Chapter 116: The Changing of the Guard

Zuko had lost track of how long he'd been imprisoned by the Dai Li, though he suspected it was only a couple of days. Occasionally the wall would open and a pair of agents would appear to bring food, though mealtimes seemed irregular to the Firebender, as if his captors were trying to distort his sense of time. He'd been sleeping a lot as well, along with prolonged periods of meditation, which caused him to lose track of the sun's position unless he really focused; the energy from Agni's rays was so distant, almost beyond his reach. He wondered if Uncle had struggled to feel the sun before he departed with that Spirit… cat. Spirit Cat.

Uncle had said he would return for Zuko, and Zuko wanted desperately to believe he would; the child within him, the child that Zuko had long believed to be dead, craved the safety of an adult, a family member, and Uncle used to be that for him, before everything went wrong. It used to be Mom, then she left and it was Uncle. Zuko had been the one to leave that time, though it was hardly his choice. This time it was Uncle's turn to leave.

But he said that he'd return. Zuko would believe that until he had reason to think otherwise.

He would.

The plan Azula had laid out was simple and precise, and the beauty of it was in those two descriptors.

The Boulder and Sister Tin had opened a 'door' for Iroh to enter by, meeting his Niece in the Catacombs beneath Ba Sing Se. The pro-fighter and the nun had then departed for the opposite end of the Dai Li's facility to cause as much mayhem as they could, buying time for Iroh and Azula to free the Zuko, the Avatar, and their friends.

Iroh had questioned the girl's logic on this. "Surely an Earthbender would be helpful in opening the cell doors?"

Azula had simply scoffed derisively. "As if I have need of a mud-slingers' help."

The Boulder had snarled at the slur and taken an aggressive step forward, towering over the Fire Nation Princess.

She'd simply met his gaze unflinching and sniffed. "Not on your best day." She'd said calmly, before dismissing him.

Iroh followed Azula through the dimly lit Catacombs. The Dragon of the West was aware that this could be an elaborate trap to lure him back into his cell, but his gut suggested that Azula was being… not honest, she was never that, but the closest approximation that the girl was capable of.

Long Feng stared at the sketch in his hands, unable to believe his good fortune.

"You're certain that this is accurate?" he asked his subordinate.

"Yes, sir. That is the official portrait that the Fire Lord released only a few months ago. That is the Fire Princess Azula."

Long Feng smiled. "So that is the girl's game." He said. "I wonder where the real one is…"

"Sir?"

Long Feng cleared his throat. "I want all known agents who have leanings towards the 'Captain of the Kyoshi Warriors' to be relieved of duty until further notice, no exceptions."

"Sir, that's over a third of our operatives!"

Long Feng hissed. "Just do it! If we play this wrong there will be no Dai Li, no Ba Sing Se. That girl could topple us, and what's left of the Earth Kingdom with us. Omashu has fallen, seemingly by the Mad King's own volition. The other major powers have slipped over the years. Gaipan, Gaoling, Osaru. Ba Sing Se is the last stronghold of Earth Kingdom might, and I will not allow it to fall to a teenage girl."

The agent nodded. "Yes, sir. I'll inform the duty commanders of this."

"Good."

Azula turned a corner and nodded at the figures waiting there, both dressed in the greens of the Kyoshi Warriors, the same as Azula, though none of them currently wore the make-up.

Azula said, "Mai. Ty Lee."

Mai nodded back, saying nothing. Ty Lee smiled broadly and waved. "Hi, Azula!"

Catching sight of Iroh standing behind the Princess, Ty Lee said, "Hi, General Iroh! It's Ty Lee!"

Iroh smiled warmly. "Ah, yes. You are Admiral Cholu's daughter. She is a formidable woman."

Ty Lee's smile dimmed slightly, but she nodded. "That's her. And me!"

Azula narrowed her eyes at the interaction, exchanging a knowing glance with Mai.

