~Chapter 4~

~Death and a Doxy~

Azula glared at her teacup moving it away with her good hand. "I don't like tea."

Ira looked up from his book. "What would you like instead, Azula?"

She crossed her arms placing her good arm over the other heavily bandaged one. "I don't know, just not tea."

Ira nodded. "Very well, how does some juice sound?"

She shrugged. "Fine, I guess. Any word on my ring?"

"I have had Heroto looking every where for it." Ira sighed. "Eventually he will find it don't worry."

"Yeah, right. I've been here two weeks any your man has found nothing."

"These things take time."

"Well I would like to have it before I keel over of old age."

Ira grimaced. "Azula…please child you are…"

"Dead, so you tell me." Azula waved it off. "You can tell me as much as you want I won't believe you. This is a dream the refuses end nothing more."

Ira sighed. "It is your choice to believe that my child." He waved a hand over her teacup and it changed to a juice glass. "But only fools fail to believe what is right in front of them."

Azula scoffed and looked away. "Your little magic tricks only confirm that this is a dream." She took a sip of her juice and glance over at Sokka and Yue who were walking in the garden just off the tarries she was sitting on. "But why he's here I can't fathom."

"Maybe because it's not a dream?" Ira suggested. "He died trying to save you, surely you would never dream that."

"Yeah right. It's only in my dreams would one of my lousy brother's friends would care enough to die trying to save me." She rubbed her bandaged arm absent-mindedly.

Ira took a sip of his own tea. "How is your arm feeling? Can I see it?"

"Fine, no." She looked back down at the garden. "I want my father, when is he going to come for me?"

"I don't know when he'll join us, but I believe it won't be for quite a while because..."

"Because he's not dead. You're starting to sound like a parrot-monkey, Ira."

.o.

Yue looked glanced up at the balcony for a second before wrapping an arm around Sokka's. "She's looking at you again."

"No she's glairing at me agian." Sokka corrected as they moved deeper into the garden.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. "Do you want to talk about it?" Yue asked finally.

"No," Sokka pouted. "I don't want to know what happened."

"Really? Not even a little?"
He sighed. "Maybe a little but I'm afraid to hear about all their pain." He sat down on a near by bench. "I mean is it really normal to hear about one's own funeral?"

Yue nodded. "Yeah, some ghosts even attend their own if they get enough warning."

"That's not creepy."

"They want to be there to comfort their loved ones or hear all the nice things they say about them. One of the two." She pulled him up to his feet and kissed him. "Now come with me I found a fish pond around here yesterday and you must see it!"

They rounded a corner and almost ran into Heroto. "Ah, there you two are, the master wishes to see you both in the library."

"Why?"

"He has gotten word of a new target."

Sokka jumped in to the air. "Finally! We get to see some action! Any idea what we're facing this time?"

.o.

"What do you know of Doxies?" Ira asked standing in front of his desk.

"What's a Doxy?" Sokka asked tilting his head.

Ira sighed. "Well I guess it's better to start with a clean slate than a wrong one." He muttered before addressing Yue and Sokka. "Long ago before there were as many lantern bearers as there are now-"

Sokka raised his hand.

"Yes, Sokka?"

"How many lantern bearers are there now?"

Ira paused for a moment. "All in all there should be 15 of us, but presently there are 13 with 2 of them missing."

Yue tiled her head. "Who's missing?"

"The spirit of Shadows, and the spirit of Sound. No surprise about Sound being missing, he wonders off quite regularly." Ira shook his head. "That really doesn't matter right now. Doxies were once in charge of finding human souls and taking them to the land of the death where they could rest. Since there's a new system in place you can guess that first system didn't work out well."

Sokka nodded. "Yeah what happened?"

"The Doxies started to hoard the souls not giving them the rest they needed."

"Oh, that's bad."

"Very. Most of the Doxies were pulled back in the spirit world and released of their duty. Now most steal little trinkets and hoard them but Heroto has heard of one in the north of the Earth Kingdom that has developed some bad habits."

"So we're off to go rescues the souls from the Doxy? Um what does a Doxy look like?"

Ira opened and book to an illustration of a small dark creature with glowing eyes and was appeared to be wings made only of bone. It was standing next to a flower and was barely taller than it.

"Oh! It's so cute!" Yue cooed.

"Cute as it may be Doxies are extremely strong, they were made by the spirit of Shadows to never let another creature steal souls from them and this one apparently has a wolf helping her."

"How do you know it's a girl?" Sokka asked looking closely at the illustration.

"All Doxies are girls, that's how the Spirits of Shadows made them."

"Ah." Sokka nodded. "So when do we leave?"

"Momentarily, but first a present." He gestured to a long box on the table. "That is from Yue, she felt your armor was a bit bare."
Slowly, Sokka walked over and opened the long box. He was speechless as he pulled out his space sword with a new scabbard. He smiled pulling the blade out and gazing at the black metal. He sheathed the sword and smiled at Yue. "Thank you."

