April 102AG
Azula had been home for four months. The Kyoshi Warriors live here now. They are Zuko's protective detail since he had almost been killed a couple of times after the war ended. Azula avoided them at all costs. She saw no reason to interact with the help. She never had before.
"It wouldn't kill you to be nice to them," Ty Lee told her.
"Why would I be nice to the help? They aren't here for pleasantries. They're here for a salary, one that Zuko pays them. I owe them nothing."
Ty Lee rolled her eyes. "I know you were nicer to your servants than you let on."
"Lies!"
"So it was a coincidence that you always let your personal servants take the day off when it was their children's birthday or that somehow there was always extra food made for the feasts that they could bring home?"
"How do you even know about that?" Azula never talked about any concessions she made. Concessions are for weaklings.
"They complained to Zuko when he failed to do the same." He didn't even realize that they did anything for the help. He never thought about how the palace ran before he became Fire Lord. It just ran.
"Let me guess, Zuzu didn't know how to schedule their vacation days or handle their rotations."
"I don't think he realized how integral you are in making this place run."
"If I'm so important, why am I still on probation?"
"You know why."
"I didn't kill anyone (technically). He burnt down a village and kidnapped the avatar. I don't even know how many people Iroh killed with his incompetence, somewhere in the hundreds."
"They changed, and you can too."
"That sounds so cheesy it makes me want to puke."
"What do I know? I'm just the help."
"That's right. Can you get me some dim sum?"
"I'm not a waitress. I'm a security guard."
"Then guard the dim sum!"
Ty Lee shrugged. "I do need to get back to work. Suki will be mad if she learns I'm here."
"Why because you might have a friend that doesn't dress like a geisha on drugs?"
"You really don't care about cultural sensitivity do you?"
"What?" I don't even know what that is.
"The world has changed. We're all more appreciative of each other's culture now."
"But our culture was built on waging war and taking stuff. They weren't very appreciative."
"Good bye Azula!"
"I was serious about that dim sum!"
Azula ended up ringing the bell and ordering her own. When it arrived, however, it had a note in it.
Dear Princess Azula,
I am sending you this note in secret because I needed to make sure that Zuko didn't see it. I assume he screens your mail. I wanted to inform you that there is an underground organization called the Defenders of Sozin. Its goal, as I'm sure you can guess, is to depose Zuko and replace him with a superior member of your bloodline. You are the first candidate although some members of our group are concerned about your mental stability. They would prefer your father, but unless he can get his bending back, he is ineligible for the throne.
I am writing without authorization of the group because I do not know if I can trust the leader. I am sure he has his own ambitions that he keeps secret from us, and he would sacrifice anyone else to get his way. I am telling you all of this because my loyalty is with you Princess. If you wish to join, I will recruit you. If you wish to bring them down, I will support you. All I ask is that if you can make it possible, see to it that I survive and ideally don't go to jail. My father is also in the organization and I would rather he survive too, but if one of us has to go to jail, it should certainly be him.
I await your instruction. If you leave me a letter where you received this one, then it will make its way to me, but it will be a few days as we are not using the mail system.
Best wishes,
A Friend
Azula decided to analyze the letter step by step. He (presumably a he) says that he is a member of this group but he would betray them if I wished it. He wants to save his father but not the expense of himself. He says he is loyal to me, but his loyalty is more than questionable. Do I trust him? No. Do I want to know more? Yes.
Dear Friend,
Thank you for informing me. I must say that I would like to know more before I decide what to do. Are you high enough up such that you can answer all of my questions? If you are not, then I suggest you find me someone who is. I always make my moves carefully with an endgame in sight. I will not join any group sight unseen.
Best,
Azula
She put the letter right where the first one had been and rang the bell, so the servant would take it away. Was she involved? Was it the cook?
"How was your meal?"
"Excellent," Azula said. "That will be all."
"Of course Princess."
The Princess had no one to trust with this information. Who knew where Lo and Li's loyalties really lied. They say they are with her, but after her treatment of them on Sozin's Comet, how can you really know? They were the only two who never left her, even after she banished them. If she could trust anyone, it would be the twins, but that was a big if. For now, she hid the letter in a secret compartment, one only she knew of, one that she had made when she first got the room.
She had to pretend all was normal and she did when she got to dinner.
"How was your dim sum?" Ty Lee questioned. Surely, she didn't know about the letter. She must just be talking.
"It was good."
"I thought dim sum was for a social occasion," Suki interjected, as if anyone had asked her.
"It often is, but sometimes it's nice to have tea and dumplings without mindless chit chat, emphasis on the world mindless."
