The Return

by tubendo

The ice of the South Pole hides many things, and when Azula and Sokka are confronted by something far greater than themselves, the strength of their relationship is tested, and the Princess has to decide whose path she will follow: the path of her father or the path of freedom. (Sequel to Into The Fire)

37. Chapter 37

Chi-blocking was a skill that was rare across the Four Nations, but not specific to any of them; Ty Lee knew that, and had seen and heard of people who could do it in the Earth Kingdom, but that didn't mean that it was being actively taught to anyone. After considering how much time she spent being unproductive and lazy, without a job like she had had back at the circus, she had come to the conclusion that spreading her skills to others would be the best use of her time.

The fighters who had come from across the western Earth Kingdom were a diverse bunch, but many of them seemed at least a little interested in what she had to show. Most were suspicious at first, considering her an outsider, and worse than that, from the Fire Nation; however, she quickly proved her skills to those who were unaware, and earned their undivided attention.

They were receptive to the training, though not all wanted to actually learn chi-blocking, the benders especially. They were more interested in the mechanics of it, as to avoid getting chi-blocked themselves, either on purpose or by accident. She was sure many soldiers or warriors were incapacitated by an accidental chi-blocking, which she heard Sokka had achieved back when he and Azula were in Ba Sing Se, which incited the Princess to train him in the fighting style to begin with.

The non-benders were far more eager to learn, and she had sorted those willing into pairs, squaring off against each other with only their hands; before learning chi-blocking, their only option would have been to brawl, but with her training they'd actually be able to incapacitate their enemies with far less effort and far faster.

The most eager of the bunch were some fighters that referred to themselves as the 'Freedom Fighters', who supposedly had met Sokka in Ba Sing Se when he was there, and then went to Omashu, working alongside Toph. They had some questions for her, mostly about her fighting style, but also the battles she'd faced, her past in the Fire Nation, and how she knew Azula. The other fighters, who were older and more serious, were less concerned with those matters, but seemed to be listening in when she spoke about it.

She had decided to pair herself with a more experienced fighter by the name of Ji; she chose her mostly because she was a woman of a similar build to Ty Lee, which made sparring against each other fairer than it would have been against somebody bigger or smaller than herself. She had to hold back chi-blocking, unlike everyone else, as she was trying to make sure they were capable of chi-blocking each other, but not to hone her own skills.

Ji and her had their forearms against each other, faces only a hand's width apart, and were staring each other down. Despite being around the same size as Ty Lee, she was very athletic and visibly muscled, to the point she was concerned she might get smacked around badly if it was a fight of pure strength.

"So, are you going to try?" she asked the fighter, who raised her chin.

"Yeah, I am." she assured her, before she tried to knee Ty Lee in the gut; she leaned back, narrowly dodging the hit, before blocking her next attack with her forearm.

She narrowly dodged a few more punches and kicks, Ji proving that she was almost as fast as herself; it made sense, given that if she were a non-bender fighting in skirmishes against Fire Nation troops, she would have to be as fast as possible to avoid getting herself burnt in the process. When she finally got a hit on Ty Lee, it was on the outer side of her right forearm, which felt suddenly numb; her eyes widened as she realised her right hand was flopping about.

"You did it!" she realised with a smile of glee, before Ji swept her off her feet while she was distracted; she fell flat on her bottom, and began to giggle once she had recovered from the hit, "I deserved that... I should have been focusing on the spar." she conceded, and Ji offered her a hand.

"Come on." she told her, and she let her help her up.

Once standing she turned her gaze around to the other people being trained, noticing that some were catching on well enough, their opponents impeded by paralysed arms and legs. A few people had been knocked down to the ground, and yet others were already recovering. Their chi-blocking wasn't going to be as lasting while they were still training, and didn't know the techniques for hitting chi-pathways and ensuring the hits held their effect.

Ty Lee nodded in approval, before turning her eyes back to Ji, "So, again?" she asked her, flexing her disabled arm, knowing that her opponent wasn't skilled enough to make the paralysis last very long.

She could already move fingers again, and got back into a fighting stance, her opponent nodding before she lunged at her again, with a fist instead of the usual finger jab; that forced her to weave out of the way, and Ty Lee smacked her arm to the side before shoving her back.

"Again." she requested, and Ji did so.

She went for a low sweeping kick, forcing her to step back, before she lunged in and jabbed at Ty Lee's gut; she thought she might have just paralysed her legs, but she felt no numbness. She swept her own feet under her opponent's, forcing her to fall almost face-first into the dirt. She let out a grunt, and Ty Lee gestured to her abdomen.

"You have to aim for the centre line of the body, you were hitting too far to the left." she explained, before realising that might have been confusing, "My left."

Ji quickly dusted herself off and nodded, before glancing around, "Should we be swap partners again?" she asked, and Ty Lee nodded.

"Everybody, stop what you're doing!" she called out, and all the sparring came to a halt, "We're swapping partners again. Everyone on my side, move one along to the right, and the person at the end comes back to the start of the line." she gave her directions, which were quickly followed; Ty Lee then found herself standing in front of another trainee.

They were one of the Freedom Fighters, who was a young woman around her own age, who liked to wear a lot of makeup and a headband, making her look a little funny, though she was certainly intimidating.

"I get to train against you." she realised, her lips pursing into an eager smirk, "This is gonna be fun."

"I hope so. Fun training is always more useful than boring training." she declared, before moving into a fighting stance, "Well, come on, let's start." she prodded her, and her opponent gestured to herself.

"I'm Smellerbee, by the way."

"Cool name." she mumbled, "Did you choose it?" she asked, and she nodded.

"Yeah, my old one was kinda boring." she acknowledged, before throwing her right arm forward, trying to jab Ty Lee in the shoulder; she rotated her torso, and smacked her hand away before she could turn it around to try and jab her again.

Their forearms locked for a moment, and Smellerbee kicked up some dirt from below, forcing her to close her eyes. However, Ty Lee had a pretty good idea that she was going to try and attack head on with her lack of vision, so she somersaulted backwards and remained low as she wiped the dirt from her eyes. Smellerbee didn't waste a moment, however, before lunging at her with a jab towards the head; she weaved her head out of the way before catching her next jab with her own hand.

"Aim for the parts of the body that are harder to defend." she advised her, and she nodded as Ty Lee shoved her off, and got back into her fighting stance.

She swung a kick at Ty Lee's side, and she was forced to step aside, before Smellerbee jabbed her exposed arm, on the left side. She felt it go limp, the tingling sensation telling her that she wouldn't be able to use it for a few moments. She weaved out of the way of the next jab, using her right arm to block the next swing of her arm, before grabbing said arm and throwing Smellerbee down into the dirt. She rolled over and made a low kick, which got Ty Lee right in the shin.

She let out a grunt, falling to one knee before she flung both arms up to block the next attempt her opponent made to jab her gut. Her limp arm was still able to move around the shoulder, though her forearm and hand dangled about uselessly. So, knowing that her sensations were numbed, she swiped Smellerbee across the face with it, making her sputter and smile once she recovered.

"You fight dirtier than I'd expect." she acknowledged, "For a fancy looking girl like you." she added, and Ty Lee shrugged.

"If I can't chi-block you, I have to find another way to make it fair." she conceded, knowing that she would usually fight in a far more straightforward manner, with little foul play or trickery, as her chi-blocking made most fights short and easy to handle.

She knew that honing her fighting abilities in general without chi-blocking would be useful; if she ever faced some opponents who understood her abilities, they might try to break her hands to stop her from chi-blocking, but if she could still knock them out with her arms, then she wouldn't worry nearly as much about that possibility.

Once her arm was working again, she gestured for Smellerbee to attack, and attack she did; she rushed in making a high kick, which Ty Lee easily dodged, but the following chop to her side was not easy to avoid. She wheezed out for air, only grateful that she missed any of her chi pathways; she was able to spin herself around and grab Smellerbee's hand before it struck somewhere important, and then kicked her back with her left foot. She raised the right and jabbed her in the shoulder with her toes, which were just as capable of chi-blocking as her fingers. Smellerbee was staggered for a moment, but tried again to make a flurry of jabs, only to realise her left arm was completely limp.

"Shit." she muttered under her breath, before shrugging and swinging her body around, smacking Ty Lee right across the face with her limp arm.

She moved with the strike, rolling herself over on the ground before getting back up, now having switched positions with Smellerbee from where they started. Despite her arm, she didn't relent to leap up into the air, driving her foot down at Ty Lee's chest; though she was able to lean back to dodge the strike. Dirt splattered up and got in her face when Smellebee's foot landed right in between her legs. She then grappled Ty Lee's right leg with both her own, and flung her face first towards the ground. She was able to block her face with her arms, but by the time she was able to wrangle herself free, her face was covered in dirt, as were her clothes.

"You're... you're pretty good at this." she conceded with a pant, finding herself a bit exhausted after all the training.

She rose up slowly, readying her hands, holding them closer to her face so that she could better block strikes aimed at her core. Smellerbee seemed quite confident, especially after that compliment, and made a few quick jabs at Ty Lee, who was able to predict the blows as they came along, blocking or dodging each. With her lack of immediate success, she stepped forward, and kicked at her shin; the acrobat grunted from the blow, and held her footing.

When the next blow came, Ty Lee knew how to use it to her advantage, blocking it with her right arm, and then jabbing her in the side with her left arm; because her arm was immobile, she couldn't block the hit, and she cringed from the blow, stumbling back. She tried to wiggle her paralysed arm, to no avail, before she decided to try and kick her again.

The acrobat had seen the move coming, and somersaulted past her flying foot, aiming to strike her in the back, but she was smacked right across the face by Smllerbee's left hand before she could even get into position. Her head fell into the dirt, this time properly slathering her; and she spat some dirt out of her mouth before trying to wipe her face clean with some stray grass she found nearby.

The other trainees seemed to take interest in the beating she had received, and though her opponent seemed amused at her state, she offered her a hand up, "I guess I got a little too into it." she admitted, "Are we changing partners again?" she asked, and Ty Lee furrowed a brow.

She knew that she would have to get back to the compound and prepare to leave soon enough, and now that she had gotten herself so dirty, she'd probably have to wash herself before that.

"Well, I've had enough training for now myself. I mean, we're planning to leave, so I'll need to get ready to go soon." she realised, before turning around, "Everybody, you're free to leave when you want... we can do some more training next time we're together." she suggested, and got some nods from the fighters as she paced on away, heading back in the direction of the compound.

She would need to wash up, but she decided that she would check in on the others, and see how their preparations were going; she had already packed her bags, which didn't consist of much, but moving so many people around was a lot more complicated for Azula to deal with. The airship had already been restocked, repaired, and prepared for the flight east; Sokka was handling that, and had to draw up a flight plan so they could ensure they would always be able to refuel. That obviously would be an issue out in the remote mountain provinces, where Fire Nation bases were lacking, except for along the coast.

Ty Lee made her way through the encampment, before reaching the main path into and through the base. There she could see that carts of supplies had arrived from Shengchang that morning; they had already requested supplies for repairing the base, which had quickly been scavenged up from around the city and sent as soon as they were able. The base was still in tatters, even though the walls had been mostly repaired.

Much of the more complex structures, made of metal, were also damaged, but it wasn't as simple as relying on a few earthbenders to fix. That wasn't even considering the ships; from her understanding, those that could still sail were sent west along the coast to Yingang, but the rest of the ships that were immobilised were pulled into position by gangs of men by chain and rope. They were to be repaired by some engineers, metalworkers, and shipwrights sailing the other way from Yingang.

Despite their intention to leave, Azula was now waiting for something else; she needed to get her uncle's explicit support and aid in bringing all remaining anti-Ozai forces under her command, and responses from the colonial governors, as she requested to send them prisoners to use as labour. She expected that usually, they'd be happy to get the extra manpower, but the resources required to keep prisoners was probably something lacking across the Fire Nation in the middle of a civil war, as so many would be imprisoned for supporting one side or the other.

As she got to the first set of inner gates, she was saluted by the men stationed there and allowed back inside; she glanced back out, noting the groups of soldiers being marched along, most wearing gold and black armbands. That signified that they were captured soldiers that had defected after the attack on the base; many of them had already left, marching away accompanied by some soldiers from the base, each group being watched by those loyal to prevent them from returning to Ozai's side. Ty Lee felt uneasy about having so many prisoners around, and the defectors as well.

There were even those from Shengchang who had come to Azula's side, though they didn't wear those same armbands. After the battle, any presumptions of mixed loyalties had subsided. She recalled that they were all kneeling for Azula when they arrived at the base after the battle; that made her feel that at the very least, their loyalties shifted truly. Though, she guessed it might have been pure self-interest, given that defection during the heat of battle could easily lead to death, and there was no point that they could have easily gone to the other side.

The enemy had only breached the walls, and barely got any depth into the camp without being battered by earthbenders and pushed back by the defenders. She wondered if once they left with most of the fighters whether they would remain so loyal; she wouldn't put it past Ozai to send another force to attack the base. When that happened, then her suspicions would be proven right or wrong. She hoped she was wrong, for the sake of Azula and her efforts to try and take the throne.

When Ty Lee finally reached the gates of the compound, they were opened up; before her stood Toph, who seemed to be in a frustrated mood.

"Hi." she addressed her, and the blind girl raised a hand as she strode by, "Did somebody annoy you?"

"I don't wanna be spending the next few weeks flying around, but I don't have much of a choice." she explained why she was down; though she didn't understand the mechanics of her abilities, she knew that when Toph was away from the ground, she couldn't 'see', if one could call it that.

"I don't really-" she began, pouting as she realised there was no way she could really help her, "Sorry."

"Eh, it's nobody's fault I'm blind, but I will blame Azula for making us fly our way to Ba Sing Se? Definitely." she crossed her arms, and Ty Lee grimaced.

"Do you want to walk there?" she asked her; it might have come off as a rhetorical question, but she didn't really know if she'd actually prefer walking over the far quicker method of taking Appa or the airship.

"Hmm... I'd prefer to take some way that doesn't keep me far from the ground. An ostrich horse or something like that would be better." she argued, before pacing on away.

"Where are you going?"

"To say my farewells to Jianren's fighters. Most of them are staying here, so I won't be seeing them for a while." she explained, scrunching her lips, "I guess I'm better at making friends than a thought." she added more quietly, and then went on her way.

"So we're gonna leave soon." she realised what Toph's words really meant to her, and hastily walked through the courtyard and into the front entrance of the compound.

Once inside, she glanced around, trying to listen for the voices of the others; Aang, Katara, Sokka, or Azula, but she couldn't make out any of them. She was sure they were inside, because she knew she would have seen them out and about while she was training if they were out in the base. So, she decided to make her first stop the bedrooms, knowing that's where they'd be if they weren't working, eating, or training.

She made her way down to the hallway, where two of Azula's guards were already stationed, "Is she in there?" she pointed to the door, and they seemed confused, looking her up and down.

"Why are you so dirty?" one of the guards questioned her, and she made a sheepish grin.

"My trainees were pretty good at fighting." she conceded, and they opened the door for her, allowing her inside.

"Her majesty is inside, but she said she didn't want to be disturbed... at least until it's time for her speech." the other guard clarified.

"Oh, yeah." she recalled that Azula was going to make a big speech to her soldiers, the Earth Kingdom fighters, and Water Tribe warriors.

The forces from the North Pole were due to arrive at any moment, and as soon as they were there, they'd be brought to the meeting, after which everyone was supposed to be sorted into ships and groups, so they could launch off by the end of the day.

"I just wanted to make sure she was ready... and uh, go wash up."

"Understandable." he nodded, and she stepped on through.

She quickly paced down the hallway, though before she reached the door, she realised what their words might have implied. The guards usually wouldn't say something like that unless she was with Sokka. That made Ty Lee smirk, and though she knew what she was about to do was an invasion of privacy, it was hilarious. She wished Toph was there, as though she didn't know the girl well, she understood her sense of humour; she would be cackling at the thought of what she was about to do.

Ty Lee stepped over to her door, and knocked twice, "You naked in there? I didn't want to step in on you two in the middle of it."

She heard Sokka break down laughing, his wheezing and cackling making her smile, before she heard a smacking sound.

"Shut up, idiot." she heard Azula address her boyfriend, before some footsteps approached the door.

A moment later, the door was opened up, and Azula was fully clothed, telling her that they weren't up to any business; she didn't think it'd be bad if she was, though perhaps a little irresponsible given their imminent departure. Her hair was done up properly as well, which confirmed that she had just been in there with Sokka.

"What are you doing here?"

"Checking in." she told her the honest truth, "I have to go clean up, but I thought I should make sure you're ready for the speech and all that."

"Urgh, all I've been doing is practising it with Sokka." she told her, sounding frustrated by the circumstances, "Well, you showing up drowned in dirt is probably as good an excuse as ever to stop that." she decided, and Sokka nodded, folding up the written speech he was holding in his hands.

"Alright." he agreed to her proposition, "What happened to you?" he pressed the acrobat, who made a sheepish smile.

"Oh, well, training." she acknowledged, and Azula nodded along approvingly.

"Good, you should be preparing yourself." she noted the value of what she was doing in light of their plans to go to Ba Sing Se.

"Well, I wasn't the one doing the chi-blocking. I was training other people." she explained, Azula's face shifting from one of interest to one of approval.

"Even better." Azula acknowledged with a smirk, "With enough chi-blockers, the Dai Li won't be half as intimidating as they might have otherwise been."

"Well, I wouldn't call them 'chi-blockers' yet." she added, her friend's eager look dissipating, "They're barely able to make my arm go limp for a minute."

"That's better than nothing." the Princess acknowledged, "Sokka was worse than that after I started training him."

"Yeah, because you can't chi-block." he corrected her with a mildly annoyed tone, which seemed to frustrate Azula.

"I never said I could." she defended herself, and Sokka just gestured at Ty Lee.

"Yeah, but she can. She's gonna be a whole lot better at training people than you are." he argued her case, which the Princess seemed offended by.

"Excuse me, I know for a fact you can spar with Ty Lee without her holding back." she retorted, and he nodded.

"Yeah, after six months of training constantly." he reminded her, "I'm pretty sure Ty Lee could get more progress in less time."

"We'll see." Azula decided, crossing her arms, and that amused the acrobat, who was at the centre of the argument without being part of it.

"I'm not making a regular thing out of this. We're not gonna be around the fighters all the time." she reminded them, and both boyfriend and girlfriend looked at her, then each other, and shrugged, "You guys really like arguing."

"Debating." Azula corrected her, "We like debating."

"So... uh, the speech. Are you ready?"

Azula scrunched her lips up and sat herself back down on the end of her bed.

"As ready as I can be. I feel that all this overthinking and planning is going to make me screw it up." she mumbled, "I mean, I'm more worried about mistakes when we're actually trying to meet with rebels or getting into Ba Sing Se, but mistakes now might make me look stupid in front of the people I'm trying to impress."

"I think they're already impressed." Ty Lee argued, "I mean, why else would they be here? Your plan isn't mediocre- it's pretty good."

"I'm well aware." she flatly responded, "I want them to be sure that I have a path laid out for them."

"I mean... the plan once we get to the city itself is a little vague." Sokka spoke up, before raising his hands up, as to preempt any comments the Princess might make, The Dai Li are tricky, and they'll probably force us to change our plans anyway."

"They certainly will, if they find us. My plan is to make sure they do not." Azula clarified, and he grimaced.

"I don't think you can." he mumbled, "They've got eyes all across the city. Unless we can somehow blend in like we're polar bear dogs in the snow, they'll know we're there."

"Then we'd need to be quick." she argued, though her confident expression softened, "Or trick them. There's a few ways we could try and fool them."

"I'm sure they've already heard about what we're doing... rumours must spread." Sokka countered, "There's only so much we can do."

"So hide." Ty Lee concluded, "We just have to stay hidden long enough that we can find whoever we need to help us take the Dai Li down." she suggested a plan, and Azula narrowed her eyes.

"Those people are likely within the Dai Li. They are best used as a tool against themselves." she decided, "I doubt everyone would agree with their present plans... they're a little foolhardy, assuming that nobody is going to oppose their rule of Ba Sing Se."

"I mean, nobody really did for the whole time they controlled the place when the Earth King was still around." Sokka reminded her, "How is this different?"

"Because it's in the open. I doubt they have much legitimacy or secrecy when everyone knows they're in charge." she argued, before sighing, "I can't be bothered discussing this now. We don't have enough information to make any solid conclusions yet."

