32
Kagemi sat up in her bed, glaring down at the sheets. She was so tired, but she couldn't risk another sleep. When she had awoken last time, the cracks on her face had reached down to her neck, and she wasn't looking forward to giving Hoshiko a chance to get out. She growled and threw off the sheets. She got up and dressed herself out of her bedclothes and stepped out of the room. She needed something to do to keep her awake. She couldn't think of anything better than to wander around the palace, as boring as it seemed. She almost enjoyed being awake for so long at night. It gave her a chance to better plan out what she was going to do for the invasion. What she wanted to do was fight on the front lines, crushing all the pathetic Earth Kingdom soldiers, and maybe even crushing one or two of Hoshiko's friends.
What she wouldn't give to break Kotaro's bones! Or maybe crush Sokka's skull. Hell, maybe she'd even throw in an eye-gouging for the little water bender. Chop off the limbs of everyone else, she doesn't care what happens to them. Oh, what she would give…
However, she couldn't risk fighting them and injuring them. She wouldn't give Hoshiko that chance. Ever since she had arrived in the Fire Nation, she had been fighting for her body, and she didn't like it. She was not giving up what she had worked years for to get for herself.
She turned down the hallway and continued walking, not really knowing where she was going, and not really caring. She was surprised, though, when she saw Azula walking down the same hallway. She looked over at Kagemi.
"What are you doing up so late?" She asked her.
"I could ask you the same, highness." Kagemi replied, going over to her. Azula shrugged.
"I wasn't tired." She said, Kagemi said nothing in return. "I've been thinking over what to do for the invasion."
"That's good." Kagemi said, coming up beside the princess.
Azula turned to her, "I have a job for you, Kagemi."
"You always do." She said, she looked to the princess, "Anything in particular you wish to discuss with me?"
"Wasn't your host a friend of the avatar's?" Azula asked. Kagemi quirked a brow at her.
"You know she was." Kagemi said, "Why do you ask?" Azula smirked.
Kotaro gazed up at the night sky as they flew through the air to the rendezvous point for the invasion, with no cloud cover blocking the view. It was a rare chance for him to look up at the sky at night while they were flying, and he took it. They landed Appa on an island that was filled with herds of wild koala sheep. Sokka looked over his map, then over at the land of the island.
"This is it." He said, "The official rendezvous point for the invasion force."
"How did you pick this place?" Toph asked, wiggling her toes in the soft grass around them.
"Before we split up, my dad and I found this island on a map." Sokka said, "It's uninhabited, and the harbor surrounded by cliffs seemed like the perfect secluded place."
"Nice choice, Sokka." Katara praised as she set up her sleeping bag. "And we're here four days ahead of schedule."
"Wait, four days?!"Aang exclaimed in shock, "The invasions in four days?!" He looked around anxiously, suddenly very nervous.
Sokka yawned as he lay down on his sleeping bag, "Whatever, that's, like, four days from now. Let's just calm down and…" He stopped, suddenly overcome by his sleep and started snoring. Kotaro let out a chuckle at him before lying down on his own sleeping bag.
"As ridiculous as he is, Sokka's got the right idea, Aang." He said to the air bender, "We're here, we're prepared, the best thing we can do right now is get plenty of rest." He lay down, using his arm as a make-shift pillow.
"Mm… I guess…" Aang said, sounding a little reluctant. He lay down and closed his eyes, hoping to get some sleep before the night was over.
Kagemi knocked on the door of the house that Azula had sent her to. It was opened by a servant.
"I'm here to see Mai." Kagemi said, "Tell her it's Kagemi." The servant nodded and let her into the house. She stayed in the home's foyer until Mai came into the room, a displeased scowl on her face.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, not happy to see the Shinjun.
"Don't get so excited," Kagemi remarked sarcastically, "Wouldn't want you to have a heart attack." Mai's scowl deepened.
"What do you want?" She asked, Kagemi held out a scroll.
"I want your father." She said, "Princess Azula wants your father's platoons to help protect the palace during the invasion. I need him to look over these."
"Dad's not home." Mai said, crossing her arms over her chest, "So come back later."
"Princess Azula said I couldn't return to the palace without them." Kagemi said, mimicking the way she crossed her arms.
"Well, I don't know where he is." Mai said, trying to get her out of the house.
"Well, I guess I'll just have to wait until your old man comes home." Kagemi replied, insisting on staying in the house.
"I'm expecting someone." Mai said.
"So am I." Kagemi replied. Mai glared at her, and she glared back in return.
