Sozin's Comet roared as it made its journey across the sky, like the wrath of an angry god who wished to destroy the world. The clouds parted in the face of its advance, and I looked up at it with worry. Right now, every Firebender in the world had the power to destroy everything around them, and the Fire Lord was on his way to burning the Earth Kingdom to ashes. Turning to Zuko, I saw that he was just as worried. "I'm sure it's going to be okay" I assured him, but even I could tell how hollow my words were. "We can take Azula".
"I'm not worried about her" he replied. "I'm worried about Aang. What if he doesn't have the guts to take out my father? What if he loses?"
I didn't have an answer, and we both looked ahead, the worry of the entire world weighing on us.
Princess Azula sighed in contentment as her servants attended to her: combing her hair, scrubbing her feet, filing her nails, and gently rubbing a salve over the burned flesh of her face. Today was going to be the best day in her life, when she would ascend to the throne as the new Fire Lord. It was a reward befitting someone of her status, a Princess who, in addition to her flawless beauty, was the greatest Firebender in the world.
The soon-to-be Fire Lord chewed on a cherry, swallowing it before reaching into the bowl a servant held up for her. Picking another cherry, she popped it into her mouth, chewing on it. Suddenly, her teeth came down on something hard and decidedly less edible. Her face contorted into an expression of pure rage. She spit the pit into her palm, holding it out so that the servant holding the bowl could see.
"What am I holding?" she asked, barely able to contain her fury. How dare a servant try to interfere with the most important day of her life?
"A… cherry pit, Princess" the servant replied.
"Correct. And what day is this?"
"It is the day of your coronation" the girl answered. She was starting to sweat nervously, and Azula was inwardly pleased at her discomfort.
"Yes, it is" Azula agreed. "So please, tell me, why, on the most important day of my life, you decided to leave a pit in my cherry?" She tossed the pit at the servant, who was visibly shaking at this point.
"It… wasn't a decision" the girl explained. "It was just… a small mistake".
Azula's eyes widened even further. "Mistake?" she asked incredulously. "Do you realize what could have happened if I hadn't sensed the pit in time?"
The other servants had stopped what they were doing, but quickly resumed at a withering glare from the Princess. "I suppose you could have… choked?" the servant holding the bowl guessed.
"Yes. Then you understand the severity of your crime".
The girl prostrated herself. "I understand, Princess" she said, the desperation evident in her voice. "Please forgive me".
Azula sighed. "Oh, very well. Since it is a special day, I will show mercy". Just as the girl was breathing a sigh of relief, the Princess said "You are banished. Leave this palace immediately". The girl stood and bowed before walking out of the spa. Azula turned to the other servants, who had once more stopped in their duties. "What are you all looking at? I have two feet that need scrubbing. And make sure you get between the toes; I won't have my first day as Fire Lord marred by poor foot hygiene".
As the servants returned to work, Azula closed her eyes. Banishing that servant had been necessary: after all, she would have likely turned on her, given time. No one could be trusted, and the Princess knew that everyone would betray her in time.
Just like Mai and Ty Lee. As the servant working on her face continued to rub the salve over her burned flesh, a single tear escaped from her right eye.
A short time later, Azula found herself in the throne room, sitting in the spot her father had occupied for the last few years. The ordinarily crimson flames in front of the throne were now blue, casting a haunting light about the spacious chamber. The sound of footsteps approaching the throne drew the Princess' attention, and she looked up to see her Dai Li agents kneeling before her. "You sent for us, Princess?" the leader asked. "Is everything alright?"
Azula wiped a rogue strand of hair out of her right eye, having let it hang loose at the moment. "Actually, everything's not alright" she replied. "Do you know how long it took you to get here?"
"Uh, a few minutes, I guess?" the Dai Li leader asked tentatively.
The Princess sneered. "Five, to be precise. In which time an assassin could have snuck in, done away with me, and been on his merry way!" She couldn't believe the level of incompetence her supposedly-loyal bodyguards were showing, and she found herself questioning their continued worth.
