Chapter VI:

The Loyalists

"Once more," Iroh said from his seat at the edge of the old Royal Agni Kai arena. Raya and the Fire Lord obliged, sending long solid blasts of fire into the air. Raya was reminded of the times when she, Aang, and the once Prince Zuko would practice drills like they were doing now. It seemed like a simpler time, even though they were on the precipice of saving the world back then.

Raya had spent the week running drills with Iroh since the day he'd arrived in the Fire Nation. To the Demitar's surprise, Zuko decided to join them each day to practice and spar. It gave Raya the chance to really take in his presence; something she had not done since her first day back. The memory of watching him approach with anger written all over his face as she took in all the ways he had changed made her cringe a bit.

It had been the best and worst moment all at once. She missed him, and seeing him was something she had only dreamed about during her years in the Earth Kingdom.

Even though she now knew why she had received such a harsh greeting – if it could be called that at all – she still couldn't move past the fact that it hadn't been him who summoned her. She also wasn't sure where they now stood. Her feelings were still there, and she was sure of it every time their amber eyes met; every time he tossed his tunic aside to reveal a bare, lean torso; every time they accidentally came into brief contact; every time he said her name.

There was no doubt in her mind that there was still love in her heart for the Fire Lord, but she had yet to approach the subject. She hardly knew how. His days as the Fire Lord seemed to harden him; regress him slightly back into the hard and silent teenager she had once known. Not to mention the fact that he was almost always surrounded by someone.

If not the counselors, then Han Lee was ever present, or at least nearby. She wondered how irksome it must become to be constantly needed. The moment she completed the thought, she realized she herself should know exactly how it feels to be constantly needed. She was the Demitar; the world called upon her constantly.

"How many more times are we going to have to run this? What are we doing wrong?" Raya turned to see Zuko sweating slightly, his eyes focused.

"Wrong? Nothing; your movements are perfect! It's just important to stay in shape," Iroh said with a large grin. Zuko scowled and released his form. Before Zuko could say anything in return, Iroh continued. "You look tired. Come, sit and we will have a nice cup of tea."

Raya moved to sit with the old man, and Zuko surprisingly obliged without another word. Once they were seated, Iroh passed around two fresh hot cups, and Raya blew at the steam roiling off the top of hers. Zuko took a sip without consideration for the heat and made a face through the pain.

"Always in a hurry," Iroh observed, not unkindly.

"Some things never change," Raya joked.

"Sometimes we have no choice," Zuko said, pulling the cup away to blow on it.

"There is always time for tea," Iroh said, voice serious. "One should never rush with something so precious." Zuko deadpanned at the Oldman and Raya choked on some tea, stifling her laughter. There was silence for a moment longer before Iroh spoke again. "I've been meaning to ask you, Fire Lord Zuko; has there been any word on Azula lately?"

"No." Zuko's face grew a bit hard at the mention of his sister, and Raya could understand why. She'd been missing ever since Zuko found his mother. She wondered for a moment what it must be like to be forever tied to something so devastating.

"Iroh . . . Can I ask you something?" Raya said finally, her eyes moving up out of her cup and towards the old general.

"Of course."

"You're one of the greatest Fire Benders in the world, and one of the most spiritual ones, too. How do you move past what the Fire Nation did? How did you keep the war from making your fire seem like it's a bad thing?"

"Life is all about perception, young Demitar," Iroh began, looking toward her thoughtfully. "The way one person perceives the world is vastly different from the way others might. Only we can decide how we perceive the world, and ourselves. The energy you put out into the universe, is the energy that will come back."

Raya took his words in patiently. It had everything to do with perception. She had allowed the war to define her firebending, instead of holding onto the truths she already knew. It wasn't the way other people had used firebending that defined the element, it was the way she used it. Only she could define herself, and her bending, before the eyes of the world.

"Thank you," she said, her words sincere. She felt herself beginning to click slowly back into place. Things were starting to make sense once more, and she could feel balance replacing the fear and anxiety within her.

"Fire Lord Zuko." A man entered the arena and bowed low. Raya turned to see that it was a palace guard. Once he completed his bow, straightened up to his full height and said, "there's a woman here to see you. It's urgent."

X

"What do we have?" Zuko took a seat in his office, and Raya followed. Mai was already there waiting for the two. She had her arms folded, and was inspecting an object that hung on the Fire Lords wall. The decorative mask was intricately carved from ancient wood; its expression impassive.

"They meet tonight in a merchant warehouse, near the docks of Azulon's port," Mai answered simply. She always seemed less than enthusiastic, and Raya still had a hard time reading the Fire Lord's ex-girlfriend. Even so, she had mixed feelings about getting Mai involved with people who had the potential to be deadly.

"Excellent. Everything is going well," Zuko observed, leaning back in his chair a bit.

"Almost too well . . ." Raya said tentatively.

"What do you mean?" Zuko asked, watching her carefully.

"What if they're onto us, and they're just playing along to get closer to you? Not that I'm accusing Mai of anything but . . . It's also a lot to ask of her, to go alone. I think," Raya hesitated and knew before she spoke that Zuko would disagree.

"Think what?"

"I should go with her."

"No."

"It's too dangerous for her to go alone."

"It's too dangerous for you to go with her."

"This is what I was born to do, Zuko. My whole life is facing danger so that others don't have to. Let me do this. Please," Raya implored.

There was silence between the two for a moment, and Mai shifted uncomfortably.

"If anyone cares what I think – I think the Demitar should go."

"I said no," Zuko said, his eyes becoming alight with irritation.

"If something goes wrong, at least one of us can come back and get help for the other. It doesn't make sense to go alone in this. I know you care about her, but use your common sense. Look past your feelings and see the logic in both of us going." Mai looked down at Zuko, her eyes hard. Raya had never seen anyone talk to the Fire Lord with such a lack of formality, and yet that seemed to be the least of Zuko's concerns.

He folded his hands before himself and rested his chin atop them. His eyes were intensely focused, and he glanced up at Raya. When their eyes locked, she felt a jolt of feeling run through her, and averted her gaze. Sooner or later she would need to face the feelings that lingered between them, but now would not be that time.

"Go then," Zuko said finally. Raya sensed a certain amount of defeat in his voice. His face, however, didn't betray that emotion, and he sat in his chair looking as impassive as ever.

X

"This way," Mai said as they moved through the dimly lit streets of the Fire Nation ports. Raya pulled her cloak hood further up over her head, and touched the fabric of the sash that was tied around her forehead. The leather gloves covered the arrows on her hands, and anyone passing by wouldn't know the Demitar from an ordinary citizen.

She followed Mai closely as they came upon the warehouse that was supposed to hold the Loyalists meeting. As they approached, Raya felt herself take a deep breath. A man waited at the door, leaning casually against the steel frame of the building. Mai and Raya stopped a few feet from him, and he stood to his full height. He wasn't much taller than the two women, and eyed them both suspiciously.

"Can I help you?" he asked, arms folding.

"Loyalty will not die in me," Mai said, holding her hands up. She bowed slightly with her hands in the traditional Fire Nation positions. Raya stared, stupidly as she watched. The man watched Raya expectantly until Mai elbowed her discretely.

"Oh – Uh – Loyalty will not die in me, either," Raya said hurriedly as she bowed as well. The man raised an eyebrow and watched them both for a moment longer before he waved them on. Raya released the breath she had been holding, and her gloved hands fell back to her sides.

"Bit warm for gloves, isn't it," the man said suddenly before they could begin walking past him. Mai shot the Demitar a quick glance, and Raya felt her mind working at rapid pace.

"Oh, gloves? These gloves? It's for my . . . dragon scale rash. Very contagious; wanna see?" She said, making the motion as if to pull back her glove; hoping that he would rescind his interest in the gloves before she revealed her tattooed hand.

"Gah. No. Just go," he said, waving them in and looking away from her hand in disgust. Raya felt her body physically relax as she tucked her arms back under her cloak.

"Quick thinking," Mai said, voice still monotone.

"Thanks," Raya said, keeping her eyes peeled. The building they entered was pretty typical as far as warehouses went. There were crates stacked along the walls that lead them into the main part of the warehouse. The high ceiling made room for even greater stacks of crates, and on the floor dozens of people gathered around a makeshift stage made of crates.

Mai and Raya shuffled into the group, keeping their heads low and their eyes down. Everything was going according to plan. That's when Raya's eyes fell on a young man only a few feet away. He was slightly obscured by a woman standing between them, but she wouldn't mistake that hair anywhere. Sure, white hair wasn't that uncommon on the elderly, but this man wasn't elderly at all. In fact, Raya was sure he was only seventeen or eighteen years old.

Kulo. Her mind raced as she took a step toward him, but a strong grip on her arm held her in place.

"What are you doing?" Mai hissed in a low tone at her side. Raya paused and looked away from the boy, her senses returning to her. It couldn't be him. There was simply no way. Even if he were alive now, he would be almost 120 years old. It just couldn't be.

