The Dragon of the West was not a man to easily fret about the outcome of a battle, because he fought for the winning side; the problem was, however, that the Fire Nation was not going to win every battle of the war, and moreso, their opponents had grown to take every chance they could to destroy them. The Earth Kingdom's abrasive strategies were more than justified, and they had earned more than enough sympathy from the son of the man commanding a nearly century long war against them; that did not mean, however, that he was willing to stand by and let them kill his men. Not just in a fair, pitched battle, like the tales of old; they intended for a brutal massacre, the kind that he'd refuse to enact upon his worst enemies, even if they believed he would.

So he rode with haste, taking the best mongoose lizards that he could find in his camp, and headed right for Port Chibi, which was under siege by an elite group of Earth Kingdom forces; their leader, General Xiayi, had already defeated Iroh's forces on a few occasions through a combination of skill, terrain and manpower, but now, they had cut off his army's one source of supplies and men from the homeland, leaving him and his division starkly unprepared for whatever they might throw his way next. He had already requested assistance from the commander of the Eastern Fleet, Admiral Jeong Jeong, but his forces were yet to arrive, so he had had to deal with Xiayi himself, and save his men from certain doom.

The road towards Chibi was rough and winding, with cliffs on one side and the sea on the other, with the rocky coast more than a little intimidating to ride alongside. He could see the smokestacks coming from the fleet in the distance, but what was more on his mind was the smoke ahead of him; he couldn't see the port yet, but he was sure that the countless rising smoke stacks could have only come from its burning buildings. However, he doubted the attackers had been the ones to set it alight; a scorched earth policy was always the last resort of any Fire Nation soldier, to prevent the enemy from making use of a facility if it were to fall to their hands.

As he rode his mongoose lizard ahead, he kept his eyes focused on their path, concerned that he'd run into Earth Kingdom soldiers; to his luck, and the luck of those in Chibi, the road seemed to be clear, and his speed was only impeded by the haphazard winding that the path took along the coast. His men were on mongoose lizards as well, ensuring they wouldn't be forced to slow down for komodo rhinos or men on foot. However, before he had even reached Chibi, he came across something rather concerning; half a dozen Fire Nation soldiers, who looked injured and battered from a fight, were fleeing his way, which was indicative that the worst outcome might have arrived.

He pulled on the reins of his steed, and raised a hand, ordering his men to stop, knowing they needed any intelligence they could get on Xiayi's assault before they got any closer, "You there!" he called out to the soldiers, "What's happening?" he asked them, hoping for a helpful answer; though he had some concerns they may have been deserting the fight, he certainly wouldn't blame them- they were fighting some of the toughest fighters from the Earth Kingdom, the kind of men who might have otherwise been attacking his nation's capital if the war had been going the opposite way.

"Your highness... they've got the others pinned down." one of the soldiers warned him, "We were coming to request backup." he added, obviously not wanting to sound like a deserter.

"We were just coming to Port Chibi's aid." he assured the soldiers, "Now, get back to camp, and you'll have your injuries tended to." he gave them an order, knowing that such badly battered men wouldn't be very useful in the field of battle; potentially wasting their lives, just for victory, would be pointless if they would be able to win otherwise.

"We won't be doing that, sir." the soldier reassured him, and Iroh's eyes met his own, and the Prince immediately realised his mistake; he hadn't got a good look at any of them- the man's eyes were green, and so were his comrades.

They were Earth Kingdom soldiers, and though nobody else had realised yet, he knew that the enemy soldiers were prepared to attack them as soon as they had seen he had got a whiff of their intentions. Iroh was ready to order his men to apprehend the disguised enemy soldiers, but before he had the chance, he felt the ground beneath his steed melt away as the road collapsed; they must have been earthbenders, and he turned to the right, seeing a landslide form.

He leapt from the mongoose lizard at once, landing flat on his chest by the side of the now collapsed road while his steed fell down towards the water along with a few of his soldiers. As much as he wanted to try and help them, he knew that the rest of them still on the road were in just as much danger, being ambushed by earthbenders in the place they obviously wanted to pin them down.

"Take him!" one of the enemy soldiers commanded the others, who had moved into form, ready to attack him and the others.

The landslide was more of a concern to Iroh, who knew that unlike the earthbenders, he couldn't protect himself from it, so he elected to make the only move he thought would work; he shot out a fireball from his palm, hitting one of his opponents in the shin, forcing him to his knee, before he created a wave of fire with a swing of his arm; that kept the others distracted while he grasped the soldier by the arm.

"Do you want to die, son?" he asked him, genuinely concerned the man might sacrifice himself just to see the Dragon of the West swept away in a landslide, "Is this worth your life?" he asked him as the mass of liquified soil and rock rushed down towards them.

He punched Iroh in the face, disorienting the Prince for a moment as his head rocked back; the soldier raised a hand up, stopping the wave of earth from hitting them both. However, Iroh didn't try to hit him back while his opponent was distracted; what was more important was keeping himself safe while their plans unfolded. Without the threat of a landslide, his men would be able to resume an offensive, and with Iroh right at their feet, he had the chance to pummel the enemy and ensure their victory, even if it got him a few bruises and broken ribs along the way.

"Thanks." he genuinely acknowledged the man's help, even if it was to save his own skin, though the soldier seemed to be angered by his response, grabbing Iroh by the throat.

"You damn ash-maker." he snarled, before he headbutt him, throwing him back; Iroh stumbled into the mass of mud and rocks that were left over after the landslide, and eyed the soldier and his comrades, who were taking form.

"Oh, we're getting promotions for this, boys!" the enemy soldier declared triumphantly, "Die!" he shouted out with a furious voice, he and his comrades throwing boulders at the Prince, who shot a fire blast right in front of himself.

His blast pushed him back, throwing him onto his back, and over the pile of dirt he'd been standing in front of; the dirt, though not comparable to the steel walls that protected the Fire Nation's fortresses, was able to soften the blow of the boulders, which smashed into it instead of the Prince, who rolled back down the other side, where his soldiers were waiting for him.

One of his guards knelt down beside his Prince, offering him a hand, "Thank the spirits you're alright, sir."

"We're not alright." he warned him, "They've got us surrounded." he warned him, gesturing up above them, towards the collapsed cliff-face; at the very top, he had noted a few earthbenders standing on the ready- they were wearing conical hats and the armour he knew the elite soldiers of the Earth Kingdom wore.

"Keep them distracted, I've got a plan." he ordered his men, and they nodded, shooting out fireballs in quick succession at the earthbenders, both those at the top of the cliffs, and those to their left.

Iroh took form, and took a deep breath, momentarily eyeing those nearby earthbenders who might try and quickly attack him, but was relieved to see they were more than distracted at the moment by his men. He instead turned his focus up the hill, motioning his hands as he gathered his chi, generating a lightning bolt; it shot out from his right hand, striking right under the feet of the earthbenders, shattering the already brittle cliff face.

The stunned earthbenders struggled to break their falls, forced to create platforms of earth to hold themselves up, though some fell all the way down, landing right in front of his men. A spared few of them were lucky enough to remain up above on top of the cliff face, safe from his soldiers' attacks, but the rest were quickly barraged by attacks; however, to his frustration, the earthbenders were no joke squad sent to just toy with him- they raised up shields with haste and used them as weapons, ramming them into his men when they tried to get close.

He sent out a fire whip from his left hand, the thin stream grappling one of the earthbenders by their ankle, before he yanked down hard, causing him to trip out of cover and into one of Iroh's own guards. The Prince winced, regretting having pulled on him as hard as he had, before he continued his offensive, waving up a wall of flames as cover as he approached the nearest set of defences; he thrust his right hand forward, shooting out a charged fireball, striking one of the earthbenders in the head before he grappled the wrist of another, right through the wall of flames. They must have been horrified as their comrade was dragged through the fire, and Iroh's men pummelled him with fireballs, knocking him unconscious.

Suddenly, as he was about to return to his offensive, he found himself whacked in the back by a wall of earth; he had failed to follow a basic rule of combat- never turn one's back to one's enemy. He was thrown down onto the road, and Iroh turned around, crossing his arms as he prepared to breathe fire upon his enemies' faces. However, it seemed that they were prepared for that trick, and one of them slyly tossed a bit of dirt into his mouth as he opened it for a breath.

His eyes widened, realising that he was now wide open for any attack they intended, and in the moment, he decided to roll to the right, towards his men, just hoping it was fast enough. A boulder landed right where he had been before, and his fears were confirmed; they weren't looking for a fair fight, or even to capture him- they were there for blood. Iroh was offered a hand by one of his guards, while the other stood in front of him, shooting out a barrage of fireballs at haste, keeping the enemy occupied while the Prince could regain his footing, still spitting out dirt from his mouth.

"Your highness... I don't think this is going our way. Should we withdraw to a more favourable position?"

