A/N: CONTENT WATCHING! MAJOR CHARACTER DEATHS! And this half-written story is horror at best, the kind where the hero still dies in the end. Love and be loved. Read… and review!


The Deaths of Ty Lee and Avatar Aang

[Late Winter/Early Spring 151 AG]

The same nightmare that Ty Lee has been having for as long as she can remember comes to visit her once again. As always she welcomes it initially, the pleasant view of her wife sitting alone at home. There are variations of it where Azula is with their children, or making dinner. Sometimes it rains, or snows, but most of the time it's just the wind smashing against the home. Azula hears a knock at the door and rises to meet it. When the door opens, her wife is blown away, fading out of existence. The unseen assailant never comes into focus. Ty Lee never knows who is the one who knocks.

From the eternal darkness that her wife fades to in Dreamland, Ty Lee sticky eyelids open now to a different darkness. There's a shut door and shadows. She finally realizes that she has awoken from her dreams. She is safely in her bed in the House of the Lost Spirits on Kyoshi Island. She turns to the window as she always does, hoping to see the silhouette. She sees none, and tonight is just like any night for the last five years. The woman from her dreams is nowhere to be seen.

Ty Lee, feeling thirsty in the middle of the night, rises up from bed. She ambles towards the door to go downstairs and get a glass of water. She wears a breezy burgundy nightgown that droops below her knees and hugs her aging body warmly. There's a cool breeze at the back of her neck on the chilly winter night. When she is part of the way to the door she stops. She had not left the window open.

"It's you again, isn't it?"

She turns back to the window. The curtains billow in the wind and the spirit of death comes into full view, appearing from the shadows and in the moonlight.

Two steps behind, standing at her window in the dark of night, clad in black armor and carrying a black sword, is Azula.


Kyoshi Warriors on the island operate on a four-days on, four-days off rotation with various roles and responsibilities within each of those "tours" of responsibility. During times of war or when the island is under attack those tour rotations are suspended in favor of all-hands-on-deck approaches. The island, of course, has been at peace for over forty years now so things are fairly boring depending on your tour.

Perhaps the most boring of all responsibilities though, and the one most damaging on the sleep schedule, is the overnight command center. Just like with most other assignments on the island, you have a partner, but the command center never has any action, while also requiring full awareness during the entire shift. A single missed radio could jeopardize the whole island. So while tower guards may be able to take turns napping, the command center has no such freedom. For most Kyoshi Warriors, this is a torturous assignment, and often viewed as a punishment.

"So, you had a Mom, huh? That's weird. And she was the mayor?"

For Suki and Lomin, however, this is the perfect opportunity to catch up and gab without fear of being interrupted.

"Yeah. Mayor Yukari. It's a very little known fact about my life."

"You just… hated your mom? Or what? Didn't feel like telling people?"

Suki jokes, "It's almost like she wasn't even there, most of the time. Ya know?"

"Kyoshi, sometimes it feels like I'm not even here."

The two older warriors share a heartfelt laugh as they sit at their desks. It's a boring night at the command center for these two but they don't mind at all. The only thing happening even halfway noteworthy is an odd fog rolling in from the East, blanketing the entire village. It began rolling in an hour or so ago without explanation but should be gone within some time. The last few months these two former Leaders have been paired more and more together. The young Bashan has grown accustomed to letting them collaborate and they appreciate the leniency they've been granted after the years of strict punishment.

"So, how's Hana's training going at Wolf's Cove?"

"She wrote me just the other day. Hating it. Miserable. Wants to just come back here and forget all about it."

"She may be the Chief's daughter… but she knows that South Pole chill sucks."

The women again laugh and enjoy the company and time together.

"I don't understand why she couldn't learn leadership from us?"

"Sokka has remained in power, while you and I-"

The radio crackles suddenly and a voice cuts them off in a panic.

"Lion Turtle! Lion Turtle! Lion Turtle! Does anybody copy? Over!"

Lomin's fading red eyes catch Suki's aqua ones as the latter pulls the microphone closer. She looks up at her switchboard and sees the call coming in from Tower #6. She presses the corresponding button down to respond.

