Chapter XXVIII
Crescent Island - Part III
"The light hits the statue and I talk to Roku," Aang muttered.
The only problem was, as far as Azula could see, that the light was hitting the statue, and the golden Roku standing serenely in front of them wasn't talking.
"Not that I'm presuming to tell you how to do your job, Aang, but perhaps we're missing something?" Azula tapped her foot impatiently. Something inside her gnawed at her. She couldn't tell if it was because she was missing something, some sort of detail she should have seen, or if it was just the effect the temple had on her from the moment she got there. It reminded her of the inexplicable draw Roku's statue had on her at the Southern Air Temple. Whatever it was, it was unwelcome – not that the sensation itself was particularly negative, but Azula was not keen on having some unknown force exert some unknown power over her.
Aang shrugged dejectedly. "I'm positive we did everything right. Just as I learned in the spirit world."
The mention of that place sent shivers down her spine. Wherever Aang had been whisked off to, she hoped it was more pleasant than the terror-ridden forest she'd been dropped into the middle of. But then again, Avatars were different, more spiritually attuned by nature. Perhaps their experiences would have been entirely different as well.
Behind them, the door muffled all outside noise. She supposed it was the point of an inner sanctuary, but all the same, she couldn't be sure what was going on outside. She was worried for Sokka and Katara and Suki – all capable, but all it took was poor footing, an accidental slip, or a reaction timed a second too late, and she'd be down a friend or a lover.
Azula forced herself to retrain her thoughts on the present. Sokka was smart. She had to trust him. And if not, at least Katara and Suki had his back while he had hers.
Whatever frustration she was feeling, Aang must have felt tenfold. He shook her out of her thoughts by letting out an aggravated groan.
"Please, spirits damnit. All I know is Airbending, and that isn't enough! It's not even close. Talk to me, Avatar Roku. This world is a mess. It's all out of balance. And I have no idea where to even begin to fix it."
The red light cascading down through the gem-lens at the top of the sanctum finally covered the entirety of the Roku statue. White light burst from the eye sockets of the statue, brightening the room so much that Azula had to cover her eyes with her arm. Smoke filled her nostrils and mouth as she took breaths, enveloping the room in a haze that blocked her vision. It felt like the room was spinning out from underneath her, and even though her balance was impeccable, she felt as if she was going to teeter over.
Finally, the bright white light dissipated, as did the smoke, revealing a mountaintop. Gone was the interior of the temple room; Azula could smell the fresh air, with a hint of the cherry blossoms that grew in her homeland. It was sunset, and the world was bathed in a sepia glow. She and Aang stared around in bewilderment and surprise.
The footsteps of a person behind them caused them to turn around. An older man with white hair and a white beard. He was dressed in Fire Nation robes. On top of his head was a headpiece Azula recognized instantaneously. It had a red band and two golden winged prongs, and a hair-stick ran through the center, binding the hair firmly into place.
The old man smiled at both and stopped advancing when he was at a respectful distance with them.
"Hello, Aang. What took you so long?" he asked kindly. Then he turned his attention to Azula.
"And you, my dear. I've waited for quite some time to see you."
XXXXX
"How do we play this?" Suki asked, gripping her war-fans tighter.
Sokka stared out of the shuttered windows as the sun dipped further and further. From the hallways leading to the antechamber of the inner sanctum, they could hear pounding footsteps and raised voices. Soon, the enemy would be on them.
The antechamber got darker and darker, and soon the only light sources were the lanterns scattered around the room, bathing the chamber in a dim light that cast shadows everywhere.
"I'm not here," Sokka said. He dug around in his pack for something. Suki looked confused, though the hardened expression on Katara's face indicated she knew.
"Sokka…" she warned. "It's better if you stick with us."
"You know I work better in the dark, Kat. Sage, can you put out the lanterns in the room? All the ones except those close to us."
"Done," Shyu said, sweeping his hand around the room. His tone was quizzical too, though.
"What are you planning?" Suki asked.
Sokka didn't respond, but he found what he was looking for. It was a strange-looking contraption - a short iron barrel attached to a wooden handle, wrapped in seal leather. There was a large chamber connecting the two things that clearly contained something. He grinned as he examined it in the limited light.
"What the hell is that?" Katara asked. "I've never seen that before."
"Gran-Gran must have put it in your pack. She saw me working on it during the siege."
"But what is it, exactly?" Suki pressed.
