Avatar: Lightning Strikes (IC)

[ChasNicollette]

Iroh and Xia

"The meeting of the Four Nations will now commence, then! Is there someone who would like to speak first?" The King questioned while Zuko noticably tried to shrink in his own seat slightly.

...but as the moment went by, and while Zuko attempted to compress himself, the door opened yet again, as perhaps this room had become a crossroads for The Four Nations in a more literal sense rather than just a metaphorical one.

And through this door, and into this room, and upon this crossroads, stepped The Dragon of The West.

"Ah," he smiled brightly. "This is where they are having it. Marvellous! (I do hope that I am not the last to arrive; that would be most embarrassing, would it not?)"

His eyes flickered across the room, and to each in turn he nodded respectfully.

The master of haiku and his pretty pretty healing sister. (They had brought a friend with them, how splendid!)

The blind queen with the powerhouse chi and the wickedly amusing wit.

The boy with the bow and. And that boy who wasn't a boy. (Ah, memories: that experience had been somewhat awkward.)

The Earth King Himself, naive of mind but pure of heart.

...and Zuko. Tall, strong Zuko. How he had grown. How proud Iroh was of his brother's son, of Roku's great-grandson.

"Nephew," he greeted the lad, a laconic smile on his face and a cheerful gleam in his eyes. "Fire Lord, it has been too long. Bad enough that June is always off hunting her bounties, you could at least send me a messenger-hawk once in a great while. Ah, but you are busy, I understand, ruling a Nation is thirsty work."

And then. The bald, slender fellow with the arrow on his head.

And to this man, this ancient youth, Iroh bowed as deeply as he could. Utmost respect.

But when he straightened, he was still smiling. "You are to be congratulated, Avatar Aang, on the discretion of your arrival and the lightness of your tread. Had it not been for your bison friend smelling my basket of apples, I would never have known you had alighted. Extremely sneaky. (I am told there is a technical term for this. 'Twinkletoes?')"

His eyes danced delightedly, and he didn't quite glance at Toph to confirm that she'd gotten the joke, as he saw her clearly in the periphery of his vision.

But then he glanced over his shoulder at the door still open behind him and put his hands on his hips. "I thought we agreed that you would not be shy."

"You agreed to this," Xia replied, frowning, eyes slightly narrowed, as she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. "And I was not being shy. I was merely. Evaluating protocol. (I am not good at. Protocol.)"

She stopped, though, and stared at The Avatar. Drank him in with eyes no longer narrowed but widened...

What secrets can you tell me?

...but this only for an instant, she stared only for an instant, and then she glanced away and it seemed as though she was staring everywhere except at The Avatar.

Shouldn't be like this. Should say something. Profound.

Mind's gone blank.

Iroh helped himself to a chair next to Zuko, and then patted the seat next to himself, beckoning to Xia.

"Everyone," Iroh introduced, holding a hand towards the girl, "this is my personal friend and honoured guest--"

--and then he stopped, and he blinked, as if he were suddenly receiving an epiphany, as if something had suddenly dawned on him. He blinked at the young woman.

"--Xia," she supplied quickly and coolly, after a second, realising-- just as Iroh had apparently realised --that she had never told him her name.

"--Xia," Iroh continued, smiling anew as if he had never stopped. "Xia, this is everyone."

Walking gracefully but warily to the seat that Iroh had proffered, continuing to stare everywhere but at The Avatar, Xia bowed quickly.

She put her hand on the back of her seat and opened her mouth as if to say something...

Profound.

Say something profound. Impress them and keep them guessing.

She closed her mouth.

And then: "Hello, everyone," she intoned. "Everyone, hello."

Quickly, then, she sat, cheeks burning.

As if oblivious to Xia's social discomfort, Iroh leaned over to his nephew and, face serious and voice at a stage-whisper: "I have not missed the serving of tea? I know that you cannot discuss important Matters of State without tea, and if I missed this I would be most disappointed."

 

[Mister J]

For the most part Sokka ignored the various conversations going on in the room, breaking from his own deep thoughts to offer a lazy wave to the newcomer and Iroh. He smiled wide as the two sat down, albeit awkwardly. His mind was somewhere else. He thought of Yue as he usually did from time to time. The wide grin from before deflated somewhat into a warm, knowing, half-smile.

He continued on though, nodding or shaking his head when asked a question. He even broke into a joke every once in a while when the opportunity presented itself. Outwardly he was the same Sokka everyone knew him to be...skeptical, abrasive, and sharp-witted. However, beneath all of that he was deep in thought, lost almost. That is, until his sister kindly snapped him out of it.

"Sokka!"

He blinked, turning to look at Katara, then to the rest of the room as everyone seemed to be staring at him.

"Okay, what'd I miss?"

Katara huffed a bit and shook her head.

"The Earth King asked you a question."

Sokka nodded and turned his attention towards the Earth King himself, hoping he would ask his question one more time. As if to answer his silent plea, the Earth King continued on...

"I was just asking how you were coming with those irrigation system schematics we had talked about?...for the city?"

Sokka's eyes lit up and he held a single finger, signaling everyone to wait just a moment. In that time he reached into his pack and pulled out a large rolled up parchment and in a quick fluid motion he released the knot tying the parchment together. It unraveled across the table as Sokka lifted his arms up high, that huge grin returning to his face.

"Ta-da!"

For a moment there was an awkward silence. Sokka's eyes darted around the room, waiting for the first person to congratulate him on his latest scientific genius. When he realized that he'd have to explain the complex drawing before they'd know what he knew, he sighed a bit and began to go over what the large parchment detailed.

An overly complex explanation later...

"...and that's how you'll be able to get water in and out of the city without any water benders! Because seriously, who wants a crabby waterbender around all the time am I right? Eh eh?"

He turned to see his sister shoot him an angry look. Sokka froze, just realizing what he had said.

"...uh..er...not you of course Katara...heh..heh..."

His voice seemed to trail off as he searched for something to change the subject and his eyes caught Aang giving an awkward smile.

"Aang!"

Sokka extended both hands towards the airbender in an attempt to divert everyone's attention to the bald monk.

"You must have something to report right?"

 

[Mephistophelily]

"Heh."

Toph smirked at the mention of twinkle-toes, folding her arms across her chest as her feet started to rise up from the floor, daringly close to residing on the table before her- only to hesitantly place them back against the wood beneath her chair. No, she had promised to behave and set a good impression, blah blah blah.

At the question of tea, however, her smile grew, shaking her head. "Of course not, Iroh. We'd need the owner of the greatest Tea Shop in Bah Sing Se to do that... And now that he's here, we're set."

The new girl had a certain air about her that left a curious feeling in Toph, something similar to when she was near her old friends. She wasn't quite sure what that was. The shyness of her, perhaps? That would do it. Wait. Which of her friends had actually ever been SHY? No, that couldn't be it. Maybe-

Her thoughts on the matter were cut short by the Earth King's question to the rather oblivious Sokka, who in turn recited his explanation of what seemed to be a rather complicated water system, but she had to agree on the whole relying-on waterbenders situation. She stifled a laugh as he quickly apologized to his sibling, biting on her lip to hide the grin as he passed things off to Aang. "How are things looking, Aang?," She asked with a nod. "Are we making good progress that you can see?"

The door slid open then, a hesitantly moving guard slipping behind the chairs to move to Zuko's side, a small scroll in his hand as he bent to whisper in the Fire Lord's ear.
"Forgive the intrusion, Lord Zuko. But... this arrived for you... It bares the seal of the Fire Nation, so I dared not open it..."

 

[UnseenMaiden]

Smellerbee: Queen of Tact

"Is there any problem here?"

"No, everything's fine, Ryota. Smellerbee and Longshot are old....friends. We met them twice during the war. Once was when he passed by the woods where their band of Freedom Fighters were located, and the other was here in Ba Sing Se."

Crossing her arms across her chest, Smellerbee glared at the obvious bodyguard for no reason in particular beyond the fact that she was still fully entitled in her mind to fume. The Fire Lord could have been anyone. Anyone at all, and she would have been just fine with it. Except fate had chosen to pick the one guy she might have a vendetta towards. Logic could have argued with this. There were certainly worse things that she had experienced by the hand of one Fire Nation citizen or another. Scars, hidden under layers of clothing and paled by time, could attest to that fact. Yet, any grievances with them, she had taken care of in the most efficient manner she knew how and now they either laid dead or bore scars of their own. Smellerbee wasn't generally the type tp hold grudges. If you did something to get on her bad side, then it was almost guaranteed you would know it instantly, one way or another.

"Smellerbee and Longshot? I don't mean any offense, but those are rather unusual names for a couple of gu..."

Raising her eyebrows, she stared the poor water tribe warrior down as she braced herself for the inevitable. It wasn't like this was even close to the first time. It didn't really annoy her so much anymore. What did annoy her though was Longshot's hand waving in the corner of her vision as he frantically tried to avert disaster. Did he seriously think she was so dense as to not notice him doing that? Her jaw tightened as she reigned in the urge to swat the annoying hand away. Her friend was only trying to help after all.

"Uh, that is to say, it's a rather....unique, set of names for a guy and his lovely female companion."

"Save it... Ryota. If I've heard it once, I've heard it half a million times. I look like a guy. Don't push my patience by lying to me."

Her calm words were somehow ruined by how casually she gestured with the small knife in her hand. If she took offense, the way she wanted to, every time some foolish person felt they needed to point out how absolutely unfeminine she was.. Well, the fact remained that this probably wasn't the best time or place. It was a simple enough mistake. Unlike that of a certain Fire Lord, inclining her head she looked at him as he tried to assure Toph that everything was fine and a common enough reaction to him being part of the Fire Nation. Like she gave a flying flip about that. She'd wasn't like Jet had been, she didn't hold a grudge against his kind, not because of the war and not because of everything the Fire Nation had done to her and her own. She was mature enough to judge people on their individual actions. So he could take that lingering prejudice crap and shove it up his ass. Something she fully intended to tell to his face, except just as she made to pull away from Longshot's grasp, a certain Avatar decided to drop in.

"Heeey everyone! How about that weather! Appa sure doesn't like flying in the rain!"

Rolling her eyes, she huffed at the interruption, a breath of finally gone more or less unheard from her lips. She hadn't actually been entirely aware that they were waiting for Aang but now that she took a pause in her acute irritation and the nerves that laid underneath, it made a good amount of sense that perhaps the liaison between the four elements should be here at some point. Still, it seemed a little ridiculous to her that they should need a babysitter for every moment of discussion between them. She may not have known much about royalty and all that such a position entailed, but they still had to lead. Which meant, she'd think they'd be used to diplomatic discussions by now if only on a less grand of a scale. In her and Longshot's case, a far less grander scale. Damn it, there were those nerves again.

"The meeting of the Four Nations will now commence, then! Is there someone who would like to speak first?"

Once again, Smellerbee opened her mouth to speak, pulling away and closing the distance between herself and the table that both Toph and the Fire Lord had taken their seats. Only to be interrupted again, as fate would have it, by the pair of grand doors that composed the entrance to the War Room opening. The noise that exited her mouth wasn't so much words as an irritated growl. Throwing her hands up in the air, she fell rather gracelessly into an empty chair, giving the barest amount of attention to the newcomers. When she saw who they were, or more whom one of them were, her demeanor changed instantly. Eyes widened, she straightened up in her seat as her glance moved between the old man and Longshot. The knife was still in her hands and her grip tightened in reflex with the alarm that was spreading through her at what her body was telling her was now not only one enemy but two.
Then all at once she relaxed and put the small blade back to its secure hiding place upon her person. Catching her friend's questioning gaze, she shrugged nonchalantly.

"Unlike someone he didn't come at Jet with a pair of swords and get him arrested and then brainwashed by the Dai Li, inevitably leading to his demise!"

Admittedly her outburst was louder than she'd originally planned, but it really wasn't like anyone else was paying attention in the first place. Presently the girl everyone was focused on looked like she was trying to eat Aang with her eyes. Though, now that she'd thought about it, she'd seen the look before directed towards him. She was awed by the presence of the illustrious Avatar and while Smellerbee was fairly certain she'd never acted like that with him around, she couldn't really fault the younger girl for it.

About half an hour and a serving of tea later, she was about as calm as she was going to get and uncharacteristically quiet. There were introductions, reminiscing, and people discussing things she could only barely grasp, like Sokka's irrigation idea. If you needed water in a certain spot, you carried it. If it was too far, you dug a well. No need to complicate things with ditches and pipes and the flow and force of water. After awhile she'd sort of given up on trying to speak. Each time she opened her mouth, she was cut off by one person or another having something else to say. By now, she'd settled on tapping her fingers on the table as her gaze flitted regularly over the room. It was a nervous habit. A good soldier always knew their surroundings as intimately as possible. Otherwise, you risked being taken advantage of.

"Aang! You must have something to report right?"

"How are things looking, Aang? Are we making good progress that you can see?"

It was an opening, a small one, but an opening none the less. In retrospect, Smellerbee probably would have waited until a more appropriate time, but the words that she'd been waiting to say in retaliation tumbled out before she could stop them. there was a good chance he hadn't even heard the biting words she spoke between clenched teeth, in complete contrast with the uncharacteristically sweet smile her lips curved into. A guard had chosen just that moment to whisper in the scarred man's ear.

"And for your information, Fire Lord Zuko, I don't dislike you because of where you came from or what you are. I just don't like you as a person!"

 

[Ahren1]

Zuko continued to try and stay hidden in his seat as the Earth King questioned for reports. It wasn't as if he had nothing to report, he just was horrible at discussing things in any sort of formal manner. Thankfully, this was soon interrupted by the arrival of even more people. Turning his eyes toward the door, the Fire Lord was rather surprised to see the person he respected the most casually walk in. His Uncle Iroh, the great Dragon of the West, apparently decided to join them, and bring a friend so it seemed. Zuko inspected the girl a bit, noting she was fairly young and attractive. Immediately his mind thought the worst. This wasn't Uncle's new girlfriend was it? However Iroh's mentioning of never getting any messages from his nephew sort of distracted him from that possibility.

