Even a few weeks after the vacation, the beach had done wonders for everyone's mental state and relationships, the most notable being Zuko and Mai, obviously. But there were also slight improvements in smaller relationships as well.
Despite these increased relationships, it has not stopped Ty Lee from finding literally anyone else but Y/N to bother throughout the day.
In the courtyard of the FireLord's Palace stood Y/N wearing his usual attire, minus the coat, which was neatly folded up on the grass.
As for the reason he was in the courtyard...he was once again using his free time to trying to decipher the dragon's movements in his book, but no matter what he tried...nothing worked. Though, it might have helped if he wasn't being watched.
Y/N speaks through heavy, exhausted breaths, deciding to take a break as he sits on the ground.
Y/N: "Y'know....It's a bit weird...to watch people..."
Ty Lee peeks out from behind a bush.
Ty Lee: "...Sorry! You looked so serious and into it that I didn't want to interrupt you. So....whatcha doin...?"
Y/N sighs before laying onto the grass, pointing to his open journal next to his coat. It was flipped to the same series of pages with the drawings of the dragon on it.
Y/N: "Trying to figure out how to do those stupid movements."
Ty Lee walks over to the journal, picking it and looking at the many drawings of the dragon, now accompanied with small humanoid drawings under them.
Ty Lee: "...It doesn't look *too* difficult...what's the problem?"
Y/N: "The movements are too abrupt and awkward. It doesn't seem like any of them are actually together. Like they're missing something."
Ty Lee traces her finger over the dragon's movements, noticing how flowy and elegant they are.
Ty Lee: "...It's kinda pretty! Like a dance!"
Y/N chuckles, sitting up the from ground.
Y/N: "Yeah, I guess it kinda is, isn't it? Though, knowing that doesn't seem to help. I've tried turning it into dances, but none of them work very well. It's like it needs to be a constant stream of seamless movements, but then I can't fire bend."
Ty Lee: "Hm....maybe the dragon was teaching you how to dance?"
Y/N: "Right! The dragon went out of his way to teach me how to woo even the most regal women with my exciting dance moves~!"
Y/N laughs as he imagines himself dancing. Yeah, definitely not happening.
Y/N: "Yeah, I doubt that's what a dragon was trying to teach me."
Ty Lee; "Well....you won't know unless you try it, right...?"
Y/N smiles, knowing exactly what Ty Lee's intentions are.
Y/N: "Maybe another time, Ty. You'll have to try a little harder than that if you want to trick me into dancing with you."
Ty Lee pouts playfully, before a small smile replaces it.
Ty Lee: "......it's nice. Seeing you smile and laugh like that."
Y/N: "....Really? It feels weird to me...but also a bit...freeing? Like...I'm finally able to-"
"Y/N! I need you for something important."
Y/N and Ty Lee look over to see Azula, looking slightly irritated as she waits for Y/N to respond.
Y/N: ".....Do I have to? We're kinda having a-"
Azula: "Yes. I don't care what you were doing or if you had plans."
Y/N: "Can you at least tell me why it's so important?"
Azula rolls her eyes before responding.
Azula: "My father wants you at a meeting. That's all you need to know."
Y/N: "...I feel like there's a lot more to-"
Azula: "Will you just get up and come to the meeting before my father loses his mind?"
Y/N sighs and gives Azula a thumbs up, which she smiles at before walking away, assuming Y/N would follow eventually.
Y/N turns to Ty Lee, but she already knows what he's going to say.
Ty Lee: "It's okay! I don't mind waiting here for a little while. Just until you come back!"
Y/N: "You sure? It might take a while..."
Ty Lee gently pushes Y/N, urging him to go.
Ty Lee: "I'll be fine! Just go!"
Y/N: "Alright, alright! Just stop pushing me!"
Ty Lee giggles as Y/N gets up to follow Azula, watching him walk away with a smile on her face.
The moment he's out of her line of sight....silence. Complete and total emptiness. Fun.
After only a few minutes, Ty Lee had started getting bored...until her eyes landed on Y/N's journal, which was still on top on his folded coat.
Ty Lee: "....He wouldn't mind...right? Nah, I'm sure he wouldn't!"
Ty Lee walks over and picks up the journal. As she flips a few pages to bypass the dragon drawings, she unfolds the coat on the ground and wraps herself in it, smiling as she begins reading through the diar-JOURNAL. It's a journal. No one said diary, nope. Not me-
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Y/N looks at the giant set of doors in front of him before sighing.
