Disclaimer: I do not own anything. All belongs to Mike an Bryan
This is my first story so all recommendations are appreciated. I know that this never happened but I had this idea ever since I saw Boiling Rock. The OOC is intended in this story as you will see at the end of this chapter. While not as gory as the last chapter, this still has quite a bit of blood and it hints at self mutilation. Please enjoy and tell me if you liked it… or not. All reviews are welcome.
Return of the Blue Spirit Chapter Four
The Blue Spirit made It's way to the third floor where It knew Ty Lee and Mai were currently residing. With only the sound of distant wailing and It's own padded feet, the Spirit kept a keen ear out for the expected arrival of guards on their patrol. Beads of sweat from It's forehead were absorbed into the wooden mask as the Spirit reached the final step of It's climb. It could see three guards within four yards and knew there were two more down the hallway that will come when the slightest sound of struggle was heard.
The Spirit slid to the edge of the stairwell waiting to make It's first strike. The opportunity came as one of the guards got up and stated, "Lee has been away for too long, I better make sure he is not giving those prisoners his 'special attention' again, I wont be too long." The Spirit prepared It's dagger as the guard stumbled over toward the stairs, "Shut up in there you two," the guard said while he threw his fist on the metallic door known to be Ty Lee's cell in passing, "I swear If I hear on more peep from…" his throat was slashed before he could finish the sentence. Loud gurgled sounds came from the guard's open windpipe as he started his collapsing decent down the now bloodstained stairs. It could hear the other two guards start to rush towards the Spirit's position thinking their comrade must have tripped and fallen. The Spirit did not wait for them to come as It leaped twice and appeared behind the awestruck jailers and opened the cell door It knew to be Mai's.
The Ember Island market was hot and crowded much to the discomfort of the couple currently passing an umbrella stand. "This sun is unbearable," Mai stated as she stopped in front of the stand, forcing her boyfriend to do the same. "I don't suppose you brought any money, did you?"The knife thrower asked in her dry voice. "No, I didn't think there would be much to purchase at the shore line," the scarred prince retorted with sarcasm. "Then could you use those Blue Spirit powers of yours?" Zuko froze in his place
and asked, "How do you know about that?" The prince was visibly sweating, and it was not because of the heat. "Well, you weren't very discreet about it. I mean the Blue Spirit was your hero and he just happened to pop up in the same places you have been around?" Mai added a smile to the last part. Zuko smiled back as he loosened up, "I guess it would be obvious to anyone that knew me." The couple continued down the market street as Zuko opened an umbrella to shade them from the sun.
"Mai, if there was something wrong you would tell me, right?" the acrobat whispered to the glowering gargoyle next to her cell. 'If I don't answer she might think I'm asleep and leave me alone,' but Mai was regretfully wrong as Ty Lee continued to try and get answers for the next hour. With a sigh Mai answered, "Ty Lee, I'm fine. I always have been fine… and I always will be fine so let me sleep!"
"Aw, but Mai you have never been fine! You have always been moody and depressed for as long as I've known you!" Ty Lee commented in an inappropriately cheerful voice.
"Could that have been because you and Azula would never stop playing tricks on me and Zuko!?" There was a bite in Mai's voice with her comment the made Ty Lee tilt her head in question.
"We were just kidding, and we eventually made it so you and Zuko would go out together didn't we? Yes we had the occasional laugh at each others expenses, but when push came to shove we were always there for one another, right?"
"WRONG!" Mai shouted as her voice echoed down the hall. Ty Lee mentally kicked herself for asking something like that.
"Mai… I didn't mean… I mean… I'm sorry," whispered the acrobat but she knew Mai would not say anything more tonight. Mai has shown more emotion in this past month than in her entire life! First yelling at Azula on Ember Island, then showing genuine happiness with Zuko, and she even showed concern for me when we first got here. I hope these feelings are not too much for someone as emotionally inexperienced as Mai,' With this thought Ty Lee put her head down to fall asleep when she heard Mai move.
"It's alright Ty Lee… I just don't want to talk about those times anymore, or ever again." Mai said. "Can we please just go to sleep?" Ty Lee wanted nothing more than the strength to break down those walls and pull Mai into her arms, but she made do with just saying, "Sure Mai, I'll see you in the morning."
