Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Author's Note: This follows the Maiko saga from Chapters 10 and 12. It's probably the most…incomplete chapter of this collection.

Dare You

"I don't think Azula will let him live much longer," Mai said solemnly, causing Zuko to look at her sharply. There was no doubt as to whom she was referring. Mai had led Zuko up to the roof of the palace. There was a clear line of sight in all directions, making it less likely they could be overheard.

"She's arrogant enough not to recognize how dangerous he can be," Zuko suggested hopefully. He wasn't naïve enough to think that Azula wouldn't jump at the chance to kill their uncle.

"True," Mai acknowledged. "But she sees him as a traitor, and you know what that means. Besides, he's a loose end, and Azula hates those."

"Still, taking the life of a member of the royal family…our family…."

"That's probably why she's held off this long. She may be waiting for your father to give permission for his brother's execution." Mai sounded matter-of-fact enough, but Zuko suspected that she was not as unmoved by this as she pretended. Or maybe he was only hoping to find a kindred spirit in this place where everyone seemed to be under his sister's thumb.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I just thought…" Mai trailed off, and her dark eyes looked to Zuko, measuring him up. Uncomfortable with this scrutiny, he ran a hand through his unruly hair. Mai moved close to him, speaking so unobtrusively that her lips scarcely moved. "We could free him."

Now it was Zuko's turn to give Mai a searching gaze. She returned it unflinchingly. Zuko began pacing.

"How? He's completely surrounded by stone and earth. Firebending isn't going to be of much use." Zuko had to admit he was tempted. He supposed his words were giving that away. He wasn't so much trying to talk her out of it as presenting her the opportunity to talk him into it.

"You forget," she answered coldly, flicking her wrist sharply and causing a knife to slide smoothly into her waiting hand. "I'm not a bender. We have to come up with other ways of doing things."

"I'm sorry," he apologized, abashed. He stood still before her. "What did you have in mind?" Zuko was feeling a little bit of hope. When Mai outlined her plan, he thought it might actually work. He still wasn't decided, though. He felt guilt for betraying his uncle, certainly, but did a betrayal of his sister (and arguably his father) make up for that or just increase his own dishonor? How did his hope of rescuing Uncle Iroh and regaining his standing in that man's eyes balance against the hope Azula offered of gaining standing in his father's eyes?

"Then what?" he asked, stalling for time. Mai shrugged.

"We have basically two choices. We can either leave with him or stay here and pretend we had nothing to do with it."

Zuko considered the options. Staying would be very dangerous. He'd never been very good at keeping secrets from Azula. Even considering that he'd mostly been avoiding her since taking her side, it would be a great risk. If he went on the run again, on the other hand, he was probably sacrificing any chance of getting back into the Fire Lord's good graces. If anyone chanced to see them while carrying out the plan, the option to stay put would be closed.

"What do you think would be the best choice?"

"Either one would be exciting, so I don't really care," she responded in her usual, deadpan way. Zuko stared at her, amazed at the lengths she would go to fend off boredom. He wasn't sure if he was impressed or frightened. Not that the prince and heir of the Fire Nation would ever admit to being frightened, of course.

"Why would you help me with this?" he said curiously.

"I told you; I'm bored," Mai responded. She smirked. "I'm the one that let the Earth King and the others go free."

"You did what?"

"They just wanted the bear, and I was sick of it." She was speaking nonchalantly enough, but Zuko suspected that there was something more beneath her words, a discontent that ran deeper than the simple boredom she affected. "There wasn't really a downside for me. So, what's it going to be?"

"I don't know," Zuko wavered. "I just rejoined the Fire Nation. To turn against it again so soon? I'm not sure I can." To his surprise, Mai smiled. It was a real, genuine smile that made her eyes sparkle and transformed her face completely. It forcefully reminded Zuko that Mai was, in fact, a girl. A mischievous aspect entered her expression as she used a phrase he hadn't heard since he was a child.

"I dare you."

--

Author's note: I think this is really my first cliffhanger of the set. As a general reminder regarding suggestions, all of these have to take place in or around Ba Sing Se. I've bent some of the rules I began with in order to expand this collection, but I really want to stick with that one. Also, the idea should be able to be expressed in under 1000 words, or possibly be split into a couple of separate scenes of that length. On another topic, I have begun the songfic collection 76 Trombones, but there hasn't been much interest in it so far, so I hope that by plugging it here, more people will read it. The last time I checked, it only had 54 hits. I'd like to see 100 before I continue it.

Member of the Boomeraang Squad: charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129, Strix Moonwing, Avatarwolf, and honorary member SnakeEyes16

Thank you to Tech-Man, SnakeEyes16, frozenheat, Aang's fangirl1214, and IGAF-kun for reviewing Chapter 13.

libowiekitty: Maybe Tokka next time. Magawa gave me a couple of ideas.

MormonMaiden: Oddly, I couldn't wait to get back to Maiko, either.

Magawa: Thanks for the ideas; I'm thinking about one of them.

GYY: I'm working on it, okay!

DarthPotter205: All of the fics in this collection are less than 1000 words, if you don't count the notes and song lyrics. I actually aim for 700-800 words per chapter, so they're intentionally short. I have longer oneshots as independent works.

Avatarwolf: Wow, what a long review! I'm glad Momo wasn't there. My eldest child will be five next month, so how early did your mom start? Yes, you can join. Just add the line to any new Avatar fics you write. You'll notice that Strix Moonwing is a new member as well.

Kumori Doragon: I don't know what to tell you about the OC-ness. The characters speak to me, and I have less control over what they say and do than you might think. I knew the last part was probably slightly OC, but I really needed some honest fluff!