Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Last Airbender.
Bodyguard of Azula
Chapter 29: Stand offs and Falling back
"Talking"
"Thinking"
"Bijū/spirit talking"
"Bijū/spirit thinking"
(Location: Invasion force)
As the moon slowly crawled in front of the sun, the battle raged on. Huu and a few others stood guard over the subs while the others were trying to make their way up the volcano. For now, the movement had come to a standstill. Fire Nation catapults were hurling flaming rocks at the invasion force, trying to destroy the invasion tanks while a few of their own tanks gave support.
The invasion tanks had been put end-to-end, creating a protective wall. The sides opened and Earthbenders would bend rocks at the enemy. If they didn't have a rock handy, they could still move the earth to unsettle any enemy heavy equipment. They used that tactic on a few of the enemy's tanks.
Behind the wall of tanks, Sokka coordinated with Bato and the leader of the Earth Kingdom soldiers. A rock from one of the enemy catapults smashed down nearby. He raised his hand halfway to his head in order to protect it if any big rocks came down. When he opened his eyes, he saw something that was both a surprise and a relief. "Dad!" He said with a smile. Hakoda was coming through the gate, supported by Katara. "You're on your feet again." He came over to them with Toph joining them.
"Thanks to your sister." Hakoda told him as he sat down on a nearby rock. "I'm in no shape to fight, but maybe there's some way I can help."
"Everything's going smoothly." He told his father, kneeling down in front of him. "And the eclipse hasn't even kicked in yet."
"Let's hope our luck holds out." He noticed Katara had stepped away. "Katara, you seem distracted. Is something wrong?" He asked his daughter.
She looked up at the sky, tracking a flying object. "Yeah, is that…is that Aang?"
"What?" Sokka asked, looking up. Sure enough, Aang was flying towards them, dodging rocks and fireballs before landing in front of them. "Please tell me you're here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a big wimp and you didn't even need the eclipse to take him down." He practically begged.
"…He wasn't home." Aang said in reply. "No one was. The entire palace city is abandoned. The only person I met there was Naruto."
A look of both shock and surprise passed over the Water Paragon's face. "He knew. They knew." Mentally, he began to chastise himself. Of course, Naruto would know. He had been to Wan Shi Tong's library long before they had.
"It's over. The Fire Lord is probably long-gone; far away on some remote island where he'll be safe during the eclipse." The Avatar said in a defeated voice.
"No. my instincts tell me he wouldn't go too far." The Tribesman objected quietly, thinking it over. "He would have a secret bunker; somewhere he could go and be safe during the siege but still be close enough to lead his nation."
"If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for, I'm just the girl for the job." Toph declared, pointing at herself.
"The Mechanist gave me this timing device." He pulled out said device and looked at it. "It looks like we've got about ten minutes until the eclipse. Ten minutes to find the Fire Lord"
"We can still do this." Aang said with conviction in his voice. "We can still win the day."
"Wait." Katara said. "If they knew we were coming, it could all be a trap. Maybe we should use the time we have left to make sure we all get out of here safely." She told Sokka.
"That might be the best choice." He agreed. "Especially if Naruto knew we were coming." If the blonde was waiting for them, things would become much, much more difficult.
"Everyone who's here today came prepared to risk everything for this mission." Hakoda told them. "They know what's at stake. If there's still a chance and there's still hope, I think they would want Aang to go for it."
"What do you think?" Sokka asked Aang. "You're the one who has to face the Fire Lord. Whatever you decide, I'm with you."
The Avatar stood up and faced the volcano. "I've gotta try." He declared.
"I guess that settles it." He stood up. "Toph and I will go with him in Appa. Katara, you stay here with Dad. Akela, stay with them and protect them." The wolf nodded in agreement. Aang, Sokka and Toph quickly boarded Appa and took off, flying to the volcano. But instead of landing in the city, they landed on the side of the volcano.
"Do you feel anything down there?" Aang asked Toph as she felt the earth.
"Yep," She answered, kneeling on the ground and feeling the earth with her hand. "There are natural tunnels crisscrossing through the inside of the volcano."
"Anything else?" asked Sokka. "Is there a structure somewhere?"
She slammed her hands into the earth, getting an extra feel. "There's something bug, dense and made of metal deep in the heart of the volcano."
"Sounds like a secret bunker to me." He stated. She didn't reply, she simply bent open a hole that led into one of the tunnels.
"Stay safe. We'll be back soon." Aang told Appa and Momo before the humans went into the hole.
She checked the earth again once they were in the tunnel. "This way, that one's a dead end!" She told them, running down the tunnel.
