Chapter 13: The Lost Bison

It's been a week since the entire mess that was the fight in the desert village.

After walking for half a day, they were able to meet back up with Mai and Ty Lee, who were, funnily enough, drenched in water and in a lot worse shape than them.

It seems that even though they managed to beat the Avatar's friends, their bison single handedly sent them flying into the river.

He felt bad for them sure, but he couldn't help the snicker from his mouth when he saw Mai's face contorted in anger at the fact that her clothes and hair got ruined.

"Oh, this is funny to you! How about I throw you in the river too for good measure!" She responded by threatening him with one of her knives.

"Sure, go ahead." He'd answer, clearly taunting the fact she forgot he was a waterbender.

This exchange only prompted Azula to laugh at them, finding the situation completely amusing.

But, of course, their reverie would be snapped as the cry of an incoming messenger hawk startled all four of them.

Landing on Azula's arm, she opened the container holding the message, before scanning its contents.

Her eyes widened before they quickly narrowed in anger.

"What does it say?" He asked, knowing that any message from the Fire Lord would spell trouble.

"…It's from father." Her voice laced with venom. "It's seems that he finally wants to start his own campaign against Ba Sing Se… And he wants me to lead it." She finishes, as she proceeds to burn the message with her flames.

"Wait, what does that mean?" Ty Lee speaks up, as the other two seem too shocked to say anything. "How does he intend to attack the fortress city that not even your uncle managed to conquer?"

And that's when it clicks for him. "Wait… The Drill?! Does he plan on using it?"

Azula simply nods. "He wants us back at the colony so we can head off as fast as possible."

"Wait, but wouldn't something so massive take weeks to get to Ba Sing Se? What about the Avatar?" Ty Lee asks, clearly overwhelmed by all the information.

"It seems we're going to have to postpone our next meeting with the Avatar…" She then fixes Kaze with an apologetic look. "As long as Kaze's family remains in the Fire Nation, and we haven't established a fighting plan against my father, we have no choice but to follow his orders." Azula sighs in frustration, as Kaze gaze drops to the ground. "Let's just hope that the Avatar's little group doesn't get themselves killed."

And that's how they found themselves currently riding a second metal monstrosity that only served to drive him mad once more.

He was lounging on the bridge of the drill, sitting in Azula's personal chair, as it was the only real place with any sort of natural light. His only mental relief for these past few days has been the rising of the moon in the horizon which brought him temporary respite from his restlessness.

It was on the seventh day of their little trip that Azula had decided to join him.

"As much as I know you hate this place, you could really afford to sleep in your own quarters for once." She stands in front of him, blocking the view of the dark sky outside.

"Really? I think that your chair over here is as comfy as any bed in the world." He jokes, trying to ease his lingering discomfort.

Azula simply looks at him unamused. "How about… Instead of acting like a little baby, you actually start taking care of yourself!" She moves to grab him by the arm, digging her sharp nails on his skin. "At this rate you'll end up passing out in the middle of a fight, and you'll be of no use to anyone like that."

Kaze could only groan at her words. "But even if you take me there, I won't be able to get any real rest…" But then, his mind comes up with a thought. "Although, if you stayed there with me… Now that would be a different story." He tries to say playfully, despite his tiredness.

She simply turns around and stares at him with a raised eyebrow, making him squirm under her gaze. It is only after what felt like hours that she finally spoke. "I'll consider it…" Kaze's eyes light up. "But only if you promise to actually get some sleep! You're getting unbelievably pale, and you're barely eating…" She reaches out and flicks him in the forehead, drawing a bright laugh from Kaze as he remembered the first time she ever did that to him. "Okay, okay… I promi-"

They suddenly hear a loud growl in the distance.

They both rush to the window and try to pinpoint the source. It is after only a few seconds that Azula spots it.

"Is that…" She narrows her eyes, trying to focus on the object in the distance. "The Avatar's bison!"

Kaze focuses his own eyes and realizes that she's right. But something was wrong.

"Wait, something's off… No one's riding it, and even from here he looks to be in bad shape!" He says, concern growing towards the bison that seemed to be swaying as it struggled to keep afloat.

"Could something have actually happened to the Avatar?"

Azula considers his words. "We won't know unless someone goes to check on the bison and look for clues…" She says, as her mind slowly starts piecing up a plan. Once she does, she promptly turns to face Kaze. "I know! You'll go and investigate. That way you can finally get out of this metal prison and actually calm your nerves."

