Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA or any of it's characters. The only thing I own is my OC.
The Six Rules:
Rule Number One: Alec won't warn the Gaang about things in advance or solve their problems for them, with a few rare exceptions.
Rule Number Two: Only Alec has the right to tell people his true origins, and he will mostly limit this to group members. He will tell new group members his secret as soon as they join the Gaang.
Rule Number Three: There are some changes Alec wants to make, and he will use his knowledge of the future to make those changes.
Rule Number Four: Sometimes, to make a change, Alec will act in a way that doesn't make sense. If that's necessary, he'll tell the Gaang "I need you to absolutely trust me." After he says that, the Gaang has to either do whatever he asks or leave him to do what he needs to do.
Rule Number Five: After a change happens, Alec will tell the Gaang what happened in the original story, in the interest of transparency.
Rule Number Six: If a major change happens that Alec doesn't expect, the Gaang will have a meeting ASAP. In this meeting, Alec will break Rule One and tell them all relevant information that will help them figure out how to respond to the change.
Chapter 24:
The Chase
Alec POV
We spent most of our day flying east. Toph wanted Aang to start learning earthbending the next day, and she had a list of specifications that she wanted in a campsite, which took a while to find. She wanted a space with plenty of earth and rock, but little grass. It also had to be close enough to a river so we could get water. That was a problem, because there was grass everywhere. By late afternoon, we found a spot that was less than five minutes from a nearby river, with no grass.
"Finally." Toph said with relief, jumping off of Appa's saddle onto the ground. She frowned. "I said no grass."
I jumped out of the saddle. "There isn't any." I replied.
Toph raised an eyebrow. "You're telling the truth, but what am I feeling under my feet?"
"Appa's shedding." Sokka informed her in a slightly displeased tone.
"Oh, gross!" Katara exclaimed.
"That's not gross," Aang refuted cheerfully, "It's just a part of spring! You know, rebirth, flowers blooming, and Appa gets a new coat." A few birds and butterflies fluttered around the Avatar. What was this, a fucking Disney movie?
Katara clasped her hands together. "Ah, the beauty of spring." She said in a voice so sarcastic it could give Sokka a run for his money. Katara turned to Toph. "Staircase?" She asked.
Toph nodded. She and Katara had spent some time figuring out ways to use their bending to make our lives easier. One thing they came up with was having Toph build a staircase up to the saddle at each campsite to make loading and unloading easier. Toph stomped her right foot and lifted her hands. A staircase formed up to the saddle.
Katara smiled. "Thanks."
Toph grinned. She liked being appreciated, probably because nobody believed in her before we came along. Unfortunately, building the staircase sent some of the fur drifting into the air, and Appa got a nose full of it. He sneezed, sending a thick cloud of fur into the air, and covering us in it.
"Stop, Appa! Stop! Ugh!" Katara exclaimed, totally grossed out.
Sokka was bent over on the ground, gathering up bunches of fur. "It's not that bad, Katara." He turned around, revealing that he had made the fur into a white Marge Simpson wig. "It makes a great wig!"
Aang jumped down from the stairs, sporting a white Santa beard. "And a great beard!" He added.
Katara wasn't impressed. She wiped the fur off her clothes. "I'm just glad we finally have another girl in the group, because you two are disgusting, and Alec doesn't help with all the swearing he does!"
Toph walked up. "Excuse me, does anyone have a razor?" She lifted up her arms, revealing that her sleeves were full of Appa fur. "Because I've got some fucking hairy pits!"
I cracked up. Katara rolled her eyes. "Language." She chided, but she laughed anyway.
After we set up camp and had dinner, I decided to do some last minute preparations. I began my most important stretch. Down the arm, through the stomach, out the other arm, repeat. I did this for a while.
"What are you up to?" I heard a voice behind me ask.
I turned around. Toph was there. Just great, now our lie detector was asking questions.
"Stretching." I said evasively.
It wasn't a total lie, but it was enough to trip her senses. She crossed her arms. "Try again."
I sighed. Trying to keep secrets from Toph was a nightmare. "I'm preparing." I answered.
She cocked her head curiously. "Something to do with your soulmate?"
"Kind of." I admitted. "It's complicated."
"And you don't wanna tell us." Toph supplied.
I nodded. "Yeah. Sorry."
Toph shrugged. "Whatever. I hope it works out for you."
"I hope so, too." I muttered to myself. This was gonna be the dumbest thing I'd ever done in my life, bar none.
I went to sleep after night fell. A few hours later, Toph woke us up. "There's something coming toward us!" She exclaimed.
Everybody woke up and ran over to her. "What is it?" Aang asked.
Toph knelt down and put a hand on the ground. "It feels like an avalanche, but also not an avalanche." She reported, not sure what she was detecting.
"Your powers of perception are frightening." Sokka said sarcastically. Toph ignored him.
Katara turned to Aang. "Should we leave?"
Aang nodded. "Better safe than sorry."
We packed up Appa as quickly as we could and took off. In the air, Katara, Sokka, and I looked behind us. We saw smoke billowing in the distance. "What is that thing?" Katara wondered.
I didn't answer out loud, but in my head, one thought was going through my mind.
"That could very well be what kills me."
We landed about an hour later. As soon as we touched down, Toph jumped out of the saddle. She lay down on the ground in relief. "Ah, land, sweet land!" She said with satisfaction. She got ready to put up an earth tent. "See you guys in the morning!"
Katara looked thoughtful. "Shouldn't we unpack first?"
I shook my head. "In the morning. I'm tired." "Plus, we'll just have to repack and run before too long." I added in my head.
We each took our sleeping bags and tried to get some rest. Before we even had a chance to drift off, Toph opened her earth tent. "That thing is back!"
We sat up. Sokka turned to her. "Well, how far away is it?" He lay down and pulled his sleeping bag over his head. "Maybe we can close our eyes for just a few minutes."
Aang looked to his left. I followed his gaze. We saw the smoke billowing just beyond the treetops. "I don't think so, Sokka." Aang said.
With a grumble, we picked up our sleeping bags and hopped back on Appa, taking off again.
The source of the smoke was close enough that we could see what it was. To me, it looked like a locomotive had sex with a tundra tank. It looked like Mad Max invaded the Avatar world. Katara looked at it over the edge of the saddle. "What is that thing?" She wondered.
"And how does it keep finding us?" Toph asked.
I said nothing. I was revving myself up for what I was about to do.
"I don't know." Aang replied. "But I'm gonna make sure we lose it this time."
We flew fast, and eventually landed in a place between two mountain ranges. Appa unceremoniously lay on his side, dumping us on the ground. Thank the spirits that we tied down all of our supplies. Sokka put down his sleeping bag. "Okay, forget about setting up camp." He declared. "I'm finding the softest pile of dirt and going to sleep."