Y/N: "....Do I have to? I mean, I could just not show up. But then I'd risk angering not only Ozai, but also Azula, and likely several extremely powerful political figures-okay, yeah, I should probably just do the stupid meeting."
Y/N pushes the large doors open, which causes a loud creak to echo throughout the room, putting all eyes onto him.
Y/N: "....Well that's definitely not awkward."
Ozai: "Shadow. How long has it been since we last spoke?"
Y/N: "No idea. I haven't been keeping track of time lately."
Ozai: "Mmm. Then allow me to refresh your memory. It's been over a year. An entire year of you dodging my falcons and ignoring my letters."
Y/N: "Is this really what this meeting is about? You chastising me?"
Ozai: "No. It's about an incoming invasion. But, given that my son has yet to arrive, I've decided...why not get this over with?"
Y/N: "I couldn't agree more....what do you want?"
Ozai: "Exactly what you want. You wish to resign, do you not?"
Y/N looks at Ozai, confused. He then sees Azula smirking from the corner of his eye.
Ozai: "Please, correct me if I'm wrong. But you want to stop being the Shadow, correct?"
Y/N: "....Yes, but-"
Ozai: "Good. You don't need to say any more than that. You're released from your position."
Y/N looks even more confused, not able to grasp why Ozai would just...let him go.
Y/N: "....What?"
Ozai: "You heard me. I will not repeat myself again. You're released from your position. Rejoice, if it pleases you."
Y/N: "I'm not stupid, Oza-"
Ozai: "FireLord Ozai."
Y/N: "....FireLord Ozai. I'm not stupid. Why am I being released?"
Ozai: "Well, to put it plainly...you're no longer useful to me. Any political threats have already been dealt with, and the comet's arrival is growing closer with each moon, so I have no need for an assassin. You no longer have a purpose to me."
Y/N goes to question Ozai, but Azula speaks before he can.
Azula: "You're wondering why you're here then, correct? That's simple. You're no longer useful to FireLord Ozai...but that doesn't mean you're no longer useful to the Fire Nation."
Ozai: "Precisely. Simply put, you're no longer working for me. You're working for Princess Azula."
Y/N looks at Azula, a slight bit of anger evident in his voice.
Y/N: "I'm sorry, what the fu-"
Before Y/N can have his outburst, Zuko walks through the doors, meaning all participants are now present.
Ozai: "Ah. There he is. Son, come sit by me so we may begin."
Y/N: "No, no, no, hold on-"
Azula: "Y/N, sit."
Y/N: "Someone going to explain what the hell is-"
Azula: "Sit."
Y/N scowls before angrily taking the empty seat next to Azula. The moment he does, she speaks to him in a hushed voice.
Azula: "I understand you're upset. But I need you to stay calm until the end of this meeting. We'll talk later in my room. I'll explain everything there. But for now....just shut up, and speak when spoken to."
Y/N drops his scowl as Zuko sits down next to his father. If all he has to do is hold his tongue to get some answers, he'll do it.
Ozai: "Now that everyone's arrived...Azula?"
Azula: "Of course."
Azula takes out a scroll from her sleeve and lays it out on the table.
Random General #1: "....This is..."
Y/N: "The Day of Black-oh, okay. I see what this is no-"
Azula shoots Y/N a glare, and he closes his mouth, silently apologizing for the interruption.
Azula: "...Yes. It's the Day of Black Sun-"
RG#2: "And this is somehow important why-"
Ozai: "One more interruption and I'll order a new meeting, with new War Generals. Speak when spoken to."
The two Generals immediately lower their heads as to not anger Ozai further.
Azula: "...As I was saying. The Day of Black Sun is the day the Avatar's friends are planning to invade the Fire Nation. Even without the Avatar, such an invasion would be extremely dangerous, as every fire bender would lose their bending long enough for them to defeat us...at least, it would be dangerous...if we didn't already know about it."
Ozai: "Precisely. Using this knowledge, we've developed a plan than involves everyone in this very room to cooperate. While it doesn't matter if you do or don't comply, it would make everything much...simpler. And I wouldn't have to waste time getting rid of any of you."
Azula: "We'll only go over this once. Remember it, as your lives will ultimately depend on your success. With that being said..."
