Book I, Act V: Elementary(2/3), Chapter III

Edited by: Bieverdog AO3: GalavantingGoose

Book I, Imbalance

Act V: Elementary, Part II

Chapter III:

They had been walking all morning in the decrepit town, but Sokka seemed not to have lost his enthusiasm. When he had asked about any abandoned farms, people eyed him suspiciously; so, they decided to find it themselves based on Sokka's observations. He had marked the area where he thought the farm was located and looked attentive to the muddy ground in search of more clues. Zuko was certain they were close.

But his mind was set on what was to come, for it wouldn't be long until the Fire Days festival. Then the Earth Kingdom delegation would arrive, and he'd have to prepare. The security of the Capital would be paramount. He couldn't believe what could have happened had he not arrested Taiku. Maybe even the Earth King would have been in danger, then. He raised his gaze at the sound of thunder; a storm was coming.

"Let's hurry up." Zuko quickened his pace.

Sokka stopped him with his hand without taking his eyes off the land. "Relax, we cannot rush this. We must approach the farm house in such a way that he won't be able to escape.

Following Sokka's line of sight, he could see a tree line in the distance, and something behind it. "Why are you so sure that is the place?"

"This is the nearest place where he was last seen; and according to the map, we're officially at the town boundary. See that tree line over there?"

"Yeah, I think I see a house behind it."

"Good. You head straight to it slowly. Remember: be ready for anything. I'll go around it and approach from the other side."

He nodded and made a b-line to the house behind the trees. He tried to be covert, lying low behind overgrown bushes plaguing the abandoned fields. The clay hut's paint had chipped away, leaving it a dull grayish brown, from afar it even blended with the ashen soil. The windows appeared tightly shut. Its straw roof was dotted with holes. The place certainly looked abandoned.

But as he neared the building, the evidence told another story. A pile of firewood was stacked against the wall of the house, and he could see a few clothes fluttering on a line. He readied into a stance and eased towards the front door. Sokka was approaching from the other side.

Zuko slid open the door and gagged at the smell of rot. He slipped inside, covering his nose and mouth. The smell only worsened as he neared a side room. It had a small fireplace near the doorframe and two straw beds. The source of the stench lay in one of them, bloated and swarming with flies. His skin had patches of green and blue, and his eyes were nearly bulging out of his eyeballs. The Fire Lord inspected a mark on the man's neck. He had been stabbed, and his blood had dried into a brown stain on the floor.

He tried to step closer but jumped at the sound of footsteps entering. It was Sokka. Covering his nose with one hand, he used the other to hold his monocle, inspecting the body closer.

Zuko looked down at it. "This doesn't look like him."

"It is him, Zuko." Sokka's disappointment was evident. He continued to examine the body.

Zuko turned his attention to the fireplace behind him. He noticed, amongst the remnants of ash, singed paper bits and swept the ash to find an intact fragment. He could barely make out the characters. 'e ready by tomorrow, — leave this place. M.'

He went to the dilapidated main hall of the house. There wasn't much furniture left there, only a table and a workbench. Examining the workbench, he found it still had some tools on it covered in a thin layer of dust. He checked the bench's drawers; all of them were unlocked but one. Inside the others, he found more tools.

Sokka silently stepped next to him, startling him again.

"Don't do that!"

"Found this; he had it on him." Sokka gave Zuko a small, rusted key. "This Tegakari sure was a resourceful fellow. He managed to make this out here. Must be the reason why Taiku chose him to make that weapon."

"Let's just hope he left something else behind." Zuko stuck the key in the locked drawer. After some jiggling, it turned with a creak. He slid the drawer open to find a blueprint. It looked like a lance with a tube attached on top. It had a complicated mechanism that neither of them could decipher.

"Well, well, the plot thickens." Zuko limited his annoyance to a glare. As the detective inspected the blueprint, he groped around in the drawer to find a folded piece of paper.

"So, a murderer is still on the loose with whatever this is? Great, that's just what I needed. What do you think happened here?"

"Well, maybe he thought Tegakari could not be allowed to escape; so, probably, he promised him a way out if he made another weapon for him or improved the design of the one used on you. He did it and was killed to cover his tracks. They probably took the prototype and burned the evidence just to leave a rotten corpse out here. At least, that would explain the tools found here. That prototype surely is important."