"Why don't you bug Ty Lee?" Mai demanded.
"Because I hate her." Kagemi said, "Besides, bugging you is much more fun." Mai frowned and was about to say something more when someone knocked on the door. She glared at Kagemi.
"Fine, you can stay." She said, "Just keep shut and out of sight, got it?" Kagemi rolled her eyes.
"Or what? You'll poke a new hole in me with your fancy knives?" Kagemi asked mockingly. Mai walked past her and opened the door, smiling at Zuko, who smiled in return.
"Hey." She greeted.
"Hey." Zuko returned, he leaned down and lightly kissed her lips.
"Well, look who came to join the party! Prince Scarface." Kagemi said with a smirk as she looked at the couple. Zuko looked up, noticing her for the first time and scowled.
"What are you doing here, Kagemi?" He asked.
"Princess Azula ordered me to come here." Kagemi said with a frown, "Believe me, I don't like this anymore than you do."
"Just remember what I said." Mai said warningly, again, Kagemi rolled her eyes.
"Whatever." She shooed them away, "Go and cuddle or whatever it is you do. I'll 'keep shut and out of sight'." Zuko put his arm around Mai's shoulders and they walked away to another room, leaving Kagemi in the foyer.
Kotaro was awoken the next morning by the sound of pounding and the feeling of the shaking ground. For a second, he feared an earthquake, but once he opened his eyes, he saw that was not the case. He looked to see that it was Aang, fighting against a tree, punching it and kicking it. Everyone looked at his state, his eyes wide, little dark circles under his eyes, and he seemed a little… crazed.
Kotaro looked over at Sokka and Katara, who looked just as confused as he was.
"Hey, how long have you been up?" Katara asked.
"A couple hours." Aang said, he began moving around the tree, attacking different points, "I've got a lot more skills to refine if I'm gonna fight Ozai."
"You know," Katara began, "There is such a thing as over-training." Aang punched the tree again, apparently a bit too hard, because the backlash of the punch went through his entire body and he fell over for a second, all the leaves from the branches falling down on him a second later. Everyone looked at the leaf-pile worriedly, wondering if Aang was okay. He quickly jumped out of the pile in a fighting stance, looking at Katara.
"You don't get it, do you?" He asked as he began to circle her, "My form is bad, I'm sloppy, and I still don't know any fire bending! Not even the basics!" His eye twitched for a moment and Katara looked at him concernedly.
"Fire bending isn't that big of a deal for this, Aang." Kotaro said, "The eclipse will block it all anyway, so you don't need to know any."
"Plus, it's a stupid element." Sokka added in.
"O-Okay, well, I still have to work on everything else!" Aang said, making some chopping motions in the air, "I better spend the whole day training." He quickly bowed to where Sokka, Kotaro, and Toph were sitting, then to Katara, then he made an air scooter and sped off. Katara looked after him worriedly.
"Don't worry, Katara." Kotaro assured her, "I'm sure he'll be fine. It can't hurt to get in a little extra training. It's a big battle."
"I know that, but…" Katara turned to him, "I'm still worried."
Kotaro smiled at her concern for him, "Well, the best way to build up muscle strength is to train for a whole day, rest the entire day after. I'm sure that's what he's planning on doing." Katara nodded, but she still seemed unsure, "Aang's a tough kid, he'll be fine."
"But he's still a kid." Katara said, Kotaro frowned, knowing he couldn't argue about that logic.
Later on that day, Aang came back from an entire day of vigorous training. He didn't stop except for food and the occasional bathroom break. He went back to where everyone was ready to sleep, and he lay down on the grass, ready for bed after such a long day.
"Goodnight Katara. Goodnight Sokka. Goodnight Toph. Goodnight Kotaro. Goodnight Appa. Goodnight Momo. Goodnight Appa and Mo-"
"Go to sleep already!" Toph snapped. Aang flinched at her voice and stopped, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
He awoke two hours later, scared out of his mind from his nightmare. He got up, deciding he should train more, and went over to where a small group of koala sheep were sleeping and began circling, waiting for one of them to move to help him train. Katara noticed him getting up and looked at him. She walked over to where he was.
"Aang, it's the middle of the night." She said, "You need to go back to sleep."
"But I forgot my pants and my math test!" Aang said, continuing to circle the sheep. Katara looked at him oddly, his statement not making any sense. She shook her head and went over to him, gently placing her hands on his shoulder.
