Morality Chain
Not a particular long chapter, but it'll make a good lead in… I think.
I hope.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Iroh paused and drew in a deep breath as he looked at Azula. She merely stared back at him, a silent question in her eyes.
Are you going to help me, or not?
After a long moment, he turned to Jin, who was still frozen halfway in the act of wiping the table, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Jin, perhaps you should leave for now," Iroh said as he wiped his hands. "Just be sure to show up on time for our big event tomorrow."
"Uh… okay, got it!" Quickly picking up that this was supposed to be a private affair, Jin nodded her acquiescence and hurried off into the back room to gather her personal belongings. "See you tomorrow, Eeroh?"
"See you, lass," Iroh replied. There was an uncomfortable silence as Azula sat at a table, waiting for Jin to leave. Once she did so, Iroh sighed and turned to face Azula.
"Would you like-"
"No," Azula snapped. "No tea. Sit down, Uncle. This is important."
She was annoyed. Worried. Iroh mused thoughtfully as he observed her gaze darting around the shop.
Well, if she wanted to come straight to the point, then so would he.
"Zuko's in trouble?" Iroh asked as he slid into a chair himself.
"Yes," Azula blew out a long sigh of frustration and stared out the doorway of the room. "He's gotten himself captured by the Earth Kingdom's soldiers. Apparently he gave himself away as Fire Nation… somehow. I'm not sure."
Iroh sighed. "Always the rash one," he said in a tired voice. And for a brief, timeless moment, it seemed to him that he and Azula really, truly understood one another.
That moment passed soon enough. His niece sat up straighter, her golden eyes holding a dangerous gleam within them.
"My first priority now is getting Zuko out of whatever prison the Earth Kingdom decided to throw him in," Azula continued, her voice clipped and harsh. "But I don't know enough yet. I don't know where he is. I need a way to get information. You're the person I know who knows the city best – after all, you planned to invade it all those years ago."
Iroh nodded thoughtfully. "The Earth Kingdom is known for its powerful fortifications. There would likely be many prisons around the city. Zuko could be held in any of them."
"Searching through all those places…?" her frown deepened. "That'll take a lot of time and effort."
"Indeed," Iroh stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Especially if they get wind of someone poking around for a member of the Fire Nation – they'll be sure to increase security around him."
"As if I'd allow myself to get caught," Azula muttered in a low voice. "But regardless, that's not feasible. Uncle, do you have any other ideas?"
"… Azula, from the expression on your face, I can tell that you have an idea of your own," Iroh said. "Why don't you share that with me first?"
She sat up straighter, hesitated for a moment and nodded. "The Earth King's palace. It serves as an administration hub for the entirety of Ba Sing Se. If I could find a way into it, I should be able to track down Zuko's whereabouts. A Firebender arrest within the walls would be a relatively high-profile affair, so that means I should be able to find information about him."
"The Palace? The security there would be even tighter than any of the prisons," Iroh sighed and shook his head. "Even someone of your ability would have a hard time of it infiltrating the Palace from the outside."
Her golden eyes flashed dangerously. "Don't doubt me, Uncle."
"Of course not," Iroh mumbled, his mind already turning elsewhere. "But the fact remains…"
His thoughts drifted to the scroll safely tucked away in his sash. A ticket into the Earth King's Palace…
Before anything else, Azula was dangerous. That was a truth Iroh had long understood ever since he had seen the little girl latch onto his brother's teachings with a fervour that bordered on the religious. Her belief in the absolute superiority of the Fire Nation, an idolization of strength in all of its forms, a willingness to engage in any manipulation or falsehood to get her what she wanted, all that and more had served to define her character in her growing years. Trusting Azula with free rein to the interior of the Palace would have been almost too foolish to contemplate.
Almost.
Because as much as Iroh knew that Azula had built herself up as an iron wall, cold and unyielding, there was a chink in her armour that she could never erase – indeed, one that she had no desire to. Azula's concern for her brother was real, Iroh knew that much. That was why she had attached herself to him on this long trip across the Earth Kingdom when she could have been doing something else – anything else – instead.
If there was one thing on the planet that Azula would not lie about, it was about her brother needing help.
And so, with a deep sigh, he spoke up again. "There may be a way."
She looked at him, golden eyes alert once more. "Explain."
