After a long day of meetings with various ministers and reading through dossiers from the Intelligence Service, Ozai was tired and in need of some well-earned rest, but he couldn't stop just yet. With the run still low in the sky, he had time to train, and his regime was not going to falter now, after decades of consistency. If there was one thing he would never renege upon it was his training; he held great pride in what he had achieved, and despite a lack of recognition, he would continue onward.
His children, despite their youth, showed some promise, especially his daughter, who had time and time again proven her prodigious nature by mastering forms he hadn't even considered practising at her age. Even Zuko, despite his attitude and lack of any outward drive, showed to be firm and consistent with his training, as Ozai had been at his age. He hadn't seen either of them that day, as he himself had had breakfast late after an early sparring session with his personal guards.
He expected to see them at dinner, but understood that they were likely in their rooms studying for tests they were expected to complete for their schooling; neither of them were poor students, and his son especially showed a knack for problem solving and his knowledge of various economic, political, and social affairs. He had heard from a servant that his son was working on his studies, and had only come out of his room for his own training.
His daughter, however, had remained in her room all day, according to the servant he had sent to attend to her; she had been acting odd in the past few months, ever since they had learnt of the outcome of the siege of Ba Sing Se. Even more so than her brother, who had become even more steadfast in his training; prior to the news, both of them were focused primarily on their schoolwork, but neither seemed overly concerned with bending practice, despite their consistent improvements. That seemed to have changed, and that pleased him; he knew that without control over their element, they could never be able to master themselves. Self-control, ultimately, was the best result from an effective training regime.
As he made his way down the hallway, a few servants came by, and bowed to him, out of respect; he didn't acknowledge them back, and simply continued onward. He had a pair of guards behind him, as was expected at all times; since the Open Eyes attacked over six years prior, he had been adamant on having them by his side at all times. It was not because he actually feared being overpowered by a mere assassin, but because he knew that somebody else ought to be ready to protect him, rather than forcing him to be on edge at all times. He preferred peace of mind over remaining vigilant at every waking hour.
When he approached the training yard, he turned to face his guards, gesturing for them to take up their expected posts, before he entered. That was where his gaze met that of his daughter's; he hadn't expected to see her there, standing not in her ordinary training garbs, but in plain clothes, which was odd to see, though said clothes were dirty enough to tell him she'd definitely been training.
"Good evening, Azula." he addressed her, "Have you just finished up training?" he asked her, and she nodded, gesturing to the set of robes she had laid out on a bench nearby.
"Yes, Father. I'm just about to get changed back into my normal robes." she explained herself; the fact she gave a verbal explanation was suspect, but he didn't think about that too much.
Both Zuko and Azula acted rather terse around him, and though he realised that was his fault in how sternly he acted with them, he understood that it ensured they knew procedure and formality well. When it came to dealing with dignitaries, ministers or other officials, they would know exactly how to speak, and they would be respected for it.
"Hmph." he mumbled, before he turned to face the change rooms, "Well then, might you stay a little longer? I'd like to see your forms. You haven't presented your bending for the past week." he reminded her, and the Princess's expression lit up.
"Oh, yes, of course, Father. It would be an honour." she gave a curt bow, and leaned over to reapply the arm wrappings she must have been wearing, "Will you get into your training gear first?" she asked him, and the Prince nodded.
"Yes, give me a moment." he requested, striding over to the changing area.
Ozai didn't waste any time, as once he pulled the curtain back, he quickly pulled his epaulettes off, and after them, dispensed of his outer robe. He then reached over to the closet that sat nearby, taking his underrobe off and putting it inside, before taking out the thin, loose hanging training robes, which took the form of baggy pants, a waistband, and a loose shirt; once dressed, he stepped back out, seeing his daughter waiting patiently for him.
"Go on." he gestured to the training yard, and she heeded his request, walking out with a slow, graceful stride, before standing still in the centre of the yard.
He stood at the edge, and crossed his arms, glancing at the various dummies that were propped up, their bodies blackened by the thousands of attacks that had been laid upon them over the years. Even if they were actually made of a fire proofed fabric, the ash built up nonetheless.
"Are you ready?" he asked Azula, who simply took form and gave a nod as she eyed off the dummies.
Without any hesitation, she began her sets, sending flurries of fireballs and small blasts from her palms and soles, attacking each dummy in quick succession, before she made a finishing move of a fire stream from her right foot, using the momentum she'd built up to spin herself around, setting all of the dummies alight for a moment, before the flames dissipated.
"Good." he commended her effort, impressed primarily by the speed at which she was able to dish out attacks; the one thing that he could take from it was that she certainly hadn't been training before he arrived.
Her skill was undeniable, but the high energy of her attacks would not have been expected if she had been spending the afternoon laying into the dummies already. All firebenders relied on their breath, and she certainly wasn't running short. Though Ozai could have reprimanded her, he preferred to let her lie live on, if only to give him the game of figuring out what exactly she'd been doing. She wasn't dressed for anything too dangerous, or criminal, but her attire suggested she was trying to blend in outside the palace.
"I want to see how far you can push your bending." he gave a request, "Show me everything you can muster."
She wouldn't dare to refuse, and nodded, before taking a long, deep breath, as he'd expect her to. Ozai, out of precaution, stepped back; he knew that going all out was a recipe for explosive bending that could more often than not singe off the eyebrows of any spectators. He found himself correct as she began to spin her hands and arms around, flames quickly rising from the tiles below her feet, covering her. It only took a few moments for the flames to expand around the yard, engulfing the dummies entirely.
In a matter of moments, he heard a few grunts, followed by metallic clanking noises, and watched as the flames began to dissipate, the bright light nearly blinding him. Once his eyes had readjusted, Ozai realised that the sound was the dummies collapsing onto the ground after she had heated the metal bases to the point of making them malleable. Then she had knocked them over with her attacks; no mortal being would have a chance of surviving such an attack.
The Prince began to clap, letting himself smile as he appreciated the wondrous display of strength before him, "My daughter, that was brilliant."
Her chest was heaving, and her eyes set on him, but she smiled as she realised her success, "Thank you, Father." she acknowledged his prideful remarks, and glanced down at the tiles that surrounded her; they were steaming from the heat, and he swore some of them had started to glow. He reached over to the bucket of water that was intended for washing, and tossed it over the tiles, creating a burst of steam, and a sizzling noise that reminded him of a plate of hot meat arriving at a feast.
Once the steam had dissipated, his daughter stepped across the tiles, and dropped to a knee before him, "I realise my flames might have been too hot." she acknowledged her misjudgement; if she had been wearing proper boots, she would have had had little issue walking out of the yard.
"It doesn't matter. Your armour would have protected you if this was a battle." he reminded her of the actual scenario in which she would use such an ability, "Might I ask where you learned such an impressive technique?"
"Lu Ten." she clarified, her voice quieter than it had been before, "I realised I could go even further than he did."
"Of course you could." he argued, knowing full well his daughter's potential greatly outweighed his nephew's, "You are my daughter. You are destined for greatness... well, I feel that destined is inaccurate. You already have it." he corrected himself, seeing that his daughter's skill and bending prowess was undeniable; she had always had the potential, but seeing that power on full display made him smirk, almost giddy witnessing the power before him.
"I don't know if Grandfather would like to see this." she spoke her mind, and he just snickered; of course, Azulon wouldn't care for the show of power if it was before him, at least not openly.
