Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, the ATLA universe, or the first 9 ½ chapters. Because Benthatguy did a helluva job, and I wouldn't have ruined the live-action movies.

Previously:

"We're heading for Yu Dao. The colony should have everything we need to hunt the Avatar. No offense to your parents Mai, but this place is barely conquered. Also, I heard that war minister Qin is working on an interesting new machine in Yu Dao." Azula's lips quirked up slightly, "I would be interested to see how it measures up against the Avatar's beast." Azula looked positively giddy at the idea of payback.

Before Mai could leave to find her parents Percy piped up, "So are we all just gonna ignore the fact that there's no way Bumi's natural? I mean seriously even my abs aren't that good," Percy whined aloud.

Not one of them dignified his remarks with a response. An eye roll from Mai as she left the lounge with a laughing Ty Lee. Azula right behind them, as her mind suddenly wandered to the next time she could spar Percy shirtless to fact check his statement.

"Okay I'm being serious though, I need another guy in this group," he groaned aloud to himself.

( - )

Blue fire shot out of the prodigy's fist, towards the warrior in armor. A wave of water quickly doused the attack as he tensed, watching for her next move, eyes dancing with mischief.

Azula smirked before unleashing a wave of flames at her opponent. He stopped it with a wall of ice before quickly going on the attack. She danced out of the way of two water whips, keeping her distance between them. She wasn't going to give Percy the chance to get in close. With his blade and superior strength, she didn't like her chances to overpower him.

She looked up as he stopped attacking, arms crossed over his chest. "What's the matter Azula? I never knew you to be scared to attack up close." A teasing smirk on his face.

She narrowed her eyes at him, he was trying to bait her. It wouldn't work.

"Seriously I think even Iroh moves quicker and he's got a 30lb belly to deal with."

Steam rolled out of her nose, he did not just call her slower than Iroh. He would pay for that one. She launched forward propelled by her flames as she closed in.

His laughter filled the air as he sent a wave of water down towards her. She dodged it and launched a fire kick at him. He blocked her attack and returned with a hail of ice spikes.

She threw up a wall of fire, melting them before they got to her. They went back and forth, trading blows until it was hard to distinguish one element from the other. Azula didn't hold back, Percy wasn't ever an opponent she could toy with.

He lashed out with a whip, grabbing her by the ankle and yanking her towards him. The attack caught her off guard but she recovered quickly. She quickly cut through his whip and lashed out at him with her fire daggers.

"Woah there! The face is off-limits Azula!" Percy called out as he maneuvered away from her attacks.

"Hold still you mongrel." She growled out, he was nearly impossible to land a solid blow on today.

She paused her attack, face a mask of panic, pointing behind them. "Percy your tent is on fire!"

He whirled around gazing at their campsite. Only to find it not up in flames and that he'd fallen for Azula's tricks once again. He desperately threw up a shield of water as Azula's attack collided, knocking him to the ground with a thud.

She stepped over him, planting a foot on his chest. "Admit that I won and I'll let you go." She crowed over her friend.

"No fair, you tricked me," Percy complained.

She snorted, "Please Percy, I'm a master firebender. I don't need such trickery to beat you in a spar. Besides, I can't believe you fell for that."

Suddenly half the pond they were camped by rose up, floating above them. "New deal," Percy said, "We call it a draw or I give you a nice pond water bath."

Azula was silent for a moment before she accepted his offer, helping him to his feet. Percy's shit-eating grin was the only warning she got.

"You're not the only one who can't play fair." He drawled before releasing the water, absolutely drenching Azula as he took off.

Azula rose from the ground, spitting and soaked. "Perseus Jackson get back here you little shit and let me kill you properly!" She took off after him.

( - )

Azula hated Ostrich horses. They were ill-tempered, aggressive, smelly, and all-around terrible beasts. She would take a good Fire Nation mount like a mongoose lizard or komodo rhino over the filthy creatures any day of the week. And it had nothing to do with the fact that every time she tried to approach one of the wretched beasts they would try and peck and claw her, or the fact that all of them seemed to worship Percy. No nothing to do with any of that.

