In the Earth Kingdom, near Ba Sing Se specifically, Lu Ten was training with the soldiers. He did this until they were finished and then he went to find his father. The firelord was in his chambers, looking over maps and thinking over strategies. When he heard a knock on the door, he said it was all right to enter. Iroh smiled when he saw Lu Ten, but his expression faded when he saw the worried look on his face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned, gesturing to a seat for him to sit down.

The soldier sat down across from his father. "I've been thinking about the war…when do you think it will end?"

His question took Iroh off guard and he leaned back slightly in his seat. "What makes you ask? You never have before."

"I went into town last week and saw that some of the soldiers had been destroying items in the residents' stores. I was wondering how much worse it will be when everything is over. They should be here, focusing on training, but they still took the time to go and cause trouble for innocent people. When there is no training, how much of their free time will be spent hurting people?"

Iroh's expression became contemplative. "I don't know," he admitted. "I can set policies in place, but I'm not sure how individuals will feel or respond. They might stop damaging public property and instead mistreat the people of the Earth Kingdom in more subtle ways."

"Zuko told me that the soldiers in the Southern Water Tribe have claimed some of the people's homes as their own until they finish making settlements. Are we going to do the same when we get through the wall to Ba Sing Se?" Before he could get his answer, he insisted, "There has to be a way to make them stop. I just wanted to expand the Fire Nation. I didn't want to take away people's homes and make them live their lives in terror."

"I don't want that for them either," the firelord said. "But we need to expand."

"Why?"

"The Fire Nation has been stagnant. We've held the same territory for centuries. It's time for a change."

"But you're the same one who told me about balance. How are we going to maintain balance if all the nations are Fire?"

This stumped the firelord. Part of him was not sure why he wanted to continue the siege. In truth, he missed his home and the three of them–he, Lu, and Zuko–being together. The war was stressful, had many casualties, and rarely showed any signs of success. It seemed as though the wall was impenetrable. Despite how much Iroh wanted to convince the soldiers that it would be destroyed soon, he had seen no proof of that. If anything, he only had evidence of the contrary. Maybe they were meant to never enter the kingdom.

"If all nations are fire," he started to say, trailing off as he considered this, "then, we can spread our knowledge."

"But we're not spreading knowledge, Dad–just fear." Lu Ten sighed and glanced up at the ceiling. "Maybe it was just a childish prank done by immature soldiers who are under too much pressure. I guess no one really got hurt. I could be overreacting."

"You could also have a very good point," Iroh told him. "I'm glad that you brought this up. It's better that you're thinking about the future now. You'll be the firelord sooner than you think." He paused, thinking about everything the younger bender had said. "I wish I had a clear answer to give you for everything. I also wish that the war could end tomorrow so that things could just start changing. At least then, a new normal would be created without everyone having to deal with a world that shifts as soon as they adjust to one way of life." He paused, frowning slightly. "I think it's the challenge. I want to get into Ba Sing Se because I can't. If they didn't have that wall, if they weren't so reclusive, I wouldn't care so much. We could have gone anywhere in the Earth Kingdom. There is a king in Omashu we could be targeting, but it wouldn't be as difficult as it is to get through this wall."

"What if this continues when we get in there? It seems like things are just going to get worse."

Iroh frowned at the desk. "We might have to deal with that when it comes. It just seems like we've gone too far to stop now. Word has spread of our plans, so deviating from them too much could result in fighting from within the nation. We have to see it through."

The prince gave a solemn nod. "If you think it's what's best."

"I hope it's what's best," he revealed. "If it's not, then I'm not sure what to do next, Son."

Lu Ten's countenance became downcast. He had always known his father to be so certain. To see him hesitate was uncommon and caused an unfamiliar feeling in him. It caused anxiety. He rarely had a reason to be anxious, but with the entire nation on their shoulders, what better time was there? As he considered this, Azula was showing Ozai more of the firebending techniques she was learning. He proudly watched her execute several moves before she stopped with a satisfied smile.

"Perfect as always," he congratulated.

"Is there any other option?" she asked, smile becoming more arrogant.

Ozai's expression took on a thoughtful look. "I think it's time I taught you something myself. Lo and Li have done well, but there is only so much nonbenders can teach benders–especially someone with your innate skills. Only I would understand how to cultivate such power."

Eyes twinkling with excitement, Azula stepped closer to the prince. "What are you going to teach me?"

"Lightning bending."

Had a gaping mouth not seemed like a commoner's reaction to surprise, the princess's jaw would have been on the floor. Instead, she kept a regal demeanor in addition to the happy look in her eyes.

"I'm ready."

Ozai took a breath. "Focus on your breathing," he instructed. "It feels different to bend lightning than it does with fire. It feels more exhilarating."

The prince went over to her and showed her how to get into the proper stance. Once she was in it, he continued speaking.

"Think of killing your enemies. Lightning is lethal. There's no reason to use it without your goal being to rid yourself of an enemy."

"Can I do it here or will I need to go outside?"

Ozai paused, thinking over this. "It can be done indoors, but it would probably be easier if your first attempt was outside. That way, you won't have to restrain yourself. The full extent of your power can be shown."

This excited the princess and they left to go to the top deck. Azula got back into her stance and began thinking of killing. It consumed her thoughts. Before she went, Ozai demonstrated. His fingertips sparkled with pale blue light. The prince's long hair blew as he shot the blast of lightning upwards and into the air. It was so bright that the afternoon sky seemed dark in comparison. When he was done, Azula took her turn. She repeated what she had seen her father do. The blast was only slightly less powerful than his. Pride radiated off the man as he watched.

