Hello and welcome to Chapter 11 of A Walk Through Fire! This is the start of part 2 of the story and will have plenty of twists and turns thrown in throughout it. Thank you all so much for the feedback on Chapter 10! I really appreciate the reviews and PMs! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter because I surly did. Don't forget to Follow, Favorite, and Review!
I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender!
Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula brought an unconscious Aang back to his room. He was being carried in Azula's arms for most of the way and was snuggling up to her. His breathing was slow, and he had a slight smile on his face.
Azula tucked him into bed and sighed to herself. She looked at Mai and Ty Lee who were making tea for everyone and smiled.
I guess I got everyone back to normal huh? she thought to herself as she looked at all the people in the room.
"Are you going to join us?" Mai asked as she placed three cups of tea on the table and gestured to Azula to take a seat. She walked over to the table and sat next to Ty Lee who was smiling and sipping her tea.
Azula nodded her head and took a seat at the table. She took a sip of her tea and looked back at Mai who was now staring at her. "What?"
"You haven't said anything since we got here," Mai replied. "And I think after whatever the fuck just happened we need to talk about it." She also took a sip of her tea.
"What more is there to discuss? I said I wouldn't lie to you three anymore. I said that I care about Aang. I said I was sorry!" she snapped at Mai. She was still very emotionally tired from the ordeal and it was showing.
"Yeah, Mai, give her a break," Ty Lee spoke, finally siding with Azula. "We all need a break for a little while."
"How are you going to not let this happen again?" Mai questioned in a dark tone. It was very obvious that she was still very angry at Azula for causing all of this.
"What do you fucking mean?! I just told you what I would do!" Azula yelled at the assassin. "What more do I have to do?! I got him back. He isn't dead!"
Ty Lee was watching the argument transpire and was starting to get a little frustrated. While she was still very angry at Azula, she also knew that Mai was digging a little bit too much into her. She knew that this had been a rough day, especially for Azula. She sighed to herself and took a glance at Aang and saw that he wasn't in the bed. Wait, where is he? He was just here!
Azula sensed the uneasiness in Ty Lee and turned her head to see where she was looking and her eyes widened. "Where the fuck did he go?!"
This exclamation caused Mai to look over and her eyes also displayed shock. "He couldn't have gotten very far. We need to look for him."
Aang had been woken up when he was removed from Azula's arms. The sudden lack of warmth was what woke him. He tried to go back to sleep but all he heard was Azula and Mai arguing about something. He had decided to go use the bathroom and freshen up. He washed himself and cleaned his clothing. He walked out of the bathroom dripping wet with only his pants on which caught the looks of all three of the girls that were in the room.
Azula looked at him and instantly melted. Holy Agni shit, jeez. When did he get that hot?! I...I...holy shit! She instantly turned into a scarlet mess. Her eyes traced down Aang's physique which only made her melt more. The water was still running down his pecs and made him look incredible. "A-Aang shouldn't you c-cover up?" she stammered at the teen but couldn't manage to look away from him.
Holy crap, she called me Aang! Aang thought as he said aloud, "What do you mean? You've seen me shirtless." He bent the water out of his shirt and put it on, causing it to cling to his torso.
"Woah, Azula, you've seen him shirtless?" Ty Lee teased which earned a punch from the Princess.
"Anyway, I heard what you both were arguing about," Aang said as he continued to move through the room and sat down at the table. "Mai, it's fine. What happened has happened."
"Actually, Avatar," Azula began as she lowered her head. "It's not fine."
Aang looked at her and instantly felt guilty. He knew that she felt awful, but he had never seen her feel this much remorse.
"What I did to you, what I put you through, I shouldn't have done that," she continued. "I shouldn't have said the things I said to you this morning. I shouldn't have been so cold to you. I really am sorry. Is there any way I can make it up to you?"
"Why don't you explain everything to me," he replied in a dark tone. Azula shuddered. "No more lies. Just like you said."
Mai smirked at Azula who merely sighed and nodded her head.
"Fine," she said defeatedly, sitting down and sipping her tea. "What would you like to know?"
Aang sat there dazed. Huh, I didn't think I would get this far, he thought, stunned. What should I ask her? Hell, do I even want to know some of this stuff? While he wanted to know everything that was going on, he also didn't want to know that she was actually telling him the truth the entire time.
