She ran down the earthen corridor at a pace far exceeding necessity, her heartbeat racing to the rhythm of her footsteps on the hard packed dirt below. Her plan for delaying and distracting the Avatar and his friends had gone flawlessly, they were all so easy it almost made her feel sorry for them, especially that savage from the water tribe- Sokka, as she had been vaguely able to recall- the moment she had dangled his girlfriend's name like a worm on a hook in front of him he had jumped for it, killing the last few precious minutes of the solar eclipse that would have been necessary to defeat the Fire Lord.
It wasn't the running however, nor even the adrenaline of victory, that was causing her heart to beat so. It was the simple thrill of anticipation, the pure excitement brought about by the unknown that had her in such a state. Where was Zuko planning to go? Where was he planning to take her? Was he going to run away with her, run away and leave it all behind like she had dreamt of so many times? It didn't seem likely, but she hoped nonetheless, hoped beyond hope that they could just forget about everything else except each other and be rid of the terrifying reality that was their lives. So preoccupied in her thoughts was she, that Azula barely registered the deep, resonate rumbling that rolled up from the depths of the tunnels. Was the Avatar actually foolish enough to go challenge her father now?
No, it wasn't likely, and it didn't matter anyways, Zuko had told her to be ready and in her room as soon as she was finished with the Avatar, so that's what she would do. Emerging from the tunnels and into the palace halls, Azula wasted no time in making her way towards her own room, finding those old familiar doors with a practiced ease and entering the room without hesitation. Everything she needed was already packed and ready to go at a moment's notice of course, she had only to attend a few personal matters while she awaited her brother's arrival.
He found the door slightly ajar and thought to himself, Good, that means she's alright and hopefully ready. He didn't want to waste any more time than absolutely necessary, and already felt like the entire palace guard was hot on his heels.
"Azula?" He called out tentatively as he pushed past the door, checking the hallway before quietly pulling them closed behind him. He could see her bag packed, probably as neat and orderly as humanly possible, perhaps even a little more so. The door to her private bathroom was closed, and he could only guess as to what she was doing. Sighing to himself, he decided in his head, Well, at least she remembered to go before we left. Still, he felt the ever pressing constraints of time closing tighter and tighter around him.
He walked over and sat down on the bed, next to the pack that was waiting patiently to be taken on it's journey to parts unknown. Zuko wasn't exactly one to snoop, but even he couldn't avoid glancing at it, and seeing something that immediately caught his eye sitting just beneath the semi-opened flap. It was a picture, a portrait actually, one of an only too familiar face. He lifted it out of the pack and studied it like it was something alien and fascinating beyond words.
"You said to bring what I needed to survive.." Azula's voice caught him completely off guard, so transfixed by the painting was he that he hadn't even heard the door opening behind him.
"Azula..." He began, but found himself unable to say anything that made sense.
"The truth is," She explained as she made her way to the bed and sat down beside him, "I never would have made it without that picture. It was the only thing I had left of you when you were banished." Her gaze fell down to the picture of her brother, years younger and before the scar which changed more than just his physical appearance. He was so regal, looking every bit the young, proud prince, determination to succeed plainly evident in his eyes. "It's good to have the real thing back, but that picture still means a lot to me. Wherever we're going, I hope it's alright if I bring it."
"That'll be fine sis'." He gave her a reassuring little smirk, unable to find any other words for how touched he was. Slipping the portrait back into the satchel, Zuko noticed the silent thank you in her eyes, then noticed the armor she was still wearing and told her, "You should leave the armor though, it'll be for the best." She did exactly as he said without any argument, reaching for the bindings and snapping them off with practiced ease. He helped lift the bulky thing up and over her head, and she sighed with relief as her skin cried out in gratitude.
"Is that everything then?" Azula asked, golden eyes looking up at her brother with unmasked anticipation.
"Yeah, let's go." He replied, a comforting warmth fluttering in his chest. He hadn't expected even two days ago that he would be bringing his little sister with him on this fool's errand, but now that she was coming, and eager to do so, he couldn't help but be thankful. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope for the two of them yet.
They exited her room via a private balcony, descending to the ground below as quickly and quietly as they could. Luckily, Zuko didn't have to explain the necessity for secrecy, so avoiding the guards went without saying. As they were passing through the still mostly deserted streets of the capitol, they had to duck behind crates, barrels, and what have you to avoid the few passing groups of soldiers that they did happen upon. Luckily, a dozen or more men in steel armor made a rather large amount of noise when they ran, so detecting them long before the two unarmored and trained in stealth siblings were themselves detected proved no difficult matter.
It was as they approached the edge of the city, however, that something of particular interest caught Zuko's attention. A breathless guard came running up to the group of soldiers stationed at the foot of the incline up and out of the city, sputtering as he caught his breath, "There's- breakout- Fire Lord's brother- Unstoppable!"
Zuko's eyes went wide, Uncle? He smacked himself mentally, who else could it have been? He supposed it was a turn of luck in his favor, especially given his time restraints, that now he at least didn't have to worry about a prison break. Still, he regretted not being able to help his uncle escape, even if the legendary old general didn't need it, as it was his golden opportunity to prove his loyalty once and for all. He turned his attention behind him, to where his sister crouched at the opposite end of the small alley, watching their flank.
