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Lake Laogai	By : TheDaiLi Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > General Views: 57127 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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It wouldn’t go away. She’d pick and pick, but it’d stay there in her head, refusing to budge.

The ballgag was gone. She didn’t know how or when; for some reason it didn’t...no. It was just gone. Somewhere. It wasn’t important. But now there was another thing stuck at the back of her teeth, a nagging sensation that wouldn’t leave her in peace. She was grateful for the distraction. It gave her something to focus on. Something she could get...something that...she could feel. Feel annoyed at, maybe. She wasn’t naked either. At least, she didn’t think she was. Not important.

Flicking her tongue over it (a piece of meat? A thought?) Azula let her mind wander. Not too far, no, and she was done thinking about the present. About the people in the present and whatever else was in it. There was nothing to be gained from doing so; not for her. Instead, she had decided to mull over the past. It wasn’t proving to be as...’easy’ as she thought it would be. No matter what she tried, or what time she thought of, memories always seemed to play out with a different answer than she was used to...or questions were raised where previously there were none. Azula’s current subject, though, had been chipping through her mind more persistently than most, to the extent that it had managed to edge out every other topic she had tried to consider. So now she was stuck, thinking about...her sibling, of all things. Him and what she had planned on doing with him.

She flicked her tongue in her mouth again.

Zu-zu. Hmm. No...Zuko. Not Zu-zu. Her brother Zuko.

He wasn’t supposed to be worth considering. Their father called him an embarrassment, something that was to be caught and locked away. And, if she recalled right, she did catch him. Yes, yes he was caught along with...that wasn’t important. The point was, he had been held under the city to do with as she saw fit.

But she wasn’t going to lock him away, was she?
The thing between her teeth shimmed a little, but didn’t budge. Annoying little morsel needed more effort to budge it. She grimaced, pushing harder. Alright speck, time to meet your doom.

She had...Azula had plans for him. She was going to wait for the Avatar to get the girl, then talk him over to helping her (yes this was a much better topic than the acrobat). Then use the other girl (another bad topic) to get him to come back with her. Come back a hero, honour restored and palace life back to normal. She was- she needed him? Yes, she was going to say she needed him. To take down the Avatar.

All planned out. Perfect.

But.

But why?

She picked some more. It wasn’t budging.

Why was...why WAS she going to do that? She had the entire Dai Li to call upon. She could have hidden the girl away somewhere else and set up the perfect ambush, then lock Zuko away. Wherever their father wanted, really. She didn’t need him to help. She didn’t need him full stop. He was an embarrassment.

But she was going to set him free. They were going to fight together. And they were going to go home together.

Something about that was wrong. It sounded too...it didn’t sound like her.

Well. Well, what was she now? (No don’t think about that). She wasn’t exactly- (DON’T)

Pause. Breathe. Start over again.

...Well. Obviously, she wanted to show him up infront of father. She didn’t want her favourite object of torture to be hidden away from her to never see the light of day again. She’d already been deprived of him for three years, afterall. Yes; that explanation sounded reasonable. Or it would, if there wasn’t the fact that, by returning him with honour restored, she’d once again be second to the throne. And she wanted that throne.

She sucked on her teeth like she was removing poison from a wound.

...Why did she want him back?! Why did she THINK she wanted him back? This was infuriating...her father didn’t want or need him, he made that clear. She had no desire to please the perfect little orderly either. Wait. Did...did she want him back?

She flicked her eyes closed for a moment, trying to read back her thoughts.

Maybe. Maybe she did. But their father...dad...he didn’t. She could have been first in line to the throne so easily if Azula just did as he told her to. But she went through all that trouble to find a way to bring her brother back with her; a hero, no matter which way she tried to cut it (which was every way).

She didn’t know why. The Princess didn’t know why.

She took a break, letting herself dangle in the chains. They felt lighter than usual. The whole room felt fuzzy to her, like she wasn’t even in it. The lines of the stones seemed to shift every time she looked too hard at them. No sense in figuring that out. And there was no war in-

-She wanted him to come back with her.

Azula could feel a sneer try to form on reflex, intent on ridiculing the sudden thought so she could excuse it and move on. It wouldn’t come though. It couldn’t. He was...he was an IDIOT; a babyish big brother who was as incompetent in fire-bending as he was in all things, but...damn it.

Damn HIM. What a useless item of baggage to have carried around with her all these years. Her father did his best to make her to let go of those kinds of ties, but...she was still holding onto them, even if it was only with the tips of her fingers.

He seemed too valuable to let go of, like he had some special quality that was infuriatingly beyond her understanding. That or she was too weak to toss him away, which seemed more probable.

Whatever was at the back of her head shifted a little. She was getting somewhere with it now.

Was he valuable? And...would that mean her dad couldn’t see it if there was?

She frowned, burrowing a little harder at it.

If true- IF-...that meant she was wrong to think like that. Or it should. Father knew a person’s value; that’s why he trusted her, of all people, with the job of finding him. Yes, that was normally the case. Normally. But now? Over this? Azula wasn’t so sure that...locking up her brother would really have solved anything. And, well, a disappointment like him deserved some pity. He wasn’t a waste; he still had some value. She was certain he still had something of value. Yes, she was certain now. He was something valuable.

But that was what she thought. He was something valuable to her...dad...wanted him locked away. He wasn’t valuable to him. Or...he was...he...was...wrong?