"Aang, sleep." She said softly, turning him around to face her, "Please. For me?" Aang looked at her a moment longer, and his eyes softened. He nodded and went to do as she asked, laying down at his place across from where Katara had been sleeping.
"…And I need your seal here." Kagemi said, pointing to the bottom of the document that temporarily signed over all soldiers under the control of Mai's father to Fire Lord Ozai on the day of the invasion. He did so with no argument, burning some wax onto the page and placing his seal upon the paper. Kagemi smiled in satisfaction at the paper as she rolled it up. "Pleasure doing business with you." With that, she turned around, her tail 'accidentally' knocking over a bottle of ink and ruining whatever papers he had been working on. It was retaliation for when he commanded one of his servants to 'toss out this filthy Shinjun muck!' from his house. She heard him frantically try to stop the downpour of ink and gather up his papers from it. Kagemi grinned in victory as she walked down the hall. She passed by the room where Mai and Zuko were cuddling with each other, the room's entrance flanked by two of Zuko's personal servants. She looked into the room with an indifferent expression as she heard the words that were exchanged between them.
"Tell me, if you could have anything you wanted right now, what would it be?" Zuko asked Mai.
"Hmm…" She thought for a moment, "A big, fancy fruit tart, with rose petals on top."
"You know, being a prince and all," Zuko began, "I might just be able to make that happen."
Mai laughed, "That would be impressive."
Zuko looked up at the two servants saying, "You think you could find a fresh fruit tart for the lady? With rose petals on top?" The two servants bowed.
"Excellent choice, sir." One servant said, both of them going off to get the fruit tart in question. Kagemi made a disgusted face, her nose scrunching up and her tongue sticking out.
"I just might hack up a hairball…" She muttered to herself.
"I guess there are some nice perks that come with being royalty." Mai said, not having heard anything Kagemi said as she lay back down with Zuko on the couch, "Though, there's annoying stuff, too. Like that all-day war meeting coming up."
"War meeting?" Zuko asked, suddenly sitting up. Kagemi's ears perked at his tone of voice. "What are you talking about?"
"You don't know?" Kagemi asked from the door, getting the couples attention. She was a little surprised that Zuko didn't know anything about the meeting, "Fire Lord Ozai is having a very important meeting about the future outcome of the war. All his generals, admirals, and advisors are attending, including your sister. Aren't you going?"
"I guess I wasn't invited." Zuko muttered. Kagemi grinned.
"Well, considering how things went the last time you went to a meeting," Kagemi began, "You should be thanking the Gods that Daddy dearest isn't going to burn your other eye." Zuko turned sharply to her with a glare.
"You watch your mouth!" He snapped. Kagemi grinned.
"Ooh, I made the prince mad." She said in a phony voice, "I'm shaking in my boots!" She let out a cackle as she walked down the hallway and out the door, heading back to the palace, shutting the door loudly behind her.
"Sokka, get up! I need to know what day it is!"
"What?! Who's talking?!"
THUD
"Ow."
This was the sound Kotaro woke up to. He saw Sokka lying on his back holding his forehead with a groan. Aang stood over him, looking at him with wide and worried eyes.
"Relax!" Toph groaned, "It's still two days before the invasion."
"Sokka!" Aang grabbed Sokka's legs and started pulling them up, "You've gotta get up and drill your rock-climbing exercises!"
"What?" Sokka asked tiredly.
"In one of my dreams you were running from Fire Nation soldiers, trying to climb this cliff!" Aang explained, demonstrating what Sokka had been doing with his own hands, "But you were too slow and they got you!"
"But that was just a dream." Sokka said, standing up, "I'm a great climber."
"Then climb that cliff!" Aang said, pointing at a cliff nearby, "Climb it fast!"
Sokka looked up at the cliff, then back at Aang, who nodded enthusiastically. He sighed and went to go climb the cliff, muttering, "Stupid avatar… stupid cliff… stupid dream! I can climb fast!" Aang watched him climb with a smile of relief.
He turned around to where Kotaro was yawning and stretching his limbs up.
"Don't yawn!" Aang said suddenly, shocking the Shinjun out of his sleepy state, making him quickly shut his mouth, accidentally biting his tongue.
"Ow... Why?" He asked.
"In one of my dreams, we were fighting against the Fire Nation, but you were really tired and you were yawning a lot!" Aang explained, "One of the fire benders blasted a ball of fire into your mouth and burned you from the inside and you died!"
"Aang that was just a dream." Kotaro said as Toph took a drink of water from a container.
