Fanon:Free as a Bird

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Free as a Bird
Information
Series	Avatar: Past Masters
Book	1
Chapter	1
Written by	Dcasawang1
Edited by	Dcasawang1
Air date	3 July 2009
Episode guide
Previous	None
Next	Two of Us

Free as a Bird is the first chapter in the fanon series, Avatar: Past Masters.

Overview

When Fire Lord Zuko and Ursa go to visit Ozai, they receive a message saying that Azula had escaped from prison. Quickly, Team Avatar is informed of this. Azula decides to start recruiting people with the objective of recuperate the Fire Nation throne and kill Aang and Zuko.

Synopsis

After the end of the War, the four nations recovered the peace. The mission of the Avatar and the new Fire Lord was working very well. The Fire Nation became a peaceful nation, the majority of the citizens were happy with the changes, but some groups against the new government had menaced the process of reconstruction of the world. and had obstructed the conclusion of the War. Ozai was imprisoned in the Fire Nation without bending powers and Azula was in the new safest prison of the world: Avalon, a maximum security prison similar to the Boiling Rock, but even more infallible.

The prison had been built during the early months of Zuko's government. It had been designed exclusively to imprison Azula. Thousands of firebender guards surrounded the place and Azula was chained and immobilized in a room with walls covered with lead and titanium. The room was in a giant hole with a depth of two thousand meters; this structure had been built by earthbenders, as well as the room's periphery, which was full of explosives that would be activated in case of emergency.

One day, Azula escaped. She had been, as always, immobilized, but a guard accidentally deactivated the system for a moment. Azula used this second to burn and destroy the chains; the guards attacked her, but she made a giant blue fire sphere, protecting herself and defeating all the guards of the ground floor. Azula kept ascending firebending trough the dept prison until the top eluding the explosives and fighting the firebenders in the way. In the exit of the hole, she demolished the metallic roof with two mighty bursts of lightning; the guards couldn't stop her because when she got out, she made a firebending trick and disappeared. Than, the new warden, swiftly wrote a message to the Fire Lord and sent it with a messenger hawk. Azula, now free on some Fire Nation island, decided to start a journey searching and recruiting people who would want to help her to take the power of the Fire Nation and kill the Avatar. She thought: "Mai and Ty Lee betrayed me, but now they will see the power of a new force capable of anything, and they will want to join to me again. I have to take revenge of Zuko, but I will need help. This will take time, I have to recuperate myself first."

TWO DAYS LATER:

Ursa was in her room, she looked at a picture of Zuko and thought of him, he had made a good job as Fire Lord all these months, he wasn't like his father. She remembered he was in prison. "I'll ask for Zuko if he wants to go visit him with me now," she thought. Zuko refused at first telling her that he was very busy with the final procedures in the rebuilding of the world. But his mother insisted.

- It's been a hard day, mother, I'm very tired - answered Zuko - I have visited him many times and he doesn't want to talk with me. I'm very busy now.

- You have not even tried to talk to him, Zuko. You know you have to visit him every day, you promised me that.

Ursa wasn't happy about the acts Ozai had committed. She did not agree with the past war, but she felt a strong obligation of visit him. Zuko accepted and went with his mother. They entered to the Capital City Prison and started to walk through the gangway, when a royal messenger, Kirei, arrived running with a very important sealed scroll. He gave it to the Fire Lord, who read aloud:

"Fire Lord Zuko: we inform you that ex-Princess Azula has escaped from prison. We will try to catch and imprison her again as soon as possible, but we will need a little help from the Avatar. Sincerely, Than, the Warden."

Zuko felt a chill because of the unfortunate new and ordered to write two messages to Aang and Iroh telling them about the escape and asking them for a quick solution. Kirei, then, swiftly sent the scrolls with two messenger hawks. Zuko was stunned thinking about the consequences this might bring for the world and his friends.

Two days later, in Ba Sing Se, Aang and Sokka had stayed home while Toph and Katara had gone to the Jasmine Dragon to visit Iroh.

- Why didn't you go with them? – Aang asked to Sokka.

- I don't know. I wanted to visit Suki, but she traveled with Ty Lee to Kyoshi Island yesterday.

- Why?

- Ty Lee wanted to know all about Kyoshi, and then Suki decided that the best place to learn was the island where she was born – answered Sokka bored.

While they were talking, Sokka heard someone was outside and went to open it:

- Good morning – the messenger said – A message for the Avatar.

- Okay. I'll give it to him.

Sokka took the scroll and gave it to Aang:

- What's this scroll? – the Avatar asked.

- It looks like a message of the Fire Nation – Sokka pointed.

Aang opened and unrolled the scroll and read aloud:

"Avatar Aang: I have received a message from Avalon. Than, the warden, has informed me that Azula has escaped some days ago. We need to have an assembly in the war room here, the Royal Palace, and we'll design a plan. I have sent another message to my uncle. See you soon." Fire Lord Zuko.

- That's impossible – said Sokka amazed – How could Azula escape from Avalon? I designed it with all my effort so it was inescapable.

- She managed to escape some way, Sokka, but that isn't the most important thing now. We have to be wakeful. Azula could do what she wants if she gets people who second her. He will start gathering people, will get a lot of power, and will be capable of many things and attack. What do you think she wants exactly now? – asked Aang a little confused.

- She will want revenge, and she will want to recover and attack the Fire Nation – deducted Sokka.

- Yeah.. not if we do something first though. We have to remark this to Zuko when we are in the capital. When are we going?