Iroh turned to the sullen girl. "And I believe you are Ukano's eldest; I hear he has just been made Governor of Omashu."

"New Ozai." Azula corrected, before Mai could even open her mouth. "Father and I agreed that the place required a… rebranding."

Iroh nodded, but said nothing in response to that. Instead he said, "Well, ladies. Shall we?"

Mai and Azula walked ahead, with Ty Lee talking Iroh's ear off a few feet behind.

"Are you sure about this?" Mai asked. "Working with your uncle of all people?"

Azula nodded, a small smile on her lips. "Relax, Mai. If all goes to plan, today will be extremely profitable for us and for the Fire Nation as a whole."

Mai sighed. "If you're sure."

Azula led the small group of Fire Nationals to the cellblock. She paused beside an unremarkable patch of wall and murmured, "Zuzu."

"So what, exactly, is your plan for breaking through solid rock?" Mai asked in a bored tone.

Azula's lips quirked up in a smile. "Oh, I was thinking something like this."

She dropped into a Firebending stance, sweeping her arms around in large circles. Iroh's eyes widened in horror.

"Azula, no!"

Lightning discharged from the tips of the Princess' fingers and shattered through the stone wall with an almighty crash.

Dust filled the tunnel, blinding them all for a moment. As it began to clear a little, Iroh darted forward, through the hole that Azula had created.

"Nephew! Are you alright?"

He found Zuko at the back of the cave, mercifully unharmed… at least, Iroh realised that he was unharmed by the exploding rock wall. Bruises marred the visible portion of Zuko's face, around his nose, and some of the fingers on one hand look to have been broken and re-set.

Nevertheless, Zuko smiled up at Iroh. "Hey, Uncle."

Tears sprang to the former General's eyes. "Oh, Nephew. This is my fault."

Zuko shook his head. "No, Uncle… you had to go. I-I understand. I—"

Zuko paused, eye catching on one of the figures stood by the new door to his cell. He asked in a low voice, "Uncle, why is Azula behind you?"

Iroh smiled a little hesitantly. "Ah yes, I had a little unexpected help in your rescue."

Zuko nodded slowly. Under his breath he whispered, "It's a trap."

Iroh nodded his head minutely. "I know," he breathed back.

Zuko nodded again, before heaving himself to his feet with Iroh's help, one hand coming up to support his ribs.

Azula stood in the corridor outside the cell, idly examining her manicured nails. She glanced up and smiled sweetly.

"Zuzu, so good of you to join us."

Zuko nodded at her, suspicion visible in his lone eye. "Azula."

He glanced at the other two girls. "Mai. Ty Lee."

Mai just nodded back, though a light blush dusted her cheeks. Ty Lee smiled widely and warmly and waved at him. "Hi, Zuko!"

Azula said, "Time for the Avatar, then."

"And his friends." Iroh added.

The Princess sighed dramatically. "If you insist."

A loud rumbling echoed through the cell. Aang shot up from he'd been almost napping. Sokka paused in his pacing, a frown on his face.

Aang asked, "What was that?"

Sokka's frown deepened and he shook his head. "I have no idea."

Turning to the cell across from Zuko's, she repeated the Firebending form and shot another blast of lightning from her outstretched fingers.

It tore the rock apart once more, revealing Aang and Sokka, both of them coated in dust and choking on it.

Seeing Azula, both immediately dropped into combat stances of their own, though both knew it would be in vain given their lack of weapons and bending ability.

Azula just smiled at the two boys. "Now, now. There's really no need for such unpleasantness."

Zuko moved and stood at Azula's right hand. He said, "Guys, it's okay. She's with us."

Although he didn't say it out loud, the addendum 'for now' was obvious to everyone listening.

"Okay," Sokka said, stumbling out in the hallway. "What the—Spirits, you're working with her? How? Why?"

Iroh cleared his throat and said, "The alliance is with me, as I required aid. Azula offered her assistance, along with that of her companions."

