Gladiator

by Seyary-Minamoto

In a world where the Avatar wasn't found, the Fire Nation took over two nations and they strive to overcome the last one. Water Tribe warrior Sokka seeks to fight for his people's rights, but he's captured by his enemies. His life is no longer in his hands as he fights as a Gladiator, and his fate will eventually depend on the Fire Nation Princess, who needs him for her own ends...

305. Chapter 305: Taking Omashu 8

Taking Omashu

8

No one had seen it coming. Merely two days earlier, the regal woman had been perfectly lively as her excitable son told her about his school adventures and the newest firebending kata he had mastered. Today, they stood by her pyre, struggling to understand what had caused her sudden death. It might have been some manner of heart failure, perhaps… but by the time the physicians reached her, nothing could be done anymore. She was gone… and she seemed to have taken her son's innocence with her.

Ursa shivered as she clutched Ozai's hand, chilling cold rushing inside her body. Did he feel just as terrified by the possibility of sudden death, of losing it all, as she did right now? It felt as though Daiyu might just wake up again, laughing off the latest anguishing days as nothing more than an overreaction by everyone, that she might climb off that pyre to take Lu Ten into her arms once more… but Ursa knew it wouldn't happen. It was obvious it wouldn't happen. It couldn't happen, and yet…

Ozai raised an arm, wrapping it carefully around Ursa's shoulders. He reeled her closer to himself, offering her as much comfort as he dared in the funerary hall of the Temple. That single arm was already too bold of him, too intimate for a public display of affection, but Ursa welcomed the breach in protocol all the same.

A year had passed since their wedding had taken place in this very temple. They had been off to a strange start, one where powerful attraction hadn't sufficed to help them communicate at first… but upon overcoming the barriers of intimacy they had never experienced before, their marriage had truly blossomed. On their more peaceful days, they would share their meals with each other and chat casually on the afternoons and evenings as they took walks through the Palace gardens, often sitting underneath the tree Ursa liked best, right by the turtle-duck pond. On their more passionate days, Ozai might even find himself foregoing his daily training only to spend every waking moment with Ursa: sometimes they would visit the theater, either for the musical performances Ozai favored, or the theater ones he constantly seemed bored by, sometimes they would visit the spa together, spending a whole day of blissful relaxation there, a practice that could turn much sultrier whenever Ursa deliberately sent the servants away. Sometimes the nights would blend into mornings, finding them locked around each other in the most blissful of embraces.

They often teased each other over their constantly surging passion, chalking down to duty that they would be quite so taken with each other. Yet the furtive smiles they always exchanged, the pleasant caresses, the stirring conversations… all of it had brought Ursa to find that, in the end, the life of a princess wasn't quite as stiff and burdensome as she had feared it would be. It didn't hurt that Azulon scarcely wanted anything to do with them, perhaps displeased by how attached Ursa and Ozai were to one another, and yet unable to truly protest that closeness: wasn't this, indeed, their duty? They were married… so that they would spend so many hours together, tightening their bond, meant their marriage was bound to be successful, and how could Fire Lord Azulon take issue with that?

It truly had been a wonderful year. Their enjoyment of each other only seemed to increase every day. They would occasionally share meals with Daiyu and Lu Ten, and Ursa got along marvelously with the young man… but their focus was always largely on each other. Daiyu had even commented to Ursa more than once that she had never known Ozai to experience any manner of happiness until he had married her… and Ursa had found much joy in knowing as much, for she, too, felt differently about life, about the world, because he was with her…

And suddenly she found herself facing the inevitability of death. The possibility of losing those she cared for with no warning, their lives snuffed out in the blink of an eye…

She gritted her teeth, trying not to cry, not to embarrass herself or her husband in front of those who had attended the service to mourn the fallen princess… but she could barely contain the tears when Lu Ten, standing closer to the pyre, lowered his head as his shoulders shook with quiet sobs.

She couldn't help herself. It was foolish, she knew it was… but she broke off from Ozai's embrace and knelt beside the boy, cradling him in her arms and letting him cry on her white tunic. Lu Ten's sobs gained further strength as he clung to Ursa, shivering as he found himself alone, so alone, so afraid without the mother who had always been there while his father was off fighting in the war…

"M-my mom…" Lu Ten wept, and Ursa sighed, rubbing his back gently.

"We're here for you, dear. We're here for you," she whispered quietly in his ear. The boy whimpered: clearly, he didn't want her or Ozai: he only wanted his mother and father, and now he knew he'd never see the former again.

Her words, her embrace, wouldn't reassure Lu Ten, Ursa was aware of it… but she couldn't help herself. The boy's tears appeared to have broken something inside her, something she hadn't even known existed until now… and now she comforted him as best she could, knowing she had broken protocol even more abruptly than Ozai had by wrapping that arm around her shoulders.

It felt as though she had been kneeling beside the boy for hours when soft noise spread through the Temple. Ursa forced herself to raise her gaze, even though Lu Ten ignored it… and her heart clenched for the thousandth time since Daiyu's sudden death upon glimpsing the stout Crown Prince, armor soaking wet after arriving in a hurry while a storm raged over the Fire Nation.

He had been at sea over a new assignment for a few days only. News of his wife's demise had reached him when he had still been close by enough to return at haste. Never before had Ursa empathized with a man she thought was a dreadful influence on her husband, a man who seemed to bring the very worst out of Ozai without barely even trying… but today, it was impossible to maintain the distance she always did with him. Even Ozai struggled with retaining his hostility towards Iroh, and he had stepped forward to greet his brother willingly, for once.

They talked quietly for a moment, and Ursa only understood a few words… among which she sensed Iroh's gratitude to both Ozai and Ursa for having watched over Lu Ten during the past few days. Her heart clenched further upon watching as Ozai and Iroh exchanged the first, and who knew if the only, respectful reverence they had ever performed for each other… and then the Crown Prince stepped towards her.

She had never seen him so stricken, eyes bloodshot, face pale. It seemed as though the life had been squeezed out of him, his soul pummeled by this unwanted development… and even then, he managed to open his mouth and speak his son's name:

"Lu Ten."

The boy yelped in Ursa's arms, quickly letting go and rushing towards his father. It was Iroh who knelt now, wrapping his son into a new embrace. Ursa watched them compassionately, and her eyes met Iroh's: the man nodded in gratitude towards her, and she responded in kind before he took to speaking quietly with Lu Ten, who sobbed even more loudly in his father's arms… perhaps finding comfort in knowing his father would be just as heartbroken by Daiyu's sudden death as he was, in having Iroh nearby when he needed him most.

Ursa rose to her feet, wiping the tears that had threatened to escape before marching back to Ozai. He welcomed her graciously, taking her hand in his before cupping her face with the free one.

"Thank you," he said, softly. Ursa's breath hitched, and her tearful eyes met Ozai's. "I… wouldn't have known what to do for him."

"I didn't either. I… I just couldn't…" Ursa whispered, gritting her teeth. "I couldn't stand to see him cry that way. It hurt so much, I just couldn't…"

Ozai nodded, reeling her in for an embrace far too intimate, far too earnest, for their current, public venue. People could see them, and yet neither one cared. Ozai held her graciously, soothing her as best he could… or trying to. For Ursa couldn't easily be soothed after this. Her sister-in-law had died so suddenly, leaving a son and a husband bereft of her company and guidance. She had vanished, and with her, she had taken so much of the stability Ursa had never realized she'd been clinging to: what would she do if Ozai faded away similarly, from one day to the next? What would Ozai do if she left him alone, just as Daiyu had left Iroh and Lu Ten…?

Such thoughts tormented her… but her mind moved in that direction all the same, and Ozai's best efforts to calm her down wouldn't suffice to appease her panic. She clutched at his white robes, as though to never let go… as though to beg him to stay by her side, for she couldn't fathom enduring the pain Iroh and Lu Ten were facing right now upon losing a beloved wife and mother.

The anguish over Daiyu's death affected most everyone who had attended the memorial service… but Ursa herself was astonished by how deeply it was hitting her. It wasn't only the complicated emotions it had elicited inside her… but the odd sensations in her body. Her fears, and the twisting horror over what to do, how to move on after what had happened, appeared to be manifesting physically inside her… to the point where she felt lightheaded, sick, overwhelmed by emotion and unpleasant sensations alike.

She tried to endure it quietly, but Ozai picked up on it soon enough. He asked her if she was feeling unwell, and she shook her head as to dismiss his concerns: the ceremony was about to begin, and they couldn't break protocol now: Azulon had arrived too, even if he wasn't looking at them at all, focused only on Iroh…

But Ursa broke protocol after all when an overwhelming urge to vomit surged within her, when the Head Sage began the first rites to send Daiyu's spirit safely into the next life.

She slipped away cautiously, quietly, trying not to draw attention to herself, but she suspected that she had been too conspicuous, regardless. Ozai found her merely five minutes later, crouched in a corner of the Temple, and she urged him to leave, for her state was most unbecoming of anyone of her social standing. He ignored her words, flying into a panicked frenzy of his own upon confirming she had thrown up, a sure sign of illness he would never have taken lightly… let alone could he take it lightly after what had happened to Daiyu.

Regardless of her warnings, he carried Ursa urgently back to the Palace, ignoring the gazes of the onlookers who appeared perplexed by their behavior. Ursa drove her eyes away from the crowd and focused only on Ozai, on his strength and the security she felt upon being held so close against his warm chest…

Ozai brought her to the physicians' wing in the Palace. The medical staff appeared alarmed by her state. Yet, three hours later, the professionals shared their primary guess regarding her sudden condition:

"I… with child?" Ursa gasped. Ozai, beside her, gaped at the head physician in utter shock as the older man nodded sagely.

