AN: sorry for this super late update!
CHAPTER SEVEN
Azula managed to fight off the avatar, his friends, her brother, and her uncle before grabbing Kira and escaping the scene. "Wake up, Kira." She commanded, though it didn't work. That water tribe boy hit her in the head with his boomerang. She could have a concussion. Azula had never before felt the feeling she had before. What was it? Worry. Azula was worried. She clutched Kira to her chest as she entered the war machine. Kira woke up, but her vision was still hazy as she clutched onto Azula with a groan in pain. "You're okay, I've got you." Azula whispered to her as she got off the mongoose lizard.
Mai and Ty Lee looked confused as Azula rushed Kira to the room where there was a Fire Nation healer on standby. She placed Kira on the cot carefully before telling the healer she was hit in the head. The healer used fire to connect with the chi, discovering where the pain was stemming from. "She is okay. She'll just suffer with headaches for awhile. Be gentle with her, Princess, and let her sleep." The healer gave Azula a bow before wrapping Kira's head carefully. Azula watched as Mai and Ty Lee looked at Azula for answers.
Azula walked out, dragging Mai and Ty Lee out so the Kira could sleep. "We need to head back towards the ship. Kira needs rest. The pony tail boy hit her on the head." Azula stated, heading towards the captain's quarters to tell him to turn around. "We will think of a new plan as Kira recovers. The only other place they would be going is Ba Sing Se. There's nothing else out here. The Earth Nation has colonies and only a few big cities." Azula said thoughtfully, entering the captain's quarters. "Head back to the ship." She demanded, before leaving, looking at Mai and Ty Lee.
Mai glanced at Ty Lee before letting her eyes meet Azula's cold ones again. "We understand you're upset, and you have the right to be upset. But, don't you think you should calm down a bit? Kira will be okay. For now, we need to think. That way what happened to Kira won't happen again." Mai stated, trying to calm the upset fire bender. Especially since she knew that when Azula was mad, she would get a bit out of hand. She has witnessed it, after all.
Azula looked over at Kira, closing her eyes as she breathed. Mai was right. Azula knew this. "You're right. I can't let my personal feelings distract me from what we need to do." Azula stated as she stood up. Apart of her wanted to stop and not move, but she knew she had to go and discuss future possibilities with Mai and Ty Lee. She gave Kira one last look before walking away with Mai and Ty Lee. "We need to talk about our future plans." Azula stated as they retreated from the room. Ty Lee lingered, looking down at Kira sadly. When she saw Azula gone, she pressed a kiss to Kira's cheek, leaving the room.
By the time Kira woke up, it had been hours and she discovered she was alone in a room she wasn't really familiar with. Blinking a bit, she noticed this was the healing area. She winced as she felt a strong pain in the back of her head. Taking some water from her bag that was beside the bed, she began healing her head. While fire healing was great, water went passed the surface when it came to healing.
A hum escaped Kira's lips as she felt relief. She didn't even notice the girl in the room with her. "I was beginning to think you were never going to wake up." Kira gasped, looking towards the door startled as she dropped the water she was bending. There stood a very vulnerable looking Azula. "When that water peasant hit you in the back of your head, I was worried." The girl said softy, cupping her cheek softly. Kira looked up at her as she searched her fierce golden eyes. Azula leaned in slightly before kissing her.
Kira wasn't surprised as she began kissing back. Azula was pleased with this, but soon pulled away. "I'm sorry, Princess." The water bender stated with a soft tease on her lips. "My intentions were not to scare you. Only to protect you." Kira moved some of Azula's hair behind her ear gently. They smiled at each other. They needed some time to enjoy each other's company. Azula moved into Kira's arms softly with a content sigh escaping her lips. Kira bit her lip happily as the girl she loved was being so open and vulnerable with her for once. It was nice.
The silence didn't last for a very long time before Azula pulled away. She gave herself some time to speak though as she studied Kira's features. "Let's go to my quarters. I need someone to hold. I've gotten used to it." She admitted with a wide grin. Something that wasn't typically like Azula. Kira loved it. She was genuine. She allowed Azula to gently drag her into her quarters. There she fell into Azula's bed, gently being held by the fire bender happily. She fell into a deep sleep, curled up to Azula. "I love you." Azula whispered as she noticed that Kira was now asleep.
