As if on cue, Asami unlocked the door of the cell to wide, surprised eyes looming her direction.
"Lord Zuko," she said calmly, bowing to him. "We have arrived. I think the people are awaiting you".
Zuko nodded passively. When he neared her, he gave a grave smile. "Don't trust her, Asami. It would be very dangerous," he hissed on his way out.
Should I say the same for you? Thought Asami as she gave her best strained smile back.
"Give us a while, Lord Zuko, besides I'm sure the ladies of Kyoshi Island are getting anxious,"she responded.
With a nod, the former fire lord closed the door on his way out. Taking a deep breath, Asami walked slowly towards Ty Lee, who was smiling warmly as she neared.
"How are they treating you?" She asked, looking down at the frail girl.
Ty Lee shrugged passively. "Well, I guess".
Both were silent. Asami felt as though she were an organism under a microscope as Ty Lee stared at her. Finally unable to stand it further, both women spoke in unison.
"Well, this is awkward".
Ty Lee giggled.
"At least you're not an eighty year old trapped in a twenty year old's body," she added.
Asami shrugged. "Well, it is a shame when your grandmother looks better than you".
Ty Lee's eyes widened in surprise. "You-you really believe me? You don't think that I'm crazy?" She asked.
Asami knelt down to the girl's level. "I know a good heart when I see one. So even if you are a little crazy, I don't think it's because you want to fool me".
Ty Lee gave her a confused look. "So you don't really believe me, you're just being nice about it?"
Asami sighed. She wasn't sure what to believe, yet as she continued to stare at the girl, the memories of her mother's big, warm eyes came flooding in like an overflowing toilet seat.
"I guess you could say I was intrigued".
Ty Lee smiled brightly at the comment.
"What?" Asked the engineer.
"Oh, nothing, I can't wait for you to meet Azula. I think you two will get along, fine".
Asami bit her lip. Though she fancied Ty Lee and enjoyed talking to her, the thought of meeting the powerful Crowned Princess of legend was daunting. Azula's name was well-known around the world and was synonymous with words like cruel, evil, sadistic and malicious.
"I-I don't know if I should. I know Korra wouldn't go for it".
Ty Lee nodded understandingly. "She's not that bad anymore. She was younger then. We were child soldiers". She confessed. "Sure, Zuko is not going to be a basket of flowers, but she will be thrilled to meet another heir".
Asami's ears perked. "Heir?"
Ty Lee nodded. "You and Zaheer are heirs to the Fire Nation's throne".
"Zaheer, how?"
Though she had not formally met the airbender, the mad man had nearly killed Korra, causing the avatar years of torment from a liquid poison. She would never forgive him for it.
"He's your mother's big brother. Well, half-brother," said Ty Lee.
The engineer stood angrily. "You're lying! He was a sick man! That's impossible!"
The woman flinched noticeably. "I-I'm sorry, but-but it's true!"
"I won't hear anymore of this, Ty Lee or whatever your name is! You are crazy if you think I'm going to believe that!"
She stormed out of the cell, fuming, feeling Ty Lee's pain-stricken eyes following her as she walked away.
#
Zaheer soared high into the air. The wind carried him across the valleys of the earth kingdom to the volcanic terrain of the Fire Nation. He came to a land atop the Fire Nation temple, perching at the top of the building's steeple. Standing slowly, he balanced himself on one foot, overlooking the grounds. There were no people gracing the land below, only dragons swarming around the palace, awaiting the moment he would fall. Just above him was Guru Laghima, smiling down graciously.
"Master! You have graced me with your presence".
Instead of responding, the guru pointed behind the man, making Zaheer turn his head to see a large blue dragon emerge above him. Zaheer readied his stance, still balanced on one leg.
"You have a purpose," the blue dragon spoke, without moving its lips.
Zaheer felt his balance falter at his mother's voice from it.
"Let go your earthly tether," said Guru Laghima.
Zaheer adjusted his footing, scowling in confusion.
"Look within yourself, Son. You have a duty to the world".
"But man is not to rule over others," he responded.
