The Dai Li were assembled in the throne room, lines of fierce sentinels with shaded eyes and shadier intentions. Zuko stared back at them, arching his chin. This was the moment that would decide his fate, and possibly the rest of the world with him.

Azula had walked right into Iroh's trap. The Dragon of the West knew that his niece's one achilles heel was her rage. He'd counted on it. A more cunning conqueror would have remained in the city and maintained her authority from the seat of power, but Azula's wounded pride at his escape had overcome her better judgment. By accepting Iroh's challenge and pursuing him over the sea, the Fire Nation princess had forfeited control of Ba Sing Se. Her absence left the city ripe for the taking.

Uncle really is a genius, Zuko mused. With the Dai Li on our side, we've got a chance to turn things around. I just wish he could be here to see it.

With Mai and Ty Lee flanking him on either side, the banished prince stood regally in front of the Earth King's empty throne. From there, he would address the sinister veins in which lay the blood and strength of the Impenetrable City.

"I know why you're here," Zuko began. "The Dai Li are the eyes and ears of Ba Sing Se. For centuries, you've guarded the cultural heritage of the Earth Kingdom, always listening, always watching. But now you feel as though you've been walking around blind and deaf, and it's because of my sister.

"You placed your trust in Princess Azula because you felt threatened. Now, you've seen how she repays your loyalty. She betrayed and killed your leader in cold blood. It was worse than a crime; it was a mistake. Long Feng was more useful to her alive than dead. And it won't stop with just him.

"Once the war is over, Azula will have no more use for the Dai Li. She won't tolerate any person, any group, that's strong enough to rival her. Azula never hesitates to strike down anyone she thinks is in her way. And if you think she'll need you after the war, think again. There won't be any reason to protect the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se, because there won't be a Ba Sing Se. Only another Fire Nation colony guarded by Fire Nation soldiers."

The room was gravely quiet. He knew the Dai Li were listening as always, but more importantly, they were taking what he said into consideration.

"As the rightful heir to the throne, I'm offering you an alternative, one you'll never get from Azula or my father. I'm offering you, and the Earth Kingdom, your freedom."

Ty Lee actually gasped. She and Mai shared a look of disbelief. The Dai Li agents glanced uneasily around, as though this were too good to be true.

"This war is pointless," Zuko continued firmly. "The Fire Nation will gain more by having the Earth Kingdom as a strong ally, rather than a weak and conquered nation that we have to rebuild and take care of like a child. Unfortunately, the Fire Lord won't accept anything less than total domination. Neither will Azula.

"That's why we need to work together. Give the Earth Kingdom the strength it needs to defeat my father and force an end to this war. In return, when I'm crowned Fire Lord, I'll recognize the Earth Kingdom's sovereignty. If you want to save yourselves and your homeland, this is your chance. The choice is up to you."

"Well spoken, Prince Zuko," a Dai Li agent said, stepping out of ranks to come to the forefront. "We anticipated such an offer from you, although your terms are more generous than we expected. To be free of our arrangement with Princess Azula, we would have been willing to accept less."

"That doesn't matter. My offer stands just as it is."

Below the shaded brim of his helmet, the agent's lips turned up in a satisfied smile. "Then consider it accepted. Be assured, the Dai Li will hold you to your word."

"Then I'll be sure to keep it." Zuko stared curiously down at him. "Who are you?"

"My name is Tai Lan. I was Long Feng's second-in-command." The agent lifted his eyes, revealing a face that was both cunning and dangerous. "Now I am yours."

ooo LL ooo

Aang woke with a start. He tried to sit upright, but his limbs struggled against him. Realizing the pain and weakness were too much to overcome at the moment, the little monk turned his attention to his surroundings. He was in a room like those at the North Pole. It was made entirely of ice, except for the floor, which was covered in pelts.

Turning his head the opposite direction, he found an old woman leaning over him. Her grandmotherly countenance seemed vaguely familiar.

"Wh…where am I?" Aang croaked, unable to believe that cracking murmur was his voice.

"The South Pole," the crone replied gently. "How do you feel, young Avatar?"