Slowly, he drew the scroll out. "I – well, the Jasmine Dragon – have been formally invited into the Earth King's Palace to serve tea to the Earth King tomorrow. So… this may be the chance that you need to get into the Palace."
"This is-!" Seizing the scroll, Azula looked it over with a practiced eye. "Uncle, you had something like this and you didn't think to tell me about it?"
"I do not see how it would have mattered," Iroh said heavily. "At least, not until you informed me that Zuko had been captured. This should get us into the Earth Kingdom's palace."
"…Us?" Azula questioned.
"Of course. It wouldn't do for me not to show up for my appointment with the Earth King, would it?"
"He had Zuko arrested, Uncle."
"I'd be surprised if he knew anything about the affair," Iroh said as he stood up. "And I doubt any malice on the part of those who arrested your brother either. It wouldn't be any more acceptable for a Firebender to be running free in Ba Sing Se than an Earthbender in the Fire Nation's capital."
"… The date is tomorrow, then?" Azula asked as she folded her arms.
"Yes," Iroh turned back to face her. "Meet me here at daybreak, along with Mai and Ty Lee. They will be coming along, I take it?"
Azula nodded, her expression distracted as she stared at the ground.
Iroh hesitated for a moment. And then, "Azula."
"Hm?" she shifted her gaze back to him.
"Zuko will be fine. I promise."
A short snort that might have been a forced laugh escaped from Azula as she turned away. After a moment, Iroh sighed and headed into the back room.
Alone in the tea shop, Azula blew out a breath and shook her head.
"Uncle. So old, so learned, and yet so naïve," she muttered to the empty air before she stood and vacated the shop."
(X)
The next morning, a group of six people gathered outside the Jasmine Dragon, and Azula entered to speak to Iroh while the others waited outside.
"Preparations are just about ready!" he called to Azula. "Although… I do wish I didn't have to send Jin away. She really was looking forward to visiting the Earth King's Palace. Really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her."
"She'll be better off," Azula replied shortly before turning to glance at the stacks of containers Iroh had assembled. "What's all this?"
"Strictly speaking, nothing," Iroh shrugged. "But it would make a better cover story if everyone was carrying something and looked like they had work to do there, would it not?"
"I suppose I can't argue with that."
"Well, you can let the others in to pick these up and head out," Iroh said as he stood to go to the back room once more. "I'll join you once I lock everything up. I won't be opening today, after all!"
Alone in the tea shop, Azula walked over to one of the containers and gave it an experimental lift, feeling the pull of the wooden pole against her hand. And then, with a nod, she turned to the doorway.
"All right, come in and pick up your tea!" she called.
The five of them filed in – Ty Lee, Mai, Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot. All dressed in simple workmanlike clothes, they also bore wide-brimmed sedge hats to make them more closely resemble simple workers – and also to hide their faces from view.
Not bothering with further words, Azula lifted one of the containers and stepped out into the early dawn.
(X)
"Halt!" one of the soldiers at the entrance to the palace raised his hand and stepped forward. "Who are you, and what is your business here?"
"Ah, I'm the proprietor of the Jasmine Dragon tea shop. Perhaps you've heard of me?" Iroh flashed the soldier a winning smile as he produced the scroll. "As for my business – I'm expected here. The Earth King would like me to personally serve tea to him."
After taking a brief moment to look through the scroll, the soldier nodded and waved the group through.
"Well, that went more smoothly than expected," Mai said from Azula's right.
"Save that for later," Azula murmured. "There's supposed to be a private room for Uncle to set up. We can make our plans there."
Several minutes later, after they had found themselves in a small, brightly lit room, Azula turned to regard the others.
"All right, this is how it's going to work," she said quickly. "The tea ceremony with the king will take about two and a half hours to go through, so in that time period we'll need to split up and find the records about the prisoners and where they keep them, especially Fire Nation agents. That's all. Go."
As the others turned and left the room (or in Ty Lee's case appeared to leave the room), Azula heaved a sigh. Her last contact with the Dai Li had been early in the morning, when it had still been dark. Right now, she could only hope that they were carrying out their plan to remove the Generals as efficiently as possible.
She turned back to Iroh, "Well, I suppose I have to ask you to take as long as possible, Uncle."
"Not to worry, Azula," Iroh smiled back. "Proper tea brewing is an art that cannot be rushed in any case. By the way…"
"Yes?"
