"Zuko!" the group shouted in unison. There was surprise and uncertainty in their voices; all save for one Demitar, that is, whose voice betrayed relief. He had finally managed to escape the greater affection of the bison and dragon, and was now standing freely. Aside from his ever present agni-kai scar, he looked completely unharmed. He raised his hands disarmingly before himself and took a few tentative steps forward.
"Stay back!" Katara said warily, preparing to bend.
"Wait! I come in peace. I want to join your group – I want to help. I've changed," he said rapidly, trying to get the words out before a tidal wave of water was sent crashing down on him by the water bender.
"Oh, you're good now? Like you'd changed at Ba Sing Se?" Katara retorted coldly.
"Yes! I mean – No – I thought I was doing the right thing but . . . Now I'm actually good!" He was struggling to explain himself and his merit, knowing that he didn't have the best track record with the young people that stood before him in anger and fear. "Your bison!" he said suddenly, his face lighting up a little. "I could have captured him at the lake, but I let him go instead."
As if to confirm Zuko's words, Appa gave him another great lick. Zuko made a slight grimace as he began wiping hot bison saliva from his outfit.
"Appa really does seem to like him," Aang observed, no longer in the defensive position.
"And he's telling the truth," Toph offered.
"I know I've hurt all of you in some way, but I was . . . I was confused. I've been confused for a long time, but now I see that it's the Avatars destiny to destroy my father; it's my destiny to help him do that." Zuko looked at Aang hard, and the sincerity was written across his face.
"Confused, huh? Maybe I can clear things up for you." Katara raised her slender arms and a great torrent of water began to rise from the pool nearby that had been providing the group with a water source. Zuko's eyes widened, and he raised his arms to protect himself, but didn't bend or run away. Katara's arms came down hard and the water came with them.
In the same instant Raya leapt forward, putting herself between Zuko and the water bender's wrath. In another instant Raya bent a powerful gale of air out toward the water, sending it sailing over its intended target and far over the ledge. The water flowed into the abyss and Raya brought her arms down slowly, looking Katara in the eyes.
"Wait, please! I'm begging you; stop," Raya urged. Her eyes flicked to Aang's for some kind of support. The air nomad was torn between his friends, and his teachings. He wanted to at least hear what Zuko had to say. No, they had never been on good terms, and Zuko had never given him a good reason to allow trust. But the Fire Prince had saved his life once, and in turn he was able to save his friends. The Avatar asked him if he thought – in a different time – they could have been friends. He knew the answer to that question.
"Wh- Move," Katara said, bending another surge of water into the air.
"No," Raya said, her voice hard. Her skin prickled with fire, and she could feel the energy flowing over her chi paths. The threat that the water bender presented was real, and Raya felt the push of her instincts to prepare to firebend. She quelled the urge, however, and knew that it would do no good to use the element that these people already feared and hated.
"Stop," Aang finally interjected.
"You know what he's done; what he's put us through. We can't trust him," Katara pleaded now, the water falling back into the basin as she turned towards Aang. He was steadfast in his decision and Katara slowly lowered her defenses.
"I also know what he's done. Good and bad. Give him a chance to let the good outweigh the bad," Raya pleaded. "If it weren't for him, I'd still be locked in a fire nation prison at the palace," she admitted, and watched as the faces of her new companions twisted into confusion and slight disbelief.
"It's true," Toph said, using her ability to feel heart beats once again.
"You never did get around to telling us where you've been all this time," Sokka realized as he watched the Demitar and Fire Prince closely.
Raya took a deep breath and readied herself for the explanation. As she told them her story, she began to relive it in her mind:
"Princess Azula," the waiting maids all greeted her with deep respect.
"Demitar Raya," she said coolly, stepping into the room and taking in the appearance of the Demitar.
"Princess," Raya said, bowing where she stood to show respect before she looked up at the Fire Princess once more. There was an air about the woman that sent small shivers down Raya's spine. She had and effortlessly menacing demeanor.
"My father and I have been waiting patiently for you. I've come to escort you," Aula said.
"Oh, princess, you needn't trouble yourself. We can-"
"Do you dare question my authority?" Azula said, her words like cold steel. The women on the ground froze and the eldest shook her head quickly.
