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:
"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.
( - )
"So you're the angry guy with a ponytail. I'm not feeling the ponytail but I'm definitely getting the angry part." Toph spoke bluntly.
Zuko glared at her from across the campfire. He wanted to lob a fireball at the ingrate but uncle was right. Azula would catch the Avatar unless he did something about it. He needed the Avatar to be ready for her and if in the process he could learn some new information about his quarry, then that was even more of a reason not to throw fireballs. Even if it was tempting.
"Now now, everyone be calm and get along." Uncle Iroh gently chided whilst handing out cups filled with some of the best tea in the world.
"Yeah, guys let's all get along." The Avatar said cheerfully. A short nap and the prospect of avoiding a fight was more than enough to brighten the day of the young pacifist. "I knew we could be friends with Zuko. I told you didn't I?"
"We are not friends!" Zuko roared, the fire rising with his anger.
At the same time, Katara asked, "When did you talk to Zuko?"
"Um well, it was when you were sick after the big storm..." The Avatar said slightly nervous. Unwilling to bring up his capture at the hands of the late admiral Zhao, and worry his friends.
"Aww, the storm. I remember that particular tempest well. The most beautiful rainbows are often created by the most violent storms. Such is also true in life." The old man said sagely with a twinkle in his eye.
"Okay..." Sokka said slightly weirded out by someone from the Fire Nation being so... not evil. Although the older man could be just trying to lull them into a false sense of security so he could kill them. He was the Fire Lord's brother after all. The tea could be poisoned!
Sokka spat out his tea violently, spraying it into the fire. "Is something wrong young man?" Iroh asked him.
"Nope, nothing wrong here," he said with a smiling way too wide to be genuine before turning and whispering loud enough for people in the next town to hear. "Don't drink the tea, it could be poison!"
"Sokka shut up. We watched him make it, not to mention both he and Zuko are drinking the same tea. I'm sorry about my brother, he's a bit of an idiot sometimes." Katara wanted to be nice to the man despite the fact he was Fire Nation. She had always been taught to respect her elders and he was such a kind, old man.
Iroh gave a hearty chuckle. "It's not a problem my dear. The young are rash and impulsive. My time traveling with my nephew has taught me that if nothing else."
Zuko stayed silent, staring into the fire refusing to meet anyone's gaze.
"So not that I'm complaining, but why aren't you guys throwing fireballs at us and screaming about honor?" Sokka asked bluntly.
"Weren't you paying attention, savage?" Zuko snarled at them, "I can't let Azula be the one to capture you, and you're too incompetent to stay out of her grasp yourselves."
"We were more than good enough to kick your ass so I don't think we need any help with your little sister." Katara retorted cooly.
"Comparing my niece to Zuko is an effective way to get yourselves killed," Iroh said quietly, "Azula is cunning, ruthless and one of the most skilled firebenders in the world."
"Yeah, we kinda already figured that out," Sokka interjected.
"Then why do you continue to underestimate her," Iroh said, leveling them with a steely gaze.
"We didn't underestimate her, we were just exhausted." Aang defended.
Iroh smiled at the lemur curled on his lap before meeting the Avatar's eyes once more. "You knew she was hunting you and you decided to split up. You allowed one of your greatest fighters to go off on her own, drastically cutting your chances of survival. Not only did you do that, but you had the perfect opportunity to escape and yet you tried to face her in open combat."
"Hey, it's not their fault I left." Toph protested. "Okay well maybe it was their fault I left but, that had nothing to do with Azula hunting us."
"And that is where they failed." Iroh turned his amber eyes from the earthbender to the Avatar. "A leader is always responsible for those under his command."
"Well no one's really 'under my command' and I'm not the leader. We're all friends, we don't need a leader." Aang tried to explain.
