Morality Chain
I'm back!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Azula let out a long sigh of exhaustion and reached up one hand up to massage her aching shoulder as she stumbled back towards her room.
Was it merely her imagination, or had her father's training gotten harsher ever since Zuko had been banished?
Of course, part of that could be attributed to her advancing further in her Firebending study, but now he appeared intent on pushing her to absolute limit, and possibly beyond it.
As she rounded the corner and saw her handmaidens, she gave them a curt nod. "Get my bath ready," she said as she walked past them. Not even pausing to hear their acknowledgements, she stepped into her room.
A brief pause, and she shook her head as she caught sight of the room's other occupant.
"I thought I told you not to enter unannounced," she said by way of greeting. "Do you even realize what a huge privilege you already have? To enter the private quarters of Fire Nation royalty without an invitation."
Ty Lee merely shrugged in response. "Well, the doors to your balcony were opened. I just wanted to see if I could enter from the rooftop."
"Please," Azula scoffed as she pulled her hairpin out, letting her dark hair cascade down her back. "You've mastered crawling up and down the palace since you were eight. 'I was curious' is not an excuse."
Ty Lee wrinkled her nose and half turned away. Azula watched her for a brief second before crossing the room and settling herself on the bed.
I'm filthy, the thought crossed her mind, and was just as easily cancelled out. The servants can wash it one more time before sundown. It's their job.
It was obvious that something was weighing heavily on Ty Lee's mind. Well, more like something had been weighing heavily on her for the last few weeks. That had certainly been a surprise to Azula, considering how carefree and flighty her friend was ordinarily, but it hadn't seemed like anything worth bothering about. At least to her.
Maybe she just missed Mai.
"Something the matter?"
Ty Lee began fidgeting, looking to the left and to the right. Azula's eye narrowed as she watched her friend. Something was definitely wrong, and it didn't take someone as sharp as her to notice it.
Just as Azula's limited patience was about to give way, Ty Lee took a deep breath and blurted out, "I'm leaving."
There was a dead silence in the room for several long seconds. And then,
"What?"
Ty Lee swallowed hard. "I said, I'm leaving."
A thousand possibilities, none of them good, flashed through Azula's mind in an instant. Ty Lee's sudden proclamation had caught her completely by surprise and her mind switched the default response – a demand for an explanation.
"What do you mean 'you're leaving?'"
Ty Lee bit her lip and looked away. "I... I mean that I'm going away. I'm going to – I want to join the circus."
"Join the -" the situation was so absurd Azula almost laughed out loud, if not for the gnawing feeling of anxiety in the deep corner of her heart. "Are you insane, Ty Lee? Being some sideshow performer is far below your station!"
"You think so?" Ty Lee fiddled with her braid once more, refusing to meet Azula's gaze. "The way I see it, being a sideshow performer is the only way I'm going to let people appreciate and see me for what I'm actually good at."
Azula stood back up, her fists clenched as she began to pace through the room, "So – you too then? First Zuko was forced to leave, and then Mai decided to run off to the Earth Kingdom with her family, and now-"
"This – this isn't about you," Azula noted the hesitation in Ty Lee's manner, noted the brief stumble over her words. "This is – something I'm doing for myself, you know."
"Oh really." Anger and biting sarcasm were the comfortable fall-backs Azula had come to rely on whenever she was upset – something that appeared to be happening more and more often of late. "That's wonderful. Just fantastic. I'm glad you've found your true calling in life and I'm sure you'll be overjoyed to leave every last bit of your dreary and pointless existence behind. I know! Would you like me to write you a recommendation while we're at it? I'm sure the word of a princess of the Fire Nation would carry quite a bit of weight. That is why you became my friend, isn't it?'
"Azula, stop that. You know that I'd rather not have to choose."
"But you do. And you did." She took a step closer to Ty Lee. "And you knew this conversation was going to turn out this way. Why even come to see me in that case? Did you feel like throwing it in my face?"
"No! Of course not!" Ty Lee was getting visibly upset as well now. "I just... I thought I should let you know."
"Know what? That someone else is going to be running away and leaving me here alone?"
"I'm not runn-" Ty Lee broke off and swallowed. "... Yeah, maybe you're right, Azula. Maybe I shouldn't have come here after all. But...you know? At the very least, I wanted to say goodbye."
"All right," Azula did not look Ty Lee in the eye. "Good bye."
