Chapter 8: In Plain Sight

The small birds native to the Fire Nation mainland heralded the brightening morning with their song, while the sun burned away the dew of night. The great orb, source of light and warmth, was only half over the horizon yet, and much of the capital city was still shrouded in grayish shadow. In contrast, along the high catwalks of the capital garrison's airship platform, the sun cast rays of orange light, illuminating some of the morning mists and bouncing painfully bright glare off the occasional polished metal curve. Mai shielded her eyes.

"Orange is such a dreadful color." she said with a sigh.

Walking alongside her, Ty Lee smiled. "Oh Mai, there is nothing wrong with orange! I think it's pretty."

"You think everything is pretty."

"I think everything can be pretty, Mai."

Mai inclined her head at what may have been a cutting jab from her friend. No, not Ty Lee, don't be silly. "You won't think it's so pretty when it burns out your eyes," she replied.

"Oh pfft. Stop staring at the sun then!"

"Nevermind, Ty, we're here."

Mai and Ty Lee stopped and looked up at their transport: one of the few intact military airships left at the Fire Lord's disposal. Zuko knew that some were missing, along with their crews, and he did not even know where they were originally manufactured. Information, especially military information, was becoming increasingly difficult for him to obtain. Mai hoped it was due to officials' cowardice or ignorance, and not because there were more people against his leadership than was originally apparent.

As the two girls strolled up the gangplank to board the ship, Mai tapped at her long, dark sleeves, checking for probably the twentieth time that her dart launchers were tucked away and ready. She was wearing her traditional garb, so chosen long ago to conceal many weapons, make it difficult to tell where her body was in the loose fabric, and also pass easily as noble attire. Ty Lee was dressed in similarly dark colors: deep reds with a few forest-green highlights, close-fitting but not restrictive, and there was even some light leather armor padded in some sections around the torso and shoulders. Mai had asked about it earlier, shocked that Ty Lee wasn't wearing pink, or at least her Kyoshi uniform, and her practical response left Mai speechless.

"We're sneaking into a base to fight firebenders... Kyoshi armor is still a bit heavy for me and my pink outfit is uh... kinda flammable and easy to see. Besides, I'm still wearing pink underneath." The acrobat winked. "So you like it? I had it custom tailored. It's got Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom styles..."

Mai had zoned out at that point. Reaching the outer deck of the airship, the two women were greeted by Captain Jee with a salute, which Mai might have laughed out loud at under different circumstances. This time she only allowed herself a mild inner chuckle.

"Lady Mai, Lady Ty Lee, we're about ready to depart. The Fire Lord is on the bridge. He would like you to join him." Jee motioned for some soldiers to withdraw the gangplank. The three began walking towards the inner holds.

"Captain, I'd like to know what we're working with here. The scouts' report indicated moderate activity at the southern base, but they couldn't get inside without being spotted. Are we prepared to handle any surprises?" Mai asked. She felt a little weird asking for these details... felt she sounded a bit like Azula.

Jee nodded. "We brought up the blueprints for that base. It's an old structure, listed as abandoned in the archives. I guess that's what made it a good secret location; it's hidden in plain sight. The base is not terribly large, so even if they crammed soldiers in there, we have the numbers to match that and more. The entire 41st division is on board, and an elite swordsman unit, plus the airship crew. A little over eighty soldiers total. We also have a couple tanks and animals in the main bay."

"Wow, all that fits on this ship?" Ty Lee asked.

"Well, any more and we might not get off the ground, but yes."

Arriving at the bridge, Mai entered first to observe Zuko shaking hands with a middle-aged man. Both were wearing a full set of Fire Nation armor, without the helmet, although Zuko had apparently decided to forego his formal topknot and crown for the time being. Mai also noticed her boyfriend had his dual broadswords across his back.

The middle-aged man was a bit shorter than Zuko, but very muscular. His hair was jet black, he had a short, rough beard, and a wide scar ran horizontally across his nose from one cheek to the other. The two men each bowed to each other in the traditional Fire Nation manner, on open palm over a closed fist to mimic the shape of a single flame, and the soldier made his leave. Aside from the helmsman, there was now only Zuko and the three new arrivals on the bridge. There wasn't room for much more than that.

