Chapter Forty One

The Dragon of The West

Sugar Foot squawked with exhaustion and discontent. Her usual jovial nature chased away by the winds of long toil, running for two days and nights with little rest had brought to her the edge of her endurance. Iroh knew he was pushing her hard, harder than she could maintain for much longer.

Finally, four hours past dawn on the third day, they came to the town he had been aiming for. Iroh knew that his niece and her soldiers were not far behind, and Zhao's assassin was among them. Furrowing his brow, the firebender dwelled on the subject. His cousin was making a move for the throne, it was obvious to him now. Sending a killer after Zuko, and ordering him to kill Azula directly after. He himself was declared a traitor and disinherited, leaving him unable to take the throne. After Ozai's children, Zhao was next in line for the mantle of Fire Lord.

He slowed Sugar Foot to a walk as they entered the town of Bao Hu, beside the Red River. Iroh dismounted and Sugar Foot trilled in relief.

"I'm not so heavy these days," He said to the bird, "But you've worked very hard. You've earned your rest." He scratched the feathers around the base of her skull, where she liked best. Sugar Foot blinked at him, before nuzzling into his chest. Iroh led her by the reins to a stable beside a tavern. He drew out one of his few remaining silver pieces and paid the stablehand to feed and water her, giving precise instructions that she be well cared for until his return. Iroh quickly entered the tavern.

The establishment was of middling quality. A few patrons drank beverages of a dubious nature at the counter, while others ate their meals in groups of three or four. Iroh spotted at once what he was looking for. He sped directly across the taproom. He had no time for subtlety.

"Might I join you in a game?" He asked, his calm tone hiding his urgency.

"Of course." The small man at the Pai Sho board said. "The guest has the first move."

Iroh sat down immediately and placed a tile on the board. The small man raised an eyebrow at him, saying, "I see you favor the white lotus gambit. Not many remain who favor the old ways."

"Those who do can always find a friend."


Azula would have enjoyed basking in the late afternoon sun, had she been in the Fire Nation. Spring days like the one she and her companions were experiencing were one of the great joys of life, and the chance to enjoy the life-giving warmth of the sun was the one she savored. This time, however, trekking through the backwater Earth Kingdom in pursuit of her traitorous family made the golden rays of early springtime rather less than enjoyable.

She was tired, annoyed, and had had just about enough of the whole experience. Ty Lee, unfortunately, did not seem to know how to read the room.

"Isn't the sun just wonderful?" She asked, clearly unaware of Azula's dour mood. "I can feel my skin getting so healthy, like it's glowing."

An image of a glowing sword casting rays of the palest moonlight crossed Azula's mind, followed closely by the glowing tattoos of a boy in the grips of righteous fury. A failure, one of her first. She understood that Ty Lee was not trying to irritate her, but her friend was doing so all the same.

"That's good." Azula said, "It will distract from your titanic intellect."

Ty Lee, who had missed the sarcasm, beamed at her. "Do you really think so?"

Azula considered saying several more cutting things, but decided against it. She merely impersonated Mai, by sighing and rolling her eyes. Mai, ever observant as she was, took note of Azula's foul mood.

"Ty Lee," Mai said, "Could you go and get us some water?"

The acrobat nodded pleasantly and flipped off of her seat on the tank, jumping from each of the war machines until she was at the back of the column.

"We're close." Mai said, "They might be mere hours ahead of us."

"Maybe." Azula replied, "But I've come to doubt it will be both of them."

"What? Why?"

"This is the third day. One ostrich-horse carrying three people shouldn't be able to keep ahead of us for so long. It's likely they split up so that at least one of them would get away. It stands to reason that they would at least attempt to join forces with The Avatar."

Mai was silent for a time before saying, "So who do you think we're following?"

Ty Lee returned with the water at that moment, passing a canteen to Mai and Azula in turn. "What do you mean? I thought we were following Iroh and Zuko. And that girl."

"Azula thinks that they split up," Mai said. "One to lead us away, and the other to join the Avatar."

"Oh," Ty Lee said, letting the idea take place in her mind, "That makes sense. We saw those Earth Kingdom soldiers wander off the road outside of Gaoling, so maybe they found the other tracks."

Azula blinked once in surprise. Ty Lee had made a reasonable assumption, which wasn't really all that surprising, but it was not one that Azula had considered. Why hadn't she considered it? She needed to meditate. Her worries over her recent failure were distracting her, keeping her from being the weapon her father needed.

