Part II: Forty-Three
A strong hand grasped Sokka's stubbled face, forcing him to stoop, the chains rattling as he nearly lost his balance and toppled forward. He caught himself, glaring at the Master, whose fingers dug into his cheeks with a painful bite.
"Remember where you are and what I'm capable of, Sokka of the Water Tribe," the Master said in a low voice. "You'd be dead right now if I didn't have a use for you."
"I remember," Sokka said, his eyes flicking to the side, where Mai was being held by one of the Master's biggest goons. His big, meaty hand was wrapped around Mai's throat. Her face was pinched with pain, but she wasn't choking. The threat was there, though.
"Don't look at her," the Master said, yanking his head back so that Sokka was looking at him again. "She's mine."
"No, I'm fucking not," Mai snapped, making Sokka's lips twist. Another hand clapped to Mai's mouth, silencing her.
"I could have Garin squeeze the life out of her right now if I wanted. Don't give me an excuse. If you step out of line, if you attempt to escape, she's dead. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
The Master yanked his head down, his eyes cold. Lizard eyes, Sokka thought. The eyes of a predator, someone used to getting their way. Someone who enjoyed killing. "Do you understand?"
"Yes, Master," Sokka bit out, hatred burning in his eyes. The Master smirked and shoved Sokka's head back, letting go of his face. Sokka worked his jaw, his chained hands dropping back in front of him.
"Good. If you forget then I'll have to remind you. Do you think she'll enjoy that? I know I will."
"I won't forget. Master," Sokka said and then his mouth ran away with him. "Whatever you have planned for Lord Kun must be incredibly important or you wouldn't risk everything like this. What are you going to do? Kill him and take over his empire? Is that what the Phoenix Fire is for? Is the fight a diversion?"
The Master's face hardened again, and Sokka knew he'd hit the target. He'd had a lot of time to think in the cold belly of that airship for two days, after all. It was the only logical explanation.
"Just do your job and she'll make it through this alive. That's all you need to concern yourself with, Sokka of the Water Tribe. Or should I say Ran the Boomerang. Lord Kun will have you killed on the spot if you reveal your true identity, along with your paramour. Do not think you can be a hero here. You won't win."
Sokka tried to keep his face blank. He knew what kind of situation he was in. The threats were only a reminder; everything was riding on him playing his part, for both the Master, and Mai's life. He'd fight Chen. He'd win. And the minute Mai was no longer in danger, he'd fight the Master.
And he was going to find Azula. No matter what.
"You know the consequences, Ran. I'm through threatening you," the Master said, and then gestured to one of his men, who came over to them, producing a key from his pocket. Sokka felt his heart leap. Here was his chance at freedom. Possibly his only chance.
As the manacles were removed, he thought about hitting the Master. He thought about grabbing the chains and swinging them at the Master's men. The possibility of getting free was there. But he was outnumbered, twenty to one, and all of them experienced fighters. All of them killers.
And they had Mai. There was no way he'd get to her before Garin snapped her neck and he knew it.
They pulled the chains away and he let out a sigh, rubbing at his wrists and watching as they undid the cuffs at his ankles. He didn't make a move, and maybe he'd regret that later, but the risks were too high.
He looked at Mai, and saw her eyes narrowed over the big hand clapped to her pale face.
"I'm sorry," he mouthed to her and saw her eyes close for a moment. He knew she understood, that she could see the worry in his eyes. For her. For them. And the regret he felt for everything.
"Put this on," one of the Master's men said, tossing a bundle of clothing at him. He caught it, and looked down at the outfit. It was Water Tribe blue, and expensive. There were boots with it too, of supple, soft brown leather.
Sokka glanced around the airship carriage, and saw every eye on him. There were smirks all around. His lip curled. They were trying to humiliate him, and he knew it.
His eyebrow cocked upward as he dropped the clothing onto the bench beside him, and then kicked off his old boots. He stripped down to his skin, grateful to be out of his blood-and sweat-stained clothes at last.
