I...
Yeah. I am so so so sorry it took so long. No excuses I know ;-;
But I made it up to you. A little. This baby is FOURTEEN THOUSAND words long. Which is like, triple the length of my earlier chapters, so hopefully it kind of cancels out the lateness? Maybe.
Disclaimer: I own nothing here. Bwahahaha, aren't you jealous?
Anyways, hope you enjoy my exciting AKTSHUN CHAPTUR!
Her feet were cold.
Perhaps it was the shoes. The soles were thin, made of cloth and not made for long distances, like the hard-wearing boots of the Kiyoshi warriors, or her own shoes. She could probably feel the cold marble of the floor through the thin ceremonial shoes.
Yeah right.
Mai kept her face as passive as ever. It was so easy forher – after all, she'd had years of practise from her mother, countless hours of sitting up straight, elbows tucked in, mouth kept shut, eyes lowered, face neutral, hands clasped, knees together, and Agni knew what else it took to keep perfect etiquette, that maintaining a cool facade of indifference became second nature to her, an idiosyncratic expression she fell into –whether she liked it or not.
And I thought it was always just an expression. But they were freezing. In fact, goosebumps had broken out upon her skin some time ago. The hall was large and unheated, the sun hadn't yet peaked high enough to penetrate the high windows and let in any warmth. She wondered if the Dai Li that flanked her, walking barefoot, had toes as icy as hers. Probably not. Mai mused idly. Her concealed knives against her skin felt like slabs of ice. I wish they would go away. The soft scraping of stone against marble as they walked made her skin crawl. I don't need them. I can take care of myself against those kids.
They weren't there for protection, and she knew it. They were there to watch her. To see what she was going to do and relate every detail to Azula. If there was one flicker, one moment where for the barest second it looked like Mai would weaken and warn Zuko as opposed to luring him to his sister, Azula would hear about it. She doesn't entirely trust me. I don't blindly follow her like Ty Lee.
But I can't be responsible for this. Her mouth was dry. I know what's going to happen to Zuko if he's caught. And... It's beyond disturbing. I can't sleep at night because I'm too scared to have more nightmares about it. She'd had three so far, each more horrible than the last, leaving her in a cold sweat, biting down on a pillow, or her sleeve, so Azula couldn't hear her stricken gasps. I don't want any part in this, I don't want to help Azula if it means leading Zuko to his death!
But if I go against her, then I'll join him on the chopping block. Mai forced down a convulsive tremor. She wanted to believe that her longest, closest friend wouldn't do something so merciless, but Azula had never been a forgiving soul. Not for something like that... I'd be betraying her for Zuko... And knowing how edgy Azula had always been on the subject, as even though the younger girl was better than her brother in every single way, she was somehow overshadowed, simply because she was the second-born and of the wrong gender... To put him first would be a death sentence. I can hear them. She paused, hearing a set of panicked voices reverberate around the halls. The Dai Li had sent message of where they had last been seen, in one of the lower hallways, heading towards the east wing, to the Avatar. Something churned freshly, uncomfortably, in Mai's stomach at the thought. Even she was ready to admit that Azula had dealt a bit of a low blow.
There.
"Hello." She kept her face smooth, blank expressionless. Five figures froze, turning to greet Mai with a collective gasp.
"What do you want?" Katara was the first to shout, nerves worn down to the bone. "Haven't you done enough?"
"I'm not here to fight." Ash-grey eyes sought out Zuko, stomach tightening as her gaze settled on his scar. "I have something for you, Zuko."
"What?" The teenager pushed himself forward, recognising Mai in an instant. She hasn't changed a bit...
"Azula wants to see you." She started to walk, keeping her motions slow and unthreatening. "Alone."
"Why." Zuko's stomach tightened. "So she can take me down herself? I'm not going near her alone."
"Zuko, what's this?" She pulled up short in her walk, extracting the necklace from a pocket in her dress. Mai held the pendant by the broken chain, the jade-backed dragon plainly visible.
"No." He raised his hand to his trembling mouth, ears ringing, feeling numb. "Y-You didn't..."
"As long as you listen to Azula, she'll be fine." Mai though it prudent not to mention that she was already paralysed. "If I were you, I wouldn't test her patience."
"Where are they." Zuko stepped further forward, visibly trembling. "In the throne room?" Mai gave no indication that she had heard him speak, only turned on her heel, beginning to walk away. "Mai!"
"Come." It was a simple command, a short, staccato syllable rolling off her tongue. Gasping, Zuko began to run after her, heart little more than a lump of ice.
"Zuko!" Iroh protested firmly, the teenager freezing in his walk. Mai stilled, and turned slowly, one eyebrow slightly arched. "Please my nephew, don't do it. You are walking to your death." The elderly man couldn't see Zuko's reaction like Mai could, didn't see how he chewed on his bottom lip, eyes downcast. He was weighing things up in his mind, a rough, token gesture, Mai could tell. He had no intention of leaving the peasant girl in Azula's clutches. He loves her. An ill revulsion blossomed in the pit of her stomach.
Wordlessly, Zuko resumed his erratic pace, eyes locked with Mai. She held the gaze for a few moments before she could no longer bear it, turning her back on the shocked group and falling into step beside Zuko. Their walk was silent, an on Mai's part, somewhat awkward. What the hell was she meant to say? Sorry the girl you love has been taken hostage and I'm helping? The remorse had consumed her stomach, leaving behind a twisted, pained wreck. I'll help you, somehow. Azula won't kill you today, perhaps I could break out you later... We could escape.
Mai!
It was a good thing Zuko wasn't looking at the girl, for her pallid cheeks had flushed with a little colour. She cast a sidelong look at him, eyes lingering once more on his scar. She hadn't been there when it happened of course, but she had visited him later, the night before he left, sneaking in past the guards when it was very late. She thought that he would have been asleep, but he was awake, fully dressed and standing beside the dying fire in the iron grate. She gasped when she first saw him, with the shaved head and mass of bandages, and Zuko recoiled at her reaction. She could still remember every word of their short conversation beside the fire, Zuko consumed with shame and self-loathing, Mai trying so hard to console him, but unable to find the words.
I should have said something. Yeah, like that would have made any difference. Mai fought back the urge to roll her eyes, emitting a low sigh. He wouldn't have cared, not Lafter what he'd just gone through.
I need to let go. Stop thinking about maybe and what might happen and possible chances. They're not going to happen. Look at him, he's not the same as he was. It's not just the scar and the age. He's switched sides. I saw the expressions of the others. They were almost protective of him. It's a little shaky, but he fits in there. Not with us, in the Fire Nation. Not with his father and Azula. Mai closed her eyes for a moment, exhaled deeply, and opened them once more. Zuko hadn't noticed.
"Is she really okay?" Zuko's voice cut through the tense silence. Mai looked over at the teenager, realising he was looking at her. She opened her mouth to speak, finding it too dry, and swallowed.
"Yes." Mai said eventually. "Azula hasn't hurt her. She wants to, but she won't." Mai clutched at the jade necklace in her pocket, jealousy rising. After nearly fifteen years of being perfect... He chooses a peasant. She couldn't envision a bigger slap in the face.
"Why the hell was she there..." Zuko muttered, more to himself than to her, shaking his head.
"She heard about the Avatar." Mai explained helpfully. "Went to find and warn you." She let the sentence end there, extracting the necklace from her pocket. "Here." She held it out to Zuko, the boy taking it carefully. "You shouldn't have picked a dragon. Azula knew right away that you were the only person who could have possibly given it to her." Zuko hid it in one of his pockets wordlessly, staring blankly ahead of himself.
The rest of the walk was silent. Mai continued to shoot subtle glances in Zuko's direction, hoping to catch a flicker, a change in emotion. Zuko's face bore the same expression however; the perpetual fear, confusion, and a crease in the forehead illuminating that he was struggling to compose some sort of plan, a scheme to make sure that he left with not only his own life and liberty, but that of Jin's. Say something! She screamed inwardly. Do something! Mai couldn't stand his silence, was unable to believe that he was walking into this so easily. Didn't he think what was going to happen? He trusts her... To some extent, he actually believes that if he obeys her, then his peasant girlfriend will be okay. Azula always lies, Zuko! Always! You know that better than anyone!
What Mai wasn't aware of, was that the exact same thought was rattling uncomfortably around in Zuko's mind – He had to go to Jin, there was no way around that. He didn't think for a second about leaving her there at the mercy of his sister – He literally could not think of a worse end for the poor girl. I knew I would get her in some sort of trouble... But not like this, never like this... Zuko toyed with the necklace in his pocket. And all she was doing was trying to warn me... She tried to help me and in return Azula has her held hostage. He tried to swallow, but his mouth was so sickeningly dry that the reflex stuck in his throat, tongue grating almost painfully against the roof of his mouth. What do I do... I can't get her out. Not with Azula there, she'd sooner kill us both. I could try and bargain something... Just so she'll go free... But Azula would never keep her side of the deal. She's too crooked, too underhanded. Her fight with Aang earlier that morning had shown that much. He could try and take Azula down himself, but with her support of Dai Li agents (not to mention Mai and Ty Lee) Zuko would be easily flattened in less than a minute.
Guess I'll just have to play it by ear. They had reached the main hall, the vast double doors leading to Kuei's throne room firmly closed. Hope the spirits are on my side today, and not Azula's.
"Go right ahead." Mai spoke softly, withdrawing from the small cluster of human bodies outside the door. Zuko didn't notice. A further insult to her pride, Mai took the unintentional snub silently, backing away from the group, eyes locked on Zuko's figure, before she turned and fled, hand trailing along the stone wall in the desperate search for a door, a corner, something to escape into. She found a small alcove, which probably held a statue once upon a time, but now stood empty. Mai pressed her back against the stone, sliding down until she rested on the balls of her feet, crouching. She was trembling, palms sweaty.
What have I done...
Zuko could not have such luxuries. He stepped forward, pushed open the double doors with his back straight, head erect. Azula wasn't going to get the better of him.
Not this time.
"Well, hello Zuzu." Azula, who had sprawled out rather comfortably on the cushioned throne, stood up slowly, taking her time as she walked down the small flight of stairs. "Such a pleasure it is to see you again."
"Cut it Azula." Zuko's eyes roved about the room, landing on Jin, who stood near the throne, supported by two Dai Li agents. She kept her eyes locked on the Prince, heart thudding, weak with relief. Jin would have said something if she could, but words utterly failed her. Although she at first looked to be standing, Zuko noticed that her only her toes touched the floor, her slender frame limp. His stomach clenched painfully in shock, the boulder sinking further when he saw her right hand was covered in blood. "What did you do to her?"
"Nothing lasting." Azula murmured, bringing Zuko's attention back to her. He glared at his sister, shaking. "At least, not yet."
"What do you want." The teenager kept on his guard, keeping his hands close to the Dao swords at his waist. "To kill me? To capture me? What?"
"So little faith, Zuko." She murmured quietly, as if to herself. "Did it ever occur to you that I might be trying to help you?"
"What?" Zuko was dumbstruck. "What are you talking about? When have you ever helped me?" He shook his head. "Let Jin go, Azula. She's done nothing to you!"
"Why would I want to do that?" Azula raised her eyes to the ceiling. "Zuko, shut up and listen to me for five minutes. And think, for the first time in your life." His glare at her was icy. "What are you going to do? Really? The Avatar is dead. His pathetic friends will quickly be dealt with. Ba Sing Se will be mine before the sun sets. How are you going to singlehandedly stop me?"
"I-I-"
"Face the facts Zuko. You lost, before you even begun the fight. You were always going to lose." Azula have a long, exaggerated sigh. "You don't have to face the same sticky end as the others, Zuko." She began to walk again, a smirk curling her lip. "There is hope for you, you know."
"That's a lie." Zuko spat. "I'm not falling for your tricks Azula. Not for a second time. You've tried that before, remember? Saying that Father forgave me, wanted me home? You can't fool me again!"
"You don't get it, do you?" She stared at him coolly, mind ticking away. "Oh, Zuzu. You can stand there until your blue in the face swearing your loyalty to the Avatar, but we both know the truth. We both know where your heart deeply, truly lies." Jin blinked back tears, an odd ringing in her ears. She's wrong! She's got it all wrong! Zuko has changed! He's a completely different person to who he once was!
"Get to the point, Azula." Zuko clenched his hands into fists, a nerve in his temple twitching.
"Father doesn't have to know what really happened today." Azula said. "He doesn't have to know about your... slip-up." Zuko stilled. "In fact, I could spin him an entirely new series of events." Eyes as bright as burning coals narrowed. "Including the fate of the Avatar."
"What?" Zuko frowned, not yet understanding Azula's insinuation. "What do you mean?"
"Ugh, you are a dunce." She muttered in exasperation. "I'll lie, Zuko. I'll tell Father that you killed the Avatar." His eyes widened, knees weakening. "That's what you want, isn't it? It's what you've always wanted."
"E-Even so." He tried so hard to banish the tremor from his voice, but it was there. Azula heard it plainly. "It's not just that, Azula. No amount of lies can ever undo my treachery." Jin's heart was tearing in two. He was tempted.
"Not true." Azula said, sounding surprisingly light-hearted. "Fathers' main concern with you is the issue of loyalty. He wants to know where you stand. Whose side you are on." Azula paused, toying with a strand of hair. Zuko opened his mouth to interject, but before a sound could pass his lips, Azula began to speak again. "Confusing as it may sound, I have much to gain from your return. You know that without a son, our father would be forced to either remarry, or choose a husband for me to rule after his death. Do you think I want either? Do you think our father wants to come to such a compromise?"
"Oh, come off it." Zuko snarled. "He never intended for me to be the next Fire Lord. My banishment was just an excuse to get rid of me. He's wanted me out of the way ever since Mo- Since he became Fire Lord." Zuko caught himself quickly, breath hitching at he mention of his mother. Azula noticed the pause, and smiled.
"Politics was never your best subject, was it Zuzu?" Azula sighed, shaking her head. "Do you think our father that petty? Do you fail to understand the importance of a first-born son? Producing an heir is the primary focus of the Fire Lord. You saw how harshly Grandfather Azulon fought for our pathetic Uncle, despite his miserable failure."
"I think Dad's shown how little he cares for the rights of the first-born son." Zuko shot back. "Or did you forget how he usurped the throne?"
"Careful, Zuko." Azula warned her brother. "I'm trying to give you an out here. You will be brought to the Fire Nation. But do you want to be in chains, awaiting a long, miserable, and humiliating end, or do you want to return with your head held high, honour restored, facing a long life of wealth and glory?"
"Based on a lie?" Zuko said cuttingly. "Are you serious, Azula?"
"Well, it's not entirely a lie." Azula relaxed her stance slightly. He was weakening. "I need you to do one simple thing for me, to prove not only your loyalty, but skill. I know you have both, but I require proof, understandably. And besides, you would do me such a favour."
She's insane. Zuko swallowed. There's no way that I would do anything for her! I won't! Not in a million years, I-
Be careful. He reminded himself. I'm not in a position of power here. I have to play her game. If she thinks me to still be the pathetic weak-willed child, then that's what I'll be. The more power she thinks she has over me, then the higher my chance is of escaping.
Besides... He cast a desperate look at Jin. I can't give her a reason to hurt Jin. And she won't, not while she's trying to rein me in...
"What do you want me to do?" Zuko returned his gaze to Azula, wiping his sweaty palms on his tunic. The girls' smile widened.
"The water-tribe girl." Zuko's eyes widened. "Take her out."
"What?" Zuko gasped. "Azula, you're not..."
"Oh, I am." She nodded. "I'm deadly serious, Zuko. Get rid of her. Permanently." She stalked towards Jin, the brown-haired girl crying out as Azula grasped one of her braids, pulling down hard so her neck was exposed. The bottom dropped out of Zuko's stomach as Azula held up two fingers, a deadly, concentrated flame dancing on her fingers. "Understand?"
No no no no no no. Zuko's head was whirling. I... how? How am I supposed to kill Katara? I can't! Never!
But if I don't, Azula will kill Jin. Zuko knew it. She'd know where my loyalties really lie. I'd be arrested and executed. The teenager closed his eyes, the tremors returning. I don't have a choice...
"Yes." Zuko whispered, his voice breaking. Jin let out a low moan, shaking her head. "I understand."
"No!" The green-eyed girl burst out. "Zuko, y-you can't –ah!" Zuko gasped as Azula hit the girl across the face, quivering in rage.
"Don't you dare." He growled, blood boiling. "Don't lay a finger on her, Azula!"
"As long as she keeps her mouth shut, I won't." Azula gave the girl a poisonous glare, Jin's cheek stinging. The Princess released her hold on Jin's hair, however, stepping away from the girl. "I don't have all day, Zuzu."
"... Yes." Zuko nodded, the anger beginning to drain, chest cooling. The surge of protective anger was the nail in the coffin, washing out all of Zuko's doubt. He would not be responsible for Jin's death.
Whatever the cost...
"Good Zuzu." Azula smiled as the teenager left without another word, the door closing quietly behind him. "So pathetic."
"He is not!" A feminine voice behind Azula made her turn, nostrils flaring. "How can you say that?" Jin was incensed. "You're lying to him, forcing him to murder someone to prove his loyalty!"
