Morality Chain
Well, this looks to be a long chapter. Let's hope I can satisfy.
I have more free time now after the latest Uni term, so the update time should improve.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
The two children sat on the stone benches of the palace garden, neither looking at the other.
"Anyway," Azula spoke up, continuing the conversation from where they had left off. "The point is that Uncle didn't succeed. Whether you want to say he quit or not, Ba Sing Se's still standing. The war will still go on."
"That's okay!" Zuko smiled at her.
"Hm? Why?" she raised an eyebrow as she glanced at her brother.
"Because this means we'll get a chance to fight, too!" jumping up onto the stone bench, Zuko struck what he no doubt thought was a heroic pose while Azula resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "It's the patriotic thing to do, isn't it?"
"There are ways to be patriotic other than fighting, Zuzu," Azula said as stared up at her brother. "Keeping the country running smoothly, for instance."
"Yeah, but those ways are boring!"
Azula shrugged and slumped back in her seat. "You're not that good a Firebender anyway. I bet if you went out there you wouldn't last a day before they got to you and put you down for good."
"Hmph. A – as if you'd do any better!" Zuko glared at her.
"As a matter of fact, I do believe I would," Azula said with a prim smile as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Why, I bet I could do better than Uncle himself."
"Yeah, right!" Zuko folded his arms. "Uncle almost took Ba Sing Se by himself, and you think you can do better?"
Azula folded her arms right back. "Uh-huh. Give me the supplies and everything and I'll take Ba Sing Se in a month once I get a little older. I bet I could do it with less casualties too."
"Liar," Zuko stuck his tongue out at her, and Azula saw red.
"Hey, nobody calls me a liar!"
"Liar!" Zuko shouted it this time, a gleeful expression on his face.
"Why, you -!" jumping forward, Azula tackled Zuko and the two siblings rolled around the grass, scrabbling at each other.
Azula won that wrestling match. As always.
(X)
From the moment the Earth King had been removed from his seat of power to the appearance of Long Feng in the grand hall took a period of approximately five minutes.
It would not have been wrong to say that to Azula, it was an exceedingly long five minutes.
Hands clasped behind her at the small of her back, Azula gazed impassively at the assembled Dai Li. Most of them were stony-faced – if nothing else, they were disciplined. If she'd judged everything correctly, they would be the key factor in the next few moments.
She glanced at Ty Lee out of the corner of her eye. Uncle was standing slightly to the left, eyes closed in apparent contemplation. Planning some way of escaping from this place, no doubt. Mai was standing by the main doorway, fingering a knife as she stared down at the defeated Waterbender.
Should I have removed her from the premises earlier? Azula pondered the peasant for a brief moment before shaking her head. No, I'll need to take the time to give proper instructions. Better that I leave her there until the current crisis is over.
As if on cue, the sound of footsteps approaching broke her thoughts, and she shifted her stance slightly to face Long Feng as he marched into the hall. One look at the expression on her face and Azula knew what the next words out of his mouth would be.
"So you've removed the Earth King for me," Long Feng said without preamble. "You have my gratitude. And now comes the part where I double-cross you," he lifted a hand to point at Azula. "Seize her!"
Silence. Screaming silence.
None of the Dai Li moved.
Ever so predictable, Long Feng. And with that line, I win.
"I said, arrest her!" Long Feng snapped as he whirled to face the agents. "What's wrong with you?" he demanded, the anger in his voice almost – but not quite – drowning out his fear.
Azula let just another brief moment pass to draw out the hesitation and fear before she stepped forward. "Do you want me to tell you where you went wrong, Long Feng?"
He whirled to face her. "What are you-"
"You've set up quite the marvellous operation here," Azula let her gaze sweep over the ranks of the assembled Dai Li. "A whole organization of people, supremely disciplined and ruthlessly dedicated to their cause. Why, the Fire Nation would be proud to have set up a service such as this for itself," she paused for a brief moment. "But what exactly is that cause, Long Feng?"
He remained silent, his eyes darting this way and that as he tried to find some way out of the net that Azula was now tightening around him.
"It's not 'the preservation of culture in Ba Sing Se' or nonsense like that," Azula shook her head once. "And, unfortunately for you, it wasn't loyalty to you above all else. You taught them to value strength. Control. Power."
She paused halfway through her pacing, her golden eyes now staring straight at Long Feng's green ones.
"And that was fine as long as you were the one who embodied those traits the most within these walls. But then the Avatar arrived, and you were deposed from your position. Your grand schemes didn't save you, did they?" she hesitated, as if considering an idea she hadn't thought of before. "You know, you would still have been fine in most cases. Who would the Dai Li attach themselves to instead? The Generals are fools, the king is a spineless weakling…" a friendly smile in Long Feng's direction. "Long Feng, your big mistake was agreeing to making that deal with me. And then trying to renge on it. You really should have known better than to try to match a member of Fire Nation royalty in a contest of control."
