Black Fire
Disclaimer: I thought of rewriting this a little after watching several reruns of Avatar. There is MILD language, but not that much to matter. This is basically a one-shot deal and an idea that came from a bizarre dream. If my information is incorrect, bear with me because I don't know too much about the universe, so I will try my best. There are quotes from Azula-centered episodes. Inspired by the song, "Hopelessly Devoted to You" by Olivia Newton John.
"I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you."
-Valentine's Day; Unknown Quote
"We trust our secrets to our friends, but they escape from us in love. [Fr., L'on confie son secret dans l'amitie, mais il echappe dans l'amour.]"
-Jean de la Bruyere
By: VampireQueenAkasha
"Together you and I will be the strongest couple in the entire world! We will dominate the earth!"
-Azula
Fire Nation Capital
Civilians stopped to stare at the new group of Fire Benders as they rode on by down the streets on their Komodo Rhino's. The small group of precisely 20 soldiers consisted of only females and they were dressed in the standard Fire Nation military uniform. They wore peculiar sigils on their chests which looked somewhat like a black bird against two broad swords. The females looked gruff, mean and particularly beautiful too.
Their leader was the only one wearing a metal mask that resembled a bird's head. She spoke nothing, but held her head high with all the pride of a noblewoman.
Just then, a young girl rushed out into the street, chasing a ball and moments away from being trampled by the Komodo Rhino the leader rode. The creature let out a gruff snort and skidded to a halt, kicking up dust in the child's frightened face. She stood there, staring up at the massive creature and the Fire Nation woman who stared down at her with frigid yellow eyes behind that mask. The child swallowed hard and smiled nervously, expecting to be punished.
Instead, the woman made a gesture with her head for the child to move along and she quickly rushed off with a yelp.
When they arrived at the palace, they were greeted by Lo and Li; the two advisers bowed their heads.
"Welcome, Sea Ravens, welcome!" Li greeted, "Come, the Fire Lord is expecting you."
The leader of the group led her team deep into the marvelous palace of the Fire Lord.
Sen was and had been a military genius since she was 7 years old before her father and admiral of his fleet, Arashi left her family. Sixteen years old now, she had learned to always stay on top and conquer whatever she could on the battlefield. Her mother, Chikako was always the quiet, tolerant woman who, despite her best intentions, stayed silent when Sen received her...punishment.
Even as a child, she was unwanted by her father. Admiral Arashi had always wanted a son and when Sen was born, he had given her the name purely to be cruel. A simple dull name which meant nothing in the Fire Nation. She wasn't entirely positive that it was even a Fire Nation name. Still, her father's cruelty had left her...burned. One day he had lashed out in anger and frustration, rendering her unable to really show her face.
"Ahh, Captain Sen!"
The low, powerful voice of Fire Lord Ozai interrupted Sen's thoughts and she straightened up as well as her soldiers as they had been instructed to do when facing their Lord. The tall, intimidating appearance of the Fire Lord cast his shadow over them as he surveyed the females with silent amusement and scrutiny. Was he either amused that they were all female, or the fact that they were so young? Either way, he could not deny that he was impressed.
"Your reputation has reached my ears, ladies," Ozai purred, "I hope that everything that I have heard is true. The Avatar will have nowhere to run once you find him." He stopped in front of Sen and squinted at her mask.
"Something wrong, my lord?" Sen finally spoke, her young voice slightly accented. Born from the Eastern side of the Fire Nation gave her that.
Ozai tapped one long finger against the cold, metal mask. "You will not wear that mask in the presence of the Fire Lord, Captain Sen," he told her, turning his back briefly, "Take it off."
Sen suddenly felt a small glimmer of unease. Taking her mask off meant revealing her shame. Revealing her shame meant exposing herself and that was something she could not do. But still, she was fiercely loyal to her nation and could not deny the Fire Lord. So her hands slowly and carefully removed the mask from her face. Expecting to receive disgust for her appearance, Ozai surprised her by slightly widening his eyes.
"My, those are quite the nasty burns you have there," he said, almost as if her physical infliction fascinated him, "I take it you received the same punishment that my son had in the past? Who was it that you shamed so badly?"
