I have been neglecting my readers and duty as a writer, I haven't been updating! That's what you get when you don't study for exams, or do homework, or try writing a play, a fan fiction, and two other stories at once… Enough excuses, here is the story.
The Capture
Pressing closer to the shrub blocking the moon's light in front of us, cool moist air rose slowly into our faces. The dancing water glittered in the moonbeams escaping down to us. I turned to Zuko, like a tiger he watched the figure, I put my hand out in front of him, and gave him the look you would give to misbehaving puppies, that don't-you-do-anything-bad look.
"You stay here," I ordered, "don't do anything to give yourself away." Zuko leaned back and braced himself against a tree, and shot back a look that screamed whatever… I pushed past the bush and found my self stepping into the ice cold two foot deep river. Not the graceful entry I'd been hoping for, I thought as I stood up and looked around. SPLASH! A large waterball planted itself in my face. I blinked out the water and sent a small fire blast to evaporate the larger one coming for me.
"Katara! Stop! It's me Niki!" I shouted. The water whip stopped and dropped into the river as the shadow of a girl approached me. Katara hugged me, apologized, and smiled.
"Where have you been?" Asked Katara, "We didn't have a chance to contact you after the soldiers surprised us back near the Fire Nation, sorry. Come on everyone will want to see you!" I let myself be led out of the river and away from the city, deeper into the forest. I glanced over to the spot where Zuko sat hidden; two golden eyes stared back at me, and followed me as we walked to the campsite. Pushing aside ferns, tripping over vines, getting caught in spider webs, we finally made it the campsite. A small fire burned in the center of the area. Appa snored in the shadows, ignoring the flames the best he could. Toph's rock tent stood near the three sleeping bags, circling the radiating warmth the fire provided.
"Guess who's here!" exclaimed Katara. Her words pierced through the silent, shell surrounding me. Does she know Azula's army is in this same forest? Can't she keep her voice down even a little? My mind cautioned, but was interrupted by a chorus of "who's here Katara?"
"Niki!" called Aang as he leaped over from Appa's side to mine.
"Niki's here?" questioned Sokka from his sleeping sack.
"…," was Toph's response.
"Hi everyone," I replied and turned to Aang, "Aang how's fire bending going?"
"Hard, I really don't have anyone to teach me, so I have to make it up as I go," sighed Aang, "But I have been making progress!"
"So why are you here? Why aren't you back home?" called Toph's voice from inside her tent. I felt five sets eyes trying to pull the answer from me, even Zuko's gaze fell upon me from behind the tree line.
"Well, I needed a vacation, so I was traveling and I found myself here," I smiled. You needed a vacation? What kind of idiot are you! I scolded myself.
"What was so stressful that you had to leave?" Toph questioned sarcastically.
"Parents, life in general," I said.
"Tell me about it," Toph agreed rhetorically.
"I'm going to bed, good night everyone," said Katara. She walked over to the bags and curled up inside hers. Aang followed suit and only I was left awake. A new presence made itself known in the campsite. I turned to see Zuko walking towards me.
"You're a traitor to the fire nation," he hissed.
"Takes one to know one," I shot back standing up to face him, then I whispered, "Keep your voice down, they might wake up."
"I don't care if they here, they'll wake up anyway after I get the avatar back to my father," said Zuko, his eyes narrowing.
"After all this time you spent running from your sister, in exile, you still think that the avatar will restore your honor?" I questioned. Why can't he see the truth like everyone else? I pondered, but then the answer appeared, you only see what you want to see.
"I have to, it's what's right," Zuko said, his focus unraveling.
"What you have to do Zuko, is it really that. Or is it just what's easier to do?" I stated.
"It hasn't been easy at all!" shouted Zuko. I cringed inwardly, too late now to hush him now.
"It's easy to do what someone has planned for you, it's hard to brake free and make your own life, your swimming down stream Zuko," I explained.
"What are you talking about?" asked Zuko confused.
"You're like the two headed fish; one head facing downstream riding the current, living the way people tell it to, while the other head faces upstream, fighting for what it wants, and getting it," I said thinking of my sign, Pisces.
