Hello again, and please don't hurt me! I have finally returned to Walking a Wire, and I hope that I can start getting chapters up regularly again. In the meantime, for those of you who were wondering where Ty Lee was dragged off to...here ya go.
And now, the chapter! I still own zip beyond my OC's
Chapter XXVI: The Arena Ultimatum
The sun's rays shook her from sleep, although the effort to actually open her eyes just wasn't worth it. She knew that she would see only the two guards leering at her from the other side of the enclosure, and if she looked down she would see the shredded remains of the prison rags she had worn for a week of eternities. Her head pounded, but then so did most of her body as she struggled into a sitting position. Holding her hands out, she was at least grateful that they were no longer bound. A small blessing, though, in light of the fact that she could barely feel them, let alone move them.
"That awful-smelling medicine," She said to herself, before folding them back against her stomach. Every few hours, the guards would rub some greenish-blue ointment into her wrists and her hands would fall into a buzzing numbness. Then…she shook her head violently to banish the thoughts, but it wasn't working anymore. She relived the sequence again and again, feeling the room grow colder around her with each repetition.
"Ty Lee, are you here or not?" Azula's yell snapped her back to reality and she slowly raised her head to look at the armored chestplate standing in front of her. Stepping back, Azula seemed satisfied as she nodded to the guards, "Get her ready, we have to leave the salve time to wear off before the event." Dragging her to her feet, the guards moved her over to a chair in the corner of the room. Ty Lee let herself drift off again, until one of the guards slapped her back to reality. Trying to focus, she saw him holding out a pink sleeve and trying to force her arm through. Numbly moving her arm, she watched as the familiar shade slid across her skin again.
It's mine. My old clothes. Somehow, the realization wasn't comforting. She slumped against the back wall of the small holding cell, hugging her knees to her chest with hands that she could barely feel. She thought about what was coming, and what Azula had told her last night.
"You know what's going to happen tomorrow, don't you?"
"He'll come, he-he said he would."
"Please, Ty Lee. What have I been telling you all night? Do you really think that he, that anyone, would throw everything away like that?"
"Y-yes. I do, and he will."
Azula sighed, "Look, I know you're good at disconnecting yourself from reality, but this is going too far even for you. I guess we'll just start at the beginning. Your precious savior is a High Guard. A High Guard Captain, to be specific."
"Yeah?"
"High Guardsmen are chosen for a variety ot talents, be they in combat, espionage, psychological warfare, or just plain stubbornness and devotion to fulfilling their objectives. However, they all have one defining characteristic that makes them worthy of the elevation. They are completely, utterly devoted to the Fire Nation. That means that there is nothing and no one they will not pass up if they are ordered to for the good of this nation. Captain Hideyoshi and his men have been ordered to provide security and to not interfere with the proceedings, by order of my father. They will not disobey a direct order from the Fire Lord, it's just not how they've been made."
"They--they aren't made, Azula. They're people too, and--"
"And what? And they might take pity on a traitorous little girl just because she has a pretty face? Please, Ty Lee, we realize that these men don't get a lot of...free time, but you're nothing special to any of them, including that precious captain of yours. If he wanted, he could have others brought to him, and I can guarentee they would look a lot better than you do. Think about it, there's nothing about you that he couldn't get somewhere else. Oh, and this is all assuming he could even think about disobeying directives from the Fire Lord himself.
"You--I--"
Azula's face hardened, "If you won't listen to reason, maybe you'll listen to something a bit more forceful. Because of our friendship, I've protected you from the worst of Laos Tim's...attentions, and the guards have all been too afraid of me to try anything. Well I can see now, maybe that needs to change. No one's going to see much of you after the event, so it really doesn't matter what I allow to happen anymore. Whenever you want to listen to me, I'll be waiting. You two!" She yelled to the two guards waiting near the door, who hurriedly scrambled to attention. Azula's smile turned cruel, and she waved a hand at the imprisoned girl, "Rub the salve into her wrists, then why don't you two have a little fun. I think you've deserved it."
"AZULA!"
