"I'm unretired, yeah, I'm back. That's a fact. That's that." -Logic
Howdy y'all! Yes, it's been 10 months of me NOT uploading a chapter to this story and...well...I'm sorry. Writers block really got me. This chapter has been in the pipeline since February, but it kept getting rewritten over and over in my head. Finally I just sat down and cranked it out, but even that had to be revised over and over and OVER again. Finally I just said fuck it and wrote the entire chapter along with the outline for the rest of the entire story and..well...here we are. I REALLY hope you like this chapter! PLEASE lmk how you like it and leave a review. It truly were the reviews that got me to pick this back up again. If you have any questions, please PM me! Don't forget to Follow, Favorite, and Review!
Azula opened her eyes and frowned. She knew that today was the day that she would be fighting to get Aang back, and she, for the first time in a while, was scared…scared that everything would go horribly wrong. She knew that there was a chance that she had miscalculated something, but this feeling of impending doom was new to her.
Sighing to herself, she rubbed her face vigorously. It's probably just nerves, she thought to herself.
Having finally willed herself out of bed, she walked over to the mirror and examined herself, her usually kempt long black hair a hot mess with locks of hair going every which way. Dark circles and bags under her eyes signified her lack of sleep.
She wore a pair of black leggings and an orange and yellow tunic she got from the Western Air Temple. Looking over groggily, she grabbed her pair of black and gold slippers and slipped them onto her feet.
Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she turned towards a hook, grabbed her cloak, then smiled at the sight that greeted her in the next bed over. She saw Sokka and Suki cuddling together with the former cradling the latter's bump.
"You know, it still amazes me that he hasn't figured out she's pregnant."
"Holy fuck, Toph!" Azula whisper-shouted as she whipped her head around to see the blind girl smirking at her. "How do you always sneak up on me?!"
"I honestly don't know," Toph replied, laughing as she made her way towards the stairs. "You look like you could use some company, and those two need to get some sleep."
It did not take much time for both women to walk up to the deck of the ship. Azula gasped when she saw all the deep blues and purples that were in the sky. Toph merely yawned and leaned against the railing.
"You want to know something cool?" Toph asked her friend.
"Sure."
"I have a kid."
Azula's head did a total flip around with her eyes wide to accommodate the jarring and unexpected news that she was just given. Her thoughts were going a mile a minute as she tried to process what was just said. Did she have sex with Aang? Sokka? Oh, Agni, was it Zuko?! Where's the baby? Did she give it up for adoption?
"Relax, Zula…it's not what you think." Toph smiled softly before remembering the little girl that she had met at the park before getting kidnapped. "No, I didn't spread my legs for Twinkle Toes, if that's what you're wondering. She's a little girl named Luna. Met her at a park next to a bakery while in the Fire Nation." She sighed with a small smile on her face.
"Toph…" Azula looked at her friend before putting a hand on her shoulder. "I would never think you slept with my boyfriend."
"Cut the shit, Azula," Toph snapped playfully, smirking at her friend. "I can tell when you're lying now that Aang domesticated you."
"Am I really that domesticated?" Azula asked, faking a sigh. She would not change anything about her time with Aang, but she was a little ticked off that she could not hide anything from her friends.
"Yes, but that's not the point," Toph answered quickly.
"Then what is the point?" Azula asked.
"The point is that I know how you feel."
"What do you mean you know how I feel? I feel fine."
Toph facepalmed and shook her head. "I keep telling you to stop trying to lie...I know you've been worried about today for weeks. I know you barely got any sleep last night because you were going over all of the plans for today."
"Toph…"
"Just shut up and listen to me, okay?" Toph placed her hands on the cool railing of the ship and faced the forest. "I know what it's like to leave someone behind. When I met this girl, I didn't think she would mean much to me. I thought that she would just be another meaningless person who would come into my life and one who I thought I'd never meet again." She sighed before going on. "Little did I know, I would think about her everyday. She was so sweet and kind and she got so excited when I talked about her meeting Sokka and Suki."
"What happened to her?" Azula asked, wrapped up in her friend's story.
"There was already a plan in motion that I couldn't stop," Toph admitted. "We had to get to Boiling Rock, and the best way to do that was to get captured by the Fire Nation. I told her that when the war was over, I would meet her outside of the bakery. I tried to write to her a few times, but I never got any replies." She was on the verge of tears when she finally finished.
A soft silence fell between the two girls as Azula processed what was just said. The Princess looked out and saw two deer walking next to their ship and smiled softly. It was a mother and her fawn, grazing on the grass.
"You know, I think she misses you just as much as you miss her," she finally said while still watching the two deer eat.
Toph raised an eyebrow, then quickly chuckled and shook her head, a small smile gracing her face. "Yeah, the little tyke is probably in her orphanage bragging she's gonna meet the Avatar," she pondered as she allowed a tear to fall.
Azula went in to hug the Earthbender. "Toph, I—"
Suddenly, she was halted by Toph's hand.
"While I appreciate it," Toph interrupted, "that wasn't why I brought this up. The point is, you aren't alone." In a rare sight of weakness, Toph continued to let a few tears well up in her sightless eyes. "You may think that you are alone on this miserable island we call life, but you aren't."
"Aww, Toph!" Azula lightly punched the shorter girl in the arm. "Shouldn't I be the one telling you that?" With a playful smirk on her face, she wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulder and pulled her close.
"Shut up!" the Earthbender yelped while trying to hide her blush. "You know I'm not really good at this emotional stuff!"
"But yet, here you are comforting everyone."
Both girls spun their heads back to find Suki approaching them from the hull of the ship. She was dressed in a pair of loose black pants and a long-sleeve shirt she had gotten from one of the stops they had made. She walked up to the girls and smiled at them.
"How did you know we were here?" Azula asked quietly to the warrior.
Suki giggled in return. "I've always been a light sleeper," she explained before moving her hands to her belly. "And now, with her tagging along for the next however many months, I've become an even lighter sleeper. I heard you and Toph get out of bed and decided to see what you both were up to."
"Oh? And how is my godson?" Azula asked while moving her hand to Suki's bump, applying a light heat to it.
"Mmmh," Suki moaned while leaning into her touch.
"Alright Azula, I don't think Sokka would approve of you feeling up his girl," Toph chidded.
Both girls flinched off of eachother. "Jeez, Toph! It wasn't like I was about to openly fuck her!" Azula shouted while trying to hide her blush.
"I mean…Ty Lee did mention that she—"
"ANYWAY!" Azula blurted into the cool early morning air. "Toph, you were talking about how you miss your daughter?"
Suki's eyes immediately widened when she heard the news. She faced towards the short, blind girl who had her head in her palm. "YOU HAVE A KID?!"
