Avatar: the last airbender belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko and Nickelodeon.
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Long Feng, bitter yet not defeated by the events that led Azula to the place where he should sit enthroned, walked down the hall leading to the entrance. The Dai Li had sided with the princess, but he knew it was out of fear and that they had nothing against their leader. That was why he needed to dispose, permanently, of this irritating teenager. But he could not approach Ozai's Angels without attracting an unhealthy attention. He needed someone Azula would never imagine to act so definitively against her.
And here was the perfect person for his ploy, training in the courtyard.
"Prince Zuko, I presume?" He said, interrupting the firebender's moves.
"Hopefully." He replied simply.
"Oh, yes. I suppose your sister promised you to lift your banishment?"
Zuko nodded. "But who are you to know so much about me?" He asked suspiciously.
"I am Long Feng. I helped your sister to get in power."
"You... are a traitor to your own nation?"
"I will probably be considered such, although I did so for the greater good." Long Feng was always amazed by the power of a simple lie. "Ba Sing Se will fall with no bloodshed, saving numerous lives, especially in the Lower Ring." In a way, he was right. He doubted the Fire Nation would bother to do anything against what they considered to be helpless and inoffensive refugees.
As deceiving as they might be, these words touched Zuko. "I see. Pleased to meet you, Long Feng." If he was to regain his home's respect, getting used again to court manners would not hurt, no matter how foreign they felt on his tongue after three years of banishment.
Long Feng bowed. "The pleasure is shared." He straightened his back before going on. "But I didn't come here for an introduction. I came to warn you."
Zuko raised an eyebrow, trying to hide his anxiety. "Yes?"
The braided man looked around as if to check if someone was listening, although he already knew they were alone in the courtyard. "You see, your sister doublecrossed me in spite of my help, which was quite valuable if I may say so." He noticed Zuko tense more visibly. "And I wouldn't be surprised if she betrayed you too. I believe your father is not the understanding and forgiving type."
Zuko suppressed his agitation with difficulty. "You think so? But she promised..." Then he remembered. 'Azula always lies.' How could he have forgotten?
"Most certainly. But don't worry..." Long Feng's became a whisper. "I can, and will, help you to eliminate this threat..."
The prince could not help feeling a chill down his spine at Long Feng's words and tone. But he managed to hide this before speaking. "And how would you manage that? Azula has always been what I was not..." The teen looked down. "Smart, powerful, lucky..." His voice trailed off.
'And impossible to manipulate.' Long Feng mused. "I wouldn't say she trusts you, but she underestimates you." He took a hidden flask out of his sleeve. "Therefore you'll be able to slip this in her drink."
Zuko bore a horrified expression. "You want me... to poison my own sister?" He shook his head. "I can't!"
"Do you want her to kill you first?" Long Feng retorted icily. "Do you want lose everything you struggled for during your bannishment?"
Repeating those words in his mind, Zuko stared at the deadly flask. "...I will do it" He said finally, taking the flask.
"You won't regret it..."
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Azula was seated, proud and fierce, on one of the four chairs reserved for the conquerors of Ba Sing Se. She had chosen their places herself. Mai was at her right, the prospect of the celebration in their honour not interesting her at all. She preferred to have Zuko close to keep a watch over him, which was why he sat at her left, beside Ty Lee. That way, Azula was sure to decrease the temptation of a foolish escape. And if by some doubtful miracle he managed to knock both the acrobat and her, Mai and her blades were more effective from a distance than Ty Lee.
She had ordered the room to be rid of green and was pleased, though not surprised, to see that the Dai Li had obeyed. Save for the whispering nobles and councillors' clothes, the main colour of the Earth Kingdom had been replaced with brown, closest tone to red in the whole palace. It also allowed the many Dai Li agents to blend in the background, watching attentively all the guests.
"Noblemen of the Earth Kingdom." Azula announced suddenly, rising from her seat. "You probably wonder why you were summoned tonight." Nods and murmurs. "The reason is quite simple, really. Ba Sing Se, pride of the Earth Kingdom that not even the Dragon of the West could conquer, has firebenders within its walls. The king has fallen."
The princess was delighted by the appalled expressions of her audience. She glanced around her, Mai seemed less bored, Ty Lee was smiling and Zuko was gazing down at his goblet and poking his plate with a chopstick. She disliked the fact that her brother, though unimportant to her, did not consider her triumph worth watching.
"If so, why are we here in the dining room instead of the throne room?" A noble asked the person he thought to be replacing his king, standing up. "This is a most serious matter, they could be sabotaging our defences right now!"
