Afterburn
Chapter 2- Momma Trauma
Katara slowly came to, her blue eyes blinking open. At first, she thought herself to be in bed next to Aang. Everything involving Azula having been only a bad dream. But as she sat up, she found her hands and feet were still bound. Disoriented, the master water bender discovered she was inside a metal cage suspended from the ceiling of a dark bunker. The air was dry and cold, so she deduced that if her hands and feet weren't still tied together, she wouldn't be able to bend.
"Finally awake, pesent?" came the voice that sent shivers down Katara's spine.
"Let me go, Azula." Katara growled, trying to sound intimidating. But her voice came out as little more than a rasp.
"And why would I do that?" Azula asked with a cunning smile. "So you can escape and sick your Avatar husband on me? I think not."
"What do you plan to do with me? You know Aang and my family will come looking for me."
"I'll deal with your little 'friends' later. But as for you, you should know what I want with you." Azula stopped to chuckle darkly. Amber eyes glowing with the same insanity they held when she was a child. "You and my brother are the soul reason I was locked away in that forsaken prison for nearly seventeen years! Now, I'm planning my return to royalty."
"Good luck with that." Katara scoffed, rolling her azure eyes. "Just because you got me, dosen't mean you can get to Zuko."
"On the contrary, my dear. I believe you'll soon have a little playmate."
With a Cheshire smile, the former fire princess left the dark chamber. Leaving the water bending woman alone and powerless. She slumped against the bars of the cage and sighed heavily. Praying to the spirits someone comes to her rescue.
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"I've looked everywhere!" Yori cried, running back into the open parlor of the Air Temple. Aussa came rushing in from the other direction just as out of breath and confused as her friend.
"It's not like Katara to leave without saying anything." the earth charmer mused.
"Aunt Yori! Aunt Aussa!" cried Kya. The Avatar's only daughter came sprinting into the room holding onto a strip of blue ribbon. "I found mom's necklace by the bison stables!"
The ten year old held out Katara's betrothal necklace for the two bending woman to see. Now panic and fear began to set in. That necklace was the water tribe woman's most prized possession. She never took it off, so if she's without it, it wasn't by choice. Before the child or Yori could say another word, Aussa took off towards the air bison's quarters. She stopped just before she reached Whynn's bison's stable, kneeling down and pressing her small hand into the soil. She felt her chi pathways flow and thrive with energy from the earth and plants around her. Subtle visions began to flicker across her emerald eyes, giving the charmer a pretty clear picture of what happened to her friend.
"Azula." she whispered, standing up and facing Republic City. The powerful bending woman thought for a moment before rushing to open Maya's stable, allowing Whynn's giant bison outside. She used her bending to lift her up onto the fluffy creature's saddle. "We've gotta get to Aang!" she yelled towards her hybrid friend.
"But what about the kids?!"
"We have no choice but to leave them here." Aussa's normally passevist nature beginning to take on a more serious note.
"But they're only children!" Yori's lilac eyes widened in horror. "They can't defend themselves yet!"
"They're gonna have to. If we take them with us, there's a chance we could run into Azula. And you know she'd take no mercy on them."
"I suppose..." Yori turned and looked at the five children now staring at the two charmers.
"Momma?" Symber asked, clutching the sides of her red and gold kimono.
"You and your 'cousins' will have to fair without us for a little while, sweetie." Yori kissed her daughter's forehead before hugging her nieces and nephews. "I know you're all still learning, but protect each other the best you can."
"Don't worry, auntie Yori." Bumi boasted, trying to puff out his small chest. "I'll protect them!" the seven year old pulled out the small boomerang his Uncle Sokka had given him and took a fighting stance. Yori chuckled and ruffled the boy's wild hair before using her air bending to join Aussa on Maya's back.
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Azula stealthily moved through Republic City like she was nothing more than a shadow. She inwardly laughed at how easy it was to go undetected. Not bothering with a disguise, knowing she could just as easily kill whoever spotted her.
"Well lookie what we got here, boys." came a slurred voice. Amber eyes flickered over to a group of men loitering around an ally way a few feet behind her. "What's a pretty thing like you doing in the worst part of town?" the man asked, coming forward so Azula could see he was clearly a fire bender. He was tall with a good build and his soot black hair stuck straight up in spikes.
"If you value your lives, stay away from me." she warned.
"Ooh, I like 'em fiesty." he laughed, reaching to grab Azula's arm. But the former princess was quick and easily kicked him out of her way. The other two guys behind the first one lunged at her to protect their leader. But Azula clearly hadn't lost her touch. Within seconds, she had all three men defeated and wounded on the ground without having to utilize her bending.
"Just who are you?" she spat, kicking the leader in his stomach. He winced from the pain and coughed a few times, blood staining his lips.
"Triple threat triad." he weezed.
"Oh, so you're the thugs I've heard so much about." she mused. "I would've thought you'd been tougher than this. You'd be lucky to last one round in an Agni Kai with a four year old...Then again, no one could hope to stand a chance against me."
Azula stepped back and thought for a moment, mulling over each of the three men currently cowering beneath her.
"I have a proposition for you." she stated smoothly, brushing her loose hair back. "If you help me take down my brother, then I can promise you wealth beyond your wildest dreams."
"How can you promise that?"
"My name is Azula and rightful heir to the Fire Nation. But I've been locked away for quite some time. And now that I'm free, I look forward to taking back my title and my throne. The only thing standing in my way is my brother and the Avatar. So do we have a deal?"
The three men looked at each other with questioning glances, not sure if they bought Azula's story.
"And if you refuse, I'll just kill you right here. Can't have people knowing I'm free just yet."
Needless to say, the Triple Threat was now serving Azula.
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Aang let out a disgruntled groan as he, Eria, Toph, Whynn and Hiita circled the city on Appa for the third time. It'd been at least two hours since the fire charmer found the former fire princess missing. The Avatar's gray eyes were sharp, staring down at the ground and catching every little movement.
"This is pointless, twinkle toes." Toph huffed. "If we haven't spotted her by now, she's obviously hiding somewhere."
"I have to agree with rock head, here." Eria deadpanned, smirking when she heard a low growl from Toph. "It's not like Azula would be careless enough to walk around in public in broad daylight. She has to be underground."
"Then land this giant fluff ball!" Toph cried. "If ice queen is right, then I can find her no problem!"
"Hold up, Aang." Whynn called, alerting the avatar to an incoming figure. "It's my sister and Aussa!" the air charmer flew from her seat in Appa's saddle to her sky bison. "Good girl, Maya." she cooed to her pet, landing her softly near Appa and the others.
"You two are supposed to be watching my family!" Aang thundered, floating to the ground.
"We know, air head!" Yori barked, standing her ground. "But we kinda have a problem!"
"Yeah, no shit sherlock." Toph hissed, jumping from Appa's back. She reveled in the comfort the earth brought her now that she was back on the ground. Aussa rolled her emerald eyes at the metal bender, turning her attention to the Avatar.
"Aang, this isn't easy to tell you...but Azula captured Katara."