Lightning Can Be Warm
Chapter 4
Zuko ducked under the giant roll of blue flame. Azula mouthed a sorry from where she was punching and Zuko sent several little blasts at her, aiming carefully to just miss her. For the first time in three years, Ozai had broken the routine of teaching new movements and working together as a team to pitting them against each other. This new way of teaching was after Zuko had recreated Azula's lightning one practice session and brought down the roof of the Royal Meeting Place. Zuko moved as fast as he could to the side to avoid the sweeping motion of the fire whips that was one of Azula's best movements. Almost like water-bending in Zuko's opinion.
He stepped backwards, allowing himself more room to send strip of crackly fire, almost lightning right in her direction. She saw it coming and rolled across the room and sent one carefully aimed shot right at his chest. He ducked to the right to avoid it and swept up as much fire as possible and sent it in Azula's direction. She dodged and bumped straight into him running to the side. The two of them tussled a little bit, faking as much as they could before Zuko made a sweeping movement and stepped back a few paces. The fire-bending was back. Azula quickly ran to the other side of him and elbowed him in the groin, knocking him to the floor. She placed two fingers of his Adam's apple and breathed happily.
"Touche," Zuko breathed shallowly and they moved to get up when Ozai said two words that changed Zuko's life forever.
"Finish him." The two of them looked at him with shock.
"K-K-K-Kill him?" Azula stuttered, for once, lost for words.
"Yes." Ozai said smoothly. "Or should I do it for you?"
"Do it Azula." whispered Zuko, he did not want to be taken down by Ozai of all people.
Azula looked at him oddly before shaking her head and fire a quick blast...aimed at his face. He slumped into the floor and the last thing he was aware of was a yell of outrage from Ozai.
(X)
Zuko woke up peacefully and moved just a little to make as if to get out of the bed. He winced as pain shot through him.
"Oh my freaking head." he murmured darkly.
"Zuko?" he heard Azula's voice, in much louder tones than usual and winced at the pain it caused to his rather sensitive ear.
"Oh my freaking ears." He said.
"Too loud?" she asked gently.
"Oh my freaking eyes." He said looking up at her.
"Too bright?" she asked concernedly.
"No, I looked at your face." He joked.
She rolled her eyes and hugged him gingerly.
"For a moment there, I actually thought you were hurt." She said, looking at him with relief.
"Well, my vision seems a little more limited. My voice sounds like I had a bad case of Dragon Pox. And my face is rather itchy, considering the fact I can't feel most of it at all! Of course, I'm peachy!" Zuko said sarcastically.
"Well, forgive me!" she said sarcastically, her mouth upturned in a sneer. "I was hoping you would be fine, that my fire-blast which you stupidly told me to do wouldn't have hurt you too much, you've always wanted me to think unrealistically, the one time I do, you hate me? Thanks a lot, Crown Prince Zuko, I'm going." She clicked her fingers in front of his face before walking out the room regally.
Zuko sighed. He hadn't meant it to insult her, but then again, he hadn't been meaning to insult her for the past year, and she didn't seem to understand then. Hormones. He sighed and settled back into bed, clenching his fists, so as not to scratch the side of his face that had been blasted. Somehow, he had a feeling that if he did, it would be very bad.
(X)
Zuko looked out into the pavilion. It was empty. Pitch Black too, considering it was the middle of the night. Looking left and right stiffly, Zuko crept in. He looked behind him a lot of times, keeping his senses alert. He was sure nothing would get past him. Sure as he could be. He crossed the pavilion without event. Sighly quietly in relief looking behind, he walked forward. He bounced off something big.
"Going somewhere?" asked a gravelly voice.
He screamed girlishly and reacted immediately. Soon, there a knife to the neck of his ambusher. Then he actually looked. And pulled the knife that his ambusher had purchased for him, down.
"Uncle Iroh, you scared me half into the Spirit World! What are you doing out here?"
Iroh laughed. "I could ask you the same thing, Prince Zuko! Are you not meant to stay in bed for another two weeks?"
Zuko sighed; he had known this little detail would pop up.
"I'm not going back there for another two weeks! I can actually move and do things; I just find things a little difficult to see. Obviously I can't start fire-bending and going completely back to normal again, but I'm hardly invalid. Though, they have said my voice will never be the same again, which is a shame—Uncle!"
Iroh was silently laughing by the end of Zuko's little speech. "Oh Zuko, you do make me laugh. Go back to bed. I will talk to the healers, I am sure they will work something out. They aren't jailers or bullies. It isn't going to get worse if I tell them..."
(X)
"Four weeks in bed now Crown Prince Zuko." said the healer, who was smirking as she laid out his medicines across the table next to his bed.
