Chapter 8: An Unremarkable Man

The midday sun rode high above Ba Sing Se, and much of the city (though not all- the Impenetrable City never truly slept) slowed to a crawl and people from all walks of life sat down to their meals. One such man nodded to himself in satisfaction as he felt his shop door lock click shut, and he turned slowly to make his way home.

The man was middle-aged, of average height, his eyes the green common in the Earth Kingdom. His head was completely bald (he led most of his acquaintances to believe it was natural, though in truth it was shaved) and he wore a thin mustache, but otherwise there was nothing particularly noteworthy about him. Even those who had met him before would have had a hard time picking him out of a crowd. In another life, this blandness had served well for one who wished to rule a kingdom without ever sitting on the throne- if everyone devoted their attention towards the monarch, they failed to take note of the quiet figure in his shadow, leaving him free to work unnoticed. Now he was able to move through the city unnoticed, for though he was the most wanted criminal in all of Ba Sing Se, few indeed were those people on the street who could match his name to his face.

Of course, it helped when one still had a number of law-enforcement officials under one's influence. The Earth King had done his best to clean up his government, but in any political system there would always be corruption- and where there was corruption, the unremarkable man and his like would thrive.

The man came to his house- one of many similar places in the middle ring of the city, and in fact one of several that he directly or indirectly owned. He let himself in and was preparing to step into his kitchen and fix a light lunch when he heard the slight rustle of cloth behind him.

"I know you're there," he said softly. "Come out where I can see you."

The shadows in a corner seemed to shimmer, and a person- a woman or girl from the shape of the mouth and chin, all that was visible beneath her hood- emerged, wrapped in a dark cloak. She stepped in front of the man and smiled without mirth. The man was reminded forcibly of another young woman he once knew, and who was indirectly responsible for his present situation.

"Here I am," she said. "We have business to discuss."

"If you want to discuss business, come by my shop. It will be open again in an hour, and I assure you I can sell you the finest tools of calligraphy in the middle ring."

"I'm not here for paper or brushes," the girl said. "It is you I want. I have a proposition I believe you will be interested in hearing."

"Who are you?" the man asked. "I prefer not to make deals with people unless I know who they are and how they think."

The girl cast back her hood, and the man started slightly at her pallor and strange eyes. "Oh, we've met before, though I'm not surprised you don't remember me. Your kind never gives people like me a second thought." Her merciless eyes narrowed. "But I know you- Long Feng."

/

Azula kept her face perfectly neutral, refusing to let her uncle see her surprise. "Expecting me," she repeated. "That isn't possible. I only decided to come here after leaving the Fire Nation, and no one on the ship has a messenger hawk."

"Zuko sent a message to me telling me about your journey," Iroh said. "I had a feeling that you might find your way here eventually." The old man looked at her surprisingly shrewdly. "Will you come into the back with me? I do not think this is a conversation you want to have in front of everybody."

"Yes, of course." Azula stood. "Lead us to your back room."

The princess and Ty Lee followed Iroh into a small room in the rear of the shop that resembled the main room, except smaller and more private. Considering that the Jasmine Dragon was in the upper ring, Azula imagined that government officials came here fairly regularly, and like having a place to drink their tea and talk away from prying eyes.

A table stood in the middle of the room, and on it was a tea-pot and three cups. Ty Lee's eyes lit up when she saw it there, and the acrobat hurried over and poured herself a cup. After taking a sip she smiled contentedly, then wrapped the surprised Iroh in a tight embrace.

"It's even better than it was the last time I was here!"

"Thank you! It is good to see you again too, Ty Lee. It is always a pleasure to see someone who appreciates the good things in life." The old man extracted himself from the girl's arms, and all three sat down around the table. Iroh turned back to Azula, his expression becoming serious again. "I heard about what happened to Ozai," he said. "I am sorry."

Azula snorted. "No you're not. The two of you hated each other, and you didn't even show for his funeral."

Iroh chuckled. "I believe that Zuko had something to do with that. It seems he didn't want to drag me halfway around the world just for my brother, so I didn't get a message about the funeral until after it was already over."