"What would we do without you?" Sokka asked her as they ran.
"Perish in burning hot magma." She answered in complete deadpan.
"Yeah, pretty much." He agreed after looking a small amount of magma flow slowly down a current. They kept moving until they enter a chamber that magma erupting from several spots on the ground.
"The tunnel continues on the other side. And it leads right to the bunker." She told them.
"We'll have to be fast, but careful." The Tribesman started to move forward, but was caught off guard when magma erupted right in front of him.
Aang quickly cooled the magma with a blast of air. "How is that careful?" He asked Sokka.
"I was wrong. We need to be fast, careful and lucky." He amended. They charged through the chamber, dodging magma that shot up from the ground. They made it through, but what was in the next chamber stopped them. "There's no floor." Sokka stated as he looked at what was in front of them. "It's just a river of lava."
Aang simply opened his gilder. "Climb aboard and hold on tight." He ordered the other two. While he flew across the river of lava, dodging the bubbles that would pop and spray lava, the others were holding on for dear life and screaming for dear life too. But in the end, they managed to make it to the other side and just kept on running.
They soon came across something that got their attention. "That's some door!" Sokka declared. Said door was big and attached to what looked to be a metal sphere half-buried in the rock.
Toph walked up to the door and knocked on it, testing out the metal. "Not a problem." She stated before backing up. She lunged forward and bent the metal, first using her elbows to dent it and them using her fingers to bend the dent open, creating a hole in the door. She stepped and pointed forward before charging off.
"I am so glad we added you to the group!" Sokka told her as he and Aang followed.
(Location: Invasion force)
The battle was pushed forward. The invasion force was slowly, but surely making their way up the mountain path that led into the volcano. The Fire Nation forces tried to stop them, but they weren't having much luck. The battlement towers tried to hit the foot soldiers, but they were carrying shields over their heads and letting them overlap. The Boulder and the Hippo took care of the battlement towers by slamming their hands on the side of the mountain and bending the earth underneath the tower to collapse, making it fall. Other Earthbenders repeated the idea.
The captain who was in command of the defense took a look back at the sun. "Retreat! Everyone, move to the secondary positions. Retreat!" He ordered. The soldiers did as they were ordered, running back up the mountain.
"The eclipse is only minutes away." Bato addressed the invasion force. "We should able to make up the hill by the time it starts, and secure the entire palace when it's finish!" The soldiers cheered at that declaration.
"We can wait here, if you want." Katara offered Hakoda.
"No." He replied. "I wanna press forward with the others." She helped him walk. Akela kept close to their side.
(Location: Tunnels)
War Minister Qin walked through the tunnels, whistling. When he saw the Avatar and his friends come out of the other tunnel, he let out a gasp of surprise. They heard the gasp, turned around and readied themselves for a fight. He raised his hands in surrender. "The Fire Lord's chamber is that way, down the hall, to the left and up the stairs, you can't miss it!" He told them.
They crowded around and gave him a glare. "Thanks!" Aang told him with a small smile. They took off, leaving War Minister Qin alone. He put his hands down, took a quick look around and walked away, taking part in a time-honored tradition: he pretended not to see a damn thing.
As they ran down the tunnel, Sokka checked the eclipse timer again. "Only thirty seconds until the total eclipse." He warned everyone. They soon came to the door that led to the Fire Lord.
Aang took a deep breath. "I'm ready." He declared. "I'm ready to face the Fire Lord." He blasted the doors open with his Airbending. They came into the chamber, but it wasn't Ozai on the throne.
"So you are still alive." Yāo Jing mused from where she lounged in the chair. "I guess my aim was a little off."
"Wait, you were the one who shot me in Ba Sing Se?" Aang asked, stunned. He had thought Zuko or Azula had been the one to do it.
"Well, I had meant to kill you." She commented offhandedly.
"Who the hell are you?" Sokka demanded.
"What? You mean to tell me that my little brother and sister didn't tell you about me? I'm hurt."
"…You're their older sister. No, wait." He said, cutting her off before she could speak. "You look different from them. You're not their actual sister, are you?"
"Oh, it seems the little peasant from the chunk of ice they call the South Pole seems to think he's clever." She said mockingly. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Yāo Jing, eldest child to Fire Lord Ozai and half-sister to Zuko and Azula."
"So that would make you the illegitimate one then."
"You have quite the mouth, don't you? But it doesn't matter now, I've known about the invasion for months."
He actually laughed at that. "No you didn't, Naruto knew and somehow, I don't think he would've told you." All three of them saw the flash of rage in her eyes when she heard that.