"I have summoned you here for a specific reason. You see..." Surprising everyone in the room, she shot a small fireball at him and blew his ostentatious hat off. "Ba Sing Se now belongs to the Fire Nation, and you will celebrate this event."
"What!" The nobleman exclaimed as some of his peers gasped and others prepared to earthbend. "Who are you?"
"I introduce you to Mai, Ty Lee and the Fire Prince Zuko." Azula answered in a falsely polite voice, motioning at each of them when saying their names. She noticed Zuko's eyes widening at not being called a banished prince. "I'm the Fire Princess Azula, pleased to conquer you."
"I'm the head councillor and I'll make sure to punish you for your arrogance!" He growled. "Guards! Capture them." The councillor smiled as he saw the Dai Li agents near him react but his smile disappeared as he felt the grasp of their stone gauntlets around his limbs. "What are you doing! She's the firebender!" He shouted as the nobles about to earthbend were imprisoned as well.
"The Dai Li are now serving the Fire Nation." Azula said. "You can't blame them for serving the best." She was almost bored by the surprised looks of the men by now.
"You are dismissed, head councillor." She then sat down, watching the Dai Li bringing the earthbenders and the man out of the room. "Does someone have an objection?" All the nobles shook their heads. "Good." She smirked, her father had taught her that noblemen were easily tamed.
The dinner started, all the guests save for the Fire Nation quartet eating quite reluctantly. Thirsty because of her speech, Azula was the first of the four to help herself to the water, oblivious of Zuko's careful stare. She brought her stone goblet to her lips as her brother's attention intensified.
She drank a gulp of water and her throat immediately tightened while a searing pain appeared in her lungs. Azula let out a sharp gasp before falling down her chair. Mai's eyes widened as the princess collapsed on her side and Ty Lee was stunned, while Zuko bolted to take her in his arms.
"She died." He cried, not even needing to fake his sadness. Ty Lee sobbed behind him.
"Poison." Mai said, smelling the water inside the carafe. "I should have been more watchful..." She continued, stone-faced, though her eyes showed her sorrow. But she quickly hid it and glared at the audience, daring any of them to cheer. None did.
"I'm taking her to her room..." Zuko uttered, standing up and holding his little sister gently in his arms.
Ty Lee placed her hand on his shoulder. "I-I'm going w-with you..."
"No, stay here with Mai to make sure the guests don't do anything stupid." He looked over his shoulder and saw her miserable face and moist eyes. "Please..." He begged.
She nodded sadly. "If you wish..."
As Mai ordered the nearby Dai Li to start an investigation, Zuko disappeared into the corridors with his sister's body.
----
The night had been difficult. Ty Lee had shed a few more tears before nodding off and Mai had spent the night terrorizing all the nobles and the whole Dai Li with her adamant investigation to find any clue about Azula's killer. Zuko had barely slept at all and was pacing back and forth in the throne room, hoping that Mai would not direct her suspicion at him. He was tense just thinking of what she and Ty Lee would do if they ever found out who poisoned the water.
"Prince Zuko." Long Feng greeted as he walked in the room, followed by two of his agents. "On the evidence of last night's agitation, I presume you disposed of your traitorous sister."
Zuko sighed. "Yes." He gazed at Long Feng's followers. "But shouldn't you be more careful with the Dai Li around?"
A faint smile appeared on the older man's lips. "Without Azula to be afraid of, they promptly came back to me." A third agent, hidden behind the throne, started to walk on the wall. His elite earthbenders' discretion was something to be proud of.
"I didn't do that for a reward. I did it because it was the right thing to do..." Zuko replied, not entirely convinced. No matter how many times he told himself that, it still sounded wrong to his ears.
Long Feng's smile became more perceptible. "I know. Your sister will never harm anyone again." He glanced upwards, pleased to discover his agent hanging from the ceiling a few feet behind Zuko. "But I still think you deserve a reward."
A confused look appeared on his face, and soon gave way to a surprised expression as a stone glove struck hard on the nape of his neck. Long Feng turned his back to the collapsed firebender as the third agent earthbended his glove back to him before dropping on the ground.
"Bring him to Lake Laogai, he will be quite an interesting recruit." As the earthbenders obliged, he glanced at the throne. "The heirs of the Fire Nation fell to me, Ba Sing Se is now without ruler..." He smirked. "...and as a good servant of the Earth Kingdom, I will not leave it vacant." It was definitively an excellent day.
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As this fanfiction revolves around surprises, plot twists and other cliffhangers, please do not spoil the events in your reviews.