"I took the liberty of modifying your sword slightly." Ira commented. "Not only will it be able to phase through things like you and your armor. It will also be able to harm other spectral beings like yourself." He stepped up to Sokka and held out of his hand. "May I?" Sokka nodded and held out the sword, which Ira took. He pulled the blade out and pointed it right at Sokka's neck. "Go for a kill blow and you'll send them too the book keeper who will decide their fate." He put the sword down before handing it back to Sokka.

"And if I deliver a death blow to a human?"

"They'll die and you'll either become corrupted right then and there or get really close to it. The living are not meant to be harmed by the dead so if you do come across a human that is itching for a fight, just punch them or hit them with the broad side."

Sokka nodded. "Ok." He put his sword back in the scabbard before slinging it over his back. "So can we leave now?"

"Yes, let's."

.o.

Azula wondered through the halls of the manor for no other reason other than she could. Ira had left Heroto in charge of her care and so she knew somewhere the white hawk was watching her. She really didn't care anymore let him watch. She looked at her arm and undid some of the bandages to look at the strange cracks in her arm. She was tempted to touch one but stopped seeing something white at the corner of her eye.

"You're not hiding yourself Heroto! Come out!"

A woman with long white hair and a flowing gown stepped out from a painting on the wall. She looked sort of like the moon spirit always hanging around Sokka but not, this woman was older and had a hardness in her eyes. "I'm not Heroto." She said in a musical voice that was so much like her mother's Asula half expected the woman to take on her face but she did not. "But I will acquiesce to your request."

Azula frowned. "Who are you?"

"I don't have a name, not really but my lover calls me Nix."

"Ok 'Nix' why haven't I seen you around before?"

"You've walked passed my painting hundreds of times so the reason is yours."

Azula raised an eyebrow. "You live in a painting?"

"I do not live, since I do not really exist." She looked up at the painting. "I am merely an idea, a dream that can walk these halls while my star is away."

Azula shook her head. "I am so glad this is a dream. If it wasn't I think I would find this place completely insane."

Nix shrugged. "Have it your way. What happed to your arm child?"

"I dreamed it broken."

"Can I see?"

Azula made a blue flame. "No! Why do people keep trying to see it?!"

"Sorry I didn't mean to upset you." Nix gave a small smile. "I just wanted to know if your arm looked like my legs." She pulled up her skirt to show her legs cracked just like Azula's arm.

"What happened?" Azula asked. "How does a painting get hurt?"

Nix looked out the window. "My star was dreaming of me when a dark force invaded his dream and attacked us. I was partially shattered in that nightmare and ever since my legs have looked like this and worse my love dreams of me no longer." She sighed. "He paints me in oils and thinks of me but he does not dream like he used to."

Azula shook her head. "Well that's sad and all, but I think I'll leave you to your star gazing and see what else is in this place. There's nothing else to do here but that."

"You could go into town." Nix suggested. "There are many other souls there to talk to and things to do. Ask Heroto, I bet he'll gladly take you for a stroll into town."

Azula tapped her chin. "Maybe I will." She looked back and found the woman back in her picture holding a small lantern with a white flame. "Father come quickly, I'm losing my mind."

.o.

Ozai was reclined in his cell counting the cracks in the wall for the thousandth time when the cell door opened and his brother entered. Ozia looked at Iroh quizzically. "It's not my birthday brother why are you here?"

Iroh looked down. "I am sorry to say I am the bearer of bad news."

Ozai chuckled. "I believe bad news is in the eye of the beholder. Where is Zuko? Surely he would rejoice in trying to wound me."
"He could not bring himself to come. This news it pains him too much." Iroh sighed. "I know we haven't been the closest of brothers but I am here for you."

"You certainly are building up this news. What could it possibly be?" Ozai smirked. "Did Lady Mai have a miscarriage?"

Iroh looked at his brother with pitiful eyes. "Azula is dead."

The color drained from Ozai's face. "You're lying."

"I'm not, she is dead brother."

"No! You're lying!" Ozai stood clutching his fists wishing he could set the liar on fire. "Get out! Get out you lying traitor! She's not dead!"

"Brother, please." Iroh reached out to his brother. "I am so sorry but it's true."

"Liar! Get out! Leave my sight! I never want to see you again!"

Iroh nodded and left the room sadly as his brother cursed his name. Ozai gipped the bars and slowly feel to his knees. "She can't be dead. He's lying; they're just trying to get me to break. That's it they just want me to break." He stood up and laughed. "Well I'm not going let them break me! Right Azula?"

A woman made of smoke baring Azula's face suddenly appeared sitting on his bed. One of her eyes glowed gold as she spoke with a smile. "Exactly right Father."

A/N: Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading this newest installment. If you haven't figured it out by now I'm trying something new were while there will be an over arching plot the story will have more of a monster of the week flavor. This is to keep the plot moving and to really get a good taste of the mechanics of the world and the monsters in it. I would really love your impute but please don't feel like you have to comment just because I asked. Really, just having you read my story is enough for me. I'll see you later! ~ C.C.

P.S. Title is inspirited by the Nero Wolfe book "Death of a Doxy"