The sound of his two cousins shouting at each other wasn't something strange to Lu Ten, and he realised that that ought to be concerning him; even if he hadn't had a sibling when he was their ages, he understood that it was not normal to be as conflictive as they were. So, being the self-righteous cousin he was, he decided to intervene in Azula and Zuko's argument. All he had heard of note was something about his cousin's swords, and then something about firebending; they were arguing over who was the better fighter, from what he could tell.

Then he stepped down the hallway toward the courtyard where he could hear them shouting, he eyed their shadows that came through the openings between the pillars, telling him that they were moving around a fair bit. He certainly didn't want their argument to get violent; even if they were only nine and seven years old, respectively, he knew that they were both rather inclined to use their fists, their firebending, or a mixture of the two against each other. They usually didn't even spar each other, but rather, informally beat each other up; he was just glad it hadn't happened at a family meal, given how he could expect his uncle and grandfather to react.

When he made sight of them, he noted that there wasn't any flames, at least not yet, but his elder cousin had his dao swords slung over his shoulder; Lu Ten assumed he'd been practicing or at least wanted to, and then Azula had showed up, or perhaps it was the other way around, but he couldn't be certain either way. They were snarling at each other, and the younger of the pair looked ready to dish out some insults, when her expression shifted to one of surprise, as she noticed her cousin standing there. Zuko obviously noticed this, and turned around to see him too; his expression too changed, and he looked nearly ashamed, though he could see that his anger had clearly not subsided.

"Cousin." Azula mumbled, before she dropped her hands, which she had raised up toward her brother, as if she was ready to punch him, "Uh... what are you doing here?"

"Coming to stop you two from setting each other's hair on fire." he told them the blunt fact of the matter.

Zuko shrunk back, a cringed look appearing on his face, "Please don't tell Dad about this."

"I wasn't going to." he made a smile, trying to be as convincing as he could; he understood his cousin's fears when it came to his father, and he had no intention of telling his uncle about what he had just seen- he didn't really have to if neither of them hurt the other, "Okay, you can start with telling me why you were arguing."

"Why does it matter?" Azula snapped back at him, "Zuzu's just a little cry-" she began, before he raised his hand up; he didn't want her riling up her brother any more than she must've already by that point, so he hoped that by warning her, she wouldn't make that mistake.

He was surprised by what happened next, however; his cousin cowered back, almost reflexively and raised her hands up. She thought that he was going to hit her, and that did nothing to dissuade his fears; they only got worse upon making that realisation.

"I wasn't going to hit you, Azula." he stressed, his eyes wide with fear, "I wouldn't do that." he assured her, making her posture loosen, which assured him that she was no longer afraid; knowing that he still had to get to the bottom of the issue, he eyed Zuko, "Why were you arguing?"

"She thinks I'm bad at everything." he explained with an understandably spiteful voice.

"I never said that." Azula glared him down, crossing her arms; Lu Ten couldn't be sure if she was lying, so he decided to inquire on that very issue.

"Are you telling the truth? I won't be angry if you tell me." he assured her, the Princess scrunching her lips up.

"I said Zuzu was a bad firebender and that's why he spends his time with his swords." she explained to her cousin, who raised his chin up.

"Zuko is free to spend his free time doing what he wants. If he wants to practice his swordsmanship, then he can." he decided, arbitrating that issue rather simply, "So, Azula, could you try to not make him feel bad about it? I know that's probably just something your father has said. You can't just repeat everything he does."

She turned her eyes away, looking to be considering his words, before she nodded, her expression slightly uneasy, "He did say something like that." she admitted, "But he's not wrong."

"Do you want me to burn your face off?" Zuko snarled at her, both of his open palms filling with fire.

"Zuko, stop." Lu Ten demanded with a stern voice, and with that, the flames in his palms dissipated, "I know you're angry, and I can understand why." he admitted, "Azula, just because somebody says something doesn't make it true." he explained, his cousin crossing her arms, before she raised her chin up.

"So if you said Zuko wasn't not a good firebender, then I could say you're wrong." she decided, making him roll his eyes; for somebody whose feet didn't touch the ground on a raised seat, she was very good at deconstructing information, and in this case, to her advantage.

"Well, you're right there." he conceded, "But I'd still argue against what you've said to your brother. He is not a bad firebender. Everybody learns at their own pace. You're just a prodigy."

"So, I'm better." she declared, seemingly in triumph, her brother glaring her down, not seeming to be any angrier than he was before.

