Fire and Aether

Chapter 18: Return to Omashu

     The Fire Nation flag waved in the breeze, mocking everything that Team Avatar had been through to get here. "I knew the war had gotten far but I always thought Omashu seemed...untouchable." Rose said, quietly and dejectedly.
     "Up until now it was." Sokka answered, sadly. "Now Ba Sing Se is the only Earth Kingdom stronghold left."
     "This is horrible." Katara said. "But we have to move on."
     "No." Rose and Aang answered in unison.
     "We're going in to find Bumi." Aang added.
     As the siblings protested, Rose continued, "This isn't about finding a teacher. We're finding a friend."
     The group used a secret passageway under the city to get inside. Unfortunately, they had to sludge through sewage, Rose aetherbending small portals through it, Aang airbending it around him, and Katara waterbending it out of the way, Sokka getting the worst of it. Once outside, Aang and Katara cleaned Sokka up, finding purple pentapusses on each side of his face. 
     He screamed. "Sokka, would you kindly quit making so much noise?" Rose asked. "It's just a purple pentapus." 
     With that, she pet the little creatures, making them let go of Sokka who sighed in relief.
     His relief didn't last long, however, as a voice called out to the group. Quickly, Aang pulled on a cap while Rose pulled her veil over her face. They made an excuse and began to walk away.
     "Wait. What's the matter with him?" one of the guards asked.
     Katara looked at the marks left by the pentapusses and quickly covered, "He has pentapox, sir." The guard that had asked what was wrong with Sokka approached, causing Katara to hastily add, "It's highly contagious."
     Sokka groaned. "Oh it's so awful. I'm dying."
     "And deadly." Katara added.
     "Hey I think I've heard of pentapox." the guard said, swiftly backing up. "Didn't your cousin die of it?"
     "We'd better go wash our hands." another guard said. "And burn our clothes."
     With that, the guards ran away, leaving Team Avatar the chance to continue their mission.
                         * * * * *
    Azula sat in her caravan on the ship, two old ladies sitting on the stairs, giving her advice.
    "When tracking your brother and uncle," one old lady said, "traveling with the royal procession may no longer be an option."
    "Or wise." the other stated.
    "If you hope to keep the element of surprise."
    Azula thought for a moment. "You're right. The royal procession is dead weight." she said. "If I want to catch my prey, I must be agile, nimble. I need a small, elite team. It's time to visit some old friends."
                        * * * * *
    "There really is no fathoming the depths of my hatred for this place." Mai grumbled as she, her parents, and the guards walked through the streets of Omashu.
    "Mai," her mother scolded, "your father was appointed governor. We're like royalty here. Be happy and enjoy it."
    "I thought my life was boring in the Fire Nation but this place is unbearably bleak." Mai continued. "Nothing ever happens."
    At that moment, a group of earthbenders used their bending to make a giant boulder hurtle down toward the noble family. At the same time, Team Avatar were walking around that area and Aang airbended the boulder out of the way.
   The entire noble family and guards looked up. "The Resistance!" Mai's mother cried out.
   Mai threw a handful of throwing knives toward Aang who ducked. Team Avatar fought the guards off and ran. Mai made a last attempt to stop them and Rose bended the group through a hole in the ground, sealing it up afterwards.
    They were safe...for now.
                        * * * * *
     Ty Lee was doing a handstand, preparing for her show when an unexpected guest dropped by. "Ty Lee, could that possibly be you?"
     Ty Lee let out a happy welcome as she gracefully spun back to her feet, flicking her long braid over one shoulder. She ran into Azula's arms for a hug. "It is so good to see you!"
    "Please, don't let me interrupt your, whatever it is you were doing." Ty Lee continued doing acrobatics as Azula asked, "Tell me what is the daughter of a nobleman doing here? Certainly our parents didn't send us to the Royal Fire Academy For Girls to end up in places like this." She gave a disgusted look towards a platypus bear dressed in pink before continuing, "I have a proposition for you. I'm hunting a traitor. You remember my old fuddy-duddy uncle, don't you?"
    "Oh yea!" Ty Lee said. "He was so funny."
    Azula inspected her nails as she continued, "I would be honored if you would join me on my mission."
