With Zuko…

"Announcing Zuko, son of Ozai! The returning Prince!" The Master of Ceremonies called out from the cracked open door. I sucked in a breath as sweat beaded down my collar and ran down my back, "and Iroh, son of Azulon! Former General and Dragon of the West!" I looked to my left, glancing at Uncle who was stone-faced before I was given the signal by the guard at the door. The doors swung wide open to let us into the chamber of the Blazing Throne. Together, Uncle and I marched into the chamber for the first time in three years and knelt before the throne.

"Zuko, my son," father said, sitting firmly on the Blazing Throne behind his veil of fire, "Welcome home. You have neither failed nor succeeded in your objective yet you are here today in order to shed light on Zhao Yashin of Caldera City," the said man was chained and kneeling to my left, "and his orders to blockade and capture Kyoshi Island. In these proceedings, he has accused you of keeping information vital to the wellbeing of the Fire Nation secret, how do you answer these accusations?"

"They are false, father."

Earlier…

Whale Tail Depot…

"Captain Yuain will deal with the HarborMaster, Prince Zuko. You know we must seek the commander of this depot to see what news has arrived," Uncle said as we stepped off the gangplank.

"I'm aware of what we need to do, Uncle," I growled, "let's just find out what we need and get off this rock."

"Find what out, Prince Zuko?" I turned to the source of the voice and saw a face I hadn't seen since my last day in Caldera but never wanted to see again.

"Captain Zhao," the man raised his eyebrow.

"Commander, actually. And General Iroh, always a pleasure," the commander said as he gave Iroh a short bow, "while the Fire Lord's brother and son are always welcome in my harbor, I cannot help but wonder if this has anything to do with the missive you sent out?"

"That and this is the closest harbor before we get on our way, my ship needs to be restocked," the flat tone was the most I was going to give him.

"Hm, and you said that you were hunting a Flying Bison? Forgive me, my prince, but I had thought the Sky Bisons were extinct?" He said with a smirk, I frowned at him even deeper.

"I had thought so as well, we were wrong."

"A shame, the Fire Lord won't like that you let a Sky Bison get away," he pointed out sharply.

"We saw him going overhead while on our ship in the Southern Ice Fields, Commander," I said coldly as the commander looked surprised. "Perhaps you haven't been sailing in the fields recently, but I can assure you that we were pulling full steam and still were only able to pull fifteen knots from her at maximum. The Bison and his passengers were going at least twice that and the Bison wasn't even struggling."

"Are you saying that the Bison can outrun our best ships, Prince Zuko?" Zhao asked with a disbelieving smirk.

"Easily. I believe they are making a run at the North Pole and will be able to make that journey as fast or faster than our best ships can sail - and they're going to be able to keep that pace overland, in a straight line to the Pole. You know as well as I do the limitations we have overland and our ships would take much longer to get to the Pole even if we were able to make it through the smaller rivers connecting the Mo Ce Sea to the Arctic Circle," Zhao's eyes widened and the disbelief dropped away.

"The North Pole? Why the North Pole?" Zhao asked, rubbing his chin in concentration.

"The Bison's passengers were Water Tribe, where else would they go?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Zhao's eyes narrowed to slits as he nodded.

"Then you will be interested to know that the FNV (Fire Nation Vessel) Whale Fin of the Kyoshi Convoy reported sighting a ship being apparently towed at high speeds with a large load nearly a week ago."

"How fast was this ship traveling?" Uncle Iroh asked as he stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"We're unsure, but the Whale Fin's Captain reported that the vessel was apparently made from ice and moving at well over a hundred knots." I felt my eyes widen, "though, this vessel was only seen from a great distance - the captain was not able to see an engine or what could have possibly been towing them either."

"Agni's wings…" Uncle whispered while I just nodded.

"Then our next port of call is Kyoshi Island. Thank you, commander, we will be on our way as soon as our captain finishes his duties onshore," I said, giving the commander a quick bow before turning back to the INV (Imperial Naval Vessel) Lady Ursa. While she wasn't the largest ship in the harbor, she was a workhorse. Originally built for Grandfather Azulon's last fleet and one of his greatest accomplishments as Fire Lord - and the backbone of his fleet. She was classed as an Interceptor Sloop and was traditionally used to carry prisoners or messages very quickly - but she was old. She had almost thirty years in service at this point, and was originally named the INV Pride until I renamed her. She wasn't a ship of the line by any stretch but she could outrun any other transport ship in the Fire Nation fleet with the retrofitting I had done to her to get her up to snuff.