"Uncle!" He began with a smile, which turned into a slight frown as the older man brought up the message. "Sorry.. You know I'm not good at writing those..."

Aang was just as pleased to see Iroh join the meeting. He was a man of great insight, wisdom and of course, tea. It was because of him that Zuko was able to remain strong willed and know the right path in his heart. Who knows how the war would have ended if the Great Dragon hadn't been so warm hearted. And the Avatar was especially glad to hear his stealth tactics were not totally unappreciated, grinning wide at the man's compliments, and the reference to Toph's nickname had not been lost on him.

"Thank you! Us Airbenders take pride on being light on our feet." He beamed, chuckling upon hearing the antics of Appa outside his presence. "I suppose he does sort of give me away. With an appetite like that, he'll bust through walls to find some food. I guess the less than subtle approach works better for him."

When the old General introduced his shy friend, Aang peered at her momentarily before continuing to smile in his typical friendly and energetic manner. He could see her eyes piercing him for a split second, but he had been used to that sort of look, being the Avatar and all, however usually people just stared in awe. Her way of avoiding his gaze in any way possible suggested there was an essence of something else in her eyes. Questions, perhaps.

As she was introduced, Aang tried to angle himself to where he would meet her gaze again, but everytime he got close, she'd look away again. It was sort of endearing to meet someone so shy considering everyone else he met on his travels had been so friendly... or at least in Zuko's case, not shy at all.

"Glad you could join us, Xia! A friend if Iroh's is a friend of mine!"

Zuko watched them curiously, wondering just what this girl's significance was. As his Uncle took the seat next to him and inquired about tea, the Fire Lord shook his head slightly.

"Well.. We didn't have any of.. your tea. So it just wouldn't feel right..." He replied, the best he could come up with on the spot. He soon tried to divert that part of the conversation, whispering back, "This girl is too young for you, Uncle!"

The arrival of Iroh had sparked a sudden exclamation from one of the Freedom Fighters, which caught Zuko's attention since it was most obviously directed at him. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he chose to remain silent. Just why had these people been invited? What did they have to bring to this meeting? If all she was going to do was blame him for his past, then he was moments away from telling her to leave. He had no delusions of who he had been, and he knew it had hurt people, but hadn't the end of the war proven anything? Or the last eight years? Was he truly directly responsible for her friend's death to the point where he deserved such scorn?

Though despite this interruption, the Earth King reminded everyone that a meeting had to begin. As the group waited for someone to speak up, finally someone did. It may have been one of the only times that Zuko was glad to hear Sokka open his mouth, though what he decided to report wasn't exactly the most fascinating of news. As the overenthusiastic Water Tribe member went on about some sort of irrigation system, Zuko leaned on his palm, not doing the best job of hiding just how bored he was. His mind wandered during this time, as well as his eyes. He couldn't help but notice Toph who had decided to sit next to him, and he continued to glance away every few seconds so no one would notice. If there was at least one benefit about her being blind, it was that he could be sure she wouldn't. Then again, she always had a good sense for things like that, even if she couldn't see them.

Some time passed during Sokka's explanation, and without pause, Iroh had managed to gather tea for the meeting. Next on the chopping block seemed to be the Avatar himself. Upon being called out, the young Airbender laughed nervously as he scratched his head.

"Ah, putting me on the spot I see.. Well to help strengthen relations with the Fire Nation, I took up teaching a firebending class! I've got quite-" He began, pausing as the door opened for yet another interruption. The Earth King frowned slightly, a bit tired of people showing up late, but when he noticed it was a guard with a message in his hands, he remained quiet. Zuko looked at the guard and suddenly a truly dire feeling hit his chest. Somehow he knew the message was for him, but as to why it was bad news, he couldn't be sure. Everything had been going well these last few years. What could possibly happen now? Sure enough, the guard approached Zuko, handing him a message bearing the Fire Nation's symbol. Though, before he got a chance to open it, the strange girl that had been giving him the evil eye from before spoke up again randomly, directing more ire towards him specifically. While he contemplated saying something in response this time, he was too nervous about the message to get into any petty arguments. Sighing, he opened the scroll and began to inspect its contents.

Within mere moments, Zuko's expression changed drastically. It went from slight annoyance at the girl to a strangely eerie blankness, as if something in his mind had shattered into a million pieces. The parchment in his hands literally began to singe and smoke between his fingers, soon to be crumpled in his grasp. "Azula..." He hissed with a quiet, seething hatred that was almost inaudible, yet at the same time, unmistakable. The Fire Lord exited his chair in an extreme hurry, knocking it over in the process as he ran for the door. Aang swallowed softly, having heard Zuko's utterance.

"Zuko..?" He called out, but was ignored as the door flew open and out the Fire Lord went. Aang took a quick look at his comrades and frowned slightly, getting an awful feeling about all of this. What could Azula have done to make him act that way? Was she not secure in the Fire Nation asylum? Regardless, Aang knew he had to go after his friend.

"We might have to postpone the rest of this meeting, you guys..." He said softly before running out next.

Zuko had navigated out of the temple very quickly to which he made way to where his airship had parked. It wasn't until he noticed a familiar flying bison nearby chomping on some apples that he changed his destination. Approaching the large beast, he quickly hopped onto the saddle. With a somewhat confused roar, Zuko leaned over to Appa's ear.

"I'll give you an entire nation of fruit, just get me back to the Fire Nation as fast as you can. Now! Please!" He said with utmost urgency. The beast, still friendly with the Fire Lord since he had rescued him some years ago, complied, taking to the sky at a brisk pace. Aang exited the temple next, staff in hand, watching Appa fly off with Zuko on his back. Frowning again, the Avatar expanded his glider and took off after with only the air currents to chase with. Hopefully he'd be able to catch up to Appa and learn just what had hit Zuko so severely.

 

[Eazy]

Longshot let out a muted sigh as he watched Smellerbee deal with the water tribesman's sloppy attempt at covering his mistake. Despite the subtle use of a threatening warning, she actually handled it better then he feared she would. All the same, as he watched his friend deal with the blind Earthbender it was becoming evident that neither of the Freedom Fighter representatives were about to win over anyone unfamiliar with them by their first impression. At the very least, it appeared Ryota didn't let the uneasy introduction upset him, save for an apparent frustration over the error which could have worsened matters in the first place.

Of course, it wasn't as if they were so much better right now. While Smellerbee had regained a level of composure for now, he could tell she had a number of choice words for the Fire Lords ears about what happened in their shared moment of the past. Actually, if it were up to 'Bee, and the scar faced young man wasn't of royal descent, Longshot could almost imagine she'd take her first opportunity at using her daggers to pin him against a wall by those ears right before sharing those words with him. As his ears perked up as the sound of the Avatar's arrival, he almost gave out a relieved sigh about finally getting things underway. He did, however, let out a brief smile when he caught wind of Smellerbee more or less mirroring his reaction in her own way.

For the most part, as things started getting underway, Longshot kept near his friend while allowing her about as much space as he felt comfortable giving. He almost felt like a stalker, or an overprotective boyfriend, when, truly, he only sought to insure she didn't completely give into a moments temptation. He'd often felt a need for watching out when it came to the girls best interest, but the Freedom Fighter could rarely recall a moment since their reunion where he was this tense about her. If one were to ask him afterwards, Longshot would admit that he could barely focus his attention upon what was happening with any others in the room.

It was perhaps due to this that he failed in catching onto the importance of the older of the two new arrivals which eventually entered into the meeting room. As a mixed blessing, Smellerbee aided him in connecting the dots.

"Unlike someone he didn't come at Jet with a pair of swords and get him arrested and then brainwashed by the Dai Li, inevitably leading to his demise!"

Connection made; only now his mind was more focused on kicking himself over failing to quickly recognize the older Fire Bender's face. Staring at his friend in near disbelief over her words, he slumped his shoulders and reached a hand up to tilt his large head piece over his face, deciding upon ignoring the apparent rudeness this act may show to the new girl and her escort. Smellerbee and himself really needed to set aside a bit of time for a talk over her actions here. A serious one, where he'd probably even use actual words for getting his thoughts across to the young woman.

As the time ticked on, Longshot did straighten himself out and let his hat hang over his shoulders; a small length of thread around his neck connecting itself onto it to avoid keep the head piece attached to his choice in clothing. As usual, he said little during these opening minutes of the meeting, but neither had Smellerbee. At the same time, he could tell she wasn't quite finished with the Fire Lord just yet. She simply couldn't find a proper opening for getting her words out. Longshot almost believed they may go the rest of the evening without further incident, but, as a guard came rushing into the room, he knew it may not be the case.

Watching his fellow Freedom Fighter, the young man gave her an almost pleading look for showing a bit of discretion for now. Either she didn't catch this, or she had but chose to ignore it. Regardless, it didn't seem to matter as she once more cut into the conversation with her own thoughts about the Fire Lord.

"And for your information, Fire Lord Zuko, I don't dislike you because of where you came from or what you are. I just don't like you as a person!"

A light thumping sound could be heard near where the two Freedom Fighter members had been sitting. The source of which, having been the forehead of one Shen 'Longshot' Howin, as he gently tapped it repeatedly against the surface of the table he was presently slumped over against in frustration. It would last for several seconds more before he finally stopped.

-----------------------------

The young water bender sat quietly as things started getting underway between those of the remaining nations in attendance and The Avatar. He listened with considerable interest, but failed in seeing what he could add onto the conversation which Sokka and Katara weren't ready to address. Granted, he could bring a few matters on the water tribes agenda up instead of them, but figured these concerns would gather greater interest from others if heard from one of the now famous siblings. Absently, he started wondering if anyone would protest his bringing forth a cups worth of water for practicing on his ice sculpting formations at the table.

As the legendary Fire Bender entered with his young friend, Ryota almost immediately sat up at attention. The Dragon of the West. If there remained any one of the Fire Nation populace which the young bender could look past his anger towards, it was the gray haired figure who made for an unexpected arrival. Granted, the celebrated former general had more then a few of his own crosses to bear, but, hypocritical as it may seem, they were far enough removed from the majority of Ryota's life where he found it easier to overlook them.

So caught up was the Water Bender by Iroh's presence, that it was another minute or so before he took notice of the woman beside him. He'd even missed a chance at making out the words given off by the female Freedom Fighter, though he could tell they weren't present. Watching as the older man urged her into greeting those gathered, the first thought which entered his mind was about the girls natural beauty. The second one reflected on how shy she appeared when giving a simple introduction, which Ryota found a welcomed change from everyone else around here. Least it meant he wasn't the only one having to adjust at being amongst such a strange, complex, and, ultimately, intimidating group of people.

"Greetings." He called back simply while raising a hand and giving her a friendly wave, feeling fairly confident in this ones ability to actually see him waving a hand toward her direction as she took a seat.

Things slowly resumed, with the attention swiftly shifting toward Sokka, which actually captured Ryota's interest considerably; for the 50/50 chance of either hearing a stroke of genius or a chance of seeing how far the Water Tribe Warrior could stick his foot into his own mouth. Either one or the other would have been fine, actually. As he listened, however, he could barely follow the complicated way Sokka went about describing his proposal. It sounded like a smart idea, but that was a much different beast then being a smart idea. Then his fellow tribesman had to say something which almost made this question a moot point for the young bender.

"Because seriously, who wants a crabby waterbender around all the time am I right? Eh eh?"

"...uh..er...not you of course Katara...heh..heh..."

Ryota made a mental note for waterbending a dozen or so cubes of ice into Sokka's sleeping bag; the next time such an opportunity presented itself to him. Of course, probably wouldn't give such thoughts any further consideration after the meeting, and he already found them fleeting as his attention became drawn toward a guard approaching Zuko. The over cautious skeptic in him made Ryota leery of what message was important enough for the Fire Lord's attention during such an important meeting. However, he again found such thoughts quickly forgotten, least for the moment, as yet another diversion presented itself.

"And for your information, Fire Lord Zuko, I don't dislike you because of where you came from or what you are. I just don't like you as a person!"

Spirits help him, this girl's attitude was ever so tempting him to speak up about how she was behaving. However, he feared that may be misconstrued as standing up for one of the Fire Nation; so he instead remained silent as he glared in her direction briefly. Ryota almost wished she'd just lunge at the Fire Lord and refuse to stop until one of them was finished. Almost, of course. Still, at least then things would perhaps return to normal around here; one way or the other.

Suddenly, almost as if being granted a distorted take on his silent wish, his own gaze shifted back toward the Fire Lord as his expression showed noticeable signs of an unspoken hatred boiling inside. Then, without a word, the crowned Fire Lord darted out of the room with a clear destination apparent on his mind. It wasn't long afterward that the last Airbender, The Avatar, excused himself before taking off in hot pursuit. Ryota's eyes followed the action as best he could from where he sat, but, soon enough, both participants were gone and the rest were seemingly left to pick up the pieces of this unexpected turn of events.

"So...um...is this about the norm for how the majority of your meetings conclude?" He spoke up shortly after the pair left, issuing a question directed toward nobody in particular, more trying to break the moment of awkward silence which filled the room then actually expecting an honest answer.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Xia and Iroh

"Glad you could join us, Xia! A friend if Iroh's is a friend of mine!"

Xia, her cheeks seared by her embarrassment, felt a little mollified by this. Just a little.

And while she did not rest her eyes directly upon The Avatar, she did bow her head to him with emphasis and respect, quickly and stiffly.

"This one is gratified to make your acquaintance," she told him sincerely.

