Chap. 22
Azula's Plan
"You're doing good. But try to feel the water. Don't just move it around." Katara said, as she watched her students work on the water-whip. Katara had been placed in charge of teaching the Army's Waterbenders all that she knew as a Waterbending Master. She'd been working with them since arriving in the Fire Nation, and thus far, they were all showing good progress. All of them had had at least rudimentary training in Waterbending, but none had been trained by a Master of Katara's level. Of course, it had been easy for them to accept her at first. They were all adults that had been fighting the Fire Lord for many years. They did not feel the need to take advice from a child, and a woman at that. But Aang had vouched for her ability, and the word of the Avatar was one of the few things that these men accepted without question. Therefore, they had accepted Katara as their instructor and learned to hone their skills even further under her tutelage.
Of course, there was always a problem child in every class and Katara's was no different. Hers was a young warrior named Uliat, who had potential, but was having difficulty with Katara's technique. He was used to simply using the water as a weapon, and was not one to the different ways he could use it. But Katara was ready to work with him so that he could succeed. In fact, she had a plan to put into effect right now.
"I swear to you, I don't know anything." The farmer said again through his bleeding mouth.
"Really? I think you do." Azula said, as she stood in front of the man. Azula's squadron had landed on the shores of the island a few hours ago, and had followed their map to the closest farming establishment. Upon arrival, they had met with the farmer there, who had echoed the sentiments of his leader concerning the crops. Azula had smiled, thanked him for his cooperation, and then spin kicked him in the jaw. He had fallen to the ground in a heap, and since then, had become Azula's newest punching bag.
"You are one of the best farmers in the Fire Nation. This isle is the most fertile. How can you have such a weak crop and dare present it to my father?"
"I told you Princess, it just happened." The man swore, as the guards held him in place. "Sometimes, crops don't go as you planned. I'm sorry, all right?"
"That you are." Azula said. "But apparently not sorry enough to tell me the truth. Tell me, do you live here alone, farmer? Do you have a family? A wife? Children? Tell me, what do you think would happen if they came home and saw your fried corpse hanging from the door? Do you think they would tell me then?"
"If I had any family, they'd run from you the second they saw anything like that." The farmer sneered. "So try again."
But Azula was not fooled. She had told enough lies to recognize one. This man did have a family. And knowing that meant she knew his weakness.
"Very well." Azula replied. "What would you say then, if they returned and you watched as they burned in your place."?
"You can't be that heartless." The farmer said.
"Can't I? Perhaps I could be persuaded otherwise. That is, if you tell me the main reason for your shameful crop."
The farmer sat there silently, not giving a word of response. Sighing, Azula said, "Very well then. I will deal with this in my own way. Troops."
At those words, the soldiers began to move around the farmhouse, and within minutes, had vanished into various hiding places. The farmer's eyes went wide as he realized that Azula could truly carry out her threat.
"Now then, what was it you were saying?" Azula asked.
The farmer gritted his teeth, and spat a curse at Azula. But the Princess just smiled and watched as his defiance deflated as he released the hopelessness of the situation, and finally opened his mouth to speak….
"OK Uliat, remember what I told you."
"Feel the water, then strike with it." The warrior repeated.
"Good. Now, try to do the move." Katara said.
Uliat took one last breath, then began to move his water stream in a circular motion over his head, drawing it into a large ring. Katara watched as Uliat continued the motion, slowly adding speed to the ring as he moved it. The, finally, he gave a sharp spin in the opposite direction, and the ring exploded outwards in five perfectly formed ice spikes. The spikes sailed forth, then stuck themselves in a grove of nearby trees.
"You did it! Good job!" Katara said, clapping Uliat on the back.
"Wow. I've never tried to Waterbend like that before." Uliat breathed. "It felt so much stronger then my normal moves."
"More strength is found in discipline then raw power." A voice said from the side. Katara and Uliat turned to see Master Pakku walking towards them.
"Well done, young Waterbender. And well done, Master Katara." Pakku said. "That is a difficult move to learn, and even more difficult to teach."
"Thank you, Master Pakku." Katara said.
"Pakku? I've heard of you." Uliat said. "You're supposed to be the greatest Waterbender in the Northern Tribe."
"True." Pakku replied. "I was also the man who trained Katara and the Avatar."
"Whoa." Uliat gasped in shock.
"Please, don't drool. It's a waste of water." Pakku said. Looking over to Katara, Pakku said, "Katara, I thought I'd come over and give you a break. Fuego has concocted a rather good stew for lunch."