He tapped her on the shoulder as he approached, "Change of plans, we're going this way." With no need to head towards the prison, they may as well make straight for the airships he decided. Speaking of which, as they bolted across another empty street, he noticed that the little red bastards, along with their much larger and much more menacing steel counterparts, had taken to the sky, right on cue to head off the enemy's retreat.
The small red ships were little more than hot air filled sacks with baskets attached to the bottom that were barely big enough to fit three comfortably, the most basic concept of the design, and the few that had launched were quickly and easily dispatched by the Avatar and his friends, doing what they could to buy time for their compatriots below. It was the metal monstrosities that were the real feat of engineering on the Fire Nation's part. Dwarfing the original's by tenfold in size, it was nothing short of a miracle that the steel behemoth's could fly in the first place, and they were all but impervious to every manner of attack, forcing the Avatar to retreat along with the rest of his group.
Not that either of the royal siblings needed to stick around and watch to know what the outcome was going to be, instead they made use of the distraction to gain entrance to the secret docking bay where dozens of other airships were in various stages of construction. There was also a handful of the smaller ships sitting around, kept for their usefulness as quick, light reconnaissance vessels as opposed to actual warships. Which suited Zuko's needs perfectly.
"Come on, now's our best chance to take one while everybody is distracted with the fighting." He made to run for the nearest docked ship, but a sudden hand on his shoulder held him back. Azula had been following blindly for too long, she wasn't about to take another step without some amount of answers.
"Where are we going Zuko? An airship, this sudden leaving.. Are you planning to leave the Fire Nation?" She asked, only barely able to hide the hopefulness in her voice. Please say yes, please, please say-
"I don't think so, no, Azula we have to go now! We don't have time, please, I'll explain once we're in the air!" He begged, seeing his sliver of opportunity growing thinner by the moment. At least, I'll try to explain.. He couldn't help the nagging thought from entering his mind. He still had no idea how she was going to react to his "grand plan." A lot of yelling and angry, harsh words, that much he counted on. Maybe she'd even throw him over the side and end his misery once and for all. Ahh, but he could hope, couldn't he?
He... didn't even know where he was going? Azula found herself suddenly very suspicious of her brother's plans, but decided quickly that going anywhere was better than staying where they were, so without further objection she nodded for him to lead the way.
In hindsight, the security was pathetic for a military establishment. Hopefully it had to do with the fact there was an ongoing invasion, and so every able body was reallocated towards the front line. Either way, it made their job that much more simple. They made for the nearest airship without any resistance whatsoever, not that either had expected it. As far as Azula was aware, they were still both royalty in good standing, and would be right up until the point they left the city without clearance from their father. She was only half right. The rumbling noise she had ignored earlier had been her brother more or less signing his death warrant in the form of a redirected lightning attack from their father, the Fire Lord Ozai. It was a minor detail at best.
The pair made short work of the ropes securing the ship to the ground, then proceeded to hop aboard and pull in all the sandbags. Zuko set about at once pumping fire into the furnace from his fist, heating the air in the balloon rapidly and within minutes, they began to gently lift off of the ground. By the time anybody might have noticed them taking off, they were already hundreds of feet above ground level and rising, and to the common soldiers they would just as easily have been dismissed as having orders to be up there for all they knew.
It was right about the time that they had reached the brim of the volcanic crater in which the city was nestled that they saw the Avatar's bison take off into the sky with a haste born of necessity, almost dead ahead of them and flying east. Whatever adjustment Zuko made to the ship's steering was causing them to follow what appeared to be directly behind them.
"We're chasing the Avatar..?" Azula asked, fighting to keep the hurt from sounding in her voice. Of course he is, why would I think for a second things would be any different!
"Well, you see.. Azula, it's.. not exactly like that." Zuko fumbling for the words, what a refreshing change of pace.
"Of course it is Zuko! The Avatar is still alive, your precious honor is at risk, so you're going to hunt him down, again." She launched into a furious tirade, hurling the malicious accusations like fire itself, "I can't believe it, I can't believe you! You were going to abandon me again so you could hunt the Avatar down, again, only this time, you must have realized I would be useful to you so you convinced me to come with you, because that's all I ever am is just a fucking tool, a means to an end!"
"Azula no-"
"You're just like father!" That last one cut deep, and hurt Zuko in a way he never realized he could be hurt in, cleaving straight through his chest and stabbing into his heart.
"That's not true Azula, I never wanted to use you." He replied solemnly, and before she had the chance to argue he blurted out, "I'm not chasing the Avatar to capture him!" Her argument died on her lips as her expression shifted from anger to morbid curiosity, and he decided he had no choice but to come out with it now, "I'm going to help him." It sounded about as lame as he imagined it would.
If she were anyone else, she probably would have sputtered as she processed the information, but trained as she was at controlling her actions and words, Azula managed to gracefully cry out, "WHAT!?"
Alright, maybe not that gracefully.
