Book Four: Air

If we fight here, there will be many people hurt and the collateral damage will also be greatly. I better surrender and wait until we are on a safe place for me to take them out.

Iroh put his hands on the back of his head, and he kneeled before the men.

“Don’t hurt anybody, take me if you must” he said with a face of grief.

“Chuang take over…until I get back” Iroh’s face was now showing signs of confidence.

Jing

"What tools will you need?" Jing asked, glancing at the mercenaries. She had taken the time to study them back in the cantina. Trying to judge their strengths and weaknesses. And....should the need ever arise, quick and easy ways to kill them.

IC: ?

"There. That wasn't so hard, was it?" The leader still kept a hold of the girl. "Unfortunately, I still don't really trust you, general. You're old, but your crafty. So we're going to play things safe."

He nodded at one of his partners. The man stepped forward, a rag in hand.

"Time to go to sleep, Dragon," he said, as he shoved the rag into Iroh's face.

***

IC: Mercenaries

"Ah! I knew you'd be interested," said the leader of the band. He winked at the woman. "You'll do just fine. Just fine!"

They rode out of the town. As they did, he explained.

"This temple of yours is hidden, right? I'm thinking since it's the Earth Kingdom, we've got ourselves an underground temple, or even one that's so much a part of the landscape no one knows it's there anymore. Right? Right.

"Well, I'm going with my gut and experience here, too. There's bound to be hidden rooms, and lots of regular rooms, in this temple. We don't want to waste time with any of these things. We want to get this done quick. More payout for us, eh?

"We need ourselves an earthbender."

The soldier grunted. "I am an earthbender," he said.

The leader scoffed. "Not your kind, you nitwit! You'd bring down the entire temple on our heads!" The soldier did not say a word to this insult. "No, no. We're needing ourselves a different kind of earthbender."

Jing

"What kind do you have in mind....I'm sorry, I did not catch your name. Anyway, what kind of earthbender do you have in mind? There aren't too many different kinds. Most earthbenders, from my knowledge, use the same basic style. I am an earthbender myself, though I do use a different style. It is more suited for stealth and assassination type of missions, however. I can use my bending for regular battle if need be, just so you know." Jing commented. She saw no danger in telling them she was a bender, or used a different style than most. Now, just what did the leader have in mind?

NAME: The Voice of Agni
AGE: Unknown
APPEARANCE: The Voice wears light leather armour, which is covered in beautiful designs of the fire nation, with the most predominant being the vibrant gold symbol of the Phoenix King. Her hair is midnight black, and is pulled into the traditional bun of Fire Nation nobility. Grafted onto her face is a mask of a vicious dragon. Emotionless gold stares out at the world, and it is all the world ever sees of her face.
PERSONALITY: The Voice is emotionless and uncaring. She is ruthless in her endeavors, and quite willing to do anything to accomplish a mission. Nothing is safe from her, and she would rather die than face dishonor.
HISTORY: The Voice is an absolute mystery. She appeared only one month ago, and has cut a bloody swath of destruction across the Fire Nation’s outer reaches. Her loyalty is to the Phoenix King, although no one is sure if Ozai is even aware of her existence. The Voice is not to be trifled with, and many a warrior has fallen to her deadly skills.

She is the Voice of Agni, and she alone speaks the true language of her lord. Destruction.
BENDER (if applicable): Master Fire bender
WEAPONRY (if applicable): Chakras

NAME: Drakon
AGE: Unknown
APPEARANCE: Drakon wears an archaic set of battle armour, which might have once been a impressive and beautiful set, but is now rusting and seemingly falling apart. How Drakon moves in the armour is a mystery, as the joints seem have fused together. The lumbering giant moves slowly, and seems to be little threat to anyone. Old, broken arrows protrude through several cracks in the armour, and it is clear that he has made no effort to remove them. The helmet, while rusted, still maintains it’s appearance. The helmet is reminiscent of a demon that plagued the Fire Nation in ancient legends
PERSONALITY: Drakon lacks anything defining a true personality. He simple lumbers around, following The Voice wherever she goes, and obeying her every order. He doesn’t even speak, simply making strange grunting noises in response to people.
HISTORY: Drakon appeared shortly after The Voice did, following in her path of carnage. Few people have actually seen the enigmatic Drakon, and of those who have seen him, very few have survived an encounter with the lumbering man to speak of him. Of those who have fought him and lived, they tell of a man who feels absolutely no pain, and can shrug off a mortal blow as if you had simply swatted his hand.
BENDER (if applicable): No
WEAPONRY (if applicable): Two Massive Battle Axes

OOC: Your characters are good, Plague.