"And let those men in Chibi to their fate? No." he refused, "We don't abandon soldiers." he declared with all the confidence he could muster; even if victory was not certain, he was sure that he could reach and relieve the port if just given an opportunity to get past the earthbenders, "You can kill me, but you can never take my spirit!" Iroh declared triumphantly, creating an arc of fire which shattered all the rocks they had tossed their way, before he wiped his lips, which still tasted of dirt, "Now, have a taste of your own medicine." he declared, conjuring a disc of fire above his raised palm, before he shot it at great speed, striking the soil in front of the earthbenders, momentarily blinding them with the dust it kicked up.

"Attack again!" one of the earthbenders commanded his comrades, and Iroh turned around, seeing those disguised earthbenders on the other side of the landslide rushing across, shooting out discs of earth from the mass of soil; he created narrow walls of fire, blocking as many of the attacks as he could, before he conjured a pair of fire shields on each of his forearms.

He raised his hands up, ready to go hand-to-hand, if that was what it would take to strike fear into the hearts of those men; he was the Dragon of the West, after all- they had every reason to fear him, and the things his men would do at his word. He proceeded to block a number of discs, rocks and small boulders with his fire shields, shattering each as he swung his fists around with precision; his firebending forms weren't very useful with his present strategy, and he was forced to rely off of old sparring techniques he'd learnt when first in the academy, where the combat trainers demanded they learn how to fight with as many styles ass possible, to ensure they could always one up the enemy.

It seemed that training was coming in handy, as he was able to block their attacks with each of his new moves, grabbing some of them by their arms before they could even try and raise more soil for new projectiles. When he was finally hit, it was right in his gut; that momentarily winded him, and he stumbled back, . Now the earthbenders seemed poised to attack him, but they relented, perhaps wanting to restrain him before they knocked him out; they didn't seem as violent as the other earthbenders, though he wasn't sure if that was because they belonged to different units, or because he hadn't actually been trying to hurt them that badly.

That, however, was a mistake, as a few moments later, he created a stream of flames out of his mouth, momentarily scaring off the attackers while he lunged in, knocking a few of them out with swift punches to the chin and gut, though with the latter, they were more so out of breath, but it had the same effect. They stumbled back, and tried to form a defensive line, though Iroh's attention was once again drawn by those who had come down from the cliff face; he only had a moment to react as a pillar struck him in the side, throwing him back, only stopped from falling off the road and down the slope towards the sea by one of his observant subordinates, who grabbed him by the back.

"Don't worry sir, we're pushing." he assured him, before he himself sent out a fire stream, hitting another soldier who was preparing an attack; suddenly, both of them were hit off their feet by a boulder, throwing them off of the ledge, and falling down towards the water's edge.

Iroh wasn't one to scream easily, but that fall got a bellow out of him, and as he careened down the slope, he grit his teeth and braced, grabbing the soldier so he avoided falling any further down, towards the rockpools and water-filled crevasses that lined the shoreline. When he struck the soil, he realised it must have been a rather thin coating, as it was hard as stone, and he was forced to dig his free hard into it, fruitlessly trying to hold on; the soldier was a little luckier, getting a hold onto a protruding stone, and kept a firm grip of the Prince's hand.

"Thank you." he smiled at the soldier, forced to keep one of his eyes shut as he had gotten dirt in it; the soldier smiled, and pulled on his arm, helping him further up the slope, so he could get a hold of some dirt to dig his fingers it, "What's your name, son?"

"Sergeant Li."

"Honestly, I don't know whether to laugh at that." he conceded, knowing it was an extremely common name that would both be hard to forget, but even harder to recognise when he might want to recall the man for some kind of commendation.

"I blame my parents, your highness. Unoriginal as wearing the colour red." he conceded, his joking attitude putting a smile on Iroh's face, before he tried to pull himself further up the slope, "We've got to get back up there. The men need you."

He could hear their shouts and cries, and he couldn't really tell who was winning the fight, only noticing a number of fire streams and dust being kicked up all over the road, which was cut out of view by the steep slope he found himself on.

"I don't know if it'll make a difference now."

"Will we retreat?"

"I'll need to make a distraction first, but yes. We don't have a choice. They have us cornered here with the sea and cliffs both." he acknowledged the dire situation, before he pulled himself up further, struggling to get a grip into the soil.

"Your highness!" he heard one of his guards shout out, and he glanced up to see him peering down the slope, "Do you need a rope?!"

"It certainly would help!" he shouted back at him, before his eyes widened with horror as he saw the guard smacked to the side by a boulder, as if he were a ragdoll, falling down limp by the edge of the slope; to his luck, he wasn't tossed down as they were, because he was most certainly unconscious after that hit.

"Bloody spirits, they're not giving up." Li grumbled under his breath, before he raised a fist up, shooting a fireball up at an earthbender, who barely blocked the attack.

Iroh's other personal guard tackled that man, and he could hear his screams, presumably as the man's face was burnt off; he didn't like to imagine such things, but his men were trained to deal with threats to his life with extreme discretion.

"Shit, are we going to die here?" Li asked him, turning to face him, as if he were hoping for some comforting words; Iroh didn't know what to say, and instead looked back, towards the rocks that hung below them, as good a death-trap as any earthbender could craft; instead, his attention was drawn to a number of battleships which were very clearly noticeable on the horizon, and Iroh's eyes widened, as he realised what might be about to occur.

"Well, if we stay on this cliff, Admiral Jeong Jeong might find himself executed for high crimes."

"High-" Li mumbled, before his eyes widened, realising what he was saying; Iroh was admittedly just trying to make fun of the very dangerous situation they found themselves in, and he began scrambling up the slope faster than before, "Shit, shit, shit! I'm not waiting around to find out how good their aim is."

"Me either." he assured him, following suit as he began to climb faster, now able to dig his toe-tips into the dirt as well as his hands, effectively crawling up the slope, until the angle was shallow enough to start climbing on his own two feet.

When he reached the top, he saw his men were still struggling, perhaps oblivious to what was about to happen, and he whistled, calling for his mongoose lizard, which immediately rushed towards him, pushing his men out of the way; he turned around, and gestured to the unconscious body of one of his guards, "Li, put him on the back of my steed, now!" he ordered the soldier, who quickly obliged his command, picking the guard's body up by the armpits, and dragging him over onto the mongoose lizard.

After Iroh had mounted, he cleared his throat, and turned to face those who were still fighting off the earthbenders, at least keeping them at bay while he had had to climb back up, "Everyone, get back down the road! Now!" he ordered his men, "Incoming fire!" he gestured to the ships to their left, and whipped the reins of his mongoose lizard, which immediately moved the way he wanted it to, making its way down the road, and out of the target zone for the Western fleet's artillery.

Not any less than twenty seconds after he had ordered the retreat, a barrage of flaming boulders struck the road, destroying the cliff face even further, and presumably killing a great number of the men who had been sent to kill him; when the smoke had cleared, the road was torn apart, replaced by rubble and soil, strewn with bodies, but clearly, many of them had prepared defences and were still alive, when their defences broke apart, the soldiers exhausted from the fighting, Iroh raised his chin, knowing that they had fought well, but their fight was over.

"Go back to Xiayi, and tell him his tricks won't work on me!" he shouted at them, his warning heeded as the men scrambled to run away as fast as they could, despite their injuries, leaving their dead behind; he sighed, before turning to face his subordinates, "Somebody stay behind and bury the dead. There've been enough dishonourable acts done here today."


Mai wasn't surprised that Zuko requested her to come and join her on his little expedition to some little town outside the capital, given he seemed to like having her company rather than dealing with things himself; whether that was because he was afraid of what dangers he might face, or because he just trusted her to watch his back, she was unsure, but she appreciated his confidence in her. She had first been sceptical as to why he wanted her to come with him to deal with some insurgents, thinking that the Home Guard would really be sufficient for something like that, but he assured her that they might be able to gather more intelligence personally, and figure out exactly what his father's next move would be.

She had agreed to it, knowing that her family was in danger as long as they were in the dark about Ozai's plans, and he took her to his means to reach the insurgents, a tank-train; it was located in a reclusive part of the caldera's edge, in a base operated by the Imperial Firebenders. The head of the installation warned them that it had been attacked earlier that month by Ozai's agents, but they had been repelled; she wasn't worried about sabotage when it was more than clear that the whole machine had been well inspected and tested before they even stepped aboard.

The tank train was fast, perhaps even faster than the steam ships that the Fire Navy used to travel across the globe, but it was on land, and though the ride was somewhat bumpy and the machinery loud, she tolerated it. She and Zuko were afforded a lounge area to sit while the Prince's personal guards took up positions along the vehicle; she could tell that he was nervous about what they might arrive to see, but he kept up a visage of confidence.

He always did, now that Ozai's conspiracy was out in the open, and he had had great responsibility thrust upon him; it amused her somewhat, knowing that ever since he was young he had always dreamed of having such power and the potential for his nation's respect, but she knew he had never really considered the ways how he could receive such power.

When the vehicle finally ground to a halt, she knew that they had arrived, at either Kakouko, their destination, or at a roadblock preventing them from reaching it; the Prince got up first, eagerly stepping over to the door that would allow them to leave the tank-train; the Imperial Firebender stationed in their carriage opened the door for him by pulling down on a lever, causing the doors to slide open, revealing that they had stopped beside some open fields, not in the town as she had expected. When the pair stepped out, they were able to see the town itself not too far away, down the road; between them and it were a few tents, forming what must have been the Home Guard's encampment, while they were waiting out the dangerous insurgents inside.

