Aang woke the next morning on the cot in his cabin, to find that the fabric had imprinted on his cheek in the night. Rubbing at the abraded flesh, he headed up on deck with only fuzzy memories of last night's argument.
A cool wind ruffled his robes and lifted his spirits. He smiled as he spotted his friends, sitting on deck beside Appa, almost exactly where he had left them. The change in clothes and fresh meals before them were the only indication that they had moved at all. Sokka crouched, hunched over a map or parchment as always, his finger marking his place. Katara sat cross-legged, a bowl of jook held in one hand as she stirred it lazily through waterbending motions with the other. Toph laid back on deck, her arms behind her head, the toes of one foot scratching her other shin.
"What's going on?" Aang said as he approached. Sokka and Katara looked up, quickly masking looks of apprehension with cheery smiles. Aang pretended not to notice.
"No matter what happens, we need to get close to Azula so that we can get close to Zuko," Sokka began as though they were already half-way through a conversation. Instantly Aang knew that they had continued discussing after he had left the previous night.
"But we don't know if her invitation was real or a trap to gather hostages." Katara said.
"So we're sending the ship and the Tribesman on ahead. They've agreed," Sokka nodded in the direction of the nearest sailors, "We'll follow along behind on Appa. If it's a trap, we'll see them get captured and follow. We can rescue them, bust Zuko out and be on our way."
"If it's not a trap," Katara said, "we land in the plaza like it was our-."
"Ahem!" Sokka cut in. Katara glared at him through her eyelashes. He grinned, "If it's not a trap, we make a grand entrance on Appa and land in the plaza like it was our plan all along."
"Sounds good," Aang sat down and pulled the last remaining bowl of jook towards him, "What's being done about Ozai and Azula?"
Katara and Sokka exchanged a look.
"If we kill her, it'll be an act of war," Sokka said, "but if she attacks us, or we see evidence of war preparations in the capitol, we can take that back to the Earth King and Chief Arnook and hopefully they'll reconsider."
"And then what? You hope they'll start the war first?" Aang said.
"Well it's not like we have any other options, Twinkletoes." Toph retorted. Aang felt his face heat and he looked away. When he looked back, the reproach had not entirely abated from either Sokka's or Katara's faces.
"Once we've rescued Fire Lord Hotman and convinced the rest of the world that Ozai and Azula really are bad guys, we can bring the Old Timer along with whatever army they give us. If the Zuko and Iroh take care of Ozai and Azula, it's not an act of war and everyone goes home happy," Toph sat up, "Well, except Snoozles, but he's never happy."
"Hey! What did I do?"
"Okay then," Aang said, "when do we start?"
"Right now." A shadow fell across their circle. Aang looked up to see Bato looming over them, several packs in his arms. He held them out and Sokka scrambled to his feet to take them.
"We're coming up on the Great Gates of Azulon," Bato said, "If you don't want to be seen, you'd better have left the ship by then."
Sokka and Aang nodded. Sokka took the packs and began loading them into Appa's saddle. Katara was clearing up the breakfast dishes. Toph was scrambling up onto Appa's back. With a grin, Aang sent a burst of air to give her a hand. She yelped. Aang winced as she landed with a thunk in Appa's saddle, but a moment later she was hanging back over the side and yelling.
"You ever do that again, Twinkletoes and I will crush you, you hear?!"
Sokka and Aang exchanged grins and then stifled snickers behind their hands. Katara looked undecided between amusement and exasperation.
Not ten minutes later, Aang was seated on Appa's head and shouting the familiar take-off call. Appa launched himself into the sky. The sea wind rushed about Aang, chilling his lips, nose and ears in an instant. Despite what was certain to be imminent danger, the squabbling with his friends and the innumerable other tasks that always seemed to be waiting for him on the ground, he couldn't help but smile. The wind buoyed him up and brushed away his problems and for a moment, just one moment, he was flying fresh and free.
Aang looked down, a smile still lighting his face. The ship dwindled until it was just a piece of driftwood floating in the blue, blue sea. Ahead of them, he could see the statues spaced across the ocean. But no claxon sounded as the Water Tribe vessel drew near and no jet skis droned out to meet it.
Aang nodded to himself, and with a shake of the reins he drove Appa higher, oblivious to the fact that his friends did not appreciate the brisk wind nearly as much as he.
"We better make ourselves look cloudy if we don't want them to see us." Sokka called from the saddle. An instant later, the air seemed to thicken around them as Katara called forth moisture and spun it into a fluffy white fog. She left a tunnel ahead so that Aang could see where he was going, but above, below and to either side was thick mist.
Conversation dwindled quickly. Sokka shushed them whenever they spoke at any volume that was loud enough to carry above the wind. With Aang sitting Appa's head and Katara bending, Sokka and Toph were the only ones able to strategize in whispers in the back of Appa's saddle.
Hours later, even their whispering died, and a glance behind Aang told him that they had fallen asleep. He smiled to himself and then faced front again. They must have been up much later than he. He wondered how far their plans really extended. If Sokka had had anything to do with it, there was probably a lot of plan. But a lot of it was probably crazy.
Ahead of Aang, a smudge on the horizon was growing into bluish land. Aang watched as bumpy mountains grew out of the smudge. The steep main island of the Fire Nation breeched the horizon. Up here, in the fresh cold, it was hard to imagine the sticky heat that he knew was coming below. Even the sun's warmth, which had occasionally managed to break through Katara's cloud shield, somehow seemed cleaner up here. Still, the Fire Nation grew larger and Aang knew he'd have to leave the safety of the air which bore him so faithfully.
Aang waited until they were hovering over the harbour before waking his companions. They had arrived a little ahead of the Water Tribe ship and now he was looking down, his breath tense in his throat, as it made its approach. Nothing had come out to meet it so far, but there was still the harbour boon to negotiate, and no telling what would happen once the ship was inside.