"Good idea." Katara agreed.
Aang lay down on Appa's leg. "I hate that there's something after us and we don't know who or what it is."
"It could be Zuko." Katara suggested, rolling over onto her side. "We haven't seen him since the North Pole."
Sokka just waved his hand. "It doesn't matter, whoever's chasing us couldn't have followed us here, so, now would everyone just shhh?"
The universe instantly proved him wrong. The 'kick me' sign was still firmly affixed to his back, it seemed. Momo leaped over Sokka's sleeping back and started chittering at something in the distance. "No, Momo. Shh. Sleepy time." Sokka insisted.
Momo kept chittering. Aang, Katara, Toph and I stood up. Sokka realized what this meant. He buried his head in his hands. "Oh, don't tell me." He groaned.
"That's impossible." Aang insisted. "There's no way they could've tracked us."
"I can feel it with my own two feet!" Toph retorted.
Aang and I ran over to the ledge. We saw the train scaling the mountain. It reached level ground at the other end of where we were, and stopped. Katara, Sokka and Toph joined us on the ledge. "Let's get out of here." Katara said nervously.
"Maybe we should face them." Aang suggested calmly. "Who knows, maybe they're friendly."
I was almost impressed that Aang was still so optimistic and naive after everything he'd seen in the world. "Always the optimist." Sokka snarked.
Then the last of the three carts (four, if you counted the engine at the front) opened. Three figures emerged, riding mongoose lizards. There they were. There she was.
"It's Azula, Mai and Ty Lee!" Katara shouted. We all took stances.
"We can take them." Toph said confidently. "Three on four."
Sokka glanced at her. "Actually, Toph, there's five of us."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't count you." Toph fake apologized. "You know, no bending at all."
Sokka's face contorted in anger. "I can still fight!"
"Okay, three on four plus Sokka." Toph replied smugly. My brother's only response was an irritated "Errgh!"
I decided to give Sokka a break. The universe made fun of him enough without Toph joining in. "If you're only counting benders, it's one on four." I said.
Toph huffed. "Fine. Three on five. Which one's your soulmate, by the way?"
"The one on our right, why?" I replied.
Toph shrugged. "Don't wanna hit her too hard." She thrust her fists in front of her, and several columns rose up in front of the mongoose lizards. It didn't make a difference. They just darted around or climbed over them.
"Well, we wanted to find out who they were and we found out." Sokka reasoned, sheathing his boomerang. "Let's get out of here!" He, Aang and Katara ran to get on Appa.
I focused on the approaching mongoose lizards. It was time. "Toph, get on Appa!" I shouted. "I have an idea that can buy us some time!"
Toph cocked her head questioningly. "Is this what you were preparing for earlier?"
"Yes, now go!" I shouted. "I'll be right behind you!"
Toph nodded and ran to join the others. "Alec, what are you doing?!" I heard Katara yell. I ignored her. I focused my gaze on Azula and got into my stance. I just hoped she was angry enough to go straight for the kill. Azula moved her hands in an arc. Blue lightning crackled at her fingertips. I mentally prepared myself as best I could.
The next two paragraphs took place in less than three seconds, but felt a lot longer.
Azula threw her right hand forward, launching the lightning directly at me. I extended the index and middle fingers of my left hand. The lightning made contact. Zuko was correct about his description of this in the show. "Exhilarating, and terrifying."
It felt like the time I accidentally touched the ground plug when I plugged in my toaster back in my world, only much more intense. I felt a tingling sensation in my fingertips. I repeated the motion I'd done every morning since I'd started practicing firebending. I drew my right hand down my left arm. The tingling feeling followed. When it reached my torso, I directed it down through my stomach and up to my right arm. I took aim, and let the lightning go. It shot right back at Azula, impacting the ground just in front of her. The force of the explosion threw her and her mount back. Azula flew off her mount and crashed into one of the columns that Toph made.
I felt weak and tired. I looked at Mai and Ty Lee. They had stopped as soon as I threw the lightning. I saw them look at each other, then back at me. They turned their lizards around, and went to help Azula. That gave me enough time to add something else. I turned around and knelt down. I made a fire dagger and quickly carved something in rocky ground. Satisfied, I jet-stepped over to Appa and jumped into the saddle.
"Go!" I shouted.
"Yip yip!" Aang commanded.
We took off into the night. I'd bought us some time.
As soon as we made it into the air, Katara gave me a concerned look. "Are you okay?"
I nodded. "Yeah, just tired."
"Good." She replied. Then she smacked me upside the head.
"Ow!" I complained. "Katara, why?!"
She grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me. "Are you crazy?!" She shouted. "Why didn't you dodge?!"
She stopped shaking me so I could answer. "Remember when I said I had one technique that Azula didn't?"
She glared at me. "And you didn't tell us it involved getting struck by lightning, why?" She asked in a dangerous tone.
"Because I knew you'd never let me do it." I admitted sheepishly.
"Wait, he got struck by lightning?!" Toph asked, clearly alarmed.
"More like I caught Azula's lightning and threw it back at her, but yeah." I replied.
Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you see it?" He asked Toph.
Toph turned to face him and just waved a hand in front of her sightless eyes. "Oh, sorry." Sokka replied guiltily.
"So, did you hit her?" Toph asked.
"No," I replied, "I hit the ground right in front of her. That knocked her off the lizard and into one of those pillars you made."
Toph smirked. "Nice."
Something clicked for Aang. "That was the stretch you do every morning before firebending." He realized.
"Yeah." I replied. "The only firebending move I could do from my memory of the story."
"Why did you hesitate after you did that?" Katara asked. "Did you need to catch your breath?"
I shook my head. "I needed to send a message."
Sokka looked at me. "What message?"
I smirked. "Well…"
Ty Lee POV
I couldn't believe what I just saw. Alec knocked down Azula! I'd never seen anyone do that! Mai and I went to check on her. She was on the ground, disoriented. I walked over to her and tried to grab her shoulder. That was a mistake. She tried to throw a fireball at me. I barely dodged it. I saw her preparing another attack. "Azula, it's me!" I shouted.
Azula blinked and calmed down. "Where are they?" She demanded.
I shook my head. "We don't know, we wanted to make sure you were okay."
Azula snarled. "You fool! Now we have to find them again!" That hurt. I was trying to help her. Why was she treating me like this?
"We still have the fur trail, and they haven't gotten any sleep." Mai pointed out. "They won't get far."
Azula took a breath. "You're right. Search where the bison landed, we need to pick up the trail."
I went over to where Alec had been standing. I noticed that the ground was scorched, and I saw what looked like…writing? "Azula, there's something here." I reported.
She came over and looked at the ground. She summoned some blue fire so she could read the writing. As soon as she read it, she glared and the fire in her hand shot up several feet. I backed up, but I managed to read the message Alec had left.
"I missed on purpose."
Alec POV
"Did you really miss on purpose?" Katara wondered out loud.
I nodded. "Yeah, I did."
"Um, I don't wanna be that guy," Sokka said, preparing to be that guy, "But why didn't you just hit her and take her out?"
"Reasons." I answered vaguely.
Sokka gave me a flat look. "Give me one good one."
I couldn't exactly tell him 'Ursa would be mad', or 'I want to try and redeem her', so I thought of a different excuse. "If we kill her, Ozai would make our lives miserable." I replied evenly.
Katara gave me a questioning look. "I thought you said Ozai doesn't care about Azula?"
"He doesn't love her, but he knows how powerful she is." I shook my head sadly. "If we managed to kill her, he would see us as a massive threat. Right now, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee are the only ones actively looking for us. If we kill Azula, Ozai might send the bulk of his forces just to hunt us down. It would be like the North Pole, but with no Ocean Spirit to help us out."
Toph looked confused. "If you weren't going to take her out, why did you even do that?"
"So I could show Ty Lee that Azula isn't invincible, and so I could really piss off Azula and throw her off her game." I replied. I almost chuckled. It was pretty funny that I was essentially trolling Azula at every opportunity I got.
Katara gave me a withering glare. "Are you telling me that one of the reasons you got hit with lightning on purpose was so you could impress a girl?" She growled.
Spirits, she was terrifying. "Yes." I replied in a horrified whisper.
She opened her mouth to yell, but before she could, we noticed the sun beginning to rise over the horizon. Sokka groaned. "Oh no, the sun is rising!" He complained. "We've been up all night with no sleep!"
"We'll be fine, Sokka." Aang replied calmly.
Sokka wasn't convinced. "Are you sure?" He asked nervously. "I've never not slept before!" He held his head in his hands, on the verge of freaking out. "What if I fall asleep now and something happens? And something always happens!" He yelled.
"Every time we land, those girls are there." Katara pointed out. "So we'll just have to keep flying."
"We can't keep flying forever." Aang said grimly.
Over the next few hours, I drifted in and out of consciousness, as did everyone else. Sokka was almost out cold. Katara's eyes were drooping and she was trying to sit up straight. Toph leaned her head against the edge of the saddle and kept her arms wrapped through one of the holes. I heard a yawn from Appa's head. "So what's the plan?" Aang asked.
"Don't know." Toph grumbled. "Too tired to think."
"I'm sure we'll come up with something after a short nap." Katara said optimistically.
"Yes…sleep." Sokka agreed in a relieved tone.
I was almost unconscious when I noticed that I was floating. No, that's not right. Appa was falling! I grabbed on the edge of the saddle and held on for dear life, my tiredness forgotten. Nothing like mortal peril to wake you up. Sokka managed to grab the saddle with one hand and hold onto Katara with another.
"What's going on?!" Toph yelled, holding on the saddle. Momo chittered loudly and held onto the earthbender.
"Appa fell asleep!" Aang shouted, holding on the reins with all his strength.
That was enough to get everyone screaming, including me. We fell faster and faster. Aang managed to pull himself down to Appa's eye level. "Wake up, buddy!"
We kept falling. The ground got closer and closer. Right as we reached the tops of the trees below, we stopped falling. Appa had woken up. He lurched forward and we crashed through a bunch of trees. Appa finally skidded to a halt next to a river. We were safe. I looked behind us. The forest we just crashed through looked like a wreck. There were broken branches and pieces of fur everywhere. The scar along the ground where Appa landed reminded me of when you brought a dragon below half health in Skyrim. I shook it off. Deal with the problems now. There was time for nostalgia later.
I heard Appa snoring lightly. He was out of it. Aang jumped off Appa's head. "Appa's exhausted." He reported, tiredly.
Sokka trudged across the ground with his sleeping bag. "Okay, we've put in a lot of distance between us and them. The plan right now is to follow Appa's lead and get some sleep."
Toph stood up from her spot on the ground. "No. They're tracking us somehow. We need to deal with that." She said firmly.
"How are they following us?" Katara asked in a frustrated tone. "We didn't even set up camp in the last spot. It's not like we're dropping stuff from the air for them to follow."
Toph's sightless eyes widened in realization. "They're following Appa."
Sokka didn't get it. "We know they're following Appa. They're following all of us."
Toph shook her head. "No, I mean he's shedding." Toph walked over and pulled off a loose tuft of fur from the bison. "He's leaving a fur trail everywhere we go."
I nodded. "She's right." I pointed to the wrecked forest. "Take a look at the trees Appa crashed through. There's fur on everything he touched."
Sokka pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly. "Okay, we know how they're following us. What do we do now?"
Aang picked up a piece of fur and watched the strands get blown away in the wind. "I have a plan. We need to unpack everything and take off Appa's saddle."
Katara raised an exhausted eyebrow. "Why?"
Aang smiled. "It's bath time."
We unpacked our stuff as fast as we could. The saddle was surprisingly light. If it weren't so bulky, one of us might have been able to lift it without help. Once we unpacked the slumbering bison, we ran into another problem. We needed to get him in the river, but he was still out of it.
Aang groaned in frustration. "We need him to wake up to get him in the river!"
Toph looked thoughtful. "Is the river shallow enough that he could still breathe if he was in it?"
Katara did some bending and parted the river to see how deep it was. She dropped the water back, finishing her Moses impression. "Yes, why?"
Toph rolled her neck and cracked her knuckles. She stomped and lifted her hands. A ten-foot tall rock wall emerged between us and the bison. Toph took a stance and began walking forward, pushing the wall and the beast towards the river. We heard a gentle splash, and Toph dropped the wall. Appa was now floating in the river, still asleep.
Toph smirked. "You're welcome."
I rolled my eyes. Her confidence would be extremely annoying if she couldn't back it up. Aang smiled. "Thanks." He turned to my sister. "We need to wash him off." Katara nodded.
We spent the next hour rinsing and grooming Appa. Aang and Katara rinsed with waterbending. Sokka, Toph and I groomed him with brushes. Even Momo grabbed a brush and scrubbed. Still, the waterbenders probably did ninety-five percent of the work. It was kind of like giving a dog a bath, if the dog was Clifford. Appa woke up during the bath, but he didn't react. He just chilled in the water.
After we finished, we got back on the riverbank, where Aang explained the rest of his plan. He picked up Sokka's bag from our supplies and emptied it out, before filling it with fur that he picked up from the edge of the river.
"Now that Appa's clean, no more trail." Aang said. "You guys take him and go one way, I'll use his fur to make a fake trail and lead the tank off-course."
