A/N: We're back again! Going to be a rough chapter this time, reading over it again for final edits I discovered much of it needed to be heavily rewritten instead. (The story of my life.)

See you at the end!

Chapter 5: Secrets

"So, the gaang's finally back together again. For some reason I was expecting it to be bigger. More—whum!"

Sokka, sitting at the back of Appa's saddle against the sleeping bags, spread his hands wide to demonstrate.

Toph, who was leaning against another side of the saddle with her hands laced behind her head, the breeze ruffling her long bangs, yawned. "What, you want some big emergency? Rebellion? Lord Fire got loose? Long Feng came back and took over Ba Sing Se again? Yeah, guess that would be more exciting."

Sokka adjusted his position against the sleeping bags at the back and sighed deeply, shaking his head. "I'm just saying. If Zuko's gonna be like I request your presence and I've arranged for the Avatar to transport you, he could at least say why. It's like he thinks we don't have a life, and are just ready to drop everything the second he wants."

"He really talked like that?" Toph asked in disbelief. "I thought all that request thy presence, wise and venerable Toph Beifong stuff was the Dark One ad-libbing."

Sokka frowned. "He didn't call me wise and venerable."

Since picking Toph up from the Metalbending Academy, the two had done little but complain about the way in which they'd been summoned—with no explanation. However, given the way Sokka kept flexing his arms as though in preparation to show Suki how much muscle he'd put on since their last visit, and Toph kept dropping hints about how boring running the Academy had gotten since her first students had actually gotten good enough to start running things themselves, Katara didn't doubt they were both happy enough. They just liked to complain.

Katara, of course, knew why Zuko had been less than forthcoming. If this was about Azula, which it clearly was, he wouldn't know who knew what, and was probably leaving it to her to decide what to explain. Toph didn't even know about Katara's covert mission with Zuko months back, and a large part of Katara preferred to keep it that way.

"Hey, Toph," Aang said, cutting in on the conversation. "This'll be the first time you meet Zuko's mom, won't it? She's super nice. And Zuko has a sister now—well, another one. Her name is Kiyi."

Toph's face, if anything, puckered even more. "Great. Moms and kids, my favorite. Now it won't just be Katara trying to wipe dirt off my face."

"Kiyi will probably be excited to see you show off your metalbending," Aang added.

Toph, who had been in the middle of cleaning out her ear with a pinkie, paused. "Well," she said, folding her hands behind her head again. "Maybe it won't be so bad."

Aang glanced back over his shoulder to share a smile with Katara, and it took her a second too long to smile back. She turned her eyes quickly back out to the sky, so she wouldn't have time to see him eye her with worry.

She was glad they were going back to the Fire Nation. That they were going to finally do something about the dangers that lurked, rather than sitting waiting for something to happen.

She gripped the neck of her waterbending pouch strapped to her back, and did her best to convince herself of that.

The sky blazed red with evening when they arrived at the courtyard of the Fire Nation palace.

A retinue of servants emerged to greet them, standing in lines, heads bowed in respect.

As Aang landed on the stone on a cushion of air, one of the servants stepped forward.

"Avatar," he greeted, bowing even deeper. "The Fire Nation welcomes you."

Aang glanced back up at the rest of them, then rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Uh, thanks." He reached up to scratch Momo's ear, where the lemur had taken up on his head as a kind of long-tailed hat. "So, where's Zuko?"

The servant had not risen from his bow. "The Fire Lord has arranged a small banquet in your honor. He apologizes for not being able to join you, but there are still matters he must conclude. If it pleases you, Avatar, afterward you and your companions will be escorted to see the Fire Lord on the matter which he hopes to discuss. He apologizes for conducting business so soon after your arrival, but the Fire Lord wishes you to understand he is in urgent need of your wisdom."

Aang didn't look like he knew quite what to do with this speech. Again he glanced back at them, but Katara could only give an imperceptible shrug. She had only been back to the Fire Nation a few times since the end of the war, and coming to the palace she had never seen any of them addressed like this. Normally either Zuko greeted them himself, or they simply went in to find him themselves. This was more unsettling than a bout of Zuko's temper.