However, Kaze remained a little skeptical of her plan. "Wait, what about the drill then? Are you sure people won't notice me being gone?"

"It'll be fine, no one in this little drill will dare question my judgement." She says with her sharp tone of voice that she uses to frighten the soldiers.

"But what if the fight in Ba Sing Se turns out to be harder than we expected? I don't want to simply leave and not be there to help." He is still hesitant to follow her plan, even if it would mean getting out of this hellhole.

"What, don't you trust your princess to take care of some little pathetic earthbenders hiding behind a wall?" She teases. "Plus, if something actually goes wrong, we'll simply retreat. I seriously doubt my father would care either way, as long as we manage to send a message that their walls aren't impenetrable… So, don't worry." She finally says as her eyes soften, and she reaches to cup one of his cheeks.

Kaze simply sighs, realizing her words rang true. "Okay. You got me there." He gives her a small laugh, before he leans down and gives her a kiss. "I'll have to leave now before I lose track of the bison then." He says as he starts leaving the bridge and heading to one of supply rooms.

"Just remember to not get yourself killed, or else-"

"You'll kill me yourself! Yeah, I know!" He gives her a final smile as his form disappears out of the room.

It took him a couple of days of tracking the movements from the bison, but after a while of walking, he had managed to locate the general area of where it had crash landed.

It was a thick forest that, to his relief, was relatively close to Ba Sing Se. Meaning that once he could figure out whatever was going on with the Avatar, he could quickly get back to the drill.

It was currently raining which only helped sharpen his senses even further, as the water helped him track things that he couldn't pick up with his eyes or ears. In other words, he found traces of what seemed like a struggle between to large animals, followed by uneven mudded footprints that led to what appeared to be a series of torn down trees that all finally coincided with some abandoned ruins.

And just as he expected, he managed to hear some grave sounding grunts from inside.

He approached it slowly, making sure to not make any sudden noise that might alert the bison. The rain was letting off, as the light of the moon was slowly making its way through the dispersing clouds.

He makes to a stop right as he reaches the top of the hill the ruins were resting on. He can barely contain the pang in his heart as he takes notices of the shivering beast attempting to rest in the darkness of the cave.

'How could something like this happen? In such a short time…' He thinks as he tries to approach the bison slowly. But it was futile, as the beast's senses were most likely heightened due to the state it was in. It opened its eyes and quickly scurried back with a powerful growl, warning him not to come closer.

The sound itself shook Kaze's body enough to make him wince. But now that he had a better look at it, he could see the extent of its injuries.

Its body was stabbed by multiple thorns all throughout his body, its fur was matted and dirtied along with multiple scratches throughout its face and its legs were also chained. But the worst one was in its lower belly, where a deep gash sat bleeding into the floor of the cave. Most likely from whatever animal it fought back in the forest.

He had to at the very least patch that up before it got infected badly.

"Listen buddy…" He puts his hands forward. "I know you've gone through a lot, but I can help you." His voice is as friendly as he can manage.

But as he attempted to move forward once more, the bison simply retaliated with an even more powerful growl, looking almost ready to jump to an attack if he dared approach further.

Once again, his body reverberates. Figuring that trying anymore tonight would probably end up badly for both, he decides to back down.

It was now that he realized how tired he was feeling, so he decided to try once more after a night's rest. Settling by a tree, he dries himself off with his bending before attempting to drift off into sleep…

Unfortunately, he would be interrupted just a few hours later, as the sun was making its way back up into the sky. Someone was approaching, and he had to hide, realizing that he hadn't changed from his red fire nation outfit.

Jumping into the cover of a nearby bush, he peeks over slightly to catch the form of an intricately dressed woman wearing some peculiar looking makeup.

It didn't take long to figure out who she was, as that was the clear getup of a Kyoshi Warrior who he had heard about back when he was living in Harbor City.

It seemed like she noticed that something terrible must have happened nearby and decided to investigate.

She kept walking cautiously, as she headed up the hill, until she finally found the bison. To his surprise, her reaction wasn't what he expected. She looked worried for the giant beast that he was sure would send anyone who hasn't seen it before running for their safety. But somehow, she just seemed concerned for its wellbeing, trying to call out to it multiple times, almost like she'd already know who it was.

She then said something, before promptly leaving some fruits in front and then making her way back down. The bison seemed wary at first but eventually relented by exiting the cave and eating the fruit.

