Princess and Icon

Captain Ahou did not have a good feeling about his orders, and the root of the problem was Princess Azula.

The Princess was the heart and soul of the Fire Culturist Resistance Front, and she had recently given orders to completely destroy any civilian traffic that Ahou's squad encountered on roads of the rocky southern Hu Shin provinces. The dusty convoy of travelers that Ahou was currently watching through his spyglass fit those exact parameters, unfortunately. To obey the Princess' wishes, Ahou would have to lead his warriors against the guards protecting the caravan, and once they were neutralized, slaughter any and all non-combatants in sight. It wasn't that he was unused to bloodshed; Captain Ahou's own military career had taken place entirely on the frontlines of the war, where he had fought the Earth Kingdom until an Earthbender shattered the bone in his right leg. He had been sent back to his parents' home in the colonies to heal from his injury, and by the time he was able to limp along again, the war was over, but Ahou's desire to spread the reach of his homeland's culture was as strong as ever.

He had joined what turned out to be Princess Azula's Independence Movement to help give the former colonies the strength that the Fire Nation always intended for them, before Fire Lord Zuko ruined things. It was just that Ahou never thought that slaughtering civilians would be part of fixing things. Fighting soldiers and police forces? Yes, Ahou had been willing to kill in those cases. Even when orders came down to put the fear of Fire into specific non-combatant targets, it was with the assurance that there was a larger strategy, and frequently those attacks specifically called for some survivors to be allowed to go free. But this? Rampaging across the lawless lands between each settlement and killing everyone Ahou found? If the order hadn't come from Princess Azula's own lips, during her most recent visit, Ahou would have refused. But it was Azula, and she said this was the final step in her plan. If Ahou betrayed her now, everything that had come before- everyone who had died before- would be a waste.

Ahou held back a sigh as he gave the hand signal to bring his unit's small catapult into position. They would soften up the convoy with a barrage of burning tar-rocks, then sweep in with their cavalry and run down everything on two feet. And then... hopefully... someday... the Independent Former Colonies would be a new nation born of the Fire Nation's cultural influence, and Ahou would have a home- if not a career- of which he could be proud.

Ahou limped over to his ostrich horse- a much more plentiful resource in this area than komodo rhinos- and mounted up as the catapult launched its first load. The flaming projectile flew in an arc that Ahou could practically see in his dreams and landed just short of the caravan, but that didn't mean it was a miss. The rock was rounded, and so it rolled after it struck the hard ground. Ahou could see the glow travel into the midst of the caravan, and some of the people react to get out of its way, but then the details were lost to confusion. As the catapult fired again, Ahou barked a command to his soldiers- someday, they would be united by uniforms, but for now they made do with whatever armor and tunics were to be had- and they spurred their bird-steeds into motion. He led them on a curve that would take the convoy from the side, where anyone looking for the catapult would not see them, and then they would push straight through mass of targets, aiming their spears into the center of the bodies that couldn't get away fast enough, doing the will of Princess Az-

-blue fire blasted straight across Ahou's path-

-his ostrich horse reared up and tossed Ahou backwards from the saddle-

-his fellow resistance fighters passed by and began crying out in pain and confusion as a bunch of komodo rhinos pushed into their midst-

-Ahou's tailbone struck the rocky ground-

-and then reality was just a burst of white pain. It quickly settled down to a sharp soreness, promising a bruise on his backside that would last for days, and Ahou looked around in search of tactical information. He had a limited view from the ground, but it seemed like a small rhino cavalry force of some kind had rushed into his own troops and were carving their own path. Even as Ahou tried to stand and rally his troops, his original attacker brought her rhino to a halt right in front of him and punched out a warning shot of blue fire into the air between them. Ahou's gaze fell on her face and he found his breath leaving him, because she looked like Princess Azula herself, wearing proper officer's armor but lacking any Fire Nation decoration or designation. But she couldn't be Princess Azula, because the Princess had lost her Firebending.

Hadn't she?

The young woman in front of Ahou certainly spoke like the Princess. "I am Azula, and I order you to stand down! These civilians are under my protection."

While Ahou's brain struggled to catch up to the situation, his mouth went ahead and ventured a, "But-"

"Fine." Princess Azula didn't seem especially put out by his disagreement, and simply slid down off her rhino and took a Firebending stance. "We can settle this easily enough. I challenge you to an Agni Kai for both the lives of these people, and authority over your entire command."

Oh.

Technically, if they were going to have an Agni Kai over this, they should bring the other fighting to a halt. A short distance away, Princess Azula's minions were hitting Ahou's forces with enough success that the feather-haired commander barked out, "Yeh-Lu, Meisai, take the catapult down!" and two of the riders turned off and headed to attack the siege weapon.

