trans_9 | The Big bad Little Sister

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The Big bad Little Sister

In the vast city that even when you were with people felt empty Azula made her way cautiously through the streets.

While she longed for the creature comforts of her servants carrying her through the town, she was never a lazy princess. Physical activity was just another tool in the constant battle to achieve perfection.

As such she had taken to long walks through the city, climbing things that seemed sturdy, lifting things on occasion, but mostly running and leaping. This was a cool down period as she glanced idly at the buildings around her.

"So much wasted space." She remarked and began to ascend a fire escape to the roof of one such building. From there her view was less obscured and she could gaze out in all directions.

During her initial orientation she had been shown the pods where some people chose to sleep. Sleep was absolutely out of the question for the paranoid princess however. Giving in to absolute helplessness so she could sleep seemed reckless, foolish.

But ultimately impossible to ignore.

Still the city was so vast it offered her an unlimited amount of hiding places for when she knew she could no longer outrun her own exhaustion.

So many places that not even the all seeing eye of "Stacy" could follow her.

Taking a seat on the edge of this roof Azula's hand slipped into her robe and drew out a plastic wrapped treat someone had given her...had they given it to her or had she just taken it? No matter. While she couldn't remember how she had procured this item she knew it was a snack and it had been so long since her appreciative lips had met a sweet.

The wrapper was noisy and yellow, an obnoxious yellow that if Azula had her way would be banished from ever being used again. Could she banish a color? Why not? She was Princess Azula! No...FIRELORD AZULA!

...

Would-be firelord Azula.

Failure Azula.

Her emotions took a sharp dip and she tried to suppress the self loathing and disgust by focusing on the candy.

It was white, some form of taffy. It reminded her of the fresh Taffy that would serve on the carts during the Fire Days Festival. But as she tried to take a bite out of the Taffy she winced. It had become hard as stone since it had been wrapped. Scowling she glared at the Taffy, her teeth marks clearly represented in it's pale complexion.

"You dare defy me Taffy? Let's see you remain so steadfast against this!"

With her free hand she made a motion to...no effect. She growled and performed the motion again rapidly with more anger behind it. A single orange flame lit on her fingertips and she smirked. "That's right." She cooed to the candy bringing it to the flame and letting the heat soften it till it was doping and wilting. Azula laughed soft and cruel as she imagined the candy screaming and begging for mercy.

"Let that be a lesson to the rest of you!" She declared to...no one visible. "Trifle with me long enough and you burn."

The invisible people she was addressing may or may not have had responses to this but that was entirely up to the princess.

In the meantime she brought the softened, tortured sweet to her lips and took a delicate careful bite, startled by a thick creamy center she had not expected. It tasted like peanuts but was smooth and not at all crunchy.

Her victory over the Taffy was in face very, very sweet. She would savor it for a long while.

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On his way to Angkor Wat, Zuko caught a whiff of something that was very likely fire, and looking up, caught sight of his sister on a rooftop.

She probably wasn't in any immediate danger to herself, but someone in her mental state didn't need to be hanging over a large drop. Someone in her mental state didn't need to be out in this city, with all its little places hidden from Stacy's eyes, at all, but Zuko didn't have any control over that here. He clenched his fists, sighing and trying to think of the best way to approach this situation.

He settled for the direct one, calling up to his sister from the street. "Azula. We need to talk."

This was going to make him late for the meeting with the Gaang. Oh well.

Azula heard the voice and didn't directly respond. She continued enjoying her sticky stretchy sweet being so painfully careful not to get any on herself or her robe.

Finally she opened her eyes and glanced down seeing him. She tilted her head curiously like she didn't recognize him at first. Then she looked behind her. The vision of Mai was sharpening her knife on a whetstone slowly. If you don't go down there I'll push you.

Azula rolled her eyes and turned back to her brother. "Then talk." She called enjoying how her voice echoed in the street.

"There's something I want you to see."

He took a deep breath, considering the idea he'd only briefly considered back when he still had a country to rule.

"I wanted to show you in the Fire Nation, but it was going to have to wait for a while. Here, it's less dangerous."

Danger should get her interest peaked. Surely his sister doesn't want to be accused of cowardice in her fragile state.

He doesn't WANT to accuse her of cowardice in her fragile state. One round of having his skin regrown in the hospital was enough.

"Come down from there."

"Hmmm..." She kicked her bare feet idly like a child as she appeared to consider his words. There could be so much he could mean by what he said.