The dragon swarmed around him. "Surely, you do not believe such things. Man must bring order to this world".
Zaheer gritted his teeth angrily.
"Let go your earthly tether. Enter the void," spoke Guru Laghima.
Zaheer closed his eyes. "The only order is disorder, Mother!" He growled.
The dragon, livid, opened its jowl wide as it spoke, speeding closer to him.
"You will OBEY ME!"
Zaheer jumped from his sleep as if kicked awake. "No!" He yelled out, startling two women playing Pai Sho in an adjacent kitchenette.
One of the women, Azula, his mother hurried to him. Quickly reaching for a towel, she dabbed his drenched forehead. Zaheer panted, exhausted, but allowed the woman to coddle him.
"Scary dream?" another elder woman, tall and regal asked from the doorway.
Zaheer did not recognize her though her looks were classic Fire Nation nobility.
Oppression. He thought, glaring his eyes in her direction.
"Retract the claws, Buddy. I am not your enemy," the woman said with her hands raised in surrender.
Zaheer was about to respond when Azula's voice broke the tension. "Calm down, we owe this woman our lives". She spoke softly.
The airbender allowed his gaze to soften somewhat. The woman crossed her arms with a smug look on her face.
"He's definitely yours, Azula. Bad attitude and all". She said.
"He's going through some things, don't worry, he'll be strong again soon," assured the woman.
"I'll be fine. You ladies can go back to your tea party".
Azula scoffed. "Silence. We were plotting your overtake of the throne".
Zaheer's eyebrow raised. "Well, you make friends quickly. Ty Lee's not going to be too happy about this".
Azula gave him a look that could have bored holes in his head.
"Sorry," he muttered, unable to resist looking away from her glare.
She's my mother. He thought to himself.
"It's nothing of the sort. I have very few friends and she just happens to be one of them. Lucky for you, she has friends in high places who can get us what we want".
Zaheer grit his teeth. "Could you excuse us," he said to the looming woman.
"Gladly," she mumbled back, shutting the door as she left.
When Zaheer was sure she was out of earshot, he turned to Azula. "Did you forget that I'm a wanted man? Can you really trust that woman?"
Azula stood, lighting a cigarette after the intake and exhalation, she answered. "She is not the best we have as far as trust, but right now, she's all we have. Her nephew just had his tongue sliced off by his own son at the fire lord's command. She seems to want justice herself".
With that, she took another intake of the cigarette.
"How much have you told her?"
"As much as necessary. Some fabrications here and there. You will know in due time".
"Before she does, I hope".
There was silence as Zaheer watched his mother bring the stick to her lips again. As she inhaled, she lifted her head back as if in ecstasy.
"I'm a natural liar. She will only know as much as I allow".
Zaheer sucked his teeth. "So it's safe to assume you're lying to me?"
"Stop doing that!"
"What?"
"Looking at me like that! You remind me of my father".
Though he was stunned at her tone, the chink in the dragon's armor brought a smile to his face.
"Ah, the great fool, Fool Lord Ozai".
The woman brought the stick to her lips again and looked out the window. "The very same," she muttered. "Your grandfather. You have heard of him, then".
"Who hasn't? Fool had a twisted new world order that he tried to enact. He should have known better. The only order is disorder".
"Then you know nothing, Child," said the woman, though her tone was pleasant. "My father was blinded by his own agenda. Yes, but if there is no order in the world then there is no fear. Lack of fear means lack of control. Fear is the only reliable way".
The speech sounded rehearsed, though Zaheer believed his mother truly embodied it.
"How can a people trust a leader they fear?" He asked.
"Trust is for fools," claimed Azula. "Look at you, my own son, you do not trust me at all".
"I wanted to avenge you".
Azula cocked an eyebrow, putting out her cigarette. "Wanted? Something sway your loyalty? Or someone?"
"When will Ty Lee return?" Asked Zaheer, changing the subject.
He did not want to rouse the dragon now. Though she had been lost for almost a century, she still seemed in top form. He could not challenge her at this weakened state.
"Soon enough, she always does".
