Morality Chain
Trying to write for Bumi can be kinda difficult – especially when you do so from the viewpoint of others. Straddling the line between genius and insanity is always a delicate balance.
Well, I hope that you all like what I've done, anyway.
Also, to those just checking in after reading Chapter 8 when it was first uploaded, you might wanna reread it – I edited some stuff I consider important.
Disclaimer: I wonder if I could get one of those special edition DVDs…
There were precious few ways to enter the city of Omashu – the single most prominent method being the long and winding stone bridge that led to the main gates. Azula supposed it fit the earthbenders' tendencies towards straightforwardness and head-on tactics, but as for herself, she felt horribly exposed as she strode up the ramp.
As she neared the newly made gate, she could see two Fire Nation soldiers standing guard – and her mouth twitched in annoyance at their lackadaisical attitude towards their duties. They were barely paying any attention to the three of them. At her side, Zuko pulled the cloak over his head tighter.
Well, this was the first obstacle she had anticipated – from here on out, she would have to assume that all Fire Nation territories would have received word that Zuko was to be hunted down on sight. And her brother did have a rather prominent feature which made it difficult to avoid attention…
Well, there were always ways to ensure he didn't draw any of their attention.
Finally she stood before the two guards, and they reacted by moving to bar the gateway.
"Who are you, and what business do you have in Omashu?" The guard snapped.
Azula simply stared at him wordlessly, her expression making it quite clear that she believed him to be an idiot. The guard's own expression grew wary, obviously realizing that something was wrong. His gaze darted back and forth over her features, until suddenly they settled on her headpiece, and his eyes widened.
"P – Princess Azula!" He sputtered. "F – Forgive me! I didn't know – no one informed me you were coming!"
"Well, you know now." Her voice was cold. "Although I didn't send word of my coming, so I suppose I can forgive you just this once. If you'll let us through without delay."
"Y – Yes! I'll, uh – I'll send word to the governor immediately!" The guard saluted hastily and hurried off, allowing the three of them (along with ostrich-horse) to enter the city unmolested.
"I don't think they even noticed me." Zuko muttered from beside her.
"And right now, that's a good thing." She replied as she caught sight of a poster hastily affixed to a wall. It detailed some criminal she had never heard of before, but it served as a stark reminder nonetheless. "Come on, let's find Mai, and then we can be on our way."
(X)
"Please tell me you're here to kill me." The voice was dry and dull, slightly scratchy with relative lack of use, and stripped of any overt emotion.
Azula smiled to herself. It was like Mai had never left at all. As her friend looked up, a tiny smile flitted across her face, and Azula stepped forward to embrace her stoic friend.
"It's good to see you again, Mai." Any reply Mai would have formulated was cut off as Ty Lee piled in too, crushing the both of them in a group hug. As Azula successfully extracted herself from her overenthusiastic friend's grip, Mai looked at Ty Lee, a question on her eyes and lips.
"What are you doing here? I thought you'd found your calling in the circus?"
"Well, Azula called a little louder." The princess' eyes narrowed. Had she seen a flicker of sadness across Ty Lee's face? Well, she supposed it was natural the acrobat would miss the circus, but…
She was going to have to make sure Ty Lee stuck with her in the long run. But that could be saved for later. Right now she had more pressing concerns.
"Mai, I need your help. I'm on a mission, and I have need of supplies…" she paused, letting a smile dance briefly across her face. "As well as your skills."
"Count me in. Anything to get me out of this place," Mai returned Azula's smile with a small one of her own. "Supplies, though? I'd have assumed you could have stocked anything you needed straight from the capital."
"Yes, well, circumstances have made that method somewhat difficult," Azula gestured behind her and Zuko stepped out from the shadows. The move had been calculated, of course – if there were too many soldiers around Azula didn't want the risk of them turning on the prince and causing a messy scene. And frankly, it was worth it just to see Mai display some genuine emotion for once.
Her eyes had widened far beyond her usual bored stare, and her mouth was even hanging open in a manner that reminded Azula vaguely of a gold-piranhafish.
"Zuko?" she finally whispered. "You're here?" And then she seemed to remember herself and her expression hardened again. "But the news of your status has reached Omashu already. You're wanted."
"Yes, he is. Through no fault of his own." Azula stepped in smoothly again, guiding her conversation down the lines she wanted it to go. "But we have a chance to make things right again. And it would be much easier with your help. What do you say, Mai?"
She knew Mai's answer before the words passed through her lips. Her hunch had been right after all.
Azula nodded. "Good. Now, if you'd lead me to your father, there are some issues I'd like to discuss with him…"
(X)
Azula's mouth hung open as she digested the news that had just been relayed to her.
"You had empirical evidence that there was a rebellion operating within the city limits, and you ordered an evacuation?"
"Forgive me, your highness!" Even as a child Azula had always thought of Mai's father (and for the life of her she could never remember the man's name. Okano? Ukon? Something like that, anyway.) as a weak and rather ineffectual individual, but she'd assumed him at least competent at basic bureaucracy. Well, she admitted grudgingly, this went slightly beyond the scope of what was expected when running a city, but she still wasn't about to let it go that easily. The thick walls of the city could have been easily turned against the people living within as well as without – it would have made the rebels little more than rats in a trap. But now…
"The governor believed that the outbreak of the plague was severe enough to warrant an evacuation. We did weigh the consequences of our actions, and we deemed this best."
"Yes." Azula said as she looked down at one of the many scrolls detailing the situation. "This plague of… pentapox, was it?"
"Yes, your highness."
"I can't say I've ever heard of this particular disease," she glanced over to her friends and brother, all of whom shrugged silently. "And based on the reports, the symptoms of this disease appear remarkably inconsistent across the sufferers, aside from the spots across the body. For example, this one here, appears to note that the spots were remarkably painful, while this one seems to behave as if they were little more than skin discolourations," her eyes narrowed, her suspicious mind a fertile ground for theories of deception and trickery. "During the evacuation, did anything else of note occur?"
Mai's father and his wife exchanged glances, which answered the question as far as Azula was concerned. And if they hadn't seen fit to tell her upon her arrival, it would be something they knew she wouldn't have approved of.
With a sigh, she leaned back into the governor's chair and closed her eyes. "Tell me what happened." She said in a voice that could have drained the heat from the Si Wong desert.
"Well, during the evacuation, the resistance, they, ah, they kidnapped Tom-Tom. And, well, we offered a trade to get our son back."
Azula had never met Tom-Tom personally, given that Mai's family had departed the capital three years ago and the lad was only two, but she supposed that there was nothing unusual in the governor wanting his son back. However… her eyes snapped open.
"What, exactly, are you trading him for?" The closer she got to the heart of matter, the more Mai's father clammed up, apparently not making the simple connection that it would cause her to dig all the harder.
Another shared glance. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mai with her palm to her face, letting out an exasperated sigh.
