A/N: The characters of the Avatar Universe are in no way owned by me. But, I still love writing them.
Two updates in one week?! What!
Things are getting crazy in this world of Avatar. Fair warning, I bounce around perspectives a little bit. I hope you enjoy!
Remember to review, darlings!
Katara
Roaming around the village was simple enough. We looked as if I was Toph's aid, guiding her through the streets and stopping in front of a few shops to admire the trinkets laid out on their tables. With the few glances to the walls of the streets, I didn't see any posters. That was a relief, we'd be able to sleep at the inn instead of under the sky tonight.
A thrum of excitement jolted through me as I realized it'd be my first time alone with Aang since Kyoshi Island. We hadn't had any time alone together since the evening he awoke—Sokka had made sure to place himself in between us whenever he suspected we might attempt to escape. Maybe tonight we would finally get the time to ourselves
"I don't want to alarm you, Sugar Queen," Toph's words interrupted my thoughts. "But we're being followed."
I froze beside her, earning a small jab in my side from the little brat as she dragged me forward. "Ow! Isn't Sokka following us?"
"Relax," she snapped. "He is, but two others have, too. They're tailing us from across the road."
I scanned the area across the street, not finding anyone that stood out. "I don't see anything, Toph."
She huffed. "I swear, Katara, for someone with eyes, you're blinder than me." Her fingers dug into my arm as we swerved down an alley. We stopped abruptly in the middle of it, and Toph whirled around with her finger hands up and her feet set firm. "Who are you and what do you want?" She snapped, though the corners of her mouth lifted in a wicked grin. She looked absolutely pleased to be getting another chance to fight.
I turned, spreading my stance wide with one hand on my water skin that had been hidden beneath my clothes. My thumb rubbed against the cork, ready to pop it.
The two figures emerged from the shadows, their hands up.
I braced myself for a fight.
Aang
Yue's words bit at me more than they should have, and I hated it. She didn't understand, I told myself. Things were more complicated than that. How could she, a pawn in her father's game, ever comprehend what was going on?
What makes me any different than the men in her tribe? A small voice inside me asked. My chest hollowed out as I realized my thoughts were no better than the men of the North. Yue wasn't useless, she was wise and compassionate, and I needed to listen to her words rather than shove them away.
"GUYS!" Sokka's shriek forced me out of inner debate and forced Zuko and Azula to, finally, cease their sparring. Toph and Katara weren't with him, and suddenly my heart was in my throat, beating erratically and making it hard to stand. He stopped in between us, hands on his knees like he'd ran the entire mile from the village. "Someone," he gasped, sucking air into his burning lungs. "Someone else was following them." He sucked in another breath. "They followed them into an alley. I think they recognized Katara."
I shot a glare at Azula, who shrugged. "She knew the risks," was all she could say. "Besides, Toph can take care of them."
Katara had more than proved she could take care of herself, but I was too furious to even speak. I knew we shouldn't have sent them in by themselves.
"Did you see anything else?" Zuko barked.
Sokka shook his head. "As soon as I saw them turn the corner, I ran. There was a guy in the market square putting up the wanted posters, though. They were probably with him."
Zuko swore, also glaring at Azula. "You should have gone," he snapped. "You've snuck into the capital dozens of times without detection; this would have been no different."
Azula made to retort back but I cut her off. "Now isn't the time for bickering. We need to devise a plan, and we need to do it now."
"This is a trap, and you know it, Aang. Going after Katara would be foolish—she's just one person. We need to keep moving if we want to make it to Ba Sing Se before it's too late."
"She's more than that, and so is Toph!" I yelled. My stomach was churning, the heat of anger flooding through me. How dare she suggest we leave them behind!
"We're not leaving them behind." Sokka's eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at Azula. "I realize you think we're expendable, but that's not how this works." He looked to me. "You need to calm down before we move forward. Your anger cannot propel you into the Avatar State and wreck everything."
I nodded, taking deep, shuddering breaths as I willed my anger away—or at least pretended I did. My concern for my friends wasn't that easy to ignore.
"Okay, so—"
"Someone's coming," Yue whispered, hissing as she took Sokka's arm.
I glanced up, four figures emerging from the brush, Katara and Toph leading the two cloaked figures behind them.
Zuko and Azula were the first to recognize them, sprinting forward and taking their respective significant others into their arms and crushing them to their chests. Weeks of fear washing away as we finally had them with us. They whispered to each other in hushed tones, happy to be together again.
Relief washed over me when Katara's eyes found mine. She gave me a small nod.
"How'd you find us?" Yue asked, interrupting the couples' reunion.
Ty Lee glanced over, being the politer of the two and the less likely to ignore her. "Lu Ten helped."
"He's alive?" Zuko breathed a sigh of relief, his shoulders sagging.