"Tower-Six, this is Command-One. Affirmative, we copy. Go ahead. Over."

There's a pregnant pause. The command center sits in stunned silence and anticipation in ways it hasn't in many years. The seconds that tick without an answer each has a weight stronger than gravity. Finally the line crackles to life again.

"We've been attacked!"


Death stands at her window. Azula wears black leggings that disappear into tall, black leather boots. Her arms are black sleeves that extend all the way down to her knuckles, but leave her fingers exposed. She has a black belt as well, and from her waist up her outfit becomes gray. The top extends the gray down to droop in front of her like a skirt, but otherwise goes up all the way to her neck. There's a window of black fabric where her cleavage would've been. The gray shoulder pads have spikes and gray cape-like cloth hanging in the back. Finally, the accents on the shoulder pads and neckline are gold.

"Don't run."

Azula calls back to the first words she ever uttered in this house.

"I won't this time. I promise." The 64 year old Ty Lee doesn't waver.

Azula says nothing as the moonlight filters in through the window and glistens off of her. Ty Lee feels a pain in her upper body and wonders if she's been poisoned. Perhaps she just has guilt or something weighing her down. She needs to get it off her chest.

"It's been five years. As time went by, I thought about killing myself. But I knew one day you would come for me. I didn't know how you would do it though. The most logical explanation was to come with the intention of surrendering."

"I told you before that I am the danger. I will not surrender."

"It's odd. I found a moon flower today. How odd that I should find it today? What a strange coincidence."

"It was no coincidence, Ty Lee."


"Tower-Six, go ahead. Over."

"The fog blinded us. We thought it would pass without issue. Unknown female assailant got the jump on us. She was older, wearing black and gray, wielding a sword. We were chiblocked. Been that way for a while, couldn't make the call. Doing so with only a few fingers activated. Over."

"Lion Turtle! Lion Turtle! Lion Turtle! Does anybody copy? Over!"

Suki is hearing double all of a sudden. Behind her, Lomin's intercom springs to life with the same distress call that Suki just took. She peers over her shoulder and the two friends make brief eye contacting, delivering complex, wordless messages with the look.

"Tower-One, this is Command-Two. Affirmative, we copy. Go ahead. Over."

Suki's mind rapid fires through the situation. Tower #6 and Tower #1 are both on the west side of the island's perimeter, the side closest to the port for the village. If someone came in on a passing boat, or if a ship was waiting in the distance for the clear, then the first point of arrival would be the port.

"Command-One, we need assistance. Send back-up. Over!"

Suki's eyes face forward to the switchboard in front of her. Suddenly it begins blinking where Tower-13 is located on the map, followed by Tower-7 and Tower-2. All along the Western front. Suki can't take any of the calls while she's connected to Tower-6. Her pulse pounds quickly, her heart rate rising. She puts a hand on the microphone and turns back to her partner. A fear she hasn't felt in decades.

"Lomin… radio Bashan's private residence. Tell her we need to issue a code 1-10. The island is under attack."


In the moonlight Ty Lee sees the black blade glistens with a substance. She wonders if it's blood and how many Azula struck down to get here. She licks her lips and shifts the weight of her foot. Azula has not advanced on her yet. She doesn't know what to expect from this next question. Nothing has been what it seemed.

"Have you come to kill me?"

Azula's expression doesn't change. Her free hand grips the hilt of her sword. It is a heavy burden she carries. But she promised the one who made this possible that she would not falter.

"You said it best back in Lanxi. I've come to bury you first."


Bashan of Kyoshi Island was born about seventeen years after the last time the island was under attack. She is a feminine but muscular woman, with luxurious blonde hair and sharp green eyes. Now at the tender age of twenty-two years old, having spent almost half of her life as the Leader of the Kyoshi Warriors since she was just 12 years old, Bashan faces the first true threat to the island in two generations. She threw off her sleepwear in a flash and put on something somewhat professional and a pair of shoes. She is sprinting blindly through the thick fog. At the peak of her physical condition, Bashan doesn't break or sweat or struggle for breath one bit. She feels an immense duty to the girls she has grown up with to protect them from whatever evil has come for the island. She arrives at the radio tower and bowls through the door to the command center.

