Chapter 36
"About time you got here..." Zuko looked up from the reports in front of him on his desk, regarding the arrivals to his study. He then blinked, surprised to see that only one of his loyal bodyguards had graced him with her presence. "Ty Lee, where's Suki? I specifically asked both of you to attend."
"Uh, sorry, Zuko... she's running a little late," Ty Lee gave him an apologetic bow. "She was reading some of those dusty old tomes that the Fire Sages gave us, and then she got really excited after reading something. She said she needed to run down to the archives in the Dragonbone Catacombs and double check something. I'm sure she'll be along shortly."
"Well, it better be important," Zuko grumbled, though truth be told, he couldn't help feeling intrigued. He had learned to trust Suki's instincts, and he knew she wouldn't have run off unless it was important. "Anyway, sit down, don't just stand there, we're not in public," he nodded at Ty Lee, who gratefully accepted his invitation and sat down by the table, regarding him with that sincere wide-eyed, admiring stare.
"So..." Ty Lee began, unable to sit still and quiet for more than a few moments, pointing at the reports in front of him. "We're going to crush those rebels soon, right?"
"I'm trying to do as little crushing as I can," Zuko sighed. "Sometimes I feel I have to fight some of my generals as much as I have to fight the rebels. Too many of them just want to go in there and level the Fire Fountain City with all the rebels and innocent civilians trapped inside."
"You're not letting them to do that... I hope?" Ty Lee appeared pleading.
"Of course not," Zuko smiled at her. "I don't care if it takes more time, but we're going to evacuate as many civilians as possible. Even if that means moving in slowly, taking street after street and block after block. I've made it clear to the generals that I won't tolerate unnecessary loss of life, the last thing we need is to give the rebels the opportunity to paint me as some kind of an oppressive tyrant."
"Pfft, I thought they wanted an oppressive tyrant on the throne," Ty Lee rolled her eyes. "Those guys just don't know what they want anymore. Oh, by the way... any news from Hing Wa? There's this one servant girl who's family is from the island and she's always pestering me about the latest news. The poor thing is really worried..."
"Mhm," Zuko grumbled. "I'm just letting the rebels sit tight there for now. That island is very defensible... if I bring in the army, they'll just butt their heads against those impenetrable rocks. Really, it's almost like trying to storm Ba Sing Se. I think retaking that island will be better left to a smaller infiltration team."
"Sounds like a job for the Kyoshi Warriors!" Ty Lee exclaimed cheerfully.
"Actually... I was thinking that, yes," Zuko admitted. "But not before we manage to deal with that crazy assassin who's probably still out there, waiting for another opportunity to strike. Until we've dealt with her, I need you with me at all times."
"That makes sense," Ty Lee nodded in agreement. Before she could say anything else, the doors to the study opened and in strode Suki, struggling with a pair of big old tomes in her arms, carefully laying them on top of Zuko's desk, but they still released a cloud of dust that spread out through the study and made them all sneeze.
"I hope there's a compelling reason for messing up my study, Suki," Zuko gave the leader of his bodyguards an inquiring stare.
"Sure, just you wait till you see what I've discovered, Zuko," Suki began, flipping open the first of the tomes to a marked page. "There's a passage here that describes an attack on a high standing government official. It was carried out by an assassin that perfectly matches the description of our attacker."
"Let me see," Zuko got up from his seat and walked over to read the relevant passage himself. Suki was right, the description matched perfectly. "Interesting... and wait, this happened early in the reign of Azulon? That's almost eighty years ago."
"She's pretty sprightly for an at least eighty year old lady, wouldn't you say?" Suki remarked. "But that's not all. I went down to the archives in the catacombs to find even older records. And guess what, she shows up there as well!" she exclaimed, opening the yellowed, particularly dusty tome.
Once the dust had settled, Zuko was able to read the passages that Suki had marked, three of them altogether. They all described someone very similar to their assassin. One of the passages even came with a drawing which left no doubt whatsoever, this was the same assassin that had attacked them. "And how old are these records?" Zuko asked.
"Even the Fire Sages struggled to date them, but they believe two of them are from the reign of Zoryu and the third one is even older," Suki explained. "So, they go back more than four hundred years."
"Interesting," Zuko mused thoughtfully. "Someone is really committed to continued use of that disguise."
"Zuko... I know you want to hold on to that explanation, but I think we have to put more weight on the spirit theory," Suki spoke firmly. Zuko's first instinct was to wave her off dismissively, but he thought against it, beckoning her to explain. "It's not just what I discovered in these tomes. We also have to consider other evidence. I mean... you saw the kind of punishment she was able to shrug off before fleeing, right? Iroh blasted her with lightning! That usually kills people outright, doesn't it?"