Mai took note of some smokestacks coming out of the town, much larger than what she would expect from chimneys, and that told her that there'd already been a fair bit of fighting, but given the camp seemed calm, they must have been at a stalemate. Zuko quickly approached the front of the tank-train, where one of his guards was speaking with an officer, who turned to face the Prince and his companion as they reached him; he bowed to the royal, not a surprise in the slightest, before he cleared his throat.

"Your highness, we are honoured to have been given your personal assistance. Has the Fire Lord taken interest in the events here?" he asked, and the Prince glanced behind them, up the road back towards the capital.

"I decided to come here on my own accord. As head of the Intelligence Service, I have an interest in making sure that these insurgents are captured and interrogated for everything they know about my father's plot. I will ensure that things go smoothly here." he assured him, and the officer nodded, seeming more nervous than he ought to be; it wasn't just being in the presence of royalty, it seemed, but something more important, if there could be such a thing in the eyes of a commoner.

"I- I am grateful for that, your highness. We must repel and apprehend these criminals at once... but, I am afraid there is more at stake here. They have taken a number of townsfolk hostage. Most of them evacuated behind our lines when the fighting started, but I'm afraid they'll use them as shields to prevent our advance." he explained, the Prince nodding along.

"That is a reasonable concern. They have obviously done this on purpose- you have numbers on your side. General Hikari assured me that he had enough men to match an army division at the ready."

"Well, not all of them are here. You must know that we are vested to keep the people of the homeland safe... we cannot just focus all our energies on these terrorists, no matter how dangerous they are."

"And that's why I'm here. I want things solved quickly... and I have experience in doing just that."

"Negotiations, my prince?" he asked, making Mai scoff.

"What have you all been told about Commander Zhong?"

"That he was apprehended by the Prince after his treasonous acts were revealed." he clarified, "He was able to persuade the Commander's men to side with him." he added, eyeing the Prince with interest, "Right?"

"Not exactly." he conceded, "That was only part of my plan. The Commander's ship had tight security, and we had to hide our identities, as well as overpower his guards ourselves, when it came time for a fight." he explained, giving a more holistic view of their experience; they had struggled, but it was because of their planning, stealth and martial prowess that Zhong fell.

"So, this won't be a surrender." he observed, "You intend to capture them by force."

"And doing otherwise would give them more of a chance to harm those hostages you are concerned about." Zuko stressed, "Let me guess, they want you to withdraw, or surrender yourselves, in exchange for the release of those hostages?"

"Uh... they did ask for an exchange. Myself and my fellow officers for the hostages, and the rest would be allowed to leave Kakouko unimpeded." he explained, before narrowing his glare, "We wouldn't stand for that, your highness. We are here to make sure they cannot escape."

"Well..." Zuko mumbled, seeming to be deep in thought, before smirking, "Actually, that gives me an idea." he admitted, turning to face Mai, "How well do you think we could track them if they actually got away?"

"Depends. You said there were mongoose lizards on the tank-train, right?" she asked the Prince, who nodded, seeming eager to play their enemies for fools, "I don't know if that's the best plan. What if they just go and take more hostages instead of heading back to their base of operations? That just causes us more problems."

"No, you're right." he agreed with her, backtracking on his idea, "Uh, sorry, you didn't give your name." he addressed the officer, who bowed once more.

"Major Kenzai." he gave his name, before he gestured down the road, "Our defensive lines are inside the town. We have made some barricades out of carts, but they probably won't hold in a proper fight." he explained what his men had actually been doing.

"Do you have an elite unit of firebenders?" Zuko asked Kenzai, who nodded.

"Certainly. Every district has them... ready to deal with grave dangers like this." he explained, before tilting his head towards the town, "I can take them to you, if that's what you desire, Prince Zuko." he suggested, and the Prince scrunched up his lips.

"Yes. I can't have the Imperial Firebenders coming into the town... the insurgents will realise I'm here immediately in that case. I'll need your own men to protect us." he explained what he was planning, and Mai furrowed a brow, thinking that the Imperial Firebenders could still be of use to them.

"Zuko, can't you just have them get out of uniform?" she asked, and the Prince raised a brow.

"You know what..." he mumbled, before turning around, snapping a finger, "Commander Jin." he addressed the leader of his unit of Imperial Firebenders, "Have the men get out of uniform. I want you all to mix in with the civilians that are behind the defensive line. I'll send a signal if I need you all to intervene."

"What will it be, your highness?" Jin asked him, and Zuko smirked.

"Oh, you'll know it when you see it." he assured him, and Mai rolled her eyes, realising quickly enough what he intended; the Prince would only say that if he wanted to show off.

"He means a lightning bolt." she clarified, and Jin seemed to be taken aback by this; she glanced back and saw that Kenzai was also interested in this, though clearly less shocked and more impressed.

"Sorry... you mean to say you have learned lightning generation, your highness?" Jin asked him, and the Prince sighed, snapping his fingers to create a bright torch above his index finger; he eyed it for a few moments, before his gaze fell squarely on the Imperial Firebender.

"One of the great boons of almost dying, Commander. It clears the mind, and allows one to focus on their goals." he told him with a calm, serious tone; he was no longer being smug, but wholly serious- what had happened over the past two months had changed the Prince, and Mai was unsure if it was for the better.

"Where are we going to be able to cross?" she asked the Major, who furrowed a brow before pulling out a piece of paper, which seemed to be a map of the town with some markings on it.

"Here." he pointed at the map, noting a green splotch on it, "That's one of the communal gardens... It's got enough cover with its trees and bushes for you two and my firebenders to get through without facing a barrage." he explained, and Zuko cleared his throat, turning to face Major Kenzai.

"We won't be requiring their help, at least not to free the hostages. We'll need them to make a distraction at the garden, by feigning to try and break their lines." Zuko explained, and the Major pursed his lips, seeming to understand his plan.

"Good idea, your highness. You can take a less obvious route while they attack." he explained the Prince's plan for him, and he nodded at Kenzai, before turning to Mai.

"Ready?" he asked her, and she eyed him, scrunching her lips up, feeling like the question was rather redundant.

"What, do you think I enjoy standing here?" she scoffed at him, before pacing ahead of him and the Major, "Let's get these elite firebenders and hope they're half as good as you, Zuko."

"Half as good as Azula, and then we'll have nothing to worry about." he retorted back with a smirk, "Take us to them." he ordered Kenzai, who immediately paced ahead, with two non-bending soldiers now flanking him.

The group made their way down the road, away from the tank-train and into Kakouko, where Mai noted at once the massing of Home Guard soldiers and civilians, who had been rounded up into some makeshift tents, set up alongside the road to house them, presumably due to the evacuation; they all looked rather concerned, chatting amongst themselves, though their interests were peaked by Zuko and Mai's arrival, probably noticing that they weren't soldiers. Without his armour, Zuko probably just looked like any other civilian, so she doubted that anyone would recognise him as the Prince, unless they'd seen some pictures of him. The soldiers were equally interested, but seemed more concerned about fulfilling their duties, shooting the pair cursory glances before continuing along.

As they approached the barricade, Mai was able to spot the damage the insurgents had caused, and noted that the town hall, which sat in the distance down the road, had a Fire Nation flag with its colours inverted hoisted upon its roof. The group stopped for a moment, before Kenzai led them to the left, down an alleyway, leading them away from the barricade, passing by a few soldiers tending to their injuries; it seemed that they'd already tried to push, but failed. They saluted the Major, who nodded back at them as he continued on through, leading the group across the street, past another barricade, which led them into a small courtyard, where a few soldiers were sitting down on the benches there.

Their gazes rose up to the Major, before one of them, a woman who couldn't have been any older than thirty rose to her feet, saluting him eagerly, "Sir, are we being deployed?" she asked, before glancing behind him at Mai and Zuko, "Got some more Intelligence Service agents for us? Are they here for negotiations?"

"If you mean interrogation, then yes." Zuko corrected her, before Kenzai even had a chance to introduce the pair.

"Excuse me, Captain, but this isn't an agent you're talking about. This is Prince Zuko, the heir of our nation." he entitled the Prince, who felt like he ought to correct him on the second part, but enjoyed the ego boost a little more than he ought to of; the Captain's face, along with her squad's, shifted to ones of shock and fear as she must have realised her mistake.

She fell to her knee, with her head drooped down in shame, "You have my greatest apologies, your highness. I didn't recognise you."

"That was the point of the plain clothes, actually." he admitted, before clearing his throat, "Major, could you fill them in on the plan?"

"Of course, Prince Zuko." he accepted his request, "Captain Honghua, you and your squad will be attacking the enemy lines at once. I have selected the gardens just up the street from here as your entry-point. This is to serve as a distraction against the enemy, who will defend with as much force as they can. As our best unit, your are most suited to this task." he explained their goals, "You will withdraw back to our barricades as soon as the Prince and his companion have gotten past the insurgents."

"Understood." Honghua saluted her superior officer, before turning to face the Prince, "Will you need our assistance, your highness?"

