Howdy folks , and welcome to Chapter 9! This is part one of the two part conclusion of the first "arch" of A Walk Through Fire! No, this is not the end of the story. Not by a long shot. I really liked writing this chapter and I hope that it shows. I can't wait to share Chapter 10 with you guys as well. I hope y'all enjoy it. Don't forget to Review, Favorite, and Follow the story.
I still do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Suki didn't know where she was. She knew that she was somewhere on land because she was traveling west. She also knew where they were going. She was heading to some military complex near the water. Apparently, she was supposed to be getting transferred to a prison ship and moved to a maximum security prison. Or, at least, that's what she was able to pick up from the people in charge of her for the time being.
I hope Sokka is ok, she thought. It's been months since I've seen him and I miss him dearly. He should be in Ba Sing Se by now but I haven't heard any news since I got captured by that Firebending bitch!
Suddenly, she stopped moving. She looked around but couldn't see anything since the bars were covered by a tap. Suddenly, the doors at the back of the carriage opened up and a figure stepped in.
"W-what's going on?"
Aang woke up to something warm in his arms. Not knowing what it was, he looked down and his eyes widened. The first thing he saw were locks of black hair in his face.
What the fuck is that? he thought, alarmed.
He also noticed that whatever it was smelled heavenly. It was a sweet scent that he hadn't smelled in a long time. It was of flowers from the Fire Nation, specifically from Fire lilies and Cherry Blossoms.
The being was also moving. Why the fuck did it move?! he internally screamed to himself. He stiffened in the bed and started to panic. Is it a person? Do I know this person? He didn't know what to do. It was someone he knew, though. He wouldn't fall asleep near someone that he didn't know.
Suddenly the body he was holding started to shift, causing him to stiffen again.
Wait, is that Azula? he thought frantically.
Then it dawned on him how he got into this position. We must have moved in our sleep at some point, he reasoned with himself. She's not awake yet? Wow, I guess! I can go meditate for once. He smiled to himself and started to untangle himself from the sleeping princess.
He slowly started to move his hands away from her chest but then heard a moan escape the Princess' mouth. Eventually, Aang was able to untangle himself from the sleeping girl and moved to his spot on the balcony where he sat down cross-legged and started to meditate.
" ...you need to snap out of it!"
"No! Why should it matter?! They didn't even try to help…"
"But we helped you..."
"We are your friends, we care."
"No! How do I know she didn't tell you to do that, too?!"
"... you know that's not true."
"Is it? Because from what she's shown me it is."
I can't let this keep going on. I have to show it. I…I…
"...I CARE!"
Azula shot up in her bed, panting heavily and trying to stabilize her breathing. She was sweating lightly and looked flushed.
What the fuck was that? she thought. Was that a dream? No! It felt way too real to be a dream. That felt like…a vision? No... but what was that?
She looked around the room and didn't recognize where she was. She did, however, see Aang's shirt lying on the ground and started to panic.
Again?! she cried internally. How do I keep losing him? He couldn't have escaped, right?
She opened the bathroom door and didn't see him. She then walked to the balcony and saw him floating in the air while meditating.
"Wow," she whispered to herself. "He's so…incredible." She stared at her crush in awe as he was seemingly floating on nothing, still in his meditative state.
I guess I should get breakfast, she thought to herself while walking back into the room. Shoot, would he also want food? Yes...I should get him breakfast.
She stopped a soldier in the hallway and told him to bring her two plates of breakfast. He nodded his head and ran off towards the kitchen to get her the food that she requested.
While waiting for her food, she walked to the bathroom and turned on the water for the tub. While this was a military complex, there was still a tub in her room since it was the room that housed the higher-up generals and the Fire Lord.
It was a very lavish estate. There was ornate black tiling on the ground and deep red tiles on the walls as well as multiple candles in the room with a bright blue flame created by the princess. A simple sink with a faucet and a mirror stood prominently as well. Outside of the bathroom, there was a large king size bed covered in black and red bedding. Additionally, there stood a small table with four wooden chairs around it. Ornate Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom banners hung around the room along with old knick knacks from the Earth Kingdom. Finally, there existed a large wooden cabinet that could house clothing.
Azula was thinking about her dream while she was taking her bath. She still couldn't explain what was happening in it. She knew that she was talking to Aang. Or, at least, someone was talking to Aang.
