Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or anything associated with it except my fanfiction.
"Even I still don't get why we're going to Omashu," Sokka complained. "And I'm the one who's supposed to be the crazy idea guy! But without the crazy part. Wasn't it Omashu that was the first place we went to that got dominated by Fire Nation troops?"
Aang snorted. "Psshhh, Bumi didn't even try. He was just waiting for the right moment - "
"To strike. Yeah, yeah, we all get that," Ty Lee snapped.
Everyone stared at her. Lately, ever since learning about Azula and promptly joining the rest of Team Avatar, Ty Lee had been quieter than usual. Even the presence of Suki didn't quite cheer her up into the pink aura she usually had around her.
"Umm... Ty Lee? Is everything okay?" Aang asked hesitatingly.
"Oh, sure, yeah! Everything's fine with me! I'm traveling with the Avatar, taking down my ex-BFF, that kind of thing." But a flash of sorrow and pain flickered across her face at the indirect mention of Azula. Sokka put an arm around her. "Hey, we get it. You're working to take your ex-best friend down -"
"No. You don't understand. None of you understand." Everyone was shocked. Ty Lee was never this mean, even when feeling insecure about her looks. "But how could you guys? None of you are in the same position as I am..."
"I mean... none of us ever had to directly betray a friend before... you're very brave for standing up to Azula, you know that?"
Ty Lee did nothing except turn her back towards the others, not wanting them to see the tears forming in her eyes.
Suki's eyes widened. "Wait a minute... I think I get it now. You and Azula... were... more than friends, weren't you?" Suki and the others got their answer when Ty Lee broke down and started crying.
"I thought she had feelings for me... that she genuinely cared for me... she lied to me and tricked me and deceived me, but it didn't matter because we loved each other, or at least, I did," Ty Lee spat. "It's even worse, the Fire Nation banned our kind of relationship decades before we were even born. But I was the only one who suffered, because Azula never saw me as anything more than a pawn!" she crumpled into a ball. "I gave her my heart... and she took it away, and tore it to pieces. I won't ever heal from it."
"But you're still here, and you've grown from it." Every did a double take as they realized who said it. Katara went up to Ty Lee and tilted her cheek up. "It may have been hard, but you survived it, and you're the stronger for it."
"Katara's right. Don't let the past govern your future. The Air Nomads always used to say it, but I was never truly able to embrace it until I met you, Katara."
"Oogies," muttered Sokka, but it had the intended effect. Katara smiled and blushed, and Ty Lee brightened and giggled.
"You guys are right. My Azula is gone - she might not have even existed!" Ty Lee added darkly. "But I've got you guys. I'm soooo lucky to have you all," she gushed, pulling everyone into a group hug - except Aang, who was seated in front of the saddle. "My aura's never been pinker. Thanks so much, guys. And Aang, you're so cheesy it's cute."
Aang blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, not knowing what to say. Katara's face also turned red.
Suki smiled at Ty Lee. "No problem. That's what friends are for. And," she added, hooking her arm around Ty Lee and bringing her right next to her. "that's what we Kyoshi warriors are made of."
They stayed in that happy silence until Aang cleared his throat. "Guys, I get you're a little hung up on Bumi and Omashu, but trust me, the last thing we need is to all be gathered up in one place so Azula can bring us all down with one fell swoop. Besides, this time Omashu isn't going to fall. Look," he said, pointing to the mighty city far off in the distance. "Bumi doesn't have a reason, sane or... eccentric, to surrender to Azula. Omashu's in one piece for us."
Everyone poked their heads out. "Wait. Guys. Is it the cactus juice," everyone giggled including Sokka. "or is that mound of rock getting closer to us?"
Sure enough, there was a strangely-shaped hill rushing closer and closer towards them, becoming larger too quickly for them to simply be approaching them. When the rock was only a short distance away from them, Aang said, "Uhh, guys? We're probably going to have to try to make a detour - "
Just then, the mound of rock Sokka was referring to exploded, and everyone on Appa screamed. Appa, however, made a beeline to the mound, and once there tackled and started licking the old man who was on top of the rubble that remained.
"Keheheh!" Bumi snorted. "If you want jennamite, old friend, you're going to have to get off me and stop licking. Same goes for you Momo," he waved a finger at the excited lemur who stood next to his head. "jennamite is gifted with kindness and sweetness," he concluded, taking a bite out of the rock candy in his other hand. "I mean, of course it is! It's rock candy! But you know what I mean," he cackled to the chagrin of all but two of the company.
