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...

223. Chapter 223: Fire Lord for a Week 4

"While we may not have been as quick about it as we had hoped to be, I'm proud to say the first raid on Fire Fountain City has been a resounding success"

If there were any words that could ease Azula's distress over the current situation with the missing ships, Mei Xun had just uttered them: the Interim Fire Lord smiled and closed her eyes, savoring the report even before reading it thoroughly. The Captain of the Capital's Enforcers had brought it to the Palace's study as the sun started to set on Azula's third day substituting her father, knowing that the Crown Princess wouldn't have enough free time to visit the Enforcers' Headquarters until her week as Fire Lord ended.

"Oh, it's good news, at last" she said, setting down the report on the desk "I'll make sure to read it as soon as I have the time, but if you say it was successful, I trust most matters were dealt with deftly…"

"Indeed" Mei Xun smiled, nodding "While there were a few obstacles, they weren't anything we weren't prepared to handle. If anything, the citizens were far more compliant with the raid than expected, and there were less arrests this time around"

"That's great. It's how it's supposed to be anyhow" Sokka commented: he stood by the study's draped window, listening to the conversation although he hadn't intervened much. It seemed Mei Xun found his presence by Azula's side to be a completely natural and expected happening, so, to his relief, she hadn't even reproached him for his absence from the Enforcers' training sessions as of late.

"Do you truly believe so?" Mei Xun asked. Sokka shrugged.

"Well, all the previous raids have been successful, so by now people will know that the Enforcers mean business" he said "It's probably easier to break the laws when you don't think you'll pay a big price for it, right? But now that they know they can't get away with breaking the new laws, they're a lot more cautious than before. That should make things a lot smoother in the next operations. But these are also the kinds of people who are much likelier to obey the laws, right? You've moved up from crime dens to smaller villages until you're finally dealing with large cities… right?"

"Crime dens are riddled with law-breakers. It's their very premise" Azula admitted "The higher you go in the social hierarchy, the likelier it is for them to abide by the laws, you think…?"

"Well, in theory, you'd expect it to be that way, but…" Sokka said, and Azula sighed and nodded.

"But the high class is probably just as bad as the crime dens, actually" she finished. Mei Xun nodded, thoughtfully "Lawbreakers in crime dens expect the laws won't apply to them because they never did before… and the nobility believe they're above the law, instead. Arguably, the nobles are likely to be much worse… attempts at corruption will be expected, Mei Xun"

"I'm aware" she said, nodding "I've done my best to prepare the soldiers for the trickery they might face, as well as the manipulations… it's not easy, however. Not everyone can remain strong and steadfast in the face of the schemes of a noble"

"Indeed" Azula said, breathing deeply "I wouldn't be surprised in the least if a few of the Enforcers did succumb to such manipulations… you'll have to keep a keen eye open for any signs of foul play"

"You expect they could be threatened?" Sokka asked "Or just bribed, maybe?"

"Indeed. Nobles are used to getting away with whatever they please" Mei Xun answered "And when their charms and empty promises fail, they try to use their connections as leverage to destroy whoever they hold responsible for their misfortunes…"

"If it comes to that, you can just send them to me" Azula said, with a sharp grin "I'd like to think they'd know better than to play such dangerous games with the Fire Lord's daughter"

"Or the Fire Lord herself, seeing as that's what you are this week" Sokka smirked. Azula closed her eyes but nodded, still amused.

"Rest assured, we will handle this as best as we can" Mei Xun said "I'll send word if things grow complicated, but we intend to deal with these obstacles ourselves for now, at least"

"I'd be most pleased if you can handle everything yourselves, I won't deny that" Azula nodded sagely "As for the stealth division…?"

"It began operations about two weeks ago, as I've mentioned" Mei Xun nodded "We haven't made nearly enough progress yet, but we're finding promising leads, regardless. They trust they'll nab a clandestine slave supplier within another month, if all goes well"

"Good news" Azula said, grinning "Seems like everything is moving along quite smoothly for the Enforcers, then. I'm pleased"

"I hoped you would be" Mei Xun smiled too, pushing herself to her feet "I'll send word if anything changes within the next four days, but I don't expect it will be necessary, frankly"

"Let's hope you're right" Azula said, nodding in her direction.

Only then did Mei Xun pay specific attention to Sokka. He tensed up, smiling awkwardly as the tall woman raised an eyebrow carefully.

"Can we expect you to be back in the training grounds once the week is over, Instructor Sokka?" she asked. His guilty grin spoke for itself.

"Y-yeah. That sounds about right" he said. To his relief, Mei Xun smiled sincerely at him.

"Good. We'll expect you by then, if so" she said, before performing an appropriate, deep reverence for Azula "The best of luck with your temporary duties, Interim Fire Lord"

"Thank you" Azula said, nodding once more. Mei Xun left the room with an agreeable smile. As soon as she closed the door behind herself, however, Azula sighed and lowered her gaze "I'm sure I'm going to need it"

"Hey, now… you've handled everything perfectly well so far" Sokka said, smiling and stepping closer to Azula, rubbing her armored shoulder with a hand "I know, I know, you're worried about the missing ships… but you did what you had to do. They're not going to get through the barrier at Azulon's Gates, right?"

"It's not very likely, no" Azula conceded, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips "But the closed gates are still a source of trouble. They can't stay closed for too long, or else the economic consequences will be catastrophic… and that's the last thing I need when our future literally rides on how successful I am at handling this crisis, huh?"

"Come on, now" Sokka said, leaning on the desk right beside her, without a care in the world: Azula raised a judgmental eyebrow at his rear, placed perfectly upon her father's flawless mahogany desk "You need to stop pressuring yourself further by thinking about that, okay? I know you can't really help it, but you're only going to drive yourself crazy if you obsess with how much we might lose if this goes wrong…"

"Eh… I think it's too late for that by now" Azula sighed, returning her gaze to the papers right underneath the report Mei Xun had brought her, documents she had been working on before the captain's visit "I can't help what's happening with the damn ships, but I can do my best to protect this nation and ensure the consequences for this mess aren't as bad as they promise to be. If I work on tending to all the potential problems that might arise over this, I'll be less likely to risk my coveted future role as High Governor of the Colonies, right…?"

Sokka sighed and shook his head before reaching for her arm. He yanked her to her feet delicately, and Azula fell into his arms, setting her head on his shoulder, by sheer instinct.

"You need to get your mind off your problems. Again" he said. Azula sighed "And as it seems to be the entire universe's opinion that my current duty to you is to make sure you can clear your head, I'm going to do just that…!"

"We're not having sex in my father's study"

"I… hey! I didn't say that we would!" Sokka pouted, though Azula smiled.

"Well, now, if that's not what you had in mind, I'll be genuinely disappointed" she said, raising her head to glance at him "It's hard to believe you haven't thought of doing that today"

"Heh, trust me, I've wanted to do more than enough things I shouldn't with you, at every hour of every day" he said, smiling and cupping her face "But it's going to be dinner time soon, and if we keep acting up, we're definitely going to get caught by the wrong person eventually"

"True…" Azula sighed dramatically, and Sokka chuckled before reaching for her hand.

"You and I, Princess, are going to take a walk, and I'll say lots of ridiculous things to you the whole time, until you feel better" he said. She smiled, prodding his nose with hers.

"Just that proposal is enough to improve my mood, frankly. Good job" she said, and he snickered.

"See? I'm just that good at what I do, always have been…" he teased her. Azula laughed, but allowed Sokka to steer her towards the door, letting go of her hand just before pushing it open.

She certainly would welcome a break, after having spent hours on end cooped up in her father's study – she suspected Ozai would be outraged if he knew she had eaten lunch on his desk while still working on finding solutions to the many arising predicaments, the consequences of closing the Great Gates of Azulon. By now she had organized a feasible enough strategy of economic compensation to the ships that would likely struggle due to the closing of the gates, as well as a diagrammed, proposed solution to allow ships to disembark their cargo in secondary ports within the mainland's outer shores. It wouldn't be quite so safe, and if such a solution were implemented, she still had to manage all the details on how to transport the cargo throughout the more rural roads of the mainland…

A simple act, even if made for the right reasons, carried countless consequences alongside it. Overlook anything, and the already precarious balance of the Fire Nation could falter altogether. Azula suspected her father hardly lost any sleep over what he'd deem the lesser consequences of his actions, but her strongest support was to be found in the common folk, Azula knew as much. While the nobility had appeared to grow fonder of her in recent years, her current work with the Enforcers might just turn them against her, especially if she ensured any attempts to weave corruption into the Enforcers' ranks failed. If she was already going to antagonize the ruling class, she couldn't afford doing the same thing with anyone else, for everything she had worked for might turn out to be in vain, if that happened…

"Alright, alright, enough with that grumpy-looking grimace, Azula" Sokka's voice broke through her thoughts, and his hand clasped her elbow as he guided her faster to the gardens "Come on, come on! We can go check on Xin Long…!"

"He's out right now" Azula said, and Sokka froze, his eyebrow twitching "He assumed I won't be needing him too often through this week, so he spends most his days doing as he pleases, frolicking in plains and meadows, chasing cattle, all those wicked things that bring a smile to a dragon's face…"

"We should go do those things, then. Aren't we dragons now too?" Sokka teased her. The memory of their last journey brought a smile to Azula's face.

"It hardly feels real, sometimes" she said "Not just what we found, but everything that happened while we were there…"

"You could safely say it was magical, eh?" Sokka grinned "I have to say, I have very few complaints about our last trip. Yeah, sure, getting chased by sandbenders and buzzard-wasps wasn't fun, and I really hated that you got hurt by that rock Toph threw at you, and nearly freezing and drowning while we were in that tunnel wasn't fun…"

"That's just a few complaints? Really?" Azula smirked. Sokka chuckled.