"My apologies, Princess" the leader hastily said.
"Is this how you plan to treat your new Fire Lord? With tardiness and disloyalty?"
"The Dai Li would never betray you!" he said fervently, almost sounding like he meant it. Azula supposed that he was trying to save face to cover up his failure, but his chances were not good.
"And I'm sure that's just what you told Long Feng before you turned against him and joined me!" She fixed each and every man with a piercing gaze, silently daring any of them to meet that gaze. Eventually, she said "You're all banished!"
This time, the Dai Li agents looked up in shock. "But…" the leader started to say.
"Goodbye" Azula cut him off, leaving no room for argument. Looking thoroughly irritated, they made their way out of the throne room in a highly precise manner. "Please send in the next group on your way out" Azula called after them, her gaze fixed ahead.
No one could be trusted.
Jin and Li silently crept along the hallway, wary of any potential soldiers or Firebenders they might run into. They had decided to infiltrate a second airship while Toph, Sokka, and Suki captured the one they had initially landed on. Everyone agreed that with two airships acting concurrently, their chances of success would be increased.
The brothers continued to make their way through the labyrinthine halls, trying to make sense of it all. Even though they had served on Fire Navy ships for a number of years, these airships were an entirely alien type of vessel, and as a result, they were having slight trouble with the layout. They rounded a corner, and before they could get two steps ahead, a pair of Firebending soldiers rounded a corner at the other end of the hallway.
For a moment, everyone froze, their minds temporarily unsure as to what their bodies should be doing. The Firebenders overcame this funk, however, and they both thrust an arm forward, shooting a torrent of flames at the Earthbending twins. Jin reacted on instinct, bringing his arms together, which caused two metal panels on either side of the brothers to come together as an impromptu shield.
The flames struck the shield so hard that Jin slid back a few feet, but he never broke his concentration. The metal panels quickly began to glow from the intense heat, and the brothers started to sweat from its sheer intensity. Eventually, the flames stopped, and Jin cast aside the shield as Li used his Metalbending in order to raise a metal panel from the floor so that it became another shield. The two of them then charged forward as they were assaulted by a new barrage.
Once they were close enough, Jin crafted himself a suit of full-body armour by having a metal plate wrap itself around his body, and he leaped over the shield, his armour weathering the flames as he punched one of the Firebenders in the face, knocking him out cold. With the other Firebender adequately distracted, Li kicked the metal plate forward, and it slammed into his opponent, pinning him against the wall.
Suddenly, the brothers found themselves being rushed by soldiers on either side. Jin charged the soldiers to their left, while Li focused on the soldiers to their right. Kicking upwards, the Earthbender caused a metal panel to be lifted from the floor, taking a Firebender with it and pinning him against the ceiling. He then aimed a roundhouse kick in the general direction of the other three Firebenders. A metal panel was ripped from the floor and shot towards the three men. Two of them managed to duck in time, but the third was knocked out cold.
One of the Firebenders shot a massive stream of flames at Li, who crossed his arms over his chest and fell to the floor just before the flames would have struck him. He then extended his arms to the side, and the piece of metal floor that he was laying on wrapped around him, forming a suit of armour just as Jin had done earlier.
Striking his elbows on the floor, Li stood back up, his armour providing a defense against the extraordinary amount of flames granted to the Firebenders from Sozin's Comet. Not wanting to waste any more time, he clapped his hands together, and a long metal pipe snaked from behind a wall and wrapped itself around the two remaining Firebenders, sufficiently restraining them.
With a satisfied smirk, Li turned and looked behind him to see that Jin had also dispatched his opponents with their newfound Metalbending skills. The brothers high-fived each other, the metallic clang echoing through the hall.
Eventually, they arrived at the bridge. As Li shed his armour and examined the controls, Jin struck his elbow backwards, slamming the metal in between the legs of the airship's captain, who tried to rush them. He stopped in his tracks as his eyes nearly bugged out of his head, instinctively grasping his brutalized crotch. He fell to his knees with a pathetic whimper before Jin struck him in the face with the back of an armoured hand, knocking him unconscious.
