The Promised Land

Long Feng woke up in the early hours of the morning to find his worst nightmare come true.

The only light in the room-like cave he used as his quarters spilled in from the hallway, streaming past the guard who had awoken Long Feng to sear sleep-encrusted eyes. "What's wrong?"

"We received a coded message from Yang City, sir." The guard's face was hidden in shadows cast by the backlighting, but his voice betrayed urgency and a little touch of fear. "From the governor. He- ah- well, Shingyung is dead, sir. Princess Azula was taken from the city alive by a Water Tribe man."

Long Feng instantly came awake, but couldn't help but wonder if he was still asleep. No, he couldn't be that lucky. This was why the world needed him, because things were so chaotic in this world, and only Long Feng had the skills and intelligence to provide the Order that would finally set things rights. And he was the world's only chance to rid itself of Azula.

But even he needed time. Time that might be running out. But that was okay.

After Ba Sing Se, Long Feng had learned to play for time.

Sokka looked down upon the sea of people in the morning sun, and saw the doom of the world. "Who could have possibly thought that letting a random crowd of- of whoever camp outside Yu Dao without any kind of policing or leadership was even a halfway good idea?"

Behind him in the airship's cabin, Azula leaned over to get a better view through the viewport. Sokka ignored the weighty combination of longing and fear that her proximity inspired and tried to focus on her words: "Well, Long Feng for one. What does he care if tempers flare and a riot breaks out? So long as at least one of the factions down there favor of him, he couldn't care less how many would die in the clashes."

Over in the co-pilot's chair, Ty Lee was running her hands through her shortened hair again. Sokka couldn't help but wonder if Azula's presence was making Ty Lee even more nervous than usual. As if mirroring his thoughts, Ty Lee flicked her gaze over to Azula briefly before looking back through the viewport. "I'm still not sure I get Long Feng's plan. How can someone so evil think that he can just be allowed to go free? And become a leader!"

Azula snorted lightly. "Says the only one in this cabin who actually remembers working for Fire Lord Ozai." She straightened and went back to her seat in the cabin's rear. "People just want to be able to live their lives, and there's no doubt that defeating 'the scourge of the Fire Princess' would feel like an improvement for the lives of everyone in the colonies. Besides, Long Feng isn't trying to be declared anyone's leader just yet. He came up with a new name for his old job of being a secret puppet master. Or, at least, that's what Dong Min explained to me."

Sokka couldn't help but shudder at the mention of Dong Min. For a time, the old psychologist professor guy was almost like a friend to Sokka. They were partners in turning Azula into Suki, and Dong Min had even gone out of his way to protect the love that had sprung between Sokka and Su- Azula. It was love illicit, love forbidden, love that came from a situation that Sokka was beginning to think he was wrong to bring about. Yet, it was love so strong that Sokka still felt it. Dong Min had found a way to help it flourish, and Sokka was still grateful for that. Yet Dong Min had also gone on to help Long Feng kidnap women from all over the world and turn them into death-seeking duplicates of Azula. According to Azula herself, Dong Min had felt so burdened by his mistakes that he took his own life. (Assuming Azula was telling the truth.)

Was one of the mistakes he regretted his decision to preserve the love between Sokka and Suki?

Was Sokka's love just as flawed and corrupt as Dong Min's life?

Did it need to die?

Should Sokka be thinking of these things while he was flying a state-of-the-art Appa-class airship filled with explosive rising gas? Well, at least Sokka had an answer for that one. Focusing on his piloting, Sokka twisted the dial on the control board that would start the airship descending. "Whatever messed up plans Long Feng came up with, none of them will work once every sees that the 'Fire Princess' has been peacefully taken into custody right here in Yu Dao."

"Exactly," Azula said from behind him. "He'll need to scramble to salvage the situation, and that's when we'll get him."

Sokka nodded. "The only problem is making sure that we don't bite off more than we can chew. Anyway, we have to be careful how we play this. We have random people from all over the colonies here, along with Fire Nation people and Earth Kingdom people. And none of them like Azula. We don't want to start a war. So I'm thinking we need to get some neutral guards."

"Don't be so sure that none of those people would support me." Azula's voice was hard. "I've found your little group's decision to leave the colonies on their own isn't as universally popular as the leadership in Yu Dao would have had you believe." Sokka looked back at Azula, and nearly flinched at the accusation in her eyes. It was a sight he had been dealing with frequently over the last week or so of traveling with her. Finally, she looked down again and wiped at a smudge on her armor. "I presume that by 'neutral guards,' you mean the White Lotus is in the city in a public capacity."

Sokka turned back to his controls and had to admit that he was impressed. Azula had figured it out based on nothing more than a vague allusion. "There should be. After the Yu Dao Crisis, it was pretty obvious that we needed a group of universally trusted peacekeepers, at least as a symbol, and freeing Ba Sing Se without conquering it was a good start. We're stretching them thinner and thinner, though. I should probably ask Master Piandao about them doing some more recruiting. Anyway, we'll land outside the city, one of us will go get an escort, and then the White Lotus can formally put you into protective custody somewhere in the city. The Earth King will probably be ticked, but I never specified when we would turn you over to him. Since we need you free to fulfill the other half of our deal to get Long Feng, we even have a legal justification. Once Long Feng is done we can... uh..."