Don’t be any more of an idiot. Don’t. But still, it was apparent that their father did not consider Zuko an asset while she did, even if the only worth he had was to make her look good. So what else did they differ on? What points? What desires? She wasn’t thinking like her father wanted. Did she even want to think like him over this?

She was close now; things were snowballing. Just a little more...

...And if not, then...did she want to follow in his footsteps? Or- NO. Of course she did; he was a success and that was that. Yet she didn’t want to follow him on this...but then what was the alternative? That he was wrong? And if THAT was the case, then- then what else was he wrong about?! If Zuko had value and he didn’t see it, then was he right about her? Did SHE have value? Did she? Look around. Do you have any worth? But- no, her father...would know if she was worthless or not. And she was. So was he wrong, or was he lying to her? And then what else was he lying about?!

She could feel a scowl try and flick across her face. She wanted something to chew on.
Her head was swimming; a perfectly balanced trapeze act that was leaning more and more to one side, unbalancing, swaying, threatening to fall. She had to end this. She HAD to end this. Stop thinking. Yet she was still picking, still progressing. Still thinking. She’d tipped too far. Things were getting hazy again...fatigue? Or...

...Or maybe...maybe her father didn’t see value in anyone at all. (Stop.) That would explain things. He trusted no-one but himself; valued only himself (think of something else)...and what other people could give him. She could give him alot, Zuko could give him nothing (shut up)...that’s why he wanted him locked away and kept her around (not true), because she wasn’t a daughter to him (liar) or anything of the sort...she was only something useful to him, (no) something easy to control because he was all she had left (no.) and dependable because she feared losing him (NO) -an object to be used and tossed away when broken- (NO.)

She was a t- NO!

Azula tightened her whole body, straining her voice through clenched teeth to wring the feelings out of her. She was NOT scared. She was NOT like Zuko, or Ty Lee, or Mai, she WASN’T like them she WASN’T being used like they were she wouldn’t LET that happen he wouldn’t DO that to her or reject her- he wouldn’t he WOULDN’T do that to her she had NOTHING to be scared of she WASN’T scared and it DID NOT control her.

It didn’t. It didn’t.

It didn’t.

...

...She spat the offending piece of whatever out of her mouth, rather than swallow. Good. Spit it out and forget about it. It was hard to believe she was having so much trouble with something like...what was that she spat out? Just spit? At least she’d gotten it out; there was a success right there.

Doing her best to feel satisfied, Azula let the pithy sense of pride smother her discomfort and, smiling at her triumph, used the brief catharsis to try and find where her puddle had gone. Anything to distract her until-

“What a shame...I’d hoped you didn’t spit anymore...”
...Un...un-until...

Azula looked back at her guest. She felt naked again.

...What...

“What are you doing here?”

Her visitor looked at her as if the answer was obvious.

“I didn’t want to see my own daughter’s life be taken from her.”

Azula had never felt so threatened by such an obvious lie before.

“Don’t pretend to care. I know what you really think of me.”

She thought it herself. But she couldn’t meet her mother’s eyes when she said it.

“You think I’m a monster.”

She found the puddle again, but could still see her mother’s concern out of the corner of her eye. Hear it in her voice. She didn’t want this.

“I think you’re confused.”

She didn’t want to listen to this.

“All your life you’ve used fear to control people,”

Please, don’t make her listen to this. Not out loud. Not from her. It would sound too real. Don’t.

“Like your friends-”
Please.

“-Mai, and Ty Lee.”
“Well-what choice do I have?!” Azula snapped as she turned even further away, feeling like she was reading from a script someone else gave her, “Trust is for fools. Fear is the only reliable way.”

She paused, opening her eyes again now that she couldn’t see who she was talking to. It was like she were talking on-rails, but one’s that were...premature. Wrong. She shouldn’t be talking to this woman; not now. Not EVER. She needed to get away from this. Shut her up. Make her shut up before she ruined everything.

“Even you fear me.”

It was the truth; just confirm it and go away.

“No.”

...

“I love you, Azula.”

...

“I do.”

There weren’t the words to describe it. There was just this feeling of...crumbling. Coming apart. And the more she fought it the more she realised she couldn’t. She just couldn’t anymore.

And she hated herself for it. She hated how...how easily, EFFORTLESSLY...

She turned back to face the source of her weakness and pulled, tear-streaked strength snapping chains, freeing her to- to-

“K-MMMMNP! MHh...Mmp..?”

Freeing her.

She twisted, panicked eyes darting around. Solid. All there. Puddle in corner, walls...walls...naked...still held by the leather cuffs, the sturdy chains. She’d just jolted herself enough to realise it. It was all...so all of that was a...

It wasn’t a hallucination. Not too little sleep or too much thinking or too anything. None of it was. It was real. She knew this because she was s-...still crumbling. And she still couldn’t stop it. She tried to. She tried to batter it down like she was taught to, or ignore it, or, or...o-or...

She was glad the gag was back.

It stopped her sobbing reaching the guards.

______________________________________________________________________________________

STAND AT ATTENTION

The room vibrated. Walls. Walls. Stone. Stone walls.

The room shook. Mai blinked. Stone. Prison. Door. Lake prison. She blinked again. Mai. She was Mai.

“Uhhh...”

