Story [Avatar: Last Airbender] Soul of Fire (Sequel to Path of Fire) Complete 5/15

I love the Gaang!! (And Zuko? Pretty please?)

That monkey is awesome Can't wait to see what Azula's going to discover!!

 

Chapter 10: Shadows of Eternity

The voices filled the air around Azula, each murmuring so softly that she couldn't make out the words, but together they were almost deafening. She spun in a circle, eyes straining into the darkness as she tried to find the source, to no avail. Whatever it was, this darkness was so thick that even her firebending probably wouldn't have illuminated much.

After a few minutes of listening to the ceaseless murmuring, Azula found that she could stand it no longer. "Who's there?" she demanded in her most imperious voice, hoping it would mask her growing uneasiness. "Show yourselves!"

The darkness shifted beyond the princess's line of vision and then seemed to lighten slightly- she could make out now that it was composed of layer on layer of shadow shapes, all twisted together. They were moving slowly, almost in time with the murmuring, and Azula had the feeling that somehow each was so thoroughly wrapped in itself that it wasn't even aware of its surroundings, or of her. Then one of them separated from the others and came gliding forward- and Azula's eyes widened as she made out its features.

The shape was a girl who looked a few years older than the princess, wrapped in a shimmering black cloak that perfectly matched the color of her hair. The girl's skin was unnaturally pale, and her eyes, when they turned towards Azula, were a deep violet. "Wei Ming," the princess breathed. "It isn't possible- I saw you die?" Studying her one-time nemesis more closely, however, she realized that there was something off about her- Wei Ming had seemed little more than the shadows that clustered around her, but she had in truth been solid. The image of her seemed ragged around the edges, as though made out of mist, and it didn't quite reach the ground. She wasn't real, Azula realized- just an echo, a memory. A ghost.

Despite the fact that she had been the first to step forward, Wei Ming's image seemed hardly more aware of Azula than any of the surrounding shadows. She seemed lost within her own thought. Her lips were moving- like all the others, she was adding a whispered monologue to the whole ghostly chorus. Curiosity overcoming her, Azula stepped forward and leaned close to hear what she was saying.

"Lost and alone, so much pain, make you pay, make them all pay, what a fool I was, couldn't let go, hurt so much, nothing left but pain and revenge and hate and HIM, and now there's nothing at all. Lost and alone?"

Azula pulled back, horror and, against her will, pity washing over her as the image of Wei Ming drifted back into the shadows. What was this place- some sort of gathering place for ghosts where they did nothing but relive the miseries of their mortal lives? And how exactly was this supposed to help her get back to her own world? Even in the unlikely event that one of the ghosts knew, it didn't seem the sort of thing that would come up in one's tormented reflections. Maybe this was just Roku's idea of a sick joke- it seemed somewhat out of character for the aged, dignified figure, but the Avatar's present incarnation at least was known for an offbeat sense of humor?

The princess was dragged from her speculations as more ghostly images emerged from the darkness.

First she saw Long Feng, dressed in the simple but elegant robes of the Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se. "Too narrow, too insular, only looked to Ba Sing Se, the Dai Li, or myself, never really saw all the pieces on the board, until it was too late. Too narrow?"

Pulling away from the earthbender's spectral face, Azula spun and found herself face to face with another shade- one that was startlingly familiar. She had never thought to see his image again after she rejected him in the caverns beneath Jian Chin's fortress, and yet he was here, who had once been the one living person for whom she would let herself feel love, or even respect. Her father?

But even Ozai didn't seem to register his daughter's presence, being fully immersed within his own torment- and he did seem tormented, even more so than the others

 

Another great chapter. I think she is going to come out of this a changed woman.

 

Me too. Loved the conversation with Sozin!

