A/N: CONTENT WARNING: More spice here. Now I'm the villain in your history. Love and be loved. Read… and review!
The Eyes of Avatar Kyoshi
[Winter/Spring 110 AG]
In the early morning light, Suki stops walking just outside the stone building. Ty Lee and Lomin both stop as well. They already know they're being watched. They can't turn back now. They look at her with confusion.
"Lomin, you go on ahead. I need to chat with Ty Lee for a second."
Without another word the dark haired girl nods and approaches the door. Just as they were told, she knocks twice, pauses, then knocks twice more. The door opens and the young girl is startled by the Kemurikage mask waiting on the other side. They do not attack or say anything. They are just there to greet them and remind them of where they are. Lomin takes in a hushed breath and then slides past them. The masked girl at the door peers out at Ty Lee and Suki for a moment before shutting the door.
After watching this, Ty Lee looks back to Suki. "What is it?"
"I just want to remind you that much of what's about to happen rests on your shoulders."
Ty Lee shifts her weight to her other foot. She doesn't reply. She just stares, determined at her leader. The woman she follows into war and today into the dark side streets of Waijao City. Azula had promptly agreed to the meeting, but on her terms. They would meet at a halfway point between Kyoshi Island and Omashu. Ty Lee hates it all. Feels like they're walking into certain doom. Nonetheless, she nods.
"Whatever happens, whatever she says, we need her. I need you to do whatever it takes to get her."
Ty Lee solemnly nods. "You say that like I wasn't going to do that already."
A gust of wind blows as the two girls look at one another. Suki nods confidently, "I know you will."
They turn together and follow where Lomin has gone.
Suki, Ty Lee, and Lomin are hopelessly surrounded. As the two of them stride into the room Suki scans the room and believes they're outnumbered four to one, maybe five to one. Half of them are Kemurikage, half of them are Fire Warriors. The windows and blinds are all drawn, blocking most light from coming in. The Kemurikage from the door and two more Fire Warriors follow in behind them, the latter of which has been following them since they had gotten within a few blocks of the meeting location. Finally, sitting dead center in the only chair in the room, is the woman herself.
Azula wears a pensive look on her face, flanked on her right by a girl with brown hair, a single braided ponytail, and black eyes. Ty Lee wonders if she too was wearing a wig to match her own look or if her hair was natural. On Azula's left is a fierce looking girl with purple eyes and red hair. She steps forward and is the first to speak.
"You stand in the presence of the Empress Azula. Rightful ruler of the Fire Nation. Rightful heir to the throne. The Prodigy with Blue Fire. Mother of the Kemurikage. Leader of the Fire Warriors. The Puppetmaster. The Immortal Soldier. The Dragon Empress. Ruler of all she surveys."
After a brief pause where nothing is said, the red haired girl spits out, "It is customary to kneel before the Empress."
Lomin and Ty Lee look at Suki, both preparing to bend their knees. Suki does not. She tells them, "Kyoshi Warriors kneel before no one. Not even the Fire Lord."
The girl with Ty Lee's hair and black eyes speaks now, saying, "Then perhaps you should go to your Fire Lord with your request? If you won't kneel-"
"That's enough Zirin," Ruki interrupts her. Her eyes linger on the Empress' girlfriend another moment. Finally, she turns back to the Kyoshi Warriors. "If they wish to discard decorum, that is their own decision. We will not forget our place as gracious hosts just because our guests forget theirs."
"Now," Ruki starts again. "In your own words, please relay your request. We have it in writing already, but let's hear it in-person."
Suki turns to Azula. She starts, "You have many-"
Before she can say anything else, she's cut off by the redhead again. "Do not speak to her. You will speak to me."
Suki purses her lips, obviously annoyed with such frivolity. "Fine. Azula," she says her real name to piss them all off. "Has many names. We recently learned of a new one that I doubt even she knows of: 'The Faceless Demon.'"
Some eyes look around the room at this news. Azula leans forward but otherwise her facial expression does not change.
"We are at war with a band of pirates and pillagers named 'Koh's Disciples.' For the last few months they have made our home the front lines. The Avatar and the Earth Kingdom have turned their back on us. So now we come to her for help."
"Yes, it does appear that you are the forsaken," Ruki starts. "But what of this name?"
"Koh's Disciples only fear one thing. The Faceless Demon. We've known that for a little while now. We recently captured a prisoner, just the other day, but the only thing we've gotten out of him is information on the Demon."
"And?"
"He described the 'Faceless Demon' as a siren woman, with hair as dark as midnight, and eyes like gold coins. She breathes blue fire, can summon lightning at will, and…" Suki trails off.
After waiting a second and not hearing her go on, Ruki asks, "And?"
"Pardon me, it's just a bit silly is all. Or perhaps incredible if it's true."
"What is it?" Ruki asks.
Stifling a giggle, Suki says, "They believe she can transform into a dragon on the battlefield and devour her enemies whole. They say she burns with such a fire that not even bones are left of a man."
Ruki shakes her head, "Incredible."
Azula stands up and declares, "Enough."
All eyes turn to her. She stares right at Ty Lee. "Everyone out except for her. Now."
Ty Lee and Zirin shout in unison, "No!"
Azula ignores Ty Lee and turns to her girlfriend. She tells her, "That was not a request, Zirin."
"Azula, please." Zirin begs.
"Suki, please." Ty Lee pleads.
Behind them the door they came in through opens. Suki stares right at Azula, who looks back. When they make eye contact, Suki smirks knowingly. Ty Lee turns to the former Princess. "How can I trust that they'll be alright? That you aren't going to take Suki and Lomin and kill them as soon as they're out of the room?"
"Oh please," Azula dismisses the concern. "If we wanted to kill you we would've done it long ago."
A joke pops in her mind and she quickly adds, "What you should really fear is if we take them hostage and make you do all kinds of weird sex things or else then we'll kill them."
"You heard Mother, everyone out." Ruki commands. "Take a walk, but don't wander too far."
Suki grabs Ty Lee's hand and briefly squeezes it. They look at one another and she whispers, "Remember what we talked about."
Lomin waits for Suki and together they file out of the room along with all of the Kemurikage and Fire Warriors. Zirin steals a frantic final look as Ruki exits just behind her and closes the door. She locks it from the outside and locks the childhood friends in together.
Alone together for the first time in years, Azula stands with her arms crossed over her chest. "You've been so distracted lately, I was afraid you'd forgotten about me."
Ty Lee chuckles. "No, just a lot going on at home."
Azula strides across the room towards her. Ty Lee tries to relax but instead her muscles tense up. Azula stops a couple of feet in front of her. "I should be more mean to you after what you did to me last time."
Ty Lee nods to this. "You should be."
Glowering up at her, Azula asks, "Are you scared?"
Ty Lee answers truthfully. "No."
"You should be. You almost killed me and now I have you all alone."
