Part II: Thirty

A knock sounded on the door, making Zuko's head come up in startlement. He blinked stupidly and then looked down at the copy of the treaty spread before him. He'd been reading it with a candle burning, but he'd dozed off at some point. He thought he'd been dreaming about Suki, but the threads of his dream drifted away in a haze as the knock on the door called him back to reality.

"Just a moment," he called, rubbing at his eyes.

It had been a long day in the airship, sailing through the clouds on their way to Ba Sing Se. The airship was small, with only enough room for eight passengers. With the six Kyoshi Warriors, himself, and now Governor Chuanwei, the small airship had seemed even smaller.

Especially because of Chuanwei.

He'd been happy to stop at an inn for the night, to stretch his legs, and get a little privacy.

He crossed the room, the worn out boards creaking beneath his bare feet, and opened the door a crack. He was surprised to see Rin on the other side, bare-faced and wearing a pair of light blue pants and a shirt belted around her waist. Her hair was down and braided across one shoulder.

"Hey," he said, sagging against the door frame. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh, it's fine. Perimeter's secure and I've got Chao-Ahn and Mei Lin on watch," she said and then lifted a bottle of red wine and two glasses. "Ummm... I just thought you could use a drink. You know, after today. You seemed a little stressed."

"That's putting it mildly," he said dryly, opening the door wide and stepping back from the door. "Come on in, before you know who comes out of her room and ambushes me."

Rin laughed and stepped into the room. She closed the door behind her. "I thought a vein in your forehead was going to pop this afternoon."

"It was a close call," he admitted, as she put the glasses down on the table in the corner. "I was also considering jumping out of the airship as a last resort."

"Poor Zuko," Rin commiserated, pulling the cork out of the bottle with a soft pop. "You finally met your match."

"She's very opinionated, I'll give her that," he said as she poured them both glasses, then brought one over to him. He took it gratefully and took a deep drink. "Thank you. I needed this."

"I figured," she said, as he sank down into the chair he'd been dozing in. Rin sat down on the end of the bed, with her feet tucked up. She took a sip of her wine. "I thought about rescuing you once or twice, but I was kind of enjoying how red your face was getting."

"It was like dealing with one of my councilors."

"Oh, no, she's worse than that," Rin mused. "But she wasn't really wrong, either."

Zuko sighed, and then tipped his wine at her. "No, she wasn't."

They'd left Kyoshi Island early that morning, before sunrise, with Governor Chuanwei in tow. Suki's mother Nari had seen them off, pressing one of her small daggers, wrapped in a leather sheath, into his hands. He'd put the dagger on his belt immediately, and then promised Nari that he would send one of his airships to Kyoshi Island to pick her up for the wedding.

Nari had blushed but thanked him, and he'd left her with some reluctance. He'd been nervous about seeing Suki's mother, as they had been virtual strangers before, but Nari had made him feel welcome in her home. He liked her a lot.

He could not quite say the same about Chuanwei.

He and Governor Chuanwei had spent hours discussing the treaty. She'd been going over the documents he'd had written up before leaving, and she'd had a lot of opinions about it. She'd taken a quill and red ink to the copy of the treaty he'd given her, and then spent most of the morning crossing things out, changing the wording, and adding in things she found appropriate. This had resulted in a long scroll that had mostly been covered in red ink, which she'd thrust at him.

The afternoon in the airship had been tense and loud, as they'd debated the treaty until he'd been ready to leap into the sky just to get five minutes of silence. Rin had been at the helm of the airship most of the day, but he'd saw her watching the debate. She'd seemed amused.

He'd been less amused, and more annoyed, even though he could admit that Chuanwei's additions and suggestions were good ones. She had a shrewd, lawyer-like mind, and she didn't miss much. His first impression of her had been of a stern woman he didn't want to cross, but he had added "stubborn", "demanding" and "intelligent" to his second impression.

"Trust me, she hasn't changed much since I was a kid. She taught archery at the training center and she was the most demanding trainer I ever had. She put Aiko in tears once."

