Together they killed the Avatar and took over Ba Sing Se. And now, the heroes have returned!
Zuko felt his stomach tighten as he turned in his enormous bed. The nagging of doubt kept bubbling to the surface every time he laid down his head.
Unless somehow, the Avatar was actually alive. All that glory would suddenly turn to shame and foolishness.
One of the dozen pillows suffered a fiery death and he used another to press his face in to scream.
He threw the blankets from himself – too hot to stay under them. Swinging his legs over the side, he leaned his elbows on his knees. With a rugged motion, he let his hands go through his long, black hair.
I am proud of you, Prince Zuko. Proud because when your loyalty was tested by your treacherous Uncle, you did the right thing and captured the traitor.
He groaned again, feeling the knot in his throat growing tighter and tighter until it almost suffocated him.
He crossed his legs under him and straightened his back, assuming his meditation pose. Inhaling through his nose and exhaling out of his mouth. A few sparks flew with each breath. Annoyed, he tried again.
In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.
By now, the flames came out of his nose. He repressed another yell and grabbed his cloak. He pulled his hood over his face as he made his way out. As quiet as a ghost, he slipped out of the confinements of the Palace.
The night was pleasantly warm as he walked past the quiet streets of the Capital until the Capital City Prison appeared in front of him. It was a large, fortified stone tower located inside the hollow volcanic crater that also contains the city, where highly prioritized criminals are kept.
He stopped in front of the prison. "Who's there?" a guard asked, leaning over the railing when he spotted him.
Zuko gazed from under his hood. Then, he turned around.
"Great job with the cloud camo, but next time, let's disguise ourselves as the kind of cloud that knows how to keep its mouth shut."
"Yeah, we wouldn't want a bird to hear us chatting up there and turn us in."
Elyrie tugged at the cloak around her shoulders as she listened to Sokka and Toph bickering. Aang followed her example and smiled at her when he motioned for her to toss her cloak on Appa's saddle. She returned his smile gratefully: after they had found him on Crescent Moon Island, she had apologised for her earlier outburst. And he had apologised for being so frustrated and taking it out on them. And now, they had all made their way to the neighbouring island as one team again.
It had been Sokka's idea to follow the islands to their meeting spot for the invasion; Elyrie and he had mapped out their journey together so they would arrive well before the Day of Black Sun.
Elyrie inhaled the scent of jasmine in the air. The warmth of the summer was on its way, even in the early morning. The heat upon her skin felt familiar, as if the sun itself welcomed her back in her homeland.
Home.
"Hey! We're in enemy territory now," Sokka said seriously while pointing at the toucan puffins above them, "Those are enemy-birds." And as if to prove the point, one bird hopped on Sokka's head and squawked at them.
Elyrie's lipped curled upwards while everyone else laughed heartily at the idiotic sight – except Sokka of course.
While Sokka was still overly enthusiastically scanning the area, they walked to a nearby cave. It was cool and smelled musty, as if something had been rotting for quite some time.
"Well, this is it." Sokka announced, "This is how we'll be living until the invasion begins. Hiding in cave-..,' He lowered his head, "After cave-.."-, and even lower, "After cave, after cave -..."
"Sokka, we don't need to become cave people." Elyrie said, shivering in the dirty surroundings, "What we need is some new clothes."
"Yeah, blending in is better than hiding out." Aang agreed, "If we get Fire Nation disguises, we would be just as safe as we would be hiding in a cave."
"Plus, they have real food out there. Does anyone want to sit in the dirt and eat cave hoppers?" Toph added as she punched the wall of the cave. The vibrations made a dozen cave hoppers appear.
Elyrie automatically jumped away from the crawling insects, At the same time, Momo shot in front of her feet to eat one of them. Momo turned his little fuzzy head and looked at her in the eye as he chewed. Then he spat out the crooked leg of the cave hopper. Brutal, Elyrie thought.
"Looks like we got outvoted, sport." Sokka said to Momo with a tilt of his head, but he grinned as he turned to the rest of his group, "Let's get some new clothes."
Luckily for them, there was a natural steaming place nearby where people brought their clothes for cleaning. Four long lines were spanned over the natural hotsprings. Clothing in various shades of red were hanging there: dresses, pants, shirts, everything.
"I don't know about this." Aang whispered as they peeked over the rocks, "These clothes belong to somebody and -..."