"Uh, okay," said Aang, as Momo took flight to go join Appa. "Great. Yeah, thanks. We'll—go see Zuko after then."

Sokka, meanwhile, had jumped down from the saddle beside Aang, and was now eying the servant suspiciously. "Love the sound of a banquet," he said, then added, arms folded, "But don't suppose the Fire Lord also wants to give us a hint as to this big matter he wants to discuss."

The servant hesitated, eyes scanning briefly over Sokka and his challenging posture. Not with judgment, Katara thought, but also not with approval.

"The Fire Lord will explain all," said the servant at last. He looked back to Aang, bowing so deep he was almost at Toph's height. "We thank you for your presence, Avatar, your support is most appreciated."

The banquet was a relatively quick affair, if not actually that small.

They were each offered a list of choices, many clearly tailored to their nation of origin, including arctic walrus and roast boar, and various vegetarian dishes of dumplings and vegetables the cooks must have hoped would appeal to an Air Nomad for Aang. Katara, not sure she trusted rare Water Tribe dishes in the hands of Fire Nation cooks, went for the more familiar komodo chicken, though she mostly picked around it while Sokka beside her tore into his carefully basted hippo-ox with gusto.

They didn't talk much as they ate. Whenever the servants came to refill their tea, Aang was quick to praise everything, and Toph and Sokka paid their compliments nonverbally by wolfing down everything they were brought. However, no one said what they were all thinking. That this had to be the weirdest welcome they had ever gotten from Zuko. Katara had to force herself to eat, as by now she was so on edge her stomach was a knot of nerves, and she barely tasted the sharp Fire Nation spices.

Katara wasn't feeling particularly good when, after waiting a polite period of time after they were finished, the servant who had greeted them came to them again, asking them to follow him to the throne room. This time he was flanked by two guards in familiar white and red face paint, and Katara smiled in relief when she saw them.

"Suki!" Sokka stood up, beaming, arms automatically stretching for her. "It's so great to see you, you look great. It's been ages—"

The servant was giving Sokka that look again, quietly polite, yet not approving.

Suki glanced briefly at Sokka, before focusing on Aang instead. She placed her hands together and bowed her head. "Avatar," she said. "Thank you for coming. We are here to escort you to the Fire Lord."

Aang hesitated, his nervous hand wearing a groove in the back of his neck. "Uh, right. Thanks."

Suki turned around then, leading the way toward the exit. The other Kyoshi Warrior, a girl whose name Katara didn't know, silently slipped around behind them, bringing up the rear.

Sokka looked around at the rest of them, frowning, looking as uncomfortable and out of place as Katara felt.

"So," he said. "Guess we're going to see Zuko—er, I mean the Fire Lord." In an undertone he muttered, "This is going to be so much fun."

Katara realized, in all the time Zuko had been Fire Lord, she had never been to the palace throne room before.

The antechamber alone felt like an enormous empty cavern, their footsteps echoing, the far corners cast in shadow where even the light of the wall torches and decorative chandeliers high above could not reach.

But it was nothing to the throne room itself. Passing through the heavy crimson curtain, Katara swiveled her head to take in the wide dark space, the floor gleaming with such a polish that for a moment she thought the room extended down below as well as above them. Enormous decorative columns like a forest of giant, perfectly spaced trees stretched to the high ceiling, marking a path to the far side, where stood a raised platform, on which a small structure like a shrine stood with intricately carved spikes and flames.

Under the shrine sat a figure, flames burning low at the platform base before him. A second figure knelt before the platform, dressed in a neat Fire Nation military uniform.

"Thank you, General Mak," said the voice from behind the flame. "That will be all for now."

The general bowed deeply, before turning and making his way back along the path back to the curtain exit. As he passed Aang, he bowed his head briefly in respect, before continuing on, until the curtain fell closed behind him.

