Author Note: I'm glad the fight scenes didn't send you all running ha-ah I'm introducing a few…different things in this chapter. Hopefully it doesn't though anyone off too much. Thanks for all the favorites, review and followers!

Chapter 19: Healing Freedom

Azula was struggling under Sokka's weight, but she refused to give up. There was no giving up. She looked towards him, he was moving, but barely. His head was hanging down, and he hadn't said anything since they left the back deck.

He's lost so much blood. I have to keep him awake. I have to keep him alive.

"Wake up Peasant. We still have another hallway to get through," she meant for it to come out harsh to get a reaction, but it came out worried and slightly frightened.

When Sokka didn't respond, Azula came close to panicking.

Don't panic don't panic. Keep moving, only a few more feet. Why is this boat so damn big!

Night had fallen as they walked away from the back deck. Most of the people had retired for a night, making Azula quite grateful. They didn't need to draw attention to themselves, particularly when one of them was beaten and they were leaving a scene where dead men laid about.

The hallway lanterns hadn't been lit yet, but the moon was full and rising, which gave her plenty of light to see. The problem was she was moving too slowly. Sokka's weight was being pressed on her more and more as he continued to lose consciousness, his feet only taking the smallest of steps. But they needed to get back to their room as fast as they could; Sokka was losing too much blood.

I should have tied that up before we left…why didn't I think to do that?!

You've never had to deal with these types of injuries before, remember, they were beneath you.

If she had a free hand, she would have smacked her forehead for her past arrogance.

Instead she looked towards the sky and whispered, "I know I've never asked for help, and I probably don't deserve it, but Spirits, if one of you is listening, please help."

All of a sudden Sokka's weight was slightly lifted, as though someone had taken him by the other side. Azula looked over, afraid one of the men had come back only to find...a glowing woman?

She was beautiful. She had long white hair, big blue eyes and was wearing a full winter dress. As Azula looked closer, she noticed that she could see through the woman.

Where the hell did she come from?

"Who...who are you?" She whispered, slightly frightened. The fact that his woman…thing came out of nowhere, plus with the adrenaline still rushing through her from the fight, Azula wasn't trusting anyone.

"We must hurry, he won't make it if you don't stop the bleeding soon," her voice had an eerie echo to it.

Who...whatever she was, did take more of Sokka's weight, helping Azula move faster.

If she tries anything you can deal with her later, but use her help now.

"Right, let's move."

They moved quickly down the hall to the room Azula and Sokka shared. Before Azula could unlock and open the door, it flung open, putting Azula on full alert.

"Do not worry, that was me. We need to get him inside," the woman said.

How the...what the…who the heck is this woman?

They moved him inside, the door shutting behind as they entered, and put him on the bed. Azula flicked her wrist, lighting the candles that were placed around the room. She pulled his sword off and set it on the side of the bed, out of the way. Sokka groaned in pain as they gently shifted him to the center of the bed.

Azula looked him over. His eyes were glazed over and unfocused, the bruises starting to form on his bloodied face. She noticed the few nicks and cuts on his head, then looked at his cut leg, blood flowing out and onto the sheets. Azula ripped them apart finding a horizon cut running across the side of his thigh. It didn't look to be deep, but it was bleeding steadily.

"You must stop the bleeding. You have to cauterize the wound with a hot blade," the woman said urgently.

"That will hurt him! I can't do that," Azula argued.

He's already been hurt enough. Azula stroked his hair gently.

The woman...ghost answered back, "If you don't he'll die. The bleeding has to be stopped. Use your dagger and your fire. Get it red hot then place it flat against the wound. I will keep him from feeling anything," she turned towards Sokka and laid her hand on his head. Sokka's eyes closed, his body becoming still.

Trust her Azula, she's helped you this far.

Azula pulled her dagger out and cleaned the blood from the fight off with her shirt. With blue flames coming from her mouth, she started heating the dagger. When it was red hot, she moved it towards the wound.

