Chapter XX
The Black Violin
The submarine broke above the water a bare six inches, making it look like a basking whale to anyone spying it from afar, or so the Mechanist said. "If we dove any farther," he told Katara, "we'd be sinking!"
Piandao had left his ship in command of his first mate, while he and a handful of his best men took to the submarine as it sailed slowly north towards the dockyard warehouse where they planned to blend in with the workers and complete their mission.
Before he left, Sokka had drawn a map of the yard using what Piandao remembered of it, which was little as the man had never actually been there; he had only learned of the subs being there through his contacts in the navy. Sokka had not let this deter him, as he outlined their entire plan for them, complete with exactly how to go about detaching the ballast tanks and other parts the Mechanist said he needed, assuming they could not simply steal the entire thing.
After Sokka was gone and their voyage underway, Katara had been studying the map, glaring at it darkly when Piandao loomed over her.
"I'm proud of Sokka, and he's a brilliant strategist, but..." Piandao folded the map and tucked it into his sleeve. "He still has much to learn."
"I just hope he learns it before he gets hurt," she said.
They were in a war room, which the Mechanist preferred to call a "conference chamber," that was lit by soft, white light from glass tubes. Piandao was about to leave, but took a seat. "I don't know Princess Azula very well, only what I've heard from other people and Prince...Fire Lord Zuko."
Embarrassed that she had been so readable, Katara folded her hands and let her lips part for a moment before speaking. "I just don't know what to think," she said. "Azula is a genuinely horrible person. So she can act normal when she has to, big deal. It's like he's blind or something."
Piandao sat as though he were the picture of wisdom and sagacity but his brow betrayed him. Bravely, he remained seated. "Strong feelings can produce blind spots," he said. "But they can also make a person see more clearly."
"You think he's messed up, too, don't you?" Katara asked, smiling when she saw a faint nod.
"I won't argue with you over Princess Azula's character, but from what little I know she's more complicated than one might think. Not to say she doesn't possess some serious flaws," Piandao said, holding up his palms to stem her objections. "I don't think you have to worry about losing your brother, though. He's made some mistakes, but he made them for the right reasons."
She was wishing he had followed his first instinct and left, for she did not feel like debating the man. "He made them because he thought we'd think he was crazy. Maybe not at first, but the fact is when Aang was kidnapped he knew something was wrong and didn't tell us anything. Why didn't he think he could confide in us?"
Again, Piandao seemed to be searching for an answer. "Sokka is a very loyal person, perhaps he felt he had betrayed you with his silence and couldn't bear to face what he imagined the consequences might be. Perhaps that same loyalty is what laid the groundwork for his bond with Azula."
"Then it's misplaced."
Piandao's hand covered his mouth, and she could not tell if he was smiling or had pursed his lips in consternation. "I gathered this much over the years about the princess. She's many things, cunning, ruthless, power-hungry, but surprisingly quite loyal."
"Loyal? Azula? She tried to kill her own brother how many times? She had her friends thrown in prison when they stopped her from murdering him...along with Sokka and Suki, in case anyone's counting."
Piandao's hands went up again. "I know, I'm on your side here, all I'm saying is that if she were truly manipulating Sokka I think he would be able to tell."
With an important task before her, she was in no mood to dwell on her brother's love life, and so she stood up respectfully and bowed to Piandao. "Zuko once told us that the only way to deal with Azula was to assume every word she said was a lie, because there was no way to sort them from the truth. You're right, Azula is loyal, loyal to herself. I just hope someone who he still listens to points that out to him before it's too late."
"You're worried about the Avatar," said Piandao, before she could leave.
"Of course I am! He's not just the avatar to me, you know."
"I meant no offense," said Piandao. "I merely meant to suggest you have a lot to worry about, so perhaps worrying over Sokka is best left to others for now. He'll have his hands full when your friends are safe again."
"Yeah. Thanks, Piandao," she put her hand on his shoulder before she left and felt his relief.
Over the next few days she learned Piandao had been wrong about where her concerns should be placed. Stewing over Sokka and Azula had been a much needed balm for the maddening agony she felt over Aang. Thinking about him and where he might be was a torment she could not bear, and it made her mind go to places she knew were dangerous, places where she thought perhaps she could use her bending to keep the constant, crushing pressure of the deep ocean at bay.
The days passed and finally Katara stood in the hatch room of the sub with Piandao and his six men. Piandao had forgone Sokka's elaborate scheme, saying it would likely fall apart once they arrived at the warehouse and so improvising was best.
Her first trial was getting them to shore without being seen. An empty stretch of beach had been sighted near the dockyard which Katara propelled them towards in a low-bottomed boat. They wore Fire Nation soldier uniforms with partial face covers, figuring the full masks would appear too suspicious.
It was late afternoon when they arrived on the beach. No one had seen them, and there were no footprints in the sand, which told them it was not a frequently trafficked area. "Remember, act like you have every right to be here and no one will give you a second look," Piandao said.
Katara nodded. In some ways, her job was easy. It was Piandao, with his military experience, who would be handling most of the bluffing. All Katara had to do was pilot the primitive submarine and use her bending to fight if need be.
The dockyard served as a small emergency repair port and scrapping facility. The largest section was the warehouse which held small, unused craft that were otherwise serviceable. According to Piandao, there were many such facilities in the Fire Nation islands.
A road of hard-packed dirt led them from the beach to the dockyard and on it they met a troop of workers, stocky men carrying empty lunch packs and looking weary while smelling of a day's labor. They traded polite nods with Piandao's sailors and a few gave Katara lingering looks. They were interested, but not suspicious. She did not return their friendliness, thinking they would remember a smile longer than a blank stare.
"Hopefully that wasn't all of them," said Piandao.
"Why's that? Don't we want the place empty?"
"Not when we go in. Us coming late in the day would be unusual, but not suspicious. I can't say the same for after hours. You might want to act a little impatient when we get in, like you'd rather be somewhere else," he said
"Like I've got every right to be there, but don't want to be. Got it."
The warehouse's sea door was closed and bolted. A walkway skirted the massive building and the group followed Piandao onto it and towards the rear. It took them to a large, covered patio where empty work benches sat covered in wood chips and dust. "Sloppy," whispered Piandao. "Hopefully security will be, too."
