Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.
I finally got this one done thanks to the motivation from my reviewers, Celtic Goddess of Fertility, Luiz4200, and Capricious Kiwi.
Azula is currently pacing the floor of the room she fought the Avatar's friends in on the Day of Black sun. Even though she deemed it as an easy victory she found herself coming back when she really needed to think.
"What was he up to?" the young princess thought to herself, if only she had given Ty Lee orders to find out.
She has spent the last few days thinking of what Yuo's visit was actually all about as if it had some deep meaning. Of all the people she'd faced, he had proved the most elusive.
"Princess Azula!" came a soldiers voice, breaking her train of thought.
Azula stands from the chair she had been sitting in. The underground bunker was nearly perfect except for the fact that the soldiers knew how to get in.
"There best be a good excuse for interrupting with my train of thought...and I hope that it's more urgent than another damage report." the princess said with a cold smile as she walks toward the kneeling soldier.
"A letter your highness...it's from...her." the soldier raises up a scroll with a wax seal on it.
Azula's stone hard gaze softened into interest, almost excitement as she took the scroll from the soldier. "That is all."
The soldier stands, bows and tip toes away from taking off in a full run.
"Finally...something I can use." Azula says to herself as she break the seal and opens it.
--
Sokka Vs Jugiriu
Jugiriu sits up and rubs his aching nose. Sokka had used the same throw that Yuo had used on him earlier that day.
"It actually worked? Alright!" Sokka smiles with confidence as he turned to face his opponent again.
Jugiriu jumps to his feet. "Friend of the Avatar or not you'll pay for that!" the warrior says, running towards the water tribe swordsman.
--
Dear Azula
I couldn't help, but notice and I thought you should know that your superior state of mind truly and significantly hinders your judgement. You have asked me to help in a matter ,which you described very well in the letter you sent me, concerning my brother Commander Yuo.
--
Zing! Juguriu barely dodges a vertical swing with a step to the right and lunges at Sokka with a powerful right hand punch.
Sokka easily evades. "Is this some kind of trick? It can't be this easy." he thinks to himself. He quickly takes the opportunity to strike at Jugiriu's vulnerable right side.
Jugiriu's eyes widen when he sees Sokka slide to his right. "Uh oh."
Sokka takes the hilt and buries it into Jugiriu's right side, and grabs the fire warrior's arms arm and flings Jugiru over his shoulder.
Jugiriu lands with a hard thud and finds himself defeated at Sokka's blade point.
"It seems I have no choice but to...give up."
"You do? Uh I mean...of course you do." Sokka says putting his free hand on his hip and smiling with the rush of victory flowing through him.
--
As far as you've gathered he came to you seeking the former prince Zuko. Then he told you a story about chasing the Avatar, but as you said that turned out to be a lie. A lie and to you of all people is highly unlikely which means one thing. What he is actually hiding beneath his cheerful gaze is something much larger. What that is exactly I cannot tell you.
--
Toph Vs. Ty Lee (The real fight)
Ty Lee is knocked flat on her back by an odd and sudden shift in the ground. The young acrobat quickly stood back up feeling uneasy and confused. "Did the Earth Bender it?" she thinks to herself. "All she did before I fell was move her front foot (left foot) forward and to the side only slightly."
Ty Lee had fought Earth benders before, but never had she seen a technique like this one.
Toph watches as the Fire Nation girl stands back up, and surprisingly, all hint of happiness is absent from the little Earth bender's face.
As she hears Ty Lee's two feet hit the ground firmly Toph quickly lifts her left hand (front hand) out to the side and up a bit. As soon as her arm stopped in place, she feels her opponent dash toward her.
--
I being confident that you will not be satisfied with me telling you what I don't know. I will share with you what I suspect. First if Yuo has not changed, and I am quite sure he hasn't, then any major or key elements of this mystery will be charged with someone he can trust fully. His best friend perhaps.
--
Despite any kind of speed or superior techniques she has, everything in her arsenal requires her to be close to her opponent. Ty Lee had never felt such uneasiness, her heart is beating to hard that it feels as if a group of elephant-rhinos is walking by and her breathing is shallow.
The distance between her and Toph is only a few meters, but Ty Lee knew she would have to fight for every one.
It is at that moment Ty Lee changed her course and took to the air with a powerful lunge to cover the last meter of distance.
Toph begins to panic as she loses track of Ty Lee. "Raahh!" Toph let out grunt of effort as she pulls her left arms in sending a large cylinder of rock out of the mountain side and crashing right into Ty Lee.
--
And second if he is hiding it from you princess Azula then whatever it is. I'm sure he thinks it might either harm you, or has been deemed to powerful to fall into Fire Nation hands. My advice to you would be to gather a team of your own, preferably a major of friends or allies and at least one former enemy. Former enemies make good friends given the right incentive. Go to the one you think holds the pieces to the puzzle and take it from him. After that it is up to you; however, if it were up to me I would take whatever it is to Huo Du keep.
From,
You know who.
--
That was it, was it over? Ty Lee is lying on the ground motionless. Toph lowers her arms and slowly makes her way over. She kneels down beside Ty Lee and pokes her. "Hey! You awake?"
Before Toph could react Ty Lee had struck and disabled Toph's right hand with her left hand.
Toph quickly jumps back and covers her left hand with rock. "You think cutting off the chi is going to stop the greatest Earth Bender in the world?!"
By this time Ty Lee is standing on her feet, but with her own handicap. The blow she took from Toph last attack was powerful, so powerful in fact that it caused Ty Lee to temporarily loose motion in her right arm.
The situation was different now. The distance has closed, one only stood a few steps away from the other.
"Can I still win?"
"No way she'll win...not while fighting me."
The two run towards each other, both knowing that this would be the final attack. Whoever landed the next one successfully would win.
Then at the exact moment the two were about to clash yet again it happened.
Toph felt her left hand stop in mid attack.
Ty Lee felt her left hand stop also.
Ty Lee and Toph both look with confusion and surprise at he was now standing between them.
"Yuo!" Ty Lee couldn't help but shout but with a weak smile due to the pain she felt.
"How is that possible? I put you behind solid rock...not even I could get out of there!" Toph shouts with pure frustration.
"That is enough fighting." Yuo's eyes were different but only up until he let go of their hands. They showed something Ty Lee had never seen in him before. Pain.
"You mean you could have gotten out of there the whole time?" Came Sokka's voice. He is hunched over almost in a horse stance, pointing at Yuo with his free hand.
"And you let me humiliate myself in front of this punk?!" Jugiriu shouts, standing behind Sokka. His eyes filled with rage and fists in the air.
Yuo turns to them and rubs the back of his head, a closed eyed smile on his face. "Uh...I suppose so." he laughs nervously. "Anyway now that we've stopped fighting I'd like if we could all come to a...more peaceful solution."
--
Princess Azula sits down on her bed after a long day of thought and training only to think a little more. "If she is right then that childish captain Jeux must have the thing I'm looking for." Azula snickers. "Leave it to Yuo to lend all his trust to a fool."
The princess starts to change out of her uniform when there is a knock on her door.
"What is it?" she asks with a sigh.
Mai opens the door and enters the room. She looks like her old self, bored and dark as if Zuko had never left.
Azula smiles and gives walks over, giving Mai a friendly hug. "I'm glad to see you've stopped sulking over that foolish brother of mine."
"I've got a lot of...frustration built up inside and I couldn't think of a better way to get of it that by helping you." Mai steps back from the embrace. "I've heard that Yuo had returned."
"If you've heard that much then I'm sure you've heard the rest?"
Mai nods. "Unfortunately...and of course all the excitement would happen without me." sighs. "Typical."
"It's good to have you back Mai."
Mai gives a slight smile. "I think I'll get to bed." she yawns and covers her mouth. "It's hard to believe this place is even duller at night."
"Oh...before you go...could you do me a favor Mai?" Azula says with sincerity.
"Of course Azula...what is it?"
"Could you take this to a guard on your way back to sleep? Tell him to take it to the prison." Azula states in a somewhat friendly tone.
Mai takes it. "Is it regarding the prisoners from Kyoshi?"
"Perceptive as ever Mai."
--
It's now sunrise and at long last Yuo has finally gotten the meeting with the Avatar he wanted in the first place.
Jugiriu got his sword back and decided to skip the meeting in order to clean it. Ty Lee was in a lot of pain after the battle. Fortunatly, after a bit of arguing Aang convinced Katara to heal Ty Lee's arm.
Toph was fine for the most part except she was still occupied with trying to fold her arms when one wouldn't budge. Despite the fact her arm still wouldn't listen, Toph was asked to stand in order to make sure Yuo or anyone with him didn't lie.
"If you didn't want to fight me...why did you come here?" Aang begins.
"A book." Yuo responds.
"You went through all this trouble for a book?!" Toph bursts out. "I know you're telling the truth and I still don't believe it!"
"Let me tell the whole story first...I promise...it's worth the trouble."
"Then get on with it." Katara states a bit sternly.
"This forbidden book...is only a legend...in fact up until about a week ago I've never heard of it." Yuo says looking at the ground, trying to word everything correctly. "It is said to hold every form for every element which has been deemed to evil...dangerous or powerful."
Sokka's eyes widen. "If we help you get it...we'll just be putting all that power into the hands of the fire nation!"
"Sokka has a point Yuo...if we go after this book at all...it wouldn't make much sense to go with someone from the Fire Nation." Aang added.
"The only ones who know about the book are myself...a friend of mine...his crew and..." Yuo trails off.
"And who?" they all say at once, even Ty Lee asks.
"A group of Ba Sing Se rebels." the Fire Nation commander responds.
"Then why should we help you...our enemy...when we can help free Ba Sing Se?" Katara adds in her arms folded.
"I knew you'd ask that." Yuo says as he stands up. "It's been a while...but do any of you know why the Fire Nation started the war in the first place?"
"Because they're selfish." Katara responds.
"No...I think it was greed...they just couldn't keep their hands out of everyone else pockets." Sokka scratches his head, adding in his own opinion.
"Because they like fighting?"Aang asks as Momo lands on his head.
