Howdy, y'all welcome another chapter of AWTF! This is...an interesting read I'm not gonna lie. It's a bit short but VERY dense in information. PLEASE REVIEW! It helps a lot for me to gauge the response to twists and development. I hope yall have a good week! Don't forget to Follow, Review, and Favorite! See yall next time!
I don't own ATLA
It had taken many unsuccessful attempts, but Aang had finally found himself back in the Spirit World. It had taken him weeks to get to this point and he was now back. He looked around and let a breath of fresh air pass through his lungs.
I'm still not here all the way. I'm only barely here. Let's see how long I can keep this up for, he thought to himself as he walked through the meadow. He saw many bunny rabbits and squirrels playing in the grass, as well as a waterfall and rainbow. After a couple minutes of walking through the peaceful meadow, Aang heard a beautiful melody being hummed.
"Who's there?" he called out, albeit weakly and quietly.
Azula looked around when she heard his voice. There's no way... she thought to herself, turning around and watching him walk towards her. She sprinted towards him and attempted to leap into his arms, only to phase right through him.
"Hey, Zula," Aang whispered into her ear.
Azula shed a small tear, allowing it to fall down her face. "I can't touch you yet, can I?" she asked disappointedly.
"I'm sorry," Aang whispered to his lover, who smiled sadly at him. "I'm too weak."
Azula smiled sadly at him. "It's okay, Aang. Just being with you right now is worth it all." She sat next to him for a while and basked in the company.
"Is it true that you want a lot of kids, too?"
An awkward silence was kept in the field until Azula whipped her head around and looked Aang straight in the eyes. "We haven't seen each other in weeks, we are halfway across the world, and that's the first thing you ask me?" She facepalmed and smirked. "Yes, Aang; I will have a lot of kids with you. Hell, I'll have as many kids as you want. As long as we're together, I could care less."
"Really?" Aang asked, stars in his eyes.
"Really," Azula replied, smiling sincerely at her boyfriend.
Aang returned the smile. "You'd make a great mom."
This immediately caught Azula off guard. With Suki's pregnancy getting into the 24th week, she had been thinking a lot more about what it would be like to have kids and be a mom. She found herself wondering what her kids would be like and how they would act.
"Really? You think I'd be a good mom?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course I think you'd be a great mom! You're gentle, kind, patient, and most of all, you're so loving, Azula. You would be a great...no...you'd be the best mom out there. And I can't wait to see it," he said with the most sincere smile he could muster in that moment.
A comfortable silence fell between the couple, though Azula knew it could not last. She could see Aang slowly fading away and she knew that she still had so much left to tell him.
"Aang...I think I know where you are..."
Aang's eyes snapped open as he turned to face her. "Really?! Where am I?! I have a feeling I was on water for a while, but they've done a really good job at keeping me as delusional and weak as possible. I'm surprised I'm even-" Suddenly, he stopped as he experienced a coughing fit. "I'm surprised I'm even here right now."
"You're...heading towards Ba Sing Se."
"I'm going where now?"
"Where this whole thing started. You're heading to Ba Sing Se, which is where I'm going," Azula calculated confidently while she clenched her fist in determination. "I'm coming to get you. I swear I'm coming to get you."
"I know, I just...I don't think I can keep this up any longer," Aang croaked before coughing again as his form began to fade in and out slightly faster than it already had been.
"Aangy, please! I know you can do it!"
"Zula, I'm so tired. I can't keep this up. What if Ozai is here? I can't get into the Spirit World, much less take on one of the strongest Firebenders to ever exist!"
Azula looked into Aang's eyes and noticed that he was pleading with her. She saw the pain and tiredness hiding behind those scared gray eyes. She leaned in and pressed their foreheads together.
"Aang, I know. I know you're so tired right now. I can see it in your eyes as they're starting to droop, even as we're talking right now. I know you're weak. I can see it in how you can barely hold your head up. Aang, I just need you to give me a little more time. There's a day coming up. It's called the Day of the Black Sun. That's when I'm gonna rescue you." Azula allowed the tears to flow from her eyes.
"What's the Day of the Black Sun?" Aang weakly asked curiously.
"It's a day that happens once every century where the moon blocks out the sun. This, therefore, will make all Firebenders powerless." Azula smiled warmly at her boyfriend, however it quickly turned into a frown when he returned her response with confusion.
"Azula, that doesn't make any sense. You'll be powerless," Aang spoke in a slower but concerned manner. "How will you be able to rescue me if you're powerless and alone?"