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Y/N and Azula arrive at her room, and Y/N slams the door behind him. Though, Azula had expected this due to the angry frown he wore throughout the entire meeting.
Y/N: "You'd better start explaining because I do NOT have the patience to deal with any bullsh-"
Azula: "Calm down, idiot. Do you really think I wouldn't have a good reason?"
Y/N: "Then SAY IT, Azula."
Azula: "He was going to kill you, alright? We both know how my father operates. Once something or someone is no longer useful to him, he gets RID OF IT."
Y/N: "And you couldn't have thought of ANY other option??"
Azula: "Do you think I had the time to? That's why I said to calm down. You don't take time to think when you're angry. So take a moment, sit down, and calm yourself."
Y/N sends Azula a glare...but then he drops it, a small sigh escaping his lips as pinches the bridge of his nose.
Y/N: "....Okay. Fine. Explain, please..."
Azula: "Thank you. Now that my father has no one to question his authority, he decided that you were no longer useful to him...which is why I had to act as soon as possible. I told him you'd be more useful to me alive rather than dead. To my surprise, he agreed. So...as of today, you are no longer Ozai's Shadow. You're my Shadow."
Y/N: "From one leash to another. Wonderful."
Azula: "Oh, calm down. I'm not the Firelord. Which means nothing is going to change between us. I'm not planning to use you as a weapon. The only thing that will be different is the occasional bow in the presence of moderately important company. Other than that...you're free."
Y/N: "I'm not free. I've just gone from a strict owner to one more forgiving, like some sort of pet or slave. That's not freedom. It's just a loose collar. The moment I step out of line-"
Azula: "Then don't step out of line. It's as simple as that. Look....I will try to find a way to free you. But until then..."
Y/N: "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. It's not like it matters anyway...thank you. For trying, at least."
Azula: "Oh? Was that sincerity in your voice just now? I think I might've misheard, could you repeat that?"
Y/N: "Oh, ha-ha. I said thank you, alright?"
Azula smiles in response as Y/N's expression becomes much more grounded and calm.
Azula: "You're welcome."
Y/N: "Oh you pretentious little..."
The two smile at each other, happy to have made up after the small misunderstanding. Then Y/N finally remembers something.
Y/N: ".....I left Ty Lee in the courtyard."
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Y/N finally returns to the courtyard, searching frantically for Ty Lee. It didn't take long, as she was in the same spot as before...only asleep. And wearing his coat.
Y/N chuckles before kneeling in front of her, gently poking her forehead to wake her. Ty Lee slowly opens her eyes, immediately noticing how dark it has gotten.
Y/N: "Hey."
Ty Lee: ".....Did I fall asleep...?"
Y/N: "Do you really need me to answer that?"
Ty Lee smiles at Y/N's sarcasm as she looks down at the small journal in her hands.
Ty Lee: "No...sorry, I'm just a little sleepy. So...how did the meeting go..?"
Y/N: "Eh.... I'd rather not talk about it...You know, when you said you'd wait for me, I didn't think you meant falling asleep on the ground while wearing my coat...and also snooping through my journal."
Ty Lee: "Oh....was that bad? I didn't think you would mind, so..."
Y/N: "...I guess I don't, since it's just you. But it would have been nice to ask me first."
Ty Lee: "Sorry...I got bored after you left..."
Ty Lee yawns and rubs her eyes, clearly still sleepy and likely unwilling to get up and walk to her room.
Y/N: "...You're not getting up, are you?"
Ty Lee: "...Do I have to....?"
Y/N sighs before standing up and walking to her side, crouching down slightly and picking her up.
Y/N: "There. Now where's your-"
Y/N look down...and sees that Ty Lee is already asleep in his arms.
Y/N: "....Are you serious right now? Ty....Ty, wake up."
After getting no reaction other than barely audible breathing, Y/N groans and carries her into the palace.
Instead of trying to look and ask around for her room, Y/N decided it would be easier to just take her to his. He gently kicks the door open with his foot and walks over to the bed, setting Ty Lee down and undoing her braid, placing the pink ribbon in her hair on a nearby dresser.
With yet another sigh, he kicks his shoes off and looks at the door. He planned to just stay in a guest room, but they were on the other side of the palace...and that was too much effort, so he just flops onto the bed and drifts off to sleep.
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When Y/N wakes up he finds Ty Lee still asleep, which is a good thing as he needed to get ready for the invasion.