But... but why was Princess Azula trying to stop him? She had given him these orders. And now she was attacking, putting Ahou's honor on the line? Ahou was confused and scared, and so he did what any good Firebender would do: "Very well! Though circumstances are chaotic and ceremony completely absent, I accept the challenge! Agni Kai!" Ahou made the first move with a thrusting punch aimed right at his challenger's face, but Princess Azula didn't react as expected; she came in to meet his advance, but instead of launching her own attack or dispelling his fire she ducked right under Ahou's arm and grabbed it by the wrist. Azula yanked his limb hard and the Fire died mid-air, but she still continued to hold on and pressed her advance.

As Ahou brought his other hand up, already summoning the Fire, he couldn't help but wonder what possible technique this could be, but before he could either strike or answer his own question, Azula twisted his captured arm again at an angle that put pressure on his wrist joint.

Considerable pressure.

Ahou only realized he screamed after the fact. He found himself on his knees, his free arm waving in midair without flame, overcome by a wave of pain that ripped down from his captured wrist.

"Yield," Azula said flatly.

Ahou tried to pull away, but Azula's grip on his wrist was like a metal vise, and she responded to his resistance by raising his arm and applying even more leverage.

Ahou once again found himself screaming, and it seemed like his bones screamed with him. He couldn't tell the difference between what he was feeling now and those memories of the living boulder rising and rolling onto his leg, crushing the bone within. Amidst the swirl of past and present, he heard Princess Azula saying, "A little more pressure and the snapping will begin. Do you concede the Agni Kai?"

And Ahou found himself shouting, "I yield! I yield!"

And just like that, the pain stopped, leaving only echoes along his nerves. Ahou's arm was freed, and even as he curled it up against his chest protectively, he looked up once again to find Princess Azula smiling warmly at him. "I'm so glad we were able to resolve things without permanent injury. It's good to be working with someone reasonable. Now, if you please, it's time for you to order your soldiers to stand down. I did win the Agni Kai, after all."

She was right. With the Agni Warrior's Spirit as their witness, Princess Azula's strength had prevailed over Ahou's own, and so honor dictated his actions. "As you command, Princess. Captain Ahou is at your service." Giving his arm one last shake to chase away the memory of the pain, Ahou ran over to his ostrich horse and climbed back into the saddle (ignoring his sore tailbone), then rode over to the to do his Princess' will. "Stand down! Mission aborted! Mission aborted! Surrender to the Princess Azula's forces! This is Captain Ahou, and the mission is aborted!"

Azula watched with no small amount of relief as this Ahou call for his soldiers' surrender. From what she had seen, the battle had been going well enough, the Rough Rhinos wheeling around the twenty or so rebel bandits with speed and precision, and managing to contain the larger force with strikes of fire, arrows, and even an expertly-wielded guan dao. But the element of surprise and the way Mongke had taken advantage of it had been a large part of their success, and Azula didn't yet have so many followers that she could afford to lose any to battle attrition. With that in mind, while the rebel fighters lowered their weapons and settled their ostrich horses, Azula trotted over to Colonel Mongke. "Any injuries?"

Mongke somehow managed to grin and smirk at the same time while reining in his rhino. "Nothing serious, but I'll check with the others for any scrapes. These guys must have been hitting merchant caravans for too long; they had no idea what to do on the receiving end of an ambush, never mind the receiving end of the Rough Rhino elites."

"I'm glad you're so confident in your abilities." Azula resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "But are we really the first group to happen upon one of these attacks and help out?"

Mongke shrugged. "Civilians poking their noses into an attack like this, when they could just as easily sneak away while everyone's attention is elsewhere? And here I thought someone like you would be a cynic."

"I am, but I'm also ambitious." Azula turned around and glanced over at the rebels. They had finally settled down, looking to their commander and awaiting further orders. "I suppose I have trouble imagining the kind of mind that doesn't share my proactive tendencies. Anything else before I go sort this out?"

"Yeah, I hope you weren't hoping to take their catapult. Yeh-Lu dealt with it... um, decisively."

"Well, I suppose that's why he's a demolitions expert and not a pickpocket. Have Meisai talk to the people in the caravan and find out if they have injured who need our help. I'd send you, but (no offense) you don't have a very... reassuring look to you." Azula didn't wait for Mongke's response, moving immediately back to the rebel leader she had defeated in the Agni Kai.

Seeing her approach, he gingerly dismounted from his ostrich horse- or as gingerly as he could with a limp- and bowed formally. "Princess."

"Captain. Let's start at the beginning. Are you working for someone, or is this your misguided idea of loyalty to the Fire Nation?"

The man's face twitched, and his gaze was wary as he answered. "We... take orders from you, Princess. Don't you recognize me? I'm Captain Ahou. You gave me my orders yourself last week."

