Chapter 10 - The Sister
"How is that possible?!" exclaimed Katara as she rose to her feet in surprise. "How can someone just lose their bending?"
Zuko closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, attempting to summon his inner fire. He felt a flicker there, deep within. It was faint, dimly muted. Not completely gone, more like it was waiting. No matter how he tried to coax it, the flame wouldn't come when called. He snapped his eyes open and attempted to throw a punch of fire away from the campsite. The result was simply an extended arm hanging outstretched in the wind.
"Uncle always told me that firebending comes from two things; a focused breath and strong emotion," deliberated the Fire Prince as he withdrew his punch and scrutinized his closed fist. "I don't think my breathing technique is the issue. Nothing is different there." Zuko took some calculated and deliberate breaths. Collected and steady. No, his technique was not the problem.
He gave his fist a loose shake as he dropped it back along his side. "Ever since I woke up, I feel different, lighter. The anger I have always carried; I don't feel it that strongly anymore. It's there, don't get me wrong. But it doesn't seem that important anymore." Zuko frowned. "Was my bending really that closely linked? My bending doesn't feel completely gone either. Not really. Just far away. Out of reach."
"So anger fuels firebending?" surmised the waterbender with a frown on her face as well.
Zuko ran through another couple of firebending forms. Each appeared impressive, but yielded no fire. Frustration lined his face after the second form. "This is just like me! I make a big decision, resolve to adjust my life, and the world punishes me for it!" he vented as he finished his drills.
"Well then, don't stop. Get angry," Katara counseled. She didn't have to imagine what it must have felt like to not be able to bend. She had felt that very way for nearly every day ever since she was five. Now that she had finally connected with her art and had truly begun to waterbend, she didn't want to feel like that again. The frustration of not being able to bend her element had always been stifling. She always felt like she was missing a part of herself. To have that ability taken away, she could only guess how he must be feeling right now.
"What?" replied Zuko, more than a little surprised at the Water Tribe girl's suggestion.
"You basically stated that anger powers firebending. So get angry," Katara concluded. "Get angry at all the villagers who chased us away. Get angry at your Father who banished you. Find something to be angry at." She grinned. "You've pretty good at that."
Grumbling something about not being good at always being angry, Zuko focused himself into another ready stance as he thought about the hateful eyes of the Earth Kingdom villagers. He thought about his scar. He thought about his banishment. He felt his ire rise as it began to bubble just beneath the surface. He ran through another firebending form, shouting in frustration and anger at each punch and kick. There was still no fire.
As he stopped, he struck a tree with an open fisted palm strike as loose leaves swayed in the branches and spiraled slowly to the ground. The Fire Prince stood there, silently brooding to himself.
Katara mulled over the situation for another minute. "What about your Uncle?" she asked as another solution presented itself to her. "You said you wanted to find him. Could he help?"
Zuko's mouth moved upward in a thin smile. "Uncle would probably know how to help. He always seems to know exactly what to do."
"Just like my Gran-Gran," nodded the Water Tribe girl. "Let's go find your Uncle."
The two moved around the campsite, packing their meager supplies, rolling up the bed rolls, and cleaning up the area. The next problem arose quickly when Zuko turned to relight the campfire to cook breakfast with. "I can't start a campfire," he voiced aloud as the more practical, day-to-day loss of his ability dawned on him.
"Do you have any flint in the saddlebags?" asked Katara as she started to rummage through one of the bags.
Zuko shook his head. "Never needed it before."
"Then we'll need to find a town first. We still need to restock on food and other necessities anyways. That plains village wasn't really helpful," summarized the waterbender. She pulled out the remainder of the packaged meals that Sela made for them. "We still have these for now."
Zuko picked up a small branch of red berries that he had set near the bed rolls. "There's these too. I found them next to me when I woke up this morning. Did you go foraging yesterday?"
Katara stared at the branch still half full of red berries in the Fire Prince's hand as she listened to his innocent question. The memory of last night came rushing back to her full force. The only thing she saw within her mind was the memory of her lips upon his. The Water Tribe girl's heart raced as her face turned stark crimson and she stared down at the wrapped packages of food in her hands.
What was she thinking last night? Why didn't she just grab one of their bowls and mash up the berries with some water? She had just been so stressed. She knew he had been suffering all day. She just wanted to get him the medicine as soon as she could. She hadn't been thinking.
"Yes, I did a little f-foraging y-yesterday," she answered lamely, praying that he didn't hear the intermittent stutter in her tone or see the embarrassment on her face.
Zuko plucked one of the berries from the vine and tossed it in his mouth casually. "They're sweet," he noted as he moved to check on Biscuit. He didn't notice how the waterbender fumbled with the wrapped packages of food in her hands at his words.
The rest of the morning and early afternoon were mostly uneventful. Katara had remained uncharacteristically quiet as they finished breakfast and rode down the road on Biscuit, but Zuko didn't appear to notice as his own thoughts lingered on trying to recall his fever dreams.
Eventually, the foot traffic on the road began to pick up and they fell into line behind a merchant wagon loaded with carpets and rugs. Zuko had his straw sedge hat dipped low and his Dao broadswords secured at his waist. The weight of the steel gave him reassurance that he could still defend himself even without his firebending if needed.
Katara felt comfortable in her Earth Kingdom tunic of faded green and yellow hues with a humble pair of tan pants. The simple farm dress that Sela had given her was currently smashed at the bottom of the saddlebags. She definitely didn't feel like wearing it, nor did she think she would ever wear it again. Her waterskin hung loosely around her shoulder. She hoped to find a second waterskin for purchase in the town as she realized how limited her bending was when there wasn't any water nearby.
