Hello,
Here we are again with another chapter.
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And without further ado, I hope you all enjoy.
Silah the Pale – Chapter Eighty-Seven
The clanging of metal now echoed into the air.
As Zoi flew backwards with her teeth clenched together in her rage while she glared furiously down into Silah's sadistic dark green eyes.
In between them was a once living Fire Nation soldier that had intercepted her blade!
Team Azula's forces gazed on shell-shocked as the puppets charged towards them in all directions.
Lightning crackled into the air as Azula stood with her left hand held out while electricity churned from her fingertips.
As she stared up at the face of the lifeless puppet that she had impaled upon her fist.
She pursed her lips into a tight scowl before she swiftly kicked another away with a flaming boot.
"Is this all that your toys are capable of Silah!" Azula sneered in a pompous voice only for her amber golden eyes to gaze up in surprise when the puppet began to move once more.
And not even a second later the puppet swung at a horrific angle that not even Ty Lee would be capable of.
Just before Azula's burning blade pierced straight through the once living man's skull.
Before an explosion of blue fire consumed the lifeless rebel.
The pieces of the destroyed puppet rained down upon the cavern floor just as the princess spun around when she heard frantic shouts behind her.
Explosions shook the cavern while grotesque puppets jumped after their targets.
Ty Lee swung her shoe into the air as she kicked a puppet away before she dropped to the ground in a crouch.
Just as she grimaced when she landed on her still injured foot.
She gazed out with widened eyes at the advancing horde in disbelief while her adopted sister remained slumped over her back.
"Ty Lee! Get back!" Mai shouted as she threw her knives into the air while Ty Lee speedily nodded in understanding.
The knives cut through the air before they landed embedded into the chests of the puppets while they stared on in unhidden disgust as they watched blood trickle to the floor below.
And yet the newly created puppets simply stood back up while their horrified eyes gaped on in bewilderment.
Just before the noblewoman fired off her stilettos from her spring-loaded holster.
The puppets fell backwards with their lifeless eyes gazing on hauntingly in the two noblewomen's repulsed eyes.
Before they shakily lunged forward once more while the two nobles increased the intensity of their attacks.
And soon enough the puppets were sent soaring to the ground while the two backed up with their little sister still slumbering between them.
The captain slid back upon the ground with great anger in her eyes as she furiously clutched her katana in hand.
As Silah's mocking chuckles split into the air that only served as further fuel for her rage.
"They were once your soldiers Zoi. But now…in death they belong to me." Silah stated in a cruel voice as she flicked her gloved fingers while her puppets leaped at the enraged warrior.
Zoi stood her ground with her widened golden eyes watching as her fallen troops descended above her with their bending sparking alight.
The mere sight of the puppets firebending had all in the cavern staring on in horror.
Even Azula herself.
The princess gazed on with her beautiful lips agape in a stunned thin line while she watched her former soldiers spray fire all around the cavern.
'How? How is she controlling them!' Azula thought with fire snorting from her nostrils before her sword lit up with blue fire once more.
Before she plunged her blade through another puppet while she watched with cold eyes as another rebel burst into azure flames.
While bombs continued to echo off throughout the cavern as Nako quickly jumped backwards with her panicked brown eyes gazing around her at the attacking puppets.
Before she turned to gaze at Silah from the other side of the cavern through the corner of her eye.
'There has to be something linking them to her…but what?" Nako thought as she audibly gulped as she jumped back once more.
And she clutched her blade in her clammy hand while she fearfully gazed up at the puppets leaping above her.
Before she quickly steeled herself.
And then Nako swiped at an attacking puppet while dead eyes gazed back at her while a shiver ran down her spine.
Just as she pushed back on the puppet with a shout while the fallen rebel staggered backwards.
Her eyes widened when she saw that they were jumping at her from all sides!
"I-I don't want to become a puppet!" Nako cried out as she spun around gazing frantically all around her.
Only to find herself gazing on in shock when a massive wall of blue fire surged to life in front of her and the just like that the puppets were all set alight.
She found herself gazing up at her princess's tall armored back with endless gratitude flashing in her devoted brown eyes.
Just as the princess turned to gaze back at her with her arms folded over her breasts.
"Your combat skills leave much to be desired Nako." Azula commented in her usual arrogant voice with her fire burning behind her while her pilot swiftly bowed at the hip.
"Forgive me Princess! I will strive to do better!" Nako exclaimed with a hand over her chest while Azula stared at her with approving amber golden eyes.
Before she heard the mighty woman sigh as the princess shook her head.
"Just try to stay close to me." Azula commanded with a haughty snort before she turned away while Nako gratefully sprung to her feet.
"I will Your Highness! Thank you!" Nako answered in a voice of boundless loyalty while her princess rolled her eyes at her from over her shoulder.
But it didn't matter to her.
Because she knew that was her princess's way of telling her that she would protect her.
And that was why she follows Princess Azula with pride.
Because she knows that Azula looks after the loyal!
Jiao gazed around with her intelligent blue eyes expressing her fear before she quickly moved forward once more.
Her frightened eyes spied the tunnels in the distance in hopes of making it through now that the puppeteer's attentions were divided.
As explosions of red and blue fire lit the massive cavern as she crept long with her back pressed against the wall.
'I am not going to die at the hands of some twisted killer!' Jiao thought as she rounded the corner with a determined expression in her eyes.
Only for her blue eyes to grow wide when she found herself face to face with a puppet soldier once more!
The puppet took an emotionless step forward while she backed away with her hands trembling at her sides.
"Stay…stay away from me!" Jiao shouted in a defiant voice as she stepped backward while she gazed frightfully up at the man's lifeless face.
And just before the puppet could strike her.
She watched with surprised eyes as it was sent hurtling away with a blast of Saro's orange flames.
"Jiao! Now isn't the time to get separated. We need to stick together!" Saro stated as he grasped onto the woman's hand while she quickly nodded her head.
"I…suppose you do have a point." Jiao muttered as she ran behind the soldier while he skillfully firebent his way through the puppet horde.
Just as a rumbling explosion shook the entire cavern.
All eyes turned to gaze in the center of the flurry of puppets only for their eyes to widen when they saw the captain dropping to the ground in a crouch.
With even more embers burning off her body.
She stared furiously past the horde of deceased Fire Nation soldiers with her golden eyes forming a truly monstrous glare.
A stare so frightening that it even gave Azula pause.
Meanwhile Silah gazed back from beneath her bone mask with her lips curled into a deranged smile.
"You are a fool if you think that my fallen comrades will keep you safe from me Silah." Zoi spoke in an utterly callous voice with her body taking on a burning aura.
As the rest of the group came to a stop beside one another as they gazed on at the enraged warrior in awe.
"The captain's using it…that freak must have really pissed her off." Saro commented with his golden eyes gazing on in fascination while the others gazed at him in curiosity.
Only to flinch when his princess seized him by his collar while she stared icily at the woman standing beside him.
Before she turned her cold eyes to gaze back into his own.
"Soldier! I demand that you tell me about this technique of Zoi's!" Azula barked in a commanding voice with her childhood friends gazing at her in exasperation.
"With…all due respect Princess! I…can't just spill the captain's secrets in front of someone that tried to stab her in the back!" Saro exclaimed in a hastened voice while Azula's lips pursed into an imposing scowl as she glared back into his intimated eyes.
Just before the princess turned to stare frigidly over her shoulder at Mai's remorseful face while her eyes burned through the other woman's forehead.
