Hello everyone! And welcome to the next chapter in "The Light in the Flames"! First, I'd like to apologize for not writing anything for awhile. Life has thrown some curveballs my way and I haven't had the energy or brain power to write anything. Plus, I was finishing up the recent game, Final Fantasy 16. But now, I'm back at it and ready to get more stories out. I hope you all are staying safe while summer ends and school starts back up. Now, onto the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Chapter 24: Outside Ba Sing Se
(Outside the Earth Kingdom Walls)
The sun shone brightly over the large Earth city with a few clouds sprinkled across the blue sky. It's been a few days since the attempted drilling through the great wall and the Fire Nation was forced to fall back to avoid further conflict and loss. The only ones who remained behind were Princess Azula, Prince Sora, Ty Lee, and Mai, along with the Princess' personal guards.
The young prince and his acrobatic friend were riding their mongoose lizards around the wall's perimeter while avoiding being spotted by any guards on duty and scouting around for any possible entrances or weak points that they could exploit to get into the Earth Kingdom. Sora and Ty Lee wore red cloaks and masks to avoid the sand and the boy was looking through a spyglass to get a closer look at the large wall. Unfortunately, they were coming up short in options.
"Nothing. Not a door or an air grate. Not even a small crack." Sora said.
"Wow, they don't call this place the 'impenetrable city' for nothing." Ty Lee replied while Sora lowered the glass from his eye.
"There's gotta be a way into this place! We can't leave Zuko and Uncle in there by themselves." Sora said. Ty Lee moved her lizard closer to his and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Sora, they're going to be fine. We just have to have hope." Ty Lee replied with a comforting smile. The prince smiled and took her hand in his, holding it for a minute. They eventually let go of each other and looked back at the kingdom.
"Let's go back to the camp. Let Azula and Mai know about this." Sora said. The acrobat nodded and the two snapped the reins on their lizards, making them take off from Ba Sing Se and towards the mountains. They ran down a small path that led them into a forest area where their camp was set up to avoid any detection from Earth Kingdom forces.
They came to a slow stop next to a group of trees where two other lizards and a group of rhinos were tied to. Sora jumped off and helped Ty Lee down from her lizard and the two tied the lizards to another tree and made their way toward the biggest tent, passing by several guards who bowed or nodded to them. They walked closer to the large tent where they found Azula and Mai training in their perspective ways: Mai was making the shape of a person on a tree with her knives and arrows and Azula was using some trees as test dummies for her hand-to-hand combat, shaking whole trees with kicks and cutting branches off with her own fists.
"Azula! Mai!" Ty Lee called out, making the older girls stop what they were doing and turn around to see them.
"Oh no and just when I was enjoying the peace and quiet." Mai replied, going to grab her knives and arrows.
"Glad you got back safe, Sora. And you too, Ty Lee." Azula said. Ty Lee smiled and hugged Azula, who returned it with one arm. The acrobat went to hug Mai while Sora hugged his sister.
"Did you find a way in?" Azula asked and Sora shook his head in response.
"No, that wall is structurally sound. No cracks, no weaknesses, not even an opening." Sora replied, taking a seat on the ground.
"If only we had a couple of Earthbenders on our side." Mai commented as Azula started pacing in thought.
"Maybe we could catapult ourselves over the wall and get in that way." Ty Lee suggested.
"Even if we found a way to do that, I can think of dozens of ways that won't work." Sora replied. He turned his attention back to his sister, recognizing the calm and ambitious look in her eye.
"Let's remain patient for now. I'm sure an opportunity will present itself to us soon enough." Azula said, making everyone nod in agreement.
"For now, we should rest and catch up on some training." Sora said.
"Ooh, maybe we can have another acrobatic session! C'mon Mai! Let's get everything set up." Ty Lee exclaimed, jumping away.
"As long as I don't have to participate." Mai said, walking after her, leaving the brother and sister alone. The two chuckled together as Azula pulled over a nearby box and set it next to Sora, taking a seat to his left.
"She never runs out of energy." Azula replied.