"Shut up." Azula hissed, fists flaring. "Keep your mouth shut you filthy peasant, or so help me Agni-"
"Azula!" Ty Lee cut on, leaping gracefully from her place to the right of the throne, where she had stood, watchful and silent, for so long. "Don't, she's just trying to wind you up."
"... Right." Azula calmed at the sensation of Ty Lee's hand on her arm, stepping back. Jin let out a long breath, opening her eyes after screwing them up in terrified anticipation. "No matter." Azula muttered, rearranging her bangs again. "If Zuko returns, I'll be very, very surprised."
"What do you mean?" Ty Lee enquired curiously, a nervous feeling building in her stomach. She'd never had anything against Zuko, and in fact, actually quite liked him.
"I doubt he has the skill to kill that peasant." Azula mused. "Or the stomach." Jin gulped. "More than likely she'll finish him off." The Princess was looking thoughtful. "I was looking forward to relishing in his demise, but he's gone today, then it'll remove Uncle from the picture."
"How?"
"He'll be destroyed." Azula spoke so smoothly, so easily. "You have no idea how much hope he's placed into that foolish brother of mine. Without Zuko, Uncle Iroh is nothing." She smiled again. "They thought that they could spoil our plans? How pathetic." Azula returned to the throne, crossing one leg over the other. "When will they learn that I don't lose?"
"I don't know, Azula." Ty Lee spoke quietly, feeling just a little unsettled. "I don't think they'll ever learn."
"Aang."
Once more, Sokka had to support his younger sister as she threatened to collapse, knees bending. He guided Katara, supporting her as she staggered to the stone block on the middle of the room. It looked like a tomb. The only light came from a slit in the wall, the room sunk into deep shadow, the sole furniture the crude stone slab. Iroh lit a flame in his hand, quickly approaching the still figure which lay in the centre of the room, the front of his clothes soaked with blood. He pressed his free hand against Aangs' forehead, then his chest, sighing deeply in relief.
"He's alive." His voice was hoarse, the two short words earning a low gasp from Katara, who groped anxiously for the amulet about her neck. "Just."
"I-I hope this works." Katara breathed, the others gathering around her as she extracted the tiny amount of water and gathered it in her hand. It glowed brilliantly, a dazzling sheen of silver reminiscent of the moon. She pushed aside the tattered remnants of Aang's shirt, pressing her glowing palm flush against the open wound. Eyes closed, Katara summoned every ounce of strength she had, desperately willing for the magical water to work. Without a doubt, it was the most horrific injury Katara had ever seen. The lightning had burned away a hands-breadth of skin, shattered four rib-bones, one of Aangs' lungs ruined, the surrounding muscles a blackened mess. Azula had missed his heart by a mere few inches, Katara noted, slowly closing her eyes.
Please please please please please please please please please...
Aang groaned.
There was a collective gasp around the room, as everyone, even Toph, leaned forward in anticipation. Katara slowly shifted her hand, the water absorbed by Aang's broken body in its entirety. She took Iroh's wrist, lowering the flame so she could examine the partially healed wound in a better light.
"Did it help?" Toph breathed, clutching Sokka's hand for the sheer want of something to hold on to.
"... Yes." Katara dared to smile for half a second. "His lung... It's working again. H-He can breathe. The rest is... It'll need healing, but..." She wiped at her eyes. Aang was still unconscious – the groan probably a reflex – But it was a sound, an indication of life. "W-With a bit of luck, h-he'll be okay."
"Excellent." The happiness was obvious in Iroh's voice. "Now. I don't mean to rush, but..."
"Yes, of course." Katara tentatively scooped Aang in her arms, cradling his head against her shoulder. "We have to go." She straightened, turning. The small group left the tiny tomblike room, clustering in the hallway. "General Iroh... What did you want to do about Zuko?"
"... I'll go and get him." He murmured after a moment of thought. "But it's a delicate situation. Azula has somehow captured Jin and is holding her as a hostage. Remember that my nephew is meant to be alone with her." Iroh scratched at his beard. "I don't like this..."
"Look, I don't wanna sound like a jerk, but Aang is kind of the most important thing here. Getting him to safety is the top priority."
"Oh yeah Sokka? How about we leave you alone to suffer Azula?" Toph shot back. "You're right. You do sound like a jerk."
"No, I just-"
"No, you have a point." Iroh sighed, rather darkly, to Sokka. "To be honest, if Zuko didn't face such a terrible fate if he were captured, I would consider leaving him to fend for himself. But..." Iroh shook his head. "You have to understand. I can't leave him."
"We do." Toph spoke quickly, before Sokka could. "And if the worst comes to worse, we can..." She trailed off, frowning.
"We can what?" Sokka pressed after a short silence. "Toph?" She held up her arm to silence them, frown deepening.
"Zuko's coming." Toph announced, curling her toes. "And... He's heavy-footed. And I mean more so than usual."
"But he's with Azula." Sokka interjected. "Why the heck would he be here? Wouldn't she have, I dunno, burned him alive or shot lightning at him or something?"
"I'm not sure." Iroh said carefully, watching Zuko very closely as the teenager emerged into the hall from around the corner. "How did things go, my nephew?"
"I escaped." Toph froze. "Listen, we all have to get out of here, and quickly. I managed to hold Azula off and run out, but she sent some Dai Li agents after me. They'll be here any second. We have to move."
"What about Jin?" Iroh ventured, the frown carved into his face deepening. "Is she all right?"
"I don't know." Zuko swallowed, heart thudding. "She managed to escape from the others as well. They didn't know she was an earth bender and she was able to get away." Toph bit her lip. Zuko's heart was already beating so fast, from what, she was unable to tell, and the picture she received from her feet was fuzzy, slightly indistinctive. Her chi paths were still not entirely clear. But she was sure that he was lying. "We can't escape from here without Azula's interference. Some of us have to hold her off, while the others get Aang out of here." Zuko's eyes lingered on the slim figure in Katara's arms. His face was chalk-white, limbs completely limp, but the almost indistinguishable rise and fall of his damaged chest showed that he was alive. Thank Agni. There is hope yet. The young Prince swallowed, his mouth as dry as sand.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Katara said grimly, voice trembling. "She's going to pay for this, I swear." Something in Zuko's chest tightened. At least she was going to come willingly. He was mentally preparing for a long argument to try and convince Katara to part with Aang and join him.
"Do you want me to come with you my nephew?"
"No!" Zuko burst out a little too forcefully, wincing. "I mean, that's not a good idea Uncle. You need to protect Aang. He's the most important thing right now."
"Zuko's right." Toph bit her lip. "I'm not completely clear yet. Don't trust me to hold off all the Dai Li by myself."
"All right." Iroh conceded, examining his nephew very closely. Something wasn't sitting right with this. It seemed... off. Why was Zuko so adamant to approach Azula without him again? She may have gotten to him... He might be laying a trap for us...
Spirits, what am I thinking! Iroh admonished himself. Not Zuko. I know where his loyalties truly lie. He knows it himself. He wouldn't betray us for Azula. Not now that he has seen the truth. The elderly General closed his mind to the possibility of Zuko betraying them all. He could not believe that his nephew could possibly be capable of it, not after everything he had done.
"What about Jin?" Katara spoke up. "She's somewhere in the palace... Shouldn't we look for her or something?"
"She'll be all right." Zuko sounded a little more dismissive than he liked, insides immediately flaring with guilt. "I mean, she's an expert in sneaking in and out of places just like this. She can make her way out undetected. She knows to get out of here at all costs, alone or not."
"... All right." Katara nodded. "Sokka, take Aang for me." Her brother nodded, stepping forward to receive his body. She transferred Aang carefully, as though he were made of paper-thin glass, her touch lingering on his warm skin. Please be okay...
"Get her." Sokka said simply, cradling Aang close to his chest. Crippled with guilt, the teenager couldn't bring himself to look down on Aang. This is my fault... If I didn't go and try to play the hero...
Katara nodded wordlessly, turning to Zuko, who had already started to walk back in the direction he had come, unable to look his Uncle in the eye. The three watched him go, Toph still trying hard to distinguish the pattern of Zuko's hearbeat, and whether it stemmed from lying.
"Something's not right." Iroh muttered the moment Zuko was out of earshot. "It doesn't sound like Azula to just let him go. And he was far too dismissive about Jin. If she really had escaped, his first priority would be to find her. You saw how he dropped everything and rushed to help her."
"I think he was lying." Toph spoke up, deep in thought. Sokka's stare shifted from the ageing man to the young girl, something swirling uncomfortably in his stomach. "I can tell when people are, their heartbeat spikes. But Zuko's heart was already racing from fear..."
