A/N: CONTENT WARNING: Character death! Now I'm the villain in your history. Love and be loved. Read… and review!
No Bending
[Winter/Spring 110 AG]
Ty Lee fell from the sky.
She felt a blast of heat behind her and she went right over the edge to avoid it. She didn't have anywhere else to go after all. As she watched the water draw closer and saw her life flash before her eyes, she tried to scream. Nothing came out. She fell over 30 feet into the ocean below. She splashed down and her momentum took her further down below. The water instantly began rocking her back and forth.
It was natural, having just seen her life flash before her eyes, that she now contemplated death. She wondered if it would be better or easier to just stay down and let the water wash over her. Could she just be carried away by the water? Could it be easier than living? Was this better than facing the wrath of Azula's fire? She thought about all of these things and more. She could've stayed right there and died. But something stopped her though.
Was she fated for something more? Perhaps. Or perhaps it was just self-preservation.
She rose up.
By some grace of Agni there happened to be an alcove of shore not far. She swam her way to it and upon its beach she rolled onto her back, trying to breathe. She was stranded and completely alone. She was injured and her lungs filled with water. Nevertheless, she rose up.
She looked to the sun and rose up.
[Fall 113 AG]
Ty Lee looks up to the sun but sees only the treeline. The fading light breaking through the trees, the birds chirping all around. She feels her clothing sticking to her skin from the heat. She's been walking for an hour or maybe a little more now. The sun was setting again as she is barely an hour away from the village now. When she got off the boat on the other side of the island, there were a handful of people from the ferry who also got off. Most of them were headed to Chin Village and thus had to catch another boat. A couple of them followed her into the woods and across the island.
It's been a while now and at this point it's pretty clear to her that someone has been following her. She hoped they would peel off at some point but they haven't. She stops. A split second later she hears them stop.
"If you're trying to stalk me, you could be doing a lot better." She announces to her shadow.
Ty Lee turns around and there is no one behind her. She stays and waits. After a moment, a pair of hands, palms towards the sky, lead the way out from behind a tree a few yards behind her. They're followed by the arms, body, and head of a girl that Ty Lee recognizes all too well. She'd know that red hair and purple eyes from anywhere on earth.
"Holy Agni in the sky!" She shouts. "Ruki? What are you doing?"
The ginger approaches, hands raised still as a sign of peace. "I'm sorry I didn't approach you before this, but I thought you would reject me."
"What is going on. Reject you for what?"
"I'd… I'd like to join you."
"Join me? What do you mean?"
Ruki stops in front of the brunette, palms still to the sky. "I want to become a Kyoshi Warrior."
"You what?" Ty Lee shouts at her.
"Please," she begs. "I need to escape. I have a lover and I need to get out and I need your help."
Stammering, shocked, Ty Lee asks, "Does Azula know you left? Did anyone follow you?"
"Yes, and no," Ruki replies, hands coming down. "I told Azula in secret a few months ago that I wanted to leave. And no one followed me."
"And she didn't kill you on the spot?" Ty Lee asks, still stunned by what's happening.
"She told me to run and never look back."
Ty Lee, looking to buy time and figure out what is happening, noticed a cloth bag hanging around the lilac eyed girl's shoulder. "What's in the bag?"
Pulling the bag tighter, Ruki replies, "This is, it's everything I own that I could take with me."
Ty Lee eyes it for a moment. "Do you want to inspect it? You can! Here," Ruki says while stepping forward. She opens the cloth bag to show Ty Lee the contents.
Putting a hand out to decline, Ty Lee replies, "No, no, that's fine, I believe you."
Ty Lee stares at the Fire Warrior. She looks so innocent in the fading Fall light. Covered in sunshine and shadows, the acrobat contemplates her. She wants to get Azula back. Get her to switch sides and come back. It would collapse the entire criminal infrastructure of Republic City. But more importantly she could get the former Crown Princess back. Maybe this would be how it starts, by taking Ruki back and harboring her.
'This is it. This is everything I need to prove she isn't too far gone.' Ty Lee thinks.
"Alright. Come on."
Azula watches the sun on it's descent. It's not quite golden hour but it's getting closer. She can't remember the last time she sat and watched the sunset. It seems lovely, and yet entirely unattainable. It's been less than 48 hours since Suki left her deflated in the cage fighting arena. Her head rests on her hand, sitting on her throne, staring out the windows. She hears the door creak open and her eyes flutter to it. Carefully closing it behind her is a brunette with a single braided ponytail. She turns around and Azula rises from her seat when she sees the freckled girl.
"Zirin! Where have you been?" She approaches her girlfriend. "I was so worried. You and Ruki have been missing for almost two days!"
Zirin runs to her and envelopes her in a hug. She whispers in her ear, "Apologies, Empress, I was dealing with something. The Avatar and his crew are hunting us. Then Ruki, well, she should be dealt with soon as well."
Breaking away from the contact Azula asks her, "What does that mean?"
"I don't want to say until I know for sure, Empress," Zirin replies in hushed tones. "But just know that I've been trying to gather as much information as possible before acting."
"Zirin, please, there's something on my mind," Azula says. She has been wondering for two days, she has to ask now. "Who is Yakone? Do you know anything about him?"
Jaw hanging open, Zirin is shocked. She asks, "D-did you know I was coming to talk to you about him?"
"No, but tell me everything."