"If you see lightning strike Kakouko, that's when you ought to attack." he explained, and her expression shifted momentarily as she eyed the sky above them.

"Ah... that would be hard to miss, your highness." she conceded, before turning around, "Get your helmets on, and let's move outǃ" she ordered her subordinates, who immediately proceeded to grab their things, all of them sliding on their horned steel helmets, which all firebending soldiers wore, though unlike those who fought off in the Earth Kingdom, they didn't wear the skull face masks that were so ubiquitous in the Fire Nation Army.

As they marched off, Kenzai turned to face the Prince, seeming rather uneasy; perhaps he didn't know if his men could face up against the insurgents, or that he could find himself in a world of trouble if the Prince was to come to harm while he was by his side. Everyone was afraid of the royal family being attacked now, and people's looks proved it; when they had travelled up to the caldera through the port city, the people didn't bow to their Fire Lord, but stepped back, afraid of the danger he brought with him. Even if nobody was as well informed on the conspiracy as them, the common people knew well enough that Iroh's head had a great price on it, and she was sure Zuko's wasn't far behind.

"Are you alright, Major?" he asked the Major, who nodded, forcing a smile.

"Of course, your highness. I trust that you will know what to do when you come face to face with these fiends." he assured the Prince of his confidence in him, but Zuko didn't seem to be that concerned about what would come next.

"I do, but I need you to give me another path to cross their lines." he explained, and the Major smirked, before gesturing to their right, where an alleyway went off; that was where Captain Honghua and her squad had gone, but it didn't seem like Kenzai was wanting them to actually go and join them.

"If you head down that alleyway, you'll find a ladder. We've been using the buildings to spot over the barricades to try and gauge their numbers and defences; the rooftops are too obvious a path across, but if they are distracted, you'll have no trouble getting over to the other side." he explained a potential way for them to enter, and Zuko narrowed his eyes, seeming to be interested in the plan.

"Let's just see if your firebenders are a big enough threat." he decided, before tilting his head towards the alleyway, looking at Mai as he did so; she got the message, and paced over to it, making her way down the narrow alleyway, noticing the ladder at once.

She grasped the wooden shafts, and hoisted herself up, rising above the alleyway onto the edge of a sloped rooftop; though she waited for a moment to glance around her for places where spotters might see her, she didn't see anyone on the other rooftops ahead of her, so she climbed higher up so she could get a better look at the streets in the distance. Though she couldn't see into the courtyard Kenzai had been referring to, she did notice the treetops, giving her at least a sense of distance to where the fight would occur, and thus, where the insurgents would head to try and repulse them.

She made sight of a few of the insurgents, down in the streets ahead of her; they were wearing masks and black garbs, not too unlike Zuko and herself when they liked to sneak around, and were armed with blades, or nothing, indicating themselves as firebenders. Clearly, they didn't want their identities found, given that might allow the Intelligence Service to leverage the safety of their families against them. She turned around and scaled down to the edge of the roof, making sure she could see where Zuko and the Major were; the two of them seemed eager to hear what she had to say, and she pointed in the direction of the street.

"They're waiting for us... or anybody to attack." she clarified, "I only saw six, but that's just in the street across from this building." she explained, and the two nodded.

"So there must be at least a few dozen of them in the town centre." Kenzai concluded, "That's enough for my forces to take in a straight fight."

"It won't be that simple, Major. The hostages will make sure of that." the Prince warned him, "As soon as Honghua's squad attacks, we will cross over and find a place to hide before advancing. We will strike at their leadership and interrogate them... well, Mai will do that. I'll hold off their forces while the Imperial Firebenders and your men close in."

"What about the hostages?" the Major asked, "Will you free them?"

"That's our second goal." he assured him, before he began climbing up the ladder, "Once we locate their leader, and neutralise them, we shall go to where they're being held, we'll neutralise all insurgents present and direct the civilians towards the barricades." he explained, "Prepare your subordinates for this fight. This shouldn't take too long."

Suddenly, before he had even climbed up onto the roof, Mai heard a massive fire blast in the distance, her head flicking around so she could see the flames rising up into the sky; her skills were what made her a good fighter, not her physical strength, and that was what she could see before her.

"That's why they should allow women in the army, Zuko." she gestured across towards the site of the battle that had just begun; more fire streams were shot up into the air, and the building beneath them shook lightly with each bigger blast.

"I- uh, I never said they shouldn't be." he agreed with her, "There's probably more than one Azula around, as much as she'd like to say otherwise." the Prince suggested, making her smirk ever so slightly; she was proud of her friend's firebending achievements, but she couldn't help but feel a little ego boost from the suggestion her abilities weren't really as unique or outstanding as she liked to make them out to be- she was just a prodigy, after all.

She climbed up higher, and checked the street, noticing that the insurgents who had been waiting were already gone, ready to stop the firebenders from breaking through into the town centre; Zuko climbed onto the roof behind her, and rose up slightly to get a look for himself. He smirked, clearly approving of the distraction that had just been made for them, before he pulled something from his bag, "Perhaps we'll fit in with these." he suggested as he revealed two masks, similar to the ones they had worn when they used to sneak around the capital, and Mai pursed her lips, surprised but pleased by his revelation.

"Did you leave that bit of the Intelligence Service reports out? I only just found out how they dressed." she asked the Prince, who aloof as ever, shrugged his shoulders and pulled his mask over his face, tying it at the back of his scalp.

"Let's just show these fools how terror tactics actually work." he declared, before he dashed ahead, jumping across onto another rooftop, crouching down to remain out of sight; Mai rolled her eyes, knowing he was just showing off at that point, but she followed suit, putting her own mask on before she ran across the rooftop, before leaping over to the other rooftop.

She readied a dagger in her left hand as she climbed to the ridge of the roof, checking for any enemies in the street below; she couldn't see anyone, and Zuko pulled out a rope from the bag he had brought along, tying the end of it to one of the ridge crestings, which was rather ornate, made into the form of a coiled dragon. He then descended down from the roof, running down the length of the rope down to the street below; Mai followed after him, abseiling down with haste, before she hung the rope around a nearby window so it didn't stand out.

Glancing around the street, she noted that it was completely empty, but the sounds of the nearby fighting indicated that it mightn't remain so for long, and she rushed over to a nearby alleyway, checking the back doors that lined it to see if any were locked. She was able to push one open, and Zuko, who'd been keeping watch at the end of the alley, followed her inside, closing the door behind them.

"Well, we're inside." she observed, "I assume you want to play hero and go save those hostages now?"

"A little scouting first wouldn't hurt, would it?" he suggested, but she could only sigh, finding a far more simple path than sneaking around.

"We're dressed like we're part of their group. Couldn't we follow others to the hostages and their leader?"

"I'd prefer to not get their suspicions up. This operation must be organised if they're holding off the Home Guard with smaller numbers." he countered her idea, and Mai shook her head, feeling like his plan could fall apart with ease.

"You better have a good escape plan."

"It mightn't be approved by the locals." he conceded, telling her enough; she didn't like the idea of burning down part of a town for the sake of saving their own hides, but it might end up being necessary.

"Then we better not get caught... Dark Water Spirit." she remembered the name of the character whose mask he wore, but he shook his head.

"No, this is the Dragon Emperor's mask." he clarified, and she scrunched her lips up, recalling the role of that character within the play.

"Promoted to the protagonist?" she asked him, a little amused by his choice in mask.

"No, just trying to replicate the arrogance these fools must have in abundance."


The Great Gates of Azulon were perhaps the most impressive feat of Fire Nation engineering in existence, the towering net of chains rising from the sea crossing from one side of the gulf to the other; she hadn't seen them in nearly three whole months, having spent that time rounding the world, only to return to the capital, now facing a far greater issue than the mere prestige to her name. Capturing the Avatar was a non-issue compared to the chaos her father had unleashed, and now it was up to her to clean things up, at least, if her uncle gave her the powers and authority to do so. She and Commander Zhao had made quick work of a flotilla of rebel ships, but that didn't compare to actually taking down her father's conspiracy in its entirety.

She knew that she would be facing the political chaos that was bound to ensue from the revelation of her father's treachery, and she intended to make sure her position was set. She had duties, but Azula would not forget her own ambitions, and she knew now, without her father's stranglehold over her, she would be able to shape her path herself, and make sure her uncle knew who was the right choice as his heir. Returning to the capital was the last thing she had wanted to do, if only because she knew that the freedom that had been afforded to her with her own ship and mission would no longer be necessary; she was going back to rules and formalities, the kinds that she had grown to disdain the longer she spent away from her father, Lo and Li and the regimented lifestyle she had been stuck in since she was a little girl.

"We're nearly home." she heard Ty Lee mumble beside her, and the Princess turned ever so slightly so she could see her friend's face; she didn't seem to be very happy about their return, moreso ambivalent- perhaps she wanted the safety, but feared seeing her parents again, after she'd run away.

"You're not afraid of your parents reprimanding you, are you?" she asked the former circus performer, who cringed at the thought of it; she leaned forward onto the railing ahead of her, and let out a sigh, eyeing the water without much intent or focus.