"Those other companions you brought along…"
"Allies by circumstance, and nothing more," Azula nodded. "I'd thought extra numbers would be useful in searching a place as big as this."
"True enough," her uncle nodded. "It's just that I've seen that boy before. He was with Zuko, as a matter a fact."
"Yes, that's why he agreed to help me in the first place," Azula cocked her head to one side. "I didn't know you'd met him before, though."
"Oh yes, he, Zuko and Jin appeared quite friendly when they appeared in the tea shop back in the Outer Ring," a smile crinkled the sides of Iroh's face. "He didn't appear to remember me, and I suppose there's no reason for him to, so I didn't bring it up."
"Well, that's fine then," Azula said, silently fuming at close her plan had just come to being derailed without her even knowing. If Jet had sensed that anything was awry…
But no.
She had been fortunate.
Enough to leave it at that.
She turned back to her uncle. "Uncle, I…"
He raised her hand to cut her off with a speed that surprised her, his eyes narrowed in concentration.
"It appears," he said in a soft voice. "That we are not alone in this room."
Instantly Azula had turned, letting her gaze flit around the walls in an apparent display of searching for the intruder uncle had mentioned. In truth she of course knew where all the Dai Li were supposed to position themselves, and the only question in her mind was how Uncle had managed to figure out that they were being watched.
"Not alone?" she asked as she edged closer to her uncle. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," she could hear the tension in her uncle's voice. "I count... four, no, five of them waiting."
"…" Azula sighed. "I see. Then there's no point in wasting any more time."
If nothing else, the one thing that could be said was that she had caught her Uncle completely by surprise. Suspicious as he usually was of her (and generally with good reason), she had managed to get him to lower his defences, and that was the crucial heart of the matter. Whirling, she hurled a dart of flame right at her Uncle's eye level, who instinctively brought both hands together in a standard defensive measure.
"Azula, what-"
From the hidden alcoves came the stone hands of the Dai Li, latching onto his wrists that had been brought together by his defensive gesture, clamping down on and effectively trapping her Uncle's hands.
Of course, there was always the probability that he would still be able to escape from the Palace, even with his arms bound, and so Azula raised her hand in a gesture for the final phase of the trap.
As Iroh took a step backwards, there was a blur of movement from behind him, and suddenly his right leg was no longer responding and he sank to the floor heavily, gritting his teeth as he did so.
"Ty Lee…"
"I'm sorry, Uncle Iroh," Ty Lee said apologetically. "Really, I am."
He made no reply as the Dai Li emerged from their hiding places, their head bowing to Azula.
"Princess."
"Have the others secured the Generals yet?"
"To the best of our knowledge, that operation is underway."
Azula nodded once and blew out a breath. "I see. In that case, let's head for the throne room," she glanced out the window at the morning sun, studiously ignoring her Uncle who was glaring at her with a ferocious intensity. "That's where we'll bring this little farce to its conclusion."
(X)
"Man, this place is a maze," Jet muttered as he stepped through the endless hallways of the Palace, looking for any room that might hold the information they were looking for.
As he continued his search, he couldn't help wondering about the old man who had provided the cover story for the rest of them to get inside here. Something about him seemed familiar, but try as he might Jet couldn't remember ever meeting him before. Well, if it was really important he'd remember sooner or later.
As he continued walking around, it was perhaps inevitable that he would run into a few of the palace staff, but most of them simply took him as an assistant being sent to fetch something, and so he was safely ignored.
"Heh," Jet chuckled to himself as he rounded the corner. "That's what it's like for us, I guess. We're all little cogs in the machine."
As he came upon a row of doors, he folded his arms as he stared down the row at them.
"Now, which one of these looks like it would hold records?" he questioned as he headed over to the nearest door and pushed it open.
Katara looked up from the desk, an expression of blank surprise on her features.
Jet blinked. "Kat – Katara? What are you-"
"Jet!" the expression that replaced her surprised one was all Jet needed to affirm that Katara had not forgiven him for the stunt he'd pulled the last time they'd met. The whip of water that lashed out at him was also a pretty big clue.
"Whoa! Hey!" he yelped as he ducked away from the striking water. "Hold it!"
"What are you doing here?" Katara hissed, her eyes shining with a ferocity that Jet had rarely seen in another person.
