Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. :)
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Chapter 4: A Visit with the Fire Lord
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They set off the next morning.
"So why're we going back to the Fire Nation?" Toph asked, promptly yawning afterward. She just couldn't believe how much she'd missed them all, even Appa and his fuzziness. She'd never admit anything of the sort, of course. She wasn't like gushy Katara.
"Fire Lord Zuko has discovered evidence against this group of firebenders. He thinks that they're a band of rebels out to avenge the Fire Nation's so-called defeat in the war. He hopes that we can stop all their attacks on people of other elements, or at least learn who they are," Katara reported.
Toph grinned. "So Scarface wants our help," she summarized smugly.
"Could you not call him that?" Katara requested, obviously annoyed.
"Would you rather I call him Pretty Boy?"
Katara just grumbled in return, and Toph smiled. "Yeah, it's good to be back." She waited for a few moments before asking, "Hey, Sokka. Where were you that whole month-long break?"
Sokka shrugged. "Lots of places, actually. After the wedding those two pretty much dropped me off in some forest in the southern Earth Kingdom. I found this nice little town -out of the way, ya know- and I stayed there."
"Were you sorry you left?" Toph asked. She wasn't going to be more specific. She wasn't going to ask if he'd met any girl.
"Not really," Sokka replied. "I decided that the small town life isn't really my style. You?"
"I'm not a city gal, that's for sure," Toph laughed good-naturedly. "How about you guys? How was your extra-long honeymoon?"
Katara rolled her eyes. "It was so boring. We did a risk assessment of the Southern Air Temple and flew to the fire nation to talk to Zuko. That was our entire month."
"Yeah, it could have been better," Aang agreed sourly.
Toph was satisfied. As long as none of them had a good time, she was content. After all, it was their fault they'd all split up in the first place. Their experiences had made them suffer the consequences. She hoped they'd never split up again.
Momo hopped onto Toph's shoulder. "Yeah," Sokka grinned. "I didn't miss anyone except Momo. You, Toph?"
"Momo's the only one I missed."
"Thanks, guys," Aang laughed from atop Appa's head.
They traveled like that for a week, having good conversation and eating and drinking merrily. Days were spent flying on Appa, cracking jokes at one another, and playing games to pass the time. Nights consisted of talking more, arguing about different camp responsibilities, stuffing hungry bellies, and indulging in fitful sleeps. It was almost a shame that they had to end it all when they finally reached Zuko's grand palace.
"Why're we here first?" Toph muttered, annoyed. She wasn't fond of Zuko. She'd also been getting the sense that Aang, Katara, and Sokka knew something that she didn't. They seemed like they kept, well, not filling her in on stuff. Stuff that she felt like she needed to know.
"We've come to see if Zuko has any new leads that can get us started," Aang grumbled. He didn't like being in the Fire Lord's palace either, not one bit. Toph smirked. Either Aang had, over the month, come to the realization that Katara was the second-biggest flirt in the world (next to her brother, of course), or he'd had a severe stomachache for the past week. Toph had a good idea of which one it was.
"Yeah, I'm sure he's come up with something," Katara added brightly. Aang scowled.
The four walked through the great corridors unobstructed by the firebending guards, clad in the finest armor in the nation. Toph felt terribly uncomfortable, and she could tell Sokka did, too. They'd both been in the Fire Lord's palace before, but she didn't think either of them would ever get used to it. After everything that had happened, she still felt like they were in enemy territory and that Zuko was out to capture them. It would never feel quite right.
They came to an impressive-looking doorway. Aang reached to knock, but Katara barged right in. "The Avatar has arrived," she announced.
Zuko smiled pleasantly. "With company, so it sounds." He was adopting a more positive disposition every day. His voice still sounded dark, and his words still deemed sharp on occasions, but he was loyal to his people and the people of other elements and wanted nothing short of the best for both. In Toph's opinion, it was weird.
Aang spoke up quickly before Katara could take over the conversation. "Fire Lord Zuko, do you have any new leads on the case?"
Zuko's smile vanished. "Yes," he confirmed gravely. "It appears that our band of rebels have moved to Fudo, a city close to the nation's northeast coast. They're getting recruits, but in a day or two they'll be gone, and they're almost impossible to track. How fast do you think you can get there?"
Sokka had already pulled out a map and was eyeing it carefully. "It'll take us about half a day," Sokka concluded. "If we leave now we'll reach it by sundown, maybe a little later."
Zuko nodded. "That'll give you enough time to find out some valuable information." He paused, then continued to speak. His voice sounded pained. "They choose their cities carefully and they move quickly. Not even my best men have been able to track them down. I can tell you a few reasons why they chose Fudo- the guards there are especially slack, and it's a big city, almost as big as Ba Sing Se. They'll be able to get recruits and keep hidden doing it." A smile flickered to his lips. "It's these facts that make me believe they'll stay longer than usual. That should be helpful to you."
