Heaven Lasts long, and Earth Abides. What is the secret of their durability? Is it because they do not live for themselves That they endure so long.

-scene break-

Long ago there were four nations all under heaven. The Avatar kept balance between the nations, and there was peace. The Avatar vanished and the great war began. It was not until a hundred years later that the Avatar Aang reappeared right as the Fire Nation was nearing victory.

In his abscence the Great War had engulfed all Four Nations, and the Fire Nation had destroyed the Air Nomads. The century that had passed had seen the Fire Nation begin their colonization of the Earth Kingdom, and begin to press the armies of Earth backwards. Sozin died an old man his dream of a world united and prosperous unfufilled, and with an understanding of the deadliness of armies that combined elements. An understanding that only strengthened his dream.

His son Azulon succeeded him, and took this dream and made it his own. He expanded the colonies , and the Fire Nation's industry, and worked towards the dream of a Fire Nation uniting all under heaven. Azulon's wife bore him two sons, Iroh first, and then Ozai. Iroh became, as Azulon had, the soldier's prince and conquered vast swathes of territory. He became known as the Dragon of the West. Iroh's wife inturn gave birth to Lu Ten, who would turn die in the siege of Ba Sing Se. It was a bad year for the Royal family of the Fire Nation. Not long after Lu Ten's death Azulon passed away very suddenly. Ozai stranglely, against all established tradition something that Azulon had strongly held to in his reign, became Fire Lord. Ozai's wife, Ursa, vanished soon after.

Ozai himself had two children by his wife, Zuko and Azula. With his brother as Fire Lord, Iroh returned home, he was a widower and his only son was dead. The Great Dragon of the West settled as many uncles did to training his nephew; Zuko. Azula in the mean time, who was a prodigy in her own right was trained by the best tutors her father could procure. Both learned very different lessons.

At the age of 13 Zuko was exiled. The terms of his exile were to seek out and capture the Avatar who had been missing for nearly a century. His uncle choose to accompany him as his teacher. It would be three years at sea. Three years searching the world for the Avatar, three years of training and studying, before they found him.

The Avatar's name was Aang and of all the elements all that he knew of was air. Avatar Aang was the last air bender and had been born 12 years before the war began. Avatar Aang begins his journey to the Northern Water Triber to learn water bending, accompanied by the young Warlord Sokka, and his sister Katara.

The Avatar would eventually reach the Northern Water Tribes' capital city, but was in the process now pursued by Admiral Zhao. The admiral had suceeded captured the Avatar once, but Avatar Aang was freed by the Blue Spirit. Zhao however had another agenda in mind when confronting the Northern Water Tribe.

Nearly a hundred years after the war had begun the Admiral launched the Siege of the North, it would cost him his life, but he would for a moment succeed in killing a great spirit. The destruction which followed delayed the Fire Nation, and weakened their fleet. This weakening slowed the Fire Nation's plans, but could not stop them entirely.

In the wake of this failed assault Fire Lord Ozai declared his son and brother to be Traitors to the Nation. This was a mistake. Zuko and Iroh fled to the Earth Kingdom. Eventually the reached the same city that Iroh had held under siege. It was here the two exiles prospered more so than any immigrant who had come to shelter behind Ba Sing Se's walls before them. Ba Sing Se would in turn prosper from them. From the Lower ring the entered, and rose to the Middle ring, and then finally reigned from the Upper Ring.

Eventually Princess Azula too would enter the city and thus it was begginning of the city under the reign of the Fire Nation. This marked the beginning of a new Era.

From The Official Histories, published by the Ministry of Culture of Ba Sing Se

-scene break-

Before the Fall, before he'd known of his sister being in the city, when he thought she was still half a world away lounging in some palace he'd been a lot more relaxed. He'd been coming here, to this restraunt, since they'd gotten that first tea job.

It was a good place to eat, and even with his scar he was welcomed here. The old dowager who ran the diner welcomed those he brought here so long as they were well behaved. She, nor the help, never said anything when he once again started carrying swords, or when he'd started bringing Dai Li to the restraunt, or even other swordsmen, or the occassional friend from the lower ring.

It was something he greatly appreciated. Uncle didn't approve of his swords, but then Uncle did want him to keep a low profile. Uncle did have a good reason. They had a new life now, when he woke up in the morning he no longer felt the need to put his hair in the topknot he'd worn before the invasion of the North Pole... before Azula had betrayed them.