(Location: Zuko and Azula)
They stood outside a door in the tunnels. "I'm ready to face you." Zuko thought to himself. "Let's get on with it." He said aloud.
"Yeah," Azula agreed. He slid the door open and they walked into the Fire Lord's safety room.
Ozai sat behind a line of Imperial Firebenders carrying pikes. He was about to take a sip of tea when his children walked into the room. "Zuko, Azula, what are you doing here?" He asked them.
(Location: Invasion force)
As they climbed up the volcano, the Mechanist took notice of the sun. "The eclipse is starting." He announced. "Put on your eclipse glasses!" Everyone did as they were ordered. They continued climbing upward, while Katara and Hakoda looked at the eclipse. The moon covered the sun, truly making it black.
(Location: Royal bunker)
"Why are you two here?" Ozai repeated himself.
"We're here to tell the truth." Zuko told him.
"Telling the truth during the middle of an eclipse," He said. "This should be interesting." He waved the guards away. They turned and quickly left through side exits, closing the doors behind them.
"First of all, in Ba Sing Se, it was Yāo Jing who took down the Avatar, not me or Azula." His son told him.
"Why would she lie to me about that?" He knew for a fact that his bastard daughter wouldn't lie about that.
"Because the Avatar is not dead," Azula told him. "He survived."
"What?!" asked Ozai, shocked to hear that little piece of information.
"He's probably leading this invasion." She continued.
"He could be on his way here right now." Zuko agreed.
"Get out!" Their father roared, standing up and pointing at the door. "Both of you get out of my sight if you know what's good for you!"
"That's another thing. I'm not taking orders from you anymore." The Scarred Dragon said in defiance.
"Neither am I." Azula agreed.
"You will obey me, or this defiant breath will be your last!" The Fire Lord began to walk down the steps, only to stop when Zuko drew his Dao swords and Azula drew her daggers.
"Think again. I am going to speak my mind and you are going to listen." Zuko ordered. Ozai knew that he would be defeated if he tried to attack his children now. So he sat back down.
(Location: Team Avatar)
"Where is he?" Aang demanded. "Where is the Fire Lord?"
"You mean I'm not good enough for you?" Yāo Jing asked as she stood up from the chair. "You're hurting my feelings."
"Stop wasting our time and give us the information." Sokka ordered, pointing his jian at her. "You're powerless right now, so you're in no position to refuse."
"And stick to the truth." Toph told her. "I'll be able to tell if you're lying."
"Are you sure? I'm a pretty good liar." Yāo Jing said, walking forward a few steps. "I am four-hundred foot tall purple platypus-bear with pink horns and silver wings."
"…Okay, you're good, I admit it." She bent the floor to rise up and trap her. "But you really ought to consider telling the truth anyway!"
Without any warning, the hold she was in started to crack and collapse, surprising the other three. "When I left Ba Sing Se, I stole a few toys from my sister and convinced them to my way of thinking." The bastard daughter of the Fire Lord told them with nonchalance, wiping the rock dust off her armor. From above, two men in very familiar clothes landed. "I believe you know the Dai Li agents."
"How in the name of the Spirits did you do that?" Sokka asked in disbelief. "The Dai Li are among the toughest people out there."
"I'm very persuasive." She answered with a smirk. But somehow, the Tribesman didn't believe it. After being initially surprised, Aang bent a gust of wind at them. The Dai Li stopped it by bending an earth wall together.
(Location: Invasion force)
They had made up the mountain and now stood on the edges. "Surround the periphery!" Bato ordered. "We have to secure the palace by the time the eclipse is over! Otherwise, we'll be in for the fight of our lives."
The tanks and the foot soldiers came down into the city quickly. However, there were still Fire Nation soldiers trying to defend their home. "Stop!" ordered Tyro. "Surrender peacefully and we won't harm you."
"We'll never surrender!" One of the soldiers declared. He tried to bend fire at them, but only got a puff of smoke. "Okay, we surrender."
"There it is, the Fire Nation Royal Palace." Hakoda said as he and Katara walked to the edge of the volcano. 'We've come so far."
"It's not over yet." Katara told him as they walked down the rim. Aang and the others still had to get to the Fire Lord.
(Location: Royal bunker)
"For so long, all I wanted was for you to love me, to accept me." Zuko told Ozai. "I thought it was my honor I wanted. But really, I was just trying to please you. You, my father, who banished me just for speaking out of turn. My father, who challenged me, a thirteen year-old boy, to an Agni Kai. How could you possibly justify a duel with a child?" He demanded, pointing one of his swords at the Fire Lord.