Ty Lee's eyes popped wide. "I like this guy already!"
Aang grinned. "I know, right? Why do you think we've been friends for over a century?"
Ty Lee's eyes got even wider. "Over a hundred years old? Both of you? Wow, you sure look great for your age, Aang! And you too, Your Majesty," she added to King Bumi. "A-although in a different way, of course!" she concluded cheerfully.
Bumi cackled. "Bumi will do, dearie. And Aang and I appreciate your comment very much, although," he said, rubbing his beard. "Aang used an iceberg while I stuck to some chute sliding and jennamite crunching. Now, seriously, you big furry lug," he addressed Appa. "Could you please get off me?"
Ty Lee was fascinated with Bumi.
It seemed she didn't like people for their physical characteristics or their personalities, but rather for the auras they had inside them. Ty Lee cheerfully informed them that Bumi's aura was an ever-changing green "Kind of like the leaves in spring and summer." With Bumi, Aang and Ty Lee bonded incredibly well by doing all sorts of crazy and fun things. The others simply rolled their eyes in exasperation at the silliness of the trio, and took to settling in their new home.
Amazingly, the accomodations given to them looked nearly identical to their old ones. Somehow the old eccentric ruler even got the exact distance of the washbasin from the bathroom doorknob correct, shocking because he never visited the others' homes. The only difference was the view outside; there were no windows in the place they lived in Omashu.
It seemed as though Flopsy and Appa had another "big furry lug," as Bumi referred to it, to keep them company; Bosco had run away at the first opportunity given to him to escape to Omashu. Although not the carefree, happy-go-lucky bear he was before Kuei's death, he still managed to find joy in the simple things in life - and continued to spend a little too much time with a thoroughly annoyed Sokka, who's repeated requests of the bear to stop whistling being ignored.
And they had got to planning. Fortunately, the messages had managed to reach Toph and Iroh, and Toph replied that the king had better be ready to fight her in a few days - written down by her horrified, proud, and amused mother; while Iroh complimented Sokka and Aang at their mastery over the Lotus code, and that he had no trouble identifying who the message was really from. "Well at least we knew that practice paid off," Sokka said, thumping Aang's back as Aang grinned back at him.
Sokka's plan was looking great - they had everything figured out - except the king refused to help them.
"I'm sorry. What did you say?" Suki asked with a confounded look on her face.
"I said, I. Will stay!" Bumi snorted and cackled as he watched the dumbfounded faces of the others. He took on a serious face. "In all honesty, I think it would be best if you went on without me. My kingdom is a stronghold against Azula's craziness - she's even crazier than me! I take personal insult! - and if my kingdom falls because no one can protect it, well then, it will be a stronghold for Azula. Besides, you guys took down the Firelord, her ruler, and his fleet with just six people. Right now I see five capable younglings, with the Grand Lotus and my young contender coming in - so that's seven people against a faux Firelord and a ragtag second-rate army. Trust me. It will end well even if Omashu doesn't divert its efforts. The only thing is figuring out where Azula would be hiding."
After all those weeks of discussion, nothing had come to fruition of Azula's location. Reports weren't trusted due to unreliability or - Spirits forbid - they were attempts to flush out Team Avatar to further Azula's cause. Thankfully, once Toph would arrive, things would become much easier - not that they would become good, but at least Toph could cover the ground for the group with her seismic sensing.
Iroh and Toph had reunited, and were on their way to Omashu. Although the group was expecting Toph to be annoyed by the patient old man, they received letters of excitement rather than the infuriated rants they had come to expect from their sassy earthbending prodigy.
"I wouldn't count on her to not call us by her nicknames for us though," Katara muttered. "Especially since now she's calling Iroh 'Tea Guru.'" The others, for once, agreed with her.
All in all, nothing much had changed. The Fire Nation was under siege, although sufficient attention was diverted to the lone Earth Kingdom city free of Azula's rabid clutches to keep both locations alive. Unfortunately, excepting Omashu, Azula had conquered three corners of the world, and time was running out to stop her before the world tried to stop them. Tensions were high, but surprisingly, it was Sokka that kept them together, if only because they had a common enemy called "Sokka style."