"Don't drink that!" Aang shouted at her. She immediately spat it out onto Katara.
"Why? Is it poisoned?!" She asked frantically as Katara bended the water off of her and somewhere else.
"In my dream, we were right in the middle of the invasion and you had to stop to use the bathroom!" Aang said, "We died because of your tiny bladder!" He turned to Katara, "And you need to start wearing your hair up! In my dream, your hair got caught in a train, and-!"
"Aang!" Katara stopped him, "I know you're just trying to help, but you really need to get a grip! You're unraveling." Aang took a deep breath in and out, calming himself.
"You're right." He said, "I'm losing my mind."
Just behind them, Sokka let out a girlish cry as he slipped down the cliff he had been climbing on and went all the way down. Kotaro let out a laugh when he fell down on his butt.
"Shut up." Sokka muttered, standing up. He went over to his Appa armor project that he had started the other day.
Aang, still awake, began to pace in circles near the others, his fingers constantly fidgeting with each other, and his eyes twitching uncontrollably. He also had a bad habit of babbling when stressed.
"It's like every time I think about how stressed I am, I just end up more stressed!" Aang said, "I'm like a big, growing snowball of nerves!"
"Of course you are." Sokka said, "That's 'cause you gotta fight the Fire Lord, the baddest man on the planet. And you better win, or we're all done for- Ow!" He glared at Kotaro, who had thrown a rock at him to get him to shut up.
"That's not helping!" Kotaro snapped at him.
"What?" Sokka asked with a shrug, "It's true. That's the deal, he knows it." Kotaro threw another rock at him and he scowled, going back to work on his armor, grumbling about Shinjuns with good aim.
Katara looked up at her friend and saw that he was even more fidgety and nervous than before. She walked over to him, gently putting her hands on his shoulders, "You know what? I got just the thing." She said to him, "Get ready to be de-stressified."
Katara took Aang to where a small hot spring resided on the island, like nature's own sauna. She and Aang were in comfortable clothes, Katara's hair was held back by a towel so it wouldn't get in her face.
"This yoga stretches can really do wonders if you do them in extreme heat." Katara said, she took a stance, her ankles and hands together, saying in a calming voice, "Reach up." Aang followed her pose, "Reach for the sun." Aang followed her pose again as she moved from side to side, "Feel your chi paths clearing." She held out her hands and feet and bent over, putting her hands on the back of her ankles, her head touching the ground. Aang did the same, "Now, close your eyes. "How do you feel?"
"I feel… really warm." Aang said.
"Good, good." Katara said, her voice trying to soothe him, "Go on."
"Like… there's this warm feeling all around me." Aang said, "This heat… Like I'm in the Fire Lord's palace and he's shooting a bunch of fire balls at me! And the whole world is being engulfed in flames!" He lost his balance and fell over on his back. Katara looked at him concernedly.
"…Maybe your stress is the kind you need to talk out." She said.
Sokka put on his beard before going over to where he had left Aang resting against one of the koala sheep. Kotaro rolled his eyes at him when he put it on before going over to Aang, resting his arms on another koala sheep. Neither one of them seemed to mind them being there.
"Why don't you get right down to business and tell me what's been bothering you?" Sokka said, putting on a phony voice to sound like a different person.
"You know what's bothering me!" Aang snapped, "I have to fight the Fire Lord in a few days."
"Mm-hmm. Tell me more about this 'Fire Lord'." Sokka said, "Why are you so afraid of him?"
"You said it yourself! He's the baddest man on the planet!" Aang said, getting annoyed with Sokka's behavior, "I'm supposed to defeat him and save the world!"
Sokka nodded sagely, "Life does feel that way sometimes, doesn't it?" He asked, "Like we're all trying to save the world from evil?"
"Okay, but what can I do to feel better?!" Aang snapped, having just about had it with 'Sokka the Therapist'.
"Wanna try screaming into this pillow?" Sokka asked as he picked up a baby koala sheep and held it out to Aang. He took the little lamb, looking at it for a moment, then opened his mouth and shoved his face into the wool, screaming. After a moment, he pulled away. Sokka nodded his head, giving Aang a thumbs-up, but he shook his head, saying his treatment didn't work. Sokka kept nodding his head, telling Aang that it would, but he kept shaking his head in disagreement until he finally had it with Sokka and practically threw the lamb back at him (Sokka caught it) and he got up and stormed off.