"I call the silk robe!" Katara jumped from behind the rock and raced to the nearest clothing line, followed by Toph and Elyrie.
Elyrie grabbed a top and pants, just before Sokka pulled the line to grab the burgundy shirt.
The light fabric caressed her skin, made for the high temperatures of the Fire Nation summer. The top was carmine red, fitting around her waist and was hanging loosely around her elbows. The pants were a darker shade of red to just above her calves. Yes, this does feel right, she thought – pushing away the little voice in her head that reminded her about her earlier hesitations about stealing. With a small ribbon, she tied the top part of her short black hair in the signature top knot.
"Hm, I should probably wear shoes," Toph mused as she examined her small feet, now placed in delicate red slippers matching her new outfit, "But then I won't be able to see as well. Sorry, shoes!" She sat down and pulled on the shoe, launching the sole forward – directly at Sokka's face. "Finally, a stylish shoe for the blind earthbender." she said with a grin as she placed her feet firmly on the ground.
"Yes, I assume those are very hard to find in the Fire Nation." Elyrie remarked dryly while Sokka rubbed his injured nose.
"How do I look?" Katara asked rather shyly as she stepped from behind one of the rocks. Elyrie was impressed how well the cherry-red clothing complimented her tanned skin. Katara's long brown waves hung loose, except from the signature Fire Nation top knot.
"Amazing!" Elyrie said approvingly, before she mentioned to her neck, "But your mother's necklace?" The dark blue colour of her choker formed a stark contrast with the red of her new outfit.
"Oh yeah." Katara touched the stone around her neck gently, "I guess it's pretty obviously Water Tribe, isn't it? She took off the necklace and held it in her hand for a moment.
Elyrie felt a weight settle on her chest as she rubbed the empty spot on her ringfinger. "We're going to buy you a replacement," she said, swallowing the pain in her throat. "We could all use some accessories." she added with a plastered grin on her face.
That afternoon, they all went down to the market to buy trinkets in a small village nearby. Katara choose a dark red choker with a gold lining in place of her mother's necklace. Toph decorated her pinned up black hair with a crown, and Sokka picked the traditional Fire Nation insignia for on his top-knot. Aang didn't pick anything. Instead, he had tied the sash around his forehead to mask his arrow.
Only Elyrie was doubting what to pick as an accessory. A necklace or a ring felt hollow, but a crown or insignia felt somehow provoking. Finally, she settled on a fan of red fabric with a golden handle. She spun in around her fingers, letting it twist over her hand and catching it again.
"Wow," Sokka said as he saw her open the fan casually, "You are skilled with that!"
"I always played with them when I was younger." Elyrie explained, "To occupy myself during boring visits." She rolled the fan again over her long fingers, flipping it over and casually catching it again.
"Suki used them to fight." Sokka commented with a wistful look in his eyes, "She was a master fighter with them."
"Suki?" the name sounded vaguely familiar to her.
"She is a Kyoshi Warrior. They use fans as weapons."
Now she remembered: Suki was the woman who had talked with her on Kyoshi Island. The leader of the Kyoshi warriors with the light eyes and auburn hair. They use fans as weapons.
"Suki trained me for a short time," Sokka grinned, "She put me in a dress for it and -"
"Can you teach me?" Elyrie asked suddenly, interrupting him, "Can you teach me how to use a fan as a weapon?"
"But I-," Sokka protested confused, "She only taught me for a -,."
"But I am sure a great warrior such as yourself can teach me?"
Sokka blushed slightly before Toph interrupted. "Can we please go and get some real food now?" she said as she grabbed her stomach, "I. Am. Starving."
"Let's go! I visited my friend Kuzon here!" Aang said enthusiastically, "Just follow my lead and -"
"Ehm," Katara interrupted Aang as she pointed to Elyrie, "It might be more helpful if Elyrie tells us what to do and what not to do."
"It is not that difficult to blend in," Elyrie said as she walked to Aang, "We'll just say we are from the colonies visiting the homeland, that will often be enough."
"Is there a big difference between the colonies and the Fire Nation?" Sokka asked as they passed the market square. People were buzzing as they went around buying their groceries, barely paying attention to them.
"Not necessarily," Elyrie shrugged, "The colonies just have different customs – or rather, less strict customs. Just remember: we seldom call it 'the Fire Nation'. 'Homeland' is the word we use."