"You can decide what you want to do with me." Sokka heard Azula shift in her seat. "In the interest of our alliance, I'll just let that one go for now."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Literally. Getting back to the main subject, Ty Lee should be the one to get help. In case Long Feng has spies looking out for you two in the city, Ty Lee is more capable of defending herself. And... I want the crowds below to see me be taken into the city by the White Lotus. Dong Min said that Long Feng would be giving speeches to the people here to rally popular support, and it's important that they see he can't deliver on his promise to kill me. And if there's trouble with the crowds when I'm revealed..." Azula didn't speak for a long moment. "Well, someone besides me with a quick mind might be helpful."

It took Sokka a second to realize that she was talking about him. He felt an absurd urge to grin at the compliment, but the knowledge of how hard that admission must have been for Azula put a damper on his satisfaction. Planning like this, it was almost like having Suki back; they had worked well together during the Yu Dao Crisis. But it seemed more and more like it had been Azula he had partnered with, in a way. How much had been lost when she was made into Suki?

He was getting distracted again. Sokka made himself watch all the instruments on the control panel as the airship settled on the ground with only a slight shake, and then began shutting everything down. As he went down the line flipping switches, he caught movement from Ty Lee out of the corner of his eye. Sokka looked over to see her glancing back and forth between him and Azula. "What?"

Ty Lee gave one more back and forth, and then said, "Um, are we all friends again?"

Sokka figured that the chilly silence was answer enough.

Ty Lee was soon dispatched to bring back the White Lotus guards for their plan, and Azula couldn't help but worry that- either by design or mistake- she would instead be greeted by an angry Avatar and Fire Lord pair who would tie her up, parade her around for the crowd, and then stick her in a hole somewhere for the rest of her life. She had to trust that Sokka wouldn't let them, trust that everyone understood that only she could catch Long Feng for them.

Azula found herself pacing in the airship's cabin.

"Are..." From his pilot's chair, Sokka watched her closely. "Are you okay?"

"Just loosening up," Azula lied. "I'll be in the passenger." She ducked through the hatch and moved to the rear of the airship. The passenger compartment was the largest room on the vessel, not counting the area reserved for the engine. Azula walked past the two rows of benches in the front of the room, and resumed her pacing in the open rear space. Fairly comfortable cots could be flipped out of the walls, but for now they were all locked down, leaving the area clear. The only things Azula had to watch out for were the little hooks set into the floor for securing cargo. Azula had seen this airship- she was told that it was Zuko's Fang- before, during the group visits to Uncle Iroh's teashop in Ba Sing Se, back when she was Suki. This should be her first time aboard, but she couldn't shake the sense of familiarity she had for the passenger compartment in particular. Like all of Sokka's designs, it combined practicality and an attention to detail. Hopefully the plan he and Azula developed maintained the same quality.

Or was she hoping otherwise?

Did she want him to be right?

As far as catching Long Feng, Azula was very sure that she would prefer Sokka to provide competent assistance. But on another level... it seemed that she wanted to be able to trust in him- truly trust and open herself up to him completely- while also wanting to never again give him control over her. No matter how good his intentions were, he was willing to take his control as far as it could go, and that was terrifying. Azula couldn't help but remember how sweet and easy it was when her whole being succumbed to Long Feng's programming in the Earth King's bedroom, and the damage that had been wrought as a result. She had excised the Dai Li programming in Ba Sing Se, but a person didn't need brainwashing to manipulate people and fool them.

No, Azula had keep on her guard. Never let up. It would be exhausting, but...

But she had been making plans, during the trip to Yu Dao. Plans that she hadn't shared with Sokka and Ty Lee.

And when those plans were complete, she would finally be able to rest.

There was the clanking of boots on the metal floor, and Azula turned to find Sokka peeking into the passenger compartment. "Our escort's here. Time to make our grand public appearance."

Azula took a deep breath, and flared the Fire Within.

Sokka had never liked the terrain around Yu Dao. The huge pillars of rock and the winding pathways reminded him too much of the Great Divide, and who actually liked the Great Divide? While he didn't exactly have nightmares from his experiences there, Sokka still had no desire to think back to the time he was stuck in a giant rocky pit with two arguing tribes that just wanted to kill each other. Approaching the tent city now, full of people from all over the colonies who were the living remnants of the conflict between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, Sokka couldn't help but draw parallels between the situations. Unpleasant, life-threatening parallels. The bad kind.

He had been gratified to find that the White Lotus had taken Ty Lee's request seriously and sent a good number of guards, enough to match a platoon in any formal military, and they included Earthbenders, Firebenders, and spear-wielders. As expected, they were all older men, but they didn't look any less hard for it. They took up formation around Azula as soon as she disembarked from the airship; she hadn't resisted, and none of the Lotus Guard had reacted to her in any special way. It was only as they approached the camped out crowds that Sokka had started to get worried again. The people working and living along the pathway had apparently been watching for the Lotus Guards' return.

