HOWDY Y'ALL! Welcome to another chapter of AWTF! Last week we broke not only 15k views, but also 16k views! Along with 100 followers! Thank you all so much for the amount of love this story is getting! I hope y'all enjoy it a lot! Don't forget to Review, Favorite, and Follow. ONTO THE CHAPTER!
I don't own ATLA
The trio walked out of the bakery with a slight pep in their step. They knew that it was now time for them to enact their plan to get captured and they were all excited for different reasons.
Sokka was excited about the idea that he was going to be able to get back at the Fire Nation. He knew that while he was going to have to kill people, they were going to be sacrificing themselves for the betterment of society as a whole. These people that he was going to be killing could be people who were going to catch the attention of the guards.
Toph was excited about the fact that she was going to be able to get some action. While she might not have been totally on board with the murder of innocent people, she could definitely get behind the injuring and possible killing of guards and soldiers that belonged to the Fire Nation. She wanted to get back at them for what they did at their previous encounter in The Foundation City with those Snufferes that tried to kill them. She was still mad that they had gotten the jump on them and she hadn't quite forgiven herself for her carelessness. She had been more focused on the fact that her friends were going to be parents then her surroundings and it caused them to get ambushed. She balled up her fists and smirked as she looked out for guards. They won't get me this time! she shouted in her mind.
Suki was probably the most excited. She had a bunch of energy that she needed to get out and the best way she thought to do that was through fights. She twirled the fans and knives that she had gotten on their journey. She had a smile on her face due to the cookies that she had recently eaten. She didn't mind the needless slaughter that she was about to commit; she just wanted to get into a fight and win, much like Toph.
The trio continued their walk towards the center of the city and watched as people walked past them. Some of them were going to their jobs. Others seemed to be like them, just walking along the street enjoying the nice weather.
"Aww, Sokka, look at the kids over there," Suki squealed as she pointed to a group of children who were running through a park. "Don't they just look adorable?" she asked as she walked over to the park.
Sokka looked at his girlfriend and smiled at her. "Yeah, they do." He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "Just imagine...that'll be us sooner or later."
Toph smirked at the two as she shook her head slowly. "Yeah, sooner than you think," she mumbled under her breath, but then felt something run into her. She looked up and tapped her foot onto the ground and felt a small child - a little girl - that had run into her.
"I'm sorry, miss," the girl said quietly. "I wasn't watching where I was going and I...I..." The girl's words cracked as she began to sob in front of Toph. She lowered her head in shame and crumbled to her knees.
Toph was shocked that a little girl would do something like this. She lowered herself to the ground and hugged the little girl lightly. Why is it that I'm the one who has to comfort everyone? she asked herself as she tried to comfort her. "Shh," Toph whispered into her ear. "It's okay. You didn't mean to do anything wrong. Don't cry." She rubbed the girl's back as she reassured her.
"But I hurt you," she whispered out in a raspy voice. "Aren't you going to punish me for hurting you?"
Toph raised her head and looked at the girl. She looked at what she thought were her eyes and smiled. "No, I'm not going to hurt you for what seemed like an accident," she said as she wrapped the girl in a hug.
"R-really?!" the girl asked as she hugged Toph tighter.
"Really," Toph said with confidence as she stood up with her.
"Th-thank y-you," the little girl sputtered as she tried to wipe the tears away from her face.
"No problem, little girl," Toph said as she started to walk away from the girl, but was stopped when she felt the girl grab her arm. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"You have really pretty eyes," the girl whispered as she fidgeted around slightly.
"Well, thank you!" Toph said with a smile on her face. "I can't see you since I'm blind, but you seem like a very nice girl."
"I-I heard about a blind girl who had these really cool powers!" the little girl yelled excitedly, which made Toph raise an eyebrow.
"Really?" Toph tentatively asked as a small smile made its way to her face. "What were these cool powers she had?"
"Well, the mommy at the orphanage says that she can move the earth around with her hands. She can make metal dance, but most of all, she never gives up! She said that she helps people in need. She's my hero! She fights to help save the world with the Avacar?"
