My Dread FES
By Iain R. Lewis
Disclaimer: Characters and concepts belong to Nickelodeon, some of the concepts are similarly inspired by Persona 3 and Persona 4, property of ATLUS games.
"My life'll turn out - it doesn't seem like it could be last for my life... When stars're smiling at moon, wonder how they look in your eyes."
- When the Moon's Reaching Out the Stars - Reincarnation-
Yumi Kawamura
Chapter 20: Yellow Matter Custard
She didn't know what to do.
The maze was washed out, colorless, and everything seemed dimmer. The passages and their constant repetition were starting to do - do something to her brain, making her forget what color looked like, everything seemed to be getting dimmer, and dimmer.
And the entire foundation that she built herself up from - she felt it cracking under her own weight. For the first time, Azula knew doubt.
"Well that sucked. Way to go, fearless leader, you really came through this time."
"Toph, please."
"No, don't tell me to shut up, Katara. Why is it I'm doing all the work while you're either crazy or splashing each other with water.."
"Toph, you know it's not her fault," sotto voce, her voice seemed like a distant whisper, everything seemed so much less real all of a sudden. "She just needs some time."
"That's a nice way to say we've got to forget about it? He's in there, somewhere, and we're just letting him run off?"
"Why don't you follow him?" Azula's voice was hoarser than she thought. Hoarser than she remembered it ever being. "You clearly prefer his direction over mine. So go. See if I care. All of you! Go!"
"Azula, you don't mean that." Yue hovered protectively besides her, her voice perfectly serene, her poise divine. Azula tried her best to raise her voice in anger, to shout or scream or protest. She wanted to strike down the goddess besides her in outrage to the spirits that were mocking her at this moment.
But she was right. She didn't mean any of it. What would it even accomplish? The knot in her stomach just tightened with every word. "Says who? I am perfectly capable of doing this on my own."
"It wasn't your fault."
"Shut up, Sokka."
"Azula, stop it!" Sokka's voice came forcefully, knocking her off balance, leaving her unprepared for whatever he said next. "This wasn't your fault, but you're letting it happen. You need to stop pushing us away and let us help you for a change."
Azula frowned. "You think I need your help?"
"I don't know if you need it," Sokka said, "But we're not about to just leave you alone. Not like this."
"Not like this?" her voice caught on a hitch. Her mind reeled, never more sure of herself than now. Never the more disturbed than now. "Not like how, Sokka? Tell me that."
"Hurt," Katara answered for her brother. "I know what Zuko did is bothering you, even if you don't want to admit it."
"I don't need him."
"Yeah, you said that a hundred times," Toph snorted, "Doesn't make it anymore true. This is ridiculous. Sokka, just drag her along, we're going to find him and then I'm going to punch him and I will not stop punching him until he stops acting like a spoiled little brat."
"Toph!"
"Hey, he is!"
"We just need to take our time and be thorough," Sokka said, "Yue should be able to pick him up if we get close and then it's just a matter of following her lead."
"Time isn't something we have." Azula looked back at them, their colors faded like aged film, but still, visible and tangible and real. She closed her eyes, she grit her teeth. They thought she was crazy. Not that she blamed them, if she didn't know any better, she'd agree. But she knew she wasn't going crazy, and she'd prove it. "All right. We'll go. We'll find him and we will punish him severely for his behavior."
Katara sighed, "Now I see where Toph's picked it up." After a moment, her somber expression softened, "Still, that sounded a lot more like the old Azula."
Had it been days, or merely hours? Minutes or seconds? Did it even matter? In the Labyrinth of Lethe, there really was no telling. They'd been locked away like prisoners, and there was no sun in the morning nor moon at night to show them the passage of time.
Actions have repercussions, like ripples in still water. They move slowly, and their effects are rarely noticeable at first. In retrospect, it all seemed so obvious, the words that she said stabbed at him like so many daggers. To say their relationship was tenuous at best was an understatement. No brother and sister were so divided as they.
Zuko Houou was not especially impatient. The problem came with the lack of certainty. The things that she'd said - the things that he'd said - all of it seemed so distant, he didn't remember the movement, or even the impact. Was he even in control when he - no, to deny that he was in control was the worst thing he could do. He'd lost control, and he couldn't bear it. But what good did it do to leave? He shouldn't have even left to begin with.
