Sam

Morning came sooner than I had expected. I was awoken by Zuko shaking me. I blinked my eyes and rubbed the sleep out of them. I looked up and out the window. It was still dark.

"Sam, I talked to Azula when she came to see Chang. She will stay at the palace while you and I go to Republic City. We want to leave and get there right around dawn to rattle his cage. Come on, you need to get up and get dressed." Zuko said to me. I smiled and stretched.

"What time is it?"

"We have about four hours of dark yet." Damn! That means it was around two in the morning! I got up and got dressed in clothes suited for travel. Once I was dressed we headed out the door of our bedroom. "You think we should say something to Izumi?"

"If we leave without telling her she will be upset. But I think it will be harder for her if we interrupt her sleep. We should tell Azula to explain to her that we had to go somewhere and will be back soon. If she struggles with going to school today, I think we should let her stay home." I said. Zuko and I went to Chang's room. Azula was laying there awake. She got up, carefully as to not wake Chang, and walked over to us.

"I knew you would be leaving soon so I wanted to see you off." Azula said, quietly.

"We need for you to tell Izumi that we will be back in a couple of days. It'll be harder on her if we wake her up in the middle of the night unexpectedly. She will get scared." I said when I saw Azula about to protest. Truth was that it was going to be hard on her no matter what. But we felt this would be the LEAST hard on her. We said our good-byes and Zuko and I headed out to the courtyard to board Appa. He would get us there faster than any airship would.

"You guys ready?" Sokka asked.

"Yup. Let's get moving." Zuko said. I still wasn't awake yet.

Zuko, Sokka, Aang, Toph and I climbed aboard Appa and headed out to Republic City. Katara would stay behind with the children. Aang sat on Appa's head, in control of the reins. Sokka and Toph sat together, Sokka holding her to keep her warm. I thought for more than just warmth. I noticed her death grip on his clothes. She must not be a fan of flying. I sat next to Zuko and a shiver ran down my spine. I had no idea it would be so COLD up here. I felt Zuko move and I looked over as he wrapped his Fire Lord cape around me, warm from his own body heat. I looked at him, pushing it off of me.

"I'll be alright, Sam. You are freezing." He said placing his warm hands on my skin and rubbing it up and down trying warm me with the chaffing of his hand. His hands were significantly warmer than my arms. I slid closer to him, snuggling into his warmth. Him being a firebender, he was pretty much perpetually warm. He breathed his breath of fire on me. It wasn't flame, just warmth. It worked to warm me. I slid even closer to him, and laid my head against his shoulder. My eyes were starting to get heavy. "Go on, Fire Lily. Get some sleep." He said. Zuko was used to rising super early. Ever since we had Izumi, I no longer got up when he did. So I wasn't used to it anymore. He wrapped his arms around me, offering even more warmth and I snuggled into his chest and quickly fell asleep.

I wasn't sure how long we were flying when I felt Zuko gently shake me awake. I opened my eyes and the sun was just peeking over the horizon. I rubbed my eyes, trying to get used to the sudden brightness.

"We will be there in a few minutes, Sam. You should wake up before we get there." Zuko said. I stretched my arms and yawned, waking up even more. I noticed that I was very warm and cozy. His cape was still around me but I was sitting between his legs and mine draped over one of his and resting on the other side of him.

Just like Zuko said, in a few moments time I saw the palace of Xinche appearing in the distance. I sat up and got myself ready for the confrontation. I checked for the documents we had brought along. All of the testimonies the women wrote, I had translated into the common tongue here. Then I had someone make copies of it so we wouldn't be handing over the originals.

Finally, Appa landed in the courtyard of the palace and we walked in, looking for our target. Toph lead the way. Even though she was blind, she somehow was able to tell where Xinche was. We finally arrived at what appeared to be his bedroom. Perfect. At that moment, some guards came rushing us from both sides.

"President Xinche! Invaders!" one of them shouted while they all drew their weapons. Aang stepped forward with his hands out in submission.

"We don't want any trouble. We have reason to believe Xinche has been involved in some illegal activity and we need to confront him with it." Aang said. At these words, the guards stood down. Perhaps they hated Xinche as much as we had grown to. Aang stepped ahead and opened the door.

Xinche, having been alerted by his guards, was standing with his back against the wall and his hand tucked behind his back.

"Wha-what?! What is the meaning of this?! Dammit, where are those USELESS guards?!" he shouted. Charming. I thought.

"It appears your guards have all abandoned you, 'your highness.'" Zuko said, smirking. You could even hear the smirk in his voice. Xinche scooched against the wall, trying to put as much distance between us as possible. Zuko then looked at me. "After you, Fire Lady Samyah." he said. Although usually when he used my full name he was upset or angry with me, this time he spoke with formalities for Xinche's sake. I nodded and stepped forward.

"Xinche. You're probably wondering why we are all here." I said gesturing to my compatriots.

"Yes, you might say that!" he said, irritated.