They had been traveling for several days now and the princess was beginning to doubt her friend's sanity. Ty Lee had always been a little odd but her new obsession with these so-called auraswas honestly ridiculous. Then there was also Mai's newfound depression. She was always a little restrained but Azula never remembered her acting this bleak. But Percy, Percy was by far acting the weirdest. She had long ago resigned herself to the fact that her bodyguard was more than a little odd. He said weird nonsense phrases like 'Google it' when he was trying to make a point or complaining about the lack of rock music?

Suffice to say her bodyguard was strange. But ever since they had gotten these Agni damned ostrich horses it had become much worse. Azula had caught him more than once having conversations with the animals acting like they could understand and respond to him, and honestly, it was worrying. Azula was a little scared that her friend was losing his mind.

The princess glanced over to where Percy was riding. He seemed to be fine, a little fidgety but he was always like that. Until out of nowhere he began laughing to himself. That does it next time we stop. I'm talking to Percy. Azula thought to herself.

( - )

Later that night after Mai and Ty Lee had retired to their tents, Percy was sitting poking the dying embers of the fire with a branch. Learning he could talk to ostrich horses had been cool, like really cool. The funny thing was they were just as surprised that Percy could understand them as he was. The only reason Percy could think of why he was able to was had to be something with his dad. That or he was going crazy, but after finding out he was half god and being transported to another world he stopped thinking of crazy as an option.

Percy wished he knew more about his dad and if there was anything else weird he could do. He kinda regretted not paying more attention in Mr. Brunner's class. Although it was kinda funny how much the ostrich horses didn't like Azula.

His thoughts were interrupted by a set of almost silent footsteps approaching him. Azula settled into place beside him. Neither spoke for some time staying in the comfortable silence as Azula attuned the fire to her breathing and Percy gazed up at the stars.

"I'm worried about you." Azula finally broke the silence.

"Isn't it my job to be worried about you?" Percy teased her.

"I'm serious, this isn't a joke. You've been acting strange. You've been talking to the ostrich-horses like people and bursting out in laughter for no reason. Is this about Zuko?" Her tone was laced with concern. She was worried not only about her friend but if he wasn't able to face Zuko, would she have to do this mission without him?

Percy realized how him talking to the ostrich-horses aloud must have looked to everyone else. He must have seemed stark raving mad. Okay, relax Percy just think of an amazing lie.

"I can talk to ostrich-horses." Or make yourself look even crazier. Nice.

Percy looked up at Azula expecting to see a look of disbelief painted across her face. Instead what he saw was so much worse. Concern. Great she thinks I'm crazy

"Look I know it sounds crazy but I can prove it. Stay here by the fire and hold up some of your fingers so I can't see them. I'll wake up one of the ostrich horses and have it stand behind you and tell me the number." Percy was pretty proud of his little test. Azula on the other hand was getting into full-blown panic mode.

"Percy look, maybe we should just calm down for a second. You know if you don't want to do this you don't have to. I can have a ship take you back to the Fire Nation." Azula spoke as if she was talking to a cornered animal. Well, how most people would talk to a cornered animal if it was her there would probably be more taunting.

"Just trust me Azula please," Percy begged giving her the baby seal face

"Fine." Azula huffed, losing her composure to the face. She was worried and comforting people or dealing with their problems wasn't exactly her strong suit.

"Thank you just wait there for one second." Percy rushed over to wake up one of the ostrich horses. He leaned over and whispered something into its ear before returning to his place facing Azula. The beast slowly trotted into position behind the princess.

Percy walked away behind a tree and waited. Azula paused before placing both hands behind her back and raising three fingers. Two on the left hand and one on the right.

Percy let a triumphant smirk spread across his face. "Two fingers on your left hand and one on your right."

Azula was momentarily shocked. Lucky guess She thought to herself before changing the fingers again.

"Four on the right two on the left"

Azula needed to be sure he wasn't guessing so she changed them again into something different.

"You laced your fingers together and are twiddling your thumbs." Percy's grin widened before he laughed aloud. "Now you're just flipping me off."

"Th-that-that's not possible" She stuttered. It was completely impossible, it made no sense. Azula was reeling internally, "How?" Was all she managed to ask.

