This chapter came out so fast, it was awesome. A decent battle scene in it, but like I said before, I'm not very good at them. I hope you guys like this one because my story is finally coming to an end. I think I'm going to write one more chapter after this, then that's it. Here's the next chapter!
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(Drums for dramatic effect)
The first rays of light touched the sky and everyone was up, from Zuko to Sokka and all the way to their precious Katara.
"Let's go, Haru," Zuko said as he got up out of his bed.
Haru pulled his hair back and walked out the door, followed closely by Zuko. He stopped just outside the door of his shop in town to put a sign on it saying that it would be closed that day.
"How far into these woods do you suspect they are?"
"I was walking from just after noon to nightfall. That's why I came to you so late."
"Then we'd better quicken our pace. I'd rather not let her stay there much longer. She's too good to be in the hands of a guy with a reputation like his. Here, I think I know a trick that will help us move faster."
Haru stomped his foot and a chunk of earth jumped out of the ground. He motioned for Zuko to jump on and then joined him on it. He pushed his hands forward and they took off. It didn't last long though. The trees started to thicken to where they had to walk again.
"Well, that was fun while it lasted," Zuko told him with a faint smile. "It's good to have another earthbender for a friend, especially since most of the Earth Kingdom is still a bit.."
"I know. Can you really blame them though? But I guess they could at least give you a chance since you are a new firelord and also the one who ended the war. I'm okay with you now that I know you and I think Katara made a good choice. If you don't mind me asking, what other allies do you have?"
"Well, I have the Water Tribes now, mainly because of Katara. They also helped me fight a battle just recently against someone who tried to assassinate my two children, the same someone we'll be seeing here with Jet. Then I have the friendship of the only airbender left, former Avatar Aang, and his earthbender girlfriend Toph Beifong."
"Former Avatar? And Toph Beifong?"
Zuko laughed. "See? That's why you need messenger birds! You're out of the loop on these things. Aang gave his life to save Katara, therefore losing his Avatar spirit, which was passed on to mine and Katara's children. They're twins and they're both the Avatar. And what about Toph? Do you know her?"
"I know of her family. They're a powerful family in the Earth Kingdom. I've heard rumors that, even though she's blind, she helped fight the firelord."
"That she did. She refused to stay behind and almost blew our cover when we entered the Temple to fight my father."
"Girls are like that."
That made Zuko laugh again and he thought about his and Sokka's inside joke.
Stubborn or brave.
Both.
"What was funny about that?"
"Oh, it's an inside joke between me and Katara's brother, Sokka. Everytime the girls refused to be left behind and wanted to fight, I'd say they're either stubborn or brave and he'd say that they're both."
Haru smiled. "I think Katara's both."
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When Sokka's feet touched the cool metal of the ship that morning, he felt different somehow. He sat on the edge of his bed and thought on it for a second, but couldn't place it. He yawned and stood up to stretch before heading to the ship's cafeteria to meet Ty Lee for breakfast.
"Good morning, Iroh. Have you seen Ty Lee this morning?"
Iroh looked at him funny before pointing out to the deck. "She's out there stretching."
"Thanks."
He grabbed a biscuit before walking up to the deck to meet her.
"Sokka?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you feeling okay?"
Sokka was obviously confused. He knew he felt different and people kept looking at him funny. Was he sick? "Yeah, I'm fine. Why? Do I look sick or something?"
Ty Lee shook her head. "No, you look better. Did you not even realize you're not on your crutches?"
He looked down and jumped. He had no idea he forgot his crutches, he wasn't all that used to having them yet. He was using his leg! Ty Lee noticed the shocked look on his face and bounded over to him to hug him. He almost dropped his biscuit, but managed to keep his balance and his food.
"Well, at least now I can really help save her. I'm going to wash up a little before we land."
Ty Lee kissed him before he headed back down to their room to shower. He loved the warm water. It was something he still couldn't get used to even after all the time living with it. It wasn't exactly a luxury they had at the South Pole. As he undressed, he noticed a mark on his left leg, the one that had been injured. He bent down to look get a closer look and noticed that it looked like the moon last night. Yue did that, he thought. I guess she can only do so much at one time. Katara, I'm coming.
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"Psst.. Katara, are you awake?"
Katara sat up in her sad excuse for a bed and looked around. She noticed the door was cracked open. "Yeah, I'm awake," she whispered.
"It's dawn. Do you still want to go?"
