Chapter Nine

"I'm beginning to forget exactly why I should feel compelled to help you, Princess," Long Feng informed Azula in a bored tone when he found her making herself at home in his private study.

She had a tray of sweets spread out before her and, it was quite evident from the disarray, that she'd been going through his personal belongings and confidential files. He knew better than to order her to keep out of his things. By now, Long Feng understood that Azula did as Azula pleased.

With a nonchalant air, she propped her booted legs onto his desk and crossed them at the ankles. "Then allow me to refresh your memory," she drawled sweetly. "You want to go up against the Fire Nation and I happen to know all the Fire Nation's military vulnerabilities. If you want to stage a successful invasion, you are going to need my help, Long Feng, otherwise you'll be stopped and annihilated long before you cross Fire Nation waters. Oh and then there's that small matter of me having the Avatar…" She cocked her head to the side with an amused smirk. "I'd say you more than need me. I should be your new best friend."

"I heartily disagree. I think it's you who needs me, Princess Azula," Long Feng challenged, "and not the other way around."

"Hmm…I prefer to think of ours as a more symbiotic relationship," Azula tossed back at him. "It's a wonderful balance of give and take."

"You mean where I give and you take?" Long Feng queried bitterly.

Azula lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "Why upset the wonderful dynamic we already have between us?"

Aggravated by her apparent inability to take him seriously, Long Feng moved to stand over her, resisting the inclination to sweep her legs from his desk and throttle her when the two Dai Li agents standing guard took two menacing steps forward. "I grow weary of your games," he told her in a tightly controlled tone. "Either you produce the Avatar or our deal, such as it is, is done."

Not surprisingly, Azula called his bluff. "I'll produce the Avatar when I'm ready, Long Feng, and only then," she said. "You're beginning to test my patience with these ultimatums. Are you always so cranky in the afternoon?"

"Why are you even here?" he demanded irately, fed up with being her bit of side amusement. "How do you expect to just stride in here at the eleventh hour and take over?"

"Because I can and I have," Azula replied dismissively. "The transition will go so much smoother if you just learn to accept it. And, in harmony with that fact, I think it's time you introduced me to my generals, Long Feng. The men should know exactly whom they are following."

"Not a chance," Long Feng scoffed. After raking her with a sneering glance, he turned away and clasped his hands behind his back in a thoughtful pose. "You may continue to hold the Dai Li enthralled, but I am immune. Therefore, I'm afraid you have no room to bargain here, Princess," he decided, "and you are wasting my time."

Though it was evident he was threatening her, baiting her, Azula was hardly intimidated. In fact, she had to resist the urge to laugh outright altogether. It actually pleased her that Long Feng continued to put up such resistance. She'd have all the more fun breaking him down.

"Long Feng, really," she began softly, "have you ever known me to bluff in the past?" He did not turn to face her, but the subtle stiffening of his shoulders alerted Azula to the fact her words had found their mark. "Do you want to chance it now? Are you truly willing to gamble with the possibility?"

"I have absolutely no reason to trust you," Long Feng considered.

"No, you don't," Azula agreed, moving to her feet to circle him like a prowling predator. "In fact, I wouldn't recommend it at all. But the fact remains, we need each other. The Dai Li keep me well informed as to how you are viewed among the troops. Some are doubtful that you can lead them to victory. It would not take a great deal for me to capitalize on that fact, especially with the Avatar's whereabouts still unknown."

"And you're not in a much better position to inspire trust," Long Feng countered coldly. "You've failed twice already, first losing your mind and then losing your bending. You're disgraced. Who, besides the Dai Li, would be idiotic enough to follow you into battle?"

"Yes, you have a point," Azula conceded. "But, I've learned through past experience, that people go where the power is. Once I make it known that I have the Avatar, I don't think I'll have very much trouble convincing your army to follow me. But that's a messy and complicated process and I'd rather avoid such ugliness, wouldn't you?

"As I mentioned to you before," she continued almost seductively, "this can be an arrangement that works out in both our favors. You keep mentioning how you can do this without me," she said, coming around to face him fully, "but I think we both know that I can do this without you." Though Long Feng remained silent, his eyes flashed with uncertainty. Azula wasted no time pouncing on that single vulnerability and exploiting it. "Think about it," she cajoled. "You're poised on the cusp of having everything you want…are you really going to jeopardize it all simply because you hate me?"

Azula watched as Long Feng calculated the pros and cons in his own mind, knowing she had him long before he verbally acquiesced. "If I introduce you to the troops…"

"When you introduce me," she corrected.

"When I introduce you," Long Feng amended dutifully, "I need your word that you will keep the Avatar under control until the invasion is complete. Neither of us can afford any mistakes."

"Don't you worry about the Avatar, Long Feng," Azula told him. "I have plans for him that are entirely personal."