"He is an old man with aches and a fogged mind." he spoke frankly of his father's condition, "He would insult you without reason, or deny your abilities." he warned her, before crossing his arms, "I believe he is jealous of your abilities."
"He was a prodigy like me, wasn't he?" she asked, and Ozai nodded; that was true, but Azula seemed to have potential far greater than his father's, given what he knew of his feats when he was as young as her.
The Prince couldn't vouch for him personally, given he had only known his father as the grumpy old man he was; he had only gotten grumpier, older, and less willing to listen to anything Ozai had to say.
"Certainly... but you are a cut above the rest, even him. I doubt he had achieved such power at such a young age. Within two years, you could already be generating lighting, and within five, fighting dozens of Imperial Firebenders by yourself." he gave his estimations of what she might be capable of.
Azula smirked, and bowed towards her father, "I will, Father." she assured him, and he gestured behind himself.
"You may go, Azula. I am sure you want to get to the spa." he acknowledged what his daughter was most likely to do after she departed.
She made an awkward smile and nodded, before stepping past her father. He wondered if he ought to bring up her whereabouts, but decided to tip toe around it.
"You ought to have those robes given to the servants. They're filthy." he warned her, and he could visibly see her tense up; that told him all he needed to know, and he turned back around; heading out into the centre of the training yard.
"Yes Father." she recognised his request, rather quietly, and he just pursed his lips.
He was curious to find out what she was getting up to, but he wouldn't get in the way of it, as long as it didn't interfere with her training; she was capable as ever, after all. He raised his hands up, taking a deep breath before he gathered his chi; without a moment's hesitation, he let out a quick succession of blasts from his fists, striking a few dummies across the yard, which Azula hadn't targeted earlier.
He took another breath, shorter this time before spinning around and making a high kick towards the sky above himself. The fire stream formed a wide arc, the flames lighting up the yard below, and his daughter's eyes. She was watching with awe, no longer nervous. If he could impress such feelings into the people of the Fire Nation, then Ozai would have no issue in getting everything he desired.
The Royal Palace's long, dark halls were Azula's home, yet again, she was going to leave them; she couldn't say she'd miss much but the spa and her uncle, but at the very least, the progress would not take months. It would be a short, few week trip circling the homeland, and if all went to plan, she would return with her father in chains, assuming chains could even hold him. She knew that capturing her father was an absurd idea at first, but Zuko assured her that the Intelligence Service would allow them to do so.
She felt doubtful of their ability to defeat him so easily, even if she accepted the proposition; she wanted to deal with her father as quickly as possible, if only so the danger of Sozin's Comet could not be realised, and she could allow her uncle to focus on the peace settlement in the Earth Kingdom. That would be a long, arduous process, and the sooner her father's antics were put to rest, the sooner they could get to work. She didn't expect much responsibility to fall to her by choice alone. Training the Avatar, she hoped, would not be necessary, and she could spend her time focusing on dealing with the mess that laid before them.
Her father, even if he had failed to seize the throne, was questioning the very legitimacy of her uncle's succession, and the stability of the Fire Nation held in the balance. Even if he were captured, she doubted those who supported him would go down quietly. They stood for a continuation, or even an intensification, of the conflict with the other nations, which she believed had come to a close. Omashu, along with a few rump states left over in the most backwards parts of the country, were all that remained of the Earth Kingdom, and now, the war was going to end on their terms, whether the people were happy with it or not.
That was not just the people of the Earth Kingdom, but her countrymen, who had fought for a century against their foes, and thrashed them at every turn. It was only the stubborn resistance of the Earth Kingdom, and the formerly impenetrable walls of Ba Sing Se that held her nation back from complete control of the continent. She knew, however, that that control was tenuous at best, as the Fire Nation would likely spend more resources to completely subjugate the Earth Kingdom than they would ever gain from doing so. Unlike the Air Nomads, the people of the Earth Kingdom were great in number, diverse and, more often than not, angry with the conditions that had been forced upon them.
She shook her head, knowing that getting all worked up about the reasons for their failure would not make it any better. Her uncle had a plan to resolve all those conflicts, and without them, she would be resigning herself to his fate at best, tirelessly fighting the Earth Kingdom and other nations for every scrap of ground she could take, and at worst, she would end up where her cousin had. So, she would follow his will, despite her doubts, because the alternative was unimaginably worse.
Her bags were packed before her, and her servants had left the room, letting her ruminate on the thoughts that constantly plagued her. She knew that was the source of her weakness, and why she had failed to kill Sanyan in the first place; she did not doubt the path she was now following, but simply feared it would not be enough. Zuko's plan might have had a few ifs and buts to it, but she knew that it could work, and at that point, could work was good enough for her.
"Zuko isn't stupid." she muttered under her breath, "If anything, he's gotten far better at applying his smarts." she acknowledged, before she stepped over to the doors, opening them to address the servants.
They had been standing there patiently, and she gestured to her luggage, which wasn't that much considering her status as a Princess. She only had a set of armour, some plain clothes, and a formal dress packed, along with changes of undergarments. They were to be travelling by a royal train that set out from the capital, travel across the breadth of the home island; when they reached the coast, they would then travel by ship between the numerous islands of the Fire Nation.
The train was a better option than a tank train, given its superior speed and luxury, not to mention it could allow them to bring along a large number of Intelligence Service officers, according to her brother, who would be dressed as servants and guards, only to change into plain clothes when they reached their destinations to gather intelligence for her brother. She was impressed that he'd already thought things through that much after only speaking to Ty Lee and Mai two days prior.
"Take my luggage. I expect these to be taken to the baggage train." she addressed the servants, and stepped past them, letting them get to work.
Making her way down the hallway, she was soon accompanied by Imperial Firebenders, who refused to leave her side when she was in the palace. It would have been annoying if it wasn't reminding her of the very real threat on her life, and the life of her uncle and brother. They were still the same guards from her ship, and a number of them had been selected to accompany her on the progress; she was unsure if that was a blessing or curse for those chosen.
Going with her might afford them some bonuses when they ultimately get their paychecks, but a few extra ban would not save them from losing their lives defending her from another assassin. Back at that port, her guards were lucky that she was the proactive one in the encounter, and that they hadn't been forced to shield her as they had with Sanyan.
Making her way down the hallway, she strode past her brother's room, which she noted was already empty. Past there, she made her way out of the living quarters, heading towards the centre of the palace; it wasn't that long until she made out the indistinguishable sound of her uncle and brothers' voices. When he reached the tea room she heard them in, she raised a hand, telling her guards to stop; Zuko and Iroh already had guards stationed outside, and the Princess gestured down the hallway.
"You may all wait for me in the staff room. Enjoy the rest before we march to the train station." she explained, before raising a finger, "Be well aware that my body double will probably come down the hallway at some point. She is going to cover for me while we depart... so make sure she is me, or not." she suggested, earning some nods from the guards, who seemed a little confused, but accepted her command nonetheless.
"Is this a test?" Captain Kan, the leader of her guard asked her, and she shook her head.
"No, I just don't want you following the wrong person down to the port, instead of going to the train." she clarified, before she stepped over to the door, which was opened for her; Zuko and Iroh turned around to face her as she stepped inside, and the doors were shut behind her.
"Good morning, Niece." Iroh addressed her, "Did you rest well?"
"As well as I could." she gave her opinion, before sitting herself down next to her brother, "So, what were you discussing? Your plans, Zuko?"
"Uh, yes." he confirmed, "Uncle was just giving me some recommendations on the itinerary."