"That's why I like her." Sora said before quickly covering his mouth.
"Oh-ho, so now it's like her…instead of 'she's my friend'." Azula replied with a smirk.
"N-no I didn't mean it-it just slipped out." Sora stuttered; his cheeks now red from embarrassment.
"No, too late. No takebacks. I'm going to let Ty Lee know that she's been upgraded." Azula said, pretending to get up. Sora suddenly waved his arms about and grabbed onto his sister's forearm, pulling her back down.
"No, Azula! Please don't tell her!" Sora begged, making the sister laugh.
"Relax, I won't." She replied, making him let out a breath of relief. "But you better tell her soon or Mai and I will tell her out of sheer boredom." She remarked, making the two smile.
"I will. Just when the time is right." Sora said, watching Ty Lee train the guards while Mai leaned against a tree.
"Well, hopefully, that time comes soon. You two would be nice together." Azula said.
"Thanks, sis." Sora replied, smiling, and resting his head against her shoulder. They remained silent for a minute, enjoying the company they provided for each other.
"You think Zuko and Uncle are okay in there?" Sora asked. His sister looked down in thought before nodding.
"Knowing Uncle, they've probably already got a house somewhere in there. Zuko might've got them a job or something." Azula said, confusing her young brother.
"How so?" Sora asked.
"His scar. Think about it; to us and our enemies, we know how important it is. But to the Earth Kingdom, he'll be seen as one of many other victims of this great war. As long as they don't firebend, no one will be the wiser. They'll be fine, Sora." Azula said.
"Good, but it's not just that. T-that power Vanitas had…what he did to those guards…I-I'm worried that he'll get into Ba Sing Se and go after them- and I won't be there to help them." Sora said. Azula embraced her brother in a side hug to comfort him.
"I'm sure they'll be fine. Hopefully, they'll know to avoid Vanitas." She replied. Sora nodded in response, though the thought didn't leave his mind. Azula noticed the distressed look on her brother's face and started thinking of something.
"Hey, why don't you go train with Ty Lee for a little then we can figure out what to do next." Azula suggested. Sora looked over to see the entire group of guards following Ty Lee's lead in acrobatics, with many of them falling over or landing on their sides, making them smile.
"Okay, looks like they need another coach anyway. And Mai looks like she's getting ready to start throwing at the guard's feet. I'll be back and then we can figure out a plan to get into Ba Sing Se." Sora said, getting up and walking towards the guards. Azula watched her brother walk away before letting out a sigh.
She wished she had better or wiser words to say to her brother, but she was never the one for wisdom in the royal family. That honor fell to their uncle, and she only wished that she paid more attention to his teachings like Zuko and Sora did. While Azula was a prodigy and intelligent in her own right, she couldn't deny that her uncle was the wisest and most powerful in the family due to his travels and world-weariness. She could only wish that he would choose the right path when the time came for the Earth Kingdom to fall or even better that he would be here to give them advice.
"Hey, Azula?" Sora suddenly spoke, breaking Azula out of her thoughts as she turned to look at him.
"I think Mai is getting into her 'so bored she might throw a knife into someone's toe' mood and we can't snap her out of it. We were hoping you could…" Sora said. The princess smiled and stood up, walking over to the training group.
"Mhm, very well. Though an injury might liven up the space." Azula said, making Sora playfully nudge her in the stomach with his elbow.
"Azula…" Sora groaned.
"What? Think about it. It would at least make everyone run around." Azula replied, making Sora laugh as they approached the guards, Ty Lee, and Mai, and got to work coordinating the guards and getting food ready as the day turned to night.
(Next Day, middle of the Forest)
Sora, Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai rode their lizards through the large trees, patrolling the forests for any nearby Earthbender forces or any forces that might discover them. But along with that, they were also passing the time by thinking of different ways to get into the Ba Sing Se.
"Hhm, how about we dig under the wall and burrow our way in?" Ty Lee suggested.
"Well, considering that our previous drill broke…" Sora said.
