~O~
The Boiling Rock
Several months later
It wasn't a surprise when he turned from them.
Sen knew that Zuko would betray his country eventually, but not Mai. Even when Azula stood before her at the Boiling Rock prison, Sen could see something had changed in her. It was worrying, somehow.
They entered the prison together and the warden was there, interrogating someone in the cell.
"Who told you to interrupt me?" the warden snapped.
He turned angrily toward the door, but looks shocked and bowed upon seeing who it is. Azula stood at the door with Ty Lee and Sen behind her. All of the guards bowed to her as well.
"I did." she said.
The warden rose, still lowering his head. "Princess Azula. Ah..." he said, with a hesitant smile, "It is an honor to welcome you to the Fire Nation's most exemplary prison. I didn't realize you were coming."
He stared at Sen, blinking in astonishment when he realized they nearly stood at the same height.
"Who is this?" Azula asked, gesturing to the prisoner.
"He's a guard who was involved in a recent and feeble escape attempt." the warden explained.
The prisoner looked up at them desperately. "It wasn't me!"
"Quiet, you!" the warden ordered, pointing at him.
Azula sighed, crossing her arms. "You're wasting your time. That's not one of them."
She turned and started to go.
Her comment stunned the warden and he looked back at her. "How do you know?"
Azula paused at the door with a sinister smile. "Because I'm a people person."
They walked down the cell block and Azula had begun talking with Ty Lee, but Sen's mind began to wander. She thought about her time in a prison when she'd been captured and interrogated for days before her Sea Ravens freed her. And no one had been spared in the assault.
"...Sen, are you listening?"
Sen looked down at Azula and hadn't realized she'd stopped in front of a cell littered with chains. Azula followed her gaze and they peered into it together.
"Remind you of something?" Azula asked.
"Yes." Sen replied. "I'd been a prisoner once. Not here, mind you, but a prison of the earth benders."
"How'd that go?" Azula asked, with a small laugh.
"I've never been captured before. They thought they'd fooled me, but I willingly gave myself up so that my Sea Ravens could escape," Sen explained. She gave a short, caustic laugh. "They like to judge us for our ways, but they're no different. Especially when it comes to interrogating."
Ty Lee looked at her worriedly. "What happened?"
"They had nothing to threaten me with," Sen's voice was softer now, but carried a coldness, "Nothing at all. My Sea Ravens came for me and unleashed an assault on the prison. You can imagine what we did to them."
Ty Lee looked stunned and Azula thoughtful. Sen didn't know what she was thinking and she'd often been very good at reading others. But the Princess...she couldn't tell.
An alarm sounded, turning their attention now to the chaos of guards running passed them.
"Hm, sounds like trouble," Ty Lee said, "Oh! Let's see!"
"Yes, and I have a feeling I know exactly what kind of trouble." Azula hissed.
O
Azula, Sen and Ty Lee were standing at the bottom of the gondola station. They could see Zuko and a few others attempting their escape.
"Well, that won't do," Sen replied, "What would you have us do next, Princess?"
"Stay here." Azula ordered.
She suddenly snatched a pair of handcuffs from a guard's belt, running forward. Behind her, Ty Lee jumped up and onto the cable, running along it toward the gondola.
After elevating herself to the line with a fire blast, Azula used the cuffs to attach herself to the cable and propel herself forward. Sen observed the sight from her place below, warily glancing down at the boiling water below.
They were fighting and Sen was growing anxious, pacing back and forth like a restless beast. She didn't like being here, unable to do anything. But Azula wanted her to stay there. She had to do what she said.
Suddenly, the warden appeared at the window of the gondola, shouting out. "CUT THE LINE!"
Sen's eyes widened and she whirled, watching as the guards stopped the gondola by jamming the mechanism with metal bars; the wheel screeched angrily as it ground down to a halt.
"No!" she shouted, grabbing one of them and tossing her aside. "The Princess is up there, are you insane?"
The gondola rocked back and forth from the sudden stop, disrupting the combatants from their respective duels. Sen struggled to throw the guards away, determined to keep them from cutting the line. She would not see Azula die.
She WOULDN'T let it happen.