But to turn back? No. She'd be insufferable about it. And, to make matters worse, the maze closed in around him. To turn around, he'd only get more lost. His gut told him this was the right path to take, and he'd learned to trust his instincts.
He'd been down this road before. Not literally, nothing about the passage looked especially familiar. Same grey stones, but the carvings along it were more intricate and less faded than anything he'd seen before. If he took the time, he might have noticed that they seemed to tell a story. Unfortunately, he was too focused on Ba Sing Se, over a year ago.
He punched the wall with his right hand. His temper kept getting the better of him. When he caused that fire, when he walked out, what did he do but cause everyone more grief? And what did it do in the end but deepen the divide between father and son. "I'm an idiot." He didn't hear anyone raise their voice to disagree. He was alone again.
And maybe that was what he needed, a chance to get his head back in focus.
Now, what was the start of all this? That's right, it was Sokka...
"You know," he said, "I had the craziest dream."
An inauspicious beginning, a statement that would cause more trouble than anyone would anticipate. They'd been walking deeper into the maze, and the deeper they got the darker the halls became. Everything seemed faded in the light of the red lanterns overhead. Katara responded, deadpan and bored, "You don't say. This isn't about the man-eating moose lion again, is it?"
"No!" Sokka crossed his arms and looked at the others, "I mean when I was unconscious. You guys didn't have one when your other parts went crazy?" He seemed less certain, and Zuko frowned. This was a strange thing to bring up.
"What was your dream about?"
"Well," he tried to put it into words, "It was a dream, so maybe it didn't make much sense, but I remember I was sort of drifting away when I heard someone call out to me. I looked up and I saw this boy."
"A boy?" Azula's voice raised, "He wouldn't happen to have been wearing a mask?" Why would Azula be asking that? Zuko's curiosity piqued, but he remained quiet. After all, she may just be setting Sokka up so she can strike him down momentarily. He waited.
"How did you know? Yeah, he had a sun mask on," he said, "Like they have at those fire festivals. It's been years since I went to one."
"I see." Azula didn't say anything else. There was something really strange about her behavior, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why.
"A boy in a Sun mask?" Katara looked distant, and then, quietly, "You know, that's who it was. I think I remember something like that happening, too. When I rejected my other self, I felt like I was losing myself, but, someone told me to hold on."
"I don't know about masks, but," Toph shrugged, "I know exactly what you mean. Someone familiar told me to be strong. I guess it was a dream, sort of."
"Oh dear," Yue said, "I remember something quite similar, as well. I don't suppose this is a coincidence. But, Azula, why did you know about the boy?"
"Lucky guess," she muttered. "Anything else you wanted to share, Sokka?" She seemed to want to draw this conversation to a close. But Sokka didn't seem to want to.
"Yeah, actually. I don't understand how these other selves seem to get under our skin so well," he said, "I mean, in retrospect, it seems so obvious. I mean, really, we've all been dealing with what happened to Aang in our own way, and not always in the healthiest ways, either."
Katara and Toph both tried their best to look innocent. Zuko smirked.
"But somehow, that other me made me so angry," he said, "Even when I tried to accept it, I couldn't."
"I don't know if it';s possible to just accept everything about ourselves," Katara said, "Don't worry about it, Sokka. Everyone has something they want to hide from themselves."
"I guess. That just leaves two of us," he said, "Zuko and Azula." Azula stood rigidly at the mention of her name, and Zuko just turned his attention to the passageways. It was amazing how crisp and new the stones looked this far in, like it was just constructed. He never really paid attention to it, before, but it was extraordinary.
"I doubt Zuko's other self is going to be as humiliating as yours, Sokka," Toph said with a smirk. "I wish I could have seen it!"
"Oh shut up," Sokka deadpanned. "Besides, I'm sure Zuko's got some embarrassing shadow-self just waiting to reveal itself."
Zuko just grunted in response. He was so transparent in his attempts to get his sea-goat.
"And Azula -" the lethal look in her eyes stopped him dead in his tracks, "-will probably quite normal and unremarkable, I'm certain."
