Slavery Mark: Book One – Fire.
Final Chapter: World of Ashes.
Hatred was evident inside of the eyes of Zhao each time he glared at the couple of almost newly crafted hook swords which now rested at his room and on top of the chimney as nothing more than a trophy. His right arm and leg were both broken as well as his jaw, but a bigger pain rested inside of his heart, his pride was recently damaged. He could remember it perfectly, just as if he was living it over and over again, the pain of his arm being broken by those swords, and he being punished for sins he committed many years ago.
That morning, moments before the sun rose from the horizon, the Blue Spirit broke into the Fire Nation palace. He disposed of the royal guard easily using those fine swords with no edges and ran across the palace with a torch in hand, he looked inside every single room, defeating anyone on his way, he even had the pleasure to arrive to the throne room where he found Princess Azula staring out of the window in silence, and noticed the unconscious body of her bodyguard. "…Zuko's sister…?"
"You know my brother?" Azula finally turned around and faced the Blue Spirit, Jet, the new porter of the mask nodded and hid his swords, he then walked toward the princess and kneeled. "Why would you kneel toward me?" She began, although she barely cared about the answer. "You who betrayed your nation."
"This nation isn't mine, but was the nation of many of my past incarnations, and they all fought because of love to their nations." Azula gave little importance to what was said and remained in silence. "Princess Azula, your palace is no longer safe, I have to ask you to evacuate the palace since it will soon burn into ashes… if you refuse, I will have to use brute force to bring you out."
"Not long ago I would have burned you until your flesh was one with your bones, but a lot had happened and I no longer feel like fighting, besides… you sort of sound familiar to me, just as if Zuko had asked for my safety." And she wasn't at all wrong, since the mask of the Blue Spirit also held his life energy and now Jet cared for her as if she was his own sister. "…You are going to die… you know that, don't you?"
"There is something I must do first." Azula nodded and then walked toward Mai, picking her up and then walking away with her. "Princess… Admiral Zhao killed someone close to you, a person who once wore this mask, his name was Lu Ten…" Azula was surprised to hear that last but managed to remain in silence. "Now as the new Blue Spirit, I seek for revenge so the soul of your cousin can rest, so I must ask… is Admiral Zhao here at the palace?"
"…I never cared about my cousin's dead… for me he was nothing but a stranger… I never cared about him or anyone…" Jet nodded and was about to walk away, but before he did she continue. "…He is hiding as usual at the war room… whenever there is war, he stays behind and allows his man to die for him… a person like him deserves to be punished… he who just hides and kills the weak, just like he did to Lu Ten…" Jet nodded and then disappeared, Azula never cared to know how he did that, she just left the room carrying the unconscious body of Mai, never looking back or caring about the fate of the Fire Nation palace.
When the Blue Spirit made it to the war room, he kicked the door open and found Zhao, he was alone in the room, or at least Jet thought he was since he never noticed the person hiding by the shadows. "The Blue Spirit?" Zhao backed off, years ago he killed the one he thought was the last Blue Spirit, and today that same mask was haunting him once again.
"You killed me… long time ago, I was young and had a lot to live for, but you killed me…" Zhao placed himself into battle pose; Jet never reacted and walked toward him with both swords in hand. "I have a mission, and that is to free this nation, so were the wishes of my predecessors… but… there is a bigger wish resting upon one of my previous incarnations, Lu Ten will never be able to rest in peace, not until he had killed you… and so… I will kill you…" Zhao launched a fire ball at him, Jet dodged and placed his torch in the way, it then burned as Jet wanted. "Although, killing you won't distract me from my other objectives."
Jet then jumped around the room, burning everything on his eyesight, Zhao saw horrified how the great war room was surrounded by flames and the many important documents and war tactics which included the newest war projects were all destroyed. "Fool! You have just destroyed many years of research! Your nation will never forgive you!"
"This isn't my nation! But I will fight for it as if it was my own! Only then I will be able to free the world from people like you!" Jet then threw the torch and drew his swords, attacking Zhao wildly and forcing him out of the room, just then a figure came out from the shadows. Long Feng was having a private meeting with Zhao before the Blue Spirit arrived, but now that meeting wasn't going to be able to continue, and many important documents were being destroyed, documents he saved and took as his own, an evil smile was drawn on his face as he witnessed the tremendous weapons the Fire Nation could have created, and now were property of the Earth Kingdom.
