"I can't believe it," Aang said. "Up until now, I've always thought that Omashu was a place the Fire Nation couldn't touch."
"I guess we were wrong," Sokka said. "Now the only Earth Kingdom city still standing is Ba Sing Se."
Aang's fingers tightened around his staff. "I'm going in there."
"No, Aang, it's too dangerous," Katara said.
"Bumi is still there! I have to go and rescue him!"
"Are you sure about that, Aang?" I said. I gulped as I stared at the Fire Nation flag displayed above the entrance into Omashu.
Aang gazed at Omashu. "He's my friend. If he needs my help, then I'm going to do something."
"Then... how are we going to get inside? I don't think Bonzo Pippinpaddleopsicopolis III is going to work this time."
"Not to worry." Aang turned back to us with a smile. "The Fire Nation may have changed a lot of things about Omashu, but I doubt they changed the sewage system."
"I don't like where this is going," Sokka said.
"Climb on!"
We climbed on Appa's saddle, and he flew underneath the bridge. Sokka, Katara, and I put on our cloaks, climbed off, and stood in front of a large sewage grate. Aang hopped on top of it and pried it open with his staff. The smell gushed out, along with a flood of water, and we plugged our noses.
"Complain all you want, but this is the only secret way inside," Aang said.
"Lead the way," Sokka grumbled.
Aang hopped inside, and we followed. As we walked, the water level rose. Sokka tripped and fell face first into the water.
"Ew!" he screamed as he burst from the water. We shielded ourselves as the water splashed us. "Can we please get some waterbending going on down here?!"
"I have an idea," I said. "On the count of three, jump as high as you can. One... two... three!"
As we all jumped, I thrust my hand towards the water. The water solidified into murky ice. We landed on the ice and stumbled a bit while trying to catch our balance.
"Now, let's hurry," I said. "I don't want to cause any problems for those with plumbing."
I stepped to the front with Aang, and we led the way. When we reached the end of my icebending, I froze the next stretch of path. We reached a manhole. Aang opened it with a burst of air and pushed it aside. We climbed out. I turned to the manhole, slowly lowered my hands, and breathed deeply. The ice melted back into water, and the sewage flowed once more.
"Have I ever said that I love your icebending?" Sokka said.
"Um... you have something on your neck," I said.
"Huh?" I pointed to a tiny purple pentapus latched on the side of his neck. Sokka screamed and tugged at the creature. "Get it off! Get it off!"
"Calm down, Sokka." Aang pulled Sokka's hand away and scratched the top of the pentapus's head. The pentapus lifted its tentacles, and Aang pulled it off. "Pentapi are completely harmless."
Sokka rubbed his neck where the pentapus was. The suction from its tentacles left red marks on his skin.
"Hey, you!" We froze and turned to a trio of Fire Nation soldiers as they approached us. Aang quickly hid behind us and put on a hat to hide his arrow tattoo. Katara pushed me behind her, too. "What are you kids doing out past curfew?"
"We got lost on the way home," Katara said. "It's just around the corner."
We turned and started to walk away. We glanced at each other, thankful the confrontation was over.
"Wait a minute," a soldier said. We stopped. "What's the matter with him?"
"I think he's talking about Sokka," Aang whispered.
Katara glanced at Sokka's neck, which still had marks from the pentapus. "Oh, him? He... he has pentapox, sir." Katara grabbed Sokka's shoulders and turned him around with her. The soldier stood in front of Sokka and peered at his neck. "Um... You shouldn't get too close. It's highly contagious... and deadly."
Katara shot a pointed glance at Sokka, and he demonstrated his 'sickness' by moaning and stumbling forward like a zombie. It worked, causing the Fire Nation soldiers to scurry away in fright.
"Well, what do you know," Aang petted the top of the pentapus's head that rested in his hand, "this little critter saved the day."
"We still have to find Bumi," Katara said. "Do you have any idea where he could be?"
"The Fire Nation knows he's a master earthbender, so they would place him where he's unable to do that... Metal would be the ideal place."
We climbed higher up Omashu, avoiding guards in the process. We walked through a level with scaffolding lining the walls. Patches of stone were wearing away behind the scaffolding. No doubt the Fire Nation would replace it with metal; after all, it would last a lot longer than stone.
Aang held his staff in front of us, stopping us in our stride. We stared at the back of his head in silence. The ground rumbled, and we looked around quickly for the source. We found it from a line of boulders rolling down one of the mail chutes in front of us. Aang held his staff with both hands, leaped forward, and swung. A gust of air burst from the tip of the staff and hit the rocks, smashing them to pieces and scattering dust.
"The Resistance!" a voice cried. We looked below and saw a small group of guards escorting two women, a mother and a daughter. They were probably the rocks' target. The mother held a small child in her arms.