"Good point. We need spies." Sokka argued with an eager smile.

"Well, given we've just gotten the help of a bunch of unassuming, rough commoners who fight for their nation... I have a feeling we have some perfect candidates." she acknowledged with a smirk, "I'll have to discuss that with their leaders before we reach the city."

"And worst case scenario, we do it ourselves."

"We'd have to do some convincing disguises." Azula warned him, "None of that Wang Fire bullshit."

Ty Lee snickered at that, "That's a funny name."

"It's a stupid unbelievable one. How about Li? There's an endless amount of people called Li... or Lee."

"Heh." Ty Lee mumbled, knowing that was her own name, before grimacing, "My parents must have been running out of names when they got to me." she acknowledged, her words half a joke, though it was a genuine realisation.

Sokka chuckled, but then grimaced, "That's... kind of lazy."

"Yes, it is." Azula acknowledged, before narrowing her eyes, "Though my father did name me after his own father, so I can't say my name is any more inventive."

"Azula is a... cool name." Sokka commented, the pause sounding a bit suspect.

"Why did you pause?"

"I wanted to try and find a word that wouldn't offend you." he acknowledged, "What, did you want me to say it was beautiful, or graceful, or something else like that?"

"I would prefer to be seen as a strong... and beautiful." she admitted with a quiet voice.

"I mean..." Sokka began, and then both he and Ty Lee said the same thing in unison.

"You are."

The Princess' face shifted from a slightly uneasy one to one of complete embarrassment; her cheeks flushed red, and she covered them with her hands. She tried to regain her composure, straightening her posture and turning her gaze up to Ty Lee.

"I don't need you to tell me that." she argued, before narrowing her eyes, "Now change the topic."

"Uh... so, the rebels." Ty Lee reminded her, "Not the ones I was training, the ones we're going to go meet. Do you think they'll really work with us."

"If Jianren was willing to help us do something that might not even directly benefit the Earth Kingdom, I'm sure these other ones will be willing to do something that will certainly benefit them and their people."

"I mean, they'd still have to defeat the Fire Nation forces loyal to your father." Sokka reminded her, "That's going to take time and manpower."

"The latter is certainly not lacking in the Earth Kingdom, and I expect that with coordination and the overwhelming force we could aid in providing, it will all go along smoothly." she argued, crossing her arms, "It should only take a few months to bring everyone to our side, and not much longer to expel my father's supporters from their less secure positions."

"That being those random military bases and towns they occupy across the Earth Kingdom." Sokka realised, and she nodded.

"Those. Like Huangwen. You remember that place, don't you?" she asked her boyfriend, who shrugged his shoulders.

"We were there for like a whole day. I remember Fuchang better." Sokka added, before narrowing his eyes, "Oh yeah, I left my armour out in the woods there. I better go get it if we ever fly over that way."

"I doubt you can remember where you left it." Azula retorted, and the Water Tribesman wagged a finger at her.

"No, I'm pretty sure I do. It was just to the south of the village, up along a stream." he reminded her, and Ty Lee scrunched her lips.

"Don't you have armour already?" she asked, and he laughed.

"Yeah, Fire Nation armour. My actual armour is Water Tribe designed. It's pretty cool looking... but I left it in the woods because I had to carry Azula." he explained himself, and she snickered.

"I forgot about that story." she admitted, her friend's frustrated look telling her they shouldn't press on that topic.

"My greatest shame was being carried around by this idiot like I was some bag of rice."

"You're gonna complain about being helped?" he asked her, before rolling her eyes, "What am I saying? Of course you would."

"Yes, because I am wholly capable of doing things myself." she argued, crossing her arms.

"I didn't hear you complaining nearly as much in Yu Dao."

"Yes, because I had almost killed myself with lightning." she retorted, and silence fell over the room.

"Yeah, how about we talk about something a little less serious." Ty Lee suggested, and Sokka snapped a finger.

"Alright, how about- uh, have you made any friends?" he asked, "I mean, with the fighters?"

"Uh... I guess. They were surprisingly nice to me."

"Probably because you're a cute teenage girl." Azula commented bluntly, making her wince.

"Hey, I thought I was pretty helpful with my training."

"I'm sure you were." she agreed, "But that doesn't mean that your looks don't do you a favour. You have a friendly face... that helps more than you'd think."

Ty Lee crossed her arms, feeling a little offended that her friend was placing so much emphasis on her looks; she had no lack of confidence in her appearance, but she didn't really want to think that was all people cared about. She thought her personality and deeds would get people to like her more than anything about how she looked. She and Azula became friends because of her personality and acrobatic skills, which impressed her greatly. She thought that the same could be said for others, like the fighters, who knew that she was a capable fighter against even the strongest of benders.

After she thought some more about her words, she realised that it might have been because Azula found her attractive; that was a little amusing, if not cute of her to say that. Ty Lee didn't want to overthink that, however, and decided to try and move the topic elsewhere. Sokka seemed to realise what she had said, and scrunched his lips up.

"Cute?" he questioned Azula's words.

"What, are you going to deny it?" Azula questioned him; the Water Tribesman looked at Ty Lee briefly before turning his eyes down.

"Uh... no. She's cute." he admitted quietly, and that seemed to agitate the Princess a little, though she kept her calm.

"That's settled." she bluntly declared, before turning her eyes back over to her friend, "So, how long will this training take?" she asked, Ty Lee almost letting out a sigh of relief with the change of topic.

"Oh, I mean, if they practise in their own time, I could have them chi-blocking pretty well in a few weeks. It takes years of practice to get as good as me." she explained her thoughts on the chi-blocking training, before narrowing her eyes, "So, by the time we get to Ba Sing Se, they might be ready."

"We'll meet up with the seaborne forces as often as possible, to share intelligence and guide any new allies to the ships." she explained part of her plan, at least that bit that was relevant to the discussion, "So, you'll have your chances to train them."

Azula then let out a sigh, turning her gaze back over to the piece of paper Sokka had in his hands, "Should we practise again?"

"I think you'll do fine, Azula." he offered her some reassurance, though that didn't seem to brighten her mood.

The Princess rose to her feet, and gestured to Ty Lee, "You need to clean and get changed."

"I realise that." she admitted, before glancing behind herself to the door, "I should-"

"We can go to the spa one last time. We have probably just enough time for it." she acknowledged, and Ty Lee smiled.

"I'd like that." she agreed to her proposition, before turning her eyes over to Sokka, "Uh, what about Sokka?"

"He needs to speak with his father and the Water Tribe warriors about their plans for the South Pole." she explained, the Water Tribesman's formerly content expression shifting to one of cold seriousness.

"Already?" she asked, knowing that he had made some negotiations at the North Pole that might lead to people coming south to aid and join his tribe.

"It's a serious political matter." Azula stressed, "This is as important an issue to the South as the colonies and our war are to the Fire Nation. They don't want to sacrifice their political independence for the sake of aid from the North."

"That sums up the problem." Sokka confirmed the accuracy of her words, rising to his feet before glancing down at his clothes, "I'm glad I'm not wearing my armour right now... I feel that would have been a bit ironic."

"What, looking like a traditional enemy of your people?" Azula asked, and he nodded, before stepping past her, kissing her on the cheek briefly before he paced over to the door.

"I am a Water Tribesman before anything else." he acknowledged his own identity, "I love you... but this is something I have to deal with, and the warriors might come to a decision that you won't like."

"The Southerners are free to do as they please, as long as they don't bar me from visiting the place." she gave her own stance.

"I'd be more worried about them not letting me back if I actually end up as Fire Consort." he spoke his mind quietly, and Azula raised a brow.

"End up? You already are for all intents and purposes." she retorted, "All you're missing is a headpiece and the robes."

"I'd prefer not." he raised a hand, and she narrowed her eyes.

"You think I didn't know that?" she rhetorically questioned him back, before stepping out the door, "Good luck." she added more quietly, and he waved back at his girlfriend.

Once Azula closed the door, Ty Lee tilted her head down the hallway, "So, we're going?"

She nodded and stepped ahead of her; the acrobat followed her friend down the hallway towards the entrance, turning left before they paced around the corner, reaching another hallway; when they got to the spa, Azula turned to face one of her guards, who was standing near the entrance.

"Get the servants." she requested, "I have no idea when the Water Tribe ships will arrive, so be quick about it."

"Of course." he bowed to her, momentarily eyeing Ty Lee, who was still covered in splatterings of dirt, before he made his way off to retrieve the servants who would attend to them in the spa; they were originally servants of Admiral Zhao, serving him in the base and on his ship, but had been tending to the Princess and her entourage ever since he arrived.

Ty Lee realised that it was a bit of a bother for them to attend to them in the spa, even if they were trained to do it well enough. They had other duties, though she guessed while Azula was away, they would have little to do other than clean up around the compound and do work for Colonel Zhengyi.

"Do you have a change of clothes?" the Princess asked her, and Ty Lee shrugged.

"There are robes inside. I'll get into my actual clothes as soon as I get back to my room." she explained herself, "I don't technically need to be at your speech, do I?"

"No, you don't." Azula shook her head, but her face told Ty Lee that she would prefer it if she were there.

"I'll be there." she reassured her, before stepping into the room; she sat herself down on one of the benches, and Azula sat herself down across from her.

"So, you and Sokka seem like you're going well." she observed, the Princess furrowing a brow.

"Did you expect us to have some spat over something petty?" she asked, and that made the acrobat snicker; Azula was well known for her petty spats, but it was the more serious ones she was concerned about.

"Yeah, I did." she agreed with her despite the loaded nature of the question, "I was just a bit worried after what happened last time. You left him with Aang and Katara, and then everything... well, it went terribly."

"I'm aware." she agreed with a cold, low voice; her face fit her tone, her former neutral expression having shifted to one of silent anger, "I think I was more worried about Sokka than the other way around."

"Well, he was the one in danger." Ty Lee observed the facts as they stood, "I thought you handled yourself well."

"I did not." she snapped back, "I acted like a paranoid idiot. I hadn't realised until the North Pole that my fears control me more than I control them." she explained her thoughts, "I have to remain calm. Now more than ever... danger is no reason to lose my cool."

"I mean, you do need to react to danger. How else will you fight properly?" she asked, and Azula smirked.

"By being stronger than anyone I face. I'm not going to assume there aren't some earthbenders out there who could threaten me, but I am cautious enough to avoid them in combat." she acknowledged, and Ty Lee scrunched her lips up.

"The Earth Kingdom is a pretty big place. I'm sure there're more people like Toph." she acknowledged, before wincing, "I don't mean blind, I mean stupidly strong." she clarified.

"I understood what you meant." Azula assured her calmly, her expression shifting back to a more neutral one.

"But what if you are surprised?"

"Then I will destroy them." she declared without a moment's hesitation, "I am the Blue Dragon. I ought to live up to that moniker before it becomes a way to mock my failures."

"Heh... I guess that's as good a motivation as any." she admitted, "You like people thinking you're cool."

"I certainly do. My power is something that needs to be feared and respected. Not just as a fighter, but as a strategist and a leader." she explained her thoughts on her image, "I already have the fear, and maybe respect from a few, but it's not enough."

The servants stepped through the door a moment later, and both girls turned to face them; they both looked at Ty Lee, aghast at her state.

"Lady Ty Lee." one of them addressed her, "What happened to you?"

"Training." she clarified, "I was hoping you could help clean me up as part of this."

"Of course." she bowed to her, and gestured to the bench, "We can clean you first and then you can get changed into your bathrobe." she suggested, and Ty Lee nodded, though Azula immediately went off to the changing area to get into her own bathrobe.

The acrobat sat and laid herself down on the bench, and one of the servant women stepped over to her, picking up a bucket of water, which she heated and cleaned with some firebending.

"Huh... I forgot you could firebend." she admitted, and the servant woman made a sheepish smile.

"We both can."

She assumed that choosing servants that could firebend was for defensive purposes. When they were serving Zhao, the servants might actually have been able to protect him in the case of an assassination attempt.

"It's so they can stop assassins.." Azula said from behind the curtains, making the same conclusion Ty Lee had.

"Oh... I guess that's part of the reason." the other servant mumbled, "Firebending helps with massages. Warm hands are better than cold ones." she added, and Ty Lee hummed.

"I do like a hot massage." she acknowledged, before her eyes darted back over to the servant who was heating the water; she took the bucket over to the bench, drenched and wrung a cloth for her, before beginning to wipe her face clean.

Ty Lee smiled from the feeling of the warm cloth on her skin, and heard the curtain shuffling to her right, watching the Princess step out; she had her hair down, having removed her headpiece, and was wearing the long flowing bathrobes they donned while in the spa. Azula almost looked like a different person when she had her hair down, though that was probably because of how distinctive her hairstyle was, and the fact that she looked an awful lot like her own mother when she didn't have her hair up. She had never mentioned that since it annoyed her once, many years ago; that was not long after she had disappeared, and Ty Lee had learnt not to mention it.

Azula lay down on her bench, and let out a sigh as the servant began to massage her scalp, washing her hair in the process. Ty Lee turned her eyes up, and wondered if the spa treatment would calm her nerves; she felt a little guilty that she had very little to worry about, even if she was a little concerned by what they might face out in the mountains.

"So, are your nerves calmed?" she asked her friend, who just huffed, shifting slightly on the bench, before turning her head to face Ty Lee.

"I'm not worried about the speech. I'm worried about their reactions." she explained her feelings, "I need these allies."

"Don't worry, they aren't gonna leave just because you say a few wrong words." she tried to reassure her, and Azula hummed in thought.

"I just hope you're right. I don't want to have to explain to my uncle that I failed in my grand plan because I offended the wrong people."

---

With her arms crossed, Azula's eyes were set on the soldiers who were putting luggage and supplies into the cargo hold of the airship; it wasn't very large, given that the craft was mostly designed for combat and scouting purposes, and not to move a large number of people at once. That actually made it easier to fill the hold up faster, as she mentally prepared herself for the speech she was about to give; the fighters were already assembling in a nearby field, while she, Sokka, and Toph helped with the preparation of the airship. The earthbender had decided to join them on the aircraft, swapping spots with Ty Lee, as she decided it was preferable to being on Appa, where she felt even more uncomfortable there due to her blindness.

Azula was inspecting the crates of supplies as they were brought onboard, making sure that they had the supplies they requested, and in the correct quantities; they would be travelling to a few isolated ports along the northern coast for resupply when necessary, but for the most part, they would try to minimise resupply missions by gathering food, water, and armaments where they could. Azula knew there were a few Fire Nation military bases out in the mountains, most of which must have been abandoned in the past few months as Ozai's forces tried to concentrate their efforts on the colonies. If there were any supplies to be scavenged, they would appropriate them to assist on their flight eastward. If she could find their potential allies amenable enough, she could request supplies from them, but was not relying on that possibility.

Once the last of the crates were on board, she turned to face Toph, who had been helping move them along with her earthbending, which was surprisingly faster than moving goods by cart and then carrying them aboard, "You have shown me the efficiency earthbending can provide to labour." she acknowledged, knowing it wasn't a direct thanks, but indicated her usefulness, "I will have to ensure the complete legalisation of earthbending in the colonies. The productivity increases in workshops, factories and mines shouldn't be ignored."

"Were your people really that afraid of earthbender rebellions that they refused to exploit them for that?" she asked, and she cringed.

"There were prisoner platforms, usually at sea, where earthbenders were used for manual labour... but none of that involved earthbending, making it mostly redundant." she realised, before crossing her arms, "Not to mention it's made the Fire Nation even more enemies than we started with."

"So... you're not denouncing it?" she asked, and Azula scoffed.

"In a time of war with the Earth Kingdom, it was a necessity. If the Earth Kingdom did the same to firebenders, would you be complaining?" she asked her in return, and the blind girl held her tongue, "Exactly."

"It's just a dickish way to go about it." Toph spoke up, "Why not send them away, let them fight for the Earth Kingdom, but not as rebels in your... occupied lands?" she asked, and Azula shrugged her shoulders.

"They're going to fight anyway. It's more efficient to stop the fight before it starts." she argued, before sighing, "Not that this is relevant to anything. I'm stopping it."

"Then why don't we go west and free some more prisoners?" she asked, and the Princess narrowed her eyes.

"My fleet has express orders to demolish prison platforms and free the prisoners from their internment. They've been doing it for a while now." she assured her, "I doubt all of the prisoners are very safe, given how many forces my father must have further west in the colonies, but they're going to get their freedom, one way or another."

"Yeah, well, I hope they can help." Toph gave her opinion, "Everybody's been too afraid to fight the Fire Nation for too long. It's about time we do something about that."

"My father is who they're fighting, not the Fire Nation." Azula reminded her, and she scoffed, before pulling along a few more crates, shifting the earth underneath them to raise them up so the men could easily put them into the cargo hold, "What's funny about that?"

"It's not funny, it's a load of crap." she corrected her, "Do you really think your father doesn't have popular support for how he's acting against the Earth Kingdom?" she questioned her, and the Princess crossed her arms.

"The Fire Nation is as tired of the war as everyone else is. After all that's happened, I'm sure many people just want a lasting peace."

"What did you want to do before you got enamoured with Mister Angry Boomerang over there?' she gestured in Sokka's general direction; he wasn't listening to them, discussing flight plans with the pilots, looking over a map that he had taken from Admiral Zhao's office.

"Fair point." she simply agreed with what she was implying; there was no need to say it, given how distant she felt from her prior views.

In her defence, she had desired to integrate the other nations into her father's empire, and ensure their cooperation with, if not loyalty to, the Fire Nation. Her friendship with Sokka, if that was what she could even call it at the time, was initiated by her with the explicit intention of trying to make him an ally for her nation. She knew that he despised the Southern Raiders, and had every intention of having their leadership face justice so that the Southern Water Tribe would lose most, if not all, motivation to continue fighting the Fire Nation. Now, he had no idea if that would have worked, though she was still intending to achieve that goal, though the desire for revenge and justice had become more personal.

As much as she hated to admit it, the Southern Water Tribe were almost her own people; they had taken her in, respected her, and provided her with an opportunity to make a herself anew. She had gone there a confused, frustrated girl, and came back with the drive and intent to change the world. Azula wouldn't have admitted it at the time she left the South Pole, feeling obligated to stop her brother, because that was the hole she resigned herself to when she made her declarations in Ba Sing Se all those months prior. Now, she had none of that baggage. Her brother was supposedly dead, and even if he wasn't, she couldn't claim that she'd want to go to war with him. Berate him for being a moron, most certainly, and beat the living shit out of him for threatening both her life and the lives of Ty Lee and Sokka, but she would not fight him for the throne again.

"Hey, Zappy? Somebody in there?" Toph asked her, nudging her with her elbow.

The Princess' eyes widened, realising that she had just been standing there with a blank face, thinking about the past; she did that more often than she would like to admit, "I'm alive." she assured her, and the earthbender snickered.

"Yeah, I figured. Just thought you'd gone a bit crazy."

"A bit? I already am." she warned her with a dark tone, knowing that she'd find it amusing; it wasn't really a lie, knowing how she felt about Sokka and how close she was to ripping other people to shreds for even trying to harm him.

"Hey, that's a better mindset than denying it." Toph accepted her words as fact, which wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear; she was taking her seriously, which in that specific context, was not the reaction she had been hoping for.

"My craziness is dependent on him." she gestured to her boyfriend, "Without him, I think I'd be perfectly sane."

"Or a mass murdering psycho." the blind girl countered, "I wasn't living under- wait, no, I was living under a rock." she realised, though Azula was a bit confused about what she was specifically referring to, "You were that person. The one that everyone was afraid of after you subdued the Dai Li like it was nothing."

"And I'll do it again." she assured her, "Don't think because I care about him, and some other people, that it will stop me from doing what is necessary. I might have rejected most of my father's ideas about the world, but the necessity for force is not one of them." she warned her, and Toph crossed her arms.

"You know, I might not like the Fire Nation... I definitely agree." she admitted, "Hopefully Aang realises that before something terrible happens."

"If he can't prevent something, then we can." Azula assured her, knowing that she, Katara, and Toph were together some of the strongest benders she knew, barring those far older and understandably skilled masters like her father, uncle, and King Bumi.

"Azula." she heard her boyfriend speak up, "Are you ready to go? The cargo's all loaded." he informed her, and she silently turned, eyeing the podium that lay off in the distance, where some of her guards were standing, waiting for her to come speak.

