Chapter 11: The Firelord's Command

Zuko stretched his arms over his head as he walked towards Mako, Ty Lee, and Mai, who were waiting for him in one of the courtyards. The day's matches would begin soon, but the Ty Lee had said that she had something to discuss, privately.

"Okay, so I was thinking about it and I realized that in order to figure out who the Painted Warrior is, all we need to do is find out which male waterbenders weren't present at the Painted Warrior's battles!" Ty Lee said excitedly. "There aren't that many waterbenders here, so it shouldn't be too hard!"

"It's actually not that simple and easy." Mai told her. "Didn't you see the stands yesterday? It was wild. Everyone was focusing on the battles. No one would've noticed if a waterbender was missing."

"But people would know who was there!" Ty Lee insisted. "I myself remember seeing Tahno and Hasook in the crowd, so now we know that they can't be the mystery warrior!"

Mako agreed. "Ty Lee is right. If we ask around, we'll continue to find out who isn't the mystery warrior. Then there will be less suspects, and it'll be easier to solve this whole mystery."

I didn't see Lady Katara at the matches yesterday…Zuko thought suddenly. He knew that she was a bender, because he had seen her bend wine onto her brother's head at the first feast. But female waterbenders aren't trained to fight. She was probably in her room or busy doing something else.

"The mystery warrior's identity is probably going to be revealed today, so there's no point in attempting to figure it out." Mai pointed out. "Even if he beats all his challengers and doesn't want to show his face, if the Firelord tells him to reveal himself, he can't refuse."

"There's a possibility he might not show up," Zuko said thoughtfully. "He may not want to fight all those challengers."

"It's likely that he'll show up, because he probably wants the glory and honor," Mai argued.

"Well, we'll find out soon." Mako said. "Let's head to the arena."

As expected, the stands were full of excited people waiting for the Painted Warrior to make an appearance. Katara sat next to Sokka, keeping her face straight. Out of all the people there, only Katara, Sokka, and Sangok knew that the Painted Warrior wouldn't be showing up anytime soon.

Glancing towards where the Firelord was seated, Katara saw that he had a scowl on his face. He seems like such an unpleasant person.

The audience applauded as a firebender defeated his opponent, an earthbender. As each match started and ended, the Firelord seemed to become angrier.

The final match ended, and there was still no sign of the Painted Warrior making an appearance. Everyone was looking around, wondering what would happen next. A lot of people looked disappointed—they had been looking forward to the Painted Warrior being challenged and unmasked.

Firelord Ozai stood up, looking enraged. His eyes flashed dangerously. "This is proof that the Painted Warrior is an enemy of the Fire Nation!" His voice was loud and powerful. "I command all able warriors to search for this criminal and bring him to me! If he refuses to come, kill him and bring me his dead body! Whoever brings him to me will be rewarded with riches beyond your imagination!"

Several warriors jumped up from their seats, ready to begin their search. Jet was one of them. "I'll find him," he declared, flashing a confident smile. His eyes met Katara's, and suddenly Katara felt nervous.

There's no way Jet knows…does he? Feeling a bit panicky, Katara somehow managed to hide all emotion from her face.

"You'll be impressed if I catch him, won't you?" Jet asked her. His eyes were piercing, and his expression was determined.

Katara felt herself calm down slightly. He doesn't know; he just wants to impress me. "It seems like it'll be difficult," she replied, keeping her voice even.

At that moment, Firelord Ozai's voice was heard again. "Prince Zuko, I order you to find the mystery warrior and bring him to me!"

Zuko nodded. "I will, Father." His face showed no emotion.

Many people in the crowd looked surprised. The Firelord was very serious if he was sending even the prince to look for the Painted Warrior. Some people thought that he was overreacting, but none of them dared to say so.

"There's no way the Painted Warrior is going to get out of this alive now." Katara heard someone say.

"Yeah, I heard that the prince is an excellent tracker." Another person replied. "The Painted Warrior won't be able to escape."

This is really not good. Katara thought. I need to go to the Crystal Catacombs and destroy the costume. If someone finds it, they might be able to trace it back to the people who sold Sangok the stuff. Then they'll suspect Sangok, and that would be terrible. Katara was determined to keep Sangok safe from any trouble. Seriously…why does the Firelord have to be so dramatic about this?!

