Book Four: Air - Ch 8, Pt 2

by *Capt-BA

"Katara?"  Aang pushed open the door to the sleeping quarters and searched the shadows for the waterbender.  Someone sniffed and sat up on one of the beds.

"Aang, what's up?"  Katara did a good job covering it, but Aang could tell she'd been crying.  He came into the room and sat down beside her, unsure what to say or do.  Mastering four elements was so much easier than mastering the art of being in a relationship.

He wasn't even sure if they were still in a relationship.  After their last parting, anything was possible, though she had seemed happy to see him.

"Katara, I-" Before he could finish, a quiet sob slipped from the young woman.  Acting on pure instinct, Aang drew her into a hug and did his best to project his earthy side, all strength and comfort and safety.  If she needed a rock, he could be that for her.

She cried into his shoulder and he held her, murmuring comforting nothings as he rubbed her back.  It felt good to hold her, even if she was leaving wet spots on his robe with her tears.

"I was so scared," she said between silent sobs.  "He could have… If I'd been too late… And what if you… or Zuko… And I can't be everywhere… I can't…"

It was something Aang had noticed about the people of the Water Tribe, and the siblings in particular.  Emotions were their greatest strength and their greatest weakness.  They just seemed to feel everything, the highs and the lows, to the extremes.  If there was enough need, they could bottle their emotions and push through any kind of adversity.  But that kind of pressure has a way of building up, and eventually it needs to find release.  

"Everything's okay, Katara.  You saved Sokka and the rest of us are fine.  You don't need to worry."

She sat back, wiping her tears, and Aang's eyes had adjusted to the dark enough to see the embarrassment she felt for her display.  She tried to smile as she brushed her hair loopies away from her face.  "I'm just tired, really," she said, attempting to justify her outpouring.  "I probably look like a mess."

"Not to me."

"I suppose I look like a silly, overemotional girl, then?"

He silenced her complaints with a kiss and when they finally drew back, he met her gaze and was happy to see softer emotions dancing in her eyes.  "You look amazing, Katara.  You always do."

------

Toph brushed her hand through Appa's fur and the big, fluffy sky bison grunted affably.  They'd made a makeshift pen for him in the bomb bay of Iroh's airship, and even though Appa wasn't a fan of enclosed spaces, he was happy enough to get a break from flying.  Hawky had made a nest for himself up in the rafters and hadn't come down since.  Toph couldn't blame him.  She hadn't flown under her own power all day, and she was still exhausted.

Momo dug through a pile of fruits and vegetables, occasionally tossing the biggest and juiciest pieces to his oversized and worn out friend.  

"Life's pretty simple for you guys, isn't it?"  Toph mused and Momo responded with a sharp, argumentative chitter.  Toph had always been a little skeptical about how much their animal companions actually understood, but she couldn't deny that it sounded like Momo had something he wanted to say.  "Well, it seems pretty simple from where I'm standing."

Momo hopped on top of her head and started lecturing her about all the ins and outs of his life while Appa rumbled in amusement and rolled onto his back.  

"I thought I might find you down here."  Toph hadn't noticed her old friend standing at the railing above her.  Metal wasn't the easiest thing to see through and it didn't help that she'd been distracted, thinking.  "Everyone else is resting.  Shouldn't you be, as well?"

Toph sighed and started up the ladder.

"Something on your mind?"  Iroh asked and Toph greeted him with a hug that the old man happily returned.  "I was just on my way to check up on our young warrior friend and my nephew.  Would you care to join me?"

Katara had all but frozen the door shut in her attempt to keep people from bugging her brother, but there was no way she could object to Iroh making a visit.  Toph grinned.  "Sure, why not."

They walked to the infirmary in comfortable silence and Iroh tapped the door twice with his knuckle.  "May we enter?"

"Of course, Uncle."  

Katara was nowhere to be seen and they stepped inside, closing the door behind them.  "I just thought you two could use a cup of relaxing herbal tea before bedtime."  Iroh didn't wait for approval before he set about, gathering tea supplies and lighting the infirmary's small stove.

