Chapter 14: Raisu Province

In the business world of Zaofu, there was a common saying: "A rising tide raises all ships." In recent days, the inverse had also proven true.

With Ko Rin's "activities" brought to light, it had been revealed that a vast majority of Zaofu's financial success was built on sabotage and subterfuge. Many businesses who had thrived thanks to the sabotage of the competition were forced to pay reparations, and ongoing business deals built on fraud were suddenly cancelled as foreign trading partners pulled out of Zaofu. Dozens of business, local and multinational, collapsed overnight. It was the single biggest crash in the history of any industrialized economy.

The scale of the economic disaster was so great that even Avatar Sen was taking time out of his schedule to help deal with it. He had been one of the primary forces behind revealing Ko Rin's economic sabotage, so he felt an amount of personal responsibility. To deal with a calamity of this scale, he was working with none other than the United Earth Kingdom's highest authorities, the King and Prime Minister.

"All the trading partners that pulled out of Zaofu say they're willing to renegotiate with other businesses inside the Earth Kingdom," Sen said. "You'll have an influx of new business soon enough."

"Even if they do partner with our other provinces, they don't necessarily have the infrastructure to support those arrangements," Prime Minister Tse said. "Zaofu developed over more than a century to become a center of industry. We can't replace something like that overnight."

"I don't suppose Zaofu is willing to cooperate at all?" Sen asked. He had a sinking feeling he already knew the answer.

"The Beifong family says they fully support you in taking Ko Rin out of the picture," Tse said. "And that's the only communication we've had with them in the past few days."

"I do not expect we'll be getting invited to the next Beifong family barbecue," King Wu II said. Sen sighed. It was unfortunate that this ordeal had strained a long-standing alliance of the Avatar. Still, it had been necessary to undo Ko Rin's damage. Sometimes prices had to be paid. Sen had many allies without the Beifong family.

"The Earth Kingdom is still the only source of many resources that people are looking for," Sen said. With the most farmland and mines of any of nation, the Earth Kingdom supported the infertile lands of the Poles with food and the volcanic Fire Nation with heavy metals for industry. "It's only a matter of time before your economy swings upwards."

"Yes, that much we've developed a long-term plan for," King Wu II said. "We actually called you here today for a more short-term solution."

"Something that should help us salve our economic situation immediately," Prime Minister Tse added.

"I'm willing to help however I can," Sen assured them.

"Good," King Wu II said. "We need you to invade the Earth Kingdom."

King Wu's office had never been quieter than it was in that moment.

"What His Majesty means is that we need the Coalition active in our territory," Tse corrected. "In our current economic state we can't commit to a military venture, but we can keep you supplied. You'll buy from our businesses to keep your soldiers fed and equipped throughout your campaign."

"We keep you supplied, and you keep our industry from collapsing outright," King Wu II said. "Everybody wins. Except Sarin. He gets his butt kicked."

"As much as I like the sound of that plan," Sen said. "Parliament is suspended. Can you really authorize that kind of action without an official vote?"

During their investigations it had been found that several members of Parliament were under Ko Rin's control, via blackmail, bribery, or brainwashing. The ruling council of the United Earth Kingdom had been put on hold until replacements could be appointed.

"That is a stumbling block, but not as much of one as you might think," King Wu II said. "Between the attack on Zaofu and the collapse of Parliament, our emergency protocols have kicked in. As King, I have complete executive authority."

Though the United Earth Kingdom was a constitutional monarchy, there were situations in which King Wu the Second held absolute power. With two consecutive disasters occurring in Earth Kingdom territory, it was more than time for Wu II to act like a king.

"That said, we don't want to act completely independent of our Parliament," Tse added. "Luckily we have an opportunity to earn that support."

"Minister Raisu has extended a personal invitation to you, Avatar Sen," King Wu said. "He wants to negotiate."

Sen nodded. Minister Raisu had always been suspicious of Zaofu. All his fears and accusations had been proven correct, Ko Rin's manipulations would stop, and, most importantly, Sen had been proven to have no connection. Without Ko Rin dividing the Earth Kingdom for his own purposes, Sen might be able to make peace with Raisu and the entire eastern Earth Kingdom.

"Tell me more," Sen said. "When does he want to meet, where are we meeting, how many people am I going to be negotiating with? Will other provincial leaders like Hua-Long be there?"

"You'll be going to Raisu province's capitol," King Wu explained. "It's just Minister Raisu for now. He wants to talk to you –and one other person."

"Who's the other person?"

