Chapter Text
“Hand over the avatar, little girl!” Zhao commands.
“No way, mutton chops!” Katara smirks, opening her waterskin and bending a whip his way which Zhao promptly puts out with his fire.
Aang puffs his chest before blowing a gust of wind at Zhao and his troop. The man stumbles backwards as his crew are blown away. Zhao quickly gains his footing, punching balls of fire at Aang as Katara tries to fend off the rest of the firebenders with her waterbending.
Then, Katara hears the shrill scream of her brother and turns to see him dressed as one of the warriors. There wasn’t any time to tease him now and all she could feel was relief to find that the idiot had brought the Kyoshi warriors with him. Even if she was holding her ground now, she knew she couldn’t take on a group of firebenders alone at her current skill level. They really needed to get to the North.
As more homes set ablaze, Suki appointed some girls to put out fires while she and the rest, including Sokka, went to Katara’s side. Their presence made it easier to fight the firebenders as Aang continued evading Zhao’s attacks.
“I’ll go get Appa!” Sokka shouted in her direction after they had immobilized most of the firebenders.
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“Uncle!” Zuko shouted, running into the tea shop, only to find Iroh calmly sipping a hot cup of tea, “Now isn’t the time for your hot leaf juice! Zhao and his men are here, hunting the Avatar!” he yelled frustratedly.
“Hot leaf juice?!” Uncle grunted with affronted horror, “Nephew, I'll overlook your ignorance just this once as there are other matters of importance right now. I know that Zhao is here, so what do you plan to do, prince Zuko?”
He flinched, unused to hearing that title since he became Lee, a refugee living on Kyoshi island.
“Shouldn’t we leave? If we’re found we’ll just be captured as traitors!”
“Yes, but is that truly what you wish to do? I’m sure the Blue Spirit would have helped these people in need.”
Zuko flinched. He hadn’t been the Blue Spirit since they had arrived at Kyoshi. Hell, he thought uncle was none the wiser to his nightly escapades. It was at times like these that Zuko was reminded that his uncle wasn't just some senile old man but a former general of the Fire Nation. A part of him did want to help, because despite everything, Zuko had found himself growing fond of Suki and the other girls, even the sly Suya and the prankster Min. A sicker part of Zuko considered that this was his chance to regain his honor. To infiltrate the Avatar’s ragtag group and capture him, presenting him to father and bringing him pride. Restoring his honor.
He shouldn’t get involved. The Avatar wasn’t even supposed to be alive, and helping him would seal Zuko’s fate as the banished, traitorous son. He really shouldn’t have gotten involved, and yet he found himself clutching the sheath which held his dao and taking the bag uncle had held out, containing his Blue Spirit mask and the minimal belongings Zuko had.
“It is time for you to find your own destiny, nephew. Do not worry about this old man, he has his connections.” Uncle winked, patting his shoulder.
Zuko must be an idiot.
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Katara is exhausted and holding out until Appa comes when a boy clad in black with a strange, blue mask with contorting features and giant fangs steps in front of her. He pulls out double wielded swords and takes down the two remaining enemies as if the swords were just an extension of his body.
“You’re an impressive bender.” He rasps, before heading towards Aang and Zhao.
Flustered, she quickly realizes who this was. During their pit stops in the Earth Kingdom, they had heard whispers in villages about a Blue Spirit. Even Sokka had become fascinated with the vigilante character. Frankly, she didn’t pay much attention to the rumors, and yet when she saw him in person she understood. The boy was a really good swordsman, and possibly an ally of Aang.
The boy was silent as he jumped next to Aang, who was currently being cornered by Zhao. He weaved his blades and deflected Zhao’s flames. Anyone could tell he was skilled, but she wasn’t sure how long he could hold out as a nonbender against someone as powerful as Zhao. It was clearly as the fight dragged out that he was getting tired, opting for going on the offensive.
A large bellow cut through the sound of battle, catching both the Blue Spirit and Zhao off guard and giving him an opening. She couldn’t help but snort as she closed in and realized that he had cut off one of Zhao’s side burns.
“Appa!” Aang exclaimed, quickly hopping 20 feet into the air and landing on his saddle, “Come on Katara, grab on!” He shouted, reaching his hand out for her. She clutched onto his hand like a lifeline, glancing behind herself at Zhao and the boy who was clearly losing his advantage.
“He won’t be able to hold out against Zhao for much longer without bending.” She muttered.
Then, Aang shouted at the boy, reaching out a hand to him as well. The boy stood frozen as Zhao redirected his attacks towards Appa who let out a horrible, groaning sound. Katara reached for her waterskin once again, slapping the distracted Zhao with a water whip and reaching out to the boy who hesitated to take her hand.
“Come on! You know you can’t fight him forever!” Katara shouted.
He didn't react.
“Zhao will follow wherever Aang goes! He’ll leave when we do, and if you stay here you’ll just end up captured or worse!” Sokka screamed, and it seemed to reach the boy as he finally clutched onto Katara’s hand and yelped as his body dangled in the air before climbing atop the saddle.
Once the island was out of sight they all sighed, except for the Blue Spirit who sat far away with his hands clutching his knees to his chest.
“I can’t believe I just left them all behind with Zhao.” Aang sighed, guilt gnawing at his chest.
“It’s fine,” they all turned to the masked boy who had finally spoken, “What I mean is.. Suki and the other warriors are strong. It’s not like it’s the first time Zhao has paid the island a visit either. The point is that they can handle themselves, and you staying there would have just made things worse.”
Aang smiled slightly, furrowing his brow, “Maybe you’re right.. Uhh, what’s your name?”
Sokka gasped, “The Blue Spirit! No wait.. LEE?!”
The Blue Spirit, or Lee, nodded, finally taking his mask off. It was Katara’s turn to gasp as she saw the raging burn scar on his face.
“You’re the Kyoshi girl that was there when Suki captured us!”
He shook his head, “I’m not a Kyoshi warrior, but Suki and I were training with the other girls when you arrived. There wasn’t much time for a change of wardrobe.”