The Dai Li… scratched the surface, Zuko supposed.
The watchman jumped when a man in a… some kind of blue-oni mask, fearlessly stepped into the light of his lantern.
He froze.
The man kept walking. Not even looking in the guard's direction; he was just strolling down the hall, right past him.
Before he could open his mouth to alert the base to the intruder, before he could attack, before he could do anything-
Sleep.
But they only barely touched on what was possible.
Oh, they were good at what they did, make no mistake.
However, fire… the instrument through which they accomplished their feats…
It wasn't their native element, was it?
No.
"-right? So then my woman asks me, 'Does this make my butt look big?'"
"Oho. Damn. You unlucky bastard."
"I told her that she looks fine, but for some reason we somehow ended up in a fight. It was like she didn't believe me, or something- hey, you okay?"
His conversation partner's eyes had widened, looking past him over his shoulder down the hall, before he shouted, "Halt! Halt! This base is a restricted area! You are under arrest!"
Quickly, the sentry went into high alert, heart pounding, turning around to face the intruder and raising his spear to point at-
Nothing. A breeze came through a nearby window, disturbing a curtain, but that was it.
Brow furrowing, his hand rose to scratch at his beard, before rolling his eyes as he turned back around to face his hilarious partner.
That had scared him.
"Ha, ha. That was a really funny prank. I'll be sure to tell the sergeant all about your sense of humor."
The younger man's eyes, still focused, snapped to the other's face in confusion.
"What?" he asked incredulously, voice tense, "Are you out of your mind!? He's right there! He's getting closer!"
His spear was still held up at the ready, and his head twitched to focus somewhere behind his senior, "I said stop!"
The man's eyes narrowed, turning his head to glance down the hall, then back again.
"Look, kid, I know you think you're being really funny, but this kind of joking on the job will get you court-martialed-"
But the younger man wasn't listening, and now the older guard was beginning to get a queasy feeling in his gut as he saw the frantic energy in the other's order, "I'm warning you, I will use lethal force-!"
The precise moment when the senior private figured out that this wasn't a joke was when the younger man's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed.
He took a step back as his mind blanked out in sheer shock at the sight.
Huh!?
Once he had fully grasped the extent to which fire could be taken in that direction…
Fire. Light. Illusion. Lightning. Signals.
On that day, when he realized, he had laughed. Shortly after that, he had thrown up.
It was power. Terrible power. Total control.
He could bring about indescribable pleasure, or hellacious pain. Make a man believe, with total certainty, that the moon was made of cheese. Alter the very ego. He could…
Change memories. Erase them. Create entire fabrications-
When it got to that point, Zuko had calmly put a stop to the raging out-of-control train of thought and called Aang and Katara over for a dinner invite… and alcohol. Copious quantities of it.
In the end, he came to terms with the power, much as Katara learned to deal with the reality of bloodbending.
Hells, she didn't even think twice about using it these days, using it for everything from augmenting her already beyond-human healing ability to causing Sokka to smack himself in the face if he said something particularly stupid.
It was a tool. There were appropriate times to use it, and inappropriate times to use it.
It helped that he shared his knowledge with the Avatar. That way, the burden wasn't just on Zuko's shoulders.
Quietly, the door to the Commander's quarters closed.
The shadow approached the futon across the specially imported kaya tatami floor.
A thumb slowly descended to land directly on the center of the snoring man's forehead.
Still asleep, Zhao went still.
Behind his mask, hidden from the world… a prince smiled.
"Yeah, yeah, just make sure to send someone to Gaoling. They just love to put Ba Sing Se in check; they've got your back."
Doctor Shang, previously a cynic, had shining eyes, "Thank you so much, miss! We'll never forget you!"
Smirk. "Miss is counting on you never forgetting what went down here. You just be sure and spread the news and I'll consider that a debt repaid."
A woman - Sela, Lee's mom - came forward last, her husband, Gansu, in tow, "I don't know how to thank you for helping me through my fear of blood, but thanks to you, I can really be a nurse!"
