A/N: CW: Character Death. TW: Suicide. This chapter may be traumatic for readers and I caution you to be careful if this topic is triggering for you. While reading, when you see the chapter title appear there will be a break in the section shortly thereafter. You can skip that following section and move on to the next if you so wish. I will be sure that you will not lose anything in reading the story if you skip it. And she feels like home. If the shoe fits, walk in it, everywhere you go. Love and be loved. Read…and review!

To Whomever, but Probably Akola

[Winter/Spring 127 AG]

An extremist who dreamed of bringing the world to heel had once said about Azula that she was a timeless warrior, who could never know peace time. She would go from fight to fight, war to war, until the last recorded syllable of time. Until there was no battle to be had, or until she was dead and gone. That is the future that Xai Bau envisioned for her when he dubbed her the Immortal Soldier.

Sitting here at dinner with her two best friends, this seemed to be especially true. She has found no peace as of late and her mind has been amuck, not just at this dinner, but in general. She barely sleeps and she can't concentrate. She sits dangerously close to the edge of life, cracking open ever so slightly, while the volume in her cup runneth over.

Tonight, her cup hath runneth over many times, hoping for liquid courage to make things more manageable. A very rare occasion indeed, she downs glass after glass of cactus juice, but she reasons that she needs it. She has been searching for a way out, some path of escape, but the man who dubbed her the Immortal Soldier is out there, somewhere, looming.

What's more, leaving these women, these people, this place, could spell certain disaster for them. Their well kept secret vanishing overnight would be apocalyptic for Mama and her empire of the Southside. She can't shake the feeling that she'd be dooming them and herself if she went running.

"Alright, Akola. What ails you?" Jin cuts through all of her overthinking.

"Hmm?" She plays innocent.

On Ji collects the plates and carries them to the sink. As she does she tells her, "You never drink. You've stayed far longer than you normally do. You want to talk about something. So out with it."

"Oh," Akola mumbles in surprise. "Is it really that obvious?"

In unison the wives reply, "Yes."

Akola swipes at her hair, just barely above the shoulders. She will need to cut it in the coming months as it once again is growing beyond her liking. She closes her eyes and mentally prepares. Taking a deep breath in through the nose, and out through the mouth. She opens her eyes and confesses, "I've got to come clean about something."

On Ji and Jin are silent. They sit up a little straighter, they hold their own breath for a moment. For a brief moment they make eye contact. Azula knows that look. She and Ty Lee have shared that look hundreds of times. Words being passed through without thought, without speaking. She wonders what words and thoughts are being passed between the two of them right now. She licks her lips, fidgets with her pants a bit and then brings her hands back together, with one hand cupping a balled fist of the other.

"I am increasingly thinking of leaving the Southside, and all of Ba Sing Se."

The women at the table exhale. For Akola, there is something off about their body language. They are relieved, and yet not. They seem disappointed, but not by the news. Perhaps they expected some other confession of sorts.

"Okay," Jin starts, moving her glass out of the way. "Let's hear the 'why?' And why now?"

"Well, it wouldn't be yet. First of all, I can't imagine leaving Siq. But I also just can't see myself growing old here."

Jin continues her line of questioning, "So you'll just leave? No debts to speak of? Aren't you worried about the First Bank and Gaaler coming after you?"

"Gaaler is the least of my fears if we're talking about what comes next."

On Ji asks her, "So why are you telling us now? If it's not now?"

"I want you to be prepared." Akola answers.

"We should do something about Shulun, if you're going to disappear."

"That won't change anything about Gaaler predatory practices."

"I know," Akola admits. "And I'm open to trying to find ways to handle them. But I need you to know that it has nothing to do with you two."

"With us?"

"I should hope not!'

"We've only taken you in as one of our own."

"And treated you as an equal!"

"Tell me real quick, Akola, have you ever pondered the age-old question: what is more important: the adventure or the achievement?"

"I suppose I have?" She replies, unsure of where this is going. "Ends justifying means and all, I would probably say the adventure?"

"Well I'm here to tell you it's neither."

"Is that so?"

"It's the company you keep along the way." On Ji tells her.

Jin continues, "And we're the company. Us."