The room swayed, and she stumbled back into sentience. She was back. Looking around, she figured out where; her prison. Something looked odd about it. Lower. It was lower. She was higher. She was stood up. Unbound. Upright. She could still feel the crystal bands around her ankles, wrists and forehead...they hadn’t taken them off, they just hadn’t felt any need to use them to restrain her. Or gag her. She could bite her tongue.

She squinted.

No, she couldn’t. Something else was odd. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but...she couldn’t. That’s as far as the thought could take her. Mai pushed a little harder, trying to find a reason for that. It was like...pushing...through...a really, really...she couldn’t find a reason. There was an empty block weighing in her head; she could see through it, she could picture its contents...but she couldn’t get to them. Mai knew she wasn’t restrained and that she was stood up straight in the middle of her prison. That was her situation.

She looked around again, eyes flitting as they tried to take in as much as possible without moving her head.

What had they done to her? To leave her unbound seemed a large oversight compared to how stringently they had controlled her before. The...needles...did not lead her to believe they were showing her mercy. Leniency. A trick was involved, and she wanted to know what it was. She probably needed to know. But she didn’t know that she needed to know so she didn’t k=know-

“Guh.”

She scrunched her eyes closed, anticipating pain. She was thinking too much, too fast. She needed to slow down...start with the basics. She hadn’t gone over them yet.

Her name was Mai. She recently turned fifteen. She was born in the Fire Nation. One plus one equals three.

Letting a long breath out through her nose, she tried to mull over that information. Weigh it. Consider its worth. Make it good or bad, right or wrong, fact or fiction. In the end, she just decided they were things she told herself to keep herself...herself. Like those faces and names she could recall. They were related to her, to her worldview, so they were there. Sat in her head. But...they were detached, somehow. Floating without an anchor. And Mai couldn’t dive deep enough down to find something to attach them to.

...But why not?

There was a trick. A trick. A trick, s-some, s-

Stone. Stone wa-

There was a loud noise, snapping her back to where she probably should be. The door was opening infront of her. There was a man on the other side, who stepped through. It was him.

It was him.

She looked perfect. Simply perfect. Stood perfectly at attention, hands rigid at her sides, back straight, looking forward. Only her eyes moved but that was fine, and he couldn’t do anything to alter it anyway. He actually found it good. It meant she could see him properly, and thus he in turn could enjoy the look of terror shining though her face.

Even better that she wasn’t expecting him, and so had no time to fully appreciate her situation over again. Of course, him being just outside the minute she started to rouse was no coincidence; he needed to see if the imprinting would take on his largely-conscious subject. Otherwise...well. Another day of needles with another day of delays.

Stepping into the room he could see there was no risk of that happening. Aside from her somewhat panicked expression, she didn’t so much as twitch from her position. There was something so...elegant, about the way she was arranged; a special refinement that would not have been there had she been able to position herself. He was reminded of a porcelain doll.

He started a wide circle around her, his arms behind his back, buried in sleeves. Yes, a porcelain doll was a good analogy. Flawless white skin, even after all she had gone through...and that hair. He stopped behind her, marvelling at it. Marvelling at how it didn’t even occur to her to turn her head to follow him and muss her tresses, instead opting to keep herself fixed in place. Unwitting. Unwilling. Perfectly in place. Even if he could allow himself the pleasure, he wouldn’t dare hold her. It would mar her beauty.

No, he could not embrace her. But he would touch her. That was why he was in the room, afterall. The first position held, and he was pleased...but that was the ‘basic’ position, and was instigated before she could think for herself. He had to try out more, to see if they would be followed through with the same clean precision he needed.

Completing his circle, he moved in closer to her, removing his hands from his robes as he contemplated where to start first. Those eyes shimmered back at him, rising and falling as she wavered between curiosity and fear. For his part he kept her gaze, hand hovering up towards her face then down towards her hip, mentally knocking down which reactions to start with one by one. Slowly. Savouring the moment before he had to pull on her strings and move past this frozen setting. The nervous energy before a performance.

But every performance had to start sometime. He reached down and tapped the side of her hip twice.

RAISE RIGHT LEG

Mai watched him step back, wondering what prompted it but glad for the extra distance. Being that close to him was...more than unnerving. It wasn’t just that he did things to her anymore. She noticed...the way he looked at her, it had changed. It wasn’t just a job to him, and whatever poker-face he needed before he didn’t need now. Or at least he thought he didn’t. Now he looked at her in a different way. A different w- a-a...

Mai took a moment to let the thought come, rather than push it. He stepped forward again, approving.

LOWER RIGHT LEG

RAISE LEFT LEG

Approving. Yes, that seemed to fit. He moved back again while she shifted. He looked at her with approval. Appreciation. Not desire, even though she was naked...he didn’t want her like that. He didn’t want her at all. But he was...proud. Proud. She hadn’t seen that expression often. Never directed at her. It felt uncomfortable. She didn’t like it. It wasn’t meant for her, it was meant for what he DID to her. What he was DOING to her.

He stepped forward again.

LOWER LEFT LEG

He stepped around her. What was he doing to her?

RAISE RIGHT ARM

She could see he hadn’t shut the door like he usually did. This whole situation was weird. Where was the caution? The crystal bands were still around her, but...she could knock him out before he could use them...shatter them on the walls, then make a run for it. It would be easy, even in her current condition. So why was he taking such a huge risk? Why? A-and, why was she- she not doing any of that- of th- of-

LOWER RIGHT ARM

She squinted, listening to him move. She could hear him behind her now. Right behind her. A quick spin and an elbow to his trachea would take him out. Maybe even kill him. That’s all it would take. It didn’t make any sense for him to let her do that, or give her such an easy opportunity. For some reason, it spooked her more...knowing she could actually do something. It was suspicious. He was doing things to her again, wasn’t he?

