Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Book 4 Air: The Storm ❯ Clouds of Vengeance ( Chapter 4 )

Clouds of Vengeance

“Mom!” she shouted in defiance. “I'm not your little baby anymore. I can take care of myself now.”

“Toph, I know you've been here for a few months already but it feels like you just arrived. Didn't you enjoy the excellent food the cooks prepared?”

Even Toph had to admit, her parents pampered her with affection ever since her return. She could almost say that she enjoyed it if it weren't for their constant offers for help. Why couldn't they understand that she no longer needed to be assisted around the house, that she no longer wanted dolls to play with?

“Mom, you and I both know that Zuko wouldn't send a messenger hawk if he didn't think the situation was urgent. He contacted me because he knows I'm powerful enough to help him.”

“Did he specify what the problem was?”

“Goodbye mom.”

With that, Toph Bei Fong left the house and set out to help Zuko.

“Make sure you follow her,” her mother said to two familiar men.

******

Back in the Fire Nation, Fire Lord Zuko contemplated the events of the day. What had previously been pure anguish and sadness at the death of his father had turned into pure hatred for his sister Azula. He knew she was heartless and desired power by any means necessary, but even he could not believe that his sister was capable of such cruelty. Zuko's heart ached. It ached in anger and relished at the thought of ending his sister's life, yet at the same time, it ached of grief. He had already witnessed the loss of 1 member of his family. Soon, he would have to witness another. He trembled at the very thought of the horrifying penalty he would have to bestow upon his sister today. He shuddered again as he was faced with the stark reality of what he had to do: he had to take Azula's life… in a public execution.

******

The only thing on Toph's mind as she trekked to the Wang Huo Asylum was the urgency in Zuko's letter.

Toph,

This is Fire Lord Zuko. I don't think I can emphasize the seriousness of the situation enough. My nation is under attack by a rebellion initiated by my sister Azula. Aang and Katara have been gone for 3 days and I can only assume the worst. You're the only one I can count on right now to bring my sister back to the Fire Nation for the crimes she has committed today. Toph, the extent of this conspiracy is mindnumbing. I don't know who I can trust anymore but you're one of the few people I know I can still count on. If you receive this message, please go immediately to the Wang Huo Asylum in Lake Laogai and bring my sister back to the Royal Palace so she can face justice.

Your Wounded Friend,

Zuko

She traveled as swiftly as she could by bending the earth around her feet to assist her as she ran. It wasn't as fast as travelling on Appa, but it was pretty darn close.

******

“Aang, you can't allow yourself to be manipulated by Mathias words. Now get us out of here.”

“Katara, you know I can firebend these ropes away in a split second but you haven't thought this through. What do we do after that? We're surrounded by airbenders.”

Katara couldn't help but let out a chuckle, “Aang, you and I are two of the most gifted benders on the planet. I think we can…”

“No! I won't allow you to hurt my people.”

Katara touched Aang's face and professed her feelings: “Aang, I know that we both still have hatred burning in our hearts for the Fire Nation because of what they did to the people we love. But the thing is, I've learned to put that hatred behind me when I faced the man who killed my mother. Aang, I know this may be difficult for you, but I think it's time to -”

“Just shut up Katara!”

Katara pulled backwards in disbelief. Aang had never spoken to her in that manner before.

“What's wrong, Aang?”

“I'm sorry Katara,” said a tearful Aang as he embraced Katara. “I don't know what came over me, it's just that I feel so confused right now.” He wiped the tears from his eyes as he rested his head on the waterbender's lap. “For the longest time, I thought that my primary purpose in life was to restore balance to the world.”

“And you did Aang, you restored balance when you defeated the Fire Lord, even when he had the power of Sozin's comet.”

“No Katara, I didn't. I always knew deep down that true balance would never be achieved unless I somehow managed to find my people. But now that I have, I'm almost at a loss of words, because -“

“Because they're not your people anymore Aang,” said Katara. “You told me that the defining characteristic of the Air Nomads was compassion. You told me that every living thing, even the common fly has a purpose in life. Aang, these people aren't Air Nomads anymore. Their hearts are poisoned with the bitter toxin of revenge.”

Aang looked up at Katara and kissed her passionately on the lips, the fire of passion burning in his heart, but he stopped abruptly when the cool water of anxiety came over him.

“Katara, thank you for helping me understand. I love you, but now, we have something very important to do.”

