967- Jin might go easy on him since he's injured… then again, maybe not.

meg- Their reunion should prove to be amusing… though it won't be for awhile, sadly.

truefortune- A sibling relationship between them would be good, if the aren't together. However, since the votes seem to be going for both Jin and Mai, it might not come to that.

kadajclone100- She does roll her eyes a lot, huh? I suspect that the next reviewer might the right.

SansaStark- Yes, she does come off as a bit of a sociopath… oh well. And out of all of the people Katara trusts, only one was actually involved in her kidnapping, namely Dormin. Everyone else she befriended (or tormented) after that. They have more reasons to trust them than to not, at least according to Katara's experiences. That's how I view it, anyway. Of course, I'm probably biased, as it's my story, but that's beside the point. Sort of. Moving on…

Chaotic-rouge- Thanks. I think. :3

Alright. As I mentioned above, so far it looks like Dormin is going to get both Mai and Jin, though Jin alone isn't far behind. Poor Mai only has one vote for her alone… And yet I'm not surprised. Oh well, onto the chapter! I post who has how many votes so far at the end of the chapter.

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"You would think there would be more damage to this place…" Katara observed as they walked around the air temple. Her mother was next to her, and Sokka was ahead of them with Aang. The blood bender was expecting the place to be in total ruins after the Fire Nation's attack, but apparently she was wrong. While there was some rubble here and there, it was in good condition otherwise.

Kya seemed worried about something, though. "What happened to all the bodies? I know they would all be decayed at this point, but they should still be around here…" Katara nodded in agreement. There should definitely have been bodies around, all things considered. And it wasn't like the Fire Nation soldiers that had attacked would have bothered to give the dead a proper burial. So where could they have all gone?

"Maybe we'll find some skeletons inside of the temple." Kya sighed, but didn't respond to her daughter said. Something just felt off.

They heard Sokka talking to Aang ahead of them, "Exactly what are we doing here? It's not like we're going to find anyone here."

"There was something I was supposed to see here, but I never got to. Since, you know… I ran away…" Aang looked at the ground sadly, ashamed of what he did.

Katara rolled her eyes, "Aang, if you hadn't run away you would have been killed too. More than likely while you were in the avatar state, since being in extreme danger would likely have forced it to activate. That would leave us without an avatar, which would be a huge blow to morale. You're the last air bender now." She was saddened that Dormin was gone, but there was nothing that could be done now. "If you were gone, the avatar cycle would end anyway, and the balance of our world would be greatly shifted if you had been with them during the attack."

Aang nodded, "You're right. I can't let their deaths be in vain." They reached a large door which had two tubes on it.

"I'm guessing you need air bending to open this up…?" Aang nodded at Katara, and proceeded to open the door.

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Dormin winced as Jin wrapped up a cut that he had on his leg. A rather large cut. On the way down, the dragon must have clawed him. Fortunately, his shadow had acted as a cushion when he hit the ground, which prevented him from breaking any bones. He wasn't sure if the earth bender in front of him was going to do just that, though. If not her, then perhaps her mother, who was sitting not too far away. They had gone to her home after the Dai Li cleaned things up and worked on damage control. If word of the event reached Long Feng, he would have to accelerate his plans.

Her mother's name was Yin. The resemblance to her daughter was almost scary, as they looked almost exactly like each other. Jin's mother, however, was taller, had longer hair, and her eyes were a very bright green. Yin's hair was also free of anything to give it style, merely cascading down her back. Dormin suppose that maybe she just didn't have her hair up today.

He was also nervous. The woman had yet to say anything, she just got their medical supplies when she saw her daughter bring him in and let Jin get to work. When the earth bender was finally finished, Yin finally spoke.

"What happened?"

It was a simple question. But it also scared him. How do you explain killing a dragon and then not getting hauled off by the Dai Li? He had to tell the whole truth, or a lot of it anyway. He could probably get away with not saying anything about his life in the Fire Nation. He hoped.

"I'd also like to know. You did say that you could explain. I'm assuming this is a part of your own secret?" Jin. This was troublesome. But he had to tell her.

"Well, here's the thing… first off, I'm not new here. I arrived six years ago. Given that I was an air bender, Long Feng wanted me to join the Dai Li, as I had unique skills. More than he thought, though, as you saw. I have a very rare talent for shadow bending. I never told him about it, as I had a plan. Whatever happened, I knew I would have to get rid of him. And after seeing all the things he has done as the leader of the Dai Li, I have plenty of reasons to do so. I've been getting all the agents on my side. Almost all of them are loyal to me now, with the exception of about half a dozen."

Jin raised an eyebrow, "That's nice and all… but where do I fit into all of this?" Her mother looked surprised, but Dormin was amused.