Truly, The Avatar was as enlightened as they said. But she didn't want small talk, she wanted answers. One might think that exchanging philosophy in debate with University students would teach her a modicum of patience? But she had had enough of patience. She had been patient for most of her eighteen years; she consoled herself, however, at the thought that she would only have to continue to be patient until the end of this meeting.

She saw Ryota waving to her, heard him greet her, and, emboldened by the renewed thought of her answers being provided soon, she returned his wave deftly. She wondered, briefly, what part of "everyone" this Tribesman represented.

The Queen of Omashu seemed bemused by Iroh's turn of phrase. Inside joke, probably: a group this tight-knit would probably have an endless supply of these.

Zuko had apologised to Iroh about the lack of messages, and had complimented Iroh's tea, and this pleased him. It was very entertaining to Iroh to make his nephew feel a little uncomfortable from time to time: Zuko had built plenty of character over the years, but one could never build too much character. Also, it was ever-so-important that Zuko not become one of those aforediscussed overstuffed peacocks that were so ubiquitous in noble circles.

But then Zuko fired back, and this brought a smile of great immensity to Iroh's face: "This girl is too young for you, Uncle!"

"You know," Iroh mused, sitting back in his chair with that great great smile, stroking his beard. "I once heard a legend of someone saying very much the same thing to an Avatar called Kyoshi. She had just turned 200, and she was courting a 150-year-old man... naturally, one does not speak so disrespectfully to the incarnation of the world, and she Earthbent this person, embedding him into the face of a cliff for a week and a day. He learned his lesson: what seems so set in stone to the young often becomes far more flexible when one's years are many."

Xia paused, and then touched Iroh on the arm, her voice as inaudible a whisper as she could make it: "Are you really going to let him go on thinking that we're 'courting?'"

Iroh replied, his voice delighted but ever-so-soft: "Only so long as it is fun to watch him squirm. But I do not think that will stop being fun anytime soon."

"I see," Xia mumbled, though it was evident that she did not approve.

Tea was served and discussions began.

The tea was good. Ginseng, Iroh's favourite.

Xia tried desperately to keep from tapping her foot under the table. Oh, to have patience that could not be worn thin.

(There was small consolation again here: the Tribesman who had waved to her seemed very much as distracted as she felt... except when the wiseacre brainbox started going into tales of water-pressure and hydraulics and cappillarity, in which case she lost her comrade to a sense of wonder.)

Xia tried her best to keep abreast of these concepts. So often the summer months were hard on The Lower Ring, because while The Agrarian Zone and the other Rings managed to fetch enough water, the muddy roads of The Lower Ring would often harden to rock for lack of hydration. It was good that this science-minded fellow had thought of her people when writing up this plan; life might actually become a little less unbearable down there as a result of this.

But still.

(Her foot started tapping under the table.)

(Iroh just smiled placidly and sipped his tea, making it last.)

The topic shifted, and Aang began waxing on delightedly about a new venture of his, Firebending instruction, and--

And then those great doors opened, and in came a bearer of news for The Fire Lord.

As Zuko read, Smellerbee let fly with a snark that she had apparently been penning up: "And for your information, Fire Lord Zuko, I don't dislike you because of where you came from or what you are. I just don't like you as a person!"

Xia blinked, startled by this, and began murmuring before she could stop herself: "Well. I suppose that's the most honest and honourable reason to not like someone. I would much prefer to be disliked for my being a wan2nao4 than for just being from The Low--"

But then she glanced over at Iroh and she fell silent. Because Iroh had set down his teacup and was gazing with fierce worried eyes at Zuko, and Zuko, in turn, was blistering with rage so pent up as to be oblivious to Smellerbee's.

Blistering with rage so furious that the parchment in his hands literally began to blister with flame.

Iroh frowned, and was about to say something.

But then Zuko breathed a name-- "Azula..." --and Iroh might not have heard the boy had he not been sitting directly next to him, but that name, that unholy terrible name, this was enough to put a chill down Iroh's ancient mighty spine.

His eyes grew wide, and a breath of horror and wonder escaped his lips. "No..."

Zuko toppled his chair and made for the door and The Avatar made after him.

Xia panicked at the thought that he might suddenly be out of her reach once more and she bounded up onto the table and sprinted after them, her mind in chaos. Gods and Buddhas and spirits please please no.

"So...um...is this about the norm for how the majority of your meetings conclude?" Ryota wondered, not unreasonably.

Iroh rose slowly to his feet and tucked his hands solemnly into his sleeves with his arms crossed over his stomach. "I would say that this is a very unhappy average."

And then he, too, followed Zuko and Aang and Xia, and though his strides were rapid, he did not lose his cool, he did not run at fullest speed.

...Xia, not nearly so fast as the vastly more powerful and trained Aang even under the best of circumstances, had already worn herself out by her earlier exertions. Thus, she skidded to a halt outside The Palace just as The Avatar soared beyond her reach on his glider and she fell to her knees in despondency and incredulity.

"Kao4!" she snarled, and punched the flagstone upon which she knelt before huddling herself tightly and scrunching shut her eyes, fighting the disappointment.

She felt a presence beside her, but she did not look up at the person. She figured it was the guard again, here to take a pound of flesh out of her for giving him such a hard time before.

But then a hand rested upon her shoulder, and she knew it was The Dragon.

"It is written," she shuddered: "'Respect the gods and Buddhas, without relying on their help.'"

"It is written," Iroh replied, his voice darksome and full of gathering thunder: "'There has to be Evil so that Good can prove its purity above it.' Perhaps it is time for all of us to begin proving again."

"'All of us?'" Xia blinked, wholly incredulous, utterly infuriated, glancing up at the old man. "I never claimed to be Good."

Iroh arched an eyebrow at her, gazing upon her through eyes that had gazed upon The Spirit World, and gave her a look as though she had just said something monumentally stupid even though the both of them knew better.

Xia's face went slack and she closed her mouth and she looked away from him.

 

[Mister J]

"So...um...is this about the norm for how the majority of your meetings conclude?"

Ryota asked and Sokka sighed, slapping him on the back.

"No, usually we're running away from something as opposed to running at it."

Sokka grabbed his meteor sword and slung it over his back. The blasted thing took him forever to find once he had the chance to scour the forests for it and his ever faithful boomerang. He did find them though, even though it took him a few days, he still found them.

Now he was running to catch up with the others, wondering just what was going on. He glanced around as he bounded across the halls. Everyone else seemed to have about the same type of confused look he did except for Iroh and Zuko. This led him to believe it was either a: A family matter or b: a Fire Nation matter. In Sokka's eyes, neither were good things...especially if it got those two so worked up. Iroh, visibly less so obviously.

Finally he made his way outside and immediately looked towards Zuko's dirigible. However, his eyes caught something in the sky and he turned his attention towards that instead. Once focused, he saw it was Appa flying away closely followed by Aang.

"Okay, seriously...What the heck is going on?!"

Sokka made some frustrated hand motions directed to Zuko and Aang as he let out a deep sigh. One hand came up and went to the back of his head, scratching it lightly as he watched them disappear into the clouds.

 

[Mephistophelily]

Toph had been moments away from dozing off, having already lost her thoughts elsewhere as the arguements seemed unphased by her pointing out of the purpose of the meeting- Though Iroh's tea had seemed to silence things well enough for a few minutes. Perhaps that was what had left her mind so easy to wander.. The old man's teas worked wonders.

Well, at least on her anyway. There were the grumblings again. She sighed, blowing at her hair once more as she tried to listen to Aang instead. He seemed rather eager to share his recent chain of events, his previous fears of firebending now seeming to be a newfound joy for him. Her head nodded as he spoke, Toph half-listening, half-dreaming as he went on. With the movements behind her, however, she returned fully to the room, catching the whispered tones in Zuko's ear. Nothing that spectactular, she figured; most likely his advisers acting in the same fashion as hers; paranoid about this or that, wanting opinions as soon as possible.

The burning smell and hissed name of his sibling, however, tossed those thoughts aside. "...Zuko?," she asked softly, letting the feet of her chair fall back against the floor as he moved past her. "Zuko, hey! What-" She scowled as the whole room suddenly seemed to question his strange reaction, shrugging as she stood herself, following the rest of the gathered group outside.

"He mentioned Azula. Maybe she finally kicked the bucket." She paused as she caught the horrified gasp of the Earth King, spreading her hands in defense. "What? Its not like any of us would really miss her or anything..."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Xia and Iroh

Gathering herself, gathering her wits and her reserve in the renewed presence of all these people, thrusting down her disappointment, Xia clambered to her feet and dusted herself off.

She attempted to steel herself. And she might have made some suggestion of an apology to Iroh... but he was preoccupying himself with what The Queen of Omashu had said, replying to her.

"I think that Zuko always held out hope in his heart," he growled, eyes never leaving the receding dots of Bison and glider, "that Azula would find healing. That she would come to love him. Just as he hoped for love from his father for all that time. (As stalwart as my nephew can make himself, as much as he closes himself away, he cannot help but expect the best of people.) But if she had come to love him, or if she had passed away, this would be relief for him. One less worry on a worried mind. This... this charging off? This is not relief. This is cause for concern."

"Which one was Azula again?" Xia attempted, glancing around, first at Iroh, then at the gesticulating Tribesman with the darkly-metallic sword and the glinting boomerang, then at the blind Queen, then at the others, searching for purchase on the moment. "I was kind of stuck inside the walls when everything happened with you guys. What we didn't see... all we had to go on was rumour. Something happened to his mother, right, whatever happened with that? Is 'Azula' his mom?"

The Dragon of The West snorted impatiently, and steam puffed from his nostrils.

He turned and strode briskly, rapid-fire, to the place where the airship had been moored, to the Fire Nation guards standing there.

"How soon can you make ready to disembark?" he demanded.

"Sooner than immediately, General Iroh," the guard replied, instantly discarding his concern that The Fire Lord had just left without his ride.

"Do it," he suggested, with a brisk nod. "Follow that Bison!"

He glanced over his shoulder at the remnants of the team that once had saved the world from the madness of an ever-rising Sun. Its remnants and its newcomers.

"All aboard who are coming aboard," he suggested, in no uncertain tones.

 

[Ahren1]

Aang squinted at the rushing wind as he picked up the pace, desperately trying to catch Appa in the quickest flight he had ever seen the bison in. He was being kind back in the meeting room saying Appa was faster than ever, but he never expected this. Zuko must have said something very appealing in order to get him to go that fast. That or the animal was just insightful enough to realize the urgency in the Fire Lord at this particular moment. With a quick burst of airbending to launch him forward, Aang finally caught up to his friends, landing on the back of the saddle as he looked upon Zuko. Zuko's eyes continued to stare straight forward as if he was trying to see miles ahead of himself, his knuckles white as they clutched the side of the saddle.

"Zuko.. What's wrong? You know you can tell me, whatever it is..." Aang spoke softly, making a few movements to get closer. There were a few moments of uneasy silence before the scarred Lord finally spoke up, raising his hand and revealing the crumpled, singed note from before.

"This... is from Azula." Was all he said, still looking forward. Aang's expression took on a rather horrific look, knowing that whatever Azula had written to him couldn't have been pleasant to extract such a reaction in Zuko, who had considerably calmed since becoming Fire Lord and settling down, despite the stresses of leading a Nation.

"Well.. If she got away, we'll stop her... We're all much stronger... She's just one firebender." Aang tried to assure his friend, but this statement finally gathered a look from Zuko, who turned to face The Avatar sharply.

"I don't care about Azula! This is about Mai! She says.." He began quite strongly before his voice began to fade near the end, as if he didn't even want to speak the possibility. Aang was obviously smart enough to decipher the rest, becoming quiet as well. What could he say to this? That he was sure everything was okay? He wasn't sure. There was likely nothing anyone could say right now to put his mind at ease. Aang specifically recalled the time when he lost Appa. Even his normal, pacifist attitude changed dramatically. Snapping at his friends, destroying property, and even killing a mostly innocent creature in his anger, and he was the Avatar. Zuko had a very different mindset, and who was to say what may happen if he lost what was most important to him? This was no longer about honor, but love.

After some flight time which seemed like an eternity, the pair noticed the island of the Asylum come into view. As they closed in, immediately a set of bodies could be seen on the shore. As Appa landed, Zuko dismounted, running over to inspect the bodies. They were most definitely the ship captain and Mai's personal guard, the one she always scoffed at for needing. Zuko had repeatedly told her it was mainly to intimidate anyone who would think of trying anything against her, even though she was likely ten times more skilled in combat than the guard. Seeing him dead did not necessarily mean Mai was, but it certainly was a bad sign. It meant that Mai did, in fact, make it to the Asylum and that Azula had most likely gotten out...

With that, he rushed toward the ominous building, noticing more guard corpses along the way, but not stopping for anything. Aang swallowed softly as he saw the same things as Zuko who had already dashed inside, though he was quite afraid of what his friend would find once in there. Aang slowly approached the gates but before he could enter, Zuko was returning but not alone. In his arms he held a person, which as he neared the Avatar, was more recognizable as Mai. Aang felt his breath catch in his throat, not sure whether to ask the inevitable question or to leave Zuko alone. Zuko seemed to be looking right through Aang instead of at him as he began heading straight back for Appa, not even turning to glance at the Airbender as he passed. Aang followed, getting back into Appa's saddle as Zuko did with Mai. Blood was dripping everywhere by now, so it was very apparent that if she was alive, she was in serious condition. Finally, Zuko turned to Aang with possibly the most serious expression the Fire Lord had ever given, which was saying a lot since he normally was such.

"I'm taking her to the infirmary at the palace.. As soon as we get there, take Appa and find Katara.. please. She's the only one I know who can possibly save her now.."

Aang nodded, remaining silent as they flew toward the Fire Nation palace, and after leaving Zuko and Mai, Aang traveled swiftly in reverse to hopefully retrieve the Waterbender healer in time...

