Chapter 10
A beast stood before her. Twelve feet tall, standing on two massive legs, this creature stood looking like an over muscled human but it's skin was a deep red, it's head misshapen by two massive, four foot long horns of black that emerged from it's temples. It's face was twisted and cruel, long tusks jutting up out of it's lower jaw adding to the malevolence it projected. But when she stepped forward, placing a dainty, soft hand upon it's massive chest, the creature's face crumpled in sudden fear.
"Please. No." the massive creature begged, it's body going rigid, "Not this. Please."
The giant red beast opened it's mouth and screamed, it's body wavering before her, growing insubstantial as it's substance flowed across and into a pair of eyes that were beyond black. Bottomless and pityless. Within heartbeats the beast was gone, only a handful of white sand drifting to the floor where it had been.
"Oh, Belial. You always were a posturing fool and truly tasteless as well." Fate said softly, an amused look on her face as she held up her hand, rubbing the thumb across her fingertips to dislodge grains of white sand, "But such a wealth of information you carried in that ridiculous shaped head of yours."
Dropping her hand, Fate turned to survey the others in the great chamber with her, her eyes once more a pure, light purple. The exquisitely beautiful woman, in her gown of black filled with stars and long flowing hair to match, looked tiny and insignificant compared to the others ranged about her. Within a chamber large enough to hold a palace, the only item of furniture on it's pale, smooth floor was a great throne carved from dark wood. Before this stood Fate and spread out around her were dozens of beings, many of similar shape and frightening design as Belial had been, others simple men and women while still other, stranger beings stood or floated silently.
"Does anyone else wish to bargain for their services as our dear friend Belial thought to?" Fate asked in a sweet voice, smiling softly as she turned her eyes onto those gathered around. All shook their heads or gave other, hasty signs to the negative and Fate tuned her smile to the hulking creature in black armor kneeling before her with his human head bowed, "And what of you, my child? Is there anything you have to tell me?"
"Mother, I…failed." Phoenix rumbled without looking up, "The Nomad proved to have far greater power than I."
The gentle smile never leaving her face, Fate flicked a hand and purplish, white energy crackled out like lightning, striking Phoenix and launching him from the floor. The other beings gathered around dived away as Phoenix flew across the massive chamber, smashing into the far wall and sliding limply back down to the floor.
"Silly boy. You failed to defeat the Nomad because I never intended for you to beat him. At least…not yet." Fate said softly, turning about she sat upon her throne, smiling back at Phoenix as he rose from the floor to kneel again, "I sent you there to learn, so tell me, child, what did you learn from your journey to the mortal realm and of the Nomad?"
"The Nomad is…different to what I had learned of him." Phoenix rumbled slowly, wheezing from the pain Fate had inflicted upon him. Turning his face up to her with a thoughtful look, he continued, "As you said he would, he lost control when I taunted him with the girl. And the power he would have unleashed. He would have destroyed the entire world and himself just to get at me. Only when I told him he would kill his girl did he draw it back."
"Indeed, what he unleashed on you was chaotic, destructive…but undirected. Not like the Nomad we know at all. The Nomad seems to have changed from what we have heard from those who have faced and escaped him before." Fate said, waving her hand to indicate those others gathered around, "When I first saw him in the heavens he seemed a contradiction then. Such rage and hate flowed from him as he cut a path to me and yet when he stood before me he was cold, distant and seemingly without emotion. I taunted him with an image of the mortal world dying if he did not give up his quest and he did not blink. Do you know why this is, my child?"
"I…" Phoenix began then bowed his head again, "No, mother."
"That is because you believe as these other fools believe that power is something you do, what you can achieve. But I learned long ago that knowledge is power and I know…everything." Fate said slowly, her eyes drifting to each being in the room who flinched back as her gaze fell on them, "I discovered what the Nomad is. An incomplete Avatar of Nature, such as I but damaged, unbalanced. The Nomad felt nothing but could use the imbalance within himself as a tool. Most likely he drew upon the rage and insanity of the boy inside him since I doubt the animal half of him could fight quite like that. And now I have learned something new." Fate rose to her feet again, the others in the room shrinking back as she smiled coldly, "From what I observed in your memories my child and what I tore from that fool, Belial's mind, I now know that the Nomad split his soul when he traveled to the mortal realm. The one you fought was not the Nomad but the boy, this…Daniel. The Nomad has erred greatly, relying on this imperfect, unbalanced child who's mind teeters on the brink of insanity. And we can use that to our advantage."
"Yes." Phoenix rumbled, a wide smile forming on his own face as he looked up, "How, mother? With the girl again?"
"She might yet serve a useful purpose but only after we have spent time training and making careful plans, my Phoenix." Fate said, returning his smile, "It would not serve us to simply break his mind and have him unleash all his power as he almost did to you. We would have no world left to conquer." Fate turned her smile over the others in the room, then back to Phoenix before she slowly walked toward him, "Soon you will have integrated your two halves completely and you will learn how to manage and control such releases of power. Until then, as this Daniel seeks to train those he calls family, we shall train our own forces. We shall create a force beyond anything this Daniel plans to pit against us and when we are ready, you shall take our forces back to the mortal realm, kill enough of this Daniel's family to tip his mind once more and when he unleashes his madness you will contain it. Channel it and whatever is left of his mind when he has spent himself fully looks upon the destruction he has waged upon his own family, he will know the price of standing against Fate."
As she spoke, Fate came to stand before Phoenix and by the time she was done, the hulking creature grinned fiercely at her, the kneeling beast's face level with hers. Turning about, Fate looked to the others in the huge chamber and waved at hand at them.
"Come. We shall go and seek more that can be trained from amongst the throngs." Fate said regally and with another wave of her hand at the wall, it simply opened outwards in two massive doors, "When we are ready, we shall have an army like the realms have never seen and none will stand in my way ever again."
As Phoenix rose to follow, the others gathering behind him, Fate stepped outside into a bleak landscape with a dark, starless sky overhead but gathered about the enormous tree that her chamber was carved into were countless beings. From one impossibly distant horizon to another, multitudes upon multitudes turned with awe and fear, bowing their heads to their smiling queen.
Under the smooth floor of the vacated chamber, in a deep dirt lined cavern, a young woman sat with her back to the filthy walls, her knees drawn up to her chest as she shivered uncontrollably. Although the illusionary clothing had been stripped from her after her short trip to the mortal realm, neither her nudity nor the cold, dank atmosphere had anything to do with Reena's discomfort. He would come for her again. She had heard the voices above her and knew that Fate and her abomination of a child had gone but as always, he would return.
A scraping, skittering sound came to her in her underground prison and Reena shivered all the harder as her eyes darted all about the dimly lit space. Then came a pattering of dirt from the opposite side of the cavern and from a hole in the wall a strange creature dropped to the floor. It's body was tiny, less than the size of a thumb but it had a dozen thin jointed legs like a spider, each segment of leg at least a foot long. Reena whimpered, pressing herself back into the wall as though she could push herself through the stone and dirt as the creature made it's way toward her, it's long scuttling legs making it look awkward but it made it's way over to her in seconds.
Hush, child. Do not fear. Reena's eyes went wide at the warm voice in her mind but still she trembled without control.
In a rush, flowing and shifting strangely, the creature's shape expanded, changing as it rose until an old man in flowing robes of white to match his thick beard crouched before Reena, smiling softly at her.
"Be calm, dear. I am not here to hurt you." the old man said, his voice wheezy but still filled with warmth, "I am known as Destiny. Do you know of me?"
Reena had half hidden her face behind her upraised knees with only her deep blue eyes exposed and at the old man's question she shook her head imperceptibly.
"Are you aware then, of what an Avatar of Body and Nature is?" the old man, Destiny, asked next and received the tiniest of nods in return. His smile showing a touch of sadness, the old man bent close, soft grey eyes gazing into Reena's blue, "I was…am…Fate's counterpart. I was Yang's animal spirit, as close to her as her own soul but in time, as the darkness spread beyond the heavens we had created, I came to understand that what we were doing was wrong. So very wrong."
The old man sighed, sitting back slowly on the floor facing Reena who only continued staring silently.
"Coming here to the spirit realms is what caused us to split and in time, as my mind grew and developed, I came to understand the truth but ever have I remained by her side. Even as cold and malicious as she has become, I love her still." Destiny widened his warm, yet sad smile as Reena raised her face a little, her eyes searching his, "But although my Yang has tied herself to the Gateway to Eternity, the ultimate source of knowledge, what she has no use for, she does not understand. Including me."
Sounds came from above, heavy footfalls and the sounds of voices. Reena began trembling again, curling in upon herself as before but the old man only continued smiling softly.
"And one thing my Yang fails to understand or perhaps has chosen to ignore is that once I saw the pain we were inflicting, I could no longer support her. I will not fight her. I hope you do not think me too much the coward for that but I cannot act so directly against someone I love." the old man sighed and brushed a hand down his face, Reena staring as it changed and flowed once more, "But I will do this one thing for the Nomad, for you, my dear. You see, when he came to us in our false heavens, when he spoke to me, the Nomad unintentionally shielded my thoughts and actions from Fate. No longer could she see me through the Fountain of Knowledge. In a way, he freed me."