She extends her hands and gestures about the empty room. There are no witnesses, no help, they are more than a day's ride from home. Yet she feels confident that Azula won't kill her. She steps forward and into Azula's personal bubble.
"I think about that day all the time. Do you think about it?"
Ty Lee is sincere. Azula averts her gaze. They are a few inches apart, just like they were when they lied together in the Ember Island bedroom. Ty Lee reaches her hand up and gently touches her face. Softly she redirects Azula to look at her. The Puppetmaster's hands fall to her side.
"All the time." Azula confesses.
Ty Lee is here on a mission but the mission has been forgotten. Her heart beats heavy and swiftly against her chest. She can feel her pulse in her head and in her wrists and on the tip of her tongue. She licks her lips.
"I-I need your help," she rasps. "This is important to me."
Separated by miles and years and opposite sides of the law, Azula closes the gap between them. Her left hand clasps the back of Ty Lee's shoulder. She smiles warmly, which is when Ty Lee gasps. She looks down.
Pressed into her abdomen is the tip of a switchblade with a red handle. Azula tightens her grip on Ty Lee's back. Her right hand remains steady.
"I'm not cheap, Ty Lee."
She looks away from the blade and back into those golden eyes. Even in the shadowy light, they shine brightly. Ty Lee raises a hand to grab the forearm of Azula's left hand.
"I know."
"Will you give me everything I want?"
They are practically nose to nose. Ty Lee draws a hushed breath. "I will."
Azula smiles. She removes the blade but remains holding Ty Lee flush against her body. Her golden eyes search those familiar grey ones. She smirks briefly before stifling a giggle. She asks a question.
"Shall we begin?"
The girls running drills stop what they're doing. The ones inside the homes crane their necks to see. Those who happen to already be on the street become paralyzed. They numbly stare and blink as Ty Lee, Suki, and Lomin walk through the village square. The pass right by the statue of Avatar Kyoshi and in tow among them are three other unknown figures.
No one stops them. No one says anything to them. The entire village whispers to one another as the Dragon Empress passes through their village in broad daylight. Zirin hates the stares and hushed tones. Ruki adores it, the little people and their provincial lives. Azula looks at the brunette walking in front of her. She asks her a question.
"Are you sure this is legal, Ty Lee?"
The entire group comes to a stop. The former circus star turns around to look at her, surprised and incredulous. "Really? You of all people? What do you care if it's legal or not?"
Azula admits it's awkward. Her answer is honest. "I'm just trying to look out for you."
A gust of wind blows. Kyoshi Warriors throughout the village stop to watch, unable to hear. Azula and Ty Lee hold their eye contact for a second. Ty Lee doesn't know how to respond, so she doesn't. She simply purses her lips and nods. They turn back around and continue walking them through the village, right into the room that used to be their dojo.
The prisoner looks up from his place on the ground. The leader woman walks in, flanked by the black haired girl and a brunette he doesn't recognize. This time though he notes that there are even more people walking in behind them. He slouches as they enter and wonders if this will be another attempt to beat him into submission.
Suki steps up into the center of the room. "I've brought someone for you to meet. Before that though, I'll give you one final chance to tell us what you know."
The man looks up at Suki and they stare at one another a moment. He rears his head back, like he's thinking. Then he juts it forward and spits across the room at her. He misses by several feet. Suki sighs in disappointment. She turns to the black haired girl behind her and gestures that the floor is hers. He watches as she approaches. Arms crossed over her chest she looks down at him.
"You know who I am." She tells him.
He chuckles and scowls at her.
"Say my name." She commands him.
He stares more intently at her now.
"Yes, that's right. Look closer. You know who I am."
He gulps. He blinks a couple of times. Then he shakes his head.
"Yes. You know who I am."
"No," he mutters, shaking his head more vigorously. "No."
She puts out both of her palms. Her left palm glows with static electricity. His pulse quickens seeing this. Her right palm lights a flame of blue fire.
"NO," he shouts. "NO, PLEASE. NO!"
"Say my name."
"You're the Faceless Demon!" He shouts, hiding his face, trying to shrink away. "You're the Prodigy with Blue Fire!"
The electricity dies. The blue flame goes out.
"You're Agni damn right."
The grown man in chains is audibly crying. The smell of urine permeates the room. Azula snickers at the scene. She's never even met this man, yet the legend of Azula had extended to the point that he now cries and pees himself at her very presence. She turns back and motions to Suki. She approaches.
Suki kneels down to his level and whispers things to him. Azula turns back around and strides towards the others. She whispers to Ruki, Zirin, Ty Lee, and Lomin, "You don't have to stay for this."
"Thank you, Empress." Ruki bows her head.
Ty Lee looks down at the man on the floor and how terrified he is. She looks up at Azula, who looks right at her. There is a look in her eyes. Azula knows what comes next and she doesn't want Ty Lee to see it. Ty Lee reluctantly nods. She joins Ruki and Lomin as they all exit. Zirin remains, arms crossed. Azula turns back around and approaches the prisoner, Suki offering to spare him if he tells them what they want to know.
Ty Lee, Lomin, and Ruki all loiter about the statue of Kyoshi. Lomin is giving a lesson on the island to a fascinated Ruki. One arm of the statue holds a fan while the other is extended out. Ty Lee stares up at it and the eyes of Kyoshi fall upon her. This place, at the foot of the statue, has always been a holy place. She loves to come here to feel at peace. Being under her eye is tranquil. In this plot of land, Ty Lee has never found it easier to smooth out her aura.
Closing her eyes again, she is in the middle of pushing it into a light orange when she hears feet approaching. She opens them and sees a golden eyed ex-Princess approaching, flanked by Suki and the one they call 'Zirin.' Suki looks more stressed than when they started. The group of leaders all come together and share what they've learned.
The prisoner's name is Jekin. Much to everyone's surprise, Koh's Disciples originate in the Fire Nation. Jekin claims they view the war with the Kyoshi Warriors to be a holy crusade to 'exterminate women without virtue.' Finally, they serve 'The King of Faces.'
Suki asks Azula, "You seemed to know who that was?"
"Mhm, sort of."
"You do?" Zirin asks.
"Yes. It was five or six years ago now. Me, Chyn, and Ukuyi infiltrated the rapists and War Lord's who were still lauding over Baochou. Before I killed the last of them he said the King of Faces would get me eventually."
"Rapists and War Lord's in Baochuo?" Lomin asks, incredulous. "How have we never heard about this?"
Zirin quickly cuts in, "Because we took care of them."
Ty Lee is unnerved at how Azula casually says she 'killed the last of them.' Suki asks, "Did you get anything else from them about this King?"
"No, I," she pauses and recalls how Chyn had worried about not pressing for more information. "I didn't think it would matter."
"Rightfully so, Empress," Ruki states. "Until now we hardly had any reason to believe he posed a threat."
Suki looks around the group and tells them, "We also learned from him that their next assault should occur within two week."