 

Chapter 11: Child of War

Azula walked through the darkness, her only company the sound of her own footfalls. She didn't know how long it had been since she'd left the spirits of the dead behind- assuming that time had any meaning at all in this place- but since then she had seen nothing in the shadows of the Well. The princess was beginning to wonder if she would be trapped here, unable to escape for all eternity, save by going mad again. But no- Sozin had said there was more to this place, and he should know if anyone did. Azula believed in him- she had to. The alternative wasn't something she cared to contemplate.

Suddenly light began to shimmer around the edges of her vision. The princess stopped and turned, trying to get a better look at them- she saw images within the lights, figures moving, though she couldn't make anything out for sure. These weren't like the dead, for they made no sound, and seemed at once more solid and more remote. If the dead had represented the past, Azula thought to herself, then these images must be the present- or the future.

The first image became solid and glided across the princess's field of vision, and she found herself facing a girl who looked very like herself- indeed, might have been herself, if she weren't dressed in peasant clothes the real Azula wouldn't have been caught dead in. She seemed aware of the princess, and equally shocked by her appearance- she raised a hand tentatively and reached out, but before they could touch, she vanished.

"What was that?" Azula muttered to herself. "It certainly wasn't the present, and it couldn't have been the future- she didn't look any older than I am now!" Before she could consider the baffling apparition's nature further, however, another vision was drifting towards her. She saw a Fire Nation warship sailing across an arctic sea, and at the prow stood a figure who was unmistakably Azula, holding herself with regal, deadly grace, her clothing elegant but functional and her black hair styled. This was not, however, a scene the princess remembered from her own life, and her puzzlement deepened. Then her counterpart turned to face her, and she saw the scar that covered half her face. It was not the narrow, jagged knife-scar that Azula's own face now bore, but something much larger and? messier. A burn scar.

Zuko's scar.

Azula stumbled backward in shock as realization hit her. "These visions are not of the past or the future," she said softly. "They are things that I might have been if my life had gone differently." The notion that she could have ended up with Zuzu's hopeless quest- or worse, been born a peasant- was disturbing, but fascinating at the same time.

The image of the banished princess wavered and faded away, replaced by the Fire Nation palace. A crowd gathered on its steps, all in mourning white, and a figure came forward who was obviously an older Azula. The princess was struck by this version's uncomfortable resemblance to her mother- down to the thin streaks of white beginning to show in otherwise jet-black hair- until the older self raised her eyes. They were empty, soulless, dead- the eyes of someone who had utterly disconnected herself from her humanity. No, Azula thought with a slight shiver, her older self wasn't really much like her mother at all. Still she continued watching as the image knelt on the palace steps and was crowned Fire Lord.

So this wasn't her own future, then, but another unrealized possibility. Zuko had allowed Azula her freedom after she helped defeat General Azun, but on the condition that she be written out of the royal succession. The only way for her to ascend to the throne now would be as head of a coup, and Zuko's friend the Avatar would never let that happen. No, if the shadow-Azula's age and the mourning garments were anything to go by, this version was ascending to the throne after the death of her timeline's Ozai.

This vision faded away as well, leaving only darkness behind. Azula snarled in frustration- was that all that she was going to see here? It had been a

 

He should be afraid.

 

Oh my gosh - she has to go see Koh the face-stealer!!

 

Chapter 12: The Dragon Returns

Ty Lee poked her head through the door of the small inn and took in its patrons with a quick glance. They were a small, subdued group- this village was rather out of the way, after all, and just barely within the borders of the Earth Kingdom proper- but on the whole they seemed like much better company than the people who had frequented the taverns near Jian Chin's domain. This inn certainly smelled better. Opening the door completely, the acrobat walked inside.

She walked up to the bar, behind which stood a man who looked like he'd never been cheerful once in his life. "Hi," Ty Lee said, resting her arms on the wooden counter and smiling widely up at him. "Do you have any rooms open?"

The innkeeper sized her up for a moment. "That depends," he said. "You got any money?"

"Right here." Ty Lee pulled a pouch from her belt and opened it. "How much for? erm? two rooms?"