Zuko burst into laughter. "Then your damned fools. You all aren't little kids. You're what 15? 16? You're fighting a war and you think everything will just work itself out? It won't, you will fail. And when the Earth Kingdom burns from your failure you'll regret everything." His voice was dripping with venomous sarcasm and bitter pain. "And do you want to know the worst part of it? You're being completely serious right now. It's all worked out for you so far, stumbling around, blundering into victory after victory. You don't know the meaning of honor or struggle. Because you're just like Azula, born lucky. You've made it so far on luck Avatar but one day your luck will run out, and on that day I'll be there to watch." The prince spoke, his voice filled with bitterness bred from years of struggle and strife.
"And what would you know about struggle?" Katara spat at Zuko. "The prince of a nation that's destroying the rest of the world. Did you have to watch when soldiers burned your village to the ground? Did you have to go hungry when the invaders stole your family's food? Did you have to watch as the raiders took your mother away from you!" Katara was screaming in rage, tears running down her face. "You're just a spoiled prince that thinks he's better than everyone else. Well, guess what you're nothing but a monster!"
Zuko didn't respond for a moment. "You call me a monster but I know exactly what I'm fighting for. What about you? For world freedom? What exactly have you done for the world? The Avatar may have stopped the fleet in the north pole, but we all know it wasn't him in control. Have you liberated the Earth kingdom colonies under Fire Nation rule? Perhaps you got the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom to combine their forces against the Fire Nation? Maybe you have even removed my father from his throne?"
Silence from the Avatar and his friends was the answer to Zuko's questions. He smiled, but without any real pleasure. "I didn't think so. For all your righteous talk, it's been just that. Talk. You're not heroes, you're just teenagers messing around." Zuko spat scornfully before stalking away into the darkness, his head held high.
The Avatar and his friend's silence continued for a long time before Iroh broke it. "I'm sorry for what my nephew has said and done to you. But as painful as it might be to admit, he is right. You've only gotten so far on chance. The world cannot be saved from my brother's cruelty by luck alone. You are the world's last hope. You must act like it."
"Dad once told me, 'Failure is not the opposite of success; it's part of success," Sokka spoke quietly as his friends stared at the fire. We've failed lots of times, but we're still here. If we didn't fail to rescue Bumi, we would've never met Toph. Failures are only setbacks if you don't learn from them. We'll fail our way forward if we have to. We will learn from our mistakes and we will beat the Fire Lord. We will put a stop to all the suffering when we end this war." Sokka ended strongly, his words resonated throughout the group.
Iroh smiled at his words. "I am truly sorry for what this war must have put all of you through... however if you don't heed my warning it is unlikely you will have the chance to be able to end this war."
"We'll listen to you. If only to get more of your tea." Toph said with a playful smirk.
"Thank you, young lady, you are very kind." He replied cheerfully before his tone grew somber once more. "Azula is not like Zuko, or Zhao, or anyone else you have faced before. It's not her skill in bending that makes her so dangerous, but her mind. She is a great tactician and manipulator. She will show you no mercy and will kill all of you for the glory of the Fire Nation in a heartbeat."
All of them shivered to hear this. Despite all of the danger they had faced, nobody ever wanted to think of death as a possibility. Especially the young airbender.
"But we got beaten earlier and all they were gonna do was tie us up. They could have killed us if they wanted to." Sokka rebutted.
"And was Azula leading that group, or was it Percy?" Iroh said with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smile.
"Well... it was Percy. But what's with that guy? He's Water Tribe, why is he with the Fire Nation?" Sokka questioned angrily.
Iroh paused before speaking, "Percy is a kind and honorable young man. He's never talked about his birth father, claiming that he was lost at sea. His mother and father were married, and his father was gone before his birth. His mother raised him herself until she tragically died when he was still a boy. I found him adrift at sea on my way back to the Fire Nation. I took him to an old friend who raised him. Percy is assuredly not Water Tribe as you claim. When he was a teenager, Percy had grown restless and wanted to experience what life had to offer. I thought entering the tournament would spare him. Ozai would have surely killed him for being a waterbender otherwise."