Drawing closer to the town proper, they noticed a queue of merchant carts and travelers at the town gates. A tall three-story wall encircled a moderately sized town. Guard towers lined the wall at an even spacing and the soldiers appeared to be vigilant as they manned their posts.
"It seems this town takes its security seriously," commented Zuko as he studied the defenses. He frowned as he watched merchants and travelers in front of them dismount from their carts and pack animals as each one was checked by the guards at the front gates. "And they're doing things by the book."
"It will be alright," replied Katara as she watched the guards converse with a large group of travelers before waving them through. "It seems they're mostly just talking to people before letting them in."
A couple of minutes passed as the two benders inched closer to the front of the line on top of Biscuit. "I don't like this. We should go. They'll recognize my scar. I'm wanted," stated Zuko lowly as he gripped the reins tighter.
Katara reached over from behind him and placed a calming hand over his. "It's too suspicious to turn away now. We're near the front. Besides, I have an idea. Just follow my lead," she soothed.
The firebender continued to look unsure as the two dismounted from Biscuit and walked towards the nearest of the town guards.
"Names and purpose for your visit," spoke the guard monotonously as if he was just tired of repeating the same thing all day.
Before Zuko could say anything, Katara looped her arm through his as she pulled herself close to him. "Luna and Lee. We're on our way to Ba Sing Se." She cast her gaze downward. "Our home... our home is gone."
"More refugees? I swear, we have seen far too many of those today," commented the guard as he jotted down their names and purpose before waving them forward lazily. "There's inns over on Pewter Street. Food's cheap there but its still pretty good. Next!"
After they were a good distance away from the front gate, Zuko raised his eyebrow, "Luna?"
The waterbender laughed lightly as she released him and walked forward with her hands outstretched behind her back. Spinning on her heel, she smiled back at him. "Why should you be the only one with an alias?"
"No one's hunting you," he pointed out. "Besides, how did you come up with that convincing cover story so quickly?"
The Water Tribe girl pretended not to hear him as she turned forward again, taking in the sights of the town. Everything seemed to catch her eye. Zuko sighed to himself. Patting Biscuit, he muttered to the ostrich horse, "Girls are devious." Biscuit snorted as if to remind the Fire Prince that she was a girl too.
The town itself bustled with activity as they entered. Merchants lined the main road hawking their wares as horse drawn carriages rode by. Men carrying finished lumber on their shoulders moved towards a construction site of a half-finished two story building. Meat smoked and sizzled in food stalls as cooks spun the skewers over an open flame. Earth Kingdom citizens went about their regular lives without so much as a worry. It was like night and day compared to the small unnamed plains village they had the misfortunate to visit a couple of days ago.
"It's like the war hasn't reached this place," muttered Katara as she took in all the new sights and sounds.
"They're aware of the war. They're just doing their best to keep living as normally as they can," observed Zuko as they walked through the crowds. "Come on, we should gather supplies quickly and keep moving. I really don't like crowds." His stomach protested loudly.
"There's some food stalls over there," pointed Katara towards the appetizing smell of freshly cooked meat.
"Right," coughed Zuko as he regained his composure. "We'll grab some supplies afterwards."
Hitching Biscuit to a stock post with several other ostrich horses, Zuko reorganized the saddlebags by unloading all the contents of one of them into the other. Then, he slung the empty bag over his shoulder. The two benders walked over to the vendor. "Two meat skewers," ordered the firebender.
"Two meat and vegetable skewers," corrected Katara as she spoke over him. At his taken aback expression, she added, "Your diet needs more vegetables."
The food vendor gave the Fire Prince what seemed to be a sympathetic look as he handed over the skewers and Zuko paid the man. Taking a bite, the savory taste of piping hot meat juice mixed with the fresh crunch of grilled carrot exploded in flavor. It had been quite a while since Zuko had an expertly cooked meal such as this. For a street snack, it might be the best he ever had actually.
The euphoric expression on the waterbender's face gave Zuko reason to believe that this meat skewer might be best snack she had eaten as well. Zuko thought for a moment. Given how little the Water Tribe girl had seen and experienced since leaving the South Pole and being abruptly held prisoner, this might actually have been the first street food she had ever had in her life.
He turned back to the vendor and placed more coins on the counter. "We'll take two of those as well," he said as he pointed to another item on the menu. Grinning now, the food vendor handed him the additional snacks.
Zuko handed one to the waterbender as she asked what it was. "Street corn," he explained. "It's essentially grilled corn on the cob with a creamy sauce and sprinkled with some cheese." He examined the food a little more. "It seems like these ones have some paprika too."
Katara had never tasted corn before, but she wasn't one to shy away from new experiences. The vegetable was crisped and grilled to perfection, while the sauce and cheese held a cooling taste compared to the hot corn and the paprika provided a smoky and spicy flavor. In short, it was delicious.
They started to walk at a leisurely pace as they explored the town looking for an outfitter's shop. Eventually, about halfway down the main market street, they came across one. Gearing up on various supplies for their travels, Katara ensured they purchased a small rod of flint. She also found a second waterskin a little larger than the one she already carried, which effectively doubled her supply of available water for bending. Zuko questioned the bundle of carrots that the waterbender placed on the counter, but relented when she pointed out that Biscuit had more than earned the treat. Packing their supplies into the saddlebag Zuko carried, he threw the hefty bag over his shoulder with a grunt.
