House Ablaze

When Zuko and Suki climbed on the sky bison ("His name is Appa, and he's a good friend," the Avatar had said before wishing them a productive journey) the skies had been clear and the sun was shining.

But the winds were strong, and soon Zuko saw clouds coming in over Zenmatsu Island.

Those clouds were directly ahead of him.

"Looks like rain," Suki said.

They were sitting together on the sky bison's (Appa's) head. Suki had the reins, and even with poor weather ahead of them, Zuko didn't miss the gleam in her eyes as she looked out over the sprawling tropical forest and leaned into the wind. For the trip, she and Zuko both had dressed in comfortable red traveling clothes that wouldn't draw attention. (Unlike the sky bison they were on.)

Zuko had always thought Suki's eyes were blue, before now. Yet, seeing her in the casual dress of his Homeland, he realized that they were actually a shade of purple.

He turned his own good eye back to the skies ahead of them. "Can this- Can Appa fly through rain?"

Suki shrugged. "Avatar Aang described how he and Appa were caught in a storm a hundred years ago, and wound up crashing into one of the Southern Seas. But if the rain doesn't get heavy, then we should be okay. It will make Appa's fur heavier, so we might need to take more breaks." She leaned down and rubbed her hands through the air-shaped fur between the bison's horns. "Sound good, big guy?"

Appa let out a sound that could have been a war cry or comfortable agreement. Zuko decided to take it as the latter.

He still had a hard time making himself believe the Avatar's story about running away from home a hundred years ago and surviving in an iceberg to emerge into this world. He accepted the facts as true, but that wasn't the same thing as believing it.

In a way, it was much like Zuko's thoughts of his own family.

He wasn't sure what he knew about them versus what he believed, either.

"My father would have to have known that my mother was a peasant when he married her," he found himself saying. "It doesn't make sense that he would have found out later and then sent her back home."

Suki glanced at him. "But it would fit what you remember. Do you know anything about how your parents met?"

He shook his head. "I always believed that it was a standard betrothal, but now that I've been thinking about it, I guess I just assumed it. I can't recall anyone actually telling me about it."

"Is that how the Royal Family always marries? By betrothal?"

"Yes." He looked at Suki's eyes again, deciding that the purple shade didn't contrast as sharply with her red clothes as blue would. "That's not to say that the royal getting married doesn't have a say. He or she could have someone in mind, and then all the proper agreements could be pursued. But my cousin Lu Ten was betrothed to Mai, and I don't think they had even met before the negotiations started. Anyway, Uncle broke that engagement off for some reason. Maybe he'd tell me, if I got the chance to ask?"

Suki shrugged. "So if I understand betrothals correctly, there's a trade that goes on, right? The person with lower social status needs to provide a dowry of some kind?"

Zuko nodded. "As you might guess, the Royal Family would be the one receiving the dowry for any betrothal. That's why this idea of my mother being a peasant makes no sense. What could her family have gifted my grandfather to make that match?"

"What did Mai's family pay for her engagement to your cousin?"

Zuko frowned. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

"Well, even though she didn't know Lu Ten, Mai's family was already close with the rest of us." Zuko paused as he thought about how best to summarize all those details he'd let slumber in the shadows of his mind during his exile. "She and Azula were schoolmates. She and a girl named Ty Lee. They were all close friends. But Ty Lee is dead now." Zuko shook his head. He still couldn't believe that- another item for the list. "Mai's father had made some important contributions to the war effort through his military engineering, and he had been awarded a residence in the capital and membership in the Caldera clan. I guess you could say he was a rising star. Favored. People like that were frequently rewarded with gold, along with other gifts. For the hand of the son of the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, I expect that Mai's family would have paid back most of the hoarded gold of their rise."

The wind picked up, and Suki pulled the reins to signal Appa to rise above them. "It wouldn't have made a difference that Mai was a Weapon of the Fire Nation?"

Zuko shook his head. "That didn't happen until after I- I left. But if the betrothal had been made after Mai was given her rank, I'm not really sure. There are only nine Weapons- well, eight now that Ty Lee is gone- and only Lady Gerel is wed. She married decades before she became a Weapon, though. I'm not really sure if it would make a difference. If Mai survives long enough to marry, and gets together with someone from the Fire Nation, and we survive long enough to see it, I guess we'll find out."

Suki laughed.

Zuko gave her a questioning look.

She shrugged. "It just sounded funny, the way you explained that we all have to live. Most people would just assume that much."

Zuko looked ahead at the approaching clouds. "It's not a very safe assumption, considering what we're all trying to do."


Aang tugged at the wrap on his head and tried to ignore how the bouncing of the carriage was so different from the gentle bobbing of a sky bison in flight.

Mai, seated next to him on the carriage's rear bench, noticed his discomfort. "You okay?"

Aang gave her a smile and a nod. It wasn't a big deal, really. Maybe a little disappointing that he couldn't go out in his Nomad robes, but by this point, it was something he was used to.