"Absolutely."
"Do you want to wait until after your breakfast or leave now?"
Katara thought about it for a second and realized she wasn't sure how close the nearest village was. "I'll eat breakfast first and get some energy before I run."
"Good plan." The crack in the door disappeared as Pipsqueak closed it. She laid back in the cot and stared at the ceiling, tracing the patterns in the wood with her eyes. Then, she closed her eyes and tried to picture how she was going to do this without getting caught. She knew Jet had all kinds of men in the trees everywhere. How had Sokka gotten away from them before? she wondered. He still hadn't told her that and this was one time she had wished to hear one of his ridiculous stories. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't hear the door open.
"Breakfast is served, my lady."
She opened her eyes to meet Jet's and glared at him. He was holding a plate out to her. It had different fruits on it and a small bowl of what looked like oatmeal. She wasn't sure what it was, but it didn't smell. She took the plate grudgingly and ate slowly, unnerved by the fact that Jet was watching her.
"Do you have to stand right there and watch me eat?"
"I'm sorry, would you like privacy?"
"Yes, I would!"
Jet looked like he was thinking before answering, "Sorry, can't do it."
Katara's brow furrowed and she turned around, her back facing him, to finish eating. Whatever was in the bowl was cold and gooey and she didn't like it one bit so she just finished the fruit and handed the plate back to Jet.
"Now you can leave."
"Aw, no good morning kiss?"
"No."
"You'll come around sooner or later."
He turned and walked out, smirking. When the door shut, she could hear whispering just outside and she knew he was talking to Pipsqueak. It was what he might be saying that worried her. Whatever he says might change his mind about helping her escape this place. She felt a tear slide down her cheek and wiped it away quickly. The whispering stopped and she knew he was gone. She watched the door for a few more seconds before throwing herself back on the cot and trying to hold back tears. At that moment, she hated herself for letting him get her in this situation. I never should've challenged him! she thought angrily at herself. Zuko tried to tell me but my pride got the best of me. I'm so sorry, Zuko. I'm so sorry.
Another tear made it out and rolled across her temple and into her hair. She heard a noise at the door and braced herself, thinking it was Jet again. She wiped away any signs of crying and tried to look mad, but failed miserably. She turned her back to the door instead.
"Psst."
Katara turned around happily, but wasn't looking at Pipsqueak. This boy was the one who shot the arrow that blew up the dam last time she was here. What was his name? Longshot? Yeah, that was it.
"What do you want?"
He waved to her, urging her to come along. She remembered Jet saying that he didn't talk much since his parents were killed, so she just followed him. He led her down a long walkway, constantly looking over his shoulder for anyone that would be watching. He jumped into a tree next to the walkway and she followed and squatted down next to him. She looked to where he was pointing and saw a most peculiar sight. She smiled and hugged him before letting him help her down the tree.
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"I think we're getting close," Spirit said to his new friend.
"I think we are too, I can hear something in the trees." They stopped when they heard whistling. Haru looked in the trees for the source of the noise, but thought it was nothing. "Just birds."
"No, Katara said that's how they whistle before they attack. Get ready."
Haru stomped the ground, bringing a chunk of the earth to him. Spirit readied his swords. They heard a thump off to one side, signifying that somene had jumped out from the trees.
"Spirit! Haru!"
They looked at the girl running towards them and both smiled and lowered their defenses. "Katara!" they shouted at the same time.
She finally reached them and threw her arms around both of them. "How- what-?"
"I found him in a nearby town," Spirit answered the question that was written all over her face that her mouth couldn't quite spit out. "He said he knew you and I needed help, so I asked him to come along."
"It's good to see you again, Katara."
"You too, Haru."
"Well, well. Looks like they have a new friend here, boys."
"No," Katara whispered as she turned to see Jet jumping out of the tree behind them.
Almost on instinct, Haru stomped his foot and Spirit unsheathed his swords. Jet laughed. "An earthbender, eh? What are you doing with a waterbender and a blue masked thief?"
"Because I owe the waterbender and the thief just happens to be a friend," Haru spat.
"Jet, I think it would be wise to just let us go. We wouldn't want to mess up that greasy little head of yours now, would we? Remember what I did to Azula?"
Jet laughed. "But you don't have any water here, princess."
"That's Fire Lady, Jet. Azula was the princess before I killed her. Get it right."
"That doesn't change the fact that you don't have water."