"Do you mean the Avatar, sweetie?" Toph asked with a smirk on her face.
"Yeah!" she exclaimed at the top of her lungs.
"What would you do if this person was right in front of you?" Toph asked the girl in front of her.
"I would hug her and say that she was amazing and that I believe she can do it!" the little girl proudly stated with pure joy on her face.
"Well, kid," Toph began as she took a rock from the ground and formed it into a bracelet for the child, "thanks." She beamed at the little girl. "You just made my day. What's your name?" She added as the girl stood awestruck that she had just met her hero in the flesh.
"L-Luna."
"Well, Luna, thank you for believing in me and my friends. I won't let you down. We will meet again after this war is over. I might even send you a letter or two," Toph said with a grin on her face. She had never felt this happy before and she wasn't used to it. She felt connected to this girl for some reason and couldn't put a finger on the reason as to why. She turned her head over to where Sokka and Suki were also playing with the children and sighed. "Where are your parents?" she asked the girl.
"They were taken for the soldiers," the now-identified Luna said as she hung her head. "They were taken when they were talking about the Avatar," she continued with a sniffle.
"Why would they be taken away because of something like that?" Toph asked as she patted the spot next to her, signaling the girl to sit.
"Well, they said that the Avatar was going to win and that he would come to save us from the Fire Nation," Luna recalled with a hint of nostalgia as she remembered some of the stories that her mom would tell her. "Mommy told me stories about the last Avatar. She said that her grandpa had met him. She always said that he would come to help us."
"Well, Aang would love to meet you," Toph said as she leaned back onto the ground.
"Who's Aang?"
"Aang is the Avatar."
"YOU'VE MET HIM?!" Luna shouted, which made some people look over at them.
"Yeah, he's a really cool guy...when he's not kidnapped by the Fire Nation," Toph said with a chuckle.
"Wait, what do you mean he's kidnapped? I thought he was the best!" Luna asked as she turned towards Toph.
"Well, six months ago, we were fighting Princess Azula and Aang got shot with lightning. I wasn't there because I was getting his bison, Appa. My friend Katara-"
"She's the water girl right?" Luna interjected, which made Toph smile again and nod her head.
"Back to the story, my friend Katara was with him and he went into the Avatar State, which is a really powerful thing. Princess Azula shot him with lightning, making him fall unconscious and land in Azula's arms. That was the last we saw of him until maybe two months later when he was kicking Zuko's ass at the Stronghold. That's the last we've seen of him. We think he's not dead, but we honestly don't know. If you want to hear a secret, I think he's in the Fire Nation Capital just like we are." Toph finished her story and sighed as she tapped her foot onto the ground to check if people were around.
"Wait, you think that he's here? But where could he be?" Luna asked out loud as she sat up. "Wouldn't you be able to see him?"
"Well, I'm blind so I can't see him, but I see with my feet. I send vibrations out and they come back to me through the earth, allowing me to 'see' everything around me. I felt what I think was him doing the same thing in the Palace...but I could be wrong," Toph explained as she noticed a group of soldiers approaching the park that they were in.
"Ohh, okay! That makes a lot more sense. So that's why it looks like you are looking at me, but you actually aren't, but you're still paying attention. Man, this is confusing," Luna said as she saw the soldiers approach Sokka. "Oh no."
"What's..." Toph trailed off as she felt Sokka and Suki get into a fighting stance and smirked. "Well Luna, I'm sorry, but we have to cut this conversation short." She smiled at the girl and hugged her.
Luna got scared when she saw the guards fighting and clung to Toph. She looked at her and started to cry. "Are you going to leave me?" she asked as she hugged her tighter. "I don't want you to go!"