To get to the work yard they had to go through the warehouse itself. Inside, under the massive roof, it was cooler, but even in the dim light Katara could see a nest of boats crammed together. Near the center, off to one side was the submarines they wanted. It resembled a fish in some respects, mainly the rudders, and Katara could see nothing wrong with it from the outside. She hoped the interior had not been gutted.
"That water isn't deep enough to submerge it," Katara said.
"I know," said Piandao in a low voice, looking over the boats. "There, that's the one we want." He spoke louder, pointing to a wide boat with a short mast behind the submarine.
"Um,"
"That's the boat we need to take that boat over to Hao Island, but it looks like we'll have to move these other ships and that submarine out first." He was speaking loudly, then, at a normal volume, said, "You and Fin here will be aboard the submarine, which you'll discretely submerge and sail away while we handle everything else. Got it?"
"Got it," she said, wondering how he would convince anyone to move so many boats at this hour.
While Katara and Fin remained in the warehouse, Piandao and the others went to the work yard on the other side of the building. Fin wasted no time in getting into the submarine and opening the hatch, but Katara lingered. She could hear Piandao and the others, their voices muted by distance and wooden walls.
There was entirely too much talking for her taste, and there was something about the tone of the words that made her limbs tingle and twitch.
Piandao walked briskly into the room with a group of men behind him. "This works out perfectly," he said, wincing when he saw Katara outside the submarine. "We can get it done more quickly if all of us work together."
Katara thought her heart might stop when she saw Suki and Toph. Suki wore her Kyoshi Warrior armor, while Toph was dressed in a tight fitting Fire Nation ensemble that she would have hated. "What's that man doing?" asked Suki, pointing at Fin.
"Fin's a go-getter," said Piandao. "He doesn't like to wait around.
"Oh, we'll have to winch that one," said one of the dock workers, a foreman most likely. "It's powered by waterbending."
"We just have to burn it," said Toph. "It's not necessary to tow it out."
There was an awkward silence which the things inhabiting stolen bodies seemed oblivious to. "Er, it won't take long to move it, ma'am. It'll be blazing before dark, trust me," said the foreman.
"Hurry up. We may not leave until it's destruction is confirmed, and the Fire Lord doesn't like to be kept waiting," she said.
Dozens of men set to work, including Katara who did her best to remain as close to the submarine at all times. The sea doors were unbolted and opened, and boats began to move.
"Er, may I ask why the Fire Lord wants this thing destroyed?" the dock foreman wanted to know. "It was supposed to be reverse engineered years ago, but with the war ending, and airships..."
"I understand it was used to attack our great nation," said Suki. "It's a blight and the Fire Lord wants it burned."
Katara turned her face away and smiled. Their lies were so pathetic, it was lucky for them they were only stalling for time so their evil spirit king, or whatever it was, could show up. Still, she hated hearing them speak and wondered if she would ever get a chance to catch the beasts in their true bodies, assuming they even had them. Bloodbending was an evil thing, and she doubted she would ever use it again, but the thought of giving these things some true payback was enjoyable.
The dockyard men were quick and skilled with their work, and soon the way was clear for the sub to be towed. Ropes were tied to it and using a winch near the sea door, it was pulled along quickly then pushed out of the warehouse.
"Now burn it," said Suki.
"Let's get it away from the warehouse and the other boats first," said Piandao. "Do we have any firebenders?"
Half of Piandao's crew were firebenders, but they kept their hands down. Three dock workers raised their hands. "Good, hang tight over there, we'll need you shortly. Ri Lo, make sure there's nothing dangerous inside that thing."
He pointed to Katara when he said "Ri Lo," who dutifully hoped aboard and motioned for Fin to join her.
"What are they doing?" asked Toph.
"They're checking for blasting jelly. The invaders brought quite a lot on the Day of Black Sun, and some of these captured vessels were never thoroughly cleared. There have been accidents before," said Piandao.
Katara was inside the sub as the conversation outside continued. The interior was just as Katara remembered, spacious and simply designed. There was a periscope, and a rudder for steering, but beyond that little else. Everything appeared intact. The only difference from the last time she had been in one was the musty, wet smell that permeated the damp air.
She began moving her arms gently, giving the submarine a discrete push out past the warehouse door. She could sense the water below her was deep enough to hide the craft, but before she could call for Fin to close the hatch, an idea occurred to her. "Fin, we're going to let this thing out a bit farther, then I'm going to sink it," she said.
"Sink it?" he asked.
Fin was older than her, but his face with its perpetually surprised look made him seem much younger. He removed his helmet and blinked at the open hatch.
"When the water comes in, I'll form a bubble around us. You'll swim up the hatch and tell a really good story about how water came pouring in from a leak and you tried to save me, but couldn't. Got it?"
He nodded, a wide smile appearing on his face.
She brought the submarine out by moving the water beneath it, causing the craft to dip and the sea to spill in down the hatch. Once the sub was sinking of its own accord, she switched to keeping herself and Fin from drowning by keeping a bubble around them. When the sub shook from touching the bottom, she gave him the nod and he swam up and out the opening.
Thus she began some of the trickiest bending she had ever preformed. With her concentration fixed and her body fluid, she bent the water out of the submarine while at the same time filling its ballast tanks to keep the craft under water, but off the bottom. This was done so as not to cause any undue ripples on the surface, and once she was only in ankle-deep water, she used her bending to ice over the hatch, which she would close later.
Without knowing how things stood on the surface, she drove the submarine out to sea, past where the ocean dropped off into deep, cold water.
-888-
Appa offered up little complaint besides a few grunts when he took off, alleviating much of Sokka's guilt over making him fly while wounded. The bison sensed they were all battered and torn from their ordeal at the asylum and he was eager to get moving so he could ultimately rest. Perhaps it helped that not all were suffering in silence, Sokka thought, after Azula had taken a short break from what had been constant complaining.
She had seated herself directly behind Sokka on Appa's saddle so she could face her uncle and look-alike, probably with the intention of sizing them up so she could plan her attack. Knowing what she was up to put Sokka in a dark mood, which made him think about his sister all the more.
"So, while you were pretending to be me you didn't touch any of my things, did you? Of course you must have," Azula said, breaking what had been a long, tense silence, one Sokka had hoped would stretch through the afternoon.
