Fight 32: On the trail

Appa landed on a dried up cove of the Nan Shan River. Aang, Katara and Sokka unloaded the baggage. Toph climbed down and walked a little. She was happy they had picked a great campsite where the grass was so soft. But Sokka contradicted her. That wasn't grass, but fur. Appa was shedding. Katara found it gross. Aang disagreed. It was just a part of spring, like rebirth, flowers blooming, and Appa getting a new coat. She sarcastically praised the beauty of spring but could no longer pretend as Appa sneezed, trying to get rid of the fur on his tongue blowing more fur everywhere. The waterbender coughed and waved her arms to stop Appa from covering her in hair even more. The boys were having fun though, making wigs and beards out of fur. Unamused, the Water Tribe girl stared at them and noted she was just glad to finally have another girl in the group because they were disgusting. But then Toph was exactly the same as these two as showed when she asked for a razor because of her 'hairy pits' full of white hair that she displayed. The three burst out laughing, until Aang gave one of his powerful airbending sneezes, blowing all the fur on him and his friends away and thrusting him back into the bison's leg and then falling face down on the ground. Now fur was sticking to his back like the spines of a hedgehog. They laughed again. Even Katara could not help but chuckle slightly, glad that they were getting along well.

Night was falling. Aang was setting the tents, Katara fetching the water and Sokka the firewood. And while everyone was working for the common good, only Toph was lazying around against a rock with her legs crossed, arms behind her head, munching some straw. Katara tried to explain that when setting up camp, work was divided between everyone and everyone had to participate. Even Momo did his fair share. But since Toph didn't need anyone to help her, she didn't understand why she'd need to help them with commodities she wasn't going to use. Why was Katara being so insistent? What was the problem?! But since the waterbender didn't want things to degenerate and waste time explaining such basic rules of community life, she just left with an aggravated 'nevermind'. And Toph, just as irritated, returned into the stone tent she had earthbended.

As they were finishing the preparations for the night, Katara, who had calmed down, tried to reconcile with the earthbender. She apologized. Since they were all a little tired, they kept getting on each others' nerves. Toph agreed that Katara did seem pretty tired, vexing her. The female Water Tribe member had meant ALL of them. The little one cut the conversation short with a goodnight and lied down on her chest. The waterbender half-heartedly bid her goodnight too and walked away.

Well into the night, everyone was sleepling. Suddenly, Toph woke up and gasped. She carefully felt the vibrations in the ground and came out to alert the others. Something was coming towards them! They woke up. The siblings emerged from the tent. The blind girl couldn't exactly figure out what was after them but anyway they chose to leave. Better be safe than sorry. Aang and the Water Tribe members squinted their eyes, trying to see their pursuer from the saddle. There was a dust cloud coming their way beyond the trees. It was created by a large tank made up of two connected compartments like a train and mounted on treads. It had a stream-lined and dangerous-looking shape with two harpoons and smoke smoke pouring out of its smokestack. It was moving very quickly for its size.

Appa kept flying. The humans all had bags under their eyes. Then he finally descended onto a hill. As soon as his six paws touched the ground, Toph jumped out of the saddle and laid flat on the ground. The other three climbed out as well.

"Ahh, land, sweet land!" She rejoiced. She bolted back up. "See you guys in the morning!" She had barely made a step that Katara requested that she helped them unload.

"Really? You need me to help unload Sokka's funky-smelling sleeping bag?" Her face clearly showed of how much of a pain she thought it was. Sokka sniffed, and twitched in disgust, keeping his bag at arm's length.

"Well, yeah. That and everything else. You're a part of our team now and—"

"Look." Toph irritatedly pointed at Katara. "I didn't ask you to help unload my stuff. I'm carrying my own weight." She argued. Her hands on her hips, the waterbender retorted it was not the point. Then she marched towards her, her hands curled into fists. Ever since joining them Toph had been nothing but selfish and unhelpful! "What?! Look here, sugar queen, I gave up everything I had so that I could teach Aang earthbending, so don't you talk to me about being selfish!" The earthbender shot back as she quickly made a tent around herself.