"I suppose I should be thanking you for helping my wife's dream come true," Gansu smiled, "You really came through for the whole town."
Toph shook her head at the gratitude, "Hey, it was all you. You just had to get your head in the right place. You're gonna save a ton of people, no doubt about it."
The sun was setting and Toph was gearing up to go. Staying at that village for a whole 24 hours was pushing it, so she needed to move it. Nearly the whole village stood at the mouth of the main road to say goodbye. The unconscious bodies of the 'soldiers' were moved from the street to the town jail, with Gao getting special bonds to ensure no earthbending - they had no metal cage to hold him in.
Waving her goodbyes, and then punching the air, Toph called out in the general direction of the crowd, "This ain't the last you heard of me! Wait, and listen, for the exploits of the Blind Bandit!"
The she turned and started walking away.
But there was one last thing-
Someone ran up to her, "Uh… um... are you sure you have to go? Now? Right now? Maybe you could stay awhile?"
She sighed. This was just awkward. Well, better to get it over with. She turned around.
"Alright, look... no. Just… no. Okay? That's like, the third time you've tried to suggest that, and I've already told you I've gotta go. There are bad people out there doing bad things, and I've gotta stop 'em."
Lee opened his mouth, a defiant look in his eyes. Toph's eyes narrowed, leaning forward to poke him in the chest.
"Don't. I'm warning you right now. If you say the words that you're thinking of, then you are in for a world of hurt."
Still upset, but less intransigent in the face of the clear danger, he mumbled, "Fine."
Toph frowned a little.
That ain't right.
"Look, I'm sorry to let you down. You're cute, okay? Really. Some girl out there is gonna love your sense of humor. Trust me on that. I know."
Blushing, he raised a hand up to the back of his neck and looking away, "... Thanks. I guess?"
He jumped as he got a pat on the back, "Hey, I mean it. You are going to have no trouble with the ladies. Just... not me. It really wouldn't work. I'm not really the settle-down-on-a-plot-of-land type, ya see. 'Sides, I got a date with someone else who claims to be the Greatest Earthbender in the World, and I've got to go set him straight. So… see ya!"
She gave a two-fingered salute to the whole crowd, before turning and walking into the sunset.
Quickly, her form turned into a dark silhouette, casting a long shadow behind her. Slowly, the crowd began to disperse. The boy stood there wistfully, wondering at what could have been.
Lee had eyes only for her, but he heard someone walk up to stand behind and to the side of him.
"Little bro?"
"Yeah?"
"You are a whole lot braver than I was when I was your age. So take it from me: That was a good first try."
Lee looked up at Sensu in surprise, then shouted when the teenager reached down to ruffle the little kid's hair.
His big brother laughed.
The Admiral of the Northern Fleet, on the cusp of victory, stood at the rail of the helmsman's perch, viewing his crew below on the deck, giving a pre-battle speech.
"This is the year, that Sozin's Comet arrives, and-!"
The dream changed abruptly, washing away into a mess of colors and going dead quiet. For a moment, Zhao was disembodied.
Then the scene cleared to reveal… green. Green, everywhere he looked. Warmth. Light. Sun.
The Fire Nation?
The sudden break with the narrative of the dream he had going was so jarring that Zhao was startled into lucidness. He looked around in confusion.
It was a hole-in-the-ground village. Rickety wood buildings, no proper stone roads, foliage everywhere. In fact… Everything looked very familiar.
No. This isn't just the Fire Nation.
The man's confusion peaked as he turned around to face a sight he hadn't seen in damn near twenty years.
It was his hometown.
He was standing in front of a house. His house.
… Why am I dreaming about this? he thought dryly. He hadn't before; he didn't consider the place he grew up in to be worthy of much thought.
But then he noticed something was wrong.