"Nothing . . ." Raya whispered, but she couldn't take her eyes off the boys shockingly white hair. Her heart ached to see him fully. He looked so much like her brother would have if she'd have been able to see him grown. It caused a great sadness to bloom within her, and when the speakers finally came to the stage, she had to force herself to focus on it.

"Welcome! Everyone standing in this room before me is a true brother and sister of mine, and of this Nation. For too long we have lived under the weak and passive rule of Fire Lord Zuko, while our true ruler sits in a prison cell! And now he calls upon the help of our disgrace of a Demitar to usher in more peace. How much more does the Fire Nation have to roll over to the other nations?!"

Raya looked hard at the man, but his face was obscured by the cover of a cloak, and all she could make out were shadows. Cheers rang out around the Demitar as the true Loyalists applauded the man's words. The Demitar's eyes floated back and forth between the man on the stage and the white haired boy in the room with them. She knew she was supposed to be listening as much as Mai was, but she was at a loss.

"Let's go," Mai said, tugging at her arm lightly. Raya tore her eyes away from the boy and noticed that everyone was filing out of the room. The meeting was over, and Raya had hardly heard a word of it. She fell in step beside Mai, and the two of them made their way back out of the building.

Things went more smoothly than Raya could have anticipated and as she stepped out into the night air, she caught sight of the shockingly white hair again. The man was making his way down the street, and glanced back towards them as they walked. Raya paused, and as the man looked away from her, he ducked into an alley. She hesitated for a moment longer and then began to follow.

"Where are you going?" Mai asked quickly, trying to follow.

"I have to do something. Take everything you know back to Zuko. I'll be fine," Raya said as she kept moving.

"But . . . Zuko's going to kill me," Mai said, her face deadpan as she watched Raya disappear into the darkness.

The Demitar walked slowly into the alleyway and at the other end, the man was standing. He watched her carefully and she began to approach him until she felt sharp jabs in her arms and back. A yell escaped her lips as she turned to see her attackers. Two men in black, with covered faces, were stepping lightly around her. Another jab went toward her and she dodged it, only to step into the path of the other attackers jabs.

Her legs went limp and she fell to her knees. Her arms were useless and as she fell to the ground, she looked up to see the white haired man approaching her slowly. He looked so much like her brother; his nose, his eyes, his mouth.

"Kulo . . ." she choked out as a jab landed at the base of her skull and everything went dark.

X

"Keep your elbows bent and your head high," Master Xai said sternly. He stood at the top of the steps that looked down into the square court where the young Demitar practiced her firebending. Raya tried to meet her master's expectations, and bent her arms. She sent out a small burst of flames and stumbled backwards a bit from the small force.

"You are too feeble. Feel your power, and bring it forth. Be ferocious," Xai commanded. The young Demitar looked up at him standing tall with the waning light of the sun behind him. His arms were folded gently behind his back and his demeanor was hard; impassive.

"I'm trying," Raya said, trying to hold back the barrage of tears that threatened to spill over. She knew from experience that not only did crying fix nothing, but that it often times made things worse for her. Master Xai hated crying, and every time his pupil broke down before him, he would unleash a show of flame and power before her the likes of which had cursed her with nightmares of fire.

"The time for trying is over. You will succeed. I will make you the strongest Fire Nation Demitar the world has ever known," Xai said, and there was a flash of madness in his eyes that Raya had never witnessed. The look caused her to flinch were she stood and this only caused Xai to become enraged. He loathed weakness, and even though the Demitar had only come to live with the Royal family a few months ago, they expected her to act like a stone cold adult.

"Flinching? Shall I give you a reason to flinch?" Master Xai said loudly as he stepped forward and sent out a large blast of flame toward the Demitar. She stumbled out of its way just in time, but watched then as flame lit up the entire edge of the square.

"I want my mom!" Raya said, her heart fluttering rapidly like small birds. She wanted nothing more than to see her mother and brother again. They didn't visit once, and she was convinced they'd simply forgotten about her.

"You are the Demitar. You don't need your mother or your family. The Fire Nation is your family now, and you will never see your mother again. She has forgotten you," Xai said as he sent out a small wave of flame that made Raya jump back.

"She wouldn't forget me . . ." Raya said, tears sliding down her child cheeks.

"Oh, but she has."

"She wouldn't . . ." Raya mumbled as her eyes tried to open. The world came rushing back to her and slowly she felt the extent of her limbs around herself. She realized then that she was tied to a chain bracket against a stone wall. She looked around, trying to blink the bleariness from her amber eyes. Her white hair spilled down over her shoulder, and the braid that once held the silk strands was no more.