"That's Princess Azula!"

Yup, there it was.

Sokka immediately drew his boomerang. "Keep moving," he said to the lead Lotus Guard, and then turned in the direction that the shout had come from. "Princess Azula has surrendered! We're taking her into the city! There will be no fighting! Everyone, please stay calm! I'm the Avatar's buddy, this is all under control!" Sokka wished frostbite on Long Feng for making this whole show necessary. With any luck, Mister Dai Li himself would show up now and then Sokka could finish all this with a well-thrown boomerang to the head.

For now, the crowd limited itself to harsh mutterings, although it continued to draw more people and grow as the Lotus Guard procession marched onward.

Then the rock went flying.

Sokka barely caught the motion, but his hunter's eyes managed to pick out the fist-sized stone as it arced over the White Lotus and fell towards Azula. She snapped into motion, and with a single sharp clang managed to raise her forearms and block the projectile with her metal vambrace.

Sokka immediately turned back to the crowd and raised his voice again. "Hey! Just a normal rock! It's wasn't Earthbending!" The crowd's murmuring grew louder, echoing off the tall walls of stone, but the people didn't move around. So far, so good. In some sections of the colonies, just tossing a stone at a Firebender was a Big Deal, and more than once it had been the start of a conflict that Aang wound up having to settle. Hopefully, everyone would keep their heads. With that in mind, Sokka went over to the pair of the Lotus Guard, both of them with bare feet, who were hauling a man out of the crowd. The man struggled with clenched teeth, and his hands were dusty with the essence of the Earth. "Nice throw, guy," Sokka said. "You understand we can't let you attack cooperating prisoners, right?"

"She killed my parents!" The man lunged towards Sokka, but the Lotus Guards held him in place with their feet flat against the ground. "She burned our farm! Her Firebenders burned everything!"

Sokka sheathed his boomerang and looked the man in the eyes. "I'm sorry. When did it happen?"

"What?"

"When did it happen?"

The man blinked, and then relaxed a bit in the Lotus Guards' grip. "It- it was the beginning of the summer. They- they burned everything!"

"That's what I'm here to answer for," Azula's voice rang out. Sokka whipped around, confused. What was she doing? This crowd didn't need to be riled up anymore. Yet there she was, stepping forward like she coming up on stage to get a medal, and the White Lotus shifted uneasily to give her room. "Everyone in the colonies has suffered, but the worst of the trouble has come from people acting in my name. I did not order that, but I take responsibility for what those criminals have done. I'm here to end the conflict and help make sure that no more farms are burned."

The rock-thrower didn't look convinced, struggling once more against his captors, and the volume of the crowd rose up again. From somewhere behind Azula, another voice called, "You killed the Earth King!"

Azula spun around to answer. "Long Feng killed the Earth King!"

The crowd grew even louder, and Sokka was hyper-aware of the pillars of rock boxing everyone in together here. Once again, he drew his Boomerang. This was not going to go well-

Azula took a Firebending stance and punched a massive bloom of blue flame into the air above her head. The crowd quieted immediately, and Azula took advantage of the lull to shout, "If I wanted the Earth King dead, no one would have known it was me! What's the point of bringing the wrath of the Earth Kingdom down on my head? Why would my master plan involve a slightly less experienced Earth King on the throne? I don't care if you don't believe me, but you have to start thinking for yourselves! Call me a liar if you want, but Long Feng is a liar, too. Do what you came to do and choose for yourselves."

Sokka pushed through the White Lotus and grabbed Azula's shoulder. He hissed, "What are you doing?"

Azula didn't even give him the consideration of a glance, keeping her gaze traveling across the crowds. "My best," she hissed back. "Now, I think it's time we hurry on to Yu Dao."

"Yeah. Right." Sokka motioned to the lead Lotus Guard, and the whole procession got moving again. The crowd's muttering picked up again, but no one attacked again. Once they were a distance down the road, Sokka motioned back, and the two Earthbender Lotus let the rock-thrower free and hurried back to join the procession. This was just the start to the troubles Yu Dao would offer. Everyone would be lining up to stone Azula to death, and Sokka didn't even know how to defend her, never mind succeed at it. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to fight his own friends at the same time. Hopefully, Azula would let him help.

Forever and a day later, the procession passed through the front gates of the city, and started making its way to the Convocation Center.

They set up a War Room in the cavern Long Feng had intended to be his receiving parlor. With Shingyung gone, responsibilities would have to be shifted, and Long Feng needed to reestablish contact with his various political and business contacts around the colonies. He was just briefing his team of analysts when one of the runners he had bringing news from Yu Dao topside burst into the room. "Long Feng, sir!"

"Just a minute, gentlemen." He turned to the runner and clasped his hands behind his back. "You have urgent news, I take it?"

"Sir, Princess Azula just entered the city. She's in the custody of the White Lotus."

