Kanna looked down from atop Druk's back with a pout. "Mommy, do we have to go? I don't want to leave you."
Azula leaned up to give the girl a soft kiss on the forehead, and brushed her hair back with a reassuring smile. "It's just for a little while, I promise. I'll see you again real soon, alright?"
"Alright," she muttered, bowing her head.
"Don't worry, Sweet Pea, your mother will be fine." Anraq climbed atop the dragon behind Kanna and scooted forward into place, so he was sure she wouldn't fall. "We're going to see your Aunt Mai and Ty Lee. You like them, right?"
Kanna smiled. "Uh huh! They're fun."
"Yes, have fun," Azula said. "Tell them all about the festival, too. I'm sure they'll love to hear about it. Or at least Ty Lee will." With a tentative glance to Anraq, she added, "Don't tell them what's happened to Izumi and Iroh. Not yet. Mai just lost her husband..."
"Say no more," Anraq replied, with a nod. "Just be careful, alright?"
"I will." Azula offered a smile, and gave the dragon a gentle pat on the scales. "Take good care of them, Druk. Don't fly too fast."
The dragon let out a soft grumble in response, as he took to the skies. Azula watched them go, until they were nothing more than a small dot against the clouds. With a heavy exhale, she made her way back to the palace, where the Avatar's team would be gathering soon to go after Sen. With any luck, this new method of tracking him would work. She only hoped they were ready when they found him. They did still have to deal with all of his resurrected minions in addition to the spirit itself, with both her father and brother among them. Her father could rot for all she cared, but Zuko... She needed to help him. Somehow.
Would she be ready when the time came? When she confronted Sen, confronted her father, and confronted Zuko? Annie worried about her, and rightfully so. As much as she insisted to the contrary, her mind was starting to slip again. No shaking it, no matter how much she tried. Facing down her father had been bad enough, but to hear her brother say those things to her, things she'd always feared might be true? Something had fractured in her mind. Something deep and callous, something raw. It rattled her, and put her on edge. Twice now she'd almost descended into full blown panic attacks. If not for Annie reminding her of her breathing exercises, she might have broken down again already.
It's not true. Three simple words she needed to keep reminding herself of. The things Zuko had said to her, the things Ozai had said to her, none of it was true. They were only words. Words meant to cut deep to her core, words meant to weaken her resolve, words straight from Sen's twisted mind. She couldn't let them affect her. She wouldn't. No matter what happened, she would retain her resolve and face this torment of hers. She would face it, and she would triumph.
Azula's thoughts kept her mind occupied the entire trek back to the palace courtyard, where the Avatar's team had gathered between the ring of ice sculptures. Korra, Kuvira, and Jinora were already there waiting for her. They greeted her with waves and friendly words. She offered a simple nod in return, in no mood for idle chitchat or pleasantries. She simply leaned against one of the sculptures, folded her arms, and waited for the others.
Eska, Desna, and Hari arrived a few minutes later. The twins walked on either side of Hari, each linking an arm around one of his. A perturbed knot tightened in Azula's abdomen at the sight. How two siblings could ever be so close as to share a partner the way those twins shared Hari, she would never understand. Disturbing, to put it mildly. That would be akin to she and Zuko sharing Mai, or Annie. She shuddered at the thought, unable to imagine such a thing, let alone consider it. Regardless, as much as she didn't understand it, she wasn't about to judge them for it. Both Eska and Desna were decent enough individuals, and what they did in their alone time was none of her concern, nor was it her business.
Lin and Bumi arrived next. No sign of Kya, although that was hardly surprising. The old waterbender had probably stayed behind with the other healers to provide care for the spiritless victims. Of all the people here, that Beifong woman was one Azula could appreciate most of all. Hard-nosed, took no nonsense, and downright scary when she had to be. Not to mention exceptionally skilled. A fine addition to the team, in that case. Bumi, on the other hand? From what little she'd interacted with him, she found him to be an annoying buffoon on par with what she remembered of Katara's ridiculous brother. Having another airbender with them wouldn't hurt, certainly, as long as she didn't have to put up with any of the man's inane stories.