Kaze simply looked for a while. The bison seemed relieved to have eaten something, meaning that whatever had happened must have had him running away for various days without rest…

What could have happened to the Avatar if his bison was running for his life?

Kaze sighs, if he wanted answers, he needed to both gain its trust and then heal its wounds.

Determination grabbing hold of him, he runs around the forest in search of anything that looked edible. He'd read from the libraries at the academy that even the flying bison were a vegetarian species, just like the airbenders, so he limited his search for fruits and berries.

After an hour or so of gathering, he finally decided to go back to the ruins. He once again made his way slowly up the hill, but this time he decided to steel his nerves and not back down from the powerful growls.

The bison once again threatened to blow him away, but Kaze stood strong as he left the food on the ground before settling down on the floor himself.

Hours passed, the food left untouched. But once again, the bison relented and started sucking the fruit into his cave using a powerful vortex of air that almost threatened to suck him as well.

But he managed to resist, and after a few extra hours, he finally decided to give approaching another shot.

He stood up, and slowly made his way towards the trembling animal.

"It's okay buddy… I just want to help. Promise." He says soothingly, as he inched closer and closer.

The bison kept growling but it didn't make any attempt to attack, so he eventually managed to reach in and pet its nose.

"There you go…" Kaze sighs in relief, confident now that he could probably fix up the poor beast with his waterbending.

"Listen…" He says as he starts bending the water from the previous night's rain and wraps it around his hands. "I can heal you, but you're going to have to let me get close to your injuries." He said as he started to approach its lower belly, where the deep gash was.

The bison remained cautious to his approach, but somehow, it seemed like the sight of his waterbending managed to ease some of its worries. Maybe its seen the Avatar's waterbender use it before.

"You're going to be fine, buddy."

Healing the wound itself took about a minute, as Kaze made sure to properly heal any blood vessel and nerve that got caught in the attack, before making sure to accurately stitch back up every piece tissue back into its original state.

All in all, he was pretty proud of his work. He hasn't healed anyone in a while, other than the small cuts and bruises his team had gotten the past few weeks, so he was glad that he still hadn't lost his touch.

Now, he had to take care of the massive stingers and clean up any other injury the bison hid beneath all its fur.

It was hard work, but Kaze eventually managed to get it back in tiptop shape.

Every stinger was removed as pain free as he could, although the bison still squirmed in discomfort from time to time. Then, removing the chains was simple, as he froze them before shattering them into tiny pieces.

After that, he simply ran multiple streams of water throughout the massive amounts of fur, taking care of all the dirt and grime it was covered in, while also taking care of any injury that was still present.

"There you go buddy, you're good as new!" Kaze patted him on the nose with a wide grin, earning him a giant lick to his face.

Now that he was finished, he noticed the sun was blasting right on top of them. Looking to take a rest, he made his way outside the cave, but he was quickly stopped by the sight in front of him.

Six pairs of eyes were staring him down, surprise and wariness etched in them.

Suki took a deep breath, as she and the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors made their way up the small hill Appa was hiding.

The state he was in had broken her heart, and she couldn't help but imagine what horrors he might have gone through the last few days.

She knew Aang and the rest lost him somewhere in the desert but… That wouldn't explain the chains, nor the burns or the gash. But she couldn't dwell on it, she had to quickly get him to trust her enough to heal his wounds and then quickly get him back to Aang.

She turns around to face the others. "Okay girls, no sudden movements. We don't know what he's been through so he's still seems scared of others. Stay low and stay quiet."

"But what could the Avatar's bison be doing in a place like this… Didn't you just see him a few days ago?"

Suki shakes her head, as she didn't have an answer to the question. "I don't know, but it is our mission to help him-" She says as she starts reaching the top of the hill. "And to get him back with Aang."

She turns around, expecting the same injured and broken beast she had found half a day ago, but she sees something else.

Appa looked better, perfectly healthy in fact. All the stingers were gone, the chains somehow disappeared, and his fur was perfectly clean. And between all of this, the most shocking thing was the fact that he wasn't alone. Someone was standing by him, holding glowing water right to his massive nose, where she was sure she saw a cut earlier.

As the rest of the warriors made their way up top, all of them shared in her state of disbelief. Who could this person be, and how did he find Appa?

Before she could say anything, something else caught her attention. His clothes were red, a color no one in the world would happen to wear by accident.