"I forgot that she trained you," he said, trying to picture it. He couldn't, really. The stern Chuanwei had seemed like she'd been made out of leather and iron centuries ago. He couldn't imagine what she'd been like as a Kyoshi Warrior. "She trained Suki, too?"

Rin nodded. "Chuanwei was the one who suggested that Suki be a captain. Suki was the only girl I ever saw her praise. What a shock."

Zuko's brow rose. "What do you mean?"

"Suki was naturally good at everything and the rest of us were always just second best."

The bitterness in her voice surprised him. He stared at Rin for a long moment, studying her face as she took a drink of her wine. "Rin..."

"Anyway," Rin said brightly. "At least we'll arrive in Ba Sing Se tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure you're eager to get back to Suki."

"I am," he said with a soft smile he couldn't help. "We haven't been apart this long in months. Is it pathetic that I miss her, even though it's only been a few days?"

"Yes," Rin said with a teasing smile. "You're pathetic."

"I know," he admitted.

"Are you nervous?"

"About the treaty? No," he said, with a shake of his head. "The Earth King already said that he would agree to the treaty. I think Chuanwei and I finally came to an agreement toward the end there. I think it should all go over great."

But Rin was staring into her wine. "I didn't mean the treaty. I meant... The wedding."

"Oh," Zuko said, sitting forward on his chair. "That? A little."

"You are?" Rin asked quickly, her head coming up. She tucked a loose strand of her dark hair behind her ear and then said in a softer voice. "I mean...that's understandable. It's a big decision."

But Zuko shook his head. "It is, and it isn't. I'm not nervous about getting married. I'm nervous about standing in front of a thousand people and possibly tripping over my own two feet. Or forgetting my vows. Or...I don't know, setting Suki's dress on fire on accident. But marrying Suki? Like, actually being married to Suki? The two of us, together, forever? I'm not nervous about that at all."

Rin smiled behind her glass, but it didn't reach her eyes. "You really love her, huh?"

Zuko couldn't help the smile on his lips or the blush behind his ears. "Yeah."

"It's not every girl who gets an entire island as a gift."

"I guess not. But this isn't just for Suki. It's for all of you. For all of my Kyoshi Warriors."

Rin laughed. "Careful calling us yours. That's how rumors get started. You know, they were saying for months that you took one of your Warriors to bed every night of the week."

Zuko laughed but felt his face heating up. "Where would I even find the time or the energy for that? Every night? A man has to sleep sometime."

But Rin tipped her glass at him. "That's not how Suki tells it."

His face flamed. "And just what has Suki said?"

Rin grinned salaciously. "Just enough to make me wish those rumors were true."

He laughed a little and then took another drink. The wine was rich and it was going straight to his head. Or maybe that was just the blush behind his ears. He could feel Rin's eyes on him, and for some reason, he suddenly felt incredibly nervous. Like something was going on that he couldn't quite grasp yet.

"Uh...you do?"

"Mmmhmm," she intoned, as he felt his stomach tighten. His mouth felt dry, so he took another drink, which did not help.

"Uh, thanks, I guess."

"You know, I think you're a really great guy, Zuko."

"You're great too."

"I think you're really sweet."

"Really?" he said, feeling warm all of a sudden. He swallowed, feeling heat climb up his neck. "Most people think I'm an asshole."

"They're wrong."

"Uh...thanks..." he trailed off. He was starting to sweat. "Is it warm in here?"

"So...I was thinking..." Rin started, but there was a knock on the door. Zuko launched himself out of his chair and answered it immediately, revealing Chuanwei on the other side.

"Governor! Hi," Zuko said quickly, glancing back at Rin, who had stood, her lips pressed into a thin line. "What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to speak to Rin, but she wasn't in her room," Chuanwei said, her eyes flicking to Rin and back to Zuko. "I was passing by your room, Fire Lord Zuko, and thought I heard her voice."

Zuko swallowed. There had been a sharp rebuke in her voice and it slapped Zuko right across the face. "We were talking. Just talking."

Chuanwei's brow arched. "Oh, I'm sure. Rin?"