The cavern spun around Long Feng briefly, but when it settled again, the crystal lamps seemed to glow even brighter than before, and he felt like he could see more clearly than he had been able to for a long time. "Well. That makes things much simpler."

Azula's guards guided her deep into Yu Dao's residential sector, to the 'rich' section, if the overtly Fire Nation architectural flourishes were any clue. Yu Dao might have been founded as a glorified camp for the Earthbender miners looking to make their fortune, but it was the Fire Nation and its colonists that had built the place up into a thriving city and the best source of metalwork in the entire colonized Earth Kingdom. The price of that, of course, was that the people of Fire Nation descent had implemented a rock solid caste system that kept them on top, both socially and economically. While it was possible for some of the Earth Kingdom descendants to 'marry up' or otherwise earn an exception, Aang and Zuko were still trying to break down the systematic oppression as the price for giving Yu Dao its freedom. At least, that was last Azula had heard as Suki.

Yu Dao alone amongst the Independent Former Colonies had merited that attention, and from what Azula could see, it still had a way to go. It would be hard to argue that Yu Dao was truly worse in this respect than Yang City, or any of the other places Azula had seen on her travels this last year, but it at least kept up a veneer of civilization and showed the world a face that consisted of solid buildings, nice streets, and clean workshops. Of all the places the Avatar and the Fire Lord could direct their efforts, they most likely had the best chance of succeeding here. It made Azula wish she were free to turn her own attention to the wider problem, but there was no time for that now. And, judging from the busy weaponsmiths she had passed, the situation would require a careful and subtle handling.

It struck Azula how odd her thoughts were. Back when she was Suki, she was content to let her friends deal with the situation, providing assistance and occasionally a little muscle when asked. Now, she fantasized about taking charge and doing an even better job than the world's leaders.

Truly, Suki was dead.

At last, the procession stopped in front of a three-story house that, had it not been for the red Fire Nation-style roof, wouldn't have looked out of place in Ba Sing Se's Upper Ring. A white cloth hung from the second-floor balcony, waving in the wind not as a sign of surrender, but of allegiance. The lead Lotus Guard turned to Azula and Sokka and said, "Mayor Morishita gave this house for our use. Warrior Ty Lee explained the situation, so it was decided that the Fire Princess could be held here in our sovereign custody. Your friends are waiting inside."

Azula took her gaze off the makeshift flag and raised her eyebrows. "And will I be in your 'custody' in a room, or a cell?"

She saw Sokka wince, but the older man kept a content expression that reminded her of Uncle Iroh. "A room, of course, but one that will reassure others of our diligence. We will ensure your comfort as long as we have your cooperation. We have already heard your story from our brothers in Ba Sing Se, and we are ready to help you as we are able."

"Well, hey, that's something," Sokka said, straightening his posture. "But we should get off the streets. You ready to meet everyone again?"

Azula gave him the flattest glare she could manage. "That must be the most pointless question ever spoken. Let's get this over with, hm?"

They could have been any two men in the encampments. Their clothes were red, but threadbare, and the dust of the roads muted both the color of their allegiance and the features of their faces. The first man approached the second where he was sitting outside his tent, and said, "White smoke."

"Black smoke," was the reply.

"Wet wood."

"Coal." The man sitting outside his tent nodded. "What news?"

The visitor lowered his voice. "The Princess Azula. She's here."

"Here?"

"She marched right into the city, with an honor guard in blue and white robes."

"Water Tribe?"

"Don't think so. They had Earthbenders and Firebenders. Most had weapons, though, so I couldn't tell about them."

"Huh. So what do we do?"

"Spread the word and wait. Our Princess is here, she'll make sure things are done right."

"The Sword of the Agni Warrior comes."

"One way or another."

They were all standing, waiting for her. Aang, Katara, Zuko, Mai, Toph, Ty Lee; they were arrayed around the room, all standing, with a chaotic rigidity that turned the air sharp. Azula stepped into the receiving room with her boots clacking on the stone floor, a bit of quiet thunder to match the electric atmosphere. Needing a release, she snapped to a halt, put her hands on her hips, and passed a frigid look across her audience. "You are in the presence of a Princess of the Fire Nation. All the peasants in this room should be bowing, now. Make it quick and I will forgive your breach of etiquette." Their faces tightened, and Azula finally released her smirk. "Relax, everyone! It was a joke. Do you like my Azula impersonation? I've been working on it for a while."

The cruel levity bounced off the prevailing mood like rubber.

Eventually, Toph said, "Yeah. Good one."

Azula plopped herself down in one of the unused couches. "Perhaps the joke was in poor taste. But if we take the time for due apologies, then we'll be here until Long Feng takes over the world." She almost expected protests to that, more protestations that 'Suki' had been for her own good like Sokka had provided, but there was just more awkward shifting. "Ah, I see Ty Lee has already shared my thoughts. That's good. It will let us cut to the chase."

Zuko, resplendent in full Fire Lord robes, finally took a step forward and met her eyes with his own lopsided glare. "We appreciate your surrendering, and we... understand the deal you and Sokka are hoping to make work. But you have to understand that here, in this city right now, are both the Earth King and all the leaders of the Former Colonies. And they all want you put on trial, at the very least. We can't protect you after... after everything you've done."