"I used what I needed," said Suzi. "Your room was in perfect order when I was dragged out of it."
"I hope you didn't embarrass me," said Azula. "I have a reputation to uphold and when I return, it would be a shame if I had to correct any misconceptions you might have left."
"Meh," said Suzi.
"Meh? I hope you didn't talk like a peasant where anyone could hear you."
"I'm not a peasant," Suzi said, sharply. "My father was an officer in the army and my mother is a noblewoman."
"Strange that I never saw her around the palace," said Azula.
"It wasn't a very welcoming place," said Suzi.
"It's not supposed to be."
"That was the trouble with it."
"It never ends," groaned Sokka.
"Relax, dear, we're just passing the time," said Azula.
"So my I Spy game is the worst thing ever, but this is cool? Yeah, okay, no, that's alright," he muttered. Azula pretended not to hear.
"I'd ask what your problem is with me, but I gather this is normal behavior for you," said Suzi.
"Normal? No, I'm not normally irritated that an imposter has been living my life for weeks on end. You're a reminder that someone," she elbowed Sokka in the back, "didn't trust me very much at one point. But, I forgive him. Just him."
She glared at Iroh, who sat quietly with a stone face and sad eyes. Everyone waited for him to speak, but he remained still. Sokka expected Azula would try to goad him soon, however it seemed she was not done with Suzi.
"So, how did Sokka come to be living with you in the first place?" asked Azula.
"We have a big house and were looking for a tenant when he came to live in the Harbor City for his ambassadorship. Mother took out an ad in one of the market pamphlets."
"How serendipitous," said Azula. "And I'll bet he took one look at you and moved right on in?"
Sokka swallowed hard, remembering the day he had first seen Suzi. He had met her mother at the door, while she was in the kitchen filling the house with the smell of curry. He had been struck dumb upon seeing her face, which now that he thought of it had likely led to a great many false impressions.
"Let's just say a few things make a lot more sense to me now," Suzi said, making Sokka briefly consider falling off Appa and into the sea below.
"Ooh, give us details," said Azula. "What did your mother think?"
Suzi knew she was being needled, and to her credit was not losing her temper. "Oh, she adores Sokka," said Suzi. "I think she wants us to get married."
Sokka felt himself begin to lean ever so slightly to the left as he scanned the skies around him for signs of black shapes too large to be birds. There was nothing aside from glittering water below, clouds above, and a soft haze that blended sky and sea. In the distance there was a long, black strip of land, and he urged Appa to fly faster.
"I bet she does. Sokka's quite a catch. You know, technically he's a prince."
"Really?"
"Isn't that right, Sokka? Your father is the Southern Water Tribe's chief? That makes you a prince, I think."
Sokka cleared his throat. "Er, I guess. We're not really into that kinda thing down south."
"He's modest, too," said Azula. "We used to not get along very well, Sokka and I. In fact, we hated each other with every fiber of our being, didn't we, dear?"
He felt her playing with his wolf's tail, her knuckles stroking the back of his skull, making his nerves dance and jump. "We had some differences," he said.
"Serious differences," Azula said happily. "I thought him and his friends should be in prison or dead, and he disagreed."
"Those are some serious differences," said Suzi.
"It's all in the past now, isn't it, dear?" Azula said, lightly tapping the back of his head.
"Yep. Way back there," he said, giving Appa's reins a jostle so he would fly faster.
"I'm happy to hear it," Suzi said.
"You're the only one, then," said Azula. "His sister hates me, and I doubt his other friends will take kindly to our relationship."
Sokka was trying to remember how to urge Appa into doing a barrel-roll while at the same time thinking of a way to make it look like an accident when he spied them to the north. A line of black shapes, large and growing larger.
"We got company," he said, not as happy to see star-spawn as he imagined he might be. "Appa, yip-yip!"
Appa drew his legs up to increase his speed while Azula and Iroh moved to one side of the saddle and prepared to use their bending. "What are they?" Suzi asked, moving behind Sokka.
"Monsters," said Sokka. "This is what we wanted to happen. It means they're not after Katara and the others."
"Last time they redirected my lightning and were resistant to fire, so I hope you're up for a real fight," said Azula to her uncle.
Already Sokka could tell these star-spawn had been built for speed, swooping and gliding like true birds rather than flapping masses of limbs. As they drew nearer, flying wing tip to wing tip, Sokka saw they still possessed a medley of tentacles and claws, but they kept them pulled close to their undersides.
A bolt of lightning pierced the air, Azula gambling on the theory they were too close to redirect it back. She was right, but the monsters were still able to channel her bolt from wing to wing, then off into the air as they swooped in. Only Iroh's burst of fire forced them to rise higher and miss everyone on the saddle.
They did not need much space to turn, and soon were flying in formation behind Appa. Azula sent another lightning bolt crackling at them, only to have it redirected back and then deflected by Iroh, who then sent powerful gusts of orange fire at them. Sokka saw the flames hit, causing some turbulence and nothing more.
Planting his feet on the back of Appa's furry head, he urged the bison to dive. The benders kept their footing, but he was nearly unseated when Suzi crashed into his back with a loud "Oof!" He kept urging Appa downward, knowing the bison would level out at the last possible moment before splashing into the sea.
Sokka screamed when it looked like he was wrong and that Appa would be taking them all for a swim, but his fear proved unfounded. Appa did cut it closer than he had expected, however, and he was soon wet from sea spray. Suzi was clinging to him, making it hard to turn back and confirm Iroh and Azula were still aboard.
"Your fire won't hurt them! Try to put them in the water!" he shouted, assuming correctly they were still aboard.
The monsters, about a dozen in all, flew above them for a hundred yard as if recalculating their method of attack. Sokka saw this was indeed the case, when one at a time they began diving like fire hawks chasing rat lizards. Sokka craned his neck to keep an eye on their position, and used Appa's reins to urge the bison left or right. Azula and Iroh were able to use their firebending to force half the creatures into the water, causing the rest to rise and stop their dives.
"They're swimming!" shouted Azula.
Suzi had gained Appa's saddle, leaving Sokka free to turn around. The creatures that had gone into the water were now leaping out of it and diving back in like porpoises, the fire that touched them having no effect.
Azula tried her lightning again, and for a moment he thought it had worked until he heard her curse.