The Middle Ring was much cleaner than the lower ring, and while there was crime it took an entirely different form here. Even though they technically were living in the Upper Ring now Zuko spent more of his time here, or in the lower ring when he wasn't working. Wan didn't necessarily agree with this habit, but the Dai Li agent had other things on his mind right now. "Its not a good thing."
The swordsman beside Zuko grunted, and Zuko himself crossed his arms over his dark green scholar robes, "My sister is dangerous, and she always lies." Azula always lies, he reminded himself. Like the man beside him Zuko did actually have his swords, but they were concealed by the dark green cloak he was wearing, also the fact that Wan, who was a memeber of the Dai Li, was with them also kept other people from gawking. Still Azula's prescence in the Upper Ring was disconcerting to say the least, that was how Iroh had put it when Zuko had told him this morning, when six Dai Li agents had come in off their evening patrol for tea. There was now a permanent guard in the tea shop, who would, and had explained they were there, at the Jasmine Dragon, to protect the sanctity of a treasure of Ba Sing Se's cultural heritage. In the mean time Zuko had headed down to the middle ring. He needed out of the stuffy confines of the Upper ring, and the middle ring was the best place to come to clear his head, when he didn't have time to brawl in the lower ring. Uncle hadn't approved of that when he'd found out, it was a little hard to hide bruised knuckles, and suddenly explaining wearing gloves was also a problem.

"We need to do something about this. The Avatar's friend is also still poking around, even though the Avatar has his bison back," He meant Sokka. Zuko already knew that. Especially considering he'd been precisely the one to release the bison from Lake Laogai in the first place.

It had been weeks ago, months after arriving Ba Sing Se. That single event though releasing th avatar's bison had actually been what had started things down this road. It was why all this was like it was.

In the Earth Kingdom being able to write and read, and do figures... and well all the classical education of a Fire Nation prince opened dozens of gainful opportunities for employment. The gradual subversion of the Dai Li against Long Feng had been underway. That the Avatar had confronted the Earth King after that had certainly helped by weakening Long Feng's position. When that had happened it had left the Dai Li unsure, visibly so.

The real problem would be if Sokka connected the Blue Spirit with Zuko. He didn't think Sokka had any evidence to support such a connection, but there was no real way of confirming that. "Is he still talking with the Council of Five?"

The rumors were, from the tittering gossip fiends that absolutely infested the Upper Ring, that Katara, and Sokka were frequently in the company of the council of five. It had become such an issue the Dai Li were starting to get nervous about it. Such concern was well founded, given that Long Feng had been arrested, and the Dai Li were without real leadership.
"Yes, they plan to invade the Fire Nation during the day of the eclipse." Zuko didn't like that news, just because he was an exile didnt mean he wanted his homeland invaded. Not that he was that concerned for precisely the reason his friend brought up. His homeland had declared him a traitor and in truth there was nothing he could do for them.
"Doesn't that only last a few minutes?" The Swordsman questioned, earning a nod from Zuko.

That was correct, the eclispe of a the sun would block a fire bender's powers just as the lunar eclispe would temporarily prevent water bender's from using their own powers. "Yes, which would probably invalidate most of their plans even if they could somehow get past the navy."

"There is no war in Ba Sing Se." Wan reminded them both with an added dirty look.

The swordsman snorted, "Right, so about the bitch." He grunted stroking his beard. "What about her, is there something we can do?" He questioned.

"Azula is" He ennunciated, " the more pressing danger," Zuko agreed looking out from over the balcony of the Middle Ring restraunt, "She's up to something, she always is." Assassinating the Earth King wouldn't make sense, she'd never be able to get away with it. Azula was many things, but suicidal certainly was not one of them, and it, the act, would serve no purpose. There was also the failed drill issue as well to consider. That was keeping the Dai Li stretched thin as well, which was really the only reason they hadn't already quashed the rumors. The drill was too damn big to quickly get rid of. Not that Zuko wanted it to be disposed of. Well it wasn't like he could do anything with it. He also knew better than to bring it up in public.

"Hey boss," The bearded swordsman began, "we've got guests." Guests was right, the Dai Li generally tried to remain inconspicious during the day time, and bounding across the rooftops in the middle of the day was definitely not keeping a low profile. What were they thinking even if they were welcome here in this establishment, actually welcome, not that false and thin veneer of respectful civilivity, this couldn't in any way be good. In Ba Sing Se excited Dai Li was universally a bad thing.