"Hmm... it's true that she showed abnormal resilience, but that alone doesn't prove she's not human," Zuko shrugged.
"And then there's the dagger," Suki added. Both Zuko and Ty Lee gave her intrigued stares. "I... happened to see On Ji's body as they prepared her for the cremation. The wound on her chest was... weird. I've not seen a weapon that leaves marks like that. The skin around the wound was dark, almost blackened. I know of no dagger or katana capable of doing that, the only explanation I have is that maybe it's some form of spirit world energy?"
"That... that does change things," Zuko was finally forced to relent. "Suki, I could dismiss any of those things on their own, but when all these pieces of evidence are put together, I guess I have to admit... it's most likely that our assassin is not human. I commend you on a job well done, Suki," he smiled at the proudly beaming young woman.
"Thank you, but Ty Lee also deserves some credit, she wouldn't stop with her spirit theory and that kept me going," Suki smiled at her girlfriend.
"Ty Lee deserves not only credit, but also an apology," Zuko said solemnly, bowing deeply to the other girl. "Ty Lee, will you forgive me for so rudely dismissing your opinions earlier?"
"Aww, shucks, Zuko... you don't need to apologize, really," Ty Lee grinned at him, looking happy beyond description. "Besides, it's not like I was completely right, anyway. Sure, it looks like the assassin is a spirit, but they're not a Kemurikage. Looks like they've been killing folks all this time, not stealing children at all."
"Maybe this is what the real Kemurikage are all about," Zuko suggested. "The stories we know about them are pure fiction, invented just to scare children and make them compliant."
"Oooh, that would make a lot of sense!" Ty Lee gasped excitedly. "But now that we know the assassin is a spirit... what can we do?"
Zuko and Suki exchanged uncomfortable glances. "Well... there's only one thing we can really do," Zuko sighed.
"Yes, I agree," Suki nodded. "We need Aang..."
"I am so not looking forward to having to beg for his help..." Zuko shuddered. "But... it is for the good of the Fire Nation, so I guess I'll have to. Ty Lee, please run down to the Minister of Intelligence and shake him down for the last known location of the Avatar."
"Got it, Zuko!" Ty Lee bolted off like a wind.
"Suki, go and bark at whoever's in charge to prepare one of the airships for immediate departure, once Ty Lee gets information from the minister," Zuko ordered.
"Understood," Suki nodded. "Want Ty Lee and myself along for this one? We might be able to convince Aang to help."
"An excellent idea," Zuko smiled at Suki. "I'll see you both on the deck of the airship shortly."
Roughly a day later, the Fire Nation airship carrying Fire Lord Zuko appeared in the skies above Cranefish Town, one of the many former Fire Nation colonies on the western coast of the Earth Kingdom. Zuko remembered that some of the older reports tended to condemn this town as the absolute backwater among the colonies, however, it seemed to have experienced a very rapid growth over the past few years, and judging by the haphazard construction of new buildings, it seemed like it was conducted very chaotically and not under any sort of actual plan.
The appearance of a Fire Nation airship had created an understandable stir among the town's residents, and when the Fire Lord himself appeared from the hold of the airship, it seemed as if veritable chaos would break out in the streets. Fortunately, people seemed to calm down once Zuko and his entourage had explained that they were here to seek audience with the Avatar. Zuko was relieved to hear that Aang was indeed present at Cranefish Town, and a small crowd of his admirers then took it upon themselves to show him the way to the city hall where Aang was apparently in a meeting with someone.
Inside the city hall, Zuko, Suki and Ty Lee were made to wait for what seemed like an excessive amount of time until Aang was finally free to see them. The Avatar emerged from one of the rooms together with an elderly man with a thin rat tail moustache and a kind expression on his face, the two of them chatting amiably. Zuko couldn't help feeling as if Aang was doing his best to pretend not to see him, but he would have none of it, purposefully approaching the pair, Suki and Ty Lee in tow.
"Fire Lord Zuko!" the elderly man immediately recognized him. "What pleasure to have such an esteemed guest to our humble town!" he gushed. Aang seemed to be a little annoyed about the praise heaped upon Zuko.
"Lao Beifong, meet Fire Lord Zuko," Aang reluctantly made the introduction.
"Beifong, any relation?" Zuko wondered.
"Toph is my daughter," Lao nodded. "Our relationship might be rocky, but I could not be more proud of the greatest earthbender of all time. And the greatest metalbender as well, how about that?"
"Yes, she's certainly very impressive," Zuko agreed, starting to get a little impatient. Lao Beifong seemed like an amiable enough man, but he was here to help the Fire Nation, and for that he needed to speak with Aang. "I apologize for being curt, Master Beifong, but I have traveled a long way seeking the Avatar's counsel. Would you be so kind to excuse us?"
