The Return

by tubendo

The ice of the South Pole hides many things, and when Azula and Sokka are confronted by something far greater than themselves, the strength of their relationship is tested, and the Princess has to decide whose path she will follow: the path of her father or the path of freedom. (Sequel to Into The Fire)

22. Chapter 22

Wrapping the bandage around Ty Lee's arm, Sokka couldn't help but feel sorry for her; she had gotten beaten up, cut by swords, grazed by firebending and held hostage for the sake of capturing Azula, and she was stomaching the pain and aches, all while they had continued travelling back to their base. So, when they set up camp, he offered to help her tend to his wounds, knowing she deserved to at the very least have a little help; she seemed to appreciate it, though that was masked by the grimace on her face as he reapplied her bandages.

"Sorry." he simply told her, before continuing to wrap the bandage around, tying it up to make sure it stayed in place when she moved around.

"You don't need to apologise, Sokka." she assured him, "This isn't your fault."

"No, I know, but you didn't deserve this." he stressed, which made her chuckle.

"So does somebody deserve it?"

"I don't know." he admitted honestly, before glancing away from her, wondering who truly deserved to suffer; the only person who came to mind was the man responsible for his mother's death, but he pushed that thought away, knowing that it was just going to make him needlessly angry.

"Sokka?" she addressed him, sounding a little bit concerned by the long silence.

"Sorry, I was just... nevermind." he raised his hand and shook it, knowing he didn't want to discuss those kinds of things with her, "Okay, are there any other injuries you've got that need to be treated?"

"No, I think that's it." she admitted, "I mean, I've got a few bruises, but I'm sure you do too." she noted, the Water Tribe teen nodding before he rose up to his feet, glancing about the campsite; the sun was already low in the sky, and he was sure they were going to have dinner sooner or later- the campfire had already been lit, and tents were being set up before his eyes.

"I guess it's dinner time." he acknowledged, before turning his eyes back down to Ty Lee, "Uh, so, are you going to come with me to find Azula, or are you going to go flirt with the guards?"

She snickered, and raised her hands up to verbally defend herself from his claims, "I never said I was going to flirt with anybody."

"You're an injured girl. If that doesn't get you the pity points, I don't know what will." he noted, making her rise up to her feet with a confident glare.

"I'll have you know that I can attract anybody with no need for pity." she declared defiantly, making him scoff.

"Oh, okay, so you're not going to flirt?" he questioned her once more, the Fire Nation girl crossing her arms.

"No, no, I'll go with you, and make sure Azula's so awkward that there's no chance she'll even touch your hand." she declared, "How does that make you feel, Mister Tough Warrior?" she asked, the Water Tribe teen cringing.

"Well, I'm not trying to get all like that with Azula." he assured her, "I'm just thinking about what we might eat, and then, maybe, what she might have to say about what happened today." he explained, the acrobat's confident expression fading as she recalled what happened.

"That was... a lot of eyes." she admitted, before stepping closer toward him, her expression growing nervous, "What is she going to do to Zuko?"

"I don't know." he admitted, before wincing, imagining what she might be intending, "But I know it won't be a nice experience."

Ty Lee stepped even closer, momentarily eyeing the guards, before she turned her gaze back toward her, "We can't... we can't let this get out of hand."

"I mean, I can't say I agree with what she did, but those guys were hunting her down." he acknowledged the justification Azula had for her rather horrific punishment, before he sighed, "But I know what you mean. Pakku... Pakku was right, the damn arsehole." he snarled, recalling what the snide and cocky waterbending master had told him- that he was blinded by his love for Azula; such a proposition seemed absurd at the time, but now that he had quite recently witnessed the ruthlessness and antipathy she was capable of, he understood there was truth to those words.

"Pakku..." she mumbled, "That's Aang and Katara's waterbending master, right?"

"Yeah." he nodded, "He's a dick, but he's not stupid." he admitted, before sighing, knowing that he'd have to address matters with his girlfriend, sooner or later; he could just deny it, and keep calling her great and noble, but he knew that was just a way to deflect away from the serious flaws she had as an individual.

"Do you need to talk with Azula about stuff?" she asked him, the Water Tribesman nodding.

"Yeah, but I can do it later. Let's just find her and go eat something." he decided, the acrobat nodding, and following after him as he made his way into the campsite, intent on finding Azula, unsure what state of mind she'd be in; possibly still angry over what had happened to them, or perhaps just tired and frustrated, which would describe his own state of mind quite well.

They made their way over toward the campfire, and Sokka noted the guards were sitting around it, chatting amongst themselves, though he missed the context of their conversation; they turned their heads up to look their way, and their grimaces marked the sympathy they held for Ty Lee, given what had happened to her.

"Are you alright?" Yi asked the acrobat, who nodded.

"Uh, yeah, I'm good." she assured him, though the Water Tribesman couldn't be sure she was telling the truth; she definitely seemed like the kind of person to disguise her problems with wide smiles and a cheery attitude, "Do any of you know where Azula is?"

"Uh, I think she went down to the stream to get some water." the Captain clarified, the pair nodding before they began to pace off in the direction of the stream, which was pretty easy to locate, given the sound the flowing water made.

They paced on through the campsite, moving downhill toward the stream, and Sokka glanced about through the trees to see if he could spot Azula; he couldn't just yet, so he decided to continue moving along toward the bank of the stream, the sound of the water getting louder as they approached its edge. Once it came into full view, the trees peeling away, he turned his head around, and made sight of his girlfriend, who was sitting by the edge of the water, and from the looks of it, she wasn't filling up her flask of water. She was thinking, and he had a good idea what she was thinking about; the fact that they were being tracked down, attacked and it had everything to do with her. She didn't have much control over it, given that she didn't really betray the Fire Nation as such, but simply refused to be her brother's prisoner, and now she opposed his rule; he understood why she did so, and he equally understood Zuko's reasoning to have her captured- the Princess was a threat, and everyone knew it.

"Azula." she spoke her name, and she turned her head towards them, seeming almost annoyed that they had come out to find her, though her expression shifted soon after; he couldn't tell what emotion she was feeling: it could be regret, or just simply fear for her own safety, "Are we going to have dinner, or what?" he asked her bluntly, the Princess rolling her eyes at his question.

"Of course you're here about food." she commented with a clearly annoyed tone, the Water Tribesman narrowing his eyes at her.

"I mean, it's just rations. I can eat it at any time." he clarified, "I'm not asking you to cook anything."

Her expression softened, and she dropped her shoulders down, suggesting she didn't want to get up just yet, "And, so?" she asked, "It's not like you need me to hand feed you, Sokka." she mocked him, making Ty Lee snicker.

"That's a good one." she mumbled, before glancing toward the Water Tribesman, who didn't appreciate her comment, "Sorry."

He stepped closer toward his girlfriend, and pouted slightly, "Could you please come have dinner with us?"

She glanced off into the water for a while, before she turned her gaze toward him, their eyes locking, "Fine." she accepted his demand, before picking up a pebble, and tossed it into the water; it splashed on the surface, but any ripples it made were consumed by the flow of the water.

"What have you been doing here?" Ty Lee asked her, "Meditating?"

"Something like that." she replied vaguely as she rose up to her feet, "Time to reheat some rice." she described exactly what preparing her meal would consist of, before she strode toward Sokka, narrowing her eyes at him, "What's with that face?" she questioned the Water Tribesman straightening his lips; he could try and discuss what he had on his mind at that very moment, but decided that going to eat their dinner first might put her in a better mood, no matter how little she claimed to care about things like eating.

"Nothing." he told her, before following after his girlfriend as she paced up through the woods back toward their camp; Ty Lee strode along beside him, narrowing her eyes at him, though she remained silent as they made their way back toward the camp.

She didn't need to say what she was thinking, because he was sure it was the same thing as he was; Azula had been thinking about things, and that was important. If she had come to some realisation about their plans, then they needed to hear about it, sooner rather than later. Sokka wanted to talk about what happened with the bounty hunters; though he wasn't going to say that they were justified to go after her, he didn't think that she ought to have reacted so savagely, and more than than, essentially try and prod her brother into coming after them. He didn't want her to face Zuko again, because he knew that it would break any chance they might have had of a peaceful resolution; he wanted Azula to see some kind of compromise, and though he had been agreeing with her plans, he knew that just going around and conquering the Fire Nation colonies wasn't going to do much other than stop her father from doing the same. If anything, that was the primary good that would come out of her plans, given that her intended use of the airships would allow them to have supremacy over the skies, and thus, ring the death knells for Ozai's loyalists.

They made their over toward the edge of the campsite, and Azula remained silent, not addressing her guards as she made her way in, approaching her tent, which she had set up herself; Sokka recalled how confused they were by her doing such menial work herself, but of course, they hadn't seen the life she lived at the South Pole. Setting up her own tent was little compared to having to hunt and fish for her own food and help prepare meals for a whole village so they didn't starve, and had enough people able to do said hunting and fishing. He glanced toward Ty Lee, and decided he'd go get his own rations, and sit down with Azula.

"Let's just get our food and meet back at the campfire." he decided, the acrobat nodding, before she paced off toward her own tent.

Sokka approached his own, which was set up just nearby his girlfriend's, and knelt down to part the canvas of the tent; he pulled out his bag, picking out from the jerky and rice crackers he had inside, and took them with him back toward the campfire. He glanced over toward Azula, who had pulled out a package of pre-cooked rice, and a bowl; she was already pouring some water into it, and proceeded to heat it up in her hand as she made her way over to the campfire.

He followed after her, and sat down beside Ty Lee, who had already come out with some rice crackers, which she was beginning to eat; she turned her eyes to the Princess, and made a small smile, "So, what have you got?" she asked, Azula simply shrugging her shoulders before pulling out some chopsticks.

"Rice." she explained, "And some kind of meat." she noted, one of the guards raising their hand up.

"It's pig-cow." he clarified, the Princess nodding, gesturing to her friend.

"There you go. Pig-cow." she simply confirmed, before taking a bite, "And it doesn't taste like dirt."

Sokka took a bite from his jerky, and sighed, wondering if she'd get out of her mood any time soon; he understood she had her reasons to be unhappy, or really just on edge about their whole situation. He decided that he'd just try and make conversation, knowing that there was little else he could do.

"So... uh, what do you think Katara and Aang are doing right now?"

"Hopefully not getting attacked by the Fire Nation." the Princess gave her opinion on the matter, "They'll be hiding out in the wilderness, if they're not stupid."

"They're not stupid." Ty Lee spoke up, "They're just... well, you remember that battle before we got to Crescent Island."

The Princess nodded, though she clearly didn't seem to approve of what happened that night, "Unnecessary interventions." she recalled, "We should avoid those in future."

"I mean, sometimes it's okay." Sokka admitted, remembering how they'd helped a family of refugees find safety, "We helped a family of refugees, back before we got to the North Pole."

"And how did that work out?" his girlfriend asked him, sounding rather skeptical of the potential outcome; contrary to her presumptions, things actually turned out alright.

"I got a home-cooked meal and met some friendly people. It was actually nice." he explained, "We took them to a nearby free settlement, and then we were able to go get some supplies."

"So, no battle?" Ty Lee raised a brow.

"There was no need. We did go intervene again with some fighting... I don't know if the soldiers were from the base or not." he admitted, shrugging his shoulders, before he narrowed his eyes, deciding to stick his ground, "It doesn't really matter if they were or not, actually. Aang just wanted to stop the Fire Nation from encroaching on their settlements."

"I did receive a report of that, though I tried to dissuade the Admiral and the others from doing anything about it. I was right to assume that you were just passing through, and that Aang would leave them alone after that." she acknowledged, the Water Tribesman cringing as he realised that turn of events might have played into Zhao's suspicions.

"Sorry about that... if it played a role in, you know." he admitted, his girlfriend sighing.

"Well, that could've, but I assume it might have had more to do with my discussions with the guards and Ty Lee. Somebody probably just heard something and reported it."

"I'm inclined to agree with her highness on that matter." Renshu spoke up, "The Admiral seemed more worried that the Avatar was going to attack our forces, as were the other officers; nobody mentioned the Avatar being her ally."

"Well, I can't recall it." she acknowledged, "Though, Zhao might have figured it out himself. I am sure what happened with Bumi's rebels against Zhang is known across the world by now, given how much of a thrashing Aang gave them."

"Yeah, that news might have spread a little quicker than we might have liked." Sokka conceded, before sighing, "Maybe going there was a bad idea."

"No, it was necessary. We needed to get your father the allies he needs to do what he wants... what you want, Sokka."

"Yeah." he nodded, knowing that getting rid of the Southern Raiders was one of his primary aspirations, and that couldn't be done with the warriors of his tribe alone, "I guess there's just some things we need to do." he acknowledged, and he was certain his words would remind her of what she had done a few hours earlier; she didn't respond, at least not immediately, and took a bite of her meal.

"Yes, yes, there is." she agreed with him, before continuing to eat her meal, pulling out more meat with her chopsticks, and chewing it down.

"You know what's really necessary? A spa session." Ty Lee spoke up, making Sokka snicker; she really did have her priorities set straight.

"After what we've been through today, I am inclined to agree." Azula acknowledged in between taking bites, Sokka narrowing his eyes in thought.

"Yeah... I could agree with a little relaxation." he acknowledged, before sighing, "But we've got to go deal with those Earth Kingdom rebels as well." he recalled, knowing that was their priority, given the danger said rebels might pose to Azula's base of operations if they were to remain their enemies.

"Yes." the Princess confirmed, "That is the main priority until Aang and Katara return."

Sokka took another bite out of his jerky, and glanced toward the flames in front of him, "I hope they've got better luck than us." he mumbled, wishing that his sister wouldn't have to face the same kind of frustrations they had; if all was well, they'd be heading straight to New Omashu, and Toph would join them without issue.

He didn't really think they'd be that lucky, and was sure that some issues were going to come about along the way, but he just hoped whatever they ran across was nowhere near as bad as what they had had to deal with that morning.

"We can make our own luck." Ty Lee spoke up, sounding as hopeful as ever, the Water Tribesman looking down at the rice crackers in his hands; he knew that their lack of luck had come about from the choices they'd made, and the places they'd gone- the only way to make their own luck was take a new approach, something he doubted Azula would agree to.

Once he chewed down on another piece of jerky, Sokka leaned himself back, glancing up toward the night sky above them, which was quickly coming darker and darker, the glinting of stars just barely visible through the light scattering of clouds above them. His mind wandered, going back to the events at the North Pole; he remembered how annoyed and angry had been about Azula's behaviour, and how it had put her in danger. He didn't feel that angry anymore, knowing he couldn't blame her for what had happened, at least not more than he already blamed Zhao and his conniving; he could blame her for not letting him come with her, and he knew that there was a chance something like that could happen again.

He imagined what might happen if she decided she'd go after her brother again, and try to seize the throne far more directly than she had been trying to as of late. He mightn't agree, probably because it was going to be a dangerous venture, and then she'd run off without him again, and get herself into needless danger. He didn't want that to happen, above all else; he didn't want reasons to spite her, and to fear that kind of betrayal, even if she didn't view it that way. She probably would just say she was protecting him again; even if she told him she wasn't going to do anything of the sorts, she tended to come up with new plans and plots on the spot.

So, he wasn't surprised when she finished her dinner that she turned to face him, and narrowed her eyes at him, "Sokka, come with me." she requested, the Water Tribesman nodding, before he rose up to his feet, taking his food with him as he followed after her, the Princess leading him back in the direction of her tent.

She did come to a halt outside of it, as expected, and she turned around to face him, seeming suspicious of his own intentions, "What is it that you want?" she asked, the Water Tribesman scrunching up his lips, finding the question to be vague and open-ended.

"Like... right now, or in general?" he asked her, the Princess rolling her eyes, before she grasped his collar.

"I know you came down to that stream because you were worried... there's no other reason you'd stop yourself from getting right into eating that jerky." she deduced, and he nodded, thinking that was accurate enough to warrant his approval.

"Yeah, I mean, you're about right." he acknowledged, "What happened today was... a little crazy, honestly."

She raised a finger up, seeming unamused, "Are you calling the situation crazy, or me?"

"I..." he trailed off, unsure how to phrase his thoughts in a way that wouldn't agitate her, "What you did, it was a step too far." he acknowledged, the Princess tensing her grip on his collar, "And I get why you did it. They were going after you, so you taught them a lesson, to make sure nobody would try the same."

"I did." she nodded, "So, why is it wrong? Because they didn't deserve to suffer?" she asked, "They were going to kill Ty Lee, Sokka." she reminded him, the Water Tribesman nodding.

"I know." he acknowledged; he hadn't seen what happened himself, but he knew Azula wouldn't let her enemies chain her up just because she wanted to trick them, "But they didn't." he stressed, "She's fine. I mean, as fine as she can be."

"I know this is my fault." she acknowledged, raising a hand, "I should have just travelled with less guards, and on foot. The enemy tracked us all the way from Shengchang."

"It might have helped, but that's in the past." he dismissed her comments, knowing there was little they could have done to avoid the bounty hunters, "Those people were going to come after us, sooner or later."

"Then what's your issue, Sokka?" she questioned him once more, "Was I not merciful enough for your taste?" she prodded him, demeaning the idea of mercy, when in fact, mercy was the only reason either of them weren't in some prison cells in the Fire Nation capital.

"You can't just brutalise everybody that gets in your way." he simply put it, "Zhao was a dick, I get that, but not everyone's as bad as him."

"Why do you think I'm doing any of this?" she asked him, "I've got to prevent them from doing the same to us."

"The only reason any of this is happening is because you want to be the Fire Lord." he retorted, the Princess snarling as she tapped her fingertips on his sternum.

"So, you're finally admitting it." she declared, "You don't even think I should be the Fire Lord."

Sokka sighed, knowing that she was drawing the wrong conclusion from his words; he wished she had won that duel, and though he certainly wouldn't wish death upon anyone, even her brother, he would have preferred if she had just killed him then and there, and then it could have been done with. Of course, that was wishful thinking on his behalf, even if truly wanted her to be the Fire Lord; acting like Azula would have suddenly become more kind-hearted and considerate was just stupid, and he knew that all that had happened to her at the very least helped her grow as an individual, instead of being stuck under her father's thumb.

"No, I do." he retorted, "But... this is all going to cause needless suffering. It already has."

"They came after me."

"Because your brother is afraid of you, and has that bounty on your head, because he rightly believes you're going to come overthrow him." he simply explained the situation for what it was, "If we had just kept our heads down, all of this could have been avoided."

"I'm not giving up, Sokka." she retorted, now clearly angry with him, "Why do you want to undermine me? Do you really want that idyllic little igloo so badly?"

