Princess Azula usually didn't feel so chirpy after her firebending training, but that day, it was a very different training session compared to any other; she had finally achieved the skill she had been aspiring for ever since she first saw her father do it during his own training- lightning generation. It was a rare ability for any firebender to master, let alone a thirteen year old. She might have been young, and relatively inexperienced in practically applying her bending, but there was nobody better than her; she had excelled ahead in all of her sets, and was already doing those only intended for grown adults at the age of twelve.
Now, she had reached the skill that both her uncle and father wielded to great effect, and she couldn't feel any prouder of herself. It showed that she was just as capable of them, despite her youth, and gave her great hope for what she might be able to do. Though she didn't imagine herself becoming a renowned general anytime soon, she could see such a future for herself, even if there wasn't much of a war left to fight. Her uncle had made sure of that, and though she might have preferred to have had something to do about the war, as to follow in his footsteps, she knew that it was better that the Earth Kingdom had been defeated.
Her smile faded as she continued walking along, feeling disappointed that she was going to her father; though she desired his approval, and knew that he would be proud of her, it was not him who she immediately thought of when she finished a new form. Even after four years, her mind would turn back to her cousin, who would always give her encouraging smiles when he saw her display her skill and gave her great insights into firebending, assuring her that she could be a great master one day. He was the one she wanted to impress, but she couldn't, not anymore; that fact made her almost angry, but she restrained those feelings, knowing that they shouldn't tarnish her clear sense of achievement.
As she approached her father's office, where he would attend to guests and officials that he needed to speak with, she noted that there were a pair of Imperial Firebenders standing outside the door, and they quickly noticed her, even when she had only just turned around the corner. One of them stepped forward, raising a hand to warn her.
"Princess Azula, your father is presently at a meeting. He has requested that he not be disturbed." he asked her, the Princess raising a brow, before she turned her eyes towards the door.
"I have important news. He'll want to hear it." she clarified, the guard turning around, letting out a disgruntled huff before he approached the doorway; he then knocked on the door, the other guard looking his way as they listened out for Ozai's voice.
"What is it?" she heard her father's voice, and the guard cleared his throat before addressing him.
"It's your daughter, your highness. She says she has important news for you." he explained, Azula hearing a soft humming noise from her father, before the guard turned around, nodding at her; with that, she stepped past him, and into the room.
She noted that he was sitting at his desk with War Minister Qin across from him, giving her the idea that the Minister was there with some important new reports on the state of their weapons production. That was ultimately their greatest advantage in the war, no matter how much they liked to spout about the superiority of their element. A thousand mediocre firebenders paled in comparison to a dozen of their nation's latest tundra tanks, the most formidable weapon they had fielded yet against their enemies.
"Daughter, what did you need to speak about?" he asked her, sounding a little annoyed to have been interrupted.
"I did it, Father." she simply stated her achievement, though without any context, it presumably made little sense to him; however, his eyes widened for a moment, before momentarily glancing at the Minister.
"You mean that you've generated lightning?" he asked, the Princess nodding; her father's previously dour, if not frustrated expression shifted to one of near glee.
It was one of the happiest faces she'd seen on him in quite some time, and he rose to his feet, "Oh, this is wonderful." he proclaimed, "You truly are a prodigy." he commended her, placing his hands together as the Minister turned around, looking at her with awe.
"Thirteen years old is quite young, your highness." he conceded, the Prince shaking his head.
"It's unprecedented. Even my father was unable to generate lightning until he was fifteen." he argued, before raising a finger, "And that was under the tutelage of Fire Lord Sozin himself."
"Thank you, Father." Azula bowed toward him, glad for his compliments, though she understood they were well-founded; he had great respect for her bending abilities, and perhaps, he was even a little jealous, though his pride shone through brighter than ever.
"I didn't do the work here, Princess Azula." he conceded, "You have shown your great ability by achieving this." he acknowledged, before raising a finger to his goatee, "I would like to see it myself... perhaps this afternoon, at your exhibition." he suggested, the Princess smirking at the idea of showing her abilities off; perhaps she'd even get her uncle to come along so he could see her skills as well.
"If the ability wasn't as dangerous as it is, I would show you at once." she conceded, making her father smile.
"I am sure you would." he acknowledged, before letting out a sigh, "I would like to celebrate this occasion, but I was in the middle of a meeting." he conceded, "Perhaps you can wait until I finish, and then, I will inform the Fire Lord himself."
"Grandfather might be offended that I outdid him, Father." she warned him, though in jest; she knew her father had little care for Azulon's opinions, viewing him as being long past his prime, even if he might have feared the old dragon's firebending.
"Oh, he might." he mused with a stroke of his goatee, before dropping back down to his seat, "Minister, I apologise for the interruption. You were just about to explain how our new factories in the colonies will help the war effort."
"I was." he confirmed, before smirking, obviously confident in the topic he was to detail, "The twenty three factories that have been approved by the colonial governments have the support of a number of sponsors and industrial partners of the Ministry." he explained, "It will only cost us three million ban in subsidies to establish these facilities, which will be able provide all the parts we require for our ships, tanks and artillery pieces."
"Three million." her father repeated the figure of interest to him, "That is less than I would expect. I assume our negotiations for those new partnerships has been a success."
"Certainly, your highness. Your efforts have been vital in securing this deal."
"I would expect. That feast was the biggest called this year... and I know every man enjoys a feast when he spends his waking hours focused on affording such privileges." he explained his thoughts, Azula deciding she ought to offer her own input, given her father hadn't yet told her to leave.
"Might I ask, what demand required these new factories? Are there plans for the Northern Water Tribe?" she asked her father, who scrunched his lips up, before tapping a finger on the desk.
"Yes, there are, but I have yet to see anything tangible. We will need more ships and tundra tanks to consider such an expedition, and subjugating the whole tribe will take manpower unseen in battle since Ba Sing Se." he explained his thoughts, before furrowing a brow, "I will see if Commander Zhao has any idea. I remember he had a distinctive desire to see such a campaign through."
"Well, it is the last nation to stand against our forces. It is only logical he'd want to see them fall by his own hand." she acknowledged a basic fact; men who wanted glory would search for the greatest battles and campaigns to fight, and even if there was a resounding chance of failure, given their nation's prior experiences with the Northern Water Tribe, she did imagine there was those in the navy, like the aforementioned Commander Zhao, who would like to try once more to destroy the last real threat to their nation.
"We all want to see a great victory for our nation, your highness." Qin acknowledged the fact of the matter; everyone in the room agreed that their victory was inevitable, and that they had to achieve it without unnecessary failures; losing manpower and weaponry in an expedition to the North Pole would only weaken their position in their occupied territories, and perhaps prod the Earth Kingdom into rebelling against their rule.
"Yes, we do." Ozai agreed, before gesturing towards the door, "I will see you at your bending exhibition, Daughter." he addressed her, the Princess giving a curt bow before she turned her heels, not wanting to annoy her father by demanding to stay, even if she might like to provide her own insights, both to help her nation, and perhaps, impress him.