"I never said you weren't." Zuko admitted with a cold, spiteful voice, before stepping closer, "But I'll be better than you one day." he declared confidently, which seemed to amuse his sister.

"Oooh..." Azula raised a hand to her lips, "Did you hear that Cousin?" she sarcastically quipped, "He's gonna be better than me."

"Yeah, you think it's funny now." the young Prince noted, "But I'll show you one day."

"Agni Kai?" she simply asked him, her tone suggesting she'd think she would win in such a scenario; the elder Prince stepping between his two cousins, having had enough of their bickering.

"That's enough arguing. Nobody's fighting in an Agni Kai under my watch." he argued, "You can become a better firebender without trying to burn your sister's face off, Zuko." he warned his cousin, who turned away with an angry look on his face, "You think your rage will make you stronger? Anger is the tool of the weak." he decided to tell them something his father had told him once, which seemed to surprise his cousins.

"Did he just say what I think he just said?" Zuko turned around with a perplexed look on his face, Azula nodding with an equally confused expression.

"Yeah, I did." he stood his ground, eyeing them both, "If you get needlessly angry over petty things, then you lack self-control." he declared, "And self control-"

"Is the key to being a great firebender." Zuko finished his sentence for him, his expression softening, "That's what Uncle always says."

"Yeah, he does, and that's because he's right." he declared, before placing his hands together, "But if you get angry to try and make yourself stronger, you'll only make yourself weaker. Firebending is driven by the strength of your chi; your soul is what makes you a good firebender, and if all you have in your heart is anger, then it is hollow." he explained, the two of them looking at him with equally confused faces, even more so than before.

"Where did you learn that, Cousin?" Azula asked him, the Prince chuckling.

"Oh, I'd like to tell you, but I'm sworn to secrecy." he admitted; the answer was the Sun Warriors, but he wanted to keep the promise he had made to their chief, just as his father had- they could not speak of their existence, "True strength comes from passion. From a focus and determination that is unyielding."

"That's..." Azula began, before turning around, a look of surprise on her face, "Right."

"So, you do agree?" he asked her, his cousin nodding, before he turned to face Zuko, "And do you understand, Zuko?"

"I..." he mumbled, before smiling, "Thank you, Cousin." he admitted, before he turned his gaze to the hallway, "I need to- uh, go to lesson with my history tutor." he excused himself, before he began to pace away, "Bye, Lu Ten." he farewelled him with a small wave, before darting down the hallway.

Now, all of his attention could turn to his younger cousin, who seemed a little more interested than her brother, "You're smart, Cousin." she complimented him, making him chuckle.

"Oh, well, I guess my grades at school weren't too bad." he noted, before she playfully punched him in the arm.

"You know a lot more than that dummy." she noted, "Maybe he'll get a little smarter if you teach him a few things." she added, making him chuckle.

"I guess I could." he acknowledged, before remembering what he ought to be doing, "I have to head back to the Academy in a few days."

"I know." she nodded, "I wish you'd come home more often. Nobody wants to spar with me." she added, making him smile.

"I could do that right now, but I don't want to make your brother jealous."

"He's going to class, who cares?" she shrugged her shoulders, before stepping back into the courtyard, "I want to try my forms out."

"When don't you?" he asked her rhetorically, before sighing, realising he'd just been dragged into sparring her, "I hope you got what I meant."

"Yeah, yeah, anger's for dummies." she raised a hand, "I've got to be cool."

"Cool-headed." he corrected her, "Not everything's a competition about being or looking the best." he warned her, the Princess pouting; she obviously had a more solid view about that topic that he'd have a lot less luck on changing.

"But that makes it fun."


Sokka could comfortably say he was afraid of two things, that being the Fire Nation, and an empty stomach; at that very moment, his gut was grumbling, and his eyes were focused on the smokestacks that emanated from the Fire Nation vessel they had been following for the past four days. Katara had suggested they sneak on at night, when it would be easier for Appa to land down without being seen, but he had immediately retorted her idea. The Fire Nation forces who had attacked Kyoshi Island were no joke; even if they got them when they were all meant to be sleeping, he was sure some of them would be on patrol, and even considering that, they had no idea where on the ship Aang would be.

The Fire Nation girl had taken him, and probably was doing terrible things to him; he didn't even want to imagine what it might be like being a prisoner of the Fire Nation, and he forced the thought of it away from his mind. The flying bison was keeping a steady pace, and though they could have moved even closer, he was sure that they had come to port; he could see other smokestacks, indicating they were near some kind of settlement. His instincts told him they ought to drop down and scout it out before trying anything. He knew that the sky-bison's presence would immediately alert their targets, who would probably come right for them; he had remembered something important from his warrior training- to be better than one's enemy was to be smarter than them. No matter how annoying he could be at times, he was going to do whatever it took to save his bald little friend.