"Do you really want me to answer, or are you just waiting to blast me with water again?" Jet countered as one of his hands drifted to the hilt of his hook-swords. Mentally, he slapped himself. Pulling a weapon on Katara, even entirely in self-defence, would just be self-defeating.
"If it involves you, it can't be anything good," came her harsh reply.
"…" Jet spread his arms. "All right, fine. You don't trust me. Not after what happened. I can accept that. But you sure you want to start attacking me in the middle of the Earth King's Palace before you even know anything about what I'm doing here?"
There was a pause as Katara mentally assessed how she had to look by striking out at Jet without apparent provocation. And then, slowly, the rope of water that she had drawn out of her pouch slid back in.
"This had better be good," she said as she stepped back slightly into the office, giving Jet the space he needed to enter.
He glanced around the rather cramped room. If Katara decided that she really did want to make a fight of it after all, the smaller conditions would work against him – someone whose fighting style had been honed in the forests of the Earth Kingdom.
"What are you doing in the Earth King's Palace, anyway?" Jet turned to face Katara. "I guess knowing the Avatar must be a pretty handy ticket to all the high places in the world, huh?"
"Jet," Katara's eyes were points of shining ice. "Why. Are. You. Here."
He raised both hands in a gesture of surrender. "All right. All right. I'm helping a… well, I can't say it's a friend, but someone I know. I got her brother arrested, so I decided to try and set things right."
"By sneaking into the Earth King's Palace?"
"That's the thing – we don't know where they're keeping him, so we decided to come here to try and look for the administrative records about the prisons."
"… As much I want to say 'I don't believe you', that really does sound like your particular brand of idiocy," Katara's aura of hostility had not decreased one iota.
"Sorry, not my idea. It was hers."
"'Her's'? Who is this person you're helping?"
"Honestly, I don't know," Jet shrugged his shoulders. "She's been keeping it close to her chest. Her brother called himself 'Lee', but given that he's from the Fire Nation, who knows what his real name is?"
"What?" Katara eyes widened. "You're helping Fire Nation people? Why on earth would you-"
"It's all right, Katara," Jet smiled back at her. "I don't target people just because they're Fire Nation. Not anymore, anyway. This guy's an exile, so it's not like he's helping the invasion or anything."
"An… exile…?" Katara's eyes grew distant. "An… exiled… Fire Nation prisoner in the Earth Kingdom…"
"Katara?"
"Jet," she turned back to him, her voice growing more intense. "Jet, does this 'guy' have a scar across his left eye? A burn scar?"
"Huh? Uh, yeah, but how did you know?"
"You… do you have any idea who that is?" Katara exploded. "Do you know what you-" she broke off suddenly, her eyes growing wide with horror. "His sister… Jet, is his sister in the Palace right now?"
"Uh, yes, but-"
A scream of rage and frustration burst from Katara's throat as she stepped forward to seize Jet's tunic. With strength that belied her slight frame, Katara physically lifted Jet from the ground, anger and terror combining to almost choke her voice away into nothingness.
"Do you have any idea what you have just done?"
(X)
Azula glanced over her shoulder. "Uncle, don't try pulling your Dragon of the West firebreathing stunt, or I'll have Ty Lee paralyze your jaw. I don't particularly want to do that, so don't force me to."
Iroh shook his head as he glared at her. "Of all the lies and deceit that I have seen you engage in over the years, I never thought you would lie about your own brother to invoke my aid."
"Did you?" Azula turned away and shook her head. "Then perhaps you don't know me nearly as much as you'd like to believe, Uncle."
Ty Lee shot Iroh a worried glance, but otherwise remained silent. A moment later, they were stepping through the grand double doors into the throne room of the Earth King's Palace.
Most of the Dai Li had already assembled before the throne, and as Azula watched, another group entered from the side door, quickly marching into position. Briefly she recognized them as the lot she had assigned to capture General Fong. Well, it appeared that right now, their plans were on track.
The Earth King was sitting on his throne, an expression of controlled panic on his face as he stared down at the Dai Li agents assembling before him.
Well, at least he has a measure of physical courage. Azula thought as she stepped forward, ahead of the ranks of Dai Li agents. She caught the eye of two of them near the front.
"You, and you. Get Long Feng out of his cell. He needs to be here for this," at her command, both men bowed slightly and departed.
"What is the meaning of this?" The Earth King demanded of her, almost hiding the tremor in his voice.
