Part II: Thirty-Two
Everything happened very quickly. So quickly that he had to put things in order later, trying to remember little bits and pieces as he sat in chains in the airship that was taking him to Ba Sing Se.
Kubra hit his knees and the next moment the Master entered the room, followed quickly by seven large men that Sokka recognized as the Master's other bodyguards. The big one whose name he had never learned, came at Sokka immediately, side-stepping Kubra's prone form.
Sokka didn't think, didn't stop to wonder how or why the Master was there. He knew that Kubra was right. The Master had found out Sokka's real identity.
Sokka moved out of the way of a swung baton, whose end looked like it could break bones if swung hard enough. The big bodyguard was fast, but Sokka was faster. He caught the man's arm and swung his fist. The blow connected to the big man's jaw and blood flew across the room.
"Don't break him!" the Master said sharply, as another bodyguard came at him from behind. He turned on him and fended off a series of blows, moving his arms in a blocking pattern that backed him up toward the bed. His leg snapped out, round-housing the man in the face and knocking him aside.
He spared a glance at Mai then, and his heart dropped to his toes. She was fighting two of the bodyguards, slashing at them with her throwing daggers. One of them had taken a dagger in the leg, but it didn't look like it was slowing him down.
She had tried to close the passageway door, but someone rammed into in the few seconds he spared to look at her, and she was knocked into the other bodyguards, off-balance and overwhelmed. They grabbed her and he heard her cry out with pain.
"MAI!"
"Get off of me!" Mai growled, throwing a punch that went wild. One of the bodyguards grabbed her wrist and bent it. The dagger clattered out of her fingers. She twisted, trying to break his hold, but another guard grabbed her around the middle, hauling her back with one hand grabbing her throat and squeezing.
Sokka was having trouble of his own. The big man had recovered. Distracted by Mai, Sokka didn't see him swing the club until it connected with the back of his knee. His leg buckled and he hit his knees as Kubra had. Someone grabbed him by the hair, and he jabbed out, catching someone in the crotch.
A rush of air left him, but another guard took his place and blows rained down on him before he could stop them. The big guard got behind him, putting the club on his throat and hauling him back. Sokka choked, fingers scrambling on the baton, intent on breaking the man's hold on him.
He didn't get very far.
"Stop struggling or I'll give her to my men while you watch."
The Master's voice was hard, as icy as a glacier, and deadly serious. It cut through the air like a knife, the words soft but devastating. Sokka glanced at Mai out of the corner of his eye and saw her pinning there between two guards. The hand on her throat squeezed. Her dark eyes pleaded with him beneath the gleaming black curtain of her bangs.
Sokka swallowed and stopped struggling.
"Don't hurt her. She has nothing to do with this."
"Yes, she does," the Master said softly, walking over to Mai and lifting her hair. He smelled it and then smiled at Sokka over his shoulder. "She's the reason I'm here, Ran. Or should I say, Sokka?"
Sokka didn't say anything. He couldn't. The big guard was practically choking him now, the baton pressing hard into his bared throat. He didn't move an inch though. He glared at the Master's hand still in Mai's hair. Mai twitched as if she wanted to break the hold on her and attack him, but couldn't.
"You're not shocked that I know your real name. I wish I could say the same," the Master said, dropping Mai's hair and turning to face Sokka. The look on his face was cold with fury. He'd seen that look in his eyes before, the night he'd handed a hammer to Sokka. It was the same look he'd had when Bohai's hands had shattered beneath that hammer.
It was rage, but it was also enjoyment. Whatever he had planned for the two of them, Sokka knew by the look in his eyes that it was going to be painful. He shook in place, unable to take his eyes off of Mai.
"Ask me how I found out," the Master said, coming over to crouch in front of Sokka. "Please, I know you want to know."
He gestured to the man choking Sokka and the baton let up just enough to allow him to breathe properly. Sokka sucked in a lungful of air and licked his lips.
"I'll bite. How did you find out?" he asked in a rough whisper.
The Master smiled softly and then glanced at Mai.
"Madame Sakura was worried about your little friend. She's not trained. She worried that a man like you...like Ran... Well, little girls are broken so easily, aren't they? Especially by men with skills like yours."
"She was watching us. The passageway."
"From the first night. Imagine her surprise when she realized that the two of you seemed to know one another. You called her by a different name. What was that name again?"
"Mai," one of his men grunted.