"Of course, Empress. We haven't been updating you about him because we thought we could take care of him ourselves. He's just a nonbender. A nobody. But somehow he's been slowly taking our territories out from under us for months now. He has some sort of influence over others. His organization is small compared to us, yet still they exert great power."
Flabbergasted, Azula asks her, "Why didn't you tell me before now? Why were you hiding this?"
"I thought we could handle it," Zirin replies, averting her eyes. Softly she adds, "I didn't want to disappoint you."
Frustrated but trying to sooth the black eyed girl, Azula grabs her hands. She replies sternly but affectionately, "Zirin, I don't care about that. I always want to know what's happening in our enterprises."
"I'm sorry, Empress." Zirin apologizes.
"Where is this Yakone?" Azula asks. "Have we tried to eliminate him?"
Gulping, Zirin replies, "He broadcasts his location openly for anyone to know. We could easily go to him. And I'm sorry to say that we have tried and failed."
Azula steps back from her girlfriend. She smiles mischievously. She holds her right hand out and looks down at the palm. She summons sparks of lightning and mutters, "Fine. I'll do it myself."
She looks Zirin in the eyes and then strides past her to make her leave. Zirin stays in place and watches her approach the door. She watches Azula's topknot bounce as she bounds towards the exit. She stops her in her tracks by calling out to her. "Empress."
Azula stops in place and turns back. Zirin stammers before saying, "It's just that you've been so preoccupied with her."
Azula knows who she's talking about. She doesn't nod but she makes eye contact with Zirin. The brunette continues, "Rumor has it she left the city the other day after her exit interview. She was said to be sad, with a look in her eyes that she was missing something. Like she wished for something more."
Now Azula is the one who gulps. She swallows something heavy in her throat. She licks her lips and replies, "It's nothing, Zirin. She's gone. Now she's just somebody that I used to know."
The gold of the setting sun begins peaking into the throne room. They stare at one another without saying anything. Zirin challenges her.
"Tell me, Empress, do you love her?"
No sound fills the void. Nothing saves Azula from the wave of guilt rising above her head. Any second it would crash down upon her.
"No," she scoffs. "I love you, Zirin."
Without another word, Azula turns and leaves. She swings open the door to the throne room and exits.
Alone at last, Zirin watches her go. Dejected, she mutters to herself, "You always were the best liar."
Darkness approaches. Zirin gave directions to the driver of the carriage. They bounce through the streets of Republic City as the golden hour fills the streets. Azula can't watch the sunset and no one says anything as they sit and wait. The Mother of the Kemurikage watches the streets slowly fade. She thinks about what she had said in the throne room. It had felt like the kind of thing the Dragon Empress would say. Now that she was facing the reality with every passing street, she's not sure it's something Azula would say. She hasn't killed anyone in over three years. She's lost the nerve for it. She's avoided it wherever possible.
'I don't want to do this anymore,' she thinks to herself.
Azula flashes back. She stood on a boat and stared across a foggy landscape with the girl beside her. So many years have passed, yet she remembers it so clearly all the same. The Wulong Forest, where an empire fell from the sky. She wonders if she could do the same now. Instead of killing her enemies, perhaps she could do like what the Avatar did to her father. Subdue her enemies. Defeat them, but not kill them. For the first time in a long time, she thinks that perhaps redemption is still within reach for her.
'And it starts with defeating Yakone.'
They climb up a slope as the golden light encompasses them. Ty Lee listens as Ruki drones on, all the while keeping her eyes open as they approach dangerous territory.
"-been interested in being a Kyoshi Warrior. Knowing Azula won't come hunting me here, it just all made-"
"Not to cut you off," Ty Lee says while fully intending to cut her off. "But there's a steep gorge drop up ahead. And we're losing light fast so I don't want-"
"Okay yes, definitely!" The chatty girl replies. She immediately jumps right back into her monologue. "I also wanted to join because of you, Ty Lee! Do you remember my time on the island?"
Ty Lee lets out an exaggerated laugh as she leads the way. "How could I forget? Azula nearly killed me."
"Yes, I remember my time so fondly," she says. Ty Lee wonders if the girl ever stops talking. "I remember those individual lessons you gave me on chi blocking too!"
Ty Lee steps into a clearing near the gorge. They are effectively at a cliffside with trees overhead. Suddenly she hears two steps behind her.
"WATCH OUT!" Ruki screams in her ear.
Before Ty Lee can react there are two whacks to her back and she falls to the ground.
Azula hops out of the carriage and stands beside Zirin. Zirin, preparing for a fight and no bending of her own, carries a five foot metal staff with her. The sun has set and they are left in the soft, velvet twilight before darkness comes. Azula looks up at a massive, hulking complex in front of her. It's located at the end of a pier.
"What is this?" She asks her girlfriend.
"His base of operations is inside this construction zone," Zirin tells her. "They're building this to be an arena."
"An arena? For what? Fighting?"
"Sort of. They're talking about making bending into a sport."
"A sport?" Azula asks, incredulous. She looks back up at the massive complex. "The world is truly changing, Zirin."
"Indeed."
"So he just hides in here?"
"His crew is the one building it, so he controls the schedule and production and no one bothers him. He stations himself near the roof."
Azula bites her lip. "How do you know all of this?"
Zirin sighs. "We scouted it months ago. I sent some girls up there after him the other day. It… didn't go well."
"I see," Azula sighs as well. She takes a step and leads the way. As she does she tells her, "Alright. Come on."