"I can't delay this forever. I'm sure they'll be more annoyed with me if I keep them standing out in the midday sun." she acknowledged how they must have been feeling; despite the high latitude, the sun was still bearing down on them with an unexpected strength, as the sky had been clear all morning.

She began making strides, quickly approaching the podium, where Ty Lee, Aang, and Katara were already standing, waiting for her to make her speech; the former stepped forward with an eager smile.

"So, everything's ready?" she asked, and Azula nodded, before eyeing the podium.

"Everything's led up to this." she realised, "All my work, all our work." she addressed the group, before clenching her fists, "I can't step back now."

So, she paced up onto the podium, and rose to the top; eyeing the crowd, she realised there were hundreds of fighters before her, more than she had expected. It was not the few dozen she had imagined, given how big the Water Tribe boats were, but she guessed that they had filled the boats as much as they could, and then, there were the Northerners. They almost outnumbered the Earth Kingdom fighters by themselves, and she smiled at the sight of them; not for any familiarity or liking of the Northern Water Tribe, but for the very fact that so many had decided to come south and aid them. She knew they were only the men that could be assembled from the capital, while there were probably hundreds more that could eventually join them from the more remote villages across the Northern Water Tribe.

She cleared her throat, and raised her hands into the air, "I thank you all for making your way here. For some, it has been longer than any journey you have taken in your lives. The risks you have taken, I promise that they will be worth the effort." she first gave her thanks to the crowd; it was mostly platitudes, but she knew that if she was going to fight with them, they needed to know that she respected their efforts, rather than just see her as some opportunistic foreign ally, "We are going east to Ba Sing Se. This starts today, and with any luck, within a few weeks, we will have gathered enough forces to infiltrate the city, depose the Dai Li, and organise a new provisional government for the Earth Nation." she added what they probably already knew, but had to re-emphasise it before she actually went into any more detail.

Once she let that bit of information sink in, Azula decided to get onto what she wanted to say, "Today, we welcome new allies from the Northern Water Tribe. Their assistance will not be ignored, and I hope that they can provide more much needed support for the reconstruction of your nation.." she acknowledged their presence, and offered a point of contention; the fighters present could likely do nothing about that, but after they were done, they could certainly agitate their elders and the Chief to do more to help the Earth Kingdom.

"Now, together, you will all be sailing along the coast, and will try and find anyone else who may join our cause of reuniting the Earth Kingdom. The Avatar, myself, and our associates will be travelling east by air to find those further inland who might support our cause, and will try to direct them to either join your small armada of Water Tribe ships, or to travel overland to the walls of Ba Sing Se." she explained what they would be doing.

"Once at the walls, we will infiltrate the city. My plans here are not as defined as I would hope, but without more intelligence from the city itself, we cannot hope to understand what can be done to undermine the Dai Li. The public's support is just as important. Just as I have sought the support of rebels across your nation, I seek the support of those within the city who would like a change in government." she argued the obvious steps she'd need to take when she arrived, "Not just the intellectuals who would understand the flaws inherent in the way the Dai Li and Earth King have ruled your country, but the common people, who have suffered for decades due to the war and inattention from your rulers."

Azula's eyes narrowed, knowing that the people in front of her had far more in common with those impoverished masses of the Lower Ring than they would ever have with the those in the Upper Ring or within the Dai Li, "Many of those people are refugees, fleeing from the same lands you have come from, occupied and seized by my own people. Those people have every reason to hate me, but they cannot deny the common cause we all have. They are those who have toiled for their country, and have got nothing for it."

She realised that she had to make a point that was hard to acknowledge, but necessary, "I will not say the Fire Nation is any better, but I know that there are people in my nation who do, and more importantly, those across the other nations who see this. Everyone standing here knows the injustices of the world, and wants to end them. I once thought those people my enemies, but I have realised that the world cannot remain the way it has. So, will you stand together and make a new world with me?"

They raised their fists into the air, and cheered, and Azula decided to add her own words, "Long live the Earth Nation!"

The words were repeated back to her, by Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom fighters alike; she realised she would need to start thinking of them as she called them. The Earth Nation, not a kingdom ruled by a king, but a people that could be united in purpose and prosperity, just as her nation was.

"Is this what Fire Lord Sozin truly wanted?" she whispered to herself, her voice drowned out by the raucous cheering and shouts.

Azula turned her eyes back to Sokka, who stood right beside her below the podium; he was smiling at her, approving of what she'd said. She made a small smile, but hardened her look as she waited for the crowd's cheering to calm so she could finish what she was going to say. When the crowd finally quietened down, she raised a single hand up into the air.

"I only ask one thing of you all: fight with all your will. This is not a fight for glory, it is a fight for the future of the world. If we cannot unify the world against my father, there will be no hope of ending this conflict. A century has been wasted because people thought killing each other was the solution to their imagined problems." she acknowledged the seriousness and value of what they were going to do, "I do not want to make anyone needlessly concerned, but if you were not already concerned, you would not be here. You've seen it, or you've heard. I will not claim to have suffered half as much as most of you here, but I know what my people have done. The way my father has ruled is the same way my ancestors did; none of them brought peace to the world, and neither will he with his reign of terror."

The crowd did not cheer at her words, but they understood her; she turned around, and pointed at the Water Tribe ships that lay on the other side of the walls, "So, go and sail forth. Find those who will fight for this cause, and bring them to Ba Sing Se. The waters might be dangerous, and you might face Fire Nation ships; know that my fleet will do everything they can to protect you and make sure those other Fire Nation forces are repelled if not subjugated and forced to fight for our side." she provided her assurances, which were already part of the orders she gave her war council.

That meeting had been long-winded, forcing her to look over every planned operation, infrastructure project, and enemy position, but she knew what they were capable of, and understood that unless her father assembled an expeditionary force in the homeland, there was little chance he could overwhelm every single Zuko loyalist along with her supporters without losing most of his manpower, arms, and supplies on the continent.

"Any Fire Nation forces you come across, if they cannot be forced to swear themselves to me, must be expelled from their positions and deprived of any strength they could use against you. I do not want to make any more enemies in the Fire Nation, but if they have given the choice, nobody can blame me for allowing traitors to be destroyed." she gave them her express directions on how to handle her fellow countrymen; she knew that forcing them to her side was not necessarily going to work, but many of them presumably just wanted pay, supplies, and a job to do- something Azula's forces in the colonies could certainly provide them with, "This is all I have to say." she concluded her speech, turning her heels.

Before she dropped down from the podium, the fighters all gave salutes, though none of them were consistent with each other; that wasn't what she was expecting, and she realised that they weren't just saluting her. Aang had pushed himself up on a smaller stone platform, and made an eager smile at her. She grabbed his right hand with her left, and raised both their arms up, as a show of unity and was when the crowd broke into cheers; Azula kept a straight face, while Aang smiled gleefully. He probably wasn't thinking about the fighting that was inevitably going to come, but more about how everyone was working together.

It was probably closer to the world he imagined existed before the war, even if that was clearly not the case; she didn't know that much about what was happening in the other nations, but to say that they all liked and respected each other would be a stretch. It was only after all the suffering of the war that the remaining three nations could hope to unite against a common enemy; however, the ideal world he imagined in his head, Azula hoped that it could become a reality. Not for any overtly altruistic reason, but because she knew that with peace, she would be able to achieve the aims she wanted for her nation, and for the world.

She let go of Aang's hand, and stepped down from the podium, where Katara and Sokka stood, looking at her with impressed faces.

"Not how I would have done it, but nice." the Water Tribe girl acknowledged, "After all, you're the leader."

"Of the Fire Nation?" Aang raised a brow, "Isn't that obvious?"

"No, of the group." Katara corrected him, and Sokka snickered.

"Yeah, she just took control immediately." he agreed with his sister, "Hey, I wouldn't have anybody else in charge... no offence Aang."

"I'm twelve." he reminded them, presumably not having much confidence in his ability to lead their group because of that, given that they were all older than him.

Azula wasn't the eldest, Sokka having a few months on her, but he wouldn't demand leadership on seniority; if she wasn't there, that was another thing entirely, but he knew that she was the best when it came to strategies and planning, the hallmark of a leader, especially when they were facing danger constantly.

"Let's get going." Toph prodded them, "I've had enough of standing around."

"I thought you didn't want to fly." Katara reminded her, and the blind girl raised her hands up behind her head.

"Eh, I mean, I don't, but I feel like we're wasting time on all this ceremony."

"I agree." Azula acknowledged, despite the fact that she was the one to decide for and then plan a speech; she turned to Ty Lee, who had been watching the speech with a look of awe, and preempted a hug from her.

She knew she'd want it, and hugged her friend softly, not finding the courage to be too eager. It would make her seem desperate and needy, something she'd prefer to avoid in front of the people who knew her best. Ty Lee giggled, and she called out to the others.

"Group hug!" she demanded, and the rest complied, joining in on the hug; Toph was last to join, less eager than the rest, but she did it anyway.

"I feel like I'm being crushed." Azula quietly admitted, and Ty Lee poked her in the side.

"That's how you know it's good." she replied with a grin.

The hug broke up after a few moments, and Azula turned her eyes to the other two she wouldn't be seeing for at least the rest of the day. She had no idea how long it would take them to get to their destination out east in the mountains, and she expected that Appa would get there first, being a bit faster than an airship, even if he had to rest more than the airship needed to refuel.

"I expect you will find who you're looking for quickly enough." she observed, and Aang and Katara both nodded.

"Yeah, General Hong." he recalled the man's name, "I'll make sure to tell him it wasn't your fault those soldiers were attacking his men."

"I think the soldiers got attacked, actually." Sokka corrected him, "They were looking for Hong's base. It must be around there... between Gaochao and the sea."

"The middle of nowhere." Katara added, "No chance we'll run into more- uh, bad Fire Nation soldiers there." she argued, "Right?"

Azula shrugged her shoulders, "My forces are the only ones I know about on that side of the river." she acknowledged, "There might be more forces further into the mountains, but they're probably deserters, not actual soldiers fighting for my father."

"Deserters will still try to attack you." Toph warned them, "So, make sure to get ready to slam them." she warned the group and Ty Lee laughed, waving off her concerns.

"Oh, firebenders are easy to fight. It's the earthbenders I'm worried about." she assured her, and the blind girl crossed her arms.

"Yeah, that's right. In the mountains, earthbenders are death walking." she declared coldly, which seemed to frighten Aang a little.

Before he could comment on that, Azula stepped out of the way, placing a hand on Aang and Katara's shoulders, before eyeing them, "Just be careful. This isn't going to be like the colonies. There's a reason the Fire Nation doesn't like going out there."

"It's around the Northern Air Temple. I remember that place being peaceful."

"Yeah, because nobody can usually reach it." she warned him, "The valleys, however... well, you've heard Sokka's story about the deserters when we got shipwrecked. It's just more of that." she stressed, "There's a reason I expected delays with an overland invasion force to attack the colonies when we left Ba Sing Se." Azula acknowledged, and her boyfriend nodded.

"Well then, are we going to get in the air, or what?" he asked the group, who all nodded along, before turning to face Aang, "Appa's fed, isn't he?"

"Yep, I made sure he got his fill this morning. He should be good to fly for the rest of the day." he clarified, assuring Azula that he had actually gone through with her earlier requests; the sky-bison was needed more than ever to make their gathering of rebels as quick as possible.

"Then let's get moving on." Ty Lee decided, "There's no time like the present."

"Good luck." Aang farewelled them all, before he turned his heels to head towards the sky-bison, which was over by the stables, near the warehouses that lay on the northern side of the compound; Katara didn't follow immediately, hugging her father goodbye, before she pursued Aang and Ty Lee.

Hakoda turned to face his son, "So, are you sure you'll be alright in this thing? You don't have a lot of places to refuel." he reminded him, and Sokka smiled back at him.

"Don't worry, Dad. I spent a while figuring out a flight plan with the pilots. We'll have more than enough fuel to get to the closest refuelling station on the coast."

"And I've already sent ships to make sure that they're restocked." Azula added, the Chief's uneasy look softening.

"Take care of him, would you?" he requested of her, and Azula nodded.

"Heh, Mister Boomerang here can take of himself." Toph piped up, offending Sokka, which Azula thought that was an unusual reaction to a compliment.

"Excuse me?" he questioned her, before pulling out his boomerang, "This is Mister Boomerang. I am Sokka." he corrected her, "Or if you're gonna play dumb, 'the Water Tribesman'."

"People still call you that all over." she acknowledged, "But it sounds too cool... I can't actually call you something cool." she argued, making him snicker.

"You call me Poke-Poke the Polar Bear Dog for all I care, just not Mister Boomerang." he made his request clear, making both Azula and Toph break down laughing.

She was so focused on the joke that she had forgotten she was in public. Somebody tapped her on the shoulder, and she realised it was the Captain.

"Your majesty." he addressed her, though his words were a simple warning to calm herschel.

"I apologise. I just- I wasn't expecting something that stupid to come out of his mouth." she tried to defend herself.

"I'm just that funny." he proclaimed, before hugging his father, "You stay safe, Dad. The guards will keep you safe."

"I'd really prefer if all of us came with her majesty." Renshu spoke his mind, and Azula raised a finger.

"There's barely enough space on the airship for all the guards and the crew. Half of you is more than sufficient. The Water Tribe fleet needs the extra protection anyways. Every leader is of value to this cause... one more person who could help bring the people of the Earth Kingdom together." she argued, before narrowing her eyes, "I didn't mean to make that sound like a moral argument. That is an order. Protect them with your lives." she ordered the rest of the guards, who saluted her at once, without a moment's hesitation.

"Well, are we going to get aboard?" the Captain asked her, and Azula nodded, and began to pace towards the airship; she noticed in the corner of her eye Sokka hugging his father again, before he followed after Azula and Toph.

The earthbender reached the airship before her, and seemed confused as to how to get inside; Azula stepped over to the door, pulling a lever to drop the staircase down so they could climb up. The blind girl nodded and cautiously made her way up the stairs, before sighing.

"Urgh... I can barely feel a thing." she grumbled, and Azula climbed in after her.

"Just find somewhere to rest. I'm sure you can find a way to distract yourself." she suggested, and Toph pouted.

"This-" she mumbled, before she turned around, kicking a metal panel, apparently on purpose, "This stupid thing. It's mucking up my seismic sense."

"What, can you actually sense something?" Sokka spoke up, just having climbed through the doorway.

"A bit." she acknowledged, "It's all muddled. I can-" she began, before pacing away, "I'm gonna find somewhere to sit."

"Do you need help?" he asked, and she gave him the finger; how she learnt how to do that, Azula had no idea, but it was amusing nonetheless.

"Bye, Dad!" Sokka called out to his father, waving through the doorway, though he had to get out of the way so the guards could climb aboard.

They filed in, and Azula stepped into the bridge to get out of their way; the entrance became crowded quite quickly, forcing everyone to fan out to try and find a spot to sit.

"Just head down there. The quarters aren't that big, but it should be enough space for you guys to sit around, sleep, if you want." he suggested, and Renshu waved him off.

"You forget that we've flown in this thing before... not that I enjoyed the experience." he retorted, and Azula grimaced, realising that she didn't actually know what was provided in terms of bedding arrangements.

"We do get beds, don't we?" she asked, and he chuckled.

"Of course, they're just all stacked together in a set of bunks, between here and the engines." he explained; she wasn't looking forward to the snoring of her guards, nor how hot she imagined it would get.

"Brilliant." she responded, and Sokka just smirked.

"Hey, it's better than sleeping on Appa's saddle." he countered, and Azula couldn't disagree with it, despite the idea of being stuck in a room with a bunch of sweating, stinking men being most unappealing.

"Yes, I do prefer not having Ty Lee's feet in my face." she conceded he was right, and he snickered.

"I'm sure somebody would like that." he added, making her grimace.

"Sorry?"

"Forget I said anything." he snapped back, pacing up to the bridge, "Turn the engines on. We'll be leaving as soon as everyone's onboard." he directed the pilots, who nodded, accepting his orders without question.

Technically, Azula should have been the one telling them what to do, but unlike herself, Sokka actually understood how the airship worked, with all its intricacies and various roles for the crewmembers. One of them pulled out a pipe and repeated the order to the engineers, and not long after, she felt the engine rumbling, shaking the whole ship, though not so much that it would be sickening, more riding a smaller ship or train. Renshu stepped up beside her, and grabbed a hold of a bar on the roof, steadying himself as the airship began to rise up into the air.

"This thing is a bit disorienting." he admitted, "Is the sky-bison any better?"

"No, but you get used to it." Sokka answered the question that she thought had been directed at herself.

"And how long will this take? The whole trip, not just reaching this mountain hideout?" he asked, the Water Tribesman grimacing.

"I actually have no idea. It depends on how often we land, and how many places we have to visit off of the route I've designed for us to reach Ba Sing Se."

"What's our closest base to the city itself?" Renshu asked, and Sokka stepped over to the cabinet, out of which he drew the map he had been looking at earlier.

He laid it down on the table that lay in the centre of the bridge, just behind where the pilots were seated; Sokka pointed out a port that was marked to the northeast of Ba Sing Se, around as far from the city-centre as Huangwen was.

"It's about a day's flight between this port and the Outer Walls. Supposedly there's a Fire Nation base around here, where the siege camp used to be during the six hundred day siege." Sokka clarified, and Azula crossed her arms.

"We've heard of it." she assured him, "So, Sokka, how do you propose we get inside?"

"That's your problem, not mine. I have no idea how we're going to get into the city. Toph could take us underground. I guess the Dai Li might have tunnels all the way out there."

"Using their own tunnels is just asking for trouble." Renshu warned him, "I would prefer entering the city more discreetly."

"That is the most discreet way." Azula argued, "Disguising ourselves as refugees is the other option. But, I doubt we'd get past customs. I mean, Aang has his tattoos, and I am certain they will recognise those of us that are Fire Nation." she argued; both Sokka and the Captain didn't seem enthused by that, and the former stepped forward, eyeing out the window, watching as the airship turned and the windows went from facing the camp to the bay, and the hills beyond it.

"What about the trams?" Sokka asked, "I mean we'll have more than a few earthbenders with us."

The earthbending powered trams were more than enough to get them to the Outer Ring in a short time, but she doubted it was an option while the walls were occupied by her own loyalists and the city by the Dai Li.

"They're the opposite of discreet." she warned him, "But that would be the fastest way to get fighters into the city, by far."

"Maybe we can wait until we have a plan, and then send our allies to assault the city on the trams?" her boyfriend suggested, and she grimaced.

"And the Dai Li could blow the pylons and send them to their deaths." she countered, before sighing, "There's no easy way into Ba Sing Se. We just need to wait until we're there to figure out our plan of attack."

"Yeah, I guess there's no point fussing over it now." he agreed, stepping closer to the window, eyeing the compound that lay below to their right, "Are you worried about leaving the base for too long?"

"No, I trust the people in charge here, even if the prisoners we've recruited are less trustworthy. They're loyal to the Fire Nation, most certainly, but serving me is a matter of convenience." she argued, "My loyalists proved themselves with our trick. You both remember that."

Both Renshu and Sokka nodded, and the former turned around, "I'll go organise the bedding arrangements with the men. Should we have spotting duty?" he asked, and Azula nodded.

"Certainly. Two at a time to look out each side, and for a few hours at a time." she directed him, and the Captain nodded, her gaze turning back to the windows, looking over the bay, where the wrecked ships had yet to be hauled ashore to be scavenged or repaired.

"That's a lot of ships." Sokka noted, "I'd seen them before... but I didn't really have the time to consider how big the battle was."

"My father expended a lot of resources for no gain. That's a win for us." she assured him, before sighing, knowing the pilots would be listening to anything they said to each other, "Is there anywhere private we can go?" she asked, and Sokka nodded, grabbing her by the wrist and leading her down a hallway.

First they went past the ladder down to the common area, where most of the guards were presently relaxing, as well as Toph, who was seemingly deep in thought. Whatever had happened with her senses, it had obviously gained her complete and utter attention. To any seeing person, it seemed a little odd, but then again, Azula did her own fair share of brooding.

Then they went past the sleeping area, and a small cargo space, separate from the hold they were storing things in earlier; from her brief glances, she guessed that it contained laundry and toiletries, as she could notice some wash buckets and towels stacked alongside the boxes. She didn't know where any showers were, if they existed, but imagined that they'd just have to clean themselves with the supplies at hand when they landed.