"I don't care, I will do this!" Zuko fumed and paced, his patience nowhere to be found.
"Ok, how are you going to-" I stopped, Katara stirred in her sleep, after a second of silence I continued, "-How are you going to get Aang to your father?"
"I'll carry him," Zuko stumbled over the words.
"Sure you are," I said mockingly, "And what if he wakes up?"
"I'll think of something," Zuko retorted.
"Sure you will," I said sarcastically.
"Will you shut up?!" commanded Zuko.
"Why don't you make me?" I threatened, forgetting about the sleepers only ten
feet from where we stood.
Zuko took me unofficial challenge and charged at me, fists flaming. I avoided him by stepping sideways toward the dieing camp fire, but made no attempt to fight. Zuko fired off two blasts of flame in my direction, approaching me again, but they only feed the fire as I again avoided the blasts. Zuko's growing temper flashed across his eyes, I knew I had to fight back, soon. I lost sight of him for only a moment as I blinked, but found his shape. I aimed one of my one fire blasts at Zuko's form in the shadows thrown off by the fire. My blast went straight through it into the forest before dieing. Where'd he go? I wondered, my mind panicked as I jumped around to stare at the sleeping figures.
My mouth tasted of dirt as I picked myself up off the ground. The sun's heat gently warmed the skin on my back. As I rolled over onto my back, pain shot through my body, like lightning. I felt tears of pain well up in my eyes. I took a deep breath, lifting myself into sitting and then standing. I felt the ache beginning to dull as I looked around. It looked the same except something, someone was missing. Toph lay in her tent, she's here, Katara's bag bugled where she continued to sleep, she's still here, and Sokka had somehow inched his way over to Appa…
"Aang!" I screamed, my heart racing. I ran to Appa, grabbing tufts of creamy fur as I climbed onto his back, he's not here! I slid down onto the ground, landing on Sokka by accident.
"Hey, bad Mango, I'll eat you for that!" Sokka threatened before realizing I had woken him from his fruit related dream.
"Oh sorry," Sokka blushed, pulling himself out of the sleeping bag. With Sokka's awakening everyone else seemed to stir from dreamland, and the packing up of camp started to occur.
"Niki, have you seen Aang this morning?" asked Katara, the camp site was almost packed up. My mouth uttered no sound.
"Maybe he went off with the person you were talking to, then arguing with, and then fighting with last night, Niki," sighed Toph. I shot her a death look, which for the fact that she was blind, went completely unnoticed.
"Who was here last night Niki?" asked Katara.
"Look! Around the campfire there are scorch marks!" pointed Sokka, then he noted, "There are two sets of them, lighter ones and deeper ones."
"Niki are you ok?" asked Katara. My hand flew to my back, but fell to my side as I thought about Aang.
"I'm fine, we need to find Aang," I said.
"To find him we need to know who took him, or who we went off with," added Sokka.
"He was kidnapped, by Zuko," I muttered.
"What! Zuko has him!" exclaimed Katara.
"SHHHH!!! Azula's army is in these same woods, please stop shouting," I begged. Finding Azula really was not on my list of things to do.
"Are you sure it was Zuko Niki?" asked Sokka.
"Yes," I answered, "But we don't know where to start looking."
"We could just follow his foot prints," said Toph standing near the prints leading away from the camp.
"Let's go," Katara called as she walked into the forest. We all followed, Appa trailing us closely behind Sokka. The forest seemed more willing to part for us in the day time then it had been last night.
"Where would he go?" asked Katara scanning the surrounding forest.
"Home," I sighed.
"What?" asked Katara.
"He'd probably head back to the Fire Nation, wouldn't he? You know to restore his honor and all," I explained.
"He's probably going to try to find some kind of transportation to get there. He is not going to carry Aang all the way back to the capital," suggested Toph.
"Then he would stop in Ba Sing Se," reasoned Sokka, "We might be able to catch up with him if we hurry!" Sokka ushered us faster down the path leading us to the city.
"NO! Not back to Ba Sing Se!" exclaimed Toph.
