Book Four: Air

?

"There is a hidden temple in the wilds of the Earth Kingdom. Inside that temple, is a stone. I have need of that stone. I will pay you to retrieve it. There is not much risk of getting attacked, not counting any ambushes by bandits. I will pay handsomely, whatever your price is. So long as it is not the price of two kingdoms." the cloaked man said, taking a sip of his drink. The cloaked woman beside him studied the mercenaries.

Suki

"Apparently at the governor's palace." Suki said to Sokka.

"So, has the Avatar or Sokka's sister arrived?" she asked them.

"Then let's go there," Sokka told Suki with a shrug. He wasn't really willing to admit it, but he missed his sister and his friends.

IC: Mercenaries

"A stone, huh? Well, that's a bit strange," said the man, scratching his chin. "Pretty strange. But I won't comment anymore on it. We'll get you this stone, mister. You got any idea where this hidden temple might be? We need more information, you know."

His fellows nodded.

***

IC: NPC soldier

"I do not know if Avatar Aang or the Lady Katara have arrived yet," said the soldier. "The Lady Toph is here, however, and has been for a few days now. She has been asked to escort the representative of the Fire Nation Colonies."

For the first time in his life, Ozai felt truely helpless. The hooded man had released him, and he was now following the mysterious stranger down the hall of the prison. Even though the man did not speak to him, that was not what kept Ozai quiet.

It was the guards of the entire prison; each had crumbled where they stood. Whether this be in the middle of the hallway or sitting at a patrol desk. However, they were not dead, Ozai could tell that much. Each was sitting erect where they fell, their backs straight and their heads imobile.

Their eyes stared blankly forward even as their most important prisoner walked freely past them. They did not move, speak, or even blink.

So he kept silent, and followed the hooded man down the flights of stairs and past other cells until they were finally breathing in the air of the sea and the stench of the volcanic ground around them.

"Well..." Ozai said expectantly, "what now?"

The hooded man slowly nodded his head towards the cliff edge.

"Come Fire Lord..."

He made his way towards the edge, and Ozai followed with a distrusting gaze. The man pointed towards the edge and Ozai stepped forward, staring out at the sea.

"What are we doing besides wasting time? Why do I need to stand here?"

A sudden bright green light caused the former Fire Lord to spin around, the green light immediatly blinding him.

"Because," he heard the man's voice, "you're going to need to leave this place quickly, less you get recaptured. And that is something difficult to manage when one is unconscious..."

He felt something very familiar take hold of his body; filling every nerve, every crevice, like a building fire roaring inside him.

Then, all he could feel was the air rushing past him as his body struck the ocean water.

"Sure." Aang replied with a smile as he looked towards the small town off in the distance, also feeling reminded of old times. The Avatar checked his pocket and felt a few gold pieces in there so they could certainly afford a meal. "So this is nice right. Me, you, a moment of peace and the entire gang waiting for us just a few hours away." The Avatar said in a contented tone as he looked away from the town they were headed for and smiled at Katara.

Katara

"Yeah, it's nice having a moment to breathe. It seems like all we ever here is more requests for help. During the war it seemed like everything would be easy once the Fire Lord was defeated, but we're busier than ever," Katara said, walking at a relaxed pace.

Suki

"Ok, we can go look for Toph when we get there." Suki said. She nodded for the guards to escort them since she had no idea where the palace was.

?

"Here is a map," the stranger said, handing the leader a folded piece of parchment. He continued, "My...partner, Jing here, will accompany you on this journey. She is the best at her work, and would be a valueable asset to your team."