"Do you?" he questioned her in return, "You said you were joking about that earlier, before the fight... but I'm starting to see what Ty Lee means." he acknowledged, "You never chose to be Crown Princess, Azula. You never chose any of this... I guess you chose to work with me, and be my friend, but you didn't chose to be who you are." he told her what he knew she needed to hear, "Since Ba Sing Se, you've been able to choose for yourself, yet all you're doing is to sticking to the same shit your crazy father drilled into your head."

"And you think your way is better?" she retorted, "How is doing nothing going make anything better?" she questioned him, "I need to win."

"What is winning?" he asked her, "That's not a trick question, by the way." he added, "I know you think beating Zuko and taking that crown is going to fix something... what's it fixing?"

"My pride." she argued, the Water Tribesman sighing, before he pointed a finger at her, knowing that was a rather absurd thing to be concerned about when she was intending to overthrow her brother, and presumably, throw him in prison for the rest of his life, if not kill him.

"Your pride?" he asked, "Why would you be proud about killing your brother?"

"It has nothing to do with killing him. He disgraced me during that duel. I have to redeem my honour." she declared, before she clenched a fist and flared her teeth, "For fucks sake... now I'm sounding like him!" she angrily shouted, raising a fist to punch Sokka; he grasped her hand before she could do anything.

"Calm down." he pleaded with her, "Please, Azula... just calm down."

"This isn't your fault, Sokka." she told him bluntly, drawing her fist back, "I'm sorry about that." she conceded, before she snarled once more, "But I'm not sorry about burning their faces, or wanting to defeat him. That's my choice."

"I know, Azula." he assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "But I know there has to be a better way. A better end to all this."

"The end is where I sit on that throne and you are by my right side." she declared, before snarling once more, still angry with his questioning, "That's what I want." she stressed.

"Is there something else you want?" he asked her, hoping for a straight-forward answer; she wasn't completely consumed by that one goal, and he wanted to hear it for himself.

"I-" she began, looking at him, first with anger in her eyes, before it faded, "I want something better."

"Better than what?"

"Better than this." she gestured to the ground below them, "I don't want to live the rest of my days a vagrant and a fugitive."

"You won't have to." he assured her, knowing there was a future for them, even if she simply thought of a very specific one, "You have a home, Azula, and there's nobody there to tell you what to do. Once we get rid of those Southern Raiders... it'll be better, and we can make that home better than whatever you used to know."

"I want to help you do that, Sokka." she admitted, before turning her eyes away, "But that isn't my home." she bluntly told him; she might have thought that, but the people of his village might disagree.

"What, because you're Fire Nation? My village looks up to you now. They trust you, and doubt any of them hate you." he assured her, "You did that. You proved yourself. If you want to say you lost your honour, well, maybe you did, but I'm sure in the eyes of those people, you are more honourable than ever."

She sighed, clenching her fists; she didn't seem angry now, only confused, and conflicted over what she ought to say. He just waited, letting her figure out her thoughts, and soon enough, she turned around to face him.

"I wish I could say I loved living in that palace, with all those servants to do my every whim... I mean, I liked it, I was content, but I wasn't... I was never happy." she admitted, "I was always worried about failing father... becoming like Zuko, or being anything he wouldn't like."

"And now that weight is lifted. He's not going to scar and banish you, Azula. There's no way that can ever happen." he acknowledged placing his hands on her shoulders, "Were you happy at the village?"

"Happier." she admitted, "But maybe that was just you. Maybe I'm just so damn infatuated with you and your stupid jokes that I thought maybe I could be happy there. Maybe I thought I was stuck there, and I could be happy, and maybe I wished your sister would be nicer, because I was going to be stuck with her for the rest of my life."

"I-is that you what you actually thought?" he asked her, realising that he hadn't really thought about her thoughts before Aang had showed up; she didn't seem like she'd lost hope, but she didn't seem very set on sailing back to the Fire Nation to face her brother either.

"Yes." she admitted, "But things are different now. Now, I have a real chance." she stressed, Sokka pulling her closer.

"I know you have a chance... but we have a chance for that too." he acknowledged, "I know you don't want to trust Zuko, and I know he's not making it easy for us to do so, but maybe we just need to try and take a leap. Don't think about helping him, because that's not what this is about. It's about Ozai."

"We need to stop him." she agreed with the point he was about to raise, "I know that's more important than making myself Fire Lord. He's set on destroying the other nations, and I can't let him have the chance." she acknowledged, something they could both easily agree upon, before narrowing her eyes, "I don't know how we can get rid of his supporters... or bring them into the fold."

"I don't know either." he admitted, "Maybe Aang could go to the Fire Nation Capital and try and sort it out." he acknowledged, "If he could publicly assure the Fire Nation that he would fight Ozai if he dared to start a revolt or escape prison, and show him his abilities, then he wouldn't dare to rise up, and his supporters would be forced to surrender."

"Maybe." she mumbled, "I don't know if they'll believe Aang is really that much of a threat. Maybe they'll go after him." she suggested, sounding afraid, and not the usual kind of fear he saw in her eyes; Azula wasn't afraid of much, and that told him that she cared- Aang was her friend, even if he was just and goofy kid, and she wanted to make sure he didn't get hurt from all the things he had little choice in ,"I don't want them killing a twelve year old. He's innocent and no threat to the people of my nation, no matter what stupid history tutors like to say."

"They won't." he assured her, "They're not going to kill him, because we'll protect him, and if necessary... we'll defeat them. General Zhang was just the beginning." he emphasised as he pulled her closer, "We'll stop them from doing anything crazy with the little power they already have."

"What, so am I a judge now?" she asked, "I thought that was the Avatar's job."

"Other than the reckless violence, you'd be a pretty good Avatar." he suggested smugly, his girlfriend rolling her eyes.

"You know, that's really not a compliment."

"No, it is. You're capable and willing to do what is right." he assured her, "I mean, you might not act like it, but you're out to get the bad guys."

"I am the bad guy." she declared, the Water Tribesman raising a finger.

"Okay, how about we meet in the middle: you're the good bad guy." he suggested, making the Princess stare at him for a few good seconds before she gave a resolute nod.

"I can tolerate that." she conceded, Sokka kissing her on the cheek.

"That's great to hear." he acknowledged, before glancing down, "Can I finish this jerky?"

"I wouldn't dare stop Sokka from finishing his meal. That's how I'd really get him to spite me." she explained her thoughts in jest, stepping back, "Go ahead. I'm going to go rest... and have a think about your advice."

"That's exactly what I want to hear. Use that big brain of yours." he pointed at her forehead, the Princess struggling to hold back a laugh.

"I don't know whether I find your stupid humour endearing or infuriating." she gave him her thoughts on that matter, making the Water Tribesman cock a smirk.

"Both. Good and evil, cute and annoying." he gave her some dichotomies.

"Wait." she raised a hand, "Did you just dare call me cute?" she questioned Sokka, who scrunched his lips up.

"Well, actually, I was calling myself cute." he placed a hand on his own chest, making her snicker.

She leaned forward and whispered to him, "You are cute sometimes." she admitted, "Don't you dare tell Ty Lee I said that." she warned him, before eyeing behind him, "At least she didn't eavesdrop on this conversation."

"I would have chi-blocked her for that... despite her injuries. That'd just be rude."

"Says the person who makes an effort to denigrate his opponents, especially when they're powerful men." she retorted, Sokka smirking.

"I just like to burst people's egos... even yours." he acknowledged, "Just so you can build it up stronger than ever, with better reasons to feel confident in yourself."

"You're weird." she bluntly commented, before pointing to the food in his hands, "Just eat your jerky." she suggested, turning her heels as she moved back to enter her tent.

"I'm optimistic." he countered, "And I will eat this jerky." he declared, before whispering toward her tent, rather loudly just to be sure she heard, "And then do I go in the tent?"

"Well, are you brave enough?" she asked him, leaving the Water Tribesman wondering whether that was her being suggestive or not, before closing the folds of the canvas, leaving him standing there by himself; he decided that he would, because he knew that despite all the screwed up things Azula did, and perhaps, intended to do, the future was not set- they had to make their own future.

"Yeah, Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe has enough balls to whack the Fire Lord in the head; he can barge into your tent any day of the week."

---

The city of Omashu was very different to what Iroh remembered it to be the last time he visited; that was many years prior, before his nephew's banishment, when King Bumi still ruled it. He remembered how lively the city was, and the distinctive design of the city on a large, conical mountain, with its intricate mail system powered by earthbending. He found that rather interesting, in contrast to most Fire Nation technology and infrastructure, which didn't usually require any firebending. That made building their industries in an Earth Kingdom city rather simple, which led to the ugly factories he saw before him, bellowing out massive smokestacks; he wished they at least considered aesthetics when building such structures, but what was worse was that they had been built to begin with.

A city's resources and populace were forced to partake in the Fire Nation's war effort, and once Ba Sing Se had been taken, forced to perpetuate the empire that had taken over its country. The only reason Iroh hadn't immediately advised for withdrawal from Ba Sing Se was because they needed to withdraw from other areas first, as to ensure that neither Ozai nor Azula's supporters could take advantage of their weakened position in the Western Earth Kingdom. He just hoped that the transition would go smoothly, and that King Bumi would be able to rein in his supporters, so that no more needless conflict would arise between each party. They obviously had bigger threats to worry about than each other, so Iroh was glad that all parties had agreed to a handover, which had been precipitated by Governor Ukano withdrawing much of the industry to other colonies on the Earth Kingdom coast.

As he strode down the streets of the city, earning looks from Fire Nation colonists and Earth Kingdom locals alike; he was flanked by Imperial Firebenders, General Mak, and a few attendants bringing his luggage, which he'd be keeping at Ukano's palace while the transition took place. He expected to stay for a few nights, and with Bumi, oversee what would be the effective removal of the Fire Nation colonists, along with their military presence in the city. The transition would hopefully be peaceful, and relatively painless; some of the colonists might not be very happy to be expelled from the city, but Iroh was sure to be providing them with accommodation in nearby colonies, and small amounts of compensation to allow them to find new places to live. Some of the people had been forcefully relocated, or coerced to, from the homeland, and he was sure most of them would be more than willing to return.

"General Iroh." Mak addressed him, sounding almost humoured, "It seems you've got a lot of attention."

"I was once the man who led the Fire Nation to conquer Ba Sing Se. People know of me." he admitted, the General nodding, before narrowing his eyes.

"And Crown Prince of the Fire Nation until your father's death." he added, "You are well known, sir."

Iroh recalled when everybody viewed him highly, at least in the Fire Nation, and saw it fondly; he didn't want to be hated by his nation, and even after all that happened, he doubted people did, even if some might not have trusted him, given what he and his nephew had been doing. It wasn't that people thought him a traitor, but their views of him were tainted by his withdrawal from Ba Sing Se, and essential retirement. He became like any old man, who just happened to be the Fire Lord's brother, and after that, the man who essentially enabled the Fire Lord's overthrowal. He wondered if they would have viewed him more kindly if he had been the one to fight Ozai in an Agni Kai, and reclaimed his birthright, as some might have liked him to.

As he paced on up toward the Governor's Palace, he made sight of Governor Ukano and his wife Michi, standing by the railing, overseeing Iroh's procession; they didn't necessarily seem that happy to see him, though they were probably just glad things were going smoothly. He knew that they must have only gotten back from the Capital recently, given they were at the Fire Lord's wedding, just as he was. The Fire Lord had decided Iroh wouldn't be leaving the capital immediately, despite the fact the handover was pre-planned before the wedding; Zuko wanted him to have some time to rest after the big day, and deal with any policy matters at hand while he was on his honeymoon with Mai. At that very time, he assumed Zuko had just returned from his honeymoon, and was probably back to working on ironing out his policies in the colonies, as well as pushing harder against Ozai's loyalists, given they were clearly present in his government. Ratting them out would be harder than simply demanding they step forward, though he trusted his nephew to find a way to do so safely.

He made his way up the staircase to the front of the palace, and let his guards step up in front of him, making sure nothing unexpected happened; though he doubted assassins might come at him in broad daylight, it wasn't completely unreasonable. As he approached the Governor and his wife, they bowed toward the General, obviously counting him their superior; he was royalty, so that didn't surprise him, though he didn't come to the city wanting to be treated as such. He was simply there to oversee the process, rather than to order anyone around.

"Governor Ukano, Lady Michi. It is good to see you again." he addressed them, the Governor nodding.

"It hasn't been long, your highness." he acknowledged, "Have you received any news from the Fire Lord?"

"The last I heard from my nephew, he and your daughter were returning from their honeymoon. I assume they're back at the capital already." he explained, before glancing around, "Where's your son?"

"Oh, Tom-Tom is being taken care of by the servants while we have our meeting. I couldn't have him interrupting." Ukano explained, before gesturing to the front door of the palace, "I received a message from the King. He will be arriving soon with his entourage."

"Good." Iroh nodded, "I was looking forward to beginning as soon as possible." he acknowledged, before glancing down the staircase, "Bring my things in at once." he addressed his attendants, turning his gaze slightly over to the head of his guards, "Check the area around the premises. I just want to be sure that this meeting will go along smoothly."

"Of course, your highness." the head guard bowed toward him, before he snapped his fingers, the other guards fanning out to check around the area surrounding the Governor's Palace.

"I assure you, your majesty, there's nothing for you to fear. The city's guards have been checking every nook and cranny for subversive elements that might seek to disrupt this turnover." he assured him, the retired general nodding, understanding that he too would have taken precautions; he didn't want his resume as governor ruined by such a mistake, given he was looking forward to his new job in the Fire Lord's ministry.

He cleared his throat and gestured into his house, "Please, come inside. I have tea."

"Oh, so you've been told." he chuckled at his choice of persuasion, the Governor making a slightly embarrassed expression.

"Uh, yes, Mai informed us how much you enjoy your tea. Ginseng, is it?"

"Yes." he confirmed with a smile, glad that he'd be getting what he liked without having to request it.

"Well my servants are already getting it ready for you." he explained, before Iroh followed him and his wife inside, his eyes darting around the foyer of the palace; if he hadn't seen the city outside, he might have thought he was in a large manor house in the capital, not in a city in the Earth Kingdom.

He followed them through the foyer toward a large sliding door, which the Governor's servants drew open, revealing a large room with a long table in the middle; the Governor gestured to some seats on the table, and he sat himself down, crossing his legs before he glanced around the room, noting that the walls had a number of traditional Fire Nation paintings on them, depicting the landscapes of the homeland- volcanoes, cliffs, valleys, bays and streams. He wondered if the paintings were to help remind them of the country they didn't visit very often; he was sure that the wedding was the first time either of them had been to the homeland since Ukano became Governor of Omashu. He knew that many people did miss the homeland, in his experience, when they had lived there their entire lives.

Homesickness was very common amongst soldiers, and he too felt it when he was away for too long, though it was less that he missed his home, and more so, that the life of a soldier was stressful, and being a well-respected General was something that placed much pressure on him, much of which came from the expectations his father, Fire Lord Azulon, had of him. He wondered how someone like Mak felt when it came to such stresses, given like himself, he had had a fair amount of experience on the battlefield, even if it was a lot younger than he was; perhaps he was glad to have his job as an attache, so he wasn't out there, putting men's lives on the line, instead focusing on ensuring that both the military and the Fire Lord himself was best prepared to deal with the threats that faced them, both visible and hidden. The General and Iroh's guards entered after him, and the former sat down with him, while Ukano and Michi sat across from them.

"So, your highness, how was the trip?" the Governor asked him, Iroh giving a small smile as he recalled how smoothly things had gone; his ship sailed straight to a Fire Nation port just west of Omashu, and there had been no issues along the way.

"Good. The weather was fine, and my tank-train got me here with no issue." he acknowledged, before eyeing the paintings he had been looking at earlier, "You have some nice artwork in here. Where'd you get it?"

"I bought them from a painter in the homeland when we first moved here." Michi explained, "I wanted us to have a reminder of where we came from with us."

"I mean, this house looks like it was taken right out of the capital and plopped down in the city." he acknowledged, before narrowing his eyes, "Have you missed your daughter since she left?"

"She has written to us regularly." Ukano explained, "We're happy for her and her new life. I am sure she approves of living in the palace over this city, given how far she has been from her homeland and everyone she knows."

"Well, her best friends were my niece and... uh, what was her name... the acrobat girl." he tried to recall her name, unsure what it was.

"Ty Lee." Michi clarified, "She hasn't seen her in a few years." she noted, "We haven't heard much about her, actually, other than that she joined a circus. Her parents were rather worried about it, but supposedly all seven of their girls joined up."

"Hmph, they must be quite the act." he guessed, knowing that seven identical girls would be able to work together quite well, not just because of their similar appearances, but behaviours too; he hadn't met that many identical siblings in his time, but if Lo and Li, Azula's firebending masters, were any indication, they seemed to be very similar in behaviour and mindset.

"Sir, the tea is ready." Iroh heard a servant speak up, and he turned his head around, smiling as he saw the pot of ginseng come over to them.

"Brilliant." he grinned, "Thank you very much." he made a slight bow to the servant, who smiled in appreciation, before they placed the tray, containing a teapot and a few cups.

They then poured out some tea for each of them, Mak picking his cup up first, taking a sniff, "Hmph, I can see why you like it so much, General."

"It is the best." he smirked, before taking a sip.

"We could bring out appetisers too, if you'd like some." Michi suggested, the retired general nodding.

"That would be a good idea. I'm sure the King and whoever accompanies him would appreciate that too." he noted, the servant nodding.

"I'll go tell the cooks to get some things ready."

"Thank you, Chuan." the Governor acknowledged the servant, "That's all we'll need for now."

The servant strode out of the room, and Iroh turned his gaze back toward the Governor and his wife, "Well, the King should be here soon." he assumed, "Did he give an exact time?"

"No. He said... uh, that he would come as soon as he knew you were here." he explained, making the Dragon of the West raise a brow, finding such a specification to be interesting; he would have to have some way to find out if Iroh was there, so he assumed he already had people in the city, spotting about, or perhaps, he was already waiting there, hiding with the use of earthbending, to reveal himself when he desired.

"Well, if he pops right out of the ground, I won't be surprised." he admitted, before taking another sip from his teacup.

"Governor, might I ask, what have your men noted recently in the area?" Mak spoke up, "I'm curious, and I'm sure the General is too, as to exactly what's been going on around here."

"Uh... nothing too out of the ordinary. King Bumi has his men patrolling around the mountains, and we do too, just to make sure they don't try anything." he explained, "Of course, we won't have to worry about that, soon enough, but ensuring the safety of the people living in the city is my first and foremost goal."

"As should it be for any governor." Iroh acknowledged, "Has there been any insurgent activity?"