"Okay, okay, I'm just saying, the bad stuff can't even compare to the good stuff" he said, finally releasing her from his grip once their feet had left the long, marble halls and entered the garden's softer, grassy area instead "We should just keep talking about this too, this way you won't be able to overwhelm yourself with Fire Lord nonsense…"

"Ugh, it's not nonsense" Azula sighed, shaking her head "There's so much I need to brace myself for, Sokka…"

"Can't you try to focus on what's going well, at least while we're on this short break, and then worry about fixing everything when you go back to the study? Though, hey, it's pretty late by now. Might be a better idea to just go get some dinner and tuck into bed, right?"

"Wrong" Azula groaned, shaking her head "I can't afford that, Sokka, no matter how nice the idea might be, but…"

"You have to be involved in everything, no matter what" Sokka finished, pouting. Azula gazed at him hopelessly.

"I know I'm not much fun these days, but once this mess with the missing ships is resolved, I promise I'll be better" she said, scarcely resisting the urge to squeeze his hand reassuringly "I can't help but wonder if my father has faced situations like this one before… maybe he simply sent his assassin to deal with it, back then"

"I guess that makes matters a lot easier" Sokka said "That way no one has to know something's out of control, huh? He could have had that Seethus working more often than we realized…"

"I've always assumed he did, even if I've also assumed we'll never know for sure" Azula sighed, continuing to walk beside Sokka, progressing slowly through the Palace's gardens: Xin Long's refuge loomed ahead, empty, with most its gates wide open, as though waiting for the dragon to descend back home "For a Fire Lord whose very rise to power was questionable, my father's rule has been remarkably smooth and peaceful. It's only logical that he would have silenced dissent and uprisings quietly, whenever they happened… just as he did those days"

Sokka gritted his teeth, longing to hold Azula's hand as well: memories of Ozai's murder spree always darkened her mood, and as they were out in the open, Sokka couldn't quite comfort her as he often did. Taking this walk probably wasn't as good an idea as he had thought, initially…

Azula's footsteps slowed to a halt gradually, though, just after they had walked past the refuge. Sokka stopped as well, turning to find his secret wife was frowning, once more sporting that familiar crease between her eyebrows.

"What's wrong now?" Sokka asked, apprehensively.

"Merely… the White Lotus has seemed to vanish ever since those days, didn't they?" she asked "And I'm not saying they're the ones behind this mess with the ships, but… what if it weren't exactly them? What if it were…?"

She couldn't quite finish posing her thought to Sokka: a sudden crashing sound startled the gladiator and his sponsor, who glanced quickly at the Palace anew. The noise had come from the terrains concealed by the next corner of the building, it seemed…

And it was accompanied by a familiar, female voice, though it was still too far away for her words to be understood.

"Toph…?" Sokka said, raising an eyebrow as Azula sighed.

"That little brat" she grunted, speeding her way towards the sounds of combat, followed closely by Sokka "I thought we were under attack, for crying out loud…"

"Well, you're on edge, Azula, if this mess weren't happening you wouldn't have thought so" Sokka pointed out, and the Princess released another breath, rolling her eyes.

"I guess that's true, but I still need to give her a piece of my mind" she said "At the very least she'd better promise she'll smooth over the grounds she's training at, right?"

Sokka smiled a little, unsure Toph would show the Palace such courtesy, especially if Azula demanded it harshly: the earthbender's unruly behavior and natural urges to rebel against any figure of authority wouldn't be likely to recede now that Azula was Fire Lord for a week.

Yet Azula's intent to scold her friend froze over quickly once the young earthbender finally came into view, right behind the Palace's main building.

Toph was crafting massive rock attacks at vertiginous speeds, breaking whole chunks of the ground out of place and casting them at the true source of Azula's surprise: Iroh, dressed with light training garb, stood across Toph, launching potent firebending defenses against his gladiator's attacks.

A proud smile spread over the earthbender's face, though the firebender was fully focused instead: it seemed Toph was far too difficult an opponent to take lightly, despite she was most evidently enjoying herself to the fullest by sparring against her sponsor. As soon as she let down her barrage of speedy attacks, Iroh launched his own offensive, and it was Toph's turn to build sturdy shields of rock that would keep her safe from the inferno her partner would unleash upon her.

Sokka and Azula stood side by side, watching the two benders fighting fiercely. It didn't escape Azula's notice that her uncle, as old and stocky as he always had been, appeared far more fit now than he had been during the Race. This wasn't their first training session together… and it seemed the retired general was taking his firebending training far more seriously these days than he had in years.

Iroh had been attacking Toph quite relentlessly, but at the slightest moment of hesitation, Toph launched her large, tall earthen shield against her sponsor. Iroh barely had a chance to jump out of the way of the rushing earth, following it with his gaze after it passed him by… to find the tall earth cluster was, most likely, going to crash against the two onlookers he hadn't noticed until then.

Toph had been so focused on her training with Iroh she hadn't stopped to reason with the presences her feet had sensed, just behind her sponsor. She flinched, stretching her arms out to stop her attack, which rolled steadily towards them as a tidal wave might…

Until it was shattered violently by a blast of charged, blue fire.

Sokka shielded his eyes from the earth that pelted them, but Azula stood in place, ignoring the crumbling feat of earthbending as she glared at Toph. The earthbender flinched, despite she couldn't exactly see her friend's reaction…

"Uh… sorry" Toph said, the corners of her lips twisting downwards. Azula scoffed.

"You will be sorry indeed, Bandit" Azula declared, haughtily "Don't even think about wrapping up your training for the day without evening the Palace grounds properly, you hear me?"

"Oh? That's what you're mad about?" Toph asked, raising her eyebrows.

"What, you thought this puny attack of yours would take me for surprise a second time? Not a chance" Azula smirked, prompting Sokka to chuckle at her boldness beside her.

There was promised, bad blood brewing between them after the Race, or at least, that's what Toph had assumed… yet now Azula was behaving just as she had before that chaotic final stage of the Race had unfolded. Maybe Sokka had been right when he had told her Azula wouldn't hold it against her… with that reassuring thought in mind, Toph smiled earnestly now.

"Yeah, yeah, as if you weren't awed by how much stronger I've gotten since we last crossed blows, Spicy… huh. Spicy Lord? Sounds weird, come to think of it…"

"Well, you'll only have to call me that for about four more days. You don't have to get used to it" Azula said, smiling slightly.

It was the first time they had bumped into each other since the Race, Sokka realized: Iroh and Toph had, most likely, returned to the Fire Nation after the event had ended, whereas he and Azula had continued to travel across the large continent. Had the earthbender devoted all that time to developing her skills further, just as he had taken the opportunity to craft the chi-blocking disperser to use against her? And, most importantly, had Iroh finally taken to training thoroughly with his gladiator? He might have even started doing as much earlier than this, considering how long he and Toph had been away, searching for Zuko, and how he had been fit enough to fight and run throughout the Race without betraying any considerable exhaustion…

The old man's eyes were set on them right now, but whatever thoughts were crossing his mind were a complete mystery, as they often were for Sokka. Azula, clearly, would prefer focusing on Toph than on her uncle, but her eyes still darted towards him warily for a moment, as though weighing what Iroh's next move might be, if he made one at all.

"Anyways, it's not like you guys have much room to complain" Toph said, raising her hands so they'd rest behind her head "I've sensed you two sparring most mornings, right? It's the same thing, isn't it?"

"We don't exactly tear the Palace's grounds to pieces when we spar, however" Azula said, with a dry grin. Toph scoffed.

"Then you're doing it wrong!" she declared, with a proud grin. Azula smirked as she shook her head.

"It's unusual for you guys to be training like this, though" Sokka said, finally daring to speak his mind rather than allowing Iroh's presence to daunt him into silence "Are you preparing for the next race already, by any chance?"

"Heh, we might be" Toph said, stubbornly "And this time you guys are going down, for sure!"

"What, you're sending us underground again?" Sokka taunted her, with a smirk "You do realize that's why we won the last stage, don't you?"

"I… that's not the point!" Toph huffed, blushing as she tightened her fists at either side of her body. Both Azula and Sokka laughed as the earthbender stormed up to them "Yeah, yeah, be as cocky as you wanna be, but you know what, Dog? I'm getting stronger, way stronger than before, and I'm going to kick your ass the next time we fight. Which, by the way, is going to happen way sooner than you think!"

"Ahaha… wait, what?" Sokka's smile soured quickly at those confident words, and Toph smirked as she raised her head, her dark, disorderly bangs swaying with the movement.

"I'm fighting my final earthbending opponent in two weeks" she announced, proudly "Just one more victory under my belt… and then you two are going down again! As you always do!"

"Heh, conveniently forgetting the Race right now?" Sokka asked. Toph shook her head.

"That was different. You, me, fighting one-on-one? That's what really counts, and you know it, Dog" she smirked.

"For you, maybe. I'd much rather fight side by side with my sponsor" Sokka said, beaming.

"Sure, she's the tough one, after all…"

"Hey! You take that back!"

The promised back-and-forth between Toph and Sokka could have been entertaining, but Azula's attention drifted towards Iroh by now: he had fetched a towel he had brought with him for the training session, and he was wiping his face clean from the sweat right now. The tension between them lingered still, but Azula wondered if perhaps some of it had dwindled after they had exteriorized some of it by fighting in the Race. She didn't expect Iroh to like her, let alone would she want him to… but cordiality was better than hostility when it came to the old man, that much was true. She had no idea what Iroh might prove capable of, if he were to catch her with her guard down while she served as her father's substitute…

"Is everything going well, Interim Fire Lord?"

His question took her aback, and both Sokka and Toph fell silent as Iroh glanced at Azula, his clear eyes bearing into hers. The Princess gritted her teeth but nodded, fearing she was wearing her emotions on her sleeve these days: Iroh was bound to realize something wasn't as right as it should be, wasn't he?

"It has, in general" she replied, as soberly as possible.

"The duties of a Crown Prince pale besides those of a Fire Lord, don't they?" Iroh said. Azula's eyebrows twitched at his words "I never held the title for as long as you will, but I was Interim Fire Lord myself a few times, during my father's rule"

"It makes sense that you were" Azula said, trying to conceal her discomfort at the revelation: having anything in common with the old man was deeply unsettling.