She tilted her head to move some of the hair from her eyes and realized that her head band was gone. Whoever had taken her knew exactly who she was. She could feel that the gloves were gone too, and the only thing that remained were the clothes that she'd left the palace in.

Her eyes finally accepted the dim light around her and she could make out that she was underground. There were a few lanterns scattered about the edges of the wall on the opposite side of the cavern she seemed to be sitting in. Wiggling her hands she realized they were bound too tightly together to release herself. She pulled until her wrists were sore, and knew that the ropes were slowly causing a friction burn on her pale skin.

A sound came from one end of the chamber suddenly, and Raya could make out the sounds of someone walking toward her. She pressed herself against the wall as far as she could and situated herself so that she was sitting on her butt, knees bent. If she could have stood she would have, but her ties were low to the ground. If she had to, she could bend with her feet.

"Who's there?" Raya asked out into the darkness as the figure approached.

"Shh. Quiet," the voice said as they came into the dim light. Raya's eyes went wide as she laid eyes on the man that looked like Kulo.

"Kulo . . ." she mumbled.

"You said that when they took you, too," the man said, kneeling so that he was eye level with the Demitar. "I'm not Kulo. I'm Kai, his great grandson." Raya gasped a little and her heart slammed in her chest. It explained everything. This was her great nephew.

"You look so much like him," Raya said, taking in the curve of his nose and the shape of his eyes.

"Even with the hair, I wasn't sure you were my relative. But you look just like my dad . . . well – you know – prettier, and like a girl. But still like my dad," Kai said, stumbling a little at his blunder. Raya shook it off, and wanted to ask him a million questions, but the thought of him working with these people made her stomach turn.

"What are you doing here with these people?" Raya asked quickly.

"I was born into a long line of military men. Great great grandpa served in Sozin's military, great grandpa, and grandpa served in Azulon and Ozai's military. Even dad served Ozai while he stood. I've thought my whole life that our cause was the right thing but . . . Seeing you here this way, knowing what they intend to do with you . . ."

"What do they intend to do?" Raya asked.

"Kai, is that you?" A man entered the cavern then, and Kai straightened quickly, bowing with respect.

"Yes, Master FaWei. I was just tightening the Demitars bindings. Can't be too careful." Kai said, tugging on her ropes. She winced at the soreness in her wrists.

"Very good. Ah, finally I have the privilege to meet the Fire Nation Demitar. You really are a Fire Nation beauty. I've read that your mother was also of a fine beauty," FaWei went on thoughtfully.

"What do you want from me," Raya demanded, irritated that he dared speak of her mother.

"The unrightful Fire Lord, of course. He will come for you."

"He won't," Raya said; she hoped.

"Oh he will. And once we have both of you, we will put an end to the shame you have rained down on this Nation."

Raya struggled hard against her bindings and glared at the man.

"Don't worry, Demitar. You will live until we have Zuko. Besides, I won't have the honor of relieving you of your duties. She will be very pleased indeed that we finally have you," Fa Wei said, his eyes betraying a sick pleasure from watching her squirm.

"She who?"

"The rightful heir, of course. The one who leads the Loya-"

Before FaWei could reveal the true leader of their group, Kai was standing behind him and hit him with several chi blocks. FaWei fell before he even understood what was happening and Raya looked over to him with wide eyes. He ignored her looks and knelt down to untie her ropes quickly.

"Come on, we have to hurry. They've already summoned her and she could be here any minute." Kai helped Raya to her feet and they both began running toward the darkness that lead out of the caverns.

"Who? Who is she?" Raya asked. She needed to know. Before Kai had any time to answer her, a woman with dark hair and cold eyes blocked their way. Raya knew that face anywhere. That evil demeanor, the cold gaze.

"Azula . . ." Raya said, answering her own question.

"It's always good to discover a traitor in our midst. I should've known you'd side with your own traitorous blood," Azula said coolly as she watched Kai. He backed away a little and Raya could see the fear she raised in him. The Demitar remembered a time when Azula had the same effect on her, but that time had long passed. She didn't fear Azula, only becoming like her as a firebender. "You and I both know how the Loyalists deal with traitors," Azula snarled as a blue flame lit up her palm.

As Azula pulled her hand back to send the blast toward Kai, Raya felt the fire rush up within herself. This was the true purpose for her fire; to protect. Without hesitation, Raya slammed her own hand into the Fire Princesses open palm and ended the fire that threatened to grow. Azula glared at her hard before using the same hand to push the Demitar back across the cavern with great force.

Raya slid back against the earth floor and lit two flames in her own palms. Azula walked into the room and stared the Demitar down with icey amber eyes.