"So, you trust that she will? Hmm, hypocritical much?" Azula shrugged, passively. "If you say so, like I said I'm a natural liar".
Zaheer glared at her. Azula was playing him like a newborn fool and he did not like to be underestimated. The woman returned his gaze with a foreboding look of her own.
"Listen, no one is stopping you from walking out that door," she shot at him. "I will not hold your hand like a child. You are a man full grown. I know this. But we both know that you were destined to take that throne".
Zaheer sighed, shaking his head. "It won't be that easy. Zuko has the avatar on his side. She was quite a force".
"I do not know this she, but she has not met me. If she has a weakness, like the last avatar, she will meet the dust beneath my feet should she challenge me".
The airbender was taken at the woman's confidence. "She may, just yet. From what I've heard, she has a lover now. Seems she has a fondness for the same likeness as you".
Azula grimaced. "Hush, Ingrate," she hissed. "If that is the case, then this will be easier than I thought".
#
The only order is disorder. Azula grimaced as her son's words replayed in her head.
The man seemed to be completely indoctrinated in this disorder blasphemy. Should he betray her, she needed an ace in the hole, someone close enough to the fire lord that she wouldn't need to him to take the throne.
Relighting her cigarette, she leaned against the wall of the humble home she and her son had taken refuge in. The night air was stifling in this world as the fumes of motored vehicles scurried up and down the roads that intersected the city she once loved more than herself. The Fire Nation was so different now, its people and buildings were all so foreign. The woman frowned at the idea that she was behind the times. Should she rule this nation, she hadn't the slightest idea of what to do. Surely, the military had not changed much, yet the idea of governing the lives of thousands of men and women in this new time was daunting. She had lost control when it was handed to her before, though Ty Lee was gone during that period taking her sanity with her.
But man is not to rule over man.
Zaheer's philosophy was ridiculous! There had to be control, chaos would destroy the world.
Or would it?
Azula's mind drifted to her stay on Ember Island. She, her brother, her former ally, Mai, and Ty Lee were forced on vacation. After the torch fest of Chan's house and the gag worthy confession hour, the rest of their stay on the island had proven quite pleasant. Azula sat atop a smooth, plateaued rock among jagged ones, watching the sun rise in the early hours of dawn. The waves crashed against the rocks with a pleasant sound. Their hiatus was soon to be over, yet she had wished that she could have extended the time.
Back to sabotaging this invasion. She thought, tightening her grip on her tea cup. Though, she preferred the bitter taste of the black coffee offered in New Ozai over the sweet, milky tea in her palms, she relished in the fumes it created.
Hmm, with our conquering of Ba Sing Se, who will be doing the invading? She wondered, taking slow sip of her tea. It must be the avatar, though I was so sure I killed him.
She thought on her brother's obvious lie about the boy's survival.
But how?
A gentle nudge stirred her thoughts. She did not need to look to know who it could possibly be. Zuko and Mai had not returned from their "walk" on the beach last night, Lo and Li slept like the half-dead corpses they were, so that only left one other person.
"Ty Lee, could that possibly be you," she asked, plainly without bothering to face the girl.
"Oh, how'd you know?" She asked as perky as ever.
"I guess your aura gave you away". Azula jest, "Please don't tell me you had a bad dream again".
"Actually, no...it was, um, interesting this time".
Azula rolled her eyes. "Don't you have new boy toys to find?"
"Nope, before our campfire, I wanted to ask how it went with Chan".
This caused the firebender's eyebrow to raise. "You mean it's not obvious? We nearly burned the dummy's house to the ground".
Ty Lee let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, true".
After a moment's silence, the circus freak softly combed through Azula's dark tresses. Surprised by the gesture, the princess jerked her head, meeting her eyes.
"Is there a problem?" She asked.
Ty Lee retracted her hand quickly. "Oh, no-no, Princess, it's just you never wear your hair down. I-I think it's gorgeous".
Azula smirked, looking back at the ocean. "Of course. I am royal after all".
"Yeah," said Ty Lee, dreamily. "I wish I were".
The comment made Azula smirk. "You would have to marry Zuko and due to his absence last night, seems Mai has that option within her grasp".