"Bashan!"

"Thank Kyoshi you're here."

"What's our status? Did you do what I said over the radio?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Lomin replies. The black hair, red eyed Lomin knocks over everything on a table and lays out a map of the island. She grabs a pencil and begins drawing circles and arrows. Suki and Bashan come to join her. Lomin explains, "Per your instructions we've pulled everyone off of their posts in the East to head towards the village and docks to brace for a naval attack. All four towers in West were hit."

"All four?"

"All four."

"How could that be? How many people? How much coordination? We must be talking about a large group."

Suki shakes her head. "No, ma'am. Everyone is reporting the same thing. A single, elderly woman. Clad in black and gray. The fog provided a perfect cover and she chiblocked every one of them before they could react."

"That's preposterous!" Bashan shouts.

"That's not all. We have a report of a downed tower in the south." Lomin informs her.

"The south?! Why on Earth-"

"It was abandoned."

"Abandoned?"

"Yes."

Bashan's mind wanders to explanations. She measures her company and her words carefully and remains silent. Suki and Lomin, with all their many years more experience than her, know what she is thinking. They say it for her.

"We're wondering if it might be an inside job?"

Bashan's sharp green eyes shoot up. She meets with Suki's aqua ones and Lomin's red ones. The three leaders of Kyoshi Island for the last fifty plus years are huddled together for a massive assault. Bashan has never been one to trust these women, for they were discharged for a reason, but at this exact moment she doesn't feel she can trust anyone else.

"Alright," Bashan decides. "Go sound the alarms."

At that exact moment sirens began blaring all around them. The command had just been given and no one had moved, so it seems impossible for the alarm to already be going off.

"What… why is it going off?" Bashan shouts in shock.

"I don't - I don't know!" Lomin replies.

The answer is clear but the other two are not as versed as Suki. The 64 year old woman runs out the door that Bashan had come in. She goes out into the open air. Through the fog and the blowing wind, she can see a glowing light in the distance. An orange and gold light breaking through the darkness and shadows. A pillar of fire reaching just above the building skylines. Her mind races through what it might be. Bashan and Lomin follow her outside.

'There's no one out there? Except for - !'

"TY LEE!" She screams and takes off running.

"What!?" Bashan shouts as Suki is running away.

"It's Ty Lee's house," Lomin skirts past Bashan and runs off after Suki. She tells her, "That's where the fire is!"

Bashan figures it out. The alarm is blaring because of a local fire, not because of the invasion. She is caught between trying to decide what to do, so she chooses both. She ducks back into the command center, grabs a mobile, handheld radio, and then turns tail and gives chase for her predecessors.

She runs to the edge of the forest, on the outskirts of the village. She runs to the House of the Lost Spirits.


Suki comes into the clearing and she can do nothing but watch it burn. The entire house is up in giant, orange flames. Her footsteps become heavy and difficult as reality settles in. Ty Lee's home is ablaze and there's nothing she can do about it. Her breath wavers and she wonders briefly who would've seen this and pulled the alarm. Another moment later and Lomin runs out of the fog and into the back of Suki. She grabs hold of her friend and they both look up at the raging inferno.

"No." Lomin whispers. "How?"

"None of this makes any sense, Lo."

"Was this… all for this?"

"That would be insane. It would be-"

Suki stops talking. Her eyes fall to the ground outside the house where a small black box lies unperturbed. Amidst the mayhem all around the island and the fire before them, this object feels so out of place that it's almost like it's exactly in the right place. Like someone put it there. So Suki steps forward to pick it up.

Bashan arrives finally and begins swearing, "Holy fucking Kyoshi! Oh shit! Oh my! Oh no!"

Suki comes to the object and bends down. It is exactly what she thinks it is: a memory box that was once lodged into the wall of the bedroom. She hasn't seen it in over ten years but she knows it instantly.

Bashan radios someone, "Send the water benders. Send the fire benders. We need to contain this! Over!"