***

IC: Mercenaries

"Ah, yes, yes. I did forget to mention names, didn't I?" said the leader. He nodded, still grinning that nasty smile of his. "The Water Tribe lady's name is Kara. My fellow Fire Nation man is Gao."

The Water Tribe woman and the Fire Nation man nodded.

"And then there's our Earth Kingdom blokes. There's Chan, our resident earthbender." The soldier merely grunted. "And the fine lady is Rin." Another nod followed.

"As for myself... They call me Maku.

"It's much appreciated, offering your bending for us, my dear," continued Maku. "Battles are always coming up. For our tool, though, I had something else in mind. With such a big temple, that's not even mapped out, with lots of hidden rooms? We need ourselves an earthbender that can lead the way."

He winked and tapped his closed eye.

"Earthsight. Pretty rare, but valuable. We want that."

***

IC: Beast

Within seconds, the beast had caught up to the young man and his companion. It locked onto the one it deemed the weakest: the waterbender.

Roaring, it leaped, claws out and fangs bared, for the girl.

***

IC: ?

"On with your drinks, Earth Kingdom lads and lasses." The man's companions moved quickly; they tied the former general's arms behind his back with iron manacles. "We're finished here. Enjoy the rest of your day."

They dragged Iroh out of the teashop, and walked quickly for the wagon parked not far away.

***

IC: General Narrative

It was early morning on Whale Tail Island, and finally time for the council. It was held in the city hall of Lo Shan. Representatives from the three nations, as well as Wuong who stood for the Colonies, sat at a round table.

Toph, per her orders to watch out for Wuong, did not sit far from him. She sensed Zuko, Sokka, and Suki not too far away, but they had not said anything to her, or her to them, just yet.

Right now, they had business to attend to.

"We shall now commense the council," said the herald. He stood near Zuko's seat. "What is to be done with the colonies? Speak now your thoughts."

Katara

"Ok, that sounds- what is that," Katara yelled as she looked back at some beast running straight at her. The cap on her pouch flipped open and she had her water out, and moved through the stances for the water whip, attacking the charging beast.

IC: Ozai

He had been given a second chance. That's what the man had said, did he not? He had so many plans, so many things he must reclaim. And yet...there was one desire that took priority over all else, burning into his brain and pushing away all of his other plans.

Revenge.

He looked up at the massive volcano of Crater Capitol.

"And I will savor it."

IC: Beast

The water whip struck the pouncing creature. It slammed to the ground, but quickly scrambled to all fours again. It hissed, showing off a long maw filled with sharp teeth. Stalking around its prey, it watched them with feral cunning.

Jing

"I am Jing, if you did not catch my name already. Earthsight....it is indeed very rare. The only bender I know with it is..." Jing trailed off. The infamous Toph Bei Fong. The girl who had contributed to overthrowing her master. Wait, did the mercenary leader really want to employ her?! Was he mad? Long Feng would never allow it, and it carried too many risks.

Wuong

Wuong stood up and approached the Fire Lord. He withdrew a sealed letter from his robes and handed it to Zuko. He bowed to the leader. What he was about to say would make all hell break loose, but it needed to be made known. This subject had long been debated within the colony leadership, and now Fire Lord Zuko was about to find out about it. Wuong did not expect a good reaction, but he could not fail his people.

"Fire Lord Zuko, this letter is our decleration of our wishes. On this day of the 12th year of Avatar Aang's reign, the colonies hereby announce their succession from the Fire Nation." Wuong declared. He waited for the outburst that was sure to follow.

IC: Maku

He grinned at Jing. "Oh? You know where I'm going with this, don't you? You're a bright girl, Jing. A very bright girl indeed. Yep. I'm talking about her."

His fellow companions did not share the shock Jing had felt. They had long since accepted Maku's judgment.

"I can tell you don't quite agree with me though," he added.

***

IC: General Narrative

Toph's eyes widened. That... she had not been expecting. She could feel the tension in the room intensify.

All hell's going to break loose, she thought.