Ty Lee is dazed and confused. She can't feel her arms but she hears a rustling of leaves. The light is fading quickly into twilight on Kyoshi Island. In a matter of minutes it will be pitch dark. She can't move but the rustling of leaves tells her someone is nearby. She asks the shadows, "What is going on? What's happening?"
An empty cloth bag falls on the floor in front of her. Immediately afterwards a pair of feet appear in her vision.
"I told you, Ty Lee. I told you once not to underestimate me."
Ruki looks down at the brunette maliciously. She unravels some rope until it hits the forest floor. She walks to the cliffside and throws part of it over a low hanging branch. She gets to work fastening it.
"My entire life, everyone has always underestimated me. I play the quiet follower so well. Do this, do that. But in silence I move. I do the little things that no one else has the will to do. Did you know I was the one who came up with the 'Welcome to where you're going' line? No one gives me credit for that."
Azula and Zirin walk right through the doors. There are guards playing cards. Lackeys milling about. Some construction workers are getting some extra work in. Dozens of them just stay and watch as the two women walk right past them. No one tries to stop them. They just watch as they begin ascending the stairs.
Ty Lee can feel one of her arms and most of her lower back. She shouts to the redhead, "What are you doing?"
Ruki replies, "You can't see it, but this little drop right here? I'm gonna hang you over it."
Ruki adjusts the rope and ties a knot on a noose.
"Why? Wha-why? I thought you wanted to escape? What about your lover? You said you wanted to become a Kyoshi Warrior."
As they climb the stairs, Azula asks, "Why aren't they doing anything? Why aren't they stopping us?"
"This happened to the other girls, Empress. We must be careful. They don't think anyone is a true threat to Yakone."
"They what?" Azula asks, stunned as they continue to climb, higher and higher.
"Their hubris will be their end." Zirin tells her.
"No, silly! I don't want any of that. I want you to die. And I want it to look like a suicide."
"Why?! WHY?" Ty Lee shouts from the ground, unable to fully move and afraid to try yet.
"That poor old acrobat? She got sent home to Kyoshi and just couldn't handle it," Ruki monologues over Ty Lee's screams. "Knowing that Azula was out there somewhere, she just couldn't live anymore. So she went out and killed herself rather than keep living in fear."
Satisfied with the job she's done to secure the rope and noose, Ruki hoists Ty Lee's body up. She leans her against a waist-high rock.
They are nearly at the top.
"Well, Zirin, we'll show them. Together!"
Zirin turns her head and looks at those familiar golden eyes. She spins the staff in her hand, "Yes, we will."
Ty Lee is finally in a favorable position. Ruki turns and steps away. She grabs the noose. She turns back and steps towards the Kyoshi Warrior. Ty Lee tells her, "I remember teaching you chi blocking."
"That right?" Ruki says. She throws the noose over Ty Lee's head. She pulls it tight, fastening it around her neck. She smiles, admiring her handiwork a moment, hands still on the rope.
"Yeah," Ty Lee says, "I remember how bad you were at it."
In the blink of an eye, Ty Lee swings both of her arms up and boxes Ruki on both sides of her head at the same time. She hits her ears square on. Immediately Ruki falls to the floor. She becomes disoriented. Everything is brighter and her hearing is clogged. Ty Lee swiftly removes the rope from around her own neck. She leans down and loops it over the ginger's head.
Zirin pushes open a large metal door. They enter a massive, sprawling room. It's wider than any auditorium Azula has ever seen, larger than anything in the palace. It's an empty construction space as they are clearly working above the rest of the building. Azula estimates that this is near or just about at the ceiling of the building. The main area in front of them is illuminated by some lanterns. There's just one person in the room. Pouring over some blueprints and maps is a single man. He has tan skin and gray hair. Looking up from his papers he smirks. The girls enter the room.
Ty Lee eyes the chakras exactly. She delivers precise blows. Then she pulls the noose tightly against the girl's neck. As she does this she whispers with fury into her ears, "I told you, Ruki, you never followed the fundamentals. I told you that would get you in trouble some day."
Stepping back, Ty Lee pulls the rope. Coming out of her disoriented state, Ruki feels her lifeless body pulled along the forest floor, towards the edge, being pulled up off the ground. She screams. "Wait! WAIT! STOP!"
"You stand in the presence of Empress Azula, first of her name. Rightful heir to the throne of the Fire Lord. Rightful ruler of the Fire Nation. The Seed of Sozin. The Prodigy with Blue Fire. The Mother of the Kemurikage. Leader of the Fire Warriors. Founder of the Red Lotus. The Faceless Demon. The Immortal Soldier. The Puppetmaster. The Dragon Empress. Ruler of all she surveys."
Ruki is on the edge of the cliff. She stands on her tippy toes to keep her feet on the ground. She can't move her arms to grab the rope or do anything about it. Ty Lee ties the rope to a tree branch. After she's done she approaches the girl.
"Don't do this," Ruki begs her. "You can't do this."
Ty Lee furrows her brow. "You're wrong. I can do this. I have done this."
She remembers the King of Faces begging for his life. The way Ruki begs now.
"But I won't do this, because I'm not a killer. I'm going to take you back to the village and you're going to tell us everything."
"Let's not stand on ceremony, Azula." He replies to the introduction.
Yakone smiles menacingly at her. He offers, "You must've come a long way. I hope the trip up here was smooth, Princess?"
