Firion Summer Palace

The Royal Infirmary

2459 P.D.E

Zuko woke to a world of pain. Half his face felt like it was still burning, a sinister tempo of throbbing pain at odds with his staccato heartbeat. His throat was on fire, the rancid taste of vomit and blood sharp on his tongue as he struggled and failed to open his eyes. Cloth rustled beside him and gentle hands lifted his head before a glass was pressed to his parched lips.

Blessedly cool water trickled down his throat, soothing some of the ache he hadn't even realized was there, though it was pulled away much too soon for his liking. The gentle hands laid him back against the pillow before he felt the person smooth the sheets covering his torso.

After several failed attempts, he managed to crack open an eye, catching the hazy outline of a figure dressed in red, fussing about him.

"M-Mother?" he rasped, treacherous hope blossoming in his chest as he prayed to whatever gods were willing to listen. Please, let it be her. I will take all this pain without complaints.

"I am afraid you will have to make do with me, nephew," replied the regretful voice of his uncle. Zuko felt the hope within him shatter as despair and disappointment welled up inside him.

"Uncle…" the hazy outline resolved into the tired face of General Iroh, his golden eyes dulled with sorrow as he looked down at Zuko.

"You must rest, nephew," he said, gently carding his fingers through Zuko's hair. Zuko closed his eye, and for a moment the ten year old could almost fool himself into believing that it was his mother that was taking care of him. "You need to regain your strength in order to heal properly."

"He really did it," Zuko mumbled, ignoring his uncle's advice as he struggled to sit up on leaden arms. The sheets pooled around his waist even as the world spun and the throbbing in his head intensified. Tears of pain gathered in his good eye though he refused to let them fall. No matter what Azula said, he wasn't a crybaby. "Father burnt me…"

He could feel the scratchy gauze wrapped around half his face despite the pain. But that wasn't right… even if he had been punished, he shouldn't still be hurting. The nano medbots should have healed him by now. So why was he still in pain? Why was he—

"I warned you not to speak out of turn in front of your father," Iroh murmured, catching Zuko as he suddenly listed to one side, gently laying him back in the bed. "The Fire Lord is not merciful to those who offend him, not even if they share his own blood."

He thought he saw Azula's head peeking out from behind a pillar but all he could think of was the pain. Some part of his wound have healed by now.

"Why does it still hurt, uncle?" Zuko hated how childish the words had sounded. He was the crown prince. He wasn't going to cry over every little hurt.

"The Fire Lord has forbidden the use of nano medbots to take care of your injuries. The wound will… leave its mark."

"Let this be a reminder for you." Father had said before the fireball had turned his world into agony. He had been marked like a common criminal. And now father wanted him to carry that mark for the rest of his life?

All Zuko could feel was a hollow dizziness as a fresh wave of tear stung his good eye, burning at the back of his throat in a way much worse than the earlier taste of blood and vomit. Was Azula still watching? He tried turning his head to look but suddenly Iroh was there, blocking his fuzzy line of sight with his bulky frame, holding out a cup of medicine for him. The bitter liquid burnt its way down his throat and Zuko coughed and sputtered long after his uncle had put the empty cup away.

The world spun in lazy circles around him as the pain began to fade, taking with it everything else until all that was left was the feeling of his uncle's fingers, once more running through his sweat dampened hair.

"I am truly sorry, nephew," he heard uncle say from far far away, "I wish I could have done something more to protect you. To protect both of you."

Zuko was lost to the world before he could muster up the energy to ask for an explanation.

-0-

Firion Summer Palace

The Throne Room

2464 P.D.E

Determined footsteps echoed through the deathly silent hallways that led up to throne room. The elderly general paused outside the entrance, waiting for the guard stationed outside to announce his presence before making his way inside, his head held high. Stopping at the foot of the stairs leading up to the curtain of golden flames that concealed the throne, Iroh bowed just deeply enough to not be considered an insult.