Governor Hige, sitting opposite Aang on the forward bench next to King Toph, bowed his head. Like most of the Fire Nation big-shots they had encountered, Hige had a mutton-chopped, tri-pronged beard, although it contrasted with his round glasses. "I thank you for your discretion on this trip, Avatar. While you are officially welcome as a diplomat, and Commander Zhao's soldiers will be guarding us, we can't be sure that- uh, certain elements wouldn't still attempt violence again you."

"Yeah." Mai sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. "I'm still not clear on who these 'elements' are. The Fire Lord knows we're here and nominally approves, so the military won't attack us. The Home Guard answers to the Governors. We know there are politics at work, so of course there's the possibility of professional assassins, but they're hardly going to be fooled by a head-scarf."

Next to Governor Hige, Toph nodded. She had been allowed to wear her fancy green robes, despite whatever this danger was. "Especially since it would be easier to just hit the mansion."

Hige frowned. "My mansion is very well guarded-"

"-and any security has its holes," Toph interrupted. "Trust me, I know it, and don't go pretending you aren't up on it, too. You and Zhao are afraid of something that's a part of the Fire Nation itself."

Aang continued to be impressed by the little King. For all that she was kind of rude and loud, she paid close attention to what was going around her. Aang looked to Hige and offered a smile. "It's okay. You can tell us what's wrong. We're not here to judge the Fire Nation, and we understand that some things are just outside of even a Governor's control."

Hige leaned back in his seat. "That is- generous of you, Avatar. But you won't offend me by judging the Fire Nation on this point. The problem is the people of the Homeland."

Aang felt Mai tense beside him, but she displayed no reaction that Hige could have noticed as she said, "The people?"

"Oh, yes, my lady. You probably aren't aware, living in the Caldera, but there are- well, problems. But it will be easier to show you. We're almost at our first destination, a local club where some of the more affluent members of the Inawaka Clan gather."

Aang recognized the name of 'Inawaka' as being the name of the port city over which Hige's mansion stood watch. So this clan was like Mai's Caldera clan, part of the new system where nobles owed loyalty to their home city and governor.

The carriage soon slowed to a stop, but Aang knew to wait until a certain pattern of knocking sounded at the passenger compartment's door. When it did, Governor Hige led everyone out into the summer air.

Zhao himself was waiting for them beside their carriage. His own more military transport- an open cart with high sides- was parked just ahead, and his soldiers had already disembarked and were standing on guard around them. "The area is secure, Governor, Avatar. You may proceed with your visit."

At least it was a nice area. They were within grounds enclosed by a wooden wall, but one that seemed more for decorative purposes than security. It blocked off whatever the wider view was, leaving Aang to look only at the lovely gardens around him, and the Pleasure House rising up above them.

And it was into the Pleasure House the Governor Hige headed.

It was big enough to contain all kinds of gambling and entertainment, but this visit seemed to be more focused. Hige led the way into a large room where all kinds of people in fancy clothes (all red, of course) were gathered. It was an assembly that Aang could barely tell from the guests at the big dinner the night before, and for all he knew, some of the same people might be here. Still, it was nice how they cheered for him.

Then the first of the guests stepped forward, a man in a Fire Navy dress uniform, and approached Mai, and Aang realized that it wasn't him they were cheering for.

"Lady Caldera Yu Mai," the man said, "welcome back to the Fire Nation! And you don't have to share details, but congratulations as well on the completion of whatever secret mission the Royal Family had you running. I am Vice-Admiral Cho, and this is my son, who is currently looking for a wife-"

"Ah," another of the guests said, a woman with gray hair, "Lady Mai can talk to your son later, Admiral. We have a gift to welcome you to Inawaka and thank you for gracing our lowly clan with your golden presence. You have our gratitude and service, my lady!" She handed Mai what looked like a fancy horn of some kind, and then fell to her knees in a bow.

No, not a bow- a full kowtow, with forehead pressed to the floor.

In fact, the whole room was kowtowing.

Mai stood there, holding her gifted horn, and threw a glance at Aang that to him seemed a little wide-eyed for her. "Um, hi, everyone. Thanks for the musical instrument?"

Hige shifted so that he was standing directly behind Aang and whispered, "The Caldera clan is the most prestigious in the Homeland, living around the Fire Lord himself. Each person here is hoping to catch Lady Mai's eye and favor, gambling that she'll remember them for promotion."

Aang blinked. "That Admiral mentioned his son-"

"Yes, a bit forward of him, but there are many parents here hoping to set up a betrothal with an offspring. I suppose he wanted to jump to the front of the line."

Aang could only shake his head. Mai was practically being mobbed now, still holding her new horn, but Aang wasn't sure how he could rescue her.

Toph leaned towards Aang. "She's fine. Just a little anxious, according to her heartbeat and breathing. Don't worry your twinkling toes about it."