"It'll happen sooner than that," Azula tells them.
Ty Lee asks her, "Why do you think that?"
"Because it's what I would do," she shrugs. There's a brief pause before she finishes. "Especially if I left a rat behind. I'd come much sooner."
Azula and Suki sit down alone, each with a cup of tea. They each sip it from across the table in the tiny, cramped, disheveled 'war room.' There was much to discuss and Azula had decided to leave all other voices out of the negotiations.
"So, what will it take to solicit your help in this war with Koh's Disciples."
"I suppose we should start with what you need."
"We need bodies. Fighters. They outnumber us and then strike at different times, catching us off guard."
"Then people you may have. I will lend you as many of my Fire Warriors as we can gather. They're less disciplined than your Warriors, so perhaps you could include them in training exercises you're so famous for."
Suki finds this shockingly agreeable. A pleasant compromise. Azula continues, "That's not all though. Zirin, Ruki, and myself will all remain on the island and see this through."
"You're going to halt your entire criminal operation to help us? You and your top two will all stay here?"
Azula hums a little. "You really misunderstand me. 'The Dragon Empress will forever be a friend to those in need.' That's our ethos. And you are in desperate need. We are simply providing our services."
"How generous?"
"We'll all need a place to stay of course. And I'll warn you now: Should Zuko, the Avatar, or anyone else happen to show up, try to intervene, or attempt to capture us, my Kemurikage will advance on this island with a wrath so powerful that you'll wish Koh's Disciples were still your only problem. They will leave nothing standing and you will rule over a graveyard."
Suki nods. "Very well. Fire Warriors, trained alongside the Kyoshi Warriors. You and your two best lieutenants. A place to stay for everyone. Ty Lee also mentioned you're expensive."
Azula narrows her eyes and nods. Suki confesses.
"I'm afraid that's where this becomes problematic. I don't know how much we can really pay you."
"Suki, my dear. There's more to life than getting paid."
Stunned and confused Suki asks, "What do you mean? You… you're not going to charge us?"
"I'm doing this for something far more valuable than money."
"I see?" Suki replies without really seeing.
"There is one small cost though, and it's precisely why I wanted to meet just the two of us."
"I knew it couldn't be that simple."
"You will tell everyone that you can't afford us, but are taking on our services anyway because you need our help. No Avatars, no Fire Lord's, no Earth King's, no one is coming so you have enlisted the Dragon Empress instead. You will accommodate all that we've already agreed on, and you will house me, and me alone, with Ty Lee. Finally, you will tell no one that I requested such terms."
Suki laughs out loud.
"So let me get this straight. You want me to tell everyone we're going into debt to you, but you won't actually charge us anything. In exchange, we train your Fire Warriors, put them, Zirin, and Ruki all in living quarters, and I put you in Ty Lee's house and claim the whole thing was my idea. And for all of that, assuming Aang and Zuko and the rest of them don't swing by, you're going to save us from the brink of annihilation?"
"That's right."
"You're insane."
"You're turning me down?"
"Absolutely not. I couldn't have imagined more agreeable terms in my wildest dreams."
"Then we're in agreement?"
"Yes, we are."
"Best to inform the others then." Azula stands up and walks towards the door.
"Just one last question."
"I can still change the terms if you dare to speak out of turn."
"I wouldn't dare."
"Well then?"
"What is it about her?"
Azula turns away from Suki's eye contact and stares out into space. She thinks about the brunette with soft, giant, grey eyes. She confesses with a lopsided smile on her face.
"We are the same."
Moments after the announcement is made, amid the hoopla and handshaking, two girls approach their respective leaders. They express their concerns and ask questions. They wonder how this agreement was made and why. They wish they had been in the room when it happened so they could know how the deal had been struck.
"Are you sure we can trust them?" Ty Lee asks Suki.
"We don't have much choice," she tells her. She places a hand on the chi blockers shoulder. "I also have something else in mind. Once again, I don't think you're going to like it."
Ty Lee turns her head in confusion. Outside the room, as they walk and discuss arrangements for the Fire Warriors and Kemurikage, Zirin cautions her girlfriend on this particular murder mission.
"Empress, you need to be careful. I know she's important to you because of your shared childhood, but just," she trails off momentarily. "Just don't put yourself in danger for her."
"Why do you worry, Zirin? What about 'no half-measures?'"
Ruki walks faster to catch up. Zirin replies, "If you die then it's all for nothing. You have to live. If you die, what will we be left with?"
Ruki now walks in lockstep with the other two. Azula smiles and chuckles. She slides her hand down and interlocks their fingers. "Oh Zirin, you underestimate yourself. I have absolute faith that should I ever pass from this world, you would no doubt step up into my spot and take full control of my empire."
Ty Lee's home is a two story house away from the rest of the village. She had requested 'relative' solitude when she first moved, in case she decided to ever drop out it would be easier to slip away. Over the years she has loved and hated it. She hates being away from all of her friends and fellow warriors. On the other hand, she loves being able to detach and get some time to herself when she goes home. Right now though she'd rather be anywhere else.
"Hey there roomie!" The Mother of the Kemurikage says to her as she approaches.
She carries a small cloth bag with her spare clothes and belongings. She smiles like she doesn't have a care in the world. It infuriates the brunette as the girl who once killed her partner now publicly approaches her, in her homeland, without repercussion.
"This will be our first sleepover since we were kids!" Azula tells her as she stops in front of Ty Lee, just outside the home. "Although this time I don't think Mai will be interrupting our alone time."
She winks at the taller girl then walks in without an invitation. The decor is slightly different but the layout is the same. The cup for keys is still along the wall on the left when you walk in. The tiny living room with a couch is still through the door on her right after entering. Back behind it the living room is the kitchen. She drops her cloth bag on the floor and drinks in the smell of cinnamon. Ty Lee enters the room.
"How long has it been since I was last here?" Azula asks, turning to her but staying in place. "Almost six years if I recall, right?"
"Yes, that's right." Ty Lee replies curtly. "Six years since you broke in, kicked down my bedroom door, and held me at knife point."
Azula gets a look on her face and smirks. "If I recall you only had the one bed up there. Will we be sharing that?"
"No," Ty Lee insists. She points as she says, "You'll sleep on the couch."
Azula eyes the couch a few feet away. She walks over to it. She makes a show to dramatically look from the couch to Ty Lee multiple times. Then she says, "Are you sure?"
Ty Lee crosses her arms and puffs herself up. "Yes. You are not sleeping in my bed with me."
"You don't want to finish what we started at Ember Island?"
Ty Lee huffs through her nostrils. She rolls her eyes and walks away, going up the stairs to get away from the former Princess. Azula shouts up to her as she goes.
"I brought some fish for dinner tonight. My treat!"
When she hears the bedroom door slam shut, she chuckles to herself. She takes a seat on the couch, and spreads her legs wide. The sunlight cuts through the window blinds and stripes her body in shadows and light. She smiles deviously to herself and mutters under her breath.
