Wandering Firebender

Twenty Five: The Dance of Two Flames

"Tell me again why we're stopping in an Earth Kingdom town? I thought we were going to stay in the machine until we caught up with the Avatar." Mai complained.

On their way to the Avatar's last sighted location, Princess Azula and her crew: Mai and Ty Lee, stopped in a big, bustling Earth Kingdom town at Azula's order. Now the three of them were walking through town surrounded by bodyguards and with more men trailing behind them awaiting orders.

"This thriving Earth Kingdom settlement has all the supplies we need. Once we've caught up with the Avatar, we'll need to pursue him relentlessly; we can't let them pause to rest. Which means that once they've spotted our machine, we cannot afford to stop.

"Thankfully, this little town is graciously donating all the food and materials that we will need for our mission." Azula said with a smirk, watching as Fire Nation soldiers approached different stands in the market, taking the food and collecting them in sacks.

"Yeah, don't be such a downer, Mai. Besides, you were the one complaining about being inside the machine before. At least now you get to get out in the sun, stretch your legs." Ty Lee listed, doing a forward cartwheel and stretching her arms out with a smile.

"Ugh, when I said I wanted to get out, walking through this dingy, dusty town is not what I had in mind." Mai grumbled.

"It is kinda dusty," Ty Lee agreed, noticing the dust on her hands from her forward cartwheel. She clapped her hands together to clean them off. "But it's not that bad! It's actually kinda nice here!"

"Not all of us got used to the Earth Kingdom like you did," Mai pointed out. "Even in Omashu, everything was made of stone and sand and..."

"Earth?" Ty Lee finished her sentence.

"The sooner we capture the Avatar, the sooner we all get to return home." Azula said.

"Ooh, then we can throw a big party to celebrate! With fireworks!" Ty Lee giggled.

"Just as long as there's food." Mai sighed.

"Now you're getting into the spirit of things." Azula said humorously.

"Step aside!" One of the soldiers keeping a perimeter around the princess and her friends shouted suddenly. The three of them all glanced over to see the soldier pushing someone who was coming around the corner. He fell back on the ground with a grunt.

"The sooner we get out of this town, the better." Mai said, turning her attention away. Azula looked away as well. However, Ty Lee peeked between the line of bodyguards to see who had been pushed to the ground.

It was an understatement to say that she was utterly shocked by who she saw.

"Elio?!" She gasped. She quickly darted between the guards and rushed over to Elio.

"Ty Lee?" Elio looked up at her, recognizing her immediately. His eyes widened in amazement as she held out her hand. He took it and stood up.

"It's really you!" She exclaimed, putting her other hand on his arm, "What're you doing here?!"

"Elio?" Azula's head rose up in recognition of the name. She turned her head to look over and see him.

Azula's mind quickly began to race as she saw him. It had been months since their last meeting when he'd rejected her offer to be on her team. Now there he was right in front of her again. And Ty Lee seemed to know him too somehow; she'd picked him out immediately.

Elio's eyes drifted away from Ty Lee to the soldiers who had been escorting her. That's when he saw Princess Azula staring right at him with widened, bewildered eyes. His own eyes widened in shock and fear. The two were frozen in place for a few lengthy seconds.

"You know him?" Ty Lee asked Azula in surprise, looking back and forth between him and Azula and seeing this strange tension between them.

Elio stuttered nervously, but no response came out. He backed away from Ty Lee and looked at Azula again before turning away and hurrying off. He quickly disappeared into the crowd of the marketplace.

"Wait! Elio!" Ty Lee called out in confusion.

"That one of your old boyfriends, Ty Lee?" Mai dispassionately asked.

"Do you wish for us to pursue him, princess?" One of the soldiers asked, picking up on the fact that something out of the ordinary was happening. Azula pressed her lips together with furrowed eyebrows, seemingly not noticing the question.

"Princess?"

"No," Azula quickly answered. "You have your assignments to carry out. We should return to our transport right away."

