A/N: Hi Everyone! Hope all is well with each of you. Just wanted to get this chapter out before we move into the next action arc of this story. There are games afoot and the team will begin to put some of the pieces of the conspiracy puzzle together. Ozai will seem a little OOC in this chapter, but keep in mind that he has been humbled and broken down by his circumstances and is facing his inevitable demise without his bending. He just doesn't have the same energy to be demonic as he was in the series. Ako will begin to reveal his part in this story as will others. Stay tuned and let me know what you think or if you have any questions don't hesitate to comment. Happy Reading!

Disclaimer: What is the point of pretending you like your child? Can't they already sense it one way or another?-Ozai of the Fire Nation (SMH)

Chapter 18-Expect the Unexpected

Zuko took her time with her workout though she knew that she probably shouldn't have kept Hilda waiting in her condition. She wasn't afraid to talk to Hilda but Zuko had a sinking feeling that whatever was happening with Hilda's father was directly connected to what happened to her and Jet's story too.

What if she realized Captain Nishikawa was a part of the conspiracy to take over the Fire Nation and the return to the sense of extreme national pride and traditionalism? That would mean that he was directly responsible for the attack on Zuko's family and home and would not bode well for Hilda because her father would be considered a traitor.

Nishikawa has control of a ship and influence over several others. It wouldn't take much for him to prepare and plan a naval assault on his own country. Zuko was well aware of the captain's views on foreign relations and knew that he was not keen on her relationship with Sokka though he respected her status as a leader of the nation.

After repeating the same kata multiple times Zuko knew it was time to go and stop putting off the inevitable. Good or bad Zuko needed to know what was happening and deal with it. She figured making Hilda wait wasn't the worst idea because if it was a trap Hilda might be more inclined to share more than she intended if she thought that Zuko was indifferent or aloof to her situation.

Zuko decided to wash up and change into something more formal before going in to speak with Hilda. She wanted to make sure Hilda knew she was not dealing with the shamed princess from Madame Hachi's school two years ago, but a leader and someone with the influence and power to affect her life if she crossed her.

As Zuko entered the antechamber Hilda gasped in surprise. She was caught off guard by the scar across the face of her princess. It gave her a more austere appearance which she hoped was only an appearance. Personal tragedies have a way of jading a person. Hilda stood and lowered her eyes in case anyone else entered and found her manners poor.

Zuko sensed Hilda standing as she entered the room and used her heat sense to gauge Hilda's emotions.

By the look of her heat aura, Hilda was a deepening yellow-green that indicated sadness and perhaps fear. Whatever Hilda was dealing with brought her grief. "Hilda please be seated. It is not necessary for you to stand in your condition." Zuko said plainly.

Hilda's eyes widened in surprise. How did she know I was standing? She wondered. Is the princess truly blind or is her eyesight weak from the accident? People do have a tendency to exaggerate, she knew. Zuko smiled.

"Don't worry. I am actually blind if you were wondering. I use my bending to help me navigate." she said. Hilda huffed in amazement.

"Then that means you are a powerful bender indeed! I never knew it was possible to use one's bending in that way. Thank you so much for granting me audience today, your highness." she choked out trying not to become emotional again. It would not become her to dishonor herself before the princess with a hysterical display.

Zuko's heart went out to Hilda. She heard the anguish in her voice and knew that regardless of what her father may or may not be doing Hilda was in distress and pain. She would hear her out.

"Please tell me what is going on. I will most certainly do what I can to help if possible." Zuko said avoiding giving her an absolute in case things are as she fears with the captain. Hilda rung her handkerchief around her fingers once more not sure where to begin.

"Your highness, I—I don't know where my father is. The communication tower insists he is on his ship and fine because he sends in his weekly reports. Father has never gone more than two weeks without sending me a missive by messenger hawk even if it's to tell me that he is working on military business and won't be in contact. I have not heard from him in over six months. His messages stopped coming around the same time as the attack on the Caldera."

Zuko's eyebrow raised. That's quite suspicious. Hilda saw the princess's reaction and knew that Zuko realized what she did. Zuko urged Hilda to continue. "I have sent message after message and they all return to me unread. Others who have family on my father's ship have not heard from their relatives either. I can't shake the feeling that something is wrong and I fear the worst." she said her voice cracking on the verge of tears once again. Zuko took a deep breath. She knew by all appearances, things weren't looking good.

"What else can you tell me? Was there anything strange or out of place that you noticed before the attack on the Caldera? She asked. Hilda was thoughtful. It seemed she wouldn't think of anything when her eyes lit up.