Gathering that fool's courage that seemed to be stored somewhere inside of him, Zuko stated a little more forcefully, "I'm going to teach him Firebending, I'm going to help him beat dad, and stop the world from being reduced to ashes." His eyes fell as he could no longer hold his sister's incredulous stare, and he told her, "That's why I didn't want to tell you, Azula I never planned on bringing you with me. I think that much should be obvious."
"But.." She started, trying not to consider the implications of his words as a thousand harsh remarks died on her lips, and she was left to simply state, "you did. Why?"
He gave her a pleading, hopeful look as he replied, "Because you were scared, because I was scared, scared of leaving you alone again. Because I think, maybe, I was supposed to.."
"What do you mean, 'supposed to'?" She asked, eyes narrowing. "You were supposed to make me look like a traitor too, supposed to use me as some sort of scapegoat!?" Her temper was rising visibly, and Zuko knew that although the ground was hundreds of yards below, he was a lot closer to his death than that.
"It's like you said yourself, remember? The only way we win, is together." He replied with a hint of a smile playing at his lips.
Azula just shrugged his words off however, "Zuko, that was just propaganda, I was only trying to ensure you would join me."
"But it was the truth, even if you didn't mean for it to be. Azula, I chased the Avatar across the entire world, for practically a year, and you chased him for months yourself, and yet no matter how close we came to capturing him, he always got away, something always happened, we always lost. Until we worked together.." He took her small, deceptively soft, delicate hands in his own, and she saw that glint, that light, that meaning in his eyes that spoke to her when his words couldn't.
She looked away, faintly blushing as she attempted to rationalize, "Zuko, that was just.."
"Dumb luck? Random chance? Well whatever it was, it's brought us here now, together, just like it brought me to your room last night. Call it what you want Azula, but I have to follow what I feel in my gut to be right. What I feel in my heart to be right."
Despite his heartfelt speech, she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye, and an uncertainty mingled into her otherwise stoic features. "What about you?" Zuko prompted, forcing her to respond one way or another. "What do you feel?"
"I feel..." She began, closing her eyes and looking deep inside herself to see what her gut instinct was, "I feel like you're an idiot." She said flatly, and it was no big surprise to Zuko to hear something along those lines. Hell, it'd have been strange if she hadn't insulted him. "But you're my idiot, and I trust you." She gave him an awkward smile, trying her best to not let it show as a smug, self-serving grin but as an honest, heartfelt show of affection. She had a long ways to go.
Zuko could care less however, and with a cry for joy he threw his arms around his sister and squeezed her like she would blow away in the wind if he dared let go. At first Azula was taken by such surprise that she froze up, still entirely new to the whole "hugging" thing, and her body's first instinct was to counter it with force. As the surprise wore off though, so too did the tense stiffness, until at last she allowed herself to return the embrace with markedly less enthusiasm, but it was the thought that counted. Zuko had already known that this conversation was going to end either in a hug, or a lightning bolt. That being said, he was pretty happy with the outcome.
"One rather large problem, however; how exactly do you intend to win over the Avatar's trust?" Azula asked with unmasked, slightly amused skepticism. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't we nearly kill the Avatar, along with what must be dozens of attempts to capture him. Please don't tell me you're going to rely on 'dumb luck' to turn our enemies into trusting friends."
Zuko had already considered this, many times over in fact, but the answer he needed still eluded him like the Avatar himself had so many, many times before. With an uncertain sigh, he stated, "I'm sure we'll think of something."
Azula's palm came up to smack herself in the forehead, and she slid down the wall of the basket to sit as she began reciting all the curse words she knew, along with a few that Zuko was fairly certain she had made up, and he couldn't help but to chuckle to himself as he launched another ball of fire into the balloon's furnace.
"What the hell?" Azula asked with an irritated confusion as she viewed the spectacle below.
"Looks like the bison's tired." Zuko commented with an apparently odd lack of interest. "It doesn't matter, I know where they're headed. The Western Air Temple."
Of course, Azula slapped herself mentally for not realizing it herself sooner. "Well at this rate, we should be arriving there long before them."
Zuko nodded, already having considered this apparently. "Yeah, and I know just what we'll do with the time." At the perplexed, almost affronted look he received in return he merely smirked mischievously, at which Azula felt her heart skip more than a couple beats.
She stared at the badger-frog with what was likely the exact same impassive expression, or at least as close as a human and an animal could get to having the same expression. This was not at all what she thought he had meant, sitting here in front of a frog practicing his "introduction" speech.
"Hi, uh, Zuko here-"
"Azula too!" She chirped, more poking fun than actually contributing.
"Yeah, well, I guess you already know that though. I mean, how could you not, after all we both chased you around the world-"
"I only chased them across the Earth Kingdom, thank you."
"I don't think they're going to care about the difference Azula."
"I'm just saying is all."
He groaned, dropping it at that and knowing it was best to just let her have the last word. He thought for a moment before picking up where he left off, "Sorry about that, by the way. I was wrong, err, we were wrong. But we're good now! And I know you thought I was good before, but now I'm serious, and I want to teach the Avatar Firebending. I'm considered pretty good at it, and she's even better, but I guess you guys already know that. Well, what do you say?"