"They're going to be annoyed, but my sisters will be worse. They're just going to be mad that I got to go off and have a life for myself- just me. I got to be unique for once, and now, I'm just going to sit back down at the dinner table, one of a set of seven."

"You're not the same." Azula retorted, believing that her friend was not truly the same as her siblings; they all must have been different, not just superficially, because only Ty Lee had shown any interest in being her friend, "Can any of them chi-block, or claim they've fought off the Intelligence Service, or aided the enemies of the Fire Nation?" she listed off a number of things that she'd done or had that made her quite different to them, "None of them tried to run away, did they?"

"No- well... I had you and Mai. You believed in me." she conceded, "Thanks, Zula." she grinned at her, her dour expression finally lifting, "If you hadn't complained about my complaining and told me what I could do about my problems... I never would have thought about leaving."

"Well, was the circus all you hyped it up to be?" she asked, genuinely curious if she had enjoyed it as much as she thought she would.

"It had its ups and downs, but I loved going out every day to perform. All that hard work I put into my acrobatics... it all paid off... I mean, I did get a lot of ban from it too."

"What-" she began, before realising, at the time she'd actually found Ty Lee, she had no money to her name, "What happened to your money?"

"The Intelligence Service burnt it, I think... along with half of the circus' tents." she conceded, Azula cringing for a moment, as she realised her friend really didn't have anything to her name, at least away from her family home, where she was now set to return.

"So, you really don't have a choice. You have to go back to your family... you lost everything in that fire."

"Yeah, but I guess I got a friend out of it." she admitted with a smile, Azula furrowing a brow, remembering that she had been accompanied by that earthbender boy when they met in Tetsuwan; his name was Haru, but she didn't really say much about him since she woke up after they departed.

"Do you think about him?" she decided to ask, realising that she may have regretted missing the opportunity to farewell the boy, and his mother, who she must have been staying with, at least before they all came into contact with the Avatar and his friends.

"Haru? Uh, I guess a little." she gave her thoughts, glancing off towards the water, "I hope that he and his family are safe now... I don't know what the military's going to do now that prison is gone."

"Fill it with more prisoners, presumably." the Princess conceded, knowing that the prison rig they had attacked was useful for the Fire Nation's shipbuilding industry, and more imprisoned earthbenders, or even paid labourers, would be brought over to continue production, "If they're smart, they've gone into the hinterland to gather their strength as we're fighting among ourselves."

"Do... do you want them to be stopped?" she asked, and the Princess narrowed her eyes, realising that Ty Lee's personal relationship with what must have been the beginnings of a rebel group were perhaps useful, if she ever came around the area again.

"You might be able to help them. Peace is coming, one way or another, and those earthbenders might be helpful... but I didn't try to negotiate with them all too much, other than considering the withdrawal. They seemed vengeful, and unwilling to make peace with us." she explained her thoughts on the matter, "Their rage is... understandable."

"Because they were forced to build ships for their enemies... who took them away from their families." she explained, and the Princess winced, knowing that their reactions were inevitable given how poorly they had been treated- peace couldn't simply be achieved by stomping their boots on their enemies when they had the will to fight back.

"Yes. I don't imagine anything about their treatment would have improved their opinion of the Fire Nation and our rule." she conceded, "It was either suppression or making peace, and I never took my grandfather as the kind of man who liked negotiating with his enemies."

"And now he's looming over us all." she noted, and the Princess's gaze turned up, realising Ty Lee was just making a joke about the giant statue of her grandfather that was not too far from the ship, standing at the centre of the net, which was presently being lowered for her ship, presumably having closed due to the threat of her father's allies sailing in to blockade the capital.

"I know you meant that as a joke, Ty, but you're... you're right." she conceded, not that comfortable admitting that her friend's judgement had been astute, even if in jest, "My father hates him, but wants to be him, and my uncle tried to love his father, but abhors being anything like him."

"And you're named after him... that's a bit... huh, I dunno." her friend mumbled, seeming lost for words as she pondered the connection between her and her grandfather; Azula hadn't really ever been close with him, or talked to him on a one-on-one basis.

She regretted not speaking with him more often, given that his military and political skills had kept him on the throne, and their nation running, for a whole seventy years. He nearly lived for a century, and loomed over the future of the Fire Nation as much as he did over the past.

"Well... did you know my uncle looks like Sozin?" she asked Ty Lee, who blinked a few times, "Lu Ten told me that everyone used to have these great expectations of him because he seemed so much like his grandfather... at least on the outside."

"But he's not." her friend whispered, "And you're not like your grandfather."

"Oh... I hope I've at least inherited some of his cunning. I'll need it for what comes next." she admitted, "All I got from my mother is her looks, if my father's words hold any weight anymore." she added, recalling that her father had said that when she was a child, when she had asked, rather naively, what her mother had been like.

"Maybe not." Ty Lee suggested with a smile, "Maybe she's why you care."

"About what?" she asked with a furrowed brow, unsure what she was referring to; perhaps her friends, her family, or her nation, but she didn't know, because she never knew her mother, or anyone who had anything other than platitudes to say about her.

"Anything." her friend bluntly admitted, and Azula tensed up.

She wanted to believe, at least for a second, that her father had some redeemable qualities, but she was tempted by the suggestion to discard him entirely, and place her belief in her mother, whoever she had been. After all, her greatest strength had been perhaps entirely inherited from her; the irony of Zuko's so-called 'weakness' really being from their father didn't miss her either, and only made her pity him further.

"No, she's why I'm the most powerful firebender alive." she retorted, lighting a torch on her palm, which she forced to brighten and grow larger, the flames streaming up into the air above them.

"So, she's protecting you... in a way." Ty Lee suggested with a wistful smile, "If you didn't have your firebending, you'd have to use weapons like Mai, or chi-blocking like me... but I know your stuff, it's way stronger."

"Of course it is." she smirked, before her smile faded, "Except, for the first time in my life, I understand why." she admitted, not wanting to further go into that matter; her ancestry was something that made her uncomfortable, not only because of the ingrained distrust her father and education had given her towards the Avatar and the concepts he stood for, but also because her uncle had revealed one of her ancestors had killed another, despite their great and long-lasting bond.

"Wait, look!" her friend pointed out ahead of the ship, Azula's head turning so she could see what she had; it was a messenger hawk, swooping in towards her vessel, and clearly from the direction of the capital.

"Uncle." she muttered under her breath, knowing that he was the only one who could have been sending a message at that time; unless the war council had some news to inform her of, which could be possible if her father had made another move, she had a feeling it had more to do with the threat posed domestically.

"Well, this is going to be interesting." her friend noted, before she beamed, "Mai and Zuko might have sent us a letter! Maybe they want to see us!"

"Oh, I'm guessing Mai will like to catch up, but she isn't the kind of person to send a letter without an important reason. Don't forget, my uncle's back in the capital now... he has the responsibility of protecting our nation, and my household." she stressed, knowing for certain that her uncle, if he was concerned for her safety, would send a letter at once.

He had seemed concerned enough about her potentially returning to the capital before him that he sent her off to keep an eye on the Avatar, which Azula had come to understand as being nearly unnecessary, if not for the attack on the prison rig by his group, which freed a number of prisoners which now posed some threat to Fire Nation forces and colonists in the region. Whether the Avatar was truly a threat to her nation remained unclear, but she seriously doubted her uncle had sent her off thinking he was anywhere near a big a threat or problem as Ozai and his conspiracy.

"Let's see what the letter has to say." she spoke her mind, turning to face the superstructure of her ship, "Or are you going to just stand here?"

"I mean... The Great Gates are cool." she admitted, gesturing off towards the shoreline in the far distance, where one of the massive dragon statues stood, holding up one end of the chain, "Just look at that thing."

"A real dragon would be more impressive." she bluntly gave her opinion on the matter, before she paced off towards the messenger hawk coop, opening the door into the superstructure so she could pass through to the rear.

Her friend followed after her, and the two of them strode to the other door, making their way up the narrow staircase that sat at the other side, leading up to the coop, where the messenger hawk was now sitting, taking from one of the bowls of feed that sat ready for any incoming birds. The Princess stepped into the coop, grasping some seeds to offer the creature so it would come onto her arm. It latched on, and she used her free hand to reach over and pull the rolled up letter out of its holster. She unfurled it as she stepped over to a cage, tossing the seeds inside so that the bird would follow. Once it was inside, she closed the door on it, her eyes allowed to remain solely focused on the letter's contents.

She hadn't expected good news, and she didn't receive it; though her uncle and brother had returned to the capital and assured the Fire Lord's authority there, her father's agents had turned to starting an insurgency to weaken her uncle's authority and perhaps distract his security forces from their real goals. She realised that one of those goals could be herself; even if she had no intention to join her father's side, she would certainly be a useful hostage to anyone who had the ability to capture her. Now, Iroh was warning her to not land until the situation had been alleviated and security assured; she knew that she couldn't waste any time, especially if her uncle's life might be in danger, so she knew she had to change her plans at once.

"Ty Lee, we're going to have to take a new route home." she frankly told her friend what had happened, "I'll need to assemble my guards at once, and inform the helmsman of our new route."

