Embers

by Vathara

Dragon's fire is not so easily extinguished; when Zuko rediscovers a lost firebending technique, shifting flames can shift the world... Follows "Theft Absolute".

35. Chapter 35

"Oh, that doesn't look ominous," Jee said dryly, staring at the trails of smoke rising from the distant city.

From his perch on the observation deck, the harbor itself looked mostly calm. Mostly being a flexible term; Jee had sailed into enough recently pacified ports to know one when he saw it. The furtive looks, the heads kept down; the way sailors casually lingered near tie-downs, where a sharp blade might turn a peaceably secured ship into one that could cast off in moments. The Fire Nation's grip here was firm, but not secure. Not yet.

This is more than just the tension of a conquest. Something's happened. Something bad.

Well. It was good to know Donghai's information was solid. So far, at least.

They'd met the smirking Earth Kingdom smuggler in the dark of the ghost watch; a lean whip of a man with a ship that looked like a floating disaster and moved like an eel through the lake. Just what a man would want for moving cargoes that couldn't risk coming near official channels.

As his latest had been. Though it was a very small cargo. A bundle of letters and maps, weighted only with treason.

Or loyal resistance. Depending on whose side you were on.

"I'm on mine, what do you think?" Donghai had snorted when Jee gave him a pointed look. "War, no war - shale and shards, business is going to be even better with the skull-faces locking the port down. But Shirong's okay. For a Dai Li. Got my first mate out of a mess with a... um. Trust me. You don't want to know. I don't want to know." He shivered, and tried to cover it with a cynical look. "So like I said, he's not bad. Understands about... trade. And that sometimes a man has to make compromises to get something useful out of the enemy." He gave Jee just as sharp a look back.

Jee had found himself hiding a smile, then. He might not have seen it when he was a younger man. Might not have recognized it even today, if he hadn't dealt with a certain angry prince. But under all the sarcasm and attitude of a man out to make a profit from both sides, was someone Agent Shirong had trusted to put the Earth Kingdom first. Even if it meant consorting with their mortal enemies.

I hope he's as good at sneaking back into port as he was sneaking out, Jee thought now. Sergeant Kyo's good, but even he says inside help is what we need. There aren't enough of us to crew enough ships. Even if we all knew how to sail.

A fair number of his crew did. Saburo, Teruko; he could lay his hands on half a hundred files of the most unlikely sailors. Mixing firebenders and wooden ships was enough to turn a sane man's hair white - but the older domains gritted their teeth and did it anyway. Steel ships and coal went to the war first, and fish didn't catch themselves.

Ba Sing Se fished as well, but they didn't rely on it. Or General Iroh's siege would have had a far different outcome.

Jee lifted his gaze from the harbor's fishing fleet to the unimaginable breadth of green fields between here and the city itself. Farms and crops to support not only the uncounted millions inside the Inner Wall of Ba Sing Se, but the bulk of the Earth Army as well. The sheer wealth of what Princess Azula had captured made his mind reel. With those supplies diverted to Fire Nation use instead...

Well. He felt considerably less conflicted about the resupply part of the prince's plan. Even if it had been lifted straight out of waegu raids.

Staring over ordered, endless squares of green, Jee had to shake his head. "You could lose small armies out there." Recalled who was standing next to him, wrapped in a concealing red cloak. "Sorry, sir."

"Not just small ones," General Iroh said mildly, lowering his spyglass. "No need for apologies. The Fire Nation lost much here, least of all my pride. I believed this city could be taken by rightful force of arms. I was mistaken, and we all paid a heavy price. If only I had come to wisdom sooner." He sighed. "Let that be a lesson, Captain. If the spirits grant us a vision, they do so for their goals, not ours."

"And the prince's vision?" Jee said carefully.

"Ah. That, I have far more faith in. For it is not a vision." The general smiled wryly. "It is a plan. His plan. And while many of my nephew's plans have not reached their intended goal, they have kept him and those he cares for alive. And this one, he has had time to create."

Which should have helped cut down on what Lieutenant Teruko had sheepishly admitted was one of the worst flaws of dragon-children: find, fix, kill. It didn't sound like a flaw, not in a marine...

Or at least, it hadn't. Until Teruko had told him the other, major problem dragon-children had hanging onto sanity.

"We can't fly, sir."

A statement that had seemed utterly obvious. Outside of a few legendary master benders like Jeong Jeong, back when that general had been inclined to show off crushing the Fire Nation's foes, no human could fly.

"Sir, a grounded dragon is in trouble. Sick. Hurt. Protecting eggs. Which means you find the most obvious threat and you kill it dead. Because you can't get away."

Which explained an uncomfortable amount of the prince's - and his lieutenant's - behavior. If not the tavern torchings.

"...Um, no. That's just guys getting to me. Sir."

Well. Knowing why Prince Zuko tended to focus on one target would be useful. If only to soothe nerves jangled by the fact that he had on board a bender who could move an entire supply ship.

One of these days, he might even be able to think about that. Without desperately wanting a drink.

Focus on now. "You'd better head below, General."

"Yes, that would be wise," the general nodded. "Good luck, Captain."

"Thank you, sir." We're all going to need it.

Not least here and now, as helm and lookouts guided the Suzuran to the best berthing they could find. The lakes were more than deep enough to allow free sailing, but Ba Sing Se's harbor had been built with ferries and junks in mind; shallower vessels, moving mostly under the power of wind. And what a few rebellious earthbenders might be able to do to channels marked as clear... Brr.

Though before General Gang's attack on Suzuran, earthbenders Jee had run into had lacked the reach - or possibly, the imagination - to raise a lakebed while they were standing on its shore. And none of Gang's men should have made it here. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if somewhere, sometime, someone had found the guts to just hold their breath and dive.

Then again, given Earth Kingdom policy on destroying innovative firebenders... if he were an earthbender who'd come up with a new tactic, he'd keep it quiet. Just in case.

Which is a damn shame, Jee mused. There's no honor in fighting an enemy who's crippled himself.

Not that war was ever about honor, but... There. Jee let out a quiet, relieved breath, as Suzuran's engines wound down and the ship ghosted neatly into place alongside a floating pier. New; an Army construction, and not nearly the solid structure he would have liked to load from. But it would do.

It has to.

And there was the welcoming committee, just as expected. Mostly in red armor... yet there were a few in the city's green and dun as well. Interesting.

How strong is Azula's grip on command and communication? What gaps can we find - or create?

Time to encourage a few, here and now.

He didn't wait for any official summons; simply gripped one of the outer ladders and slid down to the main deck, timing it to march up and nod to the harbormaster just as the younger officer was about to open his mouth. "Welcome aboard, Lieutenant. I'm glad to see your commanders are following up on our report on the Avatar's bison so quickly."

"Captain Jee, you had no orders to bring Suzuran into Ba Sing- what did you say?"

"We sighted the Avatar's bison," Jee stated matter-of-factly, letting a slight hint of surprise cross his face. "Rendezvousing with the Water Tribe fleet, apparently. We thought we'd caught up to them but - well, let's just say General Gang's army regretted catching us. Unfortunately, as you know, the tribesmen were able to escape in the confusion..." Jee let his words trail off, as the harbormaster's jaw dropped. "Oh, damn. Don't tell me... Agni, we never got any message to compartmentalize that! Standing orders are that possible sightings of the Avatar are to be broadcast to all forces!"

Which set off a flurry of quoted regulations, demands for ship's logs, communications sent up to the Palace, shore patrol ordered on board to inspect the ship, and Agni alone knew what else.

In all the confusion of uniforms coming and going, no one noticed a few sailors and marines quietly slipping off to scout the harbor. Even Jee didn't quite know when one particular pair of armored firebenders ghosted away. One moment they were on deck being dressed down by patrollers; the next - gone.

Keep him safe, Teruko. If anyone can.

---

We're all gonna die.

"Relax, Lieutenant," Sergeant Kyo murmured. "We're just sightseeing."

Right, Sadao thought morbidly, keeping pace with the sergeant as the rest of the knot of mayhem-bent marines peeled off to saunter through the docks. Just seeing the sights of the ships we're going to steal right out from under the Army's nose.

At least nothing had caught fire around him. Yet.

Actually, nothing had accidentally caught fire around him for days. It was weird. Almost as weird as healing.

...Not that there was anything wrong with healing. Once he'd finally gotten his head around that odd push-pull pattern of the prince's, fire had been eager to do what he wanted. Sure, it took the kind of patience you needed to read wind and waves when you weren't sure of your charts. The ruthless determination you needed to kill flames in the first place. And the same balance of caring and calculation you used to lead men where any sane civilian would fear to tread. But once you had all that down, it was scarily easy.

For once, he was good at something. And nobody had even hinted at throwing him off the ship.

In his darker moments, that scared him stiff.

Though at least he wasn't really here to lead Sergeant Kyo, and they both knew it. Just... advising. Because given marines tended to be more in the business of sinking ships than sailing them, Captain Jee wanted a few second opinions on the vessels they were about to steal.

...Er, commandeer. Sort of. In a way. Oh, Agni...

"Well?" The sergeant raised an eyebrow as they made their way past old sailors mending nets, a stray woman of ill repute hurrying away, two passable fishing boats that were beginning to stink of their early-morning catch, and one dry-rotted wreck that should have been burned to put it out of an honest sea's misery.

"I think it's a good thing the Western Lake ships haven't been committed over here yet," Sadao said in an undertone. "We're going to have to get past them. If we get out of here in the first place. And there's nothing here with that kind of speed."

"Nothing, huh kid?" An amused voice spoke out of a net-cast shadow.

Gaah! No fire no fire-

"Breathe, Lieutenant," Sergeant Kyo advised, planting himself between Sadao and the weather-beaten whip of a man smirking at them. "Captain Donghai. You're early."

"You're earlier," Donghai said dryly. "A guy might think you didn't trust your own plan."

"Plans always go wrong," Kyo said, just as dry. "Are you in or out?"

"To the point. I like that." Donghai shrugged. "I'm thinking about it. First, I need to know what you've got." He eyed Sadao. "Nothing?"

"Maybe a few of those nobles' junks down near the city-side," Sadao shrugged, uneasy. "But if they lose the wind, they're dead in the water." Emphasis on dead. "And we don't have anyone who can sail them."

"Not in our crew," the sergeant nodded. "Have to admit, those ferries are a bit more our speed."

"Except speed is exactly what they don't have," Sadao said unhappily. "And if we do get through the Western Lake? Rivers, Sergeant. Suzuran can take it; we've got a strong hull, and charts with the current deep channels. Those ferries?" He winced just thinking about it.

"One step at a time," the sergeant advised. "First, we need to get people out."

Donghai looked between them both, dark brows climbing toward his hair. "You really mean it." His voice was troubled, thoughtful. "You're really planning to get people out of here."

Sadao nodded; sure in himself of this, at least. "If we can."

Donghai looked at them, then inland, where eyes dazzled by sun off the harbor could just make out a few occupation komodo-rhinos. "You're dead men walking."

"No," Sadao said, surprising himself. "No, we're not. We've got a chance. It's not a good chance. But we have surprise, and we'll have speed. And... other resources, the rest of the Army doesn't. We can do this. We can save these people." He met Donghai's brown gaze, trying to be open and honest as sunlight. "We could use your help."

"And if you're as slippery as I think you are," Sergeant Kyo stuck in, voice wry, "no one's ever going to know you had anything to do with it."

Donghai took a step back. Chewed on his lip. Frowned, eyes down and thinking. Looked back at them, calculation lighting his eyes. "Hate to say it, but those junks aren't mine."

"Ferries," Sadao sighed.