"Keep Appa steered toward that island!" he shouted, handing the reins off to a wide-eyed Suzi, who with white knuckles gripped the hempen cord and traded places with him. On the saddle, he grabbed Azula by the shoulder to get her attention. "Remember the worm! We had to break the skin before the lightning would work."
Azula responded by taking his boomerang and jumping off Appa's back.
"Azula, no!" he shouted, running to follow, but was grabbed by Iroh.
He saw she had managed to latch onto one of the waterborne monstrosities and was hacking at its hide with the sharp edge of his boomerang. He saw a flash of blue, and the two dropped out of sight under the water. The others then followed suit.
Sokka took Appa's reins back from Suzi and tried to get the bison to slow down and turn back, but stubbornness, or more likely fear, now drove Appa forward. He cried repeatedly for the bison to turn, but Iroh and Suzi were shouting that the flying creatures were swooping once more.
Without stopping to ponder the move, he jumped off Appa and hit the ocean hard. Floundering for a moment, he got his sense of direction tuned and swam to where Azula had gone under. He had no plan for what to do when he reached her, and the cold water and force of the fall had knocked all the sense from him beyond the need to swim.
As his limbs propelled him through the water, he opened his eyes and despite the stinging salt could see shapes coming in his direction.
He had planned for this, he told himself. Katara and Nekka were with Piandao and the Mechanist, and they knew the state of things. They had saved the world once before, and they could do it again. Without him if need be.
-888-
Sokka did not remember losing consciousness, but the pain in his chest told him it must have been from inhaling sea water. How he was alive now was less of a concern to him than how long he would stay that way. Looking down at the sea several thousand feet below, he dreaded looking up to see what held him in its hooks. He had a good idea of what it looked like up close, as its fellows were flying nearby. One carried Azula in the same way it held him, only her limbs dangled lifelessly beneath her.
"Azula!" he screamed, thrashing in the grip of the monster's talons. They dug into his skin, but he only thrashed harder, not caring if he fell or was scratched to pieces.
What appeared to be the tentacles of an octopus shark came slithering down around him, enveloping his body and constricting, making it impossible to move and hard to breath. He continued to shout and rave, but the thing did not seem to care about that, only his thrashing.
-She has to be alive, or they wouldn't take her,- he thought.
-They may not be aware she is dead,- the Old One said, startling and infuriating him.
-You're useless! Go away!-
-I grow weaker...soon or...lost.-
He cried out as agony tore though his skull and left him wanting to vomit.
"Don't do that again!" he said, for it hurt to think.
Another bolt of pain, this time he passed out. He could hear the notes of a violin being played close to his ear, an unearthly sound that made his stomach quiver. When he woke he was still in the loving caress of the monster's hooks and tentacles. Azula still dangled from her own captor's clutches.
They were flying higher and faster now, and the neat formation the monsters had been flying was disrupted. Sokka's head ached savagely from whatever had happened to him. He had the strange notion that the Old One had died, but he could still sense its presence.
Wet and bleeding from dozens of small cuts, he let himself hang in the monster's grip and hoped this was what Azula was doing. There was no sense in struggling just now, not with several thousand feet of air between him and the open ocean.
They flew on, putting many miles of sea beneath them. Sokka kept his eyes fixed on Azula, looking for some clue of life. He surmised that if she were awake, he would soon know it, but he hoped she would save her strength for a better fighting spot.
With his eyes shut, he could ignore the sea below, the monster above, and hope Iroh and Suzi, or at least Appa, had the good sense to keep flying and not come after them.
Suddenly the monsters were all descending, making Sokka's stomach lurch. Something had sent them into a panic, but the limited degree to which he could turn his head would not let him see where Appa was.
There were now more black shapes in their air, thrice as many as before. The newcomers were smaller and while their forms were strange, they were more familiar looking than the star-spawn.
They had arms and legs like a man, but long, barbed tails like a scorpion monkey. From their backs sprouted large, leathery wings which they flapped and glided on with silent grace. For heads, they could have been a human's but for the lack of face, or even a mouth. They had long fingers on their hands and used them to grab onto star-spawn, pulling and twisting savagely at any appendage they could grip.
Several of the black, humanoid fliers swarmed the monster carrying Azula and wrested her from the other creature's grasp, making it shriek. Sokka renewed his efforts to free himself when the creatures came for him, and they had him free in short order, there being only a brief time when he was left in free-fall before being caught in their long, iron-wire fingers.
Up close, there was nothing more to see. Their black skin was utterly smooth, yet he could feel hard muscled underneath and while they held him more gently than the star-spawn had, their lack of faces made determining any sort of motive or demeanor impossible.
Azula had become roused in the tumult and was in no mood to be carried by anything, as she kicked and shouted.
"Azula!" he called to her. "Don't fight them! They're rescuing us!"
Sokka called this to her a dozen times before she stopped thrashing, and he hoped what he said was true.
Azula was behind him now, and more of the black fliers had appeared, seemingly from nowhere to assist the ones working to free her. Sokka struggled to see what was happening, for while he was not being hindered from turning to look, nor was he being accommodated.
What he could see elated and terrified him. The star-spawn that captured Azula had wrapped her tight, and rather than pry her free the black fliers had simply torn the thing to pieces, as they were doing to the others, and letting the hodgepodge of body parts fall into the sea.
"Hey, uh, buddy?" he said to his black flier. "Um, so...I don't suppose you talk, or whatever? I see you don't have a mouth. Kinda weird."
The creature made no sign it had heard him, and so he gave up trying to communicate with it.
The fliers carrying Azula had caught up, and were closer so he could see she was unharmed and relatively content with her situation. She flashed him an exasperated look which he returned with a grin. His voice was hoarse and so with his wrist he pantomimed throwing a boomerang.
She shook her head and his heart sank. "We had some good times, didn't we, boomerang?" he said to the water below. "Say hi to space sword for me."
He spent the next few hours thinking about how he would go about making a new boomerang, and maybe a new sword for that matter. -I'll put a cord on the hilt and tie it to my wrist so I won't lose it,- he thought. -And maybe instead of one boomerang, I'll make, like, a boomerang launcher, that way...-
Sokka's thoughts were interrupted when the creatures dropped altitude and swung hard to the south where a small island stood alone, a rocky spire jutting up from one end like a needle. Sokka had no idea where they were, but knew they could not have left the Fire Nation archipelago. Perhaps Azula would recognize the island, or be able to hazard a guess as to where they were.