The new Dai Li agent came to a stop and bowed, several feet from the table proper. "The Avatar's water bender teacher recognized your uncle, and rushed off to try and warn the Earth King, despite our advice," and by advice he meant the Dai Li were responsible for protecting the Jasmine Dragon obstensibly as part of the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se.

That was by no means the worst news, not only had Azula was Azula walking around after meeting with Long Feng. This was coupled with this there was also the fact uncle had been invited to serve tea to the Earth King at his palace.

Zuko had been in the process of subverting the Dai Li and he hadn't even stepped foot on the palace's grounds, much less walked inside. One would think that Katara, and Sokka, who were both supposedly in frequent contact with the Council of Five would have seen Azula if she was just strolling about the palace, which meant something was probably up.

"We have many things to concern ourselves with," Wan remarked steering the conversation back towards other matters. "The Avatar has already weakened the political position of the Dai Li," That was what really had the Dai Li was true, despite being inept the Council of Five did control the Earth Kingdom's military in and around Ba Sing Se.

It was not that they were likely to commit to a civil war inside the city, just that they couldn't afford if they did choose to do just that. The fact was though they trusted he Avatar and his friends, and that was a problem especially given the whole drill fiasco. It helped that so many people were tied up watching the drill.

He'd been exiled by his own father, and was now branded a traitor by his own nation that he'd been here in Ba Sing Se for months had given him time to relax, and adapt. Zuko didn't want the Fire Nation to be invaded but at the same time he had freed the Avatar's bison so Aang would leave the city, and now Azula was here. His sister in Ba Sing Se was anything but good news. The only good thing was that at least the Avatar was still out of the city, he hoped it would stay that way at least until they could find away to deal with Azula.

Zuko latched his thumb into the belted sash of his tunic, "There is no war in Ba Sing Se, I'll join my uncle at the Earth King's palace. I'll give you my swords. Stash them inside whichever waiting room in the palace room we are placed in," That was the secret to winning, being prepared, and the Dai Li could get his swords in, they could also effectively freely enter and leave the palace.

"Lao will see to it," Wan responded, he looked back at his menu. "So about Lunch I was considering this sticky rice-millet pastry dish this time."
It was a good choice, Chang, the chef made the best ones in the whole city, which given Ba Sing Se's size was quite the accomplishment. Zuko took the time and considered his menu as well.

-scene break-

Zuko ducked down, and shot outwards grabbing the other man's legs before straining to lift him off the ground. There was a crash when he slammed him into the wall. There was some shouting and cheering in the background, but Zuko ignored it, especially as a meaty paw slammed into the back of his ribs. One, two three, he pulled back after the third hit, and slammed the man into the wall again.

The earth bender groaned gasping for breath, and Zuko slammed him again. A shelf cracked and fell down on top of them. It was a good thing it was a smell on. Another blow came down on Zuko's back, and the fire bender grunted. He jerked to one side tossing the man into a stool and chairs. The earth bender wengt bowling over them.

Both men had red faces. Unfortunately both Zuko, and the Earth Kingdom drunk were endurance fighters this was going to go on for a while without a decisive change... and Zuko didn't have his swords with him. He'd already given them to Lao for safekeeping.

The Earth Kingdom man gave a big grin pushing himself up. It was a bull rush, a straight charge with hands out to again put it into a grappling match. Zuko jumped to the side just close enought to put him at an angle.

Out of the way of the fight Kohn clapped his hands laughing pouring himself a drink while everyone watched. "Come on Li, Sweep his legs."

"Shove him through the wall!" Someone else added, shouting at the pair, which was less helpful, but this was what bars were like in the lower ring. There would have been none of this in the Middle Ring. As it was that this had gone on this long well the guards must be busy, then again they were ussually to busy for something this far in the lower ring.

Zuko stumbled a bit, going backwards as his footing loosened. The other man pushed forward, there was just a bit of leverage he could work, and... Zuko shoved back, twisting. Striking in these kinds of situations didn't work, not tangled up like this. Kicks weren't even an option because of the constant need to shift your weight around and manuever around debris. So naturally Zuko did what his uncle always advised learn from the other elements... in this case redirect the attack into the path of least resistance...