The flames flared twice before parting and the Fire Lord stepped through. Golden eyes as cold as stone observed the bowing form of the general, taking in the grey hair and multitude of wrinkles on the man's aging face, studying the set of his shoulders and the curve of his spine. Waiting for a few moments longer than necessary, the Fire Lord commanded the man to rise. Motioning with a hand he dismissed the lingering courtiers. "Now," Ozai spoke once the doors to the throne room had been sealed, "what was this matter of urgent importance, Iroh?"

The grey haired general straightened, meeting his brother's cold gaze with an even one of his own. "It has recently come to my knowledge that there are attempts being made to revive Project Avatar. More alarming, still, is that the leftover reserve of Avatarium 121 from the project's termination has gone missing."

Although Ozai's expression gave nothing away, Iroh knew his brother well enough to know that he clearly had not been expecting Iroh to have that particular information.

"I can assure you, General, these are nothing but rumors." Ozai's tone was one he generally reserved for those who had fallen out of the Fire Lord's favor.

"Are you certain of that, brother?" Iroh's, in return, was unyielding.

"Feel free to investigate for yourself if you wish, but you will find that it is just as I said. There was the barest tightening of Ozai's jaw as he reiterated, "These are nothing but rumors."

"If that is the case," Iroh folded his hands, sliding them between the wide sleeves of his tunic, "then why is it that four months ago, the Aimad Research Facility in Restricted Zone 43 was brought online?" That it was done in secret was not something that needed mentioning.

Ozai's eyes flashed in anger though, much to Iroh's surprise, his younger brother did not verbalize his thoughts on the matter. Only the sound of crackling flames broke the tense silence that hung between them. The standoff lasted for much long than it ever had before. There had once been a time when Iroh's firm gaze would have had Ozai quickly admitting to whatever mischief he had managed for that day to ire his older brother. But times had changed and so had his brother. Before him stood, not the mischievous boy Iroh had adored so much, but the Fire Lord, proud and unapologetic. That young, over-eager prankster had been smothered by the cold-hearted creature who didn't even care for his own flesh and blood. What had been done to Zuko and Ursa was proof enough of that.

There was no way to be subtle about it, Iroh realized as the silence dragged on and on. Ozai would not pay heed to subtle hints. Though he was also aware that his own life would be forfeit, were to go through with this confrontation, leaving his nephew and niece vulnerable to the Fire Lord's manipulations. Iroh was faced with an impossible choice. On the one hand, it was the children he loved as dearly as his late Lu Ten, on the other it was the entirety of Firion.

"Whispered rumors they may be for now, brother," Iroh said, finally choosing to break the silence and with it, sealing his fate, "but surely you must realize that once they reach the council, there will a thorough investigation into the matter."

"Have you ever wondered about how powerful a weapon we would have had in our hands now, had Fire Lord Sozin succeeded with the initial project?"

"Our forefather's search for power was what ultimately led to the destruction of the Home Planet," Iroh replied, keeping his tone even despite the way he clenched his hands beneath the wide sleeves of his robes. "Not to mention the millions of lives lost in the Aimad Waystation Colonies disaster. There was a reason why the council ordered for the project to be shut down and we both know it wasn't just because of the lack of Avatarium-121."

"Please." Ozai scoffed. "Don't tell me you still believe in those bedtime stories."

"Grandfather Sozin wiped out the Aimad settlements in his search for power," Iroh said, trying to keep his composure despite the crushing disappointment he felt. "We came dangerously close to being exposed a few years ago by that Southern Watibe researcher. It was a stroke of fortune that her vessel was destroyed in an Equalist raid taking all her life and the data she collected with it."

"Yes, it was a stroke of good fortune indeed." Ozai smirked.

Iroh paused in what he had been about to say watching his brother closely. The implication of what he hadn't said was not lost on him. With a sigh and the tiniest shakes of his head, Iroh spoke. "I had truly hoped it would not come to this, but you leave me with no other choice, brother. I cannot risk another incident like the Waystation Colonies."