"WHAT!" he yelled, jumping out of bed angrily. "Uncle...Jailers...Healers...Jinxes. Curse the spirits!"
He mumbled incoherently for a few minutes before deciding.
"Healer, get Princess Azula for me. Or send a page boy if you have other prisoners—"
"Patients." She warned.
"-Patients to attend to."
"That'll be another day added onto your stay!" she trilled.
Zuko sighed. 'If it brings her here..."
(X)
"So, I see you came crawling back on your knees to apolo—" Azula drawled with a self satisfied smirk on her face.
"Technically, you came back to m—"
"Chup!" she snapped, her finger going up to her lips. "I'm trying to scold you here! Now where was I...?"
Zuko was struggling not to laugh as she started again. 'Now, you must be so pathetic. How do you feel to be out of fav— Stop laughing!" she yelled as she burst out laughing, slapping his thighs, unable to control it anymore. Azula's eyes crinkled too and soon she was chuckling too.
"Come here!" She hugged and he made to hug her back—
"NO!" came a cry. Zuko and Azula both turned to look at the obnoxious Healer who had been in his room previously.
"No moving Crrrown Prrrince Zzzzuko." She said, rolling the r's. "She may hug you, but you may not hug back! Or I'll add another week on."
Zuko shrugged and went back to what he was doing.
" Right, that's one week added on!" she snapped from the corner. Azula's mask was cracking but she stayed straight-faced. Zuko didn't bother and pinched his brow, tiredly.
"Right, I'm reporting the Warden on you! Three weeks extra!"
"Well Azula, how goes things in the land of life outside of this hellhole prison cel—I mean outside this paradise in a 2 metres square room?" he amended after a stern look from the Healer who tapped the calendar menacingly.
"Pretty good. Father is still annoyed at me and you for disobeying his orders so he's ignoring you and disregarding me"
Zuko looked at Azula in a confused manner. 'While I would consider that good news, you never would. What's going on?"
" Father's been giving a lot of private meetings with War Generals. If I don't have pesk—enjoyable fire-bending and History/Tactics lessons, it means I am free to sp—play games in the sunshine." Azula quickly corrected remembering the Healer standing in the corner.
"Oh, come here Azula, my favourite sister—"
"And only sister."
"My favourite sister had learnt how to be normal!" Zuko finished, despite the interruption and pulled her into a hug.
The healer in the corner seemed to have had enough. "You have had 10 weeks and 4 days added onto your sentanc—stay so you will be staying here a grand total of 14 weeks and 5 days!"
Zuko eyes widened.
"NO! AGNI, PLEASE, DON'T DO THIS! Please Agni, I'll do anything!" he yelled throwing his hands in the air. The healer and Azula sighed at his theatrics.
"I'll clean my room, I won't complain about the bad quality of food, I'll do Azula's chores! Hell, I'd even call the Fire Lord, Dad! Anything! Well, I would call him Father...I would die if I had to call him Dad..." he explained sheepishly. Azula giggled.
"OH AGNI, GOD OF GODS—"
"Technically, he's not a God, he's a spirit." interjected Azula. He glared at her.
"It doesn't have the same ring!" he whined but carried on nevertheless. "OH AGNI, SPIRIT OF SPIRITS, see, HEAR MY PLEA AND ANSWER IF YOU CARE FOR US POOR FIRE-BENDERS AT ALL! I'll have sunshine deprivation! I'll die from lack of movement! Don't do this to me..."
This last plea was directed at the Healer in the corner.
"For that, I'll add on another week. Now, shoo! I have medicines to administer!"
(X)
Sokka lazily paddled the canoe up the icy river, listening to Katara rant about him overworking the little children of the village. Sure they hated him, but the training to be vigilant and to keep fighting no matter what the odds would come in handy sometime. They weren't at war for nothing.
"And you can't even say anything back! Those poor kids get cold and you know that they could never be warriors at their age, they're 6 to 7 years old, you can't expect them to fight—"
"Katara, just shut up, okay?" said Sokka covering her mouth quickly. Over the years, Katara had become more mature, more like Mom, less like Gran-Gran. Of course, there were times like this when he saw her volatile side break through.
She looked at him angrily and he smiled.
"You'll scare the fish away. Now, here's how to properly catch fish, without your magic mumbo-jumbo."
He aimed carefully at the small fish fluttering away at the side of the boat and he tried to hit it with the spear and missed. It darted away to Katara's side of the boat where she caught it in a bubble of water and the bubble hovered in mid-air.
"Ta-da! Proper fishing is for suckers who don't want dinner. Come on, I'll get us a few more and we can head home." She dropped the bubble lazily and the water splashed into Sokka's face.
"Why is it that when you play with magic water, I always get soaked and slapped?" asked Sokka wiping away the coating of water on his face and the fish off his nose.
