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And without further ado, I hope that everyone enjoys the chapter.
Interlopers – Chapter Ninety-Three
In a frozen landscape sat a desolate military base.
At its epicenter there was a control room with countless soldiers and staff members madly at work.
As a cacophony of multiple voices in the form of several languages chattered into the air.
In the far distance a bright light was shining through the frigid horizon.
And in the center of the room stood an imposing man in a brown military uniform.
His hair was light blond, and he sported a neatly trimmed goatee.
And his eyes were a harshly detached blue.
And last but not least, there was a large diagonal scar on his left cheek.
"Sir! The other squadrons are moving in!" A soldier called out from his work station as his commanding officer clenched his gloved fists over the metal railing.
"Capture Number One-Hundred and One. But no matter the cost, retrieve and detain Number Three." Colonel Reynolds ordered in a cutthroat voice with his hardened eyes staring relentlessly ahead while his subordinates yelled out in affirmative.
As a small venomous smile slowly found its way to his lips.
At long last she was within his grasp.
And this time…
'You will not escape me this time…Number Three.' Reynolds thought with a smirk upon his lips as he clutched the rails underneath his eager palms.
And after that was done, he will be ready to make his play.
Two weeks before Elle's arrival in the Fire Nation.
"She's the one Elle. Saito Sayomi." Naoki spoke in an unfeeling voice with her emotionless brown eyes staring obsessively back into her childhood friend's widened amber eyes.
"Saito… Sayomi." Elle breathed in a taken aback voice while Naoki's machinelike brown eyes gazed hauntingly back into her soul.
"Yes. She is a young woman of great talent. They say that she is one of the first people discovered to possess gifted abilities. You may have heard of her." Naoki answered in a cold voice from where she sat against the balcony railing while Elle numbly nodded her head.
"I…I have. Who hasn't?" Elle stated in a soft voice while Naoki's unnervingly sharp gaze still gazed back into her eyes.
"Their objective was to replicate her talent…they were trying to use us to create a successor to her legacy…to create supersoldiers like her and that man…Strados." Naoki explained in a chilling voice with her brown eyes staring back into Elle's overwhelmed amber gaze.
An unsettling moment of silence passed through the air as Elle sat there with her mouth ajar in uncertainty.
Before she swallowed the lump that was in her throat while she turned to peer back into her childhood friend's fixated gaze.
Just as a light breeze swept through the air while she nervously bit her lip.
"W-what…what are you going to do Naoki?" Elle questioned in a timid voice as she glanced upward when Naoki wordlessly stood up above her.
Only to find herself shivering once again when the supersoldier turned to glance back down at her with an utterly frozen stare.
"I am going to kill her, her family and everyone else that she cares about. And that man Strados as well." Naoki declared in a monstrous voice as she grasped onto the railing with her right fist.
The younger girl sat in a speechless quiet with her amber eyes gazing up in a combination sympathy and horror.
Just before she jumped in fright when Naoki abruptly began to crush the wooden railing beneath her powerful fist.
As the prodigy's brown eyes stared ahead with an unnaturally merciless gleam permeating her gaze.
"How dare she…how dare he…how dare they impinge upon me." Naoki remarked with her eerie smile almost wavering from her emotionless lips while her childhood friend sat in a taken aback silence.
"Naoki…" Elle whispered in an emotional voice just as she flinched when the railing crumbled into splinters beneath the supersoldier's clenched fist.
"I am going to kill them all. Every single last one of them. I won't stop until every last nation involved is rendered into a pile of ruins." Naoki announced as her fist fell back to her hip while her friend's eyes were now agape in shock.
And then she turned to gaze back down into her companion's speechless amber eyes.
Elle audibly gulped once more while she gazed in a horrified silence up into the older girl's heartless eyes.
"And then Elle…then the world will know the power of my will." Naoki concluded with her hair swaying lightly in the winds behind her.
She gazed down into the younger girl's perturbed amber eyes.
And then she turned away without so much as saying another word.
Elle now slumped against the railing with her haunted amber eyes now gazing in disbelief at the wall in front of her.
It was in that moment that she truly understood that Naoki was traveling down a road that was not for her.
And that it was time for to flow on her own once more.
Back in the present in the Forgetful Valley.
The four highborn women were making their way into the forest while the princess once more gazed down at their young friend's back with an irate amber golden stare.
"We need to hurry and find Naoki before she does something horrible!" Elle exclaimed in a lovable voice as she hurried down the pathway while Azula rolled her haughty eyes behind her.
Ty Lee offered her usual smile as she walked beside the sighing Mai.
As the Zoi silently made her way down the path with her golden eyes coldly keeping watch in the event of an ambush.
"Please! The more soldiers that girl kills the less work there is for us to do." Azula snorted in a pompous voice with her arms crossed over her breasts while her cold eyes never left her pet's back.
"I'm not talking about the soldiers Azula-sama. The soldiers…I can understand. Even though I can't stand the thought of anyone dying. And I get…why she is after the architects behind the facility…it's the other stuff that she has planned that truly horrifies me." Elle commented in a softer voice while her highborn friends turned to her with taken aback looks in their eyes.
"What…is she going to do?" Mai asked in a hesitant voice with her tawny eyes gazing at the younger girl's back while Azula let out an annoyed grunt as she stomped ahead of her.
"I…I don't know the full details. But I do know that she has p-plans to indiscriminately wipe every country involved in her enslavement off the map." Elle admitted in a shaken voice while her four companions nearly tripped over a tree root in surprise.
"And…. you gave her water?" Azula inquired with another snort while her callous amber golden eyes stared down at her young girlfriend's reddening face.
Although she wouldn't say it aloud.
The girl's plans were proving to be far more involved than she would think a former slave would be capable of.
"W-well I realize that it may sound strange. But she…. she saved my life twice. And I thought that maybe…if someone showed her some kindness then maybe…she might see that there was another way." Elle admitted in a sheepish voice as she grasped at the straps of her backpack while her friends listened in a taken aback silence.
"Your heart was in the right place Elle." Ty Lee stated in a sisterly voice as she frowned as she walked behind her little sister while Azula rolled her eyes once more.
She wasn't certain if the small act of kindness would actually amount to anything. Most likely not.
But it wasn't like the girl was going to die if Elle hasn't given her water.
She could see the merit in Elle's point of view.
In that it didn't hurt to extend a helping hand to someone in need.