Aang smiled his thanks, and then realized that he was being approached as well. An old man with long white hair that spilled out over his red robes was walking over, saying, "Are you friends with Lady Caldera Yu Mai? How lovely. I am Yingbi, head of the Ying merchant family..."

Aang put a smile on his face and prepared for a few hours of being the second most important person in the room, for a change.


By the time the ski bison (Appa) reached Hira'a, the sun was covered by sheets of gray clouds that drizzled over the landscape- a warm, muggy wetness that wasn't quite soaking Zuko's clothes even as it left his hair and skin slick.

Or rather, it was by the time they reached Hira'a charred remains.

The first sign that something was wrong was the forest. The growth on Zenmatsu was all thick and lush, encroaching strongly on the rocky landscape pushed up by volcano activity, but as Appa had carried Zuko and Suki further on their journey, they found the foliage below suddenly thinning. The trunks and branches of the tall trees were more visible, with most of the green coming from short growth on the ground rather than leaves on the trees. There were also many fallen trunks, all of them blackened and missing branches.

The forest continued to grow thinner, the surviving trees reaching up as scattered sentinels dwarfed by the massive rock spires dotting the landscape, until it disappeared entirely. Lakebeds sat empty despite the rain falling even now, while what seemed like stone monuments of some kind sat split and blackened beyond any kind of recognition.

Thankfully, what was left wasn't an ashland. Most likely, the cause had been a natural forest fire.

That distinction hadn't saved Hira'a.

The remains of the village didn't seem to have been touched since it burned down. Pieces of the frames of some of the buildings still stood, and if they were anything to go by, the people here had lived in comfortable, spacious homes. There even seemed to be the ruins of a theater, or at least a stage, in the center of the village. Hira'a had probably been a nice place to live.

No one lived here now.

Suki was silent as she brought Appa down. Zuko was thankful for that, because he had no idea what he was supposed to be feeling, never mind how to communicate it. Why hadn't Heiyaoshi said anything about this? It was possible she didn't know, and come to think of it, Zuko hadn't explicitly said he was coming to visit; he had just asked about Hira'a location.

Or else this was what he was meant to find.

But why? There were no answers here.

As soon as Appa had landed, Zuko slid off the bison's head and rushed over to the nearest set of ruins. The ground squelched beneath his boots, and the rain seemed to be growing heavier, but Zuko just increased his breathing and pushed the energy into his Inner Fire to generate more body heat. Up close, he could see the stone of what must have been the base of this home's firepit, but nothing else was recognizable in the mud and debris and-

Wait.

There was something half-buried that was too regular in shape. It seemed long and thin, like a rod of some kind-

No.

Zuko stepped back so that he was no longer standing within the remnants of the home.

That had been a bone.

A human bone.

He heard Suki coming up behind him. He turned so that he could see her with his remaining eye, but once again he didn't know what to say.

She nodded. "We don't know how many got away. If they were living off the forest or something else that was ruined, then there would be no reason to come back so soon."

As ever, she was good with logic. She could figure things out.

Zuko, at least, was good at pushing further on his path. "Let's get back to the bison. Maybe we can find another settlement, or at least some people who can tell us what happened."


"That was the worst experience of my whole life," Mai said as they were getting back into the carriage. She plopped down on the rear bench and let the golden horn tumble out of her hands to the floor.

Aang hopped into the seat beside her. "Worse than Crescent Island, and the sinkhole, and all those boat rides you got seasick on?"

She extended her arm and flicked his ear. "Clearly that was an objective and precise evaluation. Don't question me."

Toph sniffed as she got back to her own seat in the forward bench. "You two are gross. Does it smell to anyone else like some rain is coming?"

Governor Hige was the last to board, closing the door to the passenger compartment behind him. They were in motion soon after. "Ah, you tolerated that very well, Lady Mai. And don't worry, you'll be safely anonymous for the rest of our activities today. I just couldn't scrape together enough of the upper crust here without saying who they'd be meeting, and frankly you are more of a draw than even the Avatar. These people aren't looking to control the fate of the Homeland, you see; they just want to move up to a more prominent clan and residence."

Aang slumped at the return of the serious discussion. He much preferred to tease Mai, but he knew his responsibilities. "That's part of what I don't get. Your cities define your clans, now, right? But what's the point of being part of a clan, if no one has any real loyalty to it?"

Hige smiled and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "You are truly wise, young Avatar. Yes, that's exactly part of the problem. The clan system was already decaying when the Fire Lord reorganized it, but now it's just a way of measuring social standing. The closer a clan is to the Fire Lord, the more prominent. I'm the least of all the governors, here on Zenmatsu, the furthest of the Outer Islands. Perhaps I had any hope of being promoted and surviving the experience, I'd be more invested in Azulon's games."

Mai inhaled sharply. "That's why it was so easy to arrange Zuko's homecoming here. You're fine hosting the Avatar, no matter how many Fire Nation fortresses he's knocked over, because it draws attention and power here that you wouldn't normally get."