"Don't worry, Luna," Toph replied optimistically. "I'll come back for you. Give me some time. I promise we will see each other again. Hell, I'll even take you with me when the war ends." Toph chuckled and then realized what she just said. Shit. Whelp, at least I won't be alone when we inevitably split up after the war ends. Luna Befong...it has a nice ring to it. "Don't worry," she repeated, calming down the little girl. "When you hear that the war is over, meet at The Baking Dragon everyday. One of those days, I will come for you and take you with me and my friends. I'm sure they will love to meet you. I know this is scary and I know that you don't know what will happen, but I need you to be brave. I need you to be strong for me, okay? Can you do that for me?" She stood and faced Luna, who at this point had tears running down her face, sobbing deeply. She nodded her head and smiled at her idol, who smiled back. "I'll be back for you, Luna. But I need to go now." Toph hugged the girl again and started walking towards Sokka and Suki, who were about to fight the group of fifteen soldiers who were there.
"Oh, look who decided to come and help," Sokka quipped as he looked at the Earthbender.
Toph smirked. "So, I guess there's a change of plan?" she asked. She received a nod of Sokka's head.
"Who were you just talking to, Toph?" Suki asked as she readied herself for a fight with the soldiers.
"Her name is Luna and honestly, when all this is over, I might take her with me," Toph said, which garnered her shocked reactions from Sokka and Suki.
"Really? I didn't think that you would be the parental type," Sokka said as he started running towards a group.
"I didn't think I was either, honestly," Toph said as she slammed her hands against the ground, causing a miniature earthquake to occur.
"So what are you going to do, adopt her?" Suki asked as she threw one of her metal knives at one of the soldier's heads.
"Yeah," Toph yelled as she ran at a group of men, causing earth spikes to erupt from the ground. "I might. I have plenty of money at home waiting for me. Plus, I can always take her back to the Earth Kingdom."
"Halt! You are under arrest for treason against the Fire Nation!" one of the soldiers ordered before he was decapitated by Sokka. "You know, that's not a bad idea, Toph," the tribesman noted as he removed his sword from the man's neck.
"Right? Luna Beifong has a very nice ring to it," Toph said as she casually crushed another five soldiers.
"Well, I for one think that you would be a great mother, Toph," Suki called to her as she kicked one of the soldiers in the chest and broke another one's arm.
"Thank you!" Toph said as she dodged a flame kick and a fireball, which were launched by one of the men. She moved her hands and crushed the metal that they were wearing, which made them scream in pain.
Sokka whipped his boomerang at two men, ducking and proceeding to laugh at him. "Ha! You think a weapon like that is gonna hurt us?" one of them called arrogantly.
Sokka sighed and shook his head in disappointment. "Why is it that people underestimate the boomerang?" He smirked as he watched the men fall unconscious after getting hit from the back by the aforementioned boomerang.
Suki threw her fans at the enemy and smiled as they sliced through their flesh. "It's a shame that you all had to die," she said as she caught her fans and shook them of blood.
"I mean, are you really sad?" Sokka questioned as she walked over to them.
"Well, we just butchered an entire platoon of soldiers like it was nothing. I feel a little remorse, but then again, this is war," Suki replied and kissed him on the lips.
Toph faked a gagging sound and scowled at the couple. "Is that really the place to do that?" she cried out.
"No, but it is the place to do this!"
Suddenly cables shot out of the air and wrapped themselves around the gang. All three of them were encased and fell to the ground. They decided not to struggle or resist since they knew that this was going to happen.
Toph tapped her head on the ground. She felt that Luna had been hiding behind a tree and sighed. At least she's safe, she thought with a smile on her face.
"Someone go report to the Commander," one of the soldiers ordered with an evil smirk on his face as a group began to drag the trio away.
"We got 'em."
"So, how do you think they are doing now that they are here?" Mai asked as she sipped her tea.
"I'm sure that they are going to be fine. I mean, it's only been a day that we've been here," Ty Lee responded as she cut her food and took a bite.
"Yeah, I know. But I just can't shake that feeling that something is happening," Mai said as she placed her cup down and smirked.
"You want to go up to their room and wake them up, don't you?" Ty Lee said, a hint of mischievousness in her voice.
