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The Crossroad - Chapter One Hundred Eight
The highborn women stared up at the stone steps with guarded looks in their narrowed eyes while the light from the ancient gateway accented the inside of the frozen cave.
Elle still stood with her mouth open in disbelief as she listened to the sound of Naoki making her way down the staircase.
Azula snarled violently with her ruthless amber golden eyes forming a murderous stare.
"I said that I would be back for you after I concluded with the military. I meant it. And now you are coming back with me Elle." Naoki announced in an impassive voice while she gazed down at the younger girl's startled face.
The four older girls stared back up at Naoki with their eyes narrowed into protective glares.
"H-how…. how did you get here before us Naoki?" Elle questioned with a nervous expression in her sensitive eyes as she backed up with her friends standing defensively before her.
As Naoki stared back down at her with her usual hauntingly cold smile.
"I told you that you couldn't outrun me Elle and I told you that there is no one faster than me. Not a single one of you can even begin to compare to my Diminished Earth." Naoki stated in a sanguine voice while the team stared up with perplexed looks in their eyes.
"This kid beat us here on foot?" Mai asked in a shocked voice while Ty Lee gazed on in shock beside her.
Azula pursed her lips together in a furious scowl as she glared frigidly up at the emotionless teenager.
Zoi listened with her golden eyes agape in attentive fascination.
"D-Diminished Earth?" Elle pondered as she peered up at Naoki with an unnerved look in her timid eyes.
The supersoldier continued to smile confidently down at her as she quietly strode down the stone steps.
"It is the ultimate technique of my own creation. It is a technique that allows the user to move with godlike speed." Naoki spoke in a chillingly confident voice while the five girls stared up at her in disbelief.
Just before she vanished in a flicker of speed while the Fire Nation women stared on with stunned expressions in their eyes.
And then not a second later Naoki reappeared before them at the bottom of the steps with her lips curving into a lethal smirk.
The princess and the captain gazed on with their eyes widened in fascination.
As Elle gripped the straps of her backpack as she gazed anxiously back into Naoki's eerie brown eyes.
"I see now. This girl…is somehow using her chi to move at inhuman speeds." Zoi stated with her golden eyes conveying an impressed gleam while her companions gazed on in awe beside her.
The fighting style of this girl was nothing like that of the traditional earthbenders that they were accustomed to with dealing with.
The girl has managed to completely reverse the usual earthbending strategy of waiting while fighting on the defense.
And in its place, she created a technique that instead focuses on attacking her opponent with overwhelming speed.
And in the process…she has almost completely eliminated the primary weakness of earthbending.
That being a reliance on the earth!
Unlike the earthbenders that they knew. This girl was a force to behold with or without the earth!
The only other earthbender that she has ever seen create such a revolutionary style was Earth King Jaran.
And not even he was capable of moving at such blinding speeds!
'An earthbender…. with superhuman speed! If wouldn't believe it if I wasn't seeing it with my own eyes!' Azula thought with her frigid amber golden eyes closely studying the younger prodigy's emotionless face.
Only for her fist to clench at her hip while her eyes narrowed in frustration.
There was no doubt that the addition of both this unconventional earthbender and the combustionbender to her military forces would grant her an even greater advantage over the rebels.
If only she could sway the girl to come to her side!
"It is how I crushed the military. And it is also how I am going to crush your friends if you don't come back with me…Elle." Naoki remarked in a merciless voice while she stared back into the younger girl's shaken amber eyes.
The highborn women stared back with their eyes narrowed into unwavering glares.
As the princess stared on with her amber golden gaze taking on an utterly tyrannical glare.
"I am afraid that you are mistaken…peasant. If you don't get out of my way, it is you who is going to get crushed just as your friend was." Azula sneered in a beyond ruthless voice with her lips forming a regal glower while her young girlfriend shivered behind her armored back.
Mai and Ty Lee nodded in affirmative as they stood in combat stances as they glared back at Naoki's undaunted face.
As the cold air continued to bite at their skin.
The supersoldier stared back at them with a gaze that somehow seemed even colder than the arctic climate itself.
"You aren't going to be defeating me Azula. I am stronger, faster and smarter than Katsu. And besides, you are going to have a difficult time taking us both on at once." Naoki declared with her machinelike brown eyes staring defiantly back into the princess's enraged amber golden eyes.
Ty Lee and Mai gazed on in disbelief over hearing Naoki state that she was stronger than the combustionbender!
As the captain's golden eyes flashed with intrigue as she stood her ground beside her furious princess.
Only for all eyes to turn to the entrance when a ball of snow suddenly darted through the mouth of the ice cavern.
And not a second later Katsu comically shook the snow from her body like a wet dog on the floor of the cave.
Naoki's lips pulled into an even larger smirk as she turned to gaze tauntingly back into the princess's glaring eyes.
The Fire Nation women stared at Katsu with uneasy looks in their eyes.
As wild girl's golden eyes now gazed from one face to another.
And before the mighty princess could take another menacing step toward the smirking redhead.
She found herself pausing in her footsteps when she felt a gentle hand pull back on her wrist.
Azula could only scowl with her icy eyes still glaring in the young assassin's direction while Elle now stood nervously beside her.
The chill from the northern winds blew through the air as Elle gazed pleadingly back at Naoki's unfeeling face.
"Please…Naoki. We…don't have time for this. It's…so c-cold here and I just want to go back home." Elle begged in an exhausted voice with her arms shivering underneath her coat while her friends glared back at Naoki's expressionless face.
Katsu stumbled to her feet as she gazed between her two clashing friends.
"Are you leaving again already Elle?" Katsu asked in a disappointed voice while the other girl took on a remorseful expression.
The older girls gazed between the three teenagers with guarded expressions in their eyes.
As the princess glared on with a returning possessive gleam to her ruthless eyes.
"I…" Elle trailed off with the words dying in her throat while the princess took a controlling step in front of her.
"Yes, she is! If you want to see Elle any further then your only option is to come back with me. If not…then too bad!" Azula snapped in a livid voice with her callous eyes turning to glare daggers back at Naoki's stoic face.
Katsu glanced back and forth with an increasingly worried expression in her eyes.
As the three noblewomen stood in the cold air as they gazed about in apprehension.
"Unfortunately, that isn't an option for us Elle. The circumstances don't allow it. I must insist that you return with us." Naoki spoke as she ignored the princess's furious stare while she stared back into her childhood friend's emotional amber eyes.