"Don't you think we have bigger problems now than figuring that out?"

"This is important as well; it may be the key to finding whoever is behind this."

They tried again to decipher the scribbles of Tegakari, giving up after some time. "I don't think we'll find anything else in here. Do you think we should… bury him?"

Sokka sighed, his face grim. "Unless you think we'll find anything else on him, yes; the poor guy has earned his rest."

Together, they spent the rest of the afternoon digging a shallow grave with the tools they found lying around. They brought the rotting corpse of Tegakari to his final resting place and buried him.

Sokka took off his hat for a second. "No one deserves to end this way."

"We'll find the man responsible for this and bring him to justice."

They took whatever clues of importance they found and walked in silence back to the village, waiting for the next trader to bring them back to the capital. Sokka seemed more silent than usual. Of course, he wasn't satisfied with the outcome of their investigation. But Zuko's mind raged with unanswered questions. Could the assassin have a motive of their own? Did someone else still support him? Who?

With the Fire Days Festival approaching, they would have to double the security in the city with another assassin on the loose. None of them was safe until the threat was dealt with. In the meantime, he had to deal with ruling the land and appointing a new overseer, a position soon to be defunct but still necessary to deal with the remaining colonists. He also had to find a way to reduce the power and influence of the military, lest another tragedy occur.

With each thought, he sank deeper into his seat. The throne looked all powerful from afar, but his father's words weren't far from the truth; it did indeed come with many pressures. He only hoped he would be strong enough to overcome them.

When they arrived at the capital, he and Sokka set to work to follow this new trail, but it managed to elude them. Unable to escape their responsibilities, Sokka agreed, after pressure from Katara, to go with them to Langhizi to dissolve another colony, while Zuko returned to his duties as Fire Lord. In particular, he needed to prepare everything for the Fire Days Festival. It even seemed that the ministers had forgotten about the Taiku affair and were now more concerned about the preparations than anything else. At least, they could agree on something for once.

***

Azula lay on her bed, counting the stains on the ceiling of her room. Her eyes had already adapted well to the dark atmosphere of her cell. She tried to keep her mind entertained to prevent them appearing again. She knew they were there, watching like a pair of eyes behind her back and judging her even at that moment. She had begun to doubt whether escaping would do anything to fix her current condition. In all truth, she felt as though she missed her cellmate. As talkative as she could be from time to time, at least it kept her from… seeing them… for a while. And with a nurse watching over her at all times, she had made little to no progress on her escape plan. Could they have… No, no, she is still alive. She has to be, if she has survived that long here… She heard mocking laughter from behind and she closed her eyes. Focus, they are not real. Focus!

"Stupid girl, I am as real as you are; nothing will ever change that."

"I'm not talking to you."

"You will eventually; I'm all you have." She ignored its laughter and fixed her eyes on the door, avoiding to look anywhere else, for she knew it was there. She could feel it creeping around, but she wouldn't give it her attention. She felt it grazing against her shoulder, and she held her breath. The squeak of a wheelchair approaching made her freeze. A shadowy figure stopped at her door, opening it wide. As a torrent of light washed over the room, she squinted her eyes and heard a dry thud as the door was closed again. She shot up to look at them through the window. It was a pair of nurses carrying an empty wheelchair. As she turned, she saw Nozomi lying on her bed face down. Another trick? Having made sure she wasn't hallucinating, she approached her slowly.

"Nozomi?" The girl didn't respond. She knelt down on her bed and, not having the use of her hands, poked her with her head, trying to get her attention; but she didn't even flinch.

"Hey… it's me." She remained prostrate on the bed, motionless. If it weren't for the fact that Azula could feel her breathing slightly, she would have thought she was dead. This time, she nudged her with her head to turn her around.

"Hey! I--" She stopped when she saw the girl's glassy and distant stare. She had burn marks on her forehead, and her wrists were bandaged very poorly.

"What did they do? Hey… talk to me… please…" The girl weakly turned on her side and hugged her knees against her chest. Azula heard weak laughter behind her back. She turned around. Nothing.

