Resetting Our Lives
Summary: Untimely deaths and mourning spirits. A second chance was deemed appropriate. Now in a new world and in younger bodies, how will they adjust? How will they change things with their presence in this new world?
Disclaimer: I don't own avatar: the last airbender or naruto.
Chapter 1 - A Childish Displacement
"SOKKA!"
The angered warrior could hear his friends' voices call out to him. He ignored them. His rage was fueling his actions and it demanded only one thing - Azula's head.
It was the solar eclipse. The princess had no fire bending but she was still a capable enough warrior. A part of her understood that Sokka was an excellent swordsman. He had almost killed her multiple times. If not for her rigorous instruction under her father, she would never have stood a chance against him.
Of course, she didn't admit that. She was princess Azula, daughter of the firelord. The cold and perfect soldier she had always wanted him to view her as. All as an attempt for his nonexistent affection. To be perfect. To please.
She knew fear when the black sword of her opponent managed to stab her deeply in the gut. Of course, there was a bit of satisfaction to her part as she hit him with lightning at pointblank. Her bending had come back in time for her to save at least a bit of her dignity. Her father would not be pleased that she had been beaten by a mere peasant without at least killing him.
Of course, she realized that her opponent was no longer the useless waste of space she once thought he was. Her likely last battle with him taught her to fear his growing skill as a warrior. He would definitely become a troublesome enemy for her father later on. She held a bit of pride killing such a foe at least. It was a bonus that he was the Avatar's friend and the mastermind of the invasion.
Her maniacal laughter slowed to a stop. She could hear Sokka grunting for breath but still had enough will to set strings of profanities at her. She found a small bit of respect for him now that they were dying. Of course she'd never voice it out. Again, she was princess Azula.
In their last dying breath, a cold but also warm sensation filled them and surrounded them.
Aang and the others saw a bright light and rushed even more towards it. Toph had a bad feeling in her gut. She had felt the vibrations of their battle. She saw them taking each other down. She didn't want to believe this until her friends' confirm it with their eyes.
Sokka managed to utter one word before disappearing along with Azula in a bright and gentle light.
"Yue?"
The three arrived back to the cavern where they first encountered the princess. It was the site of the battle. All they found was empty space filled with the scent of ozone and blood. Yet, there was no sign of anyone there.
"Mm."
Azula opened her eyes to rock. It was actually a cave ceiling. She recognized it immediately due to the stalactites. Her brief observation of the protruding rocks told her that she was no longer in the royal underground caves.
Her body ached. Her stomach felt especially painful. She pondered for a while if she had finally been sent to the afterlife. She silently asked herself if this was the only punishment the spirits had to offer for her supposed evil nature. She understood that she was a sadistic evil prodigy and yet she still reveled in the fact. It was what her father wanted her to be. She had grown up under him solely. She never had a mother figure as her real one mostly attended to Zuko before her disappearance.
"Took you long enough."
A tired voice, obviously from a child, invaded her ears. It was surprisingly articulate if her guess on this child's age was right. Yet, she had this strange sensation of dread in her upon hearing it. She felt like she knew this person.
She shifted her head to find, both to her horror and amusement, a shrunken version of Sokka who had a rather cute glare. His armor was shrunken along with him. So did his sword and helmet. He was in the body of a boy roughly two to three years of age. Despite that, he still held himself like the swordsman he is.
"That's interesting."
Azula paled at the sound of her own voice. It was much too high-pitched to be hers. It sounded like that of a child. A stronger feeling of dread washed over her. It became especially evident when she saw Sokka smirk at her mockingly.
"How..." The princess could not find the words to say. She had gotten up and saw her petite hands and miniaturized royal army garb.
"I don't know. One second we were dead and the next we're in some cave and turned into kids." Sokka shrugged and adjusted the winged rodent on his stick over the fire she just noticed.
"Kids? We were kids! This? This is a baby's body!" Azula, pride forgotten, expressed her dismay on the only other person experiencing it. She noticed in horror how Sokka seemed a bit bigger than her. He was likely a year or two ahead of her. That just proved to spite her further.
She found herself surprised that she actually managed to stand up with her new center of balance and small legs. Of course she dealt with a bit of difficulty but she wasn't going to let something like a weird de-aging keep her down.