"Way to share the news, Zula…got any more secrets you'd like to share?" Toph retorted deadpanned to the Firebender, who smirked at her again. "Yes; her name is Luna. Remember that girl I was talking to before we got captured?" She saw the warrior nod her head and continued talking. "Well, I basically adopted her and told her that once the war was over, I would take her with me."
"Wow, I didn't think anyone else would beat Azula to having a kid." Suki smirked when she saw Azula blush.
"I don't want a kid THAT badly…"
"Bitch please," Toph began, "if Aang was right here, and said, 'Azula, we need to bring back the Airbenders!' your pants would be gone faster than Suki's are when she hears someone brought her blueberry muffins!"
"Hey, I don't–"
"You literally had Ty Lee risk her life for blueberry muffins!" Azula recalled with a giggle. "We stopped the ship just so you could get muffins in a village."
The poor warrior blushed prominently. "W-well...this little one wants what she wants!" She protectively rubbed her bump. "You'll understand that VERY well if you're planning to have 9 kids!"
"ANYWAY!" Azula once again shouted. "We need to focus on the task at hand: we've gotta get Aang back!"
"Yes, Azula, we know you want your boyfriend back," Suki replied, giggling at the girl who was now flushing. "You only invented a new mode of transportation just to get to him faster."
"I…well…"
"We still have a few hours before we have to go jump into the lion's den to rescue him," Suki said while looking off into the distance. "How about we spend it just talking? Who knows…this could be the last time all three of us are together."
"You know, that's not a bad idea," the Earthbender commented while moving towards the railing.
Azula looked at the two girls next to her and sighed. All throughout the past month and a half, she had been so focused on rescuing Aang that she had not taken into consideration that this was possibly the last time she would be with all of her friends. She looked back and smiled sadly.
"What's wrong, Fire Queen?" Toph asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I…was just thinking that Suki is right," Azula concurred. "This could be the last time that all of us are in the same place together. I mean, let's be honest for a second. We don't know what's going to happen as soon as we leave this ship." She paused and looked at her friends.
"I mean, you're not wrong…" Suki looked over her shoulder nervously. She knew that this mission was very important. Everyone knew that this mission could be their last. She looked at Toph, whose eyes were fixed on the sun as it peeked over the horizon. "But I don't think that it's a good idea to focus on that thought." Looking at the girl's faces, she noticed the confusion, so she continued.
"When I get out of bed every morning, I don't think it's useful to constantly think, 'Man, I'm gonna die today.' That's just going to make you want to die even more."
"Well, I mean, yeah…" Azula sighed and cupped her face in her hands. "Maybe we all need a break."
"Azula, there are no breaks in war," said Suki.
"Well…Aang and I had talked about it before he got kidnapped. We go somewhere like Ember Island and just relax. Maybe after all of this is over, we all could be able to just relax."
"You know…" Toph thought the idea over in her head and slowly became fond of the idea. She had never been able to relax before, and a beach day with everyone did sound really fun.
"Would this be before the baby or after the baby?" questioned Azula.
Suki laughed loudly into the cold morning air. She gently rubbed her stomach and smiled. "While I'd love to not be pregnant for this little outing, I don't think that will happen." She smiled softly and gently rubbed her stomach. "I think we all need to blow off some steam before we meet her."
"Yeah, I could definitely use another spa day like the one I had with Katara when we were last in Ba Sing Se," Toph reflected whimsically.
"Wait, you had a spa day with Katara?" Azula asked, her jealousy unhidden.
"Yeah, this was back before we knew you Zula." Toph then elaborated to explain everything that happened, from Katara's makeup session to the guy they pushed into the river.
"Wow, I'm glad you both had a great time," said Suki with a smile before Azula could fire off nasty remarks about the Waterbender. She knew how much the Waterbender rubbed the Princess the wrong way. Hell, everyone could see that she and Katara did NOT get along.
"Yeah, it was a great–"
Both of them went silent when Azula put her hand in front of them, her eyes scanning the outskirts of the clearing like a trained bloodhound on hunt. Suki and Toph immediately knew that something was wrong. Azula moved her fingers and took a very deep breath. She swirled her arms and pointed at that section of the forest. Once her arms were in the correct position, she smirked, causing the hairs on both Toph and Suki to rise.
"Bang."
As soon as the word left her mouth, a bolt of lightning was released from her fingertips. It whizzed through the air, hurtling towards the trees. Once it reached its final destination, a large explosion rocked the entire clearing.
"Attack!"
"For the Phoenix King!"
"We won't let her get past us!"
Suddenly, tens of men in green-and-black military uniforms ran into the clearing. Suki and Toph looked at each other before realizing that Azula was already in the field with a knife. They watched as she hacked and slashed her way through highly trained Dai Lee agents. Both girls came to their senses when they saw Azula backflip over a pillar of stone with her knife between her teeth.
"We should help her, shouldn't we?" said Suki as she pulled out her fans and prepared to jump over the ship's railing.
"Yeah…" Toph made a pulling motion towards the action and caused a large chasm to form, swallowing up some of the agents.
Suki stared at her friend with wide eyes laced with shock. "How the fuck did you do that from up here?!" she cried while judging the distance of he jump.
"Because I'm Toph Beifong!" Toph yelled from the ground as they were getting attacked.
Suki groaned before sliding down the side of the ship. She took a deep breath, found the closest agent, and kicked him sharply in the side. She had to duck so that she could avoid a boulder being launched at her, but was able to get away from the attack quickly. She glanced around hastily and noticed someone with a knife behind Toph. Immediately, her body filled with panic and she began to sprint towards the girl. "Toph, look out!" she screamed, not able to get there in time…not that it mattered.
Without having to turn around, the man fell into the deep cavern that Toph created in the middle of the field. She grinned when she heard the screams and yells of the soldiers as they were crushed to death.
"Someone is feeling violent today!" Suki yelled to her friend.
"Meh," Toph replied, shrugging, "Just your average Tuesday," and ran off to assist Azula.
Sokka woke up to loud booms and bangs. He immediately noticed that Suki wasn't in bed with him, so he sat up, threw off the blanket, put on his shoes, and grabbed his sword.
He climbed the ladder to get to the deck of the ship and, once on top, was able to find a good view of the battle unfolding.
"Holy shit," he mumbled aloud to himself as he saw the amount of bodies laying on the ground. There was a large half-mile long cavern in the ground and large chunks of the earth missing. What he also noticed was that there were no scorch marks in the ground. "No Firebenders," he noted.
"Hey, Snoozles," Toph shouted while waving at him on a large pillar of earth. "You gonna help us out?"
He sighed and flipped over the railing. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" he shouted while sliding down the side of the ship. Once on the ground, he sprinted to the closest agent he could find and engaged him in battle. "How many of you are there?" he asked while swinging his sword.
