Avatar: Last Airbender fic
Toes water into different fandom.
TITLE: Spoils of War chapter 1
PAIRING: Ty Lee/Sokka, Azula, Zuko
RATING: PG
GENRE: Adventure/romance
SPOILERS: Diverges after The Runaway 3 x 07
WARNINGS: actually none... omg. The themes are consistant with the show.
WORD COUNT: 6900
SUMMARY: What is Azula to do when even death doesn't seem to hold the Avatar down? Well, if she can't beat him, she'll just have to the Dai Li to brainwash him over to her side.
Step one: Aquire appropriate bait.
Azula chose the Jade Room for the meeting, in part because it was housed quite a distance from the main Palace and her father's notice, and in part because the coloration might do something to put the Earth Kingdom guest at ease. White washed walls were offset by ebony decorative lattices, but instead of the usual stirring red banners, there were much calmer nooks, each housing a jade statuette or vase, or some other treasure culled from the invasion. The room itself might have been a gallery for some extremely wealthy Earth Kingdom noble.
The Dai Li officer knelt in front of her, forehead touching the woven reed floor, his queue sliding off his shoulder like a rope around his neck. She saw just the faintest sheen of sweat on his forehead when he raised himself up again. His eyes were downcast as well they should be. Nonetheless she could tell the room had some effect on him.
"As you can see from the letters, your family is in good health and being treated quite well," she drawled. "I especially enjoyed your son's message. So cute. Is he nine?"
"Eight, your Highness."
"His calligraphy is quite accomplished for that age."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Azula leaned forward in her throne and spoke with calculated gentleness. "It truly is my intention to reunite you with your family as soon as possible. The fire nation has great need of your services back in Ba Sing Se. However, before I can let you go, I must be sure that there is someone here in the Fire Nation who can replace your invaluable expertise. Have you chosen your apprentices yet?"
"Yes, Your Highness." He bowed his head forward a bit. "The rooms have been set up, and machines constructed. I have personally supervised the distillation of medicines required. It is merely a matter of teaching them the proper phrasing and intonation for the conditioning to hold."
"Tell me," said Azula using her more natural crisp tones. "Will your techniques do more than just instill sheep-like complacency?"
"They are quite effective for producing fearless warriors as well, Your Highness," assured the man.
"Yes, well that wasn't exactly what I was thinking." Azula brushed her chin with the tips of her painted fingernails. "Can it produce affection? Loyalty? Love?"
The officer blinked. "Y-yes, your Highness. I see no reason why it couldn't. Loyalty has been well tested. The others, I- I don't see why not. If that is what you wish."
"And what would cause your conditioning to break down?"
The Dai Li's face set grimly. "Poor phrasing is the biggest risk. If the subject is given conflicting orders, his own will naturally will reassert itself. You must be very careful what you want your candidate to do, and try to be neither too specific nor too broad. And do not put him in situations that would test his belief. But Your Highness, should the conditioning start to fail, it is a simple enough matter to repeat the process. Each candidate is given a specific trigger phrase that will make him completely complacent for a limited amount of time. That can be used to return him for reconditioning."
"And what of the personality of the candidate. If he is strong willed - what then?"
The Dai Li relaxed with confidence. "That makes no difference. Strong or weak they all fall eventually."
Azula smiled. "Excellent. I'll have a test candidate for you in a week or so. You are dismissed."
The man touched his head to the mat once more, then quickly rose and shuffled out of the room. Azula sat back in the throne and considered. The fall of Ba Sing Se had been quite productive indeed. It had taken her a while to realize just how productive. Too long actually. Had she come up with this plan back in Ba Sing Se it would have saved her quite a bit of awkwardness now. But better late than never.
It wasn't all bad, it seemed, that the avatar was still alive. Had he died the way she had initially planned, it would simply put off the confrontation for another couple of decades at most. Searching for the new Avatar amongst the Water Tribe would be costly in manpower and resources, in a time when all of both would be needed towards rebuilding and solidifying her empire.
Yes it was far, far better that he be alive - so that she could neutralize him, but not in the clumsy way her father had planned. The Firelord had a prison ready for the poor boy. A grim place, lonely, designed to keep the air bender alive but only barely, so that he would be too weak to break himself free. Azula had her doubts that even under the extreme conditions of iron shackles in a stale dry room the Avatar could truly be kept for long.
Better to make a prison of his mind. The brainwashing techniques of the Dai Li were ideal. Instead of binding him with chains, she would bind him with words, and instead of honing his powers on diet of misery and pain, she would soften him with comfort and decadence. She would turn his loyalty for the people of the world into loyalty for her. And with him by her side, there would be peace at last - a peace as great and as long as glorious as the one envisioned by her great grandfather.
And as for her end of the deal, she had always known that she would have to marry diplomatically. The Avatar was not a bad choice. At least he wasn't old and fat.
Ah but she was ahead of herself. Before she even dared let the boy get too close, she needed to test the theory on someone considerably less dangerous.
"Guard," Azula spoke up. A pillar standing near the door stirred, turned and took two steps into the room, then bowed respectfully, palm to fist. "Send in Ty Lee."
Minutes later, Ty Lee padded in with a huge smile. Unlike Dai Li officer, she neither bowed nor lowered her eyes. Azula allowed her to be familiar - to a point. "So are you done with all your official work for the day?" Ty Lee asked. "Because there is the most gorgeous display of flowers at the arboretum - and ooh, that's pretty!" Ty Lee stopped to admire a three foot tall Jade dragon. "I've never been in this room before. It's kind of like a treasure chest."
Azula smiled indulgently. "Spoils of war: tribute from various Earth Kingdom houses, in thanks for our kind rule. And proof that Earth bending talent is wasted on warfare. Once this war is over, I shall order all Earth benders to put their skills to beautifying the Empire." Azula then leaned forward, bending her head to rest on her hands. She let her eye gleam conspiratorially, a look that Ty Lee picked up immediately on.
"And speaking of spoils of war, I have a proposition for you. Consider it a challenge - and a thank you, from me to you."
Ty Lee's eyes grew huge. "Oooh, do tell."
"What do you think about the Avatar's Water Tribe companion, the boy?"
"Sokka?" She asked, surprised. "Oh, I like him! He's cute - and smart, and brave, and -"
"And yours," said Azula.
Ty Lee's mouth hung open for a moment. "Mine? In what way?" Ty Lee blushed.
"In every way you want. As a servant, or a friend, or a lover. I've already given my brother to Mai, it seems only fitting that I should do you a similar favor. I hate to see you feeling lonely."
Ty Lee's smile was a bit strained. "Why, how … generous… of you, Azula. But he is the enemy, how would this work?"
"Oh Ty Lee, now that victory is inevitable, we need to stop thinking in such terms. Sokka isn't our enemy," said Azula, with an expansive gesture. "He just being stubborn and clinging to a mirage of hope. When he becomes disillusioned, which he will, eventually, just the way the conquered always do, he will come to find peace and reassurance with his place. I'm sure you can give him good reason to embrace the Fire Nation, and put his potential to our purposes. I trust you not to fail me."
A slight sheen of sweat raised up on Ty Lee's brow, but her smile didn't waver. "As you wish Azula. I will do my best."
Azula laughed at Ty Lee's poorly hidden distress. "Oh don't worry, I have a little something up my sleeve that will speed up the process. In just a few short weeks, I predict Sokka will be honored to please you in any fashion you desire."
Sokka peered at the bags hanging from hooks off a stall. As useful as his leather pack was, it didn't quite replace the green bag he'd picked up in the Earth Kingdom. Momo needed a better hiding spot than Aang's shirt. And Sokka missed having the little lemur next to him. He paused to check the stitching on one. Too girlie? Yeah. Too bad, because it actually was quite attractive.
The jabs to his back were so sudden he couldn't place the sensation until he felt his legs turn noodley and numb. He collapsed sideways onto the dusty pavers with a slight oomph.
"Hi Sokka!" came a bright voice, and he saw a girl bending deeply over him, long braid dangling down to tickle his nose. Sokka pried his eyes away from her very generous cleavage to her somewhat familiar face. The large eyes, the huge smile, the pixie like nose. Yeah, that was one of Azula's evil henchman. Oh, crap.
