AN: I wrote Chapter 13, then my wonderful beta electric gurrl and I realized how my last chapter (12) would be bolstered by the ideas in my rough draft of Chapter 13, and that they would fit together better as one continuous chapter with some tweaks. I trust her and I think this is way better (and three thousand words longer) than the last version of the chapter.
Moving on, for Chapter 11 thank you so much to Madness-and-Corona, iliasc, SeducedbyFire, delictabledahlia, the princess emoji, Guest, Distracted by Lemons, Oh You in that Dress, Guest, FanfictionVillainess, foxxywinter, the-blonde-jennie, BabydollEyelashes, RagingRainbowRattlesnake, DearLemonLima, the-yellow-rose-girl, Guest, goldenfriedtofu, azurecobaltandteal, HeavenBesideYou13, illegalsweaters, weaponofmassiveconsumption, KorrasamixxTyzulaxxDreams, hotlips29, and Powder Gangers Go.
For the original version of Chapter 12, thank you so much to QueenTyzula, the-yellow-rose-girl, delictabledahlia, KawaiiEyeliner, illegalsweaters, jonissbouquet, xxcandyjellylovexx, xxlunareclipseoftheheartxx, PrincesaVanessa, cranapplesurprise, hotlips29, Streetlight Eyes, pokeythetraitor, ThisUnitHasNoSoul, Fake Nails Real Heart, American Zombie, CeruleanWraith, aurelia dex noctis, smokeandshadowfeels, iliasc, turtleducksymphony, and bunnyprincess49.
Chapter Twelve
Memories
Zuko
I wasn't a witness at my sister's trial. They came close to subpoenaing me but they knew they would put her behind bars forever. Since I did not want to testify against my own family—no matter how much I despised her—I did nothing but sit and watch.
On that cruelly sunny day years ago, the grief surrounding Katara's death still overwhelmed me. I barely did anything those days; I hardly ever got out of my bed. Coming to the courthouse was the hardest thing I had ever done. The reporters alone daunted me to no end. I knew it was the trial of the century and I was a key role in it all.
Despite my reluctance to testify against my own family, I watched Azula's wife and best friend betray her in front of the world. Maybe I counted myself lucky. Even Mai looked uncomfortable and emotional when it came down to it.
Azula turned her head over her shoulder during the testimony of a police officer.
She looked at me. Not her lost love, not the friend that betrayed her, not anyone else. My sister met my eyes and, even though she spoke so softly I could not hear, I could read her lips.
"You always were a coward," she breathed and I clenched my fists.
She made me sicker than she did anyone else.
It was a chilly morning, but I was sweating in my suit when I showed up at the police station. I strode past people who should probably stop me in my tracks and barged into Chief Beifong's office. Toph shot me a look that made my skin crawl. While I didn't know how a blind woman could 'look' at someone so intimidatingly, I stood my ground.
"Why are you here?" she demanded, kicking her feet up on her desk. I supposed it was a display of power and control. "Do you have more info from Azula?"
"No. I'm here because we need to find Izumi," I said, jabbing my finger forward in the air. It occurred to me that she could not see it but I didn't care. My daughter was worth anything in the world. I couldn't bear to never see her again.
Chief Beifong sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. It was in that moment that I first noticed her weariness. "Look, Pyralis, we're done looking for Izumi. She's dead, okay? She's fucking dead and I don't wanna be the one to break that to you."
My heart jumped into my throat and I thought I was going to throw up. "You found her body?"
Chief Beifong shook her head, frowning bitterly. "No. But she's dead. Or at least we're at a dead end not worth working at. Right now we have a way bigger issue than some senator's missing kid. Azula Pyralis broke out of prison. Azula Pyralis has a fucking cult of killers. We have to worry about her."
I ground my teeth and lunged forward. Instead of grabbing the blind woman before me, I grabbed a chair and smashed it into the wall. Hard.
"Oh, please," sarcastically said Toph, throwing her head back. "Continue destroying my office. It looked ugly before anyway."
I stopped my fit of rage, heart thundering. "Looked ugly?"
Toph said cavalierly, only fueling the fire of my anger, "Just a joke. I keep 'em coming. Do you or do you not have anything to contribute about Azula Pyralis?"