"Sugar Queen?!" Katara exclaimed, enraged. Toph just closed off her rock entirely in response. The discussion was finished. "D-Did you just slam the door in my face!? " She moved around, hitting and kicking the stone tent as Sokka, Aang, and Momo watched on. "How can you be so infuriating! " She kept rambling. The monk wondered whether they should do something but Sokka was just enjoying the show. Still, the Avatar could not take it and tried to solve things saying they both needed to calm down. "Both...?! I'M COMPLETELY CALM!" The waterbender turned back to him with a hysterical face. Aang had instinctively stiffened in fear. He recovered.

"I... can see that." He stammered frightfully and retreated back to a safe distance.

Later that night, Aang, Sokka and Katara were lying on the ground, the latter two in sleeping bags. The girl was staring at the sky.

"The stars sure are beautiful tonight..." The girl commented. Her brother, annoyed, covered himself with his bag to drown out the noise. "Too bad you can't see them, Toph!" She taunted meanly, turning towards the earth tent. The blind child retaliated by causing Katara and her sleeping bag to fly up and drop on Sokka, knocking the wind out of him. He placed his sister between him and Aang and yelled angrily. How was a guy supposed to sleep with all this yelling and earthquaking?! But then Toph lowered her 'door'. That thing was back! Sokka covered his head again, hoping to get a few minutes of sleep depending on how far it was. But from the smoke in the distance, it was way too close for comfort. They had to leave now, and so they did. But seriously, what was that thing ? And how did it keep finding them? Sokka was far from such concerns as he had already gone off to sleep from his snoring. Aang, however, intended to make sure to lose them this time.

The bison flew and flew, passing mountains, forests, before finally landing atop a platform on a ridge. When he did, he simply fell over on his side from exhaustion, spilling out the company in his saddle. Aang, Katara, and Toph just stayed lying where they fell. Only Sokka unrolled his sleeping bag and stuffed himself in it. Forget about setting up camp. He was going to sleep on the softest pile of dirt. His sister acerbly remarked it was good because Toph wasn't going to help anyway.

"Oh, I didn't realize baby still needed someone to tuck her in bed." The earthbender retorted.

"Come on guys, there's something after us and we don't even know what... or who it is." The Avatar covered his head with the top of his shirt, muffling his voice. Katara suggested it could be Zuko as they hadn't seen him since the North Pole. It was strange for him to keep this quiet. Toph asked who Zuko was.

"Oh, just some angry freak with a ponytail who's tracked us all over the world." Sokka replied boredly.

"What's wrong with ponytails, ponytail?" Katara jokingly questioned. The young man pointed at his hair, saying this was a warrior's wolf tail. "Well, it certainly tells the other warriors that you're fun and perky!" She lay back down. Anyway, whoever was chasing them couldn't have followed them here. But again, their wish wasn't granted. Those people had managed to track them all the way over here given the difficult terrain. Toph could feel it with her own two feet. There was no mistake.

Aang ran to the ledge to get a better look and saw the machine crawl onto the ridge and approach. The others had also come to see. Katara wanted to get out of here but the Avatar suggested facing them to find out who their identity. Maybe they were friendly. Sokka slumped and sighed at his friend's usual optimism. Suddenly, the vehicule stopped. The side of the last compartment opened and three women riding giant lizards came out. The monk and his friends were stunned to see the three girls from Omashu, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee. The trio charged up the path. The four of the Avatar team took battle stances.

"We can take 'em! Three on three!" The earthbender was eager to fight.

"Actually, Toph, there's four of us." Sokka reminded her.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't count you. You know, no bending and all..." She teased him.

"I can still fight!" The nonbender shouted at her, dropping his stance with a furious expression.

"Okay. Three on three plus Sokka." Toph conceded with the same tone and smile, causing Sokka to growl furiously, his face red. Then she initiated the attack, causing large rocks to erupt before the assailants who simply rode over each one. Anyhow, now they knew who was after them, it was time to hit the road. Everyone but Toph ran back to Appa. She stomped the ground and a large wall of earth rose up to block the path. Azula blasted a large hole inside it with her lightning and the pursuit continued. The earthbender was frozen in amazement. Mai shot her arrow-like darts. The little girl earthbended the ground under her, it sprang up, propelling her upward. The arrows hit the rock. Toph landed in the saddle and the bison took off, avoiding a blast of blue fire from Azula.

Katara couldn't believe those three had followed them all the way from Omashu. Toph still thought they could've taken them but the waterbender, more than the crazy blue firebending and the flying daggers that were already bad enough, was scared of the one who did something that took her bending away.