Both girls got up without any further conversation and started walking towards the Princess' room, wondering what they were going to find once they reached it. Ty Lee wore a gray t-shirt and blue leggings while Mai wore a dark red cotton shirt and black leggings. Both were going to be having a lazy day in the palace, but had been waiting for Azula and Aang to come down for breakfast.
Ty Lee walked towards the door and put her ear to it so that she could hear what was going on in the room, but heard nothing. "They might still be asleep," she concluded as she turned to Mai. "How do you want to do this?"
Mai sighed, knocked on the door, and waited. She heard the rustling of sheets and the grumblings of people. A minute later, Azula answered the door in nothing but one of Aang's shirts and yawned.
"What's up?" she asked as she rubbed her eyes.
Mai looked her over and internally groaned. "Are you really that much bigger than me?" she asked quietly, which got a smirk from Azula and a giggle from Ty Lee.
"I'm sorry Mai, I didn't hear you. Would you like to say that louder?" Azula asked sarcastically, which made Mai's eye twitch lightly.
"Where have you been?" the assassin pried. "We've been waiting for you two to come down to breakfast and you didn't show."
Azula looked over her shoulder at the sleeping form of Aang in the bed and smiled lightly. "Give me fifteen minutes and I'll be ready to go. I think I'm going to let him sleep in today." She ushered them into her room and to a door. She opened it and walked into a sitting room. "I'm guessing you both can make yourselves some tea." She walked out of the room and straight to the bathroom. Once there, she looked at herself in the mirror and poked her stomach. "Is it really that bad?" She sighed and stepped into the shower.
After she showered, brushed her teeth, and did her hair and makeup, Azula made her way to her closet to put on a pair of jeggings and a long-sleeve orange shirt. She slipped on some flats and walked back to the sitting room where Mai and Ty Lee were sipping on tea.
"Sorry we are late," said Azula. "You know how Aang gets when we get to a new place, and we did have him carry all the bags. Let him sleep." She walked over to join the two girls. "I do have a question for you, though."
"What's wrong?" Ty Lee asked with concern.
Azula sighed, lifted up her shirt, and looked at her best friends. "Am I really that fat?" she asked honestly. Sadness was evident on her entire face.
"Aw, Zu, no! You're not fat at all! What gave you that idea?" Ty Lee said as she looked at her friend with nothing but love in her eyes.
"You look fine," said Mai simply. "Maybe you gained a little bit of weight, but you still look great. Aang looks like he loves it, probably cause it all went straight to your ass and boobs. Hell, lots of girls would kill to look like you. So what if you have a tummy? You still look great. Who said you didn't?" She looked at her friend, who was in tears at this point.
"Your Father said this, didn't he?"
Everyone in the room turned to see a soaking wet Aang, who had obviously just gotten out of the shower and was only in a pair or shorts, his hair still very wet.
Azula nodded her head and looked down at the ground. "I should have-"
"Done what?" Aang asked as he bended the water off of him and out the window. "You were stressed literally the entire time. You were working, training me, trying to change...if it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I was the one who cooked for you and packed your lunch everyday for five months." He sat down at the table and kissed Azula good morning.
"Aang is right; it's not your fault," Ty Lee said as she grabbed Azula's hand.
"It's no one's fault," Mai continued as she smiled at Azula and Aang. "Aang was trying to be a good significant other by cooking for Azula. Azula wanted to be a good person and eat the food that Aang made. It's no one's fault. Azula, it's your body. If you want to get rid of it, you know how. Don't let that pig Ozai say that you aren't anything less than beautiful."
"Azula, you are still just as beautiful as the day you stopped trying to kill me as you are now," Aang reassured her. "If anything, you're more beautiful than that day. You will always be beautiful to me and nothing will ever change that." He kissed her again with more intensity.
"Easy for you to say, Mr. Hunk," Azula responded with a slight smile on her face.
Everyone laughed at the joke and smiled at each other, glad that Azula was back to normal and that everything was okay. Aang got up to see what was in the small ice box in the room and smiled when he saw some eggs and bacon. He grabbed a pan and started cooking.
