The Dragon of the West was experienced when it came to the things one might see when fighting in a war, but he would admit, the Siege of Ba Sing Se had been exceptionally brutal; he did not image it taking over a year to even get close to breaching the outer wall, given the massive resistance the Earth Kingdom put up. But now, after a week of fighting across the Agrarian Sector, he had finally reached his goal, the Inner Wall; they had been hammering away at the walls with artillery, and unlike their counterparts further out, they were barely manned with defenders. Perhaps that was indicative of how many people had died; how many people's deaths he himself was responsible, even if he rarely used his bending to fight other men.

The Fire Lord, his father, had sent him a letter of congratulations after word of the breaching of the Outer Wall had occurred, and back then, Iroh felt confident that the battle would be over within a few days. But it wasn't, and now, he was starting to realise what he was doing. He understood why he was conquering Ba Sing Se, as he had to end the war with the Earth Kingdom, but he didn't understand why his enemy was resisting so much. Now, he did, and he was starting to second-guess himself. He'd seen the bodies mount up, quite literally, and he had not looked away; he understood what he had done, and he couldn't regret it. He had spent all that time fighting, and despite all the deaths, he was about to attain victory. The victory he had dreamed of since his youth. It was meant to be glorious, but now all he could see ahead of him was ashes.

"Father, we've got to keep moving." he heard his son speak up, drawing him out of his trance; he had just been standing, looking out over the battlefield that was once the Inner Wall. The enemy were cleared out, and obviously had moved deeper into the city.

"I know, Lu Ten." he nodded, turning to face him, "We need to restrain ourselves. If we push too deep into the city, the Earth Kingdom's forces will swallow us whole." he noted the danger that awaited them as they pushed through the Lower Ring.

"What are we going to do, Father?" he asked him, the General narrowing his gaze at his young son; the battle had been tough on him, and that was visible not just in the cuts and bruises inflicted on his body from being thrown around while fighting, but the scraggly beard he had grown as well, almost looking like his own.

The Prince had returned to his side to oversee the final stage of the siege, and now they were to take the city together, as father and son; he was intimidated, perhaps a little afraid, of what he was about to do. He had achieved many great feats in his career, but conquering Ba Sing Se had been the task that had required the most effort and time on his behalf. It had cost Lu Ten and Iroh a year of their lives, and he knew that it could not go to waste; they had to continue, and they would.

"Let's move." he decided, before he whistled on his guards, "We're moving in, now!" he ordered them, one of the many soldiers he had under his command stepping forward.

"My general, do you need us to send out the command to advance?" he asked him, the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation giving an affirmative nod; they could not waste any more time mulling over their plans or their prior actions- victory could only come from being decisive.

"I do. Go quickly. We mustn't give the enemy time to plan a defence. Our victory must be swift, or we will lose more lives needlessly." he declared; he didn't want to lose any more men, not after all they'd been through.

A few casualties were inevitable, but Iroh knew that every man that died was someone who had willingly joined their nation's armed forces, and come to the battle, knowing full well what they were to face; he wanted to honour them, and make sure his leadership was not going to lead to further anguish. His victory was not just for himself, but for every man who fought under his command; their sacrifices would not be in vain once the palace was theirs and the Earth King's forces were expunged.

They were only at the Inner Wall, and it would be a long march through the city, not even considering the fighting they'd have to do to get to the Earth King's Palace, located in the centre of the city, behind another two sets of walls. Iroh kept his breath steady, and approached his komodo rhino, which he would be riding as he led his forces deeper into the city. Lu Ten did the same, and the two of them mounted their steeds, before moving in, the General's Imperial Firebenders taking formation around them, ready to protect him from any threat that came their way.

As they made their way down the street, he could see civilians running away, or cowering inside buildings, not daring to go onto the street; they were not there to pillage their homes or take away the little livelihoods they had. The Fire Nation was there to end the war, and they would do it; Iroh might have said he was proud to be doing it himself, but he felt a little unsure. The war had taken a toll on both the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, and now that his country controlled most of the former, he could see that there would be problems ahead for their countries. He could only hope that with the defeat at Ba Sing Se, the other nations would finally lay down their arms against his own, and with that, they could have the age of peace and prosperity Fire Lord Sozin had desired.

"Father, they're... they're afraid of what we might do." Lu Ten acknowledged what they could both see, the Dragon of the West making a small smile at his son.

