Chapter 11 – The Flight From Omashu
Sokka peeked around a corner, and breathed a sigh of relief. "OK, the guards are still there, meaning Azula probably hasn't been moved yet. Toph, can you tell if anyone else is in there?"
"Yeah, one other. Pretty sure it's that healer lady," Toph reported.
"OK. That simplifies things. Yugoda's no fighter. OK, you guys are up," directed Sokka.
Toph turned the corner, and strode purposefully up to the guards. "Mongo, Flatfoot, how you guys been? Been keeping up with the practice exercises I gave you?" She asked cheerily.
The guards saluted, and the taller of the pair said, "Yes, Sifu. How did you know it was us?"
Toph smiled and said, "Well, you know I 'see' with earthbending. Having sight puts you guys at a disadvantage, but you two are pretty advanced so I might be able to teach you the basics with a quick demonstration. Now, take a couple of steps away from that wall, take your horse stances, and close your eyes."
The two complied. Toph said, "Good. Wider stance, Flatfoot. Concentrate on the earth. Feel the vibrations. Ignore the girl standing behind you."
"What?" the pair said in unison as they blinked their eyes open and looked over their shoulders.
"Hi!" Ty Lee said, and then quickly jabbed the guards' chi points on their shoulders and spines. The pair collapsed as Sokka came up in a jog. Toph opened the doorway.
Sokka burst through, followed by Toph and Ty Lee, to find Azula sitting up, unbound, casually sipping tea and conversing with Yugoda. The elderly healer smiled knowingly and said, "I know why you're here, Young Warrior, and I won't oppose you."
Sokka rushed to Azula's bedside and gushed, "I know you probably hate me but there's no time to explain but you have to come with me now..."
Azula grabbed Sokka's wolf tail, and with a fierce look in her eye said, "You talk too much, Savage," and pulled him in to a sloppy, inexperienced yet passionate kiss.
Toph asked, "What's going on? Are they...?"
"They are. It's soooo sweet!" cooed Ty Lee.
"Awww, for cryin' out loud, break it up you two! You'll have plenty of time to suck face later, we gotta go!" Toph insisted.
They broke their kiss, and Azula slipped off the bed. Her knees buckled, and Sokka caught her as she fell back. "You're full strength should return in a day, Princess. Don't attempt any bending until it does," Yugoda warned.
Sokka scooped her up, and made for the exit. "I hope you know what you are doing," Yugoda stated.
"It's never stopped me before, Master," Sokka called back from the exit.
As they rushed down the corridor, Sokka said, "I was surprised to see you getting on so well with Yugoda."
"We're kindred spirits of a sort," Azula explained. "We're both healers, and powerful benders. She'd have been a formidable opponent had she been trained in combat. Behind you!"
"Got it!" Toph called as she pulled up a chunk of the stone floor and sent it flying backwards into their pursuer's mid-section. As they approached a cross-hall, Toph signaled the group to stop with an upward fist gesture. King Bumi entered the intersection. "Oh, hello there young people. Making a dramatic escape are we? Perhaps you have some thrilling heroics planned?"
Toph displayed her wolfish, Melon-Lord grin, "You gonna try to stop us? Ready to throw down, Old Man?"
"Not today, I'm late for the festival. I'll pencil you in for next week." Then, with his signature cackle, he spun and sank into the floor.
"That was..." Azula started.
"...Unbelievable," Ty Lee finished.
"Disappointing," Toph added.
"Well, they don't call him 'The Mad King' for nothing," Sokka observed. "Let's keep going."
The reached the end of the hallway. With a stomp of her foot, Toph opened a small chamber. "Everyone inside," She ordered. "Going up!"
Toph stopped the stone elevator at the palace landing platform. Sokka was relieved to see there were no guards on the air yacht. The vehicle was impressive: it was half the size a Fire Nation war airship, and much sleeker. Its paint scheme gave it the appearance of giant, floating badgermole.
As they approached the airship, Sokka's elation left when Piandao stepped out from behind a column, and said, "Sokka, I can't allow you do this. Return the Princess to the infirmary."
