CHAPTER RATING: T (Language)

A/N:

It's been a while.

Chapter 33: Plans and Premonitions

"That's right." Mai's flat voice echoed again. "Your uncle is a prisoner at the Boiling Rock."

"You're sure?" Azula asked.

"Short, Old, and tubby. A person who speaks in riddles, and talks about tea every chance he gets."

"But why would he be kept alive?" Zuko started. "After Father-"

"Don't call him that!" Azula cut him off. "He doesn't deserve to be called that by us anymore. Not after what he's done."

Zuko nodded.

"After Ozai left, we couldn't find Uncle. He wasn't in the palace, or in the prison. Despite what we thought, we could never confirm that he was actually dead."

"Yeah." Mai answered again. "Because he's not dead."

Footsteps pattered behind her as the thought finished.

"So, when are we leaving?" Ty Lee's voice entered the room.

...

"You must understand, Sokka. A sword is-"

"Yeah, I know, it's an extension of myself."

"No." With a firm jab from the sheath of his Master's blade, Sokka was knocked off his feet. Master Piandao drew his sword and held it at the boy's throat. "A sword is a weapon. The art of Swordsmanship is learning how to kill." He pushed away the wooden stick Sokka held. "Ask yourself a very important question, Sokka." His intense, deathly gaze tore through any 'tough guy' façade. "When the time comes, can you stare your opponent in the eye, sense the fear in his heart, and then take his life?"

Sokka felt a lump in his throat as he tried to answer.

"If you cannot give me an answer now, you will have to find the resolve yourself when Death comes for you."

Another knot formed in his stomach.

"Is that understood?"

"Yes, Master." The elderly man brought forth a hand, and helped his student back onto his feet.

"Pick up your weapon, you have five minutes until you resume exercises. Use your time wisely."

"Yes, Master." Sokka bowed before limping over to his wooden sword, picking it up, and then falling into the shade of a nearby tree.

...

"Aang, tell me what happened." Katara begged. He didn't answer, didn't even turn to face her. "Whatever it is, Aang, you can tell me." She stepped closer to him, and sat on the bed.

With Death's threat still fresh in his mind, he shifted further away from her.

"You don't want to know."

"But I do want to know." She placed a hand on his arm.

"Then I don't want to show you!" He snapped and pulled away, leaping up of the bed, she saw a defensive scorn in his expression, with sadness in his eyes. "Don't...Don't make me show you, please." His voice dies down into a whimper.

"Okay, Aang. If that's what you want." A little bit of the tension in him fades. "If that's what you really want, I won't force you to." Katara returned to her feet, and began walking. "Just know that I'm always here for you. No matter what." She leaned over and kissed his forehead before walking past him.

It hurt, watching him do nothing to stop her as she left the room.

It hurts when she wants to help, but she just can't.

It hurts to be powerless.

"Just do one thing for me..." A whisper entered her ears. Katara turned around to face him, her eyes as soft and gentle as ever.

"What can I do?"

"Just...Don't leave me here, alone. I can't risk..." He tried to reword his thoughts. "I don't want to be alone."

"I'll always be with you." She walked up to him, and held his hands. "You made that promise to me in the Spirit World. We'll be together forever."

Just hearing her say that brought him relief.

...

"Is everything ready?" Azula looked out through the windows of her massive zeppelin.

"Yes, Commander. There is only one problem...A lever is missing, it seems to have been pulled off, no one under my watch can explain it."

Azula sighed and shook her head.

"I'll be back, stay alert."

There was only one person who could do this.

"Yes, M'am!"

Azula stomped her way out to the courtyard. Under a lone tree with a large shade, sat the always bratty, bitchy, foul-mouthed Beifong girl.

Toph stared up at the bright light that entered her vision. Her arms wrapped around each other behind her head, serving as a pillow. A wide grin graced her lips as she felt the Fire Nation Princess approaching.

"Give it." Azula held out her hand.

"Huh? Give what?" Toph shrugged, and then caught herself. "Oh! High five!" She smacked Azula's hand with a playful weakness and smiled.

"Don't play games with me, little girl. I know you took the lever that my pilots need. Now give it back."

"Why, I have absolutely no idea what you are taking about." Toph shrugged again and pulled a black pellet from her pocket. Azula trembled with her fists clenched. "Oh, you mean this?" Toph opend her palm and held the metal ball. "This isn't it! This is just some scrap that I found out in the courtyard." She bent it back into its original form.