Kagemi went over the list that Azula had given her. Apparently, she was her scribe for the day, and was keeping track of everything Azula wanted to do. At the moment, she was getting her long hair brushed and styled so she could go out later on to Mai's house and hang out with her. Kagemi grumbled a little as she looked over the list she had been given, completely humiliated at the new position she had been given.
The doors to the room opened and Zuko came into the room.
"Hello Zuzu." Azula greeted cheerily, "If you've come for a royal hair-combing, I'm afraid you'll have to wait."
"So, I guess there's a big war meeting coming up, huh?" Zuko said to her, "And apparently, I'm not welcome there."
Azula scoffed, "What do you mean? Of course you're welcome there."
"Oh yeah?" Zuko asked, "I guess that's why no one bothered to tell me about it!"
"Oh, Zuko." Azula sighed, "Don't be so dramatic. I'm certain Dad wants you there. You probably just weren't invited because it's so obvious that you're supposed to be there."
"Well, were you invited?" Zuko asked.
"Of course, I'm the princess." Azula replied.
"And I'm the prince!" Zuko said.
"Exactly." Azula said firmly, "So stop acting like a paranoid child. Just go to the meeting."
"Or, you could not go and save your dad the trouble of kicking you out." Kagemi said with a smirk. Azula giggled for a moment, and then frowned, looking at Kagemi.
"As funny as that was, it was rude. Say you're sorry." She ordered, Kagemi scowled.
"I apologize for my outburst, Prince Zuko." She said, as if she had said it to him a thousand times (And she probably had. She lost count after twenty).
Zuko scowled, "Forget it, I'm not going." He turned and walked out of the way, slamming the door behind him.
"Yeesh, touchy." Kagemi said, making herself more comfortable on her seat. For a moment, there was no talking. Just the sound of running water as Azula's hair was combed by the two royal stylists. Kagemi looked up to see Azula's content face, "Your highness," Azula opened one of her eyes to look at Kagemi, who looked a little nervous, "About the invasion plan… I'm not sure I can do such a thing. The pact I made with the girl will not allow me to do so."
"You don't need to worry." Azula said, "It's just until the eclipse has ended. Just keep them occupied until then, once it's over, I'll fight and you can keep your body under control."
"Still…" Kagemi sighed. Azula sat up, looking straight at Kagemi and ruining her hair brushing a little bit as the water got on the shoulders of the robe she wore.
"Do you doubt my tactics, Shinjun?" Azula asked with a frown, using the name of Kagemi's race to show her who was in charge. Kagemi jumped.
"No ma'am." She said instantly, "I'm just… concerned for my wellbeing."
"Well don't be." Azula said, "Your loyalty is to the royal family, their wellbeing is the only wellbeing you should care about." She lay back down and let the two stylists continue their work, not seeing how Kagemi's face suddenly contorted in anger, her hand clenching into a fist, her shadow writhing in anger.
"Yes, Princess." She growled out, reluctantly accepting the orders she had been given.
Aang lay down on a bed of thick stone pillars, Toph stood on the side of him.
"Alright, what you need is a good old fashioned back-pounding to relieve your stress." Toph said.
"Pound away." Aang said. Toph grinned and started quickly moving her feet up and down, causing the stones underneath Aang to pound at his body harshly. "Ah! Ow! Ah! Toph! I-I… think this… is… bruising… me…!" He soon moved off the stones and fell onto the ground, still shaking a little from the pounding session after Toph had stopped.
"Sorry." Toph said, "I forgot you had 'baby' skin." She thought for a moment, "Well, there's one other thing we can try," She stomped her foot on the ground and shot something up into the air and into her hand, "Acupuncture." She revealed it to be a boarcupine covered in spiny needles.
Aang immediately ran away.
Aang sat in front of Kotaro as they both stood at the cliff side.
"Normally, what I do to relieve stress is just some breathing exercises." Kotaro said, "Hopefully, it'll work for you. Ready?" Aang nodded, "Okay, deep breath through your nose." They both breathed in, "Out through the mouth." They both let out the air they had taken in. "And just do that for a few more minutes." They did it again, silently. "So… you're really nervous about this thing, aren't you?"
"Yeah." Aang said, taking in another deep breath, "It's the Fire Lord. Ruler of the Fire Nation. I'm not sure I can fight him."
"You're a tough kid." Kotaro said, "I'm sure you can take him."
"But what if I can't?" Aang asked, "What if I fail? If I fall, then the whole world falls!"
"Well, that's why you have friends with you." Kotaro said, "So that, should you ever fall, Gods forbid, we can continue the mission."