Y/N lazily steps out of his bed and immediately grabs a fresh set of clothes from his drawer, quickly changing into them before walking back over to his bed and poking Ty Lee on her shoulder.
Y/N: "Wake up. It's morning. I will pour a cup up water on you if you don't wake up."
Ty Lee sits up with her eyes still closed, not fully awake just yet.
Ty Lee: "Mmmm......"
Y/N notices something and immediately covers his mouth with his hand to try and stop himself from laughing.
Ty Lee opens her eyes and see Y/N next to her. The moment the two lock eyes, she squeals and jumps back, accidentally falling off the bed, which sends Y/N into hysterical laughter.
Y/N: "Pfft-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Y/N falls over as he laughs, and Ty Lee's head pops up from the other side of the bed.
Ty Lee: "Don't scare me like that!"
Y/N's laughter slowly dies down as he sits up from the floor on his side of the bed.
Y/N: "Sorry. I didn't mean to...to...HAHAHAHA!"
Y/N takes one look at Ty Lee and immediately bursts into laughter again, leaving her confused.
Ty Lee: "What? What's so funny??"
Y/N continues to laugh like a little kid for a little over a minute before he eventually regains his composure.
Y/N: "S-Sorry...Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh at you like that, it's just...."
Y/N looks at Ty Lee again and forces himself to hold back another laugh.
Y/N: "Your hair looks so stupid right now..."
Ty Lee looks confused. She gets up from the floor and walks over to a dresser with a small mirror in front of it. Once she sees herself in the mirror, she immediately understands why Y/N was laughing so much. She had the most outrageous bed head she'd ever seen in her life, and the sight makes her giggle a little bit...until she notices this isn't her room.
Ty Lee: ".....Who's room am I in...?"
Y/N: "Oh...mine."
Ty Lee freezes for a second before blushing and curling into a ball on the floor, leaving Y/N both worried and confused.
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Y/N: "UUUUUUUUUUUUUGH-" *Whack*
Azula smacks the side of Y/N's head with the back of her hand, glaring at him from her seat.
Azula: "Can you shut up??"
Y/N: "What?? This is BORING! Why am I not up there?? THAT at least sounds interesting!"
Y/N's point is immediately reinforced by the loud rumble that goes throughout the metal room. The invasion was in full swing, and it sounded like the Avatar's friends were 'winning'.
Azula: "Because it's almost time for the eclipse. Do you really want to be stuck out there with no firebending? I didn't take you for an idiot."
Y/N: "You forget I have other ways of fighting."
Azula: "You had other ways of fighting. Most of which are useless to you now that you don't want to kill."
Y/N: "....I feel like you're underestimating me."
Azula: "Oh, really? And, please elaborate, what gave you that idea?"
Y/N gives Azula a deadpan expression before sighing.
Y/N: "So, why did you have me wait here with you for...probably over an hour now? Surely there was something more productive for me to do, right?"
Azula: "Hm. Yes, you could say that. But my reasoning is rather simple. You're too valuable of an asset. If, by chance, you were to die on the battlefield, it would make my future plans rather difficult. It would also piss me off, given I only recently stopped my father from killing you himself."
Y/N: "Oooooh. So you care about me."
Azula glares at Y/N before turning her eyes back to the set of large doors as she hears what sounds like a voice behind it.
Azula: "....They're here."
Y/N: "Yeah, I noticed."
After a few seconds, the two watch as the double door comes flying off of it's hinges, revealing the Avatar and two of his friends.
Azula: "Hm. So, you really are alive after all."
The three look shocked to find Azula and Y/N, instead of Ozai waiting for them.
Y/N: "Not what you were expecting, huh?"
Azula: "I'm guessing the answer that is 'no'. How unfortunate, truly. I had a hunch that you'd survived, but...it didn't matter. I've known about this invasion for months."
They quickly get over their shock before the Avatar grips his staff.
Avatar: "Where is he?! Where is the FireLord?!"
Azula: "Oh...you mean I'm not good enough enough for you? You're hurting my feelings~!"
Y/N points to the little girl, who looks to be an earthbender.
Y/N: "....You. You forced a slurry of stone and dirt into my mouth. I don't like you."
Azula stands up from her seat and Y/N steps up next to her. The water boy, whom Y/N very faintly remembers as Sokka, steps forward and points a black sword at them from across the room.
