Katara took a deep breath as she looked across the table at the Council of Five. She tried not to tug her hair while they talked amongst themselves, leaning over the empty chair at the head of the table where Kuei should have been sitting. During the two hour meeting, it had been like a gaping hole, staring at them the entire time, reminding them of one more loss they'd suffered during the war. But Kuei could be recovered. As far as they knew, he was out there, somewhere. The other loss, however… Katara took a deep breath, and Sokka put his hand on her shoulder, trying to give her an encouraging smile, but it did little soothe the pain. Her palms were sweating again, and she tried to find the strength she'd had during the war. During the first part of the war. They were still at war.

"This is ridiculous," Toph grumbled. "Why are they fighting us? Why can't they just say ok?"

"These things take time," Hakoda said gently. "We're asking a lot of them."

She didn't think it really was asking a lot, though her father, Iroh, Secretary Hau, and everyone else with them kept assuring them that it was. Toph started grumbling something, and Zuko put his hand on her head. She quieted, but kept casting wary looks at the Council the longer they talked. It was hard not to share Toph's frustration; nearly a year after Sozin's Comet, it seemed like nothing had been done to continue the fight. The fear was palpable everywhere. After escaping the palace, Appa took them to the Earth Kingdom, but didn't have the heart to get them closer to Ba Sing Se. He left them in safety, then went off. They'd watched as he got smaller and smaller, disappearing into the sky, becoming one with the clouds. So, they'd travelled by foot, and each step a painful reminder of the loss, of the hole that was growing within them. Iroh did his best to coach them through their grief, led them through what he knew of Air Nomad funerals, and it had given them some small measure of peace. Still, there were days when it wasn't enough.

"I think the world was greatly unprepared for what happened," General Winn said, as the generals finished their private conversation.

His voice was heavy and tired, the lines on his face deeper than they were the last time they'd seen him. The teens had seen the terrified people pouring into Ba Sing Se, the city practically overflowing, as Ozai renewed his assault on the Earth Kingdom. No one knew when Ozai was coming, but everyone felt certain that he was, and with no king on the throne, and the army in disarray, no one truly felt safe from Ozai's wrath. Which was exactly why they had to do something. Ozai was feeling his strongest, boasting that he had defeated the Avatar, that it proved his strength, that he would punish those that stood against him… Katara closed her eyes and tried to focus her mind, pushing out the fragments of horrible dreams that were threatening to invade her waking mind.

"We were horribly unprepared," General How agreed. "But…you are right. He will come for us. I'd like to think that we are a little stronger, a little wiser than Avatar Aang is…was…but we must remember that we were fooled by Princess Azula."

Here, General How gave Zuko a pointed look, and Katara wanted to immediately rise to his defense, especially as Zuko started to sink into his chair. Katara clenched her fists in her lap. She needed calm because this needed to work. Iroh and her father agreed that they would have to take a different approach; this time, they would have to be more than soldiers. They would have to be diplomats, and so began countless hours of studying and drilling, of Mistress Yina correcting their posture, of Secretary Hau giving them difficult scenarios and asking them to make decisions. They trained and they learned because they had to. This had to work. They needed Ba Sing Se on their side if they were ever going to take down Ozai. They had to have Ba Sing Se.

"Please," she said instead. "Please, we can't do this on our own. Gaoling and Omashu have already agreed to work with us, and if we have a more unified Earth Kingdom, we'll be able to present the North with a stronger argument. This has to work. Ozai cannot be allowed to… Aang…"

Words failed her as her heart twisted again, and Katara cursed herself for not keeping it together. Frustrated, she pushed away from the table, determined to get out of the room before she broke down and started crying again, feeling horrendously exhausted and just so done with all of this. A strong hand reached out for her, and she turned slightly. Zuko squeezed her hand and gave her a half hearted smile. He looked tired, sad. A little broken. And she turned to look at her family, one by one, and they all had that same look. Stubbornly wiping away her tears, Katara turned toward the council again.

"Gaoling and Omashu have joined us," she said, going over their talking points. "After we leave here, we intend to go to Chief Arnook in the North and ask him to join this alliance. We didn't win the first time because it was just us. Even so, look what we did!" She threw her arms wide, looking directly at General How and hoping that he would hear her words. "Imagine what we could do if all of us worked together. He is just one man."

"Yes, one man who managed to kill the Avatar," General Soo said.

"And perhaps," Iroh chimed in, "had they not been brushed off the first time, had Ba Sing Se not been filled with corruption, the world would be different."

How bristled at this, and teens tensed. Iroh held How's gaze until the younger man turned away, and this seemed to be all the agreement they needed. The tension in the room shifted, perhaps bleeding out a little. Breaths were released, and How dropped his head into his hands.

"We should start again," General Winn said quietly. "All of this. All of this."