"Oh yes. We'll be sharing that bed in no time, Ty Lee."
"How's your dinner?"
Ty Lee remains silent. She can't admit that it's good because that means admitting that Azula had made a good meal. She had been convinced that Azula was a princess in a tower, unable to accomplish basic tasks like cooking. She was sure someone had been making her meals for her for the last eight plus years. Admitting it tasted good meant admitting that she was wrong about Azula.
The first night, Ty Lee simply refused to eat with her. She had wandered into town and paid for a meal instead. The whole time she thought about Azula and how this made her feel. Yet she just couldn't do it. Then, earlier this morning, Suki gave her a stern warning that she was needed to keep Azula happy so that they could continue to afford her services.
Azula hums to herself. She couldn't tell if the brunette liked the meal or not. She was determined to make the most of this limited time together.
"You know," she starts. "This reminds me of when we were chasing Zuko and the Avatar and being in Ba Sing Se."
Ty Lee doesn't reply. She pushes the food around on her plate. Against her better judgement, she goes back in her mind to those early days.
"We would eat together, just like this," Azula muses. "Mai would brood in the corner. We'd watch the stars and plot and talk about life. And now life has brought us back together again."
Ty Lee can't take it anymore. Without saying a word she pushes back from the table. She gets up and leaves. She hurdles off, up the stairs, into her room, and shuts the door again. Azula huffs in disappointment. She places the dishes in the sink and determines that she'll clean them later.
Ty Lee lies in her bed and tries to not think about the murderer in her house. Yet her mind cycles around her like water down a drain. She thinks about her smell, about her cooking, about their memories. She rolls over. She thinks about Azula's titles and how she's helping the Kyoshi Warriors. She thinks about their time in that room alone and how Ty Lee convinced her to come. She rolls. She thinks about how Azula could've killed her but didn't. How Azula holds all the power, but doesn't wield it. How Suki thought it would be best to put them together again for everyone else's protection. She rolls. She knows that Azula is bad for her. But she's drawn to her all the same. The way a moth wasp is drawn to the same flame that will ultimately kill it.
Azula rises up, gasping for air. She fumbles about with panicked breath. She tries to ensure she is alive and all there. She remembers that she is on the couch in Ty Lee's living room on Kyoshi Island. All that she had just experienced was but a dream. Looking out the window she sees the sun just beyond the horizon. She gets up, stretches, and begins her day. She wonders if she awoke because she always wakes before the sun rises, or because her nightmare had spooked her.
After dressing for the day, she sets out through the front door. Off to see what preparations need to be made for the battle. She reflects on her dream and what it means. She's been having this particular one for a while now. She can't place when it first started, but she's woken up from it more than a few times. After several minutes she finally arrives at the center of the main village on Kyoshi Island. She stops by the large statue of the former Avatar. She takes a moment to sit beneath the eyes of Kyoshi. She turns back around and observes.
It has been a few days, but now she watches Kyoshi Warriors and Fire Warriors exit homes together in consort. They chatter and engage. In a different time there would be animosity and struggle. Now though, there is only kinship. After all, they share many of the same elements. Destitute girls forsaken by the world, who have found meaning in something larger than themselves. Both groups fight for something bigger than themselves.
'And now they fight together against an even greater enemy.'
There is a soft crunch of feet behind her. There is no alarm for the Puppetmaster; she doesn't worry about someone stabbing her in the back. Striding to stand beside her is the leader of these Kyoshi Warriors.
"Good morning, Suki. Get much sleep?"
"Not at all. You?"
"Nightmares woke me."
Suki chortles. "The Dragon Empress has nightmares?"
"And why shouldn't I? Am I not human after all? Do you think of me as a Demon the way Koh's Disciples do?"
"Almost," Suki replies sincerely. "It's just weird to think about. You're almost all-powerful, so it's hard to imagine what would keep you up at night."
"Hm," she huffs. "Well, if you must know, I dreamt I was a bird."
"A bird?"
"A caged bird."
"Well, on the bright side," Suki starts with a lilt in her voice. "You're Fire Warriors aren't caged and you're with Ty Lee now. Everything you wanted."
"That's true. It's only been a few days but," Azula looks as girls from different worlds run drills together and run in packs. "This is working? Far better than I imagined anyway."
"Makes you really think," Suki says, as they turn their heads to look at one another. "What could we accomplish if we worked together all the time?"
Ruki hits the floor, defeated once more. Quickly the fiery redhead climbs to her feet and turns to face her opponent. The brunette with grey eyes smiles condescendingly at her. The woman with violet eyes grows angry and barks at her. "Do not underestimate me! You will regret it!"
"I'm not underestimating you, Ruki," Ty Lee replies. Assuming a defensive stance, she chides her, "I'm estimating you exactly where you are."
"URGH!" Ruki screams as she dashes at her.
Too easily, Ty Lee predicts her movements and counters them. The first few sparring sessions Ruki had the advantage of surprise, but now Ty Lee had learned her techniques and tendencies. They'd been practicing sparring and Ty Lee had been giving her individual lessons on chi blocking. Now though, Ruki was seeing red from being teased and wouldn't last very long.
"You lack focus," Ty Lee tells her as she dodges a punch. "You're not precise enough."
Ty Lee leans back away from an attempted uppercut. Ruki heaves. "It's the same with your chi blocking. Most of the time you're missing the sweet spot of the chakras. When that happens you've just doomed yourself."
Stepping back and reaching for a waterskin Ruki replies, "Who cares if I don't hit it exactly on? If you can chi block them for just a minute, that's long enough."
Ty Lee shakes her head in frustration as she comes to sit on a bench beside Ruki. "I'm telling you, Ruki, if you don't learn the fundamentals, you'll get in trouble for it some day."
Ruki sits down beside her and they each catch their breath. To try and make conversation, Ty Lee asks her, "So, where are you from, Ruki?"
The girl snorts through her nostrils. "The Fire Nation, just like you."
"Yeah, no, I mean, like where exactly?"
The red head leans back and replies, "Harbor City."
"Oh, really? That's a rough area." Ty Lee blurts out.
"Ok? You think I didn't already know that?" Ruki replies.
"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"
"It's fine. Not like I haven't heard that my entire life."
A silence falls on them. Ty Lee thinks of another question. "If you don't mind me asking, how did someone from Harbor City come to advise Azula?"
The lilac eyed girl stares out into space and smiles broadly in reflection. "She rescued me."
Ty Lee gives her a look to implore her to go on. Ruki continues, "We were in that psych ward together with Zirin and all the other original girls. I was chained down and she set me free."
"That was awfully good of her," Ty Lee says. Then she challenges her, "Of course, now you're chained to her, aren't you?"
Ruki doesn't hesitate, "I serve our Mother because I want to serve her. Because I believe in her."
"And if you told her tomorrow that you wanted to become a Kyoshi Warrior?"