"Well…"
"I'm waiting, governor."
"King Bumi." The word came out so quickly it was little more than a squeak.
Azula sat like she had been turned to stone – aside from, as Ty Lee would later helpfully inform her, the gradual whitening of her knuckles and lips.
"King Bumi," she repeated, very softly. "You agreed to their idea to trade the King of Omashu, one of the most powerful earthbenders in the entire world, an established tactical genius, and the single most valuable prisoner in probably the entire Earth Kingdom, for a two year old baby. Have I got that right?'
"Well, actually, your highness, it was the governor's idea, not the other way around." One of the guards who apparently had more courage than brains spoke up.
Azula took in a very deep breath, held it in for a moment, and then let it all out again. "When is this trade to take place?"
"Ah, today, your highness. At noon."
Absolute silence descended upon the room. Azula closed her eyes, sifting through each and every possibility she could find, trying to find some way to turn this situation in their favour.
Finally, she rose from the throne, striding down the polished steps. "I and my retinue will be the ones to oversee this trade, governor. I trust you have no objections."
There was none (not that she honestly expected any), and so Azula continued out of the room, silently fuming to herself.
(X)
The rebel's actions didn't make sense. At least, Azula thought to herself as she walked through the hallways of the palace, not by the standards of the Earth Kingdom. As stubborn and unyielding as the rock which they claimed as their birthright, they seemed to have a predisposition for holding their ground to the absolute last man – a tactic which many a Fire Nation general had exploited over the long war. Not to say that the Fire Nation's predisposition towards wild and relentless assaults hadn't cost them on more than one occasion, but that was neither here nor there.
So why their decision to flee the city? It would make sense from a tactical standpoint, especially when one took into account the probability that it, like most resistance movements, was small and poorly organized. An objective assessment would have revealed that staying within the city, without a clear escape route, would ultimately lead to their doom. But that was just it – objectivity was hard to find anywhere. The resistance leader (or leaders) would probably have spouted some morale-boosting nonsense about this place being their home and that fighting the Fire Nation would be the only path to freedom and that they would be willing to lay down their lives for freedom or some such rot. It certainly would fit with the standard Earth Kingdom mindset of meeting problems head-on.
Well, maybe she could have given them some credit. A predisposition wasn't the same as blind adherence to a standard, and if they really had decided that things were too dire they could have chosen to cut and run. It would have galled them, but they could have done it. Except that not one day before they'd evidently felt secure enough in their position to launch a direct attack on the governor. What could have possibly caused them to change their minds so quickly? Running away, avoiding and evading instead of standing and confronting –
No. No. She arrested those thoughts and stuffed them back into a corner of her mind. Wishful thinking got one nowhere, and she wasn't about to start making connections that existed nowhere but her mind. The Avatar wouldn't have shown up here in this city. That was simply too much of a logical leap based on such scanty evidence.
Finally, she descended the last flight of steps, ending up in a decidedly less inviting surroundings. Like so much other Earth Kingdom architecture that had been newly seized by the Fire Nation, a doorway had been hastily torn through the wall that led into the prison – it would properly remodelled when the architects currently fixing the more serious structural damage finally got around to the aesthetics.
She stepped through the doorway, and as soon as she did so, she was given a cheery greeting.
"Good morning!" A pause. "I think it's morning anyway. My internal clock is pretty accurate, but after a month or so without the sun, I can't really be sure."
Azula didn't bother to reply as she slowly stepped around the steel cage – although coffin really seemed to be the more apt term. It had been specially designed to constrict earthbenders, leaving all of their limbs unable to move beyond even feeblest of twitches. Against master earthbenders, it was the only way to be sure. That, or surrounding them with nothing but metal, but that wasn't really in the cards right now. As it was, the walls and floor of the room were already coated with steel.
Finally she completed her slow semicircle, allowing her to look into the face of the ancient king of Omashu. In a small concession, the coffins (Azula really couldn't think of them any other way) were designed to leave the earthbenders faces open instead of enclosed. The act was less merciful than it would have seemed on the surface – it made prisoners easier to interrogate.
"Hello, princess," the king of Omashu gave her a chipper smile as Azula regarded him coolly. "A pleasure to meet you at last! Normally I'd throw you a feast to welcome you into the city, but I'm a little tied up at the moment." He then launched himself in a cackling laugh, interspersed with more than a fair share of snorting. Finally, he calmed down and shook his head. "Okay, that joke would have gone better if you'd actually tied me up. Still, can't blame me for trying!"
She knew that some regarded the king of Omashu as stark raving mad. Others regarded him as a genius, and still others shrugged and said that there was no reason why he couldn't be both. If nothing else, he certainly did not behave in a manner that fit Azula's conceptions of how royalty should carry themselves.
"Anyway, to what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?" Bumi raised an eyebrow. "I heard about the trade, of course, but that's not for a while yet, I don't think."
"Oh, I'm just curious," she replied with a calculated nonchalance. "I wanted to see what kind of king would surrender his city without even a fight."
Despite the fact that his body was completely immobile, Bumi managed to give the impression that he was shrugging. "Well, don't get me wrong, there were plenty of people who wanted to fight and keep you lot out of the city. I almost agreed with them, myself! But then I remembered that I'd gotten out of bed on the wrong side that morning, and you know how nothing ever goes right once you've gotten out the wrong side of bed. So I surrendered," another almost-shrug. "Less bother for everyone involved, you see."
Her eyes narrowed. She was almost prepared to dismiss this man as a rambling idiot, except for two things. The first was that she knew, on an entirely objective level, that this man was far smarter and competent than he seemed. The second was his eyes. For all that his face seemed affixed into a permanent leer, there was a spark in his eyes that Azula found impossible to ignore – a look that spoke of him constantly watching and waiting, assessing the situation and never missing a single detail that might prove useful down the line. That hadn't changed from the moment they'd caught sight of each other – for as much as Azula was trying to get a read on Bumi; he was doing the same to her.
"You're remarkably cheerful for someone who's been immobilized for over a month," she turned away, making a show of being fascinated by the blank wall.
"Oh, well, I don't really mind that much. The food's not great, but they give me enough. And it gives me time to think!"
"Really. And what would you have to think about in a place like this?"
"Oh, lots of things. Like, for example – d'you think Ozai would look better with or without his goatee? I understand you Fire Nation types think it's dignified, but-"
Her eyes hardened and she whirled around. "You will refer to the Fire Lord with the proper respect!" She hissed. Her fingers itched, and she resisted the urge to bring a fire up into his eyeballs. No one disrespected her father and got away with it. No one.
If Bumi was perturbed he gave no outward sign. "Well, none of you ever call me King Bumi, so…"
"When you have defeated our armies, marched into the Imperial Palace and thrown down the Fire Lord, then you can do the same." She shot back.
"You didn't do any of that either. I surrendered, remember?"
