Sorry that it took me so long to update. Don't eat me ok? (P.S. I still don't own Avatar).
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Azula awoke to a swift kick in the ribs. She groaned and struggled to open her eyes. Her face had been resting in the grime and dirt of the cavern and she could feel the crust of blood on her forehead and cheeks. Dust was thick in her nose and she gave an impressive sneeze.
"Get up Your Highness," a voice sneered from above her. She weakly raised her head a fraction of an inch. The Water Tribe boy stood over her, his arms crossed and his face set into nasty smile. "Today is the day we set out to destroy all of your little friends." Azula winced at this as she rolled over onto her back, her chains clanking together.
"Weren't you going to try and trade me for something?" Azula managed to get out, her eyebrows slightly aloft.
Sokka's smile vanished. "Unfortunately, the Fire Lord refused to cooperate. He doesn't believe we are prepared for war and he decided his cities were much too valuable in comparison to his daughter." At this, however, he did smile. "Fancy that, your father doesn't even care about you anymore! Seems you let him down. How is it that a powerful bender like yourself managed to be captured by a couple of us low-down peasants?"
Azula's stomach tightened uncomfortably. She knew her father wouldn't have agreed in the first place, but that didn't make her anymore happier about it. "So," Azula croaked, "it appears you no longer have a use for me. Why not kill me? It would be the perfect revenge for the murder of your little girlfriend, Suki." Yes, she silently begged, kill me. I'm far too weary to go any further into this madness.
Sokka's face looked stricken. "We went through this before," he said quietly. "I'm not going to kill anyone."
Azula was no longer afraid of dying. She was much more afraid of being kept alive. She couldn't stand the way everyone looked at her. It was as if she was the vile scum of the universe that didn't even deserve to be on the soles of their boots. "What's it like, Azula? Knowing that everyone hates you." The Avatar couldn't even imagine how she felt. The once powerful Azula was powerless. She couldn't do anything about it. No matter what she said or what she did, nothing would change between her and the Avatar's friends. It was like living behind Zuko's eyes for once, back when he was hated by all nations. The only difference was that Azula would never be able to recover.
"Why not?" Azula asked softly, looking up into his peculiar blue eyes. Sokka stumbled back in surprise.
"You want me to, don't you? You're giving up," he said, his eyes widening in disbelief. Azula looked away ashamed. It was a wonder that she could feel shame; after everything she did many people thought her to be emotionless. Sokka suddenly looked angry. "Do you really think I'm going to let you off that easy?"
"If you won't do it, than I will," Azula snapped.
"But...but you're Azula," Sokka spluttered incredulously. "You're greedy and cruel and heartless...You couldn't...You wouldn't do that to yourself."
"You don't even know me," Azula snarled. "You don't know what I would or wouldn't do."
"You killed Suki!" he roared. "I think I know you well enough!"
"Yes!" Azula shouted. Her voice lowered, "I did. But I am your enemy. That is what enemies do to one another. They find your weaknesses and exploit them. That is a reason why you don't make any attachments. Attachments equal weaknesses, peasant. If I want to hit you all where it really hurts, I kill your loved ones. That is the game of war. If you play, you pay. It isn't my fault that you never read the rulebook."
"Are you going to tell me that you don't have any 'attachments'? That you have never loved someone? If not, I pity you. They may be weaknesses, but they make life a hell of a lot nicer." Sokka was fuming.
"My problem is that I have," she said, bowing her head. "All you need to do is to put your silly little boomerang up to Zuko's neck. Or Mai's or Ty Lee's. Even my father's. I will break, trust me."
"Why are you telling me this?" he demanded. "I could use this against you."
"I'm telling you this because I know you won't. You aren't like me Sokka. You don't torture people. You care and you help people. That is more than I have ever done. But you're wrong Sokka. You told me shortly ago that I was greedy, cruel, and heartless. I'm guilty of two...but I am not heartless. I want someone to know that, before I die, I wasn't the complete ruthless monster that I am often accused of. My heart has just been dormant for a long time." She gave him a small smile.
Sokka laughed harshly. "You want me to believe that you've suddenly changed your mind? You're going to tearfully join the Avatar? That's rich. I see you're now trying to follow in your brother's footsteps."
