A/N: Ladies and Gentlemen I am so sorry that it's taken so long for this update! School has been one hell of a pain in the ass lately and I've hardly been able to get any writing done.
That being said, I want to thank you all for reading and reviewing because, without you, writers would become extinct!
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar!
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Chapter 14- Betrayal
The halls of the Fire Nation Royal Palace were alive with activity as the servants flew back and forth, frantically getting things ready for the evening's celebrations. It was the day of the Fire Festival in honor of Agni and the gift of life that he had bestowed upon his people. The festival was a celebration that began late in the evening and ended just as the sun rose; the perfect example of the eternal cycle of life made possible by the Fire Nation god.
Amidst the ruckus the eight year old son of the Fire Lord was busy trying to keep himself focused on his current task: finding his sister's hiding place. Because to be quite honest, the young boy was sick and tired of losing their games of hide and seek to his baby sister.
He had searched almost every inch of the Royal Palace and there was only this last wing left. Unfortunately, it was the storage wing and that meant that there were more rooms and closets here than any other place in the entire palace.
"Let's see," he mumbled, looking around the corner stealthily in case his sister was keeping a lookout, "if I were Azula where would I hide?"
He pondered the question for a little longer, his face scrunching up in concentration as nothing came to him. With a frustrated growl he made his way down the hall, deciding to go with the simplest approach: opening any and all doors one by one and hoping they would yield his sister's hiding place.
Zuko was so caught up in his search that he didn't notice when the number of servants began to dwindle and the sounds of activity slowly faded into nothing.
It wasn't until he had crawled into one of the smaller linen closets—more like a cupboard really—and his ability to see became almost non-existent that he realized the sun outside had set.
"Aw man!" Zuko grumbled in defeat, "Now I won't be able to see Azula even if I do find her!" He bit his lip in thought, "I can't believe she won again!"
Then out of nowhere, the door to the closet slammed shut behind him and what little light the torches in the hallway had provided vanished, leaving the young prince in complete darkness.
Startled, Zuko blinked rapidly, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the sudden change in light. Puzzled as to how the door had closed by itself, he was about to crawl back and leave when he heard the telltale click! of the lock catching in place.
His eyes shot open and he went to stand up, "Wai—OW!" Apparently there was a lot less room in the closet than he'd originally thought. Now nursing what was sure to be a sizeable welt, Zuko cautiously attempted to get a feel for exactly how much room he had while shouting at the top of his lungs, "HELLO? IS ANYBODY OUT THERE?"
He had virtually no room to stand; he might have been able to kneel but even that was pushing it. Crawling on his hands and knees Zuko was able to turn himself around so that he was facing the door.
"HELLO? I THINK…I THINK I'VE BEEN LOCKED IN THE CLOSET!"
Despite his shouts it seemed no one had heard him and, as he pushed on the door, his worst fear was confirmed.
He was locked in.
"Agni how do I manage to get into these situations?" the boy groaned, his face in his hands and a small trickle of sweat running down his face from the temperature of the enclosed room.
"SOMEONE? ANYONE? HELP ME!"
The only response he got was the deafening silence that permeated the room and darkness that seemed to pulse within his very eyes.
"I guess I just have to wait until someone…comes by," Zuko muttered with a sigh. He pulled his knees into his chest resigned to his fate, "I wish I'd never agreed to play this stupid game again."
He lost track of time as he sat in the black, alone. He wondered if Azula was even hiding anymore but he snorted almost immediately at the thought, "She probably never even hid in the first place. I bet she's enjoying herself down at the festival."
Something moved off in the darkness brushing by Zuko's foot. His breath hitching, the prince struggled to move as far away from his unknown assailant as possible. Heart beating erratically he flung himself at the door, his fists pounding against it frantically.
"SOMEBODY HELP ME! PLEASE! THERE'S SOMETHING IN HERE AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS! PLEASE!"
The sweat was pouring off of him now as he fought with the door, desperately trying to get out. He kicked out at where the sound had come from and made contact with something soft. There was a loud crack and Zuko felt the satisfying crunch of something giving way beneath the force of his attack.
And then he felt and heard several more…somethings shuffle around his feet. Something had caught on to his leg and wasn't making any moves to get off or let go.
"Nonononono!" Zuko whimpered as he swatted at his legs, eyes wide and terrified but unable to see anything in the all-encompassing darkness, "HELP ME PLEASE!"
He finally managed to get whatever it was off of himself and he once again brought his knees to his chest and closing his eyes tight, his breathing ragged and disjointed, "I wish I could bend right now I really really really wish I could bend right now! I don't want to be here, I don't want to be here, I do not want to be here!"
He tried to make a flame in his hand, just like he'd seen his father do so many times but there wasn't even a hint of a spark. With a sinking feeling Zuko realized that what he'd heard his father say about him was true; he was a failure. A pathetic, useless waste of space that was "lucky to be born."
