Fire. Earth. Water. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Water Tribes attacked...
Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished.
A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an airbender named Aang. And although his bending skills are great, he is haunted by the memories of his world...
But I believe Aang can save this one.
Avatar: The Last Firebender
Based on Distorted Reality by Ogro
Written by Carrotine Clara
TW: Blood, violence and some gross imagery
Book 2: Earth
Episode 13
The Liberation of Gaoling
Act I. - The White Lotus
Part 1: The Dragon Blades
An eerie aura creeps across the room and into everyone's heart, like a fog of fear penetrating the palace. Throughout all of her story though, there is one particular, raven-haired boy who finds it less than believable. Of course, the boy's girlfriend is quick to engulf Azula in a hug that, while feeling somewhat clingy like an overbearing mother, also has all of the best qualities of a motherly show of empathy. Azula exhales in relief at it. She had been missing this.
BANDIT: So, let me get this straight...
Bandit gets up from her seat, pacing a few steps across the dining hall area as everyone else watches.
BANDIT: This... Kenora girl is in the city, she pretended to be nice to you, only to trick you into you letting your guard down, so she could attack you and take you as a prisoner?
Ty Lee immediately reacts in a protective fashion.
TY LEE: Of course she's telling the truth! Why would Azula lie to us?
Without anyone noticing, Zuko rolls his eyes. He's known his sister more than anyone here. Her skills as a liar possibly outshine her abilities as a firebender.
BANDIT: Okay, okay, no, I get it. But why did Kenora cut your hair?
Azula averts her expression in embarrassment. After finding her with her messed-up cut, Ty Lee had tried her best to salvage some kind of normal-looking hairdo. It ended up beeing really simple, short black... standard. The acrobat had called it tomboy, in order to make it appeal somewhat more to the group. Grade school boy is probably more accurate.
Azula can finally muster the courage to respond with crossed arms.
AZULA: She missed me. Tried slicing me up with water, cut my topknot instead.
With heroic purpose, Ty Lee rises to the occasion.
TY LEE: We need to tell Bumi, heighten security, start sleeping in shifts. We know Kenora is in the city, maybe more Water Tribe people are coming soon.
Bandit nods.
BANDIT: That does sound like a problem.
Sokka sighs, though doesn't bother getting up from his chair.
SOKKA: I know Kenora is still with the Tribe, but... I didn't think she was capable of something like this. If she's this far gone, who knows what else she's up to?
Zuko frowns, suspicious of this whole... thing.
TY LEE: It's just like when I went into the desert. The whole time she went along with me just to wait for the right moment to knock me out and capture me. We can never trust her.
In the wake of Azula's story, Ty Lee had broken the news of her adventure with the waterbender as well. Though, and Zuko won't admit this but... her story too sounded... odd. What's even more odd is that Zuko hasn't been called out yet by the airbender for his shifting aura.
He doesn't rise to the occasion. Yet, his doubts persist. Mostly because he knows Azula. He knows her look. And if his intuition is right, then this whole thing is one big lie.
SOKKA: Did she tell you where she was going? Did you follow her to a hideout or something?
Azula's pout is what has Zuko ultimately convinced.
AZULA: No. I don't think we can find her just by looking. She's probably hiding in some secret ditch.
The question to Zuko now is - what exactly is Azula covering up?
He had kept his doubts in for at least a few more days. Aang came back in the meantime, which meant that became a whole thing with Azula's story. Zuko didn't buy it then either. Actually, he bought it less the second time around. He couldn't talk to Ty Lee about it either, meaning the two sort of started... talking less in general in the past few days. She didn't mind though, as her attention shifted back to being Azula's number one best friend, a full-time position. Zuko had been hoping for the right moment to tell... someone.
That moment finally reveals itself as he follows Bandit out into the city. He tries sneaking behind her as she strolls through a suburban area-
BANDIT: You know I can tell you're there, right?
He freezes on the spot. She turns towards him, smirking with a wheat straw pressed between her lips.
ZUKO: Oh yeah, of course. I guess you've perfected the vibration thing Aang told you about.
BANDIT: I'm not perfect at it yet. And Aang wasn't the only one who told me about it.
Zuko briefly expresses his befuddlement. Bandit only sighs in an annoyed fashion.
BANDIT: Why are you following me?
He scratches the back of his head as he walks closer. Not that anyone would spy on them from these inconspicuous middle class housing units. But still.
ZUKO: I need to talk to you. Just... anyone.
Bandit makes a gag noise as she continues her stroll, the boy now following her along.
BANDIT: Why don't you talk to Aang or his new best friends the Liberation Jerks? They're probably all up in arms in there...
As they are speaking, Bumi and the leader of the LF are finally meeting in the palace, most likely talking about strategy regarding Gaoling. Zuko didn't want to go to yet another war-related thing. Why Bandit didn't go is clear to him now.
BANDIT: I can't believe I ran away from my family because we all agree that they went bad, but when it comes to the adults, they can just meet whoever they like. It's not fair!
Zuko briefly shuts his own concerns as he empathizes with the girl.
ZUKO: I actually agree. I think meeting with this Vaas guy is dangerous.
Bandit is glad to hear someone finally back her for once. She decides to return the favor.
BANDIT: So, what did you want to talk to me about?
Zuko exhales. Many bad memories of talking ill about Azula behind her back only to learn in a shocking fashion that she was listening in on it.
ZUKO: I... don't believe Azula's story. I think she's lying about something. Something big.
To his surprise, Bandit looks at him with a confused frown.
BANDIT: Oh. I thought we all got that. Wait, are we the only ones?
It takes him a second to recover from the whiplash of hearing this.
ZUKO: Wha- yes! Ty Lee and Sokka are totally on board and Aang can't really afford to go against her after everything that happened, so he believes her too.
BANDIT. Huh. Strange. I thought it was super obvious that she's bullshitting us. I don't know this Kenora girl, but her whole plan? Alone in the city just to attack... her? She's not even the Avatar. That's bonkers!
ZUKO: I know!
He sighs in relief.
ZUKO: I'm so glad I'm not alone here.
Bandit makes a sizzling noise, killing his optimism.
BANDIT: Well, for now we are alone. Not like we're gonna rip this this group even more apart by starting to call people liars.
ZUKO: So... what are we going to do?
BANDIT: We are not gonna do anything, hot shot. If she is this keen on lying to us, it's her thing. Eventually she'll have the guts to tell us who it was.
Zuko is intrigued.
ZUKO: What do you mean?
BANDIT: Isn't it obvious? This screams teenage romantic drama. Probably some boy she met, he didn't like her back, she got upset, cut her hair, and made up the whole story with this Kenora girl. Come on Zuko, you know I'm right.
He may know Azula longer, but Bandit is definitely the smarter one of the two right now.
ZUKO: I... I think you might be. I just didn't know she would be over Aang this fast.
They stop at a little park as Bandit sighs. She sits down on a soft patch of grass, Zuko following down next to her.
BANDIT: Have... you ever heard Azula tell you why she liked him? Heard her explain why she was in love with the guy?
He shakes his head.
ZUKO: Only some stuff from Ty Lee. Why?
The earthbender exhales loudly once again.
BANDIT: I don't think she's really in love with Aang, or ever was. The way she described her feelings all sounded so... cold. Almost like calculated.
Zuko reminisces about growing up with his little sister, how she always had a very clear vision of how she wanted the world to work, and how that often clashed with how the world really was.
ZUKO: I think I know what you mean.
BANDIT: I mean, I'm sure she finds him attractive. But... when it comes to them both as people, I don't see why she feels a connection there. She describes their history like it's some destined thing. She finds the boy in a volcano, it turns out he's the missing Avatar here to save the world, they go on adventures, he's really close with her - it's all a story to her. It's like her feelings for him are... logic. And... unfortunately, we saw that he absolutely doesn't see her that way. Because it's not a real feeling. She likes the idea of dating him more than she actually wants to date him. At least that's what I think.
Zuko is utterly speechless.
ZUKO: Wow. Uh... how old are you again?
Bandit smirks at how much she wowed him.
BANDIT: I spent a lot of time out in the streets. One good way of surviving is starting to get to know people. I can tell most of the time when someone is lying.
The boy ponders for a second, his fingers digging around the grass patch.
ZUKO: Our uncle always said that a man who lies every day of his life, starts every morning by lying to himself.
Bandit can tell just by looking that the gears in Zuko's brain start shifting a little faster.
BANDIT: Like I said... I think she met another boy. Thought she could forget Aang, but it didn't work out.
ZUKO: No. I don't think that's what happened.
Now the roles are reversed, and the girl listens with big, curious eyes.
ZUKO: The way you describe it, it sounds like she was tricking herself into thinking she has to be with Aang. Maybe she did like him at some point, but... I know my sister. I know how obsessed and perfectionistic she can get. She kissed him at the Golden Ball because she thought she needed to make a point to herself.
BANDIT: What are you getting at?
ZUKO: I also think she met someone else. But... this person... did something with her. I think Azula finally discovered what it feels like to really be into someone, for that person to like her back just as much. She discovered something about herself she didn't know was there. That was always the thing that scared her the most. A new thing she has to deal with, something unexpected that makes her lose control of herself.
He breathes in through his nose, exhaling in a collected manner through his mouth.
ZUKO: That's a big enough thing to make Azula come up with a story like this.
Bandit reacts with a content nod.
BANDIT: I'm just good at guessing. You're the one who actually knows her. It just... doesn't make sense why she would include Kenora in her story. Why this random detail?
Zuko shrugs.
ZUKO: We know she's in Goldmouth based on Ty Lee. Maybe she just saw her and used her as cover.
The two enjoy a few moments of silence, both thinking more about the situation on their own. Eventually, Zuko gets back up.
ZUKO: We should probably head back, start packing. I doubt we'll be spending much more time here.
Bandit follows his example, her next sigh being more of the light-hearted variety.
BANDIT: I'm gonna miss this city. It was nice while it lasted.
Zuko nods once again.
BANDIT: Are you... gonna talk to her about it?
In a gesture of defeat, he tilts his head to the side.
ZUKO: Of course I will. I always do. But it always helps.
Bandit smiles.
BANDIT: I'm glad she has you as a brother. I never wanted siblings...
He reacts with a comedic frown.
BANDIT: With you... I would've made an exception.
Now he smiles back.
It turns out Zuko was right, about the moving part at least. Bumi and Vaas had been hatching a plan to retake the nearby city of Gaoling in the name of the Earth Kingdom. How the leader of the Liberation Forces agreed to this, the boy has no idea. Bandit was busy reconnecting with the returning Vultures, which is something no one expected, meaning he was once again alone with his concerns for Azula.
Leaving the desert and into the mountain ranges further south was quite the journey with a massive military entourage like this. For the first time, The Dream Team would actually fight in the war, living alongside a few hundred soldiers. The boy loved seeing the mountain ranges, which shoot up into the sky with spiky shapes, like a bowl of nachos dipped into a green landscape. Their journey to Gaoling only takes two days, though it feels much longer somehow. Probably because, for the first time, Zuko feels a little bit lonely.
BUMI: May I come in?
Not expecting the shrill old man voice, Zuko nods with a hint of discomfort. He and Ty Lee had been given their own, private military tent, the grassy floor a welcome change to the stone and carpets he had to walk on so much on in Goldmouth.
Notably, his two-person tent is missing one of those persons.
BUMI: I was too afraid to ask at first. Didn't want to storm into the room of two teenagers - HA-HA - SNORT!
Zuko's cheeks take on some color, sort of like when your grandparents find out you're dating someone.
ZUKO: No, she's in Azula's tent. Ever since Azula was... attacked, Ty Lee hasn't left her side.
Not really having admitted this to someone, he crosses his arms.
ZUKO: She's been... sort of cold lately. After hearing about Kenora attacking her best friend... something about her has changed.
BUMI: Ke-who-ra?
ZUKO: Some waterbender that we clash with. I don't know what it is, but... both of their stories include her. What did she do to make them so upset?
Bumi folds his hands behind his back, prancing about the tent like a stork.
BUMI: Hm. Sounds like you just need to talk to this Kenora, if she's this important.
He grimaces at the big open question mark. Bumi meanwhile goes through his stuff, mainly his book collection, some of which he... borrowed from the Astronomy Tower.
ZUKO: That's the other thing. Everyone keeps talking about her like she's some... alien thing in our lives. Aang thinks that, because she doesn't exist in his world, that it automatically makes her unimportant. Yet, despite all this, she keeps showing up. She keeps influencing our lives. She keeps-
BUMI: Oh - what is this?
The old man clumsily picks up Zuko's broadswords, the engraved dragons shining in the torchlight of the tent. Zuko immediately jolts up, reacting as if the old man is going to smash those things any second.
ZUKO: Be careful with those! They're a gift from-
BUMI: Master Piandao.
Zuko stops, completely in awe.
ZUKO: How... how do you know...
The aura of the cranky geezer shifts to a completely serious tone all of a sudden.
BUMI: Yes, Master Piandao is an old friend of mine. I would recognize his craftsmanship anywhere. Although, I also found this in your stuff.
He flings the Lotus piece towards him like a coin. Zuko catches it, his surprise of the situation still ongoing.
BUMI: You see, Zuko... I have quite a few friends, all around the world. And it's not often that they give away a White Lotus piece like that.
Zuko tries finding his focus. He thinks back to when another old man recognized the maker of his swords.
ZUKO: I guess... you know Master Pakku then too.
Bumi cackles quietly. The boy smiles.
BUMI: Very good.
He hands him over his weapons.
BUMI: Are you aware of the switch on the hilt?
ZUKO: Huh?
He admires one of the blades a little closer, leaving his other on the bed. A small mechanism reveals a set of holes that go into the hilt, hidden exactly under his palm, if held.
BUMI: I've seen such a design only one other time. Try firebending while pressing it.
