Chapter Nine
"Would you sit down?" Azula sternly told Aang, who kept pacing back and forth in Appa's saddle, nervously rubbing his shaven head like one would pull at their hair out of anxiety.
"Yeah," Sokka said in agreement as he guided Appa through the sky. "If we hit an air bump you'll go flying off!"
"Are you still upset about what Avatar Roku told you at the temple?" Katara empathically asked Aang.
"What did Roku tell you?" Zuko asked, trying to not think about how his uncle Iroh tried to drag him away from his sister and friends. "You haven't told us anything."
"I don't even know where to start!" Aang blurted out before rubbing his face.
"How about you start with sitting down?" Azula said in a tone that felt reminiscent of the motherly tone Ursa, Kanna, and even Katara used. Azula inwardly rolled her eyes in how she was starting to behave like the women in her life.
"I can't sit down!" Aang blurted out. "I have so much to do and-!"
"Aang," Katara interrupted before gently taking his hands and sitting him down. "You're not helping yourself or anyone else if you keep stressing yourself like this. Why don't you start by sharing what Avatar Roku told you so we all can figure out our next move."
"Okay," Aang said before taking one, two, three deep breaths to calm himself down. "Back when Sokka and Azula were trapped in the Spirit World, Avatar Roku's dragon found me and took me to the temple. There I received… a vison."
"A vison of what?" Katara asked while everyone listened intently.
"Of a comet," Aang finally said, feeling relief that he finally confided about the pressure he was under.
"Sozin's Comet," Azula said, remembering that it comes at the end of this coming summer. She looked forward to experiencing the comet's enhancement of a firebender's power, but she felt that feeling would go away when Aang finished his explanation. But then again she can use that comet to stop her nation of birth from conquering the world. That did not help her eager anticipation for the comet either.
"Well it was known as the Returning Star before Sozin used it against my people," Aang said. "It was called that because it passes the planet every one hundred years."
Katara's eyes widen in realization. "So that means…," she said with dread.
"The comet will pass the planet at the end of summer," Azula declared to everyone's fear.
"Yeah, and if I don't defeat the Fire Lord before then, the world will never regain balance," Aang said in a hurried voice, then remembered that Fire Lord Ozai was Zuko's and Azula's biological father. "Eh, sorry," he said to them sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it buddy," Zuko reassured him. "After the damage the Fire Nation has done to the world, he needs to be stopped." He turned and looked at Azula. "Right Azula?"
Azula hesitated for a moment before saying, "Absolutely." She knew there were practical reasons for stopping her father, along with her desire to protect the people in the Southern Water Tribe, but she cannot help but feel that maybe, just maybe, her father can be convinced to stop this war and find peaceful ways to share it their greatness with the world.
She felt like a traitor to both the Fire Nation and the Water Tribe for having these thoughts.
"Well, anyway, how the monkey feathers am I supposed to learn the remaining elements before that comet arrives?" Aang asked with desperation.
"Well, let's see," Sokka said, trying to defuse the tension, "you've pretty much mastered airbending and that took you, what, one hundred and twelve years? I'm sure you can master three elements by the time the comet arrives." Aang groaned and while Katara tried to calm him down, Azula leaned over and smacked Sokka on the head, causing him to scowl at her.
"It's going to be okay, Aang," Katara said calmly. "If you want, I can try and teach what I know about waterbending."
Aang perked up at that, both for finally learning another element as he is meant to, but also because it would be Katara teaching him. "You'd do that?" he asked her to be sure.
"Absolutely," Katara said with a smile. "I might not be a master- yet- but we can at least get you started."
"We can also start firebending too," Zuko said with a sneer. "I bet Azula would be thrilled to whip you into shape." Azula smirked widely at Aang, who recoiled slight by her imposing look.
"Aang can't learn firebending just yet," Katara told them, much to Zuko's disappointment and Azula's irritation.
"And why's that?" she said with a raised eyebrow.
"Because Gran-Gran said that legend has it that if the Avatar learns the elements out of order," Katara explained, "it could damage the cycle and close them off to the other elements."
"That doesn't make any sense," Zuko replied. "How would Aang learn firebending close him off to the other elements?"
"Because that's how the legend goes," Katara said faithfully. "Besides, it's going to be hard enough for Aang to learn one new element; trying to learn two at once could cause him to fail at both. So no firebending till Aang masters water and earth."
Zuko groaned in disappointment while Azula continued to look at Aang with a hard stare, causing him to dread his first firebending lesson. "One day Air Head," she began to say with a ruthless voice, "you're going to wish you stayed in that iceberg." She smirked at him while he gulped nervously.
"Then it's settled," Katara announced. "For our first lesson, we'll need to find a good source of water."
"Maybe we can find a puddle for you two to splash in," Sokka said with a smirk.
Less than a half hour later, the gang found a huge waterfall connected to a wide river.
"Nice puddle," Sokka said sourly after being told by Katara to land there.
Aang and Katara admire the waterfall with wide smiles, knowing there was plenty of water for then to use to practice with. Aang's attention shifted when he saw Appa rolling over in the water, relaxing after going through several days of strenuous flying; if anyone in the gang needed to rest it was most certainly the bison.
"Yeah!" Aang shouted before starting to remove his clothing to swim. "Don't start without my, boy!"
But he was stopped by Azula when she pulled his shirt back down. "Don't forget why we're here Air Head. Just because I'm not a waterbender doesn't mean I cannot discipline you." She smirked at him in eagerness to follow through with her word.
Aang looked at her in slight fear. "Oh right," he said before dressing again. He looked at Katara, who was ready and eager to begin teaching him and practicing what she knew. "Time to practice some waterbending," Aang said and approached her.
Sokka and Zuko looked at each other, at a lost to what to do. "So what are we supposed to do?" Zuko asked.
"You two could…," Aang said before remembering the last time he properly cleaned and groomed Appa, which was a long time by then. "You guys can clean the gunk out of Appa's toes. And scrub his coat." He picked some leafy branches and held them out for the teenage boys. They looked at him in disgust and disappointment.
"So, while you guys are playing in the water," Sokka began to ask, "we're supposed to be hard at work picking mud out of a giant bison's feet?"
"And his fur?" Zuko added.
"Mud and bugs, guys," Aang said with a smile.
Sokka and Zuko shared another look, the latter shrugging in acceptance. "Okay," Sokka said before he and Zuko took the branches.
