Zuko's Regression

Part One

[AUTHORS NOTE: hey! This book is a sequel to Zuko's Redemption! If you haven't, you might want to go read that first. Don't worry, this book will still be here for you when you're done!]

***

Lei blinked away the sweat dripping into her eyes.
"You ready to give up yet?" Zuko taunted. He was halfway across the clearing, his fists raised and his stance impeccable.
"Never," Lei growled, gripping the hilt of her father's sword tighter lest she drop it.
Zuko grunted in effort and punched a stream of fire her way.
Lei nimbly rolled to the side and used the blaze as cover for her approach. She swung her sword at his extended hand, barely missing his knuckles as he recoiled.
The small blast of fire he sent shot clean over her head as Lei got inside his guard. With a cry, he was knocked off his feet and Lei stood above him, sword tip flush against his vulnerable neck.
"It's over, Zuko," she said.
His glare held hers for a moment before he groaned and tapped the scorched grass beside him twice.
"Fine. You win"
Lei beamed.
"Yeah, I did," she replied smugly. She removed her sword from beneath his chin and extended her hand.
Zuko took it gratefully and heaved himself upward. He was also sweaty. The summers in the fire nation were notoriously hot, and fighting with flames didn't help the heat.
"I can't believe I, a nonbender from the earth kingdom, defeated the great fire prince Zuko," Lei teased.
"I can't believe that only two weeks ago you couldn't even get close to me during our duels," Zuko joked back, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "You really are a fast learner."
Lei wiped the sweat from her brow with another self satisfied smile.
"Come on, I need to rinse off after that."
A small river trickled through the woods. The water was blissfully cool against Lei's heated skin.
"I forgot how hot it can get here," Zuko groaned as he scooped handfuls of the stream onto his neck.
Even in her less-than-modest fire nation disguise, Lei had been feeling the heat as well. She had no idea how Katara and Sokka were managing, having grown up on an iceberg and all.
"Let me help," Lei laughed as she splashed a huge wave of water towards Zuko.
A dangerously mischievous glint sparked in his eye as he surged forward.
Before long they were chasing each other through the shallow water, yelling and splashing and laughing. They were far enough away from camp that they wouldn't disturb any of their other companions. The sun was just barely setting, but Sokka loved to get his beauty sleep.
Eventually, Lei lost her footing on the slick mud and landed flat on her back. Zuko wasted no time jumping on top of her and pinning her wrists.
"I win," he said wickedly.
"I yield," Lei rolled her eyes.
Zuko kissed her so gently that it took her breath away. They had been together for some time now, but Zuko still managed to surprise her constantly with how attentive and caring he truly was beneath his hard exterior shell.
"Aw, isn't that sweet?" A voice Lei had never heard before suddenly cut through the silence. Zuko was on his feet in an instant. Lei grabbed her sword where it lay beside her on the bank and followed his example. His stance was terse: ready for a fight.
A girl sat on a small boulder, lounging casually. She wore a strict looking fire nation uniform and a golden flame crowning her hair.
"Oh, don't stop on my account," the girl drawled, examining her nails as if their battle-ready stances didn't concern her. "I'm happy for you, brother. You were able to charm some poor, stupid little earthen girl. I'm sure she warms your bed sufficiently."
"Azula," Zuko growled.
Princess Azula of the Fire Nation.
Lei swallowed down the rising panic in her throat. Zuko had warned her about his sister. She was crazy, powerful, ruthless, and lacked any sort of decency.
"I've missed you so much, Zuzu," Azula said, standing from her lounging position on the rock. She wasn't terribly close, but it still somehow felt like she was towering over them. "I'd heard a rumor you were back in the fire nation, so I've come to take you home."
Lei cried out as a push to her side flung her down into the water.
Zuko tried to react, but the girl with the long braid and pink clothes appeared out of nowhere and jabbed him with her fingers in different spots in quick succession.
"No!" Lei cried, but it was too late. Ty Lee, the chi blocker, had already rendered him immobile.
Zuko slumped against the mud in a heap.
"Lei!" he gasped.
Lei gripped her sword and made to stand, only to reel back as a throwing dagger passed millimeters away from the end of her nose.
Another girl emerged from the woods, more of those wickedly sharp knives in hand. Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula: the trifecta of evil Zuko had warned her of.
"Let's go girls," Azula said with a bored-sounding sigh.
Lei growled and launched herself at the closest girl: the one with the braid.
Ty Lee backflipped away from her gracefully, landing next to her companions.
"Stay away from him!" Lei screamed, putting herself between Zuko and the three girls.
