The night had fallen, and the warship advanced with a low rumble, cutting through the black water. The embers of the hallway torches cast shadows that vibrated with every movement of the vessel. Ren walked ahead, without saying a word, until he reached an empty room on the ship, originally meant for tactical meetings. He closed the door behind him and waited for Azula to enter.
Azula crossed the threshold with her chin held high, still covered with a faint sheen of sweat from the previous training. Her golden eyes burned with a mix of pride and frustration.
—"You didn't have to humiliate them so much," she commented, crossing her arms. "Some of them are still trembling."
Ren slid a calm glance toward her.
—"It wasn't humiliation. It was measurement. You have a talented team… but weak against the unexpected. And you…" he observed her with a soft smile, "you can do better."
The tone wasn't reproachful. It was… addictively approving. And Azula felt it.
—"Of course I can," she replied, almost without thinking.
Ren walked around the table, stopping beside her and lightly touching the surface with his fingers.
—"Now that we're alone, let's talk about our next moves."
Azula tilted her head.
—"Against Zuko?"
—"Against everyone, little sister. Zuko is just a minor obstacle. The objective is the Avatar. And more importantly…" his eyes gleamed with cold cunning, "your ascent."
Azula smiled, small, almost a proud smirk.
—"Father expects me to be the one to capture the Avatar."
—"Exactly," Ren took a step closer, lowering his voice. "And I'm going to make sure you succeed. But for that, you need to master more than your blue fire. You need stability. Control. Absolute precision."
Azula clenched her jaw.
—"Are you suggesting I don't have control?"
Ren didn't back down from her incinerating gaze.
—"I'm suggesting you can perfect yourself. And that you're emotionally stagnant. Your emotions overflow even more when you try to generate electricity."
Azula fell silent. That subject… annoyed her. She knew it. She hated it.
Ren extended a hand toward the wall lamp. With a slight movement of his palm, the flame stretched and turned completely white for a second before returning to its normal color.
—"Lightning is only born on the edge between absolute calm and absolute determination," he commented. "Not from pride. Not from rage. Not from the pressure to please father."
Azula clicked her tongue, annoyed, but didn't look away.
—"Then teach me," she demanded.
Ren smiled. Exactly what he wanted.
Start of Special Training
Ren extinguished the lights in the room with a controlled movement of hot air. The darkness was broken by a single blue torch that Azula herself lit to be able to see.
—"First," Ren indicated, "sit."
Azula frowned, as if the simple act of obeying were a challenge. But she did it. She sat on the floor, legs crossed. Ren crouched in front of her, almost at her eye level. His white eyes, a reflection of his inner flame, looked at her with surgical intensity.
—"I want you to breathe."
—"I know how to breathe," Azula answered.
—"But you don't know how to empty yourself," Ren replied. "And as long as you can't empty yourself, you will never be able to divide your fire and separate your internal energy into positive and negative."
Azula pressed her lips together.
Ren brought one of his hands close to her forehead, without touching it.
—"Azula… remember your childhood. Remember how father looked at you. Not like Zuko. At you. He demanded perfection of you."
Azula swallowed imperceptibly.
—"That shaped you, yes. But it also chained you. And I want you to cut that bond."
Azula opened her eyes, surprised.
—"Cut the bond with father?"
—"Not forever," Ren lied softly. "Only so you can control your own center."
The girl lowered her gaze. She was only fourteen, but she carried the weight of a broken adult.
—"And how am I supposed to do that?"
Ren leaned his face toward hers.
—"Let me into your mind for a moment. Just guide."
Azula took a deep breath. She closed her eyes.
Ren began to speak in a low, enveloping voice.
—"Feel your breath. Feel the heat in your abdomen. Feel how your fire wants to move… but don't let it. Don't feed it with pride or anger. Breathe it in… control it… and let it be still."
Azula trembled slightly.
—"Now," he continued, "divide your energy. Visualize two currents. One warm. One cold. Neither must dominate the other. Maintain the balance."
Tiny sparks began to form between her fingers. Azula, in silence, felt a pang of emotion and the attempt of her lightning… but it fizzled out. She opened her eyes, annoyed.
—"It almost came out!"
Ren touched her chin gently—a calculated gesture.
—"That's why it's special training, Azula. We'll get there. You will get there. And when you do… no one will be able to stop you."
The girl's eyes shone. Not just from the desire for power… but from affection. From validation. The feeling that Ren saw her, truly saw her.
—"Fine," she said with a firm voice. "Let's start again."
Ren smiled, satisfied.
—"As you say, princess."
The blue flame lit up the room again, while the electricity began, slow but steady, to be born between Azula's fingers.
The night training had continued for hours. The ship rocked gently on the dark sea, and in the room barely lit by a single blue torch, Azula breathed with a serenity she had never had in her life. Ren watched her, sitting in front of her, his posture straight and his white eyes fixed on every movement of the princess. She had her hands together at chest level, fingers extended, in absolute concentration.
—"Very well," Ren murmured. "You've made progress… but today we're going to go further."
Azula opened her eyes. For the first time in hours, her expression wasn't tense. It wasn't furious. It wasn't desperate for approval. It was… calm. Something new.