Ty Lee walked back within the perimeter of bodyguards around the princess looking confused and upset. Azula looked her over with an unusual expression. Ty Lee looked back at her. The two of them said nothing to each other.

"So can we go now?" Mai interrupted.

The soldiers quickly finished running their errands for the princess. Meanwhile, the three girls made their way back towards the machine. As they entered into it, Azula spoke up again, finally deciding to address what had just happened with Elio.

"Ty Lee, I wasn't aware that you and Elio knew each other." She began.

"Um, yeah. He was... He used to be part of my circus troupe. We traveled together for a little while." She explained. Azula gave her an odd look.

"The circus?"

"Yeah... You know him too?" Ty Lee asked nervously.

"Apparently not. But I'm going to check something." Azula said before breaking away from the others, walking to her private quarters. Ty Lee watched her go with a worried expression.

"Oh boy. Sounds like Azula's got it out for your boyfriend." Mai said, looking at her nails.

"What? You really think so?"

"I don't know." Mai shrugged and left Ty Lee alone...

For awhile, Ty Lee kept to herself. However, she kept replaying the moment in her head; the moment Elio and Azula made eye contact. There was something going on there; Elio could be in danger. Finally, she decided to speak with Azula, so she went to her room.

"Azula?" Ty Lee knocked on her closed door.

"Is that you, Ty Lee?" Azula called through the door.

"Yep! Can I come in?"

"Of course." She answered.

Ty Lee walked into Azula's room. When she entered, Azula was standing in front of a desk against the opposite wall. She was holding her royal hairpiece in her hands, looking down at it. She let her hair fall down freely from her shoulders. Ty Lee closed the door gently behind her.

"Hi." She said, holding her hands down in front of her.

"I sent word out to different posts in the area. It turns out that your friend Elio is a fugitive." She revealed abruptly, getting right to the point.

"Wh... What?!"

"Reports indicate that he was lined up and prepped to start out as a foot soldier only to disappear overnight. He fled to the Earth Kingdom to stay out of fighting in the war...like a coward." She shook her head, turning back to look at Ty Lee.

"No way..." Ty Lee's eyes widened in shock, "Are you sure? There...must be some kind of explanation."

"I just gave you the explanation," Azula said, going to her mirror. "He confided in a local squad leader who's been looking for him. Even his own father acknowledges this to be the truth."

"Elio..." Ty Lee shook her head, letting all of this sink in, "I...had no idea, Azula."

"I suspected as much. When I met Elio, he was traveling on a trade ship. He was careful, but he lied to me about what he was doing there."

"He lied to you? And you believed him?" Ty Lee asked slowly in disbelief.

"I suspected something was wrong," Azula was quick to set the record straight. "But... I had no reason to doubt him. Especially after I saw what he was capable of." She admitted.

"What he was capable of?" Ty Lee repeated, not understanding what she was referring to.

"He did a job for me awhile back. I offered him the chance to join me; if he had accepted, he'd probably be with us on this mission right now...

"It's ironic. When I wanted him to join me, he declined. But if he had, perhaps I would've found it in me to expunge the charges against him." She scoffed humorously and shook her head.

"Azula... What are you going to do?" Ty Lee asked.

Azula didn't answer right away. Firstly, she fixed her armor and reached for the table beneath her mirror. Her fingers drifted past her royal hairpiece and instead wrapped around a simple red ribbon. She picked it up and tied her hair into a simply ponytail.

"I'm going after him alone. I'm going to find him and I'm gonna drag him back here where he will become this vehicle's honorary first prisoner." She decided.

"A-Are you sure that's a good idea?! We still have the Avatar to go after!" Ty Lee reminded her, trying to redirect her attention. However, Azula made her way to the door. She paused and looked sideways at Ty Lee.

"Whatever feelings you may have had for him, I suggest you bury them now. He is an enemy of the Fire Nation, and he will face justice for his betrayal." She said before opening up the door and leaving the room.