"What did you need, Governor?" Rin said in a steely voice. Chuanwei smiled, tight-lipped, and knowing. She glanced at Zuko, and then back at Rin.

"I think it can wait until morning," Chuanwei said. "We're getting an early start. You should probably head to bed. The both of you."

Rin put down her glass of wine and mumbled something Zuko didn't catch. She slumped past Zuko and out into the hallway, pushing past Chuanwei.

"Goodnight, Zuko."

"Uh...goodnight," he said and then watched as she crossed the hallway and entered her room. She slammed the door behind her, leaving him standing there with Chuanwei. "Governor."

"You're welcome," Chuanwei said pointedly, and then marched down the hallway to her room, leaving him in the doorway with the taste of wine in his mouth.

"The hell just happened?" he mumbled to himself, stepping back into the room.

He slowly closed the door behind him. Then he threw the lock for good measure. He found himself staring at Rin's glass on the table, and the half-finished bottle of wine. His brows drew down low for a long moment. Then his eyes widened as realization came over him.

"OH!"

Sokka's pulse raced as he followed the Master into his carriage. The smell of the docks clung to his sweaty skin and he sat there, his nerves jangling, and his hand twitching, aching to grab the knife out of his boot and demand answers from the man before him.

Kubra sat beside him on the plush carriage seat and glanced at him with distrust in his eyes as the driver guided the ostrich horses pulling the carriage through the narrow, rutted streets.

He wanted to ask the Master who had given him the Phoenix Fire, but he didn't know how to do ask without making the man suspicious. He couldn't act like he was fishing for the information. Sweat rolled down his back, the Master's words ringing in his ears.

All he could really think about was Azula. If she was in danger...

He swallowed and clenched his hands in his lap, wondering how he could get the Master alone. He'd beat the answers out of him if he had to... His cover meant nothing, not if keeping it meant that Azula was put in harm's way.

If they touch her, I'll fucking kill them all, he thought, glaring at the Master, unable to stop himself. The Master didn't notice, however. He was talking to Kubra, laughing at something Sokka hadn't been listening to. They looked like they hadn't a care in the world like they were kings on their way to a party.

Like they hadn't just sent an assassin to kill him. Like they didn't care that Azula was in danger.

Sokka's mind whirred. Someone had hired the Master to assassinate him. Clearly the Master didn't know that he, Sokka, was undercover as the fighter named Ran. He tried to put as many of the puzzle pieces together as the carriage swayed around them, but there was too much he didn't know.

He had no idea who would hire the Master to kill him, other than the Smoke Demons, or what was left of them. The assassin on Air Temple Island hadn't had the black flame tattoo, but that made sense; he hadn't been a Smoke Demon. He'd been one of the Master's hired goons. Hired by a Smoke Demon? Or someone else?

But why would a hired goon have a poison pill? A hitman for a mobster wasn't likely to commit suicide if they botched their mission; they'd just cut and run if the attempt failed. One of the Smoke Demons might have killed themselves rather than fail their mission, however, which was why he'd suspected them in the first place.

It didn't make sense.

And there was the Phoenix Fire. Was the symbol on the barrels connected to Ozai, who had declared himself the Phoenix King nearly a decade ago? Or was it simply a coincidence?

Sokka didn't believe in coincidence, though. Seeing that symbol had run shivers of dread up his spine. Ozai was still in prison, rotting in a lonely cell in the Fire Nation under heavy guard the last he'd heard. A rebellion was unlikely to be coming from him, but he couldn't rule it out.

He thought about the Phoenix Fire, the way it had sparkled in the blue light of the glow worms. He thought about Rinchaka Falls.

One barrel.

One barrel had destroyed the town, burned it to ashes in front of his disbelieving eyes. That explosion had nearly killed him and Azula. Lord Kun had four barrels. The Master had one. And whoever was making the Phoenix Fire likely had countless barrels...

With just a few barrels someone could take down an entire city. An entire Nation. The world.

Sokka swallowed, a sour taste of fear in his mouth. The thought of what someone could do with the Phoenix Fire filled him with terror. No wonder some Fire Lord had seen the danger in it centuries ago and had all of the recipes destroyed and the remaining barrels sunk into the ocean. A weapon like that was too dangerous.