"What tournament?" Sokka questioned Iroh.
"A tournament to become the bodyguard to the princess. I thought I could spare Percy's life and that he could perhaps moderate my niece's negative traits. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to speak face-to-face with Percy or my niece in a long time. I know not what they have gone through," Iroh said sadly.
"Wait what if he's being manipulated by Azula? We could get him alone and talk to him, he could join our side," Aang said excitedly.
"I highly doubt that. Percy is an incredibly loyal person, he used to write to me often before I was deemed a traitor for my actions at the North Pole. I believe it will take time if he is to turn his back on the Fire Nation. He is attached to the Fire Nation. The Fire Nation took him in and treated him well when he had nothing."
"But the Fire Nation is cruel. They destroy everything, how can he not see that?" Katara asked, coming out of her trance.
"Are all of us monsters? All of the time?" Iroh asked with a raised brow.
"One nice old man doesn't change the fact that your people are evil. You're the Fire Lord's brother, you probably used to be evil too." Katara spat getting enraged by someone defending the people who stole her mother from her.
Iroh sighed and stared deep into the fire as if it might hold all the answers he had ever searched for. "Young lady the world is not so black and white. I know that the Water Tribes often attack Fire Nation ships at night, murdering men in their bed who have no chance to defend themselves. The Fire Nation started this war a century ago yes, but the people you fight now? They've been raised on it, they have never known peace across the four nations. Are you fighting for peace or are you fighting for revenge? The monks used to have a saying about revenge."
Aang jumped in, "The monks said revenge is like a two-headed rat viper. While you're watching your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself."
Iroh nodded in agreement. "Vengeance is not the answer; change is. But the trouble is, most people think victory and punishing your enemy are the same thing. It took me many, many years to learn this and to let go of the death of my son. I have done many things in my life that I am not proud of."
"You're the Dragon of the West," Toph said with no malice or accusation, just the simple statement of fact.
"Yes, I am."
"Why did you leave the siege of Ba Sing Se? You could have ended the war years ago." Toph asked with obvious excitement
"A story for another time I'm afraid. I'm old and tired, and I need my rest. Heed my warnings, don't try and fight Azula openly like that again. The world's last chance for peace may rest on all of your shoulders. Don't let it down." Iroh rose giving an exaggerated yawn before bowing and heading off in the same directions as his nephew before he stopped suddenly.
"Katara. This war has taken your mother. It has taken my son. It has orphaned many and hurt countless others. Neither side is innocent anymore. Remember that before you so harshly judge others." With his final words of wisdom, Iroh departed for the night.
"Who's the Dragon of the West? And why did you get so excited?" Sokka asked Toph once Iroh left.
"The Dragon of the West is one of the greatest generals to ever live. He conquered half the Earth Kingdom and he even broke down the outer wall of Ba Sing Se and marched an army in. He could have taken the capital. But for some reason he just stopped, he pulled out his forces and left for home. Nobody in the Earth Kingdom knew why. Now I think I do." Toph ended sadly.
"But if he fought for the Fire Nation why do you sound like you admire him?" Sokka asked her, surprised not that he was sitting across from once Fire Nation's best general, but that Toph seemed to admire him.
"Because he's a badass. And I can respect badassery no matter what side they fight on. And I'll tell you this. If half the stories were true, in his prime he probably could have taken all of us and Azula.
Sokka gulped and looked off into the darkness where the two firebenders had left. Suddenly he felt much less secure about his safety.
( - )
When Azula and Percy made it back to the tank train they found both of their friends wringing out their hair and looking miserable. Well, Mai looked slightly more miserable than usual and Ty Lee looked slightly less happy.
"What happened, I thought you had the two peasants captured?" Azula snapped at them.
"The Avatar's bison woke up and blasted us into the river. The attack knocked the mongoose lizard out and Percy took the other. We had no way across the river." Mai reported dryly.
"Fine." The princess ground out, grudgingly remembering her own defeat at the hands of that damn beast.
