Chapter 7: Friendly Fire
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"Life's hard. It's even harder when you're stupid."
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John Wayne
"What is the meaning of this?"
Stone handcuffs pulled tighter on her wrists. She glared at them – each and every single Dai Li agent, and the Fire Nation squadron, standing behind. The officer in command, a firm man with a short beard around the chin, pulled a scroll from under his uniform. He broke the red seal, and read:
"Princess Azula, daughter of Fire Lord Ozai and Lady Ursa, you are under arrest."
The man took his eyes off the paper and turned to the Dai Li.
"Take her away."
And Ty Lee was roughly pushed from the dais, two agents approached the throne, where Azula sat. They abruptly stopped. Their knees trembled. Azula smiled.
"You will not take me anywhere. Escort my friend back here. That is an order."
For the slight of a second, nothing happened. Azula lifted her back and struck one of the agents with her legs, a red hot flame escaped them. The boys fell down to the ground and Azula laughed. Some arrest? Nobody could make her…
"That was not very wise, Princess Azula," said the commanding officer. "Bind her legs together and take her away."
Two leg cuffs grew out of the ground, but Azula anticipated the attack. She leapt in the air, somersaulted, shooting beams of fire everywhere. Some servant opened a window.
"For goodness sake, catch her! Don't let her get away!"
She was within strides of the agents apprehending Ty Lee, when the Fire Nation squadron attacked. Jumping back, Azula barely avoided a wave of flame. The open window caught her sight…it was too small.
"Your protest is pointless."
Azula frowned, jumping, leaping, she had barely time to think. And thinking was vital in this situation. Who could do this…, she thought. By arresting me…who benefits? Another strike and Azula fell. Fell down on her back, her body aching all over. She heard Ty Lee there somewhere, screaming. And then her legs were tied in solid rock and protest really was pointless.
She got pulled to her feet, dragged off the dais, closer to the exit, when the commanding officer faced her. His gray rimmed eyes, weary from too many years at sea, directed on hers.
"It's time you learned to know your place."
But as Ty Lee cowered away in fear, Azula only smiled. With the softest voice she could manage, she said:
"You'll pay for this."
Her mouth got stuffed with a stone gag. That was when a gust of wind pushed the doors and a vase broke. Heads turned. Some servant shouted. And his squeak got muffled by something.
"Check that out," said the officer in command.
Azula frowned…perhaps, it couldn't be…Mai?
Another scream was heard closer down the hall. The soldiers fell into a state of panic.
"Quiet!" their commander shouted, "Nobody leaves."
And then they waited with anticipation, for something to come inside the room. Azula and Ty Lee were held behind the dais, the rest of the Dai Li took place above the door, hidden on the ceiling. All was still.
When they heard footsteps. Someone was coming, no, running, and running fast. Footsteps pattering over the hall. Ty Lee's eyes widened, excitement broadened her smile, and when the unwelcome visitor was only inches away from them, she screamed:
"Mai! It's a trap!"
Her restraints pulled tightly, and a stone got punched in her mouth. Ty Lee choked, trying to breathe, hoping her friend had heard. And Azula also held her breath, as she watched the men lined up behind the door: examined their stances, weighed their possible strategies of attack.
A torrent of water entered the room, blowing all the men away. And there, standing strong, baring her teeth and with clenched fists, stood the girl that traveled with the Avatar. Katara.
"It's time."
Zuko turned around to find his uncle waiting. The lights were down, and only the street lanterns gave the room that particular yellowish hue. He fumbled with his new passport. Zuko looked outside, one more time, feeling the night breeze chill his chin.
Then shut the windows. This was it. They descended down a flight of stairs, through a damp and smelly corridor. A rat scuttled by in the dark. The way was long and hard, there were many men both ahead and behind Zuko, he could hear his uncle panting in the rear. And every once in a while they stopped, ears alert, on edge.
They carried on. At last he could see light at the end. One man pushed up a lid, and soon Zuko find himself in one of the most disreputable neighborhoods of the Lower Ring.
"We'll meet again," the man named Kuhn Muk said,
then suddenly everyone was gone, as if they had vanished into thin air. Zuko and his uncle were alone.
"Something is troubling you," said Uncle after they had walked a while in silence.
All the street lights were out in this part of town. It looked scary, dangerous. Zuko shook his head.
"I know you better than that…"
"It's nothing."
Uncle Iroh frowned. And both were silent for a long while, Zuko fingering the new passport in his pocket. When finally, after passing two guards on duty, and making sure they weren't being watched or followed, Zuko said
"It feels like I'm making a mistake."
Katara saw the Dai Li agents clambering up the walls again. She raised her hand, lashing water at them, that had formed a pool on the throne room's floor. Disks of stone flew at her. She narrowly avoided one, and blocked the other away, casing herself in a protective shell of water. Inside it, they couldn't harm her anymore.
She glared at the Fire Nation squadron. The bastards still hadn't attacked. They stood there, calmly, as if she was nothing. A fly to be wiped away, to be crushed and broken under their heel. Katara growled.
"Don't underestimate me!"
With that she attacked. The first Fire soldier she could see. Smacked water right over his helmet. The attack came as a complete surprise. The soldier pivoted and fell. Katara grinned, this was going better than planned. These Fire assholes are too arrogant to fight – idiots.
Katara jumped to avoid another attack from the Dai Li. Perhaps she was alone this time, but at least she had her element, and that was all she needed. She rolled over the ground, turned, and found herself in the midst of the Fire squadron. The men began to panic.
"Who is the weak one now?"
She raised a wave above their heads, and let it come down, hard. Flashing and tearing their uniforms, sparkling water, powerful, quick and determined. No holding back now. This was her chance. She had been wanting this for years, and even though she heard familiar voices, begging her to stop, she let nothing deter her sweet revenge.
One guy's helmet came off. Katara gleamed. She approached, she ran, ready to attack. And then abruptly her momentum fell. There, lying on the ground, bareheaded, defenseless, lay her own father.
When Katara dropped her guard the Dai Li attacked from behind. Katara spun around. There were too many! She recognized people around her now: there was her father's childhood friend, she'd forgotten his name… There was Potok! Another turn of her head…Bato. And then, one soldier in the rear took off his helmet, pouring water out of it. It was Sokka…
She heard a high pitched squeal behind her, and turned around. There was that scary girl with the braid – the one who could paralyze you by just one touch. Katara jumped back.
"I knew you reminded me of someone!" the girl said in a cheery voice.
And Katara saw her brother smile back faintly. Then again she became aware of the Dai Li surrounding them, and Princess Azula, now standing tall, crying
"Arrest them. They're impostors!"
And on Azula's order the Dai Li pounced forward. Katara moved to the front, ready to fight, but Sokka beat her to it. Covering her with his left arm, he extended his right. And in a deadly serious voice he said
"Stay back, or I'll fire."
But the Dai Li kept coming. Sokka punched his gloved fist out. Katara couldn't believe her own eyes.
Sokka just firebended.
A/N: Okay, coming very close to the finale! I'm excited about writing it. Five more chapters to go ;-)