Sen was trying to occupy his thoughts with the papers in front of him. Ko Rin's trove of secrets had yielded several important documents on the Energybender, and Sen was trying to glean as much information as he could from them on the ride to Raisu Province.

Far less interested in scholarly pursuits was Sen's partner on the journey: Miyani. For reasons no one quite understood, Minister Raisu had specifically requested her presence. Nobody was more concerned about this development than Miyani herself. She had no talent for diplomacy. She tapped her fingers nervously against the armrest of her seat.

"What are you reading, Sen?" She needed to take her mind off the coming negotiations, and whatever part she might play in them. Sen seemed to be reading something particularly interesting anyway. He had an unusual look of intensity on his face as he scoured the book in front of him.

"It's part record-keeping, part journal," Sen said quietly. "It belonged to Sarin's older brother."

Miyani leaned forward in her chair. Sarin's older brother, Kalden, the Energybender who had wiped out the White Lotus, had been an enigma for a long time. Anything that shed light on him was incredibly important.

"What have you found?"

"Not much," Sen said with a sigh. "Like I said, it's mostly record-keeping. Kalden was apparently very meticulous. He kept track of every soldier, every location he controlled, all his supplies…it's all outdated by now, but every now and then he puts down some of his personal thoughts."

Sen flipped backwards a few pages and pointed out a specific entry. It noted several discrepancies in the flow of money through the Earth Kingdom and the suspicious rates of "sabotage" in provinces other than Zaofu.

"He even came close to finding out Ko Rin," Sen said. Kalden had decided not to investigate, on the grounds that anything that divided the Earth Kingdom was good for his cause, but he had come closer than anyone to realizing Ko Rin's treachery.

"Even you only found out by coincidence," Miyani said. "Kalden must have been pretty smart."

"Very," Sen said, flipping back to his previous place in the journal. "From what I can see here, Kalden was a genius. What he mentions about tactics, how to capture me, what to do if I evaded capture…If Sarin had followed some of this advice, I might not be here right now."

"It's a good thing Ko Rin stole all those plans, then," Miyani said, leaning back. At least some part of Ko Rin's treachery was working in their favor.

Sen had always wanted more information on Sarin's older brother, but every time he got answers, whether from the Witches of Winter or this journal, he ended up with more questions. Something had changed very drastically and very suddenly in the Energybender's organization. It was all centered on the transition of power from Kalden to Sarin. Sen needed to know more.

"You get scary when you think about Sarin," Miyani said quietly. Sen snapped out of his angry trance and looked upwards. Miyani was looking at him, almost fearfully. He smiled slightly to put her mind at ease. She did not smile back.

"You get this look on your face, and it's like…" She trailed off slightly as she thought of the right words. "You look the way I feel, just before I explode."

"Can you blame me? Even ignoring all the things Sarin has done, just the kind of person he is, his personality…I don't like him," Sen muttered.

"You care that much about his personality?"

"In a way," Sen said. "Sarin is…fatalistic. He completely believes that everything happens the way it's meant to happen, no matter what. He relies completely on destiny."

"Do you not believe in destiny?"

"Of course…to an extent," Sen said. "I believe it's my destiny to defeat Sarin, but that doesn't mean I'm going to wait around and hope he falls into my lap. If you want something, you should chase it."

Miyani nodded. She was a firm believer in destiny herself, but she understood Sen's perspective. Sen looked at her again and smiled more earnestly this time.

"And for the record, yes," Sen said. "I do think I was destined to meet you."

Miyani quickly turned to the window to hide her quickly-reddening face.

They had nearly arrived at their destination. Sen looked out the window. The capitol of Raisu Province was nearly in view. The buildings of the city were not massive Skyscrapers like one might find in Zaofu. Raisu province expanded outwards, not upwards: nothing was more than a few stories tall, but the city was miles wide.

"You're nervous," Sen noted. Miyani's soul was usually hard to read, owing to her warped third-eye, but some things didn't require chi-reading to see.

"Can you blame me? Negotiations aren't really my strong suit," Miyani said. "I don't know why they'd even invite me."

It had been considered that this was a trap, but anybody who set a trap for the two most powerful people on the planet was stupid indeed. There was obviously some ulterior motive behind inviting Miyani, but Sen didn't believe it was malevolent. The Avatar was fairly confident that Minister Raisu was legitimate in his desire to make peace with the Coalition.

"You'll be fine, Miyani," Sen said. "You're better at this than you think."

"I think I'm awful," Miyani moped. "So even better is still pretty bad."