Ty Lee smiled and waved at Sokka, throwing in a sultry wink for good measure. "Hey, cutie."

Sokka frowned at her, feeling both flattered and a little disturbed. "Hey…"

Aang looked around. "Where's Katara? And Toph?"

Azula pointed idly at a patch of wall. "Behind there."

"Well," Sokka said. "Make with the Firebending and get them out."

She sighed and lashed out, sending a bolt of lightning into the wall in question, turning it to rubble.

Toph startled at the crashing sound a split second before Katara did.

"What was that?" the Earthbender asked.

Katara shook her head, a frown creasing her brow. "I have no idea."

There was silence for a short while and the two girls settled back down against the back wall of their cell once more, only to be startled by another rumbling crash that vibrated through the floor beneath them.

"Seriously, what is going on out there?" Toph asked.

"Maybe the Dai Li are… Earthbending something?" Katara suggested.

Toph shook her head immediately. "I know Earthbending, and that ain't Earthbending."

Katara sighed. "Then, I have no idea."

Their ruminations were interrupted by a third crash, much louder this time, and cell door exploding inwards in a cloud of dust.

Azula casually blew smoke away from her fingers and gestured dramatically to the now-open cell.

"Voila." She drawled before sauntering away from the hole she'd just created in solid rock.

Sokka stared at the smoke curling away from the rubble before turning to Zuko and saying, "Buddy, your sister is terrifying."

Zuko just pursed his lips and nodded. "Yes, she is."

"Is it weird that I also find her kind of hot right now?"

Zuko turned a glare on the Tribesman that could have melted through steel. "Sokka. Go hug your own sister."

Sokka smiled in vague apology and then darted through the hole and dragged the dust-covered Katara up and into a tight hug, which she returned with equal strength.

"Missed you, baby sis." He whispered into her hair.

Her eyes glistened, hidden in her brother's shoulder, and she squeezed him tighter.

Zuko found himself looking away from the interaction, only to meet Azula's golden gaze. She smirked at him.

"We never did have that hug." She said drily.

Zuko's mind flashed to their confrontation in Omashu, the first time he'd seen his little sister in almost four years. He then thought of their interaction in the abandoned town, which resulted in another scar on his body.

He grimaced. "We've never been a hugging family."

She shrugged, smiling remaining on her lips. "So true, Zuzu. We do express our warmth in other ways, don't we?"

Sokka appeared once more at Zuko's shoulder, frown on his face. "Did your sister just make a pun? Your crazy, blue-fire-shooting Princess of a sister?"

Zuko sighed. "Yes, she did. Let's try to move past it."

"Is it bad that she just keeps getting hotter?"

Zuko glared once again, turning up the intensity a little more.

Azula laughed, having overheard them. "Oh, I can be hot in so many ways, peasant."

She demonstrated by having blue flames flicker around the fingertips of her raised left hand. Sokka gulped.

Zuko smirked, and the expression seemed to Sokka to be remarkably similar to the one on Azula's face.

"In case it needs to be made clear," Zuko said. "Stay away from my sister."

Sokka found himself saluting. "Yes, sir."

They almost made it. Zuko almost believed that it was for real.

Azula had led them to a large cavern when she turned suddenly with a smirk on her face. Mai and Ty Lee fell into position either side of her, ready to attack.

Zuko also dropped into an attack position, even as it strained his cracked ribs and robbed some of his breath. Iroh followed suit, as did the others.

"It was a trap." Zuko growled.

The ground rumbled as Dai Li agents emerged all around them, dozens upon dozens of them.

Toph flexed her feet and was surprised when she could feel the numerous bodies surrounding them.

Azula laughed. "Oh, Zuzu, of course it was a trap. Like you believed it was anything else. You know me too well."

Zuko sighed, almost resigned. "I do. I do know you, Zula."

Azula's smirk grew. "Then why the surprise, brother dear?"