Percy stopped smiling at that. He really didn't want to explain the whole half-god from another world situation to her. Honestly thinking about it still gave him a headache. So he decided to do what came naturally. Play dumb.

"I don't know it's really weird."

"Weird?" Azula's voice rose an octave. "You can speak to animals and all you can say is it's weird?" She demanded of him.

"Just ostrich-horses and fish." Percy weakly defended himself.

"And fish. Of course the fish. Why not rabaroos and tigerdillos too?" Another thought occurred to the princess. "Wait why didn't you tell me?" Hurt laced her tone. She had always thought of herself as Percy's closest confidant, even after hearing about his prior friendship with Zuko. Why wouldn't he tell her everything, she was perfect after all.

"Well I only found out about the ostrich horses when we left Omashu, I mean new Ozai." He amended. "There's not really any ostrich horses in the Fire Nation after all. And about the fish... would you have believed me if I did tell you?" Percy reasoned with her.

"Well...no not exactly." She conceded that point. "But from now on, I want you to be completely honest with me. I can't allow lies." Her voice returning to its normal royal tone so often disappeared when speaking to Percy.

The demigod's green eyes darkened. "What." His voice lacked its normal warmth. Azula noticed his rapid change in demeanor and analyzed the conversation searching for what could have set off her friend.

"I only meant that since I'm in charge and we're on an important mission, I can't be missing any information. There can be no mistakes." Azula said smoothly, hoping Percy would understand her position.

"What you meant is that you don't trust me." Both the hurt and the anger in his tone were clear to Azula. "Are you serious right now? You honestly don't trust me after all this time?"

"Trust is for fools." Azula immediately responded with one of her father's favorite sayings.

"Then I guess I'm a fool because I trust you. I trust Mai and Ty Lee. I trust Piandao and I still trust Zuko and Iroh even if we're hunting them. Just because you're a princess doesn't make you so above everybody that you can pass on certain human values like trust." Percy said with conviction. He gazed at Azula with angry, but pleading eyes, trying to impart to her something so basic that every child understands, even the wisest of scholars couldn't explain.

"That's ridiculous, they're our enemies, you can't trust them. And how do you know Mai or Ty lee won't betray you? How do you know I won't betray you? Trust is for fools, fear is the only reliable way." Percy's conviction and raw honesty were beginning to unbalance Azula's philosophy, she needed the reliable truths of her father's teachings to lean on.

"I don't know they won't and that's the point. Trust is about showing vulnerability. Even something as simple as believing someone will do what they say is making themself open to the possibility of being let down. And even more importantly, I'm not afraid of you Azula."

"What?" She said, shocked to the core.

"You said fear is the only reliable way, but that's not true. I'm not afraid of you. Don't get me wrong, you can be scary and intimidating but I don't fear you. You're my closest friend. So what you just said about fear being great and trust being worthless is complete bullshit. I'm not afraid of you, you can't scare me into serving you. I can either help you as your friend or, I can get on the next ship back to the Fire Nation. I'm nobody's servant or tool. If you want my help as a friend, then you have to trust me. And if you want Mai and Ty Lee to be real friends that you can go to with anything then you have to trust them too." Percy finished his speech quietly but to Azula, it felt like a roar.

Percy wasn't afraid of her. In hindsight it should've been obvious, she suspected a part of her always knew, but never really accepted it until the truth had shoved in her face. "You're either going to have to trust me or lose me Azula. I can go right back to Piandao anytime. I don't want to do that. I want to be here with you. But I won't stay in a place where I'm not trusted."

She watched dazedly as her bodyguard walked over to his tent, leaving her with her thoughts.

Honestly, she didn't understand what this all meant. She had never had someone that wasn't afraid of her (Besides her father but he was different, the Fire Lord, the only person superior to her) even her mother had feared her. She had seen it in her eyes during moments when she avoided her. But Percy wasn't like that. He didn't avoid her, he didn't get nervous and fidget when it was just them, no more than her hyperactive bodyguard usually did. He didn't even have a good motive for his kindness! He didn't need money, he was Piandao's heir. He didn't care about getting favor with the throne. Percy wouldn't understand politics if someone beat him over the head with it.