Finally they walked across a gangway that led them over the engine room where the few engineers worked the engines, shovelling in coal when it was needed. At the end of the gangway was a door, which Sokka opened for them; wind burst in their faces, and made her squint. Though she felt a little cautious going outside, she didn't want to seem cowardly in front of Sokka; after all, being on Appa was far more dangerous, even if the sky-bison could catch you if you fell off.

Once she was outside, she pulled the door shut behind herself, finding that they weren't travelling as fast as she thought they were, and the wind died down pretty quickly, as they were now crossing back over land. The airship felt dangerously close to the ground, trees and rocks lying not far beneath them, but they were still rising as they moved further along, following the contour of the land as it too rose up away from the shoreline, though more slowly than the airship was.

Sokka turned to face her, one hand on the railing and the other firmly grasping her own, "What is it?" he asked her, and Azula shrugged.

"I don't always have something smart to say. I just didn't want the pilots listening to us." she conceded, "We can speak freely now." she added, knowing that was important for the both of them; she didn't want Sokka saying something embarrassing to her, or vice versa, while they were in front of other people.

However, in front of each other, she felt like she could say almost anything, even if she certainly wasn't in the mood to gush about her feelings. She almost never was, and would much prefer to listen to how Sokka was feeling; he was more open than she was, and if he was happy, that assured her that things were going well. She thought that mostly because he was a realist; he wouldn't sugarcoat things or act all hopeful when there was no good reason to do so.

"About what?" he asked her, before smirking, "What we're gonna do tonight?" he elbowed her, and she scoffed.

"We're gonna be stuck in a bunk, idiot!" she shouted at him, the raising of her voice more necessary because of the incessant wind that kept blowing around as they flew higher, "Do you want Renshu to be listening?"

"I'd be more worried about Toph, actually. Supposedly she has hearing as good as badgermole just as she has eyesight as bad as one." he repeated something he must have heard from Aang or Katara; Azula was more worried that she'd make fun of them, wake up the guards and crew, who would realise what was going on, "Plus, I was more thinking about dinner."

"Liar." she retorted, knowing that even if he loved food, after how he'd been acting the past day, he most certainly didn't have food on his mind.

"Hey, near death experiences get a man's priorities in order."

"Clearly." she rolled her eyes, before smiling, "So, does that mean you'll take your training more seriously?" she asked, knowing that he'd been slacking off a little ever since they started their campaign in Shengchang as he was more concerned with aiding her political machinations and military strategies over honing his combat skills.

"Yes, your majesty. I'll make sure I can paralyse people for real." he assured her, though his face told her he was joking, "I'd prefer to just knock them out quicker."

"I'm impartial. As long as they're not a threat to us, then they're dealt with." she gave her own opinion, before sighing, "Are you confident, Sokka?" she asked the question that had been on her mind.

He blinked a few times, eyeing out towards the sea north of them, "I- uh, I guess. Yeah, I think we're going well. We won. We got the North-"

"You got the North." she corrected him, "Being humble is unbecoming of somebody of your stature."

"Wow... that's- uh, probably the nicest thing you've said to me in a while." he admitted, "Thanks?"

"No need. I am simply stating the facts as they are." she assured him; she might have been trying to stroke his ego, but she meant what she said, "Continue." she gestured towards the sea, and he nodded.

"Uh, yeah... we've gotten everything we've needed so far. I mean, there's been a few hiccups. But we're winning."

"Not the war, not yet." she retorted, "Overconfidence will be the doom of our cause." she argued, before gesturing ahead of them towards the mountains, "How about right now? I don't want to fly out into the mountains and get surprised because I overestimated my standing."

"You've sent messenger hawks that way, haven't you?"

"I didn't get responses." she conceded, "Hopefully Aang can defuse any tension before we arrive. I would hate to lose another airship so quickly." she noted the worst possible outcome.

"That's why we have Toph." he argued, "She'll be able to handle anyone before they have a chance. The drop chains are for that exact purpose." he gestured over to some chains that were hanging from a frame above them, coiled up at that moment.

"Huh, I didn't even think what those were for." she conceded, before furrowing a brow, "I assume you used those to take that battleship."

"Yep. We made quite the splash... of fire." he explained with a cocky look, and she almost laughed; the joke was terrible, and that disappointed her.

She found his sense of humour annoying at times, but at the very least, he tended to actually be funny, and that was enjoyable when she was in the mood for it.

"Bad joke?" he raised a brow, leaning closer, "I can't think of something funnier to balance that out."

"Your sister's sense of humour." she countered, and he snickered.

"Yeah, she really can't make a good joke." he agreed with her, "I hope she's alright. I thought she'd be more concerned about leaving Dad again."

"I think you're overanalysing things. She's had a few days to spend time with him, Sokka. Unlike you. You have been stuck to me by the hip ever since you got back from the North Pole." she reminded him, and Sokka shrugged.

"Eh, I like hanging around you. You're my intellectual equal."

"And the others aren't?" she asked, "Did you just call your own father stupid?"

"N-no!" he shook his head, "I meant that I can debate you... talk about all these complex things, and you'll actually get it. I like talking with Dad, but- uh, I like you. I mean, I like you a lot."

"Wow, who would have guessed?" she feigned surprise, and Sokka leaned closer.

"You always liked me." he argued, and she scrunched her lips.

"I found you quite annoying to begin with. Useful, certainly... but likeable is not what I'd have called you."

"Excuse me, I literally carried you! I helped fight those deserters, and I made us food. What more could I have done?" he asked, sounding somewhat annoyed; almost hurt, which differed from most of their more friendly spats.

"Well, I didn't say I didn't like you then. You did try to kidnap me, remember?" she elbowed him, pushing him slightly further away.

His expression shifted to one of comprehension, "Wow... the Sokka charm really does work." he complimented himself, making her roll her eyes.

"Shut up and kiss me, idiot."

---

The mountains were cold, windy, and desolate. It reminded Aang of the lands around the Air Temples, but instead of being covered in bushes, trees, and teeming with wildlife, the place just seemed eerie. There were trees, and the land wasn't barren, but rather it was overgrown. It seemed like people avoided the place, and he hadn't actually seen any people in a while. They flew past an outpost of Azula's troops not far from the base itself, and that little outpost was the last sign of human civilisation. He had noticed smokestacks on the horizon, they all were in the lowlands, not in the mountains they were flying into.

The only other sign of people were the ruins of a village located by the foot of the mountains, coming up to the place they found General Hong's fighters all those months prior. He couldn't see any signs of human activity, other than a few tracks lining the valley floor, heading away from those ruins. The place was disturbing, and both Katara and Ty Lee shared his unease at the sight, though they didn't talk about it.

Aang decided to keep them relatively close to the ground, wanting to look around for any signs of the fighters; he wanted to find them, but was unsure whether they'd even support Azula's plan. Given that they were directly opposed to her forces' presence in the area, he felt that it'd be harder to persuade General Hong and whoever fought under him than it would be for Hakoda and the others to persuade rebels to join their cause after they'd aided them. He had helped the fighters before, meaning that at the very least, he expected them to hear him out, but he didn't know if he'd get much better than that.

When they came across what looked like an abandoned Earth Kingdom military base, he was hopeful, and directed Appa to land nearby; the girls didn't seem eager, and both looked his way.

"Are you sure about this, Aang?" Katara asked him, "This place looks pretty abandoned."

"Yeah, but maybe that's some trick. They could be hiding nearby." he argued, "Just like New Omashu."

"Actually... yeah, that would make sense." she agreed with his idea, and Ty Lee leapt from the saddle.

"You can use seismic sense, right?" she asked him, and he nodded, "Well, maybe try that out first."

He nodded, and jumped from the saddle, eyeing around the ruins; the walls were in tatters, and there were burn marks all over the place, but there were signs the base had been partially or completely repaired after earlier damage. However, the amount of plant life he could see growing on what must have been cleared ground told him it must have been a few years since the base was occupied, either by the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom.

Momo leapt down from the saddle, and sniffed around, before going to scavenge from a nearby bush. Aang chuckled at his focus, knowing the little lemur had nothing on his mind but his dinner. The Avatar closed his eyes, pushing everything else from his mind, before he hammered his right foot down onto the ground. The shockwave moved out, and he could see. The base was as it looked, but the central compound was more interesting than the rest of it; he could sense that it had a basement and tunnels underneath, which gave it a much larger size than how big it appeared on the surface. However, those tunnels didn't go anywhere. He couldn't sense anyone moving, and no life other than Momo, Katara, Ty Lee, and a few scurrying creatures which were frightened by Appa and ran off.

"Well, I think this is a bust." he admitted, "But maybe they're close." he suggested a possibility, "Let's look around the mountains here."

"How far, and how high?" Ty Lee asked, "I don't know if I have the right clothes to get into the snow right now." she admitted, and Katara snickered.

"You can borrow some of mine. We're similar enough in size." she offered, and the acrobat grinned.

"Thanks! I've always wondered what I'd look like in blue." she added, making Aang snicker.

"Blue." he told her matter of factly, before turning his gaze to the mountains; he could see woodland, rocks, and some animals further off in the distance, and snowy peaks far off beyond that, but nothing that screamed 'rebel base'.

He expected it to be well hidden, but also expected there to be some clues. If the base was all they were getting, he felt it was going to take a while to find it. Aang whistled to get Momo's attention, and realised the lemur was stuffing his face full of berries.

"Come on buddy, we need to get back on Appa." he told the creature, who let out a little screech and followed him back onto the saddle.

Katara and Ty Lee followed him back on, and he whipped the reins as soon as Momo was aboard, "Yip-yip!"

Once Appa was in the air, Aang decided to fly up the slope to their left, and follow it along to try and get a better look from above, but also spot along the ground for any sign of the fighters. He was disappointed to see nothing but trees and bushes, and a few large rocks and outcrops. He saw what looked like some old shacks, but they were clearly in ruins and hadn't been used in many years; he guessed some herders might have used them when they travelled up into the mountains, but that was not a sign of the fighters.

When they came across a creek as they crossed into a valley, he realised saw something that was actually suspicious; what looked like an old campsite, with a burnt out campfire and some cleared ground, located alongside the creek. Katara pointed it out, and he nodded.

"We must be getting closer." he concluded, and flew up that valley, which led them up to a large lake, fed by the snowmelt.

There was another campsite by the lake's edge, but nothing else that showed signs of human activity. Past the lake were just taller peaks, which towered up above the valleys below. The trees were getting low there, and it looked barely habitable for anyone. However, Aang did see what looked like a pass between the taller mountains and the lower peaks they had been flying parallel to. Through that pass, he came across another valley which was covered in thick woods, except for a single area that looked to have been cleared to build some kind of mine. It didn't look to be in ruins, but he couldn't see any evidence that it was being used.

"Huh... a mine." Ty Lee mumbled, "I wonder why this is all the way out here."

"I guess the Earth Kingdom might have used it." Katara guessed, "This doesn't look like something the Fire Nation would build. I can't see any way that they'd move the rock around other than earthbending."

"Hmmm..." Aang mumbled, before pulling on Appa's reins, "Well, this looks better than the base. Maybe they're here."

"A mine would be a good place for an earthbender to hide." the Water Tribe girl agreed with his idea, and as they drew closer to the ground, Aang eyed around the outside of the mine, where he noted that there was some kind of barracks that had been built, mostly out of stone and wood.

When he got off of the saddle, he strode over to it with his staff in hand, knowing he could just blast any locked doors open with his airbending. If there was anything in there, then it might tell them if Hong's men had been around. He guessed that they could have used the mine as a base, or at the very least, as a rest stop while travelling around the mountains. Aang hammered his foot down into the ground before he stepped inside, and he couldn't sense anyone inside.

"It's empty." he told the others, before he blasted the door open with a swing of his staff; Katara jumped off the saddle and followed after him, following Aang as he cautiously stepped inside.

He could see that the barracks had been abandoned for some time, as the bedding was stripped inside, and the nearby hearth didn't look like it had been used in quite some time. However, there was no sign of fighting having occurred there. He guessed that the place had been used until the end of the war, and then it was abandoned after that point for whatever reason.

Aang's first place to look for clues was an office that lay nearby the entrance, set apart by some dividing walls and a locked door. He was able to easily break that down with his airbending, and once he got inside he noted that the office was cleared of any papers or other documents, though he could clearly ese that the office had belonged to some Earth Kingdom official, with the nation's seal on the table, and a portrait of who he assumed to be the most recent Earth King hanging over the doorway.

"Huh... is that the Earth King?" Katara asked as she saw the portrait, and Aang nodded cautiously.

"I think so." he confirmed, "I wonder who was here. Maybe they were sent from Ba Sing Se."

"Or it was the army." Katara guessed, "A prison camp, maybe."

"For-" he began, before his eyes widened with realisation; he'd been so focused on people who had been imprisoned by the Fire Nation that he had failed to consider the opposite, "Fire Nation prisoners." he realised what she was implying, "So, they might have broken out." he guessed, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, maybe. Either that or they had to abandon this place because the Fire Nation was getting too close." Katara guessed, before turning around, "Maybe there might be something in the mine."

"Let's go." he agreed to her idea, knowing that Hong's fighters might have used the mines as a hideout, which would be much more secure than a camp on the surface.

He followed her out of the silent barracks, momentarily eyeing the bunks. There was no sign of them being slept in recently, but he hadn't given up hope; Aang knew that somewhere Hong's men had to be hiding, whether it was the mine, or some other place in the mountains. Once outside, he could see that Ty Lee was eyeing the mine entrance, and inspecting the material that lay outside.

"Anybody home?!" she called into the mine, making Katara cringe as they approached her.

"I don't think that's going to get a friendly reaction." she warned the acrobat, who shrugged, and strode closer to the entrance, "I mean, Aang, why don't you check if there's anything inside the mine?"

He nodded, and paced over to where Ty Lee was standing, trying to eye into the much darker mine from the inside, "You can't firebend yet, can you?" she asked, and Aang cringed.

"I was doing some practice the other day, but I could barely keep a flame going. I don't even know if I can make my own fire." he conceded his inability to create fire; he guessed that if he was faced with a natural fire, he might have been able to bend it to his will, but he knew that he best reacted in combat, which was something he would want to avoid.

He then stomped his foot down, sensing down into the mine; he could sense some carts, and could make out a path down through the mine, but other than that, he couldn't sense much. However, once he just focused on using his seismic sense, all around himself, he could realise he could feel heartbeats. He had thought he was sensing rocks, but he knew they had to be people sitting very still.

"There's people." he realised with a whisper, Ty Lee's head perking up.

"W-wait, really?" she whispered back, trying to seem inconspicuous, though she really wasn't, "Where?"

"Up above us, on the next layer of the mine. They might be watching." he warned her with a whisper, "I'm going to check out the mine!" he told Katara, who had been further away, and wouldn't have been able to hear them whispering, though he gestured above them to warn her.

She narrowed her eyes, understanding what was going on, and strode forward, getting ready to waterbend if it was necessary. Aang had a different plan in mind; he had no idea if they were Hong's men or not, so he had to be cautious, not wanting to open himself up to attack. So, Aang strode into the mine, and the darkness within; he made his way down in a straight line, until he was directly below where he sensed the heartbeats.

"Here goes nothing." he mumbled to himself, before pulling a pillar from the ground beneath himself, while he bent away a path above himself; the result was Aang shooting himself from the tunnel, right through the ground, straight to his destination, where he shot up, now covered in a set of rocky armour, a trick he'd seen Toph use before, and now had a chance to replicate.

He was surrounded by men, who were clearly Earth Kingdom soldiers from their attire, as it was basically the same as what the fighters in New Omashu wore. They stumbled back in fear, presumably not realising he was the Avatar; he had been wearing his headband and more neutral looking clothes for ambiguity's sake.

"Argh!" they all cried out, and two raised their hands, trying to strike Aang with pillars of earth.

"Wait a second!" he pleaded, breaking the pillars before they could strike his armour, "I'm not here to hurt anybody. I'm just looking for General Hong."

"Bloody traitor!" one of them accused him, and Aang almost yelped in fear as he lopped a boulder at his head.

He moved himself around smoothly by earthbending the ground beneath his feet, just as Toph had been showing him, dodging the attacks of earth as they came his way, giving Katara and Ty Lee enough time to find another way up and assist him.

"No to kill him! I'm the Avatar!" he tried to explain himself, knowing they were assuming he was some 'traitor' sent by the Fire Nation.

"The Avatar?" one of them scoffed, and shot another pillar at Aang; he hadn't been ready to block it, and his rocky armour broke apart as he stumbled back.

He ripped the bandana from his forehead, "See!" he gestured to his tattoo, "I'm an Air Nomad."

"Wh-what the-" one of the fighters gasped out in surprise, and before they could try and say anything, they were all slammed to the ground by a water whip.

"Don't hurt him!" Katara shouted them down, the anger in her eyes a surprise.

"They're just confused!" he warned her, raising his hands up, "Everyone stop, please!"

The Earth Kingdom fighters obliged his words, and stepped back, dropping any boulders they had pulled from the ground, while Katara drew her water back into its skin, eyeing the fighters with suspicion.

"Why were you hiding from us?" she asked, and the fighters looked at each other with apprehension.

"We were scouting." one of them answered, which was already obvious.

"And why did you attack us?" she pressed, and the fighters stepped back, though one remained still, signalling that he must have been the leader.

"I thought you might have been spies sent from the colonies. Though... I realise the sky-bison should have told us who you were." he clarified, sounding a bit embarrassed by that last part.

"Yeah, obviously." Ty Lee piped up, stepping up behind Katara, "We were looking for you guys. Did you make all those campsites?"

"Not just us, but other scouting parties. We've heard that the Princess drew her forces back, so we've been worried she'd make a counteroffensive at some point."

"You're obviously- uh, not in the know." Aang realised, "Azula's trying to gather Earth Kingdom fighters to help reunify the country."

"What, under some puppet government?" one of the fighters assumed, "What you're saying is absurd."

"It's the truth." Ty Lee stressed, "She's not looking to take over or anything. She genuinely just wants to end the war."

The fighters didn't seem to believe her words, and got back into defensive stances, "So, you're her lackeys then... even the Avatar."

"I never said-" Aang began, and Katara, who was clearly already annoyed with the situation, let out a shout of frustration.

"Shut up!" she demanded, "We're here to try and get your help!" she declared, "We're not making you do anything!"

"Then why were you so aggressive?" one of the fighters questioned her, and Aang stepped between them.

"I'm sorry... I should have just spoken to you without jumping up like that." he conceded his mistake, "Please, just hear me out."

"Fine." the leader decided, before snapping a finger; his men got rid of their defensive poses, but stayed well away from Aang and his friends, "Tell me why we should listen to you."

"How much do we need to explain?" Katara asked, having calmed down, though she was clearly still annoyed, "I don't want to have to give the whole stupid story."

"Then summarise." the leader retorted, and Aang scrunched his lips.

"Okay, well, you know I'm the Avatar. I was stuck in an iceberg for a hundred years, Katara here freed me." he clarified, before raising a finger, "Along with Azula, who was living in the South Pole, hiding from her brother."

"The F- sorry, former Fire Lord." the leader recognised who and what he was talking about, "And why did you cooperate with her, might I ask?"

"Because she never said she was going to try and continue what her ancestors had. She wanted peace, but- well, I mean, she wants to be Fire Lord." he added, knowing that Azula might have not wanted the throne for the best reasons, but she was clearly a better option when compared to her father; if Zuko had been deposed, he would be hard pressed to give all his support to Azula, even if he personally liked her, "She has made it clear that she wants to help reunite the Earth Kingdom so they can stop her father, and deal with the issue of the colonies."

"So, will she be withdrawing those settlers from our country?" he asked, and Aang cringed.

"N-no." he admitted, "Not all of them. Many of those people have lived here their entire lives. Is it fair to force them to leave?"

"It was not fair for the Fire Nation to make millions into refugees. Do you know how many of our families were forced from their homes?" he questioned Aang, who nodded.

"Lots. Lots of people. I want to make sure you can get those homes back, if it's what you want."

"So, the Fire Lord is willing to let the people return to their lands without the threat of being imprisoned for bending our element?" he asked, and Aang nodded.

"That's exactly what she's offering." he confirmed, and Katara stepped forward.

"It's going to take some work to make sure everyone is treated fairly, but if there's no Earth Kingdom government, who's going to make sure she keeps her end of the bargain?" she asked him, and the fighters all nodded.