"Greetings my good hotman!" Aang greeted cheerfully when they passed a man on the square. The man scratched his head as he gave Aang a weird look. "Uh, hi? I guess?" he mumbled back as they walked on.
"And that," Elyrie said as she tapped Aang on the shoulder, "Is not a word we use." She saw a small restaurant on the edge of the square. "Here we can get something to eat!"
"Oh -eh," Aang hesitated, "We're going to a meat place?" His eyes went to the various cuts of meat displayed over the counter.
"Come on, Aang, everyone here eats meat. Even the meat!" Sokka pointed at a hippo cow eating a piece of meat swarming with flies.
"It's fine, Aang." Elyrie said as she motioned inside, "There are vegetarian options as well. The spicy cucumber salad is one of my favourite side dishes."
The restaurant was small, but the smell coming from the kitchen was delicious. The fire from the stove was high and the chatter was busy. As they sat down, Elyrie immediately grabbed the menu. Familiar dishes, finally. Her midriff started to rumble when her eyes flew over the food. Could she convince them to order everything?
"Can someone read the menu to me?" Toph tapped her fingers on the table impatiently.
"Do you want meat or fish? Maybe some stir fry?" Elyrie asked as she read the menu out loud, "Or perhaps the noodles? The spice levels are pretty tough, so maybe mild would be a good choice? With some cow-pork meat?"
"Cow-pork noodles sounds perfect, just make it a lot." Toph nodded contently before she leaned back and folded her feet unceremoniously over each other. Elyrie wanted to point out that it was considered bad manners, but let it slide.
"I want the cucumber salad and the vegetable stir fry." Aang smiled. "And the seafood noodles for me." Katara placed down her menu, "What about you?"
"The spicy peanut noodles," Elyrie pointed to the top of the menu, "With the homemade chili oil. Extra spicy."
"Make that two." Sokka placed down his own menu.
"Uhm, Sokka," Elyrie said as she tapped on the spice levels "Are you sure? I mean,-"
"Look," Sokka interrupted as he wiggled his finger in front of her, "If I am eating something, I choose the highest spice level there is!"
"But Sokka, it might be different than –".
"Elyrie," he interrupted again, "I appreciate your concern, but this is what I do! I eat! If you can handle spice, then I can do it just as well."
The corners of her mouth curved slightly up at those words. "Then, by all means, try it!" she said, her voice sounding perfectly amiable. Homemade was equal to swallowing lava in the Fire Nation – but he would find that out soon enough.
When the food was served, the smell was nothing short of divine. The nutty sweetness, the chili oils, the tangy sensation of the cucumbers. Elyrie immediately picked up her chopsticks and dug in her noodles.
The first bite danced on her tongue, leaving the tingeling sensation on the back of her throat. The heat spread through her mouth – a delicious combination of sweetness from the peanuts, the chewiness from the thick noodles, fresh crunch of the cucumbers and the spice from the chili.
Around her, she heard approving sounds when they ate their food. Toph almost gulped down her meat, Katara was more patient and chewed carefully; Aang was examining the different vegetables and he seemed to enjoy every bite.
Sokka said nothing but Elyrie saw that the tiniest layer of perspiration was appearing on his forehead. Exhaling through his mouth, he took another bite of his meal.
After four bites, he started blowing his nose as the sweat dripped down his temples.
"Sokka, are you alright?" his sister asked concerned as she handed him her napkin.
"I'm fine," his voice came out slightly squeaky, "Why do you ask?" He looked up with watery eyes and coughed as he shoved down another mouthful of noodles.
"Because you're crying." Aang gaped at him.
"That's because it's like I swallowed the sun!" Sokka suddenly cried out as he grabbed the jar of water from the table.
"No, Sokka!" Elyrie said, seeing his desperation and she lunged to grab the jar, "The water makes it worse! You –" But it was too late. Sokka had swallowed at least half a litre of the water before his screams became even louder.
"I'm on fire!" he managed to cry out. His tongue out of his mouth, he was waving his hands up and down to fan some coolness to his mouth. "Make it stop! Make it stop!"