"Yes, your highness! I do remember my father sending a gift right before he was to go on patrol in the Mo Ce Sea. It was an expensive gift for me because he had just learned about the baby. His message said, "This is just the beginning of great things to come, we are on the verge of returning to the glory that once was...Long live the Fire Nation." Hilda's voice became strangely strained.

Zuko's brow furrowed. "I thought at first my father was just working on an assignment that paid handsomely as he can sometimes take on side work for merchants and private dealers, and he was excited about it, but now I'm not so sure. My father has always been strongly patriotic for our country but this message...Is it possible he was into something that was dangerous?" she asked further fueling Zuko's suspicions. Zuko schooled her face in the slim chance that Hilda was not being sincere and sighed.

"Hilda, I cannot make any promises to you about your father but this one: I will do everything in my power to investigate this and see what is already known about your father's ship. It is possible that your father is on a long-term mission as opposed to other possibilities. We will make no assumptions until we know for sure." Hilda breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"That is all I desire, your highness. I just want to know that my father is safe and sound. I want him to be around for his grandchild. Thank you, Princess Zuko. I was right about you: you are truly fair and kind." she said not able to hold back her tears of grief and appreciation. Hilda dropped to her knees once again.

"Your Highness, I must apologize again for the way I treated you and the Lady Muta not so long ago. I know that I wasn't very kind and I remembered your words about needing those very people I mistreat one day. I thank you for not being like me." she said as tears continued to stream down her cheeks.

Zuko went over to Hilda and took her hand. She urged her to stand up and smiled.

"I forgave you long ago Hilda. We were both learning how to become better people at the time. Let's put the past in the past, shall we? Please take care of yourself and your little one. I will reach out to you soon." she said gently.

In an uncharacteristic move, Hilda wrapped her arms around Zuko's neck and hugged her for all she was worth. She would never have gotten away with this in public, but she took the risk because she was just so grateful that Zuko took the time to hear her and offer her help. She thanked her over and over for her kindness and care. Zuko blushed and told her it was what she was here to do.

Zuko offered Hilda a palanquin ride back to her home which she refused at first until she felt a strong kick from her baby. She humbled herself and accepted the ride knowing it was at least a few miles back to her home. As Hilda prepared to leave, she turned one last time to Zuko and gave a deep and sincere bow.

"Thank you for being who you are, your highness. I will never forget your kindness to me. I sincerely hope that you will one day be Fire Lord. Our nation needs a leader like you." she said with genuine appreciation.

Zuko inclined her head to Hilda and gave her a smile. She hoped for Hilda's sake that the situation wasn't what she suspects. She would have to discuss this with her uncle.

Zuko left her room and made a beeline directly to her uncle's office. Surely there must be more to this story than meets the eye. When Zuko entered, her uncle was sitting at his desk in the process of crafting a letter. She heard the scratching of the brush against the paper and took a seat in one of his chairs near the fireplace.

She would wait until he was done knowing that what she had to share was significant. Iroh noticed his niece walk in her face pinched in thought. Had she made a new discovery? Muta shared with him how Hilda Nishikawa begged to see Zuko about her father, the captain. What had Zuko learned? He wondered.

Captain Nishikawa's reports all indicated that the ship is out on patrol in the southern Mo Ce Sea to guard and protect the Fire Nation interest of the treaty line. Those types of missions can go months at a time, and usually, communications are permitted by messenger hawk.

He folded up his recently dried missive and sealed the ends with wax. He would wait until after he finished talking with his niece before sending it. Whatever she discovered must be important and may change the tone and direction of this message to Earth King Kuei. Iroh joins his niece in front of the fireplace.

"How was your visit with your former classmate?" he asked not giving away his thoughts. Zuko chuckled. She knew her uncle was always one step ahead at least and skipped the formalities.

"I get the feeling that something is very wrong with this situation. My classmate was distressed because she hadn't heard from her father in six months. It would be easy to dismiss her fears as pregnancy humors and the "irrational fears" of a woman, but Hilda is no fool nor is she overly emotional. She was distressed and highly concerned because there was a drastic change in communication between her and her father. Her messages via hawk return to her unread and the last message she received was disturbing."

At this, Iroh's eyebrows rose and he began stroking his beard in thought. It is highly unlikely that a man would cut all communication with his family especially in a time like this when his country is once again on the edge of war, and especially as one who is expecting his first grandchild. Hilda is Nishikawa's pride and joy and his only child. He would not ignore his daughter for months unless he was unable to send a message.

Zuko repeated the message that Hilda received last just before her communication with her father stopped. She mentioned her thoughts around it.

"That is strange, niece. It is clear that the ship is still operational and in service because we receive regular reports from the captain about his patrol...Hmmmn. Zuko, give me just one moment."

