Chapter 98: The Power Behind The Throne

Time passed. The gang lived and existed and built something approaching a life and routine within the confining walls of Ba Sing Se's Upper Ring.

Zuko's time was spent mostly with his Uncle, relearning what he once knew and breaking new ground with his Firebending. As he trained alongside the former General, he noticed that katas he once struggled with came much easier, more fluidly. Concepts that eluded him as a 13-year-old made so much more sense. His Fire burned hotter and brighter than ever; and, where once it felt like the flames were fighting him, now they fought with him.

Toph and Katara continued to drill Aang in his Earth and Waterbending, ensuring that he had the skill and confidence of a master.

In their downtime, Katara began cooking for pleasure rather than necessity; she discovered a love of baking, a hobby that Aang did his utmost to encourage. She'd also begun reading in her leisure time, a pastime that had never been available to her in the South Pole; whilst no one in her Tribe was illiterate, not by a long stretch, there were usually more pressing concerns than whether Wu-Ya was secretly an assassin or not, or if Ta-Shin would get together with Ning. Not to mention that the South Pole was lacking a properly stocked library; a fact that Sokka had announced that he intended to rectify as soon as they returned home. Now though, Katara had the time, and the books, available to her and she was taking full advantage.

Toph continued her own experimentation with her element, often sitting in on Zuko's Firebending lessons with Iroh. The old man was an endless fount of knowledge regarding bending and she was soaking up as much of that insight as she could. She was on the verge of a breakthrough; she could feel it.

Aang, of course, was on the receiving end of training in Water and Earthbending. He also devoted a little time each day to meditate and to practice his Airbending. Just because he was a master, that didn't mean he could allow his skills to become rusty. He also spent a lot of time wandering the city, putting up posters about Appa, asking people about the bison. He spent a lot of time at the zoo he helped build; Kenji, the zookeeper, had become a good friend and a source of knowledge and wisdom. Though, his wisdom tended to be animal-related.

Sokka kept his mind focused on the battle to come, the invasion of the Fire Nation Capital. However, he also became acquainted with Ba Sing Se's mail service, particularly its message routes that stretched beyond the city's walls and all the way to Full Moon Bay. Suki, he discovered, had beautiful handwriting.

None of them had lost sight of their objectives; finding Appa, making contact with the Earth King, and preparing for the invasion. However, they had realised that they had time to plan and to be careful and prepared. It was something they'd seldom had while travelling, time. It had always seemed like they were rushing from one battle into the next.

Their time of peace and preparation ended, though, when Katara read the newspaper one morning as the gang ate their breakfast. Zuko was outside, training with Iroh.

She gasped loudly. She slammed the paper down on the kitchen table, rattling the plates and bowls. Sokka yelped as his breakfast nearly escaped the plate.

"Katara!"

"I've got it!" she cried. "I know how we're going to see the Earth King."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Toph asked. Her voice turned mocking as she impersonated Joo Dee. "'One doesn't just pop in on the Earth King!'"

Katara pointed a finger at the newspaper. "It says here that the Earth King is having a party at the palace, tonight, to celebrate the birthday of his pet bear."

Aang frowned. "You mean, his platypus bear?"

"No, it just says bear."

"Certainly you mean his pet skunk bear?" Sokka said, leaning closer.

"Or his armadillo bear?" Toph suggested.

Aang threw out, "Gopher bear?"

Katara shook her head. "Just… bear."

Toph shook her head as well. "This place is weird."

Katara steered them back on track. "The palace will be packed with people. We can sneak in with the crowd and get close to the Earth King."

Toph sighed and went back to her breakfast. "Won't work."

The Waterbender frowned at her. "Why not?"

"No offense to you simple country folk," Toph said. "but a real society crowd will spot you a mile away. You've got no manners!"

The little Earthbender grabbed a pastry from a bowl and began tearing into it.

Katara's frown deepened. "Excuse me? I have no manners. You're not exactly 'lady fancy fingers'."

Toph belched loudly. "I learned proper society behaviour and chose to leave it behind. You never learned anything. And, frankly, it's a little too late."

"Aha!" Sokka exclaimed. "You learned it, which means you can teach us!"

Aang said, "Yeah, I mean, I'm learning every element. How hard can manners be?"

The Airbender grabbed a nearby curtain and threw it around his shoulders like a nobleman's cloak.

His voice became pompous as he exclaimed, "Good evening, Mr Sokka Water Tribe, Ms Katara Water Tribe, Lord Momo of the Momo Dynasty. Your Momo-ness."

Sokka was quick to join in, grabbing his own length of curtain and donning it. "Avatar Aang! How do you do? Go on."