"Mai, that's it. And you? She called you something too. Sokka."
"We've been meeting here for a while. Why didn't she tell you that night?"
The Master's face went black again and he rubbed at his bottom lip. "Madame Sakura was worried about what I would do to your friend. Weren't you, Sakura?"
Sokka's eyes cut to the doorway. He saw Madame Sakura standing there, looking pale in the lamplight. She was watching Mai, but her eyes turned on Sokka. There was distrust there, and something else. Something like regret.
"You promised not to harm her," Sakura said quickly.
"And I haven't. Yet," the Master said sharply. Sakura's eyes lowered immediately and she fell silent. "She sent Saboten to me this evening. You just missed him, I'm afraid. Imagine the shock I felt when the man I've come to trust, the man I thought I knew, was really Councilman Sokka of the Water Tribe."
"Kind of embarrassing, considering you were hired to kill me."
The Master's hand whipped out like a snake. Sokka took the blow with a flinch, his face stinging from the slap. He'd taken worse hits, but he still twitched in place, his fists clenching. He could strike back and he knew it. The Master knew it too, but he didn't look like he cared. If Sokka struck him, his guards would make him pay for it. It would be the last thing he did.
"I am not a man who enjoys making mistakes. I don't own them often. I move on, or I pretend they never happened. When you have enough power, then you can make up your own narrative. The truth is what you want it to be," the Master said thoughtfully. "I can make anything be the truth, Sokka. I could tell the world that Councilman Sokka tried to murder me in my bed. Or that my men found you raping one of these pretty Petals. I can make you into a monster."
Sokka's jaw tightened, his stomach flipping over. The words ran through him like poison and he hated that knew the Master was right.
"There will be doubters. There will be people who know the truth. But not a single one of them will be able to stop my truth from spreading. And the ones who know the truth? They'll be too afraid to speak it," the Master said. "So think very hard about the next few minutes of your life, Sokka. Think about the power I have over you. Not just your life, but everything you are or will be. You belong to me."
Sokka glared at him, and then glanced at Mai.
"I guess you want to know why is that it?"
"You are clever. Yes, I want to know why the Avatar's brother-in-law was pretending to be a street fighter named Ran. Tell me the truth, Sokka. If you don't, I'll make you watch what I do to her. Do you understand me?"
Sokka's eyes flicked to Mai and then back at the Master. He knew it wasn't a threat. It was a promise.
"You want to know? It's the reason you were hired to kill me. Rinchaka Falls. You knew Baz. He was a Smoke Demon. So was I. I nearly died in that town. I watched it explode. I had no idea what happened. I wanted answers. Baz was dead. You were the only lead. The only way to get close to you was to catch your eye. Everyone knows you collect bodyguards like jewels, and you especially love a fighter, someone you can put your money on. So I became Ran. And it worked."
"Did it?" the Master said, cocking his head. "Rinchaka Falls... You risked your life for some dead peasants? That's the most pathetic thing I've ever heard."
"They deserve justice."
"They're ash and dust. And you've done nothing for them. What have you learned? You know it was Phoenix Fire, but what else do you know? Do you even know who was behind that little explosion? Do you even know who hired me to send an assassin after you? Do you?"
Sokka shifted in place and glanced at Kubra, who was still sitting on the floor, his head down. "I have a few ideas."
The Master followed his gaze and then stood as if he'd only just now noticed Kubra. "Stand up."
Kubra jumped and looked up at the Master, and then rose to his feet. His face was pale. His shirt was still open, showing the ugly burn marks on his chest. The Master looked at him for a long moment.
"What are you doing here, Kubra?"
"Master..."
"TELL ME!"
Kubra jumped and his sly eyes lowered. He bowed to the Master and then righted. He lifted his chin and looked him in the eyes.
"I heard them. I was in the passageway... I realized who he was. They were planning to get information out of you. And they were going to kill you. I confronted them. I made...I made a deal with them. I'd give up the name of the man who hired you, if... If they spared your life. Master, I was trying to save your life."
"You were going to let them walk?"
"Y-yes. To save you!"
"Do I look like I need saving, Kubra?" the Master said. "You doubt me?"
"No, sir. Of course not. I owe you," Kubra said quickly.
"You think I don't know how much you hate that man, still? After all these years? You think I don't know how you'd love to get your revenge on him? You didn't do this for me, Kubra. You did it for yourself. You betrayed me."
