Chapter 22: Caught

The Fire Nation princess was caught off guard and a slight twinge of fear flashed in her eyes. Almost instinctively, Azula took a step back but was quickly cornered by the other agents; two of the guards grabbed both of her wrists so she couldn't escape and forced them behind her back. The other guard did the same thing, taking advantage of Ty Lee's surprise to subdue her before she could react.

Long Feng stood up from the couch, still holding the glass of champagne in his hand as he approached the two detained girls.

"I don't know what you're doing here, princess of the Fire Nation, but I can tell you this: it was a mistake to come to Ba Sing Se," he growled.

Gently grabbing the Dai Li hat that rested on Azula's head, he slowly removed it to reveal the angry scowl of the girl beneath.

"I'll kill you for this," she warned with gritted teeth.

"Oh? My, my, what a bold statement to make, especially considering what situation you're currently in," Long Feng noted with a grin.

"How did you even know I was here?" the princess questioned as she struggled against the grip of the two guards.

Finishing the liquid from the glass with one final swig, the man carefully set the cup back down on the table before he spoke, "I have eyes and ears everywhere in this town. Each of my Dai Li agents were trained to recognize and report any suspicious activity to me."

As he continued to talk, Long Feng began to pace in front of the two girls, "Strange things have been occurring in the walls of this city lately, things that didn't make any sense. For instance, one of the Earth King's generals went missing, perhaps you know of him – General Sung."

Azula said nothing, but her blood ran cold as he continued on.

The last time he was seen was yesterday evening, however, now it's as though he simply disappeared. What's more, when I sent my agents out to find him, I was told something very strange. One of the agents came upon a room in the palace, close to General Sung's last known location; in this room, he found what could only described as 'scorch marks' on the walls – the kind made by fire. Isn't that interesting? Especially when there was nothing in that room that could've started a fire, let alone scorch anything."

Azula's eyes began to widen; it was so stupid of her not to realize. When she killed General Sung, the flames from her bending must have burnt the plaster on the walls.

"When I was informed of this, I thought, 'hmmm. Now what could've started a fire without the assistance of flammable material?' Then the answer came to me – a Fire Bender. You see, princess Azula, you may have been able to hide General Sung's body, but you forgot to get rid of ALL the evidence. And, 'yes', I know you killed him."

The princess clicked her tongue in absolute disappointment – how could she fail to take care of something so minor. A rage began to build up inside of her as she mentally cursed herself for such a mistake.

Long Feng couldn't help but smirk at the faces Azula was making; the act of triumphing over one's enemy was quite a rush. Turning his back on the princess, he then made his way over to a small box that sat atop a counter in the back of the room.

"This brings me to my next question," he said as he slowly opened the lid to the box, "Why are you here at this party? It's definitely not the case that you just wanted to enjoy your time in Ba Sing Se. No, no, no. The ONLY conceivable reason you would be here is for the Earth King – an assassination, perhaps."

Azula's heart sunk the more he talked; he knew everything she had done while in the city, and he even guessed what her intentions were at the party. Slowly, as if trying to add to the tension, Long Feng pulled out a small dagger from the confines of the box and inspected it thoughtfully. The blade, although quite short in dimension, was intricately embroidered with a golden hilt and small gems that ran along the side of the handle.

Cradling the object in his hand, Long Feng walked over to the restrained fire bender, "You know, I could kill you now if I wanted – stab you directly in the heart, and nobody would know a thing."

"Of course you would. Cowardly men always act the same way," Azula growled, prompting the man to momentarily turn his gaze to the other girl in the room.

"And who is this beauty that you have brought with you?" Long Feng wondered as he strode over to a timid Ty Lee, "One of your comrades, perhaps?"

Azula kept silent but watched as he gracefully raised the knife to Ty Lee's throat, barely touching her skin.

"Tell me," he said, looking down at the wide-eyed brunette, "how did you and the princess enter this city in the first place?"

Ty Lee tightened up her quivering lip and glared at Long Feng in defiance, "I won't tell you anything," she said.

The man scoffed as he pressed the tip of the knife further against her throat. "Do you doubt that I will kill you if you refuse to answer my questions?"

"She has nothing to say to you," Azula interjected, prompting the guards beside her to roughly shake her as a signal to be quiet.

Taking the time to walk over to the overzealous princess, Long Feng didn't even bat an eye as he delivered a frightful slap across Azula's pale face, causing the girl to grunt in sudden pain. A small blotch of red appeared on her cheeks almost immediately afterward as he walked back to Ty Lee, once again placing the tip of the blade against her throat.

