Disclaimer still applies: I own nothing except the plots/situations/ideas that I have placed the characters in and any ocs.
Fractured Minds
Chapter 7: First Impressions
The Fire Nation, Caldera City, royal palace; night
Six formless shapes weaved through the shadowy alcoves as they avoided the patrolling imperial guards. They had just managed to leave behind most of the guards when their cargo started struggling. One of the shapes had to fight the urge to curse out loud. "Nar, shut that brat up. If she makes anymore noise..."
"She's sick. I told you we should have taken the boy but no, you said she'll be easier." There were times when he wanted to strangle this crew member but as it happens they were brothers and that was, unfortunately, not an option.
"And I told you that the job details specified that we were to take the girl and..." He trailed off as a pillar of flame appeared at the other end of the hallway; the pillar slowly morphed into an armored soldier, made entirely of fire.
"Is that a spirit?" At that the fire soldier disappeared from view before reappearing in front of his brother, he was frozen in place as the fire soldier lifted his brother into the air and threw him into the nearest wall. A resounding crack echoed and his brother slid lifeless to the red tiles; his throat was as red as the floor. The fire soldier moved forward and reached for his brother's stunned partner, her clothes were on fire the instant that the fire soldier's hand brushed against her. Again the soldier turned and gazed with sightless eyes in his direction
"Boss what do we do?!" He was jolted from his paralysis at the shout.
"We finished the job." With that he motioned for Nar to pass the princess to him, even if she did decide to breath fire at him two could play at that game, as they tore down the hallway without looking back. If they had, they'd have seen the fire soldier flicker out of existence. The corpses of the two criminals wouldn't be found for another hour.
Royal palace; the Fire Lord's private rooms; night
"What did the healer say?" His question went unanswered for a moment longer as she finished pulling the brush through the last strands of her ebony hair. She set the brush on the vanity and slowly turned to face him.
"She can't fire bend at all until the last of her fever is through. And we'll need to keep her room as cool as we can."
"That's it?" he said in disbelief. It'd been a week since their daughter's fever had developed into Sun Spot, a disease that can turn deadly if it wasn't caught early.
"Zuko, she'll be fine. We got her treatment early enough."
"No we didn't or she wouldn't be blind right now." He said.
"For the last time, she is going to be fine. Blindness is one of the symptoms and a minor one at that." It was slight but it was there and if he hadn't heard it, he wouldn't have believed it. In a split second he was across the room and pulling her into his arms.
"You're worried."
A nod was his answer. "I'll have the postmaster send the fastest messenger hawk to find Aang and Katara. If she can't do anything for Lil than no one can."
The two stayed like that for a while longer before attempting to sleep but neither found that they could sleep. The doors to their rooms flew open as several imperial soldiers barraged in. "Fire lord Zuko, forgive the intrusion but princess Lily has been kidnapped. Two of the criminals are dead. But we've found no trace of the rest of them."
The fire lord and lady were alert within seconds of the captain's announcement and without wasting any time, Zuko started issuing orders, "Captain I want this palace locked down, and then send a messenger hawk to every outpost in the city, the surrounding towns and villages on the outskirts of the caldera, and send a hawk to Republic city, Aang and Katara should have reached it by now."
As the captain bowed and left to carry out his orders, Zuko turned to address Mai but she was already gone; he glanced toward her weapons drawer, it was empty. She's probably going to protect Rook.
"Lord Zuko, the avatar's sky bison was spotted by the look outs. They estimate his arrival to be ten minutes." General Shen was out of breath as he'd run all the way from the postmaster's offices to get the message to the fire lord as fast as possible. Zuko was already out the door and heading to the courtyard where Aang liked to have Appa land. Aang must have flown through the night or something happened that forced him to stop before he reached Republic city.
He wasn't the first one there but the sight that greeted him warmed his heart a little, since Lily's disappearance sometime in the night. Mai had Rook with her and the both of them were standing unnaturally still while scanning the sky for the Avatar and his bison. He made his way over to them and tried to stand still but he gave up.
"Zuko." The way she hissed his name forced him to give her his full attention.
She gave him that pointed look of hers that was, in his opinion, sharper than the knives she carried. "You are pacing and its starting to give me a headache."
