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Unusual Circumstances	By : voyager Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Slash - Male/Male > Aang/Zuko Views: 5136 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Avatar the Last Airbender is the property of Nickelodeon, Mike DiMartino and Bryan Koneitzko. I earn no profit from this, other than pure enjoyment

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Chapter 10

Azula Strikes

(Set Between 'Boiling Rock Pt. 2' and 'The Southern Raiders')

Aang and Zuko spent that evening together, eventually drifting off to sleep, side-by-side. For the first time, since either of them could remember, neither one of them had their slumber disrupted by disturbing dreams. Unfortunately, they both awoke to a nightmare, which was all too real!

It was just after dawn; Zuko always rose with the sun, and Aang rose with Zuko. It dawned on them that the birds, which usually sang from the rafters of the temple, and surrounding cliff sides, had gone silent. Appa and Momo were also unusually quiet. Abruptly, Aang was running toward the edge of the cliff; he used a simultaneous blast of wind and rock to deflect an explosive launched from somewhere below.

The bomb detonated just a few dozen yards away from the temple. The blast roused everyone just in time to see Aang close the storm shutters, which protected the temple. Zuko, Toph, Katara and Sokka were beside him in a heartbeat.

"Those shutters won't hold them for long," Sokka shouted over the noise of crumbling rocks. "I don't think it's going to matter," Toph shouted back, "they're going to blast this whole place off the cliff side!" Toph and Haru combined their earth-bending talents to create a tunnel that would take them to the airship Zuko and Sokka had commandeered. They had camouflaged it nearby, but kept it ready to fly, in the event they needed to make a hasty exit.

Zuko shouted to Sokka and Hakoda, "Get everyone to safety, I'll hold them off; I think this is a 'family' visit!" with that, Zuko raced to a section of the wall that had crumbled and leapt over it. "Zuko, No!" Aang shouted, but his voice was lost in the din of the explosions and stones crashing to the ground.

Toph and Haru were doing everything they could to keep their improvised tunnel from collapsing, but despite Toph being a virtual master of Earth-bending, and Haru also being highly capable, they could not hold the cave up under this pounding for long! Aang was struggling to get his ten-ton bison into the tunnel, but it was a losing battle; Appa was highly claustrophobic. "I can't get him to go in there, Appa hates tunnels!"

"Aang, there's no other way out!" Katara tried to reason with him. Sokka said to his father, "Take the tunnel and get to the stolen airship, we'll fly out, and join up with you later!" "NO!" his sister snapped, "The Fire-nation can't separate our family again!" Her father reassured her that it wasn't forever; just a temporary separation.

Aang, Katara, Suki and Sokka got on the bison, and Toph placed her hand on the wall of stone that separated them from freedom. "I can clear that away, and we can fly out of here!" "There's an awful lot of fire in that general direction," Suki pointed out.

"We can make it; Sokka, you take the reins," Aang shouted, "I'll give Toph and Katara a hand!" Aang and Toph cleared the tunnel, but left a shield of stone, just large enough to provide cover for Appa, for they knew they'd be flying into fire blasts. After they were free of the temple, Aang and Katara provided a covering envelope of water, while Toph maintained their stone shield up front.

After they were free of the temple, Aang looked back, sadly. Yet another one of his people's temples, the last monuments of the Air-Nomad civilization was about to be destroyed. Of more immediate concern was Zuko's safety, however.

Aang desperately looked around for him, but Sokka was actually the first to spot him. "He's there!" he shouted pointing to one of the larger airships. They all looked to where Sokka pointed; and saw Zuko on top of the zeppelin, facing off against his sadistic sister, Azula! The two of them glared at each other, Zuko with a mixture of disgust and sadness, Azula with psychotic fury.

"What are you doing here," he shouted at her. She smugly yelled back, "Isn't obvious, I'm about to celebrate becoming an only child!" The two of them charged at each other, building enormous blasts of fire as they ran; hers were icy blue flames, his were a brilliant orange. They met in the center of the airship, there was an enormous burst of flames as his fire met hers; but the force of the impact threw them both back. Both of them flew down the curving sides of the ship, Azula tumbling to starboard, Zuko to port.

