"I have a really bad feeling about this meeting," says Zuko. "I just don't like this place. I don't like how easy it was to join these soldiers and I don't like the idea of an initiation. Aren't those against some kind of rules? I swear they have to be."
"They probably are."
"Then let's sneak out of here and start looking for Katara again."
"I am the leader, and I like the idea of—"
"Converting some scientists into your followers?"
"Something like that."
Zuko grunts, "At least you're being honest about your intentions."
Azula gives him a stunning smile. He sighs at the sight of it.
Toph and Ty Lee catch up to them and walk through the door into the main office of the Chief Researcher. He drums his fingers on his exquisite stone desk and finishes reading a letter from a messenger hawk still perched on the window before he looks up at his guests.
"Good. My new soldiers and honored guests," he says with a smile. "See, we have a bit of an initiation for our best recruits. We like to… more directly involve them in the research."
Toph speaks up. "I'm really not interested in being a test subject. I think we really should get going because this place is a drag."
The Head Researcher smiles at her before he recalls she cannot see it. "I would love to look closer at your eyes."
"Nope, no thanks, not interested," Toph drawls and he gives a small nod.
"I would never intrude against your wishes. We have been observing your activities here and impressive actions in the training yards and we think you would be exemplary first witnesses to the crown jewel of our work here."
Azula and Zuko exchange a glance. This might be a good time to kill them all and flee.
"And what would that crown jewel be precisely?" Azula purrs, looking into his eyes with that devastating, terrifying smolder. He begins to sweat and clears his throat.
The mercenaries previously waiting at the door step into the room, clutching their crossbows tightly. Toph feels their heartrates and knows she and her companions should get out of here as fast as they possibly can.
"Our training serum. This is a lab, you know. What did you expect when you decided to guard scientists developing military technology?"
"Yes. I do believe our alliance has grown stale. I expected certain benefits that I now see I will not receive. It would be in your best interest to release me and my compatriots," purrs Azula. She hits one man with lightning and he collapses to the ground. Toph takes out another with a rock while Ty Lee punches two and Zuko lights both of his hands.
"Put them in the labyrinth!" barks the Head Scientist, losing his mousy demeanor in a split second. "Quickly, you idiots!"
Zuko stammers, "In the—in the what?"
Azula lunges forward, as does Toph, but an arrow from one of the crossbows strikes the ground with a loud smash of glass and metal, drawing their attention long enough to spare the Head Scientist, and then the glass attached to the projectile breaks, and everything goes black.
When Azula wakes, she lies tied to a stone post with Ty Lee beside her. They have been deposited at the bottom of a pit and the water slowly is rising. Ty Lee opens her protuberant eyes and looks up at Azula.
"We have to get out of here," states the princess, although it needn't be said. She burns the rope around her wrists and then does the same to Ty Lee's.
They stand and wade through the frigid water and soon find a tunnel. It is half-flooded but the two of them can make it through.
Ty Lee clings to Azula's arm, horrified. Azula wonders how on Earth the Avatar could be so frightened in any situation.
Azula holds her hand up, lighting the passageway bright blue. The flames lick the stone above as she and Ty Lee half-walk-half-swim through the narrow tunnel, the water up to their necks. Ty Lee winces when she smashes against the stone and Azula grabs her to pull her up and out on the other side.
They now stand in even colder water and it rises twice as fast. Azula hates this, but she has to hide her fear since Ty Lee enters a panic. When Azula looks up, she sees sunlight pouring through the ceiling.
"We have to wait for the water to rise and then we can crawl out," Azula says and Ty Lee nods twice. "However, if you're interested in waterbending…"
"I can't bend water. You know that. I barely can bend earth and fire," replies Ty Lee, trying to hide her hyperventilation but incapable of doing so.
"Right. We have to find Katara but instead we are stuck in some kind of labyrinth like rat-rabbits," Azula spits, livid at herself. She must maintain her pride by hiding that disgust, but she grinds her teeth from the pure rage. It would have been wise to defeat those mercenaries and keep going on their blind search for Katara. She had only hoped for perspective and soldiers to back her up.
"At least I won't have bad habits when I start," Ty Lee says as she lets the cold water rise around her shivering body.
"You won't have any good ones either," snaps Azula in response.
Ty Lee just smiles; she does not know what else to do.
The water rises and rises and rises until they float.
They wait as patiently as possible until they reach the opening in the ceiling. Azula claws her way up first, grunting from the strain on her muscles, and then she helps Ty Lee out behind her.
Azula tries to look around in the darkness and hisses through her teeth. She lifts her hand and ignites her palm to light the room. She sees a stack of cloth and wood blocking off a door. Then she hears the crackling; she set off a fuse by mistake.