"Two?" the innkeeper asked suspiciously. "There's only one of you that I see, girl."

"Oh, I've got some friends coming," she said. "So- how much do you want?" The innkeeper named his price and Ty Lee counted it out. That done, she jumped up and hurried towards the door, waving cheerily back at him as she left (really, he did need to brighten up). Once outside, she made her way to the edge of the village where her companions waited. Captain Shin stood beside his men, who had the motionless form of Azula on a stretcher between them. Ursa stood off to one side, staring off into the distance. All four looked up as Ty Lee approached.

"Were you able to find us a place to stay in the town?" Shin asked.

Ty Lee nodded. "Yeah- I got us a couple of rooms in the inn. It'll be nice to sleep in a bed again. Follow me!"

They were an odd-looking procession as they made their way through the village- Ursa and Ty Lee both wore Earth Kingdom clothes, and the soldiers had hidden their armor outside of town, but Shin and his men still couldn't conceal their military bearing, and certainly not the unconscious Azula they still carried on a stretcher. When they reached the inn, the innkeeper took one look at them and both of his eyebrows shot up remarkably high on his forehead.

"See!" Ty Lee said cheerily. "Told you we needed two rooms!"

The innkeeper studied them all intently, focusing on Azula last and longest. "What's wrong with her?" he asked. "If it's something catching, you can have your money back- you're not staying here."

"My daughter's illness is her own," Ursa said, her tone calm yet commanding. "It is no threat to you."

"You'll swear to that?"

"By Ag- by the spirits," Ursa corrected herself. The innkeeper seemed satisfied by that, though not particularly happy. Grumbling under his breath, he called for a boy in his early teens, two whom he handed a ring of keys. The boy led the travelers upstairs, and without speaking unlocked a pair of doors for them. Ty Lee, Ursa, and the comatose Azula took one room; the soldiers took the other.

Ursa lifted her daughter off the stretcher and carefully bore her into the room, laying her gently on the bed. The noblewoman looked down at her and sighed, then sat down on the bed across the room. Ty Lee sat down next to her. "You seem kinda down," the acrobat said. "Is something wrong? "

"Apart from my daughter being in a coma and everywhere we go being full of rumors that Jian Chin is alive and on the march?" Ursa allowed herself a faint, bitter smile. "Yes, there is. I've been away from the Fire Nation for years, Ty Lee, and the world has changed completely. When I last saw my husband, he was poised on the edge of his greatest victory- now he is dead. When I last saw Zuko, he was a child who needed my protection- now he is a king and the savior of his people. When I last saw Azula?" she didn't finish that thought.

"It'll be okay," Ty Lee told her. "People get worked up about serious things all the time, but I think that's all a bit silly. Just hope for the best, and it'll happen- and even if it doesn't, there'll still be something good in whatever doe

 

Uncle Iroh is back! Woohoo!

 

This pretty much sums it up

 

Chapter 13: The Old One

Azula passed out of the forest again, following directions from the images that the Well of Time had implanted in her mind. Pausing, she took in her surroundings, reflecting that they seemed the strangest yet in this otherworldly place. Before her, the land seemed to fall away into a mist-filled abyss within which she could see strange shapes moving about. Immediately in front of Azula, however, was a path that lead up to a ridge where an ancient, barren tree brooded above the dark entrance of a cavern. The whole place seemed somehow alive, and yet? dormant. Waiting.

The princess shook herself. Before today she had rarely felt fear and almost never shown it; she had no intention of starting now, particularly if the legends regarding this particular spirit being were true. They said that to show it any emotion at all would be enough to allow it to have power over you, which it would use to inflict a fate that made death seem kind in comparison. But Azula needed the thing's ancient wisdom, and she did not intend to allow it the satisfaction of a new victim.