"Why should I tell you?!" The Dai Lee agent resisted. "We hold the ad–"
Once Sokka heard that he was not going to answer his questions, he decided that he wasn't needed anymore, so he sliced off his head and kicked it. "Well that was pointless!" He flicked the blood off of his sword and ran further into the battle.
"Toph!" he called out as he tried to find his friends in the fray.
"Look over here, boys!"
Sokka turned his head and groaned. In front of him stood a group of Dai Lee beginning to swarm him. He looked at all the men and took a deep breath. This gave him a good chance to look at what the men were all wearing since it was different than the last time he saw it. Each man wore a long black robe with a dark green emblem on the chest. They wore brown boots and what looked like black pants, as well as black folded hats on top of their heads.
"I'm guessing I can't just ask you nicely to not attack me?" Sokka asked as he reached behind him and grabbed his boomerang. The men all laughed, making Sokka sigh. "Well, I tried."
After a beat of silence, Sokka sprang into action. He launched his boomerang into the circle and ran towards the first man, stabbing him in the neck with his sword.
"Eat this, Water Nation scum!" one of the agents shouted while hurling a giant rock at the Tribesman. Sokka ducked and let it sail over him. He then launched himself into the air and kicked an agent in the chest.
He didn't have time to rest as more rocks were being launched at him. He looked up and saw one of the rocks coming towards him and groaned, watching as the rocks sailed towards him and sidestepping them at the last minute. "That's one down..." he mumbled to himself as he sidestepped a head-sized rock while taking down another. "...and that's two." Although, he realized something was missing.
"Boomerang should be coming back right about…" he focused his gaze up and watched his boomerang rocket back to him after knocking out three agents and smiled. "Boomerang, you never cease to amaze me."
"Quit talking about your boomerang and fight, you idiot!" Toph yelled out as she launched a vertical pillar towards the group that he was fighting.
"Thanks, Toph!" said Sokka as he kicked another guy in the shin and sliced his head off. He looked at the moving wall of rock and saw that it had distracted some of the men. He ran out behind one of them and thrusted his sword into his gut.
"Alright, four down, three to go!"
He threw his boomerang at one of the agents and smirked when it hit him in the head and he collapsed into a pile of blood.
"Two more!"
It took no time after this for Sokka to run and neck-chop one of the two and toss a knife at the last. "Boom, that was easy!"
Sokka scanned the area to try and find any more agents in his immediate area. He then found Suki jumping for joy and smiled. "Are we done?" he called, his voice bouncing off the trees.
"Yes!" Toph yelled back. "I don't see any of them anywhere!"
"Alright, is everyone okay?!" cried Sokka as he made his way towards the ship.
"I'm all good!" Suki yelled as she jogged back.
"I'm okay!" Toph answered.
"What about Azula?" Sokka inspected the area for the tall firebender. "Toph, do you see her?"
Toph stomped her foot and her eyes narrowed. She tried it again and smiled this time. "She's over there." She pointed in the direction of a large boulder and a few downed trees.
"How is she?" Suki asked, fearing for the worst.
"From what I can see, she's just standing there looking at something."
"Should we…" Sokka trailed off as a loud crunch was heard echoing through the forest.
"Yeah, we should go check in on her," Suki said, rushing off towards where her friend was.
When the trio reached their friend, their senses were immediately overwhelmed by the grotesque environment they were stepping into. Blood and guts lined the area, dismembered limbs strewn around the ground, and even some disembodied heads lay against rocks and trees.
Standing in the middle of it all was a bloody but uninjured Azula. From the trio's view, she stood over something with her fists balled up. "Tell me where he is!" the Princess shouted as she punched what was assumed to be a still-living person.
"I-I don't know exactly where he i-is!" the man stuttered. "A-all I know is that he's somewhere in the Palace!"
The princess grounded him again. "That's not good enough!" she bellowed, her right arm shaking with unreleased rage. She bent down and started beating the man in the head repeatedly.
"Azula!" Suki shouted, grabbing the Firebender's arm before she landed another strike on the man. "He doesn't know anything, Azula!" She turned her face to look at her friend's eyes and gasped.
Blood was all over Azula's face. Bits of it were caked into her scalp, chunks of flesh and other unknown substances covering the poor girl's neck and cheeks. But the most shocking was the look of pure rage behind the girl's golden eyes. Suki could feel the rage waiting to be released. All of the pain and frustration just waiting to be released somewhere.
"Zula..." Suki let go of her friend's arm to try and touch her shoulder.
Azula looked at her friend and then back at the agent, whose skull was now caved. There was blood, chunks of brain, and even large portions of bone all over the ground. Azula, disgusted by the sight in front of her, narrowed her eyes. She pointed at the man and sent a bolt of lightning straight at the man's body, causing it to blow up.
Suki could not take it anymore and vomited. Sokka, who was able to hold in his bile, went and comforted Suki. Toph looked at the scene in front of her and sighed.
"Let's go," Azula commanded her friends, who all followed her deeper into the woods.
"She's not taking this well, is she?"
Suki looked up from the apple she had picked while walking and shook her head at her boyfriend. "No, I'm afraid she isn't."
Truth betold, Suki knew that her friend was not going to be well during this mission. However, she had severely underestimated just how much Azula would be affected by all of it. Sure, Suki was not blind. She could tell that her friend had been getting more and more antsy as the days went on. She had caught the occasional tremor of the hand or the quick mumble under the breath. She knew that her friend was getting little to no sleep at night. Hell, the only reason she was eating properly was because everyone around her was forcing her to.
"I didn't think it would be this bad," the warrior said with her head down. "I thought we were able to help her more."
"Hey," Sokka said quietly as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her on the cheek. "She'll be okay."
Suki smiled and nestled into his embrace. She looked up at her boyfriend and smiled. She always loved and appreciated his support, but this time…she was not sure he was right. She looked toward her Firebending friend and sighed.
"Honestly, Sokka...I don't think she'll be okay till she's back with Aang," she said after a few minutes of walking.
"I have to agree with your girlfriend there, Sokka."
Both looked over their shoulders to see Toph walking behind them with her hands in her pockets. She wore the same worried expression as Suki had and even seemed to be leaving larger-then-usual footprints behind her.
"She's on the verge of a breakdown and we all know it," the Earthbender pressed in a rare serious tone.
"Well, what should we do?" Sokka asked with a raised eyebrow. "It's not like we can get her to stop or delay the mission. This is the only time where Ozai won't be able to fight. We can deal with the Earthbenders, but Ozai is a totally different story."
"Yes, I know, Sokka," Toph said while rubbing the bridge of her nose.
"I think the only thing we can do is let the eventual meltdown happen," Suki responded quietly as she watched Azula in front of her. She noticed that their leader's hands were no longer balled up in as tight of a fist as they were before.
"I think that's our only option," Sokka mumbled before he was jabbed in the side by Suki.