"Catch them!"
The guards sprinted towards the ladders, as well as the daughter.
"Run!" I called.
I hurried to the ladder and pulled water from my water skins. I coated the ladder with water and froze it. The guards lost their gripping and fell to the ground. I peered over the edge. Something flew towards my face. I jerked my head back as a stiletto zoomed past my face. I stumbled as the girl leaped onto the level. She thrust her hand out, and arrows launched from within her sleeve. I swiped my hand diagonally. The water in the air froze in front of me and caught the arrows. I thrust my palm forward, and the ice flew towards her. The girl lunged out of the way.
In the quick pause of combat, I could study my opponent. She was my age, perhaps a bit younger, with pitch black hair and blank, tawny eyes. Her hair was divided in two long, low pigtails that fell over her shoulders and down her chest.
Her quiet disposition was eerily familiar, and as I continued to watch her, my eyes widened.
"Mai?" I said.
Mai's eyes narrowed. She studied me, trying to figure if she recognized me. A shuriken appeared in her hand. I gasped.
Aang appeared in front of me, and Mai threw the shuriken. Aang twirled his staff, and it caught the shuriken.
"Come on!" Aang grabbed my arm and dragged me down the path to Sokka and Katara. Mai followed closely behind. Aang plucked the shuriken from his staff, dropped it on the ground, and swung. The air hit the base of some scaffolding, and it collapsed in front of us and blocked Mai's path. Mai threw a series of stilettos.
The ground beneath us shifted, and we fell beneath the earth. The hole above us closed, preventing Mai from pursuing us. We hit the ground. We rubbed our sore heads and shoulders and looked up. We were surrounded by men dressed in matching uniforms.
A soldier with a thick, black beard stepped forward and examined us. His eyes stopped on Aang. "Are you the Avatar?" he said.
Aang stood, and we followed suit. "Y-Yes, I am. You must be the Resistance that lady from before mentioned."
The man bowed, and his fellow comrades copied. "Then you know what has happened to our city. We are glad you're here. Come with me."
The soldiers departed to tend to their duties, and we followed the man down the tunnel. I paused when I saw something glistening on the ground. I crouched and picked up Mai's shuriken. I turned it and examined it, careful not to cut myself. I tucked it in my pocket and jogged to catch up. The tunnel opened to a large room. Many citizens roamed the grounds.
"This is where we have been hiding from the Fire Nation," the man said.
"Is King Bumi with you?" Aang said.
His voice carried through the room, drawing attention from the citizens. The man scowled.
"No, he's not. It's because of him that we are here," he said.
"What do you mean?" Aang said.
"The day the Fire Nation invaded, we were prepared to fight, to die, to protect our city and each other. But before we could do anything, King Bumi surrendered."
"Surrendered? That can't be right..."
"When I asked him what we were going to do, he looked me in the eyes and said, 'Nothing. I'm going to do nothing.' And he laughed. Now, it doesn't matter. Fighting is our only option for freedom."
"No, it's not. You all have another option: you can leave Omashu. You can't fight the Fire Nation with the number there is now, you'll be overpowered. Leaving Omashu means living to fight another day."
The citizens mumbled in agreement with Aang. The man bowed his head and fought off his frustrated look.
"Fine. But how are we going to do it? We're talking about thousands of Omashu's citizens leaving."
Sokka's eyes lit up, and he snapped his fingers. "I have an idea!" he cried. We looked to him, and he grinned. "Have you ever heard of pentapox?"
"No..."
"Well, you're about to, because that's your ticket out of here. We're going to need a lot of purple pentapi."
We gathered a barrel full of pentapi from the sewers and gathered the citizens. One by one, we placed pentapi on their arms, face, necks, etc., and 'infected' them with red suction marks.
We led the people to the gates. Aang stayed behind and searched the city for Bumi. Rumors of pentapox, thanks to our run-in with the soldiers last night, spread quickly through the city, striking fear in the Fire Nation. Instead of fighting us off, they drove us towards the gates, and we left successfully.
We camped in the valley outside of Omashu. Fires were lit to keep away the chilly night air. Aang returned with Flopsie, King Bumi's pet, at his side.
"I looked all over the city, and I still didn't find Bumi," Aang sighed.
Katara embraced the weary child. "Don't worry. I'm sure he's out there somewhere," she said.
"Maybe they moved him out of the city," Sokka said. Aang bowed his head.
"Excuse me," The resistance leader approached us, "we have a problem with our headcount."
"Did we forget someone?" I said.
The resistance leader shook his head. "No. We have an extra."
He pointed to Momo. A toddler clung to his neck and giggled gleefully. My eyes widened.
That's the child that was with Mai and the other lady.