She approached the cave entrance cautiously, with every aspect of her being on high alert and her expression carefully neutral. Up close, a feeling of patient malevolence flowed from the lair, older and far more terrible than anything Azula had ever before imagined. Compared with the thing that waited inside, the monster Zhan Zheng was a child and the last four generations of the Fire Royal House paled into insignificance. Azula allowed herself a shudder, but quickly mastered herself and plunged headlong into the darkness.

It was dark within the cavern, but not as pitch as the interior of the Well of Time- Azula could still make out the rough stone walls of her surroundings and the tree roots that forced their way down through them. There was no sign, however, of the spirit that made its home here. The princess's eyes darted around, but she could not see any place for the being to hide, save further along the tunnel. To her ears, however, it gradually became apparent that there was sound here- a strange rustling that came from above. After several minutes of listening to it, Azula decided she had to either speak or let it drive her mad. "Where are you?" she demanded.

"Here," a soft voice that seemed composed of many others said from behind her. Azula spun to face the sound, and only years of intense discipline kept her from gasping in horror at what she saw. A face hovered before her, blue and demonic, with glowing eyes and protruding fangs. Far worse, however, was the body to which the face was attached- like some disproportionate inset, with an elongated body and innumerable spindly legs that were the source of the rustling sound. "Welcome, child," the thing hissed.

"You must be Koh, the Face Stealer," Azula said in a carefully neutral tone. "I must admit, your reputation does not do you justice."

"Indeed?" Koh said, and its front portion seemed to blink, replacing the demon-face with one that resembled an androgynous clown. The creature scuttled forward, wrapping its body around Azula's- though it did not quite touch- turning its front segment so that its stolen face remained inches from the princess's own. The Face Stealer was an utterly alien creature, she found herself thinking, and yet there seemed a strange sort of logic to it, apart from both the mortal and spirit worlds. All of the other spirits Azula had met were reflections of something that existed in her own world- but what was Koh? Some ancient nightmare given flesh by the strange magic of this place, or something from another reality entirely that had found refuge here?

"But I sense that you did not come here merely to gaze upon me," the spirit purred in its strange voice, pulling Azula back to the present. "So few come to see me any longer. Tell me what you seek."

"I am trapped here, separated from my body," Azula explained. "I was told that you possessed the knowledge necessary to return me to my own world."

Koh's face shifted again, becoming

 

I hope she has found her way back

 

Catching up, and deeply intrigued about Koh's clues! Super excited about the Gaang back together and Iroh too.

 

Chapter 14: Storm Clouds

Iroh gave a respectful bow as he approached the throne of the Earth King- not as deep as that which General How had just performed, for he was still a citizen of the Fire Nation and uncle of its reigning monarch, but deep enough to show honor to the King and his authority. The young ruler studied Iroh in fascination, wearing exactly the same expression he did on the occasions when the old man came to deliver his tea to the palace, though with the addition of a raised eyebrow over his attire. Having come directly from the Jasmine Dragon, the retired general still wore his manager's uniform.

"Are you going to lead the defense of Ba Sing Se in that?" the King asked in an interested tone. "It seems rather unconventional, but I must admit you have much more experience than I do in these matters."

Iroh smiled and laughed. "I will if you want me to, but it wasn't really what I had in mind. I did not think General How would appreciate it if I showed up in his war room wearing my old Fire Nation uniform- if I even still fit in it!" Still grinning, he slapped his belly, which had begun to put on weight again since the end of the War, when he'd slimmed down considerably.

The King smiled as well, and glanced at the stone-faced How. "I think you're probably very right. If you don't mind, I'll have the palace tailors make an Earth Kingdom uniform for you."

"That would be fine." Iroh's good humor did not vanish, but his eyes took on a more serious cast. "Now then, your letter only said that you needed my help to save Ba Sing Se from destruction. I would like to know what is happening."

"General How?" the Earth King said, motioning for his senior commander to step forward. He outlined the same situation to Iroh that he had to the King just a few hours ago- that an army was coming to conquer the city, lead by an unnaturally powerful earthbender who could level fortresses singlehandedly. Iroh's expression became increasingly grave as he listened.