Hige shrugged. "Not a bad guess, but not quite the truth. Of course, I'm more than happy to do a favor to both Prince Iroh and Prince Ozai at the same time. But chasing an appointment closer to the capital island will do me little good until the flow of power moves in the proper directions. The clan system needs to be reformed, and- well, we're on our way to see the next problem. We won't be as close, but I think what you see will be illuminating."

Aang wasn't enjoying this tour as much as he had hoped. He had expected getting a taste of modern Fire Nation culture, like seeing a festival or trying some food or learning the new dances. Instead, he was getting a lesson on how the Fire Nation was slowing killing itself.

But the fact that Hige was revealing all of this meant that he wanted it to be fixed. And he thought Aang might be able to help.

That was probably good news.

At least, Aang hoped it was.


The rain began coming down harder, and Zuko's search slowed.

The problem was the sky bison. "Avatar Aang said that Appa was struck by your sister's lightning," Suki explained. "Katara healed the physical damage with her Waterbending, but apparently lightning does more than just cook flesh. Appa has to take it easy and rest often so that his energies rebalance."

Zuko remembered the incident, of course. It was when June had tracked the Avatar to that cargo ship, and he and Azula had stolen a speedboat to intercept them before they got away. The irony, that his relentless drive to capture the Avatar was now interfering with his quest to discover his mother's fate, was not lost on him.

By the time they found any answers about Hira'a, the sky bison's fur was soaked through and he smelled like the world's biggest nest of rats. Zuko had to concentrate on his breathing in order to maintain enough of his Inner Fire to keep himself warm. Suki didn't have any such advantages, and she didn't object when Zuko put an arm around her shoulders so that she could share his heat.

The traveling merchant they found was making do with a simple, practical umbrella, "Oh, yes, Hira'a. Used to stop by a'sell to 'em. Simple stuff, a'cause they didn't have much coin, and I'd a'do some metalworking fixes."

Zuko pointed the way. "It's all gone now. The forest, the village- everything."

"Yup. Forest fire, they says. Some a'kind a'lightning storm in the forest. People a'said they'd a'see weird lights in those woods. A'could been lightning whatdyacallit- phenomenon. Or evil spirits. Only they a'says spirits ain't the business a'simple folk."

Zuko waved the matter away. "What about the people?"

"Fires took 'em by a'surprise. Some got a'caught in their homes. Most got away. A'scattered around to other villages."

"Do you know if a woman named Ursa might have been among the refugees?"

"Hn, never a'heard that name, myself. Sorry."

Zuko turned away. He heard Suki offering thanks to the merchant, and approved, but he didn't trust himself to deal with niceties right now. His search for his mother was at a dead end. If she even really was from Hira'a, and if she returned there after leaving the palace that night, then she might have survived the fire and moved to another of the villages here. (Assuming she was among the survivors.) But tracking her down would involve methodically visiting all the surrounding settlements and asking around. It could take weeks, and was too dependent on his mother letting herself be found, using her real name.

He had a feeling it wouldn't be even that easy.

And he had his obligations to Uncle Iroh. This business with the Avatar. He wanted to just forget about it all, and if there had been a clear trail to his mother, that would be one thing. But this was too tenuous, and Uncle had helped Zuko return to the Fire Nation.

Besides, a drawn-out search would keep from getting all the way home.

Father was waiting.

Suki came up and put her hand on his back. "Let's go check Hira'a again. Maybe we can find some clues. It's on our way back, anyway. We can use it as chance to let Appa rest."

Zuko nodded.

It was better than nothing.

He hoped.


The carriage came to a stop, but Aang could still hear some kind of noise coming in to the passenger compartment. "Is that rain?"

"Ugh." Mai clasped her hands in her sleeves. "I hate getting wet. Tell me someone brought an umbrella."

Governor Hige opened the slats on the windows, revealing their destination beneath gray skies and a light drizzle.

It looked to Aang to be a fairly typical Fire Nation village square, like the kind he and his friend Kuzon had played in during their visits. He saw shops and residences, and a metal statue in the center of a person in some kind of fancy armor.

Near the statue, some of the Home Guard- the more lightly armored police forces that answered to each island's governor- were setting up a large tent over wooden supply boxes.

Hige closed the shutters again. "Well, I wasn't planning on having us leave the carriage, anyway. It's better for us to observe from a distance. We can stay in here out of the rain."

"Hey!" King Toph sat forward. "What about me? I need my feet on good, solid earth to see anything!"

Mai picked up her golden horn from the floor and set it on top of Toph's head by its wide bell, almost like a hat. "There you go."

Aang cringed and waited for an outburst, but Toph just tilted her head to the left, and then to the right, and grinned. "That works! Do I look good?"

Mai said, "You appear very royal."

"Sweet! I'll just watch from this side, then." Toph opened the door nearest her, and eased herself down to the ground. The whole carriage would be between her and the village square, but that wouldn't stop her Earthsense.