Sokka smiled and pointed the device up at the top of one of the more distant pillars. "Sorry for the property damage, Shyu. You can just send the bill to Iroh, right? I'm sure he's good for it." He pulled the trigger, and something shot out on a rope almost silently. Sokka checked the line for tautness and smiled back at the group.
"See 'ya later."
He pulled another button on the device and the rope suddenly began to reel him in, as if he was a fish caught on a line. With a jerking speed, he shot off towards the pillar. Suki and Katara could only tell when he'd landed when there was a muffled thump sound of his boots hitting the wood of the pillar.
"Did he just invent a grappling hook shooter?" Suki muttered in an amazed tone.
The footsteps got closer, and even in the dim light, they could see black-clad Temple soldiers stream into the room, more than a dozen at least. Among them was a hulking figure. He pulled back his hood to reveal a bald head, a thick but short beard, and two dead eyes that bore uncomfortably into Katara and Suki. What was more surprising, however, was the tattooed third eye on his forehead, between his dark brows. They didn't know what to make of it – it was the first time such a tattoo had ever been seen on any of the Temple assassins and soldiers they'd fought.
It wasn't the hulking man who spoke first, but another – far shorter, and spindly.
"You're surrounded. Give up the Avatar, the Nightwolf, and the Princess."
"And what?" Suki shouted back.
"This isn't a negotiation. Give them up and maybe we'll kill you quick instead of slow," spat the Temple assassin. The hulking man inched closer, as the temple assassins formed a semi-circle, pinning them against the inner sanctum's doors.
In the light, they got a better look at the temple assassin who spoke. He wore a black scarf around his mouth and nose and peered at Katara, Suki, and Shyu with beady eyes. He and his companions seemed not to have noticed Sokka hanging up from the ceiling. In the dim light, and with Sokka in his drab Earth Kingdom clothes, he was near invisible.
Suki and Katara exchanged glances. Katara shot a quick, imperceptible glance at Sokka's silhouette.
Whatever you've got planned, Sokka, do it quick.
Multiple small round objects dropped from the ceiling, scattered among the temple assassins. They fizzed and crackled, and then belched out smoke, covering the entire chamber in a thick, cough-inducing haze. The temple assassins shouted in surprise.
Then they began to shout in terror after Sokka jumped from the ceiling, swinging his club down as he fell, and Suki, Katara, and Shyu joined in the fray.
XXXXX
"And why exactly have you been waiting to meet me?" Azula asked, perhaps a bit more snidely than she'd intended. Aang shot her a glare and gave her a gentle nudge with his elbow.
If Avatar Roku was offended by her tone, he didn't show it. On the contrary, his smile seemed to grow. What struck Azula most about it was the familiarity; Roku regarded her almost as if he knew her personally.
"Ta Min – my wife – would have wept to see your face, my dear. You'll have to forgive an old man his flights of fancy. You resemble my daughter Rina greatly."
The corner of her mouth twitched.
Avatar Roku had a child? She thought. This was never made public knowledge. Father would have told us if there were descendants of Roku running around. They would have been a threat to his rule. No, his daughter was probably a nobody, and his line is gone.
"I see you have a hard time believing it. Well, I can confirm that there are four of my descendants still alive and well in the Fire Nation." Roku smiled at her in a way that disconcerted her as if he knew something she didn't but didn't intend to tell her directly. There was something here, something she was missing out on. Her eyes flitted to Aang, but he was simply observing the two silently, searching her face for something she couldn't see. His eyebrows lifted and his eyes widened as he came to some realization. It frustrated her to see that whatever it was, whatever connection she shared with Roku, was obvious to everyone except her.
"Both of you seem to be in the know about something that I'm not, so why don't you fill me in, Avatar Roku," she said, a hint of irritation creeping into her voice.
Roku sighed. "All that fire, though… that definitely comes from Sozin."
Azula froze. Surely he can't mean…
"Ta Min and I had one child only – Rina. She was the light of our life, our darling girl. She grew up and married Jinzuk, a fine young man with a good position as magistrate of Hira'a, and together, they had a daughter as well. I never met her, but her name was Ursa."
The Princess flinched visibly, stumbling back a step as if she'd been slapped.
"No… this can't be," she whispered, half to herself.
