Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. However, I do own this story. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
Princess Azula, wearing the robes of a Kyoshi Warrior was being escorted through the steel holding cells of Ba Sing Se by a pair of Dai Li agents, who were holding tightly onto her arms. They stopped at the holding cell of the former Grand Secretariat, Long Feng.
"What is this about? Your agents show up in the middle of the night and drag me down here? You will not treat a Kyoshi Warrior this way!" Azula seethed as she struggled against her captors.
"But you are not a Kyoshi Warrior, are you?" he asked in a sinister voice, rising from his bench. "Princess Azula of the Fire Nation!"
The princess stopped her struggling. "What do you want?"
"I want to make a deal. It's time that I regain control of Ba Sing Se. And you have something I need."
"Oh?"
"The Earth King's trust."
"Why should I help you?" she asked warily.
"Because I can get you the Avatar."
"I'm listening," she replied and both smiled wickedly.
Everything had gone according to plan. The coup had gone off without a hitch, executed with complete efficiency. As an added bonus, Azula now had her traitorous brother in captivity along with the Water Tribe girl who traveled with the Avatar. He would no doubt come looking for her. Now there was just one loose end to tie up before Ba Sing Se and the entire Earth Kingdom would belong to the Fire Nation.
The Fire Nation Princess focused on Long Feng, who had just entered the throne room, followed by a troop of the Dai Li, all lined in rows and standing before Azula.
"Now comes the part where I double-cross you. Dai Li, arrest the Fire Nation Princess," Long Feng ordered.
To Azula's surprise, the agents followed the order and several rock gloves were launched at her. Before any could grab a hold of her, she flipped up into the air, avoiding the attack and shot off a quick succession of fireballs, taking out several Dai Li. But the ground underneath her shifted as she landed, throwing off her stance and making her unable to get in an effective position to defend herself. There were just too many agents, and the gloves kept coming at full force, beating against her body, and she finally fell to the floor defeated.
A beaten and bloody Azula was chained and pulled to her feet by two Dai Li agents. Golden eyes filled with contempt and hatred glared at Long Feng.
"You seem surprised, Princess. Did you really think earthbenders at the caliber of the Dai Li would follow someone from the Fire Nation? Especially one bent on destroying their very home. You either underestimated our intelligence or overestimated your charisma. But you are still worth something," Long Feng finished, digging his fingers into a particularly nasty looking gash on Azula's face. She gritted her teeth, silently seething. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of hearing her in pain.
"You know what to do with her," he ordered, quickly dropping his hand and smiling wickedly at the princess before the Dai Li dragged her away.
"We've moved the Water Tribe girl, just as you instructed."
"Good. The Avatar's other companions have escaped along with the Earth King, so she's our only lure. I'm certain they are already looking for her."
"What of the Fire Nation Prince, sir?"
"He gives us no bargaining power whatsoever. He's a traitor in the eyes of his father. However, he still may prove to be useful. Leave him in the catacombs for now."
"And the Princess's two accomplices?"
"The same goes for them. Make sure to keep them tied up and separated. We'll transfer all three soon enough."
"Long Feng, sir. We deposited the two Fire Nation girls in the catacombs, but we discovered upon our arrival that the prince has escaped."
"How is that possible?"
"An earthbender must have freed him. Probably the Avatar searching for the Water Tribe girl."
"The banished prince is inconsequential. It's no loss. But there's no way the Avatar will find the girl. Every precaution has been taken. We hold the advantage."
The cell was cold, small, and windowless—the only light coming in from the flickering torches in the hallways through a small panel in the door. Three days she had been here, but had yet to see a soul. Twice a day, a tray of barely edible slop was sent through a slot in the door. She was free to move about the tiny cell, which consisted only of a pallet and a hole where she could relieve herself.
Katara had no idea where she was or what was taking Aang so long to find her. The more time that went by, she found it harder to stay positive and began to worry that something had happened to him, Toph, or Sokka.