The older girls bristled in an ever-increasing sense of anger.
"You don't listen do you kid? She already told you no." Mai stated with anger in her voice while she glared back at Naoki.
"Elle is free to go wherever she wants! And no one here has any right to tell her otherwise!" Ty Lee exclaimed with in a supportive voice with her arms folded over her chest.
Azula let out a scoff as she stared on with controlling amber golden eyes.
Before the princess turned to gaze down in hidden emotion when the younger girl stepped forward.
"Why! So, you can use my power to slaughter people?" Elle retorted with a fist gripped at her side while Team Azula stood in silence behind her.
Only to find herself gazing on in confusion when Naoki shook her head.
"No. While it is true that you will become like me in time. I am more than capable of killing without you. I already told you Elle. I need the cutting power of your Component." Naoki replied in a nearly mechanical voice with her emotionless brown eyes gazing back at the younger girl's bewildered face.
The four highborn women listened in curiosity behind the confused teenager.
"The…cutting power of my Component? What for?" Elle pondered in an innocent voice while the tall princess glared on from over her shivering shoulder.
"I need you to use your power to strike down a magical barrier." Naoki stated in a calm voice while the younger girl's face broke out in awe.
As the older girls listened with their own faces agape in astonishment.
"I-I can do that?" Elle asked in a lovably naïve voice with her mouth open in wonderment while her friends gazed at her in marvelment.
The princess could only stare on with her amber golden eyes wide in fascination as she turned to stare down at her young servant's adorably surprised face.
Even after all this time it was still hard for her to believe that her little servant could be capable of taking down a magical barrier connected to the spiritual plane!
"Of course, you can. Weren't you listening to anything that the old woman was telling you?" Naoki chided with a shake of her head while she smiled back at the other girl's sheepish face.
She strode closer while the princess and her noble friends excluding the captain glared back at her.
'Not only was this girl spying on us in battle…she even had the nerve to eavesdrop on our meeting with the old hag.' Azula thought with her callous amber golden eyes staring dangerously over her girlfriend's shoulder at Naoki's aggravatingly smiling face.
"No…I was listening. It's…just all just so much to take in." Elle admitted in an embarrassed voice while she gazed uncertainly back at Naoki.
"See Elle! Naoki was right when she said that you had special talent." Katsu stated as she made her way up behind Naoki while Elle tried her best to smile back at her.
"Listen well, Elle. We need to talk. Just me and you." Naoki remarked in a cool-headed voice while her emotionless eyes purposefully ignored the princess's outraged face.
The three noblewomen shared a leery glance as their princess glared daggers down at the younger prodigy.
Elle nervously swallowed the lump that was in her throat as she fidgeted on her shivering feet.
"Whatever you have to say to me. You can say it in front of my friends Naoki." Elle replied in a timid voice while Azula loomed angrily over her shoulder.
And then Naoki reached out and set her gloved hand on Elle's shoulder.
She never once so much as even looked in the enraged princess's direction.
"How dare you ignore me peasant." Azula snapped with her teeth ground together while she glared icily at Naoki.
Only for the fury in her eyes to grow even further when the girl began to speak in a foreign tongue once more!
Mai and Ty Lee flinched as they gazed out of the corner of their eye at their leader's infuriated face.
Zoi gazed on with a noticeable grimace in her golden eyes as she watched Elle stared up at Naoki with a sliver of fear in her eyes.
'I now see why the princess is unable to win this one over to her side. It's because Naoki is a force of dominance. And she has no intentions of kneeling…at least not by choice.' Zoi thought as her golden eyes quickly gazed from one face to another.
Elle's amber eyes grew wide in what appeared to be a display of surprise while her friends stared on in confusion.
The four older girls stared between the two girls as they tried to get a better feel for what Naoki was saying.
While the meaning behind the girl's words was uncertain.
It was clear that Naoki was speaking in another language just to spite Azula to her face.
"There is a mythical place that is said to hold a legendary power. I have personally verified its existence and have begun to narrow down its location." Naoki spoke in Japanese tongue with her cold eyes staring back into Elle's widened amber gaze.
Azula's face continued to contort in ever rising anger.
"Elle! Tell me what she is saying right now!" Azula commanded with her amber golden eyes narrowing in a tyrannical glare while she glared down at her unusually absorbed serving girl.
"I…I don't understand Naoki. A mythical place that holds a legendary power?" Elle mumbled in English while her big sisters listened in puzzlement.
The princess's greedy amber golden eyes flashed with an eagerness to hear more as soon as she heard her serving girl mention a legendary power.
Her eyes continued to burn with offense as Naoki began to speak in Japanese yet again.
"It is said that this power is able to grant the heart's desire of those that are able to unlock its secrets." Naoki informed with a smile on her lips while the younger girl stared back at her in astonishment.
The Fire Nation women still listened with looks of bewilderment in their eyes.
Katsu seemed to furrow her brows as she tried to follow what Naoki was saying.
While Elle peered on with her eyes still agape in wonderment.
Only to find herself jumping in panic when Azula stomped her boot behind her.
"I said translate servant." Azula ordered in a demanding voice with her arms folded over her breasts while she scowled down at her handmaid's hurriedly nodding face.
"S-she said that this place has the power to give people whatever their hearts desire." Elle answered in a still confused voice while her friends listened in fascination behind her.
Azula now gazed on with her amber golden eyes flickering in unmistakable intrigue.
She coldly regarded Naoki through the corner of her ruthless eye.
"It can even…give you back what you have lost." Naoki continued in an enrapturing voice with her unfeeling eyes staring back into Elle's wonder-filled amber eyes.
"G-give me back what I have lost?" Elle repeated in a dumbfounded voice while her friends listened in suspicion behind her.
"That's right Elle. You could even restore your parents." Naoki announced while Elle's amber eyes welled up in an expression of indescribable emotion.
And that was all it took for Elle's hands to fall to her sides while a spellbound expression rapidly overtook her face.
The older girls stared at their young friend in concern before they glanced warily at Naoki's almost victorious face.
"Are you alright Elle?" Mai inquired in a concerned voice while she still cast Naoki a warning stare.
"Why…do you look like you are about to cry? What did she say to you?" Azula snarled in a controlling voice as she stared hard down at her girlfriend's inexplicably overly emotional face.