"That'd be great. Thanks Pakku." Katara answered, as she bowed to Pakku and headed off in the direction of the mess-hall tent. Pakku watched her move off, then turned over to his new class with a smile on his face……
Katara entered the tent and was greeted by the appealing scent of meat and spices. Smiling as she inhaled, she grabbed a bowl from the countertop near the roped off kitchen area and called out, "Fuego?"
"Coming, coming." The red man muttered, as he emerged from the kitchen, a large container of steaming stew in his hands.
"Hey Katara, how's the training going?" Fuego asked, as he grabbed a ladle and poured the young Waterbender her stew.
"Really good. I didn't think I'd enjoy it this much." Katara answered. "But the way all those benders respect me now…."
"It's a good feeling isn't it?" Fuego said with a smile as he handed her a spoon. "You've earned it. Even Agua says you're a great Waterbender. Just don't let it go to your head."
Katara nodded, as she dipped her spoon into the bowl and took a mouthful of the stew.
"Wow, Pakku was right. This is really good stew."
"I told him a hundred times, it's not stew." Fuego muttered. "It's called beef bouillon, and it's a delicacy."
"I'll be sure to pass it on." Katara said.
"I hope so. You and he are the only ones I've gotten a review from today."
"No one else came in?"
"Not yet, but training's still going on. Of course, he came in, but he's a vegetarian, and he's not in a position to talk anyway."
"Who?" Katara asked, as Fuego pointed to the entrance of the tent. Katara turned, to see the figure of Aang, sprawled out and asleep near the tent. Though sleeping, his face was lined with marks of exhaustion and hard work.
"Aang?!" Katara gaped, placing her soup down and running to his side.
"He's all right, just exhausted." Fue explained, as Katara gently shook him. "He was falling asleep when he walked in, so I let rest before he went back to training."
Katara didn't seem to hear him, as she continued to shake Aang awake. Slowly, the young Airbender began to regain consciousness, as he looked over at Katara and said, "Hi Katara. How are you today?"
"Aang, are you all right?" Katara asked. "You look terrible."
"I'm fine." Aang replied. "I just need some sleep."
"I think you need more." Katara replied. "What have you been doing to yourself?"
"Just training." Aang said. "First firebending with Iroh, then chakra work with Pakku. It only takes most of the day."
"Aang, Pakku got here a week ago. You've been doing this ever since then?" Katara asked.
"It's not so bad. And besides, I have to be ready. Everybody's counting on me."
"And you can't help them if you're exhausted. You rest here and I'll get you some soup, ok?"
"Sure, ok." Aang said, as he laid his head back down. Katara looked at him a moment, then turned to the counter, only to see Fuego already standing there with a fresh bowl of green soup.
"Split-pea. I made for him since he won't eat meat." He said.
"How could you just let him pass out there?" Katara hissed.
"I thought the rest would do him good. And he just asked if he could sit for a moment. I'm sorry if I upset you, but Aang isn't going to stop for this, you know. He's in the final minutes now, and he's going to play harder then ever."
"Then I'll show him how to play smarter." Katara said, as she took the soup and sat down near Aang. The young boy took the soup gratefully and slowly began to eat. As Katara leaned down next to him, he asked, "So how are things?"
"Getting better." Katara answered. "My students are getting better, and I'm enjoying the teaching. But other things…."
"Sokka?"
Katara nodded. "He's been so different after finding out what happened with Suki and Jet. He still does his training and everything, but he seems so….. lost, like he's lost his purpose. And Zuko's no better. He's torn between being mad that Jin's here and being glad she's near him. I swear, I don't know how much longer I can deal with them. They both come to me and that's all they want to talk about. I try to be supportive, but it's a pain after a whil…."
Katara stopped short, as she felt something gently collide with her shoulder. She turned and saw Aang, asleep once again and using her as a pillow. Katara sighed, and then removed the bowl of soup from his lap slowly, so as not to disturb him. Maybe Fuego was right. Maybe all Aang did need was some sleep. Besides, this isn't so bad. Katara thought, as she looked down at his sleeping form. As she felt him lean against her, she thought, In fact, it's kind of nice.
But before Katara could think anymore, a blast suddenly rocked the camp, and a piercing siren began to wail. Aang instantly snapped awake, as Fuego leapt over the counter.
"What's going on?" Katara asked as she and Aang quickly got to their feet.
"Osc said he was making some kind of security alarm. I'm guessing this is it. Come on!" Fuego answered.