Around the palace, the battle between Zhao and Jet continued, although it was more a one sided one, Zhao was unable to fight as usual, the fear of fighting a ghost from the past was consuming him and so he was throwing his firebending wildly and burning the palace just as Jet wanted, the battle continued like that, with Jet forcing Zhao to use his bending and burn the place and once Jet knew nothing could stop the palace from burning, he attacked. He slammed his hook sword at Zhao's arm, breaking it immediately and forcing Zhao to back off, Jet then kicked his face strongly and toward the next room, Zhao broke the door with his back. "It is here where you will die." They were now at the second floor of the palace's main room. "Once the palace collapses, you will be buried here and the flames will burn you until you are nothing more than ashes, you will die just as Lu Ten did! With no one there to identify your body!" Jet kicked him at the stomach, Zhao fall down from the second floor to the first one, he survived the fall but his leg was broken. "You survived the fall? Better that way, I will be able to send you to hell with my own hands then!"
But before Jet could do that he felt his body being attacked from behind and so he fell from the second floor as well; the hit was strong enough as to knock him unconscious. "And so the Blue Spirit falls, killed by Lao Feng! Royal Advisor from the Earth Kingdom!" Zhao bit his lips hard, both due to the pain and from annoyance, he then threw a fireball toward the unconscious body of Jet, sending him away and burning his extremities, Jet woke up due to the pain, but not for long since Long Feng used his earthbending to trap Jet's legs inside of the floor and then threw a hand shaped boulder to his stomach. It was a mortal hit, many ribs were broken and almost wounded his lungs, if it weren't for the Blue Spirit's mask which gave Jet inhuman strength, that hit would have killed him.
"…I knew… I was going to die… but I thought I could take Zhao's life at least… I failed… forgive me… Lu Ten… forgive me… Prince Zuko… I was unable to keep my promise…" Jet then fell; he was unconscious and unable to keep fighting. The legend of the Blue Spirit would be over that same morning, after the palace collapsed, a ceremony involving the Blue Spirit's execution took place, and he was gone forever. Zhao knew it but was unable to enjoy it; he was now badly injured, all because of fear toward a ghost, one he was unable to kill.
But there was someone suffering more than Zhao or anyone, it was Zuko, he was at the plaza, with his eyes immersed in tears and staring at the burned place, nothing survived, Jet's body was totally burned and turned to ashes, which was probably the best, if anything had survived, Zuko's mind would have reached madness. "I was supposed to die here! Jet you idiot! What did you have to die for? Why saving my life and ending yours?!"
"He did it because he had nothing to lose." Zuko turned around and found Yún there, the girl stared at him with determination, Zuko just looked away. "His family died when his village was attacked by the Southern Raiders who followed Zhao's orders." Zuko's eyes widened, Zhao had been pulling the strings around with no one ever noticing it but Yún. "The Earth Kingdom should have noticed, but it didn't, and that's because Long Feng was always there to hide the Fire Nation's actions."
"How can you know all that? Who are you?" Yún offered her hand to Zuko, the once proud prince of the Fire Nation didn't want to accept her help, but Yún ignored him and pulled him up anyway. "You even knew about my mission and my identity as the Blue Spirit, how did you do that?"
"My name is Yún, and I am the granddaughter of Avatar Aang." Zuko was surprised to hear that last; Yún smiled and asked Zuko to follow her. "My grandfather surpassed the powers of any known Avatar several years ago, and he developed powers that could easily compare him to a God in mortal body, one of his new found abilities involved future sight, he saw some horrible things there, many that can't be stopped, but some still can, although changing the future defies the strongest taboo of them all, I am planning on changing that future."
"What does that has to do with me? Wait! If your grandfather was able to see the future, why didn't he stop this war?! Why allowing all this?!" Zuko then pointed at the Fire Nation capital, it was all destroyed due to the weeks of war that took place, Yún was hurt to witness it all but refused to give up on her determination and continued walking toward the beach.
"Grandfather once said, changing the future was selfish even if it involved the greatest good, so he never interfered." Zuko was disgusted by that last, many had died already and many would still die, many of those sacrifices could have been prevented with the avatar's help, but he never dared to help. "But… the future ahead of us is one that must be changed since it goes beyond the greatest good, the salvation of humanity as we know it, Prince Zuko, you may not believe in my words, but the fate of the world as we know it depends on the result of the war that is to come… and it is linked to the actions of a few selected ones, those who the spirits are watching, Prince Zuko, you are one of those chosen ones, so is your friend who swore loyalty to you… he who must bring equilibrium… and you who will bring judgment."
Sokka never noticed the moment he was defeated by laziness and fall asleep, but he did notice the moment Eelen reached land and collapsed at the soft white sand of the beach, he noticed the heavy bodies of Toph and Ty Lee were both hitting his body, they were both sleeping peacefully, Sokka smiled at that view but then moved fast in fear when noticing Ty Lee's right eye was once again bleeding and soaking her bandages. "Ty Lee! Wake up! Hey! Hawky! Go look for help!" The Hawk woke up abruptly and flew away, Toph woke up annoyed by Sokka's yelling but soon noticed Ty Lee was barely giving away any vibration and so Toph also fall victim of fear.