"Why? Is the capital under attack?" she nervously asked her, understandably concerned their home might be in danger, and with it, her family, "Are we going to land somewhere else?"

"Well, to follow protocol would be to stay on the water, and remain under the protection of the Western Fleet's ships that are located behind the gates, while the Intelligence Service and Home Guard deal with whatever attacks my father's forces are undertaking." she explained what her uncle would be expecting her to do, at least on paper; she had a feeling, however, that just like with Omashu, she would need to go against protocol and her given orders to do what was necessary, and Iroh would know that as well.

"But..." Ty Lee mumbled, her eyes darting around, her uneasiness not fading, "We can't just stay here. What if they need your help?"

"I know that." she agreed with her judgement, "I have no intention of staying here. That's why we'll take the steamer instead of trying to land this eyesore of a ship at the docks. My father's men couldn't miss this from the caldera rim itself... we need to lie."

"What if the Home Guard finds us? They'll have patrols and stuff to make sure nobody can come and try to assassinate your uncle, right?"

"Well, they certainly ought to, and that's why we must blend in, until we can safely reach the palace. If I knew this, I would have gotten off this ship earlier and taken a cargo vessel here, or some other civilian craft, to avoid any unwanted attention." she explained her thoughts on the matter, "We don't have that option anymore. I can't waste time sitting here, and I doubt you think that'd be a good idea."

"It'd keep us safe." she admitted, but she didn't seem all as much enthused about the idea of standing back; Ty Lee hadn't ever been the type to shy away from danger, even if she wasn't stupidly reckless like Zuko.

"But you don't think that's the best option, do you?"

"No, Mai and Zuko... and your Uncle too. They all need our help." she gave her own conclusion, before glancing towards the superstructure, "Let's go find your guards. We're bringing them along, right?"

"At least some of them. We'll need disguises on, however." she warned Ty Lee, who scrunched her lips up, and smirked, seeming to have an idea about that.

"I've got something." she revealed, before reaching towards Azula's bangs, making her flinch back for a moment, uneasy with anybody, even Ty Lee, touching her hair, "But maybe we should change our hair too."

"I'm not cutting my hair." she warned her, thinking such a dishonour to be so extreme that she could not even consider it; her appearance was something that she held great pride in, and though she was willing to disguise herself, she would not besmirch her hair.

"I wasn't going to say that." she assured her, "Just wear it down... like you would at the spa." she suggested, and Azula turned her head, imagining what she would look like, before she shook her head.

"I'd have hair all over my face." she retorted, "I need to part it." she argued, and recalled an image she'd seen before of her mother, father and a newborn Zuko that was painted in celebration of his birth; her mother wore her hair down, with her hair parted and the top portion tied loosely around the back of her scalp, where she would usually have her topknot, "Actually... I think I know what I'll do."

"Great." Ty Lee grinned, before grabbing her by the wrist, "Let's go then. I don't want to keep Mai waiting!"


The sight of three dozen civilians cowering in a town square, surrounded by masked men who were ready to attack any of them at a moment's notice unnerved Zuko; he knew that he would be putting those hostages in danger by entering Kakouko, but he knew that leaving them to their devices or letting into the insurgents' demands would be just as dangerous, if not more so, than trying to free them and get to the bottom of the attack.

He noted that among those in the square were a few disarmed, beaten Home Guardsmen, with shackles on their hands, but he didn't see any civilians beaten; if the Intelligence Service were really part of the operation that had been caught in Kakouko, then their members were either gone, or being held captive somewhere else- they would probably be in plain clothes, but they wouldn't have given up without a fight.

He still didn't know why they had attacked the Home Guard in Kakouko of all places; he'd seen around when they entered, and it was clearly not the most prosperous town in the region, and lacked the heavy industry and military facilities that might make a town of interest to his father. Zuko did realise that there could be some other reason, such as an off the books facility, perhaps concerning government or military records, or some new weapons development program, being located in the town,

His theories seemed plausible, but he thought that Director Tandang would have informed him of such a facility before he left the capital. There wasn't a justification for the presence of the Intelligence Service in the town, but he had a feeling there was something else going on, perhaps even something Tandang and his close associates at the meeting wouldn't have known of.

He hadn't spoken his mind on those matters, given that he had very little reason to speak when he was cowering behind an abandoned market stall, with insurgents only a few feet away from him and Mai. They had gotten a good look of their numbers, and even if he thought he could take them, and get the civilians to safety, he couldn't allow their leader to escape; that was the one person he needed to figure out exactly what was happening, and what this place had to do with his father's plans.

Zuko turned to face Mai, and gestured over towards the town hall, where he was certain the leader of the insurgents would be. Without getting inside, they wouldn't know for sure where he was, and though he had thought about taking one of the insurgents captive and interrogating them, it mightn't end well, so he decided they would only reveal themselves at the opportune moment.

She nodded, understanding their objective, and she pulled up her sleeve, revealing her stiletto launcher, which she aimed away from them, towards some unlit hanging lanterns by the side of the town square. A moment later, she fired it, and the stilettos struck the lanterns, throwing them down to the ground; the weapon was quiet enough that nobody noticed anything until the lanterns struck the street below, and the insurgents sprung into action, rushing over to where the lanterns had fallen.

Without a moment to waste, Zuko and Mai rushed past the market stalls, while the hostages and insurgents alike were distracted, making their way to the end of the town square, and they rushed over to the garden that surrounded each side of the town hall. The bushes provided good enough cover, and their cloaks were dull coloured, not standing out amongst the greens and browns of the foliage. Zuko peered over towards a side-door, which remained unguarded, surprisingly, though he quickly realised why; there were still men patrolling around the exterior of the building, coming back and forth from the barricades they had set up.

Perhaps they were getting more unsettled with the Home Guard surrounding the whole town centre, but their numbers must have given them some confidence; he couldn't see why they wouldn't have tried to make a run for it otherwise, given the danger being captured would pose. If not facing execution by the hands of the Home Guard for their crimes, they could see themselves killed as soon as they found themselves in prison to ensure they didn't as much make a peep about his father's plans. Zuko held a morsel of empathy for the men who had probably been thrown into a fight without any realisation of how dangerous it would truly be, but he swallowed that, knowing that he couldn't hold back with innocents in danger. Anyone who fought for his father couldn't really be innocent, and the same could be said about himself and those who fought for his uncle.

He kept those thoughts to the back of his mind, knowing that even if he was unsure of the insurgents intentions, he knew they couldn't be in the interest of the people they were holding hostage. He and Mai remained prone by the bushes, waiting for the patrolling men to move past, who chatted with the others, presumably about the lanterns, though he couldn't hear due to their voices dropping to a whisper.

"No silly business!" one of them warned the civilians, creating an arc of fire, "Or we will be forced to remind you who is in charge here." he threatened the unarmed people before him, and Zuko snarled, finding such a behaviour to be dishonourable; even if they wanted to, the civilians couldn't really harm a prepared group of insurgents, especially those with weapons and well-trained firebenders.

Mai placed a hand on his shoulder, reminding him that they couldn't blow their cover yet; he had to find the leader, defeat them and ensure that they could learn of their intentions, and free all the hostages they had taken. The Prince eyed the door, and slowly moved closer, pushing on it to check if it was unlocked; to his surprise, it was, but that made more sense when he realised that the lock had been broken from the inside. He and Mai slipped in without making a sound, finding themselves in a dimly lit corner of the building, finding only a small dining area, perhaps for the staff who worked there. There were a few doors and hallways leading off, but he could hear talking, which sounded agitated, but distant.

"Somebody's got half a brain here." Mai mumbled under her breath, "They've got nowhere to run."

"Nowhere we know of." he retorted, knowing that if the insurgents were holding down against the Home Guard, they had to have some escape plan, but why it hadn't been put into motion was unclear, "We didn't check the sewers."

"Of course you'd think that." she rolled her eyes, "I'm sure the Home Guard has blocked the pipes heading into the river." she argued, and the Prince raised a brow.

"It wasn't mentioned." he argued quietly, before he slowly moved across the room, making his way to the nearest hallway, which he peered down, noticing a man standing idly; he didn't appear to be armed, but his appearance consisting of dark robes, a face marred by dashes of burns, and cropped short hair, suggested he wasn't a soldier at all, but some kind of gang member.

It didn't surprise him that his father was hiring criminal elements to his cause, but that made them all the more unpredictable; even if they were fighting under his orders, or the orders of one of his lackeys, they weren't going to fight like soldiers- they'd get the job done, like any other worker, except, with a whole lot more blood, bribes, and beatings than he'd expect of a professional soldier.

He turned his head a few moments later, forcing Zuko to hide himself, gulping as he realised he might have been spotted; the man didn't speak, but instead let out a sigh, "Are we going to do this all day? I mean, I appreciate the break, but this isn't getting anywhere." he asked somebody that Zuko couldn't see.

"No. We need names." he heard another voice respond; this person sounded calm, cold and not at all concerned about the present circumstances, which unnerved Zuko- whoever they were, they'd been in a situation like this before.