Curiosity doesn't even come close to how Zuko feels. With excitement, he tries producing a flame from his hand when-
The fire enters the sword, exiting on the dragon head on the bottom of the blade. Within seconds, the sharp part of the weapon is engulfed in heat. Zuko chuckles heartly as he looks at his fricking fire sword.
BUMI: You should probably turn it off inside a tent, though.
ZUKO: Oh, yeah, right.
He checks if the blade is still heated from the flame, but... negative. It's as cool as it was before. He puts it down right next to the other.
ZUKO: Why did Master Piandao give me these? I... wasn't a firebender back then.
Bumi strokes his chin.
BUMI: Perhaps he wasn't sure, perhaps he made a guess.
The old man walks back over to Zuko, taking back the Pai Sho piece from his person, flinging it back and forth over his crusty fingers like a poker chip.
BUMI: That's what makes the White Lotus so special. It is a piece that no one ever uses. It requires a specific strategy, a different way of thinking, approaching a problem.
He hands it back to Zuko, who tries his very best not to seem stupid after hearing all these cryptic things.
BUMI: You may hear from us again someday, Zuko. The White Lotus has seen your potential.
Zuko has... almost no idea what the old guy is talking about, but he tries to play along for now. He can make the guess that White Lotus probably has some other meaning and involves an "us".
ZUKO: Well... I'm happy to have made an impression... I guess.
Bumi smirks before leaving the tent.
BUMI: You have. Your uncle will be pleased to hear.
His innocent smile suddenly shifts into a shocked frown.
ZUKO: Wha- wait, what - uncle?
As the Mad King is finally leaving, he cackles into the night sky, his signature laugh heard all over the camp.
As a starter, Zuko blows off some hot air from his head, his mind having sufficiently been shattered. For now, all he knows that Uncle Iroh, his mild-mannered relative from the Twin Islands, is friends with the Governor-General of Goldmouth, a waterbending master, and a master swordfighter.
He takes a seat on his bed, putting the Pai Sho piece away and picking up one of the blades. The fact that he hasn't noticed this mechanism yet is baffling, yet pretty much the best thing that could've happened. His firebending isn't quite there yet, the boy still feeling more comfortable with just his swords. So that's handy.
Staring at his own reflection, he thinks about Bumi's words. A different way of thinking. Approaching problems. So, what about the Kenora Problem, then?
What if... she wasn't some inconsequential error of this world? What if she wasn't a ruthless, heartless fighting machine? He did offer her to come along with them in the Glacier Temple. She refused of course but... he saw doubt in her eyes then. The same doubt Sokka had months ago. He has to believe Ty Lee's story, she wouldn't lie about something like that, but... maybe it wasn't about Kenora tricking her, or attacking her. Maybe... Ty Lee misunderstood her. Maybe she-
And that's when a physical clicking sound is heard as he pieces the puzzle together in his head.
Azula's whole story - running into Kenora only to come back home in complete emotional distress?
Zuko thinks back to the festival they met Ty Lee at. After a brief smile at the memory of that, he focuses on a conversation he had with his sister...
ZUKO: What? Don't tell me you wouldn't be interested in a gathering of... male... dancers...
He doesn't quite know how to provoke Azula on this topic, a fact that makes Azula very happy.
He always assumed that Azula likes boys. Haru, Jet, and Aang confirmed that. It... doesn't however mean that... there might not be more to it.
A fake story to cover up some kind of thing that confused her, made her scared?
And Kenora at the center of it.
He wants to be happy about it, he is, in fact. However, any joy quickly drowns as he thinks about just how scared and alone Azula is with all these feelings right now.
The Dream Team never actually saw the Battle of Gaoling, only its very tail end. The glorious clash was prematurely ended, as the Water Tribe troops had been ordered to evacuate, which didn't mean that the Earth Kingdom's troops and LF were able to enter unopposed. It meant that a large part of the fight took place outside the city, though Gaoling wasn't spared from massive destruction. Buildings collapsed - rooftops ripped apart like paper. Fires, almost everywhere. The ruins of something that was once just... some place people lived. Ordinary people, with ordinary lives. Like Bandit.
JET: They're splitting up!
Having been tasked to hunt down the fearsome Shark Rays in order to retrieve intel, Team Avatar and the Vultures are forced to split into smaller groups, the dromedary antelopes plus riders going into all different kinds of directions at a cross-junction in the destroyed city.
AZULA: Come on, Zuko!
By happenstance, he got to be on a team with Azula, chasing after a bulky, shirtless man using iron bolas. Azula scares his ride animal as she shoots fire, Mekameka trapping her firmly with his chain-like weapon. Zuko jumps in from above, his new fire blades used to slice the metal right open, after which he blasts a flame from it, a heated blast that knocks Mekameka off his beast and out for good. Azula is quick to charge towards him after her chains were cut, searching his saddle bags and actual bags. As she is done, she sighs, sounding very disappointed.
AZULA: Of course we pick the wrong guy.
Their banter is cancelled swiftly by incoming water streams, a small troop of Water Tribe soldiers having spotted the kids. They duck and rush into an abandoned, partially destroyed house, Azula taking cover as she occasionally shoots a flame from the window, an Earth Kingdom battalion coming to take the pressure off of them.
It's... not ideal but... he is alone with her for once.
AZULA: Great. And now we're stuck here. Next time I'm picking the guy with the mask.
ZUKO: I need to talk to you.
He almost stumbles over his own words, yet his awkward demeanor does carry a certain coat of bravery.
AZULA: Now? Like, right now?
He grunts, seeing as she is totally right. She fires off two more shots before his words finally draw all of her focus towards him.
ZUKO: I know, but... I also know you. You're not going to be honest with me with everyone else in the room.
She crosses her arms. Based on her quick eye movement, she seems a little scared even.
ZUKO: I know you lied about what happened.
Her eyebrows lose their tight grip and drift upwards slowly.
ZUKO: I... don't know for sure what happened with Kenora but... I don't think she attacked you.
A scoff to try and hide her pale frown.
AZULA: You're out of your mind. What else could've happened?
ZUKO: I have a pretty good guess, actually.
She presses her lips together, unsuccessfully trying to hold back her tears.
ZUKO: I know you don't like to talk about your feelings as much as me or Ty Lee, I respect that. But this... this is different. You don't need to go through this alone. Azula... please... be honest.
Azula snaps back at him
AZULA (teary): Oh, because honesty has helped us so much, has it? And why are you preaching at me like you're Uncle? I have news for you - you're not! Don't be this pathetic little amateur fortuneteller that pretends to see right through me. You don't KNOW me!
Her rant made her just more emotional. Zuko digs his face into his hands for a second.
ZUKO: Azula...
AZULA (teary): Leave me alone, Zu-Zu! What happened was a mistake, I was tricked, and I never want to talk about it again!
Unbeknownst to her, he actually approached her slowly, grabbing her hand in comfort as she looks back at him again. Her tears have brought full-on sobbing with them.
ZUKO: You don't have to deal with this alone. And you don't have to be ashamed.
He can't make out what exactly is going through Azula now, though it must be some kind of change, her expression-
A metal noise behind them. They turn around. A small, round object sizzles with a fuse burning at the top.
Zuko realizes it first, covering Azula with his own body.
ZUKO: GET DOWN-
KA-BOOM!
He sees a few flashes before he is out. Azula, makes sure he's okay, then storms outside, right after whoever did that. He wants to tell her to wait... but...
Sometime later, no idea how much later, he switches right back on, a gasp of air turning to a cough as he wipes the rubble from his chest. He looks around dizzy and confused. He's alone.
Another cough before he forces himself to stand up, going fully against every aching muscle in his body. He probably has a few burns on him too. Yet he needs to persist. Grabbing his swords, he totters outside.
The city is abandoned, mostly smoke, all fires extinguished by now. An occasional, faceless soldier looks at him weird, without offering any help.
ZUKO (weak): A... Azula...
He stops as a voice rings in his head. Someone crying nearby - a different abandoned building. He decides to go straight towards it, his sense of equilibrium still going for a few rollercoaster rides in his ear canal.
He stumbles inside. Finally, he can make out that the weeping did not come from his sister. He looks to the ground. A trail of blood, leading forward.
TY LEE (teary): Zuko?
He drops both swords in horror. This must be a delusion. A nightmare. He stares in the face of his love, the airbender hiding most of it behind her hands.
Hands that are soaked in blood.
Act II. - Vaas
Part 2: Oblivion
No wind. Absolutely zero, despite their proximity to the continent. His orders are to patrol the waters around Gaoling, reinforcing the city's defenses. A spy in Goldmouth had informed the Tribes of upcoming plans. A full-on attack on the city, headed by the Governor-General, Bumi.
Puwati scoffs as he thinks of the cranky old master.
No new scars have been added to his face. It's still just a gashing line that took one of his ears, a few tiny scratches, and a gaping, massive scar across his face and nose, the Blue Spirit having only barely missed one of his eyes. Puwati is still bald, of course, though his beard is bushier now, his chin hidden completely behind dark hair with grey bits here and there, a small but creeping reminder that no man can live forever. Ae' Kiki made him realize that. His former lieutenant was one of three people in his life he actually considered important. Now it's only Kenora. And it will always be Laiya.
His mother used to be important as well. Hama was a cold woman, showing her love only in brief moments, which made them all the more important. He felt neglected as a young man, growing resentment towards her. As she got sick, he came around and forgave her. She was bitter and old, a woman ripped from her home and family to be shipped off to some island halfway across the planet. She also hated never having been a bender, although, again, as a woman, it would've been one more thing she wouldn't have been able to fully utilize. Or maybe she would've. Hama was fearless, she was like Kenora in that way. He always found it tragic that she never got to meet her granddaughter.
GEREK: Vice-Chief?
Puwati turns around with a significant delay, his right hand firmly grabbing onto his staff. Out of all the potential candidates to replace Ae' Kiki, no one was really suitable, meaning he went with Gerek.
PUWATI: Lieutenant.
Gerek nods in an awkward fashion. His lack of facial hair, any notable features and generic, short black hair give the grown man the appearance of a graduate student.
GEREK: I've received word that we will be reaching shore soon. Gaoling is only a few hours away from there.
The Vice-Chief scoffs. As if he didn't know this already. But alas, Gerek has something to prove, it seems.
PUWATI: Were you a good student, lieutenant?
Gerek smirks with much arrogance.
GEREK: I was top student in my senior class at the academy. Youngest lieutenant since you were, I believe.
Puwati nods, his other hand rinsing across the hooked end of his weapon.
PUWATI: Have you ever seen battle, lieutenant?
To his surprise, Gerek appears a bit more humble.
GEREK: I... have. I was at the Golden City. My... brother was killed in action.
A somber aura surrounds his second-in-command.
PUWATI: He had a name?
GEREK: Tarshall, sir. He was one of the new recruits.
Puwati nods.
PUWATI: Did you learn anything from the Golden City?
The average-looking man is thrown off-guard.
GEREK: Uh... I believe I don't understand the question, sir.
The scarred man finally bothers to look at his subordinate.
PUWATI: We lost. How do you think we could've won?
Gerek exhales loudly, trying to find the best possible answer to that.
GEREK: I... believe we were underprepared, sir. We needed more reinforcements. Maybe that way we would've been able to deal with the giant spirit beast.
Upsetting Gerek, Puwati chuckles, delighted by his answer.
PUWATI: Not the entire might of the Water Tribes would've been able to deal with a spirit as powerful as that.
GEREK: We have our own spirits we pray to, Vice-Chief. With all due respect, sir, the great spirits of the ocean would never abandon us.
Annoyed by the conversation, Puwati leaves.
PUWATI: They already have.
In his office, he briefly looks over to the hole in his wall. The door has been fixed by now, it has been not. His right arms still carries marks from the boy's throwing weapons, as well as the nasty bite of the lemur. He sighs, leaning back in his chair. There's some paperwork on his desk, a few letters and orders he needs to go through. Puwati rubs his face, his reading glasses shoved upwards by it. He decides against doing any more of that boring stuff today, taking his spectacles off and storing them in a drawer.
The wrong one is opened by an inch. Puwati realizes this, yet rather than closing it again, he instead opts to open it all the way. It's his junk department, a bunch of items and random things he had been collecting over the years, not quite sure what to do with them or where else to store them. He shoves aside a White Lotus piece as he picks up what piqued his interest.
He was young back then. His wedding, on the beaches of Whale Tale Island. He was still freakishly tall, though his... gut wasn't as big back then. He had short hair, beard stubbles, and no scars yet. He almost looked like a different person.
Laiya was beautiful. While most of how Kenora looks, especially her face, came from Hama - her long, luscious, golden-bronze mane came straight from her. Her face was slender, cheekbones that blended in with her nose, Laiya always feeling like it was too big. Her eyes had the colors of the ocean.
Puwati admires their wedding portrait for a little longer. Kenora only got to see so little of this person he loved dearly. He was supposed to marry a woman of the south, a woman who would end up becoming the Chief Headwoman to Great Chief Hakoda. He didn't love her. His heart belonged to Laiya. The two had known each other since childhood, and he had promised her, as a young lad, that he would one day marry her. Typically, a traditional Whale Tale Island wedding requires the bride to wear a jasmine lei, yet she wore one he gifted her when she was sick as a girl, when he visited Laiya to make sure she was alright. Her visited her every day. And then...
And then she left.
He puts the portrait back, happy memories washed away by the clear waters of his home. There is something else in that drawer, something that has been scaring him since the day he found it. Since the day Laiya left.
His fingers clasp the letter, a wax stamp reminding him that he still hasn't opened it. That he never read why she left him, left Kenora.
Why in the world would he want to know?
A metallic knock flings him back into his chair, the Vice-Chief needing a moment to recover from the whiplash, hiding Laiya's letter back in the junk drawer.