"I-I can bring my…my parents back to l-life?" Elle stammered in an overwhelmed voice while her highborn friends stared back at Naoki in disbelief.
And not a second later a look of immeasurable rage overtook each of the older girls faces.
The mere fact that the girl was cruel enough to pull such a heartless ploy against their young friend made their blood boil.
"Elle…" Ty Lee trailed off with the rage in her voice just barely under control while she trembled in her fury.
Elle still gazed on with her eyes agape in a newfound sense of heartbreaking hope that she didn't have the heart to shatter.
Azula's eyes now bubbled in murderous wrath as she took a menacing step forward.
Just before she moved to pull the emotional girl aside while her amber golden eyes glared a hole through Naoki's skull.
'You have some gall girl!' Azula thought with her flames reigniting in her nostrils while she furiously snorted out a small puff of fire.
The chance of there being any magic capable of reviving the dead back to life was slim to none!
In other words, it was nothing more than hippocow shit!
Mai seethed with her tawny eyes now staring at the emotionless girl with a glare of disgust in her eyes.
As the captain scowled with her golden eyes never leaving Naoki's remorseless face.
"Once all of the pieces are assembled and we uncover its location. We can do whatever we like once we reach the lost paradise. Including restoring what has been lost to us." Naoki insisted with her cold eyes gazing from Elle's stunned face to Katsu's amazed countenance.
As Elle quivered with her hands still shaking at her hips while the older girls bristled in anger.
"Don't listen to her Elle!" Azula snapped in a voice of eroding patience only to find herself staring on in grudging concern when Elle excitedly moved forward.
Yet despite the anger that she felt over Naoki playing with her innocent girlfriend's feelings.
She couldn't help but find that her curiosity was stroked over the concept over a magical power that could grant the one who found it whatever their heart desired.
And for the briefest of moments an insatiable lust for power flashed before her dominant amber golden eyes.
Only for it all to fade away when she turned to gaze down at her serving girl's naively hopeful face.
"I can have Mom and Dad back! What are we waiting for? Let's go find the lost paradise!" Elle cried out while Naoki's hand lingered on her shoulder.
The highborn women stood frozen in a state of pity beside their friend.
'Is that really true Naoki?' Katsu thought with her golden eyes gazing back at Naoki's strikingly stony face.
"We'll find the lost paradise Elle. But it won't be with these aristocratic friends of yours. We cannot risk betrayal from those who have an avaricious lust for power in their eyes." Naoki stated with her machinelike eyes staring back at the princess's utterly incensed countenance.
Ty Lee and Mai nervously glanced back at their princess's enraged face.
Elle's mouth dropped open once more as she turned to peer back at her royal born girlfriend.
'So…that's her game.' Zoi thought with her stony eyes gazing on more calmly than her furious comrades.
"You! I have heard enough out of you, dirt peasant!" Azula barked in a monstrous voice with her teeth bared in her fury as she stomped up behind the two girls.
Her heated fists hung at her womanly hips as her vision began to turn red in unrivaled anger.
"A-Azula-sama isn't like that Naoki. She wouldn't do that to us. We can trust her." Elle insisted with a lovable shake of her head while her highborn friends listened with amazed expressions in their eyes.
"A lost paradise…" Katsu muttered with an awed look in her eyes while her two friends gazed back at one another.
"The only good aristocrat is a dead aristocrat. Besides, you don't need her anymore anyway. You don't need any of them. After all they were only replacements for the family that you lost so long ago. Isn't that right?" Naoki countered in a nearly mechanical voice while Elle stood with her amber eyes shaking in emotion.
Team Azula stood around their young friend with their eyes gazing on in concern.
As Azula now looked as if she were to about to tear open Naoki's heart.
'I won't listen to this! How dare this girl try to take my Elle away from me!' Azula thought with her lips crushed together in her anger while she advanced behind her motionless girlfriend.
"T-that's…. that's not true." Elle protested as she swallowed audibly while she shivered under both the frigid air and Naoki's haunting stare.
"It is. And it is time that you cast her aside Elle. I am only person other than Reiko that can take you to the lost paradise. And I will not take you there with anyone who is not one of us." Naoki spoke in a ruthless voice while the other teenager stepped back with her amber eyes wide in distress.
The four highborn women gazed on with greatly angered expressions in their eyes.
As the princess's amber golden eyes shook with unfathomable rage as she stared furiously back at Naoki's face.
Only for the emotionless Naoki to simply stare right back into Elle's emotional amber eyes.
"Now make your choice Elle. Will you choose the cherished past or the replacements of the present?" Naoki interrogated with her unfeeling brown eyes staring hauntingly into the younger girl's sentimental soul.
The older girls watched with a sense of inexplicable apprehension.
Azula waited with bated breath as she glared on with the tiniest flicker of emotion momentarily passing over her cold amber golden eyes.
Only for Elle to raise her eyes to gaze right back into Naoki's machinelike brown gaze.
"I choose Team Azula." Elle announced in a firmer voice with her head held high while Naoki's eyes briefly flashed in surprise.
Katsu also stared on with her golden eyes wide in confusion.
The Fire Nation women now found themselves unable to resist allowing small smiles to form on their lips.
None more so than Azula herself.
The princess now held herself with a proud posture about her while the anger in her eyes began to slowly abate.
'That's my girl. You would never betray me.' Azula thought with her arms crossed confidently over her armored breasts while she stared victoriously back at Naoki's surprised face.
"How can you say that? You haven't even known them for more than forty days." Naoki replied with a rare sense of bewilderment in her voice.
"It doesn't matter. They are my family and they aren't replacements Naoki. And beside them is where I belong. They are…my home. And I won't go anywhere without them." Elle explained in a passionate voice while the two supersoldiers listened in puzzlement.
Azula smirked haughtily back at Naoki while Naoki's mouth parted in confusion.
'Azula….' Ty Lee thought with a tear in her eye while she allowed herself to smile in the younger girl's direction.
Zoi and Mai smirked as well as they exchanged a brief knowing glance.
"Now…now if you'll excuse us Naoki. We really need to leave." Elle remarked in a soft-spoken voice as she moved to step past the now silent girl while the light from the portal illuminated the cavern.
Naoki still stared back at Azula's smug face with expressionless brown eyes.
The three noblewomen moved to follow their young friend.
And then in that very instance Naoki's eyes transformed into that of a much more brutal gaze.