Standing tall to look the Fire Lord in the eye, Iroh spoke with the authority befitting of his position.

"Fire Lord Ozai, as the Head of the Royal Council, it is my solemn duty to inform my fellow advisors of these rumors. You have exactly three days to order a termination of the renewed Project Avatar or the Royal Council might just find itself holding a vote to determine the future of the throne." The anger in Ozai's expression and the hard look in his brother's eyes was all the confirmation Iroh needed to know that he had sealed his fate with those words, but if he was to die, what was one more nail in the coffin? "I don't think I need to mention this, but after what you did to Crown Prince Zuko five years ago, you have lost the favor of a significant number of the councilmembers. I would urge you to abandon this foolish task while it has yet to take wing, brother."

-0-

Firion Summer Palace

Western Royal Gardens

2464 P.D.E

"Guess what I overheard Father say the other day, Zuzu?" said Princess Azula, younger sister to the heir of the Royal throne, as she strode into her brother's private gardens. These garden had once belonged to the Fire Lady Ursa, but after her unexplained disappearance over five years ago, the prince had claimed them as his personal sanctuary.

Although the official declaration of their 'ownership' so to speak hadn't come until after that memorable council meeting where Zuko being his hotheaded and brash self, had exploded at their father with demands of a proper investigation into their mother's disappearance. That had led to the one sided Agni Kai where Zuko had gotten half his face burnt off and then punished with a sentencing to bear the mark of shame for the rest of his life.

Of course, their softhearted uncle had oozed quiet disappointment and disapproval for Father's actions for months afterwards. While Azula could see their father's wisdom in dealing out swift punishment, a small part of her had to agree with uncle. Maybe father had been a little too harsh while dealing with her idiot brother. After all, if even the crown prince wasn't safe from such a humiliating punishment, what hope did anyone else on Firion have? Even so, the dummy should have known better than to speak to the Fire Lord like that. And that too in front of so many people.

She had snuck into the infirmary the day after Zuko's Agni Kai and no matter how hard she tried, the stench of burnt flesh and hair and her brother's fevered mumblings were something of a recurring nightmare that crept up on her when she least expected it. Azula had vowed that day that no matter what, she would never let herself be caught in such a vulnerable position. Ever!

She wasn't an idiot like Zuzu or a fool like their uncle. Honestly, what had gotten into the old man's head to go and confront father like that? It was almost as though he wanted to die.

Suppressing the urge to frown, Azula plastered an infuriating smirk that she knew annoyed Zuko to no end as she leaned against a tree and watched her brother practice his katas.

"Whatever it is that you have to say, I'm not interested right now, Azula. Now go away," Zuko spat as he punched out with a clenched fist and a brilliant ball of orange-gold flame burst outwards from the outstretched limb. Azula ignored the pang of hurt at the idiot's dismissive tone, choosing to hide it behind nonchalance as she pretended to examine her well-manicured nails.

"Not even if it concerns our beloved Uncle?" she asked slyly just as Zuko brought his leg around in a high kick, an arch of flames following the path of his foot. Zuzu's carefully built mask of indifference crumbled and then shattered as he stumbled in his landing, falling flat on his face. Azula resisted the urge to taunt him for losing his focus even as Zuko pushed himself upright and turned around to face her, breathing hard. Sweat glistened on his body in the silvery moonlight, casting phantom shadows to dance across his face as he closed the distance between them.

"What did you say?" he hissed, golden eyes so like her own, narrowed in mistrust as he searched her face for a hint of a lie. Azula tried not to let that hurt her either. After all, Zuko was an idiot who only saw what was on the surface. He still hadn't learnt to read the hidden meanings behind seemingly innocuous words, unlike Azula. A trait that she knew she shared with both her father and her uncle. General Iroh might always appear to favor her dummy of a brother, but Azula knew where she stood with her uncle. And unlike the uncertainty of her position with father, Azula had never once doubted the words of her uncle. Maybe if she hadn't gotten so good at seeing the meanings of the words left unsaid at such a young age, she might have resented the old man and her brother for their apparent closeness. As it was however, Azula was perfectly content with the way things were or rather, with the way things had been.