"Sorry. But I wish they would land already. For all we know Lily could be dead." He wasn't handling any of this very well. The years after the war were hard for them but the one thing that made everything worth it was Lily and Rook but with this latest situation, he could feel himself starting to lose it.
"Not if I can help it." Time seemed to slow as her voice filled the air in the courtyard. In the silence you could have heard a pin drop as the soldiers shifted their attention to a woman wearing a black cloak with a gold dragon on it. However it was the clasp on the cloak that drew the attention of the fire lady. Raven counted the seconds in her head, it only took three, for her to almost be bowled over by the astonishment of those gathered. "I'm not Mai's long lost sister. Now who's Lily?"
Her question went unanswered for an eternity before the fire lady snapped out of her shock and said, "Our daughter, she was kidnapped sometime last night. Normally it wouldn't be a problem but she's sick and because of her illness she can't use her bending nor can she see; one of the disease's symptoms is blindness."
"Describe her." The gathering of guards were still trying to wrap their heads around what had happened and who the strange woman was, the fire lady on the other hand was unflappable. But Raven could sense the tension and worry that the other woman felt.
"Black hair, big for her age, she's 7, she has a birthmark on her face that looks like the clasp on your cloak, and she's really pale." As she'd had described Lily to the strange woman, her thoughts were in overdrive. Why does she remind me of Azula? She even radiates pure malice like Azula had. I'll need to keep an eye on this one.
The fire lady wasn't the only one whose thoughts were racing.
'That's odd.' Intelligence was quite puzzled about the birthmark.
'Birthmarks are always odd. They don't always have sinister connotations.' Intelligence was nodding but Raven was experienced enough to know how stubborn Intelligence could be at times.
'We have more pressing things to be focusing on.' At this Intelligence locked eyes with her mistress. 'You're right. After we find the girl we'll be having words with Mai.'
Raven nodded in agreement with Intelligence, neither of the two saw the flash of a crimson cloak as they parted ways.
She easily assumed the lotus position and intoned,"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."
Those gathered were uneasy as a black spirit like being separated from the woman and vanish into the air, despite the noon day sun shining brightly.
A loud bellow stirred the royal family and their small contingent of guards into motion as they made room for the Avatar's sky bison to land. The first person to dismount was a rattled Toph and as she impacted with the ground she was proclaiming that she'd never, never, ever leave it again. Immediately following her was Aang and Katara. The last person to climb out of the saddle was the fire lord's uncle and was the first person to notice Raven.
"Nightmare what was so important that you flew off like that? Nightmare?" Toph rose from the ground and as she did so she turned to pin lord sparky with a fierce glare, that promised pain. "Lord sparky what did you do to Nightmare?"
"N-nothing." He hated that Toph could still make him stutter like that. "I'm assuming that Nightmare is the woman who just showed up out of no where and started asking questions. She just said weird words and we saw a black spirit leave her body."
Why is she using her astral projection? Is she in the spirit world again? These thoughts were shared by the four of them but it was Katara who spoke first, "What's happened?"
"Princess Lily was kidnapped last night and she's contracted Sun Spot." Mai's voice was neutral as she gave an explanation.
"First Kyoshi and now this, she's pushing herself too far." The waterbender suddenly found herself nose to nose with Mai and as those amber eyes bored into hers, "What about Kyoshi? And who the hell is she?"
Katara waved for Aang to stay back. "Ty Lee is fine and her name is Raven. She's using astral projection to try and locate Lily."
Mai took a step back but there was disbelief visible on her face, as well as Zuko's as he said, "That's impossible."
Katara recognized what the problem was and with a sad shake of her head, she shrugged and stayed silent. Raven is nothing like Azula and is one of the most selfless people you will ever know.
The fire soldier had dogged them all night and each of them were the proud owners of new burn scars that would make Fire Lord Zuko look dashingly hansom. As it was they hadn't even managed to escape the palace yet. Jorjun was beginning to regret the shady job that he'd accepted but the price had had him salivating at retiring from the game. Now though...
"Boss, me and the boys were talking and we have a plan." He motioned for her to remain silent as he saw a flash of black and gold. It's just a fluttering tapestry. This palace is riddled with those things.
"Kuutak's gonna get you." He jumped a foot into the air as the brat had been chanting that all night in a sickeningly sweet sing song-y voice.
