The night was quiet. The night was still. Zuko was sure that this calmness was a prelude to something wicked, especially with Azula in Ba Sing Se. He stood on top of the First Financial Bank of Ba Sing Se, which was directly across from the Ba Sing Se Police Building. With the blue mask on, Zuko stayed crouched in the shadows, hidden from the patrol that consisted of Kyoshi Warriors and Dai Li agents. From this distance, Zuko could gaze into Sokka's office, his room filled with a bunch of policemen, Suki and Long Feng.

The very sight of Long Feng made him sick, and he was fighting every urge to dive through the window and run his swords through Long Feng's neck.

Part of him wished he could hear what they were saying. From this vantage point, Zuko could only see them pointing at a bulletin board, which he assumed had an artist's rendition of him. Zuko couldn't believe how quickly this city had turned on him just by one event. He was referring to them as stupid individuals, but to see how easily manipulated they could be, Zuko feared to what other things Azula could do to the citizens of Ba Sing Se.

Another part of him wondering why King Kuei was so quick to stigmatize him. The King knew what he did to save him and how he protected this city. It didn't seem right for an entire city government to flip flop that quickly. Then again, this was the government that Zuko was talking about.

By the way they were pointing fingers at people and their arm movements, Zuko could tell that they were yelling at each other. He sighed, ashamed on how simple minded some people were, and he wasn't even referring to Sokka. When the last patrol came by, Zuko took off, leaping from building to building. He had seen enough, and knew that nothing was going to change unless he could actually hear something.

Maybe he could ask the Painted Lady.

When Zuko got home, he was surprised to find the bedroom empty. He raised a brow as he took the mask off, taking off the plates of armor and then wrapping them all within the shozkou. He lifted up the floorboard, tucking everything away. He secured it, covering it with the South Village rug Katara kept from her Gran-Gran. After dressing in regular clothes, he marched downstairs, seeing Katara in the kitchen cooking up some sheep-pork buns and ginseng tea. He walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing the side of her neck, smiling as she giggled.

"Never realized how much I miss you tackling me," Zuko snickered.

"I just decided that maybe a good dinner would be nice for tonight," Katara said.

"Not going to argue that."

She turned off the stove as the water started boiling, adding the tea leaves as she poured them into two marble cups. She pulled the buns out, setting two plates on the table for both of them. Zuko sat down with her, biting down into the bun with a satisfied grin.

"So, did you find out anything?"

Zuko shook his head.

"I can't get close enough to hear, and we both know that your brother can't meet with me anymore, even in secret."

"So you're basically cut off then?"

Zuko nodded, taking a sip of tea. "Pretty much. Did Iroh give you his recipe for this?"

Katara nodded, a smile on her face. "He came over while you were out and prepared it for me. You need to remind me to ask him to show me how he does it."

"That reminds me of a joke he told me about tea," Zuko smirked.

"What is it?"

"Well… I don't really remember it. I just know it ends, 'I'm bushed'."

Katara stared at him, shaking her head as she took another bite of the pun.

"Uncle always tells it better," Zuko mumbled.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Zuko rose up, walking over to the door. He looked through the peep-hole, opening the door to letting his uncle in. Zuko wondered if his uncle had some sort of sixth sense that always peeked when someone was talking about him.

"Have you guys heard the news yet?" Iroh asked.

"No, I just got back from my rounds. What's up?" Zuko asked.

"It's been playing all day. I think it's some type of recording."

Iroh turned on the radio, messing with the dials and turning it to the station that was dedicated to the Ba Sing Se Police. Zuko listened intently as it was nothing but static at first. But as it began to clear up again, he could start hearing his sister's voice.

"Hello, Ba Sing Se. My name is Azula, Princess of Caldera and daughter to Ozai, the Phoenix King. Most of you know who I am already, but for those who don't, I want you to take heed to what I am about to tell you. This city is under my control now. You don't know who is under my control just know that I have everyone I need wrapped around my little finger. And for that, you should take note of anything that you that seems out of place."

Zuko furrowed his brow. "How much do you wanna bet she has someone in the Royal Palace under her control?"

"Seems likely," Katara said.

"My message is a simple one. For two years now, you have known of the presence of the Blue Spirit and his actions regarding Zhao, the Admiral. What you don't know is that the Blue Spirit is not only wanted in Ba Sing Se, but also in Caldera. To this, I declare to you: I want the Blue Spirit as much as the officials of Ba Sing Se do. While they have announced a reward for it, I have something to make it more enticing."

Zuko now grew concerned. Since she didn't know that it was him under the mask, what would she do to the city?

"To anyone who knows the whereabouts of the Blue Spirit, I will offer to you whatever your heart desires. To anyone that can hunt down the Blue Spirit and bring him to me, I will ensure that you will never have to think twice about your lives. To anyone that can bring me his unmasked face, you will be considered royalty in Caldera."

"Fuck," Zuko shouted.

Katara sat down, covering her mouth with her hands as a worried look crept over her face. She shot back up, burying her face into Zuko's chest. He took her in his arms, biting his bottom lip to hold in the anger boiling inside of him.

"And to the Blue Spirit, I say this. I will personally kill one person every night unless you come forward. If you take longer than three days, I will hunt down the people you care about and make you watch them die in front of the Royal Palace. The city is on your hands, Blue Spirit."

The feed turned to static, and eventually started clearing up again. Iroh shut the radio off, turning to stare at his nephew with a grim look on his face.

"Zuko, you can't give yourself in," Katara said.

"What do I do then? Let people die?"

"Endure, nephew. Bend, but don't break."

"I have to go after her, uncle," Zuko declared. "Or else this won't stop."

Katara let tears fall down, to which Zuko noticed. He brushed them away, leaning down and kissing another tear that escaped from her eyes. He cupped her face, his golden orbs staring into her perfect blue eyes.

"I have to do this, Kat," Zuko said. "I don't want you or uncle to be put in danger."

"Are you considering showing Azula who you are?" Iroh prompted.

"No," Zuko said. "I need to keep you two away from this as possible. I have to stop Azula as soon as possible."

"She'll be expecting that, Zuko," Katara said.

"I know. What she won't expect is how quickly I'll go after her."

"And what are you going to do when you find her, nephew?" Iroh asked.

Zuko stood in silence. This wasn't Zhao, this was his sister. She was cruel, but not in the way Zhao was. She was worst. She was cunning, defying, and ruthless. Zuko only had one option, no matter how hard it would hurt him. This was family he was talking about. And blood was always thicker than water.

"I have to kill her, just like Zhao."