I've got to stop thinking about him, she reaffirmed to herself. I have a mission I need to be thinking about, not some silly dream that makes no sense! She abruptly ended her bath and started to dry herself off, finding her trademark outfit which was her red jumpsuit with a dark red belt and red and gold slippers. She looked at herself in the mirror and started doing her hair before stepping out of the bathroom, ready to take on the day.
"Wow, he still isn't done meditating yet?" she mumbled to herself. She looked around the room for any sign of the other person that lived in it but found none. She went back outside to see that he was still floating in the air meditating and smirked to herself.
He really is incredible and he doesn't even know it…and he's hot, too! No, I'm a Princess! I can't be thinking of him like that, no matter how chiseled and goofy and….
"Are you just going to keep staring at me or are you going to say something?"
Azula was suddenly brought out of her thoughts by the sudden voice of the Avatar. He still had his eyes closed and was facing the open view of the water.
"How did you even know that I was here?" she asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "I didn't say anything."
"Your smell," he said bluntly.. "You have a very distinctive scent of Fire Lilies and Cherry Blossoms."
Azula looked at him and frowned slightly. While internally she was very impressed that he was able to identify her perfume, she knew that she couldn't show him this. She was going to be determined to not let her emotions for him get in the way of anything today, even if it meant being cold towards her crush.
"Well, now that you know that I'm here, I'm sure you are aware of the mission that we have today," she said in a tone that didn't try to hide her malice and dominance.
Aang shuddered. He opened his eyes, turned to her, and nodded.
"This means that you cannot spend your day mediating like a fool," Azula added, smirking at her insult.
This also caused Aang to fall to his feet on the balcony and stand at his full height.
"Alright, I'll stop meditating and get ready for the day," Aang said, sighing to himself as he started walking towards the bathroom and Waterbending water into the tub. He stripped his clothing and got in to clean himself.
Well, she's being extra hostile today, he thought to himself. Was it something I did last night? Something I said? He continued to ponder the Princess' actions while he washed his body. Being mindful of how long he took and trying not to anger Azula anymore, he Waterbended the dirt and grime from his outfit and put it into the drain. When he finished, he promptly got dressed, brushed his teeth, and checked himself in the mirror.
While Aang was in the bathroom, Azula was waiting for their breakfast to arrive. She had ordered it a while ago and was wondering why it was taking so long to arrive.
"There better be a good reason as to why this is taking so long," she mumbled to herself.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door and she got up to answer it. She opened it and saw the same soldier holding two plates loaded with different Earth Kingdom foods.
"Sorry I'm late, my Princess," the soldier said, bowing his head while holding up the plates of food in front of Azula.
"Hmm...you know," she began, looking down at the bowing soldier. "I'm in a decent mood right now, so I'll spare you from becoming ashes on the floor." She took the plates of food and placed them on the table. She returned to the soldier who was now quaking in fear. "Now get out of my sight before I change my mind."
The soldier bowed again and left without another word. He sprinted down the hallway almost in tears, which satisfied Azula.
She closed the door and started walking back to the table where she waited for Aang. She sat down and looked at the food in front of her: pancakes and bacon with mixed fruit and eggs cooked sunny side up.
Aang walked out of the bathroom shirtless due to the fact that he left his shirt on the bed. He made eye contact with Azula who instantly turned scarlet at the sight of a slightly-wet and shirtless Aang.
"Put on a shirt, you fool!" she yelled as she turned away from Aang.
"It's not like you've never seen me shirtless before," he grumbled to himself as he put on his shirt and walked over to the table. He sat down and looked at the food in front of him, smiling to himself.
Maybe she does care about me! he thought happily.
"Aww, you got me breakfast!" he said to the Princess as he started eating the food in front of him.
"Yes," she replied with a colder tone. "We have a mission and you need food. That was the only reason."
She lied straight to his face and for some reason, she hated it. She could lie to anyone and feel nothing about it, but when she lied to Aang, she felt her stomach turn.
Oh well, I just need to push through. Remember the mission.
"Oh," Aang replied simply and sighed. He was trying to move past everything that was going on between them but he just couldn't. From their conversations last night to how she's been acting this morning, Aang didn't know what was wrong. He decided to ask.
"Hey, did I do something?" he asked timidly, looking at the Princess. There was no change in her expression. "It seems like you are mad at me for some reason."