The Avatar kneels mute as the time until their possible death passes swiftly.
Azula pushes Ty Lee under the rock as the explosion rings out and the rubble goes up in flames. She closes her eyes and takes a breath as the blockade burns to a crisp and the dust settles.
She helps Ty Lee to her feet.
"We ought to go," Azula says, walking through the still-burning gate.
Ty Lee hastily follows her.
Several chambers in the caves away from Azula and Ty Lee, "Uh, Twitchy, we're in water, aren't we? Because it's cold and wet and I kind of can't see," Toph says, sounding frantic.
"You always can't see," says Zuko.
"No. I really can't see. I'm actually blind right now." Toph takes deep, very audible breaths. Zuko bites his lower lip and tries to think.
"I know you're doing this kind of blind, but I need you to break an exit in the wall. We're surrounded by rocks," Zuko says and Toph is desperate enough to try to do that.
He grabs her by the waist—making her cheeks red hot—and guides her through the water. She sets her hands against the damp rock and punches forward. It breaks and crumbles, draining the water in a rush and revealing a way through the labyrinth, but then the tunnels begin to groan.
"And we caused a cave in," drawls Toph before she starts to run. The mud makes her vision fuzzy, but she sees well enough to navigate through the crumbling passageways.
Zuko hurries after her and throws her over his shoulder when he slides beneath rock plummeting towards the ground. They barely make it through, then they start sliding down the stone and into a pit.
"We're gonna freefall!" Zuko yells and Toph somehow keeps herself from screaming.
They plummet, now both screaming, and land on soft enough ground to slide and slide and slide, scraping open their skin. They tumble out on the other side in a small chamber.
A familiar, purring voice remarks, "You both arrived just on time. We are stuck."
"I know," Zuko says.
"No. I mean, this room has no clear exit," says Azula. She then turns to Toph. "But maybe she can punch through the rocks."
"And make another cave in?" asks Zuko.
"Why not?" Azula shrugs. "We are all fast runners."
Toph does not hesitate to smash their way open. Everyone screams, including Azula, as the ceiling begins to rumble. They run together as fast as their legs can carry them, racing through the collapsing tunnels.
Dust stings Azula's eyes as she grabs at Ty Lee's slippery arm and keeps running. She slides down when the floor gives out from under her and raises her arms to try to protect herself from the fall. They all succeed, unscathed as they crawl across the floor and slide beneath another collapsing tunnel. Hurrying through, they make it to the light on the other side.
They left the tunnel; they survived this first test.
Ty Lee opens her mouth, stunned by the beautiful view in front of them. They stand in a gorgeous rainforest.
"We need to keep moving," orders Azula.
Despite her previous mistakes, her companions obey and start walking. Their bodies ache, but they do not stop until they reach a clearing. In it, stands a humongous mansion that makes Ty Lee gasp.
"What?" demands Azula.
"I know this place," Ty Lee whispers.
"How?" the princess asks.
"I don't…" She furrows her brow. "I don't know. I just do."
Azula trusts her well enough. Toph and Zuko voice none of their thoughts.
They push open the door and then blackness consumes them.
They step out onto a fiery battlefield. A war goes on and soldiers run at the kids, clashing against their enemies—who quickly turn to assault the foursome—and now they must fight for their lives in a far more literal fashion.
Azula launches into a proper stance, Toph at her side. They both are much stronger than Ty Lee and Zuko, the former throwing punches when she can and the latter hurling orange flames that pale in comparison to the blue ones.
Ty Lee keeps stealing glances at Azula as she takes down the army coming at them.
She is a dragon. She is death, devourer of the worlds.
She is incredible, as she and Toph kill the last of the sea of soldiers.
Then, suddenly, a net falls down over them and the darkness devours them again.
Azula opens her eyes and feels the pain in her wrists; she hangs from a ceiling, bound and kept in place. She sees her companions knocked out on the ground, locked in handcuffs just like her. They slowly wake at the same time, just as two interrogators in masks enter.
One fist collides with Azula's face and she already loses her patience for the exercise.
"You hit me again, you will be in a world of hurt," Azula says, locking eyes with him. "Or any of these idiots I call my companions."
His fist collides with her face and she pulls off a very simple twist with a single kick of her leg that lights up the room bright blue, and scorches him across the neck. He falls, screaming, to the floor. Azula smirks and spins once more, burning his face and knocking him unconscious.
Toph stands up, having escaped from her handcuffs by now, and, with a flick of her wrist, she smashes him over the head with a rock for good measure. She then quickly grabs the key from around his neck and releases her three allies.