"Miyani, listen to me. Maybe you don't know legal terms, or trade rates, or any of the formal parts of negotiating," Sen said. "But all we're here to do is make peace. I know for a fact you can help people find peace."

Sen relaxed, resting his head on his right hand. As he moved his arm, he quite deliberately shifted his sleeve just enough to show off the metal bracelet he still wore. Miyani grinned slightly as she saw the stone brick on Sen's wrist. Though he hid it up his coat sleeve most of the time, he had never stopped wearing the bracelet.

"Alright, you got me," Miyani said happily. "But you'll still do most of the talking, right?"

"Naturally," Sen said. "We'll stick to our strengths."

Miyani nodded firmly. She was glad she had an excuse to stay out of the negotiation. Despite Sen's reassuring words, she still knew that the best hope for their success was to let Sen handle everything.

Their vehicle slowed and ground to a halt as they reached their destination. This was an old city, built long before satomobiles were a factor: the roads were not designed for travel by car. Sen would be approaching the capitol on foot. He and Miyani stepped out and examined the city.

They had, as expected, gathered a crowd of curious onlookers to gawk at their arrival. The huddled citizens stepped back as Sen stepped out and stood up, and stumbled back ever further as Miyani emerged and stood, towering over them all. She paid no mind to their fear. With any luck, they would have no reason to fear her after today.

Sen and Miyani had only a handful of nameless Coalition soldiers for their escort, and they were outnumbered by far by Minister Raisu's "greeting committee". A large troop of Weavers stood ready to greet the Avatar. Sen managed to contain his scowl as he saw the militaristic uniform of Minister Raisu's personal inquisitors. Though it had been years since his first and only run-in with a Weaver, he still bore certain hostility towards them.

"Master Avatar," The lead Weaver said. He wore a golden badge denoting his leadership. "Minister Raisu bids you welcome."

"I'm honored and grateful for his hospitality," Sen said formally. He attempted to maintain his composure, but he had never been very good at lying. Sen didn't trust this Master Weaver one bit. Everything about him screamed "villain".

"The Minister awaits," The Weaver said. The legion of uniformed officers broke formation and then filed around Sen, Miyani, and the Coalition escort. None of his soldiers liked being surrounded, but Sen waved a hand to calm them. Though he didn't fully trust the Master Weaver, there was no sign of active hostility just yet.

The Weavers tight formation led a quiet march up the winding slopes. The capitol building was atop a large, defensible hill. An ideal fortification for any purpose. Sen still relied on Cujo and Kim for most of his tactical knowledge, but even he could see that Raisu Palace would be a difficult objective to conquer. It was good for them that they were here to negotiate peace, not war.

Sen needed to make sure that all of his bases were covered before any negotiations began. He turned to the Master Weaver and started up a conversation. The more he knew about his potential enemies, the better equipped he was to handle any and all eventualities.

"Thank you for the escort, ah, what exactly is your rank?"

"Captain," The Master Weaver said. "Captain Kalan, at your service, Master Avatar."

Kalan was oddly calm considering the circumstances. That meant he was either far less threatening than Sen thought, or far more. The most dangerous people were always the calmest in the face of danger. Miyani, for example, was perfectly content being surrounded by the Weavers. She knew very well that she could defeat their entire legion singlehandedly if she needed to.

"Will you be part of the negotiations today, Kalan?"

"That is not my part to play, Master Avatar," Kalan said. "You and the combustion bender shall represent the Coalition, with Minister Raisu and his son representing the Eastern provinces."

"Minister Hua-Long won't be joining us?"

"The esteemed minister of Hua-Long province was not exactly receptive to these negotiations," Kalan said. Sen nodded. Hua-Long was the one Minister they knew for a fact was siding with Sarin. If the corpulent minister was opposed to the negotiations, that meant they were likely legitimate.

"I'd think that the Eastern provinces would want another representative besides Raisu's son. Does he have any political experience?"

"None whatsoever," Kalan said. "He runs a manufacturing plant. Given that your companion has no political experience either, I would say the negotiations are fairly equitable."

Miyani nodded. It was technically a fair arrangement, though Miyani believed they still had the advantage. Sen could have talked circles around an entire parliament, much less a single negotiator. The arrangement seemed less favorable to Sen. He knew Parliament was in disarray right now, but he would have thought that more people would have been involved. Something was off about that.