Aang raised his eyebrows doubtfully. "So do you know how many people are in it now?"
"Maybe ten, maybe ten thousand. No one knows for sure. I know that there is a central base, though, where the one leader stays and organizes their next hit."
"How do you know all this?" Toph piped up.
"My soldiers captured a rat. He's told me everything I know, but he won't tell me who's behind it all. He says he doesn't know, but I believe he's lying."
Toph smiled faintly. "Take me to him."
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Zuko, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, the captured man, and a guard crowded into a cramped cell. Toph wanted to talk to the prisoner herself. She could tell everyone if he was lying or not. Maybe that would intimidate him into telling them who led the rebels.
"What's your name?" Toph demanded.
The man shuffled and his chains clinked together. "I don't got nothin' o' the sort."
Toph scoffed. "Sure you do."
The man scowled. "Ye don' know that. Ye don' know anything." He didn't talk correctly. It made Toph all the more suspicious of him.
"That, my friend, is a serious lie. In fact, I'd suggest you start telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, because I can tell whether you're lying or not."
"What are ye, some magic know-what-you're-thinkin' kind o' gal?" he asked.
"You don't need to know how I can tell. Just start telling the truth, because if you don't, I'll tell that nice guard there to get rid of you."
The man warily eyed the guard and grunted, irritated that this mere girl was telling him what to do. Suddenly he noticed her glazed, blank eyes. "Hey, wait a minute," he muttered. "Yer blind, ain't ye?"
"Sure am, Knuckledragger. Now why don't you be a sensible captive and tell me what I want to know."
"A'right, we'll see if I can be o' service..."
"Who're you working for?" Toph inquired flatly.
"I don' work fer nobody," he replied. "I work fer meself."
"Why're you lying? Are you hiding something? I know you are," Toph taunted.
"I ain't a-lyin'. I don' do no such thing."
Toph rolled her misty eyes. "That's a lie, too."
"A'right," he admitted, "it is. And I do work for someone. But I ain't gonna tell ye who."
"Okay, let me lay it out for you since your primitive mind apparently can't understand the seriousness of your situation," Toph stated matter-of-factly. "You're going to tell me who you're working for, where this person is, and how many people are involved. If you get cocky, you're going to tell me what your little organization is trying to do. Got it? Oh, and if you refuse, Fluffy here'll give you something to cry about. Is that clear?" Toph motioned toward the guard, who in turn cracked his knuckles threateningly.
The man gulped. Panic flooded his face, and he only took a second to consider his next move. "Okay, I'll tell you everything you want to know, just don't hurt me, and please don't make me leave this place. They'll know, and they'll get me. First off, the bad grammar was all part of the act. I speak really well, actually, and talking like that was torture. I don't know the name of my boss, but I do know that she's a woman, and a cruel one, too. I've never met her, but my comrades -there were thirty of us- heard these rumors. One said that she's supposed to be dead, another said she was part of the royal family. A woman claimed to have seen her once, recently, but she said that our leader was a young girl, a girl of maybe eighteen. They all sound crazy to me, but make of them what you will. I know that our leader was trying to avenge the Fire Nation. She believes that you were wrong to cease the great takeover. Our leader thinks the Fire Nation should rule the world, that you are a terrible ruler and that you could do it all in a snap, that you won't because the Avatar is a personal friend now. She lives for the Fire Nation, and so do my comrades." He took in a deep breath. "We would die to have the Fire Nation on top again. She's powerful, I sure know that, and she'll stop at nothing until she gets enough followers to dethrone you, properly or not."
Zuko noticed that the prisoner had directed a lot of his outburst at him. "You know who you just described?" he asked menacingly.
"Who?" the captive questioned sincerely. He obviously had no idea.
"My sister. My enemy. Azula." Zuko's voice reflected his contempt, his pure hate, for the girl's mere name.
"She's dead," the prisoner pointed out needlessly.
"I know that!" Zuko spat.
Toph decided to be the mediator. "Apparently she only gave you the illusion she was dead. It looks like she's alive and kicking. With a vengeance, too." She set her face to serious mode. "And you, you little rat... didn't lie in that last account. Good. Now do you have any idea where Azula is?"
He shook his head. "I've have no idea."
Toph nodded approvingly. "Glad you've decided to keep your words straight. Guys, it looks like we're headed to Fudo for clues. We'll be lucky if we get there before morning. Now c'mon, let's go!"
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In case you were wondering, Fudo means "the god of fire and wisdom." I thought that was neat, so... that's why I chose it to be a city in the Fire Nation.
I adore Fire Lord Zuko. I really do. It is creepy, though, how he's all... nice-ish... but he's had four years to get over the war, so there you go. Iroh does appear in the story, just because I love Iroh and his view of tea. Review, guys!