Ty Lee turned to leave and then paused, almost as if expecting Azula to say something else before she left. But the princess merely turned and fell down onto her bed, squeezing her eyes shut and clenching her fists.
A moment later, Ty Lee walked away.
Azula would not see her again for three years.
(X)
"Azula..." as that single word left her lips, Ty Lee swayed, stumbled forwards, and then collapsed onto the forest floor.
"Wha – Ty Lee!" before she realized it Azula had stooped down by Ty Lee's side, hurriedly checking her to make sure that she was all right. She could see some scratches and pieces of torn clothing all along her friend's body. "Ty Lee, get a grip!"
Did she chase us all the way on foot? That's ridiculous! There's no way she could do something like that and still be able to stand!
Zuko reached her side, a skin of water already uncorked and as Azula pulled Ty Lee into a sitting position, he hurriedly tried to get her to drink something. When she proved unresponsive, the two siblings peeled her lips back and tried to pour water in her mouth.
Several seconds of fighting for breath later, Ty Lee's eyes fluttered open again.
"Az... ula..." her voice was thick as she reached out, and Azula's expression clouded over.
"Don't talk, you idiot," she snapped. "Save your breath."
"No... have to..." obviously still fighting for breath, Ty Lee sputtered and coughed. "Mai... Mai is..."
"Mai?" Zuko blinked. "What happened to her? Is she all right?"
Ty Lee swallowed hard once more, finally managing to gasp out, "No, she's... been captured. Mai... they took her... to the Boiling Rock."
Azula found her fists clenching unconsciously. "The Boiling Rock? Ty Lee, are you sure about this?"
Ty Lee nodded once and Azula only felt the unease in her heart grow. The Boiling Rock was the most secure prison in the Fire Nation, meant for locking up prisoners the government wanted gone. Political dissidents, Earth Kingdom leaders, rebels... If Mai had been sent there, then...
"Father must have thought she was related to us leaving," she said, more to herself than anything. "That, or he wanted to spite us after we ran off."
"Actually..." Ty Lee trailed off, glancing nervously at Zuko. "It was – well, she was arrested while making sure you'd be able to escape, Zuko."
"What?" Zuko went still.
"When you came back from the tower where Uncle Iroh was being kept, several of the guards there were able to raise the alarm. They tried to capture you, but Mai... she fought them and held them off long enough. After that several of the elite Firebenders were able to overpower her and capture her."
"What?" Zuko repeated, obviously still trying to come to grips with what Ty Lee had just told him. "She saved – when? I'd have seen her if she was doing something like that! And how did she even know that I was-"
"It was me," Azula said. She could feel the tightness in her own jaw even as she spoke. "I told you about our plans... I told you two to go into hiding! But if you were in a position to help Zuko's escape, then you obviously didn't listen."
"I – we wanted to follow you. But Mai... when she knew she was about to be captured, she told me to go ahead. She," Ty Lee broke off and swallowed hard. "She told me I was way more agile than her – that I'd be able to evade capture and to – catch up with you."
There was a dead silence in the clearing for a moment. And then,
"We have to go rescue Mai."
Two voices, speaking in perfect unison, directed towards her. Azula would have laughed if she weren't so piqued already.
Did they know her that well? Or was her intent already written on her face for them to see?
"How do you know she was taken to the Boiling Rock?" she asked, doing her best to keep her face neutral and her intentions hidden.
"They – I tried to hang around for as long as I could. I heard a couple of soldiers say that was the plan. A – and anyway, that's where they always take all the... um..." Ty Lee's voice trailed off.
"It's okay," Azula said as she stood. "You can say 'traitors.' That's what we are, aren't we?"
"We're going to save Mai," Zuko repeated, an edge in his voice that Azula didn't hear very often.
"The Boiling Rock is the highest security prison in the entire Fire Nation. Probably the entire world," Azula didn't turn around to face him, instead staring up at the moon through a gap in the trees. It was a thin crescent tonight, shedding only the barest of silver light onto the world around them.
"Azula... please," Ty Lee's voice was soft. "Who knows what they'll do to her in there. Who knows what kind of tortures she'll be going through?"
"Even if you're not going, I am," Zuko's voice was resolute, and Azula resisted the urge to sigh.
"Then we'd better hurry," she said.
"Huh?" she could hear Ty Lee brightening up just from her voice. "Does that mean-"
"The Boiling Rock is an island in the middle of a volcanic lake. The only way to approach it is by airship," Azula said as she turned to face them. As she did, she could see the gears in Zuko's head start to turn as well.