"We will monitor your condition for the next few days, of course… but our suspicions point towards that possibility, primarily. It's not certain yet… but we will confirm it as soon as we can, Prince Ozai, Lady Ursa. Rest for now… and congratulations in advance, if we happen to be correct about our suspicions."

The words startled Ursa deeply: congratulations? Would she truly become a mother? She had always known she was supposed to provide her husband with children… but she hadn't thought it would happen anytime soon, let alone right now. It was the worst day to learn of something that, in other circumstances, would have been a blessing for the whole Royal Family to rejoice in…

And yet a spark of joy bloomed in her heart upon having been congratulated. A spark she found in Ozai's eyes too, once their gazes met anew.

"A… child?" Ozai said, astounded by the notion. "That's why you…?"

"It could be," Ursa said, with a weak grin. "I… I know it isn't the best of days for us to learn of this, I wish we'd noticed a few days ago, but…"

"Don't say that. It's… it's not as though we were purposefully attempting to mock the solemnity of Daiyu's memorial. The symptoms began to manifest today, and it was only right for us to learn what's happening as soon as possible. It's only logical."

"I suppose it is, but…" Ursa said…

The very fear that she had meant to convey to Ozai manifested before she could say a word: heavy footing striding towards their room in the physician's wing caused Ozai to rise to his feet instinctively, a heavy frown upon his face.

The door swung open violently, and an irate Fire Lord Azulon stood at the room's threshold.

Ozai's tension seemed to increase, something almost unthinkable considering he had been on edge the whole time. He turned towards his father, stepping closer to the furious man…

"Father… Fire Lord, we should speak outside," Ozai said, firmly.

The response his words received was a backhand, coated with flames, across his face.

Ursa gasped, nearly jumping off the mattress as Ozai froze on the spot. The blow hadn't been strong enough to knock him off his feet… but he had been stunned by it, and that seemed to be exactly what Azulon was aiming for when he unleashed his predictable, furious rant:

"Your brother's wife has only just passed away! How dare you…? How dare both of you?!" Azulon roared, glowering at Ursa from over Ozai's shoulder. She shrank in her position, tendrils of chilling fear encroaching her heart as she gazed at the Fire Lord in sheer horror.

"Father…" Ozai said, through greeted teeth. He stepped back, but only in such a way as to block Ursa from seeing Azulon. "Daiyu's passing was fortuitous. It's but a coincidence, an unfortunate one, but…"

"Don't you dare pretend to deceive me with such claims, there's no chance this was the very first of her symptoms," Azulon hissed. "Or are you truly about to pretend you were unaware of the fact that you might sire a child with your wife by sleeping with her? Is that what you intend to convince me of, you ignorant fool?!"

"It was not intentional," Ozai repeated, shoulders even more squared as he lowered his head. "We won't announce we are expecting a child right now, not until the appropriate mourning period is finished…"

"It won't be finished until well past your child's birth," Azulon growled. Ursa winced in bed, shivering as unsettling goosebumps rushed through her body: was this the kind of disdain and cruelty Azulon constantly inflicted upon his son? She had seen some of it in the past, she and Ozai had spoken about it… but while the Fire Lord was utterly unsettling for her, part of her had hoped Ozai hadn't been truthful about what a monster of a man Azulon was… and yet, today of all days, she was discovering it firsthand. "A respected, esteemed member of this family has passed away tragically, and you not only disrespected her by storming out of her memorial service, the last farewell Iroh and Lu Ten could offer her, but to as good as boast of your own family's growth when your brother's has been cut short…!"

"It is no boast, and I deeply regret we had to leave the memorial service when we did…"

"Then you shouldn't have done it! Your wife should have endured her symptoms: at the very least she's still alive enough to face discomfort and pain while Daiyu lies in a pyre!"

Emotional speeches didn't suit Azulon in the least, a fact Ursa only realized upon hearing those words. The man had never shown much concern for Daiyu or for Lu Ten… he seemed to dote on Iroh, to a fault, but not in an affectionate manner either: Iroh was his heir, the one he had been raising for success all along. Iroh's pain, perhaps, mattered a little to Azulon… but not to the point where he would be justified in wielding it as a weapon through which to strike down Ozai.

They were tools: Daiyu's death, Lu Ten and Iroh's pain… they served as tools for Azulon to mistreat and torment his youngest son, constantly hammering down that he was worthless, that his every achievement was akin to spitting on Azulon's face, that even when he did what was expected of him, it was wrong on some level. No doubt the timing for their discovery of Ursa's pregnancy had been terribly unfortunate… but Ursa struggled imagining that even Iroh would be this upset upon learning of her diagnosis.

"You will keep this matter to yourselves for the next months," Azulon declared. "I will be the one to break the news to Iroh when it I deem it the right moment. And you will not announce this pregnancy publicly. This child of yours… in any other circumstances it would have been celebrated, but now? It's a disgrace. And it's utterly shameful that you would scheme to gain any manner of advantage over your brother when he's grieving for his wife, Ozai: don't you ever dare do such a thing again. Have I made myself clear?"

Ursa expected Ozai to respond by denying Azulon's accusations… for they were, indeed, utterly off-base. The man had to be an incredibly ignorant fool to believe the symptoms of pregnancy could be triggered at will, or that all of Ozai's choices in life were crafted specifically to hinder Iroh, that he had any notion of when Daiyu would pass away… but perhaps Azulon's own choices regarding Ozai were as thoroughly choreographed as he believed his son's were. Perhaps his accusations revealed much more about what a rotten man he was than they did about Ozai…

So she had thought he'd stand his ground, defending the honor of their barely-conceived child, Ursa's honor as well…

"Yes, my Lord."

He bowed his head subserviently.

Azulon scoffed, shooting a glare at Ursa as she laid in bed: the outrage she might have felt at the Fire Lord dwindled and died out when those cold, threatening eyes studied her intently for a moment that felt far too long. It was as though he were weighing her, attempting to unravel whether she was the mastermind behind the plan that didn't exist, the plan that neither Ursa nor Ozai had hatched to mock Iroh… and just so, he was threatening her. One step out of line in Azulon's vicinity would result in consequences she could scarcely fathom.

And so, she couldn't even blame Ozai for not opposing the Fire Lord as Azulon stormed off, without a single word of concern spared to either his son, his daughter-in-law or the grandchild that would likely be born in about eight months. He simply left, disgruntled and fuming, snapping at the guards who had accompanied him, as well as at the physicians themselves, giving out angry orders that became unintelligible with distance.

An urge to cry nearly overwhelmed Ursa once Azulon was gone. Her chest burned with impotency, with resentment at the most powerful man in the Fire Nation… the most unforgiving, heartless father she had ever had the misfortune to meet. She closed her eyes as she tried her best not to lose herself in her emotions – even so, she overheard as one of the guards, who had lagged behind, spoke quietly with Ozai.

"… For what it's worth, congratulations, Prince Ozai."

"Thank you, Shaofeng. Now… go on, hurry. You shouldn't test his wrath any further today."

The man marched away, judging by the footsteps that faded as they blended with the Fire Lord's rants. Ursa covered her face with her hands, struggling to stay calm, until she felt the mattress's weight shifting slightly: she pulled her hands back to gaze at Ozai, finding a vacant, cold fury in his golden eyes as he sat beside her, stroking her hair gently.

"Ozai…" she gasped, reaching up to touch his cheek: a light red mark gave away the place where the flaming slap had struck the left side of her husband's face. "Oh, Ozai, call the physicians, you should…"

"No need," Ozai said, softly. "It… it doesn't sting too badly."

"You're hurt," she said, sitting up on the bed as she gazed at him with utmost compassion. Ozai shook his head.

"It's… nothing. Nothing compared to what he could have done if… if he truly had wanted to hurt me," he said. Ursa gasped.

"He… he did want to. He struck you, Ozai, no father should ever…"

"Indeed, but he is the Fire Lord," Ozai said, bitterly. "And he has never spared any expenses upon attempting to humiliate me. If I ask for assistance over this menial burn, I will be mocked for being weak. If I plead with him to let us announce our child's impending arrival at least a month before the expected date, he might just decide to take the child from us once it's born and toss the baby into the unforgiving tides by the bay, or maybe an erupting volcano, all be it to punish us for some alleged misdeed that never happened, to begin with. Ursa… we cannot underestimate him. We never can underestimate him."

"S-so then you won't fight back, you'll endure everything because… b-because the consequences will be worse?" Ursa asked, aghast. Ozai shrugged.

"My whole life has been like this. I… I'm used to it," he said, simply. Ursa's fist tightened upon her lap. "I've told you as much. There's no point, no purpose to fighting back: he takes it as a challenge of wills, one he refuses to lose. It doesn't matter how much I may resent and despise him… he will never yield against me."

"S-so… what, we have to keep our heads low, acting compliant and obedient with anything and everything he says, no matter how awful it might be?" Ursa asked. Ozai shrugged.

"The child will only benefit from it if we do," Ozai said.

His hand rose, and he deposited it gently upon Ursa's womb. She was used to his touch, craved it on most days, but this time he hadn't caressed her with the desire he often did… instead, this was a tender affection she had never sensed from him before. Her throat choked up, and she gazed at her husband helplessly to find his attention focused on her womb.

"He… surely has been begrudging us for our happiness so far," Ozai whispered. "But he had no choice, no true excuse to berate us for anything until today. We have become prominent in the city, the nobles are thrilled to see us in the theater whenever we visit it… they interpret our visits as proof of the Royal Family's commitment to fine arts and culture. We have done nothing to damage the reputation of the family ever since we were wed, and it must have infuriated him silently until… until he finally had this chance to unleash his rage upon me."

