Chapter 007
On a hot summer evening on ember island the royal family was enjoying their vacation. Prince Ozai knelt in his royal palanquin with Azula accompanying him as their servants carried them into town, four royal firebenders surrounding them. It was getting stuffy in the royal vacation home what with Iroh and Lu Ten joining them on their summer trip before the siege of Ba Sing Se and Ozai was growing tired of the constant laughing and pleasantries his brother and Ursa kept generating along with his nephew Lu Ten seeming to enjoy making both Zuko and Azula as energetic as possible. He thought a solitary trip into town would clear his mind and he gave no objections when Azula pleaded to come along, she hasn't been ruined by their weakness yet and it would do her good if he was able to keep her from becoming like them.
Ozai perused the wears of an antique shop, the shopkeepers keeping their distance allowing him the privacy to shop but close enough to attend to any questions he may have, Azula however was bored but tried to mirror her fathers stiff demeanor often mimicking his motions as he observed the wears.
"Azula, come here." Her father called out with her running to his side.
Before them stood a golden statue of a frightening spirit that took the shape of a man with two heads and multiple limbs, its glaring expression and plumes of fire emanating from each limb gave off an aura of power in its fearful might, Ozai felt it would look magnificent in his study.
"Tell me Azula, who is this?" He asked, never turning his gaze away from it.
It didn't take her long to answer as she recognized this spirit's visage, "That's Agni, great fire spirit of the sun."
"Correct. And what is the most significant thing he has done for our people?"
"Crowning the first Firelord."
The corner of Ozai's mouth raised slightly in affirmation, "Yes." He kneeled down scooping up his youngest child so she was at eye level with the statue on the table, "By crowning the first Fire Lord the warring clans of the Fire Nation were united and became our triumphant nation. Do you know how the first Fire Lord united the clans?"
Azula thought long and hard but didn't remember, that lesson was so long ago.
Ozai answered for her, "He had a vision for the future, a vision to unite our country but there were fools that impeded his vision so he showed the other clans his strength and wiped out those that would not kneel to him and in doing so the other clans kneeled to his strength in respect of his might." He turned to her, "The one thing that matters more than anything in this world is strength and to maintain this strength his subjects must fear him. Agni saw this and knew that he was fit for this role. That is the divine right to rule and as his descendants it means that strength is in our blood and to maintain it…" he trailed on waiting for her to answer.
"The people must fear us."
"Good." He nodded his head with a smile, "Fear is the lifeblood of any ruler, when someone is feared it establishes order and discipline. They are respected and no one would dare go against them, they tremble at the thought of someone like us raising a hand to them and if a ruler is not feared then he is weak. He invites his own downfall by the hands of someone stronger. Remember, Azula, Agni saw the strength in our bloodline, we must not dishonor his judgment, unlike some members of our family." He said the last part with displeasure.
"But people don't fear uncle." She said, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"You're right Azula. Iroh thinks that by ruling through love and kindness he will guide a brighter path for our nation." He scoffed, "Respect is earned through fear Azula and your uncle does not share this belief. He will invite the downfall of our family, our bloodline, and even our nation if he sits on the throne." He derided looking into the eyes of the glaring statue, "If I were to sit on the throne I would ensure the strength of our nation goes on and if that were to happen I will need you by my side as my heir."
"But what about zuzu?" She asked innocently.
Ozai grimaced as he walked with her in his arms, "Your brother… has been infected by the weakness in your uncle and mother. You however, are still young enough to be taught properly which is why I believe you are the future of the fire nation."
Azula smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Thank you daddy! I'll make you so proud!"
Ozai awkwardly patted his daughter's back as she hugged him, "I'm sure you will Azula."
He turned to the shopkeeper telling him he will take the Agni statue. As one of his servants came to give the shopkeeper the money, a commotion caught everyone's attention. Ozai marched outside with Azula still in his grasp where they found one of the royal firebenders forcibly holding a peasant dressed in rags face down in the dirt.
"What is going on here?" He demanded.
One of the other royal firebenders bowed his head in respect, "This thief was attempting to steal from your palanquin, Prince Ozai."
Ozai's expression tightened into one of malice, "Perhaps it is time for a demonstration in fear." He said to Azula before putting her down. He approached the dirty man motioning the guards to allow him to kneel.
The man prostrated himself before Ozai, planting his forehead into the dirt, "I'm sorry my lord! I did not know that this palanquin belonged to you!"
Ozai only stared at him with discontent, "Thievery against anyone within the Fire Nation is a serious crime, a crime that comes with a serious punishment."
"I-I'm sorry my lord! My family and I are poor. I only steal to feed them."
Ozai remained silent, deliberately drawing out the man's dread, "Which hand did you use in your attempt to rob me?"
The man quivered in terror as he raised his head, "M-My right hand."
"Better make it both hands to be precise."
Azula watched as the two guards grabbed both of his hands forcibly holding them out.
Ozai outstretched his own hands producing a scorching plumes of fire like the statue of Agni he purchased and made an announcement before all present in the market, "Let it be known that thievery against the royal family will not be tolerated!"
Azula saw all the people around the market as they watched in fear as her father approached the man, mothers covering the eyes of their children, men too weak to watch looking away and others froze in place.
This was what her father was speaking of. Respect through fear, no one would dare go against her fathers decision, true strength at work. She would not be weak like them so she looked on and watched as her father maliciously burned the man's hands.
Azula continued to marvel at the cityscape. It truly was an amazing sight. As she was observing My'Rell was digging for something in the ship, Sev and Gax discussing technical stuff she didn't understand and Angara finishing a conversation on her communicator. She remembered the conversation she eavesdropped on regarding who would mentor her and how she would only allow the best to teach her so she decided to seize this opportunity to gain an ally.