"I don't want you guys to keep fighting for a losing war!" Aang said.
"It won't be a losing war." Kotaro said firmly, the breathing exercises suddenly stopped. "We'll just hold them off until you're reborn. We won't stop this war because of one death. We'll push through."
"But…"
"Just don't worry." Kotaro said.
"How can I not worry?" Aang said, "It's the entire world! And the Fire Lord, and the Fire Nation! If I fail everybody fails! The war would be as good as over!" He grabbed at the roots of his hair, his eyes going wide.
Kotaro sighed, "Maybe talking during these exercises was a bad idea."
Zuko stood at the window at Mai's house, looking out at the palace across the road, glaring at it. Mai walked over to him, "Zuko, it's just a dumb meeting." She said, "Who cares?"
"I don't." Zuko said, although he really did.
"Well good, you shouldn't." Mai said, "I mean, why would you even want to go? Kagemi's a jerk but she was right, just think about how things went at your last war meeting."
Zuko sighed, "I know."
"You know what'll make you feel better?" Mai asked, hoping to cheer him up. Zuko didn't respond, "Ordering some servants around! I might be hungry for a whole tray of fruit tarts! And, maybe a little palanquin ride around town? Double time?" She smiled and turned Zuko's face towards her, but he turned away, not in the mood for her efforts of cheering him up. She stepped back, giving him the space he wanted.
That night, Aang sat in front of his friends, all of them ready to sleep, "Thanks for everything, guys." He said.
"So, do you feel less stressed?" Katara asked, "Ready for a good night's sleep?"
"Uh…" Aang thought for a moment, "I kinda think I sorta might slightly feel a little better. Maybe."
"Then our work here is done." Sokka said, he lay down on his sleeping bag, as did everyone else, ready to have a good night's sleep.
The night was quiet, and the grass was soft, and Aang felt ready to have a good long, perfectly dreamless sleep, but he was still so incredibly nervous about how he was going to face the Fire Lord. He closed his eyes, and tried to drift off to sleep.
A few hours later, he woke up, screaming, and everyone else jumped awake. They all went over to where Aang was sitting up.
"What happened, Aang?" Katara asked urgently.
"It's the nightmares." Aang said, "They just get worse and worse."
"Looks like it's time for another therapy session." Sokka said, "I'll get my beard."
"No, that won't help!" Aang said quickly, stopping Sokka from going and getting it. "Nothing helps! There's only one thing I can do. I'm gonna stay awake straight through to the invasion." Everyone looked at him in shock.
The next morning, Kotaro looked over at where Aang was pacing around, as he had been doing all night. He furrowed his brows as he heard Aang muttering, "Invasion… All aboard for the invasion…"
"Staying up all night can't be much better for him than nightmares." He said, speaking his thoughts out loud.
"It probably is." Sokka said, "But what can we do? Nothing we try to do to relieve his stress is working."
"Well, surely he has his own means of relieving stress?" Kotaro asked.
"I think meditation is really his only option, but he's in no condition for that." Sokka said. Kotaro sighed, running his fingers through his hair.
"There must be something." He said. He looked over at where was muttering things incoherently to himself as Katara watched him move around. "Maybe Katara can give him a massage or something."
"I already tried back pounding." Toph said, "He can't take it."
"And why does Katara have to be the one to give him a massage?" Sokka asked, wondering why he suggested specifically his sister.
"Because if Toph did it, she'd probably try and crush the poor guy," Kotaro explained, gesturing to her, "And, let's be honest, guys massaging guys is a little uncomfortable." Sokka nodded.
"True dat." He said. He looked over at where Aang was, and quirked an eyebrow. Kotaro did the same, and was surprised to see Aang in a strange position, making something of a fish face. Only Kotaro could hear the words that were spoken.
"Aang?" Katara called to him, he stopped, opening his eyes, surprised to see what position he was in, "I was just saying you should take a nap?"
"Oh." Aang quickly righted himself, looking at Katara in embarrassment, "I guess I kinda drifted off into a day dream."
"What was your dream about?" Katara asked.
"Um…" Aang blushed and came up with a quick lie, "Living underwater?"
Katara smiled, "Sounds neat." Aang let out a nervous laugh. Katara turned and walked over to where camp was to help fix breakfast, leaving Aang to be by himself for a little while.