"Who was that, Zuko?" Ty Lee asked.

"Oh, him? He's the commanding officer of the 41st, Major Tien. Apparently he's one of the few survivors of the massacre that wiped out most of the original division. Apparently word also got around of how I got my scar. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you Captain?"

Jee seemed to stiffen slightly. "My Lord, General Iroh shared the story with us while on board your ship. During that terrible storm, if you recall. I... may have mentioned it to a few fellow soldiers over the past few months. To set the record straight, of course."

Zuko smiled briefly, then shrugged. "I only wish I could have actually prevented what happened to that man and his comrades. That look in his eyes..." Zuko sighed. "That's why we're here now, to prevent anyone else suffering the whims of warmongers. Jee, man the comm. Tell the crew to launch."

"Yes sir."

As Jee's orders rang through the network of tubes running through the ship, Zuko approached the two girls. His expression was stony, but his voice was laden with concern.

"I know I can't talk either of you out of coming, and I'd be a hypocrite to try. Just promise me you'll be careful."

Mai nodded silently. Ty Lee teared up and brought her friends into a crushing hug, almost knocking their heads together.

"We'll all watch out for each other." Ty Lee whispered.

Mai sobered herself quickly and slipped out of Ty Lee's grasp. "And I've already told you, I go where you go, Zuko. We'll fight side by side, as a team." Mai rested a finger on her chin. "Speaking of which, have you written to the Avatar... um, Aang... about this?"

Zuko shook his head. "No, this is a national issue, not a world issue. I can't call on him every time something is going wrong here; he's got plenty to do too." Already anticipating disapproval, Zuko continued quickly. "I did send a letter to Uncle though. He can tell the rest of our friends in a way that won't make them panic. Hopefully by the time it reaches them, there won't be anything to panic about."

Mai lightly tapped her wrists. "We'll make sure of it Zuko."


Aang loosely held Appa's reins as he reclined against the furry hill that was the bison's shoulders. Gazing up and sometimes across offered the same to his eyes: puffy or wispy clouds. The clouds seemed more alive and interesting today, offering images of animals and random objects, each triggering different memories.

Observing shapes in the sky was one of the Avatar's favorite hobbies, yet he could not recall the last time he had done so. All he could recollect of the last few weeks was arguments between old people and worrying about his friends and the world. His musings, however, were interrupted as the friendly chatter of his three friends on the saddle behind him began to escalate towards impatient bickering.

"Spot any renegade Fire Nation yet?" Toph asked.

"Oh for the last time, Toph, I'll be sure to let everyone know if I spot something on my side. So far I just see a lot of empty beach and the occasional bird." Katara replied.

"But I'm so bored. After the stress of talking with my parents and getting attacked by a whole squadron of war balloons, this quiet floating around in the air is making me crazy! Sokka, what about your side?"

Sokka appeared to wake up from half-consciousness. "Wha-what? What about my side? Am I supposed to be looking for something?"

"Sokka, were you paying attention at all?" his sister asked.

"Well, to be honest, no. I've been thinking about what I should do for my initiation requirements. Maybe train some Northern Tribe guys with 'Sokka Style' fighting..."

"Oh, you mean 101 ways to fall flat on your face?" Toph snorted.

"Or how to hit a giant owl with an old book?" Katara added.

"Or how to run away squealing like a sheep-pig?" Toph followed it up with her best impression. "Soueee, squeeeeeeee, baaaaaaaa!"

Sokka crossed his arms. "I do not sound like that!" Unfortunately, his voice cracked on the 'not', stripping his defense of all credibility. The girls fell into laughter. Sokka continued on, ignoring them. "Or maybe instead I'll work on some inventions with the Mechanist and Teo. I have some new submarine plans to show them–"

"I think your first idea was better. Your ability to illustrate things is... a little... um..." Katara trailed off.

"What? What's wrong with my illustrations?" Sokka asked.

"Nothing Snoozles, I think your drawings are just as good as any I've seen." Toph said.

"Thanks Toph, I really – Hey! Not funny!" Toph just grinned in his general direction.

"Well, I don't see why we all didn't get initiated." Katara said, her mood shifting sour.