"So now what?" Ty Lee asked after a brief silence.
"We'll have to continue searching the countryside until we pick up the trail again," Azula said confidently although she knew it wouldn't be so easy anymore. The Avatar knew of his beasts shedding and would be more careful in the future.
"Princess Azula?" One of the engineers stirred her from her musings.
"What?" She snapped at him.
He gulped, obviously terrified of her. "It's a message from war minister Qin. It came by a hawk while you were hunting."
"Give it here." She commanded impatiently. The man handed her the scroll and bowed hastily before fleeing.
"What is it?' Ty Lee asked curiously after giving her a moment to read it.
"A better option." Her mouth curved upwards into a vicious smirk. "We know the Avatar likes to play hero, I wonder if he can resist playing hero for an entire city?" She mused aloud.
"What are you talking about?" Percy asked her.
"Why it's simple Percy, we're going to conquer Ba Sing Se."
( - )
Percy was standing on an ocean. Waves crashing all around him, nothing else as far as the eye could see, no clouds in the sky or signs of life or land of any kind. Just blue sea and rolling waves.
"The Library."
Percy whirled around, searching for the source of the voice. The voice sounded familiar, where had he heard it before?
"Who's there?" He called out.
"Go to the Library." The voice was louder now.
"What are you talking about? What library? Who are you?"
All of a sudden Percy lost his footing, swept forward by an unseen force. The water beneath him turned to sand as rushed over miles of terrain. A seemingly endless sea of sand. He was stopped abruptly in front of what could only be described as a palace. It reminded him of pictures he had seen of the Taj Mahal in his world. The building was surrounded by a crystal clear lake and trees outside. An oasis in the middle of a desert. The entire thing was surreal.
"Go to the library of Wan Shi Tong." The voice whispered one final time. And then he woke.
Percy sat up straight in his bed gasping for air and covered in a thin sheen of sweat. He could feel the humming of the engine and the vibrations of the machine in his cabin. After he got his racing heartbeat down to normal he settled back into his cot, hoping for no more strange dreams with libraries and voices.
( - )
Azula was basking in the sun, unwinding after a vigorous training session. A shadow crossed in front of her, blocking the sun's warm rays. A scowl crossed her face as she kept her eyes closed and took a sip of her drink. Hopefully whoever was in front of her would rethink and walk away. Judging by the even breathing above her she doubted it. She cracked open her eyes to see her bodyguard standing above her, shirtless and dripping wet. Fuck he's hot. Azula choked on her drink as she sat up suddenly spitting.
Percy regarded his friend with a bit of surprise as he stepped back to avoid getting the drink spit on him.
Where the hell did that come from. Azula thought to herself as she caught her breath. Percy was not hot. Well, he was, but she was a princess, above such trivial things. She was not distracted by the water dripping down his abs. Not even a little.
The engineers had declared the engine was close to overheating and they were forced to stop. Everyone was just glad to finally stretch their legs. She distinctly remembered Percy claiming he was going to go find somewhere to swim. It appeared he had and had decided to return early. While she had to admit the view of the Percy was favorable, he was blocking the sun.
Azula reigned in her traitorous thoughts before speaking. "What do you want Percy? It's still hours before the engineers will be done and you're blocking my sun." She finished calmly.
Percy stepped to the side and bowed. That was Azula's first warning that something was off. Percy never bowed. "I have to go." He announced in a serious tone.
Azula looked at him skeptically. "You can go wherever I said we had hours didn't we?"
"No. I mean I have to leave."
The princess narrowed her eyes once his meaning became clear. She searched his face for any hint of why. Percy squirmed slightly under her intense gaze. She noticed the small bags under his eyes and the slight slump to his shoulders. He looked tired even though he'd just been swimming, something that always invigorated him in the past. She knew he hadn't been sleeping well recently, but she hadn't known it was this bad.
"What are you talking about?" She asked him cautiously.
