Sokka and Katara hid while Mai, Zuko and Ty Lee answered the door.
"Hey Azula!" Ty Lee said cheerily.
"Hi Ty Lee." Azula let her self in and closed the door. "I promise not to hurt you, if you give me the water tribe peasant." Azula narrowed her eyes at Ty Lee. Ty Lee felt very small.
"Who says we have him?" Azula smiled.
"How do you know I was talking about him, rather than Katara?" Azula asked. Ty Lee kicked herself mentally. "And to answer your question a little birdie told me."
"Who?" Ty Lee asked.
"The leader of those Kyoshi Warriors. Suki you can come in now." Azula opened the door and in stepped Suki, dressed in fine fire nation clothes. Mai narrowed her eyes at Suki.
"How could you just betray him like that?" She asked.
"Kind of like he betrayed me?" Suki's eyes fell on Ty Lee.
"It doesn't matter who betrayed who, the point is we want him... now." Azula told them. "Ty Lee go fetch him for us will you?" Ty Lee bowed in respect and went to go get Sokka. She opened Ty Lee's bedroom. Zuko, Katara, and Sokka all looked at her.
"Sokka I'm so sorry, Suki told Azula you were here, and I let it slip out just now that it was you." Ty Lee covered her face with her hands. Sokka got up and put his arms around her.
"It's okay, Azula can be very tricky." Sokka soothed.
"Ty Lee, I'm waiting!" They heard Azula yell. Ty Lee let go of Sokka and dried her eyes. Sokka looked at Katara and Zuko, knowing full well that Azula was listening. He smiled sadly at both of them and walked out of the room with Ty Lee. Azula looked at Sokka. Sokka looked at Suki.
"You're dead to me." He spat at her. She winced.
"Ty Lee, pressure point him, I don't want any struggling on the way back to the palace."
"Azula-" Mai started. Azula shot daggers at her and she shut up.
"Ty Lee, do it now or I'll turn you and Mai in for hiding him here." Ty Lee looked at Sokka.
"Just do it." He told her. She did as quickly as she could. Sokka fell to the ground and didn't make a sound. Azula smiled triumphantly.
"Good girl." Ty Lee started crying and Mai comforted her.
"I'm so sorry." She told Sokka. Azula made her guards come in and pick him up. Azula ran a hand through is hair and down his face.
"Don't worry Ty Lee, I'll take good care of him." Azula said seductively. Ty Lee cried harder into Mai's shoulder, as the guards, Azula, and Suki left. Mai closed the door and waited until she was sure that Azula was back at the palace. Mai fetched Katara and Zuko. Ty Lee was crying on the couch.
"I can't believe I did that." Ty Lee clutched her stomach. Katara sat down next to her, and hugged her.
"Ty Lee you didn't have a choice. Azula would have killed you and probably searched the place anyways." Ty Lee looked at her.
"I guess you're right. But I still can't believe Azula made me do that!" She cried into Katara's shoulder. Mai decided it was time to put things into action.
"Listen to me, all of you listen." Everyone looked at Mai. "We can't very well go rescue him, so we need to get things going. We'll wait about four days and I'll go to the Firelord with my speech. Hopefully, he'll accept it, and we'll be able to get Katara back to normal. Once that has happened we can get the rest of the group together and continue forth with defeating the firelord." Mai told them.
"Who are we kidding? We can't do this! Not without Sokka!" Zuko exclaimed.
"Zuko, we don't have a choice, what do you think is going to happen if we don't do anything? We will probably all die and Aang will probably lose." Mai explained. "We have to do this guys. Start training." Mai told them. Zuko looked at Katara.
"Don't you think it should be her choice whether or not we change her back?" Zuko asked.
"Zuko-" Katara started.
"No! It's your choice! What do you want?" Zuko yelled.
"I want my old life back. I know that means we can't be together for very long, but I don't want to live the rest of my life knowing that my whole life was a lie." Katara told him.
"But Katara-" Zuko started then stopped. He stormed off to Mai's room. Katara plopped down on the couch next to Ty Lee.
"Something tells me we might be doing this without Zuko." Ty Lee told them. Katara suddenly shot up.
"What's wrong?" Mai and Ty Lee asked at the same time.
"We can't do this at all!" Katara yelled.
"Why?" Mai asked.
"Because Sokka is the only one who can change me back!" Ty Lee and Mai looked at each other.
"Then we better go get Sokka." Mai told them.
"How?" Ty Lee asked.
"No idea." Mai told them.
"I have an idea but you guys aren't going to like it." Katara told them.
"What's the idea?" Ty Lee asked.
