Omori was grim at the best of times. Its' steel-plated, spiked towers loomed over the keep like claws. Standing in the foothills between two jagged mountains, the fortress offered little shelter from the gales that howled down the slopes. Lighting torches or lanterns on the walls was forbidden, to minimize light and make enemy reconnaissance less effective; even Firebending for training purposes inside the keep was strictly regulated.

To Omori's' north was a steep-banked fjord fed by mountain streams, giving the garrison an easy sea access. However, with the dead of winter approaching most of the fjord was frozen over, and with the Fire Navy patrolling near the shore, the supply route was closed. As the frigid temperatures dropped further, the conditions of the fort continued to deteriorate.

Not that this really bothered Takeo's Firebenders; they were, after all, hardened veterans of many challenging campaigns. Most had chosen to join the rogue General of their own free will, or were escaping what they saw as a worse fate. What irked many of them was the newcomers from the Earth Kingdom, always appearing and vanishing through the fort's passages like green-and-black phantoms, never speaking to anyone except Takeo and his war council.

Lieutenant Genpei could literally feel the Fire Nationals' hostility each time he passed. He had been in Ba Sing Se during the occupation; anger always made a Firebender burn twice as hot. Whenever he and Xi were summoned to meet with Takeo and his lead conspirators, it was like stepping into a furnace. Luckily, most of the time the Dai Li remained in a bunker beneath Omori, which Takeo had offered them as headquarters. It might have been intended as a snub, as they were literally placed on the lowest level, but Genpei didn't mind; it gave the Dai Li easier access to their bending element.

There were other reasons not to hate the people of the Fire Nation, Genpei mused to himself... like the one waiting in his chamber. As he made his way through the bunker, he made a chopping gesture with his gauntleted hand, and the stone slab that served as his door slid back into the wall. Stepping into the room, he found Rila lying across his bed. She was wearing nothing except his rough quilt, draped loosely around her waist. Her bronze and black armor lay neatly arranged in front of a small fire she had lit in his hearth.

"Want me to warm you up?" She brought her hand out from under the quilt, gently shaking a small, leather wine-flask.

Genpei grinned roguishly. "You, as always, are a sight for sore eyes." He tapped his foot, and the slab slid smoothly back into place behind him. A rotation of his wrist, and his earthen gauntlets and shoes collapsed into gravel on the floor.

"Show-off." Rila snorted. "The stone door seems like overkill."

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't disturbed by any of our... er, co-workers. And you can still get out easily enough-"

"Firstly, all your 'co-workers' are Earthbenders, so that slab isn't going to stop them. And second, if someone tried to come in here and molest me, I wouldn't just hold my own, I'd collapse the entire bunker." She brushed back her dark hair, revealing an unusual tattoo on her forehead: a slit-pupiled, teardrop-shaped eye, with three scarlet crescents curving upwards behind it.

"I don't doubt it." Genpei removed his hat and undid the clasps on his robe. "Have you had to 'hold your own' much in the past, before we made an alliance with Takeo?"

"Some lewd remarks." Rila shrugged. "There have never been many women in the Fire Nation's military outside the Home Guard, so the traditionalists resent me being here almost as much as you and your comrades. But no one ever tries anything worse. Most of the garrison know who my father was, and they always think that if they try to violate me, he'll come back from the dead and hunt them down."

Genpei chuckled. "If I had known who your father was when you started flirting with me, I probably would have had the same reaction." He removed the last of his garments and slipped under the quilt alongside her, running his hands down her narrow back. His teeth raked the side of her throat.

Rila closed her eyes, savoring the sensation. The tattoo on her forehead glowed orange, momentarily. "Well, the fact that you're a... "Mudslinger" is only gonna piss my squad members off even further. Apparently they've seen me hanging around the tunnel works near your bunker. I got an... earful from my captain this morning."

"Ah. What excuse did you give for not being on sentry duty this time?"

"Sentry duty? Please." Rila's hand grabbed Genpei's throat and pushed his head back as she rolled on top of him, legs around his waist. "You think Takeo's using me as a mere lookout, considering... what I can do?"

Genpei hissed through his teeth as they began to move. "True... that would be… such a waste."

"Can I ask you something?"

