-Inside the Jasmine Dragon-
"Had it been the old version of my niece, she would have never made a mistake like that." said Iroh "But she wasn't the person she was before.
"Yeah I'll say" remarked Kuei munching on a cookie "There's no way she would have saved Appa if she was her old self"
"That is very true" said Iroh
"But.." asked Hui "She's one of the fire nation's most powerful benders. To this day nobody can bend blue fire but her. How could she get hurt?"
"Being powerful doesn't mean you cant ever make a mistake in judgment' said Iroh "By letting her mind wander in the heat of battle, and it almost cost her her life"
"It was seeing her friends again, huh?" asked Lan
"Yes it was. In Azula's mind they betrayed her, but..."
"But what?" asked Kanna
"But it caused her to second guess herself" said Iroh "to question whether or not she brought it on herself"
"Whats wrong with that?" said Tai
"Nothings wrong with it... it just not a good idea to do it in the middle of a battle " said Iroh
"So let me get this straight" started Hahn " The formerly cruel and powerful princess Azula, had
a moment of conscience in the mist of battle? The same one who who would betray anyone if it
suited her?"
"As I said before" said Iroh "She wasn't the same person"
"Fair enough" said Hahn "But you said Azula was cut pretty deep, bleeding. What was going to happen with no healers? "
"Worried about Azula?" teased Lan leaning her head on his shoulder
"N..no, I was just curious alright" blushed Hahn but making no effort stop her
"Well, my niece found herself in pretty good hands...
Chapter 22
-Omashu-
Azula woke up in a humble bed in one of the village buildings. Last thing she remembered was getting slashed by one of those accursed soldiers. Inspecting her side, she noticed that it expertly bandaged with herbs to numb the pain and help healing. Getting off the bed, she limped out of the building and into the courtyard.
The village was buzzing with activity. Kang, Toph, Sokka and Suki along with the rest of the Kyoshi warriors were burning the armor while the village chief passed around food to the starving villagers. Mai and Ty Lee were nowhere to be seen, which was fine by her, though she didn't see Ye anywhere either. That for some reason disturbed her .
"Ha who am I kidding?" she thought "I'm worried about her!"
"Hey looks whose awake!" smirked Kang " I swear,what is with is with you kids? Every time I turn around, one of you is getting knocked unconscious. An itty bitty cut and and out you go! Kids were made of sterner stuff back in my day,..."
"Was that when Kyoshi was born?" started Toph with a grin
"Or when Ba Sing Se was a small village? "smiled Sokka
"Or when the south sea was a small pond?" giggled Suki
Azula covered her mouth trying to stifle a laugh as Kang just shook his head in defeat. Smart mouth kids...
"AHHH SHADDAP!" smiled Kang "You kids today, no respect for your elders"
"You just make it so easy Kang" said Toph
"All kidding aside" said Kang "Are you you sure you should be moving around soon?
"I heal fast " said Azula "Has anyone seen Ye anywhere?"
"Yeah, I think she's over there in the stables taking care of Appa" said Suki "I think she'll be happy to see you up and around."
"Thanks" she said walking off toward the stables
Sokka, Suki and Toph looked at each other in disbelief. Azula showing gratitude? Azula civil and nice?
"This was weirder than Zuko's change" said Sokka tossing the last of the armor into the bonfire "But better to have her as an ally than enemy"
"Time will tell" said Toph "I dont trust her yet"
"Me either" said Suki
"I do" said Kang " I think she's got a reason to change now"
"Yeah and whats that?" asked Suki curiously
"She knows that certain people care about her" said Kang "and she cares about them."
~A~
It was Aang's turn to take the rudder. According to the compass and map they'd arrive at Omashu soon. While the airship did have its good sides, it didn't compare to Appa in speed. But at least it gave him a bit of time to think and reflect on a few things. Kang was right he couldn't be selfish anymore. Mastering the avatar state and the four elements in such a short time had swelled his head with more than a bit of pride and arrogance. Then when it was mostly taken away, he felt it was his duty and his alone to to get it back.
"Yeah" sighed Aang "But that wasn't the only reason, was it?"