"They are not good at their jobs. I never fail to be impressed by Fire Nation incompetence," says Toph. She looks up. "Not you, and sort of not Twitchy over there. You guys are pretty competent. Surprisingly competent, actually."
"We should go," says Azula, and no one argues.
They burst from the room and each open their eyes in separate cots.
Ty Lee sighs from relief; she did not show her Avatar powers. Azula squeezes her eyes shut again and tries to cling to the nightmare they just faced. Zuko sits up and reacquaints himself with the world of the living. Toph sees no difference.
When Zuko rises from the cot and starts walking, he runs into a familiar face.
Katara throws her arms around Zuko and he hugs her tightly back. He presses her lips against hers and they cling to each other for ages. Eternity would not be enough.
"If I knew it was you, I would've intervened sooner. The rebels… they've become more… more brutal when it comes to our recruit soldiers. I don't… I don't approve but I…" Katara kisses him again. She does not know how to explain it.
"Did we pass the initiation?" Zuko asks, laughing. "We honestly thought we were wasting the time to find you but… destiny is a funny thing."
"You passed the initiation. I'm morally against it, but the rebels are… more desperate and cautious now with those they choose," says Katara. "I… I honestly needed to prove that the four of you were worth recruiting and so I temporarily sold out my values. No one wanted your group."
Zuko clenches his jaw. He wants to cry but is braver than that.
Still, he explains to her, "I am selfish and weak; I have failed so many people."
"Then make it up to them. Join us in our, I guess crusade?"
Azula interjects, "I am not a rebel."
"You're a runaway, and, while I don't think we trust you, you exhibited very impressive skills during the tests, Princess Azula." Katara frowns. "You don't have to like us or agree with us but there is a reason you left home."
"Yes, I was kidnapped."
"Then go home. The mercenaries could escort you if you want."
Azula remains silent, proving that she has other plans.
Ty Lee blurts out, against her mistress's wishes, "Hama told us to find you. You're supposed to teach me waterbending and help us open the gates!"
"What gates?" Katara asks, puzzled by it.
"She was unclear about it," grumbles Zuko, rolling his eyes at the thought of his task. Azula glowers at both he and her girlfriend. "We just know we have to open gates to somehow restore balance to the world and end my father's reign of terror or something."
"Avatar Hama is dead," says Katara, shaking her head. "How could you talk to her?"
Ty Lee waves her hand, grins and giggles. "Yeah, but she's my past life so she talks to me."
Azula grabs her by the neck. Katara lunges forward and pulls her away. Thankfully, Azula does not bother fighting back as she stands and sneers at her pickpocket.
"Ty Lee! You are so stupid I want to…!" Azula hisses. "You cannot go around telling people about how you are the Avatar! Especially not these slimy rebels!"
"We aren't slimy," snaps Katara, her cheeks reddening as she crosses her arms. "We want your help. Even Azula's, but we have to keep you under close watch."
"Screw you," spits Azula. "I do not care what Avatar Hama wants. You already annoy me and I have only just met you."
"The feeling is mutual," dryly says Katara, "but we can't worry about that now. You can speak to the leaders of the White Lotus about the gates you want to open; they may know something. I won't… I mean, I don't know if I can help you like she said, but if this girl can prove she's the Avatar then maybe I'll…"
Katara does not know what to say. If Ty Lee is the Avatar, she would do anything to help her restore balance. If Ty Lee is not, she will just be disgusted by the false hope.
Zuko begins, "I know she's a bit…"
"Immoral to the core?" Katara suggests. "I've heard stories about her. But I've also heard stories about the Avatar and a time of peace and… I don't know." She shakes her head from frustration. "I don't know, Zuko."
"Your serum is dark," says Azula, looking Katara up and down. "And you work for terrorists. Do not call me immoral. I merely want to hold a successful empire together."
Zuko interrupts, hoping to salvage the situation, with, "It's hard to find the moral high-ground when we're all standing in the mud."
Katara nods at him.
"Let me meet your leaders and see if they are worthy of my attention," Azula purrs.
Katara does not nod at that.
She honestly hopes someone will put the girl in her place.
But today, it will not be herself.
Katara steals another glance at Ty Lee. The girl might as well glitter. How could she be the most powerful human alive? She honestly does not look it. Maybe Azula lied to save her own skin. It sounds like the girl Zuko described so many times.
But the stories her Gran-Gran told her make her heart flutter with a secret hope.
Power can be held in the most unlikely of things, even a girl who smiles and giggles at highly inappropriate times, and flips her hair too often.