"You should let me carry some of that," offered the Water Tribe girl as she fussed over him. "You're still recovering."
"I can handle this much," he dismissed as the pair started to return back the way they had come. Shortly after they started walking, Zuko paused and set the saddlebag down off to the side. "Actually, wait here for a moment. I'll be right back."
Before she could protest, he blurred into the crowd. 'How did he do that? Where did he go?' she thought to herself as she quickly lost him in the sea of people.
Actually, there was a quickly growing number of people on the street. A mass of onlookers seemed to be gathering over across the way. Curious, Katara picked up the saddlebag and moved to wander over. She grunted in exertion. "This thing is heavy," she muttered to herself. Still, it wasn't anything that she couldn't manage as she found spot on the far side of the growing crowd.
There were street performers putting on a little show. Three women and two men were flipping and tumbling across the street as the crowd cheered in delight. She felt a tap on her shoulder.
"I should have figured you wouldn't stay still."
"Zuko! Don't run off like that!" she chided as she recognized him. Then, she saw that he was holding two chilled drinks, one purple and another golden yellow, in his hands. "What are those?"
"The shopkeep called them aguas frescas," the firebender noted. "I thought you might be thirsty after the snacks we just had. They had grape and paopu fruit," he explained as he indicated to each flavor in his hands.
Katara reached for the grape one and took a sip. "Mmm, it's cool and refreshing. There's nothing like this in the South Pole."
"Don't you have some food specialties of your own there?" the Fire Prince asked.
The waterbender shook her head. "Fresh fruits are hard to come by. It's mostly just water to drink, maybe some buffalo yak milk every now and then."
Zuko took a sip of his drink. "That sounds bland." Then, he blanched as the Water Tribe girl plucked his drink right from out of his hand and took a sip. "What are you doing?!"
"I wanted to try it," Katara stated calmly as she returned the paopu fruit agua fresca to the firebender. "Here, you can try mine in return." She offered him the grape agua fresca.
Zuko just stared at her for a moment. That just wasn't proper. At least not in the Fire Nation. Maybe things were different in the Water Tribes. "I think I'll stick to this one," he reasoned as he raised a hand to push away the offered beverage.
Katara shrugged and turned back to watch the street performers continue their act as Zuko stared at the spot on his own drink where the Water Tribe girl had sipped from. Several long moments later, after inwardly debating it at length, he turned the cup to a fresh part of the rim where her lips hadn't touched and finished his drink in a single gulp. Whether to avoid her from taking his drink again or to quickly resolve the awkward situation he found himself, he wasn't sure.
The crowd applauded loudly in surprise as the performance arrived at its climax, the five performers stacking themselves into a pyramid, three at the base and two on top of each other's shoulders. As the sea of people continued to congratulate the street performers on their successful show, Zuko heard an enthusiastic, jubilant cheer of excitement that sounded distinctly familiar to him. However, he couldn't quite place exactly where he knew that voice from. He scanned the crowd, but none of the faces were recognizable. A chill ran down his spine, and he was positive that it wasn't from the aguas frescas.
Handing Katara his empty cup for a moment, he flung the heavy saddlebag back over his shoulders and then took his cup back. "It looks like they're wrapping up. Let's head back to Biscuit."
The rest of the walk back, Zuko couldn't get rid of the discomfort that he was missing something. Something important. He placed the filled saddlebag back onto Biscuit and adjusted the load as to not discomfort the ostrich horse. That cheer had been so familiar.
"Does every town have those street performers?" asked Katara from the other side of the ostrich horse. "They were really impressive, flipping and jumping through the air like that.
Zuko felt like Biscuit had just kicked him in the head. "Ty Lee..." he cursed lowly as if linking that name to a sour memory. Zuko looked back and forth, eyes frantically scanning every person that walked by.
Katara was immediately on edge. "Zuko, what's wrong?" His recently calm, almost cheerful, attitude had dissipated in an instant.
He seemed to be mentally debating with himself for a minute about telling her what was wrong. The Fire Prince placed his hand on the hilts of his twin swords. He turned to return in the direction of the street performers. A hand grabbed his elbow and he paused. He looked back into questioning blue eyes and he felt himself relent. She deserved to know the danger they were in. "My Sister is here."
Katara blinked. Zuko elaborated no further. He seemed to think that declaration explained everything that she needed to know. The waterbender disagreed. "How do you know?"
The firebender was preoccupied with keeping a vigilant eye on the street as he talked. "Ty Lee. I heard her cheering somewhere in that crowd watching the Earth Kingdom acrobats as they finished their show. She was probably happy to see other performers perform. I can't believe it took me this long to recognize her voice."
The firebender still didn't see anything out the ordinary. "If Ty Lee is here, then that can only mean that Azula is here. Azula tried to capture my Uncle and I a couple of weeks ago. My Uncle's quick thinking and a loose lipped soldier caused her plan to fail. Since she failed on her first attempt, Azula would have most likely recruited Ty Lee and..." Zuko trailed off as his eyes widened, recalling a third individual. "Mai."
"Mai?"
"A governor's daughter," Zuko answered a bit too quickly. "Ty Lee and Mai have been Azula's playmates since childhood. Mother thought some children Azula's age would be good for her. Azula has always just seen the two of them as useful pawns."
"But wait?" started the waterbender a little confused. "How did they even get into this town in the first place? There's soldiers everywhere. And we're far into the Earth Kingdom territories."
"You saw how easy it was for your lie to trick the gate guards, right?" replied Zuko. "For Azula's silver tongue, it would have been like those soldiers weren't even there in the first place."