Reena watched in silent awe as the old man before her transformed once more, his beard retreating back up into his face, his long white hair shortening rapidly and becoming a dark, burnt auburn. When the change was complete, Reena was staring into her own blue eyes smiling back at her. Her shivering stopped as her doppelganger reached out, touching her gently on the forehead with the finger of one hand and Reena felt a coldness come over her, not an uncomfortable sensation but as though cool, thick oil was running slowly down her skin.
"This will protect you from their sight for now but if you are not careful, Fate will see through my little ruse. You must remain hidden and remain strong." the Reena wearing a soft smile stood up and backed away, crouching down against the earthen wall opposite the other, wide eyed Reena, "Hold onto that spark of hope, sweet child. He will come for you. I saw the boy within the Nomad. He will come."
Reena watched herself change, the naked form of her clone sitting opposite her remained the same but the smile vanished, Destiny's face becoming blank and impassive even as the body he wore began trembling violently. Part of Reena refused to believe what was happening, not daring to hope and when she opened her mouth at last, intending to ask this strange being if it truly existed, light suddenly stabbed into her prison from above. A part of the floor slid aside above them, something massive and as black as midnight dropping through it.
Phoenix growled softly and chuckled to himself at the sight of Reena, the girl's fear filling him with a sense of cruel expectation. His long tail was extended although the spike at it's end remained shortened, it's jagged end covered over with fresh black material like his armor. Of the many punctures and rents in his armor gained during his fight with Daniel, only still healing divots and lines remained.
"So, still you dare to think of your family." Phoenix rumbled, reaching down with a massive hand he dug his claws into Reena's shoulder, the girl gasping in pain as she was lifted from the floor, "Don't think I can't sense your pitiful hopes, your thoughts. You can never be free and I think it's time I reminded you of who your master is. You will do as I say. You will say what I say. You will THINK what I say. Let us begin the lesson again."
With a flex of his huge legs, Phoenix launched himself straight up, carrying a struggling, crying Reena away with him. The moment they had gone, the opening above slammed shut plunging the underground prison into near darkness once more. Reena remained with her back to the wall, staring upwards in shock and amazement. Phoenix had not even looked at her, only at the strange creature who had become the old man, who had then become her. From above her head, Reena heard herself give a piercing scream followed by Phoenix's cruel laughter and the young woman curled up into herself once more. She would do as the old man, Destiny had said, she would be strong, she would guard her thoughts as she had learned painfully to do and she would give no clue that she even existed. But in that quiet, most private corner of her heart, Reena whispered to herself over and over.
He will come for me. He promised. He said he would save me. Danny will come.
Zuko and Azula had seen their mother. It was as unreal to them as most of what they had seen since Daniel's arrival in their world but the strangeness they had seen so far made talking to their dead mother within a floating disk generated by Daniel's blood all the more believable. It had been a short, mostly one-sided conversation as Ursa had praised her children, apologizing to them over and over, Zuko insisting she did not have to and his mother insisting she did. Azula had sat silently, a hard lump in her throat as she stared at the face she had tried so hard to hate for the first half of her life. All for the sake of a man she knew never cared for her, only what she could give to him. When Ursa had offered praise to Azula, the young woman's throat constricted tighter, only allowing her to croak when she first tried to speak.
"Mother…I," Azula began raspily when she found her voice, "I wish…I had been a better daughter to you."
"He was your father and you were his little girl. Of course you loved your Daddy, sweetheart." Ursa had replied warmly, "He was not always the monster he became. Your father was once,"
The image of their mother began to break up, her voice fading in and out as the disc floating above the bowl before Daniel wobbled, shimmering in the air. Between Zuko and Azula, Daniel had slumped further, his head lolling back weakly as his breathing slowed.
"Mom." brother and sister shouted simultaneously, leaning forward.
"I love…my babies…strength wanes." in the fading image, Ursa's hand had appeared, pointing at Daniel, "Care for…we need him…than you can imagine…farewell..."
As Ursa's face faded, the black disk dissipated into the air and Daniel had slipped backwards, his head bouncing from the steel door and he lay unmoving. Zuko shot forward, placing his hands about the bowl, now empty of blood and shook it, the small dark sphere it contained rolling around.
"Mom. Mom." Zuko had shouted urgently.
"Zuko." Azula called after turning to look at Daniel, "I don't think he's breathing."
Knowing he could not bring his mother back, Zuko turned to Daniel, laying his hands on the battered man's body and reaching out with his senses.
"His heart is beating. He's alive." Zuko said and Azula felt a wave of relief but it was washed away when her brother opened his eyes and looked at her, "Just."
Working together, brother and sister lay Daniel more securely on the steel door and as Azula crouched over him, Zuko reached out with his Bending, bringing the heavy hatch up off the icy ground and flying them away toward the distant ship. They left the impossibly thin spire on the new plains of ice just in time as the heavy lid of grey clouds above opened up once more, wind and snow washing down onto the tundra in a blizzard almost as powerful as the one Daniel had created.
Daniel was laid in a cabin on board the ship, the terrible wounds over his body still bleeding and nothing Zuko could do seemed to change it. Why his natural healing abilities seemed to have failed, no one could guess but they bandaged him, closing the worst of the wounds as best as they could and waited. Sokka brought the ship close to the land once more, everyone marveling at the new landscape Daniel had somehow created after his fight with Phoenix. Although, Sokka pointed out that the cliffs were barely half the height they had been but also that the immense blizzard that had settled over the place seemed to be determined to fix that. Nature was restoring the balance.
They decided to take turns sitting at Daniel's side on the return journey although since there was little for anyone but Sokka to do, most of them remained in the cabin at the scarred man's side. Aang and the others were contacted, given an update on all that had happened. They expressed their own dismay at Daniel's condition and Aang assured the others that he and Toph were alright. Their connection to Daniel had given them both a unique sense of just what he had gone through.
When the ship docked back at Sokka and Suki's home, the entire town, the barely three hundred who remained, turned out to cheer the hero's return. Word soon spread from the ship's crew just what the Gaang had faced, the astounding things they had done to defeat the demons and the unbelievable events that had unfolded after they had been rescued. It was still a muted celebration that night, almost all in the town mourning lost loved ones but by the time darkness fell, the town had nearly doubled in size as every outlying village and outpost had begun pouring back into the capitol to help with the rebuilding.
For most of the Gaang it was even more bittersweet when there had been no change in Daniel that night, Azula remaining in the unconscious man's cabin throughout the night even when the others came and offered to take her place. In twos and threes they watched till dawn but still he remained the same, what bandages they had wrapped about him were soon soaked with fresh blood from his wounds. Sokka stayed as often as he could but spent most of his time working with his people, preparing the funerals and managing the rebuilding of so many homes. Suki too spent much of her time in the town and by midmorning, Ty Lee and Gar had excused themselves as well, going out to see what they could do to help.
Zuko sat by his sister's side, part of him still astounded at the depth of emotion he saw clearly on Azula's face as she watched Daniel. She was afraid for him, concerned in a way Zuko had never seen before. They sat in silence while Azula's golden eyes watched Daniel like a hawk and Zuko watched his sister. By the time midday rolled around, he determined to talk to her but he had barely opened his mouth when Azula shot forward, tugging at the bandages covering Daniel's chest.
"Zuzu, look." Azula said excitedly, pointing to Daniel's chest, "He's healing."
Sure enough, when Zuko bent over Daniel to inspect under the bandages, many of the smaller cuts and bruises upon him had gone, the great rents down his chest sealing more slowly but the process happening even as they watched. The others were called and came to see, their moods lifted by the sight but still the healing took it's time and the man did not yet awaken. By that second night, the others had drifted away again, going back to help about the town and eventually even Zuko excused himself, stretching stiff joints before he bid goodnight to his sister.
Sometime before dawn, Azula awoke with a start, not remembering haven falling asleep, she was startled again to realize someone had wrapped her snuggly in a warm blanket. Turning to the bed she saw Daniel laying uncovered on his side, the man's legs twitching as he moaned in his sleep. Reaching out from the chair in which she had sat for almost two straight days, Azula rested a hand on the man's shoulder. Instantly he relaxed slightly, his moans quieting as his legs drew up and he slipped into a deeper sleep, curled into a tight ball.
Suki and Ty Lee entered the cabin on the ship just after dawn, one with a large bowl of fresh water, the other setting down a tray of steaming broth. They were surprised to see Azula sitting on her chair in a foul mood and Daniel curled up on his side facing the wall.
"He's awake but he's in one of his moods and won't talk." Azula said testily, rising to her feet and stretching before moving to the door, "See if you two can get a word out of Captain Cranky. I'm going for something to eat."
With that, Azula stepped from the cabin, slamming the door behind her with a clang that rattled the dishes Ty Lee and Suki had set down. Looking first to each other, they turned to the unmoving Daniel.
"Ty, why don't you go talk to Azula, I'll look after him." Suki said softly.
Nodding with a smile, Ty Lee first stepped up to the bed, bending over Daniel and resting her lips on his cheek for a moment before she rose. The man's only response was to curl up a little tighter but Ty Lee only shrugged and left the room quietly. Suki took the chair at the bedside, reaching out to rest a hand on Daniel's shoulder and he jerked at her touch.