"Then just give me the abbreviated version!" Azula snarled as she released her soldier while Saro gazed at her in hesitation.
Only for the man to sweat under her glare before he nodded in agreement.
"The captain created a technique called retroactive firebending. It's a passive bending technique that she never turns off." Saro replied with a small grin on his lips while the others stared at him in shock.
"She…never turns it off?" Mai pondered in disbelief while she gazed on with widened tawny eyes.
"And here I thought that she regarded firebending as secondary." Azula snorted as she still gazed on with intrigued amber golden eyes while she observed her captain unleash her chi.
"That's just it Princess. It is secondary. It's an innovative technique that converts her firebending into a vast tank of fuel. Instead of using firebending as her primary means of attack like other firebenders…the captain uses her firebending as a pool of energy for physical combat." Saro explained with unmistakable admiration in his voice while the princess's amber golden eyes grew agape in astonishment.
The princess's forces could only gape on in awe with their mouths ajar in amazement.
"That's…that's ingenious. So…that's why she can fight for such an extended period of time!" Nako spoke with awe in her brown eyes.
"That would certain explain her monstrous battle stamina." Mai stated in her usual monotone while she gazed out into the flame lit cavern in shock.
And the princess soon found herself unable to resist allowing her lips to curve into a pleased smile.
"I see. That is impressive. But I would expect nothing less from my captain." Azula remarked with just a sliver of recognition in her cold voice while she stared on with stony amber golden eyes.
Yes, indeed.
There was no doubt in her mind that there was no one worthier of being addressed as her captain.
"And I've never seen anything like it from any other firebender. Not even the high generals. Only Captain Zoi can do it." Saro complimented with pride in his voice while he grinned at his captain's back.
Only for all of them to be torn from their musings not a moment later as the earth began to quake once more.
They all gazed on with narrowed eyes at the hunter's masked visage while she turned to gaze out them one by one.
"Can you feel that indescribable sensation in the air?" Silah inquired in a twisted voice as she tipped her head back while she smiled beneath her mask.
Team Azula's forces could only stare on in an unnerved silence as all but the princess shivered over the woman's almost perverted manner of speaking.
"You mean the annoying sound of your voice?" Azula mocked in a snide voice while her lifelong friends stared at the puppeteer in noticeable fear.
"This is the bond shared between a murderer and their victims. And we all now share that special bond." Silah purred as she drew one of her swords while the others listened in a stunned silence.
Even Zoi and Azula were utterly taken aback by the killer's demented words.
The two mighty firebenders could only stare on with widened eyes as the woman took a casual step forward.
"B-bond?" Ty Lee asked in a shaken voice while she held Elle close under her arm as the masked woman gazed back at them.
"That's right Ty Lee. The bond between a murderer and her victims is simply ineffable. I am going to violate your spirits and tear them asunder from your mortal bodies in a symphony of despair. And then you will wander the Spirit World for all eternity in a state of perpetual torment. And the shells that you leave behind…will become my dolls." Silah announced in a horrific voice as she walked with her dark green eyes gazing back at their speechless faces.
A sense of unspeakable trepidation and dread now consumed the air.
As the group gazed on wide eyed over the unbelievable depth of their enemy's depravity!
"You really are a monster!" Mai exclaimed as she stepped backwards with her knives in hand.
Azula glowered with her lips bared into a malicious snarl once more just before she shared another look with her captain.
"Of course, I am Mai. I am a monster of the highest order. Even Azula and her Royal Family pale in comparison to me." Silah spoke as the ground ruptured beneath her feet while Azula sneered back at her.
"Please. You couldn't be more mistaken. You are the one who pales in comparison to me." Azula retorted in a frigidly merciless voice while her childhood friends shivered in fear behind her.
"You will find out soon enough Azula." Silah answered in a dark voice as her tongue ran along the rim of her mask while her audience shivered in disgust.
And Azula could not help but glare on with a marginal spark of paranoia in her proud eyes as she spewed fire from her lips.
'She has some gall! To think that she is worthy of touching the princess of the Fire Nation!' Azula thought with her fists burning in blue fire as she slid into a bending stance.
Only for her gaze to turn to her strongest soldier when her captain took a wrathful step in front of her.
"No, you will not Silah. You won't be laying a single hand on another one of my comrades ever again…much less playing your filthy tongue anywhere near my princess. Because I am going to tear it out." Zoi stated in a chilling voice with her merciless eyes staring back at the hunter's masked countenance.
Her princess stood behind her soldier with her beautiful lips in a surprised expression as she regarded her warrior in approval.
"Well done soldier. Your Crown Princess recognizes your loyalty." Azula remarked in a refined voice with her lips closing once more while she gazed at her subordinate in recognition.
"Leave the rest of the puppets to me Your Highness. I'll take care of it." Zoi declared as she glanced back at Azula before she resumed walking forward.
"Oh, very well. I suppose I could allow it." Azula sighed with a lazy hand resting upon her womanly hip while a smile formed on her lips once more.
As she gazed down at her slumbering handmaiden's lovely face through the corner of her cold eye.
She'll be damned if she lets that woman lay a finger on her mousy little servant.
They watched the powerful captain stride forward with her heavy boots crunching upon the wet cavern floor.
Her enraged eyes never left the masked puppeteer's face.
Just as she turned to glare about at the faces of the lifeless faces of her slain comrades.
And then she gazed at the faces of the deceased rebels.
Before she hardened her eyes in a stony stare with her chi soaring off her body while her boots skidded along the damp ground.
A bright aura consumed her body while her companions gazed on in fascination.
And then not a second later a roar split through the air.
Before Zoi broke out into a rapid sprint across the enormous cavern towards her opponent.
"Those are bold words from someone who sent her own troops to the slaughter. You should have been there to hear their screams! It was positively exquisite!" Silah taunted in a cruel voice as she slid back along the floor while her puppets leaped about in unison.
All but the princess stared on with their eyes full of horror and disgust over the hunter's sadistic personality.
Saro clenched his fists as he gritted his teeth so hard that his jaw began to shake.
Ty Lee and Mai gazed on with a disturbed look in their eyes as they shuddered in revulsion.
And Azula could only glare across the battlefield as she watched with narrowed eyes as the horde fought as one.
'She's a beast! She's even more sadistic than Azula!' Ty Lee thought with her brown-gray eyes trembling in fear.
"You're right! I should have been there!" Zoi hollered in an infuriated voice as she fired her line high into the air.
And then she swung towards the puppeteer with her murderous golden eyes focusing on her target.
And just like that the firebender dropped in a meteoric dive bomb above the hunter.
Only for the warrior to gaze on with furious golden eyes when two slain soldiers took hold of her by the arms.
She turned to gaze at each of their faces with faintly widened eyes.
The group stared on in a speechless quiet as they watched in a horrified disbelief.
"Are you really going to hurt them Zoi? Did they not do their jobs well? And this is how you thank them?" Silah spoke in a voice of boundless cruelty while her enemies stared at her with in nauseated horror.
"You shut your mouth!" Zoi bellowed in her rage as her former soldiers surrounded her on all sides while Azula stared on with furious amber golden eyes.
And then she stumbled backwards with her golden eyes conveying her conflict while the puppets jumped on her one after another.
"Just burn them Zoi!" Azula yelled in an aggravated voice as she glared on with angered amber golden eyes.
Only for her eyes to widen when Zoi continued to stagger backwards with the flurry of puppets piling on the surrounded woman.
The team gazed on with widened eyes as they watched Zoi become overwhelmed by her own slain comrades.