"Well, as you know, there has been a problem that has been ongoing for all of us for well over a year now. Girls being sold into slavery. Do you recall this? We had a meeting about it at the beginning." I said. Of course I knew he knew this. Can't a cat toy with it's prey?

"Yes, of course I remember it. Despicable, horrible practice." he said. I narrowed my eyes at him. I saw right through him.

"Well, we have been working to help the girls in the Fire Nation, and you know what?" I asked. Before he could reply, I continued, "They all said they recognized you. Peculiar isn't it?" I asked.

"I would say so. I never met any of these girls."

"That's interesting that you say that, because they have all met you and were able to identify you with no prompting." I said. I was carefully watching Xinche's reaction and he reacted to this statement, although minutely. I hadn't forgotten about his hidden hand and was carefully watching him. I was also slowly inching my way towards him. I wasn't sure if he noticed it or if he was so preoccupied with everything, that he failed to.

"See, they told us that they were all brought in front of you and YOU decided if they were 'good enough' to be sold, in what capacity and where they would be going. You are the one who has been spearheading this whole thing all along!" I said.

"What?! That's preposterous!"

"You know, we thought you might say that." I said. I looked back at Zuko who still wore a smirk. Not only was he smirking at the situation, but I could also see pride covering his face. Pride in me. He handed me the documents without taking his eyes off of Xinche.

"See, we have almost a dozen written testimonies stating that YOU are, in fact, the one who has been orchestrating this and then identifying you as the leader of this whole thing. What do you have to say to that?"

"You want to know what I think? I think I have someone I'd like you to meet." he said. He pulled his hand out from behind his back to reveal a black, metal object. No one in the room knew what it was. But I did. It was a gun. A .357 magnum to be precise. He pointed it at us, discharging it four times in a spray, missing his mark each time. Then aimed it right at Zuko. He knew targeting my husband would rattle me. Or, so he thought. Instead, it gave me a hyperfocus.

"NOBODY MOVE!" I shouted to my friends. "Xinche, you really want to go down this road?" I started to creep closer to him and he shifted the gun from Zuko to me. Which was exactly what I wanted. I froze in my steps. "Zuko! Stay put!" I said. I knew he would come to protect me.

"But-"

"No buts, Zuko. I can handle this. Trust me." I said, with no more arguments from Zuko.

"What is that thing?" he asked to which I did not answer. I was already too preoccupied.

"Xinche, what exactly is your plan with that?" I said.

"Come, now Sam-yah." he added when I saw him look at Zuko who must have been scowling at the informality. "Have you forgotten what these things are already?"

"Oh, no. I haven't forgotten. I'm just trying to determine what your plan is. You just discharged that weapon four times. Foolishly, I might add. Now, that is, by the looks of it, a .357 Magnum Colt Revolver which holds six bullets. You discharged four. So that means you have two left. But, you know what? Let's be generous and say there is one yet in the chamber. So we'll give you three bullets. There are more than three of us here. So even if you nail your mark on three of us, you'll still be a day late and a dollar short. We will still overpower you. So I'll ask again. What is your plan here?" He didn't notice it but as I was speaking to him I was slowly inching my way closer and closer to him. I had him distracted with my questions. Keep your audience's attention distracted to the side and they don't notice your slight of hand. He was playing right into my hands.

"I have more bullets in my pocket here, you foolish bitch." he said, patting his side.

"Foolish bitch, huh? Tell me, how long do you expect it will take you to reload that weapon?"

"I-I-I don't know." He said, clearly rattled. "All I have to do is put them in."

"Well, no, first you have to dump out the old casings, and depending on how the hammer hits the bullet, one might get a bit stuck so you have to shimmy it out. THEN you can put the new bullets in. So, I'll ask again? How long do you think it will take? Before any of us can overpower you?" I was trying to rattle him and it was working.

"I th-think it would take me, what? Four s-seconds? Five at the most?"

"Wow! That's impressive! That's faster than some of the best gun slingers in the world!" I said and I inched closer again. Now, I was standing right at the gun. I could easily reach out and twist it from his hand. "You know what I find even more impressive?"

"What is that?" he asked, now starting to lose his nerve.

"That you think you can handle a gun so well when you don't even know how to hold that thing." At that second I reached up, placed one hand on the barrel and the other hand around the hammer and cylinder and wrenched it out of his hand. I turned the gun around, aimed it at his head, and cocked the hammer back. "My, my, how the tables have turned. But, then again, I guess I'm just a foolish bitch." I said smirking, peering down the barrel as I had him in my sights. "I wouldn't suggest trying anything. If you do, I'll place a bullet right between your eyes. And I won't need four shots. I won't even need two, because let's face it: there is no bullet in the chamber." He immediately put his hands up in submission.

As soon as I had the gun, Zuko rushed forward. He stepped forward towards the man. He grabbed ahold of his right hand and twisted his arm, turned him around and shoved him against the wall. As soon as he had him, I lowered the weapon and released the hammer.