And that was all it took for the older girls to pause in their steps with their eyes widening while they stared right back at the dangerous redhead.
Just as Naoki placed her gloved palm on Elle's shoulder once more.
While Elle froze in her tracks when she turned to stare back into Naoki's all-encompassing eyes.
As a cold sweat now dripped down Elle's terrified cheek.
"Naoki…. w-why are you giving Elle that scary look?" Katsu pondered in a worried voice with her golden eyes staring warily back at her comrade's callous face.
"That wasn't a request. It was an order. I was hoping that it wouldn't come to this. But you have left me with no other choice. If you do not agree to return with me…Elle." Naoki trailed off with a shake of her head while she gazed back into the younger girl's intimidated eyes.
The Fire Nation women found themselves unable to fight the sudden sense of uneasiness that was coming over them.
As they stared hard back at Naoki's frighteningly ruthless face.
While the princess still glared at Naoki with a murderous gleam in her amber golden eyes.
Elle loudly gulped while she shook as she peered back into the unsettling abyss that was Naoki's eyes.
"Then I will have no alternative but to use one of my nuclear warheads to reduce your new home and every living being in it to ashes." Naoki announced in a stunningly heartless voice while Elle's face turned pale in horror.
Elle now took a horrified step backwards with her mouth hanging open in a state of shock.
Her amber eyes shook with terror as she gazed back at Naoki's unforgiving face in incredulity.
The highborn women's eyes had all grown wide in disbelief as they registered the threat in the pit of their stomachs.
And even Katsu was staring on with her mouth agape in surprise.
And that was all it took for even Zoi and Azula to realize that the extent of the girl's ruthlessness went even further than they had ever imagined!
"Did…she just threaten to genocide the Fire Nation populace?" Mai questioned in a barely perceivable voice with her tawny eyes wide in shock.
The princess gazed on with widened amber golden eyes as her girlfriend shook in terror.
"Y-you…. you have nuclear warheads? But h-how? They…. they haven't produced any more of them since the end of the great war. H-how are they even still operational?" Elle sputtered in a completely terrified voice with a cold sweat dripping down her cheek.
"I assure you that they are still operational. What did you think I meant when I told you that I have the whole world locked in a state of terror?" Naoki replied with a sanguine smile while the younger girl gazed on with her eyes wide in horror.
"Y-you can't! The Fire Nation is so beautiful Naoki! I-it is full of so many amazing wonders! If you launch a nuclear warhead on the Fire Nation you will effectively sentence all of the people and animals living in it to a slow torturous death over the decades to come! The soil will be rendered infertile and the nuclear fallout will block out the Sun!" Elle protested in a panicked voice with her hands trembling at her sides.
Her highborn friends stood listening in speechless disbelief with a look of fright even coming over the captain's eyes.
"B-by Agni Azula…if a weapon like that were to be used on the Fire Nation." Ty Lee stammered in a fear-stricken voice while the princess seethed in indignation beside her.
'This girl just crossed the line! I don't care what she does here but I will not allow her to hurt my countrymen!' Zoi thought with her golden eyes taking on a look of indescribable rage while her palm shook over her sheathed sword.
"Then come back with me…Elle. If you do. I will give you my word that no harm will come to any land or people that you hold dear." Naoki stated as she took another step towards the terrified girl while the others listened in a shocked silence.
She reached out to set her gloved hand on the stunned teenager's shoulder once more.
"Let's do it Elle. Let's kill them all…Strados… Saito Sayomi, her family and everyone who had a hand in what they did to us. And then we'll reach the lost paradise. We'll do it together as comrades." Naoki urged in a fixated voice as she stared right back into her childhood friend's wide eyes.
Team Azula exchanged wary looks with one another as they kept a close watch on Naoki.
The meaning behind the girl's words was loud and clear.
It was the girl's way of saying that they were not considered part of Naoki's group.
The princess glared on with an outraged expression in her callous amber golden eyes.
As the frigid arctic winds blew through the mouth of the ice cave.
While the light from the gateway once again shined upon the faces of the three teenagers.
Until at long last Elle swallowed the lump that was in her throat while she mustered up the will to gaze back into her childhood friend's now warped eyes.
"What…. what the hell is wrong with you?" Elle asked in a still taken aback voice while Naoki's brown eyes nearly flashed in recognition.
Katsu stood with her hair swaying behind her as she worriedly gazed between her two clashing friends.
The older girls remained silence with their eyes constantly remaining trained on the dangerous redhead's inexplicably bewildered face.
"A-are you listening to yourself talk? You are talking about killing possibly hundreds of millions of people and murdering the family of a woman who have never personally done you any wrong. They got exactly what they wanted…they've twisted you into some horrible killing machine like…. like Strados!" Elle called out as she held a hand at her hip while Naoki stood gazing at her with reflective brown eyes.
And for the faintest of moments the supersoldier almost seemed to hesitate as she quietly stared back at her emotional friend.
The highborn women watched with taken aback looks in their eyes.
It was just nothing short of astonishing to see just how good the girl was at getting through to cutthroat individuals who otherwise wouldn't be reasoned with!
And then they gazed on in amazement when Elle reached out to set her hand on Naoki's motionless shoulder yet again.
"You're pushing yourself too hard Naoki…you're letting this consume you." Elle remarked in a soft voice while Naoki stood silent with her lips parted in contemplation.
As the cold winds blew through their hair while the two friends gazed back into one another's eyes.
"I think it would be in your best interests if go take a rest. It would probably do you a lot of good." Elle advised in a helpful voice with her amber eyes gazing back at Naoki's silent face.
The older girls stared on with bewilderment in their eyes to see that the girl was willing to let the missile threat slide so easily.
'Foolish peasant! You are far too forgiving for your own good!' Azula thought with her fists clenched at her hips while she glared on with possessive amber golden eyes.
"Naoki was just joking! We don't have any nuclear bombs! Ain't that right Naoki" Katsu exclaimed with a nervous smile while she stepped up beside her two quarrelling friends.
The Fire Nation women gazed on with utterly unconvinced looks in their eyes.
"And even if you did. Did you really think that threatening genocide would make me want to go anywhere with you?" Elle inquired in a low voice with her wary eyes staring back at Naoki's seemingly taken aback face.
Naoki gazed on in an unusual silence with the cold wind continuing to whip through her hair.
