Chapter Eight
"Agni Kai"
A storm was brewing overhead as the line of captives and captors reached a clearing among the trees. There they stopped, and there, Azula waited. Thunder rumbled in the sky overhead.
Upon seeing the new arrivals, Azula stood from her seat upon a rock, a pleased smile on her face.
Bojing, Mai, and Ty Lee quickly arranged the captives in a straight line before Azula, standing behind them. Bojing smiled broadly as Azula stopped before the line of prisoners.
After looking them over, she turned to him. "Good job, Bojing."
Bojing's smile widened in pure delight.
Zuko glared at his sister. "Azula! Let us go!"
Azula turned her attention to him. "Now why would I do that, Zuko?" She questioned, still smiling.
Zuko narrowed his eyes further. Beside him, his Uncle frowned in displeasure.
"Really, Azula, imprisoning your own family?" He stated more than questioned.
Azula turned to him, her dislike of the man evident in her eyes and in the tone of her voice. "Iroh, I see you're still alive."
Rage swept through Zuko at the way his sister was treating their Uncle. He was unable to control it.
"Agni Kai!" He shouted.
Azula turned to him, her pleased smile not leaving her lips. She stepped nearer to him. "You're really no match for me, Zuzu, why humiliate yourself?"
Zuko calmed himself, but did not back down. "Agni Kai," he said simply.
Azula looked him over as he stared at her, unwilling to show her any emotion at all. Finally Azula turned away, looking to Mai.
"Very well. Release him!"
Zuko took another calming breath as Mai moved up to him with the key to unlock his handcuffs. Azula walked across the clearing nonchalantly.
As Mai moved away from him, Zuko noticed a hint of sadness in her eyes. He forced himself to ignore it and to step away from the line of captives, getting into a fighting stance. His eyes were on his sister, who was now across the clearing from him. She turned to him, but didn't get into a fighting stance.
The line of captives and captors watched, waiting. Some were worried, others were excited.
Aang was among those who were worried. But not for Zuko. He was worried for his own saftey. A soft bellow soon floated to his ears.
No one else seemed to notice the call as Aang looked up in excitement. There, in the sky above, was Appa.
Aang smiled in joy. "Appa!"
And yet, the worry that was within him was still there.
On Appa's back, Katara looked down into the trees, searching for Aang or Bojing. She didn't know if Sokka's prediction about the later was true or not, but she did know that Aang was in trouble.
Her eyes continued to search the ground, and soon she saw a clearing. And in that clearing was...
"Aang!" She cried, her heart leaping with the joy that he was okay.
She pointed to the clearing, and Sokka, at Appa's head, turned the bison toward the clearing and they began to lower.
Katara watched the clearing as it got nearer. The sudden joy died as she saw not one, but six enemies in the clearing along with Aang.
Back in the clearing, Zuko continued to watch his sister, waiting for her to make the first move. Azula glared at him now, and was soon in a fighting stance.
"Whenever you're ready," Zuko called to her through clenched teeth. For too long had he wanted to face off against his sister.
Lightning flashed in the sky around them as Azula moved into position to send her first strike at Zuko.
Zuko watched her with a scowl, not caring that she was ready to strike him down.
Lighting shot from Azula's fingers, heading straight toward him.
Zuko skillfully moved his body into formation just as his Uncle had taught him so that he could intercept a lightning strike from the sky and send it toward his sister.
His Uncle watched in worry as he realized what his nephew was doing.
"No!" He cried out, stepping forward as lightning lit up the sky and shot directly into Zuko's outstretched hand.
He stopped, watching in wide-eyed sadness.
The lightning coursed through his body, but Zuko managed to remain calm and move it through himself. As he felt the heat rushing into his hand where the energy would escape, he looked up to see his sister staring at him in shock.
He grinned in victory as his hand pointed at her. For a second, as she realized what he was planning, he almost thought he saw fear in her eyes. But only for a second. Then it vanished and she scowled at him.
The energy of the lightning suddenly burst fourth from his hand, heading toward his sister, but just as it was about to hit her, he moved his hand slightly upward, the lightning shooting away above her head.