"Well, it could be worse…"
The couple turned their heads to face a grinning Toph and looked at her with curiosity brimming in their eyes.
"How could it possibly be worse, Toph?" asked Sokka.
"She could be pregnant."
Suki facepalmed and glared at her friend who started laughing like a loon in return. Both did not notice nor care about the confusion Sokka had on his face.
"I don't get it," chimed Sokka innocently.
"Of course you don't, Sokka," Azula spoke from the front of the group, a small smile ghosting her face, causing more laughter from the girls behind.
Fire Lord Ozai did not need to be told what day it was when he woke up today. He could feel the moon sucking up his energy and bending. He sighed and looked at himself in the wall-to-ceiling mirror that was in his room and channeled a small flame into his palm. He stood at 6'5 and had a very athletic build. He had bulging muscles and a very straight and angular jaw, his long black hair cascading down behind him and reaching to his mid-back.
"Servants!" he yelled into the darkness of his room.
After a few seconds of silence, the door opened and out walked twenty young women all wearing green robes and carrying the Fire Lord's vestments. All of the women stared at their ruler while forming a semicircle and bowed.
"Dress me!" he commanded with a sick grin on his face. He dropped the robe he had been wearing and smirked when he felt the women all walk towards him. This was the exact way he started his day, with beautiful women at his beck and call.
Once he was satisfied with his current state of dress, he gestured for the women to leave him. He took another look at himself and smirked. He wore a silk red and black robe with both symbols for the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation embroidered with golden thread. On top of his head was the traditional Fire Nation headpiece.
He then walked out of his room and straight towards the royal hall where he was to be met with a large spread of food and drink. On his way, he passed by multiple groups ranging from soldiers who bowed at him, dignitaries who quickly moved out of his way, and servants who bowed at him while showing a bit of cleavage, just the way he liked it.
It took him ten minutes to reach a set of large wooden doors. He narrowed his eyes and pounded his fist on one of the doors. His fist had only left the wood before it was opened by a pair of servant girls. They gestured for him to enter and follow, which he did, and was led to a table full of food.
"Your food, my Lord," said both simultaneously.
He gestured for them to leave him and inspected the table, grabbing a plate and beginning to load it with a variety of meats, cheeses, and fruits. Once he set up his plate, he sat down at the head of the table and ate.
"My Lord."
The Fire Lord glanced up and smiled when he saw the familiar face. Standing before him was his favorite mail carrier holding a stack of mail. He was glad that he was able to bring the man along with him. "Ah, Pangi!" he said while gesturing towards the food in front of him. "Please, take a bite to eat. I will get to my mail in a–"
"My Lord, we have news regarding the first squadron of Dai Lee agents!"
Ozai turned his head towards his top general, a man who stood at a rather short 5'7. He wore a red high-neck tunic which had the Fire Nation swirl embroidered in black on the upper left sleeve. He also bore a black-and-gold striped belt tied around his waist, an array of black-and-red ribbons and medallions on his right breast, and wore a pair of black pants with black boots.
"General Donas," Ozai said as he glared a hole into the man's skull. "You know I do not like to be interrupted when I get my mail." He reached for his knife and started to twirl it in his hand. "Why should I not kill you where you stand for your…grave laps in error?"
"Sir, with all due respect, four people just slaughtered nearly a hundred of our men!" replied the general to the Fire Lord.
"Oh?" said Ozai, the temperature in the room dropping sharply. He watched as his general gave him a sharp nod and narrowed his eyes. "I see."
Ozai then looked at Pangi, who had picked himself some fruit and gave him a weary smile. "Well, my friend, it would seem that I have some other obligations to attend to. I will see you tomorrow."
The messenger nodded his head and proceeded to quickly leave the room.
"Now," Ozai said as he took a sip from a golden goblet that was sitting next to him. "Please explain to me how four individuals – two non-benders, one Earthbender, and a Firebender, who can't use their bending because of what day it is – beat one hundred of our so-called 'best soldiers'?!" He slammed his fist onto the table as he said this and stood up, beginning to pace the table. "We are fighting four people, Donas! How can we not stop four fucking people? One of which, might I add, is disabled because of a fucking comet?!"
"With all due respect–"
"YOU DO NOT GET RESPECT UNTIL YOU BRING ME THEIR HEADS ON A SILVER PLATTER!" Ozai boomed as he launched the knife he was holding at the man. The knife sailed past him and embedded itself in the wall behind the general, who flinched at the sight.
Ozai took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Once he was – what he thought was – calm, he sat down and stared the general dead in the eyes. "How many Dai Lee agents are in this kingdom, Donas?"
"About three hundred, sir," Donas responded immediately.
"Then I want you to find them...ALL of them...and send them to bring them down NOW!" Ozai shouted, his face going a tad bit red as his voice filled the large room. "I don't care if you have to send them into battle with nothing but the clothes on their backs. I don't care if they are tired, hungry, sick, or wounded! We will not let them get to this palace!" He leveled his stare at the general who, for all his worth, did not waver. "Do you understand me, general?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good." Ozai stood up from his chair at the table and headed towards the door, the cape of his robe billowing behind him as he walked. "I expect that this was a one-time mistake. You know I do not take well to...displeasing news." With that, he exited the room, leaving the general alone to his thoughts.
Azula walked.
She walked and continued to walk until she could not remember where she was going. Not that she was really paying attention to her surroundings. No, she only had one thing on her mind – one thing that had dominated her mind for the last month and a half.
Aang.
She had spent countless hours mulling over everything and anything she could remember about her beloved, from his favorite foods to his mannerisms and everything in between. All of it was embedded in her brain, fueling her desire to see him again.
There was no stopping Azula as she marched towards the hidden entrance into Ba Sing Se. She would not let anything stop her; not Earth Kingdom soldiers, not the Dai Lee, and not even Ozai could stop her from getting back Aang.
"Azula!" Toph shouted, causing the Princess to snap out of her gaze.
"Yes?" she responded, her tone bearing an edge to it that it had not contained in a very long time.
If Toph was surprised by the tone that her friend used, she did not show it. Instead, she stomped her foot and caused the earth below them to open up, revealing a staircase.
"We're here."
Azula nodded her head and turned around to see how her friends were doing. None of them had complained the entire time they had been walking.
She saw how tired Suki looked. She saw that the warrior was looking a bit worse for wear. She saw that blood had dried itself to the warrior's skin. She could tell from how tightly she was holding onto Sokka that she was nervous as well. She noticed how the warrior's shirt was now sleeveless, with parts of it being used as a bandage on a cut she had on her upper left shoulder.
She then analyzed the only male in the group and noticed that he was just as aloof as usual, his outfit a black T-shirt, his watertribe vest, and a pair of black long pants, all covered in blood and dirt.
When was the last time we did laundry? she thought to herself.