She was quite possibly the fastest ship in the Royal Navy but the Bison had still outrun us. Our best hope was that the Waterbender hadn't given us the slip completely…

Kyoshi Island…

"What if he's not here Uncle? What if we missed him?" I growled to the old man as I paced at the well deck with him by my side.

"Then we take into consideration that they are moving much faster than even our communications. They were spotted a week ago, Prince Zuko. It would not take long for the three of them to resupply their Bison and fly beyond our reach through the Earth Kingdom, if that is so then they will have begun their run to the North Pole. If they are not here or if they escape your grasp again, then we will have to look for them at the Northern Water Tribe." I whipped my head around to glare at the old man.

"The North Pole!? You didn't want to face him at the South Pole! He's going to be a hundred times harder to capture up there with other waterbenders to help protect him, and let's not forget that they'll be at their strongest! And if he is the Avatar then the Tribe will do their damnedest to help and protect him before pointing him at Caldera City!"

"Perhaps, though I believe you are overthinking this, Prince Zuko. Percy does not seem to be the type to kill indiscriminately."

"Even if he isn't, he'll still go after Father! I can't let him do that!" I snapped at the old man as I faced the door again. Shortly a squad of Firebenders joined us in a standard landing formation.

"My Prince, the captain has informed me that we are nearly at Kyoshi Island. What are your orders?

"Raid formation, Sergeant," I told the man who was at my left shoulder. "If they meet us in force on the beach, we'll give them the wrath of Agni himself. If they force us to meet them in the town, we'll go in on the Komodo-Rhinos and burn the Waterbender out of hiding."

"As you wish, my prince. What are your orders should the waterbender meet us on the beach alone?" The sergeant asked from underneath his helmet. I glanced at him over my shoulder as we felt the ship come to a halt. "What are the odds of that happening?" I heard another soldier mutter but couldn't pinpoint where the voice came from but bristled even more.

"Then he's mine," I hissed as the gangplank fell.

I stepped off the gangplank and the first thing I noticed was the Waterbender, his two Water Tribe friends, and another girl I didn't recognize standing there waiting for us. The waterbender had his arms crossed in front of his chest with a smirk on his face and I felt my ire rise with my temper.

"You!" I roared while pointing at him, "you lied to me! You said the Avatar was dead, but you were him the whole time!" If I had been paying more attention I would have heard my soldiers snort in irritation mixed with confusion. For the soldiers - at least - it was a good thing I didn't hear the same smartass mouth off with, "Avatar? How did he get that idea?!"

"That miserable old timer?" he called back in disbelief, "he has been dead, and if you think I'm the Avatar you're real funny, man!" I blinked at the term but sneered as I thought of something else.

"Then explain your sky bison!" I thought I had him with that, there was no way anyone but an Airbender could have a Sky Bison.

"Appa!?" he yelled in disbelief that actually had me reeling slightly. "We found him roaming around the ice fields one day lost as you wouldn't believe! Saved our lives too, we had just lost our canoe to rough water when we stumbled on him. Had a saddle and everything. Maybe your country didn't do such a great job killing Airbenders!"

"The Air Savages were responsible for hundreds of my countrymen's deaths!" I shot back, not noticing the tension spike among my men.

"And your nation wiped them off the face of the Earth and decided to wage war on the world! How are those two even remotely close!?"

I saw red at that little proclamation. I managed to drive it down, focusing that anger into more fuel as I pointed across the beach at him and roared: "Agni Kai!"

I was so angry that I didn't hear his question but Uncle called something back to him and I heard him call back:

"Thanks, Iroh! So is this with swords or bending?"

"BOTH!" I roared over my shoulder.

"Ohhh, daring today aren't we?"

"ARGH!" I yelled as I started across the beach, "LEE, GET MY SWORDS!" I yelled to one of my personal bodyguards. The corporal turned but the commanding Sergeant held up his hand and passed a pair of Broadswords to me instead. I snatched the blades from his hands and tested them briefly, never taking my eyes off the infuriating Waterbender. I almost fell over when a long, double-bladed sword appeared out of thin air and into his hand as a stream of water flew from the sea - ten meters away - to engulf his left arm, forming a large, round shield that covered most of his upper body. I gulped but marched down the beach and knelt down in the sand. I stripped my shirt off as I laid the broadswords in the sand and dragged in a few ragged breaths, trying to calm the raging inferno within.