Aang bows deeply and Sokka copies, leading to them eventually headbutting one another and falling to the floor.

"Ow!"

Toph just shook her head. "Katara might be able to pull it off, but you two would be lucky to pass as busboys."

"But I feel so fancy!"


Zuko's training session with Iroh ended and the two Firebenders entered the house, finding it empty.

Zuko frowned. He turned to his Uncle and remarked, "Wonder where they went."

Iroh spotted a note on the kitchen table and picked it up, passing to Zuko.

The younger Firebender skimmed through it. He muttered parts of it aloud, "'Gone to Middle Ring'… 'Need fancy outfits'… 'Earth King'… Oh, Spirits."

The last part was said as a curse.

"Nephew?" Iroh queried with a raised eyebrow.

Zuko paused. He'd agreed not to share their plans for invasion with his Uncle, though he did so reluctantly. Sokka, in particular, felt that they should wait and see whether the former General could be trusted.

'Screw it', Zuko thought. If there was anyone in his life that he could trust, it was Iroh.

He told the older Firebender everything; about the eclipse, the invasion plan, and the GAang's attempts to get an audience with the Earth King. Iroh remained quiet, stroking his beard as his Nephew spoke.

When Zuko finished Iroh remarked, "A good plan, my Nephew, though it will require some tweaking, especially with regards the Earth King."

Zuko eyed his Uncle. "What do you mean?"

Iroh sighed and gestured for Zuko to sit at the kitchen table. Zuko sat, Iroh opposite him.

The Dragon of the West sighed slightly. "It is time I explain, in full, the reason for my being here."

"You're here looking for an old friend, right?"

Iroh nodded. "That is true, in part. Her name is Gya, Master Gya. A powerful Earthbender, one that I have known for many years now."

Zuko frowned. "How… You've been friends with an Earthbender for years? But, the War?"

Iroh nodded again. "Yes, indeed, the War. Even before I abandoned the Siege, I had been having… doubts. In truth, ever since Lu Ten's birth, I wondered about the morality of what we were doing.

"For years, I campaigned across the Earth Kingdom, at my father's behest; continuing Sozin's plans and implementing his vision for the future. I encountered many people during that time, mostly as enemies. Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe. I found them to be… a great manner of things that my upbringing did not prepare me for.

"Kind, honourable, intelligent. The equal, and in some cases, superior to many Firebenders I knew."

Iroh paused. Then he continued, "Through an unusual turn of events, I found myself a part of a… club, of sorts. An Order. One devoted to the beauty in the world; poetry, philosophy, art, Pai Sho, and, of course, tea. They called themselves the Order of the White Lotus."

Something about the phrase 'white lotus' resonated in Zuko's head. An image of a set of gates, engraved with the design, appeared in his mind.

He breathed, "Piandao…"

Iroh's head shot up. "You know of Piandao's involvement?"

Zuko shook his head, mind still reeling and scrambling to catch up. "N-no. But… his house… When I was his student, his gates were engraved with the image found on the White Lotus Tile in Pai Sho. I always found it odd. I asked him about it once and he said…"

Zuko frowned. He said hesitantly, "He said that the Way of the Sword belonged to all nations, all peoples, and that it was important to remember that. He said that the lotus did that for him. I never knew what he meant."

Iroh nodded, understanding. "Master Piandao has been an active member of the Order for a while now, since his leaving the Fire Army. We have members from all of the remaining nations; and, before the purge, we had a great many Airbenders as well, if the records are to be believed."

Zuko, still trying to catch up, said, "So… this Master Gya…?"

Iroh nodded. "Master Gya was a high-ranking member of the Order. She ran the Ba Sing Se Chapter. She has been missing for some time now, and I came to Ba Sing Se to investigate."

They were straying back into territory that felt familiar to Zuko. He'd worked missing persons cases before, hunted bounties. He knew about finding people.

He asked, "What did you find out?"

Iroh sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Not much. Her apartment had been emptied and sold, her possessions given away. Other members of the Order here also disappeared in the same manner. The only sure thing is that the Dai Li were involved."

Zuko frowned, but nodded. "I've noticed that they move in shadows a lot. Underhanded dealings with criminal types. Not the sorts of things that keepers of culture and heritage should be doing."

Iroh replied, "What's more, where they should answer only to the Earth King, I have reason to believe that they take orders from another. Someone within the Earth King's Court."

Zuko's brow furrowed. "That would make the Earth King…"

"A puppet, yes. A figurehead."

Zuko's mind returned to a state of reeling. "I have to tell the others. They don't know what they're walking into."