"You coming, Azula?" Sokka asked from the mouth of the staircase. He had a slightly worried look on his face as he observed his friend, who was obviously confused. "You've been standing there for the past minute."
Azula's eyes widened slightly and she nodded her head. "Yeah, sorry...just kinda spaced out for a second."
"Azula, are you sure you're okay?" Sokka asked, concern laced in his voice. "I'm not gonna lie and say that any of this has been easy, but we can take a break. I mea–"
"No!" Azula blurted as she pushed past him to enter into the staircase.
And with that, the group descended deeper and deeper into the earth. Azula led the group with a torch in her left hand as she held the wall of the cavern with her right. She was followed by Toph, who was constantly checking if there were any traps or soldiers in the walls. Behind her were Suki and Sokka talking lightly to each other.
"How long is this staircase, Toph?" Azula asked as she paused for a second to let the Earthbender respond.
Toph stomped her foot and hummed to herself as she thought up an answer for Azula. "It's not too much longer and then the real fun starts," she replied cryptically much to the Princess's ire.
"What's that supposed to mean, Toph?" Sokka asked, putting the conversation he was having with Suki on hold.
"What I mean is that once we reach the bottom of this staircase, it's a labyrinth to get to the Palace," Toph explained. "Then, once we get through it, there's some kind of cart thing with rails, however it's too far away for me to really see."
"Are there any soldiers?" asked Suki.
Toph raised an eyebrow at the question. "No, Suki," she sarcastically answered. "It's full of people offering blueberry muffins and cups of tea. Of course it's crawling with soldiers!"
"Well, shit, Toph! You don't need to be an ass about it!" Suki exclaimed at her friend.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm not the one asking stu–"
"Both of you shut it, or else!"
Both girls shivered when they heard Azula raise her voice. It was a side they had seen from her before, but not recently. The old Azula was beginning to reappear and this was an Azula that no one messed with.
"We do not have time for this!" Azula hissed into the passage. "We need to get to Aang and the two of you bitching about muffins, or whatever the fuck you were arguing about, is not helping us get to him any faster!"
"Yes, Azula," Suki mumbled quietly, making the princess nod her head.
"Toph?" Azula asked while turning to face the Earthbender, who huffed.
"If you think you ca–"
"TOPH!" Azula said through gritted teeth, her hand balling up into a fist.
"Alright, alright, I won't argue," said Toph while crossing her arms exasperatedly.
Azula turned back towards the hallway at the end of the stairs and nodded. "Toph, what are we up against down here?"
Toph took a second to stomp her foot and looked back at the Princess. "Looks like close to a hundred more Dai Lee agents are walking around that labyrinth in pairs."
"Shit," Sokka cursed under his breath. He glanced at Suki, who was looking terrified. "Azula, we can't fight another hundred agents underground when we don't know where we are going."
"We will not have to fight them all if we do this correctly," said Azula as she stroked her chin, deep in thought. "Toph, can you recreate the labyrinth?"
Toph nodded her head and brought her hands to her hips while stomping her foot on the ground. Out of the earth appeared a miniature version of the labyrinth and all its many dead ends. Azula nodded to the short bender as Toph took a step back to allow Azula all the space she needed.
"Alright, here's how this is gonna go!" Azula strategized. "We can either split up and go two at a time and work our way through it by sneaking up on the agents and killing them that way, or we can go as a bigger group and kill them that way. Either way, we're getting through this maze."
"Let's go together," Sokka decided. "We need to stick together. It'll be easier to get through if we have six pairs of eyes and two pairs of feet watching out for trouble."
"I agree with Sokka," Suki piped up. "We started this journey together and we will continue it together!"
"Well then, you better keep up because I'm not slowing down," Azula announced as she walked down the stairs and into the deep, dark labyrinth that awaited them down below.
"Do you have any idea why we're down here?"
Haki looked over at Sango and rolled his eyes. Both were currently sitting on a rock in the middle of a long and dark hallway deep inside of the labyrinth. They were wearing all black robes, but this time had a green belt on instead of the usual red one. "The Princess and her new friends are here and we need to capture them." he replied simply.
"Yes, but why are WE here?" Sango asked while moving to a standing position.
"Probably because we're the only people in this country that actually have a decent shot at capturing Azula besides Ozai himself," Haki explained from his still-seated position on the rock.
"Yes, because you try to capture a firebender on the day they can't firebend with two firebenders," Sango mumbled while trying to perform a fire punch and producing merely a small flame out of the end of his fist instead of the usual column of flames.
"I mean, we can do other things besides Firebend, you know?" Haki asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, but why use something as dumb as a sword when usually you can melt someone's face off with a single punch?"
"So that you can do something like this, Sango."
Suddenly, a knife flew out of the darkness and nearly embedded itself in the temperamental spy's cranium. Sango had barely dodged the knife and whipped around to find the glowing smirk Princess Azula bore as she strutted into the light.
"Well...it's good to see that your reflexes are still good after all these years," she said coldly as she crossed her arms over her chest. She looked over and nodded at Haki, who had just bolted up from his spot on the rock.
"Azula," Haki stated emotionally as he went to stand next to Sango. "Looks like the rumors were true: you have turned traitor."
She rolled her eyes at the comment and went over to casually lean on the wall. "Please, it's not like it's much of a secret. I literally kissed the Avatar in front of hundreds of Fire Nation soldiers. Plus, I would have turned traitor the moment I heard my father was using you two as spies."
The comment made Sango growl at the Princess, however he was kept in check by the ever-calm presence of Haki, who had a strong grip on the man's forearm.
"It's good to see the Avatar hasn't gotten rid of all of your...more edgy personality traits, Princess," Haki observed calmly while getting into a fighting stance.
"I think you'll find that I've picked up many things from Aang," replied Azula coolly as she lowered herself with her right leg extending out to her side and her left slightly bent to the ground. She extended her right arm so that it was parallel to her right leg and held out her left arm with two fingers pointing upwards. "More things than I ever did from you!"
"I guess we'll just have to find out what they are," said Haki as he and Sango shifted into their classic Firebending stances.
Sango was the first one to launch into a series of attacks. He sprang off his back foot and attempted to land a flying kick on Azula.
She casually blocks the kick with her arm and pushes him off of her using the same arm, slamming him into the ground. She then jumped in the air and performed a backflip in order to avoid a sweeping kick from Haki. She landed on her hands and immediately launched into a handstand sweeping kick, landing a blow on Sango's cheek and sending him into a wall, landing her back into a crouch. She quickly straightened herself and launched towards Haki, who was also running towards the Princess.
"You've improved," he commented between pants as he took up a much more conservative and guarded stance. "However, we are still better and always will be," he added coldly.
