Aang is holding Tom-Tom in his arms as he walks down the hill he was standing on towards Team Avatar, who's waiting next to Appa.
"You do realize we're probably walking right into a trap, right?" Asks Sokka.
"I don't think so. I'm sure the governor wants his son back as much as we want Bumi" Replies Aang as he looks at the sleeping baby in his arms and smiles.
"It's a new day. I have a good feeling about this" States Aang.
❀❀❀
Somewhere in Omashu, a royal palanquin is being carried up the stairs towards the house of the governor. The silhouette of Azula can be seen through the veils. Mai awaits the arrival of the palanquin at the base of the stairs. Azula gets out and walks towards Mai along with Ty Lee. They halt before her. Mai puts her hands together and bows slightly towards Azula.
"Please tell me you're here to kill me" Says Mai as she looks up at Azula and a slight smile appears on her otherwise emotionless face. Both girls start to laugh.
"It's great to see you, Mai" Azula places her hands on Mai's shoulders before Ty Lee rushes towards Mai to hug her. Mai pats her back with her left hand.
"I thought you ran off and joined the circus. You said it was your calling" Mai looks confused at Ty Lee, wondering why she left the circus, the place where she wanted to be.
"Well, Azula called a little louder" Smiles Ty Lee as she lets go of Mai.
"I have a mission and I need you both" Begins Azula as she places a hand on both her friends' shoulders.
"Count me in. Anything to get me out of this place" Grunts Mai annoyed.
❀❀❀
Azula is sitting on the throne of Omashu, flanked by two Fire Nation guards. The governor and his wife are in front of her, as well as Mai and Ty Lee.
"I apologize. You've come to Omashu at a difficult time. At noon we're making a trade with the resistance to get Tom-Tom back" Apologizes Ukano, who's squatting down on a pillow.
"Yes, I'm so sorry to hear about your son, but really, what did you expect by just letting all the citizens leave?" Begins Azula as she crosses her legs.
"My father has trusted you with this city and you're making a mess of things!" Exclaims Azula in a harsher tone while standing up.
"Forgive me, Princess" Replies Ukano while Azula walks between the four bowing people in front of her, looking down at the governor.
"You stay here. Mai will handle the hostage trade so you don't have a chance to mess it up" Demands Azula while Mai and Ty Lee get up and follow her.
"And there is no more 'Omashu'. I'm renaming it in honor of my father, the city of New Ozai" States Azula before leaving the room.
❀❀❀
Team Avatar is standing on a large wooden scaffold. In front of them, three girls approach; Mai, Azula, and Ty Lee. Suddenly, they notie a crane, which lowers a metal cage. The metal cage is used to contain king Bumi. Only his head is left uncovered.
"Hi, everybody!" Grins Bumi. Aang smiles the moment he sees his friend.
"You brought my brother?" Asks Mai.
"He's here. We're ready to trade" Informs Aang.
"I'm sorry, but a thought just occurred to me. Do you mind?" Azula looks at Mai.
"Of course not, Princess Azula" Replies Mai. Upon hearing this, Mizuki realizes something. If the Fire Nation girl is a princess, she must be related to Zuko. Unless the Fire Nation has multiple royal families of course.
"We're trading a two year old for a king. A powerful, earthbending king?" States Azula while Bumi nods in agreement.
"It just doesn't seem like a fair trade, does it?" Mai looks away, not being sure what to do or say. She looks at her brother who yawns and happily rests his head against Sokka's shoulder.
"You're right. The deal's off" Upon hearing this, Azula smiles slyly while Mai holds up her hand, gesturing the guards to pull Bumi back up. As the chains reel in from above, the king is suspended in the air once again.
"Whoa! See you all later!" Chuckles Bumi.