I screamed, "Ty Lee! What about Ty Lee?"
Toph scowled and a chill washed over me. What we did. What we thought about doing regularly. "Remembered her pretty late, huh, big guy? She's part of the case. We find Azula, we find her, I guarantee you." Toph was quiet for a moment. I caught my breath. "
"I need Izumi," I breathlessly said, fists clenched.
Toph waved her hand and grunted. "You have resources. Find her. Whatever. If you're not here about Azula, you can get lost."
"I thought we… I thought we…"
Toph snorted derisively. "We were friends? We were more than friends? I'm doing my job, Senator Pyralis, and you never fail to remind me why I hate politicians. So, listen, I know you're worried about your kid, but we're looking for Azula Pyralis, not Izumi. I'd be an idiot to keep chasing after a kid everybody thinks is dead. Okay? I'm worried about the fucking escaped serial killer. And she seems interested in you, so you're gonna help me. Got it?"
"Got it," I growled, already done with this awful woman. I was right to hate her like I did when we initially met.
I could do nothing but storm away and slam the door behind me.
Not a single officer tried to stop me or calm me down as I bolted from the station.
xxx
After a night of drinking and working out—an odd combination I found helped somewhat with my anger issues—I woke up hungover and sore as fuck. And, to top the misery off, I woke to my phone ringing and vibrating ferociously under my rock hard pillow.
I recognized the number… and I answered the phone anyway. I knew I shouldn't do it because there was not a way to trace Azula or the call, but she had Ty Lee and therefore I had to answer. Anyway, I was done working with Chief Beifong. She could do her thing and find Azula; I could do my thing and find my daughter. It would be what Ty Lee would want. Right? Right?
"Azula," I growled. "What do you want?"
"You sound so happy to hear from me," she replied cutely. I could just hear the smug smirk. "Did you know that both Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer taunted the police and media but were never caught?"
"But," I retorted as smoothly as possible, "you were. You always forget that part when you get so smug."
"I won't be captured a second time," she coolly said without missing a beat. I hoped to throw her off more than that. "I will cut to the chase, since you never were one for pleasantries and today seem quite rude and eager to get to the point."
"So?" I growled, almost ready to hang up. Yet, I knew I needed to hear her out. I was hopeless in many ways.
"I want to find your daughter," purred Azula, stunning me, "and I want to find the copycat. This time, I am not the killer; I am the detective."
I stated strongly, "No, you still murdered over seventy people including my wife."
"Oh, as if you cared about her. You were cheating on her. That is why you did not testify against me. You were too much of a coward to admit what you did," Azula said and I fought not to break my cell phone. That would feel really good right about now. "And I am sure you've cheated on Ty Lee with your little police girlfriend."
"I didn't!" I shouted, throwing my coffee onto the floor. The mug shattered loudly. I wondered if she could hear on the other line.
"You protest too much," Azula whispered and I did not say another word. "Now, I of course do not want to have direct contact with you since I am not stupid, but I will send someone to meet you at Alexi's Diner this afternoon at two."
I laughed at her gall. Maybe she became dumber in prison. "I'm not getting myself killed."
"It's a busy public place. You can even bring the whole police force with you. I need help from them anyway, because I think I could be of great assistance. I think Izumi is alive and I know you want to find her," Azula said. She sounded earnest but I knew better than to trust her.
"Do you have her?" I quietly asked, beginning to doubt that. Maybe it really was someone else. I just didn't know. I never knew anymore. I ran my hand through my hair and tugged at the loose locks.
"No," she said, confirming my suspicions, "and I have no desire to let her die. We must act fast, and you know that."
I said honestly, "I don't work with Chief Beifong anymore."
"How unfortunate," purred Azula. "I like her."
xxx
I was nineteen when I met Katara. We were twenty when we married. Azula was nine when she met Ty Lee. They were eighteen when they married. None of us knew what we were doing; we were too young to make good choices.
Then again, I never made the best decisions when it came to my love life. Toph was probably a terrible one. Ty Lee started as pure lust that became a marriage out of spite for my sister. Katara and I hated each other when we first were placed in the same science class, but one day we were paired in a geology lab and started to get to know each other. It was after we were married for a few years that we realized the initial hatred was wise.