"It's about time you two practice some hygiene, even if it's not your personal hygiene," Azula teased, receiving a scowl from Zuko while Sokka groaned in exasperation.
Lieutenant Jee stood on the deck of the ship, overseeing the firebenders practice their training under, passing on what he had learned from General Iroh. "No!" he barked when he saw one of his soldiers keep making the same mistake. "True firebending comes from your breath, not your muscles." He stepped forward to demonstrate. He took up a horse stance, breathed in deeply, and shot out his arm…
But just before he released his fire, the ship tilted to starboard, knocking him and the other firebenders off balance. The lieutenant looked up to the bridge, remembering that the general was there. "General Iroh ordered a course correction," Jee said, unsure of the reason. He turned to the sergeant in charge of the firebenders and ordered, "Continue practicing breathing exercises. I'll report to the general and ask the reason for the course correction." The sergeant bowed and Jee preceded to the bridge at hast. He stepped onto the bridge to find Iroh playing a game of Pai Sho with the bridge officer. "Sir," the lieutenant announced, "is there a reason behind the course correction?"
"Actually, there is," Iroh informed as he stared intently at the Pai Sho board.
"Does it have something to do with Prince Zuko?" Jee asked as he stepped closer to Iroh. "Or the Avatar?"
"No it does not," Iroh said as he moved a piece forward on the board. "But I assure you lieutenant, it is of the up most importance." Iroh sighed in embarrassment. "It appeared that when I was at the Fire Sages' temple, I've lost my lotus tile."
Jee's shoulders slumped, understanding the importance of the lotus tile, both for the game and other means. If Iroh did not have that tile, it could severely complicate their mission. "Very well sir. While you take the time to check the merchants at the next port of call, our soldiers and I can gather some supplies and inquire of any sightings of Prince Zuko or the Avatar."
Iroh smiled at Jee. "I am so fortunate to have such an understanding lieutenant." Jee smiled back and began working with the helmsman to steer the ship toward the nearest port of call.
Sokka grimaced at the gunk that was coming out from between Appa's toes, while Zuko was busying trying to scrub the bison's thick coat. Appa groaned in happiness. "Yeah, don't get too happy," Sokka told him. "Don't expect this to be a regular thing."
"As if we'd do this again," Zuko commented. Appa groaned again before slapping the surface of the water with his tail, showing the boys who groaned in complaint.
Just up the river, Katara began her explanations of the waterbending basics she largely self-taught back home. "This is what I consider a pretty basic move," she said to Aang. "But it took me some time to get it right. Don't be frustrated if you don't get it right away. You just push and pull the water like this…" She began to bob back and forth in a graceful manner, causing the water to move back and forth with her. "The key is getting the wrist movement right."
Aang stood up from the ground and imitated Katara. "So, like this?" he asked.
"That's the right movement," Katara told him as she continued to move the water. "Keep practicing and I'm sure-."
"Hey!" Aang shouted as the water in front of him began to sway with him. "I'm bending it already!"
Katara stopped her movement and stared at how Aang managed to pick up a basic movement so quickly; if she was honest, she felt a little jealous. She looked over at Azula, who shrugged at how quickly Aang picked up on waterbending.
"I think the reason Air Head pulled that off is because he mastered one element under an experienced master of the same element," Azula said to Katara. "You had to teach yourself how to waterbend with a talented firebender offering general advice." She smiled to Katara in an effort to reassure her.
"And you did a great job adapting to learning without a proper master," Aang said to Katara. "I'm guessing you're just as talented as Azula."
Katara smiled, feeling relieved that Aang's quick learning was because of his mastery of airbending.
But she was again disappointed with herself when Aang began outperforming her with a few other moves Katara had to improvised over the years.
"Okay," Katara finally said with a bit of a snap to her words. "Let's see you do this." She took up a firebending stance, much to the surprise of Aang, and shot her fist out over the water, sending a powerful jet of water forward, right toward Zuko. He barely managed to turn his head before he was struck and knocked down to the water. Azula chuckled at Zuko's misfortune, though she was noticing how frustrated Katara was getting with Aang's talent.
Aang had not notice how Katara was beginning to lose her patience and proceeded with the movement. He took up the same stance and shot out a more powerful wave.
A much more powerful wave.
Sokka stared at the incoming water with dread. "Aang!" he shouted before being knocked off his feet with Zuko, while Appa was drenched in water.
"Looks like I got the hang of that move!" Aang said with a wide smile. "What else can you teach me?"
"I think that enough practicing for today," Katara said crossly.
"Yeah, I'll say!" Sokka said after getting up with Zuko and they began checking their supplies.
"You just dosed a lot of our food in water," Zuko said as he held up a loaf of bread. "Some of this won't be good anymore."
"Uh, sorry," Aang said with a guilty smile. "I'm sure there's a town with a market nearby where we can replace and get more food."
Sokka sighed when he found that his prized beef jerky was missing, probably washed down the river. "Our lives were hard enough when you were just an airbender," he groaned.
"That's all we need," Zuko said as he tossed the bread aside. "Another crazy waterbender."
After Aang was out of earshot, Azula approached Katara and asked, "Don't tell me you're upset because he's picking up waterbending faster than you did?"
"Well why shouldn't I be?" Katara hissed. "It took me months to perfect those moves, and he picks up on them in minutes? What's wrong with me?!"
"Calm down," Azula told her. "As I said earlier, he's already mastered one element. And from what I've noticed, air and waterbending have some similar movements."
Katara began to calm down but she still was upset that she was not as talented as Aang appeared to be. "That's true, but what about you and me? You've not only mastered your element but have made it more powerful. What does that say about me?"
"It doesn't say anything about you," Azula continued. "I had several books and scrolls from the library of the Fire Nation Royal Palace. You had some movements Kanna remembered from past waterbenders, my attempt to translate my firebending stances and breathing to you, and your raw talent. In fact it was your talent that got you to where you are now. It's not your fault that you didn't have a master or other proper learning material to learn from. Not yet anyways."
Katara took in what her best friend was saying and realized it was all true. "You're right. It's only a matter of time before we get to the North Pole and I can study under a real master," she said, though she still felt a bit bitter about the whole situation.
"That's better," Azula said, before realizing how she actually was acting more like Katara in terms of compassion. "You know, between the two of us, it's supposed to be you who's the more compassionate one."
Katara chuckled. "I guess I'm being just as much of an influence on you as you were to me growing up."
"A bad influence you are," Azula said with a lopsided smile, causing Katara to chuckle again.