"Captain!" Saro called out in worry as he stared on in concern.
Just as Silah turned to walk away while Azula glared after her with lightning churning at her fingertips once more.
Only for the puppeteer to stop as she turned to gaze over her shoulder with delighted dark green eyes while Zoi vanished beneath the horde of puppets.
Her heartless gaze briefly passed over the princess's frozen countenance before she turned back to the pile of slain soldiers.
Before the captain came face to face with a burnt figure that had her eyes widening in horror.
The others also gazed on in a horrified repugnance when they too saw the man's charred face.
"That's…that's Togan!" Saro blurted out in a beyond furious voice with his companions standing beside him a speechless silence.
"S-she went through the trouble of collecting a corpse that was nearly burned beyond recognition?" Nako asked in a terrified voice as she trembled in her tracks.
There were literally no words to describe the horror that stood before them.
And for once even Azula was stunned by another person's cruelty.
Only for all of them to turn towards their enemy in shock when they heard the woman's silken voice flow into the air.
"Did we do good Captain? Did we serve the Fire Nation well?" Silah mimicked in a sickeningly sweet voice while her enemies stared at her in a stupefied silence.
Zoi fell back under the horde of puppets with her golden eyes widening in eruption emotion.
She gazed back into their lifeless faces with her mouth ajar in shock.
And then not even seconds after that an inferno of fire was sprayed in her stunned face at point blank range.
The princess's forces observed in a conflicted quiet with their eyes full of horror as they watched the flames consume the captain whole.
As Silah watched with cruel dark green eyes as she smiled underneath her mask.
Before she turned away once more while she strode with her back turned to the seething princess.
"I have no more patience for this nonsense! Die Silah!" Azula bellowed with lightning sparking upon her fingertips just before she threw the powerful bolt into the air.
Only for her eyes to widen in unison with her subordinates when a large wall of rock sprang from the cavern ground.
And then the lightning exploded into the air with its bright light illuminating the dark walls of the grotto while the group stared on in disbelief.
The princess stared on with shock in her eyes with her teeth crushed together in frustration.
"She…blocked lightning with earthbending!" Mai exclaimed in a stunned voice as she gazed with awestruck tawny eyes.
"For such an intelligent woman…you certainly know how to act like quite the fool Azula." Silah commented in a cold voice while the princess glared on with trembling rage in her amber golden eyes.
As fires still burned across the floor of the vast cavern.
Only for all of Team Azula to spin around as the mass of puppets were sent soaring into the air by an explosion of red fire.
And then they all watched in a mixture of surprise and relief to see Zoi standing there in the flames with her dark bangs shadowing her eyes.
And not even a second later the captain raised her eyes to stare back at the hunter with a boiling golden gaze.
Just as Silah turned to face her with her dark green eyes studying her closely.
"You I am going to slaughter you!" Zoi spoke in a truly frigid voice before she leaped into the air with her katana in hand.
And then without saying another word she soared through the air with her widened golden eyes honing in on her target.
"You…actually burned them." Silah stated in a taken aback voice as she slid along the ground while Zoi descended in the air above her.
Only for a puppet to obstruct the enraged warrior's blade before it could get any closer to her enemy.
The noblewoman regarded the slain man for a fleeting moment before he was set alight in smoldering red flames.
"I've been seeing my soldiers off with mercy kills for years. Just over two weeks ago I suffocated seventeen Fire Nation citizens by hand. And you think me incapable of burning their corpses?" Zoi remarked in a callously cool-headed voice while her line fired off into the air.
As all but the princess shuddered over the captain's frigid words.
"Hm. That's more like it, Zoi." Azula commented in approval as she gazed on with dominant amber golden eyes.
The hunter gazed up with her dark green eyes widened ever so slightly as she jumped away.
"I don't care if you turn everyone here into a puppet. I'll set them all alight. Including the princess. And then I'll still kill you all the same!" Zoi declared as she sped down like a bullet with steam burning off her muscular body.
And then not a second after that another puppet was savagely smashed aside while it erupted into flames.
It rolled upon the floor until it came to a stop while the princess's forces shivered over the brutal declaration.
Zoi soared down towards Silah with her shouts splitting into the air.
Only for a massive wall of stone to spring from the earth not a moment later.
And then slam!
Zoi barreled into the wall with a thunderous rumble while she gazed up with focused golden eyes as Silah hastily leaped to the other side of the cavern.
"You won't be able to outrun me forever." Zoi said in a chilling voice with her vengeful eyes watching her foe land on in a crouch at the other end of the cave.
"Yes! You show her Captain!" Saro cheered with a fist clenched before him while Azula rolled her haughty eyes beside him.
As the modified rebel puppets dropped to the ground before their master.
Before they opened their mouths at a horrific angle once more with bombs protruding from their mouths while the others gazed at them with disturbed look in their eyes.
Just as the captain swung into the air once again with her torn cloak flowing in the winds behind her.
"It's just a damn shame that you let all of those people die for nothing!" Silah called out in an uncaring voice as she flicked her gloved fingers in the air.
She smiled underneath her mask as she watched Zoi propel herself into the air with a blast of red flames.
As the warrior's battle cries echoed throughout the walls of the grotto while her comrades watched in a fascinated silence.
And then with rapid speed the remainder of the firebenders intercepted the noblewoman's warpath.
They fell down above Zoi while she gazed back at them with furious golden eyes as she swung through the air.
'Rest in peace my comrades…' Zoi thought with steam surging into the air from her toned muscles while she flew forward with fire bursting forth from her boots.
And then not a moment after that the sound of a rumbling explosion shook the air as the puppets unleashed their barrage of bombs.
Every member of Team Azula covered their eyes as they stood in the exploding winds while they gazed out from underneath their elbows.
Just as they watched with grim eyes as the remains of their soldiers scattered to the ground below.
Only for Zoi's silhouette to soon appear in the smoke-filled cavern while they stared on with widened eyes as steam continued to pour from her body.
Zoi clutched her katana in hand as she turned to glare in the direction of her enemy just as the hunter's masked face soon became visible.
"Amazing…so it's true what the rebels say." Jiao commented to herself with her arms folded over her breasts while the others turned to her in uncertainty.
"What…do the rebels say?" Nako asked in a fidgety voice as she gazed at the other woman's face.
"The rebels say that Zoi has the power to end the Royal Family anytime that she wants. They whisper that if Zoi were to side with the rebels that she could end this war with but a swing of her sword. And all she would but have to do is but speak and the troops would rally to her call." Jiao announced with a slight smile on her lips while the others now stared at her in horror.
Sweat now dripped down their taken aback faces.
While Azula's callous amber golden eyes now stared imposingly at the shorter woman with maddened paranoia.
And within mere seconds the princess seized the smaller woman by the collar of her shirt while the others observed them warily.
"Filthy peasant! I have had it with your mouth! First you openly attempt to abandon your Crown Princess and now you slander not just me but your Fire Lord as well! I should burn you to ashes on the spot!" Azula hissed with fire exuding from her pursed lips while she glared down into Jiao's recoiling eyes.
"My apologies Your Highness. Burn me to ashes if you feel that you must." Jiao replied as she hung from Azula's fist while the princess stared down at her with intimidating amber golden eyes.
"Azula…now's not the time for this. We're dealing with a crazed killer remember?" Ty Lee spoke up as she gazed at the two with what she hoped was a calming presence.
"And now you lie directly to my face. Mistake number three." Azula snarled as she breathed fire in the smaller woman's sweating face while her childhood friends sighed behind her.