"You… you stepped forward as you did. You even… blocked me from his line of sight at one point," said Ursa, quietly. Ozai lowered his gaze. "Were you trying to protect me from him?"

"I can be compliant and obedient… I can be silent and accept humiliations against myself. But I will not tolerate it if he dares raise his voice, let alone his wretched hand, against you," he said, firmly.

In a moment as unsettling and dark as this one had been, Ursa hadn't expected to experience that odd, thrilling feeling Ozai often elicited in her heart these days. From the moment he had asked her about what she truly wanted, he had been bringing out such strange sensations in her very soul… and across the last year, that feeling had reappeared more frequently every time. Her hand shivered as she raised it to his burned cheek, and she stroked it gently before kissing the lightly damaged skin softly: how many times had Azulon hurt his son physically? She had no clue. He bore no lasting scars across his body… but that was no evidence that Azulon had never struck him in anger, especially after she had seen it happen today.

She cradled him in her arms, bringing him close, even pulling him into the mattress with her without asking if he wished to join her: his ease in falling into her arms suggested it was exactly what he wanted right now. His face rested against her chest, and Ursa laced her fingers through his hair while pressing gentle kisses upon the top of his head. Never had she expected to experience such a powerful, overwhelming need to protect a man… let alone her own husband. Her heart ached with how deeply she grieved for the suffering he had undergone… for the pain she knew he had never truly healed from, across all those years of being raised by an unforgiving, and just so, unforgivable father. If Daiyu's death truly had hurt Azulon, if it had meant something at all, Ursa suspected he would have been just as distant from them as Iroh and Lu Ten were right now… as lost in grief and helplessness as they both had to feel at the moment. To the Fire Lord, Daiyu was but an excuse… a resort through which he could coax Ozai into humiliating himself for his own sick enjoyment… for it didn't matter how furious he was acting: Ursa had no doubts he had enjoyed Ozai's compliancy profoundly.

Growing up this way had to be horrific. His willingness to protect her from Azulon's worst suggested he had suffered in countless ways, but that nothing would hurt him quite as badly as being the source of humiliation for those he cared for: Ursa and their unborn child. Her chest ached as she held him closely, as once again the fears elicited by Daiyu's sudden death ate away at her: she couldn't leave him alone. They were a small family right now, there would be three of them once their child was born… but she resolved to ensure that small family would be stronger, truer, than anything Ozai had experienced in his life so far…

"Do you… have any ideas for names?" Ozai's voice broke off her reverie, and Ursa frowned, puzzled by the question.

"Not quite. I suppose… I assumed you would be the one to choose it, when the time came," she said, stroking Ozai's hair again. He hummed, his hand traveling kindly over her flank.

"Perhaps I should be," he said, and while she found his occasional bursts of arrogance enjoyable at times – namely because they typically resulted in banter that found them falling into bed together – she found very little of his usual smugness in Ozai's tone right now.

"Do you have anything in mind?" she asked. Ozai hummed.

"Why… letting you choose, of course," he said, simply. Her lips curled into a smile for the first time that day.

"So… what, I'll shoot ideas at you, and you will choose whichever you prefer?" she asked. Ozai shrugged. "What if I choose to name our child after the playwright of Love Amongst the Dragons, then?"

"I… will choose not to choose that, of course," he answered bluntly, and Ursa muffled a laugh by burying her face in his hair.

"You truly are merciless, Prince Ozai. It is my favorite play, you realize…"

"I do realize it: we've watched it about thirty times since we got married…"

"Twenty-six. I keep a record of which were the best renditions, didn't you know?"

"Oh. Huh. That's, um… impressive."

"Was that truly the word you were looking for right now? Was it, Ozai?"

"It was. Of course it was. That you can distinguish between twenty-six versions of the same awful thing is…"

"Awful, you say! That is just merciless indeed, you wicked man, you…" Ursa gasped in outrage, poking at his ribs to elicit light laughter from his lips.

She smiled, though: their first argument ever had indeed started over his attempt to persuade her that he had somehow enjoyed Love Amongst the Dragons the first time they had watched it together. Their agreed-upon rule of no dishonesty had seen Ursa triumphing over Ozai, making him confess he had found the entire play utterly dreary and unbearably corny. She had teased him relentlessly that night, playing a rather erotic version of the Dragon Empress to his Dragon Emperor, all in a bid to win over his opinion on the play… and he wound up convinced that the play was far less entertaining than Ursa's recreation of it, a conclusion quite distant from the one Ursa had been looking for. She had surrendered in the end, but her amusement at his distaste over theater hadn't receded in the slightest: she had sworn to find a production of the play to his liking, but he had never found it any more palatable than before.

"Surely you can think of something better for our child's name," Ozai said, raising his head to gaze into her eyes. "I've thought for a long time that… I might choose to name a child after my late mother, were I to have a daughter."

"Ilah?" Ursa asked. Ozai nodded solemnly.

"But the truth is… I don't expect my father would allow me to use her name at all," Ozai admitted, startling Ursa. "He would consider it an insult, rather than any manner of tribute. My mother's health was frail, after all… he thought that frailty could be most easily blamed on her advanced age when she conceived me. So… I suppose I would be better off served by not attempting to honor anyone in this family at all. But… your family might be another story."

"Mine? Oh, I don't think we could ever name our daughter after my mother," Ursa said, eyes wide with horror. "That would most definitely make your father mad with rage…"

"Perhaps a variation of her name, then," Ozai said. "Your parents… were not like him, were they?"

"The Fire Lord is, by far, the worst parent I've ever known," Ursa said. Ozai offered her a pained grin now. "So… no, there's no point of comparison. Not at all."

"They deserve to be honored far more than he does, then," he said, breathing out slowly. "It's but an idea, of course… if you would rather not find a name just yet, it's quite alright. I may… may be getting ahead of myself."

"Are you that thrilled about becoming a father?" Ursa asked, smiling warmly at him. "You do realize it means that our lives will change quite a bit now? We won't be able to be quite as… well, careless in some ways in which we are nowadays. We will likely get very little sleep…"

"We get no sleep these days anyway," Ozai said, with a cheeky smirk. Ursa laughed, shaking her head.

"You shouldn't be quite so proud of that, it's utterly shameless of you," she said. Ozai chuckled. "But… did you always wish to be a father, Ozai?"

"I… don't think so," Ozai admitted. "The truth is… the idea hardly crossed my mind before knowing you. Once we were wed, the thought of children certainly occurred more often but… it didn't seem to be something to take too seriously yet. Now, though, it's… it's more than just a possibility. It's real. We… are expecting a child. I… I don't quite know how to feel about it yet, but I do know that I… I want to be a better father than my own ever was."

"That's far from a high bar to overcome, dear," Ursa said. "He's a monster."

"I know… I know," Ozai whispered quietly, closing his eyes and letting a breath out slowly.

Ursa breathed deeply, caressing her husband's smooth hair again. She bit her lower lip, pondering Ozai's previous words about the child's name… about honoring her parents, rather than his own. She hummed as she came about an answer to his question, a sly grin spreading over her face.

"My father's name… is Jinzuk," she said. "Perhaps… if our child is a girl, we could name her Jinna? In honor of both my mother and my father…"

"Oh. An interesting choice," Ozai said. Ursa bit her lip and pressed a kiss to his brow now.

"And if it's a boy… perhaps I can take just one bit of your name," she said, smiling fondly at Ozai. "By using half of my father's name, and your initial… Zuko."

Ozai blinked a few times before smiling warmly at his wife. He couldn't resist the urge to hoist himself slightly, kissing her lips tenderly.

"That… that sounds good. Both sound good," he agreed. Ursa smiled brightly before kissing his lips again.

His warm embrace ensured she would feel safe and sound that night they spent in the physicians' wing, brought closer together by the troubling circumstances in which they had learned of the child they were expecting. Slowly but surely, they cleansed their hearts from the fears elicited both by Daiyu's sudden death and Azulon's unwarranted fury, eased by the knowledge that, regardless of whatever might come next, the slowly growing affection between them had bloomed into a new life that Ursa would bring to the world only eight months later...

"Ursa? Lady Ursa…?"

The female voice calling her name brought Ursa back from her memories with a sudden jolt: Ursa breathed deeply, casting an uncertain glance at Michi, who sat quietly beside her, a cup of tea by her table.

The governor's residence in Omashu remained a key location for the rebels well after the Fire Nation control over the city had been broken. Ukano and his family continued to live there under house arrest, and Ursa had dropped by to visit them on that day. Other members of her son's group would often visit the building too, and Ursa believed Aang and Katara were somewhere downstairs while their friend Kino practiced his tsungi horn skills at the balcony: she and Michi had welcomed him to practice at will, entertaining them with his slightly clumsy musical antics while the noblewomen spoke about the near two decades that had gone by since they had last met. Tom-Tom kept making outlandish requests from Kino, complicated songs that the rookie musician had never heard before, and he kept responding by playing childish songs that, regardless of Tom-Tom's insistence by asking for complicated music, he enjoyed plenty anyway. Right now, they were singing a song about a battle between the sun and the clouds, and Tom-Tom's screeching as he sang the song was even louder than Kino's performance with the tsungi horn.

How the blazes Ursa had dazed off quite so effectively while such noise drifted out from that one corner of the balcony, she had no idea, but she smiled slightly upon recognizing the sounds of the familiar Fire Nation song. She turned to Michi quickly, lightly brushing her own hair with her fingers.

"Do excuse me, I… this happens to me sometimes. I lose myself in thoughts that… well, it's not important," she said, breathing deeply. "What were you saying, Michi?"

