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Fire Nation Palace – Afternoon

Appa, the flying sky bison, landed soundlessly at the entrance of the Royal Plaza of the Fire Nation's capital. Katara slid off, while Aang glided softly to the ground. Momo circled for a moment before perching himself on the Airbender's shoulder.

Before them was a great procession of Fire Nation officials, who bowed before the Avatar. Feeling his cheeks blushing, Aang waved his hand. "Really, there's no need to bow…"

Katara nudged him. "Don't be so modest."

A general approached the couple, and gave him a Fire Nation greeting of respect. "Welcome back to the Fire Nation, Avatar Aang."

The monk smiled warmly at him. "It's good to be back. But, where's Fire Lord Zuko?"

The general cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but the Fire Lord is momentarily … preoccupied. But no need to worry, he'll meet with you soon enough. In the meantime, allow me to take you a greeting room where the staff will prepare you some refreshments. We'll also make sure that your bison is well fed." Behind them, Appa moaned with joy.

The general motioned for the two to follow him as he began heading back for the palace. Aang walked beside him and decided to make some small talk. "So … how are things in the Fire Nation since the war ended?"

The older man shook his head. "Not as well as you might think. It's hard work to change a culture. The Fire Lord's approval rating so far is abysmal to say the least … not to mention that every other Nation is just seething for retribution. I'm surprised that there's been relatively no retaliation from them – yet."

"Things will take time to change," Aang replied. "The other Nations will forgive the Fire Nation. I promise you."

"I hope you're right, Avatar. But that's not the worst of it. A few nights ago … well, I'll let the Fire Lord explain it to you."

The general led them through the vast corridors to the palace and finally to an elaborate room. It appeared to be a parlor with some cushiony sofas and a large table laid out with snacks and tea. He motioned for them to sit down. "The Fire Lord will be with you shortly. In the meantime, help yourself to some food." With a respectful bow, he backed out of the room.

Aang sprung himself on one of the cushions as Katara made a plate of food up for the two of them. "What do you think the general meant when he said something happened 'a few nights ago'?"

The monk shrugged. "Who knows? It could be some kind of treaty dispute. Although…" His voice trailed off.

"What is it?"

"Well … it's just like … the Avatar Spirit is trying to tell me something. Trying to warn me."

"Warn you?"

He nodded. "Yea. Like there's something hidden … waiting for the right time to strike." He laughed. "I probably sound paranoid…"

"Not at all. I think you're right to trust your instincts." She handed him a plate of food and kissed him on the cheek, leaving Aang in a daze. Momo took the opportunity to snatch a few morsels out from under him.

The door to the room slowly opened, and two people hurriedly entered the room.

"ZUKO!"

Katara was on the Fire Lord in a heartbeat, hugging him like there was no tomorrow. He awkwardly patted her on the back. "It's good to see you too, Katara."

Aang sauntered over to his Firebending teacher, and politely bowed before him and Mai. "It's great seeing you guys again!"

Zuko beamed down at him, while Mai only nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"I'm glad you're here," Zuko replied. "When I heard that the Avatar was coming, it felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders." He bit his lip. "Something's happened…"

"Your general said something happened a few nights ago…"

The Fire Lord nodded in affirmation. "A few nights ago … Boiling Rock was infiltrated. The guards were found massacred. It was as though they hadn't seen their attackers coming. And then … they found my father's and sister's cells empty. They've escaped."

Aang felt a twinge of fear going through his chest. Maybe that's what the Avatar Spirit was trying to warn me about!

Katara was indignant. "Escaped?! How? I thought that the Boiling Rock was supposed to be 'impenetrable!'"

"It was! But, apparently, it's not anymore. I've placed the entire capital on Red Alert, but things need to be kept under wraps. The citizens already distrust me as it is! All they need is to hear that my father broke out … they might lobby to have him placed back on the throne!"

"Come on," Katara said. "After everything that's happened, would they really crown Ozai as Fire Lord again."