She looked at him blankly and tried to think of a response. This is going to be harder than she thought."No, Avatar, I am not mad at you at all," she finally spoke coolly, looking at him. "This is how I treat all my soldiers." She saw him wince a little and try to recover. It made her shiver internally. He's going to hate me.
Is that all I am to her? A soldier? He shook his head and just continued to eat his breakfast.
"Oh, okay," he muttered aloud to himself as he sat there. After everything that has happened? I'm just a soldier? I mean, sure, I haven't really done anything, but even in that time we were spared before we left? And our talks at meals? Did all that mean nothing to her?
Azula watched Aang eat his food and wanted to scream. She knew that she had hurt him with her words but there wasn't anything she could do. She thought that this was the way to get him to focus on the mission. "Do you remember your part of the plan, Avatar?" she asked him as calmly as possible.
"Yes," he stated, placing his fork down. "I am going to be with you and Ty Lee. We are going to be on the lookout for the people trying to capture the prisoner."
"Correct," she said, looking at his offering with a small grin. "You are already doing better than most soldiers I know."
"Is that all I am to you?" Aang asked with a bit of a tone, and glanced up to see Azula stop moving and look at the window. "Am I just a soldier?"
Shit! Azula cursed to herself. What do I do now? She was in too deep now to just turn around and say that she loved him. She couldn't let her emotions get the better of her. There is a job that needs to be done.
"Why, yes, of course that's what I think of you," she replied sternly. She looked him dead in the eyes and lied to him. "You are my soldier. From the day I let you out of that cell to now, you have been nothing but my soldier." She spoke in an even tone towards him. Internally, she was still cursing to herself. She didn't know what to do. She knew that she was hurting him. She knew that it would take a miracle for him to forgive her. She thought that this was for the best, but at this point she didn't even know. All she knew was that she needed to keep lying to get out of it…or so she thought.
Aang felt awful. He couldn't believe that his worst fear was coming true. She didn't even like him as an acquaintance, let alone a crush. He felt his heart rip apart.
What did I do?! he asked himself. I gotta get out of here. Hold on, I need to know one more thing. He looked right at Azula who was still finishing her meal.
"What about Ty Lee and Mai?" he asked slowly, his voice having a hint of caution in it.
"What about them?" She asked back, looking slightly confused.
"Do they think of me as a soldier?"
"Yes."
She replied too quickly. Her mouth moved before her brain could and she instantly regretted what she said afterwards.
"I told them to be nice to you and to treat you like a soldier. That is what they were supposed to do from the beginning up until now." She finished her lie and felt the atmosphere of the room come crashing down around her.
Aang couldn't take it anymore. He placed his cutlery on the table and left the estate room. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes and he tried to wipe them away. All he wanted to do was run away from the room. The room where Azula was. The room where his crush was. The room where his heart was.
Azula watched Aang run from the room. She saw him run away from her. She could feel his heart racing and she could see the pain and hurt that she had caused him. All she could do was watch as he sprinted down the hallway.
Ty Lee was having a very delightful morning. She had gone on a walk with Mai, gotten breakfast, and was even able to do some morning acrobatics on the beach near the complex. Now she was going to visit Aang and Azula whose room was near hers and Mai's. She was expecting to just walk over to their room and visit before they had to potentially fight Aang's friends. What she didn't expect was to nearly collide with a distraught Avatar who was running away from his room.
"Woah, Aangy, watch where you're goi…" She stopped walking and looked at him closer. "Wait, are you crying?" she asked, her voice full of concern for her friend.
"I'm fine," he stated bluntly, trying to keep his composure. "Besides, it's not like you actually care about me."
This caused Ty Lee to do a double take and look back at Aang. What the fuck does he mean by that? More importantly, why is he crying? And who caused it?
"Aang, what do you-"
Before she could finish her sentence, he was gone. He was back to sprinting down the hallway disappearing into the complex. Thankfully, he had on his hat so no one knew that he was the Avatar.
Ty Lee ran to Azula's room as fast as she could. She had a million thoughts running through her head and she needed answers. She needed them now.
Azula had expected many things to happen that morning. Seeing Ty Lee bust through her door angry wasn't one of those things.
Why the hell are you here? she thought coldly. Can't you tell I'm busy right now?
"Ty Lee, what a pleasant surprise!" she said aloud instead, giving her friend a smile. However, it was returned with a glare from the acrobat.
"What did you do to Aang?" Ty Lee demanded, still showing great concern in her voice.