"And so," the King said when How had finished, "we felt that, all things considered, we needed the best general we could find in command of our forces. And even the Council of Five admits that would be you. Now that you know what you'll be up against, are you still willing to help us?" From beside the throne Bosco, who had fallen asleep some time ago, shook himself and raised his head, regarding the Dragon of the West with the same questioning look as his master.

"I am," Iroh told him. "Ba Sing Se is my home now, too, and if it is threatened I will fight to defend it. But I will warn you- no matter what you might have heard about me, I am just a man; there is only so much that I can do against a spirit."

"Spirit?" The Earth King asked in a whisper. "Is that what you think we're up against?"

Iroh nodded. "It is what makes the most sense to me. General How says that this Jian Chin is powerful enough to destroy entire fortresses and armies by himself- no single bender is that powerful, except perhaps for a master firebender beneath Sozin's Comet. I think that something must be feeding Jian Chin power, and the only thing I know of that could do that is a spirit- a very powerful spirit."

"A spirit," the King sighed, and hung his head. Sensing his master's distress, Bosco whuffed and put his head in his lap; Kuei patted it absently. "Then there is no hope of victory."

"I didn't say that!" Iroh said, holding up his hands. "I said I could only do so much, not nothing. I've still got a few tricks that might come in handy. Take me to your war room, General How. It seems the Dragon of the West must prepare for one last battle."

Though he knew that at least some of the old man's burst of enthusiasm was for his benefit, the Earth King couldn't help but feel heartened as Iroh left for the war room with an arm around How's shoulders, asking the other general about the positions of his troops, weak points in the inner fortifications, and if he had anyone on staff who could offer a good, sporting game of Pai Sho?

#############

Toph Bei F

 

Good to see Toph once again, now we just neen Sokka and Suki!

 

Figures Toph would agree just to prove she's the best earthbender.

Great job!

 

Oh Iroh I had nearly forgotten the importance of Pai Sho in life lol
Can't wait for the next chapter.
And Miana, why else would Toph come with them?

 

Chapter 15: The Battle of Ba Sing Se

Jian Chin left his army behind and walked leisurely towards the massive walls of Ba Sing Se, taking his time so that he could appreciate the view of the outermost portion of the city that would soon be his, but also so that those who stood guard atop the wall could see his easy confidence and fear it. Boulders began to rain down on him as he approached within firing distance, but the warlord simply allowed them to impact harmlessly against him, or in the case of the largest be deflected by his arms. His pace didn't slow at all until he was standing directly beneath the massive wall; then he centered himself and reached down into the earth, pulling from it a pillar of stone that bore him upwards until he was standing even with the defenders on the battlements.

"Defenders of Ba Sing Se!" he thundered, "I am Jian Chin, warlord of the east, chosen by the spirits themselves to rule this land and any others that I desire. What you see hear is only a small sample of my power. Submit yourselves to me, and I shall make your city the glorious heart of my new Empire. Resist me, and you will be destroyed utterly, and Ba Sing Se shall still be mine. Choose now!"

The commander of the wall garrison stepped forward, looking afraid but uncowed. "The decision to surrender this city does not lie with us," he said, "and even if it did, we would not do it. Ba Sing Se has stood for centuries and never fallen to outward attack while the warriors of the Earth King defended it. We will not dishonor that legacy by submitting to a petty tyrant."

"Then you will dishonor it through your senseless sacrifice!" Jian Chin roared. The soldiers stepped back and began firing boulders at the warlord again, but he ignored them. Dropping into a crouch, he allowed his pillar to fall back to the ground from which it had arisen. Long Feng and Wei Ming had tried to convince him to invade the city through secret tunnels; he had agreed to that plan out of necessity. Now, however, he had the power to take Ba Sing Se by force and he intended to exercise it, so that future generations would speak the name "Jian Chin" with the same terrified awe reserved for things like earthquakes and hurricanes.