Rila arched an eyebrow, amused. "For a guy who likes to get right to it, you do talk a lot. Go ahead."

"Why… are you really working for Takeo? From what you've told me, you weren't even in the Army; you joined his garrison after Zuko declared him a traitor."

She took a swig of the wine. "You want the long or the short version of 'I think he's fighting for a just cause?'"

"I could care less about his cause. What's your excuse for getting involved in this? I'm guessing you have some past connection to Takeo, and it's not entirely positive."

Rila shrugged, raking her long nails lightly along Genpei's chest. "...I know Takeo's a misogynistic brute, but he's known my family for a long time, and he's got a certain code of honor. Which works in my favor, since he's giving me the chance to get the one thing I've been wanting for years."

"Which is?"

"My family's honor demands that I avenge my father's death."

"I... thought your father beat you?" Genpei rolled over, kissing the inside of her thigh.

"Yes, my father was a brute, and a killer. So what? During the Hundred Year War, you could've said the same thing about almost half of the Fire Nation's officers, and that's not even the ones named as "war criminals." I doubt the Earth Kingdom's soldiers or the Dai Li fought any cleaner."

Genpei grinned, craning his head around to look up at her. "Fair enough. I'm just surprised by loyalty to a family member who was cruel to you as a child. If I'd been there, I'd have sent a rock through his head."

"Well, aren't you the gallant one." Rila kissed his forehead, smiling. The smile faded as she closed her eyes for a moment. "I... didn't enjoy getting hit, no. There were certainly times when part of me hoped he'd never come back from a mission. But there were other moments, too. Like when he taught me Combustionbending, and how to survive in the wilderness. He kept us fed, kept us safe and hidden. He knew Ozai would want to use me, just as Fire Lord Azulon used him. Father was... a hard man, but he still tried to give me a choice. I finally made that choice, after Zuko killed him."

Genpei frowned. "How do you know it was Zuko?"

"Zuko sent Father on a mission to kill the Avatar without anyone's knowledge, even the rest of the Royal Family. Then, he renounced Ozai and joined the Avatar around the time that my father disappeared, in this same archipelago." Her voice burned with quiet rage. "Azula's airship fleet confirmed his death, after she attacked the Western Air Temple. The biggest piece they could find was his steel prosthetic arm, half-melted. Takeo was the only one in the Army who knew about my mother and I; he sent us the news. Either Zuko killed my father personally, or he led him into the Avatar's trap. Takeo's right about one thing: Zuko needs to be exposed for the lying hypocrite that he is. He loves to pretend he's such a man of the people, but he has no problem using and eliminating people for his own selfish ends, just like every other Fire Lord before him."

Rila leaned sideways and held her hand over the fireplace, causing both the coals and her tattoo to glow faintly. "Takeo told me when I joined his garrison, 'I'm leaving the Fire Lord to you.' He's been helping me improve my bending by aligning my chi. He served with my father under Fire Lord Azulon; he understands how the Combustion technique works, even if he can't perform it himself."

"And you think Takeo will just... give you Zuko?"

"I just told you, he as good as promised me that I could take Zuko's head." Rila sat up, staring at him. "Why... has he said something otherwise to you?"

Genpei hesitated. He liked Rila, liked her very much. Sex aside, her straightforward nature and ferocity were exhilarating, after all the kowtowing and double-crossing he had known for fifteen-odd years in Ba Sing Se. Rila appeared to like him back; although part of it was probably because he was privy to most of Long Feng and Takeo's plans, he didn't mind. He wanted to admit that Takeo was planning to replace Zuko with his insane sister, that his promise of personal revenge to Rila was probably as worthless as his bizarre "code of honor".

But the Dai Li were the last hope for the Earth Kingdom, and their best chance to return to power was this alliance with Takeo, unpleasant though it might be. As far as Genpei knew, he, Xi and Long Feng were the only ones Takeo had told about Azula's involvement. If he revealed it to Rila, he was undermining that alliance. He decided to compromise.

"I... just wonder if Takeo may have his own plans, for you and for Zuko." He managed, lamely.

Rila scoffed, crossing her arms over her breasts. "That's nothing new; of course he's using me for his own ends, any military commander would. The difference between how he's using me and how Zuko used my father, is that our intended ends are the same: Takeo and I both need Zuko dead, to keep our honor intact and ourselves out of a cage."