When the tears started to fall he wiped at them angrily, ashamed to be crying again. Why couldn't he be the brave, capable warrior that his father wanted him to be? Why couldn't he be more like Azula who was capable of doing anything by just watching someone first? Did Agni really hate him so much that he would end him before he had even managed to gain his father's respect?
All of a sudden whatever had been attacking him didn't matter anymore. He just wanted to get out of this Agni forsaken closet and go to sleep in his mother's arms! He didn't even want to join in the festival and stuff his face with all the different foods and sweets that were present at the celebration.
He just wanted his mother.
His back was screaming at him now from being in the same position for so long but he had no choice: the little space he did have was barely enough to allow him to stretch out. He had long since shed his celebratory robes as his own body heat and all of his frantic movements from hours before had caused the room to reach extremely uncomfortable temperatures. He was going to have to get his entire outfit washed because he was sweating so much.
Finally, finally, he felt a stirring within himself and he felt his hopes come rushing back.
The sun was rising!
Ignoring the pull of sleep and brushing off his fatigue he began pounding on the door relentlessly determined that this time he was going to get out.
"HELLO? IS ANYBODY OUT THERE? PLEASE HELP ME! PLEASE! I'M SO SCARED! HELP!"
His voice was raw and scratchy but he persisted and he could feel the knuckles of his fists begin to peel and bleed.
"I want my mom I want my mom," he whimpered hysterically, tears falling freely down his face, "MOMMA! MOMMA HELP ME PLEASE!"
Then he heard a click and the door was opening. Warm rays of sunlight filtered into the room and fresh, cool air flooded his lungs. He crawled out of the closet, his joints popping and cracking from lack of use and his eyes protesting violently against the onslaught of so much light, and curled up into a ball as soon as he was out.
Above him he heard shouts of people giving orders and the rustle of feet as others bolted to and fro around him, but he didn't care. He just wanted his mother.
"Momma momma momma momma momma," he cried softly to himself, "I want momma, I want momma please!"
And then she was there taking him into her arms and whispering soothing words into his ear, rocking him back and forth gently as she tried to calm him down.
"Shh my darling I'm here now. Momma's here now, everything is fine. Shh."
Shaking uncontrollably, Zuko burrowed himself deep into his mother's embrace, "M-momma momma momma," he sobbed. He clutched tightly to the front of her robes, trying to get as close to her as possible.
"I'm here darling, momma's here. Sleep now Zuko, rest; I won't leave you."
As his mother spoke Zuko's stamina gave out, the events of the past few hours leaving him utterly and completely exhausted. His eyes falling shut, he let out one last "momma" before he drifted off to the steady hum of his mother's voice.
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"Rise and shine Zuzu!"
There was a loud clang! that reverberated through the confines of Zuko's prison making his head pound in agony. With a pained groan Zuko managed to open his eyes though he was met with only the deafening darkness of his prison.
"How was your sleep brother? Comfortable?" Azula's voice grated in his head eliciting a sharp hiss from the prince, his eyes snapping shut to try and stem the rush of pain the sound brought on. "I think you've been in there long enough Zuzu, don't you? Three days really is pushing a person's limits, even for someone as stubborn as you."
If he had thought his sister's voice tormenting, it was nothing compared to the throbbing agony that assaulted his senses when she opened the door.
Though it was only torchlight, the flames were bright enough to send jolting pain shooting every which way in his head, "Ahhh fuck!" he cried his hands, now free of their confinement, shot up to try and ease his aching head. At least that was what they were supposed to do.
Fear settled into his heart as he tried again to lift his arms but wound up with the same result.
"W-what's…what's'rong with me?" he slurred almost drunkenly. As he spoke Zuko realized that his arms weren't the only parts of his body that weren't doing what they were told. His face and mouth felt heavy—which was most likely the cause of his current speech impediment—and there was almost no feeling in his legs. "What d-did you do?"
His legs gave out before Azula could respond and he crashed to the floor, his head cracking on the unyielding stone as his arms fell uselessly at his sides.
"Aw, is little Zuzu having trouble moving? It's a pity this won't last more than an hour or so; it took so long to get you looking like that!"
Zuko stared at her uncomprehendingly.
With a fiendish smirk she called over her shoulder, "Ty Lee, bring me the mirror. Let's show my traitor of a brother there are so many different ways to disfigure someone than a simple scar."
The usually perky acrobat came forward, albeit reluctantly, a small mirror in her hands. Wordlessly she passed it off to Azula and stepped back, her eyes now tearing up with unabashed concern for the former prince.
"Here, take a look. This is what happens to all those who stand in the way of the Fire Nation; they become hideous. But you already knew that didn't you?" There was no sympathy in her voice—there hadn't been since she was a small child—only gleeful anticipation.
She held the mirror in front of him and he finally saw himself.
His face was red and puffy, his eyes nearly swollen shut. For a moment he thought Azula had scarred him again, had given him back the mark that had defined him for so long. But then he noticed that his lips were just as bad as his face and, slowly tilting his head to look down at his arms, he saw that both limbs were ballooned as well.