"I - I'm afraid you've got the wrong person," Sokka managed to gasp out. "My name is, is, Lee."
Ty Lee straightened up and laughed. "Oh don't be silly, I recognize you. Growing your hair out isn't much of a disguise, you know. I can still see that strange ponytail you used to have. Though I approve of the clothes. They look much better on you than that shapeless water tribe smock."
"Aang isn't with me," said Sokka, switching gears. "We had a big fight and went our separate ways days ago." Hey, it was worth a try.
Ty Lee giggled, "You are a terrible liar, you know. The Avatar just left you not half an hour ago. I imagine he is half way back to that camp of yours up in the hills. My spies have been watching you for three days waiting for him to leave you alone. I was beginning to think I'd have to lure him away from you somehow."
Lure him away from me?. For a second Sokka couldn't quite grasp the concept, but then it fell into place. Great, it was his turn to be bait to sucker the Avatar into some elaborate trap. What was wrong with direct confrontation? Had it gone out of style sometime while he wasn't paying attention?
As unmanly as it was to play the damsel in distress, Sokka had done it before. He knew the drill: look helpless and stupid, and wait for the enemy to turn his back. Then turn the tables and get the hell out. Yep. Shouldn't be too difficult. Looking helpless and stupid was a bit of a specialty of his actually.
Meanwhile, Sokka wondered if Fire Kingdom prisons were more comfortable than Earth Kingdom ones.
While he pondered, three Fire Nation soldiers stepped out from the Market place alleys. Sokka fought to get his muscles to move, but before he could do much more than limply swish his arm around the soldiers had irons around his wrists and ankles.
One of the soldiers pulled Sokka's sword from its sheath and turned the blade in his hand, appraisingly. Great, now his wonderful meteoric iron sword was going to be in the hands of an enemy. Who knew who would end up with it; probably some clod on the front lines who wouldn't know fine weaponcraft from a stick with a nail. Bye-bye beautiful sword. Sokka sulked.
The soldier swished it around clumsily, nearly catching a nearby pole with the backswing. "Hey, careful with that," Sokka admonished, wincing. "It's one of a kind, made by a swordsmaster!"
The soldier regarded Sokka sharply, then deliberately put the point into a groove between the pavers and made as if to snap the blade.
"Don't break his weapon!" ordered Ty Lee. "He will want that back!"
"Yeah! I want that back! Wait, you are going to give me back my weapon?" He lifted an eyebrow in disbelief.
"Eventually," said Ty Lee brightly. "If all goes to Azula's plans. Which they will, don't worry."
"Curiously, that's not that reassuring to me," said Sokka.
Ty Lee let out a shrill whistle, and a second or two later a rather forbidding looking black carriage rolled up. The wood sides were reinforced with straps of iron, and the small windows were barred. The soldiers lifted him like a sack and put him onto the bench of the carriage. Sokka struggled not to slip bonelessly off of the hard bench. With a great deal of effort his spine straightened and he got himself more or less balanced.
Hopefully this wouldn't be too long a trip. How long would it take before the others realized he was in trouble? Was it too much to hope that they were just taking him to the local lock-up?
Ty Lee vaulted into the carriage and closed the door. She then sat down on the bench across from Sokka. Noticing his expression and she mirrored his pout momentarily. "Oh don't be so glum. I'm going to take really good care of you! I've made sure there is plenty of meat waiting for us at the inn. Hedge-gopher - your favorite."
Inn sounded an awful lot like they were taking him someplace far away. On the other hand … mmm… delicious Hedge-gopher.
"Hey," said Sokka suddenly. "How did you know I like Hedge-gopher." There was something awfully dewy-eyed about the look she was giving him. And all this kindness and consideration was a new twist to the whole prisoner of war experience. Seriously, who treats their enemies to inns or meat?
"You've ordered it at every restaurant it's been available."
Okay, that's rather creepily specific knowledge.
"I've been keeping track of your movements since you left your home in the South Pole," explained Ty Lee in answer to his quizzical look. "Well, okay not me specifically, but rather Azula's spies. And not actually you, but the Avatar, but since where he goes you go, it amounts to the same thing. You know you folks are awfully random. It would have been tough to follow you if you didn't stir things up so much everywhere you went. Luckily for me you've been following a more or less straight line since you got to the Fire Nation. All I had to do to find you was follow the reports of weird incidents."
"Weird incidents?"
"Yeah, you know, fires putting themselves out without anyone's help. Polluted rivers suddenly clean. Just like a row of little dots across the map. Tell me, Sokka, were you trying to keep a low profile?"
Sokka reddened.
"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you!" said Ty Lee suddenly a flutter. "It's just that Azula thinks that you guys aren't capable of lying low, while Zuko thinks you are confident enough not to care. I was curious to know which it is."
"Well, I'm not going to confirm or deny anything." He was definitely going to have to have a talk with the team when he got back.
There was a long pause with only the jostling of the cart down the rutted highway to break the silence. Sokka quietly tested his bonds. The metalwork was solid, each link melted closed. He might be able to reach over and get his sword from Ty Lee's side but wielding it before she could apply her pressure points again … not good odds on that.
"You know, your hair looks nice grown out. In a month or two you'll be able to put all in a knot and look like a proper Fire Nation man." Yeah, there was that dewy eyed look again. She was leaning against the side of the carriage looking lost in some foggy but pleasant day dream. "I know the perfect ornament, too. And there's a cloak I think would look great on you as well. I can hardly wait to go shopping."
Sokka raised an eyebrow. Something definitely weird was going on here. "Do you normally dress up your captives?"
Ty Lee blushed and giggled. "Only the ones I plan on keeping."
"You - what?"
"Besides I can't have you going to parties looking like a common shopkeeper."
Sokka's jaw dropped open. She's insane. Catching himself, he gave the side of his head an awkward scratch and searched for the most diplomatic words he could to voice his growing awkward discomfort. "You know, traveling by carriage and sleeping at inns is refreshingly civilized way to be held against my will. And I can't argue against hedge-gopher. But you do realize I have the moral obligation to try to cause you trouble. I don't think the rest of the party guests would appreciate my presence. I am your enemy - not your date - you do know this, right?."
Ty Lee laughed and waved a hand as if shushing him down. "Oh Sokka, you aren't my enemy. You are just misguided. Once you come over to the right side we are going to have a really great time together. I know it! Check out our auras! They are perfectly compatible!" Ty Lee held her hand next to his and looked up at him with expectation.
She's utterly batshit bonkers. Grimacing Sokka tried again. "Uhhhhh… how do I put this gently. You are very pretty, and nice and, whew, flexible. But I do have a girlfriend already, Ty Lee. I'm already taken." Please don't kill me, crazy lady.
Ty Lee's smile vanished. Her eyes took a sharp and disapproving look. "Suki, right?"
"Right - wait, you know her? Oh yeah, spies." When he got out of this, he was going to pay a lot more attention to the people around him. His stomach squirmed to think that the enemy was keeping track of his romantic life, what little of that there was.
Ty Lee shrugged her shoulders, as if the mention of a romantic rival didn't bother her. "Sokka, I know you've spent no more than three weeks with her - total. That's not exactly a serious commitment. Besides, she wears make up so heavy you can't even tell what she looks like, and those clothes! She might as well be wearing a tent. My breasts are bigger, my waist is smaller, my hair is prettier. And can she put her feet behind her head? I think not! Can you really find her more attractive than me?"
It was a pretty convincing argument - but how to say that it was Suki's personality, her strength, her soul as much as her looks that attracted him. Well he could say that - no he couldn't because Ty Lee would simply come back with her own personality which wasn't really all that bad. And she was plenty strong in a fight. Ty Lee had already discounted the "enemy" argument, and that just left "because you are crazy" which didn't seem politic to bring up.
"And anyway," Ty Lee continued. "It's not as though we have a choice. Azula gave you me as a reward. It would be a huge insult to her if I refused the gift. After all, she was being really thoughtful, and that's pretty rare for her." There was a bit of apology in Ty Lee's voice.
