Chapter 2: Beyond this World

CyberActors15: Welcome back to Year of the Dragon. Before we get into the second chapter, I want to give a brief recap of the events of the last chapter. Last time Danny, Sam and Tucker helped Kwan set up the school Gym with Lunar New Year decorations. After having completed that, Kwan invited the three to his New Year's party at which point Sam and Tucker drove home the fact that Danny is good at helping people change into the best versions of themselves. 5 days later on New Year's Eve, Danny, while at Kwan's party, encountered three girls who fought him to a standstill.

Dani: I can't imagine who those three girls where.

CyberActors15: You don't have to be so sarcastic.

Katara: It is obvious who those three are. Especially to anyone who had read the original fanfiction or watched my show.

CyberActors15: Quiet you. Let's just get into the chapter. Also on that point sorry about the massive delay on this chapter. Between getting sick and being able to go back to work my time was cut into zero. And it didn't help that I had writers block when my time cleared up.

Spring 100 After Sozin's Comet (Fire Nation Capital)

Chess, as she had come to know the game the stranger had brought, was interesting. Far more interesting than Pai Sho, with a significantly smaller playing field and less pieces with more defined roles, this game provided an interesting mental challenge with so few yet so varied options. Force the enemy king to surrender by forcing a checkmate, a strategy that required cunning as opposed to brute force to win a battle.

Azula liked cunning strategies, attacks aimed at weak points in defence, advances that took advantage of blind spots, unnerving the enemy before striking a flaw. All of those and more made the thrill of battle for Azula. Chess allowed her, more than any other game, to attempt to outthink her opponent and deliver a decisive victory against her opponent. Not to claim that Pai Sho didn't require strategy, but ultimately the game often times felt more like a dance than it did a battle. Each piece felt the same, doing nothing different than any other, all moving the same, but in chess, the pawns moved forward, evolving upon reaching the other side, the knights always moved in an L shape, the queen had free rein to do what she pleased, the king could only move one space at a time making him weak but essential. All the pieces had their own character, and naturally Azula was drawn to the queen as she was the most powerful piece on the board, but the stranger, Vlad Plasmius, his favourite was the pawn.

"The pawn is like the number zero. On its own it's useless but given time it has limitless potential." Plasmius had said.

Azula was of a different mind. She believed in inherited power, as opposed to cultivated Power, that is why she favoured the queen. She thought of herself as a queen, even though she was only just a princess at the moment. The truth of the matter, which she hadn't realised, was that she was just a pawn in Plasmius's game, a tool to be used and if she succeeded she would evolve but if she failed she would have still served her purpose.

"If I may be so courteous to ask," Azula began after the first few games had ended, "what request do you have for my team that would have us be recalled back to the Fire Nation?"

The air around the two changed with the question. Up to this point they had only done the introductions, sitting with a cup of warm team and playing Chess. But now it was business. Azula wouldn't deny that she was curious about this entire ordeal. Shortly into her hunting of both the Avatar and her brother, she had received a letter via messenger hawk to suddenly return to the Fire Nation, with her team. It was a direct message from her father with the words, "a spirit would like to meet you" being the prominent ones that made her pack her bags and return as soon as possible.

The hunt for Zuko and the Avatar was being given to someone else, although Azula had a feeling that the changing of hands meant that whoever took over the search would be at a disadvantage. Who knows where her brother and the Avatar where now? Well that wasn't her burden anymore, a fact that did slightly disappoint the princess.

"I understand that your team is quite skilled. So much so that your father sent you on a quest to track down the avatar and your own brother and uncle?" Plasmius asked with the intention of clarification.

"Yes. Everything you have said is correct." Azula responded.

"Well that is why I am here. Princess Azula you are skilled incredibly so, and for that reason, I believe you are the best to defeat an enemy that far outclasses the Avatar." Plasmius explained. "As you understand, I come from the Spirit World, but the Spirit World is far bigger than what is documented in your history, far more mysterious than you know. It is connected to more worlds than you know not only this one."

