More Than Blood Can Stand

Chapter 32: Trouble

Something Azula had always prided herself on was her gift for tactics. She had good instincts for who would be useful to her, and who she could trust. And she never made mistakes. Her plans always worked.

Lately, however, she felt like she had been floundering, and she hated it.

It had all begun when Father had made that foolish decision to attack Zuko instead of following the plan. Zuko had escaped Omashu, and everything had been going downhill since. The plan to ally with the Dai Li had been a good one, something that ought to have worked, and yet it had ended in disaster when Mak refused to intercede on her behalf. She had punished him for that, of course, but it was too late to fix. Zuko had again escaped, had even managed to evade multiple assassination attempts by Mai.

So as they approached the place where Mai had said Zuko and the Avatar would be, Azula was less sure of victory than she typically would be. She was hesitant, maybe even… nervous?

No. Not nervous. Never nervous. But still, something didn't sit right.

The plan was quite simple: Mai and Ling would provide a distraction while Ty Lee disabled the benders. Then she would kill Zuko and incapacitate the Avatar before taking him hostage. No one wanted another tedious hundred-year search.

Though if Father's plans worked (and Azula no longer had complete confidence in them), a Water Tribe Avatar wouldn't be a problem, either.

Still, better to have the Avatar in their custody than to wonder.

The plan ought to work. They had surprise on their side, and without Hinata the odds were evened. Ling was a gifted bender, every bit as good as Zuko; Mai was more than a match for the Water Tribe boy; Ty Lee would work her magic on the earthbender; and she could, naturally, take on both the Avatar and the Water Tribe girl herself

So what was she worrying about?

Mai, of course. That stunt yesterday, trying to make sure she met up with Zuko and the Avatar instead of the Blue Spirit, hadn't fooled her. She had an agenda, but what was it? Was she leading them into a carefully laid trap? It was certainly possible.

Of course, it was also possible that she merely wanted to be sure they didn't lose Zuko's trail so that she could avenge herself for her failure to kill him. It was hard to tell with Mai. She would simply have to be prepared for every outcome and ensure that - no matter what - she won.

She looked back to where Mai had been and was surprised to see her pulling up beside her.

"Princess," she said breathlessly, "I've just remembered something I should have told you before."

Azula nearly rolled her eyes. Of course she hadn't told her everything. This was exactly what she had been concerned about.

"Oh did you?" she asked, perhaps a tad too acerbically.

"The earthbender has other senses, more than the usual of her kind. She will know we're coming. She will know I am with you. We cannot surprise them."

"That is a blow, but we are more than a match for them in a straight fight."

"And we can perhaps use it to our advantage. They will assume, at first, that I am your prisoner."

"They will be confused," Azula said. "Unsure of your loyalties."

Mai nodded. "Maybe, if I pretended to be on their side, we might have more of an edge-"

"No." The last thing she wanted was to give Mai free rein to play both sides. "You will tell them exactly where you stand."

"If that is what you want." She shrugged. "That should make things interesting."

Oh, she hoped it would. She really hoped it would.

They were nearly there now.

Mai's heart was pounding beneath her chest, though she hoped she gave no outward sign of her anxiety. She had only two priorities for this encounter. First, the Avatar had to live. That was critical to the goals of the White Lotus, and to the safety of the world. Azula also wanted him to live, so that was an achievable goal. She probably didn't have to focus too much on that one.

Second, she had to protect Zuko, both for herself and for the Order of the White Lotus. That meant keeping Azula off his trail, and it also meant avoiding death or imprisonment herself so that she could continue to keep tabs on him and protect him from afar. This was what was causing her heart to race. There was no way to know what the Avatar and his friends might give away that would upset her plans. And no matter what she said in response, Toph would be able to catch her in a lie. If she let Azula in on it…

But what if she didn't, and the rest of the group really believed she'd betrayed Zuko? That would make her the primary target of Katara and Sokka, she was certain of that. They didn't take betrayal lightly. She wasn't skilled enough to fight them both off, especially Katara. But if Toph defended her, or told them to stand down, Azula would know.

