A dusty road leading nowhere in either direction. Two combatants face off against one another. One a young warrior, a long way from home- desperately trying to bring peace to a world ravaged by war. The other a noblewoman, whose country is behind the insidious war that has swept across civilisation for close to a century.
The blue clothed tribesman has his weapon poised, ready to strike at the first sign of attack. His eyes narrow, his muscles tense- he is ready to fight for his life.
"Hey." Mai accompanies the soft greeting with a small hand gesture that began as a wave but was seemingly reconsidered halfway through.
Sokka's boomerang lowered slightly, his face turning to confusion. After a moment his weapon was lowered fully, and he became overtaken by visible frustration. "No... no- I'm sorry but we've already filled our 'evil defector' quota for this month. Maybe next month, now please go away." Sokka ended his tirade with a 'shooing' gesture of his hands.
"I didn't say anything." Whips of annoyance crept in to Mai's dreary monotone, no one could likely tell the difference.
"Yeah- but you were all 'hey'" The boy drops his voice and his face in an unflattering imitation of the noblewoman "...instead of zang zang pow with the knives."
"Is there someone else I can talk to?" If possible Mai sounded even more bored than usual.
"Hey I'm the chief planner of the group- my word holds weight- a whole ton of it." The two stood silently, Sokka maintaining a staunch indignant pose. After several seconds his form collapsed in defeat.
"...Oh forget it- follow me." The boy continued to mumble incoherently, Mai didn't care.
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Back at the Western Air Temple Toph sprung out of the idle laziness of listening to the earth crack miles beneath the surface. "There is someone with Sokka, it almost feels like... Azula's friend! Azula's friend is with Sokka."
"Are they actually her friends?" Aang was genuinely interested.
"I don't think that was the important part Aang." A motherly tone filled Katara's voice, the head pat implied if not actually preformed.
"I'm on it." With a swift spin on his glider Aang was souring in to the air, and out of sight.
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"Great, now they are both captured." Toph's tone suggested that she had pretty much expected something like this to happen.
"What?!" In truth Katara had too, but she preferred to keep her negativity bottled up and hidden.
"Or they are having a nice quiet stroll, chatting and stuff- doesn't make any sense to me- there only seems to be one person other than us anywhere even remotely close."
"They might have airships." Katara considered.
"So what- you want me to get radar now?"
"That's not what I... never mind."
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The two girls were poised to attack, water and rock floating behind them ready to strike. For her part Mai looked annoyed, already fully aware of what the next few minutes would be needlessly consumed with and wishing she could just get things over with.
"Hey." This time her wave was fully realised, it didn't help its reception.
"Don't bother, I already tried the defection quota thing." Sokka informed his friends helpfully. Katara and Toph simply raised their eyebrows in confusion.
"Mai, what are you doing here?" Zuko emerged from a nearby pillar.
"It's nice to see you too Zuko."
"I didn't mean... I... not that it's not good to see you but..." The prince was suddenly flustered.
"I came to tell you that your friends have escaped."
"Everyone?" Sokka was suddenly very interested in what Mai had to say.
The noblewoman regarded the boy out of the corner of her eye. "I'm not kissing you."
"Well I wasn't really expecting you to." The watertribe boy unconsciously scratched the back of his head.
"Suki sends her love."
"Love, love? She said love?" The warrior was filled with a heavy mix of nervousness, exstatic happiness and fear.
"Whatever. I'm leaving... Good luck." With that Mai began to walk away as if the matter was closed.
"You're leaving?" Aang called after her.
"I'm supposed to be halfway to New Ozai by now." She continued to walk away as she said the words.
"If Azula finds out..." Zuko began.
Mai stopped, and turned her neck but not her body. "Then I wont see you again. I hope this turns out to be what you were looking for Zuko." The noblewoman continued on towards the far staircase, the canyon in which the temple was built stretching out around her.
As she was about to reach the edge two figures dropped down to the platform that they were all standing on. As the figures rose the group all took an unconscious step backwards.
The princess's amused voice echoed throughout the valley. "And what do we have here?"
"Azula!" Zuko shouted.
"I have to say Mai, you are quite good. We almost lost you a few times- I suppose it just turns out that I'm better." The princess took a few strides forward, making way for around twenty fire nation soldiers to make their way down the staircase and on to the platform. Mai kept an equal distance, carefully watching her friend's hands.