    "Oh I would love to!" Ty Lee said, getting back into a standing position. "But the truth is, I'm really happy here. I mean, my aura has never been pinker."
    "I'll take your word for it." Azula said. "Well I wouldn't want you to give up the life you love just to please me."
    "Thank you, Azula."
    Azula started to walk away but turned at the last minute. "Of course before I leave, I'm going to catch your show."
    Ty Lee gasped in surprise but covered it with a, "Yea sure."
    Azula watching only meant she was plotting something. Something bad....
                       * * * * * 
    After falling through the hole, Team Avatar met with a group of earthbenders known as The Resistance. "So is King Bumi with you?" Rose asked.
    "Is he leading The Resistance?" Aang added.
    "Of course not!" the leader said, angrily. "The day of the invasion, we readied ourselves for battle. We were prepared to defend our city, to fight for our lives and for our freedom. But before we even had a chance, King Bumi surrendered." He took a deep breath. "The day of the invasion, I asked King Bumi what he wanted to do. He looked me in the eye and said, 'I want you to do nothing.' It doesn't matter now. Fighting the Fire Nation is the only path to freedom and freedom is worth dying for."
    "Actually, there's another path to freedom." Rose said. "You could leave Omashu. You're directing all your energy to fight the Fire Nation."
    "But you're outnumbered." Aang added. "You can't win. Now is the time to retreat so you can live to fight another day."  
    While they argued at first, the group came to the conclusion that Rose and Aang made a good point. Sokka came up with the idea to use pentapusses to make marks on them like they had done on him and get out by pretending to have a deadly disease.
    The Resistance pretended to be sick and Mai's dad let them out the gates after hearing about the case of pentapox. Unbeknownst to the noble family, baby Tom Tom snuck off when they weren't looking.
                     * * * * *
    Rose and Aang ran off to find Bumi. Finding Flopsy, Bumi's giant pet, Rose froze the lock that was keeping him chained up. Flopsy hugged Rose and Aang, happily, licking them both on the face, causing both to giggle. They then climbed on his back and took off to find Bumi.
    Unfortunately, they couldn't find him and joined The Resistance empty handed. 
   "We have a problem." the leader said. "We just did a head count."
   "Oh no!" Katara said. "Did someone get left behind?"
   "No. We have an extra."
   He gestured to baby Tom Tom who was trying to grab Momo. Rose walked over and picked up the baby, cooing at him. Soon, Sokka and Katara joined in.
   That's when a messenger hawk flew into their campsite with a message from the Fire Nation Governor. "He thinks we kidnapped his son." Rose said as she read over the letter. "So he wants to make a trade: his son for King Bumi."
    Rose didn't hesitate to pull her veil over head and face, grabbing the baby, as she prepared to bring him back to his family.
    "You do realize you're probably walking into a trap?"
    "I don't think so." Rose said, shaking her head. "I'm sure the governor wants his son back as much as we want Bumi." She gently rocked the baby. "Trust me, I have a good feeling about this."
                      * * * * * 
    Azula pulled a bunch of tricks to make the circus performance more dangerous. Ty Lee agreed then to join Azula on her mission. 
   Sometime later, Azula returned to her caravan to meet up with her other friend. When she arrived, Mai bowed in respect before muttering, "Please tell me you're here to kill me."
   The friends laughed and hugged. "It's great to see you, Mai."  Once the happy reunion had concluded, Azula said, "I have a mission and I need you both."
    "Count me in." Mai said immediately. "Anything to get me out of this place."
    Azula explained as they went to meet up with the governor. "I apologize." the governor said when Azula arrived. "You've come to Omashu at a difficult time. At noon, we're making a trade with The Resistance to get Tom Tom back." He referred to his missing son.
    Azula sat on the throne of Omashu, her facial expression impassive. "Yes I'm so sorry to hear about your son, but, really, what did you expect by just letting all the citizens leave?" Azula stood, all traces of sympathy gone. "My father has trusted you with this city and you're making a mess of things." The governor fell on his face before the Fire Nation princess, begging her forgiveness. Azula scoffed. "You stay here. Mai will handle the hostage trade so you don't have a chance to mess it up. And there is no more Omashu. I am renaming it in honor of my father: the City of New Ozai." 