Genpei snorted. In his opinion, Takeo's open challenge to a monarch as powerful as Zuko clearly marked him as a loose cannon. Besides, if someone as unpredictable as Azula was crowned, the danger of Rila ending up in "a cage" seemed only greater.

Still, he again chose not to mention the Fire Princess. "So, what happens after Zuko's killed and deposed? Even if Takeo manages to take control of the Fire Nation Capitol, he'd never be able to hold it for long. And without leadership, the Fire Nation might collapse into chaos..."

"Oh, I'm sure Takeo has backup plans for whatever happens to the Capitol, although he'll have to deal with Fire Lady Mai and the rest of Zuko's family first; they'll certainly put up a fight. He's reckless, but he's not a fool." Rila shrugged. "That isn't one of my concerns, though. I've been driven by the need to avenge my father for years. Once I've accomplished that, my ties to the Fire Nation and to Takeo are finished; I'll probably disappear, start a new life somewhere else. One thing you can say about the United Republic of Nations, it certainly gives anyone a chance to start over."

Genpei shook his head, though he was flattered that she trusted him enough to confide. "So your backup plan is that you're using Takeo, just as he's using you... seems risky."

Rila grinned. "You don't get far in the game, unless you take some risks." A sharp vibration rippled through the chamber floor, jarring both of them and causing the fire to sputter. "What the Hell was that? Something collapse in the tunnels?"

"No, that's just Xi summoning me. Takeo probably has some message for us."

"Guess I'd better get back to my post." Rila reached for her leggings. "Let me know if he has anything interesting?"

Genpei smiled slyly. "There's only so much I can tell you, what with our leaders ready to turn on each other at a moment's notice. But if you were to meet me here tomorrow, with a bit more of that wine, my tongue might loosen a bit..."

Rila laughed as she pulled her jerkin over her head. "If your tongue were any looser, we'd both be executed for espionage." She tossed him his robe. "I'll find an excuse, don't worry. Help me with my cuirasse, will you?"

Genpei obediently began lacing together the leather-and-bronze plates that protected her torso and shoulders. "You seem very unconcerned with how things may play out for the Fire Nation. You really have no feelings on whether your country might collapse into ruin?"

"You forget, my father kept us living in the wilderness most of my life, just so that Ozai could never find us. I never really had a chance to feel anything for the Fire Nation, and I don't aim to stick around when the real power struggles start." She glanced over her shoulder at him as she picked up her helmet. "You should probably think about the same thing when Long Feng pulls his little coup in the Earth Kingdom."

"My concern is my country's future, not the whims of bitter old men. The Earth Kingdom will never catch up with the rest of the world, not with the feudal system it has now. Too many rural tribes and vassal kings are busy fighting each other, and Ba Sing Se is powerless to stop them. The Dai Li centralized the government's' power and brought prosperity in Ba Sing Se during and before the war. If they're returned to power now under the right leadership, they'll extend that prosperity to the rest of the country."

"Through the use of force." Rila snorted. "You'll pardon me if I don't break into applause at your idealism being fueled by a ruthless secret police-"

"My point is, I don't care what Takeo's ends are, as long as his means give our faction an advantage. King Kuei means well, but he has no clue what he's doing; Long Feng was running the Earth Kingdom since Kuei was a child. Yeah, the Dai Li are ruthless, but how many Earth Kingdom lives did they take, in order to keep the peace? None, until the Avatar interfered."

Rila rolled her eyes. "You're just being technical... and stubborn."

"You do know what Earthbenders are like, right?" Genpei replied sarcastically as he pulled on his robe. "Restoring Long Feng and the Dai Li will restore order at a reasonable price, and until the Earth Kingdom has order, it's just going to keep decaying. I'm not like you, I've lived in cities my whole life. I've defended their walls against attacking forces, I've broken up fights between civilians and seen them go home safe. I...I just can't watch my country keep falling apart like this."

Rila's cynical expression softened. "You've got a good heart, Genpei." She kissed his cheek. "Just... don't let it get you killed. Be wary of your leader."

Genpei returned the kiss with one to her forehead. "Same to you."

He swept his heel in a semicircle, and the stone door sprang back into the wall again. Rila extinguished the fire with a gesture and padded out, quiet as a cat.

Captain Xi was waiting for Genpei near the entrance to the bunker, flanked by two more Dai Li officers. Although they were both from Ba Sing Se, Xi and Genpei could not have looked more different. Genpei was a giant of a man with copper eyes, honey-colored skin and an oval face obscured by a thick, dark brown beard. Xi, twelve years his senior at forty-five, was shorter and paler, his stern features lean and chiseled. Apart from cropped black eyebrows, his entire head was clean-shaven beneath his wide-brimmed hat.

Xi had taken Genpei under his wing after Ba Sing Se fell. Genpei had flourished immediately under Xi's tutelage. A scavenger and orphan for most of his youth, his conscription into the Dai Li gave him a sense of purpose he'd never had before. Later, as Genpei learned about the Dai Li's darker secrets, it became clear that Xi had taught him mainly for a the purpose of having a loyal cohort, should he choose to desert the city. Nonetheless, Xi's teachings had made Genpei a shrewd investigator, and a highly skilled Earthbender. Although loyal to his mentor, Genpei could not resist teasing him for his uptight nature. It seemed ironic that a man with such a stoic attitude should be second-in-command to one of the most opportunistic organizations in the Earth Kingdom.

Xi glanced at Genpei, his narrow grey eyes finding a small scorch-mark on his sleeve. "What do you think we're here for, the New Year holiday? If you're reckless enough to bed an Ashmaker, you should at least be more discreet."

"Why?" Genpei smirked. "Have we been keeping you awake? Are the other agents getting jealous?"

"It's not our men I'm concerned about, it's Takeo's. Apparently, his son has a bit of a thing for that woman-"

"If any of the rebel garrison have an issue, they can bring it to me face-to-face."

Xi rolled his eyes. "Why the Grand Secretariat gave you an officer's commission, I'll never understand. You've got no discipline."

"No, but I'm damn good at improvising." Genpei grinned. "Which is why Takeo likes me more than you."

Xi didn't reply, though Genpei could sense his exasperation. As far as he knew of Xi's habits (and he knew them QUITE well) his mentor had never shown sexual interest in either men or women, and was always puzzled when any of his officers indulged. Genpei himself was surprised by how quickly his attraction to Rila had grown, but between the grim environment and the oncoming battle, he had no motivation to avoid her, especially now that he knew she was planning to disappear after it all played out. At least he probably wouldn't have to fight her when their leaders finally turned on each other...

Gliding down the main corridor of the bunker, the Dai Li officers paused at a marked-off space near the surface access. The scaffolding and canvass draped around the edges concealed a deep shaft, about forty feet across: an abyss that simply went down, down and down. Several thick ropes and chains, suspended from a steel crane, descended into the darkness; one of the crane's pulleys was rotating, drawing its' chain upwards. The main shaft extended so far down that it reached molten rock far below the sea-floor; a combination of Earth and Firebending was needed to keep both the pressure and the magma at bay. Apart from Xi and Genpei's rare meetings with Takeo, expanding the tunnels branching off of the main shaft was the only form of cooperation between the Dai Li and the Fire Nation rebels.

As Xi and Genpei peered over the lip of the shaft, there was a faint rumbling sound and a mild vibration; both men hastily anchored their earthen boots to the ground, wary of toppling over the edge. The speed of the rotating pulley increased. A small light grew out of the depths below, eventually revealing a Fire National and a Dai Li officer perched on a small platform at the end of the chain.

"Everything all right below?" Xi inquired, as the platform drew level and the two men got off.

The Dai Li officer saluted. "We had a minor cave-in last night that injured a Firebender and two Earthbenders, but we managed to dig them out and get them to the infirmary. For now, we've suspended our work on the secondary tunnels and focused on the eastern passage, far under the seabed."

"Any sense of how far you are, or how much longer it will take to complete?" Xi inquired.

"We're nearing the edge of the main landmass." The Firebender replied. "I've been leaving flame markers every half-mile, and we've definitely passed under the Western Air Temple."

