Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender.
A/N Oh hello. Welcome back to the universe of Against All Odds. If you haven't read that yet, you will be completely confused. Trust me. So go read it if you haven't yet.
You good? Cool beans, let's continue.
I'm going to say right now that I used the same name for Mai's father that was used in His Majesty Prefers Blue. Permission was granted by shamelessliar herself! I am aware that his name was revealed in Smoke and Shadows, but I have deviated from the canon after The Search. And also only this chapter was written before that came out. Plus I hate his canon name, so there's that.
Chapter One: Stalked Shadows
Ever since the war ended, it seemed that the moon would shine a little brighter. Something about it appeared to illuminate everything with so much more strength, as if the spirit of the Moon itself had been renewed along with the rest of the world. It was eerie in a way, making the human world so much more connected to the Spirit World. Not to mention it felt as if there was a pair of keen eyes always watching one's every single move. Nothing else is as unnerving as the thought of the moon's brightness lighting up the world just to watch it more closely.
Such brightness allowed Takeshi to see his business partner reveal himself from out of the shadows of the alleyway, hood drawn and shoulders alert.
"Lord Bau Li," Takeshi murmured lowly. The man turned to his direction- his otherwise quiet voice slicing through the silence of the night- and scuttled over and into the portico where he had been sitting. He sat across from Takeshi at the table, lowered his hood and folded his hands on the table, disappointment rolling off of him in waves.
"You're a hard person to find, boy," Bau Li hissed with a frown, one so deep it made his wrinkles look like canyons in his skin. "I was scouring all of the lower ring to find the location you gave me. Do you even know how difficult it was for me to get into this city?! Thankfully the Earth King has been a little more lax since the war ended or I would have been caught."
Still cloaked in the shadows, Takeshi removed his hood and smoothed back his bangs, then glared at the older man. "Consider yourself lucky that I even agreed to meet with you. Your extreme willingness to support my cause was the only reason I even considered speaking with you in the first place."
Bau Li sneered deeper, causing his grey beard to bunch up. "Watch your tongue, child. Without me and my men, your little plan won't even work."
Sharp green eyes glinted with malice, and Takeshi's mouth pulled into a matching frown. "Do remember without me, your little club wouldn't be more than a group of washed up old men merely wishing instead of doing. You and I have coinciding interests, and for the time being your people and mine will be working together to reach our goal. Any issues you have with me or my men can just be pushed aside for now so we can finish this."
Bau Li crossed his arms, practically pouting when he replied, "Fine. What exactly did you want to talk about that couldn't have been discussed with our usual correspondence?"
Takeshi pulled out a sheet of parchment from inside his robes, placed it on the table and pushed it towards Bau Li. When the lord picked it up and scanned the contents, Takeshi began, "According to my sources-"
"Who may or may not be reliable," Bau Li chided under his breath, eyes not leaving the paper.
Takeshi glared at the older man while he repeated, "According to my sources, Avatar Aang left the Fire Nation capital two days ago. We suspect he will return to Yu Dao for his acolytes, considering the nature of his departure from the palace. The reason I could not tell you this in my last letter was there has been reports of mail being intercepted since our last attempt to dispose of the Fire Lord. We need to ensure complete secrecy with our next move."
"And what is the status of that whelp?" Bau Li responded, setting down the paper and looking Takeshi in the eye.
"Recovering," he replied. "He has returned to the throne and met with his High Council as recently as his second day in the city. Though, he apparently still cannot bend. Yura's suppressants did their job well."
Bau Li clicked his tongue. "Yet he was foolish enough to get caught."
Takeshi sighed and rubbed his eyes with his forefinger and thumb. "A mistake that won't be made again. Yura was one of my best men, but he wasn't the brightest. He let his arrogance get the best of him which led to his battery's downfall. Yura had been instructed to say certain things and act a certain way from the beginning, helping us hide the true nature of our organization. To the outside, we are mercenaries for hire that have a grudge against the Fire Nation. However, we all truly know what we are, and in order to keep the truth within our ranks the only survivors of the attack had to be extinguished from the order. Now we have to start all over."