"Oh, most certainly, most certainly, I'm sure the Avatar will be able to help you just as he was able to aid our town with its dire problem," Lao bowed deeply and backed away, leaving Zuko and his small group facing Aang in an empty corridor of the city hall.
"What did you help them with, Aang?" Suki asked with a smile on her lips, trying to break the ice.
"They had problems with a group of bending supremacists led by this awful businesswoman Liling, trying to oppress the non-benders of this town," Aang explained impassively.
"I bet you sorted them out real good," Ty Lee gushed, throwing some mock punches at an imaginary enemy.
"Yes, and then I took away Liling's bending so that nobody else gets this idea that the benders are somehow superior to non-benders," Aang explained with such chilling indifference that it made Zuko's blood freeze in his veins.
"Charming," Zuko muttered under his breath. "Listen, Aang, I know you're not exactly excited to see me," he began awkwardly.
"No kidding," Aang shrugged at him. "What do you want?"
"Well... as awkward as that might be, I need your help," Zuko sighed.
"What with?" Aang looked taken aback with surprise.
"With something you have unique skills for and that nobody else can help with," Zuko explained. "There's an assassin loose in the Fire Nation capital and it has already made two attempts on mine and Katara's lives." Aang winced visibly at the mention of Katara's name, and Zuko briefly wondered if he had made a mistake by mentioning her. "On their second attempt, the assassin killed one of my bodyguards, a friend to Suki and Ty Lee," he pointed at the two solemn figures by his side.
"I'm sorry to hear that, but why do you think this assassin is a spirit?" Aang wondered.
"There are many signs pointing to that," Suki cut in, eager to explain her theory. "She seems to have inhuman strength and is able to shrug off attacks that would cause serious injuries to most people. Also, we found records that someone matching her description has been killing people more than four hundred years ago. And finally, the wounds left by her weapon are strange, they leave the skin charred, blackened, unlike any other weapon I've seen."
"Hmm... you've done your homework well, Suki," Aang nodded approvingly. "Yes, that sure sounds like a spirit." He then seemed to think about something. "Wait, Katara isn't with you? Did you leave her behind in the Fire Nation with this assassin lurking around?"
"Don't worry, she's not in the Fire Nation," Zuko shook his head.
"Well, if she's not in the Fire Nation, and she's not here with you, where is she then?" Aang pressed.
"She's staying in Ba Sing Se for a while," Zuko ground out reluctantly, starting to become frustrated. "Now, are you going to help or not? It's really important... this spirit stuff is something you're supposed to be helping out with, right?"
"I should be able to help, but right now I'm a little busy," Aang replied evasively, his thoughts seemingly elsewhere already. "There are some things I need to take care of first, and maybe afterwards I can help you," he added, swiftly turning around and walking away without offering any other explanation.
"Wait, are you serious?" Zuko called after him, swiftly becoming incensed. "Is he serious? Where does he think he's going?"
"Uh, Zuko... it's pretty clear he'll be going to Ba Sing Se," Suki said, shaking her head. "Why did you tell him that Katara is there, alone?"
"...because I'm an idiot?" Zuko groaned, slapping a palm against his forehead.
"Wait... are you saying that instead of helping with our spirit assassin, he's going to chase after Katara instead?" Ty Lee stated incredulously. "Whoa... that's low! The Avatar is no hero!" she shouted aloud to make sure everyone in the city hall heard her. "The Avatar is nothing but a jerk!"
"Settle down, Ty Lee, let's not make a scene," Suki shushed her girlfriend. "What are we going to do now, Zuko? Follow Aang to Ba Sing Se and try to talk some sense into him?"
"I'm... not sure that's a good idea," Zuko sighed. "Listen... despite that Katara and I are going through a rough patch, I believe in her. I don't know what Aang hopes to achieve, but I have to believe that it's not going to work. Katara will do the right thing, for us and for the Fire Nation."
"You know what... I think you're right, Zuko," Suki smiled encouragingly. "Katara has never let you down, and she never will."
"I think it's really sweet that you trust her like that," Ty Lee echoed Suki's sentiments. "And I agree... she loves you and she loves the Fire Nation now. Whatever Aang might be hoping for, she's going to dash his hopes."
"Thanks, both of you," Zuko smiled, allowing the two girls to briefly hug him in the empty corridor. "I know you're right. And I know that Katara will never let me down." Despite some small sliver of doubt still persisting, Zuko felt himself filled with a strange surge of confidence. If Aang truly hoped that he could win Katara back, Zuko was more certain than ever that the Avatar would be sorely disappointed.