"I wouldn't." Ruki says in stride.
"But let's say you did. Let's say a day came where you did?" Ty Lee continues to push the questions.
Ruki ponders it a moment. Then she answers, "I imagine she'd hunt me down like a traitor and I'd deserve it."
Shocked by this reply, Ty Lee asks, "You really believe that? That you'd deserve it?"
"I know it. If I abandoned her it is because I lacked faith. All of us who serve her, from all over the three nations, do so because we believe in her. Because we believe she has the will to act," Ruki replies. She stops talking for a moment but a final thought comes to her and she adds, "She's not our Empress because she's the daughter of some nobility we never knew. She's the leader we chose."
Ty Lee nods her head. Ruki shakes her waterskin and it is empty. "Excuse me," she says as she leaves to refill it.
Ty Lee is left wondering about what Ruki said. She'd heard the commoners speak about benefiting from Azula's influence. Hearing from her third in command was a completely different experience. Ty Lee almost felt… inspired.
Azula enters the Kyoshi Library. Just as Lomin had said, she finds the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors. The fading sun breaks through the windows and stripes the table in light and shadows. Azula approaches and Suki looks up at her from a table full of texts. Azula says, "I can't remember the last time someone summoned me somewhere. Really bold of you to think you can just ask your lackeys to order me around."
Suki ignores the attempt to chide her, "Thank you for coming."
Eyeing the various books skewed across the massive table, Azula asks, "What's this all about? Looking for some hidden spirits to summon? The Faceless Demon isn't enough?"
Suki chuckles at this. "No. I'm consulting texts about Kyoshi for guidance in this trying time."
"I don't imagine a dead girl has much by way to offer you."
"You'd be surprised. Kyoshi was an exceptional fighter. And there are many answers to present quandaries that can be found in the past."
"Wise words," Azula quips.
"Thank you," Suki replies. "Besides, I'm surprised you aren't more into Kyoshi. What with the similarities between her and Rangi and you and, well…"
Suki trails off. Azula looks at her confused. "Me and who? And whose Rangi?"
"You don't-?! You don't know about Kyoshi and Rangi?"
Azula doesn't say anything. She just shrugs. Suki says, "Um, well, let me try to keep it simple for you so you can see what I mean. It's a lot more complicated than this, but basically Avatar Kyoshi was this fierce, fighting, woman, who kind of had a bad shake from the world. And Rangi was her Fire Nation girlfriend who was a ranking officer in the Fire Nation army."
"Girlfriend as in?" Azula asks, almost hopeful.
"Like, her girlfriend, girlfriend, Azula."
"Hmm," Azula humms. "I didn't know any of this. Only thing I knew before coming here was that Avatar Kyoshi lived for like 200 years."
"You don't know much about any of the Avatars huh?" Suki jokes.
"I know I'm the only person in history to kill one while they were in their precious Avatar State."
Suki spends several seconds suppressing her rage. Azula raises her eyebrows at the girl, almost goading her into attacking. Suki doesn't take the bait. She takes deep breaths in and out of her nose. Finally she calms down and says, "In any case, I thought you'd know about Kyoshi and Rangi. Or maybe Avatar Asuna."
Azula's mind blanks again. She'd never heard that name before. It wasn't unusual, given there have been nearly a hundred different avatars throughout the history of the world. She sincerely asks, "Who's Avatar Asuna?"
"You don't know who Avatar Asuna is?"
"Should I?"
"I mean, yes? She was a female avatar originally from the Fire Nation. I kind of assumed you were named after her, honestly."
"No, I was named after my grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon."
"I see."
"Wait there was a female Fire avatar?"
"That's right. A while ago," Suki says. She tries to go back in her mind. She adds, "Before Roku. Maybe even before the one before him. But if rumors are to be believed, she was also a 'gender betrayer' as they call it."
"I'm starting to see a pattern of powerful women in the history of Fire Nation," Azula jokes. This extracts a real, true, chuckle from Suki. Azula tries to suppress her own smile but Suki laughs is contagious. She smiles for a moment before genuinely asking, "Why have I never heard of her?"
Suki shrugs her shoulders as she replies, "That's a question for your prodigious education system in the Fire Nation. Maybe if you lived somewhere else you'd know more about her."
"Maybe there should just be schools where they teach about her instead," Azula retorts. It isn't attacking though. It's a serious suggestion. She ponders on the thought a second longer and stares out into space. After another moment she notices a clock on the wall. "Well, I need to get going. Have to make dinner for my roommate and such. This was fun though, I'd love to hear more about this in the future."
Azula turns and walks away. Suki interrupts her, "About that."
The Dragon Empress stops at the door. She turns to face the burnette. Suki stands up from her seat. "That's why I asked Lomin to send you here in the first place."
Azula had completely forgotten that she'd been 'summoned' here. She shifts the weight of her foot and raises an eyebrow to Suki. The brunette summons her courage and says, "I was serious this morning. We could do a lot of good if we worked together."
Azula giggles. "So you want me to join you now?"
"I'm just asking you to think about it. With your strength and our discipline? We could accomplish a lot together."
"I don't know Suki. The food here is good, but I don't know what it's like year-round." With a sly smile she turns around, "See you tomorrow."
"How's your dinner?"
Ty Lee pushes some of her remaining food around. She admits, "It's good."
"You say that like you're surprised?"
"I am surprised," she tells her. "The fact that you can cook? Very surprising."
"Good. I like surprising. Keeps things fresh. Like you."
"I'm fresh?"
"You're surprising. It's what I like about you."
Ty Lee doesn't respond but her expression begets a response from Azula.
"Life is so predictable, Ty Lee."
The brunette puts her utensils down. Azula continues.
"Everything bores me. Helping people bores me. It's all so easy. For the last eight years, I've been helping people but every single time someone comes to me I just think, 'Ugh. This again? We have to kill another bad guy, again?'"
Ty Lee marvels at her.
"What's so annoying too is that no one else seems to understand. No one else is bored. The harder I seem to try to feel something, the less I feel. I can't change. I want something, so I buy it. Once I have it, I don't want it anymore. I hurt myself, but I don't feel any pain. It's just all so… predictable."
Mouth dry, stunned and trying to understand, Ty Lee asks her, "You don't feel anything?"
Azula leans forward, across the dinner table. She reaches her hand out and clasps Ty Lee's. The Kyoshi Warrior looks down at it but doesn't pull it away. She tells her, "I feel something when I'm with you."
Ty Lee gulps. She retracts her hand. "What about Zirin?"
Azula puckers her lips, tilts her head, and narrows her eyes. "I'm not with her, when I'm with her."
"But haven't you two been together for a while?"
Azula sighs. "Zirin loves me exactly as I am right now. She loves The Dragon Empress. If I ever were to change…"
Ty Lee stares right at Azula, who can't look back at her. She looks down at her plate and imagines how Zirin would react to her changing. When Azula doesn't look back at her, Ty Lee scrapes her chair back. This gets her attention. She stands and they look at one another for a moment, not saying anything. Finally, Ty Lee turns away and heads upstairs.