He clears his throat, speaking with his usually raspy tone.
PUWATI: Come in.
Gerek enters, looking distressed.
GEREK: A messenger puffin just came in for you.
Puwati grabs the letter disinterred, making a disgusted groan noise.
PUWATI: Some other hack job asking to be promoted?
GEREK: No sir. It's... from the Great Chief.
The Vice-Chief's demeanor immediately switches to distress as well. He rips the message open hastily, not concerned to be seen with tiny reading glasses by Gerek. He shudders as his eyes wander over it.
PUWATI: What... in the...
He unhinges the metal door leading to the main deck as he smashes it open, Gerek closely after him.
GEREK: Sir, but... what does this mean?
Puwati turns around in a flash, holding up the letter in mockery.
PUWATI: It means our orders are to let the Earth Kingdom take Gaoling while we idly stand by and do NOTHING!
He grunts like an animal.
GEREK: ...understood. Should we... coordinate our evacuation efforts with nearby ships?
PUWATI: What nearby ships?
GEREK: Well, there's a smaller vessel out east. I believe it's the one headed by the Crown Princess.
Having been pacing around the deck, Puwati finally comes to a grinding halt.
PUWATI: The Crown Princess?
GEREK: That's the last I've heard. They're actually closer to the city than us.
Puwati frowns in horror at the news. Kenora was in charge of that ship. What happened? And if they're close to Gaoling then...
PUWATI (mumbling to himself): They'll be in the middle of it...
He looks down at his hand and the letter. He crumples it up.
PUWATI: We will not stand by. I am ordering to send troops to Gaoling, help with the evacuation and hold the invaders back as long as possible.
The opposite of a rowdy rule breaker, Gerek shudders.
GEREK: Uh... but sir-
PUWATI: I AM THE VICE-CHIEF OF THE WATER TRIBES! I AM ORDERING YOU TO GO AND FIGHT! NOW!
Gerek is close to hyperventilating, nodding his head frantically as he follows his command. Puwati grins his teeth, both his arms firmly grasping his famed weapon.
PUWATI (mumbling angrily): This wasn't what we agreed, Hakoda...
It went about as well as Puwati expected. With his troops being the only real support, the evacuation is much more successful, yet much bloodier. Whatever Hakoda and his daughter are planning, he is not letting his own daughter get caught in the middle of it. She is everything he has left. She takes priority, even if sending men into a lost battle goes against everything he promised to do as Vice-Chief.
On the outskirts of the city, running across a grassy field, Puwati gets separated from Gerek and his other soldiers. He prefers fighting on his own regardless.
He blocks an incoming earth chunk with his staff, swinging it once more to knock the man out clean. A second earthbender unsuccessfully tries to squash the bulky man in a pillar of rock, Puwati grabbing him by his leg, tossing him back into the city as he howls with fear. This battle has strained him more than usual. He's almost out of breath, feeling tired and overworked. Maybe he's finally old-
A rumbling alerts him. He prepares to dodge another attack, instead getting lifted up with a rock pillar from beneath the grass, flying a bit across the hill, before managing to land on two feet. He snarls with fury. Who would dare to-
BUMI: AH-HA-HA-HA - SNORT! - AH-HA-HA!
Puwati sighs.
PUWATI: Not Bumi...
The old man, wearing his Earth Kingdom uniform, digs himself up from the ground like a speedy mole.
BUMI: Long time no see, old friend!
Puwati immediately tries to hit him with a swipe, Bumi disappearing below the earth again, popping up on some other spot on the field, a bit further away now.
BUMI: My oh my. It is not often that I stumble over two of Master Piandao's creations in such a short period of time.
He eyes the staff, hook on one end, harpoon on the other. The bright sunlight is reflected in the blue-ish silver color.
BUMI: You even gave it a nice paint job to hide the original material. That's wonderful!
Puwati gnashes his teeth.
PUWATI: I like to keep things to myself. It's why I left your weird little club.
BUMI: Wrong, we kicked you out. Tell me Pu-Pu - has the meteor staff been serving you well?
Puwati frowns even harder. Not a single person in the Water Tribes knows the true origins of his weapon, not even the Great Chief.
PUWATI: Reasonably.
BUMI: Well, I'd like to see for myself.
With an old-man-grunt, Bumi starts off the fight, pulling up his secretly muscly arms, ripping open a whole chunk of the ground, Puwati rolling aside as not to be pulled away with it. He charges Bumi, any rock spikes his opponent conjures up getting dodged and hacked into pieces by his indestructible weapon. Going for close combat, Bumi, despite his old age, can easily step aside or duck every attack, until bending a massive stone wall from the ground to-
The wall is penetrated by the harpoon end. Puwati swipes it left and right, before the earthbender puts the chunk back into the ground, the harpoon hook getting stuck in the ground with it. For a moment at least - Puwati ripping it out with little force, then swinging it hard towards a chunk of dirt sticking out, smashing it and launching the projectiles at Bumi. He is able to dodge this, yet the ferocity of his opponent does surprise the Mad King.
Next, the Vice-Chief, after knocking over a few more rock attacks, is able to grab ahold of Bumi's leg, yet the old man can avert being tossed by falling backwards, digging himself into the ground. Puwati proceeds to poke the grass repeatedly, like an angry farmer trying to kill backyard gophers with a shovel. Dirt and little bits and pieces of green get flung around like crazy, before Puwati finally makes the discovery that Bumi is probably no longer directly beneath him. How? Well, he turns around and spots that a moderately large building, a lot bigger than him, his getting knocked over steadily by a sweating Bumi. No head start to move aside, the non-bender is faced with a massive wall coming towards him. Improvising quickly, he starts swinging his meteor staff in a circle, like an athlete preparing a hammer throw. He times it correctly, smashing the momentum built on the hook end directly against the wall as it's about to crush him.
The building shatters, leaving Puwati unharmed. Bumi stands there innocently, this maneuver having used up a lot of his strength. The dust clearing, Puwati aims the harpoon end at his neck.
Thinking he has won, the Vice-Chief looks up after a pebble drops on his skull. The General has been holding up a huge chunk of the building above them both. This time he can only run aside, closely avoiding being crushed by the weight of that.
The dust settles a second time, with no Bumi to be found. Instead, the distant shouting from Earth Kingdom soldiers puts Puwati on high alert. No time to think - he gets back up and stumbles his way across the grassy fields of Gaoling.
The lush green leads him to familiar ground. He needs to get out of the city as fast as he can, head back the Koriata. He starts remembering these fields, remembering the looks of trees, the smell of fresh air. The mountains in the back. The sound of a creek running close by, the-
He stops. Of course he knows these parts. It's standing right in front of him now.
The mansion of the Beifong family was the last holdout in their quick but effective siege of Gaoling. He had been serving for years at this point, yet this battle... this day... it's imprinted into his mind deeper than any scar on his flesh.
He slowly paces along the outer wall, having completely forgotten that he needs to escape, get back. His heart pounds faster, beating out of his chest as the memories come crawling back, like a repressed memory that he had been trying to erase, blurt out.
But they cannot go away.
It was right after he let the little girl go...
SOLDIER: Lieutenant Puwati, we've beaten the last of their defenses. They're willing to surrender.
Puwati puts his spear down like a flagpole.
PUWATI: Good. Report to the captain.
SOLDIER: That's the thing sir, he asked you to make a decision with him.
Puwati takes a deep breath. Hopefully the girl made it.
Inside the mansion, a good twenty people are painted in the colors of battle. Mud, sweat, blood. They're men and women, of all ages. Some look like they're not even adults yet.
They've been lined up outside the main entrance, soldiers and benders standing close by.
And then there is Captain Korbenoque, Puwati's superior at the time. He is one of few soldiers in the army carrying very little scars and long hair, a nicely trimmed mustache almost making him look like an Earth Kingdom citizen.
KORBENOQUE: Ah, there's my loyal lieutenant.
Puwati enters the courtyard trying to look proud. The despair in the eyes of the prisoners makes him feel the opposite.
PUWATI: Captain.
He pounds his wet chest. The rain has faded out to drizzle now. Korbenoque smirks manically.
KORBENOQUE: Today brings the Liberation of Gaoling! You can pat yourself on the back, lieutenant. You helped in great parts.
Puwati looks at the prisoners again. One man in particular looks more miserable than the rest. The captain takes note of his stare.
KORBENOQUE: Ah - yes! You're looking at the head of the Beifong family - Lao Beifong! Didn't think a rich man like that would actually be on the battlefield, but oh well...
Lao doesn't share eye contact with Puwati in protest.
KORBENQUE: Uh... anyways. Can you come over here for a minute? I need you to help me with a decision.
Puwati follows the order. The two men stand a bit removed away from the others, speaking a little quieter.
KORBENOQUE: See, the thing is, I got this message earlier. It was from Morgenaute.
Puwati frowns surprised.
PUWATI: Great Chief Morgenaute?
KORBENOQUE: Yeah, that one. You see... he ordered me to make an example out of Gaoling. Show the rest of the Earth Kingdom what happens if they resist the Tribes. That sort of stuff. And so... we have all these nice prisoners...
Puwati's heart drops for a second time that night.
PUWATI: But sir... we've won already. That kind of bloodshed-
KORBENOQUE: Is necessary. I agree with the Great Chief.
The captain snaps his fingers, twirling his hand and signaling his waterbenders to start the executions. The prisoners start to panic.
PUWATI: Wait... WAIT!
They stop. Korbenoque looks at him with this... psychotic, innocent sense of confusion. The captain is genuinely just baffled why Puwati doesn't want this to happen.
PUWATI: We need to make an example but... we need to show that were stronger. Spare the women. They... were never meant to fight.
He doesn't believe any of that bullshit, but Korbenoque seems to have bought it. He mimics to one of the soldiers, the troops starting to separate the few women from the men. The women of course, cry and weep in protest.
POPPY (teary): NO! LAO!
KORBENOQUE: Oh, one last thing, Puwati. You didn't happen to see a girl somewhere here? Intel told us that the Beifongs had a daughter. You happen to see her?
Faking his expression to lie to his captain was the easiest choice Puwati made in his life.
PUWATI: No. There was nobody.
Korbenoque crudely shrugs.
KORBENOQUE: Oh well.
He does the same hand motion again. The waterbenders form ice spears, aiming for every male's head. While Puwati's heart is beating out of his chest, Lao finally looks over to him. In the most subtle way possible, he nods. Lao shows relief.
POPPY (teary): LAO! PLEASE, NO!
LAO (teary): It's going to be fine, Poppy. We are going to be fine.
She got the message. But it's not like she would stop shouting, wouldn't stop begging for his life with tears in her eyes.
Puwati forced himself to watch. The spears fell with the sound of a lightning strike.
Korbenoque died a gruesome death years later when failing to take Yu Dao. He was the Vice-Chief for a mere four months. And he was celebrated a hero.
These images were almost gone, almost faded over time like his wedding portrait. But they are not gone, and they will never be undone. It will never...
After a few steps, Puwati spots a girl.
She's wearing beige and green, all ragged and overworn. She looks like a street child, someone who would not be standing by a mansion window. This girl is not much younger than-
Bandit finally turns her head. She had been crying for a while now. The same window she climbed out of to escape her home, lose her family. Puwati drops his staff, falls to his knees. He quivers at the sight of her. Those same eyes... the same hair...
The same girl he granted to live all these years ago. In the same spot, him in almost the exact same as well.
She doesn't quite know how to feel either, though she does recognize him. This hulking pile of a soldier crumbling completely. She hasn't thought of him since that day, hasn't considered thanking him.
Bandit runs away. Puwati remains for a bit.
The hardened soldier has seen much in his life. He's no fool to what this war does, how many girls are orphans because of his actions.
This however, breaks him.
Part 3: Brother
Blinding sunlight is a dangerous thing in the desert of Si Wong. Unless you're wearing sunscreen.
A giant gold cube is of course a strange sight to see in this blooming metropole. Sokka has been fascinated by it since he first came here. He was mostly intrigued by the fact that... he might be one of the first Water Tribe people to be standing in front of it. That is unless Kenora, and whoever else, came here first. Either way, he is here now.
SOKKA: Hey... Mr. Cube. Bendigo... sir?
He stares at the monument. It of course doesn't respond, making Sokka feel embarrassed for waiting.
SOKKA (nervously): Ha-ha... nice talking to you...
He sighs.
SOKKA: Look, I... know this is silly. I hope no one is watching me right now, but...
Sokka pauses. He wants to choose his words really carefully now.
SOKKA: Maybe speaking to a cube is completely pointless but... I... sort of feel like I have to.
Once more the boy waits for the non-existent answer.
SOKKA: I come from a place where spirits are regarded as the most important thing ever. We pray to them and worship them all the time yet... we end up causing so much harm in the world. I doubt that any spirits would ever support a war like this. I guess... I came here to... apologize. I know it's not all on me to end it but... I can do at least a little bit by showing you that... not all of us are evil.
He finally finds hit footing, staring with confidence at the inanimate object.
SOKKA: I will help to end this war. And... should I ever be... in charge of things, I promise you I will ensure peace between all humans of all nations. If the spirits truly care about us, they will certainly like it more than to see a world where everyone is suffering.
His hands firmly on his hips, he smiles.
SOKKA: We're also... about to leave Goldmouth and I wanted to say goodbye properly. I liked it here. I hope I get to see it again someday.
For a second, the shiny object sparkles in his face. It was probably just his mind playing tricks on him but...
Never mind.
He leaves, uncertain of what the future will hold. The Cube of Bendigo might not have heard him, but there's at least one certain waterbender who did, having been standing on the exact other side of it the whole time.
That person is one lucky gran-gran.
