I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

warning: violence and tragic backstories

Chapter 4

The leading thug, a mountain of muscle nearly seven feet tall, began addressing the crew.

"I will say it only one time! Release everyone, surrender the woman and child along the flaming freak that took down my boys, and the rest of you all will leave with just a few broken bones! Resist, and you will all be tortured to death!"

To Zuko's relief, it seems none of his crew seems to consider the goliath's offer. It was his uncle who seemed to be the first to respond in his usual manner.

"And who you may be kind sir? Would you like to discuss our differences over a cup of tea?"

"Name ain't important, what is important that this guy there!"

Fingers pointed at Zuko.

"Attacked my boys when they were doing a few errands for the boss!"

"Than! You had the gals to put them in some dusty cell like common scum!"

"You see why I, as the supervisor of this little town have problems with that?"

"Got to hand it to him, he did make them seen as innocent while never outright laying."

'It's not going to help him.'

"Obviously, just saying that it's a good thing you talked to the crew beforehand."

A quick look around told Zuko that indeed none of the crew members fell for the accusations. Well, seems it was his turn to talk.

"Nice try! We all know exactly what kind of errands those five were doing! No point in painting them as some innocent bystanders! They got what they deserved, and if you all don't want to join them, scram!"

It seems that the thugs were eager for blood, as a few started to advance. They were stopped however, when the leading thug put his right hand up with elbows pointing right.

"I can assure you, our business is all legal! You don't know who you're dealing with, our boss is a respectable man with branches across the entire continent! He ain't a man you make an enemy of, and he definitely wouldn't like his men being attacked. Fortunately, I offer you men an out. I suggest you take it."

"Oh, he's up for a surprise. Isn't he, your highness? Let's see his face when he realizes the main offence of his men."

Zuko chuckled, it was loud and clear even though he did so quietly. Sai probably enhanced his voice once again.

"I'm afraid it is you who don't know who you're up against. Ignoring the obviously legal act of setting a shop on fire, do you know the main accusation your men are facing? Do you know who I am?"

"Some snobby dead man!"

The thugs around the leader laughed. Zuko meanwhile, smiled like a cashier cat.

"I am prince Zuko of the fire nation! So, tell me, how do you think my father, fire lord Ozai, will react when he hears that you attacked his only son?"

Now that gave the thugs a pause. He could see them hesitating, the leading thug mumbled to himself something which Sai summarized as "Boss gonna kill me, I'm so dead."

"So, I take your generous offer back at you, surrender and you all will leave with just a few broken bones! Resist, and you will all be tortured to death!"

The thugs seemed to be confused, they murmured fearfully at one another. It seems that the leader finally found his resolve as he shook his head and rallied the criminals around him.

"You're bluffing, no way some princy ass will come to this hole. Even if you are, the fire lord has little power herein the outer colonies. What the boss says goes here. Anyway, the fire lord gonna know nothing if you're all dead. KILL THEM!"

"Divide and conquer, go!"

"Uncle! Trap and divide them to small groups!"

"Benders, harass! Don't let them organize!"

"Spearmen! Seek and destroy! One group at a time!"

Iroh quickly surrounds the thugs in a ring of fire. He continued to divide the still shocked criminals into groups of two to four people each, trapping them in their own flaming cage. The fire benders stayed on the bridge, taking aim, and shooting fire balls at the imprisoned thugs. The attacks themselves weren't that strong or even precise, but they did well in distracting the enemy until the foot soldiers finished the job.

It seems, however, that the thugs weren't completely idle. The leader still issued orders and some rocks and random blasts of fire were shot at the crew. For now, still a far from the men. But getting closer and closer each shot.

"Hit the head of the octo-seal and the entire body crumbles."

"Lieutenant! I will handle the big one, cut off their head. You are in charge, continue the harassment and pick groups for the spearmen to attack!"

He heard Jee's "YES SIR!" only as a background noise as he jumped off the ship and headed right to the apparent leader of this band of bandits.

Said leader saw him coming and redirected his entire attention to the meddlesome prince, shooting a rock the size of Zuko's entire body that was easily evaded by the agile royal.

"You! It's all because of you! Do you know in how much deep shit I am because of you?!"

"I did nothing you didn't deserve. You brought everything upon yourself!"