A steady heartbeat and soft snoring was the only response from Sokka, but that didn't stop Toph from pulling up a chair and sitting at his bedside.  

"I don't know how he does it," Zuko said.  "He's got to be in pain, but he can still sleep like a baby."

"His body's working overtime trying to heal," Toph said, her voice half-way to a whisper.  "He was fading fast when Katara caught up to us…"

Zuko let the weight of her words sink in.  "That explains why she's being so protective."  

Toph pulled out of her thoughts and managed to grin at the firebender.  "She may not show it, but I could tell she was really worried when she first saw you, too."

"Yeah," Zuko said, scratching the back of his neck.  "I kind of got that impression.  But I'm fine, really.  It's just a certain uncle of mine who won't let me get out of bed."

Iroh whistled to himself as he set the water to boil and Toph and Zuko both smiled.  The old man grabbed a roll of fresh bandages, some surgical shears and two contoured strips of wood before joining Toph at Sokka's bedside.

He hummed as he snipped at the cloth wrapping Sokka's chest, shoulder, and right arm, where the dragon viper had done its damage.  "He needs to let his wounds breathe, a little," he explained.  The old general made a thoughtful noise when he pulled away the bandages, but whatever he was thinking, he kept to himself.  

Even with her earthbending sight, Toph had no idea how bad Sokka really looked, as far as bruising and scarring went.  And while it made no difference to her, she knew it would make a difference to him, and that, in turn, increased her curiosity to the point that she almost asked Iroh to tell her what he saw.

But the moment passed and Iroh handed her the roll of bandages.  "Do you mind assisting me?"  She slid off her chair and Iroh started cutting through the thicker bandages wrapping Sokka's broken leg.  

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Toph kept her voice low but insistent.  "I mean, the bones have barely started to knit together."

"I trust you to keep him steady.  These bandages really need to be changed and I have some new splints that should be much more comfortable to him."

Toph set the fresh roll down and repositioned herself so she could keep one hand on Sokka's knee and the other on the bottom of his foot.  With his pulse vibrating under her fingertips and all her concentration focused, she could see the broken bones as clearly as she'd ever 'seen' anything.

And Toph didn't like what she saw.  Sokka had snapped both bones of his shin in two, and though Suki had managed to set them back together, their hold seemed precarious, at best.  Toph would never admit it, but Katara had probably been right to throw Sokka's brace out the window.  One wrong move and he would have been in a whole new world of hurt.

Iroh carefully slid the old bandages out from under Sokka's leg and then turned his quiet scrutiny to the injury.  He gently laid his hands on the swollen limb and Toph couldn't help but feel nervous and protective.  

"Don't worry," Iroh whispered.  "I picked up many skills during my time in the military, and not all of them were bad."  Toph tried to relax as Iroh inspected the break with careful hands and wiped away sweat and grime with a clean, damp cloth.  "Those Kyoshi Warriors truly know their business," Iroh said.  "She did a marvelous job setting our brave friend on the path to recovery and his talented sister has greatly sped up his journey."

"So he's going to be alright?" Toph asked, feeling a weight she hadn't noticed lift from her chest.  

"He's young and strong.  If he takes it easy, there's no reason he won't make a full recovery."  Toph realized she was grinning from ear to ear and Iroh chuckled.  Together, they lifted and wrapped Sokka's leg, adding the new splints for support.  

When they finished, the teakettle whistled, and Iroh went to pour their tea.  

"Can I havsum?"

As near as Toph could tell and judging by the slurring thickness to his voice, Sokka was still dead asleep, but it didn't surprise her that some part of his brain was on the prowl for anything consumable.  

"Sure thing, Snoozles."  She gave his hand an indulgent pat.  "Just don't spill."

Iroh brought over their cups and Sokka, still breathing slow and steady with the same measured pulse of someone in dreamland, propped himself up on his elbow and accepted the tea.  Toph was ready to help, but he downed the cup in one gulp and handed it back, licking his lips.  

"Tha's good."  And without further ado, he settled back into his pillow and started snoring.  