'So much for taking it easy. Wasn't this supposed to be our vacation?' Intelligence groused to herself.
'Any vacation time we had got shot to hell the moment that Iroh asked for our help.' A maniacal laugh echoed around them at her statement.
'You've been dying to use that since Kyoshi, haven't you mistress?' Both Happy and Raven shared a grin while Intelligence groaned.
'Oh come on madam Snark...please?'
With a put upon sigh Intelligence said, 'Everything went to hell in a hand basket.'
'That's the spirit.'
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos"
Darkness and unnatural cold was all that Zuko, Mai, and Iroh knew for a couple of seconds before another courtyard came into view. Mai was trying to suppress the shivers that the cold left her with as she heard, "Surrender or else."
A mirthless laugh filled the air. "Try anything and I'll silt the princess's throat." The kidnapper had a knife held to the princess's throat to get his point across.
"Now me and my crew will just be on our merry way." Where did they come from? First it was that fire soldier and now the fire lord, the fire lady, the dragon of the west, and some other woman show up out of thin air. I shouldn't have taken this job. Jorjun gave himself a shake as he edged himself and his crew around the the royal family. He made it to the other end of the courtyard but just before he'd be free and clear, the princess suddenly vanished from his arms.
In the next second he heard a series of cracks and he collapsed to the ground writhing in agony. "Hey boss wha-" Nar was cut off as she saw the woman from earlier rise out of the ground, holding the princess. Before the three kidnappers could do anything they found themselves suspended in the air.
"It rubs me the wrong way when children are involved." As Raven spoke her soul-self reacted by sending the three criminals flying through the air, skipping them across the ground like one would rocks across the surface of a pond. With each impact the ground cracked and a muffled whimper of pain escaped from the three of them until they landed in front of Zuko, Mai, and Iroh. It was at that moment that the imperial guards burst into the courtyard and surrounded the strange woman, who they saw holding the princess.
"Let the princess go." The guard followed this up by sending a fire whip at the woman, while being mindful of the princess. His face went white when his fire whip was dispelled by the cloak and then he was forced to dodge a fire whip of black flame.
"Don't do that again."
"Enough! Stand down." He was still in a state of shock as he moved toward the strange woman, who'd just thrown three people around like they were nothing.
As Zuko drew level with the contingent of guards and the woman he was surprised when she bowed, the way she did it was unusual but it seemed respectful. "Fire Lord, Fire Lady. My name's Raven. I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. But in my line of work, I've learned that it's best to move quickly in situations like this."
"Thank you." Despite the sincerity in her tone, Raven could sense the fear coming off of Mai. "Allow me to take Lily off your hands. She needs to take her medicine."
As Raven shifted the girl in her arms so she could hand her off to Mai, an intense burning pain shot through her and she dropped from the air. She reacted on instinct and absorbed the burning heat into herself. With her last conscious thought Raven used her soul-self to get the princess on the ground unharmed.
The royal family and the guards watched as the princess opened her eyes. Their golden hue was no longer dull and the surrounding white wasn't bloodshot. A grin spread across her face as she ran straight to her mother, "I can see and it doesn't hurt anymore."
During the heartwarming family reunion, Iroh had rushed forward to prevent Raven from hitting the ground. He was concerned about her and how far she was pushing herself.
"Captain Rojo," At his voice the captain's attention was drawn to Iroh, he wasn't the only one. "Find Master Katara and bring her to the infirmary."
The captain saluted and hurried off to carry out the retired general's orders.
"Uncle what's going on?" His question was ignored as Iroh headed in the direction of the aforementioned infirmary. It was then that Zuko saw what happened to Raven after she'd rescued Lily. The royal family and the guards set off after Iroh.
When Zuko drew level with his uncle he said, "Uncle is she going to be alright?"
"I don't know. But as to your other question, my best guess is that Raven healed Lily." His uncle's voice had an edge to it, it was the coldest reception that Zuko had ever gotten from his uncle before. The rest of their journey to the infirmary was in silence, a very uncomfortable one.
Katara, Toph, Aang, and Rook who was accompanied by a guard were waiting for them outside of the infirmary. As Katara directed Iroh to place Raven on a bed she said, "Do I even want to know?"
"She stopped four kidnappers and healed the princess."