"Well, at least you're finally being honest with me. And what is it I've done? Are we just talking about Kyoshi Island and Ba Sing Se, or are we adding the woman I just murdered in Yang City to the list?"

Everyone blanched, and Sokka immediately stepped in front of her with waving hands. "It's okay, it's okay, it was someone working for Long Feng and she killed a friend of Azula's, or something like that. There was a fight."

Azula stood up and shoved him out of the way. "Shingyung was managing the duplicates that Long Feng has been creating of me, directing them in their terrorism. She was the one who masterminded that factory bombing in Yang City. She left- she killed- Sokka told me about how you found Mianju- saw her skull- and I... yes, I killed Shingyung for that." Azula's legs started to feel a bit weak, so she sat down again. It must have been because she hadn't been eating or sleeping much on the airship. Yes, that was probably it.

Into the resulting silence, Sokka said, "Actually, I don't have a problem if bad guys who deserve it die in a fight. I still think it wasn't a bad idea to take out Ozai."

Azula nodded at him. "Thank you, Sokka. Now, please stop speaking for me."

"We're not here to judge you," Aang said, taking a long look around at everyone. When no one objected, he gave a small smile. "The most important thing right now is to keep Long Feng from hurting anyone else. Yes, Azula, you're an issue, and you just being here is probably going to make the whole colonies thing crazier. But Long Feng is doing the same thing on purpose. First we have to take care of the people. Then we can worry about nations."

Azula smiled back, although it took an effort. "Thank you, Aa- Avatar Aang. The main thing you need to know, then, is that most of the colonial governors are taking Long Feng's direct orders. You're already negotiating with the enemy. Their plan is to unite the colonies into a new nation, and then they'll make Long Feng the enforcer of all their laws. He'll run the secret police for a whole country, and rule everything by determining which laws to enforce and how to do it."

"Do you," Katara said, "happen to have proof of this?"

"Why, you don't believe me?"

Katara hesitated just a moment too long. "I believe you. But we can't do anything without proof."

Azula leaned back, and her smile became genuine. "As it happens, I do have proof. My friends and I attacked a base in Geum Gwuang that one of Long Feng's old Dai Li agents was managing for him. We captured all kinds of wonderful records about who was receiving bribes, the dates of all communications, and useful blackmail material."

Sokka's jaw dropped. "You didn't tell me that!"

"It didn't come up."

Zuko said, "So where are these records?"

"My allies are bringing them here as we speak. That's the tricky part. We stored all the records somewhere safe, and when I found Sokka in Yang City, I sent word that I needed everything delivered to me here. I don't know the names myself, not all of them."

Sokka tapped his chin thoughtfully. "So, we need to stall things until we can present those records. After that, we blow the whole thing wide open, and arrest all the bad guys."

"It's not proof proof," Aang said, "but with enough information, we can convince the good governors to break with the bad ones, and make sure that Long Feng's plan fails!"

"And then it will be a military matter." Zuko nodded grimly. "If the other governors give us permission, we can finally send our militaries into the colonies to establish peace and remove corruption."

Azula frowned. "And so you take away the freedom that you gave the colonies in the first place?"

"They can keep their freedom," Zuko growled, "but they obviously need an intervention of some kind if they're going to survive. This will be the best way to give the colonies a solid foundation on which to build a new country."

Azula couldn't keep the frost out of her voice. "Is that what you said when you ripped my mind apart and dressed me up like a Kyoshi Warrior? Was Suki a solid foundation to make yourself a trusty new bodyguard?"

"Ooh," hissed Toph. "Awkward."

Zuko's hands balled into fists, and his body shifted into something that looked like a Firebending stance beneath his layers of robes. "Is that why you burned down Kyoshi Island?! I told them they'd be safe!"

Azula was up on her feet in an instant. "Then you lied to them, too! Go ahead and turn me over to the Earth King for what I did, but who do you have to answer to?" She found herself breathing heavily, and realized she was losing control. Was this justifiable anger, or because this was an intrinsic part of her relationship with Z- with her brother? Her brother. Azula could barely comprehend having a sibling, of growing up with someone like that. Suki had been friends with Zuko, had found him to be sympathetic and admirable both, but according to the histories, Azula had tried to kill him any number of times. Sighing, Azula forced herself to relax. "Never mind. Like I told Sokka, we're allies. We can worry about fighting each other after Long Feng has been stopped."

"Yeah," Sokka said quickly. "We can work things out. You guys agreed to give Azula to the Earth King, but you didn't say when. As long as she stays here and we need her to get Long Feng, he can't make trouble. And then when we have all our proofs and things are safe, we can make it all up to Azula by helping her with what comes after."

Azula frowned. 'Make it all up' to her? Did Sokka- did they all think they could just forget about breaking her by covering for her mistakes? Didn't they understand anything about her, about everything that had happened? She looked around, and found herself at the eye of a storm of pensive expressions. Perhaps they weren't all as unified as they pretended. Sokka wasn't even unified with himself.