Xi nodded. "See to it that the work continues, at the same pace. Keep rotating the diggers until we make a breakthrough. I'll inform Takeo."

The four Dai Li ascended through several more subterranean levels before finally arriving on the surface. The night winds whipped harshly against their flowing robes as they headed for a painted wooden citadel at the center of Omori. Although ornately decorated, the keep looked flimsy and unprotected; only the four towers that encircled it were fully armored. Omori's barracks and fortified positions were actually within the stone and steel foundations, honeycombed with passages leading to different exits along the multiple walls. This enabled the defenders to reoccupy positions that had already been taken, striking the enemy from behind unexpectedly; the only way to truly secure the fortress would be to occupy the entire labyrinth or collapse the tunnel entrances. One thing you had to give the Fire Nation, Genpei mused to himself, they had some extraordinary military engineers.

The banquet chamber of the citadel was dimly lit. Takeo was seated at the head a low table carved of cypress wood. Small tumblers of clear wine were laid out for the handful of officers around him. At the General's left were five figures dressed in robes that Genpei assumed were the style of Fire Nation nobility; although tattered and worn, they were made of high-quality materials. Curiously, all of the robed figures wore red leather headbands marked with the character for "Phoenix". As the Dai Li assembled opposite Takeo, a young colonel seated at his right lowered the skull-like visor of his helmet and glared directly at Genpei. His amber eyes were identical to Takeo's.

Genpei refused to make eye contact, but he was smirking inside. This was his competition?

"General Takeo." Xi bowed stiffly. "What can we do for you?

Takeo shook open a small scroll, his gnarled fingers tapping the characters. "Long Feng has a message for you. Claims it was in code, though it didn't take me long to break it." He tossed the paper to Xi. "You're to hit a Fire Nation town on the easternmost point of the archipelago, called Hira'a."

Xi's eyes flickered. "This is... earlier than scheduled. Long Feng told us not to provoke the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation against each other until after the battle-"

"Circumstances have changed." Takeo replied impatiently. "Fire Lady Mai is too suspicious; she's not far from finding out who my intelligence source is, and she's convinced Zuko to readjust the time of attack. Besides, if we don't force Zuko's hand soon, the Avatar might get involved. A diversion involving the Earth Kingdom will take the focus off Omori long enough for us to finish the tunnels."

"I thought you wanted the Avatar to find out about Zuko's deception, Father?" The colonel at his right chimed in. "Wouldn't it make more sense to-"

Takeo cuffed his son roughly on the back of the head, and the young man fell silent instantly. The General glanced at the Dai Li officers. "Please excuse Shingen's interruption. He still has much to learn, especially about voicing objections in front of guests." He glared at his son, who kept his eyes down. "The Avatar will come into play eventually, but not before we're ready for him. To confront the Avatar head-on in battle would be suicide; he was only a child when he crushed Ozai, and now he's an adult with full control over the Avatar State. For now, we need him, the Fire Nation Royals and Earth King Kuei distracted. You will go disguised as soldiers of the City-state of Omashu, and make sure you leave behind evidence that supports this. The world will believe the Earth King has no control over his most powerful vassals-"

"And now that King Bumi has died, the new King of Omashu will be seen as plotting revenge against the Fire Nation for the wartime occupation." Xi nodded. "I trust our transports are prepared?"

"We were forced to move them to an outlying island before the blockade started, along with my ironclads. Otherwise, Zuko's airships would have sent them to the bottom of the fjord. The tunnel accessing this particular island was the first one we completed, so you'll be able to reach your ships without interference."

Genpei kept his expression blank beneath the brim of his hat, but he felt a small cloud of disappointment gathering in the pit of his stomach. He wouldn't be able to meet Rila for another rendezvous. The fact that this mission would improve the Dai Li's prospects of returning to power was small consolation.

"My friends of the New Ozai Society bring us another message." Takeo continued, nodding to the robed figures with the phoenix headbands. "They have established contact with the... rightful Fire Lord, Lady Azula."

Xi's eyes narrowed slightly. "The Grand Secretariat and I... assumed Azula would be present for negotiations before the battle."

An elderly woman seated close to Takeo's left glanced away. "The Fire Lord is... concerned about her safety, at the moment."

"How convenient." Genpei snorted.