Just as when Zuko fell off the cliff when he fought 'Combustion Man', Aang nearly had a heart attack as he watched the prince plummet down. The difference this time was that there were no nearby vines on which to grab and save his life!

"SOKKA," Aang screamed. "I'm on it, Aang," his friend yelled back, reassuring him. Sokka pulled on the reins, directing Appa up to the left, and then, curving down into a steep dive which would take them below Zuko. As soon as they were underneath the falling prince, Aang used his air bending to nudge the prince just a little on his course; and then he and Katara reached up with tendrils of water and pulled him down into the saddle! Zuko sagged to his knees between them, and then embraced them both. They all looked back to see Azula still plunging downward.

"She's, not going to make it." Zuko said simply, with a touch of melancholy in his voice. As if she heard him, and just had to prove her brother wrong; Azula shot out blasts of blue fire from her hands and feet. She used the flame-bursts as rockets to propel her toward the cliff-side, and thus, saved herself.

"Of course, she would make it." Zuko now said the earlier sadness in his voice replaced with sarcasm. He felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned, expecting to see Aang; but was surprised to see that it was actually Sokka. He and Aang had switched places; Aang was the one most capable of steering Appa. Zuko saw camaraderie, and understanding in Sokka's blue eyes. Despite every horrible thing Azula had done, she was still Zuko's little sister; just as Katara was Sokka's. Sokka would not wish for anyone to see his sister die that way.

They flew on, not sure of where they could go, that Azula would not follow them. Zuko inched his way forward, he was still somewhat shaken up from his fall, and he had never been all that comfortable moving around while Appa was in flight. He moved tentatively toward Aang, and sat down in the forward most part of the saddle. He could not bring himself to go out and join Aang on Appa's head, sitting between the giant bison's horns.

"Aang, I've got an idea, I think I know one place where we can go that nobody would think to look for us." The young avatar looked back and smiled at Zuko, he knew that Zuko was not much on flying, but he appreciated that he was willing to make the effort to come out here and give him this news. "I'm so happy that you're safe, Zuko; When you fell off the airship back there, I was terrified." "It was pretty terrifying from my point of view, too, Aang," said Zuko The young Avatar couldn't help himself, Zuko rarely made jokes, and even though it probably wasn't his intention this time; it was funny. Aang laughed, and so did everyone else. Zuko blushed, but smiled at his friends. No, he corrected himself, just as he had realized the first day with the avatar's group; they were Aang's family, and now they were his family, too.

"Zuko," said Sokka, as the group stared at the large beachfront villa "I don't want to tell you how to do your job, but there's no way we're going to be safe here!" "I don't think we've got anything to worry about, Sokka," Zuko answered him. "But, we're hiding from the Fire-lord in his own summer house," Suki said, to support her boyfriend.

The prince explained, "Our family hasn't come here since we were actually happy; and that was a long time ago." He noticed everyone looking at him with concern, especially Aang. 'This always happens when he starts thinking about his messed up family,' Aang thought.

Katara seemed to notice the change in mood, as well; "Are there any specific rooms we should take, or stay out of, for that matter," she asked, in order to change subjects.

"No, not really. The Fire-lord's suite is on the north side of the third floor; the opposite rooms are my mother's, I want those," Zuko answered her. "In between, are rooms that were used by me, my sister, and other members of the royal family. The second floor rooms are all guest rooms, I think. You can take your pick."

Zuko easily broke the lock that was keeping the doors secure, and went inside. He found himself lost in a flood of memories that came crashing down like a tsunami. He was caught up in reminiscences that he didn't even realize the rest of the gang had followed him inside. "Are there any lights?" Suki asked. "Aang," Zuko said, indicating the lanterns on the wall. The two of them centered themselves, and within less than half a minute, they had used fire bending to bring a warm glow to the old house. The others were very impressed, they knew that Zuko could do this, of course; but it was surprising how far Aang's fire bending had come in a short space of time.
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- 11
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Unusual Circumstances