"Ty Lee!" She yelled hard and then made her way down Eelen's back, she then searched around the place for a rock, which wasn't an easy task since her vision wasn't that good on sand, once she found a big one she bended it and gave it the form of a stone made bed where Sokka placed Ty Lee and began taking care of her injuries. "Is she gonna be alright?"
"I'm not sure, I read many books but none about medicine, all I can do is try to stop the bleeding." Sokka then placed his fingers into position and punched a zone at Ty Lee's belly, it wasn't a Chi Blocking technique but acupuncture, the bleeding suddenly faded but that didn't help Sokka relax at all, Ty Lee was still unconscious. "Hey, Ty Lee, wake up girl." Toph hugged one of Sokka's arms when she noticed Ty Lee's vibrations grew weaker, Sokka feared the worst would happen, but to his surprise, Hawky arrived, he was followed by an old woman with a kind face and a young little girl with a scary hairstyle.
"Do you see that Meng? I was right after all, Madam Wu never fails at a prediction, I knew it was going to be at the beach, not at the forest." The little girl by the name of Meng nodded and ran toward Ty Lee; she closed her eyes scared when noticing the blood but gave a bag with herbs to Sokka. The warrior was unable to understand what was going on but Madam Wu walked toward him and yelled. "What are you waiting for?! Start smashing those herbs before this girl dies." Sokka was still unable to understand it but did as he was told. "You, Princess Toph Bei Fong, I must ask you to bring some water from a river close by, a lot needs to be done and we need water."
Meng then gave a bucket to Toph, she was still closing her eyes not wanting to see the blood, Toph took the bucket with some difficult since she was still unable to see and then ran toward the place she heard the water flowing. "Wait! Toph! Don't run away on your own! It's dangerous!"
"You will stay where you are and smash those herbs, unless you want your friend over there to die." Sokka flinched and kept smashing the herbs, Madam Wu just sat down at the place she knew Meng would place a chair and relaxed. "Thank you sweetheart, you are a nice assistant, Madam Wu is pleased, now, go to town and bring my wallet, there is a prediction that must be done."
"Prince Zuko, do you believe in fortune telling?" Yún asked Zuko, they were now at the beach, but far away from the docks and from the rebellion, Zuko found the question odd, but moved his head in negation. "I see… as the granddaughter of Avatar Aang, I was born with the ability of fortune telling, which is an ability not many aribenders can master, only girls who were blessed by the spirits… do you want to know, your fortune?"
"…You are… a weird girl, why are you here? And why are you trying to help me?" Yún remained in silence but smiled; Zuko was annoyed by that last, but breathed out in defeat. "Fine, maybe I can give it a try, but then you will tell me what it is all about." Yún nodded, she then sat down and asked Zuko to sit in front of her. Once he did, she placed both hands at his cheeks and placed her forehead at his own. "What are you doing?"
"There are many ways of future telling, but since I was blessed by the spirits and the blood of avatar Aang runs through my veins, for me it is easier, all I need to do is to share my energy with yours, and your fortune will be revealed to me." Zuko gulped hard, Yún smiled. "Just as I thought, there are many paths you can follow, your heart isn't ready yet, there is a lot you need to learn… she may be able to help you, and you will also change her heart, but only if you want to tie your destiny to her own."
"Who are you talking about?" Yún giggled, Zuko blushed and interrupted the fortune telling. "What's with that weird laugh? It freaked me out." Yún was sort of annoyed by that last but decided to ignore it. "…What girl were you talking about…?"
"A girl who might change your life forever, but, certain conditions are needed… only if you wish to meet the girl I'm speaking about, you will meet her… and if there is a minor doubt in your heart, your fortune will lead you toward a different path and you will never meet that girl, at least not with the same conditions, the way you think, the way you act, everything moves the strings of your fortune." Zuko blinked twice, this fortune telling was a weird one and was going nowhere. "Think about it carefully, your answer will change your fate and not only yours, the fate of the nation you swore to protect will also change, since it is you the chosen one who will do the judgment… if you wish to meet her, then you must have no doubt in your heart."
"What are you talking about? What kind of fortune telling is this one?" Yún remained in silence and waited, Zuko continued. "My fortune says I will meet a girl, but you also said I will only meet her if I really want to meet her." She nodded, Zuko continued. "This girl… will she really help me change the fate of my nation?" Yún stared a Zuko's eyes and then placed a hand at one of them.
"All I am saying is there is a possibility, fortune telling is never an exact reading, that's why it is called fortune… what I'm trying to say is, everything you do, everything you say, everything you think, it is all forging your fortune." Yún then took Zuko's hand and stared at it, Zuko was afraid of what could happen now but tried to relax. "Fortune telling is hard, because an action can change it easily not like future which can't be changed, only grandfather Aang is able to see the real future, but even that future… even if there is a minor possibility, I'm sure it can be changed if the strings of fortune are strong enough to tie the future, I know it is hard to believe, but the spirits have placed their trust in you… but… will you dare changing the strings and forging a new future?"