"Well, well... No wonder you think you're cock of the walk," the Master said, as Sokka smirked at him, pulling on the pants. The Master reached out and touched Mai's hair. "Is that why you love him so much?"
Sokka's smirk dropped. "Please don't touch her. I'm cooperating."
"I'll do whatever I like to her," the Master snarled, just as a knock sounded on the carriage door. He turned toward it, and gestured to Garin with a flick of his finger. Garin lowered his hands from Mai's shoulders and throat, somewhat reluctantly. Mai relaxed visibly, but then stiffened as the Master leaned toward her. "Give me a reason, little girl."
She didn't say anything, glowering at him as Sokka pulled on the sleeveless shirt and belted it. The Master looked at Mai for a moment, and then gestured to one of his men to answer the door. Sokka pulled on the boots, watching out of the corner of his eye as the carriage door swung open.
They'd landed at the Southdown docks in the Middle Ring an hour ago. Sokka had felt the hard bump beneath them as they'd settled, and then listened to the airship dock workers securing the rig, wondering how much longer he'd have to sit in the hold. It had been cold up in the sky, but on the ground the heat was unbearable, and he'd sweated a gallon in that hour, soaking his dirty clothes. No wonder they'd wanted him to change.
He couldn't very well meet Lord Kun and his champion looking like a wet, bloody hobo.
He half-expected Lord Kun to have met them at the docks, but it was a portly man in shades of forest green, and a beard split in two and braided with golden beads who greeted them instead. He was sweating too, his face red in the heat.
"Ah, Trang, you received our message! You came quickly. I expected a longer wait. Has Lord Kun been informed of our arrival?" the Master asked as the man bowed to him, looking harried.
"He has. I'm afraid he's unable to meet you at this time. He asks that you return to the Republic City at once."
The Master frowned. "I beg your pardon?"
Trang wrung his be-ringed hands, chewing on his lip beneath his ornamented beard. "There is a situation here in Ba Sing Se. Lord Kun arrived just last night and... It is not safe for Lord Kun in the city. He's making plans to leave at once as soon as he ties up a few loose ends. He regrets to inform you that the fight with Chen has been canceled. Although he wanted to ask why you've come so early? The fight was not scheduled for another fortnight. Is there something wrong?"
The Master looked livid. "I won't explain myself to a minion. Take me to Lord Kun's residence at once!"
"I'm afraid I cannot do that!" Trang said, but the Master cut his hand through the air, silencing him.
"I know where he lives. I don't need you to guide me," the Master said, walking toward the door of the carriage, his face alive with anger. Trang moved in front of him, cutting off his exit, still ringing his hands.
"He is not at his residence. He is in hiding at one of his safe houses, but even that may not be safe. I told you, the situation here is untenable. The Earth King's men are looking for Lord Kun and his associates. You'd do best to leave the city."
"I'm not going anywhere," the Master said in a low voice. "I am one of Lord Kun's most loyal and trusted men. Take me to his safe house. If he's in danger, then I want to know what it is. I can help. I brought twenty of my best men with me." The Master hesitated and then dropped his voice. "Is this about the work he and I were contracted for? Is this about the Princess?"
Trang hesitated and then leaned toward him. "I'm afraid so. That Smoke Demon may have killed us all. I cannot say more than that. It is not my place."
The Master looked back at Sokka, and his jaw set. Sokka could see the gears working in his head. He knew exactly how he felt; the mention of a Princess had made his entire body feel like it had been struck by lightning. What had happened to make Lord Kun attempt to flee Ba Sing Se? Why would the Earth King's men be after him?
The Smoke Demon was probably Nobu. He knew that Nobu was mixed up in this somehow, with Lord Kun. What had Nobu done?
The obvious answer was too painful to contemplate. He thought of Azula and pain fractured his heart. He refused to believe that Nobu had killed her. He wouldn't even entertain the idea. If he did, then he'd go mad and he knew it. He lose it and attack the Master's men. Lord Kun. Nobu. He wouldn't stop until they were all dead, and the city burned down with him.