Toph raised an eyebrow. "Alone?"
Aang nodded. "It's the only way."
I had an idea. "Maybe it's not." I turned to the earthbender. "Toph, can you see any landmarks nearby?"
Toph stomped on the ground. A few seconds later, she pointed to the east. "There's an abandoned town that way. I can get there in two hours if I use earthbending."
I nodded. "Aang, I don't think it's wise for you to go alone. Toph can get to the abandoned town. You fly there and leave a fake trail. The rest of us will take Appa in another direction. We'll meet up later."
"Is Appa okay to fly?" Katara inquired.
Aang nodded. "He should be fine as long as we leave his saddle and all our stuff here."
Sokka looked concerned. "Should we leave our stuff lying around?"
He had a point. We had all our money, our food, and our bending scrolls lying around. We couldn't leave that stuff for bandits or scavengers. I turned to Toph. "Could you bury it, and make it look like it wasn't buried? We can come back for it later."
Toph nodded. "There isn't any grass on the ground where you put our stuff, it should be easy."
She lifted her hands and pushed them down. The earth around our supplies sank. Once they were buried deep enough, she did a sweeping motion with her hand, and a slab of rock closed over the pit like a sliding door. When she was done, the earth looked completely undisturbed.
I nodded in approval. "Nice work."
Toph nodded back. "I'm gonna head to the town. Twinkle Toes, follow me from the air and leave the trail. You guys get out of here and meet back up with us later."
"Good luck." Katara encouraged.
Toph smiled. "You too."
Toph took a stance and bent up two mounds of earth, one under each foot. She moved her arms like she was jogging and started gliding across the ground to the east. Aang took off on his glider after her, dropping fur behind him like breadcrumbs. Sokka, Katara, Momo and I climbed on Appa's back. Katara took the reins and we took off. Appa skimmed the tops of a few trees during our ascent.
Ty Lee POV
We boarded the train after we picked up the trail again. Azula told us to try to sleep, but I couldn't. I couldn't get what I saw out of my mind. Alec nearly killed Azula! And she knew it, too. I'd never seen Azula lose a fight before. She kept up a calm facade, but I could tell from her aura that she was livid. Nobody had annoyed her this much before. Or, nobody had annoyed her this much and survived for long.
Mai's voice broke me out of my thoughts. "Do you think he really missed on purpose?" She whispered.
I shook my head. "I don't know."
"Maybe we can find out if Azula doesn't get to him first. There might not be anything left to question if she catches him." Mai mused dryly.
My breath caught in my throat. Azula would kill him if she got the chance. But why did the idea of that hurt me so much? I just wanted to ask him a question. It's not like I like him, right?
Right?
A treasonous thought wormed its way into my head. I didn't say it out loud, but it ran through my mind loud and clear.
"I hope she doesn't catch him."
The train suddenly came to a stop. We heard a loud knock on the door from Azula's cabin. "Wake up." She ordered sharply. "We've found something."
I put on a happy expression to mask what I was really feeling. I didn't want Azula to think I would go against her.
We got out of the train. I looked around. We were right next to a river. There was a massive gouge in the earth nearby, and the trees behind it looked like a boar-q-pine had crashed through it.
"Or a bison" I thought to myself. Azula made her way to the river, and we followed. She kneeled down and put her hands in the water. They came back covered in white fur.
"Wads of wet fur." Mai observed dryly. "How delightful."
I needed to keep up my act or Azula might get suspicious. How would I act in this situation? Wads wasn't the word I would've used. "Hmm…they're not wads, they're more like bundles, or bunches?" I scratched my head. "It's got an 'uh' sound."
Mai raised an eyebrow. "Clumps?"
That was it. "Clumps!" I cheered brightly. "They're clumps!" I gave Mai a hug. She didn't return it. I felt her looking at the ground from over my shoulder. When I broke the hug, I looked down as well. There was a trail of dry fur leading away from the river.
Mai pointed to the east. "The trail goes this way." She reported.
Azula stood up and looked at the trail. She turned around and looked up. I followed her gaze and spotted some broken treetops. Azula turned around and faced us. "The Avatar is trying to give us the slip." She pointed at the broken treetops. "You two head in that direction and keep an eye out for the bison." She narrowed her eyes. "I'll follow this trail."
Mai and I mounted our mongoose lizards and headed off. Once we were out of Azula's range, I turned to Mai. "Do you think we'll find something?"
Mai shrugged. "Who knows? But I'm hoping that your friend is this way. Maybe we can get some answers."
My eyes widened. "What about catching them?"
Mai narrowed her eyes. "We can worry about that later."
Alec POV
We flew for a while. I was hanging on for dear life. Riding bareback over a hundred feet in the air was not a fun experience. Sokka turned to me. "Do you think this'll work?"
I shrugged. "Depends on how hard Azula got hit." I said. "If she cracked a rib or got a serious concussion, she might not follow. Then again, me pissing her off might make her even more determined."
"Will Aang and Toph be okay?" Katara asked from Appa's head.
I thought about it. "Normally, I would say Toph could match Azula by herself. Her and Aang together should be enough to take her on."
"What about the other two?" Sokka asked.
"Those three together might be a tall order, especially because Aang and Toph are tired." I responded. "I just hope that those three split up like last time."
Suddenly, Momo perked up and ran to the back of Appa's back, chittering loudly. Sokka and I crawled over to see what was up. We saw two mongoose lizards in hot pursuit. Sokka panicked. "Oh no! Katara!"
I had never been so happy to see an enemy before. At least Aang and Toph would be fine against Azula. But would Zuko and Iroh still show up? Questions for later.
Katara cracked the reins. "How did they find us?!"
We started losing altitude. Appa was too tired to go on. "Appa, come on!" Sokka encouraged. "We need to go faster!"
"He's too tired!" Katara yelled.
"Not good! Not good!" Sokka exclaimed. He pointed at a river in the distance. "We just need to make it across that river!"
"Come on, Appa!" Katara pleaded. "Just a little further!"
Our descent was taking us straight to the river. We crashed through several treetops in the process. Appa skimmed the surface of the water, but we made it to the other side. We jumped off the exhausted bison.
"We made it!" Sokka cheered. "We're safe."
"You did it, Appa!" Katara praised. Sokka and Katara started a group hug.
I knew better. "We're not safe." I said. I pointed at the river. Katara and Sokka looked and gasped. The mongoose lizards ran across the surface of the water, heading right for us! Katara stepped forward and spun around, sending a big wave of water at Ty Lee's mongoose lizard. She somersaulted off the beast just in time and landed on her feet on the riverbank. Katara, Sokka and I took stances.
Then she did something I didn't expect. She held her hands up. "I surrender! I just wanna talk!" She yelled.
What?