"What is he leading my sister into?" Sokka interjected, voice rising in panic. "Is he trying to trap her?"
"I... I think so." Iroh murmured, voice heavy with regret. "But I-"
"You said he had changed!" The young male burst out aggressively. "You said he was good! This was all an act, just to trap us!" Sokka started to back away. "How can we trust you? H-How do we know you're not working for Azula!"
"Sokka, shut up." Toph snapped. "General Iroh is on our side. Always has been. Look, Zuko's just confused. And if you ask me, Azula's probably holding that Jin girl as a hostage. If Zuko doesn't do what she says, then..." She made a slicing motion across her neck.
"Okay." Sokka had calmed – slightly. "So, if that's true, then what? How can we stop them from hurting my sister?"
"I'll take care of it." Iroh said carefully. "You two worry about getting out of here. And listen – you must be prepared to leave without Katara, if the worst comes to the worst."
"Wh-what?" Sokka's face was ashen. "I'm not leaving without her! No way! She's my sister, I have to look after her! D-Do you think I would just leave her here?"
"Sokka, please-"
"I'm not leaving without Katara." Sokka was resolute. "A-And anyway, we need her to keep Aang alive. He'll die without her healing powers and we're too far away from the North Pole to get help from any other healer."
"... Half an hour." Iroh sighed after a moments' pause. "At the front steps of the palace. Are you able to summon your bison?"
"Hope so... Yes!" Sokka, who had been searching Aang's shirt, extracted the whistle in triumph, the bone-carved tool thankfully intact. "Half an hour, got it."
"Best of luck." Iroh inclined his head and neck in a short bow, before turning, making down the hallway in the same direction Katara and his nephew had traced a few minutes before.
"... Yeah." Sokka slumped against the wall, feeling sick. Katara... "I-If either of them hurt her..."
"Don't do this again, Sokka." Toph instructed, pressing her hand against the wall, feeling for any vibrations. "We're clear. We should try to head left, avoid the front of the palace, then make our way out the western entrance, and come out across the grounds. We'll be more exposed, but that way, we'll avoid Azula and her cluster of Dai Li agents."
"Sounds like a plan." Sokka slipped the bison whistle into his pocket, repositioning Aang gently in his arms. "It's okay, buddy." He said gently, giving his vacant face a fleeting gaze. "We'll get you to safety..." Heart swelling fit to burst, the water-tribe boy began to follow Toph, Aangs' deathlike face still burning in his mind.
"Zuko, what happened in there?"
They had been half running, half jogging as they made their way through the halls of the vast palace, Katara keeping on her guard, Zuko not caring. The Dai Li would know by now to leave them alone, that Zuko would take care of her.
'Take care of her'. The phrase sent a shiver down Zuko's spine. It had to be the most chilling euphemism ever derived. Take care of her. He pushed down the sickly swirling feeling that had flooded his stomach, threatening to rise in his chest.
"Oh..." He swallowed, the taste bitter. "Uh... It's hard to explain." It was impossible. Katara had paused in her jog, frowning. Zuko turned to face her, nails cutting so hard in his palms that he drew a few drops of blood. "I... Come here." He grabbed Katara by her arm, the girl crying out as she was dragged along the hallway, protesting loudly, and pushed into the closest available room, Zuko slamming the door and leaning against it with a long sigh.
"What is going on?" Katara demanded, fear trickling like ice down her back. "Zuko... What's happening?"
"A trap." His eyes were closed, trying so hard to think while he was wracked with this guilt and confusion. Zuko heard her gasp, and was glad beyond all definition that there was no water about.
"What?" He gasped, eyes flying open as Katara grabbed him by the front of his clothes, yanking him forward and down so they were eye level. "Who? Who is being trapped? Aang? My brother?"
"You." Zuko thought – hoped – that if he perhaps explained everything, and was convincing enough, Katara just might go along with the half-formed plan that was stewing in his head. She jumped back from the teenager, eyes impossibly wide. "Katara, I-"
"Y-You bastard!" It was the only time that Katara had ever allowed herself to swear. "How could you Zuko! I let myself trust you!"
"Katara, you have to-"
"Are there Dai Li around?" She looked about the largish, well-lit chamber, some sort of drawing room, one of many that were lavishly furnished and never actually used. "Where's Azula?" Zuko was looking very, very pale. "Answer me!"
"There's... No Dai Li around." Zuko spoke. "Katara please, you have to listen to me. J-Jin's life is at stake." Katara paused, expression softening, just a little.
"Azula has her?" Zuko nodded. "What, are you meant to capture me or something?"
"No..." Zuko couldn't look at Katara. "Uh... She sent me to kill you." He heard her gasp, and gritted his teeth. "Look, I never intended to lay a finger on you, I swear! I-I just agreed so she wouldn't hurt Jin." Silence. "Please, I-"
"Zuko, look at me." Katara's voice broke harshly over his. He swallowed, the bitter taste increase, and slowly raised his head, and locked his gaze with the dark-haired girl. She studied his features, trying to gauge if he was lying or telling the truth. He'd never seen anybody look so shocked and betrayed before. Unfortunately, it was a look he would see again before the day was out. She shook her head slowly, covering her face with her hands and then raking them through her hair. "If you were going to do it, you wouldn't have told me, that's just stupid." Katara tried to reason with herself. "But... She'll kill Jin."
"I know." Zuko licked his bone-dry lips. "I... I have to trick her somehow... But it's Azula. It's so hard... Whatever I'll do, she'll see right through me. And her guard of Dai Li are too much, even with Uncle and the others... There's no chance."
"I-I could surrender." The girl suggested. "And then... try and break free when Jin has escaped and Azula is off guard..." She trailed off when she saw Zuko shaking his head. "What?"
"No." He looked up at the ceiling. "She wants you dead. And more than that, she wants me to do it."
"Why?" Katara was confused. "I mean... No offense at all, but I could probably beat you Zuko. She knows that."
"Loyalty." His voice was very quiet. "That's what she wants. If I do it, she'll give me credit for Aang's death."
"But he's not dead." Katara argued. "And he'll live, with proper care. Why would you want credit for that?"
"I don't want credit for anything." Zuko's voice was tight. "I don't want any of that, Katara. I'm done." She was regarding him with some suspicion. "It's true." He argued. "I don't want to be a Prince anymore. Not if it means being a sadistic tyrant like my father and sister. I'm not cut out for it." He was pleading with her by this stage, very aware that she did still not trust him. "I have changed Katara, I swear." She folded her arms, looking very troubled. "Help me save Jin. If she's hurt in this... I'll never forgive myself. I can't have her death on my soul. Please."
"... Do you have a plan?" Katara eventually spoke up, uncertainty still niggling in the back of her head. Zuko nodded slowly.
"You won't like it." He murmured. "I need your necklace."
"No!" Katara spoke instinctively, one hand shooting up to her neck. "Not Mum's necklace!"
"I knew you would say that." Zuko muttered. "Please, Katara. If I give her the necklace, it'll be like a symbol. She'll think that I killed you and took it as a token. I wouldn't drag your body about the place, not while the coup hasn't officially started yet."
"I don't care." Katara was stubborn. "I-I've already lost Mum's necklace to you before Zuko. I'm not letting that happen again!"
"I hardly stole it." Zuko frowned. "I found it on the prison ship... Look. Don't drag up the past, please." The begging tone had crept into his voice again. "I-I know how you feel about this-"
"No, you don't!" Katara quickly retorted. "You have no idea what it's like, Prince Zuko! This necklace is all I have of Mum! It's my most prized possession!"
"... Yes, I do." Zuko took a deep breath, before fiddling with the front of his clothing, undoing the collar so he was able to reach inside his shirt. Katara paused when he pulled out a gold ring on a very long, fine chain. "I-I keep it on a chain... I'm so terrified that I'll lose it if it's just in a pocket."
"What is it?" Katara asked, watching Zuko turn the ring with his pale fingers. She noticed that it was adorned with a very large, very valuable, blood-red stone.
"My mothers' betrothal ring." Zuko looked down at it almost fondly. "She's been... gone, for a very long time."
"O-oh..." Katara was at a loss of what to say, how to comfort him. "I-I'm so sorry... How did it happen?"
"Dad did it." He said simply, hearing her gasp. It wasn't a stretch of the truth really, it was due to Ozai's lust for power and utter lack of compassion for his only son that had forced Ursa to murder, and then flee.
"H-His own wife?" Zuko nodded without a word, still looking down at the ring.