When she's gone, Azula looks at the dishes piling up again. She puts them away and then lies down on the couch. She misses Zirin. She misses Ty Lee. The touch of her hand. Those soft grey eyes. Being in her home, being around her, Azula feels a rush of blood. She thinks about the brunette and imagines doing things with her. She peaks upstairs before finally her willpower succumbs to her desires, alone on the couch.
Upstairs, Ty Lee tosses and turns thinking about the girl on her couch. She felt like they'd had a breakthrough today. Azula said things, sincere things, and meant them. Yet some of those things repulsed Ty Lee. The way she sees Zirin as just an object upsets her. Yet Ty Lee isn't in that relationship, she has no idea what it's really like.
'What if Zirin really doesn't love her for her? What if she's right? How would I know? Who am I to judge her?'
Ty Lee wonders what it would be like to be with Azula. In a relationship with Azula. In public with Azula. In private with Azula. In bed with Azula. She tosses and turns and thinks about all that's happened. She thinks about Ayon and that village. She thinks about holding Azula at knifepoint and stabbing her. How Azula held her twice at knifepoint and didn't stab her either time. She thinks about the conversation with the fisherman as she searched for Azula. All the people all over the world who told her that she's helped them. How she's helping them right now. Yet how none of it made her feel anything. How she feels nothing.
'Except when she's with me.'
Ty Lee doesn't realize it until it's too late. The sun rises over the hill. Out in the hallway, under her door, she sees the creeping light, alerting her of morning. She hadn't slept at all. She was too busy thinking about her roommate.
Azula strides across the village square and stops nearby to listen to Ty Lee teaching Fire Warriors and young Kyoshi Warriors how to chi block.
"-focus, strike precisely, and make contact with their chakras. You can hurt them if you miss, which isn't terrible, but given that you're shooting to disarm, you can't afford to miss."
Azula interrupts her, speaking loudly so the group of learners can all hear. "I always wanted to learn. Perhaps you could teach me as well?"
Ty Lee huffs an annoyed breath and stares at the regal girl. She dismisses her out of hand, "You don't need to learn this. You already have your bending."
She turns away from the spectacle to return to teaching, but Azula isn't done with her. "Then perhaps I could be an example?"
The girls in the group become hushed. Their eyes dart between the Leader of the Fire Warriors and the Teacher of Chi Blocking. Ty Lee narrows her eyes and knows that the girl won't be going away. She nods and Azula approaches. Closing the gap between them, she asks the brunette, "So what are we working on right now?"
"How to get out of chokeholds and turn the tables on your assailant."
"I'll be happy to help. What do you want me to do?"
Ty Lee steps back from her a foot or so until her back is flush against the side of a building. She carefully rests against the brick wall and stares into Azula's golden eyes. She commands the girl.
"Grab my neck and choke me."
Azula tries to not smirk at this. She tries very hard. But she can hardly conceal her excitement. She steps forward, attempting to suppress a giant, dopey smile, and failing spectacularly. She reaches her hands up and grips Ty Lee's neck. She pushed her against the building, slightly lifting the taller girl up from her lower position. She tries to not actually strangle her.
Ty Lee announces for the Kyoshi and Fire Warriors. "Now, as you can all see she's got me flush against the wall, all ten fingers wrapped around my neck. This looks like certain doom for me, correct?
None of the girls respond, but many of them nod.
"First thing I'm going to do is compact my body. Drop my chin into her hands and raise my shoulders. This will help to keep her hands in place. That doesn't seem like what we want, but trust me, it is."
Azula feels pressure against her hands. She leans a little closer to the girl and drinks in the smell of her sweat.
"Next, I'm going to take my hand up and grab her right arm. You want to keep your thumb in, because if you try to wrap it around her wrist, it's easier for her to escape. The idea isn't to push, but to pull. Pull her arm in so the force won't let her escape later."
Ty Lee does exactly as she says. Azula licks her lips. She thinks about applying pressure to her throat. Suffocating her, just a little bit. Watching her beg for mercy. Watching her beg Azula. Her mouth waters as she imagines watching the air leave her body.
"Now, you're going to reach up to your shoulder, and pull any finger you can get. Doesn't matter which one, they all hurt the same for her, so just pull. Like this!"
Azula feels her right index finger pulled backwards with great force. She shouts in instant pain. "Ah! Ah!"
She releases her grasp around the neck and her body twists as Ty Lee pulls the finger further back, nearly breaking the bone.
"Now we're going to turn the tables, quickly!"
Ty Lee lets go of the finger, and quickly uses Azula's odd body contour to spin her around.
"And then just like we discussed-"
Azula feels two wacks and then her arms go limp. She falls on her knees before her roommate.
"-you hit her chakras, and now," Ty Lee walks around to stand in front of her. The entire village stops and stares in stunned silence. The Dragon Empress, without her bending, has been brought to her knees by a nobody.
"She's at my mercy."
Azula stares up at the girl, perturbed. She smiles wryly and then swiftly stands up and stands right against Ty Lee. Their chests against each other, Azula's head barely clears Ty Lee's bosom. She stands opposed to her just as she had at Ember Island.
She turns, arms sagging and looks all around at those who watch. She announces to all of them, "And when Koh's Disciples come, you will show them no mercy. They have shown none to the girls who live here, nor their homeland. Just as Ty Lee has done to me, we will bring them to heel."
In unison, the Fire Warriors collectively shout back, "Yes, Empress!"
The world goes back to spinning. Sound seems to resume all at once. The busy village and the training exercises continue. Ty Lee commands the girls to practice escaping chokeholds together, without breaking fingers. Once they do, still standing beside her, arms slowly regaining feeling, Azula whispers to Ty Lee, "You really ought to teach me how to do it. You never know, it might come in handy someday."
Ty Lee chuckles and whispers back, "Only in your wildest dreams, Zula."
"Oh Lee," she laughs. "You don't want to know what I think about you in my wildest dreams."
Ty Lee groans, rolls her eyes, and walks away. Not far off, Zirin stares at their apparent flirting with fury and homicidal intention.
Azula is snooping around the house.
While Ty Lee finishes in town, Azula cleans and cooks. Yet over these few days she's also taken to sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. It started tame, by going through Ty Lee's undergarments, lingerie, and dresses. That was innocent enough. As she's gone on though, she's gotten more intimate. Today she's going through Ty Lee's book collection, the paintings she hasn't hung up, and other various mementos.
She opens a dresser drawer that hasn't been opened in years. Sitting on top of some old documents is a small object that Azula vaguely recalls. She picks up the scarlet fabric with a golden loop and holds it in her hands. Small, but stretchy, it was the choker necklace that Ty Lee had worn to the party on Ember Island, almost a lifetime ago. She recounts and realizes that it was just 10 years ago that they attended that party.