Suki grunted.
Zuko shook her head. "I should have put a niceness condition on your probation."
"You should have, but you didn't. Maybe next time?"
"What do you do all day?" Suki questioned.
"I sit around thinking of things I could do to make Zuko really mad on my 20th birthday."
"I wish she were only kidding," Zuko grumbled. "I bet she'll start a wildfire the day her probation ends."
"Oh that would be reckless," Azula said. "I meant something less environmentally harmful like turning your conference room into an opium den during the World Summit"
Zuko choked on his food.
Mai hit him in the chest, dislodging it for him.
"I bet Kuei would like you more if you did that," Ty Lee added.
Everyone stared at her.
"What? Does he not give off the vibe, druggie who sleeps with concubine to you?"
"That's the vibe of every Fire Lord in history. Azulon kept going until he croaked and he was 95!"
"EW!" Mai complained. "I don't want to think about that."
"Sozin was known for taking in female slaves from the colonies he conquered. He had a harem, somewhat like Avatar Kyoshi. Did you know the original Kyoshi warriors were her whores?"
"AZULA!" Zuko snapped.
Unfortunately, she was correct. "The things you learn when you read a history book. Anyway, the first woman to get knocked up, Sozin married, hence Azulon became the Fire Lord instead of his who knows how many bastards. Azulon had bastards as well. Rumor has it grandma had them murdered so they couldn't challenge her children for the throne."
"I'm going to ban you from the dinner table," Zuko threatened.
"Didn't my doctor say we should spend more family time together?"
"I should pull his license for suggesting anything of the sort."
"That's too bad. I was going to suggest we go to the 25th anniversary of the fire whiskey house in Capital City next week."
"Together?"
"Yes."
"That sounds like fun." He was confused.
"That was the point."
"What are you angling for?" he demanded to know
"Nothing."
"I don't believe you."
"You won't find out unless you go."
"I hate you."
"I love you too Zuzu."
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"
"Yes my Lord," she said mockingly
"Don't call me that either!"
"How about brother dearest?"
Zuko could get through terse political meetings. He even almost went to war with Kuei over Yu Dao, but somehow, he always lost his temper with Azula and found himself on the losing side of a screaming match.
Luckily dessert came and he could just ignore her question to stuff his face.
Azula annoyed everyone in the table on purpose. When they were annoyed with her, they ignored her, which meant they would not pay close attention to her movements over the next couple of days. They were very easy to play, like pieces on a pai sho board.
It was a week later when she finally got a response back. Like her other note, it arrived on a lunch tray.
Dear Princess,
Unfortunately, I do not know everything there is to know about the organization, but I can tell you this much. There are formidable fighters who have joined the group. I'm sure you know of the Yuyan archers and the Rough Rhinos. They are both working for the Defenders of Sozin on a commission. I also know that some of these members lost family members on Sozin's Comet, so their motivation is more personal than financial. They just want Zuko (and presumably Iroh) to die.
Of course, the skill of the fighters is not everything. If you wish to know more about the politics, I can ask a higher member to speak with you under the guise of recruitment of course, but I do not command him. The meeting will have to be in a location of his choosing; I am sure he will not compromise on that. I return the ball to your court.
Friend
Azula was intrigued. If they are paying both groups, then they must have a lot of money to burn. There must be some high level nobles sponsoring this, maybe even some who publicly support Zuko. Azula knew it was risky but she had to meet with them.
Dear Friend,
If you can arrange this meeting, I would find it most helpful. Hopefully, the location is one that is away from the public eye as I would not want to be seen dabbling in this type of affair by too many people.
I will await your response.
Princess
Azula had the letter sent away before she had to get ready for her drinking tour with Zuko. She looked in her mirror. She had not had any serious combat training since the war ended and it showed. Her once chiseled stomach was only flat. Her strong shoulders were smaller as were her arms. Her hips and chest were bigger. She looked more like a woman and less like a warrior. That might be good for courting but it was not good for walking into the dragon's den.
She would have to start training soon, but she must train in secret. If Zuko knew she was training again, he would want to know why. She would need to find somewhere she could go where he wouldn't find her.
Two hours later, she took a carriage with Zuko to Capital City.
"Why a whiskey tour?" he asked her.
"They talk. We only have to listen and drink." Really, they only have to drink. They won't be tested on the material.
He nodded. It made sense.
They got there and the line was going around the block. The royals were escorted into the building, which was decorated in red black and gold, the Fire Nation's colors of course.