Mako and Bolin were the last two to arrive. Azula forced herself to withhold a scoff at the sight of the two brothers. From what she had gathered since meeting them, they were nothing more than a pair of mediocre benders. Bolin could lavabend, true, but that wouldn't do him much good in the frozen tundra. Hari at least had his jar of sand, while Kuvira and Lin were both properly equipped metalbenders. Then there was Mako, who made her brother around the time of his banishment look good by comparison. At least Zuko'd had a tenacious ferocity going for him back then. Mako's firebending, on the other hand, pained her to witness. So many wild attacks and over extensions, no proper training, more a back-alley brawler than anything.
A good thing they had her there, in that case. They'd be needing a proper firebender.
"Is that everyone?" Korra asked, looking around at the group.
Kuvira nodded. "Everyone I could round up on short notice who wanted to help."
"Of course we're gonna help," Bumi said. "I might not have been there during the first attack, but there's no way I'm sitting this one out. We'll find this spirit and really put the hurt on him!"
"You know Bolin and I got your back like always," Mako said, with a stern nod. "Whatever happens, we're with you."
"Yeah, especially after what this Sen did," Bolin said. "To Toph, to Tenzin, your dad... everyone."
Lin folded her arms tight across her chest. "Well, if there's a way to help them, we're going to find it. No matter what it takes."
"And there is still the matter of those who Sen has resurrected," Eska added. "Such as our father."
Desna nodded. "Yes, he and the others must be stopped."
"Or helped," Azula countered. "Like my brother."
"And Suyin," Kuvira said, with an earnest look. "We know. We'll do everything we can."
Korra took the Spirit Detector out of her pocket and turned it on. An electronic squealing erupted from its speaker, louder than ever. She waved the detector around through the air until the signal reached its strongest point, and led the way to follow it. "Alright, let's find Sen."
Three hours later, the Spirit Detector had led them out of the city, across the frozen tundra, and outside the mouth of a large icy cave system cut deep into the side of a mountain, where the electronic squealing from the device reached new levels of volume. Not to mention annoyance. At this point, the team was cold, tired of walking, and collectively wanted to smash the damn Spirit Detector before that shrill whirring drove them insane. Lin and Azula in particular had both given the device dirty, spiteful looks, but Korra always kept it out of reach, always a couple steps ahead. Now that they had arrived at the apparent source of the electromagnetic frequency, Korra finally, mercifully, shut the damn thing off. When the whirring silenced, a collective breath of relief hissed through the group.
"Caves," Bumi muttered, with a look of disgust. The gaping opening of the cavern before them carved deep into the mountain, covered in a thick layer of ice. "Why's it always gotta be caves?"
"What's the matter, scared you'll get lost?" Azula said, raising an eyebrow at the man.
Bumi scoffed. "Please, I have an excellent sense of direction. Why, this one time I—"
"Yeah, no, I'm going to stop you right there," she said, quickly cutting him off before he rambled into another one of his ridiculous tales.
"Well, fine." Bumi pouted, planting his arms across his chest. "Nobody likes a good story anymore."
"Let's try to be quiet," Korra said. "I'd rather we didn't give ourselves away. Right now, the element of surprise is our biggest advantage."
Kuvira frowned, staring as far into the shadowed cave as possible. Nothing but darkness beyond. "Somehow, I get the feeling our arrival isn't as unexpected as we think."
"Well, if our track record is anything to go by, then yeah, probably not," Bolin said. "These things have a tendency of not working out for us."
"Then this time we make it work," Lin said, as she broke away from the others and made her way into the cave. "Come on, people, we're wasting time."
In spite of Lin's eagerness to get going, Azula and Mako took point in front of her, both firebenders igniting flames in their palms to light up the pitch dark interior of the icy tunnels within. Nothing out of the ordinary so far, merely an empty, frozen corridor that twisted endlessly deeper into the mountain. No branching paths, no alternate routes, no enemies.
With a bored sigh, Azula glanced at her firebending counterpart and frowned. "Your flame is pitiful, you know. Try putting some actual juice into it so we get more light."
Mako shifted a confused glare towards her, as if unsure how to react to her statement. "Excuse me, but at least my fire is yellow. I don't care how big your flame is, blue is too soft to light up a cave."