"It was to teach you respect!" Ozai told him.
"It was cruel!" He challenged. "And it was wrong."
"Then you've learned nothing!"
"No, I've learned everything! And I had to learn it on my own. Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history. And somehow, the war was our way of sharing our greatness with this side of the planet."
"What an amazing lie." Azula remarked. Truly, she had believed all through her childhood. It wasn't until Naruto came and opened her eyes.
Her brother nodded in agreement, having had the same eye-opening experience (albeit from exile). "The people from this side of the planet are terrified by the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness. They hate us! And we deserve it."
"We've created an era of fear for this side of the planet." She told Ozai. "And if we don't want it destroyed, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness."
The Fire Lord laughed at those words. "Your uncle has gotten to you both, hasn't he?"
"Yes, he has." Zuko told him with a proud smile.
"Not only him, but Naruto too." Azula said. What they said only made Ozai angrier.
(Location: Team Avatar)
Aang rushed forward, destroying the wall the agents made. They responded by bending the stone to rise up into another wall. He jumped up and leapt off a steel column, landing on the other side. The agents bent up a chunk of rock each and threw at him, which he destroyed with two heavy kicks. As this happened, Toph burst through the wall and landed, sending the agents into the wall via two rock columns.
They reacted by landing on the walls and sending their own columns at her. She blocked them by bending two slabs up to protect her. She then sent a rock line at Yāo Jing, who leapt off in a backflip, using the rock line as her jumping point. She landed in front of the throne and Aang went after her. One of the Dai Li agents noticed and followed. He leapt off the wall and bent another wall to come up from the floor. Aang leapt into the air and kicked through, making a hole. As he sent the agent flying into the ceiling (and taking him out of the fight), he bent a blast of air at Yāo Jing, who dodged it and let it destroy the throne.
She ran off to the side, where he sent another air-blast at her. She dodged it by running up one of the columns and back-flipped off it. She then ran past the second wall and towards the first. Aang chased after her, with Toph joining in the chase. The remaining Dai Li agent realized what she was going to do and helped her by bending a column underneath her feet, giving her the extra momentum to jump through the hole in the wall. What she didn't expect to see was Sokka waiting for her when she landed.
He lunged forward, trying to catch her as she landed. But even though she was caught off guard, she reacted with ease. She twisted herself away from the lunge and landed in a crouch. Sokka realized what she was about to do and tried to back away, but she knocked his legs from underneath him, sending him to the ground. She took off, running to the door. The agent had followed her through the hole as did Toph and Aang.
"I can't pin her down!" Aang told Toph as they ran after them. "She's too quick!" Toph faded off to the side when she heard that. Yāo Jing ran through the door and the agent followed, bending the earth to block the door. Aang broke through with ease and continued chasing the two. The agent was knocked to the side by column jutting out of the wall and Toph coming out of a hole in the wall. He was sent flying into a crevice of a metal beam. He tried to get out, but Toph blocked him and ensured he'd stay there by bending the metal tightly against him.
"Now that only leaves her." Sokka thought to himself.
"You need to stop and think!" A voice in his head commanded him, almost making him stop in his tracks. "Think about what she's trying to make you do." Although he didn't know who the voice was, he realized what he was talking about.
"Wait, Aang, Toph!" He cried out, making everyone stop. "Stop attacking. Don't you see what she's doing? She's just playing with us. She's not even trying to win this fight!"
"Oh, that's untrue." Yāo Jing said. "I'm doing the best that I can."
"You're trying to keep us here and waste our all time!" Toph declared, pointing her finger at her.
"I believe your friend just said that, genius. And since you're blind, I'll tell you that I'm rolling my eyes." She said with a smirk.
"I'll roll your whole head!"
Sokka stopped the blind Earthbender from attacking. "She's just baiting you again."
"Okay, so what do we do? Just ignore her?" Aang asked him.
"We don't have a choice. We just have to get out of here and find the Fire Lord on our own somehow." The three of them turned around and started walking away.
"It's a trap. Don't say I didn't warn you." Yāo Jing said.
"Ignore!" Sokka ordered his friends.
"…So, Sokka's your name, right?" She asked him. "My favorite prisoner used to mention you all the time." This made him stop and looked back at her. "She was convinced you were going to rescue her. Of course, you never came and she gave up on you. You can't believe how much fun it was torturing her. Beating her, giving her burn wounds, making her go days without food, it all gave me such a…rush." She said that last part with a half-crazed grin.