After following the river, the gang found a port village, though it looked vastly different from pervious villages. Tough looking sailors, scoundrels, and merchants selling questionable items occupied the village. "We should hurry and get what we need," Zuko warned them after witnessing a small man demanding to be set down by a larger one. Another clue was a merchant daring people to be brave enough to look into the sack he was holding.
"Scared much, Zuzu?" Azula teased with a smirk.
Zuko scowled at her. "More like eager to get underway again. Can't keep wasting time in villages such as this."
"If you say so," Azula teased again, much to her brother's irritation.
Much to the surprise and annoyance of the gang, the merchants were selling their food products at such incredibly high markups. Whenever any of the gang complied, they received several unfriendly glances and stares from others, forcing them to accept the prices and purchase what they need.
Azula was the most unhappy about this. "Ugh, by my calculation, we only have a dozen copper pieces left," she told them. "We need to spend them wisely or find a way to make more money."
"Actually Azula," Aang said sheepishly, "we only have eleven copper pieces left. I couldn't say no to this whistle!" He reached into this pocket and held the aforementioned whistle that was the shape of a sky bison.
Azula glared at him and said, "You can't be serious…"
"I am serious!" Aang said before taking in a deep breath and blowing into the whistle. Sokka plugged his ears and braced for the sound, which only turned out to be rushing air.
"It doesn't even work," he told Aang. Momo jumped onto Aang's shoulder and chitters after Aang stopped blowing. "See, even Momo thinks it's a piece of garbage."
"And he's not the only one," Azula said, much to the disappointment of Aang.
"No offense, Aang," Katara said gently, "but Azula will hold onto the money for now on." Aang gave a guilty look before handing over the money to Azula, who still was giving him an aggravated look.
As the gang made their way down the dock back to where they left Appa, a scoundrel was soliciting customers. "Earth Nation!" he shouted. "Fire Nation! Water Nation! You're all welcomed here as long as our bargains are your inclination! Come on by, don't be shy!" The scoundrel noticed the five children and ran up to them, taking a particular interest in the bald one with tattoos. "You there! I can see that your clothing tells that you're the world traveling types. May I interest you in some exotic curios?"
"Sure!" Aang excitingly said, before realizing he did not know what curios were. "Uh, what are curios?"
Apparently, the scoundrel did not know what that meant either. "I'm not entirely certain, but we have 'em!" he said with a crooked smile. He took Aang by the shoulders and bustled the airbender onto the docked ship, forcing Aang's friends to follow. After being led down into the hold, each member scanned the items that were available for sale. Katara was mesmerized by a richly jeweled stone monkey, with large, blood red rubies for eyes. Zuko was also mesmerized by the statue and picked it up for closer inspection.
"Careful," Katara nervously whispered to him. Zuko turned his head and the monkey to face Katara, before he took up the monkey's same wide and rather creepy smile, causing Katara to grimace in revulsion. "Never, ever smile like that again," she said, causing Zuko to pout slightly before gently placing the monkey back.
Azula scanned the hold carefully, taking note of how expensive each item was in contrast to the sailors' rough and suspicious looks and attitudes. She concluded that these sailors were not of the honest type and decided not to let them know who she was or the people she was traveling with; she just hoped the others would do the same.
"I've never seen such a fine specimen of lemur," an authoritative voice called out. Azula turned and saw a man with a wide brim hat and an iguana parrot on his shoulder. He was addressing Aang with Momo on his shoulder. "That critter would fetch me a hefty sum, if you'd be interested in bartering," the man said before his iguana parrot screamed a few times in an unfriendly way.
Aang placed his arms around Momo protectively. "Momo's not for sale," he said defensively.
Katara continued to browse and noticed on a rack a blue endpiece that held a scroll together. Upon closer inspection, it bared the wave symbol that signified the Water Tribe. She removed it from the rack and carefully unrolled it to find that it contained various waterbending moves, with step-by-step instructions on how to perform them. With wide eyes and a gasped, she called out, "Aang! Look at this! It's a waterbending scroll. Look at all of these crazy movements!"
"Whoa," Aang said with amazement as he studied the scroll.
Azula raised a skeptical eyebrow, curious as to the origin of the scroll. "Where did you get a waterbending scroll?" she asked what she presumed to be the captain of this ship.
The captain walked over and snatched the scroll from Katara's hands. "Let's just say I got it up north at a most reasonable price," he said with a half smirk, half smile. "Free," he said darkly before replacing it back on the rack, Katara hungrily eyeing it.
A look Azula noticed and understood completely. The teenage girls shared a glace and a nod, as if they understood what each other was exactly thinking.
"Wait a minute," Sokka said in realization. "Sea-loving traders… with suspiciously acquired merchandise at questionable prices… and pet reptilian birds…," He turned toward the one scoundrel who led them aboard. "You guys are pirates!" Both the scoundrel and the captain look at him in mild disdain at his choice of word.
The scoundrel put his arm around Sokka's shoulders, causing the teen to grimace. "We prefer to think of ourselves as high-risk traders," the scoundrel said with a smile.
"That have questionable morals," Zuko said with a scowl, earning the captain's ire.
"You watch what you say, boy," the captain said. Zuko stood there, unfazed by the captain's ire.
"So," Katara said to draw the captain's attention, "how much for the 'traded' waterbending scroll?"
The captain took the bait. "I've got a buyer already," he said to her. "Some nerd professor from the Earth Kingdom. Unless you have two-hundred gold pieces on ya right now?" The captain smirked, knowing there was no way these kids had even close to that amount of coin.
Aang leaned over to Azula and whispered, "Hey Azula, pirates love to haggle, so I could try talking him down to what money we have."
Azula rolled her eyes at Aang's overinflated confidence and optimism. "Yeah, like they would give up two-hundred gold pieces for a dozen cooper ones. Oh, wait, make that eleven because of your broken whistle."
"Come on, Azula," Aang said undaunted. "I can do it."
Azula was about to present a logical argument as to why Aang's haggling would not work, until she noticed Katara's sly look.
Azula caught onto what Katara was implying.
"You know what?" Azula said with a smile. "What do I know about haggling with high-risk traders?" She held out her coin filled hand and dropped them into Aang's, who wore an eager smile. "Show me how it's done."
Aang stepped up to the captain while Katara casually walked away to let them negotiate. "How about for the waterbending scroll at the price of… one copper piece!" Aang said while using slight of hand to present the copper coin.
