Ch 4 the chase
"Something's coming." Toph said, waking up.
"What is it?" Aang asked.
"It's an avalanche, but also not an avalanche." Toph said.
"In English, please." Wash said.
"I have no idea what it is." Toph said.
"Should we leave?" Katara asked.
"We should." Ursa firmly said.
Leaving on Appa, they watch a cloud of black smoke following them. Wash looked thru the scope, but was unable to find the smokes' point of origin, as the mountain covered it.
"What is that thing?" Katara asked.
Upon touchdown, Toph jumps down and walks away.
"Well, see you guys in the morning." Toph said.
"Actually, can you help us unload?" Katara asked.
"Really? You need me to help unload Sokka's funky smelling sleeping bag?" Toph asked.
Upon hearing that, Sokka smelled his sleeping bag and fell backwards, passing out from the smell.
"Thank god I'm wearing this." Wash said, tapping a finger on his helmet.
"Yes. Toph, you're part of the group. And that means you help whenever possible. You pitch in." Ursa said, taking Wash's duffle bag.
"Listen. You're not my mother. And I'm carrying my own weight." Toph said, pointing a finger at Ursa.
"That's not the point. Ever since you joined us, you've been nothing but rude and selfish." Katara said.
"What? Listen here, sugar queen. I gave up everything I had so I can teach Aang earthbending. So don't you talk to me about being selfish." Toph said.
"Sugar queen?" Katara asked, when Toph sat on the ground and built a fully encased earth tent, blocking Katara out.
Katara spent the next few minutes kicking the earth tent.
"Should we help?" Aang asked.
"Hey, I'm just enjoying the show." Sokka said.
Ursa sighed and pinched her nose.
"At least it's not as bad as my kids." She muttered.
"What about your kids?" Wash asked, his hearing picking it up.
"Can't get out of this, can I?" Ursa asked.
"I have 4 sisters, and a brother. Now you tell me." Wash said.
Ursa quickly realized that was the agreement between the two, the start of trust.
"Okay. I have a daughter and son. It's been a while since I saw both of them. I hope…" Ursa started, before swallowing.
"I hope they're okay." Ursa said.
"I'M COMPLETLEY CALM!" Katara shouted at Aang.
"Lets try and get some sleep." Wash said.
"That thing is back!" Toph said.
"How far away is it? Maybe we can close our eyes for just a few minutes." Sokka said.
Wash grabbed Sokka and threw him onto Appa's saddle, before running on board as well.
And once more, they were fleeing.
"What is that thing?" Katara asked.
"And how does it keep following us." Toph said.
"I don't know. But I'm gonna make sure we lose them." Aang said.
Flying far, they landed on a flat plateau. Appa dumped his passengers and started to fall asleep.
"Okay. I'm just going to find the softest part of dirt and fall asleep." Sokka said.
"That's good. Because Toph wasn't going to help." Katara said.
Wash sat up and had to make a point.
"Oh shut the fuck up, Katara! Even if Toph did help set up camp, that thing is chasing after us. What's the point of setting up camp if we're forced to retreat again and again? Just get some rest. We'll need it." Wash said, laying down in his armor.
"Any idea who's after us?" Ursa asked.
"Could be Zuko. We haven't seen him since the north pole." Katara said.
Ursa's eyes went wide open.
My baby boy! Zuko, what has Ozai done to you? Why are you chasing the avatar? Are you safe?
"He'll be fine." Wash whispered to Ursa, although he had no idea if Zuko was alive or not, let alone who he was.
"Who's Zuko?" Toph asked.
"Some angry freak with a pony tail who's tracked us all over the world." Sokka said.
Ursa had to giggle at the mention of pony tail. She briefly imagined Zuko with a pony tail.
"What's wrong with pony tails, pony tail?" Katara jokingly asked.
"This is a warrior's wolf tail." Sokka defended.
"Looks like a pitiful attempt of a pony tail." Wash said.
Momo chirped, alerting the group.
"You've got to be kidding me." Wash said.
Wash grabbed his weapons and headed to the slope. Getting on a knee, he aimed his sniper rifle down range, and saw an armored train approaching.
"They're here." Wash said.
Everyone joined abreast to Wash, Ursa grabbing the DMR.
"How do I use this?" She asked.
"Put it on my back. Don't worry about shooting." Wash said.