Ah. Azula understood what was going on, now. "Ah. I understand what is going on, now. I'm afraid you've been the victim of a hoax, Captain. The woman you speak of is an imposter, an agent of fugitives from the Earth Kingdom who are looking to create opportunities in the colonies. I'm currently working to deal with the situation."

Ahou's gaze didn't change. "Uh, you... she... looked exactly like you, Princess. Well, almost exactly. I... uh, how do I... know..."

"No, it's okay. I understand the confusion." Azula raised her right hand, palm up, and summoned a ball of azure flame. "There, see? I'm confident that your other Azula couldn't do this."

"I, uh, heard that the Avatar had taken your Firebending..."

Azula rolled her eyes as theatrically as possible. "Blue. Fire. Let me know when you've caught up with the situation, Captain, but be aware that my patience is not limitless. As you can imagine, I'm rather in a hurry to deal with Fire-less imposters commanding loyal soldiers in my name." That was the key. Just keep pushing past them until their brains caught up to the situation, and she could softly bully people like this into accepting whatever she desired. It seemed that, in addition to intricately manipulating the people closest to her, Azula's instincts were good at dealing with all kinds of beguilement.

Ahou was still staring at her. "But... why? We... we were fighting for the Culture of the Fire Nation-"

"Yes, yes," Azula interrupted. "But what exactly did you think was actually going to happen? Let's say someone- like me- managed to somehow take advantage of your random violence to seize power here in the colonies. Let's assume that some kind of government could be set up that 'properly' based itself on the Fire Nation and the dominance of its culture. What then? Do you think that the people who prefer the Earth Kingdom way of life would just roll over? Leave the colonies? Many of them were born here." Azula put her hands on her armored hips and gave Ahou her coldest glare. "The cause you were fighting for, Captain, was an ever-increasing amount of sectarian violence that would leave the colonies in chaos. And then these fugitives I mentioned would sweep in, and seize power and money for themselves. Your treason was not in falling for an imposter, it was in hurting innocent people for a cause that would eventually destroy all of the Fire Nation's influence on these lands. Good job."

Ahou was quiet for a moment longer, and then dropped into a full kowtow that had his forehead pressed deeply into the rocky landscape. "My Princess! My life is forfeit! I am yours to command or slay!"

Azula found herself blinking at the display. Maybe she overdid it with the criticism? But is it actually possible to over-criticize a terrorist? Perhaps the old Azula would have been pleased with the sight of a grown man throwing himself down in the dirt at her word, but the woman she was now just found it uncomfortable. What kind of a person needed that type of validation? "Please, get up, Captain Ahou. It's clear that you wanted to be a loyal son of the Fire, you just had the wrong idea about how to do it. Work with me, and together we can create the nation you truly desire. It may not be what you envisioned, but we need to focus on our efforts on building, not destroying. Trust me, and I will give you new dreams worthy of your loyalty."

Ahou looked up, hope clearly evident in his eyes as he placed his trust in the icon she made herself out to be, and Azula felt own her lip curl, but whether her reaction was born of disgust or pleasure in herself, she couldn't say.

She kept Ahou with her when she went to talk to the caravan's leaders, but she let him lower his head in shame. It made for an excellent symbol, along with his limping walk.

Meisai had the leaders- two old women and a man with a classic long beard- gathered a short distance from the rest of the caravan. There were some rubberneckers amongst the civilians, of course, but most were occupied with attending to the injuries and damages that had resulted from the catapult attacks. Azula approached the leaders slowly along the dusty road, Ahou a step behind her at her left, and she kept her open hands out and away from her body. She also made sure she got the first word in: "I apologize for the attack on your people. Although it was not my doing, the Captain here believed himself to operating under my orders. I have corrected that mistake, and I'm grateful I was on hand to prevent further damage."

"It was very convenient," one of the old women said with a tone that was almost agreeing. "And of course we recognize the famous Princess Azula of the Fire Nation."

Ah, so they weren't going to be as easy to bamboozle as Ahou. Well, Azula could hardly get everyone on her side with nothing but words alone. "From my Wanted posters, no doubt." She motioned dismissively and added, "That situation is fairly complicated, but let's just say I'm trying to improve my reputation. As far as I'm concerned, everyone has a right to this land and these roads, no matter what color they wear. If I find anyone saying otherwise in my name, I will do what I did here today. I wish you a good and safe journey."

She turned and started the walk back to the waiting soldiers. Meisai and Ahou followed at her heels, and as they all walked, Azula directed her words to the limping Captain. "Ahou, I meant what I said there. The only hope for the colonies is to unite their entire peoples, and trust that best of the Fire Nation's ways will find a place here. I'm on my way now to deal with the people impersonating me, but I also have no intention of letting unwitting traitors rampage around the wilderness taking lives in my name. I need to know everything about this operation of yours."