Suki stands back up. Lomin steps towards her and Bashan isn't far behind. The radio crackles to life. A voice on the other end speaks, "They're non-responsive! Over!"

The safe is broken open. Suki carefully peels back the opening.

Bashan, furious, abandons decorum as she shouts into her radio, "Then go to their homes and WAKE THEM!"

Inside the safe is a single piece of paper.

An insistent voice on the other side replies, "Commander, we did. They've all been knocked unconscious! Over."

Suki pulls the paper out and drops the safe back to the ground.

"What is that?" Bashan demands. "What does it say?"

Suki reads the words again to herself, not answering her commanding officer.

'They say she burns with such a fire that not even bones are left of a man.'

"Ha ha. Hahaha. Hahahahahhahahaha!"

"What is so fucking funny!"

Suki cackles hysterically. She hands the note over to Bashan. Lomin reads it over her shoulder. Bashan is only loosely aware of the legends. Lomin was there, in the flesh, when The Puppetmaster first heard this quote. Suki was the one to deliver the news to her. And they stand before the blazing home of the third warrior who was present for that moment.

"Of fucking course." Lomin mutters while Suki falls to the dirt in a fit of laughter.

"Lomin! Is… is this what I think it is?"

Lomin begins laughing herself, albeit much more controlled than Suki's hysterics. The burning home supplies the light and sounds, encompassed by thick fog. She replies, "Yeah… there's nothing we can do now."

"Lomin! Find them! Find Sister Ty Lee! And find… Her!"

Lomin shrugs and throws her hands up in the air.

"Oh yeah… I'll get right on that!"

Suki already knows, and it's why she is laughing so much. The great 'impenetrable defenses' that Azula had helped to construct have been defeated. She already knows that when the fire is extinguished, the crisis averted, the fog gone, they will find nothing. It will be as the note promised:

Not even the bones will remain.


TY LEE OF CALDERA, 'THE GHOST OF LONLHAI,' HAS DIED

Ty Lee of Caldera, the former very good friend and longtime roommate of Azula of Caldera, has died. She was 65. The Republic Times' has learned that she died of a house fire in her home on Kyoshi Island, per a release from the Kyoshi Island leader Bashan.

An official investigation is underway to determine if there was any foul play involved. Official reports from the island are that it was an accident caused by a fireplace that was left on overnight. Lee is survived by her six identical sextuplets sisters, all still living in Caldera. There are currently no known public plans for a burial.


CLEARANCE LEVEL: 6+

TO: AVATAR AANG

FROM: YOMA OF WOLF'S COVE

CC: FIRE LORD ZUKO, EARTH QUEEN HOU-TING, CHIEF SOKKA, CHIEF UNALAQ, KYOSHI WARRIORS LEADER BASHAN

Avatar Aang,

I am writing to you on behalf of the collective of scientists assigned to PROJECT PHOENIX DIVE. We highly encourage you to read the entirety of our report, however the below brief will provide you with a summary of the full report. We are at your whim for any and all questions.

The incident decimated the structure beyond repair

The team of scientists did find small sediments in the debris consistent with the materials found in bones

The team was unable to identify whom the bone sediments may have belonged to

The team's overwhelming hypothesis is that the sediments belonged to Ty Lee of Caldera. There is ample evidence to support this finding

The fire burned at a temperature consistent with temperatures of Blue Fire, for a total time of …


[Summer 151 AG]

HIROSHI SATO AND YASUKO OF LANXI MARRY IN SECRET

Formerly unexpected couple Horshi Sato, the 30 year old founder of Future Industries, and Yasuko of Lanxi, the 35 year old genius engineer, are now married. Three years after the two began dating, and seven months after their engagement, The Republic Times' reports, the pair had an intimate wedding at their home in Republic City.

The couple apparently considered both elopement and a large, formal, traditional wedding but ultimately decided to have the event at home. "We realized that a small home wedding was too cozy to resist," Sato said. The bride wore a cream long-sleeved vintage…


[Summer 152 AG]

HIROSHI SATO CONFIRMS YASUKO SATO HAS GIVEN BIRTH TO COUPLES' FIRST CHILD

Hiroshi and Yasuko Sato have welcomed their first child into the world.