She approached the bounty hunter as she fiddled with a device on her gauntlet and addressed her as standoffish as ever, "What do you want?"
Azula gave her a honeyed smile and friendly demeanor, "I believe you and I may have gotten off on the wrong foot. We both have very strong personalities, so it was only natural that we would clash, but given that we are both playing on the same team now it would probably be mutually beneficial if we weren't at each other's throats all the time."
Angara continued to ignore her.
Azula gritted her teeth and bit back any remarks coming into her mind, "I'm not saying we have to like each other or that we should become best friends. Simply let us not be hostile towards one another."
"Alright, what do you want from me?" She asked, closing the screen of her gauntlet and fully turning to her.
"What do you mean?"
"I know your type, princess. You see, you're the type that only acts nice to someone like me because you want something in return. So spit it out."
Azula's brow tightened and she lost her smile, Angara was smarter than she thought, "My'Rell is thinking of making me a bounty hunter. The only problem is I need a mentor and I would prefer to be taught from the best."
Angara wheezed out laughing, holding her belly as if it was the funniest thing in the world before recovering, "Tough luck princess, but no."
Azula's jaw clenched, "Why not?"
"Well for starters, I don't like you. I don't like people like you. Schemers, manipulators… liars." There was a hint of malice in her tone, "People that hide their intentions behind false smiles and pleasant words make my blood boil, and when I see you all I see is that."
There it was again, that defiance that annoyed her to no end.
"Besides, I don't take young bloods. They slow me down and get in my way. So you'll have to settle for someone else, princess. But if you beg, maybe I'll reconsider." She said with a sneering smile.
"I would rather have my bending taken away and rot away in a cell for the rest of my life than do that." Azula sneered back before shaking her head, "This was a stupid idea anyway." Azula walked away.
Angara waved to her as she kept her mocking smile, "Bye bye, princess. Try not to get stuck with someone like Davos as your mentor, he got his legs blown off while catching a smallfry!"
Azula growled as she went back to My'Rell's side. Of course nothing good could come from talking to that woman, even trying to make peace with her was a fruitless battle.
My'Rell approached her pulling her out of her thoughts, "Before you go anywhere be sure you take this." She handed her a small white box with a speaker.
"What is this?"
"This is an audio translator. It'll translate everything you say into primary. Everybody in the storm wears a translator to make communication easy but here in the city not many people wear them. This will make sure people understand you."
It never occurred to her that she was speaking in a language no one understood but it made sense. She tested it out saying something aloud only for the device to repeat it back in a robotic voice. It sounded like it was only echoing her words but she knew if she removed the translator it would sound completely different. She attached it to her hip dangling from her belt.
"Also take this communicator." She handed her a small rectangular device that flipped open revealing a small screen and a few buttons, "If you get lost use this to contact one of us and we'll come find you." She then gave her a quick demonstration on how it is used.
They were interrupted by the sound of sirens approaching from the sky. A black and white vehicle hovered towards them with red and blue lights flashing from its top and landed before them.
Angara let out an annoyed growl as Sev and Gax approached from behind, "Ah great, officer fatso's here." Sev said in annoyance.
"KEKERA KAI!" Gax shouted from his shoulder.
"You said it buddy."
The door retracted upward as a large round creature with sickly green skin, round face, beady red eyes, short ridged horns growing along the length of his head and small tusks protruding from his lower jaw stepped out dressed in a white and black uniform and a scowl over his pudgy features. The way his wrinkled face was scrunched up reminded Azula of a bulldog.
"My'Rell Tivanti." he announced with a gravely old voice, making sure to annunciate her full name with clear disdain.
"Proxly." My'Rell said plainly, "What seems to be the problem this time?"
Proxly snapped his fingers with another officer handing him a tablet, "Say's here that your ship was directed to land in the space port from the altitude that we received your signal from and yet you came into the city through the badlands instead."
"I wanted to take the scenic route, admire the beauty of Kazima's wilds on my way in." she answered flippantly which only seemed to provoke Proxly further.
"We have flight paths for a reason, My'Rell. So air vehicles don't crash into each other."
"Relax Proxly. Horizon city doesn't have enough air traffic. Also, this seems like a very small issue for the head of planetary security to be paying me a personal visit." My'Rell held her ground as he marched up to her, standing a full head taller than her, My'Rell was already quite tall by human standards.
"I just want to make sure mercs like you know your place." He growled, lowering his head to be at eye level, "Out in space you may be tough and strong but once you break atmosphere, you're in my territory which means you play by my rules. Got that, merc?"
Azula could feel the mutual disdain the captain and this Proxly had for one another like heat from a fire it radiated around them.
My'Rell's cold stoic expression then gave way to a smug smile as her eyes narrowed with mischief, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind when the governor pays me for doing your job better than you can."
Proxly's eye twitched in fury.
"Also, how long was that pirate den hidden at the edge of the system? Four, five months maybe? Pirates that were targeting merchants coming to and from Kazima. With Kazima being the only habitable planet in the system I would think that that would be a primary concern for the head of planetary security. Would it not be?"
Proxly let out a low thunderous growl like that of a tigerdillo as he took a few steps back and crossed his arms, "Yes it would be, but I am just one man looking after an entire planet, plus I've had my hands full dealing with raids from your Ke'Kuvon friends."
My'Rell's smile faltered along with catching Angara's attention.
"What the Ke'Kuvon do is none of my concern." She stated firmly, the authoritative look returning to her eyes.
Proxly's own smirk appeared, "It should. After all, you were the one who brought them here." His eyes ran over her crew members, eyeing them all with disdain until they fell on Azula, "I don't think I've seen you here before. What are you, some mutant Pendaren half breed?"
Azula scowled at his words but before she had the chance to respond My'Rell stepped in between her and Proxly.