"Promise me he can't feel this. Please, I don't want him to be hurt anymore." Azula was shocked at how close to tears she was.

A cold hand held her chin, directing it upward into those eerie blue eyes.

"He can't feel anything. I swear to you. Do it, do it now."

Azula took a deep breath and placed the hot steel to Sokka's thigh. He didn't move an inch. The smell of burning flesh made Azula gag, but she kept the dagger pressed to the wound.

A few seconds later, she removed the dagger. A red and black welt stood in place of the long cut. She cooled the blade with her hand and set it aside on the bed. Placing her other hand on the burn, she pulled the heat out of the wound, keeping the burn from spreading, helping the skin to heal.

"Get a cold wet cloth and press it against the wound. Then hold it in place with a dry strip of cloth."

Azula jumped up and did what was asked of her. It never occurred to her that she was taking orders from another human being...but then again, this woman didn't seem like a normal human being.

She brought the wet cloth back and pressed it against the wound. Ripping a strap of cloth from her skirt, she proceeded to wrap Sokka's leg, tying it in place.

"Will he be okay?" Azula asked quietly, brushing Sokka's hair once more. She couldn't risk losing him, he meant too much to her.

"You know, many of us were surprised when you asked for help. You are so strong and prideful. But I have seen how much he means to you, and I know how much he meant to me. That's why I had to help. You acted so quickly and came to his aid so fast, he will be okay," the woman caressed Sokka's hair, opposite to the side Azula was.

She gave a small smile still caressing Sokka's hair, looking at him. "He'll be upset that he slept through me being here. I know he has so many things he wants to tell me. I did what I had to do to protect my people and I hold nothing against him." She looked straight at Azula once more.

Azula asked quietly, "Who…what are you?"

She smiled softly, "Take care of him, Azula, Princess of the Fire Nation. He's always been the protector of the group. Now you must be that for him. Stay with him. You can trust those who come to help. They know the ancient ways of healing."

With that she faded away before Azula's eyes, all that was left was moonlight shining through the window of the room. Azula blinked rapidly, not understanding what just happened.

She was right there…where did she…where did she go? What was that about hearing me ask for help…who did I…? Azula abruptly looked out the small window at the moon. Remembering the part of the tale Sokka had told her days before.

"Yue, the first love of my life, turned into the moon spirit." Sokka's voice sounded in Azula's mind.

She was glowing, and she did seem to have feelings for Sokka….could that really have been Yue…the moon spirit?

Sokka started shifting in the bed, making small moans of pain, pulling Azula from her train of thought. Moon spirit or not, it was up to her to keep Sokka alive now. Moving over to the bathroom, Azula wet another rag to clean Sokka up.

She warmed the rag with her hands as she moved back to the bed. Sitting back on the bed next to him, she started to gently wash the blood away from his face. Inspecting the wounds to his head, she sighed in relief. The cuts had already stopped bleeding and didn't seem to be too deep.

She unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it out and away from his body. More bruises covered his chest and stomach. Azula laid her hand gently upon them.

Why did I let you go alone? I should have followed you…why didn't I follow you?

A knock on the door pulled Azula from her examination.

Grabbing her dagger, she walked cautiously to the door. Taking a deep calming breath, she became the controlled princess once more.

"Who is it?" she demanded,

"It's me the little old lady from room 21…and my husband. Is your man okay?"

"You can trust those who come to help. They know the ancient ways of healing." The possible Yue moon spirit had told Azula.

She opened the door slowly; checking to make sure it was just the old lady and her husband. She let out a sigh, when she saw the couple on the other side.

Where the old lady was short and plump, her husband was tall and thin. Like his wife, he had white hair, and was sporting a white beard that went down just past the middle of his neck. Azula noted that his green eyes were searching the hallway, as though looking for any signs of attack.

Azula opened the door further, ushering them inside. With a final search of the hallways, she closed and locked the door.

