The invincible Captain General stood like lion among men as he faced the small boy in his fire nation disguise. He was intrigued by how this boy dared to stand to him, when even the three girls, each exceptionally talented, couldn't even hurt him.
"Boy, you are either incredibly brilliant or incredibly stupid to try and fight me." said the general as he earthbended his sword back to its sheathe.
"Maybe I'm both!" shouted Aang; the Captain General chuckled and suddenly, in a blind rage, unsheathed his sword once again and swung it ponderously, trying to kill Aang in one hit. The slow hits were easy to dodge for Aang but also immensely frightning and unnerving for the young hero. The Captain General was really just playing with Aang though, hoping to have him give up, as further humilation for Azula, his hated enemy.
This tactic would prove fatal for the Captain General. In his unnecessary cruelty, he never once thought that the boy actually had it in him to kill him. Yet, in a move that surprised everybody, after Aang had evaded another swing from the sword he rolled along the ground, grabbed a dagger from one of the dead soldiers and, with amazing alacrity, delivered a precise and deadly blow to the Captain General's chest. The entire village of Sudra was permeated by the screams of agony from the dying Captain General until he at last collapsed, his armored body falling over like an empty shell. The battle was over, Aang had protected his princess and his new friends had been spared a terrible fate.
Azula, half conscious and still very much in pain, felt peace in her heart when their foe was so easily conquered and felt even more at peace knowing the depths of Aang's loyalty. Aang meanwhile was not at peace, his mind and heart raced at the foul deed he had done. It was almost a reflex; he had killed the guy without even really thinking about it. Aang's eyes watered up and he moved backwards before tripping and sat on the ground for a while, looking around to see the scores of bodies of the people that he and his friends killed. Each one was a living person, each one had a past and a family, a home and friends. Aang's heart phsyically ached and he did not have the strength to get up.
The villagers of Sudra began to gather around, most having watched the entire ordeal from a safe distance. They were an earth kingdom village and although they did not feel any undue sympathy for their enemy, they felt it would be in bad taste to let three teenange girls and Aang to lay among a pile of corpses and bleed to death. While the men of the village began digging a a trench to bury the dead, a handful of women gathered up the beaten children and brought them back to a room in the inn.
Azula slept for the rest of the day and well into the next before she awoke in a room with Ty Lee and Mei playing a game of Pai-cho (the game with the lotus tile), her arm and head bandaged and dressed in some earth kingdom clothes.
"Azula! You're awake sleepy head!" shouted Ty Lee, who rushed over to give Azula a hug.
"Hm...where's the Avatar?" asked Azula.
"Your boyfriend's been moping around outside ever since that fight. He's barely said a word to us, other than asking about how you were." said Mei, still thinking of her next move in the game.
"What? What did you guys do to him?" said Azula as she broke off the hug from Ty Lee.
"Nothing! He's been that way all day! Maybe all that fighting was too much for him? Or maybe he's just worried about you?" said Ty Lee as she moved back to her Pai-Cho game.
Azula sat up in her bed for a while. She had not planned for that attack at all, and it frightened her that such a force was able to track her without her noticing. All her plans were nearly ruined and had it not been for the dumb luck and audacity of the Avatar, she would have been finished. And yet, things probably could not have gone better, all things considered. Aang's loyalty was tested, everyone came out ok and a great enemy was dealt with. Maybe it was her destiny for her to get the Avatar?
'Dumb Zuzu," Azula thought, 'all his efforts were in vain! It was always fate that I would capture the Avatar...although, fate sure is strange that I would capture him through love; I wonder, does he actually love me?'
"Whatcha thinking about Azula?" asked Ty Lee.
"Nothing...play your game." said Azula as she got up and began putting her bracers and boots on.
The room was silent for a minute or so as Azula dressed herself and then left the room without saying a word.
"Where do you think she is going?" Ty Lee asked Mei.
"Where do you think?" said Mei.
"Huh? Are you trying to say that Azula really likes Aang?" asked Ty Lee excitedly.
"I'm not trying to say anything," said Mei, "and I think I won this game..."
"I think she's starting to like him! I know! EHHHHHH! Let's go spy on them!" said Ty Lee nearly falling out of her chair from excitement.
Mei grinned. "Let's go." said Mei as they both rushed outside to find the two love birds.
Meanwhile, Azula walked outside, the villagers all giving her dirty looks and trying there best to ignore her. Azula herself ignored the peasants and searched for Aang, eventually finding him sitting alone on a small stone fence, on the outskirts of the village...Mei and Ty Lee were not far behind.
"There you are Aang. You know, you shouldn't really wander off like that. What if there were more soldiers? You would be cut off from the rest of us way out here." said Azula. Aang didn't respond, as Azula eventually sat next to him. Mei and Ty Lee hid behind a rock a few feet away.
"Azula...I know I was protecting you and Ty Lee and Mei...but I don't ever want to have to do that again. It was wrong." said Aang.
"Wrong? No. He was responsible for his own actions. He was foolish enough to challenge his superiors and his death was an acceptable consequence of that." said Azula in a serious tone.
"I shouldn't have killed him...and I wish you hadn't killed all those other people..." said Aang, unconvinced. Azula stood up.
"Ha! Aang, since when have you been so naive! This is war, our enemies would have killed us without hesitation! You saw it for yourself, the only thing that defeated their brutality was that we were more brutal! Had you not killed him, he would have killed us all!" said Azula.
"Just...well, I hope we never have to do that again." said Aang.
"Well, hopefully, we won't be caught off guard and be forced into such situations again. But..." said Azula as she stopped herself.
Aang looked up at her.
'But what?" said Aang.
"Well, even if you thought it was wrong...I just want to say, thank you for saving my life...and my friend's life too! You were very brave." said Azula, nearly blushing.
("See! I told you she liked him" whispered Ty Lee, "sooo cute!")
"Oh, no I didn't mean I was ashamed that I saved you. It's just that, I am ashamed that I found myself pushed to such exccesive cruelty. It did not feel...natural." said Aang as he grabbed Azula's hand.
Azula replied, "We need to get use to it though. War is war, and if we want to win and accomplish our mision, we need to be prepared to do whatever is necessary."
("Even when she's romancing, she talks about war and plots" whispered Mei.)
"Our mission...well, do you mind if we leave tomorrow..." said Aang.
"We kind of wasted too much time already Aang. It's important that we reach the ship as soon as possible, especially since we don't know how many other people could be tracking us." said Azula, unsure of what the Avatar was getting at, but knew that whatever he was thinking, it was too dangerous to stay there much longer. She was surprised that his former friends had not found them yet.
("Good...I was afraid we would be stuck here in this boring village for another day" whispered Mei.)
"Your right...I forgot..silly me." said Aang, "well then let's get ready and leave this place." They both got up together and started back to the inn.
"Azula sure is funny isn't she?" said Ty Lee, as Mei and herself watched the Avatar and the princess walk away.
"I'm not really surprised...leave it to Azula to force somebody to love her..and she herself fall in love with him after he kills somebody!" said Mei.
"Well, it doesn't sound as romantic when you put it that way." said Ty Lee.