****

It was a two day journey to reach the outer walls of Ri Shan, a thriving Fire Nation metropolis just off the coast, equipped with its own university, elaborate transportation system, military elite and political construct…all of which were controlled by the Firelord. It was little surprise then that Ri Shan was quickly becoming known among the Earth Kingdom citizens as the foreign city, a place that was both envied and despised. The striking grandeur of the city was a far cry from its humble beginnings.

At its start, Ri Shan had been little more that a small fishing community. Due to its location along the coast, it was one of the first places the Fire Nation invaded and occupied when the war began. In those early days, it had served as little more than a training base for Fire Nation soldiers, before they moved out to deeper territories within the Earth Kingdom. More than one hundred years had transformed the city into something infinitely more impressive, with its thick, earthen walls fortified with steel that rose even beyond the tree tops of the forest beyond and its grand, sprawling estates within.

Ri Shan had now become home to some of the Fire Nation's most politically, socially and materially affluent families. Now the little fishing town was a great fortified city, a very rich city that housed both Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation citizen alike. Yet, in spite of its location and diverse populace, it fell completely under the dominion and law of the ruling Firelord. That fact was beginning to annoy some Earth Kingdom residents.

While Zuko's rule had proven to be nothing like his father's or his grandfather's, there were some who still resented his figurative presence in the Earth Kingdom. Ri Shan's growing size and opulence only heightened that resentment. A Fire Nation stronghold on Earth Kingdom soil? A grand city that was quickly growing to rival even their own magnificent capital, Ba Sing Se? No, that could not stand. As a result of that prevailing attitude, Earth Kingdom armies were now encamped outside the great walls of Ri Shan, ready, able and eager to take back what they felt rightfully belonged to them.

Azula carefully bit back her smirk of amusement as she rode into the camp behind Long Feng on her squawking ostrich-horse. Ri Shan was a perfect example of what her late father had envisioned for the Fire Nation, for the entire world… He had foreseen himself as sovereign of it all. That his dream should be realized to an extent under the ruler- ship of his despised only son was ironic. That Azula would be the one to crush that precious dream and build her own empire upon its ashes…that was destiny.

A surge of whispers began reverberating through the camp as she trailed behind Long Feng. The soldiers' expressions ranged from curiosity to outright hatred. Rather than being cowed by the avid attention, however, Azula fed off of it. She held her chin at a haughty angle, the corner of her lips turned in a proverbial smirk.

When General Fong caught sight of them as he poked at the fire outside his tent, he rose to greet them, the look on his face caught somewhere between absolute shock and utter dismay. Long Feng had barely dismounted before the general was plucking him by the elbow and leading him away for "a private word." The surrounding Earth Kingdom soldiers stared at Azula in their absence. She stared back…and won.

"When I received your message that you were bringing along someone who would aid in our cause, she was not what I had in mind," General Fong hissed under his breath. "Have you lost your senses, man?"

"Relax, Fong," Long Feng replied mildly. "Princess Azula is our ally now."

"Of course," Fong patronized with a serenity he did not feel. "That answers my question perfectly. You are insane!"

"Who else is in a better position to reveal to us the Fire Nation's weaknesses?" Long Feng considered.

"And at what cost?" General Fong bit out. "That girl is a loose cannon. Her own family can't control her! What makes you think we'll have any success? How do you even know she's not manipulating you now? She has done that before, has she not?"

Long Feng swallowed back the sharp retort that rose on his lips and answered between clenched teeth, "The Princess came to me this time. I don't doubt her motives are sincere." It took monumental effort to choke out the lie, but somehow Long Feng managed to do so and with absolute earnestness. "You can trust her, Fong."

General Fong stared at Long Feng. "Trust her?" he sneered. "I barely trust you."

"I can understand your reservations," Azula said, startling both men when she crept up behind them. "I haven't proven to be a friend of the Earth Kingdom in the past." Though he said not a word, the look on General Fong's face clearly screamed, "You think?" Azula favored him with a disarming smile. "Long Feng is right," she told him. "I am no longer the girl I once was."

Fong regarded her with a speculative stare, stroking his beard in reaction to the declaration. "No longer that girl, hmm?" he considered. "And why exactly should I take your word for that, Princess?"

"No, not Princess," Azula corrected softly. "Azula." Fong's eyes widened in surprise at the invitation while Long Feng merely stared at her, mouth agape. "Princess Azula was a weapon and a machine used to carry out her father's bidding," Azula clarified, "and I am no longer that person. My choices. My destiny is now my decision."

"And what exactly does that mean for us, Prin…Azula," Fong stressed in correction. "We can't take part in your journey to find yourself! This is a war, young lady, not a coming of age story! What exactly is it that you think you can do for us?"