Mentally she berated herself for allowing herself to be captured by Azula, although she certainly hadn't expected to see her or her two lackeys when she entered the throne room. She was even more surprised to see Zuko thrown into the catacombs with her. She remembered him sharing the story of the loss of his mother and found herself actually feeling sorry for him. But before she could apologize for having yelled at him earlier, the banished prince was surrounded by crystals, inhibiting his ability to move. Katara was without her waterskin and unable to bend. Resistance was futile, and the Dai Li agents had taken her away to the cell she was in now.
She couldn't help but wonder why Azula had her moved from the catacombs. But then again, the princess had that knack of being ten steps ahead of everyone, so there must have been something Katara wasn't thinking of.
The only thing that broke up the monotony of Katara's days were her increasingly worried thoughts. Until today.
The door of an adjacent cell creaked open. Katara then heard the unmistakable sound of Long Feng's voice.
"Worthless Fire Nation scum!" he hissed before the sound of flesh hitting against flesh echoed through the hallway. The prisoner's chains rattled against the wall.
"Oh no!" Katara thought. "They must have taken Zuko here as well…"
The beating continued for several minutes, getting increasingly violent, and Katara found herself feeling sick. The only sound the captive made was an occasional grunt. After a particularly vicious strike, she heard a muffled cry that was undeniably female. Katara's eyes widened. "That couldn't be Zuko. Then who…" her thoughts were cut off by shadows outside her own cell.
Two Dai Li agents entered, immediately sending their rock gloves at Katara's wrists and ankles, pinning her against the wall. She could see the outline of Long Feng at the doorway before he stepped in.
"And you, water peasant. You and your friends nearly ruined everything I had created. You do realize your foolish actions have put the entire Earth Kingdom at risk," he spoke. "I will have my revenge. And I will enjoy every minute of it," he smiled cruelly at her before landing several blows on the girl's face and torso, forcing her to double over as he knocked the wind out of her.
"That's just a small taste of what's in store for you," he finished with a sneer before turning his back on Katara and walking out the door. The agents retrieved their gloves and the waterbender fell to the floor gasping for breath.
"What are we going to do? Long Feng has completely overthrown the government. The Fire Nation is poised to launch a full-scale attack on Ba Sing Se and the instability this coup has created could throw the Earth Kingdom into a civil war. And on top of that, we still have no idea where Katara is," Sokka paced.
"Or Azula for that matter," Iroh pointed out.
"Why does it matter where she is?" Sokka asked, halting in his tracks.
"I'm sure Long Feng intends to use her as leverage to get the Fire Nation to halt their attack, but he doesn't know my brother. At best, he will leave his daughter to rot, and that could have a dangerous effect on her mind. My niece may appear calm and calculated on the outside, but she is very unstable. She's never failed at anything in her life. But this time she miscalculated and it led to a major failure. This will not sit well with the Fire Lord."
Aang, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko all stared at Iroh in disbelief.
"Why are you so surprised, Zuko?"
"Because she's always been father's favorite. He always said Azula was born lucky and that I was lucky to be born."
"She may be his favored child, but in the end, she is still just a pawn to him. Zuko, you know your father is not a forgiving man and does not compromise. He will discard her now that she's used up her usefulness."
"You said yourself that she's crazy and she needs to go down. Are you suggesting that we help her now?"
"I'm not suggesting anything. I just think we should be prepared. An unstable Azula could be more dangerous than a composed Azula."
Aang visibly shuddered at the thought. He was usually the one on the receiving end of the Fire Nation Princess's attacks. So far he had managed to come away relatively unscathed, but a small part of him feared her.
"We still have to find Katara," Aang said firmly.
"But we also have to stop the Fire Nation," Toph added.
"And restore the Earth Kingdom's government," Sokka finished.
"I feel like there aren't enough of us, that we're being forced to go in different directions," Aang sighed. "With the Fire Nation's use of war machines, it will just be a matter of time before they penetrate the walls of Ba Sing Se. The Terra Team is now under the command of Long Feng and not General Sung, so it's not like we can go help them defend the walls."