Standing on the ground directly in front of the great Outer Wall, the warlord raised both hands high into the air and then drove them deep into the stone. The earth quaked and bucked beneath him, and he smiled as he heard the terrified shouts of the soldiers above. Then he focused his will and sent the waves of destruction shooting outwards to undermine the wall's foundation.

The Wall of Ba Sing Se had been built by earthbenders skilled above all else in the task of moving and shaping stone; during the War it had taken the awesome might of the Fire Nation's war machines, and later the cunning stonework of the Dai Li, to bring parts of it down so that enemy troops might enter. It had been repaired since then and made even stronger than before- the Earth King had been assured that no force of this world could smash through it now.

The earthbending architects had never expected to deal with a power like that of Zhan Zheng.

Jian Chin's attack held no subtlety, no careful seeking of the weaknesses within the stone to exploit them and bring the wall down from within. Rather, it simply overwhelmed the solid construction with sheer force that only an army of earthbenders working together with uncanny precision could have matched. The wall was strong, and it held against the shaking earth for several minutes while the soldiers of both armies waited breathlessly, wondering whether the unstoppable warlord or the unbreakable fortification would triumph. Finally, however, cracks began to form within the wall's great stone face, and the soldiers atop it ran and shielded themselves as it broke cleanly in two directly in front of where Jian Chin stood. Rubble rained down around the warlord, but amidst the chaos he was unharmed.

Slowly he rose to his feet and smiled. "See the price you pay for defying my will," he rumble

 

Go Iroh!! I hope his plan works!!

I loved Azula and Koh (Koh freaks me out, but I still love him ) And I love Toph's reaction

 

Chapter 16: The Return

Azula was barely aware of the Spirit World blowing past her as she followed the connection that would lead her back to her body. She was moving so fast now that she almost didn't feel like she was running- rather, it seemed like she was being pulled along by the invisible connection, her feet not even touching the ground. The land around her seemed to be coming more insubstantial as well and was occasionally interspersed with what she thought had to be flashes of the landscape of the physical world, though as she didn't recognize it she could be sure. At the speed Azula was going, she found herself blasted by wind so that it took all of her will to keep a "hold" on her connection and not be blown off into the void. Somehow, she managed it.

The air began to blur in front of her- for an instant she saw her mother, Ty Lee, and Captain Shin and his soldiers, two of whom had what appeared to be her body on a stretcher between them. They were walking determinedly along a forest path, but the image flickered and vanished before Azula could tell any more than that. Gritting her teeth, she focused her will and the scene shimmered back into focus.

Ursa lead the way, her bearing straight and her expression determined. Shin followed closely at her side, his eyes looking warily about for danger. The two soldiers carrying Azula's body walked behind them, and Ty Lee was at their side. There was something strange about the acrobat's expression, a dark look in her eyes and a feeling of sadness about her. It might be, Azula thought, because of her own condition, but she doubted it. Nothing she knew had ever been able to keep Ty Lee down for long. Something else must be happening.

The princess realized that she had stopped moving and her vision was no longer wobbling- she had arrived at her destination, even though she hadn't yet reunited with her body. Holding up one hand, she could see the sunlight shining through at, and looking down at her feet she could see that the grass wasn't bent where she was standing on it. So she was still pure spirit, but in the physical world. Time to complete the process.

Azula stepped forward- stepped? Glided? She wasn't sure what the right word was- and walked past the two soldiers, who seemed completely oblivious to her presence. Reaching out one translucent hand, she touched it lightly to her body's forehead, uncertain of what was going to happen but knowing only that it felt like the right thing to do.

For a moment she paused, looking down at the comatose form and feeling a strange feeling of vertigo as she considered that this was actually her, and that she was looking at herself from an outside perspective. Then a strange sensation jerked at her stomach and she found herself falling forwards, falling into her own face and darkness?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She groaned, aware of nothing but the pain shooting through her forehead. Pain? yes, there it was, a sensation more real than anything she had felt for some time, though she couldn't remember why that was. There was another pain too, one that traced a thin line down one cheek. Her scar. Yes, she hadn't remembered that in the place she was before, probably because it wasn't yet part of her image of herself, part of her spirit? Spirit World?