                         * * * * * 
    Team Avatar met with Team Anti-Avatar in front of the city. Rose stood at the front of her group, Aang beside her, the siblings to the sides and slightly behind while Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee formed a small v. Bumi was locked tightly inside a coffin shaped prison. 
    "You brought my brother?" Mai asked. 
   "He's here and he's safe." Rose promised kindly. 
   "He's unharmed?" Mai asked, a bit of a quiver beneath her strong façade. 
   Rose nodded. "I know what you must think of us but we did not mean to kidnap your brother. He wandered into our campsite and we were about to search for his family when we received your father's letter. The child is unharmed, I promise you that." 
   "We're ready to trade." Aang added from beside his honorary sister.
   Azula scoffed from beside Mai. "A thought just occurred to me. We're trading a two year old for a king?" She gestured to Bumi. "A powerful earthbending king?" She turned back to Mai. "It just doesn't seem like a fair trade. Does it?"
   Mai admitted that Azula had a point there. "While you're right, I don't want to risk my brother's life."
   "Oh please!" Azula whispered back, an evil smirk adorning her face. "The girl clearly wears her heart on her sleeve and the boy is just a child. As for the other two, they'll be easy to get rid of. We'll get your brother back regardless. Trust me, Mai."
    Mai thought for a moment. It seemed a shame to cause trouble, especially when the girl was so kind to her and put her fears and worries at rest. Yet, at the same time, if being friends with Azula had taught her anything, it was that you listened to what she said.
    "The deal's off." she said.
    With that, a fight broke out with everyone on the two teams fighting each other with so much speed, it was hard to tell what was going on. At one point, Rose ended up fighting Mai, anger in her words as she asked how someone could repay kindness with evil. "Because only fools are kind to their enemies." Mai responded. 
   Rose knocked her out and ran to help Aang save Bumi. As she used airbending to lift herself into the sky, her veil blew off, revealing her red hair. "The Avatar!" Azula said. "This must be my lucky day!"
   She began chasing Rose and Aang as they tried to free Bumi. Ty Lee used a technique to block Katara's chi, making her unable to waterbend. Mai finally woke back up and grabbed one of her throwing knives to continue fighting, mocking Katara. Sokka threw his boomerang, knocking her knife out her hand, and helped Katara onto Appa and they flew to help Rose and Aang.
    Rose and Aang managed to escape Azula when Bumi earthbended, stopping the princess in her tracks. "Wait. You could earthbend the whole time?" Rose and Aang called out in unison.
    "Well they didn't cover my face." Bumi responded, earthbending them all to a stop. 
    "I don't understand." Rose said.
    "Why didn't you free yourself?" Aang asked.
    "Why did you surrender?"
    "What's the matter with you, Bumi?"
    "Listen to me." Bumi said. "Both of you. There are options in fighting called jing. It's a choice of how you direct your energy."
    "We know." Aang said. "There's positive jing when you're attacking."
    "And negative jing when you're retreating." Rose added.
    "And neutral jing when you do nothing." Bumi said.
    "There are three jings?" Rose and Aang asked in unison.
    "Well, technically, there are 85. But let's just focus on the third." Bumi said. "Neutral jing is the key to earthbending. It involves listening and waiting for the right moment to strike."
    "Oh." Rose said. "That's why you surrendered."
    "Yes and it's why I can't leave now. You need a new teacher, someone who has mastered neutral jing. You need to find someone who listens and waits before striking. Goodbye, Rose. Goodbye, Aang. I will see you both again."
    Then he used earthbending to head back up the mail chutes, snorting in laughter.
                            * * * * *
    Azula returned to her caravan, Mai and Ty Lee walking beside her. "So we're tracking down your brother and uncle, huh?" Mai asked.
   "It'll be interesting seeing Zuko again." Ty Lee said, teasingly. "Won't it, Mai?"
   Mai smiled, thinking about her childhood crush on the former prince. Azula ruined the moment, saying, "It's not just Zuko and Iroh anymore. We have a third target now."
   She was angry the Avatar had so easily slipped through her fingers. She'd have no choice but to catch the little brat.
                       * * * * * 
   Rose returned Tom Tom to his parents then left to find a new earthbending teacher.