As he shed his armour, Li looked over to the right, at the closest airship, where Sokka, Suki, and Toph stood in the bridge. The Earthbending boy held a thumb up, and Sokka did the same. So far so good.
"Azula!" a voice called from the other end of the throne room, drawing the Princess' gaze. She looked up and saw Lo and Li, her two advisors, approaching, their identical nature eerily reminding her of Shan We's pet Earthbenders. "We heard what happened. Why have you banished all your servants? All your Dai Li agents?"
"And the Imperial Firebenders" the other one added in perfect sync.
"None of them could be trusted" Azula explained. "Sooner or later, they all would have betrayed me". In a soft whisper, she added "Just like Mai and Ty Lee did".
"Azula", the old women said in unison, "we are concerned for you and your wellbeing".
The Princess narrowed her eyes as she looked down on her elderly advisors. "My father asked you to come here and talk to me, didn't he? He thinks I can't handle the responsibility of being Fire Lord. But I will be the greatest leader in Fire Nation history".
"I'm sure you will", one of the old women said. "But considering everything that's happened today…"
"Perhaps it's best if you postpone your coronation" the other one finished.
"What?!" Azula asked incredulously, her head snapping in their direction. "Which one of you just said that?" The two of them blanched, each hastily pointing at the other. "What a shame. There's only one way to resolve this: you two must duel each other. I order you to fight an Agni Kai!"
"But… we're not Firebenders".
"Alright, fine" Azula said casually. Pointing to the old woman to her right, she said "Lo, you're banished. Li, you can stay". She then walked out of the throne room, her fists clenched so tightly that her sharpened fingernails, which had not been trimmed for some time, drew blood from her palms. As she made her way through the palace, the blood began to drip onto the floor. Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop. The sound was her only companion as she walked through the empty and silent halls.
I took in a deep breath at the sight before me. This was it: the full strength of the White Lotus had been gathered, and now we were poised to strike, ready to retake Ba Sing Se from my countrymen. Beside me stood the greatest Masters of our time: Bumi, Piandao, Pakku, Jeong Jeong, and Iroh. I was honoured beyond measure to be standing beside these old and distinguished men, and I would soon fight alongside them.
"Ba Sing Se" King Bumi said. "The Order of the White Lotus is here".
"Here to set you free" Pakku added.
"Here to make things right" I finished, my hands clenched into fists.
Standing in front of us, Iroh gazed out at the monolithic wall of the Earth Kingdom capital. "Only once in a hundred years can a Firebender experience this kind of power". He then started taking deep breaths, drawing on the power of Sozin's Comet. Every time he breathed in, a circle of flames rose around the circular bit of earth that we stood on, and the flames were expelled as he exhaled. In, out, in, out: the power of a hundred suns was fueling his fire, as it did mine, and the Fire Nation soldiers on the other side of the wall didn't know what would hit them.
Suddenly, as the flames reached their intensity, Iroh shouted as he extended his arms forward. The flames gathered into a man-sized ball, holding that shape for a moment before a massive stream of fire shot forth at the wall. It struck the stone like a falling star, demolishing it and paving the way for the White Lotus.
With that, King Bumi struck his foot against the ground, and the three earthen disks on which stood all the members of the White Lotus slid forward. We were assailed almost immediately, as flames were shot down from the top of the wall. I swiped my hands upwards, and two walls of raging blue flames emerged, protecting us from the flames of the sentries on the wall. Once we were through the breach, we all leaped into the fray.
The Battle of Ba Sing Se had begun.
To my right, Pakku summoned a tidal wave of water that rose above a small wall dividing houses, bringing it crashing down onto a group of Fire Nation soldiers. He then froze it, allowing himself and Piandao to slide down as the Master Swordsman handily disarmed all he came across.
