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Chapter Nine: Aftermath


Azula, flanked closely by the few soldiers that made it out alive, dashed across the sands of the beach towards the boat that would take her back to the main ship. The princess had not counted on others hiding on the island. It had certainly put a kink in her plans.

Well, at least one of them was dead now. That only left her brother, uncle, and the girl with the strange colored hair.

Azula sneered to herself as she climbed onto the boat. It was that girl that made her call the retreat. The smell of burning flesh was still pungent in Azula's nose. The death of the older woman must have made the girl snap. Azula wouldn't face something as strong as pure maniacal rage.

"Highness!"

Azula turned to see several other soldiers emerge from the trees. They had been sent out in different directions to find the traitors. It seemed they hadn't escaped unscathed either. A few of them bore signs of a struggle and three were missing.

"Report," she ordered as they drew near.

The solider who had called out before stepped forward. "We found other refugees in the forest, Highness. They were both dispatched."

"Casualties?"

"Only one, Highness," the soldier replied.

"There are three of you missing."

"Well, some of the men ran into some difficulty..."

At that moment, the other two soldiers came out of the woods, restraining a prisoner. He was an older man, possibly about her uncle's age, with steel gray hair and dark green eyes. Azula raised an eyebrow when she saw him, for he wasn't fighting at all. "This man surrendered, Highness," one of the man's captors told her. "He's an Earth Kingdom general, or at least he was."

"Really?" Azula sneered, and gestured for the soldiers to bring the man aboard. Upon closer inspection, the princess saw clear signs of old battle scars. "Tell me your name," she ordered the man.

"Suoh."

"Well, /Suoh/, welcome aboard. Lock him up," she ordered his captors. "And keep a close eye on him." She didn't like how easily this former general was giving up. It didn't fit. "Get us back to the ship," she ordered another. "We'll return later for the traitors." The two soldiers carried Suoh into the boat's cabin and another took the wheel. Azula turned her back on the island as the other soldiers boarded the boat.

Suddenly, the solider next to her fell to the floor at her feet. Azula looked down and saw a Fire Nation dagger in his back. She turned back towards the island and saw the strange girl on the beach approaching the boat. Azula clenched her fists and grimaced. Judging by the look in her odd black eyes, her rage was still burning merrily through her.

Before the boat could pull away, Cade was on the boat and another solider fell before he could defend himself. "Who are you?" she demanded of the princess.

Azula fell into a fighting stance out of habit and the two girls circled one another. The other soldiers waited for orders on the sidelines. "I should be asking that of /you/," the princess retorted. "Why were you helping my brother and uncle?"

Cade was thrown for a moment. Zuko's own sister has attacked us?

In her moment of shock, Azula sent a shot of lightning at her. Cade quickly dodged it, but it only missed her by a millimeter. The half-breed felt a twinge of apprehension. Only the best firebenders could bend lightning. It was certainly beyond her and Mimiko. She wasn't going to beat her with firebending. Thinking quickly, she purposely fell to the ground and swooped over to retrieve the dagger from the dead soldier's back. She slashed at Azula's legs, but the princess was too quick. Cade jumped back on her feet and they squared off again.

"You're not bad," Azula mocked her. "So tell me, was that woman your teacher?"

Fury flashed red across Cade's vision. Instead of answering, she rushed Azula, hoping to catch her off guard. Azula sidestepped her and sent her sprawling. Cade kicked out as soon as she hit the ground, this time actually making contact. Azula had her feet kicked out from under her. The princess landed hard on the ground as Cade got back up. Cade held up the dagger, fully prepared to take this creature's head off.

But before she reached Azula, a sharp pain coursed through the arm holding the dagger. Looking over, she realized with a numbing shock that an arrow had gone through her wrist. The dagger fell from her hand and hit the deck, as she could no longer hold it. Twisting around, she saw a surviving archer sitting on the roof of the cabin. And another arrow was notched and ready to fly.

Without thinking, Cade threw herself off the edge of the boat and into the water. It was just deep enough for her to be completely submerged, but she felt her back scrape the sand of the bottom. The arrow hit the water next to her, missing her by a foot. Knowing that the beach wasn't safe yet, Cade straightened herself out and swam away from land into the deeper water, staying under the surface as she went.

Another arrow went by her head and she kicked her legs faster. When a third arrow did not come, she stopped and turned around. She saw the shadow of the boat drifting away. They were heading back to Azula's ship. Did they think she was dead?

She waited a moment more and then broke the surface gently, took a deep breath, and went back under. The pain in her wrist reminded her of the arrow and she started for shore.

As she pulled herself onto the sand, memories flashed in her mind, of the night almost seven years before. The old anger returned, as did memories of the pain. Her scars on her back panged, whether real or imagined, the pain was there again.

Cade pulled herself up into a sitting position and took her told of her wrist. She broke the arrowhead off, took a breath, and pulled the arrow free. She hissed in pain and let the arrow fall to the sand. She had to bit back a sudden sob as she got to her feet. Now that the adrenaline was fading, reality rushed to her.

Mimiko...

"Damn it," she snapped, turning on her heel. She paused a moment to look over her shoulder at the boat, which had now reached the ship. Gods, she thought, I need to get back to the others.




Zuko looked up as the door opened to admit Cade. She was clutching her wrist to her chest and she shirt was soaked in blood. He leapt to his feet when he saw this, but she gently pushed past him.

He and Iroh had brought Mimiko's body back to the house and laid it out on her bed. Iroh sat in a chair beside the bed, holding onto one of Mimiko's cold hands in his own. He hadn't even looked up when Cade entered.

Cade didn't seem to acknowledge him either. She went to the other side of the bed and sat down beside it, resting her head on the mattress. That empty, dead look had returned to her eyes.