Despite blending in perfectly in his brown robes and with his shiny sickle sword, Sokka does feel more than a little uncomfortable being in a military camp that is composed of half Earth Kingdom soldiers and half Liberations Forces rebels. He almost doesn't leave his shared tent with Aang. Ultimately, he feels like checking in on Azula and Ty Lee. Partially... out of guilt.
SOKKA: Knock-knock!
Azula looks over to Ty Lee with a grimace.
AZULA: Did he just say "knock-knock"?
TY LEE: Come in!
The boy slaps open the tent "doors" and enters with an odd look of enjoyment.
AZULA: Hey?
SOKKA: Hey girls. Just... checking in on you two. What are you up to?
Azula is crossing her arms.
AZULA: A sleepover. Isn't it obvious?
Not knowing how to follow this one up, Ty Lee correctly reads the room. The girl rubs Azula's back as she gets up.
TY LEE: I think I'll get going. Zuko is probably asleep by now. Do you want to walk me home, Sokka?
SOKKA: Only... if Azula doesn't mind?
The firebender lets out her most sassy yet.
AZULA (sarcastic): No. Please. Don't go.
The tent closed off again, Ty Lee walks ahead as Sokka strolls down next to her.
SOKKA: Thanks for that. Although... I did want to speak to both of you, actually.
She stops, crossing her arms... very much like Azula.
TY LEE: About what?
SOKKA: Well...
He sighs. Ty Lee continues to walk ahead, though her body language seems anything but open right now.
SOKKA: I don't know how to feel about Kenora.
To his shock, her response is a very direct frown.
TY LEE: I... understand that you have a history with her. But please... don't feel too much sympathy. For any of them.
SOKKA: "Any of them"?
Once again, she halts, turning towards him.
TY LEE: Kenora, Akari - any of these other Water Tribe jerks.
Sokka finds her views on the whole thing very uncharacteristic for the airbender.
SOKKA: Um... yeah, I get what you mean. But... I... was... one of those jerks once. And... you guys kept being sympathetic to me so-
TY LEE (serious): We didn't accept you as our friend because we kept being nice to you until you changed your mind somehow. You came to us wanting to be better. Every time Kenora shows up in our lives, things get worse.
The harshness of her words truly unsettle the boy.
SOKKA: Oh. I... didn't know you felt this strongly about it.
TY LEE: What she did to me in the desert was one thing, but after attacking Azula like that? No. I let my guard down once, I will not let it happen again.
For the second time tonight, Sokka can't decide what to say.
TY LEE: Sorry for not being so jolly about everything right now. I think I would rather be the Ty Lee who protects her friends than the Ty Lee who gets them hurt.
She turns around to-
SOKKA: What about her aura?
He gets her to stop.
SOKKA: You could feel my aura back when I was having doubts. Did you feel any in her?
She looks aside in shame.
TY LEE (cold): My aura reading doesn't work as well as I thought.
SOKKA: That's not true. Listen, what I said at the Golden Ball-
TY LEE: It's not about what you said. Just...
She rubs her eyes.
TY LEE: Goodnight, Sokka.
Frustrated, with the conversation and herself, she leaves. Sokka is now stranded and alone, every other soldier eyeing him with a weird sense of hostility that makes his walk home back to his tent more than uncomfortable.
He remembers hearing about the great victory in Gaoling as a boy. It was said to be a blooming gem, a center of peace and commerce in the southern colonies. A lie of course, though, as he and the others enter the city after a majority of the fighting is over, he does feel rather sad to see it in shambles now.
JET: They're splitting up!
Having been tasked to hunt down the fearsome Shark Rays in order to retrieve intel, Team Avatar and the Vultures are forced to split into smaller groups, the dromedary antelopes plus riders going into all different kinds of directions at a cross-junction in the destroyed city.
Sokka briefly considers going with Ty Lee, who soared after the masked rider on her own. But, as the chaos of splitting up ensues, he spots something even more important.
Brown hair, blue clothes. It's only for a second, it might not have been her.
But what if it was? What if Kenora is in the city and in the midst of this turmoil? He hesitates for a second. Aang, Bandit, and the Vultures seem to chase down the leader of the Shark Rays into a nearby alley.
The prince makes his choice.
He runs down to the left and a few blocks further. Occasional soldiers try to stop his advance, though he can pretty competently take on a waterbender and a man carrying a club, using his curved blade and trusty boomerang to knock out one after the other.
A strange path cutting directly through a hill ahead, a destroyed bridge above it. He chases it down further, weapon drawn in case any attackers-
KATARA: Sokka!
The soft echo of his sister's voice reaches his ears before a hug can reach his person. She lets him go as she almost cries out of joy.
SOKKA: Katara? What...
KATARA: What am I doing here? I could ask you the same thing.
While a hint of accusation is hidden beneath the surface, Katara still decides to be optimistic at first.
KATARA: Oh, let's not argue right off the start. I haven't seen you in years. How are you doing?
SOKKA: Uh... I've been doing fine I-
He recollects last seeing Katara, the day he went into his unofficial exile.
SOKKA: I went through a lot these past few years.
For some reason she still seems naively happy just to see him.
KATARA: I know, big brother. I've been reading along some of what you've been up to during my travels. You led pirates with Kenora? You almost got charged at a Chief's Trial? By the way, if anything had happened, father would've totally pardoned you, no matter what-
SOKKA: Katara, stop. Stop. Please.
Sokka puts his sword away, frowning with unease. The girl finally sighs, allowing herself to show some discomfort.
SOKKA: Trust me when I say, I am so happy to see you. I'm so happy to see that you're doing okay, and not kept as a future trophy locked in a palace. But... I didn't want our reunion to look like this.
She pouts, averting her face. Katara crossing her arms has a much different look to it than his friend the firebender.
KATARA: What did you envision? Knocking at our doors with the armies of the enemy? Engulf me in a hug as the palace is stormed and destroyed?
SOKKA: No. No! No, I...
He too sighs.
SOKKA: I don't know. But I certainly didn't want to meet you during a battle. I don't want to fight you.
KATARA: So it's true then? I thought Kenora was being hyperbolic, but you truly switched sides, didn't you?
Sokka can't stand to look at her like that, not like this.
SOKKA: I'm sorry. But I didn't do it out of selfish reasons. I did it because-
KATARA: Leaving your home, your family, everyone including me, behind? That does sound pretty selfish to me, Sokka.
Clearly frustrated, the prince answers merely with a grunt. She tries to approach him a little more, both literally and with her words.
KATARA: I know you had a hard time dealing with dad, especially after... mom. Everything happened so fast, he became Great Chief, he started having all these responsibilities...
She finally uncrosses her arms.
KATARA: You have to understand that not a lot of people liked him. He had to appease as many of the other Chiefs as possible. Sending you away from the capital wasn't him trying to punish you. He tried to protect you, get you away from everything until you would be old enough to come back and take your place on the throne. Sokka, you know this...
He seriously considers it for a second. But, after everything...
SOKKA: I can't. And it wouldn't have worked. If I hadn't done this, if I didn't confront my own wrongdoings and the wrongdoings of the Water Tribe, I would never have become a good leader. I would've been incapable and cruel. Only by knowing that this war is wrong can I really change something.
She scoffs at his words, though it clearly pains her based on her expression.
KATARA: So what, you're a "great leader" now? You're not the only one who hates this war. Father wants to-
Katara stops herself, hooking her brother immediately.
SOKKA: What? Father wants what?
The princess seems uncomfortable to share this.
KATARA: I'm... not supposed to let anyone know but... father is negotiating in secret. Loosing Gaoling today was strategic. The war will be over soon.
The news deeply shocks the prince, unsettling him to his very core. His sister uses the moment to softly, but firmly, grasp his cheeks.
KATARA: We can go home, Sokka. Everything is going to be exactly as it was.
It's her choice of words that causes him to reject it, turning away from her warmth and her offer.
SOKKA: Things can't go back to the way they were. Things need to change. We can't have a hundred years of war just to end on a truce. The Fire Nation will still be occupied, parts of the Earth Kingdom will be colonies, and the Air Nomads will still have been wiped out.
KATARA: Not all of them were-
SOKKA: But enough to make it matter! Come on Katara, you know all of this is wrong.
Based on her body language he guesses that she is genuinely struggling with all of this, unsure whether or not she is arguing with herself to agree or resenting him for making her question everything.
KATARA (emotional): No... I can't do it...
SOKKA: And I won't leave you!
He grabs her arms as she wants to run.
SOKKA: You can come with us, come with me.
She ponders this option too, it seems.
KATARA: But... they won't accept me. I'm the enemy.
Sokka briefly thinks back to last night's unsettling conversation with Ty Lee.
SOKKA: Maybe.
Katara frees herself from his grasp.
SOKKA: But if you're honest with them, if you're truly showing that you're making an effort, then they will accept you. I'm their friend too now. And...
He comically halts, thinking about whether or not he should drop this. Perhaps it's necessary to convince his sister.
KATARA: And what?
SOKKA: Well, I'm definitely not supposed to tell you this but... the Avatar is in love with you.
Expecting her to be shocked or surprised or confused, she instead, smiles. An embarrassed headshake is what follows that up.
KATARA: That's ridiculous. He doesn't even know me. He's seen me once.
SOKKA: That's the crazy part - he's from another world!
Katara continues to smile in... disbelief.
KATARA: Is he?
SOKKA: Yeah, a parallel world. Apparently where he comes from the Fire Nation has conquered everyone else. You and I find him after 100 years and he... ends up falling for you.
The information trickles into her brain, a strange sense of calmness displayed towards him, as if she suddenly forgot he was there.
SOKKA: I'm not saying you have to date him in order to be accepted, but it means he already trusts you. I trust you. What do you say?
He offers his hand. Despite his passionate speech and deep desire to get her on board, she eyes it merely as if it were an unknown object. After that, she frowns with disappointment at him.
KATARA: I'm sorry, Sokka. I just can't. Not... right now. People are relying on me.
Without any more of an explanation, she walks past by him over the pieces of the broken bridge.
SOKKA: You know I'm sorry, right?
She stops.
SOKKA: I'm not just saying it, I truly mean it. I have disappointed you, as a brother. But I promise, from the bottom of my heart, I will make it up to you.
Katara turns around. Her head tilted an inch to the side, she smiles.
KATARA: Oh Sokka, you already have.
Finally, she leaves him with that. He can never tell the others about this, Aang first and foremost.
But he especially can't tell Ty Lee.
Part 4: Old scars still burn
Aang had been gone for some days now. He told Bumi he was hanging out with his friends, he told his friends he was going to meetings with Bumi. Both lies. Both... necessary?
He thought a lot about lying. It's what started a lot of trouble a while back. It made them cry, made him cry. It was the reason his friends got captured, why Zuko had his arm snapped by Puwati. He felt that, after saving the Golden City, after telling his friends that... he might not ever go into the Avatar State again, that... he had done enough to make up for the lies. Being denied of his ultimate fighting mode is yet another thing to add to the pile of continuous, unfixable problems. The larger it gets, the smaller are his chances of saving this world. Of going home.
And then of course he told Azula. It was very early on, when he briefly thought that she was betraying him. That she was... becoming that monster he knows.
But she didn't. He felt horrible about it. She trusted him, just like Katara at the beginning of their journey. They were trapped in a prison cell and... and so, he told her. Nothing more to it. He even lied when she asked him if she exists in his world. Couldn't tell the girl that, a version of her, somewhere else, is a cruel monster bound on death and destruction.
He couldn't tell Azula, no. It was selfish, for sure. She ended up figuring it out at some point. Now that he sits on top of a mountain ledge, meditating, he wallows in the memories of the early days. Only Azula knew and... she took care of things. Anytime he stumbled, said something odd - boom came Azula, ready to step in, take charge, turn things around. Aang smiles at the memories. She's quite capable. Of course he didn't have the guts to tell her the whole truth.
It's a shame he had to after she kissed him.
KAIYUKO: But was it the truth?
Aang flinches at the noise. Appa is a bit removed and groans at the boy, who tries to find his balance again.
AANG: I thought you guys are not talking to me anymore.
KAIYUKO: We're not. It's just me, bro.
The boy sighs. He shuts his eyes again, trying to concentrate.
AANG: Why are you here?
KAIYUKO: You're talking to yourself. Dude, that means you're also talking to me. And I wanna help you out.
AANG: If you do, then help me get into the Avatar State. I need to be strong enough to win the war.
KAIYUKO: No can do. But that Azula stuff you're thinking about? That sounds interesting. Tell me more.
Aang sighs again, in defeat this time.
AANG: I don't want to.
KAIYUKO: Clearly you do, man. Why didya lie to her, little bro?
The boy responds with a relatively calm tone, despite feeling a strong amount of emotion from this.
AANG: I didn't. I told her that I can't fall in love here. That's the truth.
KAIYUKO: Uh... "I can't fall in love here" is not the same as saying "I'm not in love with you". So, which one is it?
Aang pictures her laugh, her cunning wit, the image of her between the luminous insects, their dance-
Other images seep into the montage - that cursed clearing, the soft grass, the waterfall behind it, Katara and-
He gasps for air. Kaiyuko's voice is gone, so are his visions. In the time he calms down, Appa is already there to shower him in licks and nudges.
AANG: I'm okay. I'm okay...
Without any more great, philosophical input from the Surfer Avatar, Aang climbs calmly back on his bison and finally decides to head back to Goldmouth. Though now that image of Azula in the gardens is sort of stuck there in his head.
Aang returns. The palace seems weirdly calm today, fewer soldiers than he was used to before. He enters the dining area with a weird sense of dreadful anticipation. Staff in his hand, a frightened look on his face, he stumbles into the room as if expecting some kind of surprise. Or... attack.
Sabachi is the first to spot him, gleefully flying onto his shoulder as the boy enjoys his second round of animal kisses.
AANG: Missed you too, girl.
AZULA: Aang?
He freezes on the spot.