"How about we play a game," he said. "Every time you refuse to answer me, you shall receive a scar upon your body."

Ty Lee shook her head in defiance, although that was mainly because the act of speaking was difficult due to her being on the verge of tears. She was scared, and it seemed like her knew it.

"I repeat: how did you two enter into Ba Sing Se?" he asked.

Again, the brown-haired girl remained silent.

Slash!

Ty Lee suddenly felt a narrow slice of pain cut across her right cheek, and she flinched as soon as it happened; her eyes closed shut, almost automatically, upon feeling the tip of the blade slide through her skin. Slowly opening her eyes, she gulped as she stared at a thin layer of blood that now coated the knife.

Long Feng placed his free fingers beneath her chin and lifted her head up until she was staring directly into his eyes, "You didn't answer," he said calmly.

"I'll ask again: how did the two of you enter into Ba Sing Se?" he asked.

The girl said nothing, but this time her defiance had been replaced with slight whimpers.

Slash!

The same pain again – this time it traveled along the side of her shoulder. She flinched.

"How did you enter Ba Sing Se?" he repeated.

Her whimpering turned into soft crying, but still she said nothing.

Slash!

Slash!

Two wounds this time – one along her arm and the other in the center of her palm.

"How did you enter Ba Sing Se?!" Long Feng demanded with obvious irritation in his voice.

Small tear streamed down her face now as she braced for more.

Griping the knife in his hand, Long Feng raised the weapon into the air – Azula's eyes widened and she gasped. All of the wounds from before were relatively shallow, but this one looked like he was actually going to kill the girl. As the blade quickly came down, Azula realized that he was aiming for Ty Lee's head.

Suddenly, before he could follow through on his assault, Long Feng stopped just shy of Ty Lee's face upon hearing a thunderous 'BOOM' echo throughout the room. Long Feng quickly realized the noise didn't come from the room itself but rather from the ballroom where the party was being held. The guards had apparently heard it too, given the fact that they looked at each other in confusion. Whatever the source of that sound was, it had been large enough to shake the very room itself, albeit only slightly.

A look of grave concern crossed Long Feng's face as he quickly placed the knife down on the table and rushed towards the door. The Dai Li captain was waiting directly outside the room for him with a particularly worrying look.

"Captain, what in the world was that?" he angrily asked.

The Captain straightened up at Long Feng's approach, "I am unsure sir. It appears the source of that noise came from beyond the front doors."

Long Feng turned his head and glanced towards the front of the room; staring past the groups of party-goers, who had all apparently heard the sound as well, Long Feng looked at the two large doors that had been closed since the party began. The doors themselves were large, about 20 feet in height, and their size was truly only matched by their sturdiness. Being composed of a combination of solid rock and metal, the door was much too large for any single individual to open alone; usually, the door required two well-trained earth benders to open – although that was mainly for security purposes.

BOOM!

Yet again, a powerful force banged on the door from the other side as if something was trying to enter. The conversations within the party room died down to a hushed silence as everyone watched the door with baited breath. The BOOM echoed again, this time followed by a wretched snap as the hinges of the doors finally collapsed.

Long Feng watched, wide-eyed, as one of the doors fell to the floor with an earsplitting 'thud'; dust from the forced entry had been kicked up and now swirled around the open entrance as the guests began to gasp and whisper amongst one another. By this time, many of the Dai Li agents had taken defensive positions in wait of the arriving enemy. Squinting into the cloud of dust, Long Feng could bearly make out the figure of a thin boy in the wake of the grime. But his attention was heightened even more by a pair of floating red eyes that seemed to illuminate the dirt that floated in the air.

The sight was both hypnotic and terrifying; so much so, that Long Feng could've sworn he heard one of the Dai Li agents whisper something behind him.

"Demon…."

Then, emerging from the cloud was a young boy, perhaps 15 or 16 years old, with a blank facial expression as he looked around the room.

"'Sup," he said.

End of Chapter 22

Author's Note: So...it's been a while, hasn't it? I know you guys have been practically starving for a new chapter to the story; I know that you've been frothing at the mouth for more; I know that you would KILL to read the next chapter. Well, wait no more - I'm finally back. Lol.

Ok, so to be more serious, the main reason why I couldn't add any more chapters was basically that for the last few months, I didn't have access to any laptop or computer that I could use to add any more to the story; even my local library (along with its computer lab), was closed due to the whole covid-19 thing. Don't worry though, I wasn't infected or anything. But now that things are settling down, and because I now have a new temporary computer for school, I will try to work more on this story.

Thank you all very much for your patience! I hope everyone else is doing well, and I will see you in the next chapter. Thanks!