"No one's safe from him." He muttered. "Not even family." Katara's eyes widened in realisation as she looked at his scar, the unexplained mark, realising the bitterness in his tone. No... Ice hardened in her stomach. That's... Beyond sick... "That's not the point." Zuko straightened, replacing the ring, which had been found in the royal grounds two weeks after his mother had disappeared, and given to him by a servant who pitied the boy and hated Ozai. "I know what it's like, to tie your mother to a piece of jewellery. Especially now I know I'll never go home and see all the pictures of her. But that's not true, losing your necklace isn't the same as losing your mother, Katara. You'll always have memories. I-I mean, you yourself are living proof she existed. You don't need the necklace to have that."
Hypocrite. Anger, fuelled by her stubbornness, flooded Katara's chest. Then why don't you ditch that ring, if it's apparently so easy? Katara regretted the words as soon as they were inwardly spoken. That's not fair... He would if he had to... And I still have Dad and Sokka and everyone else in the Southern Water tribe, too. Zuko really doesn't have anything. Just his Uncle...
... And Jin.
Katara traced her fingertips over the bone carving, feeling the patterned design that she had memorized after hundreds of saddened caresses. It had been her most treasured possession for as long as she could remember. After she had regained it, Katara swore that she would never part with her precious pendant, for as long as she lived. And just a few short months later, here she was, the ugly, inevitable truth presented in front of her. It's not just Jin... If I don't escape from here, and the others are alone with Aang, he won't make it. He'll be too injured, and the North Pole is too far away to help. And I can't escape with the place crawling with Dai Li, knowing I've tried to make a run for it. If they think I'm dead, they won't be looking. I can escape and save Aang...
With a long sigh, heart breaking, Katara began to undo the silken blue knot at the base of her neck.
"Ugh, this is beyond preposterous..."
Right...
"How could this have happened! I just had Long Feng arrested! The moment I expel one viper, another springs from the shadows..."
"Took you this long to get rid of him..." Meng shook his head sadly, one hand on Kuei's sleeve. The pair had taken a long, tedious, and immensely stressful route through the back quarters of the palace, and had reached the bowels of the castle, the housing of the sewers, the prisons, the quarters of the lowliest slaves. "Do you have any idea how many lives he's destroyed?" They were walking slowly, clinging to the shadows, peering around each corner before daring to take another step. "Everyone knows someone whose gone missing." The young male muttered darkly, resuming his walk.
"I didn't know that!" Kuei was so defensive. "I didn't know anything! Long Feng kept everything from me. All I knew was that the Dai Li were protectors of our cultural heritage, keeping order."
"Yeah, they kept order all right." Meng's voice was poisonous. "By imprisoning half the city and brainwashing everyone else." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but how could you not know?"
"I've never left the palace!" The young King shot back. "I only saw the outside once, with the Avatar, and that was just a few days ago. You can't blame me for this!"
"I know..." Meng rubbed at his eyes, so tired. "I'm sorry. I know it's Long Feng. I've met the bastard, I know what he's capable of. But you should have heard what they call you in the Lower Ring. You're not very popular, you know. Your Majesty." He added quickly, wincing.
"No Monarch is ever popular with the peasantry." Kuei waved his hand dismissively. "It's impossible to make everyone happy. There will always be a group of people at the bottom. Even if everyone was given an equal amount of resources, within a few years, we would return to our normal class distinctions. It's how society operates." He spoke sensibly, and almost word-perfect regurgitation of countless books written by learned men, read half-heartedly throughout his youth.
"We don't have to be so low." Meng argued. "In my family of seven, four of us worked long hours, and struggled to keep a roof over our heads. In what society is that ever fair?"
"All right!" Kuei was getting a headache. "Look... I know things are out of balance... But what do want me to do?"
"To do?" Meng was incredulous. "You're the King! Abolish the Dai Li, provide free education for everyone so they can have an equal start. Control the price of housing, it's spiralling out of control. Get rid of all your damn government officials, getting fat off our taxes and doing nothing. There is so much you can do..." He trailed off regretfully. "Guess it doesn't matter now though, does it? I mean, with the Avatar dead, and the Fire Nation in the palace itself..."
"I..." Keui's head was spinning, still struggling in vain to comprehend the events of the past hour. "I guess... what are you doing?" For Meng was pressing his ear against the stone, frowning.
"There's a room here. Many rooms." Satisfied, the male parted the stone wall, exposing enough cavernous darkness for the pair to slip through. Keui's heart settled in his throat as he entered the tiny room, an overpowering stench immediately smothering his nostrils.
"Yeech!" He gasped, clasping a hand over his mouth. "What is that smell?"
"Sewerage." Meng closed the stone, plunging the pair entirely into darkness. The dim green candles that weakly illuminated the hallway beyond were cold and gloomy, but both males were quickly sore for the comforting flicker. "This goes right past under most of Ba Sing Se, and we'll end up at the outskirts of the Lower Ring. It's perfect. No one will know think to look for us in here, and we won't run into nasty surprises." He shifted the heavy lid as he spoke, the smell increasingly tenfold.
"No." Kuei was firm. "I am not going in there." The young man backed away, eyes watering. "Y-You cannot expect me to-"
"All right." Meng shrugged, the King wearing very on his ragged nerves. "Stay in here. Be captured by the Dai Li, sent to Azula, imprisoned, and eventually executed."
"It's all well for you," Kuei complained. "Judging by your appearance, you grew up surrounded by filth, but I-"
"I did not." Meng snarled, the insult snapping his last thread of patience. "My home might have been small, and a lot less fancy than this damn palace, but it was clean. And my Ma was damn proud of it. The reason I look like crap is because I have spent the past four years locked up in prison, with no human contact at all."
"I-I'm sorry." Kuei sounded extremely shaken in the dark. "I-I just assumed-"
"That' we're all filthy mutts." Meng mumbled. "Yeah, I assumed that was what you thought of us." He paused in the silence, shaking with anger. "Get in the sewer. Please. I've been entrusted to look after you. I really don't want to have to tell people about how you were lost to the Fire Nation, because you couldn't stand to get a little filthy."
"... Oh, very well." The Earth King heaved a long, insufferable sigh, before gingerly approaching the rim of the manhole. "I suppose... If nothing else... It will make an amusing anecdote, years from now."
"Yeah. Amusing." Meng muttered, rolling his eyes in the gloom.
"Well well, there he is."
Azula leaned back in the solid gold throne with a smirk, flanked by Mai and Ty Lee, the former still red-eyed. Supported by two Dai Li agents, Jin's heart skipped a beat as Zuko entered the room, eyes locked on his face. His mouth was trembling, white-knuckled hands clenched around something blue.
"So, my brother?" Azula rose from her new throne, a smirk on her face. "I trust you were able to do as I was instructed?"
"It's done." Zuko stretched out his arm, holding one end of the necklace between his thumb and forefinger. The bone pendant, attached to the blue ribbon, stood out plainly, blood streaked across its elegantly carved surface, sinking into the grooves of the bone and staining the design red. Jin bowed her head, fighting the back the impulse to throw up. He did it... He killed her... For me... It... He can't have...
"Well done." Azula clapped slowly, deliberately, golden eyes flashing. "Father will be very happy to hear of your remarkable act of heroism."
"Whatever." He threw the necklace to Azula, the Princess catching it deftly. "Let Jin go. I've done what you've asked of me." He was fighting back the very real urge to cry, Jin noticed. She longed to embrace him soothingly, try to console his tortured spirit, but at the same time, she was repulsed. He killed. And he had prided himself on never killing during a conversation they shared. That had been destroyed. The name murderer hung on her lips like a foul poison, making her feel violently ill.
"And then what, brother?" Azula, who had pocketed the necklace, examined a fingernail. "We fight? A dramatic battle? Or are you going to swear allegiance to Father, renounce your loyalty to out traitorous Uncle, and take your rightful place at the Fire Lord's right hand?" She narrowed her eyes, reading his reaction. "Or maybe try and escape from here with your little peasant girl here?"
"I don't have a choice, do I?" Zuko's shoulders had slumped in defeat. "I was... It's been a long time since I've been home, Azula. Uncle got to me."
"Of course he did." The smile widened on her lips, but Azula's fire-gold eyes still retained that cold, calculating stare. "I knew you would come around, Zuko. You're weak. You always have been. Ever since Mother left, you've clung to whoever would give you to the most attention. It's sickening." Her lip curled in revulsion, Zuko's eyes remaining downcast. He couldn't look at Jin. Behind Azula, Ty Lee reached across, gripping Mai's wrist. The black-haired girl looked up from her shoes, ash-grey eyes swivelling to meet Ty Lee's, Mai trying to fight back tears. The youngest of the pair gave a small, reassuring smile, which was not returned. "This... thing here is just another example." Azula shot Jin a withering glare. Zuko clenched his trembling fists, a fire raging in his stomach, but made no outward signal of recognition.