"It's wise of you to clear your mind once in a while, if that's what your morning training sessions and this walk were about" Iroh said, setting down the towel anew "It's far too easy to be swept up by the pressures of the role"

"Well, Azula is handling things as well as possible" Sokka declared proudly, sending a flurry of mixed feelings through Azula's spine with his typical supportive words: she didn't need Iroh to return to his suspicions about their relationship, despite she rather appreciated that Sokka would constantly stand by her as he did "If anything, I'm sure the whole Fire Nation will be damn sorry once her father returns"

"Uh… considering the bulk of the Fire Nation doesn't even know my father isn't here right now, I doubt that" Azula said, raising her eyebrows in Sokka's direction.

"Which is great, right? If they haven't even noticed there's been a brief change of management, it means you're keeping the peace so well they can go on with their merry lives without a care in the world" Sokka concluded, beaming. Azula grimaced but shrugged.

"I guess that's one way to look at it…"

"It's the only way you ought to look at it, damn. You're always so paranoid about the slightest thing that could go wrong…" Sokka pouted.

"Well, I don't know any other paths to success, so I'll continue to be paranoid if I must" Azula retorted "It's paid off well enough with the Enforcers so far…"

"Ah, see? Things with the Enforcers are, undoubtedly, going well!" Sokka exclaimed, grinning "So there you go, one thing you can take pride on without…!"

"True, but the Enforcers aren't related to my current duties as Interim Fire Lord" Azula said, raising her eyebrows matter-of-factly. Sokka grimaced, an eyebrow twitching.

"You just don't know how to be happy, do you?" he asked. Despite knowing they weren't alone, Azula couldn't contain an affectionate smirk.

"Not under circumstances like these, I don't" she said.

"Is anything in particular going badly?" Iroh asked suddenly, startling Azula "It would be most unexpected, coming from you…"

Despite bracing herself for hostility, she sensed very little of it, if any, in Iroh's tone right now. Azula glanced at her uncle, who had come to stand beside Toph: there was no hint of amusement in his voice or countenance, none of his relaxed, careless behavior. For a moment, Azula pondered if perhaps he was taking her seriously as a potential ruler of the Fire Nation, for the very first time…

"It's… nothing major, I hope" Azula said, before she could hold herself back. Sokka frowned: he hadn't expected her to show any vulnerabilities to Iroh, of all people "The measures I've taken to counter the problem should have worked, theoretically…"

That was what she told herself, and it was what she had to cling to, but the information Zhao had sent – that there was a waterbender in the group, that they were likely heading towards the Capital, or at least to the inner Fire Nation, beyond the Great Gates of Azulon –, paired with her latest guess regarding who might be behind the disappearance of the ships, could easily chill the blood inside her body, overriding the influence of her powerful inner fire.

She hadn't told Sokka about that guess just yet: she had been about to do so just as they found Toph and Iroh. Perhaps it was a good idea to take that chance now, if possible…

"Either way, I don't think we should intrude on your training any longer" Azula said, nodding in Toph's direction "If you'll be facing your last earthbending opponent, you certainly shouldn't be distracted …"

"Eh, he's probably not going to be anything serious" Toph smirked "None have been, so far. This training is for when I fight your Dog, and Combustion Man afterwards…"

"Good to know you take me more seriously than you take other earthbenders" Sokka declared, beaming, and Toph stiffened.

"I… I didn't say that!"

"You implied it, that's enough for me" Sokka beamed, and Azula laughed before rolling her eyes.

"And this silly argument is enough for me too" Azula said "Make sure you smooth the grounds over before you finish up for the day, Toph. I won't have you tearing the Palace to pieces under my watch"

"So boring. Your dad's not as stuffy about how I rearrange your garden as you are!" Toph declared, stubbornly, and Azula sighed, shaking her head.

"I highly doubt that, but do as you wish. If you get in trouble for it once he comes home, I'll make sure he knows you're absolutely eager to face your punishment…"

"Ha! You'll never take me alive, Spicy!"

The earthbender took up a playful combat stance, and Azula laughed at it at first… but her amusement dwindled when Toph lowered her fists, frowning as she sensed someone running their way.

"Princess! W-wait, no, Interim Fire Lord!"

The voice came from a soldier, running at full speed towards them. He was currently at the level of the dragon's refuge, panting heavily as though he had been racing throughout the Palace for far too long. Yet the one detail that caught Azula's attention was the closed scroll he held in his hand: it was fastened with a black ribbon.

All her leisurely smiles were guaranteed to vanish at that sight. Azula frowned heavily and stepped towards the soldier, who finally slowed down before her, failing to announce or explain himself before the Princess snatched the letter out of his hand in a single move.

"This… arrived… f-from the… Naval Coordination and… Office…" he panted, and Azula nodded.

"Thank you. You're dismissed" Azula said, though the soldier sighed and dropped on his knees instead of leaving. He had spent the better part of fifteen minutes searching the Palace high and low, trying to track down the Princess only to glance out a window to discover, merely moments ago, that she was taking a stroll with her gladiator, rather than in her room, her father's study or even the dining hall…

Azula ignored his breathlessness, however, far too concerned by the letter to pay attention to whether the soldier would leave or stay. She tore it open in a hurry, immune, at least at the moment, to the many eyes that followed her every action. No one asked any questions as she read the report Zhao had sent her now, knowing better than to interrupt as she scoured the new letter at haste…

Yet, where Sokka had fleetingly hoped the Princess's reaction to new information would be positive, his heart sank upon finding the very opposite thing: she appeared more aghast as her eyes traveled frantically upon the text, and her breathing was uneven by the time she finally lowered the paper.

"Curse everything. I knew it, I knew it had to be him, but I didn't want to believe it" Azula snarled, her free hand clenching into a tight fist.

"You knew it? Azula, what happened now?" Sokka asked, despite dreading the answer long before she gave it.

"They made it past the Gates" Azula said, her voice faint yet clear enough for Sokka to understand her words. He frowned, unease surging in his gut.

"The Gates?" Iroh repeated, and only then did Azula remember Iroh had been here, mere moments ago, asking whether matters were moving along smoothly in her job as Interim Fire Lord or not… curse her rotten luck "You closed them? For what reason?"

Azula sighed, wrapping the letter back into a scroll as she braced herself to reveal the truth to her uncle. A truth she certainly didn't wish to speak, let alone to him… but this was about much more than her reputation and her performance as Interim Fire Lord. For, if her earlier guess and the letter's contents matched, her future assignment should be the least of her concerns right now.

"Two patrol ships went missing earlier this week" Azula explained. Iroh's brow furrowed at the news "I've tasked Zhao with coordinating the search, yet the other patrol ships have failed to track them down until now. The last news we received was that, in all likelihood, there was a waterbender aiding them… now we know for sure that there was one"

She handed the letter to Sokka, who gritted his teeth as he yanked it open quickly.

"The waterbender seems to have submerged the ships safely under water just as the sentries at the Gates launched their attack" Azula explained, hands on her hips "They resurfaced at the other side, and as all patrol ships were dispatched outside the Gates, there was no way they could give chase once they had crossed underwater. They've breached our defenses. And now…"

"What is this?" Sokka said, his voice trembling, halfway through the report. Azula stiffened "The sentries still posted at the Gates said… the waterbender seems to have some sort of prosthetic limb?"

"Indeed, that's what it says" Azula said, gazing at him with uncertainty "And that's not all…"

Sokka frowned as she continued reading. It seemed most the men aboard the stolen ships were confirmed foreigners, with no sign of the Fire Nation soldiers anywhere. Most men appeared Earth Kingdom-born, except for the apparent leader, who was seen giving orders to both ships as they continued to sail inland: a tall, muscular man with straight black hair, wielding a guandao spear.

Sokka nearly dropped the letter altogether, raising his eyes to find Azula's own, confused and concerned ones. He shook his head promptly, breathing deeply only to release the air in agitated huffs, but Azula couldn't lie to his face. She couldn't simply tell him their suspicions, their fears, the evidence, was completely wrong and misguided…

"What the heck is the matter with you two?" Toph blurted out suddenly, confused and slightly disgruntled "What's it to you that there's a waterbender with a prosthetic limb in those ships? Surely you can take down a waterbender no problem, can't you?"

"Waterbenders are more dangerous than you might expect, Toph" Iroh said, but he eyed Sokka and Azula with suspicion all the same "Yet that he has a prosthetic seems particularly important, doesn't it?"

"It could be someone Sokka faced in the Arena once before" Azula said, clenching her fists before folding her arms over her chest "And that he'd ally himself with… with the likely main culprit for this whole mess seems perfectly fitting, actually. I pondered it might be him even before this, but I can scarcely believe it yet…"

"You already thought it could be Rhone?" Sokka whispered, his heart sinking heavily as he spoke his question aloud. Toph appeared just as perplexed as before upon hearing the name, for she had never heard it until then. Iroh, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes "I know it probably is, but…"

"He was in the Northern Air Temple with a group of Earth Kingdom strangers several months ago, wasn't he?" Azula asked, frowning "At least this way we know he won't be tormenting the Mechanist anymore…"

"Who's Rhone?" Toph asked now, scratching her head.

"Ugh, another former gladiator…" Sokka said, rubbing his brow with his fingertips "An old friend of mine who then turned into an enemy, who I thought would rethink his life's purpose after we last met… but if this is really him, I was definitely wrong to hope for that"

"Is this the guy you mentioned the other day? When we reached Omashu?" Toph asked. Sokka sighed and nodded "Yeesh. So… a bunch of people with a grudge on you decided to climb on a boat and charge at the Fire Nation? I… don't get it"

"It's worse than that" Azula said, breathing out slowly "They may have a grudge against Sokka for their own reasons, but their main problem is with the Fire Nation itself. And… curses, the Spear. If… if it's truly what we believed…"

A streak of panic crossed the Princess's face before she turned and called for the soldier who was finally leaving, diligent and slowly.

"I need you to send word back to Admiral Zhao!" Azula exclaimed, striding up to the soldier, leaving Iroh and Toph behind with more questions than answers.