Their game of cat and mouse continued, Zuko evading the boulders and spikes and the leader blocking Zuko's fire and was simply too big and heavy for Zuko to land any significant hit. Around them the battle raged on, Zuko didn't dare to move his attention from his opponent to check the situation, but Sai assured him that the crew was doing easy work from the criminals.

While the battle favored the crew, his own spar favored his enemy. As much as Zuko hated to admit it, he was outmatched. His opponent was stronger, had better stamina and had more experience than him. This guy was way above the thugs from the shop. it was only a matter of time before his own fire will run out of fumes, and they both knew it.

"Give up kid! You're playing with the big boys now. Surrender and it will be quick and painful."

"Don't you mean painless?"

"Trust me, you deserve nothing but painful!"

'Damn it! If only I could blast his rocks to pieces like did at the shop. If only I had sword… Sai, can I do this blast thing without swords?'

"I was wondering when you were going to ask."

'Don't be a smartass now! Answer me!'

"Yes, you can. It's much more demanding and dangerous so be careful. Use the same sensation you did before but focus on your palms instead of a sword. Move the energy within you to your palms without releasing it, when you feel you can no longer hold the pressure just point and release."

Zuko did as instructed, he could immediately feel the pressure in his hands. He had to stall, he supposed a little banter would do the trick. Who knows, maybe he would gain new information.

"Say, what is your name? Never got it."

"Didn't give it kid, and not gonna too. You ain't getting a thing from me."

"It's fine, I suppose we have enough of you by now to have some answers."

"What?!"

Indeed, when they looked around them the two could see, to Zuko's relief and the thug's horror, that they were the only ones fighting. His crew surrounded them with the criminals on the ground unmoving, Zuko happily noted that none of his crew was among the fallen.

"No, no nonono!"

The thug proceeded to raise a boulder his size to throw it at the print, however it was already too late. Zuko released two blasts, one from each hand. The first blew the boulder to pieces, the second connected with his right leg. The last thug fell screaming and was quickly apprehended by the crew.

"You will harm no-one any longer, low and justice return to this colony once again!"

There was silence for a second, two. Then someone from the crew started chanting.

"Zuko! Zuko!"

Then, one by one the crew members chanted his name. The chanting became louder and louder, much louder than twenty or so men were capable of. When he looked around him, he saw to his surprise that not only his men were chanting, but the townspeople joined them.

'Where did they come from?'

"They were drawn to the commotion. Understandably, once they saw the thugs involved, they hid. When they saw your victory, they came out. Smile and wave your highness, smile and wave."

As Zuko did so the cheering grew even louder. He never felt so much pride, even the blue flame didn't come close. They adored him, they really adored him!

"As much as I hate to cut short the rewards of a job well done, truly I do, but we still need to write a letter to your father. It's critical to form the right words for our request."

'Right…'

"People of Hǎibiān! You don't need to live in fear anymore! The fire lord will hear about what happened from me, and reinforcement will come to protect the peace and security! This, I swear!"

He waited until the new round of applauds ended.

"I still have a few letters to write, but I think this is a cause for celebration!"

As the crowd cheered Zuko took his uncle back to the ship to write a letter to his father.

"What do you think uncle? Will it be enough for father to send troops?"

"I must say that it has the highest chance to pursue my brother. I must commend you for your way with wards, nephew."

"Thank you uncle. I feel tired, I think I'll go to bed now."

"Good night prince Zuko, I'm proud of you."

"Thank you uncle, good night."

Zuko retreated to his cabin. Now that the threat had passed, Ming and Ki returned to their own home. Muck to the kid's displeasure.

Even though he didn't lie to his uncle, he was indeed tires from the long day, he couldn't sleep right away. He had all the ingredients Sai needed for the lightning demonstration, and he would see what Sai had in mind (or whatever it was he had instead).

Once he was in his room, he closed the door and pulled out of a shelf the amber comb and the fur towel.

"Ok, now what?"

"Warp the fur around the comb and rub it across the comb up and down, fast. Stop only when I tell you to."

Still lost at how this is connected to lightning, Zuko wordlessly followed Sai's instructions.

"Enough, pull the far away and put a finger on the fur that touched the amber."

"Ouch!"

Zuko felt the static shock, it wasn't painful or anything, more like surprising.

"It was lightning! But how?"

"Lightning is a flow of energy from positive energy to negative energy. Those are just name, none of those is good or bad. Fire itself is energy, therefore it's possible for fire benders to produce lightning by dividing energy to positive and negative."

