Chap. 37

The Fate of Hahn Part 2

"Uhh…"

Slowly, her mind began to clear, the fog fading away, as she regained consciousness. Slowly, she began to open her eyes, expecting the darkness to clear. But something was wrong. Despite her efforts, her eyelids remained shut. For a moment, Azula felt fear that whatever had put her in this state had also blinded her. But the Fire Princess swallowed that fear and forced herself to take another look at the situation. She could feel cloth on her face now, wrapped around her eyes, blocking her vision. Mentally breathing a sigh of relief, she then tested her limbs. As she expected, they were bound together, with a damp-feeling rope. As Azula felt her bonds, she was able to follow them and realize that she was tied to something.

What is going on? She thought to herself, as she tried to think back to what it was that had brought her to this state. Azula could remember talking to Sokka and hearing his decision to peruse their relationship. She could remember walking to training and feeling as though she could fly. And she could also remember running into Smellerbee and agreeing to help her with some training. After that, there was nothing but pain and blackness.

Whoever it was must've knocked me out and taken me here. Azula determined. I hope they didn't go after Smellerbee. But more importantly, who are they? No one knows I'm here. I left no clues at home to show where I was going. None of the workers escaped the island. That means…… this is an inside job.

Azula gritted her teeth, angry that someone would betray her, but angrier still that her feelings of acceptance had been spat upon. With her anger fueling her, she began to run through the names of the Army members, trying to think of anyone who would betray her. But before she could think of anyone who was a possibility, there was a sound of movement, and then a voice spoke that answered all her questions instantly.

"Hello, Princess."

"Hahn." Azula sneered through her gritted teeth. "What are you doing? Release me this instant!"

"I don't think so." Hahn replied smugly. "I don't need to take orders from you. And besides, I didn't go through all this trouble for nothing."

"Some trouble." Azula snapped. "You thinking sneaking up on me and knocking me out is trouble? Even my father has more respect for his enemies then that."

"Oh it wasn't me. I had some help. Didn't I, Jet?"

"What?" Azula cried out, as another set of footsteps filled the air. "Then Smellerbee…."

"Was the perfect diversion. I thought you'd believe her Azula. You want so badly to be accepted into this Army, I knew you'd jump at the first sign of trust. But you know what's really ironic? How easy it was to convince the Freedom Fighters to help me. They all know the truth about you Azula. They know that you're a traitor, a dangerous weapon that needs to be destroyed before it destroys us. Everyone else knows it too, they just can't admit it. Except for Sokka. He knows, but he enjoys the…… perks too much to let it affect him."

"Shut up, you heartless bastard!"

"Temper, temper Azula. You wouldn't want to give off any sparks now, would you? After all, those ropes are soaked with oil. They'd ignite quite easily."

"You're lying."
"Then firebend, and let's find out."

Azula felt her anger burn inside her, and for a moment, was sorely tempted to take Hahn up on his offer. But Azula knew that Hahn would love to see her lose control and destroy herself. So she swallowed her anger and did nothing.

"I thought so. Not so cocky when your life's on the line, are you?"

"Cut the crap Hahn. What is it you're going to do? You can't keep me here forever."

"Very astute. No, I can't keep you here. I happen to have a most ingenious way to deal with you. There won't even be anything left when I'm done. And when those fools start asking questions, all I have to do is suggest your betrayal, and all their suspicions will be realized."

"They'll never believe you Hahn. They know you have no honor."

"You don't either Azula." Hahn said.

As he spoke, Azula could suddenly feel cold liquid being poured on her head and flow down her body, soaking her hair and shirt. As she shivered against it, Hahn whispered in her ear, "No one humiliates me. Especially not some Fire Nation woman. I can't wait to see Sokka when he hears how you betrayed him."

"And now Azula," Hahn said, speaking normally as he moved away. "It's time for you to meet your ancestors. Don't worry, I know enough of your customs to make sure I do this right."

Azula listened to Hahn as he kept speaking, but for once, she wished he would keep talking. Whatever he had poured on her had made its way down to her wrists. They were slippery now, and she was working on freeing them from the ropes. It would only take her a few minutes, and then she could take down this blowhard once and for all.

Thank Darya he's in love with the sound of his own voice. Azula thought. But unfortunately, that love ended soon, as Hahn finally ended his speech by saying, "Now Azula, I end this once and for all."

