Without further ado… I'll stop bugging you with useless blabbing and get right to the actually story.
Disclaimer: Do I have to repeat myself on this chapter…?
Beta: TheHumanWiki
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On the road to Fire Colony Yinzoh…
Babysitting was a… very tiring job. It required much concentration, time, effort, and determination. It also required much patience as well as enough stamina to keep up with the little demon known as the baby.
That, Azula decided, was something she was never cut out to be. In fact, she suddenly felt the need to find her babysitter or nanny and kowtow to her. Hope had proved to be a sweet baby, yes, but she was also quite annoying when she wanted to be.
Did the Baby even know what she wanted? Well, this one seemed to be, and that usually resulted in the pulling of Azula's hair. For some reason, Hope really liked her hair more than her own mother's. It was part of the reason why she now wore her hair in a low pony tail; the other part being that it was easy and manageable and kept them out of her face well enough.
Was this karma deciding that she needed punishment when she threatened all those girls in the past about burning their hair?
Zuma seemed to find it amusing, and he had told her so any chance he managed, and that was usually several times a day. Ty Lee at least felt sympathetic, because having your hair pulled was not painless nor was it comfortable… That was until she started cooing at the baby once more. As useful as the acrobat's chi blocking ability was, she was utterly useless in this situation.
"Zula, do you mind holding Hope again? My back is killing me." Ying asked with a hopeful smile, and Azula (or Zula as she told the couple seeing as it was close to her actual name and also was comfortable for her to use) simply couldn't say no to the woman for some reason. Usually the mother of one asked because she was either tired or she needed to do something. Carrying a baby all the time was tiring after all. It also did not help her stamina when she was carrying a share of her and her husband's baggage.
So putting on a bright, false smile, the Princess accepted the baby in the correct method to cuddle it to her chest –as instructed by the mother- and sure enough, the little infant girl was already reaching for her bangs.
This really must be karma…
"I think-." The large man began a wide grin on his face and his eyes curved in a teasing manner. He never got to finish his sentence though.
"Quiet Zuma. I don't want to hear it!"
Hearing that, Ty Lee decided to add her own two pieces by saying, "Aww, but 'Zula, it's so cute!"
Azula decided then that Ty Lee was a little mental. It must be all those hand stands; the blood went to her head too much. "Ty Lee… It is painful and a little annoying, but not cute."
"Then why do you keep accepting her?"
Ooh, that was a good question… Sadly, she did not have an answer. Azula answered honestly, "…I do not know. Why don't you hold her then?"
"Okay!" Ty Lee exclaimed happily as she glided –yes, she was that happy- over to Azula and practically scooped the baby up into her arms. With glee, the gymnast pressed the infant girl to her more generous breasts and cooed down at her, "Who's a cute baby? Who's a cute baby?"
"Ugh. If I ever get married, I don't think I'll ever have kids." Azula mumbled with a frown, but started when Ying walked past her and said, "That was what I said once too. Now look at me! A mother!"
Left hand, allow me to present you to forehead. Azula thought as she punished her forehead with a vicious strike before dragging it down her face. Why did she decide to go with the couple again?
Oh right, it was for Ty Lee. They were supposed to go to the colony of Yinzoh and reunite the acrobat with her big sis Mei Lee.
Then the happy mother reentered the picture by gently taking Hope from Ty Lee's hands. The gray eyed girl moaned in disappointment, but she quickly cheered up. There was no reason why. It was simply Ty Lee, and Azula wouldn't want it any other way.
Speaking of way… "Zuma, how long do you think we will take to reach the colony?"
Pulling out a map from nowhere, the man hummed a bit as he studied it with care. After a few seconds, he said with certainty, "Depending on how fast we go and how often we rest, which will probably be pretty often, we should be there in a week at the latest."
"A week? Really? It never felt that long crossing the continent." Ty Lee commented before she remembered something. "'Zula, we always had some form of transportation huh?"
Azula nodded, conceding to the point that she never really walked across the continent, more like rode something from one end to another. Now that she did not have some kind of carriage, the Princess found it to be… "You know, I don't really mind after thinking about it. We never stop to admire the scenes."