They tease her, though there is much truth to their words

"I know! I know. And I'm forever grateful for you both." She trails off.

"But?"

"But Ba Sing Se weighs on me and on my marriage. Things with Ty Lin are harder from this far away. We haven't been able to have the life that we wanted while I'm here."

On Ji places a hand on Akola's. She smiles knowingly.

"I know that the way I've spoken about moving in from my past life may come across as nothing extraordinary, but it was done with considerable anxiety. I left the only home I ever had wandered the Earth. The weight of my fear bore down on me so much that it was suffocating."

Akola looks into her brown eyes and sees the pain.

On Ji smiles. "But in the rubble of my life, I found a lesson painted by the souls of the travelers: When everything feels heavy, I learned to travel light."

Jin adds, "Ba Sing Se has just been a holdover for you. We've known that for quite some time, Akola. Where will you go, when you go?"

"Huwan."

"Who what?"

"Huwan." She replies with a laugh.

"Where is that?"

"It's near the southern tip of the Earth Kingdom. Truthfully, it's not far from where Siq grew up in the Southern Water Tribe. But most importantly, it's close to where Ty Lin lives. A day's boat ride, maybe less, maybe more."

"Have you not considered going home?"

"To the Fire Nation?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I can't. I just…can't."

"You've been gone a long time, have you?"

"The girl I was when I was last in the Fire Nation is exactly that. A girl. I was foolish and vain. I was headstrong and deplorable. But I was also peppered with traumatic experiences."

"That must have been hard?" Jin comforts her.

"I have to accept some of the blame for what happened to me. I'm far from innocent. If I could go back? And talk to that girl? Try to help her?" Akola looks out into space and imagines what she would say to Azula. To the Dragon Empress. She sighs. "I wish I could shelter the girl I was from the constant shit that I put her through."

"Wise words, and ones that resonate with my own life." On Ji comments.

"Aye," Jin murmurs as they all fall quiet. "I know you're not referring to coming to grips with being a gender betrayer, but what you just said perfectly portrays my own experiences in struggling with acceptance of myself as a woman lover."

"I'm so sorry, Jin. It was easier for me, coming to grips. I can't imagine what it must've been like here."

Jin waves her off. "It's fine. It's good. But if I may, I'd like to offer you some advice. Passing on words shared with me by my father when I told him I was a gender betrayer."

"Please?"

"If it costs you your peace, then it's too expensive."

Akola lifts up her drink, encouraging the wives to do the same. They follow suit and Akola smiles

"To Jin's father, and never again paying too much for our peace."

The three gender betrayers, who share varying life experiences and struggles, brought together here in Ba Sing Se's Southside of the Lower Ring, toast to the wise words of a long since past father. Their conversation becomes lighter, more free, and is spritzed with cactus juice throughout the night. They revel and cheer, and plan for Akola's future departure. Eventually, Akola, too drunk to stumble home, crashes face first into their couch, while the wives retire to bed. Happy dreams fill their sleep with hope that even immortal soldiers can someday find peace.

The next morning the sun breaks through the windows on another glorious day amongst the Southside empire. Its peerless leader, Mama, sits and sips her morning tea. She enjoys the solitude and chance for reflection while her wife sleeps in bed. A few feet over, Akola of Ember Island lazily dazes in and out of consciousness. Jin is contemplating some supply chain issues and how to best navigate them when the soft knock comes at the door. Two in quick succession, then a pause before a third knock. Jin knows what that means and goes to the door, pocketing an orange from the dining table.

Akola barely heard the knock, but she clearly heard the chair scrape back. She rolls on the couch so she can get a view of the door. Mama kneels down then creaks the door open slightly. On the other side of the door is no person, but a child, barely six years old, Akola would have to guess. Yet Jin had kneeled down before opening it. She knew based on the knock that it would be a child.

Mama and child exchange whispers. Mama gives her an orange and the child sprints away. Jin closes it shut and turns back into the home, looking concerned. Akola makes herself known, sitting up off of the couch. At the same moment, On Ji steps out from the bedroom, hair all over the place, as if she awoke when the knock came.

"Who was that?" Akola asks first.