"So what else did daddy talk to you about?" Aang asked as he cooked.
"Well, I have to go to a party that is being held in my honor in two days, so there's that. Other than that, he just asked a bunch of questions about what happened," Azula replied as she looked at Aang.
"Well, I'm guessing that we are invited to this dance that's happening, so it looks like we are going to need to get some dress clothing for Aang," Ty Lee squealed, which made Azula and Mai giggle.
"Yeah, I didn't think about that. Looks like we are going to need to get some clothing for Aang. But we really should focus on the plan," Mai said as she looked at Azula.
"You mean the plan that we currently don't have?" Azula said as she looked at Mai with a smirk. "Don't worry about it! We'll get information on the Fire Nation. I already have that all figured out."
"Well, let's hear it. What is this amazing plan?" Ty Lee asked as she smiled at Aang placing a plate of food in front of her.
"Alright," Azula began to explain. "Tonight, we're going to sneak into a commander's room and look at the documents on his desk. I remember when I was younger, this one commander always keeps stuff out on his desk, so I'm guessing that he hasn't changed. They would expect us to do something on the day of the dance but not the night before. Ty, Mai and I are going to look around the office. Aang will pose as a lookout. He can see the area with his earthbending. He will also be able to subdue anyone and get us out."
"That's actually a really good idea. Maybe we can find some useful information that could help us in the War. I actually think that maybe we should meet up with my friends when we go on our next assignment," Aang said as he placed all the plates down and sat next to Azula.
"Don't you hate them?" Mai asked suspiciously.
"Well, I don't HATE them per se," Aang explained as he ate his food. "They did abandon me and leave me for Suki, but if they hadn't done that, then I wouldn't have met Sparks, Mai, and you, Ty. So honestly, I don't know how I feel about them. Sokka and Toph are fine. I'm cool with Suki. Katara and Zuko are the only ones I could see an issue with."
"I don't like Katara," Azula bluntly stated as she took a fiercer bite out of her food. "She's a bitch and I can't see myself working with her. I also don't like Zuko for the same reasons why I don't like that waterbending bitch, not to mention the other reasons as to why I don't like that man."
"What's wrong with Katara?" Ty Lee asked.
"Let's just say that she said some...choice words to Aang that makes me not like her very much. Zuko is just a dick," Azula said without hesitation, a scowl on her face.
"Spill," Mai stated as she looked at Aang and Azula.
For the next twenty minutes, Azula and Aang explained everything that happened at the cave. To say that Mai and Ty Lee were furious was an understatement. They were livid with the two benders.
"Those bastards!" Ty Lee yelled as she slammed her fists onto the table. "How can they say those things to you!"
"While I hate to do it, we are going to have to work with them to end this war," Mai said with disappointment in her voice.
"Yeah, I guess if we want to end this, we are going to have to work with them," Ty Lee said as she sighed.
"I know you guys aren't going to like it," said Aang clearly as he cleaned his plate, "but as the Avatar, I have to save the world. I have to work with them. I hope you guys understand."
"You know, sometimes I forget you're the Avatar," Azula said as she giggled and looked at her still-shirtless boyfriend.
"I don't understand how," he responded with a smile. "I have a bunch of arrows on my body and can bend all four elements. If you ask me, you hit the boyfriend jackpot." He leaned in and kissed her again.
"Eww, if you're gonna keep doing that, get a room," Ty Lee said with a smirk on her face.
"Well, this is our room, so you're more than welcome to leave," Azula quipped as she moved to Aang's lap.
"Will both of you stop acting like children?" Mai asked with a sigh. "Last I checked, you both are adults."
"Fine!" both girls shouted with pouts on their faces, making everyone in the room start laughing.
"I'm glad I met you guys," Aang said with a smile on his face as he looked at his friends.
"And we're happy that we met you, Aang," Ty Lee said as Azula went in to kiss him again.
"Yeah," said Azula calmly as she pulled back from the kiss.
"I'm really glad I met you, too."