When he heard all this, Sokka began to shed tears. The voice in his mind spoke again, this time with fury in its voice. "She dares to think she can do all of that to our mate and thinks she can get away with it?! PUT HER ON HER KNEES! MAKE HER BEG FOR MERCY!" It roared. He roared as well, charging at her.
"Come and get it." She said to herself, flicking a knife into her hand. However, she forgot that Toph could sense such things. She bent a rock up from the ground and pinned her to the wall with it attaching itself to her wrist. Before she could even try to struggle, Sokka was already on her.
"Where. Is. Suki?" He growled at her. Though she looked expressionless on the outside, inside she was scared. Behind Sokka, she saw an image of a black wolf looking at her with the promise of a painful and a gory death.
(Location: Royal bunker)
"After we leave here today," Zuko told Ozai. "I'm going to free Uncle Iroh from his prison and I'm gonna beg for his forgiveness. He's the one who has been a real father to me." He had been the one to keep an eye on him during his exile.
"Oh, that's just beautiful." Ozai replied with a chuckle. "And maybe he can pass down to you the ways of tea and failure."
"We've also come to a more important decision." Azula said. "We're gonna join with the Avatar and we're going to help him defeat you."
"Really?" asked the Fire Lord. "Since you're both full-blown traitors now and you want me gone, why wait? I'm powerless. You've got your swords and your daggers. Why don't you just do it now?"
"We know our own destiny. Taking you down is the Avatar's destiny." Zuko said as he sheathed his swords and Azula sheathed her daggers. "Goodbye." They turned around and walked away.
"Cowards!" spat Ozai. "You think you both are brave enough to face me, but you'll only do it during the eclipse." He stood up. "If the two of you have any real courage, you'll stick around until the sun comes out. Don't you want to know what happened to your mother?" That question made the two of them stop and turn back around to face him, making him smile.
"What happened that night?" Azula asked him. This was information that they couldn't pass up. One night, their mother had disappeared and the next day, the previous Fire Lord had died.
"My father, Fire Lord Azulon, commanded me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son." He said, looking at Zuko. "And I was going to do it. Your mother found out and swore she would protect you at any cost. She knew I wanted the throne and she proposed a plan, a plan in which I would become Fire Lord and your life would be spared."
(Location: Team Avatar)
"Where's Suki?!" He demanded of Yāo Jing. She didn't say a word. "Answer me!"
"Sokka, she won't talk." Aang told his friend.
"Where are you keeping her?" He yelled at her, the black wolf behind him bared its fangs and began to snarl. She smiled smugly and kept her mouth shut. But it was all she could do not openly panic and beg them not to let the wolf get her. In her mind, she kept thinking about Chun's photo, holding on to it like a lifeline.
(Location: Royal bunker)
"Your mother did vicious, treasonous things that night." Ozai told his children. "She knew the consequences and accepted them. For her treason, she was banished."
"So she's alive?" Zuko asked with relief in his voice, tears of happiness falling down his face.
"Thank you, Agni." Azula silently and gratefully thank the spirit. "If she's still alive, then we can find her."
"Perhaps," Ozai admitted. "Now I realize that banishment is far too merciful a penalty for treason." He closed his eyes. "The penalty for the both of you will be far steeper." As he felt the eclipse ending, he generated lightning and threw it at Zuko.
He caught it and was pushed back by the force of it. "How dare him!" A voice in his head, one didn't sound like the Blue Spirit or his younger self, said in outrage. "He would dare to throw the wrath of the heavens at his own child!? Return it to him in full force!"
"Believe me." He answered silently, not even wondering who the voice was. "I was planning on it." He redirected the lightning back at Ozai, sending him flying back into the Fire Nation banner behind him and created a fire.
"You would dare do this to your own father!" He shouted at the Scarred Dragon, standing up from where he fell. The fire grew up around him, like a protective barrier.
"Father?" asked Azula in growing outrage. "What father? What father would raise his children to believe that power is the only thing that matters in the world? What father would willingly attempt to murder his own son and banish his wife just so he could obtain the throne? What father would burn a woman, leaving her scarred beyond any help of healing, just because she wanted to see her daughter for one day? What kind of father is that!?"
"I had always thought you were the stronger of my children, Azula." He said to her. "Will you prove me right and do your duty, as the daughter of the Fire Lord?"
Her response was to reach up and undo the headpiece, letting her hair fall down. She grabbed most of it in a tight grip and with the other hand, drew a dagger and sawed it off. She took the cut hair and threw into the fire. Her hair was now in the rough shape of a bob cut "You are not my father anymore." She declared. "I am no longer the daughter of Fire Lord Ozai." As Ozai just looked at the burning hair in stunned shock, both she and Zuko ran out of the room.