We sat around the bonfire. The child sat in front of us and played with Sokka's club. Sokka took it away, and the child began to cry. Sokka sighed and gave it back. The child perked back up and teethed with it.
"What are we going to do with him?" Katara said.
"We'll return the child to his parents tomorrow morning," the resistance leader said. He eyed the child. "The sooner, the better."
"Aw, he's just a baby. How can you not look at this face and smile?"
"Sure, he's cute and happy now, but he'll grow up to be a Fire Nation monster... just like the rest of his people."
"Not like that," I said. I turned my head away as the group looked at me. I ran my thumb over my headpiece and lowered my voice. "Don't generalize them. There are good Fire Nation people, too."
The resistance leader opened his mouth to argue, but the air filled with the shriek of a bird. A messenger hawk perched on a rock behind us. Aang climbed to his feet and took the message out from the small container strapped to the bird's back. The bird lifted its wings and flew back into the sky. Aang unrolled the letter.
"It's from the Fire Nation governor," Aang said. "He thinks we kidnapped his son. He wants to make a trade..." Aang's eyes widened. "His son for King Bumi."
"King Bumi? So, he is still in the city," Katara said.
Aang rolled up the letter and looked to us. "We don't have a choice. This is our chance to get King Bumi back."
"It could be a trap," Sokka said.
"I don't think so. We know the governor wants his son back, and the governor knows we want King Bumi back. I don't think he would try and deceive us in something as important as this." Aang turned to the resistance leader. "We'll take the child back to Omashu and make the trade."
The resistance leader nodded. "I wish you luck, Avatar."
As morning peeked through the valley, we walked down the hill to where Appa rested. We climbed on, baby in hand, and flew to Omashu. Appa dropped us off at the peak of the city. Up close, I could see what's behind the large wall of scaffolding- a statue of Fire Lord Ozai. I exhaled sharply through my nostrils and faced forward. We waited silently.
Footsteps appeared, faint at first. Heads poked up from the staircase on the other side of the platform. Mai was in front, with two girls following close behind.
The one on the left had her long, brown hair tied back in a braided ponytail. She wore a pink top that left her midriff exposed, pink Capri pants, and pink shoes. She had big, brown eyes.
The one on the right had her hair up in a top knot, with some hair down and framing her face. She was dressed in Fire Nation armor.
I gasped audibly, attracting the attention of my friends. It was all they needed to hear to understand; I knew these girls.
Mai snapped her fingers, and a metal box lowered from a crane. A snort and a cackle escaped from the box.
"Hi, everybody!" Bumi called. His face poked through a hole. The rest of his body was trapped inside the metal box.
"You have my brother," Mai said.
"Of course. He's right here." Aang gestured to Sokka, who held the squirming baby. Sokka took a step forward.
"You know," said the girl on the right, "I just had a thought. Do you mind, Mai?"
"Of course not, Princess Azula," Mai said. A shudder crawled down my spine. "Please, go ahead."
"This trade doesn't seem very fair, now that I think about it. A bumbling toddler for a powerful, earthbending king? It's not right. You know what really interests me?" Azula's piercing gaze landed on me. "Mai, Ty Lee, we have an old friend in our midst."
"Old friend? Really?" Ty Lee hovered a hand over her eyes and stood on her tip toes as she searched the area. "Where? I don't see them."
"Mai told me last night about her encounter with you, saying she ran into someone who knew her, but she didn't know them. Of course, that's because no one knew what you truly looked like... who the real you was under the mask you painted on every day," Azula said. She smirked. "Aren't you going to say anything... Ashe?"
"Ashe?" Aang said. He looked at me. "Is she... talking about you?"
I dared a look at my friends. Katara stepped forward.
"Her name is Ursa. You've got the wrong person," she said.
"Ursa?" A dark chuckle escaped Azula's lips. "I'm not surprised. She's spent her entire life lying to people, why would it be any different for you?"
I bowed my head and smirked. "It's nice to see you again, Azula," I said. "I may have changed, but it looks like you didn't. You're still a spoiled, narcissistic princess."
"That's not very nice. After all these years, we're just trying to catch up."
Mai stepped forward. "The deal's off." Mai waved her hand, and Bumi was carried away.
Aang gripped his staff and sprinted forward. Azula ran forward, too. With a scowl, I hurried after Aang. I swept my arm to my side, and Katara yelped behind me. The water within her water skin burst out and followed me. I brought out the water from my water skins. Aang leaped into the air, and Azula thrust her hands forward. I did, too. Blue fire burst from Azula's fingertips. The water I summoned rose like a tidal wave in front of Aang and caught the fire. A blast of steam covered the area. Most of the water vanished, and what was left, I returned to Katara.
The makeshift hat flew off Aang's head, revealing his arrow tattoo. The three girls watched in shock.
