The Fire Lord's Bride

"What do you mean you and Toph are married?" Sokka shouted at Zuko. His shocked expression was mirrored in the faces of his companions. Katara looked like she had swallowed a monkey-eel while Aang gaped widely enough to have swallowed two monkey-eels and a hippo-rabbit. "Why would Toph ever marry you?" Sokka continued. "She hates your guts. I distinctly remember her saying those exact words. 'Zuko, I hate your guts.' Then she blew out the walls in the east wing of your palace. Remember that? So there is absolutely no way she would willingly tie herself to you unless you clobbered her over the head then hypnotized her." He suddenly gasped and pointed an accusing finger at the Fire Lord. "You did, didn't you? You clobbered her over the head and hypnotized her!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Zuko snapped, glaring at the Southern Water Tribe's new chief . "Haven't you been listening to my story?" He wanted to throw a fireball at the other man, but he somehow managed to restrain this impulse. It wouldn't do to start a fight with the Avatar's brother-in-law when he desperately needed Aang's help to rescue Toph. When the Avatar and his friends had first shown up and demanded to talk to him, Zuko had been a bit taken aback at their aloofness. Sure, they were not exactly bosom companions, but they had all worked together quite often over the years in most of the Fire Nation's rebuilding efforts in the different kingdoms. He liked to think that they had at least learned to trust him, even just a little. But to see them looking at him with suspicion again was a nasty little shock that reminded him of the past when he used to be their sworn enemy. So, deciding to emulate their manner and act as formally as the Avatar, Zuko had given each of them the proper greetings and addresses, then ordered his men to set up a shelter where they could talk. Aang had looked like he wanted to protest and tell him not to bother but Katara, who was obviously pregnant, had sighed in gratitude and said that she wanted the chance to sit down on something that wasn't flying at nausea-inducing speeds for a while. So, after a few minutes, a makeshift tent was ready, the Avatar's wife was comfortably seated, and Zuko began to recount what had happened to his party since they had left the Fire Nation.

"So let me see if I got this straight," Aang said then started to recite rapidly, "You were about to marry this Lady Ayumi, but Earthbenders kidnapped her and Toph turned out to have helped them without knowing their true intentions, so you hired Toph to help you find them, and, along the way, you somehow ended up marrying Toph because your mother turned out to be alive and communicates with spirits, and has the certifications to marry people too, then you finally found Lady Ayumi only to discover she's been killed and your crazy sister Azula has escaped from prison and she was the one behind the whole thing along with the Dai Li, now she has Toph, and you want our help to get her back." He took a deep breath, then fixed Zuko with a hard glare. "Isn't your story missing something important? Like the fact that you ordered your navy to blockade the Earth Kingdom's west coast and then attack the towns on the coastline?"

"What?" It was Zuko's turn to look shocked. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, that's why we tracked you down," Aang told him. "Two days ago, the Fire Nation navy began blockading the waters held by the Earth Kingdom on the western part of their continent. Then, yesterday, your ships started bombarding the settlements along the western coastline. We were able to stop them, and when we questioned the captains of the ships, they said that they had received orders to commit those crimes and acts of war, and that the orders had your royal seal."

"I gave no such orders." Zuko's blood chilled at the thought of the destruction that must have been caused by his navy. "This is—this all seems part of an elaborate plot to start the war all over again. You must believe I had nothing to do with those attacks!" His mind raced furiously as he tried to make sense out of everything that was happening.

"Well, when we first heard the news about the blockade, we started investigating," Katara said. "And we did get the idea that it may be some kind of plan for the Fire Nation to start taking over the world again. Then when the ships started their attack, we knew for sure. But we wanted to be certain that you had actually ordered these things to be done, so we looked for you. Forgive us for making the most obvious conclusion, but the actions of your navy clearly supported the possibility that you were embarking on another war of conquest."

"The Fire Nation is never going to war again," Zuko declared. "Not as long as I have breath in me. This must all be Azula's doing. When she escaped from the Boiling Rock, she must have gathered the Dai Li about her again so she could have Lady Ayumi kidnapped, which would then cause me to go off on a wild chase to rescue my betrothed. Then she made arrangements to turn the other nations against me by making it seem like I wish to start another war."

Iroh, who had been listening silently all this time, suddenly cleared his throat to get their attention. "If I may be allowed to speak, Fire Lord—?" he addressed his nephew, and Zuko immediately nodded.

"Please, Uncle, speak," he said. "Any wisdom you can share would be very welcome."

"I don't think this scheme can be wholly blamed on Azula. It makes more sense to think that she was helped by others who may believe that your reign of peace and prosperity isn't enough for them. Even though the Fire Nation is now more progressive and open in its dealings with other cultures, there are those among the nobles and the generals who still wish for a return to the old ways because of the power they wielded during Ozai's rule." Iroh sounded grim. "Such people would not hesitate to aid and support your sister in trying to claim the throne for herself."

"So they would help her in making me appear as a warmonger," Zuko spoke his thoughts out loud as he worked through the ideas Iroh's words had planted in his mind. "By doing so, they cut me off from asking the other nations for help when they openly try to take the throne. The Fire Nation could be torn apart by civil war if that comes to pass. And no matter which side ends up winning, innocent people will suffer."

"For now, we can only speculate on these possibilities because Azula and whoever is on her side are the only ones who know exactly what they hope to achieve with their schemes," said Iroh. "But we can be sure that whatever they are planning would not be good for the Fire Nation and the rest of the world. So they must be stopped before they can do more grievous harm."

"She has already done grievous harm!" Zuko exclaimed. "She hurt Toph and she killed Lady Ayumi." He remembered once more how the dead woman had looked after Azula must have had some fun torturing her. His heart burned painfully when he imagined the same horrors being done to Toph. When he looked at Aang again, the fear of losing his wife was clear on his face. "Please," he begged. "Toph is your friend. Help me get her back. I'll deal with Azula. I'll shut her up somewhere deep in the earth and I'll even join her if I have to, just to make sure she'll never threaten anyone again, but only if you help me rescue my wife."

Katara laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Of course we'll help you, Zuko. It's silly of you to even think you need to ask."

"Yeah," Sokka nodded. "Like you said, Toph's our friend and we'd go through hell to help her. I'll even help foil whatever your crazy sister is plotting so you can keep warming the Fire Nation throne. But after this, if Toph says she doesn't really want to be married to you and she walks away, you give me your word now that you'll let her go."

"Sokka!" Katara looked at her brother reproachfully. "There's no reason to say such things!"

"Yes," agreed Aang. "For now, something more important needs to be done. We have to come up with a plan that will take down Azula, or we could find ourselves fighting in another war soon."

They were all silenced by the reminder that the peace they had struggled to achieve years ago was now under threat once more. Zuko thought to himself that it wasn't fair he had to fight another member of his family. Though he and Azula had never been close even though they were siblings, somewhere inside him he had held the faint hope that she might change someday. He had also felt the same about his father, up until the moment he had had to make the choice that ended Ozai's life. Deep in his heart, he dreaded the time when he would come to the same decision about his sister. And he feared greatly for Toph.

"Please, Toph," he pleaded silently, praying that she could somehow sense him. "Stay alive until I find you."

Then the Fire Lord and the Avatar started making plans for war.