Percy had no real motive to serve Azula. Did he mean what he said, he wanted to help her? Just because of friendship? The concept made no sense to the princess. She liked having Percy around. He was witty, charming, and an excellent bodyguard because of his fighting prowess. But did he like having her around as well? She was no stranger to having friends, she did have Mai and Ty Lee but, she also knew how their friendship originally started. Their parents wanted them to be close to the royal family for the prestige it offered, and even though now Mai and Ty Lee were her friends, both of them feared her. She could see it in the way the acrobat flinched whenever she was angry or in the carefully controlled expression Mai wore sometimes. Azula understood this, she knew what it was like to have people serve you. What she didn't get was someone wanting to help for no personal gain.

But is it such a bad thing? She asked herself. After all, what was the harm in trusting just one person? This wasn't just any person either, it was Percy. The same person who saved her life when she was twelve. The same person who had been at her side nearly everyday for over two years. The only person who stayed with her, for her. And Percy had said he wouldn't serve her as a lackey. Why not try the other option, she could try trusting him. Ugh, even just thinking about it felt weird. She would have to give this more thought. She needed to know that Percy meant what he said. It just didn't seem possible for someone to want to help her, just for her... but when all possible answers are wrong your only option is the impossible. And with Percy, somehow the impossible always seemed possible.

( - )

"Wow, it looks...different." Percy vividly described. The four of them sat atop their mounts staring down at the valley. More accurately, the city residing inside the valley. The large city was a strange combination of Earth Kingdom green and Fire Nation red, all of which was enclosed in a rectangular wall of sandstone. To Percy, it looked like Santa got paranoid and decided to fortify his summer home.

"Come on, I want to make it past the gates before sundown." Azula glanced cautiously at the orange sky, watching as the sun dipped closer to the mountains. The group carefully made their way down the pass towards the main gates.

"Halt, identify yourselves or turn back." A guard ordered from the top of the wall.

"I would advise you against giving orders to royalty," Azula called out in a sickly sweet voice. Igniting a blue fireball in her right hand chasing away the shadows of dusk. Once it was clear who they were, the guards scrambled to accommodate her. To the surprise of the travelers, a few of the guards were earthbenders.

Once they entered the city the first thing they all noticed was the people. More accurately that people with different colors were interacting with each other. Basically, the people wearing red were being nice to the people in green, and the people in green weren't afraid of the people in red. Omashu had been weird for Percy, ever since he came to the Fire Nation he had been told that they brought order and enlightenment to other nations. Omashu didn't fit that picture at all and it rattled Percy a bit. But Yu Dao was exactly what Percy imagined when he thought of bringing order and enlightenment. It fit his picture and made sense.

They walked towards the mayor's house, parting the crowded street as the citizens scurried to get out of the way of the approaching royalty. As they approached the large house, they saw the welcoming party. The mayor, his wife, and daughter.

"It's an honor to receive a visit from royalty in our humble city, how may we serve you, princess?" The mayor bowed low along with his family to Azula.

"We require rooms and refreshment first, then we may discuss the rest of my orders." Azula swept forward without waiting for a response, entering the mayor's home as if it were her own.

After Azula entered the house, Percy flashed the family an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that, we're all just tired from our journey here."

"It's no worry at all I completely-" The mayor started with a kind smile before his daughter interrupted him.

"Are you Captain Jackson? The first member of the Fire Nation army to be another type of bender besides fire?" She fired off the questions too fast to respond, the excitement practically exploding out of her.

"Um yeah?" Percy's reply was more of a question than an answer.

"You're my hero!" She shouted. "I've always wanted to join the army, but I can't because I'm an earthbender. But then you did, you're a hero to every earthbender in the colonies." The look of awe on her face was kinda weird for Percy.

"Excuse my daughter, she's passionate about our nation and has dreamed of joining the army ever since she was a child." He explained while giving his daughter a chastising glare for her outburst.

"Oh uh, that's cool," Percy said, unsure how to respond to the situation.