AANG: Azula. Uh... hi. I'm back. What happened to your hair?
She blushes out of embarrassment.
A door bursts open.
ZUKO: Aang is back!
Two more doors are quickly used, allowing Ty Lee, Sokka, and Bandit to join in as well. Aang feels pretty overwhelmed to have everyone jump at his throat - literally. Azula is the only one who doesn't join the group hug.
AANG: Did I... miss something?
TY LEE: A lot.
ZUKO: But we missed you too, buddy! Where were you?
AANG: Well...
AZULA: Can I interrupt for a second?
The room simmers down, and the guilt returns to Aang body.
AANG: Azula, listen... I want to apologize again for-
AZULA: Stop. Don't.
She lets out a mix between a sigh and a grunt.
AZULA: I suggest a little shift of conduct within our group.
She obnoxiously points at Aang with her index finger.
AZULA: This guy... has to carry a lot of luggage with him. And sometimes he doesn't tell us everything.
Aang is reminded of that warm, nostalgic feeling of having Azula save his ass.
AZULA: However, I think we can agree that he has come a long way in opening up to us. I think it's time we stop pushing him further and we let him act on his own.
She turns towards him after pacing around a bit.
AZULA: So, what do you say? No more big "sorry speeches"? Just... you did some Avatar stuff and you're fine?
After everything that happened in a very short period of time, he likes to hear nothing more than that.
AANG: Deal.
Zuko frowns at this development, though no one notices.
AANG: So, what happened to your hair?
Azula's jolly energy dwindles.
AZULA: Kenora...
AANG: Kenora cut your hair?
AZULA: Kenora attacked me. The hair was her missing my head.
AANG: So... she's in the city?
TY LEE: Yes. And she's more dangerous than ever before. We can't let her do anything like that again.
Once again, Zuko seems displeased. Bandit can tell but doesn't say anything.
Aang calmy looks at Azula. The two haven't had normal eye contact in weeks now.
AANG: Is that true? Has she become that dangerous?
The firebender hesitates, ultimately answering with a nod first.
AZULA: Like I said. If anyone is The Azula, it's her.
The two exchange smiles.
BANDIT: Uh... what does that mean exactly?
Azula sits down annoyed.
AZULA: It means Keno-no occupies a certain slot in this world, we'll call it "Princess Maniac". In Aang's world, I'm that character.
BANDIT: Who are we then?
Sokka comically slides next to the earthbender with a funny sound effect. This happens every time he does it after.
SOKKA: Oh - I wanna do it!
He sweeps over to Aang.
SOKKA: Aang is of course - Aang! The Avatar!
Next to Aang appears a rendition of OT Aang. This happens with every mentioned character after. Next, he winds up between Zuko and Azula, squeezing them together.
SOKKA: Zuko and Azula found Aang, they're siblings - so obviously they're Sokka and Katara!
As Sokka runs to the next person, Aang is momentarily unsettled by the Azula/Katara comparison, finding it... pretty fitting.
SOKKA: Bandit is of course the same, although in Aang's world she's still called Toph and also blind.
He makes an obnoxious motion with his hand, swiping it in front of his face, as if blind. Bandit doesn't smile one bit at this.
TY LEE: What about me then?
Sokka lands next to her, no image appearing.
SOKKA: Well... uh... Aang? Who else is on Team Avatar?
He rubs his soft chin with a squeaking sound.
AANG: Suki?
Their fun-time abruptly ended, the main door opens once again, Bumi and a number of soldiers entering.
BUMI: Ah, Aang - so good to see you - SNORT!
SOKKA (leaning in on Aang and whispering): Bumi is just Bumi again.
BUMI: I'm glad to have you back, and just in time! You're invited for a special war council meeting!
AANG: Special?
Azula gets up.
AZULA: Is it...
BUMI: Vaas and his Liberation Forces are here! You are all welcome to join.
Bandit is the first to leave, not before loudly protesting with a scoff. Zuko, seeing his opportunity, scratches his head.
ZUKO: Uh... I'm going for a walk.
He too disappears. All eyes on an uneasy Sokka.
SOKKA: I'm... going for a walk too. Probably not the best to have the Crown Prince at a meeting like that. But... have fun!
Sokka is the last one to make off. Aang, Azula, and Ty Lee share shrugs.
AANG: Just us then.
AZULA: Great. Let's go.
They share another smile. Aang is more than satisfied to have Azula back as a friend. Really seemed like it wasn't gonna be the case after the Golden Ball. While Ty Lee, somehow, doesn't catch on, he finds himself... a little too happy about it. Whatever, probably just nerves.
After having been used as a throne room, the main room for the general, and a mosh pit, the same room is now used for the war council meeting. Aang wonders why they can't have another room in the palace they could go to. Then he remembers Bumi's elaborate puzzle projects, answering his question.
The main doors are pushed aside, and Vaas enters, a small entourage of his closest guard present. All of those guys wear a slightly re-designed versions of an Earth Kingdom uniform, all rocking a hollow star on their chest. Aang doesn't recognize anyone important except for Haru, who makes Azula briefly blush with embarrassment.
And then there's Vaas himself. He wears a simple, plain tang suit, though his jacket is at all times open and casual, a white tank top complementing the army green of his other clothes. Short sleeves reveal an impressive, but proportional biceps going down both sides, ending in a set of fingerless gloves that also serve as wrist protectors. His thin moustache and small amount of facial hair give him the appearance of a teenager, though the rest of his stern face corrects that misconception. A set of round glasses are held up by his thick nose and a set of wavy, black hair is uncharacteristically short for an Earth Kingdom man, a cap replacing a topknot or any such thing. The signature star is also on said cap, his being the only one that's shaded in a bright red. Also, and this is according to Azula, he speaks with the most obnoxious accent yet.
He spreads his arms wide open as he enters.
VAAS: Bumi, you ol' bloke!
Surprisingly, Bumi seems rather tame compared to their guest. Haru briefly spots Aang, Azula, and Ty Lee, nodding towards them with a smile as they do the same. Vaas, still greeting Bumi's military men, catches onto this.
VAAS: Call me crazy bu' i' seems to me, that these three are acquian'ed with my good friend Haru here.
Aang scratches the back of his head, indignant about the sudden attention he's getting.
AANG: Yeah, we... met a while ago in-
VAAS: Musho fuckin' Ichi. You're the lad that helped save them slaves up there, am oi roight?
Azula steps forth and clears her throat.
AZULA: He didn't do it all by himself, but yeah.
Vaas' smile is so weirdly crooked, with only one side of his face really going up.
VAAS: That makes him the bloo'y Avatar. And you two his friends.
Despite continuing to appear as happy, he turns to Bumi.
VAAS: Oi believe there has been a bi' of a misunderstandin', General. Oi wasn' informed that the Avatar and his mates are children.
The three frown, Aang the hardest.
AZULA: We're more than capable-
VAAS: Oi don't doubt that for a bloo'y second there, doll. However, oi am simply not comfortable to pu' people who have their whole loives ahea' of them into an active ba'lefield.
AZULA: Well, you were awfully comfortable using kids to do terrorism up in Gaipan.
Another crooked smile. Bumi's army people seem distraught by this news.
VAAS: Oi remember Jet was talkin to me about this business with you and 'im. You're acquian'ed with him too then?
AANG: Very much so.
Ty Lee feels bad for not having said anything yet.
VAAS: Alroight, then. Oi suggest a li'le... compromise.
He turns to Bumi.
VAAS: I'm afraid child soldiers isn' going to be workin' out, if we're to keep on with our negotiations.
Bumi grunts like a muppet.
BUMI (to Aang): I'm afraid my hands are tied.
Aang, feeling the anger building up, decides to step closer to Vaas.
AANG: What's your compromise?
VAAS: Alroight. You see, there's this small eli'e troop known as the Shark Roays, that, accor'ing to our intel, is going to be in Gaoling the day of our attack. We also know that they're carryin' valuable information on themselves.
AZULA: You want us to get that?
He waggles his index finger at her.
VAAS: This one is a quick thinka. Oi loike that. Well, yes, I bloo'y well do wan' you to ge' it. Contains some sensi'ive intel regardin' any possible invasions of any other... nearby Earth King'om ci'ies.
Aang connects the dots immediately.
AANG: Omashu.
He looks over to Bumi.
BUMI: Nothing is set in stone yet. It all depends on how well Gaoling will go.
VAAS: It'll be a bloo'y cakewalk, if you ask me. Bu', regardless, oi need you and your Avatar friends to deal with these Shark Roays and grab tha' intel. Destroying it is no' an option, by the woay. You have to succeed.
Aang nods.
AANG: Sounds good. But if Gaoling works out, I want to be involved in future war councils.
Vaas nods, almost with a bow.
VAAS: You have my word.
AZULA: So... how many of those Shark Rays are there? There's six of us.
VAAS: Oh, don't you worry one bi'. You'll be ge'in some of my lads to suppor' you.
Azula frowns with intrigue.
AZULA: Who?
Bandit looks up confused from her chair as Azula bursts into the dining room, throwing a hissy fit (as usual, Bandit thinks to herself).
AZULA: I can't believe this jerk kicked us out of the room. Us! Team Avatar!
TY LEE: I always liked the name Dream Team more. But... you're right. I don't like this Vaas guy.
BANDIT: Boo-hoo. Turns out the nutjob in charge is a douchebag. Who could've seen this coming?
AZULA: Oh, get over yourself, Bandit. We're not here to have philosophical discussions about the morality of working with whoever-who. We're mad that we got ignored.
The earthbender's chair gets pushed back as she gets up.
BANDIT: Unfortunately, the whoever-who question is a little more important to me than it is to you, princess. I left my family because they're on the wrong side. Suddenly there is no wrong side? Explain that to me!
JET: Bandit?
The room turns to the side as Jet is standing in their little courtyard. He chews on a wheat straw as he climbs over the windowsill, everyone in the room on edge, Bandit most of all.
BANDIT: Jet, what... what are you doing here?
He smirks.
JET: Didn't your new friends tell you? We're here with Vaas. You guys are gonna join us on a mission in Gaoling.
With a frown, the girl looks over to Aang, Azula, and Ty Lee.
AZULA: We were just about to...
Jet scoffs.
JET: Hello, Azula.
She blushes in shame once more.
AZULA: Hey.
Haru and Jet in one day is a bit too much for her. Aang can see that, deciding to step in.
AANG: We will work together Jet. But make no mistake - if you try something like with Sokka again-
JET: Sokka? I thought he left you. I actually thought Bandit left as well. You went back to them?
His last questions sounds ever just so inquisitive, making Bandit cross her arms with an overwhelming feeling of guilt.
SOKKA: It was the best choice.
Sokka could not be more happy to make his grand entrance for a second time, surprising Jet and the rest. His face looks a lot more determined and sure of himself. Now Jet frowns pretty openly.
SOKKA: Bandit and I realized that helping the Avatar is the right thing. It's the only way to stop the bloodshed.
The bad boy exhales dismissively.
JET: You're unbearably naive.
A short pause filled to the brim with tension.
JET: But I suppose we're allies now. That's the whole point of this meeting between Vaas and Bumi. Hopefully more of the Earth Kingdom will learn to cooperate.
Bandit still doesn't know what to think about any of this. Aang is the one to shift focus yet again.
AANG: So, the Shark Rays... do you know them?
SOKKA: Oh, we're taking on the Shark Rays? Okay.
All heads turn to him. Jet takes his straw out like a cigarette.
JET: Do you know them?
SOKKA: Yeah, Bandit and I took care of 'em in that time we split from Aang and the others. Do you remember?
BANDIT: Oh... those idiots. Yeah, all of us plus Jet should take care of that.
JET: Well... all of you and all of the Vultures.
Bandit's features express deep shock.
BANDIT: The... the other Vultures are here?
JET: Yup. And they're gonna be so happy to see ya, Bandit.
Aang looks over to Azula with concern, she already being ahead of him and doing the same.
JET: Alright. Nice catching-up. I'll meet you all at the camp later. You should probably start packing your stuff.
He leaves the room, though not before looking back at Bandit a final time.
JET: We've changed, Bandit. We took an oath. We won't hurt the innocent ever again.
She nods, appearing very insecure and un-Bandit-like.
After Jet has left, Zuko exits his room's door with wet hair and nothing but a towel around his waist.
ZUKO: Hey guys, I heard you talking. Did I miss anything?
No one answers and Zuko feels like an idiot.
Late at night, the military camp offers a hauntingly familiar environment for the battle-hardened Avatar. He's forced to share a tent with Sokka, though he doesn't mind, having slept in proximity to the other Sokka for many years. He got used to the mumbling and the snoring.
For now, Sokka has briefly left, where to Aang is unsure.
AZULA (from outside): Can I come in?
He almost flinches at the sound of her voice.
AANG: Uh... sure.
She does so, crossing her arms as she looks around.
AZULA: Wow, Sokka is even messier than me.
AANG: How can you tell it's not my stuff?
The girl chuckles silently.
AZULA: No. You're not messy like that at all.
Aang puts his legs on his bed.
AANG: Do you want to... sit down?
He points to a spot next to him. She hesitates, though ultimately takes a seat.
AANG: I thought you're with Ty Lee for the night.
AZULA: Yeah... Sokka came in and... started... talking. I'm here now.
Aang scratches the back of his head.
AANG: You... still don't like him?
Azula sighs. She has her legs and arms still crossed.
AZULA: I do. Just... in... small doses.
The boy nods. She finally uncrosses her arms.
AZULA: You know Bandit has been with the Vultures all day now.
AANG: Yes. Why?
Another sigh emitted by her.
AZULA: I don't know. I'm a little worried. She has known these people for a lot longer than us. They're her family. And... now they're back in her life. That would screw with me.
Aang appreciates her inside deeply.
AANG: You think she'd wanna go back to them?