"What, for sightseeing?" she asked, assuming her uncle would think about something so pointless when they were travelling around the Fire Nation.
"No, of the locations of large noble estates and military bases. Those are the places your father would be hiding." he acknowledged, "You might not be able to reach such places on your progress, but if you find evidence of your father's tampering, you might find his whereabouts."
"Yes, that's true. We aren't going to kiss the feet of every potentially traitorous nobleman or small-time officer in the Home Guard." she acknowledged what should have been obvious to them all; the actual purpose of the progress was to get as much support from as many people as possible.
"No, and that would make us look paranoid." Zuko added, making her snicker.
"But Zuzu, you are." she argued back; the fact he didn't give anything in response but a mild mannered grunt told her that he didn't disagree.
"Now, now, you don't have to step on each other's toes." Iroh reminded them, "Niece, would you like some fresh tea before you depart?"
"I may as well." she accepted the offer, not really that eager, but knowing that her uncle would approve, and it would give her an excuse not to talk in case the conversation went a way she didn't enjoy.
He poured her a cup of tea, the steam lapping up over her face, which smelt rather soothing; she took a sip, the warm liquid immediately giving her a sense of ease and calmness. After her constant overthinking on the state of affairs on the Fire Nation, perhaps tea was what she really needed.
"So, Niece, did you have something to say?"
"I would prefer that this trip ends as quickly as possible." she bluntly admitted, "I would prefer to be here, making sure you are safe, and that we can get along with your plans for peace." she acknowledged, "Father needs to be dealt with first." she added, cold in her tone; her opinions on Ozai were already obvious to both men on the table.
"Do not try to rush the progress too much. You will miss the opportunities you need to win the love of the people, and to gather as much intelligence as possible on your father's organisation."
"Organisation?" Zuko raised a brow, "They're an insurgency, Uncle."
"Calling them insurgents makes their reactions sound justified, like they're fighting for a cause other than their own self gain." Azula argued, before narrowing her eyes, "Though their supposed reasons are sound, we are not here to talk about the virtues of war and leadership. Uncle is the rightful Fire Lord."
"Yes, we can all agree on that, at least." her brother acknowledged, and Iroh raised a hand.
"Now, Zuko, I'm sure we can all agree on many other things." he suggested, and the Princess shrugged her shoulders, taking a sip from her tea.
"We can agree that the war has to end, and that we cannot allow our enemies to run free." he argued, and the Fire Lord raised a brow.
"You mean your father's supporters?" he asked, "As in, they should be jailed or exiled for their actions?"
"Well, that's a solution... though not for all. Some people must go along with their superior's commands; that is the honour and duty instilled in all our soldiers, even if they might be traitors." he suggested; Azula nodded along, finding her brother's analysis quite rounded, contrary to the seemingly angry and ruthless persona his little stunt with his phoenix tail presented.
"In the army at least. Civilians who are willing to aid our father must truly believe in his cause, or are greedy enough to betray their Fire Lord." she noted the other side of the conflict; it wasn't just soldiers and sailors they were dealing with, even if they were the ones who would enact the most damage in the short term.
"One side is blind and the other incorrigible." her brother noted, "That's not even to consider the other enemies we have. First and foremost being the Dai Li." he brought up the most touchy topic he could, though he clearly didn't seem bereaved about Lu Ten; she could see it in his eyes, the pure, unadulterated fury that he held towards those fiends.
"If we are lucky, the people of the Earth Kingdom might take matters into their own hands." she acknowledged the best possible outcome, "Though in Ba Sing Se, our military holds supreme control."
"Whether they are truly mine is yet to be known." Iroh warned her, "Admiral Chan's treachery is out in the open, but that doesn't mean he can take the city. It is still as insurmountable as it was, with its own food supply and massive garrison. The difference is that our forces hold it now, and they could hold it for years, if need be."
"Not against an uprising." Zuko countered, and their uncle raised a finger to his goatee.
"But from the Dai Li, or the common people, that is the question."
"If the garrison is wholly loyal to you, it is only a matter of time before father has the Dai Li make a move." Azula made the obvious conclusion, "Maybe we should go there next." she suggested, and Zuko raised a hand.
"This progress should help us find Father. Going to Ba Sing Se is just an extra degree of effort that won't be necessary once he's in chains."
"But you want the Dai Li gone, don't you?" she asked her brother, who scoffed.
"They killed Lu Ten, and are responsible for the deaths of many of our soldiers. The moment they know of their survival and locations, the garrison will be wishing Sozin's Comet had already arrived, just to shorten the destruction that would follow." Zuko gave his thoughts on what he thought would happen, "Their continued existence obviously isn't public knowledge, I didn't know they were still operating before Kakouko."
"I did know of their existence." Iroh admitted, "But the Intelligence Service greatly understated their power. They spoke of them being basically a street gang in Ba Sing Se, like any other criminal syndicate, without any formal power vested in them by the Earth King."
"Well, they clearly are more powerful than that." Zuko admitted, "I already requested the Intelligence Service do a sweep through Ba Sing Se to gather as much intelligence on them as possible. Hopefully that will aid the garrison in dealing with them when the time comes."
"Hm, that's quite proactive, Zuko." Azula acknowledged his move, and he turned to glance at her.
"Was that sarcastic?" he asked, clearly sounding annoyed by the idea of that; she shook her head, wanting to clear the air, even if she was annoyed by her brother's presumptions.
"No, I'm being serious. We need to know exactly what we're dealing with. Hopefully the Intelligence Service isn't as rotten as I fear, and they'll give you what we need." she assured him, hoping for the best, even if she was rightly sceptical on whether to trust the Intelligence Service; they had been under her father's control for years, and even if much of the organisation was left unaware of his plots, much of them must have played some role, knowingly or not.
"Now, I don't mean to stop your discussion, but I'd prefer... well, to talk about you two." Iroh admitted, and the siblings turned their gazes back to their uncle, instead of focusing on each other.
"What, that Zuko hates me... or at least, has a long-held dislike for me?" Azula bluntly addressed the matter, and the Prince looked ready to speak, before holding his tongue.
Iroh let out a sigh, obviously not wanting them to start fighting, but he gestured to her brother, "Please, Nephew, speak your mind."
"I do not hate you, Azula." he told her, though his awkward, stilted voice told her that couldn't be wholly true, "I- I have been angry, for a long time, and I have directed that anger at you, because you had what I didn't."
"What, bending skills?" she asked, assuming that was what he desired; to be stronger, and better than her.
It was a completely reasonable desire in her mind, though she did wish he wouldn't be so angry about her natural skills; she did not choose them, but she would not say she wished she didn't have them.
"No, our father's respect." he corrected her, "Now that doesn't mean anything, I- well, I shouldn't be so hard on you."
"But that's not true." she deduced, knowing from how he spoke earlier, he still had to hold some disdain towards her.
"It's not your fault." he mumbled, before sighing, "It's not your fault our mother is dead."
Azula tensed up, realising that this was the first time her brother had actually directly addressed the matter with her; she had assumed for many years that was a reason for his anger towards her, especially because he refused to speak about their mother, even more than her father had.
"It isn't." Iroh agreed, "Azula's birth may have led to that tragedy, but you cannot hold it against her. She did not choose to be born, as she did not choose her bending potential."
"She did choose to play into father's games." he argued, and Azula scoffed.
"As did you, Brother." she reminded him, sure his way of treating her was all in Ozai's intentions to get them to try and compete with each other.