The power couple, who famously met on a construction project for Sato Industries, revealed only that they'd welcomed a girl into their family, but did not disclose a name or when they would reveal such information. Their first child was born almost exactly a year to day after their surprise at-home wedding.

"We are truly blessed to say that our child is healthy," Sato released in a statement through his publicist. "Mother and child are resting up now and we look forward to returning home as one big, happy family soon enough. We thank you in advance for the privacy at this time from both the press and the public. Thank you!"


[Early Winter 153 AG]

AVATAR AANG DEAD: BELOVED WORLD ICON HAS PASSED AWAY

A few months shy of celebrating his 66th birthday, Avatar Aang, the decorated hero of the Hundred Years War, builder of Republic City, founder of the United Forces, and the bedrock of the future new Air Nomads, has died. He was 65.

Aang died at his home two days ago on Air Temple Island, surrounded by his loved ones. A representative for the Avatar's family released the following statement to The Republic Times': "Even though Aang was cryogenically frozen for a hundred years, it felt like he was going to live forever. We will miss him terribly, and so will the animal world that he loved so much. We don't think Aang ever feared passing because he always wanted to be given the opportunity to guide the next Avatar, the way he was guided…"

The rest of the article is just quotes by family and friends with very little substance. Ming Fe skims the rest of it and gets to the next one that catches her eye.

AVATAR AANG'S AUTOPSY WOULD ANSWER QUESTIONS, QUIET CONSPIRACY THEORIES

Avatar Aang's family has issued a statement that they would not be engaging in an autopsy of the recently deceased airbender. Such a thing would be counter to the customs of Avatars and especially in particular the customs of the Air Nomads that Aang was famously from originally. They are likely hoping that such announcement will quietly dispel disturbing rumors and conspiracy theories circulating around his sudden passing at his home on Air Temple Island.

One of such theories — a baseless claim that he was receding into an icicle the way he had been frozen in an iceberg for one hundred years — was quickly put to rest. However, it has been replaced instead with a growing whisper of claims that the former Avatar was murdered, for the second time, by arch rival and long time nemesis Azula of Caldera, also known as The Dragon Empress.

While Aang's family insists that he died of natural causes, complicated by his hundred years being frozen, the suddenness of it and lack of forewarning for the public has left a void that the elusive World Most Wanted Criminal has filled nicely. If rumors are to be believed, The Mother of the Kemurikage, who was the subject of an award winning biography in the last few years detailing her various exploits in her youth and adulthood, infiltrated the island using a map she previously had access to dating back to the building of Avatar Island.

Those who are still loyal to the Dragon Empress are telling anyone who will listen that she was responsible for his death. An autopsy would reveal the true cause of death and possibly quell any rumors, but would run counter to the family's wishes.

The Senior Executive Office Assistant to Lau Gan-Lan nods as she reads this excerpt, finding it convincing. The next one is a puff piece for sure, but she tunes in all the same.

AANG THE NOMAD, REMEMBERED

BY FIRE LORD ZUKO

I met Aang at the age of sixteen, in a Water Tribe village in the South Pole. I'd spent three years looking for him so in retrospect our meeting felt like destiny: He was always there, just beneath the surface of the ice, even when I couldn't see him. Moreover, I was incredulous because I'd spent years of my life searching for a wizened old man, likely sporting a beard, wrinkled skin, older than dirt and a master of all four elements. Instead, he was just a child and I shouted my shock and dismay at him. In classic Aang fashion, he smartly pointed out that I was only a teenager myself and not much older than him.

Aang never attempted to deny that he was lucky to be alive. My forefathers hunted him and he hid away in the ice. I hunted him and he converted me to his team. My own sister put him in the dirt, but he kept coming back. Aang very much did not care to talk about his brushes with death, though many attempted to make him do so. Aang preferred to remain focused on the present and live life in the moment.

In a matter of months, Aang made the world aware that the Avatar lived. He was steadfast and resolute in stopping my father, but even more than that he was a friend to anyone who would get a few minutes alone with him — present company included. Those of us who were privileged to be his friend benefited from his living example, not to mention his positivity and energy to bring any mood up. He confessed to me late in his life that his greatest joy came from his reckless adventures of youth and in visiting and learning from so many different peoples and places during his travels.