Her eyes narrowed, and in response he gave another cheery grin. Just then, a servant entered the room.
"Your pardon, princess, but we are ready to begin transporting the prisoner for the trade."
Right. The trade. Azula reined in a sigh. "Take him away." She said dismissively.
"Hang on just one sec," Bumi spoke up again, and Azula tensed inwardly. "Would you mind telling the governor to take good care of my city? I'll want it in good shape when I get it back, you know."
"You will never rule this city or any other ever again!" Azula snapped. "Take him away! NOW!" The servants hastened to comply and Azula watched go, keeping her temper under control.
Too easy. It had been too easy for him to get under her skin.
"Whoa! Hey, I was right! It is morning!"
She would have to watch herself in the future. Rubbing her temples wearily, she began to leave the room – only to find Mai's father standing in the doorway.
"What is it, governor?" She said testily.
"Your highness… might I ask a question?"
"I'm not in a particularly good mood," she replied as she walked past him. "Make it a quick one."
"Ah, I couldn't help but notice that Prince Zuko is travelling with you."
After remaining silent for a long moment, she slowly turned to regard him in the eye. "And?" She asked coolly.
"It's just, well… surely you must have heard that your fath – that the Fire Lord has issued a warrant for his arrest?"
"Why, yes, of course I have," she replied. "It just so happens that he is currently in my custody. And I can treat my prisoners however I want. Rest assured he will not turn tail and flee over the horizon." She turned so that her entire body was now facing him. "Do you wish to challenge me on this, governor?"
"No, no, of course not. I merely – I just wanted to clarify the issue."
"Consider it clarified. Anything else?"
"Well, no."
"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a hostage trade to oversee."
(X)
She felt Zuko stiffen as soon as the people making the trade came into view. Why? Looking over, she almost dismissed the young boy with the funny hat at first glance. He certainly didn't look anything special.
Well, except for the fact that he walked in front, indicating that he was the spokesperson for their group, despite the fact that the two Water tribes-people behind him were clearly older and –
The two Water tribes-people.
A hundred possibilities surged through her mind in that single moment. Suddenly, Azula saw, clearly and completely, how to make this work.
"Keep out of sight." She hissed to Zuko beside her.
"Az," he whispered back, just as urgently. "He's –
"I know. Trust me on this. Stay back." Zuko began to back off, and she whirled around to confront the group just as soon as they came in close enough for their individual features to be recognized. And for the first time, Azula found herself looking into the face of the enemy.
The boy's eyes were grey. A lot like Ty Lee's, really. His face was honest – open and trusting. It would, she thought, be painfully easy to scam him should it ever come down to that. He wore clothes in a shade of orange and yellow she'd never seen before – Air Nomad clothing, perhaps?
Behind him, the two Water Tribes-people could be identified as such mainly by the colour of their skin and their eyes – the sea-blue clothes didn't do much for hiding their identity, either. The boy was the one holding the baby – and Azula had to wince at how rough and unsteadily he was holding Tom-Tom. A boomerang and club dangled from his belt, standard weapons of warriors of the Southern tribes. His arms were wiry; indicating strength, but the way he carried himself revealed that he'd probably never been through much, if any, formal warrior training.
The girl was slightly younger, hair tied back in a neat braid, her eyes like two points of shining ice in the middle of the darker skin of her face. At her side hung a reinforced water pouch, the signature item of any waterbender away from a ready water source. Her walk was lighter than her brothers – more assured and balanced. It looked like she had been through her fair share of training in the North. I wonder how she convinced them?
She kept her face carefully neutral as they finally came to a stop several meters in front of her. She didn't know whose idea it had been to arrange the trading location to be in front of a giant edifice of her father that was still under construction (certainly not her) but she supposed it was fitting in its own way. Behind her, the winch used to lower the captive king landed on the ground with a thump – and Azula noted the relieved smile that spread across the leader's face. So the king means more to him than a simple hostage in need of rescue.
"Hi, everybody!" Came the king's cheerful call. Azula ignored him.
"You brought my brother?" Mai questioned. The leader – the Avatar – stepped forward and nodded.
"He's here. We're ready to trade."
Azula cocked her head to the side. "You know, I'm just not sure…"
Both Mai and the Avatar turned to her, a question in their eyes.
"I've been thinking about it," she explained. "But really, I just can't see how trading the earthbender king of Omashu for a two-year old is even remotely fair. Wouldn't you agree?" She aimed the question at Avatar, and she could see the relief in his eyes being quickly replaced with wariness and fear. He was pathetically easy to read.
At her side, Mai hesitated for a brief, timeless moment. As Azula turned back to her, she could see the conflict – small and well-hidden though it was – in her friend's eyes. Tom-Tom was her brother, after all.
But in this instance at least, Mai's loyalty to Azula took precedence over everything else.
"You're right." She turned and stepped forward. "The deal's –"
"I didn't say that." The princess said as she laid a hand on her friend's shoulder. Silently, she reminded herself to reward Mai's loyalty later. "The deal can still go on – after all, we both have something the other side wants, don't we?" She could see the Avatar and his friends relaxing ever so slightly. "I just thought we could… negotiate over the terms a little more."
The three of them exchanged glances while Tom-Tom continued to coo and gurgle happily. Finally, the Avatar spoke up again – come to think of it, that ridiculous hat was probably to hide his airbender tattoos. "What did you have in mind?"
"Well… King Bumi here is one of the most powerful benders in the world, isn't he? So, I thought we could exchange one master bender for another. That's much fairer, isn't it?" She took a couple of steps forward, every muscle in her body tensing up, ready to spring into action. "After all, aren't you all about the fairness and balance," and the fake-sweetness in her voice was replaced by caustic venom as her expression morphed into one of ferocious concentration. "Avatar?"
The element of air is one of freedom and expression. That means airbenders can adapt to new and surprising situations quickly with minimal difficulty. Of course, that also means that they are impulsive and prone to acting before properly thinking things through – The Avatar had already sprung forward, one hand already unfurling his staff-glider. Bingo. Azula burst into action, hand arcing outward and sending a wave of searing fire into the air, right into the path between the Avatar and the King. First, deny him the sky. An airbender's chief advantage was his mobility. They would have to nullify that.
"I guess the deal is off, after all." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the Water peasants moving up to support the Avatar. Good thing she had her own backup, then.
"Mai! Guard the King!" Good thing they hadn't drawn him back up into the sky. It'd be too easy for the Avatar to reach him then. "Ty Lee, get Tom-Tom back safely!" That shouldn't be difficult, considering her opponent. "Zuko, you're with me!"
She could hear the female peasant's startled shout as Zuko burst from his hiding place, a war cry on his lips as he launched twin blasts of flame at the Avatar, who was now forced to break off his attempted flight and go to ground.
And then the battle began in earnest.