"Nice save," Toph said, loud enough for all to hear. Sokka shuffled nervously. Azula's glare moved from Sokka over towards Toph, but the girl ignored it. "Look, I'm just going to say it, Spice-Girl, you're repressed."
"I disagree."
"You would."
"Guys! Calm down," Katara interjected, "We're all a little on edge, but if we keep going just a little further, I'm sure things will start to look up."
"What makes you think that?" Zuko spoke, his voice hoarse and just a little bit angry, "We don't even know what's causing all of this."
"I think it may be Aang."
If anyone there had any doubts about the power that name held over them, it was wiped away as the squabbling stopped and everyone turned their eyes directly at the person who had spoken. Sokka looked back at them, his expression resolute. "You can't think that," Yue said, quietly. "Please, Sokka."
"Hey, I don't mean it like - okay, let me start at the beginning so everyone's on the same page. That person we keep seeing - that thing that looks like Aang? I'm not so sure that it is Aang. Remember what happened? When he appeared in my world, things started to glitch up around him. I don't know, maybe it's a coincidence, but that wasn't normal."
"It's got to be him," Katara said. "Remember, he helped out Azula back in that desert -"
"Maybe he needs Azula alive!" Sokka retorted, "I don't know. What about how everytime he's shown up before, monsters just appear."
"It has to be him. I know it, he looks like him," Azula said.
"We've been seeing a lot of clones in here, maybe he's Aang's? I'm just saying, I think there's eomething fishy going on here, and he's smelling like he just got out of the fish market."
"Everything you said is just idle speculation," Azula said, dismissively. If that's his other side, where's Aang? The center of the maze?"
"I don't know!"
"You keep saying that!" Azula retorted.
"Azula, stop it." Their eyes met for an intense moment. Azula started to walk around him, her posture tense and her actions just a little erratic. Thoughts flit in and out of Zuko's mind, not one settling for more than a second.
Was she all right?
Was she the same as before?
Had it all been a lie?
Azula always lies.
"Zuzu," she said, "Are you saying you believe Sokka?"
"He's the only one offering any ideas. Why do you want him back after all you've done to him?" Zuko frowned. "I thought you'd be happy he'd be gone. I thought he was the enemy?"
Azula stopped. Her eyes darted to the right, trying grasp something, trying to remember perhaps what she was thinking. "After all I've done to him? I have no idea what you're talking about."
He grunted, angrily, "Typical."
"He's the one whose done us wrong, Zuzu. Remember Father?"
"What happened there was not Aang's fault. You weren't there."
"I was! I was - I was?" she paused. Zuko felt a knot twisting in the pit of his stomach. Something about this didn't seem right. He stepped towards her. "I don't know what you're talking about. He betrayed us, he -"
"Azula," Katara spoke quietly, "What's wrong?"
"What did he do to my father, Zuko?"
"He didn't do anything. Dad was out of control, and Aang did what he had to. He saved everyone. And all you can do is act like he did it out of spite? I don't believe you!"
Azula's eyes were unfocused, full of rage, full of something else, "That's right. You were always jealous of me. Father liked me best, and you? You were just an also-ran. He never needed you. Never wanted you. You were a failure! I was perfect!"
No one saw the hit. Their eyes turned away, but they saw Zuko frozen in the follow-through, his fist tightening. Azula hit the floor hard, and rolled to her side. She didn't say anything, but her eyes were open, aware, and yet, distant. Katara hesitated, then, with a voice still as a storm, spoke. "Zuko, why -"
"I'm tired of this. We're not getting anywhere listening to her. I'll find my own way through this maze. You guys can come with me, or stay with her. I don't care."
"Zuko, wait -" Yue's call fell on deaf ears. Zuko started down the corridor, hand on the wall lightly tracing the bumps and grooves. "Zuko."
"We've got to stop him!" Katara said.
"Let him go." Azula had not moved, and when she spoke, there was an icy edge to it. "He can get lost and die in here for all I care."
"You don't mean that, Azula!" Katara said. "Come on, we'll stop him and calm him down and -" She straightened her uniform, hefted her bag up, and then stopped dead in her tracks as the entire hallway began to rumble. "Oh no, not now!"