"I wasn't planning on killing you until we had ZuZu, but he won't know you're dead. Will he?" Azula asked rhetorically as she leapt for Raya. Raya sent out a large blast of green flames and Azula parted them quickly. There was a shake in the earth walls as some rocks gave way from their resting places in the walls. This fight might kill them all if they weren't careful.

Azula didn't seem to care though as she sent a volley of blue flames toward Raya. She leaned back, flipping and turning as she dodged every one. The last one seemed to pass by her in slow motion, only inches from her face as she leaned back to avoid its touch. She put her hands out behind her and flipped backwards, kicking a large whip of flame through the air towards Azula to counter.

The Fire Princess used her own flames to blast through it and sent a long powerful blast down on Raya. The Demitar pulled her arms forward and sent a blast of air out to disarm the blue flame, but it wasn't enough and Raya felt herself slam against the wall. Her head hit hard and she fell to her knees on the ground. Getting up on her hands and knees she looked over to see Kai rushing toward her. A large blast of blue flame stopped him in his tracks and he leapt back.

"No you don't," Azula said, walking up to Raya. She grabbed the Demitar by the collar and slammed her against the rock. Raya coughed and opened her eyes to see Azula staring her hard in the face. "Better luck as an Air Demitar. Oh, that's right, there aren't any air children being born . . . Does the cycle end here? Let's find out," Azula said with a sick smile as a blue blade of flame came rushing to her face.

Raya felt a surge of panic and energy explode in her chest and the explosion came with a thousand voices echoing in her mind. The flame blade was stopped in its tracks as Raya's hand clasped hard around Azula's wrist. The usually amber eyes were swallowed by a blue glow, and the tattoos did the same. Azula was surprised enough to be vulnerable, and as a strong force of wind began to swirl around Raya, the hand that held Azula's wrist sent her flying backwards hard enough that she skidded across the dirt floor. The Demitar's hands became emerald flames as she hovered forward. Two powerful blasts erupted around Azula who managed to dodge them. More rocks began to cascade from the walls and ceiling, and Kai looked around with knowing eyes.

"Demitar Raya, we have to go. Please. The cavern is going to collapse," Kai said as he reached out for Raya's sleeve. As he grabbed a piece of the cloth, Raya's head turned to him quickly. They were hard and unwavering, but as she laid eyes on her nephew, the glow faded and she became herself once more. Her feet touched down on the ground again, and she turned back to where Azula had been only to find that she had fled.

Her body felt the effects of the Demitar state, but she knew that if she and Kai did not do the same, they would be trapped in the caverns; that is if they didn't die immediately. Kai grabbed her arm and began to lead her to the passageway out of the cavern. Raya obliged, but stopped suddenly as she turned to see rocks falling around FaWei. She pulled her arm out of Kai's grasp and he frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"I took a vow with the nomads a long time ago; all life is sacred. I can't leave him. Besides, he belongs in prison," Raya said as she tried to haul him up off the ground. His weight became less suddenly and the Demitar looked up to see Kai taking the brunt of his weight to carry. Raya smiled in thanks and they both began to run for the exit at boulders fell around them.

They slipped into the passageway that lead up into the warehouse as a plume of dust and rock exploded behind them. The cavern was no more, but they had FaWei safely in their custody.

"Where'd you learn to chi block?" Raya asked as they crawled through the trap door into the warehouse.

"When we found out I wasn't a bender, my father still wanted me to be skilled in something. So we found one of the best chi blockers the Fire Nation has ever seen. Ty Lee. She was here for a while with the Kyoshi Warriors.

"I see. You're very good at it," Raya said as she felt the toll of the Demitar state begin to weight on her body.

"Thanks," Kai replied as he began dragging FaWei forward.

"Azula . . ." Raya said absently, still incredulous. The true monster had escaped. She had a feeling that FaWei was just a pawn in all her schemes.

"The tunnel she went down let's out near the Tavern Lord, a tavern out by the Pawan district," Kai said, making for the doorway that would lead out into the street.

"It doesn't matter. She's probably long gone by now. We need to get out of here. I need to get back to the palace." Raya moved for the door and looked around the rooftops.

"How are we going to get all the way to the capital city like this?" Kai asked, gesturing to their cuts and bruises and prisoner. Raya felt weak, and knew there was only one answer to his question.

"Ever ride a dragon before?"

A/N: Hope everyone liked the dose of action. I love writing fighting/dramatic scenes. If anyone likes to know what kind of songs or playlists authors write to for certain scenes, Raya and Azula's fight scene was inspired by Colors Pt. II by Halsey.