"My fire is blue because it's hotter," she countered, "and therefore stronger. You should try to show a little respect to your superiors."
"My superior?" Mako's face twisted with disbelief. "What's your problem?"
"My problem? You're the one who barely understands the first thing about firebending. How on earth do you manage to get by?"
"Seriously? You're insulting my firebending right now? Here?"
"Would you two knock it off?" Lin said. "You're going to give us away."
"Hey, she started it!" Mako insisted. Azula flashed a smug grin in his direction, causing him to groan in frustration. He said nothing else, although the flame in his palm suddenly burned larger than before, offering more light with which to see.
Korra glanced back and forth between them with a sigh. "Really, you two?" As if a mother attempting to settle an argument between her children, she squeezed between the pair and created her own flame, this one burning brighter than either of theirs and nearly doubling their light source.
Azula rolled her eyes. "Please, you're the Avatar. That's hardly impressive."
"Everyone quiet," Jinora said, in a hushed whisper. "I thought I heard something."
The group came to a stop and listened, straining their ears to hear whatever sound Jinora had heard. Silence, at first, until a loud, sharp cracking noise ruptured through the air.
"What is that?" Lin said.
The ground beneath them split open without warning. Before anyone could react, they all fell into separate frozen chutes beneath the surface, unable to remain together or stop their descent. Within seconds, they were gone.
Korra's surprised screams cut off with a sudden huff of air, as she broke through the ceiling of a small cavern and crashed against the ground. She lay there unmoving for several moments before pushing herself upright with a pained groan. That could have gone better. Definitely could have gone better. With a quick look around, she noted the walls of the chamber she'd fallen into were glowing, as if light had become trapped inside the ice itself. Not much, but enough to see without the aid of an alternate light source nonetheless.
Where was she? Why had the ground opened up to swallow them, and why had they been separated? From what she could see, she was alone, no other members of her team nearby. Just her. She had her answer seconds later, when a sudden, invisible grip seized control of her body and twisted her limbs out of place. With a pained shout, she bolted upright and lifted into the air, floating under the power of an outside force.
"You... knew we were coming..." she uttered, glaring towards the far end of the chamber.
"Yes, Avatar, we did." Amon stepped forward with a single hand raised, his fingers clenched into a fist.
Tarrlok joined him, his own hands raised in a distinct bloodbending stance. Together they held her in place, kept her defenseless. "Did you really think you could waltz in here and stop us? You should know by now that we're always one step ahead."
"One step ahead... right." Korra managed a scoff, straining her voice against the pain searing through her twisting limbs. "Sen is the one... who's a step ahead... not you. You're just his puppets... forced to do what he wants."
"Perhaps," Amon replied, with a narrow glare from behind his mask. "But then, he did give us our new bodies. We are in his debt, for now."
"Well, if you think... I'm going to sit here and let you win... you're just as stupid as I remember." Korra's eyes ignited with blazing white light, as the Avatar State fueled her body. The bloodbending hold controlling her body shattered, allowing her to drop out of the air to her feet. She shifted into a waterbending stance, and her voice boomed with a thunderous echo. "Now, I'm sending you both back to the Spirit World, where you belong!"
She almost didn't hear the pop pop in time. Almost. Whirling around, she erected an ice wall out of the floor half a second before the explosion. Chunks of ice tore away, but her wall held strong. With a narrow glare, she lowered the wall to see another figure standing across the chamber, already preparing another combustion blast.
"Sorry, Avatar." P'Li strengthened her stance and breathed deep, causing a spark to ignite in front of her forehead. "We can't allow you to do that!"
Pop pop... BOOM.
"Aaahhh—oof!" Bolin hit the ground with a thud. Before he could push himself upright, his brother landed on his back and drove him flat against the ice. "Ow..."
"Sorry, Bo," Mako said, as he rolled off and stood up. He reached down to help up his brother, and looked around the cavern they found themselves in. It was a single, small chamber of sheer ice with no exiting paths, and weirdly illuminated by a dull glow in the walls. "Where are we?"
"I don't know," Bolin replied, scratching his head. "We need to find a way out of here and find the others."