"One of my little ant flies. In the flesh"

"So that's how you stay informed?" Akola asks. "Three and half years and I didn't know your ant flies were the children on the streets?"

"I'm sure to never be seen in public with them."

Akola considers the vastness of the city, how many homeless children there must be, all around, listening to conversations, right in plain sight. It's genius and a distant, past version of Akola wishes she had thought to weaponize the children of Republic City with sweets and food in exchange for knowledge.

An alarming thought comes to Azula, "Do you use them to keep tabs on everyone? Including us?"

"No," Mama answers instantly. "There's a certain line you don't cross. You all are like family to me. I trust you to come to me with anything serious."

On Ji interrupts her thoughts, "What's going on? What news did they bring?"

"Siq never showed up for his morning assignment. None of them saw or heard from him recently either. And now no one can find him."

"Should we go looking for him?" On Ji asks, concern rising.

Akola groans as she lifts herself up off of the couch. She recognizes that she hasn't seen Siq in a week or so. She wonders if this is his first assignment he's missed or if there are more.

"I wouldn't know where to start?"

Akola walks towards them. "No need. I know where he's hiding."

"You do?" Jin asks.

"I do."

"Do you want some help?" On Ji asks.

"Not really, it's not that serious."

Jin makes a face and shirks her head. On Ji nods in response. "I'll come anyway! You might need help."

Akola walks out the door. "Better move it then if you want to keep up."

On Ji slips on her shoes and goes running to catch up. Jin closes the door behind them.

The two women turn the corner in behind the abandoned home.

"So he's just been squatting here?"

"On and off for almost a year. No one can sell this house. It's a middle of Upper Ring type-home located in Mama's Southside in the dredges of the Lower Ring. Who would be crazy enough to buy it?"

"And if I'm right," Akola reaches down around the rock with the hidden key. She lifts it up and there is none. "It won't be here!"

She stands up and walks up to the back door.

"How did Gaaler and company not know about the extra key?"

"He paid some blacksmith to make it off-book."

"Why didn't they change the locks when they took the home?"

Akola grabs the handle of the door and it turns. She's thought the same thing as On Ji and comes to just one conclusion.

"They're arrogant."

The door opens and they step inside. Just as every time before, when Akola walks in she is met first with the rancid smell. On Ji follows and rebukes at the stench.

"Oh my Agni! What on Earth?"

Akola powers through, despite its strength. "Yeah, it's horrible."

This time there is something truly terrible about it. On Ji covers her nose and mouth for fear of vomiting. Akola sniffs and struggles herself this time, despite her experiences. Akola steps away from the door, while On Ji closes it. As the last slices of light from the outside disappear with the closing door, On Ji's eyes catch something on the counter by the door. A slim, rectangular object sits on the edge. The door shuts and she picks it up, finding it to be a paper envelope. Akola takes a few steps further in, the smell becoming nearly unbearable. Through the thin slots of light breaking through the wood slats barring the windows, On Ji reads what's written on the envelope.

'To Whomever, but probably Akola'

An eerie sense of trouble overcomes On Ji quickly. The dangerous ambiguity not quite clear, there is nonetheless a certain dread in the words. She raises the alarm.

"Hey, Akola-"

Akola walks slowly ahead as On Ji closes the door. The smell is the same as before, yet somehow different and unquestionably worse. She forged through the back hallway, headed for the main entryway, and the kitchen, where she'll likely find him. Getting closer she notices a new noise. If she had to guess, she would say it is the buzzing of insects.

She turns the corner.

"Hey, Akola-"

Her eyes become large and they look up to the sky.

Dangling a few feet off the ground are a pair of shoes, leading to legs, torso, and then finally the neck, being cut off by rope.

"SIQ!"

Akola runs forward and grabs the feet against her chest. She does the first thing she can think of, lifting the body upwards, the feet clumsily sliding off of her chest.

"Akola?" On Ji asks as the footsteps approach.

"SIQ! NO! ON JI COME QUICK!"

On Ji takes hastily steps but then comes to a halt in the hallway when she sees it. She gasps and covers her mouth.

"On Ji help!" Akola screams at her. "Come grab his feet!"