"Now hold on a second," said Sokka, finally having some safe ammunition. "I'm not Azula's to give. I don't care how mighty a princess she is, you can't just order someone to fall in love. It's not the way it works."
Ty Lee stared quizzically. "Sure it is. I admit don't know how it is in the Water Tribes, but Fire Kingdom Soldiers have been taking captives as their wives since this war began. While it's not nearly as common for our women to take foreign men as husbands, it's far from unheard of. It's a considered a form of healing between the nations - the victors taking care of the defeated."
"Husbands? Healing?" Sokka choked. "Wait, wait, wait, this is going way too fast. Just when did I go from being bait to betrothed? I thought this was all about you guys getting the Avatar. Are you seriously telling me that Azula ordered you to marry me as some symbolic peace gesture? Don't I get some kind of say in any of this?"
"Well, of course you are also bait." Ty Lee's expression suggested that he was saying something very silly. "And no, this isn't some great symbolic act or anything like that. I just like you. So don't put yourself down. I would hardly kidnap just anyone. You are quite a catch."
She just likes me, great. Team Avatar better come rescue him before he ended up with Zuko as his best man.
Sure to her word, the food at the inn was delicious, the room spacious, and the bed was soft, and if it weren't for the fact that he was chained to a support beam and had a guard staring at him all night long, he would have probably forgotten he was a prisoner. This was the most luxurious treatment he'd gotten since the months in Ba Sing Se. Which come to think of it was also a form of imprisonment, or at least a frustrating distraction from his goals. You know if this kind of thing kept up, he was going to start becoming paranoid any time someone was nice to him.
Sokka stretched, enjoying the softness of the bedding. He turned his head to the other person standing, stiffly in the room. "Good morning, Fire Nation guard person."
His guard grunted. Then grudgingly muttered. "Morning."
Sokka pulled off the bedding and propped one foot on his knee. He stared balefully at the fetter on his ankle. Now if he were Katara, he could use the water in the pitcher next to his bed and cut his way through, over power the guard and escape all stealthy-like back to their last camp. If he were Toph, he'd bend the chains, and turn them into missiles to cut down the guard and then burrow his way through the hillside to safety. If he were Aang, he'd bend the chains, use the pitcher of water to overcome the guard and then fly out the window.
But he wasn't any of them. No quasi-religious command of the elements was going to save his butt. No spiritual intervention. No he was on his own, just his brain verses the situation. First rule of order, get the lay of the land. It had been dark when they'd arrived and between the carriage and the building, he hadn't really gotten much of an idea of where he was.
Standing up he made a deliberate show of lazy stretching that somehow managed to take him all the way to the window. The guard was watching his every move. "Looks like a beautiful day," he said.
The view was magnificent - the way views only could be if there was no ground anywhere near by to obstruct them. Sure enough, just after the two story drop to rugged boulder strewn ground, there was another drop of maybe a couple hundred feet to the tops of some pretty tall looking pine trees. Not very promising.
"Step back," ordered the guard nervously.
"Oh come on," protested Sokka, "I'm not suicidal." He waggled his foot making the chain snake about the plank floors. "Besides hanging by my foot over a cliff isn't exactly my idea of entertainment."
The guard relaxed, and Sokka turned back to the view. This time he scanned the sky. Peering hard into the scattered cloud cover, he saw a small puff of white moving swiftly towards him. That had to be Appa, no doubt looking for clues.
Now if he just had a way to get their attention. But how would they pick him out -- one random person in a random window of a random building in a village they had no reason to know he'd be? He could wave a flag with his name on it. No. No, he couldn't. No flag, no writing utensils. Jump out the window and hang by his ankle? Maybe if he timed it just right…. On the other hand, nah, most likely that would just break his ankle. A spot of dew on the window sill caught the morning sun and briefly dazzled him. A signal! Now that could work.
Ideally, one would set up these signals ahead of time, but these weren't ideal conditions. In fact at the rate Appa was headed in Sokka's direction, he really only had a minute or two to execute any plan before his window of opportunity literally passed him by.
Shiny objects… shiny objects.
Sokka grabbed his brass hair clasp from the end table. With a quick glance over his shoulder to assure him that the guard was indeed watching his every miniscule move, he made as if to put it in his hair, feigned a problem then brought it down into the brightly lit windowsill to examine it. No, not doing anything important, Mr. Guard, sir.
He did his best to reflect the sunlight back towards Appa, but it wasn't readily apparent if he was successful or not. He tried jiggling the flat side of clasp up and down, reassured to see a little disc of refected light hitting the top of the sill. The cloud that was Appa seemed to subtly alter its trajectory. Encouraged Sokka rocked the clasp back and forth more vigorously.
"Oh look! What a cute little cloud!" came a voice over Sokka's shoulder. "Moving against the wind, quickly and in our direction!"
Sokka quickly palmed the clasp and directed a broad smile at Ty Lee. "Good Morn-"
And that was all he got out before she did her jabby thing to his back again. Next thing he knew he was sliding bonelessly onto the ground.
Ty Lee took the clasp from where it had fallen from his limp hand and waggled her finger at him. "Sokka, no fair giving the Avatar clues ahead of time! We can't have him finding you yet, we aren't ready!"
"My mistake," gasped Sokka. Hell even moving his mouth was hard. "If you could just fill me in on the plan, I'm sure I'll do a better job keeping to it."
Ty Lee laughed. "That's why I like you so much. You're so funny. I was going to get us some breakfast before we started our day, but since I can only assume you managed to signal your friends, I guess we better just move on. I'm not really up to fighting the Avatar and two master benders all by myself." To the guard she called out, "Wrap him up and put him in the cart."
While Sokka worked to free his limbs from Ty Lee's paralysis, the guard chained his hands and legs again, rolled him into a blanket, and hefted him, awkwardly over his shoulder. It was uncomfortable, degrading, and rather stuffy.
Now this was what being abducted should be like.
Ty Lee was more chatty on this leg of their journey. She didn't say a word about whatever trap Azula was laying for Aang, but she did manage to touch on just about everything else, from the intricate table manners of the Palace to the best way to clean circus animal cages. Despite his natural inclinations, Sokka found himself feeling increasingly more sympathetic to her.
It wasn't that she complained. In fact she was almost insufferably positive about everything life threw at her. It was just that Sokka couldn't imagine himself not being, well, furious if he were treated the same way. The South Pole hadn't exactly been a cheerful place, what with the periodic Fire Nation raids. But at least he could count on his father and Katara and Gran Gran to notice if he were down, and to offer some sympathy. Ty Lee's parents ignored her to a degree that bordered on neglect, except for when they had her perform, like some trained pet, for the entertainment of the local nobility.
When then-Prince Ozai had all but bought her to be a playmate for Azula, she had been unspeakably happy, despite Azula's terrifying idea of 'fun and games'.
"You are serious," said Sokka. "She lined you up against the wall and played 'Fireing Squad' with real fire?"
"Knives too!" Seeing his horrified expression, she laughed. "Well, she did aim to miss. And how else was she to hone her skills?"
"I can think of one or two ways that don't involve putting your best friends in mortal danger."
"But you see, that was part of the point. If we'd been people she didn't care about, she wouldn't have been as motivated to do her best. If she couldn't control her own feelings towards us, her hand would shake, and she'd put us in greater danger. By attacking us, she sharpened both her mind and her body at once. And it was our duty and our privilege to help her train."
Sokka sighed. "I know this makes sense to you, but I can't help but think it's completely barbaric. Don't feelings matter at all to you fire benders? Does it always have to be about dominating others?"
Ty Lee's smile faded momentarily. She sighed. Then the smile was back. "I think that's why it's such a good thing we invaded the other Nations. It gives us a fresh perspective on things. I think sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own beliefs, we don't realize that other people can see things differently. When I went to the Earth Kingdom, I saw a side of people I never would have seen if I hadn't been part of an invasion force. It was really amazingly educational."
"You, you, you," pressed Sokka. "Your education nearly destroyed my tribe - and you were even worse to Aang's people. They don't even exist to educate you anymore. Don't you people ever think about the needs of other nations? Other people?"
"Of course we do," she countered. "Fire, water, earth, air, under it all we are all the same species. We all have the same needs. If your people hadn't fought us so hard, if they'd just yielded to the superior force, we wouldn't have had to decimate them. The Air Kindom was a loss - but that happened long before any of us were born. We can't help that now.
"Each of our peoples has a strength - a place in this world. The Fire Kingdom's place is to rule and enforce order. It's natural. The Earth Kingdom is meant to build and create. The water kingdom to support, heal and nurture. When the war is finally over, we will be as one body in harmony again. That's what Fire Lord Sozin said."
Sokka leaned back, aware of the thick metal bracelets on his wrists, and the unyielding links that held them mere inches apart. "So it's the place of my people to be your emotional support. How is that going?"
"With great difficulty - your people are quite stubborn."
"You said yesterday that your soldiers often took wives from other nations. Were any of those people from my tribe."
Ty Lee nodded. "Quite a few, actually. You didn't think that we just kept your people in prisons forever did you? A year, five, ten, eventually nearly all renounced their tribal affiliation, and accepted being part of the Fire Nation. All but the most stubborn were eventually released some place where they could do the most good. Many of the younger ones married - had children - lived out their lives in peace and harmony."
"Were any of their children water benders?"
Ty Lee shook her head. "One or two learned to bend Fire -- but no. Not a single water bender. Not even when the Fire Lord specifically tried to breed for one. It was a bit of a disappointment, actually. But apparently what a person bends is tied more to culture than to heredity."
There was silence between them for nearly an hour, during which Sokka refused all her attempts to engage him. He'd known, of course, that the Fire Nation had stolen away many of their best people. Somehow knowing that their spirits had been broken in jail and that they'd gone over to the enemy made his stomach ill.
And that's what Azula meant to happen to him.
No, he'd resist. All nations under the rule of the Fire Lords was not balance. It wasn't his duty to be supportive. Well, okay, maybe supportive of the Avatar, but not of the Fire Lord.
The terrifying part of it was that it made a kind of sense. He could see how the Fire Nation could misinterpret submission for acceptance and surrender for peace. Not a single water bender had been born from the those taken from his tribe - never mind the "trying to breed for it" comment - that was really bad. If Water and Earth came under Fire's rule, would they cease to exist as completely as the Air Nation had even without the genocide?
Sokka looked out the small barred window, but the tiny patch of sky available to look at had no sign of his friends.
"Will you be honest with me, Sokka?" Ty Lee's trademark smile was gone.
Her seriousness perked him up, and made him relent. "Yes, I'll try."
"Is it me? Or is it the fact that I am Fire Nation that repulses you?"
"I-"
"I know you must think I'm crazy, expecting you to be happy at the idea of being with me. And I know you are probably thinking you need to reassure me, and tell me what I want to hear. But I really do want an honest answer. If we'd both been born to the same side, would you at least consider me as a girlfriend?"
Sokka felt her expectation settle uncomfortably on him. "I - don't honestly know. It's hard for me to think of you without thinking of our backgrounds." Sokka lifted his manacled hands, then dropped them back into his lap. "I can say that you are really cute, and smart, and talented, and those are the things that usually attract me. But I can't know if there would be a spark between us, that's only missing because I'm tied up at your mercy.
"But if you were part of my tribe, I'm sure I'd have at least invited you to go fishing with me."
"Fishing?" She quirked up her brows in disbelief. "Does that qualify as romance in the Water Tribes?"
Sokka straightened up. "Two people, on a small boat, together… alone… for hours? That doesn't strike you as romantic?"
"Well, if I were Water Tribe, I guess it probably would. But I guess by the same reasoning, this carriage ride could be rather romantic as well." There was just a wisp of hope in her voice.
Sokka sighed and stared straight down at his metal bound wrists. "If we were both Fire Nation…. I think even if I were raised in this culture, I wouldn't like being just told who I had to marry. Diplomatic marriages happen even in the Water tribes, and I just don't agree with them. Marriage should be about love and compatibility - not healing nations or rewarding someone for their service.
"I'm sorry, Ty Lee." He looked at her eyes. "I can't see beyond the chains."
She let her gaze drift downwards. "I understand." Then just as suddenly as if a switch had been flicked, her sunny smile was back. "We are at our destination, Sokka. And I'm really glad I had a chance to spend some time with you first, to get to know the real you. I'm really hoping you won't be changed too much."
As if on cue the carriage came to a stop. Sokka looked out the window and saw a heavily built and forbidding building. The door opened on a wide bare plaza, and two rows of prim looking Fire Nation soldiers, faces hidden behind forbidding masks.
Soldiers closed on him, reaching into the carriage and pulling him bodily out. Though he worked to keep up with their long strides, the fetters on his ankles tripped him up and within steps, he was being dragged down the line of soldiers towards the heavy plank door of the fortress.
One person stood out, a man watching him closely with a small smile on his face. Though his dress was in the typical reddish hues, the shape of his face and the long queue was reminiscent of a different place. It took Sokka about ten paces to recognize it - Earth Kingdom.
Sokka's mind flashed to his memories of the Dai Li.
And then to Joo Dee and Jet.
And it all fell into place.
He struggled in his captors grip and tried in vain to sweep a leg out to trip one of them. It was hopeless, there were too many of them. Craning his head over to where Ty Lee followed, he pleaded with his eyes. "Don't let them do this to me! Ty Lee, I won't be me anymore. You won't be content with someone who loves you because he has to. Ty Lee."
The soldiers pulled him up to the foreigner, who reached out a hand and caught Sokka's chin. "Well? What is your decision?"
For a moment Sokka thought the Dai Li officer was talking to him, but Ty Lee spoke up. "Servant," she said. "Make him think he's my servant." She then spoke to Sokka. "I could have him make you love me, but you are right, I wouldn't be happy. If you want me as your girlfriend, you are just going to have to woo me, the proper, non-cheating way."
She turned away, but not before Sokka saw the sad look on her face. The Dai Li officer nodded and with a brisk gesture, the soldiers carried Sokka into the building.
All thoughts of romance disappeared as Sokka was tied to a chair in a dark inner chamber. He looked at the circular track and the lamp. The metal door, the three men standing expectantly near the walls. He twisted his head as soldiers fixed a peculiarly bitter tasting gag to his mouth. Then recoiled his tongue as he realized he was being drugged. His head began to feel funny and light almost immediately.
Must not think of Aang, he told himself. Clear my mind of the invasion. Stupid and helpless. Stupid and helpless. They'll turn their backs and…
Jet had broken his conditioning. That was a hope.
Aang could find him. Any minute.
Ty Lee had been doubtful - maybe she'd feel some sympathy or remorse. She'll come back…
The lamp whooshed to life with a casual gesture. Then it began spinning, slowly around its track, round… and round… and round… And someone started speaking in a slow, gentle monotonous rhythm, to the timing of the light which flickered and blazed, flickered, blazed… and the words seemed to pulse themselves into his head with the dull slow thumping of a funeral drum.
Sokka unconsciously bit down on the gag releasing more of the drug from the hidden sponge within. Only the straps around his forehead and chin kept him from slumping away, as even the lamp flame itself seemed to dim.
Azula moved away from the door where the prisoner was being held. He hadn't stirred to even acknowledge her presence, just stared at the walls with large blank eyes. The Dai Lee officer closed the door carefully, then led her back up the stairs to his office.
"As you see, your highness, it goes well. Another two or three days and we will allow him to wake up. He will believe that he is Fire Nation, born and bred. But should you need him to temporarily remember his real history, all you need do is say the trigger phrase. He will fall into a dream and do as you tell him, and when he wakes up, he will have no memory of the trance."
"Excellent," Azula said.
"However, it would be best to keep all things that would remind him of his past away from him."
"Noted." Azula rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "So she wanted him as a servant. Odd."
"That was her request, your highness. She was most firm."
"Ah well," said Azula. "It really isn't my concern. But… having him be an uninvolved servant really doesn't suit my needs, so I'll have to over rule her. Place some affection in him. Some idealized love. Just… tone it down a bit. It would be more diplomatic if they both thought it were natural."
The hypnotist nodded. "As you wish, your highness."