She nodded. "Your family is safe, but imprisoned. Lu Ten is only free because he pledged his loyalty to Zhao. He intercepted reports on your location. We didn't want to leave until we had information that could prevent another world-wide war."
"What information?" Toph asked. Her feet ground into the dirt—searching for the lie.
"Zhao is planning on attacking the North in full force. Lu Ten believes he has a trick up his sleeve, but he has no way of proving it."
"Is that why he's not here?" Azula asked.
"Yes," Mai answered. "He's hoping to find out more."
Yue turned to me, her eyes pleading. "Please, Aang. We have to warn my father."
Despite being right, I didn't want to listen. Perhaps we still had time. "When did you leave the Fire Nation?"
"One week ago," Mai said. "We probably don't have much time before his forces arrive in the North. Certainly, not enough time to make a trip to the Earth capital."
Katara's hand slipped in mind, giving it a gentle squeeze. "We need to go North, Aang," she said softly.
They were right. King Kuei would have to wait. "Toph, if you don't want to go, I understand. The North is going to be too cold for you to be barefoot."
"What are you talking about?" She hollered. "You think I'm gonna miss a fight like this?"
Everyone around us chuckled, but the air was still filled with tension. None of us were ready to confront this.
But we would do what we had to do.
Lu Ten
The sea breeze felt abrasive against Lu Ten's face. Under normal circumstances, he welcomed the feeling of the sea air on his face and enjoyed the smell of the sea as his ship sailed through the water.
Under normal circumstances, his father would have come to the docks to see him off, waving at him like a proud father, eager to see his son succeed on his next mission.
Under normal circumstances, Lu Ten would have been happy to leave, though he would miss his family. He always felt a sense of pride, knowing he was doing what his father and uncle wanted him to do.
But these were not normal circumstances.
Before the fleet departed, Lu Ten brought dinner to his father and knelt before him on the other side of the bars. "Hello, Father," he spoke, his mouth suddenly parched as he looked at the older man in front of him. "I brought you something to eat." He pushed one of the trays under the opening in the bars while he kept the other in front of him.
Iroh regarded him, his lips downturned and eyes empty—like a father that believed he had lost his son. Iroh's love for Lu Ten mirrored the love he once had for his beloved wife, Lu Ten's mother. Illness took her years ago, and he looked so much like her that it pained the old man to see his son working with Zhao. But, they'd already said those words, already argued enough. Despite his disappointment, Iroh loved his son, and he wouldn't ignore him.
"Hello, my son," he finally spoke, and Lu Ten's shoulders sagged with relief.
"I feared I'd never speak with you again," he said softly, picking up the cup of rice on his tray. His father did the same.
Iroh tilted his head to the side. "And why is that?"
He swallowed before speaking, partly because he was eating, but also because he was nervous to tell his father what was transpiring. He had to sound like a loyal soldier, in case anyone was listening. "Firelord Zhao—" the words barely made it passed his lips, "—is taking the war to the North. Their forces are split between here and the South, he believes he can turn the tides in this battle. He asked me to go with him; I believe my knowledge of the North will be invaluable on this mission." He hoped his knowledge of the north would help protect the innocent people Zhao planned to murder.
Iroh's face didn't change as he ate, though he did glance toward the door several times as Lu Ten spoke, enough to make him glance over his shoulder, but there was nothing there other than the guard stationed on the other side of it—the entire reason Lu Ten had to maintain his façade of loyalty to Zhao.
"Say something, Father," Lu Ten tried to keep the pleading from his tone. He didn't want him to be proud of him—he wanted him to tell him he'd be all right. For the first time in his adult life, Lu Ten was scared. There was more at stake than there had ever been before, and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to take down Zhao on his own if Mai and Ty Lee didn't make it to Aang and the others. He was trained by the best firebenders in the Fire Nation—his father and uncle, but Zhao had years more experience than he did. Based on his own matches against Zuko and Azula, experience trumped talent every time.
"What would you like me to say, Lu Ten?" Iroh asked gruffly. There was hurt in his voice, masked by his anger. "I am not proud of your actions. You are carrying out the orders of a false king whose actions will bring the Fire Nation into disrepair. If war with the Water Tribes happens, none of us will live to see the next spring blossom. Do you not see how your actions damn us all?"
His words stung, and It took every ounce of Lu Ten's will to not flinch, though he was certain his face showed a flicker of his pain. "I know you do not understand, Father. I am doing this for our family."
"No," Iroh shouted. "You are doing this for your own advancement, and you cannot see how this will hurt us." His eyes blazed as he regarded his only son. "I do not remember you ever becoming this man, and I do not approve of it."
Words formed in his throat, practically choking him as he said them. "The Fire Nation fought too hard to be pushed back into the dark. We will not be subservient to another nation ever again."