Hige cleared his throat. "Well, uh, with that resolved, let's begin our own observations, yes?" He opened the shutters again, and Aang inched over to see. Her heard Mai shifting on the bench behind him, and then she pressed up against his back as she angled for a view. He could feel- even though he had a scarf over his baldness and Mai wasn't actually touching it- that her head was hovering just above his. He resolved not to let himself get distracted.

As Aang watched, the Home Guard soldiers struck a gong they had set up in their tent, and people began shuffling out of their homes. They didn't seem happy, or at all eager.

Maybe it was because the rain was picking up.

Two of the Home Guard brought out what seemed like a large, wood-backed sign. Aang squinted, and could make out what seemed to be a bearded face on it.

"Fire Lord Azulon," Hige whispered.

All of the people fell into kowtows before the image.

After a few minutes, a big-bellied man of Home Guard stepped up and bellowed, "You may rise."

The people did so, and the picture was taken away.

The big Guard continued, "That does not count towards your daily total. You must still bow before the portraits of the Fire Lord in your homes- pictures generously provided to you by our glorious leader in celebration of his matchless leadership- one more time today."

Hige nodded. "Once before every meal."

The big Guard held out his hand, and a scroll was put into it by one of his compatriots. "Before we get to our special business today, we have a matter to settle. Citizen- uh- Zhuding, step forward."

The crowd gasped. The people began moving away from one man, who started shaking.

Aang frowned. "I don't have a good feeling about this."

Hige hissed, "Don't interfere. There will be no loss of life, and you'll just make things worse if you try to stop it."

That didn't set Aang at ease, but he kept watching.

The shaking man came up to the tent of his own accord. Two of the Home Guard forced him down to his knees, and stood at attention on either side of him.

The big Guard bellowed, "Citizen Tang, please step forward."

A little boy hurried up out of the crowd.

The big Guard held out his hand again, and like the scroll before, he was now given a small leather bag. The big Guard walked up to the child and passed on the bag, narrating to the crowd, "You are a god boy, Tang. You have done well to reveal your father's crime. Zhuding failed to bow three times to Fire Lord Azulon two weeks ago, supposedly too tired from working to get to his knees for the leader who won our honorable war of conquest. This is a terrible act of disrespect to the man who owns all of us, who by his grace and generosity gives us work and shelter and honor! Tang has been rewarded with candy, fine treats made in the Capital, for his honesty and loyalty. Zhuding will receive the standard punishment for his first transgression." He nodded.

The two Guards on either side of Zhuding freed bamboo rods from sheaths on their back, and one struck Zhuding across the shoulders. Then the other did, then the first again-

Aang moved for the carriage's door-

-and Hige grabbed his wrist. "I have ordered as much mercy to be shown as possible. The man was not stripped of his shirt, and I emphasized that he was to be given the appropriate punishment for his first offense. If you interfere, his punishment will be more severe."

Aang yanked his hand free. "You could stop this!"

"Could I? Remember what we saw of the people in my clan, crawling over each other to ingratiate themselves with someone from the Caldera? If I tried to circumvent the Fire Lord's law, the nobles here would do to me what that boy did to his father. I would be punished, a new governor would be put in my place, that man would be killed, and you would be a criminal in the Fire Nation."

Aang didn't know what to say.

Thankfully, Mai stepped in with, "That stinks."

Aang nodded, and turned back to the window. The Guards were still striking Zhuding, but then the one on the left seemed to trip out of nowhere with such force that his bamboo rod flew out of his hands to land in the crowd.

Through the windows on the opposite side of the compartment, Aang could hear Toph whistling nonchalantly.

He grinned. That was some nice Earthbending.

Back at the gathering, the big Guard shook his head and bellowed, "All right, that's enough. Let's get down to our real business. Fire Lord Azulon, in his continuing generosity, has found a way to enhance his people's education. We will be collecting the storybooks handed out two years ago, 'Glorious Victories of the Fire Army,' and in exchange we will give you a new volume written by the Fire Lord himself, 'The Victorious Life and Times of Fire Lord Azulon.' Families will read this book together every night after your shared meal. Children are encouraged to memorize it. Step forward, one at a time, and trade the old book for the new book. Don't get it wet. And no shoving!"

As Zhuding was dragged away, the other Guards broke open the crates within the tent and pulled out stacks of new books.

Hige whispered, "I received the orders and materials for this just a few days ago, and rushed to pass them on to the Home Guard. I wanted you, Avatar, to see what the Fire Lord has been doing over the last few years. He demands more and more devotion from the people, stealing reverence from our nation. He's building a cult to himself, and I shudder to think what he needs it for. Something must be done to restore balance to Fire Nation rule. And I have hopes that you, Avatar, can find a way to do this."

This was even worse than Aang thought. He knew he'd have to combat favor for the Fire Nation's war, but a nation-wide cult to Fire Lord Azulon?