"I…can't just be silent while someone does something so barbaric to so many innocent people. I could never. It's…. wrong." Elle muttered in a distressed voice as she chewed on her lip while her highborn friends nearly froze in their tracks once more.
The three noblewomen stood in a speechless silence before they turned to gaze at the princess's unusually rattled countenance.
Azula could only gaze on with her cold amber golden eyes widening in a barely recognizable startled expression.
The words that she spoke in the war meeting with her father just over a week before meeting the girl began to play out in her mind.
I think you should take their precious hope and the rest of their land and burn it all to the ground.
Her ruthless amber golden eyes gazed down at the shorter girl with her crimson lips parting into a rare look of startlement.
Only to recover not even seconds later as she pursed her regal lips into a beautiful scowl.
'She is just a commoner…no matter how fond I may become of her that is what she will always be.' Azula thought with her lips in a thin line as she let out a prideful snort of azure fire from her nostrils.
That wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
That wasn't to say that she didn't like Elle.
The girl had more than earned her place by her side.
But there was only so much that you could expect a commoner to understand of the complexities of living as royalty.
But despite her best efforts to tell herself that the girl was lesser.
She couldn't help but find her lips creasing together in an even deeper frown as she gazed down at back of her serving girl's lovely blonde head.
And yet all the same.
She still found herself worrying what the girl would think of her if she were to hear of their war plans on Sozin's Comet.
Not to mention if Elle were to discover the existence of slavery in the Fire Nation.
Her teeth clenched in a displeased manner as she stomped behind her handmaid while she turned to scowl off at the nearest tree.
Only to find herself torn from her reverie by the sound of her love interest's gentle voice once more.
"And….and that's why I have to try. Even if I can only offer words. It's…. what my mother would do. And so, I will do the same." Elle spoke in a passionate voice with a smile returning to her lips while she turned to gaze up at her taken aback highborn friends.
"Ugh. Foolish peasant." Azula scoffed with another egotistical roll of her eyes while Mai gazed at her in annoyance.
"That's so Azula-sama. That's just the way that I flow." Elle stated in a bashful voice as she padded ahead of the older girl while Azula gazed back at her with cold amber golden eyes.
"Aww. Don't be like that Azula. I think it's very sweet of Elle. Her aura is very pink." Ty Lee remarked in a supportive voice with wide smile while she patted smiling little sister's shoulder while the princess let out another snide snort.
"Honestly! Poor people and their peasant trifles." Azula huffed with a haughty smirk on her lips as she planted her fists on her womanly hips while her childhood friends gazed on in exasperation.
"You are such a self-absorbed ass Azula." Mai commented in her usual gloomy voice while Azula turned to cast a foul glare her way.
"A wise proverb once said that true wealth is not measured by how much money you have. But rather by the wealth of your heart. And my heart holds all the wealth that I need." Elle quipped in a lovable voice while her princess rolled her beautiful amber golden eyes once more.
And the other three women listened with fondness in their eyes.
"Well then. If that is the case then I will just stop paying you since you are already 'rich' at heart." Azula commented in a conceited voice with a smirk pulling upon her crimson lips while her young girlfriend pouted alongside her.
She allowed her servant to walk closely beside her as they made their way through the thick trees.
And the two noblewomen gazed at the two in amusement while they resumed walking down the valley path.
Before the captain came to a stop with her hand bracing upon a tree trunk while the others paused behind her as they listened carefully for any indication of the enemy.
As they heard the sounds of distant wildlife calls from the vast forest all around them.
The four highborn women exchanged a careful look with one another.
Only for Elle's amber eyes to grow wide as she listened attentively with her lips ajar in alarm just before she rounded about to gaze urgently back into her friend's confused eyes.
"Everyone get down!" Elle called out in a panic as she leaped upon Azula's surprised armored back while she tackled the taller woman to the ground.
And without even giving it any though the group crouched down in alarm.
And not a second afterward the bark on the large tree that they were hiding behind exploded with splinters of wood soaring into the air.
Just as the captain swiftly dropped even lower with her golden eyes now gazing over her shoulder in astonishment.
The other three highborn women gazed on with widened eyes after seeing the noblewoman nearly get shot in the head.
"What…. was that Elle?" Zoi questioned in a taken aback voice as she knelt with her golden eyes gazing back at the girl's alarmed face.
"I-I think that was a sniper rifle." Elle stammered in a shaken voice as she sat beside her much taller girlfriend while the princess gazed over her shoulder in unmistakable intrigue.
Azula's brilliant amber golden eyes now gleamed with recognition as she recalled witnessing that man Strados and the girl's brother use similar weapons earlier in her servant's memory world.
She shared a momentary look with her captain while the other woman stoically nodded as they turned back to their young friend's easily frightened face.
"A sniper rifle? Tell me all that you know about these machines servant." Azula commanded in a cold voice as she sat with her back against the trunk while her timid girlfriend quivered adorably below her.
The unnerved Mai and Ty Lee squatted beside them while their eyes remained widened over the lethality of foreign weaponry.
"I…I don't know much Azula-sama. To make up for the lack of bending many hundreds of years ago people invented gunpowder which led to the invention of guns. Which fire high velocity projectiles faster than the typical human can react." Elle explained in a pant while her friends gazed back at her in an amazed silence.
"Gunpowder…" Mai trailed off in a curious voice with her tawny eyes gazing at her little sister's skittish face.
Azula still sat with her amber golden eyes agape in interest as her gaze flashed with a power-hungry gleam once more.
"T-that's right oneesan. And we need to be very careful. Because a sniper rifle can fire from the other side of the forest." Elle spoke in a frantic undertone while she gazed fretfully back at her highborn friends stunned faces.
"From…. the other side of the forest Elle?" Ty Lee inquired in a startled voice with her brown-gray eyes agape in shock.
"Y-yeah. I mean I'm no expert but one wrong move and even the strongest bender will be bleeding from a hole in the skull." Elle informed in a worried voice while Azula's amber golden eyes flashed in callous fascination.
"What a fascinating machine. But I presume that they are defenseless once we close the distance?" Azula purred with her possessive eyes peering down at her pet's lovely face while held a contemplative finger under her chin.
"It doesn't seem that is going to be a simple matter." Zoi commented in a stoic voice while she ducked down when another bullet tore through the tree trunk.
The team gazed over their shoulders with cautious eyes as they listened attentively to the faint sound of rustling bushes in the far distance.