“What is it Aang?”

“We're breaking out of this dungeon.”

Katara smiled as the Aang she had known and loved reemerged from the shadows of despair and destroyed the ropes binding his own hands and feet with a quick burst of fire from his mouth. After freeing himself, he directed another fire blast directly at her.

“What are you doing Aang?” she screamed.

She opened her eyes again and saw that the ropes that had bound her were now mere ashes on the ground.

“Wow, I never knew you got so good at firebending,” she said with a blush.

All of a sudden, the airbenders in the dungeon took notice and approached the 2 of them with menacing looks in their eyes. Aang leapt into action and prepared to attack. However, he quickly fell down again and bent over the ground. He could do nothing but watch as the airbenders quickly advanced.

“Aang, what's going on?”

The young avatar could not bring himself to answer his lover's question. He had failed. He still didn't have it within him to hurt the airbenders. A sickening feeling crept into his stomach as he realized that Katara had no water to bend.

Katara entered a state of intense concentration as she tried to feel the vapor in the air, as she tried to condense the invisible droplets of water that she knew were there. The airbenders gasped as a tiny ball of water in her hand quickly grew into a gigantic blob requiring two hands to carry. A wave of water was met by a piercing wind as the battle raged around Aang.

Aang knew he was in good hands as he saw Katara battle the airbenders. He couldn't help but grin as bender after bender was hurled into the cavern walls and immobilized by ice. Something frightened him though. These benders were bending the air in ways he had never seen before. He shuddered as he saw the stormy winds and razor sharp winds tear at Katara's water. He could hear the roar of the powerful winds as they flew past, but he also thought he heard a faint, familiar roar in the distance.

“Appa!” cried Aang. “Where are you boy?”

He found his sky bison chained to a wall in the opposite side of the dungeon. He released all 6 chains on Appa's feet using the same method: first, he bent a layer of soil between the chains and Appa's fur to avoid hurting him. Hext, he heated up the metal on the chains with firebending. After that, he bent some of the water Katara had generated onto the fire and froze it. This weakened the metal enough for him to slash through it with airbending. Being the avatar certainly had its advantages, thought Aang as he climbed on Appa's back and flew towards Katara.

Katara fought as hard as she could but she realized that she was badly outnumbered and outgunned. These airbenders were using techniques she was unprepared to deal with. Their violent form of bending differed greatly from Aang's peaceful, defensive form.

“Katara! Climb on Appa's back! We're getting out of here!”

Seeing Aang and Appa flying towards her, Katara pushed herself upward with a powerful torrent of water and landed straight on Appa's back. She never looked back again as the blasts of air whizzed by, sometimes only missing the beast by mere inches. She screamed as a particular blast grazed Appa's fur and caused the animal to bellow in pain. She looked up and saw Aang earthbending the rocks and clearing a tunnel for them to travel to the outside. He sure was powerful, she thought.

“We made it! We're outside the temple.”

“Where do we go now Aang?”

“Back to the Fire Nation; We need to inform Zuko about everything we learned today.”

Down below, a nervous messenger confronted a man with an impossibly old face.

“Mathias, we're sorry, but the avatar has escaped,” said the quivering messenger to the old monk.

Mathias had a look of nonchalance on his face as he said, “No need to worry my friend. Not even the avatar can stop Feng.”

******

Lake Laogai was a different place after the war. It was no longer the foul Dai Li prison it once was. It no longer housed people who threatened the “cultural integrity” of Ba Sing Se. Instead, this high security prison housed the most dangerous people in the land. Azula was one of them.

“Take me to Azula,” said Toph to the guards.

She drew a deep breath as she prepared to face the most dangerous person in the world. She chuckled as she recalled that Ozai could no longer firebend.

“You want to remove Azula from Wang Huo Asylum?” gasped the startled guards.

“Just take me to her already. I don't have time to deal with you. No more questions from this point on.”

Toph was among the 4 people who were allowed unlimited access to the asylum. Fire Lord Zuko, Avatar Aang, and Princess Katara were the other 3. She walked briskly on the stone floor of the asylum. She was somewhat surprised when she reached Azula's chamber. She knew that firebender was extremely dangerous but even she was in awe at the small army of soldiers and benders who encircled the structure where she was being held. They stepped aside for her as she walked up to the structure and held their weapons up. Toph could see that Zuko was taking no chances with his sister.