"I will." she confirmed as she strode on out of the room; when she reached the door, it was opened up for her by one of the guards who had been standing outside, without her even having to ask.
He turned to face her, not bowing, but simply eyeing her for a moment, and she stepped past him, "Do you have anything to say?" she prodded the guard, a little frustrated by his staring.
"No, your highness." he assured her, his deep voice reminding her of someone, though she couldn't recall specifically at that moment who; she turned around and continued walking down the hall, knowing she ought to head to her next tutorial, concerning politics and government, given that she had taken an unscheduled break to inform her father about her successful lightning generation.
Upon considering the voice for a few moments, she glanced back at the guard, and eyed his height in comparison to the doorframe, noting that even if he wasn't short by any means, the other guard had a few inches on him, and his armour was a little loose. She hadn't realised it immediately, but her conclusion made a lot of sense; that guard was Zuko, in a rather effective disguise. The one mistake he made was revealing his voice; if he hadn't spoken to her, she probably wouldn't have noticed.
"Oh, Brother." she mumbled to herself, amused by his attempt to listen to her father's meeting, and then, their conversation; he was probably seething about her achieving lightning generation, though his tone had been rather calm and serious.
She took that as indicative of his acting skills over his actual emotions, and turned her eyes back ahead, just hoping Zuko didn't know she knew; that would make for a rather awkward conversation after their bending exhibitions, though she decided that if she was going to ask him about it, that she ought to gather more evidence.
Her brother listening into a single meeting seemed a little weird, given that it wasn't probably the most important one her father was attending; she'd imagine going to some war council meetings as an Imperial Firebender would make lot more sense, given her brother, like herself, wanted to learn the ways of war and politics, and follow their father and uncle's footsteps.
Though she didn't know specifically what interested him about that meeting with Minister Qin, she had a feeling that her brother wasn't just listening into that single meeting; Prince Zuko was a young man with a desire to serve his country, and he wasn't going to ask for permission. Azula was torn whether to feel impressed or afraid by that fact; she wanted more than anything to be her uncle's premier heir, and eventually, become Fire Lord some day in the far future, but before then, she'd have to contend with Zuko wanting the very same spot.
All she could think of was the inevitable argument, or fight, they'd have over their mutual aspirations, and that just made her annoyed. Until then, she could at least find some humour in the idea of her brother sneaking around as a guard, trying to fool their father into teaching things without even realising it; even she could recognise the genius of the plan, though only if he managed to not get caught. Something told her, however, that might eventually happen, and she didn't think that would go down very well, no matter if her uncle decided to back her brother up.
The sight of metal melting was something that wouldn't usually make Mai smile, but she allowed herself to smirk as she saw the skill and ease with which Zuko used his firebending as an effective tool against their path into the port. The Prince was taking his time, which was understandable, given how thick the bars were, but he was able to cut through them quickly enough that it made her wonder what would happen if he used his firebending like that against an actual person; the thought was both intriguing and disturbing, and she pushed it out of her mind as she returned her focus to eyeing around, making sure nobody could see them.
His firebending wasn't too bright, given he only needed a small torch to melt the bars, but that didn't mean passers by wouldn't notice the sparks of light coming from the sewer entrance, probably not something they'd expect walking back to their house after a night on the town. They'd chosen to melt the bars some time after dark, knowing that if any garrison troops or unwitting locals came across them in the light of day, things would go south very quickly. At least at night time, they could use the darkness to their advantage if they had to flee.
"How much longer?" she asked Zuko, who waved his free hand at her.
"I've only done the top." he warned her, "Just give me a bit."
She begrudgingly nodded, and decided to pull herself out of the creek bed, and climb up onto the road, so she could clearly see if there was anyone coming their way; the street was relatively empty, though she could definitely see some people off in the distance walking along, and further afield, there were guards standing by the gates that led into the port proper. She didn't see anyone heading their way, however, so she felt rather assured as Zuko cut each of the bars off, tossing them into the creek bed as he opened up the pipe for them. Though it took him a while to get through each bar, eventually the last of them were out of the way, and he peeked his head inside.
"Well, that's that." he mumbled to himself, "Let's figure out which ship is Zhong's, and get onboard." he gave a simple and straightforward plan of attack; Mai nodded before she followed after him, crouching down to fit herself into the small pipe.
They were forced to remain with their heads low as they made their way into the dark pipe, which was only lit up by a small torch in Zuko's palm. Moving through the cramped pipe, Mai listened out for any sounds that would warn them of patrolling guards or anybody else being nearby, and was only able to hear the murmured sound of footsteps and talking above them, which grew louder when they approached the first access pit. The Prince stopped himself there, glancing up above them before turning his eyes to her.
"Should we go up here or closer to the shore?" he asked, and she glanced ahead, genuinely unsure what would be the better choice; if they went closer to the shore, there was far more a chance they'd end up wading through water, which she wanted to avoid, but climbing up at once might land them right in the middle of a path where they'd be spotted.
"I hate getting my clothes wet." she prefaced her answer, before pointing into the darkness, "But not getting caught is more important."
He nodded, and continued to move through the pipe, Mai keeping herself close enough that she could still see what she was doing, but not enough that she'd slam into him if he stopped suddenly; she heard the distinct sound of wheels running on the surface above them, and a few shouts. They had to be under the part of the port where supplies were stored, but she couldn't be too sure without seeing out of the pipe. There was also the sound of water lapping up against the pier in the distance, and as they continued further down the pipe, it grew louder.
When they reached the next access pit, Zuko glanced up, and began to climb the ladder without saying a word. She remained down in the tunnel, watching as he climbed up toward the small source of light leaking through, before he thrust his hand up, whacking the metal plate off, allowing light down into the tunnel.
"We're clear." he assured her, "I'll check around." he explained his intentions, Mai shaking her head with annoyance; he wasn't going to do all the work himself and then accidentally get caught snooping around- she was going to be standing by his side if that happened.
She quickly scaled up the damp indentations that formed a ladder, before pulling herself out of the pit, glancing around the small alley they found themselves in. They were definitely out of sight, which assured her they wouldn't get immediately found. Zuko turned to face her, gesturing for her to follow him down the alleyway; she pushed the metal covering back over the hole with a push from her foot, before following him to the end of the alleyway.
When she stepped up beside him, she was finally able to see out into the docks, where she noted about five ships in port, the closest being the largest of the lot, and by a fair margin; compared to the ferry or the cargo ship they took, it was huge, and she was a little surprised that such a thing could even be built.
"That's an Empire-class battleship. The kind that a Commander or Admiral will use." he clarified with a smirk, sounding sure it was Zhong's vessel.
"Well then, how do we get aboard?" she asked, Zuko gesturing along the side of the dock that the ship was moored at.