My first love was also a bad idea. She was dark and mysterious and I loved her before I even talked to her for the first time. When she spent summer break with my family, she loved me back. We were in love. A few months later, we were in loathing.
Toph was working. Ty Lee was MIA. Katara was dead.
Mai was sitting at a corner booth in Alexi's Diner, staring disdainfully at a menu I knew was delicious. She would find something wrong with it. She was her.
"I want to call this a coincidence," I said, approaching her.
"You can. It's not one. But you can call it that if it makes you feel better about your girlfriend's investigative skills," she replied coolly, which reminded me why we never worked out.
"There's no way my sister would let you help her. You betrayed her."
"Yeah. I know. I'm pretty much waiting for the literal stab in the back, so now that you know, will you just sit down and get this over with?"
I did, but not because she told me to. This was an important meeting.
"How do you know I didn't bring the police?" I asked, knowing it was not a conventional icebreaker. Still, I knew she was putting a lot on the line.
Mai gave me that same blank, mocking gaze. I remembered it and I hated it. "I don't. Did you?"
"No," I honestly admitted.
Mai cocked an eyebrow. Such a vivid expression. "I could kill you."
"I could defend myself. I'm not enthusiastic about the police force when it comes to finding Izumi. I'm open to alternative routes now," I stated, clenching my fists atop the table.
Mai remarked, "Like making deals with the devil. You're stupid but you have your heart in the right place."
"That's right," I said.
I picked up a menu and prepared to face the madness.
Mai sat across from me in the diner.
"I didn't know you were with Azula."
"It isn't like we regularly meet up for tea parties."
"Do you have to be that way?"
"Yes. I've got some ideas about Azula. I think her plan to save Izumi is slightly insane, but I also think it's the best one you have."
I scoffed. "The best one I have? How would you know?"
"Just a guess. Azula wants to use you to find Izumi."
"I'm doing it on my own."
"She wants to make you relevant. She wants to intertwine herself, so that the police have no choice but to help you find your daughter. She knows they want her."
"I don't want to be her toy."
"Even if it saves your daughter's life?"
I remained silent. God, I didn't know what to say, what to think. I would do anything to see my daughter again and to know she's safe. But the idea of playing Azula's games sickened me.
"Let me talk to her."
"She had that in mind. Maybe you two think alike."
I laughed. "Doubtful."
"Not yet, though. We have to do this right."
"So, small talk?" I bitterly suggested, cocking an eyebrow.
We were silent for an uncomfortable stretch of time.
"You're not a one woman man, are you?" Mai commented.
I didn't know how to respond to that. It took me off guard.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"That you're super in love with the blind chick." She took another drag from a cigarette. "Just like you were super in love with Ty Lee. Super in love with Katara. Wrote me terrible sonnets. I'm not really good at psychoanalyzing people. Maybe I just don't give a fuck. But you fall in love too easily."
"As opposed to you, who has never been in love at all? Or my sister? My sister the psychopath." At that moment, I considered getting up and walking away, but then I remembered my daughter and forced myself to stay seated.
"I think it's obvious she fell in love at least once. Or did you not pick up on that by now?"
"Probably only once, if that. Ty Lee wouldn't have—"
"Cheated on her with you?"
"Yeah. If Azula was loving, she wouldn't have done that. Something was lacking."
"Or Ty Lee is flighty and seeks constant attention. Who knows? Now, do you want my help finding Izumi or not?"
"You were the one prolonging this conversation."
"Okay, finding Ty Lee aside, because I think you know where she is and you're just fucking with me for my sister, I think I'm running out of time. They gave me forty-eight hours… three weeks ago."
"Then I guess you're fucked. Sorry."
"Mai."
"You have a really pessimistic attitude about this."
"And you don't have a really pessimistic attitude about everything?"
Mai glanced at her phone and instantly lost any semblance of interest in conversation. "I never said I was perfect. But let's get this Silence of the Lambs circus on the road, shall we? I'm taking you to meet her."
"Meet…?"
"The Empress Cleopatra. Who do you think?"
"Azula? She's a bit overconfident, wouldn't you say?"
"You state the obvious way too often, don't you think? Now hurry up."
We rose and headed out into the gravel parking lot. Mai kept walking, leading me into the woods surrounding the cars.