"Worlds?" Azula asked with a raised eyebrow and piqued interest.

"Yes, worlds. This isn't the only world out there and it isn't the only world that is connected to the Spirit World. The world I call home, is one of these alternate worlds. And in my world there is a young man of incredible power who, upon learning of the actions of the Fire Nation will not hesitate to come here and forcefully end the war, tipping the scales towards the other Nations and doing to you what your people did to the Air Nomads 100 years ago." Plasmius added. "I would like for you and your team to come to my world and stop him before he can make his way here. Someone of your calibre should be able to handle this. When I spoke to your father he recommended you first among all the elite generals he had at his disposal. If anyone from your world can stand against Danny Phantom, I believe it is you."

Now if anyone where to ask what a defining trait of Azula was, many people, herself included, would say it was her ability to manipulate people into doing what she wants. There were very few who she couldn't manipulate, her father, uncle and mother coming to mind, and even less who could manipulate her. Azula without realising it had been manipulated.

Plasmius had used the games of chess to figure out who this princess was so that he could best manipulate her. Idle conversation and teaching her about the game led him to learn everything he could. His own investigations when the fire lord recommended his daughter weeks ago also worked in his favour. The princess liked power and liked believing she was the most powerful and she seemed to like the challenge of besting a powerful foe. She was like him in that regard.

But where they differed was that he wasn't naïve and he rarely let words get to him, ignoring the words of a certain 16 year old teenager. Azula however was naïve and she gladly took his bait.

"We would be honoured to travel to your world and deal with this Danny Phantom." Azula answered.

After her audience with Plasmius, Azula went to tell, Mai and Ty Lee what had changed regarding their future plans. To say that they were surprised by the new development was an understatement.

"I can't believe we get to travel to another world." Ty Lee spoke. "And guided by a spirit no less."

Ty Lee, as usual, wore an expression of excitement. The chance to explore a new world filled the girl with so much curiosity that she didn't even bat an eye at the idea of leaving the Fire Nation for some time. Based on the fact that Azula found her in a circus only weeks before, made it make sense that the daughter of a noble would rather explore something new than live her former life in the Fire Nation.

Mai, surprisingly, also looked genuinely interested for once. It seems the idea of traveling to a new world without having to return to the colony in Omashu seemed to resonate with the older girl.

"So we've moved from hunting one target to another?" Mai spoke. "Fine I guess. It should be interesting if he is as strong as Plasmius claims that he is."

There was a little bit of disappointment in Mai's voice. It seems she had been looking forward to seeing one of their initial targets again. Azula honestly couldn't understand what Mai saw in Zuko.

"Good it appears that we are all on board." Azula said. "We will leave tomorrow so be sure to pack everything you need. I imagine that this won't as simple as an excursion to Ember Island so we had best ensure that we have everything we will need."

~00000~

17 February 20XX (Amity Park)

Azula expected that traveling to another world would be an experience unlike any she had ever had, after all the joy is in the journey not the destination as they often say. Knowing that she was dealing with a spirit from another world, she hoped for a rush of spiritual energy or an experience that felt otherworldly.

There was no such feeling.

It was as simple as walking through a door. Plasmius unsheathed a map he was carrying and with a few words a gateway between worlds appeared in front of him and the three girls. Sure the gateway appearing in front of them was incredible however all they had to do was walk through it and then they were at their destination. As far as trips were concerned this one was rather anti-climactic. However despite the journey itself being quite lacklustre the destination was something Azula never expected.

The room the four arrived in was… advanced. There was no other word to describe it. Azula had seen research facilities before, but none compared to this room. There was a sterile atmosphere about the large room, despite its mostly purple colour. There were counters, neatly arranged with no shortage of machines sitting on them. Flat surfaces almost like windows showing things far away were lining the walls. There were more things that Azula was just unable to describe as she didn't know the words to compare them too.