As the proud princess tried to hide the momentary flash of concern that came over her eyes after hearing her young servant's words.
And once again she found that she was unable to suppress the sliver of fear that arose from within her cold heart of what the girl would think of her when she hears of their plans for Sozin's Comet.
Only for her lips to purse into a domineering scowl as she bitterly shook her head.
Now was not the time for such weak thoughts!
Before her attention was regained when she turned to gaze back at her young admirer's pretty face once more.
"And besides, it doesn't matter what you say to me…because my loyalty to Azula-sama is unshakable. And there are no words or bomb that is going to change that fact." Elle concluded in a resolute voice as she shivered in her coat while Naoki slowly nodded her head.
The princess now visibly swelled with pride as she marched up behind the girls with her controlling amber golden eyes now reflecting a beyond pleased gleam.
As the three noblewomen listened with their eyes staring in fascination over the heartwarming depths of their young friends' loyalty to their princess.
"Is it finally dawning on you girl? This one is mine. And there is nothing that you can say or do that will change that." Azula spoke in an exceedingly arrogant voice as she sneered back at Naoki's quiet face.
Naoki gazed back at the young blonde with a strange look in her eyes.
Her gloved hand slowly slipped from the other teenager's shivering shoulder before she turned away to gaze at the wall of the ice cavern.
And for the most fleeting of moments Elle could only gaze on with disbelief in her eyes when she saw that it almost seemed as if Naoki was on the verge of showing emotion!
"It's…true. I really have…become a killing machine. I've…. been like this for so long that I've forgotten what it was like to be anything else." Naoki confessed in an unusually quiet voice as she grasped her face in her gloved palm.
Katsu stood beside her gazing on with a look of concern in her vibrant golden gaze.
The older girls stood in a bewildered silence as their young friend gazed on with a sympathetic expression in her sensitive eyes.
"Naoki…" Katsu murmured in an anxious voice while she worriedly stared at her friend.
"Look Naoki…while it disgusted me earlier watching you kill those soldiers. I…I now realize that I have no right to judge you for killing on the battlefield…no matter how much it bothers me. Especially not when Azula-sama and my oneesans…have done the same." Elle muttered as she gazed down at her feet with a saddened frown on her lips while her highborn friends listened in a taken aback silence.
Katsu gazed over her shoulder with a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
As Naoki stood silent with her back turned to them while she gazed up at the swirling portal.
"P-perhaps it is not too late for you. Maybe you can still find your way into the light." Elle stated with hope lacing her sentimental voice while she swallowed under her breath as she stepped forward.
Team Azula stared on with looks of astoundment in their eyes.
As Naoki stood still with her gloved fingers dancing through her crimson red hair.
She gazed on through her fingers with something akin to a momentary flicker of emotion in her frozen eyes.
"Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if things had turned out differently. What would it have been like…to grow up as a normal child?" Naoki pondered in a voice of something akin to longing while the others listened in a speechless quiet.
"I…I often think the same thing myself." Elle confessed in a sorrowful voice with her hands grasping at the straps of her backpack.
The older girls gazed on with affected expressions in their eyes.
And despite Naoki's monstrous threats and cruel disposition in battle.
It was apparent that the two young supersoldiers were just as tormented from their traumas as their young friend.
"No powers…just a normal life with a mother and father." Naoki whispered with her bangs shadowing her eyes.
A tear now dripped down Elle's emotional cheek as she stared on with a saddened gleam in her eyes.
"Yeah…that… would have been nice." Katsu agreed in a mutter while a frown graced her lips.
"I…I would have liked that. Although I still would have wanted Azula-sama and the others to be there." Elle lamented in a troubled voice while she swallowed once more.
The anger had faded from Ty Lee's eyes as she now stared on with a sympathetic tear brewing in the corner of her eye.
Mai and Zoi gazed on with their mouths ajar in a show of pity.
Azula stared on with her cold amber golden eyes conveying a rare state of confusion.
It was such a foreign concept to her…to long for a life without power.
"Just three kids on a simple sunny day." Naoki stated in a wistful voice with her hair flowing lightly behind her.
Katsu and Elle stood quietly as they numbly nodded their heads.
As the Fire Nation women found themselves rendered speechless by the sheer extent of the three girls torments.
"With fresh lemonade…made by my mother. She…she made a good brew. You would have liked it." Elle quipped with a sad smile on her lips while she gazed at Naoki's back.
"I've never had lemonade before." Katsu commented with innocent curiosity in her voice.
Only to turn her head when a strange sound flowed into the air.
It was the sound of Naoki chuckling under her breath.
Elle stared on with surprise in her eyes as she listened to the older girl chuckle.
It almost sounded…different than her usual eerie laugh.
"It sounds like it would have been a beautiful life." Naoki admitted in a reflective voice while the others listened in fascination.
"Maybe…maybe we could have…all been friends." Elle suggested as she shivered while Naoki's hand fell from her face.
As the cold arctic wind swept through the mouth of the cave.
The highborn women stared around with widened looks in their eyes as they began to sense a foreboding change in the air.
It was…just like back on the cliff side.
Only it felt even more powerful than before!
"It's far too late for that. I don't have any choice now. That life is forever lost to us." Naoki answered as a red energy began to seep from her body while Elle stared on with widened amber eyes.
The four highborn women watched with their eyes wide in alarm.
As Naoki turned around to face Elle's startled face with her brown eyes having already taken on her piercing machinelike stare.
"But I will not shed tears over it. Because I am a warrior and warriors don't cry. And I will fight to kill all that stands in my way until my last breath. And that includes you Elle." Naoki declared in a steely voice with her hair gloved fist held up before her face while she gazed back at Elle's trembling face.
Azula and Zoi stared on with widened expressions in their alerted eyes.
And not a moment later they all rushed ahead to assist their timid friend.
"Elle! Get away from that girl right now!" Azula roared with her amber golden eyes narrowing ruthlessly as she leaped forward.
Katsu stared on with her golden eyes growing wide in urgency.
Elle stood with her mouth ajar in a state of overwhelmed emotion as she cowered in renewed conflict.
"Naoki! Are we really gonna fight Elle! She's one of us!" Katsu shouted with a conflicted expression on her eyes while her panicked eyes rapidly gazed about the cavern.
"P-please friends! D-don't do this!" Elle stuttered as she backed away in fright while Naoki's haunting eyes stared right through her skull.
