I am SO sorry this took forever. I got way busier than I expected to. Here's Book 2 Episode 8, Enjoy!
Aang and Sokka unloaded Appa's saddle as he let out a groan. I gave him a gentle pat.
"Hey," exclaimed Toph, "You guys picked a great campsite. The grass is so soft."
I let out a quiet chuckle.
"That's not grass," Sokka informed her, "Appa's shedding."
"Oh, gross," Katara whined.
"That's not gross," corrected Aang, "It's just a part of Spring. You know, rebirth, flowers blooming, and Appa gets a new coat."
"Ah, the beauty of Spring," the brunette drawled.
I chuckled loudly at the bald boy.
"Butterball, you have a bird on your head."
Just then, Appa let out a huge sneeze. More fur blasted off of him.
"Stop! Appa, stop," Katara gagged.
"It's not bad, Katara," Sokka quipped as he stood up, "It makes a great wig!"
Aang jumped from the saddle.
"And a great beard!"
Grinning, I grabbed some fur.
"And some pretty wicked eyebrows!"
The three of us laughed at each other as the Water Tribe girl gave us a deadpanned expression.
"I'm just glad that we finally have another girl in our group, because you three are disgusting."
Toph walked over to us.
"Excuse me. Does anyone have a razor? Because I got some hairy pits!"
Her shirt sleeves were full to brim with Appa's fur. The three of us bursted out in giggles and laughter. I grinned as Toph laughed with us. My chuckling doubled as Aang sneezed, blowing off the fur, and rammed into Appa's leg. We continued to laugh. I beamed over at Katara. She let her disgust dissolve as she let herself laugh at the situation.
Later in the evening, Katara sat in front of a pot of water as she purified it. Aang used his air bending in order to set up the tent. Sokka and Nahla brought firewood to the camp. After dropping her pile, Nahla moved over to the sleeping bags. Katara looked up from the water and over to Toph. She grimaced as she saw the newest member of the group relaxing against a rock. After a moment, she stood up and headed over.
"So Toph. Usually when setting up camp, we try to divide up the work."
"Hey, don't worry about me," she replied, "I'm good to go."
"Well, actually what I'm trying to say is some of us might fetch water while someone else might set up the fire pit or put up the tent." Momo flew over and dropped some food into her hands. "Even Momo does his fair share."
"Katara, I'm fine. I can carry my own weight," the earth bender replied, "I don't need a fire, I've already collected my own food, and look," she paused to earth bend a tent, "My tent's all set up!"
"Well, that's great for you, but we still need to finish-"
"I don't understand," Toph interrupted strongly, "What's the problem here?"
"Nevermind," Katara muttered as she walked away.
Nahla quirked a brow at her irritated friend. She ended up shrugging her shoulders. As time went on, Aang and Sokka went to take off Appa's saddle. With air bending, Aang lifted it and dropped it on the animal's side, accidentally crushing Sokka. Nahla ran over to help him.
"Sorry," he apologized as he helped his friend up.
"Just be a little more careful next time," the girl told Aang.
Off to the side, Katara set down a jar of fresh water. She gave a small smile as she watched Toph. The brunette decided to walk over. Her hand rubbed the back of her head.
"Hey Toph. I wanted to apologize for earlier. I think we're all just a little tired and getting on each other's nerves."
"Yeah. You do seem pretty tired," she replied to a shocked Katara.
"I meant all of us."
"Well, goodnight!"
Toph threw the rest of her food off to the side and crawled into her rock tent.
"Good night," Katara begrudgingly replied as she walked away.
The other four quickly fell asleep.
I jolted from my sleep with wide eyes. I wiped my face in order to rid it of sweat.
*That's all I needed, a nightmare,* I quipped to myself.
Just then, I heard my sister's voice as she ran from her tent.
"There's something coming toward us," she yelled.
I glanced past the saddle I had been lying on. Aang and the siblings had woken up to see what was wrong.
"What is it?" the Avatar questioned.
Toph knelt on one knee as the rest of us surrounded her.
"It feels like an avalanche, but also not an avalanche."