Mai's mongoose lizard arrived at our side of the river and the knife-thrower dismounted. "I want to talk, too."
WHAT?!
I grabbed my siblings by the shoulders. "Something's different." I whispered to them, making sure to barely move my mouth. "This isn't what happened in the original story."
Sokka narrowed his eyes, but kept his focus on Mai and Ty Lee. "What should we do, then?"
"Maybe we can hear what they have to say." I suggested.
Katara maintained her stance. "Are you sure?"
I narrowed my eyes. "Think about it." I said. "Do you want to fight after not getting any sleep, or would you rather talk?"
Katara lowered her hands. "Fine."
I looked at Mai and Ty Lee and raised my voice. "Why do you want to talk? Azula didn't seem like she was in a talkative mood."
Mai shook her head. "This isn't about Azula. You have answers that we want. She doesn't need to know about this. We want to talk to you alone."
I was uncertain. What should I do? Suddenly, something Lady Ài told me flashed into my head. "Don't be afraid to take risks." I stepped forward. "I accept."
Sokka and Katara looked at me like I was crazy. "Don't do it." Sokka hissed. "You're outnumbered and tired."
I gave him a look. "I want to see how this plays out." I replied. "Look, I'll talk to them. You two and Appa can take a quick nap."
The prospect of a nap seemed to convince Sokka. Katara was still concerned. "Are you sure about this?" She asked.
"No, but it's better than fighting." I admitted.
She nodded. "Good luck. If you need any help, scream."
I nodded. Katara and Sokka went over to Appa and lay down for a quick nap. I envied them. I walked over to Mai and Ty Lee at the river's edge. Mai looked at me with calculating eyes. Ty Lee looked curious and hopeful. And also adorable, but that's another matter. This conversation was going to be interesting.
Toph POV
I earth-skated for two hours. I'd never been this tired before. I just wanted to make an earth tent and go to sleep. But I wasn't about to stop. I'm the greatest earthbender in the world, dammit! I wasn't gonna stop just because I was a little tired!
I kept pushing until I made it to the town. It was almost the perfect place for a fight. Empty, and all the buildings were made of bricks. The downsides were that there wasn't enough metal nearby to use in a fight, and I couldn't feel any blank spots in my senses that I knew were bodies of water. I wouldn't be able to use metalbending, and Twinkle Toes would be stuck with just his airbending.
Speaking of Twinkle Toes, I felt a pair of feet land softly nearby. I turned towards it. "We made it. So what do we do now, Twinkle Toes?" I asked.
He walked over to me. I could feel him emptying his bag. "Is anyone coming?" He inquired.
I slammed my foot on the ground, extending my vision outward. I noticed something headed right towards the town. It was a mongoose lizard. Definitely one of them. I nodded. "One of them is headed for us."
"Just one?" He inquired. I nodded. "Do you know which one?"
I shook my head. "I can feel the lizard, and I can feel that there's a person on it, but I don't know which one it is."
"How long until they get here?" He asked.
"With how fast they're moving, an hour." I answered.
He sighed. I could tell even he was getting tired of this shit. "What do you want to do?" He questioned. "Do you want to run, or stand and fight?"
He didn't even need to ask. "I'm sick of running."
"Me too." I felt him sit down. "All we can do now is wait."
Alec POV
"So," I said, trying to break the ice, "What did you want to talk about?"
Mai and Ty Lee looked at each other. "You go first." Mai offered.
Ty Lee turned to me. "Why are you fighting against the Fire Nation?" She asked.
So, she was curious, was she? Interesting. "I prefer to think of it as fighting against the Fire Lord, not the Fire Nation." I replied. "Sozin, Azulon and Ozai have only spread suffering around the world." I had an idea. "What do they teach in school about how the war started?"
Ty Lee frowned, as if trying to remember something. "Sozin said that the Air Nation Army was going to attack and take over the world." She answered.
I shook my head sadly. "I hate to break it to you, but Sozin lied." I said gently. "He's the one who wanted to take over the world. He knew the Avatar had the best chance of stopping him, and that the Avatar was a young Air Nomad at the time. He attacked the Air Temples when the comet came, and he and his soldiers slaughtered all the Air Nomads. All except Aang, who wasn't there at the time." I smiled bitterly. "It's ironic, he failed to kill the one Air Nomad he wanted to kill the most."
Ty Lee's eyes widened. Mai raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying Sozin attacked an army without being provoked just to kill the Avatar?"
I shook my head. "It's worse than that. The Air Nomads didn't have an army. They believed that all life is sacred. They didn't even eat meat. They were the most peaceful nation in the world, and Sozin murdered all but one of them."
"Your aura says you're telling the truth," Ty Lee whispered, "But you have to be wrong. They said in school that the Fire Nation is lifting up the people of the world, bringing peace and progress."
I suppressed a scoff. Of course the Fire Nation justified the war with a 'White Man's Burden'-like argument. "They lied to you." I said sadly. "The people of the world are terrified of the Fire Nation. To them, those red flags bring death and pain." An idea occurred to me. "When we met, you told me you've been to all kinds of places in the Earth Kingdom. Were the places under Fire Nation control that much better off than the places that haven't been conquered? Think back. How did people react when they saw Fire Nation flags?"
Ty Lee's eyes widened, but she didn't say anything. I was pretty sure I was getting through to her, though. I just needed one more push. "If the Fire Nation really wanted to help the rest of the world, they could have done so through trade. They could have shared their inventions with the rest of the world to improve their quality of life. By conquering the world, the only progress the rest of the world will achieve will happen under the Fire Lord's boot." I said. "That's why I fight. I'm fighting to bring this century-long war to an end, and bring peace to the world. Real peace."
Mai narrowed her eyes. "Are you and the Avatar going to do that by wiping out the Fire Nation?"
"No." I replied sharply. "If Aang was going to do that, I wouldn't be helping him. We just need to stop Ozai and put someone else in charge. Then the war can end, and the world can rebuild."
Mai looked at Ty Lee. "Well?" She asked.
Ty Lee swallowed, but she nodded. "He's telling the truth." She replied. "About everything."
"I see." Mai replied in her usual stoic manner. She turned to me. "There's something I want to ask you."
This was interesting. What could she possibly want to ask me about? "Go ahead." I said.
"The last time we met, you said that you heard an interesting story about Zuko and his scar." Mai recalled. "What were you talking about? What scar?"
I was floored. She didn't know? I would've thought everybody in the Fire Nation knew about it. "You don't know?" I asked.
Mai narrowed her eyes. "Obviously not, since I'm asking you."
I guess that was a stupid question. I held my hand over my left eye in the approximate size and shape of Zuko's scar. "Zuko has a burn scar, about this size, here on his face." I said.