Aang cleared his throat. "Well, now that we have the beginning of a plan, I need to get to work. I'll tell the Earth King what's going on and that he'll have to wait. Then Zuko and I bring this to the convocation's attention. We'll talk again later."

Azula nodded. "In the meantime, I suppose I should see if I'm being given a room or a cell." Toph barked a laugh at that, and Azula shook her head. "That one wasn't a joke."

"I'll go with you," Zuko said suddenly. "We have some things we need to say to each other."

They had indeed given her a well appointed room. Too bad it was in the basement.

Granted, it was a very nice basement. The decorations, cabinets, and plush bed almost completely distracted from the cold stone walls. There was even a desk stocked with brushes, paper, and ink. For all that, there was no overwhelming level of detail or gaudiness like Azula had seen in Ba Sing Se. She assumed that was the influence of the White Lotus. It recalled Uncle Iroh's living quarters above his teashop, and it almost made Azula feel safe. She wasn't, of course, but it was better than trusting in the others, and they obviously didn't fully trust her. But then, Azula was something of a liar, and she wasn't being entirely forthcoming with them, either. With that thought, Azula turned to face Zuko behind her, but then saw Mai leaning against the wall over by the staircase. "I thought Zuko wanted a private conversation. Don't you trust me not to kill him?"

"No," Mai said flatly. "This whole 'Suki' business never really mattered much to me."

Azula recalled how Mai would always seek her out, during those visits to Uncle Iroh's teashop, and engage her in Pai Sho games, pleasant chats, and even casual sparring. "So, our 'friendship' was... what, keeping your friends close but your enemies closer? How strategic of you."

Mai's shrug was almost invisible. "I learned from the best, and since that's who I was up against, I couldn't hold back. It was just about protecting the people I care for. If that meant killing you, oh well."

Azula found herself smiling. "Can I just say how much I appreciate both your honesty and apathy?"

Mai's lips quirked. "You always did."

Zuko looked back and forth between them, as if trying to see what was being left unsaid, before he gave in to his confusion and let it out with a sigh. "Of course I'm the one in the wrong for caring about you and trying to save you. Did you want to be asked permission? Because that wouldn't have been easy with you not even knowing your own name."

Azula shook her head. "You're not wrong for caring, but there has to be a line somewhere. You wiped your sister out. She's gone. Whatever benevolence you thought you were demonstrating, you still eliminated a rival who had tried to kill you and replaced her with a girl you used as a guard." Azula found that she was clenching her fists, but she embraced the motion, as well as the Fire springing to life in her heart. "Sokka said that you promised to leave me alone on Kyoshi Island, but as soon as you had a use for me, you manipulated me and let me think I was helping a friend! Yes, Zuko, you cared about me so much that you turned me into your favorite tool! Thanks!"

Zuko stomped closer to her, his face coloring in a way that almost matched his scar. "I didn't have a choice! I had assassins coming after me every other day! They were walking right through my security and every time we investigated we found someone else on my staff who was trying to help kill me. I couldn't trust anyone, except for Aang and the others, but they couldn't stay and protect me. I didn't pick you out as a tool, I asked for your help because for once in my life I actually felt like I could trust you! I believed that you would be able to help." Zuko stopped there, taking deep breaths, and when he spoke again, his voice came slower and calmer. "It was hard pretending that you were just my friend, that we weren't family. Before Suki, you could be so awful that sometimes I forgot that I loved you. I didn't have the strength to... to keep my anger from... clouding that. We both did."

Azula shook her head at him. "Irrelevant. I can't apologize for what I did, because I don't remember it. And you can't apologize, because I don't know enough to really forgive you. If you were hoping for that chance someday, you ruined it when you handed me over to Dong Min. Congratulations on winning."

"It doesn't matter." Zuko stopped there, nodded, and repeated, "It doesn't matter. As Suki, you were everything I had always hoped you could be. You ran the palace security better than anyone else, even back when Father was still Fire Lord. You protected me, saved my life, and then we worked together to get to Yu Dao in time to help Aang save it. I was happy that you had finally unlocked your true potential. Happy for you."

Azula felt a headache coming on. Why was it always the same song from these people? "Zuko," she groaned, "you saw what you wanted to see. I didn't find my true potential, I found your idea of it. You had an identity in mind... a vision of your ideal sister, and I was forced into that. Maybe you didn't do it purposefully, maybe you weren't even directly involved, but the result was still just your concept of what you wanted me to be." She finally unclenched her fists, and motioned above her, the gesture meant to evoke the lands that sprawled above them. "What I've been doing since I escaped Ba Sing Se, that's my true potential. I've gone into a land you abandoned to chaos and I've established order. I've stopped criminals from hurting people and turned them into my servants! I've inspired people and gave them a symbol they can follow to a better future! And yes, I've killed people who needed to be stopped. You may not like what I am, you may not want someone like me as your sister, but reality doesn't care if you want it. I'm so much more than I was as Suki, and you can't deny me that."