If only uncle hadn't been so stupid!

"I said, would you still not be interested in what I had to say, even if it concerns the Dragon of the West?" she repeated calmly, noting with interest the way her brother's face lost all color, which in the pale light of the full moon overhead was quite a feat in itself.

-0-

Firion Summer Palace

Eastern Wing, Residential Complex

2464 P.D.E

"Uncle!" Breathing hard, Zuko burst through the doors to the General's chambers, having run all the way from the gardens in the western wing of the palace to reach the residential complex in the east wing. The prince froze just past the threshold, wide terrified eyes surveying the darkened room in the warm, yellow light spilling in from the hallway behind him. A curtain fluttered in the slight breeze drifting in through the open window, casting dancing, silvery shadows across the carpeted floor. The bed was perfectly made and not yet slept in but there was also no sign of his uncle.

Zuko summoned a ball of flame to light his path as he cautiously stepped further into the room, ears straining for the slightest of sounds. His muscles were coiled in tense preparation to fend off any would be attackers. Azula's words had left him badly shaken but as the moments ticked by and nothing leapt out at him from the shadows, he felt himself relax just a fraction. He should have realized it by now. Azula always lied. And she loved playing all these stupid pranks on him. With a heavy sigh, Zuko turned, almost heading towards the door when he heard it.

It was a faint, shallow rattling that sent all his hair standing on end. Ice clenched his heart in a vicelike grip as he cautiously approached his uncle's private study.

"Uncle?" he called out as he slowly pushed open the door to the study and stepped inside. There it was again, that odd rasping sound. Zuko held the flame higher and felt the breath catch in his throat at the sight that greeted him. Furniture upturned, curtains ripped and destroyed documents were everywhere and then he saw his uncle, lying face down in a pool of rapidly spreading blood. "Uncle!"

The scarred prince dropped to his knees next to him, quickly turning him on his back. Deep slashes ran across his torso, exposing the white of his ribs, one of his arms was bent at an odd angle and he appeared to be struggling to breathe.

"No, no, no... Hang on, Uncle, I'll call for help," Zuko told him, trying to staunch the bleeding with his hands but the wounds were too deep and there was so much blood and oh Agni what was he going to do? "Guards! Help! It's going to be okay, Uncle. Don't worry, just— Just hold on. Guards!"

Where the hell was everyone?

"Zuko…" his uncle blindly reached for his hands and Zuko quickly turned his attention towards the dying man.

"I'm here, Uncle. You- Did you see who attacked you? Who did this to you? I'll hunt them down and—"

"Z-Zuko, help me… up." Iroh's breath rattled in his chest even as he tightened his grip on Zuko's hand.

"What? But, Uncle, you're—"

"Please, Nephew, I don't… have a lot of t-time left…"The Dragon of the West struggled to sit up on his own, despite his critical condition and Zuko quickly moved to assist him. "My writing d-desk." He instructed weakly as Zuko slung his uninjured arm across his shoulders, his footsteps faltering under the dead weight of his aging uncle before Iroh managed to find his footing.

Zuko's eyes were burning and there was something wet sliding down his cheeks as he helped his uncle across the length of the room and to the cherry wood writing desk. When Zuko tried to help his uncle to the chair, however, his uncle demanded he help him get under the desk instead. His immediate reaction was to loudly protest but seeing the look on Iroh's face, Zuko nodded and gently helped him to the floor and slip under the desk. His uncle fiddled with some sort of hidden mechanism underneath because the flat top split open with a loud hiss to reveal a concealed compartment.

"Help me up," came his uncle's weak voice and Zuko hastened to obey, trying to ignore the all the blood. "You will… need this if you are to survive… what my brother has in mind for you…" Iroh said even as he entered a series of passwords into an old fashioned security system installed in the desk and a secondary compartment hissed open.

For a moment, Zuko was stunned by the tiny flashcube and a datapad bearing the mark of a white lotus.