"Hmm… You're right. It is a beautiful continent." Ty Lee agreed cheerfully before she bounced back to the married couple and started chatting happily with them. The Princess allowed a fond smirk before she turned to Zuma, wanting to know more detail about the trip. As if knowing what she wanted, the man was already pointing out several things to note.
"Well, there is a small forest we need to cross. Nothing major mind you, a day's walk should do it because we'll only be skimming it. Going around would take two days, so I don't suppose you would want that. After that should be smooth sailing for about two days. If we travel fast, we'll arrive in Yinzoh within five days, four if we really rushed it. The hard work begins on the last day though because we'll be going uphill. The colony is located on top of a hill." The white haired man explained as he showed the map to Azula, pointing out the things he mentioned. As her ember eyes scanned the map, Azula noticed the river that was next to Yinzoh.
"Can we follow the river?" The Princess asked as she pointed it out. Zuma rubbed his chin as he studied the map a bit before taking in his surroundings. With a shake of his head, the man explained, "That would require a day's detour. I do not think the couple would like to keep traveling. If it's just us three, I wouldn't mind, but a baby shouldn't be out here in this environment. Large predators you know?"
"What about water? I don't see a town on the route you planned." Azula asked once more, remembering that they only have a limited supply. It was partly why she suggested following the river to the colony.
"Hmm… That is an issue… We should ask the couple. It's mostly the baby we need to worry about." Zuma replied and Azula nodded in agreement. Babies were fragile creatures. She would hate to see something happened to her… Damn it, the kid was growing on her already! As if knowing her dilemma, the man next to her stage whispered, "Don't fight it Princess. It'll only make it worst. Babies grow on you like fungus. If you feel something at first glance, then chances are you are already affected by their charms."
Ain't that the truth?
Oh well, best get this over with. "Than, Ying? Can you come over for a second?" Azula called to the married couple, who shared a confused look before going over to the Princess. When they were standing in front of her, Azula nodded to Zuma to explain the situation.
When he was done, the couple looked at one another again before they stated as one, "The river please."
"That was a fast decision." Ty Lee commented by Azula's side, having bounced there when the Princess first called. The raven haired royalty just nodded before giving a shrug. "So I guess we're going to the river first then?"
"Yes we are. We need the water. Besides, I think we all need a bath." Ying stated before commenting as she took a sniff at Hope. She scrunched her nose up before tickling the baby's stomach, making her giggled and gaggled in stride. Zuma took an experimental sniff at his armpit and grimaced upon first contact. Azula did not want to know why he did that. "So it is settled then? We'll take the one day detour?"
A shared look between the original trios answered the question.
They could really use that bath.
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As they walked toward the river, Zuma pulled Azula to the side. The Princess cocked an eyebrow at that, but did not question the man as he wore a serious expression when he did so.
"I believe it is time we begin with your actual training Princess. This will serve you for the time being until we manage to revive your fire bending." Zuma stated in a matter of fact tone. Azula nodded with a grimace, still feeling cheated that her fire bending left her for some reason.
Looking up into his blue eyes, Azula asked, "Alright, so what exactly are you teaching me?"
"It is an ancient martial art that utilized the principles of water bending to its fullest. You are going to remember three words: deflect, redirect, and disarm." The man explained, and if it were not for the fact that he was teaching her this for her own benefit, Azula would have frowned at the idea of learning from water bending. "This form mainly focused on defense and counter, much different from fire bending's aggressive approach. However, I believe it will serve you well with what we have."
"Why this one though?" Azula asked and elaborated when Zuma raised an eyebrow. "I mean fire bending is an aggressive form, so why not teach me something more… aggressive? I am always more of an offensive person than defense."
"That is because your aggressions are channeled into your fire bending, increasing its power. What you have in fire power, you lack in physical strength over all. Zuko could over power you easily if it was a simple fist fight." Zuma said without a hint of mocking. Azula nearly retorted before she bit it back. It was not wrong to say Zuko had the upper hand in strength. He was much more powerful than her in physical strength despite her having more chi power. "We do not have the time to build up your strength. Those physical conditionings before were to get you back in shape; to allow you a chance to run if not fight. It was never meant to build up your strength. Your body won't be able to handle the stress if I was to force it."