(X)
Aang wasn't quite sure at which point in time exactly he'd realized that everything had gone utterly and spectacularly wrong, but it definitely was around the point where the Fire Nation girl with the headpiece had begun talking. Something about the way she carried herself, and the look in her eyes, sent a chill up his spine. Even then he'd simply assumed that once they'd completed the trade they could be on their way, with the strange woman little more than an unpleasant memory.
Well, so much for that idea…
But she'd pegged him how had she managed that? He'd hidden his tattoos well enough, hadn't he? almost immediately, and Aang had realized that he wasn't going to be able to get out of this one without a fight.
But when she'd starting shooting the crazy blue fire, and when Zuko why was he even here? had appeared from his hiding spot and started attacking them in tandem with the girls, He finally realized just how much trouble he'd gotten himself into.
The plumes of fire were making glider-travel impossible – even leaving aside the need to dodge two or three blasts of fire every second, the intense heat was causing the air to rise unevenly, seriously destabilizing the young Airbender's movements.
He could have concentrated and kept the air stable enough to fly properly. He could have concentrated on dodging the blasts of scorching flame. He wasn't good enough to do both.
Quickly he folded the glider back into a staff, swinging it in an arc and letting out a gust of wind to dispel a fire blast that the Creepy Girl was aiming at him. It was a standard move he'd done a dozen times before against Zuko, and it had always worked before – which was why his surprise when the fireball blew straight through his own gust of wind and slammed into him was all the greater.
Gathering the air around himself, he twisted in mid-air gotta land well gotta land well gotta land well, managing to land properly with both feet on the ground. His defensive manoeuvre had still managed to take most of the force of the blast – at least his clothes weren't singed or damaged. Still, it was stronger than almost anything Aang had gone up against before, and that wasn't good at all.
He barely had time to react before she was rushing at him, two fingers thrust out to send another jet of blue fire at him. Quickly, he dodged to the side seriously, blue fire? I've never heard of blue fire, retaliating with a burst of air of his own that she dodged in turn.
Off to the side he could hear Katara and Sokka engaged in battles of their own, but there was no time to go out of his way to help them – he had enough on his own plate.
His target was still Bumi – the problem would be trying to get to him. Quickly, he faked to the left before pivoting and rushing the air around him to help him turn faster and make a break for the right.
He'd almost thought he'd succeeded until a boot thin and sharp-toed it's the Creepy Girl again appeared in front of him, connecting solidly with his chest. He was knocked backwards, and for once his smaller body and lighter frame ended up working against him – he was sent right over the edge.
Luckily there was a lot of construction work going around the place and so he managed to crash onto yet another wooden platform slightly below without severely injuring himself. Any relief was quickly dispelled by the sight of Zuko and Creepy Girl they're working together, are they related? jumping down themselves and rushing up to engage him again. Quickly he flipped himself onto his feet, eyes narrowed. He knew he could take Zuko – he'd done so several times already. But Zuko and Creepy Girl together? That was going to be more problematic…
A ponderous growl sounded to his right, and relief washed over the young Airbender. "Appa!" He called, and a moment later the Sky Bison came down in front of him, his large body serving as a roadblock against the two Firebenders,
Or at least it blocked one Firebender – while Zuko didn't appear, Creepy Girl simply vaulted straight over Appa's back, how did she do that? I've never met a non-Airbender who could jump that high her leg scything forward to send a crescent of azure flame at Aang.
Focusing, he sent forth his strongest air funnel forward, catching the flames, whirling them about, and – barely, just barely! – dispersing them before he reached him. Taking a deep breath, he tightened his grip on his staff and looked around. She had disappeared. Where to?
"That girl," he said to himself as he hurried over to Appa. "She – her Firebending's on a completely different level from Zuko…"
"Oh, you noticed? I'm flattered." It took him a split second to notice the muffled tone of the voice, and direction it came from, and that was a split second he couldn't afford, because suddenly the ground (or wood) exploded from under him how did she get under there so quickly, and she leapt out, golden eyes flashing with triumph as Aang was once more forced backwards. And then as she landed, twin jets of fire spewed forth from her finger tips once more, every strike calculated and precise, always powerful enough to send him reeling back, back, back, and then he was on the edge again and this time there was no more lower-level construction site to soften the fall and he swerved down into scaffolding, into the maze of poles and tarps and planks, hoping against hope that it would deter her, even momentarily.
An intense beam of fire carving its way straight down from the top, and Creepy Girl dropping down from the newly made entrance her eyes, it's those eyes, that focus is totally uncanny quickly dispelled that notion. But at least it had given him a moment to collect his bearings and steady himself. Taing a deep breath, he brought his staff up and prepared to fight.
(X)
"Whoa, hey! Wait!" The water tribe boy was dodging frantically, trying desperately to stay out of range of her striking fists. Ty Lee frowned. He had good reflexes, at the very least. But this was wasting time! She needed to rescue Tom-Tom, get him somewhere safe, and then she could help Mai or Azula face their opponents – they were benders, this boy wasn't.
"Just give back the baby and you won't get hurt!" She snapped. As she threw herself forward, the boy once more stumbled back. "You should be ashamed of yourselves, kidnapping a poor, innocent, defenceless baby!"
"Okay! OKAY! TAKE HIM!"
"Look, you're just making it harder for yourself in – huh?" She paused, in the middle of a striking stance, one leg cocked backwards and one hand bent forwards. "Take him? You mean it?"
"Yes, take him! It's what we came here to do in the first place!" The water tribe boy was thrusting Tom-Tom at her, who merely looked at her with a confused expression.
"Oh. Uh, okay then." Quickly, she scooped the baby back, hugging him close to her chest. "Thanks, mister. Maybe you're not so bad after all." She said cheerfully as she bowed to him in gratitude.
"Thanks… I think." The water boy looked at her. "Um… any chance you could do the same with Bumi?"
The acrobat's eyes widened. "Ah. Um, I think you're going to have to ask Azula about that one."
"Azula? You mean that creepy chick with the crazy blue fire?"
"Well, yeah, but don't let her hear you call it that. She's really proud of it." Ty Lee paused. "Well, thanks again. See you!" Quickly, she rushed off – she had to get Tom-Tom someplace safe and then return to the fight.
You know, that guy was actually kinda cute. She thought to herself as she swung through the scaffolding at dizzying speeds, all while Tom-Tom gurgled happily. His aura was kinda… orangey, though. I'm not sure I like that.
(X)
"I've faced your knives before." Katara said calmly as she froze the water in front of her, creating a shield that deflected the gleaming instruments. "I know what to expect."
Her opponent gave no visible reaction, but a slight movement of her wrist later, a stiletto was slicing through the frozen shield, its thin smooth shape allowing it penetrate even the ice. Only a last second jerk to the side saved Katara from being nailed to the wall.
The Waterbender frowned and quickly reshaped her water into a whip shape. Shifting her stance, she lashed out – Knife Girl managed to dodge once, twice, and another knife flew her way.