Iroh nodded in agreement. "To sneak into the palace would be risky at the best of times. Given the situation? It would be to court imprisonment or, perhaps, worse."


To Zuko's annoyance, the GAang ignored his concerns.

Well, he conceded internally. They didn't ignore them, so much as decide that they were minimal and based on rumour.

Sokka said, "Look, maybe they don't answer to the Earth King; so what? This might be our only shot to talk to him and we need to take it. Are you in or out?"

Zuko sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "In. Of course I'm in. I've got your backs, but this is a mistake."

Sokka nodded. "Maybe, but it's a chance we need to take. This risk could be what wins us the war, you know. I think that's worth it."

Iroh had left before the others arrived, citing that he had plans with a 'friend' that evening that he needed to prepare for. He'd winked when he said the word 'friend', causing immense exasperation and embarrassment within Zuko. With the old man gone, his concerns seemed… so much less, especially in the light of Sokka's argument.

He nodded. "You're right, I know you are. I can't go in there, though. You know that, right?"

Sokka nodded back. "I figured, yeah. Might not go too well if someone recognised the former Prince of the Fire Nation. Or even that you were Fire Nation at all."

Zuko replied, "We're lucky that no one has noticed yet, or if they have they've just wrote me off as a Colony kid. No way I'd get away with it in the Earth King's Palace."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Katara wasn't happy about leaving you out, but she gets it. Can't say I'm happy either; you'd be really useful sneaking in."

Zuko sighed. "Like I said, I'll try and have your back from the outside. If something goes wrong… cause a huge disturbance or something? I'll be on the other side of the Palace walls, keeping watch."

Sokka nodded, smiling. "Sounds like a plan to me."


Zuko was not happy with the plan. Not at all. For the record, neither were the others. And yet, for some reason that was beyond the Firebender's understanding, they all went ahead with it.

Katara and Toph had dressed in an array of finery that they had acquired from various Middle Ring boutiques, using money from the modest stipend that the Earth King's government had allocated them, and they had departed for the Palace. Zuko had found it difficult to look away from Katara; he noted, though, that Aang seemed to have the same problem.

Sokka and Aang had left not long behind the girls, determined to sneak in through the kitchens without Toph and Katara's assistance. Zuko remained behind, though he wouldn't be long after them.

He changed from his day clothes into the outfit he reserved for the Blue Spirit's nightly activities.

An all-black outfit, close fitting, with pockets and sheaths for various weapons and pieces of equipment. His Dao swords were strapped to his back, his dagger was at his right hip and he sheathed three throwing knives at the small of his back. He left the mask off as he eyed his armour.

Typically, he only wore the armour during the day, as "Lee". The Blue Spirit was a shadow, a ghost. Stealth was key. His armour, while light and minimal, would slow him down, make him more noticeable. However, he had a bad feeling. He strapped on the arm guards, the thigh guard on his left leg, the pauldron on his right shoulder, and finally his breastplate.

His eye drifted to the mask.

He'd repaired it as best he could after rescuing Aang from Pohuai Stronghold, though it was still battered and chipped, the paintwork damaged. However, it was still clearly the mask of the Blue Spirit.

He picked it up, tracing his fingers across the wood.

He dropped it again at the sound of knocking at the front door. Zuko walked over and opened it.

"Uncle." He said, surprised. "I thought you had 'plans'."

He shuddered at the thought of his Uncle's implied plans. He gestured the man inside, locking the door behind him.

Iroh grinned briefly and nodded. "I did, but sadly they fell through. Plus, I had a feeling that I would be needed here."

Iroh's smile faded as he took in the empty house. "Your friends went ahead with their plan, I take it."

Zuko sighed and nodded. "They figured it was their best chance of talking to the Earth King."

Iroh nodded as well. "They are probably correct. However, as I said, the King is but a puppet."

"A puppet with a lot of power though. Potentially."

Iroh conceded the point. "What is your part in the plan, Nephew?"

Zuko sighed again. "Backup. Too much chance a noble might recognise my face. Even if they don't, I don't exactly look high society anymore."

Iroh grimaced at that comment but overlooked it. "You were wise to think so, Nephew. Are you needed at the Palace now?"

Zuko shrugged. "Yeah, soon. They've got a head start on me."

Iroh nodded again. "Then I will not delay you. But Zuko?"

"Yeah, Uncle?"

The older man met his Nephew's gaze, gold meeting gold. "Be careful. There are forces moving in this city, manipulating events from the shadows. And there is a change coming; a change in the city, and in the world. I can feel it."

Zuko nodded, a cold pit in his stomach. He picked up his mask and walked out, trusting his Uncle to lock up the house behind him.