"I see your point." the leader conceded, "So, she's gathered rebels already. People are willing to go to Ba Sing Se with her."

"Many." Ty Lee spoke up, "There's a lot of people. Will you join them?"

The fighters seemed unsure, and the leader sighed, "We'll have to take this to General Hong." he realised, "Come with us."

"Where, exactly?" Katara asked, "We couldn't see any sign of a base around here."

"It's further into the mountains, in the ruins of an old town. It was called Tieshan. That's where we live. There's a few refugees there under our protection, but most people under the General's protection live in the valleys." he explained, "It's about half a day's march that way." he gestured directly to the east."

"Well, we're not walking." Ty Lee told him matter of factly, "Get on the saddle. We can take you there."

"Uh..." he mumbled, eyeing Appa who lay below in the clearing, "I guess we could do that. Is it safe?"

"Of course, Appa is gentle." Aang reassured him, before hearing some scurrying.

Momo had come up, probably to investigate all the sounds that came from the fighting, and then the following shouting.

"What's this little creature?" one of the fighters asked, as he sniffed around, sitting right below the leader's feet.

"He's called Momo." he gave his name, "He's a flying lemur, from the Southern Air Temple."

"Huh. He kinda looks like a weird monkey." the leader mumbled, before narrowing his eyes, "I can't promise you that the General will agree to your proposal, especially given the so-called Blue Dragon is involved."

"So people do call her that." Ty Lee murmured with a surprised voice, "We're just asking. You don't need to do anything, but the General will be able to get some proper authority if he does join." she added, and the leader crossed his arms.

"That's assuming she can take control of Ba Sing Se without things going to shit." he reminded them of the fragility of their plans, "I hope for the sake of the Earth Kingdom that a new government can be formed, if only so our people don't have to fear the Fire Nation's inevitable attacks. They're not going to give up."

"That's why Azula needs to-" Katara began, before sighing, "We're going to stop Ozai." she emphasised their intentions, "So, can we go?" she asked, and the fighters nodded, following their leader, who followed Aang down the slope; he carved out a flat path so they could easily get down to Appa without having to do an inordinate amount of climbing.

Making his way down that slope, Ty Lee got ahead of him, making a smirk as she eyed the path, "Wow, you're pretty good at earthbending." she observed, and Aang made a sheepish smile; he appreciated the recognition.

"Th-thanks." he acknowledged her words, before he finished pulling up the ramp, allowing them all to make their way down quickly.

He patted Appa on the face, reassuring him that he was safe, and that the fighters weren't a threat. He climbed onto the saddle, and watched as the fighters used their earthbending to launch themselves up onto the saddle, a technique he'd seen Toph use countless times before. Once everyone was onboard, he whistled for Momo, who was still scurrying about near the mine. He flew down and landed on the saddle, frightening one of the fighters, which made the rest of them laugh.

Aang smiled, and whipped the reins, "Get ready, first time flyers." he warned the fighters, before giving Appa the call, "Yip-yip." he called on his sky-bison, and with that, he rose up into the air.

In a matter of moments, they were flying through the air at speed, the fighters grabbing onto the edge of the saddle with fearful, surprised faces; they probably hadn't expected Appa to fly so fast. He giggled at their reaction, but turned his eyes ahead, making sure to direct Appa higher up to avoid the fast approaching rocks. Once they were above the mine, they crossed through the mountain pass once more, and then crossed over the lake.

"Where to?" he asked the fighters, the leader leaning forward closer to Aang.

"See those two peaks over there." he gestured towards the horizon, where he could see two snowy peaks pointing up above the mountain valleys below, "You want to get to them. Below there is the valley where you'll find Tieshan." he clarified, and Aang almost laughed.

"This will be much quicker than marching there." he assured him, and pulled on the reins to make sure Appa was flying in that direction.

It didn't take them very long to fly over there; they crossed three valleys, three ridgelines, each taller than the last, and all with small rivers running through them. None of them appeared to be inhabited, and most were covered in thick woods and shrubs. He wondered how hard it would be to walk all the way to their base, and even for them to have reached the location he last saw them when they were fighting Fire Nation soldiers. He knew they probably had ostrich horses, carts, and all the other things an army would need, but the scouts were just travelling with some bags and some thick cloaks to keep them warm.

When they got to the valley where Tieshan was located, it began to make sense why there was a town there to begin with. The valley was wide and massive, much larger than the previous ones, with smaller valleys spurting off both up towards the peaks, and in the other directions. More visible, at least in his eyes, were other mines, more expansive than the one he had seen before, though just like that one, these were abandoned as well. Tieshan itself was as described, a ruin, though the smokestacks and people he could see guarding its walls told him that the soldiers were there.

They circled down towards the town, and he noticed that some of the guards pulled out boulders, presumably to knock them from the sky, but somebody must have recognised Appa, and told them to stand down. Once the sky-bison touched down on the ground, the earthbenders wasted no time getting off, obviously more unnerved by the flight than his friends were.

"Thank the spirits that's over." their leader spoke his mind, before turning to face Aang, "Thanks for the lift."

"Don't mention it." he assured him, knowing they were going to Hong's base of operations anyway, so it really didn't harm them to take a few scouts on a quick flight there.

A few of the soldiers came out with interested looks, eyeing the sky-bison, though they were ever cautious.

"The Avatar." he heard somebody whisper, and the leader he'd brought along raised his hands up.

"Don't worry, they aren't here with any ill intent. The Avatar wants to speak with the General." he explained, and another soldier stepped forward.

"Sargeant Lang, this is against protocol." he warned him, "The General will not be pleased you just led them to our base of operations. What if- you've heard the rumours."

"The Princess, I know." he preempted what he was going to say, "They've said that she's trying to unify the Earth Kingdom, for the Earth Kingdom." he explained what he had heard, and the other soldier seemed to be in utter disbelief.

"That sounds far too good to be true." he scoffed, before pointing at Aang and his friends, "What do you take us for, idiots?"

"Nobody's calling anybody stupid." Ty Lee tried to defuse the situation, "It's not a lie, or a trick. Azula genuinely wants to help you, and knows you can help your country."

"We're already doing that here." the soldier declared, "We don't need some ash-maker wench to tell us what to do."

"That's for the General to decide, Rong." Lang retorted, and the soldier nodded, seeming to accept his point.

"Fine, they can go and speak to him, but if he doesn't agree, then they're gone. Immediately." he declared, and Aang nodded.

"I promise. If General Hong doesn't want to join our alliance, we will leave and won't come back to ask again." he promised, hoping that would be enough to appease the more sceptical officers.

"Go ahead." he gestured for them to go towards one of the buildings in the town, which seemed to have originally been the town hall or perhaps an old military base; Aang imagined it probably served both purposes at different times, though the town clearly hadn't been continuously inhabited throughout the war.

He made his way towards the hall, and eyed the guards who were stationed outside; they wore better armour than the other soldiers, telling him that they had to be the General's personal guards; they must have recognised his tattoos, and even if they didn't know why he was there, they opened the doors for him.

"Go ahead, Avatar." they allowed him, and he cautiously stepped inside.

Once inside he could see some people gathered around a table, which appeared to have a map on top of it; the people were all clearly Earth Kingdom soldiers, and he could tell by who was wearing shoes and who wasn't, who was an earthbender and who was not. Though the Earth Kingdom had so many people, and thus, he expected most of their soldiers to be nonbenders, he was surprised to see that benders seemed to form a solid majority, at least among General Hong's forces. The General was distinguished by the headpiece he wore around his topknot and the cloak he had over his armour, coloured green with golden trimmings.

His gaze, along with those of the others turned up to Aang, "Who let these-" he began, before his eyes brightened, "A-Avatar." he gasped out, before pacing around the table, offering Aang a hand, "I apologise for not coming out to greet you." he bowed towards Aang, who made a sheepish smile, "You are most welcome among the soldiers of the Earth Kingdom."

"Thank you."Aang acknowledged, shaking his hand before giving him a bow, "My name's Aang, by the way."

"Aang, it is a pleasure to meet you." he acknowledged with a pleased look; Aang had seen Azula's officers enough times to know that he was being a bit of a sycophant, but he wouldn't complain- if that would get Hong to support them more easily, he would tolerate his toe-kissing for as long as necessary.

"Please, please, you and your friends may join us." he gestured to the table, "I am sure that our work might be of interest to you."

"Uh, alright." he accepted his proposition, turning to face Katara and Ty Lee, who were just as surprised by Hong's eagerness as he was, "So, uh, I heard you're afraid the Fire Nation might attack you."

"Precisely." Hong nodded, before gesturing to the map in front of him; it was a large map, detailing what he recognised to be the northern quadrant of the Earth Kingdom, from the colonies to Ba Sing Se, "Ever since the fall of Ba Sing Se, I have tried to ensure the safety of my people. It has been a long, hard, struggle, and the Fire Nation has not made it easy. I thought that their little civil war would have helped me, but more Fire Nation forces have moved around, trying to reorganise so they can better fight each other, and getting in the way of our liberation of the northern Earth Kingdom."

"That's... that's actually why I'm here." he explained, and Hong almost looked giddy.

"Brilliant!" he exclaimed, "I am glad you have come here when you have. We have the perfect opportunity to attack the Fire Nation while they're drawing their forces to the colonies."

"W-wait, that's-" Ty Lee began, though Katara stopped her from saying anything that would incriminate herself as being from the Fire Nation; Aang awkwardly looked her way, hoping his eyes would tell her what he couldn't muster the courage to say with words.

"No, I'm sorry, I don't think you understand me." Aang clarified, "I want to help the Earth Kingdom liberate itself from Fire Nation rule, but not by fighting the Fire Nation head on." he explained, knowing what Azula had told him to say, "The real issue is that you're separated from everyone else who wants the same thing, to rebuild your country."

"Hm." one of the soldiers mumbled, "He does have a point there, sir. The Fire Nation has repelled most of our attacks... other than when we were attacking a few convoys of soldiers who weren't coming to occupy the north anyways."

"Quiet, Quan." the General silenced his subordinate, "I don't mean to offend, young Avatar, but we have been fighting this war for years. Why would we avoid an opportunity to strike at our oppressors?"

"Because-" he began, and cringed, "Katara." he softly addressed his friend, hoping she could back him up.

"Because the Fire Nation as a whole is not your enemy." she said what needed to be said, "You only have one real enemy, Fire Lord Ozai." she argued, "He is the one who will send his armies to burn down your cities, towns, and villages and destroy everything you hold dear."

"And what of the deserters, and the other people fighting this Fire Lord? Their divisions are ripe to be exploited." Hong argued, "We have waited long enough for this opportunity."

"Please, just listen to me." Aang pleaded, "I'm here to try and recruit you to an alliance of rebels. Those rebels are going to Ba Sing Se, right now." he explained what was going to happen, "Do you want to help us?"

The General crossed his arms, "Help you, certainly, but I have plans here."

"And those plans don't make any sense." Ty Lee warned him, "Fire Lord Azula wants to make peace with the Earth Kingdom."

"Fire Lord Azula?" he raised a brow, "Since when was a woman in control of what, a single base and a colonial city the Fire Lord?"

"She's going to beat her father." Aang stressed, "And before that, she wants to make sure your people are secure. The Earth Kingdom are the people in danger from Ozai, not the Fire Nation." het tried to explain, and Hong and his subordinates seemed apprehensive.

"She cannot be aiding my nation out of pure altruism. That is unlike the Fire Nation. They have only sought to conquer and subjugate my people for generations." the General gave his opinion, crossing his arms, "I will not aid her in her machinations."

"But what about the other rebels? They're on Water Tribe ships, sailing across to Ba Sing Se. The Fire Nation has nothing to do with them other than helping organise the journey." Katara questioned him, "Those people could use your help, and the new government, don't you want to have your say in it?"

"I do want the respect of my people, but I doubt I will get it from cooperating with enemies of the Earth Kingdom." he argued, before pointing at them, "So, why are you serving her?"

"We're not." the Water Tribe girl snapped back, "We're working together. There's a difference."

"Not much." one of the soldiers warned her, "Sir, do you want them removed?"

"No." he raised a hand, "To disrespect the Avatar would be an affront to the spirits." he retorted, "This boy might be fooled by the Fire Nation, but he clearly wants to help our people."

"I'm not fooled by anybody!" he shouted at him, feeling that they were treating him as a child when he had made judgements on his own accord, "I can think for myself."

"You are a child." one of the soldiers retorted, "You might want what is best for the Four Nations, but how can you claim to know better than people who have fought in this war?"

"We have fought." Katara retorted, "Maybe not for as long as you, but we've tried as much as we can to help your people. Fought the Fire Nation, aided refugees, stopped spirits from harassing innocent people." she argued, "I know you don't trust the Fire Nation, but you can trust us. We aren't here to help them, we're here to help you."

The General still seemed unconvinced, and crossed his arms, "I would say I would rather wait to hear the so-called Fire Lord and have her word, but can I trust a girl who is fighting her own father? She doesn't seem like the most certain individual."

"She's fighting him because he wants to continue all the terrible things you hate the Fire Nation for." Katara spoke up, her defence of the Princess uplifting, given how much Aang knew they used to fight, "Azula doesn't want to see any of that happen anymore. Why do you think she's going to all this effort? Why do you think we trust her? I barely like her, but I trust her with my life." she questioned him, her declaration making Hong chuckle.

"Most of the men here dislike me personally for my attitude and bluntness, but they follow my orders nonetheless, because they know I'm right." he acknowledged, and Katara crossed her arms, stepping closer to him.

"And she's right too. Why can't you see it? The Earth Kingdom has this one chance to get together while the Fire Nation is distracted. She's helping keep her father's supporters occupied in the colonies." she argued, and pointed at his face, "You have the power to change things, so why won't you?"

Hong narrowed his eyes at her, and Aang pushed her arm down, finding the accusatory attitude a little too abrasive; he knew that wasn't going to win him over.

"I will do what is right for my people. The people here, the people in these mountains. They don't have anyone else but us. If we weren't here, they'd be slaves to bandits, or worse." he argued, and Katara pointed towards the door.

"What do you think is going on out there? Ships came to my village, trying to make children their slaves. We're far from the Fire Nation, yet they still came all that way. What do you think they're doing out in the Earth Kingdom in the places that are easy to reach?"

His eyes widened, and he clenched his fists, clearly seeming agitated by her words; Aang couldn't tell whether he was angry about the suggestion he wasn't doing his job, or by the fact so many people in the Earth Kingdom were suffering because they hadn't been able to fight back.

"I can't save everyone. I only have so many men who can fight." he argued, and Aang raised a finger.

"But what if you could be sure there were more people... doing what you're doing, keeping the land safe?"

"I would prefer if there were." he acknowledged, "But I won't undermine my nation's independence for the promise of peace. I want proof." he demanded, and Aang sighed.

"I don't know how I can prove it. Is my word not enough?"

"Let's just wait for Azula." Katara suggested, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"She's- she's not coming here, is she?" one of the soldiers asked with a fearful voice; when Aang looked at their faces, he realised that every single one of them was just as afraid.

"Well, if you won't listen to me, then you'll listen to her." Aang acknowledged, and Hong seemed more amused than afraid, unlike his men.

"And what, if she comes here with an army, I'm just going to have to comply with her demands. Where's the choice in that?"

"I-" Aang began, before turning his eyes away, "I'm sorry for asking... but she will come here. I hope you'll just understand."

"And there's no army." Ty Lee corrected him, "She's just coming here with an airship and some guards."

"So, where's the coercion?" one of the soldiers asked, "Here I was worried she was going to have tanks and a whole division march up to the gates of Tieshan."

"There is no coercion." Katara retorted, "She just has her words. Like we do. We're not here to fight, and neither will she."

"And what if we attack?" one of the soldiers asked, and Hong raised a hand.

"We will not." he corrected him, "The Avatar, as I said, is a friend of the Earth Kingdom. I might not bend to the girl, but trying to capture her would merely force him to act." he gestured to the Avatar, "I've heard what you're capable of, Avatar."

"Uh... I don't want to hurt anybody."

"I know that." he narrowed his eyes, "You are an Air Nomad after all... but you are the Avatar. We've heard the rumours of your abilities."

Aang nodded, and turned around, unsure what else he could say to persuade General Hong, "If the Earth Kingdom doesn't reunite, what will you do?"

"Protect my people." he responded without any hesitation, "That is our duty."

"And what if that division and tanks do come, and they're not coming to negotiate?" Katara asked him, and his men looked at each other nervously, Hong's gaze met her own, and he sighed.

"They haven't come yet. We survived Sozin's Comet, we can survive what comes next."

"Why just survive?" she pressed him, "I know surviving... and it's not dignified. It's just sad. Why not try and make something better, so you don't have to worry about all your people being hurt?"

The General still didn't seem convinced, "I'll consider it." he gave a more positive response, "Now, leave us. I need to discuss this with my council here."

"Of course." Aang bowed to him, "Thank you for hearing us out."

"And I thank you for respecting our free will." Hong gave quite a philosophical response, "The Avatar is supposed to- well, balance is order, and order doesn't have space for choice, only action."

"We are taking action." Ty Lee retorted, raising a finger.

"You can act, or you can sit around. It's your choice." she warned them, before tapping Aang on the shoulder, telling him to leave the hall with her and Katara.

He did so, and when the doors were shut behind them, he let out a sigh.

"That could have gone better." he admitted, knowing that it would be a struggle to get Hong to join them, even if he genuinely wanted to help rebuild the Earth Kingdom; he feared Azula more than he desired change, "Do you think he will change his mind?"

"He'll do it eventually." Katara assured him, "It's just a matter of now, or after Ba Sing Se is ruled by the government he'll be excluded from." she suggested, and Ty Lee tapped a finger on her chin.

"Well, yeah, that's right. He doesn't know if our plan is actually going to succeed." she realised, before humming in thought, "They're right, Azula should have brought an army... an army of rebels to prove them wrong."

"We can't go back now." Katara sighed, turning her eyes to meet Aang's.

"Either he believes her, or he doesn't."

---

The sun was still just above the horizon, but they had finally approached their destination. Sokka was admittedly frustrated by the fact they had struggled to track down their target, which was General Hong's base of operations. They had lost track of Appa not long after leaving the base, and though he knew where they had met Hong's forces before, that was at the foot of the mountains, close to Gaochao, not anywhere near where he imagined they were hiding. That was proved by the ruins and abandoned settlements they came by, sites of former battles between the Fire Nation and his forces.

Azula had some old military maps of the region to rely on, but they weren't very detailed, and only gave some general locations, mostly old military bases used by the Earth Kingdom that had long been destroyed by the Fire Nation over the course of the war. That forced them to fly around the mountains for a good while, checking each settlement from the air. Some were inhabited, but those were mostly just small villages, with no military presence to speak of. At least, there was nothing they could see from the air.

However, the town they were approaching at that very moment was called Tieshan, according to Azula's old maps, and it was supposedly a major site of iron mining for the Earth Kingdom, a metal vital for their armour and weapons. However, the town and the surrounding villages were visibly ruined. He had no idea how old the map was that she had, but he guessed that since it was made the Fire Nation had made sure the Earth Kingdom's mining operations were permanently stopped. However, there was new life in the form of walls, farmland, and a small tent city that encompassed and surrounded the old town; the tents were camouflaged with dirt and shrubbery, blending them in so that he didn't even notice them until they started to circle down towards the ground.

He could see Appa inside the town's walls, assuring him it was their destination; he turned to face the pilots, "Keep it steady. I'll go tell Azula that we're here."

"What if they try to hit the airship?" one of the pilots asked, and Sokka chuckled.

"If they were gonna try that, they would have done that before we spotted them." he argued, before pacing down the hallway away from the bridge.

He momentarily stopped by the common area, glancing down to see Toph was sitting in the corner, playing with what looked like a small knife in her hand; she must have heard him moving above, and her head raised up.

"Who is it?" she asked, and he leaned closer.

"Sokka. We're about to land. We've found Hong's base, I think." he identified himself, and explained what was going on.

"Ah, finally." she smiled, putting the knife aside, "I've been itching to get my feet on the ground again."

"Should we prepare ourselves?" Renshu asked, sitting down there near Toph, playing some Pai Sho with one of the other guards.

"I don't think so. They don't seem hostile. I'd say get your armour on properly just in case." he gave his suggestion, which wasn't an order; he couldn't order Renshu or any of the other guards around while Azula was present.