One of the guards spoke in a worried tone, “Toph, I'm not sure it's safe in there. None of us has ever entered the chamber since she was imprisoned. Why not interact with her by using the small tube we use to deliver food to her? That's how everyone else talks to her.”

“Let me in already. I thought I told you already, no more questions!”

The guards nodded as they lifted the door of Azula's chamber.

“What a lovely surprise,” said Azula with a grin.

“Don't utter another word Azula. You're coming with me and if you know what's good for you, you'll come quietly.”

“Oh, don't look at me that way, Toph,” said Azula as she held her hands up in the air in a sarcastic display of surrender. “You know I'm powerless to do anything in these chains. What could I possibly do? Breath fire and melt them away? But then what? I'm surrounded by an army of powerful benders and soldiers. It's not like I'm strong enough to defeat all of them.”

The princess had a look of faked concern on her face as she approached Toph. “Oh, help me Toph. Help me! I know these men will overpower me if I try to escape. You know my firebending wasn't strong enough to kill the avatar. After all, he's still alive isn't he? It's not like he had some `special water' to revive him or anything right?”

“Enough!” screamed Toph as she slammed Azula into the wall with a powerful tremor of the earth.

Azula sighed as she let herself be taken away by Toph. She didn't really have any intention to escape and she had merely been playing with Toph all the while. Of course, it would have been another story if this little brat of a earthbender hadn't been there. She allowed herself to drift away into fantasies of escape while she and Toph rode the slabs of earth that met their feet as they ran towards the coast, as they ran towards the Fire Nation.

******

Feng had lived with the Air Nomads for her entire life. She grew up with them, trained with them, even fell in love with them. She let a faint smile stretch across her face as she reflected on the many romantic moments she had with Teo.

“Feng, I just want to thank you everything you've done for me.”

“But what have I ever done to help you, Teo? You've always managed to get yourself out of trouble. You're so…” Feng struggled to find the right word, “Independent.”

“After I left my father, there were times when the pain of our separation was too much to bear. I almost allowed myself to run away from here twice. I felt like I could forgive my father for helping the Fire Nation and that I could help him with his inventions again, like I used to.”

“You miss him a lot, don't you?” said Feng as she placed her hand on Teo's shoulder to comfort him.

“But both times I tried to run away from here, I turned away at the last second. Something always stopped me at the last second…”

“What stopped you Teo?”

“It was you, Feng. You're the one that gave me hope on the days I had none. I stayed here for you Feng.”

“What are you saying?” asked Feng as she gazed deeply into the eyes of her best friend.

“I'm saying that I love you.”

A nervous apprehension filled Feng's mind as she remembered the last conversation she had with Teo before she set out on her dangerous misson.

“Feng, I know you're the most powerful stormbender in the Blades of Air, but I calculated that even you have a 75% failure rate.”

Feng couldn't help but laugh at her boyfriend's complex calculations.

“Don't laugh Feng, this is serious.”

The young stormbender listened carefully as Teo explained everything she had to do to make it out of the mission alive.

“First, you and a small band of stormbenders need to infiltrate the Fire Lord's Palace. You know that won't be easy, especially since the Fire Lord will be prepared for an attack this time. That's a 25% failure rate right off the bat. Even if you manage to get into the palace unnoticed, you'll have to plant the device in the center of the building within 10 minutes.”

“10 minutes?”

“Yes Feng. 10 minutes. Once you pull the cord, you'll only have 10 minutes to get out of there before the entire palace is ripped to shreds from the storm. I did the calculations and there's a 50% chance you won't make it out alive. Add that to the previous 25% and you only have a 75% chance of coming home; of coming back to me…”

“I understand Teo. Believe me, I'll do everything in my power to -”

She met Teo as he moved in for a kiss. The two of them stood embraced for what seemed like hours. They both knew that this might be the last time they saw each other.

Now, as Feng traveled on her sky bison, Lotus, she remembered this moment and wept as she thought of the prospect of death.

“No,” she said to herself, “I will destroy the Fire Lord's vile palace. I will accomplish my mission today and I will return home.”

She had a look of sheer determination on her face as Lotus approached the volcanic earth of the Fire Nation.

******

Zuko furiously tore at his hair in nervous apprehension. All of the Fire Nation's most important people would be here today. All of them would watch as he executed his sister.