They all came to a stop in a loose, unorderly group before the dais. Katara noticed that, while Suki remained ahead of them, the other Kyoshi Warrior had remained outside in the antechamber to stand guard. Suki dropped to one knee, then, extending a formal hand in their direction, said, "Fire Lord, the Avatar and his companions."

Zuko sat on the dais above them, in the shadow of the shrine. He wore the impressive robes of the Fire Lord, the black hemmed in gold and crimson, the Fire Lord's golden crown in his topknot. His ever present scar was accentuated by the harsh light of flames, and Katara wondered if he had gotten older in the months since she had last seen him. His face was solemn, unchanging, as though cast in the same gold as the snarling dragon behind him.

Katara glanced around at the others, searching for guidance on what to do next. Did Zuko expect them to bow? Go on about his generous hospitality and lavish praise on the royal architecture like diplomats? Make polite, cryptic comments about the weather?

Aang opened his mouth as though about to try to offer something diplomatic, but Sokka got there first.

"Okay Zuko. You've been weird before, but this is a whole new level of weird. Like, sky-bison-flying level weird." He looked to Suki pleadingly, eyebrows scrunched, mouth tight. "Suki, please tell us what's going on, and if the Fire Lord's gone crazy again, and if we need to knock some sense into him. Because every time I hear the words If it pleases you, it makes me want to bang my head against a wall."

Suki, still in a kneeling position, glanced up at Zuko.

Zuko sighed deeply, rubbing the spot between his eyes. And, in an instant, he went from intimidating world leader to simply Zuko again.

"It's okay, Suki. It's only us here, anyway." Zuko climbed to his feet and, with a wave of his hand, parted the flames before the dais. He stepped down to the floor, careful not to catch the hem of his silken robes on the edge of the fire.

Zuko looked around at them all, blinking tiredly in the firelight.

"I'm sorry for all that. It's only—there's been continued unrest in the Fire Nation, people like Ukano forming secret societies intending to restore my father to power. They know Azula, my father's chosen heir, is still free, and that's only made them bolder." He rubbed his forearms uneasily, eyes wandering to the flames. "The people who have supported me most are nervous, of what will happen to them if I'm overthrown. I've… been advised I can give them courage, make them feel more secure, if we follow some of the old traditions, make them feel able to trust in the strength of my leadership."

Toph frowned. "So you're making people like Suki talk to us like we're all at a fancy-schmancy dinner party, fighting over each other to prove who can talk more nice. Oh yeah, I'm sure that makes everyone feel so much safer."

"What old crackpot gave you that advice?" Sokka wanted to know.

Zuko scowled, his good ear turning slightly pink, but before he could respond, a low, rasping voice said, "Me."

Katara nearly jumped out of her skin as a figure detached itself from the shadow of the nearest pillar, hands folded in sleeves, face fixed in its usual perpetual deadpan.

Mai came to stand in the firelight near them, watching them with a non-expression that somehow, like the servant who had greeted them, radiated disapproval.

"Uh, hi Mai," said Aang. He glanced between Mai and Zuko as though he wanted to ask something, then seemed to think better of it.

Mai didn't return the greeting, and said instead, "It's not about talking nice. It's about respect. To be an invited guest of the Fire Lord—is a great honor. And so you are treated with honor. And for the Fire Lord's closest inner circle to treat the Fire Lord with honor sets an example to be followed by others, that the Fire Lord's authority is to be respected."

Sokka gave Zuko a sideways look, as though Zuko had become the king in an old Earth Kingdom folk tale, and Mai the fox-serpent advisor hissing in his ear.

Zuko shook his head. "I'm not looking to be like my father or my grandfather, where everyone has to be afraid if they say the wrong thing something nasty will be done to them. But every decision I make has consequences, and if all these formalities help the people see I'm treating my responsibilities with the gravity they deserve, then I think it's worth it."

"Anything that stops the nobles from raising every single petty complaint is worth it," Mai said, mouth twisting. "Trust me."

Sokka sighed and shook his head. "Fine. I guess we'll all still be around to keep you from getting too high on yourself, your majesty."