"Hmm," grumbled Ty Lee. "I'll pass on that anyway. Why settle for the banished prince when there are way better options?"
Azula wasn't sure what to make of the question. She was used to the acrobat's fawning, yet to suggest marriage.
"Ahem, are you hinting at something, Ty Lee?" She asked, allowing her gaze to fall back on the girl.
Ty Lee shrugged. "Nothing, Princess, it's just so boring in that tiny cottage".
"I would suggest my family's beach house, but that's probably occupied at the moment. Wouldn't want to walk in on misery".
"Aw, Mai gets to have all the fun," Ty Lee said, pouting.
Azula smirked. "Fun? More like torture. Oh well, that seems to be her style anyway. Why are you here, Ty Lee?"
"It was cold when you left. I guess I was getting used to sharing a bed with you".
Azula shrugged, waving away the comment. Boldly, Ty Lee leaned against her shoulder with her own arms wrapped around her body, for warmth. After several moments of silence, the firebender glanced down at Ty Lee's form against her body. At the time, she wasn't sure what to call the rush of warmth in her stomach as she listened to soft snores from the acrobat, yet she would always remember how peaceful it felt, how she wanted to stay in this position for the rest of the day. Her father wasn't there to apply the pressure and control her every move. She felt free.
No, order is the right way. The world needs order not chaos! She told herself, closing her eyes as she took another intake.
"You should really slow down".
Jerking her eyes open at the phrase, Azula relaxed somewhat at her old friend's presence.
"Shouldn't you be off getting your beauty rest or something, Mai?"
The elderly woman rolled her eyes, brandishing a trusty shuriken from her sleeve to clean beneath her long nails.
"I've had enough of it for the moment," she responded.
Azula smirked. After being rescued by the same Imperial Firebender who was forced to mutilate his father at the Fire Lord's orders, Azula had been surprised and relieved to be taken to the humble home of her old friend. She had recognized her instantly despite her aging. She was never one to forget a traitor.
As she took another drag, she thought back to her narrow escape and blatant lie to the spirits.
Oh well, been doing it for this long. What's another lie. You're no exception, Spirits!
"So, how did you manage this?" Asked Mai, breaking her thoughts.
Azula flashed her pearly, white teeth. "Well, ya' know daily grooming, of course. How did you manage to live here so long without my brother's sniffing you out?"
Mai sighed. "My daughter knows I'm here. When I left Zuko. I could not bear to leave her too," she answered, solemnly.
"Hmm, too bad all mothers aren't so noble," she grumbled, thinking of her mother's spirit haunting her every move.
"So, you and Ty, huh? Guess that's not much of a surprise".
Azula shot her look. "Neither was your inevitable fall out with Zuko. I was wondering how long it would take you to hate his guts".
Mai shook her head, taking a seat next to Azula. For a woman as ancient as time, she was surprisingly nimble.
"I never hated him. Nor did I hate you. You royal brats are just a pain to deal with sometimes. I actually wanted to search for you and Ty Lee in the forest, but..." her voice trailed for a moment. Clearing her throat, she added, "I was scared of what I'd find".
Azula nodded, though, shocked by the confession.
"Too bad, you wouldn't have needed to worry about pruning, if you had," she joked.
To her surprise, Mai howled in laughter. Azula could not remember the last time she'd seen the girl display such emotion.
"You're not one to disappoint," she said, wiping the tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes.
Azula grinned sincerely. The two began to reminisce on the Royal Academy for girls when the Imperial Firebender appeared.
"Excuse me, Ladies, I have just received word that your companion was captured, Miss".
Ty Lee. Thought Azula quickly bolting to her feet.
"By whom?"
"Your brother. She's being held on a Future Industries ship in chains, ma'am".
As the man continued, Azula only heard every other word.
Ty Lee. In chains. Your brother.
Azula squeezed her eyes shut, gritting her teeth "I'll kill him if he's hurt Ty Lee!" She proclaimed.
I'll kill him, I swear! Spirits, you can chalk that up as the honest truth.