"Jiao you really need to learn to keep your mouth shut!" Saro advised while Mai snorted dryly beside him.
"Ugh! Consider yourself fortunate that I have more important business to attend to. But worry not…peasant. We'll speak afterward." Azula stated in a tone of absolute authority before she carelessly threw the woman over her shoulder.
The two noblewomen and the pilot cringed as they watched the seductress fly into the air with a startled yelp.
As the princess turned to gaze over her shoulder with her full lips now adorning a cruel smirk as she observed the young woman drop like a rock.
Only for her amber golden eyes to tremble in renewed anger when Saro quickly caught the seductress in his arms.
To which the rest of the group could only stare on in puzzlement over how the man cared to catch her in the first place!
"Just cut it out Jiao before you get me killed!" Saro complained with Jiao in his arms while he set her back down upon the floor.
As the seductress turned to smile back in their astounded eyes.
The princess's callous eyes renewed in yet another malicious glare that had her friends shivering in fear beside her.
"I'll be waiting for you Your Highness…and whatever whips, chains and toys that you bring with you. I'm game with all kinks…and I'm ready to give you oral at any location of your choosing." Jiao purred in a sensual voice as the others nearly fell over in surprise while the princess still glared back at her.
"Please! Don't flatter yourself. There's only one peasant worthy of servicing my divine body and it isn't you!" Azula scoffed as she turned away with her muscular arms folded over her breasts while her cold amber golden eyes gazed down at her unconscious pet.
She found herself struggling to resist the urge to allow her lips to curve into a slight smile.
While squashing the tiny blush that almost formed on her regal cheeks.
Ty Lee sighed as she allowed herself to crack a small smile over the princess's unmistakable affection for their young friend.
Just as they all turned back to the battlefield once more when the smoke finally dispersed.
Before Azula narrowed her eyes in a glacial stare once more as she glared hard at her enemy's masked visage while many rebel puppets still stood shielding the morbid artist.
Zoi straightened her body as she stood tall with her golden eyes never leaving the other woman's shrouded face.
Just before the puppeteer casually wiped the dust from her armor while she smirked underneath her mask.
"Well…it would seem that I was taking the both of you too lightly. Initially I didn't take either one of you to be much of a threat. But it would seem that I was wrong." Silah stated in a dismissive voice with her predatory eyes staring out from underneath her mask at the two firebenders furious faces.
Everyone else in the group couldn't help but gaze on with fear in their eyes over the casual way that the woman spoke to Azula and Zoi of all people!
"By the time we are through I will teach you what happens to those that underestimate me." Azula snapped in a frigid voice as she stomped forward with her sword in hand while her teeth smashed together in her fury.
"You've been holding back on us?" Zoi questioned in a frighteningly focused voice with her murderous eyes lingering on her masked enemy.
Just as she turned to glance around the grotto with narrowed eyes when she heard the ground rumble once more.
The others fearfully gazed about with renewed alarm in their eyes.
"I have. As I said…we are not equals. But…even so…perhaps it's time we kicked it up a notch." Silah boasted with her gloved hands at her sides while the ground ruptured behind her.
The two firebenders glared back at her with their eyes agape in hatred.
"Really? Well, I can only hope you have more durable toys than what you've shown us so far." Azula sneered with a haughty wave of her hand while her friends stared at her back in disbelief.
"Azula!" Ty Lee cried out in an uneasy voice while her companions shivered beside her.
"Poor Azula. You are so naïve. But fear not. I will enlighten you. What you were seeing up until now…was just my unfinished work." Silah remarked as she tipped her head back while the princess's forces gazed on in disbelief.
"U-unfinished work?" Nako stammered in a rightfully terrified voice as she shook once more while Azula still stared at the artist with callous amber golden eyes.
"It takes weeks of time to construct puppets to completion…time that I haven't had with these ones. You see…these ones here…are just disposable toys." Silah explained in a monstrous voice as she gestured to the corpses of the burned Fire Nation men and women.
As the princess's forces now stared back at her with unbridled disgust and horror in their eyes.
And the captain's golden eyes were now trembling in boiling rage once more as she clenched her jaw with her fist shaking over the hilt of her katana.
"That's right Zoi. I massacred an entire platoon just to fuck with you." Silah declared in an utterly heartless voice while Zoi's eyes shook in unfathomable rage.
"What…an abomination." Mai stated in a repulsed voice as she crushed her knives in hand.
"You will pay for trifling with Fire Nation lives!" Zoi roared as she took a menacing step forward while her princess turned to meet her gaze.
The two powerful women shared a momentary look before they turned their vengeful eyes back to their masked opponent.
"And these rebels…. are my drones. They are some of my completed artwork. They weren't anything remarkable when they were alive…but I have them in abundance. And that brings me to my finer pieces…" Silah trailed off in a terrifying voice with two pillars of earth arising behind her while the group gazed on in an unnerved silence.
All the while finding themselves unable to resist shuddering over how the artist referred to preserved human bodies as her 'finer' pieces.
"It doesn't matter what you have Silah. Zoi and I will crush it all the same." Azula stated in a beyond callous voice with a proud fist held up before her sneering face.
Zoi nodded her head in furious agreement as they watched the domes of rock split open with a thunderous rumble.
Team Azula's forces gazed on in an eerily spellbound quiet as they watched two shadowed figures emerge into the flame lit lighting.
Just as they all found themselves face to face with two flawlessly preserved puppets.
One a young Fire Nation man and the other a woman clad in elegant military garb as if they still drew breath!
The two noblewomen, the pilot and the seductress could only stare on in unnerved confusion.
Only for their eyes to take note of the way that the three firebenders were now staring on in complete incredulity!
"Where did she…obtain those two!" Azula demanded in a now outraged voice as she spewed fire from her lips.
"Impossible! She…has…the Fire Twins!" Saro exclaimed in shock as he stood there with his mouth agape in rage.
At the mere mention of the two twins the rest of the group gazed on with their eyes widened in shock as they watched the two twins calmly take positions beside their master.
"T-the famous Fire Twins?" Nako repeated in an increasingly fearful voice as she trembled where she stood.
Mai and Ty Lee could only swallow with sweat dripping down their forehead as they took a frightened step backward.
There wasn't a single person in the Fire Nation that hadn't heard of the Fire Twins Toro and Yoa!
Toro the brother and Yoa the sister!
They were a powerful brother and sister duo that had gained much renown under Ozai and Azula.
The two had gained great fame for their unrivaled teamwork in battle and they hadn't been seen since they vanished in battle nearly six years ago!
And just like that each and every one of them began to finally come to understand just how depraved their opponent really was.
"You vile…desecrator of the dead!" Zoi hissed with blood dripping down her enraged chin while she trembled in her rage.
Just as Silah stood between her two puppets with her lips pulling into a proud smile beneath her mask.
"I am especially proud of these two…they are my soldiers! Now do you see? The power of my eternal artwork!" Silah called out in a victorious voice as she swung her gloved hands to the sides while her enemies still gazed on in horror.
Just before the two twins sunk into a bending stance while her laughter echoed high into the air.
Azula and Zoi now both stared back at her with even colder eyes than before.
"M-monster…." Ty Lee breathed in a stunned voice with a tear in her eye as she watched in shock as the twins adopted their famous bending stance.
"You will suffer for your crimes against the Fire Nation. I can assure you that much." Azula spoke in an unbelievably seething voice with her katana in hand while her cold eyes glared ahead.