"Why aren't we going right for the ship, Sokka?" his sister asked him, a question he expected.

"We shouldn't fight them on their home ground. There might be even more firebenders at that port." he warned her, "My instincts say we should be cautious. If we can, we'll sneak in, and then we'll break Aang out."

"What about the Fire Nation girl?" she asked him, "She's... dangerous. She can shoot lightning. your boomerang can't stop lightning."

"Neither can your waterbending, Katara." he retorted, making her cringe back, obviously realising that she wasn't in much a better position than he would be against their enemies; she wasn't very good at using her element, and even if she was, she couldn't stop the girl who could literally shoot lightning bolts out of her hands.

"Then how will we get to Aang without fighting her?" she asked, the Water Tribesman smirking.

"A diversion." he decided, "I'm sure Momo could help us out there."

"Sorry, you want Momo to distract the firebenders? They'll cook him for dinner!" she exclaimed, obviously not wanting the lemur to be put in harm's way.

"They won't. Momo's a smart little guy, but he's also good at annoying people." he added, "He'll do the job perfectly." he stressed, "And while everybody's distracted by the lemur, we can get on that ship and find Aang."

"If he's on it." his sister corrected him, "They might be taking him ashore. We have no idea where they're actually going, Sokka."

"Probably back to the Fire Nation. If Aang's their prisoner, then they'll want to put him in a place he can't escape. I'm imagining a scary fortress that doubles as a prison." he explained his thoughts on the matter, which earned a confused look from his sister.

"What?" she asked him, her mouth ajar as she considered his words, "How can you be sure?"

"Well, I can't be." he admitted, before turning his gaze ahead, focusing on the woodland they were quickly approaching; there was a clearing near the shoreline, and he pulled on the reins, knowing the sky-bison couldn't land on treetops.

They had to land, and then they had to find some place for Appa to hide snugly. Once they did that, they'd be able to get over to Aang, and get him out of whatever cell the Fire Nation had him locked away in. He was sure they could find him, and with that, he could feel at least a little confident in what they were about to do. As Appa settled down in the clearing, he glanced around, checking for places they might be able to hide the massive creature; the sky-bison seemed a little on-edge, however, and growled, turning around without Sokka having to touch the reins.

He raised a brow, a little confused by his reaction, "What's wrong, Appa?"

"Maybe they're already here." Katara considered with a dark, fearful voice, before grasping him by the arm, "Maybe we should get back in the air. If the Fire Nation comes to capture us, we might not be able to fight them off."

"You're right." he agreed with her, before grimacing, "But we have to find Aang. We can't just leave him there."

"I know, Sokka." she agreed with him, "It's just... maybe not here."

"Where is it going to be better?" he asked her, "Making our move when they're out in the open sea is worse, because they'll just attack Appa; what if he gets hurt and we don't have a way to get out?"

She grimaced, before nodding, "That's... that'd be worse." she concluded, before glancing around, "Where can he hide?" she asked, the Water Tribe teen shrugging his shoulders; he couldn't see anywhere obvious for Appa to go, other than perhaps toward the edge of the woods, which might cover him from any Fire Navy vessels that sailed by the nearby shoreline.

"I don't know." he admitted, "We'll just have to find somewhere for him to go." he decided, before climbing off of the saddle, taking his boomerang and club with him.

The sky-bison growled once more, which didn't make Sokka feel any better; suddenly, he heard footsteps in the distance, and he immediately drew out his boomerang. He narrowed his eyes, and waited for the footsteps to get louder;they were coming his way, and he noted Katara jumping down beside him.

"Somebody's coming." he simply told her, and she nodded; he turned his eyes ahead, and finally made sight of the enemy- a Fire Nation soldier, who immediately stopped when he saw the Water Tribe teens and the sky-bison behind them.

He raised his hands up, and he noted that the man looked hurt; he wasn't wearing a helmet, and his face was dirtied, "W-w-wait! Please don't hurt me!" he pleaded, "There's a bunch of crazy people, and they're coming this way!"

"Who?!" Katara pointed at him accusingly, the Water Tribe warrior stepping forward, ready to throw his boomerang; before he could do anything, a fire stream suddenly burst out of the woods, hitting the soldier over, before it moved closer to them.