On to Step 2: Gather Allies
TITLE: Spoils of War chapter 1
PAIRING: Ty Lee/Sokka, Azula, Zuko
RATING: PG
GENRE: Adventure/romance
SPOILERS: Diverges after The Runaway 3 x 07
WARNINGS: actually none... omg. The themes are consistant with the show.
WORD COUNT: 6900
SUMMARY: What is Azula to do when even death doesn't seem to hold the Avatar down? Well, if she can't beat him, she'll just have to the Dai Li to brainwash him over to her side.
Step one: Aquire appropriate bait.
Azula chose the Jade Room for the meeting, in part because it was housed quite a distance from the main Palace and her father's notice, and in part because the coloration might do something to put the Earth Kingdom guest at ease. White washed walls were offset by ebony decorative lattices, but instead of the usual stirring red banners, there were much calmer nooks, each housing a jade statuette or vase, or some other treasure culled from the invasion. The room itself might have been a gallery for some extremely wealthy Earth Kingdom noble.
The Dai Li officer knelt in front of her, forehead touching the woven reed floor, his queue sliding off his shoulder like a rope around his neck. She saw just the faintest sheen of sweat on his forehead when he raised himself up again. His eyes were downcast as well they should be. Nonetheless she could tell the room had some effect on him.
"As you can see from the letters, your family is in good health and being treated quite well," she drawled. "I especially enjoyed your son's message. So cute. Is he nine?"
"Eight, your Highness."
"His calligraphy is quite accomplished for that age."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Azula leaned forward in her throne and spoke with calculated gentleness. "It truly is my intention to reunite you with your family as soon as possible. The fire nation has great need of your services back in Ba Sing Se. However, before I can let you go, I must be sure that there is someone here in the Fire Nation who can replace your invaluable expertise. Have you chosen your apprentices yet?"
"Yes, Your Highness." He bowed his head forward a bit. "The rooms have been set up, and machines constructed. I have personally supervised the distillation of medicines required. It is merely a matter of teaching them the proper phrasing and intonation for the conditioning to hold."
"Tell me," said Azula using her more natural crisp tones. "Will your techniques do more than just instill sheep-like complacency?"
"They are quite effective for producing fearless warriors as well, Your Highness," assured the man.
"Yes, well that wasn't exactly what I was thinking." Azula brushed her chin with the tips of her painted fingernails. "Can it produce affection? Loyalty? Love?"
The officer blinked. "Y-yes, your Highness. I see no reason why it couldn't. Loyalty has been well tested. The others, I- I don't see why not. If that is what you wish."
"And what would cause your conditioning to break down?"
The Dai Li's face set grimly. "Poor phrasing is the biggest risk. If the subject is given conflicting orders, his own will naturally will reassert itself. You must be very careful what you want your candidate to do, and try to be neither too specific nor too broad. And do not put him in situations that would test his belief. But Your Highness, should the conditioning start to fail, it is a simple enough matter to repeat the process. Each candidate is given a specific trigger phrase that will make him completely complacent for a limited amount of time. That can be used to return him for reconditioning."
"And what of the personality of the candidate. If he is strong willed - what then?"
The Dai Li relaxed with confidence. "That makes no difference. Strong or weak they all fall eventually."
Azula smiled. "Excellent. I'll have a test candidate for you in a week or so. You are dismissed."
The man touched his head to the mat once more, then quickly rose and shuffled out of the room. Azula sat back in the throne and considered. The fall of Ba Sing Se had been quite productive indeed. It had taken her a while to realize just how productive. Too long actually. Had she come up with this plan back in Ba Sing Se it would have saved her quite a bit of awkwardness now. But better late than never.
It wasn't all bad, it seemed, that the avatar was still alive. Had he died the way she had initially planned, it would simply put off the confrontation for another couple of decades at most. Searching for the new Avatar amongst the Water Tribe would be costly in manpower and resources, in a time when all of both would be needed towards rebuilding and solidifying her empire.
Yes it was far, far better that he be alive - so that she could neutralize him, but not in the clumsy way her father had planned. The Firelord had a prison ready for the poor boy. A grim place, lonely, designed to keep the air bender alive but only barely, so that he would be too weak to break himself free. Azula had her doubts that even under the extreme conditions of iron shackles in a stale dry room the Avatar could truly be kept for long.
Better to make a prison of his mind. The brainwashing techniques of the Dai Li were ideal. Instead of binding him with chains, she would bind him with words, and instead of honing his powers on diet of misery and pain, she would soften him with comfort and decadence. She would turn his loyalty for the people of the world into loyalty for her. And with him by her side, there would be peace at last - a peace as great and as long as glorious as the one envisioned by her great grandfather.
And as for her end of the deal, she had always known that she would have to marry diplomatically. The Avatar was not a bad choice. At least he wasn't old and fat.
Ah but she was ahead of herself. Before she even dared let the boy get too close, she needed to test the theory on someone considerably less dangerous.
"Guard," Azula spoke up. A pillar standing near the door stirred, turned and took two steps into the room, then bowed respectfully, palm to fist. "Send in Ty Lee."
Minutes later, Ty Lee padded in with a huge smile. Unlike Dai Li officer, she neither bowed nor lowered her eyes. Azula allowed her to be familiar - to a point. "So are you done with all your official work for the day?" Ty Lee asked. "Because there is the most gorgeous display of flowers at the arboretum - and ooh, that's pretty!" Ty Lee stopped to admire a three foot tall Jade dragon. "I've never been in this room before. It's kind of like a treasure chest."
Azula smiled indulgently. "Spoils of war: tribute from various Earth Kingdom houses, in thanks for our kind rule. And proof that Earth bending talent is wasted on warfare. Once this war is over, I shall order all Earth benders to put their skills to beautifying the Empire." Azula then leaned forward, bending her head to rest on her hands. She let her eye gleam conspiratorially, a look that Ty Lee picked up immediately on.
"And speaking of spoils of war, I have a proposition for you. Consider it a challenge - and a thank you, from me to you."
Ty Lee's eyes grew huge. "Oooh, do tell."
"What do you think about the Avatar's Water Tribe companion, the boy?"
"Sokka?" She asked, surprised. "Oh, I like him! He's cute - and smart, and brave, and -"
"And yours," said Azula.
Ty Lee's mouth hung open for a moment. "Mine? In what way?" Ty Lee blushed.
"In every way you want. As a servant, or a friend, or a lover. I've already given my brother to Mai, it seems only fitting that I should do you a similar favor. I hate to see you feeling lonely."
Ty Lee's smile was a bit strained. "Why, how … generous… of you, Azula. But he is the enemy, how would this work?"
"Oh Ty Lee, now that victory is inevitable, we need to stop thinking in such terms. Sokka isn't our enemy," said Azula, with an expansive gesture. "He just being stubborn and clinging to a mirage of hope. When he becomes disillusioned, which he will, eventually, just the way the conquered always do, he will come to find peace and reassurance with his place. I'm sure you can give him good reason to embrace the Fire Nation, and put his potential to our purposes. I trust you not to fail me."
A slight sheen of sweat raised up on Ty Lee's brow, but her smile didn't waver. "As you wish Azula. I will do my best."
Azula laughed at Ty Lee's poorly hidden distress. "Oh don't worry, I have a little something up my sleeve that will speed up the process. In just a few short weeks, I predict Sokka will be honored to please you in any fashion you desire."
Sokka peered at the bags hanging from hooks off a stall. As useful as his leather pack was, it didn't quite replace the green bag he'd picked up in the Earth Kingdom. Momo needed a better hiding spot than Aang's shirt. And Sokka missed having the little lemur next to him. He paused to check the stitching on one. Too girlie? Yeah. Too bad, because it actually was quite attractive.
The jabs to his back were so sudden he couldn't place the sensation until he felt his legs turn noodley and numb. He collapsed sideways onto the dusty pavers with a slight oomph.
"Hi Sokka!" came a bright voice, and he saw a girl bending deeply over him, long braid dangling down to tickle his nose. Sokka pried his eyes away from her very generous cleavage to her somewhat familiar face. The large eyes, the huge smile, the pixie like nose. Yeah, that was one of Azula's evil henchman. Oh, crap.