Zirin clears her throat. "Perhaps you misheard? I have a Caldera accent, I know. But she is an Empress. She is above kings, queens, lords, princes, and princesses."
He stands up. He raises his chin up and looks down at her. He stifles a chuckle.
"All the power and titles in the world doesn't change the fact that she's still Princess fucking Azula."
"Was this Azula's idea? Did she tell you to do this? Who sent you?" Ty Lee spits at her.
Trying to bide her time until her arms come back, Ruki says, "You're pretty tough, you know that?"
Ty Lee scowls at her. Ruki smiles mischievously.
"Your friend with the knives didn't put up this much of a fight."
Face slowly falling, Ty Lee feels her fury sapped from her. She asks, "What did you just say?"
"I'm going to give you one chance. Bend the knee now and swear allegiance to me. Or don't, and face my wrath." Azula demands.
Yakone just chuckles. "Not sure that's going to work for me."
Desperate to get more time, Ruki knows she's got her attention now.
"That's right. By now your little Dragon Empress is probably dead too."
All prior emotions are gone. Ty Lee only feels fear. A wave rises high above her head and she is not sure what the crash will carry. Dumbfounded, she asks, "What did you do?"
"I don't want to kill you, Yakone," Azula says. She balls her fists. "But I will defeat you."
He shrugs and tells her, "I'm not much of a fighter myself. I've never lifted a hand to anyone who crossed me before."
Azula takes a step towards him, "Well, I have."
He takes a step as well. They are teen feet apart. He tells her, "Good luck doing that this time, Princess."
Ruki starts to feel her arms again. If they can work she can grab the girl. Ty Lee is barely a foot in front of her. Then she can just toss her off the ledge. She continues to confess to save time.
"I got her to admit that she wanted to leave the empire life. But she was right, no one leaves this life. No one. So we switched sides."
Azula assumes a fighting stance, "Alright, Zirin, you know what we say."
"No half measures." Zirin replies calmly.
Azula lifts her arms up in an attacking motion. Zirin takes a step forward, winds up and swings her staff with all of her force. She smashes the metal right into Azula's arched back.
"And now she's dead. She's dead, you hear me? JUST LIKE YOU!"
Ruki tries to seize her moment. She lifts her arms up but they don't go far enough. She is still partially chi blocked.
"Argh! Uh!" She stretches out but her arms remain mostly at her sides. She can't reach the acrobat.
Ty Lee looks at Ruki's hands and then up to her face. The lilac eyes burrow into the grey ones. Ty Lee lifts her hands up to Ruki's shoulders. With a few pounds of force she shoves her right over the edge.
Ruki's body goes flying off of the ledge. The rope secures around her neck, the tree branch shakes but holds. She kicks momentarily and gurgles her last breaths. Her restricted arms try to move to the rope but can't reach it. Within seconds she is dead.
Azula falls flat onto her stomach and reaches for her back and shoulders in pain. She rolls up while screaming.
"Argh! Ahh! Zirin?"
Yakone is practically giddy. He hollers, "Look at this! The Immortal Soldier has come to die!"
Zirin stares down at her with a scowl. She steps towards her and winds up again. Instinctually, Azula lifts her arms up to block her head and body. Zirin swings the staff and connects it right into Azula's kneecap.
"AGHHH!"
Azula screams as loud as she can. Her vision goes all white for a moment as the pain is blinding. She rolls and now grabs her knee.
"ZIRIN! WHY?"
Zirin stands over her and looks down sadly. "I was quiet for so long, so that I could keep you. Now you can't be so naive to not know why this is happening."
Without hesitation or warning, Zirin does half of a stroke and smashes the staff into Azula's side, bruising her kidney. Azula feels the wind knocked out of her. Her back, knee, and side all hurt but suddenly she is just trying to breathe. She sees the brunette standing over her, still looking down upon her. She tries to crawl away, using her palms to push against the ground. Anything to try and escape.
Zirin slowly takes steps towards her. She tells her, "I must be truly worthless in your eyes."
Azula watches her girlfriend raise the staff up above her head. She quickly compacts her body and rolls away just as Zirin begins her swing. The staff crashes into the ground and a loud clang echoes across the massive space. Azula begins pushing back on the ground to escape the mad woman. She pleads with her, "Zirin! Stop it. You're not worthless to me. Please! PLEASE!"
Zirin swings the staff again and again at Azula, who barely dodges it by scattering backwards. As she does so, Zirin screams at her, "I loved you at your worst, lowest moment. I was the one beside you, starving, sweating, ready to die for you. NOT HER! I was the one!"
She swings and misses.
"But I guess none of that mattered. Because I know everything, Azula. I've known all along. 'Your' empire has been mine from the start. I know you wanted to leave. Ruki told me everything. I know you met with Suki. FOR HER!"
She swings and Azula scatters back along the ground, knocking over some empty, plastic barrels. "ZIRIN! Please! Let me explain!"
Zirin throws the staff away. She climbs down onto the floor and on top of Azula. She straddles her, and grips her collar. She pulls Azula in and screams in her face.
"NO! No more lies! You'll do and say whatever it takes to survive. But you're a TRAITOR, Azula. I stood by you for the last eleven years and it meant nothing to you! Because I'm not her, I'll never be her, and that means I'll never be good enough!"