They kept flying. And then, the sun rose. Sokka wanted to cry. They had been up all night with no sleep. Aang tried to reassure him, without any convincing power. The warrior of the Water Tribe, who had never gone without sleep, was growing crazier by the minute. The problem was that those girls were there every time they landed, so they had to keep flying, but Appa couldn't do that. The bison was reaching his limits too.

Azula's tank sped through the grassland at incredible speed, its treads leaving deep and distinctive marks. She was closely followed by Zuko on his ostrich-horse. He looked very determined. And since he couldn't see spirits, he was unaware that both his and Azula's movements were being regularly watched by a girl with mahogany hair riding a golden dragon. And he couldn't see the dread written all over her face. The spirits returned to the body. Chenlian stood up and mounted the eel hound. She had to go back to Iroh.

The airbender yawned and asked what the plan was. Toph slumped down, too tired to think. Katara was sure they'd come up with something after a short nap. Her brother couldn't agree more. But suddenly, they felt themselves levitating... and then plummeting. They clung to each other and the saddle. Appa had fallen asleep and was nose-diving. Aang crawled down the bison's forehead to look him in the eyes. He yelled at his buddy to wake up but it was useless. They were going to crash at any moment! Still, Appa managed to force himself awake and stop the fall. He swerved into the fir trees. The humans on his back were almost blown away by the branches. That slowed him down a little and he made a crash landing, leaving a large trench on the ground. And he fell asleep the very same second. They were right next to the river. The four came down. Appa was exhausted. They had put a lot of distance between them and those women. So now they should follow Appa's lead and get some sleep. Katara noted that of course, they could have gotten some sleep earlier if Toph didn't have such issues. The earthbender, who was already lying down on her belly, suddenly sprang up and slammed her hands on the ground, cracking it a little.

"What?!"

"Alright, alright! Everyone's exhausted. Let's just get some rest." Aang tried to defuse the conflict. He just wanted to sleep, and surely, everyone would feel better if they had some sleep.

"No! I want to hear what Katara has to say. You think I have issues?" Toph stood up.

"I'm just saying, maybe if you helped out earlier we could've set up our camp faster and gotten some sleep and then maybe we wouldn't be in this situation!" The waterbender's placid face was full of annoyance and sarcasm.

"You're blaming ME for this?!" The gamine approached menacingly. The older one
threw her sleeping bag and waved her hands in a 'bring it on' gesture. Aang stepped in between them and tried to stop the fight again. Katara was not blaming her! But the Water Tribe girl contradicted him. She WAS blaming her! Toph walked up to the accuser, hurtling the Avatar out of her way. "I never asked you for diddly doo da. I carry my own weight! Besides, if there's anyone to blame, it's sheddy over here!" She pointed an accusative finger at the sky bison, angering Aang this time. You wanna know how they keep finding us ? He's leaving a trail everywhere we go!" She grabbed a bunch of hair from Appa's side and opened her palm to let it blow away in the wind.

"How dare you blame Appa! He saved your life three times today! If there's anyone to blame, it's you! You're always talking about how you carry your own weight, but you're not! HE is! Appa's carrying your weight! He never had a problem flying when it was just the three of us!" The monk jumped down to shout at his earthbending teacher. She stood there for a moment before walking to her bag that flew into her arms due to her bending.

"I'm outta here." She said simply and started leaving. Sokka ran in and blocked her path, asking her to wait, but she just removed him and started walking again.

However, it wasn't long before Aang and Katara realized what they had done and deeply regretted it. Because they had shouted at her, been mean to her although they were just trying to get used to each other, the Avatar's earthbending teacher had left. Sokka agreed they were pretty much jerks. His sis thanked him. He replied with a 'no problem'. Anyhow, they needed to find her and apologize. They also still had that other problem, the tank full of dangerous ladies chasing them. Aang had a plan though.

They washed Appa in the river. Aang and Katara were on each of the banks using waterbending to splash the bison's back with spouts of water while Sokka and Momo were scrubbing. When they were done, the animal came out, its wet coat no longer fluffly but hanging heavily. They had also gathered most of the fur on the ground. Since those girls were following the fur trail as Toph had said, then he was going to make a fake one to throw them off. Since Appa was clean, he could no longer leave a trail. And he'd be okay to fly as long as they left the saddle and all the stuff here. The bison took off with the Water Tribe siblings and Momo, but the fatigue made him hit the closest tree tops that broke off and fell. Aang soared with his glider and headed to another direction, hair falling from his bag full of fur.