"Let us help you, Zuko." Ty Lee pleaded. "We can figure out who it is and find him together."

Zuko hesitated. "Thanks, but I…I should do this on my own. The task was given to me. You don't need to get involved."

Ty Lee, Zuko, Mako, and Mai were all standing outside of the arena. Many warriors had already dispersed; all of them were looking for the Painted Warrior.

Ty Lee pouted. "We want to help, though."

"You guys can try to figure out who it is. But I'll do the searching by myself." Zuko told her. He was already thinking hard about where the Painted Warrior would hide. He could possibly be anywhere in Ba Sing Se…but the Lower Ring seems too far from the palace, so maybe he wouldn't travel that far. The Middle Ring or the Upper Ring? If he knows some of the people living there, he could be hiding his stuff in their homes. That doesn't seem too likely, either, though…

Zuko thought of all the places he knew of in Ba Sing Se. Where's a place that no one else would look? He suddenly remembered his uncle telling him about a place deep underneath the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace. He called it the Crystal Catacombs…but how would a waterbender get underground? Maybe there's a secret entrance…

"I'll see you guys later." Zuko told the others.

Mako nodded. "Good luck."

Mai looked indifferent, while Ty Lee looked a bit disappointed.

If the Painted Warrior attacks me, it would be good if I were alone, Zuko thought. That way there's no chance that anyone else would get hurt.

Holding a lantern tightly in her hand, Katara raced towards the entrance of the tunnel leading to the Crystal Catacombs. The sky was already getting dark. She hoped that she would remain unseen.

It was rather difficult to see the entrance in the dark. The trees and rocks surrounding the entrance also helped to hide it from view.

"In a hurry, Sugar Queen?" Toph's voice made Katara jump.

Katara turned to see Toph leaning against one of the trees nearby the entrance of the tunnel. "Toph! What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing. You're hiding something from me, aren't you?" Unlike Katara, Toph seemed pretty relaxed.

"Hiding something? Of course not!" Katara tried to calm herself.

"I can tell you're lying. Just confess to it, Sweetness. It's not like I would care if you were breaking some rules." Toph grinned.

Katara stared at the younger girl. "You've already guessed, haven't you?"

"Guessed that you're the mystery warrior?" Toph paused, then smiled again. "By the speed of your heartbeat, I know that I've guessed right."

Katara let out a sigh. "How did you make that guess in the first place?" She wasn't bothered that Toph knew, since she trusted Toph and knew that she wouldn't tell anyone. She was just worried that her identity was easy to figure out.

"A waterbender who's compassionate towards commoners sounds a lot like you." Toph replied. "I didn't know for sure until just now, though."

"…Do you think others will be able to figure it out?" Katara asked.

"Nah. Unless they know you well."

Katara relaxed slightly. "Toph, you have to help me. Say that you saw me in the stands during the…wait." Why do I keep forgetting she's blind? "Uh. Never mind. Sorry."

Toph let out a laugh. "I'm sure others will believe me if I say I saw you. Don't worry about it so much. If someone accuses you, just deny it."

"I don't want to be suspected at all, though." Katara sighed.

"Well, you'll just have to deal with it." Toph began walking away. "Anyway, it's nice to know something that everyone else is dying to know. I'll keep your secret."

"…Thanks. See you later."

"Bye."

The two girls went their separate ways. Katara made her way through the tunnel with the lantern being her source of light. When she reached the catacombs, she quickly headed over to where she'd hid her costume. She was feeling calmer now. The light from the glowing crystals seemed to relax her.

Katara held the painted mask in her hands. She suddenly felt like she couldn't destroy it. She didn't want to. It was special to her; it would always remind her of those amazing moments. Maybe I could destroy the rest of the costume but keep the mask…would it still be too risky?

Katara wasn't sure how long she stood there, contemplating. Should I just leave the mask here? Should I try to bring it back home with me?

"It's a nice mask." A voice from behind her said, startling her out of her thoughts.

Katara felt as if her heart stopped for a moment. That voice definitely did not belong to Toph.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading!