The next morning, Zuko was once again woken by the slamming of his bedroom door. In an instant he was out of bed and in a crouch, but his surprise abated far more quickly this time, and within the minute he had risen to face his visitor.
"My apologies, my Lord!" A young woman was executing a hasty bow before him, "I bear grievous news." She hesitated.
"What?" Zuko barked.
"My Lord, forgive me but your father has escaped from the prison tower in the nigh-,"
"WHAT?!"
The unlucky messenger scuttled back a couple of paces, folding herself into an even deeper bow.
"My Lord, the guards were drugged. None of them have any idea what time he left or by what means. He was not seen by the city guard-,"
"I want a search party assembled. Immediately! And where are my attendants?"
"My Lord, your council has requested that this morning's court session be preceded by an audience with you-,"
"Fine! Assemble them too. And send someone to attend me. And some breakfast!"
"Yes, my Lord. Of course, my Lord." And bowing and scraping, she backed out of the room.
Zuko sat heavily on the foot of his bed and sighed. After several minutes, Mai's soft snores resumed next to him.
Once he was dressed and fed, he strode into his audience chamber to find his council already fully assembled. It was obvious from the hasty bows and furtive looks that they had only just stopped talking as he entered the room. Zuko scowled. Doubtless they already had an agenda of bickering and intrigue planned out to take up his whole morning. Weariness took him simply thinking about it, and it was a welcome relief to sink onto his throne behind a curtain of flame.
Zuko looked up. Councillor Fa, his stony eyes and rather frog-like mouth schooled into what Zuko was almost certain was a forced expression of humility, captured Zuko's gaze and held it. Zuko nodded and the councillor began to speak.
"My Lord, this council is aware that you have dispatched a task force to relocate the escaped prisoner."
Zuko made no response, and after a moment, Councillor Fa continued.
"We must recommend that you recall that force."
Zuko caught himself just before he leapt to his feet. His shout died on his tongue. Mai was right. Yelling at these people was no more likely to get him what he wanted. It would just make him hoarse. Nonetheless, he could not stop himself from shifting in his seat, teeth and jaw clenched. He could not keep the tension from his voice.
"Why?"
"We have only the current shift's watch to guard this city against rioters. The captain of the guard reports that their numbers are at half strength even now, as the men must take turns resting. Were you to send a force of any size in search of the fugitive, you would be dangerously depleting the protection of this city, such that not only are you unlikely to recover the prisoner, but were this city to come under attack, it would fall."
Zuko sat in silence. They were right, of course. He knew they were right. But still he couldn't quell the urge to just send the troops after his father anyway. He needed to know where Ozai was. Instead, he looked from one councillor to the next and said, "You are all in agreement on this?"
"Yes, my Lord." It was Councillor Fa that spoke, but heads nodded around the room. Zuko's scowl deepened.
"OK then. At your request, I'll hold off sending a search team until the strike has been resolved. Is that all?"
"My Lord, on that issue," Zuko turned to look at Councillor Zheng, "I had wondered if, in light of your desire for a speedy resolution to this problem so that you might recover your father, you had reconsidered the course of action I propose-,"
"No!" Zuko could not keep himself from rising to his feet this time. "I don't care if every prison in the tower escapes! I'm not going to attack my own people."
Zheng bowed low in penance. Zuko swept a glare across the rest of his councillors and, though he thought perhaps it was an act, they seemed visibly quelled.
"I have taken steps to ensure the strike's quick resolution. We won't be discussing it further."
"What steps?"
Zuko fixed Councillor Fa with a glare. The man knew instantly that he had made a mistake. The absence of honorific had Zuko's lip curling far more than the question itself.
"That will be all." Zuko ground out. He strode down from his throne and left the room. With any luck, family Bei Fong would write back soon with promises of food and other forms of aid. It was humbling to think that his plan hinged upon the generosity of two people who believed they were only obligated to him because of their misconceptions about their daughter's frailty. But it would solve the problem at hand and leave him free to deal with the next issue.
Ozai.
As he reached his study and sank down behind his desk, he allowed his mind at last to turn to thoughts of his father. Where had he gone? How had he escaped? Who had helped him? And, perhaps most importantly, what was he planning?
The questions whirled around Zuko's mind. As they mounted unanswered, he could feel his shoulders growing tenser and tenser until finally he let out a roar and seized the nearest brush. He swept some weights across the desk and began hastily to write.
Dear Uncle…
Once he had finished the letter, he packed it into a tube and summoned a messenger.
"Take this to the harbour and put it on a ship for Fong base in the Earth Kingdom. From there it should be taken by messenger hawk to my Uncle in Ba Sing Se. Understood?"
The messenger nodded mutely, and exited the room with a bow.
With a weary sigh, Zuko glanced at the candles in the corner of the room – a gift from the Mechanist – and saw that it was only four hours past dawn. He heaved another sigh, and headed for the training courtyard.
Divested of his heavy robes, Zuko bent wave after wave of flames at imaginary foes. Tension and anger rolled out of his body with the flex and shift of muscles too-long disused. The day grew thick and moist. Sweat rolled off his brow and down his back. He stopped only when the messenger he had sent to the harbour, now looking far more dishevelled, entered the courtyard.
"What is it?" Zuko straightened from his stance. The tension had returned to his shoulders in a single instant and he had to force his fists to unclench.
"The strikers, my Lord," the man's head hung low. His bow was shabby. His clothes were tattered and singed in places and his hair was falling out of its topknot.
"Yes?!"
"They are not allowing traffic up or down the mountain road. I tried to reach the harbour. I presented them with your seal. They accosted me, my Lord. There was nothing I could do. They… They took the letter from me."
Zuko ground his teeth and sighed sparks. He glanced to the said to avoid glaring at the obviously shaken man before him.
"My Lord they… They know that the prisoner Ozai has escaped."
Zuko said nothing.
"My Lord?" There was an unmistakeable tremor in the messenger's voice now.
"Come with me." Zuko snapped. Not bothering to pick up his robes, he walked shirtless through the palace halls back to his study. Mai was nowhere to be seen, he noticed, but he barely had time to spare that a thought. He re-drafted the letter and handed it to the messenger.
"You will take the mountain route, not the road. It will take you longer, but this message must reach my Uncle. Is that understood?"
"Y-yes, my Lord."
Zuko nodded. He tried to look kindly or at least reassuring, but the messenger scarpered from the room all the same. He sighed and fell back onto his cushion. He had only fifteen minutes for lunch, before his next appointment.
Zuko's afternoon was wasted in court. It seemed as though half the palace city had converged upon the palace proper to hear petitions for this or requests for that. He noticed that all but one of Councillor Fa's sons – he couldn't tell which – showed up to hear his deliberation on the reopening of the airship factories. The petitioner's argument was that Zuko had allowed the balloon factories to remain, and that the airships were far more efficient for international travel.
Zuko did not see the point of the whole affair as neither balloon nor airship factories were currently within his grasp anyway. Even if he exacted an order to resume production of airships, none of the workers would carry out his order.
The session broke when a page entered the audience chamber to inform Zuko that the strikers had attacked a supply cart on its way up the mountain, and were now feasting on the hill. The chamber dissolved into chaos as the courtiers – many for the first time in their lives – contemplated going hungry.
Zuko just managed to keep his temper in check long enough to dissolve the audience and make it back to his chambers. He slammed the door and stalked past Mai. Her enquiries about his day and his problem were met with growls. He headed straight for his meditation chamber and remained there for the rest of the evening.
__________________
Fire Lord Azula woke to the scent of smoke. She cast her golden gaze around her "chamber," such as it was, and took in the roughly textured stone walls and utter lack of adornment. The only furniture was the metal cot upon which she now laid, the thin straw pallet, a punishment for having burnt the three feather mattresses which came before it, scratching at her skin for the first time in her memory.
It was this sensation more than anything else that alerted her to the fact that the sickly sweet drug which usually laced her meals, keeping her mind torpid and docile, no longer had control of her. This sensation and the smell of smoke.
She inhaled deeply through her nose as she sat up. She swung her legs over the side of the cot and set them on the floor, inhaling again through her mouth. She could almost taste the scent, her senses long attuned to differentiating the subtleties held within the acrid tang. This was bending smoke, laced with just a hint of roasting meat.
Somewhere in this middling estate that passed for a sanatorium, somebody was fighting.
There was a thud and what may have been a shout but sounded more like a grunt through the thick steel of her chamber entryway. Azula stood and, quick as a flash, darted to the side of the door. Her back was pressed against the wall as she dropped into a bending stance, hands at the ready.
The door slid smoothly open. Light spilled from the hallways outside, sending a tall shadow falling across the now-vacant pallet. It hesitated only for a moment, and then took two hurried steps into the room, remaining in her line of fire for only a split second. She did not have time to react before the figure turned toward her and spoke her name.
"Azula."
Azula lowered her hands and smirked at the man now standing in the middle of what had for fourteen months been her prison.
"Hello, Father."
________________
To Zuko's – and more notably Mai's – great relief, they were awoken next morning by nothing more startling than Zuko's wake up call. The usual gaggle of attendants stood ready around the foot of his bed this time and Zuko reflected upon how nice it was to have fresh clothes and a proffered wash cloth ready and waiting for him.
He was just reaching for one of the similarly-proffered spiced rolls when Mai appeared beside him, fully primped and clothed for the day, and slapped his hand away.
"You have a breakfast this morning."
"What? No. I have a meeting with Admiral Chan and Nobleman Ruon Jian to discuss international tourism possibilities for Ember Islan-,"
"I cancelled it."
"What?! Mai! Since when did you care about my appointments?"
"Chan and Ruon Jian are idiots and you know it. You're not going to get anywhere discussing tourism with them so I don't know why you bother," Zuko started to interrupt her but she fixed him with a look and he fell silent.
"Just because you like keeping your enemies closer doesn't mean you should push your friends away. We're going to breakfast."
He opened his mouth to argue with her and then closed it again. Her persistent disdain of and refusal to partake in court affairs irked him, but when she did make up her mind about something it was useless trying to sway her. With a sigh, he dropped into a chair and allowed an attendant to bind up his hair.
He entered the breakfast room half an hour later, decked out in complete Fire Lord Regalia. The attendants in charge of his appearance had insisted that it was necessary, despite Mai's insinuation that only friends would be present.
As soon as he entered the room, he knew her definition of "friends" had been extended to political allies. The long, low table was filled and the morning sunshine was pouring in through the full-length windows and playing across the sun-yellow walls. Food had already been laid out though nobody was yet eating. Instead they were chatting amongst themselves, and those who had never been to the palace before were discretely marvelling at the rather cheerful decorations that graced this room alone.
Zuko spared the mural, which depicted the sun rising over a sparkling ocean, a glance before turning his attention to his guests. He nodded to Councillor Jiang and his wife, the highest in social standing of those present. He cast an eye over the teenaged girl sitting next to them whom he assumed was a daughter of theirs that he had yet to meet.
Further down the table, the more minor aristocratic families who nonetheless supported him were seated. "New money," Mai called them. Most of them had risen to power and wealth through military excellence and had lived in the palace city for no more than a single generation. They owned no factories or foreign lands and had few familial connections. Mai said they only supported him because they had nothing to lose by the war's ending and wanted to grab at whatever slice of power or legitimacy cozing up to the new Fire Lord could afford them.
Zuko didn't care, as long as they supported him and weren't constantly criticising any course of action he wanted to take.
He took his seat at the head of the table and all talking ceased. His friends and allies bowed before him until he instructed them to rise. The chatter began again almost immediately.
"Hey, Zuko!" Ty Lee leaned around Mai to greet him with a wave. He could see her sisters leaning around her in turn in order to cast him curious glances or demure smiles. He smiled back and nodded at her before turning his attention to a nearby platter and taking one of the spiced rolls that had eluded him earlier.
As he ate, Zuko was glad that custom dictated none should address him unless he addressed them first. It meant he could pass the entire breakfast in silent observation if he chose. While he understood Mai's reasons and even saw the necessity of the whole thing, he couldn't say he enjoyed having this kind of social function thrust on him unexpectedly. Very few of these people were actually his friends. Most of his friends were half a world away and he didn't feel particularly inclined to pretend to have the same kind of relationship with these people that he shared with them. So he sat in silence and ate, quietly observing the two-and-fro of the conversation.
Ty Lee, of course, had never been one to observe decorum.
"So, how's life in the palace, Mai? Your Mom said you practically live here now."
Zuko looked up sharply. Ty Lee was one of the very few people in the world whose comments could elicit a blush from Mai, as they were doing now.
"Only marginally more exciting than life back at home." She retorted.
"You hear that, Zuko? Your house's no more fun than Mai's."
Zuko resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "She only lives across the street. There's not a lot of difference."
"Well sure, in distance," Ty Lee's grin had Zuko waiting for the punch line. And sure enough, just as he had put a fork-full of spiced jook onto his tongue, she continued, "but it's not like there's a huge difference between living together and being married."
Zuko choked and started spluttering into his bowl. All around him pretended not to notice, but he caught a few curious glances from the other end of the table nonetheless.
"Hey, when you guys get married my circus pals can provide entertainment! Oooooh, and you should invite Sokka!"
Mai was regarding Zuko as he sputtered, a faint tint still staining her cheeks. He glanced quickly at her before looking at Ty Lee.
"We… haven't planned as far as marriage yet." He said quietly, all too aware that as many people as were able were surreptitiously trying to listen in on the conversation.
"Why not?" Ty Lee asked, all feigned innocence and curiosity. Zuko consciously relaxed his jaw.
"It hasn't come up."
"Oh! OK then!" Ty Lee beamed and turned away to strike up an animated conversation with her nearest sister as though nothing of any great significance had just occurred.
Of course, it had; for now the topic of marriage had come up and – not for the first or last time – Zuko found himself forced to consider it.
Marriage would solve several of the myriad problems facing him. For a start, it would forestall any further attempts by his nobles to entice him with their daughters. A marriage also bound his wife's family to him politically, meaning he could secure at least one permanent and staunched ally. But by far the greatest benefit to be had was an heir. This, more than almost anything else, would secure his reign.
So why hadn't he done it yet?
He chanced another glance at Mai. She too was now staring at her plate, the curve of her lips hinting at the faintest of scowls.
She was beautiful, pale skinned and dark haired. She was smart, especially when it came to politics. She was high born, not that that mattered to him so much any more. She knew the Fire Nation, its court and its inner workings far better than he did. They had been betrothed once before.
But he just couldn't imagine how things would be if they were married. Would they change? Would she take a more active role in palace life if they were married? Would they still argue?
Zuko sighed. Even the thought of their arguments wearied him. He cast around for another train of thought, and hit upon one all too easily.
Inevitably, the topic of the strike had come to the table.
"-absolutely preposterous," Nobleman Kuai was saying at the far end of the table, "that the peasantry think to achieve their ends at such disrespect to the crown."
"Of course, we do not understand how the minds of the peasants work," a genial voice next to him spoke, but the man was sitting back in his chair and Zuko could not see his face around one of Ty Lee's chattering sisters, "I would think they would have realised by now that the tending of their needs is subject to their co-operation."
"What do you mean?" Ty Lee leaned around her sisters to ask, further obscuring Zuko's view.
Nobleman Kuai graced her with a patronising smile, "They will get food once they go home."
"Well why doesn't someone just tell them that?" Ty Lee's mock innocence, so convincing to one who did not know her well, seemed to be charming Nobleman Kuai. "It wouldn't have to be anyone official. They could do it sneakily, as long as the people got the message. I'll go!"
"My dear, the mob is quite unruly. Anyone would advise against such an approach."
"Oh… Well… Ok then." And just like that, Ty Lee's attention shifted back to her food.
Zuko's however, did not. He stared down the table at the still-half-filled platters of food, and his guests, now leaning back on their cushions to allow the meal to settle. There was plenty of food left here, far too much to go to waste when their city was apparently under siege. And someone should deliver the message to the strikers, despite what his council said.
They were right though. He could not be seen to negotiate or bend to such behaviour. The messenger had to be one who was already counted as disreputable, one who was trusted by the common man and mistrusted by the aristocracy.
Zuko knew then what he must do. He rose from the table.
"You will excuse me."
Mai looked up from her plate, a flash of surprise chased off her face by an equally-brief moment of anger before she schooled her features back into their calm mask. The rest of the table's occupants had sunk once more into bows. Zuko nodded at them collectively and then left the room.
As he exited the room, he signalled a messenger to follow him. A residual habit, left over from having Toph as a houseguest, kept him silent until he was half way down the corridor, well and truly out of earshot of the breakfast room.
"You will go to whichever markets or play houses you can access and find me a blue oni mask, before tonight."
"Yes, my Lord." The messenger bowed and darted away, leaving Zuko alone. He paused for a moment as the corridor spilled out into the vast hall where paintings of his forefathers still hung. Then, having made a decision, he made his way toward his mother's garden.
It took little more than two minutes after he had knelt at the side of the pond for the turtle ducks to realise that he had brought no bread with him, and their quacking and splashing was beginning to drift away. So it was that he heard the booted feet on the pavement before the intruder had come close enough to speak. He glanced up and saw a messenger, a different one this time, standing before him.
She was dressed in standard palace uniform of russet robes, but her clothing finished at her ankles and her sleeves were bound. On each forearm were stiff leather braces which extended over the wrist and hand such that her fingers were shielded. She clearly handled the messenger hawks.
"My Lord," she spoke to her boots as she executed a stiff bow, "a hawk from Dao Sheng." She offered the scroll.
Zuko took it and broke the wax seal. His gaze skated over the scroll. His eyes widened and his lip parted without his really being aware. He read the scroll again.
The estate where Azula and other addled aristocrats where housed had been attacked. The letter's sender, one of the caretakers who lived on the estate, did not know who was behind it or who had escaped. He himself had only just managed to flee.
Zuko read the scroll a third time, cursed under his breath and then snapped his mouth shut. He folded the scroll into his robes and glanced up, surprised to find the messenger still there.
"You are dismissed." He snapped. And without waiting for her customary bow, he turned on his heel and headed for his study. He would have to draft another letter to Uncle, as well as a notice for Azula's recapture. He would need to convene another meeting with his advisory council. The danger of two escaped convict might weigh more heavily against the city's defences.
And then there was the meeting with Admiral Chan and Nobleman Ruon Jian, and the afternoon's court session.
With a sigh, Zuko pushed the door to his study open.
Despite the rest of day alternating between chaos and tedium, Zuko somehow managed to get to bed before four hours past sundown. He slept heavily however, and so it was that when an attendant came, as instructed, to rouse him at two hours past midnight, he did not wake easily.
His title, hissed so that the sound would not awaken Mai, drew him slowly from sleep. For one groggy moment, he wondered why he had not been shaken awake in the way Aang or Katara were wont to do. Then he remembered, and his eyes snapped open.
He slid slowly out of bed and silently waved the attendant away from where Mai still slept. The man was holding a package, bound in cloth. Zuko took the bundle and unwrapped it. Unblemished paint gave off a dull sheen under the moonlight filtering through a nearby window. Zuko set the mask down and reached first for his cloak. Having thrown it over his shoulder and drawn up the hood, he reached blindly for his swords, sitting in place on a shelf not far from his bed. His hand brushed over the heirloom hairpiece which lay next to them, and fixed around the sheath.
"And where are you going at this hour?"
Zuko froze. Slowly, his gaze turned to fall upon the bed. Mai was sitting, then standing, then pacing round the bed to regard him. Zuko released his swords and lowered his hand. Mai's gaze was fixed upon the mask on the table next to him.
"I was-,"
"You're going to try to dissolve the strike."
He turned toward her and met her gaze, "Yes."
"And you're not telling anyone. Not even me."
"No."
She stared at him.
"You agree with them!" He burst out, "You think I shouldn't talk to these people because it'll make me look like I can't stand up to them!"
"It's not them you need to stand up to, Zuko," Before he could so much as take a step back, she had closed the distance between them and folded his hood down, but her voice and expression remained weary, "peasants and workers don't care who sits on the throne. You travelled through the Earth Kingdom. Did anyone you meet care whether Long Feng or the Earth King controlled Ba Sing Se? It's not them you have to stand up to; it's your council."
He turned away and her hands fell from his shoulders.
"How am I supposed to do that? They're right. I can't let this city be overrun. And don't-," he threw a glare at her just in time to see her swallow what she had been about to say, her face closing back into its passive expression.
"Don't start that again." He looked away from her once more, looked down at the mask.
"Come back to bed, Zuko."
Moments later there was the rustling of sheets. Zuko sighed. Now, as always, that leaden tiredness had crept into his bones. She was right, as usual. Tomorrow he would face his council and outline his own plan for dealing with the strikers. With any luck, the issue would be resolved before the day was done.
Zuko shrugged off his cloak and handed it back to the attendant, who had stood silent and unnoticed through the entire altercation. With another sigh, he climbed back into bed.
________________
The war balloon drifted over the lower city of the Fire Nation Capitol. Fire Lord Azula reclined next to her father on the balloon's only chair, while Nobleman Fa's youngest son fed the boiler.
It was only a matter of time now.
Azula sat up and cast a glance over the side of the balloon. Below was the inky landscape, spangled by the lights of the lower city. Above was a sky smudged by moonlight reflecting off the clouds. And ahead… ahead was blackness, but for the faintly-blinking lights of what could only be the palace.
The rhythm of the Fa whelp's fire blasts changed. And with a slight lifting sensation that spread from her ankles to her midsection, Azula knew they had begun to descend.
"Why are we landing? We have not reached the palace city yet."
The boy turned dull grey eyes upon her and almost gave the most insolent of sneers before bowing his head. "The strikers still block the mountain road, Fire Lord. Should we attempt to pass by air without stating our purpose, we will be apprehended before we have even settled the landing."
"Oh, I do not – Strikers? What strikers?"
"Th-the strikers, Fire Lord, who have been-…"
Azula glared at him and he fell silent. "Set us down now! It seems my first act as Fire Lord will be to deal with my brother's incompetence."
As the balloon began a sharper descent, Azula cast a glance at her father. He too was sitting up now, and smirking out at the night sky. Azula scowled, an admonition on the tip of her tongue, when with a bump and a jolt, the balloon landed.
Azula hissed and smoothed her hair, shooting another glare at the Fa whelp in the darkness. To her pleasure, he quaked before her. A smirk still blossoming on her face, she climbed out of the balloon and started up the slope.
"Come, Father!" She did not look back to see if Ozai was following.
The shadowy hillocks of the sleeping peasants came into view as she approached the crest of the hill. She swept her gaze over them and stopped ten feet short of the nearest. In an instant, blue fire sprang to life at the tips of her fingers, spreading its bright light over the scene before her. The heat of it flooded her face and sang through her veins, dispelling the last of the lethargy that a lack of bending and life in the sanatorium had left her.
"What is going on here?" Her voice rang clear through the night air. Behind her, her father was a looming presence. The bodies before her did not stir.
Azula waited.
Within the circle of her flame's light, one of the peasants shifted, rolled over and then let out an obscenely loud snore.
Azula blinked. The corners of her mouth twitched down into an ugly scowl. In one swift motion, she dropped back into a familiar stance, her leg sweeping in a high arc and sending azure flames in its wake. They rushed out over the sleeping crowd to fall in hot cinders on sleeping heads.
The rustle of shifting bodies quickly turned to rumbled murmurs then startled shouts as grasses, clothes and hair fed her flames. In minutes, a hive of stamping, rolling and cursing people were on the ground before her.
She cleared her throat.
Only those nearest her spared her a glance. The rest of the gaggle continued with their fidgeting and mutters. Azula furrowed her brow, her scowl deepening. In an instant, she tensed and then punched at the air. A ball of flame erupted from her fist and bathed those before her in brilliance once more. Silence fell.
"Is this how you treat your Fire Lord? Bow when I address you!"
Those nearest her sank to their knees. But beyond her circle of firelight, shadowed shapes remained standing and murmurs rose among them.
"You're not Fire Lord!" A tall figure shouted, "You're the crazy pri-,"
Azula's arms whirled. The hillside was momentarily thrust into darkness as the flame fled her fingers. Then brilliant sparks arced from her fingertips and hurled themselves at the figure who had spoken.
In the blackness, his body glowed beautiful, blue and eerie for one shining moment as he was lifted from the ground. Then he fell with an ignominious thud, just another blemish on the hillside.
"I challenged and defeated my usurping brother in Agni Kai for the throne. Anyone who says otherwise is a traitor to my crown. I come to reclaim my right from the pretender. All of you," she gestured languidly with one hand, "stand in my way."
"However, I am feeling merciful. Return to your homes now and your transgressions will be forgiven. Fail to do so and you will be," her gaze lingered on the blackened corpse that had moments ago been a man, "punished."
More muttering broke out amongst the throng. Azula fixed those nearest her with a piercing gaze, and as expected, they were the first to draw apart. One by one, people stepped aside, clearing a path for her and her father to proceed up the mountainside to the crater lip. Azula passed them by without a second glance, her handful of flames held out before her. However, as high as her head was held, she still saw that several people bowed and still fewer knelt as she passed them by. She smiled.
Soldiers were waiting at the crater lip.
"Halt!" She was more than twenty feet away when the call came. Not far enough, should she call upon her lightening. With that knowledge foremost in her mind, she smiled at the officer before her.
"Let me pass."
"No unidentified persons are allowed into the city."
"You do not recognise your own monarch? I am your Fire Lord!"
The soldier quaked before her. As she had expected, he had seen her display and heard her words. Her smile broadened. Dear Zuzu, so faithful to blind loyalty, would never understand the power that pure fear could afford him.
Azula stepped forward, her gaze never leaving that of the soldier. His fellows had drawn up behind him now. They fanned out before her, a pitiful attempt to stay her course. Still, she held their leader's gaze as she advanced.
He looked away, his glance wavering over her shoulder and then flicking back to her. She was close enough now to see the faint sheen of sweat where her firelight reflected off his forehead. A rock skittered behind her.
Halting for just a moment, she turned her head a fraction. Her gaze flicked behind her. On the slope, barring the way she had just come, a number of the protesters had gathered and were watching. Azula smirked.
"The peasantry see what you do not. I am the Fire Nation's rightful ruler. Allow me to pass and I will be merciful. Allow me to pass and I will forget your loyalty to the usurper."
"Stay where you are!"
"Soldiers, stand down!" Out of the darkness, a new voice called. In an instant, all attention was drawn to the newcomer. The next second he had summoned a flame of his own. The pin in his topknot, a mark of his rank, gleamed in the firelight.
"But Lieutenant Fa-!"
"You stand in the presence of the rightful Fire Lord! Bow and let her pass!"
The soldiers before her wavered.
"That is an order soldier!"
Several of the men swayed, and then began to sink to their knees. First one, then two more, then more than half were pressing their foreheads to the ground. But more than a quarter remained standing. Azula glared at them.
"No!" The first stepped forward, his hands raised in a defensive posture. Azula smirked and fell into a stance of her own. The soldier lashed out. Flame leapt toward Azula. She threw two quick jabs. Heat and light exploded between them and when spots had ceased whirling before Azula's eyes, men were wrestling before her. Two of the loyal had leapt forward to restrain their traitorous fellow. Other resistors had joined the fray. Their ranks were quickly dissolving into chaos. Azula did not know whether to smirk or roll her eyes in derision. This was what the army had come to under Zuko's rule.
"Fire Lord." Lieutenant Fa had extracted himself from the brawling mess and was executing a stiff bow before her. When he rose, she saw that his lip was split, but aside from this he appeared to have escaped unharmed.
"It would be my honour to escort you through the palace city, and aid you in your restoration to your rightful throne."
Azula considered for a moment, her head tilted every so slightly to the left. Then she smiled at the man and nodded.
"Very well, lead on."
________________
For the third time in a week, Zuko woke to a crash at the door. Tired as he was, it took a moment for his mind to comprehend that the cinders and hot pieces of wood raining down upon his bedspread meant this was not another pointless interruption. It took a moment more for his previously-honed instincts to kick in, and by the time he had thrown himself from the smouldering bed clothes, the light from the hall had already been obscured by a long shadow.
He crouched, grogginess still clouding his mind. Were those shouts in the distance? What was that clanging noise? He could smell smoke. It seemed to take an age for his gaze to drift from the heap of bedclothes where Mai still lay to the doorway itself, and another age for him to meet the searing gaze which was boring into him.
His father stood in the doorway.
Before he had consciously registered the fact, Zuko was backing up against the wall, one hand groping for the swords he knew were lying on a shelf just behind him. But then there was movement by the door. A second figure entered the room. The ash and cinders now littering his bed suddenly fell into place as his sister came into view.
"Azula-," He did not even have time to fall into a bending stance. No sooner had he pronounced the name then his father was on him. A hand closed around his throat. Pain exploded in his head and back as he was thrown against a wall, his toes scraping uselessly, too far off the floor to support his weight.
His eyes began to water. Blood began to pound in his ears. Through the spots now dancing before his eyes, he saw Mai sitting up, slowly. He saw Azula's arms whirl, sparks dancing from her fingertips, slowly. His mouth worked frantically as he tried to shout a warning, but all that he could manage was a choked wheeze. He saw Mai's eyes widen as lightening leapt for her – slowly, so slowly. And then it struck.
Beautiful and terrible, she sat jerking and twitching, her body wreathed in tendrils of the cold fire, that last look of surprise permanently fixed upon her face. Zuko's head was spinning. He couldn't breathe. He needed to breathe. His hands groped behind him for his swords, but all that he found was the tarnished edge of a hair ornament. The last tendril of lightning pulsed and died. Zuko's vision went black.
________________
The wind ruffled Aang's robes as he loosed his hold on Appa's reins. Ba Sing Se sprawled below him, the stone forecourt of the palace becoming clearer as Appa circled downward. The sounds of fanfare drifted up to him. The smell of late-autumn sungi orchids wafted past his nose. Aang smiled despite the gravity of the news he bore.
As Appa swooped down for their final landing, Aang saw the honour guard, the source of the fanfare. At its head, at the base of the steps leading up to his palace, stood King Kuei himself. Several of the guards stumbled back as displaced air from Appa's landing buffeted them. Aang pretended not to notice and pirouetted nimbly from Appa's head to land in a neat bow before King Kuei.
"Good afternoon, your Highness!" He said as he rose. His boisterous smile was returned somewhat diluted, but the King's eyes were bright.
"Avatar Aang, it's good to see you again," the smile fell from the King's face. "I must admit that when I received word from the Fire Nation, I had my concerns. But you're safe."
"I am safe. But you should still be concerned."
The King's face, always so expressive, betrayed both confusion and reservation. Aang did not have time to consider what that meant.
"You must be tired. I'll have Appa fed and taken to the stables. Come, we'll find you a room to rest."
"Thank you, your Highness, but what I came to see you about really can't wait."
Again there was a look somewhere between confusion and reservation. Again Aang did not have time to consider.
"Very well. Then I believe this is a matter we should discuss... Privately." And with that, the Earth King turned.
Wearing a slight scowl, Aang followed.
He was led to the grand audience chamber, and stood idle as the Earth King mounted the steps to his throne. The man steeped his fingers and peered over the top of his spectacles at Aang. Aang fought the urge to fidget.
"First of all, I need to know what you have heard." The Earth King spoke first.
Aang shrugged, "the same thing you have, I guess: Azula's taken over the Fire Nation; she's welcoming foreign emissaries; Zuko's in prison."
"I assume the Water Tribe Chiefs, like me, did not send any such emissaries."
"Heh. No. Chief Hakoda sent Katara and Sokka and a ship of men to the north to gather support, and I came to you."
King Kuei arched a manicured eyebrow, "Excuse me? Support for what?"
It was Aang's turn to look confused, "for our invasion of the Fire Nation."
"Invasion? I don't know if I can lend my support to any kind of invasion."
It took Aang a good thirty seconds to realise that he had been standing in shocked silence and that his mouth was open. He shut it.
"What do you mean? This is Princess Azula! The girl who took over Ba Sing Se! And Fire Lord Ozai's with her too! They're going to try to take over the world again. They've gotta be stopped."
"That is true. She did take over Ba Sing Se. But the Fire Nation has withdrawn from the Earth Kingdom, they've dismantled most of their war machinery, and the comet has passed. It would take a lot of manpower and resources for them to even attempt any kind of invasion again."
"But they will!" Aang threw his arms out either side of him and began pacing towards the throne, the fact that he was in the presence of a monarch who was not a personal friend or family of such had completely escaped him and so he missed the look of disapproval that flickered across the Earth King's face.
"You don't know that. While I am not so trusting as to send emissaries, it must have been two weeks since this news was sent, and there has been no news of any incursions so far."
Aang stopped in his tracks, fists clenched. He took a deep breath, determinedly relaxed his hands and then turned to face the Earth King.
"So you're just going to wait until they attack you before you do anything about it?"
"Do not misunderstand me, Avatar Aang. I will make preparations. I will call up troop reserves. I will double forces at the Fong and other coastal bases. I will be prepared. But the Earth Kingdom has only been one year out of one hundred years of war. My people are tired of fighting, and I must listen to them. I will not attack the Fire Nation when such an attack is unwarranted. I cannot lend you any forces to take part in what would essentially be a Fire Nation civil war."
Aang stared.
"To be honest, young Avatar, and I speak as a friend, I believe you are letting your affection for the previous Fire Lord cloud your judgement in this matter."
Aang stood rooted to the floor. It took him a moment to realise that, not only were his fists clenched once more but his jaw was too. He whirled on his heel, the ruffling of his clothes sending eddying breezes whirling outward from him. They intensified, whispering then whistling then wailing until they yanked the doors to the audience chamber open and Aang strode out on unnaturally long and cushioned strides.
He wasn't biased. It wasn't just Zuko he wanted to save. The Earth King was right. The Fire Nation couldn't afford another war any more than the rest of the nations could. This would completely throw the world out of balance and he had no idea what to do about it. He had already taken away Ozai's bending. He could take away Azula's too, but he'd have to get near enough to her first and for that he'd need help.
So lost was he in thought that he didn't realise until he was half-way there that his feet were carrying him to the Jasmine Dragon. At that thought, his spirits rose. Iroh would know what to do. At the very least he would have ideas. And then there was Toph. The fact that he would have to return to the Earth King's palace in order to collect Appa did put a slight damper upon this ray of hope, but he pushed it to the back of his mind as he crossed the threshold into the teashop.
To say that it was packed would be an understatement. Every table was full and several people were milling about in front of a harassed looking young man who was trying to tell them that no, they simply did not take reservations and it was inappropriate for people to stand about waiting. Aang could hear Iroh's gravely tones from where he was bustling round the back of the teashop, as the rattle and clatter of teapots kept time. Chatter buzzed from all sides and a dozen sweet perfumes assaulted Aang's nostrils. But over it all was the rich, moist aroma of freshly boiled tea and just the faintest hint of spiced honey cake. Aang smiled.
Until the floor rippled under him and pitched him forward, wiping the expression from his face.