Toph was walking alone in the wilderness. Then she sensed something and caused a rumble of earth to jet across the ground and hit a nearby rock. A dust cloud emerged behind it and a grunt is heard. She jumped on the rock and took a fighting stance. Iroh was there, lying on the ground, massaging his behind, his hair and beard no longer nice and tidy, but long, shaggy, and unkempt.

"Ohhh... That really hurt my tailbone." The elderly moaned in pain. He looked back at who had struck him.

"Iroh! I know where he's heading! We must do something or things will get- Ah!" Chenlian suddenly arrived and stopped her mount. She had recognized the girl as the earthbender accompanying Aang. Of course, she had kept tabs on them too. But why was she here alone? Something must have happened while she was looking for Zuko. Geez, Azula was tracking Aang, Zuko was following her trying to pull the carpet from under her and Aang had let go of his earthbending teacher... Anyway, she had to know more... "Looks like we have a guest." She smiled as she dismounted.

In the river, 'wads of wet fur' (as Mai 'delightfully' put it) were still floating about or clinging to rocks. Azula took some with her clawed hands and examined it. Ty Lee disagreed, they were not wads, more like... bundles... or bunches... She was looking for the word with the 'uh' sound when Mai said 'clumps'. Delighted they had found the right term, Ty Lee repeated it and grabbed her friend around the neck, holding her tight. The knife user held her back awkwardly. She had never been the touchy-feely type, and thus not a big fan of hugs, unlike the former circus girl . Azula examined the track of fur on the ground. She looked at the direction it was heading to, then at the surroundings, and notably the broken tree tops. She turned to address her her comrades.

"The Avatar is trying to give us the slip. You two head in that direction and keep your eye out for the bison." The princess pointed at the tree tops and then walked to the furry path. "I'll follow this trail." And a moment later, the three women mounted their lizards and rode their own way.

Aang left the forest for the desert and landed at the entrance of a ghost town and folded his glider. He walked up the main drag. The buildings were all damaged and there was debris everywhere. Shutters flapped desolately, a bell hanging on a porch rang in the wind. Such a forlorn place. He shook the last bits of fur out his bag and prepared to leave before changing his mind. He turned to look back at the trail he had left, and after a time, sat down and waited for his pursuers.

Exhausted, Appa was flying low and slowly right above the trees. Katara was holding the reigns and Sokka and Momo were on the bison's back, looking around for Toph who couldn't have made it too far. Suddenly, the lemur screeched. Alerted, the boy looked in the back and down and with horror saw Mai and Ty Lee hot behind them. How did they find them?! The waterbender shook the reigns. However, instead of going faster, Appa angled downward. He was too tired. They noticed a river just ahead. It was actually still the Nan Shan River they had more or less followed. They only had to make it across! The sky bison broke off some more trees as he descended. The siblings encouraged him. Just a little further! Mai threw stilettos at Sokka who avoided. Appa plowed into the river and into the far bank, leaving a deep trench in the earth. When he stopped sliding, he was already asleep. But at least, they had made it! They were safe!

The pair hugged but their joy was short-lived as the lizards rose up on two legs and ran across the water. Katara launched a huge wave at them that hit Ty Lee's mount, but the acrobat jumped gracefully off before she got washed away and landed among the nearby trees. She hopped from tree to tree. Katara opened her waterskin and tried to whip the Fire Nation girl who landed in front of her but was instead forced to dodge several strikes and gain distance to attack. The waterbender then launched several sheets of water at Ty Lee who easily avoided them with a few somersaults. The knife thrower reached the bank too and shot several stilettos at Katara but Sokka stepped in and destroyed them with his club and boomerang. He hurled his boomerang at her. It missed as she jumped off and launched more stilettos at the guy who broke them too. Mai changed target and charged at Katara.

