Book 2: Earth
Chapter 1: The Avatar State
A/N: Surprise! Hi guys! I am so, so sorry. I am actually thoroughly surprised there is not a riot outside of my door right now. I promise, I haven't given up on this story, life just took me away from it for a little while. It's been in my head to continue it for a long time now, and now here I am! I really hope you guys like it, and I also hope that I never take that long of a break again. At least this one has some pretty good length to it, I hope that starts to make up for my very, very extended absence. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Still not mine, I am not profiting off of this at all!
Katara tugged one last time at the cord she was using to secure her sleeping back to Appa's saddle. After making sure it would stay during their travels, she clambered off of the bison and made her way over to Master Pakku, who had just called her name.
"I want you to have this." He said, pulling an ornate amulet out of his rucksack. A swirling combination of light purple and deep blue decorated it and it was closed with a pale blue stopper in the shape of a crescent moon. "It contains water from the spirit oasis at the north pole." He explained as he held it out to her. "The water has special properties-don't lose it."
"Thank you, Master Pakku." Katara replied, gently taking the amulet from him. She placed the amulet around her neck and gave him a quick hug before returning to Appa.
"Aang, these scrolls will help you master waterbending. Remember, however, that they are no substitute for a real master." His eyes flicked up and Aang followed his gaze to see Katara smiling down at him. He gave a nod of thanks to Master Pakku.
"Sokka." Sokka stepped forward and was slightly disappointed when Master Pakku simply laid a hand on his shoulder. "Take care, Son." Sokka had just turned around when Pakku's hand grabbed his shoulder again
"Sokka, wait." Sokka turned to face him quizzically. Pakku had a strange look on his face, as if a battle was raging inside of his head. "It is perhaps unfair for me to ask this of you, but I need to know that someone will be looking out for her." Pakku sighed.
"This is about Emi, isn't it?" Sokka asked, realization dawning on him.
"Please, look after her when you can. She walks a dangerous path, and having that firebender with her makes it worse."
"I understand Master Pakku. I will do what I can, but I can't promise you anything." Sokka warned.
"Thank you Sokka." Raising his voice so that the others could hear him, he gave them further instructions. "Fly to the earth kingdom base to the east of here. General Fong will provide you with an escort to Omashu. You will be safe there, and you can begin your earthbending training with King Bumi."
"Appa, Yip Yip!" Aang commanded.
"Say 'Hi' to Gran-Gran for me!" Katara shouted down to him as they took off into the sky.
"Who knew that floating on a piece of driftwood for three weeks with no food or water, watching as vultures waited to pluck out your liver could make one so tense." Uncle sighed happily again as his massage continued. Emi looked up at him and rolled her eyes fondly before returning to her book. Oh Uncle, you're ridiculous she thought. She could feel the eyes of one of the masseuses on her, but she studiously ignored him, instead turning back to her book as she had for the past hour. Zuko sat next to her, head down so that shadows were cast over his face. This time they didn't touch.
She had changed, that night in the North Pole. Anger welled inside of her every time she thought back to that night, every time she reflected back on her life. How did she never realize how...unfair it all was? She didn't completely understand it when she was 8. She had mourned the loss of her parents, had missed them terribly, but only now did she truly understand what had happened to her. She was an orphan. True, she had Uncle and Zuko, but where would she be if not for the kindness of Lu Ten and the great General Iroh? They had shown her the compassionate side of the Fire Nation.
And they had shown her a lie.
She was having second thoughts, and she could tell that Zuko knew it. The Fire Nation had ripped her life away from her; they tore it apart at the seams. She was lucky to have had Uncle take her in, to have become such great friends with Zuko, but that's all that it was. Luck. If the spirits hadn't been with her that day, or Agni, or whoever she was supposed to pray to because she wasn't sure she knew anymore, she would be dead. Just like her parents and Yui and Lu Ten. The war raging within her was strong, but then again, so was her love for Uncle and Zuko.