"One day, Fire Lord Azulon came to Hira'a, to arrange a match between his son Ozai and my granddaughter Ursa. He was… obsessed, you see. To meld the firebending lines of Sozin and Roku together into one. He envisioned the children of Ozai as the greatest firebenders the world has ever seen. The result was first a sweet boy, by the name of Zuko, and then a precocious girl by the name of Azula. My great-grandchildren." Roku smiled down at her with the same kind of smile she had seen countless times, but never directed at her – Uncle Iroh or Mother at Zuko, or Kanna and Katara at Sokka. It was the love of family.
She was almost grateful to Aang for breaking in, or else she might have choked out a sob. "Does this mean I'm technically Azula's great-grandfather, too?"
That elicited an amused chuckle from Roku. "In a manner of speaking, I suppose. We Avatars share a spirit, young Aang, and not so much bloodlines or familial relations. I have watched you throughout your travels, though, and I believe I can say very truthfully that you are Azula's family – her family of choice, that is. Just like the Water Tribe siblings and your Kyoshi warrior companion outside. Speaking of whom, we do not have much time. They are fending off enemies as we speak and we cannot delay, as much as I would like to spend time with my great-grandchild and my successor."
"Why have you called us, Avatar Roku?" inquired Aang. "I know you mean to show me something. You wouldn't have sent your dragon to me in the spirit world otherwise."
Roku's kind face darkened with a pained expression. "There is something you must know – both of you. Sozin's Comet is returning, at the end of summer next year. It is going to pass dangerously close to the world – closer than it did the last time it was here. And even then, it had powered firebending beyond belief. This time, it will give firebenders the means to conquer the world. You must master all the elements, Aang, and defeat the Fire Lord and the Temple before the Comet."
"Sozin's Comet? You mean, the thing that let the Fire Nation wipe out the Air Nomads?" Aang's brow furrowed.
"The very same," Roku intoned mournfully.
"And I'm supposed to master all four elements by then? I'm great with Air, and I'm getting better with Water, but I have no command over Earth or Fire. How am I supposed to learn all this in the span of… what, eight, nine months? "Aang, the fault lies with me. I could have stopped Sozin, but he was my childhood friend. Mercy stayed my hand, and hundreds of thousands paid the price for it. I will forever be known as the indecisive Avatar for my mistakes. I could have changed the course of history if I had acted firmly. But I could not kill my friend."
Aang stared at his feet, a downcast expression gracing his features. "I understand your desire to not kill, Avatar Roku. Believe me."
Azula made a noise of disapproval. "You could have saved many lives, but that's in the past. Ultimately it was Sozin's bloodlust and the Temple's abhorrent teachings that led to the Air Nomad genocide, and I will hold them to account."
"Unfortunately, spending time in the spirit realm allows for a great deal of self-reflection," Roku said. "You know this, dear child, after your trip with Sokka to visit the Spirit of Motherly Love. Unfortunately, we are not quite in the spirit world, but in a plane between. Time will not stretch here like it would in the Spirit World proper. You must return, but danger awaits you and your companions outside this chamber." Avatar Roku turned to Aang. "I can help you with this."
XXXXX
Sokka grunted as he buried his club in the skull of one of the Temple assassins. He only just managed to turn around before there was a blinding flash and a feeling as if he had been punched a hundred times in the gut. A wave of compressed air exploded and flung him halfway across the chamber, sending his club flying out of his hand. He pressed his hands on the wooden floor, trying to pick himself up, but choked on air as he tried to breathe with the wind knocked out of him.
He thought he heard someone call his name – Katara, perhaps? – but then all he heard were the thuds of metal boots near his head. Someone grabbed his collar and lifted him up, and he found himself peering into a pair of dark brown eyes, with a third eye painted right above them. The bald, bearded man stared at him impassively, and as the wind returned to him, he realized that this man set off the explosion that had flung him. But he couldn't see bombs or explosives anywhere on him…
Somehow, he knew he was staring at his death unless he acted quickly. In one desperate motion, he grabbed Boomerang and flung it behind the man's head. He didn't even flinch, but Sokka was counting on him thinking that he'd missed. Sokka realized that the man was about to bend with his mind – and that he had caused the explosion, though not with traditional Firebending.
