Once again, I sit and watch Zuko train Aang in his firebending but after watching it for several hours it gets boring and I just end up laying down on the front steps of the beach house.
"More ferocious! Imagine striking through your opponent's heart!" Zuko orders.
"I'm trying." Aang groans.
"Now let me hear you roar like a tigerdillo!" I look up to see Aang give a light roar and small flames burst from his arms and mouth.
"That sounded pathetic! I said roar!" Zuko critiques. Aang tries again and this time three large plumes of fire come out of his arms and mouth.
"Who wants a nice cool glass of watermelon juice?" Katara says and I reach my arm in the air and a small watermelon gets placed in it.
"Ooh, ooh! Me, me, me!" Aang runs closer to us to receive a watermelon. I sit up and take a sip of the refreshing drink.
"Hey!" Zuko grabs the back of Aang's collar, stopping him from getting a drink, "Your lesson's not over yet! Get back here!"
"Come on, Zuko. Just take a break. What's the big deal?" Suki asks. Zuko lets go of Aang, "Fine!" Zuko grumbles under his breath and then looks at me, "Li Mei,"
"What?"
"I want you to train with me."
"Why me?" I complain.
"You're the only other firebender and your technique is sloppy."
"My technique is not sloppy!" I stand up and knock over my watermelon juice. Zuko crosses his arms, "Okay, fine, maybe my technique is a little sloppy but I don't really feel like fixing it."
"If we're going to fight the Fire Nation we are all going to have to be in our best shape... You are not."
I cross my own arms over my chest like a child, "Fine... I'll do your stupid training."
"Thank you." Zuko sighs. I walk over to him, "So, what do you want me to do?"
"Let's start with the basics."
"Basics? What am I five?" I throw my arms in the air out of frustration.
"You firebend like an earthbender." Zuko deadpans.
"I like doing it that way. The opponent never knows what's coming."
"The basics," Zuko repeats himself. I sigh and get into a fighting stance, "Your stance is weak."
"Thanks for the compliment," I grumble.
"Anyone could knock you down without trying." He walks closer to me, grabbing my arm and knocking my feet out from under me, pinning me to the ground.
"Well, maybe I didn't have a lot of one on one training in prison." I push him off of me and stand back up. I get back into my stance.
"Bring your legs further apart," Zuko instructs and I follow, "Bend your knees more." I follow, "Now try to attack me."
"You're easily going to block my attack."
"Just try."
I take a deep breath and charge at him. He throws a punch at my head, but I dodge it and I feel the flames kiss the side of my face. I slide on the ground and kick out his legs, but he flips onto his hands and back into a standing position. I kick my leg into the air and create a blade of Fire which he quickly dodges and he sends a large ball of fire my way. I duck and roll to the side. I stomp on the ground, forming a large wave of flames. While he's distracted with that I run as quickly as I can behind him and kick him right in the middle of his back, making him crash to the ground. Before he can get up, I flip him over and pin him down by sitting on top of his chest and holding his arms down with my legs.
"You let me win." I breathe out.
"Maybe." He smirks and I lean down and kiss him. A whistle from in front of me makes me look up. Everyone sitting on the steps in front of me has big smiles on their faces. I scramble off of Zuko and dust myself off, trying to hide the ever-growing blush on my face.
"Well, that was fun." Sokka stands up, "But now it's time for something even more fun," He throws off his robe, revealing a swimsuit, "Beach party!"
Sokka and the rest of Team Avatar go running down to the beach, "A little fun at the beach never hurt anyone." I shrug looking over at Zuko who frowns, "Loosen up! The world won't end if we spend a couple of hours having fun." I push him lightly and run off down to the beach.
-
I sink my feet into the sand at the edge of the water, watching the people around me make sand sculptures and surf on the water.
I crouch down and start making mounds of sand to form some kind of castle, "Check out my Appa sand sculpture." I lift my head to see Aang place one last piece of wood in his sculpture.
"Not bad, baldy, but I've been working on my sandbending." Toph cracks her knuckles,
"You're gonna love this." She bends the sand into a replica of Ba sing Se. I stand up and walk away from my sad little sandcastle to look at her masterpiece.
"Whoa! Wow, you've even made a little Earth King and Bosco." Aang points at a man and his bear.
"Try and top that, Sokka," Toph smirks at the boy who has been running back and forth across the beach.
"Ta-da!" Sokka reveals his sculpture. It's a large blob-like creature with seaweed hair and a starfish nose.
"Is that a blubbering blob monster?" Aang asks.
"No, it's Suki!" Sokka says defensively. My jaw drops and I laugh, looking between the horrific sand sculpture and Sokka's pretty girlfriend.