Her infuriated captain stepped up beside her with her callous eyes staring back into the twin's lifeless eyes.
"Let's do this Princess." Zoi commented in a wrathful voice as she turned to gaze into her princess's eyes while her leader nodded in agreement.
Only for their eyes to narrow in even greater fury when the hunter let out a raucous chuckle while rocks began to fall down all around them.
"What is the Fire Nation but an unappealing pile of shit with an uninspiring dictator of a Fire Lord incapable of understanding his own people with an equally delusional heir." Silah taunted with another pillar of rock arising behind her while the princess's amber golden eyes now trembled in indescribable rage.
The princess's forces gazed on with trepidation in their eyes as they watched in a shell-shocked silence as the third dome emerged from the earth.
As the princess and her captain seethed in their anger with fire burning off their enraged bodies.
"Silence! You are nothing but an insane peasant with a fetish for corpses!" Azula snapped in a livid voice with fire spewing from her beautiful lips as she bared her teeth in her fury.
"The Fire Nation is but an uninspiring land nearly devoid of artwork and creativity. Full of insignificant people whose only purpose is to slave in the fields until they die for their fat noble masters." Silah ranted with her cruel dark green eyes staring out from underneath her mask while the dome of rock ruptured behind her.
Azula now fumed in outrage with her sword bursting into flames once more as proof of the power of her bending.
Mai and Ty Lee's flashed with renewed guilt over the constant reminder that a great many people suffered under their own rule.
Not that there was much that they could do about it given that Azula and her father had the final say in all matters.
But even still…
It was a provoking thought all the same.
Only for the sound of the captain smashing her fist into the cavern wall to echo into the air as she glared back at her enemy with icy golden eyes.
"Enough of this Silah. The Fire Nation has its share of flaws. That I will ensure will be rectified in time regardless of what the Fire Lord has to say about it. But you won't be living to see that." Zoi declared with steam exuding from her mighty body while Azula now cast her a cold glare through the corner of her eye.
"Given the circumstances Zoi I am going to pretend that I didn't hear you just say that." Azula snorted as she held a hand to her womanly hip while her soldier pointed her sword at their enemy.
Before they all suddenly gazed on with alarmed eyes as they watched large chunks of rock plummet to the ground below.
Just as the dome split open to reveal a cloaked figure that now stood behind the puppeteer with his arms extended at his sides.
The captain now stared on with her golden eyes widening once more as she turned to gaze into her princess's stony amber golden eyes.
"Be careful Princess. That one is not like the others." Zoi advised as she slid back on the ground while her princess scoffed as she sunk into a bending stance.
"Please! These puppets are no match for us Zoi." Azula huffed with her boots taking position on the cave floor while her eyes narrowed as she gazed between the three puppets.
As the cavern shook under the tremendous force of the unnatural earthbending.
The two twins took up their positions beside their master with their trademark firebending spiraling beautifully before them.
"Behold the true power of my art!" Silah stated in a voice of endless pride as she slid between her puppets with a sadistic smile on her lips.
The princess's forces spun around with unnerved eyes as they watched the cave start to crumble at a terrifying rate.
"Azula! We need to hurry up and get out of here! This is too dangerous!" Mai shouted as she pulled Ty Lee back with their little sister leaning on the other woman's shoulder.
Just as a boulder nearly smashed them while the princess gazed around with a deep snarl on her crimson lips.
"Saolin is right. We need to make this short." Zoi spoke in a razor-sharp voice as she took a step forward while Azula scowled in agreement.
"There is nowhere that you can run from me Azula. You will never be safe from me. Not even in your own palace." Silah purred with her tongue trailing along her lips while Azula's lips shook in a malicious snarl.
Only for another frightened shout to split into the air while the others turned to gaze at Nako's increasingly terrified face.
"I…do not want to die this way! I just want to bring gold back to my hometown! I'm not cut out for these life or death battles!" Nako cried out with her hands in her hair while her highborn friends gazed at her in sympathy.
"Nako…I'm sorry. I promise that we'll help your town when we get out of this." Ty Lee assured as she placed a hand on the other woman's trembling shoulder while Nako swallowed in terror.
The proud princess tried her hardest to squash the newfound emotion for her commoner friend in her cold amber golden eyes.
"Then leave Nako. Turn around and run away once more." Silah announced to the shock of all while Nako turned to gaze back at her with shaken brown eyes.
"W-what?" Nako blurted out with sweat dripping down her cheek while Silah's monstrous dark green eyes almost seemed to smile back at her.
She gulped when she sensed her princess's imposing eyes staring back at her with her eyes narrowed in a glare.
"I said leave. Flee like the craven that you are. I have no use for a weakling like you. Abandon Azula and you may yet live. Remain with her and you will die a horrific death." Silah spoke in a cruel voice as she gazed back at the pilot while Nako gazed on with widened eyes.
The group stood in silence in the crumbling cavern uncertain if it was just another one of the hunter's twisted games.
Azula's eyes shone with paranoia as she gazed about at the fearful faces of her friends.
Before she settled on gazing into Nako's intimidated eyes while the poor woman cowered under her stare.
The two noblewomen stared at the girl in pity.
'Some offer.' Mai thought with a grimace on her lips while Nako swallowed once more.
Only for Nako to take them all by surprise when she abruptly shouted with her eyes squeezed shut in fright.
"I…I refuse! I will not betray my Crown Princess! She's my friend! While I may be weak! And while I may be craven! I will remain by her side no matter the outcome! Even if it means death!" Nako yelped as she shook in her tracks with a blade in her clammy hand while the others gazed at her in astonishment.
The princess could only stare on with her domineering amber golden eyes agape in uncharacteristic emotion while her beautiful lips were ajar in shock.
Before she hardened her callous eyes with her fist crushing the hilt of her burning katana while she turned to glare imposingly back at the chuckling puppeteer.
'My pilot is loyal…and these commoners are my friends. I will not let my people die.' Azula thought with fire snorting from her furious nostrils.
Zoi also sunk into a bending stance with her sword in hand as they both stared coldly back at their enemy.
As Jiao watched from the back of the shaking cavern with her blue eyes gazing back at Silah's masked face.
'So…she doesn't need the nonbenders? Perhaps…if things go south…I can still talk my way out of this…' Jiao thought with her arms shuffling over her breasts.
And then not even seconds later they all stared on in horror as the hooded puppet held out his hands.
And then the cavern began to shake with even greater ferocity than before.
While enormous boulders plummeted down from far above them as their eyes grew wide in fear.
"So be it. Let the symphony of terror begin." Silah stated in a delighted voice as she slid back upon the floor with her prized puppet standing over her.
Just as the two powerful firebenders broke out into a blinding sprint towards her while she licked her lips.
And then just like that the princess's forces stared on in unhidden anxiety as the two twins sprinted in battle with astonishing grace.
They now ran towards the princess and the captain with orange flames circling around their fists.
Just before a flurry of smoke bombs were thrown into the air as they gazed on with rising fright.
As they coughed as they covered their mouths with their elbows.
Only for their eyes to grow wide in pure terror when they the hunter's silhouette quickly vanished from the cloud of smoke!
"She's…she gone!" Saro called out as he spun around with his golden eyes searching about while Jiao shook in fear behind him.
"Stay close to each other!" Mai yelled with her back pressed up against Ty Lee's while their paranoid eyes darted about the smoke-filled cavern.
They listened to the sound of the eerie scuttling of the monstrous puppets with a chill traveling down their spines.