The woman kept her eyes on Takeo, but her lip curled. "She does... question the necessity of such turncoats as the Dai Li..."

"Turncoats?" The Dai Li on Genpei's right bristled angrily. "We helped her take Ba Sing Se, we helped her foil the Avatar's invasion of the Fire Nation, and we never turned on her, even after she sank into madness! Who are you to speak for her- one of her minions from the insane asylum?"

The woman stood up quickly, a flame glinting at her fingertips, but Takeo raised his hand. "Put that away and sit down, Tomoe." He smirked at the Dai Li. "Azula's merely being... cautious. If it's any consolation for your ego, she's threatened at least a dozen times to hunt down and kill me if I betray her." He gestured to Tomoe and her cohorts. "The New Ozai Society were the only ones Azula would communicate with after her little Kemurikage plot failed. They've always remained loyal to her father's regime, and they've been her representatives here at Omori ever since."

"So you've never actually met with her face-to-face? How can you even prove that she's behind them if you've never had verification-"

"Of course I've had verification." Takeo lifted his tumbler of wine and drained it. "What, you really think I'm stupid? I insisted on meeting with Azula in person, within a week of the first contact. That's where just one of the death threats came in; the rest were all by letter, and she refused to meet again after that. She was barely lucid enough to make it through our conversation, and she's even more paranoid than she was during Sozin's Comet." He glared at Tomoe, who was staring daggers at him. "And don't you start acting offended on her behalf, Tomoe. I was sheltering your friends from Zuko long before you started sneaking off to meet with Azula- behind my back, I might add. You've got no love for her, she just represents an opportunity for your betterment, just as she does to everyone here. Get on with the message."

Tomoe hissed between her teeth and began to read from a small scroll. "'...This is my final communication, before the battle for Omori. I am currently cut off from the fort by sea and am therefore unable to help prevent the siege. Instead, I shall re-join General Takeo and his forces after the evacuation, to play a part in the shadow campaign against the Earth King and my treacherous brother's regimes. Once leverage has been gained against Zuko, all efforts must be made to take him into custody so that I may finally prove my divine right to rule the Fire Nation. Fire Lord Azula."

Well, that's nothing we didn't know before, Genpei thought. Takeo's mouth curved into an amused smirk as he re-filled his tumbler.

Xi's eyes were focused on Takeo, not Tomoe. "I notice you haven't mentioned the payment you owe the Dai Li for the services we've given you, and continue to provide. The weapons you promised us have not yet been delivered-"

"And you expect me to do so now, in the middle of a siege?" Takeo glanced at him contemptuously. "The ironclads were evacuated before Zuko tightened the blockade, I don't have access to them now. Everything else is ready to be transported during the evacuation, and will be handed over afterwards."

Xi narrowed his eyes. "You are aware that one word from me to the Grand Secretariat, and your entire evacuation will be cut off. No one would escape Omori when Zuko chooses to strike."

"Neither would you." Shingen growled, springing to his feet and pointing a fire-dagger at Xi's face. "Assuming there's anything left of you, anyways."

Xi raised his left arm, cracking his stone-encased knuckles contemptuously. Eager to prevent the meeting from descending into a brawl, Genpei hastily stepped forward. "I'm sure Captain Xi just needs a better guarantee of future payment, given that our alliance is so... tenuous."

Both Takeo and Shingen's eyes fell on him. Genpei tensed, though he knew entering a fight was pointless; it was four Dai Li against over a dozen skilled Firebenders. Then Takeo let out a harsh cackle of laughter. "Finally, someone who gets to the point, instead of hiding behind loyalty or pride." He stood up and drained his cup again. "Here's your answer: I don't pay in advance. You complete your missions in the Fire Nation- something that both Long Feng and I benefit from- and I'll begin the installments, starting with the war balloons and tanks. The ships will take longer, but rest assured, you'll have everything I promised Long Feng by the time our partnership concludes." He grinned wickedly as he sat back down. "And who knows? Perhaps, if the Avatar is drawn into our conflict, our alliance might continue..."

"Don't count on it." Xi replied. "Will there be anything else, General Takeo?"