His practice audience, aka "the frog," gave a single, indifferent croak before leaping on top of Zuko's head and then promptly taking off into the forest, to where things made sense. Azula watched it go in amusement before clapping her hands once, "Well bravo, Zu-Zu, you've outdone yourself this time, really you have. All it took was one try and you had that thing all over you!"
He glared in response, a signature Zuko glare, "Haha, very funny."
"No, I'm serious! Another couple practice speeches and you should have them, jumping for joy at the prospect of welcoming you to their team!"
"That's enough." He grumbled, failing to see any of the humor in their situation.
"Oh, come on Zuko, can't you take a joke?" She responded, with feigned empathy for his concerns. "There's no need to get a head of yourself here."
"I don't think that one counts." He said flatly.
"It does too-oof!" In hindsight, she should have realized that logs aren't the most stable of sitting platforms, and it barely took any effort on Zuko's part to push her off of it. She was dazed for a moment as she herself on her back, staring up at the leaves and the scattered fragments of sky above, the wind momentarily knocked out of her. Something landed with a wet thud right next to her head, and she shifted her eyes to see the fat, furry green face of their friend the frog sitting there staring at her with it's impassive, bored expression.
With a ribbit in jest, it hopped away once more, leaving Azula to seriously wonder whether she had just been laughed at by an animal.
"That was incredibly childish and completely uncalled for." She announced as she righted herself, brushing leaves and twigs off of her outfit and checking her hairpiece, only to find that it was crooked. Huffing in annoyance, she glared at her brother, "I hope you're happy."
"What?" asked Zuko, pretending not to notice anything out of the ordinary.
"You know what! It's crooked now, you messed it up!" Azula cried out in anger, still fussing with the crown despite the futility. "Do you have any idea how long it takes to get this stupid thing right?! I'll have to do it from scratch, I hope you know how to style hair!"
"You should take it out." Zuko replied matter-of-factly, arms crossed over his chest as he stood stoically in the small clearing they had chosen for a temporary camp.
"What? Why-no, Zuko, I've worn my hair like this since I was 4!"
"I don't think our new 'friends' would associate that crown with anything good.." He pleaded, trying to speak some sense but Azula wouldn't have any of it, her anger rising further as she nearly shouted back at him.
"Maybe you're suddenly ashamed of your heritage, but I'm not about to just throw it away like it doesn't mean anything-"
"You look better with your hair down anyways." He admitted weakly, and her eyes went wide as the argument died on her lips.
"What?" Was all she could manage to ask, wanting to be certain she had heard correctly.
He fidgeted for just a second before responding honestly, "Your hair, I just.. I don't know, I always thought it looked better down. I guess that's just my opinion though."
Azula studied him for a few curious moments before reaching up and almost reluctantly pulling the pin out, followed by the crown itself, allowing her raven black hair to fall straight and free down her back and around her shoulders. She shook her head, almost reminiscent of an animal after a bath, letting the strands break apart and her scalp to breath as she sighed in unmistakeable relief.
"I was getting tired of it anyways." She stated, trying to justify her action, though more to herself probably than to Zuko, who seemed happy enough as it was with her decision. After a minute or so, Azula realized her brother was staring at her, as if transfixed, and so she prompted him, "What?"
Zuko couldn't help but blurt out the first thing that popped into his head, "You're beautiful."
Not at all what she had expected, and the slight heat on her cheeks gave as much away. "Zuko..." She started uncertainly, not entirely sure what she was even trying to say, when they heard a low, familiar rumbling growl in the distance. "They're here."
Of course they are, Zuko thought bitterly. Just as they were about to possibly have a moment. He sighed, at least they had a half moment. That was something to be half grateful for. Now if he could just get half of the Avatar's attention, things might not be so bad after all. Considering the entire world hung in the balance, half wasn't such a bad place to start really. As his gaze drifted over to Azula, he realized something else, too. At least he had his better half.
"Come on guys, let's go check this place out!" Teo exclaimed, taking off with The Duke and Haru to explore the deeper parts of the Western Air Temple. Aang, Sokka, Katara and Toph stayed back to discuss what their next move should be.
"Alright, we need to come up with a new plan." Sokka started, but before anyone else could say anything Toph sensed something- or rather two somethings- that gave her cause for concern.
"Uh, guys, it looks like that's going to have to wait.." She pointed at Appa, but it was the two people standing behind the bison that she was indicating.
As the beast moved, he revealed two very wary looking siblings standing practically shoulder to shoulder, and at the sudden attention Zuko seemed to freeze up, forgetting all too easily those words he had practiced over and over again.
A sudden jab to his kidney brought him back to his senses, at least enough to nervously state, "Uh, hi, Zuko here." His own momentary stupidity must have been contagious though, because the next thing he heard sounded just as foolish.
"Azula too!" In their uneasiness, apparently the two siblings had reverted back to their original dialogue options, which, as their frog had informed them, were less than impressive. In the silence that ensued, Azula was certain she heard the word Fail in her head. She closed her eyes, in a futile attempt at turning time back just a few minutes so they could try that one over again. It didn't work.
Suddenly, everyone remembered where they were and what was going on, and it took all of five seconds for the Avatar and his friends to assume defensive stances, ready to strike. Zuko and Azula, however, remained exactly as they were, casually standing as if nothing at all was odd about this encounter.
