Chapter Twenty-Two: Showdown
It was the last stages of planning. Azula, Ty Lee, Mai, Zuko, and the Dai Li were standing near the chamber where Azula had arranged the meeting. Of course, the Avatar didn't know the meeting was arranged, but Azula knew where the passage would appear.
"Are you sure about this, Azula?" asked Ty Lee.
"Yes, I'm sure of it," said Azula in irritation as she turned a red feathered arrow over in one hand. "We can't get rid of the Avatar today. So instead we'll get him to leave of his own accord, then give him an incentive to come back and fall into our trap later.
"We'll have to stick around Ba Sing Se for a while to arrange the occupation anyway."
"Why can't we get rid of him today?" asked Mai.
"Because the time loop doesn't work that way," said Azula. "Very specific things have to happen.
"Now get into hiding, they're coming." She looked up to Zuko. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," said Zuko. "I'm fine."
They got to their places. Soon enough, the wall came down, and Aang and Uncle entered. They had, apparently, been having a conversation of some kind. At once, Aang took a stance with his staff.
Azula waved. "Hello, Avatar. Uncle, so glad you could make it."
"Azula," said Uncle.
"Where's Katara!" shouted Aang, sending a wave of air.
Azula leaped aside easily. "No need for that. I'm just here to talk."
"What are you doing in Ba Sing Se?!" shouted Aang.
Azula considered that. "Well, I think I just took over the entire city and imprisoned all your friends. But when you do something, routinely you sometimes don't remember them.
"Yeah, I'm confident they're all in prison."
"Let them go!" shouted Aang.
"Why do you think I want to talk with you?" asked Azula. "It certainly isn't for your winning personality. You have one conversation with me, and I may just release them. And if I break the deal, you and I have a showdown like nothing happened.
"What do you have to lose?"
There was silence. Azula wondered if she'd have to start over. Soon enough, though, Aang lowered his staff. When had she started thinking of him as Aang? "Fine. Talk?"
How to begin? Azula realized she hadn't rehearsed any of this. "...Do you believe in destiny, Avatar?"
"Yeah, of course," said Aang. "I'm the Avatar. I'm supposed to restore balance."
"And I'm supposed to conquer Ba Sing Se," said Azula.
"No, you aren't," said Aang.
"Uh, yes I am," said Azula in irritation. "I literally got a visit from the Moon Spirit telling me that if I don't conquer Ba Sing Se the world ends."
"What?" said Aang.
Azula corrected herself. "Well, it doesn't end. But the war never stops."
"What do you mean?" asked Aang. "You mean I fail to defeat the Firelord?"
"It doesn't matter if you do or not," said Azula with a shrug. "You don't really think the Fire Nation will give up because you kill Father, do you?"
Aang flinched. Why was he flinching? "I… I don't want to kill him."
Azula was dumbstruck. Why would someone not want to kill their enemies? "…You don't? Then how are you planning to take him out of the equation? By giving him a strong talking to?"
And then he rose up and looked like he was trying to look wise. "We air nomads have a belief that all life is sacred, even the tiniest spiderfly. I've never killed anyone in my entire life, and I'm not going to start now."
He probably thought he sounded wise. He only sounded pretentious. Not to mention hypocritical. "Okay, one, you killed an entire fleet at the North Pole. All of whom had less blood on their hands than Father. Two, you killed hundreds of soldiers when you buried them beneath an avalanche of snow. You know, during the battle at the Northern Air Temple.
"They slowly suffocated to death." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Or maybe they froze. I'm not really sure which one would happen first."
Aang stared. "I… I didn't mean to…"
"Doesn't matter what you meant to do," said Azula. "Whether you stab someone in the face with a knife or throw them into the sea to drown, you still killed them.
"Anyway, the point is that this war is not going to end by talking. Either you crush the Fire Nation, or the Fire Nation will conquer the world. There is no compromise."
"But don't you see that this war is horrible!" said Aang. "People are getting killed! Dragged off to prisons!"
"It's a means to an end," said Azula. "My brother has seen the Earth Kingdom first hand. Frankly, I'm not sure I could run the place any worse if I tried. And even if I didn't think the Fire Nation was just, I would still fight for it.
"What do you think will happen to the Fire Nation if the Earth Kingdom wins?"
"I don't want to destroy the Fire Nation!" said Aang. "I just want things back the way they're supposed to be! The nations are meant to be separate but equal! A harmony."
Azula laughed. "You want to know a secret, Avatar? Harmony is a lie. The world is a series of competing interests. Even if you were to force the nations into peace, they would still go at each other's throats in other ways.