Takeo reached into his belt and withdrew two more scrolls. "I had two messenger hawks from the Fire Nation Capital yesterday; the first was addressed to my officers in general. They each received a copy as well." He unrolled the first, which bore the Fire Nation Royal Seal, and began to read in a mocking tone. "'To all those who have committed treason and joined the war criminal Takeo on Omori: I am not my father, who would have snuffed out your lives the moment you deserted. I have no desire to shed the blood of my subjects. Therefore, I offer you a chance to demonstrate your loyalty. Clemency will be extended to any man and woman who either deserts Omori at once, or helps subdue Takeo and brings him to me. If Takeo surrenders now he will be placed in the Boiling Rock, which is more merciful than anything the Earth King's courts would give him. If he does not surrender, I make no promises, whether he is captured or killed."

"This offer of mercy will only be extended once. To anyone who remains in Omori by the time we attack: you will suffer the same fate as your treacherous leader. Fire Lord Zuko.'"

Tomoe frowned. "He's not... usually that harsh, is he?"

Takeo nodded. "Zuko might have written this, but he's using some of Mai's words. Unlike her husband, she doesn't second-guess herself when ruthlessness is needed, and she's stealthier." He set the scroll on the table and glanced around at his followers. "Zuko calls my honor into question; I will answer. I made no attempt to hide this message from you, even though I could have easily shot down the messenger hawks. Anyone interested in claiming their pardon? I'm right here, if anyone wants out."

All the officers, as well as Tomoe and her New Ozai followers, conjured firepoints in their hands. For a moment, Genpei wondered whether they might actually turn on Takeo, but instead they all held the firepoints against the edges of the scroll, setting it alight.

Takeo smirked at Genpei and Xi. "This is what loyalty means, Mudslingers. I've led these soldiers in a hundred campaigns; we've all shed our own blood and the blood of our enemies for each other, and they all answered my call when the Fire Lord branded me a criminal, no questions asked. If Zuko had understood that kind of loyalty, he'd have me backing him instead of putting a noose around his neck. If you'd understood that kind of loyalty, either to Long Feng or to Azula, you'd never have been put on the run after the war."

Genpei kept his face blank, though he was itching to wipe the smirk off the Firebender's face with a well-placed rock. There were more kinds of loyalty than blindly following this arrogant old clout, he thought.

Xi's expression showed no reaction to the taunt either. "What is the second message from the Capital, General Takeo?"

"From my informant on the Fire Lord's War Council. We now have the precise date that Zuko will launch his stealth attack: four days before the Winter Solstice." Takeo leaned forward. "That's the other reason we need to distract the Royal Family, through this attack on Hira'a. As I said before, Mai is suspicious. If she and Zuko decide to change the attack date and not announce it to the War Council, we're finished."

"We could weaken their intelligence by taking out the Yuyan Archer scouts." Shingen cut in, but his father shook his head.

"The Yuyan have already been evacuated, when Zuko blockaded the mouth of the fjord. Luckily, they never learned about the Dai Li, or our little excavation project. How far along are they?"

"We spoke with a pair who claimed they were beyond the Western Air Temple." Xi interjected.

Takeo scratched the scar along his jaw. "We'll need to maximize the amount of manpower for the main tunnel, to complete it in time. Send hawks to all our mountain scout patrols: they are to return to Omori at once." A lieutenant saluted and headed for the hawk-roost tower. "That'll be all, Mudslingers. Your ships will set sail tomorrow morning, carrying the gear you'll need to masquerade as soldiers of Omashu. You may go."

Genpei and his comrades doffed their hats, bowed silently, and swept out of the keep. Grey sleet, stained by the exhaust of the Fire Navy's ships, whipped against them as they hurried back into the underground fortress complex.

"Do you really think Takeo's troops will be able to complete the tunnel by the time we're back from Hira'a?" Genpei muttered to Xi, as soon as they were out of the rebels' earshot. "He must be insane to think he can get that far without any Earthbending support."