"See how disgusting you look Zuzu? How much of a freak you are?" she laughed maniacally, her golden eyes taking on a crazed look, "Poor little Zuzu, you don't even know how you got like this do you? If you hadn't knocked out from the panic attack you had in the first hour you would know that you've been suspended in the coffin in every possible direction: straight up, laying down, slanted, upside down. We even spun you around for a half hour or so.
"But personally I got tired of waiting for you to wake up after three hours so I had you set upside down and…well," she shrugged, "you came out looking like this! You remind me of those chocolate pastries you were so fond of when we were younger; they had to sit out for a few days before they were ready to eat. Who knew that all there was to getting a rise out of you would be to dangle you upside down?"
Now Zuko could feel a stinging sensation running all over his numb body as the pins and needles seemed to intensify, his limbs slowly but surely regaining feeling. It seemed his disfigurement would remedy itself as it was just a lot of swelling, but Zuko couldn't help it as he flinched away from his reflection.
"Why?"
His question sounded pathetic even to his own ears. He hadn't even really intended to ask it; his sister's reasoning was too far gone for him to even try to comprehend. But there was a rush of emotion that washed over him as he stared defiantly up into Azula's harsh amber eyes—his mother's eyes—and suddenly he found tears pricking the corners of his own golden orbs.
How had they come to this? How had they managed to go from brother and sister—a relationship that should have developed into an incredible bond—to bitter enemies fighting on different sides of a war that was never theirs to begin with?
But despite Azula's lust for battle and her borderline psychotic devotion to their father, Zuko couldn't find it in his heart to hate her even after everything she had done.
He loved her.
He loved her because she was his sister. He loved her because she looked just like their mother. And he loved her because she was family.
There was the smallest of flickers in the princess's glowing depths but it was gone as swiftly as it had come, cloaked behind the look of crazed satisfaction she bore so often.
"Why? You want to know why I'm doing this Zuzu?" she knelt down next to him and grabbed his hair, effortlessly lifting his head, "I'm doing this because you've lost yourself and your values! You let uncle's traitorous ramblings and delusional philosophies cloud your judgment!
"And now you're traveling with the Avatar and his merry little band of freedom fighters! You've betrayed your nation, your family, father a-and—" her voice caught briefly and a fleeting agony flashed through her gaze before she gathered herself, though her voice was softer, almost as if she was completely sure of what she was saying, "and this is no less than what you deserve! All who oppose the Fire Nation are destined for this same fate!"
She released his head and got up, walking over to the stone table and running her hands along the small box that sat upon it, "Mai, Ty Lee…put him in the chair and tie him up."
As she turned around Zuko saw that her confident smirk was back in place and there was steel behind her eyes, "It's time my dear brother the was introduced to The Heretic's Fork." Opening the box in her hands, Azula withdrew a crude collar like device from within. It was adorned with two wicked looking prongs on either end that seemed to beg for blood.
Her two subordinates came from the shadows and dragged him to the chair, tying him up with guilt written on their faces. Ty Lee was biting her lip hard probably wishing she could be anywhere but here at the moment and Mai was looking everywhere but at Zuko.
Once they had him secured Azula stepped forward, "Now Zuzu we're going to go back to the questions to see if your time in the coffin has given you a better perspective on your position against me."
She hooked the collar around his neck and positioned the two prongs; one pressing lightly against the top of his chest and the other digging into the bottom of his chin just above his throat. The way she had set it up forced Zuko to tense his jaw and neck in order to keep the sharpened ends from piercing his skin.
"You'll find talking to be…exceedingly painful, so I'd prefer you just blink. One for "yes" and two for "no", understood?" He blinked twice, "Good. Now: where is the Avatar?"
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"So it's been three days since Zuko got taken in," Sokka sighed running a hand through his hair as he looked at Azzan, Ton and Suki in turn, "and I don't know if he's coming back."
The group was once again in the courtyard awaiting the call to dinner. They had managed to maintain a semblance of privacy for themselves by taking residence in the center of massed prisoners, none of whom seemed particularly interested in anything outside of their own conversations.
Suki put her hand on his shoulder offering her silent support while sending a helpless look to Azzan who, since Zuko's apprehension and Sokka's resulting depression, had been labeled the de facto leader of their group as he had the most experience in these types of situations.
The hostage taking and questioning situations that is.
Azzan's face was grim as he crossed his arms, "Well usually a questioning session doesn't last for more than a few hours, much less three days. Even the most stubborn of prisoners never last long but…if prince Zuko's as tough as he sounds then I'm not really surprised. Though I don't like his chances with Azula running the show."
Sokka clenched his fists in frustration, "So that's it? We're just gonna sit here and hope that he survives?"
"Sokka," Suki soothed squeezing his shoulder, "what can we do? We're allowed out of our cells for an hour a day and we don't exactly have access to the lower levels!"
The water tribe warrior growled and stood up from his seat on the bench, "That's not the point Suki! The point is that if it were me in there Zuko would be doing anything he could to bust me out of there! If not because the guy genuinely likes me then because Katara would tear him a new one if he even thought about leaving me behind, boyfriend or not!"