"Awful," he replied honestly, "and hungrier than I've been in my whole life. I'd even take a bowl of onion and banana juice right now."

The other nodded sympathetically. "Now that you're awake, we can feed you. I'll ask Bakara to get you some stewed sea prunes. They'll warm you up in no time." The old woman stood and headed through the open doorway.

Stewed sea prunes?! Aang panicked. His lip quivered in distaste as he remembered the awful food he'd eaten in Bato's convalescence room. Aw, man! That onion and banana juice really does sound good right about now…

The sound of footsteps pattered outside the door. "Yugoda? Is he -"

"Yes, he's awake. Go on in."

"Katara! Toph! Sokka!" he cried as his friends came running towards him. Even Momo was there. The lemur flew above them and came to rest on Toph's head, purring a hello at Aang. "Momo! I'm so glad to see you!"

"Aang, thank goodness you're okay!" Katara exclaimed, almost crushing him in a hug. "We were really worried about you."

"I'm all right, Katara," Aang assured her, although he was still weak and in a little pain. "Who's in that bed over there?"

The others glanced at the cot across from him, where Yugoda was bending water over a prostrate body. "That's Suki," Sokka explained. "The Fire Nation took over Kyoshi. They tortured her." There was a bitter edge to his voice. Aang knew how much hatred Sokka felt for the Fire Nation. They had taken away his mother and his first love. Now, they had almost succeeded in killing his second.

"Is she going to be okay?" Aang asked worriedly.

"We hope so," Katara replied softly. "The other Kyoshi warriors are here, too. They didn't have anywhere else to go."

"Someone else is here to see you too, Aang," Toph broke in. "An old friend."

With a nod from her, Iroh's kindly old face poked inside. "Is it all right if I come in?"

"Iroh!" Aang grinned, not minding at all as Zuko's uncle joined them. "How did you get here?"

"It's a long story," the firebender replied with a twinkle in his eye. "Perhaps Katara and I should tell it together?"

Katara's face reddened. "That can wait. We shouldn't stay too long. It'll make Aang more exhausted than he already is. He needs to rest."

"But I've been sleeping for ages," the Avatar whined. "I need to know what's been going on."

"I'm sure Katara is only thinking of your health," Iroh soothed, "and she's right. You do need time to recuperate. In a day or two you'll be able to join us, and then we'll tell you all you've missed."

"Okay," Aang said glumly, sinking his bald head back against the pillow.

"Don't worry, Aang," Sokka spoke up, "you won't be here by yourself. Toph's volunteered to come back and stay with you. Isn't that right, Toph?"

"Huh?" Toph yelped. Momo also gave Sokka a strange look.

"I'll be in and out to look in on Suki," he added. "We'd all stay with you, Aang, but Azula and the Fire Navy are on their way here. We've got to get the defenses ready."

Aang's eyes popped wide open. "Azula's coming here?!"

"Relax, Aang," Katara calmed him. "It's going to be all right."

"But if the Fire Navy is coming here, I have to fight!" he insisted.

"In that case, you will need all your strength," Iroh said wisely, "which means you have to rest."

"I guess you're right," Aang relented. "I'll see you guys later, then."

As the group left the healing huts, Katara and Iroh walked on ahead, but Toph slowed to a stop. Sokka glanced over at her. The little earthbender had let go of his leading arm. Her sightless eyes were wide, her expression troubled. "Toph? What is it?"

"I can't feel the earth here. Not at all. The ground is too far under the snow and ice for me to feel any vibrations." The harsh wind caught in her hair, blowing it at odd angles around her face. "This is the first time in my life I've really felt… blind."

"I'm sorry," the young warrior murmured.

"That's why you want me to babysit Aang, isn't it?" she asked insecurely. "Because I can't help."

"Whoa! Hold on, you've got it all wrong!" Sokka denied. "I thought you'd want to stay with Aang. You acted like you didn't want to leave him when we left Dad's ship. Actually, you kind of acted like…"

"Like what?" she demanded.

"Like you like him," Sokka replied evenly, folding his arms.