"Take me to Lord Kun's safe house. I will bring him to Republic City if necessary, should he need an escape. That is an order, Trang," the Master said, in a voice that brooked no argument. Trang flinched, looking wary, but then sighed in resignation.
"Of course, Master," he said, bowing to him. "If you'll follow me, please. Keep on your guard. It was a risk for me to come here. The Earth King's men are searching the city as we speak. If we're caught..."
"We won't be," the Master said, and glanced back at Sokka. His brows lifted, the warning clear. Sokka nodded, and docilely lowered his head, allowing two of the Master's men to flank him. They had their hands on their belts, where they had weapons hidden.
Sokka stepped out into the street, the heat hitting him with a wave of soupy humidity. The docks were busy. There were several carriage trains loaded down with supplies, coolies unpacking them and putting crates in the warehouses. The place was alive with noise and heat, the shadows long and inviting. There were two other airships on the docks, both much smaller than the Master's, used for cargo.
No one paid them any attention as Trang lead them through the noise and crowds, past market stalls and into the streets of Ba Sing Se's Middle Ring. The Middle Ring wasn't as poor and smelly as the Lower Ring, but having experienced all three districts, Sokka knew it was still a gigantic step down from the Upper Ring.
Perhaps that was why Lord Kun had set out to make himself an empire there. A man with money in a place like the Middle Ring was a man who could take over and control everything. The Upper Ring was nearly impenetrable by a common man, even one with money like Lord Kun. Lord Kun had also taken over the Lower Ring; he exploited the poor in the district, selling them drugs, and dealing in black market items, and protection rackets. It was men like Lord Kun that kept the Lower Ring from being anything but a slum.
Sokka half-hoped they'd meet up with some of the Earth King's guards. At least if they were attacked and arrested, he could get Mai out of this situation. And he could go find Azula.
But Trang seemed to know every out of the way twist and turn in the Middle Ring, taking them through back alleys littered with trash and scrawny, flea-bitten cats that hissed at their heels as they passed, and a park filled mostly with homeless people begging for change. These pleas were ignored, as they skirted an industrial section of the Middle Ring, filled with factories that belched smoke into the air.
There was a tannery nearby; he could smell the chemicals and there was a river of yellow and orange sludge flowing freely in the gutter. His nose wrinkled as the stench followed them.
He'd forgotten how very much he hated Ba Sing Se.
They were halfway down a side-street lined with seedy taverns and questionable parlors rank with the stench of opium, when the ground beneath their feet gave an unexpected rumble. For a moment Sokka wondered if an Earthbender was attacking them.
The next moment, however, a blast of air knocked all of them off of their feet. Glass shattered with a loud crack as Sokka's ear rang, and landed with a sprawl against the wall of a tavern.
Glass shattered above him, raining down on him instantly. It was in his hair, glittering around him in jagged chunks as he tried and failed to comprehend what had happened and why he was now lying on the ground with his ears ringing. It felt like something had rammed into him.
He could feel the sting of cuts on his bare arms, but ignored the pain, looking up to see Mai just a few feet away, looking as stunned as he felt. She'd fallen beneath Garin, who sat up, holding his ears, his mouth open as he looked up at the sky.
Sokka followed Garin's gaze and his stomach dropped. He scrambled forward on his hands, glass digging into his palms with a sharp sting. He grabbed Mai, dragging her out from beneath Garin, who cursed and also followed him back toward the tavern just as the debris started raining down on them. The Master and the rest of his men followed, shouting and cursing as debris filled the street.
"Get down!" Sokka said, putting his arms around Mai and tucking her between himself and the tavern wall, the glass crunching beneath their boots. He felt rocks and masonry blasting him, followed by a cloud of dust a gray color, billowing and hungry as it seeped through the streets, spilling like a pyroclastic flow over the buildings and churning down the narrow canyons of the streets.
Mai's hands clutched at his shirt and she buried her face in his chest as the cloud enveloped them. It was blinding, filled with ash and debris, little rocks pelting them. Sokka breathed in and felt it in his mouth. He spat and then closed his mouth tightly, pushing his face into Mai's hair, holding her as tightly as he dared, as if she would be yanked away from him any moment.