Iroh was up as fast as lightning and walked to his file that held copies of the reports. He grabbed a large stack of papers and set them down on his desk. He sat down and began going through the papers one at a time. They all seemed normal and perfectly in order until he noticed that there were characters in red when the reports are normally written in all black. Only numbers normally were reserved for red ink but none of these characters were numbers.

the old general quickly grabbed a new sheet of parchment and began to look through the reports that arrived shortly after the attack on the Caldera. As he wrote a pattern began to emerge: The Hawk is valuable. Every four messages the same four characters are highlighted in red. The Hawk is valuable. The Hawk is valuable. Valuable. Iroh looked up sharply. That was an Earth Kingdom character.

"My niece, I think you are correct. I believe the captain has been sending a distress signal in his reports." Zuko got up and walked over to her uncle's desk. "What is it?" she asked intrigued. Iroh smirked. "He uses only four words highlighted in red. The Hawk is valuable." Every four reports those same four words are highlighted throughout." Zuko gasped suddenly. What character did he use there, Uncle? For valuable? What is it?" she asked excitedly. Iroh leaned in closer and looked at the character closely. Huh. It would almost seem like a misspelling or miswrite by the captain if it wasn't done so consistently. Iroh was chuffed.

"Zuko, you're a genius. In the Earth kingdom, this character is similar to the character for "valuable. If they have been compromised then they wouldn't want to use the Fire Nation word there. It would have been too obvious. Nishikawa is fluent in both Fire Tongue and Earth Tongue for trade and negotiation. The lines have been shortened on this character, but "valuable" here could also be the word for captured or hijacked. Do you think-?" he mused aloud. Zuko gasped. "The captain is in trouble." she declared.

In moments, Iroh called for Lu Ten and filled him in on their theory. Lu Ten went through several of the reports and had Ako verify for the captain's handwriting since he worked closely with him on the ship. Ako was shocked.

"This is definitely his handwriting. The captain is meticulous about his reports and would never use multiple-colored inks unless it was a financial report. The only people who would know that are the captain, myself, and former ensign Jet Wu." The room paused.

Jet's name keeps coming up in conversations surrounding this conspiracy. Zuko wasn't so sure if Jet was actually involved in the coup in the way she previously thought. There were too many unanswered variables and wild cards but the evidence was starting to point in a different direction. Zuko looked to her uncle and cousin.

"What are we going to do about this?" she asked. To make a big to-do about it would alert those who are involved and perhaps cause more damage in the long run including collateral damage. Iroh looked at his niece.

"How does a night reconnaissance mission sound to you, my dear?" Zuko gave her uncle a crooked grin. "Oh, I think it sounds like a lovely idea. Nothing like a night mission to keep you on your toes. Let's go rescue the captain." Lu Ten looked at his father and Ako.

"I'm in. I think it's time we get to the bottom of what's going on." Ako nodded and smiled. "I'm in too! If the captain is in trouble I want to help." he declared. Iroh nodded in approval.

Ako was glad they figured it out finally. Ako saw the reports on Iroh's desk for months but couldn't say anything. He is sure the old General will ask him about it eventually but he couldn't very well let them know how much he knows until they uncover the entire truth for themselves.

This mission will be a step in the right direction. Nothing is as it appears. Rescuing Nishikawa was going to be an eye-opening experience for all involved. Ako sighed inwardly. He didn't like holding back the truth from the royal family, but it was for their own protection.

The powers at play were dangerous and wanted nothing more than to eliminate the line of Sozin to put in their puppet and plunge the world back into war. The world would surely fall out of balance if that happens. Despite his opinion about Ozai and some other members of the royal family, Ako knows this coup attempt runs deeper than any of them realize and must be thwarted.

They needed the push to realize Jet may not be all that bad. Finding out his true intentions will help in the long run. He is still undercover and if he were compromised now everything would fall apart. The priority is getting Captain Nishikawa back in the Caldera before anyone realizes what they are about to do.

Iroh knew that Ozai would be highly suspicious if he and Lu Ten just disappeared for a few days, so they needed a cover story to be able to leave freely and also take Zuko with them. Ember Island was only a five- or six-hour trip from the Fire Nation border of the Mo Ce Sea by sea vessel. They would be able to get to the ship and back before the next sunrise if all things went according to plan, but first, they needed a plan.

Zuko came up with an idea to have a five-day trip to Ember Island with her uncle, cousin, and friends since it was still warm and good weather for sailing. Her birthday was quickly approaching to her father's horror. Ozai hated pretending like it was a day he enjoyed celebrating. He went through the motions on her birthday for the sake of the people as royals' birthdays are considered holidays, but everyone in the inner circle knew Ozai despised any festivities connected to that day—her day.