"There's going to be a few hatches they use to allow cargo, maybe even things like komodo rhinos in. The smaller ones, however, will be pretty easy to get through, but we just need to not get spotted."
"That's why we took the sewers." she reminded him of their rationale, before she pointed over toward a cart that was being drawn along with crates and bags in the back, heading towards the hatches he spoke over, "Let's follow, and see how they get in."
Zuko nodded, before he pulled the mask he had on the top of his head over his face, and she did the same with her own; now they couldn't get caught, given they were inside the port, and it would be quite hard to escape, other than by swimming, though she thought that could end terribly. They crouched down as they approached a stack of crates, pacing along beside them as cover, so that nobody in the port could see them; the deck of the ship was so high that it was unlikely anyone could see them unless they were leaning right over the railing, so she knew that was far less of a concern.
As they tailed after the cart, she saw a few sailors standing duty by one of the metal planks, where she assumed the cart was going to go; in between them and said plank was another, smaller plank leading up into the ship, though there was a guard standing duty there, forcing them to hide behind the crates to avoid being spotted.
"What do we do about that guy?" Zuko asked, which surprised her, given he was the one who was meant to be skilled at stealth.
"Just sneak past. We have to find another way in." she gave her opinion, before chuckling, "Unless you're feeling brave."
"Not that brave." he shook his head, before they continued on back toward the path the cart had been taking; there weren't any labourers working out in the warehouses at that very moment, though there had to be some people around if they were taking carts to the ships in port.
Continuing along toward the cart, which was now being dragged along by its komodo rhino steed onto the ship, she eyed the inspecting sailors, who were following the cart; Mai furrowed a brow, wondering if they'd have a chance to run across the plank, though she knew to just try it would be foolish. They both stopped as they reached the clearing, where no crates or bags were sitting, waiting to be put on the ship; they couldn't stand out without being spotted, so they were presently in a rather awkward situation. Going back wouldn't help them much other than to hide, but they needed to get onto the ship.
Zuko held out a hand to stop her from moving any closer, though she found that just annoying as she had no intention to step out into the open, "I think we can get into the ship, but... you might not like the idea." he admitted, Mai raising a brow.
"What?" she asked, and he gestured to the bag he had slung over his back, in which he still had the rope and grappling hook, "Well..." she mumbled, her eyes turning up to the deck that towered above them, "I guess it'll work." she acknowledged, Zuko shaking his head.
"We're not climbing up." he assured her, before gesturing further down, "We need to run across here." he indicated further along the pier, past the plank, "At the back of the ship, they'll have an open area to lower steamers. Every battleship has them. There's a steel frame they hang them from." he explained, and she simply nodded, understanding his plan; it was far smarter than trying their luck by trying to sneak into the cargo hold.
Zuko glanced by for a moment, before he dashed across the gap, Mai following quickly after; once she had reached the next set of crates, she stopped herself, glancing back to note that the cart was still being emptied by the sailors and those who had been on the cart itself. Though they could have tried to sneak in, she knew that Zuko's plan had a lower chance of them getting caught, even if it was admittedly a little more dangerous. She turned to eye the Prince, who had pulled the rope and hook out of his bag, and began pacing along, continuing towards the end of both of the pier and the ship.
She followed after, and quickly enough made sight of exactly what Zuko was referring to; the rear of the ship had two ships hanging off of it, pulled up presumably by a number of chains, and fastened in place by a metal frame; they were sitting on what looked like a retractable platform on the rear of the ship, where she guessed they would be swinging to. He didn't waste any time, spinning the hook around in his hand before throwing it up to land on and hook to the top of the metal frame.
"Mai, grab the rope." he gave her what sounded like an order, and though she wasn't one to take wanton demands very seriously, she understood that unlike herself, he had some experience with sneaking around and climbing with things like ropes; of course, she imagined that he'd never tried anything so bold, and that excited her a little bit, though she didn't dare smile, not thinking that would be worthwhile until they actually landed on the ship.
She held the rope, stepping back alongside Zuko as they pulled it tighter and tighter, before the Prince turned to face her, and though she couldn't see his eyes, she could tell from his posture and any fast pace that he was eager, "Ready?"
She nodded, and with that, they both dashed toward the edge of the pier, running as fast as they could before jumping off as they held tightly onto the rope, swinging right down onto the platform, their feet skidding on the metal surface; she almost fell over, but Zuko's firm grasp held her up as they screeched to a halt, standing right in front of one of the steamers which they might have otherwise just slammed right into. She finally let out her smile, glad that they'd actually gotten where they wanted to go, before Zuko cleared his throat.
"As much as I'd like to celebrate, losing this hook might end badly for us." he conceded, and she held back a laugh as he stepped back before jumping onto the side of the steamer, walking up it as he scaled up the rope, moving up towards the steel frame with haste.
Once he got to the very top, he pulled the hook off and jumped down onto the deck of the steamer, before glancing down, "I'll meet you on the other side. Climb up." he gestured towards the ship proper, where she could see a ladder to climb up into the hull.
Pacing over to the ladder, she quickly scaled it, eyeing around the deck as she reached the platform, noting that there were no sailors about; she turned around to watch as Zuko stepped off of the steamer, glancing toward the superstructure of the ship, where she was already pretty sure the Commander would be.
"That's where his quarters would be, right?" she asked, the Prince nodding before he raised a finger to his mask, indicating he wanted them to be silent for the moment; she nodded, and followed after him as he approached a door leading into the superstructure.
He pushed the door open slowly, allowing them to peek inside, and she noted that the hallway was empty, though she could hear the sound of people's voices in the distance, just a little louder than the humming of the engine beneath their feet. She and Zuko made their way down the hallway slowly, the Prince taking the lead to glance around the corners as they made their way closer to the stairwell which she assumed sat at the middle of the superstructure, if it was anything like the cargo ship they had worked on a few weeks prior.
When they got within sight of said stairs, Zuko raised a hand, obviously hearing something; she listened out, and noted the sound of footsteps approaching; he pushed a door open, leading her into a store room, and she slowly shut it behind her, before silently waiting for the people to pass. They weren't speaking, but they didn't seem to be in a rush either. She was a little worried that patrolling guards might have already found the broken sewer entrance, but she knew that they couldn't have been that fast.
She turned to face Zuko, whose mask was the only thing she could make out in the darkness of the storeroom, and they both nodded at each other, before Mai dared to push the door ajar, letting the light back in. She then stepped out of the doorway, glancing back down it to hear the footsteps pattering away. She then paced over to the stairs, eyeing up them to just make sure nobody was there, and upon hearing no voices nor footsteps in that direction, she moved on up, Zuko not far behind.
When she reached the next floor, she glanced down the hallway, turning back to face Zuko, "How will you know which is the office?" she asked the question that had immediately come to mind as she realised most of the doorways seemed indistinguishable from each other.