"Guys? We're here."
Katara, it seemed, did not have breath to spare for an answer. He could hear her inhaling and exhaling loudly behind him. She had been bending constantly for hours. He made a mental note to watch out for her, should it come to battle.
There was a loud yawn and the sound of a fist hitting flesh, then Sokka's muted exclamation of pain. There were scrambling sounds behind Aang and moments later Sokka appeared next to him, peering over his shoulder, down at the Water Tribe ship.
It had arrived at the boon gate.
There were no claxons. There were no jet skis. As with the Great Gates of Azulon, everything was perfectly still. Then there was a whistle and everyone jumped.
A great grinding and screeching floated up to them from the harbour below, and even as he screwed up his face against the noise, Aang saw that the boon gate was lowering. It jerked down, and then slid to half way. He blinked and it had disappeared below the water line. The Water Tribe ship slid through the gap like water through fingers.
A collective sigh was released by the occupants of Appa's saddle.
"It's not over yet." Katara muttered.
The ship slid into harbour and now there was movement. Like bull-ants, Fire Nation men were swarming from the walls and battlements, and from the other ships in the harbour. Several larger-looking men seemed to be directing the soldiers and sailors to form up in front of the ship. But they were not forming ranks. Instead, they appeared to be forming two columns. An honour guard? Aang frowned. It was good that they didn't look like they were organising for a fight. That probably meant the emissary story really was true. But that left him wondering why there were soldiers in the harbour at all. He hadn't seen any on his other post-war trips to the Fire Nation. He had thought Zuko had downsized the army and navy to the bare essentials.
By the looks of things, Azula was moving fast.
Blue-clad Water Tribesmen were bubbling off the ship one by one. Bato was in the lead, recognisable at this distance only by his height. Aang realised he was holding his breath again, and let it out a bit too loudly. He breathed deep and tried to ease the tension in his chest.
The others had said that the Water Tribe sailors had agreed to this plan, but that didn't change the fact that if it all went wrong they were still in for another long stint in a Fire Nation prison before someone could come to rescue them. Aang didn't like thinking about being responsible for that again.
Bato bowed to the man who stood at the head of the impromptu honour guard.
The Fire Nation leader bowed back.
A grin broke across Aang's face, "That's it!"
"What's it? What happened?" Toph asked from behind him.
"The Fire Nation greeted them as guests." Katara said.
"Alright! Take us down, Twinkletoes. If I don't get earth under my feet again soon I'm going to hit someone."
Still grinning, Aang let slack into Appa's reigns and they began to circle down toward the plaza. The cloud dissipated around them, leaving them clearly visible to the harbour below. As they passed low over the shore, several soldiers broke ranks to look or point upward. As they pulled into a landing a little way into the plaza, more soldiers were spilling from the surrounding towers to greet them.
A weight slid onto Appa's head beside him and a hand fell on his shoulder. Aang looked and saw Katara smiling at him. He returned the smile but a moment later her face had fallen. Following her gaze, he looked.
The soldiers were not forming an honour guard for them. They were surrounding Appa at least three deep on each side now, and far too many of them had weapons at the ready. Aang frowned.
"What do I do? Should I take off?" he muttered to Katara. She stared at him and opened her mouth to answer.
"Welcome, Avatar. Please dismount your bison." A voice rang from the crowd. Aang glanced down to see an officer - though he didn't think it was the same one who had greeted Bato - staring up at him from next to Appa's left ear. The man carried no weapon, which probably meant he was a bender. Aang frowned for a moment. Then with a burst of air, he propelled himself to the ground, landing nimbly. He straightened up and looked at the officer.
"Please surrender all weapons and bending materials." The officer said. Aang heard three thuds behind him as Sokka, Katara, and Toph dismounted. The soldiers seemed to close ranks around them.
"Riiiight… Sure." Aang said. He took a deep breath. Every man tensed before him. But he exhaled with no greater force than normal and grinned up at the soldier, "All done! Now what?"
The man stared down at him, his face unmoving. But from behind him, Aang heard Toph's snicker.
Following his lead, Sokka and Katara came forward and gave up water skins and boomerang and sword respectively. Toph stepped forward to stand next to Aang, and only after she had done so did he realise why. The soldiers had closed in further, almost completely separating the four of them from Appa and their escape route. Though no weapons had been drawn, Aang started to feel more and more apprehensive. They had not been placed under arrest… yet.
"We will escort you to the palace city. Remain calm." The officer instructed. Immediately the soldiers around them sidestepped or moved forward. Many of them hardly seemed to move at all, but must have done as soon they were all facing the far end of the plaza, still surrounding the quartet and Appa separately. At a command from the officer, they began to march.
Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph had no choice but to march with them.
They walked the length of the boulevard and mounted the steps to the tower. The cloying heat pressed in around them all now that they were no longer airborne. It was as though the clouds above ensconced them as closely as the soldiers on the ground.
A moment of cool respite was afforded them as they walked through the tower proper, and then they were out into the lower city.
The whole place hummed with activity. Crowds of people parted like curtains in the face of their ranked escort, and despite their outlandish appearance, Aang saw only one or two curious gazes directed their way. On the contrary, most of the people seemed like they were avoiding looking at the procession as it marched on by.
"What's going on?" Katara whispered in his ear, but a moment later she had dropped back to wave at a pointing child, who was quickly spirited away in his mother's arms. Toph took Katara's place.
"Do you smell smoke?" she muttered. Aang sniffed hard, earning himself several glances from the nearest soldiers. They lost time with the rest of the procession for a moment, but then fell straight back into the rhythm. Aang looked away from them, at the sky.