BEND OVER

Mai scrutinised the floor, an uneasy feeling overtaking her. He was definitely doing something. She knew it. This position...it would be harder to attack him from this position. It- this position was- it was NOT HER IDEA. She did NOT want to be in this position she did NOT want to be stood here bent over touching her toes she did NOT s-she-

STAND TO ATTENTION

-What was going on- what was happening to her? She didn’t understand. Mai. Her name was Mai and she was stood in her cell with the door open. She wasn’t going through it- there were no bars, no blocks. She could feel her body, she wasn’t paralysed, she MOVED. She THOUGHT.

RAISE LEFT ARM

She remembered. He had been stealing her thoughts. He had been doing things to her. She didn’t know. She didn’t know about this. Why her arm was in the air and not around his throat. She...was performing. And she...she...there was no explanation as to why, or how, or- or...to stop. To stop. Stop.

“Stop.”

Her was around the other side, now, tapping three points on her shoulder-blade to lower it. He didn’t alter his rhythm, and moved back infront of her to access some more points.

“Stop.” She repeated.
He rubbed her rib-cage and she lifted her arms in the air. Her eyes were unfocused, looking right through him to the exit. Twitching. Struggling. But not struggling against what he was doing.

He rubbed the rib again, lowering her arms. There was no hesitation in her movements; as smooth and fluid as he had hoped.

“...Please. Just-”

This time she stopped, taking in an erratic gasp. No...she was not struggling against him, or fighting what was happening. She didn’t even know what was happening. But she knew he did. And she knew only he could release her from what he was doing. Tormentor and saviour, all in one.

“Stop. Stop doing this to me.”
He ignored the crack in her voice and carried on, using both hands to expand a line out across her abdomen, his subject spreading her legs and holding her arms out to her sides. He was well aware of what he had done to her. He put her in a position past humiliation. Further than hopelessness. She was...aware. Aware about what he was making her into. And she was scared. Very, very scared. Because now she was aware during her shaping, too.

“You’ve made y-“ Another steadying breath, “-You’ve m-made your point. So you can-”

He ran two lines down her stomach and she started walking on the spot; a precise, straight march.

“-You can stop. Stop.”

There was no point shutting her up for much the same reason there was no point to her continuing to stick to silence; she could no longer get any use out of it. She could only ask for his assistance. Only say what he wanted to hear.

Running lines down her arms, they folded neatly behind her back, thrusting her chest out.
Only plead for the scraps on his table. Scraps she knew didn’t exist. Still...he did feel a little sad about it all. He’d hoped she would have kept her perfectly formed composure just a little longer. It ruined the ambience.

TILT HEAD UP
She was walking, but she wasn’t going anywhere.

“Please stop.”

She was talking, but it wasn’t leading anywhere.

STAND AT ATTENTION

“...Please...”

She was crying, but...

She was crying.

KNEEL LEGS CLOSED

She could feel tears streaking down her face, but...there was nothing else. No surge of emotion along with them, no sensation of being overwhelmed, of a limit being reached or- or of some dam bursting- some cup overflowing...

“...S-Smm...”

TILT HEAD DOWN

Nothing special. Remarkable. It was...it was all Mai could do. The last- last THING available to her. The last thing to take FROM her. Everything else had been scraped out. Everything. Thoughts a-and feelings, and...and now...n-now...just...walls. Stone. Tears s-

KNEEL LEGS SPREAD

-Tears squeezed from st...stone, because there was nothing else left inside her. Tears and words and...and NOTHING, because- she- didn’t-know- WHY.

“...St...uuh...unm...”

Not even words. Just hitches. Gulps strained through teeth. Mai couldn’t even shudder them out, not even...move...

“...please...”

...Why was she kneeling?
HANDS ON KNEES

“...please s-stop... please...”

...W-why was she kneeling?

“Please...please...please...”

HANDS BEHIND HEAD

Could someone... could someone j-just-

STARE FORWARD

-Explain why she was kneeling?

“Please?”

OPEN MOUTH

“...”

...Please?

________________________________________________________________________________________

“I didn’t want to see my own daughter’s life be taken from her.”

Azula watched the door, waiting for nothing in particular. There was no escape plan in her mind, no thoughts of past achievements, of the present situation, of people in the past or present. No thought of her future. Nothing distracting her and nothing tormenting her.

“I love you, Azula.”

She’d stopped chewing on the ballgag, just letting it do its job of keeping her quiet; lips resting against it rather than pressing, jaw not fighting the straps around her head. There was nothing to be gained from it anymore. Occasionally she would flex her arms to keep some blood in them, but she didn’t pull on her chains. The temptation of losing herself in the tight embrace of her cuffs had left her. Or, for that matter, finding herself in them. She had no desire to do any more soul-searching. Not right now.

“I do.”

She blinked heavily, slowly. The two guards outside her door didn’t move. Waiting, just like her. No-one had to wait much longer; Azula could already hear the echoes of her captors shoes gliding towards her. She clenched her toes, pushing against the stone floor to prepare for a walk. She didn’t tighten her calf muscles though. She didn’t want to cramp and be in pain.