"Didn't think they were, Captain," Sergeant Kyo agreed. "Though given both of your opinions, I have to say I'm a bit more interested in those junks now than I was when our Lee first brought them up." His smile had a predatory edge. "After all, if Lee can make contact with... our soon to be associate, we could have papers to sort out that inconvenient detail of who owns what. Or who gets to borrow what." He smirked. "I know you people like your paperwork."

"Borrow?" Donghai pounced on that like a cat on a scorpion-viper.

Kyo shrugged slightly. "You think this is going to work if there's a ship left in port to catch us?"

Donghai looked at them. And their armor. And the wooden, flammable ships currently at dock. "...Borrow. Right." He chuckled, shaking his head at them both. "And people call me a crook."

"It's all a matter of scale, Captain," Kyo stated. "So what can we do for each other?"

"Give me an hour to find some people." Still smirking, Donghai sauntered off.

"Think we can trust him?" Sadao whispered once the man was out of sight.

"Lee's friend thought we could," Kyo observed. "Let's hope he was as right about that as he was about Lee."

Sadao swallowed dryly, thinking of the prince. "Can he do it, Sergeant? I know he can meet - our contact." Even if their prince had to sneak through a whole city occupied by enemies. Who just happened to be their people. "But convince him? When we're - who we are?"

"Don't forget who he is, Lieutenant," Sergeant Kyo said wryly. "He's young. He'll never be charming. But he's got his uncle's training... and never forget what that family is trained to do." He chuckled quietly. "Our earthy friend will never know what hit him."

---

"I never would have dreamed it was this big." Teruko shook her head as they strode through the Lower Ring. "And this... quiet."

Too quiet, Zuko thought, silent behind a skull faceplate. Streets leading into mazes of streets, large as anything in the capital's great caldera. Streets he knew better than the capital itself, he realized with a shock, for when had a prince's son ever wandered the back alleys alone? Ranks of familiar tenements rose around them; he knew from the light and shadows they should be swarming with people coming off of night work or leaving late for the morning. Now they stood locked and barred, quieted by the thud of patrolling komodo-rhinos. The taste of wet-wood smoke clung to the back of his throat, tainted with the odd grate that was shattered rock dust in the breeze.

There were people in the streets, despite the troops. Shops were open, goods and coin exchanging hands. But he could hear the fear, in the wail of babies kept carefully out of sight.

Children. It made him want to snarl. Agni, what kind of monsters do they think we are?

What the rest of the Earth Kingdom tells them we are, a more practical part of him pointed out. The beasts the Dai Li - the ones they fear, and hate - wouldn't talk about. Except to imply they protect them from us. So we have to be worse.

Not rational. But Uncle had hammered home years ago that a lot of people weren't rational, and didn't check their facts against reality. Plenty of people just did what they wanted, and figured out reasons why it "made sense" later. The Fire Nation was invading. Of course people were afraid of them.

And they've got reason to be, he admitted grudgingly. These troops aren't under Uncle's command. They're under Azula's. She's not stupid, she won't execute people without cause-

But she'd find cause. Plenty of it. And... he knew, from what had happened to Ping, even some of his own people had no honor.

It hurt.

I'm going to change that, he swore. I will. One step at a... uh-oh.

They'd rounded a corner from just subdued into actively quiet, drifts of smoke still smoldering from what had been a shattered tenement. One floor had collapsed into another, charred remnants of the roof clawing at the sky like blackened bones. A few former residents huddled in numb clumps on other tenement stoops, rough blankets flung around them against shock. The street itself was cracked down the middle as if by a great earthquake, half of it inches above the other.

The master sergeant heading their way on foot was obviously tired, cranky, and about one good snarl away from finding someone to shred who truly deserved it. His hair was gray with ash as well as age, there were still traces of soot on his uniform, and he had both troops and Guards drawing near with one brusque, beckoning hand. Some of them, very familiar Guards.

Let them just see the armor.

"Master Sergeant Yakume," he identified himself. "A bit far from your ship, aren't you, marine?"

"Lieutenant Teruko, of Suzuran." She took off her faceplate; proper politeness of higher-ranked to lower. "No offense, but we could see from the water you'd had some trouble up here." She gestured toward torn rocks, smoking rubble, the faintly red wet stains on the street where someone had washed blood away. "Captain Jee asked us to take a look. And, orders permitting, offer our assistance."

Some of the Guards snorted at that. But not all. Especially not one mountain of a man in uniform just a bit more ornate than the rest.

Captain Lu-shan, Zuko realized, recognizing Huojin's description of the man. And it looks like...

Well. To be honest, it didn't look like he trusted the master sergeant. But the way he stood, casually confident that no attack was coming from Yakume's direction... it didn't look like he didn't, either.

Somehow, I don't think that's what the Earth King had in mind.

Despite his grumbling temper, despite the gnawing worry of what if Azula spots us, Zuko still felt sorry for Kuei. The Earth King knew the palace, his guards, and his Dai Li. Maybe some of his nobles as well. But that was it.

And that missed so much of the world, it wasn't funny.

He doesn't know ordinary people. Ordinary lives.

And the Dai Li, who could at least have given him an idea of what normal had been for them, had followed Long Feng's lead and kept the Earth King at a reverent distance. And they didn't talk about what they really did with people, and spirits. Or why.

Zuko had read Shirong's report, but he had to admit, he hadn't grasped all the implications. Not until now. Kuei had made, or approved, a plan to wreak havoc all over the city. To break some of the Earth Army loose, and otherwise mess with the Fire Nation's occupation. And it had worked.

...Except the Earth King didn't know what it was like to have your world burned down around you. Or what happened to people who fought to survive, together. Whether or not they liked each other.

Most places in the city, it wouldn't make a difference. The hatred would be too deep; Fire Nation officers and men would be careless, or arrogant enough to scorn their conquered foes as subjects instead of citizens. But here...

In the ashes and outrage, Zuko could taste potential.

"You'd help us, Lieutenant?" the captain said gracelessly. "I doubt we need any more fires set around here."

Zuko straightened, and held back a thoughtful nod. The master sergeant's found a crack. And he's going to keep tapping wedges into it.

Teruko let out a slow breath, that just steamed slightly. "Sir, Suzuran has no reports on what happened here, so I know the captain would want me to reserve judgment." Her eyes narrowed a little on that; slowly, relaxed. "We have trained field medics on board. Burn medications. People who can set a damn broken arm. Obviously, we can't send our medics into what may still be a hostile situation." She looked straight at Yakume. "But if it would be worthwhile to you for us to offload certain supplies, or for you to send civilians to the docks, if they've been cleared..."

Yakume arched a brow, considering that. "Suzuran. Captain Jee, isn't it? I hear he served under General Iroh."

Zuko kept himself from stiffening with an effort. I don't like this.

"Not quite accurate, sir," Teruko said politely. "I understand he chose to travel on the ship Captain Jee was master of, but the chain of command was... otherwise arranged."

"Rumor often exaggerates," Yakume mused. "I also hear your ship survived the North Pole."

Zuko listened to the sudden, attentive silence among troops and bystanders. And bit back a curse. I really don't like this.

"Yes, we did," Teruko said bluntly. "I almost feel sorry for the Water Tribe."

"You? Feel sorry for them?" Lu-shan looked caught between amusement and disgust. "I hear your precious fleet got wiped out."

He's pushing. And Yakume's letting him. Zuko scowled behind the mask, irritation bleeding into something darker. He's holding the occupation here, he's just gotten people working together - now he wants to see how we'll handle them.

Damn it. If he'd been trying to hold the city - in the long run, yes, this would be good for the soldiers stationed here. Even good for the civilians; if Yakume was trying to build a working relationship between soldiers and Guards, then he meant to carry out the obligations of an honorable soldier. But he really didn't need this. Not here, not now. Even if they'd been regular troops, this would be a bad idea, and marines were known for being testy on land...

You want to show the Guard you're standing with them no matter what idiots come onto shore leave here. Argh. We're an "object lesson"-

Rage shook him, then; he held onto it with finger and thumb pressed carefully together, focusing on that pressure-near-pain. Blow this, and everything failed. Everything.

I am so, so tired of being someone else's lesson.

Teruko smiled, just a little. It wasn't pretty. "Suzuran wasn't the only ship to sail away from that battle. Intact. So you might want to rethink any rumors you might have heard on how wiped out we were. Because if we had been wiped out, if we'd lost as many thousands of souls as I hear Earth Kingdom rumors say... well, I'd think any city that deals with spirits as much as Ba Sing Se would be a little more worried. After all, that would mean thousands of bodies in the water, condemned to sink without proper burial. People killed by a spirit. The Ocean himself, tainted by human rage." Her voice dropped, almost a whisper. "And Fire Nation ghosts don't fear the sun."

Face neutral again, she turned back to Yakume. "Did you need anything else, Master Sergeant?"

"Just for you to watch your step, Lieutenant," Yakume said dryly. "We had some unrest last night, and I'd hate to have to tell your captain you walked into another patch of it. Especially with a youngster tagging along."

"Newbies have to learn sometime," Teruko shrugged. "Move it, Private. We've got work to do."

She enjoyed that, Zuko thought grumpily, as they marched away. Rolled his eyes behind the faceplate, and set the irritation aside. It'd worked. That was all that mattered.

At least, he hoped it'd worked. Something about the way Yakume had said youngster...

---

That... can't have been what I think it was, Yakume thought to himself, making his way into Lu-shan's office with a feeling of relief. Carefully hidden relief; yes, the captain had been working with him so far, and yes, inside the Guard station was somewhat safer than out on the street. But this was still occupied territory, with all the hazards that implied.

"So marines are touchy on shore, are they?" Captain Lu-shan asked dryly.

Yakume kept his face neutral and alert, even if exhaustion dragged at him like iron chains. Damned if he'd show that in front of the Earth Kingdom.

And Lu-shan likely thinks the same of the Fire Nation, and we'll just keep going until one of us can find an excuse to collapse in private, Yakume thought wryly. "Usually, they are." That this Lieutenant Teruko wasn't... could mean many things. None of them good for those under his care.

"Would your people really do something like that?" Lu-shan sat down behind his desk, grimacing just a little as bruises and burns complained. "Leave unhallowed graves? That's-" He shrugged, a wordless movement of horror, disgust, and amazement that anyone could be that stupid.

Yakume claimed his own chair, sternly denying his own winces. "That's difficult to say."

"Difficult?" Lu-shan repeated, incredulous. "Either you lay soldiers to rest, or you don't."

"And if we were Earth Kingdom, that would be the whole of it," Yakume agreed. "You have your military doctrine, and you hold to it. Ours... changes. Depending on the commander, on the troops - on many things." He paused. "I can attest that while General Iroh was in command, cremations were held whenever possible. Even under the most extreme battlefield conditions, we kept a ceremonial flame for ghosts to find their way home."

"Huh." Lu-shan weighed him in his gaze. "I hear a but."

"I have heard of other commanders less honorable," Yakume said bluntly. "I have heard - rumors, you understand - of certain battlefields Fire Lords wished to remain cursed." He sighed. "Though in this case, rumors may not make much difference. What do you know about the North Pole?"

"The Northern Water Tribe lives up there, and it's cold," Lu-shan said warily. "Why?"

Yakume inclined his head. "I'm Army. I've never been on any scouting missions into polar waters. But I've read our texts. Take the coldest winter you've ever felt in Ba Sing Se; when your breath frosts, and snow clings instead of melting, and you feel as though you'll never be warm again." He regarded Lu-shan steadily. "Take that, and realize that at the North Pole, that's a balmy summer's day."

"Spirits," Lu-shan muttered.