"Excellent," he said. His smile took on a layered nature as he spoke more. "Things are going to start changing soon."

"What do you mean?"

"I've spoken with some soldiers and word should have reached the Earth Kingdom by now," the father explained. "What would you think of me becoming the firelord one day?"

"That's the way it should have always been. Uncle doesn't deserve the throne."

"I'm glad you agree. Hopefully soon, that will be the way things are. I just need a few things to be set into motion. I believe they are already. Now, all we have to do is wait."

Azula excitedly thought of what Ozai said and continued practicing her bending. She trained while Zuko and Sokka did the same. When the lightning had been shot, they noticed. The firebender's face paled.

"Was that your family?" Sokka asked, also feeling worried.

"It was definitely my father and probably my sister too." The prince frowned at this. "She knows how to bend lightning now. That's the most lethal form of firebending and they both know it."

"Nothing a good sword to the head can't stop," the younger boy offered, half-joking.

Zuko's expression did not become less troubled. "It won't do any good. Our training will just help against normal fire. If anything, the sword's metal would let them electrocute you more."

This turned Sokka serious as well. His hopeful look became concerned and his brows furrowed.

"Is there any way to defend against it?"

"I don't think so. The best thing is if you don't get shot in the chest or head, that's deadly."

"You can get shot without it killing you?"

"Yeah, if you get shot in the arm or somewhere like that, you'll live. It just hurts a lot. So, if you ever do see an attack like that coming, sacrifice an arm first if you can."

The Water Tribe boy nodded his head and then paused. "It sounds like you know from experience."

Zuko wondered what he was going to say. "It was a training accident. It's happened a few times, but it doesn't do any real damage. It only stings for a while until the ointment heals it."

Sokka was not sure if he believed him. He noticed a change in the older boy's demeanor. It was the same as when he mentioned his limp. He had his guesses, but if Zuko was not comfortable talking about that, then he would respect his wishes. He doubted there was much he could do anyway. Sokka lacked a lot of time to muse over this because it was getting late and he was not sure when Hakoda would return. They both knew this meant their training had to end until the next day.

"Continue practicing keeping the tip of the sword upright before you bring it down," Zuko said, about to head back to the ship.

"I'll work on it more tonight," Sokka assured him. He hesitated, then spoke. "Be careful with those training exercises."

The Fire Nation boy's smile turned slightly sad as he nodded and returned home. Sokka did the same and saw that Katara was alone. That meant Gran Gran was collecting more sea prunes. The little girl was working on her waterbending, struggling to turn one patch of snow into ice but melting it successfully. She glanced up at Sokka with skepticism on her face.

"Every day," she said, frowning, "you leave and go somewhere around this time. Where do you go?"

"To train."

"Alone?"

Sokka chuckled nervously. "I mean, Dad's not bringing me with him and I don't want to show the soldiers what I'm doing."

"You didn't answer."

"Who would I be training with?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out."

The boy sighed. "You're just worried over nothing."

"No, I'm not. You've been doing this ever since the Fire Nation came back. I know Gran Gran knows something about this too. There's a secret the two of you have. I've been thinking about why you'd keep a secret from Dad and me. Just training wouldn't make him upset, so it can't be that. The only possible reason could be that you're training with someone you don't want him to find out about."

Sokka's eyes widened and Katara got her answer. She frowned at him and angrily walked to the other side of the home.

"You're training with a Fire Nation soldier?" she asked, voice in a harsh whisper.

"Not a soldier," Sokka insisted. "He's just a little older than we are."

"And you're training with him? How could you do that? They killed Mom!"

"He didn't! You know not everyone in the Fire Nation was responsible."

"I also know no one in the Fire Nation helped."

"He's helping me now. I need to learn how to sword fight and he's teaching me."

"Don't you think that's suspicious?"

"No, because he saved my life last week and didn't have to."

"He probably just did it to gain your trust. You can't believe they aren't trying to hurt us. They're all monsters."

Before Sokka could say anything else, Katara stormed out of the home. She was so angry. The bender knew that her brother was no traitor to the tribe, but she could not hope to understand how he could associate with someone from a nation that had caused and was causing them so much suffering. Not knowing what else to do, she joined Gran Gran with collecting sea prunes. It was not fun, but it distracted her and that was enough. That night, a handful of Fire Nation soldiers distracted themselves from the stresses of breaking down the wall to Ba Sing Se. They did so by going into one of the towns they had claimed along the way. They walked with each other until picking out a restaurant. It still had customers. The group entered, immediately causing the people to freeze and look at them.

"Don't stop on our account," a soldier said.

"Yeah, we like a good time as much as anyone else."

This did not persuade the people to say anything, but they hesitantly began eating again. The soldiers walked by them, grabbing food off plates as they did. When someone stood up angrily, one of them pushed him back down in his chair.

"No need for a short temper, Pal. You don't want anyone to get hurt here."

"Why won't you soldiers just leave us alone?" someone else asked. "You take over our home and now antagonize us. Is that the entire reason you even wanted this land?"

There was a tense silence that followed the question. The silence ended when the sound of sizzling was audible. With that came screams of pain. The soldiers had set several people on fire. In agony, the people moved wildly, trying to put out the flames, but the fire was only added to by the benders. Soon, the running and yelling stopped. The establishment got quiet again when the other patrons fearfully regarded the scene. With wide smiles, the soldiers addressed them.

"You're right. We didn't come here to just annoy you. We came to burn down this savage land and mold the ashes into our beautiful nation."