—"I'm ready," she said without hesitation.
Ren raised an eyebrow, satisfied. It was exactly what he wanted to hear.
—"Then feel," he ordered.
Azula closed her eyes. The silence of the ship seemed to expand around her. For the first time in her life, she wasn't thinking about Ozai. She wasn't thinking about Zuko. She wasn't thinking about expectations, pressure, or competition. She was only thinking about Ren. About his calm voice. About his precise guidance. About his gaze always fixed on her, as if she truly mattered.
—"Divide the energy," Ren whispered, moving a few centimeters closer. "Without fear. Without rage. Let it flow… exactly as I taught you."
The ship's flames trembled. The air became dry, vibrant. Azula felt how two currents of internal fire—one warm, one cold, one positive, one negative—began to separate inside her chest. As if they were taut threads finally finding balance. It wasn't painful. It wasn't chaotic. It was… liberating.
—"Hold them," Ren murmured. "Keep them pure, still… And now…" He touched her wrist gently. "…direct them."
Azula's heart leaped. In an instant, the whole world shrank to that contact. She opened her eyes. And the energy exploded.
A pure, perfect, clean-as-crystal blue bolt shot from her fingers and struck the metal wall, leaving a deep, black mark. The sound echoed through the entire ship, like a contained thunderclap.
Azula gasped. She looked at her trembling hands. But not from insecurity. From excitement.
—"I… I did it," she murmured, almost voiceless. "Ren… I did it."
Ren smiled. Not with fraternal pride. With deep satisfaction.
—"You didn't just do it," he corrected, moving closer. "You mastered it. At your age… no one in the history of the Fire Nation has ever achieved such a thing."
Azula looked up at him. Her golden eyes shone like newly kindled embers.
—"It was because of you," she said, taking a deep breath. "With you… I can do it. With you… everything falls into place."
Ren bowed his head.
—"Azula—"
—"No," she interrupted, taking a step forward. "You don't understand."
Her voice wasn't cold as always. It was soft. Vulnerable. Dangerously honest.
—"My whole life they told me I had to be perfect. Father… always expected more. Always pushed me. Always wanted me to be a useful tool. And Zuko… was just a nuisance." She swallowed. "But you… you're the only one who really sees me."
Ren raised a hand and placed it on the girl's shoulder.
—"I will always see you," he murmured.
Azula closed her eyes at those words, as if they were a long-awaited prayer. Her breathing trembled, not from fear… but from relief.
—"Then…" she whispered, "as long as I'm with you… nothing will go wrong, right?"
This time, Ren bowed his head, bringing his face close enough to hers that she could feel his warmth.
—"As long as you follow me," he said in a low voice that sank directly into her soul, "you will never fall."
Azula opened her eyes. The devotion in them was absolute. Irrevocable. The lightning had been born from balance. Her fall… from need.
—"Then I will follow you," she said with iron conviction. "Wherever you want. Wherever you lead me. Because you… you are the only thing that really matters, Ren."
Ren smiled. The princess of the Blue Fire… had been completely taken.
Hours after producing her first bolt of lightning, Azula couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the perfect blue light bursting from her fingers… and Ren's calm smile guiding her.
Ren knew she would come. He was sitting on the upper deck, watching the night ocean, emitting no heat. The sea breeze stirred his black hair, and his silhouette silhouetted against the moon seemed more like a shadow than a man.
He heard her footsteps before Azula had even climbed the last step.
—"Ren…" her voice sounded different; light, almost soft. It wasn't the voice of the cruel princess. It was the voice of a girl who had, finally, found a refuge.
Ren didn't turn around.
—"Can't you sleep?"
Azula shook her head, moving closer to him.
—"No," she admitted. "Every time I close my eyes… I only think about what you said."
Ren looked up slightly toward the moon.
—"Which part?"
—"That as long as I follow you… I will never fall."
Ren let out a slow, calculated exhalation that sounded like patience, like understanding… like a promise.
Azula took another step. Then another. Until she was beside him, very close, without quite touching him.
—"Ren…" she whispered. "I've spent my whole life alone. Even when I was surrounded by people. Even when everyone feared me. Even when father praised me… it was never enough. No one… no one made me feel like you do."
Ren looked at her then. Not with genuine affection. But with the exact expression she needed to crumble. A perfectly measured mix of pride, warmth, and dominance.
—"Azula," he said, "you weren't born to be alone. You were born to be great. Immense. But greatness cannot stand if the heart is fractured."
The girl pressed her lips together. Her hands trembled just slightly.
Ren continued, lowering his voice:
—"I… can carry your shadows. I can hold you up when the world wants to crash down on you. But for that, you must trust me… completely."
Azula didn't hesitate.
—"I trust," she replied immediately.
Ren raised an eyebrow.
—"No. You don't yet. You trust my strength, my guidance… but you're still afraid. Afraid of losing me."
Azula swallowed. It was a direct hit.
—"Ren…" she whispered, hurt, "I don't want to lose you. You're the only thing I can lean on without feeling my bones creak."
Ren stood up. He walked toward her slowly, as if approaching a wild but wounded creature. He stopped right in front of her.