"Feel the energy transfer between the amber and the fur, then try to mimic it by rubbing your own hands. Once you see sparkles, we will stop for today. We will continue tomorrow after you recharge."

They continued like that for an hour or so. In the end Zuko managed to produce little sparkles after minutes of concertation.

"That's enough for today your highness. Go to sleep."

"Sai… can I ask you something?"

"That's what I'm for, what do you have in mind?"

"How am I compared to the other overlords?"

"In what criteria?"

"I don't know… power? Progress?"

"This is an unfair comparison. Each and any one of you had a different starting point and different ways to gain experience. What brought this question if I may ask?"

"… It's stupid, never mind."

"If it's bothering then it isn't. Come now, communication is important."

"It's just… Today was good, really good. I did very well, the people loved me, I even learnt new forms of fire bending."

"I have a sister at home, I told you about her. She's mean and cruel, but she's also much better than me at everything. I can't help but think of how she would have done things today better."

"Then I remembered that I'm not the first overlord you mentored, I wondered where I was compared to them. I know they lost to the Avatar, I'm not stupid. I must be better than any of them, but I don't know if I'm up to the task."

"Zuko listen, you can't compare yourself to others. Would have your sister done better? Maybe yes maybe not, you did extremely well and that's what's important. But she isn't here, you are. You're the one who found me, you're the one who saved that family and you're the one who saved the colony. Would the Azula you know bother staying after she got her prize? Or even listen to me in the first place?"

"No… I suppose she wouldn't have."

"See? Then you're already better than her. As for the other overlords… Each of them had a different upbringing and different ways to achieve things. They were of different age groops as well."

"All of them fell in the end to the Avatar, yes, but not all Avatars are equal. You have a better start than most, don't worry about it. You also have their experience via me. All things considered, you have a very decent chance to win."

"How were they? The other overlords?"

"Each was unique in his own way."

"Nee was a second son to some merchant, always overshadowed by his elder brother. Not unlike your relationship with your sister, although his brother really didn't try to show off. This made things harder for Nee, added insult to injury. Didn't help that the brother discovered he could fire bend after his earth bending lesson."

"Ouch…"

Zuko supposes he has luck with Azula. He couldn't picture it if she overshadowed him so easily as she did without even trying. And if she was the Avatar? Yeah, he could see how he would blame her for cheating.

"Indeed, let's just say that in the end spite won on common sense with Nee."

"After him was Sadara of the northern water tribe. She was betrothed to the chief's son, at least until she walked on him sleeping with her sister and mother a week before their wedding. I'll spare the details and say that once she became an overlord the entire northern water tribe suffered so much, that after her fall women rights there hit rock bottom to this day."

"… That's rough…"

"Never doubt the vanity of fragile egoed men, scorned women and cats. Especially cats."

"Then, there was Pang. He was a villager and an earth bender. He had a decent success, but ultimately Avatar Shwei cut him down. To be fair, spirits were bigger threat than the Avatar at the time."

"... That's it?"

"Not every overlord had a tragic backstory."

"Yur was an air bender of the Eastern air temple."

"How did you manage to recruit an air bender?!"

Zuko didn't understand how an air nomad, who's entire philosophy was on 'peace and harmony ', at least before they planned to attack the fire nation which led to the genocide, agreed to something so violent.

"You'd be surprised how far a mother would go to for a chance to raise her daughter. In the air nomad's society, once a year the entire population gathers in one of the temples to create the next generation of air nomads. Yur gave birth nine months later and had her daughter sent to the western air temple in the next gathering."

"Obviously, or actually not obviously if you're a nomad, she resisted. Unfortunately for her, she got no backing from her 'friends' and the Avatar who participated as well put a stop for her struggle. After that, she was very eager to accept my offer."

"Did she ever see her daughter again?"

"Yes, but let's just say it didn't and well."

"Did the avatar kill her?"

"No, she actually managed to strike him down. The entire world would have been an easy walk afterwards. But her daughter, now a pre-teen saw what Yur did to the Avatar and denounced her. When Yur heard that her daughter doesn't and never will want her she committed suicide at the spot."

Zuko was too shocked to make any comment, the tale was too much for him.

"Let's go to sleep your highness, I think you had enough story time."

Zuko wordlessly went to bed to get his much-needed rest.

The next day Zuko practiced with Sai his fire bending, on the way they discussed Zuko's next course of action. They were conflicted between heading to Kyoshi island or continuing his expense across the coastal colonies.