"Yes," was Zuko's firm reply. "A hundred years of brainwashing can't be undone so easily. The populace viewed him as a strong leader. But me … they're angry that I ended the war."

"That's so unfair!" Katara folded her arms angrily. "You've only been Fire Lord for a few weeks, but you've already done so much! Soldiers that have been away fighting for years finally get to come home and see their loved ones again! What do these people want from you?!"

Aang cleared his throat. "Do you have any leads as to who broke them out?"

"Several," Zuko answered. "But … the main suspect is an underground resistance group called the 'Brotherhood of Ozai'. It's led by former General Rozar. Apparently, they continue to support my father and his regime. For the past few weeks, they've been working tirelessly to overthrow me. They've used guerilla tactics, hit and run, assassination attempts. Just last week, they became even more violent, blowing up a public temple with blasting jelly. And, of course, that only served to turn public opinion even more against me." He sighed, rubbing his temples. Mai gently caressed his shoulders.

"It's been stressful on all of us," she explained.

"What can we do to help," Katara asked.

"I need you to stay here for a few weeks; stay on alert. Keep your eyes peeled for any suspicious activity and report it to me. I need to know everything – even unimportant details. I have to stop my father before he rallies the people against me."

Aang nodded. "I can patrol the capital on my glider."

"Good idea. But, I need you both to keep a low profile, understand? To the people, things must appear to be 'business as usual.'"

"We understand."

"Thank you." He turned to leave, before he paused. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I sent a ship to Kyoshi Island to pick up Sokka, and I sent a letter to Uncle to bring Toph here. With my father and Azula on the loose, we might need all the help we can get."

***

Kyoshi Island – Afternoon

Sokka and Suki stared each other down. After a few moments, Sokka withdrew a sword as the Kyoshi Warrior drew fans. They waited, daring the other to make the first move.

Sokka couldn't control his impulsivity and he charged with a battle cry. Suki smiled to herself. Got ya.

The two engaged in a vicious fight, as Suki easily dodged and weaved herself past Sokka's thrusts. "Come on, Mr. Swordmaster, you can do better than that." She loved to egg him on.

The Water Tribe boy grinned. "Of course I can. I'm just going easy on you. I mean, I wouldn't want to put my girlfriend into the infirmary."

"If I remember correctly, Sokka, last time we fought, you ended up in the infirmary. For a week."

He grimaced at the memory. However, this time, he was determined to get the better of her.

The two continued their fast paced duel. They seemed to be evenly matched. Suddenly, he managed to catch the Kyoshi Warrior off guard with a downward feint; as she moved her fan to parry the blow away, he charged with his shoulder, pushing into her side. She stumbled and lost her balance, only to find the tip of Sokka's sword pointed at her cheek and a big dopey grin on his face.

"I win!"

And then he lost all feeling in his arms. Then his legs. Then he just collapsed in a heap. He managed to roll unto his back to see Ty Lee helping Suki to her feet. They were both holding their sides in hysterical laughter.

"Hey, no fair," Sokka yelled at the acrobat. "That's cheating!"

"All's fair in love and war," Ty Lee giggled.

And then another Kyoshi Warrior appeared. She seemed distressed. "Suki, there's a Fire Nation ship docking. The captain says it's urgent!"

Suki nodded and motioned towards the docks. "Let's go."

And they made their way off.

Sokka tried uselessly to raise his arm toward them. "Hey, a little help here?!" They didn't seem to hear him and he watched helplessly as they walked away. If he had been able to, he would have crossed his arms.

"How typical."

***

Ba Sing Se – Inner Ring – Evening

Toph Bei Fong was bored. Beyond bored. She sat in her room, lips pursed and brow furrowed as she sat in a wooden chair by her bedroom window. The noise of children playing in the street could be heard.