"A… spear?" Iroh repeated, as Sokka tensed up "What spear did she mean, Sokka?"

"We… we don't know for sure, okay? Maybe we're just rushing to conclusions" Sokka said, gritting his teeth "But back in the swamp, I had a strange dream where I saw Rhone with a group of unknown people and… huh, the Stingray wasn't there, come to think of it. Maybe he joined recently? Or maybe the dream is unreliable, and…"

"I told you the swamp has genuine power" Iroh said, though his voice was far more alarmed now "Don't dismiss that dream for no reason, especially when it looks like it might be coming true. What happened in it?"

"Well… I don't know for sure" Sokka said, grimacing. He certainly wasn't about to tell Azula's worst political enemy that she had wound up dead in his dream… for all he knew, Iroh might just decide to join forces with Rhone to see that he succeeded at that goal. Perhaps he was too paranoid, just like her, but he wasn't willing to risk his lover's life in any way "I had this horrible, foreboding feeling when I saw him. The spear was a guandao, and when I told Azula about it, she remembered this creepy story her father told her when she was a kid, about a spear… the Bloodlust Spear? A spear of legends…"

"You think… you think that man, Rhone, could have it?" Iroh asked, and for once, Sokka thought he'd seen genuine fear in his eyes. Well, at least he was taking the threat seriously "That's not… that can't be"

"Why not? You just said I couldn't dismiss the swamp's visions, so…" Sokka asked, though he fell silent when Azula returned to them, after the soldier had taken off in a hurry once again "What did you ask him to tell Zhao?"

"I'm summoning him, actually" Azula said, gritting her teeth "I've also ordered him to keep all our ships out of their way. I won't have him launching an attack on that damn ship until we know for sure what danger it poses. If this is truly the Bloodlust Spear, Rhone could kill countless of our men without the slightest hesitation, if they so much as attempt to stand in his way"

"Wouldn't he have used the Spear for that purpose already, though…?" Sokka reasoned "If he thought he'd get away with it, that is"

"Maybe" Azula said "Who says he didn't? As much as the waterbender pushed many ships away, it's possible the crews of both the ships they took were slaughtered, whether with the Spear or without it. I don't know just how bloodthirsty Rhone can be, but considering his history…"

"This only gets weirder and more convoluted by the minute" Toph said, grimacing "What's this weird spear and why are you all so paranoid about it?"

"It's a spear of legends" Iroh said, startling Toph "From many ages past, born from another time of strife and war, far from the Fire Nation"

"You know about it, then?" Azula asked.

"It was part of what little information on the Air Nomads has survived until our days" Iroh answered, surprising both Azula and Sokka.

"Wait… the spear belonged to the Air Nomads?" Sokka asked, perplexed.

"Not quite" Iroh said, sighing and shaking his head "As far as I understood, it was given to them, to be sealed and kept safe. At least, that's what the surviving documents state. It was a dangerous weapon, wielded in many wars of the Earth Kingdom, and it tipped the scales to any commander's favor, no matter the inferiority of his tactics or numbers. Well, as long as they could control the weapon, that is. The Air Nomads were said to have taken it into their custody precisely after a battle where the wielder of the Spear lost control and was killed by it, and all his fellow soldiers followed. It was a massacre of both sides. The Air Nomads were supposed to take the Spear away, lock it safely, so it might never be wielded again…"

"Couldn't they just cut it or something?" Sokka asked, grimacing "Slay the Spear?"

"Perhaps they didn't know how" Iroh said, with a shrug "It's not a weapon of this world"

"And weren't they supposed to have been the experts on matters that weren't from this world?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Indeed, which is why they kept it sealed, safely hidden away from any who might misuse it anew" Iroh said "When Zuko and I searched the Air Temples, many years ago, we learned of this story and saw no sign of the spear anywhere, so I assumed perhaps it truly was nothing but a legend, or it was sealed so safely there was no way it would ever be found anew. Though… we didn't search the Northern Air Temple"

"You didn't…?" Sokka asked: both him and Azula tensed up.

"Its exact location was still unknown when we set out" Iroh admitted, lowering his gaze "By the time Ozai's War Minister tracked it down, Zuko and I had been at sea for quite some time, and they weren't about to supply us with such information. But if you two have been there before…"

"Well, we weren't exactly looking for a spear from hell while we were there" Sokka said, frowning "Not to mention, how would Rhone know how to find it, or where? And… hey, he kept traveling outside the Temple, from what Teo and the Mechanist explained, right? Then…"

"Maybe they had sealed it elsewhere, and not within the temple itself" Azula suggested "The mountains nearby were large and confusing, remember? It's not impossible…"

"You still haven't explained what's so damn fancy about this weird spear of yours" Toph asked "Is it as weird as the Dog's sword that cuts through metal? Or the Jewel's sword that bends fire?"

"Worse" said Iroh, breathing deeply "The Bloodlust Spear was named for its evident thirst for blood. Yet my suspicion, upon reading about those legends… was that it chases after chi instead of blood. It's a corrupted spear… and spiritual corruption, from my understanding, pursues all that's living to make it rot"

Azula frowned at Iroh's words: it sounded remarkably similar to Seethus's skills. Could there be a connection between both things? Or was Iroh merely guessing, and her association of both matters had no correlation altogether?

"I don't know this for sure, of course" Iroh admitted "It could be it does pursue blood instead, and the name is closer to its true behavior than my understanding of it. A weapon of such properties… it can only be the result of some manner of spiritual corruption. And spirits do not behave quite as humans do. Their priorities, their motivations, their course of action… they are considerably difficult to predict and understand"

"So… okay, I'm not surprised to hear you taking spirit nonsense this seriously" said Toph, waving a hand at Iroh before pointing at Azula and Sokka "But you two? I thought you were on my side, right? The skeptics who don't believe in cosmic mumbo-jumbo?"

"Uh, we used to be, but…" Sokka said, breathing deeply and shaking his head "I don't think we can afford being skeptical right now. If this is truly what's happening…"

"If that Spear is real, and it's in Rhone's hands, of all people…" Azula continued, clenching her fists at either side of her body "Then we need to figure out a plan to stop him, with the least casualties. At haste"

"Even if it's not the spear, he needs to be stopped" Sokka said, frowning "Whatever he already did to the ships must have been bad enough, whatever he might do next… I don't even want to imagine it"

"And he had to launch his attack just when my father leaves me in charge" Azula sighed, turning towards the Palace's main building "If it were common knowledge that he's gone, I'd assume he was outright waiting for this chance…"

"Not the first time you suspect someone's feeding information to the enemy" Sokka said, patting her armored shoulder before casting one more glance at the other pair of gladiator and sponsor "See you guys later, I figure?"

"Wait, what? You drop this bomb on us and you'll just leave us to wait until you sort everything out yourselves?" Toph asked, her eyebrow twitching.

"Uh… not that I wouldn't welcome the help, Toph, but I'm not entirely sure you should get involved in a fight with a Spear that, for all we know, could even fly of its own accord" Azula said, raising her eyebrows as both she and Sokka glanced at the short earthbender "You're better off…"

"Do forgive me… but I can't say I'd be comfortable standing on the sidelines of this potential catastrophe"

Iroh's sudden declaration stunned the others cold. Once again, his eyes gleamed as he stepped towards Azula.

"We have bad blood, and I doubt it will go away anytime soon" Iroh told her "But I'm willing to put it aside for now, if nothing else. This threat to the Fire Nation is not child's play, Azula. You cannot take it for granted, and you need all the help you can get. I wouldn't want to put Toph at risk either, but she certainly could be of help in sorting out this crisis… as could I"

Azula couldn't give her eyes or ears any credit, despite she had heard and seen her uncle speaking those words earnestly. Was he that concerned by the threat the Spear posed? Was it, perhaps, a way to imply he didn't expect her to overcome this challenge on her own? Or, worse yet, did he wish to sabotage her operation to annul the threat Rhone represented, so the enemy could get away with whatever he was up to…?

Yet Azula questioned that last possibility: as antagonistic as Iroh could be towards her, he was underhanded in his tactics, manipulative, methodical. If he wanted her dead, he certainly would find a much classier way to get it done than through some supernatural spear. There weren't a lot of circumstances in which Iroh would willingly ally himself with Azula, especially after their latest conflicts… that he would offer his aid only revealed how dangerous and dire this situation truly was. It was possible he had some sort of agenda anyways… as far as Azula knew, he usually did. But it didn't seem to her that there was anything he'd gain from sabotaging her, in this situation. There was genuine fear in Iroh's usually unreadable eyes… and Azula tried to trust it, though she knew better than to lower her guard around Iroh altogether.

"You'd follow my leadership?" Azula asked, point-blank. Sokka tensed up beside her, astonished to discover she was pondering Iroh's offer of help after all.

The question didn't sit easily with the old man, who scowled after Azula posed it. It was a natural point of contention between two royals, accustomed to making things go their way: yet, regardless of Azula's inexperience at the head of a nation, she was, unquestionably, the one with more political power at the moment. Hence…

"I will speak my mind, if I disagree with your decisions" Iroh said, startling both Sokka and Toph now: was that submission? Surrender?

"I'd rather you did. Though you'll have to offer solid reasons for me to change my mind about anything I might want to do" Azula warned him, raising her eyebrows before casting a quick glance over the other two members of the group "Well, now, what's with those looks?"

"Just… I'm surprised, is all. By the two of you" Sokka said, blinking blankly, his eyes shifting between Azula and Iroh.

"Heh, truthfully, it shouldn't be that much of a surprise" Toph announced suddenly, grinning as her fists settled on her hips "You two helped us out once… without wanting to, sure, but you did and we never paid you back, did we?"

Azula raised an eyebrow as she assessed Toph's words. Clever of her to act as though she hadn't already paid back her own debt long ago, by concealing their secret for years, as she had…

"It's only right for us to give you guys a hand. And it reminds me of better days, too" Toph said, grinning and shrugging "I don't know a damn thing about fighting creepy spears that fly on their own, but count me in, too"

They were still facing a dire and grim threat that might upend the world as they knew it, but Azula managed to smile regardless and nod in Toph's direction. She couldn't deny it would be better to face this upcoming challenge with more allies on her side: Toph's skills would certainly allow further versatility in whatever strategies they could craft against Rhone. He wouldn't be likely to plan ahead for a wild card as wild as Toph could be, after all.