"And really, you're pretending like the Fire Nation is the only one at fault."
"You were the one who started the war!" said Aang.
"Do you believe that because you know it?" asked Azula. "Or do you believe it because that's what our enemies told you?"
"The Avatar Roku said-" began Aang.
"Roku was our enemy!" snapped Azula. "He forced our nation only a small rocky island! Our population was growing, and there wasn't enough farmland. If Sozin hadn't created the colonies, we'd have started starving to death in a few generations.
"At best we'd have had to buy food to stay alive." She was exaggerating, of course, much of that was propaganda. No sense in not using it, though. "Given a choice between glory and diminishment, we chose glory.
"In any case, if the Earth Kingdom conquers the Fire Nation, what do you think they'll do?"
"Go home," said Aang.
He really was very dim, wasn't he? "Wow, you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, don't you? The Earth Kingdom will want revenge for a century of war. They'll keep garrisons to terrorize our citizens to an even greater extent than we do to them. They'll exact huge amounts of tribute, rob our most sacred sights and try to stamp out our culture.
"And they'll use you as justification."
"The Earth Kingdom wouldn't do something like that," said Aang, getting preachy again. "Revenge is wrong. The Earth King-"
Azula scoffed. "Is a helpless puppet. He's never actually made any the decisions until a few days ago. His advisors would do all the work."
"I'd stop it," said Aang.
"So you'd side with the Fire Nation then?" asked Azula.
"What, no," said Aang.
"Because if the Earth Kingdom occupies the Fire Nation, it's them or us," said Azula. "Zuko and I won't let them. Maybe they kill us, and maybe they crush the Fire Nation.
"But then, the Avatar fails, doesn't he?"
"What do you mean?" asked Aang.
"Think about it," said Azula. "If the Earth Kingdom enslaves the Fire Nation, maybe things get better for the rest of the world. But the Fire Nation will hate you even more. And this time they will have a very real grievance.
"We'll drive out the Earth Kingdom sooner or later.
"And when we do, we'll want revenge. The war will never end. And the Avatar will be discredited. The whole point of your office is to be outside the system to mediate. But if you've taken the Earth Kingdom's side, it's just one more battle in the war.
"Unless you plan to do to us what Sozin did to the Air Nomads?"
Aang was silent. "No, of course not. So, you're saying that we should have the leaders sit down and talk?"
"What? No!" said Azula in horror. "My Father will never settle for anything less than total victory. He'd only negotiate as a means to stall until Sozin's Comet. Then he'd rip up any treaty we sign."
Aang remained silent. "So what do we do?"
"At what point during this discussion did we become friends?" asked Azula. "I'm merely laying out the fact. You can triumph over Firelord Ozai. But you can't do it at the head of an Earth Kingdom Army. It has to be the Avatar who defeats the Fire Nation, or it won't make any difference at all. Not the Earth Kingdom, not the Water Tribe. You."
"Why do you care about this?" asked Aang.
Azula sighed. "...It's a been a long day. I'm trapped in this day. Every morning I wake up, and it's this morning. Nothing I do has let me escape.
"But now I know,
"I have to conquer Ba Sing Se. I have to do this, or all the blood that has been shed by all the factions in this war will have been for nothing."
"I won't let you," said Aang.
"If you attack me, I'm not letting any of your friends go," said Azula flatly. "If you attack me, you'll have to fight me, and then you'll have to fight the Dai Li. And even then, you might never find your friends.
"See, Katara isn't here anymore. I knew Toph would find her. So as soon as you broke up, I had her moved.
"I've already arranged for them all to be moved somewhere very safe.
Katara told me during one of our sessions that you spent weeks looking for that Bison of yours. Do you think you'll be able to find all of your friends? By yourself? And can you be sure they'll survive long enough for you to rescue them?"
"I…" Aang paused.
"The answer is no, of course," said Azula. "Your bison was just a curiosity. But some of the great threats to the Fire Nation? The personal companions of the Avatar?
"Well, if I were captured, the guards might get ideas."
"You're a horrible person!" said Aang.
And time to change the stakes. "…Just for that, I'm keeping Katara."
"What?" said Aang.
"You heard me," said Azula. "My offer has changed. You get Sokka and Toph back, but I keep Katara with me as insurance. A hostage to prevent you from interfering again.
"Of course if you accept my offer now, you might just be able to rescue her later. I promise you; she will be safe and whole.
"Do you want to keep playing this game? Or should I knock someone else off the list?"
Aang remained silent. "I… fine. Fine, give me my friends back."
"Good." said Azula, drawing the arrow from her belt."There is a waterfall that leads up to the outside world. Take this red feathered arrow. When the lookouts see it, they'll know I've ordered your friends returned.