The two of us walked and walked and I regretted it more and more with every step.
We reached a girl in a hoodie and an iPad she held like a child presenting a crude art project to her parents. As we grew closer and came to a halt, I saw my sister on the screen, smirking at me, eyeing my closely.
I turned to Mai and snarled, "This isn't Azula."
My sister interjected in that sickening purr, "I suppose you have never been introduced to technology, or basic common sense."
"I just want my daughter, goddammit." I clenched my fists. "Give me my fucking daughter!"
"I am working on that, ZuZu." She smirked at me and I barely stopped myself from breaking the iPad. "Even though you slept with my wife, I am going to help you."
"How effing generous," I growled, glaring at her.
"I am a generous girl," she replied prettily, and I hated her all the more. "Do you have any questions?"
"Where's Izumi?"
Azula sighed. "I can't explain this to you again. I want to find out. I'll be in touch."
I stared as she waved, reached forward and removed her image from the screen.
"Wasn't much of a conversation, was it?" I demanded.
"She just wanted proof," said Mai.
"Of what?"
"Of you. That you're going to play along with her."
I remained silent.
I didn't know what to say.
What could I say?
xxx
In the morning, long after parting ways with Mai, I woke up to a new e-mail. It was one among hundreds, but it was the most important message I received in my entire life.
The attachment mattered.
The attachment was a video of Izumi. She was sitting there, glancing up at the camera, waving. Two hands—feminine hands—made her wave and intervened with her toys. They had her locked somewhere grungy and I didn't know what to do.
At first, I thought I might cry, but any potential tears transformed into anger.
I watched the video again and again, more pained each time, until I collected myself, got dressed, grabbed my laptop and stormed into the police station.
Chief Beifong sighed pointedly when I entered her office.
"I got an e-mail," I said, setting my laptop on her filthy desk. "Look."
Toph Beifong cleared her throat. It took a me a moment to realize what I said wrong.
So, I explained, "It's of Izumi. The captors sent it."
"Captors?" asked Toph, emphasizing the fact that the term was plural. I was shocked by it too, so I understood.
I explained, "There's more than one set of hands in the video. It's muted, though."
"Shame. Are they torturing her?"
"Define torturing."
"What are we? The fucking UN? Common sense, Pyralis."
"No. They're just… taunting me with her."
"Do you think it's Azula?"
"No. I really don't. I shouldn't believe her when she says she didn't take my daughter, but I do. She doesn't gain anything from it and this e-mail isn't her style."
"When she says?"
"Said. Whatever. She said it to Ty Lee back when we had her in custody."
"I know you talked to Azula not two days ago. How did that go?"
"How the fuck would you know that?"
Casually, Chief Beifong explained, "I tapped your phone."
Rage surged through me like a tsunami of fire. I shouted, "You tapped my phone? That's a serious invasion of privacy!"
Chief Beifong sardonically repeated, "That's a serious invasion of privacy."
"How mature," I snarled, barely keeping myself from punching the fucking wall.
"It's called police work, Pyralis. Familiarize yourself with it if you ever want to see your sister back behind bars. Or your wife and daughter again, for that matter. I let Azula think she was getting away with something. Let you think it too. So tell me what she wanted."
I took a deep breath and decided to lie my cheeks off; it was the only way Azula's plan could work.
Azula
It was a lazy evening in a boarding school science lab, and I lounged beside Ty Lee atop a table beneath the glistening rays of the winter sun. I studied the lovely preserved butterfly in her hand. Her skin was too flawless. That was the day I later nicked her with the pin and tempted her with a vibrant pink band-aid. It made her flawed, which was the best way for others to be.
"Why do you like dead things?" asked Ty Lee.
"I don't," I replied, but I was uncertain about it. "Don't you think they're pretty?"
Ty Lee nodded. "Yeah. I do. They're so delicate. Do you remember fourth grade when the teacher got that butterfly kit where we grew them from caterpillars into adults and then set them free? That was so fun."
"You named them all," I said, recalling the class project. It was not a bad one. "I liked the one named after me. It was my favorite."
Ty Lee smiled. "It was my favorite too."
I stared at her lips for too long. She was much, much more experienced in relationships than I and knew what that meant. Ty Lee took her opportunity to kiss me.
It felt perfect and right.