"Yue has a horrible sense of humor." Sokka said with a hint of sadness. Azula looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"The moon spirit." he elaborated.
"You, peasant, had an audience with the moon spirit?" Her voice was laced in disbelief and sarcasm. Of course she knew his history. The ember island players were planning on a play and ran most of their findings by the firelord. But it was still dubious.
"You don't have the right to call me that anymore ex-princess." Sokka said mournfully rather than scathingly. Seeing Yue again, especially in the state he was in, reopened some emotional wounds. Azula noticed the serious tone and pained expression. She had no idea how his claim was possible but then again, common sense must not exist when friends with the Avatar. The de-aged girl sighed.
"I suppose I'm useless in this form. I can barely stand." she said but with a bit of reluctance. She knew she had to depend on the more viable victim of their curse. She didn't exactly know where to start.
"Actually, we can fight fine. At least, I seem to have no problem. My attacks are weaker but I can still kill pretty well." Sokka pointed his thumb to the fresh corpses of unknown people in assorted odd clothing that littered the cave.
"I was meaning to ask about that. I thought you were one of the good guys." Azula said in teasing but also accusing manner.
"They attacked. I defended myself. They wouldn't stop. I killed them." Sokka summarized.
"Is that all you can manage? You're even more retarded than I thought." Azula insulted.
"What do you want from me? A complete play by play of everything that happened since we got here? If you haven't noticed, I'm not one of your servants and I'm not exactly in the mood." Sokka said with a frown. Azula contemplated if it had become permanent after their change.
"I just wanted to have a better grasp of the situation." Azula smirked as the water tribe boy sent her a cold leer.
"Fine! If you really want to know, we've been brought to an alternate universe and turned into freak babies due to the spirits' mumbo jumbo. Happy?" he explained grumpily while he stared intently at the cooking bat.
There was a short moment of silence as Azula looked at him as if he grew a second head.
"Wow. And I thought I was a good liar." she said after examining the boy herself. She was an excellent interrogator and she could easily tell when someone was lying or being plain cheeky.
"I'm not lying. Yue explained it herself. We have to live in this world where we know next to nothing. This place works differently from ours. I realized that when I fought those war freaks over there. They could use all sorts of elements - Not just one! - and use weapons with ease. I had a hard time with them. The only reason I won was because they kept underestimating me and they were already injured to begin with. They called themselves shinobi but I have no idea what that means."
Sokka stared holes into the bat he was cooking as he bitterly relayed information to Azula. No wonder why he was pissed. His ex-girlfriend brought them into this crazy world where anyone could be like the Avatar but still be twisted enough to try and attack defenseless babies.
Azula knew that she needed to shut up. Sokka was radiating so much anger and malice she could feel it from where she was. Judging from the corpses' slit throats, she could tell that she wouldn't be able to fare much against his sword.
Bending or no - she was significantly weaker now - Sokka could probably match her easily. Their fight was still fresh in her mind. An angry Sokka was a big no no.
True, the facts were a bit hard to swallow but they were the facts. There was nothing to change that. She was stuck in a new world, stripped of her title and glorious prowess, and stuck with a grumpy enemy reluctantly turned ally. Also, he was her only chance of survival. If this wasn't hell, she didn't know what was.
It had been an argument that got us both to come out. Logic persisted that if there were people out in the world, with tools and uniforms, that meant that there had to be actual civilizations existing in this world. The spirits that brought us here argued against this idea but we left anyways.
Rather than rot in a cave eating who knows what those rodents we fed on were called, it was better to push our luck and try to test our luck with the locals. We could each find appropriate homes that would take us in and we could go our separate ways from there. We'd never have to see each other again. It was too good to ignore the chance of having that.
But, seeing as I can't walk for too long without falling on my face every other few minutes, I had to depend on water boy to carry me around. He is the worst. He wouldn't even carry me properly, just prompting to drag me by the cuff of my shirt every time the exhaustion catches up to me. My clothes are all dirty and I end up sore whenever I awake after having fallen asleep.