"The Water Tribe lives on ice as much as land," Yakume went on. "Their main city is on the edge of an island, so they can pasture their reindeer-yak inland. Not that it's easy to tell there's any dirt there, given all the ice... The charts we have indicate the sea floor drops away very quickly. If ships went down... They're in hundreds of feet of water, if not thousands. Even if the water were warm enough not to die in minutes - no one can dive for the bodies. Not even part of one."

"But there's still that... ceremonial flame," Lu-shan pointed out.

"And if anyone in command has a modicum of compassion and good sense, someone's infiltrated close enough to the North Pole to burn one," Yakume said soberly. "If the Water Tribe hasn't caught them at it, if the ghosts are willing to be pacified in the first place..."

Lu-shan's brows rose a little in surprise at that qualification, but he let it rest. "So why tell me this, Master Sergeant? I doubt your commanders would like conquered natives to know one of their soldiers has doubts."

Agni, he had a headache. "Captain Lu-shan, I am responsible for keeping the peace here." Be blunt. They never understand this, not at first. "The moment Ba Sing Se was taken by Princess Azula, this city became part of the Fire Nation. As a soldier in the Fire Army, I have a duty to protect the Fire Nation. And its citizens. All of them."

Lu-shan's brows were climbing toward his hair. He straightened, weariness banished by amazement.

"I may not like you, or your ways, or what your people think of mine," Yakume went on, almost growling. "I know damn well there are too many of my fellow soldiers who refuse to respect a defeated enemy. Far too many, since General Iroh retired. But none of what I know or like changes what is. I have my duty. I will carry it out. So long as I am ordered to hold here, you are under my protection." He let a breath pass, and a wry smile touch his face. "I'm an old soldier, Captain. I find I can't change my ways, simply because a new commander finds them... less than convenient."

"You didn't set those fires." Lu-shan chewed on that conclusion, evidently not liking the taste. "But why would- Oma and Shu, why am I even asking? If the Dai Li missed a general, he'd just keep doing what they always do. Fight the war, and shatter the rest of us." Another frown, and he eyed Yakume again. "Shame you're on the other side."

"I'd say the same for you," Yakume said dryly. "But in the Fire Nation... Well. Over the years, I've found that what we consider an honorable opponent does bear some resemblance to one of your kingdom's - limited aid agreements, I think is the correct term."

Lu-shan's attention fixed on him like a lodestone. "Keep talking."

"We recognize that we have a common goal, and agree to cooperate to make that goal possible," Yakume stated. "In our case, the peace and safety of this part of the Lower Ring. We trust that each of us puts that goal first - and if one of us no longer can, he will have the honor and decency to inform the other."

"You want to make a deal." Lu-shan looked troubled. "Fire Nation can't hold to deals."

"We aren't harmed by breaking them as you are," Yakume acknowledged. "Just as you aren't harmed by... well. You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He shrugged, as if it were of no consequence, stiff muscles complaining with every move. "But we can hold to them. Though only our honor and word binds us, not our very nature. So I would never demand you make a deal with me, Captain Lu-shan. But if you gave me your word we had common interests..."

"Huh." With a thoughtful frown, Lu-shan leaned back.

He's thinking. That's all I can ask for now. "Whatever you decide, we should both try to get some rest. Things are going to get very busy soon."

Lu-shan was good, very good; the result of decades keeping peace as a Guard. Unease barely flickered in his eyes. "You think that lieutenant might be back?" He snorted. "What are you people thinking, letting a woman in your army? What if she gets captured?"

"If she did, and her captors were determined to do anything inhumane, she would endure," Yakume said coldly. "And when we came for her - for we do not leave our people behind - she would have all the comrades she needed to burn them alive." He stared the man down. "Lieutenant Teruko would be the first to tell you, she is not a woman. She is a marine."

"...You people are crazy."

"Thank you," Yakume said, amused. "I'm apparently in good company."

"What?"

"Captain Lu-shan," Yakume said dryly, "we both know that you know, one of the line of Sozin is on that ship."

Surprise. Anger. Resignation. "So what are you going to do about it?" Lu-shan said flatly. "Just hand the boy over to that flame-witch who took our city? Oma and Shu, I wouldn't hand you over to her!"

Training, years on the battlefield, will and talent channeled to hold steady - despite it all, Yakume froze. He'd meant General Iroh. But what Lu-shan had said...

The prince is alive.

Prince Zuko. The exile. The heir claimed to have died a traitor's death, by his own sister's breath and word. Alive.

"Are you..." He didn't even recognize his own voice. "Are you sure?"

"Now you look like you've seen a ghost," Lu-shan muttered. "Huojin was sure. Though why anyone who got away from your princess would risk coming back... What are you going to do?"

Agni, what a question. If a firebender had broken loyalty and survived... "He didn't just work as an herb-healer with Healer Amaya, did he."

"No," Lu-shan said, puzzled. "Well, that too, of course, but - he's a bender. What did you think he was doing?"

"Field medicine," Yakume admitted, stunned. "General Iroh would have made certain he was trained in it... Agni. A fire-healer."

Lu-shan was watching him, very carefully. "Not just something we never heard of, I take it."

A hope. A legend. The heart your Avatar tried to tear from us.

My oaths or my people. Agni, what do I do?

"You know," Lu-shan said, almost casually, "you look like a man about to do something really stupid."

"Not before I've had some sleep," Yakume said firmly. I can't decide. Not now. I can't.

...I need to see the general. I need to know why he turned on the Fire Lord.

Well. He wasn't stupid enough to do that without sleep, either. "If I were you, Captain, I'd find a way to warn those under my command to keep those they care about away from the Inner Ring."

It took a minute for that to sink in; Lu-shan shook himself, like a lion-dog shedding water. "She beat Long Feng. She took over the Dai Li. She took the city!"

"Yes, she did," Yakume agreed.

"He's a damn healer!"

"That's right; you don't train your medics to fight," Yakume mused. "Healer, yes. He's also a trained imperial firebender, Captain. Rumor might paint him as less than skilled, but I know the general. I served under him. The Dragon of the West would not settle for less than the best from any of his men. If all he's capable of are the basic forms, then he knows those forms. And a man who knows his basics and uses them can be more deadly than even a rising star of a bender. If he has fewer options, he doesn't have to think."

He didn't need to say more than that. Lu-shan was just as experienced in melee as any soldier, if on a less lethal battlefield. Thinking in a fight could get you killed.

Lu-shan's expression wavered between sympathy and distaste. "In the Earth Kingdom, we back a man because he's in the right. Not because we think he might win."

Yakume shook away that first rush of rage. After all, by his own customs, the man was right. "And what do you do in one of your own villages, when the mayor's two heirs contest his will?"

"We take it to court," Lu-shan shot back.

"An Agni Kai is a court," Yakume stated. "It's asking Agni to make clear who is stronger. Who is more favored by the spirits. Who is right."

"Agni..." Lu-shan blinked. "A what?"

"A fire duel," Yakume informed him. "If he challenges the princess, and she accepts, we have no right to interfere." Relief made the room gray out for a moment. I need to find a bed. Soon. "The consequences may be grave, but no one will doubt the victory."

Lu-shan eyed him. "So what if she refuses?"

Yakume stared at the captain as if he'd announced, in perfect seriousness, that the moon was made of green cheese. "Refuse? With this much at stake? When she hasn't even captured her foe by force of arms? That would be dishonorable!"

"He's an exile," Lu-shan pointed out.

"He was born a great name, and he will die a great name," Yakume said with dignity. "It's true, he's been banished; if he set foot on the home islands, the least peasant would have the right and duty to execute him. But he hasn't. He's here. And if a great name can't see a threat from one of her own kind coming, she doesn't deserve to win."

---

The headache's gone.

Azula held herself limp as if she were still wrapped in slumber, listening for any trace of potential assassins. Just because she felt better didn't mean she was better. Just because she felt safe...

Nowhere's safe.

Smooth sheets, with the same softness and scent she'd noted in their guise as Kyoshi Warriors. A scent of noodles and rich sauce, with a fainter trace of limon in the air, as if someone had squeezed a glass just for her. Quiet, familiar breathing, as someone sat by the foot of her bed, where any fireblast would have to be telegraphed before it could land.

Ty Lee. Evidently wondering whether or not she'd be permitted to survive the morning.

Let her wonder a little longer.

Min was gone, of course. That was inevitable, given her last rage-clouded memory was of that loathsome waterbender touching her-

Min, and his link to the Earth resistance. Both of which Ty Lee had apparently traded away for the waterbender's... efforts.

Yesterday, I would have seared her for that.

Which, Azula coldly forced herself to admit, was the best argument of all in Ty Lee's favor. The little chi-blocker was dangerous to her foes precisely because she looked so fresh and innocent. Scars would have damaged her usefulness.

Beyond that, Ty Lee was useful because she feared Azula. Feared her; not, was paralyzed by utter terror. Emotional pain, mental pain - those could bind a servant stronger than steel chains. Physical pain might provoke a purely physical response. And given Ty Lee's heritage - once she started running, she might not stop.

You think you've hidden yourselves so well. Azula kept the amused smirk off her face. As if Zuzu was the only one who ever studied your ancestors' history.

Though she suspected Zuko might have read scrolls she'd never had a chance to steal for herself. Iroh had managed to inflict the oddest tomes on her brother in the years before his exile, and she'd lay odds the old busybody had only gotten worse afterward. Histories written not to favor the Fire Nation; what was wrong with the man?

What he taught Zuko doesn't matter.

And so what if a few families with Air Nomad blood had survived? The Avatar's generation was gone, and airbending with them. With the Avatar dead, they were no threat at all.

And if the next Water Tribe Avatar sought them out? All the better. Duty and honor chained Ty Lee's kin to the Fire Nation, and no child of Water would ever be able to move through their enemies' land without giving in to the urge for revenge.

And once the new Avatar had given himself away... with a united Fire Nation and the walls that'd been the Earth Kingdom's hope cast down, capture would be inevitable. A pity Zuko wouldn't be there to see it.

Stop thinking about Zuko!

But she couldn't, quite; and probing at that insistent thorn of a thought, together with the last not-quite-a-memory under Amaya's hands, told her why.

"Zuko loves you."

Words, she could have brushed aside. She'd heard her own mother lie, telling her little monster of a daughter she loved her too many times to count. Agni, she'd heard Father say it, and knew it was only another weapon in his arsenal. Look at everything Zuko had endured, just for the hope of the Fire Lord's approval.

Which he'd never get anyway. Fool.

But Amaya hadn't given her words. She'd given certainty.

He wanted to protect you.

Solid as the steel hull of a battleship. Pure and clear as the spark before the lightning.

Oh, there was hate there, too. With all she'd inflicted on him with Father's permission, Zuko would have been a fool not to hate her. And he might have been an idiot, but he wasn't that stupid.

It was the hate that had convinced her, at the last. Ursa had spoken of love and lied. Fire Lord Ozai had spoken of it and sneered. But Zuko...

He hated me. And Father. And himself.

Why else do what he had, and destroy himself to stop her? No; the hate Amaya had shown her was real. But if that was real...

He loved you, and he wanted to protect you from the worst threat the Fire Nation has ever known. You.

Protect her from herself? As if she would ever threaten the Fire Nation. That was impossi-

Wait.

Zuko was an idiot. So her father said, and so everyone believed. Yet Zuko had survived in Ba Sing Se, in hiding, for over a month. When the Dai Li had been actively watching him.

That was either intelligence, or luck. And Zuko had no luck.

This needed more thought. And not on an empty stomach. Decided, Azula sat up.

Ty Lee blinked at her, then dropped in submission-

"You're a fool," Azula said bluntly. "I'll consider whether or not you're too much of a fool to live."

"I'm... what?" the acrobat managed.