But somehow the recipe had survived if someone was making new batches of the stuff. The Master had said that the Fire Sages had made it in the past. Were they still making it? Had they kept the knowledge of Phoenix Fire secret all these long years?

Sokka thought hard. Mai had heard some things about the Fire Sages being involved with the Smoke Demons somehow. He and Azula had burned down a two-thousand-year-old Fire Sage temple in the mountains, for reasons they had never been given. They had been forced to do a lot of things, with zero explanation, in order to maintain their cover.

Sokka had regretted burning the temple, sure that irreplaceable history was burning to the ground at his hands. Azula had felt the same way, but they'd had no choice at the time. They'd set it aflame and watched the blaze from a distance.

Had that incident had anything to do with the Phoenix Fire? Were the Fire Sages responsible?

He wanted to ask the Master. He wanted to grab him by the throat and demand answers, but he couldn't. Not without risking everything.

He was going to have to play this right.

They reached the Master's mansion, and as he was climbing out of the carriage, the Master clapped him on the shoulder.

"I know you have a lot of questions, Ran."

"You could say that," he said honestly. "I feel like I don't really know what the hell is going on right now."

"All in good time. I promise. All in good time. Now, it's been a long night. Why don't you avail yourself of the joys of the Red Petals?"

He forced a smile onto his lips. "I could definitely stand to see Tsubaki for a few hours."

The Master laughed and thumped him on the chest. "Don't wear yourself out. I want you back here bright and early in the morning for training with Li Wei. I want you to beat Lord Kun's man for me."

"I will."

"You'd better."

With that warning in his ear, Sokka took off for the House of Red Petals, his fear riding hard in his throat. By the time he got to the brothel, he was sweating again, and it had nothing to do with the heat still clinging to the city like a thick blanket. The bouncer waved him into the Red Petals, and he immediately entered, scanning the room for Mai.

He finally found her serving tea to a group of men who ignored her in favor of two women wearing roses in their hair. Mai was unobtrusively serving the tea. No wonder she had been getting away with spying on people for months now. Not a single person in the room even looked her in the eyes.

Mai looked up and met his eyes and he saw the bland expression on her painted face change into a soft smile. She put down her porcelain teapot and rushed over to him.

He was surprised when she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a soft, questing kiss. He broke, however, wrapping his hands around her waist and holding on tightly. It was as much fear as it was desire, and he found himself sinking his hands into her hair, pulling her against him with a crushing force. Mai didn't seem to mind, her hands caressing the back of his neck and running shivers down his spine.

When they pulled apart, he tried not to let the mounting terror in him show, but he couldn't help the ragged breath that left him. He put his forehead against hers and breathed in the scent of her perfume.

"Miss me?"

"No," Mai said dismissively. "Just acting the part of a lovesick young waif."

He smirked a little. "You're not that good an actress."

"Yes, I am," she said huskily, her dark eyes glittering beneath her bangs. Sokka started to reply, but he heard someone clear their throat and turned his head to see Sakura, the mistress of the Red Petals, standing there watching them with narrowed eyes.

"Tsubaki, I see your gentleman has come calling. You may have the rest of the night free from your duties."

"Thank you, Mistress," Mai said, bowing at her. Then she grabbed Sokka's hand and tugged him toward the stairs. He glanced back at Sakura, and she lifted two fingers to her eyes, then pointed at him. It was a clear warning that she was watching him. Clearly, she still didn't trust him.

Sokka didn't blame her. He wouldn't have trusted Ran either.

The moment Mai pulled him into the room, she turned on him, watching as he closed and locked the door. Her posture changed and she drew herself up, her arms crossing over her chest.

"What's wrong?" she said shrewdly, her eyes flicking over his face. He knew that she could see the fear in his eyes. He didn't bother to hide it. Not from her.

"Everything," he said, and then launched into what had happened that day, including meeting with Toph. By the time he was done, they were both sitting on the bed. Mai only spoke to ask questions, but otherwise, she just listened, her face a blank mask.