I spent the night with Ty Lee. It began more like a sleepover than a tryst but there was room to grow in our relationship. There always was.
We sat awake at three AM, sitting across from each other on the bed.
"Am I an object to you? I feel like everybody is," Ty Lee daringly asked, toying with the soft blanket she had wrapped around her.
"I suppose," I said, shrugging carelessly.
Ty Lee balked. I did not know why; there appeared to be little reason behind that reaction. She was the one who asked the question.
"Is that true?" Ty Lee whispered, sniffling. She seemed so deeply hurt by something so small. I remembered her as much more optimistic and harder to faze.
"It is true of my victims and my little groupies. They are objects to me. Is that unkind to say? Of course. Is it true? Of course," I said softly, taking a lock of Ty Lee's hair in my fingers. "Do not say I think you're an object, because you are not. You are the only person in this world I have ever cared about. Why would you break my heart?"
"If I'm not an object, I'm a pet." Ty Lee sounded too heartbroken. It made little sense to me.
"Is that so bad?" I whispered in a husky voice that was half forgotten.
She very slightly shivered. No one without as much observation as myself would notice.
"No. It's not so bad. I wouldn't mind being a kitten or something. Pets have really nice lives," Ty Lee said, her words so hasty that I knew she regretted her bold query. "I always am so jealous of my little dog. All he does is sleep all day."
"Like you," I purred. "And, like you, the very best part of his day is when his human comes home."
Ty Lee laughed a genuine giggle.
I smirked. She always would be wrapped around my finger, regardless of what I did.
She kissed me, reaching one hand forward and setting her palm on the side of my face. I forgot that she did that. We leaned in, embracing the passion of the heated moment. We kissed a few more times. Then she slowly and gently pushed me down by the shoulder.
I lay on my back and she leaned down, sticking her tongue right into my mouth. I also forgot that she did that. It was still surprisingly sexy, which absolutely should not have been. Maybe I was just too in lust to notice.
We crushed our lips together a few more times but it ended there.
Not yet. I needed things to be perfect or I would not win her over.
Our lust was certain; our love was not.
xxx
In the morning, I lay on my back on the porch swing outside. I wanted to watch the sunrise like I always did. The cold penetrated even the thickest skin and bones, therefore I earlier had wrapped myself in a thick, large sweater. That was not particularly my look, but I needed to be away from everyone.
I expected to be interrupted and expected to destroy someone for it.
However, I did not anticipate Ty Lee to be that person. It rendered me off-guard and I sat up. I edged backwards and leaned against the arm of the swing. Ty Lee graciously accepted that invitation.
She reached down and picked up a weed. I studied it closely as she began slowly peeling the petals away, mouthing old schoolyard words.
"What a silly little game," I purred. "She loves me. She loves me not. She loves me. She loves me not."
Ty Lee dropped the tattered flower and let it float away.
"I always liked it."
"Is it not easier to ask?" I inquired, edging even closer.
Ty Lee hugged her knees to her chest.
"I thought you would start kicking against the floor," I said, my lips twitching. A smirk did not stick. "It seems more like you."
"I dunno." Ty Lee smiled. "I guess I'm just more mature than when we were together."
"You still have that cutesy charm," I said, winking at her.
"Do you love me?" Ty Lee asked.
"I haven't the slightest clue," I replied, startled by my honesty. "But you have plenty of time to find out."
"You're so much smoother now. Was that prison or what?" Ty Lee asked. I could not help but snicker at that outburst. Ty Lee blushed bright pink. "Why are you laughing?"
"Maybe it was," I said, leaning in to kiss her.
We stumbled on the swing and decided to swear off that until we went inside.
xxx
The day before my conversation with ZuZu, Ty Lee strode down the stairs in our lovely manor. I stood in a satin, flowing red dress that brushed softly against my knees. Her idea of a glamorous date outfit clearly differed from mine.
I mockingly inquired, "Why are you dressed like the whore the rest of the trailer park decided they needed to stone to death?"
Ty Lee blushed a hue pinker than her crop top. "I thought we were having dinner together."
"Not an answer to my question," I coldly stated.
"You never had a problem with how I dressed before," commented Ty Lee, smiling faintly, as if there were a solitary happy memory of our marriage in existence. I did not know why I still cared for her. Perhaps it was mere habit.