"It's true that the occupation needs me more than I need to crush any particular rebel," Azula stated. "But you trusted a Water Tribe woman to actually keep her word to someone not in the tribe." She glared at the chi-blocker. "Did you sleep through history when they covered the barbarians? Even Zuko knew better than to trust the Water Tribe! How do you think I was able to retreat so easily when he turned on me with the Avatar's little warriors? He knew he couldn't trust them beyond the moment they thought they had me. I'm surprised he and Uncle managed to survive that particular bit of treachery. Uncle must have driven the waterbender off before she could kill my brother."

"Kill him?" Ty Lee said faintly, daring to look up. "But Sokka's so cute. And nice. Why would his sister want to do that?"

"Brothers and sisters aren't always alike," Azula said dryly. "Sokka may be pleasant, in a blockheaded stubborn sort of way. You can keep him, if you catch him. But his sister tried to take my head off with a razor of water."

"...Oh."

"Never trust Water," Azula said emphatically. "They're loyal to their tribes, and only their tribes. If you're not Water, you're not human. Not to them."

"Okay," Ty Lee whispered. "I'll remember."

"See that you do." Azula straightened. "Healer Amaya. Indeed." Though the Water Tribe woman must have had some experience with acting in good faith, or she'd never have lasted in the city this long. Good faith the Dai Li had apparently trusted as well; she'd be having words with Agent Chan. "Remember, we're the invaders. One hasty move on her part, one deliberate slip healing - and then where would I be?"

Slowly, Ty Lee rose. "Her aura said she wouldn't," the chi-blocker protested. "She doesn't like you. She really doesn't. But she meant what she said. She... I think she fostered Zuko, Azula. Like - in my family. She didn't do what she wanted to do. She did what he would have wanted."

"And Zuko wanted me alive." Azula raised an eyebrow, testing that idea. It seemed to fit the skeleton of the theory she was building, outlandish as that speculation had to be.

"Of course he would have!" Ty Lee almost vibrated with sincerity. "You're the heir now. What happens to the Fire Nation if you die? Like Lu Ten died. It'd be horrible!"

Like Lu Ten. Agni, that fit so well. Zuko had idolized his cousin. He'd been crushed when Iroh's heir died, denying all the possibilities now open to them. Azulon was too dried-up and cranky to sire another son; Iroh, too faithful to Natsu's memory. The Fire Nation had to have another heir, or risk civil war-

Oh.

Spirits, that was Zuko all over, he never saw the world from the same angle as the rest of the court, and he'd never figured out how to explain to those who did...

Azula brushed off Ty Lee's attempts to help her bathe and dress, going through morning ablutions in a furious haze of thought. With liberal use of cold water splashed on her face, because obviously she needed to wake up to something she'd been missing for years.

Assume Zuko was not an idiot.

Stupid about family, certainly; just as Iroh had been. Which hadn't prevented General Iroh from being one of the most effective, intelligent commanders in Fire Nation history. He'd outwitted and out-fought the Earth Kingdom for decades, until he'd hit the wall - literally - at Ba Sing Se.

But if you ignored all the idiocy Zuko had pulled in the name of family - granted, there was a lot of it to ignore - he was of the same blood as she. Sozin's line. Not just master firebenders, but tactical geniuses.

He saw something I missed.

A civil war in the Fire Nation? Ridiculous. Who would dare?

You know who would.

Frost it all, she did. There were still domains that clung to legends of the time before Kyoshi's edict; still great names that bowed to her father only because they had no choice. Domains like Byakko.

And Zuzu always was Mother's pet.

So. He could have known something the Fire Lord and Azula herself had not. If only hints, and not solid fact. And if he had, and if he hadn't been quite the idiot Father had always insisted he was-

That embarrassment in the war council took on an entirely different complexion.

No one would have taken Zuko seriously about an internal threat to the Fire Nation. Not when he didn't even have experience dealing with the obvious, external threat of the war. Zuko would have known that. And being Zuko - meaning, about as subtle as a fire-blast in dry grass - he would have tried to get some experience.

Oops.

"A good joke?" Ty Lee ventured, over the remains of breakfast.

"Not as a good as I first thought," Azula mused.

Well. At least she was warned now. Though why Zuko would have chosen that reason to act against her when she was the heir-

They don't think you can do it.

She wasn't blind, after all. She knew that Fire Lord Ozai had carefully measured out every drop of power he gave her. If the great names had the wits to see that as well, they might have drawn entirely the wrong conclusion.

Fools.

But perception had almost as much to do with power as reality. Just look at those idiots at the North Pole. They perceived that they'd defeated the Fire Nation, so they'd been willing to weaken their own defenses by sending waterbenders south; probably to aid the remnants of the Southern Water Tribe, given the navy's sightings of them.

They see the Avatar's victory as their victory, and his power as their power.

Come summer, she intended to make that a last, fatal mistake.

She savored that vengeance to come like the most delicate fruit tart. Almost enough to soothe the fury of her defeat.

Temporary defeat. They think they've won. And that overconfidence will kill them. "How much did we lose last night?" Azula said abruptly.

"I'm not sure," Ty Lee admitted.

Azula's eyes narrowed.

"That - that spirit came up through the floor, but you didn't see that, but..." Trembling, Ty Lee huddled on herself.

Terror, Azula saw in that pose. True, gut-wrenching fear. And not of her.

That won't do at all.

With an effort, she made her voice gentler, and touched a chilled hand. "Tell me."

"It - it hurt," Ty Lee managed. "Like it was all the sorrow in the world. You couldn't cheer it up, you couldn't talk to it..." She shivered. "I think I passed out."

An Earth Kingdom haunt. And earth opposes air, Azula calculated. Ty Lee wasn't lying. She might not even be stretching the truth.

"When I woke up - Agent Chan helped me put you to bed. And he said all the Dai Li who'd betray you were gone." Ty Lee smiled, still shaky. "And Kuei's library, too; but I guess we can live with that."

The Earth King's library? Azula blinked, bewildered. What could possibly be worth risking a life for in there? And - all the Dai Li who'd betray her? Damn it, she wanted hard numbers. "And what else?"

"Well... there were fires in the city," Ty Lee admitted. "Some people got killed."

Fires? Whoever was in charge of the rebels had nerve. She'd need to see to it that she enjoyed his execution.

"And," Ty Lee gulped, "I think some of the prisoners of war got away."

"Some?" Azula pointedly withdrew her hand.

"Maybe a lot?"

I'm trying to get hard numbers out of Ty Lee, Azula thought wryly. Obviously, I'm not awake yet. "And Suzuran?"

"They tied up early this morning," Ty Lee said, puzzled. "Why? They can't help Min get away. He already got away."

And earthbenders didn't run. Usually. But Min Wen was half Fire Nation, and Agni only knew what he'd try now. Especially with Mai prodding him along.

I gave you everything you wanted! Why betray me? Why?

Except she hadn't, had she? Mai had been a hawk trapped in a songbird's cage, bleeding from battered wings. She'd given Mai orders to fly, permission to use her deadly talents at her princess' command...

But some hawks would not fly to any falconer's fist. Some would have the skies, or perish.

You weren't supposed to know. You weren't supposed to ever realize there could be life free of me. How dare you fly from me!

A traitor would earn a traitor's death. She just had to arrange the pieces on the board properly. "Get me Agent Chan," Azula directed. "I want the full reports on what happened last night."

After all, Mai had heard her mention Suzuran. Which meant she might realize that any aid the ship could provide might well become Azula's trap.

As if a supply ship could do anything other than toss grain-sacks at a fire, Azula thought wryly. Granted, logistics were key to keeping the army fed and lethal. But right now? If she meant to survive, Mai needed soldiers, not soup.

Better yet, she needs a miracle, Azula thought darkly. I'll find you. All of you. And end you.

City first. Revenge for humiliation later.

Tapping crimson nails on the breakfast table, Azula waited for reports. And dreamed of blood and fire.

---

"I don't like this."

Hearing the sir Teruko carefully wasn't adding to that, Zuko winced. But he still followed her into the little walled garden, carefully shutting the pierced iron gate behind them. This wasn't a private garden, like Amaya's for herbs or a Middle Ring family's kitchen plot. This was a community garden, worked and protected by poor but proud tenants in the Lower Ring, and there should be people here. Picking greens, weeding the melon-cukes, or even stealing a quiet moment to rest in the greenery, away from war and invasion.

There should be, but there weren't. And with all this earth... an arranged meeting could also be an arranged ambush.

Teruko's glance was eloquent as words. We're being watched.

He knew. He could feel it. And here was the ultimate test.

Do I trust my people? Do I believe they managed to get past Azula? Do I believe we managed to?

A little bad luck. One moment of thoughtlessness. That was all it would take, for everything to fall apart. And the world's spirits hated his people.

So much hate. So much pain. How can any of us trust each other?

Bracing himself, Zuko took off his helmet.

"I knew you were crazy." Huojin stepped out from behind the suspect greenberry bush. "I didn't know you were this crazy."

For a moment, Zuko could only stare. He's here. He's real. I made it this far, we're all still alive-

"Ack! Lee! Armor! Ow!"

One last, fierce hug - checking for weapons or concealed blasting jelly, you could never be too careful - and Zuko stepped back, blinking furiously. Not going to cry. Stupid to cry out here, where anyone could sneak in. Stupid to cry, everything's all right... "You're alive," he rasped out. "That's - I-" Words slipped through his fingers like flames.

Oh, no. Oh no, not here, not now... have to hang on...

Because Huojin was giving him a worried look that suddenly edged over into alarm, and Huojin didn't know Teruko-

No threat. Safe. Us, here, now. Safe, glad to see you, worried...

He'd trapped Huojin's hand between his own. When had he done that? And why?

Huojin gave him the oddest look as Zuko let go, and glanced at Teruko. "So... you're a friend?"

"And we'd better get out of sight," Teruko said practically. "I'll explain. Underground."

"This had better be good," Huojin muttered, shaking out his hand as if it tingled.

No kidding. Dazed, Zuko followed the Guard down into the hole behind the bush. And brightened, even as earth closed overhead. "Suyin. Jia." And it was good to see them, even if they were staring at his armor, but... He glared at Huojin.

"The other earthbenders are busy," Huojin said defensively. "We've got all those Army guys to get settled, Quan's Dai Li are watching over the Earth King, and Tingzhe's in charge of keeping the evacuation moving, poor guy. And we needed somebody who wasn't just going to squash red armor on sight."

"And I came to help," Suyin stated, voice shaking a little as she glanced past him to Teruko's expressionless faceplate. "Jia doesn't like to fight, and - I don't like it either, but I can..." She glanced at her silent sister.

Jia had her hands lowered, studying Teruko with a look of stunned amazement. "You're a woman."

Oh no-

But Teruko was smiling as she took off her helmet. "Yes, ma'am. Lieutenant Teruko. I know Guard Huojin from the prince's description; you'd be Jia and Suyin Wen? Daughters of Meixiang, and Professor Tingzhe Wen?"

Both girls blinked at her. Swiveled their gazes, and gave him a look.

"Your families are already in the middle of everything," Zuko said defensively, uncertain how to read that expression. "Of course I told our marines who you are. In case... well. In case."

Huojin's brows shot up at that. But he kept quiet, as Jia shook her head. "It's just hard to believe," she said, uncertain. "You're fighting soldiers. If something goes wrong... Dad's got histories. Some of them, about prisoners - things can happen."

"That'd be why I'm a marine, not army," Teruko said practically. "Things going wrong usually mean the whole ship's sinking. We usually don't go into the army, to be honest. Home Guard; lots of us join up there. Special units like the Yu Yan, who aren't supposed to be right in the thick of the brawl. And there's always a few like me, who take on the marines. Just because we all learn to fight doesn't mean we're as thickheaded about risking our necks as the guys."

"Hey!" Zuko and Huojin sputtered.