He could hear the others shouting. Garin was beside him, a hulking presence in the cloud of dust that settled on their skin and stuck to the inside of his nose. Mai coughed against his chest and he tightened his hold on her.
His ears were still ringing, his mind trying to catch up, to understand what had happened.
An explosion. Somewhere nearby. Close enough to knock them on their feet, and powerful enough to make the earth shake. A building must have collapsed somewhere to have caused a debris cloud. Sokka's blood ran cold. He'd felt an explosion like that before, in Rinchaka Falls.
He could still remembering the way the air had hit him. It had been like being rammed in the chest with a forty-pound log. The air had been full of debris and ash like now. Everything had been on fire. The warehouse that gone up had disappeared in a field of shattered splinters; there had been nothing left of it but jagged shards. The buildings nearest to the blast had collapsed, burned to the ground.
He heard screams in his bleeding ears, but he didn't know if they were memories of the terrible things he'd seen in Rinchaka Falls, or if they were around him, there in the streets of Ba Sing Se.
It had taken him nearly a year to find out that the explosion in Rinchaka Falls had been caused by Phoenix Fire. Was that what had just happened?
He didn't think it was a coincidence.
Sokka coughed, sucking in too much of the dusty air. His eyes were gritty as he forced them open. He could barely see; everything was gray with dust. He could smell smoke and through the dim haze he could see fire, climbing up over the rooftops several streets over in a tornado three stories high. His stomach dropped. A fire like that, untamed in these close quarters, it would spread quickly throughout the Middle Ring, devouring the wooden buildings one by one.
Mai lifted her head, squinting beneath her dusty bangs. She lifted her eyes to his. "We need to go! This is our chance!"
He knew she was right. This was the opportunity he'd been looking for. And the only one they were likely to have.
"Come on," he said, pushing away from the wall and capturing her hand. He dragged her upright, even though his equilibrium was still off. His ears were still ringing. He slipped and slid over debris, dragging Mai with him.
Someone tackled him from behind, bearing him to the ground before he'd gotten more than five feet from the tavern wall. He heard Mai cry out as he landed in a sprawl on the ground. Blood burst in his mouth as he face-planted. A big hand caught his arm and jerked it behind him. A knee dug into his back. He tried to fight back, but a punch landed in his ribs and the air was knocked out of him instantly.
"Where do you think you're going?" Garin breathed in Sokka's ear.
"Mai, run!" Sokka shouted, but when he was dragged up off of the ground, he saw that another of the Master's men had her down on the ground too, a hand twisted in her hair and a knife at her bared throat. "Don't! Don't hurt her! Please!"
The Master was breathing hard, his face coated with gray dust. He had a silk handkerchief to his mouth and nose as he stood, his hand on Trang's shoulder to keep him steady. Trang looked the worse for wear; something had hit him on the head and blood was flowing free from a wound at his receding hairline.
"You little bastard," the Master snarled, but then stopped, glancing at Trang, who seemed preoccupied with stopping the bleeding from his head wound. "What did I say?"
"Can't blame me for trying," Sokka croaked and then spat blood and dust at the Master's feet.
"Get her up," the Master said, and Sokka struggled in Garin's grip, trying to get to her. Fear raced through him as he saw the look of rage on the Master's face.
"Don't do it!" Sokka said, struggling forward. "Please!"
"We don't have time for this," the Master snarled, looking between them and then back at the fire, which seemed to be spreading. "This is all going to shit! I don't know what the hell just happened and I don't care. Trang?"
Trang started, lowering his blood-smeared sleeve. "We should... We should go. Now."
"Keep hold of them. If you let them escape again I'll leave your corpses in the street," the Master snapped at his men, and Sokka found both of his arms twisted behind his back. He was frog-marched in front of Garin, down the debris-strewn street, over chunks of masonry and crunchy glass and splintered bits of wood. Mai struggled, trying to break free, but one of the man grabbed her, slinging her over his shoulder. Her feet kicked, but the arms locked around her legs made it impossible for her to move.