He finally settled on asking her a simple question to start off the interrogation. "Did you want to capture me?"
Azula sighed. Her first instinct was to lie straight to his face, but she couldn't hurt him like that again. This is going to be much harder than I thought it would, she pondered.
"My father, Fire Lord Ozai, told me that I needed to originally capture my idiot brother and my traitorous uncle. You were merely an afterthought. If I had captured you, it would have been a bonus."
"Okay, so then why did you capture me in the first place if your original mission was to capture Zuko and Iroh?" Aang was curious as to where this was going to go. He had always been curious about Azula's motives and now he was able to find out about them.
"Throughout the entire Fire Nation military, you are the number one person of interest. If we were to even hear that you and your gaggle of friends - well, ex-friends, now - were in the area, we were to drop everything and hunt you down. We heard that you were in Omashu so we went and found you. You know, you're very good at escaping, but awful at running away," she added, chuckling and sipping her tea.
"Yeah," Aang confessed. "Well, I guess I don't need to run away or escape anymore since you're so good at finding me," Aang teased, which caused Azula to blush.
"I got a message that you were going to Ba Sing Se to find your Bison, so I came up with a plan to take over the city and capture it for the Fire Nation. It was quite genius, if I say so myself. I captured Ba Sing Se and I captured you," Azula replied smugly, crossed her arms, and leaned back in her chair.
"Alright, Princess," he mocked as he knew this next question was going to be a juicy one. "Why didn't you kill me when I was in that cell?"
Azula's eyes shot open.. Why didn't I just kill him? I can't just tell him the original plan? I can't. He'll hate me! Fuck, what do I do? She was panicking. Aang could see it in her eyes that she was freaking out. "Are you sure that you want to know, Avatar?"
Ty Lee glanced at Mai and leaned into her. "She didn't even tell us her original plan," she whispered to Mai. "What do you think it is if she doesn't want to tell him that badly?"
Mai merely shrugged her shoulders.
Aang thought for a moment. He knew that this "plan" was going to be bad. He knew that he probably wouldn't like the answer, but he knew he needed to know what was originally going to happen. He nodded his head, confirming that he did want to know, and sighed.
"Fine," Azula began. "I was originally going to capture you and submit you to mental reconditioning. If you had not broken after I asked you to become my soldier and slave, I would have remapped your brain using lightning. Since you submitted, we went to the second plan I had made which you ultimately made both a hundred times better and a hundred times worse." She took another sip of her tea and studied Aang's reaction to all of this. His face was neutral but the look in his eyes was all-telling.
"I had told Mai and Ty Lee that you were captured and that I had a plan. I was originally going to use you and destroy the Earth Kingdom. I had to gain your trust and make sure that you wouldn't run away so that I could influence you to join the Fire Nation as my soldier, and, technically speaking, that plan is still active." She looked at Ty Lee and Mai who had looks of horror on their faces. I guess I probably should have expected this.
Mai was, once again, furious with Azula. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" she exploded towards Azula. She knew that Azula could be cold and heartless and that she had some manic tendencies, but this was actually insane.
"Why do you think I didn't tell you both? I knew you wouldn't approve of it, so I just kept it from you," Azula stated as she moved her hands away from her tea and rested them on the table. She looked so uncomfortable in this situation and it was showing.
"Well, none of that matters anymore because you aren't going to go through with it, now, right?" Aang spoke in a calm voice as he looked at Azula who nodded her head. "Good! Now, when did you realize that you cared about me?"
"I knew that I wasn't acting myself when we went to buy you clothing," Azula pressed on. "An old lady told me that I wasn't acting like myself when I was around you. That's when the ball started rolling. It was when Mai told me that I was acting different when I realized I cared about you. I would ask about your opinion on stuff, go find you when you would run away, and secretly make sure that you were okay." I can't tell him that I like him. Technically, it's not a lie. He probably doesn't even like me. "Then, I found you by the river a couple nights ago and I let you sleep in my lap.
"Aang, I care about you and I'm so sorry that you ever thought that I didn't."
"Azula, it's okay," Aang reassured her calmly. "I forgive you. You messed up. All that matters is that you are actively trying to fix these mistakes. Thank you!" He looked at the Princess and smiled at her. He had a slight blush on his face.