"But the Fire Lord's lack of bending is an added advantage," Bau Li stated, grinning mercilessly. "The only problem is now the Avatar and the waterbender. Their existence will foil everything we have worked for."
"And once they've been taken out," Takeshi added as if he was talking to a child, "we can work on the metalbender and the Water Tribe warrior. After that the entire Fire Nation Royal Family will be extinguished, minus Ozai. The Kyoshi Warriors will need to be taken care of, as well, in order for that part to succeed."
"My men will handle that," Bau Li supplied while flippantly waving his hand. "For now, we will work on the first phase. Once the first three are taken out, the others will fall soon after without issue."
Takeshi nodded, then leaned back a little in his chair. "And what of your daughter? Has she considered your offer to help us?"
Bau Li scowled again. "She hasn't spoken to me since that incident I spoke of a few years ago. Even with my attempts at contact, she refuses to associate herself with me now. Unfortunately, her closeness with the Fire Lord can't be used to our advantage."
"Though she's not as close with him as she had been in the past," Takeshi noted, watching as Bau Li shifted uncomfortably in his spot. "According to my sources, he appears to be quite smitten with the waterbender. There's not much your daughter could do if his affections lied elsewhere."
With a scoff, Bau Li looked away and crossed his arms. "That won't be an issue once our plan has been completed. The whelp will soon be dead, so will the whore. And once the Avatar is taken out, you will have your chaos."
Takeshi was pleased with Bau Li's dedication and couldn't stop himself from grinning broadly. Their success rode solely on their manpower and pure timing. Having Bau Li on his side helped immensely, especially after the waterbending master's display of power in Yura's home. Fortunately she will be destroyed along with her precious Fire Lord, and Bau Li was just the man to assist him with that goal.
"Fantastic." He straightened up in his seat, pulling out another scroll from his robe. Once he handed it over to Bau Li, he leaned back and watched the lord carefully through his bangs. "Now your job is to take this to my men under your command. The Xi Lang will be prepared for what is outlined in here. They will understand what I have written."
Bau Li took the scroll, tucked it into the sash around his waist, then stood and pulled his hood over his eyes, disdain oozing from his voice as he asked, "When shall I expect to hear from you before the plan starts?"
"After Hayato reports to me of Avatar Aang's movements," Takeshi replied, standing as well. "Once the Avatar is in place, Hayato will give you the word. Inside the second scroll are the instructions for the person who will be pulling off the attack. Once that is done, I will do my part of the plan. Hopefully afterwards we can speak of the next phase."
Bau Li's bushy eyebrow arched. "And if we cannot?"
Takeshi pulled on his hood. "I have many men willing to take up the mantle if either you or myself are no longer able. The Xi Lang are more intricate and deep than you realize, old man. Just because I am so young doesn't mean the rest of the order is. Do well to remember that."
With a glare, Bau Li began walking away without a goodbye. Takeshi smiled again and cleared his throat before calling out mockingly, "Oh, milord?"
Bau Li turned around, fury in his eyes at the casual disrespect Takeshi was throwing in his direction. The leader of the Xi Lang stared down his accomplice, taking a slow step forward into the moonlight. As soon as his face was lit, he saw Bau Li stiffen and avert his eyes from Takeshi's face.
"Don't forget your end of the bargain," he said, tone now menacing and full of warning. "You don't hold up your end, and I will personally be the one to deliver you to the Spirit World."
Without waiting for Bau Li's response, Takeshi turned on his heel and went back inside to his temporary home. He needed to get some rest, for tomorrow he was heading towards the colonies.
He woke up drenched in a cold sweat, body shaking and heart thrumming fast enough that it sounded like a buzzard wasp. His eyes searched his room, shrouded in darkness, as he tried his best to calm his heavy breathing and his racing thoughts.
It's not real.
It's not real.
It's not real.