So far for not drawing attention to ourselves, Elyrie thought as she looked around the restaurant. People were staring at them and she waved dismissively with her hand. "He's from the colonies." She shrugged, as Sokka was pressing napkins to his forehead and neck in an attempt to stop the sweating "First time visiting the homeland."
Fifteen minutes later, Sokka had calmed down. It had taken two jugs of milk, five slices of bread, three mouthfuls of plain rice and Katara icing his tongue before he was ready to eat again. Around the same time, Toph was almost done crying with laughter.
"You want some spicy cucumber salad?" Toph offered, holding up the bowl in front of Sokka.
"Take those red spots of evil away from me." He shrieked as he shoved another bite of white rice in his mouth.
Darkness had cloaked the Capital City as the hooded figure made its way back to the prison. His footsteps were barely audibly as he walked through the halls. Just before he reached the cell, a guard crossed his path.
"You again?" the guard shouted as he lifted his spear directly at him, "Stop where you are!"
All Zuko needed to do, was lift his head and look the guard directly in his eyes. "Prince Zuko...?" the guard stammered before Zuko's hand grabbed his collar. With a smooth motion, he was lifted off the floor and slammed against the wall, hands still on his collar.
"I'm going in for a visit. You're going to stand guard here, and no one is going to know about this." Zuko's voice was stoic, betraying nothing. All the guard could do was nod, before Zuko let him go. The man fell on the ground couching, but Zuko had already entered the cell.
In a cage, the silhouette of the Dragon of the West was barely visible in the dim moonlight. His back was hunched and his grey hairs were dirty and unevenly spread out over his balding scalp.
"Uncle, it's me." Zuko said softly as he lowered his hood.
As soon as he spoke, his Uncle turned his back to him without saying a word.
"You brought this on yourself, you know." Zuko continued. He had expected this silent reaction, but it wasn't fair that his Uncle blamed him, "We could have returned together. You could have been a hero!"
Iroh barely acknowledged his presence in the damp, dark space.
"You have no right to judge me, Uncle. I did what I had to do in Ba Sing Se, and you're a fool for not joining me!" Zuko said, his voice growing louder, more frustrated. "You're not going to say anything?!" he yelled when Iroh didn't move.
When no reply came, he kicked up a small stool, slammed it against the wall and destroyed it with firebending. "You're a crazy old man! You're crazy! And if you weren't in jail, you'd be sleeping in a gutter!"
Zuko fell down on his knees, hand gripping his dark hair as he tried to sort his thoughts. His anger was blinding him, but the uncertainty grabbed his throat again. Breathing in and out, he tried to gather his thoughts again.
"The truth is, I need your advice." Zuko lunged forward to grip the bars that separated them, "I think the Avatar is still alive, I know he's out there, I'm losing my mind. Please, Uncle," Zuko begged to the back of the old man, "I'm so confused, I need your help."
But it seemed Iroh still had nothing to say to him. "Forget it, I'll solve it myself! Waste away in here for all I care!" Zuko stomped out angrily.
But when he slammed the door shut behind him, he missed the single tear that slid down Iroh's face.
"Rise and shine, Princess," Toph greeted Elyrie the following morning.
Elyrie groaned and pulled the blanket over her face. Again, she rolled her eyes at the nickname the earthbender had bestowed on her. At first, she had felt a little self-conscious about it. Maybe she behaved haughty and proud? But Katara had quickly assured her it was Toph's way of welcoming her in their group. Katara had the nicknames Sugar Queen and Sweetness, while Aang was Twinkletoes and Sokka was Snoozles.
She did ask Toph about the origin of her nickname, but the earthbender had simply shrugged. "It is not the way you behave, but how you talk. You see, I can't see you the way other people see you, but I can smell and hear you. You always have a sweet rose or vanilla scent hanging around you and you walk so quietly. I can tell you come from a wealthy family as well."
"I see." Elyrie had answered pensively. "You are from the Beifong family, correct?" Toph had nodded as she casually picked her ear. Elyrie remembered that she had repressed a frown. The young woman may be from one of the most influential families in the Earth Kingdom, she did not follow the etiquette. She admired her for it.
"So, what's the plan?" Sokka yawned on the other side of the burned out campfire.
"What plan what now?" Elyrie rubbed her eyes, too sleepy to respond right away.
"What are we going to do about Aang's firebending training?" Toph elaborated as she sat down next to her.