"Shit," she said in a monotone voice when he finished.

"Yeah," he said, hanging his head. "Shit."

"I know what you're thinking, so just say it," she said softly, not looking at him. He glanced at her and then down at the floor.

"I have to go. I have to go to Ba Sing Se. Tonight. Azula's in danger. Lord Kun was hired to kill her. I can't let that happen. If something happens to her, I..." But the words stopped in his throat. He got up and started pacing the floor.

Mai glanced at him and then down at her hands. He knew that she was thinking the same thing that he was, but he didn't want to say it.

Finally, Mai said, "If you leave, then it's all over. The Master...your cover is blown. Rinchaka Falls...whoever is making the Phoenix Fire...who hired Lord Kun to go after Azula... Ran's dead. You can't come back from this. Just disappearing...the Master will never let you in again. He'll put a hit out on you."

Sokka paced back and forth. Mai had said exactly what Sokka already knew, but hearing it out loud made it that much worse.

"So what? I know what happened in Rinchaka Falls now. It was Phoenix Flame. That's what I was after."

But he knew that wasn't true. Rinchaka Falls was only part of it.

"How did the Phoenix Fire get there and why?" Mai said. Sokka stopped pacing. "What about the Fire Sages? What about who hired Lord Kun and the Master? There's still so much we don't know."

Sokka hung his head, feeling exhaustion clinging to him.

"The Master has the answers," he said, even though he didn't want to. He felt sick. No matter what he chose, it would be the wrong decision and he knew it.

"He does."

Sokka turned to face Mai. She was staring at her hands again, worrying her fingers together. Staring at her, he thought of Azula so far away in Ba Sing Se. She was in danger. She may already have been attacked. He knew that she could handle herself, but leaving her in danger, doing nothing... He couldn't stomach the thought. He had to protect her, no matter what.

He knew what he had to do.

"I have to kill the Master. He already tried to kill me. Only seems fair I kill him right back."

Mai stood and came over to him. "He's got too many bodyguards, Sokka."

But his mind was galloping like a rhino lizard, his pulse racing as he realized what he had to do. He shook his head and grasped Mai's shoulders.

"I can get him alone. I can get my answers. He knows everything. Who is making the Phoenix Fire, who is behind all of this... The Master knows, Mai. I'll beat it out of him, and then I'll kill him. And then I'll stop Lord Kun from going after Azula. And I'll kill him too if I have to."

"You're going to get yourself killed."

"Probably."

Mai stared at him for a long moment, fear in her eyes. "You can't do it alone, Sokka."

He knew what she was saying, but he shook his head. "No. I'm not putting you in danger."

Mai rolled her eyes. "As if I'm giving you a choice. I'm the most skilled assassin you know. You need me."

"No, I need you to go to Ba Sing Se and protect Azula."

But Mai slammed her hands into his shoulders, knocking him back a step. "We've been in this together since the beginning. I'm not leaving you now! You mean too much to me, Sokka!"

"Why do you think I don't want you anywhere near this shit? I need to know that you're safe."

"No, you need to know that Azula is safe," Mai said in a scathing voice. "She's all you care about."

Sokka went still, staring at her. He could see the hurt in her eyes. "Mai..."

He reached for her, but she backed up a step, swiping at her eyes with her sleeves, smearing her paint a little.

"Don't. I'm not leaving you. If you get killed I'll never forgive myself, so stop asking."

"What about Azula?"

"We'll save Azula," Mai said firmly. "All we need is twenty-four hours. Twenty-four, and then we'll both go to Ba Sing Se."

"You think we can do this in one day?"

Mai's lips pulled up at the corners. She surged forward and slammed a hot, hard kiss to his lips. She pulled back quickly, however, and her expression was bloodthirsty and determined.

"I have no doubt."

"There's just one problem with your plan," a voice said from behind them. Sokka's heart leaped and he whirled, putting himself between Mai and the wall, which swung outward, revealing a dark, narrow gap in the walls and the man standing there, smiling at them with glee in his shrewd eyes.

Mai gasped as Sokka's stomach dropped to the floor.

"Kubra."