"What are you two doing here!?" Katara demanded, water already streaming from the skin at her waist to her hand.
"Isn't it obvious? They're here to finish Aang off once and for all!" Sokka cried, sword at the ready.
"Oh yes, we're here to get you, that's why we took the time to announce our presence." Azula replied with all her usual smug sarcasm and an impatient roll of her eyes.
"Maybe you should let me do the talking.." Zuko told her, already seeing where this would end if she were in charge of negotiations.
"Then by all means, talk." She prompted, gesturing towards the group.
"I was just about to!"
"Oh yes, 'Hi, Zuko here,' what a brilliant opening." She mocked him, using a deeper tone than normal.
"Azula too!" He mimicked back with a terrible impression of her voice. "Because that was so much better." Her only response to this was to stick her tongue out at him, and then quickly turn her head the other way, effectively giving her the last word.
"Uh, if you guys are almost done..?" Sokka's voice reminding the two of what was going on around them. He might have found the display comical if it weren't his two arch-enemies standing in front of him.
Zuko groaned in frustration, "Look, I know we've hurt you guys in the past, and for that I'm sorry, we're sorry, but-"
"Speak for yourself, Zu-Zu."
"What? Azula you have to be sorry, how can you-?"
"I'm not sorry for what I did. They were enemies, I dealt with them as I would enemies. I'm not going to apologize for something I feel no remorse over."
"You nearly killed him/Aang!" That time a multitude of voices accosted her, but she merely shrugged them off.
"I was doing what I felt was necessary to help my brother and my country."
"Azula how are they ever going to trust us and let us help them if you won't even say you're sorry!" Zuko was at his wit's end, which wasn't very far admittedly, but still.
"Wait wait wait, you want to do what?" This time the Avatar himself spoke up, leveling a very serious look at Zuko.
"We want to help you. We can teach you Firebending!" He offered, like a cheap bargaining chip which was realistically the only one he had.
"He's lying, they'll just kill us the first chance they get." Sokka said, a fierce finality in his words that said he was ready to strike but just waiting for the word.
"No, he's not." Toph informed them, reading the telltale signals of Zuko's erratic heartbeat. "She might be able to fool me, but he's as easy as they come."
"That's still not good enough." Sokka replied, convinced that his enemies were plotting against them. "He chased us around the entire world! Tried to capture Aang countless times! Nearly burned Kyoshi Island to the ground!"
"Well, yeah, but-"
"You stole my grandmother's necklace and kidnapped me!" Now Katara joined the verbal fight with her own grievances, "Sent pirates after us, kidnapped Aang up at the North Pole!"
By this point, Azula had started counting off on her fingers after every new offense, a smirk plainly evident on her face. It didn't take long, however, for the group's attention to shift in her direction.
"And you!" Katara cried out, and right on cue Azula switched to her other hand. "As if your stupid brother wasn't bad enough, you chased us to the point of exhaustion, imprisoned Suki and use their outfits to sneak into Ba Sing Se so you could take down the last safe place from the clutches of the Fire Nation, and you nearly killed Aang! You even tried to kill your own brother and uncle, and we're supposed to trust you?" When you put it that way, it really did sound kind of bad, even Azula could see that.
"Well you certainly gave them enough reasons to hate you, Zu-Zu." Azula quipped, still feeling rather amused by the whole situation.
"Like you did any better? You shot the Avatar with lightning, remember?"
"I was only trying to help you! I guess I didn't realize I would be trying to join his group of friends a few months later."
Zuko was about to continue the argument, but it was at this point, Appa decided to step up, sniffing Zuko intently before licking him with his massive tongue. Azula just barely managed to get her hand to her mouth before laughing outright, while the others only witnessed the scene with mild confusion.
"Appa seems to like him.." Aang pointed out, understanding his bison's actions better than anyone else.
Sokka was still suspicious, claiming, "He might have covered himself in honey, I still don't trust him."
Zuko cast a long, thoughtful glance at Aang, "You told me once you thought we could be friends.." The conflicting thoughts warred across the young Avatar's face as he considered the options.
"We'll go along with whatever you decide Aang." Katara said from beside him, and his other friends all nodded their consent, though their frowns clearly showed what they thought about the situation. Steeling his nerves, Aang faced the royal siblings, his mind made up.
"No, I'm sorry but there's just too much to forgive. We can't trust you guys, you need to leave now."
"But.. please! Can't you see I'm trying to do the right thing here. There's good inside of me-" Zuko's words were cut off by a splash of water that sent him sprawling on his back.
"No! Good inside of you isn't good enough, come back when it's outside as well!" Katara fumed, her patience all but gone. Azula couldn't help but laugh at Zuko on the ground like that.
"Haha-Oomph!" Her laughter cut short as a pillar of stone shot up out of the ground, striking her square in the chest and sending her to the floor as well, breathless and with what she suspected may very well have been a cracked rib or two.
"OW!" She wheezed, curling into herself from the pain and trying to recapture her breath. "That was incredibly rude!"
"Leave before I decide to be ruder!" Toph taunted, foot already sliding in readiness to attack again.