"We're close to the Si Wong desert and I was talking to the engineers, you're gonna have to go around it. The machine won't work in all that sand, but I need to go in there. I'll cut right through it and meet up with you at the other side or at the drill. It shouldn't take long and you're not gonna be doing any fighting until the attack anyway so it's not like you need me right now." Percy said in a rush, trying to get everything out.
"And why do you need to go to the desert?" She asked.
"I... I just do." Was his answer. He gazed at her with the cute baby seal face hoping that would be enough of an explanation for her. It wasn't.
"That's not good enough. Wasn't it you who just lectured me about trust a little bit ago? It goes both ways, Percy. You can't just abandon me for no reason and expect me to be okay with it." She said angrily.
"Azula I'm not abandoning you! I just need to do this." He said, his voice rising slightly.
"What do you call leaving me in the heart of enemy territory? And 'you just need to' isn't a real reason." Azula was growing angrier at Percy's insistence to leave her. Her insecurities were shouting at her about this being just like everyone else.
"I'm not abandoning you. I won't take long and the only reason I don't want to tell you is that you'll think I'm crazy." He retorted.
"Try me," Azula responded dryly.
"A voice told me in my dreams to go to this library in the desert," Percy said with absolute seriousness.
"No."
"What?" Percy asked confused.
"No, you're not going to the desert because you had a bad dream." She said calmly.
"What no, it's not like that. Azula I need to go." His pleas had started to gain more force, slowly becoming demands.
Azula looked up once more at her friend. She took note of his squared shoulders, clenched jaw, and determined gaze.
He may be gentle but he had a backbone she had come to admire… most of the time at least. Now wasn't one of them. She knew just how stubborn Percy could be and how useless fighting him was when he dug his feet in like this. But Azula was stubborn too.
"And I need you here." She retorted.
Percy saw the stiffness in Azula's shoulders and he could hear the anger in her voice. Azula didn't get upset often, but when she did it was never pretty. Percy softened his voice looking at this from her perspective. To her, it did look like he was abandoning her for no good reason. While Percy didn't truly know the extent of Azula's fear of abandonment, he did understand it was a sensitive issue. He wasn't completely oblivious.
"Azula I'll never leave you. My place is by your side, kicking the asses of your enemies and cracking jokes." He reassured her, "But I have to go. I've never asked you for a favor or anything in all the time we've known each other. You know this. But now I'm asking you for this. Please let me go and I promise I'll come back to you." The swordsman spoke as if reciting a solemn vow.
"Fine go." Azula ground out through gritted teeth. She knew if she ordered Percy to stay he'd probably just run off at night. "But if you don't come back to me I'll kill you. Even if you're already dead."
Azula was the greatest liar Percy knew. Maybe the best in the world. She had no tells, no stutter or hesitation, she always made eye contact. Not even the Fire Lord himself could tell when she was lying anymore. But with Percy, Azula's lies always seemed easy to spot. Azula herself had once commented that she felt a certain pressure around Percy she didn't feel around even the Fire Lord when lying.
Percy knew she was lying now too. Her threat was empty but that didn't mean Percy wouldn't take it any less seriously. He would come back to her, he was a man of his word.
( - )
"Do you have enough food and water?" Azula questioned as Percy was checking his bags again.
"Yes, I have plenty of food and water." He answered, slightly exasperated with how she was seemingly mothering him.
"And you have Riptide and your dagger?"
"Oh no, I must have forgotten them strapped to my back and waist that you can see plain as day." He said sarcastically.
"Cut the sarcasm." She snapped. Azula then sighed tiredly, "I don't like you going on your own like this."
"Hey, I can take care of myself." Percy defended.
"I highly doubt that Percy. You can barely navigate the palace without me and you've been my bodyguard for over three years now.
Percy's only response was to roll his eyes dramatically, showing his extreme maturity. Azula shoved a small chest the size of a loaf of bread into his hands.
"What's this for?" Percy asked, opening it to reveal two scrolls and a pouch of gold.