Azula struggled even harder then, trying fiercely to escape her bonds and Hahn's final punishment. But then she heard strange noises all around her. She heard struggling, movement, and cries of surprise from Hahn, followed by yells of protest. But then, she heard something that caused her to finally stop struggling- Sokka's voice, yelling "Azula!"

"Sokka?" she called back, as she felt a pair of hands reach behind her head and undo the blindfold. She finally opened her eyes to see Sokka's face, looking at her with concern and worry.

"I'm ok." She said quickly, as reassuringly as she could. Sokka nodded uncertainly, and began to untie her. As Azula looked around, she saw what had happened. The Freedom Fighters were standing around with Trueno, Iroh, Zuko. Bosque stood off to the side, glaring at Hahn, who was being restrained by Jet.

"I expected something devious from you." The squirrel hissed at Hahn. "But I didn't expect this."

Turning to face Azula, he asked, "Are you all right?" She nodded in response, as Sokka helped her to her feet. Bosque moved over and gently ran his finger through Azula's hair. It came away soaked in the liquid that Hahn had poured on her. He brought it to his nose and sniffed. A second later, his expression grew even darker and he whirled around to face Hahn.

"Lantern oil?" he hissed in disbelief. "You sick son of a bitch! You were going to burn her alive!" he said, as he pointed to a spot nearby. Azula turned to it, and it was then she saw the smoldering torch lying on the ground.

"Why Hahn? Just fucking tell me why!" Bosque spat.

"She's a Firebender! She would've betrayed…." Hahn began. But he got no further, as Bosque grabbed his throat.

"Wrong answer!" he screamed in the boy's face. "How stupid could you be? You thought we wouldn't figure it out?!"

"What?" Hahn gasped. "How did you…."

"I told him." Jet replied. "I told him the second we made our agreement. I told you before Hahn, I'm not like I was before. But apparently, you still are. So we made this little charade to expose you."

"What?" Sokka cried. "You put Azula in danger with even telling her?"

"Sokka, we were all in on it." Pipsqueak said. "We wouldn't have let anything happen to her. And besides, now we can take care of Hahn the right way."

"What does…..that mean?" Hahn wheezed.

"It means that you have overstayed your welcome." Bosque answered, finally releasing his grip on Hahn's throat. "As of this moment, you are dishonorably discharged from the Army."

"What? Where am I supposed to go? I can't stay here!"

"Oh, you won't." Trueno said. "I'm taking you back to the North Pole. And I'm going to tell the Chief everything. I'm going to tell him how you kidnapped and tried to kill someone because you were petty and jealous of her. And then, I will make sure that you live your life in shame and disgrace for the rest of your days."

"You can't…."

"Watch me." The ram growled, as he grabbed Hahn and pulled him away from Jet. There was a flash of light followed by a crack of thunder, and then both figures disappeared.

"Well, I think that went well." Jet said dryly.

"I still don't like it." Sokka said. "You guys could've gotten her hurt. You could've at least told me."

"I'm sorry Sokka, but we knew if we told you, then you'd never keep it secret long enough." Bosque explained. "This was as much a plan to expose Hahn as it was to protect Azula."

"Besides, Uncle and I trusted Jet to keep Azula safe." Zuko added. "We would not have let this come to pass any other way."

"……OK, but…"

"Sokka, it's ok." Azula said. "It was good strategy on their part. I was surrounded by people that would've protected me if things had gotten out of hand. Besides, you have to be happy to see Hahn gone."

"You've got a point there." Sokka said thoughtfully.

"Good. Now, all I want right now is to find a place where I can bathe and get all this oil off."

"I know a place. Follow me Azula." Smellerbee said. Azula nodded, and followed the girl as she walked off.

"Sorry about tricking you before." Smellerbee said. "We just had to go along with Hahn's plan."

"It's ok." Azula said. "I probably would've done the same thing. It's just good to hear that you do trust me."

"Definitely. And truthfully, I did need your help with that training bit. Think you could still help?"

After that, the news of Hahn's dismissal spread quickly around the camp. All who heard were happy to hear that such an annoying, selfish brat would be gone from their lives, and would likely be forced to live in squalor and dishonor. They were also happy to hear of how Jet had overcome his hatreds and tricked Hahn into revealing his own. None were happier then Suki of course, who was proud of Jet and happy that Sokka's new girlfriend was safe. She truly did care about Sokka, and wanted to make sure that he would be happy. However, she ended up dealing with another's happiness before the day ended….