The sight and the smells overcome the woman who is not accustomed to death. She falls to her knees and wretches all over the floor. Azula felt her torso get damp while supporting him. Unsure of what, but somewhere in her past she recognized the smell. It used to bring joy to a twisted past life of hers, but this exact moment only brings her horror.

"On Ji! Agni damn it, get up here and help me! He's dying!"

On Ji begins sobbing and sits back away from her vomit, grabbing the floor and pushing away. She mumbles to herself over and over again, "No! No Siq. No, no, no!"

"On Ji, damn it! Akola screams. "Grab his feet so I can cut him down!"

"He's dead, Akola." She sobs, hiding her face, paralyzed on the ground. "He's already dead."

"Fucking shit!" Akola curses as she drops his feet momentarily.

She bends her knees and jumps up, using her firebending to keep her flying in the air, a trick she hasn't done in many years. She inadvertently bumps into the body and then up above it. She grabs the rope with one hand and mentally commands powerful blue fire into her palms with more urgency than even when she fought for her life. The rope disintegrates almost instantaneously.

Cut loose, the body drops to the floor. Akola tries to catch him but his weight slips right through her arms. She falls down to the ground thereafter and starts burning off more rope bits until she can free his neck completely.

"Siq! Siq wake up! Siq you can't die. Siq, wake up!"

There are deep bruises around his neck, so dark they're practically black.

"Siq wake up!"

She places her hands on his chest, right by his heart, and pumps him full of electricity. His body jumps from the shock, but he doesn't come to.

"Akola stop!" On Ji cries nearby. "He's gone!"

"No he's not! He's not! I can save him."

She pumps more electricity, an amount she fears could otherwise be lethal, but she has no choice. She is desperate to wake the dark skinned boy with the brightest blue eyes.

"Siq! No! Siq! Siq!" She screams in his face, to no avail.

On Ji crawls on the ground towards them. "Akola, stop!"

"NO!" She screams and sits up. "HE CAN'T BE DEAD!"

She puts both hands on his chest, right on the other side of his heart. She pushes everything into her palms and lights him up with enough electricity to kill a dozen men. More power than even when she was cornered in a cave with dozens of zealots trying to end her.

Siq's body elevates off the ground for a full second and a half, despite her hands on his chest, and then crashes back down. He doesn't move. He doesn't open his eyes. He doesn't breathe. He doesn't smile.

On Ji reaches her arms up and grabs Akola, wrapping her body against the Firebender. She buries her face into Akola's shoulder and weeps. It is this act that solidifies it for Akola. This is the moment when reality sets in and crashes down upon her despite all of her wants and wishes.

"Siq," she whispers. "No."

Finally, Akola allows herself to feel the pain. She cries and wraps her arms around On Ji. They mourn on the floor beside their lifeless friend.

It's a few hours later, in the early hours of the afternoon, when Azula finally opens the letter from Siq. She sits, dumbfounded, in a chair at Jin's dinner table, numbly opening the envelope.

First, I want to apologize for the state in which you found my body. I'm sure it was quite a sight, and I wish you peace in moving forward from it.

I'm guessing you found this, Akola, because no one else would've gone in the house, or known about the backdoor, and I doubt anyone buys it any time soon.

Akola, I am leaving you the formula for Lonlhai Fire. I cannot trust anyone else with it. You never asked for it, making you the most worthy to hold it. Do with it as you please.

I know that we called each other siblings jokingly as part of our relationship, but I really did see you as the closest thing I ever had to a sister. You were reliable, and we fought sometimes, and you didn't always support my decisions, but we always came back to each other begrudgingly. Usually with a smile and a sarcastic comment.

I'm gonna tell you a story, because you might be the only one who can understand: I left my homeland and never returned. It was a decision I made with great haste. It was something I never thought I would regret. But here I am, at the end of my life, and I am filled with remorse. I have no way of knowing if my family is gone, or bereft at my leaving, or happier for my absence. I used to hate the Lonlhai Village, and I was happy when I'd left it behind. Now, I would give anything to return and just sit with my family once more.