Sokka: "Stop wasting our time and give us the information! You're powerless right now so you're in no position to refuse!"
???: "And stick to the truth! I'll be able to tell if you're lying!"
Azula: "Are you sure? I'm a pretty good liar....I am a four hundred foot tall purple platypus-bear with pink horns, and silver wings."
???: ".....Okay, you're good, I admit."
Sokka: "Toph!"
Toph: "Right. Sorry."
Toph stomps her foot and thrusts her fists forward, encasing both Azula and Y/N in earth, but leaving their heads uncovered. Neither of them attempt to struggle.
Toph: "But you really oughta consider telling the truth anyway!"
Right as Toph finishes that sentence, the earth surrounding the two crumbles, leaving the three surprised as they back up slightly. Azula then dusts her uniform off while Y/N takes off his coat and wraps it around his waist.
Azula: "You see, when I left Ba Singe Se....I brought home a few souvenirs."
Right on cue, two Dai Li agents drop from the ceiling. One bows to Azula, and the other follows, but not before handing Y/N a staff made of condensed earth.
Y/N: "Oh! Fun."
The Avatar steps forward and swings his staff down, which Y/N assumes is air bending, so he steps forward and copies his movements. As he swings his own staff down, he feels a strong gust of air rush past him, signaling he was right.
Y/N: "You really do fight like an airbender. I'm glad I read those books when I was younger..."
Y/N twirls the staff in his hands and the two Dai Li form a large wall, blocking them from view. It only takes a few seconds for them to get through, but is was enough for them to gain a bit of distance.
The moment they burst through, the Dai Li form another wall, separating the Avatar and his two friends. The two Dai Li throw slabs of rock at the Avatar, but their easily taken care of with a few kicks....only for Y/N to emerge from the side and whack him in the face with his staff.
The small girl from before crashes through the second wall, targeting the Dai Li. She launches them both into the air by forming pillars under their feet, but they land on the walls and attack with pillars of their own, which are quickly blocked by two large slabs.
Toph quickly sends an attack towards Azula. A large rock formation begins to form under Azula's feet, but she barely jumps off of it before it could hit her. Y/N turns his attention away from the Avatar, rushing after Toph and flipping over a gust of air on the way.
Y/N takes a swing at Toph, but she narrowly dodges before attempting to counter with a large rock. Y/N ducks under it before noticing the Avatar rush past him, heading for Azula. One of the Dai Li see this and slide across the wall, making yet another rock wall to block him, separating Y/N and the other agent from Azula. And it didn't even help, because the Avatar just broke right through it.
Y/N clicks his tongue and goes to swing his staff at Toph again, only to feint it at the last second, expecting her to react. She doesn't move however, and hits Y/N in the chest with a rock pillar, forcing him back.
Toph stomps her foot and sends a small boulder towards Y/N, but it crumbles before it reaches him, creating a large dust cloud in front of his face. Y/N then feels the ground under him shift, so he jumps into the air, only to hit in the face by a small rock, sending him to the ground.
Y/N groans before springing onto his feet, catching a glimpse of Azula running away from the Avatar behind the metal supports with a smirk on her face. He attempts to go help, but Toph turns the ground he steps on into sand, causing his foot to sink. She then attempts to harden it, but Y/N takes his foot out at the last second.
Toph: "You're not going anywhere."
Y/N glances at his peripherals and smiles, standing his ground.
Y/N: "I won't need to."
Y/N rushes towards Toph, making sure to keep his steps light so he can dodge at any time, which immediately pays off as he feels a pillar shoot from the ground under his foot.
Thinking fast, he flips forward and springs off of it with his other foot before throwing the staff like a javelin, aiming just under Toph's hat and hitting her forehead, causing her to stumble backwards.
The Dai Li still on the wall shoots a small rock into Y/N's staff, allowing him to grab mid air. But instead of attacking Toph as he touches the ground, he turns around and blocks a gust of air from the Avatar, spotting Azula running down the pillar on the other side of the sectioned off room.
He then jumps to the side to dodge another rock sent by Toph and meets up with Azula, putting the Avatar and Toph's attention onto both of them as they rush forward as a duo. Y/N and Azule smirk before turning around and running through the rock formation Toph and the two Dai Li made earlier.
As the Avatar and Toph try to follow, one of the Dai Li land in front of them...but instead of attacking, he forms a pillar under Azule and Y/N, allowing them to jumo through the hole Toph made in the wall earlier.