"How about we show you all to your rooms where you can freshen up. We will be having dinner in honor of your arrival shortly." The mayor's wife kindly guided the three of them into the house.

( - )

Percy was having a dilemma. He couldn't decide whether to leave the awkward dinner and lose access to food or sit through it and finish eating. On one hand, the food was really good and he was really hungry. On the other hand, Kori wouldn't stop staring at him and it was starting to freak him out.

"I have a question." Azula suddenly addressed the room, gaining everyone's attention. "Some of your guards were earthbenders. Why is that?" The sharp glare she leveled at Kori's father told the mayor this was a loaded question.

The mayor showed more spine than most nobles Azula interacted with when met her steely gaze without flinching. "Yu Dao has been a proud colony of the Fire Nation for generations. As a result of this, many families have roots in both the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation. My wife and daughter are earthbenders princess. This diverse heritage leaves many young people who want to serve their nation at a loss as to what to do. Recruiters won't accept earthbenders. So we put them to work as guards for the city."

Azula took a moment to process this new information. Her carefully pointed nails beating out a steady rhythm as she drummed them on the table. The mayor and his wife exchanged weary glances. Both of them praying the princess wouldn't be opposed to their controversial practices.

"The idea has merit." She announced after several tense moments of thought. "Have you had any issues with disloyalty or defection from these earthbenders?"

Kori looked murderous at the princess' implications and was about to offer a scornful retort. "Well, maybe princess-" luckily her father interrupted her before she said something that could be considered treasonous.

"What my daughter was about to say was; we have had no issues with disloyalty among the earthbenders because they are Fire Nation and they view themselves as such. The element they bend is irrelevant, as you already know yourself." He said gesturing to Percy who was currently stuffing his face with food as Ty Lee elbowed him in the ribs for his manners.

"Hmm, you are correct, having a waterbender has proven useful on numerous occasions. I wonder if the same applies to an earthbender. I want reports done up on all the earthbenders in your guard, as well as statements from the other long-standing colonies dictating whether or not they have earthbenders in their guards, and if they believe they should be allowed to serve in the military. Once you have this information compiled you are to send it to the royal palace addressed to me. Once I will return home I will review the information and decide if your idea truly has merit or not."

The mayor and his family breathed a huge sigh of relief hearing the princess give her approval. All of them were eager to complete her orders and bring earthbending into a respectable light for their nation.

"Now on to the matter which we came to your city," Azula said, raising the mayor from his thoughts. "We require supplies and a faster form of transportation for our mission"

"Well we could provide you with some tundra tanks or mongoose lizards-" The mayor began.

"I said a fast form of transport tundra tanks are entirely inadequate and the mongoose lizards lack the stamina we require."

"Well, we have been using a prototype machine developed by war minister Qin. But the machine, while being fast, lacks maneuverability."

"Show me," Azula demanded

( - )

It was beautiful. A monster of Fire Nation ingenuity. The tank train as it had been so aptly named seemed to be the answer for Azula's prayers. Well if she ever actually bothered to pray. The only problem was the maneuverability issue. If all the Avatar had to do to lose her was make a few sharp turns then she was finished. Unless...

"Could one of the compartments be modified to work as a stable?"

"Well, I don't see why not. Why do you ask princess?" The mayor replied.

"Because we're gonna need those mongoose lizards after all."

( - )

Azula could feel the thrill of the hunt pumping through her veins, the excitement of knowing your prey is within your grasp. It was exhilarating. Throughout the night they had been closing in on the Avatar and his friends. Driving them from one camp to the next and now they were finally closing in on them atop a massive mountain.

Azula could feel the massive machine grinding to a halt. The engineers must have judged the distance close enough for the mongoose-lizards to take over the chase. "Everyone, mount up. We have an Avatar to capture." She announced with a smirk.

Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee charged up the mountain trail rapidly closing on the Avatar and his friends' camp. She glanced over her shoulder watching with mild amusement as Percy tried to urge his ostrich horse to catch up to the faster mongoose lizards. She had warned him his beast would be too slow to keep up but Percy had insisted, saying the animal had grown on him.