"Alright… so I won't be breaking bones or punching holes in the wall barehanded then?" Azula asked before nearly smacking herself for how stupid that sounded. She could do those with fire bending. "Never mind what I just said. What is important is what should I know about this style you're teaching me?"
"I just told you: deflect, redirect, and disarm."
"…That tells me nothing about what I need to learn."
"Perhaps a demonstration is in order… when we reached the river." Zuma said before adding on at the eager look upon Azula's face. The Princess grimaced before nodding in acceptance. It wouldn't do for them to stop just so Zuma could demonstrate. Sighing, the girl reached into her right sleeve to pull out a specific yellow fan. With a snap of her wrist, she snapped it open and started fanning herself. Zuma paused in his walk to stare at it for a moment before asking, "Is that a Kyoshi battle fan?"
"Yes Zuma, it is." Azula answered with certain smugness within her voice. The white haired man's lips twitched once in amusement. The Princess explained, "I… borrowed it from Suki. Its twin is in my other sleeve if you're curious."
"… I like it."
Off on Kyoshi Island, a certain captain suddenly felt like she needed to pound on a punching bag… with Azula's face drawn on it. Maybe a few sword attacks were needed too.
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Upon arriving at the river, the group of five (plus a half) travelers sighed in relief. It felt like they walked forever. Searching for a place to settle for the day, they quickly came upon a tree a few yards away from the river bank that gave a pretty good shadow to rest under.
It was mid afternoon, and the sun was blazing.
Dumping their bags to a side, the five collapsed under the shade, leaning against the tree each sporting a relieved smile and half lid eyes. Of course Ying being the mother of a child was not as lucky, for said child quickly started to whine. "Oh dear, it seems Hope is hungry again."
"I'll get the water." Than volunteered as he got up and dug up a pot from his supply bag. Going to the river, he scooped out a large portion before returning. Setting it by the bag, he once more dug in, this time pulling out a can of some baby formula and a cup with a piece of skin that resembled a suckle. He also pulled out two pieces of flint stones.
Seeing this, Azula gave Zuma a nudge and said, "Help him." The man grunted, but he got up either way and walked over to the husband. Sitting down, Zuma held the pot of water in his hands and held it out to the confused father.
"Stick one finger in it and tell me when to stop."
Confused by the command, Than did as instructed, and nearly jumped back when the water started to heat up. So startled was he, that he nearly missed Zuma's next words. "You know, I'm going as slow as I can without boiling your finger, but you have to tell me when to stop."
"O-oh… You can stop now." Than said before ordering the white haired man. Zuma nodded as he stopped his action, though action may not be the right word here. Than put it in a better word by asking, "You are a… fire bender?"
"Weird huh? You would think he was a water bender with the tanned skin and blue eyes." Ty Lee called out, completely unaware of how the mother froze up near her. The baby's distressed gaggle did made the acrobat aware of it though. "Hmm? Oh… Oh! No, no! Don't worry, we're not bad guys!"
Right… Azula mentally snorted with a physical eye roll. However when she noticed Ying giving her a guarded look, the Princess sighed and said, "Look, we're not going to harm you. You should already guess we're Fire Nation right? I mean we did say we're going to Yinzoh to visit Ty Lee's sister."
"W-well, I suppose… It's just…" Ying said hesitantly with Hope squirming in her arms. "You have to understand… we don't particularly have good experiences with Fire Benders…"
"But you're okay with us being Fire Nation?" Azula asked a little harsher than she intended to. When Ying flinched away, the girl sighed again and said, "Oh stop that. We are not going to hurt you. You don't have to be so twitchy about it. Sure Fire Nation has done a lot of harm, but not all of us are like that."
Now wasn't that quite… ironic? Ozai's voice asked with malicious mocking, and Azula had to agree. She really should not be saying that. She had caused quite a lot of harm.
Seeing that the mother was still unsure, Azula smirked and said, "Besides, you have to admit having a fire bender is useful. I mean look, the milk is here."