"You don't need to talk, Danny." Suki said warmly, "But I'm here if you want to and there's broth if you like. You haven't eaten in over two days. Are you hungry?"
Silence was her only answer and like Ty Lee, Suki only shrugged, making herself comfortable on the chair as she waited. Many minutes passed where the man lay as still as stone but after what felt like an hour, he uncurled slightly and looking over him, Suki could see he was clutching something to himself. Slowly Daniel uncurled further and Suki saw in his hands a picture she'd seen once before, a small hand drawn portrait done on white paper and sealed in a clear material like glass. Only inches to a side, the detailed drawing was of the Reena, Daniel had known, like a mirror to her mother and wearing her modified skin tight Kyoshi Warriors uniform with her mother's warfans tucked into the belt.
"She was there, Suki." came Daniel's hoarse voice, "Koh…this Phoenix or whatever he is now. He had her. He had her and he used her against me."
"Oh. Oh, Danny…she," Suki began, swallowing the lump in her throat at the thought of this girl, an older version of her own daughter in a monster's clutches, "That Reena…she…she made some bad choices, Danny. You can't blame,"
"Of course I blame myself. The choices she made, I drove her to make." Daniel said, his voice rising heatedly, "I failed her when I killed Kuzon. I failed her and June both at Podeck and now…I've failed her again. Just as I have failed you all."
Tears threatened to spill from Suki's eyes but she pushed them away as she looked down at Daniel, the man curling up and hugging the picture to his chest once more.
"No, Danny, you haven't," She began.
"Don't you understand what you saw out there, Suki?" Daniel interrupted harshly again, still without moving, "I lost control. Completely. I promised I would not and when Koh rubbed my mistakes in my face I threw all those promises away. I simply didn't care. I was going to kill him even if I had to destroy the world to do it. I've failed you, everyone, myself."
Suki struggled with her emotions, thinking of this young woman, someone her own daughter could very well grow up to be but she pushed these feelings aside as she looked down on the man before her.
"You didn't fail me, Danny." Suki said firmly, "You were willing to do all that to save Reena. You tried and speaking as the mother of the little girl that Reena once was, that's all that matters and I'm sure she knows that too."
A light grunt was her only reply, Daniel remaining on his side and curled upon himself. Undeterred, Suki busied herself stripping the last of the filthy bandages that still wrapped about most of Daniel's body. It wasn't easy as he still did not move, no longer acknowledging Suki while she worked silently. When the man was stripped bare, Suki then turned to a large bowl of water in the corner of the cabin, taking a cloth and gently washing the last of the dried blood and dirt that covered him. The woman in Suki could not help but admire at the physique of the man, a lifetime of work sculpting him into a leaner version of her own husband but her motherly side threatened her with tears once more as Suki trailed the washcloth over the new network of scars on him. What she could see of the ones on his chest, where four long claws had dug deep and raked down his torso, had left jagged scars that no amount of healing would fix and the other most prominent, another deep scar that cut down his forehead, over one eyelid and down to his cheek. When she was done, Suki sat at his side, leaning over until her face hovered an inch over his ear.
"Will you make a promise to me, Daniel? Will you swear to me?" Suki started quietly, Daniel's brows furrowing to show he heard, "If the opportunity comes, if there is a way, you will save Reena and bring your Aunt Suki's daughter back from whatever dark place she has put herself in?"
At last Daniel moved, half rolling to his back as he turned a pale, drawn and saddened face up to her.
"With every ounce of my being." Daniel replied softly, "If there is a way, I will find it."
"Then you haven't failed yet, Danny." Suki whispered, leaning closer she pressed her lips gently to his and the look of surprise on Daniel's scarred face might almost have been comical but as she sat back up, Suki's hand flashed out and slapped him playfully, yet hard across one cheek, "Now be a good boy and roll on your other side. You're still filthy and when that's done, I'm not leaving here until you eat."
Wearing a slightly confused frown, Daniel rubbed at his reddening cheek but after a moment, he slowly complied with Suki's wishes. Once he had rolled over she again went to work with the washcloth, the water within the basin becoming dark and cloudy by the time she was done. When the washbasin was put away, Suki then resumed her seat beside the bed, taking up the bowl of broth, she dipped the spoon into the steaming liquid and prepared to feed the man before her as though he was an infant. Releasing a low, rumbling growl Daniel slowly rose to sit on the bed's edge, reaching out with a scowl he took the bowl from Suki and raised it to his lips, half turning away from her satisfied expression as he gulped the bowl's contents down.
The door to the cabin opened and Zuko looked within, a pensive frown on his face as his golden eyes turned to see Daniel sitting up and drinking the broth.
"Suki, are you finished in here?" Zuko asked, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like a private word with Daniel."
Suki's frown matched his as she looked to Zuko but when she turned back to Daniel, the scarred man only shrugged. Taking up the bowl and the tray she'd brought it on, Suki rose, eyeing Zuko curiously as he stepped aside from the doorway.
"Thank you, Suki." Zuko said formally with a bow of his head, "I will sit with Daniel for now if you need to get back to your duties with Sokka in the town."
Still wearing a curious frown, Suki stepped from the room, turning back once she was outside with a question on her lips when the door clanged shut in her face. Her frown deepening, Suki walked up the corridor to the small galley kitchen to wash the dishes but paused as she stepped inside. Around a small table in the center of the room, Azula, Ty Lee and Gar had been leaning close over the table but at Suki's entrance they sprang apart, the guilty look on Ty Lee's face almost laughably obvious.
"What's going on?" Suki asked slowly, her eyes boring into Ty Lee who fidgeted nervously.
"Nothing." Ty Lee insisted in a squeaky voice, a nervous grin forming on her rapidly blushing face, "We weren't listening in to you talking to Daniel."
Gar slapped a hand to his forehead while Azula rolled her eyes. Giggling nervously, unable to look at the silent glare Suki was giving her, Ty Lee held up a hand with a small chip of blue crystal resting on her palm.
"I dropped one in Daniel's room before." Ty Lee admitted, her bottom lip protruding, "I'm really sorry, Suki."
"Ty Lee, you are the worst gossip I've ever met." Suki exclaimed, her expression softening as she turned away to put down the tray she carried and then began searching the cabinets along the wall. "Not forgetting the worst keeper of secrets since the creation of secrets."
"That's not true." Ty Lee said with a hurt expression to Suki's back, "I never told anyone about that time I walked in on you and Sokka or that funny…birthmark…on your,"
Ty Lee trailed into silence while Suki gripped the cabinet door she held open with white knuckles, her shoulders hunched as she counted slowly under her breath. While Azula and Gar shared a glance and a silent smirk, Suki saw what she wanted and snatched a metal cup by it's handle before she spun about, glaring at Ty Lee with her other hand held out.
"Give me that damn crystal." Suki growled and Ty Lee hastily (and silently) complied, snatching her own hand back as she dropped the crystal chip into Suki's.
But Suki only sent one last pointed glare at Ty Lee before she dropped the crystal piece into the metal cup, which she then placed onto the center of the table and took a spare seat. Leaning over the table, she motioned to the others to come close.
"While I don't normally support snooping." Suki said quietly, giving Ty Lee another narrow eyed glare, "I want to see what Zuko has to say to Daniel."
The others gave her confused looks but they all blinked in surprise when they heard Zuko's voice, slightly magnified, hollow and tinny, rising from the depths of the metal cup.
"…I'm not in the mood for your depreciating, self bashing, Daniel." Zuko was saying in an angry tone, "I didn't spend the better part of the last decade helping my sister get over her own issues not to be able to recognize the signs in you. I appreciate you almost lost control but you pulled that back, you made it right and for the opportunity for Azula and I to talk to our mother, for that I'll owe you a dept of gratitude for the rest of my days."
The four gathered over the table shared glances, Azula's eyes locked onto the metal cup as she listened to her brother's voice.
Daniel sat on the edge of his bed, his face slightly bowed with a scowl to match Zuko's who remained standing across the room before the closed hatch. Taking a couple steps to bring him directly before Daniel, Zuko bent forward to bring his face level with the scarred man's.
"But Azula is precisely why I came to talk to you." Zuko said in a menacing tone, "I want to ask you a question, Daniel and I expect an honest answer." Zuko leaned closer so their faces were less than an inch apart and lowered his voice, "What…are your intentions with my sister?"
Confusion showed on Daniel's face at first before he turned his face up to Zuko's with a look of utter disbelief.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Daniel demanded with a raised eyebrow, "Intentions? I'm training her to be,"
"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it!" Zuko interrupted, his voice raised to a near shout as he stood straight, glaring down at Daniel, "Don't think I didn't notice how things have changed between you two. When we left you at Podeck she could barely stand you and you weren't doing much to change that but now, two weeks later we come back together and I see how friendly you two have become. I see my sister looking at you…like I've never seen her look at anyone before."
"What are you talking about?" Daniel demanded again, confusion on his face once more.
"She cares about you, Daniel. That's obvious to anyone who looks at her." Zuko replied, his expression and tone becoming even angrier, "And I will not allow you or anyone else to toy with my sister's emotions." the confusion on Daniel's face deepened but then Zuko finished in a cold tone, "Wasn't June enough for you?"