"…And that we don't have any resident Earthbenders. I think that plan is a bust." Mai replied. Azula was ahead of them on her lizard, focused on any alternate routes into the Earth Kingdom and take over the city. She suddenly spotted something white and bright hanging from a nearby branch and pulled on her reins, bringing her lizard and the three others to a stop.
"What is it, Azula?" Sora asked. The princess moved her lizard over to the tree and plucked the item out of the branch, revealing it to be a sliver of white hair.
"Is that hair?" Mai asked.
"Fur…from a familiar air bison." Azula said, running her hands through the lock.
"But what's he doing out here? Wouldn't he be in the Kingdom with the Avatar?" Mai asked.
"Unless they got separated. I don't remember seeing him at the drill." Sora said.
"A likely possibility. He should be close by." Azula said, spotting several other pieces of fur hanging from other tree branches. "Let's follow his trail and see where it leads us." She replied. Everyone nodded and followed the Princess further into the forest, eventually leading them to a small clearing that had broken trees and uprooted bushes all around. The group came to a sudden stop when they spotted air bison sitting on the ground by a group of girls dressed in green uniforms.
"Oh no, not them." Sora whispered.
"Who are they, Sora?" Ty Lee asked, while Sora released an annoyed breath.
"They call themselves the Kyoshi Warriors. Zuko and I ran into them on Kyoshi Island when the Avatar returned. They based their warrior group on Avatar Kyoshi, and we had to fight them off to get to the Avatar. I wonder what they're doing all the way out here." Sora explained.
"Sounds like they got tired of staying home and playing dress up all day. "Mai said.
"Let's go introduce ourselves to my brother's friends, shall we?" Azula said, snapping her reins and her lizard lurched forward, with Sora, Ty Lee, and Mai right behind her. As they got closer, Azula fired a small lightning bolt at a nearby tree, knocking it over and cutting off the bison and the Warrior's escape.
"My my, you're easy to find." Azula said, holding the clump of fur in her hands as the lizards came to a stop.
"Bison, Kyoshi Warriors." Sora nodded to them. The bison growled at them in response while the Kyoshi Warriors formed into defensive positions and pulled out their round, retractable, shields.
"You're the boy who was with that Fire Prince back on the Island. What do you want with us?" The leader of the Warriors asked.
"I have a better question, what are you fan girls doing all the way out here, especially with the Avatar's bison no less?" Sora asked.
"Oh, I get it. Good one, Sora." Ty Lee giggled.
"That's none of your concern. And if you're looking for the Avatar, you're out of luck." The leader replied.
"This is a complete waste of time then." Mai said.
"No Avatar, huh. Well, that's fine. Any friend of the Avatar is an enemy of ours!" Azula said, jumping from her steed and shooting a fireblast at the bison. The Warriors gather in front of him and block the blast with their shields.
Sora, Ty Lee, and Mai jump from their lizards and engage the Warriors as well, with Mai using her knives and arrows to pin a couple of them to trees while Ty Lee uses her chi blocking to take down one with a sword. Sora dodged one fan that was thrown at him before catching another and tossing it to the ground at his feet. A warrior charged at him with a sword swing, but he quickly moved out of the way and grabbed her arm, twisting it and making her drop the sword and force her to the ground.
"Stay down!" Sora said, stabbing the sword into her clothes and pinning her in the dirt. He stands back up to see Azula shooting flames at the leader, who was protecting herself and the bison with her shield while being forced back against the fallen tree. He readied his own fireball and shot it at the leader, who quickly took notice of his shot, and blocked it, making it bounce off the shield and onto the fallen tree, setting it on fire. The bison roared at the flames while Sora and Azula walked closer to them.
"Afraid of fire, I see. That's good. You should be." Azula commented.
"Stand down, Warrior. You've fought well, but you have no chance at victory." Sora said gesturing behind him. The leader looked behind him to see the rest of the warriors pinned or on the ground, unable to move.
"Go, Appa! Fly away from here!" The leader yelled, unsheathing a sword from her waist. The bison follows her command and flies up into the air while the leader charges at the two with a sword swing, splitting them up. The warrior goes for a stab, but Azula manages to jump out of the way and kick the sword out of her hands, impaling it into a nearby tree. Sora fires a blast at the leader who blocks it with her shield and tries to kick him, but he manages to counter with a palm strike to the gut, knocking her down.
Azula went to go assist Ty Lee and Mai in defeating the rest of the warriors while Sora was left with the leader. He was about to restrain her when he saw the bison fly back down and growl at him, making him stand back and get into a fighting stance. The leader quickly grabbed a burning branch from the tree and started waving it at the bison, making him back away from the clearing.
"Get out of here! You have to find Aang! We'll be okay!" The leader exclaimed, waving the torch frantically. The bison let out one more roar before flying away from the forest, leaving the scene while Sora shot another blast at the leader, which was blocked by her shield.
"Last chance. Stand down." Sora offered. The leader, in response, pulls out her last fan and readies her shield.
"A Kyoshi Warrior will never stand down from a fight." She replied in a determined tone. The prince let out a breath before getting into his fighting stance as well and the two charged at each other. Sora fired a blast at the leader, who blocked it with her shield and swung at him multiple times with her fan, but he managed to dodge and throw a kick aimed at her chest. The leader once again manages to block the kick and counters with a sweeping motion of her feet, bringing Sora to the ground.
He goes to get back up but is forced to dodge more swings of her shield until she suddenly swings with her fan. He barely manages to dodge the fan, but the sharpened edge manages to cut his face, leaving a clean, red line below his eye. His eyes narrow in determination as he dodges more swings before grabbing the shield by the edge and wrestling it out of the leader's hands. He then infuses his foot with flames and kicks the leader in the chest, sending her flying into a nearby tree and falling to the ground, dropping the fan in the process. Sora fell to his knees and placed his hand over the cut as Ty Lee ran up to him to inspect the cut while Azula walked up to the leader.
"Didn't anyone tell you that fans just make flames stronger?" Azula said, looking back to see her brother on his knees before turning her glare back at the leader. "And don't ever hurt my brother again." She growled, before knocking out the leader with a chop to the neck. She stood to her feet and walked over to her brother and Ty Lee, who was holding a small cloth to his cheek while Mai stood guard for any more attacks.
"Let me see." Azula said, kneeling in front of him.
"It's not that bad, honestly. This is the second time this has happened." Sora said. Ty Lee moved the cloth away, revealing the cut as Azula got a closer look.
"Not too deep. Shouldn't leave a scar. Once we get back to camp, the doctor can take a look." Azula said. Sora nodded, taking the cloth from Ty Lee and placing it back on his cheek, smiling at the acrobat in a grateful response. She smiled back as they started inspecting their defeated enemies.
"What are we going to do with them? I really can't stand looking at their colors anymore." Mai asked, using an arrow to clean her nails.
"We can't leave them with our normal guards. They're too skilled for that." Sora said.
"I have an idea for that. And I also have an idea for getting into Ba Sing Se." Azula said, inspecting the leader's uniform.
"Ooh, what is it Azula?" Ty Lee asked excitedly.
"Sora, do you still have the clothes you wore when you got to the drill?" Azula asked.
"I think so. Why?" Sora asked. Azula smiled at the plan forming in her head, while the others looked on in a mixture of confusion and excitement.
(Few days later, Gates of Ba Sing Se)
"Do we really have to be wearing these stupid things?" Mai asked Azula. The three girls were disguised as the Kyoshi Warriors with exact uniforms and the makeup they wore on their faces. The three girls were walking in front of a small cart that was being pulled by an ostrich horse.
"If we want to get in, we must look and play the part of these warriors. And hopefully, the King got the message we sent him. Ty Lee, could you check on my brother?" Azula asked.
"Sure." Ty Lee said, skipping over to the cart and knocking on it. "Sora, you ok in there?" She whispered.
"I'm fine. Are we almost there?" Sora said from the inside.
"Almost. When I knock, you'll be in the clear. Just blend in with the crowd and avoid the guards." Ty Lee said.
