Part 7: warrior farewell
The following days were terrible for Suki. She had never felt so down before. Azula had outclassed her badly, just when Suki thought that she managed to drag down the princess to equal grounds. She was completely beaten and humiliated. In all her confidence, she hadn't realized that she still had a vulnerable point. She had it, she had forgotten it, and essentially she'd forced Azula to exploit it. It was easily the stupidest move she'd ever made in her entire life.
And this time, the Commander didn't make her situation easier either. When she heard about the conversation, her first act was to scold Suki so roughly that Suki nearly broke out in tears.
Azula's generosity also only made her life harder. She went from a locked away special case to an outcast in the prison. She was now forced to spend her time with the other inmates, but she was regarded as a bad luck charm amongst them, and they tried to avoid her whenever they could. Otherwise, Suki was simply ignored, and for someone like Suki, that felt awful.
Even though she was among people now, she had never felt so alone before.
The inmates' dining hall was a rather plain place, with uncomfortable steel benches and similar tables. It was also the most guarded, with at least two dozen guards watching the prisoners.
Suki sat alone at the biggest table. When she had arrived here, it had been nearly full with other inmates, but they quickly scattered away when Suki sat down at their table. It was a really awkward scene, but it had happened every day since Suki was released.
Just as she finally began to eat her meal, she felt a shadow cast over her. It was the Commander. She stood next to Suki, her hand on her hips, with an aggressive grimace on her face. She wasn't wearing her guard armor, and Suki also noticed that there were two pairs of Kyoshi Warrior war fans in her belt.
"I was thinking, girl." She began with a sinister tone in her voice. "And I've decided that you went way too far with your last move. You are a mockery as the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors." Suki narrowed her eyes. What is she talking about? "So now, as a senior member of the cadre, I challenge you for your rank." She brought out one of the war fan pairs, and threw it towards Suki. The fans fell to the table and stopped just in front of Suki's plate. "You will need these."
"What are you doing, Commander?" Asked Suki desperately. The last thing she needed was this.
"I've had enough from you." Barked back the Commander. She touched the knot on her red headscarf and began to undo it. Suki watched in shock. She had never seen the Commander without that red headscarf before. "And you can take it as a personal displeasure from my side." The headscarf fell away, and Suki nearly cried out from the surprise. Because from beneath the headscarf, a fall of thick, short, auburn hair appeared. The Commander's hair was exactly the same as Suki's.
Even the mass of guards and prisoners around them stood astounded. But their surprise was nothing compared to Suki's feelings. She felt like someone has just thrust a sword into her heart. She slowly reached for the fans…
But the Commander attacked with the speed of a lightning. She aimed towards Suki's head, and the sharp edge of her war fan just barely missed its target. Suki hardly had time to grab her fans, so she kicked out to distract the Commander. She successfully broke away and gained some distance. She used the little time she'd acquired to go into her attack stance. If the Commander wanted to fight, then Suki would give her the fight of her life.
The Commander struck out with both fans, but Suki dodged the attack. She tried to force the Commander to move to her right with another kick, but this time she had counted on this and took the kick. Suki's leg hit the Commander's side hard, but the woman only grumbled and punched Suki in the stomach. The hit was painful, but Suki quickly recovered from it and leaped back to catch her breath.
The Commander attacked again, and this time Suki launched a furious counter-charge. The two engaged in a fierce bout of close combat. Fans flashed from every direction, striking towards their opponent or parrying another fan. Their moves melded together into a golden whirlwind, which sparked small storms of metallic falling stars when the fans struck each other. Suki knew that she had no chance against the Commander in a face-to-face fight. She had held out so far, but it was only a matter of time before she made a mistake. She had to change the nature of the fight and force the Commander to fight at a disadvantage.
Just as these things ran through her mind, the Commander stormed forward to knock her over. But she stepped into the attack, slipped in next to the Commander, and pushed her away, using the momentum of her attack to do so. The Commander gave a surprised yell,and she lost control over her own charge and crashed into a bench.
"Why are you doing this?" Shouted Suki. The Commander only answered with an angry growl, as she struggled to her feet.
But Suki was eager to exploit the Commander's vulnerable position, and launched her decisive strike. It was a mistake, though. The Commander readied herself much faster than Suki had imagined, and easily parried her attack. She grabbed Suki's attacking arm with an unnaturally fast move and forcefully flung the girl onto a nearby table. The power of the impact nearly knocked Suki out, and she could feel the war fans slipping out of her hands.