"Oh, that." Azula paused trying to come with an explanation for the mistake-filled conversation she had just had. "We just had a small conversation."
Ty Lee usually took all of the bullshit that Azula would throw at her, but she wasn't having it right now. "Cut the shit, Azula!" she said as she slammed the door shut, storming up to the Princess. "What did you do to Aang?"
Jeez, I really messed up this time, Azula thought. I'm a monster. What kind of person lies to their crush straight to his face?!
"We just talked about some… things," she said innocently, starting to crack. She couldn't keep the facade up permanently anymore like she could before she met Aang.
"So then explain to me why the fuck he thinks I DON'T CARE ABOUT HIM?!" Ty Lee was livid. She knew that Aang was insecure about their relationships. He talked about it all the time. She especially knew that he was insecure about his relationship with Azula.
Azula winced at the level of her friend's voice. She didn't expect her to be this mad.
I have to stay strong. It's for the mission.
"Well…" Azula said slowly, "I said that I didn't care about him."
The words hung in the air as both of them processed the true meaning of them.
Ty Lee stood there silently. Her face slowly moved from anger to rage, then hatred. Azula, on the other hand, was slowly starting to fall apart. It was in that moment when she realized what she did.
"What…the FUCK DID YOU DO?!" Ty Lee screamed at the Princess as she slammed her foot down on the wooden floor.
"I said that the three of us didn't care about him at all," Azula admitted. "I told him that I told you both to treat him like a soldier. I told him that I didn't care about him. I told him that I never cared!"
It was like Ty Lee was watching a ship sink. Watching Azula's expression change from neutral to the verge of a breakdown was painful for the acrobat. This only made her angrier, and she showed it.
"So you're telling me," the acrobat started, moving her hand and pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers, "you lied to one of the most insecure people you know, who you just so happen to be in love with, and told him that you hated him?" She paused to gauge Azula's response to her question.
Azula only stood there and stared at Ty Lee. She couldn't even defend herself anymore. She knew that she messed up. She knew that she messed up big time and she didn't know what to do to fix it.
Interrupting the silence, Ty Lee continued. "...and then to top it all off, you lied to him about Mai and me; saying that we both also didn't think of him as anything more than trash and a pawn?"
"Well, to be fair-"
"Shut the fuck up!" Ty Lee shouted at her friend. "You have no right to defend yourself here!"
"I am aware that I messed everything up, Ty Lee," Azula admitted, sitting down in her chair and sighing to herself.
"You know, I don't think you are aware," Ty Lee said sternly, following the Princess and sitting where Aang had sat earlier that morning. "You just made the most powerful person in the world potentially hate you." She looked at Azula who showed a hint of remorse on her face but went on. "I'm guessing that you told him about the fact that he's going to be seeing his friends who YOU took him away from."
Azula shook her head which caused Ty Lee to laugh.
"Why are you laughing at me?" Azula snapped at the acrobat.
"Because you may be able to fight a war and win battles, but you are horrible when it comes to your emotions and expressing them."
Ty Lee spoke while giggling which made Azula even more frustrated at herself.
"I just thought that maybe if I were cold to him and got him out of my mind, I would be able to focus more on the mission and not think about him," Azula explained with her head in her hands. "Lying to him felt different. I felt something. I saw how hurt he was. I saw how much pain I caused him and I just kept going." Azula was on the verge of tears by this point.
Ty Lee had never seen her like this and all the anger she had towards her immediately vanished. She didn't know what to do, so she just sat and listened to Azula spill everything.
"I made him run away," Azula continued. "I made him hate me. I tortured him for weeks in a cell and gave him minimal food and water until I broke his spirit. I then forced him to stay in Ba Sing Se. Sure, I told you and Mai to treat him normally, but I didn't think he would make such an impact on you and Mai. I think I've even seen her smile a few times when he's around." She chuckled to herself as she continued to pour out her heart to the acrobat. "I made him run away from me. I am definitely a monster, Ty Lee. I think he hates me. He looked so distraught and I caused that. I caused him to be this way. I shouldn't have lied to him. It just solidifies the fact that I'm a monster!" She wiped a tear from her eye and looked at Ty Lee, who was gobsmacked.
Wow, she must really like him, Ty Lee thought to herself as she went over to comfort her friend. I've never seen her like this in my life, and I've known her since we were five.