"If this is about the Councilor, I'll have you know I didn't touch him. I simply came to speak to him and he got panicky. You'd think he'd seen a monster or something." Because that would make sense to Azula. Zuko had already heard she'd been to visit his friend and was coming to have words with her.

But the something he wanted to show her back home? What could it be? Oh the anticipation was so tempting! But her paranoia had kicked into full gear.

"You're lying. But that's not why I'm here. I actually DO have something I want you to see. I think it might help you."

He hopes it will.

"How funny, he said the same thing!" Her voice suddenly took a cold sharp turn, "Not the sort of thing I enjoy hearing, especially when I'm not." Her feet stopped swinging and hung limp as she glared at her brother. "Help me? Like your so called "doctors" were supposed to help me? Like leaving me in that humid little box was supposed to help me? I can do without anymore help like that!"

"I don't want you to go back to the box, Azula."

It's true. He doesn't. He just doesn't want her running around freely here, either.

"I want to take you to the island of the Sun Warriors."

That actually made her forget about her paranoia for a moment. Her lips curled in that condescending smile, "You mean the island that was destroyed with the rest of our world? The world that you and the Avatar failed so spectacularly to save?"

She leaned back on her perch and curled and uncurled her toes idly, "What would I care about some old ruins for? I'm sure you understand I've a very busy schedule of being accused of things I didn't do."

"You know I don't have to accuse you of things you didn't do."

A little bit of bitterness, and more than Zuko can afford if he wants this conversation to go well. He grumbles to himself softly.

"There are more than ruins on the island. There are people there. Two I want you to meet. They have something you need to see."

Even she had to admit, he had a point on that.

But that didn't do much to change her opinion on what he was attempting, "It sounds lovely, is it a surprise party for me? With all my friends?" She chuckled, "Oh that's right, I don't have friends anymore. Well perhaps our parents...no no that wouldn't happen either. Well I have to say as tempting as it is to come down there, put my trust in the person who ruined my life" Those last words she sharply switched from a playful teasing tone to a sharp ice cold growl before she melted back into a relaxed posture, "I'd rather not risk my precious freedom, or life. I know that you don't have it in you to do the right thing and kill me, but Mai absolutely does. Where is she hiding by the way? In the building? Perhaps waiting for us at our destination?"

"I'm not going to let Mai kill you."

Pause.

"I would have, not so long ago. But a lot's changed since then. I've changed, since then."

They both have. That's clear enough in their current conversation, with their roles so dramatically reversed, Zuko the one calm and in control, Azula temperamental and upset.

"I want to help you. You don't have to believe it, but it's true. Maybe the way I want to help you isn't the way you want to be helped, and maybe you don't want to be helped at all -" where's he going with this? "-but I have been trying to think of ways I could show you what our real destiny is. What we're supposed to be as Firebenders."

"It's like I don't even know you anymore." Azula muttered darkly rising to her feet and standing precariously on the ledge.

What sort of non-sense was he going on about? Their real destiny? She knew what the destiny of the fire nation was supposed to be. Greatness! Victory! Superiority! If anything he had gotten in the way of all of that.

...but. If his desires really were that altruistic, if she played along. It could take alot of the heat off her from those that would have her committed.

She heard footsteps behind her and spun so gracefully on one foot, to see he mother smiling that infuriatingly calm peaceful smile.

Before she reached up and pushed Azula from the ledge.

The slender girl fell backwards from the roof soaring over Zuko's head as her feet slammed into the fire escape and thrust hard sending her spinning through the air to meet the wall of the building across the alley. Her bare feet pushed hard against this as well and she felt a delerious sort of pleasure from the pain it caused her. The fire shot through her legs and into her back but she didn't stop, didn't let out a scream.

Finally she was on the side of the street she'd started from and with her eyes pointing skyward her hands caught the fire escape like talons closing on a mouse and cushioned her blow against the next wall.

In an attempt to end at least gracefully she swung up and over the fire escape to drop the one remaining story to land in front of Zuko with a light flutter from her robes. She rose and refused to meet his eyes in an attempt to exude an air of power. But every pain that shot through her limbs just reminded her how imperfect the entire display had been. What may have been amazing to some people to Azula...was a pathetic imitation of what she should be able to accomplish.

Few people can see what a departure this is from Azula's usual skill the way Zuko can.

He frowns, trying to keep the pity out of his features as she stands. She's all right, and if she's not, she certainly won't appreciate him pointing it out.

"Come on."

He waves her on, and again, he turns his back to her. The first attack wasn't enough for the Council to understand what a danger she is, but she's probably not crazy enough to make the same foolish mistake twice.