Suki raised a brow in question, "Boyfriend? I think you skipped over that little fact in your explanation Sokka. When did that happen? And for that matter how?"
"Eh a few weeks or so after Ba Sing Se," Sokka muttered offhandedly, "but that's not the point! The point is that we have to get him out of there and then find a way out of this La forsaken prison!"
"The fact that you wanna bust your friend out is all well and good Sokka," Ton spoke, "but we ain't exactly got any sort of way to do that. Privileged we are not."
With a small smirk and a shake of his head at the larger man, Azzan sighed, "As much as I hate to admit it, Ton is right. We have absolutely no way of even getting down into the interrogation rooms much less managing to break Zuko out of them. If we were to even think about doing this we would need some kind of...well, some kind of miracle."
Growling in anger, the tribesman bit his lip trying to think of some kind of solution to their problem, 'But even if we did manage to bust Zuko out, we'd just be walking into a welcoming committee of guards and firebenders…'
Every time he thought he had found the answer a new obstacle would rear its head and then he'd be back at square one in a fouler mood and a steadily worsening headache.
With his eyes downcast Sokka let out a long-suffering sigh, "La this is just getting worse and worse. Dammit!"
"Well that's one way to look at it I guess," said a cheerful voice from—oddly enough—below his current position, "if you like having a negative aura that is."
Sokka's head snapped up only to be met with a wall of pink, a rear end, and a pair of feet. Chancing a glance down, he found the source of the voice; the chi blocking demon herself! 'What was she doing here?' he thought with a frown his eyes meeting Suki's briefly and finding her expression just as puzzled as he felt.
Azzan voiced his unasked question, "Lady Ty Lee…what are you doing here amongst the uh…rabble?"
The acrobat giggled, her balance impeccable as she moved from one hand to the other effortlessly, "Azula doesn't need my help with Zuko right now, so I thought I'd get out of that dirty old room and grab some fresh air. And I like walking around the prisoners—some of their conversations are really interesting."
Sokka cringed. It figured the one person who was paying attention to their conversation would be one of Azula's right hand men…or women as was the case. Why did things like this always happen to him? Why couldn't he get a break for once?
It seemed the others had grasped onto the same fact as they all shifted nervously, not positive if they were on delicate grounds with the bubbly girl or not.
"Are you going to hand us to your boss then?" Suki asked with an aggravated edge, "Line us up for our own torture sessions?" Apparently she was still harboring a grudge against the balancing wonder.
Ty Lee's eyes widened in surprise, "Oh no! No no no no no! I'm not here to turn you guys in or anything. I actually," she paused, seeming to think over her next words carefully, "I want to help you get Zuko out."
If it hadn't been for the cacophony of conversations around them, the silence that followed would have been unbearable. As it was the four friends could only stare at the acrobat in stunned disbelief unable to comprehend what she had said.
"Uh," Ton mumbled, confusion evident on his face and in his voice, "did she…? Can we…what just happened?"
"No way!" Suki growled bitingly, "There's no way in hell we're going to fall for your tricks! Do you think we're stupid Bendy Girl?"
Ty Lee flipped off her hands and onto her feet, immediately trying to placate the irate Kyoshi warrior, "Please I'm not trying to—"
Suki took a step back and fell into a fighting stance, her eyes narrowed dangerously, "Don't you dare come any closer to me freak! Keep your hands away from me or so help me I'll knock your damn smile right off your face!"
The girl flinched, seeming to shrink away as her hands that had been trying to calm the russet haired warrior fell limply at her sides. Her eyes took on a glassy look as tears welled up within them, the hurt of Suki's comment on her face for all to see.
"Suki!" Sokka admonished sending his girlfriend a scolding glare, "Don't! This could be our chance!"
"What?" blue grey eyes bored into cerulean, "You're not seriously going to buy her act are you? It's obviously a trap! She works for Azula for spirits' sake, she's just trying to get us into an even bigger mess than we already are!"
"I think," said Azzan, who had remained quiet up until this point, "that we should hear what Lady Ty Lee has to say, seeing as we were at a loss as to what to do by ourselves. Having her insight might be just what we need to get Zuko out safely."
His words were enough to quell Suki's anger and the group of four turned their attention back to the girl in pink.
"Okay Ty Lee," Sokka acknowledged with a nod, "we're listening."
"Well as you all know Azula has Zuko locked up tight down in the interrogation room and—"
"Yeah, we got that part Air Head," Suki snapped, her irate tone evidence to her already waning patience, "Get to the point."
Ty Lee swallowed nervously and began wringing her hands, "Um…I-I…she, Azula I mean, she's…well, I've noticed that she doesn't seem to be as in control as she normally is. She was talking to Zuko and asking him whether or not the Avatar was really dead and even when he told her yes Azula was convinced that he was lying to her.
"She was determined to get Zuko to talk so she had us, Mai and I, put him in this box thing that she called "the coffin" or something. She knows that Zuko has a fear of enclosed spaces and the box was small enough to set him off. About an hour or so into the torture he started hyperventilating. Two hours in, he was pounding every inch of his body he could against the walls of the coffin to try and tip it over."