"You think I'm alone?" Azula asked the boy, who slowly nodded his head. "Aang, I'm with Sokka, Suki, and Toph. We're all coming to rescue you."
Aang's weakness suddenly transformed into excitement. He bore the biggest smile on his face and even had a tear in his eye. "They're gonna rescue me?" he asked in a small voice.
"Yes, my love. They're coming with me. All four of us are going to rescue you from the Fire Nation. We're doing this because…" Azula was about to finish, but stopped when she took a glance at her beloved.
Aang was threatening to disappear more rapidly. "Zula...I'm sorry," he whispered feebly as he eventually fully left the Spirit World.
"Because...we...love you." The words stumbled out of Azula's mouth right after Aang left the field. She looked at where he had been sitting and grabbed fistfulls of grass. "Damn it!" she cried through gritted teeth. After a beat, she sighed in defeat. "Alright...time to go back." She closed her eyes and left the Spirit World.
Aang had just fallen out of the Spirit World when it finally happened. He looked up and found the guards unlocking his cell door. He tilted his head in confusion and raised an eyebrow.
"Where are you taking me?" he asked the soldier. No response. "Fine. I guess I'll just find out myself," he responded to himself defeatedly as he was pulled out of his cell.
"The Fire Lord wishes to speak to you."
Aang's tired eyes immediately widened when he heard the title. He knew that he had to meet Ozai in person, but he wanted to have that happen when he was in a much better state than he was at the present time. He was not healthy enough to fight and beat Ozai. If he had to fight, he would have to rely on the Avatar State, which would not be the best idea.
"Oh, joy," he sighed to himself as he allowed his poor and weakened form to be dragged to the Fire Lord.
It had been weeks since Aang had received any kind of bath. Luckily, the guards decided to feed him at least once every three to four days. At least I got to talk to Zula one last time before I perish, he thought to himself glumly, letting out a sigh.
Ozai was sitting on the same throne that Azula had sat in almost nine months earlier. He glanced around and frowned to himself as he monitored his soldiers and informants walking throughout the palace and throne room.
"So this is where Azula was when this whole mess began?" he mumbled boredly to himself.
"Yes, it was."
Ozai looked to his left and saw a man wearing a red and black mask covered by a black trench coat, red and black pants, and a black muscle shirt, further defining his pectorals.
"Commander Rumi. I'm glad you got my message," Ozai said with a smirk on his face.
"Of course, my Lord; though it's a shame that Captain Zaien was killed in such a way. I mean, a hole through the chest? It's so uncivilized." The commander shook his head in disgust as he walked to the front of the throne.
"Yes," said Ozai. "It would seem that the reconnaissance team that Dai sent out concluded that the bumbling idiot must have provoked Azula and caused her to become angry. I did not realize that in her absence from the Capital, she had grown so powerful that she could channel lightning and keep it in her hands. Even the eyewitness reports sounded far-fetched when I read them on the way here." He closed his eyes and let out a breath, then showed a sinister grin when they reopened.
"Have we started to make preparations for the Phoenix Plan yet?" Ozai asked as he stood up from his throne.
"My Lord, preparations have already started, and we are in Phase Zero," Rumi reported from a piece of parchment stored in his pocket. "We should be in Phase One the day after the Day of the Black Sun. Afterwards, Phases Two and Three will be ready during their scheduled three week time spans. We should be able to launch Operation: Phoenix King approximately nine weeks from today."
"Excellent," said Ozai, his grin having never left his face as he thought over his grand master plan. He had been formulating it for over a decade and now he was finally going to be able to launch it soon. "Are we still aligned with Sozin's Comet?"
"Affirmative, my Lord. We should be able to use the full power of the Comet when you-"
"My Lord!" Pangi called from afar as he ran into the room. "We have news from an outpost 365 miles west of Ba Sing Se that a strange metal object was flying at an observable speed of 230 miles per hour! The object had just reached the observable range of 35 miles from our strongest binoculars. This could only mean that at first sighting, the object was 400 miles away. From its position to here, it would take 1 hour and 45 minutes for it to get to the city." He paused to take a deep breath before finishing the report. "The messenger hawk that this message was flown in on was a Peregrine falcon which can reach speeds of 240 miles per hour. The time the bird took can be calculated to be 1 hour, 30 minutes. This means-"
"Azula is 15 minutes outside of the city," Ozai finished, balling up his fist in anger and causing a wall of fire to erupt from behind him. He looked at Rumi, who was saluting to him. "When Azula was here, what did she do with the Dai Lee agents?" he pried through clenched teeth.