Zuko looked at her for a moment and then sat back down, putting his head in his hands.

They were all silent for long minutes.

"What happened?" Zuko finally asked, looking up. He was disturbed to see that Cade's blood was now dripping on the floor, but was certain that she wasn't going to let him close enough to bind the wound.

Cade blinked a few times and then sat up a little. "They've left," she said, meaning the soldiers. "I wasn't able to stop them." ... "They'll come back," she added.

Zuko fell silent again. ... "It was my sister who led the attack on us," he confessed.

"I know."

Thrown a bit, Zuko hung his head. "This... is my fault."

"No," Cade replied, her voice a little stronger now. "This is the fault of the solider who stabbed her. This is the fault of your sister."

Zuko got to his feet and began to pace. "But they were hunting me!"

"They were hunting your uncle too, remember?" Cade told him, slowly rising as well. "This is not your fault or Iroh's. If anyone is to blame for Mimiko's death, it is the man who sent his daughter after you! ...The same man who gave you that scar."

Zuko started, taken by surprise. He looked at Iroh, who was now paying attention to the world around him. But his uncle shook his head, he hadn't said anything about it to Cade. Zuko turned back to Cade, dumbfounded. "How...?"

"I guessed," Cade said, shrugging. "Why else would you refuse to say his name?"

Zuko turned away, his stomach in knots. He walked around the bed to his uncle's side and placed a hand on his shoulder. Iroh put his hand over his nephew's gratefully. His other hand was still holding Mimiko's. "We'll... give her a proper funeral pyre."

Cade nodded, her eyes on Mimiko and her face softened. "She'd want that," the apprentice said quietly. Still clutching her wrist to her blood-soaked shirt, she looked to the door. "I have to check on the others," she said. "Have either of you seen Master Suoh?" They both shook their heads. Cade sighed sharply and nodded. "I'll be back," she said, leaving the room.

"Cade," Zuko called, following her. She stopped and looked at him. Zuko could tell by the look in her eyes that she was fighting hysteria. "Let me bind your wrist before you bleed to death," he held out his hand. In his other hand was a roll of thick bandage. Cade raised an eyebrow, wondering why he'd had it on him, but then she saw that he'd bandaged the wound on his shoulder with the same wrap. She hesitated a moment longer and then let him have her hand. He quickly pushed back her sleeve and wrapped the bandage around her wrist.

"Thanks," she said softly when he let her go. "I'll be back," she said again, turning away.

Zuko watched her, wondering at her resolve. No matter what she'd said against it, he still felt a well of guilt in his core. He was certain that he always would.




When Cade returned to the house, he and Iroh had nearly finished building the pyre. Iroh had insisted on building it in front of the house. Zuko had argued at first, thinking of how easily the fire could spread to the house itself, but Iroh wouldn't be budged.

Zuko saw Cade approaching from the woods. "What did you find?"

She looked considerably paler in the afternoon light. She felt a light shiver run through her as she shook her head. "There's absolutely no sigh of Suoh. They probably captured him. Noshi and Heshain...they're both dead."

Zuko hung his head, remembering how kind the man had been. He'd liked Heshain, for all that he'd just met him. There had been a simple joy in Heshain that Zuko envied. "Why would they take Suoh and kill the others?" he asked.

Cade looked over her shoulder at the darkening woods and sighed. "Noshi...she put up one hell of a fight. Her hut was nearly torn down in the struggle. She'd have rather died than let Fire Nation soldiers get their hands on her again. Did Mimiko ever tell you her story?"

Zuko shook his head.

Cade grimaced. "Noshi was taken from the Southern Water Tribe year ago. She was captured in an attack by the Fire Nation. They... well, let's just say they'd get along with my father, if you get my meaning." Zuko felt ill. "They broke Noshi's spirit along with her body. She managed to escape on a raft after months of captivity, but had no where to go and no sense of direction. She was found by the Shai Li a few days later. They brought her here to heal and to hide. She's been here ever since."

"So...Noshi would have fought the soldiers today...even though she knew they'd kill her?"

"You got it."

"And Heshain?"

"Man as stubborn as a rhino," Cade replied with a sad smile. "I suppose he told you about his, /ahem/, failure to follow orders?" He nodded. "But I don't figure he told you how they punished him?"

Zuko shook his head, "He didn't mention any specifics."

Cade's smile became a little more humored. "When he refused to kill the prisoner, they beat him, tied his wrists and ankles with heavy chains, and threw him overboard, miles from any known land. Skinny reed that he is, he managed to slip his wrists out of the chains and swam as far as he could. He pulled his half-drowned body onto our shore three days later."

"Huh," Zuko shook his head in amazement. "So he would have fought the soldiers too?"

"He put up a good fight by the looks of things," Cade said. "He, unlike Noshi, would have been fighting to /live/, but they probably outnumbered him."

"So, what about Suoh? He didn't fight?"

"The thing about Master Suoh is that he thinks ahead," Cade said, respect in her voice. "Suoh has heavy ties to the Shai Li, and the Shai Li have ties to almost every Fire Nation prison. It's a tradition that dates back to Khamsin herself. There's almost always another prisoner or even a guard who's a member of the Shai Li. If he went quietly, he'd have plenty of opportunities to eventually escape."

"And Noshi and Heshain didn't have the ties to the Shai Li that he has," Zuko said, understanding now, though not liking it in any way. "That makes sense, I guess."

They both turned as Iroh approached them. His face was now dry of tears, but there were no hiding the pure agony in his eyes. "It's getting close to time," he said, his voice rough from sobbing. "We should prepare."

Zuko and Cade shared one last look before the three of them headed back inside the house.