In truth, Aang in those early years struck me as a young boy, burdened with a much older person's suffering. We spent our lives after the war trying to reshape the state of the world and the relationships amongst the four nations. To make amends for the sins of my fathers. A spirit born to roam and be free, he was constrained to meeting rooms and committees and the like. The birth of his children, in particular his youngest, Tenzin, lifted him and allowed him to find and pursue a renewed joy in life — something that was always there but had simply fallen beneath the surface.

Other, more accomplished writers will describe the triumphs of his life over his many years thereafter. Aang's countless contributions to the world, including the revival of the dragons in Druk and Bakunawa, will benefit generations to come and I have full faith he will continue to provide ample support to the next Avatar in line. As I penned this letter, Bakunawa was spotted flying west over Caldera, chasing the sunset. I suspect he will fly with Druk all over the world, and be free. A reminder for all who witness it of the great Avatar who brought dragons and peace back to the world. A reminder for the rest of his life of the free spirit that once rode him.

For me, that will be the everlasting image of Aang. Not as the Avatar, but as the Nomad. He was wildly free. He was impossible to pin down or contain, as I learned in our first meeting and as I experienced the rest of our lives. But I implore you, dear reader, to keep this in mind as well. That as much as we may believe that Aang is gone, we would not be the first in recorded history to be wrong on that matter. His spirit will live on and I believe he will forever be out there: Just below the surface, even when we can not see him.

Just as Ming Fe is finishing reading the touching tribute, the elevator door dings and it opens for some visitor to step off onto the marble flooring. Ming Fe, in the middle of a lovely, early summer morning folds the paper up and pushes it off to the side of her desk. She grabs a pen and pulls the calendar closer to her. She reviews it as she notices the stranger looking about, but slowly approaching the desk. She sees that no one is scheduled to meet with Mr. Gan-Lan so she suspects this older woman must be lost. Ming Fe, the dutiful assistant and official defender of the CEO's free time, looks up and plasters a fake smile on her face as she speaks to her.

"Hello! Good morning! Are you looking for something? Or someone?"

The woman approaches wearing a nondescript, unimpressive outfit. She is perhaps a homeless person who has yet again wandered past security and found their way up to the Executive Suite.

"Fascinating. And disappointing." The woman with short, salt and pepper colored hair replies while looking at anywhere besides Ming Fe. She runs a finger along a baseboard and finds dust. "A business of this size and we can't hire someone to keep it clean?"

"I'm sorry, but if you don't have an appointment-"

The woman rises to her full height and turns to Ming Fe. She stands above the desk. Her amber eyes pile drive into Ming Fe's soul.

"I'm here to see Lau Gan-Lan, Ming Fe."

"Uh-I. Uh. My name-"

"I took the time to investigate everyone that works here. Even you. After all, it is my company."

Despite her outward, haggard appearance there's something eloquent and quaint about the woman before Ming Fe. She commands her attention and respect. The administrator pulls herself together to ask, "I'm sorry, your company?"

"That's right," she puts two hands on the edge of Ming Fe's desk and leans forward, lowering her head towards her. With a devious smile and a lick of the lips she tells her, "You know who I am."

Ming Fe chuckles politely and then scowls at her.

"Say my name." She commands her.

Ming Fe stares more intently at her now.

"Yes, that's right. Look closer. You know who I am."

She gulps. She blinks a couple of times. Then she shakes her head.

"Yes. You know who I am."

"No," she mutters, shaking her head more vigorously. "No."

"Say my name."

All of the air has been sucked out of the room. Ming Fe finds herself in the crosshairs of an impossible moment. Beyond belief and then some. She sees it, so clearly and plainly before her, and yet she can not believe it. This is a unique opportunity for her company and her life. She makes a demand of the woman.

"Show me the Blue Fire."

There's something exciting about this for the woman across from her. Her eyes get bigger, she smiles a little wider. There's the slightest nod of her head. Almost as if she expected this question, or expected Ming Fe to react this way. She leans even further forward and whispers back to the woman.