Now here's an interesting thing about Toph – she could not see the children. In fact, she couldn't see anything. The young girl had been born blind. Toph didn't mind, though; she really didn't care and she didn't want anyone's "pity." She could still "see", but in a very special way. When one loses one of their senses, the other four are heightened. Toph could "see" through her feet. In other words, by feeling vibrations in the ground, she was able to form a rough image in her head. That, coupled with the fact that she was an Earthbender and naturally in tune with the ground, actually gave her a unique advantage over most normal sighted people.

As Toph sat there, bored, listening to the children playing and laughing, she was painfully reminded of her friends and all the adventures they had shared over the past year. When Toph first joined "Team Avatar", she was recruited to be Aang's Earthbending teacher. They soon found themselves against some of the most vicious foes in the world. Without Toph's help, they probably would have lost before they even started.

After the war she returned to her parents. They kept her under lock and key so to speak; they increased security around her and refused to allow her to leave the house unattended. They didn't want her running away again. However, they agreed to compromise. The Bei Fong family moved to Ba Sing Se, so that Toph could be closer to her mentor, Iroh, who owned the tea shop known as The Jasmine Dragon.

But even though she could still hang out with Iroh, she couldn't hang out with her other friends. Zuko, whom she nicknamed "Sparky," was now the Fire Lord and was busy running an entire kingdom. Sokka ("Snoozles") was living on Kyoshi Island, while Aang ("Twinkletoes") and Katara ("Sugar Queen") had returned to the Southern Water Tribe. Great, she thought. Soon they'll get married and then there'll be miniature versions of Twinkletoes running around.

Toph was pulled out of her stupor by her father, who opened her door. Without knocking, she mentally groaned.

"Toph," he said. "Would you come down for tea? We have a very special guest, and he's here to see you!"

The blind Earthbender raised her eyebrows. Great, she thought. Another suitor. Ever since she returned, her parents had been desperate to find her a nice, young man to marry in the hopes that he would take care of her. I'm too young to get married, she thought. Oh well, at least I can have some fun with him! Toph had had "fun" with the last two suitors, Earthbending them right out of the house.

As Toph came downstairs, she could feel the vibrations from the visitor, and her heartbeat sped up.

"IROH!!!"

She flung herself into his arms.

"It's good to see you too," he said. "Come, I brewed some Jasmine tea especially for you!"

As the family sat to tea with Iroh, Mr. Bei Fong began to question him. "So what can we do for you today, Mr. Iroh?"

Iroh smiled warmly as he sipped his tea.

"It appears that there is some trouble in the Fire Nation," he told them. "My brother, former Fire Lord Ozai, and my niece, Princess Azula, have escaped from their prison. My nephew requested that I return to the Fire Nation immediately. He also asked that Toph come too…"

Toph's spirit soared. She would get to see her friends – and kick Azula's tail again!

Her father's voice dashed her hopes.

"Absolutely not! My daughter just returns from a war, her life in danger many times over, and you want to take her away from us and put her in even more danger?! Out of the question!"

"But," Iroh protested meekly, withering under Mr. Bei Fong's reddening face.

"No buts," he said dangerously. "No nothing. My daughter is not leaving on another crazy escapade!"

"Saving the world is not a 'crazy escapade'. The world needs her help."

"Haven't you been listening to me?! My daughter is staying put. And," he added dangerously, "I think it's time you left. Toph, say goodbye to Mr. Iroh."

She nodded. "Goodbye," she said sadly.

"Please," the old man protested. "We really need Toph's help!"

Mr. Bei Fong angrily slammed the door in his face. Iroh could still be heard on the other side. "But … but … I didn't get to finish my tea!"

Mr. Bei Fong whirled around to his daughter. "Toph, I forbid you to ever see Mr. Iroh again!"

Her mouth dropped a few meters. "WHAT?! You can't do that! It's totally unfair!"

"End of discussion, Toph! Go to bed!"

"But it's still day out!"

"Don't talk back to your father," Mrs. Bei Fong barked, joining her husband's side.

Grumbling under her breath, Toph marched upstairs, into her room and threw herself on her bed. Tears leaked out of her eyes.