"What are we going to do, then?" Sokka asked, and Azula jerked her head towards the Palace building, guiding him back to the marble halls through the nearest entrance. Iroh and Toph's footsteps followed them, a warning that they couldn't afford the same closeness they had basked in during the early days of the week: even so, their presence proved slightly reassuring for the troubled Princess.

"We have a lot of planning to do" Azula said, softly "I'm not taking Rhone for granted. Whatever he's up to, he's made himself a full-blown enemy of the Fire Nation by capturing our ships. He'll be stopped, one way or another"

Sokka nodded, and Azula shot an uncertain glance in his direction after she finished speaking. She only found determination in his countenance, despite his furrowed brow spoke plainly of how troubled he was. He had hoped Rhone would turn over a new leaf, and his long absence had certainly made it appear as though he might do so… yet now it was clear his hopes had been unfounded. His unsettling swamp dream, instead, appeared to be closer to reality than he had ever wanted it to be…

But he refused to let matters reach the same disturbing conclusion they had in his dream. His fists tightened as fierce fire, just like Azula's own, burned in his eyes. The Princess watched him briefly, noticing how similar the hue in his irises was to her flames… she smiled to herself because of it as she turned towards her father's study. With Sokka standing by her side, so resolute and determined as he was, Azula's fears weren't louder than her own resolve to fight alongside the man she loved, even in the face of otherworldly dangers.

She ordered the guard who stood by the study's door to summon two of her guards for the upcoming meeting too. Iroh took his seat patiently at the couch Sokka had lounged at over the past three days, while Toph wandered the room aimlessly, hands behind her head. Sokka couldn't seem to take his seat just yet, nervous and uneasy beside Azula as she studied another map of the Fire Nation on her desk, this time one that depicted the Capital and the bay in detail. Within ten minutes, Fei Li and Rui Shi had entered the room.

"Is anything the matter?" Fei Li asked, immediately "Do you need us for anything, Princess?"

"I likely will, yes. I need both the leaders of my guards right now" Azula said, with a slow sigh. Fei Li blushed underneath his helmet at her acknowledgement: that she would take him that seriously as a leader when he scarcely felt like one himself was an unexpected surprise… "Feel free to remove your helmets. You're not here as guards right now, but as commanders in your own right"

Fei Li only seemed more tense and confused by Azula's words, but he obeyed the order, nonetheless. Rui Shi did as much without the same hesitation, though his brow was noticeably furrowed once his face was in display for everyone – but Toph – to see.

"Is this related to the information from the Naval Coordination and Communication Office?" Rui Shi asked, immediately. Azula nodded, and the guard sighed, despite her confirmation alarmed him all the more "What do you need of us?"

"I'll explain everything thoroughly once the last member of our group arrives" Azula said "It'll be for the best if I don't repeat myself needlessly"

Fei Li and Rui Shi exchanged a quick glance with Sokka, who rested against the desk unceremoniously now. That the gladiator seemed to understand, and even share, the Princess's apprehension, wasn't a good sign, as far as either guard could tell.

The two guards took their seats on the chairs before Ozai's mahogany desk. The silence and tension in the room affected their perception of time: they had only waited around twenty more minutes, yet it appeared to have been much longer than that, when the study's door burst open, revealing a confused and unsettled Zhao behind it. Without a hint of ceremony, his eyes found Azula, right behind Ozai's desk.

"Why did you order the troops to stand down?" he asked "We can send ships to track down theirs at haste, and this time they'd have no escape…"

"They could just as well escape in the same way they entered our inner waters" Azula said, curtly, and Zhao scowled "And as much as you fear otherwise, I did have reasons to give out that command, as well as to summon you here. Qiang?"

"Yes, Princess?" said the guard by the study's open door, bowing his head towards her promptly.

"Turn away anyone who wants to see me unless they bear any urgent messages" Azula commanded "Anything with my father's seal or from the Naval Coordination and Communication Office, you will bring to me at haste, but otherwise…"

"It will be as you command, Princess" Qiang replied, raising his head and nodding just before closing the door behind himself.

The group within the study wasn't large, yet Azula couldn't remember seeing this room as crowded as it was today. She breathed deeply before pushing herself up to her feet, hoping to have organized her thoughts and ideas appropriately.

"Most of you already know there's been a security breach in the Fire Nation navy, but for those who don't, I'll recap what we know" Azula started, wasting no time with pleasantries "Two patrol ships have been captured by a hostile party. All attempts to track them down went awry. Through the prowess of a waterbending member of their group, these enemies have managed to cross the Great Gates of Azulon from underneath them, according to the reports. Everything indicates their ultimate goal might be to strike at the heart of the Fire Nation: the Capital itself"

Her summary was short and blunt, and she conveyed it with level emotions… yet she could see Fei Li's horror increasing upon each of her new revelations. Rui Shi, the first to bring this matter to Azula's attention, clenched the armrest of his seat.

"I tasked Admiral Zhao with investigating the ships' disappearance" Azula continued "Today, he has procured information that may have finally revealed the actual culprit behind these attacks"

Zhao didn't even bother to conceal his surprise: he had only conveyed the information just as it had been conveyed to him, in turn. While the waterbender with a prosthetic certainly sounded like something unusual, he couldn't imagine how Azula had unraveled the identities of the rogue group attacking the Fire Nation just with that…

"The waterbender with a prosthetic arm is, in all likelihood, a gladiator formerly known as the Notorious Stingray" Azula said. Sokka gritted his teeth "And while we can't say for certain that we know who's one who wielded the spear, we have suspicions that he may be another former gladiator, also of Water Tribe origin, called the Kinslayer"

"The Notorious Stingray… a prosthetic?" Zhao repeated, and Sokka grimaced "Wait, were you responsible for that?"

"If it is indeed the Notorious Stingray, yes, my gladiator's fight with him had quite a gruesome result… but that's not what this is about" Azula said, breathing deeply "While, yes, my gladiator does have a history with both the men I've mentioned, I don't believe their ultimate goal is some sort of petty revenge on him. Both the Notorious Stingray and the Kinslayer have been known to hold strong grudges against the Fire Nation…"

"The Stingray was responsible for an attempt on Fire Lord Azulon's life, no less" recited Zhao. The words startled Iroh.

"Wait… it's not that waterbender, is it?" he said "I was certain he had been killed…"

"Fire Lord Azulon preferred to keep his waterbenders imprisoned, back in those days" Zhao answered "He was one of the only ones who survived long enough to become a slave, once the war against the Earth Kingdom was won"

"And this Kinslayer?" asked Fei Li, warily "Does his story matter at all, or…?"

"He killed his own family" Sokka said, bluntly, and the entire room fell silent at his unusually serious tone "His parents betrayed the Southern Water Tribe by offering the Fire Nation classified information about us… while there's no tangible evidence of their crime, it seems they truly did betray the Southern Water Tribe. Rhone killed them in retaliation for that betrayal… and he was banished from the Water Tribes ever since"

"Goodness…" Fei Li said, swallowing hard "He was willing to kill his own family over his hatred of the Fire Nation? Then… there's no way he'll back down with whatever he's doing, right?"

"It's not very likely, no" Azula said, sighing as she paced in the room slowly "The Kinslayer was known as a gladiator killer in the League, but he targeted firebending gladiators, specifically. That should speak for itself regarding how strong his grudge against our nation is, and why he would suddenly launch an attack upon us as he has…"

"Still, as dangerous as two mad killers may be, they only have enough manpower to steal two ships, as far as I can tell" Zhao said, raising his eyebrows "I can understand caution, but there's little they could do if we retaliated with a force that could neutralize their ships…"

"Which begs the question of why they'd launch such a fruitless attack in the first place, doesn't it?" Azula said, coming to rest against the desk, at the opposite side of where Sokka stood "An invasion of such a small scale is, without a doubt, a waste of time and effort, isn't it? If he's looking to die as a hero fighting against the Fire Nation, he might as well have traveled north and stolen ships of our navy there, to aid the only nation that still stands against us"

"It would have, maybe, redeemed him in the eyes of his nation too…" Iroh reasoned.

"Yet he chose to attack us, directly" Azula said, raising her eyebrows at Zhao "Don't you think this boldness suggests he's either incredibly stupid… or that he has a dangerous plan, one he's been executing flawlessly, up until now?"

Zhao frowned but fell silent this time. While, yes, he would gladly say the man behind this attack was a fool, the Princess wasn't wrong about one thing: every element in the enemy's plan seemed to have gone smoothly. They had stolen the ships and invaded the Fire Nation without any known casualties: even if the authorities and navy had caught notice of what was happening, their awareness of the problem and the defenses they implemented hadn't been enough to stop them. However complicated the execution might have been – the report said the waterbender wasn't in the best shape as he was brought aboard the ships that sailed into the Fire Nation's waters –, the undeniable truth was that the enemy's plot had been completely successful so far, from the looks of it.

"Now then… I have no intentions of letting them get away with whatever they're up to" Azula said, breathing out slowly "But in order to devise a proper strategy, I need to account for the many strange variables that seem to have popped up in this unforeseen situation"

"That waterbender, for one thing" Fei Li mumbled softly.

"And the Spear, for another" Iroh declared, startling half the room's occupants "I suppose you'd get to that next, Princess Azula?"

It was no surprise that he wouldn't address her as Interim Fire Lord, but Azula had no time to focus on such details right now. She breathed deeply but nodded.

"Part of the reason why we've assumed the Kinslayer is the man helming this attack is… well, the guandao spear he was reported to be holding" Azula said. Zhao nodded meekly "His physical description matches, too, and the likely animosity towards the Fire Nation, not to mention the potential assassination or capture of all sailors and soldiers aboard the ships… it all suits him perfectly well"

"Is he some sort of guandao master, then?" Rui Shi asked, but Sokka shook his head.