Azula lunged towards it. Toph closed her fist, and turned it back into a ball.

"Why, you little…" Azula took in a deep breath. "Fine. I'll bargain with you. What do you want in exchange for it?"

"I want to know why you need it. Where are you and your friends going?"

Azula scowled, her arm still twitching.

"We're going to the Boiling Rock. Uncle is being held there, and we're going to rescue him."

"Did you tell Aang?"

"He doesn't need to know." Azula pulled away. "It'll only cause more trouble if he worried about us. Besides, this is a family matter. We can take care of this."

"And what exactly, is your plan?"

"Ozai still thinks that he's got Zuko under his control. He probably knows that I'm out of it. So we're going to turn me into the authorities, and then we'll rescue Uncle from the inside."

"And you don't want any help?"

"We don't. We can do this ourselves."

"Okay. If you insist. Oh, and come back in one piece. I'm pretty sure Aang would be broken if one of his Sugar Mommas was hurt." Toph bellowed with laughter before walking away.

"…Thanks." Azula sighed before turning around, and walking away.

Toph stood up, and walked towards Aang's room.

...

Two knocks came at the door, and Toph entered the room.

"Yo! What's up?!" She entered as loud and brash as ever.

"What is it, Toph?" Katara's tone made her laugh. "Don't just budge in here."

"Hey, I knocked!" Toph punched the door two more times. "Besides, what's up with Twinkletoes?" She sensed the Avatar sitting on the floor, cross-legged and silent. His breathing barely audible, his heartbeat, nearly nonexistent.

"He's meditat-"

"Hey! Wake up!" Toph raised her hand and struck Aang's cheek. She was met with nothing but the same stoic expression.

"You can't just wake him up up like that!" Katara pulled her away. "He's not asleep! He's in the Spirit World!"

"Well, then go in there, and get his ass out! Something big is goin' down!" Toph pushed Katara out of the way, and began to shake the young Avatar. "Get back to your damn body, Twinkletoes!"

"Get off of him!" Katara pulled Toph back again, forcing the earthbender to fall to the ground. Toph could feel the frustration in Katara's breathing, and Katara could see the shock and joy on Toph's face. "You can't do that to his body, Toph! He could get hurt." Katara slowed her breathing. "What's the problem?"

"The problem is, the band of Fire Nation kids is leaving! And Aang's other Sugar Momma is leaving with them!"

"They're leaving?! Why?"

"Their uncle is a prisoner at the Boiling Rock. And they're going to rescue him."

A moment of silent contemplation passed.

"We got to help. He deserves to be rescued after all he's done for us." Katara turned to Aang. "We can't know how long it'll take until Aang returns." She grabbed a piece of paper and a brush. "We'll leave him a note."

Katara scribbled down some words, an apology, and a signature. But did not leave information as to where they were headed.

"Let's go, we can catch them before they leave!" Katara shouted as they leapt up and began running through the halls.

"We've got to hurry, I can feel the engine!"

...

"Is everything ready?" Azula asked.

"Nearly, we should be ready to take off in 10 minutes or so." An engineer replied.

A knock came at the door.

"Commander." A familiar messenger bowed. Azula nodded. "The Avatar's companions are here, they've requested an audience with you. I have them waiting in the Assembly Hall."

"Tell them that I'll be there shortly." She turned back towards the engineer. "Shin, don't take off until I've returned and given the order."

"Yes, M'am!"

The fire-lit metallic halls echoed with Azula's footsteps, sounding off like a warning the closer she came to the Assembly Hall.

Katara, Sokka, and Toph sat in makeshit chairs bent into shape by the blind metal manipulator.

"You better fix my floor panels by the time we're done talking."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get it back into shape." Toph waved her hand. "You could've atleast put us up in one of those nice rooms. Like the one where you and Twinkletoes fu-"

Katara jabbed Toph's arm, who only replied with a sly grin.

"We came here to help you." Katara continued. "After everything that your uncle has done for us. The least we could do is help him escape."

"That's true and all, and your uncle has my eternal respect, but I'm still a newbie when it comes to using a sword. So I don't think I'd be of much use." Sokka tried to squirm out of the zepplin.

"Not so fast!" His blood froze with Katara's outburst. "You don't have a choice!"

"That's touching, and deeply appreciated. But I'm afraid that your cowardly brother here has the right idea." Azula replied. "We don't need you on this mission."