"Your powers of perception are frightening," Sokka spoke with a sarcastic with tone.
I flicked his forehead in annoyance. He let out a yelp before rubbing it. I gave him a sly smirk.
"Should we leave?" a concerned Katara inquired.
"Better safe than sorry," Aang advised.
With increasing worry, I started packing up the saddle. The siblings and Aang joined me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Toph grab her things. Quickly enough, we were up in the air. A dark cloud of movement seemed to be heading toward our campsite. My eyes widened.
"What is that thing?" Katara asked.
Unbeknownst to the group, a huge metal tank sped after them. The smoke left the puffy trail.
LATER...
Appa groaned loudly as they flew across the sky. Aang let out a tired yawn. Sokka rested his head in his hand. Nahla laid on Toph's back as she tried to get some rest. Katara hugged her knees to her chest. Eventually, the exhausted sky bison plopped down onto some rocks. Toph jumped from the saddle and laid on the ground.
"Ah land! Sweet land," she rejoiced.
She used some dirt to bring her to her feet.
"See you guys in the morning," she said happily.
"Actually, can you help us unload?" Katara asked.
"Really? You need me to help unload Sokka's funky smelling sleeping bag?"
Sokka brought his nose to his possession and sniffed. Immediately he held it as arm's length, obviously disgusted. Nahla smirked, too tired to laugh, as the boy fell over.
"Well yeah. That and everything else. You're a part of our team now and-"
"Look," Toph angrily interrupted, "I didn't ask you to help unload my stuff. I'm carrying my own weight."
"That's not the point," Katara retorted and stomped after her, "Ever since you joined us, you've been nothing but selfish and unhelpful!"
Toph spun on her heels.
"What? Look here, Sugar Queen! I gave up everything I had so I could teach Aang earth bending. So don't you talk to me about being selfish!"
Toph sat down and bent a tent.
"Sugar Queen?" Katara yelled in rage.
Toph brought up a third wall that acted as a door.
"Did you just slam the door in my face?" She began to slam on the rock. "How can you be so infuriating?"
"Should we do something?" Aang asked timidly.
"Hey I'm just enjoying the show," the Water Tribe boy replied.
"Maybe I should say something," Nahla murmured.
While she thought to herself, Aang walked over to Katara.
"Okay, okay. You both need to calm down," he tried to soothe.
"Both?" Katara spun around and screamed, "I'm completely calm!"
Aang started backing away.
"I can see that."
Nahla's eyes widened.
"Maybe I'll say something later."
The other four eventually slipped into their sleeping bags. All but Katara were asleep. The brunette crossed her arms in annoyance. She smirked devilishly.
"The stars sure are beautiful tonight. Too bad you can't see them Toph!"
Sokka covered his face with his sleeping bag. Toph sent an underground fissure at the angry water bender. It shot her into the air and onto her brother.
"Don't make me choose sides, Katara," Nahla hissed from her bag.
Her brother sat up angrily, moving his sister to the side in the process.
"Hey! How's a guy supposed to sleep with all this yelling and earthquaking?" Sokka yelled.
Toph opened her door.
"That thing is back!"
"Well, how far away is it?" the eldest boy asked as he covered his face with his sleeping back. "Maybe we can close our eyes just for a few minutes."
The other three looked in the opposite direction. Smoke rose above the trees.
"I don't think so, Sokka," Aang urged.
Within a short period of time, the group of friends were flying again. Katara looked behind them as they flew.
"Seriously, what is that thing?"
"And how does it keep finding us?" Toph added.
"I don't know," Aang replied as Nahla and Sokka napped in front of him, "But this time, I'm gonna make sure we lose them."
Appa sped off through the sky. They dipped low and high. Eventually, Appa landed on a cliff side. He immediately rolled to his side, bucking everyone off. Sokka grabbed his sleeping bag.
"Okay, forget about setting up camp. I'm finding the softest pile of dirt and going to sleep."
"That's good, because Toph wasn't gonna help anyway," stated the exhausted Katara.
"Oh! I didn't realize baby still needed someone to tuck her into bed," quipped Toph.