"Suki, we'll all understand if you break up with him over this." Toph teases.
"I think it's sweet." She replies and Sokka goes running over, giving her a big kiss on her cheek.
"But it doesn't even look like- Aah!" Aang gets cut off by a giant explosion destroying Sokka's 'art piece'. I raise my fists but drop them when I see who has created the explosion.
"What are you doing?" Aang asks Zuko.
"Teaching you a lesson!" Zuko destroys Aang's Appa sculpture with another blast and he goes running off to the beach house after Aang.
"What happened?" Katara returns to shore.
"Zuko's gone crazy! I made a sand sculpture of Suki and he destroyed it!" Sokka struggles to rebuild his artwork, "Oh, and he's attacking Aang." He adds.
I run with the group back to the house to see Aang and Zuko standing on the roof.
"Can't you control your boyfriend?" Sokka shakes me.
"I don't even know why he's doing this, how am I supposed to stop him?" I swat Sokka away.
Suddenly, Zuko comes blasting out from the side of the house and into a nearby tree. I march up to him and pull him up by the collar, "What's wrong with you?"
"You could have hurt Aang!" Katara adds.
"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with all of you? How can you sit around having beach parties when Sozin's Comet is only three days away?"
I turn around and look at the group behind me and they all look blankly at Zuko, "Why are you all looking at me like I'm crazy?"
"About Sozin's Comet ... I was actually gonna wait to fight the Fire Lord until after it came," Aang says.
"You're gonna do what?" I choke out.
"I'm not ready. I need more time to master firebending."
"And frankly, your earthbending could still use some work too." Toph comments.
"So, you all knew Aang was going to wait?" Zuko questions.
"Honestly, if Aang tries to fight the Fire Lord now, he's going to lose." Sokka looks over to Aang, "No offence."
"The whole point of fighting the Fire Lord before the Comet was to stop the Fire Nation from winning the War, but they pretty much won the war when they took Ba Sing Se. Things can't get any worse." Katara says.
"You're wrong." Zuko turns his back to us, "It's about to get worse than you can even imagine. The day before the eclipse, my father asked me to attend an important war meeting. It was what I dreamed about for so many years. My father had finally accepted me back.
"He plans to wipe out the entire Earth Kingdom permanently once the comet comes, using airships and burning everything to the ground. My father wants to become the supreme ruler of the world.
"I wanted to speak out against this horrifying plan, but I'm ashamed to say I didn't. My whole life, I struggled to gain my father's love and acceptance, but once I had it, I realized I'd lost myself getting there. I'd forgotten who I was."
Katara sinks to her knees, "I can't believe this."
"I always knew the Fire Lord was a bad guy, but his plan is just pure evil." Sokka comments
"What am I gonna do?" Aang asks himself.
"I know you're scared, and I know you're not ready to save the world, but if you don't
defeat the Fire Lord before the comet comes, there won't be a world to save anymore." Zuko stands from his seat on a rock.
"Why didn't you tell me about your dad's crazy plan sooner?" Aang walks off.
"I didn't think I had to. I assumed you were still going to fight him before the comet. No one told me you decided to wait."
Aang holds his head in his hands, "This is bad." He sinks to his knees, "This is really, really bad."
"Aang, you don't have to do this alone." Katara steps forward. Toph, Sokka, and Suki join her. I walk next to them as well.
"Yeah, if we all fight the Fire Lord together, we got a shot at taking him down," Toph says.
"All right! Team Avatar is back!" Sokka exclaims, pointing at Aang, "Air!" Then Katara, "Water!" Then Toph, "Earth!" He points at me and Zuko, "Fire!" He runs over to a bush and picks up a clump of leaves and hands it to Suki and holds one long leaf in his own hand, "Fan and sword!" His leaf wilts.
"Fighting the Fire Lord is going to be the hardest thing we've ever done together, but I wouldn't want to do it any other way." Aang joins us in a group hug. The only person not standing with us is Zuko, "Come on, Firefly." I gesture with my hand.
"Being part of the group also means being part of group hugs," Katara adds and he reluctantly joins the group, squeezing in next to me. Appa comes soaring in and knocks all of us to the ground.
-
I sit next to Katara and watch Zuko and Aang train for what feels like the hundredth time in the past few days.
"There's one technique you need to know before facing my father - how to redirect lightning. If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it." Zuko moves his hand across his body and to his other hand, "You turn your opponents' energy against them."
"That's like waterbending." Aang follows Zuko's movements.
"Exactly. My uncle invented this technique himself by studying waterbenders."
"So, have you ever redirected lightning before?"
"Twice. Once against my father and the other..." Zuko's eyes trail over to me and Aang follows his gaze. I lower my own gaze to my lap.