"This is outrageous!" shouted one of the Fire Nation nobles who accompanied Zuko. "You have no right to secede from the Fire Nation!"

"That, I can agree with, though for different reasons," snapped an Earth Kingdom man. "Those are our lands! Earth Kingdom lands! You cannot take them away from us again, you thief!"

Zuko

Zuko's eyes widened as well, he had not thought of succession. Other's shouted outbursts at the proclamation, but Zuko sat in thought. "Representative Wuong, I'm afraid that the Fire Nation cannot accept this succession," Zuko responded. "There is the matter of whose land that the colonies are on belongs to, and until that is settled, I cannot accept it under any circumstances."

Mai

"But your Highness, I thought we agreed she wouldn't want to see you again after what you did!" A doctor protested as the Fire Lady stood in front of the door to Princess Azula's rooms.

"I know what we agreed to at first, but this is different because things have changed now. I need to speak with Azula. Now." Mai ordered the doctor before he shook his head in annoyance and slight fear before nodding his head.

"Yes your highness, I'll prepare things for you now." He replied before walking away.

Mai pondered how odd it was that she was now going to bargain with the one person she never wanted to see again. She had actually advised to Zuko along with a number of others that Mai have her bending taken away and that she be put in prison like her father. But Zuko had disagreed and decided that Azula was worth saving, and thus he put her in her own private hospital with guards, doctors, nurses, servants and her own private chef.
Of course now Mai realized she could work these things to her advantage as bargaining chips with the Princess in this unstable time for the Fire Nation.

"She's ready to see you Lady Mai." A rather nervous looking Nurse said politely. Mai noticed that the young girl had burn marks all over her left arm and up to her neck it would seem as well.

Mai only nodded in reply with satisfaction as she entered the doors before her, ready to see Azula for the first time since Mai had been imprisoned by the fallen Princess.
-----------------------------------------------
Aang


Aang quickly looked at the bowl of food on the table and guessed that the feral looking beast must be hungry. And so the Avatar airbended all the food towards the Beast before sending a quick blast of fire as a very temporary wall between the animal and him and Katara.

IC: Azula

The cozy room may have once been fit for a noble. However, the bed had been torn in several places, the drapes burned to rags, and scorch marks covered the walls and ceilings. Four Royal Guards stood ready in the ready, two on the farthest wall and two following Mai and taking up positions on either side of her.

A soft humming echoed around the room, and its source was a long haired girl sitting at a table near the center of the room, her back facing Mai. Her dark hair was cut in several unusual places, giving her a ragged look. Her clothes looked relatively clean and new, the Doctors being forced to replace them every time they were destroyed.

The girl had her hand up in the air, fingers outstretched. She dipped her other hand into a pad of red paint upon the table and began to dab it onto her nails. Each time she would apply too much, staining her fingers and hands, but did not seem to notice.

She simply hummed and continued on.

Jing

"No, I do not entirely. Simply put, I do not trust that girl. I have a bit of a...past with her. I do not think she would be a good asset to the mission." Jing said. The past part was a lie, but that was the only thing she could think of at a moment's notice.

Wuong

"Fire Lord Zuko, Earth Kingdom representatives, the colonies are willing to make a compromise. While many did not like this decision, we are willing to leave conquered cities of the Earth Kingdom, if need be. We can migrate those citizens to Fire Nation made colonies, and build new ones for them. We are not asking for much. The colonies simply wish to leave the Fire Nation to form our own independent country within the Earth Kingdom continent." Wuong pleaded. He did not wish to play his last card, but he would if need be.

"Well she's still crazy, at least that fun part still hasn't changed about her." The Fire lady thought to herself, being sarcastic in her own mind since she knew it would foolish to say her thought out loud. Of course Mai knew that while Azula was simply finger painting at this point, the room around her showed that her temper tantrums still happened quite often it would seem and thus Mai was armed and prepared to pin Azula down if necessary.

Mai sat down behind the Princess and waited for the girl to notice her, feeling rather patient at the moment as she realized it was probably a better move then simply interrupting Azula.

IC: Beast

The creature spat as the wall of fire rose up before it. Knowing its prey was on the other side, however, kept the beast from retreating. Snarling and hissing, entire body trembling, it backtracked and then leaped over the flames.

It landed close to Aang. It then lashed out with its razor-like claws.