Azula flared up. "I am not going to join anyone. Especially not the Avatar. I refuse to sink as low as to join you filth. I am not a traitor."
"So you're going to remain with the Fire Nation even though you know it is wrong. Even though you know that you're aiding the destruction of families everywhere. It is worse when you actually care about the people you're killing because you have the power to stop it all, but you choose not to. To me, you have already sunk that low. You're inhuman." Sokka looked disgusted and spat at her feet.
"You don't have my father! You don't know what it's like! No one can just change, Sokka. Do you think I enjoy all of this? Do you really think murdering people and tearing lives apart is a hobby of mine?" Azula demanded. Where those tears in her eyes?
"You once told me that you enjoyed killing Suki. You told me she screamed the loudest and it brought you bliss to hear it. It was music to your ears." Sokka was shaking. His knuckles were white and his lips were trembling. He realized that his friends were standing behind him, looking on silently. Was that Katara's hand on his shoulder? He could barely feel it.
"Do you want the truth?" Azula asked, her face wrought with pain. A tear slid down her nose. A tear. "I was fighting them, the Kyoshi Warriors. They were protecting the Avatar's bison. I wanted the filthy creature; we hoped it could bring you all to us. But I didn't kill her." Her face was serious, her eyes shining in tears. She looked as if she truly wanted him to believe her.
"What?" Sokka demanded with a sharp intake of breath. "What did you say?"
"I didn't kill her. I badly burned her, true, and she was on the ground. I ran over to her to finish the job. She clutched the hem of my robes and she began to beg. She insisted that I shouldn't kill her. When I asked her why she replied that she couldn't leave you. Yes, you, Sokka. One of my men killed her. I barely got to exchange a word with her and one of my men killed her. You can imagine how angry I was and I instantly murdered him on the spot. I was going to see if I could make her spill anything, you see. I don't deny that I would have killed her, to be sure, but Sokka, I did not." Her dark yellow orbs shimmered in the dim light, her mouth set into a grim line. She looked very close to falling apart.
"Then why? Why would you tell me that you did?" Sokka roared in anguish. "You could have been left off the hook! Why would you lie about it?"
"Would it have really made a difference?" she shouted, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Would you really have shown me any kindness?"
"YES IT WOULD HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE!" he bellowed. "IT WOULD HAVE MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD!" His face was livid and murderous. Then he calmed suddenly and whispered, "So she didn't try to sell us out?"
Azula hesitated. "No," she finally said. "She loved you."
It seemed as if the weight of the world had been lifted from Sokka's shoulders. He slid to the ground and sobbed in relief. "Thank you, Azula."
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The two thousand men split into about twenty groups of one hundred people and left in waves over the course of three nights, the Avatar's group being the first. They walked under the cloak of night and prayed that they wouldn't be discovered by Fire Nation troops. Word was sent to the several other bunkers of resistance armies of exactly when to storm the cities in control by the Fire Lord that was to take place in precisely a week. Many men were on edge as they crept through the woods, ready for an attack at any moment. Surprisingly, none came. The Fire Nation clearly did not expect an army moving through their newly gained territory.
Aang's feet were sore and aching and he longingly glanced at Appa. The sky bison was obediently carrying Iroh, the Earth King, Bosco, Momo, and the prisoner. Appa had been forbidden to fly to prevent being seen by unwanted eyes, regardless of whether it was night or day.
The young monk kept stealing looks at Azula. Was it really true? Did she truly not kill Suki? Was she really crying back there? He was still in shock...This was totally not like Azula. What happened to her joy of killing? Her twisted smiles? Her cold-hearted cruelty? It was as if her outer shell had been ripped open to reveal an ashamed, crying child. Had she been forced to hide behind a mask her entire life? Or was this, itself, a mask? Was she manipulating them? Was she only twisting the knife further into their backs, squeezing out all of their sympathy? These questions were jumbled in Aang's thoughts and he couldn't think of much else. He was sure that all of his friends were dwelling on the same subject. He could tell by the way they glanced at Azula out of the corner of their eyes and quickly looked away.
"Stop it," Azula commanded from where she sat. They all looked at her in surprise. She seemed to have gained her composure back and her eyes were once more hard and cruel. "All of you, stop looking at me like that."
"Can you blame us?" Zuko shot at her.
Azula ignored him and called out to Sokka. "Are you going to take my offer?"