"In any case we need to know more about the previous Avatars, so questioning a few merchants from Kyoshi is a must. I suggest we advance there and check the status of the colonies to bluster our reputation."

"Agreed, we will kill two birds in one stone. I really hope that there isn't any criminal problem like there was here though."

"Unlikely, the force here was too well organized to be a lone occurrence. But it's good for us, I suppose."

"You're talking about my people Sai, mind what you say."

"Very well, in any case we should check on the blacksmith today to see his progress with making us a corner."

It was another thing Sai insisted. According to him the state of the armor of his crew was in dire need for an upgrade, which he agreed, and his own armor was a travesty, which with a heavy heart he also agreed. One thing led to another and in the end, he had a discussion with the blacksmith about renting a corner of his shop.

When the blacksmith, a nice middle-aged man advancing to his golden years name Lee, heard that Zuko planned to melt all the metal the thugs had in their camp (that none of the townspeople claimed as their own) to create a better armor to his crew, Lee happily let him have a free corner.

"Fine, let's go."

As Zuko went to the smithy he saw how the town around him seemed more alive, minus the people too drunk from last night's party. People talked among themselves and smiled at him, he also noticed a few merchants were sending him looks of interest and approval. No doubt they have heard one gossip or another about his fight.

"You are getting popular, that's good."

It felt good to be looked at with adoration once again as people did before his banishment, he could get used to it.

Once he reached the smithy, Lee greeted and let him inside.

"Please come in, your highness. I hope it's to your liking, I managed to scavenge everything you asked for."

"It's great, thank you."

"Ha! No, it's us who should be thankful, you've done us a great favor getting rid of those bandits. And blowing Ter's leg off like that? Exactly what the bastard deserved."

"I've only done my duty, and what any self-respected person would have done."

The blacksmith sighed.

"If only all were like you, your highness. Anyway, if you need anything, and I mean anything call me."

"Thank you, have a nice day Lee."

"You too your highness!"

Zuko was then left in his lonesome at the corner.

"Are you sure you know what to do?"

"Of course, I know, just follow my instructions to the letter and everything will be fine."

"I'll trust you then, because I have no idea what I'm doing. By the way, why did he say it like that?"

"Probably because you literally blew his leg off, nothing down the ancle left."

"What?!"

"Relax, Lee said so himself. The bastard deserved it, and you did warn him, didn't you?"

"I didn't mean it literally!"

"It's not like he's dead, just crippled. And if he put on a wooden leg or something he could continue his life almost as normal, with the reminder of what will happen to him if he breaks the law again."

Zuko decided to focus on work, the hard labor would make him busy enough to forget it. for now, anyway.

The two spent most of the day in the smithy, having breaks for food and drink.

It was the end of the day when Zuko finished, he was spent from the work at the smithy. He made a little progress in the armor and should finish according to Sai in four days. He wondered what the crew will think of his gift. Well not a gift, he will give it them in full expectation that the crew will use it to serve him better.

He still was torn about the maiming he caused to the thug, was it honorable? Would his father approve? Would his mother have approved of it if she was still with him?

"You're brooding about the maiming again."

"Well sorry that maiming someone bothers me!"

"You didn't seem bothered with the thugs at the shop, why is that any different?"

"Because I maimed someone for life!"

"Are you perhaps feeling some kind of sympathy?"

The question caught Zuko by surprise.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You both are maimed for the rest of your lives; I thought that maybe you share some sympathy with him over the fact."

"Don't EVER compare me to that scum!"

"Then let me ask you something, was your father wrong with scaring you?"

Zuko stayed in silence for a few moments.

"No… Father wasn't wrong… Father is never wrong."

He could feel Sai giving him whatever the damnable thing had as an equivalent for a pitying look. Why would it give him a pitiful look!

"Then you weren't wrong either. Look, I understand that nothing I say will comfort you, so you should talk to your uncle about that. He doesn't condemn it, you know."

"How do you know?"

"He would have said something by now."

"I suppose you're right. I will ask uncle later…"

It was a few minutes later when a knock on his door was heard.

"Prince Zuko! A message signed by the royal seal!"

"Come in!"

The soldier, Lau if he remembered correctly, entered, and handed him the message. There was indeed a stamp with the symbol of the royal family.

"Thank you, you may go now."

"Your highness."

The man saluted and left.