"What did it feel like?" Aang changes the subject.
"Exhilarating... But terrifying. You feel so powerful holding that much energy in your body, but you know if you make the wrong move, it's over."
Aang chuckles, "Well, not over, over. I mean there's always Katara and a little Spirit Water action," He looks at Katara, "Am I right?"
"Actually, I used it all up after Azula shot you," Katara replies.
"Oh." Aang looks down at the ground.
"You'll have to take the Fire Lord's life before he takes yours," Zuko instructs.
"Yeah, I'll just do that." Aang sighs.
-
"Gather round, Team Avatar." Sokka Places a melon on top of a mannequin, "In order to take out the Fire Lord - or in this case, the Melon Lord - our timing has to be perfect." Sokka kneels down and draws a line in the dirt leading to the Melon Lord symbol, "First, Suki and I will draw his fire. Then, Katara and Zuko charge in with some liquidy hot offence," Sokka draws a second line to the left of the Melon Lord symbol, "And while the Melon Lord is distracted," He then draws the third line on the right side of the Melon Lord symbol, "Aang swoops in... And bam!" Sokka crosses out the Melon Lord, "He delivers the final blow."
"What about me?" Toph and I ask at the same time.
"For now, you two are the Melon Lord's forces." Sokka answers.
"So I get to chuck flaming rocks at all of you?" Toph says with excitement.
"Whatever makes the training feel more realistic." Sokka shrugs. I smirk, "This is gonna be great."
-
"Mwah-ha-ha-ha!" Toph cackles evilly. Sokka and Suki start making their way toward us but Toph stops them with three rock soldiers. They quickly take them down and keep moving. Toph lifts one of the large oil-covered rocks in front of us and I ignite it. Once the large rock is on fire she launches it at the young couple.
"Watch it, Toph!" Sokka cries.
"I am not Toph. I am Melon Lord! Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" I help Toph light another rock and she sends this one flying at Katara and Zuko who are approaching us on the opposite side.
Toph forms several more rock soldiers but Zuko and Katara deal with them as fast as they appear.
"Now, Aang!" Sokka yells. Aang jumps down behind Toph and I, raising his glider to strike down the Melon Lord, but he lowers his staff.
"What are you waiting for? Take him out!" Zuko shouts.
"I can't." Aang shakes his head. Sokka makes his way over to Aang, "What's wrong with you? If this was the real deal, you'd be shot full of lightning right now."
"I'm sorry, but it just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like myself."
Sokka takes out his sword and slices the melon in half and Aang winces at the impact, "There, that's how it's done." Sokka walks away.
-
"I have a surprise for everyone!" Katara comes running up to the team holding a scroll.
"I knew it! You did have a secret thing with Haru!" Toph exclaims, causing me to choke on my food, "What?"
"Uh, no." Katara responds, "I was looking for cooking pots in the attic, and I found this!" She unravels the scroll, "Look at baby Zuko. Isn't he cute?" A painting of a small dark haired baby playing in the sand is on the scroll. I furrow my brows while looking at the painting. It isn't Zuko.
"Oh, lighten up. I'm just teasing." Katara says to Zuko who is also frowning, "That's not me. It's my father." He confirms my doubts.
Katara rolls up the scroll, "But he looks so sweet and innocent." Suki comments.
"Well, that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster and the worst father in the history of fathers," Zuko grumbles.
"But he's still a human being," Aang speaks up from his seat away from the rest of us.
"You're going to defend him?"
"No, I agree with you." Aang stands up, "Fire Lord Ozai is a horrible person, and the world would probably be better off without him, but there's got to be another way."
"Like what?"
"I don't know." He perks up, "Maybe we can make some big pots of glue, and then I can use gluebending to stick his arms and legs together so he can't bend anymore."
"Yeah, then you can show him his baby pictures, and all those happy memories will make him good again," Zuko replies sarcastically. I laugh.
"Do you think that would work?" Aang says excitedly, not realizing Zuko's previous statement was a joke.
"No!" Zuko says bluntly.
Aang starts pacing back and forth, "This goes against everything I learned from the monks. I can't just go around wiping out people I don't like."
"Sure you can. You're the Avatar. If it's in the name of keeping balance, I'm pretty sure the universe will forgive you." Sokka disagrees.
"This isn't a joke, Sokka! None of you understand the position I'm in." Aang snaps.
"Aang, we do understand. It's just..." Katara tries to calm the young avatar down.
"Just what, Katara? What?"
"We're trying to help!"
"Then, when you figure out a way for me to beat the Fire Lord without taking his life, I'd love to hear it!" Aang stomps away. Katara moves to follow him, "Aang, don't walk away from this." Zuko stands up and puts a hand on Katara's shoulder, "Let him go. He needs time to sort it out by himself."