Azula said nothing and launched into a set of strong punches while dodging Haki's attacks by constantly keeping her feet in motion. She was in the middle of ducking one of Haki's right hooks when she was hit in the ribs by a rock. "Arghh!" She staggered towards the other side of the hallway, looked over, and saw Sango tossing a rock in the air with a smirk on his face.
She took a second to spit out some blood before straightening herself and taking a deep breath. She then charged both of the men and continued her nearly relentless attacks, this time slowly moving both of the men towards the other side of the hallway.
"Take this, you bitch!" Sango yelled as he went in to punch the princess with his right hand, only for it to be a fade and performing an uppercut with his left.
Azula reacted accordingly by moving her head back and went in to headbutt Sango, only for that to be a fade. She instead went to knee him in the stomach and slammed him into a wall. She moved her eyes and saw Haki going in for an ax kick. She blocked it with her forearm and pushed him into the wall as well.
"Is that all you've got?" she sneered while wiping some blood off her mouth.
"Should we help her?" Sokka asked from just beyond the ring of light which illuminated not only the hallway, but the fight as well.
"Nah," Suki answered simply while watching the ongoing battle. "She said she could handle it. Plus, I think she needs to get this out of her system."
"I mean, she's been in this fight alone for, what, ten minutes?" Sokka asked while glancing at his girlfriend. "Let alone the other six or seven fights we've already been in since entering this fucking maze."
"I'm just glad we can take a break!" Toph grumbled as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Yeah I don't know how she does it!" Suki said. "It's like she's getting more and more aggressive after each fight."
"Yeah, I've been noticing that as well," Sokka observed. "It's like she's getting...angrier the longer she goes." As he said this, he watched Azula do a spin kick and land it straight into Haki's skull, knocking him to the floor, unconscious.
"It's like she's a carbon copy of Aang," Toph muttered, causing both non-benders to stare at her.
"What do you mean, Toph?" questioned Sokka with a raised eyebrow.
"Suki, I'm sure you see it too, right?" Toph asked, glancing at the warrior.
Her eyes narrowed on the Princess' form. "Now that you mention it...she is using the same forms Aang would use. It's almost like it's offensive Airbending."
"She's airbending?" Sokka asked, still lost.
"No, she's using the same basic forms and movements that make up Airbending and fighting with them," Suki explained, rubbing her chin. "There's no bending involved. However, I would be interested to see what would happen if she was bending right now."
"Well, we're going to have to hold off on that thought," Toph said with a newfound urgency in her voice.
"What's wrong, Toph?" pried Sokka, the same urgency building in his voice.
"They've found our trail of bodies!" She stomped her foot and pointed into a seemingly random direction. "We need to get the fuck out of here!"
"Shit! How many of them are there?" Suki queried as she stretched her back and took a sip of water.
"Too fucking many!" Toph shouted as she punched the wall she pointed at, bringing it down. She then turned toward Sokka and Suki and pointed at the seemingly random hole she just made. "We need to get Azula and get the fuck out of here!"
Sokka nodded his head and sprinted towards Azula, who had just landed a punch directly in Sango's face.
"Azula, it's time to leave!" He shouted a safe distance away from the bloodlusted Princess.
"Give me a minute!" she pleaded as she weaved through and dodged Haki's attacks. She tensed up and seemingly shifted stances almost instantly, proceeding to send a right hook kick at Haki's side, knocking him off balance and giving her the perfect opportunity to punch him in the throat and slam his head into the ground. "And stay down, you fucking pests!" She spat up more blood and wiped her bloody knuckles on her shirt. After taking a couple beats to catch her breath, she jogged over to Sokka, who ushered her towards the hole Toph made in the wall.
"Enjoy your fight, Flame Queen?" Toph asked as she weaved her arms, creating a hallway for them to run through.
"Yeah, Zula, it looked like you were really getting into it!" Suki commented as they ran through the ever-constructing tunnel.
"We…have a history that goes back," Azula replied as she stopped walking to crack her knuckles. "Way back."
"Well, it's over now…right?" Suki asked as they ran through the passageway.
"Yeah…hopefully…"
"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Sokka.
Azula shook her head, much to the disappointment of Sokka, who knew there was definitely some history between the two men and Azula.
"Well whenever you're–"
BOOM!
"There they are!"
"Let's get 'em, boys!"
"For the Phoenix King!"
"Toph, put up a wall!" Azula commanded as she pointed to a giant rock hurtling towards them.
Toph's eyes widened as she constructed the strongest wall she could. She pressed her hands against the barrier and struggled to keep it up against all the forces that were on the outside.
"How many are there?" the Princess asked as she stopped to catch her breath.
"At least forty of them!" said Toph as she leaned all her weight against the wall, struggling to keep it up.
"Do we have to fight them all?" Suki yelled as she prepared herself for yet another fight.
"I don't think so," Toph called out with a bit of struggle. "There's a metal kart on the other side of those men. All we have to do is get there and we should be home free."
"So this is it?" Sokka asked as he gripped his sword tightly in his hand. "This is the end?"
"Yes!" Toph grunted as she held up the wall.
"Alright, this is the plan," Azula began while preparing her knives. "As soon as I give the signal for that wall to go down, we haul ass to that kart. Got it?" She moved next to Toph in readied position.
"Yes!" Sokka and Suki yelled as they stood next to her.
"Just let me put this thing down already!" Toph screamed as the wall started to crumble.
"LET'S GO!"
It was sheer pandemonium as the four of them ran towards the cart. Toph was flinging bodies left and right to try and clear a pathway for her friends. Suki and Sokka were hacking and slashing their way through anyone and everyone that came in front of them.
Meanwhile, Azula was sprinting and taking out as many agents as she could, trying to keep them as far away from the trio as possible. She flipped over one of the men and snapped his neck, using him as a springboard to land a flying kick into another man's face, sending him to the ground. She then ducked and sent an uppercut towards an agent who dodged and bended slabs of stone at her.
"How much further?!" she screamed as she snapped another man's neck and looted a sword off of him.
"We're about halfway there!" Toph yelled as she bended rocks and tall slabs of stone onto the men so that they could get across.
"We can do it guys!" Sokka shouted as he thrusted his sword into the chest of one of the agents. He then spun around and stabbed someone through the leg.
"We got this!" Suki yelled while slicing the neck of an agent with a fan, thereafter throwing her second one into the eye of another agent and sprinting to go and retrieve it.
"HOLD THE LINE!" one of the soldiers shouted from in front of the cart. He and a few other benders linked arms and stomped their feet, causing a ten-foot long wall to slowly rise out of the ground.
"We need to get over that wall!" Sokka shouted as glanced over at Azula, who had just kicked an agent in the gut.
"Can you bring it down?" Azula asked while looking at her friend.
"With that many people reinforcing it? Not a chance," Toph replied through pants.
"How are we going to get to the cart now?" questioned Suki, panicked.
