A/N; oh I'm sorry, did you think this was a real chapter update? LOL GET BAITED ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
I'm just kidding. Here's the chapter xD
(also btw some slight swearing in this chapter)
Katara P.o.V.
The two water tribe siblings had remained by the village entrance for hours now, their hope slowly fading that Aang or Azami would return. As if he sensed her emotions, Appa came up beside Katara, gently nudging her with his nose and breathing out on her. She smiled softly, petting him.
"It's okay, Appa," she comforted the bison. "I'm sure they're on their way back. I bet they even found you a bunch of moon peaches for a treat."
Sokka grumbled beside her, his arms crossed as he started to tap his foot nervously. "What's taking them so long? Aang definitely should've been able to find her by now."
Katara looked over at her brother, concerned. "Maybe we should take Appa for a quick flight around the area, see if we can spot either of them from above." Sokka only nodded in response, and they both got on the bison before taking off.
Aang, wherever you are, please be careful, Katara thought to herself.
Sokka P.o.V.
Katara and Sokka continued flying around on Appa, hoping to spot Aang or Azami from above, but after hours without success they finally headed back to the village in defeat. Sokka couldn't help but feel responsible - after all, he had been the first to race out and fight a spirit he stood no chance against, and Azami had just been trying to protect him.
The two went to head into the main building, when they heard a rush of air from nearby. Looking over towards the village entrance, they saw Aang racing back, his glider in hand. "You're back!" Katara yelled excitedly, running to hug him.
Sokka came up behind them, a frown on his face as he noticed the airbender was alone. "Where's Azami?" he asked Aang, and the young boy just looked down in defeat.
"I'm not sure," Aang muttered, and Sokka felt the pit in his stomach grow.
"Do you at least have a plan to deal with the Hei Bai spirit?" Katara asked hopefully, and the downcast look on Aang's face did not reassure either sibling in the slightest.
Azami P.o.V.
"Welcome to the spirit world, sister."
Azami's head quickly snapped around to look to her side, her eyes widening as she took in the nearby figure. He looked older than when she had last seen him, but there was no denying the familiar face that was watching her closely, nor the voice that had sung her to sleep when she was little.
She glanced up to meet his eyes, tears slowly starting to fill her own. "Azulon?" she whispered out, and the man nodded in response. Quickly getting up, she sprinted towards her brother, throwing her arms around his large figure as she softly cried into his chest.
She hadn't realized how much she had missed her brother the past month, especially given the fact that she thought she'd never see him again. For some reason, however, his arms had remained firmly by his side. Looking up at him, her eyes blurred by tears, she felt a twinge of uncertainty at the cold expression on his face. "A-Are you ok?" she whispered.
"...really? That's it?" Azulon scoffed. He rolled his eyes, pulling away from her grasp on him. "No 'it's so nice to see you', or 'I missed you'. A hundred years apart, and the only thing you have to say is just a simple 'you ok'?"
Azami's eyes widened as she began to slowly back away from her brother. "W-what?" she stuttered out.
Azulon's glare pierced her to the core, and she felt like collapsing under the weight of his gaze. "Do you have any idea how long I spent looking for you? The lengths I went to in order to meet you here? Do you have any idea what you put me and father through?"
"I-I-"
"I spent nearly half a century searching for you," he hissed. "I even found a means to try and find you here after death, only to learn that you were playing a game of fucking hide and seek?"
Azami continued to move away from Azulon as he slowly crept towards her, a feeling of terror growing in the pit of her stomach. "I-I'm sorry?" she whispered, her voice shaky.
"SORRY?" he roared at her, and she flinched, tripping as she fell backwards, staring up at her brother in horror. He was slowly aging before her eyes, his hair turning to grey, then white as his skin wrinkled, but the look on his face remained the same. "You abandoned us, killing Father in the process, and the only thing you can say is sorry?!"
Her body had frozen up at this point, her face completely pale as the man she thought she knew towered over her. "You promised me you would return home! When you disappeared, I tore the nations apart to search for you! I punished those filthy airbenders for taking you from me, and only now A CENTURY LATER do I find out you turned your back on all of us!" he screeched, his face filled with pain and rage.
Azami's gaze was locked on his eyes, filled with insanity, and she tried to form words but could barely create a sound. It was as if all the air in her body had abandoned her, and she found herself struggling to breathe. The image of her brother's elderly form slowly turned to dust, flying away in the wind, and Azami could only barely manage to curl up on her side as her body trembled.
Her eyes slowly started to blur, the world around her fading to black once again, and before she lost consciousness she heard her brother's voice echo one last time in her ear.
"You betrayed us, sister. You destroyed us, and we burned the world. For you."
Sokka P.o.V.
Night had fallen, and the two siblings found themselves in a similar situation to the previous evening, watching Aang wait for the Hei Bai spirit from the window, the old man who had guided them to the town standing behind them. After a while, Aang lowered his head and walked back to the main village, only for Hei Bai to suddenly burst out of a nearby house.
Aang screamed in fright, protecting himself with a ball of air. "Aang, what are you doing?" Katara screamed at him. "Run!"
Hei Bai started moving towards the large main building, where all the villagers were cowering in fear, but Aang quickly raced ahead of it, stopping the spirit in its tracks. He touched the spirit on its head, revealing an overlapping image of a large panda spirit.
"You're the spirit of this forest," Aang realized. "Now I understand. You're upset and angry because your home was burnt down." The Hei Bai stayed still, huffing slightly as Aang continued.
"When I saw the forest had been burned, I was sad and upset," Aang tried to calm the spirit. "But my friend gave me hope that the forest will grow back." He held out the acorn that Katara had given him, and the Hei Bai gently took it before transforming into the form of a large panda. The spirit slowly walked out of the village, and once he passed the entrance it quickly filled with bamboo, the villagers all walking out with confused glances.
Sokka's face lit up as he saw Azami walk out with the rest of the villagers, seeming dazed, but as the three ran up to her he slowly started to frown. Something was off, her eyes seemed red and puffy while the rest of her face seemed paler than normal. Aang quickly embraced her, seemingly oblivious to her current state. "How are you? You were trapped in the spirit world for 24 hours, and-"
"I'm fine," she snapped, and they all looked at her in surprise. She glanced down at Aang, to see his face hurt, and her eyes softened slightly. "I'm sorry Aang, I just... I need a minute," she muttered, pushing him off and walking towards Appa while Sokka watched her in concern. She may have acted like this towards Sokka when he was still being mean to her, but she hadn't ever raised her voice at Aang.
Before any of them could spend much time wondering what had happened to her, they were approached by the village mayor. "Thank you, Avatar," he said softly to Aang, his eyes filled with gratitude. "If only there were a way to repay you for what you've done."
"You could give us some supplies and some money," Sokka asked, before Katara quickly elbowed him. "What?" he demanded. "We need stuff!"
The mayor simply smiled and bowed. "It would be an honor to help you prepare for your journey."
As the man walked off, Katara turned to compliment Aang, and Sokka walked over to where Azami sat next to Appa, rubbing his nose gently. "Hey..." he spoke softly, not wanting to make things worse for her. "Are you ok?"
Azami stiffened at his response, her face turning into a mask of calm. "Yes, of course," she replied, her voice flat and devoid of emotion. "We should probably go talk with Aang about what we do next."
She got up quickly, and went to walk past Sokka. He quickly reached a hand out to grab her arm, stopping her, and she glared at him. He recoiled slightly, his hand falling as he saw her eyes filled with pain, and he couldn't comprehend why she was acting so weird all of a sudden. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words died in his throat, and she scoffed lightly before walking over to Katara and Aang.
Katara P.o.V.
Katara watched as her brother walked off, and she turned her glance down to the young airbender. "I'm so proud of you, Aang," she smiled. "You figured out what to do all on your own."
Aang turned to her, a concerned look on his face. "Actually, I did have a little help," he admitted. "And there's something else. I need to talk to Roku, and I think I found a way to contact his spirit."
"That's great!" Katara exclaimed, unsure of why the airbender looked so downcast about such positive news.
"There's a temple on a crescent-shaped island," he explained. "If I go there on the solstice, I'll be able to speak with him."
Katara's eyes widened, concerned by the news. "But the solstice is tomorrow!"
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Azami and Sokka make their way over to her and Aang just as he dropped the other bit of information. "Yeah, and there's one more problem," he said nervously. "The island is in the Fire Nation."
"Whoa, slow down!" Sokka exclaimed, having joined them. "What's in the Fire Nation? What's going on?"
"I need to speak with Roku, and if I visit this temple on a Fire Nation island tomorrow, I can see him," Aang explained, and Sokka's eyes widened in fear while Azami's narrowed.
Later that evening, after having packed the supplies they were given, Aang tried dragging Appa's reins while the other three watched from the sidelines. "Let's go, Appa! Come on, boy!" he complained, the bison staying firmly planted. "Look, I'm sorry, but Azami, Katara and Sokka aren't coming to the Fire Nation with us. If any of them got hurt, I'd never forgive myself. So get your big butt off the ground and let's go!"
"I think his big butt is trying to tell you something," Sokka called out to him.
Katara was desperately pleading with him. "Please don't go, Aang. The world can't afford to lose you to the Fire Nation. Neither can I," she admitted, tears filling her eyes.
"But I have to talk to Avatar Roku to find out what my vision meant!" he insisted. "I need to get to the Fire Temple before the sun sets on the solstice! That's today!" He leaped up onto Appa, trying to get him to move, but found his path blocked by the three teenagers.
"I get that this is important to you, Aang," Azami snapped at him. "But what you're talking about is suicide." (anyone who gets this reference earns a free cookie)
"That's why we're not letting you go to the Fire Nation, Aang," Katara continued.
Sokka smirked up at him. "At least, not without your friends. We've got your back." Aang smiled at them, and Appa licked Sokka, causing him to cringe and squeal in disgust.
"It's a long journey to the crescent island," the mayor said concerned as he walked up to them. "You'll have to fly fast to have any chance of making it before sundown. Good luck."