"Yeah," he muttered back, stooping slightly to Toph's height, "There're factories burning coal to the east. I can see the stacks."
"Zuko closed down those factories." Toph muttered.
Aang nodded and then added "yeah."
Now that it had caught his attention, Aang couldn't help but see signs everywhere; Zuko's reign was done. Their escort was not the only group of soldiers wandering the streets. Everyone seemed to be hurrying this way or that as though reluctant to be out at all. Nobody looked at anybody else. There was no laughter. The coloured streamers and street performers, portable carts of spiced foods and gaggles of laughing children that had overrun the city during the celebrations and festivals in the days after the war had vanished as though they had never been. There was no music.
Aang frowned and looked down at his feet.
At last their path began to turn upward and they began the switch-backed trek to the palace city. It seemed that whatever their destination, it was closer to Zuko than the harbour. That was one good thing at least. But what if Zuko wasn't in the city's prison tower? What if he was in the Boiling Rock? What if they'd come to entirely the wrong place? Try as he might, Aang couldn't figure out a plan for how they were going to get out of this situation. The more he thought about it, the more he realised that getting off of Appa's back in the first place had been a bad idea. He could mount up in a second, but by the time the others had joined him, they'd be kindling.
He slowed, dropping back to walk next to Sokka.
"You have any ideas for how to fix this one?" Aang asked.
"Hey, I was following your lead." Sokka replied. He tried for a grin but it didn't reach his eyes.
Within ten minutes they had reached the crest of the hill. Aang tried to ignore the rather charred-looking bushes by the roadside and faced front. He bit his lip as though doing so would bite down on his curiosity; what had happened here?
As though determined that he should stand as long as possible in what he now saw was a battle ground, an order was shouted and their company stopped.
"Take the bison and lemur to the royal stables. See that they are well tended." The ranking officer gave the order over Aang's head. Before he had turned, the crunching of boots told him that the soldiers surrounding Appa had already begun to obey. Appa let out a moan.
"It's ok buddy," Aang turned as far as he could without shifting his stance, desperate to catch Appa's eye and offer him some form of assurance, "I'll be ok." His hand rose and found the familiar lump of the bison whistle beneath his robes. The cool ceramic rested against his chest. Appa subsided. Two soldiers took his reins and he submitted himself to being led over the crest of the hill.
The commanding officer waited until Appa and Momo had completely disappeared before attempting the narrow descent into the crater with his now far-smaller company. Within the crater walls, the signs of battle were far more obvious.
As they made their way down the switch-backed stair, Aang could see that many of the nearest houses had roof tiles missing. One unlucky house had an entire golden-coloured eave hanging off of it. On the ground, many of the buildings they passed showed charred scoring or damage to the masonry. The only people about seemed to be either soldiers on patrol or servants who were working to repair damaged property. A glance through a large archway showed Aang what had once been a park now charred free of grass. The soil lay ashen around one of the few remaining trees, whose head still stood high and green above while the trunk was burnt black below. Aang suppressed a shudder at the strangeness of it all and kept walking.
The palace loomed over them, and Aang had a moment's relief as he realised they were not being taken directly to prison. A moment later it was gone though. What if they were just going to be executed? He'd have to fight. He'd have to kill. He'd have-.
They crossed the threshold. Walking familiar hallways, Aang couldn't help noticing that many of the artworks glorifying the war and its perpetrators had been returned to their previous positions of honour on the palace walls. Zuko had removed as many as he could, but had not destroyed them, it seemed. Along the royal gallery they went, with portraits after portrait of previous Fire Lords looming over them. At some point their escort appeared to have halved, though Aang couldn't say when it had happened. That was one good thing at least. There'd be few casualties if it came to a fight.
At the end of the gallery, he stopped dead. A new portrait had been added. A portrait that's figure was wreathed in blue flames.
"Azula..."
"Fire Lord Azula." A gruff voice corrected. Aang glanced around but saw only a masked face, then the man jabbed him in the back and he stumbled back into a walk.
Two soldiers held a curtained door ahead of them aside. Their escort fell away. Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph entered the Fire Lord's throne room.
As it had been in days gone by, the room was lit only by flames. But whereas during Zuko's reign, it had been filled with a warm and almost welcoming orange glow, the room now shone dark and blue. The line of fire that separated the throne from the rest of the room burnt brilliant and blue. Aang did not need to make out the face of the shadowy figure who occupied that throne. The flames were more than enough.
"Emissaries of foreign nations." This voice too was gruff, but far more familiar. Aang snapped his head around so fast that the muscles in his neck twinged. It was that same haughty face, those same high cheekbones, and those same sunlit eyes that somehow carried no warmth. Ozai was dressed in rich russet. He wore a topknot unadorned. But he was smirking down at Aang. Aang gritted his teeth.
"The Fire Lord welcomes you to the Fire Nation and hopes you enjoy her hospitality. You may now present your gifts."
"Gifts?" Katara said from behind Aang.
"What gifts?" Toph added.
"Customarily a new Fire Lord is presented with gifts by all dignitaries both domestic and foreign," Ozai curled his lip, "however given your nations' respective financial positions, I am sure the Fire Lord will be most forgiving should you have forgone this particular courtesy. A show of respect may suffice."
"What if we don't want to show respect?" Toph jeered.
Ozai's eyes narrowed and he bared his teeth. Behind him, the flames roared. Heat washed over Aang's face.
"Bow." Ozai hissed.
There was an intake of breath behind him, but Aang cut Toph off, "It's alright, Toph." And without so much as looking at the throne before him, Aang placed a fist against his palm and gave a traditional Air Nomad bow. He would fake respect if it meant they wouldn't go to prison, but he wasn't going to do it like an obedient Fire Nation citizen.
The flames subsided, and then died. The figure rose from the throne. Aang glared.