"My son, we won't be here to harm them, or take away their homes. We are liberating them from the rule of their oppressors. Their lies will live no longer once these walls are torn down." he assured him, even if he didn't really believe what he was saying himself.

He knew that the Earth Kingdom's government had draconian laws and systems, but his own country wasn't very pretty either, even if they had nothing as extreme as the Dai Li; the people of his country had no reason to doubt the very existence of the war. Of course, they had lots of propaganda, the kind that he didn't like to hear from his men, but he knew that in Ba Sing Se it had to be even worse. He had seen the flyers the Dai Li were handing out to the citizens, spreading lies about the Fire Nation, and what they sought to do. They made it sound like they were about to burn the city to the ground, when that couldn't be further from the truth; he had come to conquer the city, not destroy it.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of cracking and crumbling, and with it, the ground shaking, "Earthbenders!" he heard one of the soldiers ahead of them shout out.

Iroh knew what they had to do, and didn't waste a second to shout his sole command, "Take defensive positions!" he called on his men, knowing that even if everything around them was made of stone, the earthbenders could only move and destroy so much at once; once they had gotten rid of their own cover, the enemy would be open for attack.

He pulled on the reins of his komodo rhino, and immediately pulled to make it move to the left, so that he could take cover by a street-corner; he knew that remaining in the direct line of fire was dangerous for any soldier, so he would take cover, and hopefully, once the enemy had pushed close enough, they would reveal their own weaknesses. He dismounted his komodo rhino and glanced down the street, seeing a few more of his men, moving into defensive positions as earthbenders broke the street apart to use it as their weapon.

"Father, we need to help them!" Lu Ten demanded, making the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation raise a hand up; he did not want to rush into his attack, without properly considering the threat they faced.

"Neutral jing, my son. Neutral jing is our weapon here. Earthbenders usually like to use it, but the ones here seem to be far more on the positive jing side today; that is our weapon against them."

His son, seeming a little impatient, narrowed his eyes, before leaping off of his komodo rhino, drawing out daggers of fire from his closed fists, "And our flames."

"Not just flames, Prince Lu Ten." he warned his son, taking a few deep breaths as he readied himself for what he would have to do; he had the strength to overcome his enemies, and he would do just that.

His firebending was powerful, and he was ready to send lightning bolts through their walls of stone, just as he had trained himself to do; his men respected him, and thought him to be a jovial man, and even if he was, that was not all the Dragon of the West was. He would fight with the fury and power of a dragon, just like his epithet, and he would never give up without expending all other options.

He trusted in his son's bending too; he wasn't as much of a natural as his niece or his father, but he had worked hard on his forms and endurance, to the point at which he was perhaps even better at holding his fire at strength than Iroh himself. He knew of no other who could achieve sustained flight with their firebending, though he guessed that Ozai could, given his obsession training his element.

He moved from the cover they had taken, and noted that there were a number of earthbending soldiers, all moving in a wedge formation down the street, the frontmost soldiers creating walls to defend themselves from their firebending, while the ones further back send out boulders to take pot shots at the covering Fire Nation soldiers, most of whom were safe, at least for that moment.

He narrowed his eyes before taking a deep breath; first he thrust his fist forward, creating a massive stream of flames, which despite its size, was really only to blind his opponents. Taking advantage of that, and the fact he remembered where the centre of their wedge was, he was able to bring the sparks amongst his fingers, spinning them around in a circular motion to charge his chi, centered in his gut, before he flicked his left hand out, firing a lightning bolt at the enemy's defences, which he still couldn't see, as his flames had yet to subside.

The sound of the explosion and cries from the enemy were a good sign, and he then began his assault, his Imperial Firebenders joining in as he took a common, simple firebending form. He charged a jet on the sole of his right foot, and swung his leg up, creating a stream of flames, far more concentrated than the last one. The stream burned through whatever defences that remained, breaking apart the rock, mostly formed from cobble on the street, which meant it was rather brittle to begin with. He then moved forward in sync with his guards, sending out short bolts of fire, which struck at the extremities of the earthbenders who remained in position; they either moved back, or were struck down. The point was, their moves were very effective, and the General cocked a smirk, proud of what he had done.

Suddenly, he felt his feet sink into the ground, and his eyes widened with fear, realising that he hadn't actually gotten rid of all their enemies. He glanced up to the rooftops, where he could see a number of Earth Kingdom soldiers, wearing cloaks and conical hats; perhaps they were actually Dai Li agents, though he couldn't get a very good look at them as he threw fireballs their way, trying to prevent them from knocking him out or worse. Bricks were shot his way, and though he was able to cut most of them up with thin, concentrated fire streams, his defensive maneuvers weren't foolproof, and a brick struck him in the shoulder; he was luckier than some of his guards, who had bricks hit their helmets or legs, and forced them down to the ground, where the earthbenders could literally make the street swallow them.

He slumped down, groaning with pain, and a moment later he heard not a shout, but the sound of wind; well, it actually wasn't wind, but the sound of air being heated up as his son charged forward, bending walls of flames in every direction around him and his guards, protecting them from the enemy soldiers. He realised it wasn't a wall of flames as he looked up, witnessing the fire as it towered up above him, curling around in a vortex- a tornado of flames. It was what Ran and Shaw had shown him; what he had decided to show Lu Ten, when he was old enough to understand it. There was no sound of screams or shouts, but simply the hot air whipping around, as the multicoloured flames reached up above the multistory buildings, presumably throwing the enemy back and away; perhaps it was the closest thing to airbending to grace the earth in the past hundred years, sadly enough. It was beautiful, that was all he knew, and his son wielded it as his instrument.

"Dad!" he heard his son cry out, reaching to grasp him by his shoulder; Iroh groaned, aching from the brick that had him, and realised despite the defeat of the earthbenders, his feet were still stuck in place, "Sorry, this might be a little hot." he warned his father, who nodded, letting Lu Ten carve his flame daggers into the ground around his feet.

Quickly enough he got him free of his bounds, and dragged the injured General back as the Imperial Firebenders quickly moved into defensive positions, pushing back the remaining earthbenders on ground level. As the young prince and his father reached cover once more, he looked at Iroh with a fearful face.

"Are you alright, Dad?" he asked him, the Crown Prince nodding, despite the pain; he had experienced worse- he'd probably just be bruised a little.

"I'm fine, Lu Ten." he stressed, placing a hand on his son's shoulder, before he glanced over to his left, wondering how his men were doing; there was no shouting, only the sound of feet pattering, which suggested they were running toward the enemy- neutral jing had worked, it seemed, and now it was time for positive jing.

"That looked like it hurt." he simply told him, "I couldn't... I couldn't hold back then. I wanted to get angry, I really did." he admitted, the Dragon of the West smiling at his son; he was better than him in many different ways, despite the life they both lived, and the things they were doing.

"I know you did." he assured him, "You did well, my son. That firebending was beautiful."

"It saved your life, Dad." he clarified the more important part of what had happened, before looking at him with fear, "Are you getting delirious on me?"

"Ask me a question to prove it?" he suggested, the young prince narrowing his eyes at his father.

"What tea are we drinking after this battle?"

"The Earth King's finest." he assured him, making the Prince chuckle.

"Okay, you're fine." he sighed, before rising up to his feet, "Do you want me to do the rounds and make sure the men don't go too far ahead?"

"That would be very helpful." he nodded, "I've just got to catch my breath here. I'll only be a minute."

Lu Ten narrowed his eyes at him, almost suspicious of him, "You better. You're the one winning this siege, not me."


"Your majesty, a message has arrived from the capital."

The Fire Lord raised a brow, realising that one of his guards had addressed him; he wouldn't dare enter Iroh's bedroom, so he spoke at the door. He rose to his feet, out of his crossed-leg position, as he had been meditating, wanting to relax before he went to bed. He sighed, knowing that news from the capital could only be frustrations to his journey; he just wanted to go to Omashu, meet his friend, King Bumi, and enjoy a good cup of tea with the old man. He was a wise fellow, and he thought, given his many years of experience as a ruler, could provide Iroh with some advice, especially given the news he had received about his brother from Zuko.

He wanted to burn down the Earth Kingdom, purportedly, something that could only be possible with the power of Sozin's Comet; he shook his head, knowing that that moment was not the right time to be thinking of his brother's plans- they were so unlikely to come fruition that they were almost laughable, if not for the actual physical carnage that would come about from its success. It was the kind of thing that made him wish his father had been a better one; perhaps then Ozai wouldn't have turned out to be the despicable man he was- the kind of man that could come up with such a plan.

Iroh approached the door, and pulled it slightly ajar, eyeing the Imperial Firebender who had come to the room with whatever letter had arrived, "What is the marking?"