"Let's see what your father replayed."

Zuko broke the seal and opened the scroll.

"To prince Zuko,

The fire lord commends the execution of his justice and gives you free reign to dispense royal justice upon each and any who defies the scared rules of the fire nation.

Your testimony has been received and actions have been taken accordingly. You are to seek, destroy and report any such activity. The fire lord expects to hear about your future endeavors.

The request for reinforcement has been approved as well and shall arrive four days from the arrival of this message.

Fire lord Ozai, barrier of Agni's crown, his royal Highness ruler of the fire nation."

"He accepted! He actually accepted!"

"It's the first time he actually wrote, or ordered someone to write, to you, isn't it?"

"Yes! And he basically told me I can do whatever I want! He's even proud of me!"

"It did say 'commend'. I just glad he accepted the request for reinforcement or else things would have got really awkward."

"Well, what's important is that he did. Spirits, I've got to tell uncle!"

The young prince ran to his uncle's room.

"Uncle! Uncle!"

"Yes, prince Zuko, what happened?"

Zuko handed him the letter.

Iroh read the letter once, twice, three times. He raised his eyebrows as if he was confused.

"This is… uncharacteristically generous of my brother."

"Do you think father will let me home if things will continue as they are?"

The hopeful look Zuko gave his uncle made the old man uncomfortable, for he knew that no amount of victories against common criminals or saving random colonies will be enough to change his brother's mind. He didn't know how to tell his nephew thou.

"I… think that in due time something big enough will come to get your father's attention."

There! It was diplomatic enough, Iroh didn't say that his brother would never except Zuko and Zuko had the hope that his father will except him. a win-win situation. And it seemed to be working, until it didn't. his nephew's face became uncertain for some reason.

"Uncle… Am I a bad person?"

Now whatever Iroh expected to hear, it wasn't that.

"No! of course not! Why would you say that?"

"I heard today about the leg uncle. Am I a bad person for that?"

The old, retired general sighed.

"Did you mean to blow his leg nephew?"

"NO!"

"Did you find any satisfaction when you discovered about it?"

"No."

"Would you have done it again?"

"No… not if I had other options."

"Then you have your answer, nephew. You are one of the most honorable and good-hearted people I know, never forget that. Accidents happen to anyone, but only by repeating them does they become incidents."

It seems to lighten the prince's mood and lesson the weight on his shoulder.

"Thank you, uncle."

Zuko left for bad, feeling much better.

The next day went without any incidents until evening. Zuko spent his time either practicing his fire bending or swordsmanship, training his strategic thinking or building his crew's upgrades. That is until he was interrupted in his room that evening.

"Your highness! The prisoners are all dead!"

"WHAT!"

"They have been poisoned, someone put a fast-acting agent to their food. There was nothing anyone could do at that point!"

"Summon anyone who was guarding them. I'm going to the prison, and they better have a good explanation!"

At the prison Zuko questioned the men.

"You all had ONE job! To keep the prisoners alive for interrogation. So PLEASE tell me how this happened?!"

Zuko didn't know this, but his eyes were blazing with fire and his helmet grew a mane made of flames. Sai defiantly had a sense for drama if nothing else.

The guards, however, were terrified of the enraged prince. Zuko resembled a vengeful spirit more than a man at that point in their eyes.

One of them was braver than the rest, as he tried to explain the course of events.

"W-well, y-you see your highness, I-I m-mean m-my prince, I-I m-ean-"

"Out with it."

"T-the prisoners suddenly all fell still to the floor, m-mouth foaming a-and flailing th-eheir limbs like d-dead fish. We checked for heartbeats but there were none, birthing too."

"You said it was a poison."

"O-only explanation is th-that they a-all took poison at the s-same time."

"… When and what they ate the last meal?"

Another guard answered.

"Bean soup half an hour before the incident, my lord."

"And the cook, is he to be trusted?"

"Yes, your highness. He hated them like everyone in town, but he quite liked seeing them locked in a cell. He is quite a fan of your work with Ter."

"Right… Could the food have been tempered with?"

"No, your highness, he served it right away. Cleaning dishes is easier when the dish is still warm, or something like that."

Zuko walked to the bodies, he knelt next to the body of Ter and examined it. the once mighty specimen is reduced to a husked corpse, his face distorted in agony and foam was still seen next to his lips.

'What do you think Sai?'