"Private Fushi and I talked about this, sir," Teruko shrugged. "Any way you slice it, we're going to have a lot of girls realizing for the first time they might have to fight, and scared to death that means fighting the way they're heard about. And what do they know? Spirit-tales. Plays. And now a real invasion. They're probably all having nightmares about battles where everybody dies in a blaze of glory; you know what plays are like."

Zuko cringed. Oh boy, did he ever.

"And scared kids don't learn," Teruko went on. "So we need to tell them the truth any time we get a chance. Yes, the Fire Nation fights. Yes, it's scary. But there's no way any of us is going to shove them in the front lines and expect them to kill people. No clan does that. It's not just stupid, it's suicidal."

"But Zuko-" Suyin looked at him, and shut her mouth.

"That," Teruko said in tones that could have cut glass, "is just one of the things Suzuran would like to discuss with the Fire Lord." She caught Zuko's disbelieving look, and had the grace to look abashed. "Not that we'd make it past Azulon's Gates, but... Frost it, sir, we saw what happened at the North Pole. You weren't even old enough to recruit, and he sent you after that? We know your line's got guts. But for the Fire Lord's clan to be that careless of heirs' lives? It's an insult to the whole nation!"

"...Huh?" Zuko managed, utterly confused.

Teruko sighed. "Just think about it, sir. Later." She took a seabag off her shoulder. "Are you still sure about this?"

"Yes," Zuko nodded, already working on his armor ties. "The Earth King knows what we are. I don't want to rub who I am in his face." Unless I have to. "He doesn't wear armor. That's what Guards are for. And this is just a plain private's armor, and all the high officers he's ever dealt with are decked out like painted screens." He lifted the cuirass over his head, letting Teruko store it in the bag. "I don't like it either. But if I need it before we get out of there, everything's gone to Koh in a hand-basket anyway."

"Your call, sir," Teruko sighed.

Shedding armor, Zuko felt eyes on him. Suyin's and Jia's he'd expected. But Huojin's? "What?"

"I knew you had military training, but..." Huojin shook his head. "How long have you been wearing that stuff?"

Taking off a shin-guard, Zuko paused. Made himself keep moving. "Uncle had me in my first full set at eleven." He said I needed it.

"Most great names wait until an heir's twelve," Teruko said levelly, nesting armor together. "But given the circumstances of Lady Ursa's disappearance - specifically that no one seems to know those circumstances, officially - I understand the general's caution."

Treason, Zuko thought bleakly. And Fath- Fire Lord Ozai must have known. All along. Which, in a dark, awful way, made some of what the Fire Lord had done make sense. Prince Zuko took after his mother. Everyone whispered that. And if Ursa had committed treason...

And oh, look. Here I am, a traitor. A bitter smirk touched his face. It's almost funny.

Deep breath. Set it aside. They had to keep moving.

"I knew the Fire Nation was different," Huojin mused, as Zuko clasped a dark cloak over his gray under-tunic. "I just didn't know... I want my kids to grow up safe."

"I can't give you safe," Zuko said bluntly. "I wish I could. But there's a war out there. No one's safe." He sighed. "They're not great names, Huojin. No one's going to send assassins after them. It wouldn't be right." He picked up the seabag with a hidden groan; it was always easier to just wear armor than carry it. Damn politics. "Which way do we go?"

Eyebrows raised, Huojin led them onward, Jia blocking the way behind them with strategic falls of dirt and stone. Each of which set Zuko's teeth on edge.

Trust your people. Trust your skills. There's water in that earth. Not much, but you could use it to dig out if you had to. Teruko's holding it together. You're her leader. Lead.

"So..." Huojin glanced back at them. "You said something about an explanation, Lieutenant?"

"The prince takes after his grandfather," Teruko said simply. "Shidan has a way of getting people to know where they stand."

And where does he stand? Zuko wanted to ask. But not here. Not now. "How's the plan going?"

"Supplies are up in the warehouse already, set to move to a train when we grab it," Huojin told him. "The Earth King's ordered that to go ahead no matter what else gets decided. He wants that scroll cache out of the city. And I hear he thinks we're the best chance for getting earth-healing spread to the rest of the kingdom before some spirit can wipe it out again."

Zuko almost tripped over a crack in the tunnel, and heard Teruko swear under her breath. "Earth-healing?" the marine said in disbelief.

Jia smiled, a sweet echo of Suyin's wry grin. "We found it in the Dai Li's scrolls," she nodded. "It's hard, but... Oma and Shu, think what we can do now!"

Earth-healing. We'll have more healers! Which should be good news. But Zuko cast a glance at Suyin, whose grin had faded into worry. "What's wrong?"

"Wan Shi Tong's a knowledge spirit, but Dad and Amaya think he's the one who made the Dai Li keep forgetting those scrolls," Suyin said seriously. "And he's stealing other things. He tried to steal a letter Shirong says is important to the Avatar, and the war. The Earth King had to banish him from the kingdom!"

Teruko made a choked noise, and Zuko wished he could abandon pride long enough to join her. Granted, he'd heard the Earth King was the spiritual heart of the kingdom. But he'd never heard of any lone Fire Sage who could enforce his will on a spirit with that much power.

Should have kept the armor on.

Silly thought. Ordinary metal wasn't going to defend him against spirits. Or one who had the power to balk them.

Not without help. Zuko took a breath. You've faced the Avatar. You can face a shaman.

"I just don't get it," Suyin went on, worried. "Why would a knowledge spirit want to stop people from knowing things?"

"Wan Shi Tong? Power," Zuko said flatly. "He's all about power. He Who Knows Ten Thousand Things. That's his name. That's what he is. The more people know, the less power he has over them." And... why was everyone giving him odd looks?

Everyone but Teruko. Who'd started, and now smiled, as if running into an old friend.

"You know about this spirit?" Huojin frowned. "I don't think I'd ever heard of him before - well, before that mess with Tingzhe and the fox."

"A fox took Tingzhe's form?" Zuko bit back his own snarl. "Over-powered feather-duster... People hear knowledge spirit, they think sharing. Because that's what people do. What you don't know can really hurt you. And he knows that. He doesn't share, he hoards. He never steals it, oh no; he lets his foxes take the fall for that. But if you have a book on Koh, or anything on why only the Water Tribes never pay tithes to the Air Temples..." He shook his head, recalling a fox in Ran's shape, and exactly how fiercely he'd made his point that not so much as a fox's whisker would ever come near one of his clan again.

...Which didn't make any sense, because he knew he'd never seared the tail off a fox in his life.

And I don't know any Ran!

Amaya. He had to talk to Amaya. He'd been hit by lightning, even if he had redirected it. What if he'd missed something?

What if I didn't?

After all, yāorén were supposed to help the Avatar. And he couldn't think of anything more likely to make most people run back to "the world's a friendly place, really" Aang than feeling like something was dangerously unmoored in their heads.

Damn you, Yangchen. I know this is your fault. And it's not. Going. To work.

Water. Fire. Spirit. And now earth. Something ought to be able to fix what was wrong with him. Without going anywhere near Aang.

The Avatar's got the whole world pulling for him. My people need me.

Like Teruko says: Not. Expendable. Not anymore.

"Tithes?" Huojin was still frowning as they walked.

At least he could fall back on his studies for that. Thank Agni. "What, you think people can live on top of a mountain and be vegetarians?" Zuko said sourly. "I've climbed up there, Huojin. There's not a race of grain on the Eastern Continent that'll grow that high. Not much does, besides orchards. You can't live on just fruits and nuts. And they didn't. They had arrangements for everything else."

"Mostly, we watch for bad weather, you feed us," Teruko spoke up. "That's what they say in school, anyway. I don't know if it was the same over here in the east, but in the Fire Nation... if you don't know the story, you'll hear it soon enough. You want to get people worked up against airbenders even today? Say Joetsu. And heir to Kyoshi. Sozin did. And the rest is... history."

"Really didn't help that the Western elders showed up looking for their tithe a week after that hurricane hit," Zuko said darkly. "Saying they needed extra, they were having a lot of kids that year."

Huojin almost said something; looked at the two girls with them, and bit it back to, "Damn."

You can say that again, Zuko thought, worried. There was no way he should know that about the kids.

But I do.

He knew what had happened. And the worst of it was knowing that it didn't have to happen. Eastern grains wouldn't cut it, no; but Byakko had worked out millennia ago how to grow crops almost up into a snowcap. No hou e nohara. Plant a dozen different vines, herbs, blood-amaranth, teosinte-buckwheat, potato-chokes, and trees all together, varying the varieties by altitude. Separately they'd die; working together, they warmed and protected each other in alpine terraces. With enough determination and work, everything thrived.

Volcanic soil doesn't hurt, either.

But the temples hadn't done it. They wouldn't do it. The mountain fields needed care, attention, and a clan working together, year after year. They needed attachment.

And Air Nomads can't get attached. To anything.

"Tithes," Huojin muttered. "Not what you think about when anybody talks about peaceful nomads."

"I don't know if they went to the temples, but there were tithes," Suyin said, troubled. "Dad says that's another part of how Chin got so far conquering the kingdom. He organized the tithe. So villages that'd had a bad year got help paying it."

"Still doesn't make sense," Huojin objected. "The Air Nomads were peaceful, right? Understanding types? They didn't fight. What did people think they'd do if someone just said no?"

"If you know Kyoshi's story," Teruko stated, "you already know what we thought they could do."

Silence. Only the scrape of shoes on stone, as they kept walking.

Zuko looked at too-quiet girls, and Huojin, and Teruko's stubborn face. And sighed. "Look. Whatever happened then, it's over now. Maybe between your father, and the Earth King's library, and Uncle - you wouldn't believe the scrolls Uncle can find - maybe we can figure out what really happened. Who we should all be angry at. If there is anybody. Someone hurt Kyoshi, Kyoshi hurt us, Fire Lord Sozin-" He had to swallow, hard. "My great-grandfather started a war that hurt everybody. Maybe it's his fault. Probably a lot of it's his fault. But he's dead, and we're not. And I'm going to try to keep us that way. And so's the lieutenant. I know she's scary-"

"Sir!"

"You're a marine," Zuko said practically, giving her a jaundiced look. "You want to tell me you're not scary? You don't eat fire and brimstone for breakfast, with a few Earth Kingdom soldiers for dessert?"

"Rather have melon-cukes, sir," Teruko said staunchly. "Save the soldiers for trawling for leopard-sharks." One hand near her mouth, she gave the girls a deliberate stage-whisper. "Though that's not really working too well anymore. The last leopard-shark damn near choked on one of those guys' beards, and I think he told his friends."

Dead silence.

"Um." Zuko looked at two faintly green girls, and one Guard blinking as if he'd finally seen a piece of idiocy that outdid everything else on the streets. "Not funny?"

"You know," Huojin sighed, "so much about you is painfully clear now..."

"I'm... sorry?" The betraying heat of embarrassment burned in his face, and Zuko briefly entertained thoughts of stomping Huojin's glow-lamp into welcome darkness.

"I'm not," Teruko muttered grumpily. "It was just a frosted joke."

"And I've heard worse out of Guards, and soldiers off the Wall," Huojin said soberly, patting Suyin on the shoulder. "Just not around kids."

Zuko winced. "...Oh."

"Kids?" Teruko glanced at her commander. "You said the little one was thirteen."

"I am!" Suyin fired back. "But we don't - nobody fights here, I-"

Jin caught her shoulder. "We didn't grow up with a war," the older girl said. Voice steady, even if she was still pale. "It was something you read about in books, or spirit-tales. And now it's here and it's real and it's so awful..." She took a ragged breath. "It's - it's just hard, Lieutenant. We're scared. All the time. I don't know how you can joke about it."