Looking around, he saw that there were people… but they were statues. Not moving. Whatever action they were in the middle of doing, everything remained perfectly still. Those children playing catch, pig-sheep bladder frozen in the air. Those men trading, coins stopped in the act of dropping from one hand to another. Those women gossiping mid-stride down the dirt road, carrying flowers, stray petals in the midst of falling.
For the first time, Zhao felt unease. Deep unease. There was a feeling that something not quite natural was happening.
He'd had nightmares before, of course. But, always, those were about people. Other people, unworthy people, getting ahead, advancing, moving past him against all logic that Zhao was superior.
This was just too bizarre. He'd never dreamed anything like this before.
… What's going on?
And then, suddenly, he wasn't alone amongst the effigies of his past.
They arrived at the beach in silence, hidden in the branches above their camp.
Trespassers.
To be a trespasser on Kyoshi Island was to be interrogated in case you were Fire Nation and then firmly deported. There were ports with specifically assigned piers and districts for foreign travellers (even Fire Nation) to rest at and merchants to come and do their business at. It was their own damn fault that they read the map wrong and no exceptions!
To be a trespassing Fire National on Kyoshi island was to be interrogated… and then fed to the Unagi.
Either way, Suki wondered how stupid or ignorant these travelers had to be. Kyoshi Island's Chūritsu policy - their particular brand of extraordinarily strict neutrality - was well-known to the world by now.
There were three of them, dressed up in blue, along with a chattering flying-monkey-thing and a monstrously huge beast, the two animals each with white fur. One girl, two boys.
The girl - who was on top of the beast and was handing down various travelling accoutrements to her fellow travelers - had an intriguing hairstyle with loopy-things.
The older boy had a ponytail and an assortment of odd-looking weapons - what was that bent, wooden thing? - took a bag from the girl and began shuffling around in it.
The younger boy was covered in bandages - was he injured? - to the point where his whole head was covered except for his eyes. The monkey flitted around a little, chattering animatedly - obviously aggravated by something - before landing on the younger boy's shoulder to chatter in his ear. Judging from the saddle on the back of the giant furball, that was their mode of transportation… somehow.
Swimming…?
She switched the target of her attention when one of the trespassers spoke.
"Adlartok, please tell me you didn't burn all the seal jerky. Again," the older boy amongst them complained in a warning tone as he searched through his bag.
The younger boy, Adle-something, apparently, answered, "Ah… I think you ate it, Sokka. While we were flying here." The monkey gave a loud screech just then, not liking being ignored when it was clearly trying to tell them something, and the boy jumped, pushing the chittering creature off his shoulder, "Ow! Not right in my ear, Momo."
Flying? the captain of the Kyoshi thought with some startlement, exchanging glances with some of the other warriors hidden with her.
Irritated, it flew up and into the saddle, putting its paws on the edge and making grumpy noises down at him.
The girl glanced at - at Momo - and then lowered down the bed-roll that she had for the younger boy to catch.
The older, Sokka, answered somewhat dumbfoundedly, "Oh… already?"
The girl spoke up, distracted with poking around the saddle, "Tch. Yes. You already ate it all. I was there. Trust me, it's gone."
The older boy opened his mouth as if to reply, but then suddenly his face went into a neutral arrangement. He paused, before speaking, "And that is all that will be said on the subject. No need for certain playwrights to hear about my eating habits."
Adlarok? clapped sarcastically, "Bravo. Thinking before speaking. Have a cookie."
Then the younger boy turned to face the girl who had just climbed down from the mount.
"Alright," the girl announced, "After we're done unpacking everything, we're jumping straight into training. We travelled for two days, and you need to practice your tidewater technique."
Suki narrowed her eyes in suspicion. That sounded like waterbending, but that was highly unlikely. There were no waterbenders in the South Pole, the Fire Nation captured them all sixty years ago. And what business did a Northerner have being this far south?
Fire Nation spies, she concluded decisively.
Bowing, the younger kid respectfully replied, "Sure thing, Sifu Katara."
The captain gave the go signal to her fellows, and dropped from the tree branches in a surprise attack.
