Title: Purely Politics
Author: Waffles 'R' Us
Word Count: 1673
Warnings: Character death and BSing of canon
Comments: Completed in 105 minutes. Fear it.
More than a dozen heads shot up as the old wooden door slammed, a sound not heard in hours, not since the storm started. All of them were curious as who would venture out into what was quickly escalating into a monsoon. A cloaked figure made their way to the counter, slapping down a few coins, they walked off with a mug of ale and slid into a seat at a table in the far corner. Two of the more curious men walked over and sat in the seats opposite from the new arrival.
The stranger looked up, and took down their hood, revealing a damp, dark brown braid and clear blue eyes. It was a woman, something not often seen in the small local tavern. The older man, looking to be around twenty, was the first to speak, "Milady, what's a woman like you doing around a place like this in such a nasty storm?"
His younger companion asked a question as well. "Yeah, people like you aren't common 'round here."
She raised an eyebrow, "People like me?"
"Women people. Now, answer our question."
The stranger looked up mischievously, clearly pointing out she had a tale to tell, as she muttered, "I've found that after what I did, it's better to travel and keep a low profile, but I got caught in the rain and now I need to wait it out. It's as simple as that."
"You're not from around here, are you? Not a Fire Nation citizen."
"You would be right there, even though this was originally an Earth Kingdom city. By the name of Bai Seng Sei, I believe. Never have been, never will be. I suppose soon enough I'll be killed, along with the other people in my tribe, and those of the Earth Kingdom as well. I've survived the first round of killings, but that means nothing, now does it?"
The first man's companion decided it was his turn to speak up and countered, "Are you planning on telling us exactly what you did? Or must we guess? Who are you anyway?"
The woman raised in eyebrow in disbelief, "In a hurry, are we? All in good time, my dear boys. All in good time. Now, correct me if I'm mistaken, but isn't it proper etiquette to introduce one's self before asking another's name?" After the men named themselves as Jiro and Daichi, the woman continued. "Very good, you two, but I will not give my name. Not yet, anyways. Now, do you really want to hear my story? It starts four long years ago, one year before the fire lord won his war."
Jiro shrugged and rested his chin on his folded hands as he looked the woman in her clear blue eyes, "Well, now that you've told us that, I think we're even more interested."
"Yeah! What he said," Daichi chimed in.
She smiled softly, "Very well. It all started when I was fourteen and still living in the South Pole. My brother and I "accidentally" discovered the Avatar."
"How can you accidentally discover something?"
"I knew he was there the whole time. It was all a set-up. Of course, everyone else was clueless."
Daichi was lost. "How did you know where he was? Hadn't the fire nation been searching for decades?"
"No, they'd been pretending to look. They found him in that iceberg about twenty years before I was born. They were waiting for the right time. My mother was entrusted with 'finding' him. Yet, she was accidentally killed in a raid on our village. So, she passed on the duty to me."
"Wait, why would the Fire Nation hire someone from the Water Tribes?"
"Well, no one would notice a defenseless woman who was supposedly anti-Fire Nation. I was paid quite handsomely when the deed was done, actually. Any other questions?"
"No, not really."
"None here."
"That's good." She took a deep breath and continued her tale, "So, we took the avatar back to our village and introduced him and everything. Now, he and I went penguin sledding and he noticed the ship that was strategically placed there ages ago. Of course, I used reverse psychology to make him go in there. I was, in fact, the person who led us and our penguins down there. And then I told him we weren't supposed to go inside the ship. Of course, he did the opposite. Now, he could've noticed the trap I had set in there, but I had distracted him so he would set it off."
"You're a devious young girl, aren't you?"
"So I've been told." Her wide grin showed brightly on her dark face.
Jiro rolled his eyes, laughing, "And you're proud of this?"