"I think you've wasted enough time here Proxly. Yours and mine. So why don't you go back to your job and leave my crew and I to our own business?"
The edge to her voice was enough to let everyone know this discussion was over.
Proxly only grumbled to himself in response as he climbed back into his vehicle, "Stick to the designated flight paths in the future, or next time I won't be so nice." He closed the door with the other officer climbing into the driver side and taking off.
Sev whistled as the vehicle flew out of sight, "What a prick."
"I'd like to rip those horns out of his head." Angara snarled out.
"CHURO KARA KINE!"
Sev laughed, "Gax's right, the captain might beat you to the punch."
"He seems friendly." Azula deadpanned to My'Rell.
"He's just another headache." My'Rell sighed before turning to them, "I'm heading to city hall to collect our payment. Azula you come with me so we can get an ID made for you. The rest of you go do whatever you want, but stay out of trouble."
"Aye, captain." Sev said giving her a thumbs up with Gax doing the same, "If you need us we'll be in the market area buying tech."
The two then departed.
She turned to Angara, "What do you plan on doing?"
Angara held out a small case she had strapped to the back of her armor, "Gonna turn in some dead bounties. Then head out to the Ke'Kuvon camp to repair my helmet."
"Dead bounties?" Azula questioned, "Don't you need bodies for that?"
"That's what the case full of frozen scalps is for."
"While you're at the camp, see what these raids are about." My'Rell said.
"They won't tell me anything, not if it means ratting out their own."
"Then at least try and get back whatever they stole."
Angara murmured, "I'll see what I can do."
My'Rell directed Azula to follow her to a parked vehicle not too far away that waited for them. It was a sleek black vessel that housed enough space to fit several individuals with a small compartment at its nose for a driver. A humanoid shaped robot standing by its side.
"Governor Belko is expecting you and has made arrangements for your arrival." The robot said with a polite digital tone.
My'Rell nodded to the robot as she entered the vehicle with Azula following. The robot entered the driver's compartment. The four hover modules on each end of the vehicle activated, sending the vehicle skyward with it floating over the city at a much slower pace than the ship. Azula watched as the buildings passed by with My'Rell sitting across from her.
"You must be on good terms with this client for him to arrange such luxurious transportation." Azula said, making note of the extravagant interior of the vehicle.
"Oh yeah, governor Belko and I have history. He used to be a smuggler before going into politics, but he managed to turn his life around once he came out here."
"History? As in romantic?" Azula asked with a raised brow.
My'Rell let out a hardy belly laugh, "No, nothing like that! History as in I arrested him twice while I was in the empire." She laughed so hard she had to wipe away a tear, "Plus, he's not my type. Too many legs and I'm not very fond of mandibles."
Azula shivered at the thought of romance with something like that and decided to avoid this discussion going any further, "So… the big fat one. Proxly, was it? Who is he?"
My'Rell's expression soured as she let out a noise of disgust, "A gigantic pain in my ass. He's the head of security for the planet and surrounding territories, except he's terrible at his job. You remember the syndicate I told you about?"
"The one that had control of the planet?"
My'Rell nodded, "During that whole crisis Proxly could barely fight against the syndicate and they completely steam rolled planetary security, killing dozens of security forces, until Belko hired us and we steam rolled them and inadvertently exposed him for the incompetent fool that he was. Ever since then he's held a grudge against us, so he's made it his mission in life to be as petty and difficult towards us as possible."
"He sounds pleasant." Azula said sardonically, "And here I thought it was because you rejected some proclamation of love." She joked.
"Well he did hit on me when we first met and I rejected him, of course, so that might also play into it."
Azula laughed at that, not expecting to hear that she actually was right with My'Rell sharing in it as well. Azula then reminded herself that My'Rell was an obstacle, not her friend. She was just as smart as her and she couldn't afford to let her guard down around this woman. To keep her focus she decided to probe for more information.
"He mentioned a Ke'Kuvon camp and that you brought them here. What did he mean by that?"
My'Rell looked back out the window, "That's… a long story."
"Long enough to accommodate this ride?"
My'Rell let out a tired sigh as she leaned forward resting her elbows on her knees with an introspective expression, "For generations the Pendaren Empire had been trying to tame the Ke'Kuvon and their homeworld, Tunbani, but the Ke'Kuvon are a proud and stubborn people that refused my people's customs and teachings. This has been the source of conflict for as long as I can remember. That, and they insist on being an independent nation when their home system is completely surrounded by imperial territory. Eventually diplomacy failed and all out war started. The Ke'Kuvon were hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned but that didn't deter them so they kept fighting, so much so that members of the imperial military and navy started to fear them. The emperor didn't take too kindly to this information so if he couldn't tame Tunbani he decided to get rid of it." My'Rell turned her gaze on Azula, her expression as cold as ever, "Ten years ago, through the aid of insurgents within the Ke'Kuvon's ranks, the empire destroyed Tunbani through orbital bombardment and ordered for the destruction of any ship attempting to escape. I disobeyed orders and defended several ships that escaped, even firing on my fellow imperial ships, and brought them to Kazima where I knew they would be safe. That's why they are here and also how I left the empire."
Azula's expression shifted to one of confusion, "So you defected because you pitied your enemy?"
"I respect the Ke'Kuvon." My'Rell said suddenly as if she was being accused of something, "And it wasn't the only reason I left. Tunbani was the last straw on a very long list of last straws." She looked away with shame in her eyes, "The empire I grew up with, the one that I was proud to serve is gone. Now it's just another dictatorship run by a self righteous man that believes the universe belongs to him and that all should fear his might." She scoffed in disgust.
"Well, being emperor, it would make sense to rule through fear by making an example of the Ke'Kuvon so no one else steps out of line."