He just pointed ahead, and took the lead, Mai following after, just as uncertain as she was before; his confidence was both reassuring and worrying, given that she wasn't so sure if he knew exactly what he was looking for. However, her fears were dissuaded when they turned down a hallway, heading in the direction of the rear of the ship, at the end of which she saw a single door, which seemed to be the kind of thing they were looking for. She imagined the Commander's office or personal quarters, especially on such a large battleship, would be quite large itself, taking up a fair portion of that floor.
Zuko knelt down, pulling out some instruments from his bag, and he pointed behind them, clearly wanting her to take watch; she couldn't let anyone just walk right in on them. Confronting the Commander without the evidence sufficient to incriminate him would be a dangerous move, and she would much prefer that they got to him with something damning enough to have him thrown in the ship's brig at once, no matter if they believed Zuko was who he actually was or not.
She strode back down the hallway, trying to push some of the neighbouring doors open, just to check, though they all seemed to be locked, like the one he was trying to open; Mai then leaned into the main hall, eyeing down to listen out for anyone who might approach. She could still hear faint voices in the distance, and there was enough distinct chatter to tell her that some kind of meeting was going on, though she wasn't even considering trying to go listen in, knowing that it would only delay them.
She heard the sound of the door opening behind her quickly enough, and she paced back down to go join Zuko, who had already stepped inside; she could see at once that it was the personal quarters of the Commander, split into an office section as well as his personal bedroom, though the latter had another door which she assumed was locked.
Closing the door behind her, she turned to face Zuko, and pulled her mask up from her face, knowing it was rather pointless to have it on when they were alone, "Where are we checking first?"
"The desk. His cabinets. If we get nothing, then I'll open the bedroom door and we'll check in there too." he explained, and Mai furrowed a brow, thinking she ought to mention her observations.
"I think they're having a meeting nearby." she explained, and he let out a chuckle before taking his own mask off, placing it down on the desk as he knelt down.
"Yeah, probably about the news. Me not being dead and my father being a traitor is something to talk about, isn't it?"
"We're probably the only people in the country not surprised about it, other than your uncle and Ty Lee, that is."
"Yeah, that's right." he agreed with her basic observation, "And now, they're going to know who the traitors are."
"Well, the gap between knowing and believing is our problem." she conceded, before opening up a cabinet, eyeing the document she could already see; there was so much to look at, and she doubted they had much time to do it.
"We can't waste this." Zuko stressed, "Uncle needs my help." he told her the same thing he had when he first asked for her assistance, before they had even been forced into hiding; she knew that even if it was true, there was far more at stake now than simply protecting the life of the Fire Lord.
"No, the Fire Nation does."
Feeling refreshed after a calming spa session, Azula didn't feel like doing much, though she was yet to feel tired enough to go to bed. She had rested during the middle of the day, awaiting Aang's awakening, only for him to arise just at sunset. Though she had been annoyed about that, the thing that was more front and centre in her mind was the fact her father's treachery was now for all the world to see. Her uncle's accusations had resonated across the Fire Nation and its colonies, and she was sure that soon enough, sides would be picked, even if the Fire Lord was still nominally in control of his country.
Ty Lee was a little uneasy after having seen her kill an assassin in front of her, but she seemed glad that they were back on the ship; perhaps the Hei Bai had spooked her as much as it had the local Fire Nation soldiers who were cowering by the entrance of their base, awaiting the arrival of a spirit they thought might even kill them. She clearly had been put at ease by their spa session, and could even be called cheery, though she was clearly tired after their long day of doing a lot of nothing.
As they stood outside the doors of the spa, Azula considered which way to head, and after remembering their present position, she decided that going up to the bridge might be a good idea, given that sooner or later, she would come face to face with the navy men loyal to her father, if they were going to do what she imagined they would. The Avatar only had a sky-bison, and was an easy picking for a trebuchet or catapult on the deck of a navy cruiser.
Her friend was surprised as she started pacing towards the stairwell instead of her quarters, and reached a hand out to stop her, "Azula? Aren't you going to bed now?"
"No." she refused, "I want to see if we are going to face the traitors." she clarified her intentions, before gesturing to the stairs, "I'm going to the bridge. It won't take long." she suggested, feeling like she could use the company.
"Uh..." she mumbled, before making a small smile, "Okay." she accepted her proposition, and Azula held back smiling as she turned around and made her way toward the stairs.
Just standing there on the bridge wouldn't be the most entertaining thing, and unlike when they were in the spa, she imagined Ty Lee would enjoy a little light banter, which would hopefully improve their spirits after the fight at the docks. Once Azula might have said she had no need for pointless chatter, but now, after seeing the world and looking death in the eyes, she knew that there were things she had underappreciated, and just talking was one of them. She didn't want to gush out about her feelings, or talk about the war; she just wanted to be a teenage girl, maybe for just a few moments, chatting with Ty Lee about the most frivolous things.
"So... uh, are you worried about Aang?" she asked as they made their way up the stairs towards the bridge, the Princess refusing to answer that question directly; she might have been concerned about her father's supporters and their intentions for the Avatar, but she trusted that he would evade them, just as he had done so before.
"The sky-bison is fast enough to evade any attackers." she stated the fact of the matter, "What I am concerned about is the navy ships that are going to engage each other along the way. My father's supporters will face Zhao's ships, and any others loyal to my uncle, right here." she stressed, "Sooner or later, we will have to face them."
"What about sleeping?" she asked, and Azula let out a sigh; she definitely wanted to get some sleep, but she knew that making sure she evaded her father's forces was just as important; that would keep the ship from being sunk, or worse, them all being captured.
She would only be a liability for her uncle if she ended up in chains, and though she doubted the ability of anyone to capture her, she knew that a sinking ship was the perfect place for her to falter; worrying about the crew, her guards, and avoiding drowning would make her more susceptible than ever to her opponents' wit.
"I will sleep... but that doesn't come before ensuring the safety of this vessel, and those onboard." she explained, "I will not have us captured by the enemy, or sunk in the water. That would be a disgrace to my honour as the captain of this vessel."
"What isn't vital to your honour?" Ty Lee quipped at her in return, making her look back at her, knowing the right answer.
"My sleep schedule." she acknowledged, and her friend scoffed.
"Says the person who got up just after dawn like every day to do firebending practice."
"That was Lo and Li." she retorted, "I banished them, and thus, I am no longer bound to their training. I will do what I find necessary to ensure I am ready to fight."
"So... uh... how is your firebending, anyway?"
"It faltered because of this stupid situation." she admitted, before clenching her fist, "But I have taken control of my destiny... no matter if I am following what my uncle desires."
"You're saying that like there was another-" Ty Lee began to speak her mind, before cutting herself off, obviously realising the topic she was approaching.
Azula had had another choice, but that one would have involved her betraying her uncle just for the title of Crown Princess; however, she would have doomed their nation to further decades of conflict, no matter how much her father might have thought himself capable of utterly destroying what remained of the other nations.