"Oh, merely that having Tom-Tom has been a blessing in life of course. He's really changed the way I look at parenting, and goodness, I wish Mai could understand that… though I also wish I'd done better with Mai, all things considered. If your daughter wants nothing to do with you, who's to blame for it? I suppose I could be selfish and pretend it's all on her end, but… I have reflected on how different I've been with Tom-Tom and perhaps it really isn't all just her."

"It surely isn't," Ursa whispered, with a sad smile. "I have no doubts Azula and Mai must have bonded much over what unbearable mothers we've been to them…"

"I… well, I suppose it's possible," Michi said, with a grimace. "They were too young to understand our struggles, though. Life wasn't easy for us either…"

"And yet that's no excuse for making theirs harder than they needed to be," Ursa whispered. Michi's breath caught in her throat. "At any rate… I was truly surprised to hear you'd had another child. They're… twelve years apart?"

"Thirteen, actually," Michi admitted, with a dry grin. Ursa's eyes widened. "Yes, that's the common reaction…"

"Well, it's only… the difference between Iroh and Ozai was fifteen, I believe, and it was quite taxing for their mother. I'm glad you remained in good health, despite the risks," Ursa said, with a weak smile. Michi hummed, and a spark in her eyes told Ursa that the conversation would shift away from any pleasant topics now:

"Lady Ursa, I know I don't really understand much, but you… you've truly assisted the White Lotus and, well, the Gladiator and his group in coming this far against Fire Lord Ozai?" she asked. Ursa raised her eyebrows. "I… I'm sorry, I just struggle understanding… why would you ever turn against your husband this way? It's… it's so difficult to fathom…"

"I'm glad it is," Ursa said, surprising Michi. "I suppose… I could put it this way: can you imagine any circumstances in which Ukano might ever raise a hand at Tom-Tom?"

"What? Oh, of course not!" Michi gasped. Ursa offered her a weak grin.

"Had Mai not married her husband, but if she had been caught in a compromising situation with a man outside of wedlock…" Ursa said, breathing out slowly. "Do you think your husband would have shamed her before the whole world, or would he have protected her from their scorn, perhaps even hidden away what she'd done, maybe attempting to help her dodge any unwanted consequences for her choices?"

"I… w-well, I do not know, but…" Michi said. Ursa raised her eyebrows.

"You and I… we were far too proper to even conceive the concept of any dalliances out of wedlock," she said. "In my youth, I would have turned up my nose at so much as the thought of giving myself to the 'wrong' man, for I'd spent my whole life waiting to be matched with my ideal husband. Whenever I heard of anyone who had gone through the humiliation of being caught in illicit relationships, I took pride in being different… in not making such mistakes. And yet now… now that I'm so much older, I find myself incapable of seeing Azula as anything but a child, my child, and… and she truly isn't one anymore. She loved a man. She loved him dearly enough to sacrifice everything she worked for, across her whole life, to keep him out of Ozai's warpath. How… how could I ever dismiss her suffering, the ordeals she has endured for his sake? How could I possibly pretend to judge her for loving someone when I…? When neither you nor I were ever quite so brave as to simply love someone without the express approval of our families?"

She smiled sarcastically, then dabbed at a tear that nearly spilled from her eyes. A deep sigh shook her as she gazed up at the afternoon sun, her heart clenched, painfully so.

"I thought I knew Ozai," Ursa continued. "I thought… that he wanted to be a better father than his own. He said as much to me, even. He swore he'd do his best by our family, by our children… and then I woke up one day, looking in the golden eyes of my son, to find he had been burned and scarred for life by his father's hand. One day, I learned my daughter had lost everything because her father had taken it all from her. The child he had prized and preferred, the one he had proclaimed to the four winds as his true heir… and he hurt her in inconceivable ways just because she dared love a man from a Water Tribe."

"A… a slave," Michi clarified: Ursa's eyes narrowed dangerously as she glanced at her friend form the corners of her eyes. "I'm only saying, it's not…"

"My son married a woman who was also demoted into slavery," Ursa said, firmly. Michi winced. "I do not know her… but I have no doubts that a woman who was raised as a Kyoshi Warrior, and who spent years overcoming the horrors slavery inflicted upon her, should be a hero to the rest of us. The condition of our birth is not what determines our worth… a fact I should have learned far sooner than I did. But I suppose… it takes feeling utterly helpless in the face of someone more powerful than yourself to understand as much. Had I been half as strong as Azula, perhaps I wouldn't have spent all those years as the White Lotus's… guest. Had I been half as strong as Sokka, I might have found a way to change Ozai for good… to ensure he would never, ever, hurt our children as he did. He is an admirable man, Michi… the more I get to know him, the more I understand why my daughter would develop such powerful feelings for him. He's about half our age and yet he's wiser than we could ever hope to be. And just… look at what he has achieved. A man capable of conquering a city like Omashu by turning your own forces against you…"

"I know, I know, but… oh, it all sounds so strange to me, even now, Lady Ursa," Michi said, shaking her head. "We saw them together. We hosted them twice in this very residence, and… well, perhaps there was something to suggest they had a closer bond the last time they were here, surely, but he was merely a gladiator. He would follow her wherever she might go, it seemed, he was… her supporter, I'd say? And…"

"That sounds lovely," Ursa said, with a gentle grin. Michi winced.

"Lovely?"

"Of course. His feelings for her are… are truly marvelous," Ursa laughed softly. "A man capable of fighting against whole nations to return to the woman he loves? It's the subject of legends, of fairy tales… and yet we're seeing it in the flesh in him. And it's not because it's a quest of pride, of revenge… no, he truly loves her. He truly loves her."

"I… I suppose he does," Michi said, breathing deeply. "But it's not his place to love her. Were she anyone other than the Fire Lord's daughter, I might think this to be terribly romantic, but…"

"It is even more so because she's the Fire Lord's daughter," Ursa said. Michi blinked blankly. "You disagree?"

"I… I can't help but disagree. Omashu was at peace… and it isn't anymore because of him."

"I have the feeling Omashu's residents felt the exact same way when the Fire Nation's forces first attacked and invaded their homes."

Michi's eyes widened as Ursa stared at her, with a deadpan, blunt judgment across her features. The noblewoman lowered her gaze, shamed and guilty.

"You care deeply for Ukano. I dare not say whether you love him or not… but perhaps you do," Ursa said. "Imagine what it feels… to truly hold affection in your heart for a man whose true, beautiful potential you could see from the moment you met him. For a man who swore to protect you and your family forevermore… only to learn, years later, that he squandered all that potential and destroyed every hope you ever held for him. To find that… that he broke your children's hearts and surely bears no regrets for doing so. Imagine it for a moment, Michi... imagine Ukano punishing and scarring your son permanently, imagine him destroying your daughter's life, and then, perhaps, you might see my side. Then, perhaps, you'll understand how it's unfathomable to me that… that my own husband proved capable of the harm he's done. But if he could do this to his own children… if he could be even worse to them than his father was to him, inflicting no end of torment to them both, why, I cannot possibly play the meek, compliant and innocent wife, pretending that my sole priority should be my husband's happiness."

"Did you… love him?" Michi asked. Ursa's fists clenched. "I know I do love Ukano, both of us had arranged marriages but love did bloom in ours, after some time, and…"

"I don't know," Ursa whispered, startling Michi. "Perhaps I do. And perhaps that's why this betrayal hurts in places I didn't know I had in me. Perhaps I do, and… and that's why I cannot forgive him for what he's done. Because… my love for him, if that's even what I should call it, does not blind me. There are no excuses… no ways to twist reality into something bearable, not after he has brought such harm and grief to those he was supposed to protect. You might never understand this pain, Michi… if you don't, then you're most definitely a fortunate woman, a fortunate wife. I certainly wish this unto no one, let alone you… but you cannot ask me to be loyal to a man who has been as disloyal to our family as Ozai has been. He… he has as good as destroyed it by now. I cannot forgive him. I will not forgive him. Whatever lingering feelings I may have for him… sometimes love is not strong enough to make heinous faults easy to dismiss. A love without such burdens… it sounds like an impossible dream, and yet that seems to be what my daughter and her Gladiator experienced. I certainly admire Sokka, and I will always encourage him to find his way back to Azula. His heart is in the right place… and everything you might take offense to, in his actions and choices, is something the Fire Nation has already done first. Complaining about my support of him… it should require you to look back and think on your support of the Fire Nation's cause so far. We did no less than what they did in Omashu. In fact… it seems most campaigns the Fire Nation waged were far crueler than what happened here. If our nation's cause was somehow justified… how could theirs be unforgivable, when they fight for love while we fought for, what: power? Riches? Resources?"

"The greatness of… of the Fire Nation," Michi said, dejectedly. Ursa gazed at her meaningfully.

"Can a nation call itself great when it punishes and torments its people? When the man leading it could punish and torment his own children with no remorse?" she asked. Michi grimaced. "I cannot support him. I will not support him. Were I to find my way back to him at all, I wouldn't hold my tongue. I would say everything I've said to you, without a shred of a doubt."

"He mourns for you," Michi said. Ursa grimaced. "Every year in the festivals, in memorial day… there's a shrine in your honor, Lady Ursa. He refuses to take any other wives, lovers, anything…"

"And that should make me overlook what he actually did with the product of our marriage?" Ursa asked, even if her voice trembled upon hearing Michi's words. "A shrine for me… Sokka mentioned that too: what meaning is there in such a display of honor and respect when he's hurt Zuko and Azula as he has? He is my husband, he always will be… and that's precisely why I, of all people, refuse to bow down and play the meek wife who cannot have a single thought of her own. It's not like he'd be all that surprised to learn that I won't be subservient and compliant, anyway… I did my best not to ever be that throughout our marriage."