"Not… not that we know of" he revealed, gritting his teeth "This is probably the part where most of you will think we're completely paranoid and crazy, but the truth is that Rhone never had a guandao before, or at least, he didn't have one back when he was fighting in the Gladiator League. Still… we think it's him because of something that happened in the Gladiator and Sponsor Race, a few months ago"

"You bumped into that guy in the race?!" Fei Li exclaimed, eyes wide. Sokka shook his head again.

"No, it was… well, a dream I had" Sokka sighed, hanging his head as he waited for an onslaught of skeptical remarks and criticism… that didn't arrive. While no doubt Zhao, Fei Li and Rui Shi appeared puzzled, none of them spoke up about their disbelief in Sokka's words "Alright, well… the thing is, in this dream, he was surrounded by a group of strangers. I didn't know them, but I did recognize him, and he was holding a guandao. After I talked to Azula about it, she mentioned it could be a certain creepy spear from legends, but we chalked it down to nonsense because that sort of thing couldn't possibly exist, right…?"

"And I'd agree with that belief" Zhao said, raising a skeptical eyebrow "If you're talking about the Bloodlust Spear, I highly doubt it can be real…"

"Ah, I think people said that about a Library in a desert too…" Azula said, with an innocent smile. The blood drained from Zhao's face at her words.

"I… I'm not dismissing spirits altogether. But that spear wasn't a spirit" Zhao clarified "It's an old legend, one that I heard about a long time ago and that could have only been a story…"

"You searched for the Avatar with my brother, didn't you?" Iroh asked, point-blank, and Zhao froze on the spot "You read about the Spear in old documents about Air Nomads, much as me and Zuko did, many years later. And you expected the Spear to be found someplace in the Air Temples, which you explored for signs of the Avatar, first of all. At the lack of any signs of either thing, you assumed the Spear simply could not exist"

"Well… yes" Zhao nodded, eyeing Iroh warily.

"You didn't search all the temples, though, did you?" Iroh said, and Zhao frowned.

"My gladiator and I visited the Northern Air Temple during our last stay in Ba Sing Se" Azula continued, and all eyes were set on her once more "While we were there, the residents informed us that a group of men had freeloaded off them for months, at the end of last year: the leader was none other than Rhone, and he took maps of the region with him as he ventured out into the mountains with his men, presumably searching for something. Without any warning, the day came when he didn't return again. It suggests that he gave up on his quest, or…"

"Or he succeeded" Sokka said, bitterly "And seeing as there's a man of a similar description to him, wielding a guandao, on a stolen Fire Nation ship, heading our way now…?"

"You're… you're not saying he truly found it. That… that he's wielding a weapon powerful enough to wipe out entire armies on its own?" Zhao asked, but his words weren't permeated by dismissive derision: it was fear that rang in his voice. He had enough room to question Sokka and Azula's guesses, but he didn't dare do so… that was enough to reassure Azula, if just for now. As long as the people helping her sort out this catastrophe understood what was at stake in the worst-case scenario, they would have a chance to defeat Rhone.

"Either that or he found a guandao that lacks those skills, but he wields it as though it were the real Bloodlust Spear?" Rui Shi suggested. Azula raised an eyebrow but shrugged.

"I won't rule that out, it's not impossible that he's bluffing…"

"Why would this man know about that spear, though?" Fei Li asked, puzzled, casting glances at Zhao and Iroh "Admiral Zhao, General Iroh… you learned of it because of what you investigated about the Air Nomads, right?"

"That is correct" Iroh said.

"Was that guy some sort of Air Nomad fanboy, then?" Fei Li asked Sokka "Why would he have known of the spear at all…?"

"Well, it is a legend" Sokka said, shrugging "He could have heard it in passing at some point during the years after his banishment, I don't know…"

"As skeptical as I've always been of spiritual matters, I didn't give the story of that spear any more credit than anyone else does until Sokka had that strange dream" Azula said "It's entirely possible that we're jumping to conclusions, and that our guesses are absolutely off-base. If, as Rui Shi says, the spear Rhone wields is a common guandao he's passing off as a spear of legend, then defeating the Kinslayer shouldn't prove as complicated as I fear it might be. Yet, if this wretched spear does exist and he got his hands on it somehow, we will only harm ourselves, and the Fire Nation people, if we don't take the threat it represents as seriously as we should"

The words served as a callback to reason, one to which Iroh nodded with surprising approval. Azula breathed deeply, her eyes scanning every member of the room carefully.

"First of all, we need to guess what Rhone's next actions will be. If his spear is indeed capable of sapping out blood, or chi, or whatever it is it does, he could easily murder thousands, if not millions, within a short timespan" Azula said "The possibility that he could be wielding this spear is why I ordered all the ships within the inner waters to stand down: if any of them attack Rhone, and he wields the Bloodlust Spear…"

"The entire crew of the ship would be sacrificed to no avail" Iroh finished. Azula nodded.

"If he's fought in solid land, his waterbender won't have such a vast advantage over us" Azula said "Therefore, I'd propose we allow the Kinslayer free passage all the way to the bay"

"And then what?" asked Fei Li, eyes wide "Our people…"

"Need to be evacuated" Zhao said, crossing his arms over his chest. Once again, Azula nodded.

"Both from the bay area, and the Capital itself. The tunnels would do" she said, but Fei Li grimaced.

"Would they? If that guy enters the tunnels with the spear, he could easily kill our entire population underground…"

"You can't enter those tunnels without the assistance of a firebender or an earthbender" Azula said, raising her eyebrows "It's highly unlikely that Rhone would have secured a firebender's help, so an earthbender would have to do, and as far as I can tell, not every earthbender has the power Toph does"

"You mean, seeing with earthbending?" Toph asked, finally speaking for the first time in the meeting. Azula nodded.

"I haven't seen or heard of anyone else who uses earthbending that way other than you" Azula continued "Therefore, it stands to reason that Rhone wouldn't know how or where the evacuated population are hiding, as long as the process goes quick and smoothly. Yes, there's a risk that he could use the hypothetical Bloodlust Spear to chase after them… so an essential element in our defensive countermeasures will be keeping the spear above ground"

"And how would you pull that off?" Toph asked, cocking her head sideways "Not sure some creepy spear like that will be intimidated by a bunch of soldiers, no matter if they're benders or wearing fancy armor. Surely the ones from all those ancient wars were wearing it too…"

"It all depends on what Rhone's genuine goal would be" Azula said, and Sokka's eyes narrowed in her direction "While I have no doubts he'd gladly butcher the entire population of the Fire Nation if we give him that chance, he could easily do that without help if he has that spear. While yes, it's possible he needed allies to sail the ships and enter the Fire Nation safely, he could have recruited the Stingray alone and passed through the Gates with a fishing boat that two men could operate. It would have been a lot less suspicious, if he'd done that"

"Then you think he has all his cronies for a reason?" Toph asked.

"I wouldn't rule it out" Azula said, shrugging "Maybe he wants them to worship him for tearing the Fire Nation apart, and nothing more. But just as with the Spear, I'd rather plan for the worst-case scenario"

"And so, what could his real plan be…?" Sokka said, frowning "Well, if I were Rhone, and I had a magical spear at the ready to kill anyone who pisses me off, I wouldn't jump out to use it at the first opportunity. I could use that weapon to threaten the enemy into doing whatever I want… right?"

"Right" said Azula, frowning "So… it's likely he'll make an example of someone, maybe the crewmen from the ships, if he hasn't killed them already, just to prove his might"

"He could easily do that without a magical spear, too" Rui Shi said, frowning "Prove you're perfectly capable of slitting a single throat without remorse, and thousands of people will beg you to spare their lives, for sure"

"And what would this Rhone want, then?" Zhao said, eyeing Sokka "You knew him in the past. If someone might understand his way of thinking, it's you"

"Well…" Sokka said, gritting his teeth "He would want to take down the Fire Nation, for sure, but the question is what's the best way to do that. I mean… he could be aiming to attack the Royal Family, but that doesn't really eliminate the threat of the massive Fire Nation army, does it?"

"Would he attack army and navy bases, then?" Iroh asked "It would be a smart choice, if what he wants is to cripple the Fire Nation…"

"Maybe not just bases, but also armories, factories, academies…" Azula said, rounding the desk again to search through her father's cabinets for another map of the Fire Nation's mainland: she spread it in plain sight, revealing this map highlighted all the important military bastions of the Fire Nation "If Rhone seeks to deliver a blow to the Fire Nation, there's no denying he would likely want to come for us, but he could easily send the rest of his group to attack any of these locations"

"So… we have to protect them" said Fei Li, nervously "Assign squads of the army, the Domestic Forces… maybe even the Enforcers, Princess?"

"At this point, yes, I'd be willing to ask them for help, even if this isn't what they're trained to do" Azula said, breathing out slowly "This is also another way to thwart Rhone's potentially nefarious plans: if our armed forces aren't focused on protecting the Palace alone, or gathered at the bay, waiting for him to strike, his Spear will have a harder time taking down the entirety of our army, if that's what he wants"

"Do you think you could take that Spear away from him?" Toph asked "If someone stole it, might be it won't be that much trouble anymore…"

"I'm not sure it works that way" Iroh sighed "The Spear is a source of dark corruption, as far as I understand. Whether caused by a spirit or any other strange phenomenon we have yet to understand, I can't say for sure that anyone would have a chance to hold that Spear without losing their minds to its devices in the process. It's possible that the soul already needs to be corrupt, to a fault, to endure the vast corruption of the Spear itself"

"And what's a corrupt soul, if that's the case?" Rui Shi asked, raising an eyebrow "How does someone's soul become corrupt enough to handle that spear without danger?"

"I suppose killing your own family is a starting point?" Sokka said, breathing out slowly "Anyways, if stealing the Spear is too dangerous, I'd think slaying it could work. As much as it's a deadly thing, it's still a physical object, right? My sword might cut through it, in all likelihood"

"It's still a dangerous gamble" Azula warned him. Sokka shrugged.

"Not more dangerous than doing nothing" he said, simply.