And if she is, well, how many times can she put him in the hospital wing before the Council considers that maybe she's just not safe enough to be roaming free after all?

Oh but gods it was so tempting. SO TEMPTING! His back was RIGHT THERE!!! She could practically see his vital organs.

Instead she followed, like a good girl. Like an innocent little sister. Not like the Monster she knew, he knew, everyone should know she was.

"Did you ever find mother?" She decided to open with a sore subject, even using the term mother instead of her real name as she sometimes did.

Ugh, she WOULD bring that up.

"I started looking."

He hadn't gotten anywhere as far as his memory goes, but . . . hey, he'd found the AVATAR once, how hard could their mother be to find? At least he knew she was alive. Or had been when she was banished.

"Hmm, that's interesting." No sense in wasting perfectly good ammo, "I would have thought when word spread that her son betrayed the rest of his family and his nation she would have come running, but perhaps she was just overwhelmed with guilt."

Not up to her usual standards of mockery but it made her feel better.

"Do you even know what she did to protect me?"

Speaking of ammo - but no, now that he thinks about it, does he really want to tell Azula that their father insinuated their mother killed their grandfather? Well, it's too late to take his snapped response back.

"Of course." Azula was walking in a light carefree fashion now. She wasn't dead yet and that was cheering her up. "She saved you life and look at what you've done with that gift." The words were clearly not praise.

"Yeah. The right thing."

Unfortunately for Azula, Zuko's newfound sense of inner peace on the path he's been following - followed in the Fire Nation, anyway - is much, much more appealing than the constant low-grade self-loathing he felt at Ozai's right hand, helping him prepare to destroy whole continents.

"Or so you hope." She muttered and added, "And look where it got us. It never mattered at all. None of it. It's like a joke really."

"It mattered then. It still matters what we do now."

This is bizarre. Him walking with his back to Azula, spouting off things his uncle could be expected to say. Her, sulking and despondent and out of control.

"I just hope the crew can survive when you and the Avatar betray them for what you think is "Right"."

Azula was paying close attention to where they were going in case she needed to escape.

Zuko starts to answer . . . then doesn't.

This crew is composed of good people, but the Council is composed of people who thought it was right to let Azula roam free. That's not a betrayal level offense, but he does disagree with it. Hugely.

"Yeah well, you can warn them about that once they start torching whole continents."

Frankly, the Council has made a dumb decision about Azula, but he doesn't see them doing that.

He leads her through the winding halls, in the direction of what can only be the Sensoriums.

Azula chuckled and stretched idly like she was on her way to take a bath or a nap, "Thank goodness you're not respected enough to have an real pull around here." Some firelord.

He doesn't answer. Because after all he's done, fighting beside the crew, crawling around Stacy's snot-vents in search of answers, risking his life to free the Avatar and help defeat the Nightmare King, his word still isn't respected enough that Azula isn't getting every chance she needs to do something horrible. And that is infuriating in all ways.

Why is he even trying to help her? Oh yeah, because any smidgen of hope that he can bring Azula over to the side of good is a step closer to her not hurting any of his friends. If bringing her over to his side is even possible.

"So don't give proof they should respect my judgement."

He stops in front of the Sensoriums. "We have to use one of these."

"Oh Zuzu..." She strolled past him to enter the Sensorium and stroked his cheek, "I wouldn't dream it~" There was a childish innocence in her eyes that was swiftly replaced by a more adult smile and an unsettling stance of amusement. She was practically purring.

Zuko tenses, but manages not to recoil at her touch. Better not to let her know how much letting her close enough to touch him leaves him unsettled.

"Of course you would," he objects, following her in. "You're dreaming it right now. Please, Azula, you can lie to everyone else, but do you really think you can still fool me?"

Around them, the sensorium unfurls a vision of ruins, the sea crashing close behind the siblings, seabirds calling, the sun just arcing towards the western sky. It hangs, heavy and bright, over a distant pyramid.

Azula gave him a suddenly sharp and dry look, "You know...I really don't appreciate how everyone keeps reminding me that I've lied in the past. Your little friend Hiccup did so in a manner most unsuitable for a councilor and it very much hurt my feelings." She pouted out her lip, "I'm reforming after all and require support."

It was almost comical how she played the part knowing that no one would be fooled, but never the less she acted it out perfectly before relaxing her stance again.

As the world shifted her body tightened up. It never ceased to unsettle her what these rooms could do. And just like that they were back in the Fire Nation, but no where she was familiar with.

"Feeling nostalgic?" She offered.

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The Big bad Little Sister

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