Now Teruko was red. "My fault," she said stiffly. "I didn't realize you'd be unblooded."

"Mine," Zuko corrected. "I'm the one who lived here." His heart sank. "This is going to be a lot harder than I thought."

Huojin gave him a searching look. Then, ruefully, smiled. "You'll make it work. If we can learn to trust some Dai Li enough to get Min back, we can handle a few firebenders. No matter how far they've got their boots stuck in their mouths."

Teruko snorted.

"So you did get him out," Zuko sighed, relieved. "The report Shirong sent was a little sketchy on that part..."

And the girls were definitely not looking at him.

Oh no. "What did you do?" Zuko asked warily.

"Stayed home with Jinhai," Suyin grumbled. "Somebody had to."

"Oh good- wait." Because if the girl he'd been training to fight had stayed home... Zuko glared at Jia. "What did you do?"

"N-nothing," the earthbender said uncertainly. "Much."

"I know that tone," Zuko mused, half to himself. "I've used that tone. On Uncle. He never looked very happy about it." Oh, Agni. "So. How badly did you risk your neck, and how many knives is your mother heating up to deal with me?"

"Um..."

"I'm dead," Zuko muttered.

"She's still alive, sir," Teruko observed. "Her mother should just make you wish you were dead."

"I think Meixiang thinks you'll have enough to worry about," Huojin grinned. "Jia trapped Azula in the throne room floor. I hear she wasn't too happy about it."

"You what?" Zuko yelped.

"It's a long story?" Jia tried.

"Start talking."

"Okay..."

Agni, Zuko thought some time later; not sure if it was a prayer or a curse. Oh, Agni.

It didn't help that Teruko was coughing. To cover her giggles.

"Something stuck in your throat, Lieutenant?" Huojin asked wryly.

"Just remembering an old marine curse," Teruko snickered. "May you have a dozen subordinates just like you."

"It isn't funny!" Jia gulped, almost in tears. Suyin linked hands with her, glaring daggers at them all. "There were spirits and we had to sneak into the palace and I had to pretend I was bringing a morning-after poem and I thought I was going to die..."

Zuko let out a breath, trying to push the terror and belated battle-rush aside. "Good work."

"I... what?"

"You stuck to the plan. You did your job. You didn't die," Zuko said bluntly. "You went up against my sister and walked away in one piece. That's amazing." He shivered, wishing he could breathe air that didn't taste like rock. "Do me a favor? Try not to do that ever again?"

"Not without some more training," Teruko put in. "It's not good to scare your lord if you can get around it. When dragon-children get jumpy, things get fried."

"Teruko," Zuko groaned, "I'm not-"

Damn. That was light ahead. Not theirs. "Are we supposed to be near the guards?"

"I think so. Darn tunnels all look alike..." Huojin glanced at Jia, who nodded. "I'll go clear the way."

Oh great. Earth Kingdom guards. This is going to be so much fun.

It wasn't.

Do not feed them their spears.

Granted, they were Earth Kingdom, and he and Teruko were obviously not. And granted, the half-dozen armed soldiers were tired, upset, and guarding people Zuko very much wanted safe. But Huojin and the girls were here to vouch for them both, and they were all running out of time.

And admit it, Zuko told himself. What really ticks you off is that they think six of them is enough to stop us.

Which, as Uncle kept trying to pound through his thick head, was just pride, pure and simple. And as silly as their spear-tipped posturing as they questioned Huojin. Sillier; he knew how much every minute counted, and how little they could afford to waste any of them.

Though even knowing how silly it was, he wanted to bristle. Did they think he wanted to be down here, in this cold cave-damp air that didn't taste anything like honest sun-touched breezes-

Wait a minute.

Zuko lifted an open hand, trying not to react to the sudden bristle of steel his way. Drew his fingers together, and down.

Wisping out of damp air, drops of water swirled together over his hand.

"I'm Lee," Zuko said levelly, meeting the wide-eyed gaze of the grizzled soldier in charge. "Amaya's waterbending apprentice." He clenched his fingers, droplets freezing into a blade of ice. "How much more proof do you need?"

"But she's-"

"A firebender," Zuko cut the sergeant off; from the way Teruko's eyes had narrowed, any whisper of the word woman would end in blood drawn. "She's here to help. At the Earth King's request."

"Help," the sergeant's younger partner scoffed. "Firebenders don't belong inside the Walls!"

"Or anybody who might whelp firebenders," a vicious whisper came from the back.

Jia paled, and Suyin glared.

Agni, it's good they've kept Jinhai undercover. "Don't worry," Zuko said grimly. "We're leaving as soon as we can shake the dust off."

Oh, look at that, he thought as the guards stiffened. Uncle's Earth Kingdom books were right; that is an insult.

Because there was wasting time, and then there was defending your people's honor. Which was never a waste of time.

"As he said, they're here on his majesty's business," Huojin stepped into the breach. "The sooner they take care of that, the sooner they'll be gone." He eyed one particular guard in the back. "And by the way, Fu? You're a jerk. And I'm glad I'm leaving. I never, ever want my daughters to meet any of your family."

"Spirits, man," the sergeant choked. "Luli's Fire Nation?"

"No, Sergeant Sung," Huojin bit out. "I am."

The guards recoiled. Zuko tried not to care. At least the spears were all out of their way...

But he could see the hurt the girls were trying to hide, as they walked out of the last tunnel into an echoing, shelter-stuffed cavern that smelled of damp stone and cooking food and people. "I wish I could change things," Zuko said quietly. "I wish the world wasn't this messed up. But... here we are."

"We'll be okay," Suyin said fiercely. "We will. We got Min back. Those guys - they don't matter."

"Yes, they do," Jia said, unhappy. "I hate it, but they do. That's why we have to go." She gave Zuko her own fierce look, that reminded him of a certain water-netted cat. "You'd better be as good as Dad thinks you are. I don't care if I never get to dress up for a party again. I'm not letting Jinhai grow up here." She looked at the ripple in the crowd as a small body darted around adults. "Even if he is a brat."

"Lee!"

Jinhai thumped into him like a mini-fireball, words a confused mix of where were you, where are we going, and we got Min back, everybody was so scared-

So much for a dignified entrance, Zuko thought ruefully, letting the young boy cling and hold and make sure he was really real.

Teruko peered around him to eye Jinhai carefully. "I take it this is Jinhai, sir?"

"Another of my students," Zuko said simply, resting a hand on brown hair. "Professor Wen's youngest."

"Your - oh." Teruko's face gentled, just a little. She stifled a laugh. "The captain's never going to know what hit him."

Jinhai lifted his head away from Zuko's robe, and green eyes widened. "Who are you?"

"She's Lieutenant Teruko," Jia told him, smiling as Suyin scanned the cavern for the rest of their family. "She's got an awful sense of humor. But she's trying."

Teruko grinned wryly.

"She's a marine from the supply ship Suzuran," Zuko stated, addressing the growing crowd as much as Jinhai. "She's here to help."

"What's a marine?" Jinhai wondered.

"Shipboard and littoral battle specialist," Teruko said crisply. "If someone tries to attack the captain's ship, we stop them."

"But... you're a girl," Jinhai protested.

Oh no. Zuko winced.

"I thought you knew better than to think that about your sisters, young man," Tingzhe said dryly, striding through the crowd. "You're a girl is precisely the mistake Princess Azula made, that let Jia strike to win us all free."

Handing over Jinhai to his father's welcoming arms, Zuko felt the blood drain from his face all over again. "Are you sure you're all okay?" he managed.

"Yes," Tingzhe said gravely. "Even the princess. The Earth King's decision, after due consideration on what the Fire Lord would likely do if she died here. Though that does leave us with the unavoidable problem of her here, and angry. I don't suppose you have ideas how we might handle that?"

She's alive. Zuko tried not to sigh in relief. Uneasy relief. Yes, she was cruel. Yes, sometimes he just hated her. Yes, her life might save Ba Sing Se in the short run, but what it could do to the Fire Nation in the long term...

But she was his sister. He didn't want her to die. No matter how... convenient it might have been.

Up against Azula. Not good.

Yet... it wasn't necessarily bad, either. Azula targeted her malice. If they planned things right, they could make certain that malice found a focus that was not Ba Sing Se.

Meaning us. Then we just have to survive it.

Details, details.

"I have some plans," Zuko stated. "Where can I find-"

The crowd parted like wind-blown grain, and Earth King Kuei regarded him.

He's got guards, Zuko saw, relieved. Good. And there were Bon, Shirong, and Quan; thank the spirits. If anyone could give Kuei the dose of reality he needed, they could. If anyone could keep him safe-

None of us are safe. They'll keep him a moving target.

"I would guess," Kuei said plainly, eyeing the mass of those kneeling and not, and clearly noting Zuko and Teruko hadn't even twitched away from standing, "your name isn't really Lee."

"Earth King Kuei." Zuko inclined his head, one great name to another. Huojin and the others had faded back with Tingzhe; good. "I am Zuko, son of Ursa, and Fire Lord Ozai."

Kuei blanched. Bon and Quan looked like they wanted to be anywhere else. And Shirong, damn him, had a crinkle around his eyes like someone who wanted to break down giggling.

A sound like a gust of wind seemed to fill the cavern. Zuko kept his fingers from curling with an effort, ready to fight or flee-

Like a great wave, those refugees not already bowing kneeled.

I... what?

Kuei blinked. Glanced over the crowds, and turned a stunned look on Zuko. "You? You're the Fire Lord's...?"

Wait for it, Zuko told himself sardonically. Any minute now. Monster, traitor, spirit-cursed - which one are you going to pick?

"...Do you have any idea what your sister is doing up there?"

"She tried to fry me with lightning," Zuko said wryly. What's going on? They know I'm an exile, I know they do. They can't mean... Just keep going. "I think I can guess."

"Your sister," Kuei emphasized. "She is your responsibility. A family, a village, a city deals with its own problems. The actions she takes, the debts she incurs, are yours to bear."

"Maybe in the Earth Kingdom." Zuko's glare didn't yield. "In the Fire Nation, your actions reflect on those you honor, who you have loyalty to. She carries out the Fire Lord's will, for she is loyal to our father. I am not." He drew a breath. "Not anymore."

Another carrying whisper; surprise, this time. Yet still, no anger.

Why?

He couldn't ask. He couldn't risk losing momentum, as Kuei hesitated and those of both nations began to stand.

Kuei looked him over again. "You might notice that you're standing in the Earth Kingdom."

"I am standing on Earth Kingdom land," Zuko said, just as blunt. "But the Fire Nation, is the people." Deadlock, your majesty. We're going to start this on equal terms if I have to drag you there kicking and screaming.

Quiet. Green eyes met gold, gazes pushing...

I can take him. I'm stronger, more experienced-

I'm... out of my mind. I don't want this city, damn it!

It was hard to push back the fire. To hold at bay the water that said these people were his tribe, and anything that threatened them had to die.

Kuei is not a threat. Breathe.

"Your majesty," Zuko nodded slightly. "You want the Fire Nation out of your city, and Azula gone. But more than that, you want to help Avatar Aang restore balance to the world."

"Avatar Aang," Kuei said bleakly, "is dead."

"No," Zuko said simply. "He's not."

"What?"

"Katara of the Southern Water Tribe was carrying a gift of the spirits," Zuko stated. "She brought him back. He was gravely injured, Healer Amaya can tell you how bad lightning is, but he's alive." He looked over the crowd, taking in fear, wonder, hope. "Katara and I are healers. Right now, the Avatar's weak enough that I wouldn't put him up against a wet pygmy puma. But he will recover. He just needs time. We have to buy him that time." He fixed Kuei with his gaze again. "Aang's in no shape to save anybody right now. We have to do it ourselves. And we can."