"Seriously, I don't get what you are trying to say at all, first you say future can't be changed, but then you say fortune can change future but fortune is always changing, do you actually have any idea of what you are saying?" Yún nodded, Zuko stared at her with disbelief. "Then again, I still don't know why are you here and what do you want with me."
"You will meet her tonight." Zuko blinked twice, Yún just placed some water at Zuko's hand and kept reading his hand. "The girl who will change your fortune, unfortunately, you won't be awake to notice it, you will only meet her formally once you have woken up and your eye had been cleaned at the sacred shire, you are lucky, no one can enter that shire, not even the Avatar."
"…What are you… talking about…?" Yún finally stood up, she then stared at the city, the army was once again mobilized around the place, there were no rebels by the streets, and the little who were by the docks went running toward their underground domains following Yu's orders. "The Fire Nation army… why is it being mobilized?"
"Prince Zuko, you asked about why I was here… I am another one of the individuals the spirits are watching, I came here to guide you on the right direction and you have chosen your fate… all your actions will now be ruled by your fortune." Zuko was now starting to understand it all, although a lot still remained a mystery. "…Please think about it carefully… you never said you wanted to meet that girl, but in your heart you knew you had to and changed the strings of fate… your new fortune was forged, everything that will now happen, until you meet with that girl, will happen because of what you thought… one thought is enough to pull the strings of destiny… think about it." Yún then spun her staff and it turned into a glider, she then flew away, amazing Zuko and the many members of the rebellion who witnessed the airbending skills of Yún. "Prince Zuko, one day I hope you will be able to forgive me, since your fortune wouldn't have changed if I hadn't appeared before you… meeting me was what changed the strings of your fortune."
The sun was already hiding, Toph could tell since the temperature was lowering and the sound of the waves was stronger, which meant the moon would soon appear at the sky. For Toph it was a nice feeling, unfortunately she couldn't enjoy it, Ty Lee was weaker than usual, and now was victim of a strong fever, all because of the injury at her right eye that wasn't cleaned properly. "How is she?" Sokka moved his head in negation while once again wetting the towel he was using to lower her fever.
"Do not worry about her my girl, she will surely be all right, I have seen it on her fortune, this illness will help her realize how strong she really is, it will be something helpful in the future since the spirits aren't watching her and won't complain about her actions." Toph rubbed her head as trying to understand what was just said, Madam Wu just asked Meng to walk closer. "Don't be shy Meng, there is no blood at her eye anymore, only an infection." Meng backed off. "I didn't need fortune telling to know you were going to do that, at any rate, it is about time we wake her up, shall we?" Sokka nodded and took the smashed herbs on his hand. "Young princess, please hold her arms, Meng, you hold her legs and try to force her to stay still, she will soon feel more pain than ever in her life."
Madam Wu then took a bottle out, it was filled with a strong alcohol, Sokka who had tasted alcohol with Piandao in the past knew it because of the strong smell, Toph complained but forced herself not to. Madam Wu then placed some alcohol at Ty Lee's mouth; it reached her throat fast, and woke Ty Lee up. "It burns!" She yelled once the liquid passed through her throat, it was an awful sensation, but Ty Lee was now awake.
"Now! Clean her wound!" Sokka nodded and stripped Ty Lee from the bandages of her face, then he pressed the hand with the smashed herbs against Ty Lee's wounded eye, it burned her and forced her to yell hard, Meng and Toph both tried to keep her still, Sokka just continued pressing her right eye, the left one was already crying. "Don't let her go! Right now her eye is infected, this burn will kill that infection and heal her eye, and if it isn't done then she will die."
Sokka and Toph both nodded, Ty Lee kept crying and complaining, but it didn't last for long, since the pain finally disappeared and Ty Lee allowed herself to lay at the stone made bed, she breathed heavily and allowed Sokka to place some new bandages at her eye. "Now that Ty Lee is all right… I demand some answers, who are you? How did you know Ty Lee had an infection? And how did you know Toph was the princess of the Earth Kingdom?" Ty Lee was surprised to hear all that but was too tired as to say a thing; she just rested and heard everything that was said.
"I can answer all your question with this, my name is Madam Wu, and I am a fortune teller." Sokka raised an eyebrow; Toph remained in silence and sat down next to him. "I saw it all in my mind; I knew a princess from the Earth Kingdom would come, followed by a brave prince from the Water Tribe and a weak soldier from the Fire Nation who is not seen by the spirits pulling the strings of fortune, all of you arriving to the Air Nomad's territories after escaping from war."