***
"We're going to send a drill right through the walls of Ba Sing Se." Azula told the group of girls. Kira rose her brows, surprised about Azula's plan. She definitely wasn't expecting it. It seemed Ty Lee and Mai were just as surprised as Kira, but much more pleased about it. Kira truly did care about peace, but she loved Azula. A lot. "We're just going to show that Ba Sing Se isn't as strong as everyone thinks it is. It will also be interesting to take down the city where my Uncle had his biggest failure."
Kira looked around for a moment before looking at Azula again. "I have a few questions, Princess. How are we going to get this drill? Is it in the making or is it already made?" She asked, trying to process and digest the plan in her head. What was Azula trying to do? It was obvious the main goal was getting Ba Sing Se for the Fire Lord, but she knew Azula had more than one idea for a plan. She had several goals and she didn't always like those goals. But, Azula was ambitious.
Smirking, Azula crossed her arms as she felt the ship stop and get docked. She looked over Kira with power hungry eyes. "It's already built. I told my father my plan months ago. I decided I would capture Ba Sing Se for the Fire Nation. I just need you all to help me." Azula stated, placing a hand on Kira's shoulder before leading her out. There stood a giant drill. Kira's eyes widened as Azula stepped in. "What are you all waiting for?" The princess smirked. Mai, Ty Lee, and Kira looked each other before entering the giant vehicle.
Azula ordered the captain to move on towards Ba Sing Se as the other girls looked around. Ty Lee's eyes were wide in amazement as she bounced around, taking Kira by the shoulders. "This thing is huge!" She exclaimed to the water bender. Kira smiled at her enthusiasm as Ty Lee pulled away, returning to bounce around the place some more. "Azula, you've really outdone yourself with this one." Ty Lee complimented as she turned to Azula who seemed pleased with Ty Lee's response. She only smirked at Ty Lee, nodding as she watched her friends scan the drill with pride.
Soon, everyone but Azula jumped as the drill started making a loud noise and lurch forward. Kira stumbled slightly, grabbing onto Azula's arm to stabilize herself. Azula smiled at Kira, gladly helping her stay steady as the drill shook with movement. "Come ladies," she took them to her own personal throne room. "Oh no, seems like Father only gave me three places to sit. I suppose Kira may sit by side as my right hand." Azula stated innocently as she glanced over at Kira. Kira blushed but followed Azula to sit down by her side. She always felt so safe beside Azula. Azula was her protector and, in return, Kira was that for her too. Or, she at least tried to be.
The drill slowly made its way to the wall, accompanied by more Fire Nation vehicles acting as its entourage. Kira felt the throne room move as the girls and the engineers steering the drills were moved into the air for a better view. However, it freaked Kira out as she clutched Azula's arm gently. That was when the Captain started talking. "This drill is a fest of scientific ingenuity and raw destructive power." He stated before facing the area where he could see the view from. "Once it tunnels through the wall, our troops will storm their city. The Earth Kingdom will finally fall. Then, you can claim Ba Sing Se in the name of your father. Nothing can stop us." The captain stated confidently as he faced Azula.
However, leave it to Ty Lee to ruin the moment. "Hm, what about those muscle-y guys down there?" She said as she looked through the binoculars with curiousity embracing her features. Kira leaned over, loooing through them with Ty Lee. This unknowingly caused Ty Lee to blush.
The captain rolled his eyes at the girls. He didn't seem to like them much. It was incredibly obvious by the attitude he gave them. "Please, the drill's metal shell is impervious to any earth bending attack." He stated as he hit the binoculars, causing Ty Lee and Kira to jump away from it. This angered Azula slightly, but she kept her calm. The captain, or War Minister, was usually right about these things, after all. So, why should Azula doubt his work? He was behind many great military advancements that made the Fire Nation much stronger. Still, Azula didn't like the way he treated Kira and Ty Lee.
Crossing her leg over the other, she glanced at him. There was something in her eyes that told Kira how Azula was feeling right now. "Oh, I'm sure it is, War Minister Qin. But, just to be on the safe side, Mai, Ty Lee, and Kira, take those earth benders out." Azula stated, moving from a bored expression to an aggressive one. Mai stopped sharpening her knives with an excited smirk as Kira grabbed her water bag.
Standing up, Mai stretched. It was very obvious that Mai was incredibly bored. Then again when was she not. Only Ty Lee could find something to do when bored. Mai never found anything interesting. Azula and Kira find half of the world interesting and the other half boring. It's why Kira was invested in books. "Finally, something to do." Mai spoke as she led Kira and Ty Lee out of the giant drill. She felt excitement rush through her as she was finally about to fight someone again. Ty Lee was also excited as she took Kira's hand, rushing up to Mai. Letting go of Kira, the girl looked over with a huge grin. Kira had to admit, she was also pretty excited.