"I - I'm afraid you've got the wrong person," Sokka managed to gasp out. "My name is, is, Lee."
Ty Lee straightened up and laughed. "Oh don't be silly, I recognize you. Growing your hair out isn't much of a disguise, you know. I can still see that strange ponytail you used to have. Though I approve of the clothes. They look much better on you than that shapeless water tribe smock."
"Aang isn't with me," said Sokka, switching gears. "We had a big fight and went our separate ways days ago." Hey, it was worth a try.
Ty Lee giggled, "You are a terrible liar, you know. The Avatar just left you not half an hour ago. I imagine he is half way back to that camp of yours up in the hills. My spies have been watching you for three days waiting for him to leave you alone. I was beginning to think I'd have to lure him away from you somehow."
Lure him away from me?. For a second Sokka couldn't quite grasp the concept, but then it fell into place. Great, it was his turn to be bait to sucker the Avatar into some elaborate trap. What was wrong with direct confrontation? Had it gone out of style sometime while he wasn't paying attention?
As unmanly as it was to play the damsel in distress, Sokka had done it before. He knew the drill: look helpless and stupid, and wait for the enemy to turn his back. Then turn the tables and get the hell out. Yep. Shouldn't be too difficult. Looking helpless and stupid was a bit of a specialty of his actually.
Meanwhile, Sokka wondered if Fire Kingdom prisons were more comfortable than Earth Kingdom ones.
While he pondered, three Fire Nation soldiers stepped out from the Market place alleys. Sokka fought to get his muscles to move, but before he could do much more than limply swish his arm around the soldiers had irons around his wrists and ankles.
One of the soldiers pulled Sokka's sword from its sheath and turned the blade in his hand, appraisingly. Great, now his wonderful meteoric iron sword was going to be in the hands of an enemy. Who knew who would end up with it; probably some clod on the front lines who wouldn't know fine weaponcraft from a stick with a nail. Bye-bye beautiful sword. Sokka sulked.
The soldier swished it around clumsily, nearly catching a nearby pole with the backswing. "Hey, careful with that," Sokka admonished, wincing. "It's one of a kind, made by a swordsmaster!"
The soldier regarded Sokka sharply, then deliberately put the point into a groove between the pavers and made as if to snap the blade.
"Don't break his weapon!" ordered Ty Lee. "He will want that back!"
"Yeah! I want that back! Wait, you are going to give me back my weapon?" He lifted an eyebrow in disbelief.
"Eventually," said Ty Lee brightly. "If all goes to Azula's plans. Which they will, don't worry."
"Curiously, that's not that reassuring to me," said Sokka.
Ty Lee let out a shrill whistle, and a second or two later a rather forbidding looking black carriage rolled up. The wood sides were reinforced with straps of iron, and the small windows were barred. The soldiers lifted him like a sack and put him onto the bench of the carriage. Sokka struggled not to slip bonelessly off of the hard bench. With a great deal of effort his spine straightened and he got himself more or less balanced.
Hopefully this wouldn't be too long a trip. How long would it take before the others realized he was in trouble? Was it too much to hope that they were just taking him to the local lock-up?
Ty Lee vaulted into the carriage and closed the door. She then sat down on the bench across from Sokka. Noticing his expression and she mirrored his pout momentarily. "Oh don't be so glum. I'm going to take really good care of you! I've made sure there is plenty of meat waiting for us at the inn. Hedge-gopher - your favorite."
Inn sounded an awful lot like they were taking him someplace far away. On the other hand … mmm… delicious Hedge-gopher.
"Hey," said Sokka suddenly. "How did you know I like Hedge-gopher." There was something awfully dewy-eyed about the look she was giving him. And all this kindness and consideration was a new twist to the whole prisoner of war experience. Seriously, who treats their enemies to inns or meat?
"You've ordered it at every restaurant it's been available."
Okay, that's rather creepily specific knowledge.
"I've been keeping track of your movements since you left your home in the South Pole," explained Ty Lee in answer to his quizzical look. "Well, okay not me specifically, but rather Azula's spies. And not actually you, but the Avatar, but since where he goes you go, it amounts to the same thing. You know you folks are awfully random. It would have been tough to follow you if you didn't stir things up so much everywhere you went. Luckily for me you've been following a more or less straight line since you got to the Fire Nation. All I had to do to find you was follow the reports of weird incidents."
"Weird incidents?"
"Yeah, you know, fires putting themselves out without anyone's help. Polluted rivers suddenly clean. Just like a row of little dots across the map. Tell me, Sokka, were you trying to keep a low profile?"
Sokka reddened.
"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you!" said Ty Lee suddenly a flutter. "It's just that Azula thinks that you guys aren't capable of lying low, while Zuko thinks you are confident enough not to care. I was curious to know which it is."
"Well, I'm not going to confirm or deny anything." He was definitely going to have to have a talk with the team when he got back.
There was a long pause with only the jostling of the cart down the rutted highway to break the silence. Sokka quietly tested his bonds. The metalwork was solid, each link melted closed. He might be able to reach over and get his sword from Ty Lee's side but wielding it before she could apply her pressure points again … not good odds on that.
"You know, your hair looks nice grown out. In a month or two you'll be able to put all in a knot and look like a proper Fire Nation man." Yeah, there was that dewy eyed look again. She was leaning against the side of the carriage looking lost in some foggy but pleasant day dream. "I know the perfect ornament, too. And there's a cloak I think would look great on you as well. I can hardly wait to go shopping."
Sokka raised an eyebrow. Something definitely weird was going on here. "Do you normally dress up your captives?"
Ty Lee blushed and giggled. "Only the ones I plan on keeping."
"You - what?"
"Besides I can't have you going to parties looking like a common shopkeeper."
Sokka's jaw dropped open. She's insane. Catching himself, he gave the side of his head an awkward scratch and searched for the most diplomatic words he could to voice his growing awkward discomfort. "You know, traveling by carriage and sleeping at inns is refreshingly civilized way to be held against my will. And I can't argue against hedge-gopher. But you do realize I have the moral obligation to try to cause you trouble. I don't think the rest of the party guests would appreciate my presence. I am your enemy - not your date - you do know this, right?."
Ty Lee laughed and waved a hand as if shushing him down. "Oh Sokka, you aren't my enemy. You are just misguided. Once you come over to the right side we are going to have a really great time together. I know it! Check out our auras! They are perfectly compatible!" Ty Lee held her hand next to his and looked up at him with expectation.
She's utterly batshit bonkers. Grimacing Sokka tried again. "Uhhhhh… how do I put this gently. You are very pretty, and nice and, whew, flexible. But I do have a girlfriend already, Ty Lee. I'm already taken." Please don't kill me, crazy lady.
Ty Lee's smile vanished. Her eyes took a sharp and disapproving look. "Suki, right?"
"Right - wait, you know her? Oh yeah, spies." When he got out of this, he was going to pay a lot more attention to the people around him. His stomach squirmed to think that the enemy was keeping track of his romantic life, what little of that there was.
Ty Lee shrugged her shoulders, as if the mention of a romantic rival didn't bother her. "Sokka, I know you've spent no more than three weeks with her - total. That's not exactly a serious commitment. Besides, she wears make up so heavy you can't even tell what she looks like, and those clothes! She might as well be wearing a tent. My breasts are bigger, my waist is smaller, my hair is prettier. And can she put her feet behind her head? I think not! Can you really find her more attractive than me?"
It was a pretty convincing argument - but how to say that it was Suki's personality, her strength, her soul as much as her looks that attracted him. Well he could say that - no he couldn't because Ty Lee would simply come back with her own personality which wasn't really all that bad. And she was plenty strong in a fight. Ty Lee had already discounted the "enemy" argument, and that just left "because you are crazy" which didn't seem politic to bring up.
"And anyway," Ty Lee continued. "It's not as though we have a choice. Azula gave you me as a reward. It would be a huge insult to her if I refused the gift. After all, she was being really thoughtful, and that's pretty rare for her." There was a bit of apology in Ty Lee's voice.