Noticing a group of tundra tanks rolling towards me, I smirked. Holding my arms out, I slowly spun, creating a large circle of blue flames. Once it was complete, I thrust my arms forward, and the circle was shot spinning at the tanks. It neatly sliced the turret from the lead tank, proceeding to do the same to the remaining tanks before me.
I smiled and, turning to my left, saw Jeong Jeong propelling himself into the air with jets of flame at his feet, which gave me an idea. Normally, flight could only be accomplished for a few seconds at a time, but with Sozin's Comet granting Firebenders an enormous power boost, one could keep himself aloft for as long as he wanted. With that in mind, I charged towards the nearest tundra tank. As I came close, I leaped onto the front of it, proceeding to push off with my other foot. I then propelled myself into the air with jets of blue flame under my feet.
I shot upwards, holding my arms at my sides as I quickly rose to what must have been half a mile above the city. Eventually, I leveled off, and my current vantage point offered me an unparalleled view of Ba Sing Se, which was set against the backdrop of the flaming orange glow from Sozin's Comet.
Looking at the battle raging below me, and at the large number of Fire Nation troops arrayed against us, I extended my arms to the side and tilted my head so that I was looking at the sky. I roared, unleashing my primal fury in the form of massive blue flames spewing from my fists and mouth, making me a sort of five-pointed star that would bring hope to my allies whilst bringing dread to my enemies.
After a few moments, I ended the display, and proceeded to fly down towards the ground. My flight path took me directly into the path of a street that was filled with tundra tanks. The Firebenders inside started shooting their own massive flames at me, but I was unfazed. Breathing in deeply, I exhaled, spewing blue flames downwards like a mighty Dragon flying over its victims. With the power of Sozin's Comet, this was the closest I would ever come to knowing what being one of those ancient creatures was like.
Azula, at long last, managed to wrap her hand around her black hair so that is was satisfactory. Reaching for a ribbon, she wrapped it as tightly as she could, only to find her rebellious hair to be loose. She scowled at her disheveled reflection: the burned flesh on the left side of her face ran past her hairline, which meant that the bangs on that side had burned away that night in Ba Sine Se, while the rest was an unforgiveable mess. Growling in frustration as she reached for a pair of scissors. "Alright, hair" she said, her tone icy. "It's time to face your doom!"
She then sliced the scissors across, reaping the locks hanging down like wheat in a field. As the tufts of hair tumbled down to the ground, a voice said sadly "What a shame; you always had such beautiful hair".
Azula's eyes widened in shock. No, she thought in a panic, that couldn't be her! Not here! Looking to the right of her reflection, the Princess saw a face she hadn't seen since she was a child, the face of the woman who had abandoned her when she needed her. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I didn't want to miss my own daughter's coronation" the apparition replied.
"Don't pretend to act proud" Azula said frankly. "I know what you really think of me: you think I'm a monster".
"I think you're confused" her mother said, her tone gentle and warm. "All your life you've used fear to control people, like your friends Mai and Ty Lee. Like that poor young woman you tortured".
"Well what choice do I have?" Azula demanded, whirling to face the memory of the mother who had abandoned her. "Trust if for fools! Fear is the only reliable way! Even you fear me".
"No" her mother denied softly. "I love you, Azula. I do".
That was it; that was the final nail in the coffin. The Princess clenched her eyes shut as the hot tears began to run down her cheeks. She stood there, doing her best to maintain her composure in the face of the declaration of love. Eventually, she had had enough. Grabbing hold of a hairbrush, she hurled it at the mirror, shattering the left side of it and getting rid of the damning reflection of a surely dead woman.
Azula then collapsed onto the floor, letting herself sob away as she curled into a ball, holding herself tightly as the pain radiated throughout her body.
Jin and Li watched helplessly as Fire Lord Ozai's airship went ahead of the fleet. There was nothing they could do but watch as a gargantuan plume of crimson flames shot from the gilded airship's tip, scorching the forest beneath in a truly awesome firestorm. Just as suddenly as the attack started, however, it ended as three boulders shot from one of the countless spires dotting the landscape at the airship, striking the engines. Then, another massive plume of fire was shot from a spire, and this time, the engine exploded when it was struck, causing it to list.