"It's not military, civil or diplomatic, sir. This is a personal letter."

"Does it remain sealed?" he asked, the guard handing him the letter; he could see it for himself- nobody had opened it up.

"Perhaps somebody has sent this old man a love letter." he chuckled to himself, his guard letting out a little snicker; he smiled at the guard, before clearing his throat, "I'll read this now. Thank you for bringing it to me at once."

"It is my honour, your majesty." the Imperial Firebender assured him, bowing before Iroh closed the door shut.

He glanced at the letter, seeing his name marked on the front; it was unusual for a letter to be sent to him with his first name on it, given that he had some well known titles that most people would refer to him as. Even Azula wouldn't dare to call him by his first name; she'd write 'Uncle' on a letter, if not his title, 'Fire Lord'. He strode over to the desk, and pulled out a knife, which he used to cut through the stamp that held the rolled up letter together. Once it was out of the way, he unfurled the letter, and sat down at his desk, knowing that he ought to take care to read the letter correctly; he lit the candle beside it, making the characters clearer to him, so he could see what was written before him.

The first words, just by themselves, were a little unnerving to read out loud, "If you want to continue on in the world of the living, take the contents of this letter seriously, Fire Lord Iroh."

"By the spirits." he mumbled, before scanning down, reading the rest in his head.

"A letter was uncovered, intended to be sent to some unknown assailants, who have been hired to kill you. This was orchestrated by your brother, Prince Ozai. He wrote the letter himself, and I have been assured by a close contact that this was certainly the case. He has sent some men to kill you, disguised as Earth Kingdom soldiers, to undertake an assassination attempt that can be utilised by your brother against you. Please, if you have not yet been attacked, hasten yourself, take a steamer and leave your Royal Barge behind. People are looking out for you, your majesty, and they want you to win." he read it out, Iroh's eyes widening with shock; he didn't expect the Order of the White Lotus to be covering him so well, to the point where they could quickly uncover his brother's plot.

He realised however, that it was not someone in the Order that wrote the letter as he saw the signature, "Lady Mai, daughter of Michi and Ukano." he read her name out loud; he knew exactly who that was, and it sent a shiver down his spine.

"Zuko- Zuko was the one who found him out." he whispered under his breath, his breathing becoming erratic, "Zuko." he mumbled his nephew's name, "No, Zuko, you're..." he couldn't finish the sentence; the danger his nephew was putting himself in, was beyond insane.

If Ozai knew what he had done, before Iroh returned, he could be killed by his father; he knew that his brother was capable of it, given how much he desired the throne. He would not stand for what his son had done, in completely revealing his plot, which if his brother had anything to say about it, would not occur, not yet. If Iroh suggested that he knew anything about it before he was in the Fire Nation Capital, he'd know to blame Zuko; he was the only one with the motivation and the access to inform the Fire Lord of what had happened.

"I have to go." he rose up to his feet, "I have to go now." he told himself, knowing that he mightn't do it otherwise if he didn't say it out loud.

Part of Iroh wanted to turn his Royal Barge around and sail back to the capital, challenge Ozai to an Agni Kai, no matter the consequences; he could kill him, but he didn't care at that point. The guilt he might feel from killing his own brother was nothing compared to the guilt of having Zuko's blood on his hands. He could have told Zuko to stop investigating his father; he could have even sent him away, to go join his sister, so that at the very least he'd be safe. Azula could protect him, even if neither of them would want that. He knew that the safest option would be to leave on the steamer, as the letter told him to; he could sail to one of the Fire Nation's many outer islands, and hopefully shake off his pursuers there.

Suddenly, before he could even get his armour on, he felt the ship shake violently, and heard a loud explosion, though the steel walls muffled the sound; his eyes widened, realising that the letter had come too late, "They're already here."

The Fire Lord rolled up the scroll, and put into his robes, knowing that he might need the evidence at a future time. He then rushed for the door, not having any time to waste putting on his armour or packing a bag; the assassins were there, and he assumed they were going to send his ship to the bottom of the sea. He had to stop them, and save the crew of his ship; they were going to be collateral damage and he could not stand by and let them perish under his command. As he pushed the door open, his Imperial Firebenders immediately approached him, their rushed pace suggesting they were just as afraid as he was.

"Your majesty, get back to your room, please! We need to keep your safe!" one of them pleaded with him, Iroh pushing his palm onto his breastplate, before stepping past the guard.