He chanted that in his head, like he had every night for the past month. His body was healed for the most part, but his mind was not. Nothing could wipe out the things he had seen, or felt. The scars were there and sealed, but they stung like they were fresh all over again. The purple line on his chest seemed to glare up at him, pulsating along with the beat of his heart.
Zuko exhaled heavily, running his hands over his face and through his hair. It had been the same dream as before, nothing changing except how he was dying right before he woke. The sky was still black but Zuko knew he wouldn't go back to sleep. It was like this every single night, and every single night he would barely get any sleep. He was exhausted, worn down, and ready to give up. It felt like something he wouldn't be able to get past, despite how hard he tried.
Sighing dejectedly, Zuko lifted up his hand to eye level- palm facing the ceiling. He held his breath for a moment, knowing that this still wouldn't work, yet he still felt the anxious niggling in his stomach as he waited for a flame to appear in the dip of his hand. Like he suspected, not even a wisp of smoke.
Zuko pulled off his covers and swung his bare feet around, settling them on the smooth and cold marble floor. It juxtaposed against the hot and rough skin of his feet, but Zuko paid it no mind. Instead he stared ahead blankly, blinking away the burning images in his head and trying to calm his heavy heart. It was frustrating, to say the least, and it weighed on him so much that he felt like he was pressed to the ground. He had never been without his bending, not like this. Sure, it had been weakened in the past but that was nothing compared to having absolutely nothing come out, nothing from inside warming him like his own personal sun.
Now, he was cold.
He thought that the suppressants Yura fed him every day would have worn off by now, yet his bending was still absent. Though Katara's healing sessions with him had tapered off, he thought that might have helped slightly. But it didn't, and he was now feeling the emptiness of his cold hands and even colder heart.
A sharp exhale whistled between Zuko's lips as he stood. Shirtless and barefoot, he sauntered towards the doors that led to his balcony. His limbs felt like they were full of lead, and his mouth felt like sandpaper. The night was solace, yet he could not find peace in his sleep. The stars above twinkled, just like they always had, but they did not inspire awe inside of him. Such beauty was mundane to him lately.
Even the breeze hitting his bare chest did not soothe him like it would in the past. Instead a shiver ran through him, one he could not quell with his warming breath. Normally, he could stand out on his balcony with just a pair of pants on during the coldest of nights and he would still sweat. Even in the South Pole, a simple robe would be enough to keep him warm while the snow fell. Now he was beginning to wonder why he even subjugated himself to going outside when it was starting to get so cold, anyway.
Winter was coming, just in time to match the chill he already had settling in his bones.
Zuko felt his shoulders drop and he let his feet carry him back inside. The fire in his fireplace was out, save for a few smoldering embers beneath cinders and ashes. He brought himself over and tossed another few logs on top, stopping himself when he went to thrust his fist towards it. Nothing would come out, he had to remind himself, causing another wave of despair to wash over him.
But soon enough, the fire caught the log and grew to warm the entire room. Zuko slunk into bed, eyes never leaving the fire, and he contemplated what he was going to do the next day. Boring himself to sleep was the only thing he could do now.
First he had a meeting with the education ministers. They wanted to discuss the changes in the history curriculum, as well as the additions to the language and calligraphy classes. It was something Zuko had implemented within the first months of his rule- changing the history lessons to correctly reflect the events of the war- and add the electives of learning the languages of the other nations. That had been a requirement for higher nobility, but since the embargo was lifted and free trade was allowed once more in the Fire Nation, more and more people of different nationalities would be coming to the Fire Nation, and vice versa.
After that meeting, Zuko was supposed to have lunch with Iroh and discuss his return to Ba Sing Se. Though Zuko didn't want to see his uncle go, it was about time he took the reins back entirely. Even if he wasn't fully himself.
His eyes were feeling heavy, and his body felt like it was starting to sink into the mattress. He couldn't force himself to think about tomorrow anymore, instead he let himself drift back into what would certainly be a fitful slumber.
Accompanied with a second nightmare.
tbc.
Updated 11 May 2017.