"The gold is for you to pay someone to take you across the desert. Trying to make the journey on your own is suicide. Don't give them all of it, a third should be fair, but they'll probably make you pay half. One of the scrolls bears the royal seal as well as my signature. Show this to anyone from the Fire Nation and they will provide any assistance you require." Azula explained.
"Wow...thanks Azula," Percy said with his trademark lopsided smirk. "What's the other scroll for?"
"That's your identification papers. I had them drawn up before we left the capital."
"Why do I need identification papers?"
Azula sighed mildly, annoyed, and amused by her bodyguard's clueless nature. "Because you don't look like a Fire Nation, not to mention you're a waterbender. Any commanders worth their salt will think you're a spy and have you killed the second they lay eyes on you. These papers prove you're not lying. So don't lose them." Azula said firmly.
"But wouldn't people have heard of me? I'm the first waterbender in the Fire Nation military. They heard of me in Yu Dao." Percy reasoned.
"Yes, most Fire Nation people have probably heard of the waterbending bodyguard of the princess. The only thing is they'll expect the bodyguard of the princess to be travailing with the princess. When they see you're not then they'll assume you're not who you say you are. So as I said before. Don't. Lose. It." She said punctuating the last three words with three firm pokes to his chest.
"Yes, your royal highness," Percy said with an exaggerated bow. Azula rolled her eyes at him.
"Be safe and come back quickly. I still don't like this."
"I'll be so fast you won't even have time to miss me," Percy said confidently.
"Who said anything about missing you? I just don't want to have to find a new bodyguard." Azula teased playfully. At least Percy was pretty sure she was just teasing.
Percy turned and said a brief goodbye to Mai and gave Ty Lee a strong hug, before turning back to Azula wrapping her in a hug as well.
"Just be safe you idiot." She mumbled into his chest. Watching as he shot her his trademark smile, her stomach did a flip as he settled atop the ostrich horse and set off towards the desert.
"I'll bet fifty gold pieces he gets lost or loses his papers," Mai said quietly.
"That's a fool's bet. I remember during his first few months as my bodyguard when he overslept. He sprinted throughout the halls without his armor to make it to my door on time. The palace guards weren't used to him yet and thought he was some sort of spy running around. I walked out my door to the sight of Percy being dragged off for the dungeons. I'll put 100 gold pieces on him losing both scrolls." Azula replied with amusement.
Ty Lee laughed in amusement, "I'm with Azula, Percy always loses stuff."
"No bet," Mai answered quickly, unwilling to bet on Percy's unseemly combination of terrible luck and talent for losing important things.
( - )
Percy was trudging through the desert sands of a small village. He was oblivious to all the attention he was receiving from many of the town's rougher occupants. Attention focused on his expensive-looking armor, bulging packs, and ostrich-horse.
The demigod was too absorbed in his own mind to notice all the people focused on him. He was scanning the town, trying to match it to the one he saw in his dreams as he flew over the desert. He was reasonably satisfied that this was probably the right place, like 60% sure. He began making his way over to the nearby tavern to find some locals to take him over the desert.
His nose was assaulted by the pungent scent of strong liquor and unwashed bodies. Percy walked up to the bartender having seen enough cowboy movies to know he was always the guy that knew where to find a guy to do a thing.
"What do you want, kid." The bartender asked, gruffly fingering his Dao swords. His eyes dipped down taking note of the Fire Nation symbol on the money pouch. He started to sweat and fidget. "Hey, we don't want any trouble from the Fire Nation alright. We're just a small desert town and we have no part in the war." He said nervously.
Percy looked at him strangely before brushing off the bartender's strange attitude. "I'm just looking for a way through the desert. Is there anyone who can help me with that?"
The man visibly relaxed at his comment. "Yeah sure. I suggest asking the sandbenders by the door, they're as honorable as they come around here. The ones in that booth table over there will rob you blind in a second." He said nodding towards a few men wearing face wraps by the door and pointing out the others tucked away to avoid. "They'll be able to take you wherever you need to go to the desert but it'll cost you." He warned him.