Nozomi was sobbing softly and covering her eyes. "I couldn't do anything. They brought me her–" Nozomi hugged her tightly as she continued crying. Azula was taken aback for a moment but didn't say anything. "I don't want to be here anymore. I don't want to die."

"You won't… We'll leave this place."

* * *

Azula looked over at Nozomi. "Hey. Hey!"

"Huh?"

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"No, sorry, I'm… not hungry."

It had been a few days since Nozomi's "therapy session". It didn't take much effort for Azula to realize that nothing was right. The blue-eyed girl still had glassy eyes and a hoarse voice and woke up every night crying. Now it was Azula who had to be the caretaker.

Her friend kept quiet and spoke only when necessary, but helped her keep a low profile while she analyzed escape routes. Although Nozomi hadn't been talking to the nurses again, she still listened to them. From what Nozomi had heard on the day of the Fire Days Festivals, there would be fewer guards at the institution; it would be the perfect day to attempt their escape. However, there was only one small drawback: they would remain under lockdown. If only one of them could get a key, they could free enough patients to generate a riot. Then, most of the few remaining guards would be redirected to the riot. They would be able to escape undetected.

Things had become difficult, but Azula could not give up yet. It was clear that they would need more help to escape, but she did not have many viable options, as some patients were nonresponsive and would not be of any help at all. Between the loons and Zirin and her pathetic gang, she would have preferred the former ten times more if they were of any use.

"Take me to Zirin."

"What? What do you want with her?"

"Isn't it obvious? You take me and see."

"Okay..."

Her move caught a few looks from the nurses flanking the dining room, but she went ahead with the idea. As they approached Zirin's table, she could already hear their mocking laughter. Zirin's back was turned to them; and between laughs, she covered her eyes.

"Let me guess, it's the savage and her rabid pet."

Azula smirked defiantly. "Bravo, you're quite the psychic."

Zirin laughed, giving her a threatening look. "Careful, you might wake up to find your face much uglier in the mirror."

The princess hummed. "You think you're tough, don't you? So, this is the best this place has to offer? Oh, please, you're a joke. How long have you been here, tough girl? I see the best you've been able to do with your life is throw some insults at others who don't fight back. You're pathetic."

"Pathetic? Hm. That reminds me of someone. Um, can't remember."

Azula put on her business persona. "I like you, tough girl; you've got guts. I tell you what: why don't we talk? It may not seem like it, but there's a way we can both benefit."

"And what do you think I could gain from you, pet?"

"Well… who knows… maybe your miserable freedom? I don't think you'll do much with it."

Azula's words took Zirin by surprise. She glanced around then narrowed her eyes for a fraction of a second and laughed it off like it was nothing. "Ha, ha. Savage, your pet needs a shorter leash." Nozomi averted Zirin's gaze.

"Do you think I'm kidding?" Azula eyed Zirin's lackeys. "Well, whoever wants to can talk to me about it, unless you want to stay here with the tough girl. I'm sure life in an institution is a lot of fun. "

"Nonsense." Zirin swept the group with a commanding gaze. "The only thing that'll get us is another 'comprehensive check-up'. I see you two already had a taste of his work. That kinda tat is not my style." She turned her back on them.

Azula sighed dramatically. "Pity. Doubt we'll get another chance like this until next year."

She stopped. "What do you mean?"

"Find me later when there's less eyes around and I'll tell you."

"You better not make me regret this pet; or I'll have you both sent to the doctor for another checkup."

Azula gave her a smug grin. "Oh, you won't." Zirin threw a serious look before turning back to her clique. Nozomi wheeled her friend back to their table and poked her noodles with her chopsticks, while Azula picked at her rice.

"I really hope you know what you are doing, Azula; she doesn't mess around."

Azula sighed. "Just trust me with this, okay? It will work." She looked back over at the overconfident ring-leader, who was chuckling about something–

"It won't…" She heard a faint whisper.

"Huh? What did you say?"

Nozomi eyed her confused. "What? I… didn't say anything…"

Azula shook it off as she struggled to coax an appetite into existence.

* * *

The voices sounded more real as each day passed. As the line between her mind and reality blurred even further, she had no choice but to continue. She only hoped she could be grounded enough to reality to be able to pull their escape successfully, dreading what could happen if she didn't.