"I… oh, I really cannot imagine what it's like to be in your place right now," Michi said, shaking her head. "Perhaps I should stop trying to reason with it, or to convince you of anything you don't want to do…"

"Perhaps you truly should. I won't change my mind," Ursa said, with a sad smile. "I know you mean well… I know you prefer to avoid violence. But unfortunately, I cannot pretend that I could ever return to being the woman you once knew. She… she was quite despicable, if I may say so myself."

"You weren't…" Michi said, as Ursa laughed softly, shaking her head…

And then the excitable shrieks of Tom-Tom startled both women out of their conversation.

"It's a bird! Mom, it's a bird!"

Kino yelped, setting down the tsungi horn: a messenger hawk sped its way towards the governor's residence, its ribbon waving violently in the air as the creature flew at full speed… and it took the former soldier only an instant to understand why: spears were being flung at the creature, even a few archers tried to take it down, and the messenger hawk simply flew single-mindedly, dodging all projectiles on its way to the governor's residence.

The raised voices of the guards, their cries to stop the bird, didn't achieve much: the creature flew into the balcony, and Kino had to yank Tom-Tom out of the way so the hawk wouldn't collide with him. It flew clumsily, flapping its wings recklessly in the balcony's area, compelling everyone to shield their eyes from the creature's talons… until it finally found purchase on the balcony's banister.

"A messenger hawk… from the Fire Nation mainland?" Michi gasped, a hand covering her mouth.

Kino stepped towards the bird cautiously, gesturing at the guards outside not to make any rash moves. The creature still appeared to be on edge, and it flinched away from Kino when he moved too fast, so he slowed down, and only then did the hawk allow him to remove the contents of its cylindrical container…

A container with a black ribbon fastened upon it.

"It's… it's a black ribbon," Kino said, holding the small scroll in his hands, turning towards Ursa and Michi with wide eyes. "It's a direct message from the Fire Lord."

---

"So… I've finally spoken properly with the current leader of the Enforcers," Sokka announced, once he took his seat at the table in Bumi's half-refurbished Palace.

The rebuilding of the place was going well, though it looked nothing like it had before, according to Yung, but Bumi appeared thrilled by all the changes. He seemed to relish in making outlandish and odd requests, such as a network of internal sleds that connected all rooms seamlessly instead of corridors – for now, however, the White Lotus's current war table stood at the very entrance of the building, so none of them had to use the sleds Bumi had been quite adamant about featuring in his new home.

Their progress in planning forward had been slow but steady: Omashu's old weapons manufacturing systems were set to work once more, furnishing their forces with more supplies and means to defend themselves. As for food, Omashu's current status, while cut off from regular trade, had resulted in a slightly uncomfortable situation with the fortress: the large territories now were in the obligation to produce food not only for those who had stayed behind in the fortress, but for the city of Omashu, as well. The White Lotus would have to move on soon, for at this rate, they might just run the city and the fortress dry of reserves within a few weeks.

Thus, the current council of the White Lotus, all of whom had traveled to Omashu by now, met every day to ensure their plans for the future were on the right track. Omashu's reinstated sovereignty as an Earth Kingdom city would have to be guaranteed before they left, and Sokka could only hope that it would remain strong and stalwart afterwards. But for now, he had other things to worry and think about:

"From what Koemi told me, it seems Ozai has split the duties of overseeing the Enforcers between two of his favorite goons: all Enforcers abroad report to War Minister Qin, and the ones in the Fire Nation to General Shaofeng."

"A strange man, that one," Piandao said, frowning. "Qin is little more than a bullying bureaucrat, but Shaofeng…"

"He's vile," Sokka said, gritting his teeth. "It feels like Ozai picked him to spite Azula, if anything. No one's more likely to actively work to destroy her legacy than that bastard."

"But it isn't only that he's spiting her," Iroh said. Sokka's eyes narrowed dangerously, as they ever did, whenever he heard the old man's voice. "His willingness to feature his closest circle in multiple positions of power suggests… paranoia. War Minister Qin and General Shaofeng have significant duties as it is: Ozai didn't dare risk promoting any existing officers of the Enforcers, he preferred handpicking his allegedly trustworthy subjects for the role instead."

"And you think his paranoia will be of use for us?" Sokka asked. Iroh shrugged.

"It suggests he's not of the soundest mind, even now. Whether that will benefit our cause or not, it remains to be seen," he said. "Do the local Enforcers have any manner of correspondence with their fellow Enforcers elsewhere?"

"No," Sokka said, shaking his head. "As usual, they knew very little. That they were aware of War Minister Qin's current duties as their most highly ranked overseer seems to be as far as their knowledge goes."

"We are familiar with those men, and with the character of their hearts," Jeong Jeong said, frowning "As Master Piandao has put it, War Minister Qin is far from a threat on his own. He's a spokesman for Fire Lord Ozai, if even that. General Shaofeng certainly is someone to be much more cautious of…"

"He's a bastard, and with more power every day, apparently," Sokka said, shaking his head. "At any rate, the Enforcers can't communicate with those of the other cities, so the rest of the Enforcers aren't going to join our armies preemptively. They will have to be convinced to join forces with us everywhere we go, much as they did in Omashu."

"But they are likely to join, even if we shouldn't take for granted that they will. It's one potential cluster of reinforcements, if the right persuasion is achieved," Iroh said, stroking his beard.

"How many contacts do you have in Ba Sing Se?" Jeong Jeong asked him.

"About a hundred. It sounds like much… but in a city that big, it truly might not be a significant number," Iroh admitted. "It's possible that they will be able to recruit others once we reach their walls, however."

"As long as we play our cards right, a hundred troops' worth of reinforcements will be helpful," Sokka said, eyes set on the map spread across the table before him. "They won't likely turn the tide of the battle all on their own, but as long as we waste nothing and are as efficient as possible, their aid could be significant. All things considered, the Water Tribe only had about two hundred warriors when the Fire Lord sent his troops… and we survived."

"Eight people turned the tide in Omashu within a single day," Piandao reminded Sokka, who smiled slightly at his words. "I think it's safe to say that Ba Sing Se will be a challenge, but not one we cannot overcome. As long as we cooperate effectively, all should go well."

Sokka was about to nod when he heard strange noises, footsteps outside the Palace's open doors. He frowned, glancing in that direction, and about five seconds later, his eyes fell upon the shapes of Ursa and Kino.

"Sokka…! Sokka!" Kino exclaimed: the two rushed as quickly as they could into the building, eyes wide with confusing, unexpected fear…

Kino clutched a scroll tightly in one of his hands.

Sokka rose to his feet immediately, approaching the running pair while the rest of the White Lotus leaders sat behind him, scrutinizing Kino's urgency warily. The young man breathed heavily before raising the closed scroll towards Sokka, eyes still wide with fear.

"A… a messenger hawk just came into the city," he said, swallowing hard. "The troops tried to attack it but… it dodged everything anyway. S-Sokka… it was a black ribbon message."

Sokka's eyes widened too. He heard the rustling of the others behind him, rising to their feet… and his hand trembled as he glared at the scroll intently.

"Is it…?" he asked, glancing at Kino warily. "Did you confirm it was sent by…?"

"I didn't, we didn't dare open it ourselves, but… that can only mean one thing," Kino said, swallowing hard. "It's either a message sanctioned by the Fire Lord... or a message sent by him, directly. It came to the governor's residence, so…"

Sokka snarled, fists tightening as he breathed deeply for a moment: why? Ukano had claimed Omashu had been cut off from any communication over the past months… but Ozai had sent a message right now? It made no sense… not unless something, somehow, in all their attempts to keep Omashu's conquest quiet, had slipped through their fingers.

"Gladiator… remain level-headed," Jeong Jeong said, firmly. Sokka winced. "Whatever you may feel about that message is not more important than its contents. Read it, and we will decide what course of action to take afterwards."

"Fine… fine," Sokka said, breathing deeply before unfolding the scroll.

Ursa stepped closer to him, no doubt hoping to catch a glimpse of the letter herself. Sokka eyed her with uncertainty… finding a streak of distraught recognition in her gaze.

"Is it his handwriting?" he asked. Ursa gritted her teeth and nodded.

Sokka breathed deeply before finally forcing himself to read the letter. His hands shook slightly, rage and anxiety mixed into one…:

Governor Ukano,

Word has reached War Minister Qin of odd happenings in your city. Firstly, there are claims that a herd of moose-lions or similar creatures are barring the sole access to Omashu, preventing trade and commerce from flowing freely. Your forces should have handled this threat before it became a problem that could impact the economic stability of the city. Secondly, a merchant seems to have succeeded at crossing the bridge into your city, only to be turned away at the gates under the claim that no commerce would be had in Omashu for the time being. There has been no information from your city to suggest that you are not in the capacity to welcome merchants from other settlements. Your guards had no official reason to turn away this merchant. Thirdly, the guards themselves are an issue: they were reported to be serving out of uniform when they rejected the merchant. I can only wonder as to what sort of convoluted explanation do you expect you could provide for the state of chaos Omashu is said to be in.

These claims may be idle gossip, chatter meant to disparage you: I expect you to confirm that's the case. Send word to explain what you intend to do to resolve these issues or to explain, instead, why any such vile rumors would stir in the Colonies if you did not commit any heinous blunders in Omashu's administration. Such mismanagement is unacceptable in any city of the Fire Nation, just as it is in any city of the Colonies. If your explanations are unsatisfactory, I may demand that you explain yourself in person, and you may lose your position if I deem you unfit of governing Omashu, a conclusion I would rather not reach after so many years of service.

Do not test my patience. Send word at once.

Fire Lord Ozai

Sokka snarled as he finished reading the letter. He had heard of the incident with the cabbage merchant, but he had hoped a single possible loose end would not cause too many problems… of course, it was just his luck that a single loose end would happen to reach Ozai, of all people.