There was a grunt and a tussle, and Zuko finally got around behind the man enough to wrap an arm over his should, and then he was up in the air as the earth bender flailed. This could have been drastically worse, obviously Zuko realized looking at where stone had ripped out of the ground, and the large sinkhole in the ground around them. It'd take three whole minutes for Ban Wei, the earth bender to stop raging at the guy who had ran off rather than fight... unfortunately the drunk Ban Wei had decided well that he was still in the mood to fight something.

No one picked a fight with Zuko if he had his swords... swords mean that Li was probably here on business, you didn't interfere with a man's transactions, but no swords meant fair game, unless you were a weapons user in which case the rules were reversed.

Ban Wei kept struggling, and Zuko kept tightening even when he was the one hitting the wall this time. Dots swam a bit in his vision, but he still had the positioning to bring arm down. He shifted his other arm, and brought the elbow strike down.

Naturally it was about that time that the Guard actually finally showed up. They were shouting, and shifting rocks with their bending. A number of other bar patrons stood up, and started shouting at them to go away.

A hand found his shoulder, "Come on boss, time to leave," The wall opened to the side of them, that was the upside to the lower ring, the wall the buildings were, it was easy to quietly slip out with an earth bender around.

-scene break-

Destiny had been written. Zuko and Iroh stared for a minute not sure what to do in exactly this situation. It seemed like everyone had that problem.

... well this was problematic, Azula had been subverting the Dai Li too it seemed. That had been the only explanation when the two groups had started walking in. Iroh's fire dragon broke their encirclement of enemy agents giving him time to dislodge his swords from under the table. "Lao now would be a good time."

The other Dai Li agents dropped from the ceiling warping earthen gauntlets into weapons, as they plunged into the fray, and coupled with Iroh's mastery of fire bending Azula's apparent supporters had things to worry about. That was their mistake to focus on Fire and Earth. Well they focused on that just long enough for steel to sing from their sheaths.

What followed was quick, because Zuko was already so close to his enemies. One of the men dropped as the twin dao blades came down ripping open his back, another in a half turn found the right blade come slashing through his throat, as its partner felled a third.

It was the advantage of weapons, benders were still human after all. It was still a terrible thing to behold. They all worked together to exploit their advantages. The stench of charred human flesh filled the halls, blood splattering the walls, and the ringing of crunched bones from flying stones came all together in all their horror. In the close confines of this palace room men were dying. The door opened as Zuko slashed through another earthbender's throat, he ignored the spray of blood ignoring as specs of blood hit his face. "Azula," He snarled.

"Nephew we should consider our options." Iroh advised, holding his fighting stance. "if this continues the Palace guards will surely come." Zuko tightened his grip on his swords,

She took a minute and looked up and down at both of them. "It would seem you've already met the Dai Li." Azula muttered she sheemed surprised. For her... This wasn't how it was supposed to be Zuko and Iroh were supposed to be easy to catch, and then this... and then... Zuko shouted for his earthbenders.
Yeah he'd met them, and fighting Azula didn't give him many options. "Wan! Lao!" The scarred prince snapped, "Prepare to collapse the floor," He ordered, collapsing the floor was the best solution. It didn't matter how good of a bender she was buried under rocks... rocks tended to kill people no matter what nation they were from. Both men slid their hands through the stone tiles of the floor.

Iroh frowned, "Nephew we must consider discretion. Azula would not have come alone." There was still just the barest hint of smoke from his mouth ... smoke from his namesake. When the dragon of the west spoke people listened. Azula recognized the opportunity, even as Zuko looked towards his friends considering delicately the options.

"Wait! Perhaps we can reach an agreement Zuko. I have come to an agreement with Long Feng to undertake a coup, and seize control of the city. With your assistance we could take the city for the glory of the Fire Nation. Our present situations are very similiar I think,"

It wasn't really a request, Azula and Long Feng had enough numbers to conduct a coup. That she could take the earth king, and take control of the city however didn't mean she could hold it, hence why she was willing to negotiate. He took a step back, "Uncle, she has a point, if we fight people end up dying on both sides," Not that Zuko particularly cared if it was her side doing the dying, but his people were a completely different story. It was a classical us versus them scenario. "Fine we'll hear your terms." He stated at last, that sentence settled things. Two siblings agreed to take Ba Sing Se.