"I did have a choice... and it was an easy one." she assured her friend, before continuing on further up the stairs, preferring not to comment any further on the topic.
She knew that her choice was the right one, even if she had doubted it to begin with; her uncle made not have been perfect, but he was by far the better Fire Lord, and was the only one who could end the Hundred Years War in a way that would have the other nations come out some way better, as Sozin had intended, while her father would have just seen them vanquished for nothing more than his pride.
"I hope you don't have to do it." she admitted, the Princess turning her head slightly to eye Ty Lee as she climbed the stairs.
"Do what?" she asked her friend, who grimaced, obviously thinking about something morbid.
"Fight him." she admitted, and the Princess shook her head.
"I won't. My uncle will have the Agni Kai that was always meant to be." she acknowledged the fact of the matter as she saw it, "And if he has the guts, maybe Zuko will get his chance to show Father what he has made."
"Revenge isn't everything, Zula." Ty Lee argued, and she facepalmed, realising she'd just walked her way into the conversation she had wanted to avoid.
"Please... Ty." she pleaded, as calmly as she could, "I just want to talk about something pointless. Not this stupid fight." she asked her, and her friend grimaced.
"Uh... yeah." she accepted her request, her eyes turning away as they continued on up towards the bridge, which they were fast approaching, "Do you know what's for breakfast tomorrow?"
"Presumably some noodles, sweetcakes and fried dough sticks." she explained the kinds of food she'd usually be offered for breakfast, and Ty Lee seemed to be quite enticed by the idea.
"How come you can get such good food on a ship?" she asked, and the Princess let out a snicker.
"Oh, because I'm the... second most important person in the Fire Nation." she argued for her relative importance, which had increased starkly in the past few months.
"Are you going to have some feast when you get back to the capital?" she asked, and she scrunched her lips up, unsure if she would be afforded such given the dire circumstances.
"Only if I allow the Avatar to master firebending." she gave the most reasonable condition for such an outcome.
"You're an amazing firebender, Azula. I think you can do it." she acknowledged her skill, which made her smirk; her friend of all people was a little biased when it came to that, but she knew that she had seen her practice her forms and fight off an assassin that very evening- her firebending was up to scratch, and she knew she could only get better.
"My skill is great, that is true, but becoming a teacher is not what I imagined I'd be doing at the age of fourteen."
"Probably going off to that Officer's Academy, right?" she guessed, and Azula grimaced slightly; though she had wanted to follow in Lu Ten's footsteps, she personally would have preferred to learn the ways of war from her uncle personally rather than going to the Academy like her cousin had.
He had wanted to live a relatively normal life, at least before he was expected to become Crown Prince, but Azula had never had such a desire; she only wanted to further expand her role as a Princess and as her uncle's protege of sorts. She knew that he might say she was just a girl, and that she didn't need to consider things like war, but now as her father had set off what could become an internecine conflict, she knew that war was now one thing she was going to learn about firsthand.
"I... I never needed to go there to become who I want to be." she argued, "I'm going to have all the hands-on learning I could ever ask for, for better or for worse." she noted the advantage she had been given by the present circumstances, even if such an interpretation was ignoring the danger she would find herself in.
"Uh... I guess that's a good way of looking at it. Teaching Aang might really give you insights into being an even better Princess."
"I'd hope so." she narrowed her eyes, "Otherwise I'm just going to arm our nation's greatest threat with the ability to defeat us." she noted the effect her actions would have; though she didn't distrust Aang as an individual, she knew enough about the history of the Avatars, through her grandfather's scanty notes and whatever history she had learned from her tutors, and that information didn't give her much reason to trust the Avatars and their judgements.
"Well... what makes him such a threat?" she asked, and Azula chuckled.
"Oh, okay, well, do you know anything about Avatar Kyoshi?" she asked her, and she looked at her with confusion.
"Uh... she was the last Avatar, before Roku." she recalled probably the least important bit of information; what was far more interesting, to Azula at least, was what she had done to the Earth Kingdom.
"Well, as much as people like to blame Sozin, or congratulate him, for his achievement of colonising the Earth Kingdom, he was only able to do so because the Earth Kingdom has been in shambles for the past three hundred years." she acknowledged a fact that might have seemed unrelated to the last Earth Kingdom Avatar, and her friend looked at her with slight confusion.
"What does that have to do with Avatar Kyoshi?"
"Everything." she stressed, "Chin the Conqueror, though my military history tutors might have mocked him for his arrogance, was the greatest military leader in recent history before my grandfather and uncle." she noted, raising a finger, "The Earth Kingdom, if it had remained under his rule, and the rule of his descendants, would have at the very least stood a chance."
"Uh... so I assume Kyoshi had something to do with him?"
"She killed him when he tried to conquer her home." she recalled, "And then... the Earth Kingdom fell apart, leaving it good pickings for our nation's great army." she noted what came after the chaos.
"So... killing powerful people is an Avatar thing." Ty Lee took from her little tangent exactly what she had wanted her to, "But... Aang's just a kid. A nice kid. He doesn't seem like he'd hurt anyone... even your dad."
"Oh, I'm not worried about Father." she assured her, before she pushed the door open that led them out into the bridge, "I'm worried about Uncle, and not being willing to stand up against the demands of a child." she acknowledged, and Ty Lee grimaced slightly as they made their way out into the bridge.
"Uh... I mean, he's a nice kid. I can't see him making your uncle do anything he doesn't want to." she argued, and the Princess shrugged her shoulders as she glanced at the helmsman; he bowed toward her as she strode past, approaching the small balcony that sat in front of them.
Her friend followed her out as she leaned on the railing, eyeing the horizon as she tried to look for signs of enemy ships; as before, she could see a few of the Commander's vessels on their flank, moving in the same direction they were, but nothing moving towards them.
"Huh... so, nothing's happening." Ty Lee observed the same thing she had, and Azula turned herself around so she could face her friend.
"And the calm concerns me. I don't know where the ships that are meant to be blockading the Mo Ce Sea are. Those ships are meant to stop pirates from entering the outer islands... but they're nowhere to be seen." she gestured out toward the horizon; the usually chirpy Fire Nation girl grimaced upon understanding what she was trying to say, and leaned herself against the railing beside her.
"So... you wanted to talk about something pointless." she noted, recalling her earlier request.
"My lesson about Kyoshi wasn't pointless... even if it has nothing to do with our present circumstances." she conceded, before scrunching her lips up, "How was the circus, anyway? You must have been enjoying it if you stayed for as long as you did."
"Aw... it was alright. I had a lot of fun, but being away from you and Mai wasn't that nice. I had to make new friends, and deal with all kinds of people... sometimes they weren't that nice."
"Well, not everyone going to a circus is going to be kind to you... even if they're impressed by the acrobatics." she suggested, making Ty Lee snicker.