"It's not magic, it's waterbending—"
"And it's important to culture, the reason we survived in these arctic places, yada yada... It's magic water, okay? The rest of us survive fine, you just have to add on the weirdness. Well, just stop, okay?" Sokka sniped searching the water intently for another fish.
"You're calling me weird? Who spends all his time preening and fluffing up your hair when you aren't completely concentrating?" Sokka froze in his current position of glorifying his hair.
"Well, at least I don't—Shoot!" he yelled as the boat drifted into a current and started speeding quickly into ice-filled area of water.
"AAAAHHHHH!" They both yelled as they spun and swirled along the river. Sokka fought with the canoe attempting to wrest back control but failing miserably.
"Left, left!" screeched Katara as they only just missed an iceberg, a few centimeters from the side of the boat.
They careered haphazardly between large chunks of ice when Katara spotted three icebergs about to collide around their boat. Sokka screamed girlishly, grabbed Katara's arm and pulled them onto one of the icebergs, still holding the fish. They watched the last pieces of the wooden canoe sink and Katara turned towards Sokka.
"How was that, left?" she asked angrily.
"Well, you were no help either, Miss Magic Water! What happened to your cultural powers now? At least I was doing something!" he retorted.
"Oh, so it's my fault now?" she said coldly.
"I never said that, just that you could have been a little more help—" said Sokka anxiously realizing Katara was about to blow, but it was too late.
"MORE HELP? How could I do more than I've already been doing! Ever since Mom died and Dad left, I've been doing everything around here, cooking, cleaning, washing! I'm sick of you taking me for granted!" she screamed hoarsely and the icebergs around started to shake and the water started boiling.
"I know that you do everything, and it's doing everything that's making you so stressed now! Calm down, and we can head back to the village and set up a rota of things, I'll help with some stuff and you can chill—"
"CALM DOWN? YOU ARE A SEXIST, IMMATURE PRIG AND YOU CAN'T EVEN LIFT A FINGER TO HELP ME AND YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN?" she yelled.
The entire area shook and the iceberg next to them split open, sending a surge of energy through the water, knocking Katara and Sokka to the floor.
"Yes! So you wouldn't have done that." said Sokka quietly. "It hasn't been easy this side of the family either. Training the children up so they won't get themselves killed if one of the nearby Fire Nation patrols decides they want to pick on a helpless little village. So they know what to do if we disappear like Dad and the rest of the men and they grow up all alone. I've been trying so they can survive. And I know I haven't done as much as you or suffered as much as you, but I'm not completely immature either. Come on; let's go see what you did with your mumbo-jumbo freaky stuff." He said holding a hand out to her. She accepted it quietly and the walked over to the side of the iceberg.
Just as they walked over to it, it turned around slowly and Katara spotted a boy with glowing arrow tattoos in the ice.
"He's still alive, we have to do something!" she said pleadingly. When Sokka didn't budge, she grabbed his machete and dived straight at the boy in the iceberg. The large club hit the hard ice and cracked under the willpower of Katara, sending a beam of light into the air, high up towards the clouds. While Sokka and Katara made contact, a few miles away at a nearby Fire Nation patrol, a hawk containing the message of the new headed towards the Fire Nation.
(X)
"P-p-p-prince Z-z-z-zuko?"
Zuko woke up with a start. There was little girl, about eight years old standing at the end of the bed. She wore the robes of a messenger and was blushing bright red.
"First day on the job?" he asked, sympathetically, they always got scared when it was. She shook her head and embarrassedly pointed and Zuko realized flushing that he was almost all naked. He pulled the duvet up around him and smiled sheepishly.
"Carry on, please."
"The Princess Azula wishes for you to be ready at noon for the Fire Lord requested an important meeting with her and she's bringing you along whether you like it or not." The little girl quickly ran out of the room blushing.
Zuko swore angrily. It was going to be noon in 15 minutes. That was so like Azula. He started jumping around the room, attempting to locate the pieces of his formal clothing. It had been six weeks since Azula had burned him and Zuko had spent his time staring up at a wall or insulting the obnoxious Healer. He pulled on a red jerkin and black trousers before looking out his room and spotting another messenger.
"Excuse me?" he called. She quickly walked over too him.
"Yes, sir?" she asked, head bowed.
"No need for that nonsense. Could you go to my room and get my comb, my dao blades, my armour, my crown...oh, and a mirror, I must look dreadful!"
She looked up and her eyes widened but she bowed again and scurried off.
Zuko quickly got back into his room and started neatening out the creases in his jerkin and pants. He quickly hurried to the door when the messenger girl knocked.
"I also got you some more hair accessories and some cream, Prince Zuko; I think you may need it." She said hurriedly as she handed him the items he had requested.