"Okay, so in four days Mai and I will go to the palace. Mai will request a meeting with Firelord Ozai, and I'll go see Azula. Mai you know what you are going to say to the firelord, and I'll tell Azula that Ty Lee told me what she did to me, but that I don't believe it. Azula will get angry and probably punish you, but while she is doing that I can get Sokka out of where ever he is. Ty Lee you are going to have to tell Azula that you will be on her side and fight with her again in this war, we probably won't see you until I'm back to normal, or until the end of the war. This is the only thing I can think of that might work." Katara told them.
"Katara I don't know-" Mai started.
"Let's do it." Ty Lee told them. Mai whipped her head around at Ty Lee.
"Are you sure?" Mai asked.
"Yes. We have to do this, it's the only way." Ty Lee told them. "One thing... how are you going to get Sokka out?" Ty Lee asked Katara.
"I'm thinking we'll just wing it, I mean a waterbender and a firebender? I think we'll be okay." Katara told them.
~Four days Later~
"Zuko are you sure?" Mai asked.
"No I don't want to stay here, but I have to. Azula has no clue that I'm here. She probably thinks I'm off babysitting the avatar. If i go and get caught, it'll ruin everything." Zuko told Mai, Ty Lee, and Katara.
"Okay then we are off." Katara and Mai left while Zuko and Ty Lee prepaired for the wrath of Azula.
Mai and Katara had no problem getting into the palace, but getting a meeting with the Firelord wasn't going to well. All of the guards insisted that they be the ones to tell the Firelord where the avatar was. Finally Azula walked out.
"What is it? I'm busy and I'd like this situation cleared up." Azula told Mai and Katara.
"I need to speak with your father. I have the location of the avatar, but it's classified and it must go directly to your father." Mai told Azula. Azula stared Mai down, who didn't lose eye contact for a second.
"Very well, go inside." Azula told Mai. Mai bowed in gratitude and Katara and Azula were left alone.
"Azula may I please talk to you?" Katara asked.
"Of course, follow me." Azula led Katara to the library.
"What's on your mind?" Azula asked.
"Well Ty Lee told me something, and I don't believe it but I just have to make sure it isn't true." Katara said shyly.
"Well spit it out." Azula demanded.
"Ty Lee told me that you changed me from a water bender to a fire bender." Katara told her.
"My Lord, I am blessed with your presence at this high hour. I've come with wonderful, yet complicating news." Mai spoke on her knees.
"What is this news you speak of?" Ozai asked.
"Where the avatar is located." Mai told the Ozai, she waited for him to speak but he didn't so she continued. "He's is devastated by the loss of his beloved Katara, and has fled to the spirit world, as you know, if an avatar is killed in the avatar state or while they are in the spirit world, that is the end of the avatar. If you grace me with the knowledge of how to change a bender into a non bender than I can make him human, and no human could survive in the spirit world for long, and that will be the end of the avatar. Permanently." Mai looked up at the firelord. He was staring at Mai, clearly pleased.
"My daughter, Azula will do the procedure." Ozai told her.
"With all respect my lord, I am the only one who can do this." Mai told him.
"Enlighten me." The fire lord demanded.
"I have befriended the avatar and his friend Toph. She knows how to get in and out of the spirit world, she would trust me with going in. She would never trust Azula, and I would show Azula the way in, but only the people accepted by the avatar are allowed." Mai explained. The fire lord pondered for what seemed like an eternity.
"Very well, I will teach you everyday until you have it. You will practice on my guards." Ozai told her. She stood up and bowed.
"Thank you Firelord Ozai, I am forever in your gratitude." With that Mai walked out.
"Of course I didn't do that! That's impossible to do." Azula laughed.
"Good! I knew you'd never do that to me." Katara laughed along.
"Tell me Katara, where is Ty Lee?" Azula asked.
"At Mai's, why?" Katara asked.
"I think I'll go pay her a visit." Azula got up and left the palace. Katara made sure that she was at Mai's when she went searching for Sokka. It seemed hours until she found him. She opened a door, and saw a heart shaped bed, covered in rose petals.
"Katara!" Sokka exclaimed truly glad to see her.
"What's all this?" Katara asked.
"Azula's way of 'taking good care of me'" Sokka told her. Katara stiffled a laugh.
"Never mind that, I've come to get you out of here." Katara told him.
"Good luck with that." He scoffed.
"Look I just thought of something. I'll go to the courtyard and practice firebending and 'accidentally' hit the palace with a fireball, the guards will go scrambling and that's when you escape. Just don't go to Mai's house. I'll meet you outside this room in twenty minutes." Katara told him.
"Good luck." He told her as she ran out of the room towards the courtyard.
~Don't you guys just love all these cliffhangers? Haha I know you hate them but it keeps it interesting and leaves you wanting more. Review please :) and check out the trailer! The link is in my profile :D~