Kuei blinked. But some of the tension eased out of his shoulders. "We?"

"This will only work if we do it together," Zuko said soberly. Damn it, he'd written a speech for this, agonized over it... and now it all seemed to fly out of his head.

Keep going. You can cross lava, if you just keep going.

"The heart of this war isn't the Fire Nation," Zuko began. "Not the war, not the army - not even the occupation. They're the symptoms, not the disease. You can try to bring down the fever all you want, but if you don't clean out the infection, it won't stop."

Kuei's brows went up. "And just what do you think is the disease, Prince Zuko?"

He's not sure about me. Why should he be? I'm not sure about me. I can say what I want about trying to fix the world, I can mean it - but I want my people to live. "The world's out of balance. We have to fix it."

"And how would this - proposed place of resistance you mean to build do that?" Kuei's face was stern. "Balance came from the four nations; the four elements. And the Air Nomads are gone." His eyes narrowed. "Your great-grandfather saw to that."

An uneasy murmur from the onlookers; Zuko hid a vindictive smile. You really haven't had to deal with court politics, have you, Kuei?

No, down. Bad prince. Do not hand him his head. Won't help your people.

...Though, as Toph would say, a little bit of slicey wouldn't hurt. "You're right," Zuko agreed. And saw Shirong flinch, ever so slightly.

Hey, he asked for it.

"Fire Lord Sozin created a horror, and none of us will ever be free of it," Zuko went on. "The Air Nomads are dead. That crime is on our heads. Even though no one here committed those crimes, even though no one here would ever want to, even though every bender who began the war is dead and ashes - the spirits still pour their blood on our hands. You think I don't know that? You think I haven't spent my life enduring the spirits' hate, just for who I was born? You think I didn't risk my life, risk challenging Avatar Kyoshi's own decree, just to break free of the Fire Lord's power? As everyone here has? Yes. We know. The Air Nomads are dead. And the world calls us guilty." He took a breath, gripping tight on a temper that threatened to slip free and burn. "The Nomads are dead. But airbending doesn't have to be."

Kuei didn't - quite - flinch. But he looked less certain. "How?"

He's willing to listen. Don't blow it. "The Northern Air Temple is inhabited."

Kuei started, and a wave of fierce whispers began.

"They're Earth Kingdom villagers," Zuko went on, hiding his surprise that Shirong hadn't mentioned it. Then again, he's got an idea how dangerous it is for them to be there. "Or, they were. Now they use gliders. They live with the sky." He shook his head. "They're not airbenders, not yet. But they could be."

"Could be is a thin wall to hold against the world," Kuei said quietly.

"That's why I have a backup plan," Zuko replied. "Adaptability. Perseverance. Will. Water, earth, and fire. Ba Sing Se has supported every element here. Except air. Because air is freedom." Breathe. "If we build a place for that, where any tribe and nation can live together... we'll find airbenders. And with your help, we'll have the scrolls to teach them." He held Kuei's gaze. "Avatar Yangchen thinks it could work."

"Avatar Yangchen?" Quan blurted in disbelief.

"You probably never got to see it," Zuko grimaced. "And I hope you never have to. When the Avatar's hurt... sometimes, one of the other Avatars can take over." He glanced at some of his own people in the crowd. "Yes, I told Avatar Roku what I thought of him. If he wanted me fried, it was already too late to run." He snickered. "I don't think he likes me much."

Toothy grins spread in half the crowd. Zuko stifled a laugh in a cough. Spirits, Kuei's face...

"Do you often go around angering great spirits?" the Earth King said, with an air of morbid curiosity.

"I have it on good authority that I give spirits a headache," Zuko said wryly. Sobered. "Your majesty, I have no choice. Avatar Kyoshi's decree bound the Fire Nation to serve the Fire Lord. To stop the war, to stop any of it - we must disobey the Avatar."

Kuei frowned. "Avatar Kyoshi's decree?"

"Yes, your majesty," Shirong spoke up. "The whole story is long, and ugly; I've had Madam Wen write it down so we can print it. In short... a little over three centuries ago, the Fire Nation was more like Kyoshi Island is today. Each island might have its own ruler, and there was no central government. When they went to war, they fought each other. Not us."

"We have to fight," Zuko said, at Kuei's incredulous look. "It's our nature. We are children of fire; we need it. Just as you need laws, and deals, and fortresses of stone. But Kyoshi..." He drew a sharp breath, forcing himself not to call fire. "Kyoshi thought she had the right to change all that." Breathe. Don't kill anyone. "And she killed half our people doing it."

Kuei paled. "You accuse Avatar Kyoshi-"

"Of the truth!" Now his fists did clench, fire blazing before he could snuff it. "She came, she killed, she chained us to the Fire Lord, and we've gone mad trying to escape. Look around you, Kuei! These are the people who ran. Who survived." Zuko opened his hands, heart aching. "These are my people as they should be."

Outside of the whole, "we all have to hide who we are" part. Let's not get into that.

"You need Azula out of the city," Zuko went on. "More than that, you need the Fire Army distracted, so the remaining Earth Kingdom forces stand a chance of regrouping." He looked Kuei straight in the eye. "Help us with this plan, and they'll definitely be distracted."

"Your sister hates you that much?" There was sorrow in Kuei's eyes. But not, thank the spirits, disbelief.

"Yes," Zuko admitted. "Yes, she does. But what she feels about me won't matter. Your majesty, I know who designed that drill. I know what else he's been helping the Fire Nation build, and why. And I know why he stopped." He looked over the crowd. "Believe it or not, that engineer is a good man. The Avatar helped him free himself. But he won't stay free. Not if the Fire Nation makes a determined assault." Another sweep of listening faces, and Zuko nodded. "Not unless we help him."

"You know," Kuei said into that listening silence, "Agent Shirong gave me the impression you were planning an evacuation. An escape."

Zuko smiled, and saw grown men flinch. "Earth and Fire have more in common than you think. Including a fighting retreat."

That seemed to strike home; Kuei rocked back on his heels, and gave him the slightest nod.

He believes me. Oh Agni, please let this work.

"If you're looking for safety, I can't give it to you," Zuko addressed the crowd. "All I can offer is another kind of danger. My people will try to keep you safe. Our object is to distract, build, and defend. But we will have to fight. Here, on the way, when we're building - any of these. Maybe all of them. You know what you risked to get here. Only you can decide what you're willing to risk now. I will not demand your loyalty." He softened his voice. "I'm not the one who should have the first claim."

Startled looks, and a murmur of dismay.

Zuko nodded toward Kuei. "The Earth King tends to the spirits of this city, just as our great names do. And no matter what else they've done, what Long Feng ordered them by their loyalty to do - the Dai Li hunt evil spirits, and track down malice. Just as our Fire Sages do." He straightened. "To wish this city as your home, this king as your lord, is not dishonorable."

...He really, really needs some court lessons, Zuko thought, watching Kuei gape. He looks like I slapped him with an octopus.

He kept a straight face; if he ignored Kuei's slip, everyone else would, too. Give them long enough, they'd convince themselves it'd never happened at all. "We need to do this together. I need people of every nation if this plan is going to work. And so do you. The Avatar has taught that the nations have to be separate? That's what let the Fire Lord get this far! The Air Nomads, the Southern Water Tribe, the western Earth cities... one after another they fall, and the rest of the world watches. Because it's not their problem. It's not their people." He swept a hand across. "How many of us here are alive because Amaya left the North Pole? Because she came to help?" He fixed Kuei with a glare that couldn't help but be angry. "How many Earth Kingdom soldiers would be alive, if the Northern Water Tribe had allied with you?"

Breathe. Hang on. Just a little longer.

"We think we're separate nations, but separation is an illusion," Zuko stated. "Strip away the elements, strip away the traditions - we're all people. People who can choose to stand aside and watch... or decide what's happening in the world is evil. And fight for our lives." He let out a slow breath. "I want us to fight together."

Kuei took off his glasses, polishing them on his sleeve. Put them back on, and shook his head. "You're not quite sane, are you?"

Sane people don't have their families trying to kill them. "Sane people don't spend years chasing an Avatar a century gone," Zuko said plainly. "But I was right, Kuei. He was out there. I found him." There's got to be something more I can say. Something better.

But his mind was blank. Wonderful. He could feel the silence stretching, and if it went on too long, everything he'd argued for could still go down in flames...

"With all due respect, your majesty," Teruko said into the silence, "all the great names are crazy." She nodded at Zuko. "They hold our loyalty. They protect us from spirits, as much as they can. They stand for us against other great names. And they have to be noble, upright, and honorable beyond reproach, when they know - they know - the quickest, most ruthless way to shatter a domain's resistance, is to shatter its lord." She paused, gold eyes searching Kuei's. "I learned to fight because I always wanted to be a marine. But we all learn to. Because if someone decides to tip over into Low War, the lord's children are targets."

Kuei blanched. "That's horrible."

"We're not nice people." Zuko tamped down a rush of sudden, weary anger. "We're honorable. We're decent. We keep our word. But we're fire, Kuei. When we get mad, things burn." He spread empty hands. "We're fire, and we're dangerous, and if you ever thought you could turn your back on a great name and be safe, I'd have to smack you for being an idiot. We are not safe. Fire makes you act, not think. A lot of us know that. A lot of us try to think our way out of things. But sometimes, we just don't." He drew in a breath, let it sigh out. "But we can be allies. We just have to find common ground. Not deals. Not loyalty. Just... some kind of promise both of us can keep." He glanced at Shirong. "I sent a proposal back with Agent Shirong's messenger."

"To carve out part of my kingdom and hand it over?" Kuei looked at him askance. "For one who claims to be going against Fire Lord Sozin's will, that looks awfully familiar."

Zuko raised a finger at a time. "First, there's hardly anyone up there anyway. It used to be close to Air Nomad territory, and your people still tend to stay clear. Second - the way the currents travel, right now it's probably getting hit almost as hard as the North Pole by angry spirits. I hope anybody who is there had sense to run. Third... Kuei. If this works, the mountain right next door is going to be full of airbenders. Do you want them right on the edge of your kingdom without a buffer?"

"No," Kuei admitted, after a moment's sober consideration. "No, I have to say I don't. I've read the Song of Li Feng. Some of my ancestors would never have been born of the desert winds if it wasn't for Monk Xiangchen." He smiled ruefully. "And if some were driven into the desert to sail the sands, who's to say some didn't hide among villages in the north, and forget the winds to live? To have some of their descendants seek it again, a millennium later. If the spirits like irony, it would serve that bloody-handed fanatic right."

"Monk Xiangchen?" Zuko said carefully. The name sounded familiar, almost. The way Ran's name was familiar, and the scent of burning fox fur. "Your majesty, are you saying there's Air Nomad blood in the Earth Kingdom?" From the shock on people's faces, he wasn't the only one who'd never heard this before.

"Oh, I'd imagine there's some everywhere." Kuei nudged his glasses up. "Not a lot; Xiangchen's followers held onto their scent like a shirshu. But-" He stopped himself, and shook his head. "We don't have time. I'll give Professor Wen a list of the scrolls I remember. I'm sure you can find more in the archive later." Behind glass, young eyes were intent. "Those records have to make it out with your ship, Prince Zuko. If Wan Shi Tong has been stealing from every unprotected library, and making the Dai Li themselves forget what they hold in their own keeping - you have no idea how much the world doesn't know."

"You have my word," Zuko promised. "I will care for them as I care for my people."

Which didn't mean he wouldn't sacrifice some to save the rest. If he had to. But if things went right...

Please let this work. Agni, if you're listening - I don't care if the truth does mean Sozin's a villain. If we can just find it, find some way to piece the world back together-

Wait. Somebody hadn't been surprised at Kuei's bombshell.