"Not that I know of." he admitted, "There's been a few posters here and there decrying the Fire Lord's policies, but no mass demonstrations."

"So, better than what's happened in some of the other colonies." the Dragon of the West noted, recalling what had happened in Yu Dao after his nephew and niece had their Agni Kai; Admiral Zhao had attacked, and though his forces were defeated and either captured or repulsed, support for his niece did not waiver, and nor did the fears of the people in the city for their livelihoods- they had rose up in mass demonstrations, demanding the Fire Lord halt his withdrawal from the colonies, and there had been clashes between pro-Earth Kingdom and pro-colonist groups.

"Yes, I've heard about what's been occurring in some other colonies. Truly, it's a shame that our nation is divided in such a manner." he acknowledged, the retired general letting out a sigh.

"My nephew has spoken to me at great lengths about his desire for unity, but it seems rather challenging to appease all sides of the debate, let alone the other nations." he conceded, realising that achieving the peace he and Zuko had set out to find would be a lot harder than they might have first expected.

The Fire Nation itself was being torn apart by conflicting views on the future of the nation, given his nephew's plans to draw back colonists and give more freedom to the Earth Kingdom; that policy was what had led to him going to Omashu, and what had caused the revolts in the colonies, from what he understood.

"Well, we can only hope that peace comes about sooner rather than later. It would be a shame for years to be squandered with all this infighting." Ukano admitted, before suddenly, all of their attention was drawn to what sounded like a crumbling noise, along with the ground shaking below their feet.

"I believe that would be the King." Iroh clarified, rising up to his feet as he approached the door of the room, wondering how long Bumi and his men had been waiting underground for.

A few moments later, the front doors of the palace were opened up, and in walked King Bumi, flanked by a number of elite earthbenders, who were covered with armour and clearly dressed for a fight. When the King made sight of his friend, he let out a little smirk, and raised his hands up.

"Iroh." he addressed him, "It is good to see you, old friend."

"And you, your majesty." he acknowledged the King with a small bow, "Please, come sit. Governor Ukano has gotten us some tea."

"Brilliant." he smirked, before glancing back at his men, "Well then, you all can keep guard on the outside." he explained, before gesturing for somebody to come forward, "Toph, Yung, you two will attend the meeting with me."

"Yes, sir." a soldier acknowledged his king with a salute, before a stout teenage girl stepped forward, wearing armour similar to the other soldiers, though better sized for her proportions.

"Do you need me to check them first, your majesty?" she asked rather bluntly, turning her head towards Iroh, and the others behind him.

"That won't be necessary yet." he assured her, before the King strode on over into the room, "This is quite an ugly building." he simply observed, which seemed to offend Ukano and Michi, though they didn't dare to respond, "What happened to my palace?"

"It was demolished." the Governor clarified, making the King sigh.

"Urgh, I'll have to rebuild it then." he acknowledged, "What about the ugly statue? Are you going to take that apart when you leave?" he asked, the Dragon of the West chuckling.

"I'm sure my nephew would appreciate you demolishing that statue yourself." he suggested, knowing that Zuko held little love toward his father, nor the images of him that appeared around the Fire Nation and its territories.

"Ah, that's good to hear. The Fire Lord has a sense of humour." he smirked, before striding over to the table, sitting himself down on the opposite end from Ukano and Michi.

Yung and Toph, which he assumed to be the adult soldier and teenage girl, respectively, sat themselves down beside the King, the former eyeing them suspiciously while the latter blankly stared at the wall. A few moments after that, some servants strode on into the room, hands full of bowls of snacks, such as fire flakes, rice cakes and small dishes of fried duck, komodo rhino and pig-cow. Iroh licked his lips, looking forward to enjoying a meal while they discussed the matters at hand. Once the servants had put everything down, he picked up a pair of chopsticks in front of him, and took some of the roast duck onto his plate.

He glanced over at the teapot, and realised that Bumi and the others might want some, but probably couldn't reach, "You wanted some tea, right?" he asked the King, who simply smirked, before raising his left hand up, the teapot levitating off of the table, before it was drawn over to him.

"It's a ceramic teapot." he simply clarified, "I can bend it." he explained, before grabbing the pot with his hand, pouring the two accompanying him some tea.

"Uh, so, should we get to the matter at hand?" Mak spoke up, the retired general nodding.

"Yes." he agreed, "King Bumi, may you tell the Governor what you have planned on your end for your handover?"

"Well... this is my city, after all. As soon as I see it safe to do so, I will have my subjects return to the city, and I expect their houses to be returned to them."

"The colonists will be all leaving in the next week. Everyone has had some forewarning, so there should be no issue as long as the houses are vacant." Ukano explained, "Organising their movement is something I assume the Fire Nation Army will be handling for us."

"That is correct." Mak confirmed, "There are convoy guards and steeds on the ready to retrieve whatever goods need to be taken out of the city." he explained, "The Fire Lord told me that he will be covering the costs of the immediate removal of people's belongings, but they will need to cover costs if they are going beyond the port towns we are taking them to."

"And what will they do beyond that?" Ukano asked, "I understand that many people here have come from the homeland."

"There is a charity organisation that some nobles in the capital have established." Iroh spoke up, "Those that are sympathetic to the situation faced by these colonists. They will be providing them with transportation, as well as covering their food and housing costs while they are here."

"That must have been quite some money." Bumi acknowledged, "These nobles wouldn't happen to be the same that have benefited from all the industry you've built here, Governor?"

"Uh..." the Governor's expression became nervous, before he turned to face the elderly king, "Well, I don't know who is funding this charity."

"I believe you are right." Iroh admitted to his friend, "But there is no harm trying to fix our mistakes. Those people will leave, and your city will be restored to its former glory; I believe it is better that they leave without feeling as if they have been robbed, as much as your own people have suffered."

"They have." the King admitted, "But we have had peace these last few months, and I have you to thank for that, Iroh." he acknowledged, "What compensation will they receive?"

"The city's coffers are yours to keep." Ukano acknowledged, "We have used some of the tax money to cover the withdrawal process, but much of it remains, ready to be used. There is also the treasury left from when you and your people left the city two years ago. Some of it was appropriated by the army, but most of it has remained here."

"Were you planning to use it for something?" Iroh raised a brow, the Governor shaking his head.

"It was merely security. If there was a war tax enacted by Fire Lord Ozai, we were ready to pay it." he explained, the King chuckling at his words.

"Oh, well, aren't we lucky that that tax never came about." he acknowledged, before sniffing some of the fire flakes, "I've never had these before." he admitted, "They smell rather odd."

"It'd be the spices, your majesty." Yung clarified, the King tossing one of them into his mouth; he chewed and swallowed it with a blank expression, before cringing, picking up his teacup, before taking a rather long sip.

Iroh didn't want to laugh, knowing that Earth Kingdom people were unacquainted with the tastes of Fire Nation cuisine; Ukano grimaced, and raised a hand, "Chuan." he addressed the servant who had been serving them tea earlier.

"Yes, your excellency?"

"Could you get some of the milder fire flakes from the pantry?" he asked, the servant narrowing his eyes.

"The ones your son eats?" he asked, the Governor nodding; the servant turned his heels, and paced outside of the room.

"I apologise for any... uncomfortable feelings you might be having, your majesty." Ukano conceded, the King nodding.

"Oh, well, you've got to try things to know you don't like them." he acknowledged, before turning his attention toward the girl sitting across from him, "Is something wrong, Toph?"

"Uh, no, not really." she assured him, before the King of Omashu glanced toward the Governor and his wife.

"Now, I'd like to hear about how exactly you're going to handle the inevitable unrest amongst your people, Governor." he suggested, "Even people in the Fire Nation mustn't agree with everything their government does."

"Well..." Ukano began, seeming unsure of himself, "I will work in accordance to the Fire Lord's policies. We cannot let the anger of a few compromise this important step for us all." he acknowledged, the Earth Kingdom girl who was sitting beside the elderly king clearing her throat, pointing toward the Governor without looking at him.

"That was a lie, Bumi." she told him, Iroh glancing toward her with interest, slightly confused as to why she would be accusing the Governor of doing so; he understood most people in the Earth Kingdom weren't that trustworthy of his people, but she seemed rather resolute in her statement.

"And, may I ask, why do you think that?" he asked her, Toph turning her head slightly before she smirked.

"I don't think so, I know so. I can tell when people are lying." she declared, the King beside her nodding.

"This is true. That's why she's here." he explained, Iroh scrunching his lips up.

"Hmph." he mumbled, before scratching his goatee, "So, how can you tell?"

"Earthbending." she clarified, "I can sense the heartbeats of everyone in this building. It's a little harder when I'm sitting on a mat, but I can do it."

"The floor is made of stone tiles." Iroh observed, knowing that it wasn't wood, at least on the ground floor, meaning it was possible, though a challenge for an earthbender to sense through it, "You must be quite the earthbender."

"Well, I'd say I'm-" she began, before holding her tongue, "Uh, I'm good." she chose her words, perhaps wanting to soften them instead of coming off as rather cocky; he was unsure exactly what kind of temperament she held, but he guessed, given her confidence in her bending abilities, she had to be rather self-assured, not too unlike his niece.

"Being able to detect if someone is lying must be a very useful ability." he noted, "Especially for interrogations."

"That's what I mostly do, actually." she admitted, "That and beat up any Fire Nation scouts that come too close to New Omashu."

"Well then..." he began, turning his gaze back to Ukano, who was clearly uncomfortable, "What are you lying about, Governor?"

"Nothing." he assured him, "This girl is mistaken. I'm just worried about any insurgency."

"That wasn't a lie." Toph clarified, "The last part, specifically."

"Why are you so worried, Governor?" Bumi asked, "You are the one ruling this city, after all."

"I-" he began, before rising up to his feet, "I need to go to the toilet."

"Wait a second." General Mak spoke up, standing up beside the Governor, "We need to know what you're lying about, Governor. Anti-government forces and plots are concerns of national security, and are under my purview." he stressed, pointing a finger on the Governor's sternum, "Given I was installed in this role by the Fire Lord himself, I outrank you."

"Fess up." Toph prodded the Governor, who looked down at his wife, who seemed just as intimidated as he was.

"What happened, Ukano?"

"I received a letter." he explained, tensing up as he looked down at Iroh, "I've been threatened to ignore their actions in my city, otherwise, they'll order the assassination of my daughter and son-in-law, the Fire Lord."

Iroh blinked a few times, before placing his hands on the table, "Ukano." he addressed him, "Please... please tell me they aren't coming for us right now."

"I don't know. I told my men to ignore any of their actions. They made me burn all our intelligence reports." he told him, Toph nodding to confirm that he wasn't lying.

"Why did you go along with this?"

"They sent me one of Mai's knives." he explained, "And this wasn't something she'd left behind here when she went to join Zuko all those months ago- this was from the palace." he explained, placing a hand over his face, "If they can take a knife, then they can... they can do much worse things to her."

"I knew it." Iroh clenched his fist, realising that his assumptions had been true, "There are people in the palace following my brother's orders." he explained, "This all has to be his doing. He's trying to scare us."

"Why?" the Governor asked him, "Ozai's in prison, and the Fire Lord could have him executed at any time."

"Because he wants the war to continue." Iroh bluntly put it, "That's the victory he thinks he can get from our failure." he acknowledged, before turning his eyes to Bumi, "I apologise for this inconvenience, Bumi, but I believe that we might be in danger right here." he explained, the King nodding, not seeming intimidated in the slightest.

"That's why I brought Toph." he clarified, "She doesn't just check for liars."

The Earth Kingdom girl rose up to her feet, and stomped her right foot down onto the floor, and quite hard at that; the Governor and his wife trembled with fear, while Mak only seemed angry with the situation they'd found themselves in.

"What can you sense?" Bumi asked her; the straight look on her face told Iroh that she wasn't very concerned, but she furrowed her brow in thought.

"Well... there's definitely some people. Your guards, and I think... General Iroh's guards." she noted, before pointing to her right, into the foyer of the house, "Wait." she spoke up, now sounding more concerned, "I can sense some people moving our way, out in the city."

"How close?" Yung asked her, the earthbender dropping her hand.

"Maybe they'll be here in a minute, if they keep up their pace." she noted, before turning around, pointing toward Iroh, "Get your men ready to fight... unless you're fine with getting assassinated." she suggested.

"I am not." he assured her, before turning to face Mak, "Let's deal with this threat."

"Of course, General." he agreed with him, "You two stay here; it might get messy." he warned Ukano and Michi, who nodded, seeming afraid of what might happen next.

The King of Omashu rose up to his feet, and sighed, before he flexed his shoulders, revealing his impressive height and build as he dispensed of his robes, that seemed to surprise most people in the room, other than Iroh, Yung and Toph, given they had all seen him like that before, "This'll just be like old times, Iroh." he acknowledged, before chuckling, "Except I'm fighting with you instead of against you."

"I am glad that's the case." the Dragon of the West agreed with him, before the group moved toward the foyer of the palace.

"Everyone, get ready to protect the palace!" Yung shouted out to the other Earth Kingdom soldiers, who immediately moved into form as they turned their attention toward the doorway.

Toph suddenly shouted out, raising her hand up, "Something just got set off at the walls!" she warned them, Iroh's eyes widening; the walls of Omashu were lined with artillery, presumably there for the scenario that Ozaai's loyalists attacked- he now realised that they must have been utilised by those very loyalists to attack them.

"The artillery." he muttered under his breath, "Everyone, get away from the doors!" he warned Bumi's men, who immediately raised their hands, pulling earth out from underneath their feet, creating a shield of stone walls that blocked off the front of the palace from view.

Iroh cowered down as he prepared for the artillery to hit the palace; when it did, the ground shook violently as smoke and dust spurt from the front of the building, as well as a large amount of wood and metal debris, which was thankfully blocked by the makeshift earthen walls. He coughed after he accidentally inhaled some of the dust, and covered his mouth with his left hand while he glanced around, trying to check if anybody was hurt. He could see Bumi and Toph, both of them already moving into form, caving away the walls that had been formed to protect them; feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turned around, and saw that Mak was behind him, seeming rather concerned by the turn of events.

"General." he muttered, covering his own mouth to block out the dust and smoke, "We've got to get out of here. Back to the tank-train." he explained, the Dragon of the West shaking his head.

"They've probably already destroyed it, or set it up as a trap. We can't go there." he warned him, "We need to fight the threat, and eliminate it." he declared, before eyeing the two earthbenders pacing ahead of him, "We need to trust they can protect us."

"I never thought I'd be relying on earthbenders." he admitted bluntly, before turning his eyes toward the Governor and his wife, "You two should come with us. It's not safe in here."

"Everybody, evacuate!" Ukano called on those inside, Iroh noting that many of the servants were probably confused as to what was going on.

He followed after the King of Omashu, watching as he created pillars of earth, which he fired out into the distance, presumably at the artillery that had attacked them; he watched with awe as he saw the top of the wall be shattered, and a number of artillery pieces knocked off of the wall, down into the gully surrounding the city on all sides. Suddenly, he heard the sound of flames flying through the air, and realised they were being attacked from multiple directions. To protect himself, as well as those who were outside the front of the palace, he raised his hands up, creating a vortex of flames, which surrounded them on all sides, which surprised Bumi and the other earthbenders.

"Woah." he heard Toph murmur, "That's a lot of fire." she acknowledged, the Dragon of the West gritting his teeth as he bent the flames away from them, into the sky, sending the attacks that had melded into the vortex away, dissipating into nothing in the process.

"Defensive formations!" he heard Yung shout out, and the earthbenders all moved into form, surrounding them with walls, and blocking off any potential attackers from reaching them.

Iroh's Imperial Firebenders were rather confused by the turn of events, but they too moved into form, drawing closer to the retired general, who was ready to face off whatever came his way next.

"General, we have to get away from here." one of his guards warned him, "Should we push through?"

"Not yet. We don't know how many people are here to fight us." he acknowledged, before eyeing the King who stood nearby, "Plus, we've got another way out."

"That we do." Bumi smirked, before he motioned his hands around, pulling a boulder out from the ground below him, before he gestured a finger to Iroh.

"Some flames, please." he requested of his friend, who complied; he bent flames around the rock, turning it into a massive flaming rock, far larger than what the artillery that was attacking them would have used.

The King of Omashu then launched it up into the air, before tossing it right up behind them; Iroh was a little confused where it was going, until he turned around, and realised that it was poised to strike the giant statue of his brother in the head. It did, shattering the top of the statue, which crumbled apart and fell over, making quite a spectacle, which the King's men seemed to approve of.

"Well, that'll show 'em." Yung acknowledged with a smirk, before returning to form, "Let's show them how two nations are better than one."

"Oh, I couldn't have said it better myself." Iroh acknowledged his comment, before he spun his hands around, "Please, just pull the walls down for a moment." he requested, and Toph stepped forward, caving one of them down for him, allowing him to see down the main avenue of the city, where he spotted a number of men, clearly soldiers, rushing in their direction.

He spun his hands around, sparks forming at his fingertips, feeling his chi move around and pool into his gut; he then aimed his right hand out toward the avenue, and without any relent, let those sparks form a lightning bolt, which flew forth, and a moment later, struck the ground, creating an explosion which threw the soldiers off of their feet. Toph turned around, surprised by what he had just done, and smirked in approval.

"Okay, that was pretty impressive."

---

In hindsight, Toph was almost certain that those suspicious trails and campsite Jet made her look at had something to do with the people trying to kill the Fire Lord's Uncle, the Governor of Omashu, and King Bumi, all at once. She wished she had realised the source of those tracks a little earlier, given that it certainly would have helped her advise Bumi on not going to the meeting, that effectively seemed to be a trap. Now, instead of standing safely in the caverns of New Omashu, barking orders at earthbenders while she played out hypothetical battles for them, she was facing a real battle, where her life might be on the line.

Out of self-preservation, she considered that perhaps just pulling herself into the ground and digging her way back to New Omashu might be the best course of action, but she knew that it was bigger than that; she was thrown into something rather political, and she was unsure exactly why. The timing made a little sense, given two important people were meeting in a city that was clearly full of Fire Nation people, some of which might not be approving of the current Fire Lord. She didn't really care for the politics, and only considered it in one regard- who her enemies were, and did she have to kill them.

Toph did not take killing her opponents lightly, even if she was completely capable of doing it, but she knew that, at least in the past, prisoners were more useful to them than dead Fire Nation insurgents, given they could be exchanged to the Governor of Omashu for resources they required to keep their own rebellion of sorts functioning. She held her hands up, tossing boulders out onto the street in front of her, where men were swarming toward them; Fire Lord had the advantage of shooting lightning from his hands, which she would admit, was a very cool ability, while the rest of them tossed boulders or fireballs, depending on which nation they were from. Fighting along the Fire Nation was honestly very unusual, though she trusted them to protect themselves and their superiors, so she didn't feel that suspicious of them. She imagined how Jet might have interacted with them, and smiled, just glad he wasn't there; the Freedom Fighter was a pain in the arse at times, even if he wasn't a complete idiot.