"What?!" Toph screeched.

"You're the one who kissed him," the Water Tribe warrior shrugged. "Are you telling me you don't have a thing for Aang?"

"You're just lucky I don't have a lot of big, heavy boulders lying around," Toph retorted, curling her lip and reluctantly taking his arm.

And you're just mad because I'm onto your secret, Sokka thought, although he never would have said so.

ooo LL ooo

When Sokka arrived at the main hub of the newly-rebuilt South Pole, he did a double-take. Whoa! Master Pakku's been busy!

Not only were all of the igloos at least three levels high, they were placed on strong foundations and fortified with layers of ice several feet thick. The wintry city did not have the beauty that the North Pole had possessed before being attacked by the Fire Nation, but its defenses looked nearly as impervious to attack.

"Sokka," Katara said then, rushing towards him, "there you are! I've been looking all over for you. Dad's holding the war council right now. Come on!" She took his hand and together they raced into the meeting hall.

As the two siblings entered, they found themselves on a landing overlooking a greatroom whose floor was lined with pelts and contained a central fire. Sitting on the pelts was a circle of Water Tribe elders from both the Southern and Northern tribes, including Master Pakku and Chief Hakoda, among others. They seemed to be arguing.

"We still have a fleet," Hakoda was saying, doing his best to speak above the noisy din. "We can use it to buy us time against the Fire Nation. That way, our people within these walls will have a better chance."

"The fleet will do us no good during the battle," said Kuvo, one of the benders from the Northern Tribe that had accompanied Master Pakku on his journey south and aided in the rebuilding. "We can set traps to disable the Fire Navy ships since we know they're coming, without risking more of the lives of our tribesmen."

"Kuvo is right," Master Pakku spoke up. "In a direct assault against Fire Navy ships, our own vessels would be practically useless. It's true that they maneuver better and are swifter, but one fireball in the right place would be enough to sink one of our ships on the spot. We can't afford to lose more of our fighters and benders. The main brunt of the attack will come here. This is where we should prepare to make our stand."

"And how will we do that?" Bato wondered aloud. "Most of the Southern Tribesmen are sailors, fishermen. Few of us have been in direct combat against Fire Nation troops when on land, not to mention that we have no benders among our tribe. Doesn't that put us at a great disadvantage?"

"We're already at a great disadvantage," Kuvo said arrogantly. "The Northern Tribe had eighty years to perfect its defenses against the outside world before the Fire Navy attacked, and none of us would have survived if it hadn't been for the Avatar. We arrived here only a few months ago to find the Southern Tribe unprepared and defenseless. Now we've learned that the Avatar can be of no help to us. I say if we're going to go out anyway, we make a stand that our children can be proud of, if they live to remember it."

"So that's it?" Katara remarked boldly, striding into the midst of the all-male council. "That's your plan? 'We can't win, so let's deal them as good a strike as we can before we all die?'"

"In the Northern Tribe," Kuvo almost growled, "women know better than to storm into a war council. Our women know their place."

Katara's fists curled at her sides. Reflexively, she bent her arm into a form that would shoot an icicle straight at his head. Only the gently restraining touch of Master Pakku's hand kept her from injuring the offender straight away.

"This woman does know her place," Master Pakku informed the council, motioning for Katara and Sokka to sit beside him. "She's the most talented waterbender I've ever trained. She has earned the right to be here, former pupil Kuvo." There was a taunt in that remark, and it did not escape Kuvo's notice. The Northern Tribe bender seethed in fury. "Master Katara, do you have anything you would like to add to this council?"

Katara gave a ready nod. "Yes. The Kyoshi warriors have offered us their help. They're skilled land fighters, and their methods of hand fighting aren't so dissimilar from waterbending techniques. They can train the members of our tribe that aren't used to one-on-one combat against firebenders."

"The Kyoshi warriors are a lot of little girls with fans," said Paruda, an older man from the Northern Tribe. "It would be a shame to put them on the front lines when our own men are far more capable."