Clearly standard long range tactics weren't working. Where was Aang? She wasn't too worried about him facing Zuko, but the other girl – something about her just unnerved Katara. Was he going to be okay?
No, I've got to have faith in Aang! And she had to focus on the opponent in front of her. She focused, keeping her eyes trained on the flicker of movement that would signify Knife Girl's next assault.
There! As her opponent lashed out, so did she, most of the water in her pack gushing forth in a torrent. Caught in the force of the rushing water, the knife was knocked aside. But that was not Katara's real target – the girl's outstretched hand was.
In a moment, the gush of water had enveloped the girl's hand, her eyes widening in surprise, and then narrowing in anger, as Katara quickly froze it, leaving one hand immobilized. Katara smirked. Score one for the waterbender. Now all she had to do was get to Bumi…
And then all of her sudden there was something speedy and pink at her side, jabbing her in several locations almost too quickly for Katara to catch, and it didn't hurt, not really, but when the pink thing – a girl, it was one of those girls – darted away again she was suddenly aware that the water wasn't obeying her, and then the ice was melting, and the rest of her whip was just falling apart and she just couldn't do anything with the water any more –
"What did you do?" She sputtered, her eyes wide. How did she remove my bending?
There was a clicking sound of something sliding into place, and she looked up to see Knife Girl with something that looked an awful lot like a sai in her hand.
"Surrender."
Katara's only response was a defiant glare. Knife Girl's eyes narrowed and she drew her arm back. Katara tensed, ready to move. She wasn't quite sure what she could do in this state, she only knew she couldn't give up here and –
Clang!
"Yeah, boomerang!" Sokka cheered as he came into view beside her. "Two on two! The odds are even now!" Knife Girl glanced sourly at her latest weapon that had been knocked away and shook her head.
"An untrained warrior and a bender who can't bend. I'm quaking in my boots." Another flash of movement, and another set of knives appeared in her hands. How many of those things does she have?!
"You know, she has a point." Sokka said after a moment's deliberation. "Maybe a tactical retreat is in order."
Katara glanced behind her opponents at Bumi, who appeared to be watching the proceedings with rapt attention. "What about Bumi?"
"He looks okay. Mostly. We can always come back for him later – you know, when there isn't the crazy acrobat girl and the crazy blue fire girl around."
Katara grit her teeth. Must as she hated to admit defeat, knowing when to call it quits was only good sense. Maybe they could – "Wait a minute – where's Appa?"
"Oh, he's over there fighting Zuko."
"Oh, okay, that's – wait, what?'
(X)
"Get out of my way, you stupid cow… bison… thing!" Zuko snarled in frustration as he tried to circle around and get to where his sister and the Avatar were. But the Sky Bison was fast despite his large bulk, always managing to move quickly enough to block Zuko.
"Look, I don't want to hurt you, but –" A part of him wondered why he was even bothering to negotiate with a Sky Bison, but that particular thread of thought (along with every other one in his mind) was blasted away by the beast sending out a massive air burst that knocked Zuko flat on his back.
I am fighting, and losing, to the Avatar's PET. That is how low I have sunk. Zuko thought dimly as he lay on his back staring up at the sky. With a groan, he launched himself back onto his feet, a fireball already building up in his palm.
"All right. No more mister nice guy!" That… sounded a lot better in my head. A roar of flame erupted from his outstretched fist, far too fast for the Sky Bison to dodge or blow away. The creature bellowed in pain and staggered back, a smouldering patch readily visible on its formerly snow-white fur.
Zuko raced past the distracted Bison, trying to banish the sudden pangs of sympathy he felt for the beast. It was asking for it. Besides, I didn't hurt it that bad. It'll be fine after a couple days.
Quickly, he scanned his surroundings, looking for the telltale blue fire that would give away his sister's location – and by extension, the Avatar's.
There. Down near the chutes. He broke into a sprint, looking for a way down the scaffolding, seeking to reach the pair as quickly as possible.
(X)
King Bumi was a master of neutral jing. What master earthbender wasn't?
Of course, Bumi being Bumi, he chose to approach the idea of watching and waiting in his own unique way. More than one person had questioned his methods of doing things, and after the seventh time or so Bumi had realized that simply doing whatever it was he was planning to do and letting the results speak for themselves was far more effective as far as proving his point went. It also saved far more time too – he had noticed that explaining his actions tended to use up even more time than simply carrying them out.
He still wasn't quite sure if it was because his plans were that complicated and far out or if everyone else around him was just that slow. Maybe both.
Well, the point was that he was considered odd by most. Like his decision to surrender the city to the invading Fire Nation. That hadn't really gone down well with most of his staff – even the ones who had been in his service the longest and were used to most of his oddities had baulked at the idea.
But the plain, undeniable fact was that it would prove for the better in the long run. And it had its short-term benefits too. The city was still standing; now that was one heck of a benefit, if you asked him. The Fire Nation had finally decided that it really didn't like having an enemy city so close to its home country, and the army they had assembled to rectify that was large enough that even if by some humongous stroke of cunning (and luck – couldn't forget the luck) Bumi had managed to pull off a victory, his armies would still be decimated, the city would still be in shambles, and the next army they sent over would have rolled over them easily.
Sometime sheer disparity of power was what decided the day. A time and place for everything, after all.
No, all in all, the decision to surrender was the wiser one. The newly appointed governor wasn't going to be too hard on the local people – he was, at heart, a family man, and Bumi could respect that. He knew that if he simply watched and waited, there would come the opportune moment to act, but until then…
Now, though, it looked possible that he going to have to shift his plans around a bit. That in itself was unusual – thinking out of the box generally implied that you turned around and saw into the box, saw all the pieces at once, and so you could build knowing how things were going to play out.
But something had gone wrong. The city being occupied he could live with. The Avatar – his friend – being threatened, he could not.
The Fire Nation princess was good; even in the few moments of action he'd been able to catch, he had already been able to gauge her fairly well. And in the first few moments of Aang's flustered reactions, he could tell that the Avatar was almost certainly going to lose this particular fight.
Unless someone helped him.
Bumi heaved a sigh. The two girls who were ostensibly guarding him were in a tense standoff with the Avatar's friends – Katara and Sokka, if he recalled correctly. The fact that they were largely helpless aside, neither side appeared particularly keen on exacerbating the conflict.
Well, nothing for it. Plans do change.
"Excuse me, ladies." He said pleasantly. The girl – the governor's daughter, he believed – shifted slightly, watching him out of the corner of his eye. "Would you mind taking a couple of steps away from the cage?"
Now he had her attention – as well as the acrobat's. She gazed at him, a puzzled frown on his face.
"Well, you see, I'll be breaking out in a couple of seconds, and I'd really hate for two nice young girls like yourselves to be hurt by accident. I could never live with myself." He smiled his most innocent smile – which, truth be told, still wasn't all that innocent, but heck, he'd tried.