The hall Zuko went down turned into a wall, and then, with the sound of granite on granite, the wall became a stairs. "Is anything ever simple?" Sokka muttered, "Come on. We need to find him. Azula, get up!"
She ignored him.
"What's gotten into her?" Toph muttered. "Spice girl, up and at 'em." Katara pushed past Toph and kneeled at Azula's side.
"Are you hurt?" she asked, worriedly.
"No."
Katara sighed, and turned back to Sokka, "We should let Azula recover." In a quieter voie, she whispered, "I think Zuko hurt her pride more than anything."
Sokka frowned, but nodded. "Okay. We'll stay for a little bit. But we need to get moving fast or we'll lose him in this maze."
"Right," Katara said, weakly, "Azula, how's your jaw feeling?"
"Leave me alone."
Katara ignored her. "You're going to get a bruise if you don't let me look at that, you know. And that's going to hurt."
"Leave me alone!" she snapped. She looked Katara straight in the eye, and saw her stare steadily back.
"At least you're moving," she said, calmly. "But really, Azula, don't be so stubborn. I'm going to heal that whether you like it or not."
"I'd like to see you try."
"This is one fight you can't win, Azula," she said, steadily. "Now are you going to let me heal it, or are you going to keep acting like a spoiled brat?"
Katara won out in the end. Azula felt the light tingle of the water coursing over her skin and the brief discomfort as it worked its healing magic. Her eyes stared out into nothing, contemplating what her brother had said.
She'd pushed him too far this time. She lost self-control, just spiraling into nonsensical rantings. Her mind, usually sharp enough to pick up on these details wondered one thing over and over again. What had she done to Aang?
She remembered the day he came to the dormitory. She greeted him, along with Katara, welcomed him into their home, and watched him expectantly. Zhao was certain he'd shown potential. He was an airbender, possibly the last airbender, according to him anyway. She'd waited on bated breath. It was like the Winter Solstice holidays came early.
When he'd joined, she remembered clearly, he'd become the leader because he was the Avatar. It seemed logical. She built up his trust in her like she'd done so many times. And then - and then nothing.
Things grew fuzzier the more she tried to remember it. A bamboo forest, and a great spirit of some sort seemed to be at the forefront, but then what happened next? No, she couldn't say. She didn't know.
He was - he was dead? No. No, that's not how it happened. That wasn't right!
When had the frustration at these blanks in her memories turned into a sort of comfort. An escape?
Her thoughts were so far gone, she never noticed the stony fist that nearly flattened her into the ground. She didn't even react as Toph screamed at her, her fists collided with the stone, shattering it into millions of pieces. The rubble grazed her cheek, and she brought her finger up to touch it ever so gingerly.
She wondered if that was blood.
Funny. She didn't remember cutting herself there.
In the distance, she could hear shouting. She felt the tug of someone like through anasthetic, the very sensation muted to the point that the only thing she felt was the pressure. What was going on? Everything seemed so distant and wrong.
Panic overtook her, but her body still didn't respond. What was going on? Was this madness? Was she going insane?
"Don't try and remember, Azula, it's not safe!"
That voice! Not again, she remembered this, the sensation of nothingness. Was her resurgence so fleeting that she'd soon forget everything? "Don't worry. I can hear you just fine." The voice giggled, and the childlike face that it belonged to popped into her frame of vision, blindingly vivid against the murky colors. "You were in trouble, and since it's you, I came running."
So many things she wanted to say, but her tongue felt numb and her lips heavy.
"I told you, I can hear you just fine. Don't worry about the hows and whys, it will all make sense very, very soon, I think. Yes, very soon! You're marching so bravely into the maze all the save me!" Xiao walked back and forth in front of the destruction. The stone behemoth slammed into the ground as Toph leapt atop it, and yet, her only focus was on that girl. Even as Toph pounded her fists into its chest with as much force as a jackhammer.
"That's right, only you can free me, Azula. That's why I need you, and you need me. We're inseparable. This maze is a prison, you know. For people like you and me, we get dragged in here. That's why... that's why I want you to be the one to free me, so I can be just like you!"
What was she talking about? Should she feel pity for this girl?
"I don't know. But you're so cool! You beat all those Strangers by yourself. But, I thought you'd want to know. Your brother's life is jeopardy." What was she talking about? He's an idiot, but he can take care of himself. Can't he? "If you hadn't been there those last few times, I don't think the others would have made it, and there would have been four dead bodies found in Ba Sing Se."
What? Azula's mind reeled, trying to find some sort of response. "You want to save him, don't you? He's your brother!"
He hit her. He'd dared touch her and -
"Oh. Does that change anything? I guess you could just leave him, but I'm not so sure that's a good idea. Who knows what will happen when his Stranger finishes him off. It could be dangerous!". A smaller, white construct was throwing a punch at Sokka, his body rolled with the hit, but he still came flying over, colliding with her.
It should have hurt! What is going on?
He said something to her, but her ears didn't pick up the sound, just a shrill sound, a single note held infinitely. "You haven't got long. Maybe a few hours to find him. It may be impossible, though. I hope you can."
Yes, she hoped so too.
000000000000
Sokka grunted as he hit Azula, coming to a complete stop. The girl grunted in pain, but otherwise remained unresponsive. What a time for Azula to go catatonic. The two monstrosities snuck up on them while Katara healed Azula.
They each reached the ceiling, one marble in construct was a little slimmer than the other one, but both just looked like blocks stacked up on top of one another in the vague shape of people. Masks were placed on their heads to act as faces, but by who or how they didn't know. Toph's fists sailed through the cyllindrical torso of gray stone, leaving a long crack that ran up and down it, leaving it looking a little like a crushed soda can.
The other one, however, went out of its way to be a bigger problem. It kicked up the ground with the marble block that served as its foot, then brought it down, sending stone masonry flying as it did. Sokka brought his hand up to guard his face, and kept his eye on the situation. The general took the field of battle in, and made his decision. "Katara, use a water gun attack. Maybe it's weak to water!"
Few would be surprised that he utterly failed.
"What? Katara stuttered, "What are you talking about. I don't know what a water gun attack even is -"
"Right, right. Whatever, just try and erode it down so Toph can break it easier. Do I have to do everything myself?"
He winced as ice cold water washed over his face. "Oh, I'm sorry, Sokka. I'll just work even harder, then. is that better?"
"I hate your magic water." He turned to Yue, "See if you can get her to respond."
"Of course!"
He drew his sword and looked at it resignedly. "Sokka, let's take a look at what we're about to do," he said to himself, "On one hand, my heritage as a warrior of the Water Tribe not-withstanding, I am equipped with only the will and the experience and a sword, on the other hand, they're monsters made out of stone. Why didn't I bring a chisel? I was thinking, you know, maybe you'll need a chisel, but do I bring one? No." He tightened his grip on his sword, "Well this is going to be pointless, but here goes nothing!"
He charged with a battle cry, his sword held high. He charged at the marble giant and brought the sword down.
Clang! And nothing. the sword simply bounced off and the giant didn't even notice him.
"Yeah, I kind of expected that," Sokka moaned as a crashing wave of water descended on top of the giant and, as a result, himself. "Gah! Katara!" Anything else he said was turned into a series of glubbing noises.
Coughing, he raised his head and opened his eyes to glare at Katara, who was stifling a giggle. "Whoops."
"Why is it I always get wet whenever you decide to use your magic water?"
"Not always! Just most of the time," she said, her giggling fit sneaking out,
"Will you two stop it and help me out!" Toph shouted. Katara's expression sobered when she realized the voice had come from above them. She looked up, and saw Toph flailing around, hanging desperately onto the stone giant's arm as it tried to bat her off on one of the lanterns.
"Toph! How did you get up there?"
"Thanks for noticing!" she shouted right back down. "I'll tell you all about how I got up here if you get me down!"
"Right, down," Sokka looked around, "Okay, I'm just going to get down here and I'll catch you. Let me just get into - gah!" The monolithic construct's foot came down where he stood, forcing him to duck back. "Okay, let me just - ah! Not again!"
"This isn't working, Sokka!" Katara pulled him out of the way from the incoming foot. "Hold on, Toph, we'll think of something!"
"If I held on any tighter this guy'd be missing an arm!"
"Azula!"
"Katara, Azula's gone, she's not listening to us and -"
"What is it." Her voice came across hoarse, and she seemed more angry at being disturbed than surprised. Sokka's jaw dropped. "Can't you see I'm trying to think?"
Yue seemed surprised by the sudden outburst, "I've been trying to wake her up, she wasn't responding until just now -"
"You were?" Azula's eyes hardened, "I didn't hear anything."
"Azula, Toph's in trouble," Katara said, patiently. She didn't know where she was finding it, but she'd take all the patience she could get right now. "We need you to help her."
"Hurry!" Toph's shout was followed by a loud, "Oof," as she collided into the ceiling.
Azula stood up and looked at the two creatures, "Where - when did they appear? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Oh, we tried, believe me. Next time, I'll send an old-timey messenger hawk and maybe text you," Sokka muttered, "Okay, you see Toph? Do something!"
Azula smirked, "All you had to do was ask."
"Argh!"
Azula stood up slowly and straightened herself out. She brushed her hair out of her face and began to run Toph shouted at the stone goliath, swinging her feet at its head as it waved its arm around. Its arms flailed, and so did her legs, feet collided with the other arm, sending the pieces flying into the air. Azula weaved around the rubble that came shuddering to the ground with the impact expertly and leapt into the air.
She seemed to slow down at the apex of her jump and waited for the arm to flail towards her. She drew her fist back and moved to strike at a fissure Toph had formed while holding on. The rock around the crack shattered, tearing the forearm apart and leaving it disconnected at its 'wrist.'
"Whoa! What are you doing!" Toph cried as she felt the stone her fingers clawed deep into disintegrate around her. Azula thrust her other arm forward and grabbed her by the back of her uniform, just as gravity began to take its effect. "You're crazy!"
"I keep getting told that," Azula sneered. She turned her attention to the marble construc, eying it, She tried to think of something to say, but she found her mind lethargic, and the lingering sensation of fingertips wrapped around her cortex ached dully.
"Azula, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she snapped, but her conviction was gone. She still felt like she was miles away. "Toph, finish off the first one. Katara, do - do something to the other."
"Okay," Katara said, doubtful. She'd never heard Azula sound so lost before. She reasoned that it was lingering feelings of guilt from the earlier argument and didn't think much of it. She instead focused her waterbending on the marble construct. A great wave washed down atop it. Pushed back by the wave, it crashed against a wall, leaving an impression on the grey masonry.
"Like you couldn't have done that sooner?" Sokka moaned.
"And I guess you'd want to be smooshed between the two?"
"Point taken, complaint rescinded."
"That's what I thought," Katara said. She put a hand up to block a shower of pebbles. "Toph, do you need any help?" She was busy bending the water up into an icy casing to surround the marble giant, but cast a glance over in Toph's direction.
She threw the monstrosity's head up into the air, and brought her bare feet up to kick it with all her force. "I got it," she said. "Come on!" The head soared down the hall and collided with a great deal of force with the marble construct's head. "Yes!"
"Nice one, Toph!" Sokka said. "Did you see that, Azula? Huh? Azula?"
"Yes, very nice," she said. She seemed to be rubbing at her head.
"You okay?" he approached her tentatively.
"I'm fine!" she snapped with a fiery fury. If looks could kill, they'd never find Sokka's body.
"Okay, okay, fine is good. Fine is great, even," he said weakly, "Good to know. Great! Great to know! Everything is wonderful." He put his hands up in surrender and slowly backed away. "Looks like we got it on the ropes. All that we need to do is strike the finishing blow!"
"Wonderful," Azula muttered, her voice distant.
Sokka sneakily approached Yue. He spoke in a close whisper, "Is it just me or is Azula acting weird. I mean, weirder than normal."
"She does seem on edge," she said, "But we've been in here for an indeterminate amount of time. I think we all are feeling the effects of fatigue, and just being in such close proximity with anyone for so long can drive them a little, well." She smiled apologetically, "You do tend to get on the nerves, Sokka, no offense."