The door opened, and they went through the old routine, one of the men lifting her chin slightly for her collar. She didn’t glower at either of them and didn’t wince when the steaming-cold metal was locked about her neck, freezing away her abilities. The lock clicked shut and her chains clicked free. Azula didn’t check her arms for damage from being held for so long, nor her ankles, letting them be taken by her minders without complaint, each grasping her carefully, but tightly. Not uncomfortable. Never uncomfortable. They hadn’t changed the way they handled her, even after she attacked them and tried to escape. It was exactly the same, right down to the route they took her on.

“All your life you’ve used fear to control people,”

Which was to say, never the same. The route they too her on this time took three minutes to get to the lantern room. Azula didn’t notice; she wasn’t keeping time, or paying attention to how many turns and steps they took to get to the room, instead opting to feel the sway of her hair as it moved across her back, the warm robes and rocks wrapping about her arms. She could feel her piercing too, now that the numbing cream had worn off, and every step she took rubbed the enforced jewellery against her most sensitive area, teasing some deep, underlying rhythm out of her body. Instinctual.

Azula didn’t think about it much, letting her body adjust to the new stimuli without her input, unconsciously altering the way she held herself and walked. The end result felt slightly more...abrasive...than normal. The reason she was wearing such an overtly erotic ornament in the first place was beyond her concern for the moment.

The door slid open and the three of them stepped inside. There was the same familiar track, the same familiar seat, the same familiar sight of an agent waiting to begin...and then there were two very unfamiliar people waiting for her.

“Like your friends; Mai and Ty Lee.”

Like her friends...but not. Led smoothly to her seat, Azula watched them as the locks in the chair fastened her legs, arms and head securely in place, keeping the line of the track right at eye-level. The pair had been positioned either side of the door, each on one side of the agent in the centre of the room... each at both ends of the track. One looked a little sad. The other just looked at her.

There was another click as her collar unlocked, Azula feeling a warm rush flood through her body as the metal slid away from her neck, the Dai Li restoring her bending now that there was no point in her having it. Silently, one of her guards ghosted it away and into his robes to be put back on her after the session ended. Azula didn’t see where it went, she was watching the agent light the oil lamp.

The lantern flickered to life, a dull orange glow that promised warmth and comfort so long as she kept staring at it. So she did, another long, heavy blink adjusting her to the new light source. There were still a few moments before it would start moving...flashing infront of her, making her blinks even longer than they already were, making thoughts more vague, more detached. Less of a problem.

She relaxed into the chair, sinking into its security. The guards who escorted her now stood behind her; respectful of her power and as such holding the instruments to reign it in. The two new features to the room hadn’t made any attempts to change what was about to happen; Azula having heard nothing from them since entering. She didn’t take her eyes off the lantern to check.

Slowly, the haze of light started towards her, picking up its pace into a slow, steady rhythm, rolling from one end to another, one end to another. Azula closed her eyes for a second, then snapped them open to follow the light again.

The voice was smoother than last time, and he wasn’t saying the usual things...

The light rolled by again to force Azula to shut her eyes. She did so, a heaviness cradling her before she attempted to track the lamp once more, eyelids fluttering a little more than usual.

It all felt...deeper, than usual. Like she were sinking under some warm ocean. Another change to the way they were dealing with her. She didn’t mind.

“I love you, Azula.”

Another flash, another heavy blanket over her mind.

“I do.”

The Princess let herself sink.

**** **** **** ****

Stifling a yawn, Ty Lee tried to rid herself of the pleasant drowsiness her Master’s words were causing in her. She wasn’t even the one being addressed, but when he talked like this...she guessed she’d just become more susceptible to it. Just listening to him made her all mushy inside.

And that wasn’t even taking into account the rather energetic night they’d just had. She had aches in places she didn’t even know COULD ache. It was worth it though...a roleplay they would definitely be exploring again if she had anything to say about it. A step beyond the things they’d previously enjoyed....maybe it shouldn’t be a roleplay at all. It all felt...so good, playing the role her Master wanted. Whatever role. Whatever task.

She bit her lip, her right hand twitching at her side as if to acknowledge her urges; urges that Ty Lee had long lost the will to fight against. The only thing stopping her was the same thing that was inciting her; she was performing a task, to stand still, be quiet and wait for the session to end.

It was deceptively hard to perform that task, even discounting the temptation to indulge herself.

The first thing...one of the most worrying things...was Mai. She flicked her eyes over to consider her friend, concern overriding her impulse. Concern and fear. Her Master hadn’t told her what had happened to her, and...and now she knew why. Would that have been her, had she not been lucky enough to get Master? What had they done anyway? She was just....staring, staring, and her bland grey aura was just...there wasn’t an aura at all anymore. Nothing was there, and it scared the hell out of Ty Lee that such a thing could even happen. It wasn’t natural. Wasn’t right.

And then there was the fact she was naked. Mai had always been a bit of a prude, so she’d never seen her show much, let alone EVERYTHING like she was now. She...she looked pretty good, actually. A little thin, tired, but...well, the point was it wasn’t normal for her to be like that. She hadn’t been treated well, and it served as an unwelcome reminder for Ty Lee as to why they were there in the first place. For all the gratefulness she felt for having found her place in the world thanks to her Master, this kind of handling was...upsetting. Mai shouldn’t be treated this way. Her FRIENDS shouldn’t be treated this way.