"You're here alone?" Sokka asked. "Where's Iroh?"
"Meditating. You gave him a lot to think about. He may yet see things your way," Piandao answered.
Sokka looked to Azula, who looked back, hopefully. "I can't take the chance that he won't."
Piandao drew his blade, "Sokka, please..."
Sokka placed Azula on the ground, and Ty Lee moved in to support her. Sokka drew Moon Blade, and said, "I don't want to fight you, Master. But you're wrong about her. I won't let you lock her up."
"You really believe that?" Piandao asked.
"I do."
"Then this is the way it has to be," Piandao said regretfully as he lunged in attack.
Sokka prepared to parry a blow that never came, as Piandao was suddenly cocooned up to his chest in stone. "You're gonna have to have your 'surpassed my master' duel some other time, Sokka. Now get on that airship and get Azula out of here already," Toph ordered.
Sokka sheathed his blade. "Yeah. Thanks, Toph." To Piandao, he said, "I'm sorry, Master, but I have to do this."
The older swordsman nodded. "I hope you're right."
Sokka, Azula, and Ty Lee boarded the vessel, and a few moments later, the steering engines spun up, and it set off from Omashu on a westerly course. Toph freed Piandao from his earthen prison and he asked, "Do you really believe Azula's changed?"
"I don't know," Toph answered. "But Sokka does. And I believe in in him."
…...
In the airship's control room, Sokka manned the wheel while Ty Lee stood supporting Azula behind him.
"We're heading west," Azula observed. "I hope you're not planning on taking me directly to the palace. Zuko is surely of the same mind about me that Uncle is."
"I'm not so sure that he is, Azula," Sokka said, "but you're right: we can't risk it. We're heading to the Southern Air Temple. Aang is there supervising renovations. He'll provide you sanctuary, and he has as much, if not more influence with Zuko than Iroh does. You get the Avatar to vouch for you, well, you won't have any problems from the White Lotus."
"So, you think the Avatar will do all that because he's your friend? You said the same thing about King Bumi, that worked out well," Azula snarked.
"Aang's more than a friend, he's family," Sokka said. "He married my sister six months ago."
Before Azula could comment, a rock glove wrapped around Ty Lee's throat, causing her to drop Azula. As she crumpled to the floor, Sokka drew his sword and spun around to meet the threat.
"Long Feng," he spat out.
"I'm touched, you remembered me. Now drop that sword unless you want me to crush your friend's windpipe."
Sokka complied, as Azula struggled to her feet. She attempted a shaky bending stance, but Long Feng stopped her with, "Now, now Princess, I see any blue fire and your friend is dead. Besides, given your current physical condition, I suspect bending will cause you more damage than it will me."
"What do you want?" Azula asked.
"My revenge, of course. And your comeuppance. When I return with you to Ba Sing Se, you will be very publicly, very painfully executed. The Earth King will be so grateful to me that he'll pardon and reinstate me to my rightful place. I must admit that I didn't expect things to work out this well for me. It seems I owe some gratitude to the Order of the White Lotus."
"How do you know about the Order?" Sokka asked, incredulously.
"You don't become Grand Secretariat without learning about the Order. When I heard the rumors about your presence in the Earth Kingdom, Princess, I got my contacts in the new Dai Li to convince the Earth King to issue that bounty. I knew eventually, that it would flush you out. I also knew Omashu would be your only safe haven from the Earth King, and that the Order would help you get there. So I went there and waited. Now my patience has been rewarded, but it grows thin, now turn this vessel around and set course for Ba Sing Se."
Sokka turned to the ship's controls, and instead of turning, shoved the attitude control forward, sending the airship into a steep dive. Sokka spun around and crouched, catching Moon Blade as it slid into his hand. Long Feng lost is balance and stumbled/fell toward Sokka's sword. Seeing his impending impalement, in a final act of defiance, launched a rock spike from his left rock glove into Sokka's gut.
Sokka reached behind himself, and pulled the lever to right the airship. He stood up, and pulled his blade from Long Feng's corpse. He looked down at his hands, they were covered in blood, his right in Long Fengs, his left his own. Fighting the urge to retch, he checked on the women.