"Maybe you're just not White Lotus material, little sister."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"I'm just saying, the White Lotus is a manly man's club. You gotta be a special blend of strength and intellect, and while your magic water is quite impressive, I think the Lotus looks for a certain... something more."

"Magic water! Manly man's club! I can't believe after all we've been through, after seeing girls like me, Toph, Mai, Ty Lee, and Suki, you're still spouting your sexist macho crap! There's a lot of water down there Sokka, how much of it would you like to swallow today?"

Toph started giggling and then clamped her hands over her mouth. Katara wheeled at her, now standing upright as Appa soared along the coast.

"What's so funny Toph? Doesn't this make you mad too?"

Toph continued giggling for a few moments before responding. "Of course not, Sweetness. He's not serious, he's just pushing your buttons. And you make it so easy! Must be a family trait."

She turned back to her brother. "You're not serious?"

Sokka just shrugged. "Not really. I don't know why I was picked, but I do know that I don't want to disappoint Piandao, Pakku, or myself. I just have no idea where to start."

Katara huffed and sat down. "Well, I shouldn't expect Toph to get mad about sexist comments anyway."

Toph raised an eyebrow, then lowered it with a shrug. She turned back towards the frame of the saddle and resumed clamping onto it while the air blew past her face.

"You know, Sokka," she said moments later, "I have an idea on where to start."

The young warrior looked up. "Oh?"

"Yeah. Why don't we look for your stuff?"

"What stuff?"

"Duh! Your meteorite sword and your boomerang? You lost them just east of Ba Sing Se. We can search the forest after we ride up the coast here."

"Toph, don't think I haven't thought about that, but the odds are pretty slim. It's a big forest and it was flooded when Aang put the fires out. They could have been swept into the ocean."

"Sorry Sokka." Aang suddenly said form his seat on Appa's head.

"Don't worry Aang, I would have done the same thing." Sokka then added, "Hey wait, how long were you listening down there?"

"Since Toph's squealing." replied Aang as he flipped up to the saddle to join his friends.

"Both of you quit yammering and listen." Toph said. "Aang and I can use earthbending to search. The sword in particular is very unique and we have a shot at finding it unless it's embedded in a tree or something. It's on the way."

Sokka turned towards the sea. "It's not that big a deal."

"Yes it is!" Toph snapped. Her friends stared at her. "Now we're going to look for them because I know how much silly sentimental value they have to you!"

"Toph-" Sokka started to say.

"I don't want to hear it; we're going; end of discussion." Then she returned her attention to staring at nothing. The siblings gave each other a puzzled look.

"I think it's a good idea." Aang eventually added. "Besides, I should see how the forest is recovering."

"Well, Wulong Forest it is then." Sokka said. "Anyone else hungry?"


Astride his mongoose-dragon, with Jee riding to his right and Mai to his left, Zuko set his eyes forward as the last steppes of the southern range fell behind him, and the rocky shoreline was revealed to the party. Ty Lee rode with Mai, and behind the three lizards, two komodo-rhinos pulled sturdy wagons loaded with loyal soldiers. Behind the wagons, two Fire Nation tanks hummed along as their spiked treads tore up loose dirt and rock. Far off behind the tanks, Major Tien held the airship and roughly half the 41st on standby.

As they approached the beach, the road opened wide and Zuko heaved a sigh of relief. He was almost certain that if they were spotted on the approach, they would be ambushed in the narrow mountain pass. Now he was confident they had the element of surprise, and he would use it to end this rebellion quickly... hopefully without needless loss of life.

Riding along at a steady but even pace, Zuko led his forces along the shoreline westward. The ocean beat against the earth in regular intervals, each time dragging some of it away, only to splash more grains back on when the next wave struck.

As a young prince, he had spent a lot of time by the shore with his family. Back on Ember Island. Back when he had a family. Zuko slumped a bit, then he stole a glance back at Mai. Making eye contact, she smiled subtly. He smiled back, in spite of himself. No, I have a family. Her, Uncle, and a family of friends.

Zuko focused back on the task at hand. Approaching from the loose, grassy dunes east of the base would provide the best cover and allow them to get very close without being spotted. Jee and Tien's tactical knowledge had proven invaluable. Spotting a small red marker poking out of the next dune, Zuko raised his hand up and brought his mount to a stop. His companions followed suit.