Uncle's soft footsteps jolted her out of her thoughts. She attempted to school her features into those of the calm and serene person most knew her as, but the flash in Uncle's eyes told her there was no use.
"I see." Uncle said quietly, coming to sit next to them. "It's the anniversary, isn't it?"
"Three years ago I was banished…I lost it all. I want it back." Emi frowned slightly at the tone in his voice, but didn't interrupt. "I want the avatar, my throne…I want my father not to think I'm worthless."
"I'm sure he doesn't! I mean, why would he banish you if he didn't care?" Zuko scowled at him before pushing himself off the ground and stalking away. Emi gave him an exasperated look and handed him her book before standing to follow Zuko.
"That came out wrong, didn't it?"
They walked side by side through the cherry blossoms, their branches beautiful in full bloom. Emi found herself wishing that she could stay there forever; a perfect little haven for just her and Zuko and Uncle, away from the war. She sighed quietly to herself. They were all needed too much to simply stand aside.
"How are you holding up?" Zuko asked her quietly. Emi shrugged in response. She didn't want to upset him with her thoughts. He gave a sigh to match hers.
"Please?" She sighed again. She'd been doing that a lot lately.
"I don't really know," she replied honestly, "this just doesn't feel right anymore, you know? The Fire Nation...they've done some pretty terrible things. Things I don't want to be a part of."
"I know Emi, I understand, but It's my home." His voice a desperate note in it, and when she looked up she saw fear in his eyes. "Please, Emi, just...give it another chance. It's your home too. Don't leave." She immediately went to hug him, resting her head gently on his shoulder.
"Oh Zuko, I'm not leaving." She pulled back and smiled at him, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I promised remember?" He nodded his head, remembering the conversation they had three years ago today.
*Flashback*
Emotions swirled within Emi as she paced along the deck of the ship, her steps soft against the metal. Anger, despair, fear, overwhelming sadness. She looked up as Uncle appeared from the inside of the ship. Zuko was trailing behind him and even with his head trained on the ground, she could see the bandage that covered his eye. She hurried past Uncle to stand with Zuko, threading her fingers through his.
His head snapped up and his eyes found hers. "Emi? You're coming?" His voice was so small, it broke her heart.
"Of course I'm coming Zuko. I'll never, ever, leave, I promise" She said fervently. Together they walked to the front of the ship, looking out towards the water as the ship set sail.
And when Zuko started to turn his head, she stopped him.
"Don't look back."
*End*
"Everything will be okay Emi, I promise. Things will be different once I'm there again." He said it so strongly, but doubt still harbored itself within her mind.
"Look at these Magnificent shells!" Uncle said happily, carefully spreading them across the table.
"Uncle, we don't need any more useless things! You forget, we have to carry everything ourselves now."
"Oh Zuko, they're just shells. Look at this one." Emi held out a pale gold conch shell to him. "They say you can hear the ocean if you press it against your ear." He gave her a doubtful look but did what she said anyway.
"Hello Brother. Uncle." Emi tensed from head to toe, gripping the tabletop with such fierceness that her nails dug into the wood. She knew that voice. That voice belonged to a person who made her feel worthless and treated her like dirt, and was the sole reason that she had to learn firebending in the first place. She hated that voice, and the person it belonged to.
Azula.
She sat across the room from them, toying with another one of Uncle's shells. Emi wasn't acknowledged, but she wasn't expecting to be. Emi turned to face her as Zuko spoke.
"What are you doing here?" he asked with a slight snarl.
"In my country, we exchange proper 'Hellos' before asking questions." She began haughtily, snatching the shell up in her hand and making her way over to where they were standing. "Have you become uncivilized so soon, Zu Zu?"
"Dont call me that!" Zuko's voice was full on snarl now as he shifted himself slightly in front of Emi.
"Do what do we owe this honor?" Uncle asked. Although it was clear he was trying to keep the peace, Emi did not miss the harsh undertone in his voice.