There was also a woman in the room who was waiting to meet them. The woman had a complexion similar to the girls, one Azula would learn was generally referred to as Asian in this world, as well as amber golden eyes that were hidden behind a pair of trendy glasses and dark brown hair which was neatly tied up in a bun. The woman wore a white lab coat over a brown and red outfit. She also had a necklace with a Phoenix pendant that had a certain glow to it. Azula couldn't place it, but there was something about this woman's appearance that drew her in.

The woman in question was Dr Noriko Xiao Long, the personal assistant to one Vlad Plasmius/ Vlad Masters. She was one of the few people who knew of his dual identity and as a result was one of the employees at DALV as well as his personal assistant and secretary. Beyond being one of the few who knew of Plasmius's identity, she was also a scientist in the field of botanical and herbal remedies as well as a general practitioner in medicine.

Noriko stepped forward to greet her employer and his guests. She had a vague idea of who the three girls were, as Plasmius had sent her information about the three the previous day. She also knew about Plasmius's plan to travel to another world to find people capable of defeating Danny Phantom, a plan she expected wouldn't go the way Plasmius expected. He was a quite powerful after all.

"Good Afternoon Mr Plasmius," Noriko began, "welcome back from your trip. I assume these girls are the ones you spoke about?"

"Good Afternoon Dr Xiao Long." Plasmius spoke with his usual charm dedicated to those he respected. "Yes these girls are agents of the Fire Nation, Princess Azula, Mai and Ty Lee. Girls this is Dr Noriko Xiao Long."

Azula being the princess and leader of the team stepped forth, she didn't bow as she never bowed to anyone who wasn't a higher rank than her. However she would be polite to the good doctor.

"It is an honour to meet you Doctor." Azula said.

"The honour is all mine Princess Azula." Noriko responded, however she did give a small bow in respect to the royalty in front of her. "And please, call me Noriko."

"While you are in this world, Noriko and her family have agreed to be your caretakers." Plasmius explained. "She will also act as your doctor while here, since she is the only one besides myself who knows you are from another world. She has also agreed to help you all become accustomed to our world while I prepare your equipment."

After the introductions Plasmius lead the three girls to one of the computers in the laboratory and with a few button prompts footage of the local hero, Danny Phantom appeared on the screens. Different things were being shown which included his fights against other ghosts and showed off a fair number of his powers.

"This is Danny Phantom," Plasmius began, "he may not look like much to you, however do not forget that he is incredibly powerful. He has more power than you are used to so I advise caution when dealing with him."

"What kind of power does he have?" Ty Lee asked with an expression of curiosity dawning her features.

"From what I understand your world, bending is the ability to manipulate the four elements, with your nation being proficient in making use of fire. Phantom's abilities are quite different from what you will be used to. He manifests spiritual energy, or as we refer to it as ectoplasmic energy, to fuel most of his attacks. It can almost be seen as green firebending so some degree, just more versatile." Plasmius explained.

This comment caused Azula to raise an eyebrow.

"He can also generate and manipulate ice to great extents similarly to your world's water benders. However he is limited only to ice, but that is still a versatile ability in his hands. Beyond the aforementioned powers he can fly, pass through solid objects and become invisible to the naked eye. The list goes on." Plasmius concluded.

"With such a range of power, he is almost like our world's Avatar, if not more powerful." Azula said as the processed the information.

"Oh he is more powerful." Plasmius stated this as if it were an undeniable fact. "Powerful enough to defeat our world's Spirit King, alongside several other foes, however for all his power he is still a child, one which the three of you will be more than capable of defeating."

If Azula had been paying attention, she would have noticed the reluctance on the faces of Ty lee and Mai. After all defeating a King of Spirits does not sound like an easy feat, however Azula was more enchanted by the prospect of being seen as worthy of defeating a strong foe. And if the smile on her face was any indication, she hadn't realised that she had fallen into Plasmius's trap.

Noriko noticed it immediately. The princess was given praise, a thing she hardly received, and so she immediately believed what another said. It was tragic that this was how the girl had been brought up and it was even more tragic that Plasmius was taking advantage of her naiveté. In another life she would have intervened, however there was little she could do, as this was the way it was supposed to be.