"Because I think you can be better. More. More than what our father would make of you, more than his weapon. You're a prodigy beyond anything that's been seen in the Fire Nation for centuries, you always have been. A genius. And look what father has made you? His thug."

Azula's smirk drifted into a frown as her brother spoke. Directing her words to the Dai Li agents she snarled, "Take them down."

A laugh echoed all around. "I don't think so, Princess."

Long Feng emerged from amongst the green-clad agents, a smile of his own on his face. Jet, the Asset, was at his shoulder, hook swords in hand.

"I took the liberty of giving your followers the day off, your highness. These are my agents and you are all in my custody."

Silence fell following Long Feng's proclamation.

It was broken by Azula's high, mocking laughter. She said, "You truly are a fool."

Long Feng glared at her. "You are outnumbered, outmatched. Surrender, girl, and I might even ransom you back to your father in exchange for control of a major asset. Omashu, perhaps."

Azula just shook her head. The smile slipped from her face. "If you believe my father would do something so ridiculous, then you are beyond the fool I think you are. The Fire Nation, especially those of us with Royal Blood, are not known for our sentimentality."

"And yet," Long Feng argued. "You are his heir. Both of his children are here, in my possession."

Azula shrugged, disinterested. "It will do you no good. Even if you could contain us, my father is a young man. He can sire a new heir, should it be required. You will gain nothing from our ransom."

The leader of the Dai Li shook his head. "No. You are my prisoners, and you are all going in cells. Agents, take them down."

The Asset that was once Jet moved first, charging forwards towards Azula, swords raised. The Princess sneered and whipped out a lash of blue fire that caught Jet in the ribs and sent him flying across the cavern, straight into a rock wall. He landed hard and didn't get back up.

The GAang stared at her in horror; despite her hatred of the young man, Katara felt tears spring to her eyes. Aang and Sokka were both in shock. Toph extended her steadily returning seismic senses towards where the young man landed and felt only a faint pulse.

Azula rolled her shoulders and swept her gaze across the assembled Dai Li agents.

"Who's next?"

Chaos ensued.

Zuko found himself back-t0-back with Sokka, each of them holding one of Jet's hook swords.

Mai and Ty Lee fought as one, shurikens and throwing knives flying from the sullen girl's sleeves as the pink-clad acrobat flowed between enemy Earthbenders, fists shooting out and rendering unable to move and to bend.

Aang, Toph, and Katara were with Iroh; the three younger benders were still struggling to call upon their elements, while the Dragon of the West bellowed flames all around, holding the press of Dai Li agents back.

Azula fought alone.

She moved like water, and yet her flames burned hot and bright, each blast of fire proving lethal. She was moving through the crowd of combatants with a single target in mind.

Long Feng, seeing the approaching Princess of Fire, moved through the mob, using his own bending to throw people from his path, be they friend or foe.

"Move!" he barked at an agent, launching the man into the air.

He risked a glance over his shoulder, searching for Azula. He couldn't spot her. He breathed a sigh of relief.

It proved to be his last breath.

A blade forged of azure fire penetrated his chest and erupted out through his spine, cauterising the wound instantly and scorching his heart and lungs.

Long Feng managed to look back, straight into Azula's golden eyes. A smirk played across the girl's lips.

She leaned forward until her mouth was next to his ear and she breathed, "I'm no one's prisoner."

She dispersed the flaming blade and allowed Long Feng's near-lifeless body to drop to the floor with a thud.

Princess Azula stared out across the chaotic cavern, the fighters oblivious to Long Feng's demise. She fell into a well-practiced stance and blasted lightning into the cavern roof, issuing a resounding crack that brought the fighting to a standstill.

The Dai Li agents stared, horrified, at Long Feng's corpse.

Azula smiled. "Your leader is dead. You now have two choices; you can join me, or you can follow his lead. Choose wisely."

As one, the Dai Li fell into low bows. All but Azula, Mai, Ty Lee, and Iroh and the GAang bowed.

"Oh, monkeyfeathers." Aang breathed.