Azula took in their surroundings and groaned. She hadn't realized that they were essentially on a cliff with the only exit being the cart, or going back the way they came. She looked overhead and had an idea.
"Toph, can you bring down those stalactites that are above the wall?" Azula asked while pointing to what she was talking about. Toph nodded her head and took a deep breath as she prepared to bring them down.
With a primal scream, Toph stomped her feet and dropped her arms to her side. With that, she made a shoving motion with her fists. The earth shook as the stalactites came crashing to the ground. Men were shouting as they tried to protect themselves from the falling rock. The wall, which at one point stood tall and mighty, was now nothing more than rubble.
"Is everyone okay?!" Azula shouted as she waved her hand in front of her face to clear away the dust.
"I'm good!" Suki shouted as she made her way through the rubble.
"I'm fine!" Sokka said from one side of the battle field.
"I'm alive," Toph wheezed while staggering to her feet.
"Oh, Agni, Toph, are you alright?" Azula asked while moving towards her friend to try and help her up.
"Just fucking tired," she simply replied as she waved off the help from her friend. "The cart is up ahead. Let's go save boy wonder." She stood up and limped through the rubble.
"Toph, you're limping!" Suki yelled as she too made her way to the cart.
"Doesn't matter. Let's just go," Toph said as she looked at Azula, who gave her a look but said nothing.
The cart itself was rather large. It was a light gray color and was made out of what looked like steel. Toph ran her hand over it and nodded her head.
"This should hold up," Toph reinforced as she unlatched the waist-high door.
"My question is: where will it take us?" Suki mumbled as she entered the cart.
"Hopefully right to the throne room," Sokka replied as he got into the cart.
Azula latched the door to the cart and gave it a shove. This caused the cart to start rolling down the track. She then used her balance and started sprinting on the rail to catch up with and performed a front flip into the cart.
"Was that really necessary?" Toph asked as she felt Azula sit down next to her.
"For Aang," she answered, gazing out as she felt the cart start to tilt downward and pick up speed. "Anything is necessary."
"My Lord, I have news!"
Ozai looked up from the papers he was reading, glanced at his general, and raised an eyebrow.
"I do not see four bodies behind you, so this had better be worth my time," he mumbled as he placed his paper down to look at the general.
"They have gotten through the labyrinth and are now enroute to the dungeon, which is underneath the palace," the general quickly explained to a quickly angering Ozai.
The Fire Lord stood up and slowly walked towards the general. "They got through the entire labyrinth AND the people guarding that cart?! You had explained to me that they would die in that fucking maze!" He was directly in front of the general now, looking down menacingly at him and gripping him by the throat. "How long until they are off of that cart?"
"Tw-twenty m-minutes, m-my L-Lord," the general choked out.
Ozai thought for a second before throwing the man on the ground. He then walked towards the door of his study.
"I'm going to go down there. I want every agent that is not dead down there to greet them. Do you understand?" Ozai ordered with his hand on the door.
"What about…" Ozai put his hand up and smirked. "Tell them to get it ready for the show."
"There is a large opening right ahead," Toph said, which broke the tense silence that had fallen over the group ever since they had gotten into the cart.
"This is where we fought before," Azula commented as she ran her fingers over the glowing light green crystals dotted all over the pathway towards the opening.
"This is where you shot him down?" Suki asked.
Azula nodded her head and smiled lightly. "Yes, and then I put him into a cell and the rest is history."
"And now you get to rescue him. It all comes full circle." Sokka smiled at the Princess, who nodded her head in concurrence.
It did not take them very long to get to the larger open cavern where Azula and the Avatar last fought. The group walked into the center of the room and took a second to look around.
"Toph, do you know where he is?" Azula asked as she looked around to try and find Aang.
Suddenly, clapping could be heard bouncing off of the walls in the cavern.
"Well, if this isn't a sight for sore eyes."
The group all turned around to see Fire Lord Ozai walking out of an entrance that was on the other side of the cavern. He was surrounded by five Dai Lee agents on either side of him.
"Where is he?!" Azula growled as she balled up her fist.
"What? No greeting?" Ozai played with a raised eyebrow. "I'm hurt!"
"I don't give a fuck about your feelings! I want my boyfriend back!" Azula exclaimed as she took a step towards him, causing his Dai Lee agents to react.
"I don't know if you want to do that, Azula," the Fire Lord chided as he gestured to his agents. "They get testy when someone makes sudden movements."
"WHERE IS HE?!" she boomed, her composure now totally lost.
"Temper, temper," Ozai drawled out while smirking at his daughter. "I taught you better than that, did I not?"
"I don't give a fuck about your teachings!" She balled up her fists. "I don't give a fuck about you! All I want is Aang, and you're going to give him to me right now!"
"Oh?" Ozai raised an eyebrow at his daughter. "And what will happen if I do not?"
"We'll make you!" she growled menacingly.
"Who is this 'we' you speak of?" He gestured for her to turn around.
"I'm talking about me and…my…friends…" Her eyes widened when she noticed that her friends were not behind her anymore. Instead, she found them held captive by three different Dai Lee agents.
"But…"
"You have always been known to have severe tunnel vision when you get angry, Azula," Ozai said casually as he looked at his fingers. "All I had to do was use it against you."
"Release them!" the Princess commanded as tears welled up in her eyes. "Release them right fucking now!"
"But I thought you wanted the Avatar?" Ozai smirked as he watched Azula fall apart in front of him. "Which is it? Your friends or the Avatar?"
"I…I…"
Azula was stuck. She stared at a smirking Ozai and then stared back at Sokka and Suki, who were looking back at her with wide eyes. Her eyes then landed on the crumpled form of Toph, who was unconscious.
Ozai watched as his daughter experienced an emotion she rarely ever felt. He watched as Azula, the gold standard for calm, cool, and collected, was panicking before him. The desperation filled her body as she searched for a way out. She was like a caged animal desperate for an escape, and the Fire Lord was enjoying every second of it.
"You know, since I'm feeling generous, I'll help make your decision even easier." He clapped his hands and smiled.
Suddenly, the doors opened and out walked the Avatar, who was dressed in Fire Nation clothes. His arrows were covered in scars, his hair matted and bloody, eyes glazed over and looking like an overall mess.
"Aang?" Azula whispered as she saw her boyfriend walking towards her. "Wait...that's not how he walks."
"Who said this was your Aang?" taunted Ozai. "From my point of view, he's my new weapon."
"What did you do to him?!" cried Azula as tears leaked from her eyes.
Something you should have done the first time he was here," Ozai growled. He then looked over at Aang, and produced his signature smirk. "Who do you serve, Avatar?"
The Avatar stopped and stood very still. "I serve the Phoenix King. I serve the Fire Nation. I am at your command, Master," he stated in a monotone voice. He faced Ozai and knelt in front of his master.