The two jump through the hole and make eye contact with Sokka, who was attempting to climb through it in his own. Y/N swings his staff right as they pass through, knocking Sokka slightly off balance as they land. One of the Dai Li jumps through as well, followed by Toph and the Avatar.
Azula runs through the door and the Dai Li follows her, blocking the door with earthbending. Y/N stays behind to stall with a smirk on his face.
Toph sends three small rocks towards him, but he quickly blocks them with his staff as the Avatar rushes to his side.
As the Avatar swings his staff, Y/N drops his own and jumps, feeling a gust of air pass under him as he does. The moment he lands, he's greeted by boulder.
Y/N immediately drops into an earthbending stance and punches it his with full force, shattering it with relative ease. He then shakes his hand off as he dodges another one.
Sokka sees an opportunity and runs up, swinging at him with his sword, but Y/N swiftly dodges to the side with a stance similar to Katara's waterbending. As Sokka tries to back up, Y/N grabs his wrist and back hands him before turning him around and using him as a shield to force the other two to halt their attacks.
He then kicks Sokka in the back, sending him flying towards Toph before he faces the Avatar, taking an airbender dueling stance.
The Avatar hesitates for a second before using his staff the send multiple slashes of wind towards Y/N. The first three are dodged gracefully, but the last forces him to block just before it hits, sending him flying into a wall.
Seeing Toph push Sokka off of her, Y/N quickly pushes off the wall, managing to narrowly dodge the cuffs that form from it.
Y/N: "...That could have been bad."
Figuring he had stalled for long enough, Y/N rushes in front of the rock formation as the Avatar sends another wind slash towards him, dodging at the last second so it destroys the rock. He then immediately runs out of the room, sprinting down the tunnel at full speed.
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After a little while, he sees Azula and the Dai Li agent in the distance and attempts to catch up to her, but ends up trapped as he watches Toph burst through the wall in front of him and knock the Dai Li into a metal support and bend it around him. In the same instance, the Avatar bursts through the wall behind him, followed by Sokka.
Azula continues running and Y/N attempts to follow, with Toph trying to stop him by shooting several pillars from the wall, but Y/N slides under them and barely dashes past Toph as she tries to grab him. The Avatar and Toph attempt to follow, but Sokka shouts.
Sokka: "Wait! Aang, Toph! Stop attacking!"
The two stop, but so do Azula and Y/N.
Sokka: "Don't you see what they're doing?? They're just playing with us! They aren't even trying to win this fight!"
Azula: "Not true! I'm giving it my all~!"
Y/N: "I'll admit...I am having a bit of fun."
Toph: "You're trying to keep us here and waste all our time!"
Azula: "Um, right, I think your friend just said that, genius. And since you can't see, I guess I should tell you I'm rolling my eyes."
Y/N snickers and lets out a small chuckle at Azula's mocking.
Toph: "I'll roll your whole HEAD-"
Sokka: "Stop! She's just baiting you again."
Aang: "Okay...so what do we do? Just...ignore them?"
Sokka: "We don't have a choice! We just have to get out of here, and find the FireLord on our own somehow."
The three start walking away, while Y/N and Azula just stand there.
Azula: "It's a trap...don't say I didn't warn you."
Sokka: "IGNORE!"
The three continue to walk away, and Azula smirks as she comes up with an idea.
Azula: "....So, 'Sokka' is your name, right? My favorite prisoner used to mention you all the time. She was convinced you would come rescue her. Of course, you never came...so she gave up on you!"
Y/N scowls slightly at Azula's tactic, but it ends up working as Sokka charges the two with tear filled eyes, which is exactly what Azula wanted.
As Sokka drew closer, a small knife drops into Azula's hand. Toph, being the only one able to see this, immediately stomps her foot and launches two sets of rock cuffs. The first set hits Azula's wrists as she brings the knife up to stab Sokka, and the second is narrowly dodged by Y/N.
Y/N jumps back slightly and drops into a stance and Sokka pushes Azula into the wall. Toph bends the cuffs around her wrists to merge with it.
Sokka: "Where. is. Suki?!"
Azula just sits there with a smirk while Toph keeps her eyes(?) locked onto Y/N, ready to strike if he made even the slightest movement.
Sokka: "Where is she?! ANSWER ME!"
Aang puts a hand on his shoulder.