Zuko smiled for the first time, just a slight upturn at the corner of his mouth, but somehow it radiated more warmth and gratitude than the comment should have engendered. "I know you will."

Zuko breathed, and his features were once again serious. He gestured in front of him. "Okay then, we should get down to business. Everyone please sit, and you all can help me figure out what needs to happen next."

As Zuko went to kneel in front of them with his back to the throne, Katara looked down at their feet, and for the first time noticed an enormous map had been stretched out over the floor, a small collection of figurines gathered together in a corner near her boot. It reminded her of the large map of the land masses the Earth Kingdom generals had in Ba Sing Se, which they used to plan troop movements to counter the Fire Nation, and with a chill she realized likely this map had been used for the same purpose.

Sokka didn't comment on Zuko's brief return to formality, and as everyone started sitting down, instead he said, "Finally. You know, Zuko, I know you brought me here for my ideas, but it would help if you actually explained what's going on."

As Sokka sat himself down beside the map, Toph taking up nearby. He raised a hand to Suki to sit next to him, but while she gave him a smile this time, she went instead to stand near the far end of the map beyond them, turning her back on them to watch the entrance curtain. Mai didn't sit either, opting instead to lean against a pillar, as though to remain removed and impartial.

Katara wanted to sit away from the carved war figures, but Aang had already settled into a spot nearby, and she reluctantly sank down beside him.

Zuko scanned over each of them in turn, the firelight behind him glinting off his Fire Lord's crown.

"Azula."

He said it without preamble, without explanation. Katara had known it was coming, but she felt her fingers clench convulsively around her knee anyway.

He continued, "We need to find her, and bring her back to the capital. Every moment she's free, it's more danger to the people, and the more divided the Fire Nation will be, between those who have trusted us to establish a long-lasting peace, and those who are still hoping for a way to go back to the way things were.

Toph was sitting with one knee up, elbow resting complacently against it. "Is there really anybody left who wants to follow crazy princess or make her Fire Lord? They've already tried that once, and it wasn't pretty. Either their skulls are thicker than their helmets, or they don't have a good memory."

Sokka added, "And if it was just that easy to sail out and find where she's hiding, wouldn't you have done it already? I mean, we're a great team and all, but don't you have, I don't know, an entire army. Not to mention all the spies who used to chase us everywhere around the four nations." He waved a hand back vaguely at the entrance curtain, as though reminding Zuko of General Mak who had been in here minutes ago, who Katara thought she recalled from somewhere was in charge of Zuko's spy network.

Zuko frowned, but fixed his attention on Toph first. "It's my father the people mostly want back—to them, he has the strength and experience to know how to rule the Fire Nation, and make them feel strong too. Azula is Father's chosen heir, so even though they might not want her back on the throne right now, they probably figure that after Father retakes the throne, he'll have time to train her to be a proper Fire Lord. Like Ukano, they'll follow her assuming she's going to get our father back in power."

Sokka rubbed his chin. "Except she's not, because she's got some crazy other plan for you… right?" He glanced toward Katara. He'd only heard secondhand what she'd told him.

Zuko nodded. "Right. And that's why we were able to find her a few months ago like we did—because her target is me. I've tried using all my resources as Fire Lord to find her that way, sending out spies, putting up wanted posters all over the Fire Nation, even hiring Earth Kingdom bounty hunters when we could find them, but deep down I've known she'll only be found when she wants to be found, and that's why I've got to be the bait. I've let this go too long, but I think if we focus, and with the help of all of you, we should be able to stop any more disasters might sister might be planning."

Sokka folded his arms. "So we're just going to be shooting in the dark, hoping she comes after you, and hoping we're ready when she does. No idea what she's planning. For some reason, I think I'd rather stick my hand in a rat-viper den."

Zuko hesitated, and for some reason, his eyes briefly shifted to Katara. "There… was a report. From a few months back. It came from one of our smaller outposts, so it wasn't brought to my attention until not too long ago, but I think she might have been sending me a message. About what she might be planning, maybe even laying a trail for me to follow. It's why I asked you all to come now—we at least have a place to start our investigations."