And then suddenly it all went quiet.
Before they all jumped back in fright when a blade-wielding puppet sprang forth from the smoke!
Only for Saro to grasp hold of its blade before he slammed it into the ground and smashed its face with a burning fist.
He gazed around him with alert eyes with the smoke blowing ominously through the cavern air.
And not a second later a handful of drones sprung forth from the mist while the five stood back to back.
Just before Mai threw her knives into the air while Saro launched a stream of defensive fire at the attacking horde.
Mai glared out with narrowed tawny eyes just as her blades tore through a puppet's head.
Ty Lee knocked a puppet to the ground with her pink foot as she slid back with Elle over her shoulder.
"Mai! It's Elle that they're after!" Ty Lee exclaimed in a combat stance while the other woman scowled in understanding.
"I know!" Mai answered as she fired her stilettos from her spring-loaded holster while her boots slid along the cave floor.
The puppets pierced the attacking puppets with meticulous precision.
As the group watched as the destroyed drones dropped to the ground one after another.
And soon enough the puppet army began to diminish to much smaller numbers while the panting fighters stared about in a still noticeable panic.
Just as the sound of great explosions of firebending illuminated the shaking cavern as they all quickly turned to gaze out of the corner of their eyes.
The princess's sword sparked with azure fire as Yoa descended above her with her orange flames blazing at her fingertips.
While the princess roared as she swung her blade with great force just as the spiritless puppet clashed against her sword.
Azula glared imposingly back into Yoa's dead amber eyes with her beautiful lips pursed into a displeased snarl.
Before her katana rapidly transitioned to lightning generation as she kicked the lifeless woman backwards.
"Your supply of toys is dwindling Silah! Soon you will have no one left to fight for you!" Azula bellowed in a violent voice as she expertly thrust her crackling katana forward.
Just as it connected with the rigid puppet while the deceased woman fell backward.
Before Azula skillfully caught a punch from the rebounding puppet while she reeled the departed woman with her fist ablaze in blue fire.
"Coward! Come out and face us Silah! That is if you even have any combat skill of your own!" Zoi hollered with her golden eyes glaring furiously above her while her line fired high into the air.
Her battle cried echoed throughout the eroding cavern with her line rapidly coiling around the Toro's arm.
She pulled the deceased man in with a mighty grunt as she slid back along the damp cavern ground.
Just before her back pressed up against her princess's own as they fought side by side against the two lethal twins.
And not a moment later the sound of Zoi and Azula's joined roars split into the air while they simultaneously struck the lifeless siblings in the chest.
Only for the two powerful women to turn their heads when they heard a distressed shout from the other end of the cavern.
Crack!
The ground shattered beneath the feet of the group as they gazed down in shock with fear in their widened eyes.
"They tunneled underground!" Nako shouted in a startled voice just as she was brutally kicked in the stomach by a mighty fist.
"Nako!" Ty Lee cried out in an angered voice as Nako rolled in a wounded heap upon the hard ground.
Just as they gazed on with their eyes agape in fear as the hooded puppet from before sprang from the hole in the earth.
"Bastard!" Saro howled as he leaped at the puppet with his fist aflame while lifeless light green eyes stared back from underneath the hood.
Before he shot his line into the air as it soared towards the puppet only for his eyes to grow wide in surprise when it caught his rope in its fist.
And then the two noblewomen shouted in alarm as they watched the formidable soldier get thrown into the wall like a rag doll!
Saro hit the rock as he held his shoulder with his left hand while he quickly pushed himself off the cavern wall.
The two noblewomen watched with fright in their eyes as the deceased man jumped at them with terrifying agility.
Neither one of them barely having any time to register that the seductress had long since run away.
Just as Mai threw her knives into the air as she crouched with her tawny eyes narrowing into slits.
Only for her eyes to widen once more when she watched the puppet bend rock to swat her blades aside.
'That one…is the one that is trying to collapse the cavern!' Mai thought as she withdrew her sai from under her sleeve.
Before she jumped at the puppet with her shouts echoing into the tunnels above.
And not a second after that…
The weapons expert was also thrown into the wall.
The noblewomen groaned in pain as she fought the urge to black out with blood dripping down her cheek only to spin around when she heard Ty Lee scream in terror.
"Ty Lee!" Mai called out in a frenzy just as she stood up as fast as she was capable.
"You stay away from her!" Ty Lee screamed as she stood on her injured foot while she glared up at the looming hooded figure.
Only for a powerful fist to slam into her gut mere seconds later while she gasped with spit dribbling down her chin.
And just like that the injured Ty Lee dropped to the ground holding her gut while she moaned in pain.
Just as Ty Lee gazed up with terror in her brown-gray eyes to see the puppet now towering over her with an earthen spear in hand.
And before she could react the man swung down at her while she knelt trembling in horror of the coming blow.
Only to find herself gazing up with stunned eyes when the blow never came.
As Nako now hung from the puppet's mighty arm as she fought to hold back his fist with every fiber of her being.
"H-hurry! I can't hold him back for too much-" Nako yelled only to be silenced by a fist pounding into her gut.
Before she crumpled to the ground in a heap moaning in pain.
"No! Nako!" Ty Lee shouted as she pulled Elle back in her arms just as Mai grasped ahold of her hand.
"Come on Ty Lee!" Mai yelled as she pulled her two friends back with her tawny eyes agape in fear as the puppet charged them once more.
Only for the two noblewomen to be thrown aside by a wave of earthbending while they now rolled in pain upon the hard ground.
Just as the two firebenders sent the two twins soaring aside with a blast of their flames.
They sprinted through the smoking cavern to save their comrades.
And then one moment later…
The injured group gazed on with relief and amazement in their eyes when both firebenders boots connected with the puppets hooded face.
While the man staggered backwards with his limbs hanging at his sides while the two women stood side by side glaring at the puppet's shrouded face.
'There's…something familiar about this one…' Zoi thought with her golden eyes narrowing in contemplation.
Just as Azula possessively scooped Elle's petite body under her muscular arm while she now glared at the puppet with enraged amber golden eyes.
"I am her master and I will not relinquish her to you! To anyone!" Azula bellowed in a malicious voice as she stood her ground with her handmaiden tucked under her arm.
Just as her lips creased into a furiously protective glower as she watched the puppet leap at her with astounding agility.
Before she let out a roar at the top of her lungs as she jumped into battle with her girlfriend crushed under her toned bicep.
As the princess's forces stared on in awe as they watched Azula collide with the earthbending puppet.
Her childhood friends gazed on with astonishment in their eyes to witness just how much strong their friend has become.
'Azula really has become so much stronger!' Ty Lee thought with her brown-gray eyes agape in marvelment.
What's more it was frightening to watch the puppet move as if he was truly alive in the flesh.
Zoi stared on with her golden eyes beginning to widen as she studied the movements of the puppet in growing fascination.
Just as the princess's burning katana intercepted the swing of the puppet's spear while she glared at the shrouded face with enraged amber golden eyes.
Only for the two to exchange a series of rapid blows before the princess received a foot to the belly that sent her stumbling backwards.
Her lips were in a ferocious snarl as she jumped several paces back with her companion clutched against her hip.
As the earthbending puppet slammed his fists together before a pillar of earth rapidly slammed down above the princess's head.
The group gazed on with concern in their eyes only for their eyes to widen in awe when the earthbending was incinerated by an explosion of azure fire.
And then Azula leaped away with her ebony hair now hanging above her sweating brow while her hair now hung freely down her armored back.