Ty Lee did the same and with a ruthless grin, did a series of somersaults and leapt into the air. She came down right behind Sokka and rendered his right arm useless with a couple of quick jabs. He dropped the boomerang and turned to attack using the club in his left hand... to the same results. He tried to kick her, but she numbed his leg as well. She went for a punch and hurt her fingers because of his hard head butt. She pulled her hand back with an expression of great pain. Ty Lee glared at her opponent and recovered after a few seconds.

Katara ran over to a tree on the edge of the river but before she could waterbend, her arms were pinned to the tree by stilettos. She gasped, frightened, as she realized she was completely immobilized, at the mercy of her adversary. Sokka hopped and collapsed between his sister and Mai. Ty Lee coolly joined her friend, her fists on her hips.

"How ya doing ?" The boy inquired.

"Well, you know!" His sibling replied frenetically.

"I thought when Ty Lee and I finally caught you guys, it would be more exciting. Oh well, victory is boring." Mai crossed her arms and looked down in disappointment. But just as the words left her lips, a blast of air blew the Fire Nation girls. They screamed and fell into the river at a good distance. Sokka voiced his deeply heartfelt thanks to Appa who generously licked face in response. Mai and Ty Lee emerged from the river and rested on the bank. The former circus acrobat started wringing her braid out.

"Was it just me, or was that guy kinda cute ?" She asked her sullen friend's opinion.

In the ghost town, Aang was still waiting resolutely, staring straight at the setting sun. Azula approached on her lizard and dismounted once she reached the main drag. Now that she had caught up with him, he wanted to know who she was and what she wanted.

"You mean you haven't guessed ? You don't see the family resemblance? Here's a hint." She deepened her voice and hid her left eye to imitate a certain young man. "I must find the Avatar to restore my honor." However, the impersonation left the Avatar nonplussed. "It's okay. You can laugh. It's funny." She made a half smile. Not in the mood for laughs Aang asked what was going to happen now. "Now... Now it's over. You're tired and you have no place to go. You can run, but I'll catch you."

"I'm not running." The airbender stood up full of determination. The girl's smile widened slightly into a cruel one.

Toph and Iroh were sitting around a small campfire on a rock ledge. Chenlian was meditating further away. She and the old man had convinced the earthbender to travel with them for a bit. And now she had found out the Avatar's whereabouts, as well as the two Fire Nation young royals. Iroh poured tea for everyone. He offered the blind girl a cup, but she didn't take it immediately.

"Here is your tea. You seem a little too young to be travelling alone."

"You seem a little too old. That's why you're not travelling alone I guess." The child replied, finally accepting the cup. The elder laughed good-heartedly, admitting it. "Who is she?"

"My future niece-in-law, I hope. She's taking care of me while my nephew's away."

"I know what you're thinking. I look like I can't handle being by myself. That's why you two picked me up." She was contradicted though. He wasn't thinking that. "You wouldn't even let me pour my own cup of tea."

"I poured your tea because I wanted to and for no other reason."

"He poured my tea too. That's basic hospitality." Chenlian arrived and took the last cup. "Well that's also part of his personality. He's kind to everyone, especially women and children. And he's a great tea-maker." The praise made the old man laugh with false modesty.

"People see me and think I'm weak. They want to take care of me. But I can take care of myself by myself."

"You sound like my nephew. Always thinking you need to do things on your own without anyone's support. There is nothing wrong with letting people who love you help you... Not that I love you; I just met you." The old man laughed, and so did the Earthbender.

"Well, I was like that too in the past... until quite recently... until I met friends and people who led me to believe it was okay to rely on others." Chenlian chuckled softly. "You know the proverb 'a friend in need is a friend indeed'. In a group of friends, everyone is equal. You share the good, the bad, learn about each other; form bonds, and help each other out, for small or big things, and before you know it, you feel as if you've found your place. Of course it doesn't happen overnight. There will be frictions. You need to hang on to learn if it's really worthwhile. But once you know... it's truly a wonderful feeling."

"It does sound wonderful..." Toph trailed off wistfully. "So, where's the nephew?"

"We've been tracking him, actually." Iroh hung his head in sadness, and so did the female firebender. Toph wondered if he was lost. "Yes, a little bit. His life has recently changed and he's going through very difficult times. He is trying to figure out who he is and he went away."

"So... now you're following him."

"We know he doesn't want us around right now, but, if he needs us, we'll be there."

"That boy is very lucky, even if he doesn't know it." The blind one stood up. "Thank you."

"My pleasure. Sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life's true delights."