"Oh gosh..." Ty Lee swallowed...

Meanwhile, Elio had no idea what to do. He'd walked right into the middle of a worst-case scenario: Fire Nation soldiers were crawling all over the city. With Azula somewhere in the city, it was only a matter of time before he would be hunted down.

He'd run back to his room in the local inn where he had intended on staying before this happened. But now he had to get out of the city as soon as possible. So he packed up all of his things and waited until the coast was clear. Once the Fire Nation soldiers had dispersed, he left the inn and started making his way towards the stable where his ostrich horse was.

He did his best to remain inconspicuous until he reached the stable. He hurried to his ostrich horse and began hooking up his personal belongings to the saddle. His hands were fidgety from how nervous he was. However, before he could mount the animal, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"You know, Elio, I knew something was different about you. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I was intrigued." Azula admitted, standing by the stable with her hands on her hips. Elio swallowed nervously and turned back towards her with nothing but his staff in its sleeve.

"I could tell," He admitted. "You pointed out similarities between the two of us that I would've never thought of."

"I'm sure you were flattered. I wish I could take it back," She sneered at him. "It's a shame, Elio. So much wasted potential. Your father must be so disappointed." She said to get under his skin. Elio let out a breath through his nose.

"So you know?"

"Did you really think it would stay a secret forever?"

"I guess I didn't think about it at the time. I just knew joining the army was wrong." He answered. Azula laughed at him.

"This filthy land has you indoctrinated!"

"The Earth Kingdom didn't make my decision. I decided it the moment I left the Fire Nation." He said firmly.

"I feel sorry for you, Elio. You're a fool. And here I overestimated what you were capable of... Now you just remind me of my brother. He's a failure too." She shook her head.

She suddenly shot a powerful blue fire blast directly at Elio. Elio jumped to the side, using his foot to direct her flames away from the animals. He created fire out of his feet and flew into the air, angling himself away from the stable. He flipped around awkwardly and landed on top of a nearby building.

Elio pushed himself into a full sprint, leading Azula away from the stables. As he ran, Azula launched herself into the air and landed on the rooftop. She wasn't far behind him. She jumped and threw a fire kick at Elio. Elio turned and saw it coming. He jumped to the next rooftop, flipping backwards as he avoided it.

As Azula jumped into the air and went after him, Elio shot several fireballs towards her. She blocked each one with quick swipes of her hands and feet. She landed on the ground and threw several fire blasts directly at him. Elio dodged them and tried to block the last one, but the fire was too hot for him to control, and this caught him by surprise.

Elio shouted out as he was thrown off-balance by Azula's fire. Azula immediately took advantage, closing the distance between them and throwing a kick into his side. He stumbled and fell to one knee. Azula spun around to throw another kick. Elio ducked under it and rolled forward.

As Elio quickly got to his feet and both of them turned back towards each other, they each brought their hands together to create a powerful fire blast. They sent it at each other, creating a forceful explosion that sent them both flying backwards.

Elio yelped and flailed his arms wildly. He crashed onto the dirt road below and tumbled backwards into a slide. As his momentum slowed, he forced himself back onto his feet and quickly turned away, running in the opposite direction from Azula.

"You gotta be kidding me." Elio huffed, turning a sharp corner and continuing to sprint. His adrenaline had spiked, and he was in a frenzy. Everyone in the Fire Nation knew how strong Azula was. His chances of getting out of this were slim to none.

Azula roared as she flew towards Elio with a boost from her firebending. She pounced onto Elio from the side and the two of them tumbled and crashed into an abandoned building. They broke through the rotting wood and into the main room. Elio tumbled onto his stomach.

Azula took a moment to catch her breath before she got up from one knee. She quickly extended both arms, creating a wall of fire that spread all around the corners of the room. This surrounded the two of them by fire so that neither of them could easily escape.

"You may be a fool, Elio, but I know you're smart enough to know you can't win this fight. Surrender now, and I'll be gentle as I drag you into your cell." She demanded. Elio grunted and slowly got to his feet, taking in a few quick breaths.