"I'm not even going to try." Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose, and turned away from her. "Sometimes I think that we were never meant to get along, that we were somehow always destined to be at odds, even if we aren't enemies."

Azula snorted. "And that's why we always are. Believing in Destiny is just another way of trying to see the world on your own terms."

"Well, I'm glad you're alive, and that we are- at least- not enemies. I'm honor-bound to turn you over to the Earth King once this is over, but I'll do whatever you'll let me to help you."

"Forget about helping. Just don't mourn for me, when I'm gone."

Zuko looked over in surprise at her, but Azula mastered her expression and made sure she gave nothing away. Eventually, he just shook his head and walked away. His path took him past Mai as he began ascending the stairs, and as usual, the dour woman fell into step behind her Fire Lord. She had no sooner put a foot down on the stairs, though, before Mai stopped and turned back towards Azula. "Fair warning: Mess with any of us and I'll drop you."

"I'll keep that in mind. Goodbye, Mai."

Sokka had taken a seat at the periphery of the main conclave room, and he couldn't help but stare in awe at the chamber. He had been here before, when his friends and the Mayor of Yu Dao had met and signed a paper that officially awarded the colony its independence. That had been a crazy "adventure," with Aang, Zuko, and Sokka juggling the rival interests of the Earth Kingdom, the parts of the Fire Nation that wouldn't just fall into line at Zuko's word, and the colonists themselves (whose independent streak Sokka could appreciate but not their decidedly less than graceful way of responding to the situation). At the time, Sokka had barely taken notice of the fancy meeting room, other than noting that it looked exactly like every other fancy meeting room he had ever seen, and also confirming that it contained no hidden assassins.

The people of Yu Dao had done some renovations since then. They enlarged the room by several orders of magnitude, so that Sokka felt like he was back outside the city, dwarfed by pillars of mountain stone. What had once merely been a large meeting room was now more like the biggest Earth Rumble arena in the world, except instead of an area there were a series of arch-like tables in the center of the main floor, forming a broken circle probably meant to be symbolic of something. The Earthbender architects had done a good job. Sitting in the audience section surrounded by people from all over the colonists, Sokka couldn't even see the seams of their work.

But he was letting himself get distracted. Probably because he could only listen to this story so many times.

"..and Princess Azula is offering proof of her accusations," Aang said to the assembled Governors, Mayors, citizen audience, Earth King, and Fire Lord. "We're awaiting delivery now. At that point, we'll know who is part of Long Feng's conspiracy, and then we can move forward with these negotiations."

The audience around Sokka buzzed, and he was hard-pressed to say whether it was a good buzz or a bad buzz. The guy to his left muttered something about living in a tent for another few weeks in a way that sounded decidedly grumpy to Sokka, but otherwise there was too much noise for him to make out specifics.

One of the Governors- Sokka didn't know his name- stood up and struck a pose so dignified he must have practiced it in a mirror. "And you expect us to believe this mysterious evidence that is no doubt being fabricated as we speak? Obviously, this is a naked attempt to sabotage the process of raising a new nation for the people of the Former Independent Colonies, and also deny the Earth King his rightful due process for the criminal death of his predecessor."

Sokka saw the Earth King nod once, and the Governor Guy smiled and sat down. The Earth King then stood, and when he spoke, his voice carried easily throughout the entire massive room. "I thank the Governor for his insights and concern for my nation. It is good to know that even though your colony refused to return to my control, we still have mutual respect, and can work together against our true enemies." The Earth King turned to where Zuko and Aang were sitting, and Sokka felt a ball of ice form in his stomach. "Now," the King continued, "I have one question that I want answered before this assembly."

He turned back to the Governor who had spoken, and said, "Sir, are you currently, or have you ever been, working with Long Feng?"

It took the Governor Guy a moment to realize he was being addressed. "Er, what?"

"It is a simple question. Forget proofs of who did what and whether there is some unlikely secret conspiracy at work. Did you intend to employ Long Feng in the colonies' new central government, or not?"

"...er, I want to state for the record, that Long Feng is not a criminal here in the colonies, and there is some confusion about the role he played in the fall of Ba Sing Se-"

"I thought as much," the Earth King said with ringing finality. He made a show of looking across at all the governors. "Your colleague, of course, is correct. Here in the colonies, you are free to employ whoever you want. And Azula is likely lying. But, considering Long Feng's history, I think it my responsibility to make sure you do not enter unwittingly into an alliance with a dangerous man. Let Long Feng appear here himself to answer the charges against him. Then we will together decide what to do. I support Avatar Aang's motion for a recess until we have the information we need to rule on this matter."

Zuko immediately stood up. "I stand with the Avatar and the Earth King."

Sokka watched the governors carefully. Most kept their faces blank, but some looked very confused by everything that was going on, while others couldn't contain their grimaces. None of this was proof of guilt, of course, but it was enough for Sokka to conclude that there was a mix of guilty and innocent amongst the leaders.