They are nose to nose and Azula is in so much pain it's hard to focus on anything besides survival. She grabs hold of the girl on top of her. She grips her shoulders and babbles, "That's not, that's not, Zir-"
Zirin pushes her forehead into Azula's. She leans into her and looks into her golden eyes. She speaks softly as she tells her, "But don't you worry, baby. You said it yourself once. In your place, I'll step up and take control of the empire. Some of the girls, sure they'll leave, but we'll hunt them down and kill them. Just like you."
Zirin yanks Azula in and kisses her on the lips briefly before throwing her away. Azula clatters to the ground and watches as Zirin stands up and walks away. She yells to Yakone, still in his original place, "Where's my knife?"
"Over there." He points.
Azula watches from the ground, sitting on her forearms again and looking for any exit. She backs up but Zirin is already walking back towards her. She begs her, "Zirin, no. Zirin. Stop. I don't want- Zirin, please. ZIRIN!"
Zirin spins a 4-inch blade in her hand. She closes the gap between them. In that moment, Azula flashes back throughout their relationship. The time at the asylum. Going back for her and Ruki and Ukuyi and the others. The New Ozai Society and creating the Kemurikage. The summer heat, the trip on the boat. The screaming matches, fighting, the fierce kissing. The first chapter of her life had been ruled by Ozai. The second chapter had been Zirin's. Those black eyes and brown hair and the way she knew everything about Azula. And now she comes at her with a knife, about to slit her throat. Azula has not killed in three years. She cares for Zirin, which makes burning her all the harder. Azula closes her eyes, shields her face, and throws her right hand up at her girlfriend.
Zirin stops in her tracks and leans back. She prepares to be engulfed in flames. The fire never comes. After a moment Azula looks back. There is nothing. No blue fire. No red fire. No fire at all.
"You see, here's the thing, Princess," a voice speaks to her. Appearing behind Zirin is Yakone. He walks up and stops a few feet back. He smirks down at her. "The sun has set on your empire. And as a fire bender, I believe that means your power is gone. Or do I have my facts wrong?"
Azula tries to retract her hand to attack again. She can't. She can't firebend. She can't move her hand at all. She wonders if she'd somehow been chiblocked. She is frozen in place, completely paralyzed. Zirin looks with even more hurt in her eyes.
"You fucking monster! You'd kill me?" She walks towards her, Azula breathes heavily and tries to move. She can't go anywhere. "You betray me on every level and then try to kill me?"
Zirin leans down and with a few pounds of force she jabs the knife through Azula's outstretched palm. Something splatters in Azula's eye and in her hair. She blinks and when she opens her eyes she sees the tip of the blade, bloodied, sticking out through the other side of her hand. In an unexplainable twist, no blood spills out the back of her hand. She doesn't feel her palm get wet. Her blood stays still around the blade. There are so many disillusioning things happening at once that Azula doesn't have time to comprehend it. Zirin pulls the blade out.
Yakone laughs from the background. He shouts, "It's funny because you call yourself the 'Puppetmaster,' but now we're clutching all of your strings like you're in suspended animation."
Zirin knocks Azula's hand away. She leans over and grabs her shoulders. She rolls the girl over. Azula can't move herself. She's just as Yakone said, nothing but a puppet, being moved as Zirin commands. She lays on her stomach. Zirin pushes her arms and hands down onto the floor. Softly she pulls her head back.
If Azula was in a different place, it would look like she was stretching herself out into a pose. Almost as if she was an acrobat at the circus. Instead, she is rearing her head back and exposing her neck. Zirin places the cool, sharp steel against her neck and Azula begins hyperventilating. She can't catch her breath, she can't move, she can't do anything. She just feels the prickling of the blade against her throat. Her eyes dart around the room, looking for anything to help.
"Wait, wait!" Yakone yells from the back. "Wait, don't kill her yet. Give me that thing in her hair."
"Oh this? You want it as a trophy?"
Zirin rips the headpiece out and Azula's black hair falls in front of her eyes. She can't move it out of the way. She's paralyzed and she cries and she doesn't know what to do to escape.
"No, her head is gonna be the trophy," Yakone replies. "I just don't want any more blood to get on it."
"Hold on, first this." Zirin says.
Suddenly Azula's vision is returned to her. Strand by strand her hair is pulled out of her face. Zirin pulls it tightly. With eyes open wide, Azula can see a small opening up ahead in the dark. Zirin removes the blade from her neck. The next second though Azula feels her hair tugged tighter before releasing all together. Zirin has cut her top knot off. The next second she cuts most of Azula's hair off, slicing the blade through the base of her hair.
She leans in and whispers in her ear. "You're going to die alone. Without your headpiece. Without your top knot. Without your honor."
She stands up, turns to Yakone and shouts, "Catch."
She tosses the headpiece but misses wildly. Azula hears it clatter and bounce away in the distance. Yakone yells at her, "Go pick that up. Bring that shit to me right now."
Zirin groans but steps away. She walks a few feet away and Yakone watches her go. Azula feels her hand get wet. Her head bobs down and she looks at the blood gushing out of her right hand. She realizes she moved her neck and she can move all of her limbs. She quickly turns her head back and looks at Zirin, looking for the headpiece. She looks back to the opening in the shadows. She pulls her lower body forward, quietly, with her hands. Her bloody hand drags across the sawdust and dirt until she gets a few feet away. She pulls herself up and takes off running, knocking something over as she disappears into the dark.
"Here it is!" Zirin shouts.