"I'm sorry, princess, but my answer is no." He said, getting into a fighting stance. This irritated Azula as she resumed her offense.

Azula threw several quick fire punches at Elio. He sidestepped them and used his own fire to redirect one of her attacks. She shot a fireball at him. He tried to take control of it and send it back towards her, but he still couldn't handle the heat of her fire. It slipped out of his grasp and crashed into the wall behind him.

As he turned his body away with stinging hands, Azula sent an arcing fire kick right for his head. Elio ducked under it and sent a low sweeping fire kick towards her. Azula used her hands to create a column of fire, absorbing his attack. She twisted her body and shot another fireball at him.

Elio got down on his stomach to duck under the fireball. He was quickly realizing that Azula's skill and power made beating her traditionally impossible. He was going to have to get creative if he was gonna have any chance of getting away from her.

Azula shot fire directly at Elio. Elio rolled sideways to avoid it and spun forward, sending some of the fire burning on the wall behind him towards her. Azula gasped and crossed her arms to block the attack. Elio got to his feet and threw a sideways fire kick, bending more of the surrounding fire towards her.

The attack from the side forced Azula to advance forward. With her eyes averted, Elio threw a kick towards her head. Azula saw it just in time to catch his ankle. She tried to sweep his other leg out from under him, forcing him to jump into the air.

He flopped onto his back and bent his knees, pulling Azula towards him since she still had a grip on his ankle. With both feet, he kicked her in the stomach. He used his firebending to launch her backwards, sending her flying through the wall and out of the building with a scream.

Elio scrambled to his feet quickly as the building began to crumble around him. The fire was licking up the wood around him, wearing everything away. He turned the other way and jumped out of the nearest window, crashing through the glass just before the building collapsed.

Elio coughed from the dust and smoke in the air as he stepped back out towards the road. As he started backing away, he saw Azula standing on the other side of the wreckage. Her hair had come loose and was falling freely. Her seething expression showed that she was furious.

Fearfully, Elio turned away and started to run. He looked back and saw that Azula was very quickly closing the gap between them. He looked to his left and noticed a line of buildings to his left. He turned sharply and felt Azula's hand slide on his back as she slipped past him.

With a forceful charge, he desperately broke through the front door of a random building. As he crashed inside, the family within screamed in shock. Elio looked up and saw a family gathering around the kitchen table one room over.

"Sorry!" Elio shouted as he scrambled to his feet and rushed up the stairs.

"Get back here!" Azula snarled as she sprinted into the house and up the stairs after him.

Azula shot fire up at Elio. He turned a sharp corner just in time to avoid it, rushing up the next step of stairs. He could feel the heat of the fire as it bounced off the walls. Azula turned the corner and jumped up the steps, tackling Elio from behind as he was reaching the top of the steps.

"Ah!" Elio hissed as he landed on the floor. Azula growled and raised her hand up to bring fire down on him.

Elio turned onto his back and saw her attack coming. He flicked her hand away and pushed her off. She grabbed him by the neck, but he quickly pulled himself free and stumbled to his feet. He turned to his left to the end of the hall where he saw a window.

He pulled his staff out and used it to break the glass. He turned back and saw Azula shooting a blast of fire at him. He used one hand to create enough fire to keep the attack from hitting him. He crawled out of the window and launched himself into the air, landing on the rooftop of the next building.

However, Azula was right behind him. She launched herself into the air and landed in front of him, keeping him from running any further. She shot a fireball at him. Elio spun his staff around and was able to successfully disperse her attack.

"You know, if you had joined me back when I had offered, things would be much easier for you right now!" She pointed out with an irritated grunt.

"Yeah, I liked you a lot better when you were nice!" Elio said with a crack in his voice.

"Oh, I can be nice! Why don't you come here and I'll show you!" She taunted.

