Azula wouldn't admit it to anyone as it could be seen as a weakness, but when the solar eclipse came and took her bending, she felt humbled. She took great pride in her skills as a bender, having trained under masters and hailed as a prodigy since her childhood, and to have that integral part of her life removed from her even for a moment was scary. It was a power that was hers alone and that acknowledged her as the best, and she felt lost without it.
What would happen if the loss of bending was made permanent? What would her worth be then? Would her father still acknowledge her? Would anyone follow her?
She saw how those without power were treated. Her brother, Zuko, was powerless in his childhood and their father was cold towards him. And while their mother loved Zuko for his weakness, even her love didn't make her stay with Zuko.
Power was the only certainty in their family. In their world. It called for admiration and fear, attraction and submission. Everything else was secondary.
Still, the past few months have been an experience for Azula. After conquering Ba Sing Se and returning home, she thought that Mai and Ty Lee would leave her as there was nothing else she required of them. But they stayed. Though while Mai may have also stayed because of Zuko, Ty Lee didn't need any prodding from Azula to remain. They chose to stay.
"Your Highness." The voice of a middle-aged general broke Azula from her musings.
No matter, such thoughts can be addressed later. A victory was needed to be overseen.
"Go on, General Shinu." Azula consented, recognizing the general at the foot of the platform.
"The submersible ships the invasion used to infiltrate our defenses have been destroyed by our airships. Their remaining forces have attempted to mount a last stand but eventually, majority succumbed to our forces and surrender en masse." General Shinu began his report, his tone professional but Azula could see a satisfaction straining at his face.
"Among those captured are some notable captives, namely: Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe, some Earth Kingdom commanders, and one called The Mechanist." General Shinu continued, listing of the few individuals of some political importance.
"It was only a matter of time until that traitor was finally captured." Azula heard the war minister comment from where he stood on the side.
"There only seems to be a small group that escaped. The soldiers reported seeing a flying bison fly away before they could get to it. We don't know who was on it." General Shinu finished his report, giving a small bow of his head towards Azula.
'So the Avatar runs away with his tail tucked between his legs. How pathetic. And to think he thought to face father in battle.' Azula derided in her mind, mocking the weakness she saw in him.
"Looks like the Avatar once again escapes our grasp. A shame." Azula simply responds in a casual manner, silently enjoying the shock that took everyone's faces in the throne room.
"T-the Avatar?! I thought he was killed by Prince Zuko in Ba Sing Se!" Shinu exclaimed, surprised at the apparent lie told by the Crown Prince.
'I'm sorry Zuzu. But I did ask you if you were sure the Avatar wouldn't survive that attack.' Azula thought with a smirk.
"It seems that my brother wasn't as strong as he thought. It's no matter either way. They're alone now. We can hunt them down after finishing up here." Azula assured the commanders before her, whom she saw slightly relax their stances.
Suddenly, heavy and quick footfalls echoed throughout the throne room. Azula and the other generals looked towards the entrance and saw a Fire Nation soldier running quickly to the throne, panting heavily and with sweat on his face.
"Y-your Highness. G-general Iroh has escaped from prison." The soldier reported in his exhausted voice, though still forcing himself to bow respectfully towards Azula.
Azula could see shock return to her commanders faces at the news. Personally, she didn't care much for her uncle. What could he do now anyway? He might have been a great bender back then but now he was just an old man against a triumphant Fire Nation.
This was a victory that took precedence over her uncle. It was as much hers as her father's and his generals' after all. She provided the information and the idea of the plan. She deserved to revel in its aftermath.
"Prepare a group to hunt down my uncle but wait for my father. He'll want to handle this directly." Azula ordered, to which the soldier nodded in acknowledgement before walking away.
Azula continued to listen to the reports and discussions of the military commanders and the few administrators that remained in Caldera, but an anxiously slowly grew in her stomach. Her father was taking a while to return from the bunker. She expected him to be here a while back to enjoy this victory of theirs together and see through the final execution of their plan.
As she spoke with the generals however, she saw in the distance Ty Lee escorting Mai towards the throne. As they got closer, Azula could see Ty Lee holding Mai in what seemed to be a comforting manner as Mai remained stoic.
"What happened to you, Mai?" Azula directly asked, immediately silencing the chatter of the commanders around her. Her tone sounded mocking, but she genuinely felt some smidge of concern for her friend. Stoic as Mai looked, Azula could see the reddened eyes and the dried tears on her cheeks, illuminated under the light of the throne room's fires.
For a moment, Mai didn't seem to speak. She only looked up at Azula with unflinching eyes, her mouth still. Then, Ty Lee seemed to coax her with a rub on her back and Azula saw an unfamiliar look of pain sprout from Mai's eyes.