"You know I even got to give people autographs... though maybe it was because they thought I was cute... or cool." she observed, "Always the teenage boys, and even some girls. They all said my moves were pretty amazing."
"Of course they did." the Princess mumbled, trying to sound sarcastic despite her comment being genuine; her friend was a very skilled acrobat, and she always got attention for it, probably a bit more than she used to given that she was no longer just a little girl, but somebody she imagined teenage boys swooned for.
"What, and you don't get guys' attention?" she asked her, "You're like really pretty, Azula, you know that, right?"
"Of course I know that." she scoffed, "I'm me." she gestured to her face, before turning her eyes away, "No, I haven't really."
"Probably because you didn't go out."
"My father wouldn't have liked that." she gave an excuse which seemed overly redundant by that point.
"Well, lucky you. Maybe once all this is over, you can go and have some fun."
"I'm going to be Crown Princess, Ty Lee." she retorted, before stopping herself, knowing that wasn't really as certain as she'd like it to be, "Well, I hope I'm Crown Princess."
"Hey, hey, that doesn't matter. What matters is that you don't get all grumpy and angry because you don't have any friends or a boyfriend." her friend argued, "Wanna be like Zuko?"
"Well, I mean Zuko does definitely have something going on with Mai." she admitted, making Ty Lee scrunch her lips up.
"Oh, yeah. Last time I was in the capital, they were still brooding together." she admitted, before smiling, "Ah, it's cute, no matter the aura."
"Please stop." Azula simply asked her, not wanting to sound too pleading as she tried to force uncomfortable images of her brother and Mai out of her head.
"What, I'm right. It is cute, and I'm happy for them and their cuteness." Ty Lee doubled down, and Azula grimaced, though she found her expression quickly justified when she heard the sound of something exploding in the far distance; her eyes darted to the horizon, and she made sight of one of Zhao's ships, its deck smoking and letting off flames, presumably because it had just been hit by a flaming boulder.
"Oh, well, we finally found them." she observed, before placing her hands on the railing, glancing above the ships to try and spot out Appa, though in the darkness of the night, it was hard to see much, though the clouds were distinguished from the night sky behind them by the moon's light, "Where are they?" she mumbled to herself, before turning around, "Helmsman! I need a spyglass." she gave an order, and in a few moments, he'd pulled a spyglass from his belt and handed it to her.
Raising the spyglass up, she eyed out towards the horizon, spotting what looked like the dim, but noticeable light coming from the superstructures and decks of ships, the latter being presumably the trebuchets that were being loaded up with flaming boulders. She glanced along the horizon, noting that most of the ships were sitting to the right of their present path, and she knew at once that they had to continue moving past the enemy, and towards Crescent Island, even if it took many more hours to reach it.
She then turned the spyglass up, looking for Appa in the sky; she was able to notice the shadow the sky-bison cast on the clouds it flew over, and that told her that it was quite high up, and probably just about to cross over the enemy ships. That made the boulders that were shot up into the sky not so surprising, flying up towards the low-hanging clouds that the sky-bison was just above; she couldn't see the shadow anymore, as it was drowned out by the light of the boulders, but she felt confident that they had effectively avoided the attacks.
"Helmsman, I want you to take a hard left and move around the enemy. Let Zhao and his ships face them... we have to ensure that the Avatar reaches Crescent Island without being captured." she explained, and he saluted her, before turning to face the other men in the bridge.
"You heard the Princess! We've got to turn this ship around." he ordered them, and they began to frantically move about, pulling levers and turning wheels, which led to a loud rumbling from the engine below them; they were going to go to full speed, and with any luck, get past the enemy while they were distracted by Appa, and then, by her allies, who were probably itching to get back for the damage they'd already taken.
A few more flaming boulders shot out from the enemy vessels, now aiming away from her ship and the others that were approaching, which also began to fire their trebuchets, blasting the sides of the ships with boulders which set the decks alight with debris, though it was quite hard to see how much damage had really been done at such a distance. Azula grasped the railing tightly as she watched her ship course ahead, moving closer and closer to the enemy ships by the moment; Ty Lee seemed a little uncomfortable about their hasty approach, and turned to face her.
"Uh... Zula, should we be going this close?" she asked, and the Princess narrowed her eyes, knowing that they didn't have a choice, if they turned around, the enemy would pursue them, given her vessel was perhaps the most recognisable one in the sea.
"We have to be fast." she simply stated the fact of the matter, "If we slow down or turn around, they'll follow the ship, and try to sink us. They can't follow us if they're fighting those ships." she gestured to the right of them, towards the ships they had been travelling with.
Her friend grimaced for a moment, before nodding, "Okay." she accepted her rationale, before turning her gaze ahead, "Does this mean everyone's going to start fighting each other?"
"As long as my father is free or my uncle is alive, then yes." she confirmed, before clenching her grip on the railing harder than before, "And... that's why we have to fight."
"But don't you want to stop the war? Isn't that why you're helping Aang?"
"No." she retorted, "I want to help my uncle, and that is best done by helping the Avatar and ensuring that my father is stopped." she stressed, and her friend grimaced, before nodding.
"Well, we can't turn back now."
Zuko had not been certain when he entered the port that he would be able to find anything of real use against Commander Zhong, and he feared that he would just have to try and persuade whoever was on the ship that he was actually Prince Zuko, and that the Commander was loyal to his father, who had now been publicly outed as a traitor. However, the document he now held in his hands was proof enough, even if the officers didn't believe he was really who he would say he was.
It was a letter from his father, and though it didn't explicitly have his father's name or seal on it, it certainly was requesting something more than traitorous of Commander Zhong. It requested that he and his forces travel eastward and find the Fire Lord's vessel, and once having him in their custody, to hold him captive and force him to either abdicate his throne to Ozai, or grievously injure him enough that could not pose a threat to his plans.
Such words were so damning that he was surprised his father would even try to write them; using code seemed far more sensible, though he assumed that the channels he sent the messages by were secure. The letter itself was rather hard to find, jammed underneath a panel in one of the desk drawers, along with a few other letters, which seemed a lot less conspicuous than the one he was holding.
One of those letters seemed to be giving directions, either from his father, or one of his associates, to clear the waters of the Southern Seas so they could ensure the Fire Lord was protected from pirates or ships from the other nations, though that looked like an excuse to allow his uncle's would-be killers to get to his ship without being caught by some of Zhong's subordinates beforehand.
Presently, Mai was eyeing the most explicit letter intently, reading its contents with a serious glare, "This is it." she came to the same conclusion he had, "This is what you wanted."
"I know." he nodded, before clenching his fist, "They're going to try and capture uncle." he stated what he now knew, which agitated him; he didn't want to be angry when he was in such a delicate situation, but he knew that letting his uncle fall in harm's way after all their effort would make most of those efforts worthless, "We can't fail now."
Mai nodded, and gestured towards the door, presumably also thinking that intervening before Zhong could do anything was their best option, "We have to go, right now."