Last time, he dragged me through an animal path and I had to wash out the...droppings off my armor. It was difficult washing out that stain. I had to resist the urge of just burning my things in frustration. In the end, I had to wear the clothes we stripped off of his last kills. Admittedly, those people were armed to the teeth and had lots of supplies that kept us afloat for a couple of weeks. I just don't like the idea of wearing the clothes of corpses. Not that he had any problems with that. Not only is he a peasant but he's also an uncouth barbarian. As expected.
It was difficult travelling as young as we apparently were. Fatigue came easily and I could barely practice my bending without getting short of breath. I could barely stand. Clearly, this body has a great deal of stamina lost from the de-aging and almost seems to be trapped in a perpetual state of lethargy. My limbs are soft and weak and none of my punches even serve to hurt the peasant. On the other hand, despite being just as handicapped, he's gotten around the downsides of being a baby and could utilize a seemingly endless pool of energy and endurance.
I'll admit that I have been completely, thoroughly, humiliated by him with every single day coming past. My uselessness here is routinely rubbed in with everything. He doesn't even need to say it outright but I knew he thought it.
I'm a princess. I was never expected to learn how to cook, to hunt, to wash clothes, or any of that peasant work. I was taught how to bend, how to battle, how to maneuver armies and make proud men beg on their knees. Nothing I am proficient in serves to be of any use in our attempts at surviving. Even fire, which I can easily provide, is something that he himself is capable of making simply with dry wood and dead plants. I was completely relegated to useless. To deadweight. And he makes sure to remind me of this every single time as I end up having to...beg...for food. For shelter. For transport. It's degrading. Worst of all, we still haven't gotten anywhere!
"How difficult is it to put up signposts to warn people about these things? We haven't found anything and it's been five days."
We've seen nothing but trees and trees and trees. The occasional predator spiced up our days a little bit but the exhaustion we suffer from always barely surviving them isn't worth it. It slows us down too much. We, or to be more precise, Sokka already killed two unusual feline predators since we left that infernal cave. It seems his barbarian nature has its uses. He knows what to target for when fighting a wild beast. In fact, his latest kill had just been cleaned and prepared by him.
"Quit complaining. It's not like we could've gone far like this. We're probably not too far from where we came from." He told me in an annoyed tone.
His club crashed with the weak wood of a log and pieces of it broke off, small enough to be used for firewood. Despite his seemingly useless physique, he managed to defend us rather well and I can't complain about that without the threat of him leaving me defenseless hanging.
He did once, in fact. Just last night, he got fed up with me and left me on my own in these wilds. I thought I could handle myself but the cold and hunger weakened me more than I already was and the predators were lured in by my defenselessness. It had been...frightening.
I nearly died. If it wasn't for him coming back, I would've been eaten by our current to-be meal. At the very least, I can appreciate his ability to keep us both breathing...And saving my life.
"Is that how you found me so fast?" I asked hesitantly. The tension still hasn't left my body. I never thought that I could still feel so...fearful. I never feared anything in my life!
He didn't answer. It was a difficult topic to broach. But, I wasn't just going to let it fade to the background. He can obviously move around faster without me. He can provide for himself easily and find himself a safe haven. Yet, he bothered to come back.
"Why did you return if you clearly still can't stand me?"
What does he want? Is he only letting me live longer in this torture to spite me for his girlfriend? Is that it? Is he just keeping me around to have something to lash out on? Is that what I am now? A doll to take out his frustrations on?
"What kind of person do you think I am? There's no way I'd just up and leave a baby in the woods to die, even if it's you. You just tempt me too much." he grumbled.
In a way, I was disappointed in that answer. It was the answer of a sentimentalist. The answer of the weak. Pity is only a foolish venture. But, another part of me is glad. Had he not been such a weakling, I wouldn't still be alive. Strength doesn't matter if I'm dead. Forget that. I can't even boast power in such a pitiful form.
He managed to locate herbs for seasoning and for healing. I couldn't help even there seeing as I was still tired and injured from the attack. He dutifully ground greens into paste and applied them on my wounds as disinfectant. So, he was strong enough to survive even without bending and knew how to take care of himself in such wild conditions on top of that. It's envying.