Great. Just when I thought they couldn't get any more dangerous - they find this... sparky boom boom guy, he thought. No, that's a crappy name, Azula wouldn't let me hear the end of it. I can do better. Explosion Man? Combus-
Boomerang spun around and came screaming back for the man. With a crack, it collided with the man's neck and he promptly dropped Sokka, grunting in pain. He bent over, clutching at the back of his neck and shoulders, and it gave Sokka enough time to get to his feet, slide underneath the man's legs, grab Boomerang, and make a run for it. He picked up his club along the way, fighting through a Temple assassin back to where Suki and Katara were bogged down in duels of their own. Katara and Shyu were shielding Suki from the attacks of Firebender assassins, while Suki carved through enemies with her war fans, dancing with a level of grace Sokka could only admire.
But the thunk of the man's metal leg soon shook him out of his thoughts as his near-killer now recovered, inching back to the fight. Sokka saw a brief twinkle, and prepared himself for the blast…
The blast came from behind him, where the door to the inner sanctum was, not from the bald man. Smoke clouded the room yet again, and a pair of glowing eyes emerged from the darkness of the room. But they were too high up to be Aang's - whoever it was, was even taller than Sokka.
The bald man shot another explosion at the glowing eyes, and the blowback knocked Sokka, Suki, Katara, and Shyu out of the way, as well as toppling over many of the assassins themselves, but the blast didn't seem to fully explode. Instead, it was almost absorbed by the figure, who stepped out of the shadows, with Azula right behind him.
It was a serene faced old man, with flowing long white hair and an equally impressive white beard, and it was his eyes that burned brighter than the sun. His aura seemed to glow blue. He summoned a great tornado of fire in his hands, blasting it outwards. The force of the explosion caused by it knocked some of the assassins, who had just picked themselves up, back down again; the less fortunate ones caught fire, screaming horribly as they burned.
Roku, thought Sokka with awe.
The explosion bender tried to blast Roku again, but again the Avatar seemed to simply absorb the explosions. With a face contorted with fury, Avatar Roku slammed his palm against the floor of the temple, and a great molten crack appeared, splitting the tower in half. From it, he summoned the great power of the volcano, forcing magma to erupt from underneath the earth and through the cracks, ripping the temple apart. The explosion bender tried to fight back, but he only assisted in the destruction of the temple, as he lost control of aiming his explosions and instead blasted away the pillars of the building. With a mighty groan, the tower began to sway as it lost its supports.
"You have to get out of here!" shouted Shyu. "Avatar Roku is going to bring down the Temple!"
"Where's Aang?" cried Katara.
The temple began to teeter dangerously, but Sokka's eyes were fixed on Roku, who seemed to draw a deep breath. The blue light around him shimmered, and suddenly Roku was gone, and Aang fell to the ground. Azula crouched by him and lifted him up.
"I've got him, 'Zula." Sokka ripped the sky bison whistle out of Aang's pack and tossed it to her. "Call Appa. We need to get out of here and I don't think the stairs are an option."
"On it," confirmed Azula. She slid gracefully down the slanted floor, blowing the silent whistle while heading towards a large opening that had been blown into the side of the antechamber wall. She stopped herself with a pillar as she neared the entrance, halting her momentum just before it carried her out of the opening. Now all that was left to do was to wait for Appa.
Sokka came with Aang hoisted on his shoulders, with Katara and Suki following along. Shyu ushered them along and gave them all a short bow before leaving down a side passage, explaining that he knew of a safe path to a cove away from the magma and that he wished them farewell. From the distance, Appa was tearing towards them, and as he drew close, Azula leaped onto his saddle and then helped Katara and Suki do the same. Sokka let Aang slide down his shoulder and into his arms before passing him through the gap, where Katara and Suki grabbed onto him and brought him safely onto the saddle. Just as Sokka was about to jump himself, however, another explosion rocked the building behind him, and Sokka went flying through the gap, past Appa and hurtling towards the ground below.
"NO!" screamed Azula, leaping off Appa after him.
She dove through the air, compact and pointed like a thrown javelin, shooting straight towards Sokka, bending fire from her feet to propel her faster. She caught him in her arms and used her firebending feet to slow her descent, dropping both of them safely onto the ground below. The mountainside was a hellscape - magma was flowing in streams like rivers from the mouth of the volcano, dripping down the side of the island and into the sea below. The mountain itself belched pillars of smog into the sky, darkening everything around them.
Appa came rushing down, with Katara at the reins, but another explosion rocked her off her feet, sending Sokka and her flying in opposite directions.
There isn't time to get on Appa, Azula realized, as she picked herself up. This combustion-bender is going to kill us if we sit around that long.
There was only one thing for it. She screamed at Katara.