"I didn't!" Kubra said, starting forward, but the other guards at the door grabbed him. They forced him down onto his knees. Sokka's heart leaped as he saw the fear in Kubra's eyes. Their gazes locked for a moment.
"He didn't give up the name," Sokka found himself saying quickly. "He hasn't betrayed you."
But the Master ignored him. He paced over to Mai and reached out, grasping her chin a little. She jerked her head away, but he grabbed her face in his hands and stared into her eyes.
"And how do you play into this, little girl? Who are you?"
Mai spat in his face, and Sokka winced, watching as Mai smiled. The Master dropped her face and took a handkerchief. He dabbed at his face. "You really aren't trained, are you? Spitting costs extra. Madame Sakura, you're being very lax in your instruction."
He gestured to the guard holding Mai, and he let go of her. Mai looked confused for a moment, as the hand on her throat released. The next moment, however, the Master had Mai by the hair. He yanked her forward and shoved her to the floor. Another guard stepped up, putting his boot on the small of her back. Sokka heard a sword being unsheathed and his heart seized.
"NO! LEAVE HER ALONE! STOP!" he screamed, struggling. A booted foot found his middle and he crumpled. The baton on his throat yanked him back and he choked, watching as the swordsman poised the edge of the blade on Mai's neck.
She looked up and their eyes met.
"Sokka..." she whispered. There was fear in her eyes, but also a fierce determination that made his throat close.
"Please," Sokka choked, trying to catch his breath. "Please...don't hurt her. It's me you want! You were paid to kill me, not her!"
"Who is she?"
"No one!"
"Tell me the truth, Sokka. Who is she?"
"I was a Smoke Demon," Mai said roughly, glaring over her shoulder at the Master. "I was an assassin and a recruiter for that ugly dead bitch Lady Shura. That's how he knows me. Shura tried to have me killed after I put a knife in Baz's back. That's who I am!"
The Master hesitated. "You're the one who killed Baz?"
"I killed him so fast he didn't even drop his pipe," Mai said in a sizzling tone that sent shivers up Sokka's spine. There was that ruthless streak in her that he'd glimpsed before. It had disturbed him, the few times he'd seen that side of her, but he loved seeing it now. Prone on the ground, a sword at her neck and Mai was still not someone to be crossed. "I killed your friend."
"Baz was not my friend. He was a pedantic, soft-bellied spymaster who was too afraid to get his hands dirty. And when it came right down to it, he was too much of a coward to do what was needed. He nearly ruined everything in Rinchaka Falls. If you hadn't killed him, someone else would have."
"Who? Lady Shura?"
"After Rinchaka Falls, she certainly wanted him dead. As far as I know, Shura had no idea what happened in Rinchaka Falls either. She liked to deal with her problems by having them eliminated though. I never met her, but I liked her style. That's why I agreed to do a little side-work for her, supplying the Smoke Demons."
"Baz knew about the Phoenix Fire in the warehouse?" Sokka prompted. The Master laughed.
"You're really trying to interrogate me? Now? I have you dead to rights, Sokka. I don't owe you any explanations. I don't even know most of it. What happened in Rinchaka Falls doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that a warrant for your death landed on my doorstep. And now I have a big problem."
Sokka stared at him. "Seems simple to me. I'm caught. Kill me and let her go."
"SOKKA!"
"Shut up, bitch or I'll have Ganji put that sword through your neck," the Master slung at Mai, who glared at him.
Sokka's heart was beating very fast. There was something in the Master's eyes. He'd caught it there, for just a moment, before the cold mask had slammed back into place. It was panic.
All of the posturing, the pacing, the smug talk about making up his own truth...it was all true, Sokka knew that, but there was something else going on. Something that might save his life.
"You can't kill me," Sokka said softly. The Master whipped around to face him again and his eyebrow rose. "You were hired to kill me. I lied to your face. I infiltrated your organization. All while you were out looking for me. I humiliated you. But you can't kill me."
"I was hired to do a job. And I will do it," the Master said and then licked his lips. "But it seems I'm at a bit of an impasse. You see, I've made some rather...significant plans for your fight with Lord Kun's man Chen. Everything is riding on that fight. Everything I've been working for... Lord Kun is expecting me and I need to be in Ba Sing Se, with you in the ring. You can't fight Chen if you're dead. And I very much need this fight to happen."
"Why?"