Katara suddenly became very interested in the figurines collected near her knee. Without knowing quite what she was doing, she reached down and picked one up at random. She found it was one of the few Water Tribe pieces, a circular Water Tribe symbol mounted on a square base. She noticed it was smaller than the other pieces near to it, and wondered if that meant it represented the nearly defeated Southern Water Tribe, rather than the army of the North. She fingered the waving lines extending outward from the curve of the moon.

"Hmm," Sokka said, eying the map, rubbing his chin. "I'm not sure Azula will take the bait if she knows we're all there, but—where did you say the report came from?"

Zuko reached next to him and picked up a long stick with an odd curved head at one end, a tool perhaps for pointing to places on the map and adjusting the positions of the figurines when they were out. However, before he could point to the island that somehow Katara already knew he would point to, Sokka suddenly stifled a yawn.

Toph followed suit a moment later, and Zuko blinked, glancing toward the far wall as though that could tell him what time of day it was.

"It's probably nightfall by now," Mai said, arms folded, answering his question. "Or it will be soon."

Zuko tensed for a second, unnerved, then nodded slowly. He looked back to them all. "I'm sure you're all exhausted from your journey. Get some rest, and we'll meet back again tomorrow morning to decide on a plan. My Uncle will be arriving soon, to take over my duties as Fire Lord for me while I'm away. Thank you all again for coming." Again Katara felt his eyes linger briefly on her. Then he added hesitantly, "And also… be on your guard tonight, all of you. It's—the night of the full moon. And the night of the full moon has been known as one of ill-fortune for the people of the Fire Nation. When the spirits threaten mischief."

Toph snorted. "You're starting to sound like Ho-Tun. Doom everywhere."

Katara was staring so hard at the bits of blue paint on the figure that it took her a moment to realize that everyone had stood and were already headed for the curtain, Suki politely gesturing for Aang to go first, and trying not to look amused as Sokka frowned intensely in her direction, seeming to debate whether to try one last attempt to draw her out of her formal act.

Katara dropped the figure, quickly scrambling to her feet. However, before she had even gone a step, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

In a voice too low for anyone else to hear, Zuko said, "Once the others are settled in, Suki will come get you. We need to talk."

Katara once again felt a chill on her skin, even so near the flickering flames of the throne. She found herself whispering back, "Has Azula hurt anyone?"

A short pause. "...No. Not according to any reports we know about, anyway."

Katara let out the barest sigh of relief.

"But," he continued, in a voice lower still. "She's planning something. She always is."

Katara swallowed once. She stepped forward then, moving a little quicker to catch up with the others. Only then did she notice Mai lingering by the pillars, watching them. Her expression impossible to read.

Swallowing again nervously, Katara hurried after the others.

Katara waited in her room for Suki to come. Though probably not ten minutes had passed, it felt like a lifetime.

After staring a little too long at the crimson Fire Nation flag mounted on one wall, she went over to a small dressing table, on which a small basin of water had been set out, no doubt for washing her face in the morning. The water was clean and obviously freshly poured—she still couldn't get used to the constant presence of servants in the palace, anticipating the needs of those they served, often moving about invisibly. It was helpful, yet also kind of creeped her out. She wondered what kind of lives they led—were they happy here? They had to be happier under Zuko than under Ozai, where the least mistake could result in banishment or worse. Certainly happier than under Azula.

Katara drew up a small stream of water from the basin, leaving it to circle lazily in the air. She studied her hand—she had gotten a small nick on one finger earlier when she had been taking her bag from the saddle to give to a servant to deliver to her prepared room. Nothing serious—but she had been thinking about what Master Pakku had said. How she would do well to study the art of healing more deeply. She knew she could wipe the cut away as though it had never been there in an instant, but there might be techniques to make her guidance of the chi and energy more efficient. Ways that would make it possible for her to heal more serious wounds, that she couldn't otherwise.