The flying creatures were headed for the needle, the top of which had a carpet of lush grass which served as the lawn to a wide-mouthed cave. Drawing closer, Sokka could see the area around the cave was ornamented with a picnic table and a lavish, stuffed chair. A cold fire pit sat next to a rack where an empty laundry line had been strung between a tall boulder and a stunted tree. The camp was a bizarre sight, and he thought whoever called it home might be well-prepared for the shock they were about to receive.
He and Azula were set down by the black fliers as gently as could be, but their limbs were weak from hours of dangling and both fell immediately on having solid ground beneath them to contend with. They recovered quickly, however, and before questions could be shouted or rash moves made, the fliers tore into the cave like a colony of wolf bats fleeing the sun.
"What fresh madness is this?" Azula asked, retying her hair which had been thrown into significant disarray.
"I don't know, but we need to get back on course here before..."
The music of a violin stopped him, even his heart it seemed. This time the sound was no distant impression or something he could attribute to hallucinations or dreams, but a real performance happening right now.
From the cave came the music, and after each black flier had disappeared out stepped a tall, gray-bearded man wearing a simple Fire Nation style tunic playing a black violin.
Sokka felt his legs become weak again and the sound of the crashing sea below brought both terror and recognition. "You!" he shouted, breaking the spell of the tune the man played.
The man cowered as if Sokka's voice might attract attention. "I didn't expect they would bring you here," he muttered as though speaking to himself.
Azula held up a fist and from between her fingers crawled a blue, flickering flame. "This is the part where you tell us who you are, where this is, and what those things were," she said, her voice like the fire in her hand.
The man's fear stemmed from something besides the two young people before him, and on seeing he was being threatened he drew himself up to his full, considerable, height and frowned. "I shall tell you all, and when I do you shall feel most ungrateful for having menaced me, young lady," he said.
"Oh no, we're very grateful. I'm grateful, she's grateful, she just has a strange way of showing her gratitude," said Sokka. "Hey, I see your fire went out, maybe she was going to light it or something."
Azula spread her palm and her fire disappeared. She exchanged a look with Sokka that allowed him to step forward and make a polite bow of greeting. "Hi, my name is..."
"Sokka, and this is Princess Azula. Yes, I know who you are."
"Um...okay, then."
The man set his violin down on the picnic table and took a seat in the stuffed chair nearby. "This body is not as young as it used to be, and I've worn it hard," he said. "You can call me Zan. No doubt you recognize me from the beach and have heard my music every so often since?"
"Music? We haven't heard any music," said Azula.
"Sokka is more attuned to certain spheres than some," said Zan. "It's what drew me to him."
Azula crossed her arms tightly and did not appear impressed. Sokka as well felt put out by this Zan person and his manner. The old man stroked his beard and regarded them ruefully. "You might say I'm a traveling musician of sorts," he said finally. "I can move myself and others between the spheres..."
"We've heard this before," interrupted Azula. "The man claimed to be some kind of messenger for a certain Demon Sultan or some such nonsense. Are you him in some ridiculous disguise?"
At her accusation he rose from his chair and shook. "You think I am the Crawling Chaos in disguise? Foolish girl, I...well, perhaps not so foolish."
He calmed and sat back down. "I am not Nyarlathotep, and I am no servant of Cthulhu or Azathoth. You could call me a friend, but I don't know if you will do so when you learn of how little use I can be to you."
Waiving his hands as if to clear away a fog, Sokka began to pace. "Okay, I don't know what spheres are, I mean I know what a sphere is, but I don't know what you're talking about, anyway..."
"At the Great Library of Wan Shi Tong, I sent the ghouls to aid you. I ferried them away before they could decide to turn on you as well, but that's of no importance. It was also I who sent the Night-Gaunts to aid you just now."
"Night-Gaunts? Those things that flew in there?"
Zan nodded. "They hate to fly over water, so it's likely I'll get no help from them again anytime soon."
"Hold on just a minute," said Azula, pushing Sokka aside so she could stand in front of Zan, who was squinting at her. "We've been flying all over the world on the back of a sky bison and so far the only thing that's been able to track us has been Cthulhu's minions. You'd better explain yourself."
He scoffed, looking tall even when sitting down. "I tracked you, young lady, by a dozen means. I hear the song of the spheres, and hidden in the notes is everything that is, was, and ever will be, at least for those tuned in properly. I won't claim to hear a fraction of that song, but I hear enough to know which way to turn my head. Sokka," he said, looking over Azula's shoulder. "Every time you heard that violin music, it was me, tuning in, just to get a sense of where you were and where you might be going. I first heard your notes three years ago, both of you, but I thought nothing of it. Then, more recently, a terrible noise brought me to that beach where you saw me and I took notice of your face."
Sokka gently touched Azula's arm to keep her anger from boiling up. Zan knew how improbable his words were, but sat with such confidence that Sokka had to believe them. "So, in the ocean..."
"I moved you a bit, yes," Zan said.
Azula chortled, pushing Sokka away and sneering at Zan. "So, you have the power to move people and monsters all over creation, and yet here we are standing in the middle of nowhere no closer to our true goal than we were weeks ago. I suppose you have some convenient excuse for not simply walking up to us and offering to send us to the Old One's undersea village?"
A shadow darkened Zan momentarily before fear shrank him, then shame. "I told you already you might not find me the most useful of friends," he said.
"Azula," Sokka whispered, then put his mouth close to her ear. "Let's not give this guy a hard time, okay?"
"You're a fool to be trusting him," she said, not quietly.
"Go ahead and don't trust him if you don't want to, just do it kinda secretly, okay?"
She frowned but seemed to take his point and stepped back, leaving Sokka to bow again. "Sorry, we've just had bad luck with spirits and strange men, you understand."
Zan waved the apology off. "I do understand. I, too, am wary of Nyarlathotep. His influence in this sphere is limited, but it is not so in other places I often frequent. Other beings that have an eye on this sphere are also not so limited elsewhere. That is why I must be careful."