With a gasp Azula sat up, startling the two soldiers who held the stretcher so that they almost dropped her. Once she would have considered that minor offense cause for several grades of demotion at least (and then only if she'd been in a good mood), but now it hardly seemed to matter compared with the fact that she had finally managed to get back to her body, her world, her life?

Rubbing her forehead to clear away the last of the headaches, she moved to jump off the stretcher when something took her head on and wrapped tight arms around her. "Azula!" Ty Lee said. "You're awake! You're alive!"

"I won't be much longer if you don't? let go!" Azula managed to gasp out. Ty Lee pulled back rather she

 

Awesome chapter!! I'm glad Azula is back in her own body, and I can't wait for her chat with Ursa!!

 

Chapter 17: Back in Action

After so many years of dreaming, Jian Chin at last sat upon the throne of the Earth King, and found his victory hollow.

It wasn't supposed to have been this way. He was supposed to have taken the city by storm, as he did, but then he was to have been crowned by the most powerful nobleman he could find and bend to his will in front of an adoring crowd. They would have chanted his name as he took the throne, for they would have recognized that here was the greatest conqueror that the world had seen since the days of legend. Then, after taking a few weeks to consolidate his power, he would have marched out and led his people to glorious victory, until the Earth Kingdom dominated all the world with himself at its head.

That was how it was supposed to be, Jian Chin thought, but that was not reality. He was a prisoner in his own palace with no one on hand but his own soldiers and two annoyingly defiant captives, incapable of extending his power beyond a single building. He couldn't even escape without the whole Earth Kingdom army collapsing that building on him, and if he tried to tunnel out with earthbending they would be able to stop him. The warlord possessed power, but subtlety was what he needed now, and that was something he had never bothered to learn. This was perhaps the worst position he had ever been in- worse even than when he had been the ruler of a land that a swift runner could cross in two days.

"This is all your fault!" The warlord roared to the invisible presence that hung around him- the throne room was apparently empty, but Jian Chin knew better. He could sense Zhan Zheng's presence not only within him but in the very air. "You promised glory and led me to ruin. Why? Have I offended you in some way, or do you do this to amuse yourself?"

"Be silent, fool," a voice hissed from the air. "Do not blame me for your own ineptitudes."

Jian Chin rose to his feet and lifted a fist- a pointless gesture, he knew, but one that made him feel better- when suddenly a terrible weakness overtook him. He sank to his knees, unable to support his own weight any longer, and watched as his skin returned to ordinary human color and texture before his horrified eyes. A thin mist seemed to be seeping from his body, and he looked up to see it form into a pale silhouette with burning, multicolored eyes that hung menacingly in the air before him.

"You were nothing before me," Zhan Zheng said. "You were worse than nothing- a petty little man who sat in squalor and thought himself great, but in truth fit only for mockery. You could have been more- you had bending power, you had vision- but they were always held back by your own foolishness and cowardice. You spent years chasing the favor of the Lady Ursa for nothing, when you could have been building armies and planning conquest. I changed that- I made you strong, I gave you drive, I made you a force so powerful the Avatar himself fell before you. But when you rush headlong into a trap, it is I whom you foolishly choose to blame, when I alone can save you now."

"You could have done something!" Jian Chin snarled. "You could have warned me what they were planning. Or maybe you're not so all-knowing as you'd like me to think. Is that it?"

The burning eyes narrowed. "Do you think I didn't try and warn you? You were so caught up in your battle rage that I found it impossible to penetrate your mind until we reached the throne room, by which point it was too late. We are not entirely separate, after all- I can only reach your thoughts when they are open to me."

"Not entirely separate, eh?" Jian Chin asked mockingly, then gestured down at himself. "Then what do you call this?"