"I can't believe she'd chase you this far into the Earth Kingdom," analyzed Katara. "Isn't that dangerous for her?"
"She won't see it that way," assessed Zuko. "She probably enjoys the challenge. She thinks she can do anything, outsmart anyone." He frowned. "And she has the ability to usually pull it off effortlessly. She is Father's prodigy child after all. Everything comes easy to her and everything tends to go her way."
Neither said anything for a minute. The firebender appeared to be mentally grappling with his thoughts again. The waterbender seemed to be doing the same. The busy market street blurred with activity as no one paid them any mind. Hesitantly, Katara asked. "So what are we going to do?"
"We are not going to do anything," answered Zuko coming to a decision as he stepped up alongside the ostrich horse and rummaged through the saddlebags. He pulled out what appeared to be a blue colored mask from the bottom of one of the bags. "I am going to figure out what her plans are."
The waterbender grabbed his arm again before he could walk away from her. "No, you're not. Why do you always try to do everything on your own?"
He attempted to pull his arm away, but she held onto him fast. "This isn't your problem. It's mine," Zuko stated flatly.
"It is my problem if you are putting yourself in danger," she shot back.
Why was the Water Tribe girl acting like she was? This was his Sister. His problem. He was the one being hunted, not the waterbender. There was no reason for her to get this involved with his situation. No reason for her to put a target on her own back. "I can handle myself."
"I know that you can. That's not the point," continued to argue Katara. "You said that Azula and her friends are dangerous. That they are hunting you. You're putting yourself in danger."
"It isn't dangerous." She frowned at him. The Fire Prince corrected himself, "It isn't that dangerous. They won't even know that I'm there."
Putting her foot down, Katara declared resolutely, "I'm coming with you."
"No, you're not. This is my business." Why was she being so obstinate about this? It was going to be difficult enough dealing with his Sister already. It was always difficult dealing with Azula. She could twist his thoughts and confuse him. He needed his mind clear. He didn't need the waterbender with him, confusing him even more.
"I'm making it my business," Katara retorted.
"You don't have a reason to help me! You don't owe me anything!"
"You don't need a reason to help people!"
Neither of them noticed that their voices were starting to carry as their tones raised in volume. Zuko ranted louder, "Why would you want to come with me? If something happens to me, then no one would care! My own family doesn't care! You still have people that care about you! A home to return too!"
"I care about what happens to you! I don't want you to get hurt anymore!" she shouted at him, standing on her toes to match his height.
"And I don't want to you putting yourself in danger for my sake!" he shouted back.
"So you admit that it's dangerous!" she zeroed in on that point as both of them glared at each other.
It was about then that Zuko noticed the attention that their outburst was attracting; the amused housewives walking along the market street as they watched them. The shop callers who were clearly mistaking their disagreement as a lover's spat and using it to advertise discounts on flowers. The construction workers on break across the street who were taking bets amongst themselves on how this entertaining diversion was going to play out. Glancing at the waterbender, he observed that she was also starting to realize the looks that people were giving them too.
He took Katara's hand and led her to the opposite side of Biscuit so that the large ostrich horse was visibly blocking them from most of the attention they were receiving from the busy street. Whenever Azula was involved, his mind became one-tracked with the sole purpose of attempting to prove that he was just as capable as his Sister. Now this Water Tribe girl was just confusing his thoughts even more. She cared about what happened to him? Since when? Only his Uncle ever seemed to care about what happened to him.
They were traveling companions by coincidence, not by choice. Sure, they had helped each other a couple of times over the last few weeks. That's what regular traveling companions did, right? Zuko wasn't entirely sure, but he figured traveling companions helping traveling companions didn't exactly include allowing the other traveling companion to put themselves in potentially mortal danger. And dealing with Azula was personal to him. He shouldn't allow one of the very few people in the world that didn't seem to hate him to get involved with Azula. His Sister would pounce on the opportunity to use someone else to hurt him. And for some reason, Zuko really didn't want to see Katara hurt by Azula.
The Fire Prince continued to inwardly debate with himself. Katara did seem to get upset for his sake back in the plains village, but she had been hurt and betrayed by the townsfolk too. So in that event, she did have a personal investment too. This time was different. This was Azula. The Water Tribe girl just didn't know what she was getting into by demanding to tag along with him when his Sister was involved.
As the firebender was trying to think of another reason to explain to Katara about how this was his fight alone, he spied a vaguely familiar figure riding down the street, seated on top of a merchant cart. A new plan developed in his mind within seconds. As the figure neared closer, Zuko slapped Biscuit on the side and caused the ostrich horse to rear up slightly in surprise. A domino effect occurred as the two passing goat oxen hitched to the merchant cart also reared up, startled. This caused the produce in the back of the cart to spill out into the market street. As Katara turned to look at the scene and heard the pained shrill of a merchant shouting, "My cabbages!" Zuko slipped on his blue mask and faded out of sight into a nearby alleyway.
Suffering several painfully long seconds to get Biscuit to settle down, Katara stared down the alleyway she last saw Zuko disappear down. 'The nerve of him!' she screamed in her head as she gave chase. He had the gall to cause property damage to a passing merchant just to ditch her. Her eyes burned with righteous fury as she kept a hand on her waterskin. When she caught up to him, she was going to demonstrate to him exactly why this stunt of his had been an exceedingly reckless thing to.