Azula narrowed her eyes at him. "It must be a family trait; both of you so quick to get to the point." With the last word, she shattered the pale pink shell with her freakishly long fingernails, as Emi called them. She rolled her eyes at Azula's attempt to be menacing. Sure, she hated Azula, but she wasn't frightened of her. Uncle too look suspicious of her actions.
"I come with a message from home," she continued, " Father has changed his mind. Family is suddenly very important to him."
Emi could see right through Azula's charade, but glancing at Zuko she became worried. Too much hope was lighting his eyes.
"He's heard rumors to overthrow him, treacherous plots. Family are the only ones you can really trust." Emi wanted to scoff at that, but she stayed quiet. Zuko's amber eyes were wide as he regarded Azula. "Father regrets your banishment. He wants you home." Zuko was shocked, and in the time it took him to process that information Azula grew impatient.
"Didn't you hear me?" She demanded. "You should be happy. Excited. Elated, even. And grateful." She tried to smile, to soften her expression, but Emi saw right through her, as she always had. "I just gave you great news"
"I'm sure your brother just needs some time to-"
"Don't interrupt Uncle!" Emi bristled as Azula snapped at him. She turned her eyes to Emi, the hard amber so much like Zuko's, but so different at the same time. Emi jutted her chin out and turned away. A dismissal. Azula glared at her, but seeing that she had no effect on the girl anymore, redirected her attention to Zuko.
"I still haven't heard my 'Thank you'. I am not a messenger." She said stuffily. "I didn't have to come all this way."
"Father...regrets? He wants me back?" Doubt laced his voice as he spoke.
"I can see you're going to need some time to take this in. I will call for you tomorrow. Good evening." With that she left, only pausing to aim another sneer at Emi. Emi ignored her. She wasn't worth her time.
"We are going home! After three long years, we are finally going home. It's unbelievable!" Zuko's voice shone as he spoke. The night sky was dark as he moved throughout the little villa they had been living in the past few days. He was packing up the few belongings they had, preparing them to board Azula's ship and go home.
Home Emi thought wistfully. Could she truly find a way to call that place home? She wasn't so sure.
"It is unbelievable." Uncle stated shortly "I have never known my brother to regret anything."
"Didn't you listen to Azula? Father has realized how important family is to him. He cares about me!" Emi bit her lip. It was too much. Azula had told Zuko everything he had wanted to hear, and that wasn't something that just happened in their lives.
"I care about you!" Uncle told him passionately. "And if Ozai wants you home, It may not be for the reasons you imagine." Emi closed her eyes. That most certainly was not what Zuko wanted to hear...
"You don't know how my father feels about me." Zuko turned away, his shoulders hunched and his face angled towards the ground. "You don't know anything."
"Zuko," Uncle began again, but Emi feared that he had already crossed the line with Zuko, "I only meant that in our family, things are not always what they seem."
Zuko turned to face him, and Emi knew she was right. " I think you are exactly what you seem!" he snapped "You are a shallow, lazy, distrustful old man who has always been jealous of his brother." He turned away without another word to his Uncle and walked over to where Emi had been sitting, keeping out of the discussion.
"Emi?" There was hurt in his eyes, but hope too. Hope that she would not confirm the fears within him. She looked up at him sadly, and his face went blank.
"Zuko...I have a really bad feeling about this." She told him. He gave a short nod but said nothing as he turned away and headed for the door.
He paused for a moment, looking back at her. "You promised." And with that he left, slamming the door as he went.
The next morning, Emi and Uncle found themselves jogging down the stone stairs away from their villa in an attempt to catch up with Zuko.
"Wait!" Uncle called down as he came into sight. "Don't leave without us!"
Zuko turned to face them, and Emi thought that she'd be okay with leaving as long as she got to see his face light up like that again.
"Uncle, Emi, you've changed your minds!" He said happily.
"Family sticks together, right?" Uncle asked, laying a hand on his shoulder with a smile.
"I always keep my promises Zuko, I'll never leave." Emi said sincerely, ignoring the seed of doubt within her.