The Earthbending twins exchanged shocked and ecstatic expressions: Aang was back, and he was finally about to fight the Fire Lord!
As the Fire Lord's airship came crashing down into the forest of spires, the brothers turned their attention to the rest of the fleet, which was still on course to burn the Earth Kingdom. Jin looked to the right and, tapping his brother on the shoulder, pointed to the airship where their comrades were as it rose above the rest. Knowing that Sokka had some sort of plan, the brothers started working at the controls, twisting knobs and pulling levers.
Their airship then suddenly lurched backward, throwing them against the console. Once it was clear of the others, Jin and Li reversed everything they had just done, and they came to a stop. They watched as Sokka's airship moved far left of the others before coming back down. It then sliced its way across the tops of the other fourteen airships, knocking each one off-course and ceasing the flow of flames from each one.
Unfortunately, though, Sokka's airship split in half as it struck the second last airship, and as the metal tip continued shooting towards the last one, the body was still for a moment before it began sliding down. Jin pointed to the metal tip, and Li saw two small shapes leaping down onto the walkway of the last airship. But if two of their companions were there, then where was the third?
The brothers exchanged questioning glances, and their eyes widened with realization: someone must still be on the rest of the airship!
Looking back at the main body of the split craft, they saw it disengaging from the other airship before it started plummeting towards the water. Acting on instinct, the brothers madly operated the controls, hoping that they would be in time to save whoever was still on the falling wreckage. As Jin pulled a lever, Li twisted a knob, and their airship lurched forward, shooting towards their falling comrade. Li kept a firm grip on the wheel, steering their vessel so that they were on course. They came, closer and closer, until their airship crashed directly into the other one.
The impact shook the ship, and it was all the brothers could do to remain standing. They looked up, and saw Suki leaping onto the safety of their airship. Operating the controls as best they could, the brothers started backing away from the wreckage, letting it drop into the ocean below. They turned to look at each other and high-fived at their success.
I braced myself as we flew over the caldera of the volcano in which the Fire Nation capital city was located. We had finally arrived at our destination, and I was about to fight the toughest battle of my life. We soared over the buildings, making our way towards the Royal Palace, and I noticed that the city was oddly empty. Just like during the invasion, there were no people around.
As we got to the palace, I heard a voice loudly proclaiming "… I now pronounce you Fire Lord…" Whomever was speaking stopped as Zuko brought Appa to land at the foot of the palace stairs. Ahead of us, I saw Azula kneeling, with several Fire Sages standing behind her, one of which held a grand hair piece in his hands.
"Sorry, but you're not gonna become Fire Lord today". He then leaped down onto the ground. "I am".
Azula chuckled in amusement. "You're hilarious".
I slid down Appa's side before joining the Fire Nation Prince. "And I am going to end you!" I fixed her with my most lethal stare, my hands gripping my twin meteor swords in anticipation of battle.
The Fire Sage holding the crown piece started to place it in Azula's oddly unkempt hair, but she held up a hand and said "Wait". Standing up, she asked "You want to be Fire Lord? Fine. Let's settle this, just you and me, brother, the showdown that has always meant to be: Agni Kai!"
I continued to glare at my nemesis, ready to make her eat her words when Zuko suddenly said "You're on!"
My head snapped to look at him in shock. "What do you think you're doing? She's manipulating you; she knows she can't take us both, so she's trying to separate us".
"I know" the scarred teenager replied. "But I can take her this time".
"You told Iroh that you would need help facing Azula" I reminded him, desperately hoping that fate wouldn't deny me my vengeance.
"There's something… off about her. I can't explain it, but she's slipping. And this way, no one else has to get hurt". I looked back at the psychotic teenager, and there was, in fact, something wrong with her. Her normally controlled persona was gone, replaced by the visage of a woman gone completely insane. Her hair was uneven and improperly tied in the back, and the bangs on the right side of her face were uneven, as if someone had cut them in a rage. Even her clothes looked like they didn't fit properly, and all that added on top of her half-burnt face meant that she looked scarier now than she ever had.