However, that was easier said than done. Zuko was proving to be quite evasive. She thought she saw his silhouette skulking around a corner every now and then, but it would fade away before she neared. He seemed to mostly stick to the roofs of the buildings as he would peer over edges to scan the crowd before pulling his head back and moving again. He was swift and agile. Clearly, this wasn't the first time he had been sneaking around like this. He had definitely done this several times before and was well practiced. More than once Katara lost his trail, or at least thought she had, before somehow managing to catch a hint of his movements.
After a particularly long gap of time since she had last seen a trace of the firebender, she begrudgingly decided to call it quits. This time, she unfortunately had lost his trail. Her only real choice was to wait by Biscuit for his return. That was, unless she wanted to waste time and energy wandering aimlessly throughout the town. No, that wouldn't help anyone.
Katara's thoughts were cooking up several scoldings for her traveling companion when she noticed a shadow jump overhead and looked up just in time to catch sight of a blue masked individual leaping from one building to another. Without thinking further, the Water Tribe girl hastily darted into the building she had seen Zuko land on the roof of, only to almost run into a waiter.
The man didn't appear too surprised at the sight of her. "You the new serving girl that Elena hired?" he asked as he noticed Katara. "You're late. Dinner rush will be here soon." Before the waterbender could protest, she found herself with an apron on and a tray of drinks in her hands. "Table eight," grunted the waiter as he pointed to a far off table that had three young girls seated at it.
From up in the rafters, Zuko stared incredulously at the sight below. 'How did she get here?' Then, 'what is she doing down there?!' He forced himself to remain calm. 'It's alright, it's alright. She doesn't know who she's serving and they don't know who she is either.' He gripped his Dao broadswords tighter. This was not going to end well.
Katara was setting the drinks down onto the table as the three girls seated there absently ignored her presence. "I'm sure you'll get them next time Azula!" beamed a bubbly girl with her hair held up in a pony tail by a green braid. She had a small Earth Kingdom metal necklace on and a light green halter top that left her midriff exposed. Her arms were wrapped in clean white bandages up to her elbows with a pair of brown armguards clasped onto of them. A puffy pair of forest green pants completed the outfit.
Katara almost fumbled the drinks off the tray when she heard the name. As she caught herself, she heard Azula respond, "Next time isn't good enough Ty Lee. They would have been captured this time if my obnoxious Uncle hadn't interfered. I was forced to withdraw. Me! That was unsightly." Azula had been wearing a formal looking set of Earth Kingdom fabrics with a golden sash belt and a dark green ribbon holding her hair up. An Earth Kingdom emblem was emblazoned squarely on the center of her tunic.
The third girl spoke up, "You said that you left your Uncle with a nasty parting gift. I doubt he will be a problem for you later." She was wearing a long green dress with a white hem. Her black hair was elegantly fastened above her head as two long strands of hair graced down from each of her shoulders to the top of her chest.
A mischievous spread across Azula's features. "I suppose you're right Mai. Silver linings and all that. One less vexation in the future to be sure."
Katara finished placing the drinks on the table and walked back towards the kitchen area without a word. This was not where she needed to be. The brief conversation that she had just heard unnerved her greatly. They were so casual in their utter dismissal about hurting Azula's Uncle, Zuko's Uncle! The fear from the prison rig was threatening to return. Azula's tone sounded so cold and calculating. Not unlike the prison warden, but somehow carrying even more sinister undertones. Maybe because it was coming from such a young feminine voice, which made it seem even more off-putting and unexpected.
The waterbender almost froze at the next words she heard from Mai as she took another step. "We're being watched."
Before Katara could do anything, the cutting sound of a short, pointed blade whistled through the air and up into the rafters. A second later, Zuko came crashing down on top of a wooden table in the middle of the room with a knife in his shoulder. The table collapsed under the force of the impact. Groaning in pain, he slowly stood back up.
"Now this is a surprise," greeted Azula, rising from the table as a devious smirk appeared across her mouth. "Take off that ridiculous mask Zuzu. You're not fooling anybody."
Mai appeared to stiffen at Azula's side as Zuko removed the blue mask from his face and hooked it to his belt.
The Fire Prince pulled the bloody knife from his shoulder and threw it to the ground. A quick glance at the injury and a slight rotation revealed to him that the wound wasn't too deep. The blade had just nicked the muscle. Mai's attack was apparently meant to reveal the interloper, not to kill.
"What did you do to Uncle, Azula?" hissed Zuko with barely contained ire as he forced himself to ignore her provoking, childish nickname for him. "I heard you from up in the rafters. What did you do?"
Azula decided to take charge of the conversation. "Quite frankly, I'm honestly shocked to see you here my dear Zuzu, instead of trailing behind our traitorous Uncle. Did you two have a bit of a falling out?"
"Tell me!" Zuko hissed through gritted teeth.
"So impatient," brushed off Azula, completely unfazed. "I, for one, am glad to see my Brother again, even if he is lurking around like a common thief. It's cute that you thought you could sneak up on me." Her smirk grew as he growled at her.
Katara wasn't quite sure what to do as Zuko confronted his Sister and her two friends. She remained standing near the kitchen door as she observed the situation develop. The waiter next to her decided that it was time to step in. "What do you all think you're doing?! This table is completely ruined!"
Azula gave a look to Mai, then a small leather bag smacked the waiter in the chest as he stopped his walk forward and fumbled to catch the bag. Peeking inside, he noticed a large sum of coins. "I'm renting out the entire place this evening for a family reunion," ordered Azula flatly, her voice completely devoid of the fake pleasantness it held moments ago. "Leave."