“You seem worried, my love. I know you must have a lot of emotions running through your body right now but you have to listen to me Zuko.”

Zuko turned to face Mai.

“Zuko, I was just wondering if you're doing the right thing. I know you feel hurt but I really don't think you should answer Azula's merciless violence with your own.”

“Mai, when my father banished me, I hated him more than I have ever hated anyone before - or since. But I saw the look on his face Mai. I saw the repentance in those eyes. For the first time in my life, I felt that I could truly call this man my father. I can't let Azula get away with what she has done,” uttered Zuko as tears trickled down his face.

“Husband, I know you for long enough to realize that this isn't about your personal hate for Azula.”

“Then what is it about?” asked Zuko weakly.

“I don't know Zuko. Only you understand yourself.”

“You're right. It's not about personal revenge. It's about what will happen if I don't show that I am capable of punishing her.”

“So you feel like you're being pressured by your people to make a statement?”

“Yes, Mai, I feel a terrible burden on my shoulder. I feel like if I don't show that I am a strong leader, more rebellions will crop up. What do I do Mai? If I don't kill my sister today, all the generals and statesmen will see weakness in their new Fire Lord. What will become of our nation then?”

“Lord Zuko!” shouted a palace guard. “Azula is here and she has been strapped to the pillar outside. Everyone is awaiting your command.”

Zuko and Mai rushed outside and joined the thousands of people below.

“Go ahead and kill me brother. I understand. I really do. I would have done the same thing if it meant solidifying my power over the nation.”

“No Azula, you don't understand. This is about our father. Nothing more, nothing less. How could you do that to him Azula? How could you kill your own father?”

Zuko was taken aback by a reaction he never thought he would ever see on his sister. She sobbed as the news of her father's death reached her ears for the first time.

“You're faking it Azula! You always lie and I feel no pity for you. You disgust me.”

He closed his eyes and brought the blade down on her sister's neck. He opened them again and saw that he had stopped before the blade had reached her. Azula continued to weep.

“She's not lying Zuko!” shouted Toph, who ran quickly onto the stage. “I can tell when people are lying, they always -“

“Toph, this is no ordinary person. This woman is a monster. I've known her long enough to know that you can never trust her. I've made that mistake too many times in my life already.”

Zuko brought his blade back into the air and inhaled a deep breath as he prepared to bring it down.

“Stop!”

It was Aang and Katara! They slid off of Appa's back and pushed Zuko away at the last moment.

“Zuko,” said Aang. “We have a lot to talk about. Azula wasn't responsible for your father's murder.”

The Fire Lord was about to open his mouth when the deafening scream of his wife pierced through the palace walls. He ran towards the doors and opened them to find a horrific scene before his eyes. Mai was held by an unknown, gray robed assailant with a knife to her throat. Although the palace guards had surrounded the gray robed woman who held his wife, he could see that more gray robes moved through the palace, circling the guards, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. A terrifying gust of wind knocked Zuko to the ground as the woman and her accomplices overpowered his best guards with enormous gusts of wind. The woman raised one hand and sent a spiraling twister across the room, causing the guards to fly into the walls of the palace in random directions. She smiled as she tightened her grip on the Fire Lord's wife. Without warning, the rest of the gray robes burst through the palace door and flew up on their gliders, firing bolts of air at the terrified crowd below. The generals, the politicians, and even the army fled the scene after they saw that their fire was easily dissipated by the powerful new bending employed by the robed men. Even hardened firebending soldiers panicked and fled as they tried to engage something didn't know how to fight. The men in the gray robes flew upwards, landing on the palace roof. There, they were promptly met by three powerful benders - Aang, Katara, and Toph - and a powerful sky bison named Appa.

The airbenders quickly unleashed a flurry of offensive air currents on the group as Aang and Katara struggled to deflect their attacks with water and air. Toph raised massive boulders from the ground below and sent them crashing into the airbenders, causing them to fall off the roof. Aang, Katara, and Toph breathed a sigh of relief as they started to mount Appa. Their relief was swiftly cut short as they saw the airbenders reappear on a massive sky bison of their own. Even Appa let out a bellow of fear. He had never seen another sky bison before and this one utterly dwarfed him in size. The huge beast reared its head and charged straight into Appa with such impact that Appa slid off the roof, plummeting towards the earth below. Katara and Toph could only watch as Aang dived off the roof himself and created a massive air bubble to cushion Appa's fall. Aang's beloved sky bison moaned with pain as he rolled over onto his side, exposing a massive bruise where the other bison had hit him. When Aang flew back onto the roof, he could tell by the downcast look on their faces that the airbenders had escaped.