"Ha. You're afraid something will notice you helping us and come after you," said Azula. "And since you can leave this so-called sphere for another one anytime you like, you've got much to lose and nothing to gain by aiding us. Have I got it right?"
Zan dipped his head. "I've risked a great deal by doing what little I have. And as a point of clarity, when I moved you nearer to that ship to keep you from dying at sea, I only nudged you a short distance. Sending you much farther would require sending you through another sphere completely, an experience you would find harrowing to say the least."
Cliff birds were cawing down below, the sound rising up around the needle like dinner bells. Sokka was hungry, which made him think about how much time had passed since they were separated from Appa. "Kinda like the Mechanist's weird crystal," said Sokka.
Zan became animated again and leaned forward in his chair. He seemed loathe to stand, and Sokka noted his skinny legs appeared bowed. "Crystals? Green, by chance?"
"Yeah, kind bluey-green." Sokka repeated what the Mechanist had told him of his crystal experiments, and how they suspected they were important but were unsure how."
"Oh, they have a use alright. The Old Ones knew all about them," said Zan.
"What do you know about the Old Ones?" asked Azula. "We need to go to them, now. I don't care how harrowing the trip will be, it can't be worse than what we're putting up with now."
"Oh, it can," Zan muttered. "The Old One in the lad's mind is how I knew of your latest difficulty. No doubt you experienced some discomfort during your captivity?"
Sokka's head still felt tight from the powerful agonies that had ripped through him, and he nodded.
"I know little of their mindbending art, but I heard your Old One's call all the same. The being inside you is fading, it wants you to return it to the others so it can regain a body more to its liking. A strong word of caution, do not trust the Old Ones," Zan said.
"We don't," said Azula, curtly.
"Good." He faced Sokka, leaning back and appraising him. "You would also be wise not to have any illusions about them. They are not human in any sense, although they are somewhat similar in spirit. No, forget I said that, it will only lead you to ruin. Eh, tell me more of this Mechanist and his crystals?"
Sokka's sore head was spinning from the conversation, and he was about to tell Zan all he knew, but caught himself. "Ah, that's about all we know, actually. Sorry. So, look, it was nice talking to you, thank you so much for looking out for us and all, but we gotta get going. I kinda put a plan in action and I'm pretty sure if I don't get back to it my friends are going to mess it all up to search for me, so...how to we get down from here?"
Zan sensed he had put them on edge with his questions, and pressed his mouth tight behind his beard. He rose from the chair and went to his violin, which he picked up and played a note on. "It sounds like your friends are closer than they were before," he said. "I suppose sending you to them wouldn't cause any of us much harm."
"Oh no you don't, not before you..."
Azula was struck dumb when Zan began to play in earnest. Sokka, likewise, could not have spoken had he wanted to. The sound the old man produced was nothing like violin music, or any song Sokka had heard outside faded dreams about shadows and deep places. The picnic table, the chair, Zan, Azula, the grass, and the cave lost their color and began to shimmer.
Only Azula regained her solidity and color as everything faded to black. They were floating, the strange music now the only thing of any substance besides themselves. A sense of falling overtook Sokka, and he saw Azula reach for him but their positions in space in respect to each other were locked. He could not breathe, and neither could Azula. She panicked first, but before Sokka felt any true dread there was suddenly a hard, cloth saddle beneath his rear.
As Azula drew in deep breaths, Sokka turned to see Iroh and Suzi's wide, slack-jawed faces. "Hi, guys," he said.
-888-
After telling the story of the Night-Gaunts and their meeting with Zan, Sokka did not feel quite so guilty about his past acts of secrecy after seeing how his tale was received. Iroh and Suzi believed him, but their questions were those of doubters and had they not seen him and Azula appear out of thin air he doubted they would have accepted his words as fact.
"Perhaps we'll see him again," said Iroh after pondering the situation.
"Bah. I've have had it with mystical men," said Azula. "Good riddance to him."
The island Appa had been heading for when they were attacked was a thriving fishing community. Sokka bid the bison to land in the woods not far from the town; he did not want the entire village's attention, but he did want word of their travels to get back to Zuko, who would think they were headed into the Earth Kingdom, likely for Ba Sing Se in an effort to ask the Earth King for help.
-A perfectly reasonable, rational, wrong assumption,- Sokka thought as they climbed down from Appa's saddle while the bison grazed on nearby bushes. Near them was a mowed field separated from another grassy expanse by a cobbled road.
"I'm going to puke if I ever eat another melon apple, so let's buy some real food then get a move on," Sokka said.
"We're broke, dummy," said Azula. "We don't even have your boomerang to sell."
Sokka clutched his chest over his heart. "Don't...say...its name..."
"Maybe we could sell some melon apples?" suggested Suzi.
"Don't be stupid. They're a day from being spoiled at best," said Azula.
"We'll sing for our supper," said Iroh, gathering up three melon apples and handing them to Sokka. "Or rather, I'll sing and you'll juggle."
Sokka tossed up a melon apple, then another. The third went up and he almost caught the first when the second hit him in the head.
"You two lemur monkeys enjoy your circus act. You, come with me." She pointed at Suzi as she snatched up a melon apple.
"Um..."
"I'm not going to harm you; I have an idea. Come along now."
Sokka juggled his thoughts more gracefully than he did his melon apples and determined Suzi would be safe. He whispered as much as he tossed the fruits into the air again and tried to get the rhythm of juggling them down.
Both he and Iroh watched the two girls cross the field and walk down the road to the village. It was getting late in the afternoon, but there was plenty of daylight left to them and so Sokka resumed his juggling practice. "I'm sure they'll be okay," said Sokka after many minutes.
Iroh had his doubts and rubbed his throat for a moment, apparently satisfied with his vocal cords. "Why don't we get going, just in case," he said. "Azula is an unpredictable girl."
"I dunno, I think she's pretty predictable," Sokka said, catching two melon apples while the third fell to the ground. He would likely be eating them later, so he decided to stop abusing them until he had to do his act for real.
They started off for the road. Azula and Suzi were well out of sight, but Sokka refused to quicken his pace. "So, ah, you really don't have a problem with me dating your niece?"
"Who, me? I've got plenty of other things to worry about," said Iroh. "And if I didn't, who would I be to say anything? Your friends will offer plenty of hardships for you there, I think."