Whether that was in any way an altruistic aim was beyond her, but she felt it was likely just a way to wedge them and force them to work on their bending and other skills; that was so one of them could inevitably be a worthy heir in their father's eyes.
"I did what I had to." he told her, "And don't act like you didn't want his approval." he argued, and the Princess sighed.
"It was necessary. Before his... foolish actions, he was going to become the Fire Lord some day." she told him the fact of the matter; she had held no great love towards their father, even if she had respected him.
The lack of love between them was more a result of his teachings and way of raising them rather than because she didn't think him worthy of her respect; he had proved himself a capable firebender and intelligent man, somebody that could be looked up to. Zuko had learned just as much as he had from his teachings, and no matter how much they might have come to despise him, they were his children.
"I knew that... that was why I did what I did." he assured her, "I couldn't-" he began, before stopping himself.
Azula understood what he was going to say; he was going to prevent Ozai from taking the throne, even legally, upon Iroh's not-so-accidental death. She knew he wouldn't confide that to her, as she would have opposed it. Of course, that was before her father had tried to kill Iroh, and thrown all of that out the window, along with the principles he had instilled in her. His hypocrisy was for all to see, though the people mightn't see it that way. They would see a second son, the spare, ready to serve his nation when the Fire Lord, tired after a long and arduous war, would not.
"I understand, Brother." she acknowledged what he had refused to say, "Even if I wouldn't have done it, you had your reasons."
"How could you know you wouldn't have done it?" he asked her in return, pressing the point, "You were favoured. If you were not, can you say you would have let him rule and dictate your fate?"
"Prince Zuko..." Iroh addressed him, his tone serious, but quiet, "I know how you feel, and I am no better. I could have challenged your father to an Agni Kai... more, I was told to."
"What do you mean, Uncle?" Azula asked, and Iroh just looked down at his teacup.
"Three very different men have had the same advice for me... and I was too much of a coward, too sentimental to act on it." he acknowledged, before raising a hand to his head, "I cannot kill my brother, but somebody must."
"We know." Zuko assured him, "There can only be one Fire Lord." he added, before his eyes met Azula; neither of them had been chosen as Crown Prince or Princess, but it was only a matter of time before the succession was settled.
Azula wanted the throne, but if she had to kill her brother, no matter their feuding, she felt it wouldn't be worth it. That would be going against everything their uncle had been telling them; he had stopped himself from killing Ozai, from calling that inevitable Agni Kai, probably to save them the anguish, even if it would be a good for them all. Kinslaying was never a favourable outcome, even if it would prevent the suffering of others.
"That issue cannot be settled now." Iroh reminded them, "I hope that an agreement can be reached... so this doesn't happen again."
"We are loyal to you Uncle. To try and kill each other... that'd make all our efforts pointless." Zuko assured him, "Isn't that right, Azula?" he asked for her opinion; the Princess just let out a sigh.
She knew the conflict between her and Zuko was inevitable, but she would prefer it to be as amiable and fair as possible. Whether that was forcing her uncle to choose a successor out of them, or an Agni Kai to settle the matter themselves.
"Yes." she agreed to his proposition, even if she doubted such an assertion by the both of them would prevent it, "Now, are we going to head to the train, Brother?" she asked, and he cracked his neck, before rising from his seat.
"We shouldn't keep Mai and Ty Lee waiting." he acknowledged, Azula recalling that the latter had invited herself and forced the former to come along.
Azula wouldn't complain, as she liked the company, and the two of them would be useful dealing with assassins, if the worst came to bear. She was sure Mai would have asked to come along if Ty Lee hadn't forced her to; she and Zuko were close, and even if she was amused and sometimes disgusted by it, she knew that the two of them would stick together until they knew they were both safe. While Ozai lived, that was impossible.
"So, Brother, when will you and Mai be official?" she asked her brother, half out of jest, and half out of interest; they had been effectively a couple for at least the past few months, and she could only imagine what they'd gotten up to when she was away looking for Aang.
He spurted out the tea he had just been trying to finish, making Iroh and Azula both laugh; he was always so prudish when it came to discussing his relationship.
"I- what? How is that important?"
"Never said it was, Brother." Azula defended herself, "I'm just interested."
"Well, I think it's important, Nephew... and I am also interested." the Fire Lord voiced his opinion, which was almost as amusing as Zuko's reaction.
"We're not talking about that." her brother refused, before turning to face their uncle, "Goodbye Uncle. I wish you the best of luck dealing with things here. I know... things are not as easy as you'd prefer."
"Well, I didn't expect the job to be a breeze." he assured him, before rising to his feet, "I'll see you both out." he told them, and the siblings moved out of the tea room, the guards opening the door for them once Zuko knocked on it.
Their uncle followed after them, and they paced down to the staff rest area, where Azula's guards had been waiting for her; they immediately got up from what they were doing and got into formation around the royal siblings. Zuko glanced at them with an intrigued look on his face, but he didn't say anything.
"Do we need guards when we're walking around, Sister?" he asked her, and she just pursed her lips.
"The image is deterrence against anyone brave enough to venture within these walls." she gave her reason for even having them around, "And Uncle would have a fit if we didn't have guards."
"I would." Iroh spoke up behind them, making the Prince smile for a moment.
As they continued on down the hallway, they approached the front doors of the palace, where Ty Lee and Mai stood waiting for them. The pair looked like they were speaking about something, but they stopped before Azula heard anything; Ty Lee dashed up to her and gave her a hug, which wasn't a surprise in the slightest.
"You looking forward to the trip, Zula?" she asked her eagerly, and the Princess just shrugged.
"I would prefer to get going." she told her bluntly, "We're taking the catacombs down to the train station... given our body doubles are travelling to the port as a distraction."
"So, does anyone actually know you're going by train?" Mai asked, and Zuko shook his head.
"No. The local authorities have been informed of our itinerary, so they know when we will arrive, but not how." he clarified their plans, which Azula wished could be truncated, but it was clear they needed as much time as reasonable to gather information to narrow down her father's whereabouts, "Well, let's get moving. My Imperial Firebenders are checking the tunnel for spies or traps, but we should be able to depart now."
And with that, Azula turned to face her uncle, and bowed to him, "I hope to be back soon, Uncle."
"And I hope you return safely. The both of you." he farewelled his niece and nephew; Zuko gave his own bow, shorter than hers, and then proceeded to head towards the entrance to the catacombs, which had been opened up by the guards.
Mai followed Zuko, momentarily glancing at Azula before she continued onward; Ty Lee stepped over to her, and gestured to the entrance, "Well, are we going?"
"Where are your things?" she asked, having noticed they didn't have any luggage with them, and Ty Lee just smirked.
"Turns out Zuko got some porters to come to our house. How nice." she acknowledged his effort in making their departure as smooth as possible.
"Yes, how nice." she mumbled, "Hopefully he doesn't have any more surprises."
"Why?"
"He's rubbing his punctuality in my face. I'm the punctual one." she pointed her thumb at her chest, "I'll show him." she declared, before pacing towards the entrance.
"That's the spirit." Ty Lee smacked her on the back, "A little friendly competition." she commended her attitude, before turning back to Iroh, "I'll make sure they aren't at each other's throats, your majesty."
The Fire Lord just let out a laugh and waved them both goodbye.
"You've got your work set out for you."