"What are the terms?" The waterbender called across the sand. I ignored him as I tried to center myself, transforming that rage into a controlled, but lethal, blaze.

"If you win this duel, we will leave this island - peacefully," Uncle Iroh called out. I almost snarled at the offer but remained silent, "if Prince Zuko wins, then you will leave this island with us."

"Deal," he called back and I almost smirked at the waterbender's idiocy but I frowned as he carried on. "I will leave this Island with you peacefully should Zuko win, but you never mentioned anything about me staying with you onboard the ship!" I snarled in rage as he said that, trying to control my anger but it was like a writhing dragon at this point.

"Kneel and rise, Percy," Uncle called and I could hear the tension in his voice, but the Waterbender had made his stance clear and there was nothing we could do, "then the Agni Kai will begin."

I waited for a beat before rising from the sand, a Dao in each hand. The Water Bender stood in his water tribe furs and linens but his sword was ready and his shield was presented. I slashed down through the air with the broadswords, directing fire down them and toward the Waterbender as I stepped forward. He caught the fire on his shield while I prepared to charge, but he had already begun running - nearly catching me off guard with his sheer speed.

I barely caught sight of his sword trailing through the sand before he launched it up toward where my neck would be. I felt my eyes widen as I jerked my sword up to catch the long blade. The impact gave off a deafening clang but I knew the fight had only just begun. With my ears ringing and wrist aching, I launched my right blade at his neck. He intercepted the strike with his shield but I had sent my left blade singing for his front leg. He stepped backward with the grace of any dancer, 'or water bender,' I thought wryly as the bastard had the audacity to actually grin at me as my blade clanged against his again. Scowling, I brought my blades up and tried to get my right blade around his shield but failed.

That was all I could take.

I growled again, harnessing my rage to launch a torrent of fire toward him, smirking slightly as he dropped to his back, rolled, and used his shield as a springboard to throw himself toward the water. A beat later and I felt my eyes widen as the water writhed and whirled around him forming thick, heavy plates of ice in the form of some kind of armor in that instant. I felt more than heard myself scream as I swung my swords through the air, launching volley after volley of fire just to try and get through the bastion of the ice armor. But no matter what I did, I couldn't get through his armor and he just didn't slow down! It was like fighting a force of nature.

I raised my fist and unleashed a torrent of fire toward him, hoping it would at least stagger him. It didn't. He just marched through the fire with his shield raised, sending the inferno around him. What really terrified me was the fact that this… This juggernaut had decided to run into the blaze like it didn't affect him at all and was nearly on me after a few bounds. I panicked, there's no other word for it.

I dropped my swords and fell to my back, hoping to try a move that Corporal Lee had taught me onboard Lady Ursa. What I had forgotten was that this move wasn't going to work on sand. I fell to my back and failed to spin but I had managed to channel all of my rage, hate, and frustration into one giant wave of fire. I thought I saw the waterbender hesitate and know that his charge slowed. In the time I thought I had gained for myself, I tried to regain my footing but froze when I saw that terrible sword hovering at my throat. My anger died as I stared at the sword - that I finally realized was made of two different metals - pressed against the front of my neck. If he so much as twitched, I was dead. I gulped in terror, all of my earlier emotions transforming into humiliation and fear for my life.

"Yield," he said, his voice muffled by the thick, white piece of ice around his face. I nodded slowly. The sword disappeared from my throat as I looked up at the brilliant blue sky from my place on the sand. For a second I could only wonder what had went so terribly wrong… I knew he was a powerful bender but he was my age! I'm a prince! He was a peasant! A bastard peasant at that! My blood had carried the strength of the sages and most powerful firebenders the world had ever seen, Fire was superior! All at once, that pain, humiliation, and fear all condense into a razor sharp blade of hatred for the Waterbender standing over me in that terrible armor of ice. But hearing the bastard say, "Maybe next time, Iroh," was all it took to set my temper off again.

I managed to gain my footing again and charge down the beach towards the waterbender - I heard screaming but didn't realize that it was my own voice. He was still fully armored in those strange plates of ice as I launched a punch toward his helmet clad head, the most intense fire I had ever made wreathing my fist as it streaked like a small comet toward his head.