"This looks like the spot. Once we ride over this dune, we'll be pretty much out in the open." Zuko said.

His friends and forces nodded in understanding. Jee rode forward a bit.

Zuko nodded to Jee, and the Captain addressed the group. "We'll split into teams. I want the tanks in first, full speed along the shoreline, but don't get too close to the water. Don't fire unless fired upon; there's still a tiny chance they may be willing to negotiate. However, I expect them to start shooting immediately; the tanks job will be to draw fire and attention away. Meanwhile, the rest of us will stay inland and approach from the right. Once we get to the main gates, we should be safe from the guard towers and be able to break in. We'll secure the entrance and move inside."

Zuko added, "Once inside, we'll split up and search for the five missing councilmen. Mai and I will take the swordsmen and the 41st in the first wagon. Jee and Ty Lee will move with the men in the second wagon. Try to take prisoners before you take lives... but not at the expense of your own."

As Zuko turned his beast forward, the last rays of the sun reflected off the crown he now wore in his hair. Dark and heavy clouds blotted out the light, and thunder could be heard rumbling in the distance. Zuko brought his hand up, then sharply down. The men manning the tanks fired up the steam-powered engines with their firebending, and the machines rolled forward, over the dunes, and into view of the base. The animals and their passengers all broke inland.

As ordered, the tanks reached full throttle and sped along the shore, kicking up a tail of sand in their wake. No fire came from the guard towers of the base. No activity could be seen at all. Zuko urged his mount to full speed, which was considerably faster than the tanks or the komodo-rhinos. Mai and Jee fell in behind him. Still nothing from the base, not even an alarm. In minutes, the tanks had stopped their run and set up defensive positions, and the rest of the assault team came to a stop at the front gate.

The base was a simple structure, built into a wide cave. Two towers lined the main gates, and were accessible only from inside the base itself or with good climbing gear. Nothing of the base existed outside the cave, aside from the shipyard, which Zuko noticed was absent of any ships. Only a few scattered bits of equipment could be spotted from his current vantage point.

Turning back to the gate, Zuko watched in awe as the komodo-rhinos, now unhitched from the wagons, pushed the heavy metal doors open with minimal effort. It wasn't even barred or locked. No alarms sounded aside from the metallic groan of the doors swinging on their thick hinges. He shot Jee a questioning look, but the Captain was clearly just as surprised and could only offer a shrug in return. Leaving a few soldiers out front, the group pressed inwards with a cautious stride.


Currently, Wulong Forest could more aptly be called Wulong Marsh. When Aang pulled the ocean in to douse the inferno Ozai's air fleet had started, the water had soaked into the ground and pooled into every low spot that could be found. In time, the landscape would return more or less to normal, and it was certainly better than the scorched alternative, but despite this obvious conclusion, Katara could tell Aang wasn't entirely happy with what happened to the natural surroundings.

She watched him wade through ponds of salty water unfit for any of the native creatures to use, run his hands against singed trees coated in thick mud, and occasionally inspect some piece of airship debris, all with a pensive frown. In between these musings, he stomped the ground regularly, half-heartedly using Toph's technique to search for Sokka's missing weapons.

Katara had seen Ozai's wrecked airship strewn against the plateaus that dotted the forest as they came in for a landing with Appa. Like the iron frigate suspended and impaled by ice near her own home in the south pole, this derelict served as a permanent reminder of a victory that came with a price... a victory that was too close for comfort.

Katara had learned in Ba Sing Se some months ago that Aang's version of the battle was a lot more terrifying than what Sokka and Suki could see. To the warriors watching from the airship bridge, all they saw was some bending, some explosions, then relative quiet until Aang rose up in the Avatar state and 'pretty much mopped the landscape with Ozai's face' as her brother put it. To her knowledge, only she has heard the real details from him, such as how he was almost boiled alive in a cocoon of stone, or how his spirit was nearly consumed when attempting to remove Ozai's firebending.