Zuko sat on Mai's couch, scowling deeply. The war meeting was today, and it had probably already begun. No one had come to get him, no one had said anything about him coming, and no one had done anything to get him to go. He shouldn't have been so surprised about it, but he wanted to be there. Maybe his father just didn't want him to be a disgrace to him again. The thought only made his scowl worse.
Mai poured him a cup of tea, hoping it would calm him down, but he didn't want any.
"Hey, Prince Scarface." Zuko sat up and glared at Kagemi's form in the doorway, a frown on her face, "Come on, let's go."
"Go where?" Zuko asked scathingly.
"Where else?" Kagemi asked, "The high generals, the high admirals, the war ministers and your sister all showed up. We've got to get going."
"So… my dad wants me at the meeting?" Zuko asked.
"The Fire Lord said he wouldn't start without you." Kagemi said. Zuko let a small smile cross his face. His father wanted him at the meeting, he wanted him to be there at his side. "Now, get in your nice clothes and let's go." Zuko scowled at her.
"You know, most people bow before their prince." He said, Kagemi glared at him.
"Well I'm not most people am I?" She asked, she turned around, flicking her tail in his face as she walked to the door, "Come on! We don't have all day!" Zuko rubbed the part of his face she had flicked and followed her out after bidding a quick goodbye to Mai.
"Can you hand me that hammer right there?" Sokka asked, Kotaro reached over and grabbed the hammer in question, handing it to Sokka as he worked on Appa's armor. Kotaro didn't have anything better to do, so when Sokka asked for some help on his armor, he was happy to lend his assistance. "Thanks."
They both looked to the side as they saw Aang jump out from behind the bushes, shouting at a tree he had turned into a fake Ozai dummy, "Put 'em up, Fire Lord!" The tree didn't move. He shot out some air blasts over the tree, and it went over to where Sokka and Kotaro were working, lifting them up into the air, then dropping them on the ground.
"Hey!" Sokka snapped at him, "I'm trying to build Appa some armor here so he doesn't have to go into the invasion naked!"
Aang didn't seem to be listening, "Aang, this is your bison we're talking about here!" Kotaro said to him, but again, he didn't listen.
"Ozai's defense is impeccable." Aang said, glaring at the Ozai tree, "I'll have to try a different approach." He jumped up in the air and shot some more blasts of air in four different spots around the tree. The only affect it had was making it lose one of its leaves. This only seemed to make Aang angry as he marched over to it, "You think you're untouchable, don't you Mr. Fire Lord?"
"Wow." Kotaro whispered to himself, shaking his head at the sight of Aang, "He is really losing it."
Momo's chirping caught Aang's attention and he looked back at the lemur. "Momo? Did you hear something?" Momo looked at him blankly, and when he turned around, he chirped again. Aang looked at him with wide eyes as he chirped a little more. Quickly, Aang shook his head and rubbed his eyes. When he opened his eyes and looked at the lemur, he chirped again, and Aang let out a sigh of relief and pet his head, "That's more like it. I was so tired that, for a second there, I imagined you were talking to me." Momo cocked his head to the side questioningly. "Oh, Momo, let me explain." Aang began speaking in a way similar to Momo's chirps, completely unaware of everyone looking at him. Sokka and Katara exchanged worried glances and Kotaro sighed, rubbing his face with his hand.
"Aang?" Katara called to him, making him stop speaking in lemur and look over at them, "We're all starting to get a little worried about you."
"You've been awake too long." Sokka said.
"And you're acting downright weird." Toph said.
"I don't think your mind can take much more of this." Kotaro said.
Appa let out a grunt.
Aang groaned, "Look I appreciate what you guys are saying, but the stress and the nightmares… they were just too much. Staying awake is the best way for me to deal with it." Everyone exchanged concerned glances, not seeing how Aang reacted to the way Momo and Appa were communicating with each other, which was no different than normal, but Aang seemed to be worried about it, "Guys, come on." He held up his hands between the two animals, and Kotaro began to wonder if he had slipped off into another daydream again. Aang ran up to Sokka, grabbing his shirt, "Sokka, what should we do?"
"About what?" Sokka asked.
"About that!" Aang pointed to where Appa was now eating some of the tall grass that was growing by the rock that Momo was sitting on. Aang went over to them, saying, "Come on, guys! We're all on the same side!"
"Anyone else think that Aang is hallucinating?" Kotaro whispered to the others.
"I'm pretty sure he is." Sokka whispered back.
Suddenly, Aang shouted, "I just need a jump in a cold waterfall! Aaah!" He ran off somewhere to find a cold waterfall.