It is here that she remembers Sokka's tales back when they were making their way through the treacherous Serpent's pass. The Fire Nation had a waterbender, and the one in front of them matched his description.

She'll have to thread carefully. Not just for Appa, but for Aang and the others as well.

The six girls looking right at him were the same as the one he saw this morning.

In fact, the one he saw that morning was standing right in the middle of them. In a way, meeting the Kyoshi Warriors meant finally meeting the people who inhabit the same island as the Unagi, which also meant he could finally meet people who have probably seen the aquatic serpent he very much idolized as a kid.

But he had to stay cautious, he didn't know how they'd react to him now that they had caught him tending to the bison. He takes a deep breath, and moves slowly towards them, friendly smile in place.

"Hey… Uh…" He gets out with eloquence.

But the middle girl, who he assumes is the leader, beats him to the punch.

"Who are you? What are you doing with Appa?" She asked with an edge that reeked of wariness.

Appa? So, he was right, she did know the bison.

Kaze sighs, trying to compose himself. "I saw the destruction around here and decided to investigate, that's it." He then bends some of the water still on the ground. "I'm a waterbender, and after seeing the state he was in I… Well, I couldn't just leave without helping." He maintains his calm disposition, trying to reassure the girls that he wasn't a threat. And it would work, everyone seemed to relax at his words.

Everyone except the leader, who still seemed cautious of him.

She stared him down for seconds which quickly turned to minutes, as if searching his face for any deception.

Sensing no apparent hostility, she lowers her guard just a bit. She wants to doubt him, but the proof of his words stood right behind him, now looking as rested and healthy as he once was.

She straightens herself, pure steel in her voice. "We're the Kyoshi Warriors. We'll make sure that Appa gets back to the Avatar, so you can leave him to us."

The Avatar… So, they're fine then.

"You know where he is?" He decides to try and get as much information as he can before he leaves the bison with them, but it seemed like that was a mistake.

"Why do you want to know?" Her eyes narrow at him, guard back up.

"I-I just want to know what happened for his bison to suddenly leave his side and end up here. That's it!" His attempt at clearing the air doesn't seem to work, as the rest of the warriors settle down into defensive stances, following the lead of their leader. "Listen, I don't want any trouble…"

"We heard from the Avatar that the Fire Nation had a waterbender working for them… And you seem to fit the bill exactly to what he told us. So, I'll ask again, why do you want to know?" The six girls draw out their weapons, each wielding a metal fan and a shield.

It seems his carelessness had once again caught up to him.

"I don't want to fight, I promise. If you want the bison, you can take him, its fine."

"If you don't want to fight, then surrender and come with us." Her tone is firm and powerful, matching the fearsome makeup they wielded.

Kaze could only sigh in defeat, it seemed like he had no other choice.

"I can't do that." He pulls out water from the ground once more and picks up a defensive stance as well.

The air stills, as the makings of a fight seem inevitable. The bison behind them seems on edge at the sudden tension.

Knowing that he had to get away as quickly as possible, Kaze decides to make the first move by shooting a powerful wave towards them, before quickly using the rainwater on the ground to swiftly slide away from the hill.

But in trained fashion, the six warriors blocked the wave with their shields and quickly sprinted to block his escape. Two pull out their swords and start slicing towards him, forcing him to block by freezing his arms and parrying. He then quickly countered by freezing them up to their necks by once more using the water in the damp grass beneath them.

He then jumped down from the hill, attempting to make his escape. But the four remaining warriors were hot in his trail. Two of them attempt to hit him by throwing their fans, quickly closing the gap towards him.

Thankfully, the grass down here was even damper as less sunlight was hitting, so he managed to bend a wall of ice in their path, which managed to block the attack. However, he still couldn't shake them off, so he decides to go on the offensive by turning around and shattering the ice into smaller shards, followed by sending them towards his pursuers.

They all once again use their shields to block, which Kaze quickly takes advantage of by bending a torrent of water from below that managed to crash into three of the four remaining, sending them flying into a tree where he finally managed to freeze them against.

Finally, it was just the leader and him.

"Listen, I told you I didn't want any trouble." He tries to reason once more, but to no avail.

"We know you're trying to capture the Avatar. Even if you helped Appa, I can't let you go away freely!" She then pulls out her sword and rushes towards him.

Her strikes are unlike any other sword fighter he's faced. They're quick but deliberate, making him have to back away in order to avoid them. He tries to wait for an opening, but she isn't giving any, as she continues to relentlessly attacks him.