The captain and his crewmate burst out laughing at the bald monk's humor. "The lowest bid is two-hundred gold pieces. I ain't haggling on items this rare down south."
"Alright, alright, alright," Aang said. "How about… two copper pieces!" With sleight of hand, he now held out the second piece with the first, while willing to increase his bid again.
But the captain was no longer humored. "It ain't as funny as the second time, boy!"
"Aang," Katara said nervously, "we should get out of here. I can feel we're getting weird looks." Aang looked around and saw that he was receiving unfriendly looks.
He turned back to the captain and said in a stereotypical pirate voice, "Aye, we be castin' off now!" He followed Katara and Azula, who forcibly grabbed their respective brothers and quickly disembarked the boat, quickly making their way down the dock back to Appa.
"What was all that about, Katara?" Aang asked as she and Azula were walking at a faster than normal pace.
"We just thought we should leave," Azula said simply.
"Yeah, we felt that we weren't welcomed there anymore," Katara added.
"But why?" Sokka asked. "I was about to browse their boomerangs."
Zuko raised an eyebrow in suspicion, knowing that his sister and her friend were up to something. "What's really going on you two?" he asked directly.
He got his answer when one of the pirates from the ship shouted, "Hey you damn thieves! Get the hell back here!"
Zuko scowled and grunted. "And there's my answer."
"Don't just stand there, Dum-Dum!" Azula said before taking off running with Katara. "RUN!" Zuko, Sokka, and Aang quickly followed the girls while Momo flew overhead. The pirates pursued them relentlessly through the town, using their knowledge of the streets to cut them off. The gang rush pass a familiar cabbage merchant, bumping his cart and knocking a few cabbages to the ground. The merchant rushed to pick them up just as Aang leaped through the opening of the cart. The merchant breathed out in relief that his cart of cabbages was undamaged.
That is, till the brutish pirates shoved the cart out of their way, sending cabbages flying in every direction, and causing the merchant to shriek, "MY CABBAGES!"
Twisting and winding through the town, the gang turned down from alleyway to alleyway, the pirates close behind and almost cutting them off a few times.
But the gang's luck ran out when they rush down an alley that led to a dead end. They turn around to find the pirates closing in.
"Now," the pirate solicitor said while holding a pair of long knives, "who gets to take the steel of my blade first?"
"No thanks!" Aang shouted before sending a powerful blast of air to kick up the lose dirt on the ground and blinding the pirates temporarily. The Avatar then used his airbending to lift each of his friend onto a nearby roof and they took off running, swiping some ponchos from a drying line and disguising themselves.
By the time the pirates recovered, they lost track of the kids, much to their chagrin.
"I kinda used to look up to pirates," Aang said after they got safely back to their campsite with Appa waiting there. "But those guys are just terrible."
"Pirates in general are terrible people," Zuko said with disdain. "They pray on the less fortune and take what they want without consequence."
"How so self-righteous, Zuzu," Azula teased. "How to you propose to stop the likes of them?"
Zuko scowled, knowing that was not an easy answer, and knowing Azula was using that difficult question to give him a hard time as usual. "I don't know, but something needs to be done to get back at them."
"Well, I think the best way to get back at them," Katara said before proudly holding out the waterbending scroll, "is to take back what they stole."
Aang sprung up with a wary look on his face. "No way," he said in disbelief.
"No wonder they wanted to slice and dice us," Sokka said with an agitated voice. "You stole their waterbending scroll."
"I actually like to think of it as," Katara said, recalling what that pirate said to Sokka, "'high-risk trading'." Sokka squeezed his forehead with his hand, indignant that his sister stole from some rather dangerous people.
Zuko glanced over at his sister with a furrow brow, where he saw she was smirking in pride. "You had something to do with this, didn't you?" he accused more than asked.
"Who, me?" Azula said with feigned innocence. "I would never do such a thing Zuzu, nor encourage someone else to do so."
"Liar," Zuko grunted, much to Azula's amusement.
"Boys," Katara said to get their attention, "where do you think they got it? The piratesstole it from a waterbender."
"And by your logic of getting back at the pirates," Sokka reasoned, "the waterbender they stole it from has the right to steal it back themselves. Not us."
"But it comes from our culture, Sokka," Katara argued back. "So we have the right to steal it back as a whole."
"Whatever!" Sokka shouted. "You and Azula put all of our lives in danger for a scroll you probably won't get much from."
Feeling slighted, Azula countered, "I mastered firebending from scrolls and books like that and managed to teach Zuko from the same sources."
"She has a point Sokka," Zuko said, much to his displeasure of agreeing with Azula.
"Yeah, scrolls and books," Sokka pointed out. "Not from a single scroll."
"He has a point Azula," Zuko said, feeling better to be agreeing with his best friend instead.
"Scrolls and books that were stolen," Katara added to the argument. "From the most dangerous man on the planet, no less."
"Another good point Sokka," Zuko said, seeing that Sokka was arguing in circles with Azula and Katara.
"Okay, okay, that's enough," Aang said firmly. "We can't undo what's done. Since we have the scroll, we might at well use it as a starting point for me and Katara."
Sokka groaned and walked away, dreading what trouble will come because of what he saw as a stupid piece of parchment.
After docking at the nearest port, General Iroh, Lieutenant Jee, and a dozen soldiers set out on Iroh's quest. While the elder man search each shop for what he was looking for with the assistance of most of the soldiers, Jee and two others asked around if anyone had seen a group of young teenagers pass through. Jee was careful not to divulge too much information, not wanting to let on who they were really looking for. But given how they were Fire Nation military, they did not receive the best of welcoming and received virtually no information. Jee was not surprised in the least and reported to General Iroh.
"I've asked around, sir," Jee said with a solemn voice. "No one has seen your nephew or his companions." As before Jee was careful not to say anything incriminating before those who had no need to know of their mission.
Iroh sighed in mild disappointment. "It appears we both did not find what we were seeking," he said. "Not a single lotus tile in the entire market."
"It's a shame our stop did not have what we seek," Jee replied, also somber that the general also did not find what he sought.
"On the contrary," Iroh replied with a smile. "I have always believed that the only thing better than finding something you were looking for, is finding something you were not looking for a great bargain." The soldiers that accompanied the general carried armloads of merchandise that would greatly benefit the crew, including musical instruments.
"A new sumki horn, sir?" Jee asked when he saw the last soldier carrying the said instrument. "I wasn't aware that the old one needed to be replaced."
"Oh maybe it is time for such a replacement to occur," Iroh said. "Or if nothing else, we now have two sumki horns for music night aboard the ship."