But I can't go home. I know you have said that you could help me to escape. But I do not believe you, I am sorry to say. I feel completely buried by debt and disappointment and sadness. I see no light or escape for me. My life's work was brought to heel by a greedy bastard banker and a deal I made with a monster. I see no way out, no way to live, before they extract the very blood from my bones. They will take and take and take until there is nothing left of me.

Thank you, Akola, for being my guardian. A watchful protector for all the broken people in life. The greatest protector on Earth, greater even than the Avatar. Knowing you I have no doubt that despite this letter you will devise a plan to avenge me.

And Spirits help any mother fucker who stands in your way.

I'm sorry and I love you,

Siq

Azula is shaking as she finishes the letter. But she does not cry. She does not mourn. She is filled with righteous indignation. Fury that explodes from places she has long forgotten about. The letter makes an audible noise as her hands shake and she bounces her knees. Her mind moves at warp speed working through a variety of plans, moves and countermoves, but everything always ends with Gaaler's head on a pike. She is seeing red in ways that she hasn't in several lifetimes.

The floorboards from the kitchen creak as Jin walks in slowly, cautiously, watching from a distance as Akola's bottled up emotions threaten to spill out. She comes to a stop a few feet away. On Ji walks in behind her and stops a few feet behind Jin.

"What's going on, Akola?" Jin asks her. "What are you going to do?"

Azula doesn't look up right away. She stares at the floor and contemplates her options. But the red is blinding. The blood looks good on Gaaler's office walls. Or perhaps his bones turned black from being charred and burned. Maybe there won't even be any bones left when she's done with him, the way Koh's Disciples once believed her capable of doing.

"I'm gonna find," she starts and slowly she raises her head to meet Jin's dark olive green eyes. "And I'm gonna kill, that greedy mother fucker."

There's a pause and silence. Azula and Jin stare at one another and the only sound filling the room is the distant, dull happenings of the world outside. Jin nods in understanding, but gulps as she prepares to fight against the Southside's most unstoppable weapon.

"You mean Gaaler?"

Azula rises. "I do. And I'm not waiting."

Azula moves towards the door. Jin blocks her way. On Ji looks on frightfully at the sight.

"Don't do this, Akola. There's got to be a better way."

"A better way? Siq is dead because of him. There is no 'better.'"

Azula goes to walk around Jin, but the brunette moves again in front of her.

"Okay! You're right. Not better, but different. There has to be a different way."

"The only way is me burning off his skin, piece by piece, until he begs me to kill him."

Azula again tries to walk around Jin, but the leader of the Southside won't let her pass.

"Move."

"Killing Gaaler won't bring Siq back!"

"I said MOVE!"

Azula walks right into Jin, who puts her arms out, but she is no match for the fire bender. She walks through them and Jin steps back.

"If you kill him, it won't get any better!"

"It'll make me feel better."

Jin is nearly at the door in her retreat.

"But what about us? What about the rest of us? We knew Siq far longer than you! I brought him in, gave him a roof. You don't see me rushing out to murder the banker who buried him in debt."

"Then you simply lack the conviction to act."

Jin is flush against the door.

"Move."

"What happens after you kill him? Hmm? You get arrested? Put in a cell for the rest of your days, or worse, put to the sword? What then? What happens to Ty Lin? What happens to us?"

"I'll figure that out later. I always have and I always will. Now move, or I will move you!"

Azula puts her hands on Jin's arms and moves closer to her.

On Ji begs her, "Akola, please!"

"MOVE!"

"NO!" Jin pushes Azula and to everyone's surprise she moves her. The black haired firebender steps back a step or two.

"You are feeling right now, but you are not thinking! Gaaler would be dead but the First Bank would live on. He's just a figurehead. They put someone else in charge, someone worse. Someone determined to make everything even worse. Extracting revenge every day on us because of what you did."

Azula grits her teeth and balls her fists. They warm up, almost coming to life with fire. She heaves a large breath and prepares to fight, until she looks at Jin's face. An angry, scowling expression as tears run down her face.

"You think you're the only one hurt?" The brunette shouts at her. "You think you're the only one who feels like they failed? I failed him! We failed him. But we're not going to honor his memory by spilling blood. We can't."