Toph, in contrast to Aang, seemed much more energetic and determined. Katara watched her stomp around on almost every step, the soggy earth replying with wet sucking noises. At one point she unearthed an angle of warped metal and held it up for Sokka, clearly mistaking it for his boomerang. Katara watched the blind girl merely shrug when Sokka explained what it was and toss the scrap aside to resume her search. She had never seen the wild child so patient while performing an ostensibly boring task.

Sokka had – not surprisingly – warmed up to the idea of looking for his precious 'stuff' after a good lunch. Upon arriving on the outskirts of the forest earlier that afternoon, he rushed to set up camp on some high, dry ground and the four set out immediately. Unfortunately, with the sun now beginning to drop lower and lower into the evening sky, Sokka's ever-fleeting optimism was quickly being replaced by his normal negativity.

"Guys, I really appreciate you all coming here to look for Space Sword and Boomerang, but we were crazy to think we'd find anything in this mess," Sokka said.

Toph whirled at him. "Giving up already? It's only been a few hours! I'm not even tired!"

"It's getting dark Toph, we should head back to camp for dinner," Katara said.

Toph raised her arms in the air. "Hello! It's always dark for me. Besides, Aang can make plenty of light if you guys need it."

"I think this place has seen enough fire..." Aang said quietly.

"Toph, how long did you plan on looking for my things?" Sokka asked.

"Until I find them," she answered simply.

"Whaa?" Sokka seemed paralyzed.

Katara placed her hand on Toph's shoulder. "Toph, why is this so important to you?"

Toph shook Katara's hand off and crossed her arms. "What? Can't I do something nice without everyone asking questions? I just felt like it, okay?" She blew the bangs away from her face. "Ugh, forget it, lets just go back and eat." Toph started stomping back towards their camp. Sokka quickly strode up to her.

"Are you still looking?" he asked.

She remained silent, but continued walking heavily.

"Why don't we take a different path back? Maybe we'll get lucky. That okay with you guys?" Sokka asked aloud. Aang and Katara nodded.

As the four walked back through the damp forest, they spread out more and more to increase their odds. Katara kept her eyes open, but most of her concentration was on Aang's demeanor, which was still pensive and preoccupied with worry. Katara closed the distance between them subtly until they were close enough for a quiet conversation.

"Hey," Aang said first.

"Hey. Any luck?"

"To be honest, I can't tell the difference between materials with earthbending, I can just make out shapes and movement. Toph has the best chance at finding anything out here in this 'mess' as Sokka called it."

"It's not a mess Aang. Senlin, Hei Bai's Forest, that was a mess, but I showed you that it would grow back. This place is just a little... wet. You should be proud and happy, you stopped the burning of more than just a forest, but probably the entire northern part of the Earth Kingdom. Pretty amazing considering the comet was involved."

Aang sighed. "I know, you're right. I shouldn't be moping around. There's still life here, it's just been shaken up a bit. I can't help but be a little sad though. I can't help but wonder if I might have done things a little differently, this place wouldn't have lost a single leaf."

"Aang, you can't do this again. You'll go crazy with the 'what-ifs'. What if I was here helping you instead of helping Zuko with Azula? Maybe Zuko would have taken her down without getting shot by lightning intended for me. Maybe I could have been putting out fires while you fought Ozai. Or maybe Zuko would have died without me there to heal him; maybe Ozai would have used me to get at you. The point is, what happened, happened... and overall I think things turned out pretty positive."

Aang stopped and smiled for the first time in hours. Katara watched the dark wash off his face, as if her words had been a splash of cleansing water. He closed the small distance between them to steal a quick kiss, then breathed a little thank you in her ear.

"No. No way. No way is this happening right now!" yelled Sokka from a few paces away. Katara and Aang turned warily towards him, both with immediate relief that Sokka's outburst was not in reaction to their playfulness. In a mossy clearing, Toph was now holding Sokka's muddy but intact boomerang in the air like a trophy.

"Boomerang always comes back, right Sokka?" Toph said with a wide smile.


Ty Lee found herself fighting the urge to scream as she, Captain Jee, and several soldiers checked room after room along the west wing of the base. This urge came not because she was frightened, but because she was expecting something bad to happen any moment, and everything was so dreadfully quiet. She also did not much enjoy being separated from her friends, although her present company was not so bad either.