"Thanks so much!" he said in relief before running into his room.
He looked at himself in the mirror and stared at the red scar marring his eye. The eye was now permanently etched in a narrowed position, like he was angry all the time. He rubbed it absent-mindedly and winced at the pain. Which startled him into remembering the time and he quickly hurried to put on his armour as fast as he could. His hair had grown longer and more unruly, he noted as he tied it back into a typical ponytail and he quickly grabbed a dao blade from the corner and shaved off the beginnings of a beard. He wasn't yet a man in the eyes of the Fire Nation, and he wouldn't pretend to be one.
He just finished placing his crown in his hair when Azula burst into his room.
"You call that ready?" she asked, looking immaculate, as usual.
"When you give me a 15 minute notice, I'm hardly going to look like I've had a day at the spa!"
She shrugged her shoulders. 'I told her to send the notice at dawn this morning. I guess even palace messengers can get late sometimes."
Zuko rolled his eyes and smirked at her.
"I'm sure they do."
Her innocent expression diminished just a little, but enough for Zuko to notice.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"You look creepy when you smirk. You look …evil! If that's even possible! Your eye slit narrows and makes you look 10 times older. It's genuinely and utterly—"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Let's go. We wouldn't want to keep Ozai waiting, would we?" said Zuko, offering Azula a comradely arm. She stiffened, took the arm and they quickly walked along the corridor towards the Royal Meeting Place. The guards saluted casually when the two came by. Zuko scowled; obviously the rumour mill had been circulating while he had been trapped to his bed.
"Good morning gentleman. How are you today?" asked Zuko coldly. They stared at him, obviously unnerved before saluting stiffly.
He inclined his head forwards through the door and Azula smiled. He never failed to impress.
He smiled back and they walked into the chamber together.
"Father, I have arrived." Announced Azula, more cold than usual.
"And of course, I have followed, Fire Lord, sir. I assume you didn't summon me as you didn't know I was well. But I am better and your loyal son awaits his orders." said Zuko smoothly, walking in his head bowed slightly. He had picked up some courtly manners in his life.
"Aah, Azula. Zuko. I am glad you are both here. The matter I have called you about is of the utmost urgency. This morning a messenger hawk arrived from the Southern Outpost. It included detail of the brightest light and biggest disturbance they have had at the South Pole since the last raid 60 years ago with the water-benders. We believe that the water-benders are active again. This is very bad so I am sending you two down to the South Pole to stop anything that may be occurring. As we speak, Iroh is preparing a speed boat with a course set for the area. I want to you to join him and call any allies you may need for this task."
Azula smirked at Zuko from where they were standing, with their heads bowed. Time for a friendly reunion.
(X)
"Mai? Mai!" called Zuko as he urgently hurried into the large manor house at the Glowing Embers. The servants looked appalled at his entry into the house, but her country needed her.
"Zuko?" she asked, looking surprised, heading in from the garden with Tahm-Tahm cradled in them.
"I know you need to protect your brother, but there's a situation down at the South Pole. We believe the water-benders are back as there was a huge disturbance yesterday. No time for catch up, grab your weapons, we have to catch a boat to Whale-Tail Island as fast as we can after this."
Mai sighed.
"I thought I'd left this life behind me." She said as she ran hurriedly to her room, grabbing her knives from where she had neatly stashed them.
"Well you haven't, we need an assassin's outlook on this project." said Zuko, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards the dock, the two of them sprinting through the town.
(X)
"Here we are!" said Azula as happy as could be to rejoin her band of friends from long ago.
"Well hurry up then Az, we have a deadline to find and get her on board." said Zuko worriedly.
"Cheer up nephew! Whale-Tail Island's attractions are far and many and we should take the time to enj—" Iroh was cut off by Zuko grabbing Mai and sprinting off-deck as fast as he could.
"No head for culture." Iroh sighed. Azula shrugged behind him and sprinted after him.
"Finally, I caught up with you…" panted Azula as Zuko and Mai slowed down near the edges of the dock where the land steeped upwards.
"Any idea where she is?" asked Zuko after a while of panting and attempting to slow his breathing rate.
"The Pink and Orange striped tent-top up there might give me an idea…." stated Mai, pointing up at the large tent above them a few metres. Zuko sighed and they started sprinting through the trees.
"Hello Ty Lee!" Azula drawled as smoothly as she could with her erratic breathing rate. Ty Lee herself was balanced one hand and stretched out in a curvy pose. She rolled over and threw her hands around them. "Guys! Did you come to watch my show? You're the best buddies in the world!"
Zuko scratched his head, looking guilty. She sighed.
"You didn't come to see my show, did you?" They all shook their heads. "It's some big crisis, isn't it? The Air Nomads are back?"