The waiter visibly weighed the damages to the table and the potential cost of lost revenue for the night against the enormous pile of coins in his hand. Then, he started to usher the few other restaurant patrons, who were spectating the event with fascination, out of the building. Turning back around, the waiter guided Katara into the kitchen as he started to dismiss the kitchen workers for the evening. The waterbender stayed by the door, cracking it open as she continued to observe. She wanted to rush out and stand at Zuko's side, but she knew that doing so would be foolish. Currently, she still had the element of surprise, because Azula did not know who she was. She should try and use that to her advantage, right?
"That's the power of wealth," gloated Azula with a carefree attitude as she turned back to Zuko. "A couple of coins and you just lost any chance of being rescued. No one's going to be alerting the town guards now. There was probably more money in that bag than you've seen in a long time. You know, ever since you decided to live in a self-induced poverty for the last several weeks. How is that going for you by the way?"
"What happened to Uncle, Azula?! Quit stalling!" circled back Zuko with irritation heavy in his voice.
Azula gave an exaggerated sigh. "I suppose I could tell you. Not like you would be able to do anything about it anyway. Did you know I managed to catch up to the Avatar in record time? Turns out that large bison leaves quite the easy trail to follow. I very nearly caught the brat in my very first encounter." She raised both her arms as she shrugged. "I really don't see why you struggled with it for so long. The Avatar is weak. But then again, you always have been too."
At Zuko's low growl, she merely laughed. "The Avatar's friends tried to help him of course. Some barbaric little midget with no manners and a hapless oaf with a curved stick." A frown crossed her face. "Though, it does appear that for as hapless as they were, they did manage to trip up my allies."
Mai gave an indignant snort as she crossed her arms. "They were not the issue. That large bison caught us by surprise with his tail."
"That boy with the boomerang was kinda cute though," giggled Ty Lee.
Azula disregarded her allies' comments as she continued, "Uncle's the real reason why the Avatar was able to escape me. But I paid the lout back. It turns out that even the Dragon of the West isn't impervious against my lightning."
Zuko's blood ran cold. "You didn't..." he whispered completely shocked.
"I had no choice Zuzu. I was outnumbered four to one. My back was against the wall. And really, Father would have done the same thing," surmised Azula nonchalantly. "Uncle was a traitor. Defending the Avatar like that."
His resolve hardened in an instant as he placed his hand on the hilt of his swords. "Tell me where he is, now."
"Probably still laying a ditch somewhere. Why do you care Zuzu? You obviously wised up and left Uncle." There was a spark in Azula's eyes as a plan was effortlessly formulated. "You know, it was really Uncle that Father blames for the defeat of the Fire Navy in the North. Uncle was the one who helped the Avatar there after all. Together, they fought to defeat Zhao's invasion force. Now that I know for sure that you left Uncle of your own free will, I realize that Uncle hasn't corrupted you with his traitorous intentions. Come back with me to the Fire Nation. I can explain to Father that the whole thing is one great big misunderstanding. We can be a family again. You can regain your honor as the one who revealed the true traitor to our nation."
Zuko paused for a moment. 'Home,' he thought to himself almost reflexively. He could finally return home. Then, the cost of that temptation hit him full force. He would have to renounce his Uncle, who was probably dead or dying somewhere, alone, broken.
The Fire Prince grit his teeth as he hated himself for evening considering the honeyed offer for the slightest of moments. 'Azula always lies,' he recited mentally. "I need to see him first. I need to know for myself. Where is he?"
"Oh Zuzu, you really can be so stubborn about the most unimportant things," stated Azula unemotionally. "How am I to remember exactly which burnt out Earth Kingdom hovel we fought in? There are so many of them around here. Besides, even the Avatar and his friends didn't try to help Uncle. They just ran away like the cowards they are, leaving a poor, old man to die."
Azula almost didn't notice the water pooling at her feet until it froze the legs of both Ty Lee and Mai to the ground. The Fire Princess casually backflipped onto the table behind her. "Sokka would never leave someone to die!" shouted Katara as she made her presence known. This was the waterbender's first instance of hearing anything about her Brother since her imprisonment at the prison rig, and Azula was just straight up lying about him. Katara knew it. She had heard enough of Azula's callousness.
"Now who is this?" asked the Fire Princess, intrigued. Ty Lee and Mai struggled in front of her to try and free themselves from the ice.
"No one," shut down Zuko as he drew his swords and stood protectively in front of the waterbender.
"You truly are bad at lying Zuzu!" laughed Azula in amusement. "If you really wanted me to believe that you didn't know this girl, then you should have just ignored her." She eyed his protective stance critically. "Zuzu!" she teased with false shock. "Did you find yourself a peasant girl? Tsk, tsk. And in front of Mai too."
Mai ceased her struggling to break the ice and scrutinized the Water Tribe girl harshly. Ty Lee watched tentatively as her usually disinterested friend displayed an unusual level of attention towards someone.
Zuko's mind was running at a mile a minute. He had no qualms with confronting his Sister by himself. He was willing to fight with his life on the line. It was how he had always did it in the past. On his own. The waterbender was an unwelcomed calculation. This was not her fight. She had helped him before, fought at his side against Gow and healed him several times after his more serious injuries. He knew that she didn't deserve whatever wrath Azula was going to send his way redirected at her.
Keeping his eyes locked on his Sister for any movement, Zuko spoke out of the side of his mouth to the waterbender. "Leave now. Get out of here while you can."
"No! I said I was going to help you and I meant it!" Katara protested as she gathered water into a floating ring around herself. Her regular waterbending practice had been paying off as she was able to move the water much easier now.
