Sokka numbly caught his boomerang after it ricocheted off Azula's head. "Wow." He blinked as if clearing his vision, then boasted a smile tinged with dreary delirium. "We got her!"
"Um, Sokka," Katara called. She stared very deliberately at the remaining, able-bodied firebenders. She did not attack, but her hand hovered over the water skin. "Not the time to celebrate."
Zuko's gaze flickered from Aang only to assess how to get past his friends. It dampened hope that flared brightest just moments ago, that he and the prince could work together, reach an understanding.
Every time he offered a hand, Zuko answered with fire.
Toph gave no heed to the tension. She pointed at Iroh.
"Hey, Old Man, what are you doing with this guy?" Toph demanded, ignoring Zuko's indignant growl at having the finger thrust at him. Her face lit with realization. "Don't tell me…"
"Why, he is my nephew, Zuko." Iroh said, placing a hand on the prince's shoulder. Aang couldn't tell if this was to claim him or restrain him.
Katara looked between Iroh and Toph. "You know him?" she asked disbelievingly, voicing the monk's thoughts.
Toph waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah he gave me some tea and some advice. That's why I came back to save your sorry butts." Her tone made Aang want to smile, if only he weren't dead on his feet.
"So this is the Zuko guy you were talking about earlier? But he doesn't have a ponytail." She looked at, er, rather, turned to Iroh. "And he's your nephew, huh?" She thrust her finger at Zuko again. "Buddy, you cause people a lot of problems, you know that? I just met you and I don't like you!"
"I don't care for your approval, peasant!" Zuko snarled, fists clenched.
"Peasant!" Toph shrieked. "Oh, you're eating dirt for that!"
Aang knew Toph could wipe the floor with Zuko. Literally. But he couldn't help the barely restrained fury drumming in his chest. His exhaustion worked with frustrating circumstance, birthing some darker emotions he tried to keep bottled.
His friends battled danger more frequently the further they accompanied him on his journey. There were many unpleasant burdens with being the Avatar, but this weighed on him most.
Aang ground his teeth. He hated it. Hated the growing worry shooting through his veins with every encounter.
He'd already slackened his restraint against Azula. How far could he be pushed? Aang didn't want to find out. He didn't talk about them, but he still had dreams of himself wreaking carnage.
And he wasn't always in the Avatar State.
Aang stepped past the warm, protective barrier his friends formed. "Zuko." He looked into the prince's glare. The scarred eye widened with surprise. "I really don't trust myself not to hurt you right now."
Behind him, Katara gasped. Sokka's eyes dug into his back.
Toph whistled faintly, seeming to forget her anger. "Where'd this Aang come from?"
Zuko hardened his expression. Fire daggers sprouted from his fists. "Go ahead and try, Avatar."
Iroh stepped between them, agile movement belying his size. "If I may. Perhaps a temporary truce is in order."
"What? Why?" Zuko shouted, already angling to get around his uncle.
"Because last I checked, we had you outnumbered. Three on two!" Aang glanced to see her holding up the fingers on two hands.
Sokka dragged his hand down his face. "For the love of… Give Boomerang some credit, Toph!"
"Well," Iroh stroked his beard the same way Gyatso would before placing a Pai Sho tile. He looked at the unconscious princess. "It seemed to me that you all worked together to capture Azula. The enemy of your enemy.
"Perhaps you should decide what to do before taking any... drastic measures. Azula means us all harm," Iroh explained patiently. How could someone with such tranquility be related to Zuko? "It is in each of our best interests that she is dealt with satisfactorily."
His wording confused the monk.
"What does that mean?" Aang asked. "I don't want to fight her again, but what else are we supposed to do?"
Katara gave him the gentle stare she used on the rare occasion he didn't pick up a waterbending move instantly. "If we let her go, she's just going to come after us again."
Aang frowned. Then found a smile. "Maybe she'll be grateful and then she won't hunt us anymore?" he suggested cheerfully.
In varying degrees of incredulity, everyone gave him that look again, as if he made an antiquated assumption that belonged in the old world.
Toph shook her head. "You poor, deluded, bald sap."
"It didn't work with him, did it?" Sokka asked in exasperation, gesturing at Zuko with his boomerang. "You save his life and here he is again to capture you. I told you we should have let him freeze," Sokka growled. Aang cringed from the teeth in his friend's words. "These people don't know anything about gratitude."