Nahla let out a rolling, low growl.
"Come on guys. There's something after us and we don't know what or who it is," Aang mumbled.
"It could be Zuko. We haven't seen him since the North Pole," suggested Katara.
Nahla shifted her gaze away from her friends.
"Who's Zuko?"
"Oh, just some angry freak with a ponytail who tracked us all over the world and kept Nahla as a prisoner for awhile," Sokka said nonchalantly.
Toph grinned and punched her sister's arm. Nahla let out a nervous giggle.
"Easy there, Bandit," she added light-heartedly.
"What's wrong with ponytails, ponytail?" quipped Katara.
"This is a warrior's wolf tail," he retorted.
"Well it certainly tells the other warriors you're fun and perky," his sister finished.
"Anyway, whoever's chasing us couldn't of followed us here. Now would everyone just shush?"
Momo started hopping on top of Sokka.
"No Momo, shush. Sleepy time."
All the teens looked up to see Momo looking where they had just come from.
"Oh, don't tell me," pleaded Sokka.
"That's impossible! There's no way they could've tracked us," Aang added.
"I can feel it with my own two feet!"
Aang sprinted forward and looked ahead of him. The trail of smoke headed straight for them. As it got closer, they could see it was a machine of some sort.
"Let's get outta here," Katara quickly spoke.
"Maybe we should face them, find out who they are," suggested Aang, "Who knows, maybe they're friendly?"
"Always the optimist," sighed Sokka.
"Well, we've had weird situations like this before," Nahla added.
The tank soon stopped at the base of the mountain. The side opened up and let out three mongoose lizards. On each one sat a girl. The teens gaped as they came closer.
"It's those three girls from Omashu," exclaimed Katara.
The five teens got into their stances.
"We can take 'em," Toph declared, "three on three."
"Actually Toph, there's five of us," corrected Sokka.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't count you or Nahla. Ya know, no bending and all."
"I can still fight," he screamed.
Nahla smirked as she sent little drops at her sister.
"I forgot to mention I'm a water bender, Toph."
"Okay. Three on four plus Sokka."
Sokka groaned loudly before continuing to watch the incoming enemies. Toph shook her hands and bent up huge roadblocks. The agile creatures either avoided, or crawled over the obstacles.
"Well, we wanted to find out who they were and we found out. Now let's get outta here," Sokka commanded.
The siblings and Aang headed for Appa. Nahla stayed planted as she waited for Toph. The earth bender raised an earth wall. Nahla grabbed her wrist and headed toward the sky bison.
On the other side of the barricade, Azula started conjuring lightning. She sent a powerful blast that broke through. The teens gaped at the sight. Mai sent some darts at the adoptive siblings. Thinking quickly, Toph lifted themselves up on a rock and hopped into the saddle.
"Appa, yip yip!"
The sky bison immediately flew away from the danger. The group sat in silence until they were higher in the sky.
"I can't believe those girls followed us all the way from Omashu," Katara expressed.
"I still think we could've taken them," Toph muttered.
"Are you kidding me? The crazy blue fire bending and the daggers are bad enough," the brunette continued, "but last time we saw them, one of those girls did something that took my bending away. That's scary."
Nahla rubbed her friend's back as she remembered that same feeling. She smirked.
"Besides, Toph, we'll end up fighting enough dunderheads to keep you happy soon enough."
"Oh no, the sun is rising," whined Sokka, "We've been up all night with no sleep!"
"Sokka, we'll be okay," Aang soothed.
"Are you sure? I've never not slept before," the older boy continued, "What if I fall asleep now and something happens? And something always happens!"
"Every time we land, those girls are there," Katara thought aloud, "So, we'll just have to keep flying."
Appa groaned in protest. Nahla gave his side a quick sympathy scratch.
"We can't keep flying forever," Aang reminded his friends.
BELOW...
The rolling tank continued to pursue the Avatar. The three girls inside relaxed. Behind them, an ostrich-horse followed the tracks. A determined Zuko followed the ruts in the ground.
Aang let out a huge yawn.