"I…didn't want to tell you all this Azula-sama because I know that you are so proud of your nation. And….and you have every right to be. But the war machines of my world…and the technology back home is…more advanced than that of the Fire Nation." Elle announced in a quietly hesitant voice while the four highborn women gazed back at her in a floored silence.
And then a moment of unsettling silence passed over them while the princess's imposing eyes lost their amused gleam.
And now in its place was a sense of boiling anger as she now glared down at her quivering serving girl's intimidated face.
"More advanced you say?" Azula nearly snarled out with the flames of war kindling in her terrifying eyes while her admirer shook under her glare.
"T-the majority of the world stopped using swords and spears with the advent of gunpowder. Naoki is an exception…but that's only because she is able to weaponize it in ways that the average person cannot because she's a supersoldier much like you and Zoi both. I am sorry Azula-sama but it's the t-truth." Elle stammered in a gulp while Azula stared down at her with dominant amber golden eyes that made sweat drip down her cheek.
"Are you calling the military of my nation primitive Elle?" Azula demanded with the back of her head against the tree while she ground her teeth together.
As another bullet pierced the tree above as the others listened with taken aback eyes.
"N-no I'm not. I am just trying to tell you that you are at a severe disadvantage at long range. And I just don't want anyone to get hurt." Elle assured in a mousy voice while her princess scowled from where she knelt over her.
"You shouldn't get mad at Elle for answering your questions Azula. You're the one who asked." Mai stated in her deadpan voice while Azula regarded her with a cold glare through the corner of her eye.
"We'll see who is at a disadvantage servant. And then you will learn what happens to those who doubt my strength!" Azula snapped as she jabbed a domineering finger in her trembling girlfriend's face while the noblewomen sighed heavily.
"I-I don't doubt your strength Azula-sama." Elle whimpered as her mistress's tall body sat above her while Azula's strict eyes sent a pleasant shiver down her spine.
"You better not peasant. Because I won't hesitate to punish you if you do." Azula growled out in a forceful voice with her armored form looming over her dainty girlfriend while Elle trembled against her side.
"I…am just saying that there are advantages to your soldiers not being able to bend." Elle replied as she fearfully kept her head low while her highborn friends rose their brows in curiosity.
"Really? And how is that?" Azula taunted with mocking laughter lacing her derisive voice while her amber golden eyes glared into the tree canopy above.
"W-well strong bending is based on genetics, right?" Elle asked in turn in a hushed voice while Azula rose an elegant brow from where she sat above her.
"Obviously Elle." Azula stated in a pompous voice yet she found herself gazing down at her serving girl in grudging curiosity all the same.
"Just think about it. They don't have to spend their time searching for people with a unique genetic ability. Instead they can simply find thousands of people like Mai that have keen eyesight…put a rifle in their hands and you have a deadly nonbender army." Elle remarked in a hastened voice while her friends gazed at her with understanding flashing in their eyes.
Mai gazed on with amazed tawny eyes while she mulled over the younger girl's words.
The princess stared on with her ice-cold amber golden eyes once more taking on a fascinated look.
Before she turned gaze back at Zoi's composed face while the other woman stonily nodded her head.
"I see. So, your people have quite the efficient nonbending war machine." Azula commented in a callous voice with her glacial eyes already spying a strip of cover.
"If you can get closer, I am sure that you will have the advantage in close combat…but at a distance a gunman will always have the upper hand." Elle concluded in a timid voice while her highborn friends nodded their heads.
"We should listen to Elle. And proceed with caution." Zoi declared in a contemplative voice as she held one hand on the tree base while Azula's cold eyes gazed her way.
"P-please just be careful friends. I can't bear the thought of losing any of you." Elle mumbled in an apprehensive voice while the four older girls gazed at her with a flash of moved emotion in their eyes.
"Your counsel has been heard servant." Azula replied in a smooth voice with her cold eyes gazing down into her serving girl's brightening amber eyes.
Before any of them could say anything further another silenced bullet fired over their crouched heads.
Just as the two firebenders each launched a blast of flame over their shoulders in an effort to create a layer of cover.
And then Team Azula expertly sprang out from behind the trunk.
Elle squeaked in surprise when Azula firmly seized her by the wrist before the woman unceremoniously threw her onto her armored back.
As she let out a soft gasp while the mighty princess bolted out from behind her cover and quickly sprinted to new cover.
And despite their circumstances Ty Lee found herself unable to resist smiling as she watched the princess sprint with the petite girl on her back.
While wood continued to splinter all around them as the highborn women rolled to a crouch behind a large boulder with their alert eyes rapidly scanning their surrounding area.
"A-Azula-sama." Elle stammered in a voice of limitless hero worship as she gratefully held onto her mistress's neck.
As she shivered pleasantly when she heard the woman release a low growl.
"These weapons…I want them. You will assist me in obtaining them." Azula spoke in a ruthless voice with her girlfriend's delicate hands wrapped around her neck.
While her two lifelong friends soon found themselves shuddering after they caught the gluttonous gleam in the princess's power-hungry eyes.
"I…I don't know how to do that. Naoki would know more about that than me." Elle answered in a loyal voice with her arms holding on tightly while her princess gracefully darted out once more.
She gulped as her mistress hurled balls of blue fire over her shoulders to create another burning layer of cover.
"Then you will obtain me Naoki. Is that understood servant?" Azula commanded in a controlling voice with her cold eyes gazing imperiously ahead while her handmaiden clung to her back.
"Yes Azula-sama. As you say." Elle agreed in a sweet voice as she hung onto her girlfriend's tall back while Azula's beautiful lips twitched into the barest hint of a pleased smile.
"The enemy fire seems to be coming from that way Princess." Zoi stated as she dropped down alongside her leader while the princess turned to follow her line of sight.
They both gazed on with narrowed eyes into the far end of the dense forest in the direction of several cliffs.
Only for all of them to find themselves spinning their heads to the right when scream rang out into the valley air.
As the ominous light continued to glow through the distant tree line.
Which was followed closely by the sound of a human body falling to the forest floor.
"I-it looks like Naoki is at it again." Elle muttered from her position on her mistress's back while the princess rose an elegant brow.
The sounds of more gunfire went off in the deep forest as the team listened attentively.
"Then again. It would seem as if our young friend is already taking care of it." Zoi remarked in a nonchalant voice as she turned to face her princess while Azula smirked in approval.