"Lei, don't," he grunted from the ground. His arms twitched as though he were trying to get them to move.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Azula said with a tittering laugh. "How rude of me. You're just so insignificant I forgot you existed."
"Stay away from him," Lei seethed.
"Or what? You'll poke me with your sword?" Azula drawled.
"Come and find out," Lei spat. Truthfully, she had no idea if she could take on even one of these insanely skilled women, let alone all three.
"No," Zuko groaned desperately.
"Fine," Azula rolled her eyes. "I guess it has been awhile since I've completely destroyed someone."
"Do you want help, Azula?" Ty Lee asked.
"Don't insult me!" Azula took a step forward.
"This will be over quickly."
Azula began with an attack similar to which Zuko would: a large column of blue flame forced directly at Lei.
With a pivot, Lei danced out of the way. The heat from the fire kissed her skin. She charged in close, using the same move she had against Zuko earlier.
When battling benders, their advantage often came with distance. Getting in close forced them to use less sheer volumes of power and if a bender lost their stance, their abilities could be disrupted as well.
Azula was quick. She changed tactics and spun out of the way as Lei tried to close in. Another fireball was lobbed at Lei's head and she was forced to put more distance between herself and the princess to avoid getting burned.
It seemed Azula was aware of the disadvantage close combat would put her at.
Lei's focus zeroed in on the princess. Azula was still smirking smugly, unconcerned. Lei couldn't let her take Zuko. She had to win this fight.
Lei had never moved so quickly in her life. She dodged, rolled, and pivoted around fire like she was performing a dance. She slashed and stabbed with her sword, combining moves her father had taught her and new ones she had learned from Zuko.
The princess's composure fell only when Lei drew blood. It was a small nick across the arm, but Azula reacted with unequalled rage.
Lightning raced down her arms. With a move Lei had only seen Zuko perform once, the princess redirected the energy towards Lei.
Lei threw herself sideways and forward, feeling the crackling energy in the air. The princess's eyes widened and she desperately tried to redirect the stream, but it was too late. Lei swung down.
Azula's scream ripped through the trees as she stumbled backward. She threw a sloppy wall of flames to cover her retreat which Lei easily avoided.
"You!" the princess shrieked, clutching her bleeding hand to her stomach. Azula no longer looked unruffled. Her hair was askew and her eyes flashed in rage.
Lei calmly brandished her sword. Azula was almost backed into the river. She was near Zuko, which was worrying, but as long as Lei kept her attention, it shouldn't be a problem.
"I don't have time for this!" Azula snapped. "Mai, Ty Lee, take care of her!"
"What do you want us to do to her?" Mai asked in a flat tone.
"Kill her, maim her, stick her in prison to rot!" Azula spat. "I don't care. As long as I never have to see her putrid face again. I won't waste my time with someone so beneath me. I need to get my brother home."
Lei surged forward. She couldn't let the princess take Zuko.
A dagger swished in Lei's path and she barely rolled in time to avoid it. The girl with the braid appeared in front of her. Lei quickly backed away, weary of those hands that could disable her.
Mai stepped into Lei's path as well.
Behind them, Azula was dragging Zuko towards the edge of the clearing. Some large lizard animal slunk out from its hiding place to meet them.
Lei gripped her sword tightly. She couldn't let Azula take Zuko onto that lizard, but the princess's two cronies weren't backing down.
Lei had been able to best Azula, but that was probably because the princess hadn't taken her seriously as a threat and had been surprised by how well Lei could hold her own against a firebender.
These two girls were both nonbenders. They must have known better than to underestimate others.
Lei didn't know if she could beat them, but she had to try.
Ty Lee moved first. She was fast, but Lei had spent time training with Zuko, Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph, all of which were formidable opponents.
Lei weaved and spun, avoiding Ty Lee's hits with all of her concentration. When given a chance opening, Lei ducked under Ty Lee's arm and pivoted behind her, tripping the girl as she went.
Not letting Lei have a moment to recover, Mai expertly shot two daggers her way. On instinct, Lei brought up her sword and knocked them aside.
Ty Lee was on her feet and Mai was advancing.
Lei parried another dagger from the air as Ty Lee closed in.
These girls weren't going to hold back, so neither would Lei.
Zuko had fought with dual wielding swords in their duels before, Ty Lee's arms weren't so different.
Ty Lee cried out at first contact and flipped away. Lei cut her, but she had been careful not to use excessive force.
Cutting off Azula's two fingers had been easy and accidental: more a reaction of defense than anything. Lei didn't like the thought of killing or seriously hurting anyone, but she would do it if she had to.