He continued down the hallway to the quarters, where a few other guards were sitting around, chatting among themselves; they noticed Sokka's arrival, and he gestured around.

"Where'd Azula go? I thought she was reading."

"Bathroom, I believe." Geng clarified for him, and Sokka nodded.

"Thanks." he acknowledged his quick help, and made a beeline for the bathroom; he stood outside the door for a few moments, before knocking.

"Who the fuck is it?" he heard Azula question with a low grumble.

"It's Sokka. We're about to land." he explained, and he swore he could hear a little 'yes' come out of her.

She shuffled around, and the door opened up, revealing that she wasn't in her usual Fire Nation robes and armour, but was wearing basically the same clothes as him; a Water Tribe tunic and pants, though she had long sleeves, tucked under armbands, imitating how she would wear her sleeves in a Fire Nation style.

"What, you don't approve?" she asked, as he had been staring too long in silence.

"No, it's just been a while since you've worn those." he admitted, and she shrugged.

"Well, I've been in the colonies most of this time. Whenever I'm not in my own clothes, I'm disguised as a commoner. Now, I need to play another role." she gestured to her robes, and Sokka almost laughed.

"What, the 'igloo wife'?" he asked her, and she jabbed him in the arm, almost reflexively.

She was looking ready to laugh at his comment, but held her tongue, "Not another word about the stupid igloo wife." she retorted, "I am the High Chieftess of the Southern Water Tribe." she entitled herself, and he snickered.

"Alright, but I don't think anyone elected you." he warned her, and she shrugged.

"Not yet, at least." she countered, before stepping past him, "I assume because you didn't warn me about danger, they're not hostile."

"Not yet, no." he confirmed, "The disguise might help."

"It's not a disguise." Azula retorted, "These are my clothes. I literally sew them myself."

"Yeah, I remember watching you do it. That was pretty funny." he recalled the sight of Azula sewing her Water Tribe garbs, which had been overseen by his grandmother and to a lesser degree, Katara, who had yet to warm up to the Princess at that point.

"I did it!" she retorted with a snarl, "Your grandmother taught me, and I don't think you want to insult her skills, do you?"

"I would never." he assured her, holding back a laugh, "Gran-Gran did a pretty good job making you one of us."

"I am still the Fire Lord." she reminded him, before her expression softened from a frustrated glare to a concerned one, "I'm just not wanting these people to focus on that fact."

"And I'd prefer nobody call me Fire Consort either." he acknowledged, before shaking his head, "I said I was going to be Fire Consort in front of the notables of the Northern Water Tribe."

"You-" Azula gasped, before laughing; she covered her mouth to muffle the sound and turned away, tears welling up in her eyes, "I can't trust you to go anywhere without making enemies, can I?"

"Hey, in my defence, I chose to piss them off." he placed a hand on his chest.

"Only due to my influence and meddling with your views on the North." she countered, "And it's not like you said that to piss them off. You are simply stating a fact... you are my consort." she argued, and he scrunched his lips.

"Does that mean I have to make one of those necklaces?" he asked her, though he realised she wouldn't know, not actually being from the Water Tribes.

"Yes." she gave an answer with a surprising amount of confidence; she must have noticed his surprise, and she smirked, "What, you don't think me and Kanna didn't talk about it?"

"W-w-wait, you did?" he asked, "I didn't think you would-" he trailed off, before sighing, "What am I saying, of course she'd talk to you about that. We had no privacy." he acknowledged how life was in his village; he loved his people, and his family, but he could admit that their pushiness socially got on his nerves at times.

"I'm still expecting it." she prodded him with a devious looking smirk on her face, before beginning to walk back towards the bridge, "Come on." she told him, and Sokka clenched his fists, unsure if she was just playing around or whether she actually wanted him to propose to her.

He felt like it wasn't the right time, with all the war and fighting on their minds; once her father was out of the picture, he knew he'd have little excuse not to. He wanted to, knowing that his love and devotion to her wasn't just some kind of aberration that would pass. Even if he felt that tying himself to somebody who was going to rule another nation was bound to cause him problems, both personally, and within his tribe, he couldn't think of any other way things would go.

He followed her back to the bridge, where most of the guards were already assembled, along with Toph, who had put her arm gauntlets back on, and seemed ready for a fight, if one came.

"Alright, Zappy, so, are you gonna play nice, or is this thing meant to scare them?" she asked, gesturing to the airship they were standing in.

"We are negotiating an alliance, not playing nice." she corrected her, before eyeing her guards, "Stay sharp. I trust that Aang would have defused most of the tension they might have had with us, but I doubt they are willing to have us walk into their base freely. So, I want you guards to remain here with the airship and only come inside if I give the signal."

"The signal being?" Renshu asked her, and Sokka snickered.

"A lightning bolt, obviously." he decided for her, and Azula scrunched her lips, seeming more surprised than offended by him preempting her response.

"He is correct." she confirmed, before striding over to the door, "If all goes well, there will be nothing for you to worry about."

"Spirits willing." one of the guards mumbled, and Azula shot him a glare, before opening the door up; Sokka followed right after, making his way down the retractable staircase onto the gravel below.

The airship had landed by the edge of a stream, which lay beside the town proper; ahead of them, he could see a few fighters standing guard, cautiously eyeing them. Azula might not have looked like the Fire Lord in her attire, but he imagined that they could discern her identity with the airship. Toph stepped out behind him, and gave a wave to the fighters.

"Is Aang here?!" she called out, and they nodded; Sokka already knew that, and realised he'd forgotten to mention he saw Appa.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention, I saw Appa inside the town." he clarified, and Azula rolled her eyes.

"Yes, you could have stood to mention that." she observed with a slightly frustrated tone, though it was clearly not that big of an issue, at least when compared with having to try and sway General Hong to their side.

Toph paced ahead of them, "Come on, idiots, do you want to do your 'negotiations' or what?"

Sokka cringed at hearing Azula be called an idiot, but not because he was offended on her behalf; he was more afraid that she'd belt the blind girl in the back of the head with a fireball. He raised a hand toward Azula, who hadn't physically reacted yet, though her eyebrow was twitching.

"Don't." he simply requested, and she sighed, before following Toph without a word.

Sokka followed them to the gates of the town; the guards stationed there eyed them, and let them through, staring Azula down specifically. She had nothing to identify herself as 'Fire Lord Azula', except her face, which they might have recognised if they had seen it in some propaganda. Once they were inside, he saw that the town was mostly inhabited by refugees, who were working out in the open. Many were just repairing things or cooking, while others were actually making clothes and weapons, presumably either for themselves or for the army that protected the place. But what caught his eye immediately were Aang and Katara, who were standing by Appa, who was being fed by some of the locals; they turned around and saw them, both looking pleased to see them.

"It took you long enough." his sister noted their tardiness, before chuckling, "We've already done all the work for you."

"What, so you already got them to join the alliance?" Sokka asked, surprised if they had achieved that already, given how much apprehension he expected from the rebels that had been directly fighting Zhao's forces, which became Azula's.

"Not exactly." Aang conceded, "They want to send somebody to join us to Ba Sing Se, but want some- uh, promises, from Azula."

"That's reasonable." the Princess conceded, crossing her arms, "Have they already made preparations?"

"He just sent out some men on ostrich horses to get enough mounted men ready to leave by tomorrow." Katara explained, "I thought they could just go to the Water Tribe boats, but supposedly they have enough ostrich horses to get there just as quickly."

"Well, that just means there is more space on the ship for other rebels." Sokka concluded, before glancing over to what looked like a town hall, "Is that where the General is?"

"Yep." Aang nodded, before glancing over at Toph, "Maybe you can go and talk with him too, Toph. I'm sure he'll listen to you over any of us."

"Well, the Earth Kingdom has never been the most welcoming of places." she acknowledged, before cracking her knuckles, "Sure, Twinkletoes, but I ain't kissing this guy's feet. I'm only gonna say what I need to."

"Sounds good to me." Sokka acknowledged her intentions, "I feel the same way."

"Glad we can agree." Toph responded curtly, before beginning to pace towards the hall, "I'm not waiting around. I want to get all the stupid diplomacy out of the way so I can do some earthbending."

"Training?" Aang asked out, and she shrugged.

"I want to stay honed. If you follow, I don't care." she gave her opinion, which was surprisingly ambivalent for somebody who was supposed to be training the Avatar, but Sokka knew what she was like- she only did things because she wanted to, not out of any undue sense of obligation.

Sokka and Azula momentarily eyed each other, before following after her; she strode up to the doors, and snapped a finger at one of the guards, "Let us in." she demanded.

"And who are you supposed to be?" one of them asked her, and Toph chuckled, before smacking that guard in the back with a pillar of earth, making him fall face first onto the ground.

"The Blind Bandit. You wouldn't know about New Omashu out here in the sticks, but I was a respected lieutenant there."

The now angered guard pushed himself back up to the ground, "You're like- what, thirteen? Nobody your age could be commanding troops."

"Fourteen." she corrected him, "Nearly fifteen, actually... and that doesn't matter a bit. My skills do. Would you like a display, or was that enough?" she asked him, and he turned to eye his comrades, who had already got into fighting stances.

"Stop being bone-headed, Toph." Azula berated her, "We're here to speak with the General."

"You're the Avatar's lackeys, I assume." one of the standing guards assumed, and Sokka shrugged his shoulders.

"Eh, I guess you could say that. We're more like his mentors."

"You're children." the man who Toph knocked over noted with a spiteful tone.

"Barely in my case." Sokka retorted, knowing that he was older than everyone else in the group and for all intents and purposes a man grown, "In any case, can we go inside? We have to speak with him."

"He's already made negotiations with the Avatar." the guard noted as he wiped the dirt from his face, "He doesn't need to hear anything from you. We'll be going east to Ba Sing Se, as he asked."

"No, I believe he'll want to speak with me." Azula acknowledged, and the guards eyed her suspiciously.

"Why?" the same guard asked, and she rolled her eyes, before gesturing to her face.

"Because I'm the Fire Lord. The very fact you didn't even realise I'm Fire Nation proves that my needlework is better than you presumed, Sokka." she reminded him of their minor argument earlier on the airship, making him snicker.

"I'll give you that one."

"Needlework?" Toph raised a brow, while the guards looked at Azula with unease, "Oh, you mean your clothes. Ah, yeah, clothes make people look pretty different. If I was wearing the stuff my parents forced me to wear right now, you'd all be bowing to kiss my toes." she acknowledged, before pointing at the doors, "So, come on, let us in."

"Fine." the already disgruntled guard allowed them, and he and another guard pushed the doors open, "General, here stands the Fire Lord!" he proclaimed Azula's arrival.

Sokka could see a group of men sitting by a table, all of them apparently Earth Kingdom soldiers, most of them appearing to be officers, distinguished by their finer armour. Rank was less apparent in the Earth Kingdom military than in the Fire Nation, despite their society's stark class divisions. Most of the men he saw in New Omashu wore the same gear, with only the officers having some cloaks to distinguish their higher ranks, which Toph had worn when she served there. Now she was just wearing a simple tunic, though during battle she did don armour like she had back when she fought for King Bumi.

The men looked confused by their appearance, though that was probably because Azula was wearing her Water Tribe garb instead of the usual robes and armour she had, fitting of her station as Princess or the Fire Lord, depending on one's perspective. The General, who was distinguished by his finer armour and dignified headpiece, remained seated at the table as they approached, and Azula kept a straight face, not trying to seem friendly nor hostile. Her blank face was probably more intimidating than any one that expressed emotion, as if one couldn't predict what she would do, she became all the more terrifying. She didn't terrify Sokka, but that was because more often than not, he was in on all her plans.

"So, you're the Fire Lord?" one of the officers spoke up first.

"Yes." she confirmed, standing in front of the table with her hands behind her back, "I did not come here in regalia, as I am not here representing the Fire Nation." she clarified her intent; Sokka was sure even if that was true, the Water Tribe garb specifically dissociated her from her role as leader of the Fire Nation, and focused more on her role in leading their alliance to Ba Sing Se.

"And what do you have to say that the Avatar hasn't?" the General asked her bluntly, his hands together, "He made a good case to support your cause, I'll admit that, but I don't have a good reason to trust you. You have your responsibilities to your own subjects over the people of the Earth Kingdom.

"Might I ask you, what do you think would be the best outcome for the people of the Fire Nation?" she countered, and forced Hong to step into her shoes; Sokka smirked, finding that strategy a smart one, even if he clearly wasn't sympathetic to the Fire Nation, he could logically understand her motivations.

"Well, if it is anything like my own intentions, it is peace." he acknowledged, "Safety from harm, both from their own countrymen, and foreigners."

"That is precisely what I seek to achieve." she confirmed that he was using the correct train of thought, "And then, what would be the easiest way for me to assure that, concerning the other nation?"

"Peace with them." he concluded immediately, his eyes narrowing, "But peace is a loose term. You could subjugate the Earth Kingdom and call it peace."

"I wouldn't." she retorted, "That would not be a lasting peace, if it could be achieved at all."

"So, what do you propose?" he prodded her, and Azula rolled her eyes.

"I thought Aang and the others would have covered that." she commented, clearly annoyed that he was asking for her plans, which must have been relayed to him if he were agreeing to participate in them.

"They did." the General confirmed, "But my council wants to hear it from you."

"Fine." she agreed to his proposition, before clearing her throat, "First, I should introduce my comrades here." she gestured to both Sokka and Toph, "Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, representing his people, who are providing a means to transport rebel fighters to Ba Sing Se, along with the Northern Water Tribe, who he persuaded to come out of their isolation and send an expeditionary force to aid the Earth Kingdom."

The Water Tribesman raised a hand to greet them, "Hi." he simply addressed them, and the General awkwardly raised hand in return.

"Toph, the Blind Bandit, who until being recruited as the Avatar's earthbending master, was a respected fighter in New Omashu, who fought against Fire Nation forces there under the command of King Bumi." she clarified who she was, and that seemed to interest the officers.

"Well, it's not every day that we meet somebody from Omashu." one of the officers acknowledged, "Has the King retaken his city yet?"

"The last I heard he was still planning an attack. There was a peaceful handover planned between Fire Lord Zuko and Bumi, but when- uh, the former died, that went out the window. Forces loyal to Ozai control the city now." Toph explained what had happened there.

"Well, I hope for the sake of the Earth Kingdom that he is successful in his plans." General Hong acknowledged, "We need to push the enemy back where we can."

"Which is precisely why we came to you, General Hong." Azula turned the attention of the room back to herself, "We are in need of your support to take control of Ba Sing Se." she explained, before gesturing to her face, "Not me, my alliance. Water Tribe, Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, all together, removing the corrupt Dai Li from power and allowing for the people to have their own government, and for all the rebel forces to come together to administer the Earth Kingdom. You cannot hope to coordinate your efforts without a central government."

"And what would stop this new government from betraying you?"

"Nothing." Azula bluntly conceded, before smirking, "But, you see, my goal is my father's defeat, not to win every battle myself. If you were to defeat my own forces and remove the Fire Nation colonies, then even if I disagree with that, you would have stopped my father's plans." she acknowledged, before sighing, "But I would much prefer that, as it would make me seem impotent in the eyes of my people. So, I would rather handle the issue of the colonies once my father is defeated. I am sure a compromise of sorts can be reached... condominium, shared taxes and defence, something of the sort."

"So, we have to share our own land with you?" Hong asked, and Azula sighed.

"That would be a short term solution. The long term solution is for the people in the colonies to decide their own fate. That would prevent conflict between our people in the long term, even if you believe that it's your rightful land. It is not as if Earth Kingdom people will be banned from moving there, or using their element. When I say I want peace, I mean it."

"I find it hard to believe that. You want us to accept your conquests as fact?"

"They are fact." she retorted, "I'm actually proposing for the colonies to be treated as a common ground, for both our nations to benefit from their existence. My father would prefer to continue the war indefinitely until your people are completely under his feet."

"Would you prefer the nations remain completely separate, and unable to help each other, or for us to cooperate?" Sokka posed her words in a different way, which seemed to appease the General more than hers had.

"I want a lasting peace, General. If the Earth Kingdom is in tatters, there will be no lasting peace." Azula added, before crossing her arms, "You can do as you please, but you cannot stop me. You cannot stop the fleet of Water Tribe ships sending those already on my side... the side of peace and unity."

"You don't seem anything like the stories suggested." he acknowledged, and Toph snickered.

"Yeah, that's what most people think." she agreed with his point, "Azula knows what she's doing. This isn't just her plan. King Bumi, and a lot of other people who've had more experience fighting in this war than I have, all agree on what needs to be done." she argued, crossing her arms, "I'm honestly not a little disappointed it came sooner."

"I reported to the Council of Five." Hong declared, "They never would act against the Dai Li, which is what is being proposed, so I would have never. Most other generals would tell you the same thing. To overturn a home while it's being invaded is never the wisest course of action."

"Yeah, but the house crumbled to pieces. Now we need to get rid of the termites, and rebuild it." she followed with his metaphor, her counter impressing the Princess, who smirked in approval, "Don't you want to see a better Earth Kingdom? You seem like a smart guy. You must have heard the histories. This civil war, that warlord, that peasant uprising. Things have never been good, there's only been a few times when the Earth King either wasn't an idiot, or whoever was actually in charge had things in order."

"I have read the histories." he acknowledged, before narrowing his eyes at her, "Wait... are you blind?"

"Yeah, I am." she confirmed, "You do realise tutors can just regale all that stuff to you in agonising detail, right?"

He snickered, and gestured to her, "What are you, the richest blind girl alive?"

"Yeah, basically." she nodded without a shred of doubt in her voice, "I am a noble, if that's what you were asking."

"I wouldn't have guessed from the way you dress."

"And I wouldn't call you a king from the way you do." she countered, making Sokka cover his mouth, holding back a laugh; he was unsure if Azula deserved to be called the best insulter he knew after hearing that burn.

"Enough jokes." Azula reprimanded her, though she clearly was smiling at the joke as well, "General Hong, I know the history of your nation as well, if not as well as Toph here, but I know that this is the chance your people have been waiting for." she explained, before pointing around the table, "Who here is actually a noble?" she asked, and only one man put his hand up, seeming almost embarrassed by that fact.

"For too long have you had to listen to bureaucrats in Ba Sing Se, and serve the idle whims of nobles. Now you can seize the destiny of the Earth Kingdom for yourselves. The strong and wise should rule, and I wouldn't call the Dai Li either of those, given they lost Ba Sing Se to my people, and failed to unite your country in defending against the Fire Nation for over a century." she argued, making the same claims she'd made before.

Sokka didn't disagree with any of those claims, and in fact, he could probably make the same arguments against the Council of Elders in the North, who could arguably be blamed for the suffering of his people because of their callous self-centeredness and cowardice.

"She does speak the truth, sir." one of the officers agreed, and more of them nodded along.

"You're much more persuasive than the Avatar." Hong acknowledged, before narrowing his eyes, "But don't think for a second that means I trust you."

"That's fine, as long as you're willing to pitch into my expedition and receive the aid you need in turn for it." she gave her own thoughts.

Hong crossed his arms, and gestured to the officer who was sitting beside him, "This is Major Yu. He's one of my most trusted commanders, and has previously worked on infiltrating a Fire Nation colony that we later destroyed in an uprising." he explained, telling Sokka what kind of man he was.

He could already guess that from the scars on his face and the scowl that seemed to be permanently affixed upon it, but the explanation just confirmed it.

"He will be the one heading to Ba Sing Se with a contingent of our forces. He will be able to aid you in your goals, and once this new government is formed, if it is, then he will report back to me what you have achieved. If he finds your works a farce, then he will leave, and I will make sure there is no peace between us." he warned her, raising a finger towards the Princess, "There will be no condominium. If I have to kill every last settler on my people's land, I will do it."

"I understand." she nodded, "If we do become enemies, I can at least know you fight for what you believe in." she acknowledged, "But I could say the same about my father."

"Are you comparing me to a man who killed his own son?" he asked, and she laughed.

"That's just a claimed filicide. For all I know, my brother could be holidaying on Ember Island under a fake name while the world burns." Azula retorted, making Sokka wince; he didn't have any idea if Ozai's claims were true, but he felt that making such jokes were in poor taste, even if he held no great liking for her brother, "What I am saying is that you are a man who will do what he believes is necessary, no matter the cost."

"I-" Hong looked at her with unease, but nodded nonetheless, "Yes, I am."