"No, but you're pretty close. The water-benders are making their move." said Mai flatly. "If I gave up my corruptible baby brother to run around the world, you can give up your extra bit of attention here."
Ty Lee sighed. "I know. It's just my aura has never been pinker. And I really would have liked a choice in the matter. But that doesn't affect this moment! We're all back together! The best group in the world!" She crowed.
"Yeah, I guess we are." said Azula happily and threw her arms around her best friends' throat.
(X)
"So brief us in, General Iroh." said Mai, slouching against the wall of the navigator's room. Ty Lee was quietly steering the boat and Iroh was playing Pai Sho against Azula and Zuko, who were dressed in full body armour.
"Well," he said, lifting the White Lotus tile from the middle of the board and playing it towards Zuko's area, "There have been reports of a stirring at the Southern Water Tribe. There has been wide-spread action from them recently and a huge white light; the brightest they've seen since Sozin's Comet's standards has been seen from very close to their village. Thus we deduce, they're water-benders are striking back. I personally think its just practise, but the Fire Lord decrees we go and see what is going on and crush any vestiges of rebellion."
"You know Uncle," said Azula craftily lifting another tile and placing it dangerously close to Iroh's side, "That sounds rather like you don't agree with Father's orders. It sounds perfectly justifiable through his ears. If there's trouble, you crush it before it can start."
"Is that what he did to Zuko then?" asked Mai suddenly. "He crushed any vestiges of betrayal by BURNING HIS FACE?"
Azula looked sad. "Actually, I had to do that. He ordered us to fight and I beat him. He ordered me to kill him and was going to do it himself if I didn't so I shot his face where you couldn't be sure if they die or not, rather than somewhere more painful such as his heart or his brain."
Mai looked Azula. "Your logic is beyond me. Shouldn't you have defied?"
This time Zuko objected as he played a devastating move to the other two. "If she opposed, she got murdered. A least I had a fighting chance. Anyway, I prefer being burnt to be being toast. And Uncle, I beat you. And you Azula."
Azula cursed angrily and Iroh smiled.
"I see you have picked up your Mother's talent for the game Zuko. Well done."
Zuko beamed and they all stood up, draining the last bits of tea from their cups. Just then, a large red Fire Flare shot into the air and burst loudly.
"Set a course for that flare, Ty Lee!" shouted Azula while Zuko grabbed a telescope and tracked the flare to the cold South Pole. There was a large abandoned Fire Nation ship wedged in ice quite close to where they were travelling. That was where the flare was from and Zuko could spot two people leaping down from the ship, with surprising versatility…air-benders. And since the other air-benders were dead...
"Guys, we have a problem. The disturbance wasn't water-benders. It was the Avatar." Zuko solemnly toned. Everybody looked shocked before bursting into action as quickly as possible. Zuko looked towards the little Southern Water Tribe. The poor villagers probably didn't deserve what was coming, but the 100 year old Avatar did.
(X)
Sokka stared at the disappearing back of the air-bender. While now, he knew that the little guy wasn't a spy for the Fire Nation, it didn't mean that he wasn't a bad influence. Katara had loosened up loads, and he had given her hope….but he was bad news. Sokka felt something land on his nose. It was snowing. Again. But he stopped in horror as he looked around him. The snow was black in colour. Soot. The Fire Nation was coming.
(X)
Zuko placed his helmet on with a bit of dread clear on his face. He knew the village had no proper adults so to speak. He had heard of the efforts of the men of the Southern Water Tribe, helping the Earth Kingdom Resistance. Everybody had. Their exploits in helping Omashu survive were pretty legendary. But that made it all the worse that he had to battle old people and little children, because of course, Azula and Ty Lee would battle the Avatar. He looked across at Azula who looked out to the barren icy wastelands.
"It's seems funny, that we've come all this way to fight water-benders and we face the Avatar. Do think we'll capture him?" she asked.
"Who knows? I personally doubt that we'll win. He has avoided us for 100 years." said Zuko doubtfully.
"Which only makes it easier to get him, milord." said Lieutenant Jee, the leader of the ship.
"You underestimate the skills of the Avatar. He won't fight like one man. He'll fight like 10 men because the power of all the previous Avatars will flow through his veins. Each new Avatar gets stronger as they go along." said Mai nonchalantly, sharpening her knife. Jee blanched.
"Well, we shouldn't give up hope. Perhaps we will capture the Avatar and take him back to the Fire Nation. He'd be an antique. The last air-bender in the entire world!" said Ty Lee excitedly.
"You hope too much, Lady Ty Lee, if we capture him, he won't be an air-bender anymore. They are only air-benders when they are free." said Iroh gravely. Zuko looked out into the distance; the talking wasn't helping his anxiety.