"Ah!" Sokka cried out, jumping down to the ground with his sister; Appa growled out, having been hit by the flames, before he swung his tail around, creating an air blast, far bigger than any he'd seen Aang make.

The gust of the wind shook the trees, but a few moments later, another few fire streams came out of the woods, and the Water Tribe teens looked at each other with fearful faces. Neither of them could do much but watch as Appa growled out and set off into the air, moving away from them at once; Sokka could have tried to chase after him, but he knew it was far more dangerous to try that when a firebender might try to cook him alive.

"Okay, maybe we should have gone for the ship." he conceded his mistake, before tightening his grip on his boomerang, "I've got to remember Suki's training." he mumbled to himself, before glancing up past the fallen tree they'd laid down in front of, noting that there were a number of men in the woods, all of them wearing black; they didn't look like Fire Nation soldiers, and it made no sense for soldiers to attack another soldier.

He knew that he could fight them, but while they were at a distance, the enemy clearly held the advantage, and it was likely that they'd set some trees on fire, and the two siblings in the process. He glanced around, deciding that taking cover behind one of the nearby trees would best place him to throw his boomerang whenever he found a good angle on their attackers. He gestured behind them, toward a large boulder, lodged into the ground.

"Katara, go hide behind that rock. I'll hit them with my boomerang once they try to get to you." he explained, his sister grimacing before she darted backwards, leaping over the boulder and dropping down behind it, assuring him that at least for that moment, she'd be safe.

As soon as the flames lulled for a moment, making him assume they had to catch their breath, Sokka immediately moved to a nearby tree, noting that there were embers on it, and the leaves above him were starting to burn. The enemy was going to set the whole forest on fire if they weren't careful, and something told him they weren't intending to be careful in the slightest. The Fire Nation soldier who had been attacked first scrambled past the Water Tribesman, covering behind the log he and Katara had been hiding behind; he looked at the Water Tribesman with a panicked face, suggesting he had no intention to fight him.

He glanced past the trunk, and noticed that the attackers were getting closer; there had to be at least half a dozen of them, and that was just in his direct line of sight- for all he knew, they might be surrounded by firebenders. He was still perplexed why firebenders would be attacking the Fire Nation; perhaps they were criminals, but he couldn't be sure- all he knew is that they obviously didn't like Sokka, his sister or anybody else being around them. He grit his teeth, readying his boomerang, knowing that he had to throw it with precision, given there was little chance it would come back to him through the woods. He aimed at one of the firebenders, and was able to toss the boomerang right into his head, seemingly knocking him out.

He smiled, realising they couldn't have been that much of a threat if could knock them out, "Aha! take that!" he exclaimed, before he was quickly silenced by two men attacking him at once with their bending; he weaved out of the way of the attack, dropping down beside the injured soldier.

"You're not going to attack me, are you?" he asked the man, who remained silent, the nervous look on his face suggesting that he was far too worried about their attackers to consider the fact he was sitting beside a Water Tribesman- he didn't trust the Fire Nation himself, but he was willing to tolerate him for the sake of surviving the onslaught.

A firebender moved right toward them, and Sokka leapt up to his feet, swinging his club forward; he missed the enemy, but was able to block the subsequent fire blast that was sent his way. He then side-stepped the firebender, smacking the back of his hand with the end of his club. His cry of pain suggested at the very least, his club could hurt them, even if it wasn't much against actual bending. He then jabbed the attacker in the chest, his lack of armour helping Sokka throw him back, his head slamming into a tree trunk.

He was the least of his worries as he saw a man wielding two swords charge right at him, ready to cut the Water Tribesman to pieces. He readied his club in hand, and raised it up to defend himself, but to his luck, the enemy was distracted by a small fireball shooting him right in the head; the injured soldier could clearly still fight, no matter how afraid he looked. The Water Tribe warrior seized the opportunity, and tripped the attacker over as he tried to move on the Fire Nation soldier. He kicked the man in the chest, making him groan in pain, but Sokka had no time to relish in his small victory; he immediately jumped for cover, barely missing another fire stream sent his way.

"What would Dad do?" he mumbled to himself, unsure what he ought to do with such overwhelming odds; he could wait for the enemy to move to him, and hope that he was lucky enough to knock them out with his club, but he doubted that would work- there were just too many of them.