"I believe you must know by now, your Majesty," she replied smoothly. "You no longer-"
There was an excited shout from behind them, and Azula whirled to see the doors to the throne room flung open and standing in the doorway were Jet and his friends, alongside-
"Don't let the waterbender escape!" she snapped to the Dai Li as they turned as one, hands being raising to subdue the latest threat. "Ty Lee, watch Uncle and make sure he doesn't try anything funny!"
She barely caught a glimpse of Ty Lee nodding, and then she had charged forward to engage her opponents. The waterbender peasant, upon noting the vast disparity of armed forces present, had already started to back up, but Jet… Jet was charging straight at her, fury in his eyes.
Twisting, she evaded his first slash, one hand moving up to block his followup blow by striking him at the wrist.
"You lied to me!"
"Yes, I did," Azula nodded and dropped low, shooting a tiny stream of flame out at Jet. He leapt over it, one sword coming down in an overhead swing at where Azula was standing.
Or where Azula had been standing.
In one smooth motion she he ducked behind Jet, and as he came down she lashed out with her foot, catching him squarely in the back and sending him tumbling forward. As he tried to recover his footing, Azula crossed the distance between in a single step, hands already reaching out to yank one of Jet's arms behind him. Her eyes cold, she twisted it slightly, enough to force him to gasp in pain and drop his weapon.
Well, he had some crude skill, but nothing that could match Azula's prodigious talent and training with Firebending.
Quickly, Azula raised her head up, letting her gaze sweep over the room. Jet's companions had already been subdued, as was expected. The waterbender was putting up a fight, but the Dai Li were pressing her hard, and without any backup it was only a matter of time before-
A knife zipped through the air, forcing the peasant to dodge the projectile. This momentary distraction was enough – a stone fist smashed into her, sending her down for the count. Azula turned to nod her thanks to Mai as she stepped out of the shadows.
"Damn… you…" Jet hissed through clenched teeth.
"Well, Jet, I'm sorry it had to end like this," Azula said as she tightened her grip on Jet's arm. From her position, she could wrench it out of his socket with little effort on her part. "If you'd just remained ignorant for a bit longer, it wouldn't have had to result in me manhandling you."
Twisting his face around so that he could glare murderously at her, Jet spat out, "If you're going to kill me, then just do it!"
"Kill you?" Azula let out a laugh. "My dear Jet, why would I ever want to do that? To kill you would be to rob me of my revenge."
"Revenge? What-"
"You did get my brother arrested, Jet. Did you think I would let you off so easily?" Azula leaned in close and whispered into his ear, softly enough that the surrounding Dai Li couldn't hear. "I swore vengeance on everyone who played a part in having that happen. That includes you."
Jet didn't reply, his struggles merely intensifying.
"I didn't need you, Jet. Not for any step of my plans. Oh you helped, but I never needed it. So do you know why I went to track you down anyway? The answer is simple. I know how very much you hate the Fire Nation, Jet. And after today, Ba Sing Se becomes Fire Nation territory. It will be our flag that flies on the city walls, our banner that will be draped across the front of the Palace. And from now on, every time you walk out of whatever hole you live in and see those flags, see that banner, see the Fire Nation soldiers stationed throughout Ba Sing Se, you will know that you helped make this happen."
At that last sentence, delivered in a conspiratorial whisper, Jet slumped suddenly, as if all the fight had been drained out of him.
Perhaps it had.
Standing, Azula released Jet from her grip, watching contemptuously as he sank to the floor.
"Restrain the waterbender. As for the boy, bring him and his friends to the Palace limits," she indicated three of the Dai Li. "After that, they're free to go," and having said that, she turned back to face the Earth King, who had remained on his throne the whole time.
He didn't even try to escape. Not that it would have done him much good, but at least he could have tried.
"Now, where was I?" her tone was conversational. "Ah yes. Your highness, Earth King Kuei. Your services are no longer needed. From this moment on, Ba Sing Se, and indeed the entire Earth Kingdom, is no longer yours to command."
And as for whose it actually is, Azula thought as two Dai Li agents stepped forward to cuff the Earth King. Well, the next few minutes should make that abundantly clear.
Sneaking a glance at Uncle to ensure that he was still behaving himself, Azula stepped up in front of the throne, clasped her hands behind her back, and waited for Long Feng to arrive.
Chapter End
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