Chapter 106
On the first Saturday of the month of June, the International House of Lesbians in Ba Sing Se had once again become a hotspot of frenzied activity, with guests arriving and the whole estate rocking with excited anxiety. The draw for the Pai Sho world championship qualifying tournaments had taken place on the previous day, and this time the whole procedure was to be broadcast on one of the minor state-controlled TV stations as the International Federation of Pai Sho attempted to present a veneer of transparency. However, considering that this was not a live broadcast, but a recording, the chances of some kind of an Ozai-initiated trickery were still high.
As before, the draw would see the thirty highest ranked Pai Sho players from over the course of two previous years, excluding the reigning champion, broken down into five groups of six each to contest one ticket into the grand final per group. In order to appease some of the criticisms from leading players like Bumi, Pakku and Gyatso, the international federation had taken steps to make sure that the best players would not be drawn against each other. According to the official rankings, the five best players were Bumi Dhawan, Piandao Mori, Gyatso Jetsun, Pakku Karetak and Zhao Sakamoto. Azula had done some calculations of her own and she had quickly discovered that there were several mistakes made to place Zhao Sakamoto far higher than he deserved to be. Azula's calculations showed that it was actually her who should have been placed fifth in the ratings, but as always, her father was trying to give one of his reprobate lapdogs a leg up, making sure that they had an easier time qualifying. At least there was no helping Long Feng, he had played so poorly during the current cycle that there was no way to shuffle him in among the five best ranked players without causing a massive scandal.
As the start of the broadcast rapidly approached, Azula, her girlfriends, Aang and their guests, namely Toph, Teo, Suki, Sokka and Zuko, crowded the two sofas surrounding the TV in eager anticipation. Azula was trying to keep her hopes and expectations in check, because knowing her father, she was sure that Ozai would still try to mess with her chances somehow. If there was one thing that Azula wanted to avoid the most, it was to be drawn in the same group with Zuko, and she desperately hoped that her exchange with Ozai back in August would have ensured that her father didn't attempt to reenact this sibling rivalry between them. Azula felt confident that she could advance against anyone else, but she really did not want to face Zuko at this stage of the competition.
"I think it's bullshit how these supposedly best players not only get the easy draws, but they also get to play at home," Toph fumed as the broadcast began with a smooth-talking man who looked very much like a snake oil salesman explaining the intricacies of the draw. The names of the five best players were already fixed on a large display board, next to the host city they would be playing in. Bumi was in the Omashu group, Pakku in Agna Qel'a, Piandao in Caldera City, Zhao in Fire Fountain City and Gyatso insultingly had to compete in Ba Sing Se, because the International Pai Sho Federation was massively racist and seemed to enjoy taking a dump on the oft abused Air Nation.
"Ugh, this draw suddenly became really painful to watch," Zuko groaned as Azula watched their father appear on the screen, coming out on the stage to stand behind the large pot holding the names of all the other players, randomly tossed into said pot. Ozai was all smiles, his usual charming self, and Azula found herself gritting her teeth, grateful for her girlfriends immediately embracing her supportively.
"Ozai being in charge of the draw doesn't seem right," Aang nodded in agreement. "I mean, he's hardly an impartial figure, is he?"
"I think that is putting it very lightly," Katara said, as Azula was having a hard time resisting the urge to roll her eyes.
"I guess he doesn't have it in for me," Aang said. "But I hope that he doesn't make it too hard for you, guys," he added, looking at Azula and then Zuko. "All I care about is not being in the same group with Bumi or Gyatso. I particularly don't want to go up against my foster father."
"We get that, Twinkletoes," Toph snorted. "And nobody wants to be in the same group with Bumi, he's just a pain to deal with. Obviously, I want to play with Teo, but I also understand that there's a 20% chance of it happening." Azula nodded in understanding at the girl from Gaoling. Toph and Teo had been joined at the hip ever since they began their pro careers together, so for them having to spend an extended amount of time playing on their own would probably be very difficult for them both, and might decrease their chances of making it through to the next stage of the competition.
"Yes, traveling without Toph would be hard," Teo said. "Fortunately, my father has agreed to come and support me if Toph and I will be heading in separate directions."
"It's definitely a good idea to prepare for that," Zuko nodded. "As for me, just like the rest of you, I really don't want to be facing Bumi. And I'd rather not go up against you in the qualifiers, Zula," he said, looking at her. Azula responded with a nervous smile, at least feeling better from knowing that Zuko felt the same way about playing her as she felt about facing him.