No, she was not at all confident that she would come out of this fight without being imprisoned, injured, or killed.

She also hoped that none of her friends died, but that was far too wishful thinking to consider it a priority. It was too much to hope that there would be no serious injuries in a conflict of this size, and she had friends on both sides. She tried to consciously distance herself from them, tried to sever attachments to minimize the inevitable pain to come.

She set her lips as they rounded the curve in the path. It was time for action.

They walked into a clearing to exactly the scene she had imagined. Aang stood at the front, his brow creased and a frown marring his usually happy face. Katara stood a step behind him, a hand on her water pouch and murder in her eyes. Sokka had his boomerang out, but seemed to be unsure of whether it would be necessary to use it. And Toph stood off to the side, her body turned to the side, her toes curled into the ground to see better, and her arms folded across her chest.

"My, my. Isn't this a cozy little party," Azula said as soon as she came into view.

Aang flourished his staff and pointed it at her. "Let Mai go."

He was answered by a lighthearted laugh. "She is free to join you whenever she wishes." Azula turned to her. "Aren't you, Mai?"

"But I'm with Azula now," she smirked, a sick part of her amused by the identical looks of horrified shock that spread across their faces. "Zuko and I had a bit of a lover's quarrel, and-" she spread out her hands to indicate Azula, Ty Lee, and Ling "-I wound up here."

Her words were rewarded by a growl from Toph, which Mai took to mean that she had recognized her words as truth.

"Speaking of Zuko," she added in a light tone, "Where is he? We have some unfinished business to address."

"Far away from you," Sokka snarled.

"No," Katara whispered, pained. "You wouldn't do that to him."

"I'll do what I must."

"Then we will do what we must," Aang said. She had never heard him use that tone of voice before. He didn't sound like a child anymore. She felt a thrill of fear run through her at the thought of facing the Avatar when he was so angry with her.

Well, that had been the risk. She had known it and accepted it. She only hoped Zuko appreciated her sacrifice.

"Are we through with all the pleasantries, then?" Azula asked with a yawn. "In that case, Ling?"

Ling pulled out a crossbow and sent an enormous something at Appa. It took a moment for her to register what it was: a massive net that trapped him between the trees. He began to struggle against it, but with each struggle he became even more entangled.

The Avatar and his friends all gasped and turned towards Appa, but before they could move, Azula continued in a voice that carried across the clearing, "Mai, kill the Avatar." Their heads all snapped back.

Mai was having trouble processing this. There had been no discussion of trapping Appa, and her job had been to neutralize Sokka while the others disabled the Avatar. What was Azula on about? She barely avoided blanching as the answer came to her: Azula wasn't certain of her loyalties. It was a test.

The only thing to do was to keep playing along.

"As you wish."

She stepped forward, pulling blades from her sleeves and falling into a comfortable throwing posture. She would aim for his staff. That would be close enough to be considered suitably aggressive, while still ensuring that he wasn't hurt. She narrowed her eyes and her fingers twitched.

There was a jolt in the ground that sent her flying through the air. She found the ground with her eyes and twisted her body to soften the landing, but it still knocked the breath out of her.

As she sat on the ground gasping for air, she watched the clearing explode into a furious fight.

Ty Lee shot forward to engage Toph. Every few feet the earth would crumble or slide or jut out under her feet, but her nimble grace kept her approach steady.

Azula advanced on Aang and Katara, who were fighting her together. It was an even fight. She ducked and dodged every blast of air and shard of ice, sending a fireball in return each time.

Sokka shot his boomerang at Ling, then ducked a spray of fire while he waited for it to return. That was the largest power differential of them all, and that was where she would be needed. She took a few deep breaths until she felt steady enough to aim.

Ling had dodged the boomerang both going and coming, and was advancing towards the tree Sokka was standing beneath.