"What a loyal pet you found Zuzu," heckled Azula. "Let's get a measure of this girl, shall we?" With a rapid set of double fire punches, the Fire Princess melted the ice at Ty Lee's and Mai's feet. "She's all yours. I still want to play with Zuzu myself." With that, Azula jumped high into the air with a front flip as she came crashing down with a crescent kick of flame aimed directly at her Brother. Zuko raised his swords in time to deflect the incoming fire and charged forward.
A whistle of steel was all the warning Katara received as two kunai sailed right at her. Hardening some water into ice, she managed to block the knives mid-air as they crashed to the ground. "Ty Lee, I want this one to myself," spoke Mai with all seriousness in her tone. "Do not interfere." The weapon mistress fanned out another handful of blades in her hands from her hidden weapon pouches as she attacked again.
"Ah man," groaned Ty Lee as she looked back and forth between the onslaught of fire Azula was launching at Zuko and the series of daggers that Mai was continuously raining down upon the Water Tribe girl. Katara was mostly managing to deflect the knives with water, but hissed a few times when one of the bladed weapons rushed against her arm or leg. "This is no fun," pouted the acrobat.
"Who are you to Zuko?" interrogated Mai pointedly as she continued pivoting swiftly at irregular intervals and releasing a seemingly endless wave of steel at the waterbender.
Katara knew that she had been getting better with her waterbending, but she hadn't been in many pitched fights against an opponent that was clearly trying to hurt her. It was taking most of her concentration just to keep her defenses up and block the knives from hitting her. She winced in pain as a kunai cut across her left arm. Most of them anyway.
There was a pause in Mai's attacks as one of her weapon pouches ran empty and she switched to another. Katara flung a plume of water at the weapon mistress and pushed her up against the wall. With a cool breath as she focused intently on her waterbending, the Water Tribe girl froze the water to hold Mai in place. "I'm his friend. Which is more than I can say for any of you."
Mai's eyes looked absolutely murderous from her confinement as she glared at the waterbender, her body frozen to the wall. A shifting in the eyes of the weapon mistress was the only warning Katara received as Ty Lee bounced up next to her from the left and punched out with some quick jabs to Katara's left arm.
The waterbender rapidly directed some water into a thin defense as Ty Lee cartwheeled away from the rising liquid. The Water Tribe girl was alarmed when it seemed the water only responded to the bending from her right arm. "What?"
"Without your bending, you're nothing," gloated Mai as she continued to chip away at the ice binding her with a kunai.
Katara fought down the panic building up in her mind. She knew that Zuko had lost his bending. Was the same thing about to happen to her? No, there would be time for that later. Right now, she needed to remain focused. She was barely keeping Ty Lee at bay for now with the water she had remaining, but her remaining water was running out quickly and it sounded like Mai was almost done freeing herself.
"I know that you have never beaten me in a firebending duel, but do you honestly think that swords will help you fare any better?" taunted Azula as she continued to batter her Brother with a non-stop rush of firebending.
To his credit, Zuko was performing admirably despite his bending handicap. He had taken a lesson to heart from his fight against Gow. Trying to face his Sister's bending directly was ill-advised, especially since his Sister was several times stronger than Gow. Instead, he bobbed and weaved around the horizontal columns of flame she shot at him and ducked, flipped, and moved around the crescents of fire she kicked out.
He used the environment to his advantage. Tables were flipped up with a swipe of his swords to intercept fire blasts. He dashed behind the building's pillars to avoid other attacks. His Sister was getting annoyed by his flighty fighting style. He could hear it in her voice.
"This is pitiful Zuzu. Really? Has all your time living amongst vagabonds and petty criminals reduced your fighting ability to this?" insulted Azula as she watched him dart behind another pillar. As she walked closer to get a better angle, she continued, "Father would be so disappointed to know that you have forgotten your forms and whatever semblance of grace you might have had."
A figure darted out to the left of the pillar and she incinerated it without mercy. A burnt chair crumbled to the ground as Zuko twisted out from the right side of the pillar and charged at his Sister. However, Azula dashed forward to catch his wrist in her hand as he spun around. Then, she grabbed the other. With a smirk, she front kicked him away from her. "Easily telegraphed. You need to get more imaginative."
The Fire Princess watched as Zuko tumbled back in the direction of where Katara was keeping Ty Lee at bay. A wicked idea came to her mind as she settled into a stance and began to pull at the yin and yang energies of her firebending.
Zuko heard the crackle in the air as he turned to see his Sister charging up her cold blooded fire. However, it didn't seem like she was looking at him anymore. He traced her sightline to the waterbender as his eyes grew wide with extreme dread.
The Fire Prince was on his feet and moving before he could even consider shouting a warning. Both Katara and Ty Lee paused at the buzzing sound in the air. They were several feet apart from each other as Ty Lee had just cartwheeled away from Katara's latest counter. Turning, they each noticed the Fire Princess drawing a pattern of light in her hands.
Just as Azula completed her preparations and took a sharp step forward, thrusting out with her index and middle finger, Katara and Ty Lee witnessed the Fire Prince charging to place himself directly in the line of fire. Zuko's right sword hooked itself into the groove of an overturned chair as he urgently threw the piece of furniture in front of himself. Then, stomping down on the edge of a broken table, he braced himself against the hard oaken shield to hold the impromptu barrier in place.
The chair took the initial impact but burst into splinters immediately as the lightning continued forward and poured directly into large oaken table shield that Zuko was shouldering. Electricity surged every which way as the lightning slammed heavily into the wooden barrier. The Fire Prince was thrown backwards several feet as the vertical table face shattered, impacting the ground with a sickening thud and rolling several feet before he came to a stop.