Zuko realized they could use it to their advantage and Iroh knew exactly how to make the proposal and told the team to leave it to him. The next morning Iroh went to his brother's office early knowing that he would want to get a jump on the never-ending paperwork of a Fire Lord. When Iroh knocked, Ozai called wearily, "Yes, what is it?"

Iroh opened the door and spoke cheerily, "Good morning my dear brother! It's a beautiful day to be alive don't you think?" Ozai frowned. "Why are you so happy this early?" Iroh chuckled. "Well, because it is almost time for my niece's birthday and I wanted to see what you had planned this year!" he replied with a hint of amusement.

Ozai smacked himself on the forehead. "Oh, Agni! Not this again! Is it that time already? Does the girl have to keep having birthdays?" he groused and sighed running his hands through his hair. Iroh rolled his eyes and ignored the insult to his precious niece.

"Brother, I think I have an idea that both you and Zuko may like this time around." That got his attention. "Really? What do you have in mind?" Iroh smiled. He had him. "Well, Zuko doesn't really like coming out in public for these large events especially now since...everything that has happened and you don't really want to spend the money on it, am I right?" Ozai shrugged and conceded. "Not really."

Iroh sighed lightly. "Well, I think we should give Zuko a nice quiet beach party on Ember Island and let her enjoy her closest friends. It's something she would want anyway and you don't have to put any effort into it. You can still make the announcement per the protocol and avoid having to spend money on such an extravagant ball. Perhaps give some to charity as a goodwill measure in the Princess's name. You can always save the rest of the money for when you really want to celebrate in the summer." he said hinting at the fact Azula's parties are much more expensive and thought out for her birthday.

Ozai stroked his beard. Hmmn, this does solve several problems for me, he thought. A question troubled him. "Brother, what about if people ask why we didn't go all out for the crown princess's birthday?" A valid point, but Iroh already had an answer.

"Remind your people the princess has had a very traumatic year and although she had made remarkable strides in her progress, she does not feel ready for such events and the nation is still taking precautions to protect the royal family after this year's tragedy. It is the wish of their princess to celebrate privately though it will be no less important to the nation and citizens may celebrate as they desire."

Ozai smiled. "I like that. I like that idea a lot. See that it's done, Brother. Thank you for this— you've really helped to lighten a load." Iroh bowed and smiled to himself. "No worries, Brother. I am here to assist you in any way I can." As he stood up, he added, "Oh, by the way, I don't think we should force Azula to come." he said carefully. Ozai raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, and why not?" Iroh chuckled. "Do you really think Azula would be keen on hanging with Zuko's friends?" he asked matter of factly Ozai imagined the chaos that would ensue forcing Azula to spend time with her sister and a ragtag group of peasants and foreigners with perpetual positivity. "Right...No, Azula then. She can always have a party here on her sister's behalf," he said casually. Iroh nodded and gave one last bow. "I'll begin my preparations immediately. Enjoy the rest of your day," he said as he made his way to the door.

Ozai waved his hand dismissively and began working on his neverending stack of papers on his desk. Ozai chuckled to himself about how savvy his brother thought he was. Iroh knew that Ozai really didn't want to throw a large celebration and Zuko didn't want to attend one. He was almost tempted to change his mind if for nothing more than to annoy his oldest daughter but realized his brother made a lot of sense.

Zuko had been through a lot this year and he wasn't a monster. He just realized the girl left much to be desired when it came to her contributions as a role model and her efforts for the continuation of the Fire Nation. Perhaps her being away will give him time to figure out how he can get her married off to continue the line of Sozin. He was running out of time and options.

Iroh wasted no time in preparing for Zuko's "birthday cruise." He knew his brother would not have agreed to such a trip if his daughter had suggested it. He shook his head sadly. Iroh wished Ozai understood that Zuko is probably the only one who could keep this country together if anything happened to him. She is the reason the country is still intact now.

He hated that Ozai despised his daughter and couldn't see her potential and her skills. He was always like that: impulsive, prejudiced, and quick to judge based on his emotions. These flaws are probably why there is an entire coup occurring right under his nose!

Ozai doesn't know how to detect friend from foe otherwise he would already know who is trying to take over his kingdom.

Iroh procured a small but fast vessel that would allow them to reach Ember Island in less than a day. There could be no indication of their true intentions. If the rebels caught wind of their plan to rescue Nishikawa, there was a good chance he'd be killed to keep from revealing what he knows and would push them back in their progress.

The rebellion would hide in the shadows once again. Iroh had already made the gaang aware to be prepared to make the trip and that it was to serve a double purpose. He hoped if all things went well, they would have two reasons to celebrate at the end of the week.