Azula shot a heavy volley of fire at him. Elio spun his staff again and stepped in a circle. Azula did the same. Once Azula had finished her attack, Elio swung his staff, sending fire arcing out of it. Azula twisted awkwardly to dodge it, advancing towards him and throwing a jumping kick towards him.

Elio sidestepped her kick and struck her several times quickly with his staff. The first few hit her before she started using the metal armor on her forearms to block a few more attacks. She kicked him in the chest to push him back.

Azula jumped forward to try and grab him. He held up his staff to block her. She wrapped her hands around the staff, and the two of them pushed against each other. Azula tried to kick up several blasts of fire towards him. Elio awkwardly flicked them away with his feet and let go of the staff, ducking down to try and sweep her legs.

Azula jumped over his sweeping kick and drop-kicked him with both feet, sending him rolling backwards. Azula tightened her grip around the staff and looked at it oddly as Elio got to his feet.

"How about I give this a try now?" She teased.

Azula smirked as she swung the staff forcefully. Blue fire shot out of it and flared intensely. Elio yelped as he ducked down to dodge it. The fire burst outwards behind him. She continued to swing at him; Elio advanced as he barely dodged each attack.

Azula swung the staff at Elio's head. He slid forward on his knees and bent backwards to avoid the flames. He twisted his body and knocked her legs out from under her. As she crashed on top of him, he grabbed the staff and kicked her off. He got up and jumped to the next building; it had a slanted rooftop with only a narrow walkway to stand on.

As Elio landed and ran to the other side, Azula jumped after him and shot another forceful blast. Elio spun his staff again to deflect it, but as Azula got closer, the force of the flames knocked the staff out of his hands. As he lost his grip, it slid down and off the roof.

Azula threw several fire kicks at Elio, advancing closer with each attack. Elio used his own flames to deflect the blasts, coming closer too. They both threw a kick and hit each other. They spun around again, stepped back and hit each other with a fire blast, causing them both to slide back.

"You made a huge mistake, Elio, saying no to me! I could've solved all your problems! We could've accomplished so much together! Even you have to recognize that!" Azula growled. Elio, a little short of breath, answered back while panting.

"We had a common goal last time. That's the only reason we worked so well together. I was never going to join you, Azula." He said firmly and simply.

"Then you've thrown away your only chance!" Azula spat. She jumped into the air and brought her foot down, creating a powerful arcing fire kick.

Elio jumped to the side, tumbling down the roof of the building. He grabbed onto the edge but his fingers slipped off. He fell down onto the ground with a hard slam. He groaned and grabbed his staff, only barely able to get to his feet before Azula came down.

Elio stepped back to keep her from crashing down on top of him. He threw several punches at her, which she deflected. She smacked him in the face with her palm, making him stumble back. Even though he was stunned, he jumped and kicked her, stunning her too.

Shaking the blow off, Elio advanced again and pushed her into the wall of the building behind her. As she bounced off of it, he threw several punches into her side. She gasped in shock. Elio punched her several times in the arm. Azula tried to blast him with fire in a daze, but she couldn't.

Elio had managed to chi-block her!

He pulled his staff out and spun around, sweeping her legs out from under her. She landed on her back with a pained grunt. Elio spun and stepped back then shot small popping fire blasts into her face; not to hurt her, but to blind her temporarily.

"Gah!" She growled out, shutting her eyes and turning away from Elio. He turned and sprinted away from her while she was down.

He got about three houses away before a hand reached out and pulled him into the alley.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed as he stumbled. He brought his hands up, ready to keep fighting, but he quickly realized that it was Ty Lee who had grabbed him.

"Elio! Follow me! I can get you out of here, but we gotta move fast!" She said, pulling him along.

"O-Okay!" He stuttered, following after her.

"I-I can't believe you got away from Azula!" She stuttered in disbelief.

"Neither can I..." He admitted. Once they had put a little more distance between them and Azula, they slowed down and Ty Lee began to question him.

"Why didn't you tell me you were a Fire Nation fugitive?!"