Dripping wet but otherwise unharmed, Zuko was there to help his sister to her feet, checking if she was alright to which she nodded. He looked over his shoulder with a glare and announced, "Fine, we're going."
After the two unexpected visitors had climbed their way out of the temple the gaang exchanged looks with one another.
"They can't be staying too far away." Sokka mused, suspicion still at the forefront of his mind. The others nodded in agreement, sensing his train of thought.
After a moment of unspoken deliberation, Toph finally said, "Fine! I'll go 'keep an eye' on them."
Aang seemed unsure about the situation though, saying "Hold on, maybe you should wait for nightfall.. It'll be easier to go undetected that way."
The blind Earthbender threw her hands up in surrender, "Have it your way Twinkletoes.."
"Well that went splendidly." Azula remarked sourly as they returned to their camp. She had put a great deal of effort into avoiding holding her side or wincing as they had made their way through the forest, but Zuko could still tell she was in pain from the hit she took, and much more so than what she did let on with the subtle facial twitches even she couldn't prevent.
She sighed in obvious relief as the sat on her old familiar log, and taking one quick look around Zuko declared, "I'll go get some firewood," and with that he was off before Azula could even attempt to protest. When she was satisfied that he was far enough away she raised an arm to her side to assess the damage, only to find that it hurt immediately upon touching. She sucked in a hissing breath and let her arm return to her side. At any rate, it was beyond any healing remedies she knew.
As if on cue, her old friend the badger-frog jumped up on the log, giving her a mocking look that said nothing as it said it all.
Ribbit.
"Yeah, I know." She rested the bottom of her jaw on one palm, gauging the dismal turn her life had so recently taken. Talking to animals, as opposed to killing them, was a good indicator of just how strange things really were.
Zuko returned a short while later, arms laden with felled logs. One of the lesser known perks to being a Firebender; it really cut down on the hassle of starting a fire. No dealing with kindling or spark rocks, just flame on demand that could be sustained long enough to get a real fire burning in no time. Idly, he found himself hoping, if only out of spite, that the Avatar and his friends were having a difficult time getting their fire started. Thinking about the Avatar and his friends reminded Zuko of his sister's injury.
"How bad is it?" He asked without preamble, refusing to pretend that she didn't check while he was away.
She took a deep breath, or at least started to, only to find halfway through that the pain was too unbearable to continue, and she doubled over clutching her side as a tiny noise of pain escaped her despite her best efforts to prevent it. "It's fine, I'll be-" she winced, "fine."
"Azula, even you can't lie about this." He admonished, the flat look he gave her showing how unconvinced he was.
"I just have to avoid sleeping on my side, tomorrow we can- We can go home and get a proper healer."
"No, we can't."
Azula huffed in annoyance, "Zuko, give it up! The Avatar will never let us join him, it was a stupid idea in the first place. We have to go home before anyone gets suspicious-"
"Azula, we can't go home." Zuko insisted, and the dead finality in his voice gave her pause and caused her to study him very intently. "I, well, I sort of... told dad."
"WHAT-OW Shit!" Azula cursed furiously, forgetting in her anger the injury to her ribcage and causing an agonizing amount of pain to herself. Probably for the best, Zuko realized, as she was too preoccupied with her own pain to attack him.
"I told him I was going to join the Avatar, to teach him Firebending and help him end this war. I also.. kind of.. shot lightning at him." Zuko admitted abashedly, feeling just a twinge of guilt for roping her into his troubles unwittingly.
"You... You shot lightning at him?" She asked, a curious mixture of awe and surprise in her voice.
"Well, I redirected his really."
"Oh..." She said, sounding somewhat disappointed.
Zuko shifted nervously, suddenly aware of the whole mess that he had started and then unintentionally dragged her into without even realizing it. "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get you involved in my problems. I should have.." He trailed off, uncertain exactly how to word the next part without it sounding like..
"Abandoned me again?" Without it sounding like that. His shoulders fell at the hurt look she gave him, a look that had pain and betrayal written all over it. "You didn't force me to come with you, I chose to, remember?"
"Well yeah, but-"
"So maybe you should stop worrying so much about what you're going to do, and start helping me come up with ideas for what we're going to do." Zuko blinked, more than a little amazed she was still with him after all this. Seeing the confused look on his face, she added, "You kissed me, remember." It wasn't a question though.
Smirking, he took a seat next to her and made to put an arm around her shoulder, but she scooted away from him. "I'm still mad at you though." He groaned in frustration as his head fell forward. Azula closed her eyes and pretended to look away, but sneaked a glance to see him wallowing in his misery. She did so enjoy seeing him suffer.
Some time later, as the sun was setting beyond the horizon, Toph found herself quietly moving through a rapidly darkening forest, not that that made much a difference to her. She was just able to detect heartbeats and minimal movement ahead of her, so she found a decent size boulder jutting out of the ground and sat down behind it, being sure she was in earshot. She hardly expected what she had started to hear though..
"... And Ty Lee said, 'But I thought they were all girl's washrooms'!"