"How convenient. She's already serving me. She just doesn't know it yet." Azula purred in a haughty voice with her crimson lips now adorning a gratified smirk.
"Or she's more than likely just fulfilling her own vendetta." Mai said in a dry undertone while the princess turned to cast her a lazy glare.
"I suppose we should just follow her then? Right Azula?" Ty Lee pondered as she turned to her leader while the princess nodded her head.
"I should think that is obvious Ty Lee." Azula remarked in her usual pompous fashion as she bent over to allow her girlfriend to slide off her back.
And then Elle slid off onto the ground.
Before the serving girl found herself smiling shyly when her mistress turned to stare down at her with her stern amber golden eyes.
"You stay behind me. Understand servant?" Azula commanded in a highly assertive voice with her regal lips pursed into a tight scowl while her servant rapidly nodded her little head.
Only for her pleased smile to nearly return when the girl speedily bowed at the hip.
"As my princess commands!" Elle chirped as she bounced from her bow while Azula graced her with a beautiful smile.
Just as she found herself yelping adorably when an annoyed hand pulled her up by the back of her shirt.
"Shorty. You can grovel to Azula when we aren't under enemy fire." Mai commented in monotone with a sigh escaping her lips while Elle turned around to smile up at her.
Ty Lee giggled as she walked alongside them.
And the captain wordlessly pushed forward while she scanned the trees for further snipers.
"The last thing I need is for someone to put another hole in your feeble body." Azula snorted in a hubristic voice as she stomped ahead while her serving girl followed after her footfalls like a lost puppy.
Both of her childhood cast her exasperated stares.
"T-that's my princess right. She's a dream come true." Elle swooned with a hand on her fair cheek while big sister's sighed as they followed after her.
And her princess almost seemed to swell in height with a gratified smirk adorning her full lips.
"Of course, I am. I am a goddess after all." Azula huffed as she arrogantly studied her fingernails on her clenched fist while her young girlfriend's amber eyes sparkled in adoration.
While her two noble friends rolled their eyes outside of her line of vision.
"It seems as if the enemy fire has gone oddly quiet. Did she really get them all?" Ty Lee pondered in a confused voice as she glanced around her.
The princess held a contemplative fingernail underneath her chin.
'I have to find a way to recruit this girl into my service. But how?' Azula thought with her callous eyes gazing ahead while she mulled over the matter.
"It doesn't surprise me. I mean…this is pretty much what they intended for her to do. They wanted a supersoldier capable of devasting a foreign war front." Elle stated in a soft voice as she held onto the straps of her bag while her highborn friends listened in rising fascination.
"And now that she is free. It doesn't seem like they are able to reign her in." Mai muttered in a piqued voice as she made her way behind her adopted sister.
"Well… unlike us. She is trained in dispatching gunmen. And…I suspect that she took them down while their attention was focused on us." Elle concluded in a quiet voice while her companions gazed ahead in understanding.
"Please. I am more than capable of doing the same." Azula spoke in an arrogant voice as she strode through the vast trees with her cold eyes gazing ahead.
Only to find herself pausing in her tracks when she heard her captain call out to her from ahead.
"Princess! I found one of them!" Zoi shouted from beyond a tree while the four rushed after her.
Just before the group emerged from the foliage with their widened eyes gazing down at the body of a slain female soldier.
The soldier lay slumped against the base of a rock while her lifeless eyes gazed back at them from underneath her broken helmet.
Elle stood behind her friends as she gazed down at the woman's deceased face with saddened amber eyes.
"She's…. definitely dead." Ty Lee commented in an uncomfortable voice as she grimaced while gazing down at the lifeless soldier.
"How disappointing. I was hoping to catch one living." Azula remarked in a cruel voice with her arms folded over her armored bosom.
She glared mercilessly down at the bloodied soldier with pitiless amber golden eyes.
As the captain squatted over the fallen soldier with her golden eyes gazing down at the woman's weapons in fascination.
"Such intriguing weaponry." Zoi stated as she took hold of the discarded rifle while she studied it from all angles.
The princess bent over to scrutinize the gun with her callous amber golden eyes peering down over her captain's shoulder in grudging interest.
And even Mai and Ty Lee found themselves unable to resist leaning down to inspect the weapon.
Only for their combined attention to be regained by their young friend's sensitive voice.
"It…doesn't matter what technology we develop. We'll always be a barbaric species…waging war and killing each other over trivial differences. What a waste of life." Elle mumbled in a somber voice with her sorrowful eyes staring downward while her four friends froze up in a taken aback silence.
And then she turned away with her hair shadowing her eyes.
Azula gazed on through the corner of her cold eye with her crimson lips in a momentary expression of uncharacteristic emotion.
"Come on kid. You shouldn't be looking at something like this. You have already got enough on your mind." Mai declared in a thawed voice as she placed a sympathetic hand on the younger girl's shoulder while Ty Lee nodded in solemn agreement.
'Sentimental peasant.' Azula thought with her cold eyes glaring down at the slain woman.
Just before she let out an irate sigh as she shook her head.
But even so…
No other lover would do for her.
Only this little peasant was worthy of lying beside her in her royal chamber.
"Princess…check this out." Zoi stated in a bewildered voice while the princess turned back to gaze down at her with curious amber golden eyes.
Azula's amber golden eyes grew wider in returning wrath when she found herself staring down at a photograph of her servant.
As Zoi stared down with her golden eyes agape in wonderment as she studied the photo in poorly concealed awe.
It was a photo of Elle confined to a holding cell with a foreign classification that stated as follows.
Subject Number 101.
"What…what is this? It's so…lifelike." Zoi breathed in an absorbed voice with her fingers grasping at the photograph while Azula pursed her lips into a protective snarl.
"Elle says that it is a photograph. It is a commoner invention from her homeland that captures an image of a moment frozen in time." Azula answered in a cold voice as she stood back up with her amber golden eyes staring frigidly down at the woman once more.
And just like that.
Any small shred of pity that her serving girl's words could have invoked in her was swiftly squashed.
"A photograph...of Elle." Zoi trailed in an unusually fixated voice as her princess seized the item out from between her fingers.
Before her amber golden eyes took careful note of a second photo protruding from the fallen soldier's breast pocket.
Just before she reached forward to grasp it to hold it up before her astonished face.
It was an image of the crimson red-haired girl in detainment.