"Oh, that plan." Elyrie hid her yawn behind her hand, "I can teach the basics, but if you had me in mind as the one who has to teach firebending to Aang, we might need a back-up plan."
"Why?" Katara asked.
"The masters of the Avatar are the best benders in the world, but I need to learn more. I need to master it myself." Elyrie answered as she stretched her arms above her head.
"But who would want to teach me? How many firebenders are on our side?" Aang frowned, coming out of his sleeping bag.
"Jeong-Jeong?" Elyrie said, remembering Zhao's rant about his traitorous former master. After all, he was nicknamed 'the Deserter'.
"Can't," Sokka answered, "We met and lost him a few months back after Aang destroyed Zhao's ships."
Ahh yes, I do remember that. Elyrie pulled up her legs and rested her chin on her knees. If only she had any idea where Kun was. She hadn't seen him since she joined Zuko and Uncle in the resort, months ago. He would've helped them without question. She felt a pang in her chest and pushed away the memories that came flooding to the surface – as she had done for weeks now.
"Do you know anyone else?" Katara asked with a frown.
Elyrie would be lying if she told them she did not have someone in mind, but he was far away. Probably locked up. Her stomach sank as her thoughts returned to Uncle , sitting all alone in a jail. If only they had saved him - he would have been of more use to this team than she would ever be. And now, she was here while he was probably sitting in the heavily guarded Capital City Prison.
Capital City? She immediately sat up. The Capital wasn't impossible to reach, but was he there? After all, he could have been brought to the Boiling Rock. Going there on a hunch felt too dangerous but Uncle was their best option. And didn't the Fire Lord use the Capital City Prison for the highly prioritised prisoners? To keep an eye on them?
"Let me think about it." she said at last. After all, there had to be a way to figure out where Uncle was. And for now, that was her own plan to figure out.
"Alright then," Sokka yawned again, "Then we better get up to start your training."
Elyrie reached for the fan and let it spin in her right hand, "I'm ready!"
"Orange is such an awful colour." Mai stated as she watched the sun slowly sink in the ocean. Her head rested on Zuko's shoulder. He snickered at her comment.
"You're so beautiful when you hate the world." He said as he leaned his cheek against her ravenblack hair. It had been a relatively peaceful evening so far. Mai had invited him on a picnic on the cliffs together. After all, they were boyfriend and girlfriend now
"I don't hate you." Mai looked up with her dark eyes in his golden ones.
"I don't hate you too." He answered and leaned in to kiss her. He felt a sting go through his chest, but tried to focus on the sensation of her lips on his instead of the gnawing voice at the back of his mind.
"Ahem."
The gnawing voice sounds suspiciously like Azula, he thought annoyed. He looked up and saw his sister, who was standing with her arms crossed.
"Zuko, could I have a word with you?" Azula said, clearly not taking notice of the romantic endeavour in front of her.
"Can't you see we're busy?" Zuko answered, now more annoyed than anything when he leaned back in to kiss Mai again.
"Oh Mai, Ty Lee needs your help untangling her braid." Azula simply said as she focused her yellow eyes on her friend.
"Sounds pretty serious." Mai immediately agreed with a smile as she stood up. As she walked away, Zuko frowned at her obedience.
"So," Azula continued when Mai was out of sight, "I've heard you've been to visit your Uncle Fatso in the prison tower."
"That guard told you!" Zuko stood up, his fists clenched in anger.
"No. You did. Just now." Azula said in a bored tone.
Zuko sat back down, cursing himself for taking the bait so easily. "Okay, you caught me. What is it that you want, Azula?"
"Actually, nothing." His sister answered, "Believe it or not, I'm looking out for you. If people find out you've been to see Uncle, they'll think you're plotting with him. Just be careful, Dum-Dum."
Dum-Dum. Zuzu. He clenched his teeth, but didn't respond to his sister. The voice in the back of his head warned him again: Azula always lies.
"Too slow, Princess!" Toph's voice came from the right.
Elyrie coughed up some dust and rolled her neck while massaging her shoulder muscles. She bit her lip to repress a groan of pain. Her shoulder had been healed, but it was still weaker than the rest of her body. She didn't complain, but she trained.
She had to.
In the mornings, she trained herself in firebending. Just like when she was a child: practising the movements Uncle and Kun had taught her over and over again until they were perfect.