Jee gave Iroh a lopsided smile, knowing full well that maintaining the morale of the crew was of importance, especially to General Iroh. But the lieutenant did not look forward to tedious task of finding the space for all the new items and cataloging it in an organized manner.
As they walked down the dock, Iroh took notice of an unusual but interesting ship. "This place looks promising," Iroh said as he began walking up the gangway with Jee close behind. The latter was skeptical of this ship and its potential crew, but he is not one to dissuade a superior officer unless lives were blatantly at risk.
Down in the main hold, Iroh admired a statue of a monkey with large ruby eyes and a wide smile. "This is rather handsome," he commented. "Would it not look magnificent in the galley?"
Before Jee could speak his mind, he overheard a crewmember report to a man Jee was quick to identify as the captain of this vessel, given his commanding presence aboard the ship. "We lost the Water Tribe girls and the little bald monk they were traveling with," the crewman reported, much to the chagrin of the captain.
Their conversation caught Jee's attention. He walked over and asked, "This monk, did he have a blue arrow tattooed on his forehead?"
"And was he traveling with a young man with dark hair and a scar over his left eye?" Iroh asked, remembering that his nephew sported scars on the left side of his face. Iroh dreaded to hear how he acquired those scars.
"He was," the captain replied. "Why do you ask?" The captain and his crewman took in the appearance of the Fire Nation officers, wondering why they would be interested in a group of kids.
"Because the young man is my nephew, and I wish to reunite with him," Iroh explained. "Perhaps we could work together and retrieve what we prize."
The captain and his crewmate exchanged glances, realizing that the Fire Nation officers would have resources that would greatly benefit them.
"Alright," the captain said, "I think we can make a deal."
Iroh smiled, though it was a feigned one because he had to remain wary of these pirates because they could only be trusted as far as you can throw them without bending of any kind.
"Okay," Katara said with excitement after the gang returned to their campsite by the river. "I just want to get this one move first and then it's all yours, Aang." Aang nodded as Katara unrolled the scroll and studied, finding a move she desperately wanted to master. "The single water whip…," she said thoughtfully. "Looks doable." She stepped up to the river and raised a stream water, following the movements she studied and whipped the stream of water around.
Only to hit herself squarely on the forehead. As she rubbed the spot that was hit, she heard Sokka and Zuko laughing. "What's so funny?" she growled at them.
"Sorry," Zuko said as he composed himself. "But it's kinda satisfying to see you on the receiving end of your own waterbending."
"Besides," Sokka said after he stopped laughing, "you deserved that." He turned and looked at Aang. "You've been duped kid. She's only interested in teaching herself. She just doesn't want to admit it."
"Aang will get his turn once I figure out the water whip!" Katara shouted with an angry and guilty voice. She tried the water whip again, but it behaved very erratically, and she unintentionally hit Momo on the behind. He screamed in protest and jumped behind Azula for protection, much to the firebender's surprise.
Katara attempted the water whip a few more times before throwing her arms up in frustration, creating a small wave to form in the river and splash down to dose her feet in water, making her more frustrated. "Why can't I get this stupid fucking move!"
Aang grimaced that Katara was so frustrated to use foul language and walked over to the river. "Don't worry, you'll get it in time," he said with an encouraging tone, though Katara eyed him with displeasure, expecting him to master it quickly. "You just gotta shift your weight through the stances…," he said as he manipulates his own whip and managed to snap it without him hurting himself or anyone else. "There. See the key to bending is…"
But Katara had enough and shouted at him, "Will you PLEASE shut your fucking air hole! Believe it or not, your infinite wisdom gets really annoying sometimes. Why don't we just throw the damn scroll away since you're so naturally gifted!" She turned and saw Azula with an unimpressed look, while Sokka and Zuko respectively looked at her in disappointment and anger. "What?" Katara growled. She looked over at Aang and saw he was terrified and on the verge of tears.
Katara gasped deeply as she realized her mistake. "Oh my spirits, Aang, I'm terribly sorry. I don't know what came over me. I-I'm just so frustrated with myself and I wrongly took it out on you. I'll do better and never do that again." She quickly and carefully rolled up the scroll and handed it to Aang like it was contagious for her. "Here, this is yours. I don't want anything to with it."
Aang took the scroll in his hands and stared at it for a moment, remembering the times when he saw other airbenders in training get frustrated over not progressing as fast as others. "It's okay, Katara," he said in reassurance. "I understand your frustration. I saw many others in your position, and they eventually mastered the moves they had trouble with. It just takes time and practice. As the master trainer Guru Shiro once said, 'Patience yields focus'. Be patient with yourself and you'll be a master before you know it." He smiled brightly at Katara, who smiled shyly, knowing Aang had forgiven her.
"Thanks, Aang," Katara said. "I promise to do better to be more patient, especially when it comes to bending."
"Hey," Sokka said, "what about Momo? He's the real victim here."
Katara walked over to Momo and gently stroked his ears. "I'm so sorry Momo," she said gently as he purred.
"And what about me and Zuko?" Sokka asked, seemingly pushing his luck. "There was that one time where-."
"No more apologies!" Katara said with annoyance, not wanting to apologize to the boys because she was forced to use her waterbending to keep them in line as children.
Sokka shrugged and he and Zuko went about to set up a fire, while Aang began practicing his waterbending. Katara watched him closely and sighed.
"You were right Azula," she said to her friend. "He's picking up waterbending faster than I am because he mastered airbending."
"And airbending has similar movements to waterbending," Azula added. "You were just jealous that Air Head is progressing faster than you."
Katara pouted a little, knowing Azula was right that she was jealous of Aang. "Do you always have to rub salt in the wound?" she asked.
"For you, just to prove a point," Azula said with a smirk. "The boys though, I do it for our entertainment."
Katara laughed and said, "Well it's nice to know I don't have your ire."
"Lucky you," Azula said before a thought came to mind. She leaned closer to Katara and whispered, "After the boys fall asleep, you can take the scroll and practice at night. I'll try to help as best as I can."
Katara smiled at the prospect of practicing without Aang unintentionally showing her up. She just had to remember to be patient with herself so she can focus. "Sounds good to me."
After the Fire Nation officers retrieved their riverine boat, the pirate captain stood on the bridge of his ship and ordered it to set sail parallel to Iroh's. After coasting down the river for more than two hours, the captain transferred to Iroh's boat in a bit of a fume, causing him to place some tobacco leaves between his cheek and gums. "Shouldn't we stop and search the woods?" the captain asked. "It would make sense if they made camp there."