A pulse of force radiated out from Daniel as his eyes exploded into flame and Zuko was lifted from his feet , thrown across the small room to slam into the steel hatch behind him. Rising to his own feet, Daniel's face was a mask of absolute fury as he glared at Zuko pinned to the opposite wall.
"Take. That. Back." Daniel growled, his voice low and menacing.
"I. Will. NOT." Zuko roared in return and driven by the fury he felt himself, unsure even how he managed it, he shrugged off the force holding him and lashed out with his fists, a pulse racing from him to lift Daniel from his feet and send him flying back to slam into the wall above his bed before dropping back down to sit on the mattress. The fury on Daniel's face abated into surprise and he blinked his glowing eyes at Zuko, "I will not take it back, Daniel. Not until you tell me truthfully exactly how you feel about Azula."
The fires in Daniel's eyes faded and a low chuckle arose from him, surprising Zuko in return.
"Of course I love her, you idiot. Just as I love you and Mai and Toph and everyone in our family but yes, there's more to it than that." Daniel said, his face turned up to Zuko with something like pleading, "Look at me, Zuko. You said yourself you can see the madness in me that once troubled Azula. Don't you get it? We're the same, she and I. But where I was raised and surrounded by a loving family, she went through hell at your fathers hand's. And where I became a bully, a thief and a child tyrant, she became the perfect princess to please your father, doing everything he ever demanded of her but still managed to hold herself together, still managed to help those she cared about where your father could not see it. And when I turned on my best friend," Daniel raised a hand, showing the small star shaped scar on his palm, "He was my blood brother but I gave myself freely to the madness and slaughtered Kuzon without a second thought. But Azula, she faced you as her mind toppled into the abyss and still, still she had enough self control to lose. Would you have lost, Zuko? Would you have lost to a Waterbender with the power of the comet flowing through you? Would a simple block of ice have held you?"
Looking back with confusion on his own face now, Zuko slowly shook his head in response as Daniel rose to his feet with a groan.
"I respect Azula and I admire her...so much...for succeeding where I have failed at every turn and I would never, ever toy with her emotions." Daniel said softly, a small smile on his scarred face, "Zuko, your sister is my friend and everything…everything I wish I could be."
Around the table in the galley, the four looked up, Azula's face darkening as the other turned smiles onto her but a moment later she frowned darkly, rising quickly to her feet and storming from the room. Suki followed after her hastily and Gar rose to his feet as well but he sent a questioning look back at Ty Lee when she did not move.
"Just a minute, this is so sweet and such juicy stuff." Ty Lee exclaimed excitedly, leaning forward with her face hovering over the metal cup, "I don't want to miss a thing."
"Daniel, I." Zuko began, regret plain on his face.
"You're her brother, Zuko, it's your job to look out for her." Daniel said warmly, waving a hand dismissively, "I'm a big brother too, remember?"
"Still, I shouldn't have said that about June." Zuko returned, "I'm sorry, Daniel."
"Don't worry about it." Daniel replied, sitting back on the bed with another groan, "I overreacted myself…but that's to be expected by now, I suppose."
Zuko had watched Daniel sit down, concern on his face now at the pained movements from the scarred man.
"Are you alright?" he asked, stepping forward.
"You have a ways to go yet before you can Bend the elements of your own or anyone else's body without doing a little damage." Daniel said with a wry grin.
"Damage?" Zuko breathed, shame suddenly burning through him.
"It's fine, Zuko. A few stretched ligaments, nothing that won't heal shortly." Daniel said quickly and turned a smile onto Zuko, "Actually, you just impressed the hell out of me. Seeing you Bend the elements in metal and now this, it won't be long before you're joining me in the sky with,"
The hatch of the cabin banged open, Zuko jumping in surprise and turned to see Azula glaring back at him while a slightly amused Suki stood behind her.
"You are such an…idiot." Azula snarled, stepping into the room and marching up to Zuko to glare into his wide eyes, "Of course I care about him. He treats me with the same respect and care you do, Zuzu. Those two weeks you were gone were how long it took me to see it for myself…he's my friend."
Leaning to one side, Daniel looked past Azula and Zuko, sharing an amused smile with Suki who still stood in the doorway.
"And what are you smiling at? You're the bigger idiot." Azula snapped, looking past her brother and spying Daniel who blinked in fresh surprise, "All that fluff about admiring me? Have you any idea how much I…we admire you. All that you've been through, things that would leave most people drooling over themselves in a corner somewhere and here you are, still in control and still fighting for us. You're the one we look up to, you…moron."
Daniel's surprise face softened into a smile as she spoke and he slowly shook his head as though to deny it but as Azula opened her mouth to continue, Zuko interrupted.
"Wait. How did you know what we were talking about?" he asked with a frown, "Were you listening outside the door?"
Azula's annoyed expression faded as her face colored once more, turning to look to Suki who suddenly seemed engrossed in her fingernails.
"Uh," Azula began.
"I felt them arrive before she kicked the door in, which means," Daniel said, smirking in Azula's direction.
Sniffing at the air, the scarred man tipped his face down and then hooked a leg under the bed he still sat on, using a toe to push a small chip of blue crystal out into the light.
"Uh, well, see," Suki started from the doorway, her face as red as Azula's now as the two young women shared a guilt ridden look.
But Daniel's face had turned away and he grinned fiercely at something the others could not see. Holding out a hand, the chip of crystal flew up and Daniel held it up in one palm. Then bringing up his other hand, white energy crackled about his fingers before he slapped his hands together.
A shriek of surprise sounded from the far end of the corridor outside the doorway followed shortly by another shriek of absolute horror.
"MY EYEBROWS!"
"Daniel." Suki said in reprimand as the scarred man chuckled, then turning to Zuko she finished, "You better come in case he burnt the tip of her nose off instead of just her eyebrows. You behave, Daniel. Get yourself out of bed and…I don't know…go train or something. Stop wallowing in self pity."
Struggling to keep the smile off his own face, Zuko left with Suki to check on Ty Lee and a moment after they had left, a snort escaped Azula as she grinned.
"Ok, that was a little much and Ty wasn't the only one listening." Azula said, turning back to Daniel, "But it was funny."
Sharing another smirk with Azula, Daniel's faded after a moment and he sighed.
"I'm supposed to be teaching you by example but I haven't been doing too well with that, have I?" Daniel said, flashing an embarrassed smile.
"Oh, I don't know." Azula replied with a shrug and grinned again, "You're always good for a laugh at least."
Daniel released a snort and chuckled as he rose from the bed, smiling warmly at Azula.
"Well, what say we take Suki's advice and get back to a little training? We haven't touched on your Airbending since that first lesson." Daniel suggested, "And there's another way I can show you to combine fire and air that you might enjoy."
"Sure but, uh, before we go," Azula said hesitantly. Biting at her lips as her face darkened in a rapidly spreading blush, Azula slipped her leather pack from her back and pulled from it a long, wide strip of shiny, red material, "I found this when I went with Ty Lee to go fabric shopping in Ba Sing Sa. I don't actually have any money so Ty bought it for me and she helped me to sew it so really, it's kind of from both of us."
Wearing a curious expression, Daniel accepted the long strip of material from Azula, feeling the smooth silk between his fingers.
"I, uh, just wanted to return the favor. I mean, you gave me my sapphire, it's chain and my pack. Here let me." taking the material back from Daniel, Azula reached up and wrapped it about his eyes, leaning into him as she tied it securely behind his head, "It's ghinko silk. Only ghinko worms that live in active volcanos make it and it's used to make gloves for Firebenders and blacksmiths. I thought it would help when your eyes light up. The silk can withstand extreme temperatures so it should last better than those strips of leather you've been using."
As Azula spoke, she was highly aware that she was pressed into Daniel's chest, her arms over his shoulders as she tied the thick material. She paused when she was done, her eyes searching his softly smiling face from a few inches away, noticing too how the new scar over his left eye seemed to accentuate his features and also the way the deep red blindfold suited his natural color.
"It's perfect." Daniel said with emotion, reaching up to touch the material about his eyes. The spell broken, Azula stepped back as his smile broadened, "I never thought about using ghinko silk. Thank you, Azula."
She swallowed hard, uncomfortable suddenly as these emotions, desires rose in her again and once more Azula blushed furiously.
"You ok?" Daniel asked, raising an eyebrow over his new silken blindfold.
"Yeah, uh, just happy you are." Azula replied, feeling the lame excuse to be painfully obvious as she rubbed at the back of her neck.
"Come on." Daniel said with a jerk of his head toward the door, "I think you're going to get a lot out of these lessons."
Sokka had finally managed to get away from his duties. Not that he minded the work that needed doing but his people's constant need of him and his advice over every little aspect of the rebuilding had taken it's toll over the last two days. His father and Suki had been an invaluble help but whenever someone needed something, they always seemed to come seeking Sokka first.
A grand funeral was set to take place the next day and Sokka had been working hard with his tribe members to make the arrangements. He hadn't yet let himself fully feel the impact of the loss he and his people had suffered but as his father had told him, a leader must put their people's needs first. There would be time for grief but that time wasn't here yet.
For now, as the afternoon waned, Sokka had taken time to join the others on board the ship at the docks. With repairs taking priority and Daniel needing a place to heal, the ex-war ship turned fishing vessel had remained in dock. Also, the people of the southern Watertribe feared the scarred man and Sokka had thought it best to keep Daniel out of his people's sight.