"Aww, that was so cute!" Ty Lee just sighed to herself. She had a slight smirk on her face and was happy that everything was out in the air.
"I do have one more question for you, Azula," Aang remarked.
Azula looked up and into Aang's eyes. The sparkle had finally returned to his eyes and he looked lively again. She couldn't help but smile at him. "What's that, Aang?"
"I know I asked it to you earlier today, but what am I to you?" He looked at her with a smile on his face. This time, he knew that her answer would be different.
"Aang." She looked him dead in the eyes. She had a certain glint in her eyes which made him shudder. She was not only looking into his eyes, but she felt like she was looking into his soul. "You are my weakness. You are my achilles heel. You are the thing that makes me feel things that I can't explain. Aang, I need you with me. You make me feel the weakest I've felt, but also the happiest I've ever felt. You are more than a soldier. You are a companion; you are a friend, Aang."
Aang had the biggest smile ever on his face. He felt like it was his birthday. AHA, SHE LIKES ME! he internally yelled with joy. SHE DOESN'T HATE ME, SHE DOESN'T HATE ME! He was shaking with excitement and was mumbling audibly.
"Hey, Zula, I think you broke him," Ty Lee giggled as she pointed to a sputtering Aang.
"Earth to the Avatar," Mai droned. She waved a knife in his face which caused him to snap out of his trance.
"So just to make sure I understand, none of you hate me? Or want me dead?" he asked, just so that he could make sure he had his friends back.
"Nope," Mai said simply. "You're like my annoying little brother. I wouldn't let Azula or anyone take you from me without a fight." Mai had a smile on her face. She also didn't want Aang to hate her and would miss him if he left.
"Aangy, I would never want you dead!" Ty Lee exclaimed. "I would miss you terribly. You're one of my favorite people to be around!" She ran over to him and gave him a big hug which made him stumble back a little bit.
"Avatar, I would do anything to anyone who came in between me and you," Azula acknowledged. "While I have been awful to you, you never were mean or anything other than nice to me. I meant everything that I said to you today. You are one of my most trusted companions and that won't change anytime soon." Unless I date you, of course...but that probably won't happen, her inner voice added silently. Azula spoke with conviction and drive. She knew what she wanted and that thing was Aang beside her. She won't let anyone stop her from maintaining that goal.
Aang let out a shout of excitement and hugged, or, in a way, tackled, Azula to the ground. He was so happy that his worries were for nothing.
She could possibly like me, he thought excitedly to himself. Oh, wouldn't that be something. Aang was hugging Azula very tightly, so tight that he was almost crushing Azula, who wasn't expecting the hug at all.
"Alright, get up before I make you regret hugging me!" Azula shouted while lying on her back, trying to get out of Aang's hug.
"Sorry!" he apologized while jumping up and landing on his feet. He lifted Azula off of the ground and placed her onto her feet which earned a blush from the Princess.
"That's quite alright...just don't do it again, thanks," Azula spoke with a blush on her face.
After a while, the group decided to just hang out and relax after the hectic day that they all just had. They were playing games and talking to each other. Azula was softly leaning on Aang as they were all hanging out. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door which Azula had to answer.
She went to the door and saw that two soldiers were standing there waiting for her. "Is there something you need?"
"We were told to hand you this letter. It came in for you," one of the soldiers stated while handing her the letter.
"Thank you. Now, get out of my sight!" Azula ordered as she closed the door and walked back to the group holding the letter.
"Who was that?" Ty Lee asked while playing her turn in a board game.
"Just some soldiers handing me a letter." Azula sat down next to Aang.
"What does it say?" Mai asked as she took her turn.
Azula opened the letter and examined it. "It says that we need to return to the Fire Nation and that one of my ships will arrive in the next few days to take us back to the Capital." She casually burned the letter up in her hand after reading.
"Well, I guess we are going back home," Ty Lee said while focusing on the game.
"Yes, we are going home," Azula repeated, "but it's going to take at least six to eight weeks to get back. We're going to be on a boat for a while but we will be making stops to get stuff like food and supplies. We also might be able to take some tips into the towns and villages that are on the islands that we stop on." Azula leaned into Aang who was also taking his turn.