It was that strange feeling. It felt like it was a ingrained hatred for the guardians that was reverberated through his past lives. Kyoshi definitely showed it, and it was echoed right back at her by Xi'an. Why did the avatars and the guardians hate each other? He shook his head of the wandering thoughts. It doesn't matter anymore. They needed to work together or Lo Pan would destroy the world.
"We wont let that happen!" said Aang with renewed resolve
Xi'an and Katara were on the deck practicing water bending. It took a bit to coax Xi'an into training with her but with a little prodding and reverse psychology, she got her way. While she understood Kang's reasoning for getting him to use his bending when needed and without any hesitation, she didn't approve of his brutal methods. Kang had asked her to give Xi'an a crash course in water bending, whether he liked or not.
However she felt that a more gentle motherly approach would yield better results. She could see Xi'an's discomfort, though the fact that he forced himself to try to learn new techniques anyway, was at least a small success.
"Now this is called streaming the water. Use flowing motions with your arms like this" said Katara demonstrated by flowing the water out of a nearby bucket, Then swirled it in the air in a figure 8 pattern using smooth controlled movements before guiding it back into back into the bucket.
"Easy, see?" said Katara "Now, you try it"
Taking a deep breath, Xi'an attempted to imitate Katara's movements, however he was not even remotely as a graceful as her or Aang. The water flowed out of the bucket, zigzagging in the air before swirling around twice and splashed on top of him. Katara tried hard not to laugh,but from the wheelhouse a loud snickering was heard.
"Okay I'm done" said a frustrated and completely drenched Xi'an walking off
"Oh, no you don't! I don't tolerate quitters" said Katara grabbing his arm "Aang be nice, you understand me!"
"I'm am being nice!" yelled Aang from the wheelhouse " But you have to admit it was funny"
"I'm sorry, we shouldn't laugh" said Katara still giggling while pulling all the water from his clothes and bending it back into a bucket. "But a little humor is good for all of us"
"I guess" sighed Xi'an with a slight chuckle "Its just that I was never really that good with my water bending"
"Well how much do you know?" asked Katara " Just so I can get an idea of where your at"
"Just the bare basics and healing" said Xi'an "After..well I'm sure Kang told you what happened ...I didn't want to bend anymore. I just use it when I really have to"
"I can understand that" said Katara "Though whats interesting is you that know healing. Not many water tribe boys know how to do that or care to learn"
"Well I didn't want to at first, but water bending teacher at the time was grumpy old bat" said Xi'an clearing this throat, mimicking an old woman's voice while wagging his finger "If you want to learn water bending from me, you will learn how to heal before you learn how to hurt! You'll never know when you need it, you little smarty pants! And if you feel like complaining then you can find another person to teach you, though I doubt they'll be as knowledgeable as I am! I have never had a student as rotten as you are!"
"Most water bending teachers are like that" said Katara giggling at his impression "It's to keep you from getting a swelled head"
"Yeah, but in this case I think she might have been right" said Xi'an "I soaked up more the the healing techniques the the fighting ones"
"Well show me what you do know" said Katara "Just aim over the right side. We're over the ocean so the should be okay to practice with out hurting anyone below"
Taking a deep breath, he bent a little bit of water stomping hard with is foot and shot two large ice spikes over the side the air ship. Than as if an after thought, he whipped a large mass of water out of the bucket swinging it over the side with a tremendous force and mighty yell. It was sloppy but it got the job done.
"Hmm" mused Katara "I believe I know what your problem is. You're thinking too much like an earth bender."
"Is that a problem?" said Xi'an "An element is an element, right?"
"No it's not" said Katara " Earth responds well to brute force, water not so much"
"Oh yeah?" asked Xi'an
"Water you need to guide" Said Katara demonstrating "You need to flow with it, graceful delicate movements.
"But...It looks so... so..." said Xi'an "Girly!"
"Shut up and just do it" huffed Katara
"Now your sounding like, Kang" said Xi'an mimicking her movments " Did he put you up to this?"
Maybe" said Katara "Kang said you hated using your bending"
"I do" said Xi'an pointing to Te " But Her, her sister and kip are all I got left and I'll do anything to protect them. Even using my bending. All of you guys are right, If I'm gonna be any use to anyone I'm gonna need to know more "
"What about Azula?" Katara teased
"UH...well..Um." blushed Xi'an "Don't we have a water bending lesson to learn?"