"I'm sorry, Princess, but that isn't very much. The people who recruited us all gave no names, and all of our direct orders came from y- er, the imposter. We have a base in a cave not far from here, and live in the surrounding towns. For a while, the imposter would show up unannounced and send out word of a meeting, then give us orders for a specific target, usually a convoy of merchants. It was implied several times that there were other groups like us, but we were given no information on them." Ahou thought for a moment before continuing. "Oh, one time a mission was canceled because the Avatar was rumored to be in the area looking for... um, you, actually. And then a week ago, the imposter showed up again, and told us we had an open mission to attack everyone we found on these roads."

As Ahou spoke, the details aligned in Azula's mind. Long Feng must have discovered that she survived the Earth King's assassination, and was sending out his imposters to wreak havoc in response. She had no idea what he hoped to accomplish; she was already wanted as a criminal by everyone on the planet. But as horrible as the orders were, they were a tactical mistake. If all these rebel groups were out and about attacking people, that meant Azula had a good chance of finding more of them as she journeyed to Toru's Dai Li handler. Even if they weren't all as easy to convince as Ahou, having him with her would improve her odds, and the sight of her blue fire was a very good bit of evidence of her claims.

Truly, in crisis there was also opportunity.

In crisis, though, there is also risk.

When Azula had first traveled through the colonies, just after she escaped Kyoshi Island, there had been a sense of imminent danger. News and rumors abounded of attacks and killings, but they weren't frequent enough to be a major disruption to the daily lives of most people. At best, the only changes people experienced were due to the movement of refugees out of the more dangerous areas. By the time Azula had pushed further west in the company of Shingyung, things had escalated so that, while Azula still did not personally encounter any armed rebels, she saw the detritus of violence and fraying tempers of people who had given in to what was, in their minds, an inevitable coming war.

She had wondered if that was what the Earth Kingdom itself had been like during the war with the Fire Nation. Suki had memories of traveling to Ba Sing Se, but when Azula compared them to what she had seen at Shingyung's side, those recollections had stood as nothing more than abstract paintings of scenes that may or may not have happened. Now, traveling with the Rough Rhinos and Captain Ahou's rebels, Azula had to wonder how what she was seeing compared to those lost memories of the war itself that the old Azula had experienced. Her little army encountered several more of the rebel groups. The first after Ahou's had been in the process of pillaging a merchant convoy when Azula's army came upon it; they saw the smoke from a distance and hurried to intervene, but by the time they arrived, the fighting was over.

During a pause to take stock of the situation, Meisai had ridden up beside Azula and said, "What should we do? Are we going to recruit these people, too?"

Azula hadn't known what the answer to that should be. "You attacked civilians when you were part of one of these groups, yes?"

Meisai had nodded.

"But you came to feel it was wrong, and left."

Meisai had nodded again.

Azula nodded back. "Give Colonel Mongke the order to attack and kill any who fight back, but let him know that we will accept surrenders. Once the fighting is done, I will offer a job to the survivors."

Between the Rough Rhinos and Captain Ahou's troops, Azula's forces outnumbered their opponents, and had the advantage in skill and tactical expertise. Plus, the enemy forces were tired after the slaughter they had just finished; they were cut down easily and messily, and the survivors had all jumped at the chance to save their lives by serving the true Azula. She had made the offer from atop her komodo rhino, holding a blaze of blue fire in each hand and bellowing, "The mercy I offer you is the mercy of service! You will serve me in atoning for your dishonorable actions, or you will be given to the people on whom you have been preying like scavengers!"

And so their forces- and resources- grew.

The next encounter had gone much better. It was impossible for Azula's growing army to hide their passage- especially since they were mostly sticking to the roads in their search for more rebels- and the next group had spotted them coming. A pair of scouts waited ahead of Azula with an offer to meet from their commander, and when he arrived to find both the Fire Princess and the Rough Rhinos awaiting his company, he submitted to their authority immediately. It was a fortunate opportunity that could only have happened in the lawless lands between the colonies; getting spotted leading an army along the roads of either the Earth Kingdom or the Fire Nation would only lead to a painful encounter with the national military.

The army's steady growth brought up the issue of command responsibility. Each of the rebel leaders, of course, wished to retain control of their old groups, and Azula didn't to push them too far with her demands; she had nothing keeping them loyal to her but their own willingness to serve. She allowed the commanders to keep their positions, and consulted them on tactics and intelligence about the lands they were passing through, but made sure she consulted Mongke first of all and always rode with the Rough Rhinos. They had been the first, after all, and were symbols in their own right, never mind that as fighters and scouts they were worth their weight in gold. Having Master Benders like Katara, Toph, and Aang would have been better, of course, but few were the warriors who could fight on that level.