But the Master smiled. "You have your secrets. I have mine. You see what a bind I'm in, Sokka. My entire future, everything I've worked for these last twenty years... I put it all on Ran's shoulders. But you're not Ran. You're Sokka of the Water Tribe."
Sokka's mind worked quickly.
"Tell me what I want to know and I'll win this fight for you. You can have everything you want if you'll just give me the name of the man who wants me and Princess Azula dead. Then Mai and I will disappear. You say you can make anything the truth? Then make that the truth. You never saw us. You don't know anything about us."
The Master crouched down in front of him again. He studied him for a long moment and then laughed. "You think I'd let you kill the man who is financing my rise to power? The barrels of Phoenix Fire I was paid just to put a dagger in your back is nothing compared to what I'm going to be paid in the future. The man who wants you dead? He has power. More power than that bleeding heart Fire Lord of his. He has enough Phoenix Fire to blow the world to pieces if he wanted. Enough to set me up for life. All I have to do is stay loyal. I take loyalty very seriously. And what you did to him...he took that very seriously too."
"His son was Rian, a Smoke Demon. I murdered him."
"Not many people knew that Rian was his son. Where did you hear that?" The Master's eyes strayed to Kubra, still on his knees. He was watching them with fear in his eyes.
"It's the truth, isn't it. This man...tell me his name."
The Master stood again. "His name is worthless to you. You'll never see him. You'll never get close to him. He wants you dead very badly, and he wants his name kept out of it even more. If I say his name, I'm a dead man. That's why he paid my best hitman a small fortune to swallow that poison pill."
"You know your assassin is dead?"
"I have paid men on the Republic City police force. They informed me of his death on Air Temple Island. I can't believe Zhu-Chi actually swallowed that pill. I suppose he knew what would happen if he turned on our client. Better dead than what he would do to him. Do you understand that, Sokka? Do you understand what he's capable of?"
"Perfectly," he said, and lifted his chin.
They stared at one another for a long moment. The Master's expression was still cold and shut down, but the illusion had been blown. Sokka had already seen how desperate the man was.
"You need me to fight for you."
"And win."
"What's my incentive? You're going to kill me here in this room tonight, or after the fight with Chen. Either way, I'm staring at my own death. Why would I fight for you?"
"You know why," the Master said and glanced at Mai, still lying on the ground with the sword resting against the back of her neck. She had her eyes on Sokka, her makeup smeared across her lips. "This woman means something to you."
"Yes," Sokka said. There was no use denying it.
"If you fight Chen for me...and win...and don't say a word to Lord Kun about your real identity, then I'll spare her life. No harm will come to her. If you refuse to fight...if you say anything to Lord Kun about my mistakes... Well. You'll be begging me to kill her. You'll beg me to end her suffering. And then you'll beg me to end yours. I won't be merciful. I'll make both of your suffering last. For days. Weeks. Until there's nothing left of either of you but a ruin of meat and bone. And still, you'll beg."
A shiver rode up Sokka's spine.
"How can I believe you? You'll kill her after the fight anyway."
"Perhaps I will, perhaps I won't. Are you willing to take that chance?"
Sokka met Mai's eyes again. She pleaded with him, her head shaking. "Don't... Sokka don't... He's lying and you know it."
But Sokka swallowed, the tension running out of his body. "It seems I have no choice. I'll fight for you, Master. I'll win against Chen. I don't trust you not to hurt her, but I can't..." He stopped, unable to speak for a moment, as emotion overwhelmed him. "Please, don't harm her. I'll do what you ask. I'll be your fighter."
The Master smiled. "I knew you'd see things my way. I can be merciful sometimes. If you win against Chen...if things go my way... Well. I'll make it quick. For you. And as for her... I suppose we'll see, won't we? Get them up!"
The order was barked at his men. As they grabbed Sokka and dragged him to his feet, he found that he couldn't take his eyes off of Mai. Watching as the blade was taken away from her neck, he wanted to sigh in relief, even though he knew that she was still in danger.
They were both going to die. He could see it in the Master's eyes, but he knew that if he hadn't agreed to the deal to fight Chen they would die there, in this room, tonight. At least if he agreed to the fight that left him time to formulate a plan of escape. Maybe he could cause a diversion in the ring during the fight...
No matter how bleak his chances were, at least they had a hope of escape now. It was all he could do and he knew it.
Mai and Toph had been right. He had been in over his head. They hadn't been careful enough. And now Mai might pay the price.