Long Feng took a hesitant step backwards, leaving Azula to savour the open fear in his eyes.
"It's over, Long Feng."
"No…" his voice was soft. "No, it's not."
Azula raised an eyebrow.
"I… still have your brother," Long Feng glared at her. "If you want him back, you'll do as I say."
"Oh, yes," Azula sighed and nodded once. "My brother. Yes, of course.
"Zuko!" turning to face the ranks of the assembled Dai Li, Azula raised her voice. "You can take off that disguise now."
(X)
"Well, I must say I'm surprised to see you here," Azula smiled at Zuko as he stumbled into the apartment.
He supposed she had every right to be. The plan had called for no one – especially the Dai Li – to be able to tell that Zuko had managed to escape from the facility under Lake Laogai, and thus interaction between them had to be kept to a strict minimum. But with Azula having stopped Dai Li patrols for the purpose of preparing for the coup in Ba Sing Se, he could risk making his way back to their temporary home – if only through back alleys and in the shadows.
"Don't feel like talking? That's fine," something softer entered Azula's expression as she glanced at Zuko, noting the exhaustion on his features and the state of his clothes. "Anyway, for the time being, this is what I need you to do. Will there be a problem?" a tiny slip of paper was passed to Zuko, and he scanned the contents.
After a moment, he raised his head and managed a weary nod.
"Ha. Thought not," Azula turned and stepped away as Zuko stumbled over to the bed. "Well then, sweet dreams… Zuzu."
Zuko managed a brief smile before sleep rushed up to claim him.
(X)
A hushed silence filled the hall as one of the Dai Li standing at the back of the room removed his hat – to reveal glaring golden eyes and a scarred face
"If ever I needed more confirmation that you weren't dealing fairly with me," Azula said in a conversational tone as she turned away from Long Feng, "there was always the fact that you neglected to mention that my brother was no longer in your custody."
Another significant pause as Azula stood staring at Long Feng, letting the powerlessness of his situation sink in.
"You have failed, Long Feng," she snapped, letting hatred and venom seep into her voice. "All your grand plans and machinations have come to nothing. And now, you are nothing. Not Grand Secretariat, not the head of the Dai Li, and certainly not the ruler of Ba Sing Se," another brief pause to let the implications of the statement sink in, and then, "Yield."
A single word, spoken in a quiet tone, and Long Feng's knees buckled under him as he kneeled before Azula.
"You… have outwitted me at my own game," he finally admitted in a low voice.
Azula shook her head, although she kept a careful eye on him to ensure that the snake would not try any last-minute tricks.
"Don't flatter yourself. You were never even a player."
(X)
As Long Feng was led off by several of his former subordinates, Azula turned to the matter of the defeated waterbender, who was by now starting to stir.
"And whatever shall I do with you?" she questioned in a tone of mocking insouciance as she stepped closer to the fallen peasant, letting one the toe of one boot nudge her ever so slightly.
"Azula," she heard her brother's voice and she turned to smile at him as he approached.
"Hello, Zuko," she allowed a brief note of triumph to enter her voice. "We've done it, haven't we?"
"Yes – but that's for later," Zuko stared down at the still form of the peasant girl. "Az, she's the one."
"The one?" Azula raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, she's the one who… helped me. Back under Lake Laogai, she healed me from Long Feng's brainwashing. She's the reason I was able to escape."
"I see. Interesting," she leaned over, paying closer attention to the peasant's striking features. "One can only wonder why, though. She's clearly established herself as our enemy at this point."
"Az?"
Azula shook her head. "Well, no matter. I suppose one good turn deserves another," she turned to regard the closest of the Dai Li. "You."
"Yes, my lady?"
"It appears this young lady here has just earned herself a bit of special treatment," Azula smirked down at the unconscious girl. "Are there are any prisons intended for keeping highly regarded political prisoners?"
"Yes, my lady, of course there are. However, they are located in the lower levels of the palace itself."
Well, that would make things more convenient. Azula nodded as she took in this new information. "Well then, bring her there for now. I'll deal with her personally later. Make sure you remove all water from the room before bringing her inside, of course."
"Of course," the Dai Li bowed and, along with another associate, began to move the waterbender from the grand hall.
That's one problem dealt with, Azula thought with no small amount of satisfaction. Now, there's also the matter of-
"Uncle!" Zuko's voice broke through her thoughts as she turned to see Zuko rushing over to Uncle Iroh, who was busy massaging wrists that had only just been removed from their stone shackles. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, no thanks to your sister," Iroh said as he aimed a glare at Azula's way.
"I'm sorry for tricking you, Uncle," Zuko said softly. "But it all worked out for the best in the end, didn't it?"
"Did it now?" Iroh turned to Azula. "So this was your great plan, Azula? Subvert the Dai Li, arrest the generals, depose the Earth King, and win Ba Sing Se for the Fire Nation?"