"N-no, Princess. Forgive me," she stammered quietly into the ground.
"Come with me," Azula said, making her way toward the door from which she'd come. Raya paused and looked down at the women cowering in fear. She could see one of them shaking slightly. There was something terribly off with Princess Azula, some aspect of her that was geared exclusively toward fear.
Raya followed, and it didn't take long for them to reach the hall just outside of the throne room. Nothing there had changed much, except for a couple new familial portraits that recognized Fire Lords that had come and gone while she had been frozen.
"My grandfather, Azulon," Azula pointed out as they passed, noticing the Demitar's admiring stare. "And this," she said as they entered the throne room, "is Fire Lord Ozai."
The man on the throne was slightly obscured by the traditional wall of fire that ringed the Fire Throne, and Raya stepped forward to kneel to her new Fire Lord. Azula bowed as well, and then moved into the shadows at the side of the room, where the pillars obscured her from the Demitar's sight.
"Demitar Raya," He said, his voice smooth and deep. "You look well; I trust the waiting maids treated you well."
"Thank you, Fire Lord Ozai, I'm grateful for your hospitality," she said, standing before him. She began to feel uneasy, as she watched the room around her. She hated this place, even before this moment, and the mingled fear from her past and the uncertainty she felt now clashed within her. Her stomach began to twist and she waited to be spoken to.
"You've missed much while you were gone. We've taken an entire nation down in your absence." He said this in a way that made him sound glad for it; accomplished. It was almost as if he were expecting Raya to regard this statement with Fire Nation pride.
"A nation?" she asked with disbelief.
"It began with Fire Lord Sozin. He had an idea, you see, to spread the prosperity of the our great nation to all the others. We are still pursuing his dream one hundred years later. We're so close to achieving all we have hoped for," He said, watching the Demitar closely to gage her reaction to his words.
"I don't understand."
"I think you're scaring her, Father." The Fire Princess reappeared from the shadows now and showed mock concern for the Demitar.
"Don't worry, Raya. Your return marks the return of the Avatar. With your help he will be found easily. Then the world can truly be rid of the air nomads. We will finally succeed; with Sozin's comet, and with you by our side, we will be truly unstoppable!" The Fire Lord looked proud, and was certain that the Demitar would accept his proposal.
"Rid of the air nomads?" She asked, shock coloring her voice. "What have you done?" She was beginning to put the pieces of the Fire Lords words together, slowly making sense of it all.
The Fire Lords face turned down into an angry frown as he looked down on the defiant Demitar.
"I had a feeling it would be like this," he said suddenly.
"I won't help you do anything," Raya yelled, ignoring his observation. "I- you – an entire race of people," she said, clenching her fists in rage. "You're . . . you're monsters! Both of you!"
At that, a team of soldiers raced out of the shadows and Raya looked around quickly. With a quick burst of air she leapt over their circle and towards the door. Before she could make it there, a blue fire blast erupted inches in front of her face and she skidded to a halt. Azula stood before the doors, blue fire raging at her finger tips.
"This is insane," Raya said, a true fear beginning to grip her. They were not going to let her go. "You can't do this!" she shouted.
"We're the Fire Lord and Fire Princess; we can do whatever we want," Azula said sharply, a twisted smile on her lips. The Fire Princess took great pleasure in watching the Demitar squirm. Fire erupted towards Raya from the princess' hand, and she jumped back.
The Demitar held out her hands in a point to deflect each blow, splitting it and sending the blue flames to either side of her. She sent out a few short blasts of her own in between Azula's and gradually realized she was being pushed back into the wall of soldiers. Suddenly a blue eruption enveloped the Demitar and she tumbled backwards, unable to keep her stance.
"Don't kill her. We'll only have to start our search all over again," Ozai said, almost bored at this point. Several soldiers surrounded the Demitar and she desperately scrambled to her feet. It was not enough though, and their hands descended upon her. She was shackled quickly. Determined not to go down without a fight, she sucked in a large breath and blew it out hard, sending her backwards into the soldiers and pushing Azula back against the wall.