Spirit nudged her and pushed something into her hands. She looked down to see a full waterskin. "Now, what was that about not having water?"
"Boys, get them."
Suddenly, there were people jumping out of the trees from all around them. Katara looked around and saw Longshot and Pipsqueak standing next to each other watching her. She smiled and mouthed a quick 'thanks' before drawing a water whip to her. Jet held his hooks out, ready for an attack. Spirit, Katara, and Haru stood in a circle, their backs touching so that they could see all angles. Katara made the first move. She used her whip to grab one of the smaller boys and fling him down the path. The other boys moved in fast. Haru threw rock after rock, hitting a couple of the boys but the others were dodging them. Spirit was fighting hand to hand with a couple of them. An arrow flew through the air and caught Spirit's leg. He yelped in pain and looked to where it had come from.
"Here's where the fun begins!" Mai yelled as she jumped down to join the fight. She walked past everyone and right up to Katara, both glaring at each other. "You ready to go down now?"
"Not in your lifetime," Katara growled.
Mai jumped at her and tackled her, causing her to fall back into her boys. Haru caught her shoulder and he and Spirit helped her keep her balance with their backs. Katara kicked Mai in the stomach and she fell back a couple steps, then she was tackled to the ground and they landed right in front of Jet's feet. He jumped back and watched them wrestle. Katara was on top of Mai with her hands around her throat, but Mai flipped her over and Katara hit a tree. She jumped up as quickly as she could, but Mai had her pinned to the tree. She had a knife to Katara's throat and was about to end it all when she was thrown back into another tree.
"The deal was that she lives!"
Mai looked into the eyes of a furious Jet, then glanced back at Katara, but she had already rejoined the fight with the other two mysterious guys. She saw the earthbender take out three of Jet's boys in one hit, then they were all outnumbered. Jet looked back at the fight as well, then ran in to help. Mai got to her feet and ran after him. She pulled an arrow out and aimed.
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"Good, we're on land! Now, let's go! We don't know what's going on in there as we speak."
Sokka took off down the ramp of the ship, the others following right on his heels. They ran through the town they landed at. Sokka noticed that all the shops were open but one and it had a note on it, but they didn't have time to stop. His curiosity was calling him though. He brushed it away and kept running into the forest at full speed. He had to slow down eventually because he remembered Iroh couldn't keep up in his old age. Ty Lee was no problem, neither was Kiatoh, but they were both young. A couple other soldiers they had brought with them were almost as young as them, but couldn't keep up as well either.
"Sokka, hold on. I'm not as young as I used to be and nowhere near as energetic," Iroh called up to him.
"Sorry, Iroh. I just want to hurry and get there. In fact.." he trailed off as he looked around. The trees were growing a little closer together. "Stay here, I'll be right back." They all watched as Sokka jumped up into a tree. A few seconds later, he jumped back down. "That's what I thought. We're getting close. I could see their treehouse from up there."
"Then let's go. Lady Katara should be near there," Kiatoh said as he started running.
Sokka turned back to Iroh. "We'll run up ahead, you keep going at whatever pace you need to. Just follow this path and listen for noises in the trees. If you hear bird whistling, don't be fooled. Chances are, it'll be Jet."
"Okay, just go," Iroh said, patting Sokka's shoulder. "I'll be fine."
Ty Lee grabbed Sokka's hand and took off running after Kiatoh. After a couple minutes of running, they could hear voices yelling but they were on the ground. Then, an ear piercing scream caught their attention and all three of them caught an extra boost of energy and ran faster.
"Katara! Hold on, we're coming!" Sokka yelled towards the voice. They heard more yelling and could make out a couple words here and there.
"That's... get!"
"Little... can't believe... to him!"
"Maybe... he wasn't... spared!"
They finally came upon the fight and saw Katara and Mai wrestling on the ground again. Jet was knocked out against a tree and Spirit was kneeling on the ground over someone. They saw all the other guys that Jet leads laying all over the ground except for Pipsqueak and Longshot, who were just standing off to the side watching. Sokka ran and grabbed his sister off of Mai and let Ty Lee have at her. Katara jerked away from Sokka and ran to where Spirit was. Sokka made his way over and gasped at what he saw.
"It didn't get too far in," Spirit said quietly. "He can still make it if we hurry, before he loses too much blood."
"If it's not too deep, do you think I could heal it?"
Spirit looked up at her and nodded. "You probably could. Try it at least, if it doesn't work then we'll just get him to a doctor as fast as we can."