"We are finally going home!" Zuko declared. He set back off down the path, and Emi and Uncle paused just long enough to look over at each other and realize they were both thinking the same thing; Don't trust her.
They made their way down to where Azula was waiting for them with her ship. As they walked down the dock, the feeling of dread inside Emi grew. They were surrounded by nameless, faceless fire nation soldiers on both sides, and up ahead Azula stared down at them. Not even the calming sounds of the sea could reassure her at this point, especially when she knew that she was now back to hiding her waterbending. She glanced at Uncle through the corner of her eye and saw that he too was suspicious of their situation.
"Brother, Uncle, Emi, Welcome!" Azula extended her arms in welcome to them, but Emi wasn't fooled. Always the Princess, Azula was. She was only to be acknowledged when the audience present expected it.
The three bowed their heads in respect to her, but Emi and Uncle continued to watch the dark figures as they shifted behind them.
"I am so glad you have decided to come." Fake sincerity oozed from her voice.
"Are we ready to depart Your Highness?" the captain suggested.
"Set our course for Home, captain." Azula answered.
Emi heard Zuko murmur 'home' under his breath, but she was too distracted to pay much attention to him. She had a horrible, horrible feeling about this.
"You heard the Princess!" The captain began spouting orders "Raise the anchors, we're taking the prisoners home!" Emi's heart stopped, but all she needed was a single second before she leapt into action. Her eyes flashed as she turned to the nearest soldier, throwing a searing blast of fire his way before knocking him off the walkway and into the bay. In the back of her mind she registered Uncle backing her up with the other half of the soldiers, and Zuko declaring that Azula had lied to him. Like she hadn't done that before Emi thought snidely before tossing another man into the bay.
"Zuko! Let's Go!" Uncle shouted from where he had a man in a headlock. Emi didn't spare him a glance; there were too many soldiers coming to fight off. She slipped the feet from under two more and dispatched of them quickly before finally getting a chance to pause. She couldn't hear much from the ship other than an occasional furious growl from Zuko, but what she did catch had her seeing red.
"...he considers you a miserable failure...why would he want you home, other than to lock you away where you can no longer embarrass him!" Another furious shout from Zuko told her the fight would not last much longer. Only four or five guards remained, so Emi made a split-second decision.
"Uncle! Help him." She called to him as he got rid of one more man. He looked at her, unsure, but there wasn't time. "Go! I can hold them off." She didn't stop to see if he had listened, but instead stepped forward and shot a huge wave of fire at two of the men, getting them unbalanced enough to get them out of commission. Her limbs felt heavy, and she knew that once the adrenaline wore off she was going to hurt like crazy. But that wasn't her concern as she finished of the last one, two, three men.
She ran up to the ship just in time to see Azula fire a bolt of lightning right at Zuko, and just in time to see Uncle redirect it in a way she had never seen before. Uncle was able to overpower Azula easily, swinging her overboard the ship and into the water below. Without another word they ran.
And ran. And ran. Their feet pounded the ground as they hurried to put distance between Azula and themselves. By the time they finally collapsed next to a small river, black dots were dancing in front of Emi's eyes.
"I think we are safe here." Uncle said solemnly. Emi was breathing heavily and was trying desperately not to give in to the exhaustion that threatened to overwhelm her. She had been right; without the adrenaline to keep her going, firebending hurt.
She placed her hands into the river, hoping she could heal herself without letting the other two know just how affected she had been. She looked up in shock as Zuko's ponytail dropped into the river next to her. She watched as Uncle too cut his off in determination. Without hesitation she drew her hands to her head and pulled at the purple ribbon that had held her own top knot in place.
With that, she watched their last association with the Fire Nation wash away.
A/N: I really like where this one is heading guys, I'm going to work on churning some great things out for you guys in the next chapter! Review if you want, maybe I can get some old friends of mine to say hello again? :)
I'm so sorry again for the time I was away, I hope I can make it up to you!
Em