"No, thank you for what you said. It helped me." The little girl corrected. The two were glad. She picked her bag and began to leave before turning back briefly. "Oh, and about him... maybe you should tell him that you need him too." She advised. Iroh and Chenlian considered this as they took a sip of tea.

"I tried to do that though..." The amber-eyed girl whispered almost inaudibly. "Wait, won't you stay with us for now? I believe we're headed the same way." She then smiled mysteriously.

Aang and Azula were facing each other in the street of the desert town. She asked if he truly wanted to fight her. Suddenly Zuko burst into the street from an alley between the two. He quickly dismounted, and his ostrich horse scurried away. He threw his hat.

"Yes, I really do." He affirmed. His presence surprised the airbender.

"I was wondering when you'd show up, Zuzu." The princess pondered. Aang couldn't help but laugh a bit at the nickname.

"Back off, Azula! He's mine!" The Fire Lord's son demanded as he took a battle stance with his arms outstretched towards both his sister and the Avatar and keeping an alert eye on either of them.

"I'm not going anywhere." Azula retorted firmly, also assuming a firebending stance, smiling confidently. The monk fearfully got ready to defend himself. The three stared each other down for a time. Suddenly, the female launched a blast of blue fire at her brother, who managed to block at the last second with a wall of his own fire, though the force of the impact still knocked him to the ground with a crash. Aang took advantage of that to try and escape to the air but Azula forced him down to the ground with a wave of blue fire. His back on the dust, the monk twirled his staff to dissipate the flames. Azula ran on a rooftop and landed just in front of him. The child fearfully rolled away and got up. However Zuko had recovered and was cutting his retreat. The firebenders launched blast after blast at Aang who whirled his way past her and back and away again, dodging them all.

Zuko attacked his sister with a fire-enhanced heel drop but she stepped away and put out his flames with her own. They avoided the other's following shot and the princess turned her attention back to the Avatar and chased him into the upper floor of a building... without knowing it had been bombed. Only the walls had remained. Inside, everything had collapsed and there was just a gaping hole into which she almost fell. Alarmed, she flailed her arms, trying to recover her balance. Before the opposite wall, Aang was sitting on an air scooter, smiling and waving at her. Azula managed to regain her stability using the narrow floor ledge at her left as foothold. She jumped and stood on a ledge next to the doorframe... unlike her older brother who rushed in head first like a bull and screamed as he fell and crashed down.

Aang could not afford to rest though. His air scooter was dissipating. The young woman fired several shots at him that missed. The monk jumped onto the ledge and ran along it and into her with his enhanced speed, knocking her off. She landed gracefully, ready for action, while Zuko was still struggling to get up. The airbender left the house from where he had entered it and jumped down into the street. A second later, the side of the building was blasted by blue fire and the exiled prince who collapsed in the dust. Azula attacked the Avatar who evaded each shot, jumping up between the walls of a nearby alley, scaling the buildings. When he reached the top of the building on the left, Azula sliced the corner off with a blast of fire. It caved in and fell, but he latched onto the remainder of the building. The female firebender sliced another part and this time Aang fell into the building along with the rubble. Encased by the debris, he could only watch as the princess entered the house and set the rubble around the room on fire.

Zuko's eyes fluttered open and he saw Chenlian's form bent over him. She smiled, relieved. He could feel the soft touch of her hand on his cheek. Then she looked away and left.

The monk tried to free himself, in vain. She advanced forward with a cruel smile. However, just as she raised her right hand to strike, Katara caught it in a water whip and yanked her backward. That same second, Chenlian crashed from the sky right between Azula and him and fired a blast at the princess who protected herself. Katara took advantage of the distraction to cut the wood beam blocking Aang who smiled and screamed their names elatedly. Azula whipped around and fired a few blasts at both Katara who ran away and Chenlian who blocked. Rather than face the Avatar and Chenlian, the royal firebender pursued the Water Tribe girl out of the building. As she passed the entrance of the next house, Sokka jumped out at her and tried to hit her with his club but missed. The airbender and the red head came out and they, Sokka and Katara were pushing her back. Sokka happily asked Chenlian what she was doing here.

"Just passing by, fetching some lost guy, helping some friends, picking a fight with the princess of the Fire Nation..."