"Really? I wouldn't have thought he'd be that devious."

Ty Lee looked up from her tea. "That's really not all that devious, Azula."

"I know. That's my point – it's sarcasm." The princess looked back at Iroh. "Anyway, that doesn't change what I said at all- you hated my father, so your sympathy rings hollow."

Iroh closed his eyes. "I did not hate Ozai. I hated what he did to people- both his subjects and his own family- and that was why I was his enemy. But he was still my brother." Iroh looked up, his eyes now glinting with familiar humor. "I visited him once in prison, you know. I even suggested that I might be able to convince Zuko to give him parole and let him come and work in my tea shop. For some reason he wasn't very interested."

Ty Lee snorted into her tea, and even Azula had to hold back a chuckle at that mental image. "I can imagine," she said softly.

Iroh took another sip of tea, and then looked Azula straight in the eyes. "But I don't think you came here to talk about your father. It is your other parent who concerns you now."

"Yes." Azula closed her eyes. "I need to find my mother, Uncle. I have reason to believe that she's somewhere in the Earth Kingdom, but beyond that I don't know, and I'm not interested in wasting my life going over this continent with a fine-toothed comb. I was told that you are someone who might have more precise information."

"Hmmm." Iroh stroked his beard slowly. "You know, of course, that I was not in the Fire Nation when your mother was banished- I was still returning from the siege of Ba Sing Se. When I reached home, I found that my father was dead and my brother was on the throne, his wife nowhere to be seen. I confronted Ozai alone that night, and demanded to know what he had done. I may not have hated him, but I was never blind to what he was capable of. I was afraid that he had killed both Ursa and Azulon.

"He told me the true story of what happened. I think it amused him to show how he had triumphed over me and stolen my throne. I told him I did not care about the throne- I just wanted to know what happened to the people he used to get there. Ozai gestured to the east and said that he'd banished Ursa from the Fire Nation, but he did not specify where."

"So you don't know any more than I do," Azula said.

"I never said that!" Iroh exclaimed. "Allow me to finish. Even in exile Ursa was family, and I knew she would be travelling through lands hostile to the Fire Nation. So I decided to have some old friends keep an eye out for her."

Ty Lee elbowed Azula. "That must be that pai sho club I told you about."

Iroh chuckled. "The Order of the White Lotus is more than a pai sho club. It is a society of wise masters from all four nations, dedicated to sharing and preserving culture and knowledge. There are members across the Earth Kingdom, and they were able to keep track of your mother and keep her safe until she passed beyond their knowledge."

"What do you mean?" Azula asked.

"The members of the Order of the White Lotus are all wise or powerful, but they are only human. And many of them are kings or generals with great responsibilities. Ursa was travelling east, hoping to get as far away from the Fire Nation as possible, and she left the Earth Kingdom proper and entered a lawless region ruled by petty bandit kings." He stood and walked over to a shelf, removing a map of the Earth Kingdom and rolling it out. "Here is where we lost track of her," he said, pointing at the beginning of a peninsula in the east.

"That is where she is now?" Azula asked.

"You must admit, your mother is a striking woman, and clearly of Fire Nation heritage. If someone matching her description was travelling the main Earth Kingdom, people would talk and someone in the Order of the White Lotus would hear." Iroh nodded. "If your mother is still alive, that is where she must be."

Azula looked up at him, eyes blazing. "She's alive," she hissed. "I know it. And she is imprisoned."

"There are many bandit lords in that area who would do something like that if they thought they could profit from it," Iroh said. "If one of them has your mother, then she needs your help."

"Very well." Azula stood and turned to leave. "Thank you, Uncle. Ty Lee, come with me."

"But Azula," Ty Lee said, "you didn't even drink any of your tea! Are we leaving already?"

"Yes." The princess's hand was on the door handle when she felt someone touch her shoulder gently. Turning, she saw her uncle.

"Ty Lee, would you mind going on ahead?" Iroh asked. "I would like to talk to my niece in private."