"LEAVE! Now! I've got Sokka!"
Katara shook her head and said something, but Azula knew they didn't have time to waste. She blasted a fireball at them, drawing it intentionally short so as not to hit Appa. "GET OUT, NOW! STOP ARGUING WITH ME!"
Katara seemed to take the hint, only because another explosion rocked the air, this time too close to her to ignore. Azula turned her attention to the cause of their problems. Her eyes flitted towards Sokka - he seemed mostly safe where he was, behind her and away from the combustion bender.
"I'm going to end you, you miserable, worthless piece of scum. You don't lay a hand on him. You don't even touch one hair on his head," she snarled.
The bald man said nothing, taking another inexorable step towards her. Fireballs began to spew from the mountain, flying into the air before arcing down around them. It was hot - unbearably hot, Sokka would have said, if he were conscious, but not for her. She choked back a wave of rising emotion as she thought of his limp body behind her, but it would not do. She could not lose focus. Not for herself, but for Sokka.
Let it drive you, my dear, her mother's voice whispered into her ear. Let him be the reason.
She lit her hands ablaze with blue fire and charged towards the combustion bender. He blasted another explosion, intending to knock her off her feet, but she anticipated it and leaped over it, allowing the force of the blast to propel her upwards, where she used her firebending to rocket herself at him. She surmised that his bending wouldn't allow him to cause an explosion so close to himself, or else it would destroy both of them - he needed the range.
But then again, this was a Temple assassin... and one she recognized. This was the infamous hitman from Caldera. He had many names, but he was known as one of the best killers-for-hire in the Fire Nation until he upped and vanished two years ago. Everyone assumed it was a job gone wrong - perhaps someone had finally pulled one out over him. But now she knew the truth. He'd been recruited into the Temple.
She brought a crushing blow towards his head, knives of fire blazing in her fists, but he dodged out of the way and put more distance between them. He blasted at her again, but she rolled out of the way and spun on her feet, cycling two blazing kicks of flame at him. The assassin ducked behind a rock, and leapt out from the side, before causing another explosion. This one caught her a little, hitting her like a punch to the stomach and knocking her back, slightly winded. She let out an affronted snarl and unleashed a furious barrage of fire at him, before leaping up and swinging down her hands to create a great slashing blade of flame, hoping to rip him in half.
Unfortunately, the man was a little too quick, and he leaped backward, dodging the flame. Azula landed awkwardly, giving him just enough time to catch her with another explosion. This one hit her square, and though she was able to absorb much of the energy, the compressed air still sent her flying backwards with a yelp, and she crashed onto her side in the dirt, only inches away from a lava flow.
Azula picked herself up and grimly readied herself as the man trudged towards her, his mechanical foot clanking against the dirt. Suddenly, an idea filled her mind. She calmed herself and willed the lightning to come forth, hoping to electrocute the man through his metal feet.
He seemed to anticipate the move and blasted her again; this time, she was unable to absorb most of it and the explosion felt like it shattered every bone in her body. She screamed in agony as she was sent flying back yet again, and this time she landed right by Sokka.
Weak. Dead, sneered Ozai.
Pick yourself up, my love. This isn't the end. You won't let it be, urged her mother.
Up, please, begged Ty Lee.
I know you've got more fight in you than this, said Mai, for once speaking in a tone that wasn't monotonous.
Azula cried out in pain and grit her teeth as she tried to push herself up. She was able to get on one knee, and the clanking of the hitman's metal foot drew ever closer. She reached out blindly, trying to grasp something, anything...
And her hand stumbled upon Sokka's boomerang. She looked bitterly at the hitman, and she knew the small flash that would appear by his third eye before an explosion was coming soon. Out of pure spite, she threw the hunk of metal at him, hoping to land even a glancing blow before the man tried to finish her off.
Just as he geared up to blast Azula and Sokka into oblivion, Boomerang collided directly with the man's third eye, glancing off him before bouncing away and out of sight. The blow knocked him flat on his ass. He roared in frustration as his attack was thwarted, placing both his hands over his third eye as pain shot through his body. He glared hatefully at Azula and prepared to attack her again. She grit her teeth and refused to close her eyes.
A princess dies with honor. A warrior dies brave, she thought.
But the explosion didn't come. Or rather, it did - but it didn't hit her. Instead, it exploded all around the man, ripping him apart with a loud, wet squelch, leaving fleshy chunks of gore and viscera where there was once a person. His metal foot landed by her, as did little other chunks of bone and flesh, including an eye, and the man's blood watered the inhospitable ground around them.