"Take them… There is a fully prepared… komodo-dragon class ship in my personal hangar… Take it and…" Iroh's eyes rolled in the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground.

"Uncle!"

"Zuko!" Azula's appeared in the doorway to his uncle's study, eyes wide and for the first time in his life, Zuko could see genuine fear in her eyes. "The Royal Guard, they— they're coming for you. You need to leave, now!"

"What?"

"You heard me," she said, covering the distance between them in an almost run, before she was reaching for his arm and tugging him to his feet. "Come on! There isn't much time, you idiot. You need to get out of the palace before they find you."

"Uncle is dead, Azula," Zuko said, resisting her attempts to pull him away.

"I'm sorry but you can mourn him later," Azula growled as she reached into the desk and grabbed the datapad and flashcube and thrust them in his arms. "Right now, if you don't listen to me and get the hell out of here, you're going to be next."

Not giving him another chance to resist, Azula proceeded to drag him through one of the secret exits to their uncle's study, going through the twisted maze of corridors before reaching General Iroh's private hangar.

Hiding in the shadows of the concealed alcove that the corridor lead up to, Azula turned to face him.

"I know you don't really trust anything I ever tell you, but at least trust in this that I don't actually want you dead."

"How did you know about this passage? And why the hell would the Royal Guard be coming for me?"

"It's General Zhao," Azula replied. "He has been filling father's ears against you for quite some time now. Tonight, I overheard him present irrefutable evidence that you have been working to undermine father's rule. And I'm pretty sure he's going to find some way to pin Uncle's death on you too."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"What part of I don't want you dead, did you not understand?" Azula bit out, peaking out of the alcove to check if the coast was clear before grabbing Zuko's hand and running over to the small cargo ship at the back of the hangar. She pulled out the access key for the ship from her pocket and threw it to Zuko. "Uncle left instructions for you inside in case something like this happened."

"He knew? And he told you?"

"Are you going to keep arguing with me until the guards arrive?" Azula rolled her eyes before groaning. Heaving a sigh, she turned back to him and continued. "Yes, Uncle showed me the escape tunnels and he shared some of his other secrets with me too. Yes, he actually trusted me to keep you safe and no, I'm not evil enough to want you dead. Now, if you're done being suspicious, get the hell out of here, Zuzu."

She watched the ship depart, watched until it was just another speck in the millions of stars in the night sky. Glancing at the holographic display that showed the time, she turned away and walked back to the alcove, resisting the urge to smirk. Everything was going according to the plan.

By now, the guard would have discovered the general's body and moved it to the infirmary. The Royal Guard would be searching through Zuko's rooms and probably discovered the condemning evidence planted there. Again, she bit back a smirk. In a few hours, Zuko would be arriving at the hideout and within a day he would be declared a fugitive, leaving her as the only royal apart from the Fire Lord on Firion.

Yes… Everything was going exactly according to plan.

-0-

SPECIAL PRESS RELEASE

FIRION INTERPLANETARY BROADCASTING NETWORK

The Dragon of the West is No More

Earlier this morning, General Iroh, elder brother to Fire Lord Ozai and the former Head of the Royal Council of Advisors, was found dead in his private chambers. The chief of the Firion Security Forces has yet to release a press statement regarding this tragedy however sources within the palace have confirmed that the General's health had been declining steadily for the past several months and that the former Head of the RCA most likely succumbed to whatever deadly disease had been weakening this great man. All of Firion is in shock and the interplanetary community has expressed their sorrow at the Dragon's passing and stands united with the people of Firion in this dark hour.

General Fong of the Irdom United Taskforce has—

.

.

.

Ex-Crown Prince declared Traitor to the Crown

In a statement released by the chief of the Firion Security Forces, ex-Prince Zuko had ties to and was assisting a sub-branch of the notorious pirate fleet the White Lotus. Condemning evidence was discovered in the ex-Prince's accommodations following an in depth investigation of Zuko's activities over the last couple of years. Although no official statement has been released yet, but many speculate that the Dragon of the West's death might have a more sinister reason than failing health. When members of the FSF went to bring Zuko in, the former prince escaped from Firion under the cover of a sneak attack, stealing a komodo-dragon class spaceship from the late General Iroh's private hangar.