On the catwalk surrounding the high bridge of the mothership, they had brought up comfortable canvas chairs and Sokka reclined with his wife curled into his side, Suki happy with this arrangement since she had seen as little of Sokka as everyone else. Ty Lee and Gar also reclined together on a large chair but between the two couples, Zuko sat straight and stiff, watching another two working together on the deck far below.
Daniel faced Azula, raising one hand which burst into yellow, green tinged flames. In a sudden motion he hurled the handful of fire, a ball of flames hurtling toward Azula. Reacting quickly, Azula slipped one foot behind the other, her hands held palm out, one high, the other low, rapidly spinning them before her and there came the telltale sign of swirling air. The fireball struck this spinning air before Azula, bursting into a spiral as the air currents she had generated carried the flames away, dissipating them quickly. Smiling at his pupil, Daniel bowed to her before his hands rose again, flames bursting to life above his palms and Azula resumed a ready stance to block him once more.
"It's good to see him up and about. I still can't get over how he heals though." Sokka said, one hand lazily stroking Suki's back as he watched Azula use a shield of air to block Daniel's fireballs again, "And I can't believe how quickly Azula's picking up this move. It took her the whole day to work out an airblast back in Ba Sing Sa."
"That's my baby sister for you." Zuko said quietly, "Show her a few moves and she'll be a master of the form a week later. She always picked things up quick."
"I like his new face gear." Sokka added, watching as Daniel spun to keep Azula ahead of himself, the long, dangling ends of his blindfold flapping about his shoulders, "A bit of color looks good on him. I would have thought he'd go green but the red looks good too."
"Zula picked it out for the sour puss." Ty Lee said in an aggrieved tone, absently running her fingertips over her much thinned eyebrows, "She thought the color would better match his complexion."
"She's picking fashion accessories out for him now?" Sokka asked in a suggestive tone, "What's next? A we going to see a propos,"
Sokka was silenced as Zuko turned his head sharply to glare, growling low in the back of his throat.
"Oh, get over it Zuko, he's only teasing." Suki said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "Besides, they're just friends. They told you so themselves."
"Did I miss something?" Sokka, who hadn't yet heard what had occurred earlier, asked curiously just before a huge yawn overtook him.
"I'll fill you in later, my big sexy sleepy warrior husband." Suki said smiling, lifting herself up to plant her lips on her husband's.
"Suddenly I'm not so sleepy." Sokka tried to return huskily but another yawn overtook him before he could return her kiss with one of his own.
Watching this, Ty Lee sighed and turned to show Gar her own affections. Between the two kissing couples, Zuko gave another growl of frustration and turned away. He had been gone from Mai and Toph for several days now and though he would not admit it aloud to the others, he missed them terribly. But when Zuko turned to look back down at the pair training below, he blinked in surprise to find himself looking into Daniel's blindfolded face. The scarred was floating in the air just beyond the catwalk, his arms folded against his chest and wearing a wry grin.
"Perhaps I could offer you an escape from this vile and disgusting public display." Daniel said, his grin widening when Ty Lee broke her kiss long enough to poke her tongue out at him, "I was going to teach Azula a new move before it got too dark, one you can learn part of too, Zuko."
"Anything." Zuko said in true relief, "Just get me out of here."
Laughter arose from the others but then they watched in awe as Daniel raised a hand and Zuko rose from his chair. Not to his feet but into the air, joining Daniel beyond the rail before they both rapidly dropped down to the deck below. When they landed beside Azula, Zuko wore a dreamy smile.
"I know I've said it before," Zuko said to Daniel, "But I really can't wait to try that for myself."
"It's funny you should say that." Daniel said with a crooked grin, moving about to face brother and sister, "The moves I intend to show you now, encompass fire and air but the two of you can practice the fire side of it before Azula and I move on to the next part."
Then turning about, Daniel took several running steps and jumped up onto the rail, using it to leap high and out beyond the side of the ship. Rolling once in the air, as he came back around he kicked down and a jet of flames burst from the soles of his feet. Azula and Zuko stared at Daniel, grinning back at them as he stood on a jet of flame that licked harmlessly at the water below. Azula felt a stab of concern as she realized just what the next lesson was going to be.
"Assisted flight…or as Kuzon used to call it, Jetting." Daniel called to them, "Most Firebenders can give a burst of fire to boost them over long or high jumps but you two have a far greater understanding and mastery of your element than most Firebenders." drifting closer to the ship, the flames died from beneath Daniel as he dropped back to the deck and walked over to Azula, "I can feel your heart racing. Are you alright?"
"It's just," Azula began hesitantly, glancing at her brother, "I used to have a lot of nightmares about falling ever since…since Zuko and I had a fight on a war balloon and knocked each other off."
"That time at the western air temple?" Zuko asked with a frown, "But you saved yourself, remember? Just after Aang saved me."
"I know but…after the war…when I wasn't…very well," Azula explained uncomfortably, "I used to have nightmares all the time where I couldn't save myself and I just kept falling. It's ridiculous I know but ever since…I get nervous when I'm up high."
"Azula, it is perfectly natural and nothing to be ashamed of." Daniel said warmly, smiling at her, "Recurring nightmares like that tend to plant the seed of fear in our minds and once it takes root, it's very hard to make those fears let go. Trust me, I know." the scarred man reached out, placing a hand on Azula's shoulder, "But I promise you, when you have mastered this, you need never fear falling again."
And once he had said it, Azula felt herself believing it. Her nervousness and embarrassment faded and she returned Daniel's smile as he stepped back, looking to both brother and sister again.
"Now, find a clear space and give each other plenty of room." Daniel advised, Zuko and Azula doing as he said, "Remember, keep the flow constant from your feet until you're ready to give yourself greater thrust and use bursts from your hands to help with balance. Just take your time and when you're comfortable we'll take a short flight."
Looking briefly to each other, brother and sister took a moment to calm themselves, taking slow deep breaths. Zuko fired first, a heart beat before Azula and a moment later they both wobbled slightly as they stood on their own jets a foot above the deck, gold and azure flames washing over the steel below and around them. Following Daniel's advice, they occasionally used jets from their hands when they tipped this way or that but in only minutes Zuko laughed loudly with joy.
"This is incredible." Zuko shouted over the roar of his and Azula's flames.
"Try a little more height." Daniel called over to them, "Don't drift off, just rise up and down for a bit."
Concentrating harder, Zuko fed more to the fires roaring from his feet, feeling the push beneath him increase as he rose slowly. Smiling at her brother, and not to be outdone by him, Azula was shortly behind him. Twelve feet above the deck, the tips of their jets still touched the ship below and they experimented, rising and falling as they increased or decreased the power of their flames. After several minutes of this, Zuko still laughed like a small child playing with a new toy for the first time.
"This is…this," Zuko stammered with excitement, "Oh, Zula, I gotta fly."
Zuko pushed his arms up, straight out above his head and kicked his feet again, the jet of flames from his feet tripling in size and length, carrying Zuko with alarming speed up into the sky. Using bursts from her hands, Azula angled away from Zuko's descending flames but began to wobble, moaning in fear as she started tipping onto her side. Instantly, she felt hands on her waist, righting her again and Azula twisted her head around to see Daniel standing in the air behind her.
"It's alright, it just takes time learning to move in three dimensions." Daniel called to her.
Drifting around to her front, Daniel stood before her, reaching out once more to adjust her hands closer to her sides. With a twinge of jealousy, Azula noticed that Daniel hovered before her without needing flames to hold him up and then looking up, she saw her brother performing twists and loops in the air high above them.
"He looks like he was born to do this." she said as she watched Zuko flying about.
"Yeah, but he's going to get cold up there pretty quick." Daniel said with a grin, "Now, Azula, let me ask you something. If I asked you to produce an air shield above you and combine an airblast with your flames down below, what do you think will happen?"
"Well, the jet from my feet would become more intense, giving me a greater push." Azula replied readily, having used the combination moved before.
"And the air shield?" Daniel asked again and Azula thought for a moment before answering.
"I think…it would push the air ahead of me out of the way, allowing me to fly faster still." she replied thoughtfully.
"Excellent, and not only that, the air around you will be pulled along behind the air shield, helping to keep you warm at high altitudes." Daniel told her with a warm smile, "Do you think you're ready to give it a try?"
Biting at her lip but pushing her fears aside, Azula nodded. Drifting a little away, Daniel gave her an encouraging smile and nodded his head.
"When you're ready, Azula." Daniel called to her, "And don't let fear guide you. I'll be right by your side."
Returning the scarred man's nod, although her nerves would not allow a smile, Azula tipped her head upwards and concentrated on what she needed to do. When she felt herself as prepared as she would ever be, Azula raised her hands, spinning them with a twirling flourish above her head. At the same moment, she raised her legs slightly, feeling herself drop as the jet of flame below died but she kicked out again instantly. Azula roared into the sky riding a jet of crackling blue, white fire, leaving the ship and her brother high above that far below herself in a matter of heartbeats. True to his word, Daniel flew at her side and as a sudden rush of excitement washed through her, Azula laughed.