"Exactly." he agreed with her, before picking his mask up from the desk, and tying it back around his face, concealing his identity once more; he would reveal himself once Zhong's own treachery had been, and hopefully, the others on the ship would trust him.
"I heard a meeting somewhere on this floor or the next. If they're still together, this will be our best chance. Not all of them can be your father's lackeys." she argued, and Zuko nodded, before indicating to her own mask, which she put back onto her face, before checking the stiletto-launchers she had on her wrists, presumably just wanting to be sure she could use them if things got violent.
He strode over to the door that led into Zhong's quarters, and pushed it ajar, glancing out into the hallway; to their luck, it was empty, and he couldn't hear anybody nearby. Without a moment to waste, he paced on down the hallway, stepping with light-feet and caution as he glanced past corners, moving toward the distant but recognisable sound of a conversation taking place. Mai followed right behind him as he drew closer and closer to the voices, leaning past another corner to see a pair of men guarding what looked like a meeting room, given its larger, double-doored entrance.
He turned his eyes to Mai, and gestured his head towards the men, knowing they would have to be incapacitated before they could confront whoever was inside; they weren't trying to earn enemies, but simply get their point across. Of course, if they couldn't accuse Zhong in the moment, then they wouldn't have a chance to catch him; knocking a few unfortunate guards out was the price that had to be paid.
She didn't fool around, shooting a stiletto out past them, merely to draw their attention down the hallway, before Zuko shot out a fire stream, coursing at the men, which forced them to quickly move into defensive forms. With their field of vision blocked by his firebending, they were unable to dodge the knives that were thrown by Mai, slashing their extremities and presumably frightening them as Zuko charged forward.
When one of them aimed his fist toward the Prince, the latter simply weaved out of the way of the fireball he conjured, before kicking him right into the doors, throwing them open before he elbowed the other guard in the gut, winding him before Mai knocked him out with a sucker punch to the head; the men in the meeting room were more than shocked by the turn of events, and some rose to their feet, expecting a fight.
"What is the meaning of this?!" one of the men pointed at them accusingly, and the Prince didn't respond, standing on the chestplate of the guard he'd knocked through the doors, allowing him to keep him in place while he used a charged fireball to smack his head down into the floor, knocking him out.
Eyeing the man who shouted at them, he assumed that he was Zhong, though he'd have to question him first, "Which of you are Commander Zhong?" he asked, using a monotone, dark voice to try and intimidate an answer out of them.
The man who had just shouted gulped as he realised he was the one being looked for; Zuko let himself smirk, even if they couldn't see his face as he drew out the letter, showing it off to the Commander, "I think you need to learn how to hide your things better, Commander."
"Oh- oh fuck." he gasped out in fear, before pointing at him, "What kind of people barge into my room with my personal correspondences?""
"The Intelligence Service, sir?" one of the other men guessed their origin, and Zuko shook his head.
"Not quite." he conceded, before pointing his finger around, "And which of you aren't usually on this ship?"
Most of the men raised their hands, and he placed the letter down, pushing it towards one of them so they could get a better look at it; the officer eyed it with interest, his expression shifting to one of shock, then panic as he turned to eye the Commander.
"Y-you- is this real?" he asked him accusingly, "Are you in league with the traitor?" he questioned once more, and Zhong stepped back from his chair, obviously afraid that the others might turn on him.
"It's a fabrication!" he lied, "I'm being made a fool of. These are just hired thugs. Probably from one of the other Commanders... trying to get rid of me." he made a reasonable, but unrealistic excuse; being loyal to Ozai just made a whole lot more sense, even if it was far more damning.
"I am no hired thug." Zuko retorted, before snapping a finger, Mai shooting a stiletto past the Commander's head, hitting the door right behind him, which made him flinch with fear, "Do you not know what he's done?" he asked him, unsure if Zhong was actually aware of Zuko's circumstances; of course, there was nothing he had to tell that he was really the Prince, but he would soon change that.
"I don't know anything about the Prince." he tried to excuse himself.
Another officer, having read the letter, rose up in agreement with Zuko, "This can't be fake. It has to be from him... it's got a proper seal and everything. Who would go through that effort just to get rid of you, sir?"
"Nobody." Zuko answered the rhetorical question, just to drill the fact for the officers around him, "I am taking control of this ship." he made his intentions clear, just wanting to get a reaction out of the Commander.
"You- you damn hooligans!" he shouted at him, shooting a fire stream towards Zuko, right across the table and past the faces of his subordinates; the Prince parted the attack with ease, splitting the attack in two so it coursed past him and Mai and into the hallway.
"I would watch your words if I were you." he warned the Commander, before he pulled his most prized possession out; even if they didn't recognise it, it would make his following story all the more believable, because it was true.
"Do you know what this is?" he asked the officers, showing them the ornate dagger, which made them eye it with interest.
"That's... that's a ceremonial blade. From the Earth Kingdom army." one of them observed, and he nodded.
"That's right. And it came from the last general who defended Ba Sing Se's walls. He gave it to the Dragon of the West, now the Fire Lord, when he submitted to our nation's might." he explained, making the officers look amongst themselves with confusion.
"The Fire Lord?" one of them asked him, "How did you-"
"He gave it to me, believing that I would someday be worthy of leading such battles." he acknowledged, his words perhaps a bit of self-aggrandisement, but presumably true, though he hadn't really discussed the topic all too much with his uncle, "But this is no battle, because I've already won." he declared, before he drew his mask from his face, and glared the Commander down with cold, dagger eyes, "Say my name." he demanded, knowing Zhong would have figured out quickly enough who he was.
"H-how- how did this bastard get into my ship?!" he questioned, pointing at the Prince with a frantic face.
"That is no way to speak to a member of the royal family." Mai mocked him with a calm, but chiding tone.
"Prince Zuko?" one of the officers gasped, coming to the conclusion he'd wanted them to.
"I don't need blue flames to get recognised." he acknowledged his triumph, before pointing at the Commander accusingly, "Stand down, Commander. In the name of your Fire Lord, I order you to surrender yourself and your ship to my custody. You have committed treason by supporting Prince Ozai in his attempt to seize the throne."
"He- he is right." one of the officers acknowledged, and with that a few of them rose to their feet, eyeing the Commander with suspicion, if not outright contempt, "You have done this to yourself, sir."
The Commander stepped back away from his chair, and seemed to realise that he was clearly outnumbered on the table, though Zuko was unsure exactly who there was in league with his father, along with the Commander; they probably weren't the most important people in terms of the conspiracy, but they certainly could pose a threat to the Prince at that very moment.
"Which of you have the stomach to admit your treachery?" he asked the table, and most of them looked his way with concerned faces; that told him that they probably weren't traitors, but that left a good five of them that seemed to avert their gazes.
"Don't just sit there!" Zhong shouted at his men, "Kill him!" he gave an order, and with that, those more cautious officers rose from their seats, shooting out fireballs at the Prince, who raised a wall of flames up to defend himself and Mai.