In the beat before it made contact I saw two things: Uncle's face over Percy's shoulder as he watched in horror from five meters away - I had the visceral realization he was trying to get to me - and the slight disapproval on all my troop's faces that was largely overcome by the sheer nonchalance that seemed to be the prevailing look for all of them. At that moment I realized I had made what was probably the second largest mistake of my life, especially as the Waterbender seemed to turn around almost lazily as his hand blurred up to catch my fist. For a second, the world faded away. Condensed only to the two of us as I saw the slits of murderous green eyes through the short, opaque strip of ice in his helmet.

"You know," he rumbled quietly as Uncle stood rooted to the spot he was standing. "Peacefully, usually doesn't mean trying to punch someone in the face with fire." The next thing I knew was a horrible jerk in my right arm that threw me off balance and the last thing I remembered before the darkness was a horrible, thunderous impact that took me square on the chin.

With Iroh…

Later…

'Zuko, son of my heart… In these last three years, where did I go wrong? Where did my teachings fail you? I had thought that I had taught you honor but your attempt to strike a man after a lost Agni Kai was shameful… And something I had hoped you would never do, something I had never expected from you. You had fought admirably, my son, but your rage was your downfall…' I thought as I squeezed my still comatose Nephew's hand as I stood over him before turning to leave the sickbay.

I made my way upstairs slowly, the ship had just gotten underway as I found myself at the prow. I stood there watching the horizon when something worrying caught my eye.

"Bosun! I have need of your spyglass!" I called over my shoulder. In seconds, the bosun ran up to me with his spyglass in hand.

"What do you see, sir?"

"A suspicion, Boto," I said quietly to the young man who perked up at his name, "and well-founded." The bosun looked at me oddly.

"What's the trouble, general?"

"It seems there's a fleet beyond the horizon, Boto. Do you see those dark clouds on the horizon? It's a relatively cloudless day, the weather isn't nearly bad enough for a storm. If that's the case then where did those black clouds come from? Most likely, those are no clouds at all, but smoke columns. Where can you find smoke on the sea? A Fire Nation ship. How many would it take to produce a cloud that size? Twenty at the very least. Spotting this can be the difference between hope and despair. If you would be so kind as to tell the captain that I want our heading aimed for that spot and then to Whale Tai… By the Spirits," I whispered as I looked out to sea again.

"Where did that come from!?" The bosun shouted, seeing the clouds whirl and coalesce into a wall of veritable death.

"Percy, what have you done?" I growled as I watched the storm gain speed and power, glancing back at Kyoshi to see that the skies were still clear that direction. I turned back to the storm and caught Boto looking at me in horror.

"You think that kid did that? How could he?" the Bosun was panicked, and rightfully so.

"I do not know, Boto… But I sense that this shall become a day the Fire Nation will either live to regret or one that shall go down in infamy… Perhaps a reminder that none can ever truly rule the seas. Though, it would seem we have awakened the rage of something far more dangerous than La's wrath." I said grimly and grimaced as I watched the waves rise. The storm had covered the entire horizon already but was rapidly disappearing west - toward the unsuspecting potential fleet - even as the Bosun raced to the bridge, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

XXX

"General, we're approaching the approximate location of where you believed the suspected fleet to be. We have prepared lifeboats and the Prince's Jetski to help us search for survivors, but the odds do not seem to be in our favor." Captain Yuain said grimly. I nodded as I stared off the port side of the ship. The water was still horribly rough but not as bad as it could be in a full-sized storm, the swells were only about three feet here and I have witnessed waves rise up to be bigger than the Lady Ursa.

"Send three Search and Rescue teams, Captain. Get as many survivors as we can possibly get out of the water, we must get them home."

"Yes, General Iroh. It will be done." He snapped off a salute and ran back to the bridge to command the ship. Immediately, the vessels he said would be in the water were launched but I couldn't see any bodies, just scraps of cloth and coal floating on the water.

"Percy, what have you unleashed? No… Why? Why did you feel this was necessary?" I asked quietly as I looked around at the devastation. I frowned deeper as a fin crested the water for a brief moment, a sea serpent… La's chosen enforcers… By Agni, what had happened here that they would come?