"Shush, you guys, the draw is starting!" Suki exclaimed. She was sitting on the carpet in front of the TV set, a notebook and pencil in her hand, ready to take notes for her Harmony Ring article.
Azula took several deep breaths, trying to steady herself, but she was still lightly trembling with anxiety, despite her girlfriends holding her tightly. This was such a pivotal moment in her quest to shatter the invincibility of her father and destroy him. A tough and unfortunate draw could turn all her hopes and aspirations into dust early, not even letting her get into the finals in the first place. After having missed out on the finals last time around because Katara had beaten her to the sole ticket, Azula had sworn that she would never allow for that to happen again, but when the chips were down, she still felt extremely nervous, mental toughness training or not.
The first name coming out of the pot and going into the same group with Zhao Sakamoto was that of Haru Tamang. The name of Kori Morishita was pulled from the pot a while later and placed in the same group with Piandao Mori. It seemed that the new husband and wife partnership would be separated with Haru heading to the Fire Fountain City and Kori's destination being Caldera City. Azula wanted to hope that Haru might trip up Zhao, but she wasn't sure if the Earth Kingdom boy could do it on the Fire Nation soil. Finally, Long Feng's name was drawn and placed in the same group with Piandao and Kori, and after that, the broadcast was paused to run a bunch of annoying ads.
"That doesn't seem like an easy group for our friend Long Feng," Yue pointed out.
"No, but I understand why Ozai would have arranged it this way," Azula replied. "Piandao is the weakest of the seeded top players. This actually gives Long Feng the best chance, but… it's still only a slim one."
"Oh, I just realized something," Katara said with an excited look on her face. "Kori will get to face the man who is responsible for destroying her home. I bet she is salivating right now, ready to shred Long Feng apart."
"Damn, you're right, Katara," Toph nodded eagerly. "Now I want to get into that group just so I can watch Kori tearing Long Feng a new one."
Not too long after the broadcast had resumed, Toph's name did come out of the pot, but only to go into the same group with Bumi. Toph let out a loud groan of frustration. "There, there, love…" Teo reached out to take her hand, patting it affectionately. "Let's hope I make it in there with you so that we can suffer together."
"That would make it better, yes," Toph's expression softened slightly as she looked at her husband.
"Toph and Bumi, now there's a group that nobody in their right mind would want to get drawn in with," Yue said. Azula sighed inwardly at her girlfriend's innocent remark. She already knew that she was going to be placed in the absolutely worst group, and for her Bumi and Toph were nightmare opponents. She had never won against Bumi before, and she hated playing Toph, the younger girl really knew how to frustrate her. Ozai probably knew that Azula's style was not well suited for Toph and Bumi, so he was sure to throw her into the most inconvenient group for her.
Soon after, Teo's hopes of ending up in the same group with Toph were dashed as he went into the Ba Sing Se group with Gyatso Jetsun. "Well… at least you won't have to travel," Toph smiled at her husband. "Back home you'll have an easy time getting around."
"That's true," Teo remarked, managing to overcome his disappointment. "I think I'll still ask my father to come and visit, just to make it easier for me." Toph nodded at that as they resumed watching the broadcast.
The next important name to come up was that of grandmaster Jeong-Jeong Kaneko. He was definitely one of the strongest unseeded players and could make any of the groups he ended up in a very unfortunate destination. He went in with Pakku Karetak in Agna Qel'a. "That's another group nobody should want," Zuko remarked sourly. "I really want to end up with Zhao, but father would never allow us to endanger the chances of his favorite lackey."
"I completely agree," Azula nodded. "We're not getting the easy ride in Zhao's group. At this point, I'm praying for Piandao or Gyatso."
Aang's name was fished out of the pot next and he was placed in with Teo and Gyatso in the Ba Sing Se group, not the outcome he had wanted as evidenced by his frustrated groan. "Bah, I don't want to play Gyatso," he whined.
"But at least we get to stay at home and play each other," Teo pointed out. "I'm sure that will be fun."
"And you can keep an eye out for Teo," Toph said, giving Aang a meaningful stare.
"Oh, I'll be happy to," Aang agreed with a broad smile. "We'll have a blast competing together, Teo, my buddy," he added, bumping fists with the other boy.