(Location: Team Avatar)
"Oh, it sounds like the Firebending is back on." Yāo Jing remarked. She forced Sokka back with a sweep of her leg bending an arc of fire. She sent another fireball at him. Toph pushed him out of the way, saving both of them. She black-flipped onto the cuffs and broke free of them using her Firebending. She flipped forward and made Aang jump away with a flaming kick. "Dad's all the way at the end of the hall then down a secret stairway on the left. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to see you now." She ran away. Silently, she was glad to be away from that black wolf.
"I fell for it!" Sokka realized completely too late. "I used up all our time."
"It's not your fault, Sokka." Toph told him. "She was ready for us. She had every move planned out."
"And now it's too late."
"Maybe it's not too late." Aang said. "The eclipse is over. But I can face the Fire Lord anyway."
"No. That's not a good idea." The Tribesman told him.
"But I'm ready!" He protested. "I came here with a job to do and everyone's counting on me."
"Naruto knew we were coming and so did the Fire Lord." Toph said. "We thought we had surprise on our side but we didn't. It just wasn't our day. What we need to do now is go help our friends."
"I guess you guys are right." He admitted, seeing the reasoning.
"You'll have another chance." Sokka told him. "I know you will." They quickly made their way through the tunnels, trying to get out the way they came.
"I am sorry about what I did back there." The voice told him. "I gave her enough time to delay."
"Who are you?" Sokka asked silently.
"You still can't hear my name?" The voice seemed to sigh. "It's not important now, you need to focus."
(Location: Invasion force)
All was silent as they waited for…something. Katara helped her father lean against one of the tanks, taking off the eclipse glasses. "What should we do, Hakoda?" Bato asked. "Shouldn't something have happened by now?"
"I don't know." Hakoda answered. "But now that the eclipse is over, I expect we're going to see some Firebenders any minute." Bato took a quick look up and was surprised at what he saw. Katara saw his surprise and turned in the direction he was looking. Behind the royal palace, several hot air balloons were rising up in the air.
"My own invention!" cried the Mechanist in horror. "Oh, this is terrible!" But the worst had yet to come. Behind the war balloons, five airships with bronze dragon heads at the helm rose up behind them. They were much, much bigger than the two man crew of the war balloons.
Katara then heard a familiar sound. "They're back!" She cried, pointing at the incoming Appa. His passengers (the one who could see anyway) looked at what was in the air with dismay. The sky bison landed in front of Katara.
"It was all a trap." Sokka told his sister as he and Toph got off of Appa. "Naruto had planned every move! We've just got to get the beach as fast as we can. If we can make it to the submarines, maybe we can get away safely."
"They've got air power, but so do I!" Aang said, opening up his glider. "I'm gonna do what I can to slow them down." He took off into the air.
"Appa, you and I can help too." Katara told the sky bison, jumping on. They took off after him and they both flew up at the war balloons.
"Everyone, let's get to the subs!" Sokka ordered, making everyone start running back the way they came.
Aang approached one of the war balloons. After dodging most of the fireballs sent at him, he closed the glider and went through the balloon itself, tearing a hole in it and making it lose altitude. Katara approached another one on Appa. She bent her water to slice the balloon in half, making that one fall as well. They tried to get close to the airships, but the Firebenders stationed out on the outside platforms of said airships sent a continuous barrage of fire at them, forcing them back.
"We can't keep them all back!" Katara shouted at Aang as she bent her water into a shield, fending off the fireballs. "There are too many of them!"
"Let's join the others!" Aang shouted back. They flew towards the invasion force, which was still trying to make it back to the subs.
(Location: Zuko and Azula)
They ran into the prison, which looked like it was the sight of a battle. They went past several guards who cowered in fear as they ran by them. "Uncle!" cried Zuko as he stopped in front of Iroh's cell. It was empty, save for the unconscious guard. The cell looked like something had burst it open. "Where's our uncle?" He demanded of the guard, grabbing hold of his shirt.
"He's gone." The guard answered as a look of fear came onto his face. "He busted himself out. I-I've never seen anything like it. He was like a…one-man army." Zuko let go of the guard and he and Azula ran out of the cell.
"We need to get out of here." Azula told him as they raced through the corridors. "Ozai's not going to take our defection lightly."
"Especially if Yāo Jing is there to spur him on," Zuko agreed. "I've got a war balloon nearby. We can use it to go follow the Avatar when he runs."
"How do you know he's going to run?" She asked him.