AZULA: I'm not sure. She's still your earthbending teacher. How's that going by the way?
AANG: Pretty good. I... kind of picked up quickly, I think she's a little frustrated that I'm so good at it already.
AZULA: Well, you did learn it before. Like... not as an Avatar-ism, but you literally learned it before. Of course you're good at it.
He smiles at the compliment. Maybe a little too much.
AANG: It's only water now. And I still struggle with that.
AZULA: You'll get over it.
Her third sigh.
AZULA: I was uh... actually going to tell you something else.
He can feel his heartbeat increasing just a bit.
AANG: Yeah?
AZULA: Um... that thing that happened? And... our conversation? I uh... I realized that you... kind of snuffed out my feelings for you.
He blinks with shock.
AANG: I did? That fast?
Azula has a genuine moment of self-reflection, which she appears to despise deeply.
AZULA: I think I... obsessed a little too much over you. We're way better off as friends, Aang. Do you want to be again?
Aang reacts with the finesse of an elephant in a porcelain shop.
AANG: Um, yeah - of course! Let's - let's be friends again. Like before.
For a moment, he tries to collect his thoughts in a more open fashion.
AANG: I could never make you happy like that, Azula. I'm better at being a friend.
The girl gets up rather casually.
AZULA: Don't be so hard on yourself. You'll be a great boyfriend to someone. Maybe that Katara girl if she ever switches sides.
Like a dagger in his chest, the memory of the waterfall briefly flashes up again. He can still only see rough shapes, but it's enough to make him lean over.
AZULA: Everything alright?
He sits upright again, trying to cover up his mini panic attack.
AANG: I'm good. Don't worry. Probably just ate something wrong.
She accepts his response with a relaxed expression.
AZULA: O...kay. Just make sure that if you puke tomorrow that it hits Jet in the face.
The firebender leaves him with that. Very shortly after, Sokka enters, yawning.
SOKKA: Man, I'm a little worried about things...
He finds Aang lying on the side, his face against the wall. Or... tent.
SOKKA: You okay, Aang?
A very long pause follows.
AANG: Just tired. We should get rest for tomorrow.
Sokka shrugs it off.
Many times that night would the terrible memory start flashing up again. He drowns it again and again with the beautiful memories he has of Azula.
Aang remembers Gaoling clearly, both from their initial visit to pick up Toph, as well as seeing it destroyed years later. So seeing it in shambles now is no big shock.
After the main body of troops moved further out of the city, he, his friends, and the Vultures are camping out across rooftops, waiting for the arrival of five men riding dromedary antelopes. He briefly looks over to Azula on the rooftop opposite to his. A smile is shared. His heart skips a beat as he spots five figures, headed by a man missing an eye.
A whistling echoes through the city.
Toot-toot-toot-toot-toot-toot fweet! Toot-toot-toot-toot-toot-toot fweet!
Major Domo signals for his men to stop.
Toot-toot-toot-toot-toot-toot tot! Toot-toot-toot-toot-toot-toot tot!
He squeezes his eyes with a grunt.
DOMO: We're being followed.
The Shark Rays look around, appearing distressed. They start drawing their weapons.
MEKAMEKA: Your orders?
Domo doesn't take his eyes off the rooftops for a second. Aang wonders if they've been spotted by him yet.
DOMO (quietly): Tuna herring protocol.
In an instant, the ride animals sprint off down the street, every one on the roofs following them. Noticeably, Sneer and The Duke are absent, though they still outnumber the Shark Rays 2:1.
JET: They're splitting up!
The dromedary antelopes plus riders go into all different kinds of directions at a cross-junction in the destroyed city. Azula and Zuko follow a guy with chains on his chest, Ty Lee flying after a masked warrior. Pipsqueak, Longshot, and Smellerbee chase two twins, leaving...
JET: This way!
Aang, Bandit, and Jet can use their bending and agility to keep up with what is usually a pretty fast ride animal. His downfall is being forced to navigate in a city, leading him to take random cuts and turns, until eventually...
A dead end.
Major Domo looks over his shoulder, spotting three kids blocking his way off. He scoffs, almost as if relieved.
DOMO (getting off his animal): And here I was scared for a second.
He spots Bandit in particular as he bends water from his pouch to form his two ice-scythes.
DOMO: You especially give make me worry less.
BANDIT: Big mistake.
The earth quakes beneath him, Domo using his agility to dodge with a jump, launching his frozen weapon like bullets, Aang blocking the move with an earth wall. Jet goes in for close combat, Domo calling his bending weapons back as they quickly exchange their deadly swipes. Bandit tries to hit the man from behind, Domo rolling aside as the rock pillar hits Jet instead. Bandit has to switch to defending, her series of stone shields sliced over and over again, until the Major freezes his two scythes into one big one, shattering her boulder and knocking her over.
The man catches a wind blast from behind, knocking him against the wall, his ride animal running away. He attempts to retaliate against Aang, who uses fast jabs of fire to dismantle his motions. His weapon slowly turns to steam, finally knocked away with a mean wind twister. A stomp later and a rock avalanche presses Domo against a house wall behind him with dangerous force. Finally, the Major is swallowed up by the earth, Bandit the blueprint behind this move. He is now imprisoned up to his shoulders. He spits out blood as he cackles.
AANG (to Bandit): Search his bags.
Jet approaches him with an oddly calm expression, resembling curiosity.
BANDIT: The message is not here! It's with one of the others!
Domo laughs again.
DOMO: Could've told you.
Jet's expression hardens more and more, his eyes reflecting his focus directed towards... something.
Smellerbee appears at the street corner in the back.
SMELLERBEE: Jet! We need help with the bomb guy!
She jumps aside as the spot next to her blows up. Aang and Bandit exchange nods.
AANG: We should help them.
BANDIT: Agreed. Come on, Jet!
They run for a second, stopping as they realize...
Jet is standing there, frozen. His eyes are wide open and-
He remembers images of himself at a younger age. His town, his... home...
It's on fire, all of it. The streets are drenched in water as one explosion follows the other. A man on a strange animal looks back at the boy, a grin he could never forget. Same goes for the gaping scar going through his right eye.
As Jet realizes, his face expresses a deadly coldness, his body shivering with fearful anticipation. Major Domo finally catches on.
DOMO: What are you looking at?
Neither Aang nor Bandit quite know what they're looking at-
SWISH!
It happens so fast it takes Aang a moment to register. Bandit realizes as soon as a stream of blood starts flowing from Domo's throat. Jet's right blade is drenched in the same color.
The boy reacts instinctively, blowing Jet against the other side and disarming him in the process. He fumes with rage.
AANG: (angry): What did you do?!
Bandit looks in horror as the man in the ground is gargling, gasping for life. Blood streams down his mouth, drenching his chin in a red shade as the rest of his face turns more and more pale.
AANG (horrified): You swore not to hurt people!
JET (cold): Innocent people. He's the man that killed my parents.
Overcome with an avalanche of despair, Bandit just... runs. No direction, no goal, other than maybe... home.
Aang forces himself to look at the man as he lives out his last few seconds on this Earth. He turns back to Jet, not quite sure what to say.
After all, isn't this the fate he wishes for Ozai? For... the Fire Lord?
JET (cold): Tell me Aang... if you had the chance to kill the person who killed your family, your friends - took away your life. Wouldn't you do it?
He lets Jet go. The boy stumbles for a bit, before rejoining his Vultures.
Aang drops to his knees. Domo has finally stopped making any more noise, stopped moving.
Act III. - In the heat of the moment
Part 5: Winds of change
Kenora looks odd today. The captain that left their ship is not the same that returned.
Akari grimaces appropriately. It's not unusual that Kenora doesn't say hello or bothers to look at her. But... in the past, it was clearly an attempt to appear as cold and intimidating. Now it's... it's like she is sad.
The athlete sighs as the ship departs. Her hair is now long enough to gift her a little ponytail on her neck, only a small one though.
A part of her seriously considers walking up to Kenora and asking what's wrong.
That part persists into her training with Suki.
The two girls exchange heaps and swings with sword and staff, Akari's bending weapon now reinforced to stand a chance against a blade. It's the swordfighter who pauses their sweaty sparring for a moment, allowing Akari to take a much-needed breather. Their training room is dingy and stuffy, and there's the waves of course, which make fighting in a boat rather inconvenient.
SUKI: You're off today. By a lot.
Leaned over, Akari groans.
AKARI: I know. Aren't you?
Suki admires her blade.
SUKI: Why?
AKARI: Well... she's back. Kenora. And... so is the Chief Mother.
SUKI: Kenora is no longer something we should be concerned with. She's not our captain anymore. Why are you so worried?
The athlete sits down, a loud sigh to emphasize it.
AKARI: It's just a gut feeling... I think. But she looks different.
Suki does a few practice swings while she waits for her partner.
SUKI: She does indeed. I've never seen her wearing her hair like that. Suits her face.
Akari reacts frustrated.
AKARI: It's not what I meant, Suki.
She gets her to stop.
AKARI: Didn't you see it? She's not... serious, or... looks like she's gonna beat someone up. She looked quiet. Almost... vulnerable.
Suki dismisses the notion by offering her hand.
SUKI: Come on.
Akari gets lifted up, reading herself.
SUKI: I think it's better we focus on this right now. You can talk about Kenora later all you want.
The airbender takes a deep breath in, then let's it out again. She attacks with an air sweep. Suki dodges, charging for an exchange of swings - down - up - up - dow-
SWISH!
AKARI (in pain): AH!
A small gash in her shoulder. Suki drops her sword.
SUKI: I'm so sorry-
AKARI (angry): You almost hit my eye!
Suki now sighs as well.
SUKI: Go see the Chief Mother. Enough training for today.
The med bay is a lot nicer to be in than the training room. And it's not the first time Akari has been here.
KANNA: Hold still, dear.
She applies cool water to her wound like a healing gel. The glowing procedure continues for a bit. Stuck for now, Akari goes with the small talk option.
AKARI: So... how was Goldmouth?
Kanna smiles, though Akari can... somehow tell that there's more to it. Almost like she... felt a shift in the old woman.
KANNA: It was nice. Hot. Busy. Kenora liked it a lot.
Akari scoffs a little. The Chief Mother seems to take offense to this.
AKARI: I'm sorry, it's just... Kenora was always the "cold and reserved" type. Can't picture her being happy. Anywhere.
KANNA: One could say the same thing about you.
The athlete gets quiet real quick.
KANNA: Kenora opened up in the city. She's a different person now. That's all I can tell you, dear.
The healing finished, and the scar almost non-visible, Kanna puts her water back in a bowl to her left. Akari sits upright, feeling her shoulder.
KANNA: How does one get such an injury?
AKARI: Well, I've had worse. But... I slipped up at training today.
The old woman sits down on a medical bed right next to Akari's.
KANNA: It is still strange to see an airbender fighting alongside us.
The athlete scoffs, a bit embarrassed to hear this.
AKARI: Yeah... I guess. The ones that are left have got to... adapt.
She briefly dwells on Ty Lee.
KANNA: It is certainly a shift. Before the war, airbenders were the most peaceful of the four nations. They would seldom ever pick a fight, let alone go to war.
Akari lets the information sink in.
AKARI: My airbending has never been as good as Ty Lee's. I don't know why. I've been training it all my life.
KANNA: Well, for one she has the Avatar as her tutor. But also...
The girl is intrigued.
KANNA: I'm not an expert but... I have read many years ago that airbenders who strayed from the path of peace, were never able to use their bending as well as the rest. They required tools and such.
Akari leans forward to hug her legs.
AKARI: So... I can never be a real airbender if I fight?
KANNA: It's not about the fighting.
The old woman gets up, turning her face away for the athlete.
KANNA: It's about who and what you are fighting for.
Despite not seeing her expression, Akari could clearly tell that something inside Kanna has changed too.
JET (in the distance): They're splitting up!
Having been tasked to retrieve intel from the fearsome Shark Rays, the Princess Squad closely watches as the dromedary antelopes plus riders go into all different kinds of directions at a cross-junction in the destroyed city.
Suki is leading them for now, the girls hiding in an abandoned building complex.
SUKI (whispering): Be sure to look for Morshu. He has the message.
AKARI (whispering): Is he the bomb guy?
Suki nods with serious expression.
SUKI (whispering): Kenora, make sure we-
She looks to their left, shocked to realize that the aforementioned waterbender is missing.
SUKI (quietly): Shit!
AKARI (whispering): Where did she go?
Suki turns to her with a sinister frown.
SUKI (quietly): She abandoned us, Akari! Don't you get it? We can't rely on her! We can only rely on ourselves and Katara!
Who is also missing from action today, despite being a pretty prolific waterbender herself at this point.
AKARI (quietly): But why did she leave? She has to have a reason.
SUKI (quietly): Stop arguing and focus on the mission! There!
She points down at two Shark Rays getting hunted by the other Vultures.
AKARI (quietly): They're twins?
SUKI (quietly): The one with a mustache is our target. Go!
They scale down the building's destroyed facade, trying to sneak by street corners towards the fighting without being spotted. Suki, not paying attention to what's happening behind her, fails to notice Akari briefly halting to look in the other direction. She can't spot Kenora anywhere. Where in the world would she go? And why now? They were dismissive of the waterbender in the past because of her character but... that's gone. Why does Suki not trust her now? Why don't they-
Her inner monologue is interrupted as she hides behind a corner, a different Shark Ray, a masked rider, speeding past by her.
AKARI (quietly to herself): He could have a mustache under there.
And then she feels it. That strange sensation again, a tingling of sorts. It's familiar. It's kind of like... a color, actually. Would it be...pink?
It hits her in two ways, one of which a blunt air swipe that drags her across two blocks and tosses her into an alleyway. Akari takes a moment to recover. A glider is closed in front of her, forming a staff.
AKARI: Ty Lee?