"Always a pleasure to serve an appreciative customer," Iroh said, amused.  He handed Toph her cup.  "Don't worry, I made sure his was just the right temperature."

The three of them drank their tea and Zuko was nodding off within minutes.  Iroh helped him settle in to bed and cleaned the tea things.  When he was finished, he turned to Toph.  "Ready to go?"

Toph shook her head.  "I think I'll just stay in here tonight.  In case the guys need anything."

She could hear Iroh smile.  "Good night, Toph."

------

Aang woke up, feeling like a champion - a stiff and vaguely uncomfortable champion, but a champion nonetheless.  He was careful not to move and disturb the sleeping form in his arms, even though he had gone numb from the pressure of her warm body.  Under normal circumstances, he would have never been so bold, but somehow it had been totally natural to hold Katara until they both fell asleep.  

She hadn't sent him away, and even Aang knew he was making some serious progress in the relationship front.  

"What are you smiling about?" Katara asked, and he realized she was watching him through half-lidded eyes.

"I was just thinking about what a great day this is going to be, with everybody back together again," he lied, his words sounding smooth in his own ears.

Katara shifted and he let her go, reluctantly.  "That reminds me, I need to check up on that idiot brother of mine."

Aang didn't let his frown of disappointment show.  If there was some protocol for waking up with your girlfriend, he had no idea what it was, and all he could think to do was place a quick kiss on her forehead.  

She smiled at him, but it was the same sort of friendly smile she gave everyone.  "It might be a good idea to gather everyone for a meeting."

This time Aang couldn't keep himself from frowning.  "You mean a war meeting."

"We all need to be on the same page.  You and Zuko still haven't told us everything.  And then maybe we can work things out together."  She rubbed his shoulder and then got out of bed.  "Come meet us in the infirmary when you're ready."

Aang smiled and nodded and watched Katara go.  The other bed in the room was empty, and Aang wondered briefly where Toph had ended up for the night.  

His first stop was to make sure Appa and Momo and Hawky were fed and watered, and then, with Momo on his shoulder, he headed for the bridge, greeting Kyoshi Warriors and Yu Yan alike as he went.  After their defeat, the Yu Yan archers had become rather cooperative prisoners.  They'd been used as a distraction and tossed aside, and none of the elite archers had felt any particular loyalty to Ozai, from the start.  When Iroh offered them the chance to fight for a more worthy cause, the group had unanimously defected.

Aang wasn't sure, but he thought the flirtatious advances of the Kyoshi Warriors might have had something to do with the decision.

A mechanical sounding voice echoed from a speaker as Aang stepped onto the bridge, but all he caught was something about fire and smoke.  It was still amazing to Aang to see the kinds of technology the Fire Nation had come up with during his hundred year nap.  He had no idea how it all worked, but the dark haired girl at the communication panel grabbed the strange speaking tube with the same cool confidence she always showed.

"Shut down the second engine and increase the third to seventy five percent capacity, for now.  We'll send someone down as soon as we can."

The tinny voice gave an affirmative and went silent.  Mai turned to face Aang, her expression bordering on dark, but Aang knew her just well enough to know it wasn't aimed at him.  Probably.

"We've got more trouble in the engine room."

Aang scratched his head.  "Uh, yeah.  Too bad none of us know anything about machines."

"I thought Sokka helped design the war balloons?  Isn't that what he was always bragging about?"

Aang blinked.  "Yeah, I guess.  But really he was just playing with a toy balloon and a candle."

"Good enough for me," Mai said, and gathered up a few rolls of blueprints.  "If he can make sense of this, that's one load off my shoulders."

"Do you know where Iroh and Ty Lee are?  And have you seen Suki or Toph?"

Mai's expression soured.  "I expect they're all in the same place.  The place I have more right to be than the rest of them, and yet I'm stuck up here on the bridge maintaining order."

Aang forced a grin.  "Well, I'm supposed to get us all together for a meeting anyway."

"Great," Mai said flatly.  "Captain Zou, you have the bridge."  