Sen's entire right half of her face had been horribly burned and her lips permanently formed a grimace on that side. Most of her hair on that side had been burned off as well. If she removed her spiked gauntlets, the burns would be visible on her hands from when she had attempted to shield her face from the attack. She had difficulty seeing out of her eye where the burns were severe, but it did not impede her vision entirely.
"My father gave me these burns my lord," Sen told him, not noticing Azula walking into the throne room.
Ozai chuckled dryly, as if the concept amused him because of the uncanny similarities between her father giving her the burns and himself giving his son his mark. Although a bit more severe than Zuko's, she didn't seem shamed of them the way his son was. Oh well, he had more important matters to attend to other than the Captain's personal problems. As he turned, he noticed Azula there and gestured with one hand.
"Meet my daughter, Princess Azula," he announced.
Sen's eyes slightly widened at the presence of the princess there and she almost forgot to bow in the way the others behind her did. Azula just stared at her with a bored expression, really not making such a deal over the girl's burned face. Instead, she just gestured to her own and tittered with a comical expression on her face.
"You look even worse than my brother," she said, "You must've done something really bad to get that kind of damage. That or you're the worst Captain in the navy."
Ozai didn't share in her amusement. He stared at her sternly, brow furrowed in a grimace that said he was in no mood for her foolishness. "Azula..." he warned.
Sen however, wasn't even the slightest bit insulted by the jeer at all. In fact, she could only wish that she had something to say to the princess. Her sexuality had never been a topic of discussion and even a focus as long as she had been in the Fire Nation navy, but she had a very deep secret that she could not share with anyone. Besides the fact that feelings for others of the same gender were forbidden in the Fire Nation, but to even think of having such feelings for royalty would get her executed.
She had the deepest crush on Azula.
When Sen and Azula had met, it had been during a military meeting with their fathers. Sen was only 9 years old at the time, but Azula was 7. They were outside with her brother and Azula's two other friends, Mai and Ty Lee. Sen decided to chase turtle ducks and Azula had suggested a game to play.
But now that she was in the princess' presence and old enough to speak her feelings, it suddenly occurred to her that she had no idea what to say first. What could she tell her? What would be appropriate? Fortunately, Ozai was the first to speak before she could look like an idiot in front of her.
"Would you care to join us for dinner, captain?" he suggested, "We can discuss our affairs then."
Sen gave Azula one quick glance before she nodded and saluted the Fire Lord.
Maybe then that would be a good time to talk.
O
That had been how she first reunited with the princess before being sent with her, Ty Lee and Mai to Ba Sing Se.
Sen grumbled to herself as she worked to write down her letter after her meeting had taken all morning. Every day, she would write a letter and pretend to mail it to Azula, proclaiming her feelings, but she would chicken out at the last second and rip it to pieces. But as she started writing, the brush carefully printing out every syllable on the scroll, she began to grow more and more courageous with her words. A smile lit the good side of her face:
I cannot begin to describe my feelings in words, but I will try not to bore you, my dear. My heart wishes to say what my lips cannot, what my mind will not let me. When I look at you, I do not see a lady to fear and despise, I see beauty, magnificence and radiance beyond even the spirits above. I wish to reach out to you, but fear you will not have me. Rejection ties me down on a thick rope to the ground while the insects mock me for my cowardice.
I understand a woman as lovely as yourself would rather have another than me, but I can only keep writing, keep hoping that someday, I would have the courage to speak to you about how I feel. Hopefully, I will not feel frightened of rejection and I can only wish that you would love me in return. I -
Suddenly, a hand swooped down and yanked the scroll out from under Sen's hands. She gave a startled gasp and looked up into the goofy, grinning face of Ty Lee who was hanging gracefully from the banister over her desk.
"Ooh, is this a love letter?" she gushed, "How cute!"
Sen scowled and made a snatching gesture. "Give that back, it's mine!"
Ty Lee darted from her grasp and giggled, staying out of reach while Mai looked on from the doorway, bored as always. "Ty Lee, give it back..." she said, in a sotto voice, "Stop messing around. Azula wants us ready at the wall."
"Aww!" Ty Lee gushed, swinging from her perch as she read the letter aloud, "Listen to this, Mai, 'I cannot begin to describe my feelings in words, but I will try not to bore you, my dear'..." Her eyes widened and glistened in a goofy way, touched by the words, "Aww, that's so beautiful Sen! Who is this guy you have a crush on anyway?"