"We are at Air Nomad's territories?" Madam Wu nodded; Sokka just looked around the place and found mountains everywhere. "A civilization living in exile, and in the middle of the three remaining nations, they live in small groups around mountains or lakes, and are all trained at the four Air Temples, they know no violence but are said to be the greatest martial arts masters, since their spirits are always in equilibrium with their surroundings and move as being one with nature."
"You know a lot about the Air Nomads. That will surely be helpful during your long trip." Sokka raised an eyebrow once again, Madam Wu continued. "If I'm not mistaken, a war took place at the Fire Nation, a war that will soon explode around the world." Toph's face lowered, Madam Wu smiled and rubbed her forehead. "Do not worry, this war won't kill your father, he will live, although you may not like it when you go back to your kingdom, you must be strong first."
"My father is sick, he had been sick for a long time, do you really believe he will be all right?" Madam Wu nodded, Sokka's jaw dropped, he couldn't believe Toph was buying it all. "I already lost my mother; I don't want dad's fate to be the same."
"Toph, don't tell me you are buying the fortune telling stuff, that's not possible, no one can predict the future." Toph broke into tears, Sokka flinched, it had been so long since he saw Toph been this weak. "Oh, come on! Stop crying, everything will be ok." Toph hugged him and buried her face at his chest; Sokka rolled his eyes but returned the hug. "There, I'm sure your father will survive."
"How do you know? You can't see the future." Sokka bit his lips in annoyance, Madam Wu smiled. "No one can, only Avatar Aang." Meng then gave her wallet to Madam Wu, she smiled and took some dust in her hands and threw it to the fire that Meng began not long ago, the fire grew bigger and Madam Wu's eyes widened. "There is an object on your pocket young prince, an important one." Sokka's eyes widened, he placed his hand at his pocket and touched the object. "I know it is a necklace, one which belonged to your mother."
"How can you…? This isn't possible… how?" Madam Wu rolled her eyes but smiled, Sokka just took the object out. "This necklace, it belonged to my mother, I took it from her when she passed away… it is all I have left." Madam Wu nodded and took the necklace in her hand; she then placed it around Sokka's neck. "Wait! No, only girls can use these necklaces, I can't…"
"One day, you will give this necklace to the girl you love the most." Toph blinked twice, Madam Wu smiled. "Until then, don't take it off, since the spirit of your mother will forever be with you, protecting you and caring for you, no illness will hit you, but the necklace isn't perfect, you can still die in battle if you aren't careful." Sokka nodded. "Your mother lived long, more than what was expected, all because of that necklace which just grew stronger with her passing away, that necklace, represents the bond that ties your blood, never dare loosing it."
"…Madam Wu…" Meng began, everyone remained in silence, it was the first time Meng had spoken since they group met her. "…The moon is already rising, and the spirits are coming, if they know of you interference they will get mad… we must leave before they find us out…" Meng then noticed everyone was looking at her; she blushed madly and hid behind her hands. "…Please don't look at me…"
"The spirits are already here? How inconvenient, I still had a lot to say, but it can't be helped." Madam Wu stood up and began walking away, Sokka stood up fast, her visit was a weird one and came with no real explanation. "…Spirits come at night, and they are watching you both endlessly, since in your hands rest the power to tie the future with the strings of fortune, never forget that… what you both now need, is to live… stay around the four temples until the princess reach her sixteen years… until then, she mustn't meet her father…" Madam Wu then vanished with a fog that was just arriving, Sokka rubbed his eyes not really believing what had just happened, Toph was also surprised, her vibration sensing was abruptly interrupted and couldn't sense Madam Wu or Meng anymore.
"…What will we do now…?" Sokka and Toph both faced Ty Lee; the girl was now on her feet and walking weakly toward her two companions. "As Madam Wu said… we must wait until Toph is sixteen to go back to the Earth Kingdom… until then, what are we supposed to do…? We can't go back to the Fire Nation because of the war, we can't go to the Water Tribe either, if their prince returns from the world of the dead, they will see it as a prophecy and prepare for war, that would be dangerous."
"I wasn't planning on returning to the Water Tribe anyway." Ty Lee blinked with her only useful eye, Toph just lowered her face, sad vibrations were coming out from Sokka's body and she disliked those vibrations quiet a lot. "The Water Tribe died for me the day my mother passed away… now, I have no home… I'm just a traveler with a mission… protect princess Toph Bei Fong until she reaches her marriage age… and until that day arrives… my life belongs to her…"
"…Are you…" Toph began, Sokka turned around to face her. "Is this… your oath of loyalty toward me…?" Sokka smiled but moved his head in negation; Toph felt it and lowered her face once again. "…Then… is this because of the promise you made…? Will you really… go that far because of me…?" Ty Lee was unable to understand, she surely wanted to ask, but somehow she knew asking was useless, she would never understand it.