Sokka caught her eye as she cursed, her hair hanging around her dusty face. He tried to tell her that he was sorry, that he was going to get them out of this, but all he could think about was the anger in the Master's eyes, and the warning he'd given him. He knew the consequences.
I won't let them hurt her, he thought, as they followed Trang through the dust-shrouded streets. People were everywhere, screaming, pointing, many of them covered in dust, bleeding from small wounds where they'd gotten hit with debris or cut by shattered glass. Sokka didn't know where the center of the explosion had been, but they'd been close to it, maybe only a couple of blocks away.
As they spilled into a wider avenue, they all stopped, mouths open as they were hit with another cloud, this time of drifting, oil-black smoke that stung their eyes and coated their throats and nostrils.
The entire block was on fire, the old warehouses and factories going up like so much kindling. The few buildings made of stone were putting up a fight against the spreading flames, but their roofs were on fire, spilling down into the wooden floors and slowly gutting everything inside of it. There was debris everywhere, and several buildings looked like they were on the verge of collapse, and he didn't think the fire had done that amount of damage so quickly; they had been destroyed in the initial explosion that had caused the dust cloud.
People were streaming away from the fire. Others were running towards it, carrying buckets and ladders. A carriage with a water pump on it flew past them on a sledge operated by an Earthbender, who was bending the earth beneath the wheels to make it speed toward the fire. There were others on the sledge, a fire brigade.
It was a useless effort though. Sokka could see that. The fire was going to spread and spread and spread, aided by the weeks of heat and drought that had dried up everything in the city, and the wooden buildings that made up Ba Sing Se.
There was nothing he could do, nothing except follow the Master through the streets. They turned away from the center of the fire and ground zero of the explosion, chasing cleaner air as they worked their way toward a more residential neighborhood. They entered a quiet street lined with trees that threw shade onto the cobbled walkway, passing people standing in the street, watching the huge columns of black smoke rising in the air.
Eyes turned on them as they passed; Sokka couldn't blame people for staring. They all looked like refugees from a war zone. No one asked them questions, however, but when they passed a large bell tower at the end of the square, the bells started ringing with a loud clash. He knew that it wasn't chiming the hour.
It was a warning to the residents of the Middle Ring about the fire. The bells kept ringing as they walked, taking two more scrubby little streets lined with worn out houses that looked mostly empty, some of them falling apart, until they turned into the courtyard of an inn that looked run-down and empty. It had once been prosperous, judging by the size of the stables, and the large yard and cracked fountain filled with dead reeds and vines shriveled by the sun, but the place was clearly empty now.
The roof was missing tiles and sagged in places. The shutters were hanging crookedly, and there were panes of glasses missing from the dusty windows. Like the shabby neighborhood it was rotting in the inn's golden days were long gone.
Trang had a key to the weathered and warped front door, and he opened it, only to be met with a large man with a crossbow, which he leveled at the Master past Trang's shoulder.
"Put that down, Mika," Trang said, coughing out a mouthful of dust. "We need to see Lord Kun at once."
"What is happening out there, Trang? What happened?" the man with the crossbow asked.
"An explosion, that's what happened. Where is Lord Kun?" the Master said, pushing the man aside and entering. The others streamed in behind him. Garin didn't let go of him, shoving him into a wide room filled with dust and shadows.
The air inside the inn smelled musty, and there were cobwebs draped in the corners. A large fireplace sat soot-stained and cold against one wall. The plaster was cracked, and the thick beams were filled with worm-wood tracks. The floors creaked beneath their feet and Sokka's foot nearly sank into a patch of rotted board that felt soft beneath him. He stumbled and Garin dragged him back up.
"Trang, I told you to send him away," a voice said behind Sokka. He recognized Lord Kun's biting tone. They all turned toward a wide staircase and the man standing at the top of it. Lord Kun looked pale in the dim light as he surveyed them, coming down the stairs like a king surveying his sad, dusty little kingdom. He didn't look happy. He looked frail and exhausted, his wrinkled face pinched.