Aang

"But I'm sure we'll get a break after dealing with the colonies. We should be done by the end of the week and then I promise that we'll get a few weeks off." Aang said as they walked into the small town. The Airbender guessed that it was probably a quiet town, there were a few children looking at him and Katara with awe and curiosity. So Aang simply waved and smiled at them to let them know it was ok. Of course the kids just ran away, most likely going off to tell their parents. "So, where do you think they keep the food around here?" Aang asked as he looked around, feeling his stomach growl.
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Mai looked down at her food as she sat in her and Zuko's room alone. "Another boring day where I haven't completely screwed up. I didn't even have to deal with the crazy bitch." Mai reassured herself quietly as she bit onto another fruit tart. "Why did I agree to stay here?" The Fire Lady admitted to herself, wishing she hadn't volunteered to stay where the only people she knew either wanted something from her or were crazy.

"Fire Lady Mai!" Her guard shouted from outside the room, sounding urgent.
"Yes you may come in." Mai granted as she stood up and straightened out a few wrinkles on her robe as the guard came in with a scroll. "The Fire Lord's father has escaped from prison, all the guards were temporarily crippled and have no memory of what happened to them. Ozai has still not been found." The Guard informed Mai in an official tone, but he was obviously worried as well.

"Has Azula escaped from her doctors and guards as well?" Mai asked as she glared at the guard, not caring that it wasn't his fault but still demanding all the information he had as well. "No Miss."

"Don't put out wanted posters yet, don't let anyone in the public know that Ozai's escaped. The last thing we need is that information out in the middle of political talks with the Earth Kingdoms and the Colonies...Have you sent the news to the Fire Lord yet?" Mai asked as she tried to plan what the Nation should do.

"Yes Mam, a messenger Hawk has been sent the Fire Lord by another guard."

"Good, now I want you to add two more men to my guard and six more to Princess Azula. That's all." Mai ordered before the guard left the room.

"How ironic." Was all Mai said after the guard left as she reached for another fruit tart.

Katara

"I don't know, do you see a shop around here," Katara said, smiling at the children. She wasn't sure Aang could follow through on those promises of a break, it seemed the Avatar's job was never done, but it was nice he was trying. "It's such a small place, it's like my village," she commented.

Zuko

Zuko's ship docked at Whaletail island, but before the Fire Lord could dismount, a soldier ran to him. "Fire Lord Zuko, we've got an urgent message from the capitol," he said. Zuko turned around and walked toward him. "What is it," he asked, fearing for Mai's safety. "Your father, Fire Lord Ozai, has escaped from prison," the soldier relayed.

Zuko felt like he had been punched in the stomach? "Escaped? How? Is Mai allright," he asked. "I'm afraid all that was said was the guards were crippled and have no memory of the event," the soldier said. Zuko bit his bottom lip, should he leave now and go back home to handle the situation, or should he stay here and hope that Mai could handle things until he returned?

"...I'm going to do the difficult thing and trust my wife," Zuko said. "Send word that I'll be back as soon as I can, hopefully with help." "Yes sir," the soldier reported and ran off to get the message out. Zuko began walking off his ship toward the escort, trying not to worry too much about Mai. If he doesn't have his bending, he shouldn't be much of a threat... but how did he break out, Zuko wondered.

IC: Mercenaries

The leader of the group of mercenaries took the map. He glanced it over only once before handing it over to one of his partners: the Water Tribe woman. She slipped it into a pack. The Fire Nation native only grunted when their employer mentioned an addition to their party.

"I don't really see the point in it. We'll get the job done," he said. "But..."

"Help, and help that knows more of this venture than we ourselves do, would be nice," supplied the Earth Kingdom soldier.

The leader grinned. "Exactly." He nodded. "Okay, then. Welcome aboard, missy. Just keep in mind that I'm the one in charge, and you'll have some fun with us." He thumbed his bulbous nose. "So, sir... Anything else we might need to know before we set out?"

***

IC: NPC soldier

"Very good, Lady Suki, Master Sokka. This way," said the soldier.

The man and his small company led the two through the streets of Lo Shan. It did not take long for the great mansion of the governor to rise up into view. It towered over the rest of the buildings, though this was in part due to its being built on a slight rise. They walked through the front gardens and then into the main foyer of the mansion.