Azula wasn't sure if Ozai had arranged the whole procedure of the draw to be so dramatic for his children on purpose, what with leaving hers and Zuko's names among some of the last in the pot. The groups were filling up rapidly and only a few free spots remained. The weakest group with Zhao Sakamoto was already full, so neither she nor Zuko would be getting a reprieve, which was predictable enough. Worryingly, both of the groups they didn't want to end up in, headed by Bumi and Pakku respectively, still had some spots left open. Azula was starting to get a very bad feeling about all of this. Perhaps Ozai had decided to pit her against Zuko after all, and then throw both of them against Bumi for good measure, to make sure neither of them progressed any further.
"Ugh, I knew it!" Zuko exclaimed in frustration when his name came up and he went into the Agna Qel'a group with Pakku and Jeong-Jeong.
"Come on, Zuko, I know you can do it," Sokka tried encouragingly, embracing his boyfriend. "You've beaten both of those old farts in the past, haven't you?"
"I have, but that is still a brutal draw," Zuko complained. "I never play well in Agna Qel'a, and Pakku will have the backing of the home supporters."
"I think you stand a good chance, Zuko," Yue said as the broadcast was once again frustratingly interrupted to run a few more televised ads with only three names left in the pot. "Pakku is good, sure, but he's starting to slow down with age."
"Yue is right," Katara nodded. "And the same goes for Jeong-Jeong. Neither of them is the player they were some six or eight years ago. You can do it, Zuko."
Azula nodded absentmindedly, although in all honesty she was not focused on the conversation, too anxious to discover her own fate as determined by the draw. She didn't have to wait long. As soon as the broadcast resumed, Ozai retrieved her name from the pot and predictably placed her with Bumi and Toph in the Omashu group. Azula felt like all the joy and excitement had been instantly sucked out of the room. Of course, Ozai would set her up for failure like that. Azula had been focusing so hard on avoiding Zuko in the qualifiers that she had forgotten that her father didn't want to face Bumi in the finals even more than he didn't want to face her or Zuko. That was the reason why he was throwing her against Bumi, so that only one of them would make it through. It also told her that Ozai viewed her as more of a threat than Zuko, which definitely stroked Azula's ego something fierce.
"Ugh, damn it, I guess I'll have to take out my favorite bad bitch," Toph muttered, not looking happy as she glanced at Azula.
"I guess you'll have to try, Toph," Azula half-heartedly muttered in response. It wasn't Toph she really feared, of course. Despite finding it hard to play someone with Toph's tenacious style, Azula still boasted a good record against Toph, having won the majority of games between them. It was her record against Bumi that frankly sucked. She knew how to force draws against Bumi, at least in theory. Maybe that would be enough, holding Bumi to draws and simply winning everything else, and hopefully that would see her through.
"This is going to be wild, I can tell already," Suki said. She had just finished taking her notes, looking excited. "I'd love to be there in Omashu, because that group looks simply insane. Unfortunately, The Harmony Ring will probably view that with you there, Azula, we already have a reporter in Omashu, so I'm going to be sent elsewhere. Maybe I can hitch a flight to Agna Qel'a."
"It would be nice to have a friendly face there," Zuko nodded, smiling at Suki.
"What, I am not a friendly face?" Sokka glared at his boyfriend.
"Uh…" Zuko gulped. "I was kind of hoping that you could come along for the final tournament. You don't have enough vacation time to do both, do you?"
"Probably not, but don't the finals take like six weeks or something?" Sokka asked. Zuko nodded reluctantly. "How about I go with you to Agna Qel'a for the two weeks of qualifying and make sure you're in good spirits to make it through? And then if you make it into the finals, I can maybe talk with my bosses about getting some unpaid leave," Zuko looked rather pleased with Sokka's suggestion. "And Suki, if you end up in Agna Qel'a, you're welcome to hang out with me and Zuko at any time," Sokka smiled at the girl from Kyoshi Island.
"Any time, are you sure about that?" Suki responded with a saucy wink, making the two boys blush and cough in embarrassment. Azula let out a low whistle at that, joined by Toph. When it came to romance, Suki's own attempt at a serious relationship with the sexy intern at The Harmony Ring offices had lasted for about three mostly fun months before Suki had crashed and burned again. Apparently, her girlfriend hadn't enjoyed being called 'Jet' at the height of Suki's passion when they made love, and Azula honestly couldn't blame the girl for having an issue with that. Suki had then gone back to casual dating, and fortunately she no longer seemed to feel so guilty about doing it.