"A physical attack might not be enough to defeat the Spear, however" Iroh frowned, stroking his beard "It's hard to say if your sword, as extraordinary as it is, could cut through this corruption without being felled beforehand, too"

"You mean… it could rot my sword?" Sokka asked, memories of Seethus's skills flashing back in his mind. Iroh shrugged.

"I wouldn't rule it out" he said "An otherworldly power of the sort cannot be taken for granted"

"Then how does someone cut down an otherworldly power?" Toph asked, grimacing "Can't I, I don't know, bury it underground, a thousand miles away?"

"Not the worst idea, though it might just rot through the earth as well…" Iroh admitted.

"We don't exactly have otherworldly powers of our own to counter such a strange skill, if this truly were the corrupt spear of legends" Zhao said, raising his eyebrows "If the gladiator's sword won't do, what would?"

"I… might know something that could"

Confident as she had presented herself so far, Azula now appeared uneasy, unwilling to meet anyone else's gaze as she pondered this latest possibility. Sokka frowned, immediately put off by her unexpected claim.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Was it she hoped to enlist the help of spirits? Wan Shi Tong, perhaps? How, when Rhone's threat was on their doorstep? There was no way they could find spiritual help in time, regardless of whether the owl was willing to give it or not…

"Only…" said Azula, casting an uncertain glance at him "It wouldn't be the first time we cross paths with a corrupt being, of some sort"

Sokka forgot to breathe for a moment, as further memories of Seethus returned with full strength to his mind: the gold fire had kept the black one at bay. And then the mix of gold and blue had pushed the killer back until he surrendered. Yet…

"No" he said, categorically, and his sudden deep, stern behavior, as well as the authority in his voice, took aback everyone within the room "You're not fighting that thing yourself, Azula"

"I'm not saying I'll fight it alone" Azula replied, unaffected by Sokka's more serious façade, for once "But if gold fire, and multicolored fire, once kept a similar being in check, it might work here, too"

"A similar being?" Iroh asked. Azula shot a quick glance at her uncle upon his latest inquiry "What do you mean?"

"It… it happened while you were abroad" Azula said. Half-truths would be for the best in this case. She wasn't sure it'd be a good idea for Iroh to know about some of the worst crimes her father had committed "We fought a man with strange powers. Those powers were akin to firebending, at least to a fault… otherwise I wouldn't have sensed him, as I could. But he fought by quickly rotting objects with his fire, turning them to ashes within moments"

"I see" Iroh hummed, though he crooked an eyebrow nonetheless "And you defeated him with your gold fire?"

"It has had strange uses before" Rui Shi said "You saved Sokka's life with it once too, didn't you? By cauterizing his wound…"

"Cauterizing with direct firebending is notoriously known to be a bad idea" Zhao reminded them, frowning "Yet it worked with the gold fire"

"Yeah. I wouldn't be standing here if it hadn't" Sokka said. Azula's fist tightened at his words.

"Then… curious" said Iroh, still stroking his beard "I know this isn't what you wish to hear, Sokka, but Princess Azula's skills might be the best suited ones for fighting the Bloodlust Spear"

"You can't be serious…" Sokka said, frowning heavily "She's… she's even the Interim Fire Lord right now! She can't jump off and put herself at risk this way!"

"Really? Even if this is the only way to put a stop to the Spear?" Azula asked him, point-blank. Sokka snarled, shaking his head repeatedly.

"I'd sooner risk my sword than let you risk your life" Sokka said.

"Might as well end up risking both, if you jump out to fight a corrupt weapon without any means to counter that corruption" Azula said, with a shrug. Sokka huffed "Look, I don't understand our enemy any better than you do, but the precedent established by that fight against a firebender with corrupt fire indicates I might be able to at least put a stop to the spear, or deflect it, even if I don't know if I can destroy it altogether. If this is how it is, countless lives could be saved…"

"And if it weren't?" Sokka asked "Azula… you've said it yourself. One of Rhone's likeliest goals is to take down the Fire Nation's leadership, the Royal Family, and right now, you're bound to be his main target. At least, you will be once he knows your father's not here"

"Ah, which sounds like a great reason for me to stand back and let everyone else handle this problem, doesn't it…? Why, no, it actually doesn't sound like it to me" Azula said, sighing and shaking her head "If I'm his main target, and I have the power to put a stop to his damn spear, I might as well meet him head on and try to do so"

"Are you certain of this?" Zhao asked, frowning uneasily "It's undoubtedly courageous of you to try and face this enemy for the sake of your people, Interim Fire Lord, but you're vital to this nation…"

"The very concept of a Fire Nation could be at risk, if Rhone gets away with what he's doing" Azula said, sternly "I'd much rather not be the Crown Princess or the Interim Fire Lord of a ghost country, protected and kept safely under who knows how many layers of security while our entire population dies against a corrupt spear"

Sokka gritted his teeth, but he held his silence this time around. Maybe this was where all his influence on Azula came back to bite him in the ass: she was willing to sacrifice herself for her people, just as he had constantly been ready to do the same for his own. For her.

No doubt, he loved that she had such strong convictions on what her role as a leader was. He had always meant to respect that she would hold the Fire Nation amongst her highest priorities, and he wasn't trying to undermine her love for her people, in the least. But when the threat they faced was so strange, so vague, so dangerous…

"Well, all that's true as long as the creepy spear is as creepy as you say" Toph cut through the tense silence, though she didn't speak with her usual blunt shamelessness "Didn't you guys say maybe he's just bluffing? If he were…"

"Then there would be no need to worry about gold or multicolored fire" Azula said, nodding "He could be defeated without them, no matter how fearsome an enemy he might try to be"

"Then… what is our course of action?" Zhao asked, frowning "I understand you want to attack the wielder of the Spear yourself, whether he's bluffing or not?"

"I think it would be the safest thing to do, for everyone in the Fire Nation" Azula said, simply. She pointedly ignored Sokka's obvious disapproval "But first of all, I'll need the armed forces to organize the evacuation of the Capital, as well as that of everyone residing in the bay area. We want to avoid as much collateral damage as possible, so I'll task you with sending word to each army branch in the area that can aid us in this crisis, Admiral"

"Very well" Zhao said, nodding.

"Once that's dealt with, I would ask you to contact the Air Forces" Azula said, breathing out slowly "I know some of them have escorted my father in his journey, but surely it's not the entire fleet. If possible, I would want them to surveil the progress of Rhone's ships from above, if possible, at a safe enough distance from the Spear, whatever its reach may be"

"I'll send word for that as well…"

"What'd you want them to watch him for?" Toph asked, confused.

"He took two ships" Azula said, frowning "If Sokka's previous guess is accurate, Rhone will plan on diverting our attention through a frontal attack, while his allies strike at important military locations of the Fire Nation. I want at least one airship to watch the second ship, rather than Rhone's. I want them to follow it, and to send word about what the enemy's likeliest target will be, depending on the direction they travel to"

"And what then?" asked Fei Li, uncertain "You said you wanted the armed forces protecting those locations too…? Shouldn't there be brigades or even battalions already in position to defend them?"

"Indeed" Azula nodded "The soldiers who are stationed closer to the locations that require protection should be tasked with defending them, for sure… but the purpose of the surveillance is that, once word reaches us about the actual target of Rhone's second team, we'll be able to launch a counterattack against them. The arrival of reinforcements should throw them off guard, and in all likelihood, defeat them without much trouble. Once that group is taken down, the only remaining problem would be, of course, Rhone and his Spear"

"This is in the chance that my guess about Rhone's plans is spot-on, though" Sokka said, frowning "What if he goes for a full-blown frontal attack instead, seeing as he might think himself all-powerful thanks to the Spear? He might not split off his allies, in this case…"

"The surveillance team would still send word to the reinforcements to confirm the second ship continues on course along with Rhone's, and the reinforcements would merely join the fight against Rhone and his people, likely taking him by surprise by arriving later than he'd expect" Azula said, with a shrug "I don't think Rhone can plan ahead to defend himself against someone as unpredictable as Toph, can he?"

"Hehe, sure he can't" she said, beaming "So… I'll be part of the reinforcements?"

"You ought to be in charge of paving the way for the reinforcements' big entrance, if anything" Azula said, with a smile "If he can't see the attack coming…"

"Oh? So the reinforcements will arrive from underground, then…?" Toph snickered "Sounds good to me"

"Toph can build a new tunnel underground, right outside the crater" Azula said "This way the tunnel won't connect with the ones where the general population will be hiding, so if any of Rhone's people decided to jump into your tunnel, they still wouldn't find them. Anyhow, striking this way will keep your approach hidden, whether it is to attack Rhone or the rest of his team"

"Sounds nice" Toph said "Though… who's going to be with me? I'll need help, at least to read the letter about where to go…"

"I summoned both Rui Shi and Fei Li for this purpose" Azula said, breathing deeply "Rui Shi, you'll be assigned to the reinforcement group as well. You'll take the second squad of Imperial Guards with you"

"As you command" Rui Shi said, bowing his head in Azula's direction.

"Fei Li, you'll be joining me, with the third squad" she said. Fei Li's eyes widened.

"W-wouldn't you rather… Rui Shi joins you, instead?" he asked, astonished.

"Would you rather he did?" Azula asked, blinking blankly.

"N-no! I mean, I just… I just thought you'd rather work alongside him, but I'm honored you'd choose me to support you in this endeavor…" he said, lowering his head, his voice's strength decreasing as he spoke. Azula sighed and shook her head.

"Admiral, Uncle… I believe it's best if one of you joins the reinforcements, and the other joins my group" Azula said "You're the more experienced commanding officers at hand in this crisis, so your advice can be valuable for either team"

"Iroh ought to come with me, right?" Toph said, scratching the back of her head "We're used to working together, after all…"

"If you'll have me, sure" Iroh said, smiling fondly at his gladiator.

"Then I'll be with your group, Princess" Zhao determined, with a nod.