(The post was somewhat rushed as I was late for something but really wanted to get it up. I suck at super dramatic stuff so bear with me. I'll try to get by this quickly so we can move on.)

 

[Mephistophelily]

"Someone could've told me I was standing right next to him," Toph grumbled, though her skin held a slightly paled tone over the fact she had offended her aged friend. He and his nephew were good friends to her now; something that she would never have imagined years ago. The pair was once frightening to her, but over the years and after coming to know them, the two were more than just allies to her... They were her friends. Amazing what could happen over the length of time. She now felt no fear to walk on the soil of Zuko's homeland, able to pass through freely without need for disguises or to be worried for her life.

The uttering of his sibling's name had come off so suddenly, and the burning scent of the paper meant that his emotions were raging. What could she have possibly sent him? It worried her to know that Zuko was this upset, that his sister could hurt him this deeply with mere words on a page.

At their newest member's question on Azula's place in all this, she frowned, turning her head in the direction of the young woman. "She's his sister. For all the good that Zuko and Iroh have brought to the Four nations, she wants to cause far greater amounts of damage..." Listening a moment as Iroh called for the party to join him aboard the ship, she lowered her voice, speaking still to the new girl. "He... he was hopeful. It's hard to believe they all share the same blood. It's too bad they couldn't all share the same ideas..."

She was the one who still left fear in Toph.

"Come on. Zuko needs us, whether he wants to admit it or not." She guestured towards the airship, the frown still resting on her lips.


-----------------


Azula was smiling, a rather rare thing... Only seen the last few years to taunt the men who tried to heal her mind, to ensure her new 'friends' that she meant the greatest of intentions with their help, or to make her guards wonder what she was doing. But this... this was a smile, pure and simple. A true smile of joy, something that she hadn't let see the light of day in over 8 years.

"Gentlemen, I welcome you home," she stated proudly, spreading her arms before her as the Fire Lord's Palace came into view. "Land the ship a distance from the main gates; I have a feeling that we may have a welcoming committee readying for our arrival. Be sure that our own party is fully prepared for this."

With the nodding of heads around her, Azula watched as the group scattered off into various directions of the air ship, staring at the looming structure before her. Had he found out yet? Perhaps he was there now; sitting, waiting, wailing over his poor little Mai. That was the problem with Zuko, he let his emotions lead him. A proper Fire Lord would have lost their connection to emotions years ago. Emotions were for the weak. They were easily manipulated, used against you...

And she was giving him a sterling example of that. Did he see it? She was trying to teach him, to show him what he lacked compared to her. "Ji Fen!," She suddenly barked, the giant man lumbering to her side. "Have you prepared yourself?"

He only nodded mutely, staring off ahead of him before jabbing a finger in the direction of the palace, a grunt in his throat.

"Yes. That would be it. Beautiful, isn't it? It will need a few refining touches, of course. It looks far too... Pretty." She sneered a bit at that, looking up at him once again. "And I promise you, Ji Fen. You will receive your gift, as long as you do as you have been asked."

A deep guffaw came from the giant, still refusing to open his mouth.

 

[Eazy]

It all happened rather quickly, as everyone gathered within the meeting room reacted in their own respective ways toward the unexpected and unwanted news. Ryota kept silent during the majority of the exchanges, theories and questions; having little to offer in any of those categories. He did, however, keep his eyes peeled and his ears attentive as he followed the action. While nobody had actually called upon his aide as of yet, the young Water Bender already felt grateful for having insured he had a full supply of bending water in advance.

Despite the serious tone of the proceeding responses, he did allow a smirk to creep across his features when the blind Earth Bender made her comment about Azula. Especially when she realized how close the retired Fire Nation general was to her immediate proximity. Her reaction was all the more humorous to him when, going by some of the stories Katara and Sokka told in preparation of meeting these people, she likely wouldn't have been overly receptive to someone pointing out anything which her bending could normally detect.

When it came time for everyone to either rally together or wait behind during the apparent confrontation, Ryota took on a more somber expression. While he didn't exactly wish any harm upon Zuko, least not so directly, he also didn't know about sticking his neck out for one of the Fire Nation. Not one of the royal family whose constant misdeeds and errors of judgment prolonged the previous war for longer then it should have been. Somebody who, albeit inadvertently, cost a number of people their lives while he continued walking freely in the lap of luxury.

In the back of his mind, he could fathom a guess that the two Freedom Fighter representatives feelings weren't too dissimilar on the subject. Particularly where it related to the one with the big mouth and a short fuse.

"She's right." A voice came from the seats toward the back, the normally quiet Longshot standing slowly from his place beside Smellerbee, his eyes glancing toward everyone and no one in particular as he explained, "The Fire Lord is going to need as much help as he can receive. And while not all of us may feel so inclined toward risking our lives for him, it also goes without saying that we can't allow his sister to renew peoples fear and uncertainty toward the Fire Nation. Not after the years of effort put into restoring what trust there is between the nations."

Turning his head away from the rest and gazing down toward Smellerbee, he again remained silent as he watched his friend carefully. Stretching out a hand, the young man took her own within his grasp, squeezing it firmly as he told her, in their own way, that he would understand if she didn't go with them. At the same time, it wasn't a matter which he could leave alone, nor did he imagine it was one she ultimately could.

Returning his attention toward the others, he reluctantly let got of his friends hand as he calmly declared to the rest in a way they were certain to understand, "I'm going."

Without sparing another word or look toward the rest, he steadily headed toward the doors leading out of the meeting room, his path clearly intending to lead him toward the airship where Iroh awaited backup.

"Wait a minute." Ryota started to say once Longshot was out of the room, his attention shifting slightly between those immediately around him as he spoke with an almost bewildered reaction, "He can talk?!"

Pausing for a moment after having asked the nearly hypothetical question, the Northern Water Tribe native then brushed it aside in order to consider more important matters. Taking a moment for himself in reflecting upon what the young man stated before leaving, Ryota then weighed it against his own deep seeded animosity toward Zuko and the Fire Nation. Giving a sigh, he realized there really wasn't any choice in this situation, though he did turn toward his fellow Water Tribe representatives to let them know where he stood.

"My first priority is in helping to escort the both of you around and making sure you get back home safely. So, whatever you two decide upon doing, I'll go along without question." Ryota explained while already preparing himself for leaving, knowing in advance, more or less, what their responses were going to be.

 

[UnseenMaiden]

The times in her life where she actually regretted saying something were few enough that she could count them on both hands and still have fingers left over. She was a direct person. So she said what she meant and meant what she said. This usually meant that the times she was ashamed of herself were exceedingly rare. Yet, as Zuko read the scroll in his hands, and the mix of absolute fury and grief lined his features, she felt an acute pang of guilt wash through her.

"Azula..."

"No..."

"What?"

The question tumbled out, unheard by the masses and just as soft as their combined exclamations of surprise and hate. Maybe their reaction would have made more sense if she had any idea who this Azula was, but she hadn't been here when Ba Sing se had fallen to her carefully planned infiltration. She hadn't known any driving force behind the Dai Li, other than Long Feng, and while she wasn't so caught up in her own life not to have heard the fearful whispers of the Fire Princess, mad and determined to cement her father's regime and then rival it once she took the throne, there was so much more that seemed important. She could have done nothing then about this woman, so she focused on steeling herself against what she could. The ache of Jet's slow demise, the constant familiar anxiety of hiding and searching for food to sustain all of them, battle, and punishment for crimes she insistently continued to commit against the Fire Nation.

So no, she didn't know this Azula. She didn't know all of her crimes and she didn't know what she had done to deserve the look in people's eyes when they mentioned her. What she knew was that whatever was contained in that scroll was beyond terrible, something life crushing that caused the Fire Lord to run head long for escape and towards what was most certainly a battle that had been a long time coming.

"So...um...is this about the norm for how the majority of your meetings conclude?"

"I would say that this is a very unhappy average."

Dimly, it came to her that the thumping noise she'd been hearing was Longshot thumping his head against the unforgiving surface of the table. She should say something. Normally she would say something. it would end up being harsher than needed, full of biting annoyance at him acting like he was her nanny or something close to it. Her actions were not his responsibility. Just as his own actions were not hers. If they were, she'd probably be like so many, urging him to speak again and again once they knew he could. He needed to speak up more, relate to people that weren't like her, normal ones that weren't all wrapped in fury and war cause those were the only things that felt oddly safe.

"I think that Zuko always held out hope in his heart, that Azula would find healing. That she would come to love him. Just as he hoped for love from his father for all that time. (As stalwart as my nephew can make himself, as much as he closes himself away, he cannot help but expect the best of people.) But if she had come to love him, or if she had passed away, this would be relief for him. One less worry on a worried mind. This... this charging off? This is not relief. This is cause for concern."

"Which one was Azula again? I was kind of stuck inside the walls when everything happened with you guys. What we didn't see... all we had to go on was rumour. Something happened to his mother, right, whatever happened with that? Is 'Azula' his mom?"

She could see Katara doing that. Pushing Longshot out of his so common silence. She was like that, caring, pushing, because she knew things could, should be so much better than they were. At least, she had been like that. Things changed. Things would continue to change. Lifting a hand, she smoothed back Longshot's hair, hoping to still his incessant head banging. Smellerbee had the sudden disturbing notion that she was an island of sameness in this sea of change. Somehow, she realized, she'd already known that, known it the moment the Avatar and two southern water tribesman wandered into an ambush Jet had spending hours trying to figure out how to set into motion. They said peace was most harrowing on soldiers. Maybe that was why she'd been so nervous about coming to this thing. She didn't know how to operate without expecting some form of conflict in the future, didn't know how to function. The notion of peace and calm between everyone scared her shitless.

"She's right. The Fire Lord is going to need as much help as he can receive. And while not all of us may feel so inclined toward risking our lives for him, it also goes without saying that we can't allow his sister to renew peoples fear and uncertainty toward the Fire Nation. Not after the years of effort put into restoring what trust there is between the nations."

Somehow, somewhere, she'd missed something. A frown spread across her lips as Longshot reached down ad squeezed her hand,. She hadn't been listening, too stuck in her own head to pay attention the world around her, too confused by this Azula person to hear the explanations given. So she was sent scrambling over her friend's words, searching his face for an explanation as he looked at those beyond her. It took her longer than she needed. Mostly because she was hoping they would end up meaning something else, meaning that he wasn't going to go off after a man they'd only met once before and possibly into the waiting arms of death. She wanted it to mean anything but the goodbye she could read between his rare words, because she knew he thought she wouldn't come with him because of some grudge she carried.

"I'm going."

They were wrong, even him. Whatever they were thinking of her. She didn't hate Fire Lord Zuko. She didn't know enough of him to hate him. Her hate was something she reserved for one person alone. What she felt for him was anger at being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was angry for him being the spirits tool of Jet's demise and she held contempt for him because the little bit of him she'd seen this day seemed to show that he didn't like being reminded of the burdens he had to bear. Burdens that not a single one of them that had been involved in this war didn't bear as well. Only the truly heartless held no regrets for the bloodshed they'd caused with their choices. Only fools sought to pretend that they were worthy of a life without guilt.

"Wait a minute... He can talk?!"

"Yes. He can talk. You should really stop assuming things about people like that."

Fear had never been something she was good with. It choked her up and made her feel small and weak. Giving into it would only expand that feeling into a reality. So she projected every image of toughness, her voice a low growl of irritation as she pulled her chair away and walked past the few left, following her friend's footsteps. It didn't take any time to make the decision to join him on the airship, her eyes darting uncertainly around the strange craft as it wavered slightly in the breeze. She wouldn't admit that this was for him, for her attachment to him, unhealthy as it probably was, because even though she was going with him now, there was that lurking knowledge that any number of things could pull him from her life in the future. They weren't all bad. Some of them she even tenuously hoped for when she allowed herself to dwell on a future that was farther off than a few months.

Sleep or lack there of it. That was probably why she kept being so foolishly existential today. Damn daydreaming was becoming a dangerous habit. Nodding to the old man, Smellerbee came up behind Longshot, careful to replace the weariness her thoughts had given her with a bemused smirk at the lifted eyebrows and small smile he sent her as he whirled around.

"Like I was ever going to let you go run off to your death alone."

 

[Mister J]

"My first priority is in helping to escort the both of you around and making sure you get back home safely. So, whatever you two decide upon doing, I'll go along without question."

Sokka shook his head after Ryota had finished, his eyes closed as he held up a hand.

"No...no discussion needed. We're going."

He said as he opened his eyes and narrowed them towards Katara. Sokka, for once, was deadly serious. They all remembered what Azula had put Sokka through with Suki years ago, what she had but all of them through. Sokka dropped his hand to his side as he turned to head towards the airship, following Iroh's lead. As he passed him, he glanced towards the older man.

"We'll need a plan..."

He stated plainly, catching Iroh's eyes for a moment before he had moved past him and headed towards the airship's kitchen. After all, no one could plan an effective strategy on an empty stomach. That, and the tables in the mess hall would be big enough to seat all of them while they came up with some sort of plan for the coming battle.

Battle...

Sokka let out a sigh as the thought passed through his mind, lingering like an old wound. He had thought his warrior days were all but over. Glad of it too. He enjoyed the peace they had all fought for together and helped maintain after the war was over.

But now it seemed that those old fires were burning again, maybe even literally. He had high hopes for their group. They were older now, no longer the children of the past and they were wiser, stronger, and more experienced than before. Sokka, himself, had been training his swordplay as often as he could, honing his skills to the best of his ability. Zuko and him even sparred once in awhile, their two distinct sword fighting styles clashing upon the training fields.

Suki.

The image of the girl he loved flashed through his mind. The years after the war had been tough on those two. They each had their obligations to their own people and it was seldom that they were able to see each other. So naturally, they started to grow apart. They both still cared deeply for each other, but had made the mutual decision to remain as friends...close friends. At least she was safe he thought. Azula wouldn't know Ty Lee was on Kyoshi Island, or at least that's what Sokka wanted to believe. Anything was possible for that abomination of a woman.