Just as her crown fell to the cavern floor with a clang while the princess glared back at the puppet with her lips still adorning a dominant glower.
"Princes Azula will not fall to a corpse!" Azula hissed as she stomped forward with her pointed boot pressing into the cave floor while her icy eyes glared ahead.
Before the puppet sprang into the air once more with his cloak fluttering ominously behind him.
While Fire Nation forces watched in unhidden trepidation as the deceased man rushed towards their leader.
Only for Azula to stare on with slightly narrowed eyes when her captain held out her arm to halt her.
"I'll handle it." Zoi stated with a strange gleam in her golden eyes while red steam arose from her body while her princess glared at her back.
"It isn't your place to give me orders Zoi!" Azula snarled as she held Elle under her arm as she gazed at the other woman's back.
She found herself becoming increasingly more curious of the mechanics behind her captain's unheard-of technique.
Just as the noblewoman began to walk forward with her katana in hand while her stony eyes stared back at the leaping puppet.
And just like that the others watched in a fascinated silence from their positions on the cavern floor when the warrior impacted with the earthbender in battle.
Zoi's sword now pushed back against the puppet's spear while her cold eyes gazed back into the shrouded hood.
Just as she shoved back on her blade with all of her weight before, she sent the puppet sliding backwards along the cave floor.
All along as rocks continued to fall down all around them as the earthbender slammed his palm into the stone ground.
She continued to stride forward with her golden gaze never leaving the cloaked puppet's shadowed face.
"I haven't seen such earthbending since Earth King Jaran." Zoi commented with her katana held out on her right while her emotionless face gazed ahead.
The statement had the princess staring on with her amber golden eyes flashing in growing intrigue.
As the rest of her group listened with bewilderment in their eyes while they watched the warrior spring forward once more.
Just as the captain dodged a pillar of earth that slammed into the cavern ground while her line shot into the air.
She swung forward with her battle hungry eyes honing in on her target.
Before her blade struck the puppet's spear once again.
And then just like that the firebender and the lifeless earthbender began to exchange in blow after blow.
While enormous boulders continued to crash into the grotto ground throughout the entire cavern system.
Just as mist poured into the air once more while the paranoid group gazed about in fright as they coughed beneath their elbows.
As the princess turned to gaze around with murderous amber golden eyes as she slid back upon the ground.
"Princess look out!" Saro shouted through the mist as Azula turned her head with her teeth bared like a wrathful dragon.
Just as the two twins burst at her from both sides while a massive wall of fire erupted around her on all sides.
"It is time that you two are put to rest!" Azula declared in a livid voice with her imposing eyes glaring at both charging puppets.
Before she released a powerful stream of flames on both sides that sent the two twins staggering backwards.
Only for the ground to suddenly rupture beneath her boots as she spun around to gaze behind her with her amber golden eyes widening in surprise.
And then not a second later…
Slash!
Azula took a step back with her crimson lips in a seething thin line while her companions gazed on wide eyed when Silah sprung from the rock below.
Silah slashed in an arc across the princess's sleeve just as droplets of blood stained her bone mask.
Just as Azula's flame coated fist smashed into Silah's masked face while the hunter slid backwards along the cavern grounds.
"Azula!" Ty Lee yelled out in a frenzy with her brown-gray eyes gazing on in terror as Azula skidded backwards.
They all stared on with widened eyes as bits of the puppeteer's mask fell to the ground below.
Just as the two twins jumped back down beside their master.
As the deranged woman now stared back at them with a small portion of painted lips now exposed for their view.
While traces of otherworldly silver hair now protruded from her cracked mask.
"Just you wait…I am going to brutalize you." Azula spoke in a frozen voice as she wiped the blood from her lip while she held her pet's unconscious body under her arm.
Only for her eyes to widen in uncharacteristic shock when she watched the woman hold up her blade provocatively before her revealed lips.
And then the princess's forces gaped on in a shell-shocked silence when Silah erotically ran her tongue along the bloodstained blade.
Just before they heard Silah gulp down the princess's blood with a monstrous smile adorning her painted features.
All along as each and every one of them shuddered in disgust as they watched the woman swallow the blood from her stained blade.
Azula stared back at Silah with her amber golden eyes now agape in a mixture of boiling rage and repugnance.
"You are going to make for a beautiful doll Azula." Silah remarked in a psychotic voice with her tongue now licking the rest of the blood from her lips.
And just like that she leaped into battle with the two twins alongside her.
While Azula gazed back at her enemy with hateful amber golden eyes.
She roared at the top of her lungs with a vast wall of fire forming all around her.
'I promise that this woman will die by my hand! Even if it is the last thing I do!' Azula thought with her callous eyes hardening into a beyond merciless death stare.
And that was a promise that she intended to see brought to realization!
AN:
Alright, before I get to my afterword I would like to respond to the reviews.
KingZilla and Noel1921, thank you for your kind words regarding my health. And also, thanks atkinsondonovan for complimenting the story. I am glad that you like it!
KingZilla, you bring up some good points regarding the ever advancing technology of genetics. I'll have to look that up some time to get more info. And I agree that it would be adorable to see a little Azula/Elle scampering about. It would also be especially humorous because Azula would probably kill anyone that tried to interact with her daughter. And it would also be interesting to explore Elle as an adult mothering her child.
However, that is really far off. I believe I have said it before but I intend this to be a series that will go on for somewhere between four to five years before I conclude it.
I should be finished writing book one by the end of 2021. And I have a mostly complete outline written for book two, and some for book three. The only thing I haven't decided if there will be three books or four books.
While that might seem titanic in length, I do call it an epic for a reason. And I have a ton of events to cover before I will feel content with wrapping up the story for good. I have put so much time into this, the last thing I want is to half ass it. I want to feel good about the series as a whole and how it ends.
The only reason why I am unsure if there will be three or four books, is because without spoiling anything. I have some main events planned for book three. But there is a final series arc that I want covered at the very end of the story.
So, I haven't figured out yet if there will be a book three and four, separating the events as a whole. Or doing like a book three part one and a book three part two. Or more or less, basically just an all around longer book three. The primary reason why they might be separated into different books, is because there will be a season ending that separates the final series of events. So, that is why there may end up being a fourth book.
However, the other books will probably be somewhat shorter in length than book one. They will still be very big in length, but much the length in book one was Team Azula getting to know Elle and establishing their bond as a team.
In any case, we'll be seeing a lot of Rieko in the coming books and the huge significance that she has on the plot. As well as many other characters.
So, I haven't decided yet on if Azula/Elle will have a kid, or even how if they do. That's all up in the air and it probably will be for quite a while longer. In any case, if it does happen. It would probably be more of an end of series sort of thing.
And maybe there would even be a series of oneshots of Azula and Elle parenting their child for those that are still with the series after all that time. :)
As for Silah being stronger than Azula and Zoe, in a sense she is. And in a sense she isn't. Silah is undeniably one of the most powerful characters that will appear in the series. But still, much of her power relies on her opponent feeling horrified and surprised.
If Azula and Zoe had a better understanding of her secrets, the playing field may become more level. But Azula and Zoe still have a long way to go.
And Silah is a deadly force to be reckoned with.
Now, onto the afterword.
This is my personal favorite chapter that I wrote of the Silah fight. So, I hope everyone enjoyed it.
In this chapter we finally got a closer look at Zoe's secret power. And it really is best described as Zoe converting her firebending into a tank of fuel. There are many upsides to such a powerful ability. As Zoe is able to increase her strength, energy and speed by tapping into her reservoir of chi.