Mai rushed forward to make up for Ty Lee's absence.
Her knives came fast and deadly. Lei parried the ones she could, but found herself mostly ducking and dodging and rolling to avoid them.
She was losing ground and a quick peek showed that Azula was nearly finished securing Zuko's limp form to the back of her lizard.
Lei only lost concentration for a fraction of a second, but it was enough. One of Mai's daggers caught her in the shoulder.
Lei cried out and stumbled. Ty Lee, not wasting the opportunity, sprung forward. The chi blocker managed to get one hit in on her side before Lei swung her sword in a wide arc and backed away.
Sharp, stinging pain erupted from her shoulder and every muscle in her abdomen seemed to relax, completely destroying her sword fighting form.
Lei grimaced and hefted her sword.
Ty Lee charged while Mai hurled three darts. Lei dodged, but she wasn't fast enough. One of the darts skimmed her leg. They must have been poisoned because tingles instantly raced outward from the wound and her thigh muscles seized.
Working on pure survival instinct, Lei swung her sword at Ty Lee, not holding anything back.
The young girl gasped and pivoted, the sword missed her neck, but cleanly chopped through Ty Lee's long braid, severing it close to the scalp.
Ty Lee stumbled back a step, put off balance. She stared in horror as the long coil of hair fell to the dirt.
"You cut my hair!" she howled.
Ty Lee charged, her rage negating all the grace she usually possessed. She was sloppy.
Lei grit her teeth and forced herself to move through the pain. Out of the corner of her eye, Lei saw Mai gear up for a throw.
Lei caught Ty Lee's outstretched hand and spun, placing the young girl between herself and the combination of blades and darts Mai flung.
Ty Lee screamed as one of the daggers sliced across her cheek. A dart buried itself in the chi blocker's chest and her body instantly tensed.
"Ty Lee!" Mai gasped with the first breath of emotion Lei had heard.
Lei allowed the young girl to drop to the ground as Mai charged, blades in hand.
Using every ounce of willpower she possessed, Lei dodged, weaved and parried. Despite only having two daggers left, one in each hand, Mai was relentless. Her emotions didn't betray her like Ty Lee and Lei could almost watch how every move was calculated.
Lei suffered multiple slashes as she was forced further back. The muscles in her abdomen ached as she forced them into submission despite Ty Lee's tampering. Her thigh shook with the effort of holding up through the poison.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Azula leap onto the back of the lizard and snap the reigns.
Lei needed to end this now.
With a guttural cry, Lei shifted her sword grip to one hand and used the other to catch Mai's wrist. The girl stumbled as Lei pivoted and pushed her against a tree.
With her free hand, Mai lashed out at Lei's face. Lei parried with her sword and Mai dropped her knife as the blade sliced open the back of her palm.
Mai hissed in pain.
Even without weapons, Lei knew she couldn't turn her back to this girl; not without restraining her first.
Lei dropped her sword and grabbed onto the hilt of the small dagger still embedded in her own shoulder. Usually, in medical practice, pulling out the thing stabbed through the body was a bad idea. Unfortunately, Lei was short on options and time. Also, if the dagger had hit something important (which was unlikely due to its positioning), she probably would have bled to death already.
Lei yanked the blade out of her own flesh and buried it into the palm of Mai's hand: effectively pinning her to the tree.
Mai groaned and slumped backward.
"I'm sorry," Lei whispered, truly meaning it.
Without wasting a second more, she stooped to pick up her sword and ran towards where Azula and Zuko had disappeared.
Her head was swimming and spots danced in front of her eyes, but Lei couldn't stop now.
Two other lizard creatures were curiously peering into the clearing. Lei leaped onto the back of one and smacked the other's hind quarters with the broad side of her sword. The riderless lizard took off in confusion. Lei flicked the reigns of her mount, and instantly the animal sprinted after Azula and her brother.
Fortunately, the lizard was so well trained Lei barely had to do anything to keep it on track. Lei had never ridden one before and wasn't sure she could have controlled the beast had it been more temperamental.
Lei flicked the reigns, prompting the animal to run faster. It must have understood somehow that it was meant to catch up with its companion because only a few moments later, the fire princess and her mount came into view through the trees.
Lei urged the lizard closer. She was almost on them.
"Finally, what took you so long?" Azula drawled, turning to face the pursuing lizard. The disapproving look on her face morphed into surprise when she saw Lei. The princess hadn't expected Lei to win the battle.
Taking advantage of Azula's shock, Lei flung herself from her lizard's back and kicked the princess of the fire nation square in the chest.
