A/N I feel the need to apologize for the major slow down in updates. This has been an exceedingly difficult year for me and with all the catastrophic events my anxiety and depression have been worse. That drain on my desire to write plus how busy the last few weeks have been has seen me struggling to get the words out. Perhaps the most important recent development is that during a reread to check for loose ends as I wrap this fic up, I discovered I cannot abide my cringeworthy love scenes and a few plot holes I've discovered. For a while, every time I sat down to write those flaws were all I could think about. So, I am going to be doing an edit. Nothing story altering and not every chapter so it shouldn't take long. Please don't despair, this fic is my creative baby and I will never abandon it. For everyone who has stuck with me this whole time, I am immensely grateful. My amazing beta, Excited-Insomniac has pulled me through and so I finally managed to finish this chapter. Only a few more to go! As always, I adore hearing from you, please enjoy!
Chapter 66
Azula had been anxiously pacing the deck of their small ship for the last hour. They had dropped anchor as close as they could to the massive stone dragon on the north end of the Gates of Azulon and were waiting for the signal from Zuko before they took the hidden passage to the palace. Practically beside herself with anger and fear for her half brother since they'd first seen the smoke over the city that morning, Azula was starting to worry him. Watching as she passed him for the hundredth time, Sokka sighed and reached out to grab her arm.
"Azula, stop pacing. Come here." She begrudgingly allowed him to pull her to where he stood next to Toph. "Zuko and Katara will be through the villages and on their way up to the caldera soon. I'm sure we'll see their signal any minute. You're just wasting energy and wearing a path in the deck."
She rolled her eyes and yanked her hand away. "Excuse me for being worried, in case you didn't notice my father seems to have set the whole of the Capitol on fire. My brother is out there in it and so is my uncle, and your sister who I was actually starting to like." Sokka sighed as she turned back to face the smoking city. "I just wish I knew where he was keeping baby Sozin. We might find them in the tunnels beneath the palace. Or maybe he's in the palace somewhere… I hope the burning city doesn't mean he's completely lost it, what if he decided he didn't need an heir at all anymore?"
Toph leaned against the rail beside Azula. "I don't think you need to worry about that. The people in the city, they don't matter to him, but he needs the kid. Ensuring his legacy and all that. I bet he kept some of those mercenary guys back to guard him too. He's got to be expecting a fight with Zuko. Relax, fire britches, we've got this. Your over loved up brother and his wife will take out your crazy dad and we'll save the kid."
Cringing at the mention of Zuko and Katara's less than private tent activities, Azula kept her eyes trained on the city. "I don't know how you can be so optimistic. The last time you faced him my father killed the Avatar. How can you be so sure he won't kill Zuko and Katara too?"
Joining them against the rail, shoulder to shoulder with Azula, Sokka thought about Aang. They'd been friends for a little less than two years but the young Airbender had been like a brother to him at the end. As he caught ash in his hand, he remembered watching Aang fall. Ozai had been an incredible force with the comet in the sky, but he still should have fallen to the Avatar. When he answered Azula, his voice was certain.
"That won't happen. Aang was never going to kill Ozai. He went into that fight knowing he wanted to try to save him from himself." He sighed and looked at the anxious princess beside him. "Zuko knows that isn't possible. He and Katara are going to kill your father, Azula. I'm not worried because I know what the pair of them are capable of together. There's no comet today, he has only his own skill to defend himself now."
He meant what he said. Sokka wasn't worried for his sister this time. Besides their amazing power when Katara and Zuko fought as one, they weren't going to let anything stop them from getting back to Kya. He was mildly concerned with how long it might take to find baby Sozin however. She was right, they didn't know exactly where he was being kept and time was definitely limited. There was no telling what would happen if whomever was guarding the prince decided Ozai was on the outs. Sokka wouldn't put it past the mercenaries not to take the infant prince hostage to barter their lives. If the Fire Lord had used loyal fire sages or the few stalwart loyalist officers that were likely still in the city to protect his progeny, he could be spirited away and raised under their influence only to return to challenge Zuko one day. While these thoughts may have rioted in Sokka's mind as he watched the Princess out of the corner of his eye, he wasn't about to share them with her.
A faint popping sound pulled Sokka from his thoughts and he looked up just in time to see an Earth Kingdom flare go off below the stairway to the caldera. Azula pushed back from the rail, a determined look on her face.