The silent Yu Yan captain nodded and saluted, fist under palm, as she walked past.  Aang hurried in Mai's wake and caught up with her long strides.  

"That guy still kind of creeps me out," he admitted, but Mai only gave him a sidelong glance and kept walking.  

It sounded like there was a party going on in the infirmary.  Laughter and the smell of delicious, sweet food drifted into the hallway.  Momo perked up, on his shoulder, and Aang suddenly understood why Mai was in such a hurry.

They stepped inside and the general atmosphere of happiness and camaraderie permeated the air, spreading an instant smile across Aang's face.

Iroh was finishing up a story that had everyone in stitches.  "So then I said, 'But miss, don't you want your dress back?' and she told me, if you can believe it, 'Keep it!  It looks better on you!'"

Zuko and Sokka exploded with laughter while the girls rocked back and forth, hugging themselves, and even Katara, who seemed to be trying to maintain a bit of composure, had to cover her mouth to stifle her giggles.  

"Ow, my ribs!" Sokka said, still laughing, and that made Zuko laugh even harder, which made Sokka laugh until he had to squeeze his chest.  "Ow, hah, ow, ha ha, ow…"

"General Iroh, your stories are the best!"  Ty Lee was in fine form, smiling brightly before spinning around to the tiny stove.  Whatever she was cooking smelled wonderful, and Aang's mouth watered.  

Sokka had his laughter under control and he waved at Aang as the young Avatar sat down at the foot of his bed, careful to avoid the warrior's elevated leg.  "We're having a Fire Nation specialty for breakfast!  Hot cakes!"

"And sweet cream!" Ty Lee added, cheerfully.  

"I didn't know you could cook, Ty Lee," Aang said and Sokka scoffed.

"All women know how to cook, Aang.  That's just part of the natural order of things."

"I can't cook," Mai deadpanned and Toph leaned back in her chair.  

"Me either."

"Well," Sokka said, undeterred, "all women who aren't capable of defeating small armies on their own can cook."

Suki crossed her arms.  "So you're saying you don't think I can defeat a small army by myself?"  

"Or he's saying you can't cook," Katara pointed out, and the two young women gave Sokka their best intimidating stares until he withered under the assault.  

"Well, I can do both!" Ty Lee said and skipped over to give Sokka the first plate of hot cakes, stacked high, with a dollop of sweet cream on top.  "Dig in, you poor wounded warrior, you."

Mai rolled her eyes and dumped the pile of blueprints into Sokka's lap.  "And when you're finished, figure out how to fix our airship."

Sokka choked on his first mouthful and looked from the blueprints to Mai.  "You're joking."

"If I was joking, you'd know."  Not a hint of expression crossed her face to give her away, one way or another.

"Mai, as you can see, I'm stuck in bed with a bum leg and your bum boyfriend for company."  Zuko interjected with an indignant, "Hey!" but Sokka sailed right past.  "So how exactly am I supposed to repair anything?"

Mai sighed, bored.  "I don't know and frankly, I don't care.  You're the closest thing to an engineer we've got on this stupid ship."

It didn't really sound like a compliment, coming from Mai, but Sokka puffed up anyway.  Suki rubbed her forehead.  "Oh, here we go."

"Yeah, Sokka," Ty Lee added, joining the conversation from her place at the stove.  "You're like the smartest person on the whole airship.  I'm sure you can come up with something brilliant."

Katara and Suki both shot Ty Lee dirty looks, but the acrobat was either oblivious or a very good actor.  She smiled and flipped her hot cakes into the air, catching them in the pan.  

"Well, you ladies do have a point."  Sokka rubbed his goatee, preening.  "I am pretty much a mechanical genius."  He took another bite of his food and seemed to realize just how delicious it was, abandoning the conversation in favor of digging in with enthusiasm and making appreciative noises as he ate.  "Mm-mmm!  You know what would go great with these amazing hot cakes?"  

"What's that?" Ty Lee asked, all ears and smiles.  

"A big glass of milk."

The acrobat grabbed an empty bucket that Aang hoped hadn't been used by Sokka the night before.  "The milk's gone, but I think I know just where to get some more."  She pranced to the door and was halfway down the hall when Aang realized where she was heading.