"True," Iroh replied, "but they stole a waterbending scroll, have they not?"
The captain chewed on the tobacco leaves to ingest the contents of it. "Uh huh," he said before spitting excess tobacco juice into the river.
"Then they shall be on the river," Iroh said. The captain cocked an eyebrow, then smirked at the insight of this old officer before returning to his own ship, feeling much better about his chances of recovering his prize.
Jee stood nearby and as soon no pirates were within earshot, he whispered to the general, "Sir, I know your intention is to reunite with your nephew, but what of the Avatar? If these pirates find out he had returned…,"
"It would be disastrous," Iroh finished. "Do not worry lieutenant. As soon as an opportunity presents itself after reuniting with Prince Zuko, we shall find a way to 'accidentally' allow the Avatar's escape."
"How do you intend on doing that sir?" Jee asked.
"The Avatar is an airbender, he will evade the fight by being quick and clever," Iroh said. "He and his other friends will realize they would be in over their heads and would retreat at first opportunity. We only need to delay the pirates to given them that chance." Jee nodded in acknowledgement, though he had doubts that the Avatar and his friends would not just flee when they believe Zuko is in danger, and how Iroh would respond to it after taking Zuko away.
In his career as a soldier, Jee knew just what extremes an individual would resort to out of their loyalty to others.
After waiting for a few hours after the boys laid down to sleep, Azula and Katara silently crept out of their sleeping bags, the latter retrieving the scroll. As they snuck away, Azula found Momo wide awake and staring at her with his luminescent green eyes. He chittered at her and with a furrowed brow, Azula whispered, "Quiet lemur! Go back to sleep." Azula walked past him as he continued to chitter, earning a harsh glare from Azula to silence him. Azula and Katara quietly made their way to the river.
Katara attempted the water whip again, only to fail each time. She slowly began getting frustrated, earning a warning from Azula.
"As much as he's annoying," Azula told her, "Air Head is right that you need to be patient."
Katara sighed and knew her friend was right. "Maybe I'll try another move," she decided. She studied and noticed a move that illustrated sending a large stream of water toward a target. It reminded Katara of the fire blasts Azula and other firebenders would launch. Katara smirked at the idea of using a similar move against hostile firebenders. "I'll try this one," she said as she studied the movement intently. After a few moments, she stepped to the river and raised a small amount of water and with graceful moves, she managed to launch the stream of water over the river. Katara cheered at her accomplishment.
Azula softly clapped her hands. "Very nice, but let's see a larger amount of water," she said, prompting Katara to do so, achieving the same results.
Azula continued to watch before hearing the sound of grinding metal. She waved to get Katara's attention and motioned her to be quiet and to follow her, which Katara did after securing the scroll. Azula led the way through the forest and noticed a Fire Navy riverine boat. Azula turned to warn Katara, only to find a pirate grab her from behind.
"No, let go of me!" Katara shouted. "Azula, do something!"
Azula was one step ahead of Katara and launched her boomerang at the pirate, scrapping his scalp and drawing blood, forcing him to lose his grip of Katara. She began sprinting through the forest with Azula close behind after the latter caught her boomerang.
But then they ran headlong into a squad of Fire Nation soldiers. Katara was grabbed by two of them while a man with a lieutenant's insignia grabbed hold of Azula in such a manner where if she would firebend, she would hurt herself as well as him.
"Not quite the family member I wanted to reunite with," a familiar and unpleasant voice called out, "but I believe my nephew would be cooperative when he sees we have you in our custody."
Azula turned and saw that Iroh was indeed there, staring at her with a displeased expression. "Uncle," she said with mild disdain.
The pirate captain and his crew emerged from the forest. "Is this the one you wanted?" the captain asked.
"No," Iroh said flatly. "As I explained earlier, I am here for my nephew, not my niece."
Azula rolled her eyes. "I see you still hold much love for me," she said with audible sarcasm. "And working with pirates now? How low you have sunk Uncle." She earned a scowl from him.
"How do we proceed sir?" the lieutenant asked. Iroh observed that the waterbending girl had the scroll tucked away in her sash and moved to retrieve it. Katara scowled at him.
"Hey!" she shouted. "Give that back! It's mine!"
"No, girl, it's mine," the captain replied with disdain.
"Actually, it would appear this scroll is mine as of now," Iroh said. "And if you wish for it back captain, I suggest you find my nephew and bring him back safely to me."
The captain frowned before an idea came to mind. "Well I bet if you keep hold of those girls, we can tell your boy that you'll let them go in exchange for him. When we do that, you give me the scroll. Deal?"
Iroh stroked his beard for a moment. "I find these terms acceptable." The captain nodded and led his crew to search the forest for the rest of the gang.
But little did anyone know, including Azula and Katara, Momo followed the girls and silently witnessed the whole event. He set off to warn his owner and his friends as the pirates continued to search.
Aang slept soundly as he pleasantly dreamed of days before his emergence, but also of pleasantries of today. He felt that Katara had entered his dream and was about to kiss him, but instead he received licks. Confused he began to shake his head, before being swatted on his head.
He suddenly came to with Momo on his chest. "Momo, what are you doing?" Aang asked. "I was having a good dream about-," he stopped right there, not wanting to say aloud the contents of his dream. He looked over to Katara's sleeping bag…
To find it empty, along with Azula's. Aang frantically searched around the campsite, not seeing a sign that the girls were there. Momo became frantic and urged Aang to get up and follow him. At first the Avatar was confused by Momo's behavior, but then it dawned on him.
Katara and Azula were in trouble.
"Guys!" Aang shouted at Sokka and Zuko. "Get up!"
Zuko shot up from the ground, immediately expecting trouble. "What's going on?" he asked.
"I think Katara and Azula are in trouble," Aang said urgently. "Momo's acting strange and I think he's telling me we need to follow him."
Zuko raised an eyebrow in skepticism but when he looked at the empty sleeping bags, he considered it possible. "How do know that?"
"Lemurs are actually pretty smart," Aang said before grabbing his staff. "Now c'mon!" Zuko jumped up and gathered his twin machetes.
Aang rushed over to Sokka and nudged him with his staff. "Sokka, get up!" he shouted.
Sokka groaned and opened one eye. "Ugh, it's not morning. Go away." He rolled over to fall back asleep.