"Yes," once more, Azula allowed a genuine smile to flash across her face. "And I did it without taking a single life from any side. So, Uncle, how does the bloodless conquest of Ba Sing Se look to you?"
Uncle did not reply immediately as he turned to gaze upon the ranks of Dai Li, most of whom were leaving to room for the follow-up duties that would firmly establish their hold on the palace and the city itself.
"… And you brought me here to gloat as I watched you succeed where I had failed?" he finally questioned.
"Uncle!" Zuko said.
"It's all right, Zuko," Azula raised a hand to forestall her brother. "I did have him cuffed up and paralysed his leg, so he has every right to be unhappy. I am just a little surprised you haven't realized what I've done yet, though."
"What?" Iroh raised an eyebrow. "What have you done?"
"Uncle, think about what's going to be reported about what went on here. The Prince and Princess of the Fire Nation, taking a daring undercover operation to seize Ba Sing Se from within, along with the aid of two attendants – and their agent already within the city."
Iroh's eyes widened. "That's-"
"No one's going to know the exact details of what went on in this throne room. But everyone will know that you were here, and that you were indispensable to the success of our operation," Azula nodded, as if confirming something for herself. "You were at the North Pole, you did something that no one really knows anything about, and you caused the invasion to fail. But now, here you are in Ba Sing Se, and you did something that the world won't know about, only that you were here, and that we succeeded because of you. Don't you see, Uncle? I've redeemed you!"
That thought appeared to have taken Uncle completely by surprise, and for a long moment he simply stood there staring at Azula, mouth open.
"After this, Father won't have any justification for keeping up that bounty on you. You're free to return to the Fire Nation alongside us…" Azula paused as a new thought struck. "Or, well, to keep running that tea shop if that's what you really want." The idea was incomprehensible to her, of course, but from what she could tell Uncle did seem to really be enjoying himself working in that place…
At that, Uncle appeared to collect himself as he drew in a very deep breath, "So…" he finally said. "That was your plan from the very beginning."
"More or less," she acknowledged. "Although… Uncle? To be perfectly honest with you, yes. Yes, a part of me really did want you here to see me accomplishing what you could not."
At this Iroh smiled, although Azula could tell it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Now that sounds more like the Azula I know."
"Come on, Uncle Iroh," Ty Lee laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm really sorry about what I did to you before. Let's go find a maid or something to brew you a nice cup of tea."
As Uncle allowed himself to be led off, Zuko stepped closer to her, his jaw set. "I can't go back to the Fire Nation, Azula. Not quite yet."
"I know," she nodded and turned to look in the direction that they had brought the waterbender away. "But we have complete administrative control of Ba Sing Se now. It's only a matter of time until the Avatar is at our mercy."
"That's if they even decide to return," Mai pointed out. "They might decide to simply find another safe haven."
"No, I don't think so," Azula reached up to tug at one of her bangs. "We have the waterbender in custody. There's no way the Avatar would allow one of his friends to be abandoned if he can help it. He'll return. And when he does, that's where everything ends."
(X)
"Toph!"
The sudden yell was probably the one thing she did not need at that exact moment, and with her concentration broken, the earth wave under her feet came apart as she fell to the floor with a yelp of surprise.
"Ooh… sorry," she heard Sokka apologizing and aimed a glare in his direction.
"Here, come on up," Aang's voice sounded next to her, and soon the three of them were seated on Appa, and continuing their flight through the air. Toph reflected unhappily that while flying on Appa before had been uncomfortable, at least they'd had a saddle back then.
"So what's the big rush, twinkletoes? I thought you were supposed to spend time mastering the Avatar State or whatever."
"I got a… really bad feeling," Aang said urgently. "Katara's in danger of some kind, so I came back to help her."
"And what about you?" Sokka's voice now. "I thought you were visiting your parents in the city?"
Toph frowned at the memory. "I really do not want to talk about it," she mumbled as she slumped back. After a brief moment, she brightened up. "Although, I might as well mention that you are now looking at the world's very first Metalbender!"
And halfway across the Earth Kingdom, a mad king sneezed as he swung in his iron cage.
"Metalbending? For real? That's awesome!"
"Don't I know it," Toph smirked. "And what about you, Twinkletoes? You got the Avatar State under control yet?"
A pause. "Yup. All mastered now. Boy oh boy do I feel powerful. Yeah."
Toph scratched at her chin. She didn't have the benefit of her earthsense right now, but then again she didn't need it to tell that Aang had just told them a big, fat, stinking lie.
Well, whatever. Her experience with the Avatar State hadn't been a very positive one anyway, and if it came down to power Toph was willing to bet her brawn against just about anything any potential enemies had to throw at them.
And so the three of them continued their flight back to the city.