Iroh's eyes narrowed and he gently placed his rice back on the tray, shoving it back through the bars. "I love you, my son, but you are no longer the man I raised you to be. Get out."
Silently, Lu Ten took the trays and stood, pausing in the doorway when his father started singing softly to himself.
"Leaves from the vine
Falling so slow
Like fragile, tiny shells
Drifting in the foam
Little soldier boy
Come marching home
Brave soldier boy
Comes marching home"
The young prince shoved the trays into the guard next to him, who gave a shout of protest, but Lu Ten didn't hear him. He was already sprinting away, fumbling his way back to his new quarters in the garrison—small, cramped, private—where he collapsed against the wall, his will finally breaking. He had only hours to collect himself before he was expected to set sail. He hated himself for letting that be his last meeting with his father. After all, he might never see him again.
He last spoke to his father the night the fleet snuck out of the bay—it'd been well over a week and his chest still felt hollow after hearing Iroh sing his mother's lullaby. When she passed, Iroh would sing it to him instead, comforting a small boy while he mourned the loss of his mother. He hadn't heard it in years, but now he couldn't stop thinking about it.
What would she say? He found himself wondering when he was alone with his thoughts. Would she be proud of me?
Thankfully, he wasn't alone with his thoughts often. Zhao kept a close eye on him, looking for a slip up to prove his disloyalty. So far, Lu Ten's performance had been flawless.
"Do you think they're following us, General Lu Ten?" Zhao asked as he looked to the sea behind them.
Forced from his thoughts, Lu Ten shook his head. "I ordered my men to sabotage their ships, sir, as instructed. If they wished to follow us, they would be delayed by the repairs." He hoped they would repair them soon. He'd made friends in the North, and he didn't wish to see them dead.
It perplexed the prince that Zhao had chosen to come on this mission, leaving the Fire Nation without their leader while enemy ships rested in their docks. If Sangok was smart, he'd take over. Zhao was out of his way now. "Permission to speak freely, sir?" he asked.
Zhao glanced over at him, raising a brow. "Granted…" he spoke slowly.
Lu Ten voiced his concerns over the Fire Nations safety, and Zhao chuckled in response.
"Oh, no. He won't be taking over—at least not for very long if he does, but I think he'll follow after the note I left him."
"Sir?"
"What do you know about the spirits Tui and La, General?"
Lu Ten's eyes widened as Zhao told the story of his adventure in the desert of the Earth Kingdom and the discoveries he made there.
Aang
"What do you know of Zhao's plans?" Sokka asked Mai and Ty Lee.
We were already on our way north, Appa taking surprisingly well to the number of people on his back—only giving Azula's theory more credit, much to my chagrin.
"Not much," Mai replied with a snort. "Lu Ten didn't get us nearly as much information as he should have."
Ty Lee shot Mai a glare. "He did his best, Mai." She shrugged in response as Ty Lee continued. "Lu Ten said he thought he had some sort of plot in mind. We met one more time after that meeting, and Lu Ten said Zhao spoke of eliminating waterbending for good."
There was a collective gasp, Yue louder than anyone else in the saddle.
"That's not possible, though," Sokka insisted.
I turned to face them fully to find Yue shaking her head. "It is," she rasped. "In the Northern Water Tribe, there's a well-kept secret that only few know. There's a small Oasis, a place kept warm by spiritual energy. There, two fish circle each other—the physical forms of the moon and ocean spirits." Yue's voice broke as she continued. "It is said that waterbenders get their bending from the moon. If he kills the moon spirit, then the North won't be able to defend themselves."
"They'll be wiped out," Toph said solemnly.
"Just like my people." There was a dark edge to my voice. I cast my gaze to the side, watching the terrain pass by as we flew over it.
Genocide, that's what Zhao was after. He was continuing the legacy put forth by Firelord Sozin, continued by Fire Lord Azulon, and ceased by the reigning monarch. My chest feels tight and my stomach churns as I think about how Sozin had my people massacred to kill me. If Zhao truly intended to murder the moon spirit, he was dealing with powers beyond his comprehension. He didn't understand what his actions meant for the balance of the world, and even if he did, he probably didn't care. I was the last surviving member of my nation, I wouldn't let Katara, Sokka, and Yue be the last of theirs.
"I won't let that happen," I promised. "Not again."
"Aang…" Katara's hand rested on my shoulder for a brief second before I shrugged it away.
"I'm fine," I insisted, sounding anything but. I urged Appa forward, pushing him harder than I probably should, but we had to beat Zhao to the Northern Tribe. I'd face him again, and this time?
I'd be ready for him.
So sorry for the short chapter, but I think this baby is coming to a close soon. I've got some intense shenanigans starting soon. I hope you all enjoy them.
And please leave a review! I love to hear your thoughts.
Em