Azula huffs and puffs. She takes a second to breathe. Words from her past lives finally reverberate in her mind.

'If you intend to go after Zirin and this, um, Yakone, then you should start by digging three graves.'

For one moment she is back on that boat, gliding away from Republic City. Standing there with Lin as he tells her that revenge will only consume her, never make her whole. She had almost lost sight of that.

"You're right." She admits.

Taken aback, cautious, not letting her guard down, Jin asks, "I am?"

"She is?" On Ji asks, equally surprised.

"There has to be another way." She says as she thinks through her options now, playing a different angle.

As Azula thinks, Jin takes this momentary silence and adds, "Yes. Another way to do something about Gaaler, without killing him."

Mumbling to herself but also replying to Jin, Azula says, "Replace the head of the dragon, without killing it. Controlling it, somehow. We can't let this happen to anyone ever again. But what's more powerful than-"

She stops as an idea blossoms in her mind. Akola's violent past, Azula's present nightmare.

"Akola? What's more powerful than what?" On Ji asks.

An organization powerful enough to take down an entire banking system in Ba Sing Se.

'But how do I get in contact with them? How do I reach them? Demand an audience?'

Azula sees the path unfolding in front of her. Powerful political figures and extremists in the city. If he has previously come for an audience with her, surely he was seeing others while he was here. There is one person she knows who he probably has his claws in, beside herself.

"I have a plan." She tells them, to their surprise and delight.

Azula saw red before.

Now Akola will go about seeing the Red Lotus.

[Two Days Later]

It took her some time, but Akola finally found his lair, all the way in the Northside of the Lower Ring. The coward ran as far as he could from her, but she tracked him down all the same.

She walks through the dark hallway and finally comes into a low lit room, filled with velvet couches and throw pillows. Hiding amongst the poor and the destitute, the leader of the Bender Supremacist movement lives in the lap of luxury. A stark contrast to Jin's minimalist lifestyle. He sits in the center of the room at a Pai Sho table.

"Ah! Akola of Ember Island! We've been waiting for you."

There are multiple armed guards, bender and nonbenders alike, all around the room. Azula counts no fewer than five of them. She walks out towards the center of the room to meet with Shulun.

"I was quite pleased to hear your request to meet. Perhaps you've grown tired of Mama and her empty studios? Rather be paid well, sleep well, and take your place amongst the elite?"

She stops at the table and looks down at him. Her eyes dart to the board and then back at Shulun's amber eyes.

"Oh. I see. Perhaps a game, weary trav-"

Azula reaches down, grabs the table by the top, and flings it across the room. The board clatters and the chips bounce all around. The guards take a step in but Shulun puts a hand up.

"No! No. That won't be necessary. This was clearly just an outburst from our esteemed-"

Azula puts her left hand on his shoulder, then rears back her right fist and slams it into his stomach.

"OOF!"

The guards advance, some motioning to bend. Azula throws Shulun out of his chair and he slides along the hardwood floor until he crashes into a wall. Azula, knowing what's about to come, spins and sticks two fingers out in both hands, pointed in opposite directions. Lightning flashes, blinding the room and blasting two of the guards, knocking them onto the ground.

The other three stop and stare at their compatriots on the ground and they're not sure if they're still breathing or not, but nonetheless they are stopped in their tracks.

"They're not dead," Azula assures the room. "But if any of you take another step, I'll put the next one right into your heart and send you to permanent darkness."

The two who were struck by lightning finally groan and roll on the floor. The remaining guards don't tempt fate. With that matter resolved, Azula moves to her target. Shulun scrambles into a sitting position while she closes in on him.

"Wait! Wait, now, we-"

She lifts him up off of the ground, off of his feet, and into the air. With her free hand she delivers precise blows to his arms to make them go numb. She presses him against the wall and pushes her forearm into his throat. She allows him enough airway to breath, but also applies enough pressure that it hurts. She gets uncomfortably close to his face and looks into those amber eyes. He struggles for air and tries kicking her, to no success. She scowls as she gives him a command.

"Call him."

"Ca…ll…who?" He spits out.

"Xai Bau."

The guard closest to them yells at her, "We don't know no Eyebrows, Lady."