"How could she have? Sun Spot can't be healed instantaneously and unless I'm mistaken that's what happened." Katara could hear the subtle inflections of emotions in Mai's tone nor was it quite as flat and dead as she remembered. Compared to Raven, Mai's voice is practically teeming with emotions.
"I wouldn't have expected such a reaction from you, Mai. Raven has no obligation to you or the Fire Nation, yet she still did everything she could to help you. If she were conscious right now, I doubt you'd even thank her." Katara said as she drew water from the skin on her back and got to work on assessing Raven's injuries.
"That's easy for you to say. You and her are friends." It was faint but Katara could detect emotion seeping into Mai's voice. How dare she speak to me in such a manner-
"Ha," The waterbender's laugh was the most self-deprecating thing that those gathered had ever heard and served to cut through the fire lady's thoughts. "More like she and I have come to an understanding. I get it though, she reminded me of Azula too and I didn't think much of Raven agreeing to help Azula with her issues at Iroh's behest. But I learned that she's better than Azula even on her worst day. She even brought Ty Lee back to life and if you don't believe me, ask Aang, Toph, and Iroh they were there too."
Zuko's head snapped up as he heard both his sister's name and his uncle's, a fierce glare was directed at his uncle; whom met his eyes without flinching. "Uncle is that true?"
"I will keep my promise no matter the consequences." He was forced to look away from his uncle, least he did something stupid like break out the shackles then and there. With effort Zuko focused his attention on Katara as she worked on Raven.
"Your friend's on a fool's errand uncle, Azula will never get better. But I won't stop her from trying. When she is able, I'll have General Shen take her to Crescent Isles." Zuko said as he turned on his heel and left the infirmary, taking most of the guards with him.
Once the waterbender was satisfied that Raven was fine as far as she could tell, she said, "She's healing at alarming rate and the Sun Spot isn't slowing her down at all."
"How is any of this possible?" asked Mai, trying and failing to keep her emotions out of her voice. This is ridiculous not even Azula could unsettle me this much.
"Sunshine," Toph paused for dramatic effect. "How is Avatar Twinkle Toes able to bend all four elements, making him the most powerful bender in the world? And the same goes for every bender in the world. How are we able to bend the elements? Is it really that much of a stretch that Nightmare is capable of mind-boggling things?"
"When you put it like that, no." Mai said in answer.
Not long after this Aang, Katara, and Toph left to go unsaddle Appa and get some sleep as the three of them planned to stay in the Fire Nation for a couple of days.
"Lily, Rook," When both children were looking at her she continued, "Its been a trying day for you. Why don't you have Janlei take you two to your rooms to get some sleep?"
"Ah do I have to. I want to wait here until she wakes up, so I can thank her." Before she had finished speaking Rook was nodding in agreement.
"It will be some time before Raven wakes up and you'll want to be well rested for when she does, don't you?" The two children readily agreed to their one and only great uncle's suggestion. They were practically dragging poor Janlei with them as they left.
"Do you think its wise to allow her to help Azula?" Her question surprised him.
"I think she is the only person who can help her. As Zuko refuses to see reason and transfer Azula back to the capital." Mai's response was a nod as she departed from the infirmary. I may not like it but Iroh's right, Zuko's too close to the situation.
"I find it interesting that someone who can do the impossible has such a weak constitution." As she had spoken the fire lady observed the woman on the bed, whom had been unconscious for two days.
"A person with Sun Spot has a fever so severe it can turn the person blind as it attacks their body's chi making it feel as though a fire is raging through it; if I had not healed the princess, she'd be blind." Mai was taken aback by the emotionless flatness of her voice. Is that what I sound like to people?
"To your first question yes you do. To the second, I don't heal like a waterbender does. The methods I use are quite different and by that I mean that I absorb the pain of the other person's injuries. Or the entire illness, if I haven't encountered it before," Raven heaved a sigh as she continued, "I can feel other people's emotions. No I can't read your mind."
"I spoke with Iroh about you. The little that he told me said a lot, probably more than he intended to reveal. You and Azula frighten me, that is not an easy feat to achieve. But where you and Azula are different is you care about compete strangers. I do apologize for my reaction but as mother its difficult to be rational when your children are in danger." Raven felt how genuine her honesty was, it was refreshing to say the least.