"I just received a letter warning me of an assassination attempt. These people are going to sink the ship, and us with it." he explained to them, "Come with me! We need to stop them before they do too much damage!" he raised his voice, immediately taking a firebending form as he made his way down the hallway.

He needed to get to the engine, where he knew the explosion must have occurred; he didn't know what else they would attack first. He immediately made his way toward the staircase that would lead up toward the deck, but before they could reach it, another explosion rocked the ship, and the hallway in front of him was filled with flames as a door was thrown off of its handle.

"Get back!" he commanded his guards, before he spun his fingers around, sparks forming between his fingers; he had no time for caution, and when the assassin appeared, dressed as an Earth Kingdom soldier, just as he'd expected, he found himself struck in the chest and thrown through the hallway by a lightning bolt.

His Imperial Firebenders looked at him with awe, unable to say anything; the Dragon of the West did not lose his will to fight at Ba Sing Se, but simply his desire to fight for reasons that were not worth fighting for. Defending the people who served him loyally, perhaps to the point of dying in his name was good enough a reason.

"Get the servants and the crew! Get to the steamers right now, before they destroy them too!" he demanded, his guards nodding; he usually wouldn't be so worried, but everyone's lives were in danger, and it was his fault- he could have dealt with Ozai before anything went out of hand, and now, they were going to pay the price for his cowardice.

He made his way up the stairs, and looked out on the deck, where a few of the sailors, only armed with firebending or their bare hands, were facing off against the assassins, who must've already killed some of them, given the bodies he could see behind them. The Fire Lord thrust his fist forward, creating a massive stream of fire; he just hoped that the sea-water had splashed up on the deck and weakened the enemy's footing. He could use any advantage at that moment, given they were most likely outnumbered by the attackers.

"Get back!" he told the crew, who didn't dare refuse his command, before he took his firebending stance, charging up two fire blasts in each of his hands; the enemy stared him down, ready to do what they had been told to do- what they were probably going to get a lot of money for, it they succeeded.

"This is the one job you should have refused." he warned them, the attackers actually stepping back, making him believe for a moment they actually didn't think they could beat him.

Iroh realised this was a stupid thought to have as he saw a man standing on the pagoda superstructure of his ship; he mightn't have worried, but he could see his metal hand and the markings on his forehead. It was that man, the one everyone who knew anything about assassins knew about; he was one of the most notorious firebenders alive, and he could bend with his mind, not with his hands, making him extremely dangerous. The Fire Lord immediately dashed to the left, hoping to get out of the way of what he knew would be coming next.

The explosion was deafeningly loud, and the heat burned him, despite the robes he had on; Iroh was thrown to the ground, and he snarled. He was not Ozai, but he was fast enough; the Fire Lord didn't need to spin his hands around, but simply took his right hand, drawing it from his left, and generated another lightning bolt. Before the assassin could try and fire his way, he was thrown off of the pagoda, a part of which exploded due to the force of the bolt. He groaned with pain, and readied himself for what would inevitably come next; one of the assassins charged his way with a dagger in hand, ready to stab him to death.

"Bad idea." he warned him, before grasping his right hand, burning it with his fire bending; he cried out with pain, and the Fire Lord jabbed him in the chest, before he stepped back, raising a wall of flames between himself and the attackers.

He needed to get to the steamer if he wanted to make it out alive, and though it didn't seem to be sinking yet, he was sure the assassins would attempt to do just that before he could escape. He heard another explosion, and Iroh stumbled back, feeling the ship shake beneath him. Gritting his teeth, he began to draw back to the staircase, knowing he'd need to get to the rear of the ship, where the steamers could be accessed; he wasn't going to try his luck fighting through the assassins.

He leapt down into the staircase, where he knew he'd at least be able to hide from any further attacks. Suddenly, he was thrown forward, presumably by the assassin's 'mind-explosion-bending' which Iroh was both intrigued by and terrified of. He could see a few men dressed as Earth Kingdom soldiers down in the hallway, obviously ready to cut him off; the Fire Lord rolled his eyes, before charging a fireball in both of his hands, which grew to an impressive size with little time, before he shot it out, striking the men right off of their feet.

"Is anyone left in here?" he called out down the hallway, hoping that the crew had evacuated by that point; he didn't hear anyone, so, with that, he continued on down the hallway, racing past the men he'd just knocked down.