"... I expected more out of you Mai- becoming a traitor is so predictable- it seems everyone is doing it. My brother has been a negative influence."
"Azula! Your fight is with me, leave her alone." Desperation and anger filled the prince's shouts.
"My fight, dearest brother, is with all traitors and enemies of our nation."
Ty Lee took another step forward and pleaded with her friend. "Mai step out of the way, we know you were all muddled with the whole Zuko thing. It's serious and everything but you're our friend- right? We'll get through this."
Azula raised her right hand, cutting Ty Lee off. "No. The penalty for all traitors is death."
The acrobat's eyes shot open in shock. "What? Azula you said..."
"Enough- Ty Lee. She betrayed us all, orchestrated that pathetic escape attempt."
"Azula- it's Mai. I-"
Azula raised the volume of her voice, ensuring that all present could hear her words. "They're all dead you know? That's what we do to prisoners who try to escape."
"What?" "No!" The whole group was horrified; they all had someone at the mercy of the Fire Nation.
"Really- she is to blame for it all." Azula motioning towards Mai. "...The Fire Nation attempts to keep our prisoners well taken care of- but what choice did we have when your new friend here forced our hand? They died calling your names- at least I assume so- their cries were muffled by the gags before the blade came down." The metallic slicing of metal could almost be heard at the end of her speech.
Moments passed and tears fell. Sokka was the first to speak. "You monster! I'll kill you."
"Unlikely."
In the background Katara desperately asked Toph. "Is she telling the truth?"
"Azula always lies." With his assertion Zuko began to pace forward, a burning dagger suddenly bursting from his closed fist. His pace quickened until he was racing across the platform at full speed- a bloody cry tearing from his throat.
Azula smiled. "I see that we're going 'weakest first', fine by me."
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The fire siblings thrust and kicked at one another, both dodging the others flame with expert agility. Each attack was met with a counter attack, both were vicious and relentless.
"You had your honour back. You were going to inherit the throne that rules the entire world- and you threw it all away. I always knew that you were stupid Zuko, but this truly surpasses anything I could even imagine."
"You wouldn't understand Azula." Zuko's voice was filled with weariness and disappointment.
"Of course not-I'm not a traitor. Maybe I can ask Mai before she joins her family on the guillotine."
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"We should probably fight or something." Sokka admitted awkwardly. The warrior stood several feet from Ty Lee, both looked very uncomfortable. Every few seconds a fire bolt or a piece of rock flew across the platform.
"Sorry this whole thing is just really confusing for me."
Sokka was filled with compassion and weariness. "I'd comfort you but I'm scared that you'd disable my limbs."
"Yeah." A half smile crossed the acrobat's face.
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"One down..." Azula had Zuko on the ground, a blue fire dagger ready to plunge in to his neck. A whizzing sound caused the princess to roll, narrowly dodging two daggers that would have landed in her side.
"...Well well- just so we're clear. You were the one to attack me first."
"Of course Princess Azula." Mai's tone was calm and respectful as she steadily approached her friend with daggers drawn.
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Azula stood with the canyon at her back, Zuko and Mai closed in upon her. As the princess waited for her moment to attack, the platform began to crack under the stress of the onslaught. The section that the princess stood on gave way, suddenly falling several hundred feet in to the river below.
As the princess hung from the unsteady vine she considered the horrible things she was going to do to the people who put her in this position. Her musing was cut short by the vine coming loose and her falling several feet lower. As the princess hung from the unsteady vine she considered all the things she had missed in her life and what she would do if she survived. Her musing was cut short by a rope that dropped down next to her, when the princess reached the platform everyone was gone.
When Azula reached solid lands again Ty Lee looked betrayed and her soldiers looked dishevelled. She decided to call it a day.
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Later that night, in a camp far away, Mai was considering what she had done, and what it had cost.
"Our friends weren't captured or killed." Sokka's voice came out of nowhere. "Ty Lee told me. Azula lied."
"Good, it's a horrible thing to lose friends and family." Mai got up and walked further from the fire.
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AN: Not used to multiperson scenes. Hope it worked out well. IC is important to me so gimme comments. Dealing with the GAang forces me to at least put some humor in to my writing so hope it wasn't too painful. I'm funny irl I swear. (My mother tells me so.) Feel free to blast me with any mistakes, I wanted to get this out before 314 to avoid scene changes.