One of the guards jumped on her back and Sen let out an angry snarl, tossing the man from her. She looked up and noticed Azula jumping to safety to another approaching gondola on another wire, heading inbound.
The line was almost entirely severed by now, but before the guards could finish the job, they were suddenly yanked away from it and pinned to the wall by stilettos.
Sen whirled, stunned to see Mai standing near the line.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
Mai scoffed. "Saving the jerk who dumped me."
Other guards tried to attack Mai, but she dodged all their fire blasts and retaliated with her knives, pinning them all down by their wristguards. Sen watched, glancing only briefly to Azula and Ty Lee, who approached the scene.
The prisoners had escaped, but she knew the worst was to come.
O
Mai was detained by two guards, while Azula glared at her, seemingly trying to comprehend the betrayal. Ty Lee was standing in the middle, looking terrified and concerned at the two. Sen had stepped back, unsure of what to say or do. Azula's features were a mask of conflict.
"Leave us alone," Azula ordered the guards.
The guards gave the Fire Nation salute and departed upon her order. Mai raised her head a little, looking defiant. Sen was tense by the sight. She anticipated a fight would break out. She was already restless from earlier.
"I never expected this from you." Azula said, lowly. "The thing I don't understand is 'Why?'. Why would you do it? You know the consequences."
Mai stared back with firm resolve. "I guess you just don't know people as well as you think you do. You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you."
The intrigued expression on Azula's face contorted into one of absolute rage. She lost control. "No, you miscalculated! You should have feared me more!" she shouted.
Azula angled her fingers to create lightning, and Mai readied one of her stilettos, her eyes narrowed. Before Azula could even think to complete her attack, however, she is struck twice by Ty Lee, who chi blocked her. Sen looked stunned and scowled now, whirling on Ty Lee.
"You little - " she spat.
Ty Lee performed the same tactic with her; blow after blow to Sen's arm that had her falling limply to her knees with a grunt of effort.
Ty Lee looked surprised at her own actions and Sen leaned forward to shield Azula with her own body.
The sight startled Mai, who seemed to put two-and-two together when she met Sen's fierce, angry eyes through her mask. But Ty Lee grabbed her arm to pull her away.
"Come on! Let's get out of here!" she cried.
But Mai and Ty Lee were quickly surrounded by guards and captured before they could escape. Azula continued to lay there, angry. Sen refused to raise her body from its protective position until Azula was helped up by the two guards.
"You're both fools!" Azula hissed out.
Mai and Ty Lee were both restrained, looking defiantly at the princess as she was helped to her feet. Sen could stand, though with much effort. The blows she had suffered were minor compared to Azula's.
"What shall we do with them, princess?" one of the guards questioned.
Azula glared at them, her words shaking, but severe. "Put them somewhere I'll never have to see their faces again, and let them rot!"
That would certainly not be a problem; the two were led away, but not before Mai watched Sen the entire way.
"Princess, would you - "
"I'm fine. Don't touch me!"
Azula's words were barely heard as she argued with the guards when they offered her aid.
Sen didn't hear from her for the rest of the day.
O
Mai and Ty Lee sat alone in the cold cell.
They hadn't spoken since it had happened; Mai sat in the far corner of the cell, holding her knees close to her chest. Ty Lee was spending time combing her hand through her hair, which had become frazzled from the moisture in the air.
"Why would Sen do it?" Ty Lee asked, quietly, breaking the silence.
"Do what?" Mai asked, her tone flat.
"Throw herself in front of me like that?" Ty Lee sighed. "Why wouldn't she fight Azula, too? Did she just - "
"Because she's in love with her, Ty Lee..."
Ty Lee blinked, staring at Mai in astonishment. "Really?"
"Yeah, really," Mai stared at the floor, grimly, "Really, I'm surprised none of us ever saw it. But I saw her eyes when she fell. I saw how she was willing to just throw herself in the way to keep Azula from being hurt. She's been doing that this whole time. It's probably been going on even longer than that."
"Oh..." Ty Lee sat there, pondering this. "Wow. It's really sweet, but kind of sad, too."
Mai glanced up at her.
"Azula won't love her back, will she?"
"No."