There was a practical side to sticking with the Rough Rhinos, as well. Vachir, the former Yu-Yan archer, was still setting the route for the army based on his tracking of the messenger hawk that Toru had sent off to his contact in Long Feng's organization. Azula often had to compromise between sticking to the trail and following the local roads, but Vachir was always able to find the direction again. The only problem was that, as the army's numbers grew, their pace slowed and the roads open to them dwindled.

It was Meisai who came up with the solution. "Send out some messengers," she had said one night while making camp. Azula always pitched her tent next to Meisai's, although she had lost track of where Toru was setting himself up. "There's more rebel groups out there than we'll find just on our path, and I bet that for everyone who comes looking for us, there are two smaller groups that make like birds out of a forest fire at the first rumor of our coming. If you send Ahou or one of the really loyal guys as your messenger or ambassador or whatever, along with enough of an armed escort to shrink your army back down to a manageable size, you can start dealing from a position of respect and peace. You know, as opposed to showing up with an army and demanding submission. "

Azula allowed herself a small smile. "But forcing people to submit is so much fun! Still, I see your point. That should solve a number of problems, and I can have them rendezvous with Ogodei and the Rough Rhinos' steamer when they're done."

"That's a good idea. Saves us from having to wait for them or go out of our way again."

Azula nodded, and looked up at the stars. The glow of the campfires diluted their brightness, but they were still recognizable as the same stars by which the Hidden Gem had navigated the seas. "Should I send your father to the steamer, as well?"

Meisai had looked over with wide eyes. "My father?"

"Our success with recruiting- and our failures- are likely reducing our chances of surprising Toru's contact. Even if whoever it is doesn't know we're specifically coming for them, they'll still be cautious about our approach, or even preparing for an attack. And we won't be able to keep our presence a secret. It could come down to a pitched fight when we finally arrive."

"And my father is no fighter."

"Exactly. We can't rule out his treachery against Long Feng being deduced, either." Azula hesitated for a moment, and then added, "But on the other hand, Toru hasn't been at ease since I confronted him. I don't know if he believes that I'm lying about forgiving him, or if he's just intimidated by me now. If I were in his position, and had an opportunity like being sent to another location, I'd be giving serious thought to just disappearing during the trip."

Meisai slowly began shaking her head. "No. He'll follow your orders. For me. I haven't been talking with him more than I need to, but... he's waiting for me. I can tell. He's not lying about that. Just like I saw your guilt about Kyoshi Island in your eyes, I can see the regret in his eyes whenever I meet his gaze."

She said no more, and Azula let the night go silent between them.

The next day Azula sent out her ambassadors with their escorts, and sent Toru to meet with Ogodei and convey the latest news.

The messenger hawk turned out to have landed in the former colony of Geum Gwuang. Often called 'the Gaoling of the colonies,' it was where the money lived, in the form of wealthy lenders and investors with far more gold than was needed for their decadent comfort. Of course, Geum Gwuang's importance was not yet even a hundred years old, so its wealth was newer than and not quite as deep as that of Gaoling, but business opportunities in the colonies tended to return a profit faster than in the more conservative Earth Kingdom. After all, demand was far from met for machines spawned from the Fire Nation's war technology, and anyone who had the knowledge and the resources to build a factory would quickly find all manner of new friends.

Of course Long Feng would have a presence here.

After a short daytime scouting mission to the city with Vachir and Meisai, Azula returned to her army's camp amidst the tall grasses some distance from the city, and assembled the commanders for a briefing. "We traced the hawk to one of the smaller estates within the city limits," she said, making a mark on a map of the city she had procured. "It's protected by a high wall and armed guards. We saw at least one guard with bare feet, so we can confirm an Earthbender presence. Given the wealth at hand in Geum Gwuang, we have to acknowledge the possibility of significant Bender reserves."

Mongke traced a line across the map with his finger. "Looks like the good news is that it's not in a very populated area. If we approach from this angle at night, and keep quiet enough, we should be able to get right up to the wall without having to pick our way through the smaller streets."

Azula nodded. "The city proper looks about as you'd expect, but the roads running by the estates tend to be wide, and the homes are a fair distance back from their protective walls."

"It's the walls that worry me," Ahou said. "If there are Earthbenders amongst the enemy, we don't have anything that can wear the walls down faster than they can be rebuilt."

Mongke snorted. "You obviously haven't been spending a lot of time around Yeh-Lu. There's a reason he goes all day, every day, in a suit of armor thicker than his skull. All we need to tell him is the size of the hole we want in the wall, and then get him up to it quietly enough. He blows it open, and then we can rush in."

Ahou thought about that for a moment. "That should work, but I wouldn't trust our mounts to tolerate the sound and force of the kind of explosion you're talking about. We should probably leave them behind, and go on foot."