"Now hold on a second," said Sokka, finally having some safe ammunition. "I'm not Azula's to give. I don't care how mighty a princess she is, you can't just order someone to fall in love. It's not the way it works."
Ty Lee stared quizzically. "Sure it is. I admit don't know how it is in the Water Tribes, but Fire Kingdom Soldiers have been taking captives as their wives since this war began. While it's not nearly as common for our women to take foreign men as husbands, it's far from unheard of. It's a considered a form of healing between the nations - the victors taking care of the defeated."
"Husbands? Healing?" Sokka choked. "Wait, wait, wait, this is going way too fast. Just when did I go from being bait to betrothed? I thought this was all about you guys getting the Avatar. Are you seriously telling me that Azula ordered you to marry me as some symbolic peace gesture? Don't I get some kind of say in any of this?"
"Well, of course you are also bait." Ty Lee's expression suggested that he was saying something very silly. "And no, this isn't some great symbolic act or anything like that. I just like you. So don't put yourself down. I would hardly kidnap just anyone. You are quite a catch."
She just likes me, great. Team Avatar better come rescue him before he ended up with Zuko as his best man.
Sure to her word, the food at the inn was delicious, the room spacious, and the bed was soft, and if it weren't for the fact that he was chained to a support beam and had a guard staring at him all night long, he would have probably forgotten he was a prisoner. This was the most luxurious treatment he'd gotten since the months in Ba Sing Se. Which come to think of it was also a form of imprisonment, or at least a frustrating distraction from his goals. You know if this kind of thing kept up, he was going to start becoming paranoid any time someone was nice to him.
Sokka stretched, enjoying the softness of the bedding. He turned his head to the other person standing, stiffly in the room. "Good morning, Fire Nation guard person."
His guard grunted. Then grudgingly muttered. "Morning."
Sokka pulled off the bedding and propped one foot on his knee. He stared balefully at the fetter on his ankle. Now if he were Katara, he could use the water in the pitcher next to his bed and cut his way through, over power the guard and escape all stealthy-like back to their last camp. If he were Toph, he'd bend the chains, and turn them into missiles to cut down the guard and then burrow his way through the hillside to safety. If he were Aang, he'd bend the chains, use the pitcher of water to overcome the guard and then fly out the window.
But he wasn't any of them. No quasi-religious command of the elements was going to save his butt. No spiritual intervention. No he was on his own, just his brain verses the situation. First rule of order, get the lay of the land. It had been dark when they'd arrived and between the carriage and the building, he hadn't really gotten much of an idea of where he was.
Standing up he made a deliberate show of lazy stretching that somehow managed to take him all the way to the window. The guard was watching his every move. "Looks like a beautiful day," he said.
The view was magnificent - the way views only could be if there was no ground anywhere near by to obstruct them. Sure enough, just after the two story drop to rugged boulder strewn ground, there was another drop of maybe a couple hundred feet to the tops of some pretty tall looking pine trees. Not very promising.
"Step back," ordered the guard nervously.
"Oh come on," protested Sokka, "I'm not suicidal." He waggled his foot making the chain snake about the plank floors. "Besides hanging by my foot over a cliff isn't exactly my idea of entertainment."
The guard relaxed, and Sokka turned back to the view. This time he scanned the sky. Peering hard into the scattered cloud cover, he saw a small puff of white moving swiftly towards him. That had to be Appa, no doubt looking for clues.
Now if he just had a way to get their attention. But how would they pick him out -- one random person in a random window of a random building in a village they had no reason to know he'd be? He could wave a flag with his name on it. No. No, he couldn't. No flag, no writing utensils. Jump out the window and hang by his ankle? Maybe if he timed it just right…. On the other hand, nah, most likely that would just break his ankle. A spot of dew on the window sill caught the morning sun and briefly dazzled him. A signal! Now that could work.
Ideally, one would set up these signals ahead of time, but these weren't ideal conditions. In fact at the rate Appa was headed in Sokka's direction, he really only had a minute or two to execute any plan before his window of opportunity literally passed him by.
Shiny objects… shiny objects.
Sokka grabbed his brass hair clasp from the end table. With a quick glance over his shoulder to assure him that the guard was indeed watching his every miniscule move, he made as if to put it in his hair, feigned a problem then brought it down into the brightly lit windowsill to examine it. No, not doing anything important, Mr. Guard, sir.
He did his best to reflect the sunlight back towards Appa, but it wasn't readily apparent if he was successful or not. He tried jiggling the flat side of clasp up and down, reassured to see a little disc of refected light hitting the top of the sill. The cloud that was Appa seemed to subtly alter its trajectory. Encouraged Sokka rocked the clasp back and forth more vigorously.
"Oh look! What a cute little cloud!" came a voice over Sokka's shoulder. "Moving against the wind, quickly and in our direction!"
Sokka quickly palmed the clasp and directed a broad smile at Ty Lee. "Good Morn-"
And that was all he got out before she did her jabby thing to his back again. Next thing he knew he was sliding bonelessly onto the ground.
Ty Lee took the clasp from where it had fallen from his limp hand and waggled her finger at him. "Sokka, no fair giving the Avatar clues ahead of time! We can't have him finding you yet, we aren't ready!"
"My mistake," gasped Sokka. Hell even moving his mouth was hard. "If you could just fill me in on the plan, I'm sure I'll do a better job keeping to it."
Ty Lee laughed. "That's why I like you so much. You're so funny. I was going to get us some breakfast before we started our day, but since I can only assume you managed to signal your friends, I guess we better just move on. I'm not really up to fighting the Avatar and two master benders all by myself." To the guard she called out, "Wrap him up and put him in the cart."
While Sokka worked to free his limbs from Ty Lee's paralysis, the guard chained his hands and legs again, rolled him into a blanket, and hefted him, awkwardly over his shoulder. It was uncomfortable, degrading, and rather stuffy.
Now this was what being abducted should be like.
Ty Lee was more chatty on this leg of their journey. She didn't say a word about whatever trap Azula was laying for Aang, but she did manage to touch on just about everything else, from the intricate table manners of the Palace to the best way to clean circus animal cages. Despite his natural inclinations, Sokka found himself feeling increasingly more sympathetic to her.
It wasn't that she complained. In fact she was almost insufferably positive about everything life threw at her. It was just that Sokka couldn't imagine himself not being, well, furious if he were treated the same way. The South Pole hadn't exactly been a cheerful place, what with the periodic Fire Nation raids. But at least he could count on his father and Katara and Gran Gran to notice if he were down, and to offer some sympathy. Ty Lee's parents ignored her to a degree that bordered on neglect, except for when they had her perform, like some trained pet, for the entertainment of the local nobility.
When then-Prince Ozai had all but bought her to be a playmate for Azula, she had been unspeakably happy, despite Azula's terrifying idea of 'fun and games'.
"You are serious," said Sokka. "She lined you up against the wall and played 'Fireing Squad' with real fire?"
"Knives too!" Seeing his horrified expression, she laughed. "Well, she did aim to miss. And how else was she to hone her skills?"
"I can think of one or two ways that don't involve putting your best friends in mortal danger."
"But you see, that was part of the point. If we'd been people she didn't care about, she wouldn't have been as motivated to do her best. If she couldn't control her own feelings towards us, her hand would shake, and she'd put us in greater danger. By attacking us, she sharpened both her mind and her body at once. And it was our duty and our privilege to help her train."
Sokka sighed. "I know this makes sense to you, but I can't help but think it's completely barbaric. Don't feelings matter at all to you fire benders? Does it always have to be about dominating others?"
Ty Lee's smile faded momentarily. She sighed. Then the smile was back. "I think that's why it's such a good thing we invaded the other Nations. It gives us a fresh perspective on things. I think sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own beliefs, we don't realize that other people can see things differently. When I went to the Earth Kingdom, I saw a side of people I never would have seen if I hadn't been part of an invasion force. It was really amazingly educational."
"You, you, you," pressed Sokka. "Your education nearly destroyed my tribe - and you were even worse to Aang's people. They don't even exist to educate you anymore. Don't you people ever think about the needs of other nations? Other people?"