"Good. I prefer to work with people that have principles, because I can accommodate them better than I can a bottomless pit of greed." she acknowledged, earning some uneasy looks from the officers at the table, "Hunger for power and control will only cause fighting. It is the reason the war in the Fire Nation began, and the only way it will end is through a just conclusion."

"Just? Don't you just want your throne?" the General asked her, and Azula crossed her arms.

"Once I felt obliged to take it as it was my birthright, but I know that I cannot claim something without being worthy of it. I am not a great leader, not yet... if I can prove myself, I hope that you can come to trust my intentions."

"We shall see." Hong acknowledged, before gesturing behind them, "Feel free to rest here... but I assume you have places to be."

"Thank you for your hospitality, General." Sokka acknowledged that small piece of kindness, making a curt bow; Azula had taught him how to do it properly, so he was going to use that skill for its intended purpose.

"It is what is expected." he bluntly responded, saying that as if he was being 'nice' only out of duty, and rather because he wanted to earn any favour with them, "I don't know you, blind girl, but I think I can trust that you will do the right thing by the Earth Kingdom." he addressed Toph, who crossed her arms.

"Yeah, well, we shall see." she mocked him, "Or, you will. I'll just continue doing what I always have." she declared her intentions, her blind joke making Sokka snicker, though he tried to muffle it with his hand.

"Your spirit is admirable, even if your etiquette is lacking." the General noted, and she laughed.

"Yeah, that's a choice." she retorted, before following Azula as she moved towards the exit.

Sokka caught up with his girlfriend quickly enough, and once they were back outside, he grabbed her by the shoulder, "You did a pretty good job in there."

"What, even the joke about my brother?" she prodded him, and he rolled his eyes.

"No, not that. But the rest, you kept your cool and got him to at least... well, believe you."

"I don't think he was swayed." Azula acknowledged, "But this opportunity was too good for him to pass up in any case." she added, before continuing to pace on away from the hall, back in the direction where Aang, Katara, and Ty Lee were.

He realised he hadn't seen the acrobat, but she jumped out of nowhere before they got back to Appa, almost tackling her friend, "Zula!"

Azula awkwardly hugged her back, and glanced around, "Where were you hiding?"

"I was just looking around when the airship got here. I just missed you... but I didn't want to get in the way of you dealing with the General." she explained, before glancing over at Toph and Sokka, "Sokka, Toph. How were things on the airship?"

"Uncomfortable." the blind girl gave her response immediately, while he held his tongue.

"Eh, I prefer it over Appa, even if the engines can be a little loud." he gave his own opinion, and noticed that she was eyeing up Azula's outfit.

"What's with the Water Tribe clothes? A special occasion?"

"No, it's just to not make the locals worry as much as they would otherwise." she admitted, "Do you think walking in here dressed as a Princess of the Fire Nation would have gone down well?"

"No, not really." she agreed with her rationale, "I like them. They look good on you."

"They match your flames." Sokka added abruptly, as it was the first thing that came to mind.

"Yes, yes they do." she agreed with his framing, and gestured over to Appa, "Now, we have a chance to relax and decide on the next course of action."

"I have a pretty good route planned out." Sokka reminded her, but his girlfriend just rolled her eyes.

"I mean who's flying ahead, if anyone. We could just stick together instead." she suggested, "Avoid having one half do the negotiations while the other half is still catching up."

"That's a good idea." he agreed to her proposal, and followed her over towards Appa, who was being cleaned by Aang while Katara was preparing some dinner.

"So, how did the meeting with the General go?" she asked them, and Sokka gave his sister a thumbs up.

"Pretty well, all things considered." he decided, "I was afraid this whole thing would be a waste of time."

"Well, I'm pretty good at persuading people to do the right thing." Katara claimed with a smug expression, and Azula seemed amused by that.

"Certainly." she agreed with her, though it was unclear if she was being sarcastic or genuinely approving of her assistance.

"So, are you making dinner for everyone, or just the people you came with?" Sokka pressed his sister, already enthralled by the smell of Water Tribe cooking; she just snickered, and gestured for him to approach.

"No, it's for everyone." she assured him, "Actually, Azula, could you-" she asked, and the Princess threw her right hand forward, shooting a fireball into the small fire that lay beneath the pot in front of her, causing it to brighten substantially, "Thanks." she acknowledged her help, while Sokka reflexively glanced around, making sure nobody was adversely reacting to her firebending in their presence; it seemed that both the refugees and soldiers were unconcerned with what they were doing, while the airship was garnering far more attention.

Azula, Ty Lee, and Toph sat themselves down around the fire, and Sokka quickly followed after them; he could see Katara wasn't anywhere close to being done making dinner, but he wasn't that hungry, after all, so he could stand to wait a little longer.

"So, the airship took a while to get here." Ty Lee observed, "Did you have trouble finding us?" she asked, her question directed at Sokka.

"Uh, well, we knew what settlements existed around the mountains, so we just had to scout them out to see if Hong's men were there. That took a while, but we got here eventually, that's what counts."

"And what were you doing?" she asked Toph and Azula, the latter looking at the former for a moment before shrugging.

"I spent the afternoon reading some reports. Old ones, mostly about the various operations the Fire Nation has made in the mountains. I thought it might help me acquaint myself with the landscape and the local population." she explained herself, before glancing over towards Toph, "She was just lazing about and talking with my guards."

"I wasn't just-" the earthbender began, sounding frustrated, "I was also trying to figure out why the ship was messing with my seismic sense."

"Wait, I thought seismic sense only worked with earth." Aang recalled, jumping into the conversation as he brushed excess fur from Appa's side.

"Yes, that's why I was confused. I could actually... sense things, roughly, but I could do it." she explained herself, and Sokka furrowed a brow.

"Maybe it's because metal's made out of earth. It is just melted rocks, isn't it?" he asked, and Toph shrugged.

"I guess, but I've never heard of anyone bending metal before." she commented, not sounding confident that it was possible, and Azula furrowed a brow.

"Well, you'll never know if it's impossible. You just have to try it." she acknowledged, "If earth is there, you should be able to bend it."

"Huh... you could say the same about water, or air." Sokka noted, narrowing his eyes, "Water's basically everywhere. Clouds, in the ground, in plants... people." he observed, and Katara and Aang both grimaced.

"In people?" the Avatar asked, "Why would anyone try that?"

"Life or death situation, maybe." he guessed, shrugging his shoulders, "I mean, you could bend the air out of somebody's lungs."

Azula elbowed him, making Sokka cringe as he realised she of all people was telling him to lay it off. He could tell from the way Aang was looking that he was disgusted and disturbed by the idea.

"Maybe this isn't the best thing to talk about." Katara suggested as she stirred the pot, which was coming to a boil, "Now it's time to cook the seaweed noodles. Thanks for getting these from the North Pole."

"No problem." Sokka smiled at his sister, knowing she'd enjoy getting some more Water Tribe cuisine rather than the usually bland stuff she had to scrounge together; Fire Nation spices improved that, but they were nothing compared to a fine seaweed noodle soup.

"Seaweed noodles are one of the better Water Tribe meals." Azula gave her own opinion, before narrowing her eyes, "Toph, Ty Lee, you've never had them before, have you?"

"Nope." the acrobat shook her head, "We never got a chance to get food at the North Pole before we left."

"I assume this is just like vegetable noodles." Toph guessed, and Sokka nodded.

"Yeah, that's about right. It's the only vegetable-like thing we can find at the South Pole." he acknowledged, "Seaweed is pretty good."

"I thought you only really liked meat." Aang admitted, and Sokka raised a finger.

"No, I like meat the most, that doesn't mean it's the only thing I like." he argued, before sniffing the pot, which Katara had just put the noodles in, "Delicious." he commented, before moving back, leaning a little closer to his girlfriend.

She seemed a little bit uncomfortable with the public display of affection, and shuffled slightly further away from him, though her right hand was clasped over his left.

"So, uh, how are you gonna test if you can bend metal?" Ty Lee decided to ask Toph, who hummed in thought.

"Heh, I guess I could try and punch it, but that just sounds like it will hurt."

"Try and bend it with your palms." Azula countered, and the blind girl smirked.

"You know your bending." she conceded, "No wonder Katara wanted you to teach her."

"I couldn't teach her all that much... but bending does have common principles. You don't even necessarily need to bend by gesture."

"What, with your mind?" Katara asked, "That sounds like a joke."

"How do you think Toph can see with her feet? Her feet can't see, her mind can." she gestured towards the earthbender, who tilted her head, "That's her mind feeling her earthbending. How much harder would it be to go the other way around?"

"Now that you say it like that, maybe it isn't that hard." Aang mumbled, "Just focus on something hard enough, and you might set it on fire."

"There's only one way to find out." she decided, and Sokka grabbed her by the arm.

"Maybe not right now. I don't want you setting something on fire... here, at least." he warned her, and she glanced around, and cringed as she remembered where they were.

"I may... I may have gotten ahead of myself."

---

The mountain valley was quiet and peaceful, away from the worries of the world. The place was quite idyllic, and left Katara at ease. Gathering rebels was not an easy task, and she was relieved that they'd taken some time for a break before the airship was to fly north to refuel at the coast. She knew that they were quite close to the Northern Air Temple, and that the land they were in was frequented by the Air Nomads back when they lived there. Aang found the place especially nice, but that made sense, as it reminded him of his home, the Southern Air Temple.

The valley didn't seem to be inhabited by people, with only a few signs of hunters and some herders having come through, but it was still quite cold. It was still early into spring, so they wouldn't yet come up into the mountains to pasture their flocks. Snow had fallen in the past day, and still littered the ground; it had been a few months since she'd actually been around the fluffy white material, and she wouldn't complain, deciding it would be a useful thing to practise her waterbending with.

She had set up their campsite nearby the airship before she decided to go off and train; she knew dinner would have to be made, but since Ty Lee promised to pitch in and get it started for her, she knew she'd have a little more time before she had to come back and deal with that. Aang accompanied her, and she was pleased that he considered taking the time to practise his waterbending with her; he'd been focusing on earthbending as of late, given that it was the element he was still learning, but had still given waterbending thought, as he needed to master all four elements if he wanted to be an effective Avatar.

"So, we're just going to bend the snow?" he asked her, and Katara nodded, flicking some up with her left hand, before throwing it at the Air Nomad; he was able to scatter the mass of snow before it hit him, and he laughed.

"Can a snowball fight count as training?" he asked, and she hummed in thought.

"Well, if you're only waterbending, I don't see why it wouldn't." she acknowledged, before raising a finger, "But I thought we'd go for some more complex techniques."

"Oh... alright." he nodded, sounding eager; he pulled up some snow from around himself, melted it into water, and then pooled it in his hands, ready to follow her directions.

She didn't have the best grasp of how to train anyone with waterbending, given she had only started learning herself when Aang had, but she had figured out more techniques than Aang had, given she only had her waterbending to rely on, while he could use air, water, and earth, and soon enough, he would be bending fire as well. Katara pulled up some snow, melted it, and readied it between her hands.

"I want to see if you can quickly shift water into its different phases." she explained her idea, "It's something good to practice, as you'll never know when you'll need ice, water, or steam."

"Steam... uh, well, I guess that might be useful sometimes." Aang mumbled, sounding unsure of himself.

"Not so much for you, as you'll be able to firebend, but you should still learn it." she suggested, "I actually figured that out before we got the scroll, but now that I've had more practice, I can say I'm much better at it."

Aang nodded intently, before turning his water into a mass of ice; then he shaped it into a staff, and spun it around in his hands, like he would his glider staff.

"Now you've given me an idea." she smirked, before turning her own water into a staff as well, though she made sure to make the end sharp, like the spears they'd use when hunting at the South Pole.

"Huh, that looks like Sokka's-" he noticed the familiarity of the weapon, before he shut up as he had to block her thrusting it at him, "Wow!" he cried out in surprise, "So, is this what we're doing?" he asked as he stepped back.

"Just watch, and learn." she directed, and spun the ice spear around, before throwing it up into the air, shooting it up as far as she could, her waterbending allowing it to rise far above them.

"Oh... that's uh..." he mumbled in awe, before his face turned one of fear as she reoriented the spear to point towards the ground; she imagined that was the same look her brother got on his face when Azula was about to kick his butt.

Aang turned his ice staff into a solid block of ice, and raised it above his head as she threw the ice spear down; he was able to block it quickly enough, the spear striking through the shield. It lost all its momentum, however, and both masses of ice broke apart, Aang turning them to water, which fell over him. That made Katara burst out laughing, and watched in amusement as he fell over, sitting in a puddle of his own making. Aang cringed as he got up, now doused with freezing water, and bent it out of his robes with a flick of his hand.

"Maybe turn it to snow next time." she suggested, and Aang shivered.

"Snow is wet too." he mumbled, before letting out a deep breath, slamming his palms together, which created a burst of wind, "Ah, that's better." he commented with a smile, appearing to have air-dried his clothes.

"Oh, yeah, you don't wear a parka." she realised, knowing that her parka was good for dealing with snow, keeping her dry whenever she was outside back in her village, "Now, did you learn something from that?"

"Yeah, water's pretty dangerous." he nodded, before raising both hands up, turning water in the puddle into shards of ice, "Like this?" he asked as he flicked them at her; Katara pulled some water out of her waterskin up to form a shield, absorbing the shards before they could reach her.

"I feel like this is a dangerous way to train... but I feel like Toph would agree: danger makes you learn faster." she suggested, and she heard a snicker nearby; Toph was watching them train, sitting on a boulder.

"Yeah, I would say that." she agreed with her, and gestured towards the pair, "Keep training." she requested, and the Water Tribe girl turned her gaze over to Aang, spinning the water around her as their eyes locked.

"Ready?" she asked, and he nodded, before she threw the mass of water forward, turning it into steam, which burst up right in his face.

She could hear him stumbling back, and she picked up some snow behind him, flinging it at his feet; she hoped to ensnare them, but before she could, Aang did a backflip, right over the mass of snow she was throwing his way, which came and hit Katara instead.

"Thanks, Toph." Aang acknowledged his earthbending master, which confused her, until she realised how he had seen the snow coming- seismic sense.

"As blind as a badgermole and as astute as one too." she stated what sounded like a proverb as she tapped the side of her head; the Avatar turned his hands towards her, and gestured for Katara to continue.

She drew up some more snow, and condensed it into fragments of ice, which she then readied by her side; she gave Aang a moment to prepare, before she started flinging them in his direction, making sure to just aim right next to him, rather than to actually hit him, realising how dangerous the ice shards could be. He bent the shards as they came his way, deflecting them or turning them back into water, before he gathered up all the water, bending it back towards Katara as a water whip. She smirked at the sight of his quick thinking, but countered by turning the tip of the water whip into snow, which fluttered out and landed on her parka.

She dusted the snow off, and threw her hands up, bending up the snow to try and shackle his hands with ice; she was able to surround his forearms with the water, but Aang could just as easily bend it himself. He bent the shackles of ice apart as she tried to pull his hands together, and turned them into a knuckle sized piece of ice as he clasped his hands. He then tossed it forward, smacking her in the gut. She let out a wheeze, surprised by the force and speed of the hit; as she gasped for air, she fell to one knee, and Aang's face shifted to one of fear.

"Katara!" he exclaimed her name, rushing over to her side, "I'm sorry- I didn't mean to hurt you." he apologised, and Katara just laughed it off.

"Uh... you're going well." he commended his efforts, before letting out a sigh, "Let's just focus on the bending, not the fighting." she suggested, before grabbing some snow with her bending, and turning it into a ball of water, "So, just try and turn the snow into something else." she suggested, closing her hand to compress the water, which became a smooth ball of ice, which she then held in her hands; it was cold to the touch, but not to the point that it was irritating.

She dropped the ball, letting it shatter into small shards at their feet, before her eyes moved back to Aang, "Try and make something out of the snow." she suggested, and he smirked.

"I've got an idea." he piped up, before turning around; he spun his hands around, bending up snow into a large mass, which made her think he might be trying to make a snowman.

He instead compressed it into a large block of ice, around as tall as himself, and began to slice off edges, the fragments falling back to the ground and crumbling back into snow. Though it just looked like a roughly cut up block of ice to begin with, she realised as the top was rounded off that it was an ice carving. He didn't need to use any tools to whittle it down, but simply had his bending to rely on.

That allowed him to create what looked to be a carving representing himself; the ice Aang was around the same height as him, wearing his monk robes, which hung tight to the body, as it was hard for him to imitate any kind of fabric, and the arms and legs were shaped a little odd, but other than that, it looked about right. The thing that stuck out to Katara however was his head; instead of looking as Aang did at that very moment, with his messy short hair, it instead was bald, with the arrow narrows denoted by a shallow carving into the head.

"Nice." she complimented his work, "So, is this how you see yourself?" she asked, and Aang made a sheepish smile.

"Eh... it isn't that good. I'm not that good at art." he admitted, "I guess I could try and get better."

"It's not like you could have looked at yourself for reference." Katara conceded, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Do you still think you're bald?"

"I know I'm not, but that's what I'm meant to look like." he argued, scrunching his lips, "When do you think it'll be okay for me to shave my hair again?"

"When we're done with Ba Sing Se, I'd say. After that, I don't think you'll need to hide your identity nearly as much."

"What about in the colonies?" he asked, and she shrugged.

"You'll have to ask Azula about that... she is the boss, after all." she added, finding it a little frustrating that she was the one organising all their plans, instead of it being a more collaborative effort; they did all pitch in with inputs at times, but for the most part it was either her or Sokka making the calls for what they would do.

Now that she thought about it, she didn't even think Azula had bothered to ask Aang what he thought should be done concerning the colonies, or how the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom work together after the war was over. Those were very important matters that he as the Avatar ought to have some input into. She understood that Aang was only twelve, and probably trusted her with political matters he had not much understanding of, but she didn't think Aang was that naive; he was probably just worried about annoying the Princess when he ought to be questioning her choices, because she was making them out of self interest, or in the interest of the Fire Nation, which she sought to rule.

"Just because she's smart doesn't mean you can't question her." she spoke her mind, and Aang scrunched his lips.

"Wha-?" he murmured, "I- uh, I don't think she's wrong."

"About the hair?" she raised a brow, "No, I agree with her there, but I mean in other areas."

"If you want to criticise her majesty, maybe do it to her face." Toph suggested, still sitting off on her rock; Katara's brow twitched, not wanting to hear her input.

She was about to go off at her, but held herself back, realising how immature that would be; Toph was just upholding the principle of being honest and fair, which Katara had decidedly ignored for her own benefit. That made her grimace, and she turned her gaze back over to Aang.

"Sorry, I'm just- well, I know we're doing the right thing, but I feel like if nobody questions her, then we might do bad things- really bad things."

"I'm not going to hurt anyone." Aang assured her, "I mean, unless they're bad guys, and they're trying to hurt my friends." he added a condition, which made her narrow her eyes.

"So, if the rebels attacked us for being allies with Azula, would you fight back?"

"No, I'd just get us away on Appa." he countered, "He's pretty fast, you know."

"He is." she agreed with his point, before sighing, "I just feel that we barely are able to get these rebels to help us. They're all afraid of Azula and what she might do once she has all the power of the Earth Kingdom behind her."

"And they know that together, they could easily beat her pitiful little undersupplied army." Toph spoke up, making a point that Katara hadn't even considered; the rebels, while disunited, were certainly threatened by Azula, but once together, they posed more of a danger to Azula than she did to them.

"That's... that's true." she agreed with her analysis, before narrowing her eyes, "No wonder she's been dressing in Water Tribe clothes. She wants to look as weak as possible." she realised what Azula's rationale had been for dressing in a way that made her seem plain and unassuming.

"Maybe you should just ask her." Aang suggested, "I don't think she's trying to trick them."

"I hope so." Katara made her feelings clear.

Despite her misgivings, she liked Azula, and wanted her to succeed; what she didn't want was for that success to come at the expense of the Earth Kingdom's future, or the future of her people. However, the latter seemed impossible, given how much she had already proven her loyalty to the South; that could have just been out of self-interest, wanting to make Sokka as powerful as she could so she could have an ally she could trust. Katara knew that might have been true without any malice, because she knew Azula liked seeing Sokka succeed, no matter how much she liked to beat him up.

"Do you think my brother would make a good chief?" she asked Aang, who scrunched his lips up.