"Princess Azula!" The front doors were pushed open, a Dai Li agent standing on the threshold. "We captured one of the rebels." Zuko's stomach pained him. "We have General Iroh in custody. We cornered him in a hallway and he came quietly."
"Oh, excellent." Azula raised her left hand, snapping her fingers. On command, the Dai Li agents holding Jin parted the ground with their feet, the girl instantly disappearing from sight. Zuko cried out as she was swallowed up by the stone, heart leaping to his mouth. "Behave, Zuko." She murmured. "She could easily be crushed under tons of stone with just a flick of the wrist." Zuko held a hand over his mouth, shaking violently. "Send him in." Azula raised her voice. The Dai Li agent nodded, stepping out of the room. A moment later, Iroh was brought in, held by two agents and flanked by another four, in case he tried anything funny. He could have easily taken them all out if he wanted, but instead, he stood calmly, face still and impassive. "What a pleasant surprise, Uncle." Azula's fiery gaze flicked from Zuko to her Uncle. "What do I owe the pleasure?"
"I know what you are doing, Azula!" Iroh accused firmly. "Stop this now. Release Jin, cease blackmailing my nephew, and this can end peacefully."
"Oh, I hardly think you are in a position to make demands, Uncle." Azula waved her hand around the room, which contained at least a dozen Dai Li agents. "Besides, Zuko's not being blackmailed in the slightest, are you Zuko?" She smiled at him, eyes boring into his. The message was clear. If you want her to live, you'll play along.
No. Zuko's knees were weak. She wants me to lie to Uncle. She wants me to betray him. I can't! He... I can't do it...
He thought briefly of Jin, entombed in stone beneath his feet, paralysed, in the dark. She would be terrified, scared out of her wits. It would be so easy for the Dai Li to end her life, and Azula wouldn't hesitate for a second. It could all be over for her in moments if he disobeyed his sister in the slightest. He couldn't let her die. He simply couldn't live with Jin's blood on his hands. Not her.
Agni, forgive me.
"I couldn't partake in your pathetic charade any longer, Uncle." Zuko kept his tone bitter. "I never wanted to join the Avatar. My destiny lies in helping my father to finish this War."
"Zuko-"
"That's Prince Zuko." He snapped, turning on his heel. "How dare you address me disrespectfully, traitor." Zuko gritted his teeth, self-revulsion growing with every passing moment. "I'm not letting you drag me down with you, Uncle." Zuko glared coldly down at his Uncle, who looked as though his heart had shattered. His face had caved in, crumpled with shock and grief, shoulders slumped. Iroh had seemingly shrunken, seeming smaller, more aged than Zuko had ever seen him before. I've killed him inside. Zuko blinked back tears, swallowing hard.
"You failed, Uncle." Azula spoke scathingly, eyes narrowed. "You thought that you could change Zuko, turn him into a traitor like you. But you were wrong. Zuko knows what is best for himself, and his people." Zuko had looked away, unable to maintain his gaze upon Iroh's heartbroken face any longer.
"I know what is right." Zuko felt as though his ribs were made of rotten, broken beams of brittle wood, his chest collapsing in on itself. "Following my father is right. Taking my rightful place on the throne is right. Accepting my destiny is right." He dared to look back at Iroh again, but the elderly man had bowed his head, seemingly sapped of his will.
"Take him away." Azula spoke up. "Lock him up in the most secure cell you can find." The six Dai Li agents bowed gently, before turning and leaving the throne room silently, taking a defeated Iroh with them. As soon as the door closed, Zuko fell to his knees with a low moan, head in his hands.
"You bitch." He gasped, hyperventilating. "H-How could you... H-How?"
"Well, that was pleasing." Azula sounded smug. She signalled the Dai Li agents, and with a smooth shuffle of earth, Jin was brought back to the surface, a tearstained huddle on the floor, just able to affix her gaze on Zuko. "The water rat has been taken care of, Uncle is locked up, and the Avatar is dead. I couldn't have done this without you, Zuko."
"Shut up." He spat. "I am not proud of what I've done. How... How could you?"
"How could I?" Azula approached Zuko, one eyebrow raised. "You're the one that hurt him so much, swearing your allegiance to Father and me."
"For Jin!" Zuko protested. "You would kill her otherwise!" He pitched forward on his hands, shaking madly. Jin closed her eyes, wishing for the umpteenth time that this was just a twisted nightmare. "Oh Agni... What have I done..."
"I hardly think you prize that peasant girl above Uncle." Azula said. "Admit it Zuko, there was truth in that. It felt good."
"No!" Zuko shouted, righting himself. "It didn't feel good! It felt horrible! I lied to Uncle! The man who's been more of a father to me than Dad ever was! The one who actually cares about me! Who is isn't using me as a pawn in their twisted plans!" He took a step towards Azula, jaw clenched. He couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't lie, couldn't pretend. He felt sick with self-loathing, enraged beyond reason with what he had done. What Azula had made him do. "I lied Azula! I lied about everything! Uncle wasn't wrong, he was right! I was wrong! I don't want to become Father's right-hand man! I-I don't want the throne! I don't want to be responsible for another drop of Earth Kingdom blood!"
"I knew it." Azula's eyes narrowed. "You're too self-righteous Zuko, too over-dramatic. So what, you were planning to leave with the Avatar today? Become his little firebending teacher?"
"Yes!" Zuko blurted, without even thinking. "I would join them in a heartbeat if it meant stopping you!" His chest was heaving, cheeks wet with tearstains. "I hate you, Azula! I came here with the intention of stopping you!"
"She's not dead is she?" Azula's eyes were now slits. "You've made a deal... You tried to trick me..."
"Yes!" Zuko was in a frenzy at this stage, thought processes panicked and fragmented. "She saved Aang in time! And she'll be taking him and the others' to safety! They'll be out of here already, somewhere where you can't get them!"
"You." Azula was infuriated that her inferior brother had attempted to trick her. "You little worm!" Her hands flashed blue-white, the Princess sending a deadly accurate bolt of lightning towards her brother, a kill-shot, aiming for his heart. Jin let out a panicked cry from her position on the floor, watching the lighting envelop the teenager. Mai sank to her knees with a moan, Ty Lee dashing to her side and struggling to support her. Azula straightened herself, expecting to see her brother flung across the room from the sheer force of the lightning. Instead, he was standing firmly on his feet, his entire form crackling with the pure energy. Azula's heart sank like a stone as she realised what her brother was doing, backing away frantically.
He wasn't just absorbing the lightning, he was... redirecting it.
It took every ounce of Zuko's strength to keep the lightning in his stomach, limbs shaking. It was unbelievable, the sensation of pure energy which coursed through his body. It was searing, white-hot, but at the same time, as cold and paralyzing as ice. It was nearly impossible to see, his vision blurred by the magnificent electricity that surrounded him. Get rid of it! He commanded himself, pointing his right hand to the high arched ceiling. As the lightning left his body, a sizzling white bolt which crashed into the ceiling, Zuko sank to his knees, completely drained. He was immediately shaken out of his exhausted torpor by a horrendous crash, frighteningly close by. Zuko opened his eyes, seeing with shock that it was a piece of the ceiling.
It was collapsing.
Heart in his mouth, Zuko jumped back to his feet, dodging the mountainous pieces of falling stone to get to Jin, abandoned by the Dai Li agents, who rushed to Azula's aid, the Princess under the very real threat of being crushed by the falling ceiling. His hand clamped around her wrist, and he slung the other arm about her waist, cradling her against his chest as he straightened, instinctively ducking in a vain attempt to protect himself from the falling rocks.
"Z-Zuko..." Jin's voice was muffled against his chest, the girl obviously sobbing. "Wh-What..."
"It's okay." Zuko was so close. "I'll get us out, don't worry." The Dai Li agents were too busy protecting themselves and the girls to pay heed to Zuko, who wove his way through the tumultuous frenzy. He had to pull up short in his walk to avoid being crushed by a sizeable slab of rock which fell with a sickening crash just a couple of feet in front of him. Dodging to the side, Zuko pelted across the last of the throne room and through the main doors, despite the fact that his strength was almost entirely spent, Jin as heavy as stone in his weak arms. "Y-You all right?" He panted, looking down at the girl in his arms. She sniffed, but slowly raised her eyes, their gaze locking for a few minutes before Jin closed them again, not yet able to look at him.
"Y-Yes." She lied, Zuko repositioning her slightly. "Z-Zuko... what..."
"Shhh..." He breathed in her ear. "It's okay. We're gonna get out of here and find the others." Zuko broke into a very fast job, the low booms of the collapsing room reverberating through the hallway. The cave-in would be stopped before any major damage occurred, Zuko knew, but it still provided a big enough distraction for the pair to slip out of the palace unnoticed.