"Of course we do," she countered. "Fire, water, earth, air, under it all we are all the same species. We all have the same needs. If your people hadn't fought us so hard, if they'd just yielded to the superior force, we wouldn't have had to decimate them. The Air Kindom was a loss - but that happened long before any of us were born. We can't help that now.
"Each of our peoples has a strength - a place in this world. The Fire Kingdom's place is to rule and enforce order. It's natural. The Earth Kingdom is meant to build and create. The water kingdom to support, heal and nurture. When the war is finally over, we will be as one body in harmony again. That's what Fire Lord Sozin said."
Sokka leaned back, aware of the thick metal bracelets on his wrists, and the unyielding links that held them mere inches apart. "So it's the place of my people to be your emotional support. How is that going?"
"With great difficulty - your people are quite stubborn."
"You said yesterday that your soldiers often took wives from other nations. Were any of those people from my tribe."
Ty Lee nodded. "Quite a few, actually. You didn't think that we just kept your people in prisons forever did you? A year, five, ten, eventually nearly all renounced their tribal affiliation, and accepted being part of the Fire Nation. All but the most stubborn were eventually released some place where they could do the most good. Many of the younger ones married - had children - lived out their lives in peace and harmony."
"Were any of their children water benders?"
Ty Lee shook her head. "One or two learned to bend Fire -- but no. Not a single water bender. Not even when the Fire Lord specifically tried to breed for one. It was a bit of a disappointment, actually. But apparently what a person bends is tied more to culture than to heredity."
There was silence between them for nearly an hour, during which Sokka refused all her attempts to engage him. He'd known, of course, that the Fire Nation had stolen away many of their best people. Somehow knowing that their spirits had been broken in jail and that they'd gone over to the enemy made his stomach ill.
And that's what Azula meant to happen to him.
No, he'd resist. All nations under the rule of the Fire Lords was not balance. It wasn't his duty to be supportive. Well, okay, maybe supportive of the Avatar, but not of the Fire Lord.
The terrifying part of it was that it made a kind of sense. He could see how the Fire Nation could misinterpret submission for acceptance and surrender for peace. Not a single water bender had been born from the those taken from his tribe - never mind the "trying to breed for it" comment - that was really bad. If Water and Earth came under Fire's rule, would they cease to exist as completely as the Air Nation had even without the genocide?
Sokka looked out the small barred window, but the tiny patch of sky available to look at had no sign of his friends.
"Will you be honest with me, Sokka?" Ty Lee's trademark smile was gone.
Her seriousness perked him up, and made him relent. "Yes, I'll try."
"Is it me? Or is it the fact that I am Fire Nation that repulses you?"
"I-"
"I know you must think I'm crazy, expecting you to be happy at the idea of being with me. And I know you are probably thinking you need to reassure me, and tell me what I want to hear. But I really do want an honest answer. If we'd both been born to the same side, would you at least consider me as a girlfriend?"
Sokka felt her expectation settle uncomfortably on him. "I - don't honestly know. It's hard for me to think of you without thinking of our backgrounds." Sokka lifted his manacled hands, then dropped them back into his lap. "I can say that you are really cute, and smart, and talented, and those are the things that usually attract me. But I can't know if there would be a spark between us, that's only missing because I'm tied up at your mercy.
"But if you were part of my tribe, I'm sure I'd have at least invited you to go fishing with me."
"Fishing?" She quirked up her brows in disbelief. "Does that qualify as romance in the Water Tribes?"
Sokka straightened up. "Two people, on a small boat, together… alone… for hours? That doesn't strike you as romantic?"
"Well, if I were Water Tribe, I guess it probably would. But I guess by the same reasoning, this carriage ride could be rather romantic as well." There was just a wisp of hope in her voice.
Sokka sighed and stared straight down at his metal bound wrists. "If we were both Fire Nation…. I think even if I were raised in this culture, I wouldn't like being just told who I had to marry. Diplomatic marriages happen even in the Water tribes, and I just don't agree with them. Marriage should be about love and compatibility - not healing nations or rewarding someone for their service.
"I'm sorry, Ty Lee." He looked at her eyes. "I can't see beyond the chains."
She let her gaze drift downwards. "I understand." Then just as suddenly as if a switch had been flicked, her sunny smile was back. "We are at our destination, Sokka. And I'm really glad I had a chance to spend some time with you first, to get to know the real you. I'm really hoping you won't be changed too much."
As if on cue the carriage came to a stop. Sokka looked out the window and saw a heavily built and forbidding building. The door opened on a wide bare plaza, and two rows of prim looking Fire Nation soldiers, faces hidden behind forbidding masks.
Soldiers closed on him, reaching into the carriage and pulling him bodily out. Though he worked to keep up with their long strides, the fetters on his ankles tripped him up and within steps, he was being dragged down the line of soldiers towards the heavy plank door of the fortress.
One person stood out, a man watching him closely with a small smile on his face. Though his dress was in the typical reddish hues, the shape of his face and the long queue was reminiscent of a different place. It took Sokka about ten paces to recognize it - Earth Kingdom.
Sokka's mind flashed to his memories of the Dai Li.
And then to Joo Dee and Jet.
And it all fell into place.
He struggled in his captors grip and tried in vain to sweep a leg out to trip one of them. It was hopeless, there were too many of them. Craning his head over to where Ty Lee followed, he pleaded with his eyes. "Don't let them do this to me! Ty Lee, I won't be me anymore. You won't be content with someone who loves you because he has to. Ty Lee."
The soldiers pulled him up to the foreigner, who reached out a hand and caught Sokka's chin. "Well? What is your decision?"
For a moment Sokka thought the Dai Li officer was talking to him, but Ty Lee spoke up. "Servant," she said. "Make him think he's my servant." She then spoke to Sokka. "I could have him make you love me, but you are right, I wouldn't be happy. If you want me as your girlfriend, you are just going to have to woo me, the proper, non-cheating way."
She turned away, but not before Sokka saw the sad look on her face. The Dai Li officer nodded and with a brisk gesture, the soldiers carried Sokka into the building.
All thoughts of romance disappeared as Sokka was tied to a chair in a dark inner chamber. He looked at the circular track and the lamp. The metal door, the three men standing expectantly near the walls. He twisted his head as soldiers fixed a peculiarly bitter tasting gag to his mouth. Then recoiled his tongue as he realized he was being drugged. His head began to feel funny and light almost immediately.
Must not think of Aang, he told himself. Clear my mind of the invasion. Stupid and helpless. Stupid and helpless. They'll turn their backs and…
Jet had broken his conditioning. That was a hope.
Aang could find him. Any minute.
Ty Lee had been doubtful - maybe she'd feel some sympathy or remorse. She'll come back…
The lamp whooshed to life with a casual gesture. Then it began spinning, slowly around its track, round… and round… and round… And someone started speaking in a slow, gentle monotonous rhythm, to the timing of the light which flickered and blazed, flickered, blazed… and the words seemed to pulse themselves into his head with the dull slow thumping of a funeral drum.
Sokka unconsciously bit down on the gag releasing more of the drug from the hidden sponge within. Only the straps around his forehead and chin kept him from slumping away, as even the lamp flame itself seemed to dim.
Azula moved away from the door where the prisoner was being held. He hadn't stirred to even acknowledge her presence, just stared at the walls with large blank eyes. The Dai Lee officer closed the door carefully, then led her back up the stairs to his office.
"As you see, your highness, it goes well. Another two or three days and we will allow him to wake up. He will believe that he is Fire Nation, born and bred. But should you need him to temporarily remember his real history, all you need do is say the trigger phrase. He will fall into a dream and do as you tell him, and when he wakes up, he will have no memory of the trance."
"Excellent," Azula said.
"However, it would be best to keep all things that would remind him of his past away from him."
"Noted." Azula rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "So she wanted him as a servant. Odd."
"That was her request, your highness. She was most firm."
"Ah well," said Azula. "It really isn't my concern. But… having him be an uninvolved servant really doesn't suit my needs, so I'll have to over rule her. Place some affection in him. Some idealized love. Just… tone it down a bit. It would be more diplomatic if they both thought it were natural."
The hypnotist nodded. "As you wish, your highness."
On to Step 2: Gather Allies