Whereas one time, Azula would have had the man flogged for his insolence, this time she wisely held her tongue. Let him view her as an equal now, perhaps even beneath him if he wished. Relinquishing the title "princess" would be a small thing in comparison to the title she would gain…"emperor." No one would stop her. In fact, they would be the ones to insist upon it. She was already laying the seeds.

"I want to help you take back your homeland," Azula declared. When the general scoffed at that, she laid her hands wide in an entreating gesture. "I come before you, humbled, without weapons or bending. I wish to serve your nation…please?"

"Why would you want to do that?" Fong challenged. "You were the very one who conquered Omashu and Ba Sing Se in your father's name. Now you speak of serving the Earth Kingdom? It's absurd!"

"Consider what you said a moment ago," Azula replied. "I captured Omashu and Ba Sing Se in my father's name, not my own." She paused a moment to let that sink in before she continued. "General, you were not the only one who lived in fear of Firelord Ozai's brutal tyranny. It was not an easy thing growing up in such a household." She did not say more than that, but the telltale flicker in General Fong's eyes let her know that she had made precious inroads. "During the war, I'm sure we all did the things we had to in order to survive…perhaps even some things we are not very proud of," she continued. "I cannot change my past, but I can help you to secure your future."

"What's in it for you?" Fong asked suspiciously.

"Peace of mind," Azula prevaricated with counterfeit sincerity. "I…I haven't had very much of that in recent years. I thought perhaps helping to rebuild what I destroyed would help soothe my troubled spirit."

General Fong was well aware of the rumors that had circulated about the young Fire Nation princess and how it had been alleged that she'd lost her mind. In the beginning, it had been theorized that her own thirst for power and control had been her mental undoing, but now that he saw her with his own eyes, Fong questioned that. Perhaps political avarice hadn't been her downfall at all. Perhaps it had been her own guilty conscience. In considering that, Fong felt himself softening towards her, even without making the conscious decision to do so.

"So it is your intention to help us breach the Fire Nation's borders?" he concluded.

"In order to do so you will have to bypass the naval fleet and sneak in quietly," Azula told him. "You will never win in a head to head battle against the Fire Navy. I know the thin spots in the blockade where we can slip in quietly."

"Yes, but it's not enough to know the Fire Nation's weaknesses," General Fong pointed out. "Once the Avatar learns of our attack on Ri Shan, he will come here and passing through your 'thin spots' will be a moot point."

"The Avatar will not be an issue for you," Azula determined confidently.

"And you know this because?" Fong challenged.

"Because I have him in my custody," she replied, shocking General Fong anew. "The Fire Nation has weaknesses and so does the Avatar."

"Why should I believe you?" Fong queried in a wary tone.

"I am helping you, am I not?" Azula countered. "Taking the Avatar out of the equation helps me as well."

"And how exactly did you do that?"

"It doesn't matter," Azula replied. "What matters is that I have him. He is unharmed. I merely have him tucked away until our task is accomplished." An uneasy look passed over General Fong's features. "I realize it sounds like a daring move," she continued, "but we must be daring. Do you honestly believe that the Avatar would let any attack against the Firelord stand, even while injustice is being played out? I know that the Avatar was responsible for ending the war before and I commend him, but the years have proven that he is hardly unbiased when it comes to the Firelord. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Surely you can understand that, General Fong?"

Azula had done her research on him already, so she knew very well he would get her point. It was the very reason she had insisted that Long Feng take her directly to him instead of one of the other generals. She knew if she made her case convincingly with Fong, it would take little effort to get the others to fall in line.

Unaware that he was being worked by a master manipulator, General Fong thought back to the time he'd attempted to force the Avatar into the avatar state to prevent further death and injury to his troops. "I do understand," the general murmured quietly. Indeed, desperate times had called for desperate measures. But he had failed in that regard. He did not want Azula to meet with the same failure and he told her that.

"There will be no failure," Azula declared. "I have had a great deal of time to consider how this should be played out. When the Fire Nation is purged and vanquished for good, then I will release the Avatar. By then, it will be too late for him to do anything about it. Furthermore, it won't be necessary for him to act. The war will be over and not because he ended it but because we did. Perhaps the world we'll see that we have no need of an Avatar, after all."

Fong stroked his beard once more, clearly seduced by her arguments. "I must gather together the other generals together to discuss this," he said. "Please, make yourself comfortable in the meantime. I will find you when we've reached a decision."

"Of course," Azula murmured, bowing respectfully. "I am your humble servant." As she watched the general walk away, Long Feng came to stand alongside her. The two exchanged a subtle, sneering look.

"Bravo, Princess," he commended in a low tone. "What a stirring performance! You're a more accomplished liar than I gave you credit for. Even I almost believed you."

"Yes, I am rather accomplished, aren't I?" Azula agreed with a breezy sigh. "You'd do well not to forget it."

****

"I miss Appa!" Toph sighed despondently. "This balloon business is for the birds!"