"He always does. Anyway, I don't when soldiers are going to arrive, but we need to…" His words stopped as he and Azula stepped out of the prison. "Leave right away." He finished weakly. Standing in front of the prison, were hundreds of soldiers waiting for them.
"Seems like Ozai wants to make sure we stay." She remarked with a dry sarcasm.
"Detain the traitors!" The captain of the soldiers ordered them all. They all took a stance and stepped forward.
"Jet propulsion?" suggested Zuko quietly.
"If you're up to it," She answered.
"We jump at the gate."
"Then call it."
"3…2…1…GO!" They charge at the soldiers, who prepared themselves for a fight. What they got instead was Zuko and Azula leaping over them, using their Firebending to push them further. They landed on the other side of the soldiers. They kept running and they could hear them coming after them. It wasn't until they heard the sound of two swords clanging against each other did they stop and turn.
"Lord Naruto, what are you doing?!" The captain cried out in shock at the blonde Paragon. Naruto had his jian out and had blocked one of the soldiers who had a sword drawn. That in turn, made everyone stop and look at him.
"My job," He answered before disengaging the soldier and leaping away, landing next to Zuko and Azula. "You two, get out of here. Go follow the idiot." He ordered the two of them.
"How did you know?" Azula asked him. How could he have known that they were planning to leave?
"I know you two." He replied without taking his eyes off of the soldiers before him. "Now go. I'll hold them off for as long as I can."
"No!" She instantly protested. "You can come with us. We can get out of here, all of us."
He just turned and looked at her. "When did you cut your hair?" He asked.
"Don't change the subject, Naruto! You don't have to…" She was interrupted when Naruto kissed her on the lips. She just went into shutdown at the feeling of his lips meeting her. When he broke it, a small part of her was disappointed.
"Don't worry. I won't be gone for long. We'll talk once I'm back, alright?" He told her before looking at her brother. "Zuko, you two have to leave, now." The Scarred Dragon nodded in agreement, took Azula's hand, and ran. After stumbling a few steps, she regained her balance, yanked her hand out of his, and ran alongside him. "Now then," Naruto said, turning back to face the soldiers. "Where were we?"
"Please, Lord Naruto, don't do this." The captain begged. "If you continue, I'll have no choice but to arrest you! I've served under you, sir. I don't want to do that!" He thought very highly of the blonde.
"You have your duty, captain, and I have mine." He replied, shifting into a stance.
"You know, you should be glad that Iroh isn't here." The Kyūbi commented from within.
"And why is that?" He asked silently.
"He would be laughing his ass off at the irony."
"No, he'd be sitting on his ass, drinking tea, and then he would've been laughing." He objected.
"Fair point, kit," The fox admitted. They didn't say anything else as Naruto threw himself at the soldiers. He wasn't going to kill any of them (he had seen enough dead people to last him a lifetime). He was just going to stall them.
(Location: Invasion force)
They ran down the mountain path, trying to get away from the capital. Sokka looked back to see the airships flying over the ridge of the volcano. "Try and find cover!" He ordered the invasion force when he saw that hatches were opening on the bottom of the airships. "I think we're about to see some bombs!" Aang, Katara, and Appa landed down next to him. Toph bent a large slab of rock to jut out over their heads to protect them. The action was repeated with other groups.
The bombs began to fall, causing big explosions where they hit the ground. A couple of the bombs hit the slab, causing it to crack. It would've fallen on top of them, had Toph not stabilized it with rock columns. The tanks kept going down the mountain side, despite the bombs. Once they had delivered their payload, the airships kept on flying.
"Why aren't they turning around to attack us again?" Katara asked.
"They're headed for the beach." Aang noted, before realizing what that meant. "They're going to destroy the submarines."
"How are we all going to escape?" Sokka asked. If the subs were destroyed, they would be completely trapped.
"We're not." Hakoda answered, being helped forward by Bato.
He turned to face his father. "Then our only choice is to stand and fight. We have the Avatar, we could still win."
"Yes, with the Avatar we could still win…on another day." He took his hand off of Bato's shoulder, standing on his own. "You kids have to leave. You have to escape on Appa together." He ordered them all.
"What?" Katara asked, surprised by her father's words. "We can't leave you behind. We won't leave anyone behind!"
"You're our only chance in the long run." He told her. "You and Sokka have to go with Aang somewhere safe. It's the only way to keep hope alive."
"The youngest of our group should go with you." Bato suggested. "The adults will stay behind and surrender. We'll be prisoners, but we'll all survive this battle."