Blinking, Ying yelped just as Zuma appeared in front of her with the cup filled with the formula. With practiced ease, Zuma fitted the skin over the opening and offered the cup to the startled mother with an innocent smile, saying, "Here you go! Here is one cup of milk for the baby."
"And that was done within record time. No need to start a fire at all." Azula said as her smirk grew just a tad bit. Ying nodded dumbly as she accepted the cup slowly. She relaxed though when Than dropped down by her side and Zuma went back to his original spot under the tree. They were still tense though. With one more sigh, Azula stood up abruptly, startling the parents without much care and turned to Zuma, demanding, "Come on now. We're here, so show me what you're going to teach me."
Humming, the large man leaped onto his feet guided the Princess toward a flat landing not far away. Once there, he motioned for Azula to stay by the sideline before he walked to the center of it. Reaching it, Zuma turned around and folded his hands into his sleeves and grinned. It was the grin of a predator. "Okay! In order to truly see what it is you will be learning, you will need a demonstration, and what better than to learn it by being the target yourself? With that said, I want you to come at me with everything you got. I mean it, everything."
Thinking nothing of it and feeling a little vindictive at the moment, Azula smiled a nasty smirk and charged.
He asked for it anyway.
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Southern Air Temple…
The quiet atmosphere of the air temple was in itself a thing to behold. Unlike a century ago, where it is filled with lives, the Southern Air Temple had now been reclaimed by nature, but it was done just right.
It did not give off a feel of loneliness or isolation. It was after all one with nature once more.
Perhaps that was why Aang liked it so much here. It was also because at one point this place; this desolated place was his home. Here was where Aang felt the closest to those departed into the Spirit World.
Also as much as he liked guru Pathik, he couldn't take much more of his onion and banana juice at the Eastern Air Temple. The Western Air Temple was pretty much destroyed when Azula assaulted it almost a year ago, trying and failing to eliminate Team Avatar. The Northern Air Temple was now a haven for many, serving as shelter while providing a strange sort of guidance to the inhabitants. He was too distressed when he first got there to notice, but when he revisited; Aang felt a spiritual awareness about the place.
The Temples wanted to change, and who was he to stop it? He was the Avatar, sure, but even he couldn't go against Nature.
But as he sat on one of the many balconies that dotted the Southern Air Temple meditating, Aang couldn't help but feel as if he was… missing some key point to it all. He was almost sure that the Temples somehow guided him to return to his home… Or rather, there was a pull in him that wasn't homesickness or a need to return.
It pulled, and that was as good as he could come to describe it.
"Hello Aang."
Aang smiled at the voice as he opened his eyes. Sure enough, sitting in front of him was the transparent apparition of Avatar Roku. The previous Avatar had a small smile on his aged face that denoted peace, and Aang took that as a sign that this was mostly a social visit. "Hello Roku. Long time no see."
"It has indeed been a while since we last talked. Circumstances after all kept us apart. Now however there is no need to rush." Roku said with a small nod of his head, his little smile remaining unchanged on his face. Despite that, Aang could still make out a little something in his predecessor's eyes.
"Um, I don't want to be rude, but is there something I can do for you Roku?" Aang asked with a sheepish smile. As much wisdom as he carried from his training as a monk and his training as the Avatar, he was still just a boy at best.
He was a very powerful boy who could blow up a mountain, but still a boy.
As such, he was taught quite early to respect your elder. Avatar Roku could be considered his elder despite their rather unique relationship. It may not be blatant disrespect, but it was a dig at another's privacy.
Roku only smiled another small smile with a sigh. It was a sigh that would often be released from the lips of grandparents or great grandparents however rare they may be. Still, it got Aang's curiosity going. "You are learning quickly. You will make a fine Avatar from the days to come."
"Err… Thanks?" Aang replied with a hesitant question. It got a chuckled out of Roku before the man's stern face appeared. Aang subconsciously straightened his spine at this. It seemed that Roku could be authoritative when he wanted to be.