And once more its label was in a foreign language.
Subject Number Three.
The princess gazed down with her amber golden eyes flashing in growing interest in Naoki while she exchanged a look with the older firebender.
Before the two turned their heads when they heard their young friend hesitantly stepping back around to face them.
"A photograph of me?" Elle inquired in an uncertain voice with the two noblewomen following her line of sight.
That was when her amber eyes caught sight of the photograph clutched in her princess's fist.
Before her widened eyes turned to the photograph of Naoki in the warrior's palm.
Mai and Ty Lee's eyes also grew wider after taking notice of the photographs of the two girls.
And not a second later the photograph of Elle in custody went up in azure flames while the princess turned her rigid eyes back to her shaken serving girl.
"It's nothing for you to worry your little mind over." Azula spoke in a possessive voice as she marched back to her shaking girlfriend's side.
"We should keep moving." Zoi remarked after regaining her composure as she stood up with the rifle still in hand while her comrades nodded their heads.
Only for all four of them to turn to their young friend in concern when they noticed the way that the girl's eyes had wide in alarm.
"I-it's me and Naoki that they are after…but not only that..." Elle stated in a distraught voice as she swallowed the lump that was in her throat while she gazed at the dead soldier with widened amber eyes.
Just before she spun around to gaze back into her princess's perceptive amber golden eyes while the older girl met her stare.
"This is a military operation to capture resources from an untapped new land!" Elle exclaimed in a fretful voice as she stepped up to gaze up into her mistress's seething amber golden eyes.
The four highborn women gazed at one another with a newfound alertness in their widened eyes.
"Capture resources…from my nation." Azula hissed with her teeth ground together in her boiling fury while her burning fists balled up at her womanly hips.
'They have some nerve to try to take what belongs to the Fire Nation!' Azula thought with blue fire snorting forth from her angry nostrils.
She turned her possessive eyes back to her pet's lovely face while she spewed fire from her pursed lips.
This transgression will not go unpunished.
And that was a promise made in fire and blood.
The five girls gazed back into each other's eyes while they dwelled over the intentions of the invading military force.
But before any of them could get a chance to speak another word.
They were torn from their reverie when they all felt an instantaneous change in the air.
Just as they spun around to find their eyes growing even wider when the forest started to grow dark all around them.
"A-Azula…what's…happening?" Ty Lee called out in a frightened voice as she backed up beside her scowling friend while Azula glared about with cold amber golden eyes.
"The rock…look at it…it's a face." Mai informed in a stunned voice as she gazed at the rock that the dead soldier sat against with widened tawny eyes.
The others followed her gaze until their eyes grew wider when they saw the face marking that now adorned the previously unmarked stone surface.
"It's…just like we saw when we entered the forest." Zoi commented in a taken aback voice as she gazed on with marveled golden eyes.
Just before she turned around with her eyes widening marginally when she noticed ominous facial markings appearing on the trees that surrounded them.
"Is…this a spirit of some kind?" Azula demanded in an unintimidated voice with her cold eyes glaring about while her young girlfriend scurried to her side.
"T-the animals Azula-sama." Elle stammered as she pointed upward while Azula followed her finger.
Only for the princess's eyes to flicker in surprise when she saw that many wildlife creatures were now glaring down at them with glowing eyes.
And upon all of their backs were facial markings as well!
"It seems so. And if I had to guess I would say that our presence angers it." Zoi spoke in a stoic voice with her hand falling to the hilt of her sword.
"Show yourself! If you think this little show is enough to frighten the likes of Princess Azula then you can think again!" Azula bellowed with her clenched fists still burning in blue fire while her timid girlfriend backed up against her.
Her two childhood friends visibly flinched as they gazed at her in reproach.
Only for a disembodied voice to call out at them from every direction while the team gazed up in alarm.
"Get out! Get out! Get out!" The ghostly voice commanded from every direction while the five girls listened in bewilderment.
As the incorporeal voice continued to repeat the order with even more anger than the time it was spoken before.
"P-Princess." Elle stuttered just as she was yanked forward by the princess's possessive hand.
"Do not deviate from my side peasant!" Azula ordered in a voice of absolute authority while her servant girl fearfully nodded her head.
"Y-yes Azula-sama." Elle agreed in a shaken voice as she hid beside the older woman's much taller frame.
Azula glared up with unyielding amber golden eyes as her fists lit up with azure flames.
All while the voice continued to grow louder and louder.
The four wary highborn women and their frightened handmaid backed up into a defensive circle.
"I said get out!" The phantom voice roared from all around the speechless team.
There was a moment of silence before the princess broke it with an arrogant scoff.
"No." Azula sneered in a voice of limitless arrogance while a defiant smirk found its way to her beautiful lips.
What followed after that was another unsettling moment of quiet with a tension so thick that you could cut it with a sword.
And then not a moment after that.
All of the spirit creatures sprang from their perches with their teeth bared and their eyes aglow.
The team sunk into their respective combat stances.
And then not even seconds later the spirit animals besieged the cornered group from all sides.
And soon enough the shouts of Team Azula rang out into the eerie forest as they fended off the possessed animals one by one.
"There's so many of them!" Mai shouted in an irate voice as Azula clenched her jaw line with her burning fists poised to ruthlessly strike down a forest creature.
Only for the princess's cold eyes to twitch in aggravation when delicate arms pulled on her bicep in protest.
"N-no! Please don't hurt the forest creatures Azula-sama!" Elle cried out in a gentle voice as she pulled on the older girl's sleeve while Azula's imposing eyes now glared down at her.
"Oh, I'll do more than hurt them. I'll barbecue the little dears for dinner." Azula snapped with her lips forming a beautiful glower while she yanked back on her sleeve.
Her amber golden eyes glanced down in annoyance into emotional amber eyes.
"B-but the forest animals Princess." Elle pleaded in a distraught voice while Ty Lee smiled from over her shoulder.
"Ugh! This is really pathetic Elle! I hope you know that." Azula snarled with unbridled aggravation in her callous eyes.
"S-sumimasen." Elle stuttered with a twinge of pink to her cheeks while Azula let out a pompous scoff over her.
And then not a moment later the flame in the princess's fist burned out while the princess's lips pursed into an angered scowl.
Before she swatted away a winged animal with her fist.
The serving girl smiled in gratitude at her mistress's tall armored back.
And both Zoi and Mai sighed quietly before they struck at the possessed animals with restrained force.