"I've got some experience with Fire Nation prisons." Tyro said, joining the conversation. "It's not going to be easy, but we'll get by."
"They're at the beach already!" Sokka exclaimed, getting everyone's attention. The airships flew over Huu and the others and began dropping bombs. Tho and Due tried to destroy the bombs using their Waterbending. Huu tried to bend his monster to catch the bombs and throw them away. But one of the bombs hit his left arm destroying it. Another landed on its head and went through. The swamp monster exploded and sent seaweed everywhere. Both Tho and Due had a giant clump land on them. While they were stuck, the clump also had Huu, who was unharmed, save for a few burns. The rest of the bombs struck the submarines, completely destroying them.
Everyone on the mountain path could only watch as it happened. They decided to go with the idea of the kids escaping. Toph helped the Mechanist put Teo in Appa's saddle. "Bye, son," The Mechanist said.
"Bye, Dad. I'm really proud of you." Teo said, hugging his father. Toph dropped the earth column the Mechanist was standing on back into the rock, taking the Mechanist with it.
The Duke tried to climb up Appa himself. He was holding onto Appa's horn and was going to fall had Pipsqueak not helped him up. "I'll miss you, Pipsqueak." He said.
"Take care, The Duke." Pipsqueak replied.
"We'll be back for you, Dad." Haru told Tyro after hugging him.
"If we don't escape on our own first," Tyro said. His son smiled and bowed to him.
"We lost today." Hakoda told his children before kneeling down to them. "But we've never been this close. We tasted victory and that counts for something."
"We'll miss you, Dad." Katara told him, giving him a hug.
"Bye, Dad." Sokka joined in the hug. "We won't be apart for too long this time, I promise."
"Hey, can someone do me a favor?" Toph asked everyone there.
"What is it?" Bato asked her.
"If you guys see the Hippo or the Boulder, tell them…" She looked away so no one could see the tears glistening in her eyes. "Tell them I was happy to see them again."
"We will, Toph." He told her. Sokka and Katara got aboard Appa.
Katara walked up to Aang, who was crying. He looked at her, sniffed, wiped his tears away, and stood up to address the ones who were staying behind. "Thank you all for being so brave and so strong." He told them. "I'm gonna make this up to you." He sat back down on Appa's head while Katara got back in the saddle. The sky bison took off, leaving the adults behind.
As they flew away, an airship appeared behind them. "Should we follow them, my Lady?" A soldier asked Yāo Jing.
"No, they're too fast." She answered. "Besides, just let the cowards run. They'll be back."
Everyone on Appa took notice of the airship behind. When it didn't follow them, Aang turned to face the others. "I know just the place to go where we'll be safe for a while, the Western Air Temple!" He told them. He urged Appa on. He tried to focus but in his mind, Naruto's words kept repeating themselves.
"There are no easy ways out."
Unbeknownst to them, a war balloon followed them. Its passengers were Zuko and Azula.
(Location: Naruto)
Naruto stood in the middle of the soldiers. The majority of them were all lying on the ground, groaning in pain. "Why are you all complaining?" He asked them, like there was nothing wrong with what he did. "I only beat your asses into the ground, I didn't kill you." Hearing the sounds of footsteps charging towards him, he looked and saw an even larger group of soldiers standing before him, reinforcing the few who still remained on their feet.
"Please, Lord Naruto, stand down." The captain of the new group ordered him, his tone was almost begging. He had served under the blonde as well and had thought of him as a hero. He really didn't want to do this.
Naruto looked at the new group of soldiers and then at the ones who were getting back onto their feet. The silence was so thick with tension that you couldn't even cut through it with a knife. "I surrender." He said aloud, dropping his jian to the ground and raising his hands over his head.
"Arrest him." The captain ordered. He was silently glad to not have to fight the Paragon of the Fire Nation. A couple of the soldiers ran forward and forced the blonde to his knees.
End
Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.
Do you really think I would have Naruto join Team Avatar that easily? Where's the fun in that? When it comes to this kind of stuff, easy is boring.
Personally, I always found it odd that Toph never tried to say goodbye to the Hippo and/or the Boulder. I mean, they have fought against each other in Earth Rumble, but I'd like to think they and the rest of the Earth Rumble members got along fine once the match was over.
I had Azula cut off her hair because it was a symbolic move. By telling Ozai that she is no longer his daughter, it takes care of the problem of who got the throne I might've had later on. Plus, I always wondered what she looked like with short hair. Not when she pins it up with a headpiece, but actually short, like a bob cut.
As for the voices that Sokka and Zuko heard, do you really need to ask who they are?
I'll see you all next chapter!