Disbelieving blue eyes stared in horror as Zuko contorted and contracted involuntarily on the ground as the remaining electricity tore through him. His convulsions didn't seem like they were ceasing anytime soon. Mai dropped the kunai she was using to break the ice as she stared slack-jawed at the sight. Ty Lee had covered her mouth with a gasp.
Even Azula appeared slightly stunned. Not so much because she struck Zuko with lightning, but because he had taken the strike that she had intended for the waterbender. Azula had been hoping to break Zuko's spirit. She wanted him to see just how incapable he was when trying to protect another. Still, the Fire Princess could settle for just breaking him in the more literal sense of the word. Father might be a little disappointed that he would not be the one to punish Zuko further for Zuko's failures, but she was confident that she could convince Father that this culling would only strengthen the family.
Katara rushed to the Fire Prince's side, her right hand encased with all her remaining water as she desperately propelled her healing waterbending into his wound. Before anyone could say anything or do anything further, several paper bombs rolled into the building from the front door. The explosives erupted in a burst of smoke and black powder.
Katara felt someone's arm loop around her and pull her back to her feet. "Don't worry, I got ya!" assured a overly-confident voice. The waterbender fought to go back to Zuko's side. "Hey, stop! We've got him too!" the voice urged as the owner attempted to guide her away.
The Water Tribe girl discerned another shadowy figure standing over where she believed Zuko was. All the smoke and black powder in the air was making it extremely difficult to see anything. She was being led out of the building. Behind them, Azula was shooting off random fire bursts in a blind attempt to strike out at the unknown combatants. The increasingly verbal frustrations from the Fire Princess were evidence that she wasn't hitting anything.
Breaking out into the open street, Katara observed a giant of a boy carrying a wounded Zuko over his shoulder effortlessly. The owner of the voice leading her along appeared to belong to boy about her age with an unruly mop of hair and a roguish gleam in his eye.
She was led to a covered wagon just across the street as the giant carefully tucked Zuko into the wagon bed and hopped inside himself. Katara and the rogue at her side slipped in afterwards.
Moments later, Azula and Ty Lee emerged from the building searching in each direction. Azula growled as she realized her prey was no longer visible on the street. They could hear the sounds of Earth Kingdom patrols rushing to the scene. Darting back into the building to melt the ice around Mai, Azula promised herself that this slight was not going to stand. She had more prey to hunt now.
"Hey, did you pick up more strays?" asked a kid with a feminine sounding voice from the front of the wagon.
"Just get going," answered back the rogue. "We need to be out of here before the guards start closing off both this area and the front gate."
"Whatever," dismissed the feminine sounding kid, giving the reins a quick whip. The covered wagon started to roll forward.
"Hey! Hey! Who are they?" asked an excited little boy wearing a slightly oversized helmet from his spot in the cart.
Katara paid very little attention to any of this. She grabbed a waterskin that she had seen lying in the wagon and was already using the water to heal Zuko's wounds once more. She could feel his heart beating irregularly as she willed the water into a brilliant blue hue. Focusing on her own heart beat, she used it as a guide to prompt the water to synchronize Zuko's heart beat rhythm with hers. 'Why? Why does it always end up like this?' her inner thoughts cried out as she struggled with the healing. First it was the ambush with the bandits, then the warfront battlefield, the showdown with Gow, and now this. Every time, Zuko suffered greater and greater injuries. Every time, he fought pass his breaking point.
The other occupants in the wagon were watching in fascination as the Water Tribe girl worked her magic. None of them had ever seen a waterbender healing someone before. The rogue in particular seemed to be evaluating Katara with a calculating eye as he placed a grass reed in his mouth.
After a couple of tense minutes, Zuko's heart beat steadied back into regular intervals as his breathing stabilized and the pained expression on his face eased. Stirring, he opened his eyes, looking around hesitantly before his gaze focused on Katara kneeling over him. "Are you okay?" he asked weakly.
The waterbender was wiping away tears of happiness as she saw him wake back up. "What are you talking about? You're the one who took the hit from the lightning. Are you okay?" she asked back.
Zuko just groaned as he tried to sit up. Katara helped him into a seated position against the side of the wagon bed near the giant boy.
"We're moving," he noted. His head was still groggy. He turned to Katara, "Biscuit?"
"Biscuit?" parroted the rogue.
"Biscuit!" registered Katara as she looked out from the veil of the covered wagon. "Our ostrich horse." She spied the horse still tied to the hitching post with several other ostrich horses as the wagon neared the front gate. "There, the one with the green blanket saddle."
The rogue turned his head out of the wagon and gave a loud pitched bird call whistle. Then, he rolled a small marker out of the wagon in front of Biscuit as they passed by.
Katara watched as another boy appeared on the rooftop of a nearby building, dropped down to ground level, weaved his way through the crowd, quickly slipped onto Biscuit, and unhitched the reins. This boy was wearing a similar conical, straw sedge hat to the one that Zuko tended to wear while traveling. The boy fell into step alongside the wagon while riding Biscuit.
The rogue turned back to Katara with a grin as the wagon departed the town and proceeded down the main road. "Well it looks like we're in the clear. Time for some introductions. The name's Jet and these are my Freedom Fighters; Smellerbee's driving the wagon, your friend is leaning against Pipsqueak's shoulder, Longshot just secured your ostrich horse, and this little bundle of energy wearing the helmet is known simply as, the Duke."