Bending the earth in front of her, Toph carved out disks from the earth, drawing them up before she shot them forward, propelling each toward the men attacking them; she felt the disks shatter as they struck her enemies, and carved out more of them, tossing them forward in a quick succession. The attacks didn't seem to do as much as she would have liked, given the enemy seemed to be using their firebending to destroy the disks before they could make contact.

"We need to withdraw, your majesty." she heard Yung warn Bumi, "They're going to get too close."

"Not yet." he warned him, "We need them in the perfect position first." he explained, Toph raising a brow, unsure why he wasn't willing to withdraw out of the enemy's range yet.

Sensing ahead of her, she felt a few distinctive cavities beneath the ground below them; it took her a little sensing around, but she realised that they had to be the city's sewers; which Bumi had avoided when bending them a route into the city. Below the sewers was the cavity created by their bending, a long tunnel leading out from under the city back in the direction of New Omashu. She smirked as she realised his intentions; they weren't going to escape, but rather, the enemy was going to go on a rather slippery and presumably disgusting ride.

"Fireballs!" she heard one of the firebenders warn them, and everyone's attention must have been drawn to the sky above them.

Being unable to see, and her seismic sense limited to the ground, she was unsure where exactly the danger was coming from, but she pulled up a wall of stone to defend them from the attack; when it struck her wall, she tensed up as the weight and forced pushed back on her bending, the wall shattering. Before the debris could land on her, it suddenly disappeared, presumably bent away by Bumi.

"Now." he proclaimed, and with that, the ground shook violently beneath them as the King of Omashu bent away the very street their attackers were standing on, causing them to fall into the sewers below, and a few moments later, he further bent the ground to funnel them down into the cavity they had created earlier.

"Well... that's one way of solving it." one of Iroh's men spoke up; he was in the meeting with them, but she didn't know his name, "Should we aim for the tank-train now, General?" he asked him; the general turned around, and presumably was looking at Bumi.

"King Bumi, could you make a new path for us?" he requested, the elderly king cackling before he raised his hands up, bending the cavity he had created shut.

"Did you just trap them all down there?" Toph asked, the King shaking his head.

"Well, if they want to trudge through those sewers, they can find a way back up. It's not that hard, even without earthbending." he explained, making her furrow a brow.

"How would you know?"

"Well, when I was six years old, I accidentally got lost in the sewers. I wasn't such a good bender back then, but I figured my way around."

"Why were you in the sewers in the first place?" she questioned him, confused why anyone would just decide to go into a sewer; Toph had snuck around when she was little, but she never would have gone to any place that disgusting.

"Eh, that's a story for another time." he refused to answer, striding forward, bending himself a staircase right down to the street level, "Let's get out of here!"

"Bumi." she addressed him, having already sensed around to realise that they weren't done yet, "That wasn't all of them." she stressed, the King of Omashu chuckling at her words.

"Well, nobody's in our way." he simply put it, before turning to face Iroh, "Are you coming?"

"Of course." he agreed to his proposition, "We need to get out of the city, at once." he ordered his men, who began to pace on ahead, ready to defend him while he followed after Bumi.

Toph sensed men coming toward the street from both sides, and she raised her hands up, bending walls that got in the way of the enemy, who were now sitting turtle-ducks, ready to get battered up by her comrades.

"Let them have it!" she shouted out, and with that, rocks were tossed off into the side-streets; she could sense the boulders striking soldiers, and their footsteps moving around, suggesting they were pulling back, at least for the meantime.

"Are you commanding my men?" Bumi asked her with a humoured voice, Toph raising her hands, ready to bend at anything or anyone that got in their way.

"I'm keeping us safe." she described her role, "If you're getting senile, then I'll just have to start giving out commands." she warned him, the King cackling at her joke.

"Oh, that's a good one." he acknowledged, before he spun himself around, bending toward the end of the street, far off in the distance, where a metal gate stood; he used the earth below it to force the gates open, which gave them a path out of the city.

Her fellow fighters moved forward, bending more boulders into the streets on either side of them, Toph ready to do the same if she sensed any serious threats; she sensed around the city, and could sense people running away, which was the most logical thing to do when catapults were being fired and streets were caving in on themselves. Further afield, she could sense more catapults aiming their way, as well as a number of men taking formation behind them. She turned around, taking form, and ready to send them sinking into the ground.

"Wait a second!" she heard the man who had been sitting with Iroh, whose name she didn't know yet, "Don't attack them. Those are the Governor's guards." he warned, Toph scrunching her lips up.

"Are you sure they're on our side?" she asked, the man turning his head around.

"Oh shit." he gasped, "Everyone, take cover!" he warned them, before she suddenly felt the men move, and a few moments later, felt a gust of wind pushing in their direction.

She pulled her hands up, creating a defence out of earth, which barely covered her as what must have been a number of fire streams scorching the street. She heard cries and shouts of her comrades, and grit her teeth, realising they'd been tricked. Perhaps the Governor was actually on the side of the enemy, though she couldn't be sure; she remembered his heartbeat, and sensed around, noting that he was back at the palace.

"You're joking." she scoffed, before gritting her teeth, deciding that a little further interrogation was necessary, "I'll meet you all on the other side of the gates." she explained, Bumi turning back to face her, his heartbeat rising.

"What are you doing, Toph?"

"Figuring out why the Governor just betrayed us." she clarified, before sinking herself into the ground, letting the earth immerse her in every direction. She could sense the cavern Bumi had made earlier, and could feel that the men inside were trying to firebend to break the roof, to no avail; the ground was solid rock- the only thing that could break it would be a powerful earthbender, or a very massive object.

She dug forward, moving as fast she could, ripping apart the earth in front of her before placing it behind her just as quickly; she could sense the Governor standing with his wife, both of their heartbeats going very fast. Whatever was going on, they were very worried about it. She dug all the way until she was underneath them, noting they were surrounded by men, presumably the people that were intended to guard them.

Toph bent herself back out, shooting rock and soil up into the air as she pushed herself to the surface, immediately taking fighting form, "What's going on here?!" she questioned with a shout, "You better start talking, or you'll start drowning in earth!" she demanded, the Governor immediately pointing toward one of the men.

"They took our son!" he explained, "They won't let us leave with him." he explained, Toph nodding; perhaps he wasn't betraying them, but simply a fearful parent.

"It's no use, Governor. You won't find him." one of the soldiers warned, "You're wanted for treason by the Fire Lord!"

"Ozai isn't the Fire Lord!" Ukano retorted, "You're all a bunch of idiots for even trying something this heinous!" he decried them, before Toph pulled her hands down, dragging some of the men down into the earth, scaring those she didn't.

She then drew up walls of earth to block them off from the rest of their comrades, sensing where all their feet were before she twisted the earth around their feet, tripping them all over. The Governor and his wife seemed aghast by her fast attacks, and stepped closer to her as she drew up small stone pillars from the ground, knocking the soldiers in their heads to prevent them from bending at her. She pulled one of the closer to her, which she hadn't knocked out, and bent bindings around his arms and legs.

"Tell me what's going on here!" she demanded, "And where's their kid?"

"It doesn't matter, dirt-eater. We've already won!" he proclaimed proudly, "Nothing you do here will change the fact."

"Oh, but I could break your bones. That'd change your life, wouldn't it?" she retorted, tensing her stone shackles that she had bound around his arms and legs, which made him cry out with pain, "Where's the kid?" she asked, before sensing around the palace behind her; there were a few people inside, and she could tell that some of them were just servants, trying to hide from the fighting, but she could sense a few men in a secluded portion of the palace, holding something else that had a heartbeat- maybe it was the Governor's son.

"You won't find him." he snarled, Toph tensing her grip even tighter.

"I can sense heartbeats with my bending, you moron." she retorted, "I've already found him... and just for being so uncooperative, I'll leave you with a little parting gift." she explained, before flicking her wrist up, creating a small stone pillar which whacked him in the crotch.

"Argh!" he screamed out, Toph turning her heels, knowing she had more important things to do than gloat at his pain.

"Come with me." she told the Governor and his wife, sure she could get their child to safety, as long as she reached him.

Not wanting to waste any more time, she ran on into the manor house, remembering that the front of the building, including the door, had been broken apart by a catapult; she kept her attention on the men she could sense, presumably those who had the couple's son, and made sure to check if they moved. They mustn't have heard her moving into the manor, and she rushed down the hallway, sensing right under their feet; she decided that at the opportune moment, just before she knocked the door open, to bend the tiles under their feet so they were stuck in place.

She kicked the door open and pointed toward them accusingly, "Drop the kidǃ" she demanded, the men all turning their attention toward her, and their heartbeats dramatically rose in pace, "Do itǃ"

They seemed unsure what to do, so she pulled them deeper into the ground, and the one who was holding the boy placed him down on the ground, "Fine, fineǃ" he assured her, "Please don't sink us in the ground."

"You're already stuck." she warned them, "Are any of you firebenders?" she asked, sensing whose heartbeats rose, and quickly bent some tiles out from the ground below them, tossing them right up into their faces, smacking them as hard as she could to knock them out cold.

"Arghǃ What was that for?ǃ" one of the non-benders asked her, and Toph simply chuckled.

"Oh, just to make sure they didn't try and hurt me." she admitted, before she heard the voice of the Governor's wife.

"Tom-Tomǃ" she called out to her child, who giggled.

"Mamaǃ" he exclaimed, running up toward her, all while the captured guards just stood there, their attention still on the skilled earthbender who had ensnared them.

"Is anybody going to tell me why you all betrayed the Governor?"

"He betrayed us." one of them argued, making Toph scoff.

"What, he didn't agree that the Fire Nation should rule this city, so that makes him a traitor?" she asked, the men's heartbeats slowing.

"Uh, yeah. That's it." one of them clarified, Ukano stepping into the room a moment later, and pointing at them accusingly.

"How dare you take my sonǃ He's innocentǃ" he barked at them, making the guards laugh.

"But you aren't, Governor Ukano. You betrayed your nation." one of the guards mocked him, Toph sighing before she used more tiles to knock the remaining conscious guards out; they grunted, and slumped over, unable to move very far given that she'd sunken their feet into the ground.

"Now that's dealt with, let's get out of here." she decided, "Unless, you'd like to try and rule over the city you clearly have no control over, Governor." she offered, the Governor shaking his head.

"I... I was so foolish to even cooperate." he admitted, "But my daughter, I need to keep her safe."

"That's the Fire Lady, right?" she asked, having been briefed on basic information about the Governor as well as General Iroh, who were the two people she expected to be dealing with at the meeting that just got cancelled by what could only be described as a mass mutiny.

"Y-yes." he nodded, "We need to get out of the city at once, before somebody tries to kidnap or kill us." he admitted, his wife turning around to face him.

"Ukano, you're an idiot sometimes." she chided him, before turning her heels, "We should have just stayed in the capital." she added, the Governor sighing before he followed after his wife; Toph made her way after them, sensing ahead to check if any more guards had entered the manor.

She could only sense the cowering servants she had before, and could sense the same guards out the front of the manor, though they hadn't come inside yet. Pacing into the foyer, she thrust her hands forward, bending the ground in front of her, just outside of the manor; the guards were all thrown off their feet, and sent flying into the air. She then dashed ahead, racing through the destroyed entrance of the manor, sensing around for any potential attackers; when she sensed some men moving into firebending stances, she pulled up walls between herself and them, blocking their attacks. She then tossed said walls forward, the flat projectiles slamming right into the firebenders, who were thrown back onto the ground.

"Now, somebody tell me something useful, or I'm going to sink you all into the ground!" she declared her one and only warning, the enemy tensing up; some of them moved back, while others took fighting stances, "Urgh, fine." she snarled, frustrated that she couldn't get anything out of them; it was less out of curiosity, and more because she saw it her job to gather intelligence for Bumi- if they didn't understand why they had been attacked, they'd clearly be less capable of dealing with whatever came their way next.

She shot pillars from the ground, below her enemies' feet, knocking them out cold, before she ensnared everyone's feet and legs into the ground; the firebenders would probably try and free themselves, so she knew she had a short window of time to get back to the others; she turned around, and gestured for Governor, his wife and young son to follow her, which they did, as she bent up walls of stone to carve a relatively safe path down toward the road.

"Drop your heads!" she warned them, and they did cower down as they made their way down the damaged staircase, which she had no issue with, given her bending allowed her to retain solid footing on stone, but the others mightn't find it as easy.

She bent the staircase into a ramp of sorts, flattening out the slope, allowing them to run down after her as she readied herself to attack the men who were more than certainly about to move on her once she left the cover of her stone walls. Toph ran forward, bending pillars to either side of herself as she left the cover of her walls, striking two soldiers at once, throwing them into the men behind them. They all tried to rush at her, but she was able to draw the earth from underneath her, creating armour out of stone, which allowed her to block all their firebending attacks.

"Wow, was that meant to do something?" she mockingly questioned her opponents, before firing her stone gloves off, shooting the enemy in their chests, before she turned around, moving into form, sensing exactly where each of the soldiers were.

She fired rocks out from the ground below their feet, hitting them in the guts, head or crotch, each move sufficient enough to send them back, and allow for the Governor, his wife and child, all to run past her, heading toward the gates of the city, where she could sense a few of General Iroh's men, firebending back at the men pursuing them. She thrust her hands forward, sending a wave through the street, tearing up the rock from underneath the ground, throwing the Fire Nation soldiers off of their feet. She was forced to turn around, and raise a wall up as the guards tried to fire on her again; being able to sense where their feet were made it very easy for her to figure out that they had escaped from their binds.

Once she reached the firebenders who weren't trying to kill her, she let out a sigh of relief, and sensed that Bumi and the other fighters had been bending a bridge out of the deep gully for them to reach what she assumed was General Iroh's vehicle; it was massive, and made out of a lot of metal, so she guessed that it was some kind of contraption- a ship on wheels, was what she could best guess. She turned her attention back the way she had come, and raised up another wall, hopefully just to keep their attackers off for a bit while they could cross over and escape.

"Everybody, get across!" she heard Yung call out, and she heeded his advice, following after the rest of the group as they made their way along the stone bridge that crossed the gully; it was deep and wide, and she guessed that once they demolished their bridge, the enemy would have a hard time following after them.

She could sense the enemy moving into form behind her, and soon after, she felt the walls she had bent shatter; she kept up her pace, and sensed around, making sure that no one was straggling behind. As they approached the other end of the bridge, she could feel heat moving toward her, and pulled up a bit of the ground behind her, shielding herself, and everyone in front of her, from the firebending attack.

"Argh!" she heard the Governor cry out, "That was a close one."

"Keep moving!" she chided him, pacing on after him and the others, sensing as everybody safely reached the other side of the bridge.

Bumi had been waiting for her, with his arms crossed, and turned his head down, presumably to look at her, "So, you got the Governor's son. That was kind of you." he noted, before raising his hand, "Would you mind destroying this bridge with me?"

"It'd be my pleasure." she smirked, before turning around, taking an earthbending stance; she raised her right hand up, pulling on a portion of the bridge, before she threw her hand out, tearing it from the bridge and causing that portion to collapse down into the gully.

She then felt as Bumi did the same, tearing the bridge apart with his bending, tossing portions off into the gully; Toph could still sense their pursuers on the other side of the gully, back inside the city's walls, and they must have all been watching as they bent their own way to follow out of existence. She smirked at the thought of it, knowing that if she could see, she would enjoy it even more than she already was; she turned to face the king, and raised a brow, wondering what their next move was.

"So are we just going back to New Omashu?" she asked, the king snickering before he turned around.

"That we are." he confirmed, before addressing the retired general, who was resting with his men nearby, "Now, Iroh, I believe this is where we part ways." he acknowledged, "I'll take Omashu back soon enough." he assured him, "We have our means."

"I can clearly see that." Iroh conceded, before rising up to his feet, "I don't think anyone's going to be happy about this in the Fire Lord's court. Nobody has made such a bold move in months."

"We should send a messenger hawk at once to the capital, to inform his majesty." one of his men suggested, and Iroh turned around.

"Yes, we should. Luckily, the tank-train seems to be undamaged. They mustn't have thought we would have got past their little army." he chuckled, obviously finding their victory, as simple as it was, to be funny; the Fire Nation renegades who attacked them clearly had the advantage of numbers, but they had a number of skilled earthbenders, and the tactical genius of King Bumi, which Toph had seen for the first time on full display.

"Thank you for the assistance." the retired general spoke to them, "We would not have gotten out without your help."

The Governor's wife then turned to face Toph, and she reached in; she hadn't been expecting a hug, but she didn't stop her from doing so, "Thank you so much. You saved little Tom-Tom for us."

"Ah, don't worry, it's nothing. Nobody should be trying to hurt kids anyway." she admitted, "Will you two go back off to your country now you don't have a city to rule?" she asked, the Governor's heartbeat rising.

"Uh... yes. I do have my ministerial position waiting for me in the capital." Ukano noted, before turning his attention to the retired general, "Let's go, General."

"Yes, let's." he agreed, striding on over toward the tank-train, when all of a sudden, a man jumped out of it; Toph immediately sensed his heartbeat was going crazy, and that was not good news.

"General Iroh!" he called out to his superior, "Th-there's... a messenger hawk. It just arrived." he explained, Toph raising a brow; obviously, it wasn't just any message, given how he was reacting.

"From who?" Iroh asked, sounding rather confused as to why he was panicking.

"From your brother." he bluntly admitted, the General's heartbeat rising.

"Wh-what." he gasped, "How did Ozai send me a message?" he asked, the man striding forward to hand him something; the General took it, presumably the message, and looked at it for a few moments- his heartbeat, within the span of a second, was even worse than the man he had just received the message from.

"No." he flatly refused whatever he just read, "This can't be." he mumbled as he raised his hand to his face.

"General, what's happened?" one of his subordinates asked him, "What does it say?"

"That Zuko is dead. That the entire loyalist ministry has been imprisoned. That he has sent out messages demanding the Fire Nation swear fealty to him." he explained, before turning to face the Governor and his wife, "I-I'm sorry." he simply told them; the Governor's wife fell to the ground, and began to sob, her husband doing the same, holding her shoulder tightly- their son obviously didn't understand what was going on, and tried to comfort them.

"How can you believe this message?" his subordinate asked him, "This could just be fabrications."