She picks up the headpiece and then she hears something fall. She turns back and sees that Azula is gone. She turns to the mobster a few feet away and complains, "I thought you were going to hold her?"
"Fuck! You broke my concentration by throwing that thing away. I was trying to spot it in the dark too. Alright, hold on, I'll get her."
"No. Don't." Zirin commands him. She spins the blade again. She begins walking towards the dark construction area. "This is more fun. Give her a little hope that she's going to escape. I'll take that from her first."
"Damn," Yakone comments. "She really burned you, huh?"
"That's a great word for it," Zirin says, walking away. "Just stop her bending and I'll take care of the rest."
Darkness came for her. Now she limps blindly through the dark. She moves as fast and as far as she can, but in the blackness she keeps running into things. Her knee cap prevents her from running, her back hunches her over, her side makes every step sting. She holds her right hand with her left to stop the bleeding, and as a result she can't use either to summon any fire to guide her. She is tumbling through the darkness when she hears it.
A distant, drawn out, two-tone whistle. 'Whew-whew.' Then a voice calling to her.
"Azula. A-zul-a? Come out, come out, wherever you are."
The high pitch first whistle that seemed to last forever, followed immediately by the low, quick pitch second one.
Azula limps further into the dark. She has no idea where she's going.
"Remember: No bending."
High pitch blowing. Then the next. Getting louder.
"C'mere little bird. I'm gonna set you free!"
Azula trips and falls through something wooden. She climbs to her feet and keeps going. In the darkness she couldn't read it saying, 'KEEP OUT!'
The first blow of the whistle sounds like it's right behind her. The second blow is practically in her ear.
She hyperventilates again, unable to breathe properly. In the smallest tinge of purple light, she spots it just in time. Azula stops all of her momentum at the edge of a deep, massive drop. A huge empty space. It's like a well of darkness, the very end of the world itself. She turns around and in that same dark light she sees the reaper appear before her. Zirin comes into the clearing and stands before her, spinning the blade in her hand. She whispers to the Dragon Empress.
"Welcome to where you're going."
Azula stands with her back to the drop, crying uncontrollably. She sobs and sticks a hand out defensively. Trying to keep the brunette away from her. Smiling wickedly, Zirin whispers to her, "Oh, Azula. Don't cry. C'mere baby. I'll make all the pain go away."
Azula sobs and retracts her hand. She balls her fists. Through tears and through the dark light she looks at her girlfriend. The person who has stood beside her loyally for so much. She shakes her head and sees only a villain now. She furrows her brow and channels her rage. She whimpers, "I'm… I'm… I'm gonna kill you."
Pursing her lips and smiling condescendingly, Zirin tells her, "Oh, of course you are. So go ahead, take your best shot."
Zirin raises her arms up and out, extended out to her sides. She offers Azula a free shot at her. The former Crown Princess looks on in shock and horror. She knows it's a trap, yet she has nowhere to go. Nowhere to run. She looks back over her shoulder at the drop. She turns back and looks at those familiar black eyes.
When Azula doesn't attack, Zirin slowly lowers her arm. She tightens her grip on the hilt of her knife. She mutters low, almost under her breath, "I hope that you burn."
Zirin steps forward and swings her knife at Azula's neck. The Dragon Empress does the only thing she can. She falls backwards into darkness.
Azula fell from the sky.
She saw Zirin lunge at her and she went right over the edge to avoid it. She didn't have anywhere else to go after all. As she fell she saw the face of her lover shrink away quickly. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. She fell for almost three full seconds. In that brief time she believed she would hit the ground and die instantly. She tried to use the fire in her feet to rocket herself up, but she couldn't feel it. She couldn't feel the fire coursing through her veins. Suddenly she splashed down and her momentum took her further down below. A liquid quickly filled her lungs. The water began rocking her back and forth.
It was natural, having just seen her life flash before her eyes, that she now contemplates death. She wonders if it would be better or easier to just stay down and let the water wash over her. Could she just be carried away by the water? Could it be easier than living? Was this better than facing the wrath of Zirin's blade? She thought about all of these things and more. She could've stayed right there and died. But something stopped her though.
Was she fated for something more? Perhaps. Or perhaps it was just self-preservation.
She rose up.
By some grace of Agni there happened to be a metal landing of sorts not far. She swam her way to it, pulled herself up out of the water, and rolled onto her back, trying to breathe. She was stranded and completely alone. She was injured and her lungs filled with water. Nevertheless, she rose up.
She looked to the sky and rose up.
Zirin steps forward and swings her knife at Azula's neck. The Dragon Empress does the only thing she can. She falls backwards into the darkness. Zirin, shocked, leans forward. She watches her disappear into nothing. She waits to hear a 'thud' that never comes. She doesn't hear anything. She steps back away from the drop.
"Oh Agni," she huffs. Turning around she calls back, "Yakone!"
Coming closer to her the man yells back, "What?"
Knowing this won't end well she asks anyway, "Can you still feel her? Is she dead?"
He walks through the darkness towards the voice, "Is she dead? You don't know?"
Sighing, Zirin replies, "She… fell."
"Fell where?" He gets closer.
"Down some hole thing, I don't know."
"Wait," he says, arriving. "That thing goes all the way to the bottom. We haven't even begun any real work down there yet."
Shrugging, Zirin asks him, "Well is she dead? Can you sense her?"
He shakes his head, "No, I can't sense her."
"So she's dead then, yeah?"