"You take them out, I'll get Zhong." he suggested to her, and she nodded, rushing forward to leap onto the table as he allowed the flames to dissipate; she threw out two knives at once, hitting two officers, before drawing out more knives as Zuko rushed around the side of the table, running towards the Commander, who was slowly stepping backwards towards the rear door of the meeting room.
He didn't waste a moment, leaping past a fire blast from one of the officers, before he ran for the door, making his way to it before the Commander could lock it shut. He grappled Zhong with two hands, both of them stumbling back, now in a narrow hallway, surrounded by windows, indicating they were on the front side of the superstructure. A taller, and perhaps stronger man than himself, Zhong headbutt the Prince, forcing him to stumble back, before he began running down the hallway, probably just wanting Zuko to give chase.
Though he knew that would leave him and Mai separated, he knew that restraining Zhong was the only way they could stop any further escalation, "You damn coward!" he decried him as he conjured a fire stream, which coursed down the hallway, forcing the Commander to duck down and nearly go prone.
The Prince then rushed forwards, chasing after Zhong as he made his way around the corner; glancing past, he realised he was climbing down a staircase, presumably going back down into the hull of the ship, though he was unsure where exactly he intended to go. Quickly enough, he understood his intentions as he heard Zhong shout frantically.
"Men! There's an assassin after me! Stop him!" he ordered them, and Zuko charged down the stairs, jumping down the last portion to kick a sailor out of the way before he could even think of trying to fight him.
There were six men in his way, Zhong cowering behind them, and without his document, nor the time to prove the Commander's guilt, he elected to beating his way through his enemies; to his luck, some of them were non-benders, which made it rather easy for him to shoot a few fireballs at them, and force them to drop their weapons. Some of them had pikes, others swords, but Zuko was fast enough to whack their forearms or kick them and prevent them from even trying to hit him.
The firebenders weren't as easy to deal with, and he was forced to weave around their attacks, or disperse them with his own bending. A few fireballs hit his robes, and set them alight, being cheaper and thus, not fireproof like those soldiers and sailors wore; he grit his teeth from the heat searing his skin, but didn't falter, creating two fire whips to grapple two firebenders at once, using them to trip them over so he could move ahead and attack Zhong.
One last non-bender had the guts to rush at him, however, and Zuko shot him in the chin with a small fireball, flicking his head up and allowing the Prince to kick him over; he grasped the sailor's jian sword, and spun it around, Zhong's eyes widening with fear.
"Oh fuck, you know how to-" he began, before he almost screeched in fear, forced to leap away from the blade he aimed right at his shoulder.
He shot a fire ball out at Zuko, and hit him in the gut, making him grunt as he held the pain in. Zhong seemed to realise as the Prince purposefully scratched the metal wall beside him, carving a deep scratch in, that he wasn't messing around; if he tried to hurt him again, he would kill him, with no regret or restraint. Understandably, he began to run once more, rushing down the hallway to head back towards the front of the ship, Zuko making his way after him; his eyes darted up to the nearby staircase, where he could see Mai running down with a few of the officers, obviously wanting to help him capture Zhong.
He dashed down the hallway after Zhong, watching as he pushed the door open, charging out onto the deck of the ship; he could hear his shouts, but they were far quieter than the massing of footsteps he heard behind him. The Prince kicked his right foot forward, shooting out a fire blast which knocked the door wide open when the Commander tried to force it shut. He then rushed ahead, glancing out to see a number of men on the deck, all of them clearly confused by what had just happened.
"Sir?" one of them asked Zhong, "What is this?"
"Justice." Zuko gave the answer he was looking for, "I won't ask you again, Commander. Stand down."
"You- you should be dead!" he snarled at him, before shooting out a fire stream from his fist, forcing Zuko to weave out of the way, before he kicked his left foot out, shooting him in the shoulder with a fire blast.
He stumbled back, but quickly regained his footing as Zuko charged forward with the jian in hand. When he moved to create a wall of flames, the Prince conjured flames along his blade, using it to slice right through the fire Zhong had created, their eyes meeting each other's.
"Say my name." he snarled at him, the Commander trying to throw his fist out to hit Zuko, who just slashed up his arm instead, making him scream out in pain, before the Prince stabbed him in one of his knees.
"Ah, please!" he begged for mercy as the sailors stood around them, confused and unsure if they ought to intervene; his cries of pain were nothing to the Prince, who momentarily glanced back at the officers and Mai, who were all watching with concern, though the latter's face masked whatever emotions she might have been feeling.
"You know they nearly burned me alive? I've got marks all over my back from it." he explained his circumstances, if only to give the Commander a little insight into his rage, "Do you really think I care? You're a traitor. You would kill my uncle if you had the chance."
"I- I couldn't kill the-" he began to groan, barely able to contain his pain.
"Then what was your plan, huh?" he retorted, knowing that somebody like Zhong, even if clearly a competent firebender, wouldn't have stood a chance against his uncle, even with the help of his goons, "And I thought I had no foresight." he shook his head, before grappling him by the neck, "Say my name."
"P-P-Prince Zuko." he revealed his identity, or rather, admitted it finally, and in front of all the sailors, giving Zuko all the power he needed, at least legally, to do what he wanted.
"You have committed high treason by trying to harm a member of the Royal Family. The usual punishment for that is execution, you know." he warned him, and the sailors around him stepped back, probably thinking he was about to actually end Zhong's life.
"Zuko." he heard Mai address him, with a slightly concerned tone that was rare to hear.
Though he might have otherwise assured her of his honour and dignity, he instead let out a snicker, before eyeing the pained and clearly terrified Commander; he wasn't actually going to kill him, as that would just make him seem like as much a ruthless, uncaring fool as his father.
"I'm not killing you." he clarified, before he kicked the Commander in the chest, throwing him down onto the deck of the ship; turning around to face the officers, they looked at him with shock, and dropped to their knees.
"We are but your humble servants, your highness." one of them assured him, and he scoffed.
"No, you are servants of your nation, just as I am... and we are loyal to the Fire Lord." he clarified their duties; he was not the Fire Lord, and not even Crown Prince, not yet.
"I want this ship heading east at once, and whatever ships you all command as well. We need to find my uncle before the traitors do." he gave his orders, before one of them stood up.
"What will we do with him? And the other traitors we restrained upstairs?"
"They'll go in the prison hold. I want the Fire Lord to condemn them personally... that is the dignity I will provide them with." he explained his thoughts, before gesturing to the superstructure, wanting his orders followed at once, "Go!"
Though afraid, they bowed with haste before turning themselves to move back into the ship; they knew what was at stake, having read the same orders he had, and it was only a matter of time before they faced something more dangerous than Zhong himself- a whole armada of traitors ready to kill them and his uncle for his father.
"Your wish is our command, Prince Zuko."