On the other hand, this seemed to be fairly recent, and was obviously not liked by a man like Hige. If Zhao and Iroh were any indication, the military wasn't too happy, either. Maybe this could be a chance to easily get the rest of the Fire Nation's leadership to support Prince Iroh!

For now, Aang figured that mentioning Iroh's plan might not be the smartest thing to do. "I understand. With the support of you- um, you know, the governors- maybe I can do something."

Hige smiled and pushed his glasses up higher.

Then the whole carriage around Aang flipped and flew and crashed, and the air vibrated with the force and sound of an explosion.


Perhaps it was Zuko's imagination, but he thought the rain had lessened again when they finally made it back to Hira'a. Even so, he almost missed the large beast standing amidst the ruins of the village. From their position in the sky, atop Appa's head, the creature's hide blended all too well with the shadowy mud of the ground.

Suki spotted it first, letting go of the reins to point. "Look, there's something moving down there!"

It took a few moments, but Zuko was able to make out a long snake-like body, maybe the same length as Appa but much thinner. It seemed to remaining in one position, although its head kept twitching towards- something. "Is there something else down there?"

Suki squinted, wrapped Appa's reins around her left arm as an anchor, and then leaned straight over the side of the sky bison's head. "I think- I think there's a person moving around!"

A scavenger come to pick over the detritus of a village that burned to the ground years ago?

No.

Zuko refused to believe that someone else had come here the same day of his own visit. "Take us down. As fast as you can."

Suki climbed back up onto Appa's head, and then directed the sky bison into a dive.

As soon as Zuko judged the distance safe, he leaped off of Appa's head towards the robed figure, his fists blazing with flame.

The last thing he was expecting was for the stranger to whip around to face him before he even completed his leap, or for his forearms to suddenly grow cold and his flames to die.

He landed in a tumble, sliding through the mud.

"Zuko!" Suki's cry came just before the sound of her own boots splashing in the mud, and he guessed that she was coming to his aid. He tried to warn her off, but before he could, the stranger's arms snapped, and a massive gout of flame shot out.

Zuko reached, trying to steal control of the fires before they could hit Suki, but he slipped in the mud again and fell face-fist. He could do nothing but flounder as the fires landed right in front of Suki, cutting her off.

"Enough," a harsh, elderly voice called out. Zuko recognized it-

Lady Caldera Yu Gerel?!

The blindfolded Weapon of the Fire Nation?

Zuko peered through the rain with his good eye, and sure enough, Lady Gerel was standing there steaming. She wasn't wearing the formal robes he had only seen her in before now, instead dressed in thicker and plainer clothes appropriate to traveling on a rainy day. She still had her blindfold on, though, and it was still marked with the painted character for 'dragon.'

Zuko got to his feet and tried to wipe some of the mud off his clothes. "As a Prince of the Fire Nation, I demand to know what you are doing here."

Lady Gerel didn't so much as twitch. "I cannot tell you."

"What? Perhaps you didn't understand. I just issued a royal command."

"I know, Prince Zuko. I am under obligations that prevent me answering you."

Zuko blinked. What kind of obligations? He looked around, and saw the large beast Suki had spotted from the sky- an eelhound, the fastest riding-animal in the world. That explained how Gerel could have gotten here today without borrowing a sky bison. But why Hira'a?

Suki splashed over to stand beside Zuko. "Lady Gerel, I believe. And, evidentially, you're a Firebender."

Gerel didn't turn to face Suki, of course, but she did say, "And you are the bodyguard who has been protecting the Prince. Odd that you would let him make the first strike against an unknown enemy."

Zuko flicked some of the mud off his hands. "Neither friends nor bodyguards let me do anything."

Suki snorted. "Yeah, it's not like he gave me a chance to stop him. But I'm curious, Lady Gerel: you're obviously an excellent Firebender, if you could defend yourself so easily. Tell me, can you make lightning, like Zuko's sister?"

Gerel didn't answer.

Zuko was confused. Why would Suki ask about-

-lightning-

-the merchant had said that the forest fire was started by a lightning storm-

-the fire had destroyed the village-

-ruined his mother's trail-

-and Gerel had refused to answer why she was here.

Zuko's fists clenched again as he whirled to face the Weapon. "It was you. You destroyed the forest! You started the fires!"

Gerel sighed. "I was hoping to avoid this."

It was as good as a confession, as far as Zuko was concerned. "Why did you do it? Tell me!"

"I cannot, Prince Zuko. My obligations still stand."

Those 'obligations' again! What could she mean by that?

The answer hit him like a punch to the gut. "You were ordered to! Someone sent you to do this. Someone who- someone who outranks me!" There weren't many people who could countermand Zuko's royal orders as a prince, and all of them were members of his own family.

Gerel sighed. "Don't jump to conclusions, your highness. As a Weapon, I serve only the Fire Lord, and even when I follow the commands of others, I do so as part of my services to your grandfather. I wouldn't disclose the secrets of the lowliest peasant, if I learned them while doing my duty as a Weapon."