My'Rell gave her a critical look, "I'm assuming this is how your father ruled?"
Azula smirked, "Yes, and his father and his father before him, and it has served to create the most powerful society on earth."
My'Rell crossed her legs and rested her head on her hand, "So you think that's the only way to rule?"
"Of course, any other way invites weakness and weakness invites someone else to come and crush you."
My'Rell stayed silent for a few moments thinking of how to properly continue the conversation now with a better understanding of Azula's thought process and decided to challenge the younger girl, "Let me throw a little scenario your way. Say a king who rules his subjects with fear decides to go for a hike-"
"Why would a king go on a hike? Wouldn't he have better things to do?" Azula interrupted, mostly because she didn't feel like listening to whatever Iroh-like metaphor the captain planned on delivering.
"Humor me."
She rolled her eyes and listened.
"The king who rules with fear goes hiking with one of his subjects for whatever purpose he needs him for, but during that hike he stumbles and falls, breaking his leg. The king demands the servant that fears him to save him or else. What does the servant do?"
Azula snorts, the answer is obvious, "The servant does as he is commanded and helps his king. If he doesn't he fears punishment."
My'Rell gave a nod, "He could help him but it's just the king and his servant, a servant that only fears him, doesn't respect him or frankly even likes him, and now the king is at his mercy. Sure he can do as he is ordered and save the king but that would mean further living in fear of him. The most likely scenario is that the servant will realize that he has an opportunity to get rid of the very thing he fears most. So he takes it and leaves the king behind in the wilderness, where he will die alone."
She pauses to let Azula absorb the information before continuing, "Now say another king goes on a hike with his servant, but this one doesn't rule through fear. He rules through respect and kindness. Like the first king he falls and breaks his leg and is also at the mercy of his servant, but this servant doesn't fear him. The servant respects and admires him. What does that servant do?"
Azula was silent for a moment thinking of the answer, "He is weak, so the servant leaves him only to be ruled by someone else who is stronger."
My'Rell shook her head "No. He respects and loves the king so he would risk his own life to save that of the king. The king goes home, heals his leg and continues his rule."
"Is there a point to this?" the former princess asked in annoyance.
My'Rell looks somewhat disappointed that Azula didn't get it, or she did and just didn't care, "Fear can only get you so far, Azula. True strength comes from the strength and aid of others. If you constantly rely on fear to maintain your strength it will become your weakness and it will invite your own downfall."
Azula was hit with the memory of her own downfall and how alone she was on her coronation.
"I'm not going to pretend like I know the full story on what happened to depose you and your father but I can guess from context clues and my own experiences. Just know that kindness can get you farther in some cases than fear can."
Their hover vehicle began to descend.
"Looks like we're here. Try to be on your best behavior."
Azula only grimaced at her words as the vehicle landed, its doors retracting as they exited to a large pristine domed building with long curved pillars surrounding it that resembled the ribs of a great beast. Azula followed the captain inside, paying little attention to her surroundings as she pondered her words, especially regarding the Pendaren Empire.
My'Rell's words on the follies of ruling through fear stuck in her mind. For as long as she's lived Azula had been told by her mentor and father that fear was the proper and most effective way to rule yet the captain's example of the king reminded her how she was left alone when she stumbled, how Mai and Ty Lee were the first to leave her side and how empty her coronation was, along with how many rallied behind Zuko. She shook her head of the thoughts, My'Rell was a fool. She knew nothing of what it was like to rule, she's nothing but a filthy space peasant in charge of even dirtier space peasants. She couldn't possibly know what it's like to be royalty like she was.
She would refocus her thoughts on a more pressing topic, the Pendaren Empire. It would seem Skeeve's warnings were true as My'Rell's opinion of them was fairly similar and the revelation of their destructive might was a cause for concern. Aligning herself with the empire would be logical as they seemed to be the most dominant force in the galaxy however that would ultimately leave her living under their thumb which was less than ideal. Perhaps allying herself with others against the empire would be a better bet. She managed to topple the Earth Kingdom so perhaps she could do the same to an intergalactic empire. Only time will tell, but that was a problem for a future date.
Now her main focus should be observing and planning, but She refocused her attention and found she and the captain were being directed to meet the governor in his office. They stepped through a large circular sliding door into a spacious office scarcely decorated where they found the governor sitting behind a desk seated in a chair that was suited for his anatomy but would be uncomfortable for others.
He was a tall brown ant-like creature with large bulbous eyes, long feather shaped antenna dressed in regal white robes, his arms folded up against his chest like a mantis.
The creature acknowledged their presence, putting away some paperwork as he rose to greet them on four multi jointed legs, a round abdomen hanging from his rear.
"Glad to see you in one piece My'Rell." A digital voice came from a translator that hung around his neck after a series of rhythmic clicks emitted from his four pronged mouth.
The shock of seeing these bizarre creatures was beginning to wear off with each new one that appeared.
"Almost came back in several, though. Had a run in with a rival group but we took care of it." She responded flippantly.
"I noticed. Planetary security caught several surviving pirates trying to enter Kazima space after you destroyed their hideout. Though I was beginning to worry that maybe they had done you in when you didn't come to collect your money immediately."
"Belko you know they can't kill me that easily. Plus, somebody needs to remind you how awful Proxly is at his job." My'Rell said patting his shoulder while they both shared a laugh.
"He's not all bad, sure he's difficult to work with but if you're constantly dealing with threats to Kazima's security you'd be as crotchety as he is. But enough of that, I have your units here." He scuttled back to his desk where he procured a large heavy black box dropping it on the desk. At the press of a button the top slid open revealing dozens of small golden bricks neatly stacked within, "Forty thousand units, as promised."
"Didn't skim any for yourself did you?" She said jokingly as she inspected it.