Down below, Sokka, Suki, Ty Lee and Gar watched with wide eyes as those two tiny figures shot across the sky at amazing speeds, circling the southern Watertribe's capitol town several times a minute. They had watched Zuko with similar amazement moments before but now he dropped back down from the sky, shivering slightly, his lips pale blue but split wide in a victorious grin.
"How's that for Jerkbending, Ponytail boy?" Zuko called to Sokka as he dropped toward the deck below, laughing at the incredulous look on the warriors faces.
But after his immense fun at flying about in the freezing air above the ship, as he came down, Zuko discovered a problem. The jet of flames from his feet that held him aloft would not allow him to get close to the deck, the pressure of those jets keeping him several feet in the air. Mentally shrugging at the problem, Zuko banished the flames holding him up, dropping the few feet to the deck intending to roll gracefully to his feet…when his feet struck a thin, almost invisible sheet of ice. With a cry of alarm, Zuko's feet shot out from under him and he landed heavily on his back, the wind blasting from his lungs in a loud grunt. Moments after, two streaks burst from a hatch at the base of the control tower, flying over to Zuko and skidding to a halt, revealing Sokka and Suki. Helping the Firebender to his feet and seeing that Zuko was alright, Sokka first began to chuckle and then laughed uproariously.
"Shut up, peasant." Zuko groaned.
High above, so far that to Azula the ship below looked as small as her fingernail, she and Daniel sailed through the air. Now and then, Azula would circle one hand before herself, strengthening the air shield which kept the worst of the cold from biting into her as Daniel had said. Below was white and blue, so high had they come that she could barely make out the structure of the town below and all around them, the horizon curved. When she looked to the scarred man himself flying beside her, Daniel appeared more at peace than ever.
"You really love it up here, don't you?" Azula called out.
"I inherited that love from my father but it's much better when you have someone to share the experience with." Daniel called back, "Now hold up for a minute so we can talk."
Kicking her legs out before herself and using bursts from her hands, Azula brought herself to a halt in the air, hovering once more on her jet as Daniel drifted before her.
"How would you like to get rid of the fear of falling forever?" Daniel asked her with a crooked grin.
"How, exactly?" Azula asked cautiously, that familiar grin worrying her.
"By falling." Daniel answered and when Azula only stared back with raised eyebrows, he continued, "Just hear me out. When I first started studying Airbending, my father made me a glider but I was always nervous about going too high. So one day Dad talked me into flying as high as we could go and then we closed our gliders and fell. Freefalling, my Dad called it and the contest was, the first to open their glider and stop their fall was the loser."
"And what was the prize for the winner?" Azula asked dryly.
"Not losing." Daniel replied with a grin, "When she was older, my sister Mai and I would jump from her bison and we had a standing bet that the loser cleaned the winner's bedroom at home but for you Azula, I think just the act of freefalling will help you. Experience what it's like knowing you can stop yourself falling at any time."
She thought about it for a moment but gave Daniel a narrow eyed glare, his crooked grin still worrying her.
"So, no challenge? No bet? We just fall for a bit and then stop?" she asked suspiciously.
"However you want to play it, Azula. This was one of my favorite games with my Dad and my sister when I was a kid and I know you'll like it too." Daniel said with a chuckle, "Just remember to keep up your air shield below you and when you feel you've fallen enough, kick out with another jet and you'll be fine."
Azula thought about it, looking down to the township of the southern Watertribe, so small below her she could cover the place with her extended hand. The ship where they had launched from was almost invisible, a grey dot alongside the tiny docks. Just the fact that she could look down without fear stabbing through her was encouraging and after a moment, Azula made her decision. The intense jet of flames beneath her feet simply winked out and she tipped forward, feeling a blast of icy wind as her fall began before she could circle her hands below herself, the near invisible shield of circulating air cutting off the worst of the roaring winds. At first, aside from the wind roaring in her ears, nothing seemed to change and Azula marveled at the experience, blinking in surprise at the exhilarating sensation of floating high above the world.
Incredible, isn't it? Azula blinked in surprise at Daniel's mental voice and looked to the man falling on his front beside her, Easier to talk this way. When we get closer, you get more of a feel of falling but in these first few seconds, I always thought it was like being a cloud, looking down on the world as you drift along.
How very poetic. Azula thought dryly and a wide smile appeared on Daniel's face showing he'd heard.
But Azula pulled her gaze from Daniel, looking around once more and thought he was right. There was no sense of falling, only floating and an odd sense of freedom Azula had never experienced before. It wasn't until she looked up at the horizon that Azula saw the truth of it, the gentle curve of the world slowly flattening out around them. Looking back down, she could see the town better now, the ordered pattern to it's layout of buildings, even dark spots of people moving about and directly below them, the mothership was growing steadily. But oddly, as the sense of falling grew stronger, the world below growing steadily faster, rising up to meet them, her nerves remained steady, her fears did not return.
We can stop whenever you're ready, Azula. she heard Daniel's thoughts once more, And I won't leave your side. I promise.
Azula glanced at the man falling beside her and a feeling of exhilaration, even recklessness, came over her. She smirked at Daniel.
Well, you better keep up then. Azula thought, knowing he would hear.
Kicking her legs up, she tucked her arms by her sides as her head tipped down so she was falling head first. As though he had suddenly stopped, Azula shot ahead of Daniel. Even with her shield of air before her, the roar of the wind grew impossibly loud and her hair whipped about, the ribbon that she tied it back with suddenly ripped away so that her hair streaked back behind her.
Someone wants to play the game. came Daniel's thoughts again and Azula looked to see him at her side once more, I told you you'd enjoy this.
Stop cheating. Azula returned forcefully, And none of your fancy Bending either. We use Firebending only to stop. The one who stops themselves first or not at all…gets a makeover from Ty Lee.
Daniel raised an eyebrow at this but returned Azula's fierce grin a heartbeat later.
You're on.
On the open deck of the Mothership, Zuko, Sokka and Suki remained where the young Firelord had come down. Looking about over the deck, Sokka had applied some thought to what had happened.
"I think when you first came down, your Firebending melted all the little bits of ice and snow around." Sokka explained thoughtfully, pointing to the rails at the side of the ship where small icicles clung, "But the metal deck is so cold it refroze again almost instantly. That's why you slipped and fell on your ass."
"Yeah, thanks, Brainiac." Zuko said in an annoyed tone, rubbing at the mentioned anatomy, "I'm sure my ass is grateful to you for working that out."
"Uh, guys." Suki said, her face tipped up to the sky.
At her strange tone, the two men followed her gaze and Zuko immediately slapped a hand over his face and growled in frustration.
"Azula."
Inches apart they dropped through the sky, below the pair the docks and the ship were now well defined, even the tiny figures of three people standing on the deck easily visible. Azula guessed they would come down near the boat, somewhere to the side and her eyes flicked across to the grinning man at her side as a plan hatched in her mind. Faster now the water below was rushing toward them and suddenly they were past the top of the control tower of the ship and half a heart beat after that, only a few dozen of feet from the water. Her hand flashing out, Azula's fingers found the knot of the loincloth at Daniel's waist and pulled.
"What?" Daniel called out, snatching at the strip of leather as the wind whipped it away.
An instant after her trick, Azula kicked her legs over her head to roll in the air, igniting a massive burst of flame fueled by spinning air from her feet. She felt her legs threatening to buckle, her stomach feeling as though it wanted to drop into her waist but only feet from the water, surrounded by steam boiled off the ocean below, Azula stopped. A huge splash at her side sent water flying everywhere but Azula was already rising once more, laughing as she angled away from the ship and back into the sky.
"Wow." Zuko breathed as he watched his sister go.
"Yeah. She totally kicked his ass into the water." Sokka said in the same awed tone.
"What? Oh yeah, that." Zuko said distractedly, his eyes still locked onto Azula as she rolled through the air, her faint laughter still coming from high above, "But her, I haven't heard my sister laugh like that since we were kids. Since the last time we were…she…was happy."
Another snort of laughter made the men drop their gazes, seeing Suki standing at the ship's side with her hands pressed to her mouth, shoulders shaking in barely suppressed laughter. Joining her, Zuko and Sokka looked over the side where the falling pair had come down and saw Daniel floating on the surface of the water. Both men standing with Suki struggled to hold their own laughter as they looked at Daniel, his face and chest cherry red from his impact with the water. Floating on his back, his blindfolded face turned to the three above him on the ship.
"Ow." he wheezed.
It was a better night for all that night, their moods lifted by Daniel's recovery. Zuko and Azula shared with the others what freedom and joy it was to soar through the air in a way only the air nomads had achieved in the past and talked to each other long into the night about the implications for their culture when such skills began to be learned by other Firebenders. The scarred man himself seemed to be in better spirits that night then after he'd first awakened, although he excused himself early, retiring to the room put aside for him on the ship.
The next day however was a somber affair for everyone. Three large and exquisitely built ships of wood had been assembled hastily over the last two days by the best craftsmen available, exhausting every source and scrap of timber they could lay their hands on. Each ship was then filled with refined oils, the wood, sails and ropes coated with it before each and every body of those who had died were lovingly placed on board. The ships were then towed out beyond the docks and anchored at the entrance of the bay before the capitol of the southern Watertribe. Almost six hundred people gathered at those docks that morning to pay tribute to those laid in the distant boats, people in blue, green, black or plain coats, all come together to share their grief. A stage and a podium of ice had been erected and Sokka took his place, swallowing hard as he looked one last time at the boats and then turned to face his people. There was already silence but Sokka waited as all those gathered turned to him, turning once more himself to look to his wife, standing close by with the rest of his family and friends.