With that she heard a loud metallic clash as a guard hit her door and said has he continued down the hall, "Shut up in there you two," Ty Lee felt her heart trying to free itself from her chest with each beat while the guard kept his pace, "I swear if I hear one more peep from…" Ty Lee threw herself toward the space that separated her door from the floor to get a look at the commotion outside. It sounded like the guard that was just yelling at them fell down the stairs, but that didn't explain why the other guards were drawing their weapons.
Mai heard the noise, but you could not tell she did if you saw her. She just remained motionless against her wall facing the door not even blinking when the guard shouted and fell. She was still as a statue even as she heard a new pair of feet land in front of her cell, and she barely had enough interest to look up as her cell door was opened. But as she caught sight of the intruder (whom she had seen in a wanted poster only months before) her heart skipped a beat as she whispered, "… Zuko?"
The Spirit only saw a glimpse of Mai before turning It's attention back to the armed guards. It leaped in the air avoiding a thrust from an incoming spear and as It landed It broke the spear in two leaving the guard holding a short splintered stick. While the guard looked as if betrayed by his castrated weapon, the Spirit kicked the stick with such force that the guard's blunt end was thrust into his entrails while he fell back and collided with the guard behind him. This four second encounter delayed the Spirit long enough for the two reserved guards came into range before It could open Ty Lee's door. The third guard joined them after he pushed to corpse of the impaled man off of him.
The four were at a stand still, 'If only I waited to open Mai's cell I could be rid of these goons in an instant.' The stillness was broken by the guard to the Spirit's left as he yelled and charged at It with his polearm in hand. The Spirit easily used the guard's momentum against him while It thrust It's dagger into the small of his back. It then took his weapon and sent it at the next guard with such power that it pinned the guard to the wall through his chest. The Spirit turned to the final guard but held back when It saw that he had three shards of metal (they looked like arrow heads) lodged into his body. They were
far from lethal strikes but they were enough to bring him down. As he fell, he revealed the image of Mai at the doorway of her cell carrying one of the guard's supply sacks. The Spirit wasted no time and immediately threw Ty Lee's door open.
'Zuko, he actually came. Zuko, the Blue Spirit has come to rescue us?' Mai could not comprehend the sight of the black clothed intruder with the blue mask so she concentrated on the rest of the scene: blood and bodies carpeted the metal floor, 'How could Zuko be so vicious? He never killed, even in the most dire of situations.'
Ty Lee came out of her cell in one leap ready to join the fight, but as she saw that there were not opponents left she relaxed… that is until the full situation came into view. The carnage was more than the innocent girl could handle as she clasped her hands to her mouth while tears streamed down her cheeks. She looked as though she was about be sick when the lifeless guard pinned to the wall twitched. Then the acrobat looked at her rescuer, the Blue Spirit's clothes were weighed down in blood as It looked down the hallways to double check that there were no other guards on this floor. Once It knew the floor was cleared It turned back to the girls, as soon as Ty Lee saw the Blue Spirit fully she gasped while here eyes became the size as dinner plates, the Spirit had It's dagger in hand and a stripe of spotted blood across It's mask… but that is not why Ty Lee was shocked.
Mai was frozen, not out of fear but out of uncertainty of what to do. 'Should I run to him? He did just free us, but look at him! Look at the bodies! What happened to you that could turn you into something that could do this!?'
It seemed like an eternity as they were just staring at each other not saying a word, but finally the Spirit moved It's way across the room and headed to the stairs. The Spirit was about to pass Mai when she stepped towards It, about grasp It's arm saying, "Zuko…" in a concerned voice. The Spirit quickly stepped back before she could touch It, but that was unessesary because Ty Lee took her friend's hands in hers, forcing Mai to look at her while she shook her head warning the slender girl, "Don't."
The Spirit stood at the mouth of the stairs and silently pointed down hoping that the girls would soon comply. "We can not leave without the Kyoshi Warriors," Ty Lee declared in a voice far too commanding to be her own. The Spirit slowly shook It's head and pointed again for them to go down the stairs. Ty Lee then stepped forward and took Mai's upper arm in her hand, "Either we all leave or none of us leave." The Spirit lowered It's arm with a growl and looked away for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, they are on the fourth floor, this way," Ty Lee instructed with Mai's arm still in her grasp. Mai had never known
Ty Lee to speak to anyone like this, let alone Zuko! 'She must be mad at him for being the cause of this imprisonment, but Ty Lee is not one to hold a grudge.' Mai looked back at her Zuko wondering why he was acting so strange and why he was trying to keep as much distance between them as possible.