"Sure. It was great to see you again, General Iroh, and thanks a lot for the tea!" With a bounce in her step Ty Lee left the small room. When she was gone, Azula turned to Iroh.

"What do you want, Uncle?" she asked. "As I recall, our encounters in the recent past did not end well for you. I wouldn't think you'd want to talk any longer once our business was done any more than I do."

"I know why you are doing this, Azula," he said softly. "I have walked with the spirits before myself, and I can feel the echo of their touch about you. This quest is about more than just finding your mother. You are going to have to find yourself as well."

"Don't pretend you understand me, Uncle," Azula snapped, "or that you care for me. I'm not a little lost child like my brother or any of the others you've given your 'wise' advice to over the years. I know who I am, and what I want."

"Do you?" Iroh asked. "Or do you know who your father wanted you to be? Arrogance, hatred, cruel ambition- Ozai taught you all of those things, and they led you both down the path to ruin. Now you have a chance to rebuild yourself, and you need to forget the person your father forced you to become, and find out for the first time who you are."

"You know nothing!" Azula hissed.

"Don't I?" Iroh asked. "When I was a young man, I was taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in the world, and that it was our destiny to rule the other bending nations. I believed in that, and I became Fire Lord Azulon's greatest general, the Dragon of the West. I like to think that I was a kinder leader than my father or brother, but I still conquered vast territories for the Fire Nation. Then I came up against Ba Sing Se, and I knew that it was my destiny to take it."

The old man's eyes closed, and Azula saw tears trickling from their edges. "And then I received word that my son Lu Ten had been killed in battle- a battle he was fighting on my orders. As I held his body I knew that it was my fault, and that the glory of the war was a lie. I learned my lesson, but it destroyed one I loved and it nearly destroyed me too. It is not too late for you, Azula. You can still turn back before you suffer. I know that we have never been close, and I have the scars to prove it," her he smiled sadly, "but still, I do not wish for that to happen. I think our family has endured enough self-inflicted pain."

Azula stumbled back from her uncle, unsure of what to say in the face of a display that she had been taught to see as the most shameful weakness, coming from a man who she knew was perhaps the greatest firebender alive. The princess was reminded yet again that she did not understand Iroh, but in the face of his words a part of her wondered now whether she should have tried.

The old general dried his eyes and turned back to Azula. "Go now," he said. "May the spirits walk with you. I hope that you find your way before it is too late. We have all suffered too much already."

Azula turned and hurried from the room, leaving Iroh behind alone. Ty Lee waited in the main room of the tea shop, hurrying to Azula's side when she saw her. "What did he say?" she asked. "It must have been pretty important if he wanted to talk to you about it alone."

"I don't want to talk" the princess said. "We're going back to the ship."

/

"My name is Lee," the man who had once been called Long Feng said calmly. "I'm certain you have the wrong man."

Violet eyes flashed. "You are Long Feng, once Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se and head of the Dai Li. You are one of the most skilled earthbenders in the world, and a politician clever enough to rule this city from behind the throne for years. Now you disguise yourself as a simple merchant to avoid imprisonment. But I know you well."

Long Feng studied her shadowed features intently, unable to place them. That was a rarity- the former minister had an excellent memory for faces and seldom forgot one. Still, the girl knew who he really was, and that made her dangerous regardless of her identity.

"Assuming I am who you say I am," he said, "what could you possibly have to offer that would interest me- unless, of course, you were sent here by Kuei to admit he has been misbehaving and is in need of my help?"

The shadow-girl laughed softly. "I'm afraid not. I merely offer information. The architect of your ultimate downfall is within your grasp- Princess Azula is in Ba Sing Se even now."

Long Feng shrugged. "What of it? Revenge is a fool's game- it distracts your energies from more worthwhile and productive pursuits. I have spent the last year inserting agents back into Ba Sing Se's power structure- do you think I would compromise that for a chance to kill only one of the people responsible for my present condition?"

"Perhaps I have a different plan in mind. Have you heard by any chance of the Lady Ursa?"