Without pausing to think twice, she took off running, shooting her shurikens at a loose branch just above Ling's head at just the right moment. "Ling, watch out!" she cried, barreling into him at full speed, pushing him to the ground and out of the way of the branch.

He groaned and rolled over, and she took that moment to look back at Sokka. He was eyeing the branch on the ground, and the shurikens sticking out of it. Quickly, imperceptibly, she jerked her head towards Appa. His eyes narrowed, and he took off, quickly - but carefully - freeing the bison from the net.

She turned back to Ling. "Are you all right?" She turned him over, pretending to check him for injuries.

"I'm fine." He pushed off of her and started running after Sokka. Hopefully that had given him enough time.

She grabbed the shurikens out of the branch and ran after them, throwing blades in the vicinity of Sokka's head, but just off enough that they slid past him and sliced through the netting.

It was very tedious work trying to maintain appearances.

Sokka threw his boomerang at Ling again, and this time it connected. He fell on the ground, Sokka grabbed his boomerang out of the air, and sliced through the last of Appa's restraints.

"Aang, Katara, Toph! Let's get out of here!"

Toph sent a massive boulder at Ty Lee, while simultaneously catapulting herself up onto Appa. Katara hadn't paused in her assault on Azula, but Aang, momentarily distracted, turned to look at Sokka.

Mai knew it would happen before it did. It took Azula only a split second to realize that her prey had his back turned. She dodged Katara's attack and shot a thin, precise blade of fire just below Aang's left shoulder blade.

He cried out and crumpled onto the ground, and it took every ounce of control Mai had not to cry out herself. Instead, she forced herself to run towards the group as if to help Azula capture him.

But before anyone else could react, Katara raised up a massive ice wall, picked Aang up in her arms, and scrambled up onto Appa.

"Yip yip! Yip yip!" Sooka yelled frantically.

The ice wall melted and flew to cover Katara's hands. The last thing she saw as they flew away was a familiar glow of healing water on Aang's torso.

She could recall all too well what had happened the last time Katara had tried that. She hoped for the sake of the world that the outcome would be different this time. She hoped for her own sake that Aang's injury was worth the trade-off.

Zuko, she thought desperately, you'd better be staying out of trouble.

Zuko raced through the fortress halls, hardly daring to glance back at his pursuers.

Ryu turned around mid-stride and sent an arrow flying down the narrow corridor. A strangled cry followed by a thud echoed behind them.

"How many are left?" Lee panted.

"Three, and they're gaining on us."

Julong had been right, this was a fool's errand.

Getting into the fortress had been child's play. The archers were just as stealthy as he could be, and they worked together like a well-oiled machine. And surprisingly, Zuko had fit into the group as though he belonged there, his status as Fire Lord notwithstanding. They treated him with deference and were careful of his safety, but they trusted him and treated him like a capable equal as far as it pertained to the mission.

Everything had gone smoothly until they had sprung Linghua's parents, Shu Fen and Dongmei, from their cells. They were middle-aged merchants and not used to sneaking around or feats that required physical skill.

All it had taken was one guard to sound the alarm.

He had sent Julong and Ha Joon with Shu Fen and Dongmei, while he, Ryu, and Lee created a distraction, hopefully leading the guards away from them and giving them a chance to escape.

They'd downed over a dozen guards so far, but they kept coming. In a fortress like this, there was an almost unlimited supply of soldiers. In two instances they had been pinned down and only barely escaped unscathed.

But they were nearing the side exit. Then they only had to cross the courtyard and scale the wall, and they were home free.

Which was sure to be the most dangerous part of their escape, but he was trying not to think of that right now.

He rounded the corner in a full-out sprint and immediately skidded to a stop. At least ten soldiers stood waiting for them, swords drawn.

"Fire preserve us," Lee muttered. "What now?"

But before they could confer, the soldiers began to charge.

Ryu and Lee began unleashing a volley of arrows, felling one after another. By the time they closed the distance to a few meters, there were only six left standing.