She asks because 1) they were not told that the Avatar and his friends were going to be in Gaoling and 2) this Ty Lee carries an expression unlike anything Akari has seen on the acrobat before.
The girl doesn't even answer, immediately opting to go for the offense, a series of wind strikes that the athlete blocks or dodges. A small funnel spins Akari in the air, though she can find her footing on a house wall, jumping from side to side until she reaches a rooftop. As she looks to the other end of it, Ty Lee is already standing there. The athlete can barely manage her balance in shock, while the acrobat walks in a straight line slowly towards her. Her face shows pure hatred.
AKARI: We're not here for Aang. I... I don't want to fight you.
TY LEE (cold): Save your lies for someone else. You can't trick me. I've learned not to trust the wrong people.
This hits her like daggers. Despite their rivalry, despite everything Akari had participated in... there was a time where the two were almost friends.
AKARI: What happened to you?
TY LEE (cold): I learned from my mistakes. I... CHANGED!
She dashes her staff forward, Akari jumping over the massive wave. They proceed to exchange heavy blows with their staffs, each swipe carrying enough wind with it to knock their opponent off the roof, though each time that wind is dispersed by the other staff. Akari catches an unexpected kick to the gut, knocking her back a bit. Ty Lee proceeds to collect several streams of air around her, releasing them in a destructive wave towards her opponent. The athlete is barely able to dodge. Roof tiles get knocked away, a neighboring building collapses partially because of the attack.
Akari twists her staff, switching to her batons. Another quick exchange, wherein the two trade hard blows and air slashes at a distance, Akari mostly on the defensive. Ty Lee follows it up by pulling her opponent towards her via bending, though the athlete can adapt quickly and knocks her aside with a baton wind. She rolls over and lands, returning to her previous strategy of blocking all of Ty Lee's air attacks by essentially engaging in staff-only combat.
Two girls on a rooftop, some of the last airbenders on Earth. They exchange their hits and swipes quickly and with the speed of two airbending masters. As Akari crosses her staffs and blocks Ty Lee's, an explosion goes off right behind them, blowing dust and smoke and glimmers of fire all around them.
The acrobat blows wind from her mouth, pushing Akari back. She engages in another round of attacks, eventually landing a mean blow with her elbow in Akari's face, proceeding to knock one of her batons down the building. Akari is pushed back further, constantly on the defense, barely able to keep disrupting her bending with just one staff. Ty Lee's swipes increase in speed and in brutality - a quick spin in the air disrupts Akari's balance enough to be stunted for a moment. The acrobat proceeds to swing her staff with the full force of a professional baseball player - the resulting air blast launching Akari into the building behind her, thankfully through a window, though the impact isn't softened, and her second baton is now lost too.
Akari looks around, blood running from her nose. The room is actually decently furnished and not too destroyed. Unfortunately, Ty Lee enters, not stopping in her relentless barrage towards the athlete, who tries her very best to avoid all air strikes in the small room. What looked like a decent living space a few seconds ago is now completely trashed, Ty Lee's thrashing not seeming to stop. Akari tries to go for the window, getting pulled back inside against the wooden floor. The acrobat breathes heavily, the anger she had been feeling at herself for being fooled in the past let out on her injured opponent. Ty Lee howls and screams as she starts flinging Akari against the walls, the ceiling, finally back against the floor, which breaks, Akari crashing through another level before landing on the ground floor. Despite being in heavy pain, she still manages to jump out a window into the same alleyway she got pulled away from at the beginning of the fight. She limps across a few steps before Ty Lee lands in front of her. Akari falls back, crawling away from the rage-filled acrobat until reaching the wall behind her.
AKARI (hurt): Please... please don't...
Ty Lee doesn't answer, simply reaching out her staff for a final knock-out blow. Akari thinks back to the Ty Lee she knew once, thinks back to Kanna's words.
AKARI (hurt): You're an airbender!
This gets her to stop, lowering her staff. Her face bruised in plenty different places, lots of gashes and scratches, Akari starts showing tears.
AKARI (teary and in pain): We're supposed to be peaceful, Ty Lee. We shouldn't be doing this.
Ty Lee thinks back to some things of her own. How her friends got endangered or hurt because of her gullibility, how the Air Nomads were wiped out, forced to live in overcrowded communities, forced to abandon their very way of life.
She reaches back her staff again.
TY LEE (cold): We have to adapt if we want to survive.
Akari closes her eyes waiting-
SWISH!
She opens them again. Ty Lee is frozen on the spot in front of her, staff dropped, Suki having appeared to Akari's left. Her blade carries blood.
As the swordfighter charges for another attack, the same sensation that overcame the acrobat before gets ahold of her. She allows it to happen as her body responds with reflexes that don't exist in this world's Ty Lee.
Three jabs - thigh, ribs, neck. The final one carries a gross, crunchy sound with it, her arm continues to be extended for a few seconds after. Suki falls to the ground like a limp puppet, a motionless recreation of a human. Her eyes remain open, water drooling from her mouth. As if Akari wasn't horrified by this alone, she finally looks up to Ty Lee. The girl shivers in horror, her hand shaking as it slowly moves to the right side of her face. She turns her head, Akari able to see.
Blood runs down her cheek, her whole face, dripping onto her yellow/orange airbender fit. Suki's blade cut cleanly through, a diagonal gash moving from her nose to the top right corner of her forehead.
Where her eye used to be is now just a dark spot.
The girl runs away. Akari throws up some time later, before carrying a motionless Suki to safety. Where she got that strength from, she can't tell. All she remembers is Ty Lee's pink aura morphing into a dark red.
Part 6: Forged by steam
The Porkchop Express experienced an increase in costumers after their little escapade involving the fight against organized crime became news. Kenora had more than enough work cut out for her because of it, and today is no different. She hasn't forgotten about the impending threat of needing to return to her life in the Water Tribe, she simply chose to forget about it for now and focus on enjoying her life here. After all, just living in the moment was the one thing she could never do before.
CHO: Hey Fu, there's someone sitting at table 14, can you take care?
Kenora is just now currently serving two huge mixed grill plates at two separate tables, also refilling their drinks and taking away some of the used dishes, all with relative ease.
KENORA: Sure can!
Cho smiles behind the counter. The waterbender meanwhile heads over to renowned table fourteen, a customer hiding behind a menu reminding her even more of Azula. A little part inside her is excited just about now.
KENORA: Hi, welcome to the Porkchop Express. What can I get ya?
To her complete shock and horror, the lowered menu reveals a certain Crown Princess in disguise.
KATARA: Wow, you've really got your stuff together here in the city, huh?
Kenora gulps quietly but keeps her composure.
KENORA: I'll talk to you after my shift. We're really busy right now.
KATARA: I actually need you to come along now, Kenora.
She stares in discomfort at the girl sitting in front of her.
KATARA: Sorry if I'm being pushy, but we're on a schedule. We need to leave today.
Cho can tell something is wrong as Kenora returns to the counter.
CHO: Wow, already someone new? Didn't work out with you and Gracie?
Kenora's serious expression immediately shifts the conversation.
KENORA: Cho, listen um... she's my sister. There's a... family emergency. I need to go back home.
CHO: For how long?
Her lack of an answer is enough for Cho.
CHO: I understand. I hate to see you going. Not just because of your work, but because it's you.
The woman flips up her countertop to say goodbye properly.
CHO: Goodbye, Fu. I hope to see you again someday.
The girl receives a much-deserved hug, using the opportunity wisely to whisper in Cho's ear.
KENORA (quietly): My name is Kenora.
Cho steps back and frowns initially. Finally, she gets a sense of how tense the situation really is, gifting Kenora one last nod of confidence before allowing her to go.
Kenora and the Crown Princess don't exchange many words on their way to the closest harbor. Kanna had taken it upon herself to chat up her granddaughter, something that the old woman wasn't very comfortable with either, since the two have a shared desire to not go back to the Pāpaka.
KATARA: You're really quiet today, Kenora. Everything alright?
Is about the only conversation starter the waterbender hears.
KENORA: Yeah just... all out of nowhere. I was getting ready for a shift this morning and-
KATARA: And now you're going back with your crew. Isn't that great?
A very fake smirk makes even Katara suspicious.
Back on board, Kenora does what she always does when wanting to find peace - watch the waves in the distance, washing over the earth like a sentient carpet. Her right hand firmly grasps onto her necklace. Telling Katara that she would want out to look for her mother is probably the best choice to go with, though it is a flat out lie. After all the time that has passed, after all the angst and doubts Kenora had to overcome on her own, without her mom? Why would she undo all of that by meeting her now?
Plus, thanks to a very special firebender, the necklace has now taken on an entirely different meaning to her.
ZORAK: Counting the fish, princess?
A very unusually relaxed Zorak gifts her a bright smile as he has his back leaned against the metal railing.
KENORA: I thought it was... "principessa"?
Zorak turns around, leaning on his elbows instead.
ZORAK: No, no-no-no-no. The Crown Princess is the principessa. Forgive me if that offends you.
Kenora hasn't had many or... any conversations with Zorak yet. Right now, she is thinking of the best way of telling the others that she wants to leave, so suppose there's no harm in starting now.
KENORA: It doesn't. Really.
Zorak nods, trying to come off as a bit more sympathetic.
ZORAK: Do you miss it?
KENORA: Miss what?
ZORAK: Your life in the city. It seems to have had an impact on you. Or maybe I am judging unfairly based on how your wear your hair now which, by the way, looks bellissima.
Kenora smiles earnestly.
KENORA: Thank you. Yeah it... it did change me a bit. Not just the city though...
She plays around with her necklace again, a faint hint of red appearing on both her cheeks.
ZORAK: Ah... I see what you're saying...
His very direct expression makes her somewhat uneasy, though at this point things like that don't offend her as much anymore.
ZORAK: If there is anything that changes a person it is... amore. Love. So beautiful, yet so painful...
The girl nods humbly.
KENORA: Yup. You say it...
Zorak seems more than intrigued now, in a friendly but still rather pushy way.
ZORAK: Tell me about her. What is she like?
Kenora exhales, the thoughts and feelings and memories all appearing at once, as does the color to her face.
KENORA: Well... it's a very complicated story...
ZORAK: That's how these things go.
She nods.
KENORA: We met in the part of town with lots of food stands. Our first interaction was... very silly. I was very silly...
She recalls her first actual encounter with Azula, many months ago when she tried to capture her and Zuko, while not even knowing any real waterbending yet.
KENORA: She hated me at first, and I hated her too.
Kenora waits for his reaction, one that is appropriately full of surprise.
ZORAK: You say? Very interesting...
KENORA: Yeah. The thing is... for a while, I sort of resented her.
She remembers the time she saved her from the Blue Spirit, and the hours she spent watching over the injured firebender.
KENORA: I wasn't very nice to her, so she didn't trust me. It made me hate her even more, but... I really just hated myself for hurting her this much...
The morning she returned from that adventure, when she offered her help but was rejected by Azula, is still etched deeply into her mind.
ZORAK: So, what changed?
The night she talked with Azula in the alley and the day they spent together after are two of her most treasured memories now.
KENORA: I realized that I'm kind of a bad person. I decided to stop and change. That's when I ran into her.
Expecting another interjection, Zorak instead quietly listens.
KENORA: We talked a lot... spent an entire day together and then...
Oh, that kiss is never leaving her gay head again.
KENORA (whisper): Sedni, it was so nice...
Zorak chuckles respectfully.
ZORAK: It sounds magical, truly.
Kenora nods quietly, the tingle on her head, no - entire body, at its strongest now.
ZORAK: I'm sorry you had to leave her for now. It sounds rather painful.
Now it's gone, the girl sighing.
KENORA: The truth is... we... didn't see each other afterwards. I'm not sure she feels the same way about me.
Zorak ponders.
ZORAK: What are you going to do if you see her again?
Kenora absolutely dreads the thought of running into Azula again, now.
KENORA: I'm not sure that's a good idea. I... I don't want to hurt her again.
Literally.
ZORAK: Hm. Do you want to hear my advice?
She nods to the side, out of options herself.
KENORA: Sure.
ZORAK: Love is always a risk, Kenora. But a risk like that paying of... is priceless. I think you should meet again, and when you do, you truly open your heart. Show yourself as you are, allow her to see you exactly how you are.
The girl nervously fiddles her fingers.
KENORA: But what if... what if that's not enough? What if I hurt her too many times to make it up again?
Zorak, in a rather mature and empathetic way, shrugs.
ZORAK: It would be painful, were that true. But... I think the best thing for you, is to find that out.
He stands up straight again, swiping something off his belt.
ZORAK: But it is entirely possible, that... who you really are... is exactly what this girl wants.
A warm smile and Zorak disappears again. Kenora thinks about his words, really thinks about them. And she continues to play with her necklace around some more.
MESSENGER: Princess Kenora?
Although not for much longer. She turns around.
KENORA: Captain-
Kenora sighs.
KENORA: Whatever. What is it?
MESSENGER: The Crown Princess would like to see you. For the mission briefing?
Her heart skips a beat.
KENORA: Mission?
Throughout Katara's entire briefing in the helm a high-pitched hiss sounds in her ear, a headache and increased breathing making it worse and worse.
KATARA (muted): ...loosing Gaoling is inevitable. My father let me now...
KATARA (muted): ...vital to get this intel from the Shark Rays. Morshu will be the one handing it over...
KATARA (muted): ...with Suki and Akari. Suki will be leading...
KATARA (muted): ...Kenora? Kenora! Kenora, what's going on?!
Eventually, shaking her a bit makes the girl snap.
KENORA (nervous): I can't do this!
She turns around, her hands covering her face as she rubs it in distress. Katara is more than a little thrown off by this. Luckily, it's just the two present.
KATARA: Wha- what do you mean? Are you okay?