"None taken. I mean, I have to live with me, imagine what that must be like."
"How dreadful."
"Exactly."
"Oh dear, here it comes," Yue said, her eyes drawn to the fight. The marble construct carried shattered fragments of ice along with it as it plodded towards them. It swung a lantern into the wall as it drew its fist up to the ceiling.
Toph strengthened her stance, waiting for the large, rocky fist to come down, but her stance shook as the fist collided with the ceiling instead. Rumbling came as the sole warning. The ceiling overhead began to crumble and collapse. "Toph, move!" Katara said, whipping water in a wide stream as she did. The water knocked Toph into the wall. The masonry fell in a large heap around her.
"I was moving!" Toph shouted when she regained her composure, "Oh that's it, that thing's going down!"
"Azula, move!"
Azula brought her eyes up to look at the spirit as it approached. "This is the part where she shows us up, isn't it?" Toph muttered.
"Azula! What are you standing there for!" Katara shouted. She brought more water into another wide arc.
Azula's eyes snapped into focus and she thrust her arm forward. The marble construct's leg collided with her palm strike, and a large crack formed down the line. The giant seemed to reel in pain, and then brought its arm up in a frenzied strike, throwing Azula into the pile of rubble.
"Do something, Katara, I'm kind of stuck over here!" Toph called outl
"The crack! Go for the crack!" Sokka shouted. Another one of Sokka's brilliant ideas? Katara reluctantly aimed the stream of water at the long crack along the creature's side, She put one foot in front of the other and rolled her shoulders with the movement, propelling the water behind the back of her head and then towards the crack.
It filled the holes quite nicely, as water was wont to do, after all. Katara's eyes brightened. Now she saw what Sokka was going at. She took her hands, still loose though steady in the follow-through, and clenched them tightly into claws.
The water responded to the shift, freezing over and expanding. The cracks got deeper and more grievous, the giant backing away from her almost with a little fear, if it could feel anything like that. "That's right, run away or I'll do the rest of you just like that!"
The monolithic marble monster moved in haste, making for the the maze's murky, hidden levels. Katara watched it go, her stance never wavering until she was certain that the thing wouldn't bother them any longer. Sokka was already pulling Toph out of the small space she'd been trapped.
"Well that sucked."
"Why am I so stupid? I don't even know why I hit her!" he shouted, the only response was his own echo. He scowled. Things were getting worse. "And to think, I wonder why I have like a hundred people running the company for me. It's probably because I'm an idiot!"
Anger wasn't going to solve this. "I should turn around. I really should."
But something compelled him to go further, even just a little bit. He looked down the maze, the direction he'd followed almost instinctually had proven true. He had a pretty good sense of direction. Ba Sing Se was a maze of streets and alleys, and he knew almost every corner of that city by heart.
Better than his own home, actually. Self-imposed exile can be hard sometimes.
Maybe that's why this maze didn't seem to bother him. He was used to exile.
A little ways further, he agreed, and started towards a fork in the road. Left? No, right, it was definitely to the right. Not even wondering what it could even be, whatever compulsion drew his steps down the right passage, a short one that led to a massive antechamber.
Around the circular chamber, there were statues of men in firebending stances, almost performing a dance, and at the center there was a door.
There was no door number, and yet he felt drawn to it.
He brushed at the place where a knob or handle would be, and found nothing. So he pushed. The door creaked open just a fraction, letting in a splinter length strip of light into the room. "I thought you needed a key for this."
He slowly drew his hand back.
Then, around his wrist, something wrapped around him tightly, and pulled.
The door swung closed. Seared into the wood where the label would have been, the number 'IV' was drawn as if burnt by a finger running across it.
"Well, it's a stairway, it goes up," Sokka said, "We're not exactly going to pick up a track, Azula. What's with you all of a sudden. You went all weird on us for a bit and now you're acting like nothing happened?"
"I have no idea what you mean," she said, dismissively.
"Really, you nearly got flattened more times than usual," Toph said, "What's up with you?"
"I just," she wondered what she should say, and then decided against it, "I suppose I got wrapped up in worry for Zuzu. The poor idiot's probably gotten himself into trouble by now and we'll have to go rescue him."