"Sir, the Dai Lee are still operational and are currently leaderless." Rumi then went on to explain all the details of what the agents have been up to in the prior months.
"I want all Dai Lee agents hidden in the perimeter of the city," commanded Ozai to everyone in the room. "I want every entrance to this place watched. I want to know where she is at all times. Send some Snufferes to scope out possible landing spots that she could use to land whatever the fuck she built. I want reports every three hours of her location and what she has been up to. Does EVERYONE understand?!" Everyone immediately saluted and sprinted in every direction to complete the tasks at hand.
"My Lord: you said you wished to speak to the Avatar?"
Ozai smiled evilly while rubbing his hands together. "Bring him to me."
"It will be done, my Lord."
Rumi looked at his master and raised an eyebrow. He had never seen him this happy or excited to meet someone before. Typically, Ozai was a somewhat reserved man.
"We have brought you the prisoner," a large burly man said as he dropped the barely-conscious Avatar into a chair.
"Leave us," Ozai hissed coldly. Everyone did not need to be told twice as they booked it out of the room as fast as humanly possible.
Aang opened his eyes and saw that he was back in the same throne room where everything went down. He looked around and noticed how dark the room was. Well, I guess this is it. Azula, I hope you're on your way here.
"Well, well, well...we finally meet, Avatar."
Aang mustered up the very last of his strength to sit up in the chair and stare at Ozai. He had to give the man credit for being an imposing figure. Aang guessed that he had to be 6'5" and 300 pounds of pure muscle.
"Fire Lord Ozai...you're just as ugly as Azula described you to," Aang spat with as much venom as he could muster.
Ozai smirked at the boy who was sitting in front of him. He knew that he was capable of taking out an entire fleet of Fire Nation ships, but other than that, he knew nothing else about his strengths.
"Not quite the charmer I expected you to be. Although, you are dating my daughter, so I guess I'll have to give you some credit."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"For one thing, Azula is not the most...emotional person you will ever meet," Ozai explained as he paced around the Avatar. "Trust me, I know about her every flaw. Very insecure. I can read Azula better than anyone on this planet can."
Aang frowned at this. "You know you're wrong about her," he stated defiantly. "She is an emotional person. Deep down, she is a caring, compassionate, and wonderful person to be around. I love her for those reasons and hundreds more!"
When Ozai heard the word "love", he immediately sent a wave of lightning at the Avatar, who grunted in pain. "What do you know about love, Airbender?! Born and raised with a bunch of idiot men who never knew a damn thing about love. All they cared about was remaining as pacifists."
"Oh, like you're the one to talk, Mr. 'I'm gonna raise my only daughter to be a cold murdering psycho so that I can have a tool at my disposal for world domination'! Did you ever think about how Azula felt when you were brutally training her?!" Aang yelled from his seat. Yet another torrent of lightning was hurled directly at him.
"You know nothing about my relationship with Azula," Ozai growled at the Avatar.
Aang smirked back. "I know more than you think I do. Contingency Plan: Operation Phoenix...ring any bells? Oh, or how about the Phoenix Plan? I'm sure THAT strikes a chord." Another round of lightning was the answer to his responses.
"How..."
"Now..." Aang paused to cough before he continued. "Why would I tell you that?" He stared Ozai dead in the eyes one last time with a smile. "Azula's coming for you. I hope you're ready for her, because she's ready for you." With that, Aang finally lost consciousness and collapsed into his chair.
"GUARDS!" Ozai screamed at the top of his lungs. Immediately, two guards hustled into the throne room and bowed to Ozai. "Take him to a prison cell!"
"It will be done, my Lord." The guards saluted their master and dragged the unconscious body of the Avatar out of the room, leaving Ozai alone to his thoughts.
"Why didn't you kill him?" Rumi asked from behind a dark corner in the room.
Ozai smirked to himself as he walked back to his throne. "I want you to prepare Protocol: AEC-35-H."
Behind Rumi's mask, his face contorted into one of pure shock. He never thought that that protocol would ever be enacted. He knew very well what Ozai was now going to do and he did not want to imagine the consequences.
"Sir, what are you planning on doing with...that protocol?!" Rumi asked. His voice betrayed him, revealing how terrified he was.
"I am doing something Azula should have done in the first place..." Ozai brought his hands up and sent small tendrils of lightning across his fingers. "...Something that will change the tide of this entire war."