He jumped off Sokka's bed with a yelp and stuck his head out the door.  "Appa's a boy!"

"Ohhh," Ty Lee came back, giggling.  "Oops."  She turned to the warrior, totally apologetic, though Aang felt like he and Appa deserved the apology.  "I'm sorry, Sokka.  I could fresh squeeze you some orange juice, if you want?"

"That'd be great," he said, grinning his most annoyingly charming smile and Suki slapped him upside the back of his head to make it go away.  

"He's fine with water," she said, and glared to silence his objections.  "Ty Lee, you really don't have to pamper him like this.  He's just taking advantage of your," she searched for a diplomatic word, "kindness."

"I don't mind at all," the other Kyoshi Warrior replied and gave Sokka a wink before dancing back to the stove to finish cooking breakfast for the rest of them.  Suki looked like she had a lot more to say, but a big plate of hot cakes changed her mind.

After everyone ate their meals and the boys finished their seconds and Sokka finished his thirds, the mood started to shift to seriousness, but no one wanted to be the one to burst the bubble of contentment.

"So, Iroh, I bet you picked out a great name for your airship," Toph said.  "If this was Sokka's airship, he'd probably just call it…" She paused and spread her hands theatrically.  "Airship."

Everyone snickered at the warrior, except Mai, who just smirked.

"Hey, I've come up with some great names."

"Like Boomerang?" Katara teased.

"Or Hawky?" Suki said, with a giggle.  

"Or Sparky Sparky Boom Man?"  Aang added, grinning.  "Though I actually kinda liked that one."

"Yeah," Toph joked, "it's a great name until you're about to be attacked.  Oh no, it's Sparky Sparky BOOM!"  She pretended to die from an imaginary blast.  

"Ha ha," Sokka said, unamused.

Iroh chuckled at the exchange and poured himself a fresh cup of tea.  "Actually, I do have a name in mind.  Unfortunately, it would take a lot of paint to make the name really fit."

"Were you going to call it the Pink Pony Goat?"  Ty Lee asked, clasping her hands in excitement, and everyone followed Mai's example and gave the acrobat blank looks.

"That is a great name," Iroh said, seriously, "but I was thinking more along the lines of," he lowered his voice mysteriously and lifted his eyebrows, "The White Dragon."

Zuko and Toph were the only ones who caught the significance.  "You're naming the ship after tea?"  Toph asked flatly, and Zuko shook his head.  

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Not exactly."  Iroh sat back, smiling in satisfaction.  "They say the White Dragon bush was named after a wise old dragon who lived on a mountain top.  Travelers often sought him out for his wisdom and advice."

"What kind of advice could you really get from a dragon?"  Sokka asked, his voice layered with skepticism.  "Except for how to swallow cow pigs whole?"  He considered his own words for a moment.  "Hmm, actually…"  

"Dragons have all kinds of knowledge, Sokka," Aang corrected with a solemn look at his friend, and it took Sokka a second to stop thinking about meat.

"Oh sure, they know a thing or two about fire, but c'mon."

Iroh beamed.  "Well, apparently the White Dragon knew a lot about tea!"

His declaration was met with the same blank looks everyone had given Ty Lee and then realizing they'd all done the same thing, everyone broke into laughter.   

The small talk continued as Iroh sipped his tea and Momo curled up next to Sokka for a nap, and Aang decided it was his job, as the Avatar, to get down to business.

"So," he began, and all eyes turned to him expectantly.  He still found it surprising that people were so willing to listen to him.  "Ozai's back."

It wasn't news, but the declaration sobered the small gathering of world famous heroes.  Something seemed to change in each of them.  He saw fearsome warriors and powerful benders where moments ago he saw friends and loved ones, but the one thing that didn't change was their loyalty and devotion to each other, and him.

"While he was in prison," Aang continued, "Ozai was plotting and gathering allies.  Some of them we've fought before."