(X)
"Hello, Long Feng. I trust you are comfortable?" Azula smirked as she stared at the former head of the Dai Li from the bars that separated the two of them.
There was no reply.
"It's funny, really, how you came out for so brief a time only to end up back here."
Long Feng lifted his head, but it was mostly to glare balefully at her.
"Not up for a conversation right now? Well, I suppose that can hardly be helped, given everything that's happened between us," Azula said as she shrugged. "Well, Long Feng, in any case, I'm here to tell you what's going to happen to you."
"Happen to me?" at this he did respond, although his voice was dark.
"Of course. You're now a prisoner of the Fire Nation, albeit a rather high-ranking one. I thought it would only be fair to let you know of your fate."
"You plan to execute me?"
"And lose a potential source of valuable information?" Azula barked out a laugh. "Please, Long Feng, I'm not so crude as that. Although I suppose that would be the first conclusion someone who sets up brainwashing facilities for use on their own citizens would jump to."
Long Feng's lips curled back into a snarl. "Everything I did, I did for the stability of Ba Sing Se."
"And I'm sure the citizens of Ba Sing Se adore you for it,"Azula said dismissively. "Anyway, back to the matter at hand. For you, permanent house arrest."
"…"
"I'm picturing an average sized house, somewhere in the Middle ring. Guarded at all time by several royal Firebenders. You'll be able to send requests for writing materials, books, or what-have-you, although everything will be strictly monitored, of course. And if you ever try to earthbend again, we'll remove your limbs," she let a crooked smirk cross her lips. "What do you say? Fair?"
A long pause from Long Feng as he tried to gauge her sincerity. After a long moment, he nodded slightly. "Fair," he agreed.
"Good," Azula nodded once. And then she brought her right hand up and plume of blue flame billowed out from it.
Shadows flashed along the walls of the brightened room, an agonized scream, and Long Feng fell backwards, one hand reaching up to clutch at the mass of charred flesh that had been the right half of his face.
"That's for what you tried to do to my brother," Azula said softly. "Only fair, isn't it?"
Not waiting for a reply, she turned and departed the prison cell. As she passed by the Dai Li standing guard at the doorway, she quietly bade one of them to get a healer.
It wouldn't do to have Long Feng dying after all. She wanted him to suffer.
(X)
"The reports have been sent to War Minister Qin. The Dai Li will break down large portions of the Outer Wall at daybreak tomorrow, and he'll be able to march in the Fire Nation army unopposed."
"That's good," Azula nodded once. Subverted Dai Li or not, at the end of the day they were still Earth Kingdom and Azula would feel a lot better once Fire Nation troops were running the show and able to reinstate proper order in the streets. As it was, most of the Dai Li had been ordered to remain on standby within the palace to prepare for the Avatar's potential return, where they could help subdue him and his friends.
Their absence for approximately two days wasn't likely to get the populace upset or anything, but with her having just successfully seized control of Ba Sing Se via coup, Azula wasn't in the mood for taking chances. If she could be certain that she would not have to put down a restless populace, so much the better.
"Where's Ty Lee?' Azula questioned.
"Making friendly with some of the Dai Li."
"… Of course. Uncle Iroh?"
A brief frown crossed Mai's face. "I don't actually know. I haven't seen him since this morning when we overthrew the king."
"Figures," Azula grumbled. "Well, he can't cause much trouble on his own anyway. Zuko?"
Mai stiffened. Apparently this topic was not one she wanted to discuss. "He… wanted to talk to the waterbender we captured."
"Did he," Azula muttered. "He's really too soft for his own good."
"Azula?"
The princess sighed. "We can worry about that later. First, work."
"All right. First up on the list of things we need to take care off after the coup is…" as Mai scanned the list, he expression deepened. "Um, the king's pet bear."
"… Bear?"
"Yes… apparently he was very fond of it."
"And I care in the least bit what a deposed Earth King likes to keep as a pet because?"
Mai shrugged. "The Dai Li apparently thought it was important enough to put at the top of the list."
Azula sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Fine, then-"
"Hey, Azula!" Ty Lee burst into the room. "You should check out the cooking staff in this place! They'll make you anything at the drop of a-"
"Ah, Ty Lee, perfect timing. You're in charge of the bear," Azula said before she strode out of the room, already flipping to the next item on the list.
Ty Lee blinked. "I'm in charge of the what now?"
Mai simply shook her head and sighed.
(X)
Zuko sighed as he paused at the entrance of the room that Katara had been kept in.
It wasn't the first time he'd been saved by the Avatar or his allies.
The last time had been in the freezing cold wastes of the Northern Pole, where he could vaguely remember the Avatar refusing to abandon him to his fate.
And now this waterbender had reached out to help him too.
He wasn't sure what to do, to be honest. Thanking them would appear to be in bad taste – they would still be his prisoners at the end of the day, but they were dangerous enough to the Fire Nation that they couldn't simply be let go either.