Azula walked over to the nearby stables where Ye was tending to Appa. Peeking around the open barn door, she saw the girl happily brushing the bison's fur.
Upon seeing the fire nation princess, she dove on her with a big hug around the waist.
"Azula! Your okay!" said Ye gladly "I was worried about you"
"I'm fine thanks to you" asked Azula with a warm smile "Did you bandage me up?"
"Yeah. Mom made sure all of us know how to do first aid." said Ye "We're just glad your okay, aren't we Appa?"
The bison walked up to Azula eying her suspiciously. Finally deciding his opinion of her, he licked her on the side of her face before walking off. Ye giggled as Azula frantically wiped the bison slobber off her face.
"Azula?" asked Ye taking a more serious tone "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course" asked Azula softly "What is it?"
"Even if we win, whats gonna happen to us?" asked Ye trying hard not to cry " Moms gone, our home's gone, every things gone. Other than Xi'an, and maybe Kang, we got nobody."
"That's not true," said Azula pulling Ye in a tight embrace "You have me too. That is, if you're all right with it. I mean I know I cant replace your mother but..."
"Nobody can" said Ye returning the hug "But...I always wanted a big sister"
Azula closed her eyes fighting back tears of her own. Over the course of the many many weeks since escaping and landing in the lap of this family, she changed. Gone was the manipulative and cruel power hungry princess and in her place someone completely different, someone better...
Mai and Tai lee softly tip toed away for their hiding place in the nearby bushes. Once in the clear, there was a lot to talk about. Suki had said she had seemed to change but they wanted to see with their own eyes.
"So what do you think?" asked Ty Lee "That was so not like Azula"
"Yeah" said Mai flatly "But, is it another one of her tricks?"
"I don't know" said Ty lee "But she saved you, that's gotta count for something"
"Maybe" said Mai "Until we know for sure, let just keep an eye on her anyway"
"Yeah" said Ty lee nodding
As they entered the camp, the Kyoshi Warriors were in the process of painting a some commandeered airship with green colors. The village elder had given the Kyoshi warriors leave to go to Ba Sing Se along with a small band of able bodies. The rest would stay to rebuild. Azula, Ye and Appa made it to the camp a few minutes after Mai and Ty lee did. The girls locked eyes for a moment, cutting nasty glares at each other.
Mai and the Kyoshi warriors took the airship while the Sokka's group took Appa. In the saddle, the girls fell quickly asleep. Kang smiled kindly as he noticed Ye cuddled up on Azula's arm fast asleep.
"Do you really think this plan will work" asked Sokka
"It a good start" said Kang "We'll get more troops in Ba Sing Se and Omashu. Only then will we stand a chance"
"Lets hope so" said Sokka "Okay Appa, YIP YIP"
Te and Kip ware busy at work bugging Zuko. To be honest, he didn't mind that much. In fact she was a lot like Azula when she was little...if she was all hyped up on sugar. He had to admit though her and Ye had a amazing effect on his sister. It was almost magical
"So if Xi'an and Azula get married, that means you become our brother too right?" asked Te "That would be so great!"
"Uh yeah I guess" said Zuko humoring the little girl "Why do you want Azula to marry your brother"
"Well, um, we worry about Xi'an" said Te "He's pretty helpless with out a woman around. Besides she knows how to keep him in line when he does something stupid!"
"Oh really?" smirked Zuko "Is that the only reason?"
"Well...there is maybe another" said the little girl sheepishly
"Yep, I knew it" said Zuko "Come on..."
"Okay, the truth is when Xi'an brought Azula home, we liked the idea of having a big sister. It was obvious he liked her and she was so nice and sweet to us..." said Te
"Azula...sweet?" said Zuko incredulously
"Yeah, your her big brother right?" asked Te " I'm sure she was sweet to you all the time"
"It was a long time ago" said Zuko "We dont get along as much anymore"
"Why not?" asked Te
Before he could answer her the city of Omashu came into view. Thick black smoke rose from various parts of the city.