Azula isn't sure when she realized that she liked women. Zirin helped her to realize she only liked women. Yet something forever sticks in her mind. A distant, but clear memory of grey eyes, brown hair, and a long, slender arm extended beside her.
'Hey there Sweet Sugar Cakes, how ya liking this here party?'
In retrospect, Azula has always been a 'gender betrayer.' Spending her childhood being surrounded by Ty Lee only drove it deeper. That night at the party was the last straw. She smiles fondly at the memory. She pockets the choker and shuts the drawer.
"How's your dinner?"
No response. Ty Lee puts her utensils down and stares at her. It has been a not altogether terrible 24 hours for Ty Lee. Azula had managed to make a breakthrough of sorts last night. Their public display of chokeholds and chiblocking had almost been fun. It certainly reminded her of their younger days, traveling the world together.
But Ty Lee is exhausted. She didn't sleep at all, then went out and led rigorous training exercises in the sun and heat. She wants to finish eating and go to bed. She is not in the mood for Azula's dinner table games.
When Ty Lee doesn't answer, Azula looks for something else to talk about. She looks at the massive amount of dishes from the meal tonight, and the piled up dishes she hadn't done from last night. She doesn't want to start them yet. She asks, "How's about dessert?"
Ty Lee doesn't answer again.
"Why don't we both say what we want on the count of three?" She asks. "Ready? One… two… three!"
"I don't get you."
"Strawberries."
There is a heavy, tense silence that falls between them.
"Frozen strawberries," Azula tries to explain. "They're quite good, actually."
"I don't understand you."
"Ty Lee-"
"I mean, I used to. I used to know you."
"-want to do this-"
"Your habits, your views of the world. How often you'd clip your nails, how you laughed, the foods you liked, the way your mind worked."
"And?"
"And I don't know who you are anymore. Now? Now you're just somebody that I used to know."
"So now I'm some sort of new person? Have I so thoroughly changed? Am I as they say, am I just a faceless demon to you?"
"Yes!" Ty Lee shouts, exasperated. "You are. You have. You're the Dragon Empress now. You're the Prodigy with Blue Fire. The Faceless Demon. You're not the Azula I grew up with. You're different."
Azula sneers. "I'm no different than you, Ty Lee."
"What? Of course you are. We are very different."
"How so?"
"I protect your brother and defend this island."
"And what exactly does it look like I'm doing right fucking now? Hmm? Saving Zuko from having to deal with this and defending this island."
"Agni, give me a break, Azula. We're paying you. It's completely different."
"Something tells me even if I did it for free you still wouldn't accept me."
"I don't know. And we'll never know because you're not doing it for free. We're going into irreparable debt to you just to save ourselves. And isn't that just like you? Only helping people so they owe you something."
"You're wrong about me."
"Am I? You will never know how much harder it is to be nice and normal and decent than it is to be like you."
Azula scowls. "You mean like us."
Ty Lee laughs out loud. "You think we're the same? We couldn't be-"
"Don't do that. Don't talk like you're one of them. You're not. I like you, Ty Lee. But I don't like you that much."
Ty Lee gulps. Azula sits back in her chair. "You and I? We're more alike than you want to admit. I accept the dark sides of you because I accept you, Ty Lee, for exactly who you are. No matter what you do, no matter what happens, I accept you, even the bad things. I don't care that you're vindictive, or that you have mean streaks, or that you'd stab a woman in cold blood."
Ty Lee grows furious. "You want to know what the difference between us is?"
Azula leans forward and narrows her eyes. Ty Lee spits, "I would die for my fellow Kyoshi Warriors. Would you die for any of your girls?"
Azula doesn't answer. She knows what she would say but she doesn't speak it because she doesn't think the girl will believe her.
Ty Lee scrapes her chair back. She looks down at the Dragon Empress. "See? I believe in my fellow Kyoshi Warriors. You don't believe in anything."
She turns away to leave. Before she can reach the stairs Azula replies.
"I believe in you, Ty Lee."
She stops at the stairs, hand on the handrail. She thinks about turning back. She goes up the stairs, closing her bedroom door shut behind her. Once she's in her room she throws herself on her bed. She lashes and beats her body against the pillows and sheets. She punches out her fury. She keeps hearing quotes from Azula echoing in her mind. Her lack of sleep catches up to her. Exhaustion takes her.
Azula gets up. She wants to punch something. Set fire to the house. Burn it all down to get that moment back. As the seconds pass and she has nothing to do with her hands and body she looks around instead. All of the dishes piling up. Everything that needs to be cleaned. She decides to make use of her energy. She washes nearly three days worth of dishes. She stands on her feet for over two hours doing it. When she finishes she collapses on the couch. She replays the conversation in her mind over and over until she finally passes out.
Azula wakes from her nightmare. She had been caged again, but something was different this time. In her dream, she opened her mouth to scream and instead a blaring noise came out.
As she sits up on the couch, it dawns on her that she still lies in relative darkness. Darker than any early morning twilight. Sight comes before sound. She realizes that the blaring sound is still going.
She jumps up and listens to the wailing of sirens in the distance. She goes to the window and she sees it now. The soft glow of orange and red against the trees. The forest around Kyoshi Island has been set ablaze. Billowing smoke rises up above, into the darker skies.
Koh's Disciples have come in the dark of night. Now the Immortal Soldier must come out.
She rushes up the stairs. She pulls on the door handle and it opens. Ty Lee lies asleep in her bed. Azula approaches quickly and shakes her. The brunette opens her eyes and nearly screams. Azula holds a single finger up to her mouth, with wide eyes. She pushes back on her elbows.
"They're here." Azula tells her.
Ty Lee blinks and rubs her eyes quickly. "No," she replies. "The sirens would've-"
"Listen."
The acrobat does as she's told and realizes that she's right. They are here.
In short order, the childhood best friends are outside and running side by side through the darkness towards the main village. Ty Lee curses her distance from the village a thousand times. Azula's mind processes what to do next and she grabs Ty Lee's elbow. They duck into the cover of some woods. Hidden beneath darkness and trees they advance towards the town square where a loud commotion can be heard. In the distance, the Mother of the Kemurikage hears screaming. She fears for her girls.
"Stop!"
Ty Lee pulls Azula's arm and they stop abruptly.
"Look!"
Azula turns to where Ty Lee is pointing. Through the thick of the woods she sees it. A collection of older men hold a group hostage right by the statue of Avatar Kyoshi. They silently move through the cover to get as close as they can. Their worst fears are confirmed. As they approach Azula can already see dead Fire Warriors, faces carved off. Yet she is not prepared for what she sees next.
At the foot of the statue, she sees the island's leadership. Suki, Zirin, Ruki, Lomin, and several others are on their knees, hands bound behind their backs. They've clearly been beaten already, bloody and bruised. Koh's Disciples have found them, rounded them up, and brought them here to be slaughtered.