(X)
Sokka silently applied the face-paint of countless Spirit Warriors in Water Tribe history. He strapped his machete and his modified boomerangs to his back and held his spear proudly. Then he dropped it again to tie up his boots and pulled on his fingerless gloves. Then he grabbed his spear and walked outside the tent.
"Now men, listen up. I have trained as best as I possibly can but I doubt it will be enough. If Katara and I are captured, I want you to look after your mothers and the old people, okay?" The small line of boys nodded, sadly. Sokka gestured to the houses and the little boys ran to their parents. Sokka sighed. Katara was right again, they weren't cut out to be soldiers.
He joined Katara at the fires which she was dousing quickly with her water-bending.
"Katara, if anything happens to when I'm fighting the Fire Nation, use your magic water to stop them and run as far away as you can with the rest of the village."
She looked at him. "Nothing is going to happen, brother. You'll be fine. You're amazing like that. We hurt you and hurt you but you keep bouncing back, as jerk-like as usual."
"Hey!" he protested. She threw her arms around Sokka.
"You're a jerk for banishing Aang like that but you're my brother. Stay safe."
He nodded before running towards the wall and taking guard position.
Katara watched from where she was. The mist to the sea front side was heavy, blocking any view of the Fire Nation coming. If they were coming. Then she saw a large looming shape out of the shadows and to her horror, the Fire Nation ship was inches away from where he brother was. There was a large earth-rumbling shudder as it crashed into the wall and Katara struggled to find balance while all the time looking towards Sokka where he was crouching, staring intently at the ship.
It stopped just a few centimetres away from where Sokka was. He hadn't budged a little through the entire experience and only moved a little to the left to avoid the door coming downwards. There was a plume of billowing smoke as four figures walked down the plank to meet her brother. And he wouldn't be alone. Avoiding orders from Sokka, she ran towards him, her only intention to save him from the unknown danger he had gotten himself into.
(X)
Zuko coughed quietly as the smoke billowed on the door unloosening. He walked briskly down the steps where one teenage boy crouched. He almost completely blended in apart from his unnaturally blue eyes. He was around the same age as Zuko and very determined. Though, he doubted that the boy was as skilled as he. A girl dressed in blue ran towards him. She was the same age as Azula but definite not as skilled, he reasoned. Nobody was as skilled as Azula.
The boy stood his ground as they approached, standing up and catching the girl as she ran towards him. He pushed her to the ground behind him and she got up angrily but took the hint.
Zuko rolled his eyes as he charged forwards angrily. His balance was off and Zuko knew he would fall when Ty Lee tapped his right arm as he careered towards Zuko.
Zuko ignored the glaring girl and walked towards the small gathering of terrified villagers near the centre of the huts with Azula and Mai.
"Where is Avatar who has caused this entire disturbance?" asked Azula imperiously.
They looked defiant and terrified at the same time. A combination that would make them stand still through the confrontation.
"He'd be about this age, the master of all the elements?" said Azula smoothly taking an old woman in purple and holding her high.
"Leave Gran-Gran alone!" said the boy again, running awkwardly, with his right arm out of sync. Of course, Ty Lee had paralysed it. Azula of course took advantage of this relation and held a smooth blade of blue fire to the old grandmother's neck.
"Stop fruitlessly trying to hurt us, or your grandmother gets hurt. It's for your own good, I'm sure Ty Lee doesn't want to hurt such a pretty boy as you." Sokka swore angrily and threw his weapon down. Mai grabbed it quickly and the weapons strapped to his back. Azula then let go of the old lady who ran quickly back into the crush.
Sokka looked hopeless when one of the little boy's in the crowd threw him an oddly shaped weapon.
"Show no fear in the face of the enemy!" he screeched. Sokka breathed and threw it at Azula.
She dodged it easily and looked at him oddly. Sokka just smiled and Zuko fell to the ground almost comically as the boomerang crashed into the back of his head, bringing him to the ground. He rubbed his head angrily and bought himself up to see Sokka pinned down by several knives, Mai looking bored, slouching on an igloo.
"That was just pathetic Zuko. What was that?" asked Azula with a laugh.
Katara bought a swish of water over an annoyed Zuko who looked at her like a petulant child. He walked over to her, grabbed her wrists and handed her over to Ty Lee who paralysed her arm before gently pushing her towards the villagers.
"Now where is the Avatar?" asked Azula again.
Just then, a large penguin with Aang and his staff slid down from the left and slid with Azula's legs, bringing her down with an undignified crash into the snow.
"Looking for me?" he asked playfully.
Azula looked at him and grinned. "Oh, I'm really impressed. Another child prodigy. Air-bending master, at what, 10?"
"Actually, I'm 12!" he said cheerily.