"Azula," she said as she took the Princess' face and cupped it in her hands. "We are going to fix this. YOU are going to fix this. The Azula I know wouldn't stop at anything to get what she wanted. Do you want Aang back?"
Azula nodded and whipped the stray tears from her face. She wanted to apologize to him. She wanted to tell him how she really felt. She wanted to tell him that she cared.
I need him. Without him here, I can't function normally. Without him, I'm weak.
Then it dawned on her what the old lady meant.
Sometimes our greatest weaknesses can turn into our greatest strengths.
I need my strength back!
Ty Lee noticed the change in Azula's mood and smiled as she watched her stand up and walk towards the door. She looked back at Ty Lee and gave her the trademark smirk that she always had.
"Let's go get my Avatar back."
Zuko woke up in a weird mood. He knew that it was the morning of the big mission, but he also knew that something was going to go wrong.
Something's gonna happen, he said to himself. I just know it. It has something to do with the mission.
He sighed to himself and decided that whatever was going to happen was just going to have to happen. No point fretting about something that hasn't even happened, right? He chucked to himself and started getting ready for the day.
He walked out of his tent fully clothed and made his way over to Katara who was cooking breakfast.
"Good morning, Zuko," Katara said to him as he sat on a log in front of the pot.
"Morning," he responded groggily while looking at the pot. "How did you sleep last night?"
"Aww, I didn't know you cared," she responded, blushing and toying with one of her hair loops. " It was just a dream about Aang, Sokka, and me traveling together."
Zuko frowned slightly at the mention of that name. While he didn't outright hate Aang, he definitely wasn't the first person to say that they missed him. He just didn't know him well enough to make a judge of him (other than the times where he had tried to kill him).
"What was it about?" he pried, curious about an adventure the three of them might have had before he got captured by Azula.
"Oh, just one time where we were traveling," she reminisced. "We had stopped at some Earth Kingdom tunnel system and we got separated. We were with some group of traveling singers. It was a weird dream." She chuckled to herself as she recounted the group.
Zuko looked at her and smiled to himself as she told him the wacky dream that she had experienced. He didn't really dream much and any dream that he did have, he wouldn't remember when he woke up.
"...how do you think he's doing?" Katara asked at the end of her recollection.
This caught Zuko off guard. He wasn't expecting to be answering this question again but decided to give a similar answer.
"I'm sure he's probably still alive," he admitted. "I mean Azula wouldn't just kill the Avatar. She would exploit him and use him for his power. Plus, he probably doesn't want to be found...so why look for him?"
Katara looked at Zuko for a second and then decided to not engage in his comments towards Aang. She was much closer to the Avatar and she knew that Zuko's only interaction with him were near-death experiences.
"You know, you could stand to sound a little more optimistic sometimes," Katara said matter-of-factly.
"What do you mean? I said that he probably wasn't dead."
"Well, can't you make it sound better? Like, 'Oh, he's fine, don't worry about it, Katara'?"
"Well, I don't want to lie to you. But, like I said, Azula is crazy and who knows what she's done to him." He finally finished his breakfast and got up to go find Sokka.
He found him studying the maps from yesterday and going over the plan that he had come up with to save Suki. He sighed to himself and made his presence known to the Water Tribe warrior.
"Hey," Zuko greeted.
"'Sup, Zuko." Sokka said distractedly, not looking up from his maps.
"Sokka, get some food. I'm sure we calculated everything correctly. The caravan will come and you and Toph will collect Suki and meet us at the cave that I found. There, Katara and I will be waiting."
"Yeah, I know that," Sokka said, stroking his chin and frowning slightly. "I just kinda wish that Aang was here. He could be a serious help to us if he were just able to Airbend everyone away from Suki so we could grab her and make a run for it."
"Jeez, why does everyone keep bringing him up today?" Zuko stated with a hint of annoyance. "You would think that it's Avatar Day or something."
"You're only saying that because you know that he could help more than you can," Sokka retorted at the Prince who merely grimaced at him in return.
"No, that is not true!" Zuko complained. "He's honestly not even that great of a bender. I heard that he can't even bend fire yet. What kind of Avatar can't bend all four elements?"
"Well, you try to master them all while on a time limit," Sokka remarked. "We started this and he only knew one. Now, he knows three. You gotta admit that it's an improvement form where he was eight months ago."