Suddenly, he heard a grunt of pain over to his left, and Sokka turned his gaze around, realising that his sister hbad picked up a number of pebbles, and was throwing them right into the heads of the firebenders. It was a surprisingly effective tactic, and all the snowball throwing she'd done as a little girl truly gave her a knack for it; of course, like him, she was forced to take cover behind a tree, forced to cower away from the fire streams that had been sent their way.

"Okay, that's smarter than covering." he admitted, his sister cocking a smirk as she heard his words; the fact she could feel confident in their situation was surprising, but he had no issue with it, "Go Katara!" he cheered her on, raising his club up; she smiled at him, before she readied a pebble in her right hand, ready to toss it.

She threw another rock, hitting one of the firebenders in the hand as he tried to move closer to her, and Sokka charged at him, ready to knock him out with his club; he didn't get the chance to make contact, as suddenly, the man was thrown back by a blast of air. He thought for a moment that it was Appa, but as he turned around, he couldn't help but smile. Aang, instead of being locked away in some cell, had somehow got to them right on time; he had no idea how he got off the Fire Nation ship he'd been stuck on, but he didn't care to ask.

"Aang!" Katara shouted out his name, seeming ecstatic to see him, though he didn't respond in kind.

Instead of speaking, he spun around in some weird airbending form- it was probably different to what he was used to given his hands were bound; he created a funnel of air which shot off into the woods, knocking down their attackers.

"Sorry, guys. I really should have got off that ship earlier." he apologised to them before turning his eyes to the Fire Nation soldier who'd been covering with Sokka, "Uh, what's this guy doing?"

"They were attacking him." Sokka clarified, "I... I'm confused." he admitted, "These guys have to be bandits or something."

"Why would there be firebending bandits in the Earth Kingdom?" Aang asked him, perplexed by the suggestion.

"That's exactly what I was thinking." he admitted, the young Air Nomad offering up his shackled hands, "Could you, uh, whack these open?" he asked him, the warrior gesturing to the log they had been covering by.

He placed his hands down, and the Fire Nation soldier shuffled away, "Y-you're the Avatar."

"Yeah, I am." he confirmed, before he looked up to Sokka, who readied his club in hand; he slammed it down on the shackles, which didn't seem to do much good.

"Oh, come on." he growled, frustrated that he couldn't break them before suddenly, he noticed a spark of light in the corner of his eye; he didn't have even a moment to react as an explosion suddenly appeared in front of him, throwing him into the air.

The weightlessness was an alien feeling to Sokka, but what was more worrying was the fact he felt heat everywhere, and was forced to close his eyes shut, fearing that he'd go blind from the flash of light that had appeared. A few moments later, he slammed into the dirt, and groaned as he heard a cracking noise; he didn't hurt that much, and assumed that it was just a tree branch breaking. Groaning with pain, he looked around for the source of his aches, and saw that his tunic and pants were torn up by whatever explosion had just occurred.

He couldn't see the source of it, but guessed it was the Fire Nation girl and her firebending- Azula was her name, he remembered, and all he could think of was getting away from her. He heard a gust of wind, and watched as the flames that surrounded him were snuffed out, and realised that Aang was already responding, on his feet and creating an even more powerful blast of air, which was sent into the forest ahead of them. He still couldn't see the girl, sure that she was hiding in the forest; she must have come after Aang, he deduced.

Sokka scampered back, his legs aching, but moving along despite the pain; he had to move, and he grasped Katara by the arm, helping her move along as she tried to limp away; they took cover behind the boulder he had first told her go behind, and Sokka noted that the Fire Nation soldier that was with them was still trying to get away, limping to their right, back in the direction of the port. Another deafening explosion went off, and he grit his teeth, not knowing what to do; the smoke cleared after a few moments, and he saw his sister covering her ears with both hands, with her face covered by a slathering of dirt.

He could hear ringing in his own ears, and silently hoped that he wasn't sent deaf before they escaped, and that was if they escaped. Glancing around, he saw Aang stood tall, and held a tree branch in hand, instead of his usual airbending staff; he awkwardly oriented it around, due to his bound hands, but was able to send an air blast into the woods. The Water Tribesman couldn't tell if the attack did anything.

"That Fire Nation girl just doesn't give up." he growled, the young Avatar looking his way with a nervous face.

"That's not Azula. That's the guy who killed the Fire Lord."