Katara opened her waterskin and drew the water out, covering her hand with it like a glove. "Pull the arrow out as easily as you can," she told Spirit. It came out fairly easy, but the blood started coming out faster. She placed her hand over the wound and it started to glow, then in seconds it was gone. She let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding and smiled. "I did it."
"Is that who I think it is?" Sokka asked as he knelt down beside them.
"Haru? Yeah."
"Okay, whenever we get back to the ship, you're explaining everything."
"Ow!"
Everyone looked back to Ty Lee and Mai, who were still wrestling on the ground. Ty Lee had obviously gotten a punch in because Mai's eye was already starting to change colors. Sokka smiled and pulled the two girls apart. Mai tried to come at her again and Sokka just kicked her in the stomach, knocking her breath out and sending her into a tree. Katara jumped on her and flipped her over on her stomach. She held her hand out and Spirit tossed her some rope so she could tie her up.
"Well, since we're in the Earth Kingdom we might as well drop her off at her little camp," Spirit suggested.
Katara giggled as she got up off of Mai. "Might as well. You hear that, Mai? Your punishment still stands and you're on your way!"
Mai started yelling at them again and Kiatoh tied a cloth around her mouth to keep her quiet. He hoisted Mai over his shoulder as Spirit gather up an unconcious Haru and they started back to where Iroh was. He had finally started to catch up when he saw them all coming back. Sokka noticed an annoyed look on his face and decided to show him something.
"Iroh, come here," he said, waving the old man to him. Iroh finally got there and Sokka handed him a handle on a string. "Hold on tight." He grabbed the one next to it and they went flying up into the trees, Iroh's laughter could be heard the whole way.
They landed on the walkway to meet Pipsqueak and Longshot. Iroh looked around at the giant treehouse in awe. "So this is why the Fire Nation could never find you. This is amazing! Zuko! Why don't we have anything like this in the Fire Nation! You must come see this!"
"I've seen it, Uncle!" Spirit called back. He noticed the look in Mai's eyes and grinned behind the mask before pulling it off with his free hand to reveal the real him, Zuko. "You never would've guessed, huh?" Mai shook her head and Zuko smirked.
A minute later, Sokka and Iroh came back down slowly and they continued back to the town. Zuko stopped abruptly. "Wait, weren't we supposed to grab Jet too?"
"Nah, he's taken care of."
Everyone looked at Sokka. Only Iroh knew what he was talking about.
"What do you mean?" Katara asked.
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"Hey, where am I?"
"Doesn't matter."
"P-Pipsqueak? Get this blindfold off of me."
"You hit Katara. You hit a girl. Her brother and uncle told me to take real good care of you and I intend to."
"Pipsqueak, let me go now!"
"How about he doesn't."
Jet's head shot in the direction of the new voice. "Is that Longshot?"
"We helped her escape. You helped us realize exactly how psycho you are when you kidnapped her. You took her away from her family against her will. You tried to tell us that she was forced into all that, but you only saw what you wanted to see because your life didn't turn out like you wanted it to. Now it's your turn to suffer and we're the ones to take care of that. If you're quiet, we might even let you eat."
Jet sighed and rested his head back on the pole he was tied to. There was no getting out of this one.
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"We're leaving now, Haru. I promise, now that I know where you live, I'll come visit you more often. I need to visit all my friends more often. Maybe one day you could make a trip out to the Fire Nation as well."
Haru smiled. "Maybe one day I will."
"Ooh, and you can see my children! They're the Avatars, you know."
"So I've heard," he smiled, looking at Zuko.
"Well, we have a long trip home," Sokka interrupted. "It was good to see you again, Haru."
"You too, Sokka. Tell Aang I said hi and you guys have a safe trip."
Katara gave him a quick hug before bounding off after Zuko onto the ship. Everyone else followed, Iroh being last and carrying an armload of stuff. The engines started up as soon as the ramp was lifted and everyone was on board, then the ship started moving. They all waved to Haru from the ship's deck as it slowly pulled out of the small harbor and sailed away into the sunset.
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Okay, one more chapter, maybe two, and this story is done and I can focus on the other one I've been working on. I really hope you guys liked this one. I've been getting a lot of great reviews from very.. excited readers lol. I hope you all continue to be loyal fans whenever I start posting my next fanfic. It starts out much better than this one did, trust me lol. I'll update soon.
Jenn