"We can do this."

He said out loud to himself as he reached the kitchen, having traversed through the various cramped metal hallways of the airship. He'd eat something and figure out a plan. That's all he could do now.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Iroh and Xia

Gone were the days when travel across The Four Nations was a matter of weeks or even months.

Sure, if you wanted to traverse it on foot, you could take half of forever, or at least an entire summer, visiting all the sights that The World had to offer. But the airship technology that had very nearly won The Fire Nation a war had resulted in a much smaller map. Such travel now could be done in a day, or even hours if one pushed oneself.

But for all of the airship's capacity for speed, nothing in the sky could compete with The Flying Bison. Jokes about the creature's advanced age aside, his species were The First Airbenders for a reason. And perhaps, if one gave the creature sufficient motivation, he could leave the whole wide blue in his dust.

Zuko was The Fire Lord. He knew how to motivate.

Iroh sat in one of the rear seats of the command bridge area, hands folded in his lap. He was trying to meditate, trying to still his fluttering spirit and to route his chi along its proper courses. Inspired by the healing power of certain Waterbenders, he was trying to attune himself to the ebb and flow of his own energies' eddies.

This was not easy. He was not at peace.

He did not like casting aside his mask of frivolity and relaxation to again become this oft-lauded Dragon. He wanted the mask of frivolity and relaxation to be his real face. But swapping your own face is as impossible as choosing the next life into which you are born, and after almost eight years of decadent soothing activity he was again the man who had gotten his dear son killed, who had breached the walls of Ba Sing Se once as an oppressor and again as liberator.

He did not want to be the kind of Firebender who seared and scorched and raged. Not like his brother had been.

He wanted to be as The Dragons had taught him to be. The kind of Firebender who warmed and nourished and healed.

But Fire burns both ways, and Fire is not always easily tamed.

He opened his eyes and he saw the Earthen Airbender staring at him.

She looked away sharply, scowling.

"Can I help you?" he asked, softly.

"I wish I could do that," she murmured. "Just shut off when I needed to. Just go away from the world. I wish I could meditate."

"It is something of an acquired talent," Iroh admitted. "And one must be prepared to embrace one's true nature. One's wu-wei. One must be prepared to... go with the flow. But it seems to me that you are at war with your true nature. You keep trying to be something you are not. (I know how that feels, and I am not the only one.)"

"I don't even know what that means," Xia protested, squinting at him dubiously. "'My true nature.'"

"Of course you know your own true nature," Iroh laughed softly, eyes dancing. "Who does not know who they are? Even those who forget their name, their home, their ancestors, within they know always who they truly are. You know. But perhaps you do not know that you know. You know?"

Xia's lip twitched. "Now you're being intentionally impenetrable. For a Firebender, you blow a lot of smoke."

"For an Airbender," Iroh replied, easy as pie, "you are awfully rigid."

Xia made a scoffing noise, but she could think of no answer.

She was saved from producing one by one of the pilots of the craft calling over his shoulder at Iroh. "Sir? General-Sir?"

Iroh rose to his feet, not a hint of stiffness about him despite how long he'd sat unmoving, and he moved to stand behind that pilot's seat. "What is it, young man?"

The pilot pointed ahead, at a dot in the distance that was rapidly growing closer. "There, sir."

"My eyes are not what they used to be," Iroh suggested ruefully, "and they were never all that legendary. Perhaps you could tell me what I am seeing?"

The pilot turned a little red, embarrassed. "Uh. Of course. It's, uh, The Bison, sir. He's coming back, and he looks like he's on an intercept course."

"Excellent," Iroh nodded quietly, and ran fingers through his beard. "Slow us, and adjust to meet him."

And what tidings do you bring, my thund'rously mighty friend? I pray that your tidings are glad, though I know in my poor old bones that this is not the case.

He glanced over his shoulder at Xia. "Go and bring the others, if you please."

Xia opened her mouth to let fly a vicious, scathing protest.

But then his eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly, ever-so-subtly. So very rigid.

And with a grunt of chagrin, she wheeled away from him, stalking off deeper into the bowels of the royal airship.

Arms crossed over her stomach, spine stiff with pent-up resentment, Xia searched through the rooms for the other folk who had boarded at Ba Sing Se.

"Hello?" she called. "They found the. Hungry flying monster thing. Iroh wants everybody on deck. Hello?"

 

[Ahren1]

As Aang persisted through the darkening skies upon the back of his loyal bison, his target soon came into view. As he predicted, the rest of the group boarded the Fire Nation airship and began to head toward the Fire Nation. He idly wondered just who he'd find on the ship, knowing very well that some might hesitate just to board such a thing, let alone do so in order to help the Fire Lord. Nonetheless, he noticed the ship actively turn in his direction and slow its forward thrust, allowing Aang to leap off onto it with relative ease. As he made his way to the bridge, he tried to go over in his mind what he would tell everyone. He hated being the bearer of bad news, but they needed to know.

As he arrived onto the bridge, the Avatar greeted Iroh, though the look in the Airbender's eyes was anything but reassuring. Meanwhile, Katara had reserved herself a spot in the mess hall where she quietly mulled over her own thoughts. Azula had done something to put Zuko into a seething fury, something she hadn't seen from him since the war. Her mind thought back to when she and Zuko had fought against Azula, and how strong she was. Not only that, but the woman's mind had deteriorated so much that sanity had seemed out of her reach forever. Someone like that, with the powers she had, probably felt they had nothing to lose. A very dangerous opponent. Nonetheless, Katara, once a simple Water Tribe girl who could barely cause a ripple in a puddle, had managed to bring a checkmate to the lightning conjuring "Fire Lord" Azula. Of course, she hadn't gone as far as to kill her. She had learned shortly before that event that revenge in such a way wouldn't make her feel better, that it wasn't worth it.

Her thoughts were broken when the voice of Xia came from the halls, claiming Appa had been sighted. Her eyes widened slightly as she got up from her seat and took a brisk pace toward the bridge. Aang was standing there, his back turned toward the front view of the ship, watching quietly. A smile crept upon the Waterbender's face as she walked up to place a hand on her companion's shoulder. When he turned to meet her gaze, she immediately saw in his eyes that something terrible had happened, and her smile instantly faded.

"Aang..." She spoke softly as the Avatar placed one of his hands on hers in a comforting manner, noticing some of the others from the group begin to appear on the bridge. "How is Zuko?" She continued, already knowing the answer was likely not going to be a positive one.

"Everyone." Aang began, putting on a brave face, looking between each person with a rather serious expression that he didn't break out often. "Azula has escaped from the asylum she had been kept at for the past eight years, and with that, taken many of the inmates."

Katara immediately felt an awful sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her eyes already beginning to tear up just at the thought of what Aang was going to say next. The Avatar paused, taking a slight breath before continuing.

"Everyone should know who she is, or at least you should have been told of her at some point or another, but in case you need a refresh, Azula is Zuko's sister. Former Princess of the Fire Nation, and an exceptionally skilled Firebender who managed to even strike me down in the Avatar State. If it wasn't for Katara, it would have been the end of me.. and The Avatar altogether."

Katara felt no joy in being reminded of that event, especially as now she was tortured by feelings of guilt. If she had finished Azula when she had the chance, none of this would be happening... Right?

"Mai, Zuko's wife, has been badly injured.. I'm.. It's not looking good... " Aang spoke solemnly, turning to the brown haired Waterbender who looked especially pained right now. Could stopping Azula back then have saved all of this? She continued to think, nevertheless, she looked back into Aang's eyes, ready to hear what he had to say. "Katara... Please take Appa and go to the Fire Nation Palace. If there's any healer who has a chance at saving her, it's you. He'll be faster the less people riding him, so go without me for now. I want to talk to everyone else first, anyways."

"Aang.. I don't know if.." She began, glancing down, only to have the comforting hand of the Avatar come upon her cheek and tilt her face back to his.

"Try your best. It's worth a shot, okay? I believe in you." He whispered, taking one of her hands in his other. Katara nodded slowly, turning to look at the others for a moment before heading to the deck Appa was near. Aang remained silent a few moments as he tried to figure out how to word what he needed to say next.

"This ship will continue to the Fire Nation where we will begin discussing how to locate and deal with Azula. I know some of you didn't ask to be dragged into this, and I won't lie and say it isn't dangerous, so if you wish to part ways, then transportation can be set up for you after we reach the Fire Nation.

But if your reluctance to help simply has to do with Zuko being the Fire Lord and your bruises from the war still having not healed, well then remember this. Ozai and Azula played big parts in why that war raged on too long. I even played a part, having disappeared for a hundred years. If there is anyone you should blame the least right now, it's Zuko. He has been the most honorable leader the Fire Nation has had in ages, and has lead this way for eight years. He was the one who helped me master Firebending so I could defeat Ozai. He and Katara are the reasons Azula was captured to begin with.

Without Ozai or Azula at the reins, the Fire Nation isn't the warmongering nation it once was. The issue now is Azula being free, as well as many dangerous Fire Nation asylum inmates." Aang spoke, keeping his composure, though at the end, he was beginning to feel the guilt as well for not having taken Azula's bending abilities after he had taken Ozai's. He felt it unnecessary at the time, but clearly he lacked the foresight for this incident.. He couldn't worry about that now, though..

"I'm not saying all this to guilt you into helping. It's understandable if you don't feel up to it. In many ways, I'd prefer it. I don't like to see my friends hurt when realistically, I'm the Avatar, I should be able to handle it on my own... but I learned long ago that without my friends I wouldn't be anywhere, and I know that remains true to this day. The fact that you're all here means you were at least slightly worried about Zuko's well being, even if you don't wish to admit it. Thank you, though. I'm.. sorry things had to turn out this way. I always enjoy the Four Nation meetings, as well as meeting new people. This is obviously an obstacle that requires, at the very least, my attention..

Anyways, take the rest of the trip to think on what you plan to do..." With the end of his speech, Aang turned to the window to see Appa heading off swiftly ahead of them. He hoped in his heart that Katara would be able to save Mai, or else he worried for Zuko's state of mind...

 

[Mephistophelily]

"Of course we can do this." Toph frowned in Sokka's direction, resting her elbows on the table as he puffed out his affirmation to the group. "We all know that we're stronger now. No reason to have any doubt in our minds. Enough faith in ourselves and we can do damn near anything... I mean, look at Aang. All those years ago, he kept saying he could never learn all the elements. But he did it... because he finally found faith in himself about each bending style. Just can't give up. Never give up."

Her frown grew as she thought on what could happen if Azula were to attempt to continue in her father's footsteps; the protection and dedication that Bumi had given to Omashu back then in the face of the Fire Lord's army. She would do the same if she had to, for both the city and for him. She just hoped it didn't have to come to that.

"They found the. Hungry flying monster thing. Iroh wants everybody on deck. Hello?"

Iroh's new friend there; Xia. Toph giggled at her description of Appa, slinging her legs back around the side of the table before standing. "Hopefully there's some good news riding with him...," she called out optimistically, but had a doubt that was the case. Katara was already on the move, rushing up to the bridge while Toph was still trying to get her legs to cooperate. She hated the airships. Hard to see where the hell she was going.

She heard Katara call out to Aang, listening in to hear the young man's reaction- only to frown at the rather flat tone he replied with. Not good. This was confirmed with his next bit of information, her heart sinking as he relayed the rest of the situation.

"I'm staying, I'll tell you that much," she announced flatly, folding her arms. "Iroh and Zuko have become very good friends to me, even before the Fire Nation was restructured. I don't leave my friends when they need me."

 

[Eazy]

The young man didn't even need to look back in order to verify whether or not his fellow Freedom Fighter would follow after his lead. Even as he nodded toward the older man, the sound of the airship drowning out any chance he had of hearing her approaching footsteps, he just knew she was coming. That's what he kept telling himself as he stifled out any fledgling doubts which threatened to surface. Fortunately, as he swiftly turned his body around, his features already showing the reaction to what he expected to find, Longshot found the faith placed in his old friend was justified.

"Like I was ever going to let you go run off to your death alone."

Stretching up an arm and placing it upon the side of Smellerbee's shoulder with a patting motion, Longshot then gestured for her to follow suit as they entered their unexpected means of transportation. After the airship lifted off into the sky above the massive city of Ba Sing Se, the pair spent the first several minutes of their trip exploring the large structure. It was Longshot's first experience with flying, and while the majority of his attention had been focused on the mission before them, his curiosity led him to strolling casually throughout the halls. Smellerbee had more or less found herself being dragged along, until they eventually parted company somewhere along the way.

As Longshot eventually started making his way toward what would have turned out as the kitchen area, the area where the young man heard the voices of a couple others in their makeshift group, the silent marksman thought back on Smellerbee's previous actions for what had may have seemed like the hundredth time since having time for himself on the ship. Daily life as leader of the Freedom Fighters provided its own regular doses of stress and feelings of exhaustion. This was only compounded where it concerned the scheduled events of the present day, and it was his own concerns for her tired body and mind which helped spur him into accompanying the young woman.

It'd already been a long day for them both. What was to come likely wouldn't do either one any favors in catching a breath. He didn't completely understand how he kept from stressing over it exactly in the first place. Likely a transference of concerns for himself onto those for the well being of his long time friend. Granted, he always did feel a sense of responsibility for the current leader of the Freedom Fighters, regardless of how official ranks may have placed them on the proverbial ladder.