It took three hours but we only managed to recover three men and twenty bodies from the sea - we would have recovered more and are still willing to bring the living aboard, the ship just didn't have enough room on board to recover our dead. I felt my anger rise at the senseless loss of life before I mercilessly shoved it to the side, now was not the time for anger. The small medbay on board the ship was large enough to care for ten men but there was only one qualified medic aboard the ship. He may not have been a fully-fledged doctor but as the only physician on board, he was second only to the captain in the chain of command. Thankfully, none of the men we recovered were in too terrible of condition despite being recovered from the cold sea after hours of floating. I stepped into the medbay, my eyes scanning the three men we pulled from the water. Two were still unconscious while the third was sitting with a thick blanket draped over his shoulders with a small brazier lit beside him. The only thing the boy had in common with his comrades was the fact that the three were not wearing armor - like all the bodies in the hold, save one. He had on half armor and none on his chest, typical Firebending training gear for the elites.

"What happened here, son?" I asked the shivering Seaman who looked fresh out of training, his shaggy hair was everywhere and his eyes were wide.

"I-I-I don't really know, sir," he said quietly, "we had orders to sail with Commander Zhao to Kyoshi… He had ordered a blockade since he claimed they were in rebellion," his brown eyes were wide as they met mine. I placed my hand on his shoulder and nodded to him.

"You are not in trouble, son. Do you know who I am?" he shook his head and I smiled gently, "I am Iroh, and that," I said pointing to where Zuko was lying unconscious on his cot - a horrible bruise spreading over his jawline, "is my Nephew, Zuko." His eyes widened as he tried to bow to me.

"Prince Iroh, it is an honor to meet you, this one is not worthy," he sounded panicked but I just snorted.

"Please, I am well past my day and an old man at that. But it is good to be called Prince, once again, it has been many years since I have been called anything but General," I grinned broadly at him as another man walked up to us, "Ah! Temi! What brings the cook down to this humble part of the ship?"

"It seems an old man asked for his afternoon tea quite early today," the stocky man said with a broad smile on his face as he took a tray he had tucked under his arm and placed it on the small table beside the Seaman's cot, "Ginseng tea today, Iroh. Whale Tail had a good supply of it."

"Ginseng tea!? My favorite!" Temi just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Every tea is your favorite, old friend," he said, taking the tray's lid off revealing the familiar, steaming kettle and empty cups. He poured three cups full, handing one to me, one to the scared and confused seaman, and poured one for himself.

"So," I asked again after finishing my tea, "what happened out there?"

"I'm an engineering recruit, sir," the boy said nervously, "this was my first actual mission since I was deployed on the Fire Lord's Ship (FLS) First Flame this spring. I was hoping that this would be my ticket to a higher station, being the fireman on a cutter just means shoveling since the corps [1] came up with that genius innovation that pumps water directly from the sea to the engine, no more hand pumping for hours on end that they made us practice in training… just shoveling for hours and hours and hours…" he said with a shiver. I felt for the boy, but that was the life of an enlisted nonbender in the Imperial Navy. Firebenders were too great of a resource to be used as fuel (except as a last resort) and while firebending engineers were typically the strongest Firebenders on board any ship, they were nearly worthless in combat. Each one is required to have trained their fires to be incredibly intense but focused to a short, yet constant jet about a centimeter long (at most) to weld metal together if need be and were able to hold the bending for minutes to hours at a time depending on the engineer - a task that even I found daunting.

"I was below decks earlier today but was relieved from my station half an hour before the storm hit. I was actually on deck trying to settle my nerves before the battle but then the storm just… it just appeared!" he waved his hands frantically. "I've never seen anything like it and I'm from the eastern islands, sir," the boy said nervously, rocking on his cot. "We get a small bit of warning for when a terribly strong storm is about to roll in but this one formed faster than anything I had ever seen. It was death itself, General… Death and punishment… I watched the First Flame sink, all the Cutters did… What did we do to deserve this?" he asked weakly. I clasped his shoulder again, a frown crossing my face as the boy shivered. I glanced up at Temi who nodded slowly, he took a small dash of powder from one of the hidden pouches he had specially made into his uniform and slipped it into the boy's cup as he poured him more tea.

"Drink, boy," he said quietly, "this will help you sleep." The still-unnamed boy looked down at the cup blankly before bringing it to his lips automatically. Almost instantly, the boy fell over onto his cot.

"What in Agni's name did you give him, Temi?" I asked, smirking slightly as the boy started snoring.

"Powdered Maka'ole berry and Valerian root, it's usually used to tranquilize Komodo-Rhinos, but, when used properly, it's even safe for humans," he said as I stood up.