"How is this any different to those Pai Sho-obsessed fools?" the man asked, clearly referring to the White Lotus, whose local chapter in the capital had only been attacked a few days prior; things were more connected than he first thought, and whether that was a good thing was yet to be clear- he might have already bitten off more than he could chew in coming to Kakouko.

"This time they're valuable alive. Do you know the kind of things the Intelligence Service has been hiding all these years? Not just from the Fire Lord, but from each other?" the other man inquired, making the gruff criminal shake his head, clearly not approving, before he stepped into the room, out of Zuko's line of sight.

"I don't give an elephant-rat's arse about what secrets they have. I just want to get you from A to B. There's something they know, and I can get it for you."

"How many teeth has it cost them so far?" the man inquired, almost seeming amused at the idea of torture; Zuko cringed, realising that this was just as bad as he thought it was, but provided a good opportunity- they had to know something, or at least the more serious, bureaucratic sounding of the pair did.

"Not enough." the shady man snarled, "They're obviously trained for this very situation."

"And you aren't?" the man retorted, making the other scoff, before he turned around, going into down the hallway.

"I'll get back to it. They've had a long enough breather." he decided, and the man in the room laughed in return.

"Twenty minutes. Then we're leaving, and you know what happens if you don't have what I want." he warned him in a dead-serious voice, contrasting from his humoured reaction only a few sections prior.

"Then I can't leave... well, your way." he conceded, his pursed lips suggesting he had his own plans, though Zuko couldn't care less about that; he was going to stop all of them dead in their tracks.

As soon as he was gone, the Prince and his accomplice refastened their masks, turned to each other, and nodded; they didn't need to speak to know what came next. That man in the office was clearly the leader, and he was going to tell them what they needed to know. He strode down the hallway, straightening his posture, knowing he could play off being one of his men, even if he didn't know the man's name, face, or anything other than his apparent knack for cruelty.

"Sir." he addressed the man with a salute as he stepped over to the doorway, finally making sight of him; he was a middle-aged man, wearing the same dark robes, though a bit neater looking than those outside, and he wore his hair in a topknot with a fine headpiece, suggestive of being a noble, or at least, somebody of reasonable importance in public life.

"What do you want? You better not be asking for a break. I already told you we only have until midday." he warned them, suggesting that they really did have some escape plan, though it was really unclear what that was

The sewers were a possibility, but so was reinforcements, or assistance from spies within the Home Guard itself; a thousand things were dashing through Zuko's head at once, but he turned back to what he had already conjured up on his way there- a cover story.

"We've dealt with the firebenders the Home Guard sent in. Should we bring their leader to you?" he asked, feeling that the man might want to have a talk with Captain Honghua if she'd been captured.

"Pfft, I'm not dirtying my hands with some ilk like that. Just have them tied up with the rest, and beaten raw for good measure." he explained, clearly not caring about the actual threat the Home Guard posed to him as his men, "Go on." he dismissed the two of them.

"There's something else. Something important." the Prince warned him, and Mai shut the door behind herself; the man tilted his head, seeming confused why she had done that, before a smile formed on his face, as if something had clicked into place in his mind.

"Oh, it's happening. It's really happening." he exclaimed, almost excited by their appearance, though his demeanour suggested he really wasn't taking the threat of their mere presence that seriously, "You really had the guts to come all this way for me. Did you even read my records?"

"I don't know your name." Zuko admitted, "And honestly, I wouldn't care for it if you didn't seem like somebody with a clear goal in mind." he added, leaning across the table, "Now, I'd like to know something."

"Oh, that'll cost you." he warned him, keeping up his smile, which was rather unnerving to see; his confidence was absurd, but obviously came from the understanding that his own intelligence was good enough that Zuko wouldn't dare to kill him like he did Houken, not that he knew what kind of person the Prince was.

"No, I think it'll cost you." he retorted back, before grabbing the man's topknot, forcing his face close to Zuko's mask, "What are you here for? They know something I don't, and I'm more than a little annoyed that you'd like to take that from me."

"From you?" he scoffed, "Oh, you must be one of Tandang's biggest boys, aren't you? You sound like you're fresh out of school. They don't teach you everything there." he warned him, before pulling his arms back, poised to attack.

"I didn't go to school." he snapped back at him, as slammed his head into the desk before he could reach for anything with his free hands; when a knife slipped out of his sleeve and was swung at Zuko, Mai shot a stiletto into his hand.

The blade missed the Prince's skin, but slashed his robes, making him shake his head, almost disappointed he hadn't tried that earlier; he could have gone for the kill, but Zuko had a hand ready to stop the knife anyway, even if it had gotten inside his palm instead of his grip.

"Argh fuck!" he shouted out as he reeled back, stumbling away from the desk, as the Prince ripped the blade from his hands, flicking it around as he considered if it was worth using on the arrogant fool.

"Why the- somebody get in here!" he demanded of his men, and Zuko smirked, realising he didn't even need to ask the man he had in front of him about what he needed to know; the people he was torturing couldn't be on his father's side, so they would be more than willing to spill their secrets to the Prince of their nation if he saved their lives.

He wasn't really trying to play hero, but he couldn't help but smile as he turned around, shooting a fire stream at the now unarmed man's chest, setting his robes alight; he had bigger problems than that little interrogation- it wasn't going to eventuate with anything other than getting the man out of the way, after all. He screamed out in pain, and wasn't able to do much other than pat down his robes as the footsteps approached the room; the door was kicked open, and two masked men stood ready to firebend at Zuko and Mai, who took positions at once, ready to take care of them and get to the real hostages, or at least, those that mattered for the success of the insurgents' operation.

The Prince shot out a flurry of fireballs before the enemy could do the same, and Mai struck each of them in the shoulder with a knife each, forcing them back as they tried to cover the wounds they created; he abused that opportunity, rushing forward to send fire blasts into their guts, making the men keel over and cry out in pain as they slumped to the ground. They weren't incapacitated just yet, and one of them was confident enough to try and take a cheap shot at the Prince from below, but he anticipated that, crossing his arms to to block and disperse the flames sent his way before he jabbed the man in the gut once more, ensuring he wouldn't try that again.

"Let's get the hostages. These two aren't a problem." Mai argued, and Zuko didn't say anything against that, following after her as she dashed down the hallway in the direction the shady man had gone.

He knocked each door open as they made their way along, finding empty offices or storage rooms, before he reached the open section of the hall, where he could see three people chained up to one of the pillars that lined the interior, surrounded by that very man and a few others wearing masks. The people chained up were all wearing plain clothes, and he saw that one of them was a woman and the other two men, all of them clearly bloody and bruised from whatever torture the man had been subjecting them to.

"What the hell is this?" the man asked them, drawing out a dao which he pointed at the Prince, "Are you looking to help your buddies here?" he asked, and Zuko tensed up, unsure what he was going to do now his captives could potentially be freed, "I wouldn't step closer if I were you." he warned, gesturing the blade towards one of the captives.

"We didn't tell 'im anything." one of them declared defiantly with a slurred, muffled voice, presumably because he'd just had some of his teeth taken out, before he spat at his captor, "The dragons are gonna eat you whole." he warned him, and before the captor could swing his blade down, Mai fired a stiletto towards him, though he was able to dodge it, the wooden projectile striking the pillar instead.

"Oh, you're stupid yet skilled. I admire that in a woman." he mocked her, before he and the other two readied their weapons, "The others will be in here in a minute, and you won't get anything you want from me."

"Didn't expect to." Zuko retorted, "You strike me as the type that Ozai keeps out of the loop, anyway. Too dangerous to be left... unleashed." he suggested, wanting to incite him to attack; he did, rushing right at the Prince, who was able to weave out of the way of his dao, already well-aware of the forms and styles used by wielders of such a blade.

He didn't draw out his dao, instead using the blade he stole earlier to try and stab the man in the shoulder, hoping to disarm him and free the prisoners as quickly as possible; however, he must have seen that move coming, and whacked the dagger out of his hands.

"You're giving me more of a fight than any of those uptight wannabe soldiers did." he admitted, seeming impressed with Zuko's skills as he proceeded to weave away from his swings, "But you're not good at the hitting part." he warned, before he himself dodged a knife thrown by Mai; Zuko pointed at the other two, knowing she needed to take them down first, and she quickly turned her attention to them instead, rushing past the duelling pair.

"So, you're the brains of this operation." he noted, before slashing Zuko's chest, which might have hurt him badly if it weren't for the armour plates he had hidden under his outer robes; the power of the strike still forced him to stumble back, and he feigned injury by grasping at his chest.

"What kind of idiot comes to die here?" he asked the Prince, who wasn't amused by his commentary; he was far more prepared for the fight than his opponent might have realised.

"The kind who's faced worse." he retorted, before drawing out his own dao, now ready to actually go on the offensive; he'd just wanted to give Mai the time to deal with the others and break the captives free, but now, he had to stop him before he got himself seriously injured.

He swung his blades around, catching his opponents' dao, and he laughed at Zuko, now seeming to enjoy the fight, "Oh, this is what I'm talking about. All show and no blood."