Mai looked surprised by this. "What happened to him?"
This could work well in my favor. "What do you know about Zuko's banishment?"
Mai frowned. "Not much." She admitted. "Azula only told me that Zuko was weak and got banished for it. She said she wasn't there when it happened."
So Azula lied to her. In other news, water was wet. "She lied." I stated. "She knows what happened. She was there when he got the scar."
Mai didn't seem surprised by this. "Tell me what happened."
I took a deep breath. "It's not an easy story to tell, so I'll give you the short version." I said. "Zuko was at a war meeting where a general suggested using new recruits as a distraction. Zuko spoke out of turn against the general. The Fire Lord got mad and ordered Zuko to fight an Agni Kai."
Ty Lee's eyes widened. Mai's eyebrows went up slightly. "Against the general?"
I shook my head. "No, against him."
Mai's breath caught in her throat. Ty Lee was frozen in place. I continued. "Zuko refused to fight, and Ozai burned him." I said sadly.
Ty Lee looked like she was about to be sick. Mai was even paler than normal.
"Ozai said Zuko was weak for refusing to fight, and banished him, saying he could only return if he captured the Avatar." I finished the story. "That's another reason why I fight. I could never serve a man who did something like that to his own kid."
Mai slowly turned to face Ty Lee. "Is he…" She whispered.
Ty Lee didn't take her eyes off me, and nodded with wide eyes. "He's telling the truth."
Mai narrowed her eyes at me. "How do you know all these things?"
I thought carefully before I answered. "I don't want to lie to you, but I can't tell you the full truth." I replied. "Let's just say I have…a very good source."
Ty Lee tilted her head to the side. "You mean like a spy?"
I shook my head. "No, a source. I can't tell you more. I'm sorry."
Ty Lee had a confused look on her face. "You're not lying."
Mai pinched the bridge of her nose. "Great. Now what do we do?"
I saw an opening and took it. "You could defect." I suggested.
Ty Lee gasped slightly. Mai looked at me like I was crazy. "Do you have any idea how strong the Fire Lord and Azula are?"
I nodded. "I know exactly how strong they are. But strength isn't everything." I pointed out. "I could have killed Azula a few hours ago, but I chose not to."
Mai narrowed her eyes. "Why didn't you kill her?"
"I have a few reasons." I said. "One reason is because Ozai would send the entire Fire Nation military after us, not just you three."
Mai raised an eyebrow. "Then why didn't you throw the lightning at either of us? I'm pretty sure Fire Lord Ozai wouldn't care if we died."
Ty Lee gasped at her friend's bluntness. I have to admit I was also surprised at how hardcore Mai was. I looked Mai in the eye. "I didn't shoot you because you're not a bad person." I answered. "I could tell the last time we met that you care about your brother." Mai didn't react. I turned to Ty Lee. "And I would never hurt you because…I care about you." I finished quietly.
Ty Lee's eyes widened even more, and her lips parted slightly. Mai interrupted whatever thoughts Ty Lee was having. "Even if we defect, where would we go?" Mai challenged.
"You could come with us." I offered. "We'd accept you."
Ty Lee looked tempted. I couldn't get a read on Mai. Mai shook her head after a few seconds. "Not now. I need time to think."
That was better than I was hoping for. "So, what now?" I wondered.
"Now we need you to burn some holes in our clothes." Mai said bluntly.
What? Where the fuck was she going with this? Ty Lee looked confused too. "Why?" I asked.
Mai looked at me like I was an idiot. "We need to look like we just got in a fight with a firebender and a waterbender. Some singes on our clothes should work."
Wow. I knew Mai was clever, but this was really smart. "Fine." I agreed. I walked over to them and made the smallest fire in my hand that I could control. I held it against portions of Mai's garment. I made a few holes in her sleeves, and one on the abdomen. Then it was Ty Lee's turn. I had to be careful here. There wasn't as much material to work with, and parts of her clothes were skintight. I ended up making a few holes on her sleeves and in the legs of her pants. When I was finished, I took a look at them. They looked like they'd gotten in a fight with a firebender and gotten away with only burned clothes. That should be enough evidence for Azula.
"That's good enough." Mai stated. "Now we need to look like your sister fought us. Could you wake her up?"
Ty Lee got a mischievous grin on her face. "We don't need to."
Mai looked at her. "What do you mean?"
Ty Lee grabbed Mai in a tight hug and started leaning in the direction of the river. Mai's eyes widened. "Don't you dare!"
It was too late. Ty Lee fell into the river, taking the normally stoic knife-thrower with her. A few seconds later, they emerged, soaking wet. I looked at the acrobat. Rivulets of water ran down Ty Lee's flawless skin. Her wet clothes clung tightly to her perfect body.
"Focus, Alec!" I thought to myself. I forced myself to keep my focus on her face. She had a big smile and was laughing. Mai looked like a drowned cat, and just as angry. She gave Ty Lee a fierce glare. "I will get you for that." She growled. Ty Lee kept laughing.
I spoke before I could stop myself. "Beautiful…" I whispered.
Ty Lee heard me and stopped laughing. "What?" She asked.
"Your laugh." I said. "It's beautiful, almost melodic." Shit. Why did I say things?
Ty Lee blushed. "Thank you."
Mai rolled her eyes. "Enough of you two lovebirds." That made both Ty Lee and me blush. "We need to go."
I cleared my throat. "My offer still stands." I said. "If you want to defect, we'll accept you."
Mai nodded. Ty Lee smiled at me. "Goodbye."
I nodded at her. "Goodbye."
They mounted their mongoose lizards and left.
I walked back over to the group. I nudged Sokka and Katara awake. "Sorry to wake you," I apologized, "But we need to regroup with Aang and Toph."
Sokka yawned groggily. "Where are the dangerous ladies?"
I smirked. "We had a nice conversation and they left."
Katara stretched and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "What did you talk about?"
I shook my head. "I'll tell you later. We need to catch up with the others."
We managed to rouse Appa, and then we flew towards the abandoned town.
Toph POV
Waiting sucks. Especially when you're tired and you don't have enough time to take a nap. I took a breath. This wasn't so hard. All we had to do was beat one of them back, they wouldn't be able to follow us, and then we could sleep.
I felt the lizard getting closer. It was almost at the town's edge. Which one was it? If it was Hand Slicer's soulmate, I needed to hold back. "Twinkle Toes, can you see which one it is?" I asked.
"Yeah." He answered grimly. "It's Azula."
I grinned. Perfect. I could go all out. I felt the lizard stop about a hundred feet away from us. Then I felt her feet land on the ground. So this was Azula, huh? I'd heard about her, from both Hand Slicer and a few other sources. I could tell from her gait that she was proud and strong. Her steps were deliberate and powerful, but more flexible than an earthbender's. It was almost like the way Hand Slicer walked, except with more confidence. This chick was dangerous. I smirked. Good. Danger was fun.