The trio ran through the camp, towards the source of the siren. It wasn't hard; everyone else had stopped training and ran towards it as well. Within minutes, the whole Army stood assembled, as Oscuridad shut off the siren. They all looked as a large Fire Nation tank stopped just in front of the camp. With a hiss, the tank opened, and the troops began to exit. A few were recognizable; Mai, Ty Lee, and the Captain all emerged. But one stood out from all the rest, and none were surprised to see her.
"Hello Azula. It's been a while." Sokka said, clubs at his side.
Azula looked back at her enemy, then turned her gaze to view the huge army spread out in front of her. As she looked on, the smile on her face grew wider and wider.
"My, my." She said, as she returned her gaze to Sokka. "I see you've been quite busy since I last saw you."
"That we have." Aang said.
"To think, I just came here to speak with some farmers. Now I have a chance for something even better."
"Don't bet on it." Oscuridad answered, as he unsheathed his sword with a hiss. "You may have found us, but you're not going to tell anyone about us."
"And you think you can stop me?" Azula asked, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
"I think we outnumber you." The bat replied, gesturing to the Army.
"Perhaps. But numbers pale in comparison to skill." Azula replied, as Ty Lee, Mai, the Captain, and the rest of the Fire Nation soldiers came up behind her. Of course, the second Ty Lee saw the familiar faces, she began to wave and yell, "Hi guys!"
"Well, there goes our dramatic and fear-filled entrance." Mai said as she rolled her eyes. At the sound of her voice however, Hierro turned towards her.
"Hello Mai. It is good to see you again, despite the circumstances. You as well, Captain" The spider said.
"You too." The young girl replied.
"Likewise." The Captain added.
"I just came back from Omashu, Mai. Your father says hi." Hierro replied. "Don't worry, I left him there unharmed."
"Thank you." Mai replied.
"As charming as this all is,' Azula interrupted. "I believe that we have some business to attend to. Soldiers, line up!"
Moving with all the precision their training had given them, the soldiers moved into precise formation beside their princess, ready to fight. On the other side, the Army moved into formation themselves, ready to attack at the slightest word from their commanders. But as the two opposing sides stood and waited, Iroh suddenly broke his stance, looked over at the soldiers, and said in utter surprise, "Jee?"
"Huh?" Zuko said from the side, following his uncle's gaze to the lone soldier. The gray bearded soldier stared back in equal surprise; "General Iroh? Prince Zuko?"
"You two know this guy?" Toph asked.
"Jee was one of the officers on our ship." Iroh answered. "He was reassigned to Admiral Zhao before the North Pole. I never…. Wait a moment, Kilu?" he said pointing to another solider.
"How many of these guys were in your crew?" Tierra asked.
"Actually, we all were." Jee said. "After the North Pole, we were assigned to different areas in the Fire Nation as punishment for our failure. But Princess Azula organized this unit herself."
All gaze turned to Azula now, as the Princess smiled and began to saunter forward towards Oscuridad and Aang, who looked at her with both apprehension and puzzlement.
"You both know me well enough to know I do nothing without a good reason." The Fire Princess began. "And I did this for a reason. Some of these men fought with you in Ba Sing Se. Others served with my brother and uncle for two years. Those soldier respected my uncle, and after some time, my brother as well. When they survived the North Pole, they were given the lowest ranking jobs in the Fire Nation to pay for their mistakes, far from their homes and families."
"Why are you telling us this?" Aang asked.
"For two years, these men were kept from their families." Azula continued. "And when they could finally return home, they were kept separated. I chose them, because they have seen enough of the world and endured enough punishment to hate my father and want to hurt him."
Aang and Oscuridad looked at each other, then looked over at Mai.
"Has she had any severe blows to the head lately?" the bat asked.
"Or been really, really sick?" Aang asked.
"Not that I knew of." Mai replied. "But her father called us back home to talk with her. He could've done something to her."
"My father did nothing to me." Azula snapped. "I knew exactly what I was doing then, and I know it now. I brought these men here because they have loyalty to my brother and uncle. I brought them because they have suffered and would like to strike a blow against my father for hurting them. And because…."
Azula stopped then, and looked at the two men standing before her. For a second, her eyes glanced over to Zuko and Iroh, and then Azula did something that caused everyone on both sides to gape and stare in utter disbelief (even Ty Lee). The Fire Nation Princess knelt down on one knee before Aang and Oscuridad, bowed her head, and said, "And because I want to hurt him too."