"My Lord, Princess, welcome." The tour guide quickly got them samples of their newest offering, Fire Whiskey Blue. It came in a blue bottle and was an ode to Azula's blue flame. There was a flame outline on the front.
Most of the tour groups had 20 people each, but this tour was just them and their guards, who couldn't drink on the job.
They learned of the nation's history of Fire Whiskey and how this distillery opened up 25 years ago to offer a more refined product as the nobles wanted to set themselves apart from the commoners who would drink any kind of swill.
"Your grandfather was here on our opening day."
Azulon had been an avid whiskey drinker. He liked it almost as much as he liked his whores.
"We gave him our first bottle." The guide presented them with one just like it. "This is from the same batch." He gave the bottle to Zuko.
They continued their tour through of the building, seeing where the mash was made and how it was fermented. They got to try every type of whisky there, which were 12 in all.
They were quite drunk at the end.
"We hope you enjoyed our tour and you will love our 25th anniversary."
Azula and Zuko managed to spend an hour together without fighting or plotting someone's demise. It might have been a record for the siblings.
"I want food," Zuko told her.
"There's an all you can eat steakhouse down the street."
"No one told me!" Zuko wanted some.
They went with their guards at their sides where they got a table. Tall men brought giant skewers of meat around. You told them the doneness and they cut it for you on the spot.
Not much in the mood for talking, they ate and they ate until they could no longer eat.
"You know, when it's just you, you aren't that bad," Zuko told her.
"Thanks, I think."
"Why can't you be that way at the palace?"
"Why should I be? They want someone to fear, someone to blame for all of the bad things that happened to them during the war. If I'm the bad guy, they get to be the good guys. They'll never see me differently. Why should I treat them differently?"
Zuko frowned, but he did not respond.
He was, however, still drunk when he got home.
"Did I ever tell you that you have a great ass?" he said to Mai when he saw her next.
"How drunk are you?"
"It's all firm," he gave her a good squeeze.
"Time for you to go to bed."
"Aw yeah!"
May 102AG
After three weeks, Azula doubted if she would get a response from her so-called friend.
She was drinking some of the whiskey they had gotten from the tour when she ordered some steam buns. When they got to her, there was a letter alongside them.
Dear Princess,
Sorry about the delay, but it took some time to arrange a secret location for you to meet a higher up. If you can make it this Sunday, we can arrange for you to be taken to him. Of course, you will need to go alone, preferably in garb that would make it hard to identify you from afar.
A Friend
Not seeing much choice, Azula went along with the offer and quickly got a response telling her to be at the Great Gates of Azulon at 12PM.
"Now that's not suspicious."
Azula had started running. It was a way of getting in shape and justifying leaving the palace grounds. She would need to be able to do more than just run, but she knew it would improve her lungs, which was essential for firebending. She told her brother she was going on a long run on Sunday and would not be available for the early afternoon.
"Will you be back by dinner?"
"Yes."
She ran out with a backpack so she could put a cloak in it and made her way to the dock.
"I need to get to the Gates!"
She paid the boatman for the trip and waited. She had 15 minutes until noon.
It was about 20 minutes when a balloon landed.
Azula didn't ask his name and he didn't speak hers. She got in the balloon and they headed northwest.
Soon, it was quite clear where they were going. Azula was at Boiling Rock.
Instead of signing in like she normally would have to, she followed the man down a series of corridors until she reached a cell at the far end. He opened the cell and disappeared. How he had a key, Azula had no idea?
"I must say this is a surprise." Azula hadn't seen him in almost two years. His hair was still long, and he was still formidable looking, but his skin was pale. It's like she could see his damaged chi from the outside.
"I'm glad you came." Glad. It's not a word Ozai often used.
She sat across from him, no hug or any type of familial greeting. She doubted they had time for that fluffy crap. "What is your plan?"
"I'll explain it another time. Does Zuko know you came here?"
"No."
"Does he know anything?"
"No."
"Then let me tell you this. I'm going to escape within 48 hours. It doesn't matter what Zuko does to try and stop me he will lose. Even if he can get the avatar here, he will still lose. You can tell him if you want to. It won't make any difference."
If Azula told Zuko and he got away anyway, he'd blame her. If she didn't tell him and Ozai got away, Zuko would want to know if she knew.
"Are you sure Zuko can't stop you?"
"Oh yes, but that's not really the important part. Don't tell Zuko I'm talking to you. Tell him whatever information you want, but stay silent on who gave it to you. You need a trump card in this game and that's the only one you're going to get."
"What game are we playing?"
"You'll see. Make sure you're in top shape."
That was all they had time for. The Warden would be back from his lunch break soon.