A dark shape wearing a blue oni-mask and a pitch-black hakama, staring directly into Zhao's face, suddenly appeared standing right in front of him-!
"AH!" he cried, stumbling back in shock and bringing his hands up in a fighting stance. He threw a punch… and there was no fire. Of course. Because this was a dream-nightmare-thing.
The figure didn't move, only tilting its head at the Commander's antics.
If he were awake, the soldier's face would have been red from furious humiliation. He lowered his arms and sputtered, "What do you want!? You're a spirit, right? What are you doing in my head!?"
Because there was no way that this wasn't a spirit, and that this spirit wasn't causing this mad vision.
The spirit stood still, then turned and walked into Zhao's old home, fading straight through the closed front door. Figuring that the spirit couldn't speak - or wouldn't speak, and didn't that just put a splinter in the man's thumb? - Zhao grumbled irritatedly and followed. Violently attempting to grab the side of the sliding door so that he could smash it aside and confront the discourteous phantom, he was disconcerted when his hand went straight through… and the force of his hand going through empty air propelled him in a stumble through entrance.
He tripped through, falling onto his hands and knees, but he scrambled up and held a defensive stance, eyeing his surroundings.
It looked exactly the way he remembered it.
One room, dirt-covered floors, empty cupboards.
The commander stepped forward and looked around the room cautiously. There was no one inside, frozen or otherwise. That spirit with the mask was gone. He looked across at the other side of the dwelling. He let down his stance and slowly crossed the room until, finally, he was staring down at a filthy cot.
… I slept here.
Zhao felt… he didn't know. Angry. That's what he felt he should feel like, anyway. At being forced to remember… this… his lowborn past. In reality, he felt blank.
He knelt down. There was a piece of paper sitting on top of the single, ragged sheet of the bed.
For the first time since arriving in this bizarre nightmare, he felt like smiling, and did so.
The army. I remember. I saw this poster… and Zhao actually laughed a little… and stole it. I was going to join, forget this blasted place, and go on to bigger and better things…
Smirking.
… and I did.
Suddenly, a shadow appeared in the peripheral of his vision, and a woman's voice shouted "Worthless brat!"
Zhao shot back up to standing and turned to look, eyes widening, and charged for the door… only to crash against an immovable barrier. The walls which were so obligingly permeable before refused to give way.
That didn't stop him from trying. He pounded the wall in blind fear and rage.
"Let me out!"
"You skip school, you don't work, you give me no respect for the roof over your head… I should send you to the mines!"
"DAMN YOU, SPIRIT!"
"You're a failure! Why couldn't I have had a son worth a lick of salt? You're pathetic!"
"LET ME OUT!"
"You'll never amount to anything."
"RAAAAAHHHHH!" Zhao roared, the sound of the specter's voice piercing his mind, even as he fought to drown it out.
The voice took on a grotesque, otherworldly timbre, "You shouldn't have even been born."
And Zhao collapsed onto his knees, holding his hands to his ears.
And the world went black.
The group that they ambushed moved surprisingly quickly… too quickly to take them out in one stroke.
Actually, it was eerie how quickly they reacted. The older boy dive-rolled out from under the branches at the exact moment that Suki dropped from the tree, followed by her fellows. The girl and the boy quickly positioned themselves back-to-back. The older among them, in a move a fluid grace that the captain couldn't help but be impressed by, came out of his roll standing, facing the warriors in front of the other two, and holding a very odd-looking club.
Soon, the five Kyoshi warriors took up offensive positions surrounding the three intruders.
"You have ten seconds to disarm yourselves and submit to arrest, trespassers! One!" Suki demanded.
The older boy - the leader, she presumed - quirked an eyebrow.
"Really?" he drawled, "Ten seconds?"
Three words, and this guy was already grinding her nerves.
"Two," Suki answered tightly.
"Yeah, I'm gonna make a prediction here -"
"No. You're under arrest, put down your weapon! Three!"
He continued blithely, "That someone is about to do something very stupid."