I can't really say the same for myself. When he came back for me, I found myself bawling into his chest. When I regained my head, I was horrified of what had happened. I showed him that I was weak. Weak!
"I'm the princess of the fire nation and you're the son of the chief of the southern water tribe on top of being a close personal friend of the Avatar. We're born to be enemies. Of course you're tempted." I said bitterly.
As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt an odd sensation of disgust pooling in my gut. Not with him or myself. Just, how things happened. Had he been the son of a fire nation general or even a notable politician, things could've been different. Not that I think I can control him with fear as I did with my friends. He's too...resilient. He could never bow down to anyone. Not even me. Now that I think it, we probably still would've spited each other. But, we would've been on the same side.
Bonds seem so fragile in that light when everything is merely a product of circumstance.
"There's no fire nation or water tribe here. You can just put a sock in your royal ass and try to avoid driving me to murder." he threatened. His heated gaze spoke of such powerful hatred, I knew he might just do it.
"It's hard to believe you're a killer when you're spouting soft nonsense like pity." I told him.
"We're soldiers. We're expected to kill. But, that doesn't mean we have to stop being human too."
His words were full of disdain, towards me. Towards my nation. I can tell that he picked up the blade not out of duty but because he wanted something. He's too kind. To gentle. But, he has no remorse. He's invested in this war. He fights for honor for the lives of those lost. Just like all the other rabble. But, he takes it personally.
The southern water tribe was more or less wiped out when their water benders were taken from them. It was far from being the grand nation their sister tribe ballooned into. His sister was the only bender it had left to offer and she had been a novice for the longest time.
He lived in the byproduct of a war zone all his life. His father, the chief Hakoda, had been an active resistance to the fire nation, a regular thorn in our side. His lover, that Suki girl, was the leader of the Kiyoshi warriors who were also against us. He lived and breathed in the resistance effort and was part of it.
He took it very personally.
So, why doesn't he just kill me after all?
The first humans we came upon in our travels were not as we hoped.
"Hey, look at this. It's a Konoha brat so far from home." said one of my captors. He oozed of great malice. The hate in his eyes were...extreme. Those were the eyes of a beast that cornered its prey.
"Is it just me or do those clothes look stolen to you?" asked another observant one. Hey eyed my borrowed apparel with great interest. For some reason, an ugly worn vest held merit.
"Who cares? She wreaks of blood. She must be one of those murder brats from before."
"You mean that Hatake kid or ANBU or the suicide bombers?"
"Damn it, Ishi! Why'd you have to remind me of that? Sick bastard."
There were eight of them and they don't seem too against the idea of gutting us alive. Sokka is no match for these humans. Assuming they really are such. It was so fast. Inhumanly fast. It was almost as if they teleported into the area, surrounding me instantly. I was caught unable to react even when I kept my caution in case something went wrong.
They wore somewhat uniform clothing. They each had their own way of personalizing their clothes. But, they all retained common styles like how they all seemed to prefer wearing red. They also wore matching brown vests, similarly styled open-toed shoes, and wore a carved plating somewhere on their person that must be denoting their allegiance.
These were soldiers.
"Ack! " One of them cried out as blood sprayed into the air. Sokka was back after all and he managed a sneak attack on these freaks while they were preoccupied with me.
"What the hell! It's another one!"
Sokka came at them with the methodical efficiency of a desperate survivor. There was no room for pity here. No room for mercy. There was only them and us. Clearly, we fight to save our own skin.
I took that as a sign and zapped my captor with lightning at pointblank. He was holding me by the arm, dangling me like some piece of meat, and it was not at all appreciated.
I instantly regretted using such high level techniques so early into this fight. I felt the fatigue hit me and I cursed my current form so. But, there was no room for rest. We must fight, escape, and survive. I took a deep breath and unleashed the fire upon them. I thought it would've been demoralizing. I thought it would've rattled them enough to break their formations. It wasn't. Not at all.
I used my breath and roared fire towards the enemy. I could only use my most basic forms and weakest flames. It annoyed me but I'll have to do.
"Earth Release: Mud Style Wall!"
An earth wall blocked my attack. I was about to go on the offensive, running up said wall to come at the enemy from above, when a torrent of wind blasted me back. Did he just airbend me away?