"Remind me to find you tonight," I said good-naturedly as we moved to leave the sickbay.

"If only it was so simple, old friend. It doesn't work on Firebenders."

"Such a shame," I said sadly.

"Not nearly as much as what happened here if the boy's to be believed," Temi said darkly. "A standard blockade requires at least twenty ships, Iroh. Knowing that wound tight, ambitious upstart, Zhao, he would have brought more to prove a point. Why he needed a blockade for an outpost that's kept Whale Tail Harbor fed for a century isn't going to go over well no matter how good his reasons were - and that's not taking Sozin's edicts into account," he looked at me sharply and I nodded. Breaking those edicts were grounds for an immediate court martial before the Fire Lord, if found guilty then Death was very likely to follow.

"Your point rings true, my friend. He will be held responsible, I'll make sure of it," I growled. 'But now you know why the boy did what he did, twenty ships could have crushed the village at Kyoshi without mercy… But he killed so many Firebenders…' I felt myself twitch at the thought, 'no, not just firebenders. Men. So many are dead to feed one man's ego. Percy was acting in defense here, Percy was in the right - not Zhao. But was there a better way?'

Whale Tail Harbor…

With Zuko…

'Fuck! What happened to my jaw!?' I thought miserably as I slowly became aware of my surroundings. I blinked blearily as I reached up to my jaw, flinching violently as my fingers grazed it. I groaned quietly as I sat up slowly working my jaw open and close, the pain was sharp at first but thankfully it receded slightly after a few experimental movements.

"My prince!" The medic called out as he bustled over to me as quickly as he could from the other side of the medbay, "please do not rise, you have had a terrible head injury and suffered a massive mandible contusion. We are unsure what the long term effects of this may be but it is safe to say that you will feel tightness and some small amount of pain while trying to open your jaw. I recommend that you take it easy while you heal, my Prince."

"Where are we?" I tried to ask but it came out as a gravelly rasp. I looked at the bedside table and saw the pitcher of water, I took it as fast as I could and nearly drowned myself by upending it into my mouth. I groaned in satisfaction as the cold water slid down my throat. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way not to open my jaw too far as I gasped in pain - sputtering and coughing from the water.

"Carefully, my prince," the medic said as he took the pitcher away from me, placing it back on the table easily. "We are slated to reach Whale Tail Harbor within the hour. General Iroh has requested - if you were awake - that you would join him in the landing party."

I nodded slowly, wincing from the pain in my jaw. The medic frowned as I reached up to rub it, "what?" I snapped at the old man who simply stood up and walked to his desk. He rummaged for a few moments before he returned with a small mirror. He stood over me, the mirror extended.

"Go on, my prince, I must warn you - though - it is not going to be easy to look at." I hesitated but took the mirror and nearly dropped it at what I saw. The area from my throat to my chin was covered in a reddish-purple mass of bruising almost as horrible as my scar.

"He beat me so easily, I was nothing to him!" I growled as I could actually make out the individual marks where the gaps in his gauntlet were.

"And you are lucky he did not kill you, Prince Zuko." A new voice called from the door. The medic turned and bowed as I looked up at Uncle Iroh as he entered the doors to the medbay.

"I will leave you alone, gentlemen, but please be respectful of those resting and recovering," I raised my eyebrow as Uncle strode forward and finally got a good look at the three unfamiliar faces in the infirmary.

"Uncle, who are they?" I asked cautiously. Uncle's face darkened as he sat on the bed beside me.

"Sailors from the FLS's First Flame, Sunchaser, and Bastion," he said distractedly, as if his thoughts were far away.

"The Bastion? Zhao's ship?" I asked in confusion, "why are they in our sickbay then?"

"Because of those three ships, only the Bastion and Sunchaser apparently remain, we are unsure of the rest," Uncle said much to my shock.

"The rest?" I asked nervously, Uncle just nodded slowly.

"Aye, the First Flame is certainly at the bottom of the sea - this young man," he pointed to a cot with a man sleeping facedown, "watched her sink with twenty-seven of her sister cutters, it would seem. We assume the Sunchaser was lucky to survive when the storm struck due to the fact that she was a troop transport brig. The men," Uncle said, indicating the other two, "witnessed each ship sail away, leaving them to die."