"She's such a little sweetie Azula." Ty Lee commented with a grin as she swiftly chi blocked the wild animals while Azula rolled her eyes over her shoulder.
"I said leave!" The ghostly voice yelled out with great anger while the team gazed about the darkening forest with taken aback eyes.
Only for the mighty princess to release another conceited scoff while she rolled her amber golden eyes.
"And I said no. I have business here spirit. Now I suggest you get out of my way. I have more important matters to attend to than dealing with…whatever it is that you are." Azula spoke in an unbelievably smug voice with a smirk on her lips while her childhood friends sighed heavily behind her.
"What Azula-sama means to say is that we mean no harm and we come in peace!" Elle chirped from beside the much taller princess while the older girl rolled her eyes once again.
"What she said!" Ty Lee exclaimed in a cheery voice while Elle beamed up at her.
The spirit creatures continued to drop down with their eyes aglow as the four highborn women dispatched them one after another.
A plethora of unconscious animals now lay on the ground before them.
As the princess turned to glare down at her servant in annoyance while the younger girl smiled gratefully up at her.
"A-arigatou gozaimasu Azula-sama." Elle stammered in a lovable voice as she touched her hand to the older girl's arm while Azula scoffed over her.
Before Azula turned her cold eyes away to glare at the nearest tree.
She tried to squash the tiny blush that was growing on her cheeks when Elle shyly took hold of her arm.
Only to find herself torn from her thoughts when she heard something large step onto the ground behind her.
And then the entire team turned around to face what was behind them only for their eyes to grow wide in surprise to find themselves standing in a tall shadow.
Standing over them was an enormous blue wolf with the same bizarre markings upon its white fur covered chest!
The beast snarled with its imposing fangs bared while the taken aback group took a cautious step backwards.
"That's…a big wolf." Mai said in a wary voice as her boot slid backward while Ty Lee wisely did the same.
"It…must be some kind of spirit wolf." Zoi stated with her golden eyes gazing up in amazement while she held out her katana in a defensive stance.
"I don't care what it is. I'll kill it!" Azula spoke with her frigid amber golden eyes glaring up at the growling spirit while her fists lit up in blue fire.
"Hello! My name is Elle! What's your name!" Elle greeted in a sweet voice as she took a step towards the giant wolf while her four companions gazed on in unease.
"Elle! Stay away from that filthy beast!" Azula barked in an overbearing voice as she stomped forward to pull her girlfriend back.
"Elle…it might be best if you listen to Azula. That wolf looks really dangerous." Ty Lee remarked in a worried voice while gazed up at the large wolf with wary brown-gray eyes.
"Aren't you a beautiful wolf! Eeep!" Elle squeaked as she cried out in surprise when a giant paw swiped over her head.
Before the young girl tumbled to the ground on her backside while she gulped as she gazed up at the massive wolf's saliva coated fangs.
And that was all it took for her four friends to spring to her defense.
Within seconds the princess and the captain were already standing over the downed handmaid.
The spirit wolf's paw slammed into the ground with rocks exploding in all directions.
As Mai and Ty Lee quickly jumped backwards to avoid the animal's swing.
"Foolish peasant. I told you to stay back." Azula snorted in a cold voice as she glared over her shoulder at her serving girl's reddened face.
And then the wolf spirit lunged towards them with its red eyes narrowing in anger.
Only for a vast wall of blue fire to arise forth from the earth while the others covered their faces from the intensity of the heat.
The powerful princess stood behind her veil of flames with her imposing amber golden eyes staring hard up at the wolf's snarling teeth.
Just before the large wolf took all of them by surprise when it opened its mouth wide as it began to inhale the blue flames!
While the princess's amber golden eyes grew wide in disbelief as she watched the wolf spirit swallow her flames whole.
As the team stared on in shock as the wolf gulped down the flames that was followed up shortly by an unceremonious burp of smoke.
"It…ate your flames Princess." Zoi stated in a stunned voice with her golden eyes blinking in curiosity while her princess scowled beside her.
"I can see that Zoi!" Azula snapped with her callous eyes narrowing up at the wolf spirit as it forced its way through her eroding wall of fire.
And then the entire team tensed up as the wolf spirit lunged through the blue fire with its fangs bared as it glared down at the serving girl's intimidated face.
Before it finally sprung at Elle with its clawed paw poised to attack.
The two firebenders hardened their eyes into a cold stare as they stood protectively over their young friend.
And then just before the wolf spirit could even complete its strike.
The four highborn women spun around with their eyes agape in surprise when a faint light flashed outside of the corridor of their vision.
And then the wolf spirit immediately froze in its tracks.
As they now turned to gaze back at the young girl in astonishment.
Only for their eyes to widen when they saw that their friend was laying on the ground with her aura dimly aglow once more.
"I-it…activated again…" Elle stammered in a perplexed voice as she gazed down at her palms with awestruck amber eyes.
While her four friends stood around her with their jaws ajar in surprise.
Before they turned back to the spirit wolf only for their amazement to grow even greater when they saw that the animal seemed hesitant to resume its attack.
"Just…like back in Yoko's dungeon." Mai muttered in a stunned voice as she stood behind her little sister with her tawny eyes gazing down at the girl in fascination.
Just as the creature took one step back while the group gazed on between the young girl and the spirit in marvelment.
"Incredible…it seems that the spirit is afraid to approach Elle now that her power is in activation." Zoi commented in a taken aback voice while her sword fell back to her hip.
Azula gazed down with uncharacteristic surprise in her cold amber golden eyes at her serving girl's confused face.
As the old sage's words replayed in her mind once more.
The spirits have become alarmed ever since you tapped into your dormant chi. Your power frightens them.
"The spirits are afraid…of my Tiger Monkey." Azula spoke with her beautiful lips already curving back into another pleased smile.
"Way to go little sister! You're learning how to use it!" Ty Lee cheered as she bent down to pat the seated girl's shoulder while Elle flushed in embarrassment.
"But…how do I turn it off…" Elle trailed off in a confused voice as she chewed on her lip while she glanced up at the wolf as it backed away.
Just as the sound of Azula laughing roaringly broke into the air as they turned to gaze in puzzlement at the princess's amused countenance.
The princess stood with her hands over her armored stomach as she ruptured into belly shaking laughter.