"Smart… very smart. I like that." Dormin adjusted himself to make his injured limbs more comfortable. "Long Feng got information that made it seem like you were potentially an earth bender. I was to find out if you were, and either recruit or kill you afterwards, if you were in fact a bender. I had other plans though." Jin narrowed her eyes at him. "Hey, no need for that. I wanted you to help me overthrow the bastard. And I need someone to help lead the Dai Li. This war isn't going to remain secret much longer, and I have a feeling I'm going to have to get directly involved soon. And I want to be." He said the last part with a bit of anger, thinking about the Fire Lord always filled him with some rage.

Both Jin and Yin couldn't help but wonder what made Dormin angry. A lot had happened in the war, but there must have been something that happened to him personally. The former spoke first. "Joining the Dai Li with you in charge does sound very tempting…" Dormin had a small smile on his face, and Yin seemed impassive. "But I want to know what happened to you that made you hate the Fire Nation so much first." Yin voiced her agreement.

Dormin knew that this might ruin everything. But he didn't have a choice. First, though, he had one other thing to take care of. "Alright, I'll tell you. But, I need to get back to the agents guarding the area that dragon emerged from first. I need to close up the opening it used." The two women nodded and Dormin stood up. Feeling that he no longer needed to limp around, he hurried out of the door. "I'll be right back!"

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"It's been too long, Iroh." Commander Zhao was up to something, that much was obvious. He must have found the damage to their ship suspicious, but it wasn't like they said anything to suggest it. In fact, they hadn't explained the damage to it at all. They had left the Southern Water Tribe before the Avatar had. Partially because Appa wasn't up to flying at the time. However, when they were moving through a narrow pass, Appa flew over them. They heard Katara laugh maniacally for some reason, and that's when several giant chunks of ice fell from above and impacted the ship. So, they had to stop by one of the Fire Nation bases to get repairs.

"You are right, Zhao. Thank you for inviting us in for tea." Ursa and Zuko sat on either side of Iroh, not saying anything.

"How has your search for the avatar gone?" His voice lacked the usual mocking tone, which only served to confirm Iroh's suspicions.

Sighing, he finished his tea and set it down, "Well, since you are no doubt interrogating our crew at this moment, there isn't any point in lying. We did find him." Zhao looked at him expectantly. "We were not able to capture, however. He and his friends got onto his flying bison and took off. We pursued, but their water bender hit our ship with several pieces of ice, which is why our ship is damaged."

"I see… Why is it that the water bender had to do it? I would have thought this avatar could do it himself."

"We aren't sure why, but the air nomad is very young, about the same age he would be when we started this war. Considering we found him in the South Pole, he was likely frozen in an ice burg. It's clear that he only knows air bending, as since he doesn't know water bending, he can't possibly know earth or fire."

Zhao nodded and stood. "Well, I'll be informing the Fire Lord that the avatar has returned. In the meantime, you must continue to pursue them. I'd like to help, but I'm supposed to meet with several others about invading the Northern Water Tribe. Don't hesitate to ask for help from any of our own." Iroh raised an eyebrow. This was unexpected. But, shrugging it off as dumb luck, he also stood and shook Zhao's hand.

"We'll do that. Good luck in your endeavors."

"Yours as well." Zhao watched the three of them leave. Then he scowled. He really wanted to pursue the avatar himself, but the invasion of the north was more important at the moment.

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Dormin arrived to find some dead Dai Li agents amongst the multitude of living ones. "What happened here?'

"These were the last of the agents that were still loyal to Long Feng. He heard about the incident and sent them to check things out. He's all that remains now."

Dormin nodded his head. "Alright, get into position. It's just about time to take him down. I need to close that, " he pointed to the opening to the dark world, "first. Then we'll go." The agents nodded, and the air bender walked over to the gaping hole in the ground. It was very large, so it was going to be difficult to close it. He kneeled down, and grasped the edge of the shadows, then started pushing them to the other side. It took several minutes, but he finally managed to shut the opening. There were some small holes left off to the sides, but they were quickly taken care of.

"Alright… first, I need to go pick someone up. All of you head to the palace… except for you, "He motioned for one of them to come over, "I need to go see Jin first. You know where her home is?" The agent nodded and they all vanished into the earth.

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Jin, Yin, and a someone new were startled as a Dai Li agent rose out of the ground, with Dormin beside him. "Hey Jin… oh, hi. I don't believe we have met before."

"I'm Jin's father… Qingtong. You're Dormin, right?" It was obvious that Jin got her eyes from her father. His hair was a light shade of brown and was clearly shaved off recently. He was the same height as his wife, and looked like a no nonsense sort of person. And he was eyeing the shadow bender suspiciously.

"That's right. I'm assuming they've told you what's happened so far?" Qingtong nodded. "Alright, well then. Jin, I was wondering if you would like to join me in taking down Long Feng?"

Jin blinked. "Wait… right now?" Dormin smiled and nodded. "What makes you think I can take him?"

"I can sense that you're an earth bender… comes with the territory of being a shadow bender."

"Oh… alright, fine. Let's do it then. You owe me that explanation later, though. And my parents."