"The poison obviously attacked the nerve system. I suspect that someone put it in capsules disguised as beans and mixed them in the soup. Probably switched the beans with the capsules entirely to make sure there weren't loose ends. I suggest questioning the cook about who had access to the beans."

"Bring here the cook."

"Y-yes your highness!"

After a few minutes the guards brought a trembling little man.

"You are the cook, correct?"

"Y-yes, m-my l-lord.I-I s-swe-"

Zuko raised his hand in a stopping gesture.

"I will ask, and you will answer. Short and truthfully, no titles and no excuses. Are we clear?"

"Y-yes."

"Did someone have access to the beans while you were cooking?"

"N-no."

"Was the window open?"

"Y-yes, b-but-"

"I said no excuses."

"S-sorry."

"Where did you get the beans?"

"T-the grocery."

"Did someone knew sell you the beans?"

"N-no, the same man as usual."

"Was there something left of the beans?

"N-no."

'Damn it! what are we going to do?'

"Take the bean sack as evidence. I will study it as I studied the bodies while you talked."

'Did you find something?'

"The venom is from a viper-scorpion that lives in the Si Wong desert. A drop can put a sky bison out of its misery, the thugs stood no chance."

'Makes sense, I suppose. So, our guy is in the Si Wong dessert then?'

"Most likely. Don't feel so bad, such drastic actions mean that you are on the right track. We only need to look for whoever makes the pills and interrogate them about the clients. You should say something, you are giving the cook a heart attack."

'Right.'

"Give me the bean sack as evidence and you're free to leave."

"Y-yes your highness, thank you your highness!"

It was the last day of the 'vacation'. Aside from the incident with the prisoners, all seemed to return to normal. He finally finished the project he and Sai were working on in the smithy. He gathered the crew on the deck of their ship to show them his work, each crew member had a wooden cart in front of him.

Frankly, he was excited to see their responds.

"Men, I thought about the incident we had in this colony. I came to realize that while we were victorious thanks to all of you, Agni favors the prepared."

"In the last few days, I have worked on a long overdue upgrade for your armor. So, without further delays open your crates and let's start the introduction!"

The crew vigorously opened the crates to see their new toys.

"First all of you take the helmet."

They took the helmet. It looked similar to a regular fire bender's helmet in shape, but that's where the differences ended. The visor is completely overworked. It was made of solid steel and was painted like the typical fire bender skull, but it had many, many little holes in it. There were as many holes in it as there was metal. The side of the helmet seemed to cover more of the cheeks.

"The new helmet was designed for security and comfortability while saving the visibility. The mask part of the helmet was forged by yours truly and is of higher quality than the usual masks fire bender soldiers wear. Now try wearing it."

The crew members did as was told.

"Now look around you and tell me how your view field is."

"It's- it's like I'm not wearing anything on my head at all!"

Other crew members seemed to agree if their excited proclamation were any sign. A major problem with the fire bender infantry helmet was the narrow field view the mask sacrificed for intimidation. Zuko supposed he was lucky his fire benders didn't wear their gear in the fight with the thugs.

"Because of the size and density of the holes, the eyes ignore them. Hence the better view. It also gives better air flow as well as a complete defense from arrows. It has cushions inside against concussion as well as for a more comfortable experience."

Zuko gave a signal, and the crew was silent again.

"The next is some modifications for your armor. I covered a few parts of the exposed fabric in thin metal scales, not many changes otherwise. It is strong enough to block an arrow or a week sword strike, but not heavy enough to lose agility."

"Now the last one, the last one is definitely something you would enjoy the most. Now I alone will wear them now and demonstrate."

As Zuko closed his fist a clow rose from the gauntlet, some thirty centimeters of forged steel.

"I created it for surprise attacks and for another weapon that will be with you all in case you lost your spear or exhausted your chi. Now can please a non-bender walk to the stage?"

A random foot soldier walked and equipped the gauntlets.

"Now turn the hand to the fire sign, good. Ok listen carefully, point your hand away from anyone and close your fist."

As the soldier did so a stream of fire was released from the back of the gauntlets. He and every other crew member yelped in surprise.

"The gauntlets have a storage of oil to feed the flames for two hours. From now on, each of you is a fire bender!"

The crew yelled in delight. It was known that you are either a bender or not, a fact that dedicated much of a non-bender's life, as he lacked the privileges benders had. Now their prince gave them the gift of the spirit, understandingly the crew's image of him grew significantly.