Iroh turned sharply to face them, eyes silently questioning. Whatever dispute held within resolved with a blink.
"I assure you, though my nephew has his troubles, he is not incapable of recognizing a debt." He looked over his shoulder. "That is honorable, is it not, Prince Zuko?"
Zuko's head snapped back as if struck. His anger gave way to cautious confusion. "They took me prisoner, Uncle," his voice quieter, almost... pleading. "They would have used me as a hostage if I hadn't escaped," he said, regaining some of his snarl. "There is no debt."
Aang frowned. That wasn't what happened, but he would be surprised if Zuko remembered much more than Katara slamming him with an avalanche. He thought it best to keep this to himself.
"Y-you!" Katara sputtered. "Aang helps people! That's what he does, even when they don't deserve it. Don't you dare accuse him of ulterior motives!" Her accolades in his defense made Aang's stomach warm. For just that moment his fatigue faded.
"Besides," Toph grinned, "I don't think banished princes are such valuable bargaining chips."
Aang stiffened as that registered. The prince was... banished?
Every ugly feeling there ever was danced on Zuko's scarred face. "How would you know anything about it!" he roared, the hiss of smoke curling around his words.
Iroh frowned and even though she couldn't see it, Toph seemed to lose her mirth. "Let us not discuss what distracts from the matter at hand. Your life was saved by the Avatar, Prince Zuko. Surely a single reprieve will not compromise your honor?"
As he had when Aang offered peace, Zuko appeared conflicted. Eyes darting from his uncle, to Aang, with an agonized glance skyward.
It did nothing to set them at ease.
He stared at them with his rage at the familiar tipping point that preceded an attack. Aang tensed, gathering air. The earth quivered.
Zuko tore his eyes from the group, shutting them tight. Deep breaths before visibly swallowing down animosity. It came back up with a grunt of fire.
"For now," he grossed, giving new definition to begrudging. "Just this once, Uncle." He stared down at Aang. Contrary to the words, his body language screamed violent intent.
"A truce," Zuko cursed. Despite Iroh's assurance, it was clearly a compromise of some sort for the prince. "Leave us. We will deal with Azula."
"Hey, she's our prisoner!" Sokka stated, tightening his grip on his club.
"No she is not!" Zuko said, marching in front of Azula. To Aang, it looked and sounded defensive. Protective even. "This is a matter for the royal family. You have no say!"
"We caught her together," Katara stressed through teeth gritted, "so we'll decide together. She's after us. So you better believe we have a say!"
"Aang."
The tone and lack of nickname set his frayed nerves closer to the edge.
Her glassy eyes stared at him. She didn't often bother to look directly at people when speaking. "The Earth Kingdom has a method for dealing with captured firebenders."
"Indeed they do," Iroh said softly, with an echo of sadness.
Zuko looked aghast. "Uncle! You cannot be considering..." He shook his head furiously, unable to finish.
"What are you guys talking about?" Aang asked, looking between them. A sickly feeling settled over him, the same as when he searched the Southern Air Temple for survivors. He was about to hear something he'd rather live without knowing. His muscles twitched with the familiar urge to hop on his glider.
But Aang would not run away. He stayed rooted, braced for the answer.
Toph crossed her arms. "I don't think you'll like it. I'm pretty sure you won't."
"When has that stopped you from speaking your mind?" he asked.
"Hm. Good point." She hammered her fist on an open palm. "Crush their hands."
Aang stared speechlessly, mouth agape.
A hush fell over the lot.
Sokka spoke up. "She's too dangerous. I don't see any alternatives."
Katara rubbed her arm. She did that when unsure, uncomfortable. "I could make sure it isn't too bad. Just enough so that she couldn't hurt us anymore."
"I won't allow it!"
Her posture instantly became aggressive, fists at her sides. She sneered at him. "Oh, so now you have someone you want to protect? Someone who tried to kill you. How do you think we feel when you try to capture Aang? He's trying to protect the world!"
Aang, not the boy, but the monk, traversed his soul, seeking the consequences of such a punishment. To intentionally cripple Azula. Take away not only her ability to bend, but her quality of life. To feed herself. To care for herself.
To enjoy holding the reigns of an animal in her manicured hands. Something Aang cherished with Appa everyday.
He thought of Teo, who lost use of his legs in an accident. He survived. Thrived, even, soaring the sky as if he'd been born there, with the spirit of an airbender.