"I wouldn't know. I have only ever met my mother twice before I left home." Raven said with a tension in her voice that made the fire lady very uneasy.
"I was wrong. You are just like Azula, you have the same family issues too. Except for what you did for Lily. Azula would never do that not unless there was something in it for her."
'Huh.' Intelligence whispered as Mai spoke.
'What?' The yellow cloaked emotion was jolted out of her daze.
'Just something I need to think on a bit.' At the un-amused look on her mistress's face the emote elaborated further. 'Its just a hunch and you know how I feel about discussing those...'
As Raven turned away from Intelligence a red mist invaded the library, it went unnoticed because unlike the other times before; the red mist simply drifted through the air getting breathed in by the sole occupant.
"I'm not going to take your word for it." Raven watched as the fire lady's left eye twitched and her hands clench into fists.
"Why not?"
"Because you're a selfish bitch whose sole concern is for herself." A grin stretched across Raven's face as she sat upright on the bed. Her grin widened at the growing fear in the room.
"I've read many things about the war. But the one thing that stuck with me was what you did at the Boiling Rock. You were Azula's friend. She was yours."
A nod was the only answer that the fire lady could give.
"But you were just there because she was fun. Things were never boring around her and you willingly went along with anything she ordered you to do. Like a good soldier should...that is...until Zuko came back into the picture," She took a moment to collect her thoughts. "You betrayed your so called friend who was there for you in her own way, no matter what. You were more than aware of what her father would do to her once he found out about the public embarrassment."
The fire lady heard the cracks before the glass windows shattered. And every where she looked there was glass suspended by that eerie inky black.
"You know what I finding interesting? Its interesting that you and Ty Lee are still alive and well. She could have killed Azula. One wrong pressure point and Azula, princess of the Fire Nation is dead. It makes one wonder what Azula did to, as they say, get you and Ty Lee a stay of execution?"
Mai was looking rather pale even more so than normal as she stared straight ahead, not deluding herself in thinking that Raven was finished.
"You're thinking about it now aren't you? If Zuko's pretty face is anything to go by... Than Azula's punishment was far worse. Yet she still fought for the very lives of her only friends even after they both betrayed her. No. After they destroyed her."
When Mai made to speak she got as far as opening her mouth a little than she closed it as she heard, "You are more monstrous than your friend was. And had your positions been reversed I don't think you'd have done the same; you wouldn't have fought for your friends. So if its all the same to you please do not assume what Azula would or would not do for another if given the chance."
All at once the room was a blur of black and blue. When the fire lady could see the infirmary; none of the windows were broken. She barely registered the sound of approaching footsteps from behind her.
"Its good to see you up so soon, Raven. Princess Lily's been worried about you." Iroh said as he took a seat next to a deathly still Mai. When Lily heard her name she hid behind her brother, not wanting to be seen by the woman who'd saved her just yet.
A small smile tugged at the corner of Raven's mouth as she watched the girl hide behind her brother. "Where I come from we have birds called ravens. Many cultures believe that a raven is an ill omen and are often associated with death. But ravens are really smart and very misunderstood."
"Why are you telling me this?" Lily's voice was quiet and she was still hiding behind her brother.
"Because your birthmark looks like a raven as its taking flight." Raven's answer drew the girl out from behind her brother, allowing Raven to get a better look at her. Unsurprisingly her skin was pale, hair black as ink, and eyes of gold.
"Really it does?"
Raven nodded. "Yes. I'll get you a book on them, if you want?"
The princess's way of answering her was very unique and certainly unexpected for all but one of those gathered. But much to the fire lady's shock, she watched as the terrifying woman burst into laughter as Lily tried to squeeze the life out of her.
"Its what I do. I help people in need." A moment or two later and the princess leapt off the bed and started running for the exit. As she passed by her brother she tagged him and said, "You're it."
"Lil! No fair!" He yelled at her retreating back before he took off, hot on her heels. The two had barely vanished from sight through the infirmary doors when Raven said, "I received a mission that involved children, a giant invisible teddy bear, and a french gorilla; big hairy animal with human intelligence. On that mission I learned that I'm actually really good with children. Now I require even more sleep before I'll have the patience to deal with people, bodyguards following me around, and arguing with Fire Lord Zuko. And to his utter misfortune just so happens to reminds me of my boss."