The city of Shengang was swamped by fog, and its streets were quiet, gloomy, and eerie. Xiu had spent days there, following the orders from his reclusive handler, who he called Wei, but didn't really know the name of. He had been assigned with a pair of agents, Li and Miyako, who had left the capital, luckily, only a day before 'the fall'. That was what they were calling it now, when Prince Ozai, who had been serving as Interim Fire Lord while his brother, the renowned Dragon of the West, was on a trip to Omashu. Though he did not know everything about the matter between the royal brothers, he knew for a fact that Ozai had ordered his brother's death, and the revelation of this was what led to the Prince fleeing, his allies being captured or killed, and his short-lived regime falling.
Now they remained hidden, daggers in the closet while Iroh claimed his throne. Xiu was not the most political or outspoken individual, but he was a patriot above all else. Two of his brothers had died in the Siege of Ba Sing Se, under the command of the Dragon of the West, and now, there was talk of peace. To break bread with those who killed his family, he would have none of it; that was how he was recruited in the first place, by 'Wei', who he had originally met when investigating the Open Eyes a decade earlier, as a junior agent.
They had been sent a letter to gather in the city square of Shengang, and then meet him at an undisclosed location; all of them had been gathering intelligence for the Hidden Service, as it had begun to be called. Intelligence on public officials, the home guard, military infrastructure, and the loyalties of anyone and everyone important in the city. Xiu was under the assumption that Wei had wanted to gather all the information they had and decide on a plan of action, such as who they ought to intimidate or sway to their cause, or even an assassination plot.
"So, what do you think he wants?" Miyako spoke up as they turned down an alleyway.
"Probably to get us in on some crazy plot." Li gave his best guess, "Wei has made it clear that we need to be stepping up if we're going to turn things around."
"Wei doesn't tell us everything." Xiu warned them both, "He could be understating our own power... to make us do something we might regret."
"What, you don't want to stop the traitors, Xiu?" Li asked, sounding offended by the slightest suggestion of insubordination.
"More than anything... but that doesn't mean we should follow plans blindly. We need to be tactful if we want to win, and survive." he argued, before gesturing at the street sign ahead of them, "That's the third street. Which street was the place on?"
"Fourth." Miyako clarified, reading from the piece of paper they had found hidden in the city square, stuck under a bench; that was how Wei usually did things, putting his messages in the most public of places, but not anywhere a normal person would touch.
With that, they continued along the alleyway, passing across the street, forced to weave around the pedestrians, Xiu momentarily checking for guards; they might grow suspicious with a group travelling cross-city by alleyway, and if they informed the Intelligence Service of suspicious activities, his former comrades would come down hard upon their operation faster than they could plot an escape from Shengang.
When they finally got to the fourth street, that being fourth street from the city square, heading west, he glanced up and down, not recalling the specific description given on the piece of paper.
"Miyako?" he asked the other agent, who pulled out the piece of paper more.
"Pointed roof, with a window that has blinds on the second floor... it has the character 'harmony' written on it." she clarified, and Xiu could not see anything of that description.
"We're not in the right spot." he warned them, and Miyako glanced his way.
"Should we split up and check down the street?" she asked, and he nodded, Li immediately making his way uphill, leaving Xiu and Miyako to go the opposite way.
As they made their way along, Miyako stood closer to him, and whispered, "Make it look like we're a couple. It makes it less suspicious." she suggested, and he sighed, grasping her hand as they made their way down the street, glancing up at every house, shop, and workshop they made their way past.
"Is Li usually this much of an ass?" he asked, recalling his earlier insinuations.
"He is mistrustful. It comes naturally in our line of work." she warned him, before she gestured ahead, "There." she gestured to a building, which had the expected peaked roof and window covered by blinds that read 'harmony'.
She approached the building, and checked to see if the front door was open; it was, and she tilted her head towards it, indicating for him to follow.
"Shouldn't we wait for Li?" he asked, and she shrugged her shoulders.
"He's not stupid, he'll find his way here." she argued, and he decided to follow her when she strode inside.
He closed the door behind himself, and noticed that the building they were in was some old shop, which seemed to have closed at least a few years before present; he could see a portrait of Fire Lord Azulon hanging over the entrance to the hallway, which followed the usual convention where the Fire Lord's portrait would be placed in a significant position in public places, as a symbol of devotion.
"That's old." he noted, even taking note that the depiction of Fire Lord Azulon made the man look far younger than he was when he died, at the very least middle aged, perhaps younger, with still dark brown hair and a short moustache goatee combination, compared to the more recent portraits Xiu had seen.
"It is." Miyako agreed, before calling out, "Wei?" she tried to get the attention of their handler.
Xiu strode down the hallway, deciding he'd address the man himself; he was probably just being careful to make sure it was his agents who had entered the building, "It's Xiu, and Miyako." he clarified their identities; he heard some shuffling, before he heard Wei's voice.
"Where's Li?" he asked with a frustrated tone, and Xiu sighed.
"Still on his way. We split up to find this place." he answered, before stepping over to the room he heard the voice in; moving past the doorway, he turned to see Wei, but not as he expected.
The man was tied to a chair, with his hands and feet bound, and his mouth was bound with a piece of rope; Xiu's eyes widened, and he moved into a firebending stance.
"It's a set up!" he exclaimed, shooting a fire stream down to his right, where surely enough, a man was rushing at him with a set of dao; he swung the blades down at Xiu, who was forced to dive into the room.
He glanced around, and realised there was another man in the room, who was just standing there, not even reacting to his jump; when Xiu moved to firebend at him, the man just squatted the flames away. Then, he decided to try and make an escape, shooting a fire stream out of his right foot, striking the dao-wielder in the chest, before he jabbed said man in the jugular before he could recover. He made a break for the front entrance, only to find himself tripped over, landing flat on his face.
"F-fuck." he grumbled, reaching to his aching nose, which he was sure just got broken; he rolled himself around, and realised that Miyako had been the one to trip him, aiming a guandao at him, the blade right at his throat, "Wh-what the fuck is going on?"
"You better scooch back into that room if you know what's good for you." she warned him, and he glanced back at the door, which had gotten so close to.
"Fuck." he muttered once more, before he pulled himself up, slowly walking back to the room while Miyako had the guandao at the back of his neck.
The dao wielder seemed impressed, though he was clearly sore, rubbing at his neck, "I- I knew he wouldn't get far." he acknowledged with a pleased tone, before gesturing inside the room, "Go." he told Xiu, who obeyed, now seeing the man who had been standing in the room sitting.
Getting a better look of him, the man was quite old, with balding grey hair and a goatee, "Please, don't make this any harder than it has to be." he man requested, gesturing to the seat next to him, across from the bound up Wei.
"Who the fuck are you... did the Intelligence Service really get us already?" he asked, and the old man just chuckled.
"Oh boy, we are not the Intelligence Service." he assured him, Miyako grasping Xiu by the shoulder.
She forced him down onto the seat, and he looked back up at her, "Why did you betray us?"
"Betray who?" she asked in return, "I was never loyal to your little plot."
"What do you want with us?"
"We don't care for you." the old man retorted, "You are merely ants, and we want the queen... or king, I guess, in this case."
"Ozai." he realised who his attackers actually wanted; the fact they had Miyako working for them told him that they had to be a pretty well organised group, "What do you want with Ozai?"
"For him to do what he has done best... bring ruin to the Fire Nation." Miyako clarified with a smirk, "Wei, I assume, has been unwilling to provide any intelligence, which is why that letter must have been sent to us all. I didn't even know this... little move had escalated." she turned to face the old man.