"Fuck him," Sokka hissed, lowering the letter. Jeong Jeong stepped forward, stretching out a hand so Sokka would hand the scroll to him. The Gladiator did so irritably, rubbing his brow with his fingertips as he paced in the room.

"What did he say?" Piandao asked, frowning.

"He found out something's off in Omashu. That whole mess with the cabbage merchant… somehow, War Minister Qin heard about it," Sokka snarled, hands on his hips now. "And he's asking Ukano to report back and tell him what's going on immediately or there will be repercussions."

"What sorts of repercussions?" Iroh asked. "Or did he not clarify…?"

"Destitution as governor, for starters, but he's bound to make it worse than that. With a bastard like Ozai, anything's possible," Sokka growled, shaking his head.

"If he just wants a message, though… maybe we can forge one again?" Kino suggested… but Ursa was the one to shake her head.

"It's a direct message to a governor. It can only be answered by the governor himself, anything else will lead him to conclude that Omashu is no longer under his perfect control," Ursa said. Sokka hummed.

"Which isn't a lie, but…" he said, hand on his chin. "Evidently, Kino shouldn't be the one to forge the message now, but… Ukano isn't dead. He's perfectly able-bodied, he's in good enough shape to write a message to appease Ozai, isn't he?"

"And how will he go about doing such a thing?" Jeong Jeong asked, frowning as he lowered the letter. "The message… the information Ozai has acquired does not seem like anything we can easily spin into tall tales that he would swallow carelessly. The guards seen out of uniform, the claim that the city is not receiving any commerce… if he attempts to confirm the veracity of these claims through any outsiders, they will be certain to let him know the moose-lions are indeed outside the city, and if they happen to be lucky, they might just catch a glimpse of our men by the walls, too. What could Ukano say to appease Ozai, in these circumstances?"

"That's what we need to unravel… though we also need to confirm he'll be willing to write this letter for us," Sokka said, frowning. "He may have surrendered, but that might not mean that Ukano will agree to everything we ask of him right away."

"Perhaps you should go persuade him while we work on preparing the contents of the letter," Iroh said. "He seems particularly daunted by you."

"And you may be too emotionally compromised to make the right decisions on how to answer Ozai, at this moment," Jeong Jeong said. Sokka scowled in his direction. "Speak to Ukano, ensure we have a solution, and I'm sure you will be more level-headed."

"Right," Sokka said, skeptical. "Do you truly think you can cover all our bases in that letter?"

"We will try…" Jeong Jeong said… but he frowned when Ursa stepped forward, surprising them all.

"I don't… don't think I still know my husband as well as I once believed I did," she said, staring at the floor at first… but she raised her gaze with sheer determination moments later. "But I may be able to think of a few ways to steer his concerns clear off Omashu, as long as he hasn't become a wholly different person than who he was twenty years ago."

"Ursa… you're sure?" Piandao asked, eyeing Ursa with concern. She nodded promptly.

"There isn't much I can do to be of service… but I may just have enough insight into how Ozai's mind works to help you pull this off," she said.

"Hmm. Your input will be of use, Lady Ursa," Jeong Jeong confirmed: he eyed her warily… though not with disapproval. Iroh appeared profoundly apprehensive, but he expressed no complaints over Ursa's proposed course of action. "Gladiator… you'll handle persuading Ukano?"

"Yeah," Sokka said, nodding. "But… you all realize that, whatever happens, even if we succeed at persuading him and he writes the letter exactly as we want him to, we need to get going at once?"

"We cannot rush our plans to Ba Sing Se much more than we already have," Jeong Jeong said. Sokka breathed deeply.

"I know we've said as much… but we need to organize our troops. To expand all recruitment attempts in this city, and to start marching as fast as possible," Sokka said, firmly. "Ozai's willingness to believe Ukano's letter will be irrelevant if we take Ba Sing Se. If the letter is successful, we will buy ourselves some time… but we still need to move out, at haste."

"We shall, Gladiator. We shall," Jeong Jeong nodded.

He had grown used to being called Gladiator, perhaps he even found it fitting… while the title of General Sokka still felt inaccurate. He had been hearing people addressing him that way all across the past weeks, but he couldn't shake off the discomfort it still brought him. Perhaps one day it would fit better… but perhaps he was better off known as the Gladiator, anyway.

Sokka rushed out of the Palace, followed by the nervous Kino who explained more about how the letter had arrived and how lucky they were that the hawk had been quite so skillful in its flight. Sokka only seemed to be listening to half of Kino's words, nodding absentmindedly as his fists trembled: it was the first time he had any direct communication from Ozai since the fight at the Grand Royal Dome.

He had shouted all manner of insults at Sokka… he had certainly commanded Azula to be quiet while she screamed, too. Shaken as he had been in the damn Arena, wounded and close to broken, Sokka couldn't remember any of what the blasted Fire Lord had said that day… but he could fill in the gaps of his memory quite easily, all the same.

The urge to reveal himself, to rush the Fire Nation at once and attack Ozai when he mistakenly thought Sokka to be dead, tempted him strongly. His reckless pride, his utter hatred for the Fire Lord, all of it had come together to encourage him into finishing this war as soon as possible… but he couldn't do it. This was exactly what Jeong Jeong had warned him about, the reason why he had sent Sokka away… he had to calm down. He hated Ozai, of course he did… but his plans to keep his survival secret until Ba Sing Se was taken were a far better blow to Ozai's wretched ego than anything else he could possibly think of. Impulsiveness, recklessness, were not the answer: Ozai was notoriously irrational, proud and not particularly strategic. His likely chaotic reactions were something to take advantage of, and the best way to do so would be by having two different cities, crucial ones, under Earth Kingdom control once more. The Fire Nation army was always spread too thin, after all… he wouldn't have it easy to choose which city to attack if Sokka conquered both of them and revealed himself to have survived Ozai's assassination attempt in the far more defensible Ba Sing Se…

"D-do you need something, Gladiator?"

"Sokka?"

Sokka snarled, shaking his head: he had walked absentmindedly into Ukano's study, where the man sat often nowadays, reading old books, simply relaxing now that the city was no longer in his control. The former governor had been startled by their sudden arrival, more so by Sokka's dark silence and furrowed brow. Even Kino had been confused by it, but Sokka breathed out slowly and patted his friend's shoulder kindly before focusing anew.

"Ukano," Sokka said. "Your services are required."

"W-wait… what? The White Lotus needs me?" Ukano asked, frowning. "I've already told you, I'm not a firebender, I'm not much of a combatant either. Do you want to use my family funds, by any chance? I suppose I can afford to lend you some money, but…"

"I don't need money: I need you to answer the letter Fire Lord Ozai has sent to you," Sokka said, bluntly.

Ukano's jaw dropped. He sat in place, in silence, for a good half minute, unable to say anything, to process Sokka's request, while the Gladiator struggled to explain himself.

"He has sent a letter demanding explanations for the apparent mismanagement of Omashu," Sokka finally said. "The others are composing a potential answer for you to transcribe into a letter, but it needs to be written with your personal handwriting…"

"No," Ukano said, his voice hitching upwards with a hint of insolence. Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"No? Huh. You really think you can refuse us?" he asked. Ukano shrugged.

"Of course I can. You need my help, and I don't need to provide it to you," he said. "Are you about to become as bad as you claim Fire Lord Ozai is, threaten my wife and son so I cooperate with your schemes? Most certainly not. I have accepted surrendering, but I will not betray the Fire Lord and I will not lie to him at your behest just because you need me to bail you out of trouble. Absolutely not."

"Fascinating," Sokka said, with a dry grin. "So… say that we don't answer him. Say Ozai loses his temper, and he summons a member of your family to his court. You know, the one who happens to live in his city? And he demands that she communicates with you too, so that you may give him what he wants. If you continue to refuse… then he'll take out his fury on her. Is that what you want to risk?"

"That's only one possible scenario, and I don't believe Fire Lord Ozai would…"

"I didn't believe Fire Lord Ozai would be quite as stupid as to destroy his daughter's life. What the hell makes you think he wouldn't do it to yours, if he slept like a baby after doing it with his own?" Sokka asked, snarling. Kino clasped his shoulder, as though to reel him back from his unusually aggressive mental state, but it wasn't much use.

"I… listen, Gladiator, I don't think you want to hear this, but the truth is that at this point, nothing I can say will ever justify what has happened in Omashu. Whatever he wanted me to answer for, whether your team figures out the perfect, honeyed lies for me to convey or not, he will be suspecting something's wrong already and he may just destroy your entire scheme before it can unfold. Whatever you intend to do next… you will fail, it's only a matter of time before you do. The Fire Nation army is too strong… and yours, simply, is not."

"And yet that strong army fell against my weak one within a single day in this city," Sokka said. Ukano winced.

"Mainly… because we weren't warned," he said. Sokka huffed.

"I don't intend to give him warning next time either, and having you answer his letter makes perfect sense in order to achieve that," Sokka said, with a dry grin. Ukano huffed. "Curses, you nobles…"

"I know you're frustrated, and I understand you believe your cause is just… but you would not betray your nation, would you?" Ukano asked. "You seem a man of ideals, of convictions… even if I threatened you, you wouldn't fold and bend over, handing your whole tribe over to your enemy just because you're scared, right?"

"I suppose you could say that… that not every man has a price," Sokka said, though his eyes gleamed with an intelligent spark suddenly. "I know that's true for me, but… you've said it yourself, you're no fighter. You're just a politician… and not all that good at your job, from what I understand."

"Now, that's just rude…!"

"Politicians… are the very people who seem most determined to believe that every man does have a cost," Sokka said, folding his arms over his chest. "I'm just wondering what yours might be."