The girl grunted in pain and fell from her mount, disappearing into the undergrowth as the lizard charged forward. Lei was almost victim to the same fate, but she managed to grab the reins of the beast at the last moment and pull herself up.
"Lei!?" Zuko gasped incredulously. "How did you—"
"Hold on," Lei hissed. She straddled the lizard and yanked the reins in a new direction. They would have to circle back to their friends eventually, but for now they just needed to escape the fire princess.
The longer they rode, the more pain Lei found herself in. She was bleeding and bruised and exhausted.
Eventually, the pair found themselves in a clearing densely hidden by interlocking branches and thorn bushes.
Lei slid off the lizard's back and cut the ropes connecting Zuko to the creature.
He tumbled to the ground, but whatever Ty Lee had done to him must have been wearing off since he was able to shakily extricate himself from the ropes.
"How did you—I can't believe—" Zuko laughed out loud, seeming unable to find the right words.
"You're incredible!"
Lei tried to smile, but it probably looked more like a grimace. She flopped to the ground and began taking stock of her injuries.
The small cut on her thigh didn't seem to be much of a problem. It had already stopped bleeding and whatever that poison was, it wasn't deadly.
The other cuts marring her arms from her final encounter with Mai were of a similar caliber.
Her shoulder was another story. The stab wound was small, only about an inch and a half long, but it was deep. The blade had to have been at least three to four inches long, and it had burrowed into her shoulder almost to the hilt.
It was bleeding, though not as badly as she might have thought. Her prediction had been right: it hadn't hit anything important.
Lei wished she had stitches and bandaging and perhaps a poultice to stave off infection, but all of her medical supplies had been left back at camp with the others. She needed to start carrying her bag with her everywhere.
"You're hurt," Zuko said as he came to crouch beside her. His exuberance from moments ago had sobered.
"They were tough," Lei said. Her fire nation outfit didn't have much fabric to spare, but she would have to make do.
She used her sword to cut the cuff of her billowy pants away.
"Can you help me tear this into strips?" Lei asked, brandishing the fabric.
Zuko took the offered material and began carefully ripping, just like she had taught him. While having a magical healer around was convenient, Katara couldn't be everywhere at once and she wasn't all powerful either. Lei had instructed everyone in the group in basic first aid. Zuko was always the most attentive during her lessons.
Lei cut off the other cuff of her pants and began to do the same.
"I still can't believe you beat my sister," Zuko said, a touch of that excitement and awe back in his voice.
"She was toying with me," Lei replied, knowing it was true. "She didn't see me as a real threat. If she hadn't underestimated me, I'd be dead and you'd be on your way to the palace."
"Maybe," Zuko smiled while passing her strips of fabric, "but it was still incredible."
"I suppose so," Lei returned his smile.
"Don't be so modest!" he laughed. "Ty Lee and Mai are incredible too. Each of them has bested some of the most powerful benders single handedly. You fought them both and won."
Lei carefully began wrapping the longer strips around her thigh. She hissed lightly as the fabric chafed against the cut.
"I guess I did," she said. "I'm going to need your help with my shoulder."
Zuko shuffled forward and took the rest of the makeshift bandages from her.
Lei quietly murmured instructions as he wrapped up her shoulder. His brow furrowed in concentration as he pulled the final piece into a knot.
Lei inspected his work. It wasn't perfect, but it would do for the time being.
"You did well," she remarked as Zuko wiped his bloodied hands onto his pants. "Keep that up, and you might be as good as me someday."
Zuko kissed the smirk off of her face.
"Maybe fate had it backwards," he said. "I should be a doctor and you should be the best fighter the world has ever seen."
Lei snorted a laugh. The movement reminded her just how much her body ached.
"Did you just call yourself the greatest fighter in the world? Because I think Sokka and Toph might have something to say about that."
"No," Zuko replied innocently. "I may have implied it. But after today it's clear who holds that title."
Lei shoved him teasingly.
"Help me up, please," Lei groaned. The last thing she wanted to do was stand, but now that she knew she wasn't in danger of bleeding to death, they needed to get back to their friends and warn them.
Zuko quickly obliged. Lei leaned on him slightly as they made their way back to the lizard thing.
They climbed onto its back; Zuko taking control of the reins this time.
Lei wrapped her arms securely around his waist and let her head rest against his back. The only other time Lei had been this tired was after her and Zuko's daring escape from Ba Sing Se.
The lizard took off towards their friends. Lei closed her eyes and fell asleep listening to the steady beat of Zuko's heart.