Chap. 14

Interlude 1: The Beach

"See anything yet?" Mai asked absently, as she sat a rock, sharpening her dagger. As the waves crashed up against the shore, Ty Lee looked over and shook her head. Mai sighed, and looked over at Azula with anger in her eyes. The Princess took no notice however, and merely continued to contemplate her plans in silence. Mai scowled and turned back to her dagger. After the girls, along with their troops, had been sucked through the portal, they had tumbled around in that weird void, being bombarded with lights, sounds, and then those huge, evil eyes. Mai shuddered a bit just thinking about it.

Finally, they had been sent out, onto this strange beach in the middle of nowhere. After they had pulled themselves together, Ty Lee had suggested that they find some people and ask them where they were. It would've been a fine plan, if there had been any people around (the chill in the air likely had something to do with that). Instead, Azula had ordered the few troops they had to do reconnaissance, and report back with their current location. The troops had left close to an hour ago, and the girls had been sitting on the beach ever since, waiting in utter boredom.

Well not total boredom. Ty Lee kept herself busy with her endless flips, Azula planned out her next moves, and as for Mai, her boredom was laced with anger. It was Azula's fault that they were stuck here. Despite the danger to everyone around them back in the village, the Princess hadn't been able to realize it in her stupid quest to hurt her brother's 'girlfriend' and because of that, everyone had suffering for it.

But Mai wasn't angry as much about Azula's assault on the girl as she was about her attacks on Zuko. No matter what, Azula could not stop trying to torment her brother at all costs. When Mai had learned that Azula was hunting him along with the Avatar, she knew that she had to stick with the Princess no matter what. Even after all these years, Mai still cared about Zuko; though they had never had the relationship she'd hoped for, he had always been kind to her, and they had had a decent friendship before he was banished. Mai knew that if Azula brought Zuko back herself, he would be a broken mess in mind and body. Mai refused to let that happen. If Zuko had to be brought to justice, fine, but there was no reason for that kind of brutality.

And it isn't like Ty Lee could do anything about it. Mai thought as she looked over at her flipping companion. Granted, Ty Lee would've likely been as repulsed by Azula's method as Mai would've, but she wasn't strong enough to say or do anything about it. Ty Lee had always gone with Azula's decisions, even though she was far more self-assured when she was by herself. There was some hope that Ty Lee might eventually be pushed too far and drop her mindless following, but until then Mai would have to stay around and keep Zuko safe.

"Mai, can you please put that dagger down?" Azula snapped suddenly, bringing Mai out of her thoughts. "If I have to hear that scraping one minute longer, I'm going to go mad."

"Gee, I'd love to." Mai replied. "But since you got us stuck here, I think you should put up with a little noise."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Azula snapped, as Ty Lee stopped flipping and turned her attention over to her friends.

"Isn't it obvious?" Mai replied, getting back to her feet. "I told you to let the Knights shut off the portal, but you had to keep going. If the Firelord had gotten that piece from the girl, he might've been able to shut it off. But because of you he didn't. So I'd say it's your fault we're stuck here."

"No, it's my fault that they got sucked in as well!" Azula yelled, coming over to Mai in a huff. "If that Elemental had gotten the piece, he would've used it to trap us here. Instead, they got sucked in as well, and once we find them, they'll be at our mercy."

"Right, and the fact that the girl holding it may have been Zuko's girlfriend meant nothing to you." Mai dryly said back.

"That was simply a bonus." Azula said smugly.

"Oh please. We're trapped here because you wanted to hurt your brother." Mai said. "That's all you've really cared about since we started this."

"Come on Mai, Azula's not like that." Ty Lee said, trying to stop the argument. "What if they had been trying to send us here alone?"

"Do you really think that the Elemental Knights would really do that?" Mai asked. "They're supposed to be honorable to the point of it being a handicap. They would've fought us by hand, rather then set loose some 'malicious Firebenders' on an unsuspecting world. Azula's just angry because she failed to kill Zuko's friend."

"Oh you know it's true." Mai said, seeing Azula grow even angrier. "You had a clear shot at her, but you didn't take it. What was stopping you? Was it that Water-Tribe boy? Don't tell me you have a crush on him too?"

Azula's eyes went wide with rage, but before she could reply, there was some noise behind them, then a voice called out, "Princess!" The group turned to see the Firebender troops returning from further up on the beach.

"Did you find out where we are?" Azula asked instantly, her control back in place at the sight of her subordinates.

"No Princess, but we did find some signs of civilization." The captain replied. "You must it for yourself though. It is beyond anything I have ever seen."

"Very well. You may not have been able to judge if it was dangerous or not." Azula snapped. "Lead the way, Captain."

The troops led the three girls up the beach, while Mai and Azula silently steamed at each other. Both wanted to continue their argument, but neither wanted to do it in front of the troops. So they each hiked on in silence, with Ty Lee praying that they wouldn't start something else until they were out of this world and back home.

Finally, they reached the place the troops had found. And just as the Captain had promised, it was beyond anything they had ever seen. Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee stared in amazement, all traces of the argument forgotten, as they stared at the huge, towering structures, the flashing, blazing lights, the strange traveling vehicles that spun around on its own huge twisting track, the calliope music, and the happy screams of the people there.

"What on earth is that place?" Mai breathed, amazement actually creeping into her voice.

"Something about it kinda reminds me of the circus." Ty Lee said. "I don't know why though."

"It's probably the music." Azula said. "It gives me that same feeling too. Now let's going. There are plenty of people there who can tell us where we are, and it doesn't look like anything we can't handle."

The Fire Princess walked forward, the group following her. They headed over to the large arch entrance, over which hung a sign that if they could have read, would have said, "WELCOME TO CONEY ISAND, NY."