"Welcome Avatar, emissaries of the Water Tribe, emissary of the Earth Kingdom." Her voice was as smooth as a freshly polished blade, and just as sharp. Aang could not unclench his jaw.
"It had been my hope that you would deliver my traitorous uncle to me by way of a coronation present-,"
"Not a chance." Toph muttered.
"-However, no matter. I'm certain he'll deliver himself to me in time."
Ozai cleared his throat. Azula shot him a look.
"I had further hoped that our greeting would be a more… personal one, however I have pressing matters to attend to. You will be escorted to your rooms. I would advise you not to explore the city too widely; however the palace is yours for the afternoon. You are of course invited to take dinner with me this evening." She waved, and once again they were flanked by soldiers. The men turned to face the exit and began hustling them out. Aang was once again left with no choice but to walk with them.
It all happened so fast and right away he found himself wishing he had said more. He should have confronted her about Zuko right then. Why were people just accepting her as Fire Lord? Why weren't people fighting it?
He hardly noticed the route they were taking through the palace. It was dark and strange and within five minutes he looked up to realise he had no idea where he was. Never before had he visited this part of the palace. Then all at once they had been deposited before a door whose frame was wreathed in gold leaf. The door itself, a departure from the curtains that sealed many of the rooms with which Aang was familiar, was panelled in a deep burgundy silk. Aang had a moment to stare at it in bewilderment before a couple of cowled servants pushed it open to reveal dim chambers. Aang recoiled but was hurried forward by Toph bumping into his back.
"C'mon Twinkletoes."
He entered the room. It was sparsely furnished when you considered its size, and particularly in comparison to the opulence of its entryway. Two beds stood against the far wall, with one more along each side. But the low lighting and heavy red drapes left the whole place feeling far too closed for Aang's taste. Even his cell back in the Southern Air Temple had felt more spacious than this.
Toph, Katara and Sokka did not seem to have noticed and were already staking their claims on the beds. Aang walked over to the last remaining and sat on its edge, watching his friends. At length, whatever muttered conversation they had been having during the walk died, and they all looked to Aang.
"Now what?" Toph asked.
"Well, we've got all afternoon," Aang injected a false cheeriness into his voice, "we could go visit Zuko."
"Not that I'm against breaking rules, but I'm pretty sure that counts as 'exploring the city too widely,'" Toph mimicked.
"Weeeell…" Sokka was tapping his chin and staring at the ceiling in mock thought, "technically she only suggested we shouldn't go out of the palace." He leant forward, eyes gleaming.
"Besides," Katara added, "we need to check he's actually okay."
"You're right, we do." Aang said, and then forcing cheerfulness into his voice once more, he added, "Let's go!"
A gust of air assisted Aang to his feet and he hurried for the door, all too eager to get out into the open air again. The others trailed along behind him.
___________
Zuko could no longer tell when he slept and when he woke. His dreams consisted of filtered light and cross-hatched bars. When he woke, his thoughts drifted always to dim bed chambers, burning bedclothes and the cold fire. And over it all, he ached.
He had given up on keeping track of the days immediately upon waking. He could have been unconscious for two or twenty and no-one would tell him. All he really knew was that he still lived, and he was beginning to believe that this was in fact not a mercy on his father's or sister's part, but rather a punishment.
He lay on his cot and stared at the ceiling. His midday meal had been delivered but he had not eaten. He was hungry. The food was not bad. A small part of him said he should keep his strength up. A smaller part of him said he would need it for when – if his friends came for him. But somehow, he could not muster the energy to rise.
The door to his cell squeaked on its hinges. Zuko rolled his eyes up to glance at the high slitted window. It was still light out, too early for the evening meal. He braced himself for the subsequent squeak of the cage door. He was probably in for another 'session.'
"Hey Zuko!"
Zuko froze. He knew the voice. He had not expected its owner to come walking sedately into his prison cell. He rolled onto his side and gazed at the four people standing before him; four people he had almost convinced himself he would never see again.
"Hey."
"You look terrible." Katara's voice seemed so small, almost a squeak. Zuko raised a hand to brush the bruising around his throat, now old. It was better they couldn't see the rest of it. But he could not hide the wince as he sat up.
"What happened to you?" Katara asked.
Zuko almost rolled his eyes.
"I was overthrown."
"Yeah, but…" Aang stopped and fell silent.
"Hey, it could've been worse," Sokka said, "considering who we're talking about. Glad to see you're okay."
"You haven't eaten." Katara said.
"Not hungry." Zuko grunted.
"Don't lie." Toph retorted.
"You have to eat Zuko," Katara sounded so earnest, "you have to keep your strength up."
"What for?"
"For when we get you out of here." Aang's voice sounded so certain. Zuko rolled so that his back was turned to them, so that they could not see his face.
"Zuko-…" Katara's voice.
"Leave." He muttered at the wall.
"Come on Jerkbender-."
"LEAVE!"
Feet shuffled. Toph muttered a parting quip. The cell door squeaked shut behind him.
___________
"Why would he just send us away like that?"
Sokka spared a glance from his mirror at the sound of Katara's voice, "He's Zuko. Being an angry jerk's what he does." He replied.
She was across the room, similarly engrossed in her reflection as she tried to fix her hair. They had all forgotten Azula's 'invitation' to dinner and had only been reminded of it by a stern looking guard once they re-entered their room. Choices in clothing, all in Fire Nation colours, had been laid out for them, but Sokka had stubbornly refused to oblige the hint. Turning back to his mirror, he straightened his best blue tunic one last time and grinned at his reflection.