"Oh, yes I did," I said, dredging up an archaic memory of jealousy and loathing. "Remember Zuko and Katara's little Superbowl party and that awful bikini you wore. It was devastating."
"She hated sports," said Ty Lee, eyelashes fluttering. They were fake, and I wondered what about her was real. Certainly, I did not trust my favorite guest.
"She didn't have my father. Her family was always so perfect… except for her cheating husband, of course. And I was always so perfect… except for my cheating wife, of course." I reached forward and gently took her hand in mine.
Ty Lee stepped forward instead of away, as I anticipated. Hm. I did not know someone so simply could ever take me by surprise.
She asked sweetly, "Do you think she loved him as much as I love you?"
"I don't care." I shrugged one shoulder and winked with the opposite eye.
Ty Lee said huskily, approaching closer and closer, "Because I don't think anybody has ever loved anybody as much as I love you."
I curtly retorted, "Cute."
"I mean it. Azula, I'm standing here in front of a fugitive serial killer who still gives me butterflies like I just met her. I have a child to worry about but all I…"
"All you can think about is me and what outfit you ought to wear to dinner. Perhaps the difference in your braid. I noticed. We used to braid our hair together when we were kids."
Ty Lee's eyes drifted elsewhere for a few heartbeats. At last she said softly, "Izumi does that with her friends."
I snarled, "Please, do not say a word about her to me. I have no desire to think about her right now."
"Can we talk about your own victims, then? Do you ever think about any of them? Do you ever wonder if you're fucked up? Did you… did you ever wonder if you should just let them go and hope for the best? That you were in over your head? Do you feel regret? Do you? Do you ever regret any of the people you tortured and killed?"
"It was worth it, and I would do it all again. It was worth it to hold someone in my arms and feel the life in them slipping away." I closed my eyes and let the soft, soothing memories wash over me. When I opened them again, I saw Ty Lee eyeing me closely, not in judgment, but in reverie.
"It sounds beautiful when you put it that way. I wouldn't be able to kill someone, I think. To hurt them. To hold them hostage. I don't know if I could kill, because… I don't know if I understand what their life means."
"Listen to me," I said, gently touching Ty Lee. Her skin was soft and smooth beneath my feverish fingertips. "I am deeply clever and intelligent. You are not. Deeply clever and intelligent people understand that life is meaningless, the world is meaningless, it's all meaningless, so you might as well have some fun."
Ty Lee faintly smiled. "You've said that before."
And she left me with nothing else to say.
I did the only thing I could do; I kissed her fiercely on the lips. It took my breath away, and made her tremble so beautifully.
And she loved it.
I swept her off to bed, date be damned.
xxx
In the morning, I woke alone, walked downstairs and passed two or three followers whom I paid no mind. At last, I reached the kitten and saw Ty Lee chewing on chocolate Pop Tarts. I hated them. Food I hated was never in this house.
Coldly, my lip twisted in a snarl, I demanded, "Where did you get those?"
"Oh. When Mai was out shopping for me she got them. Want one?" Ty Lee held up a Pop Tart with a blithe and reckless grin.
I asked, stepping closer and closer like a lioness stalking prey. "Mai was out shopping for you? How many times has she done this?"
"Pretty regularly. You know, she's allowed to leave whenever and I'm not and we're like second best friends so she goes on some errands for me."
"I didn't know that you and Mai are close."
"Not in that way, if that's what you think. You don't need to be jealous."
"No. I mean that I don't trust you two together. Not because I think you'll fuck her, but because you both turned on me in that courtroom. How long have you stayed friends with her?"
"We reconnected about six months ago and caught up—just as friends, of course—and that's all. We've kept it quiet for a really long time. Zuko didn't like our friendship either."
I could not resist seizing her and slamming her back against the wall. She did not scream; she inhaled deeply, eyes flashing wide and frightened. I held her there, leaning close, feeling the heat radiating from her panicked body as I locked eyes with her.
"Do not compare me to Zuko!" I shrieked in her ear.
"I—I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to."
I crushed my lips against hers. It was impulsive. Rarely, was I impulsive, but at this moment, I could not resist the wildness inside of my core.
I loved her. I loved her. I loved her.