Following the release of statement by chief of the FSF, the Fire Lord has announced that the ex-Prince is now exiled with a capture on sight order. Princess Azula, formerly second in line to the Royal throne is now the heiress apparent and will be declared as the new Firion Crown Princess in a publicly televised ceremony in two days after General Iroh's Funeral.

In the meantime, hunt for the disgraced ex-prince –

-0-

Firion Summer Palace

The Throne Room

2464 P.D.E (Two days after General Iroh's Funeral)

Azula smoothed out a non-existent crease in her ceremonial robes and glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Satisfied with what she saw, she stepped out of the antechamber and into the tiny alcove that would keep her concealed from public eye until the ceremony was to begin. Behind her, stood her closest friends, Mei and Ty Lee. The former leant against a pillar with her arms crossed and a permanent scowl glued to her face while the latter was grinning wide enough for all three of them, Azula returned the grin with a tiny smile of her own before turning back around to look outside the alcove.

Beyond the sheer, crimson curtains draped across the opening, she could see the servants scurrying towards the servant door off to one side. The last of them vanished just as the throne room doors swung open and her father stepped inside, dressed in his own more intricate ceremonial robes. He was followed by a procession of courtiers and the five Fire Sages. Father walked down the length of the hall before settling down in the grand throne and firebending a ceiling high curtain of flame to conceal himself from view. The Head Fire Sage moved forth and the ceremony began.

Azula waited patiently as the man droned on and on about the greatness of the Royal Family, reciting a seemingly endless list of accomplishments performed by a member in the past that led the people of Firion to their current prosperity. The official lamented the passing of the Dragon of the West when he reached the current generation of Royals but there was no mention of Zuzu whatsoever. It irked her a little to have her brother completely struck off from the family tree but then again, there was never any mention of the disowned. Azula turned her attention back to the official just as he announced her name and title.

The curtains hiding the alcove parted and the throne room burst into applause. In the distance, she could hear the loud cheering of the soldiers, the commoners and the less important officials gathered in the palace grounds and the streets.

Azula smirked as she stepped into the light as the only heir to the throne.

-0-

Restricted Zone 43

Aimad Research Facility

2465 P.D.E

Shen, the lowly patrol guard, stifled a yawn as he rounded a corner, idly wondering why in the worlds he had agreed to take on the stupid nightwatch in the first place. Oh right, as the newest recruit, he got the worst shifts by default, every day of every week for as long as he was the lowest grunt around. Maybe he should have gone into the family fishing business like his father had suggested in the first place.

Other than a bunch creepy scientists, who moved around with their eyes glued to their datapads and these two other guys who'd been sent to patrol the lower levels of the facility a week ago as some sort of punishment, he didn't even have any company, let alone good company. It wasn't like he could just walk up to one of the sealed doors and pop on the other side for a chat with whatever the hell they were keeping inside for their experiments.

As he rounded another corridor, Shen bit back an annoyed sigh, wishing his family had tried harder to dissuade him from joining the Firion Security Forces. No wait, his father, mother and even his sister had tried so hard to get him to stay but of course, he had wanted a life of excitement and action. Well, here he was, four months out of the training and still patrolling the lower levels of a stupid research facility. As if anything exciting would ever happen here of all—WHAM!

As the world grew dark around Shen, the last though he had was along the lines of 'Finally something exciting happens and I'll be unconscious.'

