Notes: Sorry this took so long! I was out of town all weekend without internet. But hopefully this will get all back on track! Enjoy!

Chapter Three

"Playing Games"

After impromptu romps, the next best thing to do while it was raining outside was a competitive game of Pai Sho while relaxed in robes and a nest of pillows. Unfortunately, Zuko hadn't inherited his uncle's scary genius for the game, but Sokka was surprisingly good for a beginner. Though in retrospect, it wasn't surprising at all that Sokka would be good at this certain game, when you considered his affinity for strategy.

Zuko's brow creased when Sokka's piece clacked across the board, executing a winning move that he had never seen coming.

"How did you…?" He was incredulous, fisting his hair in aggravation. Sokka only smiled sympathetically at him. This was the seventh game he'd won since they sat down. Anyways, he knew better than to suggest a different game, because Zuko was insistent that he was going to win a game of Pai Sho against Sokka if it was going to kill him! And spirits forbid Sokka took it easy on him. If Zuko had any indication that Sokka was letting him win or at least letting him lose less quickly, Sokka would never hear the end of it. He didn't mind winning every time. At least the conversation was entertaining.

"You should consider every consequence before you make a move," he supplied softly. Zuko sighed, resting his forehead in his hands, growling that he already knew that, and that this was starting to sound like one of his uncle's thinly-veiled life lessons. With a resigned expression, he dedicated himself to clearing the board and placing the tiles in the starting positions again.

"Maybe if you tried a different strategy…" Sokka suggested. Zuko shot him a look.

"Different how?"

"Different relative to previously attempted strategies." Zuko's expression was deadpan. He gingerly moved his first piece.

"So you're implying my strategies are all fundamentally identical?"

"Correct."

"Impossible. In order to be fundamentally identical, both entities must have all their properties in common."

"Yes, that's true, however the execution differs, and your ulterior thesis remains the same."

"Then they are not identical."

"How so?"

"Entities X and Y are only identical if every predicate possessed by X is also possessed by Y and vice versa. To suppose them indiscernible is to suppose that two distinct things are exactly alike, which is counter to the ontological principle."

Sokka leaned back and pondered this for a moment, while absent-mindedly playing his turns.

"But your theorem is flawed. According to your principle, entities are identical if and only if any quality possessed by X is also possessed by Y and vice versa, correct?"

"That's true," Zuko replied slowly, as if to say get to the point.

"The Blue Spirit is your secret identity, that is, you are identical people, but most people don't know this fact."

"We are still identical."

"Not necessarily. Zhao thought that The Blue Spirit is capable of disappearing into thin air. Zhao believed that Zuko cannot disappear into thin air. Therefore, the Blue Spirit has a property that Zuko does not have, namely that Zhao believed that he can disappear into thin air. Therefore, the Blue Spirit is not identical to Zuko," Sokka gestured wildly. "The conclusion is contradictory to the premise, therefore we can conclude that your principle is wrong."

"Zhao's loyalty was ostensibly to the Fire Nation, but he was additionally self-serving, despite him and the Fire Nation having conflicting motivations," Zuko explained calmly, as the tiles clacked across the board, the game all but forgotten in the midst of their debate. "Take, for example, when he chose to eliminate the moon spirit. His motive was sound on the surface: eliminate the moon permanently and this would aid the Fire Nation. However, eliminating the moon spirit would send the elements into flux, which ultimately does not serve the Fire Nation's best interests. However, this does serve his ulterior motive to converge on anarchy and confusion. Therefore, we can conclude that Zhao is capable of holding conflicting beliefs. Secondly, we can conclude that a person's belief about an entity is not a predicate of that entity, considering Zhao's assumption about the role of the death of the moon spirit was patently false. A person's belief about an entity is a predicate of the person who holds it."

Zuko took his turn as he said this. Sokka looked down lazily at the board, preparing to take his turn, only to be shocked. He glanced back up at Zuko's triumphant expression. I win, he mouthed. Sokka groaned, falling backwards into the pillows.

"Hey Zuko? Maybe we shouldn't talk about philosophy while playing Pai Sho anymore," he whined. Zuko blanched.

"Are you kidding? This is the only way I know how to beat you," Zuko grinned, setting up the board again.

"What do you know about the rule against perpetuities?"

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! Critiques and comments always welcome.