Before they had the opportunity, a cold voice drew their attention towards the other end of the chamber. "I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that."
They turned to see a lone figure standing there, a man with long dark hair and a pointed goatee, dressed in red and black Fire Nation robes.
Bolin stared in confusion. "Mako, who is that? Is that Sen?"
Mako shrugged. "I don't know. He doesn't seem like an all powerful spirit."
The man flinched at their ignorance. He quickly composed himself, and ignited a pair of flames in his hands. "You uncultured peasants. I am Phoenix King Ozai! Rightful ruler of the Fire Nation, and the world!"
Bolin's gaze flared in recognition. "Oh! Mako, that's the crazy Fire Lord that Avatar Aang and his friends defeated!"
Mako lifted his brow. "Try not to sound so excited, Bo. That's not a good thing."
"No, it isn't," Ozai said, carving a wicked grin across his face. "For you two, at least. The new Avatar thought she could bring her pitiful team in here to stop us, but she was wrong. Now, you will all perish!"
"Bolin, down!" Mako tackled his brother to the ground, moments before a massive jet of flames scorched the air above them. When the flames dissipated, he flipped to his feet again and pulled Bolin up with him. "You ready, bro?"
"To fight the crazy powerful firebender that took the previous Avatar to stop?" Bolin uttered a nervous laugh. "Oh sure. Totally. This'll be a blast."
"Ugh, I am getting too old to be dropping onto the ground from high places," Bumi muttered, as he glanced up at the cave ceiling above them.
"Well, the good news is that we're not hurt," Jinora replied. She took a moment to look around at the singular chamber they had fallen into. There didn't appear to be any exits, from what she could see. "The bad news is that we've been separated from the rest of the group and trapped here. The enemy must have known we were coming, and cut us off from each other to weaken us."
Bumi groaned, and stretched out his back. "Well, I don't suppose you got any ideas on how to get out of here, do you?"
Jinora thought a moment, holding a hand to her chin. "Well, I can probably meditate and project my spirit to try and find the others. Then we can try to come up with a plan to reconnect with each other."
"Good, you do that." Bumi plopped himself back on the ground with a huff. "I'm gonna take a break and rest my feet up a bit."
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," said a voice from the far side of the cavern. A single figure stepped into view, igniting a bright flame in one of his palms. In his other hand, he wielded a broadsword. "Neither of you will be leaving here."
Bumi immediately propelled himself back to his feet with a burst of air. "Well, so much for that break."
"Who is that?" Jinora said, squinting at the man. Her gaze settled on the scar burned across the man's left eye. "Is that...?"
"Lord Zuko?" Bumi's jaw fell open as he recognized the man standing across from them.
"I'd say it's good to see you again, Bumi, but I'm afraid circumstances don't allow for that." Zuko held his sword forward and shifted his stance. The flame in his free hand burned brighter.
"I wasn't sure if I believed Azula when she said you were back, but look at you. You're so young."
"And in better shape than ever," Zuko stated. "Now, I suggest you prepare yourself. I don't plan on going easy on you two."
Bumi held his palms out and spread his feet apart, sinking into a readied airbender stance. "Jinora, whatever happens, don't let your guard down."
"I know," she replied, taking her own stance. "I've read the stories. He's not a pushover."
"I'm afraid those stories aren't going to help you here." Zuko broke into a sprint towards the two airbenders. "Nothing will!"
"It seems we have been separated from the others," Eska said, with an indifferent look around the cavern.
"Indeed," Desna replied. "I suspect the enemy realized we were coming and developed a trap to catch us off guard."
Eska nodded. "I agree. We should devise a method of escape immediately."
Hari knelt low and ran his fingers across the ground—not ice, but dirt. "This is odd. Why would the ice have been cleared away in this one cavern?"
"That's because of me, actually." The deep voice drew their attention towards a pair of figures approaching behind them. Ghazan took a step forward and spread out his arms, causing a large portion of the earth in front of him to liquefy into bubbling lava. "I needed something to work with."
"But don't worry, there's still plenty of ice." Ming-Hua moved next to her partner, gesturing around at the icy walls with her water-arms. "Not that it matters much. I seem to recall beating you twins before without breaking much of a sweat."