And then, an idea came to her…

***

Ship – Night

Iroh sat at a table on a crowded boat – the very one he and Zuko had ridden to Ba Sing Se that spring. Earlier that evening, he had taken a carriage which rode him to the docks. From there, he caught a ride on the ship that would ride along one of the Earth Kingdom's tributaries, and into the ocean. Then, it would be smooth sailing to the Fire Nation.

Hopefully.

Still, he felt bad about leaving Toph behind. Perhaps he should have pushed harder for her to join him, but then, who was he tell the Bei Fongs how to raise their daughter? He promised himself that when he came back from this whole ordeal, he would make sure she got to hang out with him more. He would also make sure that Zuko and Mai came to visit her more frequently. Finally, he would brew her some special tea just for her.

Speaking of tea, he swallowed the last mouthful from his cup, and looked down at the last dregs at the bottom. A waitress was ambling about, taking orders from all the people aboard the ship. "Excuse me, Miss." He waved his teacup around in the air. "May I trouble you for some more tea, please?"

"Sorry," she replied curtly. "All out."

Iroh's eyes bulged. "All out of tea?!"

"Well, we have some in the storage, but it's not made yet, so…." She trailed off.

Iroh puffed himself up. "Why, I happen to be an expert tea maker. If you'll permit me to raid your storage, I could make some delicious tea for everyone!"

"Knock yourself out."

So the old man headed downstairs and into the food stores. Humming softly to himself, he began grabbing as many jars of tea leaves as possible.

The ship suddenly hit a large wave, rocking the boat about. Iroh protectively held on to the jars for dear life.

However, the force from the wave caused something to fall from the ceiling. Iroh watched as whatever it was drew itself to its feet and dusted itself off, cursing. "Dang waves, can't get any sleep around here…" The figure stopped as it realized it was not alone.

Iroh, meanwhile, could not believe his eyes.

"Toph?"

"Mr. Iroh?"

The old man almost dropped the tea jars in his shock. "What are … how did you … I don't understand …"

The blind Earthbender shrugged. "Hey, I followed you."

"How?"

"Well, I told my parents that I wanted to go for a walk in the gardens. They sent a bodyguard with me to make sure I didn't try and follow you. To make a long story short, I left him neck deep in some bedrock and I ran to the city's public transportation office. I flashed them my family's crest and they immediately gave me a ride to the docks. Unfortunately, I didn't have a ticket and the idiot guard didn't know who the Bei Fongs are! So I snuck aboard and was napping up on the rafters until that blasted wave jolted me!"

Iroh was incredulous. "You are by far the most resourceful person I have ever known."

"To know me is to love me."

They both laughed. And then Iroh turned serious. "But what about your parents? Won't they be panicked?"

She shrugged. "No more than usual." Truth be told, she did feel a little bit guilty about leaving them again without telling them. But … this was more important. Helping save the world was top priority.

Iroh, on the other hand, as an adult, felt the need to reprimand the child. "Well, you should know that what you did was very wrong," he said. "But what's done is done. And I'm glad you're along, Toph. Dealing with Azula and my brother may be harder than everyone realizes. And I believe that there is something more behind this than meets the eye…"

"Hey," Toph replied, cracking her knuckles. "Just point me in the way of Princesszilla, and everyone stand back!"

***

Underground Base, Somewhere in the Fire Nation – Night

"Order! Order!" General Rozar banged a gavel on a long table and the room fell silent. The general stood at the end of the elongated table; seated around it were other Fire Nation generals, dignitaries, commanders, officers, etc. Dozens of Imperial Firebenders stood guard.

Together, they were the Brotherhood of Ozai. And they would see the fall of Fire Lord Zuko and the restoration of the rightful Fire Lord to his throne.