"Our komodo rhinos will be fine," Mongke said. "And the Rough Rhinos do their best work on Rhinos."

Azula nodded. "Fine, we'll take the rhinos, but leave all the ostrich horses. Ahou, I'll let you detail the guard we'll have to leave behind, but assume that everyone else will be coming. The estates probably have their own guards because they can't depend on the City Watch out that far from the center of the city, but we still have to be prepared for enemy reinforcements." She waited for everyone's acknowledgement, and then added, "And we need to limit enemy deaths. If we take lives amongst the City Watch, we'll earn the city's undying ire, and it's rich enough to hire some revenge when we're least able to deal with it. As for the people in the estate itself, any of them might have the answers we need."

She could see from the faces of her commanders that they didn't like that, and it was Mongke who gave voice to the collective. "Princess, that makes our job a lot harder and more dangerous."

"I understand, Colonel, but the point of this mission is not pure destruction. Our soldiers need to protect their own lives, and I know we will have to kill tonight, but we need information. We can't just assume our enemies will have helpfully written it down for us to find. Obviously, the people in the estate are more likely to be informative than the guards, but we can't dismiss the possibility." Azula swept her gaze over the others until she got everyone's affirming nod, and then said, "Thank you. I'll leave the rest of the details to you. We ride at midnight."

The crack of the explosion was the start.

Yeh-Lu's custom bomb detonated with enough force to simply remove a complete stretch of the wall, and was even designed to throw most of the debris back into the estate, instead of towards Azula's waiting army. Thus, any nearby guards would suddenly have their quiet late night routine interrupted by a terrifying boom and falling chunks of the wall, while Azula's soldiers were free to rush in and immediately go on the offensive. As part of their preparations, Mongke and the other commanders had forbidden anyone from making a campfire or even a torch, so every soldier's eyes were naturally acclimated to the lack of light, even with just a sliver of the moon shining down on the earth. To that end, the Firebenders amongst the soldiers were all armed with either a sword or a spear, with instructions not to summon their element unless it was called for by a commander.

Azula's army struck like a legion of wraiths born of the darkness of the night.

Azula herself was right in the midst of the action, of course, on foot with Meisai at her side. To her, the battle was a mix of shadings. Everything existed as moving fields of black, with her soldiers barely visible by the glint of pale moonlight off their armor and their blades. The noise was much easier to go by, with every point of contact with the enemy marked by grunts and clashes of metal and cries of pain. Thanks to her days as Suki the Kyoshi Warrior, she was used to violence at night, but this kind of battle was bigger and harsher than anything she was capable of remembering. The point of this conflict was not to arrest criminals and seize their property, but to push forward to dominance by whatever means necessary.

That wasn't to say Azula found it hard to get into the proper mood. She followed Meisai's lead- the other woman had been a professional soldier, after all, and Azula had no problem deferring to experience- and worked at the tail end of the army's charge. As Suki, she had learned to fight with a katana, and while that was a different weapon from the curved and heavier dao blades to which her army had access, the chopping principles were similar enough that Azula felt comfortable with the weapon. One dull shape- too dull to be one of her soldiers- rose up before her in the night, and Azula made out the gleam of metal moonlight in time to dodge the enemy's sword. She struck with her own blade near where the gleam of the other sword ended, and was rewarded with a scream and the disappearance of the enemy metal. She must have struck her opponent's arms, but she could tell from the impact that she hadn't chopped clean through, so he must have been armored in some way. Azula kicked high with a booted foot and the crunch of impact with her enemy's face dropped the shadow to the ground.

Meisai finished with another opponent at Azula's side, and the two moved forward with the rest of the force.

The fighting didn't last too much longer before Azula's army encountered a surprise. Even without a lifetime's worth of memories, Azula had enough combat experience to understand that there were always surprises, but this one stabbed straight to her heart. A figure in the moonlight- slight in shape despite the obvious silhouette of Fire Nation officer's armor- stood up above the rest of the guards on a protruding rock that might have been the result of Earthbending, and only the utter blackness of the night sky made the shape of the dark hair visible.

It was, of course, a very familiar Fire Nation topknot.

The figure shouted into the night with the voice of a woman, "Earthbenders to me! Hold a line against the invaders!" It was a voice that was not unlike Azula's own. It wasn't identical, but it was a voice that most could easily imagine coming from the mouth of the infamous Fire Princess.