"Now get out of my city."
Aang took it and walked away. Then he turned around and sent a wave of air at her. It slammed her against a wall, and Azula fell to one knee. Earth rose up to hold her in place.
"Where. Is. Katara?!" shouted Aang.
"You ungrateful brat. We had a deal." snapped Azula.
And then a surge of fire nearly took Aang's head off. He surged back as Zuko rushed at him. Whips of flames slashed at the Avatar. Azula summoned her fire and broke out.
"I think you'll find the Avatar's word isn't worth much, Azula," said Zuko.
"Zuko!" said Aang.
Azula and Zuko rushed at him in synchronization. Aang dodged and weaved, but wasn't given a chance to move. Finally, he was cornered.
"This is where it ends for you, Avatar," said Zuko.
Both sent a wave of flame at the Avatar, but Uncle landed and knocked it aside. "Zuko, stop this, quickly! You don't know what you're doing!" "I know exactly what I'm doing!" shouted Zuko. "He's the enemy of the Fire Nation! Why are you standing between him and me?"
"The Avatar is essential to the world's balance," said Iroh. "He must survive. Zuko, your destiny is-"
"I've heard just about enough of this," said Azula.
She snapped her fingers to summon the Dai Li. Then she fired a bolt of lightning straight at Uncle. As she did, she reflected she might regret doing this later. Still, he hadn't been on the list of essential personnel.
Uncle caught the lightning bolt and redirected it into a nearby wall. There was a crack as splinters of crystal were thrown into the air.
And then the fight happened.
Katara wasn't here this time, only the Avatar and Uncle. They blasted the Dai Li away, but the result was never really in question. Uncle and the Avatar knocked dozens of Dai Li agents away. But then Mai appeared. Her daggers pinned Uncle to a wall, and Ty Lee touched his chakra points, sending him unconscious.
Aang was forced against a wall as the Dai Li were all around him. At last, the Avatar was cornered. And no one was here to bail him out like last time.
"Trapped like a rat," said Mai.
"I'm sorry, Katara…" said Aang.
He summoned crystals around himself like usual. Azula wasn't worried. She knew exactly how this ended. "You know, it's kind of funny. Wherever I go in this wretched nation, I hear people whisper about you, Avatar. Always hushed, as if you were some kind of god. Some all-knowing, benevolent force.
"But what you did just back there? "That showed me the truth.
"You're just a spoiled little brat who thinks the world revolves around him. A self-obsessed prodigy who's been coddled so much he's yet to realize something as basic as lying being bad."
Mai, Ty Lee, and Zuko stared at her. Azula looked up. "…What?"
"I think you're projecting, Azula," said Ty Lee.
"I don't lie!" said Azula.
Dead silence as a glow emanated from the crystals. Azula had to admit; they had a point. "In formal negotiation, I mean! Just all the rest of the time!"
"Whatever helps you sleep at night," said Zuko, looking away.
And then the crystals exploded, and Avatar Aang appeared in a sphere of light. Air was rushing around him en masse. The Dai Li sent waves of stones, but they were knocked away.
"Oh damn," said Zuko.
"What's that?" asked Ty Lee.
"The Avatar state," said Azula. The Avatar surged forward, sending waves of water at them. They leaped away, even as flames licked up around the cavern. Darks of smoke and fire surged throughout the chamber, as the Dai Fled.
Then a stone hit Mai, who fell backward.
"Mai!" cried Azula. "You wretched brat! I'll kill you!" Raising a hand, she sent a bolt of lightning surging toward the avatar. But as it struck the winds, it dissipated. Zuko sent waves of flame as Ty Lee tried to get near, but the power was too great.
"This isn't working," said Ty Lee.
"Dai Li! Keep him contained!" said Azula.
Zuko and Azula unleashed their flames. The Dai Li now coordinated to send wave after wave of earth. But the Avatar just kept on moving forward. It was all they could do to keep him back.
Mai struggled to her feet, limping. "What's the plan Azula?"
Azula considered that. "Well, I just hit it with a full power lightning bolt, and it just bounced off. So I'm at a bit of a loss.
"I think it's your turn Zuko."
Zuko looked to Azula, then to Uncle. "I uh, I may have an idea.
"Shoot me."
"What?" said Azula.
"Shoot me with a lightning bolt," said Zuko, pouring his power.
"Do it!"
Azula shrugged. She was probably going to have to do this day over anyway. She fired a bolt, her strongest bolt, straight at Zuko. It hit him and surged into him, but moving in a stand; he sent it straight toward the Avatar. As he redirected it, the bolt came out far larger and more powerful.