"Splendid! You should fear us! Because together she and I are going to conquer this planet!" Azula called out in a sadistic voice with a cruel smile pulling at her crimson lips while her childhood friends shivered behind her.
The handmaiden sat peering up at her mistress's tall back with adorably enamored amber eyes.
And then not even seconds after the smiling princess swiftly sprang forward as she directed a vast stream of blue flames at the wolf spirit's startled face.
Just as the animal opened its mouth to consume them once more while the princess continued her calculated assault.
Only for a hint of white embers to appear in the midst of the burning azure fire while the group gazed on in awe.
Before the wolf spirit's eyes widened in surprise as began to lap at its lips in alarm when the heat began to get too intense for its liking.
As Azula's red lips twitched into a pleased smirk.
And then the wolf jumped back in startlement while the team stared at their leader in amazement.
"As I suspected…so there is a limit to how much of my fire you can eat in one sitting." Azula purred with a haughty smile upon her lips while she slid one boot back along the ground.
And then she swiftly began to generate her lightning with two fingers from both palms held together.
The noblewomen and the handmaiden gazed on from behind her in wonderment.
"Well then…how about this for dessert!" Azula shouted in a prideful voice with a ball of lightning churning in between fingertips.
Just before she pursed her lips into a regal snarl as she threw the ball of lightning at the startled wolf spirit.
Only for the creature to abruptly turn tail and run away!
As the princess stood proudly smirking with her smoking hands lowering to her womanly hips.
While her companions gazed on speechless beside her.
"T-that was amazing Azula-sama! You chased it off!" Elle cried out in admiration while she gazed on with hearts in her eyes at her mistress's smugly smirking face.
"Humph. Of course, I did." Azula huffed as she arrogantly flicked her bangs as she posed with her left hand on her shapely hip.
"Yes. Well done, Princess. Your power is truly something to behold." Zoi stated as she sheathed her blade.
She glanced around with observant golden eyes to note that the darkness was now vanishing from the forest.
As light shined through the dense trees once more as the taken aback group watched the glowing eyed spirit creatures retreat into the tree canopy above.
Just as the disembodied voice floated through the breeze and into their ears for a final time.
"Leave this forest…. Spirit Slayer." The voice of the Mother of Faces ordered as it faded away while the teenage girl swallowed as she gazed on with a twinge of hurt in her innocent eyes.
The four highborn women turned to gaze back at their young servant in fascination once more.
"S-Spirit Slayer? I-I'm a spirit killer?" Elle questioned with sadness in her sensitive voice while her shaken hands grasped at the grass below her.
It was a stunning question that the entire team was pondering.
"It's okay Elle. Everyone here knows that you're not a killer." Ty Lee assured in a gentle voice as she knelt behind her upset little sister.
The young girl gazed off into the distance with uncertainty in her amber eyes.
"I…hope not oneesan. I really do." Elle mumbled in a bothered voice while Ty Lee held a supportive hand to her shoulder.
Only for the sound of the princess's delighted laughter to flow into the air once more while they all turned to gaze at Azula's violently smiling face.
"This is just as it was meant to be! Fear me! And fear my servant! For together we are the strongest couple in this entire world! And soon I shall take my rightful place as the goddess of all life! And then I will dominate this Earth!" Azula announced in a maddened voice with a deranged smile adorning her lips while she held out her fists at her hips.
And then the entire forest momentarily turned so quiet they you could almost hear the sound of crickets chirping in the background.
The three noblewomen stared on in humor as they gazed back at one another.
As their leader stood proudly with a maniacal grin adorning her beautiful lips.
"H-Her Highness just said that w-we're a couple." Elle stuttered with a hand on her dainty cheek while she once more found herself lost in Azula's overpowering amber golden eyes.
"So, I did peasant." Azula spoke in a refined voice with a regal smile upon her crimson lips while she observed her serving girl swoon adorably under her gaze.
"O-ooh my beautiful princess charming." Elle gushed in a love-struck voice as she stood up with a blush on her lovely cheeks while her princess smirked back at her.
"There is nothing that can stop us now Elle. Our victory is imminent!" Azula boasted in a smug voice with her fist clenched before her smirking face while her young girlfriend smiled up at her.
The two noblewomen stood up as they shook their heads in exasperation.
As the captain stood unfazed with a flicker of amusement in her golden eyes.
"It is probably best for us to continue our survey on the enemy Princess. You can always boast your heart out to Elle another day." Zoi commented wryly as she resumed her walk while Azula rounded to cast her a moody glare.
"Watch your tongue Zoi. Only I may give the orders in this expedition." Azula scoffed in a snobbish voice with a hand on her hip while her noble friends just sighed as they followed after her.
Her serving girl trotted beside her with her amber eyes once more gazing up at her in adoration.
Still…the encounter with that wolf spirit was curious to say the least.
It was almost as if the spirit had come for the sole purpose of testing Elle's ability.
Only to flee when it did not like what it found.
'And now that something belongs to me and me alone.' Azula thought with her lovely lips entrenched into a graceful smirk while she gazed down at her pretty pet with possessive amber golden eyes.
'Is my power…really meant to kill spirits?' Elle thought with a frown on her lips while her amber eyes gazed away in contemplation.
If so. Then that would be wrong…wouldn't it?
No living being has the right to take the life of another.
Her hands grasped at the straps of her backpack while she tried to avoid letting her discomfort show.
She could tell that her princess was greatly pleased with this new development.
And the last thing she wanted was to disappoint her mistress.
And not even a second later she was torn from her reverie by the sound of a guttural shout while she gazed up with a distressed look in her eyes.
Her highborn friends glanced in the direction of the distant portal light with alert eyes.
"I guess we're going that way." Mai stated in a deadpan voice with a grimace adorning her features while Ty Lee suppressed a shudder beside her.
"Indeed. And it would seem that we are not the only ones who have drawn the ire of the spirits." Zoi spoke as her golden eyes gazed through the tree canopy while another eerie breeze blew through the air.
"Whatever. Let's just track down that girl already. Elle, come." Azula commanded in a spoiled voice with a snap of her fingers while her childhood friends stared at her in disapproval.
Only for her lips to curve into a smug smirk when she heard the sound of the young girl eagerly rushing after her heels.
"Yes Azula-sama!" Elle cried out in a devoted voice while the older girl sauntered ahead of her with a confident smirk on her lips.
She once more found her eyes drawn to the princess's swaying hips as she audibly swallowed down her apprehension.