Azula told herself that she was the one true Azula, and that there was no duplicate who could come close to her, because it was something she desperately needed to believe all of the sudden. Then she took a small signal horn from her belt and blew a specific sequence of sounds. If translated into words, that little tune could have said, "Firebenders, it's time to blind these Earthbenders." As they had been instructed, all the Firebenders in Azula's army shut their eyes momentarily, and then punched or kicked or even spit out the brightest flares of which they were capable. Azula didn't shoot out her own flames- there was no point in drawing attention to herself just yet- but opened her eyes only after the sounds of Firebending had ceased. She saw a number of dully glinting shapes- her own soldiers- pushing forward again, while the other shapes in the distance were rubbing at their eyes as though blind.

Effectively, they were, and those Earthbenders were a far cry from Toph Bei Fong.

While Azula's army took advantage of the ploy, Azula herself ran forward to where her duplicate had tried to call for a rally. She heard Meisai's dashing footsteps behind her, but Azula only had eyes for the silhouette with the topknot and shoulder talons. Azula sheathed her sword as she ran, and chose to simply tackle her duplicate when she reached the other woman. The exact moment of impact with the ground was impossible to anticipate in the night, but Azula barely felt it when it came. She was concerned only with restraining her imposter, making sure that she captured the woman completely unharmed. Even if she didn't have any worthwhile information on Long Feng's plans, Azula was not going to let this Victim die like Mianju had in Yang City.

The imposter struggled, of course, but she was no Kyoshi Warrior, and obviously didn't have experience with pinning, or being pinned, in a real brawl. Azula quickly had her immobilized, and hissed, "It's over. Stop struggling."

"No," came the imposter's voice. "No no no no no no no no no no no no no NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!" Then with a strength that felt almost inhuman against Azula's straining muscles, the imposter tore one arm free and reached for something tucked unobtrusively behind her armor's belt, and-

-Azula realized what was going on and quickly let go of the imposter to try to seize that arm-

-the glint of a small blade in the moonlight arced towards the imposter's throat-

-and bounced off of Azula's armored forearm. She backhanded the knife out of the imposter's grip, and then shoved her other arm down over the other woman's neck right where a certain blood vessel pulsed heavily.

This newest Victim soon went limp, and Azula rolled off her with a sudden exhaustion. That was close, and revealed a disturbing new facet to Long Feng's activities. He apparently wasn't going to let his Victims be taken alive.

Azula begged to differ.

Azula spent the rest of battle seeing to her imposter with Meisai's help. Meisai had kept some opportunistic enemy guards from taking advantage of Azula's focus, and once the battle moved on to the estate's sole building, stayed behind to help strip the imposter of her armor and search for any other hidden weapons. Then they tied the Victim up as securely as possible, and Meisai began the slow process of getting the woman back to the army's camp. Azula wasn't sure yet what she would do with her latest unfortunate proxy, but she had fantasies spinning through her head of somehow repairing the damage and restoring the imposter's old life.

Of course, that was what she had wanted for Mianju, too, but instead that Victim had died with her own name just barely on her lips. It was an important lesson to keep in mind, and Azula had to forcibly shift her own focus when it was time to deal with the fallout of the little war she had initiated.

Her soldiers had been distributed around the main mansion as guards, and were at last shedding light on the situation with some blazing torches. They bowed to Azula as she marched through the mansion's main entrance. Within, Azula found herself in a complex so fancy that even true Royalty would have felt at home. The ceilings were high, and stairs led off into even higher places hidden from view. No wall was left blank, and various useless tables and statues were placed around to keep the open spaces from actually feeling open. Throughout this space, Azula's soldiers stomped about, some of them manhandling bound prisoners and dragging them further into the complex. One of the few who weren't moving around motioned at Azula, and waved her over to an open door leading into what looked like a study.

Within, Mongke and Vachir waited for her with another man lying tied up on a desk. The Colonel had his arm tied up against his chest in a sling, and he wore an impressively harsh scowl on his face as he said, "Princess, welcome to my temporary command headquarters. I think we found the bag of dragon droppings that you were looking for. This guy here is in charge, or so the servants say, and Vachir found our messenger hawk on a perch on his bedroom balcony."

Azula indulged in a satisfied smile. "Excellent work, Colonel. Before we get on with that business, what are the results of our battle?"

"We're still counting the losses, but we did pretty well. I knocked my arm up, nothing bad, should heal soon. Among the other commanders, we lost Ahou. Most of the guards were encountered on the lawn were killed, but we managed to take a fair number of the ones here in the house captive. We're tying up the Earthbenders and stowing them on the second floor, and herding the non-Benders into the basement to cool off. We've got some servants locked up in a room across the main hall, and some other non-combatants we found in fancy bedrooms locked up by their lonesome. I figure we'll want to interrogate them individually, or at least as many as we can before we get out of here."