Iroh watched on, concerned for his nephew... on the plus side there would be minimal bloodshed this way... pity though about not getting to serve tea in the Palace.

- scene break-

He must have disturbed Azula's planning more than he thought, this was evidenced not by her talking but rather by her lack of it. Azula always took time to gloat when she won. Still Zuko stayed back, with Iroh and his own supporters stood carefully out of the way in the shadows of the throne room as she was joined by Mai and Ty Lee. It was fortunate that Zuko's atire could allow him to pass as a scholar, especially with a Dai Li escort. Well he could pass as a scholar as long as people couldn't see the swords.

What followed was not something that Zuko could have predicted. The doors were blown from their hinges, and he'd seen this before. The Avatar was here, oh and he'd brought friends to.

"What is the meaning of this?" The Earth King demanded.

An older man rushed forward suddenly, before dropping to his knees, raising his clasped hands up to the Earth King, "Please your majesty hear me, there is a coup ongoing. The Dai Li has betrayed you!" The general proclaimed loudly, as Zuko finally regonized him, "Long Feng seeks to usurp your power, majesty."
"And Katara is in danger, I saw it in my vision!" The Avatar proclaimed. It would seem he and his friends had come directly here to confront the Earth King, and had somehow managed to interupt Azula's coup.

Keui seem less than convinced, which all things considered was understandable given he was being confronted by a twelve year old, avatar or not, claiming to have had a vision of all things. "But surely that can't be I'm sure your friend Katara is with the Kyoshi warriors, as for the Dai Li. Long Feng is imprisoned." It was then that Azula made her move.

"I do not like this nephew," Iroh remarked, "Azula's plan is not something to take lightly. You have come a long way however I would caution you to consider other options besides agreeing with your sister."
"and if we do not agree many people will die pointlessly." Zuko responded softly watching the scene play out. It was only fortunate that Katara for some reason wasn't here." The water bender could be a very legitimate threat, "She might very well be in danger, but without here here that meant the Avatar had no way of knowing that Zuko, and his Uncle were here.

Zuko wanted to say something but when Ty Lee started to flirt with the water bender's brother he had to resist the urge to face palm. That was when the down side came into play as it seemed the Avatar's earth bending teacher had the same idea. The entire throne room's floor crumbled and gave way beneath them. Groups of Dai Li, stunned in surprise, attempted, flailing about, to stabilize or slow their descent but they all went plunging downwards caught in a fruitless fight against gravity.

The prince stood up and looked up around, the fighting had already resumed and Azula's Dai Li were lashing out. The Earth King was behind his general, and the Avatar's water bender teacher had been found here in this enormous crystal cavern, and there was an underground source of water as if this wasn't bad enough.

"It seems," Iroh remarked taking the minute to go about stroking his beard thoughtfully as he weighted the battle with a critical eye, "That Azula and her forces suddenly finds themselves evenly matched." So it seemed, between an Earth Kingdom general, and the Avatar's earth bending teacher were able to hold off several disoriented Dai Li, for now. Katara, Sokka, and Aang however had more pressing issues in facing Ty Lee, Mai and Azula. Then it got worse, "I must say that was impressive." Iroh praised as the metal door of somekind was ripped from the palace above and sent two Dai Li agents flying into the wall. One of them was definitely dead, the other one probably was as well. It was when Toph turned Mai's throwing knives aside Zuko knew they were in trouble, and then things changed again. Ty Lee landed a blow on Sokka, and then another, and the water tribe warrior went down.

"Should we?"
Azula could afford the losses, so let her take them. After all she had been before this his enemy, sister or no. "Not yet Wan, not yet." He told the Dai Li agent. It was best if they stayed out of this until the last possible minute. "We're going to stay out of this, none of us are to get involved until I give the signal."

"Zuko is right, your sister." He stated, "my niece has committed herself to this battle against the avatar," Just as Zuko had made the choice to befriend people of the Earth Kingdom. He didn't approve, but would support his nephew's descision as for all the subversion Zuko had never meant for it to be malicious Iroh thought.

Blue Fire singed the air, again, and again, as Azula lashed out at the Avatar and Katara. Across the cave strewn with dirt, broken rocks, and shattered crystals Toph did most of the work holding Dai Li at bay, at least until one of the Dai Li launched a chain towards the general catching him by the arm. The Agent yanked and pulled him away forcing Toph to turn her attention towards him.