A masked figured melted out of the shadows as the camouflage suit rippled on contact with the guard's armor. The intruder grabbed his victim and dragged the unconscious guard down the corridor and into a supply closet at the end. Five minutes later, a young man with dark, messy hair and a gruesome burn marring the left side of his face emerged from the closet, dressed in a guard's outfit. Pulling out a keycard that he had taken from the guard along with the uniform, the young man made his way down the corridor. Pausing at the door, he inputted a series of passcodes before swiping the stolen card across the reader, his breath catching in his throat when the reader lit up an alarming shade of red. He was going to be so pissed if those passcodes turned out to be bogies.

Before he could turn around and make an escape however, the reader beeped and the light turned green. A moment later, the door slid open with a soft hiss. Exhaling softly, he stepped through. The door remained open behind his back as he made his way down the narrow corridor which opened into a fairly large laboratory a few feet ahead. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew the knockout pellets and rolled them across the floor. The pellets hissed as they released their contents and five simultaneous thumps followed. He waited an extra half minute to be sure that no alarm would be raised before stepping inside.

All five of the scientists were knocked out and he had already taken care of the security guards on that level. Though he did have to be quick. Even if none of the security guards ever bothered to venture out of their assigned zones, and his passcodes took care of the alarm system for a few hours, he couldn't linger for long. The sooner he got out of there with what he'd come for, the farther away he would be when it was discovered missing. Not bothering to hide from the now disabled security cameras, he scanned the room for the master control panel, making note of the five specimen enclosures built into the wall farthest from him.

He approached the master panel and typed in the passcodes he had been provided with. The system took nearly a minute to recognize him as an authorized user but once he was in, he had full control of the lab's systems. Unfortunately, disabling the security feeds meant he couldn't use the cameras installed inside the enclosures either. Biting back an impatient sigh, he took note of which of the five enclosures was actually occupied. He checked the data logs and frowned upon realizing that, three of the five held live specimens. He'd been told it would only be his target in there.

Nevertheless, he quickly approached the first enclosure and deactivated the primary shielding. The opaque covering to the enclosure slid apart soundlessly to reveal the translucent secondary shielding but he was far more interested in what occupied the cell. Inside, slumped against the wall, looking bored out of his mind was a dark-haired boy around his age, dressed in a neon green jumpsuit. The occupant had been playing with a couple of loose rocks, spinning them nearly a foot above his hand in a loose circular motion. An earthbender…

Shaking his head, the boy to the next enclosure and repeated the process of disabling the primary shield. This one was another dark-haired boy, also around his own age but unlike the earthbender, this guy was practicing katas of a Firion martial arts that was taught to the inductees from the lowest caste who weren't benders. An art form more suited to the use of bladed plasma weaponry but of course, if the unlucky bastard was inside the enclosure, they weren't about to give him weapons with which to escape. Still, not his target so ignoring the non-bender he moved on to the last occupied enclosure.

The primary shielding receded but much to his surprise, this particular enclosure appeared to have been modified for it occupant. Instead of a simple bunk bend bolted to the floor like the other two, this one held an altar-like structure smack-dab in the middle and chained to this structure with his arms and legs spread-eagled was a young boy. He couldn't have been more than twelve years old and yet he was being detained using much harsher measures than his fellow 'specimens'.

He only needed to search for a moment before he caught the blue arrowhead tattoos peeking out from underneath the boy's neon green jumpsuit. So that was one indicator that this might be his target but he needed to be sure. He quickly typed in the passcodes to disable the secondary shielding before stepping inside.

"You're the one they call specimen 112-A2, correct?"

Tired grey eyes met his own but the boy wore an expression of angry defiance as he spoke, inhaling deeply. "For the last time, my name is Aang!" and with that, the boy breathed out. A powerful gust of wind knocked the young man off his feet.

"It is you," the young man breathed as he landed ten feet away in a crouch. Straightening up, he glanced over his shoulder, to ensure that none of the guards had decided to wander out of their patrol zones before stepping back, closer to the airbender's enclosure.

"Who are you?" the airbender named Aang demanded though he made no moves to attack him again.

