Hello dear readers! I'd like to thank Azula's Fan again for the idea! If they ever put up a chapter based on this same idea, I am totally going to plug it here.

Anyways, this get kind of dark at the end, so be prepared!

Azulaang Drabbles

Chapter 10: The Bloodbender and the Ex-Firelord

In the heart of the Fire Nation Capital stood a tall, gray tower. This was reserved for the worst high-profile criminals. In this maximum-security tower sat a man. Ordinary enough at a glance by anyone's standards, this man was the most important prisoner around. The former Fire Lord Ozai. The time since his defeat had not been kind to him. Raven hair hung raggedly, in tangled knots and split ends. The former body of nearly unraveled power had deteriorated without an inner flame to keep it going. A dull golden gaze was the only sign that he used to be important, as this was a sign of royal birth.

A pair of guards walked down the corridor that led to his cell. Jué and Jiàng De were handpicked by the new Firelord as they were too young to be loyal to his father. Fresh from the academy, they were both at the top of their class, but hadn't had any battle experience yet. They had patrolled this same route for what felt like an eternity. A movement seen out of the corner of his eye caused Jué to stop and turn around. His partner sighed as he turned to face the other Firebender. "Are your eyes playing tricks on you again?"

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he shrugged. "They must be, Jiàng. It's been a long week."

As both guards rounded the corner, a figure dressed head to toe in all form-fitting black clothing (complete with a black hood which covered a very familiar oni mask) dropped down from the ceiling noiselessly. This person approached the door, and water materialized out of seemingly thin air. The water filled the lock, and then crystallized in place. The figure took a deep breath, as they took an attack stance, and then struck the door with an open palm. A dull 'thunk' was the only sound that Ozai heard. His head snapped up at the unfamiliar sound, and his eyes narrowed as the deadbolt guarding the entrance to his room seemed to crack and splinter, before quietly shattering. The mystery person pulled the large iron door open, as quietly as possible, and slipped inside, closing it back.

The former Fire Lord was not at all surprised by the unexpected visitor. Always living in a constant state of paranoia and attempted assassinations were part of everyday life of being royalty. The demonic mask seemed to be grinning evilly at him, which was slightly unsettling. The figure slowly removed the mask, and stowed it away. Ozai narrowed his eyes towards the hooded visitor. He noticed a little bit of exposed dark skin around blue eyes still mostly hidden under said hood. 'Ah, a Water Tribe peasant.' He thought to himself.

"Finally someone sends an assassin to put me out of my misery." He mused out loud.

The blue-eyed assassin took off their hood, revealing long, brown hair. He recognized her as the Avatar's Waterbending Teacher. The ex-firebender scoffed. "I always assumed Zuko would come and do it himself, like a proper leader." A cold chill permeated his bones as he felt her glare upon him. "Oh, you're not here to kill me then?" He straightened his posture. "Then, I take it my son has been deposed? Of course, it makes sense. He always was weak!" He let a crooked smile onto his face, as the thought overjoyed him.

"No."

Perplexed, the man got up albeit with greater difficulty than before he was sent here. "If you are truly not here to kill me, and Zuko stays in power, then I feel I must ask, why are you here?"

"What do you think about your daughter?"

Ozai was confused. "Azula? Ah, she was a perfect weapon. Loyal to the Fire Nation above all else. Loyal to me. Until her traitorous brother locked her up inside of an asylum!"

Katara giggled a little and wiped her eyes like she was crying non-existent tears of mirth. "I've got news for you. Your daughter is out of the institution."

Not seeing quite where she was going with this, The ex-firebender asked, "Where is she then?"

"Oh, how do I put this gently?" She asked rhetorically with a crazed laugh. "She is free. Completely free and pardoned." The Waterbender paused for dramatic effect, and then spat, "And she is the Avatar's whore!" with venom, as the smile melted from her face.

He gripped the bars tightly, all pretense dropping. "This is some kind of sick joke."

"Oh I wish it was. They have been together a while, and are expecting their first child. You're about to be Grandpa to an airbender!"

The Former Firelord didn't have anything intelligent to say. He fell roughly into a sitting position as a myriad of emotions came over him. Betrayal, surprise, shock, and then rage. How dare she consort with someone so impure! With his greatest enemy at that! The biggest threat to the unity of the Four Nations! "She couldn't! She wouldn't! She is more worthless than her brother! She deserves to die a traitor's death!"

"Finally someone agrees with me." Katara said as she crossed her arms.