He shook his head. Dammit, he did not need things like this to complicate his life. It was supposed to be simple – they were enemies of the Fire Nation, and so he would hunt them down, and depending on how the fighting went, either capture them or…
Zuko sighed, and mustering his courage, he stepped forward and rapped on the metallic door.
It swung open to reveal an empty room – except for two unconscious Dai Li agents slumped in the corner.
He paused, blinked, and glanced left and right, his senses instantly on alert.
After a long moment, he relaxed somewhat.
I thought she wasn't allowed any water in the room? How did she escape?
At that moment, Azula rounded the corner.
"Zuko," she said without preamble. "I thought I'd find you he-" she drew to a halt as she noticed the open door and the defeated Dai Li agents.
Azula's lips peeled back into a snarl as she muttered a stream of curses. Then, whirling, she turned to regard the two Dai Li agents that had followed up behind her.
"You, get those two idiots back on their feet and figure out what happened and how she escaped. You, run through the palace and gather all the Dai Li you can find. No, wait, first tell me which parts of the palace this area connects to."
"The entrance we came by leads straight past the guardhouse. There's no way she could have passed it without being noticed."
"And the other direction?" Azula jerked a thumb behind her.
"… The crystal catacombs of old Ba Sing Se."
"Mostly like where she went, then," Azula sighed. "All right, Zuko, you're with me. Let's hunt down a stray waterbender."
He nodded. "All right, let's go."
(X)
"All right, we made it!" Toph grinned as she jumped down from Appa's back. "… Now what?"
"Anything that would threaten Katara would probably threaten the Earth King as well," Sokka mused as he clambered down himself. "So…"
"You guys go make sure the Earth King and everyone else are safe," Aang said as he stared up at the palace. "I'll look for Katara."
"You sure that she's somewhere else?"
"Positive. In my vision she was in… a cave of some kind. With a lot of green crystals."
"All right, good luck, Aang," and with that both Sokka and Toph headed off into the palace in the direction of the throne room.
"Cave… crystals… probably underground," and with that, Aang took off running, on the lookout for stairs that would lead him further down into the depths of the palace.
And abruptly he pulled to a halt.
Sitting on a stone bench in the middle of the hallway, a portly old gentleman raised a steaming cup of tea to his lips. Seemingly ignorant of Aang's presence, he took a long drink from the cup before placing it on the bench beside him with a satisfied smile.
Only then did he turn to face Aang, with the smile growing ever wider.
"Hello, young Avatar," he said softly. "I assume you are searching for your Waterbender friend?"
Caught by surprise, Aang managed to nod once.
"Well, would you like some directions?"
(X)
"A fork in the route?" Zuko groaned as they came to a split in the path between two caves.
"You take that one, I'll take this one," Azula said without missing a beat as she charged down one of the two tunnels.
After a moment, Zuko nodded and began running down his path.
(X)
Heart pounding in her chest, Katara continued to run through the crystal maze of Ba Sing Se's underground.
She'd been conscious – just barely – when she had heard Azula discussing where to take her, as well as her statement that there was to be no water provided her.
It was fortunate, then, that when the Dai Li agent had paused at the guardhouse to fill out the paperwork needed for bringing her inside, Katara had noticed a single unattended cup of water in the room.
And when they had finally tossed her inside, the Dai Li had not noticed that her clothes were slightly more damp than what would be considered normal.
After a moment of silence Katara had made sure that the Dai Li weren't watching her before drawing out the water that she had allowed to soak into her clothes – Waterbender garments being what they were, they got soaked easily, and silently working at the lock from the inside.
She'd been a little surprised by their presence outside the door, but nothing she couldn't handle – if nothing else, her travel through the Earth Kingdom had taught her a lot about using a limited amount of water wisely in her Waterbending.
Not that it would be an issue right now, Katara thought as she ran past several large pools of what appeared to be clear water. Come to think of it, if she had managed to shake off pursuit, it would probably be in her best interests to stop and figure out-
A blast of blue flame soared through the air at where Katara had been standing a moment ago, and she leaped back, twisting her wrists to summon a wave of water from the pool beside each other. The fire blast hit the ground, searing the stone black and throwing crazily flickering lights through the cavern.
At the far end of the chamber, the Fire Nation princess emerged from the shadows, her face hard, one hand still raised in a firebending pose.
There was a silence in the room for several seconds before Azula shook her head.
"You helped my brother."
"And do I ever regret it," Katara hissed through clenched teeth.
"Nevertheless, that goes a long way in terms of keeping in my good books," Azula continued. "So, surrender now, without any fuss, and I promise that you'll be unharmed. I'll even spare you the standard treatment we give to captured Waterbenders. Well then, what do you say?"
Katara swung one hand out, and the water she was controlling surged forth in the form of a thin blade towards her opponent.
Azula simply ducked under the wild attack, bringing her other hand up to a ready position in the process.