They reached the road and still they could not see Azula or Suzi. The fields around the village in the distance were large and had been cut recently, so he doubted they had gone off course.
"Yeah, if my sister is any sign of things to come, it's gonna be rough," he said.
"There is much bitterness between my niece and your friends. Too much, maybe."
Sokka hung his head and felt foolish for hoping Iroh would say something encouraging. In the years he had known the man, he had learned to appreciate his wisdom. The notion that Iroh had once been his enemy frightened him, but then again he suspected the wise uncle of the future Fire Lord had been playing on his own Pai Sho board for a long time.
"It's not like we thought it through or anything," said Sokka, almost to himself.
"Who thinks love through?" Iroh asked.
"Love? Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sokka said.
"Well, if it isn't love then you've got nothing to worry about. Young people these days take relationships too seriously too soon."
"Well, it could be," Sokka said, feeling his face grow hot. "I mean, we've been through a lot together, we've been getting along better than before."
"You have a bond, no doubt," said Iroh. "But it's good times that hold people together, not hardship. I knew many men in the war who I'd call my brothers, but they are brothers in arms which is different."
"We haven't had a lot of time for good times," Sokka said.
"That's what I mean, you're thinking too much!" said Iroh, tapping Sokka's arm. "You had your little vacation in the south pole, she tried to kill you when you got back, then you didn't see her for three years, and now it's only been a few weeks. Relax, it'll work itself out."
Sokka felt better, but then felt his sleeve pinched. "But seriously, be careful. Azula is a sensitive girl with more inner demons than you know, and she'll do what she feels she has to in order to protect herself from pain. I care for her, I do, but I'm not blind to what she is, and neither should you be."
"Right," said Sokka, sorry he had asked.
The village was ringed by a low, wooden wall that had failed to contain a small amount of sprawl in the form of simple straw huts and sheds. Inside the wall the houses were built of quality wood and painted with red and black trim. The water beyond the docks was flecked with gold and the wholesome smell of the sea wafted up the short hill. It reminded Sokka of Outer-Maw, but in a way that made that place seem far off.
-888-
Azula tossed the melon apple she had taken back and forth between her hands as she and Suzi made their way through the market. A handful of street performers, mostly fourth-rate musicians, acrobats, and jugglers, some who even Sokka had outclassed, were peddling their talents.
"Looks like they appreciate the arts in this ash pit, right, sister?" said Azula, relishing the use of sister.
"You got it, sis," said Suzi, uncomfortably, which improved Azula's mood all the more.
-Just wait, dear sister, you'll be having even more fun once the show starts,- she thought.
"So, what's the plan?" asked Suzi.
"The plan is for you to be quiet and play along with whatever I do," said Azula, who found an empty spot near one of the fruit stands.
The melon apple she held was tossed high into the air, causing some heads to turn. All eyes were on her when she summoned a bolt of lightning and blew the melon apple into a fine mist just as it began its downward arc.
"Who wants to see me blast a piece of fruit off my sister's head?" Azula asked, grabbing Suzi by the arm and facing the crowd, daring any and all to take her up on the offer.
A few people had fled, but most looked at her in awe. She could hear them muttering, a few even said her name.
-That's right, fools, it is I, your Princess of Fire,- she thought.
In some of her more idle moments she had pondered titles. Fire Lady Azula did not sound right to her, nor did Fire Lord or Phoenix Queen. Fire Queen had her fancy for a bit, but she was liking the sound of lightning Empress more and more, despite the amount of work it would take to earn such an honorific.
She shook these thoughts from her head when a nearby voice spoke up. It was soft with fear, but there was an eagerness to it Azula liked.
"I-I would," it said.
She stepped nimbly to the skinny man who had spoken and after a moment's hesitation, gingerly plucked his sleeve between her fingers. "You're in for a treat, but as you can see, I'm all out of melon apples. Buy me one, won't you?"
Escorting him to the fruit cart, she selected a large melon apple with a slight deformity on one end. The man handed over his coin, and his change was deftly intercepted. "That should cover the price of admission," Azula said. "What about the rest of you rabble? Girls have to eat, you know. Follow us if you want to see my sister narrowly avoid being killed in a most horrible and swift fashion."
"Um, I'm not comfortable with this," said Suzi.
"Nonsense," said Azula, loudly so all could hear. "We've practiced this trick...at least once already."
This made the crowd all the more eager to watch as they followed Azula and Suzi behind a warehouse where there was an open, bare patch of ground used to train ostrich horses. Azula handed Suzi the melon apple and stood her on one end of the dusty circle before turning to the crowd and demanding payment from all those who could easily watch the spectacle. She shot dirty looks at those who had climbed trees or taken to the warehouse's roof, but once she had enough coins she was satisfied enough to overlook the cheapskates.
She went back to Suzi and helped her set the melon apple her head, using the slightly flat spot and the girl's hair to keep it steady. "Y-your lightning is that accurate?" asked Suzi. "Won't I be electrocuted through the melon apple?"
Azula shook her head. "There's a wooden post with a metal ring directly behind you. That's what I'll be aiming for. The melon apple will be a brief stop along the way, and will vaporize before it lets the bolt travel down into your body. Here," she lifted Suzi's arm and used her sleeve to wipe the sweat from the girl's face. "Just don't move, and don't touch the melon apple, otherwise the bolt will go down your arms and fry your insides."
Suzi began to shudder, which pleased Azula to see, but as soon as her trembling started it stopped and the girl was like stone. "Okay, then. I see how it is. Get going, we don't have all day," said Suzi.
"That's the spirit," said Azula, lightly tapping Suzi's cheek. "You'll be fine, trust me. I've got to be nice to all of Sokka's friends, you know."
"This is nice?"
"You should see me I'm being mean," Azula said, licking her thumb and wiping it on the melon apple. Every little bit would help, she thought. Hopefully no more sweat would accumulate on Suzi's face.
The crowd was becoming impatient, but since Azula already had their money she took her time in making sure her stance was correct and that her aim would be true. lightning, she had learned, was more like water than fire. But while gravity and solid objects ruled water, lightning obeyed stranger laws. Azula had learned those laws and liked to think she had a natural intuition regarding them.