Azula doesn't listen to the bystander. She is too busy witnessing the fear in Shulun's eyes. They bounce all around, taking her in and trying to understand. She relishes this moment.

"That's right. I know what it means to have vast amounts of power."

If he could breathe properly he might be hyperventilating right now.

"So, you see, I'm somehow more dangerous than you thought before. And that's the fate that awaits you if you or your goons ever cross back into the Southside."

Azula enjoys this, perhaps too much.

"But I don't give a shit about you, Shulun. My fight isn't with you. So you just call him and we'll be square. Clear?"

"I…can't." He labors.

"You can and you will." She tells him.

"They...could…kill…me."

"So take your chances: Them, who might kill you for calling him, or me, who will kill you if you don't."

Although Azula can see only fear in his eyes, it is not enough.

"And I swear on everything you believe in that when I'm done with you, your body will be buried so deep the Spirits won't even be able to find you!"

Azula spits in his face inadvertently as she foams at the mouth with rage, choking him and squeezing the life out of him. Finally, she lets him go and he falls to the floor. He gasps for air and uses his knees to move his body away from her, trying to roll and get away, his arms still chiblocked.

"Call him." She says once more, and then makes her exit.

In Republic City, there is no rest for the wicked. There's no rest for the good. There's no rest for the crooked vandals, the mobsters, the metal benders, the old, the young, the proud, the dumb, the virtuous, the malicious, not even the blind. So when Toph Beifong steps barefoot into her office and senses a woman sitting in the corner, she is not surprised. She simply takes the other step and closes the door behind her.

She sighs and asks, "Who's there? Small feet, lightweight, and quiet as a mouse. Is it you, Suki?"

"It is."

"Woof," Toph groans, approaching her desk. "My first shift back and you're already sneaking into my office. You must be really in a bind."

"Kiph Oro fucked me and fucked us."

"Speak for yourself," Toph replies as she sits down. "KO fucked herself with that failed attempt to arrest Yakone. Cost her the chance at my job. Gave me something to come back to."

"But we're not finished. He's still on the streets, controlling the strings of the city's criminal activity."

"Pisses me off too, Suki. But what else do you want me to do?"

"I need your support for an undercover op."

"Ha! You're not wasting any time, are you?"

"Six months, starting this spring."

"Oh, you're being serious."

"I have a plan. It starts with getting in at the shipment yard in Yue Bay. Headed by a woman named Enong."

"So when KO sent you home while I was out, I take it you didn't take time off for yourself? You just kept working the case from afar?"

"We're gonna nail the son of a bitch, Toph. This is the angle."

Exasperated Toph lets out a long, drawn out sigh. "Suki, if we're going to do this, you can't hold anything back anymore."

"I never have."

"Yes, you have. Whether you realized it or not, you have let your moral highness prevent you from doing what is necessary."

"I see." And Suki knows what she means.

"If you're going in again, this time you have to get in the weeds. You have to be like them."

There is a tense silence.

"Are you sure you're ready for that?"

Suki doesn't need to think.

"I know, Toph. And I'll do whatever it takes."

Toph laughs.

"What?"

"You really fucking mean it. I can tell."

"So we have a deal?"

"We'll get you in place. Three months."

Suki stands and goes to leave. But she stops at the door. She turns back around. Toph can tell she hasn't left and groans.

"What? I have shit to do, Suki."

"Can I ask one thing?"

"No."

"Something personal."

"Then definitely not."

"Your newborn, Suyin." Suki pauses. "The father?"

Toph is quiet for a long time. She sighs.

"Her father is none of your fucking business."

"Right."

"Speak to Uyora on your way out. Tell her to schedule us a meeting next week with Teejam. The three of us will put our heads together and come up with a plan."

Suki leaves without another word. She leaves feeling professionally triumphant, if not personally unsatisfied.

Azula spent several days waiting for Xai Bau. She knew to expect the Red Lotus to appear when she least expected it, but being on edge the entire time led her to being prepared for exactly when they would come. Nonetheless, she is scribbling on her notepad at the library when the front door opens. She's not unprepared, but her mind is preoccupied with the latest poem she is scratching out.