However, despite her incredible proficiency with the blade, she somehow couldn't manage to land a hit, making her grow frustrated.

The tides of the fight start changing, as Kaze is quickly getting used to her timings. Soon enough, her strikes grow sloppier, and Kaze finds his opening by ducking below a desperate stab. He then bent the water under them and took the legs from under his opponent, before delivering a precise series of punches into different pressure points that sent the Kyoshi Warrior paralyzed to the ground with a painful gasp.

The battle now over, he puts his hands to his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"What did you do?!" He hears her say as she started losing all feeling in her limbs.

Seeing the anger in her eyes, Kaze couldn't help the guilt crawling in his heart. He's once again reminded how much the world despises the Fire Nation.

But as he tries to answer, he is quickly interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Kaze!" It was Azula, with Mai and Ty Lee to her side. "What's going on?"

"I ran into the Kyoshi Warriors while helping the bison... It seems they knew who I was thanks to the Avatar. That's why they attacked…" Kaze said, relief tracing his features as he gets to see her again after all these days.

"It's okay Kaze, we're here to help." He hears Ty Lee say as she jumped out of her lizard into the ground, followed by Mai.

"Wait a minute, why are you here? What happened to the drill?" He knew they couldn't have been back so soon unless something went wrong on their side.

"The Avatar happened… He and his friends managed to destroy it before it could breach the outer wall." Azula responded, making her way down her lizard.

They destroyed that enormous monstrosity?! It seems like time and time again, the Avatar and his friends keep managing to surprise them. He can only hope this means that their plan might actually work out after all.

He then looks over at his friends, scanning for potential injuries, as his face betrays his concern for them.

"Don't worry, we're fine, everything worked out in our favor after all." Azula tries to reassure him, once again being able to see through him. "The drill is destroyed but the message we sent should be enough to satisfy father for a little while… What happened to the bison anyway?"

"Oh!" He realizes that he managed to somehow forget about him as he was busy dodging fans and swords. "He was hiding right on top of that hill inside of a cave by some ruins… He was injured badly but I managed to patch him up. Although I think he flew away during all the fighting." Kaze couldn't help but frown, hoping that after everything he went through, the bison would somehow manage to get his way back to the Avatar.

"That's terrible…" Ty Lee's voice is filled with sorrow for the Avatar's flying animal. "But I guess that means that the only real problem left is that the Avatar is inside of Ba Sing Se and that we don't have a way to get in…"

Kaze considers her words, as the adrenaline from the fight started wearing off.

Going back into what he knew about the terrain surrounding Ba Sing Se, he was aware that a ferry carrying refugees made its way often in and out of the city. And if he managed to infiltrate the ship itself, he could probably sneak his way inside, after stealing some clothes and a passport… The only problem was the others.

But before he could voice his concerns, it seemed like Azula had managed to conjure a plan of her own.

"Oh, I think I know a way for us to get inside." She walked up towards the paralyzed Kyoshi Warrior, eyeing her armor with her typical devious grin. "Although it might be a tight squeeze for you, Kaze."

He quickly understood exactly what she was planning.

It was a genius, considering that the Kyoshi Warriors seem to personally know the Avatar, they could get easy access to the inner city and most likely be given the same accommodations as him.

There was one problem though. Looking at the girls he had managed to defeat, he realized that none of their armor would likely fit him… This meant he needed to go with his other plan.

He was kind of disappointed that he wouldn't be able to see Azula dressed like them, but he'd have to live with it… for now.

"As much as I'd like to try, I doubt I could pass as a believable Kyoshi Warrior." He says with a sigh. "But don't worry, I'll figure it out myself." He walks up to Azula and the others. "I already have a plan."

This only prompts Azula to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "So, we're parting ways once again then…" She sighs in slight disappointment.

He knew how she felt. He also didn't want to spend more time apart, but unless he somehow managed to shrink down a bunch, he knew he had no other choice.

And so, he simply moved to embrace her, trying to imprint her warmth into his mind once more.

"Don't worry! I promise to get to you guys as soon as I get in." He then gives her a brief kiss, much to Ty Lee's squealing and Mai's groaning, before he pulls away and starts his way towards where he knows the ferry passes through. "I'll see you guys soon!" He waves, as he slowly disappears in the shade of the many trees surrounding them.

He takes a deep breath. He can only hope nothing goes wrong with either plan.