Teruko.

The lieutenant had known there was airbender blood in people who weren't Air Nomads. How? Why?

And why did even thinking about it make him feel angry and sick all at once? As if he'd pulled a man from a churning maelstrom... to realize a storm-wet hand had buried a dagger in his heart.

Spirits. He knew Amaya was busy with her own part of the evacuation, working with Meixiang; and, not coincidentally, keeping a careful eye on Min. Which was a good thing. Anybody who'd had Azula breathing down his neck needed some looking after. Just to be reminded the whole world wasn't knives and poison.

But I need to talk to you, Master Amaya. Soon.

"I believe you," Kuei said thoughtfully. And held out a hand. "I accept the word of Zuko, son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai."

Zuko clasped it, and shook.

"And Lee," Kuei added, smiling, "Amaya's apprentice. You're a yāorén?"

He knows? Zuko tried not to freeze. Oh, no.

Deep breath. Aang wasn't coming back to Ba Sing Se anytime soon. What Kuei knew shouldn't matter. He hoped.

"That must be incredible; if we have time-" Kuei cut himself off, and chuckled a little. "But first, we need to double-check a map. I have it on good authority I can't just tell a great name to go ahead, and then turn my back on him."

"Damn right," Teruko muttered, satisfied.

Zuko felt himself smile in pure relief. We can do this. We can. "Big enough to hold us, and have defensible borders. That's all I'm asking."

"We'll see," Kuei said, with just a touch of amused haughtiness. Raised his eyebrows, and looked around the cavern. "Well? Shouldn't some of us be moving?"

"Hail his majesty!" went up from the center of the crowd.

"Hail Earth King Kuei!"

Listening to that thunderous cheer, Zuko straightened his shoulders. Even if everything else went wrong right now, even if Azula fell on their heads - Kuei's people were behind him.

You bit off Ba Sing Se, Azula. Now let's see if you can chew it.

"Hail Prince Zuko!"

...Wait. What?

Grinning, Teruko steered him by the shoulder out of the cheering crowd, falling into step with the Dai Li and Kuei as they headed for Kuei's maps. "Come on, sir. Let's go see how much damage a pair of great names can do to some borders."

---

A/N: No hou e nohara - "In the direction of the field" - adaptation of the Mexican Spanish milpa.

All right. About the North Pole. I am not trying to tell anyone what to think about whether what Aang did there was right or not. That, you have to decide for yourselves. I'm writing the characters' points of view. Zuko thinks the results of the North Pole were horrific; what else can he think, when his people died? The Northern Water Tribe, on the other hand, probably thinks it was the best thing since the invention of blubber jerky. And in the canon universe, the rest of the world (minus the Fire Nation) likely thinks that as well.

Here's my interpretation of the whole North Pole situation. In the canon universe, not Embers.

The Fire Navy aggressively and deliberately attacked the North Pole. And Zhao, who ordered it, and probably most of the higher-ups answering to him, deserved to get smashed to bits. (Your average sailor didn't, but given the situation - war is hell.)

Ignore that Aang could have come up with other solutions. (I thought of at least three, including 1) Use wind and water to "blow the fleet away", 2) Use wind and water to create a massive ice fortification around the Pole just like he did to divert lava from the volcano; this at the very least would buy them more time for a better plan, 3) Fly cover while the waterbenders used ice to gut the Fire Navy ships under the waterline.) Aang's a teenage boy under incredible pressure, it was a last-ditch situation, and you use the weapons you have to hand. So. Invasion fleet wiped out. Massive cheering. Yay, go good guys.

Except.

Except the Avatar is leaving. Has to leave, to master earthbending. And everyone knows that. And the Fire Nation still has more ships.

This is what gets to me about Aang in general, and the North Pole in specific. In the real world, actions have consequences.

A charge sometimes leveled at the Fire Nation, particularly in regard to the Siege of the North, is "genocidal". With respect to the Air Nomads, in canon, this is accurate. It's also a hundred years old, and there's no reason to believe anyone involved in that attack is still alive today. Still, the past is prelude, and Sozin is held up as a hero, meaning it's reasonable to consider that if they did it once, they'd do it again. But what happened to the Southern Water Tribe, while horrible, is not genocide. The Fire Nation is specifically shown going after waterbenders. Non-benders are fought, but wiping them out is not the objective. It may be the eventual result, but Fire Lord Sozin's (and so, it's implied, the Fire Nation's) goal was to subjugate the rest of the world. Subjugate: to forcibly impose obedience or servitude. Dead people aren't subjugated. Zhao's stated goal at the North Pole (before he led that raid on the Spirit Oasis) was to destroy the Northern Water Tribe's "greatest city". Not to kill them all.

Another charge leveled at the Fire Nation is "war criminals". Nice. Let's not belabor the point of how what constitutes a war criminal has changed over the centuries, or that the Avatar world doesn't seem to have ever had a Geneva Convention. Let's even gloss over that little incident with Earth Kingdom soldiers attempting to crush Iroh's hands while he was a POW, after he tried to escape.

Instead, let's take it as a given that many of the Fire Nation are war criminals. Let's even throw in genocidal. Zhao's intentions were certainly close enough (killing the Moon? Beyond Idiot Ball), and while Zhao is not a good sample of the Fire Nation as a whole, you can definitely argue that the Northern Water Tribe has no reason to know that.

So. You're the Northern Water Tribe, and you believe the Fire Nation are genocidal war criminals.

If that is the case, why would anybody approve of a defensive plan for the North Pole that assumes they're not?

If the Fire Navy is made up of reasonable, rational military men - then yes, Koizilla will stop them. For a while. The HSQ (Holy S*** Quotient) alone of that level of losses will make any sane admiral think twice. No matter what Ozai threatens them with.

If, however, the Fire Nation are war criminals bent on genocide - no. They won't stop. They'll barely even be slowed down. History shows that, over and over again. Genocides go on until there's no one left to kill... or someone stops the perpetrators with force. And makes it clear they will repeat said force, as often as it takes.

A person commits a criminal act for one overriding reason: because he thinks he can. The Fire Navy attacked the North Pole because they thought the Northern Water Tribe was weak enough that they could do it, and get away with it. They were wrong about the second part - but they were right about the first. And Koizilla has done nothing to change that impression. So the Fire Nation lost a whole fleet of the navy? They lost it to the Avatar. And they know that.

Which means, if anybody on Ozai's side is using any common sense at all, come the next new moon near the summer solstice (or even more likely, the return of Sozin's Comet), the Northern Water Tribe would get an extremely unpleasant surprise. When the firebenders come back to finish the job.

Because given Koizilla, the Fire Nation is not afraid of the Northern Water Tribe. They're afraid of the Avatar.

And Aang won't be there.

The Fire Nation has been fighting this war for a hundred years, and searching for the Avatar just as long. They know what the Avatar's capable of, and what he's going to try to do; restore balance and defeat the Fire Lord. And they know exactly what destructive capability the comet's return is going to give them. In that coming summer, the Fire Nation knows Aang has one of three options. First, hide. He did it for a hundred years, after all. And if he does that... well, the Fire Nation has already proven someone can get into the middle of the Water Tribe's city itself to steal the Avatar away. So he probably won't hide there. Second, keep working on mastering earthbending or firebending; both of which, again, imply he won't be at the North Pole. Third, face Ozai and/or the Fire Nation forces, no matter what his training level, to try and stop the destruction to come. Again, very unlikely to be at the North Pole.

Plus the Fire Nation is running a war, and that implies scouts and spies. Aang's not exactly inconspicuous. No matter where he's likely to be, the Fire Nation stands a good chance of knowing where he is at any given point in time. Or at the very least, of knowing where he was a few days ago. They know how fast Appa flies; they know the bison's effective range without stopping for food, water, and rest. Given that, they know exactly what kind of window of time they'll have.

Ironically, genocidal or not, if the Fire Nation didn't have strategically sound reasons to attack the North Pole before Aang went there, they definitely do now. Aang won't be there. They have days of evidence that head to head, they can take the waterbenders as long as the daylight holds out. Crushing the Northern Water Tribe deprives Aang of powerful allies. The Water Tribes are supporting Aang's invasion of the Fire Nation itself; their own backyard. Add to the mix that the Fire Nation is incredibly angry over what happened to their fleet... oh yes. They might not be out for genocide, but they will be out to destroy any vestige of Water Tribe power. With extreme prejudice.

And if their object really is genocide, it won't matter what kind of vengeance Aang wreaks on them afterward. Because the Northern Water Tribe will still be dead... and Avatars are mortal. With the Northern Tribe gone, the Southern stripped of its waterbenders, and the Foggy Swampers roped into Sokka's invasion plan and about to get captured - Water is about to go the same route as Air.

"You have to; you're the Avatar!" Nice as a statement of idealistic faith, Yue. Utterly, totally wrong when it comes to saving your people. Because - as we see in canon with Kyoshi, and Roku, and Kuruk - if ordinary people believe they can't save themselves, then all a would-be conqueror has to do is get the Avatar out of the way, and your bad guys will think they can do anything. And if they think they can, someone will.

So why do I think Koizilla was both immoral and a terrible mistake? Because the point of a Weapon of Mass Destruction is deterrence. The only moral reason to have one, or to use one, is to prevent worse loss of life. Bluntly, "do not do X, or we will fry your butt with Extreme Prejudice... and if you do X, we will fry you."

Which, by the way, implies that you have control of your weapon. Which the Water Tribe - and Aang - did not. Aang in the Avatar State may not have control, but at least he's in the hands of every other Avatar before him, who were humans, and therefore have a chance of figuring out when to stop. Aang swept up in the Ocean Spirit's vengeance had no control, and turned all the power of an Avatar over to something that isn't human. That doesn't want what a human wants. That has an IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) based purely on someone having the presence of mind to hit the ground kowtowing.

If you're in the middle of fighting for your life, you might not be able to think clearly enough to do that. And then what?

Koizilla unleashed mass destruction. Without restraint, without morality, and - unless someone's enough of an idiot to go threaten the Moon again - without the Water Tribe being able to repeat it. And given any survivors of Koizilla saw the Avatar in the middle of the fish-monster, even if Zhao took the secret of the Moon fish to his watery grave (and so far as we know from canon, Iroh and Zuko aren't talking about it), the Fire Nation knows it took the Avatar to summon Koizilla in the first place.

Meaning there is nothing to deter the Fire Nation from striking when Aang is somewhere else.

The morality of WMD revolves around "do not make us use this". But the Northern Water Tribe has nothing to use. They're sitting at the site of the worst disaster in Fire Nation naval history - I don't even want to think about how many widows and orphans that fleet must have left behind - and the Fire Nation has already shown that the Water Tribe is toast without the Avatar. On top of that, the tribe has stripped part of the defenses they did have, sending benders to the Southern Water Tribe. Aang has left them sitting ducks. Sitting ducks the Fire Nation now wants seared to ashes.

Stop looking at the morality of what Aang did to the Fire Navy, and start looking at the morality of what he did to his allies.

This is the interpretation I'm using to create the Embers AU.

And given the spirits are a lot more active in Embers than we saw in canon, anyone who has some historical background, or has studied spirits (which includes a lot of the characters Zuko has run into), has an idea of just what spiritual mess has been unleashed at the North Pole. It's not pretty.

By the way, if Zhao had let on to the fleet what he was about to do in Embers, he would have been sleeping with the fishes, not killing them. Someone would have had the guts to do it, whether it meant breaking loyalty or not. You do not mess with Agni's sister.

And just my personal opinion... if a twelve-year-old boy having mystical tacnuke capabilities doesn't qualify as High Octane Nightmare Fuel to you - when the Zombie Apocalypse comes, please hide in any bunker but mine.