She looked over the dusty ground at the girl who might have been her twin in dimmer light. Suzi was a statue, her regal pose exuding defiance rather than fear. Azula smirked, and moved her arms in a circle, summoning her chi to be split. Her eyes focused on the melon apple, but behind it she imagined the metal ring. She held the image of it in her mind as she unleashed a narrow, powerful bolt of lightning that streaked over the ground and hit the melon apple before any onlookers could be startled. The fruit vanished, leaving behind only its scent, while the bolt found the metal ring and traveled down the post into the ground.
Azula paused just long enough to see the deep relief flood Suzi's face, then she gave a deep bow that concealed the look of manic delight on her face. When Azula rose, she looked as though she had preformed the trick a thousand times, smiling only when a few more coins were tossed her way.
"That's all for today, peasants! Maybe I'll do another show tomorrow, but not for free. Now get lost!"
People were clapping and cheering in spite of her hostility. As the crowd receded, Sokka and Iroh came forward. Her uncle did not look pleased, but Sokka's face was boiling with ill concealed anger.
She jingled her pockets full of coins in response to his wordless reprimand. This only seemed to anger him more. "Are you completely out of your mind?" he asked. "You could have killed her!"
Azula rolled her eyes and turned to Suzi, who had walked up. Small strands of her black hair were floating above her head and she tried to pat them down.
"Oh, please," said Azula. "I know other firebenders make controlling lightning look difficult, but it really isn't; she was in no danger at all. Were you, Suzi?"
"I'm fine, Sokka," said Suzi. "Azula did the trick perfectly."
"You're lucky to be alive," said Iroh. "Such tricks are dangerous, even for master firebenders."
"That would depend on the master," said Azula. "Are we going to stand around wagging our fingers all day, or are we going to buy some supplies?"
"Fine, but we're not done with this," said Sokka, holding out his hand for the coins.
Azula smiled and took his hand in her own, leading him towards the market while her uncle and Suzi followed. "First, I'm going to buy myself a decent outfit, then some better food, and if there's any left over I think I owe you a boomerang," she said.
He began to prattle some nonsense about the boomerang being a sacred, personal weapon, and that as a true Water Tribe warrior he would have to make a new one himself using whale bone. She half listened to him as she shopped for clothes, trading his close company for Suzi's, who she used as a moving model, holding up different outfits in front of the girl to see how they might look on her own body.
When they had everything they needed, including camping gear, new clothes, and food, they were flat broke and weary from haggling. It was growing gloomy in the village as the sun burned low, and lanterns were being lit on poles in the streets and over alleyways.
"It's time to go," said Sokka. "We've been away from Appa for way too long."
"He can take care of himself for a few hours, as he's proven many times to us now," said Azula as they walked back along the road. The only purchases she carried were the clothes on her back, and she was feeling good about how she had managed that arrangement with little to no argument from her companions.
They found Appa snoring contentedly in the grove. Sokka checked his wounds and decided he would treat them when the bison was awake, using the bandages they had bought at the section of the market that had catered to ostrich horse needs and other beasts of burden. Azula made sure she kept close to Suzi as Sokka moved around their camp, scowling. Her uncle had reverted back to being somber, a marked improvement to his otherwise normal and irritating demeanor.
When night was truly upon them, they sat around a small fire her uncle had created. Their moods were improved by the noodles and rice they ate, but she could tell Sokka wanted her alone to scold her, something she did not feel like hearing despite her full belly and rested feet.
Sokka got up from the fire to relieve himself, a fact which he announced to her disgust. He came back and drank a bit of tea before declaring he was going for a short walk to make sure the camp was safe.
-I suppose that's my cue to get up and take my lecture,- Azula thought, remaining firmly where she was.
He took his time preparing to leave, and when he did Iroh followed him after he was gone a few minutes.
"I think he's still angry at you," Suzi said.
"Let him be angry, then," Azula said. "He doesn't tell me what to do."
"Was the trick really that dangerous?"
"You know it was," said Azula. "But you're not the type to complain, are you?"
"What?"
"I've decided I like you, Suzi. You're a follower."
"What do I have to do with this?" she asked. "Leave me alone."
Suzi poured all of her attention in on her teacup and sipped it quietly.
"See what I mean? You won't even storm off in a huff to leave me alone for Sokka. You let him and my uncle wrap you up in their schemes, you were going to let that monster possessing Zuko do what he liked, and you let me almost kill you for a few coins. I have nothing to fear from you."
She winced at her last words, and saw Suzi had caught their meaning quite clearly. It was a clumsy move, akin to slipping during an Agni Kai.
"You got that right," said Suzi. "I'm the least of your worries when it comes to Sokka. Same with his ex, and that blind girl."
Azula felt like she had been pinched. She had not considered the blind earthbender. Toph was her name. Certainly neither was a threat at the moment.
Suzi sat up straight, sipping her tea and looking smug. When Azula said nothing, she continued. "Don't worry, Sokka won't dump you until the monsters are beaten. He probably won't dump you for a while after, either. But, when a few months go by and he gets to know the real you, he'll leave you like an old, ugly shirt."
"Ha," Azula said, smirking. "He already knows the real me. He's one of the few who do, actually."
Suzi perfectly mirrored her laugh and smirk. "Oh, right, your little arctic mountain vacation where you two faced death together, how could I forget that romantic tale? I'm sure you were at your best then, Princess Azula, but if half of what I've heard about you is true, your best is a tiny pebble at the bottom of a long, dark well of awful."
"You don't know anything about me!" said Azula, feeling her anger rise in her throat. She took a deep breath and forced herself to be calm. The girl was only trying to annoy her, to get revenge for the painful truth she had just been told.
"I know you think it's funny to blast melon apples off people's heads to scare them. I know you can occasionally be a decent person, but what about the rest of the time? How is Sokka supposed to put up with you on a daily basis when you pull stunts like the one you did earlier? Sokka is a kind, caring man and you're selfish and cruel. No one has to compete with you for Sokka, they just have to wait for you to take yourself out of the picture."
Azula opened her mouth and was horrified when nothing sprang out. She fumbled for an argument, then finding none tried to get angry enough to strike. When that failed to happen, she knew she was in trouble and so quickly rose to her feet and stormed off. She slowed, hoping the girl would say something awful to her as a parting shot. Anything would be better than her pity.
To be continued...