"What I am about to ask of you is… more of a personal favor. There is nothing that could influence your decision upon what to do with it. You can refuse, or you can accept; whichever way I would not hold you responsible." Roku began softly as he made sure that Aang will not feel pressured to accept his request. It only increased Aang's curiosity further. "You see, the Spirit World has become… lively with excitement lately. There is something brewing in the horizon, though sadly I do not know what. The other spirits will not divulge what they know, and the other Avatars cannot or will not part with the information either."
"Okay… So you wish me to find out what is going on?" Aang asked with a confused expression on his face. From what he heard so far, it was almost like the times before, when everything was in riddles. It was a little annoying to tell the truth. However, when Roku shook his head no, Aang's face scrunched up further and asked, "No? Then what would you like me to do?"
Here Roku seemed to hesitate. "You see Aang, I'm… worried about what this could mean. I am not foolish as to think that I could perhaps stop it, but I am hopeful that I can do something to perhaps lessen the effect of that which is to come."
"…Okay?"
With another sigh, Roku rubbed his head bashfully. It was so out of what Aang was used to that he had to blink a few times to take it in. It was so shocking he nearly missed what Roku had to say. "I am hesitant to ask this of you, but know that this is perhaps the best option I can think of. The truth is, I would like you to look after my descendents if possible."
"Your descendents? That doesn't sound hard…" Aang began but was quickly cut off when Roku held up one hand.
The previous Avatar quickly explained his action. "Please allow me to finish Aang. You will understand my hesitation once I did." The last air bender (the last known one at least) could only nod and sat back to listen. Seeing this Roku let loose another of his grandfather-sigh while fidgeting with the edge of his sleeves. It was really a strange sight to behold. "First of all, you must know who my descendents are. As you can already guess, they are indeed Fire Nation."
"Do I know them?" Aang blurred out before blushing in embarrassment. It was rude of him. "Sorry."
Roku chuckled. "It is alright. In fact, I believe you know them quite well. One of them is after all part of your team and one of your mentors."
One of them was part of Team Avatar and one of his mentors? Aang blinked before shouting in awe, "Zuko? He's your descendent? Wow! Wait… Would that make me his… What does that make me exactly?"
The fire Avatar chuckled once more before waving off Aang's concern. It was rather amusing though. "Do not worry about that. You are you, and I am me. We are not the same person despite us being linked. As for Zuko…"
"So you want me to help him? I can do that." Aang interrupted once more, though when Roku shook his head, the current Avatar deflated from his excitement. "We're not talking about Zuko are we?"
"No Aang, we are not. However you are not far off from your assumption. You see, Zuko isn't the only child…"
This time Aang got it, and judging by the way his face twisted into a look mixed between shock, fear, and horror, it was not a pleasant notion. "Azula? You want ME to help Azula?"
"Yes, that is what I hope for at the very least…"
"Err, no offense to your line and all Roku, but she is NUTS! CRAZY! She nearly killed me! She DID kill me!" Aang shouted as he tried to convey his points across. The predecessor however just sat calmly and took it all in. "Besides, last I heard, she was put away in some asylum by Zuko. Katara said she lost her mind on the day Sozin's Comet returned, and I'm not about to argue with her when Zuko agreed as well."
"Ah, yes. About that…" Roku began before pausing, his face shifting as he tried to come up with the best way to relay this piece of information. Seeing none, the Avatar shrugged and decided to just say it out right. "Azula is no longer within the asylum. She has escaped about a week or two ago I believe."
If it wasn't because the situation was quite serious, Roku would grinned at the shell-shocked look on Aang's face. However, he did have to put one dig in by saying, "Now, now Aang. There is no need for such expression. Pick up your jaw before you caught a bug. I can assure you it is not a pleasant experience."
As it stood, flabbergasted simply was not doing the expression justice.
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AN:
I was procrastinating, so I really have no excuse for this slow update. I'd pull the school card again, but it can only work so many times haha. That, and I think I need to get this off so that people don't go hunting for me one way or another (particularly my beta).
Regardless, I have the next chapter going as it is. How that is coming along is a secret…
Well, tell me what you think. It has been proof read a few times, but if mistakes still pop out, don't feel shy about pointing it out.
Until next time…