—"Then give me something," he said softly. "Give me your word."
Azula straightened her spine. Her eyes shining, like blue flames about to erupt.
—"Anything."
Ren raised his hand and placed it on her head, combing his fingers through her dark hair. An intimate gesture. Fraternal. But full of power.
—"Promise me," he ordered in a firm whisper, "that you will follow me, no matter the path. That you will not doubt me. That you will not let yourself be influenced by anyone else. That your loyalty will be mine."
Azula felt a thud in her chest, strong, almost painful. Her knees weakened for an instant. This was the truth she had been searching for her whole life. A pillar. A center. A reason.
She knelt. Voluntarily. Bowing her head. Her hair falling over her face.
—"I promise," she said with a trembling but firm voice. "Ren… brother… you are my guide. My strength. My certainty. Where you go, I will go. Whomever you point to, I will destroy. Whomever you protect, I will protect."
She looked up at him, completely given.
—"My loyalty… my fire… my life… belong to you."
Ren watched her from above, silent. The moon silvered his face, while his calculating gaze hid behind a mask of tenderness.
—"Good," he murmured, leaning down to raise her with a hand. "Then you will never be alone."
Azula rested her forehead against his chest, allowing herself a second of absolute vulnerability.
Ren closed his eyes and placed a hand on her back. Not in comfort. But in victory.
The princess of the Blue Fire… the future perfect weapon… had been sealed.
Dawn was tinting the sky in reddish hues as the ship advanced over a calm sea. The rest of the team was asleep, but Ty Lee—as always—had woken up early to do stretches on the deck. Her movements were fluid, almost dance-like, without a single sound.
Ren watched her from the shadow of the hallway, his arms crossed and his expression calculating. He knew perfectly well why he would start with her. Ty Lee was light. And light always casts the longest shadows.
He waited until she finished an aerial sequence and lowered her hands to the floor to rest.
—"You're very flexible for someone who sleeps so little," Ren commented, his voice calm.
Ty Lee jumped… literally.
—"Ren! You scared me! You don't make any noise when you walk, huh?"
Ren smiled. A measured, warm gesture… that disarmed her instantly.
—"I didn't want to interrupt you. You move well."
Ty Lee's hazel eyes lit up with pride.
—"Really? Thanks! It's just… well… acrobatics is the only thing I'm really good at."
Ren approached slowly, not invading her space, but reducing the distance enough to exert psychological pressure.
—"That's not true."
Ty Lee blinked.
—"It's not?"
—"No," Ren tilted his head. "You're more than acrobatics. You have sensitivity. You have… a heart that sees people as they really are."
The girl looked down with a nervous smile.
—"Well… I guess… I just try to be nice."
Ren took another step.
—"Do you try… or do you need to?"
Ty Lee froze. That was her weak point. The part she hid behind her light laugh. The part her family ignored. The part Azula exploited without conscious intent. Ren had found it in seconds.
—"I don't want to bother you," he continued softly. "But I've noticed things. Subtle things. Looks. Silences."
Ty Lee swallowed.
—"Th-things?"
Ren lowered his voice to a confidential whisper.
—"Ty Lee… I know Azula intimidates you."
The girl flinched so hard she almost lost her balance.
—"What? No! Azula is my friend!"
Ren watched the tension in her shoulders, her clenched hands, the speed of her voice. Lying. To herself.
—"I didn't say she wasn't," he corrected in a soft, understanding tone. "But Azula's friendship… is different. It demands things. It drains."
Ty Lee bit her lower lip.
—"Sometimes… it's hard," she admitted in a low voice.
Ren stood at her side, looking at the horizon with a thoughtful expression, as if sharing a heavy secret.
—"I know. Azula… has an intense fire. And I've seen you trying to stay by her side. Even when it seems she doesn't see you. Even when she uses you. Even when she hurts you without realizing it."
A crack opened in Ty Lee's expression. One Ren was looking for.
—"Ren…" she whispered. "Why… are you saying these things?" Her voice broke just slightly.
Ren slowly turned to her.
—"Because I want to help you," he replied with complete serenity. "I don't want you to get lost in anyone's shadow. I don't want you to keep pretending it doesn't hurt to be treated like a disposable tool."
Ty Lee pressed her arms against her own body. It was as if someone, for the first time in a long time, had seen her from the inside.
—"I'm not disposable… am I?"
Ren delivered the final blow. Slow. Deliberate. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
—"Of course you're not. But if you don't value yourself… Azula never will."
Ty Lee opened her mouth, shocked.
Ren pressed his advantage.
—"Stay close to me. Listen to me. Let me guide you… and I can promise you something Azula never can."
—"What…?" she asked, almost pleading.
Ren bowed his head, looking her straight in the eye with a perfect mix of calm and authority.
—"Protection."
Ty Lee felt a lump in her throat.
—"Ren… I… I trust you."
—"Good," he whispered, smiling softly. "Because I'll need you strong. And loyal."
Ty Lee took a deep breath… and nodded with a trembling conviction.
A piece had fallen. The easiest one. The first of many.
Ren turned his gaze back to the sea. And the net began to close.