For a man in his forties, she had to admit the Captain was attractive. He also possessed a very interesting aura: it swirled with aggressive red energy but also a soft, canary-dove colored gentleness. Ty Lee started to wonder why such a man never married, but in a sudden flash of self-awareness decided to halt that line of thinking and focus on the task at hand.

Her team now consisted of a dozen soldiers, half of which were firebenders. Zuko's group, clearing the east wing, consisted of the eight elite swordsmen, a few firebenders, and Mai. The rest of the forces that had made the ground trip set up a loose perimeter outside with the tanks, or just inside the main gates.

The design of the building was simple, and allowed for an efficient search route: they would clear the wings, enter the large central machine shop from the rear, then check the towers on the way back to the front gates. If they found nothing, this trip would amount to a considerable waste of time and resources. Part of her almost hoped she would not have to dodge fireballs today, but she also wanted to resolve this problem quickly so she could resume her Kyoshi training and actually see the namesake island herself.

The acrobat moved quickly down the hall, checking rooms and branching corridors that were not already being inspected. She found a room full of bunks and footlockers, an office with an ugly desk that looked like a freshly decapitated dragon's head, a mess hall with a few bowls of half-eaten stew, but no bad guys. Rounding yet another corner, she was momentarily excited by the sound of footfalls, but immediately recognized Zuko approaching with his group from the opposite direction. He looked very annoyed.

"Find anything?" the Fire Lord asked his Captain as the two squads merged.

"I'm afraid not, sir. All evidence suggests this base was hastily abandoned," Jee replied.

Zuko growled and blasted the double-doors to the machine shop open, all attempts at stealth discarded. He looked around the room, which like the others was mostly empty, and began pacing angrily. Mai walked over to him, and Ty Lee decided to follow suit. Most of the soldiers began inspecting the room, conditioned to follow orders to the letter when their superiors were in bad moods. Jee inspected a chain pulley system that was integrated with the ceiling.

"I can't believe I didn't think of this," Zuko said suddenly as he dragged his hands through his hair.

"Zuko, don't-" Mai started.

"No, this is so obvious now. Why would I expect them to fight? I assumed when they didn't ambush us in the mountains, we weren't spotted. Instead, it seems we were spotted and they decided to run knowing the numbers they were up against. I should have just stormed in here with the airship. I missed our chance."

Jee joined them. "Sir, I don't think so. There is no way they could have stripped this base clean in such a short period of time if they were using it as a staging area. I would assume this base was abandoned days ago."

Ty Lee hummed. "Hmmmm... what about that stew in the mess hall? It didn't look days old to me."

Jee looked thoughtful. "An excellent point, Lady Ty Lee... I wonder-"

Zuko's eyes shot wide. "A trap," he hissed. "Everyone, we have to get out of here!"

Suddenly, the much larger double-doors opposite the way they entered slammed open, and a couple dozen soldiers filed past a smirking High General Bujing.

"I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere, Prince Zuko."


Zuko turned instinctively towards the doors he had blasted open moments before, not surprised to find even more enemy soldiers streaming in from that direction. He knew that to avoid death or capture, he would need to act quickly. The soldiers were already surrounding his group, and even though the numbers seemed roughly even, they were in a very bad position.

Zuko was determined to wipe that smirk off Bujing's face once and for all.

"Jee, give me a boost," Zuko whispered. The Captain complied, cupping his hands for Zuko's foot and assisting with a high jump into the air. Before the enemy could react, Zuko twisted and drew his swords, using them for focus and balance, then spiraled out tendrils of flame in all directions. His men saw the opportunity and broke outwards to engage the renegades.

Upon landing, Zuko took a moment to observe what he was up against in more detail. They looked just like his own soldiers, except that each had one large shoulder plate painted completely black and inscribed with some kind of gold insignia. He also noticed with great displeasure some familiar faces: the Rough Rhinos. The unit was missing in action in the southern reaches of the Earth Kingdom last he had heard. Now he watched these five dangerous masters leap into the fray.

One of the 41st's pikemen was the first to fall, his spear reduced to only the smoldering metal tip. Zuko slashed the air in rapid succession, aiming precise bolts of fire at any enemy he had a clear shot on. Most were deflected by firebenders, although he did manage to knock one soldier down. Zuko abruptly realized he had never fought a battle on this scale before, although he had witnessed plenty.