She paused to take a breath and tried to blink back a few tears that were threatening to fall, "Thirty minutes later he was screaming. He was screaming non-stop for all of fifteen minutes before he'd screamed himself hoarse. Then there were only whimpers—he was terrified. That's when Azula ordered us to flip him around so that he was upside down.
"She said she wanted to see what would happen if she left him like that…see if he would pop. Thank Agni he didn't but…but he passed out a few minutes in. Unless the body's been trained to take that kind of influx of blood going to your head you won't be conscious very long. Fortunately Azula was getting tired by that point and she fell asleep for a few hours. That's when Mai and I flipped Zuko upright.
"Today, after three days of that, she finally let him out. He looked horrible. Everything was swollen and bloated and his skin was unnaturally red and looked ready to just…burst. Now she's getting ready to put him under some new method but they were talking before and…I think Zuko actually managed to get through to her!
"He was lying there looking up at her and he asked her "why", which I took for "why are you doing this" and she started shouting about how he was betraying his nation and his family and I swear she barely stopped herself from saying he had betrayed her too."
She looked around at them trying to gauge their reactions to her story. Sokka spoke first scratching his head in confusion, "Well…thanks for the play-by-play of Zuko's torture session I guess but…how does that help us get him out of there?"
Ty Lee blinked, "Oh yeah," she heaved a tired sigh, her hand rubbing her eyes, "well as you can probably see three days of standing guard during a torture session hasn't exactly been good for my mind. I'm a little slow on the uptake and it would probably be really easy to fool me into opening the door for you during the next block of "questioning", especially if you were pretending to be guards."
She didn't say it outright, but the message was abundantly clear to those surrounding her.
Sharing an excited look with the others, Sokka finally felt himself smile for the first time in three days. "Awesome, when is Azula starting on him again?"
"Like I said before she's probably started already but she'll probably get bored with it soon enough; it's some kind of choke collar with spikes that'll cut into Zuko if he so much as breathes deeply." She let out a humorless laugh, "Fortunately—or unfortunately depending on how you see it—Zuko has an incredible tolerance for pain."
"Dammit," Sokka cursed, "Are you sure there's no way for us to get him out of there before the next session?"
Ty Lee shook her head with a frown, "No. If you tried to move him before she starts Azula would be on you in seconds. You have to catch her napping."
"While your plan has merit Lady Ty Lee," Azzan interrupted, his hand resting thoughtfully on his chin, "how are we supposed to get down into the lower levels without getting caught? It's not as if we're free to walk around where we please."
The acrobat smiled brightly, "That's where I come in! While the rest of the prison is well guarded, there's a significant drop off in terms of security down below. And," she looked around sheepishly, "I may or may not have knocked a couple of guards out, taken their uniforms, gagged a bound them and then thrown them in a storage closet."
Ton seemed to get a kick out of this little bit of information and let out a bark of laughter, "You know I like you little lady. You ain't nothing like the rest of these Fire Nation bozos uh—no offense Az," he assured the firebender at his side, "but why, if I may be so bold, are you helping them?"
A sad look came over Ty Lee's face, "I've been friends with Azula for a long time and…and she wasn't always like she is now. She used to be a better person before she started training under her father every day. Of course she's always had a rather convincing way with words and she's always been able to get her way but…she never used to be so…angry like she is now."
Suki snorted in disbelief, her arms crossed, "For some reason I find that hard to believe. It's more likely that she's been playing you from the beginning, I'm sure it's not that hard."
"Suki!" Sokka gasped, shocked at her rather callous attitude, "Will you stop that, please? She's trying to help us!"
The Kyoshi warrior huffed in annoyance and was about to respond when Azzan placed a calming hand on her shoulder, "Sokka's right Suki. This may be our only chance to get Prince Zuko out of there—you can't afford to let petty squabbles get in the way right now."
Suki seemed to deflate at the bender's words, her anger leaving her face rapidly as she sighed, "Alright, I'm sorry Bendy Girl. I'm just…it's just that you all seem to be overlooking the fact that once we get Zuko out any advantage we may have had with the uniforms—which we still don't have by the way—will be gone! How are we supposed to get out of this spirits forsaken place?"
"Now that," Ton cut in with a manic grin, "is something I can help out with! You'll just need a little distraction and old Ton here knows just how to do it. Just let me spread the word around the yard and you'll have your way out of here right around dinner time!" The Earth kingdom man looked to Azzan with a smirk, "Ain't I been telling you there was gonna be trouble soon?"
The firebender laughed, "Yes, but you never said anything about you being the instigator of said trouble Ton! As far as I'm concerned that bet is now null and void."
"Pfft you're just mad that I was right! Besides, I never said it wouldn't be me doing the instigating did I?" Ton tossed back with a huff, "Fire Nation cheat!"
"Earth kingdom con artist!"