She looked over to her Master with a slight pout. He’d explained how things were and that he intended to help her...but it was one thing hearing and another seeing. Master was wonderful, but maybe he could use a little...’additional’ incentive to help her friend nonetheless. She’d make it a mission to help her. She’d be alright. Then maybe, afterwards, they could get together, put everything behind them...

Looking past her Master and the rolling lamp that made her feel funny, she watched him help someone else close to her. Azula’s eyes were half-lidded now, barely able to track the light as it moved in front of her, her whole body slack in the chair. It wasn’t how Ty Lee was used to seeing her...she usually looked so tense.

Oh, and then there was the naked thing again. She hadn’t been expecting that.

Ty Lee wasn’t sure if the lack of attire actually took anything away from Azula. She still looked beautiful. Scarily beautiful. Just the way she looked when she last saw her...that didn’t stop Ty Lee from almost meeping in surprise when the guards appeared with her though.

She’d noticed the...thingy, as well. She could see it, glinting at the top of her folds. She actually found it a little hard to take her eyes of it; the jewellery was far more mesmerising than the lantern. Why was it there? Did Azula always have it, or was it done to her? Forced? Whatever the story was, it didn’t change that it was there nor the impression it gave.

It looked so...lewd. Like a secret brand on her sex. It didn’t take away any of her beauty though, not as far as she was concerned...if anything, it added something else to it. Made it more open.

Ty Lee...kinda wanted one herself. Or something. She didn’t really know. She just knew that looking at it made her...hot. Sort of. Well, tingly. Good, like...alright, she should probably stop staring now.

Besides, she was still worried about her. When Azula looked at her, she expected her to be mad for what she did. Ty Lee wouldn’t have blamed her. Or maybe shocked, for...that bit towards the end. She wouldn’t have blamed her for that either; it even surprised Ty Lee how easily she could just ‘be’ these days. What worrying was that the Princess didn’t look at her like that at all.

She gazed back up at her face as the lamp went by again, her eyes slamming shut before wearily opening again, followed by a well-emphasised word that quivered them closed again.

It wasn’t resignment. Ty Lee knew that. Her aura wasn’t weak like it was when she last saw her. She didn’t look determined either, or scared, or even surprised at seeing her two friends stood either end of the track, waiting for her. Instead, she was too...preoccupied, for any of that. There was something else on her mind that was beyond this whole situation, like whatever was happening to her now either didn’t matter and made no difference to her. Which was, y’know, pretty weird, considering how much effect Master was having on her.

Ty Lee was thankful for that much; Master would take much better care of her than the others, he said as much himself. Then when this whole thing was over, they’d let her go free. Prisoner trade or whatever. Azula’s dad knew how special she was, so he’d probably pay alot to get her back. Who wouldn’t?

Azula’s eyes twitched open again, still intent on following the light for as long as possible. Ty Lee tried to give her a smile, if she could see her.

It’d all be fine, just like he promised and just like she asked him for. Ty Lee was so lucky to have him on her side, fighting her fights for her. All she had to do was play the part he wanted from her.

She moved her eyes a bit further down, listened to him talk, and felt her fingertips glide across her thigh.

Yeah...there was nothing to worry about anymore.

**** **** **** ****

It was getting hard now to open her eyes; every time the light passed infront of her it added another heavy weight onto them, straining her ability to keep them open. The man talking said as much himself, between some compliments and encouragement to keep on watching the light. The chair felt abnormally comfortable as well; her nakedness enhancing the feel of the cushions pressing into her body. It was actually becoming very hard to feel her restraints or cushions at all in a tangible manner, as if it were her body itself which was providing all the comfort, and her surroundings had no bearing on that.

“I didn’t want to see my own daughter’s life be taken from her.”

She couldn’t sense the guards behind her anymore. Maybe they weren’t even there now. It didn’t matter anymore. Similarly, the agent talking to her, whose voice had grown both quieter and firmer as he had gone on, had sank out of sight; the only thing she could perceive with any clarity outside of her body, the voice and the lights were the two fixtures at either end of the room, illuminated as the light swung back and forth infront of her. One then the other, over and over.

“Your friends”

What her friends had become. Two very different things, at either end of the track. Azula seemed to picture them more clearly when her eyes were shut, the clarity provided by the dark giving her a more detailed perspective than the half-glimpsed orange silhouette’s infront of her.

Anticipating the curve of the track, Azula’s eyes rolled up for a second before she forced them back down for the light. It was asked of her to keep watching it until she was given permission to close her eyes; as a trial of strength, to prove herself. She didn’t feel she had anything to prove. Not here. She went along with it anyway. It gave her more time to consider things without thinking about them. The lamp swung to her left.

“Mai.”

She could resist what was happening here. She had done up until now. Show strength. Determination. Fight and fight until it didn’t matter where or how they pressed at her anymore because it would all be just as damaging. The shield would be battered out of her hands, then she herself would be battered. Had been battered. Her life would not be her own...or the life she had known would no longer be hers.

The lamp swung to her right.

“Ty Lee”

She could give in. Not some small concessions like she’d already handed out like with the gag, but give in completely. The whole way. See how deep the rabbit hole went by throwing away her shield and letting them do what they wanted with her. There were no guarantee’s though; anything could happen. The same thing could happen as if she didn’t give up, the only difference being she would have let them do whatever they wanted to her.