The nervous girl lets out a loud and extended sigh, before turning around with her hands on her hips.
KENORA: Katara... I don't know how to tell you this but... I can't do this anymore. I want out.
Katara crosses her arms, shaking her head while blinking a few times.
KATARA: W... what do you mean you can't do this?
KENORA: This. All of this. The-the-the missions, the hunting people, the... military operation - I - I don't want to anymore. It's not right.
Concern fills up Katara's voice.
KATARA: What... so you're a... a traitor now? You wanna switch sides like Sokka?
KENORA: No. No! No, not like that. Not sides just... I don't want to fight in this war anymore.
An incredible amount of insecurity can be heard in her trembling cries, just waiting in horrid anticipation of what Katara has to say. She starts off with a sigh.
KATARA: Well... it's sad to hear but... I understand. You did a lot these past couple weeks. Must not've been easy for you.
Then the girl turns her back.
KATARA: It's just... the timing is really bad. Especially... because of your father.
This unsettles Kenora even more, obviously.
KENORA: What about him?
Katara turns back towards her with a neutral smirk.
KATARA: He's stationed close to Gaoling during the battle. The intel you girls are supposed to retrieve includes... dangerous stuff. Locations and naval routes and all of that. If the Earth Kingdom gets their hands on it... I don't know what's gonna happen to him.
A shrug follows, one much less sympathetic than what Zorak gave her. Kenora hangs her head down low, sighing, as she already knows her answer.
KATARA: It's not a battle mission. You're just... going in, picking up a little scroll, going out. I'm not gonna force you to do it. Just know that-
KENORA: No. I'm gonna do it. It's fine.
She looks back at Katara, who seems cautiously satisfied.
KENORA: After this... I'm out. Deal?
Katara nods, a faint smile on her.
KATARA: Deal.
JET (in the distance): They're splitting up!
Having been tasked to retrieve intel from the fearsome Shark Rays, the Princess Squad closely watches as the dromedary antelopes plus riders go into all different kinds of directions at a cross-junction in the destroyed city.
Suki is leading them for now, the girls hiding in an abandoned building complex, Kenora kneeling a bit further removed from the other too. Noticeably, she hasn't changed into her uniform like the others, still wearing her muted shirt with the blue pirate coat.
SUKI (whispering): Be sure to look for Morshu. He has the message.
Kenora looks out a window on her own, trying to see if she can spot anything-
AKARI (whispering): Is he the bomb guy?
And then she sees her. Her, and her brother. She has... shorter hair now, like... really short. A bit of a pixie cut, though a lot more simplistic. Kenora looks over to her fellow girls. Her choice is clear.
Quietly, she makes her way out of there.
SUKI (whispering): Kenora, make sure we-
By the time that sentence is uttered, the waterbender is already gone.
The fighting between Shark Rays and... whoever is chaotic and loud, above all. Occasionally she can spot something in between the buildings like someone riding by, or Suki and Akari going in the opposite direction. Kenora decides to wait for a bit, using an abandoned wooden cart as a hiding spot. Azula and Zuko have been seeking shelter themselves in another building. She should be out with the others, getting the intel. She should... she...
Kenora thinks about Zorak's words. Maybe it's not the right moment. But... when is it ever going to be?
A loud bang startles her. Blue flames shoot after a guy with a mustache and - that's Morshu! And of course, as he rides away, one particular firebender is chasing after him.
Kenora races after them for a while, before reaching one of the mountain ranges, though "hill" is more appropriate.
She enters quietly, an ominous reddish glow covering the cave's walls and ceiling, giving her an uncomfortable reminder of the buzzard wasp nest. Why is it always her in small caves?
The complex she finds herself in is a massive forgery, pre-industrial with multiple ovens, water wheels, and an elevated conveyor belt on which unfinished spears and swords and such are hanging down. For now, the place is shut down, abandoned, dimly lit by only a few ovens illuminating the place with their embers.
And then there's Azula's fire, blue sparks flying after Morshu, his ride having abandoned him. He sets off a few bombs, Azula dodging them successfully. Of course she does, Kenora thinks to herself.
After some time Morshu appears defeated, falling to the ground after a final fire blast. A metallic clank is heard, coming ever so closer to the waterbender.
She looks down to her feet. A tiny scroll, the one she has to bring back, stops right at her boot. Kenora picks it up, looking back up with a horrified expression.
Azula looks back at her similarly shocked. For a few seconds, no one says anything. How would you possibly start this?
AZULA: I'm gonna need that back.
She points nonchalantly at the scroll, though a clear coat of uneasiness is painted onto the raven-haired girl. The waterbender's heart is beating out of her chest as she opens her mouth.
KENORA (calmly): I promised something to you...
Azula listens closely, though she's anything from being relaxed.
KENORA (calmly): I promised... I'm not going to hurt you ever again. And I mean to keep that promise.
Every fiber in Kenora's body aches as she continues.
KENORA (calmly): But I need to keep this. It's about my dad. I... I can't let anything happen to him. You understand?
Azula is deeply split. Because, in her core, she simply wants to burst out fire and make Kenora disappear. Grab the scroll, finish the mission. But... her face. The way she looks at her, like she's... like...
Reaching a boiling point, Azula simply extends her fist, blasting a flame that Kenora blocks with water coming from her back pouch. The attack is reflected, bouncing against a mechanism that was holding back a path of water that continues flowing, igniting all forges to their full extend and lighting up the room.
Not getting a counter, Azula continues her assault - swipes and kicks and all kinds of flames that Kenora blocks over and over, until she loses hold over the scroll, it flinging away a few feet. The firebender rushes after it, getting her feet stuck in ice and almost falling to her face. Although... Kenora actually... catches her with a water whip, laying her down gently before freezing her hands too.
KENORA: Sorry!
Azula grunts, furiously melting her ice shackles with her fire breath. As Kenora is about to grab the scroll, she is instead forced to jump aside to dodge a blue dart. She's stuck blocking more and more attacks, Azula figuring out that she can just slowly walk closer as she does so. As she is about to grab it, Kenora evaporates the water used by the forgery to blur Azula's vision. The waterbender snatches the scroll now, running a few feet before halting at a wall of fire in front of her. A part of her beloved pirate coat is now a little burned.
She turns around, Azula emerging from steam, her hands drenched in blue fire. Kenora takes a deep breath.
Two more attacks are blocked before the surrounding steam is liquidized, turning into a water sled for Kenora to surf away. Unfortunately, Azula is a pretty good shot and so her water is blasted kaput and Kenora smacks to the ground, the scroll getting dropped and landing on a conveyer belt transporting raw ore. Azula catches up to her, tying to ignore the waterbender. As she rushes by another water channel, a wateracle grabs her arm, then the other. Kenora tries to hold it steady, though Azula can pretty quickly cut herself loose, retaliating via a fire scratch, ripping apart Kenora's coat even more and swiping her hip. Kenora holds back her pained scream as she leans over on one leg.
KENORA (in pain): Ow.
Azula runs for the conveyer belt again, a few seconds later a dozen or so wateracles prevent her from going any further. Kenora freezes them, making sure to freeze over the firebender's mouth as well before she runs after the scroll herself. Azula fumes with rage at this point, a blow from her nostrils producing more than enough heat to free her mouth again.
Kenora finds the darn thing in between some rocks, briefly smiling with-
A fire blast misses her by an inch. She goes into defense again, blocking attack after attack after attack until she stumbles and falls. Azula walks through the produced steam with her fists raised. Kenora has one last trick up her sleeve - pulling the steam closer towards her to give her cover again. The raven-haired girl has had it.
AZULA (angry): ENOUGH OF THIS CRAP!
A fire impulse disrupts the cover, revealing Kenora is missing. Almost. She actually bended herself onto an elevated conveyer belt transporting shields, moving in the opposite direction towards the entrance. Azula carefully locks her finger, aiming it at Kenora. Then, she gets a different idea.
Thinking she's made it, a blue flame hits the metal wire ahead of her, breaking her path as the shields all crash to the ground, one after another, and Kenora with it. She rolls aside a bit, trying to stumble her way to the entrance as shield after shield continues to fall to the ground, an odd metallic, rhythmic clatter produced by the procedure. Kenora's path is once again blocked by a wall of fire, this time forming an oblong as the firebender enters. She is clearly on edge, though doesn't look like she's gonna flat out attack for now. Kenora clenches her fist, looking at the scroll that will save her father's life.
AZULA (angry): You've had your fun now, but it's over. Give. It. Back. To. Me.
Kenora looks at the scroll again, then at Azula, then at... the wall of...
With a moment of hesitation her breath gets faster and faster, dreaded anticipation building up. She finally dunks the message into the fire, her right hand with it. Azula watches in disbelief, never having heard Kenora howling in pain this much. It only happens for a second, though it is enough to set the scroll on fire, a tiny piece of it falling to the ground next to her. The rest of it - ash. A shaking, red hand presents this to a baffled Azula.
KENORA (in tears and in anguish): I'm sorry, Azula. I had to...
She gulps, trying to downplay the atrocious amounts of pain she feels on her hand. Azula looks at her with a sense of complete horror, but also just... confusion.
AZULA: W-w-w-why would you do that? Why - why would you burn yourself? Are you crazy?!
She sounds almost more concerned about her opponent's safety than having failed the mission. Kenora, to her surprise, laughs through the agony.
KENORA (slightly teary, still in anguish): I had to do this. But I also had to keep my promise.
Azula wonders for a moment what she means. Then, after checking out herself and... not finding a single scratch or bruise or wound or anything... she looks back at Kenora. Now the confusion has overtaken her concern, curiosity replacing the latter.
AZULA: Why?
Kenora manages to sit upright. She eyes her burned hand for a moment, then decides to go with the answer that is most prevalent on her mind.
KENORA: Why... did you run away after our kiss?
The struggle inside of her spirals out of control again, all of Azula's emotions feeling like they're shooting through her system at once. A tiny film of tears covers her eyes as she aims for another attack. Kenora flinches of course but decides to simply take it.
The strike never comes. The flames subside, as does the metallic noise of shield after shield after shield dropping. Supposedly, there's no more shields left now.
AZULA (emotional): Don't... follow me.
The fire barrier subsides and Azula runs away. Kenora keeps sat for a few more moments, finally allowing herself to really feel the pain from her hand.
A strange thing catches her eye in that moment. A tiny piece of the scroll survived, only charred on one side. She picks it up with her left hand in disbelief.
KENORA (reading): "Omashu"?
She frowns at that. Isn't that the city? Wasn't this naval intel-
Her frown quickly turns into a deep glare as she realizes.
A few hurt soldiers were brought onto the Pāpaka to be treated by Kanna and other healers.
Kenora stomps on deck with the thunder of a thousand boots.
KATARA: Oh Kenora, I'm so glad you're back, something terrible happen-
Kenora slams the princess against the hull of the main command tower, her left arm pressed firmly against the girl's throat. Soldiers raise their arms in fear of what's next. Kanna watches in horror as Katara struggles to free herself.
KENORA (furious): What was the intel about?
KATARA (struggling to breathe): It... was... naval... routes...
KENORA (furious): WHAT WAS THE INTEL ABOUT?!
Katara decides to spill the beans, her face appearing resentful.
KATARA (struggling to breath): Earth Kingdom... communication... concerning... troop movements... on land...
Kenora lets her go with a grunt. The Crown Princess drops to the ground while gasping for air. No one has any idea how to react or what to do next.
KENORA (furious): You LIED to me!
KATARA (furious): YOU LIED TO ME FIRST!
She gets up again. Kenora guesses she could take her in a fight, even with a burnt hand.
KATARA (angry): You promised me you would go on this mission, yet you ABANDONED them!
Her arm and index point in a straight line towards a heavily injured and traumatized Akari, who seems mostly to ignore the situation. There's also Suki. Her chest rises and falls, indicating that she is still alive. In every other conceivable way, the girl looks dead. Even her eyes are still open.
KATARA (angry): I hope you will do better on future missions.
Kenora is almost about to tackle her again, when two guards hold her back.
KENORA (furious): WE HAD A DEAL!
Katara turns away, her hands folded behind her back.
KATARA (cold): I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further.
Kenora and Kanna share a horrified expression. For now they are trapped back in their old lives. For good.
Part 7: Deal
Azula walks back to camp ashamed and confused. Every single one of her friends looks like they've been through hell and beyond. Sokka sits in a corner quietly, Bandit hugs her legs on the ground, the Vultures are nowhere to be seen, and Zuko, injured himself, is trying his best to comfort a completely distraught Ty Lee, a thick bandage going over her right eye. Apparently... the damage is untreatable. It's gone.
AANG: Azula!
The only one not totally ruined is Aang of course. She freezes on the spot, not even turning.
AANG: Are you okay? Do you need any-
AZULA (quietly): I'm okay. I need to rest for a moment.
She disappears into her tent, Aang not mustering the courage to follow that one up.
Azula stops in front a small mirror on her makeshift counter. That's when it returns.
You could've destroyed her... why didn't you?
AZULA: It wasn't right. She had no power.
Oh, but she does have plenty of power over you, does she not?
Azula frowns, a blush and some tears expressing her deep discomfort with everything that happened.
Why don't you allow me to help you out a bit? Give you some much-needed support. Or can you handle this on your own, like you've been doing so far...
She thinks back to what Zuko said, thinks about the deep confusion she feels inside her, has been feeling ever she saw Kenora working in that restaurant. She can't expect her friends to carry that weight for her.
AZULA: Fine, you can help me out a bit. But final decision is always with me. Got it?
Deal.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So apparently, it's a common thing for fanfictions to become really dark during October. I'm glad I contributed to that. This was absolutely my favorite chapter to write in the almost 3 years I've been doing this. It's also the longest by far, which, sorry about that.
Next time we take a little trip to a familiar location in Episode 14: The Dying Swamp.