Azula looked at me. "As if you weren't a traitor already. Now you're traveling with the Avatar?" She smiled. "I wish Father had killed you before you escaped. Poor little Zuzu, he was so heartbroken when you disappeared."
I scowled. Behind Azula, Mai and Ty Lee ran towards Sokka and Katara.
"It didn't really matter, anyway. Right after you left, Zuko was banished from the Fire Nation. Of course, not before Father gave him a farewell gift. I'm sure you've seen it. The only way he can regain his honor is if he captures the Avatar."
"Regain his..." I said. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! Why would he want to go back to you terrible people?!"
"Call us what you want, but we are his family. What kind of person would abandon his own blood?"
"You may be blood, but you are not his family."
"Incoming!"
We looked up and saw Bumi's metal box falling towards us. We leaped in opposite directions as Aang, riding on top of the metal box, plowed through the ground, leaving a giant hole in the scaffolding. Azula flashed a smile and dove into the hole after Aang. I turned around to the battle behind me. Sokka had disappeared, leaving Katara to fight Mai and Ty Lee. Mai threw some stilettos, and Katara swiped her water and batted them aside. Ty Lee crept behind Katara and jabbed her shoulder and arm. The water in her control splashed to the ground. Katara tried to bend it again, but it didn't work.
"Not so tough without your bending," Mai said. She reached into her robe and pulled out a sai. Katara gasped.
I eyed the water under Mai's feet. I brought my arms up and clapped them over my head. The water lifted and clamped around her hand, encasing it in ice. The two girls looked around and glared at me. Ty Lee sprinted towards me. I swung my arms out and inward. The water slithered against the scaffolding like a snake and grabbed Ty Lee's feet. Ty Lee lurched as the water hardened to ice and kept her in place. She attempted to yank her feet out.
Something sliced my arm, and I cried out and clutched my bicep. I looked and saw blood coating my skin and fingers. A shuriken lay behind me. Mai broke the ice and stretched her cold fingers. Ty Lee pouted, as she was still stuck. Mai faced me and reeled back her hand, sai ready. I grit my teeth and raised my injured arm.
A boomerang soared through the sky and hit Mai's wrist. She dropped her sai with a hiss and clutched her wrist. I followed the boomerang back to Sokka, who rode on top of Appa. Appa landed in front of me. Katara sprinted around Mai and Ty Lee and to my side. Appa lifted his tail and struck it against the ground. A blast of air hit Ty Lee and Mai, and they flew off the scaffolding.
Katara helped me into Appa's saddle.
"Yip, yip!" Sokka cried, and Appa lifted into the sky again.
"Where's Aang?" Katara called.
"I see him! He's in the mail chute!" Sokka said. "Come on, Appa!"
Appa flew faster and followed the mail chute. We flew side by side with Aang as he rode on the metal box containing Bumi. Azula rode in a mail cart and inched closer.
"Hop on, Aang!" Sokka called.
Azula shot blue fireballs at us to try and keep us away. Aang swung his staff, and he and Bumi soared through the air. Katara and Sokka reached up, but the metal box flew over our heads. They disappeared below.
"Quick, follow him!" Katara said.
"Where did he go?!" Sokka said.
Momo flapped his wings and squawked.
"Momo, of course!" Katara said. "Lead the way!"
Momo jumped off the saddle and flew down. We followed him. We arrived at a section of stone and scaffolding. Appa floated next to it, and we peered inside. Aang stood alone, with Momo on his shoulder. He turned to us and smiled.
"Where did Bumi go?" Sokka said.
"...Back to his captors," Aang said as he walked over to us.
"What? How is he supposed to teach you earthbending?" Katara said.
"I... don't think Bumi is the earthbending teacher I'm looking for. At least, that's what he said." Aang hopped onto the saddle, and Sokka guided Appa away. His eyes widened at my arm. "What happened to you?"
I removed my hand, which was covered in blood. "I'm okay, really."
"Here, let me help you with that," Katara said. She picked up a canteen.
"Actually... I got this."
I lifted my blood-covered hand, and the water streamed out of the canteen. The water wrapped around my hand, mixing with the blood and making it glow red. My friends' eyes widened as I pressed the glowing water against my cut. I felt the skin close, and the pain stopped. I pulled my hand away, and the cut was healed.
"Um... I don't think we can drink this anymore." I lifted the bloody water. "Sorry."
"It's okay... um..." Katara said. "I, uh, can't believe that you can heal, too."
I tossed the water off Appa. "Yeah, it was a surprise to me, too, back when I found out."
"...So, you've... kept it a secret from us?"
I sobered as I sat straight. I looked at my friends; neither of them looked me in the eye. My eyes trembled, and I gulped. I turned my back to them and hugged my knees to my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut.
I can't hide it from them anymore. My arms tightened around my legs. I have to tell them.