"What!" The girl with the knives had already brought her hand up – she wasn't going to throw, though. The only exposed spot was his face, and she was too well trained to go for a killing shot on an unarmed prisoner like that. And so in response, he stuck his tongue out at her.
From her blank stare, he could tell that this hadn't been the response she was expecting. In fact, it was so disconcerting that she failed to notice the mud patches that had disconnected themselves from the construction work until they made contact with her eyes.
"ARGH!" One hand went up to brush away at the mud – the acrobat girl was likewise preoccupied, and so Bumi concentrated, inclining his neck slightly.
His month (or so) in the cage had given him a pretty good feel for his new home, especially since he'd spent his time sourcing out the confines of his new home, sending tiny tremors through the metal until he was certain of the stresses and vital points of the contraption. The ability to detect via the impurities in the metal was one he'd developed fairly recently, and – who knew? – in time he might be able to push it even further.
But for now, knowing the metal was enough.
Rocks popped out from the nearby ground, slamming into the metal cage at specific points and angles. One time, two times, three times – and that was it. Flexing his muscles, he pushed outward, feeling the satisfying sound of the weakened metal giving way with a terrible groan, and he stepped out, standing to his full height.
The Mad King of Omashu was free once more.
(X)
Fighting on a flat, open rooftop, with endless sky in every direction, the rest of the vast city stretched out around him, with no obstacles or boulders or pitfalls in the vicinity, Aang could not recall a single point in his life where he had ever felt this completely, utterly and hopelessly boxed in.
The blue fire was everywhere. Everywhere he sought to run to, a streak of flame would land first. If he tried to jump, a sheet of fire would soar overhead, cutting off his escape route. If he wanted to go on the offensive, a wall of fire would spring up in front of him before he had even begun to attack.
How? How was the Creepy Girl with the creepy eyes this good? How could she anticipate his every action, his every movement?
And how in the world was he supposed to get away this time?
He jumped at her, gathering the air around his fists for a head-on confrontation – except that she had already sidestepped the attack and was whirling around to send a kick at his back. He ducked, threw himself to the ground – and suddenly she had shifted her weight, shifted her angles, all in the blink of an eye, and her foot was now stomping down at him. He rolled to the side and boosted the air around him again to flip himself back upright.
She was once again in a Firebending stance, a tiny smirk on her face dear spirits; she's not even out of breath as she stepped to the left slowly. Her hands were held in a strange two-fingered stance that he'd never seen in any other Firebender before.
Well, he supposed that made sense. She wasn't like any other Firebender he had ever seen.
"Tell me Avatar," she said softly in a mocking, superior tone of voice. "How many hours a day do you spend training?"
"Huh?" The suddenness and unexpected nature of the question threw him off for a moment – a moment that she quickly exploited, leaping forward to send a jet of fire straight at him.
He dodged to the left – and she was already there, arms already swinging around to attack him again and there was no way she could be that fast, there was no way any Airbender could be that fast, so how – Another wrench to the side, and Aang fell from the rooftops, down into the shaded streets below.
After a moment to get his bearings, he realized that this particular street led to a dead end.
Crud.
He turned – and she was already at the far end, one arm already slashing down to send out a stream of fire – Aang dodged to the side, and a little to the back, each and every one of her attacks forcing him slightly backwards.
It was only a matter of time until her reached the far wall – only a matter of time until he had nowhere to run.
(X)
Azula glared down at the Avatar with anger – and not only that, with disappointment.
This was the one destined to 'bring balance to the world'? The one Fire Lord Sozin had feared so much that he had devoted the last quarter of a century of his life to hunting down? The one Zuko had been unable, time and time again, to defeat and capture?
It would be funny if it weren't so insulting.
That he had some measure of raw talent was undeniable – even at such a young age, his air blasts were powerful, and those tattoos all over his body was the sign of an airbending master. But he had no form, no real idea of what to do with all that power. He was faster than her, but what did that matter when he left himself so utterly open that she would have to be blind to not be able to tell what he was planning to do? His air attacks had power behind them, but he couldn't focus and let them flow properly and so most of the force dissipated far too early. He had stamina, but he wasted so much of it on wild, unnecessary actions she was surprised he still had the energy to stand.
A few moments later, she had him with his back up against the wall, and she held a steady flame out in front of her, daring him to try and escape again. He gazed back at her, fear in his eyes.
Pathetic.
"Let me guess," she said conversationally. "You thought you could get by on raw talent. You're the Avatar, and so of course you're going to be the best bender in the world. It's the way it works, after all. Is that it? Am I right?"
To have strength and not use it is the greatest of all sins, for in the end it is no better than genuine weakness.
"Well, let me tell you something, Avatar. I'm talented too – I've been talented from birth. But you know what else? I worked to get to where I am today – I've devoted more hours to training than anything else in my life." Her eyes narrowed. "And now, I am stronger than you, I am more skilled than you, and I have you cornered. Come quietly, and I won't hurt you." She paused. "Much."
The Avatar seemed to gather himself, taking a deep breath when all of a sudden a cheerful voice sounded from above the two of them.
"Well, I'm talented, I train, and I've got a hundred years on the both of you!" There was a blur of motion and suddenly a hulking brute of a man was standing in between her and the Avatar. She glanced up at his face, and her eyes widened in shock.
"You!" She snarled at mad king of Omashu. "When did you-"
He grinned cheerily at her, and suddenly a wave of earth slammed into her from the side, so fast that Azula had no time to react before she was thrown off her feet and through the nearby wall. As she landed on the ground, coughing and sputtering, she pushed against the ground, eager to get back into the action and to teach that arrogant fool not to cross her – but then stone clamps burst from the ground, tying her down, even sinking in between her fingers so securely that she couldn't even twitch them, couldn't summon any fire at all with which to free herself from her bonds, and as she struggled and cursed she could see the King leading the Avatar away.
With a cry of frustration, Azula pulled her bonds once more, only stopping when the pain in her shoulders grew too intense and she realized that she would dislocate her shoulders before she could get the damnable clamps to move, and so she slumped down again, trying to regain the breath that had been knocked out of her lungs, and cursing Bumi's name with each new breath she drew in. It had all happened so quickly, it was a level of earthbending that Azula had never even heard of before, and -
And for the first time in her life, Azula had lost.
(X)
"Well, it should be fine to stop for a chat here." Bumi said as he dusted off his hands.
"Bumi! You're safe!"
"Of course I'm safe. There's hasn't been a point in the last decade where I wasn't safe. Your friends and Appa are up there waiting for you, by the way."
"Great! Then let's get out of here before that girl or her partners show up again."
"Let's?" Bumi questioned and he shook his head. Suddenly Aang felt his a twist in his gut. "I'm sorry, Aang. But I can't leave just yet."