"Or she's out of my range. That drop is like 12 stories or more. I can control at a distance, but not so great when it comes to different heights."
"I need to confirm it. I'm gonna go down there."
"She's dead, kid. No one could survive a fall like that."
Zirin begins walks away. She insists, "I need to confirm it."
"Listen to me," he says. Suddenly her legs stop moving. "I'm in charge now, and I'm telling you, she's dead."
He lets her go and she almost falls down. She turns back to him furious but trying to bargain. "So let's get the body and confirm it. I'll cut her head off just like you asked and we can make it a trophy for anyone who opposes us."
"If she hit the ground down there then her whole body is mush now. She's gone, and so is my trophy. All because you wanted to play with your food."
"Me? If you had just paid attention a few seconds longer she wouldn't have escaped."
"Enough," he commands. "This conversation is over. I entertained you and your little ginger girlfriend in your revenge game. Now it's time for business. No more bullshit."
Zirin huffs and wants to fight back. She doesn't say anything so he says, "Now you go home and tell your girls that you're in charge now, and that you all work for me."
He turns and walks past her. Zirin asks, "And where are you going?"
"I'm gonna go get the word?"
"What word?"
As he disappears into the shadows he replies, "I'm gonna tell the world how the last dragon is dead."
It's late in the evening and the rumors have spread quickly. Like a forest fire engulfing all of Republic City, the people whisper to one another. Some raise toasts to the death of a demon with no face, while others are devastated by the loss of someone who helped the poor. The upper class have not heard yet, people like the Chief of Police, or the Avatar or his wife. The rumors haven't reached them yet. It won't take much longer before a RCPD officer catches wind of it and passes it up the chain. Some are crediting the newcomer, Yakone, for it, while others say it was an inside job. A power play made by those under her. Reactions and facts are mixed up already, creating a swirl of confusion and conflicting stories. They all have one thing in common though: The Dragon Empress is dead.
Along the docks of Yue Bay, a stranger hobbles along with a bad knee. This woman in her late 20's pulls a dark, wet cloak tight around herself. She has no money on her so she can't afford a ferry out of town. She approaches a fisherman and appeals to his humanity, begging him to let her stowaway on his boat for safety.
He asks for coin or anything of value she has. She tells him she has nothing. He tells her to get lost. She hides her face and approaches another. Before she can even finish asking, the man yells that she's a prostitute and to get away. She can't attack him or draw any attention to herself so she hobbles away. At this point she would trade her empire for a boat. She wanders away and feels completely lost.
Going to the police will result in her arrest, or worse: drawing attention to her location for Zirin or Yakone. She can't turn to her Kemurikage or Fire Warriors because they belong to Zirin. She doesn't know that she can trust the Red Lotus for the same reasons. They valued her because she had power. If Zirin controls her empire, then she has no allies to turn to now. A scuffle of feet behind her alerts her to the presence of another.
"Ma'am, what are you doing down here? Is everything alright?"
The port authority tries to look in her eyes but she shields them, turning away from him. "I'm fine. I'm just…"
"I saw you limping. Do you need any help?"
Azula licks her lips and gulps. She sweats and worries. She doesn't answer. The man before her can tell something is wrong. He stands up tall. He asks her with a commanding voice, "Ma'am, do you have any identification on you?"
Another patter of feet draws close.
"I-"
"Sorry about that, B'jing! She's with me."
An older man, short and portly, wraps an arm around her bruised and damaged shoulders and starts leading her away. Azula's cloak blocks her view. When she looks at him, his head is turned back to look at the port authority.
Shocked by this, B'jing asks him, "Lin?"
"All my fault," Lin shouts back. "I shouldn't have left her alone. This is my niece, Taiyah."
"Eh?" B'jing shouts back to him as they hobble away. "I didn't know you had a niece?"
Laughing, Lin shouts, "I'm a man of many surprises!"
Finally satisfied, Lin turns and gives a sideways glance at Azula. They step cautiously, carefully away from B'jing. "C'mon, Empress. We should get you out of here before word spreads about a dead woman walking around the pier."
He looks down at her holding her hand and sees a lot of blood. He can feel her limping at his side, wincing with each step. He tacks on, "I've got a healer on board. Nothing special, but she'll get the job done."
Lin's boat bounces against the waves as they progress through the night, hours out of Yue Bay. Azula finally leaves the healer's attention, with a slight limp still. She no longer wants to collapse with every step. Her shoulders are stiff and painful, but not overwhelmingly so. Finally, the healer had stopped the bleeding in her hand, but warned her that she may have a permanent scar in her palm. She walks across the familiar boat and heads towards the aft. Lin loves this boat because the wheelhouse is starboard. She finds the familiar face and he smiles at her as she enters.
She offers, "I don't know how I could ever repay you."
He smirks but keeps his eyes on the sea, "You know, I said that to you once. I guess this makes us even."
Azula sits down behind him. She tells him, "They took everything from me, Lin. They almost killed me."
"Aye, but they didn't, did they?"
She closes her eyes and rests her head on the paneling in the wheelhouse. "What am I without my titles, Lin? If I'm not a symbol?"
Despite the heaviness of the moment, Lin remains upbeat. He keeps steering but replies, "You're still the Dragon Empress, Azula. Perhaps the dragon just needs to rest for a little?"