"Then maybe I'll just have to make you tell me." He took a Firebending stance.

Gerel didn't move.

Zuko tried to punch a fireball at her, but even as the flames formed around his fist, Gerel snapped with a grabbing motion, and a chill once again exploded from within his forearm and the flames snuffed out. She caught his now harmless fist, and shoved with enough strength to tip him backwards into the mud again.

As he fell, he saw Suki silently throw a kick at Gerel's head, but the older woman seemed to have started dodging even as the attack was first unfolding. She ducked beneath it and slid a foot out to create a burst of flame that made the mud beneath Suki explode and knock her off her own feet.

Zuko started to get up, but found a wall of flame extending from Gerel's fists to blot out the sky just above him. He let himself drop again and managed to avoid having his face burned off, but boiling drops of rain passed through the flame to pelt him. He rolled as fast as he could out of the way, and above the squelching of the mud heard the sound of flesh striking flesh and Suki crying out.

Zuko finally reached safety and scrambled to his feet, raising his arms in preparation to meet Gerel's next attack-

-but the old woman was just standing there, standing with one leg resting on top of Suki, the buddy boot planted right on her stomach. Yet Gerel wasn't aiming a fist or even a finger at Suki. The Weapon merely nodded. "Both of you need to stop this. You're tired and wet and cold. I can sense your warm blood moving in preparation for your movements before you've even finished the thought. And I- well, I am a Weapon of the Fire Nation. I do not feel the rain if I do not wish it. You cannot win, and I have no wish to hurt either of you."

Zuko let himself slump. Gerel wasn't wrong. "I have to know why you did what you did- who gave you the order."

"This is not something you can beat out of me, Prince Zuko. Please, remember your dignity and honor."

Dignity? Honor? Yes! That was it! "You're right. This is no time or place for a fight."

Gerel's face twitched beneath her blindfold. "What are you-"

"I challenge you to an Agni Kai! Tomorrow at sunset, back at the governor's mansion. If I lose, I will give up on my search. But if I win, you will tell me who demanded the destruction of this village."

"Prince Zuko-"

"You cannot refuse. Suki is my witness. I am calling your honor into question. No true warrior of the Fire Nation should destroy one of our villages, or kill your own countrymen!"

"I did not mean to destroy the village!" Gerel shifted so that Suki was no longer underfoot, and she was finally directly facing Zuko. "I only wanted to destroy the forest! The village- it was an unfortunate bit of collateral damage. But it was under threat from spirits anyway. I might have even saved the survivors."

"Rationalizations! I accuse you of having no honor. Restore it by giving me the name, or let the Fire decide tomorrow in a duel." He glared at Gerel, his one eye against a face with both its eyes covered.

She gave short, sharp sigh. "Congratulations, your highness. You have trapped me. For your own sake, please give up the challenge. I have no wish to kill you, and an Agni Kai is to a death blow, if not death itself. As this village proves, my control is not complete. No one's is."

Zuko shook his head, sending mud and rainwater flying. "You won't have to worry about it on my account. I do not intend to lose."

"Teenagers." Gerel let her shoulders slump. "Then I have no choice but to accept. Tomorrow at sunset, then." She turned and began striding back to her eelhound.

Then she stopped, and without turning, called out, "I can give you one name, your highness: Heiyaoshi. She's the one who manipulated us both into this situation. If you die tomorrow, I will always credit her with the kill."

Gerel continued to her eelhound, climbed into the saddle, and with a twitch of the beast's reins, raced off into the storm.

Zuko stood there in the rain, letting the mud wash off of him. Eventually, Suki came over to him. Zuko hesitated looking at her, afraid of the disapproval he knew had to be in her expression.

But he would not let himself become a coward. He forced himself to turn his remaining eye on her.

Suki, it turned out, was smirking beneath a coating of mud. "Zuko, you're too clever by half."

Well, it was better than being called an idiot.

It might even be true.


Aang was having trouble making sense of the world. He had been sitting in the carriage, watching the exchange of official Fire Nation storybooks outside. There had been a light rain giving a warm humidity to the air.

Now, he was lying on the passenger compartment's ceiling, he smelled burning nearby, and something heavy with both soft and really hard sharp bits was on top of him- no, someone! Mai groaned and pushed herself off of Aang.

He helped her to her knees. "Are you okay?"

She blinked once, and he saw her eyes focus on him. "Yes. You?"

"I think so."

She nodded, and then her eyes flicked elsewhere. "Hige is out and we're on fire."

Aang turned, and found Hige lying in heap on the other side of the compartment- which was upside down. Behind him, what had been the shuttered windows was now a gap covered in flames, like a flaming hoop at a circus, but with more smoke.

Mai said, "You get the governor. Be careful with him. He's not moving."

"Okay. What are you going to do?"

She grinned, drew a pair of razor discs from her sleeves, and lunged straight through the flames.

Yikes!

But she passed through quickly and was lost to sight. She was probably okay.