"So what's our plan?" he asked us.
"Don't know," muttered Toph, "Too tired to think."
"I'm sure we'll come up with something after a short nap," Katara added.
"Yes! Sleep," agreed Sokka.
I slowly shut my eyes as I started to join my friends. They shot open as I felt my stomach drop. I quickly caught Appa's saddle as Momo caught Toph's ankle.
"What's going on?" my sister yelled.
"Appa fell asleep!"
The five of us screamed as we began to plummet to the ground. I turned my head slightly to see Aang slide down the sky bison's head.
"Appa! Wake up buddy!"
A few seconds later, Appa started flying again. I soon noticed he was too exhausted to go any higher. I gripped the saddle harder as we drove through the trees and toward the ground. We soon came to a stop, jolting me into the saddle side.
"Is-Is everyone alright?" I asked as I caught my breath.
"Appa's exhausted," Aang spoke with a dejected tone.
The rest of us slowly dropped from the saddle with the comfiest thing we could find. I smiled slightly as Toph just plopped onto the grass.
"Okay, we've put a lot of distance between us and them," Sokka reminded us, "The plan right now is to follow Appa's lead and get some sleep."
"Of course we could've gotten some sleep earlier if Toph didn't have such issues," Katara snarked.
The earth bender gripped the ground with her hands.
"What?" she screamed.
She quickly stood up.
"Alright, alright," Aang stepped in, "Everyone's exhausted. Let's just get some rest."
"No! I wanna hear what Katara has to say." She took a step toward the brunette. "You think I have issues?"
"I'm just saying, maybe if you helped out earlier we could've set up our camp faster and gotten some sleep. And then maybe we wouldn't be in this situation," Katara yelled.
I angrily stood up. Off to the side I could see Sokka laying out on a sleeping bag.
"You're blaming me for this?" Toph retorted, dragging me back to the conversation.
Katara threw her beanbag to the ground and waved her hands at my sister. Aang quickly stepped in.
"No! No, she's not blaming you," he refuted.
"No, I'm blaming her," Katara corrected.
"Hey," she yelled as she threw Aang to the side. I quickly caught him as Toph continued, "I never asked you for diddly do da! I carry my own weight! Besides, if there's anyone to blame, it's sheddy over here!"
"What? You're blaming Appa?" Aang cried angrily.
"Yeah! You wanna know how they keep finding us?" she asked as she grabbed some loose fur, "He's leaving a trail everywhere we go!"
"How dare you blame Appa? He saved your life three times today! If there's anyone to blame it's you!"
I felt my fists clench and heat rise through my body.
"You're always talking about carrying your own weight, but you're not! He is, Appa's carrying your weight. He never had a problem flying when it was just the four of us!"
"Enough," I barked.
Aang and Katara flinched at my unusually loud voice. Toph, however, turned and started walking away. I saw that Sokka had stood up as well.
"I'm outta here," she grunted as she grabbed her bag.
My eyes widened with shock. Sokka jumped in front of her.
"Wait!"
Toph moved him to the side before continuing on. I started to jog after my sister.
"Toph!"
She didn't reply, but she slowed down slightly. Her pace remained quick.
"Toph, please recon-"
I was cut off as she raised a wall of rock in front of my face. Taken by surprise, I jumped slightly. I moved around the structure only to be blocked again. I looked in between the two rocks as she continued to walk away. My fists tightened as I felt my eyes well up.
Not too far from the group, the tank continued to steam through the countryside.
Aang looked up into the sky. Katara stood next to him. I had walked over to Sokka and laid my head on his shoulder. I had forgiven the two for their behavior, but I was still upset.
"What did I just do?" he yelled to himself, "I can't believe I yelled at my earth bending teacher. Now she's gone."
"I know," agreed Katara, "We're all just trying to get used to each other. And I was so mean to her."
"Yeah, you two were pretty much jerks," Sokka told them.
I felt him sip his tea.
"Thanks Sokka."
"No problem."
"We need to find Toph and apologize," Katara continued.
"Okay, but what are we gonna do about the tank filled with dangerous ladies chasing us?" the boy next to me voiced.