Azula doesn't answer. She's not sure if he means she should sleep or if he means more seriously that she should lay low. 'Probably both,' she thinks. Lin hums to himself while reminiscing. He tells her with a smile, "All I know is that the world is too small for a woman like Azula to simply disappear. No matter how deep she chooses to sink."
Azula opens her eyes. Those words echoed across time and space. He had said them to her before, in a different place and setting. She rises up and stands beside him, watching the night passing. After letting the silence between them settle, he asks her, "Azula?"
"Lin?"
"Can I offer you some free advice?"
"I'll happily take your counsel."
"If you intend to go after Zirin and this, um, Yakone, then you should start by digging three graves."
"Three graves?" Azula asks, truly confused. He nods.
"One for each of them, and one for yourself," he explains. The thought crashes down on her. "If you go after them, even if you succeed, you'll just end up killing yourself along the way. Revenge will consume you."
"So what then? Just let them win?"
"They'll get theirs in due course, I'm sure of it," he says, looking at her sideways. "Let them."
Azula nods. She knows there is much wisdom in what he's said. She asks him, "What should I do now, Lin? Where do I go from here?"
He looks back out at the sea and hums again. "We're chartered for a small fishing village off the coast of the Si Wong Desert. I suggest you cross it and seek refuge in Ba Sing Se. You've had some success there before."
She chuckles. "That was many moons ago."
"You could disappear into the masses. Your brother and uncle did that once, if rumors are to be believed."
"Zuko and Iroh?" She asks but then she recalls. She remembers finding them hiding in the city.
"Yes, Empress." He replies.
Azula gives him a look, and then without another word she exits. She limps to the edge of the boat and stares out at the passing landscape. Her hand wrapped in bandages and nursing her injuries. Defeated, dethroned, and 'dead' to the world outside of Lin and his crew. She thinks about Zuko and her uncle. She thinks about Zirin and Yakone. She thinks about Ba Sing Se. She thinks about many things.
She decides where she will go.
Ty Lee wasn't really sleeping anyway. She hadn't the night before either.
She'd hung Ruki out in the forest a few miles from the village and then returned home. Word had arrived earlier in the morning from Republic City. Suki pulled Ty Lee into the dojo and told her it had happened. The rumors were spreading all over the city. Suki said three words and Ty Lee was hollow inside.
"Azula is dead."
They'd killed her, but Ty Lee got Ruki. Now she knows they'll send someone. But Ty Lee didn't tell Suki that. Not yet at least. Maybe it's shock or fear, but she didn't say anything yet. Suki had sent her home for a few days, to cope with the news. So she had nothing but time to wait, and if someone else is going to come for her, she almost wants them to come.
She'll kill them.
She'll kill them all.
She'll kill everyone for what they did to her.
Lying awake in bed she hears a clatter outside. Rising from her bed instantly she exits her room. She lays low and approaches a window in the hallway. She looks out the back and sees nothing. She silently steps towards the other side and peaks out the front-facing window. Nothing again.
Carefully and quietly she descends her stairs, wielding one of her Kyoshi fans. As she nears the bottom she hears something else. It's right outside her door, off to the side. She wonders if someone is trying to break in. She tries to think how quickly the Kemurikage would've gotten word that Ruki was dead. The only logical explanation is that another girl on Kyoshi was a spy for them and had found Ruki hanging and sent a messenger hawk.
Ty Lee quietly opens the front door. She slinks out, careful to remain silent and focused. She listens to a rustling on the side of her home. It's close, almost within reach. There's a lamp above the side, providing light. She sees a small shadow around a corner, and the noise is close. She steels herself and steadies her breathing. In one fluid motion she spins around the corner and whips the fan out.
No one is there.
A tiny patter of noise down low approaches her. Out of the shadows a small, thin, orange cat approaches. The 'intruder' was an alleycat, knocking things over outside her house. The cat stops at her feet and looks up at her.
"Meow!"
Ty Lee holds the fan out a second longer and then sighs heavily. She leans forward and extends the fan towards it. The cat sniffs the tip of it briefly before rubbing its face against it, using the fan as a makeshift scratcher. Ty Lee smiles, glad to have been wrong about the attacker.
"Good girl," she whispers, giving it a scratch on the top of it's head.
She stands back up to her fullest height. Without the fan or hand to pet her, the cat turns and wanders away. Ty Lee watches it go and exhales the breath she'd been holding in. She turns to go back into her home.
Two steps behind, standing at her door in the dark of night, covered in bandages and tattered clothes, is Azula.
A/N: Some notes for the end of this chapter to clarify things. Azula fell into the water in the pro-bending arena. Would the water realistically be there while they're still building it? Maybe not? But oh well. Also, I took creative liberty with Yakone's bloodbending. He showed in canon that by 128 AG (about 15 years after this chapter ends) that he could control Aang & a whole room of people from like miles away. So I made a caveat that because she was physically beneath him, it was harder. Anyway, I hope you liked it. That's the end of Book 1. If you're not following me on twt then I have some big news! I got a new job! And I moved across the country! Exciting! But it has completely derailed my writing. I was almost done Chapter 2 of Book 2 when I got the offer and I've written maybe 300 words in 6 weeks. I had originally planned to keep posting Book 2 right away, but now I don't really have anything to post. Therefore, we're going to take a little break before Book 2 comes out. I'm sorry to everyone who is disappointed, but I promise it will be worth it! I *will* make it up to all of you! This chapter's OST is "Light of the Seven" by Ramin Djawadi.
Love always. Tyzula forever.
Notorious