There are dozens of men surrounding them, all with blades in hand. A single man stands before the kneeling girls, brandishing a machete. He approaches Suki, forcing her to look at him, cutting her cheek a tiny bit and then after a few moments he hits her! Whatever they say to each other is indiscernible from this distance. Off in the distance, screams and cries for help are heard. Ty Lee stares at the scene, pulse pounding, uncertain of what to do. Her eyes dart all around at the invaders and murderers. Her hands and body shake as she fears any second now someone will appear and grab her.
Suddenly, she feels something warm touch her hand. She nearly jumps as she looks up at Azula. The Firebender silently raises her finger up to her mouth. She motions for Ty Lee to stay still, and remain quiet. Azula slowly backs away, and recedes into the darkness. As she backs up she whispers.
"Whatever you do, don't come out."
She disappears into the shadows. Ty Lee gets low to the ground and looks back towards the scene at the statue.
Siram approaches the girl they've identified as the leader of the entire operation. All of the girls cower before him except for this one and another. He points his machete at her chest. She struggles to breathe and looks away from the blade. Slowly he drags the tip of his blade upwards. Suki's eyes lazily drag up as well until she looks him in the eye.
His voice is low and gruff. "I thought you would be more difficult to kill."
He drags the tip of the blade against her cheek and applies just an ounce of pressure. He slices her cheek and blood runs down in a single line.
"But you bleed just like any woman."
"I'm gonna kill you." Suki mumbles.
"Sorry, didn't catch that."
Speaking louder, Suki says, "I'm gonna kill you. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But someday, I'm gonna kill you."
Siram laughs and looks around. Suddenly, mid-laugh, he turns on Suki and punches her right across the cheek. Her head ricochets and she falls to the ground.
Mocking her, he repeats, "'I'm gonna kill you?' Are you fucking kidding me? Do you see what's happening all around you? Do you see what we've done?"
He gestures with his machete to the village in ruin. After another second he wails on her again, hitting her again, and again, and again. In the distance Siram hears people screaming. He revels in it. Suki spits up blood.
"I bet you thought you were all gonna grow old together. Live out your little lives in this village." He kicks her and she spits up more blood, her one eye shutting from the force of blows to the head. "Nope. Doesn't work like that. Not anymore. We are going to torch your little island to the ground and salt the earth behind us."
He uses his foot to roll her body so she has to weakly look up at him. Lomin and Ruki cry loudly as they watch this unfold. Zirin stares in disbelief, fear beginning to etch onto her face. Siram points the machete at her eyeball. She chuckles slightly.
"And what is so funny?"
Her arm can barely move but she points to the statue that rises above all of them. "I sit beneath the eyes of Kyoshi. No harm can come to me here."
Siram looks briefly at the statue directly above them. Then he looks back at the girl on the ground. He shakes his head. He raises his machete above him, "I'm not so sure about that."
Sight comes before sound.
A giant flash of bright white explodes from somewhere nearby. A split second later the massive boom of thunder roars into the ear drums of everyone in the area. The grown men cower at the sound momentarily, while Siram looks around, wielding his machete in preparation for an attack of some sort.
Appearing out of the dark, striding towards Siram and the others is a twenty something year old woman. Her arms are both extended outwardly, her legs close together. She is approaching them with a challenge. Inviting them to attack her. She walks towards them and shouts.
"Why kill people when you can kill a demon?"
Siram and the entire group all turn to the girl with black hair and golden eyes. Siram shouts back to her, "I don't know where you came from but you are going to regret coming here."
She stops, arms still extended and tells all of the men present, "You know who I am."
Siram looks at all those around him and laughs. They laugh as well. He turns back to her, "We definitely do not, but I don't think it's gonna matter in a few seconds."
"Say. My. Name."
Azula opens her palms and another second later two roaring flames of blue fire fly out, reaching for the sky.
"Holy Agni Almighty!" Siram yells as the men all take a step back.
"That's right," she yells with a vicious smile. "I am the Faceless Demon."
"This shit can not be real." Siram yells, completely stunned.
"But it is," she says as the blue flames go out. "Now, you can take all of their faces, or mine. But not both."
"You… you're surrendering yourself?"
"I'm trading."
"With your life?"
"This island for my life."
"What if we say no?"
"Then you will have chosen war with a Demon and I will rip your entire group out, root and stem."
Siram can't believe any of this is real. He continues to barter as he contemplates his options. "What's to stop us from killing them and destroying this island once we have you?"
Azula puts her arms down. She approaches Siram. She calmly answers. "You have no idea what I'm capable of. You've heard the legends, but you've never seen me in action."
She pauses for dramatic effect. "If you should touch them, I assure you that the Fire Warriors, the Kemurikage, my entire empire of fire and lightning will reign down upon you. I will become the dragon myself and spew fire upon your souls."
She pauses again to let them think it over. "You say you'll salt the Earth on this island? I will burn your bodies down, salt the bones. Nothing will be left of you when I am finished, not even dust."
She stops and Siram is left with a decision to make. He looks down at the groaning, bloody, and defeated Suki. Siram thinks about what His Grace will say if Siram could present Him with the Faceless Demon. The opportunity is too great. He turns to his men.
"Knock them all out. We're leaving now and we're taking her with us."
The girls shout their dismay but it doesn't last. The men all advance on them and deliver blows to the head that blindsided them. The last thing Zirin sees are Azula's golden eyes. She feels intense desire as she believes Azula has done this to save her life. The next moment however she feels nothing as a man drives the handle of his blade into the back of her head and she immediately goes unconscious.
Azula holds up her end of the bargain. She allows them to bind her hands behind her back. They forcibly remove her and leave the girls all on the ground beside Avatar Kyoshi. Only Suki remains conscious, but only barely. She struggles to see. She rolls over to look at Lomin and the others.
Suddenly a figure appears in her vision in the distance. Quickly approaching her is a girl taller than herself with brown hair. She comes running up to her when all of the Disciples are gone.
"Lee… is that?"
Her vision is blurred and her speech is impaired. She is only barely holding onto consciousness as the brunette inspects her. She says many things but Suki only catches the tail end.
"-sure she's okay. I'm sorry!"
Suddenly, Ty Lee moves away from her. She quickly recedes into the dawning twilight. Suki struggles to keep her eyes open, but she watches Ty Lee chase after where Koh's Disciples had taken Azula. When she is gone, even Suki succumbs to the pain and passes out.
Through the rising light, Ty Lee carefully and swiftly follows the invaders. They sloppily execute a rushed retreat upon command from their highest ranking officer. They leave the island in ruin, reboard their ship, and quickly flee through the South Sea. No one notices the woman with grey eyes sneak aboard their vessel before it can raise anchor.
A/N: This chapter is a great sample of what most of Book 2 will be like to read! This chapter's OST is "Walk Through Hell" by Say Anything.
Love always. Tyzula forever.
Notorious