"You and Kip better get below, okay?" said Zuko "Just in case"
She nodded her head as she took the small pup downstairs. As the small airship made it to the walls of the fortified city, the four noticed that the thick black smoke was coming from various large bonfires. Landing the airship in a empty lot in the market district, the group was greeted by crowed of onlookers and three city guards.
"HALT!" yelled the head guard "State your business! Friend or Foe!"
"Easy" said Aang steeping off the airship "These are my friends"
"Avatar Aang, my apologies" said the head guard "Everyone's been on edge since the attempted invasion of the city"
"That understandable, wheres King Bumi?" asked Katara
"The king is at the palace resting, the siege took a lot out of him"
Out of the crowd a stuffy and self important tub of lard with his son in tow pushed their way to the front of the crowd. Ever since his "engagement" he had been on the run from his ugly 'finance' and vengeful pirates wanting money. Fung and his son had so far eluded both hiding out with the uncouth commoners. It was a distasteful existence in his eyes but upon seeing his airship gave him a small sliver of hope of escape and regaining his rightful standing as an elite noble.
"Guards! I demand that you arrest those two!" demanded Fung pointing at Katara and Aang "That air ship is my property!"
"Those are pretty serious charges!" said the Guard "Do you have any proof"
"That is the Fung family seal" he said pointing at ship's balloon and at his signet ring "and I demand it back!"
The others were just coming down the ships ramp, wondering what all the commotion was all about. Kip growled in the direction of crowd.
"Kip what's wrong with..." started Xi'an "YOU!"
Xi'an and Te dropped all their gear, and charged full speed at them, him diving on Elder Fung and Te diving on the son.
"You...you cant be here! Your supposed to be..." stammered Elder Fung
"Stranded? Banished? DEAD?" asked Xi'an "I found out what happened and you're gonna pay dearly for what you've done"
Grabbing the fat little man by his shirt Xi'an tossed him into a nearby merchant stand sending various tems flying.
"Didn't I tell you, if anything happened to my family.." said Xi'an cracking his knuckles "Nothing would stop me..."
While Xi'an was taking care of Elder Fung, Te and Kip were having a bit of trouble with Fung the second. While she got a cheap shot in, she was just too small. Elder Fung shoved her off, returning a vicious slap to face sending her crashing to the ground
"You little insolent brat!" sneered Fung the second "Thanks to you and your sister , we lost our entire investment! I think I'll beat it out of you!"
Te let out a low guttural growl, bending a set of rock gloves around her fists. She picked herself off the ground with a dark angry look on her face. Launching herself at him, she brought him down with a barrage of furious punches. It was a pure unbridled hatred that fueled her anger. Because of them, they broke up her family, exiled her brother, kidnapped her and her sister, and worse took their mom from them.
It was a pretty one sided fight with Elder Kun, Xian didn't even have to use his bending. Slamming him into a nearby cart of cabbages much to the disdain of the merchant. He let his hatred for the man flow over as his eyes began to glow bright blue.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you" growled Xi'an lifting the scared man of his feet.
Zuko and Aang finally getting loose from the guards rushed to pull him off of the man. Each grabbed an arm and dragged him away
"Xi'an, you have to stop it!" yelled Aang holding on for dear life
"You dont know what he's done! Let me go!" said Xi'an trying to get free "He deserves it!"
"Yeah we do" said Zuko glaring at the the former elder "But you need to calm down!"
"WHY?"
"Look!" said Aang pointing over at Te's direction
The glow in Xi'an's eyes softly faded and was replaced with a look of horror. The normally cheerful, hyper and sweet child had look pasted on her face that overflowed with anger and hate. It was a murderous look that a child should never have. Levitating a huge spiked boulder over Fung the second, Te was ready to drop it on his head. Tears streaming out of her eyes as hesitated. Katara tried to calmly talk her down to no avail.
"TE!" yelled Xi'an shaking his head "Put it down!"
Nodding she slammed the boulder to the side, before breaking down into a heap of hysterical tears. Katara pulled her in a hug softly cooing trying to calm her down. Xi'an was shocked into a realization that his outbursts of anger was having a bad effect on those around him. But those thought would have to put on hold for the moment...they had bigger problems...
"You all are under arrest!"