They looked pained, but they didn't try to get up and fight Iroh; perhaps they had realised their mistake. Ozai certainly must have played down his skills to get people willing to kill him, but obviously, he wasn't taking any chances by hiring the most notorious assassin in the Fire Nation to kill him- the rest of them were really just distractions. As he continued forward, he realised that the floor was wet, which was never a good sign; when he got to the next doorway, he realised that the ship was already sinking, rear-first, which frustrated Iroh's efforts, given that he needed to get to the rear of the ship to get in the steamer.

He turned around, and made his way toward another staircase, which would lead up to the pagoda; he hoped that the assassins weren't smart enough to block up the entrances, but he knew that they might. He was going to have to fight his way through, it seemed. The Fire Lord made his way up the stairs, and conjured a fire stream out of his right hand, blasting the doors wide open. An assassin leapt out of cover, standing poised to attack him with firebending, though Iroh was able to bend his flames away and trip him over with a well-aimed blast to his shins.

Charging up the staircase, he began to shoot out quick, well-paced bolts of flames from his fists, forcing the attackers back and giving him an opening to run through; he did just that, raising both his arms up to his sides to create two walls of flames, which rose up and pushed the enemies back. He glanced behind him, and saw that the mind-bending assassin was once again ready to attack him, which meant Iroh needed to take cover; he dove behind an exhaust shaft of the engine, and grit his teeth. The explosion made his ears ring out, and the Fire Lord blacked out for a few moments; he tried to reach around to raise himself back up, but accidentally burnt his left hand on what had to be a heated fragment of the engine.

"Argh!" he cried out, clasping his left hand with his right, his vision blurred as he tried to keep a grip on his senses; he was struggling, but he could hear voices nearby, and their words relieved him somewhat.

"Your majesty!" he heard one of his guards call out to him, though Iroh's eyes widened with fear as he saw two of his men get thrown off their feet by another attack from the mind-bending assassin.

He grimaced at what he saw, but didn't dare close his eyes yet; they weren't safe until they escaped the Royal Barge and left the assassins behind. He pulled himself up and threw his right hand back, creating a wave of fire, hoping to keep the assassins at bay for just a few more moments.

"We need to get to the steamer!" he commanded his guards, who took formation around him, protecting the Fire Lord as he moved down toward the vessel; he was suddenly thrown down when another explosion hit them.

Iroh grunted in pain as he was slammed down onto the deck, but he was able to get up, grasping one of his guards by the shoulder, prodding him to get over to the steamer, which was just in front of them; he could see the worried looks on the crews' faces, and he understood their fears. The Dragon of the West turned around, and opened his mouth wide, breathing out a massive stream of fire, which at the very least would blind his enemies while the guards drew back to the steamer. He leapt on it after them, his knees buckling as he landed on the deck of the small ship. He groaned with pain, realising how much the explosions had taken a toll on his senses and ability to even move around properly. He gestured up toward the enemy.

"Fire! We need to distract them!" he commanded his men, who did just that, sending out streams of fire in synchronisation; the attacks worked well enough, and a few moments later, he was able to sigh with relief as the steamer set off at full speed, moving away from the Royal Barge.

The Fire Lord laid himself down on the deck, grasping at his left hand, his burns still painfully raw; he couldn't use that hand for much, he assumed, but at the very least they were safe. One of his Imperial Firebenders knelt down beside him, taking off his helmet and looked at the injured monarch with a sympathetic face.

"Sir, where are you hurt?"

"Just my hand and back. Burns." he almost whispered, before raising his right hand to his face, "We need to get to land."

"I'm sorry, your majesty, but we're quite far from the Earth Kingdom still." one of the crew members explained, the Fire Lord sighing.

"As long as we can get there, that's what matters." he acknowledged, before turning his head to the side; perhaps he could get a little rest lying there on the deck, even if it wasn't that comfortable.

"Why- why did they do this?" one of his guards spoke up, "They were dressed like they were Earth Kingdom, but those men were clearly firebenders."

The Dragon of the West looked up at his men, and knew that he couldn't explain what Ozai had done; if his brother was to eventually find out he already understood his guilt, then Zuko's life would be in danger. He would just have to act like the attack was random, or plotted by a secretive group against him; like the White Lotus, though obviously, not them. He knew that he could not let his brother abuse the situation, but just the same, he needed to avoid him and anyone working for him. They would try to kill him again, even if it wasn't the same individuals; there was no telling where would be safe, though he knew one thing- getting to Bumi and contacting the Order was his safest bet at making it out alive.