"And the best chance of approaching the island undetected is doing it at night," Zuko said, his voice getting more animated. "Especially when the moon isn't full so there's less light."
As they made hurried preparations to set off, Azula took a quick glance at Ty Lee. The girl was in better shape now than when she had first stumbled into the clearing, but it was clear that she was still completely exhausted. The distance from the Capital to their current location... Azula shook her head.
"Ty Lee," she said. The girl blinked and look up at her, halfway through the action of untangling a rope. "Get on board and get some rest."
"But I-"
"I need you strong enough to help when we get to the Boiling Rock. Go get some sleep," Azula hesitated, and then grabbed the water pouch hanging at her side before tossing it to Ty Lee. "And be sure to drink more water too."
Ty Lee fumbled slightly as she reached for the pouch – another sign of just how bone-tired she was – and stood there grasping it for several seconds.
Then she nodded and a slight smile – one Azula could barely tell was there – appeared on her face.
"Azula... thanks."
"Just go take get some rest. Now."
(X)
Zuko took a deep breath as he stared down at the Boiling Rock.
There were watchtowers, of course, but Zuko honestly wasn't too worried about them. Airships were still a very new invention in the world, and the were exclusive to the Fire Nation anyway, so it wasn't like the guards would be keeping a lookout for an infiltration from the air.
Luck was with them too, with a thick covering of clouds that night blocking out many of the night's stars. Less chance for a guard glancing upwards to note the travelling airship that happened to block out the stars at it passed by.
He glanced back over his shoulder to see his sister keeping watching over Ty Lee. The acrobat had gone out like a light the moment she clambered on board and relatively calm flying conditions had allowed her to keep sleeping for their journey over.
"How is she?"
Azula shrugged, "Better. I can't say for certain until she's back on her feet though. What about you? How are you feeling?"
He turned away, not wanting to meet her gaze. "I'm fine," was all her said.
Well, naturally he'd been unable to concentrate on anything but finding a way to rescue Mai as quickly as possible. The crippling lack of real information on the interior of the Boiling Rock was a rather major flaw, but he was certain that he'd be able to think of something.
Once he was actually there.
Of course, he also knew that Azula could see right through him. That had been a constant through their lives together, and Zuko now accepted it, although not with reservations. She knew that he was boiling over with worry for Mai, although at least she was polite enough to not mention it right now.
At the same time, he wondered how Azula herself felt. She had agreed to come on this rescue mission of course, but she hadn't made any mentioned of why. In most circumstances it would have been easy to read it merely as Azula wanting to help her friend – and that probably did make up a fair bit of her motivation, but at the same time...
Zuko resisted the urge to sigh as he kept his gaze studiously trained on the prison walls far below him. Azula still hadn't given him a straight answer on why she'd decided to come along with him, and a part didn't really want to think about the reasons even as the other part really, really did.
It was possible that it was because she had disagreed with father over something, but Zuko didn't think it likely. Everything he had seen about Ozai and her had told him that she agreed with him on pretty much everything, except...
Well, except him.
He would be fooling himself if he didn't acknowledge that Azula leaving the Fire Nation was tied very closely to him. Her refusal to speak up about her reasons only served as further confirmation of that, didn't it?
The problem was that Zuko still wasn't sure how to react to this.
On one hand, this was a good thing, wasn't it? Even if absolutely everything else about the Fire Nation's motivations were arguable, the raw, ugly evil of Ozai's grand plan for Sozin's Comet was more than enough for Zuko to realize that he could no longer justify being part of the Fire Nation. At least, not as long as it remained under Ozai's rule.
If he had been able to get Azula to leave based on their bond... then that was good, wasn't it?
On the other hand, even though it hadn't been long since they had left the place, Zuko couldn't shake the feeling that Azula looked... lost. Unsure about herself. That had changed a little when news of Mai's capture had come. Zuko suspected it had more to do with giving her a clear goal she could work towards more than anything, and that it was a temporary bandage for a far more serious problem.
But right now... right now, Mai was depending on them.
"We should take the ship down," he said. "There are forests we can land in to hide it."
"I wonder..." Azula was staring out at the steam coming from the volcano. "I don't think the airship will do too well if the air is too hot. The balloon won't be able to maintain flight that way."
"So we're going in low?"