***

IC: Maku

"Not a valuable asset?" said the mercenary. He laughed. "Come now, Jing! You're smarter than that. The kid's our ticket to getting this stone for your master. We need her." He scratched his scraggly chin. "If it's getting her to work with us that you're worried about, don't. Whoever said I was going to ask her?"

***

IC: General Narrative

"Not asking much? You are asking us to allow you to leave us all, and build your own country! We cannot just let you do this, not without debate and council!" said another Fire Nation noble. "You ask the impossible."

Toph rubbed her cheek. This could go on for a while. She didn't quite know what to think about it herself. Her own view was that the colonies would stay Fire Nation, and the rest of the Earth Kingdom stay the same. But this wasn't turning out the way she had thought it would.

IC: Azula

Azula continued to hum until the last of her fingers were painted, the pain trailing down her hand and drying like blood upon her palms. Then she held them both up, looking at them with a tilted head.

"What do you think...Mai?"

She still did not turn to face the Fire Lady.

"Beautiful...aren't they? When I heard that you were coming, I made sure to prepare myself. A Princess has to look her best, doesn't she?"

Katara

As the beast vaulted over the flames, Katara bent her water over to it. She crashed the water into the beast as it closed in on Aang. That beast wasn't going to hurt Aang on her watch.

IC: Beast

The creature howled in agony as the water smacked into its side and sent it sprawling across the ground. It rose up, shakily, and shook its head. Bright eyes flashing, it set its sights on Katara.

It bounded forward without warning.

Aang quickly bended the water out of the ground that Katara had just used and and froze the Beasts feet to the ground with it. "You go get Appa, I'll hold him back until you're in the air and then catch up!"
--------------------------
Mai was certainly surprised with this question. It felt like a slap to the face to see the person that she had hated, cursed, and ignored after the war act like a small child before her. "But she isn't innocent, she never will be." The knife thrower reminded herself as she remembered the scars Azula had left on Zuko, Aang, Ty lee, herself, and even the world. And so Mai had hypocritically told herself that Azula was a person who didn't deserve redemption or forgiveness, not even a second chance even though she was only fourteen.

But none of those thoughts or feelings mattered at this point because none of them would help the Fire Nation, which means they didn't help Zuko, which means they didn't help Mai and thus she made sure not to show her thoughts or intentions and simply said. "Very true Azula, they're quite beautiful. They Bring out the gold in your eyes as well."

"I should have brough Ty lee for this, at least she could handle a boring conversation like this." Mai told herself, not actually feeling bored deep down though.

IC: Azula

"Yes..." replied Azula, "they do...don't they?"

With one of her hands she gently pushed the plate from the table and let it shatter to the ground, staining the floor with red paint.

"What about my hair?" she asked.

"My mother always told me I had such beautiful hair..."

"And so we arrive at the mother issues...." Mai realized as she was starting to think that maybe Azula wouldn't be much help after all. "Agreeing with the comment could lead to Azula talking about Ursa even more, disagreeing could start a tantrum. Both would end any chance of Azula being useful most likely....I suppose the best way to hanle is act like perfect balance of Ty lee, Iroh and Zuko." The Fire Lady reminded herself as she kept her hands up her sleeves, having them tap her knives silently as she looked up at Azula.

"Your hair is beautiful Azula. I remember when Ty lee would have us all stay the night with each other and she would brush your hair as we all sat around and talked with each other. Wouldn't it be nice to do that again soon?" Mai asked as she kept the compliments flowing but steered away from talking about Ursa.

IC: Azula

"Yes..." replied Azula, "yes it would...Ty Lee...Mai..."

Then suddenly Azula wielded around in her seat and faced the Fire Lady. Her face was a mess; badly drawn on makeup that trailed from her eyelashes; lipstick messily covered her lips, and her eyes were angered.

"Traitors!" she screeched, sending a stray blast of blue fire into the wall.

"Both of you! Filthy peasants! Traitors!"

And then, her anger subsided, and she smiled at Mai.

"Whenever we'd talk about Zuzu, you'd always blush, and Ty Lee would giggle...It would be nice to do it again..."

Katara

"On it," Katara yelled out and ran toward the bison. She climbed up on Appa and grabbed the reigns, yelling out, "Yip Yip." She knew Aang could handle himself, but that didn't keep her from worrying about him.