The governor let out a series of clicks his translator interpreted as hardy laughter, "You know I don't do that anymore, especially after what happened when I did that to some pirates." He pointed to a deep scar on the carapace of the left side of his face, "Will this be all you're visiting for?"
My'Rell closed the case, "Not entirely, my protégé here is new to Kazima and is in need of an ID. I was hoping you could help with that."
The bug man turned to Azula, his large compound eyes scanning her up and down, "I was wondering who this was. You usually don't employ people so… young."
"She's the exception."
"Well there is a bit of a waiting list, however, if My'Rell recommends you then perhaps I can bump you up a little."
Azula bowed respectfully to the insect and replied in a honeyed voice, "Thank you governor. I'm glad you would welcome me to your world."
"Nonsense, all are welcome here. Hundreds come to the fringes of explored space in search for new opportunities, whether it be a new life, a second chance or to hide from the troubles of their homeland. Kazima is a place of new beginnings and growth." His digital voice held a warmness that clashed heavily with his insectoid appearance.
It was strange being so welcomed despite knowing nothing about her or her status.
"Although we do need to run thorough background checks on all new potential citizens."
"That won't be an issue." My'Rell reassured, "Azula here is from an uncharted system away from galactic society. She doesn't have a record."
The governor's body language shifted towards apprehension, "An uncharted system? Am I to expect a visit from a new civilization soon?"
"Not at all."
"Good, I'm in no mood to negotiate trade with a new civilization so soon, especially when there are problems that need solving here. I'll send a message to our immigration office and get the process started for you. We'll classify her as an unregistered species." The governor said as he typed away at his computer.
My'Rell thanked him as they went to the immigration office where Azula was asked a series of questions, many of which she was unable to answer but My'Rell was able to bluff or fill in for her and in no time Azula was granted her ID.
She looked it over observing the photo taken of her in a poised regal expression. All her necessary information was on the card. After gaining her ID both she and the Captain left city hall, the large box of money being carried by the same robot that drove them here as they returned to the hover car.
"So, now that we have our money and I have this, what now?"
My'Rell sat opposed to her with the chest by her side, "Deposit this in the bank and since I don't feel like going back into space just yet and I'm sure you don't want to be stuck wearing that jumpsuit for the rest of your life. So why not go do some shopping?" She then tossed her a few of the golden bricks, "Try not to spend it all in one place."
The vehicle took them to the market area of the city where My'Rell chaperoned the former princess as she was allowed to buy some clothes for herself, nothing too fancy, mostly utilitarian wear for work as for now Azula prioritized functionality above all and also due to her not knowing what is considered fashionable in the galaxy.
With Azula's shopping out of the way she tailed My'Rell as she window shopped the wears of the bustling market area. They had left the robot driver behind with their vehicle awaiting their return, the marketplace was located near the seedier parts of town near the slums, My'Rell warned her to keep an eye out for pickpockets.
The captain stood at a kiosk selling various firearms with a clear admiration for them, often asking specific questions regarding their capabilities, range and materials used to make them. The enthusiasm she showed for these weapons reminded Azula of the subtle passion Mai displayed when it came to throwing knives and other sharp objects.
Azula on the other hand only looked at the weapons with apathy. She saw these plasma blasters as a crude imitation of firebending. It took Azula her entire life to be able to fire bend as brilliantly and lethally as she could, however anyone could just grab one of these weapons and just fire away with no skill or discipline, however she can't be too disgusted with there existence after all bending seems to only exist on earth so a substitute was bound to exist.
She was quickly beginning to grow bored as My'Rell insisted on seeing more firearms. The remaining units in her pocket were the only thing she had to fiddle with to keep her mind stimulated until she felt a soft tug at her pant leg.
She looked down to the source where she saw a little boy dressed in rags that looked very similar to Angara only without the facial tattoos and dark hair instead of red, a Ke'Kuvon child.
"Miss, can you spare some money, please?" he pleaded in a soft dreary voice as he looked up at her with his large amber eyes.
Azula sneered at the little boy for touching her with his filthy hands, "Leave me alone. I have nothing for you."
"Please miss. We don't have enough for food."
"What makes you think I have any money to spare?"
The small child pointed to the golden hair piece woven into her topknot.
"Fair enough." She growled to herself, "If you want money for food then go someplace else and maybe think about getting a job. Now get out of my sight." She lined her voice with a threatening edge that made the poor boy shutter with him running away alongside a little Ke'Kuvon girl.
She returned to the captain's side as she held a large bulky blaster aiming down the sights, "Are you almost finished here? This place is starting to become suffocating."
My'Rell continued to aim down the sights before pulling back on the barrel causing cooling flaps to open along its sides, "Just a minute. I'm still debating on whether I want this blaster or not."
Azula only groaned to herself as she reached into her pocket again to fiddle with the spare change she had only to find that her pocket was empty. Confused, she quickly patted all the pockets on her legs trying to find the few unit bricks that she knew she still had only for a realization to kick in. She had her money until that little boy came up to her and when she darted her head to the direction he had run off to. There he was with the little girl that ran past counting her money between them. The boy must have been a distraction so the girl could pickpocket her.
Enraged at their theft Azula called out to them as she bolted in their direction pushing past the various other alien shop goers and leaving a confused My'Rell behind. The two children ran in fear as she chased them through the streets past various vendors. The two children dashed past a parked hover cycle with the boy revving the accelerator causing it to dash towards Azula but she jumped out of the way as the vehicle crashed into the side of a building with her continuing the chase until she was back on their tail following them up a stairwell.
At the top the girl spotted a cart of maroon vegetables with its owner distracted with a possible customer and pushed it down the steps barreling towards Azula. On impulse she shot the ground beneath her with blue flames propelling her in the air flipping over the storming cart until she landed perfectly near them as the cart smashed at the base of the steps spilling its contents everywhere.