"She is very capable Zuko, that girl is a fine teacher for the Avatar." Iroh praised again

"I don't think you can adopt her uncle." Zuko remarked.

Again Iroh stroked his beard, "Nothing in our land's laws forbids adopting those born of other nations Nephew, your idea has merit, indeed..." and uncle started going off on some historical tangent as all the while the fight continued, but again it had changed. The General was out of the fight but so were another two Dai Li, even if more still, no doubt loyal to Long Feng, or maybe even Azula, were trickling into the cavern. Those whom he personally had subverted stayed out of the way waiting on the edges carefully out of sight. The key was patience, something uncle had counseled him on thousands of times before.

Still Toph's skill, and more importantly here abundance of raw material and the ability to bend metal made her the equal of many times here number in Dai Li, but she still had to shield the Earth King from harm. Him and his bear. Keui was never meant to fight battles, and this wasn't the place for him, and his pet. The man was confused, but even in that confusion he understood he could not move for concern of his safety.

Katara and Aang faced off against Mai and Azula, and the truth was they were both holding each other at bay. The Avatar's ability to bend three elements was greatly evening up things. His mastery over the element of air certainly played a large chunk in that as Azula went flying back, and in a coordinated attack Katara was finally able to lock Mai in an icy prison. The tide looked to be changing, and not for the good of the Fire Nation.

"Signal the men." It was an order that in a minute Zuko would regret. At the edges of the cavern sixty odd Dai Li came around moving to confront the Avatar. Faintly Zuko realized he heard him say there were too many, and then Katara fell back to back Toph up, presumably, and then Aang submerged himself behind a layer of earth.

Azula pressed herself up, but it was too late, Zuko cursed as the glowing began. Earth and crystal shattered as the power and majesty of the Avatar state made its prescence known to them. He'd made a mistake in making their prescence known. The Dai Li agents, all of them regardless of alleigance, stood ready to fight. It was then that the unexpected happened lightning split the air and struck the avatar in the back, and only Katara's quick reactions caught him. The Dai Li prepared to move, but then the Bison arrived, and Toph tried to bury them.

Wan shouted an order Zuko didn't quite catch as the cavern started to cave in, and the Dai Li moved earth to save them all. It was a good effort.

In the wake of all this the Avatar's friends fled with the Earth King. That didn't matter though Zuko groaned as the impromptu rock dome over their heads held. Sixty earth benders were an amazing power.

"Nice of you to help Zuko." Azula muttered dispariginly.

Zuko held one of the chunks of luminscent crystals up, "I had thought you had everything under control," He responded snappishly,

Wan spoke up, "There is a tunnel that leads to the palace courtyard. It is still intact but we will need to hurry."

It was true, it didn't matter the avatar was fleeing. That didn't matter. Zuko had wanted the Avatar to leave Ba Sing Se for good for weeks now. Now however they had Azula's stupid coup to complete, and no Earth King, and one of the Council of Five, at least, still running free. This was not at all a good start to the thing, perhaps he should have acted faster.

"You did the right thing Zuko, your men are safe." Iroh praised as the Dai Li uncovered the tunnel that went upward towards the surface. Now all that was left was securing Ba Sing Se... was that all...

- scene break-

In the end they were still short one general, and the Earth King. This did not in anyway bode well for a secure Ba Sing Se, to paraphrase Uncle somewhat. Then there was the issue of the dead, and the injured as well. Zuko was still waiting for the reports... the final reports...

Iroh himself however had settled into the Council War Room, and was busy reviewing the appropriated files regarding the invasion. "These plans have very likely been rendered largerly null, by the actions of today. With such surely being the case the Avatar will surely make other plans to take advantage of the day of black sun."

"The Avatar is dead!" Azula piped up angrily.

Azula had a point getting shot with lightning tended to kill most people. At the same time Uncle did also have a point, and the avatar was in point of fact not most people. Right now though the Avatar wasn't the real problem, in fact now they were in even more danger than before the coup. The Avatar would just reincarnate into the water tribe.

They needed to keep the fact the coup had happened quiet until they could reinforce their position... and the first thing that Azula had done was sent off a messenger hawk to dispatch a priority message to the Fire Lord that they had seized control of Ba Sing Se, and they'd killed the Avatar. Of all the rash unthought out things she could have done that took the cake, or maybe he just cared because it was uncle, and his life on the line if they got found out.

