Dawn of a New Prince (Star Wars/Avatar Crossover)

Katara nodded. "I want to be as far away from here as we can get," she said. She helped Aang along the forest floor, following a path unseen by the eye. Her only thought was to leave the lake behind them. "We'll have to rest eventually though..."

She hated to think what would happen if they pushed themselves too hard. They were already on the brink of collapse.

Toph stumbled after them.

Sokka nodded, frowning a little as he saw Toph stumble about. He limped over to her and offered her his arm. He murmured, "Lean against me. I think we both need help to get around now."

He sighed. He was glad Katara didn't bring up Appa.

She spared a smile. "As long as you're the one needing it most," she teased fondly. As exhausted as she was, as grateful as she was to be back outside and free, she did not care if her feelings for Sokka were more obvious than usual.

Of course, she would probably regret it later.

Toph leaned against him, and she helped keep him steady as well once they followed Katara and Aang.

"Yeah, of course," Sokka told her, falling back into his usual sarcastic role as they walked. Now that they were free, he could afford to worry a bit less. He continued, "What would I ever do without you, oh great Blind Bandit? Die somewhere in the desert?"

He gripped her as they walked, making sure to keep her steady as she just as she kept him.

The small group continued to trudge through the forest, moving away from the lake and, hopefully, the menaces living beneath it. Some time passed, and the dark, starry sky gave way to a pale pink that promised morning.

Katara looked at her family and sighed. Everyone was exhausted. Could they afford to go much further?

"We should try and find shelter..." she said, unsure of herself.

Sokka nodded, fatigue already setting in as his wounds began to ache. He looked around for a before pointing towards a clearing beneath the branches of some trees to their right.

"We can rest under there," he suggested.

They headed in the direction Sokka had pointed out. The clearing was mostly hidden, thanks to thick foliage and the trees, so Katara hoped they would remain out of sight of anyone passing by. A small stream trickled through the midst of the clearing as well, for which she was thankful.

She had a feeling she was in for a long night of healing.

Toph practically collapsed on the ground once they were in the clearing and sitting beneath the trees. She held her arm close, her face pinched with pain. Katara helped Aang lean against one of the trees.

((I'm going to fast-forward some with the other groups, if you all don't mind.))

Aang

Aang looked gratefully at Katara for her help. He looked toward Toph in concern, seeing what remained of her scarred arm. It made his blood boil, thinking what Vader had done to Toph. How could a monster like that get away with something so horrible?! People like Vader shouldn't even have power in the first place.

A loud roar broke the Avatar's train of thought. Aang quickly looked toward the sky and saw Appa flying toward them along with two people flying on top of him (Mara and Zareal, Aang presumed).

"Appa!" Aang cried happily as the sky bison landed near them.

Fi

"Well, looks like the prisoners have escaped. Lord Vader won't be happy..." Fi noted to Lilith as they observed what remained of the left section of the underground base. Most of it had caved in when the giant sky beast had escaped, ramming its way through the ceiling to escape.

"We'll probably have to go through the trouble of capturing them all over again..."

Zahanna

Zahanna cursed under her breath as she waited with Ty Lee and Mai near the collapsed entrance into the far left section of the base. They had come close, but the Jedi had managed to escape with that mysterious flying beast earlier.

"I really hate my luck today..." Zahanna muttered.

Mara

"That was a close call," Mara said to Zareal as they landed Appa near the Avatar and his companions. They had managed to find the sky bison in time and had cut its chains. Using a mixture of the beast's brute strength and the Force, they had been able to escape the Dai Li base, and Vader, thankfully.

Toph, her mind hazy and half-asleep, heard Appa's familiar roar. She smiled at the happy note in Aang's voice. She did have a heart after all, no matter how much she teased and taunted the Avatar during training, and she liked the overgrown fuzzball. She was glad he was back.

And now they did not have to explain that she and Sokka had lied to make sure Aang came with them.

Katara was happy, too, but she had work to do. "Toph, Sokka, don't fall asleep," she ordered. "I have to look after your wounds."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm up!" Sokka murmured as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He grinned. It seemed that Mara and Zarael had escaped after all, Appa too. He grinned. That would save some explaining to Aang.

"Check Toph's wounds first," he told his sister, grinning a bit when he looked at Appa. It was good to have the big guy back.

*

Erv frowned as he walked through the hall. He'd have to find the one that was responsible for letting the prisoners escape. Lord Vader had little patience for failure.

Zareal

"Luckily the Force was with us," Zareal said, jumping off of Appa. He was unsure where their future was headed though, whether they should leave the planet or try to amass a resistance here. They needed more power, more assistance, else they would never be able to defeat Vader.

Helios

Helios stood in front of the hole where the Jedi had escaped. He stood there, anger building in him, before turning and walking away. He would find his master, and discuss what to do now.

Iroh

Iroh sighed and said, "Even if I believed you, we would need more than our two firebending skills to defeat Vader. His power is beyond either of ours, and likely beyond our combined power."

Azula/Anwar

"Very well Uncle....I was hoping that you would help me though." Azula replied as she feigned disappointment. The Princess finished toying with one of the napkins before looking up at Iroh. Anwar rolled his eyes as he saw Azula's attempts. He really wanted to stab her right now....