Turning she found the old lady had already made it to the bed and was looking over Sokka, poking and prodding the bruises on his chest gently. The man was simply standing there, turning his gaze from Azula to his wife.

"Don't do that, you'll hurt him," Azula said aggressively.

"I'm checking to see if any ribs are cracked or broken. Thankfully it is feeling like he was only bruised," the old woman turned towards her bags. Azula moved up to her quickly, she may have been told to trust them by a spirit, but that didn't mean she was going to do it right away.

The old lady pulled out four medium size thin circular stones, handing them to Azula.

"Heat those with your fire bending until they glow light blue, then place them down the center of his chest and abs," she ordered. The stones were completely black, shiny and smooth. Each one was about the same size of Azula's palm and had a thickness the size of her pinky.

They turn blue?

To find out she began to heat the stones with her palms, they slowly changed from black to a dark blue.

"What are these?" Azula asked, amazed as the stones slowly changed colors.

"They are called Wu-Qi stones. When heated and placed on the chest of a wounded body, they balance the energy of the body and increase the healing ability... Many have forgotten of their existence." She looked towards Sokka, "Which is a shame because they can do miraculous things. Some believed there healing powers could rival those of the greatest water benders."

That little bit of information is really going to burn the water bending witch, when we return to the Fire Nation. I'll have a rock powered by fire that can heal better than her stupid peasant water bending. That is if they work of course…she looked down at the rocks, they were glowing a light blue.

"Place them down the center of his upper body…"

"Won't they burn him?" Azula interrupted.

"The shell only allows a little heat out at a time, while the core of the stone holds the rest. It will be hotter than a resting hand would be, but not hot enough to leave a mark."

Azula placed the four stones down the center of Sokka's upper body, one right below his neck, one between his pecs, one on his upper abdomen and one below. Sokka's body seemed to relax as more of the stones were placed.

"Now the important thing you need to remember is to keep those stones bright blue throughout the night. If they lose their heat, they won't work properly. And they must always be placed upon the naked chest of a body. Even the thinnest of cloth will keep the stones from doing what they need to do. If they stay hot throughout the night, he should be moving around decently tomorrow by the time we port," the old lady instructed.

"How do you know about these?" Azula asked, glancing up at the old lady, taking her attention away from Sokka for a few moments.

The old lady sat in a chair next to the bed. Crossing her legs she looked at Azula," I have studied the art of healing for many years. A long time ago I came across the book about the healing arts of earth and fire. It was a very old book, centuries old really, and it talked about the Wu-Qi stones. A balancing stone made of earth, powered by fire but only found under the light of the moon. I became slightly obsessed with finding these stones." She smiled sheepishly then continued, "The book mentioned an area out in the barren territories where they were last found, years ago.

So we traveled there, my husband and myself, and started searching under the moonlight. We were searching around for weeks when my husband started to take ill." She paused to take a deep breath.

"It started off as a small cough, that he tried to tell me was nothing." She leaned towards Azula, saying quietly, "Men always believe they have to be strong and healthy all the time, until they really take ill, then it's like they're dying, even if it is just the sniffles. Like children really." Azula looked towards the old man, still standing on the side of the room shaking his head back and forth, a small smile on his face. Azula could see the affection they had for one another.

Could I have that one day? She looked down at Sokka's still sleeping form. Maybe….

The old woman continued, "Oh don't shake your head, you know you're bad about it. Anyway, he started to get worse and worse and nothing I did helped him. Here I was, a master earth kingdom healer, and I couldn't even heal my husband. I was getting so worried. I thought he wouldn't survive the night.

But then, the strangest thing occurred, I found a pile of stones being lit by light of the full moon. Like the moon spirit was reflecting off of those rocks and nothing else. I couldn't believe my luck. I set them as close to the fire as I could without burning myself, praying that they were the Wu-Qi stones. As the fire heated the stones, they started to glow blue. I had found them, or the moon spirit helped me find them I should say.

I put the heated rocks on his chest, and by the next day, it was like he had never been sick at all." She smiled lovingly at her husband once more.