"What? But you broke free – or Katara and Sokka helped break you free – and now there's no reason for you to stay here!"
"Aang, I broke free to help you. You need to go and master the four elements so you can stop the Fire Lord, and you can't do that if you're captured."
"I know that! And I need you to be my teacher!" From that brief display with which he had saved Aang, the young Airbender now realized that the bout they'd had the last time he'd been to Omashu had been little more than play-acting on the King's part – if Bumi had used his full power he would have destroyed Aang, Avatar or no.
Bumi crouched down so that he and the Avatar were seeing eye-to-eye – and Aang could see the regret and sadness in his old friend's eyes. "No, Aang." He said softly. "You need an Earthbending master to be your teacher. And there are a total of two-hundred and nine master Earthbenders out there right now." Then he paused. "Or was that ninety-two? Twenty-nine? Well, there's a nine and a two in the figure somewhere, and the point is – you're spoiled for choice. There are plenty of people who can teach you Earthbending."
"But -!"
"But," Bumi continued as he held up a single finger. "There is only one King Bumi, and the people of Omashu need him. That's why I'm here – and that's why I let myself get captured. If I'm here, I can listen and wait – wait for the correct moment to strike."
"Wait?"
"Yes. Tell me, Aang, what do you know about jing?"
(X)
"Az? Why are you – what happened?" Zuko's surprised voice sounded from somewhere out of the edge of her vision.
"Just get me out of here!" She snapped. A moment later, she felt blasts of heat against the stone clamps at her hands and wrists, weakening the hardened earth and allowing her to finally wrench her hands free. And once those were free, she was able to remove the rest of the restraints rather quickly.
Pulling herself to her feet she stormed out of the stone house, leaving her brother behind. She was going to hunt down that so-called King, and then she was going to-
He was right there, sitting in a meditative pose in the middle of a town square, his eyes closed. She paused, once more at a loss for words.
"Oh, you're free. Your brother helped you, I suppose?" He said, without ever opening his eyes. "Sorry about the rough treatment there, but I needed to make sure Aang and I had the time to talk."
"Where is he?" She demanded.
"Oh, Aang? Long gone by now," he paused. "You're not sore that I beat you, are you? I know the type – young prodigy, think they're the best in the world until they get taken down a peg, and then they completely lose it." He snorted with laughter. "Eh, don't worry too much. Like I said, I'm pretty good myself, and I've got years and years under my belt."
Her eyes narrowed in fury and she shifted into a battle stance so quickly she was barely aware of it herself. "A fair fight, no surprises, and then we'll see who beats who!"
"Hmm… no. Pass." Bumi shook his head. "Just hurry up and capture me again and then we can move on with our lives."
"Capture you? I'm going to kill you, you arrogant –"
"Well, that is a bit more serious." Bumi said as he opened his eyes. "But I don't think that's a very good course of action at all. Do you?"
"You were able to break out with your entire body immobilized – I don't know how, but that means we can't contain you, and that makes you a threat." She launched a bolt of fire at the king – and a wall jerked up from the ground to shield Bumi from the blast.
"I only did it to save Aang." Bumi shrugged. "He's gone; I've got no reason to escape now."
Silently, she took a single step back and lowered her arms. He cracked a grin. "Ah, so you do listen to reason after all. I knew you had brains as well as braw-"
She burst into action again, arms wheeling around as energy flowed through her entire body. As the separated energies collided with each other, she focused her entire mind, one hand darting out to send a lightning bolt-
"NO!" From her side, one hand reached in and yanked her hand away, sending the lightning crackling away from its intended target, crashing into a wall and obliterating with a sound akin to a thunderclap. Dust and pebbles scattered around the square, the smoke slowly clearing to reveal a panting Azula staring with wild eyes at her brother.
Through it all, Bumi had not moved an inch. Now he turned his head to look at the destruction behind him, and an appreciative whistle escaped his lips.
Azula could hardly have cared less at that moment. "What," she demanded as she stared at her brother. "Do you think you're doing?"
He glared back at her. "I'm stopping you from making a mistake, that's what I'm doing."
Her eyes narrowed. "Zuko, let me make one thing perfectly clear," she hissed at him. "For as long as we're on this journey, for as long we are brother and sister, you do not question my methods. Not now. Not ever."
"Your methods!" His golden eyes flared. "So killing unarmed, surrendering prisoners is how the Fire Nation goes about things now? Is that something that father taught you to do?"
Eyes that had been narrowed in fury now widened in surprise. She stared, silent, at him, and he returned her gaze without blinking.
"Well, as entertaining as this all is, I'm not sure the Fire Nation Royal Family airing their dirty laundry in public is really the best way to go about things," a familiar voice broke in. "Anyway, if the princess here doesn't feel like capturing me, I guess I'll head back to the palace and turn myself in. Good day, everyone." And saying so, Bumi stood, turned and began to walk off.
Azula simply watched him go. A distant part of her mind felt like she should stop him, but suddenly she felt far, far too tired to do anything.
After several meters, he halted as if a thought had just occurred to him.
"Oh yes, your friends have been encased in stone cocoons for the past half hour. It's not particularly uncomfortable, but you know how it gets when you can't move anything for a while. Thought you might want to look into it, free them and all."
And then he continued walking.
(X)
"If one clod of dirt gets within a hundred feet of him, I assure that you will regret it. Very, very much." Azula said softly to the construction workers as she stared down at the newly recaptured Bumi. Now that he had been able to break out once already, they weren't taking any chances.
The steel coffin was still there, but this time he was suspended in the middle of a massive web of steel and iron. A gigantic cage encased the whole thing, created specifically for this one man, designed to deny him the earth he needed to be the dangerous force that he was. There were no gaps in between the thickly welded steel sheets, save a single hole that allowed him to, with considerable effort, peer up at the noonday sun.
No earthbender would ever be able to break out of this. Not in a hundred years.
She turned away to see Mai and Ty Lee standing behind her. Their time spent trapped didn't appear to have left them any worse for the wear, a fact for which she supposed she was grateful. She needed them in optimal health for their journey.
"Have you got the supplies I requested?" She asked. Mai nodded.
"Enough food and water to last us a month and a half." She said tonelessly. "Several sets of Earth Kingdom clothing – mine have been modified to let me keep my knives and weapons inside. Money equivalent to two hundred gold pieces. Maps and other miscellaneous supplies..."
"And we got four – count 'em, FOUR – mongoose-dragons to ride!" Ty Lee said joyfully.
That was good news. Mongoose-Dragons had high stamina and speed, could traverse terrain that would stymie most other mounts, and could eat almost anything – many riders simply released them during idle periods and let them scavenge for their own food. Definitely a leg up over a single ostrich-horse, at any rate.
"Good work, Mai." She nodded as she stepped away to finish her own last minute preparations.
As she rounded the corner, she came face to face with Zuko, sitting there and staring awkwardly at nothing in particularly. A rush of confused emotion welled up in her, and she sighed.