As his slow footsteps brought him near the kitchen, his own train of thought was promptly broken by the voice of Xia as it rang out in the distance; alerting them of the flying bison's coming arrival. Letting out a nearly silent sigh, Longshot glanced around for any sign of Smellerbee, knowing in advance that he wouldn't find a trace of her for now. Looked as if he'd have to attend the meeting with Aang and pass the fresh information about the situation with Zuko's family onto his friend afterward. The young man only hoped, wherever the young female warrior currently resided, she was taking this opportunity for some needed rest.

Ryota leaned against a corner wall as Sokka entered the kitchen area, a sandwich in his own hand as he nodded toward the other Tribesman. Things had a rather humorous way of working out at times. Never in his life did he picture himself flying above the Four Nations within a Fire Nation airship and helping himself so casually to a snack from the provisions; let alone setting out to possibly aid the current Fire Lord. He also listened quietly as Toph started speaking, finding a lot of truth in her words, but discovering that confidence and comfort was a little harder to grasp onto so easily.

As the other newcomer voice reached their location, he felt his nerves starting to act up as he finished his sandwich a little quicker then he normally would have. Feeling his surprisingly heavy legs starting to carry him in the direction of the voice after the rest, Ryota figured he'd worry later about the possible stomachaches which could result in having done so. Once he made it into the bridge, his attention briefly shifted toward the others whom were gathered; idly wondering what was racing through each of their minds. Soon as The Avatar started speaking, however, his focus was squarely directed toward the bald young man.

For the most part, his growing number of fears ever since stepping onto the massive airship were confirmed. Judging by what he learned since the war, while Ozai may have been the more capable and experienced leader, it often seemed that his daughter, Azula, was the one which you'd best worry about facing in open combat. Now she had a group of Fire Bender madmen at her command, and they were supposed to act as the first means of stopping them. His own prejudices about the Fire Nation aside, it was a frightening thought which would make most second guess their decision of helping out.

After Aang drew toward a conclusion of his speech, leaving a silence which would soon find itself filled by Toph's own voice on the situation; Ryota debated within his conscious mind on if he was making the right choice. It was the right thing to do, but he started questioning his own place here, standing alongside those whom knew by experience what sacrifices were being asked of them. Even Longshot and the absent Smellerbee, despite having their own past and present differences with Fire Lord Zuko, seemed more decided on what they should do then the young Water Bender.

Sighing, Ryota reluctantly came to a conclusion on where he stood with all of this, finally breaking his silence as he briefly addressed those gathered, "Well, I didn't agree to come with you people this far, just to back out before seeing the rest of it through."

Shrugging his shoulders as he let his hand tap idly against the side of his water container, he allowed a bit of his more cynical side slip out as he added, "Besides? At best, it'll make for a great story to tell the grand kids down the road. And, at worst...it'll be a good way to die."

 

[UnseenMaiden]

Of all the new things about herself she could have discovered today, it just had to be that she was prone to airsickness. So her world was primarily composed of darkness, the cool metal of the deck railing pressed against her forehead, and the rush of air brought about by their speed and her own steady breathing. It was ridiculous. Nothing, not one damn thing, had ever made her sick to her stomach that she could remember. Yet, twenty minutes on this stinking metal contraption, with Longshot dragging her around to explore like it was the grandest sight in existence, and her breakfast was but a memory. At least they were over the ocean now. She'd been worried about giving someone down below a rather unpleasant surprise.

The familiar roar of an air bison, it was something you couldn't really forget, caught her ear. The Fire Lord and Aang were back or at least one of them was. Taking a deep breath of salty air, Smellerbee opened her eyes and pulled herself up from where she'd been sitting through most of the journey. Only to slam her eyes shut again as a wave of dizziness washed over her. Curse words found their way out, mumbled under her breath, and then came to a sudden halt when she felt something decidedly box-like tap gently against her shoulder.

"Here. It takes a bit of getting used to, traveling like this, but these help."

Steadying herself on the railing, she opened one eye and glanced at the soldier next to her. Seeing that she didn't move to take the red-lacquered box from him, the soldier must have thought she was put off by that awful mask all the Fire Nation soldiers seemed to wear. At least he pulled up and gave her a sheepish smile to show that he was more or less harmless. Really, Smellerbee had just been debating whether or not moving was worth getting at the box for. Appearances told her that she probably didn't have much of a choice. Short of threatening him, the young boy looked like he was way too eager to do his good deed for the day and wouldn't let up until she took whatever he was offering. Oddly enough, she was now reminded of an older Firero.

"Thanks."

Taking the small box, she slid the lid open to reveal a handful of small wafers. It was the smell that told her they were meant to be food, which her stomach promptly rolled over at the thought of touching. Looking over to where she'd heard Appa's distinct arrival, a small sigh escaped her as she realized that there were probably more than a handful of good reasons why she should shake her weakness off. This wasn't some leisurely visit. It all held the distinct taste of war. Grabbing the wafers in one hand, she tossed the now empty box back to the solider before making her unsteady way to where she knew at least one large beast remained.

Her mouth filled with too much spice that was trademark of most Fire Nation concoctions, causing her to cough in surprise as the strong taste coated the back of her throat. A few other soldiers on deck glanced her way, but otherwise ignored her. They were far too busy whispering amongst themselves about the coming battle. It seemed Fire Lord Zuko had supplied his ship with some very green soldiers. She didn't doubt that they'd been properly trained, but training wasn't the same as actual experience. She could feel whatever optimism she had managed to hold on to slipping away with each second.

"Hey....Old man... damn. I'm sorry but I really don't remember your name."

It was Iron, Soh, Sauron, something like that. Somehow 'old man' sounded better in her head than trying to trip over guesses of what he was actually called. There was always Dragon of the West, that was what some of the soldiers were calling him under their breath, but that felt awkward. Sighing, she tried to think of what she wanted to ask now that she had his attention. Appa was flying off into the distance and there were all sorts of crazy things that could have entailed, but since the old man wasn't in a panic, she assumed the all hadn't met their doom yet.

"What news?"

 

[ChasNicollette]

Katara (with Special Thanks to 'Lily and Ahren)

Her twin waterskins were heavy against her sides. The one on her left was just regular water. The one on her right was water from The Spirit Oasis, capable of healing on a deep, deep level.

The wind tore at her face, and she had to hold her arm across her eyes and squint her eyes nearly shut to stave away that lashing wind. Her hair poured out behind her, and she grit her teeth.

Beneath her, Appa's long low growl of effort rumbled against her legs through his thick white fur. The fingers of one hand dug deep into that fuzz, hung on for dear life, and it was only a lifetime of the chilling temperatures of The South Pole and the thickness of that fuzz that kept her fingers from going numb, betraying her, casting her to the winds.

She had never. Never. Ridden Appa when he was flying this fast.

His heart was cannonfire thunder, pounding at the exertion, and she could feel every beat and repeat of it.

K'hboom, k'hboom, k'hboom.

"Not much further now," she promised him. "Not much further."

Appa was practically weeping. But he would not give up.

Zuko had promised him a Nation of fruit.

Zuko was his friend. Zuko's mate was dying.

This was not a time to hold back.

Ahead, squinting against the slipstream, Katara could see the dormant volcano that housed The Capital City and, as they drew closer, The Fire Nation Palace itself, rising with its beautiful crimson-dark architecture against the sky.

"Almost there," she repeated, patting Appa on the side of his head. "Shhh. Slow down. Deep breath. Almost there."

Appa snorted dubiously, as if he knew something Katara didn't.

And then fires of red and blue scorched the sky and rose like billows around The Palace and detonated over and over again. Bent Fire raged, and Katara's heart was in her throat.

She remembered the last time she'd been here, The Comet in the sky, Zuko and Azula powering against each other like a cool moon wrestling back a mad mad sun.

The Waterbender's mouth went dry.

"Yip-yip," she rasped.

Appa roared like an avalanche, and he pushed harder still.

The Palace rolled towards them at a rapid clip and she could see them, Fire Nation Palace Guards battling an army, such an army, of mad mad men. And at the head of that army...

Azula.

And Zuko was there, standing against her.

And while the sky was not dark, not this time, it was so much just like before that for a moment, Katara felt truly disoriented.

Appa shuddered beneath her, exhausted and afraid.

(Not much frightened the great beast. But Fire... he was afraid of Fire.)

...and Katara shed her fear and her disorientation, abandoning her weakness on behalf of this great selfless creature.

She knew only focus.

"Get to safety," Katara whispered. "Don't even land here. Don't even slow down. Go. Catch your breath. Eat an orchard. And come back for us when your heart is no longer trying to explode in your chest."

Appa roared, and Katara leaped off of his back high in the sky.

She knew only focus.

Appa wheeled away and Katara fell and fell and fell and as she fell, she popped the cap off of her left-side waterskin. She twisted her wrist and water billowed out, scattering into droplets and then forming into tendrils and freezing solid into shards and powering down like darts ahead of her.

Shinkshinkshinkshinkshink, the frozen shards punched into the stony pavement, descending order of height, tallest first then down to shortest.

Katara fell.

And as she fell she spread her hands out wide, palms down, and with a sudden sharpish flourish she turned her palms upward skyward Heavenward...

The spines of ice blossomed into vertical gouts of water, one right after the other, tallest first and then down to shortest and the blasts of high-pressure water leaped up to catch her on her feet and she rode the cushioning bursts down like stairs...

She landed like a leaf in grass upon the stony pavement, her crouching impact making nearly no noise at all.

The gouts of water came down around her like raindrops and she spun in a tight circle, one hand extended, one finger pointed, and the raindrops tumbled together in a prismatic swirl and united into a water whip, a lash that unfurled and then furled around her and then dove back into her waterskin.

She stood for a moment, drinking in the carnage, drinking in the rising fire and the bellows of pain and the fallen bodies. And for a moment, she was torn...

She could see Zuko. Bellowing commands and defending against innumerable foes.

She wanted to go to him. To stand beside him and to take apart this mad mad force of woman and men.

...but she knew where she was more needed and she sprinted for the Palace entrance, water leaping and diving and snaking from her left-side skin and barreling aside all who opposed her. A scattering spout of water blew her high into the air and she rolled when she hit the ground, diving between two watching Guards whilst a desperate aide waited to take Katara further inside.

"You are the healer?" he wondered, biting the inside of his cheek as he ran down the halls.

"Sometimes," Katara admitted, sprinting beside him. "Where's The Fire Lady?"

"This way," he pointed, and so it was.

Doorways flicked by, some leading to rooms, some leading to courtyards, and they came to a curtained chamber, and upon a bed in that chamber lay the wounded Mai. The aide stopped outside, as though hesitant to look upon The Fire Lady in her suffering.

And suffering she was.

She had always been pale, had gothic Mai. But now she seemed as translucent as a Spirit. Very nearly bloodless, she lay in repose, her parched lips parted.

Katara was at the bedside in a heartbeat, kneeling, uncapping anew one of the waterskins at her side...

Mai's injuries ran deep.

Water gathered in the air above her, a dose from the right-side skin, and Katara probed the lines of force, the meridians that coursed through Mai's body as they coursed through every living thing. The water glowed with deep deep moonlight, and so also did Katara's hands...

The light seeped into Mai like a living thing seeking its purpose and when the light faded, the water had vanished.

Mai's wounds did not close. They did not even flinch.

Horror sleeted through Katara's features. Her stomach swam with bewilderment.

"No," she breathed. "No. What...?"

And she unleashed another dose of water, and again white light filled the room...

...but this time, Katara did not act. She only listened.

Something was wrong with Fire Lady Mai. Something was very, very wrong.

And as Katara began to probe anew those lines of force, Mai's chi, she began to have an idea as to how wrong.

The dagger wound went deep, and it had struck horribly into a chakra, one of the interconnected centres of energy in Mai's body. A gateway for chi. But just as water could catalyse the healing process using chi, so also could those gateways and pathways be used to destroy.

Azula had driven the dagger deep into one of Mai's chakra, and had crackled lightning directly into the courseways of Mai's chi, not just damaging them but ripping them to shreds, using the dagger as a lightning-rod. Irreversible. Irreparable.

Much of the colour fled Katara's face.

"Oh, Mai," she shuddered, bottling that probing water back up again. "Zuko. I'm so. I'm so sorry."

...and then Mai's chest rose and fell with a raggedy breath, and her eyes cracked open, and she smiled a mordant smile. "That bad, is it?"

Katara sat up a bit, gazing at Mai's face with agony deeply deeply etched in her blue blue eyes. "No, no, of course not, I just--"

"'Tara," Mai wheezed, shaking her head listlessly, wearily. "Don't bullshit me."

Katara bit her lip, and then nodded. "No. You're dying, Mai. And there's nothing I can do about it." She shot to her feet, and she turned for the door, hurrying-- "I have to get Zuko. You two have to say good--"

"No," Mai growled, emphatic, Fire Lady to the last. "No. He's fighting to save his Nation. He's fighting to save The World. Don't distract him from that."

Katara couldn't quite bring herself to turn around. The door was so close, she could get him, she could get Zuko, they could properly part ways, Katara had never gotten to properly part ways with her mother, it was proper to bid farewell--

"You love him, don't you?" Mai prompted.

Katara's spine stiffened involuntarily and her elbows flexed at her sides: "Mai, he's your husband."

"Not him, Sugar-Water," Mai coughed, almost bemusedly. "Not Zuko. Avatar Aang. You really do love him."

"Of course," Katara admitted, easy as breathing, this was the truest thing she'd ever known.

"If you love him," Mai whisperhissed, firm instruction from the deathbed, "you'll never ever make him choose between you and The World. You'll never make him choose between saving you and saving everyone else. Because my Zuko's a good man, and your Aang's a good man, and what makes them good men is that when push comes to shove they'll choose the greater good. You can't get in the way of that."

As far as Katara could remember, this was the most she'd ever heard Mai say at once. And she could only nod in reply.

"Go help him," Mai wheezed, and this time, she was talking about Zuko. "Go help him save The World."

Katara waited, halfway to the door, but Mai said nothing more.