The trio came up the stairs to the fourth floor, and just like the third floor it had guards just around the corner from where they were. The Spirit went to the front of the group and got out It's dagger to use it as a mirror so It could see the positions of their targets. The Spirit tried to wipe off the coated blood off the dagger on It's clothing, but since It's cloths were soaked in blood all it did was smear. Ty Lee had to swallow the sick feeling in her throat as she whispered, "Give it to me." The acrobat cleaned the blade on her own clothing turning her long sleeve a darker shade of red. Mai saw her friend's face turn a different color while she stained her shirt with blood. Ty Lee gave the Spirit back It's dagger but It paused and stared at the acrobat as if It was surprised or intrigued, after a moment the Spirit turned It's gaze away from Ty Lee and to the positions of the guards.
The Spirit motioned for the girls to stay where they were as It disappeared out of sight around the corner. Mai tensed as she heard the fight and was getting up to help until Ty Lee pulled her back, "Let go, he may need our help." Mai spoke in a monotone as she usually did, but now it was not because she was bored but because she had gone completely numb from the night's events. Before Ty Lee could protest against Mai going she noticed that there was no more noise of fighting and the Spirit came into view. The girls braced themselves for what they were going to see as they rounded the corner. Just like before there was blood and bodies, but then a seemingly lifeless guard started to crawl away from them in fear. It seemed that neither of his legs were working as he left a thick red path behind him. The Spirit took two strides to catch up with him, and before Mai and Ty Lee could protest the Spirit circled It's leg in the air and brought It's heel crashing down on the man's, neck killing him instantly.
Mai stormed over to the Spirit, "What is wrong with you Zuko!?" she yelled while shoving the Spirit, "That was not defense, that was murder!" But before she could shove It a second time, the Spirit dodged her and instantly was on the other side of the room. Mai started towards It but Ty Lee intercepted. "Take that mask off and look at me, Zuko!" Mai roared while struggling against her friend, but the Blue Spirit just stood there, showing no change in emotion, just piercing her with those dark hollow eyes. "Mai… please," Ty Lee begged and pulled Mai into a hug (there was not much of a position change because of their struggle). Mai relaxed but continued to scowl at the creature in the corner.
Ty Lee glanced quickly at the Spirit and said, "They are right over here in these cells. Numbers 41 though 49." Cries of help came from all the cells from prisoners who desired freedom. The Kyoshi Warriors slowly came into the slaughter room looking very tense and suspicious. Ty Lee did a head count and
confirmed that all were there. The Spirit broke into the guards supply closet and got hundreds of feet of rope. It tied the rope to the thickest pipe and threw the rest out the window. Ty Lee chuckled, "This is what I always did with my bed sheets when I ran away." "Yes but you were hardly two floors up, these floors are the equivalent off two normal stories. So we are eight floors up." Mai added, but it did not have the effect she thought, "Oh, is that all? I was hoping that it would be at least as high as the tight rope at the circus. Oh well, can't have everything I guess." Mai rolled her eyes as Ty Lee laughed at her friend.
By this time the Spirit tied two additional ropes off so three could escape at a time. The temporary Kyoshi leader went over to one of her girls and asked, "Do you think we can we trust this guy? I mean isn't this Zuko, the guy who burned down our home?" Another warrior answered, "What other choice do we have at the moment?" Ty Lee told the warriors to go first and then the other three would come last. All the Warriors made it down with exceptional skill, but they were in plain sight of the fence guards and Ty Lee wondered why they did not notice. 'How many lives have you taken tonight?' Ty Lee wondered of the Spirit as they started their decent.
They were they only had half way to go as the gong started to ring out and there were shouts of guards. The warriors were well hidden, but the three still on the ropes were not so lucky. Arrows were coming at the like the rain and the three quickened their pace. They only had a third left when an arrow cut clean through the Spirit and Mai's rope, the Spirit's rope was cut below where It was and Mai' was cut above. The Spirit quickly grabbed her arm while Ty Lee slid down the rest of the way (causing her hands to bleed from the rope burn) so she could catch her friend. Mai's heart was in her throat as she almost lost her grip, but the Spirit wrapped It's leg around the rope and reached for Mai with It's other arm. At first It missed her arm and tore off her sleeve but It's second try succeeded and she was secure while the Spirit was completely upside down and trying to keep the rope around It's leg. The Spirit seethed in pain as It could feel the thick rope cut into It's skin. The Spirit looked down to see if Ty Lee and the others were ready when It caught sight of Mai's exposed arm.