"Okay, we have to do something." Katara said, "This has gone too far, Aang's body can't take it! He'll completely lose his mind before the invasion even begins at this rate."
"Well, we can't force him to sleep." Toph said, "He might just have more nightmares."
"We need to find a way to get him to sleep peacefully." Kotaro said, "We just need to know how."
Sokka put his hand to his chin in thought, "How can we get Aang to have a good night's sleep…? Hmm…" He looked to the side when he heard one of the koala sheep let out a bray. The koala sheep were all over the island, and they all seemed to be perfectly happy, and they should be, covered in all that wool.
Wool…
Sokka snapped his fingers in 'eureka!' "I got it!"
Zuko exited the war meeting just before his sister and Kagemi, who looked completely livid, her fists clenched together, and her teeth grinding. What she had heard in that meeting… unbelievable!
"Allow me to speak freely for a moment, highness." She said to Azula.
"Oh, fine." Azula said.
"You cannot seriously think to pull off this plan!" Kagemi hissed angrily. Azula gave her a sharp look.
"I thought you gave your loyalty to the Fire Nation royal family." She said.
"I did, but the Earth Kingdom is-"
"But nothing." Azula said sharply, "Your loyalty is to us or no one, and if you are not loyal to us, then we have no use of you."
"Princess, you cannot honestly expect me not to object to this! I-" Azula gave her a sharp look and Kagemi forced herself to calm down. "Forgive me, princess. I spoke out of turn." Her fists shook in anger as she spoke, but her voice was dreadfully calm.
"Come on, Kagemi," Azula said, gesturing for her to follow, "We need to prepare you for the invasion."
"Yes, Princess." Kagemi said, doing as she wanted her to.
Zuko kept walking down the hall to where Mai was waiting for him. She looked at him hopefully.
"So? How did it go?" She asked him.
"When I got to the meeting, everyone welcomed me." Zuko said, "My father had saved me a seat. He wanted me next to him. I was literally at his right hand."
"Zuko, that's wonderful." Mai said, placing her hand on his shoulder, "You must be happy." Zuko said nothing as he walked to the end of the hall and looked up at the portrait of his father. Mai was silent as Zuko gazed at it, letting him be alone with his thoughts.
"During the meeting, I was the perfect prince." Zuko said to her, "The son my father wanted…but I wasn't me." He kept looking up at the picture, wondering if being at his father's side was really what he wanted.
Aang walked on the coastline of the beach, and a cool mist surrounded him, which was welcomed in the warm temperature of the night. He looked to see something ahead of him, a great, big, white, fluffy cushion just ahead. Curious, he went over to it, pressing down on it, jumping on it, and pressing his face against it, feeling the texture.
"Oh, look, another hallucination." He said, "An imaginary bed made out of clouds."
"Hey, it's real!" Toph said, insulted that he thought the bed was fake.
"It took us hours to make it." Kotaro said, "We made it for you. A good night's sleep will probably take the crazy away."
"We hope." Sokka said. Beside him stood a large group of shorn koala sheep, who didn't seem to mind the new bareness around them.
"Look, you guys keep telling me I need to sleep, but I can't!" Aang said, "The invasion's tomorrow!"
"Aang," Katara said.
"No, Katara!" Aang said, "There's still so much I haven't learned! I don't need sleep. What I need is practice! Quick, hit me!" He put up his fists in a fighting position, although his posture was a little shaky.
"I'm not going to hit you." Katara said.
"Want me to do it?" Toph asked, she was nudged by Sokka and Kotaro to be quiet.
"Listen to me." Katara said, coming over to Aang and putting her hand on his shoulder, "You've been training for this since the day we met. I've seen your progress. You're smart, brave, and strong enough."
Aang looked up at her, "You really think so?"
"We all do." Kotaro said, giving Aang a reassuring smile.
"You can do this." Sokka said, giving him a similar smile. "You're ready."
"You're the man, Twinkle Toes." Toph said, giving Aang a thumbs-up.
Aang smiled at his friends, "Thanks, guys." He yawned widely and tiredly rubbed his eye. Katara turned him around and led him onto the bed they had made, and he was happy to lay down, "You know what? I think I am ready." Everyone smiled as they saw Aang snuggle into the comfortable bed. Katara held her finger to her mouth as she shooed everyone away. They all tiptoed away to their camp on the land just above the beach, certain that Aang would sleep soundly that night.
And never once did Aang wake up from nightmares. He slept peacefully and comfortably on the wool bed, dreaming sweet dreams.