"Or, ya know, the fact that he's just been overthrown could have something to do with it." Toph said from her bed. She had refused the Fire Nation attire as well, although Sokka wasn't sure if it was a show of national pride or just her preference for the less-formal outfits someone had packed for her. He stared at her a moment, wondering what she'd look like done up in those fancy reds and pinks. He shook his head. Even sprawled on a bed picking her toes, she looked better in a nice healthy Earth Kingdom green.
There was a knock at the door. Out of old habit, Sokka's hand went to his sword hilt. Too late, he remembered that their weapons, along with their packs, had not yet been returned to them.
A guard entered. With a puff of air, Aang pushed himself off his bed. Katara flanked him on one side. Sokka hurried to join them.
"Dinner will be served shortly." The guard was curt. He spun on his heel and walked from the room. Sokka looked over Aang's head to exchange a glance with Katara. They hesitated. But Aang had already fallen into step following the guard. Sokka started after him and, glancing over his shoulder, made sure Toph was following close.
They were led back through the mazes of halls. Sokka's gaze was drawn from gleaming blade to gleaming blade, all of which had passed in a whirl the first time they had been led this way. The afternoon had seen them take a different, more meandering route back to familiar territory – the palace gardens – before they'd oriented themselves enough to exit the palace. Now, in the flickering light and with the walls covered in dark fabric the way they were he couldn't be sure, but he thought some of the blades were still stained dark. He frowned.
He hadn't visited the Fire Nation after the war more than twice, but even he had seen the changes Zuko had wrought. As big as the palace was, he knew there hadn't been these kinds of wall-to-wall displays of arms during Zuko's reign. For some reason, the guy preferred paintings and tapestries or even bare walls. Sokka had guessed it was just because he'd spent years of his life on a metal tub, but now he began to wonder otherwise.
Sokka was a warrior. He would never shrink from displays of strength, especially as the stuff hanging on the walls was probably put there just to try to scare him. But he had to admit that the sheer number of trophies the Fire Nation seemed willing to display was a little intimidating. Looking around, he saw Katara almost shrinking back into the group. Aang's gaze seemed to be resolutely fixed on the back of their guide. Only Toph was unaffected. Sokka grinned. Of course she was. All she had to do was trail her fingers along the wall and an entire display would be left as little more than shredded-…
The scent of snail-oyster sauce and lemon water heralded their arrival in the dining hall. Sokka inhaled deeply as they crossed the threshold, and then wrinkled his nose.
This room was larger than their bed chamber and by far more spacious, holding only a round banquet table. It was lighter in here. Sconces brimmed with fire at regular intervals but the walls were still shrouded in burgundy silk. Directly opposite from their entry point, hung an enormous painting showing three figures. The first held a proud posture as she hurled lightening at the second, who lay dishevelled, the livid scar over his left eye distorting his face almost beyond recognition. He cowered in front of the third as though to protect her from the oncoming lightening. She – Sokka could only guess it was supposed to be a she – was a barbarian, dressed in dirty white furs with her face almost completely obscured by brown dreads. Only her eyes, so bright a blue they looked mad, shone through.
Toph shoved Sokka in the back.
"What?" She said, breaking the reverie.
Sokka gave himself a little shake and glared at the painting. Their guide had drawn ahead of them. He, Katara and Aang had stopped in the doorway to stare.
"Nothing." He shook himself again and started after the guard, head held high. The man had stopped next to six empty cushions on the opposite side of the table.
Sokka took the seat indicated and pulled Toph down next to him. One cushion lay between her and the raised dais that sat directly opposite the door. Aang was seated on the other side of this and Katara on the other side of him. Sokka scowled around the table. He didn't like having this much space between them. If it came to a confrontation, they'd be easily separated.
He did not have much time to brood, however. The table around them was already filled with russet-robed strangers. As soon as Katara took her seat, a gong sounded. Sokka looked toward the door just in time to see Ozai make his entrance. The evil overlord swept around the table and into his seat right next to Toph. Sokka took a moment to scowl but then whipped his gaze back to the entrance.
Walking as though she were treading on glass and was determined to reduce every fragment to a fine powder, Fire Lord Azula took her sweet time taking her seat on the dais next to Aang. Sokka only watched her half way round the room. By the time she had reached old Blackbeard sitting a quarter-table left of Katara, the smells of food had become so overwhelming that Sokka's gaze was once again fixed on the door.
He could smell fish, fish and black-bean sauce. He squirmed in his seat, earning himself a thump in the thigh from Toph. Unless it was eel-squid. He licked his lips. It had been too long since he'd had a good fried eel-squid. He could almost taste the breaded batter sliding off those juicy tentacles right onto his tongue; almost feel the plump flesh giving way between his teeth.
Azula was talking. Something about a welcome. Men were pouring drinks. They seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Everyone was raising their cups in a toast. Sokka hurried to follow suit and drank.
The wine tasted of cinnamon and apples and had been slightly warmed so that it seemed to take all his tension with it as it slid down his throat.
"Mm." Sokka licked a stray drop from his lip.
"Good, isn't it?" the man next to him said, "From my own vineyards. An honour to be served at such a meal." The smile on the man's face was almost sincere.
"Yeah." Sokka set the cup down on the table and instantly glared at it. The wine had not been overly spiced. Nor had it tasted too strongly of alcohol, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it was meant to put him off his guard.
"My name is Tanu of the Ki family."
Sokka turned and gave the man a more appraising look. His hairline was receding and there were laugh-lines about his mouth, their cause quite clearly the almost-sincere smile he still wore. But his eyes mirrored Sokka's own expression: Cold and appraising.
"Sokka, son of Hakoda, Chief of the Southern Water Tribe." Sokka said. Despite himself, he couldn't help glancing across the table at Katara. Even as she was locked in conversation with the stranger next to her, she still managed to smirk his way. No matter how many dinners like this they attended, she'd never let him forget the first, where he'd forgone his official title and just introduced himself as a prince.