"You're on a need-to-know basis, Miyako." the old man retorted, "And you brought at least one of them along. That is good enough." he acknowledged, before he gestured to Miyako, who swung the guandao out, slashing Wei's throat open, making him gag on his blood for all of a few moments before slumping down on the table, "Now that I've made my point clear... you best tell me everything you know, boy."
"I- I can't tell you anything... they'll cut me loose if I do." he argued, "I'll be a dead man."
"You already are." Miyako warned him, "And I think it's already clear, Li won't risk his skin to save you." she added, making him swallow, feeling unnerved by her tone; just a few minutes earlier, she had seemed like an ordinary, calm, focused agent, but now, her eyes seemed to be filled with bloodlust.
"Fuck." he mumbled a curse once again, "Wei is who I report you... and you just killed him." he told them a fact they already understood, but he thought it needed to be reiterated; he was less useful than the man Miyako just slew.
"He wasn't going to say anything. He's been trained against torture. Have you?" the old man asked him, and Xiu sighed; he had, but his performance hadn't been great- he wouldn't last long enough for it to matter, and he now had no doubt they'd kill him if he just continued to resist.
"I was sent here on his command. I came to gather intelligence on the local leaders, and to see who would swear allegiance to the Prince's cause, or could be intimidated into aiding Ozai." he told them exactly what he was there to do.
"Where did you send the information you gathered?" he asked, and Miyako put a piece of paper down on the table.
"Don't lie. I know where I sent mine." she warned him, and he gulped.
"Hanayama." he told them the truth; he'd been told to send it to the city messenger hawk station, addressed to a certain 'Kaki Huo', which he knew had to be a pseudonym, "I sent it to some fake-name, Kaki Huo. It's probably an agent's identifier."
"Hmph." Miyako mumbled, crossing her arms, "He might not be lying. I sent mine with the same addressee, but to Kurosuna." she clarified, flipping over the piece of paper to prove that fact, which had the towns' name marked on it, and Xiu's eyes lit up.
"Those two towns are near each other... I remember that from my geography training. Both by the western coast." he gave them what he hoped was a useful answer.
"They must be operating from some place between them." the old man made a guess, before crossing his arms, "That's more than I got out of him."
"At least we're not guessing any longer." the dao wielder spoke up, before gesturing to Xiu, "So, are we going to clean up?"
"Yes, but I am not without honour." the old man acknowledged, before offering Xiu a dagger, "If you kill Li... we will let you live. If you do not, you will die just as your superior did." he warned him and gestured to Wei's slumped over body.
Xiu looked back at him with fear, but knew that he had little choice; he might have wanted to serve his country, and avenge his brothers, but he could not do that dead. The best he could hope for was informing someone about these people, despite his failure to stop them. Perhaps he and Li could defeat them, but he doubted that.
Miyako grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him back out into the hallway, forcing him to stand there, tucking the dagger into his belt by his back, keeping it out of sight from Li, who would be entering through the door ahead of him.
"Don't be stupid." she warned him, and Xiu turned his gaze to her.
"Why?"
"The army killed my mother because she was an earthbender. I will not let anyone suffer her fate again." she told him a reasonable story, which just shocked him; she had to be a colonial, yet she was willing to betray their nation, despite all the good they had done for those lands, uplifting the people and bringing them the wonders of modern technology and industry.
"At least we are fighting for the same reasons." he conceded a commonality between the two of them, before sighing, feeling like had no choice.
He pulled the dagger from his belt and held it tight behind himself, waiting patiently for the door to open. Miyako stood beside him, hiding the guandao behind the doorway, while the dao-wielder and old man remained in the room. Though the wait was painfully long, the door opened up, and Li stepped inside.
"Fucking spirits, you could have just come and got me once you found the place." he warned them, and Miyako tapped him on the back, telling Xiu to make his move.
"Sorry, we just wanted to hear what the deal was." Xiu told him his own truth, before stepping closer, "Why did you join up?" he asked him, narrowing his eyes.
"What are you going to call me a traitor instead?" he asked, referring to their earlier conversation.
"I'm being serious." he acknowledged, "I want to know... we want to know." he clarified, glancing to Miyako, who nodded.
"I joined up after school... I had the smarts. This job helped me serve the Fire Nation, without forcing me to be out there on the frontlines."
Xiu just let out a snicker, "Well, I'm not a coward." he conceded, before tossing the dagger in a straight arc, striking Li right in the chest, making him cough and sputter as he fell to his knees.
"Wh-what the... the actual fuck?" he gasped out, before falling down flat on his face.
"No, you are not, Xiu." Miyako acknowledged his words, before he felt a sharp pain on his legs, forcing him to fall to the ground.
He groaned in pain, and rolled himself around to look back up at her, "Fuck... you said you wouldn't kill me."
"Kill being the operative word." she retorted, before stepping aside, letting the old man approach him.
He glanced down the hallway, and just smirked at him, "Well, that took guts... and some fine coordination."
"I practised a lot." he admitted the truth, grunting once more as he tried to move, only to feel his legs ache agonisingly.
"Well, Xiu, you have done us a great service, and for that, you may live, if you can reach a hospital before you bleed out. You may yet prove your will to live." he argued, making Xiu snarl.
"And who the fuck are you? Some fucking Open Eye cunt? Is that it? Are you trying to kill Ozai because he's getting in your way?"
"Ozai is but a man." the old man retorted, "We seek to bring down the nations of man... constructions built to satisfy some credulous division justified by the elements some bend." he explained, "All of them."
"Who- what the fuck are you?"
"We are the Red Lotus. All the effort you have made, and will make, will be in vain." he argued, "Freedom will triumph over the tyranny of the Fire Nation, and all those who act in their image."
"Wh-what, are you going to kill the elders of the Northern Water Tribe as well? The Dai Li?"
"Oh, we will get around to them eventually." he assured him, "I am Xai Bau, and you have the luck of gaining my mercy." he identified himself, before snapping his fingers, Miyako raising the blunt end of her guandao up, and striking it down on the side of his head.
Then came the black, and the relief from the fear had held him hostage, more so than any blade had.
The rumbling of wheels beneath Zuko kept him awake as he sat calmly in the carriage of his personal train. He hadn't expected to travel cross-country in such luxury, but he would not complain, even if the reasons for the progress were rather dire. Across from him sat Mai, and beside her, Azula; Ty Lee would have been with them in the lounge carriage, but she had gone off to get some snacks while they were resting.
Though his journey had only begun a day prior, he had already visited a few towns in the capital region, while they rode the train westward, towards the great chain of mountains that ringed the home island. The scenery, at least, was pretty to look at, but he had yet to gather any useful information, which he might have otherwise been going over.
His sister almost looked ready to fall asleep, while Mai was reading through a textbook she had brought along at her parents' insistence; they were still making her do schoolwork, which Zuko luckily could avoid. His tutors had given him some things to look over, but they primarily concerned the places he was going to visit on his journey, rather than proper educational materials.
Her eyes turned up to meet his own, and she almost looked amused; it was hard to tell, but her words confirmed it, "What, are you bored enough you want to read my textbook?" she asked, and he shook his head.
"N-no." he assured her, turning his gaze back out the window beside them; they were still travelling through the hilly countryside, with grassy knolls, rice paddies, and some pastures all he could notice for miles, and beyond them, the distant smoking peaks of some mountains, "What is it, anyway?"
"Humanities." she clarified, "So, history... or whatever some government bureaucrat thinks is the correct history."
That made Azula snicker, "Yeah... sounds about right." she mumbled, sounding rather tired and out of it.