The train stopped, and three giant lizard animals came out, with their riders on them.
"Azula." Ursa whispered, prompting Wash to briefly look at her, before looking back at her.
You should be home at the fire nation. Not on the frontlines. Ursa thought, as she looked at her daughter.
Azula ran her cold eyes over the group on the higher ground. Noticing that something was wrong, she aimed her fingers and fired a lightning bolt. The lightning bolt hit right in front of Washington.
"What the hell was that?!" Wash asked, as he sat up, having been blown back from the lightning strike.
More lightning strikes were thrown, followed by a torrent of blue fire.
"We should leave, now." Sokka said, putting his boomerang away.
As they left, Toph erected a wall of earth, but Azula blew a good sized hole thru the earth with her lightning.
"Was that lightning?" Wash asked, as he looked down from the saddle.
"Looks like it. I can't believe she can do that." Sokka said.
"I still think we could have fought them." Toph said.
With the Meta, you can fight them. Wash thought.
"Are you crazy? The crazy blue firebending and the knife throwing are bad enough. One of them did something that took away my bending. That's scary." Katara said.
"Chi-blocking." Ursa said, earning looks from the group.
"I've studied some hand to hand. She's a chi-blocker." Ursa said.
Ursa grabbed a piece of cloth and crudely wrote a message on it, and gave it to Wash.
Azula, the one who shot lightning at us, is my daughter.
Wash put the paper away, not wanting to tell anyone else. Her secret was safe with him.
The sun came up, and everyone took notice.
"Oh, no. The sun is rising! We've been up all night with no sleep." Sokka said.
"Sokka, we'll be okay." Aang said.
"Are you sur?! I've never went without sleep before! What if I fall asleep and something happens? And something will happen!" Sokka said.
"Boy, he's a few berries short of a full pie." Wash said.
"Every time we land, those girls are there, so we should just keep flying." Katara said.
"We can't keep flying forever." Aang said.
The group started to fall asleep, and Appa fell asleep as well.
"What's going on?!" Toph asked.
"Appa fell asleep!" Aang said.
"Hurry, Aang!" Ursa shouted.
Aang crawled to Appa's head and grabbed an eyelid.
"Wake up, buddy!" he said, pulling the eyelid and let it slap against the eye itself.
Appa woke up and flies into a forest of trees and crashed into the ground, leaving a small trench.
"Appa's exhausted." Aang said.
"We got plenty of distance between us and them. Lets get some sleep." Sokka said. He then awesomely faceplanted on the ground and fell asleep.
"We may have got some sleep, if someone had helped us set up camp!" Katara sourly said.
"What?!" Toph shouted, slamming her fists on the ground, leaving holes in the ground.
"Enough!" Aang said.
"Are you blaming me?" Toph asked.
Ursa looked at the situation and decided to resolve it. She grabbed Wash's DMR battle rifle and squeezed the trigger.
Click.
"Safety's on." Wash said, flipping it off. Ursa pulled the trigger and the gunshot got everyone's attention.
"Both you two, shut up!" She yelled.
Everyone looked at Ursa, and wondered her next move.
"Toph, Katara. Back away 10 paces, and sit down! No talking." She said.
Toph and Katara did just that.
"Thanks. You want to know why they're finding us? Appa is shedding. Look at this." Wash said, grabbing some fur and let the wind carry it away.
"How dare you blame Appa. He saved you and Ursa's life three times already." Aang said.
Wash grabbed and shoved him face first into Appa. After a few seconds, he threw Aang on the ground and watched as he airbended the fur away.
"Yeah. That's fucking hair. Those girls are using that as a trail. We need to forcefully shed Appa of his hair. Then we can stop our attackers." Wash said.
Appa crawled towards the water and sat there as Aang and Katara hosed him down with their waterbending.
"You sure Appa's okay to fly?" Katara asked.
"He'll be fine as long as we leave the saddle. I'll take the hair and lead the tank off course." Aang said.
"There's another option. I'll take the hair and run off. None of you are in any condition to fight those three girls. I can handle them." Wash said.
"You go as far as you can, then head back to us. Don't try and fight them." Aang said, handing Wash the bag filled with hair.
"Wash, a word in private." Ursa said, walking behind a tree.
Wash followed Ursa, and was surprised at her request.
"I want to come with you." Ursa said.