Finally, rising from a seat off to the side that Sokka had been ignoring up until now, Mayor Morishita stepped into the center of the circle formed by the tables. "My friends, I propose a compromise. Both Long Feng and Princess Azula are purporting to be friends to the colonies, while the established nations have understandable concerns about- at the very least- their motivations for their actions. Perhaps it would be most productive to conduct an investigative hearing, as a part of these negotiations and so presided over by myself. Let Long Feng and Azula both come with their proofs, and answer to this committee. Let them both give their sides of the story, and then we can decide once we have all the relevant information. Until then, we can recess and conduct whatever individual investigations we see fit. Although I only intended to host this conference, I would be willing to act as arbiter in this matter, if you will all accept my services."

Aang nodded happily, and Zuko followed with an epic nod of his own. The Earth King made a hand motion that was apparently some kind of positive, and after a round of whispered consultations, the talkative Governor stood up and said, "We accept as well. Thank you, Mayor."

Sokka smiled with satisfaction as the crowd around him gave their tepid applause. Even though his daughter had tried to assassinate Zuko with the pretty confused intention of somehow saving Yu Dao from Earth Kingdom control, and the Mayor himself had been a little too happy with the Fire Nation and the war, Morishita was at least an honorable guy who everyone could trust.

This would work out well.

Things had been so maddeningly boring that Azula was almost grateful for Sokka and Aang's late-night visit. "They accepted it," Sokka said as he ambled down the stairs. "When your messenger gets here with the records, you and Long Feng will have a chance to discuss everything with the council in public. If Long Feng doesn't show up, we win, and if he does, we still win because someone around here will take him out no matter how convincing he is with his lies."

Azula refrained from mentioning that she might very well decide to just light Long Feng's face on fire if they let her into the same room with him. Politics were nice, but in Azula's opinion, Sokka and his friends were too focused on the political aspect when a much more direct solution presented itself. That was the problem with being a leader from the outside, she supposed. Maintaining legitimacy was just as much a concern as actually solving the problems plaguing the nation. Or was Azula herself the one with a skewed sense of the world? She supposed that she might look just as strange to everyone else, whipping together an army of criminals and malcontents and simply killing all those who presented themselves as enemies.

It was an issue Azula was willing to ponder after Long Feng was dead.

"You didn't mention the Earth King," Azula said. "I doubt he was happy at not being allowed to take custody of me right away."

Aang groaned as he came stepped off the stairs behind Sokka. "Zuko is talking to him about it now. They might be a while. Still, I think he's okay with making Long Feng a priority, and it looks like he accepted that we need you free to do it in a way that the colonies will be okay with."

Sokka nodded. "As for me, I'm just staying clear of him for a while."

Azula resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "And so you decide to inflict your presence on me, instead."

Sokka's eyes widened, and then he let loose a sigh and turned away. Azula felt a chill pass over her, but she made herself remember that she had to stay independent of him.

Aang glanced over at Sokka, but returned his attention to Azula. "Actually, I wanted to a chance to speak with you, and figured that Sokka could come along and help explain the meeting. I hope that's not a problem?"

"It's fine, Aa- Avatar. We're all allies, after all. What did you need?"

Aang bowed low. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry. Sokka and Zuko told me about everything you said to them, and I realized I needed to give you my apologies. I shouldn't have supported the idea to make you Suki, and since my taking your Firebending away in the first place caused all the trouble, I have a strong responsibility. I should have left you alone, left your Firebending alone, so that Zuko could get you help you really needed."

Azula blinked, trying to reconcile the people in front of her with what she just heard. Her ears were filled with a roaring, and for a moment she thought Aang must have been using his Airbending to make some kind of wind, but no, it must have just been the blood rushing inside of her own body. "Was that- was that an unconditional apology?"

"Yup!" Aang straightened and smiled at her. "You don't have to accept, but I needed to say it."

Azula put a hand to her head. "I'll defer making a decision about that now. Although..."

"Yes?"

She straightened, and looked Aang right in the eyes. "How did I get my Firebending back? And, did my Uncle tell you about my difficulties with the blue color?"

"Yeah. We talked about it for a little while. I don't know for sure, but I've been thinking about it, and- well, I think 'Suki' was more real than we expected. I touched your Qi to take your Firebending, but the process of creating Suki... I think it healed you, or you used it to heal yourself. Your Qi changed. Maybe not to quite what it was, before, but... not worse, either. Just different. And you needed to learn how to use it. Does that make sense? I'm not really very smart about this stuff yet, I'm just trying to piece it all together."

Azula supposed that she would never really know the truth behind it, but- here, now- she found that it really didn't matter. She was Azula. She was a Firebender. And she no longer doubted that she could rely on herself. "It's as good an explanation as any. Thank you for it."

"No problem." Aang bowed again. "It's pretty late, so we should probably get going. Maybe tomorrow I can show you some meditations that are good for keeping your body and mind in harmony. We'll have some time to practice them. Good night!"

Azula watched the Avatar go, and then finally turned to Sokka. He stared back forlornly. "I'm trying," he said.

Azula nodded. "And I'm still counting on you. Me, and the rest of the world."

TO BE CONTINUED