- I think tomorrow would be a good day. We've to go with Katara, Toph, and Iroh. Lamentably Suki won't be able to go with us – cried Sokka.

- Okay. Tomorrow. So, we've to start gathering provisions and victuals now – Aang said.

Sokka and Aang started to prepare everything for the journey to the Fire Nation capital. They knew that the escape of Azula wasn't something easy to solve so Sokka started to move the Earth Kingdom armies and the Team. He also communicated this to the Council of Five, who decided to tell about the escape to the Earth King, who prepared troops in different cities of the kingdom.

Bad news

The same day, in the Jasmine Dragon, Iroh was preparing the tea of the last client of the day. She had ordered a ginseng tea. An excellent tea had said Iroh to the customer three minutes before. Iroh took the little cup carefully and, smelling the warm vapour that the infusion expelled, transported it to the appropriate table. Enjoy it, craved nicely the uncle to the diner. Toph and Katara watched the scene when the same messenger arrived to the place. It's closed, said Iroh hurriedly. No, I'm only coming because I have a message to Iroh, prevented the envoy. 'That's me', answered Iroh excited. He started to read the scroll, expressing consternation with his visage. This is a terrible new, thought.

- It's something bad? – asked very worried Katara.

- Yes. Azula have escaped – conveyed Iroh.

- That's unbelievable – answered Katara perplexed.

- Is the new trustworthy? – asked Toph mistrustfully.

- Yes, pitifully, it is. The message was sent by Zuko. It says that I have to go to the Fire Nation this week. Maybe my nephew sent another message to Aang, and he would go too; you should escort him. He will need help. Azula somehow invented a method to escape from Avalon; she is maybe very angry at the moment, it has possibly contributed in a small increase his power and determination to achieve his goal– said Iroh wisely.

- Okay. We will talk with Aang and Sokka later – accepted Toph.

They decided that nobody else had known about the escape. "If the citizens of the Fire Nation come to know this, perhaps they will start a revolution and they would join to Azula," thought Iroh. "You're right, the people of the Fire Nation is easily influenced, and whatever happens against the new government, not only will supported it, they also would to join it," answered Katara. "Yes, we have to avoid a revolution in this moments" - concluded Toph.

Later, in Team Avatar's house, Katara and Toph arrived. Do you know the news?, asked immediately the girls. Yes, we've enlisted all, and we all will start tomorrow the journey to the Fire Nation; answered Aang trying to calm them – now we need to rest and sleep, it's very late, we'll talk in the morning about this. Sokka couldn't sleep, he was thinking all the night about the escape of Azula. How could she escape? She was imprisoned in Avalon. I designed something wrong, he thought. So, he decided to walk around until the morning. He was walking in the street, when he saw something in the way, it ran swiftly to a wall of a house near a window, he didn't notice what animal was it because of the darkness, but he kept walking and thinking some hours more. Here comes the sun, thought Sokka happy to see the morning starting. He got back to the house, only Toph was awake.

- What were you doing? - asked Toph immediately.

- I wanted to walk, I couldn't sleep, I was thinking - answered sincerely Sokka.

- And how was the trip? - asked Toph again.

- Very thoughtful; nobody was in the street, except something like a lizard on a window, I think - he explained despondent.

- Okay, but you should sleep, we will have a long trip – said Toph trying to help him.

- Don't worry about that. I'll be okay, thanks.

Aang and Katara appeared in the entry of the room where they were talking. Hi, they said a bit slept yet.

- What are you talking about? – asked Katara interested.

- Nothing important. So, we have to be ready in 20 minutes if we want to be there in two days more – said hurriedly Sokka.

They prepared all and went with Appa.

- Is Appa ready? – asked Katara.

- Yes, he is, and Momo too – answered Aang.

- And, where is Iroh? – noticed Sokka.

- He said me that he won't travel with us – informed Toph.

- Why? How will he go to the Fire Nation? – continued Sokka.

- I don't know. I tried to ask him, but he didn't answer me.

- Well, I think he knows what he's doing – concluded Aang – Let's go.

So, they started the trip without Iroh to the Fire Nation. They arrived in exactly two days; they had a journey without obstacles nor complications. Team Avatar went to the Royal Palace, where they had a nice greeting. They talked with Zuko and knew Ursa, but they couldn't start the meeting without Iroh, so the unanimous decision was to wait Iroh and then, they would talk about the escape.

They had to wait Iroh for a week. When Iroh arrived, they didn't ask him about his delay of a week, he only said: "I will tell you my journey in other opportunity. I had to do some necessary things". They all accepted the rare excuse, and they started the meeting the next day with generals of the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, the Council of Five, the Fire Sages and some important warriors of the past war, but any member of the Order of the White Lotus was there, except Iroh. They was talking for about 3 hours making plans and strategies. Iroh only opined three times, this was unusual for Zuko, who thought his uncle was thinking in some important thing that he had not tell him. Seita, the new Earth King noticed that Sokka was very solicitous about the final decision, so he suddenly asked him:

- Why are you so worried for the escape of Azula, Sokka? This is not a new war – he said trying to calm him.

- You're right, but you forgot something: this is not a war YET.

Production

• This chapter was originally named "Escape from the Spiteful World" as a reference to "Escape from the Spirit World" when the fanon story was been written under the name of "Avatar: Revenge of the Felons". This chapter was then fixed and re-written before the new beginning of the story.

Trivia

• The name of this chapter: "Free as a Bird" is a reference to the title of a song of the famous band, The Beatles.

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