"I'm working with another Jedi, he has a sword like Vaders... And this Jedi is working with the Avatar. He hasn't told me yet because for some reason he doesn't trust me for some reason. Still... the enemy of my enemy, and all that." Azula stated.
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Mai

"Well should we just go then?" Mai asked. Logically, it would be the best bet. Their Bounty was gone, off with the Avatar to who knows where. Vader and the Dai lee were of no use to them, in fact they would probably be a detriment to Zahanna, Ty lee, and Mai; no doubt holding them back for question or some other idiotic ritual.

But Mai was secretly hoping Zahanna wouldn't realize this. That the Alien wouldn't be logical. Mai wanted to stay. She wanted to see Zuko. To talk with him. To.... Well some things would have to wait of course.
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Lilith

"But at least they're all injured now. That should help."

"We could try looking for Zuko. I heard he was in the city, right?" Ty Lee asked with a grin, winking at Mai.

*

"Pfft... I think you're making that Force stuff up," Sokka commented, standing up and offering her his hand.

Zareal

"Sokka, you've seen what Vader can do. What more proof do you need the force exists, for good purposes or evil," Zareal asked.

Iroh

"Someone else with a glowing sword? If they would work with you, though, how could I trust them? What if they are worse than Vader," Iroh asked.

"Please, no arguing," snapped Katara. "Especially about something that doesn't matter." She drew in a tight breath. "We have to stick together. Here, Toph, sit up..." She helped the younger girl do just that. "We'll have to remove the bandages."

"Whatever," muttered Toph.

Azula/Anwar

"All he talks about if restoring peace and the balance of the force..." Azula informed Iroh. She was admittedly beginning to grow impatient with her Uncle. She had never known him to be a coward before, just a fool. But the Girl knew that with TY lee gone now, and Zareal practically never around, she really had no one to help her fight the Metal man.

"Yeah, alright," Sokka muttered as he watched Katara examine Toph's wound. He winced. He just wished he could have protected her from Vader. He gripped his new weapon. Next time he would, he promised himself.

Katara unwrapped the bandages. Her stomach rolled at the sight of the wound. It had been cauterized, thankfully, but unless she tended to it now it could still become infected. She did not want Toph to have to face losing her entire arm.

"This will probably sting a little," she said, thinking it would most likely sting not a little but a lot. But Toph knew that, and she did not want to make the situation worse.

Toph just nodded.

Katara looked over to Sokka and gestured silently. It clearly meant: Come over here and stay with her!

She waved a hand, and water from the creek rose up. It shifted over to her and Katara hovered her palm over Toph's wound. The healing water surrounded it. Toph grimaced, biting the inside of her cheek, as Katara started.

Sokka gripped Toph's hand and nodded at his sister. frowning at Toph's pained expression. Still, he knew this was better than leaving it untreated.

"How bad is it?" he asked.

"Not as bad as it could have been," said Katara as she worked. The cool, healing water undulated and crossed over Toph's arm. "We're lucky it was done with that strange weapon, or she would have..." She trailed off.

Toph grunted. "You mean I probably would have died of blood loss by now."

"Yes."

Zareal

Zareal watched with interest as Katara used her bending to heal Toph's arm. This was something he didn't know they could do, but apparently at least one of the four bending discipines figured out healing, as another figured out lightning.

Iroh

Iroh nodded, and finally said, "I don't have a lot of choices now do I? I believe you want Vader dead, and we're of one mind on that front, though obviously for different reasons. Regardless, as you said before, the enemy of my enemy. I will help you." He turned to Anwar and said, "I don't expect you to come with me, you have the chance to have a great life here."

Anwar/Azula

"I don't care about that though..." Anwar stated as he looked at Iroh, concern in his eyes. "But I cannot work with someone like Azula. She's untrustworthy and psychotic. She represents everything that's wrong with the Fire Nation."

"Well well. I suppose I'll take that as a compliment, since it is coming from trash like you." Azula commented in reply to Anwar.

Iroh

"That may be true, but that monster is evil, and I won't allow Vader to do anymore harm to the world," Iroh said. He didn't want Anwar to be in danger, but realized that it was his choice to make, and whether he was by his side or not.

Katara finished what she could, without wasting so much energy that she could not look after the others, and re-bandaged Toph's arm. "Okay, we're done," she said gently, stroking the younger girl's hair. "You can try and sleep now."

Toph just nodded. She curled up on the ground, but her back was pressed against Sokka's leg. It was as if she needed the assurance that he was there.

Katara sighed. "Let me see your hands, Sokka."

"So we should thank Vader for using his glowy sword," Sokka muttered angrily, the memory of being able to do nothing as Vader hurt Toph flashed through his mind. He said she loved him, as though plucking that information from her mind and mocking her with it.

He frowned. He didn't even know how to process that bit of information. He wished it came from any other person but Vader, but there it was. Should he ask her about it? He shook his head. They were both exhausted and he didn't know if either of them had the strength to be embarrassed yet.

"I will kill him," he muttered, still talking about Vader, "I never thought anyone could be worse than the Fire Nation, but he is."

He looked up at what Katara said before nodding and showing her his hands, "They're fine. Just sting a little. It's my back that hurts."