"As good a plan as any," a brief look of uncertainty crossed Azula's face, "I admit I'm still not too used to piloting these things."
Zuko found an equally brief smile crossing his face, "Well, that makes two of us."
(X)
"It could have been worse."
Azula grunted as she flexed her shoulder, testing to see if any real damage had been done. "It could have been better."
Ty Lee shook her head as she climbed gingerly out of the ship and jumped down onto the ground, "When I said 'Wake me up when we land,' I didn't mean it quite so literally. Or so roughly."
"I'd like to see you guys do better," Zuko grumbled as he slung a backpack over his shoulder.
Azula gave the airship a look over. "Honestly, I'm not sure this thing will be able to take flight again. That was a beating it took on the way down."
"Well, we can't worry about that right now. First we've got to rescue Mai. Come on, we should try to get into the facility before daybreak."
(X)
The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon as Zuko found himself crouching in a darkened alcove in one of the prison's many corridors. Ahead of him, two guards walked by, animatedly discussing what they planned to have for dinner that night.
With a sigh, he slipped the guard helmet over his head, silently grumbling at how it limited his vision, and he turned to look over his shoulder.
"Hurry up!"
"Hey," Ty Lee grumbled as she stepped out of the storage room, one hand adjusting the helmet on her own head. "Not all of us were so lucky to get the correct size the first time they picked a uniform out of a pile, you know."
Behind her, Azula folded her arms, and though most of her face was hidden by a helmet as well, Zuko could tell she was not at all comfortable.
"All right, first we need some information," Zuko said as they stepped back out into the more well-lit areas. "I wonder if there's a records room or -"
"If Mai was captured and brought here, it can't have been too long ago."
"Right, so it might still be a big thing with some of the guards," before either of them could say anything more, Ty Lee had bounded over to an approaching guard, eager to talk.
"Hey!" she started as the guarded gave her a curious look. "You hear about the new prisoner? I hear she's supposed to be someone pretty important!"
"Really?" the guard shrugged. "I thought they were trying to keep it pretty hush-hush. The Warden didn't want to talk about it, anyways."
"Oh... huh. Really?"
"Yup," the guard smirked. "Although, if you wanna talk important prisoners, you'd be hard-pressed to match the batch they're bringing in tomorrow morning. All sorts of folks that took part in that Black Sun invasion thing."
"Well, I'm sure they'll have fun spending the rest of their lives here in the Boiling Rock," Azula said as she strode past. "Come on, then. We've other things to do."
As soon as the guard was out of earshot, Ty Lee turned back to Azula, "You know, I could have asked about where she was being kept."
"He wouldn't know," Zuko pointed out as they continued walking down the hallway. "He said it was being covered up for some reason."
"I heard Mai's father was related to someone in the prison... I can't remember who exactly though," Azula shrugged. "Anyway, she most likely won't be imprisoned with the rest of the prisoners. That would mean she'd be too easily discovered during the roll calls. So..."
"We'll need a map of the place," Zuko nodded. "Now, they might have one in the offices. That, and a list of prisoners. If we can find one we can find Mai's holding cell."
"And keys, that too. All right, let's..." Azula trailed off. "What's so funny, Ty Lee?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking that you two really work well together."
The siblings shared a quick glance and shrugged.
"To the offices?"
"To the offices."
(X)
"So, that's the room?"
"It should be." Azula nodded after taking one more quick glance at the roster. "I will assume the administration for this place is not wholly incompetent and didn't fail in noting which room a prisoner is assigned to."
"Having a couple of guards standing outside makes it a bit conspicuous too," Zuko glanced around. "So how are we going to do this without risking them raising an alarm?"
"Leave that to me," passing the roster back to Zuko, Azula tugged the helmet off her face with a grunt and shoved it in Ty Lee's direction. "Here, hold this."
"Azula? What are you-"
Azula stepped forward, every inch the Princess of the Fire Nation, and strode towards the two guards who started out of the bored haze that always settled in after an hour of guarding an empty corridor.
"Open the door," she snapped. "I want to see the prisoner."
Both guards gaped at her like paralysed otter-fish, apparently still fighting to reconcile the latest memos about traitorous royalty on the run with the Princess appearing right in front of them and making demands as if it were any other ordinary day.
"What are you, deaf?" Azula demanded after a long second had passed. "I said, I want to see the prisoner."