"Azula told you?" He pulled his hand away, "How do I know that you're not leading me into a trap?"

"Elio," She looked at him, almost offended. "If I wanted to take you down, I would've chi-blocked you. I'm trying to help you, dummy! Come on!" She pulled his arm again.

"Okay..." He finally nodded and continued to follow her. He then chose to answer her question. "I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you. I didn't know how you would react."

"I guess I understand. But is it true that you ran away because you didn't want to be a soldier?" She asked.

"Yeah... I didn't know what else to do." He admitted.

The two of them reached an opening. Elio saw his ostrich horse idly waiting for him. Ty Lee had brought it over for him. As they approached it, she put a hand on his arm.

"Elio... Why don't you want to be a soldier?" She asked, "Why did you risk so much just to be on the run?"

"Because, Ty Lee... I don't like what the Fire Nation does. I can't get behind it," He said honestly. "Why are you with Azula?"

"We're going after the Avatar," She answered honestly. "Azula specifically asked me to help her. I said no, but then things at the circus changed. I felt like the universe wanted me to make a change, so I joined her." She summarized. Elio made a face and shook his head.

"Ty Lee... You're going after the Avatar?" He said in disbelief, backing away from her.

"I am... The Fire Nation is our home, Elio. You may not believe in it, but I do. And I'm willing to fight for it."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Elio said in disappointment. "But then why are you helping me?"

"Because I still care about you..." She answered, stepping forward and kissing him on the cheek. "If you stay here any longer, Azula's gonna find you again. Get out of here. Be careful, okay?" She urged him. Elio nodded and mounted his ostrich horse.

"Thank you, Ty Lee. Goodbye." He said before riding away as quickly as he could.

"Goodbye..." Ty Lee said sadly...

Ty Lee hurriedly rushed back to the machine before Azula could return. She entered in and sat down in one of her chairs. Mai was sitting there sharpening her knives. Ty Lee nervously looked at Mai but didn't say anything. Fortunately, Mai was preoccupied with what she was doing and didn't even look at her.

Then Azula came in. Her hair was messy, and she looked upset. Ty Lee immediately stood up and walked over to her, "Azula! Are you alright? What happened?" She asked in concern.

"He got away." Azula grumbled.

"Guess you shouldn't have gone alone." Mai commented.

"I underestimated my opponent. It won't happen again." Azula grunted.

"Yeah, because we need to move on and capture the Avatar, remember?" Mai reminded her.

"Of course," Azula said, flicking her hair out of her face. "But rest assured, I will make sure that our friend is dealt with," She promised, smirking again. "I'm going to find the perfect person to track him down and bring him in...dead or alive." She decided.

"Dead or alive?" Ty Lee repeated nervously. She got up and caught up with Azula, putting her hand on her friend's shoulder to turn her back around, "Azula, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," She quickly answered with a seemingly irritated tone. "You could've told me that you taught Elio how to chi-block, you know." She pointed out.

"I-I'm sorry, Azula. I was just so caught up in that you were even going after Elio that it completely slipped my mind." She apologized sincerely. Azula bit her lip and let herself process this. She then sighed and allowed herself to calm down a bit.

"It's alright. It's not your fault. What happened today was between me and him...and if we run into him again, I'll keep it that way." She promised.

Azula turned away from her and made her way back to her room. She shut the door behind her and locked it. Ty Lee swallowed nervously; she was even more worried for Elio now.

He'd gotten away, but at what cost?

"Hey, you borrowed one of my knives; can I get it back now? My set's incomplete." Mai requested.

"O-Oh, sure, Mai! I'll bring it to you right now!" Ty Lee stuttered and went back to her room to grab it...

Meanwhile, Elio continued to ride away from town feeling beaten down and exhausted. He wasn't seriously hurt, but he knew that he'd only escaped the princess by the skin of his teeth. He slumped down against the neck of his ostrich horse, urging it to continue.

He could only hope that he didn't run into Azula a third time...