"Woah there! You lost me at 'Zuko'!" Sokka stated, walking up to Aang, Iroh and me.
"I know how you must feel about my nephew, but believe me when I tell you that there is good inside of him." Iroh said, putting his hands on Sokka's shoulders.
"Good inside him isn't enough! Why don't you come back when it's outside of him too, okay?" Sokka said, removing Iroh's hands from him.
"He's changed... He's not the person that he used to be." I said.
"Katara's in trouble. All of Ba Sing Se is in trouble. Working together is our best chance." Aang said. Sokka sighed, meaning that it was okay with him.
"We found someone that might be able to help us." I said, opening the door.
We had picked up a Dai Li agent in the way that was a lot more chatty than the other ones. Toph earth bended him to a standing position and I dismissed the spirit animals that were around him. I walked up to him and tore the gag in his mouth off.
"Talk before I start making hawks pluck out your eyes and organs..." I said, raising my hand and summoning a single hawk that stood on it.
"Azula and Long Feng are plotting a coup. They're going to overthrow the Earth King." the agent said.
"My sister! Where are they keeping Katara?" Sokka demanded, pointing his club at the agent.
"In the Crystal Catacombs of Old Ba Sing Se, deep beneath the palace." he answered.
"And Zuko?" I asked.
"I don't know... He's probably their too." He answered.
Everyone ran off, but I stayed behind. I put my arm down and the spirit hawk went away.
"C-Can you let me g-go now, please?" the Dai Li agent pleaded.
I glared at him and then clutched his throat in my right hand. My eyes closed. When I reopened them, I sucked out his soul.
"Liiru, let's go!" Iroh called from atop Appa.
I ran over, to everyone else and jumped on Appa. Then we were off. The ride over to the Earth King's palace was silent, there wasn't much to be said. When we landed, Toph touched the ground.
"Well, what do you know? There is an ancient city down there, but it's deep." she said.
Immediately, she began trying to create a tunnel.
"We should split up. Aang, you go with Iroh and Liiru to look for Katara and the angry jerk, no offense." Sokka said.
"None taken." Iroh said.
"I'd be insulted if that wasn't the truth..." I said.
"And I'll go with Toph to warn to Earth King of Azula's coup." Sokka said.
We all nodded an then we were off. Aang was clearing the tunnel with his earth bending. I offered to help him, but he said that he didn't want me to waste my energy since it was limited. I walked on the other side of Iroh, who was lighting our way with a flame in his hand.
"So... Toph thinks you give pretty good advice and great tea." Aang said to Iroh.
"He sure does." I answered.
"The key to both is proper aging. What's on your mind?" Iroh asked him.
Aang cleared more earth out of the way before he spoke. "Well, I met with this guru, who was supposed to help me master the avatar state and control this great power, but to do it, I had to let go of someone I love... and I just couldn't."
"Perfection and power are overrated. I think you are wise to choose happiness and love." Iroh stated.
"What happens if I can't save everyone and beat Azula? Without the avatar state, what if I'm not powerful enough?" Aang asked.
"I don't know the answer. Sometimes life is like this dark tunnel. You can't always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving..." Iroh answered.
When he paused, Aang cleared the earth out of our way once again to reveal a cavern full of glowing crystals with a pool of water at the far end.
"Wow..." I uttered, stepping forward into it.
"You will come to a better place..." Iroh concluded. We all stood there, takng in the beauty that was around us for a minute.
"We have to keep looking for them..." Aang said.
Both Iroh and I nodded. We continued to search by clearing tunnels. After about twenty more minutes of searching, we found them.
"Aang!" Katara yelled.
She ran over to him and gave him a big hug. At the same time, I ran up to Zuko, doing the same, and planting a kiss on his lips. Iroh hugged him tightly after me.
"Aang, I knew you would come!" Katara exclaimed hugging Aang again.
"Uncle, Liiru, I don't understand. What are you doing with the Avatar?" Zuko asked, pointing at Aang, but looking at us.
"Saving you, that's what." Aang answered.
Zuko grunted and went forward a little, but Iroh stopped him.
"Zuko, it's time we talked." he said to him.
Iroh turned to Aang and Katara. "Go help your other friends. We'll catch up with you."
Aang bowed slightly and then ran off with Katara, leaving Zuko, Iroh and me behind.
"Why...?" Zuko asked.
"You're not the man you used to be, Zuko. You are stronger, and wiser, and freer than you have ever been! And now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny." Iroh said.
"I keep on telling you, Zuko. You've always had a choice. There's no more point in hunting Aang anymore... It's time for you to choose. It's time for you to choose good." I said.
All of a sudden crystals came out of nowhere, trapping both me and Iroh. Azula, accompanied by the Dai Li popped out of nowhere.
"I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle, but Zuko... Prince Zuko, you're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor. Are you?" Azula said, as she came down in front of Zuko.
"Release them, immediately..." Zuko answered.
"It's not too late for you, Zuko. You can still redeem yourself." Azula said.
"The kind of redemption she offers is not for you." Iroh said.
"Why don't you let him decide, Uncle?... I need you, Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day... This glorious day in fire nation history. And the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back. You will have father's love. You will have everything you want." Azula asked.
"When has Azula ever told you the truth, Zuko? She's always been lying to you! Why would you ever believe her now!"
"Shut your trap!" Azula yelled.
Two Dai Li agents made the crystal that trapped me tighten around my neck; A little hint for me to be quiet.
"Don't hurt her!" Zuko yelled.
"Zuko, I'm begging you. Look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want..." Iroh said.