"I mean... he's pretty smart. Smarter than most people I've met. He knows how to fight, and is good at politics." he noted his positive qualities, "I think he would be."

"I hope he will be." she agreed, even if she was unsure if he would do what was best for their tribe with his relationship with Azula; if she did succeed and become Fire Lord, then Sokka's ambitions would be tied to whatever she wanted to achieve, "I mean, it's either that or Azula's consort."

"Heh." Toph snickered, "I'd like to see the looks on the faces of the Fire Nation nobles when they realise their new Consort is a peasant from the South Pole."

"That would be pretty funny." Katara agreed with the sentiment, before gesturing for them to follow, "Let's head back. It's about time I got started on dinner anyways."

She paced back towards the airship, and the encampment that surrounded it; she could see Azula and Sokka speaking with each other by the edge of the camp, sitting on a stray boulder, as Toph had been. Katara couldn't hear what they were saying to each other, but as soon as the group neared, they stopped talking and her brother waved to them.

"Hey guys, done with your training for the night?" he asked, and Katara shrugged her shoulders.

"We could do a little more before bed." she suggested, and Azula raised a finger.

"Actually, I'd like to give Aang some instructions after dinner." she clarified, the Air Nomad boy stepped forward with an eager look on his face.

"Wait, so you're gonna start teaching me firebending?" he asked, and she tilted her head.

"Not any actual forms." she conceded, "I need you to be able to bend fire passively before I am sure you'll be able to create it yourself."

"Oh... yeah." he mumbled, before nodding, "Well, as soon as I can, I will learn, Sifu Azula." he assured her with a bow of respect, making Sokka snicker.

"Sifu." he noted the address with an amused tone, before getting jabbed by Azula in the side; he winced, but started to chuckle anyways.

"He is being respectful of my knowledge, unlike yourself." she retorted, and he snickered.

"You can't teach a non-bender firebending." he retorted, before glancing towards where the campfire had been set up, "So, uh, dinner."

"I'll get on with it in a bit." she assured him, and Aang stepped closer to her.

"How about you do what I said?" he asked her quietly, and Katara nodded; she did want some reassurances from Azula, and she knew that the two of them hadn't had a proper conversation in quite a while.

"Alright." she accepted his request, and gestured in the direction of the campfire, "Could you go and help Ty Lee start preparing the food? I won't be long."

"Yep!" he responded with a bit too much enthusiasm, grabbing Toph by the arm to drag her along so she wouldn't be there to intercede in the conversation Katara was about to have; she would tell her brother to leave, but knew that he probably had the same concerns as she did, so he wouldn't dispute whatever she'd have to say.

Azula was looking her way with suspicion, and had her arms crossed, "What's the deal? Did you want to interrogate me?"

"N-no." she shook her head, "I just wanted to ask what your intentions are." she admitted, and the Princess laughed.

"So, an interrogation it is." she came to her own conclusion, which she seemed to have already decided upon before Katara had even said a word; Sokka leaned over to his girlfriend with a stern look.

"Come on, this isn't Katara six months ago. She respects you."

"And I-"

"No, you didn't." he snapped back at her before she could make a defence of herself, "But I know you do now, that's why you should hear each other out." he suggested, before gesturing towards both of them, "So, go ahead."

Azula kept her lips scrunched up, before stepping closer to the Water Tribe girl, "I want some specifics." she demanded, "What are you asking about?"

"The Earth Kingdom, the new government, what you'll do with the colonies." she listed off a few issues of great importance to both Azula and the people she would have to be dealing with, allies and enemies both.

"The Earth Kingdom is its own nation, that is clear enough." the Princess responded, before gesturing towards Katara, "I only sought this plan because I thought it would bring about an easier peace between the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom. Without a central government, it would be chaos, even if I claimed my throne and secured the borders in the colonies."

"And what about the colonies? You're... well, you were saying things about self-government in Shengchang, but I can't tell which side you were really trying to appease."

"Can't it be both?" she asked, "That's politics, Katara. There's a whole lot of compromise. That's why I didn't massacre those protesters when I was in charge of Ba Sing Se... I could have sent my soldiers down to do mass arrests, but that would have done little good to endear the population to the Fire Nation occupation."

"Hey, I was the one who persuaded you there." Sokka argued, and Azula nodded.

"Yes, because unlike myself, you had quite an impartial stance on the whole matter, even if you supported the Earth Kingdom over the Fire Nation." she acknowledged, "Impartiality is useful when you want to resolve disputes, big and small."

"But there's usually somebody who's done bad, and somebody who's suffered." Katara argued, "So, aren't you going to make sure your country pays for what it's done?"

"I am doing that as we speak. All of this will help the Earth Kingdom, and once we can settle control of the colonies, the people there and elsewhere will no longer have to fear war. The regime the Fire Nation has established will not last, so it needs to be reformed. That is obvious... It was already obvious before I faced my brother in Yu Dao. The difference is that I now have the will to act." she argued, sounding surprisingly self-critical.

"So, the colonies will remain." Katara concluded from what she heard.

"Not as they are. Earthbending will be legalised, refugees allowed to return to their homes, and new homes be provided if their old ones were destroyed. These efforts aren't just the right things to do, but will bring economic bounty to both the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation." she argued, "Not everything has to be done because of some moral obligation... it can be as simple as being of the greatest benefit to all of the nations."

"But do you care about the Earth Kingdom?" Katara pressed her, and Azula shrugged her shoulders.

"I care about lasting peace. I want to serve my nation, and protect it from harm; the greatest harm it can receive is from another war or a continuation of the one that has already lasted a century." she explained her stance, "You might sympathise with all the suffering of the poor commoners, but to me, that is merely a problem that should be overcome. The outcome is the same... peace, prosperity, and security."

"I don't-" she began, unsure what to say to that; she didn't agree with how Azula saw things, but she was struggling to find a complaint if they came to the same conclusions, "I guess I just don't know if you'll change your mind."

"Why would I?" she asked her, "I've lost any chance of returning to my father's side. I've thrown my lot in with the the Fire Nation's supposed enemies. Even if I wanted to do otherwise, I don't have a choice." she argued, before narrowing her eyes, "And once I become Fire Lord, my previous points still stand."

"Yeah, so, don't worry, Katara." her brother assured her, "Azula might not think the same way as you do, but we're all on the same side."

"Y-yeah." she nodded, before sighing, "So... how many more rebel groups do you think we'll find?"

"There has to be dozens of them in these mountains, though whether we'll find them all is another matter entirely." Azula gave her thoughts on that matter, "There will be more groups further to the east, near Ba Sing Se, but I am afraid those there might still openly profess their loyalty to the Earth King."

"It's not like they can't see the way the winds are blowing." Sokka argued, "Which they will. Either before we win, or after we do."

"Don't get ahead of yourself." Azula retorted, "There's nothing to say that this plan will actually work."

"I thought you were confident we'd win in Ba Sing Se."

"I can't be confident of anything until I see what is going on inside the city. Nobody knows what is going on in there, and I suspect the Dai Li might be disguising the facts for their own ends. For all we know, they might have manipulated my own men against each other."

"I'm pretty sure Ozai could have done that easily enough himself." Sokka warned her, "And I mean, there could have been more brainwashing victims. People they could have used to screw over Fire Nation."

"More?" Katara asked, before grimacing, "How many people could be like that in Ba Sing Se?"

"Thousands at least." Azula admitted, not sounding afraid, though her expression told Katara enough, "We will have a challenge on our hands, that's why we need the masses on our side, and as many local notables as we can gather."

"Would they even go against the Dai Li?" Sokka asked, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"I feel that's a question that Toph might be able to answer, given she's a noble." she argued, before turning her heels, "We can discuss this over dinner."

"Ah, yeah, dinner." the Water Tribesman noted, clearly looking eager as he licked his lips.

He and Katara followed Azula back over to the campfire, where Ty Lee had been getting all the food preparation done. The Water Tribe girl smiled at her and sat down beside her, noticing that Aang and Toph had been setting up a dining area by earthbending up some seats, and table, and cleaning them up. She gestured to the bag of noodles that they had.

"I think the water's ready." she told the acrobat, who nodded, putting them into the pot.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" she inquired, Azula sitting herself down at the table, closest to where the campfire was.

"The war, and our plans." she told the truth, though that didn't go into much detail about Katara's questions of her intentions.

She felt a little bad in hindsight, knowing that despite their different ways of seeing the world that Azula had actually come to the Earth Kingdom intending to do good. It might not have been truly for the good of the people and to ensure they were treated fairly, but that would be the ultimate outcome, and that was something she could get behind, and what she thought many fighters would support.

They weren't nobles, and most weren't military officers, people loyal to the old Earth Kingdom regime and the way their society had been structured before the war. Most of the fighters were simply people who wanted to protect their homes and their families. Some had an ideological bent, wanting to reclaim their lost land from the Fire Nation, and though she knew that might not go down well with Azula, she was the very least willing to compromise on that matter.

She wanted the colonies to serve her interests, but once the war was over, it seemed that the people there would be free to choose their own path. Everything she had done in Shengchang suggested just that, and that gave her some hope for the future of those places; despite the divide between Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, the colonies at least gave her hope that some kind of coexistence might be possible in the long term, even if it was no longer on the Fire Nation's terms.

"Huh." Ty Lee murmured, "Well, we've already got some rebels. I think things are going pretty well."

"There's no way Ozai's people are reaching us here." Toph added with a relieved voice, "Maybe some bandits, but heh, I'm pretty sure we can handle them no problem."

"Bandits aren't what I'm worried about. An actual warlord with an army... who doesn't just refuse to cooperate." Azula acknowledged the possibility that they could end up fighting with someone; it seemed like it was going to get close to that with General Hong, and he had even said he would do just that if she betrayed her promises to the Earth Kingdom.

"We should always be ready to fight." Sokka argued, "As much as I'd like to make friends with every rebel we come across... I don't think it will happen." he acknowledged, before narrowing his eyes, "Perhaps with the bigger rebel groups we should just fly in on Appa alone, and call on the airship for support if we need it."

"You don't need an airship, you've got me." Toph assured the group, pointing a thumb to her sternum.

"Both would be good." Ty Lee suggested.

Katara's gaze turned back to the pot, which she decided to put some dried vegetables into, stirring them in, "If you want meat, cook it separately." she suggested, and Sokka smirked, before reaching into one of the bags, pulling out some dried fish, struck through with some skewers.

He pointed it towards his girlfriend, who rolled her eyes before lighting a flame beneath it. The Water Tribe girl chuckled, finding her attitude amusing, as she didn't even try to refuse him.

"Where are the guards?" Aang spoke up, "I thought they'd be making their dinner but I haven't seen any of them."

"On patrol. Ensuring that we've chosen a safe campsite." Azula clarified, "They might find some animals for us to butcher for meat." she added, Sokka licking his lips.

"Oh, I hope so." he acknowledged, "I don't mind dried meat, but fresh stuff is always better."

"Me too." Katara agreed with his point, before she began stirring the pot, watching the vegetables to see how they were cooking.

"So... Toph, who's training Aang next?" she asked the earthbender, who hummed in thought.

"Azula's got dibs first, but tomorrow, we'll get started in the morning before we leave." she decided, Aang tapping his foot as he heard that.

"So, what are we doing tomorrow?" he asked her, and the earthbender chuckled.

"Oh, I'll just be throwing boulders at you. Nothing too hard."

"That... that doesn't sound easy." he admitted nervously, and she just laughed in response.

"Oh, but it is. Just stand your ground... you're more than strong enough to break a few measly boulders." she countered, and that made him smile, seeming more confident than he had before, "But, how about we do it blindfolded."

"Oh." Aang's eyes widened, and he looked a little scared, but he nodded anyway, "I can try."

"Just don't crush him." Azula warned her, and Toph waved off her concerns.

"I'm not stupid." she retorted, before tapping her fingers on the earthen table, "How much longer on the food?"

"Not much longer." Katara assured her, and Azula stepped over to the pot, and shot out a small fire bolt from her fingertips, causing the campfire to burst in brightness.

She could feel the heat increasing, and leaned back to avoid getting too hot; her eyes met Azula's, and she nodded, appreciative of her assistance. It probably wouldn't make the food cook much faster, but it would relieve her of any complaints Toph and the others might have.

"So, yeah, you'll be training blind." Toph returned to the conversation topic, and Sokka pat Aang on the shoulder.

"How good are you with the whole seismic sense thing anyway?"

"Good enough." he declared, "I mean, I can get better, but if I close my eyes right now, I can sense where everyone's sitting."

"Prove it." Azula prodded him, and Aang scrunched his lips.

"Okay, I'll close my eyes, and everyone can swap places with somebody else; I'll say who swapped with who." he suggested a challenge, and the group nodded, though Katara had her hand firmly on the spoon, mixing the pot as the vegetables cooked inside.

Aang closed his eyes, and everyone except Katara moved; Azula snuffed out the flame in her hand, and swapped with Ty Lee, then Sokka swapped with Toph, and then Toph with Azula.

When they were done, Katara spoke up, "They're done. Who's where?"

"Sokka's right next to me, where Toph was." he guessed correctly, and gestured over to where Katara was sitting, "Toph is sitting next to you." he guessed correctly again, and then turned his head, seeming less sure sensing Azula and Ty Lee, "And... uh, I think Azula moved to where Sokka was, and Ty Lee's where Azula was. Or maybe Azula didn't move."

"You guessed right." the Princess confirmed, "But can you say who moved in what order."

Aang scrunched his lips, his eyes still shut, "Azula moved twice. Toph did too." he recalled, "There were a lot of people moving at once. Toph and Azula swapped at the end." he explained, before opening his eyes.

"You're getting better." Toph acknowledged his skill, "That was only with a few people... with more people it will be a lot harder." she warned her, "I struggle to pay attention to lots of people at once. In a fight, you've got to make a target and focus on them."

"Well, I'm not going to fight in a cave, am I?" he asked them, and both Sokka and Azula looked at each other uneasily.

"Have you ever heard of the Crystal Catacombs?" Azula asked him, and the Air Nomad looked at her with a confused look.

"No, are they some kind of ruin?"

"You could call them that." Toph acknowledged, "I've only heard stories about that place... it's a cave system under Ba Sing Se, where the city was originally before it expanded to the surface."

"Yes, and now it serves as a secret Dai Li base. It's located directly beneath the palatial district, so it's very easy for them to access. That's where we'll need to go if we want to make sure they're dealt with... permanently."

"Well, I mean, if we get enough earthbenders, we could just collapse the whole cave system on top of itself." Toph suggested, "That'd take a lot of earthbenders though, and some maps, because unlike me, they wouldn't be able to sense where the caves are."

"And what, turn the palace into a sinkhole?" Sokka asked, before smirking, "I mean... there won't be an Earth King once we're done with the place... so maybe we can get away with that."

"Maybe don't do that." Katara warned him, "If there's one way to definitely annoy a lot of people, it's destroying a landmark."

"I don't think the common people would care about that in the slightest." Toph acknowledged, before scrunching her lips, "Though people like General Hong... eh, maybe a bit."

"So, we'll try and avoid that." Azula decided, crossing her arms, "There's no point fussing over it right now."

Ty Lee stepped over from Azula's spot to sit back beside Toph, so she could get back to working on dinner, "That looks pretty cooked." she observed, and Katara agreed silently.

She poured in some spices, and mixed them into the broth; the acrobat sniffed at the pot, and smiled.

"My ingredients work well together." she noted with a pleased voice, "Can I have some of the fish with mine?" she asked Sokka, who chuckled.

"Of course." he assured her, "I'm not just going to eat it all myself."

"He could." Azula added quietly, before narrowing her eyes upon the pot, "So, is it ready?" she asked, and Katara nodded, before picking up a ladle.

She gestured behind herself, where the bag of cutlery was located "Everyone get a bowl."

With that, everyone filed out and grabbed a bowl for themselves; she used the ladle to dish out the noodles and vegetables, and one by one, they sat down at the table, taking up new spots. Katara got her own bowl last, and sat herself down between Toph and her brother, with Azula, Ty Lee, and Aang across from them. Using her chopsticks, she grabbed some noodles and vegetables, and took a bite. The spices certainly improved the flavour; she'd eaten similar meals before on their trip between the base and New Omashu, and they weren't nearly as good, because she had lacked any condiments to the meals.

Sokka elbowed her as she was chewing, gesturing to the skewered fish, which had been desiccated by everyone taking their own pieces, "You said you wanted some." he reminded her.

She picked off what remained with her chopsticks and put it into her bowl.

"Thanks." she mumbled through her full cheeks, and swallowed.

She continued on with her meal, enjoying the now hot fish with the noodles and vegetables; it all meshed together well, and melted in her mouth. Katara was pretty pleased with the meal, more so than she had been with her own cooking in a while. The team effort, she realised, certainly made it easier, and she knew that she ought to rely more on the others to help her cook instead of doing most of the work herself.

"This is good." Sokka gave his opinion, "So, this was Ty Lee's recipe?" he asked, and the acrobat nodded.

"Yeah, I heard that Katara was going to make dinner and thought that we could do something I used to make." she explained herself, "I'd usually have some pig-chicken with it, but making it vegetarian is fine." he noted, before taking another bite herself.

"And what are your plans for tomorrow?" Katara asked the acrobat, who scrunched her lips.

"Well, if we're meeting with the ships at the coast, then I guess I can do some more chi-blocking training. The fighters seemed to like it." she explained her idea, and Azula hummed in approval as she chewed on some fish.

"Good." she responded once she had swallowed, "That training will be very useful against our enemies."

"And you?" Ty Lee asked her, and the Water Tribe girl picked up some more noodles as she thought about that.

"Hope we find some more rebels." she admitted, "We can never have too many allies."

"We do have, however, limited space on the boats." Sokka reminded her, with a bemused look.

"They can walk." Toph added, making Katara snicker.

"I think anyone would prefer going on a boat."

"Not me." she snapped back, and the Water Tribesmen both looked at her.

"Boats aren't that bad." she assured her, "I mean, you'll never know until you go on one."

Toph didn't seem convinced, and continued eating in silence; Aang spoke up a few moments later to break the awkward silence.

"So... I was wondering, do you think we can go to the Northern Air Temple while we're heading east?" he asked the table, and Azula narrowed her eyes.

"The Mechanist and his people were expelled by Zhao, so I would say it's empty... thus, probably safe." she noted, raising her chopsticks towards him, "What exactly do you even want to do there?"

"There might be some airbending scrolls and other relics there. Things that might help me." he acknowledged, before making a more pensive face, "And... somebody needs to make sure it's remembered."

"We can do that, Aang." Katara reassured him, knowing that he would feel bad if he didn't take the chance to try and preserve what remained of his people's culture.

He smiled and nodded, and both Sokka and Azula gave approving nods as well, telling him that they could go. She turned her attention back to her meal, and started slurping up some more noodles. The spices made it much more enticing than the average meal she'd usually make. She was enjoying her meal so much that she didn't notice one of Azula's guards approaching until he was right at the table, standing beside his Fire Lord.

"Your majesty." he addressed her, "There's something you need to see."

"Is it really that important that you had to interrupt my meal?" she asked, and the guard gestured for somebody else to come over; one of the other guards walked over, carrying some kind of weapon in his hands, which looked like an assortment of metal pipes, stuck together, with some kind of mechanism at the end, as well as a handle.

"Where did you find that?" Sokka asked him, and the guard gestured downhill.

"By a stream, at the base of a cliff; there was a body there... some kind of bandit, from the looks of it, he'd been there a while." he explained; Azula rose up to her feet, placing her hands behind her back.

"Do you understand its purpose?" she asked, and the first guard gestured to the opening at the end of the weapon.

"It looks like a contraption meant to imitate firebending. Fill it with fireworks or something similar, and aim it at something." he gave his own analysis, and Sokka scrunched his lips.

"Whoever made this knows what they're doing, even if the handiwork isn't the best." he observed, "There must be more where this came from."

"Should we set up spotters, your majesty, in case there are more bandits around?" the guard with the weapon asked, and she nodded.

"Get Renshu, tell him to organise spotting posts on the closest highpoints. Rotate men throughout the night. Hopefully nothing comes of it, and we leave unaccosted." she gave her orders and thoughts on the matter.

"And if somebody comes?" Katara asked her, feeling a little uneasy with the idea of somebody using a weapon like that on them while they were sleeping.

Azula lit a flame in her palm, which coloured her face blue, and made the following words far sharper than they might have otherwise been.

"It's simple: they die."