"D-didn't I just tell you I don't have one?! I won't betray the Fire Nation for…!"

"For your family?" Sokka asked. Ukano froze on the spot. "No, no, I don't mean your wife or son… I mean Mai."

"Mai… w-what do you mean? You won't actively put her in the line of fire somehow, will you?" Ukano asked, frowning. "It's not like you could possibly do that, to begin with, not from here…"

"I'm afraid I have resources that go quite far, and quite wide… but that's not what I meant," Sokka said, stepping closer and sitting on the chair across Ukano's desk, placing a hand on the hard table. "Write this letter for the Fire Lord… and I'll let you reach out to your daughter."

"What?!" Kino gasped. Sokka glanced at him.

"We'll check that message too. We'll make sure there's no codes, no information that could give away what has happened in Omashu," Sokka confirmed. "He'll be able to reassure her… to let her know her family is safe and sound, unharmed in Omashu, without giving away that the city has been conquered. By the time we're ready to let the Fire Lord know of what we've done, Mai will likely fret and fear… but if she knows you're safe, if she receives word from you, she will be much calmer. If Ozai attempts to question her… well, she'll be much better off facing him while being a lot sounder of mind than I am right now. And what better way for her to achieve that than by reaching out to her and letting her know you're safe?"

"I… I don't… I don't know," Ukano said, eyeing Sokka warily. The Gladiator glared at him intently. "I… I don't wish to have any role in… in this madness. In deceiving the Fire Lord… i-it's unthinkable to me. I…"

"Ozai is already learning of what's happened in Omashu," Sokka said. "Even if someone somehow claims you fought to the last moment… the fact that you're alive rather than dead will convince him that you didn't fight hard enough. He's willing to sacrifice anything for his wretched purposes, Ukano, he always has been. He sent over a thousand men to their deaths in the South Pole, and I have no doubts he would send even more to the same fate if he thought they'll have a better shot at killing me. If he finds out that you sat across me at your desk, talking this way, do you really think it'll make a difference to him whether you were attempting to remain loyal to him or willingly conceding anything I asked of you?"

"I…" Ukano grimaced, eyeing Sokka with uncertainty. The Gladiator frowned heavily, his blue eyes gleaming coldly.

"Think properly about what kind of man the Fire Lord is. You know him… I know him. He plays the merciful lord only to stab people in the back whenever they expect they can lower their guard. He has not only sent his soldiers to their deaths… he has outright commanded an assassin in his employ to murder his own people because he believed them to be cooperating with the White Lotus. I know this for a fact, I literally fought to uncover that truth with Azula, and the outcome nearly broke her: he doesn't give a damn about anything but his power and the legacy of the Fire Lords. So… think properly about this, will you? No, you're not getting any medals, any congratulations, for resisting and not cooperating with us. In fact… he'd just tell you it's meaningless to resist against us now because you should have resisted back when we first took your city. He could even lose himself to wrath and rage and burn you even more than he burned his own son. Does this sound like a fate you'd like to face? A fate you'd like your daughter to face, if he decides to take out his frustrations on her, the only valuable person to you within his city at the moment?"

"I…" Ukano gritted his teeth, eyeing Sokka with fearful uncertainty, much as the one he had shown him when Sokka had first spoken to him, after their takeover of Omashu. "And you think this won't happen if… if I relent? If I cooperate with you? He'll know I lied! He'll be furious because I did, and…!"

"And by then, he'll be focusing that fury on me," Sokka said, a hand on his chest. "By the time he realizes your letter was a jumble of lies… he'll know that I'm alive. And he'll focus on killing me, just as he single-handedly focused on that back when I was still in the Fire Nation. If my next actions deliver even worse blows to him and to his rule than this one, you'll be a footnote. You'll be ignorable. He'll only want to confront you for your cooperation with your captors if, somehow, our army were defeated… and everything we're doing is with the intent to ensure we're not defeated at all. Do you understand?"

Ukano shivered, lowering his head. So much as agreeing with the Gladiator would suggest he truly thought his Fire Lord was a merciless, cruel monster of a man… and wasn't he? Ukano had supported Ozai gladly, for ages… but the memories of the one-time Prince's ascension into the throne plagued him. The rumors, the confusion, the strange circumstances in the Fire Lord's demise… the fact that no one had ever heard of Prince Ozai being the chosen, appointed heir to Fire Lord Azulon, only to be crowned suddenly, immediately after the funeral?

Nobody wanted to think of it. Nobody wanted to bring up the subject. Ursa's disappearance hadn't helped matters, as numerous people had concluded he had murdered both his father and wife… and his wife lived, it was true, Ukano knew as much now, but under what circumstances had she left the Fire Nation? Why? Ukano didn't know. Did anyone?

Would Ozai be willing to hurt Mai? As much as it hurt to admit it… he would be. What could he possibly do to prevent that? Sending whatever letter the Gladiator wanted him to send wouldn't suffice… but perhaps sending a warning letter to Mai, one where he lightly informed her of what was happening – surely without any direct, overt explanations regarding what had happened in Omashu – would suffice to advise her to be careful, to urge her to figure out how to navigate the Fire Lord's wrath, were it to splatter in her direction at all…

But could the Gladiator be right? Would the Fire Lord's fury against him be so strong that he would focus single-mindedly on hunting down the Gladiator rather than reprimanding his own men for their incompetence…?

"You… you truly believe that his grudge on you is that strong?" Ukano asked, his voice small. Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Strong enough that… t-that doing this will keep my family safe? If I can send word to Mai, can I warn her to be cautious of… of the Fire Lord and his fury? Would that be alright?"

"As long as you don't tell her anything about what's happened in Omashu… yes," Sokka said. Ukano swallowed hard.

"And what if… if we tell her to convey a message to the Princess?" he asked. Sokka froze on the spot. "Surely… surely that's not disagreeable for you, if your affection ran as deep as you say it did. If I do this, could we perhaps…?"

"No."

Ukano grimaced: his hopes to clarify certain things to his daughter, to offer her a more thorough warning, vanished quickly when Sokka's brow furrowed most heavily.

"B-but…"

"We don't even know if Mai's allowed to see Azula, much less convey messages to her," Sokka said, closing his eyes. "More than anything… if the message were intercepted somehow, if Mai's home were searched for whatever reason, if she were being watched… a message with compromising information of any nature would easily destroy everything we're working for. Hell, it will put her at greater risk… Azula too, if Ozai somehow decides to interpret this as evidence that she's in communication with anyone dangerous to his rule. He'll assume that she's even more of a traitor than he's convinced himself she is. So… no. We can't afford to convey any messages to her."

"Sokka…" Kino whispered, clasping his friend's shoulder. Sokka breathed out, feeling as though he'd been kicked in the gut, no matter if he knew this was the right choice. There was no place for such dangerous whims during such a delicate stage of their war.

"You'll be willing to do this?" Sokka asked Ukano, point-blank. "Can we count on you to aid us in keeping Ozai off our trail?"

"I…" Ukano said… and then he sighed, shrugging in resignation. "I suppose I will do so, goodness. Truly, this is so…"

"Uncomfortable, complicated, infuriating…" Sokka recited, shrugging as he rose to his feet. "I know it is. But helping us will help you, in the long run, once we win this war. Your cooperation won't go forgotten."

"You're so certain you will be victorious," Ukano said, raising his eyebrows. "Are you sure it's wise of you to underestimate Fire Lord Ozai, and the Fire Nation army?"

"Fire Lord Ozai tried to kill me, twice. I've beaten the Fire Nation army twice by now, too," Sokka said, eyeing Ukano coldly. "I think it's safe to say that the one who has been underestimated so far is me. Thank you for your cooperation, Ukano. I will return once the letter's contents are ready. Feel free to begin drafting your own letter to Mai."

"I… I suppose I should thank you for that small leniency, and yet at the same time I… I don't think I want to," Ukano said. Sokka, in spite of everything, cracked a slight smile at the former governor.

"You don't need to thank me at all. Just write that letter and it'll be me thanking you," he said.

He nodded in Ukano's direction, and he left the study with Kino by his side. Sokka breathed deeply: a headache he hadn't noticed until now pounded painfully in his mind. He'd have to ask Katara to help him deal with that…

"You're sure it's safe to let him send a message to his daughter?" Kino asked. "Isn't that… Zuko's ex, actually?"

"It is," Sokka confirmed. "And she's perceptive as hell, so she might figure out something's off even if Ukano says nothing compromising in his letter. Still… it seems the main reason why Ukano isn't as much of a monster as Ozai has proven to be is because he actually cares about his family. We'll inspect his messages properly regardless, but I don't think he would put Mai in risk just to play the martyr in Ozai's eyes."

"What Jeong Jeong said, though…" Kino bit his lip, hands behind his back as he and Sokka left the residence again, on their way to Bumi's Palace once more. "That we'll have to move on quickly? Is… is that really going to happen? Are we ready?"

"We have no choice but to be. Otherwise… the ones who will be ready for us will be them," Sokka said, gritting his teeth. "We can't afford letting them learn of what we're doing. If anything similar to what happened with that cabbage guy happens again, Ozai won't chalk it down to a coincidence. We've always known our time window to make our moves without him noticing us is limited… so, however successfully we trick him with that letter, it means we have to get going. Is your work with the tsungi horn going well?"