Azula stared at the mound of flesh where the combustion bender stood only moments ago and let out a hysterical laugh, one out of her control, but it vanished as soon as it came, as she realized Sokka was still there, and he was hurt. She whipped back around and landed by him, her hands flying to his wrist and his neck hoping to find a pulse. For a horrible moment, she heard only silence, but then she felt his pulse, weak and slight, but still there, and she felt his chest rise near imperceptibly as he took shallow breaths.
"Oh thank Agni," she said breathily to no one, grateful that he was still alive. If something had...
No, she couldn't go there. She needed to find them a way off the island. She looked to the sky hoping that Appa would be there, waiting for the fight to conclude, but there was no one. She then looked out to the horizon and nearly screamed in frustration.
Two Fire Nation warships were headed in her direction, billowing smoke from their central pillars as they steamed along towards the island. No doubt some nearby naval base had seen the volcano erupt and had come to help relieve the Fire Sages if it was necessary. Appa couldn't fly so close to the ships - they possessed enough ordinance to make any kind of landing and takeoff too risky. It was too risky to linger long in Fire Nation territory. If Katara had half a mind, she would be halfway to the Earth Kingdom by now.
She needed to find them a way off the island, and quick. She glanced around her, and to her immediate relief, she found it. They had come out on the other side of the island relative to where they had landed and approached the temple from. On this side was a small pier, and docked to it was a ship, like one of the little picket ships the Fire Navy used. They were fast and ran on coal, just like the bigger ships, but were meant for scouts. She could get them away from here. She dragged Sokka, supporting him on her shoulders, leading him to the pier, where she placed him on the ship. She shot a glance back to the approaching Fire Navy vessels. They were coming from around the bay, and wouldn't be able to clearly see her if she left now. She got on the picket ship and started it. It was devoid of any Fire Nation symbols - instead, it bore the Red Sun symbol, the one she'd seen on some of the Temple assassins, and she realized this ship must be one of theirs. As the engine roared to life and she guided the ship out of the pier and out towards the sea, she looked at Sokka. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn he was sleeping, the way he looked. It was so peaceful that it almost brought her a sense of calm, but then she realized just how close she had come to losing him. And how close she still was, for he was in no way out of the woods yet.
She needed to find help, and quick.
XXXXX
It took more than a day, but eventually, she found land. And she knew it was inhabited land, because as she beached the picket boat, she saw a woman ambling down the beach at sunrise, no doubt taking a leisure walk. She was dressed in peasant clothing. Azula leaped out of the boat and charged towards the woman, her hair frazzled, her eyes rimmed with exhaustion and lack of sleep. No doubt she looked a fright, but Azula didn't care at that moment. All that mattered was getting assistance - whether with kindness or fear. She didn't care. Either would do. Sokka was too close to the edge, and she would lose him without help.
The woman looked shocked and took several steps backward as Azula approached her, but something in her eyes must have conveyed her desperation because she stopped and stood her ground.
"I require your assistance," Azula said, heaving breaths. "My... my fiance, he's in the ship, and he's injured badly."
The woman scurried over to the picket boat, following behind Azula, and she peered over the edge and down at Sokka. "Oh, dear. He's in critical condition. I'm a herbalist, and my husband and I should be able to help. Can you stay here and watch over him while I go fetch Noren? I'll send Kiyi, my daughter, along. She knows some of what I do."
Azula nodded mutely. The woman, a plain-faced person who might have been any peasant in the Fire Nation, looked at her with kindness, and a sweet expression on her face.
"I'm very sorry for your troubles, my dear. Do you know where you are?"
Azula shook her head.
"You're on Zenmatsu Island. The town here is called Hira'a. Just wait here, my dear. I'll be right back."
"I... I didn't get your name," Azula spluttered out.
The woman cast her back a glance and a smile as she rushed away, heading towards the interior of the island. "You can call me Noriko, dear."
And thus, we have arrived at the end of Arc 2 :) Sorry for the slow updates. Life has caught up with me, but writing is proving to be a good escape from the daily grind.
Arc 3 (and the end of Book 1) is approaching! As always, thank you for all the kind reviews and comments you've left on this fic. I hope you continue to enjoy reading as much as I do writing, and I hope you guys stay healthy, safe, and happy.