Aang frowned. "What is she talking about?"
"Well?" Azula asked impatiently, her eyes darting to Sokka's face. Her gaze froze them all on the spot. She seemed to have that effect on people.
"No," said Sokka dully. "What's the point? If what you say is true then I have no reason to..." He shrugged. He was not going to kill her.
"I didn't think so," said Azula. "But perhaps that was my plan all along. So I'm not going to be killed...?"
"Nice try, Azula," Sokka told her. "Stop using reverse psychology on me."
"Wait, what's going on? Azula wants to die?" Zuko looked positively amused. "Haha, really?"
Azula gave him a dark look. "Aren't you charming?" she said dryly.
Zuko snickered. "The mighty Azula begs for death."
"Yes, let's all laugh at Azula," she told him, unsmiling. "Because she's a killer and she deserves to be laughed at. Because she can't possibly have feelings."
"Sounds about right," said Zuko, scratching his chin.
"Leave her alone," Sokka snapped at him. Everyone looked at him in disbelief. Had he actually defended the Fire Nation princess?
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Mai raised her head up off her bed as a maid shuffled in, her eyes at her feet. "If you please, m'lady, you are requested in the throne room." Mai sighed and pushed herself up off of the comforting pillows and made her way pass the maid out into the hallway.
She took her time walking to the throne room, dragging her feet as she went. She had a strong sense of foreboding with every step, knowing that whatever the Fire Lord wanted to talk to her about couldn't be good. She met Ty Lee halfway there and was given a cheery greeting. But of course, Ty Lee was always cheery...even at funerals. It was quite creepy actually.
Mai walked in silence, ignoring Ty Lee's pointless blather and thinking about what the Fire Lord was going to have them do. Zuko's face slid into her vision; she kept trying to push his face into the back of her mind. That was one thing she didn't need to think about.
As they entered the throne room, they instinctively curved their spines and bowed to their lord, mumbling a soft hello. The Fire Lord's lips twitched and he tapped his fingers against the armrest of his chair. "I trust you are fully recovered, Mai?"
"Yes, my lord," she murmured, daring to raise her grey eyes to his bright and dangerous gaze. She felt her insides freeze when she looked at him. She couldn't believe there was someone she feared more than Azula.
"And do you, Ty Lee, have any plans?"
"No, my lord," she told him with a nervous smile.
It wouldn't matter if she did, Mai thought dully as she lowered her face again to shield herself from the Fire Lord's icy stare.
"I have an assignment for the two of you," he said calmly, brushing invisible dust from the sleeves of his robes.
"Anything, my lord," Mai said quietly.
"The both of you are going to take one of my ships to the coast of the Earth Kingdom to meet the first wave of the Avatar's army."
"Excuse me?" Mai asked in disbelief.
"Yes, Mai, they do have an army. I've had several of my scouts coming in to inform me about the four thousand men heading our way. Half from New Ozai and half from Ba Sing Se. The Avatar and his friends are leading them. Messenger hawks have been storming the palace all day. Surely you've noticed..." said Fire Lord Ozai, not looking at all disturbed.
"How are the two of us supposed to stop four thousand men?" Mai asked politely, raising a dark eyebrow.
The Fire Lord gave her a horrible smile. "You are going to kill the Avatar."
Ty Lee and Mai stared at him.
"I remember what I said before," said the Fire Lord. "If we kill him, then he will just be reborn elsewhere. I understand that. However, it would be enough to set back the army enough not to attack us on the Solar Eclipse. Then they'll have to fight us with all of our power and they will lose."
"How are we going to get close to him?" Ty Lee piped up. The Fire Lord jerked his head in the direction of the wrapped packages to the left of him.
Mai walked over and picked one up, ripping it open. She looked up with raised eyebrows. "So we're going in disguise again." She then added, "Blech, I despise green."
"I'm afraid you'll have to get used to it," the Fire Lord said icily. "Now hurry up. Your ship leaves in an hour. Oh, and if you find any of the Avatar's friends I give you permission to kill them. Send Zuko my love, won't you?" He gave them a nasty smile.
Mai positively looked green.
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There we go. I FINALLY updated. Whew! I'll most likely add another by tomorrow but now I have to clean house. (Yuck) Reviews would be appreciated, s'il vous plaît.