"ZUKO! ZUKO! ZUKO!"

It took some time until the cheering stopped.

Thankfully, as his father promised, reinforcement arrived in time. Zuko had a briefing with the new commander, a stern but fair middle-aged man in his upper years. He had an eyepatch and faint scars that spoke of his experience. He seemed to have lost his thirst for battle but was willing to fight when pushed. For Zuko it was ideal.

"Good evening commander Cheng? Did I get it right?"

"Yes, your highness."

"Sorry for calling you away from the front like that, but we have a situation here. Were you debriefed?"

"They only said to go to this colony as fast as possible, nothing more your highness."

"Very well, I arrived here a week ago and discovered that the town was run by some criminal organization. I broke their hold and installed law once more, but I can't stay here indefinably and once I leave, I fear that the thugs will return. The local garrison is too compromised and not up to the task, therefore I asked for reinforcement. Questions so far?"

"What kind of opposition are we to expect if the thugs return?"

"The force I delt with was thirty strong, their current numbers and resources are unknown."

"Another thing commander, this organization poisoned it's entire men who were imprisoned. To avoid any leaks if I had to guess. They used a poison disguised as beans, so be careful with the food."

"Noted your highness."

"Are you up to the task commander?"

"Yes, your highness!"

"Good, you are to send a weekly report to me. If the report doesn't end with three dots than I will know to send you reinforcement. Are we clear?"

"Crystal!"

"Very well."

The prince then stood and shook the commander's hand.

"May Agni bless you with a boring watch commander."

"And may Agni bless you as well Amber Samurai."

"Amber Samurai?"

Zuko raised his brow as the commander smiled in return.

"Yes, you have a new title apparently. The Amber Samurai, a samurai who came to the town in search of amber and in the process saved it!"

Zuko grumbled under his breath, couldn't they come up with something better?

"Good luck, your highness. I will guard this colony with my life in your name."

And as Zuko left to his ship and embarked to sea his adventure at Hǎibiān may be over, but his journey has just begun.

In his throne room, Fire lord Ozai stares at the latest letter his son wrote. No, it's incorrect. He stared at the letter that someone had written in the hands of his son, for his failure of a son would have never written such a fine printed report.

At first, when the falcon master brought to him a report from his disgraceful spawn, he nearly burned the man to crisp. His orders were crystal clear, any letter from Zuko should be disregarded unless by some spirit the waste of space did manage to find the Avatar.

When the soon to be dead man dared to beg for his ear, he was this close to send the man to Agni for such disrespect. It was only when the falcon master told him Zuko was attacked that he allowed the trembling man to speak.

He read in silence the letter's contents.

"To fire lord Ozai, first to his name, wearier of the flaming crown, who by Agni's right rule the fire nation, long may he live.

I have completed scouting the entire temples and strongholds the air nation possessed and report that aside from statues, there is no clue about the Avatar's whereabouts. However, this is a minor occurrence next to what happened next.

My crew and I went to the colony of Hǎibiān to resupply. Hǎibiān is a relatively new colony in the southern coastline of the earth continent. There, while I was shopping, I was unprovokedly attacked by five thugs. Of course, I showed the thugs Agni's light and beat them down in brutal fashion.

Upon interrogation, it was discovered that the group was part of some kind of a larger criminal organization employing both earth benders and fire benders. I also must confess that while lowlife, the criminals received at least basic training which is concerning. It was also discovered that the entire colony was held to the whims of said organizations, the local garrison ineffective at stopping the corruption. They showed little regret when attacking a prince of the fire nation, even proclaiming their "boss" a superior authority to yourself.

Later that day, the rest of the mob arrived at the docks to release their coworkers and extract vengeance on the just punishment. They too proclaimed yourself an inferior ruler with little to no influence in the colonies. The battle itself was relatively quick and ended with my complete victory, however there are some points of concern I find myself in a need to address.

Firstly, if the common thug forgets his place next to a prince and the fire lord, a question must be asked about the higher places in this food chain. How much is the fire lord respected in the out streaks of our great nation?

Secondly, an entire colony was usurped in spite of the local guards. It is clear that this organization has the men and resources to challenge the fire nation in the periphery and sees the subjects of the fire lord as prey despite the promise of retribution. This poses a severe security risk and even a conspiracy.

Thirdly, the colony does not have the resources to protect itself against foreign threats and will be an easy target to reclaim when I inevitably leave.