Or so Zuko thought.
He had managed to make his way out of the castle, partway across the large courtyard before the Dai Li struck. They literally came out of nowhere, rising from the ground, encircling the pair within seconds. Zuko pulled up short, whirling around in an attempt to find some kind of escape. Oh Agni no...
"Where are you?" Zuko arched his neck, looking anxiously about the skies, hoping to spy the bison, but to no avail. "Dammit..." He held Jin closer, crying out as his feet became encased in dark stone. He lurched forward, the girl falling from his arms and tumbling with a gasp onto the stone. Zuko's hands were forced behind himself, an outright malicious blow to the small of his back forcing him on his knees, the teenager feeling sick with despair. You can't be serious... After all of that... Jin was dragged up by her hair, slung carelessly over the shoulder of a Dai Li agent who didn't bother to restrain the paralysed girl. No....
"Need a hand?" The cheery voice called from high up, Zuko arching his neck in surprise. He caught only a flash of green plummeting to the ground, the slabs of stone crumbling as Toph – who else could it have been? –stuck the landing perfectly, Appa hovering about twenty or so feet over their heads. The restraints on Zuko's hands and feet fell away like sand, the teenager straightening himself, unsheathing the Dao swords.
"About time!" Zuko panted, going for the Dai Li that held Jin. He got him down with a stab in the stomach, the agent crumpling to the ground, blood spilling over Jin's dress before Zuko was able to pull her out. The young man didn't look at the dying figure, never having much stomach for blood.
"Hurry up!" It was Sokka who attempted to steer Appa without any reins, grabbing large handfuls of hair on the top of his head. The bison roared in aggravation, but obediently lowered his massive frame to the stone, lumbering leftwards to avoid a painful boulder thrown in his direction. "Everyone, on now!"
They didn't need telling twice. Toph, three steps ahead of every other person on the courtyard due to her nearly unblocked chi paths, had managed to knock out most of the Dai Li, the remaining two agents vanishing beneath the stone, probably to report back to Azula and gather backup. With a short dig of a bare heel in the earth, the pavement beneath the three shot up until it ran parallel with Appa's back.
"Handy." Sokka muttered, leaning forward to take Jin from Zuko's arms. The black-haired teenager made to clamber atop of the bison, when a horrible thought flashed through Zuko's head, mouth sand-dry and ears ringing.
Uncle.
"Hey!" Katara shouted from her position near Appa's head as Zuko turned away from the others, jumping heavily onto solid ground. "What are you doing?"
"I have to go back!" Zuko started to run, voice hoarse. "U-Uncle... He's been caught, I have to-" He pulled up short with a low cry as a wall of stone eight feet high sprang up inches from his face. "Hey!" Zuko whirled around, finding Toph standing opposite him. "Let me pass!"
"Get on the bison, Zuko." Her voice was firm, but oddly quiet, her hands – strong, steady hands that never shook – were trembling.
"But Uncle-"
"Now." He thought she would have tried earthbending, encase his feet in stone and force him to walk, but in truth, Toph didn't trust her shaking hands to be so precise. Instead, she grabbed his wrist, an iron clamp around the bone, and simply began to walk back to Appa, dragging a very reluctant Zuko behind her.
"No!" He tried to yank himself free, but although he made her stop in her brisk walk, he wasn't able to part from her hand. "I'm not leaving Uncle!" Zuko took a step back, teeth gritted. "Let me go!"
"No." Toph was blinking rapidly, but she hoped that with all the hair over her face, Zuko wouldn't notice. He didn't. "You wanna go in there? You'll get killed!"
"I don't care!" Zuko shot back, trying to walk backwards. Toph simply dug her feet into the stone, jaw set. Jin watched the exchange with tears in her eyes, the only other soul who understood the root of Zuko's pain. "I lied to him! H-he has to know that I'm not-"
"He does!" Toph blurted out in instant recognition, taking a step backwards towards Appa. "Zuko, it's not worth your life! Stop this!"
"No!" Toph had the blunt stubbornness characteristic of any soul in the Earth Kingdom, but when Zuko had his mind set on something, deterring him was next to impossible, as they all knew. "Let me go!"
"Zuko!" Jin shouted as loud as she could, supported by Sokka. "Please!" Her voice started him, the teenager swivelling his gaze to the paralyzed girl.
"Jin-"
"Your Uncle wouldn't want that!" She screwed up her eyes, trying to clear away the tears blurring her vision. "D-Don't you remember Zuko? In the tea shop? He wants you with the Avatar, more than anything!" Zuko stood very still, eyes widening. "Everything he ever did for you, it was for this!"
"What?"
"Why do you think he joined you, all those years ago? Why do you think he stuck by your side, through everything, even though he knew he would lose it all? Why did he try so hard to pull you away from your father?" Zuko was shaking, his mind whirling furiously.
"Wh-what did he tell you?" He sounded so accusing, Jin noticed. "What did he say?"
"Nothing!" She was pleading with him. "But I can tell! The way you talked about joining the Avatar, so sarcastically, there was hope there! Didn't you notice his reaction at all? And this morning, when we planned to come here, he was so happy! And proud! Proud of you because this is what he's been waiting for, ever since you were banished!" Jin was trying so hard to appeal to Zuko's emotions, knowing how highly he praised his Uncles' opinion of him. "He would rather see you on the bison than trying to rescue him, any day!"
"H-How..."
"Think, Zuko!" It had been so obvious to Jin. How could Zuko have been so blind? "Every word he said to you, every action! He's been on the Avatar's side the entire time! He's been working on you for years, trying to push you away from the Fire Nation!"
"It's true." Toph spoke up, Zuko's gaze snapping to the blind girl. "I had a long talk with him." She explained. "The day he was hit with lightning." A shiver ran down her back at the thought. "I sort of knocked him down, and we got talking. All he wanted to talk about was you. I was told to look out for you if we ever crossed paths, and that you weren't evil at all." Katara and Sokka listened to the exchange open-mouthed. Only they had seen the violent, fierce young Prince who chased them across the world, ruthless, unprepared to listen to reason. The idea that someone like that could join them, become Aang's teacher was... incomprehensible.
"He didn't." Zuko was stunned. "That... He..."
"Get on the bison, Zuko." Jin pleaded. "Do what your Uncle wants. He'll know, when you leave with us. He'll figure it out, realise that you were lying to protect the others. I know it hurt you to do that, but it was the only option." Toph had released her hold on Zuko, and he stood with his hands at his side, mind going so fast it hurt his temples.
How damn cunning of him! He thought bitterly. This whole time... Jin was right. He spent the past three years trying to discourage me! Trying to show me what was right! Now that I think about it, he never laid a hand on the Avatar, never tried to hinder his escape. He wanted me to join them from the start. If he had actually helped me to capture him, then Aang would have been taken care of a long time ago... To some degree, Zuko felt betrayed. His Uncle, his guardian, his real father and mentor, had been deceiving him this entire time. And he was right to be angry the man who had veiled his true intentions for so long. But Zuko wasn't furious, he wasn't enraged. It made the guilt worse, knowing that for so long, Iroh had been harbouring a secret, one-sided alliance with the Avatar. How had he felt, all those times that Zuko had tried to catch him? Anger? Shame?
No time to think on that. Zuko shook his head, and started to walk back to the bison. His heart had broken in two, his chest in agony as he clambered up onto Appa's back, taking Jin carefully from Sokka's arms, and promptly burying his nose in her shoulder, dissolving into sobs. He didn't care what the others thought, wasn't even aware of their presence.
He was leaving his Uncle.
Jin was whispering something soothing in his ear, a garbled string of words that he couldn't make out. He caught a 'finally' from Sokka as Toph settled into her spot, tufts of white hair sprouting between her fingers, the ground beneath them all bucking as Appa rose into the air. Zuko grabbed a handful of the shaggy coat, the other clinging tightly to Jin, an arm about her waist as she sat crossways in her lap, still unable to move a muscle. She could feel him trembling, unable to imagine the depth of his emotional turmoil. The cold fact was, Iroh had gone. He was imprisoned without the wildest hope of escape, and would return to the Fire Nation in chains. Jin remembered with an icy twist in her stomach what he elderly General had said about an agonising execution, a sick bubble of fear, shock, grief, pushing at her throat.