Azula was appalled at the figure in front of her. "Aang? AANG?! What's going on?! This isn't you! Aang, come back to me!" She continued to plead as she watched him look at her in confusion.
"Who is this 'Aang'?" he innocently asked. "I have never heard of him before. Master, do you know him?"
"No, I do not. But I do know that there are a few traitors that need to be exterminated," Ozai said as he pointed to Sokka, Toph – who remained unconscious – and Suki. "Kill them!"
"No!" Azula wailed. "Aang, come back to me! Please! I need you with me." She fell to her knees as she fell apart. "What happened to our promise? What happened to growing old together and having that family? What happened to you saying you would never hurt me? What happened to getting married after the war? Aang, I know you're in there somewhere. You need to come out! Please come back to me!" She crumbled and sobbed, not noticing the Avatar coming slowly closer.
"Aang!" she yelled. He came closer.
"Aang!" Ever closer.
"Trust me," he whispered, just loud enough for her and only her to hear. She looked into his eyes, stunned, though nodded ever-so-slightly.
"Avatar!" Ozai shouted with a sick grin on his face. "Capture her so that we may enact Operation Phoenix."
"Yes, Master," he called out. Once his back was turned, he smiled at his girlfriend. He then got into his fighting stance and sent a wall of Air towards one of the Dai Lee agents holding Sokka captive.
"AVATAR! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Ozai exploded from across the room. He then signaled for his agents to attack the couple, but it was too late.
"Go get Suki and Toph while I delay him!" Aang shouted as he sent a column of air towards the agents closest to Ozai.
"Aang, you're injured and weak! Let me handle this!" Azula shouted as she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her.
"I've still got a little left in the tank." Aang smirked and pulled her in for a hug.
"I love you," she whispered as they broke the embrace.
"I love you, too," he replied with a grin. He then ran back towards Ozai and sent two large boulders towards the man who kept him captive.
"How?! You are supposed to be under my control!" Ozai screamed as he dodged the flying rocks that were being sent at him.
"That's for me to know," Aang grunted as he sent a large wave of water towards the Fire Lord. "And for you to never find out!" he finished while reaching out his arm and bending it at an odd angle.
Suddenly, four of the Dai Lee agents found that their bodies could not move properly. Their arms began bending at odd angles. What started in their arms soon went to their legs as they found that they could no longer move.
"W-what's happening to us?!" one of them cried as they felt their shoulders pop and legs discolate.
"GRAH!" Aang shouted as he flung the four men towards Ozai.
A look of horror was pasted on the Fire Lord's face. "W-what is that?!" he asked as he watched his guard crumple in front of him.
"That's a little something I created." Aang smirked as he turned his full attention towards Ozai. "And I'm gonna use it on you next!"
While Aang was having his show down with Ozai, Azula had sprinted over to Suki and killed her holding agent.
"Are you okay?!" Azula yelled as she looked her pregnant friend over for any new injuries.
"Yes, I'm fine…but Toph isn't," Suki shouted as they sprinted to Toph.
"I'm sorry I got so distracted," Azula said as she hung her head in shame as they ran.
"Hey, don't worry about it," Sokka comforted her as he joined the duo. "You had bigger problems on your hands. We would have escaped eventually."
"Yeah." Azula smiled as they reached the unconscious form of Toph. "Can we wake her up?" she asked Suki.
She nodded simply in return. "It looks like she was knocked out by pressure points, so a strong smell should wake her up."
Azula dug in her pockets and took out a sock. "I mean, it smells awful…maybe this can do something." She placed the sock under Toph's nose and used her other hand to dodge a quick punch from the Earthbender.
"What the fuck did you just put in my face?!" the short bender yelped as she got to her feet and kicked the sock away.
"No time," Azula shouted as she pointed to where Aang was fighting four Dai Lee agents as well as Ozai himself. "We need to help him before he gets himself killed. He looks like he's on the verge of collapsing."
The trio nodded their heads and sprinted over to Aang, who was dodging spikes made out of crystals. He looked over at his friends and grinned. "You guys actually came!" he called out.
"Of course we did, Twinkle Toes!" Toph shouted as he bended a giant ball of earth to come rolling down a wall of the cave towards the men.
"Let's end this one and for all!" Sokka shouted as he pointed his sword at Ozai, who's eyes widened.
"Bring it down!" Ozai shouted as he looked to find where Azula was.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
"They are trying to bring this place to the ground!" Toph shouted as she did her best to prevent the ceiling of the cave from falling on them.
Ozai locked eyes with a distracted Azula and smirked. "Let's see you defend this, daughter!" He whirled his arms around and sent a bolt of lightning towards his daughter, unaware of what was coming.
"AZULA!"
Azula barely had time to register what was happening before she was tackled to the ground by her boyfriend. She stared at her boyfriend and her eyes filled with panic.
Laying on top of her was a smoldering and unconscious Avatar. He smelt of burnt flesh and was not moving, though he bore a soft smile on his face. She moved him to his back in hopes of getting a better look at him.
"No," she whispered as she checked him for a pulse. "No, no, no, no, NO!" She continued to check for a pulse, then looked to her father with tears in her eyes.
"How can you do that?! You shouldn't be able to bend!" she screamed with blood dripping onto the ground from how tightly she had her fists clenched.
Ozai chuckled and went into a bending stance. "It is after 12:30, daughter." He smirked and sent a fireball at his daughter and she glared at him.
Azula placed Aang on the ground and redirected it with a fireball of her own. She jumped into the air and sent a dragon made out of a flame with a bright white fire.
"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" she screamed as she sent the dragon towards Ozai.
Ozai's eyes widened as he moved his arms in a circle and blew fire to form a shield to protect him from the dragon. However, it did not work as well as he had hoped, as he was still badly burned.
"Retreat!" he shouted as he watched his men become overwhelmed by the sheer anger and power Azula was displaying. He then looked at his daughter, who was still producing this new, white fire, and smirked. "You have two options, daughter: you can either let me escape and save your precious Avatar –" He gestured directly behind her where Sokka and Suki were treating Aang. "– or you can kill me while leaving your friends here to die. Which do you choose?"
Azula stopped dead in her tracks as she thought about what her father had said. She gazed at Aang and then back at Ozai, who was giving her a sick grin.
"What do you choose, Azula?" Ozai asked with a raised eyebrow. "Love? Or vengeance?" He began to retreat towards the entrance he came out of.
Azula looked at both again and took a deep breath, closing her eyes. When they opened, they were piercing through her father with the hardest glare she could muster.
"We will come for you," she stated defiantly with her fist clenched. "And when we do, you will not make it out alive."
"Is that a threat?" Ozai growled.
"No," Azula yelled as she turned back around towards Aang, which signaled Ozai's escape. "It's a promise."
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!