"Hard way it is," she murmured, a tight smile on her face.
(X)
"Told you checking out the jail cells first would pay off," Sokka muttered as Toph placed her palms on the metal door, concentrating. "I mean, after we saw all the Dai Li wandering about I knew that whatever was going to happen had already happened."
"So at this point, we're just damage control," Toph grumbled. "Swell." The door buckled and fell away, allowing the Earth King to step out.
"Your majesty, we should go," Sokka said hurriedly.
"Wait!"
"Hnh? What is it?"
"I'm not leaving without Bosco!"
(X)
Ducking, leaping and swerving, Azula quickly closed the distance between herself and the waterbender. The girl had apparently let the abundance of water nearby go to her head somewhat, and now she was focusing on large, powerful attacks that were nevertheless rather easy to dodge.
Or at least that was what it looked like, Azula noticed after a moment. The peasant was trying to corral her to one side in actuality, and was using the large, flashy attacks to disguise it.
She smirked slightly as she shifted her weight, kicking the ground at a hard angle to change her direction. A blast of flame cut through the waterbender's attempt at a herding attack, and then she was in range for close-quarters fighting.
She ducked low, sweeping her leg out in an attempt to undercut her opponent, but the waterbender saw that move coming and jumped back. The next ball of water turned into shards of jagged ice that flew at Azula, a transparent attempt to buy the waterbender some time to fall back and regroup.
Making a split-second decision to press the offensive, Azula released a wall of flame that caught and melted most of the ice shards – the few that got through and nicked her skin she ignored as she leapt forward.
Surprised, the waterbender retreated again, although now she had drawn more water and coated her arms in the clear liquid. As Azula moved forward, the waterbender thrust her arms out, turning the liquid coating into a writhing jet of water that shot at Azula directly.
Caught by surprise, Azula barely managed to duck to the side at the last moment, although such a powerful attack did leave a good enough opening for her to retaliate. Sweeping her leg out, she struck the waterbender in the side, sending her staggering backwards.
"Remember, this is your own fault," Azula said to her before she moved forward again, going in for the kill.
A whip of water lashed out at her and Azula whirled to the side – almost dodging the strike entirely. But a slicing pain in her cheek told her otherwise, and this time it was Azula who jumped back, one hand cupping her cheek. The damage was… superficial. Good.
Both warrior sized each other up again for a long moment – and then crouching low, Azula started to leap forward-
A sudden shift in the earth around her forced her to changed that forward leap into a long backwards one as a pillar of rock erupted from where she had been standing a moment prior. She shifted her gaze to the far corner of the room, noting a flash of yellow and orange.
Ah, it appears using the waterbender to bait the Avatar into showing himself was a success. A frown crossed Azula's face. Now if only he hadn't shown up at the worst possible time.
Azula may have been proud, but she was not an idiot. She could take on the waterbender. She could take on the Avatar. She might even be able to, on a good day, take them on one after the other in a sequential fight.
But two of them at the same time? No. They had improved too much from the last time she'd faced them. She grit her teeth, eyes darting back and forth between the two as they shifted their stances and spread out to cover her from both angles.
Well, the important thing now was to buy time, she supposed. Either that or feigning defeat so it would be easier for her to back up and lure them into a position for her Dai Li backup that she called for to arrive.
She sent out a burst of flame the Avatar's way, noting with satisfaction that he reacted how she had expected him to do so – by leaping into the air. After learning earthbending or not, he was still an airbender at the end of the day.
That attack had given the waterbender an opening, and so of course she exploited it, twin whips of water lashing out at Azula. The princess jumped backwards, sending another blast of flame at Aang, who twisted in midair to avoid the blow.
For several long seconds, this dangerous game of cat and mouse continued, Azula constantly targeting the Avatar and ducking and weaving away from the waterbender's violent attacks. For his part, the Avatar appeared to focus mostly on evading Azula's assault, the occasional blast of easily-avoided win his only offensives gestures.
The waterbender's attack were getting harder and harder to dodge, one almost landing a direct hit on Azula when she landed on the ground, shifted her stance, and then struck out at the waterbender with twin blasts of flame, because people really did get into rhythms of battle, and the waterbender had subconsciously absorbed the idea that Azula was focusing primarily on the Avatar and she could be lax in her own defences. The blast hit her hard, sending her crashing to the floor.
Any triumph Azula might have felt from landing the hit was blasted away when a whirlwind of air appeared in front of her, too quickly and too large for her to dodge, and she was sent flying backwards herself.
Twisting her body, she leapt to her feet – saw the Avatar shifting his stance to begin earthbening, saw the waterbender leaping at her on a wave that she had summoned –
Until another blast of flame from behind her forced her to swerve, the wave dissipating onto the floor as the peasant's concentration was broken.
From the corner of the cavern, Azula could see –
"Zuko!" You've no idea how glad I am to see you.