"I'll be sure to pass on your thanks, Katara." Suki said to the girl sitting across from her in the mess hall. "Jet will be glad to know he made you happy."

"Well, I know I was rough on him at first." Katara replied. "But I can see I was wrong, and that he really has changed. Even Sokka's forgiven him now."

"I'm glad to hear that." Suki said. "I didn't make things any easier between them, but I really do want to make sure that Sokka is happy. Although I never would've thought it would be with Azula."

"Me either." Katara agreed. "But then again, I never could've guessed you and Jet would happen either."

"True, but I'm thankful it did." Suki said. "It's so nice to have him around. Jet always has time to listen to me, and help me through hard times. And I'm able to make the same difference in his life. It's a wonderful feeling, and I….. Katara? Is something wrong?"

"Huh? No, why'd you think that?" Katara asked.

"Well for one thing, you suddenly look like your pet just died. So what's bothering you?"

"It's kinda private Suki." Katara answered.

"I promise I won't tell. C'mon, you can trust me. What is it, guy trouble?"

Katara paused a minute, then sighed and said, "Yeah, kinda. I'm having problems with Aang."

"What? You two are great friends; what could be wrong?"

"I wish I knew. He's been distancing himself from me lately. He doesn't talk to me, barely spends any time with me. At first, I thought it was his training, but then last night, he was having some problems, and we talked about it. He seemed to get through it, and I started to hug him, like we've done before. But this time, he pulled away and refused. He's never acted like that before."

"Maybe it's tomorrow. He had a lot of pressure on him to win. The whole world is counting on him."

"Maybe, but he's never been afraid to talk to me before. I……I feel like he's outgrowing me or something, and I don't want that to happen. I wish I could just talk to him, like the old days and….. Suki?"

The female warrior looked at Katara with a strange, amused smile on her face. As Katara looked back in confusion, Suki asked, "You like him, don't you?"

"Well of course, he's my friend and…."

"That's not what I mean."

"Then what….. No! No, we're just friends and…"

"Katara."

"Ahhh… all right, yes." Katara said sadly. "I've liked him for a while now. But I don't know what to do about it. I was always afraid that Aang's Avatar duties would prevent him from loving me back. So I didn't say anything. But now that it's happening,… I don't think I can deal with it. I don't want him to push me away."

"Then you have to do something about it." Suki said. "You have to tell him."

"What?!"

"He needs to know, Katara. If you want him to make a decision, he's got to be aware of it. Otherwise, he'll just keep doing what he's doing now, and you'll always wonder what could've been."

"But…"

"Look, I felt the same way with Jet. He was aloof, distant, and almost cold. He seemed like someone I could never get with. But I made the attempt, and look at us now. You can't just let this go Katara. You have to try, or you'll spend the rest of your life wondering how things could've gone."

"Just think about it. Please?" Suki finished. Katara looked at her friend, then slowly nodded. Suki smiled back and said that everything would be ok. Getting up, she moved away, allowing Katara to have time to absorb all this new information. But at the same time, she wondered if perhaps, Katara had come to this conclusion too late to do anything about it.

The rest of the day passed in relative silence. The weight of the next day's final battle hung heavy in the air. The soldiers and generals moved through their training and then through their meals with the same quiet, grim determination. Everyone there knew that some people would not come back from the campaign. They knew that the faces they saw before them today might be gone tomorrow. And they also knew that they themselves might be gone. But each solider knew that this battle had to be fought, for the world they loved so dear. So they went through their day and slept through the night, but not before each man, woman, and child prayed to the gods for the success of their mission, and the safe return of their fellows.

Even the Elementals prayed that night, to both their own Architect and to them all. But they also prayed to the High-God, maker of all the universe and guardian of its peoples. For each Knight, this meant something different. Some counted the beads of a rosary. Some clutched the Star of David. Others still called the name of Muhammad or bowed before a statue of Buddha. Yet despite all these different practices, each Knight knew that the High-God heard the prayers of his siblings as well as his own. For the High-God was a being that answered to many names, and it cared not what it was called, only that those that called it did so to help preserve its sacred principles of balance and understanding. For in truth, the world that the Army sought to create was what the High-God had intended for all of creation- a world of equality and spiritual equilibrium for all.