“Come on guys! We have to go help Zuko. Now jump!”

Katara and Toph looked at Aang in disbelief.

“No time to wait!” shouted Aang as he pushed his friends off the roof with a strong current of air.

He broke their fall with two air bubbles and grabbed his astonished friends by their wrists as he led them through the Royal Palace Doors.

******

“Who are you and what do you want?” asked Zuko.

“My name is Feng, and I only want one thing. Revenge.”

With that, Feng released Mai from her grip and attacked Zuko with a massive surge of wind that whistled in the air as it traveled towards him. Aang, Katara, and Toph burst through the door and watched as the firebender and stormbender clashed. Zuko deflected attack after attack with fire attacks of his own but it was clear that he was fighting a losing battle. The Fire Lord knew that he couldn't win if he didn't attack. He drew a deep breath as he leapt into the open, lashing out with volley after volley of blue fire. Feng gracefully dodged Zuko's attacks as she turned to deliver the finishing blow.

Aang, Katara, and Toph watched in horror as their friend and Fire Lord was hit square in the chest with a mighty twister.

Feng immediately released another wave of air to deflect Mai's knives as they sailed towards her own chest.

Aang and Katara moved forward to help Mai.

“Get Zuko out of here! My husband needs medical attention right away!”

“Only one of us needs to go Mai,” said Aang. “The rest of us can stay here to fight.”

“No,” declared Mai. “This is my battle, and my battle alone.”

Aang, Katara, and Toph carried the wounded Fire Lord outside and Mai thought she heard them say that he wasn't breathing.

“If my husband's heart stops beating today, I swear in the name of the Fire Nation that you will die a very slow, painful death.”

“What a pity,” said Feng. “I'm afraid I won't have time to find out. This whole place is going to come crashing down in about a minute so if you're smart, I suggest you leave while you still can.”

Mai screamed as she leapt onto Feng, stabbing wildly with her knives. She was quickly overpowered and lost consciousness as she felt herself be pulled upwards into the air. Feng punched a small hole in the palace roof with a needle of twisting wind. She struggled with the weight of Mai on her glider as she flew as high as she could go. She knew that there was no telling how powerful the storm would be so she had to be as safe as possible.

A swirling vortex of spinning winds engulfed the entire palace. The air in the halls grew dark as it spun around and around in a dizzying array of destruction. Pictures flew off walls and clothes flew out of their closets and shelves, spiraling out of control. The very foundations of the house shook as the force of the winds slammed walls together and pushed them away. The roof was ripped out of the house and sent flying into the sky. A dismal group of dark storm clouds rested above the weather device, threatening to burst and drown the entire palace in a flood of rain at any moment. When the clouds did break however, it wasn't rain that fell out of them. It was pure lightning. The sound of thunder cracked all around baby Urso as he fell out of his bed and hit the cold floor. The last thing his innocent eyes took in was the lightning that illuminated his room as it struck the floor. The inferno of ensuing flames engulfed every room in the palace as the lightning continued to pour down like rain.

When Feng looked down at the palace from her sky bison, she didn't see a storm. She saw only the hatred of people who had suffered death and destruction beyond her imagination and who allowed that hatred to accumulate for a hundred years. She was glad that her captive was unconscious on her sky bison's back. Nobody, not even the Fire Lady, should have to bear witness to the annihilation of the place they called home.

******

Fire Lord Zuko awoke to see his friends surrounding him at his bed.

“Mai,” he muttered weakly. “Is she alright?”

“We don't know Zuko,” said Katara in a painfully sad voice. “She's gone.”

Zuko tried not to break down in front of his friends as he stuttered, “Bring me back to my palace. I need… to see……..my son.”

Aang looked sorrowfully at his friend and broke the dreadful news: “Zuko, there is no palace anymore.”

Zuko didn't hear another word from his ears but his eyes sensed a different story Aang's lips continued to move up and down, up and down. Zuko - the banished prince, the avatar's friend, and the Fire Lord - instantly lost consciousness as he allowed the tears to flow freely, finally allowing the grim reality to overtake his already weakened body.