"Sokka, you need to get up now!" Aang urged. "Katara and Azula are in trouble!"
Sokka's eyes popped open, and he sprang up from his sleeping bag. "Where?!" he shouted as he grabbed his boomerang.
"Follow Momo!" Aang shouted, prompting the lemur to begin flying toward where he last saw Katara and Azula with the boys close behind.
Suddenly, Momo screeched and turned around, causing the boys to stop in confusion.
Allowing the pirates to capture them. The boys struggled to escape, but the pirates were far too strong. Aang considered using his airbending to trip the pirates up, but he had the feeling they were taking him and his friends to where Katara and Azula were.
And his instincts were proven correct, and they were led before the old man he saw at the temple.
"Uncle?!" Zuko shouted as he saw his soldiers holding Katara and Azula captive, with Iroh holding the scroll the girls stole.
"Here's your nephew," the captain said with a smirk. "Turns out we didn't need to extort him to allow the girls free."
"Uncle," Zuko said in shock, "you planned on holding them hostage to trade for me?"
"I am afraid so nephew," Iroh said solemnly. "But once I explain everything, you will understand."
"Understand what?!" Zuko shouted. "That you sunk so low to work with pirates to hold my sisters hostage?!"
"Sisters?" Katara and Azula asked simultaneously, surprised that Zuko would refer to them both in the same manner.
Iroh was also shocked by how Zuko showed concern for Azula. Given how she tormented Zuko as children, he expected that Zuko would be relieved that he would get away from Azula.
"Oh how Azula has influence you for the worse," Iroh said solemnly.
"Enough with this bull-pig shit," the captain said. "Do you want the boy in exchange for the girls and the scroll?"
"Excuse me," Azula interrupted, "but you're going to pass up the Fire Lord's children in exchange for a piece of parchment?"
"The Fire Lord's kids?" the captain asked as he looked between her and her brother.
"Yes and I know he desperately wants us home," Azula continued.
"Azula, what the hell are you doing?" Zuko asked, having no desire to see his father again.
"Think about it," Azula said to the pirates. "Reuniting the Fire Lord's children with him would bring you a reward you never thought possible. You will never have to work another day in your lives again."
"She's got a point skipper," one of the pirates said.
"She does," the captain said before turning his attention toward Iroh. "Give us the girl!"
Iroh scowled at how this was turning out worst than he could expect. He remembered that Azula was extremely intelligent and perceptive as a child, and it seemed her time in the Southern Water Tribe had made her sharper. "It would be ill-advised to break our arrangement," he warned the pirates.
"Give us the girl or I'll add more scars to your nephew!" the captain shouted before pulling a knife out and held it dangerously close to Zuko.
"You touch one hair on him," Iroh growled in a voice no one expected, including Jee, "and I promise you pain you never thought possible."
"We've got your boy," the captain retorted. "You wouldn't dare." There was a moment of silence as the groups stood off against each other, neither daring to make a costly move.
"Skipper, we might just want to cash in with the boy," a pirate said. "Better one than none, eh?"
"No way," the captain replied. "It's either both or neither."
"Well if that's how you feel skipper," Sokka interrupted, "imagine the reward you'd get when you turn over the Avatar."
"Sokka, shut your mouth!" Katara shouted at him.
"Yeah, Sokka," Aang said nervously, "you really should shut your mouth…"
The captain eyed the boy with the arrow tattoos, remembering that master airbenders were tattooed in such a manner, according to legends at least. And the last Avatar was supposed to be an airbender. "So this kid here is the Avatar?"
"Yep, and I'm just saying," Sokka continued, "if you can't get both of the Fire Lord's kids, you'll more than make up for it with the Avatar."
The captain hummed in thought. "You can keep the girl. We'll be getting more worth with the Avatar than with her." He signaled his crew to start walking away.
"You will regret this," Iroh said darkly before launching a fire blast at the captain, striking him and causing him to fall to the ground. The pirates responded by tossing smoke bombs at the Fire Nation soldiers.
Then chaos erupted.
In their confusion and their need to defend themselves both the pirates and the soldiers let go of their captives. Each member of the gang began crawling on the ground in search of an escape. Katara and Azula managed to find each other and stuck closely together, striking at soldiers and pirates to sow more confusion.
The boys though, somehow got separated. "Aang!" Sokka shouted. "Where are you?!"
"Where are you Sokka!?" Zuko shouted back as he sliced at a pirate's back while the scoundrel fought a soldier.
"I'm over here guys!" Aang shouted to both of them as he air-jumped above the smoke. "Follow my voice!"
"Where?! I can't see you!" Zuko shouted.
"I can't see anything!" Sokka shouted, before he yelped and ducked a deadly blow. He crawled across the ground in an attempted to evade more dangerous blows.
Aang began bending the smoke to dissipate it, thought he realized it would only hurt his and his friends' chances of escape. He then bent air into the smoke to increase the obscurity of it. He ran in the direction where he heard Sokka and found him on the ground, grabbing him and running to where Aang noticed the smoke cloud's edge. He ran out of it with Sokka and noticed that Zuko just made it outside of the smoke. The boys began running away from the smoke.
And found Katara and Azula attempting to push the pirates' boat back into the river.
"You're okay!" Zuko shouted.
"Yeah, no thanks to you, your sisters got away faster than you," Azula teased, causing Zuko to feel embarrassed by what he said earlier.
"Enough you two," Katara said. "Let's get this boat back into the water so we can escape."
"Or make it appear we escaped," Azula said thoughtfully. "If we push it back into the river, the pirates and our 'uncle' would think we're trying to flee on it."
"That's a good plan," Sokka said, "but we'd need a team of rhinos to get this excuse of a boat back in the water."
"A team of rhinos…," Aang said before looking at Katara, "or two waterbenders."
Katara smiled and soon, she and Aang began pulling the river water back and forth onto shore and soon, the boat moved back into the river. With a powerful gust of wind, Aang managed to turn the ship around to make it appear it was going downriver. Once it looked satisfactory, the gang took off running into the forest while Aang blew his bison whistle, causing Appa to appear with Momo.
"I knew a bison whistle would come in handy!" Aang said.
"I guess it's not such a waste of money," Azula mused, realizing the potential of having the whistle. The gang boarded Appa and made back to their camp to gather their gear and took off once again.
"Skipper!" a pirate shouted to his captain. "The kids took our boat!"
The captain shoved the soldier he was fighting and turn to noticed that his man was right. "After them!" he shouted. His crew complied and disengaged from the soldiers to pursue their boat.