A detail that hadn't escaped Azula's notice.
The three noblewomen watched wordlessly as the peasant girl scampered after the princess.
Before the two vanished into the brush while Mai let out another annoyed sigh.
And then they soon found themselves following all the same.
AN:
Alright, well I hope everyone enjoyed both this chapter and the previous oneshot. The oneshots won't happen often, but on the rare occasion I upload one. I will include a short description of what it is about.
I mostly enjoy writing them every few months to give myself a break from all of the intense action that has been going on in the story lately.
Allow me to take a short moment to respond to the reviews.
I am glad that you liked the chapter Agent Banana, I thought it was adorable too! There is something too cute about Elle being turned into a little kitten and Azula keeping watch over her.
SkittlezxBabex146, I guess I could see how that is. However, when I wrote Azula saying that I wasn't thinking of Joffrey. Mostly, because I could see pretty much any ruthless ruler saying something along those lines, including Azula. The difference between Joffrey and Azula is that Azula is not a fool.
She was mostly just threatening Mava, as she well knows that Mava is invaluable and that she cannot lose her.
Noel1921, I am glad that you are enjoying the recent revelation about there being a bigger force behind the scenes. And like I said in the PM that I sent you. Azula will meet the Mother of Faces. She met her this chapter, but she will meet her again when the Mother of Faces is in more of a talking mood.
Okay, onto the afterword.
So, we're meeting a bit of an arc villain, a brutal military colonel named Reynolds. He's not a huge villain that will overlap over the entire story like Rieko. But he will be function as Azula's first true enemy from Elle's world. He's got an obsessive drive to capture Naoki and Elle, and he will kill anyone who gets in his way to do it.
As for Sayomi, you may have noticed that name has been popping up here and there from Mava, Naoki and Elle. She's going to play a massive role in book two and three. As for this book though, if we see her it will only be in a short cameo.
She's a more heroic character, whose strongest personality trait is her passionate fixation on justice. She is not above making a ruthless call unlike say Team Avatar. But at the same time, while she is more hardened than Team Avatar she is still more heroic than Team Azula. The reason for her addition is because I wanted to add a less villainous character into the mix from Elle's world.
And we learned from Naoki's own mouth in this chapter that the facility she spent her childhood at was trying to replicate supersoldiers like Strados and Sayomi.
In a way, you could say that Sayomi and Strados were two of the first super powered people to appear in the Post World War 3 world on Elle's Earth.
Unlike Strados, Sayomi has done no wrong to Naoki, Elle or Katsu.
But if you spent more of your childhood years with government officials telling you that you have to be like another person. You would probably want to kill that person as well by the time you got out.
This also serves as an example of how far Naoki is willing to go to get back at people, including their families and any children that they might have. There is some good within Naoki's heart, it is just buried underneath a sea of rage that she conceals through her emotionless exterior.
So, keep that in mind. While she is heartless, she has just cause for being like that and like Azula she isn't going to become a better person overnight.
Also, an important aspect of this arc is for Azula to gain a greater understanding of the horrors that Elle has been put through. As Azula watches Elle express anger and sadness over war mongers back home. It fills her with a sense of conflict.
She made plans with her father weeks before she met Elle to burn down the entire Earth Kingdom. Now, while Azula may not give a damn about the Earth Kingdom people. Hearing Elle express such strong feelings for anyone who would indulge in genocide makes Azula fear that she will lose Elle if she hears about their war plans.
Azula is facing a great conflict inside between the ruthless conqueror that her father raised her to be and the woman that Elle sees in her.
Azula doesn't want to be seen as weak like Zuko, which is why is too proud to openly say that she would even consider changing her war plans. At the same time she doesn't want Elle to look at her as a monster. And Azula is essentially trying to strategize how she can conquer the world as she believes she was destined to do with Elle by her side.
Also, in this chapter Team Azula got their first look at guns. In case anyone wonders why Naoki does better against soldiers with guns than Team Azula it is because she is familiar with them. She was trained to be deployed on the battlefield for that very purpose. And with her inhuman speed, it allows her to close in on the snipers before they can hit her.
Nevertheless, Team Azula will do better against guns the more they encounter them. This was their first time seeing them, hence why they were taken by surprise.
Also, learning that even though Elle's homeland is ravaged by World War 3, they still possess superior war technology in comparison to the Fire Nation. Azula is immensely proud of her nation and she is used to the Fire Nation always be the most advanced technologically. So, it is a blow to Azula's pride to be told that Elle's world has superior war machines.
Naturally, Azula being Azula she is going to scheme and work her way around it so that the Fire Nation will still pose a deadly threat to anyone that should stand in her way. And we'll see how that plays out more in book two.
Regarding the Mother of Faces and her wolf spirit being afraid of Elle. The core function behind Elle's power is that she is able to tear through the spiritual plane. Because she can cut the spiritual plane or any such otherworldly realm, that is why she is able to affect beings like the Avatar so profoundly.
And that is why the Mother of Faces called Elle the "spirit killer". Because while Azula or Zoe could likely kill a spirit if they knew how to do it. If Elle's power activates, and the spirit is not careful Elle could slice through their being. And that makes Elle a greater danger to spirits than any other human.
I thought it would serve as a nice contrast between Elle and Aang, as the Avatar he works in unison with spirits. And despite Elle's gentle heart, her power is designed to cut down the supernatural. Which is why even powerful spirits don't want to chance being around her.
It also goes to show how Elle and Azula are having contrasting thoughts about Elle's power. In Azula's eyes it is a wonderful thing, it is increasing her huge ego and it is fueling her desire to conquer the world. It gives her a power advantage over both her father and the rebels. In a sense, in Azula's mind she is hoping to slowly shape Elle into a noble so they can rule together.
Whereas Elle is worried because it means that she is a target, and it hurts her feelings that she is being called a killer. Elle just wants to use her new power to protect her friends, and help people if she can along the way.
However, despite their differences they are deeply loyal to each other and Azula truly wants to protect Elle not just for power sake, but because she values Elle's gentle companionship above all else.
And lastly, the title of the chapter had a double meaning. In the eyes of Team Azula the soldiers from beyond the gate were interloping in their affairs. But in the eyes of the spirits it is both Team Azula and the soldiers who are interloping.
Anyhow, that will be it for now.
Stay tuned for next time.
For chapter ninety-four! The Assassin and the Pacifist!