Noriko continued to watch as Plasmius explained some of the information about Danny Phantom as well as the equipment the girls would be using in order to fight against him. He soon explained that it would take a few days to complete their equipment, after which he left temporarily, having affairs to attend to.

Noriko took that moment to start the initial health screening of the girls as well and take down any and all information, such as their sizes for their new outfits as well as blood type should anything happen in their field. While doing the health screening, she also took the time to explain some of the things Plasmius neglected to explain.

If she were being honest, Noriko didn't hesitate to chuckle at their reactions to being told that they would be going to the local school, Casper High, so assist with their blending in to this world. Since they were still teenagers, and this mission would likely take a while they would be required to be students. That would allow them to blend in amongst the others, and learn about the world. Especially considering that Phantom made constant appearances near the school.

She explained that this would be very reminiscent to an infiltration mission. Blend in with the people, learn to adapt, and learn more information about their target, from the people who adored him most, teenagers. And to help with that, the three girls would need a wardrobe upgrade, so that they could more readily fit into the world that they had joined.

Once the health screening had concluded, Noriko escorted Azula, Mai and Ty Lee out of the lab and to her car to take them to one of the nearby stores.

This small journey, was quite different from anything which the other worldly girls had ever experienced. Seeing the car was interesting. Azula had seen the plans for the drill that the Fire Nation was currently working on to breach the wall. And she had also ridden in the tank train in order to chase the Avatar. But this car, was not only more compact, but had far more uses than a vehicle created for war.

Additionally looking out into the city as they drove was quite the experience. The three had obviously travelled to the Fire Nation Capital and had visited the Earth Kingdom City of Omashu, but neither of those great cities compared. The buildings here were tall, seemingly touching the skies. They lacked the aesthetic appeal of the buildings in their world, instead preferring a more streamlined and rigid design. On the roads to their destination there where many cars on the road, each of which had different colours or appearances.

Despite all their wonders in the trip, they didn't have much time to admire the city because they arrived at their destination quickly, a clothes store that catered to the young adults and teenagers. And it naturally had a wide assortment of clothing items of choice for the girls to pick from. Coupled with the fact that Noriko had a company card which she could use to purchase clothes, the three girls were free to explore the store to their hearts content.

Ty Lee, eager to find something appropriate for this new world set off looking at the new fashion choices. Azula and Mai had to admit to not being as interested in this. Although Mai was used to doing things by herself, such as picking and purchasing her own outfits, this wasn't something she specifically found pleasure in. Azula was also used to her clothes being tailored for her or picked out for her by the maids in the Palace. To do it herself was something she found no joy in… until she and Mai came to a realisation.

Up to now there was a level of consistency in how people operated. If you were part of the Fire Nation you wore red silks, robes and clothes. If you were part of the Earth Kingdom you wore green and yellow. Water Tribe wore blue and Air Nomads wore orange. That was just how the four nations worked. Because Mai and Azula weren't in their world for the moment they could branch out and where what they wanted irrespective of the colour.

Mai, with the realisation removed all the red and other such bright colours in her attempt to find new outfits. She grabbed clothes that were mostly black in colour with a few other dark colours here and there. She ultimately decided on a style that would define her as goth.

Azula with the freedom to venture into other clothing styles actually found herself perplexed with the variety she could choose from. She didn't want to be like Mai and go for dark colours, nor did she want to be like Ty Lee who went with what could be described as this world's version of her normal outfit. Azula actually pondered her fashion for this world longer than she would have originally expected. It wasn't until an idea occurred to her that she decided on what would be her fashion going forward. If you were to ask any Fire Nation citizen what their favourite colour was, they would spout nonsense about national pride and go with red, black or golden. Azula however, her favourite colour was the same as the flames she produced, blue. And so when it came to choosing Azula chose blue as her base outfit colour and built the rest of the outfits around that.