"It was officiated by the Capital Fire Sages. The Head Sage has signed it himself." he explained, "There is no way they would have signed this without what this letter says has happened being true." he admitted, before clenching his fists, "I- I have failed, once again. Why?!" he shouted in anger, before he punched his right fist down to the ground; Toph could sense how his flames burnt hot, disturbing the soil as it blasted dust and pebbles into the air.

"Iroh." Bumi addressed him, now sounding genuinely solemn, "You... you can't go back the way you came."

"I-I... I know that." he nodded, the fear and distraught in his voice audible, as he turned to face the man who had sent him the message, "We're taking the tank-train to New Omashu."

"Y-yes, your highness." he bowed to him, before pacing off back to the contraption.

"Your highness, are you going to... claim it?" the same subordinate asked him once more, obviously referring to the throne.

"No." he refused, "I oversaw Zuko's executive will when he first came to the throne. I'm not the heir to the throne."

"Then who is?" Bumi asked, Toph already knowing the answer to that question; there was only one other royal who could stand against Ozai's claims.

"Azula. It's Princess Azula." she deduced, Iroh turning his attention toward her.

"You've met her, haven't you?" he asked, and she nodded, "Well, do you think she would accept to cooperate with me?"

"She seems like she doesn't trust many people." she admitted, "But it's worth a shot." she acknowledged, "She's not a bad person."

"Far better than your brother ever was." Bumi spoke up, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, "I'm... I'm sorry, Iroh. That it has come to this."

"The one who truly will be sorry is Ozai... when he realises what he's done."

---

Katara was glad to be back in some place where she could feel comfortable; though she might have argued that they needed to continue flying, she was getting tired, and it was already late in the day. Omashu was still at least a few days' flight away, but she knew that they could spare a little time in town; she doubted they'd run into the same issue twice, and she and Aang were wearing their disguises, once again, ensuring that nobody would look at them twice. He had suggested they go into town, and though she had tried to come up with an excuse, she really couldn't find one, knowing that Appa needed to rest, and night was yet to fall.

She actually didn't mind going into town, knowing that being around people was something that made her happy; she preferred to be in an environment that felt lively over a silent and eerie forest where they might be ambushed by Fire Nation soldiers. They had been taking precautions to avoid that, and had hidden Appa in a cave nearby the town, where they hoped to camp out for the night. She doubted they'd be spotted, given the location was so far off from any nearby tracks that someone would have to go well out of their way to find them.

"You seem like you're in a good mood tonight." Aang observed, smiling at her, "Did you want to get some food?"

"Uh, maybe just a snack." she suggested, turning her eyes up the street, where she could see a few pedestrians walking their way, "Let's just have a look around, first. Maybe we'll find something interesting or useful."

"Maybe." he mumbled, before glancing behind them, "So... do you think people might figure out who we are?" he asked her, whispering as quietly as he could.

"I hope not." she gave her opinion, "I don't think they will if we don't do anything crazy. No bending or anything like that."

"Even if kids try to rob us?" he asked, reminding her of what had happened just before that explosion.

"Oh, I guess we'll just have to do what Sokka does."

"Intimidate them?" he asked, before scrunching his lips up, "I don't know if I can be that intimidating."

"I mean, you're a nice guy, Aang." she acknowledged, "A pacifist and a vegetarian. I don't think you could be mean even if you wanted to."

"I can make fun of people." he argued, "I'm not that much of a softy."

She smirked, and crossed her arms, wondering what he might be able to come up with, "Oh, okay then." she accepted his suggestion, "Prove it."

"Uh..." he mumbled, eyeing her for a few seconds, probably trying to find something to insult her about, "You need to choose a new hairstyle." he suggested, "You're literally copying Azula."

She snickered, finding that 'insult', if she could call it that, to be rather amusing, though she self-consciously touched her bangs, realising that she had inadvertently imitated her hairstyle when dressing up in her Fire Nation disguise.

"Maybe I should do Ty Lee's instead." she proposed, Aang shaking his head.

"Nope. That's just your hairstyle without the loopies." he argued, Katara blinking a few times as she understood that was the case.

"Huh." she mumbled, "Then what should I do?"

"You could just wear it down, maybe put the top in a bun like you have it now." he suggested, Katara tilting her head as she imagined what she might look like.

"Well, that's not a bad idea." she agreed to his proposition, before glancing ahead, "I won't change it right now. That'd just be a waste of time."

Katara continued pacing along the street, noting the various houses and other buildings that lined it; the colonial town was full of brand new buildings, or at least, buildings that were well maintained. The streets were lined with gutters and there were unlit street lamps, which she assumed would be turned on once it got dark enough. They walked past a few commoners, who didn't seem to be Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom; it was actually hard to tell, given their clothes were rather drab and monotone, or varied in colours to the point where it was hard to discern their background. That confused her, but she tried to focus on the more pressing issue, which was finding the market.

She was sure that it was located near the centre of town, or the port, which was downhill from where they were at present. The street was leading down to a slope, and she could see smokestacks coming from what she assumed were ships either coming into or leaving the town's port; there were also a few other smaller smokestacks, coming from the numerous houses and factories in the town, though the latter were probably closed at that time of day. The street became progressively more crowded as they got closer to the docks, where she could see people walking around, taking goods from the ships at port to the market; she guessed with so many ships about, there'd have to be a lot of variety in terms of hoods they sold.

"That's a lot of ships." Aang observed, "I wonder where they've come from." he mumbled, the Water Tribe girl raising a finger to her chin.

"Probably the Fire Nation homeland." she guessed, "Or some other colonies."

"I wonder if the civil war is making it hard for people to get goods." he furrowed a brow, "I mean... it can't be that easy to protect all these ships when everybody's trying to sink each other."

"I wouldn't like to be a sailor at the moment." she conceded, before pointing ahead, noting a number of hanging lights that crossed over the street; in another town they had visited, that was indicative of a market, so she came to the conclusion they were just about to enter it, "We must be nearly there."

When they reached the end of the street, she turned to their left, and as she expected, they were standing at one end of the market; there were dozens of stalls, and hundreds of people walking about or standing in lines. She understood it was a large town, so such a number of people out in the market shouldn't be so surprising, but it was a sight to behold; in the Southern Water Tribe she hadn't seen anything in comparison, and even in the Northern Water Tribe, she didn't think she'd ever seen that many people massing at once.

"What are we getting?" she asked, before recalling she had already said what she wanted, "A snack, that's right." she remembered, "What do you want?"

"I dunno." he shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe some fire flakes or something." he suggested, "They're pretty spicy though."

"Maybe we can get something a little sweeter." she suggested, the young Avatar smiling at the idea.

"Okay, let's try and find something like that." he accepted her proposition, before he began to pace on into the market.

She was unsure what kind of sweet food they'd be able to find; she guessed that pastries, or perhaps, some kind of rice cake would fit that description, though she wasn't that well versed in non-Water Tribe foods. At the South Pole, there was practically no sweet food to eat, so when they went to Kyoshi Island, and got a feast of sweet dishes, she took a liking to them. Of course, most food people ate on a day to day basis, even in the Fire Nation, seemed to be rather savoury and not-especially flavourful, though Fire Nation cuisine certainly was spicy. Unlike Sokka, she didn't really like it that much, and much preferred milder foods over such dishes.

The market was packed full of people, and that made it a struggle for them to move around, forced to walk in single file, Aang leading Katara long past the various stalls of the market, which they checked to see if they sold anything of interest. Her friend was eyeing off various stalls of street food, but none of them they were walking by seemed to sell sweet foods; it was mostly just snacks, which consisted of fire flakes, meat skewers, and various dishes made from fried vegetables and meat. She would admit they smelled nice, but they weren't what she was interested in.

She had been paying a little too much attention to the food, so she accidentally walked into another market-goer, and fell down flat on her bottom; she grunted as she hit the ground, and turned her eyes up, seeing that she had walked into a rather burly man, who looked intimidating to say the least. In her village, the only men she saw who were that big were the toughest warriors that her father relied on in battle. His expression, however, seemed rather surprised, and he offered her a hand.

"Apologies, Miss." he acknowledged his mistake, "I accidentally walked into you." he noted, "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." she assured him, before glancing over to Aang, who had just turned around to see what had happened.

"Are you looking for something? You look lost." he observed, the Water Tribe girl scrunching her lips up; she guessed that asking for help from a stranger wouldn't be the worst idea, given he didn't seem to be an ill-tempered individual.

"Yeah. Do you know where they sell sweet foods around this market?" she asked, the man blinking a few times before he gestured to his left, that being her own right.

"There's a stall over there, by the shore. It sells rice cakes." he explained, "Are you new around here?"

"Yeah, I just came here from the homeland." she lied, before stepping closer to Aang, "Come on, let's go get some food."

"Thanks for the advice." the young Avatar smiled at the man, giving him a wave before he walked along with Katara in the direction he had gestured.

"Wow, I never would have expected somebody like that to be so nice." she acknowledged, Aang nodding in agreement.

"That guy did look like the kind of man who'd be a soldier."

"Maybe he was." Katara suggested, "I guess the Fire Nation has nice people too."

"Of course they do. Ty Lee's got to be one of the nicest people I've met." Aang acknowledged, "I mean, she can make some nasty jokes at times, but she's always ready to help."

"I thought she was an exception, honestly." she admitted, before chuckling, "Well, I guess that's good. Peace is easier when people are less... well, inclined to throw fireballs and rocks at each other."

"That's true." he agreed with her, "Now, let's get some of those rice cakes." he suggested, Katara nodding as they approached the stall where they were being sold; there was a bit of a line in front of them, which was a little annoying, but they stood in it, and both remained silent for a few moments as more market goers walked by them, the loudness from all the talking making it a little less awkward to not speak.

"Um, so, are you looking forward to going back to New Omashu?" he asked her, the Water Tribe girl raising a brow.

"I mean... I guess I'm okay with seeing Toph again, but otherwise, no, not really."

"You don't like the cave city?" he asked, making her snicker.

"It's not because it's a cave, it's just because Jet's there. He was being really mean to Sokka; I don't want to have to deal with him again."

"I get that." he nodded, "We can avoid him, and if he annoys us, I'm sure we can get Toph to shut him up."

"I'd have a feeling she might have given him a chiding after we left." she noted, "But she mightn't care."

"It was kind of her fault Sokka got harrassed, though." he reminded her, the Water Tribe girl cringing.

"Oh, yeah. She did reveal her identity... and Sokka got angry." she recalled, "You were passed out at the time, but my brother, he really took it the wrong way."

"He just cares about her." Aang suggested, "Though... I don't want him to fight people just because of that. Otherwise, he's going to be whacking a lot more people with that boomerang." he observed, "You know, like you know who."

She nodded, knowing that he was talking about Zuko and perhaps even Ozai; both of them were going to want to 'deal' with Azula, the Water Tribe girl having a feeling the former might be more considerate than the latter, given what Azula had to say about the two of them. She didn't want to see her brother facing either of them, and honestly would prefer if they could avoid conflict all together, though she had a feeling that they weren't going to be that lucky. Facing off the Dai Li was already going to be dangerous enough, and with all the other things on top of that, she couldn't help but feel worried that they mightn't be as victorious as the Princess hoped they would be.

"Aang, can I ask for a favour?" she asked, the young Air Nomad's eyes widening, surprised by her question.

"Uh, sure. What is it?"

"I don't want Sokka to end up in a stupid fight he can't win... so if... uh, Saila decides to do something stupidly dangerous, we need to try and persuade her out of doing it. The North Pole was already bad enough."

"Y-yeah, it was." he agreed with her, "We should try and avoid stuff like that."

She made a small smile, before glancing around the market, "Maybe we should just talk about something that's less... I don't know."

"Something that doesn't make you nervous?" he asked, the Water Tribe girl nodding.

"Yep, that's it." she agreed with his suggestion.

"How about you tell me a story?" he suggested, "I mean... you must have some."

"Nothing as interesting or tense as what happened to Sokka." she admitted, not wanting to dare say she was jealous of his experience with Azula; she was a romantic at heart, and did wish that she could find an experience like what her brother had, though she'd prefer to avoid the tough parts, "I guess this is our story."

He snickered, and nodded, "Yeah, I guess it is." he acknowledged, "There's got to be something, though."

"I guess I could tell you about something that happened a while before we found you." she decided, remembering back to when she had still yet to come to trust or even like Azula; she did regret how she had treated the Fire Nation Princess, though at the time, she felt justified in her treatment, "It's about her- uh, Saila." she called the Princess by her pseudonym, knowing it wasn't safe to refer to her by her actual name in public.

"Oh." his eyes widened, "So, did you fight with her about something?"

"Uh, no, actually." she admitted, "The story I'm thinking of isn't about a fight."

"Okay." he nodded, "So what is it?"

"About a week after she showed up, Sokka took her out to go on a hunt. I assumed that was just an excuse for them to leave the village, but they actually went off on a hunt." she explained, Aang furrowing a brow.

"Well, that's not much." he noted, making her chuckle.

"Oh, well, the hunt was just the beginning. I had been making my family dinner with my Gran-Gran, but then Dad came into the tent and asked where Sokka was. We said we hadn't seen him, and he told us he hadn't come back from the hunt. This was about the time of day where it got quite dark, but given it was summer, the sun was still above the horizon; worse was that it was getting windy, and snow was getting whipped up into the air, making it hard to see outside." she explained, Aang's eyes widening.

"That doesn't sound... very nice." he noted, "So, where were they?"

"We had no idea." she admitted, "So, I went out with my dad, and we walked around for a bit, checking the places they might have gone hunting. It wasn't too dark, but we were finding it hard to spot out tracks in the dark, so we tried to spot out light from her bending, because it would be pretty easy to see."

"I mean, it is unique." Aang noted, "So, did you find them?" he asked, the Water Tribe girl nodding.

"We did. Dad saw some blue light, and we walked over to an ice cave that was in the hills near our village. They had been taking turns sleeping, making sure no predators came into the cave, and we... well, she got freaked out."

"Did you have to bend to stop her?"

"I mean, I threw some snow at her." she admitted, "It was kinda funny, actually, though she was pretty scared, and Sokka got a shock when he woke up. They were surprised to see us, and we stayed in the cave with them until it got light again, because the wind was making it hard to walk around." she explained.

"So how'd they end up in a cave?"

"That was a funny story." she clarified, "They had gone to get some seals, so the village could have some more meat. She had never used a club before, but Sokka insisted she learn."

"She... she didn't actually kill one, did she?"

"No, she whacked the club into the ice because the seal was faster than her. When she got it stuck, she tried to firebend at the ice to break the club out, but she made a big fissure in the ice; they both fell in, and Sokka broke one of his legs. The seals were angry, and there were a lot of them, so they were stuck down there for a while, waiting for them to leave. When they got out, it was already dark, so they couldn't find their way back."

"Well, that isn't very funny." he admitted, "They must have been scared."

"Maybe they were." she conceded, "But then, Sokka got carried on her back to that cave." she explained, making him snicker.

"How'd she do that?"

"She's a lot stronger than she looks... bending isn't the only thing she's good at." she admitted, finding it a little hard to compliment the Princess, though she couldn't deny the truth, "They went to the cave, and then hid there. Maybe they did some... oogies there too, but I don't know."

"Oogies?" he raised a brow, "What's oogies?"

"Just when couples get all smoochy and romantic. The kind of thing that makes you awkward if you see it."

"I mean, I think it'd be kind of sweet." he admitted, the Water Tribe girl making a small smile.

"I guess it would be for them." she acknowledged, knowing that at least from her brother's perspective, he might have enjoyed being cared for by her, despite how much he liked to be macho and tough- it was a bit of an act, after all.

"So, what happened after that?" he asked, Katara furrowing a brow as she recalled what it was like to be stuck in close proximity with Azula for an extended period of time.

"We just stayed in the cave. My dad and I had brought some food, which we ate, and Dad tended to Sokka's leg. I wish in hindsight that I knew I could use my bending to heal; that would have been really useful." she admitted, before narrowing her eyes, "A- Saila appreciated the help, though by appreciate, I mean she wasn't that snarky, and just went along with my dad's advice. We sat there until it got light, and I talked to her for a bit. She talked about how she got herself in a similar situation as a little kid on Ember Island, which was a story in and of itself, and it opened my eyes to that... well, she's normal."

"Yeah, I mean, everyone was a little kid once." Aang noted, "I'm still a kid, despite... you know." he reminded her, "It's really weird."

"I know." she nodded, understanding that the world was probably still quite disorienting to him; in his eyes, a few months prior, he was living at the Southern Air Temple, before the war had even begun, and he had no idea of what was coming.

"Are you two going to order something?" she heard somebody address them, and Katara turned her eyes to realise that the stall owner was talking to them.

"Uh, yes, we are." she confirmed, stepping closer, "Could we get a rice cake each?" she asked, the stall-owner raising a brow.

"What flavour? Sweet, spicy or savoury?"

"Sweet." Aang gave an answer snappily, obviously intent on getting their snacks; the stall owner looked at their fingers for a moment before glancing up at them again.

"That'd be eight copper." he told them, and Katara pulled some coins out of the bag she had slung over her shoulder; she handed the coins to him, and a moment later, he placed two rice cakes in paper wrapping onto the counter, "Enjoy." he farewelled them, and the pair grabbed each of their rice cakes.

The pair made their way away from the stall, and Aang glanced off into the distance, standing still while Katara was left confused as to why he had stopped, "Aang, aren't we going back to Appa?"

"I thought we could watch the sunset." he suggested, "I mean, it's going to happen pretty soon." he gestured to the orange light of the sun peering through the clouds over the water.

"You know what..." she acknowledged, "That isn't that bad an idea." she agreed to his proposition, following the young Avatar as he paced over toward the docks of the port situated just behind the market.

He strode over to the waterfront, before sitting himself down on a metal bollard, sitting with his legs crossed while he balanced himself up on it. Not as well-balanced, she decided to just sit next to him on the ground, and glanced off toward the clouds, finding the mixture of colours, the clouds coloured pink and orange over the usual white, to be rather pretty.

"You know, at some times of the year, the whole sky can go this colour for a whole day." she explained, the Air Nomad boy's eyes widening.

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah." she confirmed, "The South Pole's weird like that. Having a day and night close to equal in length is pretty rare. It's usually either dark most of the time, or it's light, but even then, it doesn't get very bright, because the sun's always so low in the sky. Coming to the Earth Kingdom showed me a whole new way of looking at days and nights."

"Is that why Sokka sleeps in so much?" he asked her, the Water Tribe girl chuckling.

"Well, at the South Pole, he's not that unusual; everybody sleeps when they can, not just when the sun's down. Though... he's pretty exceptional when it comes to sleeping in, even when it's light out." she admitted, chuckling as she recalled when Azula would get frustrated with him for sleeping in during the summer, when she thought he ought to be hunting or fishing; Katara did agree with her on that one, though she was less inclined to step into their arguments.