The Brotherhood of Ozai had been formed the very day as the coronation of Zuko. Rozar spat at that name. The boy did not have the necessary backbone needed to be Fire Lord. He ended the war, of all the cowardly things he could have done! And all his talk about peace and equality between the other nations – nonsense! There could never be any peace or equality. It was the Fire Nation's divine right to rule the world, bestowed on them by Agni himself!

The General cleared his throat. "As you all are well aware, there have been reports of Phoenix King Ozai and Princess Azula having escaped from prison. As loyal members of the Fire Nation, it is your sworn duty to find them and make sure that Ozai is placed back on his rightful throne!"

There were murmurings and whispers among the crowd. One young commander stood up to speak. His face contained a hint of fright at what he was going to say.

"There were whispers that … the Sun Tzu were behind it."

More murmurings and whispers.

The General cut him off. "This is a military meeting, commander. Don't bring stories of fairy tale cults here."

"With all due respect sir, I don't believe it was fairy tales. The guards in the maximum security wing of Boiling Rock were taken by complete surprise. They never saw their attackers coming."

Several officers whispered their agreement. The young commander continued. "We've all heard the stories of the Sun Tzu. They hide in the shadows. And they wait; they are masters of stealth, after all. They can dart through hallways undetected. And no one ever sees their attacks coming. They hunt their prey with animal instinct and -."

"ENOUGH," Rozar shouted. "Now listen here, everyone! The Sun Tzu are fictional. A secret society that's been manipulating world events for over a thousand years – please! Spare me."

"But," the officer protested. "There's evidence … the Sun Tzu collaborated with Fire Lord Sozin a hundred years ago to start the war in the first place!"

Rozar gave him a deadly look. "That's enough out of you! Now as I was saying, the Sun Tzu are fictional. They are just a fairy tale used to scare young, impressionable soldiers like yourself. Let me tell you something – no one, and I mean no one, can take a seasoned soldier like me by surprise. Not even the so-called 'Sun Tzu'!"

In an instant, dual blades appeared around the General's neck. All around the room, the Brotherhood of Ozai members suddenly found themselves taken by surprise as dozens of black-clad warriors appeared and held knives and swords to their throats.

A voice rang out from the shadows. "Just a fairy tale, huh?"

Shin Xao materialized out of the darkness, his hood blanking out his features. He pushed General Rozar aside and took the man's seat at the head of the table. Two dark warriors stood at his side.

"I am Shin Xao. And I see you've already met my 'fictional' Sun Tzu warriors." He acknowledged the black-clad stealth warriors holding the Firebenders hostage. He cleared his throat and continued on.

"I'm here to tell you that the rumors are all absolutely true. My Sun Tzu warriors were responsible for freeing Fire Lord Ozai and Princess Azula from prison. However, sad to say, that my men that were assigned to Ozai were ambushed. Ozai is dead – killed by the Avatar."

A hush fell over the room. General Rozar felt a lump in his throat.

The hooded figure allowed a moment of silence before he continued to speak. "Fortunately for us, we still have Princess Azula. In fact, the young princess shows far more promise than her father." He clapped his hands. "Princess!"

Azula gracefully strode into the room. She no longer looked disheveled, or even mad. In fact, she had regained her signature calm, calculating demeanor. "Princess, would you please give us a demonstration?"

Azula nodded. "But of course."

Shin Xao nodded at his Sun Tzu warriors, who released two Imperial Firebenders, who seemed rather confused. Shin Xao regarded the two Firebenders. "If you please, attack the Princess."

The guards looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

"Don't worry," Azula encouraged. "I won't consider it disloyalty. But I must advise you to attack me with everything you've got."

The two soldiers moved menacingly towards Azula, who stood confidently, arms crossed, almost bored. As the duo prepared to attack, Azula pointed two fingers at them and a white hot burst of flame mushroomed from her fingertips. When the smoke had cleared, all that remained of the two Imperial Firebenders were a pair of small, smoking piles of ash.

Rozar was astonished. "Impossible! There's no way … those two should have been able to take her down!"

Shin Xao chuckled. "Never say impossible, General."