Aang smiled down at him. "Thank you for your-"
"Go!" the man yelled, and they quickly took off.
The group traveled in silence for a bit, and Katara took the opportunity to glance over at Azami. The young princess was in her meditative position, but unlike normal her body was uncharacteristically stiff, the flame in her hand glowing a bright blue. She opened her eyes for a moment to see Katara staring at her, and the waterbender just blushed at being caught before she looked away.
Within a few hours, the sun had risen and the gaang found themselves above open water. The air was thick with tension, the entire trip having been practically in silence. None of them needed to discuss what they were doing, they all understood the dangers of entering the Fire Nation while still woefully unprepared.
Concerned by their progress, Aang leaned down over Appa, begging him to go faster. Appa groaned in protest, before pushing himself even harder, and they sped up slightly. Looking over the back of Appa's saddle, Katara's eyes widened spotting Zuko's sip. "Aang, we got trouble!" she yelled.
"Yeah, and it's gaining fast!" Sokka screamed.
The three teenagers watched as a catapult was raised to the deck, it's projectile being quickly lit on fire. Katara's eyes widened as she saw the catapult launch, the fireball heading straight for them. "Fireball!" she screamed at Aang.
"I'm on it!" he yelled back, steering Appa out of the way, while Azami stood up and reached out towards it. The fireball quickly froze in mid air, its flames turning from orange to blue. She swung her fist outwards, throwing the fireball back at Zuko's ship and destroying the catapult.
The gaang all coughed and gagged as the fireball's stench enveloped them. "Aang, we have to get out of their range!" Sokka exclaimed. "Can't you make Appa go any faster?"
"Yeah, but there's just one problem," Aang muttered. The gaang looked ahead, their eyes widening at the sight of dozens of Fire Navy ships forming a massive blockade to defend the Fire Nation's waters.
"If we fly north, we can go around the Fire Nation ships and avoid the blockade!" Aang cried desperately. "It's the only way!"
"There's no time!" Katara exclaimed.
"This is exactly why I didn't want you to come!" Aang groaned. "It's too dangerous!"
Azami scoffed, standing up at the front of the saddle. "Too dangerous for you, maybe. That's why we're here Aang. Let's run this blockade."
Aang glanced at her nervously, but after seeing the determination in her gaze, he urged Appa onwards. As they pressed onwards, a massive array of fireballs was launched up at them, causing the water tribe siblings and Aang to scream in fear. Azami simply snarled, before she pointed her two front fingers on each hand and began moving them in a circular motion.
Katara's eyes widened as she saw lightning tracing the girl's fingertips, and she quickly pulled Sokka to the back of the saddle to give her space. They both stared at her in shock, never knowing that she had such a power.
Azami P.o.V.
Upon seeing the fireballs coming towards them, Azami prepared to use her lightningbending, something she hadn't used since before she went into the ice with Aang. She went through the motions, following the same pattern she always did, and she felt the energy arcing around her and through her body.
As soon as she felt the lightning generate, she was thrown into the memory of her first time ever learning how to use the ability.
A young Azami groaned as she was blasted backwards yet again. She'd been trying for almost an hour to create lightning, with little success. She sighed, her eyes filling with tears. "It's hopeless, I'll never be like you or daddy," she whispered sadly.
She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder, and she looked up into the warm face of her brother. "It's okay," he reassured her. "You know you're the youngest person to ever even attempt this, right? I'm sure you can do it. And you're right, you'll never be like dad or I. You'll be better than either of us."
She smiled gratefully up at him as he helped her up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Now remember, you need to clear your mind. Distracting thoughts or emotions break your concentration, and cause you to lose control of the energy. Try again, I know you can do this."
She nodded confidently at him, before facing away from her brother and she took a deep breath. She slowly went through the moves her brother had showed her, clenching her eyes shut before she thrust her fingers out. This time, she felt no explosion throwing her backwards, and she squinted one eye open to see lightning racing away from her fingers. "You did it!" her brother cheered.
"I-I did it? I DID IT!" she celebrated.
Azami shook her head at the memory. She needed to be calm, composed. The lightning was still holding by her side, begging for release. She moved to launch her fingers forward, the lightning following her movements to strike in front of her-
You betrayed us. You destroyed us.
We burned the world. For you.
Azami screamed in pain as the lightning redirected, arcing up her arm as she was blown backwards.
A/N; And that's a wrap on part two :D
Tbh I was gonna make you guys wait another week for an update but I felt like I just had to get this out. So, shit finally started going down, huh? Bet you guys weren't expecting this ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Quick explanation on what happened at the end, in case any of you are confused. The way I see it, Zuko was never able to create lightning in the first place, because he was in a state of emotional turmoil before he even started. Here, Azami was able to clear her mind and generate the lightning, and only had a moment of turmoil at the end, causing her to lose control of the lightning after it had already been created. Hopefully that makes sense (and doesn't sound too much like random fanfic logic even though that's exactly what is is :P)
I hope you guys enjoyed, stay tuned for part three of the winter solstice :)