"Long Feng and the Dai Li ran us out of Ba Sing Se," Toph said with a nod to Iroh and then she folded her hands in her lap, looking uneasy. "And I might have sort of unintentionally taught one of them how to metalbend…"

Everyone cringed and Sokka reached over and gave Toph's shoulder a consoling pat.  "We've dealt with the Dai Li before," he said.  "Who cares if they can metalbend?  It'll just be a cheap imitation to the real thing."

Toph thanked him with a strained smile.

"Long Feng teaming up with Ozai is bad news," Katara said and Aang glanced at Zuko.

"It gets worse."

Zuko cleared his throat and looked from Katara to Sokka.  "There was a Northern Water Tribe noble as well."

"What?"  Sokka sat up so fast, half his pile of pillows fell on the floor and Momo screeched and hopped on Aang's head to get away from the agitated warrior.  "Who?  That's not possible!  Everyone's loyal to Chief Arnook.  I know those guys!"  

Zuko might as well have suggested that the entire Southern Water Tribe had turned against them.  Even Katara was glaring at him and he hesitated to continue.  "His name was Hahn."

Katara's eyebrows shot up her forehead and she turned to her brother with a look of shock.  Aang was the only other person who had an inkling of how much Sokka hated the pompous Water Tribe noble, and he watched the emotions on the wounded warrior's face draw back like the ocean before a tidal wave.  

Everyone fell silent, sensing the dangerous shift in Sokka, but instead of exploding he slipped back onto his remaining pillows with his jaw clenched, staring up at the ceiling.  Suki questioned Katara with a look, but the waterbender shook her head and Aang suspected the two of them would have a conversation later, in private.  

Zuko eyed his friend sympathetically.  He didn't need details to understand exactly what Sokka was feeling.

"There's more I have to tell you," Zuko said, and while he was talking to them all, Aang could tell he was aiming his words at Sokka.  The warrior turned his head, though he barely seemed to be listening.  "My fa… Ozai was heading south.  Into Southern Water Tribe waters."

"What?"  Katara blurted, but her brother was all action.  He swung his good leg over the side of his bed and lifted his broken leg with both hands to bring it around.  He was up and balanced on his foot before the rest of them even realized what he was doing.  

"Katara," he said, and she knew exactly what he was thinking.  She slid under his arm for support and the two moved for the door with matching looks of cool determination.  

"Wait!"  Aang said, blocking the exit.  

"Aang, this ship is barely crawling," Sokka said, sounding surprisingly rational.  "We're never going to make it down there soon enough to warn our dad unless we take Appa.  Now."

"You can't go," Suki said, joining Aang.  "Katara, you're the one who said Sokka shouldn't be out of bed.  Do you want all your healing to go to waste?"

"We don't even know what Ozai is after down there," Zuko added.  "Or where to look for him."

"If you leave," Mai said, "the rest of us are going to be stuck on this broken airship with no one to fix it."

"You'll need our help down there," Ty Lee said, pleading.  "We can't all fit on Appa."

"Guys, guys!"  Toph stood up, grinning like she'd just had the best idea ever.  "We just have to send Hawky on ahead!"  The others stopped and looked at the tiny earthbender, and even Sokka couldn't argue with her logic, though he looked like he wanted to.  

"I'll go get some parchment for a letter," Ty Lee said and hurried from the room.  Suki slid Sokka's other arm over her shoulder and guided the siblings back to his bed.  He grimaced in pain as the girls piled his pillows and helped him lie back down, and Aang wasn't sure if it was more emotional or physical.  

"I think that's enough excitement for now," Iroh said, breaking his silence.  "Perhaps we should continue this meeting later?"  Katara gave Iroh a grateful smile and the retired general herded everyone, reluctantly, from the room.  

------

"Looks like you could use a healing session," Katara said to Sokka after the others had left.  

Everyone but Zuko, who felt uncomfortable sitting in on a brother-sister moment and would have gladly left if his uncle had allowed it.  He sat on his bed and couldn't help but watch as Katara covered her hands in glowing water and directed her healing energies to Sokka's injuries.