He smiled lazily at the memory. She could mock all she wanted. It had been worth it.
"Your reputation precedes you. Warrior for your Tribe, war hero, and now emissary to the Fire Nation," Tanu was saying.
"Uh… Yeah…" Sokka avoided looking at the man and so was first to spy the silent servers coming in with the first course. He sat up, almost craning his neck to catch first glimpse of the dish, then remembered the man sitting next to him, "Actually, my sister's the official emissary. Yeah, Katara. Maybe you've heard of her; daughter of the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, master waterbender, Avatar's waterbending teacher? Yup. She's the emissary. I'm just here for the food." And right on cue, a plate was deposited in front of him.
His neighbour's smile had faltered, and for a moment a sneer took its place. Sokka grinned his most charming grin, picked up his chopsticks, and stabbed at his dumpling. He popped the morsel into his mouth and chewed with eyes closed, fully aware of the looks – some startled, others disgusted – directed his way.
Sokka savoured the dumpling, and no sooner had he swallowed and set his chopsticks down, then his empty plate was whisked away to be replaced with a steaming beef-pig soup. Sokka lifted the gold-leafed bowl and sniffed with eyes closed. Rosemary, cabbage and leechee nuts assaulted his sense. There was something else too. He sniffed again, his head listing slightly to his right; red peppers? Who in their right mind served red peppers in a beef-pork soup?
Sokka opened his eyes. Around the table, Aang was lifting chopsticks laden with noodles from a green soup. Sokka's eyes widened. His gaze swept the table. A ring of beef soup steamed before him.
"Aang! Don't eat that!"
Aang's noodles plopped back into his soup, "What? Why?"
"Uh… I want some!"
"But Sokka, this's a vegetarian dish."
"Yeah. And I want some. Hand it over."
"But-…"
"Are you a monk or not? Didn't they teach you about sharing at the Air Temples? I've had a change of heart and I need you to help me along in my new not-meat-eating crazy by giving me your soup."
People had begun to stare. Ozai was looking between the two of them with a scowl. Azula, on the other hand, appeared faintly amused.
Aang heaved a sigh, "Fine."
He handed the soup off to a server who brought it around to Sokka. The man deposited the plate with great show and then bustled off, his step silent.
Sokka wasted no time. He dug into the soup, pulling out noodles and celery and the promised red peppers and stuffing them into his mouth. Sweat began beading on his forehead as the stinging heat began on his tongue. It seemed to simmer there and then spread all in a rush down his throat as he swallowed. He coughed quietly.
"Right. That's good. Here." He sputtered, offering the plate back to Aang. A look of utter bewilderment on his face, Aang took the bowl back without complaint and began to eat.
Still smirking, Azula leaned toward Sokka from her dais and spoke around her father, "Really Sokka. Do you honestly think we would poison the Avatar, our guest of honour?"
Toph snorted, "Wouldn't put it past you."
"The Earthbender forgets that should the Avatar die, he will simply reincarnate," Ozai cut in. His gaze remained fixedly on the door as though he weren't addressing Toph at all. "Efficient though the Fire Lord may be, the intention was never to kill the Avatar."
Toph looked momentarily surprised, and then her familiar grin blossomed on her face.
"Whatever you say, Loser Lord."
"You dishonour the throne by the disrespect you show to your betters in her presence."
"Right. I'll remember that if I ever meet any betters."
Sokka snickered but stopped when he saw the ugly look twisting Ozai's face. He turned his attention back to his plate.
Sokka's attention waxed and waned between courses. Thankfully, Tanu of the Ki family seemed just as eager to avoid further small talk as he did, and under cover of stuffing his face, Sokka was able to do some quiet reconnaissance of the table's occupants. They all seemed to be advisors in some capacity, or people who wanted something and were likely to get it. That meant they were all supporters of Ozai and Azula; enemies. Most avoided his gaze when he tried to engage them, and so he found no hint of a possibly ally in the room. With a sigh, he buried himself in a seaweed and fish dish which, despite sounding like it was more suited to his palate, could not have been more different from home fare.
"-Disappointed to hear you chose to visit the prison tower this afternoon." Azula was saying to Aang. Sokka's attention piqued. She didn't sound disappointed. Her voice was tight and cold. The hand that currently gripped a small bowl of rice was clenched so tightly, Sokka wondered how her talon-like nails didn't chip the porcelain.
"Just wanted to see if he was doing ok." Aang replied.
"You will refrain from such liberties again," Ozai said. "While we would regret restricting your movements, honouring a prisoner in such a way confuses the people. This cannot be allowed. Zuko is not worth your time."
"Actually, he's one of the main reasons I'm here." Aang replied.
Ozai's lip curled, "Such matters are better suited to later council discussions. Now, however, would you care to retire for drinks?"
"Uh…" Aang looked over and met Sokka's gaze. Sokka shook his head a fraction of an inch.
"I don't drink." Aang said.
"I d-!"
"No you don't!" Sokka cut Toph off.
"We're pretty tired actually," Katara said hurriedly, "We'll probably just go back to our rooms if that's alright." She was smiling her sweetest, most gracious smile, the kind that usually came before a liberal application of her water whip.
"Very well." Ozai snapped, "You will be escorted. For your safety, a guard will be assigned throughout the night."
Azula rose with Ozai only a moment behind her. They headed out a side door and within moments advisors and dignitaries had begun to file after them into what must have been some kind of sitting room. Soon, Aang, Katara, Sokka and Toph were the only ones left sitting around the table.
"For our safety," Toph scoffed, "Yeah right."
___________
The rising sun called Aang from sleep long before he was ready to wake. He rolled over, for a moment unaware that the heat in his face came from within and not from a sunlit window. When the knowledge that his firebending had once again woken him finally surfaced in his sleep-addled mind, he grimaced and pushed himself out of bed.