"My Kazimen cabbages!" the alien merchant cried out as Azula stormed passed still in chase.
The two children ran into a narrow alleyway that perfectly allowed them to maintain their speed but slowed Azula down as she had to squeeze her way through until she pulled herself out into the outskirts of the slums. She scanned the horizon of run down homes and dirty streets until she saw the children run into what looked like an abandoned warehouse. She growled in annoyance as she advanced to the building, the heavier gravity was causing her to tire out quickly.
The hole in the wall that they crawled into was too small for her to follow so instead she kicked open a chained up door off its hinges where she found a group of other Ke'Kuvon youths of various ages loitering about with all of their attention on the intruder.
The two children ran behind the eldest youth with short dark red hair, narrow face and dressed in grungy streetwear who turned to her with a snarl flashing his teeth as he brought his raised hand down from throwing a knife at a poster with several other knives and with a commanding biting tone asked, "Who the hell are you?"
"I'm the one who was just robbed by those two brats!" she bit back pointing to the two children who hid behind the teen, "I don't take kindly to thievery."
The various teens got up from whatever they were doing and began to crowd around her brandishing improvised weapons such as broken pipes, crowbars or their bare knuckles. Azula scanned all five of them as they approached for possible weaknesses, none of them seemed as though they were skilled fighters, just a bunch of street thugs acting tough. She could clearly defeat all of them without the use of her bending.
The leader fiddled with the knife in his hand as he waved for the two kids to get back, "Well you should have kept better track of your wallet then." he squinted as he studied her, "What are you some kind of deformed Pendaren?"
She rolled her eyes, "I'm really starting to get tired of people asking me that."
"You should turn around and go back to wherever you came from. Pendaren's aren't welcomed here." He waved the knife close to her face as he stood over her.
"Well…" she pointed the tip away from her with her index finger, "First of all, I am not a Pendaren. Second, If I can just get back what was stolen I will be on my way… and no one gets hurt."
They all started to chuckle, "You're really threatening us?" the leader asked, "It's five against one."
"I've faced greater odds." she said smugly stated.
The leader let out a mocking laugh flashing his fangs with the rest of his crew following suit before he sent a fist flying towards her face. Already anticipating the attack Azula pulled her head back avoiding the blow easily before stepping in and striking his stomach hard enough to knock him back. He snarled like an animal lunging forward with the knife swiping at her with Azula dodging each attack, the last swipe managing to leave a shallow cut on her shoulder, that last attack shouldn't have hit her but the higher gravity was slowing her movements down. Not wanting to risk another attack landing she grabbed hold of his wrist twisting the knife out of his grasp before throwing him aside.
The others soon decided to join in with Azula ducking out the way of a pipe being swung at her and side stepping a crowbar. The one with the crowbar swung down at her again only for Azula to catch his wrist and deliver an open palm to his chin, disorienting him long enough for her to subdue him with a swift kick to the stomach. She quickly grabbed the crowbar and blocked another swing from the pipe then sweeping his legs out from under him before firmly planting a drop kick on his chest knocking the wind out of him and subduing him.
The other two, who seemed to be a brother and sister pair, came at her. Azula threw the crowbar at the legs of the brother, sending him falling to his face; the sister however got behind Azula and was able to wrap her arms around her tightly. Recovering from his fall the brother reared up and threw a fist towards Azula's face. She narrowly escapes the blow by moving her head out of the way causing him to punch his sister instead.
The sister's grip was still firmly around Azula but the disorientation gave her the opportunity to throw both feet into the brother's chest, knocking him back and propelling the two girls into an old stack of empty crates. Now free Azula delivered a hard punch to the girl's face knocking her out.
Azula was beginning to feel the fatigue set in and no more was this present then when she turned to face her next opponent and was met with a shoulder bash by the leader that knocked her to the ground. He jumped onto her before she could get up, sending a flurry of blows down on her that she blocked with her arms. This would not be a viable defense for long, his fists felt like frozen turkeys hammering down on her and the higher gravity only made their impact sting even more. As he pulled his arm back for another blow she broke her defense and struck him with an open palm to the throat then kicked him off of her before stumbling back up where she was grabbed by the brother and thrown against the wall, the impact knocking the breath out of her lungs.
After recovering she saw the brother marching up to her cracking his knuckles. From what she could tell he was the biggest of the group and the strongest as he was able to shrug off that kick to the chest, if she wanted to take him down she would have to strike at a precise weak point. Just as he was getting ready to strike she sent a kick between his legs causing him to let out a high pitched cry of pain as his knees gave out from under him and he was left there holding his crotch as he fell over. It seems Ke'Kuvon anatomy was very similar to humans, at least for the males.
Now the only one left was the leader who got back to his feet, he ran back to the wall pulling all the knives out and took on a throwing stance.
"Taking me seriously now, are we?" She said in an almost mocking manner.
"That's on me for underestimating you, but now I ain't making that mistake again!" He threw one of the knives at her leg.
She jumped out of the way as it landed where she stood. He threw a few more with Azula dodging each. He was good, just as good as Mai when they sparred during their time hunting the Avatar, thankfully that came in handy when dealing with this street rat.
She managed to close the distance between them dodging a few more until he was left with one in each hand. He lunged at her swinging each blade with precision managing to leave shallow cuts on her arms and legs as she tried her best to dodge his attacks. She couldn't keep up with his attacks, she was too tired and slowing down.
He roared out as he swung a knife downward, a swing she could not dodge and braced for the inevitable pain, yet it never came. When she looked down she saw the knife landed on her audio translator, throwing out sparks. The leader tried to pull the knife but it was stuck.