It seems they have found an earthbender Azula thought to herself as she watched a massive wall of stone rise between her and the Avatar. She went through a quick kata to generate a bolt of lightning, blasting a hole in the barricade.

Azula and Mai both tried to bring down the bison as it made its escape, with fire and shurikens. As they watched the Avatar and his friends fly farther and farther away Percy finally arrived.

"Okay so maybe the ostrich horse wasn't my best idea." He conceded sheepishly. Azula sent a heated glare his way. Saying nothing and only raising her eyebrow ever so slightly she was able to convey to her bodyguard with the same force as if she screamed it to the heavens "No shit"

( - )

"I can't believe they followed us from Omashu," Katara said with a hint of fear lacing her voice.

"I still think we could have taken them," Toph grumbled.

"Are you kidding?" She asked incredulously. "That crazy girl bends blue fire, but the real threat is the guy in armor. He went toe-to-toe with Bumi, and he can block my connection to water. Not to mention the one girl is deadly accurate with her daggers and we still don't know what that girl in pink can do yet."

Just as Katara finished speaking the sun started to peek over the horizon. "Oh no the sun is rising and we've barely slept all night." Bemoaned an exhausted Sokka.

"Sokka we'll be okay," Aang said, being the voice of reason for the group.

"Every time we land, they are there. So we'll just have to keep flying." Katara reasoned, ignoring her brother's dramatics. Appa groaned in disagreement.

"Appa can't keep flying forever" Aang replied.

( - )

"Aads of wet fur. How delightful." Mai said dryly as Azula lifted the fur out of the river.

"Their not wads, more like bundles or bunches? It's got an uh sound." Ty Lee spoke

"Wauds." Percy answered at the same time Mai said "Clumps."

"Clumps! Clumps I said that too." Percy stated quickly.

Azula ignored her friend's antics as she inspected the area. Noticing not only the obvious trail of fur, but the fur in the river, and the broken treetops in the opposite direction. She started analyzing maps of the area from her memory, trying to determine which was the most likely route for the Avatar to have gone.

"The Avatar is trying to give us the slip. Mai and Ty Lee, you two head in that direction and keep your eyes out for the bison." She said pointing at the broken trees. "Percy, I want you to go upstream as fast as you can. If I remember correctly, which of course I do, then you'll be able to cut them off once Mai and Ty Lee reach them. I'll follow this trail..."

"Are you sure it's a good idea for us to split up like this Azula? Shouldn't we go in groups of two?" Percy asked, worried about the princess going off alone.

"The Avatar is only able to fly alone when he splits up from his bison and his flight wouldn't have broken those trees. That means if you came with me, Mai and Ty Lee would be outnumbered three to two. I don't like those odds judging by how powerful that earthbender appears to be. Stick to the plan Percy." The firebender reasoned with her bodyguard.

Percy stood still for a moment as he watched his friends ride away in different directions. He was stirred from his thoughts by a voice entering his mind. "Yo boss, is the Ice Queen gone yet?" Percy rolled his eyes at the ostrich-horses nickname for Azula before jumping into the river, willing the currents to shoot him along.

( - )

"Okay, Toph couldn't have made it too far," Sokka said as he scanned the forest looking for any signs of the blind earthbender. Until he heard Momo start growling. "What is it Mom-oh no! Katara!" Sokka called out to his sister, warning her of the two dangerous girls chasing them.

"How did they find us?" She asked before snapping Appa's reins, urging him to go faster.

"Come on Appa we gotta go faster."

"He's too tired," Katara began panicking as they steadily lost altitude.

"Not good, not good." Sokka chanted. He glanced forward and saw the water. "We just need to make it across that river." He called out to both his sister and the bison.

They were getting closer to the river and both siblings thought they were home free. Until the river exploded into a massive column of water. Katara pulled on the reins with all the strength her slight form could muster, making Appa bank hard away from the river.

Percy rose atop a water spout, ready to blast them back to the ground. As it turned out, Percy didn't need to bother as Appa's strength finally gave way and crashed into the riverbank with force.