In Azula's opinion, sounds of explosions were never a good sign; she had no idea what was causing them, but she knew that Aang must have been involved, given how close he had been. She and her Imperial Firebenders, along with a detachment of troops from the Fire Nation base, had moved out at once after him; his airbending gave him a great advantage in terms of speed, but the fact there were patrols around protecting the military garrison gave her a glimmer of hope. It would be the greatest shame to lose the Avatar, but now she was more worried somebody had killed him; not because she felt any inkling of sympathy for the Air Nomad boy, but because his death would spell an end to her quest and the honour and respect that was meant to come along with its completion. Her father would think her just as incompetent as Zuko if she failed, and so, she decided she would not.

She was glad she had chosen to wear her armour, given she might end up in a fight with the Avatar, but she was frustrated by how much the weight was slowing her down. The woods were thick, and Anag's trail was practically nonexistent; she knew that she would just have to rely on the sounds of the explosions to find him. She heard another thundering boom, not too different to the sound of lightning; not the kind she created, but the real kind that made her tremble when she was a little girl. She questioned whether that was a good thing, even if it was giving her an indication to the Avatar's location; what could be causing such sounds was beyond her knowledge, but she had a growing fear it had to do with the assassins who had gone after her uncle.

She was assuming that the Fire Lord might be dead, and even if she hoped he wasn't, she stayed with that assumption; keeping her hopes up was an easy way to find a grave disappointment if the worst turned out true. What was worse was the suggestion somebody could even beat her uncle; the idea of who that person could be was something that truly made Azula afraid, something that was hard for her to admit, even in her head. She was running as fast as she could, loyal men by her side, and an intent to find the Avatar, and deal with whatever was going on; she truly hoped it was just a patrol that had cornered him, and not what she feared. The first thing that actually could qualify her concerns was saw was a soldier, clearly injured and fearful for his life; his eyes were wide and panicked, and he was limping- she couldn't tell how he got hurt, but the dirt over his legs and chest suggested he had been thrown to the ground.

He paced toward them, and gestured back the way he had come, "Turn around! Please!" he warned them, Azula raising her hands up, covering them with flames.

"What was it?" she asked of him, the demanding tone and her posture making him cower slightly, though he leaned over toward a tree to catch his breath.

"Firebenders attacked me, I ran, and then... then there were s-some... explosions. Explosions out of nowhere." he explained himself while panting, struggling to breathe; he glanced back the way he had come, "You have to run. Whatever it is, it's going to kill us." he warned her with a frenzied voice, before limping along past the Princess, who didn't stop him; whatever he had faced, he wasn't going to stick around to see it again.

"Your highness, perhaps we should hold back." one of her guards suggested, "This sounds dangerous. The Avatar is only a boy. Maybe whatever it is will take care of him for us."

"I'm not letting that little shit die after all the effort I went through to catch him." she snarled, before gesturing through the woods, toward a smokestack, which might have been created by the explosions she had been hearing, "We're going to find whatever's causing these explosions, stop it, and then we'll drag him back to the ship."

"What if it's... them?" one of her guards dared to suggest, "The assassins who went after the Fire Lord."

"Then we'll kill them all." she declared, raising her hand up to stress her point, "And that is no exaggeration. We will interrogate, but they will all be executed for their crimes against our nation."

Her guards took her words seriously, and immediately took form, the soldiers who had accompanied them doing the same; she would not give up, especially if she was about to face those responsible for her uncle's death, if he really was dead to begin with. He couldn't trust what had been told to her, because for one, there was no body; she would still go after the assassins no matter if he was dead or alive- they had tried to kill the Fire Lord, and for her to claim their heads would be as great an honour as capturing the Avatar himself. She did not slow her pace, but instead, hastened it; the quicker she got to the enemy, and found Aang, the sooner she would be back on the ship, with her prisoner in a proper cell. That's what he was asking for, after his foolish escape attempt.

The flames in her hands were intensifying by the second, and the heat was actually becoming noticeable; that's how she knew she was angry. Azula always had control, and when she didn't, she knew that she would be putting herself and everybody around her in danger. An enraged firebender was a danger to begin with, but when that firebender was the most prodigious one alive, that was a disaster waiting to happen. Of course, the disaster would be befalling those who dared to attack her uncle; she would make them learn that attacking the royal family was the quickest way to an early grave.

When she crossed over a small hillcrest, she came across a clearing, which was covered with embers and burning debris, not to mention what looked like small craters from what must have been some explosions. She was sure that they had come from the assassins, and not the Avatar, who she knew for a fact could only bend air. The Princess glanced around, and noted that Aang was standing off in the distance, with a stick in his still-bound hands, presumably replacing his glider staff which she'd seen him use on Kyoshi Island; what was more confusing was the fact that she could see his Water Tribe friends, who were covered with dust, cowering behind a rock.