"Well, you certainly have an attention to detail. I believe you've handled things in as satisfactory a manner as possible." Azula very purposefully didn't comment on Ahou's death. Later, she would have to say something to the troops under his command, the first rebels she had recruited. As far as her own personal feelings, though, Azula wasn't quite sure what her reaction was. Ahou was a murderer, but he was also a loyal and honorable servant to the leaders he truly admired. He had admired Azula and willingly served her, both the fake her and the real her. Or had he simply served two different icons: one made by Long Feng, one the child of many fathers and still trying to make herself her own person?

So it was with a certain pleasant anger that Azula turned to Toru's Dai Li contact, still trussed up on the room's desk. "And now for you. Vachir, could you please sit this scum up? I wish to look him in the eyes."

With no gentleness whatsoever, the archer grabbed the ropes wrapped around the man and hauled him up into a sitting position.

"Thank you." She looked at her captive, and to her surprise, she recognized him. She didn't know him, but something about his eyes, and the scar running vertically across his right cheek with creases where it must have been stitched back together, resonated in her mind. Azula gave in to that feeling, let it guide her back to the past, and found a hazy memory of standing in a cave lit by glowing green crystals, wearing an outfit made of material that felt unfamiliar against her skin, and looking upon standing rows of men.

Rows of men in Dai Li uniforms.

In this memory, she had stopped in front of one of them, and he wore the face of the man Vachir was propping up for her. The same scared eyes, the same scar. She distinctly heard Mai's voice echo through her mind with a tone of amused scorn: "I thought you were gonna make that one guy pee his pants."

"Ah," Azula bluffed with a smirk growing on her face, "if it isn't my old friend, the Dai Li agent with a deficiency in self-composure and courage. What are the odds?"

The man's face paled considerably. "I won't tell you anything!"

Azula raised an eyebrow and made a show of examining her fingernails; she noted that they were filthy and ragged from the time she had just spent riding through the colonies. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that. You could have been so useful. Of course, I already know everything about Long Feng's plans, and how to destroy him, but I was hoping to fill in a few useful pieces of information. Well, if you won't help, I suppose we might as well kill you and make a search through your records."

"It won't work," the Dai Li said with a frantic shake of his head. "I know you're bluffing me! If you know anything about Long Feng, you know you're running out of time. If you kill me, you'll be too late!"

Azula rolled her eyes at him. "And if you tell me nothing, I'll still be too late, so why should I bother keeping you alive? If nothing else, I'll enjoy watching you burn, and can save myself considerable aggravation." The Dai Li blinked several times, most likely trying to find a way out of the logic trap he constructed around himself, but Azula didn't give him time to really think. She continued, "Of course, we're both just being silly, now. You will talk, because I am going to have my compatriots here make you talk. Right, Colonel Mongke?"

The leader of the Rough Rhinos turned his scowl into the grin of a hunting cat. "We've done 'field interrogations' before. We know our business."

Azula nodded, keeping her eyes on the Dai Li. "Quite so. Of course, torture is a very unreliable form of gathering intelligence, but if you won't talk, then we'll have no choice. It will take longer, and it might not be accurate, but we'll get something out of you, and we'll at least enjoy the process. The other option is that you start talking now. That's still an unreliable method, but if we act on your information and discover that you've been lying to us, we can always go back to the torture option. I'm sorry to say, old friend, that we're going to spirit you away into the night, and your life from now on is going to be subject to my every whim. There is no hope of rescue, just of benign treatment at my hands before I turn you over to either the Earth Kingdom or the Fire Nation for your crimes. So, do you have anything to say?"

The Dai Li was sweating now, and alternating his glances between Mongke's savage grin and Vachir's even more frightening blankness. Finally, he looked back at Azula and said, "Perhaps we can make a deal?"

"Hm?"

"I... uh... I'm Long Feng's manager in this area. I received instructions from him, and created and ran some rebel groups for him across this region."

"Yes, we'll want information about their locations, as well as ways to contact them. They'll be working for me, now." This man, Azula was realizing, was Shingyung's counterpart in this region. "And I gather that you commanded the imposters Long Feng made of me, too."

"Um, yes. The idea was for the rebels to think she was their true master. I got orders to send the Azulas to Long Feng, but recently that was all reversed and the imposters were sent back with new instructions."

"To have the rebels attack everyone they could find. Yes, as I've said, I'm familiar with Long Feng's plans. Where are the other imposters?"

The Dai Li swallowed. "Most of them are still being reprogrammed." Then his eyes lit up, and he said, "If you let me go when this is all over, I can give you Dong Min."

All of the sudden, the entire world flipped beneath Azula's feet. "You can what?"

"Dong Min. He's the one reprogramming the Azulas. He brought them back from Long Feng with the new orders."

"Dong Min... is alive?!"

"Yes." The Dai Li took one last glance at Mongke and Vachir, and then sat up straighter and stared Azula straight in the eyes. "Dong Min is alive, and I know exactly where he is."

TO BE CONTINUED