"Their...ride is pretty fast," I added.
"I have a plan," Aang replied.
Within minutes, Appa was bathing in the river. Katara and Aang used their water bending to rinse the sky bison's fur. I had opted to help Sokka and Momo wash off the excess fur. I chuckled slightly as Aang moved his stream toward the lemur, scaring him off and getting Sokka wet. It didn't take much longer to finish up.
"Toph was right. Appa's fur was leaving a trail right to us," Aang recapped, "But now that he's clean, no more trail."
"Are you sure he's okay to fly?" questioned Katara.
"He still seems pretty tired," I added.
"He'll be fine as long as we leave his saddle and all of our stuff here."
Noting this, I quickly ran to my bag and grabbed my fan and water pouch. I looked up to see Aang picking up Appa's fur.
"I'm gonna use Appa's fur to leave a fake trail and lead the tank off course."
Katara, Sokka, and I quickly boarded Appa. I waved to Aang as the sky bison flew off. I saw his small figure fly into the air.
ELSEWHERE...
Toph wandered through the forest. She kept her head low as she did so. She stopped as she felt some vibrations. Without calling out, she sent a fissure to her right side, passing a rock. She immediately heard a groan and walked over.
"Oh, that really hurt my tailbone," a pained Iroh spoke.
BY THE RIVER...
Azula sunk her hands into the clear water. Fur attached themselves to her hands as she picked them out of the water.
"Wads of wet fur," Mai drawled, "How delightful."
"Hmm," mused Ty Lee, "They're not wads. They're more like bundles or bunches? It's got an 'uh' sound."
Azula walked to the side.
"Clumps?" Mai suggested.
"Clumps! They're clumps," Ty Lee exclaimed as she hugged the dreary girl.
Mai's eyes shifted to the ground as she noticed fur heading in a certain direction. The pair turned around to see Azula already checking it out.
"The trail goes this way," Mai told Azula.
Azula spun on her heels and examined the tree line. She immediately noticed the tops of some missing. She turned to her friends.
"The Avatar's trying to give us the slip. You two head in that direction and keep an eye out for the bison. I'll follow this trail."
The trio quickly separated via mongoose lizards.
Aang flew past the forest, still leaving a trail behind him. He tiredly made his way to a deserted town. He continued to drop the fur as he walked. A slight breeze swept through the eerie area. A chime sounded as Aang looked around. Once he noticed the bag was empty, the bald boy spun around and snapped his glider closed. He proceeded to sit down and wait.
IN THE OTHER DIRECTION...
Sokka and Nahla looked from Appa's sides. Katara held the reins and watched the ground below her.
"Toph couldn't have made it too far," Sokka reassured the girls.
Nahla frowned slightly. Suddenly, Momo started shrieking.
"What is it Momo?"
Sokka leaned over Appa's side and let out a long, irritated groan. Below them, Mai and Ty Lee followed them.
"Oh no! Katara!"
"How did they find us?" she exclaimed while whipping the reins.
"Appa! Come on! We need to go faster," Sokka begged.
"He's still exhausted," Nahla reminded him.
"Not good! Not good!"
The sky bison let out a pained groan.
"We just need to make it across that river," Sokka continued.
Appa started hitting the tree tops.
"Come on, Appa! Just a little farther," pleaded Katara.
As Sokka leaned over, Mai sent darts into the air. Panicked, the boy leaned back as he narrowly missed being hit. Appa's feet skimmed the water as he let out another groan. With a final effort, he lifted himself just enough to avoid hitting the river bank. Due to his high speed, the tired sky bison rammed into the ground. The three passengers gripped tightly to his fur. After a moment, Sokka lifted his head and quickly stood up.
"We made it," he exclaimed, "We're safe!"
"You did it, Appa," cheered the two water benders.