"What storm?" I asked, utterly baffled. And so Uncle told me. He spun an almost unbelievable tale about a monstrous storm that appeared out of basically nowhere, how he suspected the damn Waterbender - Percy - created it, and that Zhao had launched a small portion of his full strength - but still what Uncle suspected to be between twenty to thirty warships - to create an oversized blockade at Kyoshi Island for reasons unknown. I growled at the loss of life, knowing that the Cutter - the backbone of Father's fleet - had a crew of seventy each. Losing one meant losing twenty firebenders, five officers, and ten engineers - not counting the non-bending troops. Losing twenty to thirty of those could be potentially catastrophic.

"You want to court-martial him?" I asked Uncle with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, but I do not have the power. Your Father, on the other hand, does," Uncle said darkly, I felt my eyes widen with hope that I wasn't going to voice. "While you were unconscious, I sent my brother a missive. If we are lucky, there will be a messenger hawk on its way back from Caldera City bound for Whale Tail Harbor by the time we arrive."

"But Uncle, I haven't finished my mission!" I felt my eyes prickle as I stared at the floor, the memory of my humiliation getting the best of me again.

"No, Prince Zuko, but you have done something none have done before - you have found a lead to the Avatar. You have found a Sky Bison, Prince Zuko. They were thought extinct and you have seen one! Remember, Prince Zuko, your journey has just begun."

Caldera City...

Present…

"Liar! You knew that Waterbender was there! You knew how powerful he was!" Zhao howled from his place on the floor.

"The accused will be silent," father barked from his place on the throne behind the curtain of Fire, "Prince Zuko? How do you respond to these heinous accusations?" I glared at Zhao as my mind whirled. I looked up at my father, moving to the most confident sitting position I could manage as I took a breath in.

"While it is true I was aware of a powerful Waterbender residing at the South Pole, I was unaware that any waterbender had the potential to be strong enough to form a storm strong enough to sink twenty-seven ships, Commander," I growled at him. The man blanched and bowed again, I smirked triumphantly before wiping any expression from my face, "I may have accused him of being the Avatar but he has shown no evidence of being anything other than a powerful waterbender - one significantly more powerful than those in the Northern Tribe, yes, but he's still a mere waterbender. He is in possession of a Sky Bison that he claimed to find wandering the southern Ice Fields, which is why I accused him of being the Avatar. You are aware of the report made by the last Southern ship that spotted a sky bison had made an assumption that this could have been the Avatar's Bison. He is a powerful Waterbender, of that there is no doubt, but I believe that if he was caught off guard away from a water source then he could be captured with relative ease by a squad of Firebenders. Though I am unsure what this has to do with the botched invasion of Kyoshi Island?"

"As am I, Prince Zuko," father said with surprise slightly tingeing his tone, "Zhao, you have already established that you gave the orders to invade Kyoshi off of intelligence you gained stating that they were plotting a rebellion, yet you have not explained how you came by this information."

"It came from an anonymous source, My Lord," Zhao said nervously.

"An anonymous source?" I scoffed, "is that how you would answer your Fire Lord? In deception and double meanings? You questioned my crew - without my leave, I might add - for the veracity of my missive concerning the sky bison, there were two men who knew the full capabilities of the Waterbender that were aboard my ship and another who was actually ashore. Captain Yuain was your source, and he wasn't even a firsthand witness."

"Is this true, Zhao?" Father asked with a raised eyebrow. Zhao looked like he was on the verge of panic before his entire body slumped in defeat.

"Yes, my lord. If Kyoshi Island was knowingly and willingly harboring a waterbender then they were in rebellion against the crown."

"Fool," Ozai said as he looked at the cowering man with narrowed eyes, the curtain of flames leaping with his anger. "Kyoshi Island was designated as a safe harbor for all nations by the edict of my grandfather, Sozin, due to the population of Elephant Koi there being of strategic value to our cause. There is one exemption from this edict and that is if the Avatar is seeking refuge there or there is the suspicion he may be or has been there at one point and the hunter is following this lead. Prince Zuko was well within his rights while chasing this Sky Bison, you - on the other hand - were chasing… a simple waterbender? A waterbender, who by this edict, had every right to be on this island? Shameful." Father spat at the man. Zhao's eyes widened when father rose from his throne, the flames separating into a walkway. "You are guilty of breaking Sozin's edicts and of ill command, I understand you cannot control the weather but the vessel you command alone would have had enough Firebenders to capture this Waterbender. The sheer incompetence and arrogance you have shown is in line with a man of your post, yet I have seen your plans to capture the North Pole… They are… most impressive, and most ambitious. Impressive enough for me to spare your life and ambitious enough that I wonder if they will not kill you for me…" father growled as he stood over the now cowering man, "I offer you a choice. Be branded and keep your post or you can walk out of this room without your commission. Choose the first and you will be given a post in the Northern Sword and given a provisional post as an Admiral, you will have command of the northern attack fleet and six months, maximum, to capture the Northern Water Tribe. You will report to Admiral - now provisional Dragon [2] - Jeong Jeong's weekly and will be considered subordinate to any other Admiral in my fleet. In the case of the second option, you will be assigned as a Standing Officer aboard a Cutter - you will understand the positions of the men your ineptitude sentenced to die."