"It's Zuko." Mai started with surprising ease. Azula half-expected her voice to crack from how distraught her eyes looked.
"He's gone. Away from the palace. Away from the Fire Nation." Mai stated firmly, as if she was trying to distance herself from the topic.
'Great. Another headache to deal with in light of this victory. And here I thought ZuZu was sensible enough to not betray us, especially Mai.' Azula thought, a little annoyed at her older brother for his betrayal, and surprisingly, the pain he caused Mai. Still, it wasn't surprising given the weakness Zuko had and the weaknesses he was exposed to during his exile.
"A shame. I had such high hopes for my brother. I'll speak to my father about this betrayal." Azula responded, to which the other commanders in the room nodded in understanding.
"And we'll discuss this later as well." Azula added towards Mai, who nodded as well.
'As time passes, more and more complications are rising up after this victory. What else could go wrong?' Azula thought before the sounds of multiple feet marching through reached her ears.
Looking towards the entrance, she could see an entourage of Fire Nation soldiers and Fire Sages organized in a march, with the soldiers at the flanks and the sages in the middle. And leading the group was none other than Senzin, who had a grim look on his face.
"General Zhou, what's happening?" Azula asked once the group finally arrive just before the throne of her father, her confusion evident in her voice.
"Grave news. Your brother-" Senzin began his report but was cut off immediately by Azula.
"If it's about my brother's disappearance, we already know." Azula responded with a bored tone. Senzin had a grim face on but it was only about her brother's betrayal.
"My uncle's disappeared as well. Maybe they've joined together? Father should probably hear about this soon." Azula theorized loudly, resting her head on her arm.
Oddly, discounting the slight look of surprise in Senzin's face at the mention of her uncle's escape, the grim look didn't leave him.
"Is there more, Senzin?" Azula asked, raising her head once more to give full attention to Senzin.
"We know of Prince Zuko's disappearance. Before he left, however, he apparently confronted the Firelord in the bunker." Senzin began his explanation once more. Already, Azula felt a dark feeling pooling in her stomach.
"We don't know the exact details but…" Senzin continued, unsure on how exactly to word it before his eyes suddenly hardened and became resolute.
"The Firelord was found in critical condition. We suspect it was your brother." Senzin said.
Azula couldn't hear much else after that. It couldn't be. It was finally nearing their final victory. They had won against the invasion, and she had won against the Avatar, why must this happen? As soon as everything was coming to together, it was coming apart at the seams. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why!?
"Princess Azula!" The stern voice of Senzin snapped Azula from her spiraling thought process.
She could see the scandalized look the other officials in the room gave Senzin but she didn't care much for the breach in protocol at that moment. She was actually slightly grateful at being taken out from those thoughts.
Seeing that he got her attention once more, Senzin continued.
"Given the situation: with the Firelord incapacitated and the Crown Prince gone and branded traitor, by right as Crown Princess, you are now the acting Princess Regent of the Fire Nation."
Hey. I don't know if doing this is fine after not really doing these notes previously but I felt that my first completed story is as good a place as any to do one.
So yeah, like I said, Komodo General is officially completed. At least, within this actual title. I'm planning on doing a sequel under the title of "Dragon Marshal" though I'm not yet certain when I'll actually start writing or posting it. Still don't know the concrete direction I want the story to end as of yet so maybe when I see that, I'll be able to work on it concretely.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who's read this short work of mine and left reviews on it. It means a great deal knowing that some people enjoyed what I have written.Addressing what I saw in the reviews, here are my responses:
"Non MC POV" - initially, I didn't plan to not have an MC POV chapter for the story but it slowly came naturally to me as I wrote it. So to those that noticed it, thanks. Though I don't think I'll be continuing that in the sequel if I ever get to it.
"Deviation from original story of Avatar and character development" - I know the story I wrote didn't have significant deviation from the main events of Avatar before the invasion and I know that I didn't really show character development throughout the story. To be honest, I had a lot of ideas popping up regarding the details of the story but I couldn't seem to weave them naturally into the overall narrative.
"Length of chapters" - They are admittedly short. 1k+ words only per chapter. I'd like to write longer ones but I'm an impatient person and can focus writing on a single topic / event. I can only say I'm sorry.
Again, I'd like to give my gratitude to everyone who took the time to read this fanfiction and those who took the time to leave a review. I apologize to everyone also as the writing wasn't the best, and if the overall story didn't live up to your expectations.
Hopefully you'll hear from me again soon, either because of Dragon Marshal or another story. Until then, stay safe and live life.