"Yeah, get her and kill the others." Naoki ordered as she swiftly moved with her merciless eyes trained on Elle's terrified face.
Just before Elle fell onto her backside on the side with a startled yelp while she gazed up at her friends in shock.
"But…but she's our comrade!" Katsu protested in a hesitant voice only to find herself shivering when Naoki glared at her through the corner of her machinelike eye.
"Would you rather your core burns out? I said do it now." Naoki demanded in a glacial voice while Katsu's golden eyes briefly flickered in fright.
"No! I don't want that! I'll…help!" Katsu yelled out as she sprang forward while her golden eyes guiltily stared back at her friend's hysteria ridden face.
"N-Naoki! Katsu! Please!" Elle cried out as she slid away on her back while Naoki marched at her with menace in her step.
"The time for talk is over. The time has come to fight Elle. You and me, right now pacifist. Let's go." Naoki spoke in a scarily mechanical voice as she rushed at the trembling girl.
Elle lay shivering on the ice with her innocent amber eyes agape in paralyzing emotion.
Only for Naoki to spin around when a tremendous chi overflowed into the cavern behind them.
As a monstrous roar battle cry echoed into the air while sparks of lightning exploded into the walls of the vast cave.
"Get away from her!" Azula boomed in a bloodthirsty voice while she slammed her larger body into the surprised redhead.
And then not an instant after that Naoki rapidly drew her sword just as she barely managed to block a lethal swing from the princess's katana.
Naoki's machinelike brown eyes widened as she was savagely thrown aside by the rampaging princess.
As Azula's enraged bellows resounded off the walls of the cavern.
And then with monstrous precision Azula flipped through the air as she viciously delivered a savage kick to Katsu's gut.
Azula released a roar that was akin to that of a vengeful dragon as she tackled Katsu to the ground.
Katsu let out a pained shout as she hit the ground only to find herself staring up in terror into the princess's monstrous amber golden eyes.
The three noblewomen furiously leaped into action with an unusually ferocious demeanor.
And then seconds after that Ty Lee jumped onto Katsu's back while she assisted the princess in straddling the protesting girl.
Naoki bounded out of the way of Mai's throwing knives only for the captain's muscular body to impact with her from behind.
The two warriors rolled across the floor of the cavern while Naoki gazed fearlessly up into Zoi's fierce golden eyes.
Elle stared on at the violent scene from where she lay on the floor of the frigid cave with shock in her wide amber eyes.
"Elle! Run through the portal now!" Azula snarled as she held her sword into Katsu's terrified neck while she snarled mercilessly down at the trembling girl.
As Mai seized a hold of Elle's shirt as the girl let out a whimper when the noblewoman pulled her up.
"Come on kid! Let's go!" Mai shouted in a protective voice as she began to pull the emotional girl under her wing.
"I won't be so merciful with you this time girl! This time you'll die!" Azula bellowed as she prepared to thrust her sword into the stunned bomber's neck.
"W-wait Azula! I'll chi block her!" Ty Lee hollered as she pinned the girl down while Katsu let out a yell of protest.
"Naoki! I don't wanna die!" Katsu screamed in an alarmed voice with her golden eyes wide in fright.
And then Zoi let out a shout of surprise when a slab of stone slammed into her side.
The mighty captain now leaped back on her booted feet with her stony eyes glaring about the cave.
And not a moment later a crimson blur impacted with both the acrobat and the princess.
As the two nobles let out a yell of fury as they were rapidly kicked off the other girl.
Azula and Ty Lee leaped to the ground beside Zoi.
Only for Naoki to jump away in a flash with her fist gripping Katsu's wrist.
And soon after that Mai halted in her tracks when the two girls dropped down onto the top of the staircase.
She clenched her teeth in her anger while she glared up at the shimmering portal while Naoki stared callously back down at her.
As Elle trembled with heavy emotion in her widened eyes beside her.
The four Fire Nation women gazed up with battle hardened looks in their eyes.
All while Azula stared up with her amber golden eyes narrowed into an absolutely murderous glare.
Naoki now stood on the staircase gazing mercilessly down at her gathered opponents with Katsu in a crouch beside her.
The highborn women stared up in disbelief when the respective colors of red and green chi began to radiate from the girls' bodies.
As the two supersoldiers' powerful auras began to sweep through the cavern as the older girls gazed on with astonished looks in their eyes.
"Get ready Katsu. We'll take the two fire aberrants down hard and fast with our usual technique. And then we'll collect Elle." Naoki stated in a voice devoid of emotion while Katsu shakily nodded her head.
Katsu stared back down at Elle's hurt face with an expression of remorse in her golden eyes.
As the furious Fire Nation women braced themselves for combat.
"No…no you will not!" Azula hissed with her lips pursed in a domineering glower while her own immense aura overflowed from her enraged body.
She glared up at the two girls with her amber golden eyes transforming into possessive slits.
"Elle! Stay behind us!" Zoi yelled in a stony voice as she slid back on the ice with her golden eyes forming a dutiful stare.
Ty Lee stared on with a defensive frown adorning her usually kind lips.
Mai stood just as determined with her knives clenched in her fists as she stared on furiously.
As Elle's hands shook at her hips as she stared up with tears in her amber eyes.
The frigid arctic winds poured through the mouth of the tunnel as the two groups stared each other down.
And not a moment later the auras from the four warriors burst forth from mouth of the ice cave.
"P-please my friends! I-it doesn't have to be like this! We can all go back and eat toasted candy over the campfire together!" Elle pleaded in a distressed voice while her highborn friends listened in a moved silence.
Katsu gazed on with her golden eyes glistening in emotion as a tear fell from the corner of her conflicted eye.
While Naoki stared on with her hauntingly cold brown eyes never once showing even the slightest sign of emotion.
As their bodies glowed brightly as combustionbender stood up alongside the ruthless earthbender.
"I consider you my comrade Elle. But if I must shatter your happiness and kill your friends in order to survive…then I will do so without hesitation." Naoki spoke in a seemingly heartless voice while the younger girl's amber eyes grew even wider in dismay.
The older girls stared up with great anger in their eyes.
And then before any of them could so much as speak another word.
A monumental explosion of energy erupted from the ice cavern while chunks of ice now flew high into the air down the frozen slopes.
As great plumes of emerald light detonated before the blinded eyes of the four highborn women and their young friend.