Katara glanced over her shoulder at The Fire Lady. She looked into Mai's eyes, and saw that she was gone.

Katara's shoulders slumped, and her eyes clenched shut, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

...but before that tear could drop from her jawline to the floor, Katara's eyes snapped wide again. Wide and blue and hard and cold. Her jawline clenched grimly, and that tear froze absolutely solid on her skin. That teardrop froze, and then it shattered.

Her hands were fists.

Her voice was ice.

"Azula," she seethed.

And she sprinted from the chamber as a woman possessed, leaving the flustered aide in her dust as she breezed past flicking doorways and rooms and courtyards and out into the great wide open and into the riotous cacophony of the battlefield.

Water lashed from her left-side waterskin, and Katara prepared to make bitter war.

For Zuko. For Mai.

"AZULA."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Iroh and Xia

Even in times of darkness, Iroh could find a smile somewhere. This was a gift. The ability to find peace in shattered times was nothing less than a blessing.

Toph's loyalty to himself and to Zuko was a boon, and his hardened face found itself cracking into a smile. (Such an Earthbender, she could even Bend a granite frown into a far kinder expression.)

And then Smellerbee's brain stumbled when it tried to find his name and his smile became, at her, a quietly delighted grin.

"Oh," he murmured, softly, conspiratorially, "don't worry about it. I prefer to be forgettable rather than memorable; it simplifies so very much."

He winked at her, and his eyes twinkled.

"If it makes you feel better, however," he decided, "I could call you 'Hidden Girl' instead of your own given name. 'Hidden Girl' and 'Old Man.'"

Then he paused, and he shifted to a far more serious topic: "You seem green around the edges, Hidden Girl. There is a hint of Foggy Swamp about your complexion. Is our altitude not agreeing with you? I could prepare you some mint tea from the kitchens: nothing soothes a nauseated belly like tea made from peppermint."

Not far away, pressing herself hard into a corner of the room, Xia had watched The Avatar speak.

"The Avatar State," she digested. She didn't know what that meant. Was it good, was it bad?

But this Azula. Apparently this was Fire Lord Zuko's sister-- rather than mother ---and had preceded him, truly madly briefly, in the rank of Fire Lord while their mutual father had crowned himself Phoenix King. (Which, she supposed, could be a perk of ruling The World: one got to call oneself whatever one wished.)

But this Azula had nearly killed The Avatar. This was no small thing.

Fighting a monstrous madwoman whose power and cunning were sufficient to strike dead the incarnation of The World was an utterly appalling notion. Xia wanted nothing to do with it.

She had argued with the finest minds of Ba Sing Se-- or at least their most avid students --and come up with nothing, and all she wanted was answers. She had become halfway proficient at violence whilst brawling in The Lower Ring's squalid depths, nowhere near the epic-worthy level of these here gathered (especially the young Tribeswoman who'd just flown away on Hungry Flying Monster Thing), and she had discovered, in her thrillseeking and self-proving, that there were no answers in Violence.

There were no answers in the minds of men, and there were no answers in fist and sword.

Xia had simply followed The Avatar because she thought he might have answers that the unenlightened lacked. She wanted enlightenment, desperately, because how else could she discover her purpose?

She had stuck close to Iroh because he knew more than he was telling; or perhaps The Old Man just talked a good game, enjoyed being mysterious.

...this... Ryota? A Tribesman friend of The Avatar's dysfunctional ad hoc "family," he was talking about good ways to die.

Xia was not interested in dying. Not in the slightest. She just wanted to know how to live.

"It is written," she murmured: "'To do a certain kind of thing, you have to be a certain kind of person.'"

And then she spoke up louder: "Look, I hate to be the only coward in a host of martyrs, but is there any way I can just stay in the airship for the big Agni Kai of Death? Nothing but love for you guys, but I'm just not of that sort of calibre."

Building up steam, she whipped around to glower at The Avatar, pointing at him, her eye twitching, her finger stabbing the air. "But you. Baldy. Do not get yourself killed by this witch, I've gotta talk to you, matters of life and afterlife, and I'm not waiting around for your next incarnation to channel your Spirit, d'you hear me?"

Iroh's eyebrow twitched, shaggy and grey, and he was unimpressed.

He glanced at Smellerbee, and murmured under his breath: "You asked, 'what news?' Well. The Bitch is back. Not her," he clarified, indicating Xia, "the other one. My niece. She's hurt Zuko's wife and personally, I think we should hurt her in return. (But that's just me.)"

 

[UnseenMaiden]

(theme song for Ty Lee's post..mostly cause I have yet to find one I think hits her right completely..complicated girl)

It was too quiet here and dark, a stark contrast to the grounds beyond the fortified walls, sending chills down her spine. Last year when she came to visit, the Royal Palace was blooming with life. How could she have ever doubted Azula's arrival when the very air spoke of evil clouding this place? Her only comfort was that there were no screams. If Azula had taken the palace, there would be screams of terror renting the air, not just the chaos of battle growing ever softer the farther she went. Creeping ever so slowly, her muscles aching with the need to run towards her destination, she made her way through the shadows, keeping her senses open for any sign of an attack heading towards her. Zuko was out there. She'd spotted him, fighting fiercely with his sister, an all too familiar sight in her life's memory, as she'd made her own steady wasy to the palace. It wasn't that she didn't want to help. She did. She wanted to jump right in there and knock Azula out of commission before anyone else in her life was hurt. She just... She needed to see Mai more. She needed to know that this sick feeling in her chest was wrong.

"Ty Lee! Ty Lee! You got a message! Can we take care of the hawk? Pleeeeaaassse?"

"A message?"

Meditation. It was something she had learned from Zuko's uncle and she loved it. She loved the calmness, unobtainable in every other facet of her life, that filled her soul and soothed her chi. She had needed it now, more than she could ever remember. She'd hoped that perhaps this sense of foreboding was just nervousness for Suki, as her team went off to the summit meeting in Ba Sing Se. Yet, even as no news of attack came their way, this cloud of sticky fear just thickened and thickened. It was bad enough that she started losing her concentration when helping train their junior warriors. So she'd found refuge among the trees and cleared her mind. Which was why it took a few moments for the younger girl's words to sink in. Taking the small scroll, she wondered at the signature on it. That was strange. Her friends wrote to her regularly, but she wasn't supposed to get a note from Deshi for another month. Belatedly, she realized that the eager girl was still standing there, practically dancing in place in a vain attempt to stay still long enough for an answer.

"Uh, sure, Bao-Yu. Just make sure not to irritate him too much this time or he'll fly away again."

The peace that she'd gained during meditation had fled and her fingers trembled as she unraveled the scroll. She was afraid to read it and silently prayed to the spirits that it held nothing more than joyful tellings of his child's early birth. The news that was painted across the page made her face pale. He was sketchy on the details, but one thing was painfully clear. Azula had escaped, leaving many for dead and Mai's ship and a flying bison had been spotted, heading for the Fire Nation Palace.

Her next actions had been performed without a conscious thought. Mai, Azula, and she had trained together in the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. They'd been the best. Always the best in their class, even when they'd fought upper classmen in unsanctioned fights. That was Azula's doing. Azula didn't lose. So neither did those she let be her friends. Even without ever being part of the military, she had been honed with razor-sharp instincts and reactions. While she had joined the Kyoshi warriors and was happy with her life among them, she didn't prefer to think of herself as a weapon. Now though, she gave thanks for it. It had meant that she could arrive here quickly, undetected, and fully prepared for battle without spending hours planning it all. It meant that she hoped that she wasn't too late, because if Mai wasn't out there on the battlefeild with Zuko then something worse than a flesh wound had happened to her. Finally, she arrived to where she knew she needed to be.

Lo and Li stood there, unchanged these past years, silently guarding the door. They neither seemed surprised to see her, slipping out of the shadows above their heads, nor did they block her path. She was barely three steps within the room before she felt tears slip from her eyes and down her cheeks. Her hand stifled a sob as she stumbled forward, shaking her head. She wouldn't cry. She hadn't cried in almost a decade. She wouldn't cry now. If she cried then that meant Mai, so horribly still on her bed, was dead and that just couldn't be. A foot away, she collapsed, her knees banging hard into the wooden frame. Pulling the curtains roughly aside, she grasped for Mai's hand and pulled it tearfully to her cheek. It was cold, the warmth of life leaving her fast, and she clutched at it as the sounds of her grief echoed throughout the quiet room.

"She was good woman, a good wife."

"Mai will be dearly missed."

Somehow, those words, so finale, made the reality of things crash around her ears. Yet, still she clung to denial, the smallest shard of hope that Mai was alive and would heal and all would be well again. She knew Azula, had always known her. People thought she was stupid and shallow just because she chose to face the world with a smile. Azula was among them and that had worked out. The princess had had so many walls around her, had clouded her chi so dark, that the only way she could get her to talk about her feelings was to continue acting like she was liable to forget Azula's words any minute. Same thing with Mai really, when they were younger. They were her friends, she had wanted to help them, even if it was only in such a way. So she knew Azula, had known her years ago, and she knew the woman was mad, stuck in a prison of her own making, unable to let her sadness flow so that she could heal. Ty Lee had hoped that one day, she would heal and find actual happiness for once. Even if that was nothing but a shattered dream, Azula wouldn't do something like this. Mai had been as close as a friend as Azula could get and even if she sneered at it, even if she claimed not to need it. She knew Azula cherished that connection.

"No, it has to be a mistake. Azula is a lot of things, but she wouldn't actually k...kill.. no."

"Azula's mind was fractured for a long time."

"And she has long been capable of murder before this."

"It's not like you helped! I was there! If Ozai wasn't poisoning her thoughts, than you were, whispering about claiming the throne and making such stupid things like power and control so important to her! You could have stopped her, stopped this!"

If this was another moment, she would have found it funny. Her anger, even rarer than her tears, following so closely on the heels of mourning. Yet as she stood there, shaking, words, full of bitter vehemence, spilling out, she knew she wasn't angry at Lo and Li. They'd surely had a hand in this, just like so many others, including herself. She didn't know who to be angry at, she just was so, she felt so helpless. It had physically hurt when she'd betrayed Azula all those years ago, that hate in her eyes that so quickly overtook her surprise and pain. At the time, she had known absolutely that she had done the right thing. She had saved Mai's life, just as Mai had saved Zuko's. Now, it felt like she had only delayed the inevitable. Mai was gone. Her best friend was gone and Azula had left long before her. Soon Zuko would be gone too. She would be alone.

The ground rocked suddenly under her feet and shock permitted her no reaction. Reaching slowly behind her, she pulled one of a pair of metal fans from the sash around her waist, spreading it out so that the shining metal would catch the meager light. Ty Lee knew how to use them. She knew how to use a lot of weapons, but she never had before. Not to maim and not to kill. She'd always preferred her hands. They were personal and with them she'd could incapacitate and be glad that her hands were always clean of bloodshed. She wouldn't use the fans, not now, not yet, but soon, very soon.

There was no time for stealth now. She didn't have the patience for it and so she streaked through the halls and the courtyards, all so painfully familiar and yet so strange in their fearful silence, and when she made it on to the battle field, her hands were quick and sure as she darted from one soldier to another, trusting on instinct and the mad glint in some of their eyes to differientiate which were enemies, letting them collide to the ground without looking back. Many didn't know what hit them until she was in the air. Going by foot was too slow for her liking, so she met them all with a grim determination in her eyes, so unlike the laughter she usually carried there, gripping shoulders and stepping on heads of friends and foe alike, anything to send herself flipping and tumbling forward to the blue sparks of fire. For a moment, another swath of blue caught her eye and she was surprised to see Katara there among the crowd, surprised enough that she nearly landed headed first into the paved stones of the ground, before she righted herself and landed in a crouch before heading off again and it was enough. It was just enough time to do something worthwhile with these metal fans and they glowed bright as the flaming arrow was deflected with one, mere feet from Zuko's back, only to be shorn in two by its' twin.

 

[UnseenMaiden]

Smellerbee does pep talks...

"Oh,don't worry about it. I prefer to be forgettable rather than memorable; it simplifies so very much. If it makes you feel better, however, I could call you 'Hidden Girl' instead of your own given name. 'Hidden Girl' and 'Old Man.'"

A hint of a smile crept up at the old man's teasing. Hidden Girl She liked it. Given how many times people mistook her for a boy, it was sadly appropriate. Especially as when she first joined the Freedom Fighters, it was years before anyone beyond Longshot and Jet realized she was girl. Even Jet wouldn't have known if Longshot hadn't of blurted it out in his silent way. She hadn't cared about it then. What had it really mattered? Boy or girl, she had to fight either way, and all she needed was for them to get all sensitive around her and try to treat her like some weakling with some delicate, or lack there of, sensibilities. When they had found out, it was every bit as bad as she had imagined. Many of the guys carried bruises for weeks because she had needed to beat some sense into them. It wasn't even really until a bit before Ba Sing Se that she'd even begun to be bothered by being seen as just another boy. Then everything had pissed her off, because now that she had begun to notice how people viewed her, she couldn't help but see every tiny mistake and magnify it a thousand fold. But Jet had died and it didn't matter anymore. Nothing did, but survival. Now, she was just confused. She didn't want to be a boy, but she really wasn't sure if she wanted to be seen as a girl either. If she had to go and do all those feminine things, she wouldn't know where to begin. Then there wasn't really any point anyways. Girl or not, no one had ever liked her in any sort of special way. Her mother had made sure of that. When she spoke, it was done without thinking, her voice soft. She rarely spoke about names. She hated her mother and so she hated the name the woman had given her. It was only right to clear up his misconception.

"Smellerbee isn't my given name. It's the one that I earned."

"You seem green around the edges, Hidden Girl. There is a hint of Foggy Swamp about your complexion. Is our altitude not agreeing with you? I could prepare you some mint tea from the kitchens: nothing soothes a nauseated belly like tea made from peppermint."