Essentially, she refrains from using her firebending for long periods of time while she builds up that energy inside. This is why she has such monstrous stamina, and it is also why she was able to fight former Earth King Jaran as a young teenager.
Her innovative way of using her firebending represents her way of going against tradition. Whereas in comparison her mother Yoko, while a highly powerful bender in her own right. Yoko is much more along the lines of Ozai, a staunch and cold traditionalist.
Whereas her daughter goes against the grain of such strict rules and that resulted in Zoe creating such a revolutionary technique.
And while I do not like Naruto. If it helps anyone, I would say that Zoe's stamina is similar to Kisame's monstrous pool of chakra.
The downsides though, is that depleting her reservoir will inevitably result in Zoe collapsing from exhaustion.
I really felt that this was a very fitting ability for Zoe to have. Because I wanted her to be more of a brutal warrior than just another average firebender. And it nicely compliments her preference to fighting with sword and spear. While giving what I feel is a proper explanation for her stamina.
Regarding Jiao's comments about Zoe famed reputation. In universe, Zoe and maybe her mother are the only ones with the power to go against the Royal Family. I feel that it is important for Azula to hear that.
Because it helps to put into perspective that Zoe is popular enough with the soldiers and the commoners that she could feasibly rally the people to her side if she ever decided that Azula and Ozai had gone too far.
And keep in mind, that Jiao does exaggerate to a degree because she is Zoe's lover. However, it is sort of like how in canon Iroh was viewed as the only other person other than the Avatar who could have stood against Ozai.
In my story, the people who could have stood against Ozai in the Four Nations other than the Avatar are Zoe, Iroh, Yoko, Earth King Jaran, Silah, and now Azula.
Now that Jaran is dead, and Iroh is too old. That just leaves Zoe, Yoko, Silah and Azula.
Regardless, if Zoe ever were to attempt such a move she likely would die in the process. I am just trying to show that Azula is paying close attention to the fact that Zoe has the power to challenge her if she were to be too cruel to her own people.
However, in the end Zoe isn't the sort to care about ruling. She would rather lead the charge on the battlefield. I just wanted to show that Zoe is the sort of famous warrior that inspires her fellow soldiers to fight.
As for Silah, this chapter we saw a greater display of her power. And we also learned that her puppets come in stages.
Most of her puppets are drones, and then there are the small ones like the mechanical quilled-chameleon that she used to spy on Team Azula in the prior chapters are called scouts.
And then there are the 'soldiers' which are her more prized trophies such as the Fire Twins.
As for the Fire Twins, as the name goes. They were a famous group of twins that had earned the attention of Azula and Ozai until they disappeared nearly six years ago.
This serves to exemplify Silah's monstrous personality. She is like a collector that roams the land in search of powerful warriors to add to her collection. It all stems back to her obsession with death that began back in her childhood.
I don't bring up her upbringing those because I want people to pity her. I am just trying to make her into a well-rounded character with reasons for her actions. Silah's reasons may not make sense to everyone else, but they do to her and that is what matters.
In a sense, you can compare her to many real life killers and fictional ones as well who were shaped by traumatic early years. It doesn't excuse their actions, and their is no hope for them now. It just explains how they became what they became.
Another thing that I want to mention about Silah is why she spoke of the Fire Nation as primitive. Like Mava, Silah knows many secrets and she is privilege to an abundance of knowledge that most people in the Avatar world do not have.
Silah may be a resident of the Avatar world, but she is aware of secrets that the others are not. And her puppets are made from various mysterious metals and technologies.
Essentially, Silah is always looking to improve herself and her 'art'. And she feels that the Fire Nation does not advance quickly enough for her liking. So, like the Earth Kingdom before it. She has become bored of roaming the Fire Nation.
When it comes to her puppets, though they may be morbid. She is a mechanical genius, and what she is telling Azula is that she doesn't feel like the technology of the Fire Nation can take her any further. We'll touch on that more later.
In this fight we have been seeing that everyone but Jiao is proving their worth in battle.
Most especially, Nako. While Azula has had to save her life two times now in battle. She has shown that she is more than worth it. Not only was Nako the first to discover that the puppets are made of human remains. In this chapter she very well saved Ty Lee's life.
It shows that while Nako may say that she is a coward. Deep down when it comes down to it she will put herself in harms way for her friends. And even though she was no match for Silah's hooded puppet (Earth King Jaran). She threw herself on him anyway, and held him back with no regard to her own life.
I also wanted to take a chance to show Mai, Saro and Ty Lee in action. Particularly Saro, who is a strong firebender, just not as strong Zoe. Because he has mostly been a background character up until this arc and I wanted to give him some action.
We are also seeing that Azula cares about her team more than she lets on. And now she is having difficulty fighting Silah while at the same time protecting her subordinates/friends.
I particularly enjoyed the end of the chapter when Azula fought with Elle under her arm. I thought it was a touching moment that showed Azula's budding protective instincts for Elle while at the same time highlighting her skill in battle.
As for Earth King Jaran, that reveal will come more slowly. I wanted to make it clear that his earthbending was unlike anything we have seen in the series. And he is precisely how Silah is able to manipulate and control such an expensive earthen terrain.
And as we saw later on at the end of the chapter. Zoe has very strong feelings regarding her past battle with Jaran. It is one of her greatest regrets that she was not able to fight him again. Because prior to the events of the first book, Zoe felt that it was the only true battle that she has ever had.
And now when faced with Jaran once more, she has a tendency to fade away from the present and get caught up in the memories of their past battle.
Anyhow, while Zoe has a suspicion that the identity of the puppet is Jaran. She doesn't know that for certain yet, that will come later.
This also serves to highlight how Zoe is relatively an honorable warrior and Silah is a monster without honor. And in a sense, way back then Silah stole Zoe's potential victory kill.
At some point in a later arc there will be a short flashback on how Silah took down such a powerful warrior.
Needless to say though, when Zoe discovers that the puppet is truly Jaran it will fill her with an even greater rage for Silah. And it will be yet another motivating factor in her grudge against Silah, both avenging her comrades and in a way concluding her unfinished battle against the previous Earth King.
And finally, I want to mention that the moment where Silah managed to spill Azula's blood was the defining moment that established her status as a force that is able to cause Azula to feel doubt.
Azula may be a cold and cruel woman, but she is not used to being on the defensive like this. And seeing Silah spill her blood served to jolt Azula out of the elevated status that she sees herself as having. Azula has lived thinking that it was for commoners to be hunted, and that royalty ruled because of their divine right. That she was the hunter and the one in power.
But now she is seeing that none of that matters in the face of Silah's power and that Silah is more than capable of breaching her defenses.
Azula is also a refined woman of high society, who would never do something as openly perverse as licking up her opponent's blood.
And seeing Silah lick up her blood shocks her. Even if she is too proud to ever say that out loud, she is at the least on some level unnerved by Silah's depravity.
This all just further serves to cement Silah as something for Azula and Zoe to fear, a rival that they now have to work together to destroy.
As we get further into the war arcs, we'll see how that plays out. And we'll also get to see Silah's role in the later stages of the war to come as the wild card. And we'll get to learn more about her motivations.
And if you haven't already figured it out, I am really enjoying writing Silah and all of the interesting ways that she creates conflict with Team Azula.
With that said, that will be all for now.
Stay tuned for next time.
For chapter eighty-eight! The Strings of the Puppeteer!