"So, I guess the question is whether we're chasing Iroh or Zuko." Ty Lee said, providing further insight that was unexpected from her. It wasn't that the girl was unintelligent, despite any barbed comments that Azula might make, but rather that she didn't often tend to consider the direction of their mission. Ty Lee would often leave the planning to Azula.

"Logically, the best person to teach the Avatar firebending would be Iroh. We can assume that would be the reason for his joining them. Iroh has experience training others if Zuko and Colonel Mongke can be any basis of judgment. What's more, Zuko is younger and faster, making him the most capable of escaping us."

"We're tracking down Zuko?" Mai said sullenly.

"That would make the most logical sense." Azula said, "But my brother does not think logically. He does not think things through. He is brash and too quick to act. If it was him we were following, it would have come to a fight by now."

"So Iroh then." Mai summarized. Azula did not miss the slight uptick in her tone. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes. Odds have it that we're after The Dragon of the West, and nothing more."


It was with a heavy heart that Iroh pocketed the coin. He would need the money, and where he was going he could not take Sugar Foot. She seemed sad at their parting, having cooed with melancholy as the stable owner led her away. Iroh had hope, however, that she would have a good life. There were a few other birds in the care of the stable owner, and he would sell them to traders who came through from time to time. Still, he knew that Zuko would be distraught. Though his nephew tried to hide it, Iroh had caught the young man giving the ostrich-horse a kiss on the head more than once. He had not addressed the action, if only to spare the youth embarrassment.

He had made his preparations for departure in a matter of minutes, as there had been a small boat leaving for Ba Sing Se, helmed by Chet's brother. Chet was a member of the lower tier of the White Lotus, and he was more than willing to give aid to a grand lotus.

Iroh wound his way quickly through Bao Hu, going from merchant to merchant, purchasing what meager supplies he could carry. He wouldn't need much, as Chet's brother, Ta, was a fisherman as well as a river driver. A stroke of good fortune, following another. Chet was an earthbender, who had spent much of his early days tunneling and mining before moving in with his brother. The earthbender was only too happy to aid Iroh in his next task as well.

Iroh finished buying the necessities for the trip to the walled city, and entered the town's only music shop. Various instruments lined the battered wooden walls. Woodwinds and drums took up little space in the already small building, and a larger selection of stringed instruments was available. The woman at the counter shot up with delight as Iroh entered.

"G-goodafternoon!" The shopkeeper said, "Can I help you today?"

The young lady saw the sorrowful look on the disinherited prince's face, and her smile diminished significantly. She took in the travel worn and nondescript clothing that Iroh wore, close to threadbare as it was. She plastered on another smile, though it surely pained her, and said, "I'm afraid we're not looking for help at the moment, if you're looking for work. Shu at the docks might be able to take on more hands, but I'm not certain."

Iroh took a slow breath to ease his low mood, allowed himself to smile, and said, "No, no, but thank you for the tip! I am just passing through, and had hoped to purchase a liuqin. It's a long journey by boat to Ba Sing Se, and I think it should help us all to have a little music!"

"Oh," The woman said, her smile becoming genuine. "Of course. We have some fine instruments, a few from the best craftsmen of Omashu!"

"Really?" Iroh said, raising his eyebrows. "They must play wonderfully, but I'm afraid that the poor old fingers of mine wouldn't do them justice. Perhaps a battered old instrument for a battered old man?"

He was met with gentle laughter, "Surely you're not so battered, and not so old! Even so, we have a secondhand instrument that might do."

Iroh blinked. He looked down towards his formerly vast belly. Perhaps the loss of weight had been mirrored by a loss of years. He laughed in turn and bought the instrument that the woman had shown him, and paid a reasonable price for it.

With his passage secured, his provision bought, and his new instrument in hand, Iroh walked southwest towards a bluff a few miles out of town. It was a lovely little place, where families might have had a picnic. Or where lovers might have basked in the summer sun. Now he planned to use it to speak to Azula, to warn her of the danger she was in. Of the company she kept. He would try, but he doubted she would listen. To her, his words were naught but lies.