Zuko snorted. He didn't think that it was impressive at all. He could barely handle himself in a fight and was only the master of one of the elements, which was Air. His Earth- and Waterbending needed some serious work in his opinion. He couldn't even Firebend right now.
"Why are you always so critical of him, anyway?" Sokka asked, turning his head to look at Zuko.
"Because everyone hypes him up to be this amazing, strong, and powerful bender, but honestly, he isn't one!" Zuko explained.
"Yeah, but he's only been doing this for eight months!" Sokka defended. "He still has a lot of room to grow. Plus, you can teach him Firebending if we can ever find him back in Ba Sing Se."
"And that's another thing," Zuko continued. "If he was so powerful and godly, he should have broken out and escaped Azula by now. But he hasn't. Who knows where he is at this point."
Zuko had a point. If Aang was so powerful, he would be able to overpower Azula and escape.
"He's probably still in Ba Sing Se in some pathetic prison cell in a dungeon," said Zuko. "Azula wouldn't let him out of her sight."
Sokka looked at him and frowned. He didn't like hearing these things about one of his best friends, but he had to admit that he did have a point. Azula would never let Aang out of her sight even if he wasn't in a cell.
Zuko decided to leave Sokka alone and tried to relax before the mission was supposed to start. He had about two hours before they were going to move out, so he decided to practice his Firebending in a large clearing where he wouldn't accidentally start a forest fire.
"Mind if I join you, Sparky?" Toph asked as she walked up to the clearing where he was bending.
"Sure," Zuko replied as he got into a fighting stance and smiled. "I always wanted to fight you one-on-one."
He launched into Toph who merely put up an earth wall. He moved his hands to his side and summoned flames to his hands. He jumped over the wall and used his hands to propel him forward.
Toph couldn't see Zuko up in the air, but she heard the flames come towards her. She stomped her foot against the ground causing the melon-sized balls of rock to pop out of the ground. She felt Zuko land on the ground and used it to her advantage. She sent the balls flying towards him which he managed to dodge.
"So, are you gonna give her the ring today?" Toph asked while she summoned earth armor around her body to protect her from the heat and flames.
"Yes, that is the current plan," Zuko explained. "Once the mission starts, I'm gonna take her to the cave and give it to her then. It shouldn't be that difficult." He sent a torrent of flames at Toph who merely walked through them thanks to her armor.
Toph grunted and moved her hands in a circular motion, causing a circle of rock to trap Zuko. She squeezed her hands which made the circle smaller and smaller.
"That's great. I hope it all works out for you in the end." She smiled as she moved her feet in a series of lines and arched her hands up creating a spike under Zuko's feet.
He fire-punched at the wall surrounding him causing it to break. He sprinted towards Toph and jumped up into the air with a kick that caught the Earthbender off guard. She got hit in the shoulder and grunted.
"Thank you," Zuko responded victoriously. "I hope she likes it."
Zuko continued his assault of kicks and punches which Toph was barely able to block and parry. She barely got in enough time to create a hole big enough to fit Zuko before his next punch. She sidestepped it and created a rock that would push him into the hole.
"That was fun," Toph said. "I hope we can do it again some day." She giggled and walked back to camp so that she prepared herself for another fight to get Suki back.
Eventually, it was time for the mission to begin. Sokka had gathered them all in front of the maps and went over the plan once more with them making sure that they had their parts memorized.
"Now, are there any objections to this plan? Anything anyone wants to change?" Sokka looked at each person in the group. They all shook their heads signaling that they were fine with the plan.
"I just hope it works," Zuko muttered to himself, but was overheard by Sokka who patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, man," Sokka said reassuringly. "We thought of every possible scenario. We are well-prepared for this."
"Yeah," agreed Zuko. "I guess you're right."
"Well then, I guess let's get going," Sokka announced. "The caravan is supposed to get here soon." He grabbed his boomerang and looked at everyone else.
Katara had her water pouches, Zuko had a broad sword on his back, and Toph didn't need anything.
"Alright, let's move out!"
Everyone started walking away except for Zuko who ran back to his stuff. He grabbed the box that the ring was in and placed it into his pocket. He then ran to catch up with Katara who was waiting for him at the trail leading to the Stronghold. They both looked at each other and smiled.
"Let the madness begin," Zuko said as they walked into the compound. He looked around and saw more security personnel posted, glanced at Katara, and sighed.
"Let the madness begin."