"No."

The Dragon Empress reaches into her pocket and produces a thick, fat stack of letters. She throws them down onto the desk between the two women. Ming Fe, feeling flustered and shocked, looks down at them. Every single one is addressed to Azula of Caldera from the Cabbage Corporation. Some of them are still sealed, some are broken open. Ming Fe knows what this is but she chooses to ignore it.

"These could be stolen! Show me-"

The door opens behind her. "Ming Fe?"

She jumps up and turns around to face her CEO. She gestures wildly behind her to the woman, "Mr. Gan-Lan! Sir! This is, um-"

She is swiftly cut off, as the 67 year old woman steps forward and extends a hand towards Lau Gan-Lan.

"They call me The Dragon Empress. But you may call me Azula of Caldera."

"Wh-what? Is-is this a joke?"

"I would not make a mockery of my return to Republic City."

"You're alive?!" Lau asks, but he gets all the confirmation he needs seeing the stack of letters on the desk.

"Sorry to disappoint."

"N-not at all! Oh happy day! Ming! She's here! Did you do this? Did you know?"

"No sir." She denies it.

"Pardon me, Lau, but can we go somewhere more private? Just the two of us? Your office, perhaps? There's much to discuss."

"Yes! Yes, oh yes! Please, please, step right in. We have so much to talk about! I can't believe you're really here!"

Azula steps past the desk and goes into Lau's office. She gestures for him to shut the door behind him. Gan-Lan turns to Ming Fe and quickly tells her, "Cancel everything on my schedule until she leaves!"

"Yes, sir." Ming Fe agrees, but is disappointed to do so.

The door shuts and she is cut off from knowing anything else.


Much to Ming Fe's dismay, this is not a short visit. Lau Gan-Lan and the Dragon Empress remain behind closed doors in his office for the entire morning and early parts of the afternoon as well. The meeting is not just between them either. Lawyers for the Cabbage Corporation, accountants, VPs of Finance, and everyone in between end up walking in, but never leaving. She ends up having to scrap Gan-Lan's entire work day and accomplishes nothing of her own to-do list as she winds up having to order food to be delivered to them. She sends memos and walks around the building, requesting various different members of the senior leadership to stop what they're doing and come to the office right away.

It is a confounding day and experience for the 47 year old long-time assistant. She is at the end of her wits when the door finally opens in the middle of the afternoon. A steady stream of men and women parade out, some laughing and others shaking hands on a job well done. Eventually, Azula of Caldera and Lau Gan-Lan are the last to leave and they come out into the suite. Lau drops a stack of papers at the desk for his dutiful assistant.

"Ming, these are, uh, NDAs. I need you to make a copy of each one and then send a copy to everyone we met with today. Do you mind?"

"No sir." She replies quickly, thumbing through one of them.

"Excellent. Thank you! You're the very best!"

Azula and Lau stand together on the marble flooring, alone.

"So, you've given me the coordinates for the Raven Eagle, should we need to contact you."

"Only in the case of an emergency."

"Yes, of course, I recall."

"Right. Much more reliable than messenger hawks. Can't be intercepted. And like I said earlier, never-"

"Never trust a messenger hawk twice, yes, I remember." Lau finishes her sentence and they share a laugh.

Ming Fe raises her eyebrows in total confusion.

"So, where are you off to next?"

"I have to go visit an old friend who still resides in the city."

"Well, send them our best!"

"I will, Lau. I'll be in touch."

Without another word the CEO of the Cabbage Corporation returns to his office and closes the door. Azula presses the elevator button and waits. Ming Fe puts her head down and roots through the NDA. She scans the pages quickly, looking for details, but finds none. There are explicit references to various punishments for violating the agreement, but any details of the nearly all-day meeting are missing. She huffs in disappointment as the elevator dings to signal its arrival.

Azula doesn't get on. Just as the doors are opening, she turns back to the desk. She pulls an envelope from her pocket. She puts a hand on Ming's desk and leans forward. The middle aged woman looks up at the Dragon Empress in shock. Azula smiles quietly and puts the envelope down in front of her.