"That would be fun," Aang said. "What a great way to celebrate my seventeenth birthday. If my calculations are correct, it should be three weeks from now, "Ty Lee perked up and smiled. "Yes, that would be so much fun! I can't wait to get you gifts!" Ty Lee exclaimed as she threw her hands up into the air making Mai and Azula laugh and causing Aang to blush a little.
Eventually, the evening turned into night and the group decided to go to sleep. Mai and Ty Lee both bid the love-birds goodnight and left them alone in their room. Azula decided to get into the bathroom first and left Aang on his side of the bed. Saying that he was tired was a massive understatement. He was exhausted. A lot had happened to him today and it was starting to catch up with him. He was so exhausted that he fell asleep before he could even put on his sleep clothes.
When Azula stepped out of the bathroom, she was greeted with a shirtless Avatar sprawled out on their bed. She facepalmed and sighed. "I guess he's tired," she said to herself as she moved to his side and pulled the covers over him. She then got into her side of the bed and extinguished the candles that were lighting the room. She curled up next to Aang who turned over in his sleep. He buried his face into her chest and wrapped his arms around Azula. His ear was right over her heart which slowly beat while she rubbed his head. I guess I know he likes my boobs. She internally laughed as she held the sleeping Avatar close to her.
"I guess that lady was right: our weaknesses can become our greatest strengths."
Suki was confused. No one had taken the time to explain to her what had happened while she was kidnapped by Azula. All they were focused on was the condition that Zuko was in. To her, he almost looked dead. His limbs were mangled and in awkward positions and he was bleeding from his head and nose, arms, and legs.
"Is he going to survive?" she asked while looking at Katara who looked terrified.
"I'm happy I mastered healing at the Northern Water Tribe because this is crazy!" replied the Waterbender. She had seen injuries, but this...this was inhumane.
"What do you think caused Twinkle-Toes to go berserk in the first place?" Toph asked from the back of the saddle.
"Yeah," Suki noted. "Did something happen between you guys while you were in that cave?" She was wrapping bandages around Zuko's torso.
"Well, I mean, words were said...it was stressful and Aang lost it," Katara tried to explain, but couldn't do so due to her trying to focus on healing Zuko with the little water she had. "Sokka, we gotta land at some point. I need more water!"
"Yes, I know, but we have to get away from here," he replied from the front of Appa. "We should be flying over a village in a few hours. Can you hold out until then?" He was currently looking at maps while piloting the flying bison.
"Yes, we should be able to hold out until then, but please hurry!" Katara shouted as she used the last of the water to heal the wounds in Zuko's head and neck.
After a few hours of flying, they landed near a large lake. It was big enough for Katara to heal most of Zuko's internal bleeding and injuries. He was still heavily injured, but he was now not in danger of dying. Katara decided to use the Spirit Water form the Northern Water tribe so that he wouldn't die.
"Is he going to be okay?" Suki asked as Katara walked out of Zuko's tent.
"Yeah," Katara replied. "I don't know when he's going to wake up. Aang did a number on him. It will take about two months for him to fully heal and maybe a couple weeks after that to get his strength back up."
"That's good! We need another boy in the group," Sokka replied while poking the fire they had lit while Katara was working on Zuko.
"So, is anyone going to fill me in on what the fuck happened?" Suki asked, looking at her boyfriend who was looking into the fire. "Last time I saw you guys, Aang was still here, Zuko was who-knows-where, and you were missing Appa."
"A lot of shit happened, Suki. A lot of really bad shit." Sokka spoke in a low dark tone. He knew that they would have to fill her in on what happened, but right now he needed to think about what their next move was going to be.
"Well, then, explain it to me, Sokka! Tell me what happened, no matter how awful it was you all got through it."
"Fine!" Sokka responded and got up and grabbed the map that they used. He pointed to Ba Sing Se and sighed. "We got to Ba Sing Se but found out that Appa was somewhere in the city. Also, Azula tried to take over the city but we were able to stop her. Then, Azula impersonated you and took control of the city. We got Appa back thanks to Zuko and then something else happened, but I can't remember. Then, we had a huge fight with Azula under the palace. Kataram would you like to explain that?" Sokka gestured to Katara who simply nodded.