Azula knew the group would try to recruit her father. She didn't know that he was already involved in the planning, and that he would have his own side scheme. On the way home, Azula considered her information. She had a nameless informant who was working with his father who did not trust the leader but apparently trusted Ozai more.
Either he's an idiot or this leader is very suspicious. She has Ozai, who's presumably not the leader, but has his own influence in how this all turns out. Would he try to make her his puppet lord after getting rid of Zuko? Would he turn on both of his children?
Azula didn't know if she could trust her father at all, but she did know that she had to be the one to judge his fate, not Zuko. He was too biased.
When she got to the palace, she sought out her brother right away. "We need to talk."
"He's in a meeting," Suki told him.
"Don't care, this is a state of emergency and if he finds out you held me up, I guarantee you that you'll be unemployed by the end of the day."
"You can't decide that," she snapped.
"He can and he will, now get him out here before I burn down the door. I've done it before."
Reluctantly, Suki went to get him. "You're sister's demanding your presence and she said she'd burn down the door if you didn't come out."
"Of course she said that."
Zuko stepped out. "What was so important that it couldn't …"
"Ozai is planning to escape Boiling Rock. You have maybe 44 hours, probably less."
Zuko screamed. His face turned a shade of red Azula hadn't seen in years.
"In my study now." Zuko ended his meeting early. "I must apologize, there's a state emergency right now. He kicked out everyone except for Suki and Mai.
"What do you know and how did you learn it?"
"I received a letter when I got my dim sum that informed me that there was a rebel organization plotting your ouster. I wasn't sure if this was a serious threat or just some ticked off generals who were no longer getting bonuses for terrorizing villagers. The letter was nameless, and I had no corroborating evidence.
This afternoon, however, I met face to face with another informant who told me that they were breaking Ozai out, and it didn't matter whether or not I told you, there was nothing you, the Avatar or anyone else could do about it. Ozai was as good as gone."
"And who are these people?" Mai questioned.
"They call themselves the Defenders of Sozin. Allegedly, they are a combination of mercenary groups and angry relatives of people who died during Sozin's Comet. I don't know who their leader is. I wasn't told anything about him except my informant doesn't trust him, which is why he wrote to me asking for amnesty in exchange for information."
"Why not write to Zuko?" Suki questioned, not believing Azula for a second.
"Zuko might arrest him anyway and his father. Maybe he thought Zuko would attack the group immediately and he'd be killed for betraying them. He had a choice and he chose to take a chance on me rather than Zuko. I can't tell you his thought process. I still don't know his name."
"So for all you know, the first informant and the second informant are the same person?" Zuko questioned.
"It's possible, but I don't think so. I don't think the first person was lying to me. I don't trust him obviously, but his description of himself doesn't match who I met today."
"And who did you meet today?" Zuko wanted to know.
"A man who wishes to remain anonymous for obvious reasons."
"I don't care what he wants. Tell me who he is."
"I can't do that."
"Can't or won't?"
"It might be the same to you, but it's not to me. The informant doesn't trust you. Trust me on that. He'll deny everything, and it's not like I have proof that he told me anything at all. You'll be left with nothing but your own frustrations."
"You want to stay in the game," Mai told her.
"There's also that. I know you don't trust me. You don't really have a reason to, but you need me Zuko. You need someone to infiltrate the Defenders of Sozin, and who better than me. You obviously can't do it and neither can your friends. They're too recognizable, and no one will believe that any of them would want to harm you or dethrone you. I'm believable. Perhaps too believable for your comfort, but what choice do you really have?"
Zuko growled.
"You aren't thinking about doing this," Suki insisted.
"Let's just wait and see. If the breakout fails, then they're not as strong as they think they are and maybe you can track them down and thump them on your own, but I think you'll find that they've already infiltrated the palace, the government and possibly your reformed military. If they can take Ozai despite your best efforts, then you're outmatched. It's that simple."
"They won't get him."
"That's between you and daddy dearest. I'm sitting this one out."
Azula retreated to her chambers.
Zuko immediately dispatched additional guards to the prison. "I will have to prepare a special holding cell for him. "If Azula's right, then this group has already infiltrated Boiling Rock."
"What if it's the whole plot?" Suki questioned. "They could have had Azula tell you, so they could grab him when you try to move Ozai."
She had a point. No matter what he did, he was in trouble. "I need the Avatar, NOW!"
They sent a messenger hawk, which he received in about 5 hours. Luckily, he had been at home. He, Katara and Sokka came straight to the palace where Zuko informed them of his meeting with his sister.