The siblings hugged as Nahla hugged the bison. A gasp from Katara brought the two's attention to the other side of the lake. Mai and Ty Lee rode their mongoose lizards onto the water. Angrily, Katara sent a large wave at Ty Lee. The acrobat jumped from her ride and into the trees. Katara opened her pouch as Ty Lee jumped from tree to tree. Meanwhile, Nahla sent her own water wave toward Mai. Her mongoose lizard easily avoided it. The raven haired bender attempted to shoot icicles at the nonbender.
"Watch out," yelled Katara.
Nahla spun around to see Ty Lee attempting to land jabs. Thinking quickly, the teen rolled under the flying fists. She stood next to Katara as the pair sent water discs and whips. Ty Lee gracefully avoided them. Mai sent three darts toward the unsuspecting girls. Sokka deflected them with his club and boomerang. He then threw the boomerang at the girl. She dodged it with ease and sent more darts. With narrowed eyes, Sokka blocked them again. Mai got up and sprinted toward Katara. Frightened, she ran away from the girl. Nahla spun around and tried attacking from the back. Amazingly, Mai avoided them all. Getting angry, Nahla ran after her.
Sokka turned the other way to see Ty Lee flip through the air. She landed in front of him and jabbed his one arm. This caused him to drop him boomerang. He let out a sigh. He spun around as he tried to hit her with his club. She quickly jabbed his good arm as he dropped the weapon. Seeing that he had no use of his arms, Sokka shit his leg out. Ty Lee disabled his leg as well. In a final attempt, Sokka lurched his head toward her. Unsuspectingly, she jammed her fingers against his forehead. She groaned in pain and glared at him.
"Good try," Sokka quipped, "but no."
Katara sprinted over to the lakeside as she attempted to raise more water. Quickly, Mai shot her daggers, catching her wristbands. Katara gasped. Nahla slid in front of Katara. The dreary girl sent more daggers. Reflexively, she brought up her fan and deflected them. A surprise dagger knocked it out of her hand. She let out a groan before noticing Sokka fall to the ground. Snarling, the girl went to bend some water. Ty Lee quickly jabbed her limbs.
"Crud," she said before falling on top of Sokka.
"How ya doing?" he asked aloud.
"Well, ya know," a slightly panicked Katara replied.
"Just peachy."
"I thought when Ty Lee and I finally caught you guys, it'd be more exciting," Mai spoke calmly, "Oh well. Victory is boring."
Just then, a huge gust of wind sent the two flying into the river. A grin crossed all three faces.
"Thanks Appa. I don't know what we'd do without you," Sokka commented.
The sky bison licked the boy as his eye twitched. Nahla let out a loud guffaw. Katara smiled to herself.
Down the river, Mai and Ty Lee crawled onto the bank. The girl in pink squeezed out her hair.
"Was it just me, or was that guy kind of cute?"
IN THE VILLAGE...
Aang squinted his eyes as he saw a familiar mongoose lizard. The reptile halted. The rider hopped from the saddle.
"Alright, you've caught up with me," Aang shouted, "Now who are you, and what do you want?"
"You mean you haven't guessed? You don't see the family resemblance?" she taunted, "Here's a hint." She placed a hand over one eye. "I must find the Avatar to restore my honor."
Aang gave her an unamused expression.
"It's okay. You can laugh. It's funny."
"So what now?"
"Now? Now, it's over! You're tired and you have no place to go. You can run, but I'll catch you."
Aang stood up.
"I'm not running."
Azula smirked devilishly.
ELSEWHERE...
Iroh and Toph sat around a fire. The aged man poured two cups of tea.
"Here is your tea," he offered. "You seem a little too young to be travelling alone."
"You seem a little too old," quipped Toph as she took the tea.
Iroh let out a chuckle.
"Perhaps I am."
"I know what you're thinking. I look like I can't handle being by myself."
"I wasn't thinking that," he replied gently.
"You wouldn't even let me pour my own cup of tea," she rebutted.
"I poured your tea because I wanted to, and for no other reason."
"People see me, and think I'm weak. They wanna take care of me, even my sister. But I can take care of myself, by myself."
"You sound like my nephew," Iroh replied, "Always thinking you need to do things on your own, without anyone's support. There is nothing wrong with letting people who love you help you. Not that I love you. I just met you."