Azula looked at him in question as he smoothly side-stepped to avoid the earlier strike she had thrown at him, than stood calmly, looking at her with normal eyes that showed no hatred or anger.
The lightning he had fired hit the branch of a tree behind Azula and the branch split away from the tree, falling to the ground where it trapped Azula beneath its long branches as she gasped in question.
Zuko only watched her, not moving to do more or less.
Behind him, his Uncle sighed with relief, than smiled in pleasure at the success of his nephew.
Bojing, Mai, and Ty Lee rushed toward the fallen branch to help their princess. Zuko glanced at Mai but she did not return the gesture.
Above, Appa neared the clearing and from his back, Katara had watched all that had happened. When she had seen Zuko's great bending skills, her eyes had grown wide in shock, for he was a powerful bender.
Appa soon landed on the ground in the clearing. Sokka and Katara leaped from his back and rushed toward Aang.
"Come on!" Sokka shouted.
While the others were occupied with Azula, and Zuko seemed not to care, Sokka untied Aang and they raced back to Appa, climbing onto his back. Appa leaped into the air again and the gang was free.
As he left the scene behind, Aang looked back down at Zuko. The worry he had felt had died once Zuko had unleashed his lightning strike. It was weird. Why should he feel this way for his enemy? Why should he feel joy that he had achieved such power when he would likely turn around and use that power on him?
With a sigh, Aang turned to leave the scene and such confusing thoughts behind him. Right now all that mattered was that he was safe, and that he had Appa back!
Below, Zuko moved up to Bojing who watched as Mai and Ty Lee tried to free Azula from the fallen branch. Zuko frowned at his old friend.
"Honor and admiration are titles – given when you do something great. A peasant, who is less recognized than you, is more honorable," he said to him, then snatched a key from his belt, and turned his back on him, strolling across the clearing toward his Uncle.
His Uncle was watching him in shock, though he tried to hide it. Zuko reached him and silently used the key to unlock the handcuffs at his uncle's back.
As the handcuff's fell away, Zuko turned to leave. "Come on, Uncle."
His Uncle hesitated to follow, looking from his nephew to the others in utter shock and surprise at the events that had recently unfolded. Finally, he smiled in pleasure, and followed Zuko into the trees.
Appa flew away from the clearing, leaving it and the forest behind. Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Momo sat on his back, relieved that their latest adventure was over. Aang sat on his head, thinking sadly. He looked down at the forest below and sighed.
Then he got up and moved to those behind him.
"Katara, you were right," he said to her. "I shouldn't be in such a hurry to do what I must. I've been given a deadline and I should stick to it."
He hung his head. Katara smiled broadly.
"Good to hear it, Aang," she replied.
Aang smiled at the sound of her words, looking up into her beautiful eyes that seemed to glow with her happiness.
Nearby, Sokka, too, looked up. He, however, didn't wear a smile. "What about the eclipse?" He asked, and his look of question changed to annoyance. "It's still important information. And I didn't get attacked by a giant, crazed owl for no reason!"
Aang and Katara tried not to laugh as they watched Sokka. They didn't succeed. To Aang, it felt good to laugh.
Toph was the first to answer Sokka's question. "There are plenty of other Earth cities and villages besides Ba Sing Se, and plenty of others fighting in the war. Why not give the information to them?"
Katara nodded in agreement, having finished her laughing. "She's right. There are others fighting in the war."
Aang turned to Toph with an excited and happy smile. "Good idea, Toph!"
He quickly moved back to Appa's head. "We'll get the information to someone who can use it, and than go from there."
He looked out at the landscape before him. It seemed an awfully big world. He glanced at Katara, with a smile.
"One step at a time," he said.
She smiled back at him, her pleasure at his choice obvious. He too, was pleased, and finally understood. For so long as they took things one step at a time, the whole journey didn't seem quite so long and the impossible task before them didn't seem quite so impossible. The world seemed a little less big when one looked at it one day, one step, at a time.
Katara nodded at him, her smile broad. "One step at a time."