Azula straightened her hair, cast into disarray from the gust of wind, and then walked calmly to where the Demitar lay upon the marble floor. She grabbed her collar roughly and pulled the Demitar up enough that her face was inches away from the Fire Princess'. The other soldiers began picking themselves up and coming to collect her.
"Blow all the air you want. Fight. Struggle. You're going to die in a prison cell," Azula said, her face just inches from the Demitars. Raya glared at her, and grimaced as Azula tossed her backwards onto the marble floors. "Get her out of my sight," Azula commanded. With that, the Demitar was led away from the throne room.
The Demitar shuttered a little as she finished that memory and followed through into the time she spent in her cell, Zuko's visits, and her eventual escape thanks to him. The group around them looked on with sympathy at the Demitar's tale. They then turned their attention to Zuko, who was watching them all carefully to see how they would receive the Demitar's story.
"He's the reason I'm here now, alive and well; the reason Rai Jin is with me again." The Demitar's mind flashed back to the time Azula had visited her to gloat about receiving the dragon title for slaying Rai Jin. Raya had been so consumed by grief she had breathed fire through the metal bars. The Fire Princes had merely smirked at the reaction and left without another word.
"Azula always lies," Zuko said, guessing at the memories that were plaguing the Demitar. It was a line he had grown very used to repeating; one that he had had to employ the use of excessively during his childhood.
"And how can we know you don't, too?" Katara finally said, looking hard at Zuko. She made no move to attack, but it was clear that she was still under the impression that this had to be some kind of ploy on Zuko's behalf to win the gangs trust.
"Katara-" Raya began to plead, but was cut off as a sudden burst of energy shot into the stone between them and exploded. Shock waves rippled through the temples and everyone became unsteady for a moment.
"Oh no," Zuko said with a wave of remembrance.
"Combustion man!" Sokka shouted and began herding everyone behind a stone wall near the outcrop. Everyone took cover but Zuko who was looking up at the man on the cliffs.
"Zuko!" Raya called out, but he was already moving away from them and up to the assassin.
"I order you to stop!" Zuko shouted as the man sent out another harsh blast. The team below watched as the Fire Prince climbed with great agility up the stone face to gain level ground with the man. "I'll pay you double," he said quickly, grabbing the telekinetic fire bender's arm in an attempt to get his attention. The man cast Zuko off to the side as though he were nothing more than a child and took a deep breath for another blast. Zuko tumbled backwards off the cliff and Raya felt her stomach lurch.
There was no time to worry over his safety though, as everyone else was still in peril. As another blast ricocheted off the out crop, massive chunks of the structure began to fall away. They tumbled and fell endlessly into the abyss below.
"We can't take much more of this, he's going to blow us right off the cliff!" Sokka yelled, pulling his boomerang from his back. He let one more beam make contact with the temple before he garnered his trajectory. With a silent prayer to the spirits and a steady arm he flung the boomerang out into the unknown.
It hit its target square. With a small gasp the assassin's third eye misfired and he exploded where he stood. His metal arm fell into the rift below and just as the dust cleared, they saw Zuko pull himself up over the ledge he'd fallen off of.
Raya let out a sigh of relief as she watched the Fire Prince make his way back to the group. There was less distain in the eyes of the group as he joined them and Raya turned to Aang.
"He risked his life for you; us. He deserves a chance," Raya said.
"I think you're right," the Avatar said. "I need to know my friends are okay with it, though. This is their journey, too." He turned to face Katara, Sokka, and Toph.
"I'll go along with whatever you think is right," Sokka said, shrugging his shoulders.
"I think you're doing the right thing," Toph agreed.
"Okay," Katara said after a long pause, but she looked unhappy none the less. "But I'll be watching you; closely," the water bender said, making harsh eye contact with the prince. He nodded once in acknowledgement before everyone split up from the group and began to clean up the outcrop.
Toph moved the rubble, making quick work of it with her earth bending, while Katara grabbed their bedrolls and supplies. The area was in complete disarray, but the benders were making quick work of setting things right. Sokka took the opportunity to show the newest member of their group to a room within the temple.
"I hope this is the right thing," Aang said, standing next to the Demitar.
"It is, Aang. I know it," she replied confidently.