Now was her time to strike, she swung her leg into his side making him drop his blades before grabbing him by the collar and with all her might and frustration repeatedly punched his face, blood trickling from his nose and bruises forming all over until his body went limp and he fell backwards. His breathing labored and was on the brink of unconsciousness.
She struggled to stay on her feet, exhaustion almost taking hold of her. She managed to defeat them all but it took entirely too much effort on her part. She should have just used firebending from the start. Now she will rectify that decision.
She held out a hand and summoned a blue flame just as the leader was beginning to recover, his eyes growing wide at the sight of it in fear.
"Now I believe a demonstration of fear is in order." She echoed her fathers words as she approached, "So tell me, which hand is your dominant one?"
The leader crawled away as best he could until he touched the wall.
"Why don't we make it both?" She summoned another flame, "Just to be precise." A sadistic smile grew on her lips as she got closer. She revealed in his fear, finally she felt powerful again. She felt in control, like nothing could stop her, until a shovel collided with the back of her head sending her sprawling to the floor.
Behind her the little boy stood with an old shovel. The leader got back up grabbing both kids by their hands leading them away and kicked his friends awake, "Come on! Let's get out of here before this psycho wakes up!"
They all ran out following the leader. Azula however was still awake, a little disoriented but awake, and recovered herself.
"Hey!" She called out while stumbling to her feet as she gave chase, "Where do you think you're going?"
The group ran out of the old building turning down the street with Azula in hot pursuit. Many of them attempted to do as the kids did, overturning various objects hanging by the streets and pushing people in her way. Still a bit disoriented and fatigued, Azula found dodging the obstacles difficult with her being tripped up by a rolling trash can or running into a bystander that she promptly pushed out of the way.
Seeing how relentless she was the leader ordered they split up with each member taking a different path at an intersection. Azula focused on the leader and the two kids he dragged with him, bolting up the street they took and was almost able to catch them until a man herding several tall six limbed camel-like creatures cut her off. The teenage Ke'Kuvon grabbed both kids and tossed them onto a hover trolly passing by before climbing on himself and with a smug smirk waved her goodbye as the two kids stuck their lavender colored tongues out at her while making immature faces.
Her blood now boiling, Azula used her firebending to launch herself over the group of animals, startling them into a stampede and landing in a roll that put her back on the warpath towards the three Ke'Kuvon. Her targets quickly lost their smiles.
The trolly crossed over a bridge overlooking a canal and with the road running out as it crossed a bridge that was clearly made only to hold the trolly Azula propelled herself in the air once more running along the side of the surrounding buildings using her firebending to keep her afloat until she was close enough to jump onto the roof of the vehicle. She swung down through the open entrance and was met with the teen waiting for her and delivering a push kick into her stomach sending her out and into a puddle.
Now significantly battered and now wet, Azula vowed to make sure these three paid for the trouble they caused her, the water of the puddle boiling at her fury before she gave chase again.
The leader now seeing Azula using her fire to fly out of the canal and was back on the warpath again he decided to look around the environment for a better means of escape, his amber eyes landing on the train station in view with a train leading out of the city parked.
Azula couldn't keep running forever, the weight of the planet was bringing her to exhaustion but her pride wouldn't allow such a transgression against her to go unpunished and with all her might used her firebending to propel herself onto the rear of the vehicle where she climbed in through the emergency exit. The passengers parted way in fear after witnessing the jets of flames along with the small bursts of blue fire that emitted from her mouth every time she exhaled.
Her eyes darted side to side looking for the teen and what she assumed to be his siblings and finding no trace of them. She turned to a cyclops alien with a thin head and grabbed him by the collar forcing him into eye level with her.
"The three Ke'Kuvon brats that were here! Where are they?!"
He frantically pointed out the window towards the train station. After tossing him aside she jumped out of the moving trolly and broke out into a light jog towards the station. Surely those peasants are just as tired as she is.
The three managed to make their way to the station, the oldest keeping an eye out for their pursuer as the two kids followed him.
"Tyto, is she still following us?" The little girl asked with worry.
"Yeah, she's scary." The little boy followed up.
Tyto pushed the two kids before him, encouraging them to go ahead as he continued to look over his shoulders, "I don't know. Listen, Teo and Tia, if she shows up before we can get on the train home I want you two to sneak on one without me. I'll make sure she doesn't follow you."
The two siblings nodded in agreement to him.
"That girl is crazy, and what was up with that fire? How much did you take from her anyway?"
Tia, the little girl, dug into her pocket pulling out the gold brick followed by a few silver and bronze ones, "Five units."
His head shot back in surprise, "Five units?! You're telling me she beat up our entire group and chased us all over town for five units! That's not even enough to buy lunch. She must really be crazy."
He led them to a chain link fence on the side of the building and pulled a torn end up allowing the two kids to crawl under before going as well with the end of his black jacket getting caught and tearing off as he went through.
Azula finally made it to the station now tired and out of breath and marched to the ticket kiosk, "Ke'Kuvon… three of them… have you seen them?"
"I'm sorry?" he asked in confusion.
She slammed her fist against the glass, "Three Ke'Kuvon brats came here! Have you seen them or not!" she shouted in violent rage.
"I'm sorry miss, but I can't understand what you are saying."
She then remembered her audio translator turning to her hip and seeing the knife still firmly planted in it and sparks still shooting out from it. Roaring out in rage she pulled it away and threw it to the ground as she went to continue her search.
Azula searched around the area and followed the fence, finding a torn piece of clothing at the end of a torn end of the fence recognizing it as belonging to the oldest teen of the group. With her fire bending she shot herself over the fence nearly catching herself on the barbed wire and landed not so gracefully on the opposite end. She growled in frustration to herself as she jogged up and entered the only train just before it took off.