Eventually, I nodded in acceptance, and proceeded to walk over to Appa. Placing a hand on his head, I said "You'd better fly away from here, buddy. There's going to be a lot of fire, and you won't want to be here for that". Showing him the Bison whistle I had taken with us, I added "We'll call you when we need you". With a growl, the ten-ton fur ball launched himself into the air. With him safely out of the way, I retreated behind a nearby pillar, out of the way of the impromptu Agni Kai arena.
Shan We had told me that, these days, Agni Kais were to the death, and I prayed to the Spirits that Azula would lose this particular duel. The siblings took their places, standing to face each other. The completely psychotic teenager casually shed her outer cloak, saying rather insincerely "I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother".
"No you're not" Zuko refuted.
They glared at each other for a long moment, and then Azula made the first move. She thrust her arm forward, and a massive plume of blue flame shot towards Zuko. The Fire Nation Prince clapped his hands together, creating a wave of crimson flames. They both impacted directly in between the two siblings, billowing outwards and creating a multi-hued, two-sided flaming crest. I stood there, safely behind a pillar, my mouth wide open as I beheld the spectacle before me. Never before in my life had I seen so much fire, and likely would never see again.
On and on they fought, their flames crashing and raging against each other like two unstoppable hurricanes. Several of the buildings nearby had caught on fire, and I was silently thankful that the city was deserted. The Fire Nation royals both had an entire lifetime of unresolved issues, and now, on possibly the greatest battleground in the Fire Nation, they unleashed their anger on one another.
Eventually, they both fired a sustained stream of flames at one another, and Zuko's was slightly to the left of the centre, allowing Azula's blue flames to rage just beside the scarred Prince. His footing looked a little unsure for a moment, but he brought it back under control. One thing I had noticed during this sibling rivalry was that, in addition to her disheveled appearance, Azula had lost her edge. She was no longer cunning and patient in battle; instead, she was now wild and untamed, like a caged animal who had finally been unleashed after years of imprisonment.
Zuko, on the other hand, was calm and collected. He had come far in the brief time I had known him, and he now had the patience and wisdom in battle that his sister had formerly possessed, and it was clear that the male sibling would soon win the day.
After an intense back and forth, Azula was thrown to the ground, rolling for a moment before she shakily stood back up. This was it, I thought as I left the safety of the pillar behind in order to get a front row seat to the little psychopath's downfall, this was to be her end. "No lightning today?" Zuko asked. "What's the matter? Afraid I'll redirect it?"
I stood a little behind and to the right of him as he taunted his sister, and I could only grin. Azula had lost her hair ribbon during the fight, and her black tresses now fell past her shoulders in a tangled mess. She panted, her eyes crazed as she said "I'll show you lightning!" She started moving her arms in circular motions, and the air around her crackled with electricity. I stood completely still, tense and ready for anything, as Zuko prepared himself to redirect his sister's upcoming strike.
Suddenly, Azula's crazed eyes flashed over to me, and with a single, horrified gasp, I realized what was about to happen. Her arm extended directly at me, and a crackling bolt of lightning arced from her fingertips. Zuko realized what was happening just as I did, running in order to intercept the bolt. He jumped, catching it with his fingers, and there was a bright flash. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I saw Zuko lying on the ground, writhing in agony.
"Zuko!" I cried in distress, starting to run over to him just as another bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of me. I looked up, and blanched as I saw Azula's even more frightening gaze aimed directly into my eyes. She started cackling madly, and I drew my swords as she started charging me with the ferocity of a Dragon. Leaping over to a nearby pillar, I saw a great plume of blue flame shooting at me.
To be continued…
Well, that's what we writers like to call a 'cliffhanger'. Not to worry: I will, of course, be uploading the final chapter at my usual time next week, and we shall see what will become of our characters.
Only one more to go!