The slope of the hill gradually decreased as they came to the summit. The walls of the fortress stood before them now, high and imposing. Though Sen at first thought that the gates had been thrown open wide, closer examination revealed there were no gates. Wear and tear where hinges had once been showed that the gate had been removed some time ago.

Some of their Weaver escort broke off to guard the gates, while Kalan led the way into the fortress itself. Many buildings in the interior showed signs that they too had been stripped bare. This had possibly been a grand palace once, but it had been stripped of valuables until it was threadbare. The poverty that had overwhelmed Raisu Province as a result of Ko Rin's sabotage had even reached the palace, it seemed.

Kalan came to a halt in front of a large oaken door, rapping it lightly with his knuckles and then stepping aside. He saluted sharply as the door opened.

The large doors parted as Minister Raisu stepped through. He was as dignified as ever, but not quite as tall and imposing as he had seemed before. He had been humbled, and burdened, by recent events. His righteous indignation was spent, replaced with an equal measure of relief and guilt. He nodded respectfully to the Avatar and then turned his attention to Kalan.

"You are dismissed, Captain," Minister Raisu said firmly. Kalan hesitated slightly, but shared a conspiratorial nod with Raisu and then left. Sen did not like that exchange.

"Welcome to my home, Avatar Sen," Raisu said with a deep, respectful bow. "This reconciliation is long overdue."

Sen returned the bow, and then quickly set his mind to business. He could sense a liar easily, and Raisu was not one. His attempts to reach out to the Coalition were completely earnest. Despite the impressions of honesty, however, Sen noticed a current of deep, abiding unease from Raisu. All was not well in his world.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us," Sen said. "Shall we begin?"

Raisu nodded and gestured to an unseen individual.

"Pak, our guests are here," Raisu called. He was quickly answered by the nervous shuffling of feet. A man came into view, his body language quite clearly showing his anxiety.

Minister Raisu's son had never had any political aspirations. While the Raisu family had been the hereditary rulers of the province for generations, the rise of democracy was putting an end to such royal lineages. Pak Raisu had never planned on being involved in any major political events, but his father was insistent.

"Pak, if you would please escort Miyani to the sitting room, the Avatar and I will get to business," Raisu said calmly.

"We won't be negotiating with you?" Pak asked. He was obviously relieved. Miyani had a nearly identical sense of relief.

"We will handle this ourselves," Raisu assured his son. "Please see to our guest."

Pak nodded and stepped to Miyani's side. The combustion bender shared a nod with Sen. She had no problems whatsoever with this arrangement. Sen was more concerned. Why invite Pak and Miyani at all if they were just going to be sent away? In any other situation, this amount of suspicious behavior would have led Sen to abandon the objective outright. These talks were too important to abandon outright, though, and despite suspicious behavior Raisu was still entirely sincere in his desire to negotiate with the Coalition. Sen had to at least try.

"Goodbye, son," Raisu said as Pak walked down the hall. Pak waved goodbye to his father and continued to escort Miyani away.

Minister Raisu gestured into the meeting room, and Sen followed as he led the way. A large oak table dominated most of the room. Lighting was provided by a few lamps scattered around the room, and one large chandelier hanging above the table. The gold and crystal chandelier made an odd centerpiece in a palace which was mostly stripped of anything valuable. Miyani caught a quick glimpse of the chandelier through the door before Pak led her down the hall.

There were four seats prepared at the oaken table, oddly enough. Perhaps Pak and Miyani had been meant to join them, but Raisu had reconsidered at the last minute. Sen prepared to take the nearest seat, but Raisu interrupted him.

"Please, you are my guest," Raisu corrected. "Take the seat of honor."

Raisu gestured to the far side of the table. Sen nodded and took a seat, while Raisu took the seat Sen had been trying to choose, the one directly beneath the chandelier. While the two of them got seated and began their talks, Miyani and Pak strolled through the halls. Pak was being surprisingly calm about his association with a combustion bender.

"I've never been one to look at the bigger picture," Pak said. "I mostly concern myself with my factory. Tell me, are things always like this? With conspiracies, and war?"

"I'm led to believe it's not," Miyani said. "But I work with the Avatar, so in my experience, yes, everything is always this complicated."

"That does make sense," Pak said with a nod. They walked into the sitting room area and Pak had a seat on a large cushioned chair. Miyani followed suit and continued the conversation.

"So how did you manage to keep a factory running, with all of the sabotage going on around you?"

"I couldn't tell you," Pak said with a shrug. "It's possible Ko Rin just never saw us as competition. Zaofu has never really had any interest in plastics."