"Don't underestimate Fire Nation technology. Remember the drill they used on the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se?" Xi replied, keeping his head down as they descended back into their bunker. "I'm more concerned with Hira'a itself. We barely know anything about it besides its' location, and Long Feng never mentioned it to me as a potential target. Takeo may be luring us into a trap. For all we know, there's a major Fire Nation garrison there, capable of taking our task force out-"

"But if Takeo really wanted us killed, wouldn't he just do it here rather than give us a chance to defect?" Genpei shook his head. "It would be too easy for us to betray him and the Dai Li, in exchange for the Fire Lord's mercy. I'm puzzled about why Takeo wants to drag Omashu into the conflict. Forget that talk about Kuei not being able to control his vassals; everyone already knows he can't even control Ba Sing Se."

"Omashu's the second most powerful city in the Earth Kingdom after Ba Sing Se, nearly as well-protected, and with its' own form of government." Xi shrugged. "If the Fire Nation resumes war with the Earth Kingdom under Takeo's leadership, that's one major obstacle out of the way. But the pendulum swings both ways. Weakening the Earth King's strongest vassal would increase Ba Sing Se's influence within the Earth Kingdom- and, by extension, ours, once we have Fire Nation technology at our disposal."

"But that's only after we return to Ba Sing Se, and somehow convince the King to reinstall us." Genpei sighed. "And it's beginning to look like that's never going to happen-"

"Oh, don't pretend you've given up, either on your cause or on Long Feng." Xi cut him off. "You're just upset that you won't have that Ashmaker girl to warm your bed."

Genpei stumbled slightly as they passed his chamber door. "Er... actually, it's called Combustionbending, apparently."

The two officers in front of them stifled chuckles. No one noticed Genpei's hand twitch as he straightened back up, causing pebbles on the passage floor to sweep together into the shape of several characters:

Couldn't make it. Hope I see you again before the battle. Save me a little wine, and be wary of your leader.

About fifty miles northeast of Omori, a single craggy spire of rock rose out of the mists like a serpent's head emerging from the sea. Centuries before, Avatar Yangchen of the Western Air Temple had often climbed the peak to meditate into the Spirit World. The spot had once been marked by a small shrine in her honor, but it had been destroyed during the genocide of Sozin's Comet.

A scarred raven-eagle plunged out of the clouds, its' vast wings spreading to pull out of the dive. The cloaked woman standing on the slope extended an arm, and the raptor lighted heavily on her leather-wrapped wrist. It preened its' patchy neck as she pulled a small scroll from its' harness, then accepted the two strips of raw meat she offered it. She thrust her arm upward, and the great bird rose back into the air with a croaking screech.

The woman unrolled the scroll, her eyes processing the characters on the paper almost instantly. Then she ignited it with a flick of her fingers, watching the tiny wafers of ash scatter through the air, indistinguishable from the snow.

Everything was finally ready. Well, not quite everything. She still had to fill her stomach… and the yeti-ibex she had been tracking for the last half-hour would do nicely. Crouching, she examined the tracks. There was a slight indentation in the right hoof, indicating some old injury: a battle over territory, perhaps, or a misstep on a treacherous slope. It didn't matter which; it was a weakness. And weaknesses were to be exploited, just as hers had once been. She had no weaknesses now, of course. She had eliminated them.

"Have you?"

She rolled her eyes and shot a glare at the robed woman standing to her right. "...You could at least do me the courtesy of waiting until after I've eaten."

"You hesitated. Do you see me as the weakness you will never admit to?"

"You're not a weakness. Merely an occasional, irritating... distraction."

"Is there really a difference?"

"One can become accustomed to distractions. Learn to see straight through them, even." Her lip curled. "You can't grow out of weakness, and you can't hide it, at least not for long. The only way to deal with weakness is to remove it, before it removes you."

"Spoken with conviction." The robed woman smiled. "You're a good actress, like me. But your uncertainty betrays you. I know you too well."

"You never knew me at all, and you never tried to learn how to, either. That's why you always thought I was-"

She stopped, for the woman had already departed. Just as well. Her ears pricked at the harsh bellow of the yeti-ibex on the slopes below; it was trying to warn off potential rivals in its' territory. Instead, it had helped her zero in. What a dreadful mistake.

She raised the hood of her ragged fur cloak, and drew a long kukri knife from her belt. They had all said she was a monster. How wrong they were. She was a hunter. And her quarry never escaped her for long.

This one took a while to write, mainly because I was busy creating the characters. Sorry it took a while, please enjoy and reviews are appreciated!