"Alas, not my standard then. Only Zuko's standard. And that is pretty poor."
"I thought sisters are supposed to be supportive?" he asked, only vaguely affronted.
She shrugged. "Ty Lee, have fun."
Ty Lee jumped forward and tried to jab Aang in his pressure points, all of which he avoided rather bemusedly as she smiled charmingly at him with every attempt.
"Wow, you're good, most people are paralysed on the floor by now. I'm Ty Lee, what's your name?" she asked.
Aang beamed happily. "I'm Aang. Nice to meet you, Ty Lee. Your moves are pretty good too. Lets... up the ante a little!" he said narrowly avoiding a shot for his head and jumping up into the air, using an igloo wall as a cork-spring higher. She grinned and flipped backwards to face him and dodged a shot of air in her path. The two of them flipped and kicked in a similar manner, exchanging compliments as they went.
"I like that shot, Aang!"
"That cartwheel looked real nice, your legs very straight."
"I trained at the circus; they need you to be good. I say, this is rather like dancing, isn't it Aang?"
"STOP CONVERSING WITH THE ENEMY, TY LEE!" bellowed Azula.
Ty Lee shrugged. "It was a nice chat Aang, but I've got orders."
She launched into a sequence of fast jabs which was stopped by a facefull of snow and a cold wind which sent her flying into an igloo.
"Sorry, Ty Lee!" he called, with a wince; he knew that hurt a lot.
"Right, must I do everything myself?" asked Azula and she threw four fast shots of blue fire at Aang. He yelped and used his Air Scooter to escape.
Meanwhile, Sokka had managed to remove the knives and was randomly throwing them at Zuko, his aim pretty bad in his panic, often, the knives bouncing off Zuko's armour but also frequently hitting him with sharp stabs of pain.
Finally Zuko got angry and remembered a move from a long time ago and propelled fire from his core through his mouth, emulating a typical uncle move, unexpected and classy. Sokka dropped all the knives in his terror and all of the villagers screamed.
Aang on the other hand was getting creamed by Azula, only just missing the attacks she used. And the scream was the last straw. He threw down his staff and rolled towards Zuko.
"If I surrender, will you leave them all alone?" Aang asked.
Zuko paused. He looked at Azula; he really didn't want to fight anymore.
"Okay. But only if you swear on honour and existence as the Avatar, still a part of the Fire Nation enough to take a vow on Agni." Aang paused. This was big.
"I, on my honour and existence as Avatar, part of the Fire Nation swear on Agni, to go with the invaders of the South Pole peacefully to the Fire Nation if they do not harm any of the villagers of the Southern Water Tribe." He said, crossing his right hand on his heart. "Now you."
" I on my honour and existence as Crown Prince Zuko," "I on my honour and existence as Princess Azula," "I on my honour and existence as Lady Mai Konietziko," "I on my honour and existence as Lady Ty Lee Ontslaan" ",Solemnly swear to not harm any of the villagers of the Southern Water Tribe unless provoked or in self-defence if the Avatar surrenders peacefully to us."
Sokka got ready to get up and attack them again when Aang gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't. This vow is a once in a lifetime opportunity. They won't ever hurt you unless provoked or in self-defence. Don't risk losing the protection for the entire village. They're imperial fire-benders; they can annihilate this village in 10 seconds and will if they have to."
Katara started crying from where she was standing with Gran-Gran.
"Don't cry Katara, I'll be okay!" said Aang cheerfully as Ty Lee paralysed his chi and frogmarched his back onto the Fire Nation ship. But she didn't stop crying as they led him away, her last chance of hope, disappearing into the brig of a Fire Nation ship.
(X)
"So, you are here Avatar. After 100 years of hiding, the Fire Nation has caught you. And you are a child. Though adults may underestimate you, I won't." Azula circled around the chained up Aang in the middle of the hold, where she, Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee and Uncle were 'interrogating' the Avatar. The Avatar himself was humming cheerily in his chains, driving Azula quite up the bend.
"Azula? That's why we shouldn't hand him in. He's a child stuck in the world of adults." said Zuko, looking worried. "I anticipated an old man, whose time was up and had been hiding for a long time. He's a child and the things they'll do to him...he isn't even a fully realised Avatar, Azula!"
Aang stopped humming and looked up quietly.
"What will they do to me?" he asked.
Mai looked at him, boredly. "You're an air-bender which means they'll restrict the air flow in your cell. You'll be constantly paralysed, trapped in chains and on the hour, every hour, they'll probably get Ty Lee to re-paralyse you. They'll think you know all four elements so they won't give you any water and make sure there's no humidity. You'll be put in a metal cell so you can't bend earth and they will presume you can't fire-bend yet so at least they won't remove the oxygen in your cell but your hands will probably be encased in lots of metal and wood."