Therefore, I humbly ask your greatness a few boons:

I ask your permission to hunt and rout the heretics as long as it does not interfere with the hunt for the Avatar.

I ask for an investigation into the incident and to be updated with the results in real time.

I ask for reinforcement to be sent to Hǎibiān, preferably frontline soldiers who showed signs of disagreement with the war but have honor and morals. This will ease tensions at the front and allow the men to serve the nation and retire with honor.

From prince Zuko of the fire nation, first child of Ozai"

He debated with himself what to do. He may finally be rid of his disgrace of a son should he order him to stay indefinitely in the colony, but then again, he didn't want people to actually start liking Zuko. In the end he decided to grant the boons, if only to see where this would go. With any luck, his failure of his son will mess things up as usual.

The letter, however, did raise an important issue, it seems that his name isn't feared as it should have been. Quite frankly he cares little about the random colony, but the fact remains that it was an attack on his honor and demanded retribution and investigation. On that one, he agreed with whoever wrote with Zuko's hand.

"Summon my daughter, Azula!"

He would intensify Azula's training, she can't stay behind her brother.

In the Si Wong desert a man was sitting in his office. He was a mountain of a man with muscles so big that they were noticeable even when covered by the traditional sand-people grab. The lighting of the room made his face obscured by shadows, however the way his hands rested one upon another indicated his foul mood. A mood which hadn't gotten better as his subordinate continued reading the report.

"You mean to tell me that not only did we lose an entire colony, but those idiots assaulted the fire prince as well?! Are you absolutely sure this cannot be traced back to us?"

"Yes, sir. Protocol severed hand was immediately applied, there was no information leak beyond the local rumor mill and the venom will be dissolved long before a knowledgeable healer can come, let alone identify."

"Good, order a scouting once the prince leaves. Should the colony be ripe for the taking send in a force, else ignore. One colony isn't worth the wrath of those burning pricks."

"In other news, a shipment of goods was lost. It fell to the hands of chieftain Hakoda during a raid, supposedly it was mistaken as a fire navy ship."

"*sigh* If that seadog wasn't so good at directing attention away from us… are there any more reports?"

"No, sir."

"Then here are my orders: The men in the colonies are to act with discretion, even at face of losing profits, there can be no more mess-ups like Hǎibiān. The men outside fire nation-controlled territories are to raise income as a compensation for our losses. Tell Xin I'll go to his little 'Earth Rumble' show to check the potential recruits, I have a hunch we'll need the men."

"Yes, sir."

"And one last thing, tell the madam I will borrow our 'Queen of the south' for tonight. I find myself extremely frustrated with the south right now and the dear 'queen' should take responsibility."

"Yes, brigand general Mi-Sha."

As the man closed the door behind him, a drawing of a familiar helmet could be seen on the door.

AN

And so Zuko's time at Hǎibiān ended.

A little history of the overlords is reviled and Zuko is starting to question his morality. a little perspective from home as well as our new antagonist.

The crew got an upgrade! They finally aren't a punching beg for everyone else in the show!

There are some easter eggs from the show, as well as potential directions the story could go. I wonder if you will catch them all.

Anyway, Mi-Sha is completely unrelated to the fire nation. He has a connection with Sai, but not the one you will think of at first try. It will be reviled in time, rest assure I have plans for this that I think you will find interesting.

to answer some reviews for the previous chapter:

Xxxxxhggg:

To answer the first part I'll only say that I'll try so stick to the timetable of Aang awakening as much as possible, besides that... I afraid I can't give to much without spoilers. I can only promise that I'll try to make is as interesting as I can. For the second part, I planned the overlord era to be between 6000 BG to 3000 BG. It gives enough time interval for different Avatars to fight different overlords, as well as for people to forget a little how "Evil" overlords are.

On other note, I'm a big fan of your work "The Saga of Tanya the Firebender". In fact it is one of the things that inspired me to start finally writing in the first place.

deniswanheda:

Lets just say that this exact issue , as well as some other downsides of the Avatar system will be addressed and put up for debate in the story.

Brenne:

Thant you! Now too answer your question, How dare you!~ Sai wouldn't hurt a fly! (mostly because for now he physicaly can't) He would never deceive a child like that! ;)

For real now, I'm glad people start questioning Sai's motives. There can be much debate on what exactly Sai is.

Anyway, like always I hope you liked the chapter and feel free to write what you think!