“I think you’re confused.”

Azula didn’t think anything. But something was forming there, in her head. Some resolve or order that was beyond the rhythmic grinding of stone on stone and the words pushing through her mind. She wasn’t sure there was a word for it...but she knew that, right now, it was going to guide the most important moment of her life. Her life; not whatever they would replace it with. Her life: Azula, Princess of the Fire Nation, Daughter of Ozai and Ursa, Sister of Prince Zuko. The identity they wanted from her. The identity they would get from her, fight or no fight.

Her eyes rolled up again and she shut her eyes, blinking rapidly to shake off the unnatural strain for a few seconds longer. Though it wasn’t important whether she did or not.

None of what was happening was important; all of it would have happened regardless of her efforts...they’d made that much clear by their almost babyish treatment of her. The way she reacted to what they did to her, that was important. That was the crux of it all. It always had been. The only one who could choose what happened to her...was herself. Always.

Maybe that’s what was forming in her head. A decision. The only one left for her to make.

She had to decide how her life was going to end.

**** **** **** ****

“One.”

The Princess’ eyes shut and didn’t open again as she slouched back in the chair, her whole body going limp as her exertion gave way to exhaustion. Just as they’d planned.

Which was precisely why Shin didn’t like this. She was making it too easy, even if everything he had been told about her growing mental weakness were true. This was not the kind of Azula they had predicted he would be dealing with.

Carrying on his rhetoric, nothing he hadn’t done a dozen times over, he let himself review this particular case over. This first, slightly altered, session was scheduled for today anyway, but additional reports he received in the morning indicated that the princess had been crying in her cell at some point during the night...and well after she had her clitoris pierced. Since that point she’d made little other noise and had apparently devolved into this...person, infront of him. Passive, going along with everything he said yet still appearing so uninvolved...he’d actually think she wasn’t listening to him at all if she wasn’t showing all the signs and ticking all the boxes.

He definitely didn’t like it. Even with all the abuse she’d undergone, she should still be wary of even the slightest change in her routine- he’d expected to grind her down over the next two hours, not...two minutes? It hadn’t taken much longer than that, certainly. She was letting him get away with it, he was sure of that...which naturally brought up the question of if she had somehow managed to form some effective counter-measures to their manipulations. That seemed unlikely; for all her intelligence, there was more than an equal amount of hampering emotional difficulties that would prevent such an understanding. Still...no excuse not to be cautious. He may as well use the next two hours he’d expected to whittle her down in to test whether this had worked at all. And, if she really was going to continue being so co-operative, he’d have to continue testing her. Ironically, this was going to be a lot more work for him if it was going to be this easy.

But...maybe...maybe that was alright, as long as the end result was the same. At the very least he would reassure his main subject of her friends safety. He was always going to be given this job after all the success he’d had with Ty Lee, he didn’t need convincing to ‘help’ her, but...this way, it looked as if he’d gone out of his way to offer her aid. Ty Lee would be grateful, a very good thing given he was not entirely sure how this whole session would affect her, and he didn’t want her to be upset with anything.

Not that he couldn’t straighten it out later, it’s just they had a pretty good thing going and he didn’t want anything to mar that. It was a little troubling that he was prepared to jeopardise the quality of his work for the sake of his libido though. Last night was good, but not something he should make a habit of doing; true, they’d made some unintentional progress, but that was progress they would have been able to make at a more opportune time.

He couldn’t argue with results though, and he wasn’t THAT tired; the worst to be expected would be an early night tonight for the both of them.

Ah, he was getting too distracted. Focusing on the task at hand, he gestured for one of the guards behind the chair to step forward for the next step. Not missing a beat as he continued to encourage her to feel and hear nothing but his voice, he loosened the rock holding her head in place, letting her head fall forward enough for the guard to access the straps to her ballgag.

They’d removed it from her several times now in these sessions without her express knowledge; even the most comfortable and well-worn gag was still a gag, her jaw needed rest every now and then. It also happened that he wanted her to speak a few lines, both to help herself along with her indoctrination and to test if she were really going as deep as it appeared she was. Mantras were really quite powerful tools when used well; he would probably stick with the one they had already been using, she was familiar with it, so it had less chance of being rebuked out-of-hand than some of the more...suggestive...chants he’d had Ty Lee whisper to herself over the past couple of weeks.

If he could push through with a simple mantra and there were no signs of distaste or rejection on Azula’s behalf, then he would have no problem ordering his dancer and ‘Mai’ out of the room to go about their respective tasks rather than waste them being stood in the chamber all day. For his subject, more lessons, for the other Shin was not as sure, but apparently she’d passed her last test with flying colours and a small breakdown, so she wasn’t too far off her own next, final step.

The one infront of her might just be finished before her though, if her progress were genuine. The fellow agent had finally, carefully, undone all the straps and, gently tipping her jaw open a little wider, completely removed the gag, a thin trail of saliva between the ball and her mouth snapping. Shin watched in amusement as the agent struggled with what to do with the gear, having realised he’d get drool all over his robes if he whisked it away as they were all taught. In the end he awkwardly held it away to his side, what could be seen of his face tring very hard not to show his displeasure.

Turning his full attention back to the girl, he encouraged her relaxation along, both happy and suspicious as she kept her mouth slightly open at his suggestion, presumably with her unable to close it until his say so.