~00000~

After the shopping trip had concluded Noriko decided to take the girls out to dinner. Since both her daughter and her husband were away from the house for the next few days, there wasn't much of a rush to get home, so she figured she could also introduce the three Fire Nation citizens so some of the food in their world. Knowing that they were of the upper class echelons of the Fire Nation, Noriko thought that it would be a good idea to take them to an actual restaurant as opposed to a diner or a fast food place like the Nasty Burger. Not an expensive restaurant but one that would give them a bit of an idea of what American food was like.

Beyond exposing them to new foods, Noriko had a few more objectives that would become apparent as the night continued, the first of which was confirmed when Azula, Mai and Ty Lee received their menus. Just as Noriko had expected the girls were illiterate. They had a completely different written text from the Romanised text which was favoured by the English speaking countries of the world. They had no problem speaking the same language, which was likely due to the Universal Translators which Vlad had brought with him, but reading, that was completely impossible for them at the current moment.

However Noriko, wasn't called a genius for no reason. She had come prepared for this. Now she wasn't a mechanical engineer, but the Fentons were and Vlad Masters made it a habit to steal Fenton Inventions. One such invention, a way of reading ancient ghosts as well as ghost texts in real time. One which was appropriated into the technology used by Vlad, and which would save the day here.

"Take these." Noriko said as she handed each girl a pair of sleek black rimmed glasses. "They will help you read our language. You will feel a slight headache however."

Azula was the first to try them on, followed by Mai and Ty Lee. True to Noriko's words the three immediately felt an odd surge going through each of their heads. The sensation was quick, gladly, and when the recovered they noticed something interesting. All the text around them in the restaurant converted to the written text which they knew.

"This is incredible." Azula began. The princess had to admit she was surprised by the technology in these glasses. She had already come to accept that this place was far more advanced than the Fire Nation but this was the last nail that cemented this fact.

It was actually quite frightening to the princess knowing that technology like this existed, and this was just what could be used for peace and communication. What had always been the driving factor of the Fire Nation since Fire Lord Sozin, was that the Fire Nation was the most advanced nation and the greatest nation and for that reason it should be shared with the rest of the world. Knowing that this world, from what she had experienced so far, was this far advanced made her worry about what would happen if they decided to share their greatness with her world.

Azula didn't have the time to ponder the what ifs however, as before too long Noriko was asking what they would like to order, which brought up a more urgent problem of figuring out what these foods were. Before too long however the food was ordered and the four were talking and learning more about each other.

Before too long another of Noriko's objectives was achieved, because the time was right for a certain phantom to make his appearance.

"Is that Danny Phantom?" Mai asked suddenly drawing the girl's attention to the window that showed the outside city.

There he was floating casually as he inspected the area. Noriko had known that he would come around here, having known his usual path for his nightly patrols. It was why she chose this restaurant.

"He really is flying." Ty Lee mumbled as if she were finally accepting that he was a spirit.

Phantom didn't stay for long. Whatever he was looking for seemed to have left the vicinity and so he himself left.

"That was him indeed." Noriko spoke. "He can be spotted most evenings at different locations in the city. When your equipment is ready I recommend keeping an eye on the night-time skies as that will make locating him easier. I was hoping however we would see one of his fights tonight so that you could get a better idea of what he was capable of."

If asked Azula would admit to being disappointed in not seeing one of his fights. It was one thing being told of his feats but it was another to witness them. And seeing him in action would do wonders in helping her prepare. However it wasn't a problem. She would likely have many opportunities to see what he could do, later down the line.

~00000~

20 February 20XX

The fateful day had arrived. Azula, Mai and Ty Lee had received their equipment and they would be going into their first fight with Danny Phantom. The purpose of the fight today, had a few objectives as opposed to the main objective of killing Danny Phantom.

Objective one, was to test out the efficiency of this new equipment. The usual clothes the girls wore when hunting the Avatar had been upgraded with, as Plasmius put it, with anti-ghost nanotechnology. It was an initial defence. There was a secondary defence in the Spector deflector belts that they all wore. Mai had also been given brand new knives, custom made for her. They were a few of them at the current moment but enough for the first encounter. And because identity was important, according to Noriko, they had each been given special dragon inspired masks, which would allow them to talk to each other from range as well as give information on whatever spirit of ghost as they were called in this world that they were looking at.