"You are free to choose." Azula said.
She waved her hand up and the Dai Li agents earth bended themselves away. She also began to walk away. Zuko's back was turned to both of us and his head was hung. I looked at Iroh. His face was dismayed... Both of us knew what he would choose... Even though his life was beginning to change, he still couldn't let go of what used to be his purpose for so many years.
Angry tears streamed down my cheeks.
"GO, ZUKO! GO BACK TO THE DAMNED FIRE NATION WITH AZULA!" I yelled.
Zuko turned around and looked at me. His face held both anger and sadness.
"Don't come crying to us when you're not happy about something there though... I don't even know who you are anymore..." I said.
My voice was lowered, but my words came out like poison. My eyes glowed purple as I summoned a spirit anaconda that wrapped around me and broke all of the crystals. Dai Li agents immediately started to close in around us.
"I said 'go'... Didn't I?" I said to him, my eyes, mouth and tattoos glowing purple.
The snake slithered over to Iroh and freed him from the crystals, just as it had done to me. Zuko looked at both of us for a second and then ran off to help Azula. After beating the flood of Dai Li Agents that came at us, Iroh and I went to help Aang and Katara. The scene before us was not a good one. Katara's hair was tousled... She looked quite beat up, but that wasn't the bad part. She was holding an unconscious Aang in front of Azula, Zuko, and another swarm of Dai Li. Iroh blasted fire in between the two forces and both of us hopped down in between them.
"You've got to get out of here! We'll hold them off as long as we can!" Iroh yelled to Katara.
Iroh fought until Katara and Aang disappeared, but I kept on going. He was encased in crystal once again. He said nothing for me to stop, instead he just stared at Zuko. I knew that there was no way that I could keep fighting... Even if I beat all the Dai Li, I would still have to face Azula and Zuko, but that didn't matter to me. As I continued to fight, I sucked in the souls of the Dai Li Agents. I had three animals out at the same time; The crocodile killed the ones who were knocked down, the anaconda protected me and my leopard helped me attack. After a while, Azula got fed up.
"Cease the attack on her..." she said.
The Dai Li obliged.
"You want to fight, huh...?" she asked me.
I didn't answer and made all of my animals circle around me.
"Deva!" she yelled.
A girl about my age, a little older, tunneled out of the ground. She had the same mocha tanned skin as I did. She also had tattoos on her face, but instead of them being on her left arm, like I had, they were on her right. They were also white instead of black. On her face were swirly lines instead of dots and she had the word "Life" on her forehead... This girl was a life shaman...(authors note: her name is pronounced "day-vuh", pic of her on my site)
"What is your desire, Master?" she asked.
Her eyes were lowered to the ground, but she was still facing Azula.
"I'm sure you'll have some fun fighting a Death Shaman... Let her live, but just barely..." she said.
Deva bowed to her and then faced me.
"Stop, Liiru! Give up now!" Zuko yelled.
I made all of my animals disappear.
"What do you care? You're with them now!" I yelled.
"You're interesting..." Deva said with a smirk as she walked towards me.
I sent a large spirit hawk at her. Before it touched her, her right arm lit up in a golden glow, as did her icy eyes that were such a light shade of blue that they were almost white. She waved her arm as the bird came in contact with her and it disappeared.
"That won't work on me... I won't use any of the animals that are at my leisure here. I want to see how well you can hold up." she said, still walking towards me.
Her speed picked up. I got into a leopard stance and my hands ignited in soul fire. Her hands and feet had an eerie glow to them that was the same as when she expelled my hawk, except it was green instead of gold. Both of us hit each other at the same time. I felt as if something had bit me internally where she hit me.
She laughed.
"We're exact opposites. Your attacks harm the soul, but mine harm the body from the inside. You steal energy, while I give mine... but my energy has a little more kick to it than yours does. My energy is like a poison... This'll be interesting..." she said.
No wonder I had felt the biting. If I hit her enough, I'd steal all of her soul. If she hit me long enough, she'd kill me with the amount of toxins she was putting in my body with each hit.
All of her powers contradicted mine. If they hit, they would cancel each other out... So this is what my tribe was fighting against... The Dai Li, Zuko and Azula just watched as we fought. I was getting tired... Losing energy, while she seemed a lot less phased then I was. She still had that smirk on her face... But it looked like it was simply masking something else. Both of us were breathing deeply.
"I'm getting tired of this... Finish her off, Deva." Azula said.
Deva nodded. Her feet glowed gold as they remained on the floor. She brought her hands up and and branches roots from the ground appeared with the same golden glow about them. I jumped away to dodge them, but some more came up from behind me and bound me to the ground... Just as I controlled the essence of spirits, she controlled the essence of Life. I yelled in pain as more of her toxins entered my body. I summoned my anaconda to break me away from them and tried to use it as a defense, but it was no use against her. She rocketed herself towards me kicking me in the stomach. Before I could get to far away from her from the impact of her kick, she bended the life inside of the branches to bounce me back towards her. I punched her in the face with soul fire as the same time as she did the same to me. Before I could do anything else, more branches wrapped around me, sending toxins through my body. I screamed. When they released me, I couldn't get up.
"Lock these two up somewhere... Just get them out of my sight. We'll be taking both of them back to the Fire Nation with us." Azula said.
I clutched the earth under me before I was encased in rock by the Dai Li. My teary eyes fell on Zuko. He looked at me for a second, and then looked away, clutching his hands into fists. I looked back at him as they dragged me away. He roared, fire crackling out of his mouth... I was going to get locked up, again... This time, at the hands person who I loved the most...