Bursting through the next set of heavily thorned bushes wasn't Sokka's brightest move. There were two very important reasons for this. One, the thorns on the bushes were really sharp, digging into our skins and tearing loose pieces of clothing. The second and more important reason was, by walking through the second we crossed through the threshold of the sanctity of the forest and into the danger of the dragon's den. The lion being Azula and her army.
Finding he had led us straight into danger, Sokka tried to double back and lead us back in the forest. The bushes prevented our escape, and our attempts were noticed by a group of random fire nation soldiers scouting the perimeter of the camp.
"To the river!" yelled Katara. We bolted away from the scouts, away from the bushes, away from the cover of the forest. The river, the rushing water appeared before us in only a few strides. Once across it, Katara and I, but mostly Katara pulled the water up in a wall and then she froze it into ice. Putting somewhat of a wall between us and the enemy we made a run for the walls of Ba Sing Se.
"Everyone get on!" called Toph, lifting a square of earth from the ground and sending it forward. We all jumped on the moving earth and rested as Toph bent us towards the city. Appa called from above with Momo flying at his side. Reclining on my back I watched our ice wall explode and the soldiers look at the dust cloud we created before returning back to the camp site. Why aren't they chasing us? Not that I want us to be chased, but still, shouldn't Azula be chasing us down? As the sands of the dessert shifted, scraggly clouds past above us, the afternoon sun climbed higher in the sky, my thoughts drifted throughout the ride.
"So have you been to Ba Sing Se before?" I asked.
'Yes, it's the worst city in the world!" exclaimed Toph, still bending us toward the growing wall.
"What happened?" I asked.
"We went to meet the earth king, found an underground plot, and arrested Long Feng, head of the Dai le," responded Sokka, "Then we went off to gather information on the fire nation for the earth king and I found you…"
"Ok, sure… what are we going to do in the city?" I asked.
"Since Zuko needs transportation, we tell the earth king about Aang's capture, and he'll shut the doors to the city so we can organize a search for him or something," explained Katara.
"Sounds good, let's go!" I said jumping off the earth square at the door to the city. I smiled to the guards, and they let us pass.
"Which way to the palace?" I asked.
"To Appa!" exclaimed Sokka. We climbed onto Appa's back, he took off with Sokka steering him towards the palace. Over houses, markets, and tea shops we flew. Admiring to scenery from above was hardly on my mind; instead a fear of losing grip and tumbling down to the ground over took my mind. Breathing deeply, I looked up watching as we parted clouds, rose to clear tall buildings, and swerved when Appa felt necessary.
After an unneededly (I know this is not a word, deal with it!) rushed landing, I found my strength and followed Sokka, Katara, and Toph into the palace. Appa and Momo sat where we landed, waiting for us to finish. Sokka lead the charge into the king's throne room, throwing open the grand redone double doors he marched in.
"Your highness! Zuko is in the city, and he has Aang, we have to-" Sokka was cut off midsentence.
"And we have to do what?" asked a calm female voice. My heart skipped a beat in terror. Azula! How could it be! We just saw, we were just chased by your soldiers!
"Surprised?" Azula smirked, eyeing our faces, her voice turned to ice, "Well don't be." She shifted in the earth king's throne. The room swarmed with Dai Le agents, as if signaled to do so by Azula. Assuming our bending stances and Sokka's fighting stance we prepared to fight our way out.
"Don't," Azula sighed, waving her hand as if dismissing us. The Dai Le quickly bent their rock hands into handcuffs, cuffing our wrists behind our backs.
"My brother told me all about his capturing of the Avatar, but don't take my word for it," Azula smiled, "Ask him."
"He wouldn't," I heard myself yell out loud.
"I would," said Zuko emerging from the shadows of the throne room, he stood next to Azula, who was still seated on the throne.
"Take them away," Azula commanded, waving her hand again. Two Dai Le men grabbed my arms, along with Toph, Katara, and Sokka's, and dragged us into the prison under the palace.
How did you like it? I havn't been getting a lot of reviews lately, maybe that's why the story is coming along so slow. Reviews make me want to write more…. Any way SEASON 3! Coming in March, I think….
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