Sen blinked slightly, her angry expression softening to an awkward clearing of her throat. "Um, no one, just give it back!"
Her hands began to flicker with evidence of Fire Bending before Mai swooped in and snatched the letter from Ty Leee, handing it to Sen without even looking at it. "Come on we have to go, now. Get down and hurry up."
Sen was relieved to have gotten her scroll back before they could figure anything out. Ty Lee skipped from the room with a sigh. "You're no fun, Mai!"
"I've been told ... " Mai said, nonplussed. She started to follow Ty Lee before stopping to glance back at the captain. "Are you coming or what?"
"Y-Yes," Sen responded, nodding once, "Give me a moment and I'll be with you shortly."
That was close...
O
"This drill is a feat of scientific ingenuity and raw destructive power," War Minister Qin was explaining to Azula, "Once it tunnels through the wall, our troops will storm their city. The Earth Kingdom will finally fall, and you can claim Ba Sing Se in the name of your father. Nothing can stop us."
Sen stepped into the command module and Azula smiled at her. "Nice of you to finally join us, Captain," she said.
"Of course, Princess," Sen replied, bowing her head with respect, "My apologies."
Ty Lee peered through a periscope at several Earth Kingdom troops using earthbending to create several large trenches. There were Fire Nation forces following them in hot pursuit. She smiled brightly and gestured.
"Hmmm, what about those muscle-y guys down there?" she asked, looking at Qin.
Qin chuckled mockingly. "Please. The drill's metal shell is impervious to any earthbending attack."
He looked at Azula nervously as he said this and the Fire Nation Princess didn't seem so impressed. "Oh, I'm sure it is, War Minister Qin, but just to be on the safe side..." She looked sharply at the others. "Sen, Mai and Ty Lee, take the earthbenders out!"
Mai rose from her seated position with a regal sigh. "Finally, something to do."
Sen cracked her knuckles tightly. "With pleasure, Princess."
She was pleased by the smile of approval on Azula's face and rushed outside with the others, hoping her fighting would impress her.
There were several earthbenders waiting for them and their leader let out a shout of command.
"Ready...attack!" he commanded.
The earthbenders wedged large earth spikes into the metal shell of the drill in an attempt to stop it from advancing toward the wall. Unfortunately, the drill's segments separated, reducing the columns to crumbles. The earthbending leader looked stunned and the group barely managed to form a shield of earth to protect themselves as an assault of flying daggers hurled by Mai sailed in their direction. They looked up in time to see Mai, Ty Lee and Sen sliding down the shell of the drill.
"Earthbenders..." Sen hissed, landing gracefully on the ground; her hands filled with dark violet-colored flames, "Let's play."
While Sen took care of two earthbenders, Ty Lee effortlessly managed to defeat a few of her own through an acrobatic display, utilizing chi-blocking which disabled their ability to bend. It didn't take long to render them utterly defenseless to the point that they had to retreat to the wall.
"Wow Sen, that was amazing!" Ty Lee said, as they entered the drill, "Your aura though..."
Sen turned to her, glaring from behind her mask. "What about it?" she snapped.
"It's...kinda dingy," Ty Lee said, tilting her head a little to analyze the other woman, "Like staring into a huge, gaping pit of tar or something."
You're right. But Sen didn't say that. Instead, she snorted gruffly and walked away. "Who asked you anyway?" she muttered.
They entered the command module and a cloud of debris was sent toward the drill from outside. Ty Lee peered at the cloud through the periscope with a surprised look on her features. "Hey, look at that dust cloud. It's so...poofy."
Qin looked warily to Azula. "Don't worry, Princess. I'm sure it's nothing."
Azula seemed doubtful and far from impressed, even when the drill drew closer and closer to the city walls. Qin made his announcement of the arrival, eagerly hoping this would please the Fire Nation Princess.
"Congratulations, crew. The drill has made contact with the wall of Ba Sing Se!" he announced, "Start the countdown to victory!"
Just then, two engineers rushed into the command module, breathless and frantic. "War Minister, an engineer was ambushed! His schematics were stolen!" one of them gasped.
Qin was clearly surprised by this announcement while Azula narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Sen looked at them.
"And how did this come to pass?" she demanded.