"Hmph." he mumbled, crossing his arms, "What kind of history?"
"Just something about some Fire Lord who lived like four hundred years ago. Who they were, what happened when they ruled... that kind of stuff." she explained, and he furrowed a brow.
"Which one?" he asked, and she glanced down.
"Fire Lord Chaeryu." she clarified, and he furrowed a brow.
"I've heard of him. Supposedly caused a civil war by... uh, not keeping his junk to himself." he clarified, recalling that from one of his father's lectures on how not to rule as Fire Lord.
Decisiveness and a clear line of succession were two things required by a Fire Lord, and that ruler had not done either, at least in a manner that secured the unity of their nation. However, it seemed that they were heading for a conflict similar to the one Chaeryu had caused, because his father had decided to try and overthrow his uncle, who had the throne by right; the more he mulled over it, the more he realised the similarities between this long dead Fire Lord and his grandfather, though he was sure Azulon was far more cunning.
"They're not going into much detail about that... I wonder why." she raised a finger to her chin, and that made Azula smirk, even if she barely had her eyes open at that point.
"Because the Fire Lord ought to be seen as a figure of great honour and have no discernable flaws." Zuko gave the answer to her presumably rhetorical question.
"You say that as if it is unattainable." Azula spoke up, leaning back up from the lounge she was sitting on, and he nodded.
"It is. Everyone has flaws." he argued, "And perfect honour cannot be upheld if you want to finish things."
"What... like the war?" she suggested, and Zuko shrugged his shoulders.
"I meant that more generally. The war is just one issue... I'm sure it's the biggest, but not the only one on our uncle's mind."
"How about yours, Zuko?" Mai spoke up, and he just eyed both of them, unsure what he ought to say; the honest truth was his mind was set on apprehending his father, and then using every power he had to clean the nation of any corruption he had inflicted on it.
"I have a lot of things on my mind. I have more responsibilities than ever."
"And that's what you wanted, right, Brother?" Azula asked him, as if to prod him into giving a negative response, or to make him feel bad for wanting more respect and responsibility.
"If I didn't serve the Fire Nation, then I would be a coward." he argued, considering it to be a great thing to have the honour of fulfilling the Fire Lord's will, and by extension, serving his nation.
"You would be a coward if you refused to do something when you could... and that could save a person... or many people." Mai corrected him, and she just narrowed her eyes, "Who have we saved?"
"My Uncle... those people in Kakouko." he listed off the two obvious answers, "Each other." he added, more quietly, and though Mai turned away, Azula briefly smiled, before straightening her lips.
He was unsure if she was amused, or actually just happy for them; his gut told him the former, but the voice of Iroh that lingered in his mind told him the latter, even if he didn't want to believe it.
"What?" he asked her, wanting the answer to that question.
She just shrugged her shoulders, and glanced across the carriage towards the other window; Zuko did the opposite, turning to the window he'd been looking at before. Not long after, Ty Lee strode back into the carriage, with some snacks in her hands, sitting herself back down beside Zuko.
"Hey guys... did anything happen?" she asked with a mouth full of some rice crackers.
"Nothing much." he answered her question, and reached over to take some of the rice crackers she was offering to them.
Azula did the same, silently reaching over to grab a cracker, before she mumbled a platitude, "Thanks."
He heard a knock on the door into the carriage, and Zuko rose up to his feet, deciding to check who wanted to enter; he noticed it was one of his Intelligence Service aides, Zan, who was assigned to provide him with briefings.
He opened the door, and let the aide in; he gave Zuko a customary bow before offering him a document, "This is the latest report from military intelligence. It may be of assistance in your efforts, your highness." he explained what he had, and the Prince accepted the document.
"Thank you. I'll read over it now, and I will tell you if there are any letters we might need to send out." he told Zan what he would do, and the agent gave a bow.
"Of course." he acknowledged him, before turning around, closing the door behind him as he returned back to his station on the train; the Intelligence Service was using up quite a few carriages on the train, either as quarters, or as workstations to analyse the intelligence they had been gathering.
He moved back to the lounge, and sat himself down, opening up the report; his sister's interest was immediately piqued, and she rose back up from her near sleeping state, her eyes wide open and intent on the document.
"What did you just receive, Brother?" she asked, and he shook the document for a moment.
"A report from military intelligence." he clarified, and began to skim through the document, knowing he could spend some time later in his quarters on the train looking over it in more detail.
The document didn't surprise him much at first; it spoke of some battles between his father's supporters in the navy and the loyalists, and reports of supposed desertions from some military bases by whole squadrons of soldiers. However, something did interest Zuko, which stood out on one page, if only for one name that appeared on it. The Avatar had gotten himself into further shenanigans, and had tried to save a village from a flood, caused by some Earth Kingdom rebels; the day when he aided the Fire Nation over the Earth Kingdom had actually come, and it was both confusing, and infuriating, because it proved his father's point, that they could not make peace with their enemies.
"What?" Azula questioned him, obviously noticing his expression having changed.
"The Avatar got into trouble again." he told her the blunt truth of the matter, though it probably didn't explain it well enough, "Just look." he offered her the document, leaving it on the page he was looking at; she ran her eyes over it, and her shift in expression, to one of noticeable frustration.
"Why couldn't they just go to the North Pole?" she mumbled to herself as she facepalmed.
"What happened?" Mai asked, "Did the Avatar free more prisoners?"
"To be fair, the Avatar didn't technically do anything bad this time." Zuko admitted, "The village of Gaipan in the Earth Kingdom was destroyed in a flood."
"And what does that have to do with Aang?" Ty Lee spoke up, and he furrowed a brow, realising that she was on a first name basis with the Avatar; he ignored that for a moment, and decided to explain it.
"Rebels blew up a dam, and for some reason, the Avatar was there, and tried to protect the villagers. Some of them Earth Kingdom, some colonists, and even some soldiers." he explained what had occurred, "He got washed away with many of the villagers... but he was seen flying away on his sky-bison later, so he survived. Many people drowned, but some of them survived, thanks to him."
"Oh." Ty Lee gasped, before narrowing her eyes, "Doesn't that mean he just helped the Fire Nation? So... maybe people won't be so worried that the Fire Lord wants to make amends with him." she suggested a possible outcome of the events; Zuko did understand that could occur, and even might persuade people who would have otherwise sided with his father that the Avatar actually wasn't an enemy of the Fire Nation.
"Maybe." Zuko gave his opinion, still unsure whether the favourable image of the Avatar would even stick from such an event; maybe they would blame the Avatar for the whole situation, or call him incompetent for letting so many villagers die.
"So, the Earth Kingdom rebels are getting more confident." Azula observed what had really happened; the Avatar was an interesting side story to the results- Earth Kingdom rebels were willing to destroy whole villages to try and expel the Fire Nation, which proved that the war could not be over.
"This will just be the beginning." he realised the situation for what it was; once one group tried something that crazy, another would surely follow.
"You can't believe they'll try something bigger than that." Azula argued, "What would they try, to sink a colony into the sea?" she asked him, suggesting something absurd, yet feasible, if enough earthbenders got together to try it.
"Ozai's going to use this against us. He'll argue that the Earth Kingdom needs to be punished and subjugated even further." the Prince told her what he thought would come of the disaster.
"Hey guys, let's not overthink it." Ty Lee spoke up, "We don't know how people are going to react to this."
"If I'm angry about it, then I'm sure most people will be." the Prince contended, "They're proving Father right by doing this."