"Guards!" Zuko called out. The guards came in, looking confused.

"Cuff him. He needs to be thrown into prison for-" Zuko hesitated, not sure what to call it.

"For crimes against humanity." I added. I didn't really know what we would call it here, but I thought it fit. The guard, although apprehensive, came over and did as he was ordered. We all took a deep breath now that the danger was over.

"What is that thing?" Sokka asked, eyeing the piece in my hand.

"It's a gun. A .357 magnum. Powerful weapon." I said.

"No kidding." he said looking up at the divots in the marble walls. I opened the cylinder and dumped the bullets out into my hand. There were two bullets and 4 empty shell casings. I looked down the barrel to make sure none were stuck in the chamber. I looked up at my husband. "See, I was right. Only two bullets left." I said, which elicited a smirk from Zuko.

Guns hadn't made their way into the Bending Nations. I had loved it that they had stayed so…pure from the rest of the world. Now, that was about to change. Who knew how many other people had guns.

"That was incredible." Aang said. "How did you know how to get it away from him?"

"When I worked for the police in Las Estrellas, we had to all learn basic disarming techniques. Even though I worked behind the scenes, it was part of my training. I never thought I'd need to use it. Well, I guess I never had to until now." I said.

"That's amazing. I'm glad you were here." Aang said. I smiled and I felt Zuko come up behind me, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"Yes, so am I." he said. "Had she not been here, probably at least one of us would have been hurt. You never cease to amaze me, my love."

"I'm glad I was here too. I hate to think what could have happened if…" I didn't want to even finish that thought.

"We will need to meet as the council of nations. Sokka, you think you can represent the Southern Water Tribe for your father?" Aang asked.

"Yes, my father will understand. I'll represent the North and South." he said. Sokka oftentimes did act as ambassador for both tribes since he had a good relationship with the chief of the North. Something about his daughter and Sokka and…the moon? I still wasn't sure of that whole thing.

We decided to meet quickly. Within the hour. We didn't want to be here any longer than we had to be. We all had to get back to our respective homes. Much to her chagrin, we had decided to leave Toph in charge of things until we figured out a more permanent solution. She hated structure and didn't want to have any part of it. But, she also knew that someone had to do it and, her being chief of police here, she made sense.

Xinche would have to answer for his crimes. They had initially wanted to give him the death penalty but I didn't think this wise. I rose my hand.

"If I may?" I said. I never participated much in the decisions of the council but I did have something to say.

"Yes, Sam?" Zuko said.

"I think we should make him a deal."

"What?!" Sokka shouted. "A deal?! Why would be do that?!"

"Because, he has valuable information for us."

"What information is worth him not seeing justice?"

"It isn't ab-"

"Then what is it about?" He interrupted, getting heated despite himself. Zuko finally spoke.

"Sokka, I understand you're very passionate about what happens to Xinche. We all are. But I have learned over the years that if my wife has something to say, it's best to listen. She's got a good head on her shoulders and has affected a lot of the decisions made for our nation. Hear her out." Zuko defended me. He reached over and placed his hand over mine. I looked at him and he smiled, rubbing my hand with his thumb.

"Fine. What's more important than justice?"

"Nothing. This isn't about him not seeing justice. It's about him helping US."

"How could he possibly help us?"

"Oh, I don't know, Sokka. He only knows where EVERY SINGLE HOUSE IS in all of the Bending Nations and probably beyond." I said. After I said this, realization covered his face.

"Oh, Spirits, you're right." he said, and bowed. "Forgive me."

"Of course, Sokka." I nodded at him, smiled and continued. "I want him to see justice. I think if he gives us the information on ALL of the houses in the Bending Nations, then we should take the death penalty off the table and offer him life." I said.

Sokka deliberated for a moment. "You know, you're right. You've made excellent points." Sokka said, then looked at Zuko. "You're right. She is a smart lady." he said, causing me to blush.

"We will have him brought back to the Fire Nation where Zuko can sentence him and we can work on getting the information out of him. Unless someone else wants him to go with them?" I asked. Everyone else shook their heads. It made sense for him to go to the Fire Nation. That was where the first girl was found, that is where all of our witnesses are and that is where the houses have been most prevalent. And no one can really stay here in Republic City for an extended period of time.

"Well, Toph will be but she will have her hands full." Sokka amended eliciting a scoff from Toph.

"Does everyone agree?" Zuko asked eliciting agreements from everyone.

"I think we should take him back on Appa. I don't want to risk him escaping. He's a slippery fish." Aang commented and we all agreed.

With that, we all headed for Appa, Xinche's hands and ankles cuffed, which he did his fair share of complaining about until Sokka told him if he doesn't shut up he will be gagged, unconscious and he'd wake up with a monster headache.

When we arrived back in the Fire Nation, I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing the worst part of this whole nightmare was finally over. Now, to begin healing.