"I guess…I know this isn't the way we traditionally treat our loved ones who have passed but then, we're not a traditional tribe anymore, are we?" Sokka started hesitantly, clearing his throat and raising his voice with a little more confidence, "A little over ten years ago the southern Watertribe consisted of thirty people…we had lost so much…but over those ten years, just as I have watched my home swell and grow, so has my heart with the pride I feel for my people. For my people don't just number thirty anymore. Before me today I see so many who came here from our sister tribe in the north. I see Earthnation. I see Firenation. I see a new nation based on diversity and cooperation the likes of which this world has not seen in many, many lifetimes and I tell you my heart swells fit to bursting each and every day just knowing I am a part of this." tears still flowed from the mourners gathered but there were also many smiles and nods of encouragement as Sokka cleared his throat again, "But again we have lost. Again our loved ones and a part of our nation have been taken from us. Many of you are just learning of this new threat and as unbelievable as it seems, we have just experienced first hand how devastating this threat is to us all. But I stand before you now as proof that we can stand against this threat. As we once stood against the injustice of war ten years ago, so shall we prevail again."
Sokka paused again, taking a slow, deep breath as he smoothed out a piece of paper on the podium before himself. A big piece of paper, filled with many, many names.
"To those who have moved on from us, we promise you that your passing will not be in vain. You have shown us the way and by your guidance we shall fulfill our destinies and live the lives promised to us so that you may welcome us with open arms when it is our time to join you. We honor you…Kanna," Sokka's voice broke but he rallied quickly and continued, "Grandmother to us all. Pakku, your wisdom shall guide us always. Ryu, your laughter we shall remember and the joy it brings us still. Yan'mae,"
On and on the list of names went, Sokka adding a little bit of remembrance to each and every one. The tears flowed harder from the crowd gathered there, soft sobbing rising from many and Sokka's voice broke several more times, especially as he read out the names of the children. When at last it was done, Sokka remained with his head bowed, taking several minutes before he could raise his head and continue.
"I would ask…ask my best friend now to honor our people." Sokka said, turning to watch as Zuko stepped up onto the stage, "Once we stood against each other, now, I am proud to have you by my side. My friend, my brother. Firelord Zuko, please light the way for my people…and guide them to the next world."
At that moment Zuko would have given anything to grab Sokka and just hold him, the pain he sensed in his friend almost palpable even though Sokka stood tall and proud, only his deep blue eyes shimmering with tears held back through strength of will. But Zuko also knew the trials of a leader, the sacrifices required and following the steps Sokka had planned, he stepped up to the back of the podium and dropped into a low, loose stance. Starting with slow, sweeping movements of his feet, swinging his arms up and around his sides and leaving a trail of bright golden flames that quickly thickened, almost caging himself within a shell of fire. Then holding his arms out wide, Zuko brought them around and forward in a sweeping strike, the flames around him drawing together in front of his hands before it launched away, a fireball as bright as the sun that flew high over the bay. At the peak of it's flight, the fireball split into three, each as bright as the whole had been and they dropped down slowly onto the funeral ships moored far out in the bay. The fireballs did not explode but seemed to break apart, spilling over each ship like liquid gold and setting the oil soaked vessels alight. In moments, each ship was a bright beacon of golden fire, flames leaping to the sky and clean, white smoke rising higher still.
Everyone gathered there watched in silence, the ships burning for several hours before the last slipped beneath the waves, the strong currents out beyond the bay clearing what remained. Afterwards the large crowd slowly dispersed, people coming forth to give words of encouragement and praise to Sokka before slipping away in small groups, most gathering in the centre of the town for a wake to be held through the night there.
Sokka remained standing on the stage the entire time, Zuko rejoining him at his side as the two men watched the people go. Once the crowd had thinned, Hakoda and Suki hastened onto the stage to join them.
"My son, I am so proud of you. You've become the leader…I always wished I could be." Hakoda said warmly, embracing Sokka briefly before stepping back to look into his eyes, "Come see me before you go, ok? And don't worry about our tribe. We are a strong people and we will have this place back to the way it was by the time you return."
Sokka nodded to his father, watching him go before Suki embraced him from the side, looking up into her husband's face with concern.
"Are you alright, baby?" She asked, her own voice hitching, "Do you want to let it out now?"
"Not yet…I have to…preside over the start of the wake." Sokka answered, his face tight and impassive but his eyes speaking volumes, his jaw trembling as he spoke, "There will be time…after we've gone."
Suki nodded sadly. She understood the difficulties of leadership as well but beyond her own pain and concern, she felt an immense pride for the strength her husband had shown. Sokka was preparing to follow the crowds back into the town when the others came up to join them on the stage, the big warrior pausing as he took in the sight of Daniel between Ty Lee and Azula.
"Dude, I really wish I could think of a joke right now." Sokka said to the scarred man, his lips twitching upwards briefly, "But all I can say, Daniel is that you look truly beautiful."
With a last sad smile to the others, Sokka moved off with Suki at his side and Zuko at his other, the Firelord glancing back once and smirking at Daniel. Ty Lee, Gar and Azula remained on the stage with Daniel standing between them, the scarred man's flushed face twitching slightly beneath his deep red blindfold.
"Oh, don't get sore about it." Azula said snidely to Daniel, "You lost the bet, pretty boy."
A low growl was Daniel's only response as the man stood stiffly before he raised one hand, reaching toward the back of his head. Beside him, Ty Lee's hand flashed out and slapped Daniel's away.
"Don't touch that, it took me ages to get the bow right." Ty Lee reprimanded him, then fussed over him for a moment, "Stop fidgeting. I spent half the night putting this together."
Gar covered his mouth as his shoulders shook with silent laughter, Azula's smirk growing as well as Ty Lee smoothed out his hair and the clothing she had found for Daniel. Searching the town the night before, Ty Lee had dressed Daniel that morning in traditional, fur-lined Watertribe coat and pants with boots and gloves to match. All of which she had spent part of the evening dying a bright pink. After cleaning her own new kimono of the coal dust that had stained it and now standing beside Daniel, he and Ty Lee almost matched. To compliment his new outfit, Ty Lee had tied the loose ends of his new blindfold into an extravagant, stylish bow on the back of his head. Still growling softly as Ty Lee fussed, Daniel's head turned to Azula.
"You cheated." he growled at her.
"And you never said we couldn't." Azula returned, "Oh, get over it. It's only till we leave and besides…you owe Ty a little payback."
"Bet you won't be blowing anything up in people's faces again in a hurry now, will you?" Ty Lee said sweetly from his other side, waggling her much thinned eyebrows at him, "But I don't know what you're complaining about anyway. Pink looks fabulous on you and no one in the town will be frightened of you in this. You might even make some new friends."
"Or find a date." Azula added under her breath, "There was that one guy at the funeral who wouldn't take his eyes off you."
As the others shared an assortment of giggles and snorts of laughter, Daniel slumped his shoulders in defeat.
The mood was brought down again briefly at their departure from the south pole, both Sokka and Suki saddened to be leaving their people and those of the southern Watertribe sad to see their leader and his beautiful wife leaving.
Aang, Katara, Mai and Toph waited outside of the village of Harnuk eagerly, already alerted that their loved ones were coming. They were slightly confused when someone large and bright pink appeared with each of their loved one's briefly before vanishing again to get the next until at last they were smirking too at the sight of Daniel in his Watertribe outfit. Once they had all returned, they were amused again as Daniel literally tore the clothing from himself, hurling them to the ground and kicking off the boots last before thrusting out both his fists and bathing the pile in bright, greenish flames. Ty Lee pouted at the wanton destruction but when he was done, Daniel stood proudly in only his ever-present backpack, loincloth, his new blindfold and a satisfied smile.
The amusement was only momentary as Sokka slowly approached his sister, Katara's eyes brimming with tears as she went to her brother. Only feet away from her, Sokka's face crumpled as he fell to his knees and began to sob almost uncontrollably, the pain he had held in for three days bursting from him in a torrent. Katara was before him in moments, Suki a heartbeat after that, sister and wife joining the man on his knees with their arms about him as he poured his pain fourth. Mai and Toph were quick to Zuko's side at first, the trio embracing tightly if briefly before they too joined Sokka, adding their own comforting arms. Soon only Daniel and Azula remained standing as Aang, Ty Lee and Gar joined the others, the scarred man and the ex-princess looking a little uncomfortable and unsure of themselves.
"Perhaps we should hunt and prepare a meal for those who are hungry later." Daniel said softly to Azula, "Then later on I was hoping you would join me with Aang."
"Aang?" Azula asked curiously.
"He came to me in spirit last night and we spent some time talking about the fight down south and my…problems." Daniel added quietly with a small frown, "But I have something to ask of him that involves you and I both. But not now, later."
Turning away from the family sharing their grief and comfort, Daniel and Azula stripped their clothing and the Wolf and Tigress vanished into the trees beyond the fields.