The second engineer looked at her warily. "A brace on the starboard side has been cut clean through! It's sabotage, ma'am!"
Azula turned sharply to the three women. "Let's go, ladies!"
Meanwhile, Sokka smiled with relief as Katara and Aang continued to slice through the braces of the drill. "Good work, Team Avatar!" he yelled, over the roar of mechanics around them. "Now Aang just needs to..." He looked up in horror. "duck!"
He ducked just in time to narrowly evade the blue fire blast sent his way by Azula, who rushed out and stood on another brace followed by her friends. Aang had to jump back to avoid another blast from the princess.
Ty Lee grinned. "Wow, Azula, you were right! It is the Avatar!" she said. She smiled rather flirtatiously at Sokka. "...and friends."
Sokka grinned weakly and waved back. "Hey."
Ty Lee performed a graceful swing forward toward Aang who quickly used his airbending to knock her away. The trio escaped the scene and raced through the drill's hallways. Azula smiled at the other women and they gave chase. Sen was rushing furthest ahead, determined to catch them as they arrived at an intersection. Sokka whirled and raised his weapon.
"Whoa!" he said, "You are one big lady!" Then, he squinted with confusion and smirked somewhat. "Wait, you are a lady, right?"
Sen clenched her fists and stood in a firebending stance. "You're about two seconds away from wearing that smile around your bony little ass..." she snarled.
"What?" Sokka cried, embarrassed, "I'm not bony! Puberty's just been unfair to me!"
Katara stood beside her brother, preparing to bend water at the Fire Nation Navy Captain. "You'll have to deal with me too!"
Aang looked back at them frantically. "Guys, get out of here. I know what I need to do."
Eventually, Azula and the other two reached the intersection, just as Aang went in one direction and Sokka and Katara in another, with Sen behind the two. Azula gestured to their direction. "Follow them! The Avatar's mine!" she commanded.
Mai and Ty Lee begin chasing Katara and Sokka while Azula chases after Aang. They stopped when Sen was following the two siblings in an open hatch. Ty Lee read the sign labeled "Slurry Pipeline" and tugged at Mai's hand.
"C'mon! You heard Azula. We have to follow them!" she insisted.
Mai held out two hands. "She can shoot all the lightning she wants at me. I am not going in that wall sludge juice."
Ty Lee didn't argue and jumped into the hatch, splashing into the slurry behind Sen. She smiled with determination and the firebender looked at her briefly with dismay. Just as they were moments away from reaching the release hatch, they were forced to remain due to the continuous bending by the waterbender below. Ty Lee and Sen struggled to be free, but it was futile so long as Katatra continued to plug up the hatch.
"You filthy little - " Sen spat down at her, "I'll kill you for that!"
Katara flashed her a smirk. "You and your circus freak will have to come down here and get me!"
"Katara, keep that up!" Sokka told her, "The pressure will build up in the drill. Then when Aang delivers the final blow, it'll be ready to pop!"
"What?" Sen gasped, struggling to breathe between a mouthful of slurry.
O
It was quite a mess.
Qin stared through the slurry in his command module, shocked by what had happened. The entire drill was destroyed.
Azula slid down the drill, covered in slurry and she landed by Ty Lee and Sen who attempted to clean the mess from their bodies. A hatch opened above them, revealing Mai, who was completely clean and free of it.
"We lost." she said, dryly.
Sen spat out a glob of slurry. "Yes, the obvious eluded me!" she snapped.
Azula was displeased and turned to Qin, who made his way out of the drill. "Princess!" he cried, "Forgive me! That wasn't supposed to ha - " He yelped when he slipped over the slurry and fell face-first into the ground.
Sen stood over him before pressing a foot against his back. "I'm sorry." she growled, "What was that about the drill being...impervious to attack?"
Qin struggled to breathe beneath the liquid mess and Azula watched the scene with amusement for a moment before looking at Sen. "That's enough. Let him up."
Sen obeyed and Azula watched Qin struggle to rise. "Never you mind," she replied, with a wicked smile. "I had a feeling this drill would fail us, so that's why I formulated another plan."
Qin smiled weakly, but shook in the presence of Azula's suddenly darker stare. "But this failure is going to cost you your freedom, War Minister. Rest assured."
The man whimpered, but understood plenty what that meant.