"It's too late. Everything's too late." Her stomach gave another painful throb and she let herself slip into darkness.
Akira slid his helmet back into place with a frustrated groan. The Wolves had fanned out across the growing crowds filling the stands, but so far everything was calm. As Kojima squeezed between two rows of seats, Akira waved him over, "Are they here?"
"Yeah, the Ty family got here a few minutes ago. Of course they had seats reserved for them, explained it away somehow as something to do with the father. It's really odd, the mother looks...well, foreign. It's probably nothing, though. The kids looked alright."
"Kids?"
"Triplets. Cute kids, way too much energy for her. I thought about getting a Rank Guard on it."
"You really don't like them, do you?"
"Hey, privilege of promotion. We survived it, so can they. Anyway, neither of them knows exactly why they were requested to come here, so they're fine for now. The Fire Lord's son is also here, in case you were interested."
"Really? I thought he hated everything to do with his sister. Why would he come to this?"
"From what I can tell, he got dragged here by his girlfriend. Some depressing girl, lots of dark colors. She has Dasi's sense of humor, though."
"Dasi doesn't have a sense of humor."
"Exactly."
"Well, whatever. What about them?"
"Hidden, but they're ready."
"Fine, let's get this slaughter over with."
"Don't say that. Please don't say that." Akira just shrugged and moved back to scan the rows again as Kojima moved on. As Akira turned to continue his rounds, his vision was blocked by a blur of crimson and violet and he found himself pressed against a wall, a dagger angled under his helmet.
"Wondering when I'd run into you, Anzin." The dagger slid back into his attacker's sleeve as the man backed up laughing, only to crush Akira in an enthusiastically returned embrace.
"It's been forever, I thought you'd finally disappeared out in Dirt Land. Yet, here you are pulling some cushy security detail in the middle of the capital city! Man, you have to tell me how you managed this, we're just here on layover for a few days and then we're headed back out, some island in the Greater South Sea I think. Anyway, that's not important. This is--hey, those wouldn't happen to be captain's markings, would they?"
"Yeah, I got promoted after my last trip to the Earth Kingdom, which apparently you still haven't stopped calling 'Dirt Land'. I see you've done alright for yourself as well, that was a general's knife wasn't it?"
Anzin flipped the knife out into his palm with a flourish, "Right in one, got it off some old guy just south of Ba Sing Se, he certainly didn't need it anymore. General...Long, was it? No, no, it was S-something. Oh, and the new regulation tents for non-benders are flammable only if you cut off part of the top coating."
"That's good to know, although I don't think we'll be attacking 'Dirt Landers' for a while. Did anyone tell you what's going on?"
Anzin's face darkened for a moment, but he pulled it back to level as he answered, "Yeah, only I haven't told my unit yet. I hate to be saying this, but I'm not sure if they would follow me on this one. I mean, after this we'll be--"
"I know, and I can understand if you want to stay out of it. The Wolves are the only ones who'll--"
"That's just it, though. I am a Wolf, and I'm helping. I'm not forgetting my brothers, pack leader. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to harrass Yarin a bit for his scrawny wife."
"Wait, what?" Now Akira was totally confused.
Anzin laughed, "From what I've heard, no one in the lighted districts has seen him for nearly a week, and every time I've passed him today he's standing around with some Yu-Yan. If anyone could get Yarin off the wine for more than two days straight, there's something going on."
"Mina? Yarin and Mina? You're insane, Anzin, both of them would kill you for even thinking it. And speaking of killing..." Anzin followed his gaze out to the arena floor, where a short man had stepped out into the center. He lifted a short roll of parchment and his booming voice startled Akira as he began to read.
"In honor of the glorious victory over the attempted destruction of this noble city, as well as the birth of our beloved and honored Fire Lord Sozen to whom all our great progress is due, a very special event has been prepared for this festival! The Princess Azula, in all her great and terrible power, will face off in sacred battle against a traitor to our nation, to our people, and to the royal family itself! I now present to you, our glorious lady of flame, the Princess Azula!" The stands erupted in applause as Azula strode out onto the arena floor, her usual armor being traded for loose cloth leggings and a short-sleeved tunic with the Fire Nation emblem on the back. Akira kept his arms firmly crossed against his armor as the Princess turned and assumed the prepared stance, prompting the short man to turn back to the parchment.