Angara sat comfortably in one of the center carts watching as the slums passed by, her broken helmet sitting in her lap. There were very few attending this cart as at this time of day on Kazima the trains are not as fully packed with passengers which is how Angara likes it. No one to bother her or get on her nerves.
She already spent most of her day stuck in the law enforcement office getting the scalps she collected scanned and authenticated as the DNA testing machine was down for a good while keeping her from collecting her bounties adding to her already high temper. Now she is getting back to her people and can finally take some time for herself and enjoy the sounds of the train. That silence was interrupted when the door to the far end of the car slid open with three individuals entering in a panic.
She opened her eyes to see whatever annoyance came to disturb her solitude but was surprised to see people she knew, "Tyto?"
"Angara?" He said in surprise.
"Big sis!" the twins called out running and jumping onto her with a hug.
"Stop calling me that." She said in annoyance as she patted them affectionately, "Didn't expect to see you three so quickly. And you-" she looked at Tyto and was shocked at how bruised and bloodied his face was, so much so she stood up quickly looking him over like a concerned parent, "What happened? Who did this to you?"
"We're being chased by a crazy lady!" Teo said, pulling out from the hug.
"Yeah! She beat up everybody and chased us all over town!" Tia followed up, still clinging onto Angara's leg.
"Really?" Angara said flatly and gave Tyto a scornful look, "Why are you being chased?"
Tyto, feeling the scrutiny in her gaze, looked away scratching his head nervously, "It's just like they said. She's crazy!"
Not believing a word he said she grabbed his pointed ear pulling at it hard enough to make him cry out, "Are you making your cousins pickpocket again?"
"No! I swear I didn't!"
She turned to the twins with a piercing gaze, "Did he?"
The two children looked away, twiddling their fingers.
"A little." Tia answered.
Angara pulled at his ear some more as she scolded him, "And now you pick pocketed the wrong person putting your cousins in danger and you getting beaten to a pulp, like the idiot you are!"
"Okay! Okay! Yes, it's my fault! Could you please stop trying to tear off my ear?!"
Angara let him go, "This crazy lady, is she on board?"
"I don't know. I think we lost her." Tyto held his ear trying to soothe the pain.
Angara growled as she rubbed her head in frustration, "Sit down. I'll make sure this lady doesn't do anything if she shows up."
"Yay! Big sis is gonna fight her!" the twins said in unison.
"Shut up. I'm not your sister." She grabbed the twins and sat them down giving Teo her helmet to hold before turning to Tyto, "And don't think you're getting out of this unscathed. Your uncle is gonna be hearing about this!"
He sat down next to the twins with his head downcast and responded in a defeated tone, "Yes big sis."
She lightly slapped his head, "What did I say about calling me that?"
Now with the task of babysitting again she kept a watch on each end of the cart awaiting this crazy lady they came across, "So what does this crazy lady look like?"
"She was a Pendaren!" Teo shouted.
"I think she was one." Tia responded, "But she looked weird."
"How weird?"
"She didn't have horns or black eyes like one." Tyto answered.
"Huh…" Angara responded as this was beginning to sound familiar.
"She had weird hair too." Tia then said.
"She had a pony tail on the top of her head with a gold thingy in it." Teo added, pointing to his dark hair.
"That's called a topknot."
"She also shot fire from her hands!" Teo tried to imitate her movements.
Angara turned to them, her eyes widening in realization, "Tell me it wasn't blue fire."
"It was!" Tia answered.
"Yeah she was like a walking flamethrower. Wait, how did you know it was blue?" Tyto asked just as the door they had just came from slid open with a very angry, scuffed up and soaking wet Azula stomped through.
"There you are, you brats!" she announced seething with anger.
"It's the crazy lady!" Tia shouted, hiding behind her brother.
"Kill her big sis!" Teo shouted in support.
Azula's brow furrowed seeing Angara standing with those she had been chasing at the far end of the cart, "You! What are you doing here?"
"I just enjoy long train rides." her sarcastic remark only added more fuel to Azula's frustration, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm visiting family."
Tyto got up behind Angara standing between her and his cousins, "Careful big sis! She kicked the crap out of all five of us."
Angara scoffed, "That's not very impressive Tyto."
"Step aside Angara! My business is with them." Azula said, making her way closer to them. The few other passengers grew uncomfortable.
Angara stepped between her and the group and said with an audacious snarl, "Hold it princess. They're with me, so if you've got an issue with them you gotta take it with me."
In an attempt to calm her nerves she took several deep breaths, "Those two children stole my money out from under me and the other one assaulted me with his gang of misfits!"
The two girls locked eyes neither willing to back down from the other. Angara snapped her fingers and held out a hand, "Money."
Tia dropped the units in her hand.
She looked at the money counting it, "Five units…" She scoffed before tossing the change to Azula's feet, "There's your money, now go sit in the other cart and use it to get a ticket back."
Azula looked at the measly series of brick shaped coins at her feet, "This isn't just about the money anymore. After everything those peasants put me through I demand retribution."
Tyto bared his teeth letting out a defiant hiss with the twins mimicking him. Angara only stared at her with a scowl, "They'll get their punishment. I'll see to it."
"That's not good enough!"
"Well too bad because that's all you're gonna get."
Azula closed her eyes and took another long deep breath before stepping over the money, her voice becoming a demanding growl, "Step aside."
Angara bared her teeth and hissed, "Make me."
Happy belated Thanksgiving! I wanted to get this chapter out a week in advance but family plans for the holiday got in the way but it gave me time to really edit it and add that flashback at the beginning with Ozai along with getting a good jumpstart on the next chapter.
I also was notified that there was some issues with Chapter 3 so if you can't read any of the chapters I have uploaded this fic on A03, Wattpad, and my DeviantArt.
I'm really happy with how this chapter turned out with some much needed action. I hope you enjoyed the read and tell me what you think!