No, he still didn’t like this. Her whole reaction to coming into the room had been off; he’d have at least thought she’d express SOMETHING on seeing Ty Lee after the way he prodded at some of the girl’s triggers towards the end of that encounter.

He didn’t want to be tricked by her now, after all this time and after all the other agents had done such a good job of keeping her in line and on schedule...particularly as they were working against the clock now, according to Long Feng. This pick-up in her compliancy could be a blessing towards that, or could ruin everything. He had to be sure, for everyone’s sake. The Earth Kingdom’s fortune, his own, Ty Lee’s...even Azula’s rode on it.

Here’s hoping it was good fortune.

“...Good; now, Azula, in a moment I’m going to give you a phrase you can use to make yourself even more relaxed than you already are...”

**** **** **** ****

She felt lighter. Something had been taken off her, but she couldn’t tell what...some burden. And now that voice was telling her he was going to say something. Another small step towards what the Dai Li wanted her to do. Wanted her to be.

She was beyond small steps now.

Azula had let them take her to this level of consciousness. She realised that now that she was actually there, floating free within herself, feeling neither tired or refreshed. She hadn’t given in, she’d let them take her to this point so she could make her decision unmarred by extraneous thought, fatigue, stress...any factor that could disrupt this moment.

In some ways it was a pointless decision. Would you rather be killed, or surrender and probably be killed anyway? The Fire Nation taught that surrender was worse than being killed in many ways; the dishonour of it, the discarding of pride. A week ago...a day ago, Azula would have agreed with that sentiment. But she was not the Fire Nation, and the Fire Nation didn’t care about her.

“I didn’t want to see my own daughter’s life be taken from her.”

That stance also missed the most crucial aspect of this. The fact that it was a choice. If you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t, then it doesn’t matter to the rest of the world what decision you make, the end result is the same. The fact that you choose is the only difference. Unwilling or otherwise, it would be your decision, your responsibility, YOUR stamp on your own existence. No-one else could touch it. And now this would be her stamp, on her own existence, on her own terms.

It felt strange, in some way. Like she’d never actually done something like this before, even though she’d already made an uncountable amount choices in her life...most of them unashamedly based around her own interests at that. This was just one more on top of those, also based on what she wanted.

Except, if she were honest, even if it were selfish there was nothing to be gained from any of this. Nothing she could see as being particularly positive, certainly. And if it were selfish, then she wasn’t taking advantage of some weakness in somebody else or simply...taking something from somebody else. What she was taking was something no-one else could take.

...Something no-one could take from her.

The voice carried on in her head, crafting the moment she would either resist or give in, perfectly unaware over how pivotal the simple suggestion would be in transforming her entire existence. She listened to it glide along contently, and waited for her judgment to realise itself.

Her gut said fight. It was what she had always done before, and her pride would accept nothing less. Of course, before she was always confident of victory and...her pride wasn’t what it was these days. That, and it would be more wounded by her making the wrong choice than by her being defeated, the latter being a moot point either way. Still, fighting was a show, something everyone could see; she would be able to demonstrate to them just how much fire was left in her. Seemed pithy though. And she would not be able impress those people who deserved her attention.

“Like your friends, Mai and Ty Lee.”

The alternative...capitulation. She gave in. An option where the downsides were self-evident and didn’t really need to be explained. The up-sides were similar- There was a chance she would end up...a little like Ty Lee. Still feeling. A façade? Perhaps; some shell of a personality over an empty core, but even that was more than what Mai had become.

There was another reason too, one that felt more compelling. Also one she couldn’t quite put a name to, as it happened. It was like...it wouldn’t be solely her choice, if she chose that. Her gut said to fight, but...something else told her to not to. Something that was both outside her AND in her, telling her she should at least try to live. Sacrifice her pride to do something she didn’t want to in order to get a result that...well, wouldn’t save her, but might not erase her.

“I didn’t want to see my own daughter’s life be taken from her.”

Azula continued to follow the voice’s words, feeling her head nod when it asked if she understood. The moment was coming and she was glad it was; if she let herself go on like this she would start thinking through these points in a more hands-on manner, which would scupper the whole process. Right now, it was still relatively simple.

Mai...or Ty Lee. That was essentially what it boiled down to. Fight, be proud...become Mai, a perfect little orderly...but one who couldn’t be used to topple nations. Surrender, swallow pride...become Ty Lee, or close enough...and keep enough of herself to be a more deadly weapon in someone else’s hands. But she’d keep herself. Maybe.

Left or right.

Azula nodded again at the voice’s prompt, confirming her understanding but not her involvement. She understood that she had...seconds, to decide on her involvement. Five seconds, to be precise. Barely enough time for her to answer a question no-one should ever be made to ask.

Left or right.

“Good, then let’s start counting, from one to five.”

Left or right...

Five.

The lantern swung by, timed to help the count.

“Trust is for fools. Fear is the only reliable way.”

Four.

The thought started to mature, an island in her mind’s ocean.

“Even you fear me.”

Three.

Warm breath in her lungs swirled as it was finally exhaled.

“No.”

Two.

Azula swallowed, her lips parting slightly.

“I love you, Azula. I do.”

One.

...Left or right.

“...”

“...I love you.”

“...”

“...There is no War in Ba Sing Se.”
- 5
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Lake Laogai