"Oh, yeah," Kino confirmed, with a weak grin. "It's kind of odd to switch from being the supposedly best spy in your ranks to being a musician, but I can work with that…"

"You'll be crucial in helping us find our way through the battle. Things are going to be a lot more chaotic in Ba Sing Se," Sokka said, clapping Kino's shoulder. "Piandao also said you've done well in what few training sessions you've had with him? You'd already proved you're an asset on the field, though: Aang mentioned how you saved him…"

"O-oh, heh, yeah…" Kino said, scratching the nape of his neck. "I don't really know what came over me. At first I was just… kind of hiding behind the earthbenders? But before I knew it, I was part of it too. It's like… like something woke me up and before I knew it, I was fighting along the best of them. Oh! About those earthbenders actually, I talked with them a couple of days ago and they've said they'll be happy to join us in our march to Ba Sing Se, so…"

"Really? That'll come in handy," Sokka said. Kino grinned and nodded.

"They're pretty cool guys, I'm sure they…"

Both Kino and Sokka stopped talking, and walking, when they came across a group of about thirty people standing before the Palace's entrance.

"Uuuh, what's this?" Kino blinked blankly as Sokka raised an eyebrow. "They weren't here when we left…"

"I didn't see them either," Sokka said, frowning as he stepped forward.

He knew he shouldn't have been too wary – it seemed Omashu's reconquest had been successful on all fronts, and so far, it appeared that nobody was starting any Fire Nation loyalist uprisings… the people by the Palace entrance certainly didn't appear to be up to anything nefarious. Even so, Sokka moved cautiously until he relaxed slightly upon recognizing a tall man, apparently spearheading this particular group.

"Shanyuan?" Sokka called the man: he turned towards Sokka quickly, and his lips spread into a grin that raised his facial hair slightly. His eyes hadn't been quite so aglow when Sokka had first met the former gladiator.

"Ah, there you are. We were hoping to have a word with you," Shanyuan said, smiling and stepping up to Sokka: he stretched out a hand, and Sokka clasped his forearm firmly.

"Blue Wolf…" one younger man said, and his eyes seemed to gleam even more brightly than Shanyuan's.

Sokka blinked a few times before letting his eyes glide across the many faces that gazed at him in wonderment. Men, women, young or old… most of them bearing scars, the majority of them quite buff and strong… save for a certain older, thin man that brought a wary frown to Sokka's face.

"Woah. I… I remember you," Sokka said, blinking blankly as his eyes met the green ones of the older man.

To his surprise, the earthbender laughed elegantly under his breath and stepped forward, bowing his head respectfully in Sokka's direction. The flowing, emerald robes he wore offered him a dignity absent in most the others around him…

Sokka grimaced as the solemn man offered him a genuine smile. There were several reunions Sokka looked forward to… this one, however, hadn't been one of them. It had never even crossed his mind that he might bump into this man ever again, to begin with…

"You look well. Strong, sturdy… I suspect I would not knock you out quite so easily anymore, no matter how favorable the environment may be for me, Blue Wolf," he said. A rumor of voices rushed through the group as Sokka swallowed hard, offering the man a pained grin as well.

"You look just as I remember you, Hallowed Rock," he said, letting out a deep sigh. "Though it's kind of a miracle that I remember you at all. I hope you won't try to knock me out again…"

The Hallowed Rock let out a smooth, careless laugh, and many others joined him. Sokka, despite himself, smiled too: to think the only man who ever knocked him out in a fight stood before him once more… an irrational, proud urge to measure his current strength against that of the earthbender seemed to take rise in Sokka's chest, but he quelled it quickly.

"Is it true that he beat you?" asked one of the younger men, a skeptical smile on his face. "You beat the Blind Bandit! No way this guy could've gotten you!"

"I was a work in progress at the time," Sokka answered the young man with a humble smile. "Still am, in many ways. But I'm guessing… you're all here for more than just to recount the long-gone days of my worst performances in the Gladiator League?"

"We are," Shanyuan said, hands on his hips. "This place used to be Ozai Arena, you know? All of us… we fought here, at one time or another. The king has retaken his Palace, hasn't he?"

"Yeah. You guys won't have to fight there anymore… though I suppose you hadn't in a while anyhow," Sokka reasoned… one of the women in the group to snorted and laughed.

"Not really! We kept sneaking into the arena all the time even after the League was abolished," she said, waving a dismissive hand at Sokka. "A bunch of us were there when you and your friends were taking over the city, we had no idea what the hell was going on until we snuck out through the sewers."

"Huh. Guess we weren't the only ones moving around through sewers, then," Sokka said, with a weak smile. "So… you want to fight there again? Want me to talk things over with the king or something? He might just accept it, honestly, seeing what he's like. Though it's a little crazy for so many gladiators to be here now…"

"This isn't really everyone," Shanyuan admitted, with a shrug. "We knew each other slightly, though with how Cheung Li controlled me, I only really got to know most of them over the past weeks."

"A few of Omashu's gladiators aren't in the city anymore, though," explained another man, one of the tallest in the group. "Stonesworn, Manic Boar, Death Sentence… they were the top gladiators in Ozai Arena, but no one's heard from or seen them in ages."

"There's a few others who vanished too. Many from the upper levels of the Ranking," said Shanyuan, nodding. "Can't say we have the slightest clue of where they wound up at, but we guess they escaped once they thought they had no more purpose here after the League ended."

"They should've stuck around a while longer, they might have been in for a fun surprise," the woman from before smirked, nodding at Sokka. "I'm the Lotus Tempest, and yeah, I probably ought to have picked a less obvious name…"

"You were associated with the White Lotus?" Sokka asked, puzzled. The woman laughed.

"It was so in-your-face that they didn't ever investigate me that thoroughly, what can I say?" she smiled. "I would've helped out more during the takeover if I'd known what the hell was going on, but… guess we can help some more now, right? Me and Shanyuan, we rallied all the gladiators we could still find in Omashu, you see…"

"Huh…" Sokka said, frowning as his eyes glided across the group.

"Not all of us were that good. Definitely not 'you' good," the young man from earlier told him. "I'm, uh, God of Death. Sounds really dark when I'm not much to write home about, I hadn't been in the ranking very long to begin with…"

"The Lone Star over here," said a dark-haired, bearded man, with a smug smile. "We crossed paths in the Race, Blue Wolf, though I guess you may not remember me…"

"I'm Mineral Destruction!"

"And I'm Steady Balance…"

Sokka let out a soft laugh, smiling as the group continued to introduce themselves to him: the thought of recruiting gladiators hadn't crossed his mind at first… but suddenly it seemed to be the most obvious, straightforward choice he could have made. Without knowing most of these people, with nothing but that base connection of having served as gladiators, suddenly he felt a strong kinship with them… one he knew they felt with each other as well. They were gladiators, just like him… gladiators, willing to fight against the very nation that had bestowed that title and job upon them. His heart pounded in his chest as Shanyuan smiled and turned towards him, once everyone had introduced themselves.

"So… we just want you to know we're with you. We're grateful for what you did for Omashu, don't get us wrong… but we know there's more out there," Shanyuan said. "A guy like you wouldn't stop short at this point, right? You have a bigger plan. The Fire Nation's getting what's coming, right?"

"The Fire Lord is, for sure," Sokka said, breathing deeply as he gazed at the group once more. "You're all sure? You… you intend to join us? To join me?"

"Hey, now. You're the Blue Wolf," said the Lotus Tempest, smirking as though she were stating the obvious. "Rumor has it you're the only gladiator who ever beat Combustion Man. You beat the Blind Bandit, too."

"You were famously dubbed the strongest non-bender in the Gladiator League, about a year ago," said the Hallowed Rock. "And suddenly you showed up in our city, to take it back from the Fire Nation without even being asked… perhaps most importantly, you succeeded. Most of us couldn't join the fighting, Shanyuan was quite lucky to have the chance… but ultimately, we wish to help you. Many people in Omashu would do so gladly. We're here to join your forces, Blue Wolf."

"We faced death in the Arena about a thousand times," Shanyuan said. "And all along, we dreamt and wished for a much more dignified death than the ones the Gladiator League promised for us. Now… fighting back against the Fire Nation? Rallying behind your banners, following your commands… that seems like a real purpose to me: you seem like a good leader to follow. So… if you'll have us, we're yours to command, Blue Wolf."

Sokka breathed deeply, closing his eyes as a smile spread across his face. So far, the title of General Sokka had felt wrong for many reasons… and Gladiator, instead, had worked just fine. Now, he found perhaps this was the reason why it did: even if all of Omashu's gladiators looked to him as their leader now, he felt like one of them, instead. His heart suddenly seemed aglow with a powerful, overwhelming strength, akin to the one he had experienced upon delivering that speech, once Omashu had been successfully reconquered…

He had an army. An army that was growing constantly, and that would be comprised by people who had been distant participants in the life he'd led in the past… the life that had strengthened him and brought him to become the Blue Wolf and much more than that, too. He had never expected to feel these bonds of brotherhood with utter strangers, bonds he would have never crafted if they hadn't been gladiators, just like him…

It was only a group of about thirty people. Even so, Toph's declaration from before the conquest of Omashu returned to mind: she had dubbed herself, Jet and Sokka as 'Team Gladiator'. He could only imagine how thrilled she'd be once he told her about this: fighters who had been forced to become bitter enemies, who had done battle, killed, won and lost, now turned their weapons and bending against the true, common enemy. The one who sat at that throne in the Fire Nation's Royal Palace, awaiting a letter that would provide Sokka and all his forces with the necessary time frame to prepare a new attack and strike against the Fire Nation-held cities in the Earth Kingdom…

"Then… start getting ready, everyone," Sokka said, opening his eyes, aglow with as much determination, courage and strength as those of the gladiators before him. "We have work to do over the next few days: there's resources to gather, forces to recruit… strength we must build before we take our next step forward, and we have to do it as quickly as possible, too. Once our army is ready to move out, and you guys can make it happen faster still… we'll set out to reconquer Ba Sing Se."