"Sorry I took so long, Azula," Zuko apologized as he leapt towards her. "Apparently all the routes lead to this central chamber – some are a bit more longwinded than others, though."
Azula drew in a deep breath. "Good to know," she murmured. So the Dai Li will definitely come here then. As long as hold out long enough, we win.
"All right," she said out loud as she shifted her stance to reflected her brother backing her up on her left. "Let's show these two what real teamwork looks like."
"Right beside you, Az."
There was a single, timeless moment of hesitation, and then the four combatants leapt at each once more.
(X)
"Just take the bear."
(X)
Zuko stared at the waterbender, mixed feelings in his mind.
"I can't believe I ever felt pity for you!" she raged as twin columns of water burst from behind her, turning into giant, striking whips at her command. "I can't believe I ever wasted the time, energy, and water to heal you!"
"Just surrender, and we won't treat you badly!" he snapped back as pillars of flame erupted from his hand as well, meeting and countering her own watery strikes.
"You really think it's that simple, don't you?" she said bitterly as she stepped forward, lashing out. Zuko twisted, letting the attack sail harmlessly by as he retaliated in kind.
There were no words for the next few minutes, merely the roar of flame and the gurgling of water as Zuko and the waterbender clashed, each vying for an advantage over their opponent.
He could hear blasts of fire surging from behind him, and he was aware of Azula facing down the Avatar from his back, and so began to back up, moving slowly towards his sister.
The waterbender's eyes narrowed, and suddenly, the force of the water he was pushing back increased, and Zuko was forced to leap back as his defences were extinguished. Shaking his head he retaliated with a series of fire punches, which the waterbender evaded by summoning a stream of water and skating to the left in a smooth motion.
Abruptly, he heard the stamp of a boot behind him that had a particular cadence to it, and Zuko nodded briefly before twisting to face the Avatar instead while Azula leapt to the side to deal with the waterbender. The sudden shift had apparently surprised the Avatar, and he wavered for a critical second, allowing Zuko to nail him with a blast of flame that sent him crashing into one of the crystal formations in the cavern.
With the Avatar disabled for the moment, Zuko swung back to face the waterbender, adding the strength of his own attacks to his sister's. Faced with a double threat, the waterbender was quickly overwhelmed, and a kick from Azula knocked her down.
(X)
The sudden sound of crumbling rock from all around them drew the attention of everyone present, and Azula glanced up to see Dai Li agents enter the room from every conceivable direction – at least fifty of them by her estimate.
What took them so long? She thought, annoyed. Well, no matter. This little game would be drawn to a close at long last –
The waterbender leapt to her feet, a wave of water rushing out from another of the pools. Azula watched, mildly intrigued. So many foes and she still intended to make a fight of it?
The water rose and split into separate tentacles, whipping all around the waterbender as it covered all angles of attack upon her person. Azula raised an eyebrow. That really was an ingenious trick. But it wasn't going to save her.
Nothing would.
Approximately a dozen Dai Li agents stood around her, apparently content to be containing her, and none eager to make the first move and become the first target. Azula drew in a deep breath and stepped forward.
Light.
Light and energy pouring off in incredible amounts from behind her. Azula glanced behind her to see the Avatar on the ground in a meditative pose, the tattoos on his body giving off a glow of light.
And she remembered that day in the town.
I can't fight it.
It's too powerful.
If I take it on head-on I'll be destroyed.
So don't fight.
Just end it.
End it before he has a chance to fight at all.
The Avatar had bended several of the crystals around him as a protective shield of sorts, but that was quickly rendered moot as he slowly began to rise into the air, a pillar of light surrounding his body.
Azula wasn't sure if this idiotic move of leaving himself so openly vulnerable was necessary to use his full power, or it was simply an offshoot of his inexperience, but she wasn't about to waste this golden opportunity.
Ducking behind him, she began to move her hands in those familiar circles.
One strike.
And everything ends.
As the lightning bolt lanced from her fingers and struck the Avatar squarely in the back, Azula wondered for the briefest of moments if she had actually miscalculated – if the Avatar could simply shrug off damage in this new form of his. But her worries were allayed as she watched him twitching and jerking helplessly as the electric current tore through his body.
Then the lightning stopped, and the Avatar began to fall to the ground. Azula was vaguely aware of the waterbender's cry of grief, of a great wave sweeping over the Dai Li and bearing the waterbender to the Avatar's side-
But it was meaningless. Her blow had rang true. Even before she had caught a glimpse of the Avatar's sightless eyes, she knew.
The Avatar was dead.
Her hunt was over.
She watched dispassionately for a moment as the waterbender wailed over the Avatar's body before she shook her head. No reason to leave loose ends hanging.
She took a step towards the waterbender, who responded by her head whipping up. She started to move into a combat stance, as futile as it would have been, but then hesitated, obviously torn at the prospect of letting go of the Avatar's body.