Toph chuckled.
"So, where is your nephew?"
"I've been tracking him, actually," he admitted.
"Is he lost?"
"Yes, a little bit. His life has recently changed, and he's going through very difficult times. He's trying to figure out who he is, and he went away."
"So, now you're following him."
"I know he doesn't want me around right now, but if he needs me, I'll be there. Just like your sister, I'm sure."
"Your nephew is very lucky, even if he doesn't know it."
Toph set down her tea and stood up.
"Thank you."
"My pleasure. Sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life's true delights."
"No. Thank you for what you said. It helped me."
The young earth bender picked up her bag.
"I'm glad."
"Oh, and about your nephew; maybe you should him you need him too."
Iroh calmly sipped his tea as she walked away.
IN THE VILLAGE...
The mongoose lizard wagged its tail and growled. Azula grinned at the Avatar.
"Do you really want to fight me?"
Suddenly, an ostrich-horse sped from one side to the other. Its rider landed on the ground.
"Yes. I really do," Zuko answered.
"Zuko," gasped Aang.
"I was wondering when you'd show up, Zuzu," Azula mocked.
Aang chuckled.
"Zuzu?"
The scarred prince got into his stance.
"Back off, Azula! He's mine."
She assumed a stance as well.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Aang quickly got into his stance. The three stared each other down in silence. Each one anticipated the others. Zuko noticed a smirk play at his sister's lips. Azula shot a blue flame toward her brother. He quickly tried to diffuse it, but was knocked into a pillar. Spooked, Aang sprinted toward the end of the town as he opened his glider and tried flying away. Azula bent a line of blue fire as if it were rope. Aang caught sight of it and quickly diffused it with his staff. His back landed on the hard ground. His eyes widened further as he saw her sprinting across the roof. She landed right in front of him. Using her foot, she sent a flame at him. Aang quickly jumped it and started running. He ducked in between the siblings as they each fired shots of fire at him. He evaded each and every blast. At one point, the two siblings fought between themselves.
Aang sprinted up some old stairs. The princess caught sight and sent a flame at him, but missed her mark. Aang disappeared in the building the stairs led to. Azula followed him only to catch herself from falling to the bottom. Aang waved from the other side while staying aloft on his air ball. Just as Azula had settled, Zuko burst in and fell onto the pile below. Aang let out a yelp as his air scooter grew smaller. On the other side, Azula shot a blast at him. Aang sped on the sides and pushed her by her brother. She quickly caught herself and landed on two feet. Aang sprinted out of the building and ducked from another flash of blue fire.
He hopped onto the ground. A second later, Zuko was shot out of the building by his sister. He let out a groan without moving. A little worried, Aang stated in disbelief. It only lasted a second before he started hopping upwards from two buildings. Azula shot a blast every time he landed. Aang soon reached the top of one. The determined princess cut the corner of the wooden building off. Aang tried desperately to hold on to what he could. Azula, however, cut off an extra sliver, sending Aang into the building filled with rubble. Azula walked through the door and sent her flames around the edges, boxing him in. Aang struggled to release his leg as the girl walked towards him. Before she could do anything, Katara whipped Azula's hand. She then freed Aang in the same motion.
"Katara," he exclaimed.
Azula turned and shot fire at the water bender's retreating figure. Azula followed her outside. Sokka intervened by swinging his club at her. Azula easily dodged it. She continued to duck as she noticed Nahla's fan swinging at her face. Azula grimaced. She backed out into the street. The four teens encroached her.
Off to the side, Iroh knelt by his nephew. He held out his hand as Zuko came to.
"Uncle," he muttered.
"Get up," he commanded.
The scarred teen grabbed his uncle's hand and sat up. They turned to see Azula charging Aang. The Avatat jumped away as she sent a blast of fire. Nahla and Katara sent their own water jets at the princess. She easily scorched them out. She sent a blast toward Sokka. Nahla grabbed his wrist and pulled him out of the way. Azula sent another strike at the three. Slowly, but surely, the continued to corner her toward an alley. All of a sudden, Azula felt the ground beneath her move. She fell to the ground, revealing Toph.