And now, the traitorous witch who is here today to receive her divine punishment, the horrible creature who turned on her life-long friends for a perverse chance at power and glory! I give you the traitor, Ty Lee!"
"Well, the manure's hit it now. I hope Kojima's watching the family, the mother's probably had a heart attack." Waving Anzin onward, Akira made his way to the front of the stands as Ty Lee shuffled out onto the packed earth. Her hair hung loose around her, still only reaching to the base of her neck, and the fact that she was wearing her usually array of pink made for a jarring picture. She slowly turned and nearly collapsed into the same position as Azula, and the announcer backed to the side of the arena before scanning the last of the parchment.
"On your honor and by your duty, this match shall be conducted by the rules set down by our ancestors in sacred law."
"Anzin, it's time. Let's jump the dragon."
"The duel shall begin...now!"
Azula was on her feet even as the final shout echoed around the stands, hands flaring blue in the early afternoon sun. Ty Lee just stared at the flames as Azula sent a blast at her feet. The explosion threw dust and smoke around her, but she slowly walked forward until another blast threw her off her feet. Picking herself up, she continued walking.
"Resigning yourself to judgment is one thing, Ty Lee, but I really wish you at least look like you're fighting back!" A quiet murmering was emanating from around the stands, and Azula spared a comtemptuous glance at the audience before lashing out with a flame whip. The flame struck her in the shoulder and spun her around before she lost her balance and crashed to the arena floor. She could hear the murmering getting louder.
"Dear Agni, Ty Lee, fight back!" slowly getting to her feet, Ty Lee faced the Princess.
"I can't win, so why should I? You never fight unless you know you'll win, or else you use people as pawns and shields until you can! I'm not fighting for you anymore, so go ahead! Finish it! Finish it, you Agni-cursed bitch!" Azula's eyes widened at the curse, but quickly narrowed as a spiral of blue fire built around her hand. Tighter and tighter it spiraled, burning now a white-hot flame, until she released the attack straight at Ty Lee. Ty Lee stared back at the blast, until there was a massive explosion and the world spun around her into a whirl of black and red.
When she finally opened her eyes, she was staring at a boot and the packed arena ground. Numbly wondering why she wasn't dead, she rolled onto her side to get a better view. A Guardsman, armor still smoking, was shaking himself as he got to his feet in front of the Princess. It dawned on her that he had taken the attack for her, and another Guard had tackled her out of the way. Azula seemed to be at a loss for words as the Guard next to her moved up to stand roughly half-way between her and Azula, in line with the other Guard.
Finally finding her voice, Azula began talking in a voice that could have frozen a volcano, "May I ask what, exactly, are you two doing?"
"We're stopping a senseless murder. Or, if you fail to see it that way, we're going bandit. Take your pick." Azula's eyes widened, and her jaw was clenched so tightly it seemed her teeth would crack. Ty Lee could see other shapes moving around her, and as she turned her head several other Guards could be seen slowly approaching, weapons drawn. As she watched the figures, something clicked in the back of her mind--the armor had white markings painted across the red and gold plates.
"Guardsmen, arrest these two!" Azula ordered, her voice shaking with either surprise or fury as a Guardsman, the one who had blocked the flame, pulled a blade from a sheath on his back.
"Guardsmen, arrest these two!" Akira grinned under the helmet as he calmly drew the blade. Behind him, the Wolves spread out to protect Ty Lee as they fell into defensive stances with their own weapons.
"A great man once said, never allow loyalty to your nation's leaders get in the way of loyalty to your nation. This war will end, but I would rather burn before I see it end under you. We're leaving, and we're taking the girl with us."
"You will do no such thing. Grey Unit, arrest Captain Hideyoshi and any of his men that wish to resist." Quickly scanning to either side, he could see the cloaked figures of the Darkwalkers approaching from the side, Anzin in the lead.