"There it is! That's the signal."
Sokka looked to Toph who smirked to herself before standing from the rail and heading towards the gathered firebenders.
"Allright boys, let's go save a baby!" She paused and cocked her head in the direction of one of the taller men, a slow grin forming on her face. "You, you're with me. It's Tatsuo right?"
Anything else she said to him was lost as they climbed over the side of the ship into the waiting long boat, the tall soldier helping her where she could not see. Sokka took one last look at the smoking city and offered up a quick plea to Tui and La for them all before following them over the rail. With so many rowing, they were across the water and landing on the scrap of beach below the great dragon in minutes. In even less time, they were flying up the side of the stone monolith as Toph bent the earth beneath them.
Racing through the tunnel from the gates to the palace, Sokka was reminded of the tunnels beneath Ba Sing Se. Instead of being bathed in green crystal glow however, the secret passage in the Fire Nation capital was lit with ominous flickering torches. The natural added tension of being underground was the same though, as were their goals. At least in Ba Sing Se they had had some idea of what awaited them at the other end. Not for the first time, Sokka was thankful Toph was with them. Knowing what lay around the bend would mean precious seconds to think before jumping into a fight. The rest of the tunnel was empty though as nearly a half an hour later, Azula and the other firebenders stopped running.
"We are just below the palace, I thought for sure father would have him down here. Although perhaps he guessed we might make use of this passage." Azula stepped up to the entrance and bent a concentrated jet of flame through a hardly noticeable hole in the wall. If Sokka hadn't been looking for it, he likely would have ran right past it. There was a clunking sound and the stone rolled aside revealing a dark corridor with lacquered walls and a polished floor.
"You know, I could have just blasted that open."
Sokka almost laughed as he followed his friend through to the palace hall. "Normally I'd love to see you blast apart ole Ozai's place, but as we're kind of trying to be stealthy…"
She did laugh where she crept beside him. "Ruin all my fun why don't ya. Come on Tatsuo, scout ahead with me." He watched them race ahead through the gloom to feel out what was on the other side of the smooth palace walls. Hopefully Toph would be able to get an idea of how many people were around before they started for the family wing.
Sokka laid a hand against the wall as he stood with the remaining five soldiers and Azula. No one spoke as they waited in the dim light, the silence an erie contrast to the loud sounds of suffering and death he knew were echoing in the city around them. Reaching out, Sokka closed his hand around Azula's clenched fist and squeezed gently until she relaxed her fingers against his. Her hand was warm in his and his mind wandered to untimely thoughts he'd been trying to repress. Now was not the time to be thinking about how badly he wanted to press her against the cool lacquer and kiss the worry and stress right out of her. Shaking the thought away, he leaned in.
"Just so you know," he whispered against her ear, "if anyone's gonna take a bad hit and end up the hero this time, it's definitely my turn."
She turned and gave him an odd look he didn't have time to decipher before Toph and her tall soldier were back and telling them the coast was clear. Azula's hand slid from his as she led the way to a hidden door and from there, through the maze of halls to the family wing. Sokka had never been in the palace, but they were too focused on their goal to take in the grand columns and ornate architecture.
It was strange, he thought as they crossed yet another deserted hall, there was no one in this part of the palace. Azula had said that the family wing was on the opposite end from the grand courtyards where Ozai was likely to face Zuko and Katara, but he had expected at least a few people. From the anxious tilt to her brow, Azula had thought the same.
Ahead of them, Toph finally stopped.
"Through there, I see several people." She paused. "At least six. Azula, where are we?"
"That is my father's private rooms. He must have thought he'd be safe here." Striding forward, she hesitated only a moment at the grand double door before pushing it open.
Whatever Sokka had expected to find, this was not it. There were three dead fire sages and two men in what looked to be a motley of colors lying on the ground. He knew they were dead because one was burnt to a crisp and the other two clearly had more outside than ought to be in. Two men in the same mismatched uniforms as the two dead men stood back to back surrounded by three high ranking older officers, and the only remaining fire sage. Beyond the men a young woman crouched in the corner with a screaming infant clutched to her breast. Her dress was torn at the shoulder and she looked terrified.
