Return of the Blue Spirit Chapter Three
"Zuzu, no fair!" Azula screamed at her older brother. "Why can't I have a mask? The Sapphire Dragon can beat the Blue Spirit any day!" Zuko looked down at his five year old sister and smirked behind his wooden mask, "Dragons don't need masks, because they don't need to be sneaky. The Blue Spirit needs the stealth to right wrongs and fight injustice in the world!" Zuko exclaimed while being a tad over dramatic. "Well at least a dragon is not bound by that blind law of justice, a dragon can do anything it pleases to obtain its goal." Zuko fell silent at this remark as did Ty Lee and Mai who were playing just a few yards away. 'Mother was right; there is something wrong with her!'
With watchful eyes the Spirit took note of every movement from the guards and every weakness in the prison's structure. Though the prison seemed old and weak, there was no way to scale any part of the wall. The Spirit knew there were only two ways inside; the front gate or clear over the wall. The Spirit chose the less direct path and all It needed to do now was wait till sundown to spill the blood of those jailers.
The day went as all the other days went; wake up, eat, go to the courtyard, eat, back to the courtyard, eat and then return to the cells. The prisoners here were very boring as well; mostly peace loving prisoners of war who wanted to bring balance back to the world…. Mai was about to die from boredom. Ty Lee was with the Kyoshi Warriors and they were discussing how to become an official Warrior. 'These girls must be kindred spirits with Ty Lee in order for her to willingly become part of a matched set,' Mai thought while staring off into the horizon. At that moment she saw the shadow again, only this time it moved to the tallest point of the surrounding rocks. Mai blinked and the shadow was gone.
'Crap, how does she keep spotting me?'
Mai rubbed her eyes; no doubt despair had taken her and was causing hallucinations of a rescuer. She knew she would never leave these gates and it was foolish to think otherwise. Ty Lee saw her friend's aura change and ran over to embrace her in a bone crushing hug. "Get off of me!" but Ty Lee held strong, "We ARE going to get out of here Mai, please don't ever think otherwise." Mai sighed, it wasn't
an agreement, but she didn't protest so that was a start! Ty Lee gave one more squeeze and released her hostage. The warning gong rang out and the prisoners got up to return to their cells. 'This place is suffocating me, if only Ty Lee weren't here I could be rid of this jail as well as this body,' but even Mai knew that if she took her life the little acrobat's world would be shattered. She had done too much to keep her friend alive to see her throw it away in a bloody heap by her own hand. Mai took one last look at the top of the rocks where she had last seen the shadow before she was roughly shoved by a guard to the ground.
Mai looked up at the Spirit's position, but there was no way she could see It… right? The Spirit peered down again only to see Mai being forced to the ground by a bulky looking guard, but Mai never fought back and just got up to go to her cell. The Spirit could feel the anger within Itself growing until It just had to look away to contain It's self. 'I will take extra enjoyment in your death, that I can promise you.' The gong was about to sound for complete lock down. The Spirit rose to It's feet and readied an arrow to the bow string, the Blue Spirit was not a master archer but It was good enough to create a passage to the prison. The Spirit exhaled and took It's stance, the first gong sounded and the spirit released the arrow toward the highest peak of the prison. It was a direct hit and the Spirit caught the rope in time to tie it off. The Spirit knew this would be a one way path; It would have to be a bit more direct to escape the stronghold. The gong had five rings to go as the Spirit took It's bow and used it to slide down the rope. The dusk air was chilling as the Spirit slid down the rope holding onto the bow so It's hands would not burn. As the last gong sounded the Spirit landed on the ledge of one of the spires jetting up from the prison. The Spirit took a dagger from It's belt and cut the rope letting it fall into the dark.
The day was completely forgotten as the placid shadows of the night overtook the prison. This cover was needed as the Spirit moved It's way toward the perimeter guards on the top of the fence, It would need to be silent and quick in order to clear them out without sounding an alarm. The Spirit crept to the staircase that led to the upper perimeter; It could hear one guard making his was down the spiral staircase 'Good, one will be down without even being in earshot of the others.' It waited until the guard was only seconds away when It quickly spun into the sight of the victim and thrust It's dagger into his throat and before he even knew that he was in danger the Spirit jumped behind him in the staircase an snapped his neck like a twig.
Ty Lee grew more concerned for her friend everyday. She at least made friends with the Kyoshi Warriors but Mai just sat on the bench brooding her life away. Ty Lee knew that Mai was never really one to be hopeful about anything, but she had to convince her somehow that they would escape this prison life.
She could only hope to do this before Mai decided to escape not only this prison, but also this life. Ty Lee had seen this turmoil in Mai's aura and feared every night that they separated that it would be the last time her spirit and body would be seen as one. 'Please don't leave me Mai, stay with me and everything will be alright… you'll see.'
Coated with blood and dotted with bodies, the upper perimeter was secure. Many of the lifeless corpses showed no emotion of fear or anger; they were robbed of life before they knew of the attack. The Spirit moved It's way down to the entrance of the cell block where a dimly lit tunnel created a path from the outside air to the stuffy cages where the prisoners lay in waiting. There was a single guard on patrol in the hallway. The Spirit swiftly and silently bound It's way to the pipes that ran along the top of the tunnel. With making less noise than the gentle wind caressing the mouth of the tunnel the Blue Spirit made It's way to the attentive guard until It was hovering right above the guard's head. In a quick motion the Spirit reached down, while securing It's weight in leg strength, grabbed the guard's head and snapped it. The Spirit was going to put the lifeless body on the ground when It heard another guard about to enter the tunnel.
The Spirit silently pulled up It's own weight and that of the lifeless body in It's arms and disappeared into the shadows of the pipes. The guard came into sight and was revealed to be the bulky guard standing at 7ft 3. The Spirit already vowed to take this man's life, and what better time than the present? The guard was right under the Spirit and It's fallen prey when he stopped. Something warm and wet fell to his face, he assumed it was just another leak from the pipes until he wiped it away and saw scarlet on his finger tips. His breath was stolen from him as he dared to ascend his gaze to the source or the blood; it was the most terrifying sight he would ever see; a lifeless friend with a small stream of blood emerging from his mouth, and the truly horrid creature that held him captive. It was a blue demon with black hollow eyes that bore into the soul of the guard, the demon grasped It's dagger and slit the corpse's neck in two blinding the giant below with a crimson shower. The guard heard a thud then a padded slash when the Spirit released the body and came down It's self in a shallow puddle of blood. The guard franticly tried to remove the blinding blood from his eyes until he felt a sharp pain in his midsection. The tears that ran from the guard's face cleared his eyes so he could see the demon for what it was. It was not a demon at all but a person dressed in black wearing a blue wooden mask, quite a bit shorter than himself that had impaled his body. These human features did not calm the guard but shocked him even more, 'A person? A human being… but how could…' His internal questioning came to an end when the blade sliced through his body to the jaw. His final thought was how it looked like it was smiling while his life ended.
The Spirit broke into a run after the cells that It hungered for. 'Ty Lee, Mai… I'm coming.'