"See, Katara? She says we don't go, so we don't go." Sokka leapt up and began his strut out of the area.

"Toph watch him real quick." Katara demanded.

"You got it!" Toph jumped up herself as she felt the tension between the Avatar's two Sugar Mommas.

They walked out further into the distance, until their footsteps gave way to the roaring of fans and machinery.

"Look." Katara started. "I don't care what you think. You don't like me and I don't like you. But we've been through a lot together. I mean...We nearly defeated the Firelord that one day. Whether you like it or not, we're a pretty good team." The fierce gaze in Katara's eyes pushed Azula back.

"You can't go." Azula recovered.

"Uh huh. And why not?" Katara crossed her arms. "Do you really hate me that much?!"

"It's not about you." Azula found it difficult to raise her voice. "I have nothing against you."

"Then what is it about?"

"It's about A-...The Avatar." Katara saw a softness, a pain, and a torn soul through the eyes of the Fire Nation Princess. "This is something that I've prepared for." A small, weak smile took her lips. "We've both wanted to be with him. Well, if I don't return from this mission, he's all yours."

Katara paused after hearing this from a person that she had almost been conditioned to hate. She felt speechless, unable to rebound quick enough.

To have the possibility of Azula's death or imprisonment on the line, all for someone that she loved, and preparing herself for the worst.

"Wait!" Katara stopped Azula just as she was turning around. "We agreed to our deal to make him happy. To not see him suffer anymore. How hurt, and betrayed do you think he'd feel, if one of us left, and never made it back?"

"Imagine how hurt he'd be if both of us didn't come back." Azula spat back. "I'm giving you am opportunity to erase me from the picture. Why do you care so much?"

"Because I care about Aang more than anyone else. And I never want to see him hurt again. Imagine how happy he'd be, if both of us did come back." Katara nodded. "You helped me at Fei Xing, let me help you at the Boiling Rock."

...

Aang opened his eyes to a familiar sight. The clouds of the Boundless Sky moved in their infinite stride across the azure ocean that hung above him. A place that brought to him some semblance of home and belonging. But then, he was greeted by an unfamiliar, commanding voice.

"You're the Avatar." Aang turned to see a man with long, black and grey hair. The most prominent features he noticed were the man's strong cheekbones, and a distinctive scar that cut away at his left eyebrow. "I welcome you."

"Who are you?" Aang asked.

"My name isn't important." He answered. "Now please, have a seat."

It was only now that Aang finally noticed that this strange, old man was levitating.

"If you can't tell me your name, then can you at least tell me who you are?"

"I'm a man who you will meet in the far-off future."

"The future? How is that even possible? And you're levitating? Are you an airbender?"

"Sit down. And I will answer all of your questions." Aang did as he was told, his gaze still locked with the piercing eyes of the stranger. "The wise guru Laghima once said: 'If you base your expectations in reality. You close your mind off to the possibilities.'"

"Possibilities? Like what?"

"The possibility of this conversation. By the time I reach this age you will have been dead, and resurrected as the next Avatar, Korra of the Southern Water Tribe. Time has no place in the Spirit World. The things that have happened are still ongoing, and the things that will happen have already occurred."

"..." Aang took a deep breath, "So why are you here? And how are you levitating?"

"I'm here to send you a message. And tell you a lesson that can only be learned through experience." He rose higher. "It's not levitation. It's flight."

"Ho-" Aang began, but remembered his words. And nodded.

"Guru Laghima is renowned by scholars as a man who unlocked the secret of flight. The ability to let go. To 'unhinge your Earthly tether.' And become Wind." He descended, and returned to his feet. "If you learn this mantra, and take it into yourself, you too, can become as weightless as the air you bend."

"But how? Who can teach me? Can you?"

"Letting go of all earthly possessions and attachments is no easy task. I am only only an informant. You will have to unlock the secret yourself."

"How did you unlock the secret?" Aang wanted to hear the answer before he was sent back to the Physical World. His connection was breaking.

"The woman I loved, the only person I cared for, was murdered." Aang felt the shadow of Death linger in the corners of his mind. "When I lost her, I lost all connection to purpose, and Life. I embraced Death, accepted my fate, and became free."

His eyes snapped open.

The room was quiet.

The sky was dark.

And Katara was no where to be seen.

PUBLISHED ON: 04/18/2015

A/N:

Thanks for reading!