Realizing that he still had a visitor, he regained his composure. Ozai was manipulative, and cunning. He needed to find out what the Water Girl's motivations were, so maybe he could use it to his advantage. Just like he had done with training Azula so long ago.

"You would have to be quite desperate to come here." Seeing the girl stiffen, The Ex-Firebender knew he was on the the right track.

"No one but me sees what's really going on. They all keep telling me that she has changed, that they are in love! Can you believe that crap? They started asking if I was okay, like I was the crazy one! She's using him, and fooling all of them into believing that she's 'rehabilitated'!" The Master Waterbender ranted without care as to who heard her. She needed this. It was cathartic to vent to someone, even if it was the Former Firelord.

When she took a second to breathe, he looked away and interjected. "You came all the way here for what exactly? To distress me with this news?"

She took a second to brace herself. After this, there was really no going back.

A sound of breathing, no blowing was heard. He looked down to see the hinges of his cage frozen, and backed away just in time for the girl to back up, then take a running start and jump kicked the door out of its' frame. Clanging against the far wall, he looked back towards the girl. She had far more power than he ever thought. Would it be enough to get out of this place though? Only time would tell. An outstretched hand interrupted his thoughts. She wasn't even looking his way, as he grabbed her hand and was pulled up to a standing position.

"Things were different when you were in power. Things were better. Aang knew who the enemy was, and ...cared about me."

So that's what this was really about. She was jealous of Azula being with the Avatar. No matter, over time Ozai knew he could bend her to his will. His daughter, the Avatar, and what ever mongrel children they would have would all pay. He smiled a true smile, the first that he could remember since he had lost his fire.

"What's going on in there?!" An alerted voice shouted.

"It appears that the guards are coming."

"Stay behind me, I've got this." Katara cracked her knuckles as she assumed a battle stance. The door opened, and in rushed Jué and Jiàng De.

"An intruder! Freeze!" Jué shouted as both guards took their own battle stances.

She smiled with barely contained rage. "I thought you'd never ask." The Waterbender blew downwards, and ice seemed to creep over her arms before solidifying over her hands into razor-sharp spiked gauntlets. Jiàng De was the first to rush her, but she was prepared. He threw a fireblast that was dodged easily, and when he tried to follow it up with a roundhouse kick, she punched straight into his knee. A loud cracking sound filled the room that was a combination of both the ice shattering, and his kneecap too. "AHHH!" Jiàng De screamed out in agony, as he fell down. A satisfied smirk adorned the woman's face.

Jué stayed back even though he was deeply concerned for his injured friend. This was not the time to get caught up with emotions. This was serious. It was still terrifying though, as he had never seen a Waterbender before, much less one who took out his partner with one punch. Katara took a step forward, with a predatory grin on her face. The guard took a step back. "S-stay away!" He yelled as he punched out two rapid fireblasts, and then swept his foot out, creating a column of flame to rush behind. The Waterbending Master weaved past one, ducked the next, and then raised an ice shield that formed from the humidity in the air to negate the next attack.

"Oh don't worry, I'll stay away. You however, won't have a choice." Her kata changed, and the Firebender suddenly found himself moving without his consent. It was like his muscles were frozen, but they still somehow moved.

Ozai was in shock. He knew she was powerful, but this was on a whole other level. He had heard rumors, of course. Powerful waterbenders controlling the very blood in someone's veins. Legend said, that it could only occur during the night of the full moon. There was no moon out tonight though. He watched the soldier walk up to her, appear to bow, and then walk over to his friend. A louder cry of pain came out from the guard on the floor, as his partner was forced to step on his destroyed kneecap. A dagger was pulled from his belt, and plunged into the screaming man's stomach, which silenced him quickly.

"Ahh, much better!" Katara sang out at the sudden silence.

The horrified guard, Jué managed to fight her influence long enough to choke out, "You...you're a monster!"

The twisted girl's look became serious. "Do you know what happens if your blood stops flowing?" She asked to no one in particular.

Jué hit his knees free from her control, but something was wrong. His limbs felt unnaturally heavy, and he was having trouble breathing. He looked down at his hands, and his fingertips started to turn blue. Without fresh oxygen to his muscles, he collapsed roughly to the ground. As his vision started to swim, and darken, the last thing he heard was...

"That."

Katara let go of the Bloodbending form, and turned towards The Ex-Firelord.

"So, are you coming or not?"

Ozai smirked. "Of course."

I hope you enjoyed it, but I won't know one way or the other unless you review!

Got a prompt you'd like me to try out? Leave a review and tell me what to do, and I'll give it a shot!

Until next time!