As soon as the door had slammed open everyone in the room had frozen. Azula looked thunderous as she surveyed the carnage and the six firebenders that stormed in behind her were no better. Sokka and Toph stood on either side of the furious princess, Toph in a bending stance and Sokka with his weapon at the ready. For a long moment the only sound was baby Sozin's screams as what was left of his guard sized up the intruders. The six who had only just been at one another's throats now seemed to weigh their odds against the unknown threat. Only one of the older officers seemed to recognize Azula but he made no move to speak. One of the two that Sokka now realized must have been mercenaries was the first to break the trance.
"Who the fuck are you?"
Azula took a step forward, her head high and her stance commanding. For a moment, Sokka was reminded of the old Azula. The girl that ordered about men three times her age with the kind of unsubtle arrogance only found in the highborn and the powerful.
"I am Princess Azula, daughter of Ozai and sister to your new Fire Lord, and I have come for my brother."
There was another pregnant pause as the mercenary that had spoken gave her an appraising look.
"That so? I heard you were alive too. You and your brother sure seem to have a knack for returning from the dead." He was cut off by the senior officer.
"Enough. The prince is staying right where he is. New Fire Lord you say? I doubt that very much young lady. Fire Lord Ozai will defeat his traitor offspring in Agni Kai and then you will all be executed for treason."
Azula clenched her fists and took a step towards the older man. "You've got one thing right. There will be executions for treason today, yours." With that, she leapt at the man, blue flames wrapped around her fists. The officer was quick to defend but all around them descended into chaos as the firebenders joined Azula in the attack.
Sokka went for the mercenary nearest him with his new sword and for an indeterminate time the rest of the room was lost to him as he focused on his foe. His leg throbbed as he forced the rough looking mercenary into a corner, the lingering scent of burnt flesh and the coppery tang of blood unsettling amid the frey. With so many combatants in such a contained space, it was unclear if the smell was from those that had been dead before their arrival or if it was fresh. The man he fought gave a gurgling cry as Sokka's blade ran him through before sliding to the floor dead as he drew back.
As soon as his first opponent was dead, Sokka turned to see how his friends were faring. Toph had the Fire Sage and the other mercenary bound in what looked to have been the metal gilding from the ostentatious door. They struggled in vain against the restraints as Toph had moved to fight beside her tall firebender. One of their soldiers sagged against the far wall, his breathing heavy as blood dripped down his arm to the floor. He looked to be their only casualty though. The remaining two officers stood, backs together against the remaining five soldiers and a smirking Toph, apparently having decided dying here was their best option.
Azula was still locked in battle with the officer who had spoken and from what Sokka could tell, she was falling behind. Although she had worked hard over the last month to improve her bending, she was still not back to her former power. Sokka had sparred with her against Zuko and Katara enough to know how to help against another firebender and so jumped to her aid. Now seeing he faced two opponents, the officer ducked through a door and onto a low balcony and down into the courtyard below.
"Princess Azula, you are a shade of what you once were." The old man shot off a barrage against each of them as he nimbly danced out of their range. "It seems that joining your pathetic brother has weakened you as well. How disappointing. You need the aid of so many others to manage fights you once could have dealt with on your own."
Sokka narrowly dodged a burst of flame as he followed Azula and the older man over the balcony rail. They needed to end this fight. He could tell the man's words were affecting Azula. She was beginning to grow erratic in her desperate need to destroy him and all of his painful reminders. The screams of baby Sozin may have faded the farther they got from Ozai's chambers, but it suddenly reminded Sokka of the last time he had fought alongside the princess and how terribly that had ended for her. Anxiety piqued, Sokka finally caught up to the pair and swung his new sword. He managed to nearly sever the officer's right arm, saving himself and Azula from a jet of flame. As their foe cried out over his devastating injury, Sokka turned to Azula.
"Don't listen to him Azula, he is trying to get to you. He doesn't know you at all." Azula's chest heaved from exertion but he thought her lip twitched as he looked down at her. "We will end this, and then we'll take your baby brother back to the ship like we planned." Sokka cast a glance over his shoulder at the still seemingly incapacitated officer before reaching out to brush the hair from her face. "I believe in you Azula."
There was a beat, just long enough for their eyes to meet before Sokka heard a grunt just behind his right side. Suddenly there was blinding, searing pain radiating from the middle of his back. As he lost consciousness, he was aware of two things. First, if he woke up he would definitely be making a move on Azula. Second, what kind of idiot turns his back on his enemy during a fight?