Ty Lee sat beside Azula, her eyes closed as she tilted her face towards the sun. A memory from the bright days of her early childhood, when she was only a little girl, slipped to the forefront of her mind. When she was small, she didn't understand how the happy, bright candle of the sun wasn't quenched by the endless blue ocean of the sky. It wasn't until she was a little bit older that her mother explained that the sky wasn't an ocean, that it wasn't water at all - even if the clouds did look like foam upon the waves. Her mother had taken Ty Lee's small hand and smiled at her, saying that the sky was nothing but endless space that stretched on and on. She had said that the sun burned so bright and hot that no water could quench it, that it was stronger than anything. Stronger than everything.

Ty Lee had taken that to mean that the Fire Nation, the land of the sun, was stronger than everything. Better even, as that was what everyone had always said. The eternal flame, the spirit of fire and the sun, had even once taken human form to rule as the first Fire Lord, and his children had sat atop the Dragon Throne ever since. She even sat beside one of them now, one of her best friends in the world. Nobody could know Azula and doubt the divine providence of her family's rule. Even Zuko, despite his weaker bending, seemed to carry Agni's fire within him. He had burned with a bright golden fire in their childhood, a warm flame that spoke of someone sweet and kind. Azula's light, her aura, and her chi were different from that of her brother. It was blue, and it roiled and snapped like the sea in a storm, like lightning danced with her. How could anyone know the pair of them as Ty Lee did and not blindly follow the Fire Lord's command?

And so Ty Lee had. She hadn't questioned Azula, she had never doubted. Until now, that is. Meeting with the mad king in Omashu, and his story of the world before had planted the seeds of doubt. Was the Fire Nation right to conquer the other nations? Did their might make it their right? She wasn't so sure, after having traveled through the Earth Kingdom for a time. The citizens of Omashu had seemed so sad, as if their greatest fears had come to pass. And then when Colonel Mongke told his story about General Iroh, speaking of how even the mighty Dragon of the West had begun to doubt, at the very height of his time at war, the necessity of the fight in it's entirety.

She had been wondering already, going so far as to ask Mai if they were the villain, back in the cave of Two Lovers. They had been traveling with Chong and his friends through those awful, dark tunnels, and she couldn't hold back her doubt any longer. Mai had stiffened enough that even Ty Lee had noticed the change in her demeanor, so she hadn't broached the subject again.

She turned her head away from the sun and opened her eyes. She had heard something. Just on the edge of her senses, there was…

"Azula," Ty Lee began, "Do you hear that?"

"Your pointless humming?" Azula asked. "Of course I can, I'm less than a foot away from you."

Ty Lee chortled. Azula was always making little snips like that. "No, Azula. I think I hear music up ahead."

The Rough Rhinos stiffened at her words, if only a little. The Combustion Man raised his eyes from his book, Make Out Paradise, and scanned the trees. They had begun to thin slightly, and there appeared to be a clearing ahead of them. Ty Lee watched as Azula's eyes narrowed. The princess ordered their column to a halt, cutting the sounds of their travel to nothing. Azula cocked her head and listened. After the roaring noise of the tanks and animals, the silence was almost aerie. It was broken by the soft, carrying note of liuqin in the near distance.

"It is my uncle then," Azula said flatly. "Is he trying that same tactic from Mongke's story? It won't work, sadly for him."

Azula tapped her fingers against the sides of the tank. Ty Lee could hear the cogs turning in the logical machine of her friend's mind. She waited for a moment, and then Azula began to speak.

"The Red River is one hundred yards to our left. The trees have thinned, and we've been ascending an incline for the last mile. It is most likely that he's on a bluff, with his back to the river. It gives him security in knowing that we cannot come from behind, even if it leaves him with less chance for escape." Azula closed her eyes for a matter of heartbeats, before opening them again. "Colonel Mongke. You and your team loop around the far side clearing. Captain Juu Han, I want your armored cavalry spaced equidistantly around the perimeter. Combustion Man, you follow Mai, Ty Lee, and me. Nobody is to enter the clearing until I give the order."

The response was immediate, the Rough Rhinos dashed around the clearing. The captain started issuing commands to her soldiers. The Combustion Man stowed his book in his satchel and dropped it into the tank he was sitting on. Ty Lee waited patiently, if a little nervous. Iroh had incapacitated her and Mai easily, even if he took them by surprise. She was sure that the three of them together could defeat him, and possibly Azula on her own if in even combat - like an Agni Kai - but she doubted that would happen.

After a few minutes had passed, Azula motioned for her friends to follow. She ordered the combustion bender to stay at the clearing's edge, and come no further. She would give the order and all of their force would strike at once.

Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee walked into the clearing. General Iroh sat on a low stool, playing a battered old liuqin. Four cups sat beside a steaming teapot on a small table. The old man played beneath a towering oak, merely a dozen feet from the edge of the bluff. He slowed his song as they approached, and opened his eyes.

"It's nice to see you again, Princess Azula," Iroh said, and a wall of fire erupted around the perimeter.


Iroh called upon the wall of fire with a breath. It wasn't usually a useful skill, but his father had demanded that both he and Ozai learn it. It was to separate the throne from the advisors, but in this circumstance, it would separate Azula from the assassin. Iroh could see the man over Ty Lee's shoulder, just outside the ring of fire.

"I'm sure," Azula said flatly, staring at him with hate in her eyes. Iroh took a slow breath. He had known what his betrayal would do, but it had been necessary. It had been the right choice. It was for the good of the world. Despite understanding these things, Iroh knew in his heart that it had been cruel.

"I am sorry." He said, shifting in his seat so that he could sling his instrument over his shoulder.

Azula scoffed, but her friends looked at her through the corners of their eyes. "I'm sure. You must be, now that I am going to drag you back to father in chains. Tell me, where is dear little Zuzu?"

"Prince Zuko has gone. I know not where. He and Toph have taken their own path to find the Avatar, and teach him earth and fire." Iroh poured tea into each of the glasses. "I am not sorry for my spat with Ozai. He has never loved me, and the love I bore from him burned away when he banished your brother. I am sorry only for hurting you."

"Tut, tut, Uncle," Azula said, her lip curling in distaste. "Do you really think that I would so willingly believe your lies? After I have learned your true nature? That of a snake in the grass, coiled and waiting to strike."

"I do not lie, my niece," Iroh said. He wordlessly offered the tea to the three young women, who ignored it. Iroh took his own cup and sipped it calmly. "I wish it had never come to that. As I have said before, I love you. It breaks my heart to think of how I hurt you so."

Azula laughed, though there was little humor in it. "Is that so? I doubt that, Iroh. Just like Zuko, and mother before him, you do not care for me. You might think your words are honey, but in truth, they are nought but brine."

"What lies has Ozai filled your head with?" Iroh asked, a cold knot forming in his chest. "Do you really think that your mother and brother never cared? That they lied to you in all things? Were there confessions of love in the bright days of your childhood false?"

Azula's hand drifted up to the tip of her nose, resting on it briefly before she tapped her chin. "There is a man from The Caldera, a man with amber eyes. He speaks to you so sweetly, and he tells you that he cried. But the man is just a demon, he is an animal inside. Listen not to what he says, for the words he speaks are lies."

Iroh took another breath. It was a line from Amor Infernica, which warned a young lady not to trust the daring soldier. In the story, the soldier was a spy from another land, seeking to gain information from the daughter of a high-ranking minister. The young woman was misled and betrayed by the spy, and trapped in a dungeon in his homeland until she was saved by a darling prince. The two fell in love, until the prince's tragic death, and afterwards the young woman tore the world apart in vengeance. Iroh supposed that the line was fitting, given what he had done. Even if it was over the top.

"I have made three great mistakes in my life," Iroh said, pressing forward.

"It was certainly more than three." Azula rolled her eyes at him.

Iroh smiled weakly, and gave a sad chuckle. "True, very true. But there are three that stand above the rest." Iroh raised three fingers.

"The first was allowing my son to fight at Ba Sing Se." He lowered his middle finger, leaving two others in the air. "The second was taking Zuko into the war meeting. He was not ready, this I should have known." He lowered his ring finger.

"And the third?" Azula asked scathingly. "Tell me, was it not buying your wife flowers? Was it not cheating in Pai Sho?"

"The last mistake," Iroh said, lowering his little finger and his arm. "Was leaving you alone in that place with your father."

There was silence for a moment, broken only by the crackling of Iroh's wall of fire. The assassin shifted, inching closer to the ring. The silence was suddenly broken by the sound fo Azual's mocking laughter.

"Really, Uncle?" She said, "Your greatest regret was leaving me in the care of the only person who loves me? You are an old fool, aren't you."

"Perhaps," Iroh said, "But all the same. Ozai has poisoned your mind against your mother and brother, saying what he knows will turn you into his ultimate weapon. He has even allowed you to travel with such foul company."