As Katara and Sokka stumbled away from the crashed bison, Mai and Ty Lee started their attack. Mai fired at the waterbender only for them to be blocked by Sokka. Ty Lee leaped off her mount, bouncing off a tree to get behind the siblings. Katara and her brother went back to back as she summoned a torrent of water from the river to surround the two of them.

Both siblings had fallen prey to the most common mistake inexperienced fighters make, tunnel vision. They had been so focused on the threat in front of them both had forgotten completely about Percy. Percy took advantage of that easily.

He burst out of the river, ripping control of the water away from Katara, and blasted Sokka with it, sending him tumbling away. He created an ice slide and slid towards the stunned tribesman. He was confident the girls could handle the waterbender.

Percy leaped off of his ice construct to finish the dazed warrior off with a swift blow to the head from Riptide's pommel. Unfortunately for Percy, Sokka was used to taking blasts of water from Katara and Aang's practice sessions and recovered much faster than he expected. The tribesman ducked under the blow, countering by swinging the sharpened edge of his boomerang at the swordsman's head.

Percy's demigod reflexes were the only thing that saved him. He bent backward avoiding most of the strike, only catching the tail end of it as a scratch in his breastplate. Percy leaped back putting a little distance between him and the tribesman. He'd done what Piandao had incessantly told him not to. He underestimated his enemy. Another common mistake inexperienced fighters made. Because for all of Percy's strength, he still had little real-world experience.

"This is my favorite armor you jerk."

"Yeah well… you're a stupid face," Sokka replied.

"What?" Percy asked, stunned by the remark.

"Shut up, I'm tired." He said before lunging forward. Percy was mildly impressed, the tribesman had improved since their last encounter and you had to factor in how tired he must be. That much improvement in such a short period was notable, but he wasn't even a close for Percy. Years of training plus superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes along with a ridiculous amount of natural skill made Percy a beast with the blade.

Percy quickly disarmed the tribesman then struck him on the head, knocking him out. He might have used a little more force than necessary but, Sokka had already shown to have a thick skull. He looked over to see Mai and Ty Lee finish incapacitating the waterbender. He started to make his way over when he heard a groan coming from the prone Sokka.

"Dude how thick is your skull?" Percy asked the dazed warrior disbelievingly. Sokka's only response was to groan again. Percy sighed before binding his hands with water he quickly froze into ice and dragged him towards the others.

"You guys hold down the fort here. I gotta make sure Azula is okay, the earthbender isn't here,'' Percy said, throwing the groggy Sokka towards them, panic evident in his voice. He leaped onto Mai's mongoose lizard riding back towards the tank before either of the girls could respond.

"I'm gonna win the bet." Ty Lee announced in a sing-song voice.

"This proves nothing," Mai grumbled to her friend. "And Percy is only half of the bet anyway."

"You're just jealous cause your royal cuddle buddy isn't here." Ty Lee said with a giggle. Before being silenced by a murderous glare from the blushing Mai.

Katara was glaring at both of them. Remaining the stoic prisoner, not saying anything to the pair. Until now a lucid Sokka ruined that.

"What bet are you guys talking about?"

"Oh, that's easy. I bet Mai that Percy and Azula have secret crushes on each other." The acrobat squealed. "It's so romantic, the princess and her bodyguard having a forbidden relationship... Almost as romantic as the Avatar and a certain pretty noble girl." She said with a suggestive wink.

Luckily for the now about to barf Katara, Appa chose that moment to wake up. The bison roared and blasted the two girls into the river with a gust of air.

"Thanks, Appa, I don't know what we would do without you."

( - )

Azula could nearly taste victory. The Avatar was trapped right before her, just waiting for her to finish him. She smirked and raised her hand slowly before she was interrupted by the peasant waterbender. She growled, freeing her hand from the water whip then attacking the girl with a fireball.

Katara ducked under it and sprinted out of the building, Azula gave chase. Until peasant number two jumped out of an ally and almost took her head off with his club. Azula ducked under his swings, gracefully dodging away. Her situation turned even worse when her brother got back up from his fall. It was now fours vs one. She fired blasts of fire at the weakest links, her brother and the non-bender in an attempt to drive them back. However, their advantage in numbers was difficult to counter.