The production and export of large quantities of plastic had been the only thing keeping Raisu Province afloat in the troubling economic times. Miyani tapped her fingers together.

"Plastics, huh? What kind of stuff do you make?"

She tried to make small talk, but she had an ulterior motive. Her friendship with Sen had vastly shifted her priorities, but her old idea for toy bricks still lingered in her head. She'd always foreseen them as being made from plastic, unlike the stone prototypes that Sen had made for her.

"Bottles, cases, small trinkets and things of the sort," Pak said. "Why do you ask?"

Miyani wrapped her fingers together nervously.

"Well, I did have this idea," She began hesitantly. She thought about her situation for a moment, and then realized that this was hardly the time to be discussing children's toys. "It can wait for later. We'll have plenty of time to talk after Sen and your father are done negotiating."

Miyani believed that would be a few minutes at best, but she wasn't well aware of the intricacies of politics. The two leaders were only partway through discussing economics.

"Given how things are at the moment, internal welfare is frankly impossible," Sen said. No region of the Earth Kingdom had enough fiscal strength to support the others –among other reasons that prevented any kind of internal cooperation.

"That I understand," Raisu said. "My own province has nothing to give. I can hardly expect others suffering the same way to provide."

"There's also the matter of your history," Sen said hesitantly. "Many of your neighbors aren't happy with the way your Weavers have been operating."

That brought Minister Raisu pause. His lips pursed tightly. He was oddly calm given the circumstances, but Sen could see that something was troubling him deeply. Raisu shared many of the same suspicions about his Weavers –he knew that they answered to another authority. Sarin had a manipulating hand in his most trusted soldiers.

"Yes, that is an…expected consequence," He said guiltily. "I allowed my fears to lead me astray."

Raisu had been so afraid of Zaofu's machinations that he had given his Weavers too much power, too much reign across the Earth Kingdom. It was an opportunity that Sarin had easily exploited. Fear and anger were Sarin's favorite weapons, and the Weavers wielded those things well.

"Your fears were well-founded," Sen assured him. "You had good reasons to do what you did."

"Good intentions can produce ill results," Raisu said. "For months, I allowed an evil to fester inside my homeland, all because I was paranoid of the alternative."

Sarin had exploited Raisu's suspicion of Zaofu to create a rift in the Earth Kingdom, a conflict he could use to shelter his forces. The only reason Sarin had thrived for so long was because Minister's Raisu and Hua-Long spearheaded the campaign to keep the Avatar out of the Earth Kingdom.

"In a way, you were right," Sen said. "Ko Rin was manipulating the Coalition to his own purposes. We could very well have fulfilled all your worst fears if we'd been allowed into the Earth Kingdom."

The two launched into a long discussion of the way Ko Rin's manipulations had affected them both, while their partners continued a vastly different discussion in the sitting room.

"You almost seem glad to see us here, Pak," Miyani said. "Did you not share your fathers suspicions?"

"No, I did not. It put quite a strain on our relationship, actually," Pak sighed. "I always thought my father was just paranoid. Knowing he was right all along…I hope we can make things right."

"I don't doubt it," Miyani said. "Today's a day for reconciliation."

It was coming slower than some people would like. As Sen and Raisu talked, Raisu seemed to slow, growing more and more agitated. Minister Raisu looked upwards, towards the golden chandelier that hung overhead. Sen waited patiently as the Minister considered his words.

"I have made terrible mistakes, Avatar," Raisu said sadly.

"Nothing that's happened in all this comes back to us, Raisu," Sen said. "Sarin and Ko Rin have been pushing us, manipulating our better natures. Ko Rin used the fact that we both care about our people to set us against each other."

Sen held his hand out across the table, palm up.

"We have a chance to make that right now," He said. "We both want what's best for our people, and we have the chance to work together to make it happen."

Raisu closed his eyes and nodded solemnly. He stood up, but did not move from his place at the table.

"There are some mistakes that cannot be undone," Raisu said. "Not by me."

"Raisu, there's always a chance-"

"Yes," He said firmly. "That chance is you. We have both been manipulated, Avatar, but you were fighting that manipulation while I buried myself in my own fear. I cannot undo what I have done, but you can."

Sen stood up. Raisu's heart was pounding. Something was wrong. Raisu nervously gripped the edge of the heavy oak table. The chandelier overhead shifted slightly as Sen moved.

"Please, save my people," Raisu begged. "Save my son."

With a sudden lurch, and a surprising amount of strength for such an old man, Raisu lifted the oaken table and tilted it forward towards Sen. The Avatar had a fraction of a second to process this odd movement before everything turned white.

