Assignment

Energybending, the ability to bend another person's life energy. A lost form of bending that predates the four main bending arts, the formation of the four nations, and even the creation of the Avatar. Only the last living lion turtle and the most ancient spirits know of its existence, let alone how to perform it. No one knows the true extent of energy bending, however known abilities that come with it include astral projection, granting bending, removing bending, and spirit energy manipulation.

Astral projection is simply the ability to create an astral projection of her spirit. Even though it's not bound by a corporeal form, the projection is able to both inflict and sustain great physical damage and utilize any bending form the user knows. Removing bending takes away someone's bending while granting bending gives it back. Finally, the one ability that is currently the most useful for me, spirit energy manipulation. Spirit energy manipulation, the ability to manipulate energy originating from the Spirit World, from making beams of pure energy, to shields, and even making it possible for one's bending to harm spirits. Perfect for barbecuing Koh the Face Stealer.

Originally I wasn't going to rely on it to deal with Koh. Not only would I have to find the last living lion turtle or an ancient spirit to teach me, but nothing guarantees that they'd agree to teach me if I did find them. For all I know, the spirit that I find would have been worse than Koh and make me suffer a fate worse than death. My original plan was to find the bhanti tribe, a tribe that has managed to find a way to make firebending interact with the spirit to sense and cleanse it of dark spirits. After learning it, it would have been a simple process of weaponizing it for combat against spirits.

However, during my second year on the field, I came upon a undocumented forest and wandered in. It was during my exploration of the forest that I came upon a wolf spirit that has a face imprinted on its fur drinking from a pool. Curious, I approached the spirit to get a better look, I'd never seen a spirit. It was there that I met the Mother of Faces herself, the mother of Koh.

The Mother of Faces is one of the most powerful, ancient spirits. She has the ability to give faces to living organisms, bestowing plants and animals with expressive markings. As it turns out, the wolf drinking from the pool is her guide that she follows once every season to one of four pools. Once there, she grants one wish to whatever human stumbled upon the pool.

Originally I planned on wishing for her to make her son leave me alone. However, once I thought about it I decided to wish for energy bending and deal with Koh myself. Ever since then, I've been experimenting with spirit energy manipulation. Other than making flames out of spiritual energy, that can harm spirits, I haven't been able to figure out anything new with it. Not only is it a completely new experience for me, but I have to start from scratch without any teachers or scrolls for reference.

Speaking of teaching, Azula has been making remarkable progress in the three months since her declaration. She's still manipulative, sadistic, and will probably never truly be able to empathise with others, however now she knows that not only do most people not see things the same way she does, but also that fear doesn't equal power. The only problem that I feel that she has now is her lack of trust in others and her constant competitive nature no matter what the subject is, and even then she's no longer on the level of pulling the stunt she pulled during the volleyball game, on the episode The Beach.

Due to all reasons, I feel that she's ready to learn lightning generation and learn about energybending. Since yesterday night the moon turned red, signifying the coming end of book one, and last week I was able to finally master my spiritual fire to a level I deem acceptable, I've decided to permanently deal with my face stealer problem today.

Ever since her declaration three months ago, I've made her meditate to come to terms with the revelations of that day and to accept her newly chosen identity so that she doesn't suffer another inner turmoil or identity crisis. Not only is it helping undo a lot of Ozai's work, and Ursa's failings, but it's helping with her bending. It's more powerful, refined and there's a sense of calmness to it that wasn't there before.

As I notice her notice her coming out of her meditation, I remove my and begin to massage my face. I can already feel Koh's haunting presence encircling me, his many legs moving and making that annoying skittering sound I've come to associate with him. Once in a while he'll make himself visible to the naked eye, his stolen faces changing in a poor attempt to get a reaction out of me. His centipede-like body moving around me like a hunter circling and studying its prey, unaware that he himself is the prey.

I wait for him to complete the action one more time before I pounce. Once his body is within reach, I encase my hand in spiritual flames and stab it completely through his chest and out of his back. With a pained cry he thrashes around in an attempt to escape, only for me to grab his current face and force him to the ground.

Turning to a no longer meditating Azula, I say "Good you're done. Come closer, I have something to show you."

Getting to her feet, Azula approaches and looks down at Koh before asking, with disgust clear in her voice "What is that?"

"That is Koh the Face Stealer, the spirit that haunts me, and our volunteer for today's lesson" I reply.

Quirking an eyebrow she asks "How are you able to harm him? I thought that humans couldn't touch spirits, much less harm them."

"That would normally be true but with energybending one can interact with the spirit world. Observe." I answer.