"Noted," Hakoda said dully, giving his daughter a slightly uncomfortable nod. Katara's heart twinged. Her father's reaction made her feel even more out of place than Kuvo's jibe. Why had he looked at her that way? "Sokka, what about you? Do you have any ideas for the structure of the outer wall?"

Katara glanced expectantly at her brother. She hoped that at least he wouldn't sit by and allow Suki's warriors to be shunned just because they were women. When Sokka did speak up, however, it wasn't in defense of the Kyoshi warriors, or her. Instead, her brother talked about the need for a steady flow of water coming up through channels into the wall that could be used to repel the ships.

Angrily, Katara stood and all but stomped away from the meeting. At the end of the long hallway, just before she reached the outer door, she heard footsteps coming up behind her. Katara stopped in her tracks. "Go away, Sokka. I don't even want to look at you right now."

"I am not Sokka." The voice belonged to Master Pakku. "Are you all right, Master Katara?"

Katara softened. She turned to face her waterbending teacher, who wore a surprisingly caring look. "Thanks for standing up for me, Master Pakku. I just can't believe that you're the only one who would. You fought me tooth and nail so you wouldn't have to train me, and now you're the only one who thinks I'm worth anything!"

"Yes, I believe that's called irony," Pakku joked dryly. "But do you think leaving in a huff is going to make those men respect you any more than they did?"

"They can't respect me any less," Katara retorted. "I couldn't believe it. I just knew Sokka would stand up for me and for Suki. But he completely wimped out back there. And Dad was so… cold." She angrily wiped at her eyes. "I'm sorry, Master Pakku. I should be stronger than this."

"Nonsense. If you were any stronger, I'd be out of a job." The old waterbender smiled and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I don't blame you for leaving, Katara. I had half a mind to walk out myself."

"Thank you," she murmured, genuinely touched. "But you really should go back. They'll listen to you. Someone has to make them see reason, even if they are a bunch of immature, sexist hogmonkeys."

Pakku chuckled. "You sounded just like Kana when you said that."

"Where is Gran-Gran? I haven't seen her since I've been back."

"She's seeing to the food supply in case there's a siege. I think Iroh is with her." His smile faded into his more customary scowl.

Glad of the distracting aside, Katara raised a knowing eyebrow. "Oh, I see."

"Unfortunately, I seem to be stuck in a war council full of immature, sexist hogmonkeys," Pakku sighed, "so I'd appreciate it if you could look in on her for me."

Katara nodded, not bothering to conceal her grin. "I will. And, Master Pakku? Good luck."

The old waterbender started to walk away, then paused to glance over his shoulder. "You too, Master Katara."

ooo LL ooo

Mai cleverly held in her ire until the Dai Li departed the throne room. The instant they were gone, however, she turned heatedly on Zuko. "Are you out of your mind? Why did you just promise them the Earth Kingdom would be free? Have you forgotten that you're Fire Nation?!"

"No," Zuko replied in a low voice, "I haven't forgotten."

"Really? Because it sounded like you just betrayed your people and your country!"

"Mai," Ty Lee chided nervously, clasping her hands, "I don't think that's what -"

"You don't know what you're talking about. I'm trying to save our country!" the prince interrupted.

"How, by overthrowing it?" Mai shot back. "I trusted you! I thought you wanted to capture the Avatar so you could finally go home to your father -"

"Don't talk to me about my father!" the young firebender shouted. "I was his loyal son, but he didn't care. He ruined my life!"

"You think your dad was the only one who made you go somewhere you hated against your will?" she retorted, oblivious to the frantic motions Ty Lee was making. The girl had been drawing her finger across her neck repeatedly, hoping her friend would get the hint, but when she didn't, she sighed and slumped her shoulders in defeat.

"I'm not just talking about the fact that I got banished!" Zuko exploded. "Were you there the day I got my scar? Do you have any idea what actually happened?"

Pressing her lips together in a thin line, Mai looked away. "It was an Agni Kai. You lost."