"Suki is taking good care of him and my brother has always been strong. Judging by his appetite, he'll be fine soon." Katara was saying warmly, patting her slightly distended stomach as she placed an empty dish on the ground before herself, "Thank you for preparing the food, you two. It's always nice to enjoy a fine meal I didn't have to prepare myself."
"Hey, I've cooked for you." Aang said from beside her, pouting until she turned a dry look on him, the young Avatar then looking away with embarrassment, "And I've…apologized for that."
"He did all the cooking, I just helped collect it." Azula said, pointing to Daniel sitting beside her, "I can char things but that's about as far as my culinary skills go."
Katara's bright blue eyes, still a little red from the grief she'd shared with her brother, twinkled knowingly as they looked first to Azula and then to Daniel. At Daniel's request, the four had left the village shortly after nightfall, leaving the rest of the Gaang enjoying their food in their guesthouse. The night air was cool but not too cold so they found a spot between the village and the fields, arranging themselves in a rough circle, facing one another over a small fire.
"Perhaps Daniel should include that in our training. What kind of Avatars will we be, Azula if we can't at least cook?" Katara tittered at Aang's humor but Azula only rolled her eyes before Aang looked to Daniel, "But all fun aside. You wanted to talk, Daniel. Is it about what happened down south? Is there anything more we didn't discuss last night?"
"I don't think there's any more." Daniel answered, a dark frown on his face, "As I told you, this…Phoenix is like me or Fate. A corrupted version of an Avatar of Body and Nature. Somehow, through the knowledge she can draw from the Fount, Fate has bonded the great spirit Koh to the soul of a mortal man. When we fought," becoming pensive, the scarred man turned his blindfolded face down as though staring into the fire, "Phoenix fought with a savagery to match my own but I had enough presence of mind to see that he is as yet not fully bonded. When his souls have merged completely, he will be…formidable. But worse still," raising his face, Daniel scowled at Aang, "If Fate can create one such as Phoenix, she will make more."
Both Katara and Azula blanched at this news, their faces draining of color but Aang nodded slowly, he and Daniel had talked of such things the night before.
"Then what of our plans, Daniel?" Aang asked him, "Do you believe we should continue as we have been?"
"I do. We must seek the support of the dragons and if you leave in the morning, you and the others can be there before nightfall tomorrow." Daniel replied slowly and added hastily when Aang looked to his wife, "Do not fear for her. One thing I know with absolute certainty about dragons is that they will not harm the young or a female with child. Think of it as an…instinct built into them. As natural to them as breathing. Mai and Katara will be the safest amongst you and that is also why I was happy for Ana to seek the valley of the air bison. The worst the air dragon guardians will do is push her away but certainly not in the extreme way we were."
Daniel's lips twitched briefly upwards but both Aang and Azula looked away with embarrassment, remembering their frightening and painful trip to see the valley of the air bison. Katara, who had learned the details of the trip from her husband, narrowed her eyes briefly but then looked to Daniel with concern.
"Aang and I have been keeping an eye on Ana and the others progress. Bumi docked his airship at the eastern air temple early this morning and they are planning to move on to the valley tomorrow." Katara said and then added with a touch of worry, "I know you said it's safe but you will be going to supervise, won't you? Don't let anything happen to my Ana."
"Never will I allow Ana to come to harm, Katara." Daniel replied warmly, "And better than just myself, I have asked both Suki and Azula to accompany me. If Ana should fall, we shall be there to catch her and if she does not succeed on her first try, I will be there to guide her through her next attempt."
"Thank you, Daniel." Katara said relieved but raised an eyebrow at Daniel, "You're taking Suki too?"
Surprising the others, color flooded Daniel's face and he half turned toward Azula before looking hastily away.
"I find my thoughts are calmer, clearer with them by my side." he answered softly.
"That is a good thing, Daniel." Aang said warmly, "But I feel there is more you wanted to discuss with us tonight."
"Yes…I," Daniel began hesitantly, his features remaining flushed as he rubbed at one arm uncomfortably.
"Tell us what is troubling you." Aang said softly, "An open heart is the path to a healthy and balanced mind."
"That's…in part of what I wanted to talk to you about." Daniel said, looking away and still looking slightly uncomfortable, "It feels like only yesterday and yet lifetimes ago when my father took me on a journey to the four temples. With his guidance I studied the Way. I sought my Will and Vow and learned the sutras of the air nomads. But I didn't…I've never truly believed in them. I learned, I understood but I did not accept his teachings in my heart." Daniel bowed his head, sadness filling his voice as he continued, "He was the kindest and most loving father a child such as I or my sisters could have hoped for…and because of that I believe he was…generous when he declared me ready for my tattoos." when he looked back up at Aang, the others could see dark stains of moisture soaking into Daniel's silken blindfold, "I spoke the oath to my father. I repeated that oath to you but I have broken my vows to you both. I failed you both when I took what I wanted, when I made sport of others…when I have killed so many. I am quick to anger and quicker still to unleash that anger in vengeance. I am broken and unbalanced and I am…unworthy of what my father gave me."
Leaning forward, Daniel placed his forehead on the ground, prostrating himself before the fire and Aang.
"I humbly beg you, Aang of the Southern Air Temple, last Elder of the nomads. Teach me again the Way of your people." Daniel said in a soft moan into the ground, "Help me to believe in the Way. Help me to become the man my father wished me to be. Help me to become someone my father…and you…could be proud of once more."
His dark grey eyes gazing down on Daniel almost impassively at first, Aang then raised a hand, the small fire burning between them simply snuffing out as he dispelled it's heat with his Bending. Then leaning over the now cold coals, Aang rested a hand on the back of Daniel's head with a soft smile.
"Just by asking you have taken a big step and for that alone I am proud of you, Daniel. But considering your nature, the journey ahead of you will be a long and difficult one." Aang said warmly, his eyes then flicking over to Azula who watched Daniel with concern in her golden eyes, "And you, Azula? I believe Daniel asked you here to offer you the same opportunity but it will be no simple thing for either of you. You are both warriors, fighters who thrive on conflict and strife and that is in your natures, part of who you are. But to seek the Way, to seek true enlightenment, you must swear never to kill again."
Confused and raising an eyebrow to show her uncertainty, Azula only stared back at Aang before looking down at the man beside her. Slowly Daniel lifted himself back to his knees and turned to her.
"After Ba Sing Sa and after what happened at the south pole, I feel as though I am drowning in the blood of all those who have died by these hands." Daniel said softly, raising his hands briefly before he reached out and took one of Azula's in his own, "After that first, after Kuzon, each death comes so much easier and I know that in the heat of battle, sometimes the simplest course is to take down your enemies without mercy. But all of those I have killed, not just the Nomad's…I see them in my nightmares, I hear their cries for mercy and I'm afraid that one day...there will be no mercy left in me. No humanity…only the beast that kills. But what frightens me more is that one day…you could find yourself feeling the same way...because of me."
Azula's eyes searched Daniel's face, the young woman slightly shocked at how aged and drawn his face had become in the moonlight. But in the tone of his voice, in the warmth of his hand in hers, she sensed the depth of his concerns and fears. It was strange to her but at that moment Azula wanted to reach out, cup his face in her hands and tell him he wasn't at fault. He was a good man, a good teacher and at that moment, her best friend. Another part of her wanted to forget simple words, wanted to reach out and hold him to herself, to put her lips to his and open herself to him fully, to show him the true depth of her own feelings for him. A soft sound brought Azula's awareness back to reality, Aang and Katara swimming back into focus as she turned away from Daniel.
"I…I don't really understand." Azula said to cover her confusion and the warmth that was spreading through her.
"Through Daniel and the other Avatar spirits within me, I have come to understand much about demons and possession." Aang explained, smiling softly, "To drive a demon from this world is no evil but a good thing. They do not belong here. But to kill a mortal being, even those possessed by demons is a terrible crime. You rob them of their choice, their ability to grow and change. I understand what Daniel says about the heat of battle. Wars are won by those who kill the most of their enemies. But killing is simple. To seek the Way, to put yourself on the path of enlightenment, you must walk a far more difficult path. You must find the alternatives to death. Disable your enemies if you can, injure them if you must but never kill. Taking another's life does as much damage to your soul as it does to their's and I believe that is why Daniel struggles so with his control over the imbalance within him."
"I'm glad you came to us with this tonight, Danny." Katara said, smiling at him, "Aang and I have already discussed this and we believe this path is your only hope to mastering your control."
Daniel remained silent with his head bowed and Azula turned to look at him again, thinking of all she had heard. Then looking down at their joined hands, she again felt those unfamiliar feelings rise, warmth spreading through her chest that no longer filled her with fear and confusion.
"Would this path be easier to walk with a friend by your side?" Azula asked softly and Aang nodded sagely to her, "Then I will try. For myself and…for my friend."
"Then you have both taken a huge first step on your journey." Aang said warmly, both he and Katara smiling at the pair across from them, "And at the journey's end, together, you will find enlightenment."
Why do all my chapters end up being so huge? I know it's silly to ask you but I'm stuffed if I can figure it out. Oh, well. Hope you enjoyed it at least.
If you did (or not) please review and you could win an all expense paid trip to REVIEWVILLE where all the best reviewers hang out doing, err, review stuff. Oh, fine then, there's no trip but come on, just a little one, pretty please.