By the desk, Sokka sighed in relief at those last decisions. At this point, anything seemed a bad idea… but if Iroh wouldn't be in Azula's group, he'd certainly be more reassured. The man had been acting strangely the whole time, far too helpful for his usual self… this threat appeared to be so strong that Iroh was willing to put aside his hostilities towards Azula, yet he had seemed quick and ready to approve of Azula's potential self-sacrifice by offering to deal with the Spear herself. If Iroh wasn't with Azula, however, it meant he wouldn't have a chance to stab his niece in the back somehow, if that could ever have been his intent…

"Very well, then" Azula said, breathing deeply and breaking Sokka's ruminations with her words. It took him a moment to realize her eyes were on him "I do realize this is about the most controversial decision I can make… but I'll have you leading the reinforcements, Sokka"

Even after she finished speaking, Sokka held his silence. As did the rest of the group. Rui Shi frowned, having assumed either himself or Iroh would be given that duty, due to their status as commanding officers within the Fire Nation's armed forces… yet it suited Azula perfectly to expect Sokka to do it, instead.

Only, Sokka disagreed with her notion, and not for the reasons the soldiers might.

"What the…? Hell, no!" he exclaimed, aghast "Azula, I'm going with you. That's not negotiable"

"Oh, for crying out loud…" Azula groaned, shaking her head as she glanced at the rest of the group "Admiral, please send word for the evacuations to begin. The rest of you, prepare yourselves for your respective missions"

"Hey! Doesn't matter if you ignore me, I'm not going with the reinforcements just because you decided that all of sudden, you hear me?" Sokka growled. Azula rolled her eyes and shot him a glare.

"Oh, I hear you, and clearly, I need to knock some sense into you. I'd rather we save our shouting match for after the people who can follow orders are out of here" she said, waving a hand at the rest of the group.

"Uh… this will take time, won't it?" Rui Shi said, grimacing "If you'd like, Fei Li, Admiral Zhao, General Iroh and myself can take to organizing the defenses of the main military bastions of the island while you two… argue"

"That would be quite helpful" Azula said, with a curt grin. She rolled the map of military resources into a scroll and handed it to Rui Shi, who pushed himself to his feet "Though I do hope it won't take that long"

"Heh. Right" Rui Shi said, breathing out and shaking his head. This already promised to be a rather long night, and it had only just begun.

It wasn't long before the room was empty again, save for the two of them. By the wary glances the others cast towards them before leaving, it seemed the promised argument between the Princess and her gladiator was about as much of a source of concern for the rest of the group as Rhone and his mysterious spear could be.

By the time the door was closed, Sokka was outright fuming, arms folded over his chest as he breathed out heavily, as an angry bull might. Azula sighed and rolled her eyes again, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips.

"Can you try, at the very least, to understand what I'm trying to do here?" she asked. Sokka scoffed.

"If this is some attempt to protect me from Rhone, your concern is completely misplaced" he growled "You'd be safer with me than without me. I've already told you before, if he even tries to touch you, I'll run him through, so why the hell would you send me away?"

"Because, as much as I trust Rui Shi, as much as I may trust Toph…" Azula said, leaning with a hand on the desk as she gazed pleadingly at Sokka "There's only one person in this entire world that I trust with my life, and that's you. I can't be in two places at once, as much as I'd love to: but you can be where I can't. You can fight the fights I can't. That's how it always has been, isn't it?"

"But this isn't the Gladiator League, Azula!" Sokka exclaimed, turning to her, aghast and disbelieving "I know you think Rhone is a meaningless threat against you, and you think now that maybe your gold fire can keep the Spear at bay, if it's really the damn Bloodlust Spear, but that's only a guess! If he has a spear that can kill anyone, the first person he'll try to kill is you, and if I can't be there to help you…!"

"I'm not so helpless that I'd die against the first threat that rises against me" Azula said, bluntly. Sokka huffed and shook his head "And if you're that worried about the Spear, pray tell, what is your plan to dispose of it? Beyond, of course, potentially sacrificing your sword the same way I'd potentially sacrifice my life in case my fire fails? If Space Sword can't cut through the damned thing, you'll be just as defenseless as I would be if my fire can't fight back against it. And then we'd both be dead"

"And if only you die, I might as well be dead too" Sokka growled, his fists tightening at either side of his body.

His words, blunt, honest and straightforward, gave Azula pause. His eyes, blue and blazing like her fire, bore into her own: when was the last time they had held each other's gaze so intensely, their very souls clashing and colliding instead of flowing freely, smoothly, around each other?

She understood his reservations. If the situation was any different, she would only feel safe tackling it with him by her side. But they would be facing a battle with so many variables, so many complications she barely knew how to handle…

"I won't face this by myself" Azula said, swallowing hard "Xin Long will be with me too, he's already on his way back and I've let him know I need him. Is that any better yet?"

"Not really" Sokka said, and Azula sighed.

"I know, Sokka. I understand" she said, stepping closer to him, raising a hand in hopes to offer what little comfort she could by touching him "But I…"

She was silenced abruptly when his hand caught hers, yanking her towards himself only to engulf her in a tight yet fragile embrace: his body was trembling, and for once, it was out of fear rather than anticipation or excitement. Azula didn't like the change one bit.

She could feel his tension, his outrage, his frustrations… was he even feeling slightly betrayed, for she didn't want him by her side when she faced Rhone? Perhaps he was. Azula gritted her teeth, burying her face in his neck, breathing him in, basking in the strength of his warm, scarred body. If anything went wrong in this fight against Rhone and the Spear, none of the scars he already bore would likely hold a torch to the one that would be inflicted upon his heart.

"You know what I really saw in that dream" Sokka said, quietly. Azula's fingers tightened over his clothes, as did his embrace "I… I was too late, Azula. I couldn't do anything. If you send me away… I can't help you. I can't prevent what I saw if…"

"I won't be alone" Azula repeated, but Sokka shook his head "Sokka…"

"I don't care if you're his main target… I could be a good enough distraction too" he said "I… I know why you think it should be you. I know you're trying to protect me, in your own way, but Azula…"

The Princess pulled away from him, yet it was only to fist his wolf tail as she reeled him in, her lips crashing into his just as wildly as he had embraced her earlier. Despite he wanted to convince her with his words, Sokka deepened the kiss immediately, in hopes that would do it, instead. He angled his head to the side, his nose brushing hers, his breath escaping as he took in hers instead. To this day, to this very moment, he knew they were connected, their chi attuned, their souls blended together so closely that it was impossible to tell where his ended and hers began… they belonged together, just as the sea belonged to the shores it washed against, as the mountains belonged to the heights of the sky that welcomed their tallest peaks, just as the morning sun belonged in the horizon, shining golden light and cleansing blue skies anew… breaking apart briefly, even if just to confront a two-faced threat, was more painful an idea today than it ever had been.

Azula sighed against his lips once their kiss ended, and Sokka gritted his teeth as he pressed his brow to hers. Despite his previous refusals, he suddenly felt powerless, helpless. Azula caressed his cheeks with the hands that rose to cup his face delicately, her thumbs rubbing gentle circles upon his skin.

"Listen to me, Sokka" Azula said, her voice soft, despite he feared her words wouldn't be the ones he wanted to hear "It's entirely possible… that you've misread him. That he will be just as foolish as to commit to a frontal attack alone. If that's the case, you would join me in the fight right away: if it's not, you will lead the others to defeat the enemy and rejoin me anyways as soon as you're able. If it's within my power, I'll… I'll see to it that he wastes time, a lot of it, if it's possible, until you can face him by my side. Can you accept this?"

"That's not much of a compromise…" Sokka said. Azula sighed, gazing into his sad eyes.

"I have something to live for. Many things, actually" she said "I won't throw my life away in a fight against Rhone. If anything, I'm set on making sure he regrets the day he came up with this damn plan to strike against the Fire Nation. I know why you're afraid, but I'm not weak. I won't fight him alone, no matter what. You'll be by my side in time, too, and who knows? Maybe, by the time you get there… I'll have dealt with him and his spear already"

"I… I can only hope so" Sokka said, gritting his teeth before tightening his grip around her body "Swear you… you'll come back to me, if you truly won't let me go with you. Whether the spear is real or not, whether Rhone is out to get you or not… my nightmare won't come true. You'll see to it, right?"

"As will Xin Long. As will my guards, too" Azula said, smiling weakly before pulling away "I promise you, whatever comes next, I'll make it through, as will you. We will see this disaster to its very end, whatever that might be. And by the time that end comes, we'll be standing side by side, proving to yet another fool that he could never stand a chance against the two of us"

Sokka swallowed hard but nodded: at last, a surrender. Azula sighed, relieved yet wracked with consternation all the same. No doubt, she meant her reassuring words: if it came to it, she would fight Rhone by Sokka's side, and she highly doubted that even his corrupted spear would prove a match to their combined fighting strength. Yet her actual plans were rather different.

Capturing Rhone and subjecting him to Fire Nation justice would be, she knew, the ideal way to deal with this matter. Yet she wasn't sure he would allow anyone to capture him at all. And if he didn't… then it would be up to Azula to execute the man herself. She had never killed before, but if this was as far as she had to go, she'd do it: she knew Sokka was determined to deliver Rhone's demise if it came to that, but there were countless things Azula hoped to protect him from. Killing again, after years of being free from that particular burden, might just shatter Sokka's soul, especially when the victim would be none other than the friend he had lost so long ago, whose downfall he surely still blamed himself for.

It was up to her to protect his heart from breaking anew, both by overcoming this challenge as safely as possible, as well as defeating Rhone without Sokka's involvement. She knew she faced a difficult challenge, but Azula's resolve had never been stronger: she wouldn't break her promise to the man she loved, and she would save the nation she belonged to, no matter the cost.

---

A/N:

Things are gearing up for serious action now, eh? :'D Hope you guys brace yourselves for what's coming...

I'm dropping a shameless plug here for my new story, Underneath Starlit Skies, a collection of oneshots for this year's Sokkla Saturdays. There's only one chapter right now, but I think a few of you may enjoy it if you give it a shot :) it will update every Saturday until the end of November. Hope you enjoy it, and I hope you've enjoyed the newest arc, just as well!