"I didn't lose. To lose, you have to fight, and I didn't. I refused to fight my own father. I humbled myself before him and honored his authority as Fire Lord. And for that, I got this." He pointed vehemently at his scar. "My own father mutilated me, put me on a ship half-dead and sent me into permanent exile because I wouldn't betray my people or my country. It's taken me three years to get it through my head, but now I know the truth. My father couldn't care less about our people, or about me."

Mai's head whipped around. "What are you talking about?"

"So you really don't know." His haunted amber eyes bored into her. "Three years ago, I begged Uncle Iroh to let me sit in the Fire Lord's war-room. I thought it would help me learn to rule the Fire Nation wisely. But while I was in there, one of the generals suggested we send the entire Forty-First Division to their deaths, just to lure in the enemy."

"The Forty-First Division?" Ty Lee echoed faintly, tugging at her braid as though that meant something to her. "Zuko… are you sure that's the one it was?"

"I'm sure. I couldn't believe that the leaders of our army would do something so horrible to our own people. I demanded to know how the general could betray our soldiers like that. Father stood up immediately. He was outraged, but not at the general." Zuko gave a disgusted scoff, wondering how he'd managed to ignore the facts and defend Ozai for so long. "I was supposed to show my father respect by not speaking in his war-room, but I was too concerned for our soldiers' lives to keep quiet. I thought by facing the general in an Agni Kai, I could save them. But when I saw that it wasn't him…"

Ty Lee cupped a hand over her mouth, horrified. "Then… that's why…"

"I thought the Forty-First Division got ambushed by Earth Kingdom soldiers," Mai spoke up uncertainly. The somber girl glanced purposefully at Ty Lee.

"They were set up," he revealed grimly. "I tried to stop it, but I failed."

The acrobat's pretty face crumpled with despondency. Crying, she flung herself at Zuko and sobbed into his shirt. He looked over her shoulder at Mai for an explanation.

"Her cousin Chan was in the Forty-First Division," Mai said with a trace of compunction. "They were attacked in the western Earth Kingdom. There were no survivors."

"Chan was my friend," Ty Lee hiccuped, shaking against the banished prince as she wept, "the only one in my family. All my sisters look exactly like me. My parents even got us confused, but never Chan. He made me feel like I was special. Like I had someone who really knew me. Who really cared! When I found out that he was never coming home…"

"I'm sorry," Zuko murmured, patting Ty Lee's back.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, Zuko!" Ty Lee assured him hastily, meeting his eyes. "Fire Lord Ozai is the one who should be sorry! He should never have hurt you like that or sent you away. You were just trying to help my cousin and the other soldiers!"

"Azula never told us any of this," Mai disclosed, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Why would she? Your families are high nobility," Zuko pointed out. "If the aristocracy knew how the Fire Lord really ran things, it would cause dissension and probably lead to civil war."

"So Azula just let us believe you and your uncle were traitors." She tightened her fists at her sides, her black-painted nails almost cutting into her palms with anger. "She lied to us. She used us."

"You have no idea," he muttered in assent, kind enough not to drag Mai's secret feelings for him into this.

"I can't believe she knew," Ty Lee sniffed. "She knew, and she bullied me into leaving the circus so I could help her hunt down the one person who… oh, Zuko, I'm so sorry!"

"It's not your fault," he soothed as a fresh onslaught of tears shook the remorseful girl.

"Oh, come here," Mai groaned, surprising Zuko by reaching for Ty Lee and holding her like a sister. "What?"

"Nothing," Zuko replied, a little too quickly. He couldn't help being shocked to see a softer side of Mai.

"You're a terrible liar," she remarked. "I wish Azula was."

"So do I," he commiserated. It would have saved him a lot of heartache and uncertainty down the years if she had been. "I know how what I did must have looked to you. But I'm not a traitor. The Fire Nation deserves to be led by someone who actually cares about our people. That'll never happen as long as my father and Azula are in control. This is the only way."

"I'll help you, Zuko," Ty Lee announced then, wiping her eyes with her arm as she looked up. Her usually-smiling face was set with a bitter resolve. "Mai? Are you with us?"

They waited for a long, tense moment as Mai weighed her options. Finally, the darkling girl began to nod. "Yeah. Count me in."