Long Feng nodded. "Fire Lord Ozai's wife. He banished her from the Fire Nation years ago, and she wandered the Earth Kingdom for some time before vanishing. Most of my sources believed her dead. What of her?"

"She is alive," the girl hissed. "Azula seeks her. If you play this situation right, you could profit from it greatly."

Long Feng thought he had an idea of where this was going, but kept his expression neutral. "Enlighten me," he said.

"Fire Lord Zuko loves his mother dearly. Whoever brings her home would have his choice of rewards. Money, land- or perhaps a position in his government." Violet eyes narrowed. "You are too well-known here now to ever fully regain your influence, but the Fire Nation government was almost totally dismantled after the War, because so many of the ministers collaborated willingly with Fire Lord Ozai and his last, mad plan. Zuko needs the support of experienced men. Surely the two of you could find common ground."

"Indeed," Long Feng mused. "Azula will lead me directly to her mother- and when she has done so, the Fire Princess can be removed and I can claim my leverage. She will not be so formidable now that I am wise to her tricks. A neat scheme, all told, with minimal effort required on my part." He looked darkly at his visitor. "In fact, I wonder how exactly you plan to benefit from it."

The girl's eyes burned with hate. "Seeing Azula fail within sight of her goal will be reward enough. The princess must learn what it is to suffer and die without hope."

"I see." Long Feng thought he understood this strange visitor more closely now- she was clever, but her motivation was hatred, and that made her a dangerous loose boulder. He would tolerate her presence so long as she proved useful, but he knew better than to trust her. Sooner or later, she would have to be disposed of as well.

"Do you have a name?" he asked. "I prefer to know who I am dealing with."

Pulling her hood back up so her face was cast into shadow, the girl smiled. "You may call me Wei Ming."

Long Feng extended his hand and the girl took it. "Then, Wei Ming," he said as they shook, "I believe this is the start of a most auspicious partnership."

/

An important chapter indeed! We meet our third and final major antagonist in this chapter, and his name is a familiar one indeed – Long Feng himself. His ultimate fate was left unstated in the show, but for the purposes of this fic I decided that Azula would have kept him alive and captive, so she could pick his brain about the running of Ba Sing Se at her leisure. When Ba Sing Se was liberated by the White Lotus, he managed to escape and promptly vanished, and has been scheming to regain power ever since. His having shaved his head completely, rather than being merely balding, was a bit of a shout-out to a certain other Clancy Brown-voiced evil mastermind. His choice of alias is another shout out – as a certain master swordsman said, there's a million Lees.

Azula has a chat with Iroh, something she never really had in canon. As I mentioned in the commentary for Heart of Fire, Iroh once said that Azula was crazy and needed to go down – but now that she has gone down, he's willing to wait and see what she's learned from it. He certainly doesn't care for Azula the way he does Zuko, but at heart Iroh is a wise and compassionate soul, and more to the point, he feels in some ways that he's been where she is now – having had his world torn out from under him, realized that he was in the wrong, and struggling to remake himself as a better person. Of course, Azula isn't quite to the point where she really gets what Iroh is trying to tell her.

Iroh has a vague idea of where Ursa is. Why hasn't he tried to find her himself? Well, everyone who would have gotten close enough to identify her in the last several years either got killed or bought off by Jian Chin, so all he's had to go on is third-and-fourth hand rumors; really, he previously thought it was very likely she was dead but was simply unwilling to crush Zuko's hopes. Now, however, he has a distinct feeling that destiny is in play and is curious about what Azula might turn up. This is the last we'll be seeing of Iroh in this fic, but he'll have a much more important role in the third one.

And our shadow has a name, at last. "Wei Ming" means "twilight" according to a Chinese translator I used; it's not her birth name, but it's the alias she's been using for the past year and a half or so, and we'll be treating it as her name from here out. She has her own plans for Azula and Long Feng that aren't exactly what she shared with her new "ally", but then again, Long Feng learned his lesson about trusting mysterious, deadly girls of dubious morals and questionable sanity in "Crossroads of Destiny". He's not going to roll over for either Azula or Wei Ming this time.

-MasterGhandalf