The two broke out into laughter, Azula recounting her days from the academy with fond memories of Ty Lee's obliviousness to the world around her. When the laughter subsided, Zuko found himself transfixed by the way her eyes seemed to sparkle in the firelight when she laughed.
She let out a deep, long sigh of reminiscence. "Do you remember those dance classes they made us take when we were kids?"
Zuko thought for a moment, then recalled, "Yeah, I think they said it was to 'help with our conscious awareness of our bodies moving in synchronicity with another's, as well as balance and fluid movement or something like that. Just another way to train us to fight I guess." The idea seemed to sour his mood. "They were stupid anyways."
Azula fidgeted, "Yeah, they were stupid.." She replied dejectedly, looking away and twirling a bang around her finger before casting it aside with a quick flick.
Zuko noticed the nuances in her behavior, and without saying a word he stood, walked over to her and took her hand, pulling her up from her seat before she could even say a word.
"Azula," Her eyes shimmered with anticipation in the firelight, "if you want to dance, you only have to ask."
With those few words he whisked her away, swaying and twirling into the night. They danced the steps to some forgotten dance, moving in tandem to the tune of the fire crackling and their hearts beating as one, as the moon and stars above shone down with their luminescent bliss that radiated off of Azula's hair and sparkled in her molten golden eyes, irises like the golden lining that would always follow even the fiercest of storms. As they spun around the fire, the flames alternated hues, from blazing ruby red to brilliant sapphire blue, the colors dancing and mingling inside the fire just as the benders who controlled them did outside of it.
With a final, pivoting twist, Azula twirled back into Zuko's chest, where she wrapped her arms around his back and the mood of their dance changed immediately to a slow, rocking motion. In the blissful motions, her pain had been all but forgotten, and now as she laid her head against him and inhaled the powerful, raw scent he exhumed she couldn't help but feel all the pain and worry melt out of her.
"Zuko.." She breathed, content to lose herself in his strong embrace.
"Hmmm," He answered back, desiring nothing more in that moment than to rock gently back and forth with his arms around her, safe from a world that hated her without ever trying to understand.
"I'm glad we had this dance." She whispered with a dreadful finality, and before he could even ask her another word she coughed blood onto his tunic, passing into unconsciousness in his arms.
"Azula? Azula!" Zuko called frantically, receiving nothing in response but the sound of his own voice though.
Toph, who had thus far been on the verge of tears herself at such a touching display, sensed something wrong immediately and rushed from her hiding place. "Let me see her!"
Zuko's head jerked at the sound of someone else's voice, but when he recognized the Earthbender he tensed.
"There's no time to fight with you Sparky, let me see her!" Toph reiterated forcefully, to the point that Zuko simply gave her space, though never letting his sister go from his arms. Toph reached out with a hand and placed it on the girl's chest, eyes widening almost immediately.
"Oh no, oh no oh no oh no... Lift her up and follow me, fast!" She commanded, and Zuko didn't think twice. He knew there was nothing he could do.
He followed the short girl down into a tunnel in the middle of the woods, lighting a small fire in his palm so he could see as he went. After what felt like a long time, too long for his liking, a wall crumbled ahead of him and he found himself back at the air temple. The Avatar and his friends were there almost immediately, asking Toph if she heard anything. Then Zuko stepped out from the tunnel, and they all shifted immediately, until they noticed his tear stricken face and the limp body of Azula in his arms.
"She dying, please!" He cried out to them, but nobody made a move.
"Hel-lo? Didn't you hear him?" Toph shouted, snapping them all from their trances. "She needs help now!"
After just a brief second of confirming it was all real, and their minds not just playing tricks on them, the gaang lowered their respective weapons and Katara rushed forward, water already encasing her hands and started to glow a luminous blue.
She gasped the moment her hands made contact, whispering "Oh wow.." and not easing Zuko's mind one bit.
"What's wrong- Can you save her? Will she be alright?" Zuko's mind raced, and he couldn't silence the thousand worries zinging around in his head.
"Zuko lay her down on her side, I have to-" Katara stuttered, not wanting to do what she was about to but seeing no other way, "I have to get the blood out of her lungs, before she drowns, quick!"
He did exactly as she ordered him to, setting Azula's unconscious body on the ground and rolling her onto her side. Katara wasted little time reaching out with her Waterbending, making the connection and then coercing the thick liquid out. There was far more than either would have liked there to be.
Quickly redrawing her water about her hands, the young healer set about trying to close the wound and prevent more blood from pouring in. After a minute of intense concentration, she determined that the tear in the lung had sealed, but not without letting more blood leak in first. She drew the blood out again, and then checked her mouth.
Katara's ocean blue eyes went wide, "Uh-oh.. she's not breathing. Zuko I'm sorry but-"
He didn't hear another word she said, as he was too busy trying to save his sister's life. With one hand he plugged her nose, and then gently pressing his lips against hers in an only recently familiar sensation, he pushed breath from his own lungs into hers, inflating her chest with air. He placed his hands one atop the other, and with his palm pushed down on her sternum, carefully, one, two, three times. He breathed into her again, and repeated once more the pushing motions.