"Because we had power." Zuko speaks his first words of the meeting.
"Right...power." Yuo looks them all over, keeping eye contact away from Zuko. "Over a hundred years ago...the Fire Nation thought itself the most powerful and prosperous Nation in the World...and so they sought to conquer...more than likely with good intentions...but that's not the point."
"The point is...that this book is power...and if the Ba Sing Se rebels get their hands on it.." Zuko starts, standing up.
"If they get their hands on it they will gain that power...and even if they destroy the Fire Nation what do you think will happen next?" Yuo's voice gains a bit of frustration. "The Earth Kingdom has been fighting us for years...if they are given the power of the book...they will be in the same position we were a hundred years ago...and all the pain...all the loss will happen again."
"The Earth Kingdom would never start a war like that!" Aang stand up, anger in his face and fists clenched tight.
"You are the Avatar...I know you've must have seen the Earth Kingdom up close before it was taken...didn't you see the ambition...their willingness to do anything...hurt anyone to attain a goal?" Yuo says, keeping a straight face, but his tone of voice shows anger easily.
There is an awkward silence as the two arguing sides look at each other without speaking.
"You can keep the book...fire bending doesn't interest me...and I know if the Fire Nation gets a hold of it...all hope of peace between nations will be lost forever...the best place for it would be with the Avatar." Yuo says, breaking the silence.
"Uh...give us one second." Sokka says smiling before bringing everyone into a huddle. "Sooo...what do you think?"
"Well he's telling the truth...not one lie." Toph adds in her bit.
"But we know that doesn't always work...Azula seemed to have no problem with lying." Sokka reminds everyone.
"I've known Yuo for a long time and he's never been known to lie...only keep the truth from others." Zuko says.
"If you aks me...I think we should trust him." Katars says to everyone's surprise.
Everyone looked shocked as if she had just told them the war had ended.
"I may not be able to sense if he's lying or not...but I could see in his eyes and his tone of voice...he meant what he said...as much doubt as I have...I'm sure we can trust him." she ends, looking and sounding determined.
"Then it's settled." Aang says with a smile, turning around to face Yuo. "Alright...we'll help!"
--
A few days later
Azula had found out where Captain Jeux was and set sail for Kyoshi Island with Mai and a former enemy.
Normally Azula thought of a plan that would end up benefitting her more than her enemies would realize, but this time was different. She decided that this has to stay as quiet as possible. Arrange for only Jeux to be released and then leave for Huo Du keep. At least that was the way the princess hoped things would turn out.
The ship lands on the shores of Kyoshi by midday of the next day.
--
"Captain Tali...the Fire Nation...they're here!" Cried one soldier, rushing into the meeting room.
Tali stands. "Is it Yuo...is the Avatar with him?"
"No...I think...It's princess Azula."
Tali feels a chill run up her spine and her heart skips a beat. "I'll meet her at the shore then." she says getting her unique sword ready.
"How many men..." the soldier begins but is cut off.
"I'll go alone." Tali walks out, putting on a helmet. The sword which Tali wore on her left side was unique in the fact that instead of a straight blade, it was curved which gave it a faster swing and maximized cutting efficiency.
Captain Tali walks down to the shore with a strong steady pace. "Does she know? Or has she come to conquer the island?" either way Tali knew she could not let Kyoshi be taken, not yet at least.
When she reaches the shore, instead of an army reading themselves for an invasion she sees only Princess Azula and what must be a friend of hers.
Azula is standing with her arms folded and a cunning smile on her face. "You don't look like a Kyoshi warrior to me."
"It doesn't seem like you've come to fight." Tali states trying not to show any further intent than to get the princess of the Island.
"Let's get right to the point...I have to little time as to be wasting it here."
"Then what do you want?"
"You have a soldier in your custody...we want him back."
"Which one? You fire nation are so foolish...taking prisoners is almost as easy as the fragility of the royal family." Tali says putting on her own cunning smile.
Azula's smile fades. "His name is Jeux...Captain Jeux...release him to us peacefully or we'll take him and the others by force."
"Alright...fair enough." Tali says, her look not changing a bit. "Wait here...we'll send him out to you."
What luck. The only reason Jeux is being kept is because she knew Yuo would be forced to bring the map and the Avatar when he attempts to rescue his captured men. By now Yuo had probably convinced the Avatar to help and is on his way to the island now.
Tali didn't care what Azula wanted with Jeux, all she cared about was getting the princess away from the island as soon as possible with as little trouble as possible.
About an hour later Jeux was given over to the princess and as promised the fire nation ship set sail.
"That was to easy." Tali thinks to herself. "No time to think about it now...Yuo should be here soon." she heads back and prepares for a battle.
--
What Azula and Tali did not know was that Aang, Yuo, Ty Lee, Sokka, Toph, Katara, Zuko, Momo, and Appa watched as Jeux was given to princess Azula.
Instead of landing on the island, Yuo decided to have the Avatar follow the ship. Now both parties are on their way to Huo Du keep.
Here is the eleventh chapter and the first chapter of the Huo Du keep section. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and please tell me what you think.