I looked up at Father who was staring daggers at the cowering Zhao, he looked over at one of the elite guards and nodded. The man strode over to a brazier and drew a long rod with the outline of the Fire Nation's insignia cut through with a diagonal bar. Zhao's eyes widened but he grimaced and weakly said:

"I will take the brand, My Lord."

Instantly, two shadows fell out of the rafters and grabbed hold of the now thrashing commander. The hooded figure on the left jabbed Zhao in the back with two fingers and he immediately stopped thrashing.

"What- what is this!? Why can't I move!?" He sounded utterly terrified as father took the brand from the soldier, aiming a small but intense gout at the iron. Zhao was screaming and his eyes were moving back and forth as fast as they could, the two men were the only thing holding him upright as the metal turned cherry red. I swallowed and noticed Uncle had turned his head away. I watched as father took the glowing brand and handed it to the guard who placed it in a brazier.

"Commander Zhao of Caldera City, you are sentenced to be branded over your left eye in accordance with Fire Lord Azulon's military penal code. The sentence is to be dealt immediately, have you any words before you are transferred to the Northern Sword Fleet to carry out your attack on the North Pole?" Zhao remained silent as he took rapid, shallow breaths. "Prince Zuko," my eyes snapped up to meet father's cold, golden eyes, "perhaps you would deal justice in this matter?"

I felt my palms slicken even as my mouth dried, but I still heard myself say, "yes, father."

The guard pulled the smoldering, glowing iron from the brazier and held it out to me, looking at father all the while. I took the rod from the man who finally turned to look at me, I could barely see his pale, yellow eyes behind his mask but they looked impressed. I took a shuddering breath and turned to the man kneeling on the floor. I swallowed before stepping forward and pressed the glowing brand to his face without hesitation.

I thought I was going to be sick from his scream and the smell… Both so similar to that horrible day three years ago. I pulled the brand from the screaming man's face after a few moments, watching intently as Zhao was dragged out of the Throne room by the two shadows, his face ruined but his eye was apparently untouched.

"Prince Zuko, are you alright?" I turned to look at father who had a look of respect just barely visible on his face beneath the normally benevolent mask he wore.

"Yes, father," I said shakily, still thinking of that day but more than determined to never repeat it with the brand still clenched between my fingers.

"Excellent, my son. Are you ready to resume your hunt?"

"Yes, father."

"Good, good… You will have the backing of the entire Fire Navy and you can have any ship of the fleet you desire."

"I mean no disrespect, Father," I said nervously, "but the Lady Ursa is faster than any ship I am aware of in your Navy," I said carefully. Father parted the flames once again and took his place on the throne, slowly stroking his goatee.

"Yes… yes, you took a cutter's engine and repurposed it for the INV Pride, did you not?"

"Yes, father," I said quietly as I knelt once again, the branding searing the hardwood floor before I jerked it up and handed it off to a guard. The man took it carefully and dunked it in a small vat of oil, steam erupting from the container as the metal rapidly cooled. Father waited for the steam and hissing to stop before he restarted.

"Then she is truly your ship, Zuko. If it's your wish to keep her, then you have full command over her. Go, restock your ship and find this Sky Bison and this upstart Waterbender - no matter the cost."

"As you wish, father."

XXX

[1] - Fire Nation Corps of Engineers

[2] - The term Dragon, as used here, is in reference to the highest ranking officer in the army or navy, a man with total command of the armed or naval forces but who is not commander in chief - sort of like the Chief of Staff but with much more influence. Therefore, when I say Iroh is the "Dragon of the West," I mean that he, at one time, commanded all of the Fire Nation's Western forces (i.e. most of their army) regardless of what the Canon definition is.