"My loyalty belongs to Prince Zuko and Princess Azula, which is something that will never change." Toph nodded, Sokka smiled. "That promise I made to you, I would love to keep it, many things can change in such a short period of time, but my feelings for you will remain as they are, no matter what." Toph blushed; Ty Lee rolled her eye in annoyance. "Maybe one day… I will be able to keep my promise, until then please allow me to try my hardest and protect you…" Toph nodded, Ty Lee made a mockery, Sokka just smiled.
"I'm already sick of your love sickness, let's get moving, it's dark already and we need a place to spend the night." Toph ignored Ty Lee while trying to hide her blush, Sokka just blinked twice at his sifu's annoyance. "Move on you lazy student, tomorrow we will continue with your training, you owe me some days so you will have to work harder, not to mention now you are our Princess's bodyguard, you must be prepared for anything, I won't rest until you learn every single chi point and master this technique, understood?!" Ty Lee smiled, that smile gave Sokka some confidence.
"Of course, Sifu Ty Lee, for the welfare of our princess, we must try our best." Ty Lee nodded, Toph seemed to be confused, despite being the Princess of the Earth Kingdom, she was called 'Our Princess' by both of her companions. "Right now, Toph is our princess." Sokka said that last as if reading Toph's mind, Ty Lee just giggled happily. "Nothing else matters, Sifu Ty Lee and I now have nothing to fight for but our princess, that's why, from now and on, you will be our princess."
"Eelen, your highness is tired; don't allow her to walk any further." Eelen then arrived with Hawky by her forehead, she picked Toph up by the collar and then threw her toward her back, catching her and then walking slowly behind Sokka and Ty Lee who resumed the walking. "Good girl, it looks like she already likes me, careful Sokka, I might steal her from you." Sokka just smiled once again. "Now, please rest your highness, we will find a place to spend the night."
"Your highness? Are you making fun of me?! Why being so polite toward me?! I might be a princess but I demand you speak to me as your equal! I'm not a princess anymore, quit being so polite!" Sokka and Ty Lee both laughed out loud, Toph crossed her arms in annoyance. "Hell! Quit thinking about me as a helpless little girl! I need no bodyguards! I need no babysitters! I can carry my own weight! Eelen! Put me down! I will walk!" Eelen ignored Toph, which angered her a lot. "I'm not a baby girl!"
Zuko arrived to the town's plaza, a royal styled hunt was already settled there, the reconstruction of the palace was going to take long, but the military activity seemed to be needed, and so the hunt was established, many others were being built around the town's plaza and many soldiers were recruiting more cadets around the city. Zuko then noticed a red feather falling from the sky; he then faced the sky and noticed the many war hawks flying their way away from the city, all of them holding documents with the Fire Nation emblem on it, declarations of war, now the whole Fire Nation would prepare for the battle ahead. "This can't be… father… I must convince you to think twice about your actions…" Zuko then ran toward the royal hunt, a war meeting was taking place, a meeting Zuko interrupted. "Father! What nonsense's are these?"
"Zuko!" Azula stood up from her chair; it was something which angered Ozai a lot. Ozai stood up as well and glared to Azula with hatred, she backed off, her eyes reflected fear, more fear than ever, and so she went back to her sit. "Forgive my insolence… my father… it will never happen again…"
"It better not!" Ozai glared at his son, Zuko glared back with determination and walked inside of the hunt, he ignored all the war advisors there and pointed toward his father with demanding actions, Azula's eyes widened, never before had Zuko been this serious about anything. "Insolent wimp! I don't care you are a prince, I don't care you are my son, no one should speak to me like you just did!"
"No father! You are wrong! I am the prince of this nation, and whatever happens to this nation concerns me! You might be my father and lord, but as the prince of this nation I demand you listen to my words." Ozai's eyes widened with hatred, Zuko continued. "Your actions so far are inexcusable! A civil war broke and you mobilized a secret militia no one knew about, not to mention you are declaring an open war toward the slaves, your actions will soon reach the eyes of the Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom, I must ask you to stop now, it could be too late if you continue!"
"Silence!" Fire surrounded the hunt, but Zuko never made a move, he remained as he was, at a demanding manner. "Prince Zuko… I believe you have disgraced me… which is something I will never tolerate… that's why, I will have to punish you… Agni Kai…" Now Zuko had a reason to fear, his own father and Fire Lord had declared an Agni Kai, which was a battle in which the honor was at risk, and there was no way Zuko could decline, once an Agni Kai was declared, the battle was supposed to take place. "We will fight, here and now!" Ozai then launched a massive fire wave toward Zuko, every war advisor had to dodge, Azula included, the attack hit Zuko, but he managed to create some kind of protection shield with his firebending and survived the attack.
"Brother! Are you nuts?! Attacking your own son and challenging him to an Angi Kai?! What kind of nonsense is this?" Ozai then attacked Iroh, the old firebending master never expected that last attack and was stroke directly and send flying against Piandao and Jeong Jeong who were about to aid him and try to control Ozai.