Azula stood rooted to the ice with her arms held out before her furious amber golden eyes.
As she madly stared about in search of her targets.
Just before an expression of utter fury overtook her face as a wave of combustionbender exploded before her at point blank range!
And less than a second later an earthen fist collided into her cheek.
She bellowed at the top of her lungs as she was thrown into the wall of the cave.
As a crimson blur darted through the green light with speed that even the captain could barely follow!
And then the two supersoldiers barreled into the captain with all of their might.
Naoki's foot impacted with Zoi's cheek in the same moment that Katsu blasted the furious woman to the wayside.
Mai and Ty Lee stared on with widened eyes as they listened to combustionbending explode all around them.
Elle's amber eyes trembled in unfathomable emotion as she watched in fright.
And then mere moments after that Mai cried out in pain when Naoki savagely slammed her aside.
The noblewoman was thrown onto her ass while she grunted in fury with her knives scattered about on the floor before her.
"Ty Lee! Get her out of here!" Mai yelled in a frantic voice while Ty Lee sprinted ahead with her adopted sister in hand.
Only for the two to freeze in their step when Naoki landed on her tabi booted feet before them.
Her emotionless brown eyes stared right back through the infuriated acrobat's skull.
"You can't have her! She's our little sister and she wants to stay with us!" Ty Lee bellowed as she pushed Elle behind her while Naoki stared coldly back at her.
Just before she swung her fist at Naoki only for her brown-gray eyes to widen in disbelief when the girl seemingly vanished.
And then before she even realized what was happening.
She felt an armored fist impact with her vulnerable belly.
"O-oneesan!" Elle stammered in shock while she ran to assist the older girl.
"Get out of my way…aristocrat." Naoki remarked in a glacial voice in Ty Lee's ear as she savagely threw the woman to the ice below.
Elle stood over Ty Lee with her amber eyes gazing on wide in despair back at Naoki's unfeeling face.
"N-no. P-please! Naoki! I…I don't want to go back-" Elle sputtered only to find herself keeling over on top of Naoki's fist.
"It's time to go Elle." Naoki informed in a frigid voice as the girl fell into her arms.
As Elle teenager lay motionless with her eyes agape in sorrow as she was effortlessly lifted over Naoki's shoulder.
The feral bomber rushed through the smoke with her golden eyes gazing back at the other girl's slumped form.
"Let's go…Katsu. We have what we need. Now let's get back to the others." Naoki commanded in a pleased voice as Elle lay wide eyed on her shoulder.
Katsu numbly nodded her head in agreement.
And then the two broke out into a rapid run out of the exploded ice tunnel.
Then the supersoldier began to sprint with her feet moving so quickly that they began to blur.
And just like that she leaped high into the air from the mouth of the ice cave before they soon landed on their feet on the frozen slope below.
As Naoki paid no heed to the shouts of rage coming from the recovering older girls behind her.
The four Fire Nation women now ran as fast as they could to rescue their innocent friend.
"Elle!" Ty Lee called out in a fraught voice as she rushed out through the tunnel.
The team now stared out with their eyes brimming with rage as they watched the two girls descend down the icy slopes.
Naoki and Katsu skidded down the crumbling ice with Elle restrained in earth bindings over the prodigy's shoulder.
Azula's amber golden eyes were now wide with a rage so great that it seemed as if her veins were about to burst.
And somewhere in the deep depths of her cruel heart.
She felt her heart twist in agony at the very sight of her girlfriend being taken away from her.
"You're not taking her! Do you hear me!" Azula roared with her authoritative voice booming all throughout the frozen plateau.
She never once lost sight of the duo sliding their way down the slopes.
Mai slid down beside her with her angered tawny eyes intently staring down at the girls.
All while the captain rushed down the hillside with her golden eyes watching Naoki start to speed ahead of the Katsu.
The group stared on in disbelief as the prodigy bounded through the air with frightening speed.
And for every step that they covered, the supersoldier covered double!
"I can't believe that this girl can run this fast! She's faster than an ostrich horse!" Mai shouted in a frustrated voice as she ran as fast as her legs could carry her down the descending slope.
Azula's amber golden eyes burned with wrath as she sprinted ahead at the forefront of her group.
"We have to catch up to her! We aren't familiar with the geography of this land! If we don't reach her…and she gets away…. we won't even know where to begin looking for her!" Zoi stated with aggravation in her otherwise stony voice.
"That isn't going to happen. They won't take her away." Azula spoke with her tyrannical eyes staring through the exploding ice while her fists clenched at her hips.
Her amber golden eyes narrowed in her anger when she heard the younger girl call out to her over the roaring winds.
"Azula-sama!" Elle shrieked over the frigid winds while Naoki ignored her cries.
As the princess increased the pace of her pursuit down the ice hill in response to her cry for help.
She closed her eyes shut as tears began to make their way down her cheeks.
'Why does it have to be this way!' Elle thought as she hung from Naoki's arm with her face laying upon the older girl's shoulder.
All the while as memories from the time that she spent with the two girls began to replay in her mind.
"Don't eat so fast Katsu! You'll choke!" Elle advised in a gentle voice while Katsu ravenously devoured the contents of her bowl.
Naoki stared on at the scene from her seat over the fire with emotionless brown eyes.
Kane watched from where he sat against a tree with an amused smile on his lips.
And the others sat scattered throughout their various chosen spots over the campfire.
As Elle patted Katsu on her back while the older girl glanced down at her with something akin to a fond gleam in her usually violent golden eyes.
And then in that precise moment she gazed up in surprise when a small box fell into her lap.
She stared down with delight in her sparkling eyes to see that it was a box of one of her favorite candies.
Just before she turned to see who threw her the candy only to find herself smiling brightly back at the cloaked redhead seated opposite from her.
"Arigatou gozaimasu Naoki!" Elle cried out in a joyful voice while Naoki just silently stared back at her.
And later that night Naoki slept on a tree branch with her sword in her arms while her head rested against the tree.
Elle lay on her back in the moonlight gazing up at the stars as she watched a star shoot across the sky.
She raised her hand into the air to seemingly reach for the shooting star with a wistful smile on her lips.
"I wish…to find a home." Elle muttered with her innocent eyes gazing up at the distant star as it soared so high above her.
All the while unaware that Naoki was actually awake listening to her from where she sat in the tree branch above her.
And the next day.