"Of course. Now be quiet and pay attention," she snapped, bringing attention back to the story. "Now, the trap I made him set off helped notify a certain Prince Zuko that the avatar had been found. Of course, Zuko wasn't in the whole thing, it was just pure luck. But one of his crew members was in on it and told the late Commander Zhao, who was also in on it. All three are dead now. Zhao in the seige on the North Pole, Zuko in a fight with his sister, who was also in on it, and the crew member was executed personally by Zhao, under order of Lord Ozai. He knew too much."
"This flashback keeps getting more and more gruesome."
"I agree."
The woman snickered softly, "You haven't seen anything yet."
Jiro frowned, "So you'd better start talking. Continue."
The woman shrugged and started up again, "So there was a fight I had with Sokka when I was trying to get the avatar to take me with him. It didn't work. He told me I should stay with my family. Everything was alright in the end though, when Zuko came to capture him. I convinced Sokka to help me 'rescue' him. Now, remember, Zuko's crew was in on this. They actually let us escape, but let Zuko think they tried to stop us."
"So, basically everything was a huge lie. What about the trip to master all of the elements?" Daichi was clearly confused.
She shrugged, "Well, we needed something to keep the avatar busy until summer. We couldn't have him ruining Lord Ozai's plans, now could we? So we led him on a wild turkey-goose chase all over the world. The only reason he found a firebender willing to teach him was because they were in on the plot."
Jiro couldn't help but interrupt, "Was the whole world in on this conspiracy?"
She smiled a crooked smile and said, "Well, clearly you two didn't know about it."
"True enough. Go on."
"So now we've made it to the big climax, three years ago. When summer finally came around, we let the avatar think he was ready to fight the fire lord. Palace guards were even told to pretend to lose so he could get straight to Lord Ozai. When we got to the throne room, the tables turned. The Princess Azula grabbed Sokka and he was dead before he could even take a breath."
"So your own brother's dead now?"
"He was less a brother, more a pawn by this point."
"You sick, sick woman."
The lady was practically beaming as she applauded herself, "I know. Now, a few guards grabbed my arms, pretending to be poised to kill me. This drove the avatar crazy with anger. He lunged at the fire lord, but our ruler effortlessly dodged the attack. The signal was given and I pounced on the avatar, holding him down so he couldn't interfere with the harnessing of the comet's power."
Daichi muttered as he tried his best to keep up, "So... You betrayed your friend for a sack of money?"
She looked at him incredulously, "Are you dense? He wasn't really my friend. It was my duty to make him think he was, just so he wouldn't stop the fire lord. The whole thing has been planned out for a long time. It was my destiny!"
Daichi cowered under her fierce gaze, wide-eyed as he apologized, "I'm sorry. I'll be quiet now."
She gave him a look and started up again, "So I really suppose the rest is history. Lord Ozai took over the world, and began his ten-year plan to wipe out the other nations. He's done pretty well considering he's not even halfway through it."
Jiro stroked his chin and questioned, "So, what happened to this avatar kid? Did you keep him alive so you wouldn't have to track down the next incarnation?"
She had to laugh at this. "That's really funny. Why would we keep him alive? No avatar will ever be able to restore balance. I killed him personally. It was a quick death, he didn't suffer... too much. Anyways, let's move on. Do either of the two of you have more questions?"
They shook their heads in unison as they stared at her, amazed.
She shrugged and stood up, pulling up her hood once more. Standing up, she bid the men farewell and made her way to the door.
Jiro stood up in protest, "Wait! You can't go out into that storm. It's practically suicide! And you never told us your name."
She smirked, a sign that she was laughing somewhere on the inside. "My dear boys, it doesn't matter where I go. I'm going to die. I'll be killed among those of my true-born nation, the same people I betrayed. As for my name, it's Katara. Not that you'll see it in any history scrolls very soon. This will be the last you ever see or hear of me again. Good bye."
Without another word, she disappeared out the door and into the pouring rain.
"Whoa... Lichi nut?"
"Be quiet, Daichi."