Miyani and Pak were making idle chitchat when the thunder started. Pak was confused, but Miyani recognized the sound quite clearly. It was one she was well-acquainted with. The sounds of explosions had often rung through her ears.

The echoing blast had only just barely ended when Miyani rushed towards the source. The walls were shaking and the lights flickered on and off intermittently. It had to have come from within the capitol building, and Miyani had a suspicion she knew where. Pak followed her footsteps closely as she ran towards the center of the building.

Coalition soldiers and Weavers had already gathered around the charred remains of the meeting room. Sen was being dragged out of the ash. Miyani lunged forward as soon as she saw him.

"Sen!"

There was no response. Sen's skin was burnt by the heat and cut a thousand times by what seemed to be splinters of wood. Miyani grabbed at him frantically for a moment, examining him for any signs of life. One of the Coalition soldiers put her mind at ease by assuring her that the Avatar was only unconscious. Miyani relaxed, but she did not release Sen's limp body just yet.

"What have you done?" A sinister voice intoned.

Kalan stepped forth from a cloud of smoke and ash, stepping out of the shattered remnants of the meeting room. His metal armor glistened in the waning fires of the explosion. He turned to Pak, who was still frozen in shock.

"My father," Pak stuttered. "Was my father in-"

"Minister Raisu is dead," Kalan said. Pak froze in place, overwhelmed. Kalan nodded his head towards Miyani. His meaning was obvious. Miyani glared up at the Master Weaver hatefully.

"She couldn't have," Pak muttered. He was still overcome with shock, but some things were obvious. "She was with me."

Kalan twitched visibly. That had not been the plan. One of Coalition soldiers travelling with Miyani and Sen caught the visible quirk on Kalan's stance.

"You tried to frame us!" The soldier objected. The gathered Coalition troops tensed, as the surrounding Weavers likewise prepared for a fight. Miyani clung to Sen as the two sides squared off. She tried to shake him back to consciousness, but he was still unresponsive.

"They tried to assassinate your father at the ball, and they succeeded here," Kalan said accusingly. He demanded action from Pak. "Everything they have done has been a lie!"

"He's the liar," The Coalition soldier shouted back. "You set up this whole meeting to frame us! You only invited Miyani so you could blame her for the explosion you caused!"

Miyani looked up from Sen. She could see the smoking ruins of the meeting room. A small portion had been preserved, thanks to the shielding provided by the heavy table. Thanks to that, and his distance from the explosion, Sen had been able to survive the detonation.

"The chandelier," Miyani mumbled to herself. It had seemed out of place. Anything suspended in midair might escape Sen's extra senses. All evidence showed that they had been framed.

"You're in charge now," Kalan shouted to Pak. With emergency protocols in place, Pak assumed control of Raisu province, and its armies. "Avenge your father!"

The Coalition shouted back, and Kalan retaliated. Pak stood motionless in the midst of the verbal maelstrom as both sides tried to persuade him to attack the other. Miyani's fingers tightly clenched Sen's shirt as he laid motionless in her arms. She had evidence that Kalan had set them up, but was it enough to convince Pak? Would he believe her even if it was? He might simply take it as an excuse offered up by someone trying to frame her enemies.

While Miyani clung to an unresponsive Sen, Pak looked back and forth between the two opposing sides. Miyani watched him briefly as his eyes darted between the Weavers and the Coalition as the two warring sides tried to force him to make a choice. He was visibly torn between two diametrically opposed sides.

Miyani took a deep breath, and slowly, she released Sen, laying him carefully on the ground. She stood up, straightened her back, and towered at her full height above them all. Neither side of the argument paid her much mind at first, engrossed as they were in their argument.

"Stop it!"

The sound of her shout was a harsh reminder of Miyani's power. Both Weavers and Coalition fell silent. She turned to glare at the Weavers for a moment. She could wipe them all out in the blink of an eye if she so chose. She turned then to the Coalition soldiers. She could also choose to stand with them, to provide evidence of the framing scheme against them. Neither option interested her.

"All of you, just be quiet," She demanded, speaking to both sides. Once they had all been sufficiently cowed by Miyain's glaring red eye, her tone shifted. Miyani relaxed, and stepped forward, towards Pak.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. Miyani rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry about your father."

The conflict quieted down, and the fires died. Pak trembled slightly in place as the realization sunk in. Then, quietly at first, he leaned forward, rested his head against Miyani's shoulder, and began to cry.