To expand her skills, she also tried to mimic movements the others made. Katara taught her the technique for the Octopus: it made a ring of fire around her feet with firewhips extending from them. From Aang, she learned how to make spinning fireballs she could spin around in various sizes - small ones to distract opponents, larger ones to knock them off balance.
And Toph helped her rely on her senses, other than sight. This time, she had blindfolded both Aang and Elyrie during their training sessions.
I need to be able to fight anyone, Elyrie grimaced as she stood back up. Toph had – as a way of training– hauled a boulder directly at her. The little earthbender didn't go easy on her.
"Again," Elyrie said as she took her fighting stance, trying to concentrate on the sounds and vibrations around her.
"I think that is enough for today," Sokka's voice came from behind her, "After all, I need you in one piece for our training."
Elyrie untied the blindfold and shielded her eyes from the harsh sunlight. Sokka's form came into her view, now that her eyes slowly started to get used to the light again.
"Are we done?" Aang asked, still blindfolded.
"Princess is," Toph said as she roughly grabbed his arm and forced him back into fighting stance, "You could use more training. Now, stand up straight!"
"I am ready, Sokka." Elyrie said, grabbing the fan from her waistband. Her sparring sessions extended to hand-to-hand combat with him. He was an excellent teacher and she felt her old strength return. And it was a good thing - after all, she refused to be rendered powerless on the Day of Black Sun.
"Wait a minute," Sokka said as he pulled two long pieces of metal from his satchel, "We have a small something for you."
"For me?" Elyrie asked as she tugged her fan away and took the strange forms from him.
"Yeah, we need you to be able to fight something once the eclipse leaves all firebenders powerless." Toph nodded enthusiastically beside her, "Sokka came up with the idea and I formed the fans with my metalbending."
"These are fans?" Elyrie was amazed.
"Careful, the outsides are sharp like knives," Sokka warned her as Elyrie unshielded the fans, "But the metal is fireproof, so you can use it with your bending as well. It doesn't melt, we tested it!"
He looked so excited, it was endearing. Elyrie opened the first fan, four fingers on the metal and her thumb under the hold. A sharp sound – like knives crossing – came from the metal, along with small sparks.
It was beautiful: the two metal fans seemed identical and were featherlight in her hands. They reflected the sunlight and she was able to see her own reflection in the opened weapon.
Breathing in through her nose, she closed her eyes. She exhaled and aimed the fan at the boulder Toph had sent in her direction.
The flames flowed from her fingers over the metal, making it broader as they followed the form of the fan. Once they left the metal, the form cut though the air onto the stone. A perfect horizontal line was visible on the surface.
"This is amazing," she said, feeling the tears prick behind her eyes, "Thank you both so much."
"We thought you could use something to cheer you up," Sokka smiled at her.
Elyrie spun around and aimed again. Another wave of flames extended from her fans and crossed the rocks.
"Now," she said as she twirled the metal fans around her fingers, "Who wants to spar?"
The sound of metal on stone cut through the silence of the night.
Two men stood across from each other on the cliffs, just outside of the Fire National Capitol.
"You're sure you weren't followed?" Zuko whispered from under his hood.
The mercenary didn't respond. He was well over seven feet tall, Zuko estimated. And that wasn't even his most threatening feature. His right leg and arm were made of shimmering metal – prostetics from his years as an assassin no doubt. His head was shaved and his dark eyes revealed nothing. His most distinct feature was the tattooed third-eye in the middle of his broad forehead.
"I've heard about you." Zuko eyed the enormous mercenary that stood just a few feet away from him, "They say you're good at what you do, and even better at keeping secrets."
The most deadly assassin in the Fire Nation, with the ability to detonate large explosions at will from his third-eye. Silent, willing to do any dirty job with no questions asked, and driven to complete his assignments – it was all that Zuko needed to ease his troubled mind.
"The Avatar is alive." Zuko said, his jaw clenched, "I want you to find him, and end him."
The assasin didn't change his stoic expression. He didn't nod nor acknowledge that he had understood his mission. Instead, he turned around and started to walk away.
"But one more thing," Zuko said after a moment, feeling something tugging at his heartstrings, "There is a chance there is a young woman with the Avatar: a firebender with blue eyes and dark auburn hair. If she's with him, she's not to be harmed. Bring her to me and I'll double your reward."