Such sentimentality will only get you killed. Azula shook her head, raised her hand and-
"GO!" a shout from a familiar voice and a blaze of flame landed directly in front of Azula, forcing her backwards. As she glanced about for the source of this new threat, she caught sight of a familiar figure, and for a brief instant her brain felt like it had shut down.
"U – Uncle?" Zuko's confused stutter.
Uncle paid Zuko no heed as he entered combat stance, protecting the waterbender and the Avatar – protecting the waterbender and the Avatar – from attack. A few of the Dai Li hurled attacks at him, but they were confused, having assumed the aged man to be an ally.
"Go!" he repeated to the waterbender. "That waterfall will lead you to the surface!"
Now the truth came into Azula's mind that unless she did something that waterbender would get away with the Avatar's body and so she leapt forward – but then Uncle was there, moving faster than she'd though possible with that bulk of his, not attacking her, just effectively blocking her from moving forward.
"Uncle, what do you think you're-"
The sound of the waterfall reversing cut through the room, and Azula glanced up to see the waterbender escaping through the waterfall. At that, Uncle lowered his own hands too, apparently having no more interest in prolonging the fight.
Azula stared at Uncle, aghast. Why was – what was this – Why had Uncle… betrayed the Fire Nation? Now, of all times?
"Uncle…" she finally said, in a voice choked with rage. "What were you doing?"
He met her gaze steadily. "The Avatar cannot be captured by the Fire Nation. If that happens, the last light of hope would be snuffed out."
More impossibilities. It sounded like – it really truly sounded like –
"What are you saying, Uncle?" Azula spat out through a mouth that didn't appear to be working properly. "What's this about? After everything…"
He was silent.
"After… everything," Azula repeated. "Everything I did for you. I conquered Ba Sing Se without spilling a single drop of blood. I made sure that you were in a position that your name would be cleared, and that you would be free to do whatever you desired afterwards. After everything I did… and this is how you repay me?" The last words were almost a shriek of rage and disbelief.
Uncle merely shook his head once. "If you think anything you did for me was something I wanted, then perhaps you don't know me as well as you think you do."
For a moment, Azula simply felt lost. The way Uncle had said it, the sheer finality of that statement… she suddenly felt uncharacteristically confused and frightened, like a little child.
That didn't last. The discomfort burned away, to be replaced by the fiery, soothing sensations of an emotion she was very familiar with.
Anger.
"Fine," she said in a low voice. "Fine. That's what you've chosen, Uncle? So be it. Dai Li!"
At her command, the stone rose from the ground to entrap Uncle in a circular prison. He did not resist, merely bowing his head in response.
Breathing heavily, Azula turned away from the scene – only for her eyes to catch Zuko's.
He looked as shell-shocked and stunned as she herself felt.
For a moment, Azula felt like it was really important for her to say something.
But she could find absolutely nothing worthwhile to say.
And so, with a shake of her head, she simply began to long walk away from the cavern.
(X)
"Azula!" Ty Lee's voice as she re-entered the throne room.
"Anything happen while I was gone?" she asked Mai tonelessly.
To her complete lack of surprise, the Avatar's friends had apparently rescued the Earth King and flown away on the Sky Bison. Briefly Azula wondered at the stupidity of them rescuing a pointless figurehead and neglecting the generals who would at least have information and plans, but she finally decided that it was simply par for the course with that team.
"Azula…" Ty Lee began again, and when Azula looked at her she realized that Ty Lee was cringing.
"What is it?"
"I… are you going to punish me?"
"What?" it wasn't a particularly eloquent reply, but Azula was really, really not at her best right now.
"I… I couldn't protect the bear," Ty Lee hung her head. "You told me it was my responsibility, but then the earthbender was able to trap me and just walk up and take it. So… I deserve to be punished, don't I?"
Azula raised one hand to massage her forehead. "No, Ty Lee," she finally muttered. "I am not going to punish you for losing the bear."
"Really? Thanks, Azula! You're the greatest!"
Ignoring her friend, Azula slowly ascended the throne of the Earth King and settled herself on it. She spent the next few minutes staring off into empty space, brooding.
This was stupid. She had, in the space of a single day, overthrown the largest Earth Kingdom city in the world, made it Fire Nation and she also managed add killing the Avatar into the bargain. Even if Uncle had let the waterbender escape, there was nothing she could do now with a simple corpse.
It was, without a doubt, her finest hour.
She should have been jubilant.
But instead all she could think about was Uncle, and what he had said to her in the crystal catacombs. How everything had appeared to fall apart in a single instance.
Abruptly she became aware of her brother's presence at her side, and she looked up at him.
"Copper piece for your thoughts?"
Zuko simply stared at the ground.
"I'm worried about Uncle," he finally said.
Azula heaved a long sigh.
"Me too," she muttered softly. "Me too."
Chapter End
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