"What were you thinking?"

Gamon's demanding shout rang through their base. It was loud and harsh, especially so because of who it was being aimed at.

Sarin stood stoically, enduring Gamon's tirade. Gamon had begun it all by slamming down a copy of the latest newspaper. The headline read in bold letters: "Minister Assassinated! Sarin to Blame!"

"You could have talked, you could have used his paranoia to help us," Gamon roared. He began to pace back and forth angrily. "But no! You had to blow Raisu up! Because that worked out so well!"

With time to think and to process his grief, Pak had proceeded with a calm and careful investigation of his fathers assassination. The inspection of Raisu's Weavers had revealed their every indiscretion. The plot to assassinate Minister Raisu had been uncovered, and all the Weavers had been detained, removing Sarin's influence in the political world.

Sensheng could have intervened at any point, but he chose not to. Sarin had put his plan into motion at very short notice, without involving Sensheng at all. Assassination was a workable idea, but Sarin's execution had been amateurish. Under different circumstances Dei Sensheng might have thought it an important lesson for Sarin to learn, but the stakes were too high this time.

Gamon paused his tirade briefly and rubbed his face with his hands. He was stressed as much as he was angry. He was in charge of managing their troops, and every day he found himself with less and less to do. They weren't just losing battles, they were losing morale. Every day fewer and fewer of his men reported back as entire platoons defected quietly. He knew exactly what to blame: incompetent leadership.

"Everything you've done since this war started has made things worse," Gamon accused. "The attack on Zaofu and this pitiful stunt you pulled with Raisu are the final straw."

With Raisu dead, all of the Eastern provinces were now clamoring for the Energybender's defeat. Hua-Long was the only ally they had left in Parliament, and one vote was not enough to turn the tide. An emergency session had already been called, and there could only be one result now. The Avatar would be coming for them.

"You swore loyalty to me, Gamon," Sarin said calmly.

"I swore loyalty to Kalden!" That seemed to sting Sarin. His calm stance finally broke.

"You're no Kalden," Gamon said. He pointed an accusing finger at Sarin. "You're not fit to call yourself an Energybender. You're not even fit to call yourself his brother."

The grey rings around Sarin's eyes seemed to grow just slightly darker as he leered at Gamon. The captain of his Sarin's armies turned to each of his comrades in Sarin's inner circle. Ahn-Li was the only one who would look directly at him.

"We had a mission once," He said. "We were supposed to bring peace. Sarin has turned us into nothing but terrorists. Ah, no, even terrorists have a plan. We're just nothing."

Gamon turned his back on Sarin. He had every intention of leaving, immediately. With any luck he would be able to return to isolation, to live out the rest of his life in hiding, his only punishment a lifetime of guilt for his role in Sarin's madness. It was a harsh future, but it was better than the wrath of the Avatar.

It was not, however, the Avatar's anger that Gamon had to worry about. The last thing Gamon felt was a burning grey light against his back, and then there was nothing.

Sarin flexed his fingertips. Ahn-Li covered her mouth in shock, though few others seemed to react. Dei Sensheng had almost been expecting that, though that was not to say he approved. He cast a suspicious leer towards his commander.

"He lacked conviction," Sarin said flatly. "And respect."

"What he had, however, was a point," Sensheng added. He was one of few who would openly defy Sarin after a moment like that. "We find ourselves heavily compromised. We can no longer hide behind the Earth Kingdom's border."

"We will endure," Sarin said. "We have time to maneuver. The Avatar will need time to recover before he strikes."

Sensheng did not respond. It was reasonable to assume the Avatar would need some time to recover and prepare -but Sensheng had to wonder if the Avatar wwas feeling so reasonable.

Sen moved his arm slightly to test the feel of the bandages. The damage from the explosion was not significant, but it was enough that all his doctors were recommending a significant period of rest. He had only recently regained consciousness, and the first person he wanted to talk to was Miyani.

"They told me what happened after the explosion," Sen said. "You did a good job."

"I did my best," Miyani said. "I'm just glad it worked."

With time to think and investigate, Pak had sided with the Coalition, and Parliament had rallied behind him. The Earth Kingdom was wide open to the Coalition.

"And for the record, I never want to do it again," Miyani said. She clutched her tattooed forehead as if she had a headache. "All those things to consider, everything that could go wrong…I don't know how you do that."

"It helps when you know what's right," Sen said. He moved his neck side to side and stretched his legs slightly, making sure everything worked right. "Anything that gets us closer to beating Sarin is the right choice."