"That was a long time ago," Desna stated, as he lowered himself into a waterbending stance.
"Indeed." Eska moved in unison with her brother, her actions mirroring his. "This time will be different."
Hari stood with them. With a single motion of his arms, the cap on the stone jar strapped to his back burst open. Sand poured outward, spreading through the air like a cloud. "I may not have the same history with you two, but if you intend to fight us, then I will stop you."
"Sand, huh? That's cute." Ghazan scoffed, raising his fists in preparation to attack. "Alright then, let's see what you got, kid."
Lin frowned, as she studied the earthen walls of the cavern she had fallen into. Although a thick layer of ice coated the ceiling above, the walls and floor of the cave were made of solid dirt and stone. Quite the far cry from the frozen landscape they'd been accustomed to in the South. "I don't get it. Why go through the trouble of separating us only to drop two earthbenders into a chamber made of earth? Doesn't make any sense."
Kuvira took a careful step forward and looked around, drifting her gaze towards the ceiling above. "I don't know. I'm not sure what to make of it myself, but I suppose we should get to tunneling ourselves out of here and finding the others."
"Ha, you two dunderheads really think you're just gonna waltz on out of here? As if!"
Lin froze at the sound of the voice. She knew that voice. She'd grown up with that voice. No... that couldn't be right. With a slow, tentative turn, she looked behind her towards the other end of the cavern. A woman maybe thirty years in age stood there, her dark hair tied up in a large bun with pointed bangs falling over her eyes. The woman also wore identical armor that Lin wore herself—the armor of the Republic City Metalbending Police.
Kuvira took a careful step backwards, her eyes steadily widening. "Lin, tell me that's not..."
But it was. That voice, that face, all so damn familiar. Lin's throat ran dry. A rush of childhood memories swarmed into her mind. Memories of a time long past, when she'd been desperately trying to prove herself as a cop, and a dutiful daughter. Even the smirk was the same. That smug, cocky smirk of the self-proclaimed greatest earthbender in the world.
"What's the matter?" Toph said, lifting a blind stare towards them. "Surprised to see me?"
"Let me out of here!" Azula released a jet of fire at the frozen wall in front of her. The ice stood strong, never melting no matter how hot she made her flames. Not completely, anyway. The outer layers did liquefy beneath the heat, only to freeze over again seconds later as if to mock her. Each time the ice froze over, she howled in frustration and delivered another shot of flames to the wall. Another attempt, another failure.
With a defeated grumble, she took a step away from the wall and ceased her relentless attacks. This was getting her nowhere. She'd only exhaust herself like that. No, she needed to remain calm and find another way out of whatever prison this was. At least, she assumed it was a sort of prison. Why else would she have been separated from the others and dropped into a frozen cavern with no exits, and walls that would not give way to her fire? Were the others in similar predicaments, or was she the only one who had been trapped? Would they try to find her? Would they help her? Or would they keep going and leave her here?
"I have to get out of here," she muttered, with a heaving breath. "Have to find the others."
"Yeah, that's not going to happen."
Azula jolted at the sound of the voice, immediately spinning around to find its source. When she noticed the figure standing behind her, she lurched into a rigid firebending pose, ready to attack or defend herself as necessary. Her blood chilled. Any initial confidence and instinct crumbled away when she recognized who this woman was. The woman wore Water Tribe attire, with long brown hair that fell loose in the back, and a pair of loops done in the front. She wasn't as young as Azula first remembered her, nor as old as she last remembered. Mid-twenties, maybe early thirties at most.
Even so, the face was impossible to mistake. Seeing it now assaulted her mind with an unrelenting flurry of memories. Horrible, painful memories. Flashes of her worst moments. Of being chained to a grate, flailing about in abject panic, spitting fire from her mouth and sobbing. Helpless. Nothing but an uncontrolled mess. Azula's posture faltered. Her chest seized, lungs shuddering as breaths came in raspy and uneven.
No, not now. She couldn't have another episode now. Not here, not in front of her.
"You don't look so good," Katara said, grinning at the former Fire Princess. "What's the matter, Azula? Is the big bad prodigy scared?"