"A reminder, mortal. What I gave, I can take away whenever I choose. You were nothing before me and would be nothing without me. Your only hope of salvation now rests with me."

"All right then- talk. What do we do?"

"Wait," Zhan Zheng said. "Events are in motion- I have seen that before our time runs out, this city shall be a battleground once more.

 

If there was anyone he knew who could not only come up with the most bizarre schemes but actually make them work, it was Sokka.

So true

Sokka has the best one-liners!!

 

Chapter 18: Coming Clean

Ursa wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the cold as she stared out into the night. It was her turn to stand watch; they might have been back in relatively civilized lands by now, but with Jian Chin's army out there somewhere they weren't willing to take any chances. Captain Shin had volunteered himself and his men to perform the task by themselves, but Ursa had shot him down. Largely out of practice as she was, she was still a firebender and more than capable of defending herself long enough to wake the others. Besides, she appreciated the chance to think. There was, and had been for years, too much to allow her to sleep peacefully.

The Fire Nation noblewoman felt the whisper of air beside her and looked up without surprise to see one of the issues that concerned her standing there. Two pairs of gold eyes met, but Azula did not speak; she merely sat beside her mother and joined her in staring off into the darkness. For a brief and shameful moment, Ursa's instinct was to pull away; when her daughter was awake, she couldn't shake the memory of the child who had learned cruelty at Ozai's knee and might have grown to become even more dangerous than he. Then she caught herself and shook her head. She is your child, Ursa told herself. Remember that, whatever else she might be.

Finally, she broke the silence. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?" she asked, turning slowly to face Azula.

"I'm not tired," the younger woman replied. "My body just spent the last few weeks effectively in a coma- believe me when I say that lying down and sleeping isn't remotely what it wants to do right now. Maybe my spirit needs rest, but normal sleep wouldn't be enough to help with that."

Both fell silent again for several minutes, until finally Ursa spoke again. "Why are you here, Azula?" she asked quietly.

Her daughter turned to face her, a darkly amused smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "What, you don't think me wanting to spend time with my mother is enough of a reason?"

"I know you too well to believe that," Ursa said sadly.

"Really?" Azula asked, and now a haunted note entered her voice. "Do you really? If you do, then you're more perceptive than I am, mother. All my life I prided myself in understanding the people around me- they're dreams, they're hopes, they're fears- all so that I could make use of them if I needed to. It never occurred to me to think that the one person I never understood at all was myself. Oh, I thought I did, but I was wrong. But I think I finally understand things better now."

"What are you saying?"

Azula laughed, short and bitter, and for a moment Ursa felt nothing but pity for the damaged, nearly broken person beside her. She tentatively reached out a hand, but something held her back. "What am I saying?" Azula asked then. "I'm going to tell you about myself, mother, and I want you to listen and understand. I don't ask for your forgiveness, and I don't particularly expect it. I just want you to understand.

"You know what kind of man Father was- proud, arrogant, determined to get his way no matter what and crush whatever stood between him and his goal utterly. I think that he always resented that he wasn't Grandfather's heir, and he always planned to take the throne from Iroh when he had the chance. He knew that he would need a worthy heir, and he it's rather clear to anyone with eyes that he decided on me. Don't ask me why- his was the one mind I was never really able to fathom. Maybe he thought you'd already ruined Zuko by the time I came along, or maybe he thought that he could bend a girl to his will more easily than a boy, or maybe he could tell somehow that my spirit was more in line with his than anyone else in the family's was. Either way, he took me under his wing from as early as I can remember and taught me how to fit his vision of the perfect royalty.

"It's tempting to lay all the blame for everything that went wrong in my life on his feet- after he died, I did for weeks. I thought that when I banished his voice from my head I wa

 

Zuko and Mai are so cute

I love the Ursa and Azula bit!! It's high time they had that talk I'm glad to see them opening up and trying to connect.