"Oh? Do you not approve of my friends? Or is it Colonel Mongke?" Azula asked, feigning concern. "Either way, it doesn't quite matter. If you dislike them, then I am in fine company."

Iroh waved his hand in the air vaguely, dismissing her assumption. "Fine men, fine friends you have. I am concerned with the assassin that Zhao has sent with you. He has been ordered to kill you and Zuko."

"Oh no! What shall I do?" Azula deadpanned.

"I do not lie, and I do not jest. Your life is in danger, the combustion bender is not your ally!" Iroh said, willing her to believe him. Behind Ty Lee, the man in question stiffened.

"I'm sure." Azula said. Her flat tone made it obvious that she did not believe him. "Well, if anything, you can plead the case on the way to the Fire Nation."

"I am not going to the Fire Nation with you," Iroh said, "Despite the danger of the company you keep, I must go to Ba Sing Se."

"And why is that?" Azula asked.

"It matters little," Iroh said. "All that matters is that you understand. I am not your enemy, the people of the Earth Kingdom are not your enemies. Your enemy is in your midst, walking beside you. He is ordered to kill you."

"Then why has he not?" Azula asked, obviously refusing to consider the idea. "The Combustion Man has been a steadfast companion. He follows orders without question."

"Because Zhao wants Zuko killed first!" Iroh said.

"Zuko, the Avatar, the First Son, even the Sea Wolf and your little earthbender friend, I could almost believe. But me? I don't think so. Really, Uncle, your lies are less and less believable."

"It is true!" Iorh said, "I don't know what Zhao cares for the deaths of the Avatar or his friends, though I imagine that he wishes for Sokka's death now more than ever. What I do know is that you are in danger."

Azula looked confused for a second. "Why would Admiral Zhao want Sokka killed now more than ever?"

Iroh blinked at the sudden change in subject. "My friends have told me that Chief Arnook still wishes to merge, that upon Hakoda's agreement, the First Son shall be named emperor of the Water Tribes."

Azula blinked. A twitch of her mouth followed and was smoothed. "Liar."

Iroh slowly shook his head. He grit his teeth. He had hoped that it wouldn't come to this. He stood slowly, and Azula took a firebending stance. Iroh met her eyes, and then in less than a second, he whipped his arms in the circular motions that necessitated lightning. He saw her eyes widen in sudden shock, and he flicked his own to face the Combustion Man. Azula saw him move his eyes, and she was in motion. Iroh loosed the lighting and something crashed to the earth.


Azula watched as her uncle generated lighting. He was fast, nearly as fast as her father. She met his eyes, and saw in them a grim determination. She felt shock, and a frozen tendril of fear snake into her heart as he neared the completion of his attack. Suddenly his eyes flicked to her left, towards… Ty Lee! He was going to kill her, for what reason she couldn't begin to understand, but she wouldn't allow that. Summoning forth her fire, she used it to launch herself into her friend, knocking them both to the ground. Thunder roared, and an odd wet thumping sound came from behind them in the trees.

Azula leapt to her feet to fight Iroh, but, impossibly, the man was gone. The wall of fire had followed him to wherever the man had fled. Ty Lee lay stunned on the ground, looking up at Azula.

"Y-" Ty Lee started, "You saved me!"

"Obviously." Azula said, scanning for Iroh. "I wasn't going to let him kill one of my best friends. Any of my friends, for that matter."

Ty Lee got to her feet, and Azula pulled herself up. She scanned again, but saw no sign of her uncle. She saw Mai, who was looking behind them. She had an unfamiliar expression on her face.

"I don't think he was aiming for Ty Lee," Mai said.

Azula turned to the direction she was staring and saw what she meant. The Combustion Man was lying in the grass. He might have just fallen over or taken cover, if not for one thing. His head, or what was left of it, smoldered a foot away from his neck.


Author's Note:

Hello all, I am sorry for the late update. I met a girl and she has taken up much of my free time.

Also, I ended up deleting almost the entire chapter last week and starting over.

Thirdly, the quote Azula says to Iroh is something taken from the final book of the inheritance cycle. I always thought it was kinda cool, so I figured I should put it in. It's a bit hypocritical of Azula to be mad at Iroh for lying. Glass house and all that.

Bonus: The White Lotus love to gossip about the goings on. This has coincidentally created the quickest and most accurate information network of all time.