"I don't think... I don't think that question should be answered yet."


"Come on, show us the trick!"

Ty Lee rolled her eyes; she was tired after a day of shows, and really didn't want to appease her friends, but they all knew she was a great acrobat. She'd been showing off her skills for months now, and they all wanted to see something she didn't usually do at the circus shows; that was, of course, her chi-blocking. When she'd had to save her friend Mung, who was one of the strongmen at the circus, ironically enough, from getting mugged the night prior, she was forced to use her skills; she hadn't really worked on them that much since she left the Fire Nation Capital. It was with Azula and Mai that she usually practiced them, and without anyone to spar with, nor a reason to do so, she rarely used it. Naturally, Mung had told the others, and now as they sat around the campfire, they were all demanding to see her moves.

"Come on, please. Ty, you've got to show us how it goes. Mung said you made him drop like he was made of sticks." Wei asked of her, her voice pleading, "That sounds so cool!"

"I know it's cool." she crossed her arms, "I haven't done it in ages... and honestly, it's kind of dangerous." she admitted, knowing that she could inadvertently hurt whoever she hit- falling over could be rather dangerous, depending on where one was.

"Yeah, no wonder!" Su exclaimed, heartily laughing at her comment, "If you can beat up a guy who's even tougher looking than Mung with just your fingers, that's gotta be the definition of dangerous." he added, obviously amused by the idea of her being 'stronger' than the strongman.

"I'm tough, but I never trained to fight. You guys get that, right?" Mung asked the other performers, who looked at him with disbelieving faces.

"Yeah, right." Zuting skeptically narrowed her eyes at him, "You look like you could beat a komodo rhino in a wrestling match."

He crossed his arms, "Come on, Ty Lee. Please, just show them the moves so they stop thinking I'm incapable." he pleaded with her, the acrobat sighing, placing her hand over her forehead.

"Okay, fine." she conceded to their demands, everyone around the campfire cheering her on; she rose to her feet, and glanced around, realising that she didn't actually have a target yet, "Who wants to be chi-blocked?"

Su rose up, gesturing for her to approach him, "Try me."

"So, do you even know how to fight?" she asked him, unsure whether the stunt climber was actually any good at defending himself.

"Uh... I took a few self-defence lessons back at school." he assured her, before cringing, "But, I don't expect to be able to win."

"Win?" she almost laughed, before cartwheeling toward him; she didn't even hit up, just prodding him into stepping back, surprised by her speed.

She swung her foot out low, striking his own, and tripping him over; he was quick enough to react and land on his hand, jumping back up to his feet. She sent a few jabs his way, though he surprisingly was able to weave out of the way. He faltered however when he tried to tackle her, and instead, she dropped her hands, jabbing him in the abdomen; his legs faltered as his chi-paths were blocked, and he fell down, nearly flat on his face.

"You can't beat chi-blocking, Su." she simply told him, the stunt climber grunting as he struggled to pull himself up without any use of his legs.

"Oh... that looked like it hurt." Zuting cringed, Su shaking his head as he turned to look up at Ty Lee.

"That didn't hurt at all... but my legs don't work." he noted, the acrobat cocking her chin up.

"That's the jist of it, really. I'm able to stop bending too, but you're not a bender, so it doesn't really matter for you where I hit." she explained, the other performers cheering her on.

"That was great!" Wei raised her fists, "How many people can you beat at once with that?"

"I don't know, honestly. Last time I got into a proper fight with it, I was only going against one person." she conceded, knowing that she wouldn't count Mai and Azula as ordinary opponents; she couldn't beat them easily because they were well aware and attuned to her skill, and thus, knew how to avoid it, which wasn't hard, given both of them prioritised ranged fighting.

"Ty Lee." she heard Shuzumu, the manager of the circus, speak up, the acrobat turning around to see him with a wrapped scroll in his hand, walking up toward the campfire where they were sitting, "You've got a message."

"A message for me?"

"Maybe it's a love letter." Su joked, making her turn around to glare at him.

"I'm pretty sure I don't have any stalkers." she stated her belief on the matter; of course, boys loved her, but she knew that nobody was dedicated enough to start sending her love letters, "Is it from my parents? I thought they didn't know where I was." she asked the circus manager, who shook his head.

