Chapter 19: Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum

As she left the building, she whipped out her phone to text Ursa that she would be arriving later than usual when in the dim streetlights, she spotted shadows scurrying in the distance. Normally, her status as Ursa's child meant that she was 'off-limits' in terms of being targeted for assasination, though anything else was by and large fair game short of actually hurting her physically. Besides, she was just as powerful a bender as her siblings, even if her elder half sister refused to acknowledge such a claim.

However, all that counted for naught when a loud crump and a blinding flash illuminated the street, showering it in bits of masonry, glass, metal shards and other high speed 'shipyard confetti'. Instinctively, she lowered her body into a strong stance and conjured a protective shield of fire that mitigated the worst of the blast and its accompanying shockwave, even as a stray piece cut a thin line across her porcelain cheek and sent her neatly bound hair flying all over the place.

Thankfully, her brother was going over some accounting when he heard the dull crump and felt the shockwave course through his body, two stories up from the epicenter. Rushing down, she spotted Kiyi standing in the middle of the street, her clothes slightly charred, cinders in her hair and a thin gash across her cheek but otherwise looking none the worse for wear, despite what the light of the glowing wreck might suggest. Doing what any rational elder sibling would do, he rushed forth and hugged her tightly, afraid she might vanish like vapors.

"Mmph, Zuzu you can let me go now, I can't breathe." she muffled into the shoulder crook of her brother.

Releasing her from his hug, he clutched her shoulders and asked the blindingly obvious "Are you hurt?"

"What do you think?"

Another rib crushing hug was Zuko's reply, to which Kiyi whispered "It's okay, I'm still here." while stroking his back and keeping an eye in case their mystery assailants struck again. When he finally let go, he unceremoniously dragged her by the hand back to his place for the time being, whilst he made the one phone call he wished he didn't have to make.

Ursa's mansion

It was getting rather late, in Ursa's opinion and she resolved to have a few choice words with her youngest tomorrow morning. Not that curfew was a thing, but despite the moratorium on targeting the children and descendants of crime families, it was part and parcel of being associated with the underworld. While she waited for her youngest to return, she mused on the life choices and paths that she underwent in order to be where she was now, the granddaughter of the Avatar now head of the spiritual successor to the Daofei of old that molded a young Kyoshi on the run and hungry for vengeance. Just then the bedside phone rang, shaking her from her musings.

"Kiyi, you better have a good reason as to why you aren't back home yet."

"Well uh, you see mom, Kiyi's going to be crashing over at my place tonight. Someone tried to blow her up." Zuko's voice replied, tinged with a hint of fear and panic that his mother would punish him severely for failing to look out for her. In his defence, there just wasn't any proper way to inform one's parent that their sibling was the victim of an assassination attempt.

A gasp was heard on the other end, as she was stunned that someone would even attempt a hit on Kiyi. As cold as the calculus was, she could understand her first two children being earmarked for wetwork, given their reputation but her youngest was in some respects, innocent of any wrongdoing outside of the crime of association with her organization. Shock first took over, followed by a rage as the mother bear in her was awakened, vowing retribution on those responsible.

"Stay right there, I will be coming over shortly." she ordered, her voice changing from gentle and soft to a hard and vicious one.

Meanwhile, back in Zuko's place Azula had been enduring a fitful sleep as strange images and scenes flashed before her, before she was transported into a void, where direction was meaningless and twin dragons circled around her in a loop speaking in hushed voices that seemed to war over her very fiber of being.

As she turned to look at her inquisitors, she noticed one dragon was deep blue; it was almost black, with eyes like the sunrise whilst the other was a deep shade of crimson bordering on purple, with blue eyes that was more vivid than the clear open skies of the grasslands.

You must remain in control of your emotions and show her your strength, oh daughter mine , the red one finally spoke, audible enough for her to hear.

Heed not the other's, and listen to mine, the other whispered

They will always leave you in the end, the red one replied

Lies, the blue one hissed.

Silence, you will corrupt her no more.

Like you treated her any better, monster

The strong take, and the weak submits. It is the natural order of things.

The twin dragons continued in their ceaseless push and pull, arguments and counterarguments darting in her left and out her right ear. It was too much to bear and she curled up in a ball, hands over her ears pleading with the dragons to cease. At this the whisperings intensified and she curled up harder, speech incoherent as words were interspersed with sobs and cries to cease.

"No! Stop, please stop!" she cried out, as hot tears punctuated her ignored pleas for mercy.

Then suddenly, a rumbling rolled through the void, quieting the dragons for a moment. Then a familiar voice pierced the darkness like the rays of the sunrise "Listen to me. I'm here. I'm real. Listen to me, and snap out of it. Listen!" it urged repeatedly, over and over.

Finally, the spell broke, if only briefly and she bolted upright, mind still whirring from her dream. Turning to her left, she found herself staring at twin blue eyes. Thinking she was still in her dreamworld, she scrambled back in fear as she raised her hand to summon a ball of fire.

"Calm down Azula, it's me, Sokka! Chill out girl!" he pleaded.

"No no no you're not real. This isn't real, this isn't real." she muttered to herself.

Cursing his luck, he tried to reason with her, but his attempts fell on deaf ears. Sighing once again, he prayed a silent prayer to Tui and La as well as Agni for good measure before he leapt onto her bed and held her in a tight embrace, partly to lock her arms to her side before she could start hurling fireballs and whispered soothing words in her ear.

At last, the haze over her finally broke for good and she wept audibly into Sokka, while he stroked her hair and continued to whisper sweet words to her, pausing every so often to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. As luck would have it, he did not hear the sounds of people entering in, as he was completely focused on her and her only. To no one's surprise, who else but Ursa waltzed in to find her daughter sobbing heartily into Sokka's chest.

"First you pin my daughter to the wall in a debasing manner, now I find her in your arms crying. Are you asking for a death wish, Mr. Sokka?"

"Stop it mom! You're reading this all wrong! I-I had a bad dream a-and S-Sokka, h-he pulled me out of it, so knock it off!" Azula half yelled, her voice hoarse and eyes red from crying whilst her cheeks were flush. Whether it was embarrassment or anger, she couldn't tell and she had no intention of divining anyways.

Sighing, Ursa relented and said "I'm sorry for reading it wrong. But you sobbing in his arms doesn't exactly inspire confidence in his motives. Anyways, I'm glad you're safe. Someone tried to kill your sister with an explosive device." At this, her eyes widened in shock "What!'

Ursa continued "Your sister is fine, thank Agni and the spirits for that. For now, I want you to stay here and don't go anywhere. I cannot risk them coming back to finish the job. I've deployed a platoon to lockdown the area. I will contact you with further instructions tomorrow. In the meantime, stay put and watch each other's backs okay? Now is not the time to be quarreling amongst yourselves." With this, she left to meet with the chief of police, fully intending to rip him a new hole for this unforgivable lapse in security. Hell hath no fury like a mother seeing her kids hurt, and Ursa vowed to find and punish those responsible, even if it meant tearing apart the fragile peace between the societies.

If a war is what they want, I will show them the true meaning of warfare, she thought to herself as her convoy departed for the police headquarters, a show of force to all would be challengers.