"Perspective." he mumbled, "It's all about perspective."

"Yeah, that's a good way of putting it." she agreed, before taking a bite from her rice cake, glancing out toward the pretty clouds; she didn't know how long they'd sit there for, so just decided to appreciate it.

A few birds fly by across the sky above them, and their silhouettes sat against the clouds, reminding her how far away they were, and how big some things were; the world was no small place, and they'd already travelled far and wide. Flying on a sky-bison made things a lot quicker than they would otherwise be; she remembered that Sokka and Azula had travelled from Yu Dao to the South Pole on a sail ship, and that had taken them months, and she understood that they were just lucky to have a way to travel that was so much faster than that.

"We've travelled a long way." she realised, "It's been less than two weeks, and we're almost there."

"Yeah, Appa's fast, isn't he?" Aang beamed at her, the Water Tribe girl nodding.

"I was just thinking about how far he's taken us. We went from the South Pole to the other side of the world, and now we're going half way back." she acknowledged, "This is the longest I've been in my life from home. I hadn't ever left the South Pole until I got on Appa's saddle."

"Has it been good so far?"

"Learning how to bend... that was great. I mean, the whole thing with Pakku wasn't fun, but once we got training... I really enjoyed it."

"Me too." he nodded, "It was fun to train together, and we both figured out waterbending."

"We've got to keep up your training." she reminded him, "Maybe we can go find a stream next time we camp out." she suggested, the young Avatar nodding.

"I'd like that." he agreed, "I thought what we did with Chey and his fighters was good practice, though."

"Oh yeah." her eyes widened, "You firebent."

"That was... weird." he admitted, "It felt different, yet so similar."

"All the elements are your element, Aang. It makes sense that you'd feel familiar with it."

"I mean I've learned it heaps of times before, with all my past lives." he realised, "Maybe they can offer me some advice about mastering the elements."

"I think you can handle it by yourself for the most part, Aang." she suggested, trusting in his skill and resolve to learn, "You did it well enough with waterbending."

"You helped a lot there." he acknowledged, "I hope Toph's a good master, if she'll be my master."

"She will be." Katara assured him, "She's a really good bender. I'm not joking when I say she's the only person I've met who might compare to A- you know who." she explained, the young Air Nomad nodding.

"Yeah, that's why she's got to be my master. I can only have the best of the best." he proclaimed, making her chuckle.

"I guess that's right." she conceded, "You will need to master all four."

"And you're going to help me with one." he reminded her, "You're as much my master as Pakku is."

"Do I get to be called Master Katara?" she asked, half in jest, and half because she was kind of hoping to be called his master.

"No, Sifu Katara." he corrected her, "That's the right title." he clarified, smiling at her, before he made a curt bow, "Thanks for your help so far, Sifu."

"Don't mention it." she smiled at him, "This is a learning experience for me too."

"You'll be a great master, I'm sure of it." he assured her, before taking a bite from his rice cake, "These are- um, pretty good."

"It does taste good." she agreed, before taking another bite from her rice cake.

As she chewed down on it, she glanced back up to the sunset, and watched as the sunlight shimmered on the water's surface, making it glow orange on the crests, contrasting with the near black blue of the dips. She wondered if she could bend the water in front of her, and manipulate the reflection, though she decided against that, knowing that it would attract needless attention. Her attention was drawn behind them by people speaking, and louder and more numerous than they had before; she knew there were a lot of people in the market, but when she turned her head, she realised their attention had been drawn one way in particular. She stood up, wondering what was so interesting, and heard a few voices mention the same thing- 'mayor'.

She turned to face Aang, unsure what exactly was going on, "Huh, it looks like something's going on."

"I wonder what." Aang mumbled, dropping off of the bollard back onto his two feet, "Seems like something's about to happen." he observed, before pacing up toward the crowd of people that were looking toward a man that Katara assumed to be the mayor, "What's going on?" he asked some of the onlookers, a young woman turning back to face him.

"Oh, it's the mayor. He's going to deliver a speech. Some important news, I'd say." she explained, Aang nodding, before he glanced toward the mayor.

"Hmph." he mumbled, before turning his gaze toward her, gesturing toward the crowd, "Maybe we should listen in." he suggested, Katara nodding; though she'd prefer to just remain by the bollards and watch the sunset, news was news, and thus, of interest to them, given they were travelling around and potentially going to be dealing with the Fire Nation, perhaps sooner rather and later, given Azula's intentions.

They paced along the back of the crowd, moving toward the end of the market where they had entered, and Katara noted that they were approaching some kind of small town square, though she hadn't really noticed it when they entered, given it seamlessly connected with the surrounding streets and market. They came to a halt when they could no longer approach, and watched as the mayor of the town approached a stand, holding a scroll in his hand, while flanked by a pair of town guards, similar to the ones she'd already seen in colonial towns.

He cleared his throat, and unfurled the scroll, "People of Luwan, I have received a message from the Royal Palace, and... have been instructed to read the contents of this message to you, as citizens of the Fire Nation and subjects of the Fire Lord." he explained, sounding rather nervous, which made Katara feel uncomfortable; whatever had came in that message couldn't be any good.

After a few moments break, he cleared his throat once more, and began to read out the message, "Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lady Mai are dead, and by right of his claim, former Fire Lord Ozai has claimed the throne of the Fire Nation, and has been crowned by the Fire Sages. All former policies of the former Fire Lord are now, according to the Fire Lord's will, to be ignored and treated as null and void." he declared, people looking amongst themselves with shock; Aang turned to face her with a nervous expression, and didn't say anything as the mayor of the town continued to read out the document.

"The Fire Lord has proclaimed that all enemies of our nation are to be dealt with in due course... and that anyone who declares loyalty to Fire Lord Zuko or his sister, Princess Azula, will be executed for treason. All subjects of the Fire Lord that are earthbenders will be reprimanded on sight for using their element, and sent to labour camps to ensure compliance and peace throughout our nation. Anyone who cooperates with the Avatar or his associates is now accused of high treason and will be summarily executed if found in government custody." he further read out the message, Aang tensing up as he scrunched his lips up, trying to remain calm; it was easy to understand why he was feeling nervous, and she grasped his right hand.

"Don't panic." she whispered to him.

"The Fire Lord will now enact a regime of zero-tolerance toward insurrection, and anyone caught with materials associated with any rebel group will be held in custody, and if found to be an associate, sent to five years of hard labour." he further explained, before grimacing, "Furthermore, for their insurrection against the Fire Nation, as soon as it is feasible to do so, the city of Ba Sing Se will be razed, every Dai Li member found and publicly executed, and its population forcefully scattered to ensure that the Earth Kingdom may never rise again. This is the will of his majesty, Fire Lord Ozai, long may he reign." he finished the speech, "Thank you all for listening to this news... I apologise if it has come as a shock." he admitted, before turning his heels, stepping off of the stand, while the crowd burst into conversation.

Katara immediately pulled Aang away, not wanting to get involved with any talks about what was going on, and rather sought to make sure he understood that what was going on would not stop them, and that not all hope was lost; she knew that Azula could win, and fix her nation, and more than ever, she knew she had to entrust that task to her. She had feared what she might do to her brother, but now, she was more afraid of what her father might do to her; Ozai was coming for them, or at least, he would have people intent on stopping them from doing what they intended.

"Wh-what... what do we do now?" he asked her, his arm shaking as she held it, "How- how are we going to beat him?"

"By helping you master the elements, and by trying to get the Earth Kingdom ready for whatever he has in store for them." she told him what she thought; she was always intent making sure Aang mastered the four elements, but now, there was a rather serious imperative to do so.

They walked back towards the bollards, and the young Avatar leaned up against one, placing his hands in his head, "How do we know they're not lying?"

"I don't think the mayor would have read that out if he thought it was full of lies." she warned him, "Even if that guy doesn't agree with it, if I was him, I'd be pretty afraid to not comply."

"This isn't... I don't know what we should do now."

"We still need to get to New Omashu." she admitted, "This might change Azula's plans, but it doesn't change ours."

He nodded, before taking a bite out of his rice cake, still glancing around nervously, "Let's go back to camp." he decided, "I don't want to stand around here... when people might really be looking for me."

"People already were, Aang." she placed a hand on his shoulder, "But that's because they're afraid of you."

"Why? I don't want to hurt people."

"But you stand against the world Ozai wants. You're the only one... other than maybe her, that can stop him." she admitted, the young Avatar cringing.

"I know what Roku said... but I don't know if I can do it."

"You can do it. Maybe not right now, but you'll be ready. I know you will be." she assured him, before gesturing back into the crowd, which was dispersing away as people discussed the news they had just received, "You're right, let's just go back to Appa."

He nodded, and they paced off into the crowd, heading back toward the street they had walked down; she could see the top of the hill in the distance, where they had hidden Appa, and kept focused on moving forward, despite the crowd of people massing on the street. She could hear people talking but she tried to ignore them; she knew it would just make her more nervous, just as Aang already was; they mentioned 'the Avatar', and 'Princess Azula' rather regularly, to the point at which it made her feel concerned. Perhaps people already understood her intentions without her even publicly declaring them.

"Is- is she going to kill him?" Aang asked her, obviously having paid more attention to their conversations than she had.

"I don't know." she admitted honestly, "Maybe she still has an inkling of respect for him." she suggested, though she was really unsure what exactly was going on inside the Princess's head.

As they made their way up the street, and away from the crowd, he turned to face her, now seeming even more concerned than before, though she could tell instantly that he wasn't afraid for himself anymore.

"Ty Lee... she's not going to be happy." he realised, before his eyes widened, "Do you think she'll do something?"

"I wouldn't put it past her." she acknowledged, "She cares about her friends... and Ozai just had one of them killed." she admitted the blunt fact of the matter; she didn't know much about Mai, but she knew that both Azula and Ty Lee trusted and cared about her- neither of them would be happy about the turn of events.

"That wouldn't end well." he spoke his thoughts on the matter, "I hope she doesn't try anything... crazy."

"That's for Azula to do," she whispered to her friend, "and she'll stop her friend from doing anything like that. She's learnt her lesson about revenge... I think."

"And what will Sokka say?" he asked, the Water Tribe girl cringing.

"Hopefully something smart, and not something stupid." she whispered, "Sokka loves her... and he doesn't like him at all. I heard them having an argument about him back at the South Pole; let's just say, it wasn't a nice conversation to listen to."

"So... not good." he guessed, "I wish we didn't need to fight him. We might make things worse than they already are."

"I don't think things can get much worse, Aang." she admitted, "Let's just be glad that we're safe." she suggested, the young Avatar nodding; he mightn't have had his fears dissuaded, but at least, he could see that they were not the ones being attacked, at least not yet.

He took another bite from his rice cake, and swallowed it with a straight face; Katara wished she could help him deal with his worries, and concerns, which were exacerbated by the news they had just learned. Ozai wanted them gone, and that was clear enough by the part of the speech that mentioned them, and she knew there was a good reason for him to want them gone; they were the ones who could stand against his rule, and Aang was the one who could defeat him, once he mastered the elements and had complete control over his abilities.

He was the world's one hope, and even if he couldn't win alone, he certainly could lead them to a brighter future, and once and for all end the war. There would be no lull, or hiatus- Aang would end things in a far more absolute way than Zuko might have intended to. She felt a tinge of sympathy for Azula's brother, knowing that he probably didn't deserve what had come his way, and that he, like his sister, just was doing what he thought would be best for his nation, and for the world. Aang was not a good substitute for a friendly Fire Lord, which was why it was imperative that Azula became the Fire Lord, now that her brother was purportedly dead. She was unsure if that was the truth of the matter, but that fact was that as long as he seemed dead, despite whether he was or not, he would be treated as such.

Ozai hadn't died in the Agni Kai he fought with his son months prior, and the world only learned about his survival long after the event; she couldn't be sure of it, not until there was some solid proof. It made more sense for him to imprison him, if anything, given as a hostage, he could be used against Azula and Zuko's uncle, General Iroh, who she understood, from the Princess's musings, or more accurately, rants, about her family, had a strong bond with his nephew.

Whatever was the real situation, Zuko alive or dead, all that she could be sure of was that Azula was the only one who had the means and desire at that instant to go against her father, and she didn't doubt that she would. She had already expressed her intention to defeat him before, and though she didn't seem to despise him, like she did her brother, she certainly didn't trust him or want to work with him. Her desires to change the world for the better certainly went against the declaration that the mayor of the town had just read out.

As she and Aang reached the edge of the town, drawing closer to the cave where Appa was hidden, he let out a sigh, and ran his hands through his short hair, "So... we're going to New Omashu now?"

"Well, after we sleep." she clarified, "Don't worry, Aang. We'll get there, and we can talk with Bumi about this. I guess he'll have some advice, if he's as wise as he seems."

"Y-yeah." he nodded, "He'll know what to do." he declared, sounding more self-assured than before, narrowing his eyes in thought, "You know, you never finished explaining what happened after you all left that cave."

"Oh." her eyes widened, remembering the story she had been telling, "What was I up to... uh, that Azula was talking about Ember Island?" she asked, the young Avatar nodding, "Uh, well, after it got lighter, and wind died down a little, Dad and Azula helped Sokka move along, because of his broken leg, and then I cleared the path of all the snow that was laid down during the storm." she explained, "She was pretty thankful about us showing up, and after that, she started working around in the village more often. I still wasn't her friend... but I could tolerate her then." she added, before cringing, "I was so mean to her... I really should have made more of an effort."

"You can, when we see her again." he reminded her, making her smile.

"Yeah. She deserves a little respect for all she's done." she acknowledged, "Not just for us, but for my village too. I just wanted to prove her wrong all the time, prove that we were better than her... she was just trying to be her best."

"That's better than not even trying." he conceded, "I guess she's better in tough situations than me."

"Don't blame yourself for what happened Aang." she told him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "You couldn't've known what was going to happen."

"If I'd actually listened to the monks, instead of just worrying about Monk Gyatso, then maybe I would have understood. They were right, even if they were mean." he spoke his mind, sounding saddened as he mentioned his mentor, "I miss him. I miss all of them."

"I know." she grasped him by the hand, and hugged him, "I'm sorry that all this happened... but we just have to do what we can. I'm a real waterbender now. I can fight." she told him, "Before I met you, I didn't have any hope of really learning how to use my element."

"If I can give the world a little of that hope to, maybe that'll be enough to get people to believe."

"Believe in you?" she raised a brow, the young Avatar shaking his head.

"No. Believe they can be better. Everyone thinks the worst of each other. You did with Azula, and she did with the other nations; but maybe, maybe people can see we're all not that different."

"I hope I see that day." she agreed with him, "And then when I say sorry to her, she'll know I mean it."

---

With morning sun rising over the base which laid in front of her, Azula felt relieved that her journey back was finally over, and that she would have a chance to relax, even if only for the day. She knew that she would have to start dealing with the local Earth Kingdom rebels as soon as possible, and though she had requested her subordinates go send men to contact the rebels, she doubted they would be listened to unless Azula herself went to meet them. She didn't want to spend weeks travelling around the region, meeting with every Earth Kingdom rebel she could find, knowing that it would be a waste of time, especially given that she would be able to travel much faster as soon as Aang and Katara returned with Appa.

She was sure that with the young Avatar's assistance, she would be able to secure peace with the rebels, and direct their attention to the project she sought to build- a better Earth Kingdom, one that could be both unified and at peace, without the Fire Nation needing to lord over it. Peace of that sort had not been seen in the Earth Kingdom in centuries, and she knew that it would be for the greater good of all nations if the whole of the Earth Kingdom could be unified once again, with a better form of government that was better suited for its massive size and diverse landscapes and population.

No matter what happened next, she knew that she would need some time to relax and recollect herself, knowing that her almost a week and a half away had been spent in constant worry, not even considering the fights she had with both Earth Kingdom rebels and bounty hunters. Everyone was safe, however, and though she had gotten hurt in the last fight, Ty Lee was back to her usual chirpy self. Though she found her bubbly personality grating at times, especially when she was in a dour, serious mood, she did prefer that over her being hurt and frustrated, without the usual gleam in her eyes.

Sokka's mood had improved somewhat, though he still seemed a little averse and concerned over what had happened with the bounty hunters; of course, now they were back at the base, and she hoped his unease would pass on, and he could go back to his usual humorous and playful self. He was, like her, concerned with the matters at hand, and wanted to be serious, but she knew that he too needed a little break, if only for the day, so they could recoup and figure out what they were going to do next. Even if they had imagined what they might do, it wouldn't be as easy as they'd like without Appa to fly them or Aang and his position of Avatar to assist them in whatever diplomatic ventures they undertook.

The Water Tribesman was riding his komodo rhino beside her, and made a small smile as he too saw the camp approaching, though that smile barely broke through the groggy expression on his face; she'd woken him up early so they could ride back to camp as quickly as possible, getting up just after daybreak. She regretted it somewhat, knowing that if he was in a bad mood for the day, she'd be to blame; however, she knew that arriving back at base in a timely fashion was probably in everyone's best interest, no matter how much Sokka liked to sleep in. The safety the base provided them could not be overlooked, and she never truly felt comfortable camping out in the wilderness with her men, knowing that their tracks were easy to follow, komodo rhinos slow, at least compared to creatures like mongoose lizards, and the danger of Earth Kingdom rebels, or just plain bandits, coming to attack them while they were idling was too great to ignore.

"Mhmm..." he mumbled, before turning his gaze toward her, "So, can I have a little sleep or something when you two go to the spa?"

"I'd prefer if you had a shower. You stink." she retorted, her boyfriend wincing, before he smelt himself.

"Yeah, I guess I do." he conceded, "Okay, once I've washed myself, then I can sleep?"

"I'm not ordering you to sleep, Sokka." she quipped, not wanting to be that controlling to the point at which it was absurd; she would drag him out of bed when need be, but if she really didn't need his help, she couldn't care less.

"Oh, okay." he mumbled, before chuckling, "Oh, I can already smell that bed."

"Do you want your bed to smell like... that?" she asked, gesturing to his tunic, which he looked down at for a moment.

"Urgh." he cringed, "I do need to wash."

"Even idiots can have reasonable priorities." she quipped, making him scoff.

"Oh, if you say so, your majesty." he retorted, before turning his eyes to Ty Lee, "Are you going to side with her on this one?"

"You're not stupid, Sokka." she assured him, "But you do have weird priorities sometimes."

"What?" he raised a brow at her words, "Are you saying you don't like sleeping in?"

"Well, I don't mind it. I just want to spend my day as best as I can. And right now... that day is going to be spent at the spa." she declared, raising a fist up into the air.