The princess was slowly backing away from the four in front of her when the ground was thrown out from under her, literally.

"I thought you guys could use a little more help." The newly arrived earthbender said cockily.

Azula fired a few wild blasts of blue flame before running down an alley looking for an escape. She was then blindsided by her overweight uncle knocking her towards a destroyed building. All that remained was two walls and a corner. A corner she was now trapped in.

Damn it all! I was so close Azula cursed, she hated losing, but even she couldn't take on so many skilled opponents at once. Maybe Percy if he was by a large body of water but she knew she'd have to stall until she had an escape route. "Well look at this. Enemies and traitors all working together." She taunted aloud. "I know when I'm beaten, a princess surrenders with honor." None of them let their guards down at her 'surrender.' Hmm, they're smarter than I thought Azula mused to herself.

"Something's coming!" The earthbender suddenly exclaimed. Azula smirked, she knew he would come back for her, he was stubborn.

"Who?" Katara asked, none of them to let their guard down save for Iroh for a brief moment as he glanced behind him. "I don't know who but they're here!" Toph yelled just as all hell broke loose. Two rain barrels dropped from the sky crashing into the ground and exploded outward. The wave of water knocking all her attackers back. Azula smiled as a Percy, atop a mongoose lizard charged towards her. She grabbed his outstretched hand and swung onto the back of the beast with him as they rode away at top speed.

Percy thrust his hand out, feeling the familiar tugging in his gut as he ordered the water to make a fog cover for their escape. What he didn't account for was one of their opponents not needing eyes to see. A massive boulder came towards them, but Azula leaped into the air, kicking a powerful arc of blue fire at the rock smashing it before contact. In a show of acrobatic grace, she landed on the back of the animal with ease.

"I was worried." Percy breathed after he put enough distance between them and the town.

"I wasn't." Azula replied with a smirk "I trusted that you would be there when I needed you."

"Okay, that's not what I meant when I was talking about trust and you know it." He grumbled. Azula laughed, not with malice or cruelty, just pure laughter as she wrapped her arms around Percy's midsection.

( - )

All of them watched dumbly as the pair escaped on the mongoose lizard. No one moved until they were well out of sight. Then Zuko suddenly slid into a firebending stance ready to face the Avatar and fulfill his destiny. The others followed his lead, moving into their stances ready for another fight. Until Iroh stepped between the two groups.

"Uncle, what are you doing to get out of the way!" Zuko yelled at him.

"I'm stopping you from making a stupid mistake Zuko. We are outnumbered with little chance of winning. More importantly, we are both tired and have much to gain from one another without fighting." Iroh said, speaking not in the gentle voice of a tea-loving uncle. No this was stern and commanding, the Dragon of the West, and former general.

Both sides faltered for a moment at the commanding tone. Zuko regained his stance first, "The only thing I have to gain from them is the capture of the Avatar." He said firmly.

"And how do you expect to do that when he's in Azula's clutches?" Iroh replied. "We all got lucky today. We were able to fight her with a massive advantage in numbers. Next time any one of us could be caught alone." He said addressing both sides. "We have information on Azula and by sharing it with them both of us stand to gain. The less likely Azula is to capture the Avatar, the greater your own prince Zuko."

Zuko remained in a firebending stance for several long tense moments, before relaxing his stance slightly, giving a small stiff nod. Iroh beamed in pride. "I'll start the tea, you kids set up camp." He then left with speeds that should be impossible for such a big man, too fast for Zuko to protest that they weren't staying long enough to make camp. Not that the old general would have listened. He had too many new and fascinating people to share his tea with.

( - )

Author Note - Alright everyone so this is the end of chapter 8 of Percy Jackson & The Sapphire Flame and I hoped y'all enjoyed it. Give it a review or follow if you'd like to stay up to date on this story. A few things I'd like to talk about.

- What did you think of Percy's conversation with Azula? You'll see more later on of the different ways that Percy just completely shakes her way of thinking and challenging her beliefs.

- Finally, please leave a review, guys! A follower or favorite would mean a lot too for me. Don't flame me too hard though. I'm always open to advice on being a better writer.

Duces