Aang gasped quietly and his eyes widened to the size of saucers. Ty Lee's lip wobbled and even Azula looked a little unsure.
"That's not what should happen to a kid, Azula. Anyway, Ozai was wrong to send us. Most trusted fire-benders indeed. We'll show him..."
Azula smirked, back on familiar territory. "This isn't about the Avatar, is it? It's about defying Father."
"So what if it is? The point is still the same. He'll suffer too much. They don't ask to be Avatars!" said Zuko.
"Why don't we ask the boy himself? Avatar? What do you say?" said Iroh from where he was calmly supping tea in the corner.
"Please, call me Aang. And, I don't want to be stuck in a cell. I never wanted to be Avatar, all I wanted to do was fly and make friends. I didn't even know there was a war until this morning when Katara explained it to me inside the Fire Nation ship. Just last month, I was playing with my best friend Kuzon from the Fire Nation and now..." Aang shrugged.
This was too much for Ty Lee who burst into tears. "It's so sad! We have to give him a chance, let him free! Please Azula!"
"He could be tricking you. But I don't think so, I'm a people person, and he's telling the truth. Avata—Aang, now that you know there's a war going on, what are your intentions?" said Azula.
Aang looked thoughtful "I haven't really done that much thinking about it. I guess I'd learn the four elements and stop the Fire Lord. But I wouldn't want to hurt innocent people, only bad people." He said.
"What's your definition of bad people? Are we bad people in your eyes?" asked Zuko, curiously.
"No. You aren't bad people. Misunderstood people, People on the wrong path, but not morally bad. Everyone can be good, they just need persuasion. That's what the monks taught me. Killing is bad. That's why I'm a vegetarian and a pacifist. There is always a peaceful solution."
There was a thwacking noise and everyone turned to look at Mai whose head was in her hands and was sliding to the floor. "Great. Just great. We have a hippy, peace-loving Avatar! How are you going to kill Ozai; by hugging him?"
Aang looked affronted. "No. I'd just stop him and throw him in prison."
Azula slid to the floor. "And if he breaks out, genius? His supporters would overthrow whoever is on the throne and reinstate Father. The way to get rid of him, is killing him and handing the Fire Nation throne to the next in line, that's Uncle." She indicated to where he rocked on the chair calmly, drinking more tea.
"Well, that's what I'd have you for. You'd do the big plans. You all look like you know what you're doing. I'd just be the finishing blow. Once I learned how to be." Aang said, looking rather like it was obvious. "Help me. Help me be the Avatar. Because I don't know how to be and what people want me to be."
Everybody glanced at each other. Nobody was quite sure what they were supposed to do. It was all well talking to the Avatar about overthrowing the Fire Lord, but actually doing it...
"You want us to betray our country, our people?" asked Azula. Aang nodded then shook his head. Zuko sighed despondently.
"Let me tell you a story, about what happened 100 years ago. Fire Lord Sozin, after Avatar Roku, the last Avatar died made a speech to the people of the Fire Nation. He spoke of dreams he had had, of the Fire Nation spreading its wealth and glory to the rest of the world. And the people, though in their hearts and minds knew this wouldn't be able to happen, wanted it to be true, so they cheered and supported him. He asked for innocent favours, a little more tax, giving a portion of the foods they got every year to the palace, things like that and then, he struck a blow on the day of the comet to the rest of the world. He destroyed the Air Nomads and invaded the Earth Kingdom and broke the spirit of the Water Tribes in 4 days. It seemed alright at first, World Domination, but it became colder and harsher and crueller. The War overtook everything and it wasn't as great as it seemed. People protested, but they mysteriously vanished. And by starting the War, Sozin crushed the backbone of the Fire Nation. They became weak and gave in to the authorities because though they knew it was wrong, they wanted to stay alive. You ask us to abandon them, when we are the people that are strong enough to stand against the Fire Lord?"
Aang looked torn. "If you join me, you won't be abandoning them. You'll be joining forces, and we'll be stronger together!"
"But they'll believe we are betraying them..." said Ty Lee looking very slightly worried. "Aang, I would love to drop everything and fly around the world with you, but we have a responsibility."
Iroh looked on from the corner. He saw the opportunity, the spirits didn't need to give him sight to see what was in front of him. His nephew and niece had to join the Avatar. But there was no way they were going to abandon the responsibility they believed they had. Iroh set his mind a-pondering, as fast as it could, before the opportunity vanished.
AN: Yeah, I'm finishing that there. I'll probably write a bit later but I did this chapter feeling very ill and I think if I keep writing, Aang will probably end up dying because of how grumpy and ill I feel. Anybody see anything Iroh can do? Contact me by a PM. If anyone is actually reading this, of course.