"Whoa!"
"Look sharp, Twinkletoes!"
Aang blew out a breath to keep from falling on his face, and used his momentum and a little airbending to continue the motion. He landed daintily with a ruffling of robes, to face his long-time friend and earthbending teacher where she was lounging in a corner table, one food propped on the table itself and the other dangling down to trail on the floor.
"Hey, To- whoa!" He could feel his eyes widening and was once again too late in realising that his mouth was hanging open. It hardly mattered, however.
Toph swung her foot off the table and stood. She wore a dress styled in what Aang guessed was the latest Ba Sing Se fashion. Too late Aang realised he was staring.
"You look like a girl," he blurted. Too late he added a half-chuckle and reached round to scratch the back of his scalp, grinning.
"Funny that." She grinned right back, and closed the distance between them far more quickly than any other high society girl would dare walk in such a dress. She landed a solid punch, half affection and half playful chagrin, on his upper arm. He winced.
"Ow!"
The blow quickly became a hard grip, her fingers digging experimentally into the muscle.
"OW!" Aang said again.
"Suck it up, Twinkletoes. You've been slacking."
"I have not! I've been busy."
"Yeah, busy playing kissy-face with Sweetness. You've been slacking."
Aang's stomach felt like it had dropped out through his feet. He frowned.
"Toph, Katara and I broke up."
There was a pause no longer than the time it took for Aang to draw breath.
"Eh, her loss," Toph said with a shrug. Then she flashed a grin that was all teeth "I mean; you're the Avatar. Just "cause you've let yourself get soft is no reason for her to dump you."
"I'm not soft!"
"Wanna put money on that? I could take you right here right now, even in this stupid dress."
"What is going on here?" At the sound of the gentle but steady voice, both Aang and Toph froze, Toph's grin still on her face.
"Ah, Avatar Aang. It is good of you to visit again."
Aang turned and bowed to the smiling elderly man before him, "General Iroh."
"I am not a General anymore and you do not need to bow to me. Please, sit. Won't you have some tea?" He gestured to the table that Toph had vacated. Several other patrons were eyeing it warily, Aang noticed, as though they would have liked to take it but dared not. In a few moments, Aang discovered why.
"Yeah, what can I get you, Twinkletoes?" Toph strode over to the corner table and thumped a foot up on one of the chairs rather possessively.
"You're a waitress?" Aang could not keep the tone of surprise from his voice and too late realised he was walking into trouble.
Toph scowled, "Yeah, why?"
"No reason! I just… You weren't uh… working when I got here."
"Hey, I'm an elite service. Now sit down!"
"Yes, Sifu Toph!"
Aang sat. He was smiling. He didn't need to look at Toph to know that she was smiling too.
"Uh… I'll have a pot of Oolong and some egg custard tart-,"
"The Regular and a Chicken Poop Pie. Got it."
"Hey wait, that's not what I-," but she was already gone, winding her way between the tables toward Iroh and the kitchen.
Aang settled back into his chair.
She returned not two minutes later with a pot of tea and two plates of food, and dropped into the seat opposite him.
"I've been given the afternoon off."
"Weren't you taking it off anyway?" That comment earned him a scowl, and Aang took shelter behind his first cup of tea. The steam tickled his nose. The first scalding sip washed over his tongue and down his throat to expand like glowing hope in his belly. It was delicious.
"So apart from your woeful love life, what's up?" It was as though her words had traded the tea for ice in his throat. Aang looked away.
"Oh, you know, the usual: King Kuei's being himself; Sokka's being crazy; the Southern Water Tribe's been rebuilt. It looks amazing. You have to come visit some time.
She scoffed, "Yeah, right."
Aang let out a sigh. So far, so good. With any luck, he could put off having to explain until there weren't so many curious ears around to hear him.
As afternoon became evening, people began finally to filter out of the teashop. Toph flitted away to serve people on occasion. Most of them greeted her with the familiarity of regulars, and showed no surprise at her unique menu. When she was free, however, she sat and chatted with Aang at her corner table. The two of them had made their way through three pots of tea and several rice cakes before the last group of patrons were ushered out by the same harassed looking young man who had been staving off loiterers all afternoon. With a final admonition and a shove of the teashop's doors, he managed to evict the stragglers.
"You should go home too, Tong Ri," Iroh called as he made his way from the back of the teashop toward Toph's and Aang's table, "I am sure that Miss Bei Fong and I can manage the cleaning up."
The boy gave a wan smile, hung up his apron on a hook by the door, and slipped out.
Iroh ambled over to the corner and stood beside it, his contentment almost palpable.
"Here, General Iroh, have my seat!" Aang began to get to his feet, his teacup letting out a soft thud as he set it on the table.
"No, no. Do not trouble yourself. I may be weary, but you have been travelling on a bison's back."
"Appa's the most comfortable ride there is!" Toph could practically hear Aang's smile through his voice. She rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, right." She muttered.
"What? He is."
"If you like fluffy snot monsters."
Aang did not respond to the bait and Toph rolled her eyes again at the grin she just knew he was wearing. A moment later Iroh shifted where he stood so that he could pour himself a cup of tea without elbowing either of them.
"What is it that brings you to my teashop, young Avatar?"
Toph sat up straighter in her chair, her feet falling to the floor. Aang had avoided the question earlier and well she knew it. He wouldn't be allowed to this time.
"Best tea in all of Ba Sing Se, haha!"
Toph frowned and pointed a finger across the table at him, "That's the second time you've dodged that one, Twinkletoes. What's going on?" With a shift of her feet, Aang's vital signs came into focus. His pulse was fluttering away and a moment later he let out a sigh.
"Azula and Ozai broke out of prison. They've taken over the Fire Nation capitol."
There was a gasp and a crash and Toph felt the shock of breaking china ripple through the floor. Iroh took a step back.
"That is… not possible. I received a letter from Zuko not a week ago."
"Chief Hakoda received a letter from Azula herself. She's calling herself Fire Lord." Aang's voice, devoid of its usual cheer, sounded low and thick, as though he were talking around something in his throat.
"The Captain of the trade vessel that brought the letter told us that the Fire Nation's fallen into civil war. We want to help. We've got to fight. This could undo everything we've achieved. But the Earth King won't send troops to help. Katara and Sokka and some Water Tribe men have gone to the North Pole. I'm supposed to be meeting them at Crescent Moon Island in a week. But without troops, I don't know what to do."
Silence rang throughout the teashop for the first time all day.
"What about Zuko?" Toph ventured at last. Iroh wasn't going to say it. Iroh couldn't say it and well she knew it. For an instant she wondered if she'd been wrong to ask, but she had to know.
"He's alive. He's in prison. Azula's invited envoys from all Nations. We were going to use that as an excuse to get close and then storm the capitol and rescue him but-,"
"You need troops." Toph said curtly. Next to her, Iroh seemed to sag into himself. She tensed, ready to bend a stool beneath him should he suddenly lose his feet.
"Yeah." Aang's reply was quiet and directed away from her, as though he too were focussed on Iroh.
Silence fell again, but this time it was short lived.