"Toph," Nahla yelled with glee.
"I thought you guys could use a little help," she quipped.
"Thanks," replied Katara.
Azula quickly stood up and continued to defend herself. She sprinted down an alley and hopped over some crates. She smirked, thinking she got away. Out of nowhere, Iroh rammed his gut into her. Azula fell to the ground. Zuko quickly joined him. The seven people pushed Azula into a literal corner.
"Well, look at this," she commented, "Enemies and traitors, all working together. I'm done. I know when I'm beaten."
She raised her hands into the air. Nahla let out a low growl.
"You got me," Azula continued, "A princess surrenders with honor."
Iroh's eyes flicked to the side. They widened to see the stranger he had met was friends with the Avatar. Quickly catching the distraction, Azula sent fire towards him. Iroh let out a scream as he fell to the ground. Zuko let out a similar one of shock. Angrily, all five benders sent their element at the princess. The combination soon exploded. A dark cloud covered them. Aang stood up as it cleared to see Azula had disappeared. The five teens turned to see Zuko kneeling by his hurt uncle. Nahla covered her mouth, fighting back anger and tears. Zuko let out a pained groan. The five teens walked over toward them.
"Get away from us," screamed Zuko.
From her feet, Toph sensed who it was lying on the ground. Katara stepped forward.
"Zuko! I can help!"
They ducked as he sent a blast over their heads.
"Leave!"
The five of us started running back toward the forest. I quickly stopped.
"Guys, wait!"
They all halted and turned to me. I wiped away a fresh tear.
"I have to help him."
"But Nahla! Zuko won't even let us get close enough to help," Katara reasoned.
I threw my fists in anger.
"I'll fight him if I have to! I'm going to help Iroh. He-He's my friend."
The three exchanged looks as Toph kept her head down. I brought my sister into a hug.
"I know we just reunited, but-"
"I understand," she whispered, "You should help him."
"I'll miss you, Bandit."
I looked past my sister and toward Katara.
"Take care of everyone, okay?"
She nodded. The three soon joined the hug. After a few more tears fell down my cheeks, I let go.
"I'll find some way to get back to you guys. Now go, before Zuko's sister comes back."
They nodded before running into the forest.
Tightening her fists, Nahla headed back to the burning town. Her frown deepened as she saw Zuko still hunched over Iroh. It wasn't long until he heard her approach.
"I said leave," he screamed.
She noticed his fist sparking. Without a thought, Nahla tackled Zuko into the ground. She held down his arms and somehow ended up sitting on his stomach. Her face was inches from his. He squirmed beneath her grip.
"Get off me! Leave us alone!"
"No! You're not the only one affected by this," she hollered back, "You need to let me help him! I can heal him! But you have to let me!"
Her voice lowered as her arms started to shake. Tears fell from her eyes and onto Zuko's shirt. The worried girl placed her forehead on his chest as she tried not to sob.
"Just let me help him," she murmured.
Stunned, Zuko was unable to reply immediately. After some time, she lifted her face and stared at him. He nodded slowly. Nahla climbed off of him and over to Iroh. She pulled off her pouch and streamed some water from it. It glowed in her hands.
Appa flew through the night. When he reached a mountain's peak, he landed. The four teens and Momo slept peacefully on the saddle.
Zuko idly poked at the fire he had made. His gaze wandered over to his resting Uncle. His expression was less pained than it had been initially. His golden orbs flicked to the girl sleeping away from the fire. He was still mildly shocked at how she had acted earlier. The prince returned his gaze to the blazing fire.
Oh my goodness. Again, a thousand-no-a million apologies for how long this one took. Not only is it a tough episode to write, but the timing was completely off. I didn't expect to be that busy. Anywhoosal, thank you to all of you for being so wonderfully and fantastically patient! I am so grateful for all of you lovely human beings! Please continue to R&R, feedback is most appreciated. Hopefully, these next chapters will be coming much quicker than this one. Thank you so much for all of your support! And again, I'm so sorry for the wait. Stay magnificent you majestic people!
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