Katsu sat with a book in hand while she stared down at its pages with a frustrated expression in her impatient eyes.
Elle sat beside her as she assisted her in interpreting the words.
As the taller bomber let out an aggravated growl as she glared down at the book.
Only to turn her head when a gentle hand touched her on the shoulder.
"It will be alright Katsu. You'll get the hang of it." Elle assured in a sweet voice while wild girl allowed herself to smile down at her.
And then another memory began to play soon after that.
The three girls stood on the hill gazing up at the darkened sky together.
"There is only one thing that matters to me now. I am searching for something that I lost. They took it from me. And now I am going to take it back." Naoki stated as she held onto her pendant while Elle gazed back at her with curious amber eyes.
"What something is that Naoki?" Elle asked in a kind voice while the older girl stared up into the skies.
"My identity." Naoki responded with a smile on her lips as she turned to gaze back at the younger girl's emotional countenance.
The three teenagers gazed back at one another as they each managed to form a smile.
"Together we'll find what has been lost to us…and together we'll make our way to a better world." Naoki spoke in a voice of profound longing as she smiled back at her companions while her two friends smiled beside her.
The three girls turned to gaze up at the skies together with their eyes reflecting a newfound hope for the future.
And then soon after that a flurry of memories of the many days that she spent with Team Azula started to overflow before her pained eyes.
One by one she saw memory after memory.
She thought of each and every one of them.
Ty Lee.
Mai.
Zoi.
Nako.
Even the other soldiers and servants in her princess's royal service.
And last but never least the one who held her heart.
Azula-sama.
You will always have a home by my side Elle.
And then she was pulled from her thoughts by the sensation of the frigid arctic winds lashing against her shivering cheek.
Tears continued to slide down her face as she turned back at the two girls as they slid down the frozen slope.
'Naoki…Katsu…I'm sorry…but…' Elle thought with anguish flashing before her saddened eyes.
She opened her emotional amber eyes as she attempted to gaze over her shoulder up at the towering ice hills.
As she watched in mounting fright as the faces of Team Azula began to slip further and further away.
And that was all it took for an explosion of chi to erupt from her body!
And then just like that she soon found herself falling free from her restraints while the two supersoldiers spun around to gaze up at her in shock.
While she now fell above the two surprised girls with the tears in her eyes fading away in the frigid winds.
As an aura of white chi swept over her body as she clenched her fists while she fell through the air with glowing lines spreading across her body.
"I…I can't lose this home!" Elle shouted in a voice overcome with a newfound determination as she dropped down above the stunned redhead.
Naoki gazed up with emotionless brown eyes as her crimson red hair blew over her eyes.
Only for her ruthless expression to become even colder while her red aura swept over her body once more.
As the Component holder dropped down over the two warriors with an unusually intensity about her.
The four highborn women watched from high up on the slope with looks of astonishment in their eyes.
And right after that an explosion of energy rocketed throughout the frozen hillside.
While the combined light of the three girls' auras now shined all across the sparkling white landscape.
And a bright emanated from the ancient gateway and over the slopes below.
AN:
So, in this chapter there were some heavy hints of things to come.
The place that Naoki spoke of, Paradise is a place that will play a huge role in the book two story line.
As for if there is any truth to the words that Naoki told Elle, there is really no way to know at this point in time.
It is clear that Naoki feels it imperative to retrieve Elle. Originally, when Elle went separate ways with Naoki. Naoki figured that Elle would return when she realized that she couldn't survive on her own. She never expected Elle to find her way beyond a gateway and into a foreign land.
We also saw just how far Naoki is willing to go to get what she wants. She is even willing to go so far as to threaten nuclear warfare on those who stand in her way.
Now, I realize that it is extreme for Naoki to even make such a threat. But Naoki was raised as a weapon, not a person with feelings. Which is why she shows very little regard for emotions and the feelings of those around her.
But as we saw in Elle's flashbacks with Naoki. Naoki can show compassion to those that she views as her comrades.
We also saw that deep down Naoki has extensive psychological trauma over what she has become, and you could even say that she is fractured.
And that underneath her emotionless exterior she wishes that she could have lived a simpler life without powers of any kind. However, unlike Elle, she believes that it is far too late for that.
In direct contrast to Elle's peace, Naoki believes that the only way forward is through destruction of all that stand in her way.
And Naoki is very much in a fight the entire world mentality on her own right now. She only just recently obtained her freedom, and she is eager to retaliate against those who conspired to enslave her. Even at the cost of using warheads as a last resort should they force her hand.
And in case anyone is wondering why Katsu went along with Naoki's orders after Team Azula showed her mercy. It is best summed up with this analogy. If someone helped Mai and Ty Lee, and then Azula decided that she wanted that someone done away with. They would both very likely agree without much protest as long as it wasn't Zuko.
The same can be said for Katsu, even though Naoki left her to fend for herself. She still considers Naoki her friend and her leader.
It should also be stated that one of the huge reasons why Naoki is so opposed to going with Elle to the Fire Nation is because of the gap in technology. Though, Naoki and Elle's world suffered a near world destroying war. The places that have been able to get technology back up and running, such as Rieko's empire are still ahead of what the Fire Nation is currently capable of.
And a great deal of Naoki's urgency has to do with the cores that Nero installed in them. Though, Naoki only lightly touched on it. Their cores need maintenance, and they cannot trust Nero to do it. And it is very unlikely that even the Mechanist would be able to give them what they need.
Naoki is too proud to reveal this to those who she feels might try to take advantage of her such as Azula, and she is likewise too proud to beg Elle.
Which is why the confrontation in the ice cave quickly descended into violence.
I also hope that everyone enjoyed Azula once again demonstrating her violently protective side when she initially reacted to protect Elle.
And we also saw that while Katsu is weakened and only in what we could call her base form, that she is potentially more dangerous when Naoki is there to lead her.
Naoki and Katsu make for a dangerous team when they work together. This was exemplified when Katsu used her combustionbending to blind Team Azula, while Naoki used her speed to kick the others out of her way so she could retrieve Elle.
And so the true fight against Naoki has begun and Elle has decided that she is willing to fight in order to stay with Team Azula.
With that said, we are approaching the climax of this arc and we'll see how Elle fares with her awakened power next chapter.
That will be all for now though.
Stay tuned for next time.
For chapter one hundred nine! The Clash of Comrades!