"Jin," Yin started, "Be careful. I know you're good but… Long Feng has experience on his side." Qingtong nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything.

"Don't worry… I've got all of the Dai Li and this guy here," She poked Dormin in the side, "I'll be fine. Things about to take a turn for the better." She stood next to Dormin and the Dai Li agent, and they sank into the ground, on their way to the palace to put an end to Long Feng's rule.

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"So… not only do we have to worry about the Fire Lord, but there's also these monsters called abominations?" Sokka seemed mostly curious, but also a bit scared.

Aang nodded, "Yeah. Avatar Roku said that they have been getting restless recently, and that we need to find someone who can enter their world."

Katara put her face in her hands. "Fantastic. The only person who could do that was Dormin." She sighed and leaned back in Appa's saddle. "And he's conveniently dead." Dormin seemed like the only one who could do what Avatar Roku mentioned. There was only Aang left, and he was about as evil as Azula was innocent. No other air benders meant no more shadow benders, and who else could possibly gain entry to this dark world?

"Maybe he isn't dead." Katara glared at Aang. "Just listen… you told us that he could make his shadow come out of the ground right?" She nodded. "Well, if the Fire Lord was burning him, he would only look like a silhouette within the fire."

Katara caught on to what Aang was talking about, "And since he could shadow walk… he could have easily faked his death…" Aang smiled and nodded at her. "It's not guaranteed, but it's definitely possible. Did Roku mention where we might find this person?"

Aang shook his head, "Sorry. All he said was that we would encounter them in our travels. He might be at the Northern Water Tribe, or even in Ba Sing Se. But we won't find out for awhile, I'm sure."

Kya smiled, "Well. If we do find Dormin, I'm sure Azula and your other friends will be really happy." She looked at the sun, "It's getting late and it's been a long day. How about we get back onto the ground and I'll make us dinner?" The teens happily agreed, and Appa made his way down.

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"You seem anxious." Mai observed. Azula had been pacing, clearly deep in thought. There were on the roof once again, watching the sun set.

"I've tried not to think about it, but I can't help it. There's supposed to b a meeting about the invasion of the Northern Water Tribe." She didn't stop pacing back and forth, she just kept moving.

Mai sighed, "So what? What's so important about the Northern Water Tribe that has gotten you to be so panicked?"

Azula stopped, and turned to her friend. "Well, there are several things. For one, the last time we invaded a place full of water benders, just about all of them ended up dead. We can't have all water benders being killed."

"Especially since one of them is Katara."

"Exactly. And the moon spirit is there. If someone kills it during the invasion, everyone loses. Especially water benders and the fire nation. Obviously, water benders need the moon spirit to bend… but the ocean spirit would know that it was us who killed it."

"Which would result in the permanent end to our navy." Azula had resumed her pacing after Mai had mentioned Katara, and the dark girl was getting tired of it, so she grabbed the fire bender's sleeve and pulled her down. "I think I have an idea on what to do, which could benefit us both."

Azula looked at Mai suspiciously, "What idea would that be?"

"Let's see if your father will let us go join the war. You and I won't have to be separated, we can probably go get Ty Lee, and we can make sure nothing happens to the spirit when the time comes. Not to mention, Katara has probably gotten sick of just sitting around in the South Pole, so she's probably starting getting involved in the war herself." Azula nodded her head. It was a good opportunity to finally leave this place.

"Alright… let's do it then." The two friends got up and started to make their way to the Fire Lord's chamber.

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"Who's there?" The Fire Lord didn't want to be disturbed at the moment. He had gotten word that the avatar had returned, from two sources. It could be a problem. The door opened, revealing his daughter and her friend. They both kneeled before him. "What is it I can do for you both?"

Azula spoke, "We would like to join in the war effort." It was a simple request. And the timing couldn't be better. With the invasion of the Northern Water Tribe coming, as well as the avatar's return, things were about to really heat up.

Ozai nodded, which had almost gone unnoticed due to the flames in front of him, "Very well. I want you to go and help with the northern invasion. Taking those water tribe fools down is crucial." Azula nodded, and she as well as Mai stood to leave, "However…" Both turned to the Fire Lord. "I also want you to keep an eye out for the avatar. Commander Zhao has informed me that the air bender has returned. He is traveling with three people from the water tribe, one of which is definitely a water bender. He shouldn't be too much trouble, since he has only mastered air bending, but we are not sure about the other three's abilities."

The two girls were shocked, though happy at the same time, as it was likely that the water bender was Katara. They bowed and left the room. It was finally time to leave the palace behind.

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AN: So, Mai doesn't get left behind after all! Anyway, that's the end of this chapter. As I said way up at the top, I am not going to post the current results for the poll. So far, it looks like Dormin is going to get both Mai and Jin as "Both" has six votes. Jin alone is right behind that though with five votes. And, poor Mai only has one. Let's get some more votes in! And I also appreciate reviews, though if I start getting more than I get now, I'll have to stop answering the ones that don't really need an answer. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!