Katara walks away and into the house in the opposite direction of Aang.
"Well... That went really well." I spoon more food into my mouth to avoid the awkward silence that has fallen over us.
-
I'm running down the hallways of the Royal Palace and they feel as though they are endless.
"You're useless!" Azula's voice echoes down the halls. I clamp my hands over my ears, "Shut up! Shut up!"
I keep running and her voice continues to taunt me, "Do you really think that you'll be helpful to your friends?" She jeers, "You'll just drag them down."
"You're wrong!" I stop running and I yell up at the ceiling.
"What did my brother say? That you were 'sloppy'. That can't be good." She cackles. I start running again and the hallway finally starts to shorten and I reach the large doors of Ozai's court hall. I slam them open and my breath catches in my throat when I see what's inside the room.
The bloodied bodies of my friends and family are scattered across the room. As soon as I move closer to them I get sucked out of the room and back down the hallway, getting pinned to the wall at the end of the hall. No matter how much I try to move I can't.
Azula's taunts echo from every angle and I can't even make out what she's saying until "You couldn't save them." Her breath tickles my ear and when I look back up I am back in the court hall, left to stare at the bodies of my friends.
"Stop! Stop it!" I cry.
"That would ruin all the fun." She chuckles. The people in front of me begin to burn, "You couldn't protect them... Or maybe," Azula stands in front of me. She pushes my head down to look at my hands, "You did this to them." My hands have scorch marks and dried blood on them.
"I didn't!" Warm tears flood out of my eyes.
"But you did." Azula runs her finger along my jawline, "You're the reason they're dead." She spits.
"Stop saying that!" My hoarse voice cries, "Stop it!" The force holding me in place vanishes and I drop to my knees, "Please... Stop it."
I wake up, my body covered in a cold sweat. I look around my empty room, almost expecting Azula to be standing at the end of my bed. I slide the sheets off of my body and swing my feet onto the floor. I step carefully along the creaky wooden floors and open my door.
I gently open the door to Zuko's room, closing it carefully after entering. I shuffle my feet along the floor and push back the sheets on the side of the bed his body doesn't lay on. I climb in and look to my right to see that Zuko is still asleep.
My mind fills with the image of my friends' bodies laying on the floor. I choke back a sob and slap my hand over my mouth to dampen the sound. From beside me, Zuko starts to stir. I keep my hand clamped over my mouth as tears flow down the sides of my face.
Zuko turns around and even in the dark, I make eye contact with him. His eyes slowly widen, "Have you been crying?" His voice is raspy from just waking up.
"No." I blatantly lie.
"You can talk to me." Zuko moves closer to me. He reaches his hand out to touch my cheek and wipe away the stream of tears. He moves my head to look at him and his expression changes from confusion to concern.
"What's going on?"
"Just a bad dream... It's nothing." I turn my head back away and wipe away any leftover tears.
"It's not, 'nothing' if it made you cry," Zuko says.
"Do you think I'm a dead weight to the group?" I play with my thumbs.
"No... Why would you say that?"
"I'll rephrase the question." I sigh, "Do you think I'm a bad firebender?"
"Is this about what I said earlier?"
"Just answer the question." Zuko grabs my face softly and forces me to look him in the eyes, "You are a talented firebender. Maybe not by the regular standards, but how many people can say that they can firebend using earthbending technique?"
"Probably a few." I mumble."
"One." Zuko pokes my chest, "You... Your technique isn't sloppy, it's brilliant." I smile at the compliment leaning my head into the crook of his neck, "So, why did you tell me I was sloppy?"
"I was just mad that no one seemed to care about the comet and I took it out on you."
"Of course... Well, next time you're angry about something, don't take it out on your girlfriend." I pull out of our embrace and try to roll over.
"What are you doing?" Zuko stops me from turning.
"I'm going back to bed." I deadpan.
"We are not done talking."
"Yes, we are." I try to move but he stops me every time, "Why were you crying?" He asks.
"Like I said. Bad dream." I repeat.
"And what was this bad dream?"
"Are you going to let me go to bed if I tell you?"
"Yes."
I groan and stop attempting to escape from his gaze. I begin explaining my nightmare and he stays quiet and patiently listens to me. Once I finish he shakes his head, "Don't listen to Azula. She lies."
"That's all you have to say?" I chuckle.
"It's the truth." He shrugs.
"I guess you're right." I yawn, "If you don't mind, I will be going back to sleep now." I turn over onto my left side and Zuko snakes his hand around my waist and rests his head on the nape of my neck. His soft breathing lulls me to sleep.