Before Zuko's eyes, Chenlian's form was replaced by Iroh who told him to get up. The teen grabbed his uncle's hand and hauled himself to his feet. The princess and the four traded blows but it was clear that she was outgunned and falling back in an orderly fashion. Suddenly she lost her footing and fell forwards, revealing Toph behind her.

"I thought you guys could use a little help." The earthbender noted. Katara genuinely smiled and thanked her. However, while they were enjoying their reunion, Azula got up and ran away. She fired a volley at them and fled into an alley. She was looking back, smirking, obviously gloating innerly about her easy escape, and didn't even notice Iroh right in front of her, like a human wall, who shoved her with his belly. She bounced off, looking utterly confused. Sokka, Aang, Katara, Toph, Chenlian, Zuko and Iroh were closing in on the Fire Nation princess whose back was now to the corner of a burnt out building. She had no place to run.

"Well, look at this. Enemies and traitors all working together. I'm done." She raised her hands in a gesture of surrender. "I know when I'm beaten. You got me. A princess surrenders with honor." But then she noticed Iroh shifting his gaze momentarily from her to the girl with whom he had tea sometime earlier... so she was with the Avatar and his friends? Taking advantage of his distraction, she struck her uncle with a blast of blue fire square in the chest. He screamed and spun from the impact and fell, to Zuko's and Chenlian's horror. All benders fired at Azula simultaneously and Sokka threw his boomerang. The Fire Lord's daughter made a shield of blue fire, but the combined blows caused a tremendous explosion. Burning debris rained down. Roofs were on fire. But when the smoke cleared, Azula was gone.

Nearby, Zuko knelt in despair beside his uncle, who lay still on the ground. Chenlian was kneeling on the other side. Iroh groaned softly as the young man clenched his fist and teeth in rage and frustration. The others approached from behind.

"Get away from us!" The banished prince yelled. Toph looked watery eyed as she recognized the man she had befriended.

"Zuko, I can help!" Katara held out her hand.

"Zuko, we must accept!" Chenlian pleaded, grateful to Katara as she wasn't feeling too confident in her healing abilities right now. Even though she had practiced for that very purpose, to be able to do something in such circumstances, testing it so suddenly on someone so important with such an injury was somewhat unnerving...

"Leave!" The young man shouted, released an arch of fire over their heads. They ducked. The children looked at each other and called Chenlian. She smiled at them sadly and looked back at Iroh. She would have liked to follow them but now, she couldn't leave those two alone. They accepted her decision and ran away, leaving the firebenders amidst the burning ghost town.

Chenlian spread Iroh's shirt to see the wound and let her hands hover over it. She had practiced for that very moment... it was going to be fine... But then Zuko slapped her hands away and glared at her with deep resentment. Without the Avatar and his friends, things would have never become like this! It was their fault, and Chenlian's fault for siding with them! However, the shock bit back the pain. She snapped again and the punch left before she could control anything.

"What's more important?! Iroh or your pride?! We don't have time, yet you can't even let ME heal him?!" She yelled angrily before returning to the fallen old man. She was angry, upset, she wanted to cry but she had to calm down. She infused her chi in his body, repairing the damage, at least enough so they could move him. "If you can cry and rage, you can make a stretcher so we can move him to a safer place." The prince's eyes softened as he gazed at his uncle, at the care in the girl's expression. Once more, despite the way he had treated her, she had stayed for them, because she loved them... because she loved him... and even after everything... he loved her too. Was he unable to return to his father now? But he still had people he cared for. He had to help them. He stood up and went to search for wood and cloth that could be used to make a stretcher.

On Appa Aang and his friends returned to where they had left the saddle and their stuff and installed everything back. They flew to an inaccessible mountainside when the bison slumped and fell asleep right where he was. On the saddle, Sokka, Katara, Toph, Momo and Aang were sleeping in a line, the two girls in the middle.

Author's note: First, I want to thank all those who favorited this story and/or put it in their alert subscription list... as well as the two who voted for it on the poll ^^.

And since I heard it would be more practical for the readers if I put the titles on the scroll-down menu and I was nicely asked, I decided to (try to remember to) do that from now on. For those already posted, that'll wait til a later date.

Also, starting next chapter, there'll be more Zuko/Chenlian and from end of chapter 33 onward, more cuteness, fluff, lovey-doveyness... ;)