Katara felt the relief wash over her as the tears burned the corner of her eyes. They'd fought and bled, they'd begged every city they stopped in for help, and had been turned away at every step. So few had wanted to take up the fight for their own freedom, it seemed, and so they'd done what others refused to do. They had sacrificed. And now…now it felt like the end was in sight.

"We did not grasp the chance as firmly as we should have," Hakoda said, his voice loud and firm, almost a general speaking to his troops. "We waited and we hid, perhaps because we'd all lost hope. General Winn is right. We can start again."

Katara reached out on either side of her, grabbing both Sokka and Zuko, and they reached out, grabbing Suki and Toph. This was it.

"You have our support," General How said. "Ba Sing Se will stand by you."

They would have their revolution.

Zuko sat on a bench in the garden, looking down at the bundle in his hands. Guilt gnawed at him. Maybe he'd been young and foolish in thinking that it wasn't his destiny to defeat his father. During the Invasion, after the eclipse was over and Ozai had shot lightning at him, it wouldn't have been hard to aim a few inches lower. He could have ended everything then. But if he had, he wouldn't have gotten to know his friends. He wouldn't be as happy…

"Don't be selfish," he mumbled to himself, opening the bundle for the tenth time.

"What's that?"

He started, nearly falling off the bench, his face red and his eyes redder. Zuko tried to hide from Katara, but in the dim light from the palace, he could see that she'd been crying too. Hell, this wouldn't be the first time she'd seen him cry, and she'd never made fun of him for it. She'd always been comforting and supportive. He trusted her. Zuko cleared his throat and gestured to the spot next to him, slowly pulling the crown out of the cloth. He held it in his hand for her to see. She gently touched it, running her finger along the molten gold detailing a simple flame, following the sharp edges.

"It's what the Crowned Prince wears. Sozin gave it to Roku, and I guess it's stayed with my mother's side of the family. Until now."

Katara didn't say anything, just staring at the relic, and Zuko supposed that was ok. Sometimes he was still uneasy with the silences between them, but he always appreciated that she never pushed him to talk.

"My uncle wants me to wear it."

"Oh?"

"He…he has a plan, and I don't know if I can go through with it."

Zuko took a deep breath and looked up at the stars in the sky. Of course, Iroh had said, the choice would be his, and if he looked within himself and felt that he truly couldn't do what needed to be done, then nothing would become of this plan. Iroh hadn't even mentioned it to anyone else, saying that Zuko must absolutely, fully agree to this before he even speaks of it to the others. It would be no small burden, but in the end, if they could pull it off, the world would be stronger for it. But, if Zuko felt that it was asking too much, he would understand. They would find other avenues, and they would still succeed. No road that lay before them would be easy, and they would all have to sacrifice, but there would be peace, no matter what.

"He wants me to wear the crown," Zuko whispered, holding it up to inspect it.

"That doesn't sound too bad."

Zuko shook his head. "Everything that this would mean… He's still trying to prepare me to be Fire Lord, and he wants to start now. To make the world see my…Ozai…as the usurper. He wants me to wear the crown as a challenge to Ozai's right to rule."

Katara was silent, probably weighing her words. He didn't do a good job of explaining the weight to her. Of stepping out every day with the crown on, with this burden placed on him. People would see him as a symbol for the rebellion, much like they saw Aang as the one who'd save them. Would they stop fighting as hard if he wore that crown? Would they expect him to magically solve all of their problems like they'd expected a 12 year old to do away with a century of war? What if he wasn't strong enough? He'd never been good with making choices, and as much as Hau assured him that he was doing well in his studies, Zuko had his doubts. Whoever led the Fire Nation couldn't be filled with doubts.

"I'm not strong enough—"

"I believe in you—"

Her smile was slight, but hopeful, and Zuko almost turned away from it. He didn't want her to believe in him. If she didn't believe, she couldn't be disappointed when he failed.

"I'm not ready," he whispered.

"Maybe it doesn't have to be now," she said, just as quietly. She was looking down at her feet, drawing abstract patterns in the grass. "I heard them talking, and they say that if they're going to do this right, this rebellion will last far longer than a year. General Soo is already talking about finding a new Grand Secretariat before we do anything else. And finding Kuei."

Zuko snorted. "They'll expect us to find Kuei."

Katara snorted. "Probably."

They sat in silence as the night went on. When they did talk, they made an effort to talk only about simple, silly things. Things that had no weight. They stayed up well into the night, and when they finally went to bed, Zuko had his first night of untroubled sleep in nearly a year.

A/N: So, this is going to be an interesting story. I'm trying something a little different that what I've done in the past since I've got to cover a huge amount of time. Hopefully things won't feel too fragmented. Also because my brain decided we should do a major rewrite right after I posted the first chapter. Happy reading.