"But how? I mean, Azula was pretty powerful to begin with, but not even she could turn two Imperial Firebenders to ash just like that! Nobody could do that!"

"But they could," Shin Xao replied. "With a little trick that I call Energybending." The General fell silent.

"Energybending?"

"Yes. The very same technique the Avatar used to take away the Fire Lord's bending. However, with enough practice, the opposite effect can be accomplished – that of amplifying someone's bending to new heights of power. Just as I did to Azula. She is stronger than ever – even stronger than her father!"

Rozar and his cohorts were stunned. Shin Xao allowed this new information to sink in.

"Do you know what this means, General," the hooded maniac asked. "I have the power to overthrow Fire Lord Zuko for you. I have the power to conquer all the nations – if you would but swear your allegiance to me."

A devious smile crept up Rozar's face, before he bowed low to his new Dark Lord. "The Brotherhood of Ozai swears allegiance to the Sun Tzu."

Shin Xao nodded. "Excellent. My plans are nearly complete. All I need now is the Avatar…"

***

Fire Nation Palace – Night

Aang and Katara were standing on the balcony of the bedroom furnished to them by Zuko. It had been a hard day on both of them. Aang and Katara had spent the afternoon and evening wandering the streets of the capital, looking for any suspicious behavior.

They found none.

Katara nuzzled herself against Aang's shoulder. The Avatar appeared to be lost in thought. He remembered his last conflict with Ozai. It had been one of the most intense experiences of his life. Even worse was when he faced Azula in the crystal catacombs under Ba Sing Se. She had practically killed him. In fact, for all intents and purposes, he was dead. But Katara, using her spirit water, managed to find the small bit of life left in him and heal him before he died.

And that was another reason for him to love her.

But now … the escape of his two archenemies disturbed him. Could he face Ozai again? Could he stop him again? Aang knew he had taken away Ozai's bending … but, he felt as though something was manipulating these recent events; unseen hands pulling the strings.

He shuddered.

Katara seemed to have noticed because she immediately asked him, "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head, not wanting her to worry. "No. Not all."

"Don't lie to me," she teased. "Whenever you begin getting all lost in thought like that, it usually means something's eating you. What's up?"

He sighed. "I just … I keep feeling like there's something out there, waiting for the right moment to strike. I … can't exactly explain it."

Katara warmly embraced him. "Don't let it worry you. If there's one thing I've learned, you can handle anything. If there is some unseen threat out there … I have full confidence you'll stop it – just like you're going to stop Azula and Ozai again."

Aang kissed her softly. That was one of the many things he loved about her. She could always make him feel on top of the world.

Their kiss was interrupted by the squawk of a messenger hawk, which had perched itself on a railing. It had a scroll in its beak and it started to nudge the bald monk. "Okay, okay," Aang said, taking the scroll from its mouth. He unfurled it and Katara leaned over his shoulder to read it along with him.

Dear Avatar Aang,

I know this letter may seem unexpected and even shocking to you, but it is of the utmost importance that you come to the Eastern Air Temple as soon as possible. I'll be there, waiting for you. I have many things that I must tell you in person that I fear to place in this letter. Let me just tell you that there are things about your people – the Air Nomads – that you must know. Forgive me for being so ambiguous, but what I must tell you … well, you have to see me in person in order to understand. Please hurry! Things are escalating out of control and even now hidden forces work towards our destruction and the domination of the whole world. We must work together to stop this new tide of evil – and if we fail, then what you've seen during the past 100 years will be nothing but child's play. Please, meet me at the Eastern Air Temple as soon as you get this letter. I look forward to meeting you, Avatar Aang.

Aang and Katara exchanged glances. Who was this mysterious stranger? What new evil was he talking about? And what did he know about the Air Nomads?

The young monk looked into his girlfriend's cerulean eyes and a moment of silence passed between them. Finally, Aang spoke up.

"Looks like I'm going to the Eastern Air Temple!"

***