Shaking her head, she opened her hand, displaying the thin wafers there. Despite his comments, she felt a little better than before. Still a bit woozy, but at least she wasn't clinging on to the deck railing for dear life.

"No, it's ok. I was given these....whatever they are. It'll take more than a little air sickness to take me out of commission."

As she spoke, she popped another one into her mouth, wincing slightly, even though she knew how strong they were this time around. Give her mild food any day. This stuff was going to make her tongue go numb. If it wasn't for the fact that they seemed to be working, she wouldn't even touch them. Suddenly a very loud female voice filtered out from inside the ship, causing her to raise an eyebrow in idle curiosity. Smellerbee only really heard every other word. Specifically; martyrs, Agni Kai, Baldy, and afterlife. It wasn't much, but given how she sounded and the inflections there in, she could sort of figure out where the girl was going. At least now she knew that the Avatar was inside the ship. Which made her wonder who had taken appa off in such a hurry. Perhaps the Fire Lord?"

"You asked, 'what news?' Well. The Bitch is back. Not her, the other one. My niece. She's hurt Zuko's wife and personally, I think we should hurt her in return. (But that's just me.)"

Well, that explained who took Appa. She knew that if someone she cared for was hurt, she wouldn't leave them, not for anything. She also knew that if she had half of Fire Lord Zuko's connections, she'd send for Katara as well. Aang had told them about the water bender's healing abilities, and had tried not to be bitter at the time. Her world was far too full of 'what ifs' as it were. Coughing lightly, she placed the food back in a pouch at her side and nodded to the old man to let him know she was leaving his company for now. There was nothing but quiet now and if no one else was going to say anything about it, she was. In a short amount of time, she found her way through the metal halls and perched herself in the doorway, pitching her voice in a way that she knew it would be heard, without having to raise her voice. Over the years, she'd found that this was the best when dealing with subordinates.

"Coward, if you weren't prepared to fight, you shouldn't have come. Are you really so selfish that you didn't think of the fact that we were heading to what could very well be the beginnings of war? Even some of the soldiers on this ship, lacking any sort of real experience beyond their training and terrified out of thier minds, have more courage than you do."

The girl was younger than she was. Too young and yet Smellerbee had been far younger than she was when death consumed her life. So she lost her temper when the stranger tried to retort. She didn't keep her voice calm. She didn't keep her emotions from coloring her words, because this girl had been very stupid today. She'd boarded a ship without thinking about the consequences and where they were headed, Smellerbee was pretty sure that it was a fight or die situation. So her thoughts were delivered without a single bit of pity.

"So you're from the Lower Ring. So you grew up poor and have to value your life above others cause that's the way it goes. Cry me a river! The people I live with, the place that I come from, we all had to fight to be able to do just a little more than survive! I have had to face the possibility of not only my own death but the death of my friends and their husbands and wives and their children five times this month alone! And you know what's more?! I could leave! The entirety of the Freedom Fighters could leave at any given moment and hide in the safety of those walled cities, just like you do."

Suddenly, she was silent, her mouth gaping open slightly in shock. It was true. Why hadn't that occurred to her before? She should have told them. She should have told them to leave before they built even more of a life in those trees. That had been the plan after all, hadn't it? Scatter the group to the fortified cities so they could have something resembling a fighting chance. Yet they'd come back and she'd been too caught up in her own stupid worries to stop their small band from growing even larger with time. They shouldn't stay. None of them should stay. They were smart people. Why did they stay there? Then she got a hold of herself and snapped her mouth shut before taking a deep breath and giving this young girl her most recent realization with absolute, dead calm. It was really too important that she learn this before it was too late.

"We stay, because we know better. We know damn well that if we hide and pretend like there aren't cruel people out there that think the world is theirs for the taking, it won't do a bit of good. Cause people like that, people who will torture and kill and use any means necessary to get what they want, they won't stop. They won't ever stop until you make them stop. So hide all you want, Coward, but if you're right and we die today accomplishing nothing, then that bitch is going to find you. She'll show up right on your doorstep, just like she did before, and this time she'll make sure to burn the entire fucking world to the ground."

 

[Ahren1]

The sky was blacker than usual. Whether it was a coincidence or an omen didn't matter to Zuko. All he knew was that it was all the more unsettling. Then again, he hadn't been anything close to settled in hours now. As he sat upon the steps of the palace, he waited. He needed to see something familiar in the sky. Something in flight and bringing his last hope to him. The other half of him fought to go be by Mai's side, however the healers asked they be allowed to work undistributed in order to have any chance at saving her. It was tormenting, to know that everything could come crashing down so quickly. Even when he thought he had nothing, he didn't know how much he really had. Whether it was the company of his uncle, or the trust of his friends. This was before he and Mai were married. He still had his uncle, as well as his friends, so why did it feel like he had lost everything?

As his eyes gazed out into the darkness, he focused on the lights of the guard towers down near the main palace gates. With the moon dulled in its illumination, the fire in the distance was somewhat of a comfort... until it suddenly disappeared. The Fire Lord stood, taking a few steps cautiously forward. However he soon was stopped in his place, noticing silhouettes begin to emerge from the darkness into the moonlight. A veritable legion of men and women, all shapes and sizes, many clad in Fire Nation armor coated in blood.

And there... leading them in the front... The wickedly malevolent Azula stood.

He could see the smile on her face even from the distance. A smile he had seen before when she had been proud of herself for malicious actions. Never had it enraged him more than now. His fists tightened moreso than they ever had before, his nails nearly drawing his own blood, watching.. as his sister commanded her army to move forward.

Without hesitation, Zuko was soon joined by lines of guards, having received word of the intrusion. Most of them carrying a stonefaced stare at their opposition, however a few visibly trembling at the mere sight of Azula as she approached at an agonizingly slow pace. Finally, when she was at the base of the steps, she gazed up to her brother, who's pure hated of her could be seen from his eyes a mile away. For what seemed to be an eternity, they locked eyes, as if both knew speaking would be pointless. Merely their expressions said everything they needed.

It was then that the Fire Lord quickly raised his hands into the air, a wall of flame cascading upward from the middle of the steps, roaring as it consumed the air, separating the forces. He knew it wouldn't hold them off very long, but any time he could buy for Katara, as well as the rest of the group, was necessary. Even if Azula managed to strike him down, Aang would arrive soon. No matter how strong she had become, he was stronger now. Zuko kept his hands forward, concentrating on maintaining the flame, while on the other side, Azula merely tilted her head at the obstacle, only to have her eyes widen at the sudden sight of Zuko leaping through the wall, dao swords drawn, covered in flames, and aiming directly for her. As he came down, he brought the blades with, utilizing all of his strength and emotion into the strike which would hopefully do away with his wretched sister forever. However mere inches from her face, the blades were blocked by two large polearms, wielded by hulking inmates in her improvised army. The connection of the weapons caused sparks and embers to dance about the air for a few moments until things were silent once again. Leaving the siblings to stare at each other once more, this time much more closely. She hadn't moved a muscle, showing immense trust in her new companions, or perhaps simply no fear in her brother's assault.

The fire wall finally faded, revealing the now charging Fire Nation army. Azula snapped her fingers, causing her own forces to charge as well, and within moments the palace courtyard had become a battlefield. Steel and flame exchanged heavily between inmate and guard. Zuko flipped backward, taking a look at the large men who stopped him, each staring back at him with only one eye, the other socket simply dark and absent. The Cyclops Brothers had been in the asylum longer than he had been alive, and the stories had even given him nightmares in the past. Now they were here, standing side by side with his sister.. Turning this into one large living nightmare. Zuko quickly turned to the nearest guards and ordered them to protect the door, no matter what. They were reluctant to leave their Lord's side in battle, but his orders had been given.

As one of the towering men charged, he raised his massive weapon and swung it down at the Fire Lord who raised both blades to block. The sheer force of the steel halberd was incredible, taking all of Zuko's strength just to stop the blade at the end from slicing into his skull. It was then that he slid downward instead, slipping under the legs of the giant and twirling his blades to slice right into the exposed hamstrings. An agonizing howl emitted from the monstrous warrior as it turned to try and swing at Zuko once more, but the cuts into his legs caused him to topple down to his knees. The brother would not stand for this, coating his weapon in flames as he charged the scarred Fire Lord. Zuko glared in return, obviously not intimidated in the least. They may have been powerful, but they were foolish. Swinging the halberd, Zuko ducked backward, narrowly avoiding the weapon, then as he twisted his body around to get up close, he shoved one of his dao blades straight into the chest of the giant. It only managed to gurgle as Zuko stared upward at him, enraged beyond words. He twisted the blade while it still impaled the man, making sure that his last few breaths were painful ones before withdrawing it and allowing the body to slump to the ground.

The still living cyclops cried out as Zuko approached him, placing the swords on either side of his neck. In the Fire Lord's eyes, only pure hatred could be seen. He ignored the now pathetic gaze of the giant which now showed fear. Zuko didn't care. He was an accomplice. They all were accomplices. And with a swift motion of the blades, the head was severed from the body. In this time of complete fury, He was able to find some solace finally when he spotted Appa in midair, dropping Katara on the other side of the battlefield. Much to his relief, she did not stay to try and help, but went directly inside. He immediately turned back to Azula, who still stood there, waiting. Suddenly a guard came from behind her, about to slice into her with his weapon when Azula quickly spun and kicked the weapon from his hand. She then raised her palm directly to his face and emitted a burst of blue flame, filling the guard's helmet and taking him down instantly.

This had served as a suitable distraction for Zuko to charge in, swinging his swords in any attempt to harm his horrible sibling, however her skills hadn't waned over the years as she angled her body around each strike, taking no damage whatsoever. More of her accomplices joined in, allowing Azula to once again stand back and watch as Zuko dealt with them. During the subsequent battles, the Fire Lord was able to notice shards of ice fly through the air, striking his current opponents, to which he turned to see Katara joining the fight. He took one look in her eyes and knew...

Mai was gone.

For a few seconds, Zuko became disoriented, not wanting to comprehend this horrible dream. His normally sharp skills dulled as he raised a hand to his head, unable to form any coherent thought. He could only feel the blinding pain of the loss. Someone in the crowd saw this opportunity, raising a bow and puffing fire onto the tip of the arrow. It went sailing straight for Zuko's back, and likely would have connected, had it not been for the sudden deflection by fan. Knowing he had to regain his composure, Zuko focused, once again utilizing the pain as a driving force to strengthen him in this battle, so he could finish his sister once and for all. As he looked to see who had assisted him.

"Ty Lee..." He finally managed words since this whole ordeal began. There was an unquestionable sadness in his voice, but the look in his eyes reflected that he was comforted to see her, as well as Katara. As both girls landed near him, he stood along with them as they observed the battle still raging on. Azula was slowly being shrouded by more opponents, but that was not going to stop Zuko in the least. He would strike down every one of them if he had to...

"Lets finish this here... for Mai's sake..." He added, softly, knowing Azula had to meet her end in order for anyone to find peace...

---

Aang gauged each reaction to his speech differently. Toph's straight to the point reply earned her a warm smile and nod from the Avatar. He had no doubt that she would be up for a fight, and the side with her on it was always formidable. Ryota seemed understandably nervous. His words were brave, but also somewhat disturbing. Did he really expect to die, or was he just weighing all the outcomes? Regardless, Aang knew that when the time came, Ryota would know for sure whether or not he was up to the task. Simply being told something was dangerous wasn't always enough. That wasn't to say he wouldn't be a valuable addition to the team, it just went along with what Aang had said about not feeling pressured to go.

Longshot was expectantly silent, but there was a confidence in his expression that showed he was up for the task. The absent Smellerbee was a bit harder to read, but Aang had faith her heart would be in the right place, too. Before Aang had any real chance to reply, mainly to Ryota's statement, Xia nearly scolded him for something he hadn't even done yet, and hopefully wouldn't do for a long time. The Airbender couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the girl, wondering what had brought about this sudden flash of attitude. It was actually rather amusing, as most new people he met were like.. well, Ryota. Nervous and star-struck. It had been a while since he met someone new so willing to speak to him in such a way. It was almost refreshing, almost.

"No one is going to die." He stated rather bluntly, glancing between Xia and Ryota specifically. "Azula is strong, and I wanted to make sure no one even thought about underestimating her, but with everyone here I'm sure we'll be able to stop her. Without trying to lessen the severity of this situation any, I feel I must stress that we've, well.. we've been through worse. Granted, I'm mainly speaking for myself here, but at least this time we're not up against a whole nation while I'm still trying to learn my bending. I've been a fully-realized Avatar for years now, and even if Azula has the whole asylum on her side, it's a fraction of what we fought back in the war.

We'll stop her. I can promise that..." He smiled a bit, trying to raise the morale some. "But like I said, it's fine, Xia. No one is forcing you to come..."

It was about then that Smellerbee decided to speak up, which was surprising as Aang hadn't even noticed her arrival, and once again she spoke in words that cared not for the social concept of politeness. While they were potent, he disliked the feeling that anyone was trying to get anyone else to fight out of guilt.

"This isn't a time to turn on each other. We're going to need to remain calm and in as good of spirits as possible... I know it might be difficult, but its important... So please, try... No one is forced to fight. I value each person's contribution. As I said, we wouldn't be here if I didn't have my friends to help back during the war, but in the end, protecting the world is still my responsibility and mine alone." He added, hoping to mediate effectively before any serious arguments broke out. He gazed at Xia for a bit after he spoke, trying to discern just what about her was different from everyone else. He could sense it, but he just couldn't figure out what it was... and perhaps most importantly, why was it so familiar...?

Taking a breath, Aang turned toward the window once again, his fists tightening in preparation. "Can't this thing go any faster...?" He asked out loud, somewhat rhetorically.