"Are you nuts? They'll kill you. You don't have the endurance or footwear. You won't get 5 miles in that terrain." Wash said.
"Not if you carry me." Ursa said.
"Why are you so dead set on this?" Wash asked.
"She's my daughter. I just want to talk to her. Please, Wash. It's been years since I last saw her." Ursa said.
"Your daughter, tried to kill us." Wash coldly said.
"Wash, just this once. After that, I won't follow you into any other fights." Ursa said.
"Fine. But if it looks like she'll attack you, I put a bullet in her head. End of story." Wash said.
"Deal." Ursa said.
Wash ran on autopilot. Never stopping, never resting. He leaped over a large tree branch and continued without a break. He made sure to stay in the wide open, providing a clear trail for the train.
Unknown earth kingdom town
"This is as far as it goes. You sure you want to stay here?" Wash asked.
"I'm sure." Ursa said.
"Good luck." Wash said.
Wash headed to an empty building and set his sniper rifle on the windowsill. Azula would come. She had to.
A lone lizard appeared, with Azula riding it. She dismounted and walked towards Ursa. Ursa looked at her daughter with trepidation, but didn't run.
"Well, if it isn't dear mother." Ursa bitterly said.
Wash looked thru the scope of his sniper rifle, keeping the crosshairs on Azula.
"Azula, please." Ursa said.
"You're a fool, mother. Coming after me by yourself. Why would you?" Azula asked.
"I want to talk to you. Mother to daughter." Ursa said.
"Talk. I'm not as dumb as Zuzu. You betrayed us, your country. You put Zuko ahead of the fire nation." Azula said.
"I did what I could to protect both of you." Azula said.
"And leaving like a coward was a great way. By the way, you should know something about your precious Zuzu." Ursa said.
"This is about you, Azula. Not Zuko." Azula said.
"Father burned and disowned him. Fitting for such a weakling." Ursa said.
"Zuko isn't weak." Ursa said.
"He is. I see where he got it from. From his dear mommy. You failed to protect him. And I never needed protection, not from you." Azula said.
It was a knife in her heart, to hear her own daughter say that.
"Besides, you consider me a monster. If that's true, then you'll really see the power of a monster." Azula said, as she prepared to strike her mother down.
Ursa quickly glanced at Wash's location, calculating how long it would take to run for cover.
Azula took notice, and fired a strong blue fireball at the crumbling building, setting it in flames. Ursa backed away from Azula, knowing she wouldn't be able to beat her daughter in a fight.
Azula walked forward, blue fireballs in her hand. She was going to relish this moment when…
Quicker than Ursa could blink, Wash came out of nowhere and tackled Azula to the ground.
"Get out of here!" he shouted to Ursa.
Azula opened her mouth and let out a strong blue fire. Wash quickly rolled off Azula and stood up. Azula stood up to face the freelancer.
Azula charged forward and shoots fireball after fireball. Wash dodged the fireballs, and let his armor absorb the ones he couldn't avoid. Azula came close, only to see Wash sidestep her and shove her to the ground.
"This ends now." Azula muttered, as she moved her arms to prepare a lightning strike against Washington.
Out of the blue, a good sized blast of water and air slams into Azula and sends her flying across the street.
"Thanks for the save." Wash said.
Azula gets up and retaliates with firebending. But seeing she's outnumbered, she runs down an alley, only for Toph to appear out of nowhere and knock her aside shifting the earth under her feet.
Azula retaliates with a blast of firebending, and soon finds herself cornered by everyone else.
"Well, look at this. Traitors and enemies working together. I know when I'm beaten. A princess surrender's with honor." Azula said.
Wash wanted to kill Azula right then and there. There was no honor in killing a family member, it was pure madness!
Azula suddenly fires a blue fireball at Ursa, striking her in the chest.
"No!" Wash shouted, and everyone fired at Azula, who blocked their attacks with a large blue sphere of fire. An explosion occurs, and the embers start to burn the remaining buildings to the ground.
Katara kneels next to the unconscious Ursa and bends water on the wound.
"You know what you're doing?" Wash asked.
"I know what I'm doing. We need to get moving, or Azula will finish us off." Katara said.
As they flew towards another location, Wash tightly held Ursa in his arms. He couldn't understand why anyone would attack their own family. But he knew one thing. Azula was a dangerous threat, and she had to stopped, sooner or later.