"Hey." She said softly.
He turned to face her, and pulled himself to his feet. "Az… back there, with King Bumi…"
She closed her eyes and shook her head. "What's done is done, Zuko. There's no use talking about it anymore."
"That's not what I meant, although I still think you were wrong to try and kill him." Zuko paused, drawing in a deep breath. "I need to know, Az – Are we equals?"
"…What?" It wasn't a particularly eloquent response, but then again it hadn't been a particularly eloquent question.
Zuko sighed. "What I mean is… is…" one hand ran through the swiftly growing hair on his head. "You're as bossy as ever, you know."
"I would have used 'decisive'."
"Well, call it what you want – the point is that you're used to always ordering people around. I guess I was too, back when I was still prince, but now…" he shook his head. "No, that's not relevant. Anyway, you keep giving commands to Mai and Ty Lee, and I guess they don't mind, since this is only their journey by proxy – they're here because they agreed to come with you. But this… this is important to me."
She raised an eyebrow. "Is this going somewhere, Zuko?"
"Az, I know you came all the way out here for my sake. I know also that you agreed to help me with my Firebending to prepare me for facing the Avatar, and I'm grateful. Believe me, I am." He drew in a deep breath. "But I consider this my hunt. I'm willing to let you take the lead most of the time – you're a natural at it, really, but when I give an opinion, I want it to be heard."
Azula bit back the instinctive reply, that Zuko was in no way fit to command a troop – which was true, at least as far as she could tell. She could tell that he considered his honour to be wounded, and that it ran rather deep. Hearing his suggestions out couldn't do that much harm, and if it was flawed she could correct him and help him make better ones down the line. And of course, once they succeeded in capturing the Avatar he would become Crown Prince again, and then he would need to make decisions one way or the other. Best to start early.
So she nodded. "I can't promise I'll go along with whatever you say, Zuzu. But I will hear you out first before making big decisions from now on. Fair?"
He nodded, and the hint of a smile entered his face. "Fair."
"Good. Then we should be getting ready to set out soo-"
"Your highness."
She turned. The governor of Omashu was there, which wasn't that unusual, considering that the nobility usually turned out to see royalty off when they departed on trips. Less reassuring was the presence of several armed guards that were moving forward in a flanking movement.
Keeping her face neutral, she straightened her posture and nodded once. "Governor. Thank you for coming to see me off. I appreciate the effort."
He hesitated. Not an act that was reassuring, by any means. "Princess, while you were engaged with the Avatar and his allies… a new edict from the capital came in."
She kept her face carefully composed. "I suppose its contents would be considered significant to me?"
"Yes, well." He coughed and held up the scroll. "It says that Former Crown Prince Zuko is to be apprehended on sight and returned to the Fire Nation capital."
"Yes, and I've told you that Zuko is my prisoner, and that-"
"It also specifies," Oh, this was bad. He wouldn't have cut her off otherwise. "That the demand for him to be returned immediately to the capital overrides all other authority. Including yours, princess."
There was absolute silence in the courtyard for a moment. And then Azula drew in a deep breath.
"I could tell you that if you wanted to force my hand, I could let my father know what an utterly execrable job you've been doing as governor of this city. I could threaten to tell him about how you let a resistance movement form right under your nose and how you let them escape. I could let him know about how you wanted to trade King Bumi away for a two-year old baby. I could let him know about how you had Bumi in captivity for a month and yet failed to realize that he was fully capable of breaking out any time he pleased." She kept her voice low. "I could completely and utterly destroy you with nothing but a few well-chosen words."
He kept his gaze steady, and then after a moment she smiled.
"But I'm not going to do that, because I've known you since I was a little girl, and I know you have a spine," not much brain, but definitely spine. She leaned in closer. "So what I am going to do is to remind you that if it weren't for Ty Lee, Zuko, and me, Tom-Tom wouldn't be taking his nap in the palace nursery right now. Just something for you to consider."
His eyes widened and he swallowed reflexively as she stood back and folded her arms, waiting for his decision. After a long moment he nodded once and bowed. "I wish you a safe journey, princess."
"May the flames of life sustain you, governor." She replied, the smile on her face never changing. The governor then looked to her daughter, who was standing at the side.
"Mai."
"Yes, father."
"Take care of Azula," a pause. "And Zuko."
"Of course, father."
(X)
Night had fallen upon Omashu. The princess and her retinue had long since departed, and most of the people that remained within the city limits had turned in for the night.
But not Bumi. He lay in his prison, silent, eyes closed, but he was not asleep.
He was pondering. On some level, he felt rather proud of himself that they considered him enough of a threat to construct a massive metal prison just for him. It was a proof of his abilities, if nothing else.
But proof of his abilities had come by often enough that he didn't particularly pay this newest one much heed. More worrisome was that they had removed his trump card – his ability to Earthbend using nothing but his face. They didn't know how he'd done it specifically, but they knew that Earthbenders couldn't work with metal, and so they'd piled layer upon layer all around him. It was almost overkill, really.
Others might have despaired – and Bumi could certainly name names, if pressed. But that was really beside the point. Others might have despaired, but for the Mad Genius of Omashu, this was merely another problem to solve.
And like most problems, the solution was absurdly simple once you paused for a moment and started thinking outside the box.
Instead of worrying about the insurmountable obstacle that so much metal presented, started pondering how to turn the abundance of metal into an ally.
Within the confines of his cage, Bumi's little finger twitched. There was barely any room for it really – his fingers were long, thick and callused. But there was a hair's breadth enough for it to move, and in the end that was enough.
The finger twitched. And then it did it again. And again. And again, building up a steady, almost entirely unnoticeable, rhythm against the thick metal.
And the metal responded. Not by much, but it did respond. For every action, there would be an equal and opposite reaction. Or, as Bumi liked to phrase it 'If you hit something, it's going to hit you back.'
Of course none of his staff had understood – one of the older ones had even launched into a long lecture about pacifism and how turning the other cheek was the way to go. He was rather fond of that particular old bat, and he'd made sure she was safely evacuated before surrendering. But that was, once again, beside the point.
The metal thrummed against the tiny beat of his little finger, and as the minuscule, almost imperceptible shockwaves travelled out through the thick plate, he could feel it.
He could feel the solid, processed metal. And he could feel the impure, irregular sections of ore embedded within the plate. And the longer he did it, the more he could feel, through the metal cage to the steel web to the massive metal cavern that was holding him.
It was unlikely he would ever have bothered with this had he remained back in the room – his ability to bend with his face would have served him well enough. But then again, they did say the necessity was the mother of invention.
He now knew what to do, and how to do it. All that was left was to wait and watch for the correct moment – the correct time.
In the darkness, Bumi smiled.
Chapter End
Wow. This is easily the longest chapter I have written for anything. Ever.
I dearly hope you all enjoy it.