"So you only have Azula's word that anything's going to happen?"
"She might be twisted, but she's not stupid. She wouldn't tell me about an ambush unless there's an ambush. The question is, did she tell me to help me or did she tell me so I would go into emergency mode and she could try to exploit any mistake?"
"You don't know whether or not to switch to your back up plan?" Sokka asked.
"Exactly!"
"Make up a new one," Aang said. "Don't use anything that you've told anyone about yet."
Zuko nodded. They had surveillance on the prison. Aang watched from the Sun Warriors' Temple, but there were no signs of any activity.
Sokka and Katara had a boat nearby.
The warriors would help them with the shifts, but it was 40 hours after Azula said they had 44 hours and nothing happened.
"Maybe they just suck," Sokka said.
"Maybe they saw Aang and they backed down," Suki offered.
Aang was on Appa, watching the prison carefully. He was tired, but he knew he only had a few more hours before the 48 hours was up.
He saw a craft flying towards the prison. He followed it to see who it was.
It was only the warden. "I'm just starting my shift," he told the Avatar as he went into the prison.
It was three hours to go. Aang went back to watching from the top.
Katara and Sokka got there at about 10:30.
"Only 90 minutes more to go," Sokka said excitedly. He had his sword and his boomerang, ready to take action."
Katara hoped that these idiots just gave up. The war is over. Accept it!
It was about 20 minutes to spare when someone shouted. "The guards, they're dropping like flies."
Five guards passed out in mere seconds of each other. No one knew why. Suddenly a wave of prisoners bolted from their cells, forming a stampede that overtook the remaining guards. Aang saw the chaos and came forward.
Katara and Sokka began to fight, driving the prisoners back into their cells.
"How did they get out?" Katara questioned.
"It must have been a metalbender," he said when he saw the bars.
One of the guards was bloodied up. "He needs a hospital," Sokka said. The poor man had been trampled.
They quickly sent him out on the prison's medical balloon. It wasn't until they got to the end of the row when they saw a guard in Ozai's cell.
"FUCK!" Sokka screamed. The injured guard they let out was Ozai. They had switched his clothes, making it look like he had been battered when it was really this guard.
With like 2 minutes to spare, Ozai had escaped Boiling Rock with the world's three most noted heroes right there.
They reported to Zuko. His scream signified to the whole palace that something was very wrong.
Azula knew he had failed. She knew he needed her now. Instead of going down to gloat, she waited for him to send for her. It had only taken him 20 minutes.
"I guess I need you after all," he said as he brought her into the room.
Team Avatar was furious.
"You can't be serious," Sokka told him. "She'll only help Ozai." Katara and Aang agreed.
"Well your plan didn't work. You're the one who sent Ozai in the balloon where he escaped!"
"He couldn't have known," Katara insisted.
"It doesn't matter whether or not he should have known that the guard was really Ozai," Mai said. "What matters is Ozai's gone and we don't know where he is or who he's working with. The person who knows the most about this situation is right there," she pointed at Azula. "Whether or not we like it, we don't have anything without her, so unless any of you can come up with a plan, like yesterday, our hands are tied."
"Can we at least get Toph here?" Sokka questioned.
"We already wrote to her, but she is blind," Mai pointed out. "Who knows when she'll get someone to read the letter to her."
"She's not the best with correspondence," Suki admitted.
She actually did show up two days later. "So let me get this straight. Your sister told you that the Loser Lord was gonna get out. You got everyone but me to help you guard him. He got out anyway, and now after you don goofed, you decided to tell me what's going on? Y'all suck!"
Azula laughed. "She's funny!"
No one else laughed.
"We sent letters to everyone," Suki told her. "They were just closer."
"Well, no use crying over spilled milk fan girl. So, Princess Zappy, what do you know about this situation?"
Azula explained how she found out about the organization.
"So if they weren't using the mail, then someone in the palace must work for these people?"
"Or he is close enough to the informant that he passed on the letters without asking questions, but either way the messenger has questionable allegiance."
"And after getting these letters, you arranged to meet with a guy who said Ozai's busting out, try to stop him."
"Yeah."
"And while they tried to stop him, what did you do?"
"Nothing."
"Why not?"
"They thought I was helping him. If I helped guard him and he got away, they'd just blame me. Now they can't which is why Fan Girl is so mad."
"SHUT UP!" Suki snarled.
"I'm going to ask you once, did you have anything to do with Ozai's escape or helping him avoid recapture?"
"No."
Toph frowned.
"You don't believe me."
"No I do believe you. That's why I'm frowning. It would be a lot easier to just blame this on you."