The earth benders began to attack but soon the drill slid open, revealing Mai, Kira, and Ty Lee. Mai threw knives that were barely blocked before the three began to slide down the side of the drill. Ty Lee grabbed a rope, swinging off of it, impressing Kira greatly. The earth benders went to throw a punch of earth but Ty Lee avoided it, chi blocking him and his fellow me quickly. Kira made water ropes, throwing some men across the desert ground, knocking the air of them and knocking them out, freezing them. The girls were pleased, returning inside.
The drill continued to move forwards when all of sudden, a rock blizzard hurdled towards them. "Hey," Ty Lee said from her seat as she look out from the binoculars. "Look at that dust cloud! It's so... poofy. Poof!" Ty Lee made a hand guesture as Azula stood up, walking to Qin. Kira's eyebrows knitted before looking into the binoculars herself. It didn't look like an ordinary dust cloud. She was beginning to think she or one of the other girls missed someone while fighting. It looked like an earth bended dust cloud.
The War Minister seemed to stiffen up as he gave Azula a side glance. He had the hard job of assuring the princess everything was running g smoothly. Even if it wasn't. "Don't worry, Princess. I'm sure it's nothing." Azula didn't seem convinced as she looked outside, her eyes studying the dust cloud closely. She had no clue what was going on. She just knew she didn't like it. Something wasn't right. She looked at Kira who believed the same, looking right back at her. Azula trusted Kira's judgement over all. However, she continued to keep slightly for right now.
However, there was low creak, and all of a sudden, the drill began to slow down. Kira was starting to feel very uncomfortable with the situation. She stood up slowly, moving towards Azula, knowing she was about to have to move out. There was another loud creak but this time it was due to the drill making contact to the wall. Still, something didn't feel right. It was still slowing down and huge boulders were being thrown down. Then all of a sudden voices were heard in an intercom. "War Minister! An engineer was ambushed and his schematics were stolen." The another. "War Minister! A brace on the starboard side has been cut clean through! it's sabotage, sir!" Azula glared at the now shaking War Minister captaining the drill.
She stated at him for a second before waking off. "Let's go, ladies." Looking at the captain visually cringe, Kira rolled her eyes a bit. He had nothing under control like he said. Following Azula, she went down to the starboard. "I think it's the avatar and his annoying friends." Azula said as they began to rave into the starboard. Azula looked very frustrated. Kira would have done anything to calm her down, but right now wasn't the moment.
Sliding in, Ty Lee grinned. She practically jumped in excitement as she saw who was there, trying to ruin the brace. "Wow, Azula, you were right! It is the Avatar... and friends." Ty Lee gave a flirty smirk to Sokka. She was was hoping to make Kira jealous. However, Kira was just focused on fighting.
The water boy waved softly, smiling like a love struck puppy. Slowly, he put his arm up and waved. "Hey," he greeted happily. The water girl began to drag the boy away as she and the avatar began running out. They were closely followed by Azula and the other girls. "Follow them. The Avatar's ours." She claimed and took Kira by the arm and pulled her with her into the opposite direction of Mai and Ty Lee. Kira was a bit shocked at what Azula claimed. This honestly did mean a lot to Kira, though she didn't want to hurt a child. Still, Azula said it was their battle, basically. It made her feel happy for some reason. Yet, she pushed the feelings aside as she began to run alongside Azula.
The two stopped as they watched boulder being thrown down towards them. Soon, Azula struck towards the Avatar. No words were spoke as she continued to fight the young boy. The Avatar threw air and water at them, but Kira did the same, water whipping him backwards. Yet, the boy pushed her back making her fly backwards. Now, it was just Azula and the Avatar as Kira got ready, just in case. Strikes were thrown more before boulders flew down. The Avatar used it to his advantage before she knocked the boy out. She almost killed him if it wasn't for the fact he built a rock arm and slush came through the walls. Kira used her water bending to help Azula get back up.
By the time Azula was back up, they were watching the Avatar run through the wall. Before Azula could strike him, his air pushed them backwards. Quickly, Kira caught them using water, pulling Azula close. "Are you okay?" She questioned softly. Azula sighed and nodded before they jumped off the drill. Mai opened the door, stating the obvious, that they lost. Azula narrowed her eyes at Mai but shook her head. She decided just to stay calm as she look at Kira for a moment. Kira gave her a small and comforting smile that calmed Azula completely as they began talking about the next step.