"That's not a problem. Thanks for your help. I appreciate it." Percy replied, flipping him a coin as he walked towards the benders.
After a brief exchange with the sandbenders, Percy had lost half his gold but had secured passage across the desert in one of the sand skimmers. Unfortunately, he had to leave his mount behind as the sand skimmer couldn't accommodate him. Percy sold the mount to a kind old man playing Pai Sho in the corner of the tavern before returning to the sandbenders.
"We have to go that way," Percy said as he pointed in the direction his gut was telling him and looked familiar from his dreams. "And I'll need to make a stop partway through the desert."
"Alternate routes and stops will take more time. More time costs more gold." One of the sandbenders said with a toothy smile, revealing far too few teeth.
"Fine." Percy consented, handing him the money he had just got from selling the ostrich horse.
The sand bender grunted in appreciation as he shoved the gold under his tunic. It wasn't long after that they were on their way, moving through the desert like a boat across water. The similarity to being on a boat should have comforted Percy but being on a boat without water felt wrong. Maybe it was just the lack of water getting to him. The desert was the farthest Percy had ever been from his father's domain. Or it could just be a heat stroke. Percy didn't care, the feeling of relief and anticipation overpowered almost everything else. He was so close to finding out what these dreams were really about. This was the only time in his life he'd been excited to go to a library.
( - )
They had been traveling for what seemed like ages to the ADHD demigod but what was most likely not too long, when he felt it. It was hard to describe, like a sense of familiarity or nostalgia. Whatever it was, he knew he was close. It felt like it was pulling him to the left.
"Go that way. To the left." Percy pointed getting the sandbenders attention. As they created a large dune Percy finally saw it. Well, part of it. The oasis was still there but the only thing visible of the great library from his dreams was a massive spire poking out the desert sand. He almost lost all hope until his keen eyes caught sight of a window at the top of the tower. I've gone this far, might as well see what's left of it. Percy thought to himself as he clambered off of the sand skimmer.
The sandbenders called out to him nervously. "This is a spirit oasis. Bad spirit inside." One man pointed towards the spire.
Percy smiled before showing the sandbenders just what he could do. He reached out with his senses, the crystal water felt different, it almost seemed to hum with its own power. The sandbenders gazed, slack-jawed as nearly the entire lake rose on his command. "Wait here for me. I'll be back." Percy commanded the sandbenders who were staring at him. He pulled the water out of his water pack on his back and made a rope, pulling himself up to the opening.
Percy moved through the window. Carefully using his water rope, Percy began his descent into the library.
With a thump Percy jumped the last few feet to the walkway underneath him, finally taking in the sight of the massive structure. "Wow, that's a lot of books," Percy said to himself.
"Why thank you. I'm quite proud of my collection." The voice came from behind the demigod. It sounded old and powerful. Percy turned around to see a massive owl towering over him.
The owl took a step closer to the demigod. "Hello, sea spawn. I've been expecting you."
( - )
Author Note - Alright everyone so this is the end of chapter 9 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.
- The gaang learns more about Percy and Azula. I enjoyed writing Zuko and Iroh critiquing the group, especially Katara. She's a great character but she acts like she's the only one who's lost anything in the show. Aang has lost his entire people. Zuko has lost his former life and family. Sokka shares the same mother and Katara just blows up at him saying he doesn't love her like she did. It's extremely shortsighted and childish, hopefully, this conversation has opened her eyes more to other's suffering besides her own.
- A little Percy and Azula moment as they argue back and forth. They're both too stubborn and naive to admit that they don't want the other to leave them, especially Azula since she has problems with that.
- Finally, please leave a review, guys! I try to respond to all the reviews that have an account that will let me message them on. A follower or favorite would mean a lot too. Don't flame me too hard, I'm always open to advise on being a better writer.
Duces