Aang stood up. "So, you've caught up with us. What now?"
"Now?" She replied. "Now it's over. You're tired and you have no place to go. You can run, but I'll catch you." I felt her pause and turn to face me. "My only targets are the Avatar and the Hand Slicer. If you walk away, I won't follow."
That was strange. Her heartbeat didn't change at all. Was she telling the truth? It didn't matter. There's no way I would throw away two of the first friends I ever made. I took my stance. "I'm not going anywhere." I said firmly. I smirked. "How's your back, by the way?"
"Cute." She replied. I felt something else nearby. I was so focused on Azula that I didn't notice it until now. "Aang." I whispered. "Someone's coming."
"Who?" He whispered back.
I shrugged. It felt like… an ostrich horse? Azula didn't hear us. "Do you really want to fight me?" She taunted.
The ostrich horse burst onto the street. I felt someone land in the street. They must have been riding the horse. It felt like a tall teenage boy. I could tell from his heart rate that he was angry. "Yes." The rider said. "I really do." I felt him get in a stance.
Aang gasped. "Zuko."
So this was Zuko, huh? I'd heard about him too. I was surprised he was here. Were he and Azula working together? "I was wondering when you'd show up, Zuzu." Azula mused.
Aang and I laughed. "Zuzu?" Aang chuckled. That was hilarious! Almost as good as Hand Slicer. I was never forgetting that one.
"Back off, Azula!" Zuko barked. "He's mine!" So they weren't working together. Interesting. I felt him turn his head to face me. "I'm only after the Avatar. If you want to leave, I won't come after you." Unlike his sister, this guy was definitely telling the truth. Azula's heartbeat was so calm it was almost unnatural. Zuko's was angry, but definitely human. He was telling the truth. It didn't matter anyway.
A thought occurred to me. I had the perfect nickname for Azula. I didn't move my stance. "Like I told Bitch Princess, I'm not going anywhere." I felt a brief spike in Azula's heartbeat. That struck a nerve.
This was gonna be tough. I could usually tell what move a bender was gonna make, but I didn't have much experience with firebenders. The first one I ever met was Alec. I hoped I'd seen enough by studying his movements for the past few days.
I felt Azula take a stance. Aang took a stance. Zuko took a stance. I concentrated. I was feeling for any change in movement to signal an attack. It happened in an instant. Azula shot her hand forward at Zuko. I felt the heat rush from her hand and towards her brother. He spun his hands to try and block it, but he got knocked into a building. Azula turned her attention to us. I felt her about to take a step. She moved to shoot a fireball at Aang. I kicked the ground like I'd done with The Boulder and sent a wave of rock under her foot, making her do a split and turning her around. She recovered quickly and shot a flamethrower at both of us over her shoulder. I put up a rock wall and stopped it. I was surprised that she got up so quickly. I guess making people do an impromptu split worked better on guys than girls. I felt Aang launch a column of air at her. She managed to dodge.
This bitch was slippery. She kept dodging and throwing fire at us. I felt fire coming towards me from the side. I barely threw up a rock wall in time. Dammit! I'd been so focused on Azula that I didn't notice Zuko get up! I threw a rock at him and hit him in the gut, knocking him to the side. He was winded, but not down. Aang took the opening swept his staff, blowing Zuko back. I turned my attention back to Azula. Somehow she'd climbed one of the buildings up to the roof. I smirked. Big mistake. I felt around and stomped my foot, reducing the foundations to dust. The building started to collapse and Azula jumped. Where did she go?
I felt her land right behind me. Shit! She was too close for me to put an earth wall between us. I slid my foot and broke her stance. Then I covered my elbow in rock and hit her in the gut. She let out an "Ugh!" and flew back several feet, through the door of a building. I collapsed the foundations, and the walls began to fall. Suddenly, she was right in front of me. If I hadn't felt her move, I would have sworn she disappeared. Was this that jet-step thing Alec knew? She tried to punch me. I covered my fist in rock and caught it, then I slammed her into the ground. She swept her leg, but I slid out of range in time. She jumped up and shot a flamethrower at me. I burrowed underground to dodge it. The flamethrower hit Zuko, who'd just gotten up from behind me, and knocked him down again.
I burrowed over to Aang and popped out of the ground. "If I weren't so damn tired, this might be fun." I grumbled at him, before making a rock shield to block a fireball.
"How is she this tough?" Aang wondered, dodging a blast of fire. "You're bringing down buildings on her and it's not working!"
I felt something coming towards the town. It felt like an older, short man who really needed to lay off the roast duck. Before I could wonder who that was, I felt something else land outside the town. Something big.
I smiled. "We don't have to worry much longer." I assured him. "Backup just got here."
Alec POV
It looked like the fight was still going on. As soon as Appa landed, we jumped off and ran towards the fire and explosions. Probably not good for our health, but we had friends to help. I ran through an alley and I saw Azula fighting Aang and Toph. Zuko was on the ground. Aang and Toph seemed like they were on the ropes. I needed to get Azula's attention. Thank the spirits this town was abandoned. I spun my arms and charged up a fire pinwheel. I shot it at Azula. She noticed it right before it hit her. Her eyes widened and she put up her hands to block. She stopped the fire, but the force of the impact knocked her through the doorway of the building behind her.
I turned to the others. "Toph, Aang, you guys alright?"
"We're fine. Focus on her, Hand Slicer!" Toph replied.
Azula jet-stepped out of the building and tried to kick me. I dropped down and swept my leg, sending a blazing arc. She jumped over it and was about to drop down with a fiery axe kick. Before the kick landed, a tendril of water wrapped around her ankle and threw her away. I looked at the water's source. Katara was there, wearing a determined expression. Somehow, against all odds, Azula landed on her feet. Before she could attack, she ducked, just avoiding Sokka's boomerang. She swept her arm and sent an arc of fire at all three of us. Sokka ducked. Katara cut through it with an arc of water. I blocked it with a fire shield, but barely. Those blue flames of hers were no joke. Azula prepared another attack, but Aang stopped it with a mighty gust of wind. Azula moved her arms to start a fire pinwheel, but she had to stop when Toph launched a boulder at her.
Azula realized she had no chance. She turned and ran through an alley. We followed after her. She was so focused on us that she ran right into Iroh, who used his belly to knock her off her feet. Zuko was standing with him. We all approached her slowly, surrounding her. We had her literally cornered in the corner of a ruined building. From left to right, it was Aang, Katara, Sokka, me, Toph, Zuko and Iroh.
Azula looked around the group, still in her stance. "Well, look at this." She mused. "Enemies and traitors all working together."