It was hard to believe at first when Sokka claimed that the locals here were able to manipulate more than one element. But, seeing it personally like this makes it hard not to believe. Worse, they took us seriously now with our show of power. They were well-oiled machines that worked seamlessly together, easily utilizing their numbers against us to its fullest potential. They fought craftily and with great cunning. They had power and ferocity. They even had the elements on their side. Such excellent training.
"Earth Release: Flying Thrown Stones!"
There was a rain of rocks coming at us. Experience fighting with earthbenders allowed me to fluidly navigate through the pelting attack without being harmed. I could feel my vitality dropping with every exertion but I let my adrenaline take over to numb the mind. I cannot grow tired and fall asleep here. I will survive.
But then, the projectiles suddenly exploded. The paper bits mixed in among them glowed all of a sudden and I was caught in the blast radius.
"AH!" I cried out in pain. I've been burned before but this body was too weak and too easy to injure. It hurt so much, I couldn't move. I can't believe it. Those papers were bombs? How did that work?
"Azula!" Sokka tried to get to me, I could tell, but his lapse in concentration proved fatal.
"Electromagnetic Murder."
"GAHHH!" The familiar scent of burnt flesh and ozone assaulted me and I knew what happened. He was electrocuted.
"Damn it! It told you they were murder kids! I told you!" hissed one of the soldiers. He sported injuries that had him bleeding rivers. He must've been one of Sokka's victims. I'm surprised he's still walking after having been stabbed from behind.
"Let's just kill them before they become trouble."
One of them grabbed Sokka from the neck from behind and lifted him off his feet one handed. I could tell that he was far from having recovered. He was just waving his sword in front of him trying fruitlessly to injure while seizing up every few seconds. The soldier was pulling out a strangely shaped knife...
No, this can't be happening. We can't die here. We can't! We can't have suffered and struggled for survival for nothing! I tried to move. I tried to bend. But, my limbs won't persist. There were shadows upon me and I knew they planned to do to me what they planned to do to Sokka. We were going to die.
Move. Come on, move! Do something! I'm supposed to be the crowned princess of the fire nation. I'm supposed to be the much feared general by my father's side as we finally burn Ba Sing Se to the ground. I cannot be defeated by some otherworlder freaks! We cannot lose here!
But, what can I do?
Suddenly, my mind blanked out and I found myself hallucinating. I was floating, as though flying, and watching down on two peasants talk before some shabby shack. No, wait. Those aren't peasants.
"Lightning is a pure form of firebending, without aggression. It is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other firebending is. Some call lightning the cold-blooded fire. It is precise and deadly, like Azula. To perform the technique requires peace of mind." said Iroh.
The old man was recovering from Azula's attack the last time they encountered each other. Zuko was aware that he'd have to get stronger if he was planning on facing Azula again. While appearing to be a useless tea-loving buffoon at first, Iroh had not been a legendary general for nothing.
"I see. That's why we're drinking tea, to calm the mind." said Zuko.
"Oh yeah, good point!" said the old man. Then, he caught himself. "I mean, yes."
They headed out to start training. As Iroh demonstrated, he explained the philosophies behind the art of bending lightning.
"There is energy all around us. The energy is both yin and yang. Positive energy and negative energy. Only a select few firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance, and in a moment the positive and negative energy come crashing back together, you provide release and guidance, creating lightning."
Iroh stepped up, generated lightning, and shot it away from the two towards the sky. Zuko watched in awe.
"I'm ready to try it!"
Zuko attempted to generate lightning multiple times only to have them exploding in his face. He was unable to master lightning no matter how many times he tried it due the imbalance already present in himself that would not resolve itself as of yet. His heart was in turmoil and he had yet to let go of his feelings of shame. Iroh realized that it might be too early for Zuko to learn lightning after all and comes up with another idea.
"Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy to drive and achieve what they want."
Iroh draws the firebending insignia in the dirt. It was not the symbol of the nation but rather the traditional symbol that referred to firebending itself.
"Earth is the element of substance. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring."
He continues to draw, choosing to draw the earthbending insignia next.
"Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom."
Next came the airbending insignia.