"Uncle Iroh! Father! How could you?!" Zuko then fought back, but his firebending was weaker than the one of his father, no matter how good he really was, he was no match for Ozai. Azula just watched it all horrified, her father was attacking her brother, she normally wouldn't mind, but she now cared about Zuko and acknowledged him as her brother, she couldn't take it any further, her arm was surrounded by blue flames and she was about to launch herself to battle, Zuko noticed and yelled hard before Azula launched herself to battle. "Azula! I entrust my nation to you!" Azula then stopped, Zuko then fought Ozai back with all his power. "This is what I wanted! To be seen by my people! I want them to realize, that even I don't approve my father's actions! You are sick! You brought pain toward your nation! You declared an open war! I will never forgive you!" Zuko then kicked Ozai's stomach with a fire-kick; Ozai was hurt but wasn't beaten yet. "I will… open their eyes… they will… realize…" Zuko spoke out with difficulty, he was tired, his skill had improved greatly due to the mask of the Blue Spirit, but he wasn't wearing it now, and his skill was halved, he couldn't keep fighting, but Ozai could.
"Prince Zuko, this nation is strong and proud, a weakling like you isn't worthy of ruling it, that's why I will end your life at this Agni Kai, so your sister can become the only heir to the throne, your weakness will never pollute this nation I'm so proud of." Ozai then attacked Zuko's face and burned it, many horrified citizens complained, Zuko was always a proud and sort of selfish prince, but was loved by his people because of the kindness that rested on his heart, witnessing that last, burned their hearts. "That burn will surely leave a mark, I know, I will strip you from your royalty status and that mark on your face will now be your slavery mark." Zuko's only useful eye widened, his left one just continued bleeding none stopping. "You will be a slave, the slavery mark will consume you until you can take it no more, and it's a better punishment than dead."
"Then… father… I rather die…" Zuko then ran away, Ozai of course began a pursuit against him, but Zuko never stopped or looked back, he just continued running away until reaching a cliff, he then turned around and faced his father. "This nation will never be the same, that's something I promise, good bye father, I will wait for you in hell." Zuko then jumped, Ozai smiled evilly as he saw his son falling and then saw his body being slammed against the ocean, it was an horrible fall, one no one would survive, but Ozai wanted to make sure Zuko would die, he placed his fingers into position, and launched a tremendous lighting attack toward the water, it exploded and scattered water and blood around the place, a red cloud of blood was seen at the water, that lighting, it managed to wound Zuko mortally.
"Farewell! Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation." Ozai then walked away, many citizens cried because of the loss, Azula just stayed there with her eyes widened open and with tears falling from them, Ozai noticed those tears and slapped Azula hard. "Never dare crying for your brother! He doesn't deserve your tears." Azula closed her hand into a fist, fire surrounded her hand once again, she turned around and was about to launch a fire-fist at her own father, but a hand blocked her attack and blew her fire away.
"Do not allow rage to consume you my princess… it would only allow you to meet your brother in heaven…" Azula's eyes watered once again, she then threw herself toward Iroh and hugged him hard, allowing herself to break into tears and cry all her pain, Iroh hugged her back, and he soon broke into tears as well. "We must live to keep Zuko's memory, he was no enemy of the Fire Nation, he was the greatest hero ever born, and his ideals will forever live in your heart and mine." Azula nodded but continued crying.
Witnessing it all was princess Katara, she had just arrived to the Fire Nation by sea but her ship hadn't hit the docks since they were inexistent. But during the time Hakoda, the one controlling the ship, tried to find a proper place to disembark, they noticed the city at war and the actions of Fire Lord Ozai, Katara was curious about the identity of the person Ozai had murdered. "Who could have forced Ozai into battle?" Her question was suddenly answered; the unconscious body of Zuko emerged to the surface. "So this is the person who pulled Ozai's strings, the one who died fighting him… please take him out from the water."
One of her soldiers nodded and threw himself to the cold water, he then picked Zuko up and drove him toward the ship, his left eye was totally burned and his chest was wounded by Ozai's last attack, but Zuko was breathing. "The prince of the Fire Nation!" Hakoda spoke out, Katara didn't seem to care about it that much. "For him to be attacked this wildly by his own father, he must have betrayed his nation."
"…He will now be our prisoner…" Katara began; everyone at the ship was surprised to hear that last. "Traitor or not is something I don't care about… he is a prince and knows a lot of the Fire Nation, it is evident they are preparing for war, so we must first know the reasons and who is the real enemy, as well as find out if this army was built using our war tributes." Hakoda nodded. "Clean his wounds and try to keep him alive, we now will leave to the tribe and interrogate our prisoner."