"Before we arrest the traitors, I'd like to ask my men a question." Anzin turned around to face his men, "Do any of you think you could grab a mongoose-dragon's tail and go for a little ride? Those who do, slap your left shoulder. Those who don't, slap your right." A chorus of metallic crunks rang out, and Akira couldn't help but grin at the widely used military joke, a bit of professional humor that he doubted the Princess would either know or care about.
"Okay, now that I've got that question answered...Li! Atin! Go and restrain Captain Hideyoshi, he'll help you start your ride. The rest of you, I'm glad to know I can count on you to be loyal." Akira felt his arms grabbed roughly, and the sword was wrenched from his grasp. Then Anzin was standing in front of him, two of the Darkwalkers on either side. Anzin tapped his helmet once, and Akira jerked against his captors, throwing his left shoulder forward in a vain attempt to break their holds. Anzin merely flipped his knife up into his glove and examined it closely. "You know, I never thought I would be here with my old squad leader, and I'm stopping him from making the biggest mistake of his life. Well, I guess nobody can predict their future, can they? No one."
"I wouldn't say that. I know there's at least one left"
"Really? Well, I should meet that person and kill him. Then the rest of us won't feel so left out."
"Okay, I got nothing. Really, you should have played this game with Kojima, he's better with the wordplay."
"Oh well, it can't all be fun and games. Let's get it over with." Turning around to the Guardsman on his left, he said, "Could you hold my knife for a moment?" Then he slammed it up to the hilt into the man's eye slit.
The entire arena seemed to freeze, and then everything blurred into chaos. The other man flanking Anzin was down on the ground, holding his throat as Anzin spun into a crouch, another knife materializing in his hand. The men behind Akira released his arms and his sword was pushed back into his grasp as armored boots crunched into the ground and men began falling. Spinning on one heel, he caught one of the Darkwalkers in the gap between arm plates as another, he guessed either Li or Atin, grabbed one of their attackers by the eye slits and jerked to the side...hard. The man fell bonelessly, but by now Akira couldn't watch others, only react to what his surroundings fed him as he heard Azula shouting for soldiers and the arena erupted into noise and madness.
Spotting Ty Lee still mostly lying on the ground, he rushed over to her and pulled her to her feet. She was shaking, breathing shallowly, and a quick look at her face showed that her eyes were dilated to an unhealthy size. Shock. Not good, but not unexpected. "Yarin!" He yelled, "Keep her out of the way, she's in shock!" The other Guardsman nodded and began pulling Ty Lee to the edge of the arena. Akira let out a sigh of relief, with Yarin here at least there was one thing he didn't have to worry about.
He turned his attention instead to the soldiers that now threatened to surround them. The Darkwalkers had been reduced to only three cloaked men, Li and Atin discarding them as they fell back on either side of Anzin, but a small army of regular soldiers had stormed the arena with spears, polearms, and swords at the ready. He felt a pang of regret as he recognized the 504 marking on their shoulder-plates, wondering if he was going to unknowingly face Shin or Tachi in battle. Then he wiped everything clear and dropped into a fighting stance.
While the ease of defeating the Darkwalkers had been almost entirely because of surprise, it soon became apparent that even the legendary 504th was no match for a squad of High Guardsman. blades flashed, armor melted, and men fell in waves. Akira, however, was becoming increasingly concerned. Where are those idiot--
A wave of soldiers suddenly fell, their lower legs encased in solid rock. Better late than never. "I was wondering if you had fallen asleep." The diminuitive Earthbender shrugged and brought her foot down, gouging a rock out of the arena floor and shoving soldiers aside like dolls.
"Hey, ask Twinkle-Toes. He kinda froze up for a second, but I think he's okay now." Akira spared the Avatar a glance, noted that the boy was using air blasts to herd the soldiers into the Wolves' attacks, and went back to his seemingly endless opponents.
Now all we have to do is survive.
Guess what...it gets crazier. Witness the battle in the arena, in which Zuko and Mai finally join the fray, and the glorious fifteen-second return of Combustion Man! All this and more coming soon!
--NullChronicler--