"Your rooms are on the third floor," said the soldier. "If you like, my men and I could take up your luggage, Master Sokka, Lady Suki."

Before they even had a chance to agree or disagree, a shout came from the second story landing.

It was Toph. She jumped from the landing and landed easily on the stone floor of the foyer. She practically tackled Sokka in a hug. For all it was a bone-crunching hug, there was also something very tender about it.

"I was beginning to wonder if you would ever show up, doofus."

Sokka grunted as he felt himself being crushed by a hug from Toph. He hugged her back before saying, "Toph... Can you let me go? You're breaking my bones!"

IC: Toph

"You're such a big baby," said Toph. "Even Twinkle Toes can take more than you."

But she did do as he asked. As she did, Toph turned away and ducked her head. There was no way she would ever let him see her blush. Her face felt hot, so she knew she was blushing.

Hadn't she been mad at him before? Hurt he had gone off and left her behind? Yeah, she had, but now she was just glad, so glad, that he was back. He had hugged her too. It had felt nice, and--

Get a hold of yourself, Toph! she told herself. Just makes things harder. He's here with her, anyway.

"You guys have a good trip in?" she asked, back to normal and digging for anything she could use to tease Sokka and Suki.

***

IC: ?

A man walked into the Jasmine Dragon. Two others followed him. They wore cloaks, the hoods raised up. As strange as it was, it made sense, because a light drizzle was falling outside the tea-shop.

They took seats and waited to be served. More importantly, they waited for the first sight of their target.

"Yeah it kind of does. It's cozy, relaxing....and I don't think it has a shop." Aang agreed as he looked around and realized that the small village had nothing but a few houses, gardens, and a rather large building where the Airbender guessed they were keeping livestock.

"So what should we do? Search the jungle for food, or see if we can buy a meal from the villagers?"
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Mai paced her room carefully as she tried to guess where Ozai would go next. Of course since the knife thrower didn't know her husband's father very well she had no idea what the man would do. ".....but she would. Of course who knows if she's even sane today, or if she'd be willing to work with me. But if I make a deal I don't think she would refuse." The Fire Lady realized. "Well then I suppose tomorrow morning I'll just have to visit her private healing room and ope for the best." Mai decided as she walked to her bed and crawled right in.

(So yeah if anyone's playing as Azula I can have Mai bring her into the story, otherwise I'll just have her be crazy the next morning I guess....)

“Well time to socialize! Chuang, keep making the teas, Shin, help Chuang in whatever he needs” Iroh told his assistants. These were the workers that Iroh saw more skill and passion in making tea.

This little break that Iroh took every once in a while, was to talk to his customers. Ask how was the tea, check of someone had a complaint, and to make friends with his customers. Iroh was talking to 3 young beautiful women who were all by themselves. They started a conversation, Iroh started to make stories, jokes and so on. But then, something caught Iroh’s eyes. 3 men entered his tea shop, they were new faces to Iroh’s eyes, this is why he decided to head over them and greet them.

“Excuse me ladies; I’ll be back in just a second” he said as he stood up from the chair. He walked over to the corner table, where the men took seats.

“Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon. My name is Iroh and I am the owner of this shop, what can I serve you gentlemen?” he asked cheerfully and with a smile.

?

"One thing. Do not, under any circumstance, damage that stone. It is very valueable, more so in one piece. And another thing: you are to treat my...companion with respect. She will acknowledge you are the leader of the operation, so long as you follow my orders." the man stated. The girl beside him kept silent, and continued to observe the others.

"Now, do you wish to discuss a price now, or later?" the cloaked man continued.

Suki

"Hey Toph! It's good to see you again. Yeah, we had a pretty good journey here. Well, Sokka did keep me up all night, the jerk." Suki said, giving her boyfriend a teasing glare. A few seconds later her face went bright red when she realized what that could be taken to mean.