Azula coughed out a heap of blood as life refilled her body, and she gasped for air like she had never needed to breath so badly in all her life, which was more or less the truth. When her eyes focused it was with her brother's tear soaked, blood soaked, yet obviously relieved face that she was first greeted. "Zu-Zu?" She asked weakly. He seemed to amazed for words at first.
"Are you alright.. I'm sorry I-" Those would be the first words out of his mouth, She couldn't help but think dryly to herself. Always apologizing... "I'm so glad you're okay." Is he crying?
"Wha-" another coughing fit, less blood this time so that was a plus, "What happened?" Only now did she bother to look around, and wouldn't the first other face she noticed be that of the Waterbender's. Zuko lunged over the top of Azula, and she was certain he was going to attack the peasant, and evidently Katara was as well, judging by the look on her face. Instead he threw his arms around her and thanked her profusely.
"Uhhh, there there now, uh, Zuko." Katara was clearly not in her comfort zone, but as the immediate risk of attack seemed to vanish so too did her trepidation, if only by a little.
"Thank you Katara." He whispered, so heartfelt and genuine she could hardly believe it was the same Zuko she knew.
"What the hell is- Ow!" Azula tried to sit up but the tearing pain in her chest prevented much movement.
"Oh no you don't missy, you're laying right back down. You still have broken ribs and until they're healed you are not to move, do you understand?" Katara demanded, sounding every bit the group den mother. Azula blinked disbelievingly at her, but after a quick glance at her brother, who's face told her she had probably better listen, she did just that, though not without a few un-princesslike grumbles and curses under her breath.
"So, ahh, Toph.. what happened?" Sokka finally asked the question he had been dying to ever since the blind girl returned.
"Long story short, Sparky's sister there almost died, and it would have been my fault. I wasn't about to let that happen." Toph simply replied, as if it were just another day.
Aang and Sokka exchanged looks, and unsurprisingly the Avatar agreed with her actions, "You did the right thing Toph, but..." He was unsure how to finish that statement.
"Well? Out with it Twinkletoes."
"What are we supposed to do with them?" He indicated the royal siblings, who, despite being well within earshot, pretended not to hear. "We can't just let them walk around freely, they're a danger to us all, but so long as Azula needs medical care we have to keep them here.."
Sokka thought for a moment on this, then decided, "So we keep them as "house guests" then. We lock them in one of the rooms with Earthbending, that way only one of you guys can let them out." He indicated Aang and Toph, who shared quizzical looks with one another. "It's flawless, we can keep them safe and sound, without having to risk getting stabbed in our sleep."
"I'm not sure I like the idea of keeping anyone prisoner..."
"Oh come Oonn Aang," Whined Sokka, his voice cracking to a near girlish level. "We can't kill our enemies, we can't take them prisoner.. So what should we do, see to their wounds, give them a hot meal and send them on their way? Bye, thanks for stopping by and visiting, come back soon!" The scowl on his face was rather indicative of his sarcasm.
"Well, no, but-"
"It's alright." Zuko's voice silenced them and they all turned to eye him, some with suspicion, others confusion. "Take me prisoner, do whatever you have to do just please..." He looked down to Azula, still in an obvious amount of pain, and he wore his worry on his sleeve, "make sure she's alright."
Aang nodded, "We'll do whatever we can Zuko. Katara?"
Katara paused in her healing to regard her friend, "She's stable, but it's going to take some time to permanently repair the bones."
"Alright, Toph, why don't you take Zuko to his new room. We'll bring Azula in when Katara's had some more time to work on her." Everyone seemed to agree to these terms, and so it was that Zuko found himself following the little blind girl once again, until they came to a small, innocuous looking room with a window easily large enough to climb through. It took little effort for Toph to fix that problem, leaving just enough of an opening to get air into the room.
"Well, here you are Sparky, enjoy the digs. I'm sure you won't have any trouble lighting up the place, will you?" With that sarcastic remark, she turned to take her leave.
"Wait!" He called after her, and Toph stopped at the doorway, turning her head to give the impression of looking behind her. "I want to thank you." He began nervously, wishing he were just a little better at conversational skills.
"Don't sweat it. Couldn't exactly go around with someone's death on my conscience, now could I?" She asked rhetorically.
"Well, I guess not but.. why? Why did you save her?" Zuko couldn't help but ask.
She thought about it for a brief moment, gnawing at her lip before answering, "She's lucky, you know. You're lucky, too. You're both lucky to have someone that cares about you that much, someone that really.. loves you."
"Love..? I mean- Well of course I love her, she's my sister, I have to-"
"Sparky," Toph interjected, a tiny smirk on her face, "you're a terrible liar." And with that, the door shut, engulfing the room in almost total darkness. Zuko lit a flame immediately in his hand, and went to what qualified as a bed for the Air Nomads apparently. It was just a slab of stone with little else, and he had left all his and Azula's things back at their camp in his rush. Azula... She'll be alright, He told himself, She has to be.
He lay down, but something told him he wouldn't be getting any sleep that night, not until she was safe and sound in his arms again.
A pillow wouldn't hurt either.
Author's Note: So, as we can see, we'll be loosely following the main storyline after this point, only with the added bonus of Azula. So, in other words, it'll be better :P (I hope xD ) Cheers, and as always, thanks for taking the time!