"Long Feng is probably trying to get us to split up. We need to stick together no matter what. Right now, the most important thing is rescuing Katara. I have a feeling that when we find her, we'll find Long Feng. If we take him down, we can reinstate the Earth King to power and stabilize the government. If that happens, together with the Earth Kingdom's military, we can make a stand against the Fire Nation's army," Sokka explained.
"You see, my nephew, this is a perfect example of thinking things through," Iroh told Zuko with a knowing smile.
"It's also highly optimistic, Uncle," Zuko rolled his eyes.
"What other choice do we have?" Toph asked. "Besides, now that Aang has mastered the Avatar State, we'll be fine. Right, Twinkle Toes?"
"Uh, yeah…" he replied nervously. "Everything will be just fine."
The Fire Nation Princess was aware that the Water Tribe peasant was in the cell next to hers after Long Feng's little tirade. She ignored the new bruises that were forming on her body from the beating she had just received and tried to work the disgusting cloth that was used as a gag out of her mouth.
Azula couldn't help but notice that her treatment had taken a sudden turn for the worst. The chains hadn't been taken off of her since her arrest, but in the first two days of her captivity, she had been left alone for the most part. Several Dai Li would come to bring her food, but that was about it. They would never speak to her and she knew that there was no point in wasting her energy trying to get information from them. Then sometime during last night, she had been bound and gagged before being moved to this new location.
Initially, Azula had reasoned that Long Feng would try to strike a deal with the Fire Lord. She was confident that he would agree to whatever Long Feng proposed and then go back on it and together they would lead the attack on Ba Sing Se anyway.
But after being transported to this cell—which had much poorer conditions than the first one the Dai Li had kept her in—and this latest visit from Long Feng, some doubt started to creep in. She thought of Zuko.
"No, no… Father wouldn't leave me here. I'm too valuable to him. Not like Zuzu," she told herself, trying to quell her doubts. "Father needs me."
"Iroh, can I talk to you?" Aang asked Iroh, who was busy brewing some tea.
"Certainly, Aang. What's on your mind?" he replied with a kind smile.
"Well, remember what I told you in the tunnel leading to the catacombs? About how I met with a Guru who could teach me to master the Avatar State? The Eastern Air Temple is where we trained together. I thought that by coming back here, he might be able to finish teaching me."
"I suspected as much," Iroh said with a nod.
"But he's gone now," Aang sighed. "I don't know what to do."
Iroh handed him a cup of tea. "Setbacks are an inevitable part of life. But if you find a way to learn from them instead of letting them weigh you down, you will end up where you need to be."
Katara had come to two conclusions. Long Feng had been released from prison and regained control over the Dai Li, and therefore, Ba Sing Se. The other was that the captive in the cell next to hers was either Azula, Mai, or Ty Lee. How any of those things happened was still beyond her understanding.
But after what Long Feng had said to her, Katara had a feeling that she was his only captive and that her friends were safe. She still had hope that they would find her and together they would set things right.
It was late and Sokka was having trouble sleeping. His thoughts swirled with worry about his sister's wellbeing, the Fire Nation's impending attack on the city, and most of all, Suki. It was obvious that Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee had fought with the Kyoshi Warriors. He had noticed that Mai and Ty Lee tended to opt for incapacitating their opponents over killing them outright. But Azula was a whole different story. He remembered when she shot her own uncle with a blast of blue fire in that abandoned Earth Kingdom town.
Suki was the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors and most likely would have been the one to square off against Azula. Sokka began to fear the worst. That the girl he loved had suffered at the hands of that monster—that she had lost her life.
He shook his head. "No, she has to be alive. She just has to be. I'll find you, Suki. I promise."
Toph laid in her sleeping bag a few feet away. She could feel the turmoil that Sokka was going through. Just as she was about to get up to attempt to comfort him, she noticed that he seemed to calm down and had finally drifted off to sleep.
"Good. He needs his sleep. We all do," she thought to herself. The plan was to get an early start tomorrow. They would leave the Eastern Air Temple and resume their search for Katara.