"I must go to him." Iroh's voice sounded almost hoarse, and no sooner were the words spoken than he was striding toward the exit. Before Toph could react, he had the doors open.
Then Toph was on her feet. She stamped. A low wall materialised in the doorway to the Jasmine Dragon and Iroh teetered just short of tripping over it.
"Hold it right there, Old Timer," to her relief, he paused. She could feel him tensing and thought perhaps it had something to do with her tone. He was the only person, aside from her parents, whom she almost always addressed with respect. Not now.
"What makes you think that if you go back there they won't just chuck you in prison with him?"
His shoulders seemed to sag and just like that he turned back from the powerful general striding into battle to the weary old man.
"Toph's right, General Iroh. You have to stay here right now." Aang said quietly from his chair.
"Yes," His voice grew louder as he turned back to face them, but Toph was startled by the frailness in it. He so seldom radiated anything but strength, "But I must send word immediately." To who he was sending word did not need to be stated: The Order of the White Lotus.
"You can do better," Toph piped. "You can send me."
Iroh froze again, "No."
"Why not?" Toph failed to keep the indignant whine from her voice.
"As you have just made plain to me, my brother is a ruthless man. If I will be in danger, you will certainly be so."
"Well yeah, but it's not like danger's anything new. Besides, if you go back you're just another Fire Nation citizen. He can do whatever he likes with you. If I go back, I'm an envoy. One sure fire way to get the Earth King involved is to take his envoy prisoner. I mean, I know your brother's dumb and all, but he's not that dumb."
"And if he is?"
"Then you get the whole might of the Earth Kingdom on your side. It's a win-win."
He seemed to sag even further on his feet. She almost wished she could retract the offer but instead she scowled and held firm.
"If you are intent upon going, I cannot stop you. But I would beg that you be careful and trust no-one."
"Gotcha."
"Come then. Let us close up. You must prepare, and write to your parents."
"Ugh. Do I have to?"
He did not respond. But when he turned away and headed back for the kitchen, Aang leant across the table to whisper, "Good one, Toph."
"What did I do?" She replied with false innocence.
"You made him smile."
Later that evening, she stood outside Iroh's apartment, a rucksack lending a familiar weight to her shoulder. She had thankfully been allowed to exchange the dress for travelling clothes, but they were still far too impractical for her liking. Aang stood a little way off, absently stroking Appa as he waited for her to say her goodbyes.
She punched Iroh lightly on the arm and grinned, "I'll be seeing you, Old Time-,"
She was cut off as Iroh folded her into a hug, "One would hope so, Toph."
He released her and held her at arm's length. She thought she may have imagined the dampness hitting her temples.
"I must urge you to make caution your friend. Hasty words will only bring you strife in such a place."
"Yes, Sir!"
"Take this," he pressed some tea into her hand, "And good luck." He released her.
Her grin faltered only for a moment, and then she stepped back and climbed up on to Appa. A breath of wind and rustling of robes told her that Aang had launched himself onto Appa's head. With a "yip yip!" Appa lurched, and Toph grinned despite herself. They were off on another adventure; by her second least favourite form of travel.
________________
"There! There!"
Katara smirked at her brother, hopping from foot to foot on the deck of their ship, and then followed the direction he was pointing to squint into the blue, blue sky. A tiny black blot was growing larger and larger and even as she watched, resolved itself into the form of a tiny bison.
"Aang!" She waved.
"He can't hear you." Sokka said from beside her where he had stopped his prancing.
"No kidding. If he could, he'd be able to see the little jig you just did." She sniped back. Sokka gave his best sheepish grin and looked back at the bison now bearing down upon them.
For her part, Katara turned her gaze out upon the vast empty ocean to the east.
"I don't see any Earth Kingdom ships." She said, almost to herself.
"Appa just probably travels faster than they do," Sokka's expression did not look certain as he said it and a moment later he was looking back at Appa and avoiding her eye, "They're probably just beyond the horizon."
"Since when are you Mr. Optimist, huh?"
"Hey, I tell it like it is. This isn't like last time at all. This time, we've got the upper hand. The universe is totally on our side."
Appa let out a call and a moment later men were shouting and the ship was rocking as he set down on deck. The wind picked up, lifting Katara's hair off her neck and sending it whirling about her face. But it settled a moment later and then Aang was standing before them, his usual beam somewhat dimmed.
"You made it!" He said.
"Of course we did. You didn't think you were going to beat us here did you?" Sokka said, as he gestured widely at the crescent island behind them. He seemed to have taken the comment as an affront to his sailing abilities despite the fact that he had spent more time with Katara planning what they were going to say to Chief Arnook than doing any of the actual sailing.
"Well no, I just that with the blockade-,"
"What blockade?" Katara cut in.
"They already re-established the blockade?" Sokka said over her. The pair of them exchanged shocked looks.
Aang looked momentarily confused, "The Fire Navy blockade, to the east of here. We flew right over it. They didn't fire on us or anything, but they're there, I guess in case of an invasion force."
"Is that why there aren't any Earth Kingdom ships with you?" Sokka looked hopefully around Appa at the horizon, as though expecting the delayed ships to appear there at any moment. Katara knitted her brows and frowned.
"No," Aang dropped his gaze and scuffed his show on the deck, "King Kuei didn't want to be the one to start another war."
"Yeah," Sokka's gaze shifted from the horizon back to Aang, "Chief Arnook was the same."
"What about King Bumi?" Katara asked.
"We went to Omashu, but he wasn't there." His gaze found Katara's, and for a moment she saw there the hopelessness that had on occasion taken him during their journeys together. Automatically, she reached out an arm to hug him, but as soon as she did so, his gaze hardened and his mouth firmed into a determined line. She dropped her hand. If he needed some distance to get used to just being her friend again then she'd give it to him. If he was trying to be independent then that was a good thing too.
"Wait, what do you mean "we"?" Sokka was saying. He looked from Aang to Appa's saddle, where an unfamiliar-looking girl was stepping gingerly over the side, her head bowed.
"What?" Aang turned to follow Sokka's gaze.
"Well, don't you move fast?" Sokka said, a grin splitting his face from ear to ear. He nudged Aang conspiratorially in the arm, "So you're going to tell us who she is then?" The girl was now sliding down Appa's side, to land in a heap on the deck not far from them.
Next to him, Katara had dissolved from thoughtfulness into a fit of giggles but was trying to squash the sound behind her hand. To his bewilderment, Aang began to chuckle as well.
"Um… Sokka? That's Toph."
Sokka looked from Aang to Katara to the girl – Toph, who had sprung to her feet and was stretching her arms above her head to crack her knuckles as she stared blankly out to sea. She inhaled, as though sniffing the sea air. Sokka held his breath. She hadn't hear-,
"I heard that, Snoozles!" A hand whipped out, her finger pointing straight at his nose. As far away as he was, Sokka still rocked back on his heels as though she had just thrust an arm into his face. Then she was striding toward them. Without any regard for personal space, she stopped short, her gaze directed straight into his chest.
"Uh… hi, Toph," Sokka stared determinedly at Toph's face, "you've uh… grown." He snapped his mouth shut. Had his voice just squeaked? Aang and Katara snickered behind their hands. Toph just raised an eyebrow and pouted before her expression suddenly cleared and she rolled her eyes.