But what if someone had done that to him intentionally?
He'd seen far enough behind her eyes to know Azula would inflict this on others. It wouldn't surprise Aang if she already had. But that wouldn't make it right.
And for his friends to do it… the toll of inflicting this punishment would weigh on them for life. It would cost them all something that couldn't be healed or replaced.
He wouldn't let the war get to them. Not like this. And not for him.
Aang shook his head. "We're not going to maim her."
He looked at Iroh, expecting a challenge. Aang blinked when he saw the elder smiling in a knowing, encouraging way.
Toph blew her bangs from her face. "Yeah, I didn't think you'd have the stomach for it."
"I don't," he said flatly. He looked at the girl who inspired nightmares. The sight before him didn't match the lightning wielding monster. Her head tilted listlessly, almost lifeless.
Defeated. Vulnerable. Human.
Aang faced his friends. "Her life is as sacred to me as anyone's."
Katara looked away. Sokka sighed and mumbled about his optimism.
Zuko looked at him, guarded confusion and mild bewilderment. "She'd kill you without batting an eye," he said, as if warning of some hidden nature he was unaware of.
"I know," Aang said. "And I'd save her without hesitation."
Toph shrugged. "Whatever you say, Twinkle Toes. She does seem to have it out for you."
"...Twinkle Toes?" Zuko parroted.
Aang ignored that and spoke to Iroh. "I'd like to take you up on your truce. No fighting until we decide what to do with Azula."
"Sounds good to me. What do you say, Nephew?" Iroh asked with a winning smile.
He scowled and looked away, crossing his arms. "I already said fine."
Iroh nodded happily as if Zuko had agreed with enthusiasm. "I will take the first watch. You kids look like you really need yourselves some sleep."
"Sleep. Good," Sokka mumbled. He looked ready to snooze then and there.
Aang smiled, already feeling his eyelids triple in weight. "We'll be back in half a day," he said to Iroh.
"But, Aang," Katara said, her eyes bouncing from his to the firebenders. "We're going to let a Fire Nation General watch over her? What if he-"
"Hey," Toph huffed, "he's good people. And I can tell he's definitely not lying."
"Katara," Aang implored, "we're all tired. Let's get some sleep. Before we do something we can't take back."
She wanted to continue, he could tell. But for him, she bit her lip and nodded. The siblings lead them to where they'd landed Appa.
He stopped to look back at Azula. Buried up to her neck. Hair frazzled. She looked defenseless.
But she wasn't. He knew better than to think that. The image Roku had shown him of flame erupting from Fire Lord Ozai's mouth.
Ozai's daughter.
And a sharp tongue. Aang still bled from the barbs. In minutes she dredged up every failure and fear in his life, exposing them to harsh scrutiny. Nudging Aang to use potentially lethal maneuvers for the first time.
If it got under his skin, how easy would it be for her to rile up a hothead like Zuko into doing something stupid and shattering their fragile peace? Or Toph? Spirits, what would Toph do to a glib Azula at her mercy? Even Katara had a temper at times.
"Toph, it's probably best if you cover her head." The childish part of him felt vindicated, as though somehow it were retribution for the taunts about Bumi. Hopefully that petty feeling would be gone after some rest.
"You sure have gotten bossy, Twinkle Toes," she grumbled. Nonetheless she made a swift cupping gesture. A dome formed over Azula's head, the size of an earthbenders conical helmet. "There. I made the earth around her more compact too."
Aang furrowed his brow. "It's not too tight for her, is it?"
Toph paused as if she'd never considered it. "She's still breathing, so I guess not."
Appa rested on a cliff overlooking the town. Aang patted his bison on the nose, proud of him for making it despite how tired he must have been.
The four of them huddled against Appa in a collective pile of exhaustion. Aang nuzzled into the soft fur of his bison's new, freshly washed coat.
"She might need an air hole," he mumbled.
"Then shut your airhole and sleep so you can learn earthbending," she snapped, rolling away from him.
Aang gulped and nodded. Maybe it would provide him some extra motivation.
This is the point where things can diverge farther from the path of canon. I question where I chose to begin writing this story. It felt boring. But that was all the necessary setup, even though I probably could have done it in a more exciting manner. Small steps toward making big changes. I really like where I'm headed now.
Reviews are appreciated.