Suki looked into his eyes and saw blatant challenge.
Obviously, they weren't going to comply, so she skipped to the next part, "Ten."
In a sweeping motion, the two apparently really real waterbenders reached back and made a pushing motion at the Kyoshi Warriors. Water rushed forwards in a wave that cleanly divided around the three water-tribesmen and immediately unbalanced the five attacking women.
Then they drew up their arms in a sharp motion.
Suki and her fellows were pretty much immediately frozen in place.
Well, thought Suki, whose mind went blank at having her preconceptions destroyed upon contact with the enemy, that was morale-crushing.
She could feel the heat in her face going up by about a thousand degrees.
"Well," the leader said slowly, strolling up to Suki's block of ice, "I'd say that attacking two waterbenders with the ocean right there is pretty stupid, wouldn't you?"
She was never going to live this down.
She was never going to feel more embarrassed in her life. Ever.
And if she ever got out of this in one piece…
The boy was beaming a cartoonishly gigantic smile, "My name's Sokka, by the way. I hope that we can all be cuddly friends!"
He… is going to die first, Suki resolved.
"AHHH!"
Zhao bolted up in his sweat-soaked sheets.
Feverishly, his eyes darted around.
That thing was standing in the doorway.
"You," the commander growled, punching forwards.
Fire leapt out… and slowed… until it was a frozen cloud of light between them.
The commander could feel his pupils contracting, and his arm went limp. All he could do was gape in disbelief.
Just barely, he could see the blue mask above the glowing, silent, still conflagration.
Then the demonic visage bent, warping until it disappeared. The whole sleeping quarters around Zhao and the glowing cloud bent away into nothingness with it. He was shaking now.
Then, when he and the fire were alone in an ocean of blackness, the light seemed to contract until… something else entirely was in its place.
A piece of glass… A mirror.
Zhao felt a horrible, toxic feeling grow in him as the face of his hated mother stared back.
Then he felt his lips move, and saw the image of the woman copy the movements.
"Banished prince… failure… weak… your own father doesn't even want you…"
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
He screamed, bolting up in his sweat-soaked sheets and sweeping his fist to release the largest wave of fire he could manage, damage to the building be damned.
When it dissipated to reveal only the smoldering beginnings of a fire engulfing the front of the room, Zhao shakily lowered his arm, shivering, breathing heavily and his heart pounding in his ribs.
Beyond the crackling of the fire he started in fear, the silence of the night chilled his soul.
Shi slowly trudged down the road away from the southwest end of Gaoling, his thoughts turning to the fateful encounter a couple of days ago:
"Look, if you try to go this alone, you're dead in a month, tops. The Fire Nation is deadly serious about upholding its rep as the baddest bunch in the valley," she held up a finger, "I know a guy who can help you out. Go to Chin village. Obviously, don't let anyone find out where you're from. He should pick you up in less than two days once you get there."
He wasn't told who this anonymous benefactor that would magically rescue him from summary execution was, but at this point he just rolled with it. He did have the presence of mind to ask why she was doing all of this for him, but she just smiled with that look that was halfway between mysterious and cocky:
"Eh… you're important to someone who's important to someone who's important to me. And you're a natural born propagandist. That's why."
Shaking his head, exasperated by the memory in his mind's eye, he continued on to see what other crazy stuff fate had in store for him.
Roku was not sure what to make of the calling that had apparently echoed up the chain of his past lives to reach his soul.
Raava, the Great Spirit of the World, spoke to the spirit of Wan, who spoke to the one who came after him, and so on, until a message was passed from Kyoshi to himself.
Roku… contact him. The one living now. Speak to him. Something is wrong.
These words greatly disturbed him. He had no idea what was implied by them. Aang… what could have happened to him? He couldn't be dead; if he were, the entire spirit world would be crying out in despair.
Most perplexing, and frightening.
I shall do my best to carry this out, Roku determined.
The Winter Solstice was drawing near… and there was a way that Aang could speak to him, if Roku could arrange things just so…