Objective two, was to learn about how Phantom would react to the unknown. Azula learned quickly that besides the ghosts of this world, she was the only one who possessed abilities. Her firebending made her the only human on the planet who could generate and manipulate flames. She was an unknown entity to this world.

Objective three was an evaluation. How well would the girls fair against Phantom and how well would Phantom fair against the girls? For both parties this would be a lot of firsts. Taking all of that into account meant there were many different ways this could go.

Objective four was an introduction. By the end of tonight, Danny Phantom would know that the three dragons had arrived from beyond his world to hunt him down and kill him.

Tonight's operation would be simple, they would need to draw Phantom out and surprise him. Plasmius, from the comfort of his chalet, would be running coms and giving instructions. Azula let it slide for now as she valued the fact that he had more knowledge on Danny Phantom than she did.

"Alright girls, the last building is where we will begin our operation. Any and all civilians have been cleared out so there won't be any casualties." Plasmius's calm and composed voice spoke through the coms. Noriko had made it clear that hunting Phantom was one thing but there were to be no civilian casualties. All three girls respected that decision, despite their origins from the Fire Nation. "There are flammable gas canisters in the building that should cause a large enough fire to attract any wondering Phantoms. Just be careful not to get caught up in the explosion."

The three girls got to work getting into position and setting up the explosion. Once everything was ready they light the fuse and got ready for the fireworks that would ensue.

As the flames burst into the air, the Princess smiled beneath her mask. The theatrical nature of this little stunt reminded her of the Ember Island plays that she would watch as a child and as Phantom flew in and created a wall of Ice around the building the princess couldn't help but say.

"Come girls, it's showtime." The princess spoke as a blue fire came to life in her hands.

CyberActors15: Done god damn that took me too damn long to write.

Dani: Too long indeed? What happened I thought you were getting better at this?

CyberActors15: HEY!

Katara: That's rude Dani.

CyberActors15: Thank you.

Katara: But you did take too long to get this chapter out.

CyberActors15: Come on! Guys things happen IRL. You wouldn't get it because you two are fictional.

Dani: Rude! Either way now we have seen both sides of that night. So what will happen next? Read, Review, Favourite and Follow to Find out.

Noriko sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. The past few days had been exhausting but she wouldn't deny that these weren't some of the happiest days she had had recently.

Her hand reached to the necklace she wore and the phoenix emblem which hung from it. She had worn it all her life and had practically been born with it. In both her old home in the Fire Nation and her new home in Amity Park, the phoenix was a symbol of rebirth. And that couldn't be more fitting here. She had to give up a lot for this rebirth.

Before she was known as Ursa, and during that time she was the wife of the megalomaniac Fire Lord Ozai, and mother to Prince Zuko and Princess Azula. That's who she was until the Master of Time and the Mother of Faces offered her and her new husband a chance to start over with a new face and a new history. A new life. The cost was that she would never see her son Zuko again, nor would she ever see the world she knew ever again. Instead she would grow up in a new world. Learn and marry in a new world. In this world she wasn't ever Ursa, the granddaughter of Avatar Roku and wife of Fire Lord Ozai. In this world she had been born as Noriko and eventually married Noren Xiao Long and had one daughter.

Her life was different from the one she had before, however one of the best parts is that she could be there for her first daughter. Noriko, now after 38 years was able to be the mother that Azula deserved without the influence of Ozai. At some point she would reveal the truth to her. However for now she would wait.

Noriko smiled at her own reflection. Her face had changed and she had more life experience than anyone her age should, having lived two lives up to this point. But that experience would guide her to help Azula, even if she didn't recognise her new face and life. And hopefully her interactions with Danny Phantom would be like Zuko's interactions with Avatar Aang.

Katara: Excuse me?

Dani: Wait so soon?

Katara: I was had my suspicions but I wasn't sure.

Dani: Somebody get me a table to flip!