"No comment," Zuko said sternly once he and Sokka had both recovered from their embarrassment. "Anyway, I have three weeks to get ready for Pakku and Jeong-Jeong… and I guess I shouldn't completely ignore the other players either." He looked over at Azula. "I know you had those amazing dossiers on both Pakku and Jeong-Jeong. Do you think I could borrow them?" he asked.
"Sure, do you want me to fetch them for you?" Yue answered before Azula could. Zuko nodded at her. "Alright, but be aware that we haven't updated them for more than a year," Yue said as she got up from the sofa to head upstairs.
"Pakku and Jeong-Jeong are definitely like old dogs that can't be taught new tricks," Katara said. "Those dossiers are still perfectly serviceable."
"I completely agree," Zuko said. "I'll go help you find them so that you don't have to carry all that stuff," he added, getting up from the sofa and heading upstairs together with Yue.
"I suppose I'll have to start looking at the flights and hotel reservations," Sokka mused. "Zuko is kind of useless at that once he gets his head in the game and starts prepping like mad, so I have to do all the organizing."
"Not having to bother with all that organizational nonsense is a huge bonus when it comes to playing in Ba Sing Se," Aang grinned. "But having to face my foster father isn't so great," his face fell at that. "Then again, all three of you will be gone, right?" Aang looked at Azula and Katara, Yue still upstairs with Zuko. Azula nodded at the Air Nation boy. "With Mai coming to Ba Sing Se, we'll have the estate all to ourselves," he immediately looked happy again.
"I hope that you two will be able to control yourselves," Azula said warningly. "We are going to conduct a thorough investigation of the estate upon our return from Omashu, and if we find any signs of you having done the nasty in any of the upstairs bedrooms, you are so going to get evicted. We'll probably do it by launching you from a cannon."
"I feel like I was just unfairly accused," Aang said, looking somewhat perplexed. "Anyway, I guess what I was going to say was… there's plenty to look forward to, even if I don't want to compete against Gyatso."
"Also, you probably won't have to do much prep, Aang," Katara told him, smiling. "There's not much you can learn about either Teo or your foster father's style of play."
"Well, I suppose I should still prepare for Gyatso," Teo pointed out.
"Just do the same what I made Katara and Yue do for the finals two years ago," Azula said. "Aang plays an almost identical game to Gyatso. I had these two play sparring matches with Aang for months until they were all sick of each other, but the lessons stuck and they gave Gyatso a real hard time at the finals."
"I really felt like I was going against my own foster parent back then," Aang sighed. "But I obviously wanted to help you with your prep, too."
"Speaking of prep," Toph spoke up, staring at Azula. "I think I heard that you're taking your bitches with you to Omashu, right?"
"Yue and I are going to help Azula, yes," Katara replied.
Toph winced. "Ugh, that's going to make it hard for me to compete, especially without Teo there," she said, sounding a little frustrated.
Azula turned her head to look at Katara, noticing that her girlfriend was giving her one of those patented stares of hers that suggested that there was only one acceptable course of action and that she really hoped Azula would choose to do the right thing. Fortunately, Azula had already decided that she was onboard with the idea without Katara imposing any moral judgments upon her. "Obviously, you are going to do your prep with us, Toph," Azula said. "Did you think we would leave you out?"
"I would totally try to exclude you if our positions were reversed," Toph admitted earnestly.
"Well, it wouldn't work, because Yue and I would then simply refuse to participate on principle," Katara said sternly.
"We would refuse to participate in what?" Yue asked, having just returned downstairs together with Zuko. Zuko was carrying a couple of sizable folders on both Jeong-Jeong and Pakku.
"Doesn't matter, I know you'd agree with me," Katara grinned at the other Water Tribe girl. Azula merely shrugged, even though she knew that Katara was right. She and Yue seemed to have moral compasses that were almost perfectly aligned. Azula's moral compass tended to fluctuate more wildly, but usually not in ways that caused serious tensions.
"Well, I love the confidence, I'll say that much," Yue chuckled good-naturedly as she sat down next to Azula again. "Anyway, what are we talking about?"
"We're talking about going to Omashu and kicking Bumi's old mummy ass," Toph said.
