Edited by: Bieverdog AO3: GalavantingGoose
Book I
失衡
Act II: At What Cost?
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Chapter III
She had spent countless hours there, unable to escape what she could only assume to be the darkest confines of her mind. Her only window to reality, once offered through that broken mirror, had long vanished. In its place, a bright light emerged, illuminating the cursed room she was unable to escape from. This mental construct had been transformed into a twisted, decayed version of itself, unrecognizable from before. The room seemed like it had fallen into ruin. The red paint peeled from the mildewed walls, and the gold in the pillars no longer shined. Cracks were creeping through the walls, barely holding together.
To her, it felt as if the room had shrunk. Or maybe Azula had grown? She didn't know, and she couldn't tell, for a second felt like a day in that dreadful, forgotten place. As if it wasn't enough, her ruined prison had done nothing to alleviate her thoughts, only flaring them. As the visions of her mother had become permanent, constantly tormenting her. Existence itself had become continuous pain. A never-ending nightmare. She didn't know if she had the strength to go on. She closed her eyes and surrendered, hoping that would bring her peace…
The light coming from the shattered mirror flickered. That sudden change was enough for her to open her eyes again. She crawled closer to it. The light slowly dimmed to reveal a dark image of another prison, one she had already seen, of padded walls instead of iron bars. It was a cruel joke of fate that mocked her attempts to escape. The sight of her still unresponsive body was crippling humiliation. Azula shut her eyes tightly and covered her face, crying. I'll never leave this place. A gust of wind made her stop; the air felt heavier now.
She raised her eyes to see a twisted version of herself standing before her. She quickly got up, putting some distance between them. Although the double's face was indifferent, her golden eyes pierced through Azula with a gleam of condescending superiority. She even seemed amused by her gesture. "Hmpf, giving up so soon? I thought I knew you better, but I guess you couldn't take the heat. She got to you, didn't she?" Azula raised an eyebrow, confused.
The room got colder as her doppelganger chuckled. "Tsk, tsk. You fell right into her trap." She put her hands behind her back as she paced around Azula. "Mother wanted to keep you here; she planned it from the start. She has always been afraid of you, afraid of your potential." The gold from the pillars was slowly melting into dust. "They all were pawns in her game. Think, Azula; think! She was always there, but you never saw her whispering into Zuzu's ear, Mai's, and Ty Lee's." New cracks began to form on the walls and ceiling.
Azula's fists clenched at the mention of her mother. "What are you talking about?"
Her double smirked knowingly. "She plotted your fall, turned your own servants against you, and when everything fell into place, she corrupted your mind. She riddled you with weakness in your moment of truth. She meant for you to fail, to be trapped here for the rest of your miserable life." Pieces of the cracked walls began to fall as her double continued.
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"And you give up? Pathetic. You might as well end your life now; it is worthless." The rear columns began to crumble, taking parts of the ceiling with them.
"Shut up!" Azula clenched her fists and scrambled up with bloodshot eyes, pouncing on her doppelganger with a fire dagger.
Her double smirked, taunting her. "Oh, she's still got some teeth after all." She dodged at the last moment, letting Azula fall right past her. The version of herself stood where the mirror once was, a sly smile on her lips. Azula was burning with rage.
The double's face turned into a frown as she hissed, "Save it for her. She won't be able to keep you here much longer now that you know the truth. Avenge us; make that wretch pay for what she has done!" The shards, once dark, began to glimmer strongly with pale light, washing the room in bright white. The ruined building began to dissolve and sizzled as it was touched by the light. Then, the floor came loose under her, crumbling and flying away like ashes to the wind. Her screams drowned in the light, and she felt weightless for a moment, floating in nothingness before jolting back to consciousness. She opened her eyes and gasped for air. She had made it out.
* * *
Azula slowly opened her eyes, squinting against the harsh light that flickered from a dim bulb hanging from the ceiling. She attempted to move, but her body was stiff and unresponsive. Looking down, she saw that she was strapped tightly into a straitjacket, rendering her completely immobile. The small, windowless cell wrapped her in a suffocating embrace, its padded walls stained with yellowed patches from the dampness that lingered in the air.
The room was bitterly cold, an icy grip that seemed to reach into her very bones, an artificial frost designed to quench her firebending abilities. Water droplets wept from the ceiling near the door, freezing upon contact with the ground and forming a crystalline barrier that now obstructed the entrance. The only exit from this frigid tomb was a reinforced iron door, its surface adorned with a tiny rectangular window of glass, barely visible through the fog created by the cold air. A musty, oppressive scent filled the air, each labored breath a reminder of the walls closing in around her.
Desperate, she tried to break free with her teeth, but the fabric was too tough. As she panted heavily, her breaths came out in visible puffs of air. She attempted to conjure up flames from within her, but the chill in the air quenched any hope of a successful attempt.
She screamed in frustration, bashing and shaking. She felt a loud crack. A strap had come loose. Azula's eyes widened. Hope… She struggled harder; she could almost feel the jacket loosening. Then a loud thud came from the iron door of the room, the ice she had noticed earlier now cracking under the pressure.
A muffled, panicked voice came from the other side. "She is awake! Sedate her!"
"I'm out of here!"
There was a loud thud against the door, and she heard the ice crack. "Open that door now!"
Another thud. Louder, but the ice held firmly in place. "It's stuck!"
Her heart sank. Come on, come on! she screamed as the thudding continued. Felt the fabric from the jacket slowly ripping apart.
"Heat it now!"
She saw the ice slowly melting into a puddle. Her heart pounded against her chest. No, no, no, no! I won't go back. I don't want to go back! She pushed against the jacket and jumped, ripping the strap that held her to a chair and propelling herself out onto her face.
The door opened with a bang, and heavy steps rushed towards her. She kicked and screamed; but two of her aggressors gripped her tightly by the shoulders. Azula thrashed, managing to bite and kick one of them before being flattened against the frosty floor. Her screams faded when she felt a jolting, stinging pain in her neck. As her vision blurred, she could see another pair of shoes approach. Mother, you…