Zuko took a step back and raced towards the wall to his right, using his chi to propel him up the wall, over the crowd, until he was positioned at their backs. Before the soldiers could react, he had sliced through the kneecaps of the one closest to him.

Ryu drew out his dagger and fell into a crouch, while Lee kept an arrow on his bow, but had the bow angled across his chest in a posture better suited for close combat.

A sword slammed down on his left side. He dodged right, only to bring himself in front of another soldier.

He smothered a cry of shock - he hadn't realized the man was that close - and brought his broadswords up to block the attack and retreated a few steps. Both soldiers advanced on him now, and he flourished his swords in readiness.

"Lee! Behind you!"

His eyes flicked to the corner, where the three guards who had been following them had arrived. He had time to see Lee shoot an arrow through one of their heads almost point blank before he was drawn back into his own fight.

The soldier to his left swung his sword over his head, and Zuko crossed his swords in a block. The impact reverberated through his body, and he gritted his teeth to hold his position.

At that moment, the second soldier charged at him with a swing designed to take off his head. At the last second, he dropped to the floor, and the sword instead hit his companion in the neck.

From his crouch, he swept his leg out in an arc, kicking his opponent's legs out from under him. He hit the ground hard, and Zuko brought the hilt of his sword to the man's temple.

He stood up, chest heaving from the exertion, and surveyed the hallway.

Lee and Ryu had been efficient. There was only one soldier left standing, but Ryu had him in a chokehold from behind, dagger pressed to his jugular. A flick of his wrist later, and he dropped him to the floor.

"Let's get out of here before they send more," Ryu said gruffly.

They raced to the door at the end of the hall, opened it a crack, and peered out. There didn't seem to be any soldiers milling about in this area of the courtyard. They wouldn't get a better chance than this. Crouched low, they shuffled across the lawn to the wall.

Lee pulled an arrow out of his quiver and tied a rope to it. He shot it to the top, burying it deep into the wood of the tower. He tugged on it experimentally and nodded, handing it to Ryu.

He was nearly to the top when the door opened, and a company of troops came surging out.

Lee gave a muffled curse and began firing at them, two arrows to the string with every shot, and Zuko watched amazed as each arrow hit a separate target.

He was beginning to rethink his plan to disband the Yuyan archers upon taking the throne. These guys were amazing.

In a few moments, arrows began raining down from the top of the tower. Too many for it to be just Ryu.

"Now, my lord!" Lee bit out between shots.

He took a flying leap and pulled himself up the rope as quickly as he could manage. At the top, Julong reached a hand down to pull him over the ledge.

"When did you get here? And where are-"

"They're safe. And we wouldn't miss this fun for anything." He grinned, before shouting down orders for Lee to retreat.

It took Lee longer to climb than it had him or Ryu, but the steady volley of arrows kept the soldiers at bay. As soon as he was over the wall, the archers began tying ropes to arrows. Ha Joon shot one at a tree near the ground and handed the end of the rope to Zuko.

"How are you with jumping from heights?" he asked.

"No problem."

He grasped the rope, took a running leap, and used the momentum to swing him as far from the fortress as he could manage.

The others landed lightly next to him, and they ran off together into the safety of the woods.

"Aang!" Sokka grabbed the lifeless body of his friend, giving him a rough shake. "Come on buddy, stay with us!"

"Stop it, Sokka! I have to concentrate!" Katara sniffled and shoved him out of the way, all the while never letting go of her hold on the healing water.

He huffed out a breath and turned around. He felt so useless with nothing to do other than watch. He wanted to be able to fix the problem.

He wanted to peel the smirk off of Zuko's sister's face. Literally.

But there was nothing for him to do, because he was the ordinary one of the group, the one without special powers. He was helpless, and he hated it.

He started pacing around the saddle, wanting something, anything to do with his body to distract him from Aang's condition. He was only halfway through a lap when the sight of Toph's pale, stony face brought him up short.

She couldn't see anything when they were flying. If he felt helpless, he couldn't imagine what she was going through. He cleared his throat awkwardly and sat down next to her.