Katara pinched the fingers of her other hand together slowly, and the water encircled the cut like a ring. The water glowed briefly, and when she pulled it away, the skin was whole and unblemished.

Sighing in dissatisfaction, Katara let the water fall back to the basin.

A knock came at the door, and she tensed. Taking a deep, steadying breath, Katara approached the door, pulling it open.

Suki was there, still dressed in full warrior's armor and makeup.

"Hi, Suki," Katara said, trying to make her voice cheerful, though unable to meet her gaze. "I guess... I'm supposed to go meet Zuko?"

"Yes," Suki said, in that strangely formal tone that she and the rest of Zuko's people had been using all evening.

"Right," she said nervously. "We... better go then." She stepped out of the door, carefully closing it behind her.

She waited for Suki to go, but Suki just stood there for a moment, watching her. Katara was forced at last to look up, meeting her eye.

The air of professionalism disappeared for the first time, and now Suki only gazed at Katara with concern. "Are you okay?"

Katara blinked, before her eyes dropped again. "I'm fine. Just a lot to think about, is all." She half turned toward one side of the hallways, making to continue, though she didn't know which direction they were going.

"...Okay." However, Katara felt Suki's eyes linger on her a moment longer, before she at last turned.

Suki moved over toward the side wall, feet barely making a sound on the floor, and Katara followed. As they went, Katara, hoping to distract her, said, "So, I saw Mai was at the meeting. Does that mean she and Zuko are back together then?"

Suki was carefully scanning the hall as though for enemies, but at this, she frowned. In a low voice she replied, "Things do seem better between them than before. But... no." She shook her head. "I don't know what's going on between them, honestly. Since Mai broke up with Kei Lo there's nothing standing in their way, but..."

She looked back at Katara then. In a lower voice still, she added, "But speaking of which, it will probably be better if we're not seen. By Mai, I mean."

Katara, who had been keeping just a step behind Suki, faltered. "What—do you mean?" She had been dreading seeing Zuko and having a conversation she didn't want to have. And yet, all of a sudden the idea of getting caught in the middle of whatever drama might still be going on between Zuko and Mai was a terror both fresh and immediate. "Mai can't possibly think—"

"No, it's not that," Suki said quickly. "Just—Mai doesn't like Zuko keeping secrets from her. It's why they broke up in the first place."

"Oh," Katara said in a small voice.

Suki had stopped at a corner, and she poked her head around it, and Katara knew now she was on the lookout for Mai.

Suki paused briefly, and her eyes slid back around to Katara, curiosity plain in her face even through the facepaint. At last she whispered hesitantly, "Katara, do you—do you... know? Why it is Zuko wants to see you?"

Katara hesitated. "...Yes."

"Why?"

Katara stared at one of the far walls. She really should tell Suki. Suki was as much a part of Team Avatar as Sokka or Toph. If the others knew, she should know too.

The words hung in her throat, stuck there like rancid bits of seal jerky. Because she didn't want Suki to know. If she could somehow take the knowledge from Aang, and Sokka, and Toph, and Zuko, she almost felt like she would—because the more people knew this power existed, existed in her, the more she couldn't pretend that it didn't.

Before she had fully decided what to say, she heard a sound, just down the hall. Racing feet, the clank of armor.

A soldier appeared just around the corner, and as he caught sight of Suki, he raced up to her. He was younger than many of the others, face round in his helmet. His eyes were wide.

"Captain!" he gasped. "Assassins—here in the palace! We have to—"

But Suki was already running, hand going to the sword at her belt. Katara stood there for just a second looking after her, hoping against hope that it wasn't what she feared.

Numbness seeping through her down to the tips of her fingers, Katara took off after her.

A/N: Another chapter down.

This chapter in particular I've always had a mental block on for some reason, maybe because it's largely a setup chapter. Two middle scenes are completely new writing, I realized I wanted a bit better of a foundation than what I had before seemed to be giving me, though they'll probably be staying a bit messy until I come back for revising again in the distant future.

Thanks for reading! If you have a moment, let me know what you thought, and hope to see you in the next one!

Posted 5/15/23