"He insisted, sir," Trang said wearily. "Sir...the situation on the street. We... There was an explosion."
Lord Kun's lips flattened and he sneered. "I am well aware of the situation in the Middle Ring. It seems you've gotten me into business with a madman, Chil-Hyeon. He's out to burn this city to ground!"
"Your men had something to do with that explosion?" the Master asked. "We were nearly killed! The entire Middle Ring is going up in flames! And I hear you're in trouble with the Earth King?"
"I had nothing to do with that explosion! That was all that fanatical Smoke Demon's doing! He's brought the Earth King down on my head while I was away in Republic City securing my payment of Phoenix Fire! He's out of control, and worse, he's following the orders of that bastard from the Fire Nation! Things are going to hell, Chil-Hyeon!"
"Tell me what's happened," the Master said, stepping forward. "You owe me that, my Lord."
"Why are you even here, Chil-Hyeon? The fight wasn't scheduled for another fortnight. You argued that it was too soon, and now here you are, not even a day after I have arrived! What's happened to make you come here, now? Did you kill that Water Tribe whelp or not?"
The Master's eyes cut to Sokka and then back to Lord Kun. "He's dead. Worry not. You seemed worried about Nobu when you left. I came to help, and to train Ran. I didn't imagine I'd find the city on fire and you about to flee for your life. The explosion? Was that your stockpile of Phoenix Fire?"
Lord Kun growled a little. "No. My grandson Ning is still at sea with it. He should be arriving in a few days with it, but I will leave instructions for him to leave the city immediately. Ba Sing Se is not safe for me or anyone associated with me, I'm afraid. Nobu saw to that when he..." His expression became one of rage for a moment, as if he couldn't say the words.
"When he what? All of this over a Princess no one cares about?"
Sokka's lip curled at that.
"If it were just that damned Princess then the Earth King wouldn't be up my ass, would he? No, you had to talk me into plotting with a fanatic who kidnapped the Fire Lord, bungled the job, lead the Earth King right to my door, and then set fire to the entire damned city! All of the plans I had...they've gone up in smoke because of him!"
Sokka heard Mai gasp at the mention of Zuko. His own mouth fell open and he went very still. Nobu had kidnapped Zuko? Did that mean that Zuko was dead? What about Azula? He glanced at Mai and saw the fear in her eyes. She looked his way, and her fear infected him, shaking him to his core.
"Kidnapped the Fire Lord?" the Master said slowly. "Why would he do that?"
"Because I was following orders," a familiar voice said from the bottom of the stairs. Sokka was unsurprised to see Nobu, framed in the opening of a doorway of what looked like cellar stairs leading downward, beneath the inn. Nobu hadn't changed much in the year since Sokka had first seen him. Their first meeting had been brief, but he hadn't liked the man.
There had been something dangerous about him, calculating and ruthless. Sokka saw the black flames tattooed across his head. He'd had hair the last time Sokka had seen him, but he'd shaved it, and the tattoo was stark black against his pale skin.
Sokka took a sharp breath, watching as Nobu closed the cellar door behind him and padlocked it shut with a click. Panic took hold of him; the last thing he needed was for Nobu to recognize him. But Nobu didn't give him a second look as he came around to the foot of the stairs. He only had eyes for the Master.
"The whelp?"
Sokka knew what he was asking, and so did the Master. "My assassin found him just after Lord Kun left. He's dead."
Sokka had to give it to the Master. He could lie with amazing ease, even now. He wondered why the Master was protecting him; it was clear the fight with Chen was off, given the circumstances. Why would not out Sokka's real identity, now that he had no use for him?
Nobu smiled. "I should have had you bring me his head. I would have enjoyed that. It was wise that you left Republic City when you did. We don't want the Avatar involved in this business, do you we?"
The Master snorted. "The Avatar is not a threat to me. There's nothing he can do to me, and even if I were stupid enough to leave evidence behind, I have enough money and influence in Republic City to escape a prison sentence. They're never going to find his body. That I promise you."