But she had no time to faint. Her senses barely detected the Commander's next attack, but Suki was quick, and she rolled away just in time. The Commander's slam kick crushed the steel table in half, her leg striking the point where Suki had lain only a short moment ago.
Suki knew that if advanced techniques were also in, then she had absolutely no chance whatsoever against the Commander. So she had to try to run away.
Luckily, the Commander was rather helpful in this matter. She attacked with a round kick, but Suki ducked away from the attack and swept the Commander's standing leg. The Commander fell to the ground, and Suki used the opportunity to make a run towards the entrance of the dining hall. She barely reached it when she heard two whispering noise from behind. She leaped forward in panic, and the two war fans thrown after her hit the sides of the corridor. They cut into the steel door frame around the height of Suki's head.
Suki hit the wall in front of the door hard, but she had to recover quickly, as she could hear running steps from the direction of the door. She had barely stood back up when the steps changed into the sounds of a swoop. Suki had to leap again to avoid the Commander's jumping kick. She evaded the attack, and the Commander's feet only hit the steel wall, penetrating it immediately. The woman's leg sank knee deep into the wall, and she got stuck.
Suki quickly looked around, and her sight immediately landed on the large window at the end of the passage. Suki knew that the window was her only choice. There was a tower in front of that window, even though there was a large gap between the two. If Suki could reach the tower, then the Commander would have no choice but to abandon the fight. But the gap between the window and the tower was big… very big.
The Commander was still busy with freeing her leg, and Suki made her decision. She started to run towards the window to gain momentum. She steeled herself, and focused on the task. She knew that she could do it. She knew that she could jump the gap. She clenched her teeth and concentrated on the lightness of her body and the superior strength of her legs.
She reached the window and made a leap of faith. The distance between the window and the edge of the tower was really big, at least twenty meters or so. When Suki pushed off, she could feel an insane force in her jump, and for a moment, she seriously believed that she would succeed.
But in the end, she didn't. She came up short, and only hit the ledge of the tower. She tried to grab a hold on the top of it, but her hands slipped, and she could feel her body slowly sliding downwards. She screamed up, panicked, and tried to get up into the tower with all her strength, but it was no use.
Just as her hands finally lost hold on the top of the tower, and she began to fall, Suki felt a body hit her from behind. A strong arm grabbed her, clasping her tightly to a body.
"Gotcha!" Hissed the Commander. "Now hold onto me!" Suki did as she was told. With that, the Commander simply jumped down. They fell nearly three levels, but the Commander hit the ground like she was only jumping down from a small desk. Suki felt a sudden surge of force running through them, and then it was over.
The Commander put Suki down gently. She immediately started to stagger away, but the Commander didn't want to fight anymore.
"Easy girl, the fight is over." Said the Commander calmingly.
"What were you doing?" Yelled Suki confusedly. She was still dizzy from the strain of the fight.
"Calm down. I don't want to hurt you." The Commander came nearer to Suki. "I never did." Suki looked up at the Commander, and she could tell that the woman was telling the truth.
"Then why did you try to do it?"
"I was just testing you." The Commander walked even closer and smoothed Suki's hair. "Tomorrow, I have to leave this prison. We won't meet again for some time, and I just wanted to be sure that you learned your lessons well. I just wanted to know that you can truly protect yourself from the perils you will face."
"So you aren't mad at me for confronting Azula?" Asked Suki shyly. "And you don't think that I'm worthless as the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors?"
"Opposing Azula was a stupid move." The Commander smiled. "But you are a good leader for your warriors. And you are a strong girl. Strong and bold. I'm really proud of you."
They hugged, and Suki could feel that this would really be a moment of parting. And she still had something to tell to the Commander.
"You are my mother." Stated Suki. There was no point in talking around it anymore. Suki had the right to know the truth before the Commander vanished, and she wanted to hear the confession from her own mouth.
The Commander kissed her forehead.
"Sorry." She said with deep sadness in her voice. "But I'm not your mother. Even though I really want to be."
Suki couldn't believe her ears. She couldn't decide if the Commander was lying, or if she was telling the truth. So she didn't say anything. They remained like that until the guards arrived, bidding a silent farewell to each other.