The Prince didn't say a word, or even change his expression as he parried the man's strikes, forcing him backwards before he kicked himself off another pillar, striking the man from above; he got one of the blades out of his hand, and parried the other, though the man seemed just as confident with a single blade. He swung his blade around, blocking both of the Prince's before he punched Zuko's mask, forcing him back.

He shook his head, realising that he might have just gotten hurt worse by the wood covering his face than the actual fist that struck it; he didn't draw back, however, and parried another strike, before purposefully letting the man disarm one of his dao. When he was about to let out another quip, Zuko shot a fire ball right into his face, throwing him down to the ground; the man was clearly surprised by his bending, but scurried back to his feet, seeing Mai freeing the captives by breaking their chains. He swung his remaining blade at her, but she was able to kick him in the shin, and grapple his wrist, blocking him.

"All of those spars paid off." she conceded, perhaps just as experienced as Zuko was with dealing with a dao-wielder; she didn't waste a moment, and hammered him in the jaw, making him stumble back, blood dripping out of his mouth.

"Bloody... I've had enough." he admitted, before he turned and ran from the room, "Have fun." he bid them farewell, his mocking tone further annoying the Prince.

He must have known when the fight was lost, and just how to infuriate someone like Zuko, who prided himself on fighting until the end; his speed was more of a surprise, suggesting that he'd always intended that, but Zuko didn't care, knowing that freeing the captives and learning of their reason for being in Kakouko would help him more than fighting any more of his father's goons.

He helped each of them up, offering a hand to the woman, before his eyes met hers; he didn't tend to forget a face, and hers was no different. She was Taki, that spokesperson who'd come to his school all those years ago; why she was in Kakouko, probably searching for his father's men, was a mystery, but perhaps she her job was a bit more complicated than just talking up the Intelligence Service.

"What are you all doing here?" he asked them, and one of the men spat out some blood before he pointed across the room, gesturing to a conical hat that was sitting next to some boots; that didn't make any sense to the Prince, until he had a closer eye of the hat, noting the green fabric coming out of the top, which he remembered from one of his many classes on the war and the kinds of enemies soldiers faced.

"The... the Dai Li." he gasped, and he grit his teeth, realising that them being near the capital could only mean one thing; they were plotting, and more importantly, still active, despite their destruction by his uncle, "You mean to tell me they're still alive and kicking?"

"Kicking? More like slithering." Taki retorted, "These goons are the only reason we haven't brought those bastards to justice." she argued, raising her voice as she gestured towards the end of the hall, where the doors had now swung open, masked insurgents ready to fight them.

"What... what does this mean?" Mai asked Zuko with a whisper, stepping closer as she eyed their enemies, and the Prince just readied his remaining dao.

"That my father's been making backroom deals with the greatest enemies of the Fire Nation." he concluded, and Taki's expression shifted to one of shock.

"Pr-Prince Zuko?" she gasped, obviously recalling the time that the two of them had met, "Do they-" she turned around, realising that their enemies might now be aware of his identity, if the man he duelled had been observant enough to figure that part out.

"Not yet." he assured her, expressing what he hoped to be true, even if he couldn't be certain of it.

"Wait." one of the men warned them, pointing behind them, where the leader of the group, who Zuko had set alight, stood, with a jian ready in hand.

"I heard that, bastard." he declared, "Oh... he's going to love this." he added with a smirk, clearly happy to have found out his identity.

"Doesn't do you much." Zuko warned him as he readied his dao, "You won't live to tell him a thing."

"It isn't worth it." Mai warned him, "He must know things." she suggested, and the Prince sighed, feeling like he ought to deal justice down upon such a reprehensible individual, but he knew that he had to let him live.

As he raised his blade, however, his field of view was suddenly blocked by a blinding flash and that was immediately followed by a deafening blast which knocked him off of his feet, throwing him into the air, and then, right into the pillar behind him. He could tell because his body curled up as he struck it, slumping down as he felt the heat course over him; his armour plating was fireproof, and his mask kept his face safe, but that didn't mean the sudden shock of heat didn't hurt. His ears rung, and Zuko turned his head around, trying to reorient himself as he felt a sharp pain in his right side and shoulder, where he'd hit the pillar.

"Urgh..." he groaned under his breath, blinking a few times to try and see through the smoke that had come to encompass him and the others, making it hard to breathe.

He had been so close to ending the hostage situation, shooting his lightning bolt, and taking that man and everything he knew to the Intelligence Service. That chance had been blasted away, and now, he didn't even know where he was, let alone the men who had entered the room to fight him. He was in no state to defend himself, but Zuko reached around for his dao anyway, knowing he would need them.

"Zuko." he heard Mai's voice through the ringing noise, as quiet as it was, and turned his head around frantically, trying to spot her.

He could see her cowering over with the hostages, trying to get back up onto her feet; she'd been a little further away, and only thrown to the ground, so she got up quicker, readying her sai in hand. The enemy's shouts were audible off in the distance, if only barely, and Zuko struggled to turn himself around to try and see where they were. He could only grit his teeth with fear as he saw some of them running towards him, throwing fireballs and armed to the teeth, ready to kill them for daring to intervene. He dropped down once more, avoiding getting his mask set alight, and once more reached out, grasping for one of the dao, noticing it laying just within reach.

He grabbed it, and then rolled himself over, narrowly dodging another attack before he found himself kicked in the side, and pushed across the floor, forcing him to roll once more. He groaned, wishing he had the coordination to get back to his feet, so he elected to try and firebend, despite his lack of breath; he could imagine Iroh and Lu Ten berating him in his head, but he ignored those imaginary voices, and instead used all his strength to create a fire blast, shooting it out of his left hand, hitting the masked fiend who was preparing to attack him once more

He was forced back, but was soon followed by another enemy, who rushed at the Prince with a flurry of fireballs, forcing him to create a fire shield with his left arm; it was strong enough to hold off the attacks, but it set light to the floor in front of him, and he rolled back again to avoid getting his clothes further tarnished. He was well out of range of his dao now, and without anything else to help him, he was forced to shoot out another blast, weaker than before, to force his enemy back; he blocked the flames with ease and instead created a fire whip to whack the Prince. The burn it created stung like nothing else, but only for a moment, and he swallowed the pain, knowing he didn't have another choice.

His eyes darted around, trying to find Mai, hoping she'd come to his aid, but was horrified to see her barely holding them off, slashing up the enemies with her daggers, but unable to get any of them out of the fight, forced back into a corner. The tortured captives did little better, and brawled with the enemy, barely able to dodge their attacks; one by one, they were going to fall, and Zuko didn't know if the Imperial Firebenders could reach them fast enough. He was even able to spot the body of the man who had threatened to tell Ozai of his moves, but to either his luck or detriment, he lay strewn, face-down on the floor, his robes in tatters and his skin marred by the heat of the explosion.

Suddenly, he was taken aback by a fire stream bursting across the room, taking everyone's attention as it struck down a number of the masked insurgents; when the flames dissipated, he saw the same symbol on that darkly clothed man who had attacked them at the White Lotus hideout. It was one of them, whoever they were, and he realised that they couldn't be on his father's side if they were there attacking his enemies. This firebender wasn't the same guy, very clearly, and though he wore a bandana to cover his mouth and a cloak over his body, he was obviously some old Fire Nation man, indicated by his goatee and balding grey hair, looking not too unlike his uncle. He attacked with a fury like no other, and beat down the enemies within a few moments, forcing them to take defensive forms.

Zuko rose up to his feet, watching with awe as the man pelted them with fire blasts and blocked their attacks effortlessly, dispersing flames with a flick of his wrist; the Prince reached for his dao, and readied it in case things weren't as good as he hoped, and stepped over to Mai, who was recovering from the beating she'd just received.

"What kind of old fart is he?" she asked, clearly concerned how easily their opponents were being outmatched.

"Hopefully the White Lotus kind." he mumbled under his breath, and watched as the enemy fled from the building as quickly as they could, all while the man continued to pelt them with flames.

When they had all left, he turned around to eye Zuko and the others, and pointed a finger at him, "Where is Kuraiken?" he asked them, and he was unsure if he was talking about the torturer, or the leader.

"Is that him?" he gestured back towards the slumped over body of the leader, and the old man just narrowed his eyes, letting out a sigh before he turned around.

"Cleaning up his mess, as always." he snarled under his breath, "Don't get in my way, or you'll see how quickly my patience runs thin, son of Ozai." he threatened Zuko rather bluntly before he raced out the front door, after the man he called 'Kuraiken'.

"What the fuck is going on now?" Taki asked them, and Mai turned to Zuko, drawing her mask from her face.

"Is that one of your uncle's friends?" she asked the Prince, who just slumped down, pained from the fight and explosion he'd just had to deal with, eyeing the now burning town hall that surrounded him.

"He certainly doesn't like my dad... and he just saved our lives." he admitted what had just happened, "We need to figure out what the Dai Li has to do with all this."

"We just got reports of their presence. A trail. Nothing else, other than that uniform." one of the captives warned him, before turning around, "I think we better get out of here, your highness."

"And hope my men don't fight that old man... because I don't think they'd have much of a chance."