"Tell me where it hurts," she said, and he grunted when her hands passed over his chest.  Katara focused her powers.  "Wow, Sokka.  That's a tangled mess of energy."

He swallowed.  "Is that bad?"

"Waterbending healing works by directing chi through the body, but right now you're all wound up.  I'm trying to redirect it, but your emotions just keep swirling your chi back up into a knot."

He sighed and Katara tucked her water away and squeezed his hand instead.

Zuko couldn't take it anymore.  "I'm so sorry."  Two sets of blue eyes turned to him like they'd forgotten he was there.  "This is all my fault."

"No, Zuko."  Katara shook her head and gave him a sad smile free of any hint of blame.  "You're not responsible for anything that Ozai does.  A man can only be responsible for his own actions."

"I should have stopped him," Zuko said, clenching his fists.  

"He's your father," Sokka said, his voice tight.  "You're crazy if you think any of us would expect you to bring your own father down, even if he is a monster."

"It wasn't for lack of trying."  Zuko gave them a grim smile that accentuated his fresh bruises.

"We know, Zuko," Katara said.  

Zuko looked into his lap and let his hands fall open.  "There's something I haven't told the others.  About Ozai."  The two siblings watched him intently and Zuko met their matching blue gazes.  "Katara, you were there when Azula snapped."  The young woman frowned at the memory.  "I think, maybe, the same thing happened to my… to Ozai.  He was always so calm and collected before, but losing his bending and his throne… it broke something inside him."

Sokka ran his hand back over his wolf tail.  "So, to top everything off, your evil, maniacal, ruthless father is now… insane."

"Pretty much."  Zuko shrugged his good shoulder and grimaced.  "It seems to run in the family."

"Alright, that's it."  Sokka sat up and gathered the airship blueprints.  "Katara, I need to get down to the engine room and fix this ship.  And then we're going to hunt Ozai down and put an end to this."

For once, Katara had no objections.

------

Azula was only dimly aware of the events going on around her.  Sometimes she was fed, sometimes she was bathed, though less and less regularly these days.  Sometimes she slept.  

And sometimes, if she was really lucky, she got to kill.

Energy crackled through her, now.  Constantly.  Waiting at a moment's notice to be unleashed.  Her fingers itched to release the power, to watch a person writhe at her touch, to watch a meaningless life extinguish at her hands.

He brought them to her.  Unworthy slaves.  Insects.  

"Please, my lord!"  Another wretch groveled before his master.  "We don't know where it went!"

Silence pressed in around her.  Silence and displeasure so strong she could taste it, feel it in the very marrow of her bones.  She tingled with anticipation.

Finally, he spoke.  Slowly, carefully, his emotionless words thrumming in her ears.  "How can you lose something that big?"

"We… we're not sure.  It just, it just seemed to vanish, my lord."

The darkness danced and sang around the Phoenix King, and Azula knew it was her time.  Chains rattled as she stood, and he met her hungry gaze with amber eyes lost in shadow.

"Azula, I have a gift for you."

"No, my lord!  Please!"  The offering scrambled to his feet but two skull masked guards grabbed the man by his arms and pulled him toward her.  She strained against her bindings, desperate and waiting.

He would say it.  He would say it because he meant it and she would show him she was worthy.  She would do anything for him.  He only had to speak the words.

"Your father loves you, Azula."

The man's screech of terror ended as pure, unadulterated power ripped from her fingertips.  Whether he lived or died was inconsequential.  Her father loved her, and that was all that mattered.

"Does he?  Does he really?"

Azula twitched and turned, chains restricting her sudden movement.  There, just out of the corner of her eye, light, a reflection in gleaming metal.  And movement.  Azula snarled, her words lost to madness.

"If he loves you, why does he keep you in chains?"

There had to be a reason, but Azula couldn't think clearly.  Hadn't been able to for so long.  So very long.

"He's never loved you like I do, Azula."

Azula stretched out her hand, crackling with electricity, toward the woman reflected in polished steel.  Memory?  Ghost?  A mere product of insanity?

Her mother smiled sadly.  "I hope you'll understand that, one day."