Iroh was quick to realize that if the pirates were to chase after their boat, they would need another. "Lieutenant!" he shouted. "Round up the men and retreat back to our boat! Prevent it from being stolen!" Jee nodded and he took off with three men, chasing down the pirates and continued the fight. Iroh breathed deeply, having enough of these pirates. He calmed his mind and began separating the positive and negative energies within him…
And when he felt them clashing back together, he guided the chaotic energy through his arm and aimed it at the pirates.
The lightning bolt flew above the pirates, who froze in place at the terrifying power of the old Fire Nation general.
"Leave," Iroh calmly said with the most serious glare. "Now."
The pirates did not need a second warning as they fled into the forest, begrudgingly accepting their boat was lost to them. The captain took one look over his shoulder to glare at Iroh, inwardly swearing revenge.
"Everyone aboard, now!" Jee ordered as he and Iroh climbed aboard last. The soldiers were quick to get the boat moving down river and quickly caught up to the pirates' boat.
But against their assumption, the gang was not aboard.
"They tricked us," Iroh said, believing that Azula was the one who came up with this feign method of escape.
"Sir, there's a waterfall dead ahead," Jee reported. Iroh turned and saw that there indeed was a waterfall. If his map was correct, it was a rather large one.
"Turn our vessel around lieutenant," Iroh ordered. "We have nothing else to gain here." Jee nodded and began directing the soldiers to turn the boat around and fight against the current to return to their ship.
Iroh watched as the pirates' boat went over the edge of the waterfall, where there was a delay from the sound of the boat impacting the water below, indicating that it would have been a fatal fall.
Iroh meditated over how Zuko showed great concern for Azula's wellbeing. He remember how Zuko often confided in him about the terrible things Azula did to him, which Iroh believed wholeheartedly because of how Ozai behaved. Iroh did consider it possible that growing up in the Southern Water Tribe may have changed Azula's ways for the better, but Iroh also knew that their family legacy could inspire Azula, and by extension Zuko, into continuing the terrible acts their family committed over the past one-hundred years.
But until Azula proves otherwise, Iroh will continue to believe Azula would be a negative influence on Zuko, making it necessary that the two be separated.
Even if that meant making Zuko hate Iroh in the short term, for destiny often calls for sacrifice.
He later sighed at the difficulty of answering destiny's call and placed his hands within his cuffs, feeling a round object with one. He pulled it out to find it was his missing lotus tile, causing him to begin laughing.
"What humors you sir?" Jee asked.
"You are going to get a kick out of this lieutenant," Iroh began explaining, "but my missing lotus tile was in my sleeve the whole time!"
Jee blinked with a blank expression, before sighing and trying to look to the positivity of the latest events.
The best one he could think of was new strings for his pipa.
"Aang," Katara said as they flew through the air, "I still need to apologize. You were just so natural at waterbending without really trying. I got too jealous at you and frustrated with myself so much that I put us all in danger."
"It's okay Katara," Aang told her with a smile. "It's not uncommon for others to become jealous of someone's talent. You have nothing to be ashamed of."
"Thank you Aang," Katara said with a smile of her own. "Besides, who needs that damn scroll anyway?"
"Is that how you really feel?" Sokka said. Katara looked toward her brother and saw he was holding the very waterbending scroll Katara dismissed.
"The scroll!" Katara gasped. "How did you get it?"
"I fought a fierce battle with that uncle of theirs," Sokka began to brag, "and when I knocked him down, I took the scroll and found Aang and Zuko and led them safely to you!"
Everyone stared at Sokka with skeptically looks.
"You can admit you just found it on the ground Sokka," Zuko said.
"But in the future we can say that what I said was how I got the scroll!" Sokka exclaimed.
"As if anyone would believe you," Azula said. "They could have seen what you claim for themselves and still laugh off how ridiculous it is."
"Ha-ha," Sokka said unamused.
"Still it's great that you got it Sokka," Katara said while reaching for it.
"First," Sokka said as he held the scroll away from her, "what did you learn?"
"Stealing is wrong," Katara said, prompting Sokka to hand her the scroll in satisfaction of her answer.
"Unless it's from thieves like pirates," Azula said casually. "Then it's perfectly acceptable."
"And expected," Katara added, causing Sokka to groan at the idea of them doing something like this again.
Aang laughed. "Good one girls." He looked over at Zuko, seeing that he had a serious look on his face. "Hey Zuko, are you okay?"
"I just can't believe my uncle would work with lowlife pirates," Zuko said angerly. "He's such an honorable man."
"Was is a more appropriate term," Azula told him, earning a glare from her brother. "Do you really believe that our uncle was ever honorable? He waged war across the Earth Kingdom, committing horrible acts of war and ordering others to do the same. Do you believe that makes one honorable Zuko?"
Zuko scowled and fumed, knowing his sister was right.
"Besides," Azula continued, "Uncle was partly responsible for Lu Ten's death."
Zuko growled and smacked at the floor of Appa's saddle, earning a warning roar from the bison. "Sorry everyone. I just… I just hate the legacy that I was born to."
Hearing Zuko say that sparked a thought in Aang's mind and he remembered he had not passed on an important message. "Darn it, I totally forgot!" he said.
"Forgot what Aang?" Katara asked.
"The last thing Avatar Roku said to me," Aang said, wondering how he was going to explain it.
"Well don't keep us in suspense," Sokka said. "Just say it."
"Well, the last thing he said to me was that he wanted me to pass on a message, a message to Zuko and Azula," Aang continued.
Zuko and Azula shared a skeptical look with each other. "What would Avatar Roku have to say to us?" Zuko asked.
"He asked me to say 'hello' on his behalf to his great-great-grandchildren," Aang finally said.
The rest of the gang stared at him in shock, never expecting a message like that from the past Avatar.
"Whoa," Katara said as she breathed slowly.
"To be honest," Sokka said as he scratched his head, "I was thinking that message would be something harsh."
"Yeah," Zuko said, not sure what to think of it. He looked at Azula and for the first time he saw genuine fear in her expression. "Are you okay Azula?"
Azula hesitated before saying, "I'll be okay." She turned from everyone and looked over the horizon, not yet ready to share what she experienced in the Spirit World, where her great-great-grandfathers, Avatar Roku and Fire Lord Sozin, urged her to make a decision that would greatly affect the world.
But she felt that which ever decision she would make regarding that subject, the decision would leave her hollow inside.
And more alone than she could ever be.