"Azula!" he called out to her, waving the staff in the air, "Run!" he warned her, the Princess narrowing her eyes, immediately taking a defensive form, her guards pacing up beside her, ready to protect her from whoever was about to attack.

She didn't have any time to react, momentarily sighting a spark of light, before suddenly, an explosion appeared in front of her, the Princess raising her hands up to conjure a wall of flames in defence. For the first time ever, her bending was not enough; the feeling of weightlessness overcame her, and she and her men were thrown back, her head hitting the dirt behind her. She was dazed, and her ears rang from the booming sound of the explosion.

She heard cries of pain from her Imperial Firebenders, and then shouts as the soldiers behind her conjured fire streams, shooting them toward the enemy who had attacked them. She had no idea what was going on, other than knowing that she was not ready; she was ready to face Aang, that she was sure of, but to face whoever just attacked her, she was not. That was when it hit her like a brick wall to her face; her uncle might really be dead- if she had faltered to just a single explosion, then she couldn't imagine what had happened to her uncle.

"No." she refused to believe it, "Not again." she growled, the anger on her tongue unbridled; her father wasn't there to chastise her.

Pulling herself up from the dirt, she glanced up toward the men who were attacking, "More!" she demanded of them with a near scream; they needed to kill whoever created that explosion- otherwise, they would be dead themselves.

She pulled herself up to her feet, noticing some of the Imperial Firebenders were too injured to get up; she didn't try to help them, knowing there was one effective way to ensure the safety of all those she'd just led into battle. She would find the creator of the explosions, and kill them; she did not relent to create two fire streams in her palms, launching herself forward with speed. The disorientation she felt was the least of her worries as she moved toward the treeline, knowing in there was where the enemy awaited her; another explosion went off, and to her luck, it wasn't aimed toward her. She noticed that Aang was sending blasts of air into the woods, presumably to try and get rid of the attacker; instead of trying to get closer to her prisoner, she decided to just leave him be, knowing he was a good distraction.

She spun her hands around, and directed the fire streams into the woods; she had no qualms about setting the forest alight, and forcing the enemy to reveal themselves by escaping the flames. The young Avatar moved over to her, stopping the attack he had been making, before looking at the Princess. He obviously wanted her to free him from his bounds, but she wasn't going to have any of that; she kicked him away with a fire blast, throwing him off of his feet.

She would have given him a mocking comment, but she had no chance to, as a moment later, another explosion went off, right in front of her. Her flames were able to protect her somewhat, but the force of the blast threw her off her feet, slamming her back into a tree. It hurt enough that she cried out in pain, and slumped down, holding her hands up to maintain the wall of flames between her and whoever had just attacked her.

She turned her gaze around, and noted that the Water Tribe teens were looking at her with concerned faces; they looked at her as if she was about to try and kill them- she personally didn't care about them whatsoever, as long as they didn't intervene in her fight with the assassins. She was about to dismiss their presence entirely, but then the boy stepped toward her, with a dagger in hand; her eyes widened, thinking that he might try to kill her.

She was ready to burn his face off, but instead of trying to attack her, he put the dagger on his belt, and offered her a hand, "Can you use that lightning to hit whoever's trying to kill us?"

She pursed her lips upward, approving of that idea; she rose up to her feet slowly, noticing that there was a figure she could see through the burning forest. It was a tall imposing man, and even if she could only see his silhouette, that was all she needed to target him. She stepped forwards and spun her hands around, narrowing her eyes; if he was the man responsible for Iroh's death, she'd end him then and there. When she tried to conjure a lightning bolt, instead of the sparks flying out of her right hand, she created a small explosion, which threw her back once more, throwing her into the tree once more.

The ringing pain in her head was so distracting that she could barely make sense of her other sensations her body was experiencing. She noted that somebody had grasped her by the wrists, and she felt her back being dragged across the dirt, and she heard another explosion, presumably from the assassin, once again. Her wrists were still being held tight, and she felt herself lying against something hard- the boulder. She blinked a few times, trying to make sense of her blurry vision. She heard cries and screams as her Imperial Firebenders were burned and grievously injured by the explosions. A few of them were moving toward her and the Water Tribe teens, obviously wanting to retrieve her; her eyes widened, realising they had no defence against their enemy.

She raised her hand up, and shouted out the only thing she could think, "Run!" she demanded of them; if they died on her watch, that would be on her, and she would be unworthy of their respect, let alone anybody else's.