"Do you think maybe his other side found him?"
What did Xiao call them, a Stranger? "It's very likely. A Stranger wouldn't be out of place in this place, especially with Zuzu's behavior of late. He's been growing more erratic. I'm afraid it may be getting stronger the longer we take, as if it's gestating."
"Gross," Katara wrinkled her nose, "Do you think he'll provoke it?" Azula just stared at her with a blank expression, "Dumb question, sorry."
"Well if he does, he's going to be out like a light and - oh no," Sokka said, "We don't have much time!"
"Finally picked up on that, have you?" Azula asked. She examined her nails, "You know, I don't see why we should hurry. He's becoming a loose cannon, anyway."
"Azula!" Katara sounded scandalized.
"What?"
"I knew you were cold, but that's ridiculous," Toph said. "But, then again, you've pulled some evil stunts in your time."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Azula said, "Or what he was even going on about during his rant. He was probably just hysterical."
"You really don't remember?" Katara asked.
"Well, you see, Azula. Back when Aang was around and we were all one big happy family -"
"-Don't worry about it, Azula! I'm sure you're right."
"What the - what are you talking about, Katara?"
Katara kicked Toph in the shin, "Isn't that right, Toph?"
"Right? What are you - ow!"
"See, she agrees?"
Azula looked at the two of them as if they'd grown a second pair of heads and a set of tails to match. "If you say so. We should pick up the pace. Yue, do you notice any doorways like before?"
"There is one rather close by, actually," Yue said, "We just need to go down this hallway and..."
Toph looked over at Katara before she started to walk, "What was that for, Sweetness?"
"If she doesn't remember, maybe that's for the better. I talked to Zuko about her once, after everything was over. We'd gone to... visit. He told me that the way she reacted was different than he'd ever seen her act before."
"Oh yeah?"
"She really thought she was doing the right thing," Katara said, "But also, I think Aang may have been her first real friend, even if she didn't realize it until after."
Toph sighed. "So we don't tell her she killed him with lightning and shot him? Geez, you're weird, Sweetness."
"Just trust me," Katara said, "At least until we find Zuko, so we can-"
"Are you two coming or not!" Azula shouted.
"Come on, let's go."
"Whatever, Sweetness, whatever."
A door, numbered 4, is opened with a key, and the five step through the door into the light. Where they find themselves, they're not entirely sure. Adjusting to the brightness takes some time. Everything around them seems sterile. The bright light is offset with red, the walls are black, and the air seems different. Processed and with the smell of air conditioning.
It's almost too cold. Katara shivered from the chill.
"Whoa," Toph said, :"I can't feel anything. It's all metal and weird."
"Indeed."
"This looks like something from one of those old cartoons," Sokka said, "I used to love them. Remember, Katara, we'd go around and play evil space pirates versus the Super Science Ninjas. It was great!"
"Yes, Sokka, I just loved being the evil pirate queen."
"I know the shows you mean," Azula said, something tugging at her memory. "Zuko used to watch them all the time. After the accident, of course. Is this the way he sees his world?"
Outside, space seemed vast and lonely. They drifted along the Stars of Solitude on an asteroid in the middle of a long belt. A distant sun burned a dark red, and the galaxy spread on endlessly. Whoever had built the secret base in the asteroid belt had wanted to be left alone.
The five of them proceeded deeper, towards the inner lair of the asteroid, unaware that someone was watching them.
To be continued.
Author's Note: Sweet Earth Jegus, An update! This has to be the longest delay, nearly a month since the last update. A little bit of burn-out, a little bit of inspiration, and a lot of other work piling on top of me has certainly made it hard to find the time. Persona 3 Portable will, hopefully, give me a lot of fodder for writing this story, though! I'm actually quite proud of some of the things I attempted in this chapter, even if not all of them worked out quite as well as I planned. I'm definitely trying to push the envelope and get out of my safety zone in terms of stylistic choices. The fact that half of the chapter was told in flashback should attest to that.
And that's nothing compared to a chapter coming up (caveat: it may end up being changed since it may be a little too ambitious). I hope to update at least once every two weeks so I can work on a personal writing project, but delays are likely.