Jee was now locked into a heated firebending duel with Colonel Mongke, the leader of the Rough Rhinos. Both men focused on each other while dodging or deflecting stray blasts of flame or the occasional spear or sword thrust. Before long, they were fighting almost hand-to-hand, using quick jets of fire and brute strength to try and overpower the other.

Ty Lee had managed to disable a couple soldiers, but was now occupied with avoiding Ogodei's vicious chain weapon. As the linked metal whirled through the air and crashed against the ground, Ty Lee flipped, cart-wheeled, and rolled out of reach. Each time was a near miss, but each time she got a little closer to her target.

Mai's hands were a blur as she flung balanced knives at any target of opportunity or shot a volley of darts from her wrist launchers. A few soldiers went down, but before she could even register a new target, and arrow caught her shoulder and spun her off balance. Moving with the spin instead of against it, she returned a hail of darts from the launchers on her ankles towards Vachir. The archer rolled and knocked another arrow, and Mai prepared more knives to counter.

Zuko, all the while trying to clear a path to Bujing, tried to make an assessment of how the battle was going, but all he could know for sure was that it was going to be short, one way or another. Several soldiers from both sides lay prone and injured, possibly dead. He could not watch everything, and in the back of his mind he was certain he saw Mai get hit. Everything was a blur, although one blur in particular caught his attention.

Moving with fluid grace along the perimeter of the skirmish, one of the younger men (but still older than him) in the elite swordsman unit brought down armed soldiers and benders with equal ease and grace. He moved with alarming speed, both by way of foot and with each strike of his blade. While Zuko drove a strong, linear column of fire forward to try and break up a group of organizing rebel soldiers, he watched in his peripheral vision this same swordsman engage Kahchi. Here, finally, the swordsman's momentum was halted, as this Rough Rhino swung his poleaxe around with startling alacrity. Blade came to blade, and sparks showered to the floor.

Bujing himself was now in the fight, and Zuko had to admit the General was certainly no pushover. His firebending was vicious but not wild like Zhao's. This man fought with a ruthless, killer instinct, and had no qualms about fighting dirty as he kicked sawdust into the air and blinded another of Zuko's swordsmen before blasting fire into his gut. The fallen soldier did not stir.

Zuko would not allow this day to end in defeat. With a great roar, he breathed fire in a massive cone, knocking down three enemy firebenders at once. Seizing the attention now drawn towards him, Zuko dropped into a low horse stance and began drawing circles with his hands. Blue arcs of electricity began to lick the air, but Zuko knew how the attack would end. He gave his friends and loyal soldiers what he hoped was a meaningful look. Some got the message.

Jee delivered a scorching uppercut to Mongke and the man dropped to the ground unconscious with a smoldering chin. Ty Lee rolled between Ogodei's legs and jabbed him at the base of his spine, causing him to immediately collapse. Mai, who Zuko now confirmed did in fact have an arrow sticking out of her left shoulder, managed to cut Vachir's bowstring. Zuko decided to discharge his attack behind him, which propelled him forward as the yet again failed technique created a concussive blast instead of lightning. It did, however, provide Zuko with ample momentum to strike the archer unconscious with the heel of his foot. The swordsman fighting Kahchi had reduced the warrior's poleaxe to a short stick... and Zuko watched with a mixture of unease and fascination as the blade flicked like a rat-viper at his neck. The results would doubtlessly be terminal. That just left one Rough Rhino unaccounted for...

"Yeh-Lu! Now!" yelled Bujing suddenly.

Yeh-Lu, expert with various blasting-jelly explosives, lit a fuse in his hand. Zuko traced the fuse back towards the door Bujing had entered, up the wall, and to an innocent looking bundle hanging from hooks in the ceiling. Zuko would have dismissed it as just storage for machine shop tools or equipment, but he knew better now. Bujing's surviving ambushers immediately stopped trying to close a circle around Zuko's party and fled through either exit.

"Mai, fuse, quick!" Zuko yelled. In an instant, Mai observed the direction Zuko was pointing in and released a knife to sever the fuse just before the spark reached what was undoubtedly a lot of explosives. All of Bujing's men still able to move had fled. Zuko ran the remaining distance to Mai.