Long, deep, straight cuts ran all across Mai's skin, it looked as if her own nails caused these injuries. But the Spirit could not focus on these long because just as Ty Lee and the warriors were ready below, two arrows struck the Spirit. One was just a graze on It's leg, but the other struck deep into the Spirit's side. Blood was already snaking its way down the Spirit's arm and making contact with Mai when It could not hold on any more and let go. Mai landed safely with the help of Ty Lee but the Spirit's body came down with a sickening thud. The warriors were already engaging the guards in combat and they could not help but notice that there were far too few guards, there were less than half than usual and this gave them a fighting chance. Ty Lee and Mai ran to the Blue Spirit, both thinking It would be dead but neither of them were too surprised when they heard a painstaking grunt while the Spirit tried to stand.
With the help of the girls the Spirit leaned against the wall gasping for breath. "We have to get the arrow out," Mai stated as if she were speaking about the weather. The blade master took hold of the arrow's end and pulled it out with perfect precision. 'She may know as much about the human body as me!' thought Ty Lee before she was distracted by the sound of anguish coming from the Spirit as It's body was freed from the sharp intruder. The Kyoshi Warriors were fighting five to one and still winning. The Spirit had It's head down while taking deep breaths as It regained It's strength. Ty lee was about to join her friends when she noticed Mai reaching for the Spirit's mask, she was about to protest until the Spirit grabbed Mai's hand and shoved it away. The Blue Spirit pushed It's self off the wall leaving a large spot of blood on the stone and started to walk toward the fighting. There was a slight limp and It was slower than usual but other than that the Spirit seemed fine.
Cries of suffering and pain came from the battle ground that was once a prison, the Kyoshi Warriors proved themselves to be among the best fighters any had seen. 'I wonder if they are remembering the faces of all these men that they are defeating,' Mai thought with a smirk as she disposed of two more guards. Only now did she notice that the Blue Spirit did not have It's swords nor did It firebend. "Zuko! We really need some fire right now!" Mai yelled as the Spirit got done with the guard It was fighting. The Spirit looked at Mai for a moment and then continued to fight with It's daggers (It had picked another one up from a guard that would not be needing it anymore). The tide of the battle was turning as a warrior lost a hand and they had not advanced an inch. It had been ten minutes since the fight started and everyone was getting tired. "ZUKO! Why wont you firebend!?" Mai was screaming at this point while the warrior who lost her hand collapsed from blood loss. Ty Lee was taking on three men at this point and did not see the fourth until he threw what seemed to be a fish net on her. "Mai!" Ty Lee yelled as both the knife thrower and the Blue Spirit turned to the acrobat in distress. Mai immediately ran to her friend but was cut off by a guard that had an axe with a blade wider than a head of a rhino.
Ty Lee screamed for help in between her sobs while three guards beat her savagely with their clubs. The Blue Spirit shook in rage and frustration, It seemed to be having a battle within It's own skin. The Spirit fell to It's knees holding It's ears as if every whimper from Ty Lee was causing a deafening screech. Mai looked back at the Spirit with confusion and anger before she had to dodge another blow from the axe, 'What in Agni's name is he doing!?' With a few deep breaths the Spirit finally stopped its shaking. Releasing the hold on It's ears, the Spirit rose to It's feet. Time seemed to have slowed as the Blue Spirit clawed It's way toward Ty Lee. The battle lost it's sound as the Spirit let out a pure animalistic roar and leaped into the air. Ty Lee's attackers looked up with horror as they saw a demon flying towards them, but what everyone saw next would be far more terrifying than anything they had witnessed that night. Upon landing, the Blue Spirit used the momentum to unleash two massive waves of fire from It's palms leaving half the field in a hellfire of flames… blue flames.
The surviving guards looked on in awe and terror at the magic this demon could produce, but the prisoners just looked on in terror as they realized who was behind the mask.
Author's Note
As Robot Chicken's M Night Shamilan says… What A Twist! Was the twist too obvious though? I really suck at dialog and romantic stuff, so I can only imagine how much of a pain it was to read the Ember Island flashback. Please tell me what I can do better and/ or if you liked this idea. I'm thinking about adding two more chapters, one including Azula's aftermath so please keep reading. Chapter five should be up soon.