Turning back to face a still writhing Koh, I engulf the hand holding his face in spiritual flames and burn him. His cries of pain echo throughout the Agni Kai chamber, yet I pay him no mind and continue to burn his face to ashes. Eventually the face I'm holding is reduced to ashes and replaced with a new one, and I incinerate that one too. I burn his faces for minutes with no end of the stolen faces in sight. Eventually I decided that it would take far too long to burn his millions of faces and proceed to ignite the rest of his body. Faced with more pain and the possibility of death, his thrashing increases in a vain attempt to escape. Soon his wailes of pain are reduced to whimpers and his flailing is reduced to mere twitches, however I don't stop and keep going until he is nothing but ashes.

Shaking my hand of the ashes, I turn to an interested Azula and proceed to explain with a smirk on my face "Energybending is the precursor to the four bending arts. With it one can create astral projections of themselves, take away someone's bending, and manipulate spiritual energy. That very same energy that spirits are made of and resides in the spiritual world."

"Is that what you wanted to teach me?" she asks.

"No. Not yet." I reply "What I want to teach you is lightning generation. With the advanced chi manipulation you've achieved through heat control, I feel that you're ready for, not only lightning generation, but also the technique I use to gain some control over the lightning."

"I showed you energybending to show you how limited our knowledge of bending truly is and what the last phase of your training will look like."

Looking at her gleaming eyes I can already tell that once she learns all that I have to teach her, no bender other than me, and maybe Aang in the avatar state, will be able to contend with her.

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As Azula makes her way to the throne room, she can't help but wonder what Ozai wants with her. Ever since she made her decision on not allowing Ozai to use her anymore, Azula has been biding her time planning and learning from Kagutsuchi so that when the opportunity arrives she can simply burn him off the throne.

From military tactics to politics to even the best way to get information out of someone, she learned it all. Now, she was even going to learn how to generate lightning. It's moments like these that Azula can understand the purpose of having trusted companions.

Arriving in the room, Azula makes her way to the center before taking a seiza position and bowing.

"You wanted to see me father?" she asks.

"Yes" he replies "Your uncle is a traitor and your brother is a failure. I have an assignment for you. Iroh has stood in the way of my plans for the last time, kill him or return him to the Fire Nation to be imprisoned, I care not, as long as he can no longer interfere. As for Zuko, bring him to heel if he proves useful, if not eliminate him. The last part of your assignment is to capture the avatar."

Azula couldn't believe her ears. Her father wanted uncle Iroh killed. She knew that he saw Iroh as a possible threat, that's why he banished Zuko, to get rid of the supposed stain on the family knowing that uncle Iroh would willingly follow. Yet even then he hadn't dared to have his own brother killed due to the possible ramifications of it. What changed?

The answer struck her like a bolt of lightning. Before she can display her realization, she schooled her features and answers with a sadistic smile "Yes father."

Rising to her feet, she made her way out of the in measured steps, her sadistic smile only widening.

Once outside she starts to make her way to her room, with Kagutsuchi following one step behind to her right.

"What did he want?" he asks.

With the smile still on her face she replies "Dear old dad wants me to kill uncle Iroh and maybe Zuzu also before capturing the avatar."

"Oh" came Kagutsuchi's interested voice. "Motive?" he asks, in what Azula has come to call his teacher voice.

With an ease born from three months of practice she answers "He fears the possibility of a rebellion by uncle to dethrone him, and an opportunity to rid himself of you. He doesn't expect me to be able to kill my uncle, when I fail he will use that as an excuse to execute you by claiming that you sabotaged my education. After all, how can a man who is said to be as powerful as the Dragon of the West fail to create a powerful student, especially when said student is a vaulted prodigy, unless he purposefully avoided doing so. With you dead, the possibility of uncle dethroning him is now slim to none. Uncle has the power to match him and you have the loyalty of most of the soldiers. With a legitimate and powerful member of the royal family like uncle taking charge, and a powerful and competent general who has the loyalty of the majority of the military backing him, a rebellion would be successful."

"He's jumping at shadows. When grandfather gave the order to create a soldier who can complete any mission solo, he objected extensively simply because controlling an individual like that would be too hard. However, not only were you a success, but you also exceeded expectations. He doesn't know you, what drives you or your reason for being loyal to the Fire Nation. He knows that you're loyal to the Fire Nation, and that you don't like him at all. That makes you a major problem because not only are you powerful enough not to fear him, but also because he has absolutely no way to control you."

She looks at him from the corner of her eyes to see a small proudful smile on his lips, and she can't help but think how nice it feels to, not only see it, but to also know that she is the cause of it.

"So what's your plan?" he asks.

"With a smirk on her face and a skip in her steps, Azula answers "That, my dear teacher, is for me to know and for you to figure out, if you can."

With a chuckle he follows "Of course, your highness."