"Someone who's going to get you out of here," he replied as he searched the altar for an unlocking mechanism of some sort. He found one at the back, and unlike the secondary shielding, this one required another keycard in addition to the passcodes. He glanced at keycard he had stolen before moving back to the unconscious scientists outside. Searching through their pockets he discovered a slightly different keycard though it appeared like it would work with the altar. Two minutes later, the young airbender was free of the chains and on his knees, though he made a valiant effort of trying to stand on shaky legs.

The airbender looked surprised when the intruder moved to his side and helped him get off the floor. "You're not really a guard, are you?"

The intruder gave a wry smirk at that. "What gave it away?"

"You're breaking me out of this place!" the boy declared and he had to resist the urge to tell the idiot to keep his voice down. "You're definitely not a guard. And even if you are, you're a whole lot nicer than all those other jerks.

"Is that so?"

"Uh huh." That was when Aang's gaze settled on his scar. "That looks like it must have hurt a lot."

"It did…"

"How—"

"Let's go." The intruder cut off the question before it could be fully formed and hurried out of the enclosure with his cargo, moving towards the exit. "We don't have a lot of time before the guards notice something is wrong."

"Wait! What about the others?" the boy demanded, digging in his heels to make him difficult to move.

"They're not my concern," he replied in a clipped tone. "I only came to get you."

"But we can't just leave them." The boy protested as he freed his arm and moved towards the enclosures. "They're being experimented on, same as me."

"They're not my problem, 112," he snapped and the boy's expression closed off. The kid drew himself to his full height, which was still just past the intruder's chest and tried to look intimidating.

"Either take us along or I'll tell the guards just who came to steal their precious little experiment," the non-bender threatened before the airbender could speak. "Last I heard, they'd called off the hunt for your head a while after declaring you an exile but just imagine the number of bounty hunters coming after you, if word got out."

"Jet and I are both skilled fighters." Offered the earthbender after a beat while the intruder tried to stare the insolent non-bender into submission. "We could help you fight off anyone that might try to come after the two of you."

Clenching his fists in indecision, he made the mistake of looking over at Aang, only to find the boy giving him one of the most pathetic and pitiful looks in the history of the Quad. It was almost on par with his sister's kicked puppy looks.

"I won't let you get out of here with just the runt," the non-bender growled, ignoring said 'runt's' indignant cry of "Hey!" Jet met the intruder's gaze evenly, looking completely unafraid as he continued. "I'd do anything to get out of this place, your Highness."

Next to him Aang sucked in a sharp breath but Zuko ignored it in favor of trying to set Jet on fire with the force of his glower alone. After a moment, the exiled prince turned away and moved to the earthbender's enclosure, disabling the secondary shield for him first just to spite the non-bender.

"If either of you prove to be a liability, I won't hesitate to get rid of you," Zuko promised as he undid the secondary shield to Jet's enclosure and turned towards the exit. "I have a ship that can get you both off of Firion and I'm willing to take the three of you as far as Chameleon Bay Biome. We go our separate ways from there.

The three of them followed Zuko out of the research facility without any further protests. It was a really good thing that none of the guards had actually been willing to move out of their assigned zones during patrols. Obviously that security flaw would be fixed once it was discovered how he had infiltrated the facility so easily but for now, their stupidity was working out in his favor.

He led them across the rocky terrain to where he'd left his ship. The earthbender decided to speak just as they were boarding his ship, Menboku. "By the way, I'm Haru, your Highness."

"You can drop the honorifics," Zuko replied, refusing to look at his new companions as he marched across the cargo hold and up the stairs that led to the main body of the ship. "I'm an exile and I go by Lee."

The engines hummed to life as he activated the startup sequence and soon they were nothing more than a speck in the sky as Menboku broke through the atmosphere. Down below in the Aimad Research Facility, the first of the guards stirred awake to discover the downed scientists and empty enclosures. Unfortunately for them, with the security systems compromised, it wasn't until several hours later that the first alarm was raised.

Across the planet, in a secure room, a young woman dressed in pink grinned at the screen as she intercepted and altered the content of the warning that was being broadcasted across the Quad. Azula was going to be so pleased.