"You okay?" he asked.

She shrugged.

"Aang's going to be okay. Katara will fix him."

She set her lips and continued to stare off into nothingness.

"Honestly, we're lucky none of the rest of us got hurt. We're lucky Katara wasn't the one who got hurt."

"We're lucky," Toph said suddenly, "that Mai was only pretending to be on their side."

"You noticed, too?" He had thought he was the only one, had wondered if he'd just imagined it. But, no, she'd been the one to bring down the tree branch, and she'd clearly distracted Ling long enough for him to escape.

She nodded. "She was trying to control her heartbeat and breathing when she was lying, but she couldn't quite hide it." A wry smirk ghosted across her face. "She isn't as good as she thinks she is."

"Why do you think she joined Azula, then? And where's Zuko?" It helped to talk about something other than Aang.

"I don't know," she murmured. "I think maybe she was telling the truth about fighting with him. Maybe. It was hard to tell. But if that's true, maybe they did split up."

"And she joined up with Azula as a double agent!"

She shrugged. "Maybe."

"I wonder where Zuko is now, then."

"Wherever it is, I'm pretty sure she knows. She was lying through her teeth when she asked if we knew where he was."

He nodded thoughtfully. "So she probably led Azula to us to get her away from Zuko. Because she thought we would stand a better chance against them than Zuko would by himself."

"Well she was wrong," Toph practically spat. "And don't think I'm going to forgive her for this just because she was technically not fighting us. If anything happens to Aang…" She broke off, her tough mask crumbling momentarily as she swiped a hand across her eyes.

"I'll be fine."

Both their heads jerked up (though Toph was still looking in the wrong direction). That had been Aang. His voice was croaky and weak, but he was alive!

Sokka grabbed Toph's hand and led her over to Aang.

"Katara!" he cried. "You did it!" He wanted to wrap her up in a big brotherly bear hug, but Aang's body was still draped across her lap, and her hands were still glowing as she healed him.

"I guess I finally did something useful with my bending," she said, a small smile on her face despite the self-deprecating tone of voice.

"Yeah, well, it's still all Mai's fault," Toph said. "And I'm going to make sure she knows it the next time I see her."

"Don't be so hard on her," Aang whispered. "She's not the one who hit me."

"She still led them to us," she grumbled.

Katara worried her lip. "Do you think she'll lead them to Jeong Jeong, too?"

That thought stunned him into silence. That's right, Mai had known the plan to go to Jeong Jeong and then to Piandao. What if Azula kept following them?

"She might," Aang said thoughtfully. "If she thought it would help Zuko."

That settled it, in Sokka's mind. "We can't go there, then. We'll have to go straight to Piandao."

"How are we going to do that, Snoozles?" Toph asked. "The point of going to see Jeong Jeong was so he could tell us where Piandao lives. Are we going to show up in the Fire Nation and ask around for him?"

"Yes," he said, his mind moving at full speed now. "That's exactly what we'll do. We'll pose as Fire Nation citizens. He's pretty famous over there, right? No one will be the wiser."

Toph still wasn't convinced. "Okay, but-"

She was cut off as Katara let out a sob, bending over Aang and gathering him up in her arms.

"What is it?" he asked frantically. "Is he okay?"

"I'm fine," Aang said, then furrowed his brow. "I think? Katara, I'm not going to die, am I?"

"No," Katara managed to say through her sobs. "No, you're going to be okay, and I'm-" she began ugly crying now, to the point where Sokka was embarrassed to look at her anymore "-I'm just so… happy."

Aang's arms came up around Katara, and as they held each other, relief poured over Sokka. He hadn't realized just how worried he'd been. His knees suddenly felt weak, and he sat down inelegantly on the saddle floor.

Toph, still holding his hand, sat down with him. She leaned her head into his chest and her shoulders began to shake like she was crying. Toph crying.

Not quite knowing what he was doing, he let go of her hand and put his arm around her.

They sat that way for a long time, silently processing their own relief, as Appa flew them into the sunset.