He stirred the stale air of the bedchamber as he rose. It ruffled around his body and helped propel him from bed to the centre of the room, where he could feel less cramped. With a glance he knew the windows to this particular bedroom did not open.
He did not have long to enjoy his space, however. Over the snores of his still-sleeping friends, he heard a soft knock at the door. Without waiting for a signal, a guard entered the room. Aang knuckled his eyes.
"Good morning," he yawned.
"The Avatar is summoned to a breakfast council alone." The guard said, staring at a point over Aang's left shoulder. Aang idly wondered where the Fire Nation learnt this trick of talking to no-one.
"Right. OK then. When?"
"Immediately."
It took a moment for the words to sink in, and then Aang sighed and, turning back toward his bed, shrugged on yesterday's tunic and his beaded necklace. He ran a hand over his scalp and decided that shaving could wait until after breakfast, 'lead the way!'
They were the same dark twisting corridors that seemed to close in over him, the same walls plastered with lethal weapon after lethal weapon, and the same route for all Aang knew. He couldn't understand how a palace could change so fast. The rooms Zuko had given him had been light and airy. If this was supposed to be hospitality, Azula wasn't very good at it.
It was this thought that circled around his mind as he entered the Fire Lord's council chamber. The throne was once again obscured by blue flame which, despite the icy shadows it sent round the room, left the air stifling. A rectangular table had been placed in the centre of the floor and men were seated around it. Aang took the last available cushion and looked around. He recognised some of the face from the previous evening but then they had been relaxed and almost indulgent. Now they stared stonily across the table at one another and didn't spare him as much as a glance.
There was a rustling of robes on the dais. The men around the table bowed. Aang quickly followed suit but had only just bowed his head when his companions raised theirs.
"Proceed," Azula's voice echoed from behind the curtain of flame.
"We will first deal with the matter of-," Ozai's voice drew Aang's attention to the opposite end of the table. He found himself leaning forward to get a look at his long-time enemy, the man's face almost silhouetted against the blue flames. Aang watched the shadow of that pointed beard move up and down as Ozai spoke and belatedly realised he had missed most of what had been said.
Another man was talking now, though haltingly. Aang wondered why he seemed so afraid. Ozai couldn't bend. It was Azula they should really be afraid of, but Aang couldn't see her or what she thought of whatever they were talking about. He stared up at the flames, blue tongues dancing around white cores. They were almost pretty, like the ice in the North Pole when the light got caught in it. But that light felt so much warmer. Aang shivered and then wondered why. The warmth of the room was swathed around him so tightly it was as though he were swaddled in a soft feather bed. He was dimly aware of people bustling around behind him. Were they serving food? Yes, he could smell egg custard tart.
That roused him somewhat, and he looked down to see a tiny tartlet on his plate. Still nodding and swaying slightly, he picked at the food. His jaw moved lazily so that he was still eating long after the clatter of the others had ceased penetrating the down blanket that seemed to be fogging all his senses.
He kept catching the odd phrase of conversation, each one accompanied with a slight jump as his chin fell to his chest and he shook himself awake.
"-quell uprisings must be paramount-,"
Azula had staged an uprising. He should be quelling her. But how was he supposed to do it?
"-secure supply lines to prevent sympathy-,"
Nobody here knew anything about sympathy.
"-the matter of a suitor-,"
Aang jerked his head up as his chin once again met his chest. A grin sprawled across his face. Were they talking about trying to get Azula married?
But men were moving now. Plates were being cleared and councillors were filing for the exit. Only Ozai remained. Aang got up.
"The Fire Lord requests that the Avatar remain." Someone called. Aang stopped mid-step and heaved a sigh, then turned back toward the throne with its intoxicating heat. He gave an Air Nomad bow.
"Fire Lord."
There was rustling and movement once more behind the flames. Then they parted and Azula descended the steps toward him with the same purposeful stride she seemed to use everywhere. He felt the urge to take a step back as she approached, but he firmed his lip and held his ground. She was smiling.
"If the attention you gave my council was typical, Avatar, it is little wonder the world is falling into disrepair."
"It's not falling into disrepair!" He retorted. His mind still felt heavy with sleep and he couldn't shake that unnerved feeling that came from thousands of Azula-shadows sweeping around the room with every flicker of flame. He cast a glance around for Ozai, and found him standing with his back to a pylon, also smirking.
Azula was laughing.
"Save your delusions then. We have more important things to discuss."
"Like what?"
"As I'm sure you're unaware given you're lack of attention during council, several Fire Nation citizens and 'volunteers' from various nations have taken up opposition to my rule."
"Uh… No, I didn't know that." He tried to keep his expression guarded, as though it were Koh he were facing, but a smirk still played about her lips all the same.
"I will require your support in ensuring that my reign remains unchallenged."
"Support? What do you mean?"
"You are the Avatar. It is your task to keep spiritual balance and peace, a task at which thus far you have failed abysmally. The actions of these militants threaten that balance. I have neither the time nor the resources to resolve the issue. You must help me."
"You're the one threatening the balance!"
To his surprise, she laughed again.
He narrowed his eyes, "I've seen the factories. I know what you're planning. I won't support you."
"Do not be a fool."
"You stole the throne from Zuko. You have to step down."
"You address the rightful and anointed heir to the Fire Nation! She won an Agni Kai against her brother for the throne when she struck him down with lightening! It was only the interference of your waterbender that allowed Zuko to usurp the throne," Ozai detached himself from the pylon and loomed over Aang, "Who are you to gainsay thousands of years of Fire Nation customs, boy!?"