Healing rocks lit by the full moon in a person's hour of need…Azula looked at the moonlight once more.

"They are miracle healers, long forgotten during the ages of war and rage. Being a fire bender, you will be able to use them whenever you need them to be used. No need for a fire, no need to wait." The old lady smiled at Azula, she smiled back but then slowly started to frown.

"How did you know I was a fire bender anyway? I haven't done any fire bending on this ship until tonight…,"suspicious rose through Azula.

The old lady continued to smile, "No one notices an old couple simply taking a stroll around the ship. We caught the end of your attack. You must have a great amount of control to be able to create lighting like that. That's a great ability you have. "

Annoyance filled Azula, "if you saw it, why didn't you help? Or at least help me carry him back? I almost lost him!"

But you had a spirit help you…I think the spirit did more than some old people and rocks could, even if the rocks are powerful.

"We stayed behind to clean up the attack," for the first time the old man spoke. His voice was deep with authority, "We threw the dead ones over the railing into the sea. A wave came over the ship, strangely enough, and washed most of the blood away."

Didn't the moon spirit control the water…Azula looked towards the moonlight shining in the room.

"The two others, we left hidden on the back deck, positioned as though they had passed out from too much drink. Just in case anyone was to stumble upon them. I wanted to end them…but my wife…she has a big heart and she asked that I leave them alone. I could never deny her anything, "the old man looked towards the woman who was smiling gently at him.

"Why did you do it?" Azula asked quietly. She couldn't understand why they had done that. What did this couple gain from helping them?

"No one can know what you did last night. You and your man must get off this ship tomorrow and out of the city. You've stirred up a pot full of stuff than you can't even begin to imagine," the old lady stated calmly. "I do not know why you're here, or where you're going, but you must be very cautious now. Trust no one, believe nothing."

Well that's how I've pretty much lived my entire life, so we're good there.

"How do I know you two won't sell us out?" Azula asked suspiciously. They did, after all, just tell her not to trust anyone.

"We have wanted this pot stirred for quite a while. We're just too old to do it. The colonies need to be helped, and you and your man are just the ones to do it," she looked intently into Azula's eyes, as if she knowing all of Azula's secrets.

She can't know who I am…can she?

"It's time to go, we can't be seen with them if we're to remain hidden," the old man said quietly.

Rising the old woman said, "You're right dear, you're right. Now remember, when the ship ports tomorrow, grab your stuff and get off and out the city as quickly as you can. And make sure to keep those stones light blue throughout the rest of the night. You will be surprised to see how well he feels, and looks tomorrow." The old lady glanced down at Sokka, a small glint in her yes, "although even bruised and beaten, he still looks pretty damn fine to me."

Laughing lightly, Azula got up from the bed as well. The old man opened the door silently, checking to see if the hallway was clear. He gave his wife a nod.

"Good night. Oh, almost forgot," the old lady ruffled through her bag once more. "Make sure to give him this when he wakes up," the old lady handed Azula another black stone, about half the size of the others. "It's a smaller one I know. But I think he'll find a good use for it."

Looking down at the smaller stone, something occurred to Azula, "wait, how will I get the other stones back to you?"

The old couple shook their heads at the same time. The old man spoke, "Keep them. You'll need them again before your journey is done. Not to mention, she has more of those stones than you can possibly believe. Trust me, we're covered. "

With that they slipped out of the room, closing the door tightly behind them.

Azula locked it and walked towards the window facing the moon once more.

"Thank you. A thousand times thank you," Azula whispered.

Ending Author note: Okay so hopefully you enjoyed this chapter. (I get nervous when I create something completely…out there…) I'd hate to start writing less than 'quality' chapters as the story continues. Especially since so many of you are following and/or favoriting this.

Please leave reviews, positive or negative! Unless they're super negative…then just like, hang on to those LOL or PM me. I can read it there

Onward to the next chapter, which should have the fun back