Sen looked at his arm. The burns did not sink too deep into his skin, and would leave no scars, but his skin was still bright red. Sen clenched his fist, and found it painful to do so. Despite the sting, it could have been much worse. He reopened his hand to look at his burnt palm.

"It's a shame, what happened to Raisu," he said solemnly. He frowned at first, and then it slowly drifted into a scowl.

The Minister had arranged everything, down to the seating at the table, so that Sen would survive. Minister Raisu had given up his own life to save Sen. it shouldn't have been necessary. Raisu was a good man, and a good father. He deserved to lived, to make things right with his world and his son. But Sarin had taken that chance away from him. Miyani nodded quietly.

"I know. Pak was devastated."

Sen nodded slowly in kind. Miyani bit her lip and looked at Sen, at his scorched hand resting on the bed. Sen could only imagine what Pak was feeling after the loss of his father. Slowly, painfully, his burst hand balled up into a clenched fist.

"You know, Sen, there was a second, when I first saw, you after it happened when I-" She choked on her words for a moment and reconsidered. She closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm glad you're alright."

She reached up to put her hand on top of his, and found it was no longer there. Sen was no longer lying down in bed. He had sat up, quite painfully, and moved to the edge of the bed.

"Sen?"

Cringing slightly as his aching body righted itself, Sen stood up. He wobbled unsteadily as he first stood, but quickly found his footing. He lurched forward, limping unevenly away from the bed. Miyani stood up and watched him limp towards an unknown destination. He slowly stripped the bandages off his arms, exposing reddened and burnt skin.

"Sen, you should be resting," Miyani cautioned.

Sen paid her no heed and walked over to where his coat hung. His old coat had been burnt and torn in the detonation. What had once been a smooth brown coat was now blackened and shredded. Sen's eyes narrowed. He took the ruined coat from its hook and put it on, shaking off a bit of ash and straightening the torn sleeves.

With his coat in place Sen turned and headed for the door. He slammed it open, pushing past the guards assigned to his room and out into the hall. Hanjo was the only one on hand to see him exit, though all of his friends were swiftly headed this way.

"You'd better go back before Tlun gets here," Ariak joked. "He'll knock you flat if he sees you up and about."

"No," Sen said. The grim intensity of his voice brought a swift end to any jokes. Hanjo stepped forward.

"Hey, Sen, you're hurt," Hanjo said. He grabbed Sen by the wrist and held his hand tightly for a moment. "You have to rest."

Sen had for a moment seemed oddly calm in his actions, but now that came to an end. Slowly, he raised the hand Hanjo had no hold on. His fist was scorched red by fire, and he clenched his fingers tight into a crimson fist, cracking his burnt skin, exposing even redder burns beneath. Miyani stepped out of the room just behind him, concern carved into her face.

"I am not going to waste time resting at a time like this," Sen said. He ripped his hand out of Hanjo's grip and proceeded forward.

"I have an army, I have the information, and now, I have access to every inch of this world," Sen said. There was fire burning his voice, a heat that made the pain in his body seem miniscule. "For the first time, there is nothing standing in my way."

Lahn was waiting nearby, ready to deliver Sen's reports, and Sen was ready to give orders now.

"I expect Suda, Ariak and the rest are headed this way?"

"Yes sir," Lahn said quietly.

"Tell them to turn around and get back to work," Sen growled. He didn't need or want anyone wasting time doting on his injuries. He wanted action.

Sen reached the doors of Xian's hospital and slammed them open. He limped forward through the doors and took a look around. The base of the Coalition was quiet and calm. With their General out of commission, the armies had taken a few days to rest and prepare for their next deployment. Sen frowned intensely as he saw the aimless soldiers.

Sen clenched his fist, and the stone rose up before him in an impromptu podium. Sen lurched forward, his shoulders hunched, as he climbed up the pillar he had created.

"All of you, on your feet!" The soldiers of the Coalition jumped at the sound of his voice. They saluted sharply to the Avatar-General.

"I want every unit ready to leave by tomorrow morning," Sen demanded loudly. "We are marching into the Earth Kingdom! We will chase our enemy wherever they run, we will find them wherever they hide, and we will annihilate them wherever they fight!"

The soldiers saluted hesitantly as Sen's harsh voice echoed over their camp. Sen stood far above, his voice echoing like thunder over all of them. Miyani and Hanjo looked to one another, fear and concern written on their faces.

"We are going to war," Sen declared. "And we will not stop until I have my hands around Sarin's throat."