Despite himself, Aang rocked back on his heels. He saw now why the councillors showed Ozai deference. Bending or no, he was still a formidable figure. And he was angry. Aang turned his attention to Azula, "If you don't step down, I'll take your bending away!"
"You could do that, but it won't help," she turned her back and laced her fingers behind her, standing silhouetted for a moment facing her own flames. "I'll just find some other poor bending sap to sit on the throne while I rule from behind them. Who knows? I might even use Zuzu. So long as he thinks he's in charge, he won't make a fuss, and the people will always follow me over him."
"You don't know that."
"Yes. I do." She turned her head, her profile lit so that through that horrible, smirking mouth the firelight shone off her white, white teeth. Aang clenched his fists. Just as he was about to turn and leave, she turned back and met his gaze, a smirk still playing around the corners of her pink lips.
"Face it Avatar. The only way you are going to defeat me is if you kill me." She turned again and walked away from him, back up the steps to her throne. When she reached the top she waved a hand. "We're done for now. Zuko's fate can wait until tomorrow morning."
Aang gritted his teeth and threw Ozai one last look. The man was smiling; not just smiling, grinning. His face was lit with such mirth and for the life of him, Aang could not understand what was so funny. He spun on his heel, wind whipping around his body, and headed out of the war room.
"Where have you been?!" Sokka was standing in front of him as soon as he re-entered their room, "This isn't the Water Tribes! You can't just go wandering off!" Breakfast dishes were littered about behind him and Katara was still seated by them. Aang side-stepped Sokka and looked at Katara instead.
"Azula wanted me to sit in on a council meeting," he said wearily. His eyes fell on the food. That egg custard tart seemed a long time ago.
"They didn't want us?" Sokka demanded.
Aang breezed past him and took a seat, pulling what looked like a fruit salad toward him.
"No. Just me."
"Oh." And then, "How did it go?"
"Not good. She wants me to support her rule."
"What? You can't be serious!" Katara got to her feet and began pacing toward the mirror and bundling up her hair as though it had been the one to cause her offense, "she's probably just baiting you. She knows you wouldn't."
Sokka was eyeing him more shrewdly, "What did you say?"
"I told her I'd take her bending away, but she didn't seem to care. She just said she'd find some other firebender to sit on the throne with her controlling them. She said I'd have to… Kill her." He looked down at his salad.
There was a long silence.
"Well that just got interesting," Toph said from where she lounged against a wall, "you think maybe you wanna start from the beginning?"
And so he told them of the early morning summons, the meeting, the heat and his private conversation with Azula and Ozai.
"Well…" Katara started, "We always knew it might come to this Aang. Look on the bright side," he felt a hand fall on his shoulder and resisted the urge to shrug her off. "You're a firebender too. You can challenge her to an Agni Kai. If you win, this whole civil war will be over before it even starts."
"I don't want to kill her Katara! Not her or anyone else!"
"Aang-,"
"Maybe you don't have to." Sokka cut her off. Aang's gaze snapped round to look at him and he saw Katara watching too. Sokka was partially facing away from them, his hand stroking his chin the way it always had done when he was mulling over an idea. Aang's breath caught.
"She said if she couldn't bend anymore, she'd just find some other bender and use them…"
"Yeah, so?"
"So, what do you think Ozai's doing here? She thinks she's come up with this brilliant plan, but someone's already beaten her to it!" Sokka's face split into a grin.
"I don't know…" Katara said.
"Snoozles is right," Toph pushed herself off the wall and took a step forward.
"The Fire Nation nobles aren't idiots." Sokka scoffed. Toph glared, "They can't let Ozai back on the throne 'cause he's not a bender, but there's no way they'd let Lord Crazy rule by herself after what she did last time. Besides, were you guys even paying attention last night? He spoke for her half the time. He spoke more than she did. That's got to be what's going on, and everyone knows it. Everyone except her."
"Hey yeah…" Aang said, "It was like that this morning too. The only time I remember her speaking was at the end when she was just talking to me. And then-!" it was as though someone was breathing hope back into him. It filled him up more than any meal ever could and he could feel the beginnings of a grin starting on his face again, "When I went to leave, after she'd said all that stuff, Ozai was laughing. I couldn't figure out what was so funny."
"Figures." Toph muttered.
"So all we have to do," Sokka spun slowly in a circle, staring at each of them in turn with a manic look in his eye, "Is let Lord Crazy know what's going on. Then she and Ozai can take care of each other!"
"Yeah, there's your problem." Toph said. Sokka's face fell.
"Even if Ozai was dumb enough to fight Lord Crazy, she's gonna win. He can't bend. And then we just have one crazy Fire Lord on our hands without anyone holding her leash."
Aang took the following silence to pop a slice of pawpaw between his teeth. They all seemed to be mulling it over.
"OK. So it's not a perfect plan,' Sokka began again, 'But short of Aang pumping them both full of lightening," Aang cringed as Sokka threw him a look, "it's the best plan we've got. When's your next audience with Lord Crazy?"
"Uh," Aang faltered as all attention suddenly turned to him, "Tomorrow. I'm trying to negotiate Zuko's release."
A collective wince ran around the room. Sokka was the first to recover.
"We'll start before then, then. And tomorrow, we're coming with you. For this to work, you're going to need all the help you can get."
___________
___________
AN: This chapter is incredibly late for two reasons. The first is that I went abroad for seven weeks. The second is that it was originally much longer, but I realised that it was in fact too long and I only had to add two scenes to make it two chapters. That means not a lot of interesting stuff ended up happening in this one. It also means that I have the next one already written and just have to edit a third of it so it's fit to post. And I promise, if it is half as fun to read as it was to write, chapter four alone will be well worth the wait.
I practised my own editing and beta-reading skills on this chapter, so sorry if there was a noticeable drop in the quality. Also! Next chapter, some proper Z/K interaction.