At the mention of the missing bison, Katara's expression became even more downtrodden than before and Suki elbowed Toph in the ribs to quell any further mention of him. "Hey! What was that for?" Toph grumbled. Unfortunately, Suki's efforts to quiet Toph down came too late. Their antics had already caught Katara's attention.

"It's okay, Suki," she sighed. "I miss Appa too. Flying just isn't the same without him."

"See?" Toph crowed triumphantly.

Ignoring her, Suki rose to cross over to the other side of the balloon where Katara sat, politely scooting past the firebender who diligently fed the furnace. She sat down beside Katara and looped an arm around the younger woman's shoulder. "You know, wherever Aang is, at least he's not alone," Suki considered. "He has Appa. That's a small comfort, right?"

"Yeah, I guess…" came Katara's lackluster response.

Suki gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Katara, come on," she rallied. "He's going to be okay. You have to keep believing that."

"I know he'll be okay," Katara agreed. "Aang can take care of himself. It's only that I worry about the next time and the time after that and the time after that…"

"I don't know what you mean," Suki said with a frown.

"I had thought that after the war ended things would be calmer," Katara whispered. "I never expected that Aang and I would lead a normal life or anything, but I thought that the running was finally over, you know? I never imagined that he'd still be hunted this way. After all he's done on the world's behalf, he's still an object of hatred for some people. I can't understand it."

"Katara, I know it's hard to hear, but not everyone is going to appreciate Aang's efforts," Suki considered pragmatically. "There's always going to be someone out there looking to stir up seditious thoughts. That's why we need Aang. He's the perfect example of what we all should be. Even with unlimited power in his grasp, he's never used it to further his own agenda. He always puts the interest of people first."

"And we see how much his efforts are appreciated," Katara muttered bitterly.

"Don't do that," Suki entreated her. "Don't lose faith in the whole world because of what one bad person did, Katara. I think people are just very confused right now. That's all." Rather than acknowledge the wisdom in her sister's-in-law words, Katara turned her face towards the wind. Suki sighed. "I know you're worried about Aang," she acknowledged softly. "I can only imagine how crazy I'd be if Sokka were missing, but… It seems to me that something else is bothering you, Katara." Her intuitive assertion had Katara favoring her with a fleeting glance. "I'm not saying you have to talk about it," Suki rushed out. "But, if you want to, I'll listen."

Katara nibbled on her lower lip, silently considering the offer before confessing in a suffocated tone, "Before Aang left, we talked about starting a family."

"Oh…oh my," Suki stammered, her blue eyes wide with surprise. "Does that mean…are you…?"

"No," Katara interjected sadly before Suki could fully voice the question. "At least," she amended with a slight frown, "I don't think I am. It's too early to tell."

"Wow, another baby…" Suki breathed out happily. "I can't wait."

"Well, not yet," Katara cautioned her. "Not for sure anyway. But hopefully soon."

"Then that's a good thing, right?" Suki asked.

"I thought so," Katara replied. "Now, with everything that's happened, I feel like I was fooling myself."

"How do you mean?" Suki asked. "Fooling yourself about what?"

"I had this amazing fantasy that Aang and I would start a family, settle down somewhere together and lead a relatively quiet life," she revealed softly. "I mean, I know he's the Avatar and he always will be, but…I just thought that was something we could keep separate from us." Katara shrugged dejectedly. "I don't know…I guess those few weeks we spent together alone at the Southern Air Temple really made an impact on me. They were some of the best days of my life, Suki."

"Oh, I'll just bet they were," her friend laughed.

Katara nudged her playfully. "Not just because of that," she denied with a laughing eye roll. "Though, we did do plenty of that." She surveyed Suki with a cheeky, sideways smile. "Lots and lots of that."

"Oh, Katara! You are so wrong!" Suki balked, though she was absolutely ecstatic to see a smile on Katara's face. It was the first one in days. "Just do yourself a favor…never make mention of that to your brother. He likes to think that you and Aang just sat around the campfire all day, holding hands and singing songs."

Shaking her head in chagrin, Katara stifled a giggle. "Yeah, well we did that too," she admitted. "We did lots of stuff…we planted a garden…we explored the temple together. Aang showed me how to make fruit pies. We had water fights. We played hide and seek with Appa and Momo. Appa lost a lot," she recalled wryly, provoking a snicker from Suki.

"We went gliding together," Katara continued. "We meditated together. Sometimes we'd just sit around the fire and talk for hours about nothing and everything, and we laughed…" She smiled to herself in memory. "We laughed so much, Suki. It was like we were the only two people in the world. We were just Katara and Aang. It was wonderful."

"Sounds romantic," Suki murmured.

"It was," Katara agreed before her expression became shuttered and despondent once more. "But I don't suppose any of that was real, huh?" She regarded Suki with a melancholy stare. "It was destined not to last. Things like that never do."