Aang: "Sokka...she won't talk..."
Despite this, Sokka continues to shout.
Sokka: "WHERE ARE YOU KEEPING HER!?"
Right as Azula goes to open her mouth, everyone hears a loud boom. It confuses Sokka and Toph...but Aang, Y/N, and Azula knew exactly what it was. Lightning.
Azula: "Oh. Sounds like the firebending's back on."
Azula kicks Sokka in the chest before kicking two fireballs towards Y/N, who redirects them into one large ball before immediately blowing into it, turning the large ball of fire into a burning cloud of flames.
Right after he does this, he looks at his hands like a lightbulb just went off in his head. A smile spreads across his face as he turns to break the cuffs off of Azula's wrists.
Aang uses his staff to creat a wall of air to block and disperse the flames, but by the time he did, Azula had been released from her rock constraints.
Azula: "Dad's all the way down the hall, then down a secret stairway on the left! I'm sure he'd be more then happy to see you now~!"
Azula starts to run away while Y/N takes a deep breath and claps his hands in front of him, creating a temporary wall of white flames before following her.
Y/N: "I can't believe that actually worked."
Azula: "You doubted me?"
Y/N: "A little bit, yes. Especially when you had me standing next to you for over an hour while you got to sit in a chair."
Azula: "It's called being royalty. You should try it....oh wait."
Y/N: "Oh, Ha-Ha. Let's hurry up."
Azula smirks and deliberately starts to slow down.
Y/N: "Azula!"
Azula: "Fine, fine...no need to shout. You'll hurt my feelings~"
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After the eclipse was over, the Fire Nation rounded up all of soldiers and put them in different transport ships. Some went to labor camp, others went to serve as slaves or servants...and the unlucky few? The Boiling Rock.
A few days later, everything was normal for the most part. Ty Lee and Mai were informed of Y/N's 'transfer' into Azula's ownership, which was mostly okay, save for the few questions Ty Lee had. Y/N continued to try and figure out what the hell that dragon was trying to show him, but was making literally no progress.
He eventually grew tired of it, so he took a break and searched half the estate to try and find Azula, which took much longer than one would expect.
*knock knock*
"...If you're Ty Lee, no, I do not want my hair braided."
Y/N: "....Should I even ask?"
"....Come in."
Y/N walks into Azula's room to find her doing...absolutely nothing. She was just sitting on her bed while looking into a mirror.
Y/N: "Huh....I didn't think you could actually sit still..."
Azula: "And what exactly is that supposed to mean...?"
Y/N: "Hm. Nothing, just an observation. So-"
Azula: "I know you didn't come here for small talk. Spit it out, I'm busy."
Y/N: "You don't look very busy-"
Y/N stops as Azula gives him a rather menacing side eye.
Y/N: "Okay, okay. Sorry, I'll get to the point...I want to know how to create lightning."
Azula freezes and puts the mirror down.
Azula: "....Really? You didn't seem to care for it before. Why now?"
Y/N: "I'm not getting anywhere with my firebending and it's irritating me. I want to learn something new for once."
Azula: "Hard to learn when you already know everything, isn't it?"
Y/N: "...Did you just compliment m-"
Azula: "Negative and positive energy."
Y/N: "...What?"
Azula: "Do I have to say it slowly? Negative. And. Positive. Energy. Separate the negative and positive energy in your body."
Y/N: "Okay...but HOW? I already know about that part, I just don't know exactly how I'm supposed to do that."
Azula: "Figure it out. I'm not going to baby you."
Y/N: "....You are a terrible teacher."
Azula: "Well...to be fair, I didn't claim to be a good one. I'm only providing what I know."
Y/N: "Okay, fine. So, I separate the negative and positive energy in my body...then what?"
Azula sighs and stands up before walking out of the room. Y/N stands there confused for a bit before eventually following her.
Y/N: "Where are we going?"
Azula: "The courtyard. It's better to show you in one demonstration instead of spitting words at you for the next hour and a half."
Y/N: "....I'm not that stupid."
Azula smirks.
Azula: "I never said you were. But if that's what you think..."
Y/N scoffs and the two continue down the hall, heading for the courtyard.
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(Honestly...I have no idea why this took so long. I think I just procrastinated halfway through and never got back to it.
The next one SHOULDN'T take as long, since I'll have a bit more free time to work on it.
Thank you for waiting, and I hope you enjoyed it!)
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