"B – but," the guard on the right gave a hesitant glance to the one on the left, as if expecting backup or affirmation from him. "You – I mean, you're wanted too, your High – uh, Princess. At least – uh, that's what they told me..."
"And you believed them." Summoning everyone ounce of scorn she could muster, which was quite a lot, she glared down at the guard. He had half a foot on her, but she managed to glare down at him anyway. "Is that what you are telling me?"
There was no response save an audible swallowing sound.
"Well, you're right," and she lashed out with her foot, a blast of flame rocketing the man backwards into the steel wall behind him.
The other guard's shout of alarm never materialized; a darting shadow emerged from the alcove, striking him twice, and suddenly he found both his legs and jaw weren't working any more and he sank to the ground.
"Should we tie them up?"
"No, once we get Mai we're leaving. We won't be around long enough for them to come to their senses anyway."
Quickly, Azula inserted the key into the lock. As it unlocked, Azula opened the door and stepped inside – to a view of a comfortable room, complete with a soft bed, a couch, a table with writing materials, a bookshelf lined with several Fire Nation classics, and a barred window. Mai was sitting on the couch, idly twirling one of her many knives in her fingers.
"Azula?" Mai raised her gaze to meet her friend as she stepped into the room.
"Hello, Mai," Azula said in as deadpan a tone as she could manage. "We came to rescue you from the horrible tortures you were suffering here in the Boiling Rock."
"'Horrible torture' is right," Mai said as she stood up, using her arms to push herself off the couch. "I've been bored out of my skull."
"I didn't know they even had luxury wards in the Boiling Rock," Ty Lee commented as she glanced around the room. "Oh, wow, they even gave you a flower vase! And actual flowers!"
"It turns out having your Uncle as the Warden affords you a certain amount of privilege -" Mai broke off as Zuko stepped past and Azula and Ty Lee, rushing towards Mai with the clear intent of embracing her.
"Not so fast," Mai reached out with one hand as she sidestepped Zuko and pushed him away at the same time. "First, I'd like to know why you thought a letter would be the best way to tell me you were leaving. You didn't think you could at least tell me in person?"
"I... I didn't mean to..."
"Really? You 'didn't mean to?'" Mai produced a rolled up scroll from her sleeve and opened it. "Mai, I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but I'm leaving."
"Seriously?" Ty Lee wrinkled her nose. "That's how you told Mai you were leaving? Zuko, that's kinda... lame."
"I see you weren't paying nearly enough attention in those diplomacy classes," Azula added.
"Oh, knock it off! I didn't know how to say what I wanted to, okay?"
"And you too, Azula," Mai turned her hard gaze towards her friend. "You told me you were leaving; you didn't tell me why. You do know that this basically a betrayal of the Fire Nation, don't you?"
Azula sighed, "Long story. Too long to tell while we're in the middle of a prison break," a smile crossed her features. "I can assume you're willing to go through with this 'betrayal,' don't you? Especially since you already helped my brother."
"Why not? I'll just have you owe me." Despite her words, a thin smile crossed Mai's face. "All right, let's go."
As they left the cell, Azula paused just long enough to make sure both guards were still in no condition to be raising and alarm, and after a moment's thought hastily shoved the both of them into Mai's former room.
"All right, now let's -"
She was cut off by the blare of an alarm, and she blinked in surprise. Did they discover us? No, that's not possible. The only trace we left of our break-in was those two guards. Then her eyes widened. No, not the only trace. There's also-
"Attention! Attention!" Whatever announcement system that had been set up on the island was now jabbering as well. "An unknown airship has been discovered docked at the outer edges of the prison. The prison is to enter immediate lockdown, and all guards are to enter a state of high alert! I repeat, an unknown-"
The ship. The damn airship. Azula nearly slapped herself. I didn't think they'd search the place – but they're expecting a batch of high profile prisoners, aren't they? It's only natural they'd want to do extra security sweeps beforehand. I screwed up. How could I have been so careless?
"So, this rescue's off to a great start."
Azula took a deep breath. "We can still make this work. First, we need to get somewhere where we won't be seen-"
A blue blur rounded the corner, smacking into Zuko and sending him staggering backwards a couple steps. Instantly, Azula dropped into a Firebending stance, only halting in surprise when she realized who they had just ran into.
The Water Tribe peasant – Sokka, had that been his name? - stared back at them with wide eyes. And behind him, her surprise rapidly giving away to mounting anger, was Suki.
Chapter End
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