"I like the sound of that," Yue nodded in agreement. "I've already started brainstorming on some of the tricks we could try to further confound him."
"I have a few ideas as well," Katara smiled. Azula was taking a lot of heart from hearing her girls speak with such excitement. In the past, especially over the course of the previous summer and later in the fall, Azula had really struggled with so much guilt because she felt that she was forcing Yue and Katara into doing something that they no longer cared for all that strongly. But Azula could see that the passion and excitement had returned for her Water Tribe loves, and she could see it reflected in the way they talked as well as in those eager looks in their eyes. She started to believe that with Katara and Yue truly committed to the task, she really could move mountains, even those named Bumi.
"Well, now that I know what I'm up against, I can't wait to get back to the apartment and start working on my prep," Zuko said. "And that means we should probably be on our way," he looked at Sokka.
"I think I've lost Zuko for the next three weeks," Sokka laughed quietly.
"Like you'd let me practice as much as I should," Zuko harrumphed at his boyfriend.
"Ah, just listen to them arguing like an old married couple," Suki grinned. "Anyway, can you guys give me a lift back to my place? I know it's a bit out of the way, but-"
"Suki, for you, anything," Sokka smiled at her. "We've got to keep our resident reporter happy, right? We don't want to see any scathing articles in The Harmony Ring, do we?"
"What a dork," Suki snorted, grinning happily as she followed Sokka and Zuko out of the estate.
"We should probably be on our way as well," Toph glanced at her husband. "I'm going to look into the flights and accommodations. What are you thinking about, bitches?" she glanced at Azula and her girlfriends.
"There's only one five-star hotel in Omashu, as you well know," Azula replied. "The tournament is probably going to be held there as well, though we need to confirm that. And we'll probably be flying out a day earlier than usually, I want a bit more time to get acclimatized."
"Sounds good to me," Toph nodded in agreement. "Well, I think we have everything we need. Can we go now?" she asked, looking at Teo.
"Sure," Teo smiled at her. "Aang, how about coming over to our place later for a few sparring matches? We might as well get started early."
"I'll come over in the evening," Aang replied as Toph and Teo made their way towards the exit. "Right now, I want to call Gyatso and discuss the draw with him," Aang said, heading over to pick up the phone and starting to dial the long distance call over the unreliable Air Nation landlines to his and Gyatso's home village.
As soon as the three of them had been left alone, Yue and Katara leaned in even more tightly against Azula. "You're concerned, aren't you?" Katara asked softly.
"Well, obviously," Azula sighed. "This is what I wanted the least, which is why I should have expected it. I hate that my father knows me as well as to cherry pick the opponents I least wanted for me."
"Don't let it get to you, Azula," Yue said earnestly. "Remember how you pushed our prep before the finals? If we practice hard and smart, then I know you can beat anyone. I'm sure that we can even come up with a strategy to contain Bumi's chaotic genius. We'll make sure that you are more prepared than ever, love," she added, leaning in to kiss Azula's cheek.
"That sounds good," Azula nodded, though she still felt concerned and anxious.
It wasn't just that she doubted her own ability to prevail from a tough group featuring both Bumi and Toph. It was the consequences of what would happen should she fail to make it into the finals. If she couldn't overthrow Ozai's rule this fall, then that would mean that she would have to commit to yet another vicious cycle of two years to try again, and then again and again, until she finally succeeded. And right now, Azula felt that she couldn't do it without her girlfriends supporting her all the way. But to ask Yue and Katara to sacrifice so much for two, maybe even four or six more years, until she finally succeeded? Azula didn't think that she could do it, especially when it was becoming painfully obvious that Pai Sho just wasn't the most important thing in the lives of her girlfriends. All this meant was that it wasn't simply the expectation to succeed that was bearing down on Azula so hard. It was the expectation to succeed now for the sake of her loves that made it so tough to deal with.
"You still look really tense, love," Katara spoke gently, startling Azula from her thoughts.
It was the concerned and soft look in Katara's eyes that gave Azula the crazy idea that maybe if she didn't keep all this pressure heaped upon her contained within herself, but instead told her girlfriends about how she felt, perhaps then they might find a way to help her more effectively. And even though the idea sounded completely mental in her head, Azula felt that perhaps she ought to risk and try it anyway. Not wanting to be interrupted by Aang once he was done with his phone call with Gyatso, Azula disentangled herself from her girlfriends and rose from the sofa. Giving Katara and Yue a nod of the head, Azula walked out into the garden and sat down on the terrace, Katara and Yue following her outside, looking a little perplexed.