"Also, they apparently had pretty good senses of humor!" he added. Then, he proceeded to draw the waterbending insignia.
"Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything."
Zuko looked confused. He understood what his uncle was saying. They had merit and made sense if all the things he'd seen in his travels were anything to go by. But, what did it have to do with his training?
"Why are you telling me these things?"
"It is important to draw wisdom from many different places." explained the old man. He divides the four insignias into separate sections to visualize partition.
"If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole." He draws a circle around the insignias to make them a whole.
"All this four elements talk is sounding like Avatar stuff." said Zuko.
"It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful." reminded Iroh. "But it can make you more powerful, too. You see the technique I'm about to teach you is one I learned by studying the waterbenders.
The scene shifts to an earlier memory in Azula's mind. One that she actively took part in and remembered to this day. If there was anything she could respect her uncle for, it was that technique that even she couldn't hope to learn the way she was and without him to teach her.
He was the only known person able to perform the seemingly impossible feat without fail, a skill that always had her grandfather favoring him over her father despite Ozai clearly being more respectable compared to an old fool who'd turn away from the siege of Ba Sing Se when he was so close just because his son died and he felt like grieving.
"You know, Father blames Uncle for the loss of the North Pole. And he considers you a miserable failure for not finding the Avatar! Why would he want you back home, except to lock you up where you can no longer embarrass him?"
The girl, in her past, spoke the words with much spite and much glee. Seeing the anger and hurt churn within her brother's heart excited her. She had always disliked Zuko. He never treated her like a real little sister, always sucking up to their mother and taking all her attention away. He was the reason why her mother always left her in the dust where her father could further crush her into his ideals of perfection with his favoritism.
Zuko conjures up two fire daggers again in rage and leaps into the air. He sends a powerful fire blast at Azula using his foot. She jumps and lands safely on the deck several feet away. The two continue to duel, eventually making their way up a stairway that leads to the central control area of the ship. Azula manages grab hold of Zuko's arm. With a smirk, Azula knocks him to his feet with a blue fire blast. Zuko lands roughly at the bottom of the stairwell.
Azula starts generating lightning and fires the bolt at her brother only for Iroh to step in suddenly, grab hold of her right hand and redirect the lightning, causing it to strike a far-off cliff side. He twists her arm to bend her downward and kicks her off the ship. Azula lands in the water below with a splash while Zuko and Iroh run away.
With a gasp, Azula grabs the hand of her attacker who was about to stab her and twisted it with all the strength she could provide. Losing to momentum and imbalance, the soldier fell over allowing Azula to steal his knife and stab him through the head.
She ran for Sokka's would-be killer who came at her in anger, hand still crackling bright with lightning. It was the one that electrocuted Sokka. She grabbed a hold of his hand, stole the lightning and fired it back at the enemy. Her entire body felt exhilarated but also...terrified. The shock to the system rattled her nerves and overloaded her chi due to the improper deflection. She let go of one terrible cough, releasing blood. The pain was unbearable and would've been fatal had she done that half-assed. In hindsight, she was lucky it wasn't a very powerful generation of lightning.
But, there were still many more coming at them. There were still those who aimed to kill them. Her body was at its limits but she knew she could not fall yet. But, her mind was starting to go blank. The enemy saw that it was their chance. The children were on their last legs and had to be killed before they could catch a second wind. But, something else happened.
With a definite yellow glow to her eyes, Azula suddenly made one declarative roar of fire to the sky, startling their enemies. With a deep breath, she took that fire and expelled it around with an exhale. She burned the enemy with unrelenting blue flames, allowing for Sokka to finish off the last of them together with her.
With a bluish silvery glow reminiscent of the moonlight, Sokka's eyes lit up as well. He raised his hands and bent the nearby river water into about himself, forming a large towering monster composed of spiritually enriched water. He then swiped an arm towards them, skillfully freezing the water into several ice shards, flat and thin like blades, which he sends down at their stunned opponents, gutting them all. Then, with another twist, he pulls a tired and worn out Azula from the fray, uses the water to transport himself and the girl elsewhere to a place where they could be safe and away from the cruelties of man.
It was only when they woke up that they realized what happened. The spirits whom they stubbornly ignored saved their lives once more.