"And we'll prove him wrong." Azula retorted, "There's only so much blood that can be spilled, Brother."
"No, there isn't." he refused to believe her; even if he wanted the same thing, he knew that the war could get so much worse.
The Dai Li were already in his father's pocket, and they would themselves want nothing more than to have a reason to incite fear into their own subjects, just as Ozai would the citizens of the Fire Nation.
"The Dai Li will take power in Ba Sing Se, and they will probably put the Earth King back on his throne, but they will force the war to continue, and this will happen again, and again, and again, until one side is destroyed or both have nothing to throw at each other." he argued, what he saw happening, presumably sooner rather than later, "It won't matter if our father is Fire Lord or not... would you let them massacre colonists? Destroy our infrastructure?" he asked his sister, who just looked down, clearly concerned by the image he was portraying, and the others did as well; Mai could barely retain her usual stoic, unfazed expression, and turned her eyes away from them.
"Are you saying this is pointless, Brother?"
"No, not if we stop the right people, and make sure our enemies don't have a chance to cause this chaos." he argued, clenching a fist, "They will die, Azula."
"Oh, I'm well aware of that, but just how many have to die?" she asked him, as if to suggest he needed restraint, and he raised his chin up; he would do what he had to, not what was nice and dignified.
"It is for the traitors to decide their fates... and for the Dai Li to feel their skin melt off their bones." he told her exactly what he wanted done, and she just looked at him.
"Is that what Lu Ten would have wanted us to do, Brother?" she asked him, and he rose back up to his feet, barely containing his rage.
"Don't you use him to justify weakness. We have to stop them." he snarled back at her, raising his arms up, "What would you have me do, give them a trial? They're already enemies of our country, they shouldn't be alive in the first place." he argued, specifically focusing on the Dai Li, who deserved his undivided attention as a blight on the world.
"Zuko, calm down." Mai spoke up, standing up to grasp his arms, "You're not thinking straight."
"I am." he retorted, "And I know... I know it's wrong. But what's right and what's necessary aren't always the same." he tried to argue his case; he understood the moral issue of the kind of blanket statements he was making, but that didn't mean that he shouldn't try and destroy his father's conspiracy, and burn it from the root up.
"Uncle's plans for peace might still bear fruit, Brother." Azula added, "If they fail, then I will stand with you... but we cannot just slaughter people for their allegiances. It is their actions they should pay for, and most of those who fight for the Earth Kingdom do it for the same reasons our soldiers do."
"Are you, of all people, defending them?"
"I'm not aiding them, Zuko." she argued, now herself getting agitated, "We need to stop all the fighting, but killing each other will not lead to a real victory, or give a resolution that will prevent another war."
He sighed, and sat himself back down, "Yes, you're right." he acknowledged, "All this bloodshed has to stop, but... I have this feeling that we have to get down to his level to even get anything done."
"If there is another way, you can find it." Mai argued, and he nodded, resolute that they could solve the present crisis, and the plethora of other issues that weigh down on their nation; he was simply afraid that his will would not be enough, and that principles would be thrown out the window for the sake of a victory he desperately desired.
"Let's just find it fast enough." Zuko suggested, before sighing, rising back up to his feet, "I need to get some fresh air." he decided, before walking towards the door out of the carriage; he opened it, and stepped out into the gap between the carriages, where there was some railing to keep him falling off, and a small platform, but not much else.
He stood there, taking deep breaths and trying to calm his mind; he just stared off idly into the horizon, wondering about the small villages he could see, who lived in them, and what their lives were like. The Prince had tried so hard to gain the responsibilities befitting of his station, but now with them weighing on him, part of him just wished he could have a normal life, like any other person in his country. Some were soldiers, who were duty-bound to face danger and death, but most were just simple farmers, labourers and craftsmen, who knew nothing of the fear those fighting for the Fire Nation had to contend with.
Zuko was not a soldier, and wouldn't claim he wanted to be one, but his father's war had come to him, rather than the other way around; he was forced to fight, to struggle with his own fears and the dangers he and countless innocents faced. He was not just fighting to protect his own life, but the lives of people he would never know, and might never know the efforts he would go through to protect them. That was the life of duty he already understood, and now that he had it, he wondered if people would one day look to him as they looked to his uncle, the great Dragon of the West.
"Are you still mad, Brother?" he heard Azula's voice behind him, and the Prince just sighed, leaning down on the railing as he eyed the sleepers zipping by underneath them.
"Mad?" he questioned her own words, "I am not mad... just afraid."
"Me too." she seemingly agreed with him, stepping up beside him, "I have been ever since I learned from Uncle what was really going on... and even before then, when I thought he might be dead."
"I thought you didn't-" he began, about to suggest something that, in hindsight, was obviously not true; Azula might have given off the outward appearance of a cool, collected, and unfazed warrior, but she was just like him- a child, who had been forced to betray their only parent, "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, Zuko." she told him bluntly, "You might be a pain in the arse, but that has nothing to do with this war." she added, the insult fair in his eyes, so he didn't try to counter it; she just looked out to the horizon, as he had been doing.
"What are we going to do?"
"About Father?" she asked, presuming he wanted to talk further about their present plans.
"About the war." he addressed what they had been talking about earlier; he had left because he didn't want to devolve in a shouting match, and that was still his intention, "Can we have peace? Really?"
"I am not an expert in diplomacy." she warned him, before shaking her head, "Uncle has his work set out for him, but... it's better to try and negotiate than go and burn down any town or village at the sign of rebellion. Even I know that... and I've been fed Father's... platitudes, if you could call them that, my entire life."
"I have too... but I fear that he may be right some times."
"He's not stupid. If he was wrong about everything, then nobody would follow him." she argued, and the Prince just snickered.
"Yeah, you're right there... but if he were smarter, maybe he would have just gone for an Agni Kai."
"His flaws are our downfall." she warned him, and he couldn't tell if that was a statement about his poor decision-making and ruthlessness, or that his flaws would actually rub off on them.
"I can't become him." he told her what he was really thinking, even if he tried to ignore the issue; it was rather hard to when he was going on tirades about his father that he only imagined would come too natural to his father, shouting about his uncle instead.
"History rhymes, and we're trying to break the song." she added, rather poetically, which was ironic when he thought about it; viewing their lives as a grand song was to speak of the inevitability of their conflict, which he had been refusing to discuss, if only because he was trying his hardest to be a better brother.
"Who'd want to play a song that's just so... depressing?" he asked her rhetorically; there was no doubt that she had the same answer as him.
"Somebody who can't see past their own anger." she acknowledged, placing a hand on his shoulder, "If you were blind, we'd never be having this conversation."
"I've been trying." he admitted with a sheepish smile, before shaking his head, "This is a weird talk."
"Well, most of our conversations are just snarky retorts, and though I enjoy those, I think this helped... you, not me."
"What would help you?"
She shrugged her shoulders, and stepped back towards the door, "Some actual clues to where our father's hiding."
He nodded, and pursed his lips, not surprised her mind was on the mission, "I agree. I'd say I want to focus on it, but that's all I could think about before that report."
"And the report just makes me think about the Avatar and what kind of mess he'll get into next." she added, frowning before she gestured to the door, "So, have you finished sulking?"
"I wasn't." he retorted, "I just didn't want to fight."
The Princess just huffed and opened the door, "Well, don't fight with me. Find some traitors, and fight them."
The Prince nodded, and followed back after her; she might not have been the kindest person, but she certainly knew how to get to the point, when it suited her.
"That's the plan, Azula."