"Welcome to the Southside Public Li-"

She looks up and finds an uncommon sight, and is instantly sharp about her senses. However, it is not the bald, grey eyes of Xai Bau that approach. Instead, the man is dark skinned, dark eyes, short and thin, and elderly. She recognizes him somehow. He lowers the scarf covering his mouth and approaches the desk. He gets a playful look in his eyes as he approaches.

"You don't remember me, do you?"

She glares daggers at him. "Why should I?"

"Perhaps a hint? You once bashed my head into a table at a bar surrounded by Kyoshi Warriors."

"Ah! Zaso was it?"

"In the flesh." He whispers to her.

"Where is he?" She demands.

"He is occupied at the moment."

"In the city?"

"Not exactly."

"I thought my message through Shulun would've been clear that I needed to speak with him."

"You are speaking with me, is that not enough?"

"I suppose that will depend."

"On what exactly?"

"If you can give me what I need."

He chuckles a bit and rubs his hands together. "Ah! The game is afoot. What could a librarian possibly need from us? Unless, perhaps, she wasn't planning on being a librarian for much longer?"

She remains silent.

"Does she rise?"

"She doesn't."

He squints his eyes and furrows his brow. "Pardon me for not truly believing."

"This is something personal. I need information."

"What kind of information?"

"I've run into some money issues," she lies. "And I need the bank to look the other way."

"Hardly a concern of ours. Haven't you a history of ducking and running when things get too hot?"

She shakes her head. "Not this time. Like I said, it's personal."

"How personal?"

"There's a banker that's digging into my past."

"Then we'll have him executed."

"That won't change things for me."

"You're being awfully troublesome. What is it exactly that you want?"

She narrows her own eyes now. "I want to blackmail him into leaving me and the others around me alone."

"Hmmm," he smiles. "I see. Very good. Very Empress-y of you. Are you sure she does not rise?"

"I'm sure."

"Because if she were to rise and the Kemurikage were to be reborn, then a bill of sorts would come due for her. A bill owed to him."

"I'm sure."

He puts his hands out defensively. "Fair enough. We're exceptionally busy at this time, but I will see what I can do."

"What you 'can do?' What do you mean? Don't you have something now?"

"Certainly not. I don't know the bank, or the man, or how you'll pay for this."

"His name is Gaaler of The First Bank. And pay?"

"You didn't think your 'information' would come free, did you?"

"What do you want?"

"What he wants, as he told me to relay, is something of limitless potential. Value beyond imagination."

"What exactly is that?"

"Rumor has it a fire that can burn forever. Not even water can put it out. Do you know what I mean? They say a boy, a child, somewhere around here is responsible for such an invention."

Azula does not react, which unfortunately tells Zaso what he needs to know.

"Ah, so you do know. You'll acquire the creator for us. Another one-for-one trade, as it were."

Azula doesn't say anything, as her mind runs away with the fact that she has the formula on her, but she can't give it to them. And Siq is gone, so she couldn't hand him over, even if she wanted to.

"Excellent," Zaso says with a smile. "I'll be on my way then."

"Wait!" She stops him and he turns back around. "What do I do in the meantime? When will you be back?"

He shrugs. "I'm not sure. That's a personal problem for you. I'm sure you'll think of something, you're quite creative. Perhaps plot your revenge in ways that you can without our assistance? We'll be back when we're able."

As Zaso exits the library, Azula can't help but shake a feeling. Something about this encounter feels wrong. Xai Bau never sends others in his place to commune with her, not since her very first meeting. If he's not in the city, Azula wonders where he could be that is so important. What's more Zaso's choice of the word 'reborn' for the Kemurikage stuck out as well. If they're all really gone according to the Red Lotus, then what does that mean for her, she wonders.

She brushes all of that aside for now. Instead, she has to pivot. She has to plot her revenge on Gaaler for when Zaso returns, but also come up with some plan in place for how she will or will not pay Zaso. However, this is where Azula has always thrived.

Amongst the fog of war, she sees clearer than ever.

A/N: This chapter's OST is "Sawzall" by BANKS.

Love always. Tyzula forever.

Notorious