"Don't forget there's a meeting with the commanding officers." Renshu turned back, reminding them of what else was in store for the day; that meeting wouldn't take long, and Azula was just glad she had good news, and a new project for the men to work on.

Redesigning the airships would be one of their priorities, so that once they had control of the factories of Shengchang, and the support of the industrialist Mister Takumi, she would be able to quickly produce a number of those crafts, and have them flying across the Earth Kingdom to support both her campaign in the colonies, and the Earth Kingdom rebels in reunifying and pacifying their country.

"I have not forgotten, Captain." she assured him, the leader of her guards cringing for a moment.

"Oh, that was addressed to Sokka and Ty Lee... I wouldn't assume you'd forget a meeting you organised yourself, your highness."

"Of course." she acknowledged, realising she had misjudged his intentions in saying that, "He is right. We will need to all be at that meeting, and discuss what will be going on in Shengchang once we take it, as well as organising these meetings with the rebels."

"That's going to be a pain." her boyfriend mumbled, the Princess glancing his way before she nodded, conceding that he was more than right; she didn't want to deal with such matters when she knew it would be tedious and force her into a position where she would no longer be the authoritative, all-powerful Princess Azula, but simply one person trying to communicate her intentions to another.

"Well, we're not going to deal with that today." she admitted, "Whatever comes our way, we can handle it."

"I mean, you can handle it, if you can be bothered travelling to every single Earth Kingdom rebel hideout and somehow avoiding getting captured."

"That's why Aang is helpful." Ty Lee spoke up, "At least people listen to him." she mumbled, the Princess raising a brow.

"And people don't listen to me?" she questioned her friend, whose eyes widened, before she raised her hands, and shook them about, obviously wanting to stress that she didn't mean to suggest that.

"N-no! I mean, you're a Princess of the Fire Nation. People in the Earth Kingdom don't like the Fire Nation, so they won't like you. You've already seen that." she explained her thoughts, the Princess eyeing her for a few moments, before she gave a curt nod.

"You are correct." she acknowledged, "I can only garner support from people who are willing to listen to me. That group of people does exclude most of the Earth Kingdom at the moment." she admitted, "We need to find a way to earn their trust, and hopefully without having to wait for Aang."

"You already promised to help those peasants." her friend reminded her, "They might trust you when your men carry out those tasks you gave them."

"That is true." she agreed with her, "My men are instrumental in ensuring the locals don't mistrust us. I cannot expect them to do everything to earn the Earth Kingdom's trust, but I do need them to work with the locals. If they treat them how Zhao let them, then we'll never shake off their hatred."

"Yeah, that's what I've been saying for a while." Sokka piped up, making her roll her eyes.

"I learnt my lesson at Ba Sing Se, Sokka. You don't need to remind me again." she waved off his words, before turning her attention ahead of them, noting the soldiers who were looking her way as she approached the edge of the massive encampment surrounding the base.

She raised her chin, and appreciated, if only for a moment, the looks of awe she received; she certainly appreciated her rank and position, and knew that with their trust, she would lead her supporters to victory. She knew that was a serious responsibility, but she had been preparing for such a responsibility for most of her life, and certainly ever since her brother was banished from the Fire Nation more than five years prior.

"Why so smug?" her boyfriend questioned her, making the Princess scoff, before she pulled on the reins of her komodo rhino.

"I just know that I'm in charge, Sokka." she retorted, before turning her gaze ahead; she eyed the soldiers as she approached, and looked toward the gates of the palisade in the distance.

The base was just as she had left it, which was a good sign; she was glad that it seemed nothing had happened, such as an attack from Earth Kingdom rebels, or perhaps even her brother's forces. She knew she would have most likely been informed by messenger hawk if anyone had dared to attack the base, as that likely would have forced her to change her route when she returned, but no message had come her way.

As she made her way along, she noted that the soldiers were turning and moving away, perhaps not wanting to get in her way, which she approved of; too often, she had to deal with men saluting her and greeting her with bows and all kinds of deference, when she really just wanted to get a move on. Perhaps they had learned their lesson after all that time, and if so, she appreciated it. Sokka and Ty Lee had fallen silent as well, probably just waiting for them to get back into the compound before they did anything.

As she approached the gates through the palisade, some soldiers moved to open them for her, though one soldier stood ready by the side of the path, presumably to greet her; she slowed komodo rhino by pulling on its reins, letting them open the gates fully before she was to pass on through. The soldier who had been standing there raised his hand to salute her.

"Your highness." he addressed her, before reaching to his belt, pulling out a scroll, "I was instructed by your council to give you this message as soon as you arrived." he explained, the Princess raising a brow; she could tell from the look of it that it was an official message sent from the palace, or at the very least, from somewhere where official letters were written.

"Is this another bounty?" she asked, before furrowing a brow, "Or from my brother?"

"Uh..." the soldier mumbled, his straightened lips suggesting it wasn't any good news, "It's not." he clarified, though that was all he said, before stepping back, letting her pass.

She looked at the outside of the scroll for a few moments, certain that it had to have come from the palace, and she placed it on her belt, deciding she'd read it when she got somewhere more private. She had a feeling that whatever was in it, the soldier she had just spoken to had been informed of its contents; she continued to ride along with the group, which turned to the left to head towards the stables that were set off aside from the compound.

Sokka, who had still been riding beside her, made his komodo rhino get a little closer before he asked, "Azula, what's the letter?"

"I don't know." she admitted, "In case this is private, or confidential, I'll just wait to read it."

"Uh-huh." he nodded, sounding a little confused, before he gestured to it, "It's a fancy looking scroll."

"I assume it's from the palace." she gave her best guess, "My council must have already looked at it before I arrived... how this came into their possession, I can't be sure." she noted, the Water Tribe warrior narrowing his eyes.

"From the palace, really?" he asked, "Do you think Zuzu's going to be asking for a peace settlement or something?"

She snickered at his use of her brother's nickname, and shook her head, "I doubt he'd try and do that when he is the one in the position of power." she acknowledged, "He might try and come to some kind of agreement if I come to fight him, but while he can just sit back and let more of those damn bounty hunters come for me, he probably won't even consider it." she gave her opinion on the matter, before Ty Lee spoke up, obviously hearing her mention of Zuko.

"Wait, did you get a message from Zuko?" she asked, the Princess shrugging her shoulders.

"I don't know. I haven't opened it yet." she clarified, her friend scrunching her lips.

"Are you gonna?" she asked, leaning her head forward slightly so she could eye Azula, who sighed.

"Just give me a minute, Ty." she told her, pointing toward the stables they were approaching, "We're nearly about to get off these damn komodo rhinos, and then I'll see what this message is."

"Maybe we really did get invited to the wedding." Ty Lee suggested, making Sokka snicker.

"Ah, that's a good one." he grinned at her, before his expression faltered, "Wait, are you being serious?"

"She's just sad that she missed out." Azula gave her opinion on why her friend had made such an absurd suggestion.

"Okay, I am kind of bummed that I missed out on Mai's wedding." she honestly conceded, before pointing to the letter, "But maybe it's from her."

"I doubt Zuko would let her just message us... that doesn't sound like the pedantic Zuko I know." she argued, making the acrobat cringe.

"Okay, I can see what you mean. He doesn't trust or like you."

"The feeling is mutual, Ty Lee." she stressed, before eyeing the stables, "Let's just get back to our quarters." she explained, "I'm sure you'd like to lie in your bed after being stuck on that saddle all morning."

"Yeah, I'd like that." she agreed, before scrunching her lips, "But I want to go to the spa too."

"We will." she assured her, "That's precisely what we'll be doing as soon as we put our things back in our rooms."

"Don't you have servants to do all that carrying for us?" Sokka asked, the Princess narrowing her eyes at him.

"I'm only going to take my bag. The tent and the rest can be taken in by the servants." she explained her intentions concerning her baggage; though she could, in theory, carry all of her stuff back to her room, she couldn't be bothered, and seeing that she had the free labour available, she would make use of it.

When she reached the entrance of the stables, she rode her komodo rhino inside, before she placed her hands down onto the front of the saddle, swiftly dismounting before she grabbed the steed's lead; she pulled it along, leading it into one of the pens before she grabbed her bag off of the saddle, slinging it over her shoulder. She then turned to approach the entrance of the pen, closing the gate behind her while she waited for the others to dismount their own komodo rhinos. The guards rode on inside, and did the same as she had, and Sokka and Ty Lee were the first to finish dismounting, and left their own pens with bags over their shoulders, and in Sokka's case, his weapons as well.

"Okay, so are we going now?" he asked her, the Princess nodding.

"That we are." she confirmed, Ty Lee approaching her, seemingly at random; she thought she might have gone to hug her, but instead, she reached to her belt, and pulled off the scroll, "Ty Lee!" she snarled at her, annoyed that she would just snatch it like that, "Give me that back." she demanded, the acrobat refusing to her request, unfurling the letter; her cocky expression suddenly was shattered, as her eyes widened, and she looked at the letter with an aghast, frozen expression.

"Ty Lee?" Sokka addressed her, confused why she had become so straight-faced; Azula didn't understand and she grabbed the scroll out of her friend's hands.

"Give me that." she grumbled, before turning her eyes to scan the document.

The very first line told her exactly why her friend's expression had shifted as it had- Zuko and Mai were dead, at least according to the message; she only had to scan down to the bottom to see exactly who it was officiated by, that being her father, with his seal as Fire Lord. She didn't need to read the rest of the letter to know what it was saying; her father had reclaimed the throne, and his loyalists had either killed her brother and Mai, or perhaps less surprisingly, he had done it himself.

"Z-Zula..." Ty Lee mumbled, tears falling down her face as she struggled to remain composed.

It took her a few moments to click, but she realised what the big issue was; her friend was supposedly dead, and perhaps, by her father's hand. She hadn't thought about Mai much those past few months since Yu Dao, but she was sure of one thing- she had helped her and Sokka escape the city, and because of that, she was in her debt. She couldn't repay that debt, not now that she was dead; she didn't want to believe it, knowing that her brother had said the same things of her father, just to fool the world into letting him take the throne.

"What's going on?" Sokka asked, completely unaware of the contents of the letter.

"Zuko's dead." she bluntly told him what she had read, her boyfriend's eyes widening with shock.

"S-sorry, what?" he asked her, as if she thought she was making a joke, "You..." he mumbled, before eyeing Ty Lee, "You're being serious?"

"I can't be sure this letter is telling the whole truth, or simply what my father wants us to believe." she acknowledged, before glancing back down at the document, which Sokka was looking at as well.

She scanned across the content, trying to find anything of interest to her personally; one thing did sit out, and that was a declaration that anyone that was associated with Aang would have committed high treason, and thus, warranted execution upon capture. She understood that category of people implicitly included herself, and told her all she needed to know about Ozai's intentions; if he wanted her back on his side, he wanted Sokka, Aang, Katara and anyone else who worked with them dead in the process. That was something she couldn't stand for.

"That motherfucker." Sokka growled under his breath, before snickering, "Uh... perhaps a poor choice of insult." he conceded, before turning to face Ty Lee, and his expression upon looking at her was understandable to say the least.

She was already on her knees, sobbing as she covered her face, unable to hold back her emotions, "Wh-why?" she gasped out, "Why did..." she mumbled, and didn't finish her sentence, just tilting her head down as she sobbed.

Azula knelt down beside her, not knowing what to do or say; the only thing she could think of, and the only thing she thought might bring her friend any semblance of hope, was that it mighn't be true, "Ty Lee... we can't be certain this is true."

"Y-you know your father." she told her, "Do- do you think he'd let Zuko live for what he did?"

She knew the answer to that question, and no matter how much she disdained her brother for what he had done, she couldn't agree with what she guessed her father had done, "Yes." she confirmed, "If Zuko's alive, then Mai's alive, and you have nothing to worry about." she placed a hand on her shoulder, "And if he's not alive... then I'm the Fire Lord, and Ozai has committed treason by orchestrating the death of a Fire Lord... no, two Fire Lords." she corrected herself, "And thus, I will take what is rightfully mine, and have him executed for enacting that treason."

"Th-that, that won't fix it, Azula." she told her, looking at her with a near angry glare, the Princess sighing.

"I know you take no pleasure in making others suffer, Ty Lee." she conceded, before narrowing her eyes at her, "But if this is true... I will avenge Mai. I swear it on my honour as her friend. She risked Zuko's trust to save us..." she acknowledged what had occurred at Yu Dao; though she had been in a daze at the time, she would not forget what she had done for her, "I should have been able to do the same."

"I knew... I knew you wouldn't hurt her, but... now..." Ty Lee mumbled, glancing up toward Sokka, who was lost for words, "Now I can't help her."

"Azula escaped that Agni Kai with a bit of help." he acknowledged, "She escaped in my arms, and Mai, she beat my arse." he recalled, "So, listen to me, if I'm not dead, she's probably not dead either." he gave her his own deductions, which were reasonable; Mai was a skilled fighter, and if she was as observant as she believed she was, then there was a good chance she could have gotten herself and Zuko out of whatever Ozai had thrown their way, even if he had claimed the throne.

"And Zuko is too damn stubborn to die." Azula added, before offering her hand, "Let's just... go try and relax. Or at least, go somewhere that smells less like animal shit." she suggested, Ty Lee accepting her hand; once she did, the Princess rolled up the scroll and put it on her belt.

Sokka looked at her with an uneasy face, "Uh, so... did you still want me to have a shower?" he asked her, making her roll her eyes; she didn't really care for that, at least not anymore, but that didn't mean she was going to completely ignore his smell.

"I'd recommend it." she simply told him before turning her eyes to her friend, "We'll go to the spa, if that's what you want." she suggested, her friend nodding, though she seemed very much shaken and distraught by the news; she sniffled, and wiped the tears from her eyes, before turning her eyes to Azula.

"Y-yeah, we can go to the spa." she agreed, and with that, they began pacing on out of the stables; she heard some footsteps behind her, and glanced back, noting that Renshu, along with a few other of her guards, had heard their conversation- his face was uncovered, and he seemed a little bit concerned.

"Your highness, do you want us to deal with the baggage?" he asked, the Princess shaking her head.

"I'll get some servants to attend to it. You all should rest." she suggested, before turning her eyes ahead of her once more, "We have a lot of things we'll need to deal with, soon enough."

She then led Sokka and Ty Lee along toward the compound, and they both remained silent; her boyfriend, unlike her distraught and shocked friend, just seemed concerned. Not the same kind of concern that Azula had; he probably didn't care much about Zuko or Mai personally, and obviously his thoughts were far more focused on the fact of the events that had transpired. He was certainly thinking about Ozai, and how they were going to deal with him. It would have been a lot easier to do so if he was still in prison, though, publicly being the Fire Lord again made him rather easy to locate, and thus, easier to deal with, once she had the means to defeat whatever defences he would build against her inevitable attack on the capital. She would need many airships, but the engineers at the base would have the technical capabilities she required, and she most certainly had the resolve to do what had to be done. There were more pressing matters than defeating her father at that very moment, concerning the safety of her forces, and the situation in the Earth Kingdom, and she was sure she would have to deal with those first. She had intended to, anyway, so her father's moves ultimately would not change her plans much, other than when they concerned Zuko.

She couldn't be sure if she was relieved, or afraid; she knew she wished Mai hadn't got stuck up in what was effectively a dispute between her father and her uncle, with her brother serving as a proxy for whatever intentions the Dragon of the West had for the Fire Nation and the world. After considering their intentions, she couldn't say that she wholly disagreed with the Order of the White Lotus, nor her uncle and brother for that matter, but she couldn't stand for the way they were going about it. They let the Fire Nation be torn apart for whatever aspirations of peace they had; if her brother had just had the guts to execute their father, and doubled down on any resistance to his rule, then he would still be sitting on the throne. When she had left Ba Sing Se, intent on defeating her brother and claiming the throne for herself, her concerns were more about her nation and her father's legacy, but now, as she stood beside her friend, wondering, if so, how her brother and one of her best friends had died, all she could think was how she wanted to destroy her father and everything he stood for.

"The letter didn't mention your uncle, did it?" Sokka asked her, after a long silence had fallen between the three of them.

"It didn't." she confirmed, before narrowing her eyes, "Perhaps he wasn't in the capital at the time. I'm sure my father would have loved to have boasted how he killed the Dragon of the West." she noted, before she scrunched her lips up, wondering whether her father would even say such a thing in public, "Or maybe he wouldn't... given how much the common people and soldiers seem to love him." she acknowledged, before looking at her boyfriend, "Did you have something in mind, Sokka?"

"Uh... no." he shook his head, "I'm just wondering who else can stand against him."

"A good portion of the military." she guessed, "A lot of them might prefer to serve my uncle over my father. He was well-liked and respected across the Fire Nation before he lost the Siege of Ba Sing Se."

"Well, what about you?" he asked, rather bluntly, "Correct me if I'm wrong, you'd be your brother's heir, if he didn't mention another."

"That's correct." she confirmed, before sighing, "Though I doubt many people will accept me over Uncle."

"That doesn't sound very Azula-ish of you." he retorted, making her scoff.

"I'm just being realistic. He's better known and has more connections in the military than me. Even if some people side with me, I doubt all of them would just accept me as Fire Lord just because I'm my brother's heir by technicality." she argued, "I've learned my lesson. People support you because they think you'll win, not because you're actually stronger or better suited for the job."

Azula turned her gaze to Ty Lee, who had remained silent, her expression still solemn, almost seeming nervous; she wanted to try and give her some kind of assurance, but she didn't know what to say other than what she already had. As they approached the gates of the compound, the guards saluted her, and opened the gates for her.

"Your majesty." they bowed to her, and Azula raised her chin up; it seemed that upon hearing the news, they had taken it as cue to refer to her as if she were actually Fire Lord, given that legally, she ought to be; unless there was some proof of an Agni Kai, her father had almost certainly seized the throne through force, rather than a legally binding duel, making his position as Fire Lord one of a usurper.

"Where are my subordinates?" she asked, "Have they assembled a meeting on the news from the capital?" she asked, the men nodding.

One of them gestured toward the front door of the compound, "They're in the meeting room right now, waiting for you, your highness."

She sighed, simply wanting to go to the spa, but she knew that matters had to be dealt with, especially now that she had received such dramatic news, "I will discuss matters with them at once." she decided, before turning her gaze to Ty Lee, "Do you want to go back to your room and clean up?" she asked, "You don't need to come to the meeting."

"Y-yeah." she nodded, "I'll go to the room." she decided, Sokka grasping the acrobat by the shoulder.

"I'll... uh, come with." he decided, "I need to go have my shower, anyway." he decided, the Princess nodding; neither of them necessarily needed to come to the meeting, and she knew that she would rather process her thoughts about what had happened on her own without any needless commentary from Sokka- he obviously understood she'd need her space.