"Relax Zuko," Azula was calmer now, she'd taken a breath, "the avatar's dead, and we're presenting father with the greatest city of the Earth Kingdom." Azula remarked

Zuko didn't even bother to slow his pacing, but Iroh spoke up, first making an age old quip about farm animals and hatching. "What Zuko is concerned for is our currently precarious situation niece. Surely that the fact the Avatar, as well as the Earth King, and one of his generals eluded apprehension is cause for concern given our at best tenous grasp on the city." Iroh's advice was sound, but was basically the same thing he'd been counseling them the entire day. Still Ba Sing Se was theirs, for all that their hold on the city was worth at the moment.

"I have already taken steps to remmeddy that problem," Azula proclaimed, and she had. If it had just been Long Feng she had had to worry about, as she had originally expected, she wouldn't have been concerned, but Zuko had been more than willing to allow the Dai Li under her command to do the dying while his kept a perimeter guard up, while the Earth King's guards proved that they hadn't been just for show. At the end of yesterday everyone of the Palace guards had been killed, or was missing, the utmost worrying news, after the battle. A battle which had killed numerous Dai Li in the process. Even some of those who were following Zuko around, but that was really only because he and uncle had swept in again at the last possible minute to kill the guards, and uncle had helped with that, the killing that was, which was eerie. Accademically she'd know Iroh had killed people but seeing her Fuddy Duddy Uncle actually do it... it was unnerving. It was just hard to reconcile with what she had known for so long.

So now the Dai Li had control of the Upper Ring, but not really much more of the city, and nobody in the city, as far as they could tell knew the Earth King was gone. Or for that matter that the rest of the Council of Five had been imprisoned. Or rather four of the five members of the Council. Then there was Zuko, who was actually listening to his Dai Li, Azula grimaced, Zuko was acting too patient he'd clearly been in the Earth Kingdom too long. She looked at him, his shoulders had gotten broader since last time she'd seen him too.

The truth was Zuko wasn't being patient at all. Zuko deep inside didn't know what to do, all he'd planned to do was lay low live out life in Ba Sing Se. His subversion of the Dai Li had started out entirely accidental, and now Azula was here dragging him into a plan to conquer the city. He hadn't had much of a choice, and Uncle hadn't liked it, but even uncle admitted there hadn't been much of a choice. It was true he could have fought Azula, but that would have just gotten more people killed, or they could have run. If they'd chosen that option Azula probably wouldn't have found them, not even with Dai Li help. Still they'd made the choice, now they just had to live with it, and uncle wasn't that mad with the choice.

Speaking of Dai Li one of them had justed entered the room, before this that wasn't ussually a good sign. Today however wasn't before. The man's name was Quan, and truthfully Zuko was expecting nothing more than a routine report.

Quan's loyalty was to Long Feng, and thus by proxy to Azula. For now Long Feng was backing Azula, and probably would continue once the Fire Nation arrived in force. Truthfully, and quite sensibly, Quon trusted none of the Fire Nation royals. The Dragon had held his city under siege for six hundred days, and the two younger royals had equally proven not to be understimated. "The Dai Li have completed their normalization of patrols, the guard suspects nothing, and the army is in the dark." He remarked, which all in all was good news.

"You see Zuko everything is fine, the Fire Nations victory over the city remains secure."
Yeah she said everything was fine, when she was the one tallking, Zuko thought irritably. He was the one working with Azula of all people to hold the city... Why exactly had he thought that would be a good idea?

Still Ba Sing Se wasn't burning... yet. Still when the Army marched in that would be a different story.
"Ah yes that is good to hear," Iroh remarked, "I think though I should return to the Jasmine Dragon, it is important I prepare for opening tomorrow, it would not do for such a high ranking establishment to be noticeably closed." Uncle announced.

Oh shit Uncle was leaving the palace. Zuko wasn't sure he liked that, mainly because well that left him more or less alone with Azula. At least the palace was large enough he could avoid her without actually trying to. That was the benefit to the palace, it was huge, and Zuko was fine with occupying the outer court, while Azula took the time to move into the inner court. By move in Zuko understood it to mean Azula was ransacking and redecorating the place to her liking, which was fine.

Ba Sing Se had fallen, Destiny had been written. What awaited was a future written by many, not the few.