It hit the Avatar's air shield, and the shield broke. The Avatar flinched as the lightning struck him. The Dai Li's earth washed in. It slammed into the Avatar, who hit the far wall and fell to land on the ground. He was very still.
"…He might be okay," said Ty Lee.
The far end of the cavern collapsed and landed on top of the Avatar.
"Not now," said Mai.
"Dai Li, get him out of there," said Azula. "I need him alive for now."
They worked quickly, and as they did, it became apparent that Aang had lucked out. The stone had fallen in such a way, so it wedged him up.
"…Did that just uh… work?" asked Zuko.
"I think so?" said Azula.
"What did you do?" asked Mai.
"Well, I thought that since I'd be redirecting the lightning bolt, I could add a lot of my own flame to it," said Zuko. "I thought it might enhance the blast enough to break through.
"Is he dead?"
"I hope not," said Azula. "If he is I'll have to start this whole thing all over again."
"What do you mean?" asked Zuko.
"Nevermind," said Azula, moving over to his prone form. She checked his pulse. "He's alive, just barely. I guess the shield absorbed most of the shock. Dai Li, get Katara in here."
Soon enough, Katara was brought in. She immediately ran to Aang, only to be held back. "Aang!"
"In my defense, he attacked me in the middle of negotiations," said Azula. "Hang on, why am I defending myself? I'm the superior race bringing yours out of the dark ages."
"Let me heal him!" cried Katara.
"Why do you think I brought you out here?" said Azula. "Let her go. Ty Lee, stay near her.
"Oh, and don't try running. I've already got men at the top waiting. You two, go on ahead."
Katara drew out a vial of spirit water and poured it over Aang's wounds. They healed, but a scar remained. "Just so you know, Water Peasant. I was going to let most of you go alongside the Avatar. But he decided to break our deal."
"Aang would never do something like that!" said Katara.
"He agreed to become my prisoner if I spared your village," said Zuko. "He then broke the agreement as soon as I fulfilled my end of the bargain."
"Well.. that was different," said Katara.
"How?" asked Zuko.
"You would have destroyed my village if he hadn't agreed!" snapped Katara.
"No, I wouldn't have," said Zuko. "If I were willing to do that, I would have turned around and burned it down as soon as you escaped me."
Katara went still. "I… did you…"
"Of course not," said Zuko. "But if Admiral Zhao had been there everyone you grew up with would now be dead because of what Aang did."
"You're wasting your breath, Zuzu," said Azula. "Her whole self-image is based around how her pain, her loss, is the center of the universe. Aang is the theoretical solution to that. So he can do no wrong.
"It doesn't matter how many good points you make. She'll just dismiss them out of hand and make excuses. The fact that we're Fire Nation means we don't have any rights in her mind. It's okay for Aang to break his agreements with us.
"Of course, then there was that time that he lied to a spirit of knowledge about his intentions. Thereby causing one of the great wonders of the world to be lost for all time and an innocent man to be buried in the sand."
Katara stared. "How… how do you know about that?"
Azula kneeled down by her and ran a hand through her hair. "I know about far more than that, Katara. I know about how he then proceeded to scream and yell at a blind girl who had just saved his life. All because she wasn't able to save his bison from bandits at the same time.
"I've learned all sorts of things from you today." She drew near, so they were face to face. "I'm looking forward to more of them."
Then she stood up.
As she did, Katara summoned her water. But Ty Lee was quicker, and Katara fell limp. "Take her to the cell I had prepared for her," said Azula. "I was told they all had to survive. Yue never said anything about the state of said survival.
"Which means I get creative tomorrow morning."
Zuko looked at her seriously. Azula sighed as she remembered not to fall into bad habits. "Alright, fine. We'll establish a golden age of peace and prosperity for the world. Breaking the water peasant can be a side activity.
"Damn Uncle's teachings."
Zuko's eyes widened. "Uncle!"
He turned and ran back to where he had lain. But Uncle was nowhere to be found. Several Dai Li were unconscious. "He's gone.
"Why… why would he betray us?"
There wasn't anything Azula could say to that, really. She'd known this would happen. "I'm sorry, Zuko."
Author's Note:
And we are nearing the end of the loop. Enjoy.
In fairness to Aang, he had good reasons for all of his lies so far. But Azula isn't interested in being fair.
I am feeling really insecure about this update, to be honest. I keep feeling like I've screwed the whole thing up. And I don't know if it's just nerves, or my sixth sense telling me something.
Please give me your thoughts and tell me if you think this chapter fits the story so far.