"I mean, ah, he kept me up with his snoring all night! That's what I meant. N-Nothing else beside that."

((No, he's talking to Big T's characters.))

Katara

"I think we should ask the villagers before we do anything. I mean, they might consider it stealing if we just take food from the jungle," Katara said. "I think they'll be willing to sell us some food." If they couldn't get some food here, they might just have to move on to another island or eat what food they had left.

(Ok thanks. Got confused there.)

Sokka felt himself blush as well, "Y-yeah. We never did anything like that...." He sighed. Suki was never good with words. Well, to be fair, he wasn't either, but he had his moments.

IC: ?

"Your finest tea, if you don't mind," said one of the men. He nodded at Iroh. "We've heard a lot about you and this tea-shop. We're soldiers on leave, and were hoping to get a little taste of home."

"Our old tea-maker, Wang, was very good," said another.

***

IC: Mercenaries

"Sure, sure." The Fire Nation man tapped his chin. "Tell you what. Give us 1,000 gold pieces up front. Depending on how well we do, you can decide the ending price. I'd say that sounds more than fair, don't you think? Since we'll be doing all the work here."

***

IC: Toph

She groaned. "Sure you haven't..." she muttered.

Toph could remember quite a few times where they had snuck off and she could still "see" them. Spirits, she hoped they didn't do anything like that here.

"Well, I guess I'll leave you two alone. I've kind of got a job to do."

(I'll take Azula if no one wants her. It's the whole crazy Fire Nation family)

IC: Ozai

The wretched taste of sand caused Ozai to stir from his sleep. He felt a wave of foamy sea water run up past his back as he slowly raised his head from the sand.

"What...?"

He was on a beach, completely vacant thankfully, but he didn't know where. Weakly, he pushed himself to all fours, the water rushing past him and sinking into the sand.

What was he doing here?

"That man!" he snarled, getting to his feet, his legs still shaking.

"He abandoned me here. Why must I always deal with traitors?"

And then he felt it, and it caused his eyes to widen. It was like an extra pulse beating through his body, seperate from his physical form. Every time it thumped, he could feel a warmth grow within him.

"Can it be...?"

He turned towards the beach shore, tearing from his the rags he had worn over his chest. He kept his stance firm, despite the weakness he felt all over his body, and stared down the long coast. He stepped foward, spinning on his foot and thrusting his fist forward with a roar.

A blast of fire was his reward, jetting down the shoreline before it dissapated into smoke.

Ozai was left breathing heavily, and staring in amazement at his smoking fist.

"It's only been six months..." he said, standing straight.

"And I had already begun to forget how it felt..."

He clenched his fist tight and hurried from the shore.

Iroh laughed softly at the comment f the man, “Oh you make me blush” he said. The word that his tea shop was a very good one was spreading really fast!

He signaled on of the waiters to come over, “3 cups of white Jade for the gentlemen here” Iroh told the waiter.

“Tell me please, soldiers from which nation are you?” he asked while he took a seat from the table. Their clothe weren’t very definitive, just simple large coats.

IC: ?

"We are from the Fire Nation, same as yourself," said the one who had spoken first. He was definitely the leader, or superior officer, of the small group. "We have been helping with the rebuilding and protection of this city and its surrounding areas. It has been hard work, and we are a bit homesick."

The man who had not spoken yet now did so. "You must understand. You are the former Dragon of the West, are you not? It must have been difficult to choose the Earth Kingdom over your homeland. Do you not miss it?"

IC: Samanya

He had tracked them to here, and was now watching them carefully from behind a large shrub in the garden. Would it have been easier to simple approach them and ask his question? Most likely. Had he thought of such a solution? Not likely.

His breathing was deathly quiet, like a hunter stalking it's prey. How such a large man blended in so easily with his enviroment was a mystery within itself, let alone how he could have snuck past the guards.

Of course, Samanya was blissfully unaware of the mighty Earth Bender just a few steps infront of him, and of her special talents.