"Give this to your boss."

"But he-?"

"Your other boss."

Azula walks away and gets into the elevator. She turns around and as the door closes she stares right at Ming Fe. She gives a harrowing, haunting look, as if she sees right through her. The door closes and the Empress is gone. Ming Fe finally looks down. There is nothing written on the envelope. No mention of Lau Gan-Lan. Ming Fe is left confused and alarmed, heart beating faster, breaths heaving quicker.


Zirin of Caldera is consumed with regret.

She sits alone in a pop-up chair she brought with her at a gravestone. It's a cold but sunny afternoon. In another hour or so the sun will get real low and disappear beyond the skyline of Republic City. She is nearly 69 years old now. Her once voluminous brown hair has grown thin and brittle. Her fingers ache and bother her most days. The scar across her nose has melded well into her face and is hard to see amongst all of the freckles she still proudly sports. She wears a large brim hat and thick winter clothes to stay warm. Her life is nearing its end and she is haunted by the ghosts of her past. Today, she sits before a reminder of her past transgressions.

Azula of Caldera

85 AG — 113 AG

Sister, Daughter,

Friend

Even as recently as a few years ago, Zirin was ready to kill her ex-girlfriend. But time and life have changed her. Yasuko got married and had a daughter. She and Ukuyi have started talking about retiring to the Fire Nation at long last to live out their days in peace. The violence she once carried with her like a badge of honor has evaporated like water droplets in blazing heat. There is nothing to motivate her anymore, nothing to do any more but to sit and wait for her time in the dark.

Which brings her to this gravestone. A reminder of her past self. A living example of how the hate in her heart drove her to nearly dying so many times before. If she could just go back to those younger days, and talk to herself then, she would have so much to say. She doesn't hear the footsteps of another approaching. It isn't until it's too late and a once familiar voice speaks to her.

"Hello, Old Friend." Azula says as she comes to a stop.


Xai Bau receives the messenger hawk the next morning while eating breakfast on Whaletail Island. He opens it and grows furious with the accompanying note. Ming Fe, his spy on the inside of Cabbage Corporation, could not divulge any details because she was unable to glean any. Despite her many years of successfully standing as his eyes and ears inside the richest organization on Earth, he now is left wanting. What's more, there is a letter directly from the bastard woman herself. He rips the envelope open and reads the note, his blood boiling, his rage blinding.

"You still don't see the endgame."


A/N: First, and foremost, this book is dedicated to FMTomiko. My dear friend and close advisor on this story. I'm grateful for your friendship & guidance as I wrote the Legend of Azula. You mean a great deal to me, and although you already know how the legend goes out, I hope that I nonetheless make you proud in the writing. As for my loyal and magnificent readers, I imagine that this book will not be a welcomed finale, especially given the developments of this first chapter. I warned from the very beginning that there would be major character deaths, and this is just the beginning. Remember, this will be canon compliant… until it's not. Until I decide that canon doesn't fit the story anymore. Anyway, commenters clamored for years for Azula to go back to Republic City and take what was hers. Well, now she's back and she's up to something - in the wake of the Avatar's passing and a power vacuum opening up no less. At the end of Book 5, Xai Bau told Azula he had a mole inside the Cabbage Corp's highest office. All that time alone allowed Azula to finally uncover that it was not Lau Gan-Lan that Xai Bau had his hooks in, but Ming Fe, the trusty secretary to both the Cabbage Merchant and his son. I do believe this chapter helped to rule out some of the people who were allegedly 'the one who knocked.' There will be a reveal later on, but not yet. As the book description explained, this book will be told from everyone else's perspective. I wanted it to be exclusively from others, but there were a couple of scenes where for plot twist reasons I had/have to write it from Azula's POV so you don't know what's coming. As I said, I don't know if the ending will satisfy everyone, but I do promise that all of the current loose ends should be tied up neatly by the end. I hope you'll stay with us to the very end. This chapter's OST is "bad guy" by Billie Eilish.

Love always. Ty Lee & Aang forever :(

Notorious