"It was Aang, Zuko, and me against Dai Li and Azula," Katara explained. "Aang went into the Avatar state but was shot down by Azula. He fell, got caught by Dai Li agents, and was taken away by Azula. I then ran out of the cave and jumped onto Appa. We convinced Sokka to let Zuko onto Appa and then we escaped. Sokka, you can take over."
"Alright! Then, we tried to find Aang but couldn't find him so we gave up. That's when we decided to come and haul ass to get you. It took us a week to fly here but I would say that it was worth it." Sokka smiled at Suki who looked like she had gotten hit by Appa's tail. She had such a look of confusion on her face that made even Sokka concerned.
"That still doesn't explain why Aang went off on Zuko today," Suki said while rubbing the bridge of her nose with her fingers. The way that he was talking to Zuko, it was like he was actually trying to kill him. Also, why was Azula also trying to help out? None of this is making any sense!"
"So, when we were in the cave, Zuko started saying some bad stuff about Aang," Katara began. "Aang was also in the cave and then he snapped at Zuko. Before everything went down, he gave me this ring. Doesn't it look so nice?" Katara showed the ring off to Suki and Sokka who looked very impressed with it.
"So, let me get this straight," Suki answered once everything was said. "Aang went berserk because y'all gave up on him, left him in the clutches of a psycho, and you got a ring? Is that what happened?"
"Well, when you say it like that, you make us all sound like assholes!" Sokka retorted while adding more wood to the fire.
"Well, I mean, I would be mad, too. I would have been furious if you knew where I was and then didn't rescue me. He felt betrayed. He thinks that you guys just left him for dead. Along with all the stuff that Zuko could have said to him, I can see why he would be mad." Suki looked at Toph who was silent throughout the entirety of the conversion. "Do you have anything to say, Toph?"
Toph stared blankly at the ground. All while Suki was talking, she was thinking about what had happened, from the escape to today's fight. She was thinking about all the things that had gone wrong. All the things that she could have tried to help with.
"You're right," she started solemnly. "We let Aang down. He had every reason to beat Zuko into a pulp. We left him with Azula for two and a half months. We left our best friend in the hands of the enemy. Hell, he's still with her." She looked at the ground and balled up her fist. "We abandoned him. He would have never abandoned us and we abandoned him."
"We can't go back to get him," Sokka spoke up. He still had his head hanging low. "We will need more people to get him. Not to mention that Zuko is in critical condition. We need to gain more information about the Fire Nation and we need to do it fast. We have three and a half months until the Day of the Black Sun. We need to prepare for that."
"How do you suppose we do that, Sokka?" Suki asked, looking him in the eyes.
"I don't know, but right now I think that we all need to get some sleep. We are taking a rest day tomorrow and I honestly think that we all need it after the shit show that has occurred today."
"You're right, Sokka," Katara agreed. "We need a day off. Maybe we can go swimming in the lake tomorrow!" Katara attempted to hold her excitement, trying not to wake up Zuko who was still unconscious in his tent.
"Alright, then that's the plan," Sokka finalized. "I'm going to go to sleep now. Suki, we have a tent and sleeping bag for you. It should be on Appa."
"Cool! I'll go get it now." Suki got up, grabbed her stuff, and headed in the same direction as Sokka to set up her tent.
The group said their good nights and all instantly passed out the moment their heads hit the pillows. They were all exhausted from the events that had transpired today but were also glad that they were over. They had succeeded, Suki was back, and for right now, that's all that mattered.
"Sango, were you able to write down everything that the three of them said?" Haki asked while he was holding the letter that they were instructed to give the Princess.
"Yes, you idiot, I have it all right here!" Sango held up a collection of papers that had the written accounts of what Mai, Azula, and Ty Lee all said about Aang.
"Oh, I can't wait to get these back to the Capital," Sango said as he folded up the papers and put them into his pocket.
Hamo knocked on the door and waited for Azula to open it.
Azula opened the door. "Is there something you need?" she asked forcefully.
"We were told to hand you this letter. It came in for you," Haki spoke while handing the letter to Azula.
"Thank you. Now, get out of my sight!"
The door slammed shut and the two soldiers began to walk towards the end of the hallway.
"Oh, this is going to be so much fun. Right, Hamo?" Sango looked over at his partner and snickered.
"Yes," Hamo answered as he looked back at the door and grinned maniacally. "Yes, it will."