"It's good to have friends, Azula." I said evenly. "With the way you act, you'll always be alone."
Her eyes flashed with anger for a brief second. She dropped her stance. "I'm done. I know when I'm beaten." She raised her hands up. "You got me. A princess surrenders with honor."
I knew she was full of shit. "Don't try anything." I warned.
She rolled her eyes. "Please, Hand Slicer. I know better than to throw lightning at you, you'll just throw it back at me."
Oh great. She said I knew Iroh's technique in front of Iroh. I saw the old man turn his head towards me from my peripheral vision. Unfortunately, Azula saw it too. Before anyone could react, she launched a fireball at Iroh, hitting him in the chest. He screamed in pain and fell to the ground. Zuko screamed in horror and rage.
Dammit! I didn't want the old man to get hurt! Everyone bent their respective element at the Fire Nation Princess. Sokka threw his boomerang for good measure. Azula spun a fire shield around herself. The combined elements created a massive explosion, setting many of the ruined buildings on fire. When the smoke cleared, she was gone.
Zuko POV
I ran over to Uncle. This was bad! How could I let this happen?! Why did I have to be so weak?! I noticed the rest of them surrounding us. "Get away from us!" I screamed. I didn't want anyone else to hurt him.
The waterbender stepped forward. "Zuko, I can help!"
I didn't trust them. I wouldn't let them hurt my uncle! I threw an arc of fire over their heads. "LEAVE!"
A few of them stepped back, but suddenly I felt someone grab me by the collar. Before I could react, I got slammed into a wall. What happened? A jet-step? I shook off the impact that left me dazed. I was face-to-face with the firebender.
"You listen to me, you stubborn little shit." He growled. "You're uncle is hurt. Katara can help him. Put aside your damn pride and let us help!"
My mouth ran dry. "I…don't…"
He cocked his head curiously. "What is it?"
"I don't want you to hurt him." I said, my voice just above a whisper.
He let go of me and nodded. "I swear to you, we won't hurt him."
He turned to the rest of his group. "Katara, he's agreed to let us help." She nodded and knelt down beside my uncle. Her hands began to glow. I watched her carefully, waiting for a sneak attack, but it never came. Uncle's wound began to close. Before it closed all the way, her eyes rolled back into her head and she started to sway. The Avatar dashed forward and caught her before she fell to the ground.
"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice gentle and concerned.
"Yeah." She replied, exhausted. "I'm just tired. I can't bend anymore right now."
I noticed that the last member of the Water Tribe was eyeing me warily. The final group member, the earthbender, frowned. "At least his heart rate is steady. He should be fine for a while." How did she know that?
The Avatar looked thoughtful. He set the waterbender down and walked over to me. "Zuko, I have a proposition for you."
I was afraid of what he would ask for. I'd had to grovel and beg for supplies for my ship enough times in the past. "You and your uncle come with us. We'll heal him. When he's healed, we go our separate ways."
What? That was it? He didn't want anything? That didn't make any sense! "Why are you helping us?" I asked, completely bewildered.
"Because it's the right thing to do." He answered. "He helped us at the North Pole. Let us help him."
Everything I knew about the world told me to refuse. Then I saw my Uncle on the ground, unmoving. He needed help. I extended my hand. "I accept your proposal." I said with difficulty.
The Avatar accepted my hand and shook it firmly. "We need to get moving." He said. "We can't stay here."
The warrior turned to the monk. "Where do we go?"
The firebender turned back to the earthbender. "Toph, can you see where we left our supplies?" He asked.
I looked closely at the earthbender. I noticed that her eyes were milky white. Was she blind? How did she fight so well if she was blind? She stomped her foot on the ground. A few seconds later she turned to the firebender. "The tank thing was there, but it's gone now." She reported.
The firebender nodded. "We can go back there, get some sleep, dig up our supplies in the morning, then move to a new site, just to be safe."
The Avatar nodded and pulled out some kind of whistle. He blew into it, and his bison landed in front of him with a thump. "We need to get Iroh on Appa."
The firebender nodded. "I'll help." We carried Uncle up on the beast with some difficulty. After we set him down, the firebender panted, clearly winded. "Do me a favor." He said. "When he wakes up, tell him to lay off the roast duck."
The rest of his group laughed. These people were weird.
Meanwhile, Azula POV
This was annoying. Usually I could simply eliminate any obstacle in my way, but these enemies were more tenacious than most. At least I got Uncle good. I would have respected them if they didn't irritate me so much. I made it back to the tank. Mai and Ty Lee were there. I noticed that their clothes were singed, and also wet.
I raised an eyebrow. "What happened to you?"
Mai gave me a look. "We found the bison and followed it, but they fought us off and threw us in a river. We don't know which way they went afterwards."
I narrowed my eyes. "I know where they went. They caught up with the Avatar and his earthbender friend. Zuzu and Uncle Fatso were there too. I had to retreat."
Ty Lee looked surprised by this. "You had to retreat?"
I smirked. "Yes, but I gave Uncle a parting gift before I left. He won't be getting up anytime soon. All we have to do is wait."
I heard the screech of a messenger hawk overhead. The bird landed on the ground in front of me. A black ribbon scroll was attached to it's back. I took it and unraveled it.
"Azula,
War Minister Qin has informed me that his siege weapon will be ready to attack Ba Sing Se in a few weeks. Unless you have captured your targets already, abandon your search for now and rendezvous with Qin immediately. When Ba Sing Se falls, the world will be mine, and my enemies will have nowhere to hide.
-Fire Lord Ozai"
It couldn't be helped. I crumpled up the paper and burned it. "We have new orders." I stated. "We need to move out."
An idea occurred to me. I still had the hawk. I quickly wrote a note on the spare piece of parchment typically reserved for replies. I put a red ribbon on the scroll and put it in the messenger hawk's carrier. I looked the hawk in the eye. "Fire Nation Intelligence." I ordered. The bird took off.
Ty Lee gave me a curious look. "What are you asking Fire Nation Intelligence?"
"I'm ordering them to find all the information they can about the Avatar and his little friends." I answered. "Let's go."
We entered the tank and I relayed our orders to the conductor. Then I went back into my cabin to think. The things that firebender said to me, both in New Ozai and today, were irritating me.
"He wouldn't approve of the deal even if we had you as a hostage."
"With the way you act, you'll always be alone."
I scoffed. He knew nothing. I had my father's love. I wasn't a failure like Zuzu. I would succeed where he had failed.
"Are you sure you have his love?" An annoying voice asked in my head.
"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?"
"Be honest with yourself, Azula. Ozai doesn't love anyone. Look at the note you just read. 'The world will be mine.' not 'ours'."
I scowled. "Shut up, mother!"
AN: Next time, recovery, training and awkwardness.