Nobu reached out and wiped dust off of the Master's jacket. "What is this?"
"There was an explosion down near the factories. We were a little too close for comfort."
"Was it as spectacular as I had hoped?"
"You did that? The entire street exploded. The city is on fire. We could have been killed," the Master said accusingly and then stopped, glaring at Nobu in understanding. "You have your own store of Phoenix Fire."
"Of course," Nobu said with a simmering smile. "My benefactor would never have sent me to do such dangerous work without it. He trusts me to follow his orders."
"He's a madman if he ordered you to kidnap the Fire Lord!" Lord Kun said, bristling with anger. "You've destroyed everything I've been working for, Nobu! If we hadn't moved him and the Princess when we did we'd both be in irons! You led them right to me!"
"Your men are the reason you were named!"
"And you failed to kill General Iroh and the Fire Lord's painted up bodyguards when you had the chance! You've made mistakes, Nobu, and I'm the one paying the price! I ought to have you killed for this!"
"But you haven't, have you? Because you know what would happen to you if you did. He has an entire warehouse full of Phoenix Fire. He could tear down every city in the Earth Kingdom looking for you, and he would. He is a patient man. He's been planning this for a long time, long before Lady Shura attempted her coup. He knows there is no saving the Fire Lord now, and he wants him dead when the time is right. He wants that Princess brought to him alive now. My orders were clear. I've done the job that was asked of me. You've been paid to do yours. So do it, Lord Kun."
Nobu's voice was as cold as ice, far colder than even the Master's. It put shivers down Sokka's spine. Lord Kun looked angry, but there was fear there too. Whoever they were all working for, the man Kubra had tried to name in those last few seconds before Sakura had taken his head, he was scary enough to put fear into the three ruthless, depraved men before him.
As much as their fear was affecting him, he caught what Nobu had said, and the truth filtered through him slowly. He was almost afraid to believe it, but he wanted to. Hope stirred, deep down inside of him, where everything ached.
Azula was still alive. So was Zuko. Nobu had kidnapped them, but they were still alive.
"I was paid to harbor you and give you resources, not to let you destroy my empire! It was supposed to be a simple murder! I didn't sanction the explosion of one of my properties!" Lord Kun exclaimed, his hand tangling his beard and pulling at it. "The only way we're getting ahead of this is if we talk to the Fire Lord. If we let him go, then he can explain it was all a misunderstanding."
"I am not letting the Fire Lord go," Nobu said in a deadly voice, a warning in it that Lord Kun ignored.
"I'm not asking for permission!" Lord Kun said. "Your damned master in the Fire Nation can do what he wants, but I'm through taking orders. This is MY empire, built on my back, and I won't be ordered around by a Firebending piece of terrorist trash who—!"
Nobu moved so quickly that Sokka didn't see the fatal blow. All he saw was Nobu turn, spinning with a fluid motion and pulling a katana from a sheath on his back at the same time. The blade sang through the air. Lord Kun's rant cut off, a look of surprise on his face. Half of his snow-white beard fell to the floor, floating there for a moment in the sunlight streaming in through one of the broken windows.
The next moment his head tipped back and then fell free of his shoulders. Trang screamed as it bounced on the stairs and then rolled to land against the Master's boots. Blood fountained from the stump of his neck and Lord Kun's hands shook, raising for a moment before the body fell onto the stairs with a thump. His feet shook and then stilled.
Trang's scream died as he fell to his knees with a heavy bang. He grasped at Lord Kun's severed head, and looked up at Nobu, who calmly wiped the thin trickle of blood racing down the edge of his blade onto his black sleeve.
"What did you do?" Trang gasped. "I'll have you killed for this! MIKA!"
It was the Master who moved, not Nobu. He grasped Trang by his dusty hair and pulled a blade from his belt. Trang's throat opened with a hot gush of red. Sokka flinched away from the sight, listening to the man choking to death on his own blood. He heard the body slump beside Lord Kun's and looked back at the Master and Nobu.