"Bumi!" Exclaims Aang as he sprints forwards with his glider at the ready, increasing his speed with airbending. Azula tries to stop him by blocking his path with a mighty stream of blue flames. However, Aang dodges these by leaping high up into the air. Azula is completely shocked by this incredible jump. Aang briefly touches the scaffolding around the statue and pushes himself off, opening his glider in mid air. While opening his glider, he loses his hat, leaving his arrow tattoo exposed. He holds on to the hat with his teeth.
"The Avatar!" Gasps Azula as she looks at Aang, who's circling around Bumi's coffin.
"My lucky day" She smirks while running over to a pulley and blasting through the rope that serves as a break. The winch begins to spin rapidly. Azula grabs hold to the rope and is pulled up rapidly towards the top of the construction scaffolding. Aang lands on top of Bumi's metal cage.
"Aang, is that you? Where did you come from?" Asks Bumi surprised.
"Hang on! We're gonna get you out of here" Replies Aang as he takes a deep breath and starts to blow a cold wind on the chain that is lifting Bumi up. The chain slowly starts to freeze. Meanwhile, on the ground, Mai and Ty Lee charge towards Katara, Mizuki and Sokka. Mai readies her stiletto's while Katara takes on a defensive stance.
"We've got to get the baby out of here!" Exclaims Mizuki, who's worried for the child's safety.
"Way ahead of ya!" Grins Sokka as he blows the bison whistle. Tom-Tom reaches for the whistle and starts to play with it. Katara, Mizuki and Sokka begin to run towards the edge of the big platform. However, before they can reach it, Ty Lee's fist emerges from one of the holes in the floor and chi blocks Sokka's foot, causing him to fall over and slide towards the edge. He protectively clutches the baby in his arms, preparing for the worst, but they stop just in time. Katara and Mizuki see Ty Lee jumping out of the hole in the floor and run towards Sokka.
Mizuki begins to chase after Ty Lee while Katara bends water from her pouch to attack her, but she notices something behind her. Mai throws four knives at Katara, who reacts by quickly using her whater whip to raise up several wooden planks. The wooden planks are just in time to prevent the knives from piercing her face. The knives embed themselves in the wood. Katara uses her water whip again to shoot the wooden boards to Mai. Meanwhile, Mizuki sends a blast of air towards Ty Lee, swiping her off her feet. This gives Sokka the time he needs to get up and head for a nearby ladder. He slides down and starts his descend of the scaffolding.
"Aang, stop your blowing for a minute" Says Bumi to Aang, who's still trying to freeze the chain with his breath. Just as Aang finally succeeds in freezing the chain, an explosion occurs on top of the scaffolding. Azula is propelled in the air and shoots a plume of blue fire towards Aang with a powerful kick. Aang is startled by her sudden appearance and deflects the flame with a strong air blast.
"Now hold on- aahhh!!" Aang manages to break the frozen chain and they freefall down. As they are about to crash upon one of Omashu's chutes, Aang creates an air ball under them to break their fall. They rapidly slide down the chute they landed in. Azula, who was following the spectacle from atop the scaffolding, sprints to a nearby chute, pursuing the Avatar and King down the chute in a box of her own. Aang and Bumi begin to laugh.
"It's just like old times, isn't it, Bumi?" Exclaims Aang happily.
"Aang, I need to talk to you!" States king Bumi in a serious tone.
"It's good to see you too!" Grins Aang, who had misheard what his friend just said. Suddenly, he notices something approaching in a chute on his left. Aang turns around to see what it is, just as Azula shoots several fire missiles toward them. He spins his staff above his head to deflect them. Both chutes come together and Azula is now behind them. Aang directs an air gust at her, but she parts it with her hands clasped together in front of her. Azula retaliates with several fire blasts. Aang ducks underneath them and starts to peddle with his staff, increasing his speed. Aang creates a dust cloud, and manages to escape, or atleast, that's what he thinks. Aang sighs in relief, but his sigh quickly turns into a scream as Azula emerges again from the box, sending another beam of fire toward him. Aang drops flat on his belly to avoid it.
To be continued
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