Azula didn't speak up immediately. She needed to take a moment for the right words to come to her. Fortunately, Katara and Yue seemed to realize this as they waited on her patiently, keeping silent. "It's not just that I'm afraid of failing," Azula said eventually. "I know that there's like a 30% chance of me going through to the finals. And once I'm in the finals, my chances of winning the title are probably even lower, I'd say about 20%? That would make the combined chance of me becoming the world champion this year at around… 6% or so? That sounds just about right to me."
"Ah, but you're forgetting about the intangibles, love," Katara smiled at her. "Nobody else has the kind of support structure as you do."
"Yes, Azula, Kat and I are giving you like an extra 30% chance to win the whole deal," Yue nodded with such conviction that she made Azula want to believe her every word.
"Well, that's definitely true," Azula said. She then let out a heavy sigh. "But it's also part of the problem," she continued, Yue and Katara looking at her with concern. "What if I don't win this fall? How can I ask you to continue putting so much time into what is now becoming my private pet project, my obsession? Katara, you want to become a surgeon a lot more than you care about Pai Sho, and Yue, it's the same for you and wanting to become a teacher. I won't ask you to stick with me if I will require another cycle to dethrone my father."
Katara and Yue both remained quiet for some time following Azula's outburst, indicating that they realized and acknowledged Azula's concerns. "How about a solution where you would play the regular tournaments without our assistance, and we would only jump in for the big summer events, like the qualifiers and the finals?" Katara asked.
Yue shook her head at that. "It's nice in theory, Kat, but unless we commit to regular Pai Sho practice throughout the whole cycle, we wouldn't be able to just jump in for a couple of months every two years and expect to be of much help, honestly," Yue said.
"No, you're right," Katara admitted, looking dejected. "Zula, you know that I want to support you always and forever-"
"But I won't let you sacrifice your own dreams to help advance mine," Azula cut her off decisively.
"Azula, how would you feel about building a new support system for yourself?" Yue asked. "I think you worked very well together with Zuko last year in Agna Qel'a. You were surprised yourself about how much you were able to help and support each other."
"Yes, it went much better than I thought it would," Azula nodded. "Even though Ozai had much less success instilling Zuko with the qualities he drilled into me, he still succeeded on some level. Zuko works hard and he's prepared to punish himself almost the same way I punish myself."
"What you're saying is that even though you work well together, you still need supervision to stop both of you from overworking yourselves into early graves," Yue rolled her eyes.
"You don't have to exaggerate," Azula sighed.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think Yue is far from the truth, love," Katara said. "But still, working with Zuko seems like a promising future path to pursue."
"Maybe," Azula admitted reluctantly. Her girlfriends were right, of course. Working with Zuko was probably the best option. But there was one thing that Azula was starting to realize with growing clarity, and it was something that she didn't want to share with her girlfriends so as not to add undue pressure on them. Azula was starting to realize that her own still strongly burning passion for Pai Sho would without a doubt fade and peter out if Yue and Katara no longer accompanied her on this journey. Doing this together was really the main driving force which made Pai Sho fun for her. Without it, Azula wasn't sure if she even wanted to continue.
"Look, this discussion is immaterial anyway," she said with sudden decisiveness. "I've decided that I'm going to win the title this year, and that's it, we don't have to make any plans beyond that because I'm becoming world champion this fall and that's final."
"I completely believe in your success, Azula," Katara said, taking her hand. There was only complete trust and conviction in Katara's voice, with no room left for doubt.
"Also, Azula, I wouldn't worry too much about the tough group in the qualifiers," Yue smiled as she took the hands of both of her girlfriends. "Remember, it takes place in Omashu, and we are literally unbeatable in Omashu. So, you're not going to fail, trust me."
"That's a good point," Azula said, nodding, as she felt her confidence surge from the support of her girlfriends and her own growing resolution. Suddenly, the task ahead of her no longer felt so insurmountable.
Next chapter: its Omashu tournament time and things are really starting to heat up as Azula faces Bumi and Toph. We'll also keep an eye on the rest of the Gaang and their attempts to qualify for the championship finals.