Zuko cut a pitiful figure atop the bison, an emotional wreck who had lost all composure, clinging to a girl who was physically unable to embrace him, and despite the past months, the fear, the pain, the frustration, both Sokka and Katara felt painfully sorry for him. Katara pushed Zuko out of her head by fixating her attention entirely on Aang, watching his eyelids occasionally flutter, and noting the indiscernible rise and fall of his broken chest. Sokka had the job of steering Appa, desperately coaxing the bison to increase his altitude. He was carrying a heavy load, six passengers, and although it wasn't the most he had borne, Appa was tired, having flown at a high speed all night and much of the morning. Not only that, he was grieving. When Sokka had summoned the bison from the courtyard with the high-pitched whistle, Appa entered their field of vision in less than a minute. When he had landed – heavily – the bison's attention was drawn immediately to the bloodied figure in Sokka's arms. He had roared, the boy remembered, loud enough to bring the damn palace down, and nothing Sokka could do would make him cease the thunderous cries. Appa had been reluctant to take off in the air, exhausted and heavy-hearted, and his state had only grown worse at his point. He was lumbering, slow, the odd low growl still escaping from his throat. Sokka had tried his best, with consoling pats to the head, precariously bending down to murmur in his ear, but nothing seemed to remedy Appa's mental state.
"Come on, boy." Sokka gritted his teeth, hoping like hell that Appa would fly high enough to clear the first of Ba Sing Se's walls. "We're counting on you... Don't let Aang down now..."
"Wow." Jin, who rested her chin atop Zuko's collarbone, was able to get a decent view of the city below. From this distance, it seemed an indistinguishable jumble of slate roofs, trees, and twisting streets. Her house was there, her work, the bars and taverns she whiled away the night hours, but Jin couldn't pick them out from the thousands of other buildings, couldn't even determine what part of the city she was in. Will I ever go back?
The air was surprisingly cold, the wind a deafening whistle in her ears. Her eyes watering, Jin retreated to the warm comfort of Zuko's shoulder, his hand momentarily cradling the back of her head, lips in her hair. The small gesture of comfort, from a boy who was absolutely drained of all composure and dignity himself, wrung out and emotionally battered, struck Jin, her daring thoughts confirmed; he loved her.
Her first thought was that of confusion. Why? What did she possibly have to offer Zuko that coaxed him to fall in love with her? As far as Jin could personally gather, she was a typical example of every other teenage girl in the city – or at least, the Lower Ring, working like a dog, spending the evenings in a loud, drunken haze, and winding up on her back in an unfamiliar bedroom. It took the girl a moment to realise that in actuality, she had broken the increasingly destructive cycle just a few days after meeting Zuko, with the tantalising possibility of a chaste, real relationship on an emotional level dangled in front of her, something Jin found a little perturbing. He had that much of an effect on me from the start?
"We're over the Inner Wall." Zuko was nearly giddy with relief, talking in her ear, voice raised over the wind. "We just have to make it across Lake Laogai and over the Outer Wall, and we're safe."
"Yeah, nothing but Fire Nation troops that want to kill us out there!" Sokka shouted back sarcastically. "We'll be fine!"
"Ugh, sorry." Zuko shot back, unaware that Sokka was being sarcastic. The dark-skinned boy turned back to frown at Zuko, before resuming his stance, muttering something about ungrateful spoiled Princes and how the Universe hated him.
"That's just Sokka's humor." Toph said, voice somehow carrying over the wind. "Don't worry. You'll get used to it." She gave Zuko a weak smile, the significance of her words hitting the other youths atop the bison all at once.
Get used to it. It was a casual, reassuring phrase, but it rattled Katara and Sokka to the core. Get used to it? They were reminded afresh of the boy dressed in green, who had for so long been their sworn enemy. How? Zuko wasn't just going to get off at the next stop and go his separate way. He was going to stay with the others, permanently, becoming a part of the group – if Toph (and apparently, Iroh) had their way. Sokka turned back to the others once more, Katara shifting her gaze from Aang. Their eyes met, an instantaneous agreement forged.
That's not going to happen.
The group continued in silence, the jumble of teenagers tangled uncomfortably in their own thoughts. It was nearly impossible, to comprehend everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. Upon the same hour the day before, an end to the War appeared to be in sight. Zuko and Iroh integrated completely into their new lives. Aang was on the verge of becoming virtually invincible. And yet, it had all gone so wrong, so quickly. Their one fragile respite after months of chaos and turmoil had collapsed almost as quickly as it has been tentatively formed. With Aang hanging on by a thread, the Earth Kingdom all but lost, and Zuko's arrival, turning months of hatred, enmity, and misconceptions on their head, only Toph was able to keep her mind clear.
The sun was surprisingly hot for spring, an hour or so past its peak. Lake Laogai was so dazzling, it hurt the eyes, Sokka screwing up his eyes to try and see through the blinding glare, the others averting their eyes. Jin, however, was curious. She had seen Lake Laogai before, but only once, at night. She had left the Inner Wall, on sunny summer afternoons, picnics and gatherings with family, but had always stuck to the meadows, trees, and lazy streams which lay to the south. Deep, cold, and chillingly ominous, she and her family had stayed far away from Lake Laogai, all too aware of the prison held hundreds of feet below the surface. Although she hadn't gained use of her limbs, Jin was now able to shift her centre of gravity, leaning to one side in order to gain a clearer view of the edge of the lake, noticing how different it looked, in comparison to the night. As she was doing so, however, the worst happened.
Sokka, who thought that they were flying perhaps a little too close to the edge of the Lake, where the possibility of some sort of attack from the Dai Li was very real, he coaxed the bison to change his course leftwards. Although the young tribesman only intended for Appa to angle gently in this new direction, he pulled a little too hard, and Appa swerved in reflex. Jin, who was still leaning rightwards, screamed at the sudden change. Losing her balance, she was wrenched from the loose arm around her waist, and unable to cling to the side of the bison, due to her paralysis, she began to fall.
"No!" Zuko lunged forward, seizing a limp hand before she slipped forever from his grasp. Unfortunately, it was her injured hand, slick with blood. Sokka and Katara watched in horror, Toph sitting very still, rightly guessing what had happened. Suspended in mid-air, Jin could only look down at the water, rushing fifty feet below her, neck immobile. Heart in his throat, Zuko got a firm grasp of Appa's back with his free hand, trying in vain to pull her up. "I-It's okay." He panted, feeling her hand slip an inch through her fingers. "We have to land!" Zuko looked over at Sokka, overwhelmingly panicked. "Now!"
"How?" Sokka directed Appa back towards the shoreline, mind spinning. "Katara, can you make some sort of ice for us to land on?"
"Are you kidding?" Katara wanted to help desperately, but refused to slacken her protective grip on Aang. "It would have to be ten feet thick to hold Appa's weight! There's no way I can do that in enough time!"
"Help..." Zuko gritted his teeth, feeling numb. "She's slipping!" He tightened his iron grip on Appa's fur, the bison roaring in protest. "I can't hold on!"
"Don't let go!" Jin had closed her eyes, hyperventilating in terror. "P-Please- Zuko-"
"I won't!" He reassured her with a shout, casting another desperate look in Sokka's direction. "Can't you make him go faster?"
"No!" Sokka shot back. "I'm amazed he's flying this well as it is! Zuko, you have to pull her up somehow!"
"How?" The teenager tried tugging on her hand; in response, Jin slipped another inch, screaming. "Her hand is covered in blood, I can't pull! Jin, can you try and hold on? Squeeze your hand or something?"
"I-I can't!" Jin dared to open her eyes for a moment. "Zuko please!"
"It's going to be fine!" Zuko looked around, trying to find a protruding rock, any sort of landmark. Unfortunately, they were still a long way out from the coast, the water far too deep for Toph to do any good. "Just stay calm Jin!" He was holding onto her by the fingers. "Can you move anything at all?"
"No!" Even her injured hand, which would have caused blinding agony upon someone with feeling, was entirely numb. "Wh-What if I fall?"
"T-Take a deep breath and hold it!" Zuko tried to calculate how far away they were from the shore, when the lake would begin to shallow, how fast Appa was flying. "Katara, could you just make something for Jin to fall on?"
"From this height?" Katara looked over the edge of the bison, feeling sick. "She'll break every bone in her body! If Sokka flies Appa lower, then maybe-"
"NO!" Zuko howled as the last four bloodied fingers slipped through his grasp. He lunged forward, the world slowing down as he lost his hold on Jin. His hold on Appa slipped, Toph's clasp on the back of his robe the only thing preventing him from falling in the water. His desperate flailing was useless, Jin falling from him, falling through the air, her terrified scream filling the balmy afternoon air for two seconds before she was cut off with a sickening splash. Restrained by Toph, Zuko could only watch in horror, a stunned Sokka reeling the bison back in a wide circle, eyes fixed in petrifaction at the exact spot where Jin had disappeared forever under the water.
I've lost her...
I am drained beyond all meaning.
Sorry for the cliffhanger. But you know how I like to be evil :D
So please review like good little readers?
'Til next time, peace homies :3