And not just Mai, he thought as his stomach tightened and fear rode hard through him. Azula was still in danger from Lord Kun. He had been hired to kill her by the same man that wanted Sokka dead too. They had killed his son, Rian. Sokka had no idea who Rian's father was, but even the Master seemed afraid of him.
And he'd seen what that man had done to Kubra, a boy who had done nothing more than kiss his daughter. He was clearly capable of cruelty. Rinchaka Falls was proof of that. All of the answers he had wanted for a year were within his grasp and yet so far away.
And Azula. Azula was in as much danger as they were, and she might not even know it.
I'm sorry, my Princess. I don't know if I can save you this time. But I'll die trying.
One of the guards produced shackles. Sokka didn't fight them as they put them on him. Mai met his eyes again and he pleaded with her not to fight them as they shackled her too. He tried to tell her with just a look that he had a plan, even though he didn't. Not yet.
"There's just one more matter we have to deal with tonight," the Master said, and Sokka's eyes flicked to him. There was cold amusement in the Master's voice all of a sudden and it sent shivers down Sokka's spine. "Madame Sakura, come here my darling rose."
Madame Sakura was still standing in the doorway, looking sick at the scene before her, but obviously afraid to leave. He didn't blame her. He didn't even blame her for turning them in to the Master. He hadn't given her a single reason to trust him. She feared the Master as much as she respected him, that much was clear to him. He tried to tell her with a look that he wasn't angry with her, but she wasn't paying him any attention.
"Yes, Master? Is there something I can help you with?"
"Ganji? Your sword."
Ganji held out his sword and the Master took Sakura's hand. He wrapped her fingers around the sword, ignoring the look of surprise on the woman's painted face.
"Master?"
"What are you doing?" Sokka asked, but the men holding him put a strong hand across his mouth.
"You showed great loyalty to me tonight, my dear. Greater loyalty than the man before you. Kubra was willing to jeopardize my entire future, all of my plans...my power...everything, in the name of his revenge on the man who burned him."
Kubra had been staring at the ground, but his head shot up. He tried to rise for the first time, but the guards grabbed him and forced him to the ground again. Sokka struggled in his bonds. He knew what was going to happen.
And there was nothing he could do.
"I'm loyal to you! Master, please! I was trying to save your life! I swear! It was all for you! You know that I'm loyal!"
"Turning on him is turning on me. You knew the consequences. You knew, Kubra."
"I didn't give up the name. He doesn't know it."
"Even if you had, it doesn't matter. I have Sokka. He can't hurt the Councilman now. But you? You've proven yourself far too willing to turn on him. You'll do it again. I can't trust you," the Master said. He shook his head. "I had such plans for you, Kubra. You disappoint me."
"Master..." Sakura started, but the Master stepped back.
"Take his head for me, Sakura."
"I..." Sakura started, fear in her eyes.
"Take his head and I'll forgive the fact that you knew Ran was not who he said he was for days and you didn't tell me. Kill Kubra and I'll forget that fact."
Sakura's face paled beneath her makeup. She glanced at Kubra and then at Sokka and Mai. The woman's shoulder's tightened and she took in a breath. Sokka already knew what she would do. He felt his throat close as Kubra looked up at her, and then at him.
"MASTER NO! PLEASE!" Kubra begged.
"I do so love it when they beg. Sakura, darling?" the Master said, and then kissed Sakura's cheek. She shuddered away from him and stepped forward. Kubra's disbelieving eyes turned from the Master to Sakura, and then onto Sokka.
"Please!" Kubra started, as one of the guards grabbed his head and forced it down, baring the back his neck. He struggled, as Sakura lifted the sword. "His name! HIS NAME IS—Guuuh!"
Sokka flinched away as Kubra's voice garbled out into a thick exhale of blood as the sword hacked halfway through his neck. Mai made a sound, turning away, but Sokka didn't. He watched as Sakura wrenched the sword free and lifted it again.
"Again," the Master said dispassionately.
There was blood on her face, but not a trace of tears, as she brought the sword down into Kubra's neck again. The second blow worked. Kubra's head rolled free of his shoulders. The men dropped the rest of the body as blood fountained across Sokka's legs, hot and thick.
The Master took the sword from Sakura and then kissed her lips.
"All is forgiven, my beautiful rose," he whispered. Sakura looked away and her eyes met Sokka's.
He would remember the look in her eyes for the rest of his life.