A/N: EEE! It's chapter two! I like this chapter because... there's action and violence -- oh how we love that, right?! Right?... Anyway, there's also a twist. I'm not too fond of what happens in the end... What happens, you ask? Please read! I promise you it's worth it!
Episode .02; Spark. Fire.
"Only the dead have seen the end of war." -- Plato
Azula would like to thank her lackeys for aimlessly following her every order. The Dai Li had been so obsessed with her power and sinful persona that they were willing to give her their lives if she so needed it. The only thing she despised about them was that they insisted on following her around like newborn puppies. However, their inability to leave her alone did prove helpful in this instance.
"Ugh.. What trickery is this?" Ozai inquired before really giving himself a chance to think about it, and he immediately regrets speaking out in such a shocked tone. In the face of danger he must always remain calm.
He strains his neck, it's the only thing he can move; and oh how he wishes he could point a fiery finger at his beloved daughter. His entire body up to his shoulders is surrounded by dark earth, his silly head wobbles every now and then as he tries to pry himself free. Azula simply snickers and enjoys the moment; The vision of her father bound and powerless. She was finally going to claim the throne for herself. Her plan, although it had begun earlier than expected, was falling perfectly into place.
"Ironic, no? I'm pretty sure that just now it was you who wanted to see me restrained. But, in the end, the outcome is exactly the opposite. Entertaining, isn't it?" Azula smiles with all sincerity. Her intuitions are always right; He was unfit to be the Fire Lord, and someone needed to knock him off of his high horse.
If only he hadn't thrown me…
She thinks. It was his blind hostility that vaulted her "plan" into action.
"I warned you I might seem groggy today…" She says, squeezing drops of water from her long hair.
"But, perhaps that was an understatement?"
Ozai doesn't respond to her taunts, but Azula can just see how furious he is. The sweat beading on his face and the veins bulging underneath lightly tanned skin tell it all. His hair is a mess, sweeping over his vibrant gold eyes and swaying against his haggard breath. His guards line up defensively behind him, poised to attack. But more of Azula's Dai Li Agents appear, equally prepared to fight and locking both sides into a stalemate.
Azula is the Dai Li's queen, their God; For her the Dai Li had sworn to do anything and everything they could in their power to protect her, they would do anything to make her happy.
But who would attack first, the Dai Li or Ozai's defense? With Ozai and Azula standing between them, dead center on the battle field, neither side wanted to risk fighting and hurting the one they served. So the men stood, firmly grounded and ready for anything.
"You're a traitor! Are you not completely yourself? Perhaps you have been brainwashed, are these actions even registering into that evil mind of yours? I can't believe I wasted such ridiculous emotions on you; You aren't worthy of my concern, my happiness, my love -- no matter how simulated those feelings may have been. You are worthless, Azula. Just like your pathetic brother! Nothing but scum, filth, scraps of food that the peasants live off of."
"Ugh, for someone with such limited control of their limbs you certainly talk more than you should!" She snaps. The casing of earth around Ozai tightens, causing it's prisoner to growl deeply in his throat. It was a warning for him to be quiet, but he doesn't heed her threat.
One of the firebenders sends a flame toward Azula. But he only succeeds in causing his own demise. She dodges the blow; Whilst a Dai Li agent bends the terrain beneath the soldiers feet. A wide column of earth juts from the ground and smashes the pathetic male into the high ceiling once it had reached the top. Blood trickled from the edges of the beam and ran a haphazard course down its side. Dark red like rubies, the blood gleamed in the dancing candle light of the Fire Lord's throne room.
Azula laughs to herself, the sight of blood always made her feel giddy. She was tempted to touch it; to feel the cold, wet liquid run over her fingers and puddle in her palm. But instead she remained stationed near the Dai Li and glared at her father.
Though his soldiers audibly gasped and began to fear the 15 year old child, Ozai ignores it all.
"It was too good to be true; That one of my children had actually been worthy of being related to me was nothing more than foolish idealism. Your grandfather made the silly mistake of loving his children, and look where he is now! He's a rotting corpse in his grave! Murdered by his own child, no less." He laughs haughtily to himself, showing pride in what he had done.
Azula is fairly shocked; She always suspected it was him who had killed Azulon, but she never gave the incident much thought. It was hard to admit that she cared much. Of course she had wanted her father to be Fire Lord, and therefore Azulon would have to be dethroned; But Ozai's stoic personality left her to believe that Azulon had simply died of old age -- everyone expected he would.
"So it was you who killed grandfather."
Well, I doubt that Iroh or my mother could do it…
"I suppose that for repeating this same mistake my father has made I shall also suffer his fate. Though handed to me by a female, you still are my strongest child. So I guess it all really is the same.
Therefore, when you ascend the throne, and in many years after you have kids of your own -- I wish with all of my dark heart that my grandson does away with your pitiful existence." He then spits at her feet, and Azula almost becomes genuinely hurt by her fathers words.
"Am I that easy to hate?" She asks, mildly interested in his answer. It was something she might have to work on. Being a likeable person keeps coups to a minimum.
"Have your men release me and I'll show you just how easy you are to hate." he says, smiling.
One, two, three, four…
There were seven Fire Nation guards against her six Dai Li Agents, not that much of a difference at all. And if she were to count herself in the fight both sides would be equally numbered. Fire Nation soldiers are not familiar with the act of surrendering, but that's exactly what Azula needed this group of men to do. This was not the right place or the time to fight.
"Goodness father, when did you become so melodramatic?" Azula asks rolling her eyes.
"If it's a fight you want then present to me stronger men. Killing innocent people isn't exactly my thing. Fortunately, It's one trait that I didn't pick up from you. I did, however, learn how to make people wish they never existed.
And yes, I admit…" She begins with an air of disappointment in her voice.
"I'll probably never bring myself to be able to actually kill you." Her sinister grin returns. How far her lie extends, no one really knows. Lightly she taps her feet against the dark tile and lifts one hand towards her father.
"But I'm sure I can make you wish that I could."
"I doubt that." Is all Ozai says, puzzling Azula.
She barely has a chance to even consider what he could mean before one of her agents, a firebender in disguise, shoots a flame into the center of her back.
A/N: This is Azula I'm writing about. If you want to read about her frolicking in sunflower fields then I want to deter you away from this fic now. See, I aim to keep her IC. And even if this fic ends up becoming AU, I still want Azula to be Azula.. Anyway, I should also point out that I've decided to put a pairing in here! Zoisaito, you should have a good idea of what that pairing is!
Hmm, I guess I should edit this and say that: Yes, I know the part about Azula having kids will make you twitch! XD