"I don't think it's them." he clarified, Ty Lee approaching him, "The outside is unmarked, though the bindings are good. Somebody rich sent this." he simply observed, the acrobat nodding, intrigued by the idea that somebody was messaging her.

Shuzumu handed it to her, and she furrowed a brow, deciding to walk over to her tent, where she'd have a little privacy to read it; it wasn't far away, and as soon as she was inside, she reached through her little travelling box, pulling out the box of matches she had at hand. She then sparked a match, the light allowing her to see inside her tent, before she lit the candle she had sitting beside the box, which she'd usually use if she was reading anything at nighttime. She didn't mind buying books from time to time, given that it was a good pastime to keep up; she could both learn and waste time, knowing that she needed the former and wanted the latter.

She then turned her gaze to the scroll, which was marked by a wax seal; it was simply the Fire Nation's seal, which was like almost every single letter coming from her country. Some people could afford personal designs on their seals, but most just opted for the same old flame. She broke the seal, and opened the covering for the scroll, which made her immediately realise that it wasn't one piece of parchment, but three.

Her gaze turned to the first of the three, which was rather unusual for her to see; it seemed to be a letter addressed by Prince Ozai, her friend's father, to some military official in the colonies. She raised a brow, somewhat confused why she had been sent a letter not even addressed to her; perhaps she was being sent something by Azula, though she had no idea why she would send something so random. The content didn't seem very relevant either, but when she pulled the next piece of paper out, she immediately felt afraid upon reading the first few lines. It wasn't just any old letter, but a message commanding someone to kill Fire Lord Iroh, her friend's uncle. The more of it she read, the more nervous she became; Ty Lee had no idea why was she being sent something so dangerous.

"What is this?" she mumbled, before turning her eyes down to the bottom of the text, realising that the assassination letter had no sender; it only took her a few moments of looking at the handwriting on the first letter she had read and the second to realise they were both written by the same person- Azula's father, "Oh shit."

That was all she could say, or at least, all she could think of saying after realising that. She turned her gaze back down, and pulled out the last of the three scrolls, which unlike the others was directly addressed to her.

"Ty Lee, if you've received this, that means that nobody intercepted our messages. That is good, because it means there's a chance that the Fire Lord is alright." she read it out loud, her eyes widening; she had no idea why she was being sent something concerning a plot against the life of the Fire Lord.

Scanning down, she saw who the sender was, and the same made her feel a little calmer, "Mai." she mumbled her name, before returning to reading out the document.

"You are the only person we can trust with this information. If Ozai found out that we had these documents, he would have us killed. given your distance and isolation from the affairs of the capital, I decided these documents had to be sent to you. I know it's a danger for them to be in your hands, but I can trust you to do the right thing; you always do." she read it out, smiling at her friend's words; Mai might have not usually expressed her emotions, but she certainly trusted her, and that was something that made her happy, "If the Fire Lord is killed, Zuko will use the threat of these documents to ensure that he can keep his father in line. If he is to disappear or be declared dead, you are to immediately mail these documents, excluding this letter, to the closest Fire Nation military base, preferably with a high-ranking officer."

"I've got to-" she mumbled, before her eyes widened, realising what the document was saying, "Ozai might kill Zuko?!" she almost exclaimed, covering her own mouth to quieten herself.

"Please write a letter that tells them the following: Ozai has been plotted to take the life of his brother, Fire Lord Iroh, and seize the throne for himself. He has committed treason, and these letters are proof of his crimes; he has written both of them, and has explicitly hired individuals to hunt down and kill the Fire Lord." she read out the remaining portion of the letter, before noting there was one last line at the bottom, past her friend's name, "Good luck, Ty Lee. Please stay safe."

She looked up and gasped, unsure what to do, or say; there was nobody to say anything to. Her mind immediately turned to the Princess, who was not mentioned in the letter. She didn't know where she was, but she assumed that because she wasn't in on Mai and Zuko's plan, she had to be out of the capital. She rose up to her feet, and wondered if anybody knew where she was; Azula probably didn't want her uncle to die, and if she could find her and tell her what Mai had, then maybe she could make a difference and stop her father from doing whatever he had planned. She knew he wasn't a good man; her friend had even told her that herself, though she didn't seem that concerned about it. The Princess would be now, now that her uncle's life was on the line because of her father's plans.

"Where are you, Zula?"