Mika, the guard at the door with the crossbow stilled when they all turned to stare at him. He looked from Lord Kun's body to Trang's on the floor. Mika dropped the crossbow at his feet and put his hands up. "I don't want any trouble."
"Grab him," the Master said, and one of his men grabbed Mika by the scruff of the neck. Mika didn't fight him; he was clearly smarter than he looked.
Nobu's brow lifted as the Master turned back to him. "Why did you do that?"
"Do you know how long I've wanted that bastard dead?" the Master said, kicking at Lord Kun's head. "That's why I came here. I had a plan to kill him during the fight with Chen, when he was distracted, but you've blown those plans all to hell. This is easier. Thank you, my friend."
"Do you think we're friends, Chil-Hyeon?" Nobu said, cocking his head and looking at the Master. He still had his sword out.
"We have mutual needs, Nobu. We both work for the same man. Friends? Perhaps not. But I'm bolder than Kun, and I'm loyal if the price is right. I've been bought. I won't waver."
"You weren't loyal to Kun."
"He didn't pay me enough."
Nobu smirked a little and then sheathed his sword. "His men will come for me when they return. He's sent them out to secure his possessions so that he could flee in comfort. He left himself unprotected in his greed. A fool. An old fool."
"Let me worry about his men," the Master said. "I know most of them. We'll say that Kun was killed by Trang. I stopped Trang. They'll believe it. They'll be looking for leadership. I'll step in."
"And what about his guard?" Nobu said, gesturing to Mika.
"Good point," the Master said. "Kill him."
"NO! WAIT!" Mika started, but his throat was opened the next moment. Sokka flinched, looking away, feeling sick to his stomach.
Nobu tilted his chin back, studying the Master. "I believe we can work together on this, then. I won't be staying in Ba Sing Se for long, however. As soon as I get orders, I'll be moving the Fire Lord and Princess Azula out of the city."
"Where are they right now?"
"Below. They won't be getting free any time soon," Nobu said and Sokka hitched in a breath, his eyes cutting to the padlocked door. His entire body tingled, his breathing speeding up.
Azula was here... She was here, below them right now...
His heart raced instantly and he acted before he could think better of it, shoving back into Garin and trying to break his grip. Garin grunted, as all eyes turned on Sokka, and it was only then that he realized his mistake.
Nobu's smirk fell and his eyes narrowed on Sokka. "Who is this? Why do you have a prisoner?"
Sokka realized then that Nobu didn't recognize him, probably because of the dust and blood coating his face. He also didn't look like Tazeo any longer, the man whose identity he'd been wearing when he'd met Nobu all those months ago in the Fire Nation. Ran's hair was short, and he no longer had the fake tattoos on his arms that were so like Nobu's own real skull tattoo.
He expected the Master to give him away now, but the Master surprised him again.
"Him? He's the fighter I brought to challenge Kun's man Chen. We had a disagreement in the street over his woman."
Nobu's eyes flicked dismissively from Sokka to Mai for the first time. She'd been standing behind one of the Master's men, still held captive. He knew she'd been trying to hide.
Sokka had only met Nobu once, but Nobu had recruited Mai into the Smoke Demons. She knew him well, and what little she'd said about him had been enough to convince him that Mai was rightly terrified of him.
Nobu stilled and that cock of his head spoke volumes. He recognized her. Sokka struggled in Garin's hands, trying to get to Mai, as Nobu stepped over Kun's body, and then Trang's.
"Mai," Nobu breathed, as Mai lifted her chin, glaring into Nobu's eyes.
Nobu grabbed Mai by the front of her dirty dress and yanked her forward, breaking the hold on her free of her captor's grip. The Master's man let her go, backing up as Nobu glared at Mai.
"Let her go!" Sokka started, but Garin clapped his hand over Sokka's mouth, stilling him.
"Mai, it's been too long..." Nobu whispered. "I thought I'd never see you again."
"Nobu," Mai started, but Sokka had no idea what she was going to say to him, because the next moment Nobu tilted his head, silencing her with a deep and passionate kiss.