"Azula, Ty Lee, are you alright?"
"Been better," Ty Lee rasped.
Azula struggled to her feet, Sokka stooped to help her up. "You're bleeding," She observed.
"I've had worse," he lied. He set Azula on the couch, and grabbed Long Feng's body, "Ty Lee, help me get rid of this."
After dumping the body, Sokka and Ty Lee returned to the control room. Sokka asked Ty Lee, "Do you know how to fly one of these things?"
"Yes," she affirmed.
"Good. Take the wheel, keep course 2-6-7, I need...to...sit...d..." Sokka collapsed next to Azula.
"Sokka!" Azula gasped. "Ty Lee, lock the wheel and help me, he's going into shock! Find a blanket and more cushions." She ripped open his shirt, and saw the wound. Carefully, removed the rock spike. "Agni, Sokka, you're hemorrhaging." She yelled, "Dammit Ty Lee, where are you?"
Ty Lee came rushing in with a blanket and two couch pillows. "Put the cushions under his feet," She ordered. Azula checked the wound, no amount of pressure or bandages would staunch the bleeding. She had to take the risk. To Sokka she said, "You're losing a lot of blood. I have to cauterize the wound. Now this is going to hurt. A lot." Azula closed her eyes, and directed her chi to her hand. Producing a focused, blue flame, she placed it on the wound. Sokka cried out in agony, but it was quickly done.
Azula, though weakened herself, wrapped the blanket around him.
"Gotta...get...Air...Temple...Katara...healer," Sokka gasped out.
"I know. Stay with me, Sokka. Ty Lee, are we still on course?" Azula asked.
"Yes, we should be there in an hour or so," Ty Lee said.
"He may not have an hour, see if it can go faster!"
"Stay with me Sokka," Azula begged. "We'll get you to your sister soon enough."
…...
45 minutes later, the spires of the Southern Air Temple came into view. Ty Lee brought the airship to rest on a platform that once served as a sky-bison paddock. Several Air Acolytes tending the grounds scattered as the vessel landed. Ty Lee bounded out of the ship to the nearest acolyte and said, "Is Katara here?" The man nodded. "Get her, quickly, her brother is on that airship and he's dying!" The acolyte ran to a nearby gong and sounded it in a particular pattern. Soon, Appa's groan could be heard as the beast descended and lit on the paddock. Katara climbed down from Appa's head as soon she saw the acrobat. "Ty Lee, what's going on, what are you doing with Bumi's airship?"
"Come on, Katara," Ty Lee begged. "I can explain later, but Sokka's in bad shape on there and he needs your help now!"
"Sokka? Why didn't you say so?" Katara asked as she rushed to the vessel.
She went into the control room and saw Azula hovering over his brother. "Get away from him, bitch! What did you do to him?"
Azula wiped a tear from her eye and sighed, "I've been trying to keep him alive, but his injury is beyond my skill. He's shocky, and lost a lot of blood, in addition to internal injuries. He needs a water bending healer. He needs you if you are finished casting baseless accusations and calling me names."
Katara went to her brother's side and drawing water from the skin at her side, began working on her brother. "What happened?"
"He was stabbed with this." She held up a rock spike. "Courtesy of Long Feng. Then he foolishly insisted on disposing of Long Feng's corpse before letting me treat him. I had to cauterize the wound to prevent further blood loss. I did my best to prevent him from going into shock..."
Katara had been inspecting Azula's work as she treated Sokka, grudgingly, she commented, "It is good work. How did you...?"
"I've trained as a healer. Mainly herbal medicine," Azula explained.
Aang entered the control room, with Ty Lee on his heels. "What in the four nations is going on?" He asked.
Katara finished her treatment, "He's stable, the next few hours will be touch and go, but I think he'll make it. We can move him up to the temple now. Apparently, Aang, Sokka got himself stabbed by Long Feng, but Azula kept him alive long enough to get him here."
"I'm very confused," admitted the Avatar.