While at the Fire Nation everything was war and pain, at the Air Nomad's territory it was all peace, Sokka and the group all managed to find a place to rest, the home of some monks who gladly accepted them on their home and even offered dinner and a bath to them. Toph was already sleeping peacefully at a comfortable bed, she was still young and couldn't stay awake for long, Sokka admired her beauty as she hugged her pillow hard and blew her own long hair away from her face, her clothes gave her an aura of more innocence, she was just wearing a huge for her measures white tunic, and since she recently came out from the pound nearby where she cleaned her body with the help of Ty Lee, her body had no dust or dirt, she was clean, and even her usually messy hair was now a silk looking river of hair. "Good night Toph." He then rubbed her cheek; Toph smiled and hugged her pillow even harder which of course stole a smile from Sokka.
He then walked outside of the small cottage they were staying at, it was cold outside, or at least Sokka thought since he was wearing nothing but orange colored pants since the rest of the tunic was considered sacred. He then noticed Ty Lee was outside and staring at the starry sky. Sokka walked toward her and sat down next to her, Ty Lee barely noticed since he sat by her right side. "Is that you Sokka?" she turned to face him, Sokka just smiled. "Sorry, I guess it will take some time to get used to have only one useful eye." Sokka then admired Ty Lee's outfit, she was also wearing a long white tunic, but her hair was fixed in a ponytail and the nomads who were taking care of them bought a nice eye-patch for her, she was no longer wearing bandages although her arm was still broken. "…Will we be ok…?"
"Of course we will." Ty Lee barely nodded, Sokka, despite not being able to see her useful eye, noticed sadness in her and placed a caring hand at her shoulder. "Sifu Ty Lee, we will surely be all right, we are at Air Nomad's territories after all, from now and on it will be nothing but peace and relaxation, we will keep training and find a master for me to teach me more martial arts, but most of the time it will be peace."
"…That's not what I'm worried about…" Sokka stared at Ty Lee with interest. "…You love that girl…" He flinched, Ty Lee's face lowered. "…It isn't right, she is from royalty and you are… well… not a slave anymore but a peasant… unless you claim your royalty status, but as you said before, you already gave up on that life… now you are nothing but a warrior whose loyalty belongs to a rebel prince and a princess with a nation consumed by the ashes."
"Don't worry about me." Ty Lee faced Sokka, he smiled as usual, although this smile was more a goof like one. "I won't allow my feelings to get in the way of my mission, from now and on, at least until Toph claims the throne of her kingdom, my relationship with her will be nothing more than a relationship between a bodyguard and his client."
"…I don't think you will be able to do that…" Sokka made a weird face toward Ty Lee; she smiled and faced the stars once again. "I believe, you will soon be victim of your own feelings and fail." Sokka was annoyed by that last, but Ty Lee kept smiling. "But it will all be okay, because my loyalty now relies on her highness, and I will protect her with my life, even if you get carried away by your heart… now I have a new dream… I want her highness to find real happiness, and if that happiness involves you, then I will just give up on my feelings, and pray with my heart for the spirits to make it possible."
"Ty Lee… are you saying you are… giving up on me…?" Ty Lee nodded; Sokka blushed but then smiled evilly. "How sad, and I was just falling in love with my Sifu." Ty Lee blushed madly Sokka laughed out loud. "Just a joke, it was a joke." Ty Lee closed her hand into a fist and was about to hit Sokka, but she stopped there.
"Forget it… it is useless to get mad at you." She smiled, Sokka smiled back. "Sokka… if you ever hurt her feelings, I will never forgive you… because… I love her highness, and I will protect her with my life." Sokka nodded. "Then, promise you will always be there for her." Ty Lee then offered Sokka her pinky finger, Sokka accepted it and closed the promise. "At the Fire Nation, this is a promise that can't be broken, so you better keep it." Sokka nodded once again and smiled, Ty Lee stood up and walked away toward Toph's room, she would be her guardian from now on, since now, Toph and Sokka were her only family. "I lost an eye, but won something else, now I have someone I want to protect, and someone who cares for me as if I was his sister, such a warm feeling, I don't want to lose it, that's why, even if I die, I want to keep this feeling alive."
"The strings of fortune are already in motion, the spirits are pleased, the ones they had been watching since the day they were born are growing and will continue to evolve, many will be on their way, many who will help them on their journey, and many who will bring pain and hatred toward their hearts, only if they can survive their fortunes will they be able to change the future, this world which is slowly heading toward it's imminent destruction, can still be saved, that's what I, the granddaughter of Avatar Aang, believe, and since the spirits are watching me, they know I will never give up, the forbidden union will take place, that is what I promise, whoever, the fate of the Earth Princess, it still remains a mystery to me, I will just have to leave it all to hope… her adventure won't end here, it is just beginning… and I will be there to see where her fortune leads her… even if changing the future represents the biggest taboo of them all… even the spirits won't stop me."
End of Book Fire – Book Air Will Now Begin