"They're called boobs, genius," and she landed a solid punch right in the centre of his chest, "Surprised you haven't grown any, oh mighty warrior."
"Hey! I work out!"
"Yeah, right. That's not what Aang said. He said you've been playing house in the South Pole while we've been off saving the world, solving people's problems."
"But… Ba Sing Se doesn't have any problems, does it?" Aang looked almost genuinely concerned. Sokka would have marvelled at the level of deviousness the kid had finally attained, but his fight was with Toph right now.
"Ah HA! You've been in Ba Sing Se sipping tea and swaying around in your little girly dresses!"
Toph snorted, "I don't sway! And I could still whip you even in one of my girly dresses!"
Aang and Katara exchanged a thoroughly confused look but a moment later they both burst out laughing as Sokka paraded across the deck, his hips gyrating with each step. He sashayed down the deck away from Toph and, when he reached the mast, turned back to poke his tongue out at her.
She stared blankly into space, completely unawares.
Laughter roared from the stern of the ship as sailors, attention caught by the display, saw its climax. Sokka's face fell. Toph snickered.
"Whatever you did to make a fool of yourself this time, Snoozles, I'm going to have to wait for the land-based version."
"Yeah, yeah," Sokka muttered, stalking up the deck to grab Toph's arm, "C'mon. Your cabin's this way."
"Lead on, Captain!"
They took dinner on deck that night, sitting in a small circle next to Appa's tail with their food between them. It would have felt just like old times if it had been dirt beneath their feet and the creaking and rocking of the ship didn't keep intruding on their conversation.
The other Water Tribe sailors – those who weren't tending to the steering of the vessel – were below decks enjoying a far more raucous meal. From time to time, Sokka would throw looks toward the hatch, but then one of his friends would speak and he would turn back to them, grinning.
Once Katara was done trying to coax Toph to eat a meal she was too seasick to keep down, the four of them flopped back on the deck and lay in silence for a moment.
"So what's the plan then?" Toph said finally from where she lay next to Appa's tail. She couldn't see the stars or the ever-larger Fire Nation isles that were now slinking by in the darkness, and so she very quickly grew bored with lying still and quiet.
"Plan?" Aang asked.
"You know, the plan? We gonna bust in there and kick some butt like on the day of black sun?"
"We can't." Sokka said, "Maybe if we'd had some more support, but there aren't enough of us to make any kind of real assault. We'd be better off using the cover of envoys to get close to Azula so that Aang can take her out."
"What, why me? And what do you mean, take her out?"
There was a rustling of clothes as both Katara and Sokka rolled over to give Aang almost identical looks of incredulity.
"You're the Avatar. You're neutral. If any of us try to hurt Azula, that's an act of war." Sokka said.
"Oh. Okay then. So we get invited in and I just arrest her and-,"
"Aang…" Katara began, but Toph cut her off.
"Yeah, no. You're gonna have to kill her." She said.
There was an instant of ringing silence in which Toph restrained a sigh and tried to guess at her friends' reactions. Katara would probably be glaring, even though she had been about take her sweet time in getting to exactly the same point. Sokka would be looking grave. Aang would be looking clueless-,
"What? Why?"
Were this any other time or place, Toph thought, she'd have been happy to have just won a bet with herself. But as it was, Aang's naïveté of politics would probably just get them in even more trouble.
"You guys weren't there as much as I was after the war." Toph began.
"Weren't where?" Katara interrupted.
"In the Fire Nation. Duh. One of the major reasons this whole thing has probably started is because Ozai and Azula were left alive after the war. You can't do that when you kick a king off his throne. There're always gonna be people who want to put him back there again. And well, now they have."
"Are you saying it's my fault?" Aang said. The soft thud of booted feet on decking told her he had got to his feet.
"Of course it's not your fault, Aang. Toph doesn't know what she's talking about."
"Yes I do, Katara. You guys weren't there. You didn't hear them. Every time something went wrong there'd be someone whispering about how it never would have happened if either Ozai or Azula were still Fire Lord. They never said it so Zuko could hear, but-,"
"So how did you hear it then?" Katara said.
Toph shrugged, "I listened."
"Oh, so you were eavesdropping."
Toph almost laughed, "Sweetness, it's not my fault all you sighted people talk too loud even when you're trying to keep secrets. And besides, everyone eavesdrops at court. If they don't do it themselves, they get their servants to do it. Otherwise they'd never know who was planning to stab them in the back. So quit being all indignant about it. The point is; there can't be any loose ends this time. Aang's gonna have to kill Azula, and probably Ozai too."
"It's not my job to kill people I don't like." Aang said, his voice firm.
Toph rolled her eyes, "We've had this argument before."
"That's right! We have. So I don't know why we're still talking about it."
"But you're the Avatar," absent was the calculating energy that had infused Sokka's voice only moments before, "You're the only one who can take down a king without starting a war." Instead he sounded half-defeated, the way he did when he was running out of ideas and feeling the strain. Toph wondered if anyone else noticed.
"You don't get it!" Aang paced away, his boots thumping uncharacteristically on the decking, "Me being the Avatar is the reason I can't go round killing kings! It's not right and it's not my job. I'm supposed to protect the spiritual balance of the world. I'm supposed to help people fix problems that threaten that balance. If I just went round killing people, where would it stop? Should I kill the swamp people because they're Water Tribe living on Earth Kingdom soil-?"
"Aang, that's not-," But Katara was cut off.
"No! You all have to listen to me! I'm not some almighty king. I don't want people to just do what I say because they're afraid I'll kill them if they don't. It's not my job to kill people or play politics or solve every tiny little disagreement that people could figure out for themselves!" His voice had grown louder as he turned back towards them, but now it seemed muted, as though his words were directed away from Toph and toward someone else; Katara.
"Aang, we know," she said into the silence, "but the thing is, this does threaten the spiritual balance of the world. People like Ozai and Azula; they're never going to negotiate. They're never going to make peace. So we have to take them down."
"You don't know that. None of you know that. You told me I had to stop avoiding my responsibilities. Well, I am. But that means I'm doing this my way, and that means negotiation first." And with that, he stormed off. A moment later, the hatch to the lower decks creaked and Toph heard his boots descending the stairs.
Next to her, Katara heaved a sigh.
"Well, that was interesting," Toph said, "So, what's the plan?"
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AN: I'm feeling the need to defend this chapter a little bit. I don't like it when a story has a non-canon 'ship preference and kills off the canon love interest. I don't like the way Mai generally gets treated in Z/K fic. Unfortunately, I just couldn't envision a scenario for her survival in this story. Azula would want Mai dead possibly more than she would want Zuko dead. Ozai would want her dead because of the possibility that she could already be carrying Zuko's heir. While Zuko has some value as a hostage because of his friendship with the gang, Mai doesn't. So I just couldn't imagine Ozai or Azula allowing her to live. It's a shame because I was actually enjoying writing Mai in this fic. Sorry Mai.
Also, because I forgot it in the first chapter: I do not own Avatar. I make no money from this fic. I'm just playing with someone else's toys in someone else's sandbox. Thanks for reading!