Depending on what she found out there.

Now that he was focusing, Aang was aware of the sound of echoing cracks coming from outside the carriage. They sounded like explosions of some kind. Was someone attacking? Okay, that was a dumb question. Of course someone was attacking. And the best way to deal with an attack was to not be there!

Aang crawled over to Hige, and was dismayed to find blood streaming down the governor's face. His glasses were gone. Aang searched through the white hair, and sure enough found a large gash. Head wounds bled easily, so it was hard to tell how bad it was, but Hige was out cold. That wasn't good. Still, Aang had to get him out of here.

Rather than go out through the flames like Mai, Aang summoned a thin, tight burst of air and threw it at the shuttered windows on opposite wall. They exploded outward, and Aang heaved Hige onto his back and ran out before the dust and wood fibers could settle.

He emerged into a battlefield in the middle of a village.

Bodies of Fire Nation soldiers were laying everywhere, and the buildings around them were missing chunks. The air shuddered with an explosion every other second, but Aang couldn't immediately tell where they were coming from. He put Hige on the ground and looked around the other side of the carriage, and found Mai and Toph fighting someone in the village square.

Their opponent was a tall figure in a hooded robe, and as Aang watched, Mai threw a group of razors at his head, but the man raised an arm and-

-and the razors bounced off, leaving the sleeve shredded to reveal a forearm made of metal.

Then a beam of light shot out from beneath the hood to strike the ground at Mai's feet.

A second later the spot exploded-

-Mai was tossed into the air-

-Toph raced by on a speeding ramp of stone and caught Mai in her arms.

Aang breathed a sigh of relief. And he was starting to figure out what was going on.

He stretched his arms out and waved them around his body, pulling the air into a swirling wind. It resisted him, so heavy with humidity, but he swept a foot across the ground in front of him at the same speed and added that to the summoning motion. The wind obeyed, forming around him in a swirl.

Then he kept spinning.

More spinning.

One more moment-

Aang pulled his arms in close to his body, shaped an invisible ball with his hands right in front of his stomach, and stopped his spinning so that he was facing the burning carriage, pulling one of his legs up to fold in front of his arms.

Then he threw his leg and arms out all at once, unleashing the winds he had been gathering like a massive wall. They slammed against the carriage, and for all its weight, it was free-moving and completely independent of the ground that it was resting on, so when the wall of wind hit it, the path of least resistance was to simply let the air give it a push.

A pretty hard push.

And so the carriage flew forward to crash just about where the freaky guy in the robe was standing.

Then Aang called out, "Let's get out of here!"

Because even if he had just gotten a direct hit, the carriage wasn't moving quite fast enough to do major damage against a guy that big, never mind what kind of abilities he might have if he could think explosions at people.

The villagers, at least, seemed to have all vacated the area. Aang didn't spot any soldiers- either the fully armored types who had been part of the security detail or the Home Guard- who weren't lying on the ground. Toph was riding her stone ramp over to him, Mai firmly in hand.

Then a wide cart raced up beside Aang, pulled by roaring komodo rhinos, with none other than Commander Zhao on the driver's bench. The cart was empty, and Aang realized this was what the soldiers of the security detachment had been traveling in all day.

"Get in," Zhao barked.

"What about the village?" Aang said as he lifted Hige again and hopped into the cart.

"I'll send reinforcements," Zhao growled as Toph and Mai hopped aboard. They were still all standing when Zhao whipped the reins, and the rhinos pounded into a run with enough force to knock them all off their feet. Aang twisted so that he wouldn't fall on Hige, and instead wound up landing on both Mai and Toph instead.

None of them seemed inclined to move. Aang was fine with that.

"So," he said, "anyone know what that was about?"

Toph groaned. "I felt the guy stomping up to the village. I think he has a metal foot. He was staring at your carriage and seemed to be concentrating on it. I got all suspicious, so when he shoved his head forward and his heart made this big thud, I lifted a rock shield and tipped the carriage out of the way. So you only wound up getting partially blown up."

"Oh. Thanks." That explained part of the experience, at least. "Why was that guy able to think explosions at us?"

Mai sighed. "You know how I said that Piandao is the most dangerous Weapon of the Fire Nation? This is the guy who doesn't let him get lazy. He has a weird Firebending technique that lets him shoot a ray of light and blow up what it hits. And yes, he's definitely still alive and dangerous, even after getting hit by a carriage."

"What's his name?"

"He renounced it as part of his training. I only know him as the Disciple of the Third Eye."

"Catchy," snorted Toph. "So now someone is trying to kill us."

"Someone," Zhao called back from the front of the cart, "was always trying to kill you. Several someones, probably. Now we're just aware of one more of them."

Aang couldn't argue with that logic, so he just laid there with his friends as Zhao drove the cart back to Hige's mansion.

It was only his second day in the Fire Nation, and already they were dealing with a crisis. But then, that probably shouldn't be a surprise.

TO BE CONTINUED