"Children," Sokka scolded, "Focus now, bicker later." Turning back to Ty Lee he nodded at her, "Okay, we'll do it. But if this turns out to be a trap then so help me La I will kill you."
Ty Lee shivered when the Water Tribe teen's eyes met hers; there was no hint of sympathy or jest, just the very real promise to deliver on his threat if she double-crossed them. "I swear to you everything I said is true! I've given you the plan, I'll deposit the uniforms in your cell right now, I'll let you in and the only people you'll have to worry about are Azula and any guards that happen to be lingering about.
"Mai and I won't be attacking, we may even help if things start to get sticky, but Azula isn't exactly easy to bring down. It'll be up to you to get Zuko out of the room and then get yourselves out of the prison."
Looking over the group one last time she gave them a shaky smile, "I'd better get back to Azula before she starts to miss me. The passage leading down to the interrogation rooms is just passed the mess hall, first door on your left. I wish you all the best of luck."
With that, Ty Lee flipped back onto her hands and expertly wove her way through the crowded courtyard and out of sight.
"If you'll excuse me," Ton rumbled as he pushed himself up from the bench, "I've got to go spread a little chaos amongst the ranks. Here's hoping the next time I see you all you'll be accompanied by a short-tempered Fire Nation prince!"
Azzan shook his head with a light chuckle, "Well I guess all that remains is getting ready then. Sokka, I assume you and myself will be masquerading as the guards?"
"Yeah," the warrior replied, "that way Suki can help Ton start whatever havoc he has in mind. But we still don't really have a way out, just the distraction."
"Hey, what about the gondola?" Suki offered, her eyes alight with excitement, "we could use one of the gondolas to get out of here while everyone's occupied. All we have to do is flip the switch and then make sure no one is able to follow or stop us!"
Sokka grinned and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, "Suki you're a genius! That's a brilliant idea, right Azzan?"
The man in question nodded, a small smile on his face, "Provided you and I get out of our hostage rescue successfully, yes that is a very brilliant idea. But right now we've got to get back to your cell and into those uniforms. I would rather not leave the prince with his sister longer than necessary."
"Right," Sokka breathed and straightened his shoulders, "let's get this party started!"
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"Well Zuzu it seems that you're too stubborn for your own good," Azula mocked from her seat across the table from him, "even with two puncture wounds in your chin and chest, both of which are pouring blood, you still haven't said a word. It seems you've actually grown a spine."
The prince kept his face neutral and bit back the retort that was on his lips for what felt like the millionth time in the last few hours. At first it wasn't too hard to keep the prongs from piercing his skin, but soon enough he had felt the muscles in his neck begin to cramp and fatigue. Accompanied by Azula's constant flow of questions, his head had slowly but surely fallen onto the sharp metal, which in turn had pushed the opposite side into the top of his chest.
He stared into his sister's golden eyes as he blocked out the pain, never once flinching. But then a dangerous smile made its way across her lips—a cruel, wicked smile that made his stomach drop and his heart race.
"You know brother, when I had you locked up inside your little bed, you were talking in your sleep. You said some pretty…interesting things. There was something about a boat, a sky bison, a beach and some friends that you were missing but," she paused, one of her fingers ghosting over her lips, "the most interesting thing was about a certain little waterbender who you seem to have grown rather…attached to."
'No!' Zuko thought frantically, 'no no NO! I can't have been so stupid!'
"Is it true Zuzu? Is it true that you're dating that little water tribe whore?" Her eyes glinted with glee as she steepled her hands together curiously, though Zuko had a feeling that she knew full well the answer to her question, "Is she your girlfriend now?"
He blinked twice rapidly despite the sinking feeling in his stomach, hoping against hope that the one moment she would misjudge anything in her life would happen right now.
"Come now Zuzu, don't lie to your little sister. Didn't mother always tell us not to lie? I'm sure she'd be appalled if she could see her little Zuko lying to his family and betraying his nation just for a little foreign delight! She'd be so disappointed in you brother, just like everyone else." Azula laughed darkly, "But of course that's not the only secret you've been hiding, is it?"
Time stopped.
Zuko felt his eyes widen in fear. She knew! His sister knew about Katara's pregnancy! Azula knew that she was with child—his child!
'Agni NO! This cannot be happening!' He could feel the tears start to prick at his eyes and every fiber of his being was screaming at him to attack his sister, to make sure that what she knew never left the room and made it to his father.
"I thought not. Tell me Zuko—when is that bitch due to bring about another monstrosity into the world?"
There was a knock on the door followed by Ty Lee's soft voice, "Azula can you let me in?"
The princess growled in frustration, a snarl escaping her before she got up to get the door. She'd finally broken Zuko's façade and was right on the verge of driving the knife home! Damn Ty Lee's horrible timing! In the seconds that it took her to open the door for her friend, her brother would be able to settle his nerves and fall back behind his irritating emotionless defense and her one ace in the hole would be all for naught.
'Well I do still have one trick left up my sleeve.' she thought with a smirk.
Wrenching the door open she was met with the grey eyes of her childhood friend, "What kept you Ty Lee? You were supposed to get something to eat and come straight back here so that we could get to the last of Zuzu's sessions."
The acrobat gulped, "T-the food wasn't ready in the warden's office so I had to make a detour over to the mess hall and get the cook to put something together for me. I didn't mean to take so long Azula."
The fire nation royal stared at the pink clad girl for a little while longer before nodding, "Fine. And you Mai?"
Ty Lee jumped and whirled around, her gaze landing on the quiet girl's figure as it emerged from the shadows, "Just doing what you asked."
"Good," Azula smiled, "Now let's get Zuko ready for his last round. He should love this one seeing as he's fallen for a waterbender." Turning to her brother she asked him, "What do you think Zuzu? Does waterboarding sound fun to you?"
Zuko managed to sneer at his sister with all the contempt he could muster, but a bubbling fear was creeping through his body.
"Ty Lee, Mai—tie him down on the table and get the barrels set up; we're going to turn his newest affinity into his greatest fear."
Once the fork was removed from around his neck, Zuko was finally able to briefly stretch out the horrible feeling of his cramping muscles before the two girls moved him to the table. Large chains went around both his feet and hands in order to keep him from escaping.
When he was secured Azula walked over, a small rag in her hands and a grin on her face, "And now the fun really begins Zuzu. I want you to tell me where your little water tribe whore and her friends are, understand?"
He ignored her and looked away.
Before he knew what was happening Azula had dropped the rag on his face and pulled it taut around his head. There was silence for a few seconds before the water hit. Caught by surprise, the prince choked on the liquid, coughing violently to try and clear his throat.
The second wave hit him just as he took a deep gulp of air.
Azula didn't let him breathe for too long and soon enough spots were filling his vision and he was beginning to feel the effects of the lack of oxygen. He was heaving and desperate for an uninterrupted gasp of air when she asked him again.
"Where are they brother? Hurry now, I wouldn't want you to drown."
Though he was only able to take in short breaths of air, Zuko managed to speak, "I'll n-never t-tell you anything!"
He was assaulted by more water.
At first the water hadn't bothered him—aside from the fact that it was probably going to spell his end—but it seemed Azula knew just how to manipulate it, knew just the right time to pull away. Several times Zuko had been ready to black out, even ready to die, but the torrents of water had stopped. And then she'd ask him the same question and he'd either say the same thing or stay silent.
But, under the constant battery, he was beginning to lose his grasp on time. If this was what could possibly happen to him every time he went under water then, if he got out of this, Zuko vowed he would never get into the water again.
"Tell me where your little whore and bastard child are now Zuko or I'll kill all your little friends that are here with you!"
"F-fuck you!"
The next thing he knew, there was an incredibly strong and unnaturally long stream of water being poured over his face.
There was no room to breathe.
It got in to his mouth, his nose, eyes and ears. He couldn't see, or hear or even smell—everything was water. The fluid seemed to pound in his head and behind his eyes, a loud, vicious pulse that would probably be the last thing Zuko ever heard.
Which was a shame because he had really wanted to see Katara again. He had wanted to hold her in his arms and run his fingers through her hair, kiss her lips and marvel at the miracle they had managed to create together. He had wanted a life with her—a future. And yet he would die in this prison—at the hands of his own sister no less—and never get to see his own child or his beloved again.
Hadn't he promised her that he would come back? Hadn't he told her that things were going to be all right and that nothing would keep them apart? Now her own element was going to be where he met his end and the irony couldn't have been any crueler.
Fate, it seemed, had fucked him over once again.
And suddenly there was shouting and explosions and then he was moving. He couldn't comprehend how or why, but he wasn't going to look a gift ostrich-horse in the mouth…at least not this time.
His senses were assaulted by a blinding light and, for a moment, he felt like he was back in the palace and stumbling out of the linen closet crying his eyes out. Only this time, it wasn't his mother he was calling for.
"K-Katara…K…Tara."
His world went black.
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"She must have knocked out the only two fat guards stationed on this whole island!" Sokka growled as he and Azzan made their way through the winding hallways and towards the interrogation rooms, "I mean look at me! The whole uniform feels like it's going to fall off me at any moment!"
Rolling his eyes, the firebender responded, "My condolences. Now will you stop complaining about the blasted outfit and focus on the task at hand? Suki said that we've only got a five-minute window to get him out and moving before she and Ton start the riot upstairs."
The blue-eyed teen responded with a growl, "I know I know! I'm just getting a little nervous now that we're actually executing the plan; it's a bad habit I have. I've never been able to shake it and it's usually why things tend to go horribly wrong for me."
"We'll be fine," Azzan said after a small lull in the conversation, "just let me do the talking when we get there. If there's any talking to be done."
Despite being clothed in the guard uniforms, both Sokka and Azzan were careful to sneak passed the mess hall as inconspicuously as possible. They were so close now that they could practically feel the anticipation manifesting before them.
"There's the door," Azzan muttered, silently pulling it open and motioning for Sokka to go on ahead and down the stairs, "now all we have to do is listen for the screams and maniacal laughter."
"That's…really morbid Azzan," Sokka frowned, a rather peevish look on his face, "really really morbid."
The bender didn't respond for at that moment they heard an unmistakable, demented laugh. As their eyes met, one thought crossed their minds and left their mouths simultaneously.
"Azula!"
Finding the source, Azzan motioned for Sokka to stand behind him, before taking a deep breath and knocking on the door.
Not five seconds later Ty Lee's voice came from right behind the door, "Who is it?"
"Security detail ma'am," Azzan lied, "we've been sent down to escort you ladies up and off of the Boiling Rock. There's been a revolt topside and things are going to get messy before they get better."
"Oh," the acrobat gasped, "I'd better let you guys in right now, I don't feel like getting killed today."
The sound of a slide-lock being pulled back met their ears and the creak of the door opening was all the pair needed to take in the sight before them.
There was Azula standing beside a table where she towered over the struggling figure of Zuko who had a rag over his face and was being bombarded with gallons of water. And judging by his weakening movements, the prince was fading fast.
Azzan jumped into action first sending torrents of flame at the young princess who had yet to see the intruders. His flames caught her attention however and they were easily dissipated.
"What is this? How did you two get in here?" she looked to Ty Lee and Mai, "And why haven't you taken them down yet?" When she was met by Mai's emotionless face and Ty Lee's baffled expression she growled in annoyance, "Must I do everything myself?" She dropped the barrel, whose contents had just been being dumped over her brother's face, and lashed out with her own flames.
"Sokka, get Zuko!" Azzan barked as he deflected the blue flames of the firebending prodigy, "I'll hold of Azula!"
The water tribe boy made to dash towards Zuko's prone form when he felt a hand on his sleeve. Looking back, he met Ty Lee's grey eyes, "What? What is it? I've gotta get Zuko out of here!"
"I know," she said placing something cool and metallic in his hand, "but you're going to need that to get him out of the chains."
Looking down, Sokka saw that it was the key to the locks, "Thanks Ty Lee." She smiled at him before shooing him away.
Meanwhile, Azzan had managed to move Azula away from Zuko and the table and was successfully fending off her every attack. Obviously unused to any sort of challenge, the girl growled in frustration, "Why are you even fighting for these pieces of filth? They're nothing! They're lower than dirt and my dear brother is a traitor to his nation, which is just what you're on the verge of being unless you cease your attack right now!"
Seeing that Sokka had managed to remove the prince from the table, Azzan laughed at Azula's threat, "Please princess, I'm already considered a traitor. Nothing you say or do can possibly make me want to stop, especially seeing as I have the upper hand!"
"Azzan, I've got him now let's go!" Sokka shouted from the doorway.
Azula's features lit up, "So you're the infamous Captain Azzan that sired a child with that pathetic water peasant! That was your wife my father ordered burned at the stake for all to see, wasn't it?" She watched as the collected fighter seemed to vanish before her very eyes to be replaced by an enraged maniac. "It's your daughter that currently resides with the midwives at the Royal Palace waiting desperately for her father to come back to her."
And just like that, the fight left Azzan, "My daughter…is…alive? But…b-but…"
"Very much so," Azula assured him, "and you can go back to her—with a full pardon—if you just stop this foolish attack and take care of that stupid little water tribe whelp for me! What do you say Captain?"
So many thoughts were flitting through the firebender's mind; whether the princess was telling the truth, whether he dare believe her, whether he could betray Sokka and the prince by taking Azula's offer.
'No,' he thought, gritting his teeth, 'I don't know if she's telling me the truth. I doubt she'll even let me see my daughter again even if she were still alive, and I can't…I won't turn on Sokka like that!'
"Azzan?" Sokka called, now unsure whose side the bender was on.
"Don't worry Sokka," he said, "I'm still with you." With a roar, Azzan loosed a pillar of fire at the raven-haired princess, "this is for the family that you and your father stole from me!"
There was an incredible bang! that rent the air and, thinking this would be his best chance to get away, Azzan took it. Turning toward the door the man ran to Sokka's aid and hoisted Zuko's other arm across his shoulders.
He didn't see the smoke clear.
Didn't see the irate fire princess take her stance.
Didn't see the sparks of electricity as they manifested themselves at her fingertips.
And he didn't see as the bolt of lightning was flung at his exposed back.
He did hear his name being called.
He did hear the sound of shuffling footsteps behind him as he turned back and was met with a blinding light.
He saw her take the impact of the bolt straight to the chest.
He heard the scream of agony as it tore from her lips.
He heard the thud as she landed on the ground by his feet, smoke rising from the singed flesh.
He saw the pain in her eyes as they met his.
He stared as the light left her eyes.
He saw Ty Lee die.
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A/N: There you have it guys and gals! Chapter 14! I really hope you enjoyed it because I enjoyed writing it, even though the chapter was being a bit of a douche to me the whole time it was being written. Anyway I'm always open to comments and your thoughts so please, drop a line! I love you all forever! Til next time!
-HakushoRurouni