Her warning wasn't heeded, and another explosion went off, and smoke and dirt was thrown into the air, along with her guards; she covered her face, just realising she might have seen somebody die. After all the things her father had told her about strength, she realised that she was only human; she felt like throwing up at the suggestion of it, but she held the contents of her stomach down. Turning to face the Water Tribe teens, she decided that she ought to provide them with the only advice she could.

"You need to get out of here." she demanded of them, "This man will kill us all." she warned them, the Water Tribe girl turning to face her brother; she seemed worried, though whether it was for her own safety or that of Azula she couldn't tell.

She grasped her brother by the hand, and he continued to stare the Princess down, "Why would you sacrifice yourself?"

"Because I have an uncle to avenge." she simply declared with a snarl, and pulled herself up.

Before she could try and act on her words, Aang suddenly appeared in front of her; from what she could tell he'd just jumped over the boulder to take cover, and unlike her he was relatively uninjured- her kicking him away when he had tried to approach had been a blessing in disguise. He looked really concerned, and she didn't blame him for his fears; what she had just seen had made her want to turn and run, and she considered herself to be far more tough and determined than him. He put his hands forward once more.

"Please cut the shackles. If I can't airbend at this guy, then nobody will get away." he told her, the Princes raising her chin up; she knew she had to swallow her pride, no matter how much it made her feel like a weakling and a fool for willingly freeing her prisoner- she had to survive if she wanted any hope of taking him to the capital.

She swung her right hand forward, a blue torch of flames cutting right through his shackles, which broke open and fell to the ground, much to the Air Nomad's relief. He immediately spun his hands around, creating an air blast which shot forward through the burning woods, knocking the attacker right off of his feet. If she was an airbender, maybe she might have actually stood a chance against the seemingly indomitable opponent.

"Get out of here!" Aang demanded of her, the Princess raising a brow.

"I'm not-" she began to demand, before snarling, knowing that she at least owed him the chance to escape, given he was the only one capable of dealing with the assassin, "Fine." she agreed to his proposition, glancing up toward the soldiers who had been assisting her; many of them were injured, but a number remained on their feet, and sent out fire streams toward the assassin.

"Get on Appa, guys. I'll handle this." she heard the Avatar address his friends, who immediately moved away, obviously not wanting to be anywhere near the assassin if they could help it.

"Get my boomerang!" the Water Tribe boy spoke up as he dashed away, the young Avatar nodding, before he turned to face Azula.

"For what it's worth, thanks."

"I don't want your thanks." she retorted, rising up to her feet and clenching her fists; she was in pain, and she was about to run, so Azula had to reframe her actions.

She was going to find those responsible for her uncle's death, and she would teach them a lesson they'd never forget, "I want to get to the bottom of this." she decided, narrowing her eyes at the boy she ought to be dragging away in chains, "That's more important than capturing you."

"Uh- thanks, I guess." he smiled at her, before jumping into the air, sending another blast of air toward the assassin.

She immediately moved to her left, heading right toward the Imperial Firebenders who had tried to help her; she didn't know which, if any of them, were still alive, so she shook them by the shoulders, and all of them got up, much to her relief, though all of them were hurt and barely capable of walking.

"Y-your highness." one of them mumbled, struggling to get up to his feet; she grasped him by the shoulder and helped him up.

"Shut up and get moving. None of you are dying on my watch." she demanded, "I'm not that incompetent a leader." she decided, before snarling, gesturing up toward the hill crest, where she knew they'd be safe, "Go!" she demanded of them.

She began to help the guard along who, despite his best efforts, wasn't able to walk by himself. She felt ashamed for actually having to carry another man; it was below her, but even she could understand that it was necessary. Her uncle had taught her many things, and one of them was that she ought to respect her men, and if she did that, they'd respect her back. If she needed to hunt down a conspiracy against the Fire Lord's life, she'd need loyal and unwavering men by her side.

Glancing back toward Aang, she watched as he continued to pelt the enemy with air blasts; there was another explosion, though it was situated between him and the assassin. The silhouette began to move away, and she snarled, wishing that her lightning generation would work. She didn't know why it didn't, because she had never been told about ailments of firebending; she had never experienced them before, and the very idea that she could do so infuriated her. She couldn't be weak, because a weak Princess would be incapable of avenging her uncle, and bringing those perpetrators to justice; a weak Princess would die just like her cousin had, at the hands of devious savages. She would not make the same mistakes Lu Ten had, and she would be the Fire Lord he never had the chance to be.