"Are you all right? I wanted to ask that first but-"

"I know. It's... uncomfortable. I'll be fine. Get Bujing, we have to end this."

"But..."

"Zuko, go! I would prefer not to have to repeat this day any time soon!"

He nodded and stood. "If you're uninjured, tend to the wounded, make sure everyone who is alive gets out!" Zuko announced. Then he sheathed his dual broadswords and bolted after the General.

As he ran through the machine shop doors and into the wide hallway that led to the main gate, Zuko noticed the side door leading to the east tower was swinging open. Taking a gamble on Bujing fleeing that way, he ran into the open door and to the base of a set of spiral stairs. Zuko took the stairs two at a time, staying wide and keeping his palms open in anticipation of a firebending ambush. Near the top of the stairs was a short metal ladder leading to an opening in the ceiling, and Zuko caught a glimpse of Bujing's polished boot just before it disappeared. Far too late to have any chance of connecting, Zuko charged a heavy fireball and shot it straight up through the opening and high into the air, where it feathered out and dissipated. Zuko then ascended the ladder quickly, jumping up to the highest rung he could manage and kick-flipping through the opening. Fire sailed past him as he landed on the open roof of the guard tower.

"I must admit, Zuko, you're a greater adversary than I would have expected. A shame you waste your talents on your childish idealism."

"You won't escape."

"We'll see."

Bujing launched a flurry of fire at Zuko, but the new Lord slapped each blast away. Each deflection, Zuko advanced closer to his quarry. Bujing's attacks became less focused and more desperate, and it was clear the older man was quickly becoming exhausted. Zuko was nearly close enough for hand-to-hand now, and he suddenly delivered a fierce side kick coupled with a burst of fire, which sent Bujing flying backwards and into the low wall that barely spared him from a lethal meeting with the ground below. Zuko advanced on the downed Bujing, hands ready.

"You've lost; surrender."

Bujing looked up and smiled menacingly. Zuko did not need to ask what the smile was for, as he was now close enough to the edge to see the scene in front of the base. Both of his tanks were destroyed, and the beach was littered with more of the black-shouldered enemy.

Worse still, three war balloons floated up from below. They immediately spat fire at him, and it was all he could do to keep the steady stream of fire from consuming him. Zuko was now entirely on the defensive. Bujing began to cackle loudly from his seat against the wall, but it was cut off abruptly when a great shadow was cast over him.

"For the 41st!" cried Tien from the scaffolding below Zuko's airship.

Immediately, a shower of fire fell upon the enemy war balloons as Tien and several other firebenders harnessed to the ship unleashed their power at once. Each balloon burst into flames and plummeted to the ground. The airship floated on towards the beach, raining fire down upon the enemy like Agni's tears.

"Got your signal, my Lord!" Tien saluted from above. It was now Zuko's turn to smirk. Bujing cowered as Zuko approached him.

"Now, you'll surrender." Zuko stated, clearly indicating it was not a question.

Bujing began to raise his arms up slowly, when suddenly his expression turned from terrified to confused, then suddenly focused. His eyes were no longer set on Zuko, but slightly beyond him. Zuko resisted the urge to turn, but heard someone drawing a blade.

"My Lord, look out!" cried the voice behind him. Along with the warning whirled the tell-tale sound of an object spinning in the air. Before Zuko could turn, a thrown sword struck Bujing squarely in the chest.

"B...but..." were the High General's last words. Zuko turned to see the swordsman who felled Kahchi panting heavily, his arm still extended from the throw.


An airship hummed nearby, causing the stone surroundings to quiver gently. This was not an uncommon occurrence; however, today the humming sounded much closer than usual. It came to no surprise when the humming was followed by a loud crash, and the smell of charred stone filled the air.

Ozai was already standing, looking as regal as he could manage while wearing rags, when the heavy door to his cell was sprung open.

"Qin, you've arrived earlier than I expected. Has something happened?"

The War Minister nodded. "We had to speed the plan along a bit. Bujing is handling your son as we speak. It's time for a change of scenery, my Lord."

"The first of many changes, War Minister."