"Got it. I'll find Zuko and Iroh inside and then you guys send word when everything is ready. And remember if you see Vanitas…" Sora said.
"Avoid him. You got it." Ty Lee said. The three girls came to a stop at the gigantic walls along with the cart. After a few minutes of waiting, the walls slowly opened with bits of dirt and rock falling to the ground from the bending, revealing the large city inside and all the guards and citizens inside. A few guards walked up to them as the walls came to a stop.
"Warriors of Kyoshi, welcome to Ba Sing Se! The Earth King is expecting you. We're here to escort you to the palace, right away." One of the guards said as the rest bowed. The girls bow in response before standing straight.
"Lead the way." Azula cooly replied. The guards nod and start leading them through the city past the multitude of buildings and people. Ty Lee looked around, about to knock on the cart until she noticed a few guards behind them and on their sides. She slowly got closer to Azula, who remained at the front of the cart.
"If you want, Warriors, a couple of my men can take your cart to the house the Earth King has set up for you. Get all your things placed inside and ready for you." One of the guards offered. Azula's eyes narrowed in thought for a split second.
"We'll take it into consideration." Azula replied. The guard nodded and continued to lead the way.
"Azula, they'll-"Ty Lee whispered.
"I know." Azula replied, winking at Mai. Mai nodded and threw a small arrow at a nearby leg of a market stand, making the stand fall apart and all the items fall to the ground. The shop owner screamed in shock as he tried to clean up the mess while the guards went to inspect the commotion.
"Now, Ty Lee!" Mai whispered. Ty Lee slowly walked over to the side of the cart and knocked on it a few times. Quietly, the back door to the cart opened and Sora stepped out with a green hooded robe covering his figure.
"I'll see you guys soon. Be safe." Sora said to the acrobat, about to walk away. But Ty Lee grabbed him by the arm and kissed him on the cheek. The boy could only blush and stare in shock as she smiled at him.
"You be safe too." Ty Lee said. The boy could only nod in silence in response.
"Go now, Sora!" Azula whispered. Sora nodded and disappeared into the crowd as the guards finished up with the shop stand.
"Sorry about the mess. Let's keep going." The guard said, leading the way.
"No problem. And we've discussed it, and you can take our things to this house. We trust that you'll be careful with our things." Azula replied.
"Of course, ma'am. We'll be extra careful." the guard said, nodding to the two behind them. The soldiers take the reins of the ostrich horse and lead it away while the rest of the guards stay with the girls.
"Now, lead the way." Azula said with a determined smirk on her face as they got closer and closer to the Earth Palace.
And that is the end of this chapter! Oh my gosh, I hate that I take so long on these chapters, but I get so tired from work and life altogether, that I just do not have the brainpower to write. I am so sorry everybody…I hope you all are staying safe and doing okay as Halloween rolls in. I also hope you all enjoyed this chapter as things get closer to the battle to control Ba Sing Se. I'm so excited and I hope you're all excited as well. Now, onto the reviews:
The Mysterious Mr.E: Thank you, my friend. Hope you're excited as well.
Emirhan: Thanks again.
SuperSaiyanFever: That's my favorite thing to write about for this story, Azula and Mai teasing Ty Lee and Sora. Especially when Azula does it. No, it is not indeed for Vanitas.
Tiger1301: Indeed. Sorry that this chapter took forever to come out. A lot of stuff has been happening.
Kamizuma24: Very well. I hate to lose a reader. May I ask where you got lost? Maybe I can clarify.
Althea Sirius: Oh, sorry about that. I wonder what could be wrong. Yeah, I love writing the teasing.
Jarmet: You'll see my friend. Very soon.
Once again, I hope you all are staying safe and sound during these trying times and that the fight between Sora, Azula, Ty Lee, Mai, and Kyoshi Warriors was good as well. As always, thank you all so much for reading my story and keeping it going for so long. If you liked this story and want to see more, please favor, and follow to stay up to date. If you have a question or idea, please leave a review or PM me at any time and I'll get right back to you. With that said, I'll see you all in the next chapter and hopefully, it won't take me as long to get out. Peace.