"Will you be alright?" Ty Lee asked her, now sounding a little more concerned, the Princess nodding.

"I won't be long. We can have our spa session as soon as I discuss these matters with them." she acknowledged, "Things have... taken a turn." she admitted honestly, knowing that no matter how she felt about him, things would be different now that Zuko was effectively out of the picture, at least for the moment, and perhaps not for the better, considering that her father seemed to be taking a rather absolutist, hardline view on opposition, now that he had finally reclaimed his position as Fire Lord.

"Good luck." Sokka simply told her as they entered the doorway of the compound; she nodded at him, their eyes locking for a moment- he might have been worried about her, but she and Ty Lee turning to the left to make their way toward their quarters, while Azula turned to the right to make her way to the stairs that would lead up to the meeting room.

She made her way straight to the staircase, not wasting any time to walk on up to the meeting room; she truly just wanted things to be dealt with as quickly as possible, so she could worry a little less about whatever her father was intending. She was sure that she would be ready to face his forces, if that was what it led to, and if necessary, to enact extreme policies to defeat his forces. She could imagine razing the forest between her and the nearest colonies, effectively wiping out whatever forces moved through it, as well as building some more airships at the base, using them to bombard whatever forces approached her base until they were dispersed or forced to withdraw. A more drastic, and perhaps dangerous policy would be directing as many Earth Kingdom rebels as possible to destroy those forces when they left the safety of the colonies; that was likely unfeasible until Aang returned, though she knew the Earth Kingdom forces might be more than willing to enforce their belief of sovereignty over the lands in which her base was located.

Of course, a greater danger was that all the men who had been supporting her would see the fragility of their position and betray her; she wouldn't think it illogical or stupid to do so, though she knew those who partook in such a move would find their lives in danger; Azula did not take treachery lightly, and she hoped that her actions toward Zhao at the North Pole proved her resolve in that regard. She knew that danger was exactly what she needed to squash in partaking in the meeting she was about to arrive at. As she approached the doors of the meeting room, she took note of two guards standing by the entrance, and they immediately bowed to her, before pulling the doors open; she then looked upon her subordinates, who all rose to their feet as she entered the room, bowing toward her in respect.

"Your majesty." they all referred to her in unison, and she strode toward the head of the table they had been sitting at; she sat herself down, and a servant stepped forward with a pot of tea.

She nodded, and a cup was poured for her, and the Princess placed her arms on the tables in front of her, putting her hands together as she eyed everyone on the table, "I have looked at this message. Do we have any good reason to accept its authenticity?"

"Because of how we received it, your majesty." Colonel Jinchi clarified, "It came from a spy."

"A spy?" Azula raised a brow, "I don't follow." she shook her head, raising her right hand up, "You mean to tell me there have been spies in this base?"

"Y-yes." another of the officers, Commander Koun confirmed, "Two men came forward with this message yesterday, having received it from their overseers in the colonies." he explained, "They told us that because of its contents, they believe that your brother Zuko has been killed, and thus, you have succeeded him as Fire Lord. Thus, they had no reason to continue spying on you, as their rightful ruler."

"Which is legally correct." Azula conceded, before narrowing her eyes, "But that doesn't reflect the situation we face now. If my father truly is in power in the capital, then it's only a matter of time before his threats become actions." she stressed the danger they were facing, before furrowing a brow, "And what of these spies? Are they in custody?"

"Yes." Koun confirmed, "We have them locked up in cells just below us." he explained, "If you wish to interrogate them, the opportunity has presented itself."

"I will attend to that in due course." she clarified, before sighing, "So, what do you recommend we do now that my brother's forces might choose me as their next Fire Lord?" she asked, the officers glancing amongst themselves.

"That we move on to Shengchang and the other colonies as soon as possible." Colonel Jinchi argued, "Was your meeting with your supporters there productive?"

"Yes." she confirmed, "I have assurances that I will be receiving financial and industrial support once I take control of the city, and I believe we will have the means to create a fleet of airships that will be necessary in defeating my father's forces." she explained, "Of course, I do not intend to move on Shengchang until we have the firm support of the Earth Kingdom rebels who I understand have been a thorn in your side for quite some time."

"Your majesty, if I may be frank." another officer, Colonel Zhengyi, spoke up, "I believe we ought to seize this opportunity. Our position here is weak and under threat from Earth Kingdom forces on all sides. We would be better placed to move to the colonies at once."

"I understand that." Azula acknowledged, "And, if any colony was to declare their allegiance to me, in respect to the present turn of events, then I will more than willingly move our forces there. We are not safe here, I understand that, but we should not go into needless conflict with my brother's forces if they do not approve of my succession to the throne."

"Perhaps we should contact your uncle, your majesty." Jinchi suggested, "He is the most senior member of the royal family, and the only one who probably could sway the majority of your brother's forces to our side if he agreed to cooperate with us."

"As much as I despise my uncle... I understand he let me off that field in Yu Dao for a reason." she acknowledged what he had done, "Perhaps he had seen this was a possible outcome, and acted in considering the threat to my brother's life." she suggested, before sighing, "I will cooperate with him, if need be, but only to assure my father is dealt with."

"Of course." the Colonel nodded, "We cannot trust the Dragon of the West after what your brother did under his supervision, but we have little choice but to work with him."

"Precisely." Azula agreed with him, before picking up her cup of tea, the aroma somewhat calming, which she appreciated, given the topic of conversation.

"So, what shall we do about the Earth Kingdom rebels? Will we wait for the Avatar to return and make peace with them?" Zhengyi asked her, the Princess raising a brow.

"I am sure that my time could be better spent here at the base, making sure the transition to civilian rule goes along smoothly." she admitted, "I made a promise to the locals, and they will not be as cooperative if we do not fulfil that promise."

"If any of my father's forces come to harass settlements under our control, then we will respond with ruthless force; if the people believe we will protect them, then they will have our trust." she acknowledged, Commander Koun clearing his throat.

"If the enemy are going to try and attack us soon, then perhaps we should prod them into doing so. If they attack when they are less prepared than we are, then a defence against their forces will be easier. Then we can repel your father's loyalists for as long as possible, while ensuring whatever gathering of support from your brother's supporters and the Earth Kingdom rebels can be made."

"Weakening them earlier would be a wise move." she acknowledged, "Unlike my brother's forces, they do not have as many numbers, so I agree." she decided, before narrowing her eyes, "I want as many ships as possible moving into the Mo Ce Sea. Any ships flagged under my father's command are to be harassed, and boarded, with any goods onboard seized for our war effort."

"Will we not sink them?" Koun questioned her, the Princess pursing her lips upward.

"We shouldn't, as once my father is defeated, those ships will be ours." she explained, "By harassing them, we can incentivise my father to order a naval expedition to come to this region and attempt to assault the base, assuming they believed that removing the command structure would stop those attacks. We will annihilate whoever comes our way, and with the time it takes for my father's loyalists to recover the lost equipment and men, we will take as many of Zuko's loyalists under our wing as possible." she acknowledged, before sighing, "I ask that one of you contact a scribe, and have them write up a letter asking my uncle for his loyalty. Even if he refuses to support us, that doesn't mean that Zuko's forces won't."

"What defences should we prepare around the base?" Colonel Jinchi asked her, making Azula furrow a brow.

"Mining the outer palisade with tripwire and pressure-spark explosives would be the best option in the short term, though I believe that building a trench around the exterior of the base might also provide some defence against tundra tanks and komodo rhinos." she decided, taking her best knowledge she had from her tutorials on siege warfare and putting it to use.

"Such a trench, deep enough to prevent tundra tanks from crossing, could reasonably be constructed within two weeks, at the latest, your majesty." another officer, Major Chui, gave her his first thoughts, which she trusted, understanding that he was the head of the forces engineering corps.

"Actually." Azula's eyes widened, realising that she had a brilliant reason to increase cooperation, "I will need a rider to go west at once. I want to request some earthbenders from the nearby rebel group come to this base and help us build those trenches, and if my father;'s men come here, to defend our base. In exchange, we will grant them a steady stream of supplies and arms, and offer them control over this base once we ultimately withdraw from it in the coming months and relocate back to the homeland, where I will be reigning as Fire Lord." she explained, pursing her lisp upward as she understood how this would further her aims to build her fleet of airships, "I met some of them a few days ago, and they seemed amenable to cooperation. They will most likely accept my offer, and that will free up resources and time for the engineering corps to work on building a new, larger airship prototype."

"So, do you want me to organise the engineers to design a new prototype at once, your majesty?" Chui asked Azula, who nodded.

"That's exactly what I want you to do. As soon as we can have that prototype built, we can begin test flights, and if necessary, use it to fend off any enemies who come our way." she explained, before furrowing a brow, "I believe that my associate, Sokka, might be able to provide some advice on the design aspects of such a craft, so I will have him oversee the design of this new prototype." she added, thinking that would be a good job for Sokka to do, given he seemed to be rather creative and interested in creating things; she was sure that his mind would be put to good use with that project, and provide a distraction while they were effectively stuck at the base until Aang and Katara returned.

"Well, when I get the engineers who built your last airship assembled, he can have a look over their plans." he suggested, the Princess nodding.

"Sometime this afternoon would be best." she gave her best guess on when Sokka might be bothered to deal with that, before taking another sip from her cup of tea.

"What will we do with the prisoners, your majesty?" Koun asked, the Princess furrowing a brow.

"I'll deal with them later. Don't starve them or anything of the likes; I simply require whatever intelligence they might have going the opposite way. We could use better intelligence on my brother's forces, especially given they might be mine, soon enough." she clarified her intentions, before placing her hands together, "I don't think it would be wrong to assume that my father might send assassins our way. That's something we should prepare for."

"Should we increase security around the perimeter?" Jinchi asked Azula, who nodded, believing that to be the best course of action.

"As much as can be done. I doubt there's anything they will do at this moment, given that we're isolated from my father's loyalists and their conflict with the rest of the Fire Nation here." she gave her opinion, thinking that the threat her father and his supporters presently posed was far less than Zhao had to her, even though it seemed he had similar malicious intentions toward her and her allies.

Once she finished her cup of tea, she rose back up to her feet, "Was that all that had to be discussed?" she asked, the men nodding.

"Yes that was, your majesty." Colonel Jinchi confirmed, "We are glad you didn't fall to the hands of those savages on your trip."

"I had the best protection I could have had barring an army." she argued, "Though, bounty hunters did come after us, after we departed from Shengchang."

"How were they dealt with?" the Colonel asked, sounding less curious and more concerned about the dangers that might be coming their way, understandably enough.

"With the amount of force I believed necessary. I had all of them scarred as a warning toward anyone who might try to take me captive." she explained, "Though, seeing my brother might be dead, he won't be able to see my rather... harsh insult."

"Did you... uh, mark their left eyes?" Zhengyi asked, the Princess nodding as she pushed her chair in.

"I know that might have been unnecessary, given the news we received, but I hope my father hears about it... if only to understand what might come his way if he dares to send assassins or kidnappers our way." she expressed her thoughts on the message she had sent; she smirked at the thought of her father himself being intimidated, given how much fear he had incited into both her and Zuko as children.

She then decided that with that said, she would leave the meeting and head back downstairs; she needed to make sure Ty Lee was alright, given how she had first reacted to the news. Her friend having a breakdown was in nobody's interest, and she certainly wanted her to stay by her side rather than go out and seek revenge, something that might otherwise sound absurd in considering her bubbly, light-hearted friend, but she knew that she deeply cared for Mai, and she would not take Ozai's actions lightly.

"Have a good day. I will be at the spa, if I am needed in the next few hours." she explained her intentions, before striding toward the doors; they were opened up for her as she stepped up to it, and she made her way through.

Azula didn't even look back, just glad she could get the meeting over and done with, and go and do what she had really been looking forward to, that being to go to the spa. She made her way straight to the stairs, and strode on down them, back into the main hallway of the compound; she then strode on down the square-shaped hallway, looping back past the entrance, making her way past a few officers, who bowed toward her in respect. She nodded at them, but continued on, not having any time to accept their deference for any longer than a second; she reached the doorway that led into the part of the compound that contained her quarters, and pushed the door open, making her way down the hallway.

She saw some of her guards standing by the end of the hallway, having carried their things inside; they noted her presence, and instead of continuing to idle about outside, moved into their own quarters. She made her way along, and approached Ty Lee's door, which was shut; she considered whether she ought to give her a little more time, and knocked on the door. There was no response from inside, and she wondered whether it was because she didn't know it was Azula at the door, and not a servant coming to attend to her.

"It's Azula." she identified herself, and a moment later, she heard a quiet voice respond.

"Come in." Ty Lee allowed her, and with that, she pushed the door open; her friend was curled up with her knees to her face, sitting on her bed, not seeming any better than she had been when they parted ways.

She closed the door behind her, and considered what she ought to say; she decided that she would just bluntly admit how she was feeling, given that, at least for Sokka, that seemed to work effectively enough. She spent enough time hiding her emotions and acting cold and serious that she found it a little weird to try and do so, but she took a deep breath, looked Ty Lee in the eyes, and told herself that she deserved a little honesty.

"I don't know what to say."

Her friend pulled her head up, and she narrowed her eyes at her, "That you feel sorry for me... no, that's not right. You're Azula, you don't like feeling sorry for people." she observed, rather bluntly acknowledging her own flawed behaviours; she already knew she was weird, but it felt weird coming from Ty Lee to hear that.

"I feel... I feel frustrated." she admitted, "I know you're sad, and you have every right to be. If you were angry, that'd be perfectly understandable."

"It isn't fair." she simply told her, looking back down at her knees, "Mai didn't deserve any of this."

"People suffer for love." Azula acknowledged, "Trust me, I know." she raised a hand to stress, "She made a choice to go with Zuko, and help him. I'm not going to think any less of her because of it; that was her choice, and she cares about him... a lot more than I ever did." she acknowledged, "I'm a shitty sister, I know that."

"I know you care about Mai too... how... how are you so calm?"

"Because I've been here before." she gave her the truth, "I thought Zuko killed our father... I really did, and I hated him for it. Even if... Ozai is a horrible person, and probably deserved it after what he did to Zuko's face, but... he was the one I cared about, who I thought cared about me." she told her what she had believed, something that seemed absurd now that she stood there, thinking about her father ordering the death of Zuko and Mai, "I know that was foolish of me... but that's in hindsight."

"That's because you cared." Ty Lee admitted, "And now..." she mumbled, clenching her fist, before she hammered it into the bed below her, "Why?!" she shouted out, letting out the smallest bit of rage; she could tell that her emotions were going to bubble over, and she didn't know what to do.

She thought back to when she would have those kinds of moments, and knew there was a tried and tested method Sokka had used against her. She stepped over to the bed, and grasped her friend by the shoulders; she looked up at her, tears dropping down her cheeks, and she pulled her into a hug. Ty Lee probably didn't expect it from ehr of all people.

"I know... I know it's not okay." she mumbled to her, "Mai didn't deserve any of this. The why... it's a stupid reason." she admitted, her friend sobbing as she put her head down on her shoulder.

"Zula... we just... we just can't let this kind of stuff happen." she told her bluntly, "It's not right."

"We couldn't have done anything." she admitted honestly, "Maybe we could have tried to sort things out with Zuko, but who's to say my father's loyalists wouldn't have just tried to kill us all. If they succeeded, then nobody would be able to stop them." she told her what she feared more than losing; it was those she wanted to stop winning.

"Aang will stop him." she declared, "He has to." she added, now sounding less sure of herself.

"He will." she assured her, "We'll make sure of it." she stressed, staring her in the eyes.

"You're... you're different now." she mumbled, "You never used to hug me."

"I know you needed it." she simply put her actions in context; she wasn't going to suddenly become the world's most affectionate person just because she decided to express her feelings a little more often than never, "We can go to the spa now, if you like." she suggested, the acrobat scrunching her lips up.

"I think I might wash up first." she decided, "I kinda smell."

"I think we all do." she conceded, before glancing over toward the door, "Maybe I should do the same."

"Sokka's probably..." Ty Lee began, before she let out a small chuckle, pursing her lips up as she considered what might come next, "I won't hold you back any longer, your highness." she assured her, making the Princess roll her eyes; she figured out the lewd implications of her friend's words quickly enough, and she remained unamused.

"Enough of that." she warned her, before she stood up, "I'll go clean up, then you and I can have the spa session we've been waiting for. Finally... a little bit of relaxation." she made a small smile, "You deserve it after the beating the bounty hunters gave you."

"Oh... yeah, that was why I wanted to relax so bad." she recalled, touching the bandages that covered her forearms, which amusingly enough, looked like the pieces of fabric Sokka wore over his own, though that was some kind of Water Tribe fashion, rather than to cover any injuries.

She then turned around, and glanced toward the door that led into the small washroom adjacent to her friend's bedroom, "So, are you having a shower?" she asked her, the acrobat nodding.

"I'll do that." she confirmed, pulling herself off of the bed, now standing right beside Azula, who stood up to match her height; Ty Lee then leaned in and hugged her, and rather tightly at that.

"Thanks, Azula." she simply told her, and though the Princess realised she ought to respond, she was lost for words; she couldn't think of anything that didn't sound mushy or stupid, so she just kept her mouth shut and gave her friend a smile.

Once she turned to go into the washroom, Azula left the bedroom, pulling the door open and then closed it behind her; she knew she needed to go wash up herself, so she decided to head back down the hallway to her bedroom. As she made her way toward her bedroom, she passed by Sokka's quarters, where she could hear the shower going off; she momentarily stopped, and clenched her fists, realising Ty Lee had infected her with a terrible, lavicious idea.

"Dammit, Ty Lee." she growled under her breath, before stepping toward the door, pulling down on the handle and pushing it open.

"W-wait, I'm in the shower." Sokka spoke up, and she sighed, before closing the door behind.

"It's me, idiot." she identified herself, and Sokka just let out a little mumble in response.

"Huh... are you- uh, going to join me?" he asked, the Princess rolling her eyes before she grasped at the belt she had tied around her waist; she knew she needed a shower, and though she knew her idea was rather inappropriate, given that he was her boyfriend, she knew it was a tolerable thing to do.

She dropped her belt to the floor, and the chest piece that covered her shoulders and upper torso, pulling it up and off of her shoulders; it made a large bang when it fell to the ground, and she let out a huff. She didn't want to think about the war, or her brother, or her father, or anything like that; all she wanted was a little peace and quiet; she knew that stepping into the shower with her boyfriend didn't exactly qualify as that, but she knew that by his side, she could be a little less worried about all those things that were constantly in her head.

"What does it sound like, savage?"